Chereads / The Adventures of The Clue Crackers-(Moved to a New Link) / Chapter 6 - Case 6: The Clue Crackers Meet The Mysteries 5: The Case of The Mystery Cruise

Chapter 6 - Case 6: The Clue Crackers Meet The Mysteries 5: The Case of The Mystery Cruise

The Clue Crackers were driving to their cruise in their van and talking about how much fun they would have. Brad said, "Finally, for two weeks, no mysteries." Judy said, "Yeah, nothing but sun, fun, and relaxation." Cassidy said, "In other words, a cruise." Ricky said, "I can't wait to get on board. Jake and I are just dying to check out the pool."

Meanwhile, The Mysteries 5 were in their van with their group name painted on the side and heading to the same cruise as The Clue Crackers. Jake said, "Can't wait to get to our cruise." Michelle said, "I can't wait to check out the pool." William said, "Mine and Willy's favorite part will be that we don't have to solve mysteries for two weeks." Willy said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." William said, "No ghosts and no monsters." Ashley said, "We may not be solving mysteries. But I brought a few mystery books for us to read." Michelle said, "I don't think that would be necessary, Ashley; we're going to have our fun." William said, "Yeah, but you can still read if you like." Once they arrived at the cruise ship, The Clue Crackers and The Mysteries 5 all climbed aboard and went to their cabins. Once both groups got unpacked, they all went to the party on the deck. Brad said, "OK, gang, enjoy yourselves." Jake said, "OK, gang, enjoy yourselves." While they were partying, the lights started to flicker. William said, "What's going on?" Then fog started to cover the deck. Ricky said, "Like, who ordered the pea soup?" Then, all the lights on the deck began to explode, and everyone started to panic.

Once the fog cleared, a ship captain's ghost appeared. The phantom captain said, "Passengers aboard this ship, turn this ship around and go back home or pay for all eternity." William tried to leave while the phantom captain made demands, but Michelle grabbed him and held him still. The phantom captain said, "Whoever chooses to stay on this cruise will be doomed. Hear me? DOOMED!" Then the phantom captain vanished, and all the passengers ran back to their cabins screaming. While everyone was running, the captain tried to calm everyone down, but everyone was too scared to listen to him.

The Clue Crackers then thought about this and started to smile because they all thought they could solve it. Brad said, "Let's go tell the captain." The Clue Crackers decided to go to the captain and told him not to worry, but The Mysteries 5 had the same idea. Once The Clue Crackers found the captain, they spoke to him. Judy said, "Don't worry, Captain Carrington, we'll get rid of the phantom captain." Captain Carrington said, "You will?" The Mysteries 5 ran to the captain, too, and heard what they said. Jake said, "No. You don't want to hire them. You want to hire us. We're The Mysteries 5, and we always solve mysteries." Brad said, "Well, we're The Clue Crackers, and we solve mysteries too." Captain Carrington said, "Good to know my ship is in good hands. Let me know when you work it out." Both The Clue Crackers and The Mysteries 5 started to argue, but Cassidy stopped it by saying, "STOP! Look, why don't we all work together?" Brad said, "Yeah if all 10 of us team up, the phantom captain wouldn't stand a chance." Jake said, "Yeah, but I think some introductions are in order first. I'm Jake. This is Michelle, Ashley, William, and our dog, Willy. We're The Mysteries 5." Brad said, "I'm Brad. This is Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and our dog, Jake. We're The Clue Crackers."

Cassidy said, "So, are we agreed to work together?" Ashley said, "Yep." Brad shook hands with Jake, Judy shook hands with Michelle, Cassidy shook hands with Ashley, and Ricky shook hands with William. Once Jake and Willy saw each other, Jake high-fived Willy, and Willy double-high-fived Jake. Then they hit each other's elbows, slapped their knees, and patted their hands together. Then they grabbed each other's arms and started to dance around. Then they hit each other's butts, grabbed each other's paws, and began to tango together. Then they both reached their arms up, hugged, and then laughed while they hugged. Then they looked at each other while they hugged and laughed when they were done. After everyone got acquainted and decided to work together, they returned to their cabins and waited until everyone was asleep. Once they were, The Clue Crackers and The Mysteries 5 snuck out of their cabins and met on the deck. Brad said, "OK, gangs, let's all split up and look for clues. My group and I will look at one side of the boat. Jake, you and your group will search the other." Both gangs split up and went to separate sides of the boat. The Clue Crackers searched above deck, while The Mysteries 5 searched below. While they were searching, The Clue Crackers found a trail of footprints leading up a staircase to the top of the ship.

Once they got to the ship's top, Judy looked through her binoculars and saw a ghost ship in the water. Judy said, "Hey, look, a ghost ship." Cassidy said, "No such thing." Judy gave Cassidy her binoculars, and Cassidy looked through them and saw the ghost ship, too. Cassidy said, "I stand corrected." Then a fog rolled in, and when it passed by the ghost ship, the ghost ship vanished. Judy looked through her binoculars and didn't see the ghost ship anymore. Judy said, "That's weird, the ship just vanished. Maybe it does belong to a ghost."

Meanwhile, The Mysteries 5 were checking out the deck below with flashlights. Ashley said, "There doesn't seem to be anything suspicious about this boat." Michelle said, "I can't believe we're even looking for this ghost when we should be on vacation." Jake then slipped and fell to the floor. Michelle helped Jake and said, "Jake, are you ok?" Jake said, "Fine. Just fell on something." Ashley got down on her knees and cast her light on the floor. Then she found some goo on the floor and rubbed her fingers on it. Michelle said, "What is that?" Ashley said, "Some kind of goo." Jake cast his light in front of them and saw a trail of goo. Jake said, "Look, the goo leads straight ahead and right towards that door." Brad opened the door, and they all walked in.

While they were in, The Mysteries 5 all cast their lights in the room and saw a bunch of air tanks inside. Ashley grabbed one and saw it was marked "Helium." Ashley said, "Why would cans of helium be on board a cruise ship?" Jake said, "Don't know. But I think we found ourselves a clue." Later, The Clue Crackers and The Mysteries 5 got back together and discussed what they saw. Judy said, "Ok, we saw a trail of muddy footprints leading up to the ship's top. We saw a ghost ship in the water, and it just vanished when a fog rolled in." Jake said, "Well, we found a bunch of helium tanks below deck." Cassidy said, "OK, let's go back to our cabins and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll each partner up and look for clues in different places."

The next day, The Clue Crackers and The Mysteries 5 met on the dock and decided to partner up. Jake said, "I'll go with Brad." Michelle said, "Judy, you're with me." Ashley said, "I volunteer to go with Cassidy." William said, "Ricky and I will go together." Willy said, "Jake will go with me." Brad said, "Teams are set. Let's split up." Ricky and William were investigating the ship's food court with all its food parlors. William said, "I don't see why we can't stop for a bite to eat." Ricky said, "I don't see why I'm not paired with Ashley." Ricky looked around and lost William. Ricky said, "Hey, where are you?" Ricky caught William getting an ice cream cone at the ice cream parlor. Then Ricky grabbed William's arm and said, "Come on." Ricky and William left the food court and went to look someplace else.

Meanwhile, Judy and Michelle were investigating the deck, and while they were investigating, they spotted a synchronized swimming team called "The Amazing Water Flippers" in the pool. Judy and Michelle watched them dive off the diving board and into the pool together. Then they swam backward together, jumped, and went under the water. Then they stuck their feet out of the water and waved their arms underneath it while they held their breath. Then they all went under the water, jumped out of the water, and landed back in the pool. Then they all climbed out of the pool, grabbed towels, and dried off. Michelle said, "They're spectacular." Judy said, "Maybe they have some answers. Come on." Judy and Michelle went to the pool to question The Amazing Water Flippers.

Meanwhile, Brad and Jake were looking in the casino for clues. Brad said, "I don't think there'll be any clues in the casino." Jake said, "Well, it doesn't hurt to look." Brad and Jake then spotted Captain Carrington walking around the casino. Brad said, "Why is the ship's captain in the casino?" Jake said, "He's the captain; he can be wherever he wants." Brad said, "I still say something's up. Come on, let's follow him." Jake followed Brad, and they followed Captain Carrington out of the casino. Meanwhile, Cassidy and Ashley were investigating the ship's top where the waterslide was. While there, they looked down at the deck and saw Judy and Michelle questioning The Amazing Water Flippers and writing down information on their notepad. Cassidy said, "Looks like Judy and Michelle are having more luck than us. Come on." Cassidy and Ashley walked down the stairs and stopped halfway down because the bottom half of the steps started to get covered with fog. Cassidy said, "This can't be good." Then the phantom captain came out of the mist, spotted Cassidy and Ashley on the stairs, and growled at them. Ashley said, "Yep. Way not good. AAH!" Then Cassidy and Ashley ran back up the stairs, screaming. Cassidy said, "Let's get out of here. AAH!" The phantom captain chased after them up the stairs they were on and up another pair of stairs. Ashley said, "Faster, Faster." Cassidy said, "I'm going as fast as I can." Ashley said, "Hurry up, he's catching up to us. Hurry, let's go. Run." Cassidy said, "What do you think I'm doing?" Ashley said, "Well, sprint." Cassidy said, "How?" Ashley said, "Run faster."

The phantom captain chased Cassidy and Ashley to the ship's top and down the waterslide. Once they reached the bottom, all three landed in the pool. After they did, the phantom captain chased Cassidy and Ashley out of the pool and across the ship. The phantom captain found Cassidy at the food stands, but then Ashley took a soda sprayer and sprayed the phantom captain with it. Once he got soaked, he slipped on the soda on the floor and then fell to the ground. Then Cassidy and Ashley ran for their lives, and the phantom captain chased after them. Cassidy and Ashley then ran into a door marked "Theater Backstage" and hid back there, but the phantom captain chased after them. The phantom captain looked all around but couldn't find Cassidy or Ashley, who was dancing with the other dancers in the show. Then the phantom captain ran on stage and found Cassidy and Ashley with the other dancers. Once Cassidy and Ashley saw the phantom captain, they ran off the stage and out of the theater. Cassidy and Ashley then ran onto the deck and up the ladder to the high dive, but when they looked down, they saw the phantom captain climbing up after them. Once they got to the top, they looked behind them and saw the phantom captain. Then, both Cassidy and Ashley walked to the end of the diving board, jumped off it, and landed in the pool. Once they landed, Cassidy and Ashley stepped out of the pool, soaking wet and dried off with a couple of towels. Then they looked up at the high dive, saw a fog roll in, and saw the phantom captain vanish. Cassidy said, "Where did he go?" Ashley said, "Who cares, as long as he's gone."

Meanwhile, Jake and Willy were chowing down at the French fry stand. While eating, a fog passed by the trash cans, and the phantom captain appeared behind Jake. Once Willy saw the phantom captain, he hid under the table. Then Willy stuck his paw out from under the table and pointed at the phantom captain. Willy said, "Phantom, phantom." Jake turned around, looked at where Willy was pointing, and saw the phantom captain. Then he jumped in the air and ran for his life. Then Willy came out from under the table and ran next to Jake while the phantom captain chased after them. Jake and Willy ran out of the food court and to the shuffleboard court. While Jake ran, Willy took a shuffleboard stick and hit a puck at the phantom captain. Then, the phantom captain tripped on the puck that Willy hit at him, and Willy ran off with Jake while the phantom captain was down. While they were running, Jake and Willy slapped their paws because they got rid of the phantom captain.

Meanwhile, Judy and Michelle finished questioning The Amazing Water Flippers and then decided to sneak into their cabin. Once they found it, Judy picked the lock on the door and opened it. Then, they searched their cabin for any clues. Judy put a tape in the VCR, pushed play, and saw it was a replay of one of their synchronized swimming routines that won the gold medal. Judy said, "Looks like these guys can't let go of the past." Michelle found a framed picture of them on a table, picked it up, and looked at it. Michelle said, "In more ways than one." Then they heard the doorknob turning and thought The Amazing Water Flippers were coming back. Judy said, "Uh oh." One of The Amazing Water Flippers members, "Luke," returned to the room and looked around. While Luke was in the room, Judy peered out of the closet and shut it, and Michelle peered out of under one of the beds and crawled back under. Once Luke entered the bathroom, Judy and Michelle came out from hiding and left before getting caught. Meanwhile, Cassidy and Ashley were checking out the ship's side and saw dolphins jumping in and out of the water. When they were done looking, they spotted a trail of footprints leading away from the ship's side and to a door. Ashley tried to open it, but it was locked. Ashley said, "That's weird. This is the first door we found locked." Cassidy said, "Allow me." Cassidy took a hairpin Judy gave her from her pocket and used it to pick the lock on the door. Then she opened the door, and she and Ashley walked in. Once they got in, they found an old movie projector and a few other cameras on a table. Ashley said, "What are those? Cameras?" Cassidy said, "I think so. But I think their specific types of cameras."

Meanwhile, Brad and Jake followed Captain Carrington to see what he was doing. They followed him to the control room, where all the security monitors were. Once they got in, they lost his trail. Brad said, "Where did he go?" Jake said, "Don't know. Hey, maybe we can find him on the security monitors. The security cameras don't miss anything." Jake turned on the security monitors, but they wouldn't turn on. Jake said, "Uh oh, they're not working." Brad said, "Maybe it's a clue."

Meanwhile, Ricky and William were sitting down at a table enjoying their dinner while a girl named, "Lindsay Rock" was performing on stage. The lights were off at first, but Lindsay started to sing softly when they came on and stood still while the musicians played. Then the musicians began to play louder, and Lindsay started singing and dancing. Then fog started to cover the stage, and backup dancers came on stage to dance with Lindsay when she began to sing and dance for real. Then, lights flashed on them while they danced, and Lindsay sang. The audience clapped to the melody and cheered for Lindsay. While Lindsay was performing, Ricky took out his phone and recorded her performance. The audience cheered for Lindsay when she was done, but Ricky stopped recording her. Ricky said, "I think we have a new suspect." William said, "Her? No way." Ricky said, 'It's possible. She could have used the same fog for the phantom that she used for her show." William said, "Maybe."

Meanwhile, Jake and Willy were chowing down at the pizza bar. While Jake and Willy were eating, a fog surrounded them. Then, the phantom captain that appeared scared Jake and Willy and threw a net at them. Then he caught Jake and Willy, dognapped them, and put a note on the wall with a bloody knife. Then, the phantom captain laughed evilly while fog surrounded them and made them disappear. Once both groups got to the food court, they found the note the phantom left on the wall. Brad took the note off the wall and read it. Brad said, "Your dogs have been taken. They will be held until you decide to back off the case and mind your business. Don't try to find them. The phantom captain." Cassidy took the knife off the wall and took a look at it. William said, "Ok, well, that's it. We leave the phantom alone, and he'll give us Jake and Willy back." Cassidy said, "I don't think so." William said, "Why not?" Cassidy said, "They have to still be on board the ship. And look at this knife." Both groups looked at the knife and saw the handle had the initials C.C. on it. Cassidy said, "Why would a phantom monogram his knife?" Judy said, "He wouldn't. Unless he's not a real phantom." Brad said, "OK, here's what we're going to do. We'll divide into two groups and split up. One group will look for fingerprints on the knife and note. The other will start looking for Jake and Willy." Brad brought out eight straws and decided to have them all draw straws to determine who would go with who. Brad said, "Long ones look for fingerprints. Short ones look for Jake and Willy." All 8 of them chose a straw and told everyone what they got. Brad said, "I'm looking for Jake and Willy." Judy said, "Me too." Ashley said, "I'm in." William said, "So am I." Jake said, "I'm looking for fingerprints." Michelle said, "So am I." Cassidy said, "Me also." Ricky said, "I'm joining you." Brad said, "Ok, let's split up." Jake, Michelle, Cassidy, and Ricky returned to The Clue Crackers' cabin and started looking for fingerprints on the knife and note.

Cassidy wore rubber gloves so her fingerprints wouldn't show on the note or knife. Then she dusted the note, so whoever's fingerprints would show. Once she found some, she taped one of them and put it on a piece of paper. Then she labeled the fingerprint, "The phantom captain." She then dusted the knife for fingerprints and found another set. She then taped one onto another piece of paper and saw both fingerprints she found didn't match. Cassidy said, "Forgot. I touched the knife, and Brad touched the note, and we don't have the same fingerprints. We Still need to look for the same print on both objects." Cassidy kept dusting the knife and note and looking for fingerprints. Cassidy said, "Hey guys. While I'm looking for fingerprints, take my microscope and see if you can see what that red stuff on the knife and note is." Cassidy took a slide from her backpack, put a sample of the red blood on it, and put it under the microscope for the others to look at. Cassidy found another fingerprint on the note, saw it was different from the others she found, and taped it onto a piece of paper. She then searched the knife for a matching one while Jake, Michelle, and Ricky looked at the red stuff under Cassidy's microscope.

Meanwhile, Brad, Judy, Ashley, and William were all checking the deck below for Jake and Willy. Judy said, "Do you think the phantom captain hid Jake and Willy down here?" Ashley said, "Well, we have to start somewhere." While looking around, they heard someone playing the guitar and singing, but they didn't know where it was coming from. Brad, Judy, Ashley, and William followed the music to see where it originated. They saw the singing coming from a hallway of doors but didn't know which one. Brad pointed to the left, saying, "Judy and I will look at these doors." Ashley pointed to the right and said, "William and I will look in these." William opened one of the doors and saw the phantom captain behind it. Then he screamed and slammed the door. Ashley said, "What is it?" William pointed at the door he opened and said, "The phantom captain is behind that door." Ashley opened the same door William opened and saw nothing in it. Ashley said, "What? It's empty." William said, "What? Empty?" William looked in it, saw it was empty too, and got confused. Ashley said, "You have got quite the imagination." Ashley slammed the door shut and went to look at the other doors. Brad and Judy each opened one of the doors and saw they were empty.

Ashley opened a door, too, and saw the phantom captain behind it. Ashley screamed, "Phantom captain!" Ashley ran for it, and the others wondered why. Then they all saw the phantom captain and all ran for it too. Judy said, "Run!" Brad, Judy, Ashley, and William ran into the third door on the left side, and the phantom captain chased them. Then they all ran out of the first door on the left side and into the first door on the right side. Then the phantom captain ran out of the first door on the left side, stopped, and saw Brad, Judy, Ashley, and William running out of the second door on the right side and into the second door on the left side. Then Brad ran out of the third door on the left side, Judy ran out of the second door on the right, and Ashley ran out of the third door on the left. Brad ran into the first door on the right side, Judy ran into the second door on the left side, and so did William when he ran out of the second door on the right side, and Ashley ran into the third door on the right side. Then Judy ran out of the first door on the left side and into the first door on the right side. Then they all ran out of separate doors, and the phantom captain chased them down the hallway. Once the phantom captain got to the end of the hallway, he lost the kids' trail and thought they went into the Crew Quarters. Once he got in, he didn't see anyone inside, so he shut the door, and the kids let go of the coat rack on the back of the door. Judy said, "Lost him."

After they lost the phantom captain, they started to hear the exact singing they heard earlier. Judy said, "It's that singer again." Ashley said, "And it sounds like he's at the other end of the hall." Brad, Judy, Ashley, and William followed the music; the closer they got, the louder the music became. Brad said, "We're getting warm." They heard the music coming from behind a door. Brad said, "Sounds like it's coming from behind this door." Brad tried to open it, but it was locked. Brad said, "Locked." William said, "Guess we'll just have to break it down." Judy took her credit card from her purse, picked the lock on the door, and opened it. Judy said, "Or not." Then they all walked in and saw the singing coming from an air vent. Brad said, "Rats, it's not coming from in here."

Meanwhile, Cassidy was still searching for fingerprints. Cassidy found another one on the knife's handle, taped it onto a piece of paper, compared it to the ones she saw on the note, and found one that matched. Cassidy said, "Yes, we have a match. All we need to do is find the person who left these fingerprints." Cassidy put both fingerprints on one piece of paper and labeled them "The Phantom Captain."

Meanwhile, Michelle saw the red stuff under Cassidy's microscope. While she was looking, she saw what the red stuff was. Michelle said, "This isn't blood." Jake said, "If that's not blood, what is it?" Michelle said, "That's what we'll find out." Cassidy printed out her data on the red stuff, and her data told her what the red stuff was since it wasn't blood. Cassidy read her data and said, "According to my experiment, it's red paint."

Meanwhile, Brad, Judy, Ashley, and William followed the music, hoping it would lead them to Jake and Willy. They followed it down a hall and to a dead end. Ashley pointed down at an air vent on the floor and said, "It's coming from this air vent." After they figured out where the music was coming from, they left and went down another hallway. They heard the music coming from the end of the hallway and were tired of following it all over the ship. Judy said, "Following the music is like going down different paths in a maze." Brad said, "I know, but that singer and Jake and Willy need our help." They followed the music to another door, and when they opened it, they saw it had an elevator behind it. All four walked in, pulled the lever, and the elevator brought them down to the ship's hold. Once they got down, they opened the door and heard the music getting louder, so they thought they found where it was coming from. Once they found the door, the singing was coming from behind. They opened it and saw Davy Jones singing while playing his guitar, and Jake and Willy tied together. Once they found Davy Jones, Jake, and Willy, they untied Jake and Willy, and then they all left. Once they left, a fog rolled into the ship's hold, and the phantom captain appeared. The phantom captain said, "You did not heed my warning, and now you meddling kids have bothered me for the last time." The kids, dogs, and Davy Jones ran for their lives, and the phantom captain chased them.

The phantom captain chased them back into the elevator and to the deck below. While the phantom captain chased them, Davy Jones sang some chase music for them. The phantom captain chased them above deck and to the stores, where they pretended to be statues to fool the phantom captain. When the phantom captain left, the kids, dogs, and Davy Jones stopped pretending to be statues and left. Then they ran to the ship's side, saw the phantom captain, and ran for it. Then Brad pointed to the left, and Ashley, William, Willy, and Davy Jones ran down the left hall while he, Judy, and Jake ran down the proper hall.

Once they split up, the phantom captain chased after Brad, Judy, and Jake. He chased them into the spa, and when the phantom captain got in, Brad, Judy, and Jake dumped a barrel of shampoo on his head. Then he slipped on all the shampoo, and Brad, Judy, and Jake ran for their lives. The phantom captain entered the kitchen where Ashley, William, Willy, and Davy Jones hid. The phantom captain looked in the oven for them but didn't find them. Then William came out from under the sink, put the phantom captain's vest in the mixer, and turned the mixer on. Then, all four came out from hiding and ran for their lives while the phantom captain was trying to get his vest out of the mixer. All seven of them then regrouped and saw the phantom captain coming, so Brad used buckets of paint on the floor to paint a fake doorway on the wall, and Judy painted the deck in the doorway. Then they ran off, and the phantom captain entered their fake doorway and bumped into the wall. After losing the phantom captain, they took Davy Jones, returned to his cabin to The Clue Crackers' cabin, and asked the others how they were doing.

Cassidy said, "We're doing fine. I found a matching set of fingerprints. All we need is a matching set from someone on the ship, and we got our culprit." Michelle said, "I also found out what that red stuff is. Red paint. The phantom captain probably put it there to scare us." Judy said, "We also found Davy Jones, Jake, and Willy in the ship's hold. Now the phantom captain's mad at us and is out to get us." Cassidy said, "I think this mystery is starting to add up." Ashley said, "All we have to do now is capture the phantom captain." Brad said, "And I know how." Both groups huddled up, and Brad told them about his plan. The Mysteries 5 all walked onto the deck and looked around the phantom captain. Jake said, "You who." Michelle said, "Mr. Phantom." Ashley said, "Your pesky kids are right here." William said, "Quiet, you'll alert the ghost." Jake said, "That's the point."

Once they got the phantom captain's attention, he scared The Mysteries 5. Then, The Mysteries 5 ran back to The Clue Cracker's trap. Brad said, "Here they come." Judy looked down while holding the rope with the others. Cassidy grabbed Judy and said, "Don't lean over the side." Then Judy and Cassidy fell off the side, and when The Mysteries 5 got below deck, Ricky and Jake dropped the cage and caught Judy and Cassidy instead of the phantom captain. Cassidy said, "Nice work, Judy."

Brad unlocked the cage, ran below deck with The Mysteries 5, and then all 10 ran for it. Brad said, "Everyone pairs and splits up." Brad went with Jake, Judy with Michelle, Cassidy with Ashley, Ricky with William, and Jake with Willy. Brad then put a quarter in the jukebox and played music while the phantom captain chased them. The phantom captain chased Jake and Willy back above deck and to the food court. Once they got there, they hid under a table. Then, the phantom captain lifted the table and found Jake and Willy under it. Then Jake and Willy ran for their lives and chased them to the deck.

Once he got to the deck, he lost Jake and Willy and found Cassidy and Ashley. Then Cassidy and Ashley ran into The Clue Cracker's bedroom, put two pillows under the sheet, and threw the sheet over the bed. Once the phantom captain saw the pillows under the sheet, he thought they were Cassidy and Ashley, so he bounced on them. Then Cassidy and Ashley came out from under the bed, threw two pillows at the phantom, and ran for it. The phantom captain then looked into the salon where Judy and Michelle hid. While Judy was getting her hair done, Michelle grabbed the phantom, sat him down in a chair, and started to do his hair. Then the phantom captain got mad, broke free, and scared Michelle when he growled at her. Then Michelle ran for her life, and the phantom captain ran up to Judy. Judy lifted her hairdryer and showed the phantom captain what she did with her hair. Once she did, she scared the phantom captain, and he ran off with Michelle while Judy laughed.

Meanwhile, Ricky and William ran into one of the elevators on the ship, and the phantom captain ran into another. Once they reached the ship's top, Ricky and William saw the phantom captain and ran to the waterslide. Then they jumped down the waterslide, slid down it to the pool, and the phantom captain slid down it after them. Once they landed in the pool, Ricky and William swam out of it and ran off before the phantom captain could chase after them. Brad and Jake then ran into the fitness center, and the phantom captain ran after them. Once the phantom captain got in, he lost Brad and Jake, who were exercising with other passengers. The phantom captain scared all the passengers away except for Brad and Jake. Then the phantom captain walked up to Brad and Jake, frightened them, and they ran for it. Brad and Jake then ran into the closet, and when the phantom captain opened the door, Brad turned on the faucet, and Jake sprayed the phantom captain with water from a hose. Then Brad turned off the faucet, Jake dropped the hose, and they ran for their lives before the phantom captain got up. After Brad and Jake lost the phantom captain, all the pairs met up, saw the phantom captain coming, and hid in their rooms. Then the phantom captain tried going after them, but both groups locked their doors and hid in their rooms until the phantom captain went away.

Once he did, the phantom captain ran down the hall and left. After the phantom captain left, Brad crawled over to the door, looked through the peephole, and saw he was gone. Brad said, "He's gone." The Clue Crackers emerged from hiding, and Judy said, "Thank goodness." Then they left their room, knocked on The Mysteries 5's door, and The Mysteries 5 kept hiding. Brad said, "Guys, it's ok, it's us. The phantom captain is gone." The Mysteries 5 opened their door and saw it was The Clue Crackers. Jake said, "Thank goodness."

The Mysteries 5 came out of their room and joined The Clue Crackers in the hall. Cassidy said, "I think we got this mystery wrapped up. Now, all we have to do is catch the phantom." Judy said, "Hope this trap will catch the phantom and not Cassidy and me again." Brad said, "That was your fault, Judy." Cassidy said, "He does have a point. I wouldn't have had to grab you if you didn't lean over the side. Then we wouldn't have fallen into the trap." Judy said, "OK, ok. So, what's the plan?" Brad said, "Follow me to the deck." Both The Clue Crackers and The Mysteries 5 followed Brad to the deck. Then Cassidy took the cage they used for their first trap and set it up on the deck.

Judy then tied a rope to a lifeboat and set it over the cage. Jake said, "So, how does this trap work?" Brad said, "Simple. You guys lure the phantom into the trap." Jake said, "But my group will be trapped in that cage with the phantom." Brad said, "True, but that's what the lifeboat is for. My gang will lower the lifeboat into the cage and lift you out while I lock the door and you guys slam the top." Jake said, "Come on, gang, let's find us a phantom."

The Mysteries 5 all went to look for the phantom captain. Jake said, "Mr. Phantom, are you here?" Michelle said, "Your pesky kids are right here." Then, the phantom captain showed up and touched William's shoulder. William said, "Uh oh." The phantom captain said, "So, you finally decided to surrender." Ashley said, "Nope. RUN!" The Mysteries 5 ran into the cage, and so did the phantom captain. Then, The Mysteries 5 got into the lifeboat, and The Clue Crackers pulled them out of the cage. Then Jake slammed the top of the cage while Brad locked the door. Cassidy said, "Well, that wraps up this mystery."

The Clue Crackers and The Mysteries 5 then let the phantom captain out of the cage, and the security guards handcuffed him. One of the security guards said, "Well done, kids, but who is this?" Cassidy said, "Don't you recognize him?" Cassidy took off the phantom captain's mask and revealed who he was. Everyone said, "Captain Carrington!" Ricky said, "But why?" Ashley said, "To scare everyone off the cruise so we would have to dock early, and he would make a fortune off both the old passengers and the new ones." Cassidy said, "He would also scare all the new passengers into docking early just like he did to us to make more money." Brad said, "But Jake and I saw him in the casino heading into the control room while the phantom chased you and Ashley." Cassidy said, "You almost had us there." Then Ashley took a remote from Captain Carrington's pocket, pushed the button, and Captain Carrington appeared in front of them. Brad said, "Two Captain Carringtons?" Cassidy said, "No." Ashley pushed the button again, and the phantom appeared. William and Willy screamed, but Ashley pushed the button again, making the phantom vanish. Cassidy said, "Calm down, guys."

Cassidy pointed up, and everyone saw lights coming from the ship's side. Ashley said, "You were just watching a projection projected from movie projectors put in place of the security cameras. So, Captain Carrington projected himself in the casino, which Brad and Jake saw. At the same time, the real Captain Carrington disguised himself as the phantom captain and chased me and Cassidy." Cassidy said, "So with the movie projectors, he could project either himself or the phantom captain when needed." Brad said, "Since all the cameras were removed, the security monitors couldn't work. That's why we couldn't turn them on." Jake said, "And the captain didn't leave; his hologram just vanished." Cassidy said, "And after he chased us, he took Jake and Willy down to the hole." William said, "But why was Davy Jones down there too?" Captain Carrington said, "I booked Davy to sing at a party we would have. But Davy saw me get changed into my phantom suit. I couldn't risk him telling anybody, so I locked him in the hole with your dogs and left that note with the knife behind."

Brad said, "What about that red stuff on the note and knife?" Michelle said, "I looked into that and told you that I found out that it was red paint just like the green paint we found on the ground that Ashley thought was goo. And the initials C.C. that were on it stand for Captain Carrington." Ashley said, "What about the movie projector?" Cassidy said, "Remember the ghost ship in the water. Just like the holograms of the phantom and himself, Captain Carrington used the movie projector at night to cast a projection of the ghost ship. And just like how every time the phantom appeared and disappeared, he used the fog machine Lindsay used for her performance to cast fog in front of the ghost ship and turn off the projector to make it look like it vanished." The security guard said, "But how was the phantom able to fly?"

Judy said, "Simple." Judy removed Captain Carrington's costume and showed everyone what he had underneath. Judy said, "These balloons were filled with the helium from the tanks below deck. They gave the phantom his ability to fly." Captain Carrington said, "And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids and your dogs." Later that night, The Clue Crackers and The Mysteries 5 sat down and started to celebrate. Once they were done eating, all ten of them got up, formed a conga line, and shook their hands to the left and the right while they danced.

The End