As this first level gets us used to the formula I intend for this story, we'll also set up our main conflict! But more importantly, just enjoy a story of sweet children on a collectathon adventure. :) Play "Tribalstack Tropics" from Yooka-Laylee!
Part 2: Ranger Danger!
World 1: Tupu's Trees
Robi and Jolene magically materialized on a warp pad. They seemed to be at the gate of a forest park, the expanse of a city in every direction. The arch read Central Park and "I wonder why that place leads here?" Robi wondered, taking the first steps forward. "Those guys look like rangers. Let's go ask if they know somethin'."
Instead of following him, Jolene's wandering eyes wandered up to the trees. "…?" She briefly saw an orange-topped figure staring at her, before it quickly clambered up like a squirrel.
Robi walked into the open park area and approached one of many patrolling rangers. There seemed to be a dam dividing the park. "Excuse me, sir. Do you know anything about-" The large man turned, his head red and ogre-like. "AAAH!"
The Deranger blew a whistle, stunning Robi before whacking him with a baton. The Nimbi was knocked several feet away as the Deranger waddled over for more. Robi stomped small rocks up, thrusting a few at the front before Deranger crossed his arms in defense. Robi dealt roundabout throws at his back and chucked some at the head to KO him. "What was that?! …Jolene?" He realized his friend was trying to climb a large tree, but her little fingers kept slipping as she fell on her rump. "Jolene, did you see a squirrel or something?"
"I think it was an orange squirrel… and Dad says that orange squirrels' breath smells like grownup drinks and it takes your money."
"That vampire squirrel I fought kinda did that…." Robi walked around and surveyed the tree. There were human footprint markings leading up one side. Robi put his foot to one to compare its smaller size. He then noticed a set of connected small stumps, forming stairs up the tree. "Let's see what's up here, Jo." They jumped up the stairs, and Jolene would use her Clay Arms to pull them up a taller stump. They could then climb a ladder to a thick branch; the footprints would keep circling up the tree. From the end of the branch, Robi Flutter Jumped them to another branch, which sloped up toward another tree. The duo could jump up some large leaves that zigzagged left and right; a large pink spider called Skittler landed on one of the leaves. Jolene punched it off with a Clay Fist to make a safe jump.
From the highest leaf, they could jump to another slanted branch originating from the other tree. As they climbed it to a squirrel hole… they noticed leaves drifting down from above that spot. "…!" A pair of eyes under orange hair gazed at them. "Jolene! Up th-"
A girl suddenly hung upside-down inches above, startling the kids. Her long, messy orange hair spread on the branch. She hung from a higher branch by her bare feet; the legs of her wide green pants folded up her legs. She wore a pink top over a light-blue shirt, also folding up to expose her belly. Her freckled face had a wide nose. "How did you find Tupu's house?"
"Huh? What house? Who's Tupu?"
"I am Tupu. Tupu makes the rules of the park."
"Do you mean you? We didn't mean to barge in. We came here from a magic door, and my friend saw you in the trees, so we… climbed up."
Tupu fell and flipped upright. She was a foot taller than the younger kids, squatting and walking around to sniff them. "…You smell like dirt and bugs." She told Robi. "And you smell like mud." At Jolene. "Tupu welcomes you to her house." She smiled.
"Huhu…hi, Tupu! My name's Robi, and this is Jolene. We're Kids Next Door."
"Kids Next… Door? Oh! I know them! Norton tells me about…sigh." She frowned and bowed her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Seven days ago, a scary green lady came to Central Park with a bunch of ugly men. She made carnival over there." She pointed across the smaller trees: they noticed the tops of tents, a Ferris wheel, and a roller-coaster over the dam. "And she make big wall over river. I had a bad feeling about the carnival. I tried to tell Norton not to go, but Norton did not listen." She sat depressed against the bark. "Then I never saw Norton again. All kids who go there never come back."
"Never come back? That sounds like something we should check out. Right, Jolene?"
"When you get splinters in your feet, it's like wearing porcupine shoes. And if the holes go all the way through, they'll sound like a flute when they walk."
"Uh…what does she mean?" asked Tupu.
"Uh, she's just wondering… if your feet hurt?"
"My feet are fine. I can do this." The wild girl dashed along a branch hanging from the left, which had a footprint track.
"Wow! Cool! I sure wish we could do that…?"
It seemed Jolene was planting her shoe to the prints, thinking she could walk across, too, but her little feet wouldn't stick. Instead, she molded clay over her shoes. The clay helped them stick to the prints, the child wobbling against the gravity. "Wow!! You're so smart, Jolene! Hey, stick some on me! I still can't fly very well here." Jolene bent some clay over Robi's feet so he could follow her.
Jolene learned Sticky Shoes! She and Robi can now walk up sticky footprint trails!
They followed Tupu along the branch as it curved around and dropped them atop another tree, where a gold jigsaw lay. "I took this from the ugly rangers. Tupu's new friends can have it."
"It's another Jiggy! I bet ya this goes in another puzzle." Robi said.
"Jiggy?"
"Huhu. That's what we call 'em sometimes. 'Cause they're jigsaws. Listen, Tupu, how about we try to find your friend together? We'll beat up all the bad guys, and you can help us around the park!"
"You would do that for me?"
"Yah! We're friends now, right?"
"Then I am glad to help!"
To celebrate their friendship, the three danced in a circle; Robi threw the Jiggy to Tupu, who caught it in her teeth, doing a roll as she threw it to Jolene. The Jiggy bonked her in the head, the girl falling dizzy as the other two asked if she was okay. But after shaking it off, Jolene picked the Jiggy up and stuffed it down her dress, the friends sharing a three-way high-five! (This animation will play every time they get a Jiggy.)
The friends jumped down some branches to return to the surface. They headed into the main park and worked to KO all the Derangers; Tupu could run, jump, and kick them in the face to dizzy them, leaving the earthbenders to finish the job. "How do you do that? Are you magic?"
"We're earthbenders. Well, Jolene mostly bends clay."
"Can I learn to do that?"
"Well, you have to be born with bending. But I guess you won't know what you can bend unless you try to bend every element. I think we just knew 'cause of our parents. Where are your parents, Tupu?"
"I do not have parents. I was raised by the squirrels."
"Really? Cool! No wonder you're so good at climbing! Speaking of which…" They looked up the dam wall. "How do we get up that?" There was no gate to pass through, and Robi couldn't seem to use earthbending to crumble the wall or raise platforms. However, there was a trail of footprints going up the wall, swerving around several holes before it would lead to the top. Tupu ran up first while Jolene applied clay to herself and Robi. But, "AAH!" Tupu screamed as a Snapdragon gnashed from the first hole. Jolene would lead and punch the blue monsters off with Clay Fists.
Despite this little scare, the friends would relax at the top of the dam. The left route was blocked by a pillar, so the three went right. "DAM-DAM!" A large, rectangular stone monster called a Dammer rose up, its mouth misshapen with few teeth. The Dammer tried to slam on them, but the kids jumped back. With the cracked weak spot exposed on its back, Robi jumped on and dealt a Ground Pound, shattering the monster. "DAAAAAM!" Within the dam, the river that ran through the park was shallow. The kids followed the right route to a secluded, rounded part of the dam that was flooded. A polar bear was laying on an inflatable raft.
"Hey, it's Boggy!" Tupu beamed. "Boggy! What happened to your pool?"
"(Huh? Oh, hi, Tupu. When the witch built this dam, it flooded my whole pool. It ain't so bad… except my favorite ice cream is all the way down in my hideout. And I can't swim down that far.)"
"I am sorry for Boggy. I cannot dive that far either, but maybe friends can."
"Wait, Tupu, did you understand him?" Robi asked.
"Tupu can talk to animals. I am friends with all animals in the park. Can you two swim down there and find Boggy's ice cream?"
"Uh, we aren't good swimmers. Let's try to come back after we find a way down."
They crossed around the pool and found a ladder leading down to the other side of the dam. There was another open field with sidewalks and benches, and beyond it were the gates to the amusement park. There seemed to be a lot of elderly wandering around. "Ever since witch came, there have been a lot of old people. …Oh, there is one of my friends!" She approached a lady throwing food out to a flock of pigeons. "Hi, Bird Lady!"
"Why, Tupu! I haven't seen you for some time."
"I had to hide from evil witch's monsters. Have you seen Norton?"
"Norton? Well, I thought you two were always together. If you haven't seen him, I certainly haven't. But by chance, would you know what those gold nuggets are on the pigeon's legs?"
The kids noticed said "nuggets" tied to their legs. "Hey! Could those be Jiggy pieces?" Robi wondered.
The birds fluttered away when he got too close. "Bird Lady, I think we need those nuggets."
"Well, they've all but scattered now. I'll give you this bag of seeds to try and catch them. If you run out, just let me know."
"Thank you, Miss… Jolene, don't eat that!"
The pigtailed child placed a single seed on her tongue. "Ith Ah eat dis, whew a mewon gwow in my tummy? (If I eat this, will a melon grow?)"
"No, silly. Those aren't melon seeds." With that, Jolene swallowed it. The kids saw the pigeons land around the field. Jolene would lay patches of clay down and put seeds on them. When the pigeons came to eat, they would get stuck on the clay, and Tupu would gently untie the gold from their legs. Jolene would then free them. Once they had all seven pieces, they would magically reattach and become a Jiggy. The trio would reprise their dance!
The entrance to the carnival was sealed by a gate with a moon symbol. "It only opens at night?" Robi figured. "Aww. The sun's still high up. This'll take forever." The stone path before the gate seemed to circle around this whole field, even connecting back to the dam. They found two horse-drawn carriages at a starting line, one white and one gray, and it was fittingly manned by a gray man with a bulbous head and noble uniform.
"Salutations, young ones!" Roger greeted. "I am Horsquire Carroton, professional carriage racer. I raced all the best carriages in the country."
"Did you win?" Jolene asked.
"Oh, we got a smart one here, do we? Carriage racing is hard work, you know! You gotta keep flappin' the reins, keep your body straight… It might not hurt now, but when you turn 60, you're gonna keep askin' why your elbows hurt like the dickens."
"Then why do you do this?" Robi asked.
"Fine, since you kids think you're all that, let's have a race! If you win, I'll reward ya this trophy I found in the garbage." Roger held up a Jiggy.
"We will win and get that trophy!" Tupu leapt onto the carriage, taking the reins. "Right, Clipclop?"
"Neigh, neigh! (I ain't gonna lose to that gray-faced dope!)"
Robi and Jolene climbed on as well. "Careful not to bump your heads, kids." Roger smirked. "Ready set go!"
The horses took off at about equal speed, but Clipclop slowly inched in the lead. Unfortunately, several Zingers would hover along the kids' level. They timed their jumps to leap the bees and the momentum would keep them over the horse. Some of their jumps would collide with higher Zingers, so they quickly Ground Pounded to fall faster. Robi would Flutter Jump them over long rows of Zingers (though Tupu could long jump herself). Each time they were hit, the horse would slow down to keep them on its carriage. The children were able to avoid the Zingers enough to stay ahead of Roger's carriage, crossing the Finish Line!
"That's it, Dickens!" Roger yelled at his horse. "You're going back to the wheat field with all the other knockoff horses!"
"(For the last time, man, I'm just a pack mule.)"
"Don't you go groaning at me! Hey, kids, why don't ya sell me that horse? I'll give ya this dumpster trophy."
"But you said that was already for winning." Jolene said. "You gotta give us money, 'cause if we don't get money, the e-co-no-my river will stop, and no one'll get to buy anything ever again."
"Gaaaaah, fine! Take your dumb trophy!" Roger tossed it on the ground. "To the bank, Dickens! And you better not've taken a loan on that stick tent you've had your eye on." The carriage drove off, leaving the trio confused. Regardless, another Jiggy was theirs!
There was a staircase in one corner of the track, leading to a round, secluded area with benches and tables. "Somebody has forgotten their hat." Tupu approached an abandoned top-hat in the corner. It had a skull design on it. Tupu squatted down and turned the hat over, peeking inside. "I wonder who could have—AAAAHH!" A magical pink twister slurped Tupu inside the hat.
"Tupu!" The operatives ran up and turned the hat over. They screamed as they were sucked inside, the hat flipping back on its bottom.
They seemed to have landed in a chamber with skull decoratives, candles, potions on shelves, and a pool of misty pink liquid in the center. There was a flash of smoke as a tall, thin, tan man in a black cape and raven's mask appeared across from it. "WHO DARES step into my… Robi? Jolene?!"
"D-Dr. Facilier?!" Robi exclaimed.
"Is he someone you know?" asked Tupu.
"A new friend, I see!" Facilier leapt over the pool and shook her hand. "A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier, but some call me Uncle Raymond! And I take it you kids were here investigating Gruntilda's Mysterious Lair."
"Gruntilda?" Robi repeated. "N-No, we just wandered in here by mistake. Do you know what this place is?"
"I only discovered this lair a few days ago during a trip in Italy. Before I knew it, I was ambushed by Gruntilda and chased all around this place. My mama told me about her… said Grunty and my dad used to be schoolmates. That was a hella long time ago, but for some reason, that old witch still looks as fresh as ever. Well, that's too generous a word. She disarmed me of my wand and took it, but I kept hold of my magic hat! For some reason, this lair connects to different areas, including Central Park here. But I feel some kind of weird mojo in the air… and it ain't just 'cause of Grunty."
"What's this pool, Uncle Raymond?"
"It's a Transfiguration Pool! I thought it could help me sneak around. I got all the other ingredients, but there are two things I'm missing: a Glowbo and the DNA of a creature to turn into. Any ideas, kids?"
"Ooo!" Tupu jumped. "I would like to turn into a squirrel, like my friend, Whatzup!"
"What's a Glowbo?" asked Robi.
"A small, pink creature with big ears. I thought I saw one somewhere around here. But if y'all can bring me that and a squirrel, then I'll show you some MAGIC!"
The hat spat the trio out. "I'll go look for Whatzup." Tupu said. "He should answer when I call him!" She ran off, chittering like a squirrel.
"Huhuhuh!" Jolene's ears perked up. She heard a giggle behind her right. Robi, curious why she was walking away, followed her to a gap in the fence. Jolene shuffled through some bushes and found a patch of dirt where a Glowbo bounced around, matching Raymond's description. "You found it, Jolene! You're amazing!"
Tupu found Whatzup on top of a statue of the park owner, Schubert Shoobz. The squirrel jumped down to her level and chirped, "(Tupu, there's something weird inside the statue.)" He pointed to a hole in the base. "(But I can't move it.)"
"Maybe we will be able to see it ourselves. There is a wizard who says he can turn us into squirrels!"
"(You haven't been eatin' those berries again, have you?)"
"Nuh-uh! But first, he said I need your… D-N-A?"
"(Whatever, Freckles, you can have some fur.)" The squirrel pulled out a small razor and shaved some tail fur off. "(You let me know what the 'magic man' does, I gotta sort out a termite problem.)" Whatzup left.
Tupu regrouped with Robi and Jolene and jumped into the hat. "Excellent work, kids! Now, deposit the fur and Glowbo in the pool!" When the kids did so, the pool exploded with denser pink smoke, bubbling! "Now, jump on in and let the magic happen!"
Sharing nods of excitement, they all jumped in! There was a whirring sound as their bodies stretched and contorted. In a burst of magic, they landed back on the shore. "Why is everything bigger?" Tupu asked, looking around. "WHOA! Big squirrels!"
"Big squirrels?!" Robi gasped. "W-Wait!" He looked at his own furry self, flapping his bushy tail in front. The only things they retained were their hair and facial features. "Guys! We're squirrels!"
"WOW!"
"You're not allowed to do bi-uh-log-cal exper-ments on children." Jolene recited what her parents taught her.
"Relax, kids, ain't nothing biological about it! Magic transformations are easier to fix than those! All you gotta do is jump in the pool again to change back. I think there are also some anti-form cauldrons around the park to help with that, too. But you'll have to come here if you wanna change again. I'll stay here and watch the pool just in case."
"'Ain't' is not a word. And if it was a word, if you say 'nothing' after 'ain't,' then it doesn't mean anything, anyway."
"That's not important, Jolene!" Robi cheered. "We're squirrels now! Let's see what we can do!"
"If you get to a high point," Raymond suggested, "try jumpin' off and spinnin' your tail. Squirrels get some good flight that way."
After leaving the hat, they practiced their new power by climbing a footprint path up a tree. From here, they could leap and glide to a further tree with the tail propeller. They flew to a taller tree, but could land on the footprint path to climb up. From this tree, they could glide to a floating platform with a Jiggy! It's a good thing they didn't miss, or else they'd have to make this climb again. Even as squirrels, they could still do the Jiggy dance!
Tupu led them to the Shoobz statue, going inside the small hole. "I think this is what Whatzup was talking about."
"It's an hourglass." Robi observed. The top of the hourglass was sunny and there was still much sand to go. "I can't move it! My arms are too tiny!"
But Jolene had the solution: she still kept a pack of clay with her after the transformation. She bent up some Clay Hands, grabbed the hourglass, and flipped it upside-down. "Nice, Jolene! But what does flipping it over do? We can't even pull it through the hole."
The kids crawled outside—"THE SKY!" The sun was quickly setting over the horizon. The sky went from a lush orange to a starry indigo in seconds. (End song.)
"It is nighttime already?!" Tupu exclaimed.
"That hourglass must've done it!" Robi knew. "Is Grunty a timebender, too?"
"…" Jolene's eyes navigated to the amusement park. The Moon Door opened. When her friends realized this, they knew it was their chance to go in. The squirrels bravely crawled to the entrance, prepared for whatever evils lie within. (Play "Lon Lon Park" from Jiggies of Time!)
"These three rodents seem rather dumb. Let's give them a warm welcome! Rakakakakaka!"
A huge statue of Gruntilda oversaw the park, holding the arched sign, WITCHYLAND. A roller coaster took up the center, thought it seemed that the highest part was broken off, the front of the coaster dangling. There was a merry-go-round that rotated slowly, ridden by glum, elderly folk. There were other elders limping around, some sitting in the unmoving Ferris wheel. "Amusement parks are usually happier than this…" Robi said.
"I thought children came to parks." Tupu inquired. "Why are there only old people?"
"I don't think this park passed its 'safety reglation' test." Jolene thought aloud.
Sentient slot machines called Fruity patrolled the grounds. They would shoot discs at the squirrels upon spotting them, but a few good rock throws would destroy them. They saw an anti-form cauldron that could change them back, but wanted to find places to use their squirrel forms. There was a Jiggy switch at the start of the roller coaster, but they couldn't Ground Pound it like this. Instead, they traveled along the coaster, jumping the gaps in it. It would lead up to the dangling coaster, but there was nothing to collect. "Help!" They heard a voice chirp, followed by a whistle. The squirrels climbed on the coaster and looked down on the hanging car. There was an orange hummingbird trapped in a cage, dangling from it. Tupu dropped down to pick the lock.
"Thank you, children! Gruntilda trapped five of us Jinjos in each world and drained our magic! Please save them!" As it flew free of the cage, the bird transformed into a taller, humanoid shape, still with a beak. It soared circles above Tupu, cheering "Whee!" as it left a trail of sparkles.
The kids went to explore the merry-go-round. Its seats were Gruntildas on her broom, red birds, and Pufftups. But one of the seats was a squirrel, and when they tried to sit on it, they were teleported! They wound up in a dark space, looking up at a larger, brighter merry-go-round! A cheery song played along with its rotation! "Round and round the whirligig goes! Where does the abyss go, nobody knows!" Not letting Grunty's words scare them, the squirrels leapt and glid to a bird seat, its flat wings serving as a platform. Behind them was Gruntilda, and in front was a Pufftup behind another Grunty. They couldn't climb the front of the Grunty one, so they ran to the beak of the bird, leapt to glide over the Pufftup, and land on the broom of the following Grunty.
A footprint trail let them climb this Grunty's back and atop her hat. As they rotated in view of the next merry, they were high enough to glide to and land on the lowest Jinjo float. The floats in front escalated like stairs, so they cautiously jumped them. The last, yellow float was high enough for them to jump to the next merry… however, Jolene looked back and saw one more, higher White Jinjo situated on the same pole as the previous float. A cage hung from that float, containing a Yellow Jinjo. "Nice, Jolene! We almost missed that!" Robi said as he flew to save the Jinjo.
The trio glid to the third merry, landing on a squirrel float. They climbed a footprint trail up its pole: from the end of it, they would have to glide to the next squirrel float while avoiding the spiky Pufftup floats. This would repeat one more time, before the last trail let them climb through a hole in the merry's roof. Not only was there a Jiggy, but a Warp Pad to return them outside! "Well, do you think we should turn back into people now?" Robi wondered.
"I bet there are places we can find outside." Tupu said. "Like Whatzup's house! But I guess, for now, we can change back." With that, they went to the Anti-form Cauldron and splashed in. In the same sensation as when they transformed, the kids poofed back to normal! "Oooog. That makes my tummy hurt."
They first wanted to return to the switch at the start of the roller coaster. When Robi smashed it, a Jiggy magically spawned at the end on the coaster itself! Unfortunately, there was a 20-second timer. Since Tupu was the fastest, she dashed up the coaster and jumped the gaps with great pacing. Except, her first attempt fell a second too short. As the Jiggy poofed into nothing, Gruntilda boasted. "First you see it, now you don't! The fast one wins, the slow ones won't! Oh, and you can't reset the timer until you're all by the switch."
Tupu blew a raspberry at the air before trying again. This time, she was able to win, sharing a victory dance with her friends! "Who is the fast one now, you ugly witch?!"
"Huhu, you are, Tupu!" Robi clapped.
"Hehehe! …I feel a little weird though." Tupu stared at the back of her hand. "My skin looks like it is… getting crinkly."
Robi stared at his own hand, so Jolene did as well. There were very slight wrinkles in their hands. "I didn't look like that before." Robi said. "…I got a bad feeling about this."
"I really want to find Norton now." Tupu looked around. "…Look! That building is Park Sheriff Shoobz's office!" Between the park's fence, a bridge led to a brown building with a sheriff's emblem. "I bet Norton is trapped there!"
"Why would the sheriff trap Norton?"
"Shoobz is always trying to catch Tupu. He does not like children or animals. He is a big meanie! I will save you, Norton!"
"Tupu!" Robi ran after the wild girl.
Jolene stayed behind, still mesmerized by her own hand. …Her eyes deviated to the towering pillar in the center of the field within the coaster. Set before it was a much shorter platform, but too high to jump. Jolene approached the tall pillar and found a ladder going up it. …She stayed and stared directly up for a minute, mentally wondering how high it went. Did it go to the sky? Did it have no end? …How many bars were there? That was what she was most curious about. She began to climb up, counting one bar at a time. "One, two, three, four, five, six…"
The door into the office was locked, and there were three inactive lights above it. "Hu!" Tupu saw a dropped hoodie string beneath the porch stairs. She picked it up and sniffed it so hard, it went up her nostril. "It smells like Norton! This is Norton's! He is in there, I know it!"
"But there's no way in! I wonder if those lights have anything to do with… Jolene? Tupu, have you seen Jolene?"
"I thought she was…" Tupu looked around. "She is gone?!"
"30, 31, 32, 33…" Jolene climbed the ladder at a calm pace.
"Jolene! Jolene! Joleeeeeene!" The duo split up and searched the whole perimeter for their lost friend. She wasn't on the merry-go-round, nor the Ferris wheel… Tupu checked inside a long tent. The floor was spiked, but a horizontal log bridge crossed over it. It steadily spun, and Tupu noticed the footprint trail winding around it. She waited 'til the starting part was on top, jumped on, and ran across at a good pace to stay along with the winding trail. At the end, Tupu could stand on a switch with footprint marks. She wasn't sure what the switch did, but thankfully, there was a one-way exit available.
"JOLEEEEEEENE!" Tupu heard Robi's cry from the coaster. More specifically, the center area within it. She ran over and saw Robi quickly climbing the ladder of a tall pillar. "JOLENE, GET DOWN BEFORE YOU GET HURT!"
"98, 99… 100." Jolene was at the top of the pillar. This was no doubt the tallest point of the park. She had a splendid view of all the trees, the dam, even part of New York City. Yet all that was up here was a tiny diving board. As she blissfully walked forward, the board bobbed from her weight. She held her arms out, but the more it bobbed, the dizzier she grew. She only had one foot to support her for a second before she tumbled forward.
"JOLENE!!" Robi was in horror as his frilly-dressed friend plummeted, spinning like a half-pudgy ball. Fortunately, Jolene landed rump-first on the short platform below, a cushiony switch on top! "Jolene! That was close! You really need to be careful with-"
"ROBI, LOOK!" Tupu pointed. "One of the lights above the office lit up! I think Jolene found the secret button!"
"Really?! Was that your plan all along, Jolene?!"
"When I spin, does the world spin with me…?" She rolled her eyes as she swayed to and fro on the button.
"Jolene, keep your bum on that button! We gotta find two more!"
"Robi, I think I already found another one!" Tupu ran back to the long tent. "You find the last one!"
One of the only attractions they didn't fully check was the inactive Ferris wheel. Without Jolene's weight, Robi could do his own vertical Flutter Jump and climb the escalating seats, apologizing to the sitting elders he bounced on briefly. However, the upper seats were filled with soil, but became too high to reach. "Hmm…" Robi felt a stronger connection to this soil's chi, as if Grunty's curse had less restriction on it. With a good stomp and thrust of his arms, the soil raised Robi higher, allowing him to jump the higher seats. The highest one on the wheel had a switch with big footprints, a perfect match for him! With all three switches pressed, the kids heard the sheriff's office open. But first, Robi would save the caged Red Jinjo on another seat.
"The door is open." Jolene pointed out the obvious. "We can go in there now."
"You bet, Jolene!" The children eagerly raced toward the office and kicked the doors open simultaneously! A pair of Derangers ambushed them, bashing Tupu and Robi, but Jolene slapped clay over both their faces. In their confused states, she pounded them with Clay Fists until they were down. The office lobby was otherwise quiet and Shoobz's desk empty. Right of the desk were stairs into the basement and another locked door beneath them. However, when Robi put his hand to the stone wall, "I feel a strange chi inside the earth. It feels like it's…" his hand grew more wrinkly, "sucking me."
They went back upstairs and checked a room behind the desk—"SNARF-TART! SNARF-TART!" A big, brown dog with a spiked collar startled them! It was tied to a post at the back of the room and couldn't cover enough distance to reach them. A golden, horned Boss Key was hanging above its post.
"Grrrrr-RUFF RUFF!" Tupu crouched down and barked back. "Grrrrruff! (Hey! We need that key on the wall!)"
"(Only if ya bring me a tasty squirrel! Snarf!)"
"He wants a squirrel to eat." Tupu translated. "But I do not want to risk a squirrel's life…"
"Then let's bring one to distract him. You know where to find a squirrel, right?" Robi winked.
"Okay! I will be back!"
They waited a few minutes for Tupu to run back to Raymond's hat, become a squirrel again, and come back. The dog forsook everything else and only tried to catch the tasty rodent, even though his leash was far from reaching. Tupu lured him to the right while Jolene easily went up and stretched her clay to grab the Boss Key. The friends left the room as Tupu climbed around the two's bodies in excitement, giggling as they were tickled! But it wouldn't do to greet the boss as a squirrel, so Tupu ran back to the Anti-form Cauldron real quick. Once she was back, they headed down and unlocked the door. (End song.)
A massive clock was splayed on a machine embedded into the wall on the other side of a large room. The wall around it had glowing cracks as energy seemed to course through, toward the clock machine. There was an old man in a yellow hoodie strapped to a chair connected to the machine. "That's…!" Tupu pranced over. "NORTON! What happened to you?! Why are you so… OLD?!"
"NOW I got you, ya little pest!" An obese man with a bald head, glasses, and ranger's uniform jumped out with a net, but Tupu leapt back and returned to her friends' side. "D'oh, cockamamie…"
"Shoobz! What did you do to Norton?!"
"Is that machine why there were so many old people in the park?" Robi asked.
"Right you are, my disproportioned little friend! This is a powerful tool entrusted to me by the great Gruntilda. A machine that sucks the youth out of every child in the carnival area! Finally, my park can be a peaceful place without snot-nosed kids noising things up, dyooooh." He fumed at the very notion. "But I knew in the put of my gut you were hiding out there, Tupu. That's why I took your friend captive. I knew you'd try to find him, hyoo boy I did! After all these months, you're finally mine!"
"Why do you wanna catch Tupu, anyway?" Robi asked.
"So I can finally prove to everyone there was a naughty wild girl in my park! And when I did… I would have her put in a foster home!"
"You mean like that one for Imaginary Friends?!" he asked excitedly.
"No! A very dirty foster home where they eat nothing but fly soup! They take baths in cold water and sleep in dusty, flimsy beds!"
"I do not want to eat flies! Flies are my friends, too!"
"I ate a fly one time," Jolene said, "and it buzzed inside of my head. I felt it tickling my brain… and I think it's still in there…"
"D'oh, just listening to you is aching my eardrums!" Shoobz fumed. "I can't wait to oldify all you brats! Then you'll be wishing you had shoes!"
"Oh! So, that's why you two are enemies!" Robi joked. (Play "Goomba King's Decree" from Paper Mario!)
Boss fight: Crazy Cranky Caretaker, SHOOBZ
Baring his fingers like an ugly bear, Shoobz charged at the trio. When they split up, he pegged Jolene as the weakest and attacked her. To defend herself, Jolene molded a Clay Clone, placing it just in the wake of his grabbing fingers. "Doooo! Why, I oughta-!" He stretched and ripped the clay in his blind frustration. Jolene got behind the ranger, molded a Clay Fist, and spun it for momentum before punching Shoobz in the bum. "YEEEEOOOOW!" After patting his sore heinie, the ranger ran in a zigzag path toward Jolene. She spread clay on the floor around her before jumping away from it, tricking Shoobz into stepping in it. He tried to tug his legs off the clay, but couldn't do so before Jolene got behind and socked him in the rump again.
"D'OOOOOW! I won't let you get the jump on my rump again!" So, Shoobz pulled a string in his pocket, stretching a mechanism in his pants that rose him to the ceiling. "OW!" He bumped his head. "Dyah ha! You'll never hit me up here!" The heightened ranger stomped about to kick the kids. Tupu noticed the footprints going up either end of the legs. When she passed this along to her allies, Robi formed a plan: he told Jolene to lay another clay trap to stick his shoes. "Nooo! This'll be stuck in my cleats for weeks!" Afterwards, Tupu ran up the left leg, getting just under Shoobz as he tried to grab her. Since she was just under reach, Tupu blew raspberries at him in safety. Jolene stuck clay to Robi's feet so he could walk up the other leg. "HEY! Gyeh, get off me, you fuzzy-haired beaver!" Robi walked up his back and perched himself on Shoobz's head. He fluttered up, spun, and STOMPED his bald scalp. "GYOOOOOWWWW!" The forced squished his leg extensions down to normal.
"D'oh, that's just great! I'll have these prints on my scalp for the rest of my life! You rascals asked for it! I'm through bein' nice to you! Dandruff! C'mere, boy!"
A small bulldog with a cone waddled out from a small tunnel. Shoobz ran up to him and fed Dandruff a red potion. The dog's body blew up to giant size, ripping off his cone! "Dyah ha ha! Now we're talkin', I know!" The sheriff stumbled trying to climb onto Dandruff's back. "Sick 'em, boy! Gobble those rodents right up!"
"WHOA!!" They dodged the dog's first gnash by the beat of a heart! When it gnashed again, Jolene threw a bundle of clay for it to chew on, distracting it for a moment. "I'm sure glad we're not squirrels now!" Robi said.
"Speaking of squirrels, there is another one of those cauldrons!" Tupu pointed at the Anti-form Cauldron in the corner by the exit. "I guess I did not have to go back to the other one."
"Wait, that's it! Jolene, grab that pot with your big hands!" The three ran toward the cauldron as Shoobz shook his dog to force him to spit the clay out. He sneered at the kids "cowering" in the corner and steered Dandruff toward them. As the dog opened his maw to gnash, Jolene picked the Anti Cauldron up with big Clay Hands, swinging it around to spill in the mutt's throat. "NNNOOOOO!" Shoobz cried as his monster shrank down to normal. He was left in midair from his steed's sudden decrease, falling on his crown. Robi decided to do him one last disservice and Ground Pound his rump again! (End song.)
"Gyubintryfishter…" Shoobz was at a loss for his senses.
"Huhuhu! I think I hurt him a little too much." Robi laughed.
"Norton!" Tupu clapped her friend's withered face. "Norton, speak to me! Do not become a boring old man!"
"…uuuu…puuuu…Tu…pu…"
"We have to destroy that clock! Robi, use your magic!"
Robi bent what small rocks he could from the basement's earth and chucked them at the clock. "It isn't working! But… what's that behind his chair?"
Tupu just noticed it as well: a green crystal Jiggy lodged in the machine behind the chair. The wild girl pounced it, planted her feet to the wall, and tried to tear it out with her fingers. "Nnnnnrgh! Nnnnnrgh!" But she plopped back onto ground without accomplishing anything. "It is too tight!"
Jolene approached the crystal next, naturally mesmerized by its sparkly glow. She stretched some clay to stick onto the crystal, wedging some of it into the gaps around the border. Robi and Tupu grabbed her and combined their strength to pull the Jiggy. "Hnnnnnnuuuuurrrrrggghhh—YAH!" The Jiggy popped clean out, and the flow of energy in the wall seemed to stop. "Jolene, smash the Jiggy in the clock! Maybe we can break it!"
The claybender spun the roped Jiggy around before it slamming into the clock! It cracked and spontaneously exploded with energy! A small portion of it flowed into the trio, while a large portion was absorbed into Norton. "Uhhhnnn…" His cuffs were also unlocked, the boy falling out of his seat. "Why does my mouth taste like… dried saliva?"
"NORTOOOON!" Being raised and squeezed in his best friend's arms snapped him back to reality. "I am so glad you are okay! Mwwwwwah!" She pecked him in the cheek.
"Awwwwwee!" Robi cooed.
"T-Tupu!" Norton blushed. "Who are these kids? And… why does Shoobz look so mad?"
"NOOOOOOO!" Shoobz had awakened, his emotions made clear. "You destroyed Gruntilda's Life Clock! Now all that youth we stored is going right back where it came from! She's going to be so furious once I report you kids!"
"There's no need, my little Shoobz. I watched it all and saw you lose."
The sound of thunder clapping was followed by the magical cloud forming above them. Gruntilda rose above it, her purple scarf flapping in the breeze. "G-G-G-Gruntilda!"
"Whoa! It's a real witch!" Robi exclaimed.
"I should have known not to underestimate a pair of brats who were around eight. Robi and Jolene, we are well met… as well as Norton and his loyal pet."
"I am not a pet!" Tupu argued, crouching and scratching her ear with her foot. Norton stared in disbelief.
"How do you know our names?" Robi asked.
"No matter the age, I know you all, you Kids Next Door who cause my downfall. But it was fate you come here, see, according to my benefactors' prophecy. You may have destroyed my clock here, but I have many more, I fear! And guess who is on my menu? Your rotten friends, that is who."
Magical holograms fell from the bottom of the cloud. Kent Taylor sank into some water with an iron ball chained to his leg. Spike was tied to a thunder rod, struck by lightning. Lily was drying up under a hot light. "Y…You captured our friends?!" Robi gasped.
The visions didn't stop there: Jolene's father was strapped to a table somewhere, softly being punctured by needles… and her mother was being "gently" tapped with burning rods on her bare skin, crying in horrendous pain. Jolene's slow mind couldn't process these facts immediately… but Carmine's pain and agony was felt deep in Jolene's heart…
"My acquaintances are quite strong. With them, nothing can go wrong! I'll suck the youth from them dry, and then I'll make you watch them-"
"No!"
"Eh?" Grunty glared at Jolene. Was this the part where she would tell Grunty off and give a big speech?
"No!" She stamped her little foot and raised an accusing finger. "You are a big no-no! We're gonna get you, and put you in jail! 'Cause jail is a bad guy school, where they learn not to be bad guys! And you gotta learn that!"
"… … …ha…rakaka…RAKAKAKAKAKAKA!" Grunty couldn't hold in her laughter. "Am I to be afraid of this?! Is that the best you can diss?! I bet you can't even count to three, or even know how to pee!"
"Shut up!" Robi yelled. "Jolene CAN count to three, and she DOES know how to… y'know! Wherever you are, we'll stop you, Grunty! And we'll break all your clocks!"
"Then climb as high as you can! You'll take the fall by my hand! I'll test the strength of your brains and wit, and break you down to the last hit!"
"You heard her, kiddies!" Shoobz sneered. "We may-a lost today, but we'll get you, yet!"
"Ah, Shoobz… my little fool. You've lost your use as a tool. For falling to these rodents three, I've found a fitting fate for thee!" Gruntilda waved her wand in the air.
"W-Wait, Ma'am! I can still be useful! If ya give me more potions, I'll turn all the animals in this park inta monsters! I'll train 'em to fight for you! I can—DA-HOOOOWWWW!" In a burst of magic, Shoobz turned into a tubby squirrel. He studied his furry feet and fluffy tail… and heard a snarling sound behind him. He frightfully turned, meeting the drooling fangs of his dog. "HEEEEGYAAAAAH!" Dodging the first bite by a hair's breadth, Shoobz scampered out of the basement. "Dandruff! Down, boy! D'oh, I am taking you back to the pound for this! Dyaaaaahhh…"
Gruntilda's cloud disappeared. "I have no idea what's happening!" Norton yelled.
"I don't either." Robi frowned. "But it sounds like Grunty's gonna turn our friends into old people, too. We gotta stop her!"
"Did she say something about Kids Next Door?"
"Norton, Robi and Jolene are KND!"
"Really?!" Norton perked up enthusiastically. "Do you guys know Sector V? Those guys are the best!"
"Huhu, of course we do!" Robi answered.
"Cool! You think you could get me Numbuh 4's autograph?"
"Sure, we… Numbuh 4?"
"Norton, let's go turn into squirrels!" Tupu excitedly pulled her friend out of the basement. "There is a magic man who can change us!"
"Wait, Tupu, how long was I in here? I need to catch up on homework!"
"Um…" Robi's confusion was left unsatiated. "Well, we sure got a pretty Jiggy here! I feel a strong chi inside it… Anyway, wanna look around for more Jiggies, Jolene? Or should we head back to the lair?"
"Are Mommy and Daddy okay? Do they… need to take a nap?"
"Hmmm…" Jolene may not have seemed too upset… but Robi couldn't provide a good answer. "We'll just have to hope they'll be okay. We gotta be calm and take our time… like they taught us!" He perked up. "We'll probably need to find more Jiggies to get through her lair, anyway. But I'll go where you wanna go, Jolene."
"Okay, Robi…"
As she and Robi returned to the main park, delighted to see the goers restored to their rightful ages… Jolene remembered something from art class. She remembered her teacher showing them a textbook full of paintings… including one of an orange-haired girl posing like a squirrel alongside a real one. "This one dates back to 2011. The artist claimed to have spotted a girl climbing amongst the squirrels in New York Central Park. But since then, this girl has never been seen, so no one knows if this sighting was real. It makes one wonder. What do you think, Jolene?"
"When you get splinters in your feet, it's like wearing porcupine shoes. And if the holes go all the way through, they'll sound like a flute when they walk."
"Um…yes, I suppose climbing trees without shoes would hurt at some point."