The Ghosts of 1776

The Snack Pack are staying in a motel in Washington D.C. as they are preparing for another gig there. They have already cleaned out their stuff for the Caterbus to rest and stayed in the motel for their gig but a surprise is coming up. Branch led everybody down from the second floor to the lobby.

"Branch, what are you so excited about?" Poppy asked him.

"Don't you remember guys? We are going around Washington D.C. in our new van, the Flyer Bug." Branch smirked.

"The Flyer Bug?! Don't tell me you used some of your savings for another vehicle?" Smidge rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I never get to buy all the stuff I want." Guy Diamond cried.

"Hōseki! No wonder the motel you got us to stay in is so cheap." Satin complained.

"I only spend my money for a reasonable purpose." Branch said. "While you guys love to spend a lot so I had to take hold of all your money so that there would be no shopaholic incidents."

"C'mon guys, Branch may have a reason why he never wants us to spend too much." Poppy told the others.

"She's right, our needs have to go first before our wants." Rose agreed. "Besides, we got a tour ahead of us."

When they arrive at the lobby, they are surprised by what sets before them: a limo-like van with eight wheels, which was renovated into a luxury van and repainted in pink with their logo attached at the sides. Inside, there are 24 seats, screens, and disco bar tops, and the dashboard has a stereo.

"Hold your wings!" Rose gasped.

"Wow, this van is so cool!!" Poppy squealed as she got in. Branch let Cloud Dude sit on the driver's seat and Poppy sat beside him at the back with the other members of the Snack Pack.

"Branch, you didn't tell us that the van we got is a luxury van!" Rose said as she and the rest of the Snack Pack got into the van and scrambled to their seats.

"Branch just found this piece of junk and we did some magic on this baby!" Cloud Dude said.

"Alright guys, buckle up!" Branch smirked as Cloud Dude started the van and they drove off to the city. The tour went well for the Snack Pack as they were given enough money to spend. Branch, Poppy, Rose, and Fuzzbert went to zoos and historical landmarks, Cooper, Biggie, and Mr. Dinkles toured natural parks, wildlife areas, and gardens because of the no-pets policy in other places, DJ Suki and Smidge went to see art galleries and museums while Satin, Chenille, and Guy Diamond went shopping. They all met up at the National Museum of American History.

"Wow, we finally met up in the famous National Museum of American History." Poppy said.

"Yeah, and I bet this museum has good info about our country's history." Branch added.

"But Biggie, you need to keep Mr. Dinkles safe because of the no-pets policy in the museum." Rose warned.

"Okay Rose, I got it." Biggie nodded.

They entered the museum and checked out the exhibits in every part of the museum, taking pictures and checking out the exhibits. As they had lunch, something eerie started to happen in the National Museum of American History. Noises were heard throughout the halls and ghosts started haunting the place. The visitors screamed and ran out of the place. The Snack Pack finished their lunch and rushed to the place, only to see that it is abandoned.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"It's the spirits of Benedict Arnold, William Demont, and Major Andre!" The custodian, Mr. Lane growled.

"Did their ghosts come back to haunt the place?" Branch asked.

"Two minutes ago, the ghosts appeared in the museum to scare everybody out of the place." He said. "Some say that after the revolutionary war, these three were captured and executed for treason that they vowed to get back at our country."

"G-G-G-Ghosts?!" Biggie and Cooper shivered.

"So that is the reason they are haunting the place?" Poppy asked.

"I'm afraid so." He nodded. "And to make matters worse, three of the employees, Jack, Max, and Leon were kidnapped by the ghosts."

"They were kidnapped?" Rose asked him.

"Yes, if you excuse me, I'll be cleaning this place, it's a mess." He said grumbling.

As the custodian left, the Snack Pack went to investigate. They looked around the place and Rose noticed that the locomotive train is attached to something.

"Guys, we got our first clue!" Rose said.

"What is it?" DJ Suki asked.

"This train is connected to something else." She said.

"That's strange, why would they have this moving, it's stuck on a railroad that goes nowhere." Poppy said.

"And to think of it, I remember that the three were traitors in the U.S. Revolutionary War." Branch added.

Beside the platform, they spotted some footprints on the floor. Branch gasped when he noticed something smells familiar.

"Holy Guacamole! Masa." Branch gasped.

"What is Masa?" Rose asked him.

"Masa is a maize dough that comes from ground nixtamalized corn. It is used for making corn tortillas, gorditas, tamales, pupusas, and many other Latin American dishes." He answered.

"So that smelled familiar to you." Rose said.

"If anyone had masa, the suspect must've been using it for something delicious." Biggie giggled. Mr. Dinkles popped his head from the backpack and sniffed something. He looked at the trail of footprints made out of masa on the floor. "Cripes! Mr. Dinkles noticed the trail of footprints."

"I can see that." Branch said.

"Let's go and follow that trail!" Poppy nodded and the gang started to follow it until they heard a sound nearby. It sounds like a locomotive is working near it.

"Pedra Preciosa! What is that?" Poppy gasped.

"It sounds like a locomotive." Rose said.

"I think you guys should see this!" Guy Diamond said, pointing out the line connecting the train to a cotton gin.

"Whoa, that cotton gin was connected to the train itself." Branch said.

"Wow, you kids sure noticed that the two were connected." A man in a suit said.

"Hi sir, we were just looking around."

"It's alright, I am actually here to look for Jack, Max, and Leon." He said. "I'm Mr. Peters, by the way."

"Excuse me sir." A plump man called out. "We are going to close the museum today because of the hauntings going on in this place.

"But Mr. Jenks, I am here to find these missing men who were kidnapped during the haunting." Mr. Peters nodded.

"Calm down, Mr. Jenks, let's have coffee while we do our shift." A cheery man said.

"No way, Mr. Gray, I must do my work seriously and professionally." Mr. Jenks scolded.

The man left without saying a word, giving the Snack Pack suspicious looks towards Mr. Jenks.

"Sorry about my colleague, he is always in a bad mood." Mr. Gray said before leaving.

"That's strange, he didn't say anything." Rose gasped.

"Yeah, I'll just look around to find the missing men." He said as he left, unaware of three ghosts looking at them from behind the items.

"Mr. Jenks sure is quite cranky today, as the old custodian." Rose said.

"Looks like we got some suspects." Branch said.

Suddenly, the cotton gin started to crank up behind them and the locomotive train started to move on its own. The Snack Pack heard the noise and covered their ears.

"Hōseki! This is too loud!" Satin gasped.

"Shinju! I can't bear it." Chenille complained.

"Cripes! What if that's the ghosts?" Cooper shivered.

"Yeah, maybe he is following us!" Biggie agreed.

"Oh Glitter! Let's just follow it but we'll wear our headphones and earphones to protect us from the noise." Guy Diamond suggested as he took out his earphones and put them on. The others followed suit and continued to follow the tracks. The tracks lead them to the basement of the place. They used their cellphones' flashlights and there, Smidge noticed the three figures nearby.

"Oh my Guh! What is that?" Smidge asked.

She flashed her flashlight to the figures, revealing wax statues.

"Wait a minute, are those wax statues of the traitors themselves?" Rose gasped.

"Yeah, I have seen those before but they are wearing different clothes here." Poppy said.

They continued to follow the footprints until they came to a dead-end part of the place.

"The tracks lead us to a dead-end!" Rose gasped.

"Great, now we can't find out where this leads to!" Biggie complained.

"I'm sure it must have a hidden compartment." DJ Suki said.

Mr. Dinkles sneaked out of the backpack and bit the finger of the suit of armor. It revealed a secret tunnel with more tracks.

"Whoa, Mr. Dinkles, you found a secret tunnel!? Biggie gasped.

"And it has masa tracks too." Branch said.

"Guys, follow me and be quiet." Poppy whispered.

The team followed the tracks and tiptoed in order not to cause any noise. They end up at the end of a tunnel, where they saw a machine drilling a hole nearby. Guy Diamond clumsily turned it off when his leg hit the switch.

"Whoa!!!!" Rose gasped. "I didn't notice your danger-prone reputation can be put to good use."

"Yeah, it was worth it." Guy panted.

"Guys, check this out!" Branch called out.

The Snack Pack entered the hole and noticed that they ended up in a room with dozens of printing presses and a sackful of money.

"I can't believe it, we ended up in the United States Mint Headquarters!!" Biggie squealed.

"And someone is trying to steal the money!" Rose added, pointing to the sacks of money nearby.

"I think I hear something." Branch said as he noticed a sack moving nearby. He went up to it and opened the sack, revealing an African-American man and a blonde man tied up together.

"Whoa, is that the missing men from the museum when the ghosts haunted the place?" Branch gasped.

"I can explain, I am Max." The blonde man said.

"And I am Leon." The other man explained.

"If you two are the missing men who were mentioned, where is Jack?" Poppy asked.

"He betrayed us." Max said. "He kidnapped us just so that he can hold us up as hostages."

Then, a sound of footsteps was heard nearby. The Snack Pack untied the two missing men and hid behind the mint. They saw the three ghosts of Benedict Arnold, William Demont, and Major Andre appearing and stacking the money in a sack. Cooper almost sneezed by Biggie held his nose to prevent him from sneezing but a dropping of coins fell onto the floor, alerting the three ghosts. It caught the Snack Pack's attention, and they, along with Max and Leon ran off as fast as they can. The ghosts started chasing them through the tunnel and escaped to the first floor. The chase went on as the ghosts try to get them. Biggie and Cooper pretended to be parts of an exhibit to evade them, Poppy, Smidge, and Rose hid in an old car, and Max, Leon, DJ Suki blended in with a painting. Rose noticed the spear and took it but she sneaked back into her hiding place with Poppy and Smidge.
"Where did you get that thing?" Smidge asked her.
Rose hurled the spear, which hit the ghosts off their track. Branch, who hid behind the cotton gin and cut lose the rope holding it, causing the three ghosts to get tangled together. Then, he tied them up and brought them to the police, who were accompanied by Mr. Jenks, Mr. Lane, and Mr. Peters.

"Okay, let's see who are these ghosts supposed to be?" Branch said as he unmasks the ghost of Benedict Arnold, revealing Jack.

"And he got two of these dangerous criminals to work with him." Biggie said as he and Mr. Dinkles unmasked the ghosts of William Demont, and Major Andre, revealing two thieves. As he took them off, the pale colors were dusted off, revealing that they are covered in the same flour.

"It really makes perfect sense." Branch smirked. "Rose noticed that the cotton gin and the locomotive train are connected together because the cotton gin is used to power up the drill while the train is used as a distraction."

"One of the wanted criminals left masa on the floor because their disguises are covered in masa." Poppy said. "They are stealing money from the mint and they are also plotting to have Max and Leon as hostages."

"Jack betrayed us because we refused to steal the mint so he hired the men to do it instead and he kidnapped us." Max confessed.

"And Mr. Gray is the persona of one of these thieves too, so that he can throw us and the guards off the track too." Branch said.

"And come to think of it, the money they stole is worthless, because there are no watermarks and serial numbers on them." Rose added.

"Ugh!!! Foiled by those rainbow misfits!" Jack groaned as he and the men were thrown into the police car.

"Thank you kids for saving the day and us." Leon thanked them.

"No problem, we are just doing what's right." Poppy said. "Hey, tomorrow is the Fourth of July, we can celebrate it here and Rose could also apply for U.S. Citizenship too."

"And we will also have a concert here in Washington D.C." Branch nodded.

When the Fourth of July party came, the Snack Pack were invited to play in the celebration. Rose applied for American Citizenship and aced the test too. Everybody had a good time while the Snack Pack play onstage while the fireworks exploded behind them.

They come from the cities

They come from the smaller towns

And beat up cars with guitars and drummers

Goin' crack boom bam

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A., yeah

Rockin' in the U.S.A.

Well they said goodbye to their families

Said goodbye to their friends

With the pipe dreams in their heads

And very little money in their hands

Well, some are black and some are white

And ain't to proud to sleep on your floor tonight

With blind faith of Jesus you know that they just might

Rockin' in the U.S.A., hey

Alright

Voice from nowhere

And voices from the larger town

Filled our head full of dreams

Turned our world upside down

There was Frankie Lyman, Bobby Fuller, Mitch Ryder

(They were rockin')

Jackie Wilson-Shangra-Las-Young Rascals

(They were rockin')

Spotlight on Martha Reeves

Let's don't forget James Brown

Rockin' in the U.S.A., hey

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

R O C K in the U.S.A.

Yeah, yeah

Let's hear it boy

Yeah

The song belongs to John Mellencamp and it is based on The Spirits of '76 from the Scooby Doo Show.

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