"Do you believe in spirits from the beyond?" He asked "Cause that's just a load of baloney. But ghosts are as real as the nose on your face. Every ghost you come across was once a living being. Trapped in the world that ended them, ghosts try to do things to make their death seem worthwhile. But this is the tale of my life before dying in that clock."
"I've always wondered what your life was like before we found you Mudsy" said Augie "But I've never gotten the courage to bring it up."
"So tell us Mudsy," said Scrappy "Explain everything."
"So Boo and I used to be like all of you, back in the eighteenth century." Mudsy began. "It was before the place that came to be known as the United States of America won its independence from the Redcoats."
"So what was life like back then?" April asked "Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?"
"I grew up in a mansion on a hill with my mother and father called Muddlemore Manor," Mudsy explained "When I was a boy, I usually spent my time inside of the house rather than play games with other children. I was actually a rather shy boy, so I didn't have many friends growing up. In fact, I didn't have any friends."
"Like, then what happened?" Shaggy asked.
"Another family moved in next door to us" Mudsy continued "We went to welcome them to the acres and there was a girl my age with them. Her name was Amelia. She wasn't like me, she was more open about herself and more willing for adventure and being out there. Amelia came over for a play date and we became fast friends. She was my first friend."
"Boy Mudsy," said Daphne "She sounds like she was a really nice person."
"Yeah" said Mudsy "She was the most wonderful person in the world. We were always there for each other and did practically everything together. We were inseperable, close even. But not too close. When we soon went into adolescent-hood, she started blossoming into a beautiful young woman, like an angel from heaven. I fell in love with her."
Augie nodded as Daphne subconsciously pulled Shaggy closer to her.
"Gee, that's really good." Scrappy replied. "You must've been happy whenever you were together with her."
"We were" said Mudsy "When I was with Amelia, I forgot times when I was sad. I wanted to tell her how I felt about her."
"How'd you do it?" Daphne asked him.
"I saved up my money for over five years" he continued "Finally, I had enough money to buy her a lovely heart-shaped necklace. That night, I took her to a clearing with a crystal waterfall to tell her. I told Amelia my true feelings for her and why I loved her."
"What did she say Mudsy?" Skip asked Mudsy.
"She said that she loved me as well" Mudsy said "Since we were an item, we became closer than ever. On a rainy day after we got married 4 months later, we saw a kitten all alone in a box with no home or family."
"Like, and so you both decided to take the kitten in and took care of him." Shaggy commented as he glanced at Boo, who nodded.
"Correct Shaggy" said Mudsy "We took him home and Amelia named him 'Boo', cause she loved to play peek-a-boo with him. Amelia loved Boo as if she was his own mother. She always said that Boo was our baby."
"What do you mean?" Taffy asked.
"He means that Boo is like their son" Augie explained "Mudsy's the daddy and his wife's the mommy..."
"And Boo's their baby" Daphne finished.
"How do you know that Augie?" Biff asked Augie.
"Cause I have a dog of my own." Augie pet Elmo's head.
"Boo was like our son" Mudsy pet Boo's head "Anyways, about a year later, Amelia was pregnant and we became the proud parents of three adorable little girls; Sarah, Maggie and Jeanette."
"Mudsy, I had no idea you had a wife and kids" April smiled.
"I loved those girls more than anything" Mudsy sighed "Sarah was the oldest and the tomboy of the triplets, Maggie was the valleygirl..."
"There were valley girls back in your time period, Mudsy?" Bubbles asked Mudsy.
"Of course" said Mudsy "There are things about the past you have yet to know. And Jeanette, she was the shy one.
"We were all so happy together" Mudsy said "I loved Amelia, Boo and the girls more than anything in the world. They were the best 7 years of my life. But, that all changed when...the British had arrived."
"Jeepers" said Daphne.
"Jeepers indeed Daphne Blake," Mudsy sighed "The soliders attacked our home and set it on fire while we were still inside. It was burned to the ground, my whole life was crumbling. And that's not the worst of it, the head solider was about to shoot me when Amelia pushed me out of the way and she got shot instead."
"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as everyone else around him gasped. "It must have devastated you!"
"And that sure as heck wasn't the least of it" Mudsy started to get tears in his eyes "Our daughters didn't make it either. They were shot and killed by the soldiers as well. I went up to their lifeless bodies and watched them say their last final words as they died. All I have left of Amelia is the necklace I gave her and Boo."
Boo nodded and purred on Mudsy's cheek.
"Oh, dear." Daphne remarked as she tears started to emerge from her eyes, and Shaggy silently passed her a sheet of tissue to her, Scooby and Scrappy.
"Oh Mudsy" April said sympathetically.
"So I stayed secluded in a deep depression. I had no one to talk to but Boo." Mudsy continued "The reason I joined the war was so no one could end up like me. I wanted everyone to live long happy lives with their families, which I never got. However during an attack, Boo and I ran into an old house and hid in a grandfather clock, but then we couldn't get out and suffocated. I became a ghost, trapped in the world that destroyed my life. Amelia and the girls however, became Angels in heaven. I wanted to join them, but the rules of the dead say that Angels and ghosts don't mix. I was more alone than ever. I would never see my family again."
Mudsy then started to cry silently and hide his face in his legs.
"Gee like I didn't really think that ghosts and monsters had feelings" Shaggy said.
The mood in the scene was silent and gloom. In fact, it was comparable to the mood when the characters received news of the passing of the Funtastic Duo years back. It was very tragic day when they found out their first creator had died. But it was more tragic when they found out the last living member of the duo had passed away five years later.
"And centuries later," Mudsy sniffled "Three kids and their dog freed us from our chiming prison. They reminded me of my kids and they seemed so nice. So I decided to stay with them. The reason I'm scared all the time is because I'm afraid...of losing you three."
The Teen Angels were shocked but touched by his story, and they decided to give him and Boo a group hug.
Mudsy hugged them with tears still falling from his eyes "Since we came here to Boomerang Land, I made a promise that I would protect not just April, Skip and Augie but all the meddling kids as well."
"But what about parents?" Shaggy asked Mudsy.
"What about them?" April sadly said "We've got uncles and aunts and cousins, but they're no substitutes for real parents. Mudsy and Mr. Chan are the closest things we've got to parents."
"I love April and the boys as if they were my own children" Mudsy kept sobbing "I don't want to lose them."
"I hear you cry sometimes" April sadly said to Mudsy "And I now see why. You miss your family. Do you dream about them? Is that why you turn invisible when you see all those happy families together? Because you miss your family and you don't want people to see you cry?"
Mudsy didn't respond and everyone seemed to take that as a "yes".
"When Googie was taken by the Blot, I stayed alone by myself all the time" Scrappy confessed "I tried not to cry. I tried to forget, but I couldn't forget her. I loved her."
Scooby responded by patting his nephew to comfort him.
"I miss my family" Mudsy sniffled "So much."
There was some silence as Shaggy passed tissue papers to everyone while Daphne silently cried in his shoulder.
"Like, we better stay together if we don't want to lose anyone else on the team." He said to the group as he comforts his friend. "After all, it feels like we're all a part of a large family. A family of characters created by the Funtastic Duo."
"Shaggy's right" Dee-Dee sadly said "We just lost two of our own, one of them was my best friend in whole world. We can't risk losing anyone else. We have to stay together."
"And speaking of this, we better ask Mr. Van Ghoul where should we go to next." Scrappy added.
Just as Scrappy made the comment, the crystal ball on Cavey's person started ringing.
"It must be wizard man"' Cavey took the crystal ball out of his fur.
"Thank goodness you've answered" said Mr. Van Ghoul
"Mr. Van Ghoul!" April said "There's something you should know."
"Not now April" said Vincent "I have some terrible news for you."
"What is it Mr. Van Ghoul?" Jabberjaw asked Mr. Van Ghoul.
"We just got captured by Dr. Zin and his agents." Vincent replied. "And Captain Planet and his Planeteers are on their way to locate you all."
"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed.
"Yipe!" Scooby added.
"Jeepers!" Daphne agreed.
"That's right, and..." Vincent was about to continue when he was suddenly cut off with his crystal ball being taken by the agents.
"Mr. Van Ghoul?" Taffy asked.
Just then, the crystal ball had an image of someone way too familiar projected in front of them.
"Greetings, meddling kids." It was Dr. Zin. The agents on board the aircraft had placed the crystal ball in front of the screen where they were having a video call with the criminal mastermind. "I certainly hope you all had enjoyed your adventures."
"Yes, we certainly did." Shaggy replied sarcastically. "And, like, you should know that we lost two members on our team thanks to your little friends!"
"Yeah!" Scrappy added as he made a fist. "How dare you do that to our friends?"
"I was about to be married to the girl of my dreams and you killed her!" Skip said.
"Very funny." Dr. Zin laughed sadistically.
"What do you want from us, Dr. Zin?" Daphne asked while Shaggy crossed his arms crossly.
"Yeah you stole our hearts already!" Scooby said "What could you possibly want from us?"
"What do I want?" Dr. Zin asked in a tone that indicated no interest in answering their question. "What I want is that you kindly return the magic paintbrush, Scooby Doo."
"Return re ragic raintbrush?" Scooby asked. "No way!"
"Yeah!" Shaggy agreed. "Like, no matter how many Scooby Snacks you offer, even thousands of boxes of the snacks, we won't return the magic paintbrush to you or any of your goons!"
"Right." Augie nodded. "It's ours to keep and bad guys like you will not lay a finger on it."
"We'll see about that" Zin snapped his fingers.
Just then, Captain Planet zoomed down towards our heroes and snatched the magic paintbrush from Scooby's hand.
"I told you I would get the paintbrush back!" Captain Planet smugly said "The power is MINE!"
"Rey" Scooby exclaimed. "Rive rit back!"
"Not a chance, Scooby Doo!" Captain Planet replied.
Just then, they heard a familiar voice shouting, "Help!"
"Zoinks, I don't believe it!" Shaggy exclaimed when he recognized the voice.
"It's Bugs Bunny!" Daphne added before the Planeteers, along with a handful of Looney Tunes villains, revealed a cage that featured many of the familiar characters, such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg, all locked up in cages.
"Heaven's to Delaware" Mudsy exclaimed.
"That's right, Mudsy, and you kids are going to be next!" Captain Planet exclaimed, while the rest of the Planeteers prepared for combat.
"Guys, let's get out of here!" Augie said weakly.
"Like, I'm with you, man!" Shaggy agreed.
Immediately, the heroes took off and ran.
Seeing the heroes running away, Captain Planet ordered, "Planeteers, ATTACK!"
The Planeteers obeyed their leaders command and pursued the heroes.
In the confusion of trying to run away from Captain Planet and the Planeteers, the heroes split-up after entering a dark tunnel.
Soon, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, Daphne, Mudsy and Boo emerged from one exit of the tunnel while being pursued by two Planeteers.
"Zoinks! They're still behind us!" Shaggy exclaimed.
"And my feet are killing me." Daphne exclaimed.
In response, Scooby lifted Shaggy and Daphne, with the duo holding onto each other to try to prevent themselves from falling off from Scooby's arms.
"You kids will never escape!" One of the two pursuers said.
Immediately, the heroes made a sharp turn at an intersection and then immediately into a dark alleyway, where they quickly hid behind a building.
In the safety of the darkness, the six hid silently while their two pursuers raced by the alleyway, still thinking that they had raced down the road.
After making sure that they're gone, Shaggy said quietly. "Let's go find a place to hide at before they come back."
"Good idea, Shaggy." Mudsy agreed.
"Wait" said Daphne "What about the others? Where are they?"
"Yeah" Scrappy said "What happened to Taffy and the others?"
"Uh, oh" Shaggy exclaimed. "We must have lost them while trying to get away from those Planeteers in that dark tunnel."
Before the group could think of what to do, there was a whistle.
"Over here!" A voice called out.
The group turned towards the source of the whistle and the voice, which came from a sushi restaurant nearby.
"Like, that voice sounds familiar." Shaggy commented as they made their way to the sushi restaurant.
Author's Note:
We've heard it all. Brenda and Shelly have died and now learned how what happened before the Funky Phantom became the Funky Phantom and why he's the way he is. Deep beside Mudsy's cowardly and chickenhearted exterior lies a saddened, traumatized and emotionally scarred man who pines for his family who he will never see again.
What is the cruelty of man? That we hurt and destroy those who do not deserve it? What tradgedy is this? His heart is broken, must we break him too? Too make matters worse, now our heroes have been seperated and are being pursued by Captain Planet and his Planeteers!