Episode 10:

BUTCH ROGERS AND THE SCOOBY KID!

Featured Guest Stars:
Ian Corlett as Matt, Deputy Dusty
Frank Welker as Sherriff Yabba Doo
DC Douglas as Parker

Adapted from
"SCOOBY-DOO! and the Phantom Cowboy"
by Jesse Leon McCann.

It was a pretty casual day in the Wild West-themed town known as Phantom Gulch. Everyone was going about their business, and for the time being, it seemed normal as could be.

Suddenly a shadow covered the ground as some strange man walked into town.

"Howdy, pardner!" greeted one of the residents. "What brings you ta Phantom Gulch? Business or pleasure?"

However the stranger kept quiet and eerily still.

The man rubbed his chin, curious. "Strange..." he commented.

Suddenly the stranger revealed his face and it was partially skeletal as he laughed maniacally. "Hee-hahaha!"

"YEEE-IIII!" the man shrieked as he turned tail and made a run for it.

Then the stranger pulled out his pistols and started shooting up the town while still laughing.

[End of COLD OPEN.]

Episode 10:
BUTCH ROGERS AND THE SCOOBY KID!

The title card shows Scooby in a western style showdown, a la "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly".

Some time later, the Mystery Machine pulled up to the gates of Phantom Gulch.

"Yee-haw!" Shaggy exclaimed as he waved his cowboy hat around. "I'm, like, an old cowhand, from the Rio Grande, y'all!"

"Ree-raw!" Scooby exclaimed, twirling his tail like a lasso.

"I will say this, I do love the fashion statement they made." Daphne said as she was dressed up like a cowgirl. [She has on the same outfit she wore in "Shaggy's Showdown".]

"That makes two of us," said Shaggy, under his breath.

"I gotta admit, I'm pretty excited about this too, guys," responded Fred. "I've never been to one of these Wild West towns, but they sound great!"

"Despite not being totally accurate towards how they actually behaved in the old days, the town itself has been completely restored to look exactly as it was back in its time." Velma explained while taking her allergy medicine.

"Something wrong, Vel?" Fred asked, noticing the medicine.

"I have a horse allergy." Velma admitted. "This helps me keep it in check."

"Ah, okay," responded Fred as they headed towards Phantom Gulch.

As they pulled in they saw that the place was damaged from being shot up—not to mention, the town was in the process of being abandoned.

"Like, I've heard of ghost towns," commented Shaggy. "But this is serious!"

"Let's figure out what happened here," Fred suggested as he parked the van.

And so, the gang made their way into town. But they didn't have to search long, because they saw that the remaining residents of Phantom Gulch were hiding behind the general store and getting ready to leave for good.

"Excuse me, but could you tell us what exactly happened here?" Fred asked.

"Sorry, folks," replied a man named Matt. "Some kind of ornery ghost has been chasin' everyone outta Phantom Gulch. He just won't let us be!"

"Had a feeling that if we came to a ghost town we'd find a ghost in it." Shaggy said in despair.

"Rhost rown?" Scooby sighed. "Roh, no!"

"Alright, head up to the Sheriff's office and let 'em know you're here," Matt replied. "Meanwhile, we'll continue packin' up to hit the road."

"Alright." Fred agreed as they headed towards the sheriff's office.

When they got up there, they saw a bespectacled young man in a chair nearby, asleep with his hat over his eyes.

"Looks like a typical western sheriff." Velma said as they got closer.

"Alright, who's gonna wake him?" asked Fred.

"Excuse me, like uh sheriff?" Shaggy said and the sheriff woke up.

"Huh? Wha?" asked the young man as he adjusted his glasses. "What is it? I've never seen you around here before..."

"We just got in, hoping to spend some time here, but we discovered that everyone is leaving," Daphne explained.

"We were also told to let you know that we're here to visit the town," Velma added.

"That's nice, but I'm not the sheriff, I'm the deputy," said the young man, pointing at his star. "Name's Dusty. The sheriff is inside."

"Oh." Fred said. "Okay then, may we see the sheriff?"

"Sure, I'll bring you in to see him," Dusty responded as he unlocked the door and let the gang in.

"So, you've come, then?" asked a rough-sounding voice from a chair behind the desk. "Good."

"Excuse us?" Daphne asked in confusion. "Do we know you?"

"Know me? Of course you—," said the voice. "...wait a second, Dusty? That ain't you, izzit?"

"No, Sheriff, it's me with four teens and a dog," said Dusty.

"A dog, y'say?" asked the sheriff. "Great Dane?"

"Like, yeah." Shaggy replied.

"Well... it's been a while, hasn't it?" the Sheriff smiled. "I mean, sure, you're all grown up, but... I'd know ya anywhere, Scoobert."

And thus, the chair turned, revealing a white-furred Great Dane in the chair, wearing a Stetson and a red bandana.

The fact that he could talk at all shocked the gang as Scooby was surprised. "Rou row re?" he asked.

"Know ya?" the sheriff chuckled. "Better than that...ah'm yer younger brother, Yabba Doo!"

To the gang, THIS was the biggest shock yet as they didn't know about Scooby's family. Even Scooby had forgotten about his family, since he was very young when he ended up with Shaggy.

"Sorry if'n this comes as a shock, but I figured I oughta get that out there," explained Yabba.

"We, like, didn't know that Scoob had a family." Shaggy admitted. "It's been so long and I found him while he was a puppy and gave him a home."

"Well, ah guess I oughta congratulate ya," said Yabba. "Thanks for givin' mah big brother a home. But now let's get down to the brass tacks."

"Yeah; this Phantom Cowboy has been terrorizing us for a while now!" Dusty added. "Recently, he's been causin' us no end of grief! And of course, ya can't have a tourist attraction without any tourists."

"Good thing we're mystery solvers then." Fred advised. "We can help you with your problem."

"I'd appreciate that an awful lot!" Yabba responded. "If everyone leaves, we'll have to sell the place to the Lazy Q Ranch."

"That already seems suspicious." Velma pointed out. "No doubt, a big company looking to buy this place and a ghost attack is conveniently happening."

"Then what better time to start searching?" said Fred. "C'mon, gang!"

"We'll look around and see what we can find." Daphne advised.

So they headed out to the Lazy Q Ranch a few miles down the road.

When they got there, they saw a bunch of high-tech and carnival-like stuff. Nearby was a middle-aged man training a horse.

As the gang got out, he spotted them. "Howdy, young'uns," greeted the man. "Name's Parker. What kin ah do ya for?"

"For one, could you drop the accent?" Velma requested. "I know it's fake."

"Awright, awright," relented Parker in his normal voice. "Fine, whaddya want?"

"We'd like to ask questions about a recent string of attacks on the town of Phantom Gulch by a "ghost" that recently shot up the town." Fred explained. "Have you heard anything or know anything about it?"

"Apart from how they spook my horses? No," responded Parker.

"Your horses got spooked?" Velma asked. "When and where?"

"That ghost hasn't just been terrorizing Phantom Gulch, they've been coming around here and wreaking havoc, too." Parker explained.

Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby tried to reach out and pet the horse's muzzle, but it reared up and whinnied, startling them back.

"Whoa, girl, whoa!" Parker called out. "Easy, girl, easy!" He said as he managed to calm down the horse. "That was weird."

"Good thing I took my medicine," Velma mentioned.

"It's curious about the ghost coming here though." Daphne mentioned.

"No kidding," responded Fred. "Maybe we should go back to Phantom Gulch and investigate some more?"

"Like, you won't get any disagreements from me!" Shaggy agreed.

So, they headed back to Phantom Gulch, where Dusty and Yabba were waiting for them.

"So, did you kids find anything?" Yabba asked.

"Apparently they got struck by the ghost too," Daphne revealed. "Either it's the truth, or it's a lie to act innocent."

"We need to find some clues before we can make any official accusations," Fred advised.

So the girls decided to check out the courthouse, and the boys went to check out the saloon. But as they did, Scooby saw something on the way there.

"Rhost racks!" he exclaimed, pointing at hoofprints in the dirt.

"Like, racks of roasts?" Shaggy beamed, his head up. "Sounds good, Scoob! Where'd ya see them?"

"Not racks of roasts, Shag," responded Fred. "I think he said ghost tracks!"

"Are you sure he didn't say roast racks?" Shaggy asked, nervously. "Because I'd really prefer a roast right now..."

Scooby sadly shook his head, pointing at the buffalo tracks.

"Nice eyes, big brother!" commented Yabba.

Meanwhile, the girls were checking out the courthouse. After rummaging through an old rolltop desk, they found the deed to Phantom Gulch.

"This is strange," commented Velma as she looked over the document. "According to this, Mr. Parker bought the town yesterday and sold it to MegaCo. Industries yesterday. Why would he do that?"

"I think it might have something to do with this," Daphne suggested as she found a flyer that was apparently left behind and had something surprising on it.

Velma made her way over to see what exactly was on the flyer; it was an advertisement for a new theme park version of Phantom Gulch.

"Wonder who could've made this..." Velma said.

As she did, the doors locked behind them, and smoke began to seep inside the old courthouse.

"Whoever it is, they don't want us to reveal anything." Daphne said as she got to work on tearing some cloths. "We can use these to cover our faces."

Velma took some of the cloth and put it over her mouth as the smoke began to fill the courthouse...but it WASN'T smoke.

"Wait, this isn't smoke." Velma said as she ended up getting a whiff of it.

"Then what is it?" Daphne asked with worry.

"It's...laughing gas...!" Velma responded before she started gradually slipping into a fit of involuntary laughter.

Daphne tried to avoid the gas, but ended up laughing out loud as well.

So both girls were caught up in a fit of helpless laughter as the courthouse was filled with laughing gas.

At that moment, the boys were at the saloon.

"Wow!" Shaggy commented. "Like, man, bein' in this old saloon is pretty cool!"

"It has its moments." Dusty mentioned.

"Hey, Barkeep!" called Shaggy, leaning on the countertop. "We're a couple a' ornery hombres! How's about a couple of tall root beers, eh, pardner?"

A couple of glasses were put in front of them, but something was strange about the barkeep.

"Shaggy, quit playing around and take a look upstairs," suggested Fred. "Maybe someone left a clue in one of the boarding rooms!"

"Well, shore thing, feller!" Shaggy drawled as he got up and swaggered up to the staircase. "Glad t' oblige ya, tenderfoot!"

"Yabba, maybe you and Scooby should go with him," Dusty advised Scooby's brother.

"Well, alrighty then!" Yabba nodded. "Nice kid, but he's a little out of his element."

"Noticed," Dusty agreed with worry.

But as Shaggy ascended the stairs, down came the Phantom Cowboy, aboard his buffalo!

"Zoinks! Like, it's that rip-snorting rough rider!" Shaggy shrieked. "RUUUUUN!"

And he turned and headed downstairs, while the Phantom Cowboy was twirling his lasso over his head.

"Yee-Haw!" The Phantom Cowboy cried as he tried to rope them. "Hee-hee-heeha-hahaha!"

Shaggy came tearing down the stairs with the Phantom Cowboy hot on his heels.

"Hang on, string bean!" Yabba declared as he sprang to the rescue to try and lend Shaggy a paw.

Shaggy kept running at high speed as he was being chased and Yabba tried to get Shaggy out of the way.

As Yabba chased him down, Fred and Dusty noticed the nitrous oxide being pumped into the courthouse.

"Hey, the girls are in there!" Fred pointed out as the girls were by the window.

"We've gotta get 'em out!" Dusty advised as they raced over.

As fast as they could, Fred unhooked the canister while Dusty screwed it shut, then broke a window to ventilate the building. Once there was a hole, they managed to reach for the girls and the girls slid out of the hole and out of the building.

The both of them were half-laughing and half-gasping for air as they crawled out while their sides ached, and tears ran from their faces.

Dusty and Fred took the girls to the Sheriff's office, where Dusty had a couple of air tanks to help clear their systems.

Meanwhile, Yabba was still in pursuit of the buffalo, but he wasn't able to keep up for long. In fact, he tripped over a rock and went flying arse over teakettle, landing on his face.

Then the Phantom Cowboy captured Shaggy and trussed him up.

"Now y'all better take off!" vowed the Phantom Cowboy. "Or else if'n ya don't, ah'll take YOU too!"

And off he went, cackling while Shaggy called for help.

"RAGGY...!" Scooby howled.

"Scooby!" Shaggy called as he was carried away.

By the time the others came back, the Phantom Cowboy was gone, and so was Shaggy.

"Jeepers..." Daphne remarked, now totally laughed out. "Now what do we do?"

"Well, it's getting pretty dark," said Velma.

"We can start looking for your friend once you have dinner," said Dusty. "Like Momma always said, you can't focus if your stomach is growling."

"Sadly, he's telling the truth." Velma admitted as her stomach growled. "Even I can't think straight when I'm hungry."

"Alright... we'll have something to eat, and then we'll get back to searching," said Fred. "It's what Shaggy would want."

So they headed back to the sheriff's quarters, and Scooby was downtrodden the whole way there.

They made it to the Sheriff's quarters and ended up getting beans and some biscuits for dinner—a traditional cowboy dinner while on the go.

Scooby ate a little, but not very much of the dinner.

After eating everyone gathered to think, and they headed to the blacksmith barn to get some lanterns.

Once they had what they needed, they headed out.

This time, Scooby had his sniffer to the ground, and on full alert.

"Look at Scooby go," commented Fred. "If he was around in the old West, he'd probably have been a real trailblazer!"

Yabba had to agree. "That's for sure," he nodded.

Eventually Scooby found Shaggy's scent and led the others on the trail. After twelve minutes' worth of sniffing, he came to a stop; he'd found a clue!

Scooby picked up the sandwich he'd just found. "Reanut butter and cheese puffs!" he exclaimed. "It's Raggy's!"

[Author's note: I can personally agree that it is delicious.]

"Y'all sure do eat some strange stuff, big brother," Yabba said with interest and concern. "But at least it's unique enough to find your friend."

"Reah!" Scooby nodded as he started to sniff around again, following the trail he'd discovered, which led them to an old bakery and a tailor shop.

"This is odd." Dusty said with confusion.

"What's up with this place?" Fred asked.

"Looks like they're built very close together," said Velma. "You check the bakery, we'll check the tailor shop."

They agreed and went their separate ways.

But as Daphne and Velma made their way inside the tailor shop, their lanterns blew out, leaving them in the darkness.

Velma pulled out a small box and fumbled for a light.

"Velma...PLEASE hurry," said Daphne. "It's creepy in here without a light."

"Working on it," Velma said as she pulled out some matches.

After a few minutes, she managed to light a match, illuminating the area around them...and revealing there were mannequins surrounding them.

"Jinkies!/Jeepers!" they both exclaimed, as Velma fumbled the match, causing it to go out.

This time, Daphne lit another one and they were better prepared as they didn't drop the match this time.

Meanwhile, in the bakery, Fred, Scooby, and Yabba were looking around. Fred checked the back room with Yabba, while Scooby sniffed the floor near the oven.

Within seconds, he caught whiff of a familiar smell. "Rah...rah...RAAAAH-CHOO!" Scooby exclaimed as he sneezed, bumping into a large flour sack.

"Like, please don't hurt me, Mr. Phantom Cowboy, sir!" cried a voice from inside.

"Raggy!" Scooby said, excitedly, as he started digging him out.

As he finished digging, he found Shaggy inside, covered head to toe in flour.

"Scoob!" exclaimed Shaggy. "It's you!"

They hugged and laughed, giddy with joy.

"Well, ah'm glad that Shaggy's alright, but how did you end up in flour?" Yabba asked.

"That rawhide reject tied me up and stuffed me in there," said Shaggy. "And that was 2 hours ago!"

"Sorry, we stopped for dinner, but we brought you something to eat." Dusty explained before pulling out a sandwich he packed for Shaggy. "Can't escape on an empty stomach."

Shaggy gave a nod. "Thanks," he said, and then he ate the sandwich in a few bites. "Dee-lectable!"

"Now, did you hear anything from the ghost about what he's planning?" Yabba asked.

"Nah, he wasn't the monologuing sort," said Shaggy.

"But ah'm the terrifyin' sort!" exclaimed the Phantom Cowboy, as he arrived on his buffalo.

"ZOINKS!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Time to make tracks!"

And so, the gang took off running, with the Phantom Cowboy hot on their heels. They barely managed to dodge before the ghosts thundered past. Then, the cowboy turned his mount around and headed back for another charge. After several minutes' worth of running, they managed to outrun the ghoulish gaucho.

"Ah'm a-givin' yew one last warning!" he called out. "Hit the trail, or yer ALL gonna be sorry!" And he left, cackling all the while.

Once he was gone, the gang poked out of some barrels.

"Well, it'll take more than THAT to scare us away!" Daphne declared. "Right, guys?"

"I dunno," replied Shaggy. "That was MORE than enough to scare me!"

"Ri know, rut we rave ro relp." Scooby advised.

"Scooby was so worried about you that he wouldn't stop searching until we got you back," Daphne explained.

"...I'm gonna regret this, but okay," sighed Shaggy.

"Good, now let's set a trap for the ghost." Fred advised.

"Right," nodded Velma.

The buffalo tracks led the gang out of town and down a dusty road. After a while, they spotted a campfire burning on a hill. When they got close enough to get a good view, they realized the campfire wasn't on a hill-rather, it was built INSIDE the hill!

"This is new." Velma said as they got closer.

"Man, what a crazy apartment!" Shaggy said. "Wonder what the rent must be?"

"That's a pueblo, Shaggy," replied Velma after further inspection. "Certain Native American tribes used to build them to live in long ago."

"And these pueblos haven't been used in a long time," Dusty mentioned. "In fact, most people tend to ignore them since they go for the cowboy experience."

"But it looks like our ghost friends have moved in," noted Fred. "Let's see if they're in the mood for some company."

Long ladders were leaning against the side of the pueblo, so the gang had an easy time climbing up. As Fred peeked inside, he saw nobody else around, so he motioned the others forward.

When they were all inside, the gang spread out, searching for clues. Velma found an old mural painted by elders of the tribe that had once lived there.

"This is fascinating..." she told the others. "The mural tells of the coming of the settlers and the extinction of the buffalo. According to legend, a mighty phantom will rise up with his ghostly buffalo and curse the descendants of the settlers forever!"

"But if this cowboy is a ghost, why does he need a campfire at night?" pondered Fred. "Something doesn't add up."

"Like, who cares?" asked Shaggy, holding Scooby closely. "Now that we know the Phantom Cowboy and his creepy critter are the curse-ers, let's fly this coop before we become the curse-ees!"

"I don't think that'll be the issue." Velma advised. "Because technically the buffalo never went extinct, we just call them bison now."

"Maybe not...but here's ANOTHER issue for you!" boomed the Phantom Cowboy as he and his snorting, stampeding buffalo appeared from the shadows.

As quickly as a wink, the gang scrambled back down the ladders to the bottom of the pueblo. They thought they'd lost the ghostly duo, but all of a sudden, they appeared from behind a large boulder and the chase was on again!

This time they had plenty of other places to hide in order to confuse and escape the Phantom Cowboy.

When he thought he'd scared them off, he reared up on his buffalo and rode off.

"There's got to be a logical explanation for this," said Velma.

"Well, the only way we'll get to the bottom of it is by catching that ghost," Fred added. "Of course, we'll need some bait."

"No way! Noooo way!" Shaggy cried, putting his hands up. "I've had my fill of creepy cowboy curses for the night! For the YEAR, in fact!"

"No problem, I can help my brother catch him and give you a break." Yabba offered.

"...well, thanks," Shaggy replied.

"You're welcome." Yabba said with a smile. "Well Scooby, what's say you?"

Scooby nodded. "Ret's do this!" he responded.

"Let's." Yabba agreed as they got ready to sniff out the Phantom Cowboy.

After Velma and Daphne dressed Scooby and Yabba up like Old West lawmen, they went with Fred, Dusty and Shaggy to set up the trap, while the two Great Danes went searching for their quarry.

They went looking around and even said a few things out loud.

"Looks like we're hot on the trail of that Phantom Cowboy!" Yabba called out as he wanted the ghost to hear him.

"Reah, reah!" Scooby added. "Ronna throw him in the pokey, Sheriff!"

"Oh yeah!?" The Phantom Cowboy asked as he and his buffalo got ready to charge.

"Yeah!" called Yabba. "Too bad he's too goldern yella to come after us!"

"Hya!" The Phantom Cowboy exclaimed as he made his buffalo move forward and a final chase began.

With the dangerous duo approaching, Scooby and Yabba made a break for it, running as fast as they could.

They fled through the desert, over brambles and around boulders. They tried hiding behind cacti and running with the tumbleweeds, but regardless of what action they took, the Phantom Cowboy and his ghostly buffalo were hot on their tails!

"You're not getting away from me this time!" The Phantom Cowboy called out as he got closer.

With little other choice left, Scooby and Yabba started climbing a small hill nearby. But, the ghosts stayed right with them...and the canines were running out of steam.

"Ah told y'all to vamoose," said the Phantom Cowboy as he cornered them. "But ya wouldn't listen. Now yer a-headin' for the LAST roundup!"

"Alright, looks like you've got us." Yabba said as he was actually waiting for something.

Scooby sniffled. "Rappy rails, Rabba," he whimpered.

But just as the Phantom Cowboy was about to nab the two dogs, he and his buffalo fell right through a hole in the ground, and into a net at the bottom!

"Bullseye!" Yabba exclaimed happily as the plan worked.

"Ree-ha!" Scooby exclaimed as they slapped high paws.

Soon enough the gang got the Phantom Cowboy out of the hole, but still stuck in the net.

"And now... let's unmask this unsavory hombré!" Dusty said as he reached over and pulled the mask off of the Phantom Cowboy, revealing...

"MR. PARKER!" they all exclaimed in unison.

"Why are you doing this?" Dusty asked in confusion.

"Simple," replied Velma. "He scared away everyone in Phantom Gulch so he could buy the property for cheap. Then, he sold the town for a huge profit to a big company that wanted to build an even bigger western amusement park."

"And that would definitely be terrible for business, because people are surprisingly growing bored with most new theme parks," Daphne mentioned after checking the ratings of most new theme parks. "Cowboy ones wouldn't do much better, if anything at all."

"Yeah, well, I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddlin' polecats, and them goldurned dogs!" Mr. Parker fumed.

"Looks like we'll be taking you off to the slammer instead," Yabba declared. "Because I, Sheriff Yabba-Doo, hereby arrest you for causing a panic and the illegal takeover of my town."

Mr. Parker rolled his eyes as he was cuffed and taken away, along with his horse, which was in disguise as a buffalo.

"Once the judge finds out what Mr. Parker did, ownership of the town will revert back to its rightful owners," Daphne noted.

Soon, the townspeople started returning to Phantom Gulch and resuming their old jobs. With the townspeople returning, so too did the visitors, and the place was eventually a thriving tourist attraction again!

"You know, kiddos, we owe you a lot," said Dusty. "Y'all are bonafide western heroes!"

"Thanks." Fred said as the gang were hanging around a genuine barbeque.

"Scooby, I wanna thank ya fer helpin' me out," said Yabba. "I didn't know what to think of ya at first...but I think Mom an' Dad would be proud. Hell, ah know Ruby would be proud—she'll hear about it next time ah write to her!"

"Ruby?" Scooby asked. "Is that ry sister?"

"Yup," nodded Yabba. "She lives in New York."

"Wow!" Scooby said with interest.

"And as a token of goodwill, I'm giving you some of my own favorite treats," said Yabba as he gave Scooby a small pouch. "Chili Snacks!"

"Wow!" Scooby exclaimed as Shaggy also came over.

"Chili Snacks sound tasty!" Shaggy said before Scooby returned the gesture.

"Rere's some Scooby Snacks." Scooby said as he gave Yabba a box of regular Scooby Snacks.

"Thank ya kindly, big brother," smiled Yabba. "I'll treasure 'em!"

With that they continued to celebrate as they had a nice time. Another mystery was solved, a town was saved, Scooby found family, and the gang got a full on cowboy experience.

"After all, it was nothing any western hero couldn't have done," remarked Shaggy. "As long as they've got a deputy like..."

"Scooby-Dooby-Yee-Ha-Doo!" Scooby exclaimed.

"And a Yippety-Yabbity-Doo!" Yabba agreed.

HAPPY TRAILS, FOLKS!