"Can't I please have just a little taste of the magic juice, please, please, please!" Tigger begged a stern-looking Gruffi, stomping hard up one of the Gummis' tunnels, "A Tigger needs to bounce as much as they can, and since I'm the only one...!"
"And that's grounds enough to say no; Gummiberry juice is meant for use in a major situation to stop the forces of evil," Gruffi told him sternly, "Not for the pleasure of refugees from other worlds who can't stop bouncing."
"But I'll give you everything I've got...!"
"If you've got anything to eat, I'll take that," Tummi offered, "But sorry, we keep the Gummiberry juice."
"It's meant for the best of causes, sorry," Cavin agreed with Tummi. "So," he turned to Pooh, "What have you done in your world? Fought any dragons? Saved any damsels? Rescued any villagers?"
"Uh, no," Pooh admitted, starting to look a little crestfallen, "But I was the king of Chess Land once."
"I was the bish-hop; the best bish-hop you've ever seen," Tigger's expression brightened, "We ought to have another adventure there one of these days."
"I don't know, Tigger; I guess I'll need to fall asleep first, and...oh dear, is this how we're going to get to the king's castle?" Piglet frowned at the bird-shaped car set up on a track before them.
"This is the quick tunnel to the castle; just buckle up tight, and enjoy the ride," Cubbi dragged Piglet into the car and buckled his seatbelt. "Um," Piglet looked very nervous, "I should point out that Very Small Animals like myself don't like wild rides..."
"But Tiggers do, so let's go as fast as we can!" Tigger urged Gruffi at the controls. Rolling his eyes, Gruffi pulled the release lever. The car rocketed down the track at warp speed, to loud cries, both terrified and excited, of the Hundred Acre Wood residents. In about four minutes, it coasted to a stop. "Here we are, Dunwyn Castle," Gruffi announced.
"That was great! Let's go back and do it again; racing at warp speed is what Tiggers do best, after all!" Tigger proclaimed. This prompted a yelp from a pale, nauseated-looking Piglet, who stumbled out of the car and doubled over. "All right, so where do we find the king and warn him?" Pooh asked, climbing out of the car himself.
"Guess we'll just have to look for him, because I don't know; Cavin?" Gruffi turned to the page.
"Can't help you there, Gruffi; I may be close to him, but I don't know King Gregor's daily schedule," Cavin admitted, "I just hope Calla got to him already and at least gave him some hint of what's looming."
"I suggest we check the kitchen first; there's probably a lot to find there," Tummi proposed, rubbing his stomach eagerly.
"Tummi, would you forget your stomach for just...quiet," Gruffi held up his hand and listened to the tunnel to their right. "I think I hear him down this way, come on," he waved everyone down the tunnel.
"I'll be down in a moment; I'll just make sure Piglet's all right," Pooh told him. He bent over his best friend as everyone else scurried off. "You feeling all right now, Piglet?"
"I think so, Pooh," Piglet said, the color slowly returning to his face, "I just hope there's a better way back to the Gummis' tree house after we finish our mission here. What about you, Pooh?" he turned to the bear with a concerned expression of his own, "You've seemed a bit sad lately."
"It's just, Piglet, since we've arrived here, I can't help but feel a little, um...insignificant," Pooh confessed, "Seeing how much all the other bears have done here, all the heroic type things, and then looking inside, like I'm sure humans do too, I don't quite feel that I measure up. Especially if it is true that I am descended from earlier Gummi bears, as might be the case."
"I know about feeling insignificant, Pooh," Piglet nodded knowingly, "So I know how you feel. I guess, if we're lucky, we'll get a chance to show something-I hope."
"But what can we do, Piglet? We're not heroes, we're just Christopher Robin's animals."
"Hopefully, that'll prove important in some way, Pooh; it often does in these stories. Just so we do save the Hundred Acre Wood..."
"Hey, aren't you guys coming? We've got a lock on the king!" came Cubbi's call from up the tunnel. Pooh and Piglet quickly bustled up it until the others came into view, peering through a grating. "Have you tried to tell him yet?" the latter asked loudly.
"Shhhh! Can't now; too many knights in the room. We can't be seen, remember!?" Gruffi hissed at him. He nonetheless moved aside so Pooh and Piglet could have a clearer view through the grate. There were indeed at least half a dozen knights in the room, one of whom was stammering to King Gregor, who was standing with his back to the grate anyway, "...swear it, your Majesty, a group of animals came out through the portal; they basically admitted they were sent by Igthorne! And then they escaped after we were attacked by a band of Gummi bears!"
"Really? A rabbit, a donkey, and a small pig hardly seem to be the type of animals Duke Igthorne would consider useful," the king sounded more amused than anything, "And why would Gummi bears, if they did exist, attack a royal transport wagon when that would be contrary to what the legends say they'd have done in the old days?"
"But Sire, we swear it's all true...!"
"I think you men have been working too hard lately anyway," the king interrupted him, "Why don't you go and man the ramparts for the remainder of this afternoon's festivities? We can find someone fresher to go guard that portal."
"We're not worn down, Sire, we...!"
"Sorry, lads, but that's a royal order," Sir Tuxford cut in himself. Looking miffed, half the knights left the room. "Father, don't you think we should take some extra precautions, just in case?" came Calla's voice from across the room, "If Igthorne is sending something through..."
"Calla my dear, it's quite obvious what's happened; these men simply had a little too much wine when on guard duty and imagined the whole thing," Gregor told her gently, "It must have gotten too boring up there, and they turned to the wine to pass the time."
"But suppose Duke Igthorne did want to try to come back through? I mean, I'm just thinking of what's best for the kingdom..."
"I know, my dear, and that's why you'll make a great queen one day," Gregor put an empathetic arm around his daughter with a smile, "Dunwyn is safe at the moment-although I suppose we could put all the reserve knights on guard duty, just in case. Can it be arranged, Sir Tuxford?" he turned to his head knight.
"I don't rightly know, Sire, but I suppose it could be done," Sir Tuxford guessed, "I'll send word around that..."
The door to the room burst open. "Sir Tuxford," it was Unwin, and he was grinning darkly, "Cavin never showed up to set up the arrows for the contest. Just thought you ought to know."
"Oh no!" Cavin slapped his hand to his face by the tunnel wall, "I totally forgot I was supposed to help everyone get ready for the archery tournament! I've gotta go," he whispered to the bears and Hundred Acre Wood residents with a pale look, "I hope Sir Tuxford doesn't put me back on kitchen duty for this!"
He rushed off down the tunnel. "I don't see what's wrong with that; I would love kitchen duty. Especially if it did involve finding honey," Pooh remarked.
"Same here; I could work in a kitchen all day," Tummi added, "I'd love..."
"Shhh!" Gruffi hissed at him again. He turned back to the grating, where Calla was sighing. "I'll find him, Father," she told the king, "He must have fallen asleep somewhere."
"I don't think so; I think he's slacking off again," Unwin proclaimed smugly. Calla gave him a harsh glare and brushed past him out the room door. "You may go, Unwin; make sure the archers are well stocked with arrows," Sir Tuxford told the elder page, who turned and left. "I can never figure Cavin out many of these days, Sire," he shook his head at the king, "He wants so badly to be a knight, and he's got so much promise and potential, but then you can never find him when you need him."
"It might just be nothing, Sir Tuxford. Let's not jump to conclusions with the boy, like we did when my ruby studs went missing," Gregor told the knight. He exhaled himself and walked over to the window. "Look at it; all of Dunwyn celebrating," he said with a smile, "This celebration will be the greatest one the kingdom's ever had."
"That it will, Sire," Sir Tuxford agreed, "I think when the eight hundredth anniversary rolls around, they'll look back on this one with pride."
"Let's hope so. And Sir Tuxford, I know I said so before, but I want to thank you for exposing Igthorne's treachery to me all those years ago," Gregor grew solemn, "I would never have suspected anything from the man then, which would have been disaster for Dunwyn."
"I could see it coming during my stint as his chief lieutenant, Sire," the knight told him with his own grim expression, "He always drove the men too hard, was too brutal in combat. I knew it for sure when he surrounded that village on the border during our war with Easterwick and ordered me to burn it to the ground. I stamped out my torch and told him I'd never do such a thing, and did everything I could to stop him from incinerating all those innocent people," he lowered his head, guilt on his face, "I did everything I could to save them, I swear..."
"I'm sure you did, Sir Tuxford," King Gregor patted him on the shoulder, "As much fault is mine for not believing you on him until he attacked Dunwyn Castle with the ogres. I hate to take any human life-it's not right for a monarch to hold too much power over life and death-but I'm wondering if I should have ordered his execution after that initial attack. Then Dunwyn may have had peace..."
He shook his head. "But no matter. It's probably over now, as long as we keep him in the other world. And besides," he cocked his head at the sound of church bells ringing, "It's time for the septcentennial archery contest anyway. Seven hundred gold pieces to the best archer in the kingdom. The grand prize is secured down in the treasury still, is it not?"
"It was at last check, Sire."
"Very good. Let us take our seats; it'll be a pleasure to watch Calla serve an official function to reward the winner after the contest. It'll give her good practice for when she's queen. Let's go, men," Gregor told the knights, who followed him and Sir Tuxford out of the room. "Now how do we get in touch with him?" Piglet frowned behind the grate.
"I wish I knew, Piglet," Pooh scratched his head, befuddled, "In fact, I wish I knew anything about anything..."
"Wait, I have an idea," Cubbi's face was brightening, "If they're having an archery contest, one of us could enter, and if we win..."
"So no more, little guy; I'll do it!" Tigger proclaimed with a huge smile, "If that Hooded Robbie guy could enter his archway contest in disguise and win, anybody can do it."
"And what makes you so sure you'll win?" Gruffi raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Easy, Gruff old pal; shooting arrows is what Tiggers do best! Quick Piglet, the hero suit! It's time for the Masked Offender to take the day and win the cake!" Tigger extended a hand towards Piglet. "Um...I think we left your things back in the prison wagon, Tigger," Piglet admitted.
"Oh well, no matter. We'll go find something else to use as a Masked Offender-y type suit. Be back in three shakes of a horse's tail, hoo hoo hoo HOOOOO!" Tigger seized Piglet's wrist and bounced wildly down the tunnel. "This is a major mistake," Gruffi rolled his eyes, "Somebody else needs to do this..."
"Sorry, Gruffi; he's the only one that can pass off as a human at first glance-as long as he keeps his tail out of sight," Tummi pointed out, "So, what do the rest of us do?"
"I don't know. Since that tiger can't be trusted to do anything right, we'll have to find a backup plan to..."
"Oh bother," Pooh suddenly exclaimed, glancing at the window in the room that was visible from the grating. "What was that for?" Cubbi asked him.
"I think I just saw a huffalump and woozle go down past the window. A very familiar heffalump and woozle, who tried to steal all my honey not long ago," Pooh squinted at the now vacant window.
"A what and a what?"
"Let's take a look," Tummi pushed the grating open and rushed to the window. "Well, all I see is an orange elephant and a gray weasel wearing suits of armor sneaking around by the base of the castle, tapping at the walls," he announced.
"You do?" Pooh glanced down himself. "No, that's the heffalump and woozle I saw," he said, recognizing Stan and Heff despite their haphazard disguises, "But what are they doing here?"
"Are they dangerous?" Tummi asked him, concerned.
"Not usually, but they're not really what I'd call friends."
"Then I think we'd better follow then and see what they're up to," the blue bear proposed, "And who knows, if they are after honey," he licked his lips in anticipation of a honey meal, "It'll really be a good idea to..."
"Ta-da! Couldn't recognize me if you tried, could ya!?" Tigger and Piglet had returned, and the former was wearing a mask and red cavalier-style costume that was much too small for him-one that made Cubbi gasp in shock. "Wh-wh-where did you find th-th-that!?" he stammered.
"Was that your room at the end of the hall? It was in the first drawer I checked, and looked disguise-y enough, so I figured, might as well go with it," Tigger explained.
"Cubbi!" Gruffi rounded on the smallest bear with a deep scowl, "I told you to forget those dreams about being the Crimson Avenger! Why is that still in your room!?"
"I, um. uh..." Cubbi mumbled nervously, "I, uh...I was going to, but, um...I kind of forgot..."
"Hey, who's in there?" came a call from outside the door. Gulping, all the animals jumped out the window and grabbed hold of the nearby drainpipe. The door opened. "Nobody in here now," a deep voiced said.
"Strange, I could swear I heard voices..." the first man said, confused. Moments later, the door swung closed, and their footsteps faded away. "That was close...too close," Tummi breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, we'd better get Tigger here to the contest, and get started with finding that hoozle and weffalump, whatever they're called."
"I'll go with Tigger on this," Cubbi said quickly, siding up to the tiger, "I mean...since I am technically a Gummi knight, I can give him the best advice."
"All right, but when this is done, I want that Crimson Avenger suit in the trash where it belongs," Gruffi warned him, "Piglet, you come with me; I have a backup plan, and it's stupid, but it might be our best bet," his gaze had fallen on a mime troop performing in the street below, "Tummi, you and Pooh follow those things he saw. And above all, be inconspicuous."
"Of course, Duke Igthorne had to choose the highest possible place to jump into the Hundred Acre Wood from," a heavily winded Rabbit gasped, straining to climb up the face of the mountain the ruined Gummi city was located on.
"He must have gotten good intelligence; the ancient Gummi city of Grizzlia stood up here for generations," Grammi told him, "And no need to complain; we're almost at the top," she pointed at the topmost ledge, which was now no more than ten feet above her.
"Um, not to complain, but those things flying overhead don't seem like they're friendly," Eeyore suddenly said out loud. Everyone else's eyes shot upwards-and Sunni immediately gasped. "Oh no, the carpies!" she gasped, jumping behind Zummi, "What are they doing here!?"
"Shh, I think I hear Igthorne," Zummi held up his hand. And indeed, the duke could now be heard above them. The five of them crept up to the next ledge, which had a thick bush on it for protection, and listened in. "...have a propostion for you, oh exalted Carpy King," Igthorne was saying, "I have weapons at my disposal that will reduce Dunwyn Castle to dust, but I would wish to make absolutely sure I succeed this time. So I would like to hire you and your men as my personal air force for the attack; when I give the word, you all swoop down and help me destroy Dunwyn."
"And what's in it for us?" a raspy voice asked, unconvinced.
"You can have everything for a hundred square miles around Carpy Mountain as your own personal kingdom-and, because I know she'd never want me, you can have the princess Calla as your own personal songbird for as long as you see fit to use her," Igthorne proposed, prompting a growl from Sunni at the thought of her friend being treated in such a manner.
"Your reputation for treachery is well known, Duke Igthorne. But I like this idea. Consider me your full partner," the Carpy King cackled, "My men will gather here and await for your signal to attack Dunwyn."
"Excellent. As a token of my goodwill, here are the knights that were guarding the portal," Igthorne told him, as the sound of loud thumps rang out, "You may do whatever you wish to them; they're of no further use."
"Oh dear, oh dear, ogres plus carpies is a disaster for Dunwyn," Zummi gulped, "This may be beyond our capabilities."
"You can't give up; you promised you'd help us free the Hundred Acre Wood and release Kessie!" Rabbit hissed at him, "The problem is," he glanced nervously upwards, "If all those overgrown feather dusters are hanging around up there, how do we get anywhere near the portal?"
He got an abrupt answer to his question as the bush was suddenly grabbed by a powerful set of claws, its occupants included. "Hey, let us go, let us go!" Rabbit protested as they were lifted up into the air by a carpy.
"Well, if you insist..." with a dark snicker, the carpy extended his claw outward over the thousand foot drop to the valley below and started loosening his grip. "No, wait, let me rephrase that...!" Rabbit rambled in terror.
"What have you found?" the Carpy King called up to his circling underling.
"Eavesdroppers, your Highness, and familiar ones, too," the lesser carpy swooped down and dropped his prisoners down at his master's and Igthorne's feet. "Well, it looks like this IS my lucky day," the duke sneered down at the newcomers, "I get a new alliance for my attack, AND some Gummi bears as new prisoners."
"Your plans are bound to fail, Igthorne," Grammi told him defiantly, putting her hands on her hips.
"Oh really, my lady? It so happens my plans have advanced far beyond what I'd initially intended. I now have a multiple plan of attack against Dunwyn-and, conveniently, since I know you know how to make Gummiberry juice, you can help fill in the biggest missing piece," Igthorne leaned menacingly towards her.
"What are you talking about!?"
"Bring them, men," Igthorne gestured at the ogres with him to bring their new prisoners along. "Undrite Acrite, Oodrite!" he held his Gummi medallion in front of the mirror once he'd reached it and stepped back into the Hundred Acre Wood. "Oh my, oh my! What did you do to the Hundred Acre Wood!?" a shocked Rabbit gasped once he was brought through to the other side. For the landscape around him could hardly have been called a wood anymore; most of the trees were gone, and those that were left were being uprooted by swarms of ogres and thrown into a large pile near the Poohsticks Bridge. Other ogres were sawing the trees into long wooden planks, and pounding iron strips to them, in some areas joined by hordes of huffalumps and woozles of every size and color. Most ominously, a half dozen large rockets were taking shape by the bridge, and working on them, overseen by ogres with whips...
"Momma, Rabbit and Eeyore are back," Roo called out, pointing, "Where's everyone else?"
"Where's Kessie!?" Rabbit frantically scanned the group of his friends for the bluebird, to no success. "What have you done to my Kessie!?" he demanded to Igthorne, "If you've harmed one feather on her head...!"
"Crazy rabbit no need overreact; bluebird escape a few hours ago into Dunwyn," Toadwart explained to him, cracking his whip towards Roo to get him working again, "Us to send carpies out to look for her."
"Ah," Rabbit breathed a quick sigh of relief. Then, in a flash, he grabbed Igthorne's Gummi medallion. "Hey!" the duke roared, but Rabbit had already broken loose and rushed back to the stream under the Poohsticks Bridge, where he rambled out the incantation to reopen the portal. "Hold on, Kessie, Rabbie's coming!" he cried at the top of his lungs, jumping back through to Dunwyn before the dozen or so ogres lunging for him could grab him. The portal zipped closed. "No matter, men; the carpies can take care of him. And I have a spare medallion within easy reach," Igthorne snatched off Zummi's medallion and slipped it on. "Put the rest of them to work on my rockets," he ordered the ogres, "Now, as I was saying. my fair Gummi lady," he pulled a scowling Grammi close, "Your Gummiberry juice, given its tremendous punch, might just be what I need to fuel my rockets. The miserable gopher here wouldn't tell me where to find proper fuel, even after I had him tickled for hours on end, so your creations will have to do."
"And if I say no?" Grammi remained defiant.
"Then you might just be the only Gummi bear to go bacvk to Dunwyn in one piece," Igthorne snapped his fingers at the ogres holding Sunni and Zummi. The ogres carried them towards a large pot of boiling oil and lifted them menacingly over it. Grammi's shoulders sagged. "All right, all right, I'll cook you your Gummiberry juice," she grumbled miserably, "But, I'll only cook it up in private; nobody looks in to see what the secret ingredients are."
"Just get me that juice, and no tricks. I want these rockets fueled and ready to go by sunset tonight, when I test one on Dunwyn itself to show Gregor I'm serious. Any failures, and these other bears pay a stiff price. Get moving on that juice, now."