This episode's inspiration comes from the computer game "Cluefinders 3rd Grade: The Mystery of Mathra" from the Goo Lagoon level. There might not be any talking plants or quick goo or yellow furry giants in this one, but there will be several adorable slimes.
And now... GoldenLatias6 Charm! Jewel Story!
"What kind of trouble is this anyway?" Jasper asked. Just as soon as their adventure in Deco City wrapped up, Marine called the group on Ruby's Jewelpod. She said that there was trouble. "There's trouble in the Gooey Marshlands," she stated. "The Gooey Marshlands!?" Garnet asked in horror. "Yes. We received a letter from Rald and Brownie, the wandering Jewelpets, saying that Lilia has a minion causing trouble with the peaceful Slimes!" Marine reported.
"Not the slimes! Not Sploosh!" shouted a really upset Speck. Garnet looked at him curiously. "Who is Sploosh?" Garnet asked with a blink. "My home is near the goo. The goo is very crucial as key ingredients in healing potions! Jasper, use the key to get there faster!" Marine hung up the phone.
Jasper pulls out his magic key. "It's time to visit the Gooey Marshlands," he declares with a cool face. "But that place is so gross and... gooey," Garnet protests in disgust. The others sigh in exasperation.
Marshes of Goo! Save the Slimes!
The group soon finds themselves walking through a marsh of squishy green goo.
Amy looked down at her boot to see the goo on it. "These boots were expensive!" she groaned. "I'm sure the goo will come off," Cream comforted. In truth, she was flying so she wouldn't have to walk in the goo. Garnet clung to Tails' shoulder tightly, yet she made sure she didn't accidentally bury her claws into him. "Don't let me fall in, Tails. I don't want to touch that gunk!" she whined. "Heh, can't you girls handle walking through goo?" Knuckles teased. Jasper and Granite looked at him with stern faces. Suddenly, Knuckles tripped on a large tree root and fell face first into the goo. Everyone else laughed at him as he pulled his face out of the goo. They stopped laughing when they heard gibberish sounds coming from inside the goo.
Multiple figures rose up from the goo. Jelly-like blobs of different sizes, each a different color and tiny oval eyes, were known as the Slimes. A teal Slime spoke in a gooey gibberish voice to the other Slimes; the majority of the rest of the Slimes nodded their heads and sank back in. The Slimes that didn't look concerned but decided to follow the actions of the others. The teal Slime approached Tails; Speck smiled and jumped down to the slime. "Sploosh!" he exclaimed. "Speck!" the slime, Sploosh, exclaimed as they hugged each other.
After everyone got over the shock, they sat on tree roots that were above the goo as they listened to Sploosh. "Speck and I are close friends. He taught me your language, and I taught him to understand our language." Sploosh stated. (And technically he said that without a mouth) Speck chuckled nervously as he added, "I tried to learn to speak it, but I always say the wrong thing. You'd be surprised how complex their accent pronunciation is..."
"So what's happening here anyway?" Tails questioned. Sploosh shrank a little in sadness. "Our precious home is in trouble. We are peaceful creatures who hate fighting, but some of us have turned into dangerous monsters," he explained. Then he noticed something floating in the goo and glared at it. "Because they drank from those..." Everyone looked to their right to see a black spot floating in the goo. "Stay back! Those black spots are poisonous!" he warned. "What is that gunk?" Garnet asked in disgust.
(Author's note: the chemicals that are about to be mentioned are real; I gathered this information from Cluefinders 6th Grade: Empire of the Plant People)
Tails hovered over to the spot and carefully examined it. "Hmm... there appears to be traces of arsenic, mercury, tannins, and dioxin... Guys, this gunk is pollution," he stated. "You mean someone is polluting the Gooey Marshlands!?" Granite gasped along with everyone else. Speck growled at what he heard. "I can't believe it! This place is sacred!" he stated in anger. He then cupped some goo in his paws as he continued. "The goo may not look like it, but it's really tasty and nutritious. Which is why it's a key ingredient in many healing potions and spells." "It's tasty?" Ruby asked and then dipped her paw in the green goo and tasted it. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly. "It tastes like strawberry gelatin!" "There are other goo ponds of different colors and tastes, but none of them are black," Sploosh explained.
"Sploosh, did you see anything suspicious lately?" Speck asked. Sploosh began to think, then he looked back at Speck when he remembered something. "There is one thing..." he answered.
Sometime later, the group is looking at a factory in the distance. It's clearly polluting the environment. Apparently, the group is not happy to see this building. "Whoever owns that evil factory is our culprit!" Amy declares. "Let's go smash it! It'll be like stopping old Egghead's plans!" Sonic says with a happy face.
(Author's note:I'm sure it would be better if Dr. Eggman was there, but he's not going to play a major role in this story)
A plink female Slime (it has an eyelash on both of its eyes) suddenly emerges from of the goo in front of them. She garbles with warning in her voice. Sploosh approaches her.
"Slow down, Splash, I can't understand what the '(slime language)' you're saying!" Spoosh said to her. She repeated what she said to him. "What!? But we have to go that way!" he responded. The two continued to argue, but now Sploosh started to also speak in slime. "What are they saying?" Tails asked looking at Speck. "Well, from what I hear, she's warning us about 'mutant slimes' up ahead," Speck surmized then sweatdropped. "The rest is all a siblings' quarrel." It took a moment, but everyone gasped in realization. Suddenly, as the pair of Slimes continued to argue, out of the toxic goo arose a menacing figure.
It was huge as black gunk dripped along its sides. It had an angry look in its glowing green eyes, like a cornered rabid dog. A mouth with sticky black goo sticking along the sides suddenly opened from it as it roared. The roar caught Sploosh and Splash's attention as they stared at this guy. Everyone came to the same conclusion.
"MUTANT SLIME!!!"
Eyecatch
Speck's charm appears. It changes into Speck.
Eyecatch
Garnet's charm appears. It changes into Garnet.
The group is currently running away from the mutant slime as it pursues them. As it chases them, it leaves behind a trail of black gunk. Garnet looks at the monster and makes a small jewel wand appear in her paws. "Hide behind those trees everyone!" she demands as she points her wand at the monster.
Jewel Illusion!
A light shone on the monster. The monster suddenly stopped in confusion. It blinked twice and looked around. Through its eyesight, there was no one in sight around it. It shrunk back into the polluted goo. The group looked out from behind the trees to see the monster gone. "Whew, that was close," Knuckles said in relief. Everyone looked at Garnet. "What exactly did you do?" Opal wondered. Garnet smugly held her wand out as she explained, "My magic wand has the power to create illusions to fool my enemies. The disgusting creature thought it saw nothing."
Splash jumped up and down angrily as she spoke in slime. "What!? That was Pops!?" Sploosh gasped. Garnet knew now that she had insulted the two Slimes' dad. "How was I to know?" she sheepishly protested. "This is terrible!" Cream said sadly and angrily. "Who could do something so awful to those adorable Slimes!?" Speck jumped off Tails' shoulder and landed in the goo.
"Listen up, gang!" he said, sounding like an army general. (I think I hear the trumpets and drums playing) "It's clear that this factory has to go! We can't let whoever's working inside there continue their actions. If we don't, the Slimes will be destroyed along with the marshlands! Now let's come up with a plan and STOP the pollution!" The group let out a cheer in response. Speck turns to Sploosh and Splash. "Sploosh, you and your sister better head back and protect the other Slimes. It'll be too dangerous for you guys since there will be more gunk close to the factory!" As much as they wanted to help, the pair gave a salute and sunk down into the slime. "Now we need someone to do some recon before we head in..."
Meanwhile, inside the factory, a burly yet mustachioed man, wearing a foreman's outfit and a black construction helmet, walked over to a big screen monitor and pressed a big black button. The screen showed some static at first, but then it suddenly changed to show someone very familiar. The man kneeled on one knee as he bowed.
"My, my, you might not be clean in appearance or law, but you certainly know how to give respect to a queen," Lilia said on the monitor. The man lifted his head as he looked at her. "Well, you certainly are a queen who understands my needs better than that goody Jewelina," he responded. As he said this, from up above, Tails, wearing a headset and holding a camera, opened a ceiling window quietly and snuck in. He silently gasped as he saw Lilia on the monitor. He used a pea shooter to launch a tiny device near the monitor. It's actually a listening device.
"I hope production is going well," Lilia stated. The man looked nervous. "Well, we can't seem to keep them stabilized like 11," he responded nervously. "Yes, by using the goo, your eleventh model has proven successful in every way. 11 has sneaked in with the other new students and is slowly gaining the trust of the academy," Lilia explained. She wore a frown as she continued. "Yet all of the later models I hear about are not stable in any way. Why is it that 11 is the only working model?"
Tails cocked his head in confusion. 'Who is 11 and what is this plan at an academy?' he thought. He shook the thoughts out as their conversation continued. "We are trying to figure it out, but we think the reason is that the goo in 11 wasn't contaminated. The other models had black goo in them," the man protested. "Black goo from your factory!" Lilia yelled. "Your pollution is affecting progress, instead of collecting goo from around the factory, collect goo from the other marshes!" Lilia took a deep breath as she stated with a cheery look, "I look forward to hearing the good news, Foreman."
The screen shuts off, indicating the conversation is over. Tails hurries out the window and hovers back to the others to tell them what he learned. The Foreman breathes a sigh of relief. He walks over to the railing to look down at the factory floor. His workers are actually black Slimes. However, these Slimes don't appear hostile as they are wearing suspicious hats covered in wires, lights, and buttons.
Tails had already reached the group, and he's now finishing up his report.
"I didn't learn about 11 or which academy they're at," Tails lamented. Garnet gently petted his cheek. "Don't worry, we'll deal with this '11' later," she comforted. "Garnet's right!" Sonic agreed. Speck, who was looking up something on his Jewelpod, suddenly gasped. "Guys get this!" he declared as he read something. "According to police face recognition, that man is really known as Ralph Hammor. He's known by the alias 'The Foreman' and is known for illegal development. He's not only a genius builder. He created a special helmet that turns its wearer into his slave. Most likely he made it to take care of snoopers and to keep the profits." "What a selfish man!" Cream responded.
Speck looked up from his Jewelpod and studied one of the recon photos Tails took. It showed a door leading to a room near the monitor. The door bore a sign that read 'Core Room Management Only'. "Hey, guys, I think I have an idea," he said with a confident smile.
Near the factory entrance, there's a door with a keycode. Sonic sneaked over and placed a small device on the keycode; the device hacked into the keycode and automatically punched the entry code in. The door began to open as Sonic gestured for the others to follow. Amy, Knuckles, Cream, and their Jewelpet partners followed him inside. Larimar wasn't there.
Meanwhile, Larimar wiggled a vent gate loose and jumped out of the air vent. She saw the poor enslaved Slimes. Determined, she held up her paw and declared, "It's time to save these Slimes!" As her watch powered up.
Magical Change! Larimar Flash!
Purification! Jewel Flash!
Her magic spread throughout the room as the working Slimes changed back to their original colors and their helmets disappeared. The Slimes looked around in confusion, having no memory of what happened. They all stared at Larimar curiously as she changed back to her fox self. "Don't worry, my friends and I are here to save you and the goo!" she declared. "Follow me! Hurry!" The Slimes didn't hesitate as they followed her through the air vent. One yellow-green Slime, being bigger, got stuck in the opening, but the remaining Slimes helped him get through the vent by pushing and headbutting him.
Sonic's group approached the area where the waste was being released. Knuckles saw a big red lever on the on position; he pushed it to the off position. The process came to a halt. "Now the pollution will stop flowing," he responded. "Now let's have some fun," Sonic declared with excitement. "Wait, Sonic!" Amy protested. "For once, we need to be careful and not reckless. Tails said that those chemicals are deadly, even breathing them is dangerous." Sonic sighed and nodded. He turned to Cream. "Cream, you and the Jewelpets go check out the rooms while we head to electrical; there might be other captive Slimes here." "Okay!" Cream answered as she and the Jewelpets left. Sonic then realized something. "Uhhh... where's electrical?"
Ralph left the manager's room and looked down at the empty floor. "So that's why it's so quiet!" he said with anger as he began stomped towards the stairs. Unknown to him, Opal, hiding behind a crate, noticed him leave, then she let out a tiny magic spark from her horn. From the window, Tails hovered down towards her and the mysterious door. "So what do you think is behind this door?" Garnet asked quietly. "I have a hunch, and if it's correct, this maybe the only time magic can cleanup pollution," Speck whispered as Tails turned the doorknob. The four snuck inside and Tails quietly closed the door.
Sonic opened a door to electronical equipment and controls inside. "I guess this is electrical," he stated as he and the others walked in. "I told you to look at the map before you gave it to Cream," Knuckles groaned. "Quit complaining. We have to get Ralph's attention away from the others!" Amy stated. As the pair continued to argue, Sonic looked at a big red button with the label 'Off' under it. "This should do it," he said with a smile. After he pressed it, an alarm sounded as 3 cages fell down and trapped them. "What happened!?" Knuckles asked in shock. Amy noticed the button's label fell off revealing another label that said 'Psyche!' on it. Sonic noticed it and slapped his face in frustration. "I can't believe it was a trap!" he groaned. They heard laughter as Ralph entered the room and pressed a button that turned the alarm off.
Meanwhile, Cream and Jewelpets emerged from their hiding spot once the alarm stopped. "When Ralph ran right by us, I was afraid we were caught for a second," Ruby sighed as Cream looked at the map. "I bet Ralph installed the old 'Off Button' trap," Jasper guessed as he crossed his arms. "The 'Off Button' trap? No one would fall for that trick!" Ruby responded. Cream looked up with a scared face. "Maybe if the trick wasn't common on Mobius, she said with fear. "Ralph wasn't looking for us; he was heading to electrical!" The Jewelpets gasped in shock.
Past the secret door, Tails' group looked a little confused after the alarm just stopped. "I guess that's one way to get his attention," Tails guessed. Up ahead, they saw a shimmering glow as they entered the core room. In front of them was a device that not only held the core but also pumps goo out it. The core was a small but beautiful green gem in the shape of a 3-d diamond. Their eyes sparkled as they viewed the beautiful jewel. Speck shook off his amazement for he realized what this was. "My hunch was right!" he proclaimed. The others snapped out of their gazes as they looked at him in confusion.
"What we're staring at is the Goo Jewel, the source of all goo. This device is extracting the goo it creates and using it to power up this factory. And this device poisons the goo flow as well," Speck deduced but then looked confused. "But how did he get a hold of the Goo Jewel? The location of the Goo Springs, where it belongs, is kept top secret." Tails looked at the jewel and glared. "I bet Lilia helped in some way." Tails stated as he pulled out his tools. "Now let's disable this device and get the Goo Jewel out of here!" Opal and Speck nodded with determination as Garnet winced in disgust. "But what if it drips goo onto us?" she asked in disgust. "It's worth it to save our new friends!" Opal answered as Speck smiled.
Meanwhile, Cream and the Jewelpets sneak over to the door to electrical. They hear Ralph talking on the other side, which prompts Cream to put a finger to her lips and silently shush them. She stealthfully opens the door a little to see Ralph talking to her captured friends. "Listen! This factory is destroying the marshlands where peaceful creatures live!" Sonic yells angrily. "Peaceful creatures that you either enslaved or mutated!" Amy adds. "And this land is sacred to Jewel Land!" Knuckles also adds. "You think I care about something like goo? It's gross and ruins your shoes!" Ralph responds and spits. Cream tightens her hands into fists in anger.
"You're disgusting!" Cream yelled as she flung open the door. Ralph turned to notice her and gave out a laugh. "Well well, 'wook' who it is. It's a 'wittle' bunny and her 'wittle' Jewelpet 'patwol' 'hewe' to save the day," Ralph mockingly responded. Sonic smirked and shook his finger as he said, "You shoudn't've done that." Ralph turned towards him. "What can she do to stop me?" he sarcatically questioned. After he said that, Cream airkicked him in the back. "She can do that for starters," Sonic answered as Ralph fell to the floor. Ralph got up onto his knees and noticed the angry glares of the Jewelpets in front of him. He whimpered in fear. (Now he did it)
Outside the factory, Larimar looked down from the vent to see that the goo nearby is completely black. "Bad news, it appears that we can't get out from this way either!" she called out to the Slimes behind her. "Hey guys!" she heard Sploosh call out. She noticed several small wooden boats floating towards where the exit vent was. Each boat had a Slime moving them by a long rod. "We came to help the others get out safely!" Sploosh called out. "How?" Larimar asked. Splash answered her question in slime language. "Splash is right! We can talk later!" Sploosh called out. Larimar smiled as she turned towards the Slimes behind her. "Get ready to jump!" she ordered.
"Almost got it," Tails said as he along with Opal and Speck attempted to pull out the Goo Jewel. Even after removing some nuts and screws from it, the device still held a firm grip on its target. "This thing clings tighter than ticks!" Speck grunted. Opal's eyes looked at where Garnet was. As Garnet predicted the jewel was dripping goo around them, and she didn't want to get close. "Garnet! We need your help!" Opal begged. "But the goo..." Garnet responded. "Garnet! We have to do it to save the Slimes! They're our friends!" Tails shouted. Garnet's worried face changed to admiration. Not only is Tails smart and cute, he is kind and brave. A sudden adrenaline rush came over her as she ran over and jumped onto the other side of the jewel. "I'll push and you guys keep pulling!" Garnet said as she started to push the jewel, ignoring the goo getting on her fur.
After helping the big Slime get out, Larimar realized something and then called out to Sploosh. "That was the last one! Now get them away from here while I help my friends!" "Okay! Be careful!" Sploosh responded. He then gave the order in slime language and all the boat driving Slimes rowed away from the factory. Larimar looked down at her watch to see the light dim. "I used up too much magic by freeing them," she said to herself. "But if Speck is right, this is the only time magic will save the environment!" She then turned around and ran back into the vent.
Larimar wiggled the air gate and ran into electrical. She noticed that everything seemed to be fine here. With help from his partners, Knuckles bended the cages' bars and got out along with Amy and Sonic. Ruby wiped her paws together after she finished tying up the beaten up Ralph. "Looks like things are fine here now," Larimar stated as Cream picked her up. "What about the Slimes?" Cream asked. "Sploosh and other Slimes came by row boats to help them get out safely," Larimar answered. Charotte pulled out her Jewelpod and got in contact with Opal. "Good news, we got Ralph and the Slimes are safe!" she reported. "Great! We got the core free and we're now hurrying to return it to its proper place!" Opal responded. "Speck was right, the pollution is really contaiminated goo from the Goo Jewel," Tails added. "Great! Then we'll get out of here!" Charotte answered.
We now go to where Tails' group is. They had already removed the jewel and left the building. Speck led the way as they reached the dried up Goo Springs. They came to a stop to find the spring center. 10 pathways separated by petrified wood boards stood underneath what looked like a hanging alter at the center. "Let me put it in," Garnet requested. Tails gave her the jewel and picked her up as he hovered near the empty hole in the alter. Garnet placed the jewel back where it belonged.
The Goo Jewel gave off a bright shine that flowed throughout Gooey Marshlands. The light changed all of the Mutant Slimes back to their normal peaceful selves. The light reversed the black goo to normal. Finally, as the others left the factory, the light made the factory vanish into nothing. "NO! MY HARDWORK!" Ralph cried out in devastation as the group smiled. Back at the spring, goo of different colors flowed out each of the different paths. Speck held back tears of happiness as he looked at the spring now thriving with life. "We... did it..."was all he could say.
Later on, the group met up again just on the edge of the marshes. Sploosh, Splash, and their dad (A blue slime with a brown mustache) were with them. The local authorities came be a while ago and took Ralph away. "Now that Ralph's in jail and the goo is purified, our home can go back to being peaceful," Sploosh declared. "Yeah, but we still have a problem to deal with," Tails reminded. Yep! They got to find out who is 11. "Well, Ralph didn't know where 11 is," Knuckles said. Then he added with disgust, "Even if he did, he's certainly not going to talk..."
"If I recall, Lillia said something about an academy," Tails remembered. "If recall, there are 4 academies in Jewel Land: Wizard's Magic Academy, Crystal Regal Academy, Happiness Boarding School and--" Speck explained by was interrupted when Ruby shouted, "Sunshine Academy!" "The place where we met as students?" Granite commented. "The place where I made some personal bad choices?" Charotte added with embarassment. "No, she said Moonlight, of course she said Sunshine!" Knuckles yelled. "Whoa, chill out Knucklehead," Sonic said as he backed up a little. Knuckles sighed and hung his head. "Sorry, I just feel a little stressed out with everything that just happened," he apologized. "Well keep in mind that Pops here had it rougher than you!" Sploosh reminded as his family nodded. Knuckles gave an understanding smile. "So I guess we head to Sunshine Academy first?" he asked. "Sounds good to me. Allow me to get the door," Jasper responded as he pulled his key out.
"We gotta go home now. Mama's making wiggling pudding for dinner!" Sploosh announced. Speck walked over to him and gave him a hug. "Bye, buddy," the pup said sadly. "Hey, don't think of it as good bye," Sploosh said as he let go of Speck. "Think of it as see you soon! You'll be back to living in the town near the marshes in no time!" Speck gave a sad nod as he waved to the 3 waving Slimes as they sank back into the goo. Speck then turned around and climbed onto Tails' left shoulder. But they noticed his other shoulder was bare. "Hey, where's Garnet?" Opal asked. The group turned to hear the sound of sipping.
There they saw Garnet on all fours as she lapped up some of the goo. "Whatever happened to gross and gooey?" Sonic teased. Garnet got up and looked at them. "Even though the Goo Jewel was nice enough to clean off the it dripped on us," Garnet began and licked the goo off her nose, "it really is quite delicious and nutritious." Everyone else began to laugh, and Garnet joined in.
Into the far horizon, we faintly see a large building with a sun emblem on top. Sunshine Academy isn't too far from Gooey Marshlands.
Suddenly, the building explodes into a heavy explosion with a loud
BOOOOOOOM!!!!!
And now for a special message with Luna and Milky
Luna: Hi, I'm Luna!
Milky: And I'm Milky!
Luna: Remember how our friends kept saying how only one time magic will save the environment?
Milky: That pollution was magic, so magic cleaned it up. But real pollution is not magic.
Luna: Yep. We gotta work hard to clean up the environment. Make sure to wear gloves when cleaning up.
Milky: And don't forget to recycle and dispose of trash well!
Preview
Bean: So long, Sunshine Academy!
Ruby: What happened here!?!
Dolphin: That crazy duck, that's what!
Kanon: You wanted to help Jewel Land, but you let him do all this!?
Granite: Don't you dare blame Ruby for this!
Amy: Hold on! Granite is her what!?
Next time! Sonic Jewelpet! The Twins of the Destroyed Academy!
The place where Ruby went to school is gone!? Bean's gonna pay for this!
