The Anti Thieving Duo
"Hello" - (Normal talking)
"What happened?" - (Thoughts)
"What do I do?" - (Flashback)
{"Hey, can you hear me?"} - (Communication)
":Now arriving at your destination:" - (Another Language)
"\Prepare for departure\" - (Radio and speakers)
Hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 20 - The Haunted Bayou Caper
(New Orleans)
A group of people walked down a street, playing jazz music on their instruments, as people on the sidewalks were watching them….while in the air, Red Drone was flying about for a moment, before spotting a man, which it followed.
"I spy with Red Drones eye, and I'm jazzed to present you with VILE's very own counterfeiter. Right there in New Orleans, just like my intel indicated" Player said with a grin.
Naruto and Carmen were both sitting at a table outside a cafe, wearing their respective hoodies with the hoods up to hide their faces, as the counterfeiter walked past them, before they lifted their heads up once he'd gone past.
"Heh, he doesn't look like he's packing any counterfeit anything" Naruto said with a smirk, as he and Carmen stood up and followed him.
{"He could be picking up, instead of dropping off"} Player said in their comms.
After walking for a while, they saw the man getting into a taxi, before it drove off.
"Or being picked up" Carmen said with a cocked eyebrow.
{"Your cars already on its way, guys"} Player said.
Naruto and Carmen both heard screeching tires, before a car came round the corner and stopped next to them.
"Let the good times roll," Zack said with a grin, as Naruto and Carmen climbed into the car, with Naruto in the back and Carmen in the front.
"So long as the car rolls, have all the fun that you want, Zack" Naruto said with a smile, as he and Carmen buckled themselves in.
"Sweet" Zack said gleefully, as he drove off, while Red Drone followed the taxi, just in case they lost it.
"And on the upside, tailing a VILE operative, is a great way to take in the local sites" Player said with a smile, as he turned to another computer screen. "You're currently passing through the famous French Quarter of New Orleans, down Bourbon Street."
{"The city's the birthplace of jazz and home to Mardi Gras, a carnival celebration known for its colourful masks and costumes"} Carmen said.
"Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. It seems that New Orleans was settled by the French, and later the Spanish. The descendants of these settlers were often of mixed ancestry, and came to be known as Creole" Player said.
{"You can taste this blend of cultures in the flavours of New Orleans famous regional cooking, including Creole dishes such as Gumbo, Jambalaya and boiled crawfish"} Naruto said.
"Just make sure that you're on the lookout for any gators. One of the largest alligator populations in the United States, almost 2 million strong, can be found in Louisiana. Many of them right there in the coastal marshland currently surrounding you" Player said with a smile, as he looked at where Naruto and Carmen were on his computer screen.
Naruto and Carmen were both relaxing in their seats as Zack drove after the taxi, before he looked in the rearview mirror, which caused him to gasp. "Guys, we've got company" he said with a frown, as he adjusted the mirror, seeing a car was following them.
Meanwhile, in said car, was Chase Devineaux, who had a smirk on his face. "ACME agents in mirrors are always closer than they appear" he said with a snicker, as he tried to over take Zack, but Zack cut him off with a grin.
Chase had a look of brief shock appear on his face, before he grinned at the challenge, as he put the car into gear and pressed on the accelerator, as he went on the other side of Zack, so that they were driving next to each other.
"Naruto Uzumaki and Carmen Sandiego, pull over immediately, so that I may arrest you!" Chase said with a hard tone, as he looked at the car.
Naruto and Carmen rolled their windows down, before they placed their elbows on the door. "Devineaux, where's Jules today?" Carmen asked with a smile.
Devineaux had an uncomfortable look appear on his face at this. "That is classified, but Ms Argent is busy doing other things" he said with a scowl.
"Oh, that's a shame, as she's probably a better driver than you. And those are such nice cars, too" Naruto said with a smile, as he looked at the car, before Zack suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing the car to stop.
Chase looked back at this, wondering what he was talking about, as he faced the front again, and gasped in shock as he saw that the road ended up ahead, causing him to yell as the car smashed through a wooden barrier, and fell into the water, where it started sinking, while Devineaux had an unhappy look on his face at this.
Meanwhile, Zack drove the car before he stopped before the edge of the marsh, as he and the others climbed out of the car, and followed Red Drone, which was floating in the trees, looking at a house that had a jetty with two airboats tied to it, which the taxi was parked next to, as Naruto, Carmen and Zack hid in the bushes.
Red Drone watched as the counterfeiter climbed out of the taxi and walked across the jetty towards Tigress, who was wearing a coat over her outfit. The counterfeiter took some papers out and handed them to Tigress, who took them, before putting her mask on to look at them.
As Tigress was looking at the papers, she spotted Red Drone, causing her to zoom in on it. "You were followed" she said with a firm tone, before she looked to the bushes, as she had her mask go to infrared, showing her the crouched forms of Naruto, Carmen and Zack. "Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki. Can't say that I'm a fan, even if I do like whiskers" Tigress said, as she took her mask off, and put it away along with the papers, before she and the counterfeiter ran to one of the airboats and got on it, with Tigress cutting the rope with her claws, while the counterfeiter sat in the seat and started it up, before they drove off, just as Naruto and the others arrived on the jetty.
"Whoa. Did Tigress just drive off on a giant air conditioner?" Zack asked in shock with wide eyes, as Naruto and Carmen worked to untie the other airboat from the jetty.
"It's called an airboat Zack, and we're counting on you to add it to your repertoire" Carmen said with a smile, as she and Naruto hopped on.
Zack smiled widely at this, as he too hopped on and sat in the driver's seat of the airboat, and started it up, before racing after Tigress and the counterfeiter.
As they drove along on the water, they saw crocs swimming about along with birds in the trees.
"Whoo!" Zack yelled with a grin, as Naruto and Carmen were at the front of the airboat, a hard look on their faces, as they looked at the airboat Tigress and the counterfeiter were on, as the two boats weaved about.
Zack made their airboat go faster, as he grinned widely, causing the gap between the two boats to close.
Tigress looked back with a frown on her face, before she looked forward, causing her to smirk, as she used her claws to take out a chuck of a tree they drove past, which caused it to fall into the water.
"Look out, marshland block dead ahead!" Naruto yelled out, as the airboat hit the tree, causing it to fly in the air, before it hit the water and continued to chase after the airboat with the two VILE members on it.
Tigress looked back and saw that they were still being followed, as Naruto and Carmen narrowed their eyes at her.
Tigress moved to where the counterfeiter was sitting, and pushed him aside, as she made the airboat go faster, which also caused some of the papers in her coat pocket to come flying out.
"Hey!" Tigress gasped, as she grabbed the papers and stuffed them back into her coat pocket before driving the airboat, not noticing that some more of the papers flew out of her coat pocket.
As they continued to chase after Tigress and the counterfeiter, Zack weaved the boat about, avoiding any roots, trees and anything else that would be in their way.
"Stay on em' Zack" Carmen said over her shoulder.
"You got it," Zack said with a nod, as he had a determined look on his face.
As they drove along, they suddenly lurched slightly, as they were hit from behind.
"Do you wish to mock my driving skills now?" Devineaux asked with a laugh and a raised eyebrow, as he was driving another airboat.
Zack looked back at Chase at this. "Do we, guys? I mean, he is kinda rocking it now" he said with a cocked eyebrow, as he looked at the front of the airboat.
"Oh, don't worry, we can easily fix that," Naruto said, as he and Carmen glanced over their shoulders with a smile each.
They both looked at an anchor on the floor, with some rope tied on the end. Naruto picked up the anchor and spun it around over his head a few times, before he threw it at a tree, as the anchor latched itself onto the tree and one of its branches.
Naruto and Carmen then quickly put the end of the rope under the cleat on the airboat, and pulled as hard as they could, which caused the airboat to drift round the corner.
"Yeah! Alright!" Zack yelled with a wide grin and a fist pump.
Chase watched this with a look of disbelief on his face, before he faced the front and gave a small scream as he raised his arms to cover his face, as his airboat hit a downed tree, which caused his airboat to go flying into the air, where it got stuck in a tree, causing Devineaux to get thrown off the airboat and land in the marsh face down, before he sank.
Chase immediately stood up with a scowl on his face, as he looked around for a moment, before he saw one of the pieces of paper that flew out of Tigress' coat. He moved to pick it up with a raised eyebrow, before a crocodile came out of the water in front of him, with the piece of paper on top of its mouth, where it growled at him.
"No! No, no, no! Go away" Devineaux yelled out, as he climbed up a nearby tree and hung off the branch while glaring down at the crocodile, as it sank partly into the marsh.
Chase looked down at the piece of paper on the crocodile's mouth curiously. "What is that on your nose? Here, boy" he said with a smile, as he reached to grab the paper, before the crocodile growled at him again, opening its mouth while moving closer to him.
"Ah, too close" Devineaux yelped out in fear, as he put his hand back on the branch.
Meanwhile Zack, Naruto and Carmen were looking around the marshland as Zack had turned off the engine, causing the airboat to come to a stop, seeing if they could spot Tigress and the counterfeiter on their airboat, but no such luck.
"Aw, man," Zack said with an unhappy look.
"Hey, Player, we need to post some reward for lost kitty cat signs" Carmen said with a scowl on her face.
{"Actually, Red Drone scored"} Player said.
This caused Naruto and Carmen to look surprised at this, before they both took out their phones and looked at them, seeing the video of the counterfeiter handing the papers to Tigress.
{"VILE's counterfeiter was dropping off"} Player said, as the video was paused, before being zoomed in on the papers.
"So, he's been busy printing fake tickets?" Naruto asked with a cocked eyebrow.
{"It's for an event that's hosted by a local celebrity chef called the Crawfish King"} Player said, as he sent over what info he'd found on the chef to their phones.
"Thanks Player" Carmen said.
"Come on, let's head back to the city," Naruto said, as he and Carmen both sat down.
Zack nodded at this, as he started up the airboat and drove it back to the jetty, where they tied it back up, before they climbed in the car, with Zack driving back into the city.
0o0o0o0
(Sometime later)
Once they'd arrived back in the city, they contacted Ivy and told her to meet them at the cafe that Naruto and Carmen were at earlier.
Once everyone had ordered something to eat and drink, they sat at the table outside that Naruto and Carmen had sat at earlier, as the two of them were watching a video.
"And we're back with the Crawfish King!" a woman said with a wide smile, as the audience applauded at this.
"Whoa! Please, please, call me CK" a black man wearing an apron said with a chuckle, before he leaned down and pulled out a tray, which was full of cooked crawfish. "Now, go right ahead and pop one of these pups into your mouth."
The woman grabbed a piece of crawfish and took a bite of it, where she gave a hum of approval. "That is perfectly seasoned. Do I detect a hint of oregano?" she asked CK with a grin, before she ate the rest of it.
CK laughed at this. "Nice try, but you know that I could never reveal my Great-great-grandmamaw's secret. This Creole recipe has been in my family for generations. I owe my entire success to it."
"And will you be serving these yummy critters at your costume gala?" the woman asked curiously.
"The first Saturday after Halloween, just like every year!" CK said with a wide smile, as he placed the tray down and looked at the camera. "And as always, all proceeds go to charity. Last year, we raised over $10 million for hurricane relief."
Naruto and Carmen both paused the video at this, a look of concentration on both their faces.
"I don't get it, you guys. Why on earth would VILE bother to fake tickets when they could just buy 'em?" Ivy asked curiously, before she took a bite of her pastry.
"VILE give to charity? Right" Carmen said with a scoff.
Naruto nodded in agreement at this. "The question is why VILE wants to attend at all," he said with a frown, as he sipped his drink.
"They want to rob all of the wealthy party goers?" Zack asked, after he finished eating a pastry.
"Up front and personnel isn't VILE's style" Carmen said with a shake of her head.
"They want to steal all of the charity money?" Ivy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The tickets are all bought and paid for ahead of the event, so there wouldn't be any funds on-site to steal," Naruto said.
{"Actually, The Crawfish King's historic mansion on the bayou where he's holding this annual bash, rumour is that it's loaded with all kinds of secret rooms and hidden corridors"} Player said with an audible smile on his face.
Zack gasped at this with a wide grin on his face. "The ultimate spooky party house! It's the Halloween that just keeps on giving, Ivy!" he said with a wide smile, as he leaned over the table with his hand raised for his sister to high five….but she just gave him a flat look.
{"And according to local legend, somewhere in that maze of passageways, lies a secret vault"} Player said.
"Filled with some sort of hidden treasure?" Carmen asked with a smirk
{"So the legend goes"} Player said with a shrug, as he appeared on their phones screens.
"That has to be what VILE is after," Naruto said with a determined look.
"But they could rob the vault anytime. So why do it tonight, in the middle of some crazy shindig?" Ivy asked curiously.
"Blending in amongst all the costumes and masks will provide the perfect cover for them" Carmen said, with Naruto nodding in agreement.
"Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!" Zack said excitedly, as he patted his hands on the table.
{"Whoa! It seems that this house has more than one legend. It's also rumoured to be haunted,"} Player said.
This caused Zack's smile to instantly disappear and be replaced with fear. "H-h-h-h-haunted?" he stuttered out.
Naruto and Carmen both frowned at this. "VILE doesn't scare easy. Player, we'll need four tickets" Naruto said.
{"Uh, you do know that they're 100,000 dollars….each"} Player said with an unsure look on his face.
Naruto and Carmen both looked sheepish at this. "Hey, we're suckers for charity" Carmen said, as they both smiled while shrugging their shoulders slightly.
0o0o0o0
(At VILE Castle)
Meanwhile, as all this was going on, the four Faculty members were all sat at the high table, eating some candy from a bowl in the middle of the table.
"Tigress was able to procure a counterfeit ticket for herself, and a plus one of our choosing. It would seem that Operation: Haunted Bayou is good to go" Professor Maelstrom said with a smirk, as he unwrapped his piece of candy before popping it in his mouth, as the large screen beeped, causing a large green face in a square with a wide smile to appear.
"And speaking of haunts, say hello to our very own ghost in the machine" Dr Bellum said with a smile.
{"Computer humour, cute. But I prefer being acknowledged by my code name, The Troll"} a male voice said, before the screen changed to show a korean teen boy with orange hair, who gave the Faculty members a wide smile, as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"As you wish, Troll," Saira said with a grin.
The Troll closed his eyes with his fingers on his forehead at this. {"Ah, ah, ah. It's a small detail, I know, but there's a 'the'. The Troll"} he said with a smile, as he looked at the Faculty members.
Bellum had a look of confusion on her face at this. "But, as you wish, 'The Troll,' does not sound correct to my ear" she said with a cocked eyebrow.
{"Look, I write code, not books on grammar"} The Troll said with a frown, as he looked off to the side.
"You did call to brief us, The Troll?" Gunnar asked.
"Ha! I see what you did there" The Troll said with a grin, as he leaned back in his chair, looking at his large screen. "But, yeah, feast your eyeballs," he said, before pressing a button on his keyboard.
This caused images to appear on the large screen before the Faculty members. {"Thermal and satellite views of the mansion. These ought to help your peeps navigate those secret corridors during the party"} The Troll said, as the Faculty members all smiled at each other upon hearing this.
{"And I'll be crashing it from the privacy of my room, behind this mask"} The Troll said with a smug look and tone, before pressing a button, which caused his logo to reappear on the large screen.
0o0o0o0
(Later that night)
Back at New Orleans, it was a cloudy night with the full moon out, as The Crawfish Kings house was decorated with the usual Halloween decorations: ghosts hanging from the trees and parts of the house, fake graves all over the lawn, skeletons popping up every now and then with a laugh, fake spiderwebs on parts of the house, lit pumpkins that gave deep laughs and a few witches on brooms were seen in the trees and on the house, cackling in laughter.
Zack was wearing a red devil costume while holding a fake devil's tuning fork, as he looked around, before looking up at the house, as lightning flashed overhead, making it look even more spooky.
"Haunted. Ha, yeah right" Zack said with a smile as he rolled his eyes….before a skeleton popped up from behind a grave with a laugh, causing him to jump back in terror.
As he did, his back hit something, which caused him to turn around and see someone wearing a hockey outfit and mask. This made Zack yell out in shock, as he stumbled backwards before he fell over onto the ground, as he backed away from the figure in fear, as they walked towards him, with lightning flashing behind them.
"Whoa Zack, since when do you not like hockey?" a familiar voice asked curiously, as they lifted the mask, showing that it was Ivy.
"Since right now, when you ruined it for me forever" Zack said, as Ivy helped him to his feet.
"You're wearing Carmen's colour" Ivy said with a frown at her brother, with Zack sticking his tongue out at her.
"Don't worry, he's allowed. Since I'm changing things up tonight" Carmen said with a grin, as she was dressed up as a witch, while holding a broom in her hand.
"Whoa!" Ivy said with a grin, as she looked at the costume Carmen was wearing.
"Wicked cool! And I mean wicked" Zack said with a wide smile.
"Now then, who's ready to make a clean sweep of this place?" Naruto asked, as he was dressed as a wizard, with his own broom in his hands, before they all entered the mansion.
As they walked in, they saw people dressed up in all sorts of different costumes, with the inside decorated in more Halloween decorations.
Naruto and Carmen handed a man at the door their tickets, as Zack and Ivy looked around with grins on their faces.
Once the man gave a nod, showing that they could move on, the group walked further into the mansion.
"Whoa! This is awesome" Zack said, as he looked around, before he bumped into someone in a hooded robe, which caused him to leap back with a yelp of fear.
"Crawfish? They're to die for" the hooded person said with a deep voice, as they held up a dish of cooked crawfish.
Zack looked at them and groaned. "But they don't look like fish," he said.
Ivy walked over, and helped herself to one. "They're crustaceans, bro. And they are, oh, so good!" she said with a wide smile, as she took a bite, while Zack pulled his face at this, before the robed person walked off.
"You two move into position, while we mingle," Carmen said to Zack and Ivy, before she and Naruto walked off, arm in arm.
"Got it" Zack and Ivy said with a nod each while smiling, before they went in a different direction.
0o0o0o0
(Outside the mansion)
While all this was happening, meanwhile, Tigress was leaning against the gates outside the mansion, with her arms crossed.
"Come on already, Plus One" Tigress said impatiently, as she drummed her fingers on her arm.
Her eyes then widened, as she heard some humming, causing her to look up and saw a shadowy figure skipping along the top of the brick wall, before they jumped down, showing that it was Paper Star. "Boo," she said to Tigress with a smirk, before standing up.
Tigress just scoffed at this, as they looked each other over. "Nice costume" they both said together mockingly at each other.
"At least a tiger is a thing. What the heck are you supposed to be?" Tigress asked with a scowl.
"Mind your own mittens, kittycat" Paper Star said with a smirk, as she held up a multi point paper shuriken, that she threw at a fake skeleton hanging from a nearby tree, causing its head to be cut off, as its body fell to the ground. "Unless you'd like to find out who here has sharper claws" she said, as she walked past her, while holding another multi point paper shuriken.
Tigress simply gave a scoff at this, as she followed her.
0o0o0o0
(Back inside the mansion)
Zack and Ivy opened a door slightly, as they peeked inside, before Ivy smiled upon seeing that it was vacant.
"Out of the way and quiet, the perfect base camp" Ivy said, as they both entered the room, with Ivy closing the door, before walking over to a nearby table, while rummaging in the bag she was carrying.
Zack looked around the room for a moment, before he spotted a large portrait over a fireplace, as he walked over to look at it. "Ivy, you think that's Great great grandmamaw? Maybe she's the one haunting this mansion" he said fearfully, not noticing a figure rising up behind him, before his eyes widened, as he peaked over his shoulder, as what looked like a ghost with glowing red eyes floated there, causing him to yell as he fell on the floor.
Ivy looked over with a smirk, as she had both Naruto and Carmen's laptops on the table. "Check it out. Red Drone is in costume too" she said, as she walked over to lift up the sheet, showing that Red Drone was underneath it, with a coat hanger hanging from it for balance.
"Nice. But, does it have to look like a ghost, sis?" Zack asked with a cocked eyebrow, as he stood up.
"Hey, it's the only way she'll be able to blend in with all the spooky deco, bro" Ivy said, as she put the cover back over Red Drone before opening the door, as Red Drone flew off to hide in plain sight.
Zack had a raised eyebrow at this, as he looked at Ivy.
"Yeah that's right, 'she' bro" Ivy said with a smirk, as she closed the door.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Carmen were walking around together, as they headed up some stairs and looked at everyone down below from the bannisters.
{"Red Drone's on the prowl, guys"} Ivy said into their comms, as it flew past them, causing them both to smile at this, as it went up to a chandelier, where other ghost decorations were.
"Watch and listen, guys," Naruto said, as he placed a finger to his ear, as he looked over the room.
"Yeah, any of the guests here could be a VILE operative in disguise," Carmen said with a nod, as she too looked around.
Naruto was just about to nod in agreement, before he looked at the front door with wide eyes, which caused him to smirk. "Then again" he said, as he got Carmen's attention and pointed at the door, where Tigress and Paper Star were as they had their tickets checked, before the man let them enter.
Naruto and Carmen both hid behind the pillar, while cautiously peeking around it, to see what the two of them did, as Red Drone zoomed in on them, causing the two of them to show up on Naruto's laptop.
"Whoa. Too cheap to buy tickets and too cheap to buy costumes" Ivy said with a frown with a pair of headphones on her head, as she and Zack looked at the screen.
Tigress and Paper Star both looked around the room, with Tigress scowling as they did.
"What are we supposed to do? Unmask every single party guest here?" Tigress asked with a groan of annoyance, as she looked at Paper Star.
"The first one to bag our host wins," Paper Star said with a giggle, before the two of them walked off in different directions, with Naruto and Carmen watching them.
{"You guys hear that?"} Ivy asked in their comms.
"They're targeting the Crawfish King," Carmen said, as she and Naruto looked around the place to see where he was.
{"They probably plan on forcing him to lead them into the secret vault"} Ivy said with worry.
"We need to find him before they do," Naruto said, as he and Carmen narrowed their eyes at this.
Carmen gave a nod at this, before they both ran off. {"Cross reference the cooking show video, see if you can find a voice match"} she said to Ivy over the comms.
"I'm on it" Ivy said with a determined look, as she typed away, causing a video of the cooking show to appear and dragged a biometric copy of CK's voice, to make a voice recognition.
She then controlled Red Drone to fly around the room, so that she could find CK, but frowned as it wouldn't move at all. "Oh, come on!" Ivy said, as she took her headphones off and placed them on the table before standing up.
"Where are you going?" Zack asked Ivy curiously.
"I gotta go unstick a stuck ghost," Ivy said, as she walked towards the door.
"G-g-ghost?" Zack stammered out, as he looked around the room.
"Bro, why so jittery?" Ivy asked with a raised eyebrow, as she opened the door.
Zack glanced over his shoulder at the painting over the fireplace with a cocked eyebrow, as he gulped. "No reason," he said with a nervous smile.
Ivy gave her brother a deadpan look, as she lowered her hockey mask over her face, before she walked off, closing the door behind her.
Zack looked around the room with a look of fear on his face and in his eyes, before he gave a yell, as lightning flashed outside.
Zack looked at the painting, feeling like its eyes were watching his every move, before he looked around the room again, as a branch from the tree outside that looked like a hand knocked against the window because of the wind, as the lightning flashed and crashed outside, while the candles flickered.
"Oi! Stop looking at me! You mess with the devil, you get the horns!" Zack shouted at the painting with a glare, as he pointed his trident at the painting, as he yelled at it while rapidly thrusting his trident at it a few times.
Zack then knocked his trident against the fireplace, which caused him to drop it. He then leaned down and picked it up, and when he stood back up, he looked in the mirror and saw someone dressed like a vampire, as lightning flashed outside.
"AH! Vampire!" Zack yelled in terror, before he turned around and ran to the door, as he opened it….revealing Ivy with the mask still covering her face.
"AAAAHHHH!" Zack shrieked in fear, as he leaped back.
Ivy lifted up her mask, as she gave her brother a raised eyebrow. "Where on earth are you going?" she asked Zack with a scowl, as she closed the door.
"Count Dracula! He was here, Ivy! I saw him in the mirror!" Zack half yelled as he shook his sister, before getting behind her.
Ivy had a dumbfounded look at this, as she looked around the room while walking over to the mirror. Once she arrived at the mirror she looked in it, only to see nothing at all, as Zack walked over to take a look himself.
"You saw Count Dracula in the mirror?" Ivy asked her brother with a cocked eyebrow.
"Yes," Zack said with a nod.
"Vampires don't cast reflections! I thought that everyone knew that" Ivy said with a scowl.
"Those in the Twilight movies do," Zack said.
"...touche. But they're the only exception, bro" Ivy said with a nod at this.
Zack closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Okay, okay" he said, before he opened one of his eyes and gasped as he looked at the painting. "Did her eyes just move?" he asked, as he pointed at it.
"No, they did not! That only ever happens in horror movies!" Ivy said with a scowl.
"And in this haunted house, Ivy!" Zack half yelled at his sister.
"This house is not haunted!" Ivy half yelled back at her brother, as lightning flashed outside.
0o0o0o0
(Meanwhile)
In a different part of the house, there was another portrait, which was of CK wearing royal clothes….with the eyes of the portrait moving, as it looked around the area.
On the other side of the portrait, was a secret passageway, with Boris looking through the eyeholes of the portrait.
"Any sign of our target?" Vlad asked, as he came round a corner.
"That was not him screaming?" Boris asked curiously, as he kept looking through the eyeholes.
"No, it was just some partygoer. Too much sugar from Halloween candy" Vlad said with a roll of his eyes.
0o0o0o0
(Back with Zack and Ivy)
Ivy had walked back over to the table with the laptops and sat down, as she placed the headphones on, before she had Red Drone continue to find the Crawfish King.
"Haunted," Zack said with a frown at his sister.
"Not haunted" Ivy said, as she gave Zack a frown of her own.
"Keep your voice down, the ghosts can hear you!" Zack said with a scowl, as he looked around the room.
"There's no ghosts!" Ivy half shouted, as she gave Zack a glare.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Carmen were both looking around, trying to find CK, while making sure that Paper Star and Tigress didn't spot them, as they noticed that the two VILE operatives were both inspecting the other guests, with Tigress hissing at someone dressed like a dog, as she walked past them.
"They must also be looking for CK" Naruto said to Carmen, as they both frowned at the two VILE operatives.
Carmen nodded at this, as they began walking again.
"Crawfish? They're to die for" the hooded person from earlier said, as he held the dish of cooked crawfish towards them.
"No thanks" Carmen said, as she and Naruto shook their heads at this, before walking past them.
"Crawfish?" they heard him asking someone else, as they stopped walking while their eyes widened in realisation, as they turned around to look at the robed person, with a smirk on their lips.
They waited for the person to leave with a crawfish, before they walked back over to the robed person.
"Um, we were wondering, is it at all possible if we could get that delicious recipe?" Naruto asked with a smile.
"Oh, I could never reveal Great-great-grandmamaw's secret!" the hooded person said.
In the room that Ivy and Zack had turned into a base, one of the laptops beeped. "Guys, we've got a voice match" Ivy said to them.
Naruto and Carmen both removed the domino masks on their faces. "Mr King, we need you to listen very carefully," Carmen said firmly.
The robed person laughed at this, before pulling the robe to one side, showing that CK's head was underneath a fake one. "Please, call me CK" he said with a smile.
Paper Star was nearby and smiled widely at this. "I know that voice," she said, as she licked her lips slightly, while turning in their direction.
Tigress also turned to where she heard them. "I know that witch," she said with a scowl.
Naruto and Carmen looked at them both, before they each grabbed one of the Crawfish King's arms and dragged him off, causing the top part of his costume to fall to the floor, along with the dish of crawfish.
"We need to get you out of here" Naruto said with urgency, before he and Carmen slammed into something….or to be more precise, someone.
"La Femme….Noire, with L'homme….Noire?" Chase said with a confused look on his face, who was dressed as a banana.
"Devineaux? Really not a good time!" Carmen said with a scowl.
"You're both under arrest" Devineaux said with a firm look and tone, as he reached out to grab them….but Naruto grabbed the zipper on his costume and zipped it closed, which caused Chase to try and get out of his costume.
Naruto and Carmen turned around with smirks on their faces, before they both gasped in shock, as they saw Tigress walking with CK towards a door that Paper Star was standing next to.
CK then turned around and looked around for a moment, before Tigress sprayed him in the face, which caused CK to gasp as he fell backwards into Paper Stars arms with a groan, as he closed his eyes, showing that he was unconscious. Paper Star then dragged CK through the door, with Tigress following.
{"Guys, they're taking CK through the -"} Ivy was saying, before she was cut off.
"Kitchen, we're on it" Naruto said, as he and Carmen ran after them.
"Where did you go?" Chase yelled out, as he walked around while waving his arms about.
0o0o0o0
(In the abandoned room)
As Ivy was looking at the laptops, Zack stood behind her, looking around the room, before his eyes glanced at a plaque underneath the painting over the fireplace. "Hey, she really is Great-great-grandmamaw, it says so right…." he was saying, as he touched the plaque, which caused it to compress into the wall and caused the fireplace to do a 180, showing that it was a secret doorway, which caused Zack to gasp in shock as it moved.
"Zack?" Ivy asked with a raised eyebrow, as she looked over her shoulder, while removing the headphones.
Zack looked around the secret passageway with wide eyes and an unsure look on his face. "Uh, sis?" he asked with a nervous smile, as he leaned against the fireplace.
{"The Troll to Monster Mash. Report, please"} Zack heard in the passageway, causing him to frown slightly, as he walked in the direction he heard it coming from….before he was stopped in his tracks. Zack looked over his shoulder, and saw that the tail part of his costume was stuck in the edge of the revolving fireplace.
Zack scowled at this, as he grabbed it and pulled on it. "Oh, come on" he grunted out, as he tried to get the tail loose.
"We're still awaiting the delivery of the target" Zack heard someone saying, with the voice sounding vaguely familiar to him as he grabbed hold of the tail with both hands, and pulled on it so that it stretched, which allowed him to peek round the corner, where he saw the Cleaners talking to The Troll on a phone.
{"I'm sure that I don't need to remind you boys, but we need The King bagged by the stroke of midnight, before he can make his big annual show of donating the charity money in front of all his guests"} The Troll said with a firm tone.
Zack pulled himself back round the corner, and pressed his back against the wall, as he gasped with wide eyes. "Those guys!" he said, as he glared round the corner slightly.
Before anyone else could say or do anything, they heard a knocking sound.
"Excuse us" Boris said to The Troll.
0o0o0o0
(In a hallway)
Paper Star was knocking on a painting of what looked like CK, who was wearing royal clothing, with Tigress standing on the other side of the painting.
"Hand him over," Carmen said firmly, as she and Naruto glared at them.
They all stared at each other for a moment, before the painting slid up, showing the Cleaners on the other side of it.
"If you insist," Paper Star said with a smirk, as the Cleaners grabbed hold of CK and pulled him into the secret passageway.
"We meant to us," Naruto said with a frown, as the Cleaners pulled the painting back down.
"Sorry, but we only play with wicked witches and wizards" Tigress said with a grin, as she flexed her claws, while Paper Star pulled out some paper and turned them into paper shuriken.
Naruto and Carmen spun their broomsticks around and got into fighting stances. "Be careful what you wish for," Carmen said, as she and Naruto both glared at them.
Tigress gave a yell as she ran towards them, while Paper Star threw her paper shuriken at them, then immediately made new ones to throw in a rapid barrage.
Naruto and Carmen used the heads of their brooms to catch the paper shuriken, before having to dodge Tigress swipes at them. They both saw some more paper shuriken coming towards them and they tried dodging them all, but one of them cut an arm each, causing them both to groan in pain, as they held their arms.
Carmen then held up her broom, which Tigress cut through with her claws, before she grabbed hold of them and kicked Carmen in the chest with a smirk, sending her into the kitchen and scaring the kitchen staff away, with Tigress tossing the broomstick pieces to the side.
Naruto frowned at this, before he swung his broomstick at Tigress, who dodged his swings, before Naruto placed the head end on the floor and jumped up to send a kick to her chest, which sent her back a bit, with Naruto giving her a smirk, as he twirled the broomstick slightly.
"Heh, not bad whiskers" Tigress said, as she stood up.
Paper Star then ran over and jumped in the air, before kicking at Naruto, who tossed the broomstick aside and crossed his arms to block, as he too was sent into the kitchen, where he ended up next to Carmen.
"You good?" Naruto asked, as they both stood up.
"Yea, peachy" Carmen said, as Paper Star and Tigress entered the kitchen, with the doors closing behind them.
0o0o0o0
(Meanwhile)
Ivy had placed the headphones down on the table, as she got up and looked around the room.
"Bro? I swear, if you're trying to give me a revenge scare, then I will…." Ivy was saying with a frown, before she gasped, when she noticed the tip of the tail for Zack's costume poking out of the wall, next to the fireplace.
Ivy leaned down with a raised eyebrow and flicked it, causing it to boing in place, as she ran her hand up and down the wall with a frown, before she shoved against the side of the fireplace, which caused it to suddenly turn, with Ivy ending up in the secret passageway, as she stumbling slightly, before Zack grabbed her.
Zack then placed Ivy back on her feet and placed his finger to his lips, before she could say anything. "I found the real monsters" he whispered to her, as he pointed over his shoulder, where Ivy could see the shadows of Vlad and Boris.
0o0o0o0
(Back in the kitchen)
Naruto and Carmen stood across from Paper Star and Tigress, with them each in a stance, with Naruto and Carmen glaring at the VILE operatives, who were smirking at them.
Tigress then ran forward and swiped her claws at them, with Naruto backflipping to avoid her while Carmen jumped onto the island and kicked some pots and pans at her, which sent her to the floor.
Paper Star then quickly threw and made paper shuriken at them, with Carmen leaning to the sides to avoid them, where they ended up stuck in the windows, before she grabbed some pans that were hung up and used them to deflect the paper shuriken, while Naruto jumped up to join her and used a large pan to catch them.
As they did this, Tigress jumped up and grabbed hold of the rack holder and sent a kick at them both, as they used the kitchenware to block, as they landed on the kitchen island.
They both looked up and saw Paper Star was ready to throw some paper shuriken at them, before Naruto grabbed hold of the pre rinse gun and pressed the handle, covering her in water and ruining her pieces of paper at the sametime, which caused her to scowl at this.
Naruto and Carmen both smirked at this, before they rolled off, as Tigress landed where they were, with her claws dug into the surface.
Paper Star looked over with a glare, and was about to go after them, before she looked up at a roll of tinfoil, which caused her to grin.
0o0o0o0
(Back in the passageway)
CK was leaning against the wall, still knocked out, while Boris and Vlad were talking to The Troll.
{"Okay, you just need to activate the app. Hold the phone up to his eyes and hit scan. Then the funds will transfer from his account directly into ours instead of the charities. Capisce?"} The Troll said with a grin.
"This one?" Boris asked curiously, as he leaned towards CK, while pointing at his phone screen.
{"Retinal scan app. Does that look like an eyeball graphic to you?"} The Troll asked with sarcasm.
Zack and Ivy were both looking round the corner, as they'd heard everything said, before they pulled back.
"So there's no secret vault? We can't let them steal the charity money" Ivy said, as she and Zack both scowled at this.
"But what can we do?" Zack asked his sister curiously.
Ivy thought about it for a moment, before she smiled. "I have an idea," she said, before she told Zack her plan.
{"It's just one simple function"} The Troll said with a tone of annoyance, as he rested his head on the palm of his hand.
"You do it" Boris said to Vlad, before they turned around and swapped phones, with Vlad pointing at various apps.
{"Nope, weather app. Food delivery, keep swiping. Right there, next to….yes, that one"} The Troll said with a grin. {"Now, just hold the phone up to his face."}
The Cleaners turned back around to do just that….only to notice that CK was gone.
Further down the passageway, Zack and Ivy were walking as fast as they could, while carrying CK and panting for breath.
"That way/After them!" The Cleaners both said at the sametime, as they followed at a brisk walk.
0o0o0o0
(Back in the kitchen)
Naruto, Carmen and Tigress were circling each other, before Tigress jumped at them with her claws raised.
Naruto quickly grabbed a nearby catering trolley and moved it in front, causing Tigress to land on it, before he kicked it towards an open garbage chute, with Tigress almost going down it.
Naruto and Carmen then turned around when they heard some humming, as their eyes widened, as they saw that she'd made a sword out of tinfoil.
"Oh crap" Naruto said, as they both began dodging Paper Star's swings at them, even leaning back, which caused them to see their own reflections of wide eyed shock, as it passed over them.
Naruto and Carmen backed away from Paper Star, which caused them to knock against a kitchen counter that had some salad in wooden bowls on it.
Paper Star held her tinfoil sword at the ready, before she lunged forward with a yell. Naruto quickly grabbed hold of a wooden bowl and held it in front of himself, causing the sword to get embedded in it just past the tip, which stopped it from ending up in Naruto.
"Ya know Paper Star, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost say that you were trying to kill me" Naruto said with a grunt, as they struggled against each other.
"Maybe I am, or maybe I'm just trying to kill off some competition" Paper Star said with a cruel smirk, as she slightly glanced at Carmen, who glared at this.
Naruto then glanced over Paper Star's shoulder, and saw Tigress shove the catering trolley out of the way with a scowl. Naruto then twisted the wooden bowl, which caused Paper Star to lose her grip on the tinfoil sword, as Naruto tossed them aside, before he dodged Paper Star's punch, as she lunged at him.
Naruto moved around Paper Star, who did the same, to keep him in her sights, before she jumped in the air and came down at him with a punch. Naruto dodged to the side, before he grabbed her wrist and shifted his feet, as he turned round and threw her towards Tigress, who moved to one side, causing Paper Star to fall down the garbage chute with a scream, where she ended up in a bin full of rubbish.
Tigress looked down the chute at this. "Heh, she was cramping my style anyway" she said with a grin, before she heard the kitchen door, that caused her to look behind her and see it swinging closed, which made her growl at this. "A witch and wizard hunt!" she said, before running off….not noticing that Naruto and Carmen were both on a high shelf, as they jumped down with smiles before carefully following her.
They opened the kitchen door slightly, to see that the painting was up with Tigress in the passageway, before she lowered it back down.
Naruto and Carmen waited for a moment, before walking over to the painting, trying to see how to open it into the passageway.
0o0o0o0
(In another part of the mansion)
{"A banana?"} a hologram of Chief asked with a frown, as she looked Chase up and down, who'd unzipped himself.
Devineaux had a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Uh, I needed a disguise. It was on sale" he said, as he looked down.
{"Agent Devineaux, I'm giving you until midnight to contact me with news that you have Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki in your custody. Or I will hunt you down and personally haunt you for your failure"} Chief said with a firm look and tone of voice.
0o0o0o0
(In the passageway)
Zack and Ivy were both walking along as quietly as they could, so as not to be heard by The Cleaners.
"I think that we lost them," Ivy said, as they both glanced over their shoulders, which caused Ivy to run into something, which caused both her and Zack to yell in shock, only to sigh in relief when they saw that it was Naruto and Carmen. "Guys!" Ivy exclaimed with a grin.
"Good work, team," Carmen said with a smile, as she noticed that Zack and Ivy were carrying CK, who was still unconscious.
"Guys, we know what VILE's plan is. They didn't mention any secret vault. They're after the charity money" Ivy told them with a look of worry.
"They have an operative called The Troll. He's like their Player, but evil" Zack said with a frown.
"We gotta get The Crawfish King to transfer his funds to the charity before they hack into his account" Ivy said with a firm look.
"Huh?" CK said, as he woke up.
"Well, looks like we can do it now," Naruto said, as Zack and Ivy let CK down, so that he could stand up.
0o0o0o0
(In a different part of the secret passageway)
The Cleaners were walking along, trying to find CK, before they spotted Tigress walking towards them.
"Don't tell me, you lost Daddy Crawdad?" Tigress asked them, with her fist on her hip.
Before they could reply, the cell phone in Boris' hand began ringing.
"Swipe there" Vlad said, as he pointed at the image of The Troll's logo, as he swiped it up, which showed The Troll onscreen.
{"Ghoulies and goblins, it's 12:01, window officially missed. Abort mission"} The Troll said with a scowl.
0o0o0o0
(Underneath the mansion)
"I would, if I knew how to find my way outta here" Paper Star said with a groan of annoyance while walking down some steps, as she was in what looked like a large and long hallway, with stone archways, that led to other hallways or rooms.
As she walked along, she absently looked down one of the hallways as she walked past it, before she went back to look down it again, as it led into a room, which had a large vault at the end of the room. "Oh. Now what are you hiding?" she asked with a grin, as she walked over to the vault.
0o0o0o0
(With Naruto and the others)
"Funds transferred" CK said, as he sat at his desk, holding his phone, which gave a ping, as he sighed in relief.
Naruto and Carmen were both sitting on the edge of the desk, as Ivy leaned against it while Zack leaned against a bookcase.
"Glad that's taken care of, before it got stolen" Carmen said with a smile.
"But with these shady characters lurking about, I have to admit that I'm a little concerned about my hidden treasure," CK said, as he looked at the others.
"Wait, the legend is actually true?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The house really is haunted?" Zack asked with wide eyes.
Ivy frowned at this, while Naruto and Carmen looked at each other with worry.
0o0o0o0
(Back with Paper Star)
Paper Star was humming with a smirk, as she picked the lock on the vault door with a lockpick she made from some spare paper that she had, before the lock clanked showing that it was unlocked, as the door swung open.
Paper Star looked inside the vault as she walked inside it, seeing a piece of paper on a pedestal in the middle of the vault. "Paper" she said with a wide grin and wide eyes.
Paper Star picked it up and walked out of the vault, as she walked back into the hallway she was in before.
"No. Stop!" CK called out, as he came out of another archway, with Naruto and the others not far behind him. "Please, it's fragile! I'll do anything, just don't harm it!" CK pleaded with Paper Star.
Paper Star smiled at this, as she looked at the piece of paper. "Sounds valuable" she said, as she put it in a pocket inside her jacket, before she turned around and ran off.
"We have to get it back! It's my most prized possession!" CK said, as he looked at Naruto and Carmen with concern.
"Why? What is it?" Carmen asked him.
"Great-great-grandmamaw's original recipe for my crawfish seasoning, which is written in her own handwriting. It has great sentimental value. It's the single greatest link that I have to my Creole heritage" CK said.
Naruto and Carmen both had looks of slight concern on their faces, before they changed to ones of determination.
"Don't you worry, we'll get it back for you" Naruto said, with Carmen nodding in agreement.
"But how?" Ivy asked curiously.
"Yea, not like she'll hand it over" Zack said.
"Don't worry, I've got a plan for that" Carmen said with a grin, as she explained it to everyone.
0o0o0o0
(On the roof of the house)
Paper Star ran through an open door onto the roof of the house, as she ran to the edge of the roof.
"Paper Star!" Naruto called out, as he and Carmen arrived on the roof.
Paper Star turned around to look at them, before she took out the piece of paper. "Nuh uh uh" she said, as she waved the paper about slightly.
"Trust us, that note has no material value" Carmen said, as she and Naruto walked towards her.
"Oh, is that why you want it so badly, hm?" Paper Star asked with a raised eyebrow, as she tilted her head a little.
"You know, they say that this mansion is haunted" Naruto said, as he and Carmen circled her, with Paper Star going in the opposite direction.
"Hm, is that what they say?" Paper Star asked.
"Yep, they sure do," Carmen said with a nod, as she and Naruto smiled slightly.
"By the Crawfish King's great-great-grandmother. And that paper you're holding belonged to her" Naruto said.
"Is there a point to all this?" Paper Star asked with a tone of disinterest, before she looked over the side, seeing an airboat with Tigress and the Cleaners on it driving over.
"We're not normally ones for superstition, but we doubt that her spirit would want you desecrating a family heirloom" Carmen said with a smirk, as she and Naruto walked towards her.
"Oh, such a shame that I don't believe in ghosts," Paper Star said mockingly, as she hopped over the railing, before she held up the paper, ready to rip it.
"Maybe you should tell that to her," Naruto said with a grin, as he looked to the side.
Paper Star looked in the same direction with a raised eyebrow, as she saw what looked like a ghost with glowing red eyes, as lightning flashed.
"Whoa!" Paper Star said in shock, before she fell over, causing her to scream and drop the paper….which Naruto quickly grabbed in his wizards hat, as Paper Star landed in the water.
The airboat with the other VILE members floated over to her, with Vlad holding a large fishing net in his hand, as Paper Star gave a groan of annoyance while Tigress had a smirk.
"Grandmamaw's recipe!" CK said in relief, as Naruto and Carmen turned around with Naruto handing the paper back to The Crawfish King.
"I can't thank you enough" CK said to them, as he held the recipe close with a smile.
"Thank our friend here" Carmen said, as she gestured at the cloth covered Red Drone, who floated over to them.
"You help so many people in need through your charities, that it's an honour to return the favour" Naruto said, as they both gave a small nod.
Down below were Zack and Ivy, with Ivy holding the remote control for Red Drone.
"See, Zack? The only ghost haunting Crawfish Mansion is Red Drone" Ivy said with a grin.
"I was just jokin' around about being afraid in there, you know that, sis" Zack said with a slight smile, as Ivy rolled her eyes in disbelief at this.
Meanwhile, Chase was walking around inside the mansion. "Clearly, I scared both the Crimson Ghost and the Ginger Ghost away" he said, as he had a downtrodden look on his face.
Before he could do anything else, his cell phone rang, which caused him to gasp at this, as he patted himself down. "It is past midnight! Coming, Chief, Coming" Devineaux yelled, as he ran down the hallway.
"Yes, yes" Chase said, as he walked out onto a balcony, while taking out his ACME pen and pressed on the clicker….before he tripped and sent it flying over the railing, as it bounced along the rooftop. "Oops."
"I mean, who really believes there's any such thing as -" Zack was saying, as he and Ivy were walking back towards the mansion, before he was cut off as the ACME pen landed in front of them, causing the hologram of Chief to appear before them.
{"It's after midnight. Let the haunting begin!"} Chief said with a scowl.
This caused Zack and Ivy to both scream in terror, before they ran off. "Run!/Ghost!" they both yelled out, as lightning flashed.
0o0o0o0
Authors Note: To those who want me to lemon/sex scenes in every chapter or so, I can't as I need to find the right time/moment to do them. Such as, on their plane, in a hotel room or in a train's sleeping carriage. So please, stop asking me to keep adding them, as I'll do them when I please.
Hope that everyone enjoyed the chapter, and that you're doing what you can to avoid getting this COVID by following the rules, while any and all flames are no longer welcome. Also, for some reason, if I get a PM from anyone, it wouldn't show me the number(s) on fanfiction (so if you send me a PM, and I reply to it late, that's the reason why). Let's hope that now the vaccines are all done, we can rest a bit easier.
I have also posted a few story ideas on my home page, and if any of you want to use them please, PM me and let me know.