Floofy's BIG Idea!!

Floofy was enjoying a nice day at the cottage when she heard a sudden knock at her door.

"Coming!" Called Floofy.

When Floofy answered the door, she was surprised that she saw Popcorn! Usually Popcorn, a detective, would be out of town, solving mysteries, but today, it seemed as if he had no mysteries at all to solve, just one big problem he brought with him to her door!

"What's wrong?" Floofy asked, clearly concerned.

"The gem of the sea . . . it's gone!" Replied Popcorn.

"HOW?" Shouted Floofy, surprised. The gem of the sea was the most protected artifact in all of the land! It was guarded by squelchy seaweed, ninja seaweed, and diamond seaweed! First of all, squelchy seaweed—it can clamp onto you and never let go! Second, ninja seaweed—it can fight you, even though it's seaweed. Last but not least, diamond seaweed covers the gem—it is impossible to slice through, though there is only one known way to get through—to persuade it to let them get the gem.

"The thief must have been a really talented creature, or else how would they have got it?" Popcorn questioned.

"Yeah, but who is it? I don't know anyone who's THAT talented," murmured Floofy. Only one creature was as powerful as that, the legendary team of sea urchins! But the sea urchins—good creatures, all of them—were undercover to PROTECT the gem, so Floofy didn't have any reason to think they would be culprits. One possibility, though, remained—someone took their magical sphere, one that gave them all their talents, so someone must have taken it. Floofy explained her idea to Popcorn, who agreed that it just couldn't be the sea urchins, as they were bodyguards for the ruler of the land, Queen Octopus of the Sea, to whom they have sworn their loyalty. If you betrayed her, you would spend the rest of your life in the aquarium, the worst jail ever! This was because each day people would come look at you, and throw trash and spit into your tiny dirty water cage—definitely uncomfortable! You might also be in the same tank with creatures you don't like! Someone must have been wanting to go to the aquarium, or else they wouldn't have stolen the sea urchin's pearl.

"We should go tell Queen Octopus, though she might already know," suggested Popcorn.

"Yeah, but we should still ask if we can help, right?" Floofy wondered.

"You're correct, so let's GO!!" Popcorn exclaimed, jumping up and down (This was Popcorn's famous move).

They ventured to the Queen's Palace, which was protected by hundreds of THOUSANDS of guards. Luckily, they had an invitation from the Queen herself, so the guards parted their ranks to let them in. A sound of trumpets greeted them, Queen Octopus appearing suddenly.

"Well, hello," the Queen greeted them. "Are you Floofy and Popcorn?"

"Yes, we are, your majesty!" Popcorn replied.

"You may come with me, and we'll talk privately," Queen Octopus said, sounding very royal-like. Floofy and Popcorn, exchanging a glance, followed her. The room they were in was filled with gems, but noticeably no diamonds. The room they were going in was through the door at the other side of the room. When they stepped inside, they were amazed by what they saw—a giant throne, made of diamonds. This splendid opulence explained why the other room didn't have any, as they were used for the throne! Just then, Floofy realized something, that the room was full of servants and security guards.

"Umm… Your Majesty, is this what you call private?" Floofy asked, nervous of all the eyes.

"Of course not! There's a secret room down there, one that no one can enter, except the queen and people who have her permission," observed Queen Octopus, nodding her head towards a crack in the floor that Floofy and Popcorn hadn't noticed. She took out a key and unlocked the room, a bare room, it seemed, but, in fact, it was a hologram—the people who ever dared to open it could never get inside. When Queen Octopus hopped inside, she disappeared! As Floofy jumped in next, she felt a falling sensation in her stomach, but after a second, it was over, and she had landed in a pile of seaweed. She recognized this seaweed: it was wool seaweed, meaning that it was really soft, like wool. Popcorn came down next, almost squashing Floofy. As they looked around, they realized that this place WAS private and that it was filled with flowers—flowers that, somehow, seemed to sparkle!

"These flowers have hidden gems in them, so thieves can't find them," Queen Octopus explained. It made sense because the shining flowers were glittering as brightly as the throne room they were just in!! Floofy and Popcorn both gaped in awe, as the shine of the flowers filled the whole room. Suddenly, they heard someone say "hiya!" Floofy turned around, saw no one, but something jumped on her head! She yelped in surprise, and the Queen commanded the creature on her head to get off. When it jumped down, Floofy and Popcorn saw that it was… the sea urchins?! Popcorn wasn't surprised because he knew they were the Queen's bodyguards, but Floofy sure was!

"Hi guys." The sea urchins greeted them sadly. "We're pretty sure you already know that our pearl has been stolen…"

"So it HAS been stolen!" Floofy exclaimed, "but how are we going to get it back? The person who stole it must already be pretty strong, so…"

"I know!" Popcorn piped up. "Let's find out WHO stole it first and then worry about getting the pearls back." That was a great idea, thought Floofy, but how would they find the creature—that was the question. They thought about it and thought more about and then thought even more about it some more.

Suddenly, the Queen had an idea! She was going to summon all her guards and send search parties for the pearl. She told Floofy and Popcorn, and they agreed, but the guards had to be very sneaky, so they started making clothes to blend in with the colors of the ocean, so they could secretly swim around nearly invisibly. The clothes ready, all of the guards were dressed in their disguises, ready and determined to find the pearl. Floofy and Popcorn were also going as they just couldn't miss out on an adventure! They set out, headed for the coast, and entered the water, their eyes searching everywhere for a glimpse of the pearl. They didn't make good progress, but at least they were exercising! They kept walking for hours and hours along the ocean floor until… WHAM! They heard something break behind a rock!

"The pearl stealer must be near here!" Popcorn exclaimed. "No one could have had that much force!"

Everybody looked around cautiously but saw no one. Floofy told everyone to keep going and not to let their guard down. A movement of white flashed in front of Popcorn. He shouted at everyone to follow it. Floofy saw it, too, as it was jumping everywhere, trying to get away. Floofy eventually managed to catch the creature to see who or what it was. Surprisingly, it was an animal that she had never seen before! A flying fish, with silver scales that were actually as shiny as silver!

"Who are you?" Floofy demanded in a fake low voice, trying her best to sound scary.

"None of your business," the flying fish replied in a flurry of tiny bubbles, looking away.

"Actually, it IS my business," Floofy exclaimed to him, "and WHY did you steal the pearl?" To her surprise, he told her the whole story. His name was Silver, obviously, and he was on a mission to help the aquarium seal, his friend, who had been imprisoned in the aquarium for years! Nobody knew how she got there, but rumors say that she bit a human's leg for trying to feed her fish, and then she got sent to the horrendous place. "I need this pearl to help her get out!" Silver explained. "She was my best friend, and I can't not help her!"

"Ok, we'll help you on one condition," Popcorn bargained, "that you give back the urchin's pearl, and the gem!"

"But how are we supposed to get her out without the pearl?" Silver asked. That was quite the question, and nobody knew how, but Silver still gave back the Gem. Popcorn suggested they go to the aquarium and help her, but that was too risky, as they might get caught! Floofy asked what aquarium it was, and Silver said that it was the Pearl Aquarium, the most guarded aquarium in the world. If it was the most heavily guarded aquarium in the world, how would they save Seal? They could just sneak in at night, but how? How was the biggest question ever, and Floofy hated it when someone asked HOW? This time, it was Floofy asking how, as she just didn't know how to save Seal! Then, she had an idea.

"Silver, do you know which room Seal is in?" She asked.

"Sadly, I don't, but I know she's in a room near the entrance!" Explained Silver. This was perfect, as they could sneak in and quickly get out as Seal's room was close to the entrance. Floofy told everyone her idea, but somebody just HAD to ask again the dreadful word, "how?" Floofy didn't know—that's why she hated the word so much because, when somebody asked it, she didn't KNOW how! Silver murmured suddenly something about a lazy guard always being there, and everybody turned towards him.

"What did you say?" Asked Floofy, "a lazy guard?"

"Yeah, that's what I said—there's always a lazy guard there; he does nothing but sleep!" Silver told her. This gave Floofy a BIG idea!!

"Hey guys, since this guard is lazy, his reflexes probably won't be good, so we'll be able to sneak in without him catching us!" Floofy exclaimed, jumping up and down, "Silver, do you know if there are any more guards?"

"So far, no." Silver replied. Oh, this was going to be EASY.

To Be Continued...

Will Floofy's BIG idea work? Can they rescue Seal from the Pearl Aquarium?