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They're Back - Complete Series Transcript
Episode One
It was another beautiful day in the Valley as Hamish and Old Witch Toobs asked some ninjas for a favor.
"We're low on every exotic ingredient, you see." Old Witch Toobs explained to the Valleytown Ninjas in their planning room. "We have no thunderquartz, no tidestone, whispering geodes."
"And plants too." said Hamish, the dragon wizard, professor of potions at the Academy. His dragon head poked in through the front door while the rest of his dragon body waited outside. "Phoenix ferns, star sage, moonshrooms, frost flowers and shrubshield seeds."
"We've got a list of nearly thirty things we need to find and none of them are native to The Valley." Toobs unrolled a scroll with a long list of items written on them, some with drawings.
The ninjas all crowded around to see.
"Luckily, all of these items grow on the Celestial Drift." added Hamish.
The ninjas were silent. None of them had ever heard of the Celestial Drift.
"You're gonna need to say more about this Celestial Drift place." said Tim. "I don't think any of us have ever heard of it."
"Ah, yes, well, it's a long boat ride away." began Toobs. "The Celestial Drift is an island that's tied to the moon in a strange way. At night, as the moon rises and sets in the sky, the island follows it slowly. This results in this island moving through the ocean night after night, year after year, following the moon in a predictable pattern. By now, mapmakers and astrologists have tracked the movement of the moon and the Drift so we know where it's going to be every season."
"A moving island? That's wild." said Benben.
"Yes, it is very wild indeed." agreed Hamish. "And it's full of important ingredients we need for potions and all kinds of things so… if some of you aren't busy its quite important that we replenish our supplies."
Toobs and Hamish were invaluable resources for the ninjas of valleytown and for everyone in the valley. They made countless important magical things for everyone and were always available to help. So, the ninjas would certainly make themselves available to go get some rare ingredients.
"We'll go!" said Tim, slapping his brother Ray on the shoulder.
"Yeah, we gotta see this moving island." agreed Ray.
"I'm out!" said Tatianna. She had once accompanied Tim and Ray on a long boat trip and swore never to go on a mission with them again if she could help it.
"Benben! You go with 'em." shouted Master Momo from the back of the room. "Use that nice new fancy boat The Academy got parked up at Beachwood Beach."
Benben wanted to roll his eyes about going on a mission with Tim and Ray, but he'd do anything for Old Witch Toobs so he simply nodded and left to go pack up and prep the boat.
"Thank you ninjas!" said Hamish. "I'll have Goose meet you at the boat as well. He'll join you."
Hours later and the trio of ninjas prepped the boat at Beachwood Beach.
"Hey Benben! What do you think would happen if I ate a changeling flower?" Tim asked.
Now Benben really did roll his eyes. "Well, you'd probably change the color of the flower I think… But why would you ever do that?"
"Well, I've always wanted to be orange, you know?" Tim continued. "What color have you always wanted to be?"
"I've never wanted to be a color." said Benben as he dropped another big bag of rations down into the hold of the ship.
This ship was new and impressive. It wasn't particularly large, but it was fast and had cannons and everything about it was brand new.
"Hey do you think we could put anything else in these cannons but cannonballs?" asked Ray as he straddled one of the heavy iron cannons bolted to the wooden deck.
"It's only made for cannonballs though, what else would you put in there?" Benben said, beginning to get annoyed with the ridiculous questions.
"I don't know like, a shark maybe? You could put a shark in here and blast sharks out at your enemies and they'd be like, 'nom, nom, nom', just chomping through the bad guys ship. Or maybe…"
"Another cannon!" came a voice from the dock. Goose the kid Wizard stepped off the wooden gangplank and onto the deck of the ship. He wore his wizard robe and carried a large adventure bag. "Like if you put another cannon onto the cannon and you blasted the cannon out and then it blasted a cannon ball out, it would be double the speed probably!"
Benben went down below-deck to avoid hearing this absurd conversation.
"Yes! A cannon ball blasting cannon blasting cannon! That'd be epic!"
"Let's see if the cannons below deck will fit in these big cannons…"
"No putting cannons inside other cannons!" Benben's head poked back up from the ladder that led below deck. He stared the other three down so they knew he meant business.
"Well no cannons in the cannons I guess yeah that makes sense for sure but maybe some other stuff we can stick in there and see if…"
"Only! Cannon balls! In! The! Cannons! Period!" barked Benben before dropping out of sight.
"He's still wound a little tight, yeah?" said Goose.
"Benben's a good egg." Ray said as he unfastened the ropes from the dock. "He just usually does things by the book. Like, only cannonballs go in the cannons. Only food goes in the oven. Don't drink that strange potion if you don't know what it is. Stuff like that."
Goose nodded and went to work organizing their rations and things on the ship. This would be a long trip. It was going to take them days to reach the island of Celestial Drift. And who knows how much longer to gather all the rare plants and rocks and such that Hamish and Toobs were wanting.
As the sun began to set, the group finally finished loading the ship. Tim and Ray had managed to stay away from the cannons after Benben's stern warning, though they kept whispering and giggling about "shark bombs" whenever they passed by them.
"Alright, I've got the star charts from Toobs," Goose announced, spreading a collection of papers across a barrel. "The Celestial Drift should be passing through the Moonfish Bay in three days. If we leave now and sail through the night, we might even beat it there."
"Through the night?" Benben frowned. "Is that safe?"
"Don't worry," Ray said, pulling something from his bag. "I brought a jar of starlight sage. We can use it as a lamp!"
"Where did you get that?" Benben demanded. "That's one of the things we're supposed to be collecting!"
Ray's face fell. "Oh. Right. I borrowed it from Toobs' workshop last week. I was going to return it, but..."
"But you forgot," Benben sighed. "Well, at least we can cross one thing off the list."
As they set sail, the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant oranges and purples. Tim stood at the bow, peering into the darkness ahead.
"Hey," he called back to the others, "what do you think would happen if we found a changeling flower AND a timestep tree at the same time? Could we change colors in multiple times at once?"
"Please don't." Benben rubbed his temples. "Just... please don't."
Goose laughed and adjusted their course using the star charts. "You know what they say about the Celestial Drift - expect the unexpected! Though probably not orange ninjas traveling through time."
Episode Two
"Look, they're doing it! They're doing the crane kick!" Tim shouted from the bow of the ship, watching a group of seagulls attempt to balance on one leg.
"They're just standing normally, Tim," Benben called back without looking up from his navigation charts. "That's what seagulls do."
Three days had passed since they'd left Valleytown's shore. Despite Tim's determined efforts to create the world's first ninja-seagull army, the journey had been mostly peaceful. Now, as dawn approached, the crew gathered at the railings, watching the horizon for their first glimpse of the Celestial Drift.
"There!" Goose pointed to a mass emerging from the morning mist. "See how it seems to glow? That's moonlight still caught in the island's crystal formations."
The island was massive, its shores lined with luminescent beaches that pulsed with a gentle blue light. Twisted trees reached skyward, their leaves shimmering silver.
"We need to dock quickly," Goose explained, already preparing the mooring lines. "The island won't stay here for long."
Ray grinned at his brother. "Race you to shore?"
"You're on!"
"No racing!" Benben shouted, but the brothers had already leaped off the side of the boat and began frantically swimming to shore.
As they approached the beach, the glowing sand cast strange shadows across their faces. Ray immediately began scooping handfuls into his pockets.
"For research," he explained when Benben raised an eyebrow.
"Research?" Benben sighed, organizing their collection gear into neat piles on the shore. "Since when do you do research?"
"Hey, guys?" Tim interrupted, pointing toward a cluster of trees in the distance. "Are those the glowing plants from our list? Because they're either that, or we've got ghost trees."
Several yards into the treeline, phosphorescent flowers bloomed, their petals pulsing with an inner light that seemed to beckon them forward.
"Ghost trees would be so cool though," Ray whispered, still stuffing sand in his pockets.
"Those are hushflowers," Goose confirmed, consulting their list. "They're not on the list but we'll grab some anyway." Goose narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head to look deep into the tree line from the beach. "This place feels strange. Like…"
Goose didn't finish but the others silently agreed. They all knew what it felt like to be watched.
"We should stick together," Benben started, but Tim was already charging toward the glowing plants.
"Last one to the ghost trees is a rotten ninja egg!"
"We should split up," Tim announced as they entered the dense woods. "Cover more ground that way."
"Absolutely not," said Benben. "On mysterious moving islands we stay tog—"
"All in favor of splitting up?" Ray's hand shot into the air, followed by Tim's and, after a moment's hesitation, Goose's.
"Democracy!" Tim shouted. "The system works!"
"That's not how—" Benben started, but the brothers were already disappearing into the trees, their laughter echoing behind them.
"We'll take the west side!" Ray called back. "Meet you at the beach at sunset!"
Benben turned to Goose. "You know this is a terrible idea."
"Yes," Goose agreed, pulling out their ingredient list. "But they do tend to find the weird stuff. And we need the weird stuff. They also work well together and have some supernatural luck. I think they'll be alright."
"Do you think these trees are actually ghosts?" Tim asked, poking a twisted trunk with a stick. "Like, dead trees that came back as spooky tree ghosts?"
"Only one way to find out." Ray pulled out a handful of glowing sand from his pocket and threw it at the nearest tree. The sand sparkled as it fell, but nothing else happened.
"Well what was the point of that?" asked Tim.
"I don't know, I thought the sand would just like, go through the ghost tree or something." explained Ray.
"That makes sense," Tim nodded seriously. "We should throw more sand."
They continued deeper into the woods, Ray throwing sand at suspicious-looking trees while Tim collected anything that glowed, sparkled, or made strange noises when poked.
"Check this out!" Tim held up a flower that changed color every time he touched it. "Think it's a changeling flower?"
"Only one way to find out!" Ray reached for it.
A rustling sound made them both freeze. Something moved in the shadows.
"Did you see that?" Tim whispered.
"Probably just some local critters," Ray said, but he didn't sound convinced.
The brothers spun around as more rustling came from their left. Then their right. Then behind them again.
"Is it just me," Tim said slowly, "or are we feeling surrounded?"
"Nah, that's crazy." Ray laughed nervously.
A branch creaked overhead.
"Unless..." they said in unison, watching as the path they'd just walked down slowly began to twist and change before their eyes.
Benben meticulously checked off each item on their list as Goose gathered them into labeled containers. "Mud berries, check. Tar Bark, check."
"Wait." Goose stopped, holding up his hand. "Look at these tracks."
Strange markings crossed their path - not quite footprints, more like something had... rolled through.
"And here." Goose pointed to broken branches and disturbed earth. "Someone's been here recently."
They entered a clearing where the trees thinned out. The ground was covered in an odd, sticky residue that gleamed in the filtered light.
"Is that..." Benben touched it cautiously. "Gloop slime?"
A whisper echoed through the trees, clearer than before. Almost like words.
"We should find Tim and Ray," Goose said quietly. "Now."
But as they turned to leave, the trees began to move. Slowly at first, then faster, branches twisting and trunks shifting position. The path they'd followed disappeared as new ones formed. The forest itself was strangely enchanted.
"Tim! Ray!" Benben shouted.
Only whispers answered back.
The forest seemed to pulse around them, paths appearing and vanishing like a maze rearranging itself. Every direction looked the same - twisted trunks and glowing flowers stretching endlessly into shadow.
"This is some kind of shape-shifting forest," Goose whispered.
A laugh echoed through the woods - not the trees this time. Something else. Something that moved in the shadows between the shifting paths.
Benben turned but Goose was barely visible, obscured by a thick cluster of trees and bushes that had shifted to separate them.
A second later and the two ninjas were out of sight from one another. Benben tried to get his bearings, tried to remember which way they had come, to get back to the beach and reset.
"Goose!" he yelled. But there was no reply.
Meanwhile, Goose staggered as something solid slammed into his back. He spun around, magic crackling from the wand he just pulled from his cloak, but more impacts came from all sides.
Translucent gloops rolled from the foliage right for Goose.
"Gloops!" he shouted, but the sound was muffled as the gelatinous creatures swarmed him. Their sticky bodies merged together, forming a prison around him.
His magic fizzled uselessly against their semi-transparent forms. Through their bodies, he could see more Gloops emerging from the shadows, their laughs burbling through the clearing.
The last thing Goose saw before being completely encased was a particularly large Gloop wearing what looked like a captain's hat.
In another part of this shifting forest… "We have to be getting close to the beach," Tim said, throwing his last handful of glowing sand at yet another tree. "We've been walking for hours."
"Have we though?" Ray squinted at the twisted trunks around them. "Because that tree with the weird knot looks exactly like—"
A shout echoed through the woods, cut suddenly short.
"Was that...?" Tim started.
"Goose," Ray finished.
They rushed toward the sound, but the forest shifted again, paths twisting away from their destination.
Tim and Ray ran toward where they thought the sound came from, eventually spilling out into a small clearing.
They saw Benben standing there, staring at signs of a struggle - scattered collection jars, a dropped wizard's bag, and fresh Gloop tracks leading deeper into the moving woods.
"They got Goose!" said Benben.
Episode Three
"These are definitely Gloop tracks," Benben said, kneeling beside the sticky trail that glistened in the filtered moonlight. "And look — they've taken Goose's collection bags."
Tim picked up a torn leather satchel, magical ingredients spilling from its side. "They really made a mess, didn't they?"
All around the clearing, Goose's carefully organized supplies lay scattered — collection jars smashed, sample bags torn open, and Goose's wizard tools flung in every direction.
"Goose wouldn't go without a fight," Ray said "Chances are he was outnumbered and caught off guard."
Benben nodded grimly, scanning the ground. The gloop residue was unmistakable. It left a trail that they could track easily.
"Wait," he whispered, crouching lower. "Look at this."
Tim and Ray huddled around the discovery.
"Gloop goo." Ray pointed at the stuff. "Those guys are so messy they'd never make good ninjas."
"I guess we follow the trail." Benben looked at Tim and Ray.
The three ninjas followed the trail deeper into the forest, where the trees grew taller and stranger, their branches reaching like grasping fingers across the darkening path.
"Is it just me," whispered Tim, "or is the forest getting... weirder?"
Strange flowers bloomed around them — some that changed color as they passed, others that seemed to whisper secrets in languages none of them understood. Mushrooms glowed with internal light, pulsing like heartbeats as the ninjas crept by.
Ray reached out to touch a cool looking plant.
"Don't," Benben hissed, slapping his hand away. "Remember what happened to Tatianna when she touched that fire lily last summer?"
"Her eyebrows grew back," Ray grumbled. "Eventually."
Meanwhile, Goose had been completely enveloped by this group of gloops. They were like rolling balls of jelly, and they jumped right onto his body until he was completely covered in gloop.
"Let go of me, you overgrown puddings!" Goose struggled, but the Gloops had wrapped their sticky forms around his hands, preventing him from casting any spells.
"Quiet, wizard," gurgled the largest Gloop, the one wearing the captain's hat. Its voice bubbled like thick soup. "You're our guest now."
"You… you can talk?" Goose muttered as they pushed him forward through the forest. This came as a shock to him since all the other gloops they'd ever fought were mindless and… kind of dumb to be honest. He had never heard one speak before. Clearly these were a different breed of gloop.
The gloops led him to what appeared to be a solid wall of vines and stone. The captain moved some vines out of the way to reveal a door.
"Whoa," Goose couldn't help but gasp as they entered a massive complex obscured by thick trees and vines.
The hallways were lined with glowing crystals that illuminated rooms filled with bubbling potions, strange artifacts, and maps pinned to walls. In one room, Goose spotted Gloops carefully examining magical plants through what looked like crystal microscopes.
"Since when do Gloops know how to use scientific equipment?" Goose wondered aloud.
"Since we evolved," the captain replied. "We're not the simple Gloops you remember."
They marched him past a laboratory where Gloops were extracting essence from what looked like thunderquartz and whispering geodes – items from their collection list!
They moved further into the complex until they reached a corridor lined with cells. As Goose stood helpless with his hands up in the air, the gloops rifled through his pockets, taking everything from him and taking it away.
The Gloops opened a cell across from some kid and shoved Goose inside. The door – made of hardened Gloop material – sealed shut with a wet squelch.
"Enjoy your stay," burbled the captain. "We'll be back for you when the experiments are ready."
As the Gloops left, Goose turned to examine his cell. Simple stone walls, one small window, and not a single magical item they'd missed in their thorough search of his pockets.
"Hey," called a voice from across the corridor. "New guy. You got caught too, huh?"
Goose peered through the bars at his fellow prisoner – a boy about his age with wild hair and a tattered wizard robe covered in star patterns.
"Name's Rocket," the boy said. "Master wizard, treasure hunter, and... well, current prisoner, obviously."
"I'm Goose," he replied. "How long have you been here?"
Rocket shrugged. "Three days? It's hard to tell time in this place. Those Gloops took everything – my enchanted compass, my seven wands, my potion belt, even my lucky magic socks."
"What is this place?" Goose asked, looking around. "And since when are Gloops smart enough to build... well, anything?"
"That's what I've been trying to figure out," Rocket whispered, leaning closer to the bars. "I think they've been capturing everyone who comes to Celestial Drift. Everyone. They're collecting magical ingredients and artifacts, studying them somehow. These aren't normal Gloops."
Goose thought of the organized laboratories he'd seen. "They're planning something big."
"We need to get out of here," Rocket said. "Got any friends who might come looking for you?"
Goose smiled for the first time since his capture. "Three ninjas. If they're not already captured themselves."
"Ninjas? Nice!" Rocket's eyes lit up. "Then we need a plan for when they get here. Listen, I've been watching the guards. If we could just get to that supply room down the hall..."
While Goose and Rocket made plans for an escape, the ninjas were still out searching for answers.
"I don't like this place," Tim whispered as they ventured deeper into the forest. "The trees are watching us."
He wasn't wrong. The deeper they went, the stranger the forest became. Trees twisted unnaturally, their bark rippling as if breathing. Flowers opened and closed as they passed, some seemed to hum and whisper.
"Is that a... walking mushroom?" Ray pointed to a cluster of glowing fungi that seemed to be slowly migrating across the forest floor.
"Don't touch anything," Benben warned for the fifth time. "We don't know what any of these plants do."
They followed the trail of Gloop residue, which grew thicker and more abundant. The sticky substance clung to their shoes, making each step heavier than the last.
"We must be getting close," Benben said, his voice barely audible. "Stay alert."
As they crept forward, the strange forest around them grew darker. The glowing plants provided just enough light to see by, casting eerie shadows that seemed to move on their own.
"Guys," Tim suddenly stopped, pointing ahead. "Look at that."
Through the dense forest they could make out a building. It was well hidden by all the vines and bushes but the more they looked the more they could make out how big it was.
"Get down." whispered Benben and the ninjas sunk back into the foliage. "There's gonna be gloops around here."
"I've never seen Gloops build anything before," Tim said, his eyes wide. "They're supposed to be mindless blobs."
"Well, these blobs have architecture skills," Ray muttered. "And look – guards."
Sure enough, Gloop sentries patrolled the perimeter, carrying what appeared to be crude spears made from hardened Gloop material.
"They're organized," Benben noted with growing concern. "Patrol patterns, weapons, actual buildings... these aren't the Gloops we've fought before."
"Goose is in there somewhere," Ray said. "We need to get in."
Benben nodded, studying the fortress. "We need to get closer. I'll scout ahead – you two stay here and don't do anything stupid."
"Us? Stupid?" Tim placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. "When have we ever—"
"Yesterday you tried to teach seagulls the crane kick," Benben reminded him flatly.
"And they were making progress!"
Benben sighed and slipped silently into the shadows, moving like a ghost toward the gloop building while Tim and Ray settled behind a fallen log to wait.
Benben moved with silent precision through the underbrush, his ninja training allowing him to slip between shadows undetected. The building was larger than it first appeared – a sprawling structure with multiple levels, constructed primarily of stone with what looked like hardened Gloop material reinforcing the walls.
As he circled the perimeter, Benben noticed something disturbing. The Gloops weren't just patrolling randomly – they had organized shifts, guard rotations.
"This is bad," Benben whispered to himself as he crept closer, climbing a tall tree that offered a view into the compound.
The building had a central courtyard where dozens of Gloops moved with purpose. Some carried baskets of strange glowing plants, others transported crates of crystals – the same ingredients they had come to collect.
Shifting his position carefully, Benben scaled higher into the tree for a better view. That's when he spotted Goose.
His friend was in a cell near the back of the prison wing, talking animatedly with another prisoner across the corridor. Two Gloop guards stood at attention nearby, their round bodies rippling occasionally but maintaining their posts with discipline that no Gloop should possess.
"What happened to you guys?" Benben muttered, watching as a particularly large Gloop with what appeared to be a captain's hat directed others in the courtyard.
He needed to get back to Tim and Ray with this information.
As Benben prepared to descend, he noticed something that made him freeze. On a table in the courtyard, spread out for several Gloops to examine, was a map.
Benben silently pulled out a small telescope and zoomed in on the map.
It was…
A map of the Valley.
Episode Four
Tim and Ray were growing restless behind the fallen log where Benben had left them. Ray had started arranging a collection of oddly shaped rocks into what he called "the perfect tiny castle" while Tim attempted to teach a small, fluorescent beetle to perform tricks.
"I think I'll name him Sir Glowington," Tim whispered, carefully balancing the beetle on his finger. "Do you think we could train him to—"
A rustle in the underbrush made them both freeze. Ray's hand moved to his ninja stars, and Tim quickly slipped Sir Glowington into his pocket "for safekeeping."
"It's me," came Benben's hushed voice as he stepped out of the shadows. His expression was grim.
"What did you see? Is Goose okay?" Tim asked.
Benben crouched low, motioning for them to gather closer. "Goose is alive. He's being held in some kind of prison cell. But guys, this is bad. These Gloops... they're organized. They've built this entire fortress, and they have guards with weapons and patrol patterns. I've never seen anything like it."
"Maybe they're ghost-possessed," Tim muttered.
"They're not ghost-possessed," Benben sighed. "But something has definitely changed them. They're intelligent now, and they've captured more than just Goose. There's someone else in another cell too."
"Did you see a way in?" Ray asked, sizing up the fortress in the distance.
"That's not all," Benben continued, "They had a map, guys. A map of the Valley. Our Valley. And it was marked with specific locations - the Academy, Valleytown, even Toobs' workshop."
The brothers exchanged concerned glances. This wasn't their usual Gloop encounter.
"So what's the plan?" Tim asked, suddenly serious. "I know! We go back to the ship, get the cannons, and blast our way in! A full frontal assault with maximum firepower!"
"You want us to drag ship cannons through this weird forest?" Benben asked.
"Fine," Tim conceded. "We could use the smaller cannons. You know, the hand-held ones."
"We don't have hand-held cannons, Tim," Benben groaned.
"Well we should," Tim grumbled.
Ray snapped his fingers. "I've got it! We could disguise ourselves as Gloops! We just need to find some of that sticky, gooey stuff they leave behind, cover ourselves in it, and walk right through the front door!"
"And how exactly would we make ourselves round and bouncy?" Benben asked.
"We could... um..." Ray looked around desperately. "We could stuff our clothes with those puffy mushrooms over there!"
Both Tim and Ray looked at Benben with hopeful expressions.
Benben pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "No cannons. No Gloop disguises. We need a real plan."
"Those were real plans," Tim protested.
"Real ridiculous plans," Benben corrected. "Listen, I saw Goose talking to another prisoner. They might already be working on an escape. What we need is a distraction to thin out the guards, then a way to sneak inside."
"Distraction, huh?" Ray's eyes gleamed. "Now you're speaking our language."
Tim reached into his pocket and pulled out Sir Glowington, who was now blinking rapidly. "And I think I know just how to start one."
"If it involves that bug, I'm not sure—" Benben started.
"Not just this little guy," Tim interrupted, gently placing the beetle back in his pocket. "Remember all those weird plants we've been seeing? Some of them seemed pretty reactive. What if we could use them somehow?"
For once, Benben didn't immediately dismiss the idea. "That... might actually work. But we'd need to be careful. We don't know what half these plants do."
"When have we ever not been careful?" Ray asked innocently.
Benben gave him a deadpan stare. "Do you want the list alphabetically or chronologically?"
"Okay. Fair point," Ray conceded. "But this time is different. Goose needs us."
Meanwhile, back inside the Gloop fortress, Goose and Rocket were huddled near the bars of their respective cells, whispering urgently.
"So your friends are ninjas?" Rocket asked. "Like, real ninjas with throwing stars and smoke bombs and everything?"
"Yep," Goose nodded. "And if I know them, they're already planning a rescue."
"Well, they'd better hurry," Rocket said, his enthusiasm dimming. "The Gloops have been working on something big. Something they call 'the device.' I've been eavesdropping on the guards."
Goose leaned closer to the bars. "What kind of device?"
"Not sure exactly," Rocket admitted, running a hand through his wild hair. "But every day they bring in more magical ingredients and crystals."
"Okay," Goose muttered. "What else have you learned?"
Rocket glanced around to make sure no guards were within earshot. "The Captain isn't just a regular Gloop. He's got this weird crystal embedded in himself, just floating around in there."
"A crystal?" Goose's brow furrowed. "What color?"
"Sort of a pulsing purple. Sometimes it glows brighter when he's giving orders."
A wet squelching sound from down the corridor made them both fall silent. Two Gloop guards approached, dragging a small, struggling figure between them.
"New prisoner for the collection," one guard gurgled as they stopped at a nearby cell.
The cell door opened with a squishy sound, and the guards tossed their captive inside. Goose caught a glimpse of delicate wings and a flash of bright colors before the door sealed shut again.
"The Captain wants this one interrogated immediately," the second guard bubbled. "Says she knows secrets about the island's magic."
"We'll come back after the shift change," the first guard responded as they squelched away.
Once the guards were out of sight, Goose and Rocket peered into the neighboring cell. Their new fellow prisoner was a fairy, no taller than Goose's forearm, with iridescent wings and bright blue hair tied in an intricate braid.
"Hey," Rocket called softly. "Are you okay?"
The fairy sat up, brushing dirt from her wings with obvious annoyance. "Aside from being manhandled by living puddings? I'm just peachy."
"I'm Rocket, and that's Goose," Rocket introduced. "What's your name?"
"Petal," the fairy replied, eyeing them suspiciously. "What are you two in for?"
"Wrong place, wrong time," Goose said. "We came to the island to collect ingredients. What about you?"
"I live here," Petal said, as if it should be obvious. "Well, not in this horrible place. On the island. My people have been here for generations. We help maintain the lunar connection that keeps the island moving along its path."
Goose and Rocket exchanged excited glances.
"So you know how the island moves?" Goose asked. "That might be what the Gloops are after!"
Petal's delicate features hardened. "They've been capturing my people for weeks. Asking questions about the moon crystals and the tidal pools that control our movement."
"Moon crystals?" Rocket pressed.
"Ancient crystals buried deep within the island," Petal explained. "They respond to moonlight, pulling us along in the moon's wake."
A pair of Gloop guards squelched past their cells, deep in conversation.
"...final adjustments to the device tonight," one was saying. "Captain says we'll be ready for the full test under tomorrow's moon."
"And then we can finally navigate wherever we want?" the second guard burbled excitedly.
"That's the plan. First stop, that valley place with all the magical creatures and ingredients. Captain says it's a treasure trove just waiting to be harvested."
The guards moved out of earshot, but the damage was done. Goose felt his stomach sink.
"They're going to attack the Valley," he whispered. "We need to get out of here now."
"I've been working on something," Rocket said, eyes gleaming. "See that supply closet across from our cells? The guards always leave it slightly open. If we could reach it, there's all sorts of stuff in there that might help us escape."
"But how do we get out of our cells?" Goose asked.
Petal cleared her throat delicately. "That might be where I come in. Fairy magic is different from wizard magic. They took your wands and potions, but they can't exactly remove my wings, can they?"
She fluttered her iridescent wings, and a fine, sparkling dust drifted from them.
"Fairy dust?" Goose asked. "Supposed to be super powerful!"
"Yeah. but I'll need time to gather enough dust. These wings don't produce magic on demand, you know."
"How long?" Goose asked, already trying to calculate if they had enough time before the device was completed.
"A few hours, maybe?" Petal estimated. "Sooner if I can get some moonlight. It enhances the magic."
Rocket pointed to a small window high in his cell. "The moon rises on that side in about an hour. If you can get some exposure..."
"Perfect," Petal nodded. "Then we wait for the shift change, when there are fewer guards. While I work on gathering dust, you two need to come up with what happens after we get out of these cells."
"Step one, get to that supply closet," Rocket began. "Step two, arm ourselves with whatever we can find."
"Step three," Goose continued, "find and stop this device before they can use it against the Valley."
A distant rumble shook dust from the ceiling, followed by confused shouts from the Gloops.
Goose couldn't help but smile. "Or maybe step one is already happening. That sounds exactly like my friends making an entrance."
Meanwhile, back out in the forest...
"This is the most ridiculous plan we've ever had," Benben muttered as he watched Tim carefully arranging a circle of plucked luminescent mushrooms.
"You say that about all our plans," Ray replied cheerfully, busy carefully lining up little pinecones on the ground.
"Because all your plans are ridiculous," Benben countered. "But I'll admit, this one might actually work."
The plan was to create enough of a distraction at the entrance to draw guards away from other areas, allowing Benben to sneak in through a small window they'd spotted on the eastern side.
"Sir Glowington, front and center!" Tim whispered dramatically. The luminescent beetle, now sporting a tiny leaf cape Tim had fashioned for it, crawled from his pocket onto his palm.
"I still can't believe you're putting our rescue mission in the hands—or legs—of a bug," Benben sighed.
"Not just any bug," Tim insisted. "A highly trained special operations bug. Ready on your end, Ray?"
Ray held up a slingshot loaded with one of his pinecones. "Locked and loaded, brother!"
"Remember," Benben warned, "once you two create the distraction, I need at least five minutes to get to that window and find Goose. No running in until I give the signal."
"Five minutes of chaos," Tim grinned. "We can definitely deliver that."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Benben muttered, adjusting his ninja mask.
Ray aimed his slingshot at a cluster of bulbous plants growing near the fortress entrance. These particular plants had been fascinating to watch—whenever anything touched them, they released clouds of sparkling spores that made nearby plants grow at alarming rates.
"Fire in the hole!" Ray whispered, letting the pinecone fly.
The projectile arced perfectly, smacking into the bulbous plants. On impact, several plants burst at once, releasing a massive cloud of glittering spores. The reaction was immediate—grass shot upward like green geysers, nearby vines thickened and writhed, and flowers bloomed and wilted in seconds.
The Gloop guards burbled in alarm, moving toward the disturbance.
"Phase two!" Tim whispered excitedly, nudging Sir Glowington. The beetle, as if understanding its mission, scurried along the circle of glowing mushrooms. As it passed each one, it took a bite. Each mushroom, after being bitten, started flashing all different colors.
"Quick!" said Tim, reaching down to grab the flashing 'shrooms. They threw them out in front of the entrance of the building. The mushrooms grew big like balloons until they popped, releasing millions of tiny spores into the air. Tim and Ray kept throwing these exploding mushrooms, creating a thick colorful cloud in front of the gloop headquarters.
The spores attracted a swarm of moth-like creatures with translucent wings that started attacking everything near the glowing mushrooms, including the gloops.
More gloops were coming to see what the commotion was, only to be attacked by swarms of moths.
Plants were growing wildly, mushrooms were exploding and moths were divebombing.
"Now for the grand finale," Ray declared. They loaded their slingshots with handfuls of exploding seedpods and launched them out into the clearing.
Cracks and Booms rang out as each seedpod that landed exploded loudly.
Guards came pouring out of the fortress, some wielding weapons, others simply rolling at high speed toward the disturbance. In the confusion, no one noticed Benben slipping away through the underbrush, circling toward the eastern wall.
Meanwhile, Benben had reached the wall undetected and climbed into the exposed window.
He could see a dimly lit corridor lined with rooms. No guards in sight thanks to Tim and Ray's distraction.
Moving swiftly but cautiously, Benben crept forward, checking each room he passed. Most were filled with strange equipment: bubbling vats of colorful liquids, tables covered with crystals and plants, and maps pinned to walls.
"This isn't just a fortress," Benben realized. "It's a laboratory."
Benben began silently running the halls now, desperately seeking Goose before it was too late.
Episode Five
Benben continued in the direction of the jail cells he noticed from outside. He poked his head in every room with an unlocked door. Even the locked ones were no match for his ninja lock-picking skills. Eventually he broke into what was clearly the Gloop Captain's personal office.
Benben quickly investigated, finding an open journal on a desk. It read…
"Day 437 since the Awakening. The device is nearly complete. Soon, all gloops will be awakened by the moon crystals. No longer will we be simple creatures. We will be an empire, with the Celestial Drift as our mobile fortress. The Valley will be our first conquest—its magical resources will fuel our expansion. Tomorrow night, when the moon is full..."
A distant explosion rocked the fortress, causing several bottles to rattle on their shelves. Benben looked up from the book and rushed back out into the hall to find Goose.
Back in the prison wing, Petal the fairy hovered near a small window, bathing in the moonlight that streamed through the bars. Her wings shimmered as she absorbed the lunar energy.
"How's it coming?" Goose whispered, keeping an anxious eye down the hall.
"Almost there," Petal replied, her tiny voice strained with concentration. She fluttered her wings more rapidly, causing a shower of sparkling dust to fall onto the stone floor. "The moonlight helps, but fairy dust production isn't exactly something you can rush."
"Well, maybe try thinking rushed thoughts?" suggested Rocket, who was kneeling by his cell door, examining the strange, gloopy lock mechanism. "Like, 'Oh no, I'm late for a very important fairy tea party!'"
Petal gave him a withering look. "That's not how fairy biology works."
"How about those Gloop guards?" Goose asked. "When's the next shift change?"
Rocket pressed his ear against the bars. "Should be soon. They always change guards right after that weird bubbling sound." As if on cue, a distant gurgling noise echoed down the corridor. "That's it! It's like some kind of alarm. They'll be switching any minute now."
Petal fluttered back down from the window, a small pile of shiny dust now collected beneath her. "This should be enough. Stand back."
She began to flutter her wings in a specific pattern, creating gentle currents that lifted the fairy dust into the air. With careful movements, she directed the sparkling powder toward the bars of the cell door.
At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the hardened Gloop material began to soften, changing from its usual solid state to something more liquid.
"It's working!" Rocket whispered excitedly. "Keep going!"
Petal continued directing the dust, sweat beading on her tiny forehead from the effort. The bars grew increasingly transparent as the dust worked its magic, until finally, the bars melted away completely.
Petal flew out of the opening and went straight for the lock on Rocket's door. Her arm was small enough to shove right into the keyhole where she manipulated the gears until it popped open.
A moment later and Rocket and Goose were both freed from their cells.
Rocket pumped his fists excitedly. "Freedom at last!"
"We're still inside a fortress full of Gloops," Goose reminded him. "Maybe save the victory dance?"
"Right, right." Rocket straightened up and pointed toward the supply closet across the corridor. "Phase two: arm ourselves with some magical goodness."
The coast was clear—the explosion sounds from outside had apparently drawn most of the Gloops away from the prison wing.
The supply closet shelves were lined with confiscated magical items. Rocket immediately began rummaging through the collection, occasionally letting out excited gasps.
"My wands! All seven of them!" He pulled out a bundle of wands, each a different color and shape. "Thunderwand, Flamestick, Frostwand, Windwhisper, Earthshaker, Shadowtip, and—" he held up a wand that appeared to be made of twisted candy stripes "—Mr. Twizzle!"
Goose raised an eyebrow. "You named your wand Mr. Twizzle?"
"Don't judge Mr. Twizzle. He's sensitive."
Meanwhile, Petal had discovered something that made her gasp. At the back of the closet was a large glass container filled with tiny points of light—lights that moved with purpose and apparent distress.
"Little Ones," she whispered, her voice cracking. "They've captured dozens of my people!"
Sure enough, the container held at least twenty fairies, much smaller than Petal, all fluttering desperately against the glass walls of their prison. Their wings were covered with Gloop goo that seemed to be prevent them from producing dust.
"We have to free them," Petal said.
"Of course we will," Goose assured her, already examining the container for a way to open it. The lid was sealed with the same hardened Gloop material as the cell doors.
"Stand back," Rocket said, pulling out his Frostwand. "I've got this." He tapped the wand against the container, causing frost to spread across the surface. He tapped it with the wand he called Flamestick, adding so much heat to the frozen glass that it shattered.
The imprisoned fairies immediately escaped, streaming out in a dazzling display of multicolored light. They circled Petal, their tiny voices creating a chorus of excited chimes and bell-like sounds.
"What are they saying?" Goose asked, fascinated by the reunion.
"They're telling me what happened," Petal translated, her expression growing increasingly troubled. "The Gloops have been extracting fairy dust to help power their device. They've discovered that fairy magic interacts with the moon crystals, amplifying the effects."
A particularly agitated fairy with bright red wings buzzed urgently around Petal's head.
"What? When?" Petal's eyes widened. "We have to move, now! According to Sparkflare here, the Gloops are accelerating their timeline. They're planning to activate the device tonight!"
"Tonight?" Goose and Rocket exclaimed simultaneously.
"The Captain ordered it after the disturbances began," Petal explained, still listening to the rapid fairy communications. "He's worried someone is trying to sabotage his plans."
"Someone is," Rocket grinned. "Us!"
"And my friends," Goose added. "Those explosions outside? That's definitely Tim and Ray's work."
"Then we need to find them and coordinate," Rocket said, tucking his wands into various pockets. "And we need to locate this device before—"
A wet, squelching alarm suddenly echoed through the corridors—a sound like a thousand Gloops being squished in unison.
"Uh oh," Goose winced. "Time to move!"
Episode Six
The sound of approaching guards—dozens of them, judging by the volume of squelching—came from both ends of the corridor.
"Back door?" Rocket asked hopefully, looking around the supply closet.
"Supply closets don't typically come with back doors," Goose pointed out.
"Mine does," Rocket shrugged. "Standard wizard home design."
Petal fluttered up to a ventilation grate near the ceiling. "We don't need a back door. We can use this."
The grate was small—too small for humans to fit through—but the fairies were already disappearing into it.
"Great plan," Rocket said sarcastically. "If only we could shrink ourselves down to—" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes lighting up. "Wait a minute!" He spun around and began frantically searching through the shelves.
"What are you looking for?" Goose asked, keeping an anxious eye on the door. The squelching sounds were getting closer.
"This!" Rocket triumphantly held up a small bottle of purple liquid. "Minimizing Mixture! One sip and you're fairy-sized for… approximately seven minutes."
"Approximately?" Goose didn't sound convinced.
"Give or take a minute... or." Rocket uncorked the bottle and took a swig before passing it to Goose. "Clock's ticking!"
Goose hesitated for only a second before drinking. The effect was instantaneous and bizarre—the world seemed to expand around him, or rather, he shruck in relation to it. The supply closet, which had seemed cramped moments before, now stretched around him like a vast warehouse.
The Little Ones, as Petal called them, zipped down and lifted Rocket and Goose up into the ventilation shaft.
Just as the last fairy disappeared into the vent, the supply closet door burst open. Through the grate, they could see Gloop guards swarming into the room.
"Find them!" burbled one particularly large guard. "The Captain wants the prisoners recaptured immediately!"
"Good luck with that," Rocket whispered, a mischievous gleam in his now-tiny eyes. "Now let's find your ninja friends before this shrinking potion wears off. I don't wanna get stuck in these vents at full size."
Led by Petal and her fellow fairies, they began navigating the ventilation system as fast as they could.
Outside the fortress, Tim and Ray continued their distraction plan, creating as much crazy as they could. What started as a simple distraction had evolved into what Tim proudly termed "Operation Complete and Total Chaos."
"Did you see that last explosion?" Tim shouted as a particularly aggressive vine wrapped itself around a Gloop guard, hoisting the surprised blob ten feet into the air. "Who knew moon mushrooms were so flammable?"
"I bet Toobs knew," Ray replied, "She knows everything about exploding plants."
The brothers had discovered, quite by accident, that the island's plants responded dramatically to being combined in specific ways. And they were having a blast blowing things up while hiding in the forest.
"Uh, Tim?" Ray tapped his brother's shoulder, pointing at a cluster of trees near the fortress wall. "Are those trees... moving?"
Sure enough, a cluster of trees and bushes not far was shaking. The two ninjas watched as a small group of gloops rolled out of a secret entrance in response to the distraction.
Tim's eyes lit up. "Secret tunnel! Ray, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Infiltrate the fortress from below while everyone's distracted by our distraction?"
"Exactly!" Tim high-fived his brother.
They darted toward the tunnel entrance, slipping past the distracted Gloops. The passage beyond was dark, lit only by occasional patches of bioluminescent fungi growing on the damp walls.
"Good thing I brought a light source," Tim said proudly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out Sir Glowington, who blinked lazily in the darkness.
"Beetle lantern!" Ray nodded approvingly. "Very resourceful."
They crept deeper into the tunnel, following its winding path beneath the fortress. The sound of squelching alarms echoed from somewhere above them.
"Something's got the Gloops stirred up," Ray whispered.
"Probably Benben making his dramatic rescue," Tim replied. "Always has to be the hero."
The tunnel gradually widened, branching into multiple passages. Strange pipes ran along the ceiling, carrying what looked like liquid Gloop material to different parts of the fortress.
"Which way?" Ray asked, eyeing the diverging paths.
A faint humming sound came from the leftmost tunnel—a deep, resonant vibration that seemed to pulse in time with their heartbeats.
"That way," Tim said confidently, pointing toward the humming. "Mysterious humming always leads to the important stuff."
Meanwhile, Benben was making his way toward the prison cells. He moved silently through the corridors, avoiding the increasing number of Gloop guards responding to the alarms.
"They've got to be around here somewhere," he muttered, checking each corridor for signs of the prison wing. The fortress was larger than it had appeared from outside, with twisting passages that seemed designed to confuse intruders.
A small movement caught his eye—something tiny darting along the wall at floor level. Benben crouched, ninja stars ready, only to freeze in surprise.
"Goose?" he whispered incredulously.
The miniature Goose looked up, his face breaking into a relieved smile. "Benben! You made it!"
Behind him, an equally tiny Rocket and a swarm of fairies emerged from a ventilation grate. Petal fluttered forward.
"Friends of yours?" she asked Goose.
"This is Benben, one of the ninjas I told you about," Goose explained. "Benben, meet Petal and Rocket. And, uh, sorry about the size issue. Slight potion situation."
"How long will you be..." Benben gestured vaguely at their size.
"The effects should wear off any minute," Rocket said, consulting a tiny pocket watch that seemed to be keeping time in reverse. "Unless they don't. Magical side effects, you know how it is."
As if on cue, both Goose and Rocket suddenly shot upward, returning to their normal size with a soft pop. The abrupt change sent them stumbling into Benben, nearly knocking all three to the floor.
"Perfect timing," Benben said dryly, steadying them. "Now we just need to find Tim and Ray and get out of here before—"
A massive tremor shook the fortress, causing pieces of ceiling to rain down around them.
"What was that?" Goose asked, brushing debris from his wizard robes.
"If I had to guess," Benben sighed, "I'd say Tim and Ray found something they shouldn't have."
While the others exchanged worried glances, Benben quickly filled them in on what he'd discovered in the Captain's chambers—the journal, the plans for the device, and the Captain's obsession with the Valley.
"So that's it!" Rocket exclaimed. "The moon crystals, the fairy dust, the magical ingredients—they're building a massive device to control the island's movement!"
"I think the Captain was an ordinary Gloop until he found a moon crystal fragment," Benben explained. "It changed him, made him intelligent. Now he wants to use this device to do the same for all Gloops and create a mobile fortress to attack the Valley."
"And they're accelerating their timeline," Petal added. "The fairies overheard the guards—they're activating the device tonight because of all the disturbances."
Another tremor rocked the fortress. The alarm squishing grew more frantic.
"We need to find Tim and Ray, and then we need to stop that device," Goose said firmly. "Where would they be building something that big?"
The fairies conferred briefly in their bell-like language before Petal translated. "The central chamber, beneath the fortress. It's where the island's primary moon crystal is anchored."
"And how do we get there?" Benben asked.
Petal smiled, her tiny face determined. "We can show you. But we'll need to hurry—if they connect their device to the primary crystal, they'll have complete control over the island's movement."
"Lead the way," Benben nodded, before adding under his breath, "And let's hope Tim and Ray haven't already broken everything beyond repair."
The group moved swiftly through the fortress, following Petal and the fairies. As they descended deeper into the structure, the walls changed from hardened Gloop material to ancient stone, carved with strange symbols that glowed faintly blue in the darkness.
"These are old," Rocket whispered, running his fingers along the symbols. "Like, older-than-the-island old."
"The moon crystals were here long before anyone else," Petal explained. "My ancestors found them and learned to use them to guide the island's movement."
They reached a massive stone doorway, its surface covered in the same glowing symbols. Beyond it, they could hear a deep, pulsing hum.
"The device chamber," Petal whispered. "This is it."
Benben pushed against the door, which swung open. The chamber beyond was enormous—a vast cavern that seemed to extend deep into the heart of the island. Walkways of hardened Gloop material connected equipment, all centered around a colossal crystal balanced on a stone pedestal.
Dozens of Gloops worked frantically around smaller crystals that were arranged in a circle, connecting them with tubes of glowing liquid. There were thin tendrils of electricity, like tiny little lightning bolts, connecting all the smaller crystals to each other, and also to the larger main crystal.
And at the center of it all stood the Captain, directing operations, the crystal in his head glowing brighter than ever.
But what caught Benben's attention was the sight of two familiar figures crouched behind a collection of equipment, clearly planning something that would undoubtedly make the situation worse.
"Tim and Ray," he groaned. "Of course they beat us here."
The two brothers turned to Benben and silently gave enthusiastic thumbs up.
Tim mouthed the words 'watch this'.
Tim reached into his pocket and held something small and glowing on his finger tip. It was Sir Glowington, Tim's new pet beetle. The beetle leaped off his finger tip and flew in a wobbly path directly toward one of the smaller moon crystals right near them, landing on its surface with a tiny ting.
The effect was immediate and dramatic. The crystal flared with blinding light, sending a surge of energy through the connected apparatus. The crystal cracked and vibrated and sparked, and the connection to the other crystals was severed.
Gloops scattered in panic as equipment began to spark and smoke.
The Captain spun around, his gelatinous form quivering with rage. "What's happening?!"
"So much for the element of surprise," Rocket muttered, pulling out several of his wands.
"Like I said," Benben sighed, drawing his ninja sword, "Tim and Ray."
Episode Seven
For a moment, time seemed to freeze in the vast crystal chamber. Sir Glowington perched on the moon crystal's surface, his tiny legs tapping against the glowing mineral. Then, as if responding to some unheard signal, the beetle's bioluminescent abdomen flashed over and over.
The crystal answered with a pulse of its own—a blinding flare of blue-white light that rippled outward to the other connected smaller crystals. The energy surge spread like lightning, jumping from crystal to crystal.
No one knew exactly what was happening, but it was slowing down the Gloops plans.
"What's happening?" a Gloop technician burbled frantically, its gelatinous form quivering with alarm.
"The resonance frequencies are destabilizing!" another responded, frantically flipping switches and pressing buttons on a control panel. "The beetle's bioluminescence is somehow interfering with the crystal harmonics!"
The Captain's form rippled with rage. "Remove that insect immediately!"
But Sir Glowington was already airborne again, zipping in erratic patterns between the crystals. Each time he briefly landed, another surge pulsed through the system, causing equipment to spark and smoke.
"Sorry about that!" Tim called out, not sounding sorry at all. "He's very curious. Independent thinker, you know?"
Ray seized the moment of confusion, pulling a handful of glowing seeds from his pocket and flinging them toward a cluster of Gloop guards. The seeds burst on impact, each one a tiny explosion that scattered the guards.
"Intruders!" The Captain's voice echoed throughout the chamber. "Protect the device at all costs!"
Dozens of Gloop guards rolled toward the heroes from all directions, some wielding weapons of hardened slime, others swinging old swords.
"I think we made them angry," Rocket observed, pulling out three wands. "Excellent!"
Benben drew his ninja sword, positioning himself between the oncoming Gloops and his friends. "We need a plan!"
"I've got one!" Tim announced, reaching into his various pockets and pulling out an assortment of strange items he'd collected throughout the island. "Maximum chaos!"
Before Benben could object, Tim had already leaped into action, tossing a handful of glittering pebbles across the chamber floor. Each stone bounced high before bursting exploding like fireworks.
The entire chamber erupted into pandemonium. Rocket was firing colorful spells from his collection of wands, each blast was hardening the gloops, making it impossible for them to move around easily, leaving them to roll awkwardly like an oval stone.
Goose stood protectively near Petal and the other fairies, blasting spouts of flame from a wand.
"Stop them!" The Captain's form expanded, towering over his minions. The crystal embedded in his head pulsed with intense purple light. "The device must be activated before the moon reaches its apex!"
Petal's expression shifted from determination to alarm. "The island! It's responding to the disruption in the crystal network. The moon connection is becoming unstable!"
As if to confirm her words, the floor beneath them lurched sideways, sending both heroes and Gloops tumbling. The massive crystal at the center pulsed erratically, its usual steady glow now flickering between brilliant white and deep purple.
"If the connection completely destabilizes, the island could break apart!" Petal warned, her wings fluttering anxiously.
The Captain now swelled even larger, his gelatinous form towering fifteen feet high. The crystal in his head glowed so intensely it illuminated his entire translucent body from within.
"Enough!" his voice boomed, no longer carrying any trace of its former gurgly quality. "You meddle with forces beyond your understanding!"
More gloop guards rushed into the room now, responding to the alarms. Many of them rolled right to the Captain and smashed into him, adding their mass to his and making him grow and grow and grow. Thick gloopy arms and legs now protruded from his wobbly torso.
"Okay, that's new," Ray commented, skidding to a halt beside his brother. "And genuinely disgusting."
"I think it's kind of cool," Tim responded. "Do you think if we cut a Gloop in half it would—"
"Not the time, Tim!" Benben interrupted, squaring off against the nearest gloop.
The chamber continued to tremble as more equipment malfunctioned, randomly sending lightning bolts of energy between the crystals. Parts of the ceiling began to crack, raining stone and crystal fragments onto the chaotic scene below.
Rocket, his wild hair now standing completely on end from all the magic flowing through his body, fought his way to Goose's side. "The alignment!" he shouted over the growing rumble. "We gotta make sure the main crystal doesn't fall off or the whole place'll come down."
The gloop Captain continued to grow. Tim and Ray picked up discarded gloop spears and launched them at the evil thing. But the spears just stuck into the gloops jelly-like body with little effect. The Captain looked down in their direction. "Bad idea!" He growled.
The beast glowed and smashed down, crushing Tim and Ray beneath its heavy gelatinous fists. The brothers couldn't dodge quick enough. They rolled on the ground in pain as the gloop captain lifted his fists off of them, leaving a thick gloop residue.
Benben rushed to the captain now and began slashing at one leg with his katana, hoping to send the beast toppling to the ground. But the glowing crystals within the gloop captain pulsed with bright light and seemed to protect it, healing each katana slash faster than Benben could hack.
And a moment later he suffered the same fate as Tim and Ray when a huge gloop fist smashed him into the ground.
Petal and her fairy friends swarmed the main moon crystal now, holding it upright in the midst of all the chaos.
Goose and Rocket, now convinced that the fairies could keep the main crystal from falling down and shattering, went after the captain with everything they had.
Rocket wielded two wands in each hand, blasting flames and ice and magic missles.
Goose tried to swing around to the other side of the gloop monster, cracking lightning at him from an old zap-wand he brought along.
But somehow, it wasn't having an effect. The beast still swung at them, destroying everything in its path. More and more gloops rushed and combined with the captain and he continued to grow.
"It's the moon crystal!" Petal yelled. "They're making him too powerful!"
Goose and Rocket again noticed the glowing crystal floating in the gelatinous body of the Gloop Captain.
"Okay fine!" yelled Rocket. "Let's level the playing field." The kid wizard with wild hair snatched one of the smaller moon crystals from one of the nearby pedestals. With the crystal in his hand he opened his palm and smashed it into the ground. When he lifted his hand up there was a pile of crystal pieces and dust.
Before Goose could yell, "What in the world are you doing?", Rocket picked up a handful of moon crystal dust and tossed it in his mouth. He threw his head back to swallow.
"Duuuude! What did you do?"
"We can't hurt him! We gotta get some moon power if we're gonna stand a chance!"
Goose looked around for one second at the destruction surrounding them, Tim, Ray, and Benben still on the ground in pain and the monstrous gloop captain now thirty feet tall and wreaking havoc.
Goose agreed and stomped onto the remaining crystal fragments, crushing them into dust. He scooped it up and swallowed it down, coughing.
The two ran across to the other side of the room as the captain came after them.
They didn't know if this stunt would work, but they figured it was their last chance at getting out of this alive.
Episode Eight
The moment Goose swallowed the moon crystal dust, he knew he'd made a terrible mistake. His throat burned like he'd gulped down liquid fire. His eyes watered. Every muscle tensed.
Beside him, Rocket dropped to one knee, clutching his chest. "That was... not pleasant."
Then it hit them both at once.
Blue-white light pulsed beneath their skin, tracing glowing lines up their arms like luminescent veins. The pain vanished, replaced by a surge of raw power that made the air around them crackle.
"Whoa," Rocket whispered, his wild hair sticking straight up, filled with static electricity. "I feel... everything."
Goose's vision shifted. He could suddenly see energy flows around the crystals, pulsing waves of power connecting them like a vast web. He raised his hand, and to his shock, a tendril of energy from the nearest crystal followed his movement.
The Captain, still towering thirty feet high with his massive gloop form, paused mid-attack. He was shocked at Goose and Rocket's transformation.
"Impossible," he gurgled. "Humans cannot harness crystal energy directly!"
Rocket grinned, his eyes now glowing brilliant blue. "Guess we didn't get the memo." He pointed a wand at a chunk of debris, and what should have been a simple levitation spell instead launched the boulder with cannon-like force, smashing it through the Captain's shoulder.
The gloop monster roared, its body quickly reforming. But for the first time, it showed signs of uncertainty.
Across the chamber, Tim groaned and pushed himself up from the floor. The gloop residue coating his arms glistened strangely in the crystal light.
"Ray?" he called, spotting his brother a few feet away. "Benben?"
Ray sat up, poking curiously at the sticky substance covering his ninja gear. "This stuff is... weird." He stretched it between his fingers, and to his surprise, it extended like taffy before snapping back.
Benben was already on his feet, analyzing the situation with narrowed eyes. He spotted Goose and Rocket, now floating several inches off the ground as crystal energy swirled around them.
"What did they do?" he muttered.
Tim noticed and called out. "They're glowing! That's so cool! Why don't we get to glow?"
Petal and her fairy companions struggled to hold the main crystal upright.
Goose felt the crystal energy inside him. It was exhilarating and terrifying at once. Power beyond anything he'd ever felt surged through his body. But beneath the rush, a warning sensation – this wasn't sustainable. Already his nose had begun to bleed, the droplets glowing blue before hitting the floor.
Rocket laughed maniacally as he unleashed spell after spell, each magnified beyond belief. Where his Thunderwand would normally produce a small lightning bolt, it now created a huge lightning ball that engulfed the Captain's right side, temporarily disrupting his form.
"We need to coordinate!" Goose called, his voice carrying a strange echo. "This power won't last!"
The Captain roared again, slamming a massive fist down where Rocket had been a moment before. The wizard barely dodged, leaving a trail of blue light as he moved.
"You cannot control what you don't understand!" the Captain bellowed. "The crystals will destroy you!"
"Maybe," Rocket admitted, wiping glowing blood from his own nose. "But not before we deal with you!"
Goose held his hands out toward the nearest small moon crystal. He could feel its power and he diverted its energies toward the Captain Gloop.
An epic energy blast shot forth from the glowing crystals, guided by Goose's hand. A strong beam of moon energy hummed through each of the smaller crystals and out to the beast.
The gloop monster staggered back.
Tim and Ray had now gathered themselves and were fighting off the gloop guards that hadn't yet combined with the captain.
The monster was changing again, its surface bubbling violently as more gloops rushed into the chamber and were absorbed into its mass. It's already massive form swelled further, but less stable – parts dripped and separated, struggling to stay together.
Goose felt the power surge again, stronger but more painful. Blood now trickled from his ears as well as his nose. Rocket didn't look much better, his movements becoming tired as he struggled to control the energy.
"We need to end this," Goose said, his voice distorting. "Now."
The Captain raised both enormous arms, reaching toward the main crystal where Petal and her fairies struggled.
"If I can't control it," he roared, "no one will!"
"No!" Petal cried, her tiny form darting away from the main crystal as the Captain's massive gloop hands reached for it.
Her and the other smaller fairies had no defense against the hulking gloop.
Goose and Rocket exchanged a single glance. Despite the chaos of the moment, they understood each other perfectly. The crystal energy flowing through them had somehow linked their thoughts.
"Together," Goose said, raising both hands.
"On three," Rocket nodded, blood streaming from his nose as he floated all seven of his wands in a circular pattern before him.
Across the chamber, Tim watched the wizards prepare their attack.
He grabbed the stretchy gloop substance still coating his arms and pulled it off in one piece. These new gloops didn't just dissolve into a puddle when you defeated them, some of their bodies slumped into a stretchy, elastic kind of rubber band material.
"Ray! Benben! I've got an idea!" He stretched the goo between his hands, testing its elasticity. "This stuff is like a super rubber band!"
Ray immediately understood. He peeled the residue from his own arms and picked some off the ground, shaping it into long strands. "Ninja slingshot!"
Benben assessed the situation in seconds. The Captain's attention was focused on the main crystal and the wizards. The moon crystal floating in the monsters body was the source of his intelligence and power.
Benben rolled his eyes. "Okay, do it," he commanded, moving into position.
The brothers worked with frantic speed, anchoring their makeshift slingshot to two pillars. The gloop material stretched impossibly thin without breaking.
"One," Rocket called, his voice echoing strangely as the crystal energy built around him.
The Captain's massive hands were just inches from the main crystal now.
"Two," Goose continued, the energy flowing through him combining into a ball of intense light between his palms.
Benben stepped into position, bracing both feet against the gloop slingshot. Tim and Ray pulled it back as far as they could, the material stretching to its limit.
"Three!" both wizards shouted in unison.
Several things happened at once.
Rocket's seven wands blasted together, creating a spiral of magical energy that merged with Goose's crystal energy ball. The combined power shot forward, a beam of concentrated moon energy aimed directly at the Captain.
Simultaneously, Tim and Ray released the slingshot, launching Benben like a ninja missile. He soared through the air, sword extended, directly toward the moon crystal floating in its body.
The timing was perfect. The energy beam struck the Captain's massive form just as Benben reached his target. The disruption caused the Captain to rear back, his entire gloop form becoming unstable and thin.
Benben's blade cut through the thin gloop blubber and connected with the moon crystal floating within. The crystal shattered and the explosion blew outward, ripping the creature apart.
"NO!" the Captain bellowed, his voice distorting as purple light erupted from all over his body.
The effect was immediate and catastrophic. Energy burst outward from the broken crystal, cascading through the Captain's gelatinous form. The massive body began to destabilize, sections dropping off and splashing harmlessly to the ground.
Benben sailed right through the dissolving mass, getting covered in more gross goo before stumbling to the ground. He staggered, exhausted but triumphant.
"I think... that worked," he panted.
The Captain's form continued to dissolve, shrinking rapidly as his body fell apart.
Goose and Rocket sagged, the explosive surge of power fading as their bodies began to reject the crystal energy. Both dropped to their knees, nosebleeds worsening, eyes dimming from bright blue to a faint glow.
Benben moved to help Goose to his feet. The young wizard couldn't stand without help. They turned to see the captain now just a blubbering puddle.
Petal's little friends buzzed over the puddle and pulled the remaining moon crystal shards from the gloop.
Tim and Ray rushed to help Rocket, who was barely conscious. The young wizard's hair had stopped floating and now hung limply around his pale face, singed and smoking.
"Worth it," Rocket mumbled, attempting a weak smile. "Totally worth it."
As the remaining gloop guards scattered and retreated out of the room, Petal worked to keep the main crystal stable on its pedestal.
The entire room calmed and, once Goose and Rocket were stable, Tim, Ray, and Benben went to work tracking down what remaining gloops they could find.
The ninjas worked methodically, rounding up the retreating gloops. These weren't the intelligent evolved versions anymore—just ordinary mindless blobs that bounced away in confusion.
"Almost like herding very jiggly sheep," Tim commented.
Meanwhile, Petal and her fairy friends restored the crystal cave. Slowly, the crystal's erratic pulsing steadied, its color returning to a calm blue-white glow.
"The crystal network is rebalancing," Petal explained, wiping sweat from her tiny brow. "The island should keep its moon connection."
Goose and Rocket sat propped against a wall, regaining their strength. The crystal energy had mostly faded from their systems, leaving them exhausted but stable.
As a way of saying thanks, the fairies helped them collect the remaining ingredients they needed from their list.
The fairies even provided small containers of moon crystal dust—safely packaged.
"Just don't eat it," Petal warned with a pointed look at Goose and Rocket.
As they prepared to leave, Goose turned to Rocket. "So, what's next for you?"
Rocket shrugged, running a hand through his singed hair. "Not sure. A vacation maybe?"
"You should come to the Valley," Goose suggested. "You'd fit right in at The Academy."
"Really?" Rocket's eyes brightened.
"Absolutely," Benben confirmed, "Anyone who helps save our lives gets an automatic invitation. That's the rule. It happens more than you might think."
"Plus," Tim added, "we have a cannon on our boat. You look like someone who'd appreciate a good cannon."
"I do love a good cannon," Rocket admitted with a grin.
Ray clapped him on the shoulder. "Then it's settled. You're coming with us."
As they gathered their collected ingredients and headed toward the beach, the island felt calmer, steadier beneath their feet. The adventure wasn't over—they still had to sail home—but the greatest danger had passed.
And they had exactly what they came for, plus a new friend.
Tim reached into his pocket, pulling out Sir Glowington. "What do you think, little buddy? Mission accomplished?"
The luminescent beetle flashed his approval.
THE END