Hi fanfic-community! This here is my first story, so why I do appreciate any reviews from you guys, please don't bash me- it is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is what I would much rather want.

This story takes place between the movies Scooby Doo Meets the Boo Brothers and Scooby Doo and The Ghoul School. This is a sad Shaphne fanfic, so if you don't ship it or like sad stories, don't read (don't worry, there IS a bit of a happy ending, so it's not completely depressing). The story is more of a life journey sort of thing, kind of inspired off of A Christmas Carol, where the main character changes his ways for the better all in one night.

This story also has panic attacks and PTSD, so if you are triggered by that, I'd advise you not to read this. I don't want my story to give people heart attacks or anything like that.

Also, even though the Boo Brothers and Ghoul School movies were made in the mid-80's, I had the story take place in the mid-70's. Here is a timeline to give you an idea of what time period each Scooby Doo show prior to the Ghoul School took place in as well as what the main character (Shaggy's) age would be.

Scooby Doo Where Are You?

1969, Shaggy-17 (A lot of the mysteries don't seem to be in a lot of far off places, meaning it's safe to assume the gang is still in high school and don't travel much besides the occasional trip)

The New Scooby Doo Movies /The Scooby Doo Show

1970, Shaggy-18 (The gang graduates high school and travel the world in the Mystery Machine, before they either go to college or get jobs)

Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo

1971, Shaggy-19 (The first season had the entire original gang, Fred, Daphne, and Velma, who were mostly just waiting out the last couple of months before they started their first years in college. The rest of the seasons are just of Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy traveling around in the van, mostly going to fun events with the occasional odd job to pay for food and gas. I'm guessing Shaggy is still technically a teen when it's just him and the dogs traveling around because a lot of the events they went to were a Teen-Science Far or Teen related, hinting at the hippy living out the last couple of months he had left as a teen.

The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show/The New Scooby Doo Mysteries

1972, Shaggy-20 (Shaggy meets up with Daphne, after she was presumably has finished taking a few college classes and ends up working with her at the same teen-magazine company she works for)

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo

1974, Shaggy-22 (I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say that they still work for the magazine company, but it's only shown off screen. Meaning they probably didn't bump into a lot of mysteries over the series, but were instead focused on capturing the thirteen ghosts)

Scooby Doo Meets the Boo Brothers

1976, Shaggy-24 (Shaggy quits the magazine company when Daphne splits up from the rest of the gang, leading him to eventually take a job as a gym teacher at Miss Grimwood's School of Girls, er, I mean, Ghouls)

Hopefully that clears it up a bit. According to the internet, Shaggy and Fred are both 17 in the original Scooby Doo Where Are You? series, while Daphne is 16 and Velma 15. If you want to find out what Scooby's age is, just subtract Shaggy's age by ten. For those of you who flunked math, that makes Scooby 7 in his original series. So, all that aside, enjoy the story!

P.S. No joke, this ENTIRE story was based off of why Shaggy drove that green jeep in The Boo Brothers movie, when in the Ghoul School he still had the red van from the 13 Ghosts, which aired BEFORE the Boo Brothers. It's like the writers just sorta… skipped over its existence for that movie or something.

P.P.S- I own nothing mentioned in this entire story, which kinda sucks

Chapter 1

Whirr-whir-whir-whir-whir-whir-whir-whir-ker plunk.

The key in the ignition was yanked out of its slot and thrown out of the open car window in a fit of frustration. It bounced off of the brick garage wall and landed on the cement floor in the corner with a metallic ting. The long-haired beatnik slumped down in the driver's seat with a defeated sigh.

Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he pondered on what he should do next- scratch that, what could he do next? By no means was he a mechanic, at the very least professionally. Back during his late teens, he did learn a thing or two about cars, usually when a certain brightly painted van decided to break down in the middle of nowhere (or worse, somewhere spooky).

Shaking his head from those memories, he looked past the windshield at the hood of the navy green jeep he was currently sitting in, completely stumped. While it would make more sense to take it to a repair shop, he didn't exactly have the money to do so at the moment, and besides, it wasn't like he didn't have another set of wheels to drive…

Shaggy stopped himself with another shake of the head and sighed. He really didn't want to drive that van again, not because it wasn't permanently broken down like the Mystery Machine, but simply because… it held too many memories. Memories he didn't want to have to think about, especially this late into the evening.

The clock on the wall told him it was just past nine. Shaggy stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut, a little harder than he had intended to. The door fell off with a large clang, making the hippy jump back a little in fright. Wiping off his hands on a grease rag and throwing it on the small work table he set up next to his currently boarded-up garage door, he decided that for now he should just go check on the dogs.

While walking into the door that connected to the house, a higher pitched voice made him stop in his tracks.

"Hiya Shag, how'd it go?", came from a young, brown Great Dane puppy, who was currently raiding the fridge.

"Like not too good, Scrappy. I think that old thing might need to go to the scrapyard soon, cause like I think the mud from that sink hole gummed up part of the engine or something. I can't figure out what's wrong with it!", Shaggy said as he walked into the kitchen and leaned on the counter.

The pup gave a disappointed face. "Oh well. Ooh! I know! Maybe my Uncle Scooby can help!" The little dog took off to the living room with his stack of snacks, yelling for his uncle. The beatnik sighed slightly at the spilled milk carton lying in front of the half-opened fridge door in annoyance.

"Then again", he thought, "he's only a puppy. Before long he'll be as big as that legendary uncle of his". Shaggy bent down and picked up the carton off the hard wood floor. "Hopefully, like he won't be as klutzy as him. Then I might be in real pickle", the hippy said speaking his thoughts aloud, while closing the fridge door and heading over to the roll of paper towels on the counter.

"Rickle? Where?", came a gruffer, deeper voice from an older dog that had just walked in the kitchen, oddly enough on his hind legs, while carrying about a dozen or so empty popcorn bags and dumping them in the trash.

"Like hey Scoob, I was just thinking about food is all. Watch the floor, I gotta wipe that up", said Shaggy as the Great Dane was about to slip on the spill in front of the fridge.

"Rhoops! Rhanks Raggy!", came the response.

Grabbing the roll of paper towels, the hippy turned around and headed to clean up the white puddle that was currently in front of the refrigerator.

"Reep still ron't start?", is what the bell bottomed young man heard when he was on his knees wiping up the mess on the floor.

"Yeah, like I can't figure out what's not making it go. Then again, it was the cheapest thing in the lot when I bought it, and it went through a lot more than I thought it would on our last adventure".

Scooby hummed in response, then proceeded to raid the fridge once Shaggy moved, stacking food in a similar way that his nephew had just done a moment prior.

"Hey! Like make sure you leave me something to eat!", Shaggy said in minor annoyance as he went to toss the now soaked paper towel in the garbage can.

"Ron't worry, I rid", Scooby said reassuringly, but couldn't help but let out a small snicker as he left the room. Shaggy growled in annoyance and threw open the fridge, only to find… a pickle. Literally a pickle, one lone pickle sitting in its jar full of pickle juice.

Slamming the door as hard as he could, the beatnik yelled at the top of his lungs, "SCOOBY DOO, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!", before stomping out the back door, and slamming that shut as well.

…

Shaggy stood there on the old door mat, his eyes screwed shut and his fists shaking, before allowing himself to relax and breath again. He sat down on the small stoop, still trying to calm down. He sighed. It's been like this ever since…

He used to be angry at Scooby before sometimes, Scrappy as well. After all, friends just got mad at each other. It was normal to feel mad at someone occasionally. But lately, it's been getting out of hand. Thinking back to their last adventure, he would get ticked off at the slightest thing that didn't go his way. The way he got mad at both of the dogs for not being able to find where Beauregard Road was on the map. When Scooby scared him half to death in the attic dressed as a ghost. The final straw was when the Boo Brothers invited all their friends and family into HIS house for a massive ghoulish party, when they were supposed to be tracking down the other "ghosts" that were currently haunting his late-uncle's plantation.

Shaggy couldn't help but feel terrible about his behavior, especially when the ghostly trio explained to the gang that they were homeless, orphans, and essentially had no purpose in life, well, after life that is. While they definitely deserved to get yelled at, he never would have thought HE would have been the one to do it.

With a sigh, he looked across the back yard to the furthest corner of the white wooden fence, where a dull green and blue vehicle sat on the grass. It was a miracle his neighbors didn't mind the old hippy van sitting in his backyard like this. As long as it wasn't in the front or visible from the street they could care less, at least, that's what they told him. His most recent actions might have struck a nerve in them, but he explained the best he could while trying to give himself at least some of his dignity.

Shaggy headed over to the Mystery Machine and sighed upon looking at it. It wasn't bad, just a little duller in color with a few rust spots starting to pop up here and there. Besides that, it looked just like it did when the old gang painted it. With a chuckle, Shaggy remember how long it took them before they agreed on the design and color choice. They ended up piling all their ideas into one; Fred and Scooby agreed that it should have blue, while Shaggy wanted to add some green. Velma wanted a touch of orange to make the words pop, while Daphne… Daph wanted the flowers. She felt purple would have made the orange parts not stand out as much, so she decided flowers along the side and the spare tire cover would add some character to the second-hand vehicle. And she was right, it was hard to imagine the beloved van without its large decorative flowers on it.

With a rusty creak, Shaggy wrenched the back doors open. The inside of the van was about as worn out as the outside- the metal grey walls had a few dings in them, and the slightly faded grey carpet had a few stains from various snacks devoured in the past. The bench seat up front had a large black patch sewn over the tear that Scooby had accidentally made (using his head, of course), when they visited Colorado for that skiing trip at Pratt's Peak Lodge. Where they inevitably got tangled up in yet another mystery. Yet another mystery. How he wished it could be that structured again. To go from town to town, on some vacation or what, only to discover a haunted building with a creepy ghoul stalking it, only for said ghoul to end up being old man what's-his-face because he was a greedy, no good-

"Raggy?"

Shaggy jumped, nearly hitting his head on the low van roof. Scooby was peering his head inside, a concerned expression on his face.

"Like hi Scoob, come on in, I'm not mad at you" was all it took for the big canine to bound inside the van and plop down next to his master.

"Rhat are you doing?".

"Just, like, thinking is all".

There was silence in the vehicle for a while until Shaggy gave a sigh.

"Like we had plenty of groovy memories in this tin can, haven't we Scoob?".

The dog wasn't sure where his friend was going with this, so all that he gave in response was a simple, "Rmm hmm", in agreement.

"Remember the school dance in that old barn? With the chocolate covered corn on the cob?".

Scooby slurped as his mind went down to that particular memory. "Reah! That was rummy!".

Shaggy gave a short laugh. "Yeah, and like then after we all ran away from the Creeper, you ended up being a mother hen for a while, remember?" Scooby scrunched his face in thought, but instantly remembered the small little chick he accidentally hatched while hiding in plain sight from the green clad ghoul.

"Ruh-huh, ruh-huh, I remember now!" he said while nodding his head in agreement.

"Yeah! And like what about the time the Ghost of Mr. Hyde snuck through the back doors in here while we were eating at the old Malt Shop? Remember how after that case we all kept giving Fred the stink eye for a week until he like finally got the van's locks fixed?".

"Reah, that was runny! Reeheeheeheeheehee!"

Shaggy sighed with a smile and rested his head on the top of the grey bench seat. "Man, would I give anything to be back in those days".

Scooby stopped laughing. "Really? Rhat rabout Scrappy?"

The hippy turned towards the Great Dane.

"Well, not that I don't like him or anything, but those days were simple, ya know? Like, just a group of meddling high schoolers, out late, looking for trouble and things that go bump in the night. We didn't have to worry about jobs, bills, our futures… anything really! It was just, like really groovy back then".

Scooby gave him a look. "Rhat about now?"

Shaggy sighed, this time with a frown. "Now? Well, now is okay, I guess… but like everything is so crazy, ya know? I mean, we met thirteen of the creepiest ghosts in the world, and on top of that, ghost-chasing ghosts! I mean that's, that's just like crazy talk Scoob! There was no scientific explanation or a who dunnit kind of thing- no logic what so ever! None of it makes any sense, and now I'm just scared it's like just gonna get even weirder and I don't know how much more I can take it and- "

By now Shaggy was starting to hyperventilate, just as Scooby had feared.

"Raggy. RAGGY. Rook at me, Raggy. It's roing to be rokay" Scooby then gave him a hug and held him until he stopped shaking.

"L-Like thanks, old buddy old friend old pal. Don't know what'd I do without ya" Shaggy said with a nervous smile.

Scooby gave a smile before he started to head out of the van. He stopped when he realized the beatnik wasn't following him.

"Raggy?"

Shaggy turned his head.

"You roming?", the dog questioned.

"Like, in a minute Scoob. Don't worry, I'll see you in a few"

This didn't stop the dog from giving him a look, but he left anyway. Shaggy turned his head from the doors and gazed out the front windshield of the old hippy van. He tried to picture the moving highway, a spooky dirt road, anything besides the white wooden fence it was permanently stuck facing. He could still imagine the backs of the heads of the old gang sitting in their respective seats. Short blonde hair in the driver's side, a bob of brown hair in the passenger's side, and a sea of fiery red hair right in the middle.

Shaggy sighed, then slumped against the inner walls of the van until he was practically lying on the floor. He then checked his homemade Scooby-styled watch, only to find it to be a quarter after eleven. "Zoinks", he murmured under his breath as he got up from the floor, his back aching from lying awkwardly on the thinly carpeted metal floor. "Scoob's gonna kill me"

...

The back door opened with a loud creak. Shaggy cursed his luck and peered inside the dark and empty kitchen. The coast was clear. Stepping inside, the beatnik made sure to lock the door before heading further into the dark house. When he reached the connecting door to the garage, he made sure he locked it as well since his garage door was busted since his last "incident".

He checked the living room, only to find the two Doo's asleep on the couch with an old monster movie playing on the tv, a pile of opened snack wrappers and empty soda cans on the coffee table. Shaggy gave a light chuckle upon seeing the duo snore in the most obnoxious way possible.

"Like uncle, like nephew, I guess...", he said under his breath as he switched the set off, pitching the room into darkness. Climbing up the stairs proved to be a challenge. Trying to find a spot where they didn't creak was like trying to find a safe spot in the middle of a mine field. Once on the second floor, the nervous hippy peeked his head downstairs, but when he heard two sets of snores he sighed in relief; he hadn't woken them up. When he finally reached his bedroom, he kicked his shoes off and flopped onto his bed, hoping things would be better tomorrow…

Author's Note

The Scooby styled watch that Shaggy looks at was based off the watch he was wearing during the Ghoul School when he was running in Revolta's castle and checked his watch, which resembled a Mickey Mouse watch where the arms acted as the hands of the clock. I'm just gonna say a thoughtful friend or relative made it and gave it to him for Christmas and leave it at that. Also, the episode where the gang visits Colorado on a skiing trip was from Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo, "Rocky Mountain Yiiiii!", and Scooby does quite literall sling shot himself into the back of the van, tearing his head through the seat cushion. And also, what is with monsters like the Creeper and Mr. Hyde just walking into the van like it was nothing? Until I started watching some old episodes, I never really thought about it much, always assuming they left the van unlocked for some reason. But if you knew your town was swarming with criminals dressed in rubber masks, would you really leave your car doors unlocked? Hence, why I had the van's locks busted in the story. It sorta makes sense, considering that these are high schoolers, meaning their van most likely isn't the newest model and may not have the best lock system like newer cars.

Anyway, please review!