| Queen of the Munce << Trial by Mino >> The Skull Sorcerer |
(Zane and Kai are shown walking inside the tunnels.)
Kai: Ugh, are we just going in circles?
Zane: I believe my internal gyroscopic positioning would alert me if that were the case.
Kai: Okay, good.
Zane: Unless the rock in this cave is ferrous or naturally magnetized.
Kai: Well, then what would happen?
Zane: Then we would be going in circles.
Kai: Oh great. Now you tell me? Wait a second. I've seen this rock before. We passed this rock an hour ago! Argh, I knew it! I just said -
Geckles: (singing) All Geckles hail, the savior of the cave. She was strong, she was tough, she was very very brave. The great warrior Gilly, the savior of the cave. Left us the blades, about which we gave. A great blade of ivory, stolen by greed. Soooo we won't give up until our blade is free.
Ginkle: The moss is particularly plumping juicy today. More moss milk for everyone!
Garpo: Putrid and rotten. Delicious.
Groko: There's so much today! We should have brought more buckets to - (He falls off his ladder.) Aah!
Kai: (The contents spill onto Kai. He gags at the taste.) It's in my mouth! It's in my mouth! Ugh, it's in my mouth! I wanna barf. I think - (He gags and throws up.)
Groko: Who are they?
Garpo: Outsiders! They must be in league with the Skull Sorcerer!
Ginkle: Hmm, I thought the Skull Sorcerer's servants were evil skeletons?
Groko: Right. Yes, that means...
Garpo: They must be skeletons!
Ginkle: For skeletons, they seem rather fleshy.
Zane: We are not working for the Skull Sorcerer. In fact, we've just orchestrated an escape from him and freed several other Geckles.
Groko: Ha! A likely story, fleshy skeleton.
Kai: We aren't skeletons! I mean, we have skeletons, of course. But - but there's so much more to us. Like veins, and organs, and stuff.
Zane: I have none of those things.
Garpo: Let us destroy them, so we don't have to listen to the lies of these flesh skeletons!
Ginkle: Wait, wait. We should be sure. Let's take them to Chancellor Gulch! He'll know what to do.
Kai: Yeah yeah yeah, good idea! Yeah, take us to your leader. He'll know.
Gulch: Proposition eight point eight point one struck seven A, forbidding the riding of giant snails on Tuesdays has passed. (Kai, Zane, and the three Geckles enter.) Ginkle, Garpo, Groko, aren't you supposed to be out milking moss?
Ginkle: Yes sir, we were, when we found these suspected skeletons in the Eastern Caves! They were lurking.
Gulch: Lurking? That does sound bad. What do the accused have to say?
Kai: Okay. First, we're Ninja, not skeletons! I'm Kai, and this is Zane.
Gulch: Can you prove it?
Kai: Just look at us! See any bones? No! Because we're not skeletons! And those black skeletons don't talk! Right? Hear my voice? Huh?
Gulch: Hmm, strong argument on both sides.
Kai: Both sides?
Gulch: There's only one way to settle this. A Trial-By-Mino! Haha! Who's your chancellor?
Kai: Mino? Like those animals we saw in the - aah! (The floor beneath them opens, and he and Zane fall.) What's the deal? You said we were gonna get a trial!
Gulch: Yes! A Trial-By-Mino. If the Mino crushes you quickly, you are guilty. If it crushes you slowly, you're innocent.
Kai: What?!
Gulch: Good luck!
Zane: Are those our only options? (A door opens and a Mino charges at them.)
Kai: Any ideas?
Zane: Let's see if the Mino likes Ice!
Kai: What? What happened to our powers? Ninja - ugh! (They do Spinjitzu, but are knocked off their feet.)
Zane: (He leaps over the Mino and scans it.) Kai! Her armor's made of Vengestone! That's why our powers are dampened.
Kai: Oh, great. This just gets better and better. Aah!
Gulch: They've survived longer than most! This is wonderful news! I hereby declare you not skeletons!
Kai: Great! Now get us out of here!
Gulch: That's not how it works! Do not make a mockery of Geckle civil code!
Zane: Hmm. (He charges at the Mino and leaps onto its armor.) Just one more moment and - (He takes off the armor and falls off. The Mino rolls over and licks Zane.) From my analysis, Minos are not naturally aggressive animals. I surmise that her armor was angering her.
Kai: So, we're friends now. And friends help friends, which also translates into not skeletons help not skeletons!
Gulch: Pleased as I am that the innocence of the accused has been proven by our flawless judicial system, we are left with a baffling question. If they are not flesh skeletons, who are they?
Gleck: Uh, chancellor, during the, um, trial, they appear to use elemental powers.
Gulch: Yes, I observed.
Gleck: Perhaps the rumors we heard about Elemental Masters visiting Shintaro were true. And if they are Elemental Masters, perhaps they know Gilly!
Zane: (He notices Gleck's necklace and scans it.) Fascinating. That Geckle appears to wear a necklace. Like the one Cole claims to have seen around the neck of the creature who was in his chambers.
Kai: That must be the Geckle that Cole saw!
Gulch: Do you know the one called Gilly?
Zane: No, we do not.
Kai: But we are Elemental Masters.
Zane: Our friends also possess elemental powers. We were separated and are trying to find them.
Gulch: There are more of you? Then we will try to help you in light of the dishonor we have brought upon ourselves with out suspicions. I propose you, red Ninja who is not a skeleton, be elected the new chancellor!
Kai: What? No no no, I-I don't want to be -
Gleck: I second!
Gulch: All in favor? (The Geckles throw rocks at Kai in support.)
Kai: Aah! What are they doing?
Gulch: Congratulations, red Ninja who is not a skeleton.
Kai: Okay, fine. My first motion as chancellor, is for everyone to stop throwing stuff at me! Got it?
Gulch: All in favor?
Geckles: Aye! (They throw more rocks at Kai.)
Kai: What? Ugh, no! I just said no more throwing!
Zane: It would appear Geckles express their approval by throwing objects at each other.
Groko: What is your next order of business, chancellor red Ninja who is not a skeleton?
Zane: Perhaps the Geckles could tell us something about the origin of the Skull Sorcerer? Something that might help us defeat him?
Kai: Okay, sure. What do you guys know about the Skull Sorcerer? (The Geckles murmur among themselves.)
Ginkle: The story cave!
Garpo: Take them to the story cave!
Gulch: Welcome to the story cave. It is here where the history of the Geckle people is kept.
Zane: There appears to be no logical narrative here.
Gulch: This is the dawn of our people. And then our first decades are down here on this side. Then it jumps over here to our dark ages. Then here, the arrival of the great hero, Gilly. Here, Gilly saves us from the terrible beast, Grief-Bringer, and gives us the Blades of Deliverance. And here the treacherous Munce are stealing our blade, and -
Kai: Uh, we heard this part. And what about the Skull Sorcerer? Where did he come from?
Gulch: Ah, it began with the three explorers. Three adventurers who ventured deep into the mountain, into the old tunnels where all Geckles are forbidden to go. They awoke an ancient evil, an evil from the old world. The Skull Sorcerer, and his evil reawakened. Many Geckles, and even some filthy, traitorous Munce were captured and put to work in the mines. Some of you escaped, but the reawakened roam the caves, hunting us down, hoping to capture us for the Skull Sorcerer. Where once we lived openly, now we must hide, and pray the Skull Sorcerer does not find us.
Zane: Geckles and Munce have a common enemy. If we could convince them to put aside their differences, they might be able to defeat the Skull Sorcerer together.
Kai: I don't have to convince them, Zane. I'm the chancellor now, remember? Okay. Listen up, Geckles. Get ready for the pebbles. Ahem. The Skull Sorcerer is the problem here, and we're not gonna beat him unless we all team up. So my second act as chancellor will be to unite the tribe with the Munce, and forge one great army to liberate these caves from the Skull Sorcerer once and for all!
Gulch: (laughs) New chancellor jokes! Oh, such a sense of humor! Is it not amusing? (The Geckles all laugh.)
Zane: I'm beginning to think this will not be so simple.
Kai: Yeah. We'll need a different approach. (Zane throws a pebble at Kai.)
(End of the episode. For more information, click here.)
