"Hurry up with the arrows, men; no telling when they'll be back," came the shouts from atop the battlements as Pooh and the other crept along the side of Dunwyn Castle in the darkness. "If they think arrows can stop what Igthorne's got in store for them come sunrise, it'll be a pretty short battle," Gruffi shook his head grimly. "Any ideas yet?" he grilled Pooh.
"Hmm, still thinking. Think, think, think!" Pooh tapped his hand off his head, "Oh bother; still nothing."
"I still say this is a job for the Masked Offender," Tigger declared, "Just let me find the hero suit, and I'll give the duke a taste of medicine he'll never forget!"
"Hooooo-ray. We're saved," Eeyore mumbled with a roll of his eyes. His expression turned to a deep frown when Piglet pushed aside part of a bush to reveal a still unconscious Kessie. "Should have known it was going to end bad for someone," he mused grimly.
"No, she's still breathing," Piglet put an ear to her chest, "I just hope this isn't as good as it ever gets for her," a deeply worried look crossed his face.
"Same here, Piglet," tears back in his eyes, Rabbit took hold of the bluebird and squeezed her close to his chest. "Rabbie's here, Kessie; I'll stay here with you," he mumbled regretfully. "Let's find the king and see if we can get through to him this time."
"Can't see what good that'll do at this point," Gruffi mumbled, nonetheless pushing open the entrance to a Gummi tunnel nearby, "But let's see what we can do. Come on, everyone; fifty gold pieces says he's in Calla's room, keeping watch."
"How do you know?" Piglet inquired.
"Believe me, Piglet, he's there, I know," Rabbit said with another sad glance down at Kessie in his arms. He brought up the rear as the group weaved their way down the tunnel and up to the upper levels of the castle. Soon enough, the king's voice could be heard-as too, encouragingly, was Calla's. "...swear I feel all right, Father; I want to help defend the castle!" the princess was insisting firmly.
"Calla dear, you've suffered a bad concussion; even if this was a job for a young girl, you're in no shape to be in this fight right now," the king could be seen shaking his head firmly once everyone reached the grating into Calla's room, "Now please just lay here and rest up. I'll defend you to my dying breath, I promise."
"But you always say a princess and future queen should be there for her people at all times; I need to be out there fighting with you, concussion or no concussion; please can't you see that!?" Calla remained defiant.
"I'm sorry, but that's final. I'm asking as your father for you to stay here and rest," there was great firmness in Gregor's voice.
"Father...!"
"This conversation is over, Calla," he turned away and walked towards the window, to stare glumly out into the darkness. "Seven hundred years...is the kingdom fated to end with me?" he asked himself out loud, "This wasn't what I wanted."
With a deep sigh, he turned and trudged over to a large tapestry on the bedroom wall, featuring a man, woman, and infant-and the man looked very much like the king might have in his younger years, Pooh thought. "Oh Eleanor," Gregor lowered his head, tears starting to form in his own eyes, "Eleanor, what am I supposed to do!? I wish you were here now to give me advice; you always were a rock when I needed it."
"She'd want me to be fighting with you, Father; that's what she'd say!" Calla demanded with a furious expression, starting to climb out of bed. Her father turned to admonish her again, but Sir Tuxford came in the door before he could. "Just finished the inspection, Sire; we have every able bodied man drafted into service to watch all the ramparts," he informed the sovereign.
"Any luck with the drawbridge?" Gregor inquired.
"Still stuck fast, Sire," his head knight shook his head, "We've tried everything we could find..."
"Keep trying, Sir Tuxford. I'd like to get all the women and children out before Igthorne tries any attack; if Dunwyn falls, I want only active combatants to fall here," the king ordered him, shaking his head, "All right, I'm coming out to take personal charge-but if you could spare a knight or two to make sure Calla stays safely in here, please do so."
"Got a couple right out here, Sire; see to the princess's safety, men," Sir Tuxford instructed two knights standing outside.
"Father, this is ridiculous! You can't hold...!"
"It's for your safety, Calla, and because I love you. Now stay here, please!" Gregor said with strong finality, walking out the door. It closed behind him with a loud bang. Roaring in rage, Calla hurled her pillow into the wall. "This is not how a princess is supposed to help her kingdom!" she bellowed out loud, slumping down on her bed.
"Um," Pooh rapped hard on the grating, "If it's all right, princess, it's us; can we come in?"
"Huh? Oh, it's you again," Calla saw them at the grating. She pulled it open to let them into the room. "Any sign of Igthorne?"
"No, we lost him," Rabbit shook his head, "Are you feeling all right? I wasn't there when the rocket hit, but I heard..."
"I'm fine, see!" Calla snapped, waving at herself, "And I need to be out there with Father protecting the kingdom, like a real future ruler should, not stuck up here like a prisoner! Where does that tunnel come out?" she gestured at it.
"By the base of the castle, but I don't know if you'd fit in it," Piglet squinted at the opening, which did admittedly look a little small for a human. His gaze fell towards the tapestry on the wall. "Is that...I mean, is it...?"
"Yes, that's my mother," the anger faded from Calla's face, replaced with deep regret. She approached the tapestry and put a hand on her mother's image. "Eleanor of Aquatonia. Father fell in love with her during a summit between our kingdoms; his father wanted him to marry another princess, but he loved her too much and held out until he was granted permission to wed her instead. I'm told he was at his happiest with her. I wish I could have seen it myself, or known her more..." her head slumped against the tapestry, "The plague claimed her when I was two. I really don't remember anything about her, and you can image how much that hurts, not to know your own mother. I'm told Father almost lost the will to go on after she died; he says I was the only thing that kept him going. I'm glad I did, but..."
Her memories were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Calla, it's me," it was Cavin. Cubbi breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, he's all right," he whispered as Gruffi gestured him and the others into hiding under the bed before the door swung open. Cavin, however, was not one hundred percent either; his ribs were heavily taped up, and he was walking with a limp-perhaps not surprising given what he'd gone through earlier in the day. "We've got to keep watch up here for the Igthorne when he comes; Sir Tuxford wouldn't let me join the other pages on the ramparts after what happened earlier, so we should at least do something up here," he told her, grimacing from each step.
"See, Princess, you're not a prisoner," Gruffi said, scuffling out from under the bed once it was clear the guards outside weren't coming in or listening in, "This isn't a sentence, this is an opportunity for you to..."
"Well I still say it's unfair," Calla wasn't moved, "We need to do more. Any ideas?" she asked all the animals.
"I still say let the Masked Offender ride again!" Tigger stuck by his original idea, "Let me take on those bad guys one by one; I'll make them wish they'd never been born after I give them a big HIIIIIII-YAAAAAHH!" he made a karate-like gesture into the wall-which knocked a large pot off the shelf right onto Rabbit's head. "TIGGER!" he bellowed, his voice muffled inside the pot, "This Masked Offender business has gone on long enough! I demand you...!"
"Wait, Rabbit," Pooh's face was unexpectedly lighting up, "I think I might have an idea. One that might even be good..."
The doorknob started turning, cutting him off and sending he and everyone else scurrying under the bed again-except for Rabbit, whom Calla and Cavin hurled under after pulling the pot off his head. "What's going on in here, princess?" a knight stuck his head in, "All the banging and shouting..."
"Uh...Calla and I were just pretending we were fighting Igthorne, and knocked this pot down by accident," Cavin explained quickly.
"Oh. Well be easier about it; after what happened earlier, who knows what loud bangs around here are anymore," the knight advised them, withdrawing and closing the door again. Both children breathed large sighs of relief. "What, what's your idea, Pooh?" Cavin pulled him back out from under the bed.
"Yes Pooh, what did you come up with?" Piglet asked his best friend, squirming out himself.
"It's a silly idea, Piglet, but I guess that makes it the right idea for a Bear of Very Little Brains like me. Do you remember when Christopher Robin took us to see...?" Pooh whispered the rest of his idea in Piglet's ear. His expression brightening, Piglet whispered the whole plan to Rabbit, who was coming out from under the bed next. Rabbit's expression also brightened. "I never thought I'd say it, Pooh Bear, but that just might be a brilliant idea on your part for once," he declared, putting an arm around Pooh.
"Well, what is it?" Calla asked impatiently.
"Well..." Pooh waved her and everyone else close and related his idea to them all. "Why that's brillianty, Pooh Boy!" Tigger exclaimed with a triumphal bounce, "If I didn't know any better, I should have thought of it myself!"
"Wonder why you didn't? Well, it probably's going to fail miserably, but since I'm here, and it's for a great cause, might as well go along with it," Eeyore lamented, "If, that is, we can get out of here and get set up in..."
Suddenly a loud explosion rang out outside the window, rattling the tower hard. "Hey, it's not sunrise yet!" Tummi protested, hanging on to the corner of Calla's bed to keep from falling over.
"Looks like Igthorne didn't care; we've got company out there!" Gruffi glanced out the window, where, in the light of the flames from the granary burning next to the tower, hundreds of armed silhouettes could be seen on the other side of the castle moat, "The attack's starting now whether Dunwyn's ready or not!"
Another massive explosion rang out on the other side of the castle, once again shaking Calla's room hard. "FIRE!" came the order from across the moat, followed by the screeching of boulders soaring through the air. "Oh d-d-d-dear, we're too late anyway!" Piglet lamented.
"Maybe, Piglet, but we still have to try to win the day. It is, after all, the Gummi Way-am I right?" Pooh turned to the Gummis for confirmation.
"You said it, Pooh Bear!" Cubbi said proudly, drawing his wooden sword, "Let's go do this and save Dunwyn!"
"And I'm helping with this no matter what anyone says!" Calla emphatically dropped to her hands and knees and tried to squeeze through the grating. Cavin gave her a strong enough push from behind to make it through, then sucked in his breath to fit through himself. "I think I know where to start," he told the others, "We just have to figure out how to lure them up there..."
"It time to liquidate prisoners yet?" the purple ogre standing in front of the cage by the brook asked his orange partner.
"Guess so," the orange ogre nodded, "This going to be fun; dukey going to be proud of us that we handle this right."
He marched off towards the brook. "Time to go bye-bye," the purple ogre taunted his prisoners inside, "Too bad you not going to see Dunwyn fall and..."
"Here we go. Preparing to be liquidated!" the orange ogre had returned-and he was clutching a bucket overflowing with water, which he now threw in Grammi and Zummi's faces. "Um, that how you liquidate prisoners?" the purple ogre frowned.
"Me not know," his partner shrugged, "That seemed like best way to do it..."
"Well, while you gentlemen are figure out the best way to do this," Owl spoke up, his eyes darting over to the mess area of the ogres' camp, "I should remind you it is customary for prisoners who are about to be liquidated to receive a last meal, am I right, everyone?"
"Oh...oh yeah," Grammi had followed his gaze, "In fact...I'd like to have those eggs there myself," she pointed at a frying pan sizzling with eggs over a still burning campfire.
"Gee, is that how it works?" the orange ogre asked.
"I'll check dukey's book of rules of warfare; you get last meal ready in case that how it goes," the purple ogre sauntered off to check. The orange ogre, meanwhile retrieved the frying pan and carried it over. "Here last meal, Gummi lady," he handed it through the bars to Grammi.
"Much appreciated, sir," Grammi took the pan off him...then reared her arm back and walloped the ogre hard over the head with it. Groaning, the ogre sank to the ground with a dazed expression. "Sunni, get his keys!" Grammi ordered the yellow bear, who reached out through the bars of the cage. "Got them!" she seized hold of the keys and yanked them away from the ogre.
"Good. Give them here and give me a lift up to the keyhole," Gopher leaped on top of Sunni's shoulders and took hold of the keys. Reaching around to the lock, he inserted the key and turned it. "Bingo!" he exclaimed as the cage door slid open.
"Hey, what going on here!?" the purple ogre unfortunately chose this moment to return. "Oh no, you not go anywhere! You staying...!" he suddenly stopped and glanced skywards, where a loud rushing sound was building rapidly. "Ah yes, perfect timing. My relatives have shown up exactly when needed," smiling, Owl stepped out of the cage. "Uncle Torbit, if you could remove this hulking brute from the equation, that would be a good start," he called up towards the huge flock of owls of all sizes and ages descending towards the brook.
"Right-o," shouted down the distinguished owl at the head of the formation, who went into a steep dive towards the purple ogre. Crying out, the ogre turned and ran, but Uncle Torbit caught up to him after five hundred feet or so and lifted him off the ground. "Put me down, put me down!" the ogre screeched.
"Well, if you insist, I suppose I could indeed oblige, good sir," Uncle Torbit released him to fall screaming into the brook well downstream of the Poohsticks Bridge with a loud splash. He then winged around to join the rest of Owl's relatives, well over a hundred of them, landing on the brook's banks. "You won't believe how much everyone wanted to come along when we all got your message that you needed help, and an adventure might be in the offering," he told Owl, landing right next to him.
"And for that, I am eternally grateful," Owl shook his wing, "But we haven't much time either way; the miscreant who wrecked the Hundred Acre Wood," he pointed to the mass damage the ogres had done all around them, "is currently embarking to seize by force the kingdom to which these noble Gummi bears," he pointed at the three bears, "Are sworn to defend. If we don't hurry and join Pooh Bear and the other bears, the kingdom could be lost without a fight, especially with all the weapons and troops they have at their disposal."
"Ooh, a most interesting adventure indeed," hooted the elderly female owl that landed alongside Uncle Torbit, "This reminds me of the time Cousin Cecily decided to join up with the Blue Angels air show. Of course, she had no idea that..."
"Yes, yes, we'll hear that story later; right now, we've got to save Dunwyn!" Grammi interrupted the owl's recollection, "Here, Zummi, your medallion," she tossed it to him.
"Finally, back where it belongs!" Zummi happily slipped the medallion around his neck and waded into the brook. "Undrite Acrite, Oodrite!" he spoke the words to open the portal back to Dunwyn. "Good, no more carpies," he breathed a sigh to see the old Gummi fortress deserted.
"But listen!" Sunni held up her hand. And indeed, a distant loud bang could be heard. "We're too late; Duke Igthorne's already attacking the castle!" she shook her head sadly.
"No we're not, sweetheart," Grammi's gaze fell on the two spare rockets perched by the side of the brook, "There's more than enough Gummiberry juice in there for all of us-if we can just figure out how to get it all back out."
"Well, I built the darn things, and I know how to take them apart," Gopher grabbed a hammer laying on the nearby table and rushed the nearest rocket. "Stand by to catch it," he strained to pull open an emergency release hatch. Sure enough, it cracked open, and Gummiberry juice flowed out. "Great work!" Grammi happily scooped it up in a flask. "Sunni, Zummi, grab some of those canteens there, as many as you can carry," she instructed the other bears. She rushed over to Owl. "Let's just hope Gummiberry juice can make owls fly fast and make them stronger than carpies," she told him.
"I would be more than willing to try it, my good lady, and if not, I shall endeavor to fly as fast as I can in which direction you would wish me to go. Hop aboard," Owl bent down so she could climb on his back. "Cousin Dexter, be so kind as to give Gopher a ride," he instructed the small bespectacled owl at his feet, who indeed scooped Gopher up," Aunt Ophelia, you can handle Mr. Zummi there."
"Just Zummi," the purple bear climbed up on Aunt Ophelia's back, his medallion still trained on the portal. Sunni, in the meantime, climbed into Kanga's pouch with Roo. "Mind if I take a ride here?" she asked them.
"Not at all. I don't think you'll slow us down," Kanga told her.
"Here, drink this," Sunni extended a canteen towards her. Kanga took a sip. "Very strong stuff," she declared, a determined look coming over her face, "All right, hold on, Roo dear, here we go!"
She bounced at lightning speed through the open portal. "I say, this juice is of high caliber," Owl exclaimed.
"Drink as much as you can; all of you too," Grammi told all the owls, while handing Owl one of his own. Owl downed the juice. "I feel like a young owl again," was his own assessment, "All right everyone," he turned to his relatives, "Take a drink and after me; we have a kingdom to save!"
He flew faster than he'd ever flown before through the portal. With loud cheers, the rest of his relatives drank their own rations of juice and followed him through. Aunt Ophelia went last of all, taking Zummi with her. "Keep her nice and steady," he told her, clinging on tight, "Over there; those ogres; get them away from those rockets!" he pointed at the six large green ogres standing by the fleet of rockets at the edge of the cliff with torches in hand, ready to fire them at Igthorne's signal.
"With pleasure," Aunt Ophelia nodded at a half dozen other owls flying in tight formation to her left. They all swooped down, snatched up the dumbfounded ogres before they realized what was going on, lifted them aloft, and dropped them into a lake at the foot of the mountain. "Jood gob...I mean, good job; that at least keeps the doomsday weapons out of play for now," Zummi commended her, his eyes trained on the fireballs rising in the distance over Dunwyn Castle, "We just can't be too late..."