Monday, April 17, 2006

These last few episodes ended up being a lot longer than I thought.

Episode #159 Chapter 14, part 15 Reunion part 14 --The Combat Room-- Adrien: (watching the Zilders free themselves) NO!! DAMN HIM!! DAMN THEM ALL!! THEY’VE RUINED EVERYTHING!! LT: Should I order the drones to capture him, sir? Adrien: ...... (smiles coolly) No. As long as I have his woman,.... he’ll come to me. You will pay, boy. Oh yes. You will pay.... dearly. --The Zilders’ Cells-- The Zilders are all taking small gulps from the soda cans and passing them around. “burp! BURP! buuuuurrrp!” Gumdrop: Now, being a long time veteran of the sport, I’m not knocking belching. But how’s it going to help us. Justin: You remember all those times I told you not to give Ozz caffeine? You’re about to find out why. One of the Zilders starts twitching sporadically. The twitching builds and gets faster and he starts trembling violently. Suddenly, like a gunshot, he darts down with lightning speed and punctures the floor, leaving a basketball sized entry. Gumdrop: 0.0 (looking down the hole) Whoa! And you thought I was hyper! All the other Zilders start to do the same and shoot out in all directions, making the walls, the floor, and the ceiling look like the sails of a pirate ship. Justin: They’ll keep going like that for a few minutes; ricocheting and piercing the walls of this ship like living bullets. And not just the walls, but the engines, the computers, and finally the reactor. Nice little going away present, don’t you think? Ozz: But that doesn’t leave us a lot of time to save Aisha. Justin: We don’t need much time. You can teleport us directly to Polluck’s quarters on the ninth level. Ozz: Right. Although,.... I hate to sound so... vengeful, but... I almost wish I could’ve gotten a piece of Polluck myself. (puts his paw on Justin’s shoulder, closes his eyesr) ....mmm.... uhn!r Justin: What is it? Ozz: I... I can’t teleport to his room. It’s like something’s... blocking me. Justin: Then I guess we’ll have to take the long way. The elevator’s right down the hall. (opens the the door to reveal several more robots drones waiting for them) Gumdrop: And those robots are right in front of us. Eep! (jumps in Justin’s pocket) Justin: (raises King James) Outta my way, sparky! (cuts the front drone in half, proceeds to hack the others into scrap) Ozz: (uses his psychic push to knock only a few of them down) The drones march forward pushing Justin and Ozz back into the room, swarming them. Ozz: Uhn! There’s too many of them! Justin Can’t you clear a path? Ozz: I’m still too weak. I can only take out a few at a time. Justin: (hacking robots) I will NOT... GIVE... UP!! ARG!! Ozz: They say desperate times call for desperate measures. I’d say this is more than desperate enough. Justin: What are you suggesting? Ozz: ....The mind meld. Justin: 0.0 Are you sure? Ozz: If ever there was a time to use the mind meld, this would be it! Justin: (nods) Let’s do it then! Ozz: (forms a small shield around them, then grabs Justin’s shoulders and fastens himself to his back) Just relax now. Justin lowers his blade and Ozz’s tails come up and attach themselves to the sides of Justin’s head. They both close their eyes and Ozz’s start to glow blue underneath his lids. Then lights travel like an electrical current from the base of Ozz’s tails to the tips. The two start to rise off the ground, still protected by the shield. Soon, the glow from Ozz’s eyelids fade and the lights on his tails cease. Then Justin opens his eyes. They’re glowing bright blue! --Adrien’s Chamber-- Adrien: (watching all this on a monitor) What are they doing? (punches a few buttons) .... 0.0 *gasp* Incredible. The neuro-scan shows that their brainwaves are in perfect synchronization! No. They are the same brainwave!! How is this possible!?! The robots fire on them, but their blasts are absorbed by the shield. Justin/Ozz: (sounding like both their voices combined) Get the hell outta my way! He waves his arm and all the robots fall down; deactivated. Justin/Ozz puts down his shield and flies out of the room and into the hallway. He looks up at the ceiling. Justin/Ozz: Let’s take the direct route. He raises his arm and, without showing any effort, blows a hole in the ceiling all the way to the ninth level. Adrien: He’s on his way. (devilish grin) Good. Justin/Ozz appears on the ninth level and flies down the hallway towards Polluck’s chamber. Suddenly, several flying mini-drones that look like blasters with helicopter props pop out of the walls and chase after him. They shoot at Justin/Ozz who quickly turns around in midair and puts up a shield. Justin/Ozz: You’ve got to be kidding me. (snaps his fingers and they all explode) Heh heh. He turns around and comes face to face with the barrel of a mini-drone’s blaster. And there’s a horde of others right behind it. Justin/Ozz: Time to put your toys away, Polluck. HEEEYAA!! He swings King James with such power that it sends a shockwave through all of them and they all explode. More mini-drones quickly appear. Justin/Ozz: I’m through playing around! He puts up a shield and guns it down the corridor. The mini-drones bounce right off the shield as he plows through them. Soon he reaches the door to Adrien’s room. He puts his feet on the ground, raises his hand and uses a psychic blast to blow the door right off. Justin/Ozz: (steps inside) POLLUCK!! Adrien is sitting on his bed, smiling calmly. Aisha is kneeling in the corner, completely out of energy, bound in new restraints, and wearing nothing but her bell collar and a bedsheet. Aisha: PURRAM! Adrien: I’m glad you could make it, boys. We have much to discuss. Justin/Ozz: You will pay for what you’ve done to my family, Polluck! Adrien: (stands up) Stop calling me that! Justin/Ozz: 0.0 Adrien: Dr. Adrien Polluck is dead! I am his successor: Azriel! Justin/Ozz: What’s your game... “Azriel”? Why all this devastation? What do you want? Azriel: ..... To see you suffer. (points at Aisha and raises her up by her collar) Aisha: (starting to choke) *gag* Justin/Ozz: You mongrel beast! That’s what you did to him! You cut open his brain and gave his powers to yourself!! Azriel: I was merely putting them where they would be put to good use! Besides, he tried to destroy my ship. Justin/Ozz: (winces for a second, then Ozz detaches himself from Justin and flies over to Azriel) Ozz: “Good use”!? Azriel: YES!! The greatest psychic power in the universe, and God gives it to the most undeserving of creatures! Lowly little rats!! Ozz: You have no idea what you’re dealing with. Such power isn’t meant for humans. They will destroy you, Polluck. Azriel: I told you not to call me that!! (without even moving, psychic blasts Ozz into the wall) “POW!!” Ozz: UHN! (falls to the floor unconscious) uhhhh.... Azriel: (sneers) Pitiful little rat. Justin: Ozz! That does it!! (charges with King James) YAAAA!! Azriel: (teleports behind him and elbows Justin the back... hard) Justin: ACK! (falls onto the floor) Oof! “KRUNCH!” Justin: AAAAAAAHH!!! Aisha: (still hanging by her collar) Purram! *gag* Azriel: (pressing his heel into Justin’s back) You and your friends have been a thorn in my side long enough! I already took care of your friends on the ship. Now it’s down to the two of you. (snaps his fingers and Aisha falls down) Aisha: Aah! (lying on the ground) Uhhhh... Azriel: Now here’s the puzzler. Which of you do I hate more? Which of you do I want to see suffer the most? You... (kicks Aisha) Aisha: Uhn! Azriel: You scarred my beautiful face, destroyed my room, and led the Outlaw Star right to us. (looks at Justin and presses his foot into his spine even harder) Justin: Aaaaaaah! Azriel: You led the attack on my ship, incapacitated my guards, destroyed my drones, and freed the Zilders, thus ruining my plans completely! So let’s see now. That’s 3 to 4 in favor of you. Justin: (looks up) Gonna kill me first then? Azriel: (grins) Quite the contrary. (presses his heel into a specific part of his back) Justin: AAAAH!! Aaah! Uh! Huh? (he can’t move) Azriel: I’m going to make you watch. (looks at Aisha) Justin: 0.0 *gasp* Azriel: (focuses on Aisha and looks directly into her eyes) ........ Aisha: ...... (starts convulsing on the floor and screaming in excruciating pain) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! Justin: AISHA!! Aisha: AAAAHH!!! MY HEAD!!! I FEEL LIKE IT’S GONNA..... AAAAAAAHH!!!! Justin: AISHAAAAAAA!!! Azriel: (laughing demonically) Heh heh heh heh heh. HA HA HA HA HA HA...!! “BOOOOM!!” The room shakes violently and Azriel falls back. Azriel: Uhn! What the hell!?! Justin: ..... aisha? Aisha: *pant, pant* ...ahhh (looks up at Justin) ...uhh.... j-... justin..... uhhhhhh. (passes out) Justin: Aisha?! Aisha! (starts to cry, buries his face into the floor) *sob, sniff* God... God help me. Azriel: (walks up to the PA) Captain to bridge!! What the hell is going on!?! Crewman: Sir! It’s the red ship! It’s back! Azriel: WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!! Outside the Athena, missing both of its grappler arms’ hands and half an assault bolt, the Outlaw Star fires missile after missile at the ship. Gene: NOBODY DOES THAT TO MY SHIP!!! Azriel: Engage a counter attack!! Launch all missiles!! Crewman: We can’t Captain! The entire defense grid has been destroyed! Azriel: What do you mean “destroyed”!?! Crewman: Well sir.... it has a giant hole through it! Also engines 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8 have been damaged beyond repair! Azriel: No. How can this be? This is impossible! ???: Nothing’s impossible. Before he can move, Azriel is struck by a giant blast of energy and flung into a corner of the room. Azriel: (on the floor) Uhh! What.... 0.0 !!! On the other side of the room stands a young man engulfed in white flame and holding a fireball in his right fist. Azriel: (eyes wide with fear) What... what is that? Such power. In 500 years I’ve never felt such power! Justin: (all his cuts and bruises are healed) You will pay for what you’ve done, Adrien Polluck. You have committed crimes against man and nature. You poached an entire species on a protected planet. You conspired to commit alien genocide. And on a personal note, you kidnapped my best friend and tried to kill the ones I love! You don’t deserve to live. Azriel: (backs into the corner) ...... Justin: And you don’t deserve death either. Not for this. I won’t kill you for your twisted ideals, Polluck. You shall not be martyr for madness. Azriel: .... Then you’re just as stupid as a Zilder! (sends a psychic wave at him) Justin: (thrusts out his arm and deflects the wave, sending it back to Azriel) Azriel: (gets slammed into the wall) UHN!! Justin: (flies up to him and picks him up) I’m not going to kill you. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to pound the hell out of you!! Justin throws Azriel across the room. But Azriel catches himself and hovers down onto his feet. Justin charges at him with flaming fists and Azriel quickly puts up a shield. Justin dishes out lefts and rights against the shield and shatters it in five hits. Now completely overcome with shock and horror, Azriel is struck in the face by a high kick and sent staggering back into another corner. Justin now gives him a solid punch in the gut, and then a right uppercut to the jaw, then a left hook, a right hook, and finally he runs up the wall and gives Azriel and spin kick in the teeth. Azriel starts to cough up blood on the floor, but it’s not over yet. Justin creates a fireball in his hand and prepares to strike. Justin: Give my regards to the inferno! (throws it at Azriel, but it evaporates against a psychic shield) Huh? Ozz: (now conscious) That’s enough, Justin. Justin: ..... *sigh* You’re right. (the white flames disappear) Any more, and I would’ve been no better. “CRASH!! BOOM!!” Justin: What the Heifong? “ATTENTION. INITIATE EVACUATION. ATTENTION. INITIATE EVACUATION.” Justin: Sounds like the Zilders finally found the reactor. Ozz: No. The Outlaw Star has crashed into the bridge on level 8. (a red light starts flashing) “WAAAAOOOO!! WAAAAOOOO!!” Ozz: Now they found the reactor. Justin picks up his sword, turns it back into a cross, and puts it into a loop on his utility belt. Then he walks over and picks up a still unconscious Aisha. Justin: C’mon babe. Let’s get out of here. (runs over to the door) C’mon Ozz! Ozz: (looking at Azriel) You go ahead. I’ll stay here. Justin: What?! Ozz: Go! Get Aisha out of here! I have to stay and finish this. Justin: But... Ozz.... Ozz: (looks over at Justin) I’ll come back. Justin: ...... (nods and takes off down the hall) Azriel: Uhhh. (stands up, smiling) So.... that boy is your bond. Now I see why he interests you so much. After I’m finished with you... I’ll come after him. Ozz: You will do no such thing!! Azriel: HAAA!! Azriel and Ozz both launch psychic waves at eachother. The waves clash and the two are locked in a psychic tug of war, each blocking the other’s blast. Azriel: (holding up his arms) I can keep this up just as long as you. Ozz: We’ll see about that. Uhn! Justin: (inside the elevator, going down) It’s a good thing these are still working. Aisha: (cracks open her eyes, still very weak) uhhhh... justin? Justin: Easy. I’ve got you. Aisha: (closes her eyes again) ........ Justin: Don’t worry babe. Everything’s gonna be fine. “ding!” The doors open and Justin is welcomed by three sentry drones. Justin: Aw, gimmie a break! The robots raise their blasters and Justin starts to flame up. “slice!” Justin: (the flames vanish) Huh? The robots stand there for a second. Then they all fall apart at the torso. Suzuka: (standing behind the drones) You two coming or what? Justin: .... (smiles cheerfully but tiredly in relief) --Adrien’s Chamber-- Ozz and Azriel are still pressing their attacks against eachother. Ozz: Uhn! Uhh! Azriel: You’re weak you little pest. You don’t stand a chance against me! Ozz: Uhn! C’mon. Just a little... more. (starts building his attack and adds more power) Azriel: That won’t help you. (does the same and adds more power to his attack, but much faster than Ozz is) The psychic attacks grow larger and stronger by the second. But soon, Azriel’s attack begins to dwarf Ozz’s. Ozz: Uhh! Can’t... hold it... much... longer. Azriel: Heh heh heh.... uhn! Mmm..... uhh! (his face twitches and his attack slowly starts to die down, then suddenly he grabs his head in pain) AAAAH!! With his concentration broken, Azriel’s attack dissipates and he’s hit by the full force of Ozz’s wave. He flies across the room and becomes embedded in the wall. “WHAMM!!” Ozz: *pant, pant* Too much for you to handle? Thought so. Azriel: (holding his head) AAAAAH!! MY HEAD’S ABOUT TO EXPLODE!!! Ozz: I told you that you didn’t know what you were dealing with. Now you pay the price for your perversions. Azriel collapses on the floor screaming in unbelievable pain. His whole body convulses uncontrollably as if he’s having a seizure. Then the gruesome display suddenly ceases and Azriel lies motionless. Ozz: It is finished. --Level 8-- --The Bridge-- The front half of the Outlaw Star has crashed through the glass of the room. Jim: (standing in the ship’s airlock) C’mon! This place is gonna blow any second! Suzuka climbs inside first, then Justin hands Aisha up to her and Jim, and finally Justin climbs in himself. Jim: (closes the door and hits a button) Gene, we’re on! Let’s get the hell outta here! The Outlaw Star pulls out of the deteriorating Athena, and rockets away towards safety. In a few seconds, small fiery clouds burst from all over the ship’s hull and then the entire battleship explodes in a glorious haze of fire and shrapnel. --The Outlaw Star-- Justin: (watching the explosion from a distance) .... Ozz. Gene: (walks up next to him) Well... give us an update. Justin: .... (smiles) We did it. They’re free. Gene: (smiles and pats Justin’s shoulder) Justin: How did you...? Gene: They had us in a pretty tight spot. Shut down all our systems and had a giant cannon aimed right in our faces. But I used the grappler arms at the last second to point the cannon at the assault bolt. Cost us though. And it took us forever to get Gilliam back online. We didn’t miss anything, did we? Justin: Actually, your timing was perfect. Thanks Gene. Gene: .... You know what, Artukei? You’re alright. But I still think you’re crazy. Justin: That makes two of us. (leaves) Justin walks down the hallway, opens a door, and sees Aisha lying on a bed with Suzuka sitting bedside. Justin: Thank you, Suzuka. Suzuka: (stands up) She’ll be fine. She just needs some rest. Justin: I wasn’t talking about that. (kisses her cheek) Thank you so much, Suzuka. For everything. Suzuka: (blinks for a second, then smiles warmly) Don’t mention it. Aisha: (starting to wake up) mmm.... Suzuka: I’ll leave you two alone. (leaves) Justin: (sits beside Aisha) Aisha: mmm.... nya? (opens her eyes) Justin: Hey. Welcome back. Aisha: ... What happened? Gumdrop: (pops up out of no-where) Well, first we were zooming in and everything was all “choo choo ch-ch-choo choo!” and I almost threw up! Then we got on the ship and it was like “bang bang bang, zap zap, BOOM, K-BLAM, POW!” And then I was in the vents, and I got into the computer, and “BLAMMO!!” And now we’re here. Justin: It’s a long story. Longer than I thought it would be. I’ll fill you in on the details later, but the short version is we freed the Zilders, rescued you, and destroyed the Athena. The even shorter version is... we won. Aisha: What about Adrien? Justin: Last I saw him he was with Ozz. Aisha: And where’s he? Justin: .... I’m not sure. He said he’d come back, but... who knows how long that could be? “I’d say not long at all.” In a flash of light, Ozz appears in the room. Justin: OZZ! Ozz hugs Justin tight, then flies over the Aisha and does the same. Justin: So what happened? Did you and Polluck face off in a big psychic showdown? Ozz: Zoo zzzoo zoooo. Aisha: What’s he saying? Justin: Just as he predicted, the Zilder’s psychic powers were too much for his human mind to maintain. He ended up causing his own destruction. Aisha: I’m just disappointed that I didn’t cause it. Justin: Ozz, what kept you? When the Athena exploded, I feared the worst. Ozz: I just had to take care of one more thing. Some very grateful individuals wanted to express their gratitude. --the bridge-- Gene: *groan* Great. Another adventure over, and we’re stuck with a monster repair bill. Next time I get involved in this sort of thing, I’m gonna ask about a reward. “ping!” Melfina: (in her pod) Gene, multiple objects incoming. Thousands of them! Gene: What? Gilliam, get me a visual. A screen comes up and shows thousands of multicolor lights flickering in space. Gene: What in the... The image zooms in to reveal all the Zilders enclosed in psychic bubbles. They’re all toting wreckage from the Athena. Jim: It’s the Zilders! Gene: What are they doing? The Zilders quickly swarm the Outlaw Star and using their powers and the scrap metal, they repair the ship’s arms and assault bolt. Jim: Awesome! Melfina: All systems fully restored! Gene: Well, how do you like that? Aisha: I saw what you and Ozz did. It was amazing! I had no idea you could do that! Justin: The mind meld combines the mental and physical powers of both individuals. Making them as one being for a short amount of time. Aisha: Ozz’s psychic powers and your fighting skills. But you became separated. How did you defeat Adrien? Justin: ... It was like something came over me; a new strength I’d never felt before. Something just burned inside of me. I didn’t want to stop until he was down. Ozz: (looking and Justin and smiling very big) Justin: (catches him) What’re you smiling about? Ozz: I’m just so proud. Justin: What? Ozz: You have no idea how proud I am. Justin, it wasn’t just our personal similarities that drew me to you. From the very moment I saw you, I sensed something very special in you. I sensed great power; a power unlike anything else I’d ever felt in this universe. You’ve just recently begun to discover it. I was discouraged when you at first used it for dark purposes. It was brief, but it was the first time I questioned the decision I made five years ago. But today, my hope was restored as I watched you fight so nobly. That power didn’t come from Incubus. That was all you. Justin: .... Maybe not all. (glances up) Ozz: You were a true hero today, Justin. (starts to leave) Justin: Where are you going? Ozz: To thank the remainder of my rescuers. Also, I’m sure you want to get home very soon. Now that I’m here, I can have us all there in a heartbeat. (leaves) Justin: (smiles, looks back at Aisha) Hey, you should get some rest. You’re still pretty weak. Aisha: Why do you do it? Justin: ... Do what? Aisha: .... I always thought humans were so stupid. They charge head-long into danger knowing full well that they could die. They fight and they keep fighting when the odds are stacked so high against them and there’s no hope in sight. I thought it was insanity. (quietly) But now... I’ve been human.... and I know what it feels like. I now know how it feels to be vulnerable. To have everything hurt. How do you do it? How can creatures so frail endure so much pain? Where do they find the strength and the courage to look death in the eyes and laugh? What is it about you? Justin: (puts his hand on her shoulder) We never forget what we’re fighting for. Whether it’s an entire country,... or the ones we love the most. (strokes her face) Aisha: What were you fighting for? Justin: Do you even have to ask? Aisha: I wanna hear you say it. Justin: *deep breath* .... Freedom.... Justice.... To liberate captives.... To avenge innocents.... For my friends.... For my family.... And for my future wife. *kiss* I love you so much, Aisha. Aisha: (crying) I love you too. (hugs him tight) *kiss* Now... let’s go home and finally get married. Justin: If you don’t mind... I’d like to finally get some sleep first. Aisha: (smiles) Sure. *kiss* (pulls him into bed with her and lies on top of him) You’ve earned a rest. (puts her head on his chest) And so much more. See you in the black...

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