The Children's Section

Sam - Sitting at the breakfast table with his family, "And there was this ... bad man on a dragon ... "

Dad - "Dragon ... well ... that sounds pretty cool."

Sam - Laughs with post dream relief, "It was cool ... but it was really scary when I thought it was real."

Mom - Giving more eggs, "It was real honey.  This is the dream.  You know we're not together anymore."  She and his father turn to the window. 

The flashing light.

Gabby wakes up in her bed at the Standing Treeline, she looks out the slotted open window, the sun rises.  Sam sits up, looks at her confused, returned.  

Mike - Standing at another window nearby, looking out.  "It's time."

All the children gather at the hall with their following heroes before parting to their Xenofix units.

(open credits)

Bal opens his eyes, awakened on the throne.  The sun rise seen through the open doors, Cybal walking toward from the light.

Cybal - "They're leaving the Sidhe woods as we speak." 

He stares at her breathing hard.

...

Cybal - "My lord."

...

Cybal - "Why ... "

Bal - "Why."

...

Cybal - "Why do you care ?"

Bal - "Because.  It is insolence."

Cybal - "But why are they here ?"

Bal - "Because.  They are lost between a dead world, and on which lives waiting for them."

Cybal - "Why ... "

Bal - He stands and walks past her to the morning light, paced by war on the mind and the sound of rising troops.  "Why ... "  A laugh.  "Why Cybal ... why."

Cybal - "They are ... but children."

He stops.  

Stands shaking in a gathering rage, throws up his arms high with a roar, cracking his power through the rooftop and into the sky, the dragon above circles the beam with a celebratory roar as the mountain side shakes its legs loose.

The castle quakes beneath their feet, his shaking hand slowly draws the sword ...

Bal - "I'm not ... afraid of you."

Cybal - "Yes you are." 

She draws fast and strikes hard, blocked by his own and pushed back.  These are heavy blades, broad strokes with full body balance, a shaking floor in motion as the beast tears itself from the earth.
________

The Maid flies upward over the invisible kingdom singing the notes to Flight of the Valkyries as the people below look up.  When over the throne, the invisible king looks up.

The ice cream cones fall like a row of bombs as she sings ... splatting in a row lading to him, directly in the face.

She lands atop the high four faced tower and drops the platter, kicking the lid off for the chef to rise.  He looks to the distant castle still struggling to free itself, the other way to the walkers trailing for the river, the protective wall.
________

Ari - All riding in the Xenofix, "This is it."

They all look at each other.

Mike - "If we don't ... "

Gabby - "I think you're all really cool."

Ari - "Yeah.  Me too."

They turn for the window.
________

Bal - Circling with Cybal, "Why ... why why why Why WHY !  I will Tell you why.  Because this is Not his land.  It is Not his world to march his unnatural things through, and these children, are Not his to save.  Why.  Why Why WHY Do you CARE !?"

"I am a God of Death !  A Lord of Hell ... Pain belongs to Me and Me Alone !  Pain ... is What I AM ... "

Cybal - A tear in her eye, "But that's ... not true."

Bal roars into a hard swing, next scene with the clang of her block ~
________

~ As an echo in the night.

The nightmares gathered at the wall, in the silence before battle, ironically afraid.  Twitching at sounds and twigs, looking to each other for comfort.

In this their smoke settles to people like obsidian gods, chiseled and sanded to their forms.  A cold breath exhales ... the crashing sound of a tree, forms in the shadows of the wood.

A row of heroes marching in every archetype imaginable.  Horrors to monsters, heroes to gods, manga dancers and wandering ronin, the tree line crashes over behind with the line of Xenofix.

As the castle grinds from the stone, twisting in protest of it's stature, the dragon lands, swiping the guards away as a nuisance it peers its large head through the doors.  Unable to fit past the nose, it starts working its way in at the loss of brick and mortar.

Inside their blades clang, outside the beast uncaps its volcano in its struggle as the lava flows.  While on the distant isle, a gurgling beneath the platform as the lava there lowers in response.

The dragon works in further, looking for a clear shot on her with its snarling fire. Breathing in ready for one, the sound of a cartoon Boink !  Bangs its head on the doorway top in pain and wriggles it's neck from the door and looks back in a fury.

A flying unicorn stuck by the horn in it's butt like a tack.

It roars with a whip of a tail sending it cartwheeling and takes off flying after in an explosion of really angry.

Guards rush the chamber where Bal and Cybal fight as the castle frees its last limbs.

Bal - "To STATIONS !"  Growling against Cybal's blade, "This one ... is for ME."

Outside the castle roars its own multi-chambered call, freed at last while Calypso chases Alabast in circles around, hopelessly trying to catch it in fire.

~ two

The heroes in a row, children watching eyes wide at their own numbers, all come to a stop. 

Adam - Stepping forth, "Nightmares !  Fear us."

The Xenofix all blow their many horns, filling the clearing before opening fire over the charge.  The nightmares roar back, their towers sending catapult, answering the charge with their own.
________

The dark castle stumbles and kicks through the last falling stones, the volcano in full eruption behind.  The sudden change in the lava's flow heats the sea causing it to rise, if floods the cave made by Cybal, splashing water over the steaming platform.

A crack in the molten stone, a crack beneath in iron with something smooth beneath.
________

Cybal - A traded blade sends her skidding to her knees.  She looks to her sword, her fist clenched over it holding her up.  "You had so many beautiful ideas.  It could have been so much more than this.  You could have been ... "

Bal - "What."  He sends an energy blast throwing her.  "What could I have been."  Again, knocking her hard against a wall.

Cybal - Looks down at her blade again ... "I still believe in you."  It grinds against the stone as she leaps into charge.
____

While on the battlefield blades clash, ignited pult rounds ignite the trees behind, and almost immediately the Sidhe appear.

At the isle water splashes over more steam, cracks stretching across its own blockage, the lava pouring elsewhere from that evil mount, the dragon still chasing the mare over it in great frustration and misplaced breath.
____________

At the tower over the Invisible Kingdom, the Chef and Maid struggle with the controls.  The king is noticed standing behind them with an ice cream cone's remnants.  Clears his throat.

Finishes his cone, inserts the key and turns it.

The distant castle beast approaching, the tower lowers as it's upholding pillars bend at their knees.  If an Ezekiel machine were vaguely modeled after a virus, which a description it (very) vaguely fits.

But also as the toy that would stand tall to hang things from, or low where the knees would be at the same height as the tower square, to hold a small tabletop.

To play with the playsets on or decorate a little girl's room.  Pale with golden accents.  The four faces of the top turn around a center circle where they stand.

0:39 ~ It turns to the human face forward becoming visible and blasts a beam from the mouth through one of the dark castle's many towers. 

The barrage of flaming catapult struggles with its lean and side walking gait, the king at the controls with confidence.  The cook behind his left with arms crossed, behind right, the maid shoves cake into the kings mouth as though it were to fuel this machine itself.

And on the isle not so far away, the lava has (con) descended, bursting instead from the mountain behind the dark castle.  The mold which formed this Xenofix city begins cracking off in large pieces as it breaks from them like an egg, taking the surrounding mountain walls with.

Until it crashes beneath it, falling heavy into the bubbling water.

While in that dark castle, beneath the dragon chasing the unicorn in a rage, Bal and Cybal still fight with their heavy swords swinging hard, circling on quaking floor.

At the front parts of the wall are taken, Xenofix units making the river.  One by one they gently turn in the flow toward the sea, where the Mountain sized city built so much like them starts to peak from the water, immediately firing on the similar castle.

With its catapults launching on its walk, the broad steps already nearing the line.  A Xenofix takes a pult round, stumbling it.  It grinds back up and continues.

A strike to the dark castle direct through the front drops the floor beneath Bal and Cybal, bringing the ceiling down with it, trying to stand the floor breaks again.

The Xenofix XO makes land, walking through trees and stripping them, loading them into the belts for the guns.

Inside the crumbling castle, they stumble to, and with a stare, he roars another swing.  With a scream she takes off his forearm, stumbling him back swordless.  She leaps to the advantage, first hacking, then hilt pounding.

Until she tosses the sword and tears off the armor to the child beneath.  He looks around, the castle crumbling, then up at her.  "Mom ?  What's ... happening ?"

She hold him close and pulls him under her robe, above the dragon is pulled roaring and flailing back into the sky.

Cybal - Crouching and holding tight while the castle starts total collapse, "It's okay.  I'm here.  It's okay.  ...  I'm so sorry."  She looks up, "Alabast."

(3:21)

He descends the rooftop hole as it begins caving in behind.  And now they're flying away fast, through the basement network, as that collapse dominoes the rest.

Outside where nobody knows, the giants finish it.  At the front the Xenofix Heroes take the last of it, the walkers one by one floating off in slow spin, their massive likewise turning from the dark castle's destruction, to meet the walkers in the sea.

The army of gathered heroes watch them float away, joined by this massive thing which could now be called an island.
____________

While in the invisible city, things return to rest.  Its own heroes returning, save one.  The three look up, as does Adam from the woods, watching Alabast land.

She dismounts carefully with Bal wrapped in her cape, apparently sleeping, nd brings him to the king.

Cybal - "Your turn."

King - A laugh, he takes the child and watches her turn to depart.  "It was good to see you."

Cybal - She stops.  Looks back, "Yeah."  Mounts her flying fucking unicorn and she's off.

Closing credits as the Xenofix (plural) drift in slow spin to the sea, one by one colliding with the mother.  They climb its legs from the water, to the island to meet and left off there.

After credits ~

King - Holding the sleeping boy as they're joined by cook and maid all watching Cybal fly away.  Smiles around at them then back to the sky, "I think that went rather well, don't you ?"

All are in very supportive agreement.
________

Out to the river and then it's end, the fort at the mouth looking out onto the infinite oceans, that floating island fading from sight of its tower where the layabout gods from a distance still appear to lay.

The cartographer's craft approaches its high ~

Cartographer - Calling out to them, "Well this is a nice castle then !"

They look up close enough to see clearly.

Prometheus - Wearing old furs and breathing into his fire bundle with a smile as it begins to smoulder again, "That it is."

Atlas - With eyes of joy and sadness that carry the weight of the world, "More than welcome for a spot of tea, your timing was grand."

Prometheus - "We ... were just considering our next adventure."