"Solving the mystery forever" might take a little bit longer than Wilbur had in mind. I'm just sayin', probably ain't the best idea to stick with me all this time XD.

CHAPTER THREE

Bong! Bong! Bong! The grandfather clock that Aunt Billie had insisted on having struck midnight in the Robinson household. Wilbur opened his eyes. This was it. He was going to figure out the real deal on his sister. He got out of bed and crept toward the Robinson front door. He was doing a pretty good job moving in the darkness, until he bumped into the doorframe. He squealed under his breath and jumped back. Ugh, suck it up, man. Wilbur Robinson does not get scared of a doorframe, Wilbur thought.

He tiptoed out of his room and into the lobby of the Robinson household. Wilbur Robinson was quite happy with himself. Twelve-oh-two in the morning and he had successfully crept out of his room and not set off the motion detectors (he was very careful after the run-in with the motion detectors on the way to Huck's lair). He was supposed to meet Huck at twelve-oh-five. He waited patiently. That is, for about two minutes.

Wilbur paced quietly—so quietly, in fact, that not even the newfound ninja Sierra could hear him, he thought. Finally, when it occurred to him that at least twenty minutes had passed, he started to return to bed. This was ridiculous. Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the shadows. Wilbur began to scream, but a hand clamped over his mouth. "Finally, there you are! Thought you wasn't comin'," a voice that sounded like Huck's said.

The hand was removed from his mouth. "Huck?" he asked cautiously.

"Who else, stupid?" Huck replied.

Wilbur released his held breath. "My God, you scared the crap out of me. Where were you?"

"I was waitin' for you."

"Where?"

"In the garage."

"The garage? I thought we were going to the graveyard.

"I don't reckon I e'er said that we was goin' to our graveyard," Huck said.

"So, we're stealing a time machine?" Wilbur whispered.

"Uh huh," Huck rolled her eyes. She was talking to an idiot. With a sigh, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the garage.

"How'd you find me?" Wilbur asked.

"A ninja, you ain't," Huck replied.

Rats! I thought nobody could hear me! Man! Wilbur thought in frustration. "So, where's the graveyard?"

"Hannibal, Missouri."

"When?"

"1840."

"What?!"

"Shhh!" Huck hissed. This idiot did not, apparently, know when to keep shut. They had arrived at the garage. Huck put her hand to the scanner.

"What are you doing? Your biometrics aren't authorized! You're gonna set off the alarm!" Wilbur said in a panicked whisper.

"Quit being paranoid," Huck said. The scanner flashed green and the garage doors rumbled apart to reveal two time machines—the prototype red one and the not-so-prototype blue one.

"The alarm's not going off," Wilbur noted the obvious.

"Sure ain't. Lily rigged the scanner. From midnight to two-o-clock in the mornin', any hand is considered Cornelius's hand," Huck said, removing her hand and approaching the prototype time machine.

"What if someone catches us?" Wilbur asked.

"Since when do you care if someone catches us?" Huck snapped, opening the hatch and climbing in.

"Good point," Wilbur said and got in the seat behind Huck. "Hey, wait, why do you get to drive?" he whined.

"Well, first time you crashed it, second time you crashed it, third time you crashed it—"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You don't crash nearly as much as I do," Wilbur pouted in the backseat.

"Just shut up," Huck snapped and punched in the date on the keypad: April 28th, 1840. The time machine revved up and shot into the sky, disappearing in a translucent bubble.

oOoOoOo…1840…oOoOoOo

The time machine appeared in the darkness of the sky and slowly melted into its surroundings. Far below, Wilbur could see a small town next to a big river. There were a lot more trees than there were in 2037.

Huck landed the machine in a clearing in the woods and made sure that it was invisible. Then she climbed out of the hatch and slammed it shut. She began to walk away.

"Hey!" Wilbur called.

"Oh right. Forgot to lock it," Huck pressed the button on the remote for the machine.

"Huck!" Wilbur whined.

"Fine," Huck unlocked it again and Wilbur hopped out, slamming the hatch behind him. She locked it again and hid it in its compartment on the outside of the machine. Don't even ask how all this happened while it was still invisible.

"Where're we going?" Wilbur asked cautiously.

"The graveyard, I told you," Huck rolled her eyes and kept walking. She walked through the forest until she finally got to what looked like a pathway leading to an old graveyard. Their surrounding was foggy and it reminded Wilbur of a horror movie.

Suddenly, two figures, one a little taller than Huck and one a little shorter, appeared in the fog. Wilbur bit his lip to keep from screaming. But Huck whispered loudly, "Hey, Huck! Tom!"

The figures turned around and their faces became clear as they neared them. "Hey Huck, we thought you wasn't comin'," the smaller boy said.

"'Course I was comin'. Just my brother though that tagged along and slowed me down. Anyhow, you got the dead cat?" Huck asked.

"Uh huh," the taller boy said, holding out a burlap bag.

"Good, so we're ready," Huck said, joining the boys.

Wilbur followed close behind. He knew where he saw those boys before—the movie. The movie that Huck was watching. Wait…oh my God! Those two are Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn! Wilbur thought. He walked a little faster and almost ran into Tom, Huck, and…well…Huck. They were quiet. Wilbur wondered why, until he heard it too. There were voices. Soft voices coming from the fog.

The two Hucks and Tom crouched behind an iron fence, watching three figures mysteriously appear from the fog. Wilbur was frozen with fear, until Huck, his sister, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him down. She gave him a warning glance before returning her attention to the figures.

"Who are they?" a voice said, which Wilbur placed as Huck, the taller boy with the shaggy hair.

"The two on the right ain't so bad," said another voice, Tom's. "The skinny one's Doc Robinson and the fat one's Muff Potter. Muff wouldn't hurt a fly. But that third fella, there, that's Injun Joe."

The two Hucks turned to Tom with the same look of almost-fear. They say in unison, "Injun Joe?"

Tom nodded. "You guys know 'im?"

"Let's just say we met him once and we ain't in a hurry to meet him again," Huck said, his voice measured.

Tom nodded in agreement to the taller boy's statement and turned back to the scene in front of them. "They're goin' for one of them old graves."

Wilbur stared in shock. This was too weird. He was crouching in a graveyard with Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and his sister Huck, while watching three men dig up a grave through an iron fence. Waay too weird!

Suddenly, a thumping interrupted him from his thoughts. Injun Joe and Muff Potter were hitting their shovels against a coffin. He heard Muff ask if he could have a drink.

"No! Pry her up! Tip her over!" Doc Robinson commanded. The coffin was lifted and overturned. A skeleton and a small chest rolled out. Wilbur involuntarily shivered.

Doc Robinson walked over and grabbed the chest. Then, he instructed the other two to put the coffin back. Next thing he knew, Injun Joe was demanding the box from the doc. Muff was trying to protest the fight, but Injun Joe punched Doc Robinson down.

"What'd you do that for?" Muff exclaimed, then began to help Doc Robinson up while offering comforting words.

"It's the treasure map!" Injun Joe said, and Muff dropped Doc Robinson.

"Murrel's treasure? Murrel's lost treasure? By glory, we're rich!"

"It's mine!" Doc Robinson swung a tombstone at Injun Joe, but he moved out of the way and the stone nailed Muff, knocking him out.

Wilbur heard the others draw in their breath. Suddenly, Injun Joe began to ferociously punch Doc Robinson, and the doc fell into the fence, not two feet away from Wilbur and the others. Wilbur thanked his lucky stars that it was foggy, or who knows what would have happened to them.

Then, his eyes widened. Injun Joe had taken Muff's knife and began stabbing Doc Robinson. He couldn't take his eyes from the horrific scene, but a hand yanked him up and he began running. He winced as the fence clanged. Injun Joe began following them. Wilbur did his best not to scream as Tom's jacket caught on an iron spike, but luckily, clothes these days weren't very well made, and the jacket tore off. Wilbur, Huck, Huck, and Tom ran into the fog.

-

Disclaimer: I do not own Tom and Huck or any product related to it. I do not own Muff Potter, Doc Robinson, Injun Joe, Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, etc. etc. I also do not own Meet the Robinsons or any product related to it. I do not own Wilbur Robinson, Aunt Billie, Franny Robinson, etc. etc. I do however own Sierra, Lily, Robin, and me.

Just thought I'd get that out of the way.