That's Snow Ghost!
The Loonatics arrive at Wolf's End Lodge Resort near the U.S.-Canada border. They are all dressed in winter clothing for the frigid weather. They had been asked to investigate a problem at the Lodge. As they arrive, they notice a large snow plow next to the Lodge leading to a nearby woods. Ace parks the van in front of the Lodge and they all get out. As they do, Mr. Greenway, the acting owner of the Lodge, comes over to them.
"I'm glad you kids were able to make it up here. Business has been so slow lately." Mr. Greenway greets.
"What's the matter? Has the weather been bad?" Ace asks.
"No, we're being terrorized by a Snow Ghost!" Greenway answers.
"Snow Ghost?" Ace asks. "Why that's nothing but a legend."
"No he's real, I've seen him!" Mr. Greenway insists. "The owner of this Lodge, Fu Chin Li, has also vanished."
"Really?" Slam asks. "If the Ghost can scare him away, he must be really scary."
"Yeah, well, it won't be enough to scare us away." Lexi says.
"Anyway, we came up here to enjoy a getaway." Ace declares. "It'll take a lot to scare us off."
"Very well." Mr. Greenway says. "If you're, going to stay, Mr. Leech will attend to your bags." Mr. Greenway then walks back into the Lodge. The Loonatics then walk in with their bags. Ace and Lexi get one room. Tech, Duck and Slam get one. And Rev and Rip get the third room. All rooms are in the same hallway on the first floor.
Twenty minutes later, Mr. Leech meets the Loonatics in the lounge.
"All your bags have been placed in your rooms. Please enjoy your stay." Mr. Leech says and he walks off and into the library.
"Rev, why don't you, Rip, and Tech go see if you can fetch some firewood?" Ace asks. "The rest of us will think of what we'll do next."
"Sure thing, Ace." Rev replies. He, Rip and Tech head outside. As the trio look around the guest cottages, they think about the Snow Ghost.
"What do you suppose about this Snow Ghost?" Rip asks.
"Well, surely there has to be more to than just scaring people away from this lodge." Rev says.
"Perhaps." Tech agrees. "My guess is that there is something afoot here and this Snow Ghost doesn't want anyone to find out about."
"A creature that smart is one I can live without." Rip says.
After a while, the trio reach the last cottage and notice some firewood right next to it.
"Hey, here's some firewood." Rev calls out. Rip and Tech join him. Rev picks them up and is surprised at how light they feel. "Hmm, that's weird. These feel light."
Tech and Rip each take a piece and they both feel light.
"Weird indeed." Rip says.
Tech moves his hand around his piece and as he pulls his hand back, the wood opens up to reveal that it's hollow. "I guess this answers why they're light."
"Ok, something's up all right." Rev says. Rev takes out his bag and they trio put all the pieces of wood in it.
As Rev zips the bag shut, a roar startles them and they turn around and standing right in front of them is the Snow Ghost! A tall, menacing creature with white fur, a menacing face and razor sharp claws. The trio give a scream of fright and run away with the Ghost chasing them. They split up and manage to lose sight of him and get back into the Lodge. They enter and close the door with a slam.
The others look toward the door and see the trio with their backs to the door and panting heavily.
"What happened to you guys?" Duck asks. "You look light you just saw a ghost."
"Yeah, we did." Rip says.
"A Snow Ghost." Rev adds.
"For real?" Lexi asks. "How did it happen?"
The Loonatics gather at the fireplace and with the fire warming them up, Rev, Rip and Tech explained what happened. They take out the wood they found and show it to Ace.
"Hollowed out pieces of firewood?" Ace asks. "Well, if the Snow Ghost wanted these, he must be up to something alright and we're gonna find out what it is."
Ace opens the front door and pokes his head out. He sees no sign of the ghost and gives the all clear. The Loonatics go to where the Snow Ghost attacked Rev, Rip and Tech and find some jewels at the same spot where they found the wood.
"Woah! Get a load of these!" Duck excitedly says while picking up a piece.
"Jewels!" Lexi joins in. "This is where you found the logs?"
"It is." Rev answers. "We didn't even see them."
"Hold on." Tech remembers. "One log I had seemed a little heavy than the others. When the Snow Ghost attacked, I dropped mine and after I picked it back up, it felt lighter. Maybe these jewels were in that hollowed log."
"Hmm. Logs hollowed out and jewels placed in them." Ace summarizes. "It looks like we may have stumbled upon a jewel smuggling operation and the Snow Ghost is involved."
"So what do we do now?" Slam asks.
"Well, we're gonna need to find some more clues to reach that bridge." Ace says. The group return to the Lodge. "Let's do some quick looking around the Lodge and see if we can find some clues and maybe something we can use for a trap."
The group checks their respective rooms. Ace and Lexi find a large white sheet in their room, Tech, Duck and Slam find a few pieces of coal and an old corset in their room, while Rev and Rip find nothing of value in their room. Stepping out, Rev tries a door at the end of the hallway, but it's locked. Then he, Tech and Rip enter the library.
"Gosh, this library is huge." Tech marvels.
"And it's like a maze." Rip adds.
"Let's be sure to remember the way back." Rev cautions.
The trio move around corner after corner being sure to remember which way they went. Finally, they reach the end of the library and find Mr. Leech on a radio.
"Hey, it's Mr. Leech." Rev whispers. They stay hidden and listen to what Mr. Leech is saying.
"No one suspects a thing." Mr. Leech says to a mic. A voice on his headphones speaks asks him a question. "Yes, I'll wait for your response." Mr. Leech answers again. "Don't worry. The Snow Ghost will take care of them." He answers again and turns the radio off. He turns the corner and spots the trio. "Hey, what are you three doing here?" Before they can answer, Mr. Leech draws a knife and attacks them. The trio dodge the knife, push Mr. Leech back and run through the maze of shelves towards the door. They notice a large pile of books at the top of two shelves over the entrance of the maze. Rev and Rip climb up and take positions at each end. When Mr. Leech runs to the opening, they push the books off the shelf and onto Mr. Leech, knocking him out.
"Nice timing." Tech says with relief. Rev and Rip climb down. The trio pull Mr. Leech out of the pile of books.
"So Mr. Leech is involved in all this." Rip deduces.
"Yeah. Let's see if he has anything." Rev says. They search Mr. Leech's pockets and find a green invoice and find a familiar name on it. "R. Necros! It's that name again!"
"Definitely a connection with Mr. Wickles." Tech deduces. They carry Mr. Leech out of the library and bring him to the others and tell them what they overheard.
"And the plot thickens." Duck says.
"Well, can't afford for him to get loose." Slam says. They tie Mr. Leech up and lock him in a closet. "That should keep him out of the way."
"Now our next order of business is to find Fu Chin Li." Ace says. "Once he's out of harms way, we can deal with the Snow Ghost. Tech, you Rev and Rip go search the woods. The rest of us will keep looking around here."
"No problem." Tech replies. "I'll get the snow plow out of the way and we'll head out immediately."
The trio head out the door and Tech gets into the snow plow and moves it out of the way, clearing the way into the woods. Before the trio head out, Slam gives them the three large pieces of coal.
"Take these. They could come in handy if you run into the Snow Ghost out there." Slam says.
"Thanks, Slam." Rip compliments.
"Alright, let's hit it." Rev says. The trio head into the woods.
The woods were thick but the path was clear. After walking for ten minutes, they came upon a clearing where the path circled around some trees.
"How much farther?" Rip asks.
"Perhaps past this clearing." Tech answers.
As the trio enter the clearing, a familiar roar from behind startles them. They turn around and they see the Snow Ghost running towards them with an axe. They make a break for it. They notice some snowmen around a corner and Tech remembers the pieces of coal Slam gave him. He quickly takes them out and hands one Rev and Rip. They use the coal to make themselves look like snowmen and stand completely still. The Snow Ghost arrives, stops in front of the snowmen, looks around, pounds his axe into the snow in frustration and runs off out of the woods. When he runs out of sight, the trio remove their snowmen disguises.
"Man, he came out of nowhere." Tech breaths in relief.
"Good thing we had those pieces of coal." Rip says in relief.
"And that these snowmen were here." Rev says in relief.
After catching their breath, the trio continue their trek through the woods and come upon an old sawmill. They go in and see massive logs are rolling through the slots in the floor. The trio moves past them and past some big saws that cut the floor and come upon a water shaft where the logs go down. On the other side, they notice a large bone on the floor and put it in their bag. Then they notice something odd about the logs. The pry one off the slots and examine it and discover that it's hollow.
"It's hollow!" Tech says.
"Just like the logs we found near the Lodge." Rev adds.
"This must be how those jewel smugglers smuggle the jewels." Rip deduces.
"A perfect way to get them across the border without being seen." Rev says.
"This is a perfect clue." Tech says. "Once we find Mr. Li, we can head back."
The trio leaves the saw mill and exit the woods that leads to a ski slope. They notice a cave nearby and decide to check it out. They enter and notice that it's been lit by torches.
"This must not be an ordinary cave for these torches to be here." Tech deduces.
"Let's go in further." Rev says. As they turn a corner, they jump back in shock at a big gray wolf blocking the way with a fierce growl.
"Oh, man." Rip nervously says. "I hope he's not hungry."
"Don't think so, Rip." Tech says. "He must be guarding whatever is at the end of this tunnel."
"Anybody got a doggy bone?" Rip jokingly asks.
"I got it!" Rev says. He pulls into the bag and pulls out the bone they found in the mill and places it down in front of the wolf. He takes it and goes to the corner of the turn, lays down and starts licking and chomping it. "Good thing we found that bone. Alright let's move."
The trio soon reach the end of the tunnel and enter what looks like a large temple. Vast treasures and paintings fill the room.
"Woah" The trio say in unison. They notice some chimes next to the door and give them a rattle.
"Quite the rattle." Rev says.
"These are Tibetan wind chimes. This must be a Tibetan temple." Tech says.
"Get a load of this paintings." Rip says. "And the pottery is fantastic."
As they look around, a voice calls out. "Who are you three?" The trio look in the direction of the voice and see an old man wearing red robes, a red hat and a black cloak.
"Sorry. I'm Tech. And these are Rev and Rip. Who are you, sir?" Tech says.
"My name is Fu Chin Li." The man answers.
"Hey, you're the guy we were looking for. We were worried and looked all over." Tech says.
"I understand." Mr. Li says. "I've been to frightened to leave this ancient temple with that Snow Ghost running around. He came in here earlier and took some artifacts but he didn't see me. I saw him drop this key. Perhaps you will put it to good use." Mr. Li hands them the key the Ghost dropped.
"Thanks." Tech says.
"Quick question." Rev says. "Was that wolf we encountered yours?"
"He is." Mr. Li answers. "He's my friend. I feed him and he protects me. You must have found his bone."
"We did." Rev says.
"Well now that we know you're ok, we gotta tell the others." Rip says. "Why don't you come with us?"
"No thanks." Mr. Li answers. "I'm staying here until that Snow Ghost is caught. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Alright. Let's head back, guys." Tech says. The trio leave the temple and out of the cave.
"So now what?" Rev asks. "We gotta go back through the woods?"
"I really don't want to risk running into the Ghost again." Rip says.
"Agreed." Tech says. "Let's check out the ski slope."
They head to the ski slope and find six pairs of skis in the cabin at the start of the slope. They each put a pair on and proceed to head down the slope. It has quite a lot of obstacles, but nothing they can't handle. After about five minutes of whooping, they safely reach the bottom which is right next to the Lodge. They take off their skis and head inside. They find the other Loonatics at the fireplace.
"Hey, guys." Ace says. "Did ya find anything out there?"
"Well we had another encounter with the Snow Ghost." Tech says. "Luckily, we were able to evade him."
"We went into a sawmill at the end of the woods and near the ski slope and we found logs were being hollowed out." Rip says.
"Then we went into a cave and found an ancient Tibetan style temple at the end and we found Fu Chin Li in the temple." Rev says.
"Nice work, guys!" Lexi congratulates. "Did he say anything about the Snow Ghost?"
"He said that the Snow Ghost was taking treasure from the temple." Tech says.
"Where is he now?" Slam asks.
"He stayed back in the temple until the Snow Ghost is caught." Tech says.
"Well, this Snow Ghost business is starting to make sense, but we still don't have everything we need to solve this mystery." Ace says. "Tech, you, Rev and Rip keep searching for clues and pieces we can use for a trap."
The trio head into the hallway and go into one door into the kitchen. They make a quick snack and resume their search. After exiting, they head to the locked door at the end of the hallway.
"Locked." Rev says.
Then they remember the key Mr. Li gave them.
"Let's try the key." Tech says. He tries it and the door unlocks. "It worked!"
They open the door and notice a stairway going up. They go up and into the attic of the Lodge. They make it to the other end of the room and find a book and a shovel under two windows.
"This shovel will come in handy." Rip says.
"Check out this book." Tech says. "It's a book on Tibetan Lore. It looks like someone's been doing research on that Snow Ghost."
The trio exit the attic and return to the lobby and meet up with the others. Ace comes up with a plan and they all head to the end of the ski slope. Slam digs a hole with the shovel, which Duck and Lexi cover with the sheet.
"All right, Loonatics. Here's the plan. Tech, you, Rev and Rip will lead the Snow Ghost down the ski slope and over the hole Slam dug."
"That's where Duck and I will be waiting with the corset that you three will ski to." Lexi says.
"It will enable you to pass over the hole without falling into it." Duck says.
"When the Snow Ghost steps over the hole, he'll fall in, right?" Rip asks.
"Correct." Ace says. "Alright, let's go everyone."
The trio then make the same trek through the woods and up to the ski slope launch with no sign of the Snow Ghost.
"Where is he?" Rev asks.
"He wasn't in the sawmill." Rip says.
"Well, that leaves the cave. Let's hope he hasn't gotten to Mr. Li." Tech says.
The trio enter the cave and as soon as they enter, they hear the familiar roar and notice the Snow Ghost at the first turn where the wolf was, coming at them with anger in it's eyes.
"Run for it!" Rev screams.
They run out of the cave and head to the ski slope launch and put on the extra three pairs of skis and head on down the slope. They look back and see that the Snow Ghost is right behind them and able to run a lot faster down the slope.
"How is he doing that?!" Tech says in disbelief.
"I don't know!" Rev says.
The Ghost takes a swipe at Rip and misses, but causes Rip to crash and send him flying onto Tech's skis and he lands behind Tech. Then he takes a swipe at Rev, causing him to crash too and send Rev flying onto Tech's skis as well, this time landing in front of Tech. They are able to maneuver the skis all the way down to the end of the slope with the Ghost in hot pursuit.
"Get ready! Here they come!" Ace signals for the others.
The trio ski past the gate and head for the hole and pass over it thanks to the corset. The Ghost reaches the hole and the sheet rips, causing him to fall in with a roar. The trio get off the skis and join the others in hoisting the Ghost out and tying him up.
"Great work, guys!" Ace congratulates the team. They all do a high five. Then they are surprised to hear sirens behind them and notice that someone had called the police. Several officers come up next to them.
"Hello kids." One officer greets. "We received a call about trouble up here. I take it that this is the Snow Ghost causing trouble?"
"Indeed it is, officer." Slam says. "But who called you guys? We didn't."
"That would be me." Fu Chin Li says as he walks up.
"Hey gang, it's Fu Chin Li!" Rev says.
"Hello, Mr. Li." Ace greets. "You won't have to worry anymore. This Snow Ghost won't be scaring people anymore."
"Thank you, kids. For everything." Li thanks.
"Now let's see who the Snow Ghost really is." Rev says and he pulls of the mask. "Mr. Greenway!"
"Now it's starting to make sense." Ace says. "Mr. Greenway learned about Fu Chin Li's ancient temple from the book on Tibetan Lore that Tech found."
"Then he hired Mr. Leech to help hollow out logs in the sawmill so that they could ship the temple treasures without drawing attention." Lexi says.
"Where is Mr. Leech anyway?" One officer asks.
"He should be tied up in the closet of the lobby." Rev says.
"He tried to kill us after we caught him talking to someone on the radio in the library about the Snow Ghost taking care of us." Rip says.
"We would have gotten away with it too if wasn't for these blasted kids." Mr. Greenway growls.
"Enough talk from you, Mr. Greenway." Mr. Li scolds. "Those jewels and treasures have been in my family for many years. Kids, I don't know where to even begin to thank you."
"It's alright, Mr. Li." Tech assures. "We were just glad to help."
Mr. Greenway and Mr. Leech are handcuffed, placed in a police cruiser and taken away. After a few days of rest, the Loonatics are ready to depart.
"You kids are more than welcome to come back here anytime." Mr. Li gratefully says.
"Thanks, Mr. Li." Slam says.
They pack up, get in their van and drive off.
"So, where should we go now?" Ace asks.
"Well, I for one, could use some sun." Lexi offers.
"I'm up for anything that's warm." Duck offers.
"Alright." Ace says. "How about a trip to Hawaii?"
"I'm in." The group says in unison.
As they drive off, the same unidentified figure sits at the monitors in his castle with frustration.
"Those meddling kids have foiled my smuggling operation, and spoiled my plans again! Perhaps they would enjoy a long vacation, Mwah Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!"