Family Camping (Part 6)

Catching the Criminals

"This is so cool!" said Trudy as they walked down the muddy streets of Big Moose Creek. "Every just be careful of the mud. Wouldn't want to chase anyone who decided to slide away." said Starchild. "Hey, look, the steeple!" said Fred. "As dawn breaks on the summer solstice, the steeple will point the way." said Velma. "Sh! Listen, someone's coming!" whispered Cleo as everyone ran in separate directions so they could hide. "Gotcha!" yelled Fred wrapping his arms around the person's waist. "Fred...." sighed Cleo pinching the bridge of her nose. "We have to stop meeting like this." said Jessica looking down at Fred. "Fred, let go of the poor woman!" scolded Cleo grabbing him by the ear. "OW! Cleo!" whined Fred. "Jessica, what you you doing here!?" asked Burt as he, Luke, Trudy, and Ember came out of hiding. "After the dam blew, I saw Deacon heading this way so I followed him." said Jessica. "Why would Deacon want to come down to Moose Creek?" asked Spaceman. "Why don't we ask him!?" asked Demon pointing behind Shaggy and Scooby. "Oh lovely, him again!" sighed Cleo as the Woodsman swung at Daphne and Velma with his axe. "Time to go, Cleo!" yelled Demon grabbing her arm and making a run for it. "Guys, in here!" whispered Deacon poking his head out of the old jail. "Deacon? What are you doing?" asked Cleo as he slammed the door to the cell they were in shut. "We're locked in!" cried Shaggy. "We noticed." said Demon sarcastically. "Now is NOT the time for sarcasm, Demon!" said Cleo. "Deacon, what do you think your doing!?" asked Catman. "The name's not Deacon, buddy, its Babyface Boretti." said Deacon taking off his glasses and wig as he voice turned deeper. "I admit, I did NOT see that coming." said Velma. "I KNEW there was something off about you!" yelled Ember. 

Meanwhile with Fred, Luke, Jessica, Spaceman, and Starchild.....

They had all just run inside the steeple still being chased by the Woodsman when Fred quickly shut the door behind him only for an axe blade to cut through. "This way!" yelled Starchild pointing to the staircase. Luke nearly fell through the stairs but Starchild quickly snatched him up in his arms before they made it to the top and shut the trap door. "Uh, now what?" asked Luke. 

Back at the jail....

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I gotta date with a treasure." said Babyface. "You jerk, you just wait! I should've fried you when I had the chance!" yelled Ember

Back at the steeple.....

"So much for the trap door!" said Spaceman as the Woodsman cut through the trap door using his axe. Jessica let out a scream as the Woodsman backed her into a corner. "Let her go, Woodsman!" yelled Fred. "I told you to get out but you didn't listen! Now, you're gonna pay!" growled the Woodsman. "Duck, Fred!" yelled Starchild as he got behind the bell with Spaceman and both of them pushed with all their might. "HELP!" yelled Jessica as the Woodsman grabbed her ankle but Fred grabbed her hand. "OHHH! That's going to leave a mark!" said Spaceman as the Woodsman hit the muddy ground below. "You said it!" agreed Starchild. 

Back at the jail, Scooby was playing away on a harmonica he had found. "Like how long have we been in here for!?" asked Shaggy. "Five minutes." said Demon while Catman was trying to pick the lock with one of his claws. "Catman, may I ask a foolish question?" asked Cleo. "Yeah?" asked Catman looking over at Cleo. "You have razor sharp claws that can cut through anything correct?" asked Cleo. "Yeah, so? Oh! Now I get it!" said Catman unsheathing all his claws and cut through the bars with ease. "Why couldn't you do that five minutes ago!?" asked Shaggy shaking Catman. "Does it matter? We've got an escaped criminal to stop!" said Demon as they ran out of the jail only to nearly collide with Fred, Jessica, Luke, Spaceman, and Starchild. "We got the Woodsman!" said Fred. "Correction....you HAD the Woodsman." said Cleo pointing to the imprint of a person laying in the mud. "Gone!" said Velma. "The Sun is coming up!" said Daphne. "Look, the steeple is pointing the way." said Trudy. "The treasure must be right here!" said Velma pointing to where the light was shining on the muddy ground. "Only one way to find out." said Cleo looking down at Scooby. "A bit too eager to find the treasure, Scooby?" asked Spaceman as Scooby practically covered EVERYONE in mud. "Found it!" laughed Scooby. "It's the treasure of Ricky LaRue!" said Daphne opening the chest Fred and Burt heaved out of the hole. "And a Fishman too!" yelled Catman. "Scooby, are you alright!?" asked Cleo as the Fishman sent Scooby flying into a building. "Cleo, behind you!" yelled Shaggy. Cleo turned around and shrieked when the Fishman tried to take a swing at her. "Oh, that's it!" yelled Cleo as her power surrounded her fists. Cleo felt someone push her out of the way just as they Mystery Machine came riding into town with Rath behind the wheel. "Need some help!?" he asked. "I will admit your timing is most excellent, dear brother!" said Cleo. "Now, to take care of this fishy friend once and for all!" said Rath stepping on the gas of the Mystery Machine. "Alright, Rath, you got the Fishman!" said Catman running over with everyone else while the Fishman was trapped under a pile of bricks. "Now let's see who this Fishman really is, shall we?" asked Cleo pulling the mask off. "The Woodsan?" asked Daphne. Spaceman raised an eyebrow and removed the second mask. "Ranger Knudsen!" cried Burt. "He was the Woodsman and the Fishman?" asked Shaggy. "Yup, and something tells me if we were to search his ranger station, we'd find a Spector costume too!" said Spaceman matter of factly. "You think you've got me all figured out don't you, pal?" asked Ranger Knudsen. "Looks like we foiled his plan." said Fred. "I do believe you mean THEIR plan, Fred." said Cleo pointing to Babyface pulling the chest in the mud. Scooby growled and leapt at Babyface. "Get this dog off of me!" yelled Babyface. 

"I can't believe Deacon was actually Babyface Boretti." said Fred. "I knew when I first saw the picture." said Starchild. "Once again something you keep us in the dark about!" said Demon trying not to roll his eyes as the babies played around in the mud. "After Babyface broke pout of prison, he teamed up with Ranger Knudsen to find LaRue's treasure." said Velma. "Knudsen dressed up as the Fishman as cover so he could search the lake for the lost town using the stolen sonar equipment." said Starchild. "He also used the Woodsman costume to frighten everyone away from Camp Little Moose." said Cleo. "But with the solstice approaching and us showing up, they had to step up their game." said Dpahne. "So Boretti posed as a kid camper named Deacon so he could act as an inside man!" said Spaceman. "Which explains why Deacon kept trying to get us to leave. He wasn't afraid of the Woodsman, he needed us gone so he and Ranger Knudsen could blow up the dam." said Catman. "And when we found that RV, they realized how close we were getting, Knudsen brought the Spector to life to try and scare us off for good." said Demon. "Like I've got one question, how did Knudsen make the Spector fly?" asked Shaggy. "Zipline." said Starchild simply. "We would've gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for you kids!" said Babyface. "So...Rath, is it true Nefertina likes me?" asked Fred looking at the mummy. "It's quite obvious if you ask either me, Armon, or Jakal." said Rath crossing his arms. "A mummy having a crush on me? Hmmmm." said Fred thoughtfully. "Wait for me?" asked Knudsen looking at Velma from the back of the police car making Spaceman twitch. "That's it!" yelled Spaceman grabbing Velma and smashing their lips together. "See, Cat, like I told you!" said Shaggy as he and Cleo high fived. "Took those two long enough!" laughed Daphne. "Yes, it's been only what? Eight years?" questioned Cleo crossing her arms. "Not to break up this love fest, but what are we going to do!? I've got a lake with no camp and you've got a camp with no lake!" said Brt. "I might have an idea." said Rath thoughtfully. 

"A most excellent idea combining the two camps together, Rath." said Cleo leaning on a tree away from the campfire. "It was, wasn't it?" asked Rath thoughtfully. "Still, who would've guessed all it took for Velma and Spaceman to come together was one of the villain we were chasing!" laughed Cleo. "Yes, but what about that Ember girl? I understand from Trudy she has no family or parents." said Rath. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, the gang and I sat down to talk and believe it or not, Shaggy decided to step up and adopt her." said Cleo. "Really? I shudder to think what she'll be going through." said Rath as Cleo playfully nudged him. "Scoundrel! Now, only one question remains....what are we going to do about our mother?" "Hmmm, what indeed. I suppose we'll figure it out one way or another, dearest sister. One way or another we'll figure it out." said Rath looking up at the night sky. 

(Hey guys, I want to know your opinion on what I should do with Cleo's mom and also, who do you think I should pair Fred with seeing as though I kinda have him in a love triangle. Do you want him to be with Shandi or Nefertina? Let me know and I'll see you tomorrow in the next book set during the new Scooby Doo Movie, Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo! as requested which should be up if not tomorrow then sometime this week or next week. Hope you enjoyed the story and I'll see you in the next book!)