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Tartaruga is the twenty-sixth and last episode of Season 1, and the twenty-sixth episode overall. The episode is loosely based off of The Vanishing Island story arc.
Synopsis[]
"The Nektons explore a floating island and find the final piece of the Ephemychron in a cave. But the island is moving! What is its secret?"
Plot[]
The Aronnax receives a distress call from the tiny resort island of Tartaruga which is about to be hit by a tsunami and there's no time for the Nektons to get there. The people on the island brace for impact only for the tsunami to seemingly vanish as if it had gone right through them. The Governor of Tartaruga reports the event to the Nektons who decide to investigate.
Nereus discusses the event with Tethys, and Glaucus. Nereus reminds them that the Chronicle of the Deep says that the third and final piece of Ephemychron is located on "moving island" and believes Tartaruga is that place. Tethys reminds Nereus that Proteus (who has the other two pieces) also has this knowledge and will be drawn to the island. If Proteus makes the Ephemychron whole then he can find Lemuria and control something only referred to as the "Terror"!
The Nektons reach Tartaruga only to discover it's not where it's supposed to be. As they search for it, Nereus arrives to help them and spots the island miles from where should be. The Nektons and Nereus take the Solar Skis to the island to meet with the Governor, as they travel they spot a large sea cave which Will finds odd given that there is no record of Tartaruga having a large sea cave. They meet with the Governor who is just as confused as they are upon learning of the Nektons discoveries. They take the Governor with them to the sea cave to explore. Inside they find markings belonging to the Acadian Empire dating back around 4000 years, but Kaiko notes that it shouldn't be possible given Tartaruga's position thousands of miles away from the Mediterranean where the Empire resided, leading Nereus to deduce that the island came to them? Given that the island has moved recently, Will believes that it might be floating. Kaiko and the Governor leave to warn the resort that the island may be unstable while Will and Nereus return to the Aronnax to get the Rover, while Ant and Fontaine (plus Jeffrey in the Jorange) continue exploring the cave. As they explore they find equipment belonging to someone else already in the cave which turns out to be Proteus!
Protues confronts them believing them to also be looking for the last Ephemychron piece but (though Ant and Fontaine of no knowledge of that). Suddenly the whole island starts to shake and begins sinking. The shaking causes part of the ledge where Fontaine is standing to break and she falls into the water below. Ant dives in after her while Proteus continues deeper into the cave. In the Rover, Will and Nereus discover that the island is floating after all but also realize its sinking. On the surface Kaiko tells the Governor to evacuate the island but finds the entrance to the cave has sunk trapping the kids inside. She joins Will and Nereus in the Rover to get them. With Jeffery's help, Ant finds an unconscious Fontaine and saves her from drowning. After waking her up both notice the rising water level and are notified of the situation by Kaiko. Immediately after, Ant and Fontaine spot a massive wave heading at them from deeper inside the cave forcing them to climb a wall to avoid being swept away. As the wave passes them, Ant spots something massive in the water. The Rover reaches the entrance but Ant warns them of the object heading towards them. At that moment a massive head emerges from the entrance, revealing that Tartaruga is in fact a giant sea turtle!
As the Turtle dives, the cave rapidly floods threatening to drown Ant and Fontaine but Jeffery leads them underwater to an adjacent cave. Inside they find Proteus who has found the last Ephemychron piece but is unable to assemble it. When he realizes Ant and Fontaine are with him he tries to force Ant to assemble it believing only Ant can do it based Nereus's claim that he is "the one". Ant takes the pieces and flees with Fontaine into the nearby water just as the Rover emerges from it. Outnumered Proteus flees as the cave starts to collapse. Ant also takes the pot that contained the Ephemychron piece and fills it with water to retrieve Jeffery. The Rover escapes and once outside Ant and Fontaine learn that they have been spelunking inside a giant turtle.
While Ant celebrates, Fontaine notices the Nekton family symbol on the pot. Confused as to why their family crest is on an antient artifact, Nereus decides to tell them something important now that they have the Ephemychron. Nereus explains that the reason why every generation of Nekton has explored the ocean and searched so hard to find Lemuria, is because the Nektons are descendants of Lemurians and by searching for Lemuria they've also been searching for home. As Ant examines the Ephemychron pieces he puts one piece in the water inside the pot and it starts glowing, realizing the "sea is the key" and puts the other two pieces inside and is able to successfully assemble the Ephemychron which activates and shows holographic Lemurian symbols all around them. With the key to finding Lemuria now in their possession, the Nektons return to the Aronnax and set sail for their next discovery.
Characters[]
Differences between the episode and the story arc[]
Like the pilot episode, the episode is also loosely based on a story from another comic story arc, The Vanishing Island. Some of these differences include the following:
- In the comic book story arc, Ant introduces the Jorgange, however, this was not mentioned as he introduced it in an earlier episode.
Trivia[]
- The music score in the episode was nominated for an APRA Music Award in 2017 for Best Music for Children's Television.