Notes: this one is a follow-up to episode 9, and I decided to get a bit meta with this one; the fact remains that Vincent did create a massive paradox by showing Scooby the future, and then having Scooby go back and rewrite the future. When Zelda did something similar to Link at the end of Ocarina of Time, the end result of that paradox was the timeline of Hyrule splitting into multiple timelines—so, indeed, why couldn't the same thing have happened to the Scoobyverse by Vincent's actions?
I basically consider everything from Where Are You, up to and including 13 Ghosts as one linear timeline (which makes sense, as the timeline split would have occurred in 13 Ghosts itself), and it is in this timeline that my Season 2 project continues into. I consider the initial WB timeline (Zombie Island through Cyber Chase, What's New, and Legend of the Vampire through Samurai Sword, i.e., the ones where the gang was still "grown up") to be a separate branch of the timeline where Scooby, Shaggy, and Daphne took their leave of Vincent, Flim-Flam, and Scrappy after Zimbulu's capture in the final 13 Ghosts episode, but still keeping in touch with them after reuniting with Fred and Velma. The remaining WB DTV movies and Guess Who, where the gang are retconned as teenagers again are its own timeline (don't ask me how Curse and Return to Zombie Island fit into this, the numerous rectons make my brain hurt trying to figure anything out regarding those, so perhaps that 'verse had its own versions of 13 Ghosts and Zombie Island that were separate from the originals). SCOOB is its own timeline (since it contradicts that Shaggy and Scooby knew each other as infants as had been established in The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries in the original H-B timeline—the same holds true for The Mystery Begins, as that's another origin story attempt which contradicts that the gang knew each other as very young kids in Pup, which I consider a soft reboot that leads into the WB timelines, as both WB timelines reference Pup as an origin story), and I know SDMI has its own timeline thing going on that I don't really understand since I never kept up with it—so that's yet another branch, and so on and so on…. So, basically, this fic is me trying to make sense of the Scooby-Doo franchise as a whole.
Lastly, the angry time traveler who confronts Vincent for making the paradox/timeline split is unidentified on purpose so that my readers can insert their favorite time traveler there. I did have someone specifically in mind when I wrote this, but that's neither here nor there.
With Time Slime captured, the others rescued, and Scooby's morale restored, Vincent had been anxiously awaiting for the youngsters to return home from dropping off unwilling new recruit, Bernie the sheepdog—home, in this case, being the home of Scooby's parents, who had requested the youngsters all stay a while. It had been an… interesting wait for the warlock and the two Danes; naturally, they hadn't been thrilled to find out that their son and grandson were engaging in such dangerous monster-catching activities, but they seemed to take some comfort in the fact that Vincent was there to look out for them. That counted for something, at least.
Scooby had been pleasantly surprised to return home and see Vincent and his parents having a casual discussion over a plate of his mother's ginger snaps; he and the rest of the youngsters quickly lobbied for Vincent to stay in the house with them—a sentiment echoed by Scooby's parents—and the warlock eventually agreed.
Vincent, Scooby, Scrappy, and Flim-Flam then sat back and watched as Daphne and Shaggy then pleaded Mr. and Mrs. Doo to not tell their parents about the 13 Ghosts.
"You think they'd really tell them?" Flim-Flam asked.
"Rhaggy's parents, most likely," Scooby sighed. "Rhour families are close buddies."
"Yeah, us Doos and the Rogerses go way back," Scrappy agreed. "I'm sure my grandma and grandpa would feel really bad, keeping something this important from Shaggy's parents."
"And Rhaggy's parents would tell Raphne's," Scooby pointed out.
"And no matter what, they're gonna tell my mom, I just know it," Scrappy added, his ears drooping.
"Your grandparents are obligated to tell your mother—their daughter—about what you've been up to," Vincent pointed out.
"…I mean… yeah, but… She might want me to go back to New York," Scrappy sighed. "But maybe she wouldn't if you talked to her, Mr. Van Ghoul!"
"Well, let's cross that bridge when we get to it," Vincent decided.
"I'll do a little smooth-talking on your behalf, too," Flim-Flam assured Scrappy. "It's all about the sell."
"Thanks, Flim," Scrappy grinned.
Vincent glanced back at Shaggy and Daphne, still trying to convince Mr. and Mrs. Doo not to let the secret of the 13 Ghosts slip.
"…This is a private conversation," he realized. "And I feel both sides might not feel free to speak their minds if I am present." He stood up. "Scooby, could you show me to the room where I'll be staying?"
"Rheah, follow me!" Scooby said, perking up a bit. He glanced at Scrappy and Flim-Flam. "Rhou two coming, too?"
"…I kinda wanna see how this ends, Uncle Scooby," Scrappy said, with a sheepish grin.
"Yeah, me too—this is gripping drama here!" Flim-Flam added.
Scooby and Vincent exchanged amused glances; Vincent just shook his head as Scooby led him upstairs to one of the guest rooms.
"Rhis is the big guest room," Scooby said. "Rit's still not much, but—"
"It will be fine," Vincent assured him. "Thank you, Scooby."
"Rhank rhou," Scooby said, fervently.
"Oh? For what?"
"For… rheverything!" Scooby exclaimed. "For relping me save the others… For showing me Rhi'm important…"
Vincent just smiled.
"A lot of people don't realize just how important they are," he said, sagely. "But I'm glad you were able to see it."
Scooby nodded.
"…Rhould we tell the others rabout the other future?"
"Hmm, well, I do think that requires some debate—from the both of us. There are plenty of reasons not to burden them with that information, but if we feel that they need to know, we can't keep that information from them, can we?"
"Rhno."
"Exactly. But, as I said, we'll have to think and talk it over—another time, perhaps."
Scooby nodded again and decided to let Vincent make himself at home. He was just about to head to his old room when he heard the crystal ball ringing—receiving a transmission.
Scooby would have ignored it and let Vincent take his call in private had he not been startled by an angry voice over the crystal.
"You…!" the voice fumed. "I hope you're proud of yourself!"
"Well, since you asked, I would say that I am," Vincent replied, unbothered by the angry call he had received. "Now that we've settled that—"
"I AM TALKING!" the voice yelled back, causing Scooby to flinch.
"I believe 'talking' would suggest a quieter tone," Vincent pointed out, sounding rather sanguine.
"Will you stop it!?" the voice fumed. "Stop it and take responsibility for what you've gone and done—you and that dog!"
Scooby frowned, edging closer towards the room. He didn't recognize the voice at all, but the voice clearly knew him—or knew of him. But, regardless, Scooby did not like the way the voice was yelling at Vincent, nor did he appreciate being referred to as "that dog."
"If you are referring to what happened with Time Slime, Scooby and I did what we had to do," Vincent replied.
"No—no you did not!" the voice shot back. "The both of you broke the Laws of Time! You showed that dog the future, and once the future is known, it becomes Fixed—it cannot be changed! But you told him to change it! …I can't blame the hound—he doesn't know the first thing about the Laws of Time, but you, certainly, know better!"
"Time Slime would have laid waste to the world had we not intervened," Vincent insisted. "I didn't see you helping to stop him!"
"I couldn't because that point in the future was Fixed—haven't you been listening!?" the voice quipped.
"So, you would have let Time Slime win—and let a bunch of innocent mortals suffer—all in the name of these 'Laws of Time' you hold so dear?" Vincent asked.
There was an awkward silence.
"It isn't as though I would have wanted them to suffer," the voice said, sounding a bit put-out. "I would have tried to help them all I could—but I could not change that future. So, yes—I would follow the Laws, however unwillingly. The Laws are not arbitrary—they exist for a reason!"
"And what reason is that?" Vincent asked. Even though Scooby couldn't see him, he could picture the frown on his face.
"To preserve the stability of the space-time continuum!" the voice replied, getting angry again. "You and that dog created an absolutely massive paradox by your actions—the paradox was so great, the two of you succeeded in splitting the continuum into multiple timelines!"
"But the continuum hasn't collapsed on itself, has it?" Vincent asked. "No, it hasn't; I took the time and effort—and the powers of the Time Scepter—to stabilize it myself!"
"Stabilize it!?" the voice snarled. "You deleted two of the branches of the split timeline—you could have broken things even worse doing that! What possessed you to do such a thing!? Did you die in those timelines, like you did in Time Slime's future? Was that what all this was about—self-preservation!?"
Scooby's jaw dropped. He only realized at this very moment that he hadn't seen the alternate future's version of Vincent when he and this Vincent had gone to see it. And now he knew why: that alternate future's Vincent hadn't made it, and it made such a horrible amount of sense that Scooby couldn't believe he hadn't realized it before—because Vincent would never have allowed Daphne, Flim-Flam, and Scrappy to remain as Time Slime's brainwashed servants, nor would he have allowed Shaggy to descend into madness. The only reason why those things had happened in that alternate timeline, even after taking Scooby's absence into consideration, was that Vincent wasn't there to stop them from happening, either—and only his death could have stopped him from saving the others. As a warlock that didn't age, that alternate version of Vincent could have just hidden himself away from Time Slime; but, no—he had chosen to confront Time Slime to try to save the others, and, clearly, he had died alone, burdened with the knowledge that he had failed them all.
Scooby now forced himself to listen to the conversation as it continued—
"Sorry to disappoint you," Vincent said to the other voice. "But none of this was about self-preservation. Everything that I did was to protect the lives of my mortal apprentices—they suffered too much under Time Slime's future, as they did in the other two timeline splits I got rid of. I did what I had to in order to ensure their happiness."
"Seriously!?" the voice scoffed. "You put the entire space-time continuum at risk for your companions!?"
"Yes; there's nothing I wouldn't do to save them. And I'd do all of this again, without any hesitation."
"You can't do that!" the voice snarled. "You can't put the lives of individuals over the preservation of the Laws of Time! Have you never heard of the 'greater good' before!?"
"I weighed all of the options, and I, very quickly, came to the decision that I could not afford to lose them," Vincent replied, without a trace of regret.
"Don't you speak to me about loss," the voice warned, sounding angrier. "I've lost people I loved because I knew that the Laws of Time had to be obeyed."
"Well, it's clear that the two of us have very different priorities, then," Vincent declared. "I have no reason to listen to the rants of someone who defends a bunch of laws and puts them above the lives of people—and if these laws dictate that innocent people must suffer, then perhaps they aren't a good set of laws to begin with!"
The other voice responded with an indignant sputter.
"That's… that's not for you to say!" the voice exclaimed.
"Well, it's what I said. And that, I believe, is all we have to discuss," Vincent said.
"It is not!" the voice retorted. "What, am I supposed to let you off Scot-free after what you did!? You're a walking paradox yourself, now, you know—alive and will continue to be alive in a future that you would have otherwise perished in had things not changed!"
"Oh, was that the purpose of your call?" Vincent asked. "I broke your sacred Laws of Time, and now you are judge, jury, and executioner?" It wouldn't have been the first time that Vincent's very existence had broken the law; after all, everything those witch hunters had did to him three hundred years ago had been completely legal—one of many reasons why people putting laws over the lives of other people was a very sore spot for him. "Fine—know that I am unrepentant and have no regrets about what I did, and I am content knowing that my apprentices will persevere, remaining free and uncontrolled. You can come here right now and take me, if that is the only thing that will satisfy you—"
"Rhoh no!" Scooby exclaimed, no longer able to remain hidden. He bounded into the guest room, placing himself between Vincent and the bedside table where the crystal was resting. All that was visible in the crystal was an angry pair of eyes—which quickly looked stunned to see Scooby putting himself between the two of them, growling.
"I… I wasn't going to…. I hadn't intended…" the voice said, but then trailed off. "…Fine. I'll leave you be. But mind that you don't do this ever again."
"I'll do whatever I have to in order to keep them safe," Vincent returned.
The eyes let out an annoyed grunt before vanishing, reverting the crystal to its ordinary glow.
Scooby breathed a sigh of relief; he had, of course, intended to follow through with defending Vincent if need be, but he was certainly glad it hadn't come to that.
He looked back at Vincent now, hoping that the warlock wasn't too upset at him having eavesdropped on his call. But Vincent didn't look upset at all—in fact, he seemed almost moved.
"I'd ask how much you heard, but it's clear you heard enough," Vincent sighed.
"Rheah…" Scooby said. "Rwho was that? …And rhid we do something wrong?"
"That is a self-professed expert on time that I've clashed with in the past, and while I suppose I will admit that they have the experience to back it up, we have never seen eye to eye, particularly when it comes to prioritizing what's most important," Vincent said. "As for whether or not we did something wrong, judge for yourself. I may have given you a slight push, but you did save the others."
"And rhou…" Scooby added. "…Rhou never mentioned rhat had happened to rhou."
"…You had seen and heard enough," Vincent insisted, after a moment. "I decided you didn't need anything else on your shoulders."
Indeed, his alternate future self had gone down in a blaze of glory after Time Slime had established his dominion over the world. The brainwashed gang had then been forced to release the other ghosts from the Chest for him, and Alter-Vincent had faced the escapees all by his lonesome (including a vengeful Nekara, who had immediately attacked in her Gorgon form, not even bothering with trying to charm him again first); though he'd succeeded in banishing all of them to the Zone of Eternal Evil, Time Slime had stayed away from the fighting, showing himself only after Alter-Vincent had depleted his mana from the effort, leaving him unable to defend himself.
Time Slime had taunted him, opting to finish off the others and force Alter-Vincent to watch, but the warlock's final act in that timeline was to take the fatal strike that had been meant for them. His sacrifice had temporarily freed the others' minds, but Time Slime had quickly managed to regain his hold over Daphne, Flim-Flam, and Scrappy—only Shaggy had managed to get away, and the trauma from that day, coupled with wondering what fate had befallen Scooby, had been the catalysts to start his descent into madness, though Vincent hadn't realized the former reason, assuming that, surely, Alter-Shaggy would have gotten over that in time.
Of course, the future had been rewritten now, but that changed nothing in regards to Vincent's mindset—should the need arise, he was perfectly prepared to sacrifice his life for them again.
And Scooby seemed to realize that. The Dane whimpered slightly, and Vincent just assumed Scooby was scared of what could happen if he wasn't around to protect him or the others—just as he'd assumed that Alter-Shaggy's descent into madness had solely been because of his not knowing Scooby's fate and not, in part, due to Alter-Vincent's death.
He gave Scooby a reassuring smile.
"You don't have to worry," he promised the Dane. "I will make sure that you and the others are, somehow, looked after—no matter what. You have my most solemn promise on that."
Scooby blinked, a little confused, but nodded.
Vincent, on the other hand, didn't sense anything amiss. Once again, he just couldn't see the obvious—couldn't realize that every sentiment he had for the others was returned in full. They were mortals who respected him, yes, and who appreciated the things he did for them—but love him? What a notion! There were too many differences between them—his background, the fact that he was ancient, and, most of all, his sheer, intimidating power—for him to think that he could ever be one of them. But that didn't matter to him; his emeralds were a symbol of unconditional love—something he had to have great faith in for him to get them to work as well as they did. He would gladly accept their respect and appreciation, and ask for nothing else in return—not realizing just how much they had to give him, or that, just as he had torn apart time and space to save them, so would they have done the same for him. And, of course, this was centuries after he had pushed his old gang away for their good—pushed them away because he cared about them too much to allow himself to continue being a threat to them because of his power, in spite of much they had wanted to help him and be with him, since they, also, cared about him, too. It was a sad irony—he, who knew how to unconditionally love, was that incapable of recognizing it when he was the recipient.
Oblivious to all of this, Vincent decided to leave the guest room, with Scooby following behind him.
"Perhaps we should be a part of the conversation downstairs after all," he said. "The five of you need each other for this quest—this adventure has proven that much. That is an argument that I must present."
"Rheah…" Scooby agreed. But even he was beginning to wonder now whether Vincent truly understood how much he meant to rest of the gang, as well. At first, Scooby had assumed that Vincent had known without them needing to say it, just as they had deduced how much they had meant to Vincent without him needing to say a thing, but now, after hearing how he'd excluded his fate from the vision of the alternate future, as well as from his words just now… Scooby wasn't so sure anymore.
One thing was for sure, though—if the Dane's suspicions were ever confirmed, he would make sure that Vincent knew where they all stood, and he was sure that the others would be quick to agree.
Vincent was most definitely one of them—and if he didn't realize it yet, then Scooby and the others would see to it that he did.