New Chess Pieces (episode)

Story
Argit’s ship lands outside a Forever Knights’ castle, surrounded by a moat. The group disembarks from the ship, staring at the castle.

Lucy: General, are you sure this is the right place?

Charmcaster: Are you stupid? This place is releasing a foul magic power, which only Phantom releases. (Lucy is angry, but she lets the anger go.) Not going to fight back?

Lucy: We’re on the same team. It’s pointless to fight with each other.

John: Lucy’s right, Charmcaster. We need to work together. Are we ready to go?

Eddy: Ready when you are. (The group approaches the castle, and see the drawbridge was up.)

Hex: Are we going to go undetected?

John: He already knows we’re here. (Slaps down Omnitrix.)

Slapstrike: Slapstrike! (Slapstrike stretches his flipper arm, swinging it to hit the castle. The entire castle shakes from the collision, the others shaking as well.)

Tack: That’s some power.

Charmcaster: They’re coming. (Then, an army of Forever Knights come out of the moat, blasters in hand. They open fire.)

Slapstrike: Take them out! Lucy, get that gate open!

Lucy: Right! (Lucy grabs Slapstrike’s arm, and he stretches it over the moat, dropping Lucy off on the other side.)

Tack charges in, punching several knights away. Slapstrike spins, slapping several knights, denting their armor in the process. Eddy’s eyes glow turquoise, and his robot battle suit activates. He fires lasers back at the knights, blowing them back. Sunder fights them off with his axe, while Charmcaster and Hex fire mana blasts. Then, knights grab Tack, and drag him towards the moat. Tack activates his helmet right before he goes into the water.

Slapstrike: Tack! (Slapstrike hits the Omnitrix, turning into Ripjaws. He runs and jumps into the water.)

Charmcaster: John!

Sunder: We’ve got other thing to worry about than him, princess. (Charmcaster looks up to the sky, and sees an army of knights riding hovercycles approaching. Sunder activates his glider, taking to the air, striking them with his axe.)

Hex: Handle them on the ground, Charmcaster. (Hex takes to the air, firing mana blasts at the flying knights.)

Charmcaster: Great. (She fires several mana blasts at the knights, while Eddy swats them away.)

Underwater, Ripjaws is punching his way through the knights, making his way to Tack, who was being dragged further down. Tack struggles, and kicks one, getting free. He has some difficulty, but starts to fight them off. Ripjaws makes it to him, and the two head back towards the surface.

Lucy removes her Plumber suit, showing her in a black t-shirt and red skirt. She then turns into her sludge form, and slips through the cracks in the door. Inside, she is hit by blaster fire. Knights have surrounded her, and Lucy takes a humanoid sludge form. She charges in, punching and kicking through the knights. Once she defeated them, she goes over to the lever, and releases it, the gate lowering and going to the other side of the moat. Ripjaws and Tack surface, and climbs up onto the gate.

Ripjaws: Guys! Let’s go! (Charmcaster and Eddy run inside, while Sunder and Hex fly over, taking out any knights they passed. They get inside, and Tack and Ripjaws head in.) Close the door! I’ll hold them off! (Hits Omnitrix.)

Wolf Bane: Wolf Bane! (Wolf Bane fires his sonic howl, hitting and knocking away the approaching knights. The gate then rises, and is closed. Wolf Bane reverts.)

John: Good work. Hex, start locating Phantom’s exact position. If we get him now, we can end this.

Hex: I will find him, but are we enough to handle him? (He goes into a meditative position.)

John: We’ll have to be.

Lucy: John. More knights are coming. (Zombie knights are coming down the hallway, firing blasters at them. Eddy holds up his arms, and his robot suit releases a forcefield to protect them.)

Eddy: Now what?

John: We hold them off. (Slaps down Omnitrix.)

Armodrillo: Armodrillo!

Armodrillo puts his hands to the ground, and pumps his jackhammers, digging into the ground. Charmcaster fires mana blasts from behind the shield, and Lucy runs out, taking the blaster attacks with ease. She punches through them, when Armodrillo breaks out of the ground, punching his way through them as well. All the knights are downed, when Eddy lowers the force field.

Hex: Got him. He’s three stories up, five rooms to the left.

Armodrillo: Then let’s go. (Hits Omnitrix.)

Ultimate Armodrillo: Ultimate Armodrillo! (He enters his drill form, and drills towards the ceiling, breaking a hole through it. Sunder, Charmcaster and Hex fly up after him. Eddy grabs Tack and Lucy and follow.)

Ultimate Armodrillo makes it up to the floor Phantom was on, and drills through the walls. He stops after a set of them, and opens up, to see Phantom sitting on a throne. Besides him was another throne, where Eunice was sitting, her skin zombie blue.

Ultimate Armodrillo: What did you do to Eunice, Phantom?!

Phantom: Ah, John Smith. It’s been too long since I’ve seen you last. (The rest of John’s team catches up, and they are stunned.)

Tack: What is this energy?

Hex: It’s the magic power he’s exerting. It’s hard not to shake in fear from it.

Ultimate Armodrillo: How’d you get here anyway?

Phantom: Quite an interesting tale, that is. With my last ÄRM, Dimension ÄRM Severed Soul, I was able to split myself in half, freeing myself from the battle. You killed a part of me there, yes, while the other part made it back to Lestava Castle. The Queen, however, was greatly disappointed in my performance, and decided to use me as a guinea pig. She sent me through the portal she had created to go to your dimension, injuries and all. I was found by your friends Gwen and Kevin, thinking I was you. Now, (He snaps his fingers, and an army of cloaked and masked figures appear behind the thrones.) Meet, my new Chess Pieces. Unlike before, I am the King, and my beautiful Queen is the lovely Eunice.

Eunice: (In sweet, but evil tone) Thank you, Phantom. Now, I think it is time to destroy them.

Lucy: Eunice! What are you doing?!

Phantom: I agree. The Forever Knights, Stone Creatures, Computron’s minions, they were all Pawn class opponents for you. Everyone here is at least Rook class. The Rooks won’t kill you, but the Knights will. Now, destroy!

Ultimate Armodrillo: Wait! (Hits Omnitrix, reverting. Phantom stops the Chess Pieces, interested in John’s next move.)

John: I propose a War Game.

Phantom: You want to fight them one by one? Friends and foes?

John: Yes.

Eunice: Phantom, dear, don’t listen to him. He is trying to trick you. Kill him now!

Phantom: I don’t believe John’s trying to trick us my dear, only delay the inevitable. Fine. I’ll accept the challenge. I’ve even got the perfect Forever Knight Castle in mind. However, you must provide a princess to roll the dice for the games. I want this to be fair and even, and what better way than then having you find someone?

John: Very well. Come on, guys. We’re leaving.

Charmcaster: But he’s right there!

John: So are the rest of his forces. We can’t fight them all. There's too few of us. We need to handle them one at a time.

Phantom: The War Game will begin in one week, at the Forever Knight castle just on the outskirts of Bellwood. You are familiar with it, yes? Gwen says that was where you had your first experience with the Forever Knights.

John: That place, huh? Fine. We’ll be there. (John walks off, and the others follow him.)

Sunder: So, what’s this War Game you were talking about? End Scene

Argit’s ship lands in the landing bay at the capital of Naboo. Lucy and Ahsoka get off the  ship.

Guard: Hello. You are the ones who are here to visit Senator Amidala?

Ahsoka: Yes sir. I hope that means we are allowed in.

Guard: Of course. (The guard leads Ahsoka and Lucy in, and they arrive at Padmé’s chambers.)

Padmé: Ahsoka! Lucy! It’s good to see you again. I must say, I was surprised when I heard you were visiting. I figured you’d be busy with Plumber business.

Lucy: The Plumbers don’t know anything about this visit. We were set on seeing you again.

Padmé: Well, I’m glad for your company. Guard, if you’ll excuse us. (The guard nods, and leaves them alone.) Now, what calls for this visit.

Lucy: We need your help.

Padmé: My help?

Ahsoka: Earth has been taken over by a guy named Phantom, who’s turned the residents into zombies. There’s a small band of us who are fighting him, and we’re about to fight in a War Game.

Padmé: War Game? How does it work?

Ahsoka: Each round, someone, preferably a princess, will roll a set of dice to determine the number of fighters each round, and the battlefield. Phantom wants us to provide the princess, so it’ll be fair. We’d like you to do it.

Padmé: Is there no way to negotiate? What about the Plumbers?

Lucy: The Plumbers can’t help, and this Phantom guy is crazy powerful. He won’t give up that power without a fight.

Padmé: Fine, though I don’t like the fact that we have to fight. Who is leading the team?

Ahsoka: I am.

Padmé: You? No offense, but John, Gwen or Kevin would be more, reasonable choices.

Ahsoka: Gwen and Kevin are on Phantom’s side. And besides. (Ahsoka’s body turns into sludge, into a Sludgepuppy. She has no whiskers coming out of her head, and small green eyes. On her chest is the Omnitrix symbol.)

Padmé: John? Is that you?

Sludge Blob: Sorry we had to meet like that, but I’m still apparently a criminal.

Padmé: Very well. If it’s you, then I have no doubts.

Sludge Blob: Good. We leave tonight. We’re basically going to smuggle you out of here, Senator.

Characters

 * John Smith
 * Charmcaster
 * Hex
 * Sunder
 * Tack
 * Eddy
 * Lucy Mann
 * Padmé

New Chess Pieces

 * Phantom
 * Eunice
 * Forever Knights
 * Cloaked Figures

Aliens

 * Slapstrike (first re-appearance)
 * Ripjaws
 * Wolf Bane (first re-appearance)
 * Armodrillo (first re-appearance)
 * Ultimate Armodrillo (first re-appearance)
 * Sludge Blob (first appearance)

Trivia

 * Phantom has created the New Chess Pieces, with himself as King.
 * It's revealed that the majority of villains faced were of the Pawn Class.