G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost

by ponydog127

Storming the Castle/Asmodeus' First Appearance

A few minutes after they escaped from whatever tried to kill them on the side of the mountain, they arrived at Vincent Van Ghoul’s family castle-- a tall, looming structure that stood out in the mountain terrain.

Once reaching the castle, they got out of the van and walked toward it, flashlights and horns illuminated. That’s when Hitch gulped nervously. “You’re sure Vincent lives here?”

“Only during winter and early spring,” Daphne responded. “He’s a snow-bird.”

Shaggy looked at all the creepy gargoyles on the railing of the steps, and couldn’t help but shudder afterwards. “More like a snow bat.”

“You think this is creepy? You should have seen Opaline’s castle back in Equestria,” Misty said. “It was creepy-central for me… for all those moons, anyway.”

They soon approached the doors, where Hitch pressed the doorbell. But instead of the regular bell sound most were used to hearing, an ear-piercing scream echoed through the air, scaring the group out of their wits.

After the scream ended, Fred noticed a tiny crack within the door. “That’s odd,” he said. “The door’s open.”

“Come on, gang,” Fred and Daphne then spoke at once, “let’s…”

But upon realizing they spoke at the same time, Fred and Daphne looked at each other for a moment before Fred spoke again. “Let’s… follow Daphne inside.”

“No way,” Scooby shook his head instantly. “I’m with you, Scooby-Doo,” Shaggy agreed. “Like, no way are we stepping through those doors.”

“Guys, we have to go in!” Alphabittle argued. “If we don’t, we may never find the 13th ghost and he could cause havoc in this world!”

“But then again, we won’t die,” Shaggy pointed out. “That’s a perk, isn’t it?”

“You won’t get through to them that way, Alphabittle. Trust me, we’ve tried. Luckily, we have our own way,” Daphne said before giving Fred a box of Scooby Snacks and nudging him forward. “Me?” he asked before facing Shaggy and Scooby again. “Okay, uh… say, guys, would you do it for a couple of…?”

That’s when Shaggy cleared his throat and hushed his voice down to a whisper. “One. You start with one and then we haggle.”

“Okay, hold up,” Pipp stopped the conversation right there. “Where did you two learn to haggle?”

“Flim-Flam taught them how,” Daphne responded casually. “Flim-Flam?” Velma questioned, not recognizing the name, so Daphne decided to help jog their memory. “The little huckster who used to travel around catching ghosts with us? About 3'6"? Sold us all those bottles of snake oil we unloaded at the garage sale? We never mentioned Flim-Flam?”

“Vincent Van Ghoul? The Chest of Demons?” Fred named off. “The Miss-tery Machine? And now a whole other member of the gang?”

“Hate to break it to you, Daph,” Zipp said, “but it seems like there’s quite a bit you never mentioned.”

“Excuse me,” Shaggy tapped Fred on the shoulder. “I believe we were haggling?”

Fred sighed in exasperation as he turned to face his friends again. “Look, I'm gonna say one Scooby Snack, you're gonna say three and then we settle on two, okay? Let's just cut to the chase.”

He laid the Scooby Snacks in their hands and paws, and Shaggy and Scooby easily downed them within seconds. “Ha!” Izzy laughed. “That was the easiest negotiation ever!”

“Thanks, Daphne,” Scooby smiled as they walked toward the doors. “Uh, I’m Fred,” Fred spoke, “not Daphne.”

“Uh-huh,” Izzy rolled her eyes. “Sure, buddy.”

Fred groaned to himself before the doors were pushed open, allowing the group to enter the dark halls of the castle. Velma glanced around at the dark corridors, honestly shuddering to herself. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Hitch smirked. “I thought you didn’t believe in creeps.”

“Well, I’m starting to believe in a couple.”

Shaggy and Scooby giggled at this response before they all entered the main foyer, which was surprisingly… not as full-of-life as they thought it would be. “The place looks deserted,” Daphne observed. “If Vincent took off, maybe he left a clue as to where he's headed.”

“I would have left a clue as to what will happen to you if you don’t leave!”

When the gang’s heads whipped around to try and detect the source of that voice, a bright light appeared from the stairs, causing them to look away in order to not blind themselves. When the light dimmed enough so they could see, they looked and saw a peculiar sight at the top of the stairs.

At the top of the stairs was a leopard with wings, much like Allura, but with a different kind of design. She had dark purple-blue fur with lighter colored fur on her face, chest and paws, golden spots, glowing golden feathers on her wings and mint-green eyes, glaring down at the group with disdain.

As the group gasped at seeing her, the leopard leapt down to the bottom of the stairs and slowly took a few steps toward them, causing the group to keep their distance. “You are trespassing on the grounds of the Van Ghoul family castle,” she growled. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“We don’t mean to cause any harm,” Zipp reassured. “We’re here to see Vincent Van Ghoul-- we’re the ones he called about capturing the 13th ghost!”

“Hmmm…” the leopard said with a frown. “Hate to tell you, but he isn’t here. I came back from my flight and he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. How do I know you haven’t done anything with him?”

“Because we just got here,” Hitch gulped, “and us ponies really have no evil intentions whatsoever…?!”

“Geez…” Pipp shuddered. “This leopard reminds me SO much of Allura, spots and wings and all!”

The leopard suddenly gasped, eyes wide. “You… you know Allura? Is she coming for her former subjects again?! Oh no no no... I gotta hide before she gets here!”

“No no no, wait! She isn’t coming, and unfortunately, we wish we didn’t even meet her,” Sunny said quickly, calming her down. “We actually defeated her the last time we saw her, so there’s nothing to worry about… um…”

“...Kova,” the leopard responded, still a little cold and hesitant. “Apprentice to Vincent Van Ghoul.”

“Kova, you must know this castle like the back of your paw,” Zipp said. “Do you have any idea where Vincent might be?”

“Truth be told, I’ve only been his apprentice for a short time, and I don’t know how to navigate the castle all that well,” Kova responded. “So… I’m just as clueless as you are.”

“Like, let’s all split up, then,” Shaggy suggested. “Scoob and I will check the pantry, the kitchens, and the snackatorium!”

Queen Haven raised an eyebrow at this. “The snackatorium?”

“Like, I’m sure it’s a thing, your highness,” Shaggy said. “Where’s your sense of discovery?”

Scooby began to sniff and walk up the stairs, causing Kova to look at him strangely. “So… are you guys just follow the dog wherever he goes?”

“Eh, works for me,” Pipp shrugged. “Zipp and I will go with Shag and Scooby.”

“Me and Misty too!” Izzy said, hugging Misty close. “Right, fellow unicorn buddy?”

“Right!” Misty nodded. “Dad, you and Queen Haven gonna be okay for a while?”

“Don’t worry about us, Tea,” Alphabittle assured. “We’ll be fine.”

Misty nodded before she, Izzy and the pegasus sisters followed Shaggy and Scooby up the stairs, and then Daphne turned to Velma. “You better go with the girls so you can keep an eye on Lewis and Bark over there.”

“Got it.”

“Alphie and I will go down this way,” Queen Haven pointed down another long hallway. “We can meet here in an hour and review what we’ve found… if anything at all.”

“Good plan, Queen Haven,” Hitch nodded. “Good luck, everypony.”

That’s when the other groups split up, and Kova kept her distance from the remaining group… until she saw a glow coming from Daphne’s bag. “Hey… what’s that?”

Daphne reached into her bag and pulled out the crystal ball, shining rather brightly. “That’s strange,” Sunny muttered before nudging Daphne to walk toward the door again. “I wonder…”

When Daphne got close to the door with the ball, the crystal lost its glow. But, when it got closer to another staircase, its glow resumed. “What do you think it means?” Fred wondered. “I think these crystal balls work a lot like modern phones do,” Sunny stated. “Vincent called us from this crystal ball, which means he was calling from another crystal ball, right?”

“Right,” Daphne nodded before holding the ball out. “So maybe…”

Daphne tilted the crystal ball closer toward the stairs, and her theory was soon confirmed. “It’s a homing beacon!”

“A what?” Kova blinked. “What she means is that the two crystal balls are connected somehow,” Hitch said. “So…”

“All we have to do is follow the glow,” said Fred, “and we may be able to find Vincent!”

“Really?” Kova asked. “You’ll help me find Vincent? But… we just met.”

“But we’re all friends here, and friends help one another no matter what,” Sunny said. “Keep your paws and hooves crossed so that this works. Come on!”

She, Hitch and Sparky trotted down the stairs with Kova flying overhead, but Daphne and Fred crashed into one another before they could follow.

“Oops! Sorry.”

“My fault.”

“No, no, you first.”

“My fault.”

“Go ahead, I'll follow you.”

Sunny sighed and continued to lead the group away, unaware that they were seemingly being watched.

XXXXXXXX

Queen Haven shuddered as she and Alphabittle walked through the cobweb-infested hallways, trying to avoid the spiders. “Alphie, can you believe this is sort of the thing the kids deal with on a normal basis?”

“Not when we first got to this world, I didn’t,” Alphabittle said. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to think when Misty first told me about these Unity Quests. They sounded amazing, but dangerous all at once… does that make sense?”

“It does,” Queen Haven said. “I just… I never thought we would get to go with them, but now that we’re here, we need to give them their space to do what they do best.”

“I agree,” Alphabittle said before he gulped. “But… we can stay together… right?”

“Of course!” Queen Haven insisted. “Us staying together is the best thing we can do for one another.”

Alphabittle sighed and cuddled close with her. “Come on then. We better keep looking for any sign of this Vincent Van Ghoul character.”

XXXXXXXX

Back in the kitchen, Shaggy and Scooby had no trouble starting a late-night snack with pretty much everything they could find. “Like, this sure beats searching the dungeons,” Shaggy admitted with a laugh. “Right, Scoob, old buddy?”

Scooby nodded as he helped Izzy get a turkey out of the fridge. “Indeed.”

“Whoo, yes!” Pipp said. “If I had to search the dungeons, it would be as bad as… ugh… a world without Canternet!”

“Oh yeah…” Zipp rolled her eyes. “That would be so horrible.”

“Zipp, come on,” Misty said to her friend gently. “She’s just trying to make a point in her own words.”

“Still… it gets annoying!”

As the others continued to get snacks and discuss, Velma managed to find a pulley system in the window system, smiling in satisfaction as she pulled on them. “Yep, as I suspected. This pulley system must run throughout the entire castle.”

“All right then, Ms. Skeptic,” Pipp rolled her eyes. “But that still doesn’t explain the hoof-shaking howling winds that have been echoing since we got here.”

“She does have a point,” Misty said. “Either that wind is enchanted, or… ooh, I don’t wanna think about what it could be at the moment.”

“Oh, hey!” Shaggy said to the Great Dane and lavender unicorn. “See if you can find some soup in there, will you, guys?”

“Sure thing, Shaggy-in-a-Baggy!” Izzy saluted. “One can of soup, coming up!”

She and Scooby carefully approached the cupboard, but when they looked inside of it, they saw some white-glowing, evil-looking eyes staring back at them, causing them to yelp and slam the cupboard door shut. “What is it?” Pipp asked. “Did the soup have low sodium?”

“B-B-Bing-- bing bong!” Izzy said breathlessly. “Bing bong bong bing bong bing!!!”

“Like, there’s nothing to get upset about, Iz” Shaggy reassured. “We can always add salt. Just bring it over here, Scoob.”

Just as Scooby was about to open the cupboard door, it opened by itself, and a clawed hand reached out and handed Scooby the soup can before it ducked inside.

This was enough to get Scooby to leap about 4 foot into the air and on top of Shaggy’s shoulders for protection. “Like, hey!” Shaggy cried out, causing Velma to sigh. “Would you guys knock it off?” she asked, opening the cupboard. “We're supposed to be looking for clues.”

“Velma!” Izzy shrieked as Velma entered the cupboard. “No!”

Velma seemed to remain in there for a few moments, and the ponies honestly got worried.

What if there really was something dangerous in there?

But… Zipp knew from experience that jumping to conclusions meant jumping to trouble.

So… they waited… and waited… and waited until…

“EEEEEEEEEK!!!!”

The sudden squeal from Velma caused the group to scream in surprise, Izzy and Misty hunkering down with bowls over their heads, Pipp and Zipp clung onto each other while Shaggy and Scooby just collapsed on the floor.

At that moment, Velma came out from the cupboard with a large speaker within her grasp. “Guys, I found the howling wind. It's just a recording played on a network of hidden speakers!” she exclaimed in happiness. “I knew something was up as soon as we arrived.”

But that’s when she saw most of the group shivering on the floor, still rattled from her squealing. “Stop messing around, everyone,” she said, pulling most of them up off the ground. “We need to find out what this speaker leads to.”

“I hate to say it, but she may be right,” Zipp said. “The speaker might be important with the case. Let’s head out of here so there aren’t so many distractions.”

The group began to exit the kitchen, with Scooby taking one long look at the cupboard before following his friends to follow the next set of clues.

XXXXXXXX

“So… let me get this straight,” Kova said to Sunny and Hitch as they continued to walk down the hall with Daphne and Fred. “Your friends here traveled all over the world for as long as you guys have been friends, if not longer, but they were suddenly forced to give it up after one mistake? Psh… the law these days. Oh, no offense, Sheriff Hitch.”

“None taken,” Hitch brushed off. “I don’t really get it either, but as a sheriff, I have to respect the laws from other places-- Sparky, please be careful!!”

Sparky was hopping around and on all sorts of old things, causing Kova to gasp and grab him in her paws. “Gotcha, little guy! You gotta be careful, you’re gonna get hurt if you keep hopping like that.”

Sparky looked up at her with an adorable look, causing Kova to chuckle. “You know… you’re kinda cute. My grandpa always said that my… my brother was curious as a cub, just like you.”

This tidbit of information was enough to get Sunny's attention rather immediately. “You… have a brother?”

“Had… had a brother,” Kova sighed before giving Sparky back to Hitch. “But… that isn’t important right now. Finding Vincent is. So… come on.”

After Sunny and Hitch spared each other a confused glance, they followed Kova, Daphne and Fred to a large, circular room with lots of bookshelves and books on all sides.

However, there wasn't anything other than that in the room, confusing the group further. “I don’t get it,” Daphne said. “We were led here, but I don't see Vincent or his crystal ball.”

“I knew it…” Kova sighed, ears flattening. “It's a dead end, and that means that we're never gonna find him.”

“There’s always a way out, Kova. You just have to look for it,” Fred told her before turning to Daphne. “Hand me your flashlight.”

Daphne padded around for her flashlight, but when she discovered it wasn’t there, she sighed. “I must have left it in the van.”

“Aha!” Fred spoke, as if he was expecting it. “There you go. You said it. It is a van.”

“Of course it’s a van,” Daphne said with a chuckle. “I just didn't want you to feel like I was moving in on your turf. Which I am.”

“Daph!” Sunny scolded. “Not helping!”

“I know Fred is just trying to prove his point, Sunny, but I’ve been through this already when Fred was away at camp,” Daphne said. “I know how to see the whole situation from above, and how to plan the next move. I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not,” Fred said, picking up an unlit torch. “I mean… there must be SOMETHING I can do.”

But then, as Fred picked up the torch, Daphne immediately noticed a part of the wall open behind them. “Don’t… do… anything.”

Fred immediately dropped the torch, never hearing Daphne speak in such a tone before. “But, Daphne, I only want to…”

“No, she means don’t move,” Kova repeated. “I think I see something…”

Spreading her wings wide, Kova took a deep breath, and a soft light began to form on her feathers. “Wow!” Sunny cried. “How did you do that?”

“Winged leopards have a variety of magical powers,” Kova explained. “While Allura has the power to hypnotize with her purr, I can give off light and warmth, just like the sun, from my wings. And the light from my wings is showing me something right over there.”

She flew over to the crack in the wall and pried it open a bit, and Fred immediately knew what it was. “A secret passageway!”

“Oh, how lovely!” Queen Haven said as she and Alphabittle found their way into that same room. “It seems you children are back in business!”

“It seems that way, your majesty,” Daphne said as the secret passageway was opened further so they could all fit inside. “And we're getting closer to finding Vincent, I know it. Come on!”

So, the combined groups entered the secret passageway with the crystal ball to illuminate their path.

XXXXXXXX

Back in the castle corridors, Scooby was heavily sniffing the speaker Velma was holding while Shaggy was holding his leash and Velma was explaining her theories to the ponies that were with them. “Once Scooby has the scent, he'll lead us to the source of the...”

“Velma, this is one thing that we don't need Fredsplained to us,” Zipp said with a shrug. “Scooby gets the scent, we follow him, end of story.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Izzy asked. “Let's go go go go!!”

After Scooby stopped sniffing the speaker, Misty rubbed the top of his head. “All right, Scooby. You got the scent?”

Scooby nodded to this. “Uh-huh.”

“Like, just let me know when-- YIKES!!!” Shaggy yelled as Scooby burst into a full sprint, going down the hall at top speed with Velma and the four ponies running behind them. “Keep it up, Scooby!” Velma encouraged while Shaggy yelled in panic. “Let me down, Scooby!”

Scooby did eventually stop near a window, and let Shaggy crash into a suit of armor right beside it before Scooby started barking at whatever was outside.

This barking caused Shaggy to get up and join his friends. “Like, what is it?”

Zipp sighed as she only saw two mice on the other side of the window. “Just a false alarm, everypony.”

But then, Scooby continued to bark till there was no stopping him, causing Misty to try and calm him down. “Scooby, Scooby, calm down! Everything's okay!”

“Yeah, Scooby,” Velma leaned against a brick on the wall. “It's only a couple of...”

But what she didn't realize was that this brick was a trigger, and it opened up a trap door beneath the group that caused them to slide down slides, completely out of control!

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Daphne and Fred led their group to the lowest point in the castle, but there was still no sign of Vincent. “Well, I'm definitely stumped,” Kova said, clearly frustrated. “This one is totally a dead end.”

Alphabittle looked back at the staircase that was behind them. “Maybe we should head back upstairs?”

“No, the ball led us here,” Daphne said as they approached a circle of coffins. “This is where
we're supposed to be. Heh... it's probably obvious. I bet it's about to hit us right over the head.”

“...hold on,” Hitch said as he heard something above them, making his ears twitch. “Do you guys hear...?”

Suddenly, screaming came from above them, and the rest of their friends fell right on top of them, causing them all to groan in pain from the pile they were in. “Like, mind if we drop in?” Shaggy asked with a chuckle. “Quite literally, I might add.”

“Tea, are you and your friends okay?” Alphabittle asked his daughter as they got up. “Yeah, we're all fine, just a little... lost and confused,” Misty told him. “I don't think you guys found anything much either?”

“Afraid not. We've looked everywhere,” Daphne said in exasperation, “and there's no sign of Vincent and no clue as to where he might've gone.”

Kova sighed and was just about to give up when she noticed Scooby sniffing in front of one of the coffins, and this struck her as something that should be investigated. “Hey, Sunny? I think your dog friend found something!”

“Yeah... it looks like you're right,” Sunny said, approaching the Great Dane. “What is it, Scooby?”

“Vincent!” Scooby barked. “Vincent!”

Queen Haven gasped, remembering Cloudpuff tracking his toy down one time and immediately realized Scooby was right. “Quick, my darlings! Help me get this lid off!”

The ponies, Kova and Mystery Incorporated strained as they pushed and pulled the lid off of the coffin, and when they peered inside, Daphne gasped at seeing Vincent tied up and gagged within the coffin. “Vincent!”

“Here, let us get this off you,” Misty said and removed the binds, letting Vincent go free. “Kova, Daphne, Shaggy,” Vincent sighed in relief. “Thank ghoulness it's you!”

Scooby smiled with a cheerful wag of his tail. “Hello, Vincent.”

“And Scooby-Doo. Oh, how I've missed you all,” Vincent smiled and patted Scooby on the head. “Eapecially these last few weeks.”

“But it's not just us, Vincent,” Kova smiled. “We have some new pony friends here to help us-- Sunny Starscout, her friends, Queen Haven and Alphabittle, meet Vincent Van Ghoul, my personal mentor.”

“It's a pleasure to meet all of you,” Vincent smiled. “And we appreciate it from the bottom of our undead hearts that you came to help us.”

“No problem, Mr. Van Ghoul,” Zipp said. “Just tell us where you want us, and we’ll be ready to catch that 13th ghost in no time flat.”

Vincent was just about to respond to this when he noticed something lurking in the darkness of the room... and it was something far more sinister than anyone could ever imagine. “It’s Asmodeus.”

“Like, we know,” Shaggy said. “We read all about him on the way here.”

“No... it's not that,” Kova said, pointing her paw toward the darkness. “He's right there! In the shadows!”

The ponies' ears flattened with either looks of determination or fear as a monstrous creature flew out from the shadowy sectors.

Asmodeus was a tall, dark red-purple humanoid with a pair of wings on his back, and his head had long and curved black horns, a fanged mouth and a pair of glowing yellow eyes. In addition, he wore a Roman-like outfit, with gray robes, tattered dark gray pants, gray armbands, a black cape and an A-shape belt buckle.

The humanoid monster lit his claws up with fireballs and roared at the group, causing them to scream in terror right before Sunny lit up in her alicorn form. “Everypony, stand together! We have to show him that we're not going to run and be afraid of him!”

“Uh, Sunny, as much as I try and appreciate your enthusiasm,” Shaggy said, “that's kind of hard to do when he shoots fireballs at us!!!”

The second Shaggy said this, a fireball was thrown at them, causing the others to run and hide behind one of the other coffins while Sunny deflected the fireball into a nearby wall.

Once Sunny approached the group with her wings and horn still lit up bright, Vincent quickly turned to the gang. “Now, kids! Open the Chest of Demons!”

“And quickly!” Kova hissed. “Before that guy burns us to bits!”

“Yes... the chest...” Asmodeus growled in a sinister voice that made the ponies honestly freeze in fear. “Bring me the chest...”

“You don't have to tell me twice!” Shaggy said and began to get the chest out of the coffin, only to find that it was not there. “Like, where is it?!”

“What do you mean, 'where is it'?” Zipp asked. “Didn't you put it in the van to take with us?!”

“But we thought Vincent had it,” Daphne argued. “No,” Vincent shook his head, “I left it with you.”

“And I mailed it back to you,” Shaggy told Vincent, “when school started!”

“Where did you send it?”

“Your real house! In the Himalayas!”

Asmodeus breathed another blast of fire out at them, causing the others to scream as Sunny brought up her shield to deflect it. “That wasn't his house!” Kova told Shaggy irritability. “It was an Air Boo-n-Boo!”

Asmodeus finally was able to knock Sunny aside, causing her shield to shatter. “Give it to me!!”

“It isn't here, you vile beast!” Queen Haven said with her wings outstretched. “As Queen of Zephyr Heights, I suggest that if you want it, you leave us alone and you go find it yourself!”

The monster, in response, merely roared lunged at them, causing the gang to gasp and shield their eyes, bracing for impact as Kova opened her wings and snarled at the top of her lungs.

XXXXXXXX

But when the rest of the group opened their eyes after a moment, they looked around to discover that Asmodeus had disappeared. “Where did he go?” Fred wondered. “To find the chest,” Kova responded with a heavy heart. “For as long as he holds it... it can't hold him.”

“We must find it before he does,” Vincent agreed with his young student. “But first... I believe many of you deserve an explanation.”

Queen Haven sighed, wrapping wings around her daughters. “Yes, Mr. Van Ghoul, yes. I think an explanation would do us all some good.”

Author's Note:

This is one of the OCs I plan on using for this story:

Aurelia the Jaquin by BlueyBirdy -- Fur Affinity [dot] net