Saturday, April 1, 2006

Episode #152 Chapter 14, part 8 Reunion part 7 Aisha: ... What did you say? Justin: I remember.... everything. How we got here. What happened to us. And Ozz. I can’t believe I couldn’t remember Ozz. (puts his hands on Aisha’s shoulders) Aisha. Aisha: Nya? Justin: Look at me. Look me right in the eyes and listen to me very carefully. Aisha: (nods) Justin: (slowly and clearly) “April flowers blossom in the southern wind.” Aisha: (her face winces and she feels her head) Uhh! Oh. What the heck was that? (blinks her eyes) Wait a minute. (looks around) I... I remember this place. Gene: Hello! Remember us? Can we get the 411 here, please? What is going on?! Justin: Allow me to explain, Gene. Ozz is my best friend. He’s a Zilder. And this is his home world. Gumdrop: (thrusts his paws in the air) YES! Jim: (wide eyed) A Zilder? Justin: Yes. This all started a few days ago back at our home. I noticed that Ozz just wasn’t himself. He slept more, he ate less, and we barely got a single “zoo” out of him. He seemed really down. Gumdrop: The phrase I used was “bluer than usual”. Justin: Turns out he was just homesick. So, we decided to take a little trip. (flashback) --Zild, 4 days ago-- In a flash, Justin, Aisha, Ozz, and Gumdrop appear in the forest. Their faces adorned with wonder as hundreds of Zilders in ever color of the rainbow swarm in the trees above them. Ozz flies up to meet them and becomes lost in the storm of colors. Soon, several Zilders approach the others and float around them, inspecting them in curiosity. Justin and Aisha cheerfully welcome their inquisitive nature. Gumdrop, on the other hand, is a little more wary as he defends himself Bruce Lee style. Then, a familiar cobalt-blue native descends and leads the group deeper into the forest. They soon reach a lush and healthy version of the clearing where even more Zilders than before gather. Ozz looks at Justin and twitches his antennae, communicating with him. Justin then leans over to Aisha and mutters something. Aisha nods, and Ozz signals two other Zilders to come down and join them. Ozz then forms a psychic bubble around Justin, and the two new Zilders do the same for Aisha and Gumdrop. Slowly, they all start to hover above the ground. Slightly freaked at first, Aisha glances over at Justin who reassures her with a confident smile. The three rise higher and higher until they’re all above the canopy and surveying the treetops. Justin and Aisha gaze in awe as they relish their bird’s-eye view, and Gummy tries desperately not to look down. Soon, Ozz looks back at Justin, obviously communicating again. Then Justin nods, looks at Aisha and Gumdrop, and mouths out “hang on”. With a look of ‘nya’, Aisha leans back against her bubble, bracing herself. Gumdrop starts frantically looking for the seatbelt. Ozz looks at his counterparts, gives a nod, and the Zilders jet, dragging their passengers behind them. The three travelers are given the ride of their lives as they soar above the alien forest at over 130mph. Justin stands up, feet firmly planted and leaning forward as if riding a hover board. Aisha screams with excitement as she thrusts her arms upwards in a rollercoaster riding fashion. Gumdrop resembles a miniature X as he braces himself against the psychic walls. After the “tour” is over, the four are returned to the clearing. When they are released from the psychic spheres, Gumdrop immediately starts kissing the ground. Justin and Aisha, however, raise their fists and cheer as they’re still riding on the adrenaline. “And that’s when they came.” Hundreds of Zilders rush in from another area of the forest as they’re followed by strange noises. Justin and Aisha race off in the opposite direction the natives are fleeing and try to see what’s up. They soon see several men in dark suits with a black swan embossed on their shoulders. They wear face-less masks and carry unknown weapons. One of them fires what looks like a rifle with a bullhorn at the end. The rifle shoots a wave of energy that hits all the nearby Zilders and sends them to the ground like stones. Another man fires a large net cannon and captures the fallen Zilders. Infuriated by what he’s just witnessed, Justin springs into action. He pulls a small golden cross from his pocket, and it transforms into King James, the Holy Sword and Justin’s weapon of choice. He rushes at the man with the rifle and slashes his weapon in two. The man with the net launcher fires at Justin. But Aisha has Justin’s back as she leaps into the air and shreds the net with her claws before it can lay a fiber on her fiancé. As she lands, she commences kicking the ever-loving-crap out of the man. The rifleman pulls a small stun pistol from his belt and shoots at Justin. Quickly, Justin swings his blade and deflects the blast back to its executor, paralyzing him. Justin and Aisha fight gallantly for a few more moments, but alas, their efforts are futile. Set on neutralizing this inconvenience, the other men soon overwhelm the two would-be heroes. Barraged by stun blasts, it isn’t long before Justin and Aisha are incapacitated and knocked unconscious. (end flashback) Justin: They took Ozz. They took all of them. Aisha: That’s right. That’s exactly what happened. But I still don’t remember the next three days. Justin: Because we were unconscious. For the next three days, our minds were being wiped clean of any memory of what happened on Zild or how we got there. And since Ozz was our transportation, any trace of him was erased entirely. The only thing that could bring our memories back was the special code phrase that I just spoke to you. Gene: Hey, wait! If you were unconscious, how do you know about the brainwashing or the code phrase? Justin: .... (looks up) Orozan. All: Huh? Justin: He told me. He brought my memory back. And shared with me some vital information. He knew that if we were going to help the Zilders, our memories would have to be restored. So he lured us here in order to do so. Isn’t that right, Melfina? Melfina: 0_0 ... y-yes. Gene: What? Melfina: I couldn’t explain it, but it was like someone was calling me. Telling me that we should stop at the spaceport. Justin: Orozan knew you were our friends, so he influenced your decisions. Just how he influenced me. Aisha: Wait. My memory was gone too. So why didn’t he call to me? Justin: Every Zilder is linked to Orozan. And since Ozz is my bond, I’m linked to him as well. Gene: Hold up, just a minute. Who exactly is this Orozan everyone keeps yammering about? Justin: .... He was the first Zilder. Well, at least as far back as their native history can be traced. He died centuries ago, but his spirit still lives in this part of the forest. He is the father and guardian of the Zilders. Suzuka: (looks around) So that explains the condition of all the plants. He is in mourning. Jim: .... This is it. This is the Temple of Orozan. All this time people have been looking for stones, pillars, or monuments. When it’s been the very trees themselves. This is incredible! Justin: Orozan fears for his children’s safety. He wishes them returned. And we’re gonna return them. Gene: What?! Justin: Ozz is my best friend. I have to rescue him and all the other Zilders. C’mon! (takes off back towards the Outlaw Star) All the others follow and Gumdrop jumps into Justin’s back pocket. Jim: (running along) Wait a minute! Artukei! Do you have any idea what you’ve just done? You’ve solved one of the oldest mysteries in the galaxy! Justin: I’ll ponder that later, James. Right now, we have bigger worries. The missing piece of the puzzle has been found, and this is the picture. My best friend’s been kidnapped. Gene: Man, how do I keep getting into these messes?

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