[movie detective] That may look like an air-tight alibi,
but it can't explain how this peacock feather
ended up in your car.
Now can it?
[snooty movie man] It just couldn't be me.
I was at the opera.
What? Where is it?
Oh, man.
Where could it be?
[movie detective]Sorry, Sport, the gags played out, see.
Your wife spilled the beans.
She sang like a canary. She pulled the ripcord.
[Mateo] Oh, come on. It's gotta be here.
[movie detective] I've known it was you all along.
Hey, I was watching that.
Have you seen my comic book?
Which one?
My comic. Mine.
The new one I finished like a week ago.
Oh, that comic.
Well, how would I know where it is?
[Izzie] You always keep them locked up
so no one can see them.
Z? Give me that.
You know, you've really gotta get over
this fear of people reading your comics.
It's a real drag.
I'm not afraid.
As a matter of fact, I was gonna let Cooper
read this new issue before school.
Oh yeah? Besides me and Cooper,
who else have you let see them?
Uh, does Z Blob count?
No. No, he doesn't.
Sharing one's work is the essence
of the scientific method, so others can test it,
build on it.
[Mr. Oz] Why, if the amateur fossil hunter Mary Anning
hadn't shared her passion for paleontology with the world,
Charles Darwin couldn't have used it
to inspire his own theories about evolution.
[school bell ringing]
Now before you go,
Ms. Putnam asked me to remind you
that all submissions for the Fall Festival theme
are due to her no later than tomorrow.
Okay? Alright, now get out of here.
Hey Coop, are you finished with my comic?
Can I get it back now?
Sure, I got it right, uh...
Oh.
What? You still have it, don't you?
Sure. It's in my locker.
I like the other flyer better.
Picture was cooler.
This club isn't about being cool.
It's about uncovering a vast global conspiracy.
Plus, I ran out of printer ink.
Come on, I gotta get to class.
Can I just have the comic back?
[objects rustling]
Well... [chuckles]
I-I... I would give it to you,
just one problem.
I don't have it.
What? [gasps]
That... that was the original.
[Mateo] You know I don't make copies.
I'm so sorry.
I... I don't know what happened.
I... I put it in my backpack right after
you gave it to me this morning.
It should be here.
Oh, this is bad.
This is bad. This is ba...
Oh! So perfect! [gasps]
I know just what to do.
Meet me in the library in five minutes.
[theme music]
[Nova] Excuse me, I have a book on hold.
Dreams and Other Conspiracies by Dr. Panderson.
Just let me get this straight, you want me to miss
Tater Tot Tuesday, because Mateo lost
one of his comic books?
Yeah.
Well, uh, I guess I kinda lost it.
And we're here because you think someone re-shelved it?
I'll tell you why we're here, Slick.
'Cause every good detective knows the first step
to solving a case is rounding up the usual suspects.
Izzie?
Would you stop playing around?
I asked you for help, not... whatever this is.
Quiet, Toots.
We're gonna do this my way, see.
'Cause my way gets results.
It gets down to brass tacks.
It gets down to the real nitty gritty.
Wait, are you doing like a mystery thing?
Man, my moms watch all those detective shows.
The CSI's, the FBI's, the L and O's,
anything with all those alphabety things.
Letters?
So, you know, if you need a street-smart renegade cop
who plays by his own rules, I'm game.
Sorry, Poindexter, Gumshoe Izzie works alone.
Like a lone coyote prowling the streets at night.
Knocking over the trash cans of truth.
She's got no time for a sidekick.
Sidekick? Who you callin' a sidekick?
If anything, I'm like a... a...
a front kick.
There's, uh, no such thing as a front kick.
Oh, yeah? What about this?
Hi-yah!
[groans, grunts]
It's so slippery here.
-[Mateo] Who cares? -[shushes]
We need to figure this out.
I'll die if anyone sees my comic.
-What comic? -Oh! Zoey?
What are you doing here?
[whispering] What is she doing here?
She's the last person I want seeing my work.
Because, like I told you, I leave no stone unturned.
Like a lone squirrel, digging up the dark acorns
this lousy town's too scared to see.
[Logan] Hey Zoey, check it.
Settle something for me.
If there's a sidekick, doesn't that mean
that there'd be such a thing, ergo, as a front kick? Huh?
[Zoey] You're an idiot.
[suspenseful music]
Oh, this is so boring.
How long do we have to do this?
Until you have learned these pesky children's next move.
You heard the boss.
[grunts, yelps]
Hey, wait.
Why don't we just invade the Waking World
with an army of these things?
Hats?
Without that green blob, mere spying
is the limit of my power in the Waking World.
But you're going to fix that for me, aren't you?
That's right, boss.
And when your army of evil hats destroys them all,
I'll be your new right hand Grimspawn.
-Why you? -Hey, I did the hat thing.
[Snivel] No, it should be me.
[Sneak grumbles] Give me that!
Oh, you're gonna get all the credit?
I don't think so.
Move over. Let me have a shot at that thing.
Show you how it's done.
[grunting]
[Susan snickers]
[Sneak] Ah! You brat.
[Susan] Give it back!
[cheeky music]
Now, the first thing we need to do
is account for the exact movements
of every single one of you over the past 24 hours.
Starting with you, Zoey.
Care to explain why you were suspiciously absent
from your morning math class?
Or do you want to make things easy and just confess?
Okay, I confess.
I knew it.
I confess I wasn't at school this morning
because I slept in.
I was in Dream World late last night
because something broke into my cave.
Aha! Our first crack in the case.
Tell us everything that happened.
[Zoey] Well, I came back and the place was totally trashed.
Like somebody was looking for something.
[tense music]
So I searched the whole cave and found...
A bone?
Yup. A huge bone.
Like I said, it didn't make any sense.
Then I spent the rest of the night cleaning up,
so I was late for
Mrs. Castillo's grocery delivery,
which is why I missed my first class.
A huge bone?
Wow, dreams can be so random, right?
Anywho, thanks for the help, Zoey.
Why don't you just get back to your day and...
Was anything missing?
No. That's what's weird.
I mean, I've had Dreamers break in
to steal my awesome loot before.
That's why I have so many booby traps.
But usually they actually take something.
The plot thickens.
[tense mysterious music]
Huh?
[Sneak grunting] It's mine.
[Snivel yelping]
[Snivel] Ow! My legs!
[Susan] Move!
Stop moving around.
I just found them.
Just remember, when the boss promotes us for this,
it was all my idea.
It was? I thought it was Susan's idea.
Oh yeah? You wanna knock on the head
to jog your memory?
[Susan] Zip it. Zip it. Zip it.
Gotcha!
Uh, sorry.
Thought I saw a spider. [chuckles awkwardly]
[gasps]
Look, Iz, none of this has anything to do with the comic.
-Comic? -It didn't go missing
until this morning.
I'm the one asking the questions here, chum.
[Izzie] So why don't you just walk us through
exactly what you were doing last night.
Right up until the time you lost the comic.
Last night. Uh...
[Cooper] I was at the Landing.
Working on dreamcrafting some new stuff.
When Teo called me on the Dreamy Screamy.
He had an emergency.
What kind of emergency?
Uh...
-[screaming] -[zapping]
[grunting]
[Cooper] A pretty heroic and awesome emergency.
Yeah, so like he said,
pretty standard dream chaser stuff.
So, who's going next?
Okay, I gotta get going.
Have fun with... whatever this is.
Oh, you know, Zoey, there's just one more thing.
That delivery you made to Ms. Castillo's this morning.
You didn't happen to deliver any ghost peppers, did you?
Ghost peppers?
Well, yeah.
Actually I did.
How did you know that?
Oh, well we'll get to that.
But first, I've got an alibi to poke some holes in.
You see, Cooper did get an emergency call
from my brother last night.
[Izzie]But it wasn't because of an attack.
And it wasn't at Pillows Peak.
It was at Zoey's cave.
[Zoey] Wait, what?
You two were in my cave?
Uh... [chuckles nervously]
-Well... -That... that's crazy.
Why in the world would you think that?
I won't tell you.
-Logan will. -[gasps]
Uh, I... I will?
You see,
there's no way Pillows Peak was under attack last night,
because Logan and I were there.
You were?
What were you doing?
Oh, man.
Do I have to tell them?
[upbeat music]
[grunting to the beat]
[hums to beat] Oh, yeah!
What? I have a life outside of sports, you know.
Yeah, but K-pop dance moves?
So it was you two that destroyed my cave.
That stuff wasn't even mine.
I was fixing it for Mrs. Castillo.
I'm so sorry. It was a total accident.
We didn't mean anything. We were just...
You know what? I don't want to hear it.
You made me late for class, you wrecked my cave,
so you can just spare me the lame excuses.
[chuckles] Ooh, she's mad.
Man, what in the world were you guys thinking,
breaking into her place?
We weren't breaking in.
We were... were... [groans]
I don't know why we're talking about this
when it has nothing to do with the missing comic.
[Izzie] Oh, but it does.
Because it all adds up to Zoey's late morning delivery
of those ghost peppers.
It was a quiet morning on the block.
Little did my client know,
it would be the last time he would see his precious comic.
Well? What do you think?
It's great, Mateo.
Better than the last one.
Uh, can I please read it again at school?
-I don't know. -Come on.
I'll give it back to you at lunch, I promise.
Give what back?
[Izzie] Enter the wild card.
Zoey's late delivery and a quick stage exit
on that purloined paperback.
Uh, nothing.
Just something that Cooper's gonna read later
and not right now.
Isn't that right?
Ah, mija. There you are.
Do you have my peppers?
Yeah, Mrs. Castillo.
Sorry I'm late. I had a rough night.
I'd stay to help you unpack,
but I got one more delivery before school starts.
Oh my, you'd better hurry then.
It's almost eight.
Oh, shoot. She's right.
We gotta go.
[Izzie] And that's the moment you all missed.
[cheeky music]
[sniffs]
Smell that?
Ghost peppers.
Which means your backpack and that bag of peppers
were right next to each other
the last time anyone saw that comic.
[gasps] So that means the comic...
Is at Pillows Peak. Boom!
No, you turkey.
It's on Mrs. Castillo's truck.
Come on, brother. Let's roll.
[sneaky music]
[school bell ringing]
Gotcha!
[grunting]
No, you don't.
You're not getting away from me again.
[chuckles] Oh, no.
I'm not letting you go.
You're the one thing I've been looking for.
Definitive proof that there really is
something strange going on at this school.
Was this part of your plan?
-[laughs] -[thunder clapping]
The scene of the crime.
[Mateo] Mrs. Castillo.
Do you still have that bag of ghost peppers
Zoey dropped off?
Uh, no. I chopped those up this morning.
And you didn't find anything else in the bag?
No, I don't think so.
[suspenseful music]
There! My comic!
You do have it.
Oh, is that yours?
I've been reading that all morning.
[gasps] You have?
And you don't think it's lame or anything?
Why would I think that?
I don't know.
I always kind of worry.
It doesn't really look like all the other comics.
The professional ones, I mean.
You know why people like my ropa vieja?
Hm? It's not because it tastes like
all the other taquerias in town.
No, they like it because it's a little different.
Because it's one of a kind.
Just like this is.
[uplifting music]
Well, that wraps that up.
There's just one thing I can't figure out though.
Why were you two in Zoey's cave in the first place?
[chuckles] Well,
that's kind of a funny story.
Cooper didn't really have anything to do with it.
I called him over there because, well...
I had a little situation.
[suspenseful music]
Teo! I'm right outside the cave.
[Cooper] Where are you?
[Mateo] Coop! Back here.
What's the emergency?
-[clattering] -[Mateo] We're in here.
[tense music]
[gasps] Teo?
[groans]
What the heck are you doing in here?
Down there.
[Mateo] Careful! This place has booby traps everywhere.
A bone?
Y... you brought Zoey a bone?
No. That was in case Zion was here.
To keep him quiet.
I brought Zoey that.
[suspenseful music]
[Mateo] I was gonna leave that note
to ask Zoey to the Fall Festival and well...
we might have tripped a booby trap.
Or two. Or a whole bunch actually.
I've made a real mess of this place.
-[zapping] -[grunts]
[sighs]
Really? You went to all this trouble,
and now you're not even gonna leave the note?
It's just... the timing's off.
No. It's not.
You're just chicken.
It's just like you and your comics.
How you won't show them to anyone but Izzie and me.
I'm not chicken.
I just...
What if...
What if she says "no"?
What if people hate my comics?
But what if they don't?
I can't.
I can't let Zoey know I was ever here.
[alarm blaring]
-Oh boy. -Uh-oh.
Don't ever bring me back to a cave again, Mateo.
[Mateo and Cooper screaming]
Yikes.
Promise you won't tell Zoey.
A good gumshoe knows when to keep his lips zipped.
Though I gotta say, big brother,
you'd get in a lot fewer messes like this
if you weren't so scared of putting your work out there.
Yeah, I guess.
Hey, Mrs. Castillo.
You really think my comic is good?
Of course, mijo.
The only thing I ever lie about is whether the hot sauce
is safe for beginners.
[chuckles]
Do me a favor, will you?
Next time Zoey comes by for a delivery,
see if she wants to read it.
You should show her yourself.
I don't think I can.
You can't hide in your shell forever.
Something Senor Tortuga likes to say to me.
And so, with the elusive comic returned,
and our reticent writer emerging from his shell,
this grizzled gumshoe can finally call this case closed.
[Nova] Behold!
Hey, that's my hat!
The moment of redemption is here.
For at last, I have proof that there are dark,
mysterious forces afoot in this school.
A force that threatens to control not just our dreams
but even our headwear.
What is she on about?
Nova's acting weird again.
Prepare to have your minds... blown.
Ha!
Uh, what?
[grunts] Come on. Jump. Walk.
D... do whatever you were doing.
[Nova] Uh, I... I promise.
This hat was sentient.
It... it was alive.
Oh, come on you stupid thing, move!
[dark ominous tune]
See, they probably didn't notice a thing.
[nervous chuckle] This is all your fault.
I don't understand why it's not moving all of a sudden.
[Logan] If you're done, I'll take that back now.
-Thank you. -No. No, no, no, no.
I know you're all up to something.
What are you hiding?
No! Stop!
[breathing heavily]
Aha! Explain this then, Mateo.
Explain this!
Well, I... uh, it's... uh...
It's... a little dark.
At least as far as ideas for the Fall Festival go.
Fall Festival?
Yes. Isn't that what this is?
A submission for the Fall Fair theme?
That's exactly what it is, Ms. Putnam. Yes.
Alrighty, uh, then I'll go post these outside my classroom
with the other themes so we can see
what your fellow students think of it.
Wait. The whole school's gonna see those?
[school bell ringing]
[Mateo] Uh, Ms. Putnam...
Ms. Putnam, I... I'm not sure
those are ready for everyone to see.
They're rough drafts really.
Practically unfinished.
[ominous music]
[Nightmare King] So, they want a nightmare theme
for their Fall Festival, do they?
I think we might just be able to make that happen.
And give them a party
the Waking World will never forget.
[maniacal laughter]
[closing theme music]