Friday, December 15, 2017

Episode 15 : Farewell, Gran Mid!

Skeleton General Skull Kaiser
(Halloween Empire)

Skull Kaiser, formerly one of Samhain's greatest generals, stages a rebellion against impossible odds. The fate of countless worlds rests upon his ability to protect the Loss Queen and beat back her assailants. Along the way he is forced to fight old friends and make new allies...

Episode 15 : Farewell, Gran Mid!

The episode opens with Skull Kaiser and Phantasma King kneeling before the image of Champagne. Phantasma King swears his allegiance to her in an extremely deferential manner. Skull Kaiser is silent during the exchange, as Champagne offers her sincere thanks and is somewhat embarrassed by Phantasma King's use of honorifics. They apprise her of their progress and Skull Kaiser indicates that he's not overly familiar with the Puppet General's abilities or methods. She wishes them luck and we cut/fade to Skull Kaiser and Phantasma King standing on Gran Mid's head as they cruise through the dark and craggy countryside. Skull Kaiser continues the previous conversation saying that Nou Wire, the Puppet General, is from a world unfamiliar to him and he's always kept to himself despite his position. Phantasma King knows little more except that Nou Wire's Artifact, the Relic Cords, is what enables him to direct his army as a conductor does an orchestra. As they are discussing, Skull Kaiser thinks he spots something odd, a flash of movement, but further scrutiny reveals nothing. In truth he spotted one of Nou Wire's advanced scouts. We cut to a dimly lit chamber done in rough timbers and a bead of light glimmers along a thread that is connected to the fingers of an outstretched hand. The light reaches the hand and the hand clenches into a fist, a motion which is accompanied by dry, superior laughter. Nou Wire turns to face us, his face is featureless wood: smooth, polished, glossy (he looks a lot like a very menacing wooden artist's model). His entire body is made up of wood, with joints only visible because of the glint off the metal. He makes some egotistical remark about the intentions of the two heroes; he's set a trap and they are headed right for it. We cut back to Skull Kaiser and Phantasma King as they are approaching a bridge over a rushing river. Skull Kaiser is still uneasy from nearly catching sight of the scout and thinks that something is going to happen, but he just can't put his finger on what. They begin to cross the bridge and Phantasma King notices just as Skull Kaiser does—too late—that the bridge is made of wood, but more specifically, it's made of interlocking wooden soldiers. Once Gran Mid is completely on the bridge, the bridge scatters like a cloud of insects and swarms the skeleton snake as it splashes and flounders in the turbulent water. Skull Kaiser curses; he knows immediately that Nou Wire's soldiers have one thing in mind at this moment, and that's destroying Gran Mid! As if he needed any more proof, the wooden puppet soldiers begin climbing upon one another until they form a great and growing figure of amassed soldiers. This is Gran Lej and he proceeds to wrestle with Gran Mid. Within the water, straggling puppet soldiers beat and tear at Gran Mid while their larger cousin inflicts major damage. Skull Kaiser shouts for Gran Mid to fight, to persevere, but it doesn't look good. Gran Mid uses his fire and blasts an ample hole right through the middle of Gran Lej, but new puppet soldiers climb over the body like ants and close the wound. Moments later, Gran Lej twists his grip on Gran Mid's head and there is a nasty crack that reverberates off the water. Skull Kaiser cries out and the water around him begins to bubble as he powers up in rage until he shouts, "Ghost Kaiser!!" A flash connects his former position to Gran Lej's head which explodes, sending broken bits of puppet soldiers flying. But still, more soldiers arrive to regenerate the giant. Phantasma King rises into the air, framing his hands around the Whirl Plate, and executes a Phantasma Spiral attack. Everything seems to warp and slow, including the course of the water. He follows up by making several Phantasma Screw attacks, picking his targets carefully to inflict the most damage. Skull Kaiser is heaving with grief and rage but is able to see what Phantasma King is accomplishing. He starts with one puppet soldier, crushes him, and moves on to another. The episode ends with a passionate voice over speech from Skull Kaiser on his destructive rampage: He says farewell to Gran Mid and promises to avenge him. He then shouts out a challenge to Nou Wire, telling him that he'll destroy each and every puppet soldier if he has to, but Nou Wire will not live and Samhain's days are numbered.

To Be Continued...

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