As Daphne drove the van, she started telling Velma all about what they did during their ghost hunting days, and why Vincent doesn't want the gang splitting up anymore.
"So, why can't we split up anymore?" Velma asked.
"It's been years since any of us brought this up, but long story short, the reason why we can't split up anymore is because, well… something happened that would change our lives forever," Daphne began.
"What happened?" Velma wondered, raising her eyebrow.
"You remember who Scrappy is, right?"
"Of course I remember him." She then paused for a moment, realizing where this was going. "Oh my gosh, is he okay!? Where is he?"
Everyone went quiet for a moment.
"We don't know the answer to either of those questions, unfortunately," Daphne sighed. "He went missing not too long after we caught the 12th ghost."
"Missing? Like, he just suddenly disappeared for seemingly no reason?"
"Yes, he did. We looked for him for weeks, but we found nothing."
"He was so young too, only just a puppy…" Shaggy sighed.
"Sometimes I still wonder where he went," Flim Flam said.
"Me too," Cheryl replied.
Velma looked down in silence.
"I'm really sorry that happened," she frowned after a moment.
"Don't be," Daphne told her. "I still believe wholeheartedly that we'll find Scrappy one day, even if it takes longer than we think it will."
"Ri hope rou're right about rhat," Scooby whimpered.
Vincent had thought about this, how this was one of the reasons they left him a few years ago. Of course, there was that one other thing… but he didn't want to think about that right now.
He was still deep in thought for a few more minutes, until all of a sudden, a flash of fire appeared in the van, and then yellow eyes immediately after, revealing Maldor himself.
"You!" he yelled, making Shaggy and Scooby jump out of fear.
"Maldor!" Asamad exclaimed.
"Well then, if it isn't Asmodeus. 2 ghosts have recently informed me that you betrayed the rest of the demons and I to seek redemption. At first, I thought they were just trying to decieve me, however, they were not. This makes you utterly pathetic, and what makes it even worse is that you're looking after that worthless descendant of yours, Vincent Van Ghoul and those foolish mortals."
Everyone else gasped, while Asamad's yellow eyes immediately turned dark red and a raging fire appeared all around him.
"How DARE you refer to Vincent as 'worthless!?'" he fumed.
"Exactly! Say what you want about anything else, but there is no way that we are going to let you say that about Vincent!" Daphne agreed, as Asamad's eyes reverted back to normal and the fire that surrounded him vanished.
Everyone else quickly started to defend Vincent as well before Maldor interrupted them.
"Silence! I see where he got his worthlessness from," he snarled, staring back at Asamad. "I suppose it is true that the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. Soon, you shall see that I will finally get that wonder wand and destroy all of humanity!"
"Whatever Maldor," Asamad scoffed as he rolled his eyes and shot a blast of magic at Maldor, making him and his fire disappear. "Ugh, he is so irritating."
"I can't believe he still wants that wonder wand years later," Flim Flam commented.
"So, how do you know him? Well, besides from being trapped in the Chest Of Demons for many centuries, of course," Jayden wondered.
"I used to be friends with him. In fact, I used to be friends with all of the other ghosts from the chest as well a very long time ago," the red demon admitted.
"Why did you not tell us this until just now?" Vincent asked.
"Well, they are all of my enemies now, so I really do not want to remember the times when I surrounded myself with them," he explained. "But, I can tell you that it is nothing for you to worry about, my descendant."
Vincent nodded and looked over at the others.
"We're really sorry that Maldor called you 'worthless,'" Flim Flam said to him.
"Reah, rou didn't deserve rhat," Scooby agreed.
"I'd suggest that you just don't listen to him," Velma told him.
Vincent smiled for a moment and sighed in relief.
"Thank you, but I can assure you that I am alright. Whatever he happens to say or think of me does not concern me at all. Still, I do appreciate all of you defending me."
"Of course," Shaggy replied, also smiling.
Eventually, they made it to Maldor's castle, and Daphne parked the van a few feet in front of it.
"We're here," she announced before everyone soon grabbed the chest and left the van.
After a moment, they all entered the castle, and Flim Flam pulled the Specter Detector out of his pocket.
"He went up there," he said, pointing upstairs.
"Okay, let's go," Daphne replied, with everyone starting to follow her, except for Shaggy and Scooby.
"I don't know about this, Daph," Shaggy admitted. "There's like no way that Scoob and I are going to fight this ghost. Remember what it took for us to defeat him the last time we encountered him?"
Daphne stopped and turned around.
"I remember, in fact, I know that I will never be able to forget it, but come on, Shaggy. We've already defeated him before, so we'll definitely be able to do it again this time," she answered.
"I mean, he does have a point though, Maldor is a very powerful demon," Jayden commented.
"Exactly, which is why we should try to be more careful this time, since by now most of us truly know what we are dealing with. Honestly, I think this whole thing was worse when we didn't have any experience with this than it is now."
Shaggy, Scooby, and everyone else nodded in agreement, and followed her as they went up the stairs, leading them to where Maldor might have gone.
Notes: So, the mention of the 13 ghosts being friends/allies with each other is a headcanon of mine. I just assumed that they were all friends since they were all trapped in the same chest for many centuries.
Also, Happy Valentine's Day and International FanWorks Day!
