View source for Deuce & Frankie Investigate the Earworm Prank!

{{EpisodeNavigation}}
{{Infobox Webisode
|name=
|image=MBH Ep4.jpg
|date=Friday, November 17, 2023
|link={{YTLink|1 = watch?v=12ASfP3PRxQ|2 = Monster High}}
|previous=[[Toralei & Draculaura Fight a Giant Earworm!]]
|next=[[Cleo Keeps a Secret From Frankie & Lagoona!]]
|volume=[[Monster Ball Homecoming|3]]
|episode=4
|overall=20
}}
'''{{ROOTPAGENAME}}''' is the fourth episode of the ''[[Monster Ball Homecoming]]'' webseries. It is the twentieth [[YouTube]] episode of the third generation overall. It premiered on November 17, 2023.

==Description==
Volume 3, Episode 4: [[Frankie Stein (G3)/cartoon|Frankie]] and [[Deuce Gorgon (G3)/cartoon|Deuce]] are still at the [[Monster Ball]] dance and try to keep things under control while [[Clawdeen Wolf (G3)/cartoon|Clawdeen]] and [[Toralei Stripe (G3)|Toralei]] find the [[Formal Phantom]]! When [[Lagoona Blue (G3)|Lagoona]] tries to help, another suspect is revealed and causes things to heat up. The evil entity strikes again and leaves a cryptic message. Can the rest of the Boo Crew solve the riddle, or will the portal take another helpless soul?

==Summary==
Following the events of [[Clawdeen & Draculaura Find an Unlikely Suspect!|episode 2]] when everyone split up, Frankie and Deuce return to the Monster Ball celebrations, where Finngean's still temporarily in charge of the music by playing his guitar onstage. As Frankie suggests they should take this chance to look for clues, the snakes on Deuce's head pester him to make more snacks. When he heads to the kitchen, Frankie reminds him not to mention Dracula's disappearance, to which Deuce is severely irriated by and briefly lashes out. 

Frankie uses their magnifying glass to search for clues throughout the dancefloor, only to be scared by the greetings of Lagoona, who shows off her piranha-like teeth. Frankie makes excuses for where the rest of Boo Crew is and asks Lagoona to help them find out who's responsible for the earworm prank; Lagoona questions whether her possessions - in this case, her plushie piranha Señor Squeaky and her Algae Snacks chips - are clues, to which Frankie denies, but eats the Algae Snacks. Lagoona finds a glowing pyramid-shaped item hiding behind a curtain, which Frankie believes is Cleo's, who is supposedly getting backup DJ equipment, but Lagoona states she never saw her getting a first set of equipment. Suspicious, Frankie decides to go look for Cleo, while Lagoona searches for more clues. 

Frankie walks through the empty school hallways, calling out for Cleo. Deuce approaches them and apologizes for snapping earlier, as he was merely upset at his snacks being ruined. Frankie deduces that whoever ruined his snacks was also behind the earworm prank, and asks him whether he was earwormed too, only for another portal to erupt behind him. The duo try to make a run for it, but the clouds from the portal reach out and capture Deuce, dragging him into the portal and causing his glasses to fall off; he keeps his eyes shut as he pleads for help. Frankie tries to use their lightning powers to try and save Deuce, but he is eventually abducted and the portal closes. They comment that this could be a problem.

Frankie returns the dance when [[Abbey You're So Cool!|the same song all about Abbey]] begins playing through the Bootooth speakers again, confusing everyone. Lagoona approaches Frankie, presenting an [[ICoffin (item)|iCoffin]] she found in one of the Howl of Fame trophies that controls Frankie's speakers and thus playing the song; she continuously demonstrates this, irritating the party guests, and she nervously apologizes. Frankie recognizes the iCoffin, and Heath arrives to confess that it is in fact his. He explains what he knows: half an hour before the dance began, Heath finished making a song all about his love for Abbey to play at the dance when a stage light almost fell straight onto him; he managed to jump out of harm's way, but when he got up, his iCoffin was gone. He did not tell anyone because he was late to the dance and thought Frankie found his phone when the song played. Lagoona is still suspicious of Heath.

Frankie attempts to override the Bootooth connection with their computer, but the password isn't working. They look inside the DJ booth's wire storage to find another way, and plug in a pink cable into their computer that conveniently has a note saying "Try This" attached to it. When they do, the computer becomes infected with a virus, and they're greeted by a pre-recording of the Formal Phantom, whose symbol appears on the screen. They give the trio thirty seconds to solve their riddle; answering incorrectly will begin the next prank. The riddle is: ''"Feed me and I grow. If I drink water, I will die. What am I?"'' and the hint is that the solution is among them. The answer is fire, but they all struggle to figure it out in time and fail when Frankie answers that it's Heath. The fog machines grow ominous faces as they spin around rapidly and emit fog all across the ballroom. Frankie decides to take matters in their own "hand" - they turn to the DJ wires again and put on a scissor hand prosthetic.

==Characters==
{{Characterlist
|[[Frankie Stein (G3)|Frankie Stein]]
|[[Deuce Gorgon (G3)|Deuce Gorgon]]
|[[Lagoona Blue (G3)|Lagoona Blue]]
|[[Heath Burns (G3)|Heath Burns]]
|[[Abbey Bominable (G3)|Abbey Bominable]]
|[[Ghoulia Yelps (G3)|Ghoulia Yelps]]
|[[Iris Clops (G3)|Iris Clops]]
|[[Finnegan Wake (G3)|Finnegan Wake]]
|[[Headmistress Bloodgood (G3)|Headmistress Bloodgood]] <small>(mentioned)</small>
|[[Cleo de Nile (G3)|Cleo de Nile]] <small>(mentioned)</small>
|[[Clawdeen Wolf (G3)|Clawdeen Wolf]] <small>(mentioned)</small>
|[[Draculaura (G3)|Draculaura]] <small>(mentioned)</small>
|[[Dracula (G3)|Dracula]] <small>(mentioned)</small>
|[[Backgrounders (G3)|Attendees]]
|[[Formal Phantom]] <small>(debut; voice only)
}}

==Notes==
* Like the rest of the [[Nickelodeon]] G3 webisodes, this episode's upload on the official Monster High YouTube channel was set to private in September 2024 for unknown reasons.
**This has made the original individual episode lost media through official means, but it is still available, like the rest of the volume, as an upload on the official Nickelodeon YouTube channel, which compiles all eight episodes into a 40 minute special. Said upload is blocked in the UK and Ireland.
*This episode is alternatively titled '''''Blame It On the Boogey, Man!'''''. It appears as text on screen when Deuce slams the kitchen door at the beginning.
*The Formal Phantom, albeit through voice only, makes his debut.

===Continuity===
*Lagoona comfortably shows off Señor Squeaky to Frankie. This is in line with [[Monster High (TV series)|the TV series]] since "[[Case of the Missing Squeak]]".

==Shorts==
<gallery widths="144" position="center" orientation="portrait" spacing="small">
Deuce gets taken away by the evil portal! -shorts
</gallery>
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[[Category:Volume 3: Monster Ball]]
[[Category:Monster Ball Homecoming]]
[[Category:Centered on Deuce]]
[[Category:Centered on Frankie]]
[[Category:Episodes without Clawdeen]]
[[Category:Episodes without Draculaura]]