//------------------------------// // Finding the Treasure/The Final Showdown // Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// By the time that everyone had gotten out of the Mystery Machine, the long-forgotten town of Moose Creek had finally been revealed at the bottom of where Big Moose Lake used to be... ...and it really was a historical discovery for the ages. As the last of the water poured out of Big Moose Lake, everyone stood on the banks and looked down at the town below. “Like, presto!” Shaggy exclaimed. “Instant town, just subtract water!” “Come on!” Luke urged. “Let’s check it out!” “Right behind ya, Luke!” Seashell squealed before she and Luke slid down the banks as if they were on skis in the winter time. “You might have to get your hooves dirty for this, sis!” Zipp exclaimed before following suit. “WHOO-HOO!!!” “You know, for once,” Pipp sighed, “I actually don’t mind this! LOOK OUT BELOW!!” And so, everyone slid down the banks of Big Moose Lake (where it used to be) and into the town below… all except Burt, who bounced up and down on his bottom the entire way. Once reaching Moose Creek, everyone began to walk around, amazed that this historical town had been underwater for so many years... and had a treasure somewhere nearby. “This is so cool,” Trudy couldn’t help but grin. “You know, Trudy? You’re right,” Sunny said as she walked alongside the girl. “This town is really going to make an impact on this entire area, and bring more tourists than ever! Well… once it’s cleaned up a bit.” As this went on, Daphne realized her boots were caked in mud, making her sigh as she tried to shake them off. “Well, these shoes are ruined.” “Tell me about it,” Pipp said, trying to shake the mud off of her as well. “I don’t think I’ll ever get my old hoof shine back. But… if it’s for solving the mystery, I’m totally there.” As they finished walking down the main street, Fred stopped the group upon seeing something on the old church. “Gang, look-- the steeple!” “When dawn breaks on the summer solstice,” Zipp recalled, “the steeple will point the way! We just have to wait until the sun comes up and shines through the steeple, and that will lead us to Ricky LaRue’s hidden loot!” Upon hearing footsteps approaching them, Misty then felt her ears twitch, just before she silenced the group. “I think I hear someone coming-- hide!” Everyone split up into different hiding places behind cars along the street, and once the sound was approaching him, Fred tackled the one following them. “Gotcha!” “Um… Freddy?” Sunny tried not to make the situation awkward, but… Fred was holding Jessica around the waist, making her chuckle. “We have to stop meeting like this.” “You can let go of her now,” Daphne reminded Fred, who instantly and nervously complied. “Jessica!” Glory cried. “What are you doing here?” “After the dam blew,” Jessica explained as the group gathered around her, “I saw Deacon heading this way, so I followed him.” “Hold on… Deacon?” Zipp asked in confusion. “That kid is afraid of his own shadow.” “So why would he come down to Moose Creek?” Velma wondered the same thing. But as they tried to make sense of this news, Scooby turned and saw the Woodsman right behind them, and tried twice to get Shaggy's attention by pulling on his shirt, only for Shaggy to disregard the Great Dane's nervous nature. “Not right now, Scoob.” Scooby frustratedly then grabbed Shaggy’s face in his paw, and forcibly turned to show him what he was trying to say, and then… Shaggy saw the Woodsman for himself. This sent the entire group to run and scream before bolting in different directions, with Luke, Fred, Jessica and the Pippsqueaks going one direction while everyone else ran in a different direction. But as they were running, Deacon came out of the nearby Moose Creek jail and called out to them. “Guys! In here!” “Phew! Are we glad to see you!” Pipp sighed in relief before they all ran inside the jail and into the furthest cell… only for Deacon to slam it shut on them. “Hey!” Shaggy cried out. “We’re locked in!” “Deacon! What are you doing?!” Misty asked in panic and bewilderment. “The name’s not Deacon, toots,” Deacon began to say before he took off his hair, glasses and spoke in a deeper, less nasally tone. “It's BabyFace Boretti.” This caused plenty of shocked and confused reactions among the group. “I admit it,” Velma spoke truthfully, “I did not see that coming.” “Believe us, Velma,” Hitch sighed, “neither did we.” XXXXXXXX At the same time, Fred was leading Luke, Jessica and the Pippsqueaks into the church with the Woodsman hot on their tails, and when Fred tried to shut the door behind them, the Woodsman merely tried to chop right through it. “That way!” “Go go go go!” Peach Fizz cried as they ran in the direction Fred told them to go in. This led them up the stairs toward the top of the building… at least until Luke stepped through a rotten board, causing his leg to get stuck. Seashell gasped before she, the rest of the Pippsqueaks and Jessica ran back to help him, only for them to see the Woodsman quickly approaching. Eventually, Glory was able to pull Luke out, and they all managed to climb the rest of the way up the stairs, enter the tower and lock the door behind them. “Uh… now what?” Luke asked nervously. “We’ll just have to stay here until we can get everyone down safely,” Fred told them. “Oh, where are Sunny and the others when you need them…?!” XXXXXXXX Deacon, or should I say, BabyFace Boretti smirked as Sunny and Hitch tried to buck the jail door down, but the metal was far too strong, even for earth pony strength, leaving the group trapped inside. “So,” Zipp said with a sneer, “you’ve been working undercover the entire time, trying to get us to come to Big Moose so you could blow the dam and find the loot for you and whoever else is behind this!” “Man, for a pony, you sure are dense when it comes to figuring things out at the last second,” BabyFace Boretti told her before noticing the sun beginning to rise. “Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I got a date with a treasure.” “Oh, you are so gonna get it when we get out of here!” Hitch told the criminal as he left the scene. “THAT’S A PROMISE!!” “Hitch, take it easy!” Sunny tried to calm him down. “We’ll figure this out! I just hope Fred’s team is doing okay with the Woodsman still out there...” XXXXXXXX Back at the church, the Woodsman was beginning to pound through the trapdoor that led into the tower, causing the Pippsqueaks to nervously whimper, not sure of what to do next. Eventually, the Woodsman broke through and set his eyes on Jessica, causing her to scream and be pinned up against the wall, with nowhere else to go. That's when Peach Fizz decided to make the first bold statement of the Pippsqueaks, readying herself to either run... or fight. “Let her go, Woodsman!” “Yeah!” Seashell agreed. “Or face Fred Jones and the Pippsqueaks!” “I told you to get out,” the Woodsman sneered as he turned to face them, “but you didn't listen. Now you're gonna pay.” “Wuh-oh…” Glory gulped as she, her best friends and Fred quickly ran out of room to flee. Fred immediately grabbed the Woodsman’s ax, and the two began to tustle while the Pippsqueaks slipped out of harm’s way. That’s when Luke saw the tower bell and got an idea. “Fred, look out!” With the Pippsqueaks’ help, Luke pushed the bell toward the Woodsman, hitting him dead on while Fred got out of the way. The Woodsman broke through the wood on the windows and fell out once Glory kicked him out with her hind legs… …but not before he grabbed Jessica by the leg and began to pull her down with him. “HELP!!!” Fred leaned out the window and grabbed Jessica as the Pippsqueaks grabbed hold of him and each other, trying to not let go. As Fred and the girls pulled Jessica and the Woodsman back up, the Woodsman lost grip on Jessica's shoe and fell to the ground, splatting in the mud. The Pippsqueaks and Jessica whimpered at this, not wanting to see the body down below, but eventually, they realized that the Woodsman wasn't moving... and he probably wasn't gonna bother them again. Jessica then turned to Fred and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as a sign of gratitude. “Thanks.” “Anytime,” Fred blushed nervously before rubbing Luke on the head. “Uh… good work, Luke. You too, Pippsqueaks.” “Thanks!” Seashell beamed. “Now come on… let’s go find the others.” XXXXXXXX “Like, how long have we been in here?” Shaggy asked back in the jail cell, causing Scooby to make another mark on the wall and stop playing his harmonica. “Uh… five minutes.” “Really?” Izzy asked in surprise. “I could have sworn that it felt longer than that.” “It does feel longer, cause we’re completely trapped with no way to use our magic to escape,” Zipp sighed. “Believe me-- we’ve tried.” “I can’t do hard time!” Shaggy suddenly bolted upright. “I gotta get outta here! Like, help!!” Shaggy began to shake the bars of the cell so much, they began to rattle and fall out of place, allowing the others to slip through while he still shook them. “I'm too young! I'm going crazy! Someone, free us!” “Uh… Shaggy-Waggy?” Izzy called out, and Shaggy had finally noticed his friends had escaped. “How'd they get out? Oh-ho-ho. Jailbreak. Cool.” Immediately after being freed, everyone left the jail and ran out into the streets of Moose Creek again, only to meet up with the others. “Guys!” Zipp cried in relief. “Thank goodness you’re safe!” “We got the Woodsman!” Fred spoke before gesturing to the ground. “He’s…” “Gone!” Hitch cried, seeing the indent of the Woodsman, but no Woodsman in sight, causing Seashell to groan. “Now what?!” “I think we’re about to find out!” Daphne pointed to the sky. “The sun is coming up!” Indeed, the sun was beginning to rise, and as the sunlight shined through the steeple, it sent out a flash of light that hit the ground in a very specific spot. “Look, the steeple is pointing the way!” Trudy pointed at that spot. “So that means…” said Misty, “...the treasure must be right here!” “Allow me,” Scooby offered before going into full digging mode, and once he reached the chest and prepared to tell everyone about it, he discovered he had caked the others in mud, causing him to chuckle nervously. “Found it.” “I’ll help you bring it out!” Peach Fizz said before using her magic to levitate the chest out of the hole for everyone to see. Then, after picking the lock using Misty’s horn, Daphne opened the chest up for everyone to see the cash and gold inside. “It’s the treasure of Ricky LaRue!” “And now,” said Zipp, “we have the perfect bait to lead the Fishman and the Woodsman back into our clutches!” “Uh… you guys?!” Hitch cried, looking behind the group in panic. “I think we already found one of them!” When everyone turned to see what Hitch was talking about, they immediately saw the Fishman roaring behind them, causing them to split up again, only for Daphne and Izzy to fall right in the mud with the Fishman preparing to pounce. Well, he would have, if Scooby hadn't grabbed his tail to distract him so Daphne and Izzy could get away. The Fishman flung Scooby off his tail and toward a brick wall, only for Sunny to catch him before he could get hurt. The Fishman was about to go afte them again, when Shaggy suddenly spoke up from behind. “Hey, fish face! Like, back away from my buddies!”  Shaggy slammed a wooden board onto the Fishman’s head, but it broke, and the Fishman took a couple of swipes at Shaggy, leaving him on the ground, and Fred and Hitch used a few more boards on the Fishman to help Shaggy get away. Immediately, the Fishman set his sights on the others, causing them to flee right toward a brick wall, where the Fishman seemed to have them cornered. That's when Pipp realized that the Pippsqueaks were nowhere in sight, but as she prayed that they were somewhere safer than they were right then, something... incredible then happened. “HEY!!! FISH BREATH!!” The Fishman stopped the attack to see the Pippsqueaks right behind him, horns and wings and hooves glowing. “If you wanna mess with them,” said Glory, “you’ll have to deal with us first!” “Girls, no!” Daphne cried. “Get out of here!” Misty cried out. “You’re an easy target for him!” “That’s what we’re hoping!” Seashell said before kicking the Fishman away, and she and her best friends ran away, prompting the Fishman to pursue them once he got his bearings together. The Fishman continued to try and attack the fillies, but they were much to quick for him to grab them. And once the Fishman was out in the open street, Glory looked back and cried, “NOW, SCOOBY!! NOW!!” The Pippsqueaks then ran for safety as Scooby barreled down the street in the Mystery Machine, engaging in a battle of his own with the Fishman, and eventually knocking him through a brick wall, disoriented... and trapped. “We… we did it!” Peach Fizz told her friends. “We actually did it! We caught the Fishman!” Scooby got out of the van and giggled, hugging the three fillies happily while the Mane 6 rushed to congratulate them as well. The others then surrounded the Fishman, and Velma prepared to pull off the Fishman's mask. “It's time to find out who this Fishman really is.” She then yanked it off, revealing the Fishman to be another foe of theirs. “The Woodsman?” Daphne questioned. “Hold on,” Zipp stated. “This seems a little too easy.” “I got this one, Zipp,” Glory said before grabbing the Woodsman’s mask and pulling it off, revealing the real culprit underneath. “Ranger Knudsen?!” Burt cried out in shock. “He was the Woodsman and the Fishman?” Misty asked. “Yep,” Velma nodded. “And I've got a feeling if we searched his ranger station… we'd find a specter costume too.” “You think you got me all figured out, don't you, beautiful?” Ranger Knudsen asked seductively. “Oh, I didn’t say anything,” Daphne chuckled. “Uh… Daph?” Zipp spoke up. “He was talking about Velma, remember?” “Oh, right.” “Looks like we foiled his plan,” Fred said with his hands on his hips. “Not just his plan,” Hitch said, pointing to something with his hoof. “THEIR plan!” Turns out, BabyFace Boretti was trying to get away with the treasure, prompting Scooby and the Pippsqueaks to nod in unison. “We got him!” Then, as a team, the three fillies and the Great Dane charged and tackled BabyFace on his back, not about to let him go. “Get these horses and this dog off of me!! AGH!!” “Not a chance, Boretti,” Zipp said before getting out her phone. “The only place you’ll be going, once I call the authorities, is back to prison with your ranger pal over there.” And the Pippsqueaks? Well… let’s just say, they felt on top of the world.