Prelude to Destruction is the fourth episode of the Wars of the Worlds special event and the fifty ninth episode chronologically in Earth-19.
| Wars of the Worlds | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Season 0, Episode 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Info - Discussion - Questions - Timeline | ||||||||||||||||||||
Plot[]
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[The camera shows the Washington Monument. Fireworks go off in the distance as thousands of people gather in the area below to celebrate Independence Day, specifically the 250th anniversary of the singing of the Declaration of Independence. The grand display of fireworks continues as the camera cuts to the base of the Washington Monument. A figure walks towards several guards blocking entrance to the monument.]
[Guard]: Hey, stop!
[The figure blasts a red energy beam out of weapon at the three guards, knocking them back. He kicks down the door to the Washington Monument and then runs in towards the elevator. He kicks open the door to the elevator shaft and sees the elevator below him. He activates rocket boots and then flies up the shaft all the way to the top of the Washington Monument. The figure lands at the top and then takes a small panel out of a containment device. He presses a button underneath the railing looking towards the Capitol Building. A tile in the floor opens behind him and a strange device. He places the panel on top of the device and then presses a button on it. The device turns on. The figure makes a hologram appear in front of him with a feminine figure on it.]
[Figure]: Phantress, the first panel is in place...
[Phantress]: Excellent, the other two are still on their way... Soon, we will have what we have always wanted... A war with the Earth!
[The camera cuts to lobby of the Plumbers Academy. The recruits are watching a news feed of the celebrations back on Earth. Everyone appears to be in a happy mood. The Magisters and some other Plumbers are standing around in other parts of the lobby.]
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[Ivada]: Should we tell them about the surprise?
[Hornbok]: Soon, give them a couple minutes...
[The camera shows several of the recruits. Sci is watching the celebration with Kali at his side. Paper and Bink are near them. Other recruits are talking with each other.]
[Hornbok]: They've become a family, you know?
[Ivada]: You still have to tell them...
[Hornbok]: I'm doing that right now...
[Hornbok taps a device on his badge and turns of the screens. The recruits turn around and look at Hornbok.]
[Hornbok]: I've got some important news for you... We have decided to promote all of you up one rank for your hard work in the recent weeks... Aevan, Nar, Zon, Rob, Ben, and Water will become First Officers, Brian, Will, Cassie, Sub, and Jack will become Sergeants, Sci, Bink, Nick, and Toon will become Commanders, with Toon specializing in the navy brigade, and Paper becoming Lieutenant. We hope you are all pleased with out decisions and you can continue on with your conversations...
[He turns the screens back on, which reveals a breaking news story: an attack on the Washington Monument. In the story, the Washington Monument is shown with a red eye in front of the top of it. Hornbok sees this and his eyes widen.]
[Hornbok]: The Bymosis Eyes...
[Paper, suspicious]: Bymosis...?
[Hornbok]: You may have heard the world before... Bym is the Aldabarbarian word for energy, and osis means medium... The world literally means energy medium, but we would call it a portal...
[Jack]: But... Aldabarbarians? The Phantom guy?
[Ivada]: I doubt it... The last time he was free, he was captured by Lotin... Maybe Phantress?
[Hornbok]: Phantress is the wife of the Phantom, and she's probably equally as dangerous, if not more dangerous...
[Sci]: Okay, but what's this about the Bymosis Eyes?
[Hornbok]: It's quite a lengthy story... Dating back... Really far...
[Sci]: As old as Rigon?
[Hornbok]: Before any of the Sages were born... We are talking about perhaps 10 million years ago... It's common knowledge in the galaxy that the Aldabarbarians arrived in the galaxy in the Earth year 1768, but this is far from true... In fact, the Aldabarbarians had almost complete galactic domination shortly after their first arrival in the galaxy, nearly 10 million years ago... They installed a warp generators and three power generators on every planet, but deactivated them when they left. Humans eventually unknowingly built over the deep-underground generators, but the Aldabarbarians quickly returned, albeit in small numbers, and connected the structures above the generators so that they would act as the mediums of the generators... Each of the power generators became known as a Bymosis Eye, and the warp generator is called the Bymosis Gate. Each Eye needs to be activated by connecting a device a machine hidden within it.
[Water]: Where are the Eyes and Gate?
[Hornbok]: The Washington Monument is the first, and it has already been activated... The Statue of Liberty and the Seattle Space Needle are the other two Eyes, and the St. Louis Arch is the Gate. The Aldabarbarians actually turned the whole arch into an inactive jump gate. Once the Eyes are activated, the Gate activates and the Aldabarbarian armada can arrive from the other side of the galaxy...
[Nick]: So, you want us to prevent them from activating the other two Eyes?
[Hornbok]: Yes, Paper will be in charge of one squad... He can go to the Statue of Liberty.... Sci can take the other squad to Seattle.
[Paper and Sci and nod and them look at each other for a moment.]
[Paper]: Okay, Bink, Nick, Will, Cassie, Aevan, Rob, and Ben, you're with me, the rest of you are with Sci, now let's go...
[The camera cuts to a Plumbers ship flying towards Earth. Inside, Paper's team is waiting for the mission ahead. Nick is flying the ship. Paper and Bink are sitting next to each other, holding hands.]
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[Bink]: Paper, we're on a mission...
[Paper]: When are we not on a mission...
[She smiles and hugs him.]
[Paper]: Besides, we were going to head to Earth tonight anyway, just not for this reason...
[Bink]: Hopefully this is over with quickly...
[Rob, piloting the ship]: It may be quicker that expected...
[Everyone on the ship looks in front and sees three Aldabarbarian scouts riding hovercrafts up to the ship.]
[Nick]: Will, we've got this?
[Will]: Definitely...
[The camera cuts to Nick and Will standing in the front of the ship as it cruises towards New York City. The scouts shoot red energy blasts from their weapons at the two recruits. Will jumps at one of the scouts and punches him in the face. He avoids a blast and then kicks the scout off of his vehicle and begins to fly it himself. More scouts begin to the chase the ship, sending it far in front of Will. He chases the other scouts from behind and starts to shoot some of them down. Meanwhile, Nick blasts a stream of acid, knocking down one of the scouts. He gets hits from behind with a blast from another, but then regains his balance and kicks that scout out of the sky. Some of the scouts start to jump onto the ship next to Nick. A few corner him while the others attack the ship itself. Nick kicks one aside, but then gets knocked over by two scouts. He spits up a wave of acid, stopping most of the scouts on board. The last scout manages to make a large crack in the windshield of the ship before losing his grip on the side of the ship and falling to his ultimate death. Will jumps off his stolen vehicle and walks over to Nick.]
[Will]: Can you handle that crack?
[Nick]: Yeah...
[He runs over to the crack and stands there, thinking of how to repair it as more scouts arrive. One sneaks up behind Will and punches him in the back. He stumbles forward and then slides directly off the side of the ship. Nick sees him and immediately goes into a nosedive off the ship and grabs Will mid-descent. He starts to fly back up as Aevan, Ben, Cassie, Paper, and Bink get onto the front of the ship. They are now only about 10000 feet above the ground as the scouts begin to back away.]
[Cassie]: Was that a diversion or something?
[Will]: I don't think so... We got down faster than we would have at protocol flying speed.
[Aevan]: I don't think it matters. We're basically here, and now we've got to hold our ground until the Magisters can deactivate the Bymosis Eye in DC.
[The recruits turn and look at the Statue of Liberty in the distance, and the lights of New York City even farther away.]
[Rob]: So what's the plan? Ground surveillance? Aerial patrol?
[Paper]: Nick and Aevan, you're on aerial patrol, Ben, Cassie, Rob, you've got ground patrol, Bink, Will, and I will take the inside of the statue.
[Rob nods as the camera cuts to the Statue of Liberty. Ben, Cassie, and Rob are walking around the outside of the statue, which is closed down for the night. The camera cuts up to Nick and Aevan in the air, the latter with a jetpack, who see a government boat arriving at the docks of the island.]
[Aevan]: The government's here?
[Nick]: Maybe they think this is a target after the attack on the Washington Monument?
[Several government troops get out of the boat and begin to walk towards the statue before stopping to talk to each other.]
[Nick]: It shouldn't be a problem...
[He puts his ear up to his communicator.]
[Nick]: You three inside yet?
[Will]: Yeah, we're not at the top yet though... Why, problem?
[Nick]: Well, the government is here...
[Cassie]: The Washington Monument was just attacked. They have every right to be here...
[Nick]: Yeah, well, I'll let everyone know if I see anything...
[He stays there for a second and stares at the government troops, before starting to fly around the rest of the island as the camera cuts to the rest of the recruits making their way for Seattle. Sci, Toon, Jack, Water, Brian, Zon, Nar, and Sub are standing in a ship as it approaches the Space Needle.]
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[Sci]: Our first goal should be to locate the device connected to the underground generator. If the Aldabarbarians can't get to that, then they can't invade...
[The camera cuts to the ship hovering above the tower with the recruits having exited onto the observation deck. Sci begins to walk over to the elevator, and when he is halfway there, it opens. On the other side, several Aldabarbarian soldiers are waiting for the Plumbers.]
[Toon]: Ambush?
[Jack]: Doesn't matter, just crush 'em...
[Toon runs at one of the soldiers and kicks him back. The soldier punches at Toon and then ducks to avoid a punch from him. Toon steps back to avoid a punch and then kicks the soldier back. Another soldier behind him knocks him to the ground in order to get an open lane to fire his blaster at the Plumbers. Zon blasts green energy at the soldiers as interference for the others. Brian jumps at the soldier with the blaster and kicks it out of his hands. The soldier punches him back, but Jack electrocutes him and then kicks him to the ground. As the soldiers and Plumbers on the deck continue to fight, another ship of Aldabarbarian soldiers flies into view, and about a hundred more soldiers exit the ship. Sci blasts a wave of wind at the soldiers, holding them in place. Several of the soldiers fly forward, against the wind with rocket boots. Three approach Sci and one of them manages to knock him back, cutting off the blasts of wind. Sci blasts protective fire around him to keep the Aldabarbarians away, but the soldiers continue to blast at him. Sub tries to freeze the soldiers surrounding Sci, but he only manages to delay some of them. One soldier runs up to Sub and punches him in the face, knocking him backwards into Nar.]
[Nar]: Easy now...
[Nar draws his katanas and runs forward, slicing at the same soldier's armor. He kicks the soldier down as he runs past and continues to attack the soldiers surrounding Sci. Sci, in turn, unleashes a mini tidal wave at all of the soldiers, knocking all of them back. More soldiers continue to fight with the other recruits. Water grabs two soldiers, slams their heads together, and drops them on the ground as three other soldiers all fire their blasters at him. He grunts and then closes his eyes and unleashes a red energy blast at the three soldiers, destroying their weapons. He runs up to one and kicks him back, and Jack helps him out by electrocuting the other two.]
[Water]: Thanks...
[Jack]: Don't mention it...
[Brian kicks the last soldier down to the ground and then turns around and faces the other Plumbers.]
[Brian]: Looks like we were just in time...
[Zon]: There'll be coming, just wait...
[Sci]: Agreed, we should look for the--
[Toon]: No need Sci... I think I found it...
[He points to part of the railing of the observation deck. He looks under the railing and presses a button, opening up a pedestal. There is a slot on top of the pedestal where something can be placed inside.]
[Sci]: How'd you find this so quickly?
[Toon]: I was leaning against the railing and I felt a button underneath it. I'm surprised no one else has noticed it...
[Brian]: Should we radio the others and tell them that we've secured our machine?
[Sci]: Yeah...
[He puts his ear up to his communicator.]
[Sci]: Paper, what's the status of your machine?
[Paper]: We've found it. It's at the very top of the statue... What about you...
[Sci]: We ran into some Aldabarbarians, but we fought them off and secured our machine... Any trouble over there?
[Paper]: The government is doing some investigating, but other than that the island is deserted... If you encountered some Aldabarbarians then we'll be on the lookout...
[Sci]: Alright...
[He looks at the others.]
[Sub]: Okay, so do we just guard these forever? If we leave the Aldabarbarians are just going to activate them immediately.
[Toon]: That's a good question, what are we going to do?
[Sci]: We wait until the Magisters tell us what to do... They need to deactivate the Bymosis Eye in D.C. Considering that it's already been activated, it's probably highly protected...
[The camera cuts to Washington, D.C., where the Hornbok, Ivada, Slick, Kruto, Relgo, and the newly promoted Magister Jopius are fighting off Aldabarbarian troops. The camera shows the red eye in front of the Washington Monument for a moment before cutting down to ground level where the fighting is taking place. In a large circle surrounding the Magisters and the Aldabarbarian forces is the U.S. army. Ivada forms two ice swords and slashes them at the Aldabarbarian soldiers. He uses the swords to block blasts from their weapons and continues to fight them off. He slashes one and then ducks to avoid another's blast. He tosses his sword in the air, roundhouses one, slams another's head into his knee, then catches the sword and uses them to block another blast. Slick punches one aside and then slams two more of them into each other. Jopius fires blasts from a golden energy blaster and then disperses the blaster, in favor of an energy shield to defend himself. He gets rid of that, too, and forms an energy hammer to take out more troops. Relgo kicks several troops back and then gets blaster in the back. Kruto kicks that soldier in the back and then roundhouses another. He turns to avoid a punch from another, and then pulls that troop towards him and kicks him into a group of several more. Hornbok slashes at one soldier and then stretches out of the way to avoid blasts from another. He uses his sword as Ivada did to block an energy blast, and then slices the soldier's gun in half before punching him down to the ground. As the fighting continues, the camera shows the army surrounding them.]
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[Lieutenant]: Shouldn't we end this?
[General]: Firstly, this is the Plumbers... Secondly, I have strict orders not to...
[Behind the circle of tanks and army soldiers, an Aldabarbarian captain and three soldiers stand waiting. The captain points at the army, and one of the soldiers drop a briefcase on the ground and open it up. He takes a large missile launcher out of the case and then aims it at the tank. He launches a missile at the tank, and it explodes in a fiery eruption, sending the tank flying into the middle of the fight. Ivada notices the tank and kicks Relgo out of the way before sending up an enormous wave of ice to stop the tank's momentum and flip it back over. A few human soldiers exit the tank and run off towards the opening in the barricade, but the captain and the other two soldiers begin to fire at them. One soldier gets hit to the ground and the other two barely avoid fire.]
[Lieutenant]: Those are our own men...
[General]: Protect them only, don't interfere with the Plumbers...
[He nods and then looks to several officers on the other side of him and points at the Aldabarbarian captain. A little bit farther down the circular barricade, a tank rotates its cannon and fires at the captain. He gets taken out by the blast, but the two soldiers don't, and turn to focus their attention on the tank. As the third soldier, who fired the missile, arrives, the three begin to blast at the tanks. Back in the center of the circle, the Magisters have finished off most of the Aldabarbarians. One blasts at Slick, but he ducks and then pile drives into the soldier, knocking him back. He turns and looks at the others.]
[Slick]: That's the last of them...
[Hornbok]: More will be coming... Ivada and Jopius, you two head over to the monument. The rest of us will take out the rest.
[Jopius nods his head and forms a golden platform that carries him and Ivada over to the monument. The others run over to the last three soldiers. Hornbok roundhouses one of them and Kruto slams the other two's heads together, dropping them to the ground. The human soldiers start to relax as they realize that the threat has ended.]
[Hornbok]: General what do you think you're doing?
[General]: Human lives were in danger...
[Slick]: Understood, but you do realize that you violated orders and could have made the situation worse...
[General]: My orders were to barricade the area and only attack to save human lives.
[Relgo]: We've taken care of the area. More Aldabarbarians will probably be on their way...
[Lieutenant]: What about the monument? Are you going to take care of that...
[Hornbok]: I sent two Magisters to deactivate the Bymosis Eye... Deactivating that, and making sure that the other two aren't activated will guarantee that the Aldabarbarians do not launch a full scale invasion...
[The camera pans over to Ivada and Jopius standing on a golden platform in front of the red eye on the monument. Ivada blasts a stream of ice at the eye, but it seems to absorb the ice and fire it back as a red energy blast. Jopius blocks it with a golden energy shield.]
[Ivada]: If only I knew how this thing worked...
[He tries forming a large ice sphere around the eye, but it unleashes a wave of red energy, destroying the ice barricade. Jopius forms a golden spear and stabs it into the eye, but realizes that it is only made out of energy. The golden energy disbands and the eye remains active.]
[Jopius]: And more ideas?
[Ivada]: Yeah, hope that the other two eyes don't activate...
[The camera cuts to Seattle. The team is guarding the pedestal that is connected to the underground generator. As they guard it, two more Aldabarbarian ships arrive at the Space Needle. The door opens on one of them, and an Aldabarbarian holding a laser blaster aims at the team.]
[Jack]: We've got company...
[The Aldabarbarian fires at the team, making them scatter. Many soldiers now start jumping out of both ships and attacking the team. Another Aldabarian still on the ship, holding what appears to be the missing piece of the pedestal jumps down onto the Space Needle and slowly walks towards the pedestal. He kicks Sub out of the way and then looks at the pedestal. Sci turns and sees him holding the missing piece.]
[Sci]: The pedestal!
[He blasts a stream of fire at the Aldabarbarian, but several soldiers block it. Two large Aldabarbarian brutes, one from each ship, jump down to defend the Aldabarbarian at the pedestal. He places the piece in the pedestal and there cracks in it flash white and then seal up. The pedestal sinks into the ground as Sci grimaces and looks above him. A second red eye has appeared right in front of the tip of the Space Needle. Sci screams and let out a burst of winding, blasting several of the troops back. The rest fly back onto the ships, except for the brutes, who stay to fight the team. Water jumps up at one and punches him back. Sub freezes him in place and then Water picks him up and throws him at one of the ships, making it explode. The other brute backs up and then jumps towards the ship, landing on top of it as it flies away. Brian grows wings and flies down towards the crashing ship. He blows wind at it with his hand morphed into a wind generator, making the flames go away. He flies underneath it and tries to lift the ship and prevent it from crashing into the ground. He manages to slow it down, but he flies out from underneath it and it crashes with a thud, destroying part of the road. Brian flies back up and deforms his wings.]
[Sci, into his communicator]: You have to stop them from activating the third eye. If they activate it, it means total war across the planet...
[The camera cuts to Paper, Bink, and Will in the top of the Statue of Liberty. They are fighting off an Aldabarbarian assault.]
[Paper]: Yeah, we're trying.
[He fires an arrow at a soldier. As it hits him, it unleashes a wave of foam, trapping in four of the soldiers. Will kicks one soldier and then ducks underneath a punch from another one. He kicks that soldier back into another one and then tries to avoid a blast, but it hits him anyway, making him slide back. Bink blasts magic blasts at an Aldabarbarian brute, but the blasts simply hit his armor and do nothing.]
[Bink]: Topskaew sih em wohs
[She blasts a wave of magic at the brute, which this time manages to knock the armor off on the back of his legs. Paper fires an arrow at the back of his legs, which explodes and sends the brute flying forward. Bink avoid the brute as he hurdles past her. She starts to fight off more soldiers as the camera cuts outside. Nick and Aevan are fighting a bunch of flying Aldabarbarian troops. Nick breathes a stream of acid onto a group of them, but some of them avoid. Aevan sends his shadow out to take out more troops, and he succeeds, but more troops continue to arrive. The ship that the troops came from flies over, and Aldabarbarians on it start to fire at the two Plumbers. The camera cuts to the base of the statue. Cassie, Ben, and Rob are arrive at the entrance of the statue and start running up the stairs to get to the top. Back at the top, Paper speeds though three soldiers and then slides underneath another before jumping up, kicking off the wall and roundhousing another soldier. From outside, the Aldabarbarians start to blast at the team inside. Will teleports from the statue onto the ship and punches one of the troops firing the blasters. He teleports to behind the others and then takes them out, too. He gets hit on the back by one troop, but he grabs onto the edge of the ship and teleports back into the statue. Several of the troops jump from the ship and into the statue. One Aldabarbarian is holding the device that will activate the underground generator.]
[Paper]: Bink, the machine...
[She turns towards where the machine is and blasts a wave of magic attacks at all the Aldabarbarians around it. Some of them get knocked down, but others block the attack with their shield. The troops start to form a barricade around the machine as the Aldabarbarian with the device attaches it. After a moment, a red glow can be seen outside the statue. The camera shows a wide shot of the statue, with another red eye right in front of the statue's face.]
[Paper, in disbelief]: No...
[Suddenly, a red barrier forms around the eye. In Seattle, the same happens. The camera cuts to Washington, D.C. A red barrier forms around the eye. Jopius notices and moves himself and Ivada away from the eye.]
[Ivada, into his communicator]: Hornbok, look up here...
[Down at ground level, Hornbok looks at the Washington Monument and the red eye, now in the barrier, above him. He turns to the other Magisters.]
[Hornbok]: Get to St. Louis.
[The camera cuts to the St. Louis arch. At the left base, the tip, and the right base, three more red eyes appear. The eyes float forward and closer together until they are all in a small circle several hundred feet in front of the arch, aligned right with its center. Each eyes fires a red laser back to the point on the arch where it came from. The eyes also connect in a red energy circle, the beginnings of warp gate. Red lights start to appear on the arch, going from the base to the tip as the eyes start to return to their original positions. At ground level, a warp portal opens up and the Magisters exit out of it. Storms clouds begin to gather around the arch as the eyes lock into their normal positions, with the warp gate now encompassing the entire arch.]
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[Hornbok]: This is bad...
[The portal itself doesn't appear to lead to anywhere. It shows black space with red streaks of energy occasionally rippling through it.]
[Hornbok]: It seems to be locating the coordinates of the gate on Aldabarbaria, so we should have 5 to 10 minutes to make any preparations...
[Ivada]: What do you suggest?
[Hornbok]: I have no idea...
[Suddenly, two more warp portals open up, with the team that was in Seattle arriving in one, and the team that was in New York City arriving in the other.]
[Will]: How long do we have until that's an active jump gate?
[Hornbok]: 10 minutes maximum... When it does activate, I've got an idea...
[The camera cuts Aldabarbaria. Phantress is standing in front of another warp gate as it tries to find the coordinates of the one in St. Louis. Behind her, hundreds of warships prepare to attack the Earth. An Aldabarbarian general walks up to her.]
[General]: Phantress, according to one my admirals, one of the ships had a malfunction and repairs are currently being conducted on it, which leaves us one ship short.
[Phantress]: Do you know what caused the malfunction?
[General]: We don't know by whom, but it appears to be sabotage.
[Phantress]: Figure out who sabotaged the ship and end them.
[General]: Of course...
[He walks off as Phantress grins. The red streaks in the warp gate start to ripple faster as an image of St. Louis on Earth appears in it. In the image, a group of Plumbers can be seen in the distance. Phantress' grin turns into a full smile as she walks forward through the jump gate and into St. Louis. From the Plumbers' point of view, they see Phantress exiting the warp gate.]
[Relgo]: She's here...
[The Plumbers notice the massive warships waiting on Aldabarbaria.]
[Hornbok]: Slick, Kruto, Water, Rob, Jopius, Zon, Cassie, and Aevan, go confront Phantress. The rest of us have something else planned...
[The names Hornbok called go off towards the warp gate and Phantress.]
[Sci]: So what do you have planned?
[Hornbok]: The other Magisters and I have been preparing to bring in new recruits... You know, to follow in your footsteps... Now would be the perfect time...
[Jack]: You're bringing in more recruits...?
[Ivada]: Now's not the time to argue... Paper, Will, Bink, and I will be heading through the warp gate to attack the Aldabarbarian forces there... The rest of you will split up into groups to pick up each of the 5 new recruits. Now, we don't have much time, so let's get moving...
[Hornbok and the others nod their heads. Paper, Will, Bink, and Ivada run off towards the Phantress as the others continue to talk among themselves. The camera cuts to Phantress, basking in the different environment of the Earth. The group assigned with confronting her arrives just as she appears to be finishing.]
[Phantress]: Is this my welcoming committee?
[Water]: I guess you could call us that...
[Phantress]: That's strange, because I don't feel very welcome here...
[As Phantress and the Plumbers continue to banter back and forth, the four Plumbers going to Aldabarbaria sneak past her and stop just feet in front of the warp gate. Aldabarbaria can be seen clearly through the warp gate, with many warships preparing for battle.]
[Ivada]: Ready?
[He holds his arms out. One one side, Will grabs his arm, while on the other, Bink grabs his arm and then Paper grabs Bink's other arm. They walk forward into the portal as the camera cuts to the opposite point of view with them exiting the portal.]
[Will]: Okay, we're here, now what?
[Ivada]: The plan is to hijack and small Aldabarbarian ship and take off for Pollunia, a neighboring planet...
[Paper]: Hornbok's plan is to make a peace treaty?
[Ivada]: It's the best way to end a war, and that's what we believe we're dealing with, now let's go...
[They run off towards a small scout ship off to the side of the much larger warships.]
[Ivada, while running]: And how'd you know that the plan is to force a treaty?
[Paper]: I knew from Kali that the Pollunians have served as the middle man between the Aldabarbarians and Betelgusians...
[Will]: They've been surprisingly quiet... the Betelgusians.
[Ivada]: Which is also quite possibly very bad...
[The group arrives at the scout ship. No Aldabarbarians are standing around it, but there some that are inside. Will teleports onto the front of the ship and then inside the ship, he kicks one soldier and then throws another one into the third soldier, knocking them all unconscious. Paper, Bink, and Ivada run over to the door as Will opens it from the inside. Without talking, they run onto the ship. More Aldabarbarians can be seen arriving at the ship to try and stop the Plumbers from leaving on it. The ships begins to power up and fly away as the soldiers start firing at it. The ship gets off the ground and then turns around and flies away from the soldiers, eventually getting out of the range of their attacks. The camera cuts back to the team fighting Phantress. Slick punches Phantress, making her slide back, but she quickly runs forward and kicks Slick before moving onto her next target and kicking Jopius in the face before he can hit her with his golden hammer. Water swings Rob around and throws him at Phantress. He manages to slash her in the arm with his sword before she kicks him back. Water picks up Zon, transformed into his full vulpimancer form, and throws him at Phantress. She knocks him to the side and then turns her head just in time to notice and avoid an attack from Aevan's shadow. His shadow loops back around and returns to him Phantress approaches him.]
[Aevan]: Work together, guys...
[Cassie looks over at Zon, back in his normal form, laying on the ground.]
[Cassie]: Zon, you heard him!
[Zon slowly gets up and looks at Cassie.]
[Zon]: Right...
[He blasts a stream of his green energy at Cassie, who absorbs it with one arm and fires it back with the other arm directly at Phantress, who grunts at the attack and then stops in place and grunts.]
[Phantress]: This is getting you nowhere, children...
[Cassie]: We're not...
[Phantress]: Compared to me, you are...
[She grins.]
[Phantress]: And now it is time...
[She looks up to the jump gate as the Aldabarbarian fleet begins to arrive. The Plumbers stand in shock, wondering what to do about the ships.]
[Rob]: What now?
[Slick]: We've got to try and stop the ships...
[He points at a ship close to them.]
[Slick]: If we can make that ship crash, it will take out all the other ones near it...
[Aevan]: How are we going to take down a whole warship?
[Slick]: I have no idea, but it's still worth a shot...
[He looks at Water and Rob.]
[Slick]: You two, going up?
[They nod their heads. Slick grabs Water by the arm, swings him around, and then throws him towards the ship, before doing the same thing to Rob. Water smacks into the hull of the ship and manages to grab on to the dent he forms in the ship. He punches the hull and forms a hole in it, then climbs inside and kicks out that piece of the metal hull. Rob lands on another piece of the hull and then jumps inside the ship. He turns to the wall near him and sees a control panel. He stabs his sword into the control panel, which makes all the lights turn off in the ship.]
[Water]: We're still not crashing?
[Rob]: There must be a separate generator for the engine...
[Down below, Phantress has left the scene as Zon, in his half-vulpimancer, half-lepidopterran form, carries the rest of the team up to the ship.]
[Aevan]: So how do we bring this thing down?
[Zon]: Beats me...
[Slick]: Maybe the same thing we used to stop the Phantom's Nest...
[Jopius]: Ice? It's a good thing we sent Ivada through the jump gate...
[Slick]: You have any ideas?
[Jopius]: Destroy the backup generator...
[Suddenly, the ship begins to tilt and fall towards the ground.]
[Kruto]: Or it can just crash on its own?
[Water]: Did the backup generator run out of power or something?
[Zon]: I don't care, we should get out of here...
[Rob grabs Aevan, Water grabs Jopius, and Slick grabs Kruto as all the pairs jump down to the ground. Zon returns to his half-vulpimancer, half-lepidopterran form as he flies Cassie to the ground. The massive warship can be seen falling to the side as it crashes into another ship, sending both of them crashing to the ground. Phantress watches from another ship and grunts.]
[Phantress]: What caused that ship to fall?
[Soldier]: It's not entirely our fault... The Plumbers destroyed the main generator, and the backup generator ran had very little power left...
[Phantress]: It's insignificant, but a shame nonetheless... Press forward with the invasion...
[As the team lands on the ground, the remaining number of ships begin to launch their assault on the city. Some of the ships fire massive laser cannons at tall skyscrapers, destroying many of them, while others drop explosives, burning the ground.]
[Cassie]: This can't continue...
[Jopius]: How are we supposed to stop it...?
[Hornbok, returning]: I can't answer that question...
[The Plumbers look and see the rest of the team, with the five new recruits, standing behind them.]
[Hornbok]: ...But I can tell you that you won't have to do it alone...
[The camera cuts to the hijacked Aldabarbarian scout ship landing on Pollunia. Paper, Bink, Will, and Ivada exit the ship and begin to walk towards a palace on the planet. The camera shows a female figure standing on the balcony over looking the palace grounds. She is seen grinning as the camera cuts to the grounds below. The four Plumbers continue walking towards the palace as there is a flash of white light in front of them and the figure from the balcony appears in front of them.]
|
[Figure]: Plumbers?
[Ivada]: Are you who is going to help us negotiate a treaty with the Aldabarbarians?
[Figure]: Princess Polarys of the Pollunians at your service. What have the Aldabarbarians done, though? We haven't heard of any troubles from the Betelgusians.
[Paper]: That is very worrisome. Why haven't the Betelgusians done anything about the Aldabarbarian aggression?
[Polarys]: This is the first I've heard about any aggression. Three of you are humans; have they attacked the Earth?
[Paper]: Indeed they have...
[Bink]: They activated a jump gate using the Bymosis Eyes that they left on Earth long ago... We used the gate to reach Aldabarbaria and then hijacked a ship and came here...
[Will]: We know that the Pollunians can force a treaty on the Aldabarbarians...
[Polarys]: Who did you hear this from?
[Ivada]: Hornbok though that--
[Polarys]: And what was his source?
[The Plumbers stand their quietly for a moment.]
[Paper]: Regardless of what Hornbok said, I heard from someone that the Pollunians served as the mediators in treaty negotiations between the two sides long ago...
[Polarys]: Who told you this?
[Paper]: Someone named Kali, the adopted--
[Polarys]: daughter of Grief? I know; Kali is an old friend of mine...
[Polarys thinks for a moment and then starts to grin.]
[Polarys, intrigued]: Guardian...
[Paper]: How did you--
[Polarys]: Kali and I have remained in touch... She told me everything about how the prophecy unfolded... About Sci, Virton's reformation, and about the Guardian...
[Bink]: I think we're getting off topic... Is it a bad thing that we know that the Pollunians can force a treaty?
[Polarys]: It's bad in the sense that it's not correct. We can't force a treaty; we only have a reputation of being extremely good negotiators.
[She sighs.]
[Polarys]: I don't want to tell stories, but know that whatever you have heard isn't true. If that is all you were here for, then I am sorry, but I cannot help you.
[She turns around and walks away.]
[Ivada]: If you can't force a treaty, then how did you get the Aldabarbarians to ever negotiate one originally?
[She stops and turns around.]
[Polarys]: Perhaps my parents could better explain this, but I will try my best. As I'm sure you are all aware of, Aldabarbarian, Betelgusia, and Pollunia surround the Destination... Originally, we kept to ourselves while the other two races fought each other... After Rigon was sealed in his prison, the Destination was built in one of the most hostile regions in the entire galaxy... As the wars between Betelgusia and Aldabarbaria continued, the Pollunians eventually realized that the isolation that the region was suffering due to the wars and the Destination was detrimental to the quality of life of our people, and so we continuously interfered in the wars, ending them with treaties each time...
[Will]: So you can help us make a treaty?
[Polarys]: We can. If you want our help, then we will see what we can do...
[Bink]: So you can help us? Why did you make it sound like you couldn't?
[Polarys]: It was in part a fallacy of communication and in part a test of your perseverance... Most would have given up after the initial denial...
[She turns around again and starts to walk away towards the palace.]
[Polarys]: Follow me, we should probably contact the Betelgusians...
[The camera cuts to the lower throne room in the castle. Polarys is standing right in front of the throne, with her back to it. The others are standing in front of her. There is a holographic screen between them. The screen seems to be trying to access a server.]
[Polarys]: Something is wrong, the connection shouldn't be this unstable...
[Ivada]: Are you sure that it's working?
[Polarys]: It should work, but now that you mention it we have not used it in several months...
[Will]: Why not?
[Polarys]: It's an emergency connection... We only use it when there's an emergency...
[There is a ping sound from the holographic screen. The screen shifts from the accessing screen to a view of throne room on Betelgusia. Instead of the Betelgusian King, an Aldabarbarian governor is sitting on the throne.]
|
[Paper]: Well, there's your emergency...
[Governor]: What is this mockery? Who contacted you?
[Polarys]: I'm afraid that you forgot to deactivate this emergency connection, governor...
[Governor]: That's governor Ciryus to you.
[He turns to several soldiers.]
[Ciryus]: Shut this frequency down...
[The soldiers begin to work to shut the frequency down, and after a moment, the holographic screen disappears, leaving the group alone.]
[Bink]: So, Aldabarbaria invaded Betelgusia, too?
[Polarys]: It appears to have happened months ago... We never knew...
[Paper]: So what do we do?
[King, entering]: We invade Betelgusia...
[The group turns and sees to Pollunians entering the lower throne room.]
[Polarys]: Plumbers, these are my parents, King Rygal and Queen Caphella...
[Rygal]: We heard about your contacting of the Betelgusians... Such an attack could have been conducted quickly; the Aldabarbarians must have been occupying Betelgusia for at least a while...
[Ivada]: And you think a counter-invasion is the best course of action?
[Rygal]: I've already sent word to our generals, and they are preparing for an attack on Betelgusia for the purpose of liberation...
[Caphella]: And before you ask, I agree one hundred percent. The Aldabarbarian shenanigans have gone for far too long.
[Polarys]: What about the attack on the Earth?
[Rygal]: Earth is under attack, too? We don't have a large enough army to launch a counter-inaction on the Earth as well...
[Caphella]: We could always use the liberation of Betelgusia as a way to make the Aldabarbarians retreat...
[Ivada]: That sounds good... Liberate Betelgusia and then use their liberation to show that we won't let them take the Earth... The perfect deterrent.
[Paper]: Or we fake the liberation with a... semi-liberation... Invade to cause a diversion, then sneak in, rescue the Betelgusian officials, and return to Earth...
[Polarys]: If I come with you, then when we return to Earth, all three sides will be present, and that will surely bring a beneficial end to this situation.
[Rygal]: You will do no such thing. You will stay here where you are...
[Paper]: I swear to you, King Rygal. Our team will keep her safe. We will infiltrate the Betelgusian castle and get out as quickly as possible...
[Rygal]: I trust the Plumbers... But you must promise me that she, and all of you, will return unscathed...
[Ivada]: We promise...
[He nods his head.]
[Caphella]: Then leave immediately; you don't have a moment to spare...
[As she says this, the camera cuts to the Pollunian army arriving on Betelgusia. Thousands of Pollunian soldiers storm out of the their fleet and begin to fight the Betelgusian troops waiting for them. An enormous fight breaks out between the two sides as the camera cuts to the Aldabarbarian scout ship also arriving on Betelgusia, but far away from the Pollunian army, in a dark area behind the Betelgusian castle. The camera cuts onto the ship; Paper, Bink, Will, Ivada, and Polarys are on it.]
[Will]: Split into two groups?
[Ivada]: Why, the army is already creating a diversion?
[Will]: It will be easier to find the Betelgusians...
[Polarys]: How do you usually form teams?
[Paper]: Usually at random...
[Polarys]: Okay, how about I go with Polarys and you three stick together...
[Ivada]: Sounds good, now let's get out of this ship... I'm surprised that we haven't be spotted yet...
[The camera cuts to Paper and Polarys sneaking down a hallway. Paper gets to a corner and looks around it. He slowly begins to walk down the next hallway as Polarys follows him. They get to another corner and Paper stops, but Polarys keeps walking. Paper quickly looks around the corner, sees an Aldabarbarian guard facing in the other direction from them, and grabs Polarys, pulling her out of sight of the guard.]
[Polarys]: Hey--
[They hear footsteps of the guard turning around. Paper pulls Polarys into a side room in the hallway as the guard turns the corner a shines a light down the hallway. After observing the empty hallway, the guard goes back to where he was standing. The camera cuts to Paper and Polarys.]
[Polarys, quietly]: Thanks...
[Paper, quietly]: Don't mention it... You don't have years of training in this kind of stuff, and it's my job to protect you...
[Polarys, quietly]: Yeah, it's my fault, isn't it...? Sorry...
[Paper, quietly]: Again, don't mention it...
[He looks at her for a moment.]
[Paper, quietly]: I wonder what that Aldabarbarian was guarding... We haven't seen any other guards...
[He turns to leave the room and then turns back at Polarys.]
[Paper, quietly]: I'll be right back, stay here...
[He exits the room and turns the corner. The guard is facing away from him, and suddenly the guard falls to the ground as Paper smacks him on the head with his bow. He turns around to head back to the room, but he sees Polarys standing right behind him. Paper takes a step back.]
[Paper, worried]: I told you to stay in the room...
[Polarys]: Sorry, I had to do something...
[Paper]: What did you do?
[Polarys]: I took out that camera...
[She points to a disabled camera in the upper corner of the hallway. She turns to Paper and smiles at him. He smiles back but then turns around.]
[Paper]: We should continue our search and not take any... Unnecessary breaks...
[Polarys]: Is it that obvious?
[Paper]: That you're flirting, yeah? And from experience, that's only going to get us captured, or worse...
[Polarys]: But...
[Paper]: We should...
[Polarys]: How old are you even?
[Paper]: Just turned 29... 2 days ago actually
[Polarys, shocked]: Wait, are you married?
[Paper laughs and then stands silent for a moment.]
[Paper]: No, but...
[Polarys]: You have a girlfriend?
[Paper]: Yeah...
[Polarys]: Your female teammate?
[Paper]: Bink, yeah...
[She looks at him with a more disinterested look.]
[Polarys]: Well, let's continue our search, shall we?
[She walks past him and observes the door that the guard was standing in front. She creates a golden window that allows her to see through the door. A couple Aldabarbarian guards a running towards the door.]
[Polarys]: Get ready...
[The door suddenly opens, and Paper immediately fires an exploding arrow, surprising both of the guards and knocking them back. One guard stays down while the other quickly gets up. Polarys blasts a golden energy beam at the guard, knocking him to the ground. Paper stands forward as he puts his bow on his back.]
[Paper]: They clearly know that we're here, so we should hurry...
[The camera cuts to Ivada, Bink, and Will searching in another part of the castle. They are walking down a hallway and reach a door. It suddenly opens in front of them, revealing a guard standing in front of them with his back turned. Before he can turn around, Ivada freezes him and then kicks him onto his front. They slowly walk forward as the door closes behind them.]
[Will]: Well that was a close one...
[Bink]: What are all of these guards even guarding? Are the Betelgusians close?
[Will]: Maybe...?
[The three Plumbers reach a fork in the hallway. Bink looks around the corner and sees that no guards are waiting for them.
[Bink]: Which way?
[Ivada]: If we go forward, we'll probably just run into Paper and Polarys... Right it is...
[The group turns right and opens the door at the end of the hallway. They find themselves in a small room that is completely dark. The door closes behind them. Will turns to the door and tries to open it in the same way as they opened it entering the room, by standing in front of it, but it remains closed.]
[Will]: Are we stuck here now?
[There is a loud banging sound in the room.]
[Bink]: Are we alone?
[There is silence for a couple moments.]
[Bink]: Moor siht pu thgil
[The lights flicker on, revealing four tied up Betelgusians, including Admiral Truph, sitting on the floor.]
[Ivada]: Good thing we went right...
[They quickly untie and ungag the Betelgusians, the other of whom are Admiral Placius, King Proykon, and Queen Viga.]
[Proykon]: Thanks you for rescuing us Plumbers... We've been trapped in here, wondering if we would ever leave, for two months. I'm surprised that the Aldabarbarians even fed us...
[Truph]: Is this your entire team?
[Ivada]: Paper and Polarys are somewhere else in the castle, and a large portion of the Pollunian army just launched a counter-invasion to try and liberate the planet...
[Viga]: They're only doing so now?
[Will]: The Pollunians didn't know that Betelgusia had fallen...
[Bink]: They only realized this when we asked for their help in ending the Aldabarbarian attack on the Earth...
[Proykon]: So the Aldabarbarians are on Earth...
[Ivada]: Yes, and we came here to free you and show the Betelgusian liberation to the Aldabarbarians as a deterrent for their invasion of Earth, but...
[Viga]: But what?
[Ivada]: We're stuck in this room...
[The camera cuts back to Paper and Polarys. Two Aldabarbarian guards run towards them, but Paper fires a foam arrow at one of them, trapping it and blocking the other one. Polarys shoots a golden energy blast at both of the guards, knocking them to the ground. The two run towards the door in front of them, which opens and then closes once they go through it. They find themselves in a dimly lit laboratory.]
[Polarys]: A lab...?
[Paper]: So who was doing experiments here?
[Polarys]: Probably the Aldabarbarians...
[She looks at a table in the lab with a bunch of tools on it. She picks up a small razor blade and then puts it down.]
[Polarys]: Yeah, definitely the Aldabarbarians...
[She looks at Paper, who is looking at a weird device on another table. She walks over to him as he picks it up.]
[Polarys]: What is that?
[Paper]: No idea...
[He looks at all sides of it. The device is a small silver cube.]
[Paper]: It's probably dangerous...
[He puts it down on the table and then begins to look at the other experiments. He picks up a small rod, which doesn't do anything, and then puts it back down.]
[Paper]: We should probably--
[Polarys]: Leave--
[Paper]: Wait, where'd the cube go?
[He looks around on all of the table tops and notices that the cube is gone. Polarys looks at the table behind her; the cube isn't on that table either.]
[Polarys]: I saw you put it down on that table...
[Suddenly, the alarm in the castle starts to go off.]
[Paper]: Security probe...
[He begins to walk towards the door in the room. When he gets up to it, the door won't open. He tries kicking the door down, but it remains.]
[Paper]: Are we trapped...
[Polarys steps forward and tries to blow up the door with an energy blast, but the door remains intact.]
[Paper]: Great...
[He stands staring at the door as Polarys turns around, picks up the razor blade from before, and starts using it to cut open a hole in the door. After a moment, she steps back, revealing a hole in the door. She walks past Paper and places the razor blade on the desk. He looks at her as she goes through the hole in the door and then turns around to face him.]
[Polarys]: You coming?
[Without waiting, she turns around and walks back down the hallway. As Paper goes through the hole, a bunch of guards enter the hallway and begin to fight Polarys. She shoots a wave of golden energy in front of her, which hits most of the guards. Some make it past the blasts of energy and attack Polarys directly. She jumps up and kicks one, but another grabs her by the arm and throws her at the wall. An arrow from Paper's bow hits that guard in the armor and electrocutes him, knocking him back. Paper speeds forward and kicks a guard in the face as Polarys stands up a forms a sword using her golden energy. She jumps and slashes the sword at the same guard that Paper just attacked, knocking him onto his back. She lunges at another guard and knocks him into the door that all the guards came into. She ducks to avoid a punch from another guard as Paper jumps over her and kicks at the final guard with both of his feet. He lands in front of her and then turns around.]
[Paper]: We've got to find the others...
[He turns around and then begins to run through the still open door left by the guards. Polarys follows her as they get to a fork in the hallway. They can go either straight or to the left.]
[Polarys]: They would be on the far side of the castle, go straight...
[He continues to go straight. The next door opens in front of them, revealing another room hallway with a fork in it.]
[Paper]: Straight again...
[Polarys]: Yeah...
[They start to run through the hallway as they hear sounds coming from the room off to the left.]
[Paper]: You hear that?
[Polarys]: Someone's in that room?
[Paper heads up to the door. It doesn't open in front of him.]
[Paper]: Locked...
[Polarys]: Stand back...
[She steps forward with her golden energy sword. She taps on the door with her hand and then waits a moment before stabbing the sword through the door. She cuts a large hole open in the door and then kicks it out of the door, revealing the Plumbers and Betelgusians trapped inside.]
[Paper]: Oh, you found them first...
[Bink]: Why'd the alarm go off?
[Paper]: Security probe in a laboratory... It wasn't our fault...
[Ivada]: Let's get out of here before any Aldabarbarians arrive...
[Paper and Polarys turn around away from the room as the others begin to follow them. They turn to the left at the fork, going in the direction opposite of where they came from. The next door opens, revealing another group of Aldabarbarian soldiers behind them. Polarys lunges forward as Paper ducks underneath an Aldabarbarian soldier as it jumps through the doorway.]
[Paper]: No...
[He turns to look at the rest of the team as the Aldabarbarian makes the door slammed closed. Another Aldabarbarian behind Paper slams into him, knocking him against the door. He falls to the ground as Polarys continues to fight off the Aldabarbarians. On the other side of the door, Will jumps at the Aldabarbarian soldier and kicks him against the wall, knocking him out. At the other end of the hallway, more Aldabarbarians begin to arrive. Ivada sends a blast of ice at several of them, partially freezing them. He runs up to one and punches it backwards into another, knocking both of them down.]
[Bink]: Ytivarg s'moor siht evomer
[Suddenly, everyone in the room begin to float. Ivada blasts another blast at the Aldabarbarian guards, freezing them. Bink floats over to the Aldabarbarians and pushes them towards the wall.]
[Will]: What was the point of this?
[Bink]: I really don't know... It seemed like a good idea. No kcab ytivarg eht nrut
[Everyone in the room falls to the ground. The Aldabarbarians fall and remains on the ground, unconscious.]
[Bink]: Well that worked, didn't it?
[Ivada]: What about Paper and Polarys, they're on the other side of that door.
[Back on the other side of the door, Polarys kicks an Aldabarbarian guard and then around to finish of the last one. She backs away from it as it charges a blaster, but Paper up, kicks the Aldabarbarian in the face, and then lands in front of the Aldabarbarian as he starts to fall unconscious. The Aldabarbarian falls forward as Paper tackles Polarys to make them avoid his fall. Paper rolls off of Polarys and then tries to catch his breath.]
[Polarys]: Thanks...
[As she lays on her back, she turns her head to look at Paper.]
[Paper]: No, really, I can't...
[She looks into his face.]
[Polarys]: I know... I know... Are the others okay?
[Paper]: Did they door lock or something? If they took care of the Aldabarbarian that got in then they should be here by now...
[They continue to sit there for a moment, and the door doesn't open.]
[Paper]: Are you going to open the door.
[Polarys slowly stands up as Paper starts to stand up, too. She walks over to the door and cuts a hole in it like before, opening a path from the other team. The three Plumbers and four Betelgusians go through the hole as the Plumbers regroup.]
[Ivada]: So back to Earth...?
[Paper]: Yes, let's get out of here...
[The camera cuts to the nine Plumbers and Betelgusians running out of a side exit of the castle. In the distance to their right, they see Pollunian and Aldabarbarian armies fighting, with the Pollunians making significant progress. As the group approaches their ship, it explodes as Ciryus walks towards them.]
[Ciryus]: Leaving so soon? The party's just begun?
[Polarys]: More like a nightmare...
[Ciryus]: If you want to get off of this planet, then you're going to have to go through me...
[Polarys steps forward and prepares to fight as Paper turns to Ivada.]
[Paper]: We should make a run for the Pollunian army ships... We can take one and head back to Aldabarbaria...
[Ivada]: Sounds like a plan... Can you hold off Ciryus on the way there?
[He nods his head and turns to face Ciryus.]
[Paper]: You can't tell us what to do...
[He grins at Ciryus.]
[Paper]: Run...
[As Bink, Will, and Ivada start to escort the Betelgusians away from Ciryus, Paper speeds at him but gets knocked to the side by a backhand swipe from him. Polarys starts throwing golden energy blasts at him, but he blocks them and starts to walk forwards to chase down the Betelgusian officials.]
[Ciryus]: This is amusing...
[From behind Ciryus, Paper launches an arrow at him, which hits him and explodes, sending him stumbling forward. He turns around and looks for Paper, but gets hit in the face with a golden energy blast from Polarys. He stumbles backwards as Polarys continues to attack him. he punches at her and she backs away, but Paper speeds at him and knocks him onto his back. He slides backwards and then starts to get up as Paper and Polarys run off towards the rest of the team. He grunts as they run off. The camera cuts ahead to Paper, running at normal speed, and Polarys catching up with the group. The two armies fighting can be seen very close to where they are, and the Pollunian ships are in the distance.]
[Ivada]: You took care of Ciryus...
[Paper]: He's far behind us... Shouldn't be a problem... What's the plan for getting to the ships...
[Bink]: I can cook up a spell of some sort... The closer we are the easier it will be, though...
[They continue to run and stop a moment later about 50 feet from the fighting. Bink looks at the ships and then thinks for a moment.]
[Bink]: Okay... Gnithgif eht morf efas su peek dna pihs nainullop a ot su ekat
[A magical orb appears around the entire group and takes them into the air, towards one of the Pollunian ships. Some of the Aldabarbarian soldiers are distracted by this as the superior Pollunian army continues to over power them. The team lands right in front of a Pollunian commander standing in front of his ship.]
[Polarys]: Commander, we need this ship...
[Commander]: Why?
[Polarys]: Our ship was destroyed... We need to take this one to go back to Aldabarbaria and use the jump gate to get back to Earth...
[Commander]: Okay, whatever you say...
[Polarys nods her head and gets onto the ship as the rest of the team follows behind her. The ship slowly begins to take off, but the Aldabarbarians do nothing about it. The ship flies off of Betelgusia as the camera cuts back to the continuing invasion in St. Louis. Chris, one of the new recruits, is fighting alongside Nick, Zon, and Toon against one of the ships. Nick flies across the front of ship and sprays a coating of acid on it, melting much of the metal coating. Toon uses fire to boost himself upwards and then blasts a stream of fire through the openings in the metal and into the engine of the ship. Zon lands and turns into his half-vulpimancer, half-petrosapien, stabbing hard diamond shards through the metal and into the engine. A blast of steam comes out from the engine as Zon backs up and covers the hole with diamond. Steam vents start popping up all around the engine, but Zon keeps covering them with diamond until eventually a large chunk of metal covering the engine is sent flying off by a wave of steam, sending Zon stumbling back. Chris, who was hovering near the ship using his own fire powers, lands behind Zon and catches him before he falls off.]
[Zon]: Thanks...
[Chris]: No problem...
[Zon]: Hey, I never got your name...
[Chris]: It's Chris...
[Suddenly, the ship begins to fall out of the sky towards a large skyscraper, still standing around the other buildings that have been toppled near it. Toon and Chris fly the other members who were on the ship away as it crashes into the building. Other ships can be seen crashing into the nearby fields and also the nearby water. The team lands by Hornbok, who is managing all the squads of Plumbers fighting to stop the ships. He looks in the distance as many of the ships escape the range of the Plumbers' forces.]
[Nick]: How many ships remain?
[Hornbok]: We've only managed to make 10 to 15 ships crash; there were likely over 400 ships. We're not even close to done, so the sooner Paper and the others get back here the better.
[Toon]: And meanwhile where's Phantress?
[Hornbok]: She disappeared once the ships started arriving from the jump gate...
[Nick]: Wait, how many of the ships have actually gotten through the gate...
[Hornbok]: Only about 60, but we can't close the jump gate.
[Nick]: How long would it take for Paper and the others to get back without the jump gate?
[Hornbok]: A couple of hours... With the gate open they could be back any minute now...
[Nick]: We should--
[Hornbok]: Destroying the gate is not an option, at least not until Phantress and most of the fleet is back on the other side...
[Nick]: But we--
[Zon]: They're here!
[He points to the gate. Hornbok and Nick turn around and see a large Pollunian ship squeeze between two Aldabarbarian ships as the camera cuts to Phantress watching the Pollunian ship arrive from the gate. She looks at the ship in horror and then grunts and starts to make her way for the ground. The camera cuts again to the ship landing. Paper, Bink, Will, Ivada, Polarys, and the four Betelgusians exit the ship as Hornbok and some other Plumbers arrive.]
[Hornbok]: Thank goodness you're back, many of the Aldabarbarian ships have escaped beyond our reach...
[Paper]: Well, we only need to find Phantress and convince her that her invasion will fail...
[Ivada]: That's why we brought these Betelgusian officials...
[Truph, acknowledging the previous statement]: Hornbok...
[Hornbok nods his head.]
[Hornbok]: How will that help?
[Polarys]: Betelgusia had been invaded by Aldabarbaria months ago without the Pollunians knowledge... The liberation of its leaders is a simple way of demonstrating our strength...
[Phantress, entering]: No, it is a foolish mistake...
[She walks out of the ship and looks at the group, then realizes that it was Polarys who said that. She smirks.]
[Phantress]: But, I must admit, that was very well played.
[Proykon]: Don't you realize what this means Phantress? Betelgusia has been liberated...
[Phantress]: I'm confident that my generals would have notified me of Betelgusia's liberation... Again, I commend you for your efforts, but you are not going to achieve anything with poorly enforced lying...
[Paper]: We can still stop you... You fear the Pollunians for what they can do...
[Phantress]: Your ignorance amuses me...
[Placius]: It's true, you fear them because they've stopped your plans in the past; Their military is far superior to yours.
[Polarys]: So, we'll leave it up to you to surrender...
[Phantress chuckles and then, in the blink of an eye, lunges at Polarys and punches her, sending her stumbling backwards and then rolling on the ground far behind the group. She grunts as Bink fires a magic blast and Ivada fires as ice blast at her. Both blasts invigorate her instead of weakening her, allowing her to slowly move forward and smack Ivada sideways into Bink. Will teleports behind Phantress, who spins around just as Will teleports again. She turns around again and then gets hit in the back with a punch from Hornbok's outstretched arm. She rushes forward at Hornbok, but then gets kicked in the back by Will. He teleports again, but she ignores him and keeps her focus on Hornbok. She lunges and the sweep kicks him, but he avoids as more of the Plumbers arrive. Cassie, Sub, Nar, Jack, and two of the new recruits, Roy and Holly, arrive at join the fight. Sub shoots ice crystals at Phantress, who blocks them but then gets blasted by an ice beam from Ivada on her other side. She jumps far back, leaving a giant ice crystal where both Sub and Ivada were focusing their powers. Jack shoots electricity at Phantress, who briefly gets stunned by it before punching Jack backwards into Nar. Cassie runs up and kicks Phantress in the shoulder, to no avail. She walks up to Cassie and punches at her, but she avoids and Phantress punches the ground. Roy fires a large blast from a laser attached to his arm, which stops Phantress, but she eventually overcomes the blast and knocks Roy back. Holly uses her telekinesis to throw a large piece of ruble at Phantress, but it breaks against her.]
[Holly, to her fellow new recruits telepathically]: Why did we even sign up for this?
[Roy]: I don't know why you guys signed up, but they made it sound a lot better than this.
[Chris]: And it wasn't even supposed to start for another two months!
[Roy]: Would you rather have the Earth be conquered?
[Chris doesn't respond as the fight continues. The final two new recruits, Harry and Figy, arrive with the rest of the Plumbers and join in on the fight. Meanwhile, Paper and the Betelgusians are checking on Polarys. Paper helps her up as the Betelgusians watch the fight from a distance.]
[Placius]: Can they beat her?
[Paper]: I'm sure they can, and once they do it's even more likely that the Aldabarbarians will retreat...
[They see Figy throws Harry at Phantress, sending her stumbling back. Water body checks her and then Rob smacks her head with the end of his sword. She gets on a knee and starts breathing heavily before standing up and letting out a scream.]
[Phantress]: ENOUGH!
[She takes an whip at her side and whips it at Polarys. As it snaps at her, the whip charges itself with electricity. Paper knocks Polarys out of the way and gets hit by the whip. It electrocutes him, but that doesn't deter him from speeding at Phantress, jumping at her, and kicking her square in the face. He falls back as she stumbles back and the Plumbers surround her. Paper lays on his back as Bink helps him up.]
[Bink]: Are you okay?
[Paper]: I've been worse...
[She looks at him as Polarys slowly gets up and approaches Phantress along with the Betelgusian officials.]
[Polarys]: So, are you done?
[Phantress, looking weakened, stares at Polarys with an angry look for a few moments before grinning.]
[Phantress]: I think we'll be leaving...
[Truph]: You better leave... Betelgusia has been fully liberated...
[Phantress grunts.]
[Phantress]: This is a rather unfortunate turn of events... You haven't heard the last from us though, we always have bold goals, and you have no idea what we could do next...
[She grins and starts to back away from the Plumbers in front of her. The Aldabarbarian ships still flying can be seen retreating into the jump gate.]
[Phantress]: I do have one final surprise for you...
[She takes out a small device and presses a button on it. The last of the Aldabarbarian ships can be seen retreating through the jump gate as Phantress back flips outside of the circle of Plumbers are over towards the gate.]
[Phantress]: Farewell
[She grins as she backs through the gate as the device she activated caused it to destroy itself.]
[Hornbok]: Are we just going to let her escape so easily?
[Polarys]: We have to...
[She turns to Hornbok.]
[Polarys]: It's hard to explain. It's been a long history with the Aldabarbarians, and I hope that you understand...
[Hornbok]: I do...
[She walks over to Paper as Proykon steps forward to speak with Hornbok.]
[Proykon]: Thank you for your help... It's not every day that the Aldabararians launch a surprise attack and you have no way of defending yourselves. We've become too reliant on the Pollunian military to help us, but this will change...
[Hornbok]: It's our job as Plumbers...
[Proykon]: Yes, but it's also our job to defend ourselves...
[Hornbok]: I guess we got lucky. If the Aldabarbarians didn't attack Earth, then we wouldn't have gone to the Pollunians for help and discovered the Aldabarbarian's recent activities...
[Proykon]: Agreed...
[The camera cuts to Paper and Bink, now standing close to each other. Sci and some of the other recruits are standing near them.]
[Brian]: Why don't you two just kiss already?
[Zon smacks his head against his forehead as Bink and Paper laugh it off. Sci approaches Paper with a worried look on his face.]
[Sci]: Are you okay?
[Paper]: The electricity... hurts, but I'll be fine...
[Sci]: Okay, listen, can I talk to you later, about something?
[Paper]: Sure...
[Sci]: Thanks... I guess I'll leave you two alone...
[Bink blushes and looks at Paper.]
[Bink]: So, we were going to go somewhere...
[Paper]: We still can, it's only like 3 in the morning...
[He smiles as Polarys taps him on the shoulder.]
[Paper]: Who--
[Polarys]: Thank you for helping...
[She steps by him and looks at Bink.]
[Polarys]: You, too. All of the Plumbers, in fact...
[She smiles and then turns around to leave with the Betelgusians, before turning around one more time.]
[Polarys]: I'll see all of you again sometime, maybe...
[She turns around and leaves without another word. Bink wraps her arms around Paper as the camera cuts to Paper, Sci, and Hornbok talking in a Plumbers' ship still in St. Louis. They are the only ones on the ship; everyone else is still outside.]
[Hornbok]: Okay, you better explain why we're holding this meeting; everyone else is eager to get back to the Plumbers' Academy.
[Sci]: I'm suspicious...
[Hornbok]: Of the Aldabarbarians? We all are, and I'd expect that they'd be back very soon...
[Sci]: No--
[Paper]: He's suspicious of Lotin...
[Hornbok]: How does--
[Paper]: ...because Lotin is the only one who knows where the Phantom is...
[Sci]: Lotin, rather the Elite, may be playing both sides, baiting the Aldabarbarians to invade, but also being the reason for the invasion...
[Hornbok]: So, what are we going to do?
[Sci]: If we could figure out where the Phantom is...
[Hornbok]: And how are we supposed to do that?
[Everyone is silent for a moment.]
[Paper]: This might be very risky, but I have an idea...
[The camera cuts later to all of the Plumbers standing outside of the ship. The five new recruits are standing across from Hornbok, while the other Plumbers are standing around.]
[Hornbok]: I'd like to thank all of you for helping us before we ever said you would have to... I hope that you understand...
[Chris]: So are we staying or not?
[Hornbok]: The Academy is not currently in session, so you are free to go back to your homes. We will be contacting you in two months to bring you back to the Academy once the fall term begins...
[Roy]: And what about--?
[Hornbok]: All of your questions will be answered when you return to the Academy... For now, a few Plumbers will escort each one of you back home.
[Two Plumbers go with each of the five new recruits as they head off to separate ships, leaving only some of the recruits.]
[Hornbok]: I'm assuming that the rest of you are returning to the Academy...
[He walks up to the main ship as most of the others walk with him. He sees Paper and Bink walking together in the opposite direction. He watches them as Sci walks past him.]
[Sci]: Are you mad?
[Hornbok]: I'm happy that we won... I couldn't care about anything else...
[The camera cuts to Paper and Bink walking together, holding hands.]
[Bink]: So... Where are we going?
[They stop at a street corner and look at each other.]
[Bink]: St. Louis isn't exactly the most romantic city, especially not with all the destruction...
[She smiles at him.]
[Paper]: Where do you want to go?
[Bink]: Wherever you want to go, I will go...
[He smiles back.]
[Paper]: That raises a question... What about if I leave the Plumbers? Don't panic, I'm not anytime soon, but eventually... You never know...
[Bink]: I'll go with you...
[She leans in and kisses him on the lips. He wraps her arms around her as the camera cuts back to Hornbok, who can see them from far away, close to each other. A thunder crack is heard as Hornbok looks up in the sky and it starts to rain.]
[Ivada]: Hornbok, we should go before the rain gets too heavy...
[Hornbok smiles as he enters the Plumbers' ship and the door closes behind him. The ships takes off as Paper and Bink watch it. They notice the rain starting to pour around them and then look at each other romantically.]
[Bink]: I was thinking Los Angeles...
[Paper]: Really, I was thinking Paris...
[Bink]: We can go to both, and wherever else our journey takes us...
[They walk down the street and then start to jog to get out of the rain. The camera zooms out and then fades to black.]
[End of Part 4]
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