Difference between revisions of "Metaverse Crash Course"
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Back in reality the pilots have more questions than answers. Andi’s pod is empty and a giant hole is punched in the nearby concrete wall. Before reviewing the mission with Jebidiah, the team heads to the common room where they search the internet for “Wendy Gates.” They find a photograph of someone who looks very familiar…and she happens to be sitting across the room from them. | Back in reality the pilots have more questions than answers. Andi’s pod is empty and a giant hole is punched in the nearby concrete wall. Before reviewing the mission with Jebidiah, the team heads to the common room where they search the internet for “Wendy Gates.” They find a photograph of someone who looks very familiar…and she happens to be sitting across the room from them. | ||
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+ | ''Episode Nine'' | ||
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+ | Three children lost in time wake up outside the inviting grounds of an amusement park. Angel is the Self Proclaimed Queen of Fairyland and seems to be straight out of the 1920s. Bobby is a little boy from the 1950s armed with his wooden gun and a wealth of military history knowledge. Lizzie seems to be from the 1970s or 1980s and has no time or patience for childish things like magic and pretend. She takes care of herself and is armed with a slingshot, a switchblade, and several very sticky fingers. The trio make their way through the abandoned park and soon begin to notice that things are not quite what they seem. They come upon a pink and white tropical flower in a blue pot with a note nearby. The note is from someone they don't know, someone named TOM. TOM claims that they are in danger and he is trying to reach them in time. He implores them to work together and stay safe. Darkness suddenly falls and the previously welcoming scene becomes far more sinister. Stuffed animals come grotesquely to life and begin attacking the children while the food Lizzie previously ate isn't sitting so well with her. Bobby and Angel find that their previously imaginary tools now work with spectacular results. The children run off and stumble into the food court. Another flower and another note are waiting for them. Lizzie begins to vomit as Bobby reads the note. TOM is trying to reach them but he has discovered that they are in a world that is both a metaverse and not one, and this world is controlled by a highly intelligent and sinister being. He tells the children to find a place to hide and wait until morning. They crowd into an unused refrigeration unit in the ice cream stand and wait until the sun rises. Stumbling out into the light, they find that the world is as it was before. There is no sign of the horrors from the night before. A random system shock sends the children back toward the pilot side and Wyatt, Maddox, and Andi try to piece together what is happening to them...and where Brony has disappeared to. Andi uses her magic from Angel to try and summon TOM from his flower but only manages to create a tiny bobblehead version. Maddox places him in her backpack and they head off, as darkness begins to fall once again. They spot a small boy running off toward the fun house and give chase. Once inside the building night truly falls...and Maddox is separated from the group. Andi comes upon the boy who tells her that "he" is coming before looking up to reveal two bloody holes where his eyes once were. The trio reunites and is thrilled to discover that TOM has found a way to communicate with them via the bobblehead. He is even able to send them two loot boxes containing a hand break and a mirror. These items come in handy as the children find themselves in a mining car heading down the tracks as a tentacled monster attempts to sweep them overboard. Finally emerging from the fun house, the group is horrified to see that they have stumbled into a freak show. They begin to fight the performers but things seem off. One of the attackers almost appears to apologize to them and a glance in the mirror from TOM reveals that all the side show performers are being controlled like marionettes. Maddox burns away some of the strings and Wyatt discovers the power of an imaginary machine gun. They make their way out of the side show of horrors but they are far from safe...and far from home. | ||
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+ | ''Episode Ten'' | ||
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+ | The darkness fades and Wyatt, Andi, and Maddox find themselves in a mysterious room surrounded by hundreds of boxes. Inside each box is a child, tormented by their own personal nightmare. In the three closest boxes, the pilots find Angel, Bobby, and Lizzie. Before they can react a sudden sound announces the arrival of a new sort of evil. Impossibly pale, thin, and long, the being calls himself Harvester, and this is his "masterpiece". It seems that the Harvester is feeding off the essence of the children and is toying with them to make the meal all the sweeter. He is curious about the pilots...and TOM. The pilots wake up, back in the bodies of the children, only to discover that Lizzie is being pulled up into the ceiling by a giant spider, who looks an awful lot like Harvester. Bobby discovers the true capabilities of his gun, while Angel utilizes some of Andi's speed and strength. Lizzie is rescued and the three fight back against the demonic insect. They manage to force him into a retreat and as he vanishes, TOM appears. He is concerned about this not Metaverse that should not exist. While he cannot provide much information, he does have one piece of advice. Keep moving. TOM disappears in search of more information while the others board a small train that was waiting nearby. On board the train, they discover a wooden locker with the names of three children, Mikey, Sarah, and Johnathan carved inside. Beside the names are twenty-two hash marks and a crudely scratched map of Toyland. They also find a quill pen, some marbles, and a Yoda toy. The train travels on until they reach an area marked on the map as Candytown. Once there, the track is blocked by icing and candy forcing the team to disembark. The town is nearly destroyed and a partially maimed gingerbread man approaches them. He tells of monsters that come to eat them and laugh as they do so, pleading with the pilots to help save them all. Angel holds up the mirror to reveal that the gingerbread people of this town are actually children, all injured and yet still surprisingly alive...as if they cannot die. Just then the sound of rumbling alerts them to the approach of several large jawbreakers who attack the town. Before rushing into battle, two loot boxes are opened revealing a jackhammer and a container of rocket fuel. Bobby's gun and the rocket fuel, along with a flaming gumdrop, prove very effective against the monsters and they are soon run off. Bobby begins working with the jackhammer to find out what lies beneath the sugar and frosting, when Harvester appears and pulls the tool away from him. The hole left by the jackhammer reveals a deep gray nothing...that seems to point in the direction of the great tower on the horizon. Approaching the front door of the tower, the children hear the sound of hammering and spot a creature at the top of one of the turrets, seemingly carving in the fondant. Angel shines a light in his eye, angering him, but any attack is diverted as soon as he sees the quill. Angel gives it to him, and the creature becomes a little boy who vanishes into light...free at last. Climbing to the top of the tower the group finds a candy garden complete with a giant white chocolate tree. Another loot box is opened, revealing their very own H Bomb. The group begins climbing the tree, higher and higher, when a long red licorice snake wends its way down toward them. Harvester suddenly appears overhead. Seemingly having tired of this game, he reaches down and stabs into Angel before flinging her off the tree and out into the nothingness beyond. At the very last moment there is a burst of light and a Hawaiian shirt and Angel is gone. Andi sees a flash of an abandoned shed or building, a single light bulb in the center before everything goes white. Angel is standing next to her, holding her hand. Angel introduces herself as Angela Hamilton before Andi sees a vision of Angel sleeping in her garden amongst her faerie tea party. Andi wakes up on the floor of the cave in Africa, mouth dry and stomach empty. As her eyes adjust, she realizes she is not alone. Cole looks up from sharpening his knife and smiles. "'Ello,luv." | ||
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+ | ''Episode Eleven'' | ||
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+ | The tower begins to collapse around Maddox and Wyatt who are at a loss of what to do until TOM suddenly appears. He quickly moves them both to full pilot and imparts the knowledge of base jumping to them, along with some parachutes. The pilots jump and glide down into a darkened forest. Upon landing they lose all memory of the previous events, believing themselves to have only just left the Weird West. TOM appears again and causes a gust of wind to begin blowing in an attempt to help dispel the fog that seems to be affecting the pilot's memories. Wyatt and Maddox begin to dimly recall some of what they have experienced as they begin walking. In the distance they see something twinkling and, upon closer inspection, find a Christmas tree complete with presents. There are five boxes, one for each pilot as well as Lizzie and Bobby. The last present is for TOM. Wyatt opens the box for Bobby and finds the pocket watch left to him by his father. The watch, previously broken, is now working but running backwards. Upon touching this watch, Bobby's memories are completely restored. Wyatt's gift contains a letter that never reached him. Inside is a message written by his father before he died, all the things Wyatt wished he would say and thought he never did. Maddox's box contains a note from Mac, written on a page of an Archie comic, that reads "I miss you Maddie". Lizzie receives the mix tape she made for Troy in the group home before they took him away, returning her memories to her. Both Wyatt and Maddox have their memories restored as well. TOM's box contains an answering machine and on it, a message. The voice of Abbi comes out, asking Butch why he got in the way of Titan's punch that day on Mount Rushmore. TOM seems bothered by this and states that he remembers too. Their resolves hardened by their real memories, the group heads off to a skull faced castle in search of Harvester and the missing children, Sarah and Mikey. Before they enter, TOM gives them each new weapons. A psionic spirit blade for Maddox and a magic sword that turns Wyatt/Bobby in a muscular, deep voiced hero with furry underwear. Once inside, Wyatt notices that the setting seems very familiar and soon realizes that it is based on a video game. This suspicion is confirmed when they meet the king, who can only move in two dimensions while trying to murder them. Maddox and Wyatt easily out maneuver him and make their way into the torture chamber. They find a snake pit with a boy hanging over it. Clearly this is Mikey, and Maddox manages to catch him as he falls into the pit. They discover that Harvester is using all the children's worst fears against them, something that is not as affecting to Maddox and Wyatt as they are full pilot, in an attempt to feed. Harvester appears in the form of a giant snake and Maddox hands Mikey his missing Yoda. As Mikey disappears, Maddox and Wyatt easily dispatch the Harvester snake and head off in search of Sarah. As they walk through a swamp filled with zombies, yes really, they encounter memories of their past and the people they left behind. Ignoring their calls, the pilots press on as TOM is approached by Harvester. He proposes that he keeps one and let's TOM leave with the other. TOM refuses and tells him that they will take his hat once they have finished with him. Harvester vanishes in a huff. Bobby becomes more and more exhausted and slumps down on the side of the trail. Maddox tries to rally Wyatt and finds herself pulled under the water by a tentacle for her trouble. Wyatt wakes up in time to hear TOM exhorting him to help Lizzie. He dives in and manages to free Maddox and they both make their way to the surface. Exhausted, they both collapse on the bank and fall asleep. They wake, hours later, with TOM standing over them and shouting. Their magic weapons are gone, as are Lizzie's walkman and Bobby's gun. These totems gone, each avatar feels a piece of themselves missing. The group finally reaches a decrepit mansion and makes their way inside. They search for Sarah, encountering more of Harvester's tricks as they do so. Having realized that fear is what he wants, both Maddox and Wyatt deride each horror they see, giving it less power. Until Maddox sees a memory of her and Mac. She asks TOM where Mac is and he assures her that he is safe. She wants to go to him as soon as they get back but TOM reminds her that they first need to escape Toyland before they can go any where else. Maddox agrees and they head off to join Wyatt in a final confrontation with Harvester. He appears and grabs Maddox, once again asking TOM to let him keep just one pilot in exchange for the others. TOM refuses and Maddox is flung to the side, as Harvester pulls Sarah up from her hole and threatens to kill her. Maddox uses her slingshot to send Sarah's marbles back to her as Wyatt provides cover. Sarah vanishes and Harvester shrieks. He sends two bladed arms out into TOM's chest and TOM slumps to the ground. Stunned, Maddox and Wyatt rally and fight back...insulting Harvester the whole time. They seem to be evenly matched until TOM reappears. He has just chained Harvester to the ground using the chains of Prometheus, thanks to a Loot Box. As Harvester screams, Maddox sets the Hydrogen bomb and TOM opens the door to the white room leading the way out of Toyland. Inside the room Lizzie and Maddox, and Wyatt and Bobby have a moment to say hello and goodbye. The children return to their homes and Maddox and Wyatt find themselves in a new Metaverse. Chicago. The 1940s. Maddox is in the avatar of a PI with Wyatt as her secretary. There is no sign of Andi or Brony, and on the radio the Sentinels are fighting Nazis. | ||
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+ | END OF ARC TWO |
Revision as of 11:58, 24 December 2018
The Story As We Know It...
A group of strangers is collected by a shadowy organization known as The Program and coerced into the top-secret Metapilot Program. Through some strange and unknown technology, these new pilots are sent into new worlds, “metaverses,” where they inhabit the bodies of avatars. But there are far more secrets than our pilots realize.
Both the Program and their mortal enemy, the Founders, descend from ancient peoples able to travel through metaverses. Those with the ability are rare and possess runes buried within their very DNA. They have been known by many names before: wizards, demigods, druids, shamans, and now, metapilots.
The pilots bring pieces of the Metaverse with them as they travel, powers that bleed through into them from their avatars. Each world, each avatar, brings the pilots closer to the truth. But these powers aren’t the only things that bleed: reality itself is beginning to break.
Find out more with our SEASON SUMMARIES below!
Essential Episodes
Episode 8: Collateral Damage Is A Given
Episode 17: Galaxy Force 5 Chapter 3: Clear And Present Rangers
Episode 19: GalaxyForce 5 Chapter 5: Battle Royale of the Bands, Pt 2
Episode 24: ...So Far | Season One Finale
Episode 31: MacGuffin Acquired
Episode 38: Fartherall Good Things Must Come To An End
Episode 39: Sequelibrium: Jingle Hells
Episode 42: Domed If You Do, Domed If You Don't
Episode 43: The End Of Everything
Episode 44: The Family Business
Episode 48: The Ties That Bind
Episode 51: Galaxy Tails Episode Three; The End? | Season Three Finale
Masters Of The Metaverse: Complete Series Recap
Season Summaries
SPOILERS AHEAD! Read at your own risk!
Masters of the Metaverse Seasons One and Two
Rosie Harvin | Jenika | Aquamarine | Crash Jaxun
Episodes 1-8, Sentinel City
A group of strangers is coerced into The Metapilot Program, an experiment run by a secret organization. These strangers become pilots, inhabiting bodies in other realms as part of missions from “The Program.” Their first mission is to Sentinel City, where super heroes are commonplace and reality TV is trending high. Heroes are being murdered,the avatars inhabited by our pilots, a.k.a. The Alpha Squad, are the prime suspects. Just before a critical confrontation with their accuser, the pilots’ mission to Sentinel City is abruptly ended.
Back in their pods and original bodies, the pilots notice that certain things are not the same.Aquamarine demonstrates that she has retained some of her avatar’s (Lady Veil) powers. The pilots learn that they are now being sent into a new world in search of a man named Nick Krieger.
Episodes 9-14, The Kingdom of Yosemite
In a new realm with old west characteristics, the pilots make their way to the Kingdom of Yosemite to find King Teddy, the last known avatar of Nick Krieger. Nick has been hiding in this world and is so immersed in his avatar that at first the pilots are unable to reach him. During an encounter with some mysterious assailants on a train who are determined to keep them from their final destination, the team breaks through Nick Krieger’s immersion. Nick tells the pilots that The Program is using them to harvest powers from avatars throughout the worlds. He doesn’t want to return to the real world but eventually relents due to Crash’s persuasion.
Back in the real world, Nick is wheeled away as the team looks on in distress. Later that night, Crash punches though a wall and disappears. Rosie, Aquamarine, and Jenika, along with a new scout named Thomas, are sent on another mission into a world of magical space princesses. Unbeknownst to the pilots their team leader has been hijacked by a woman named Tessa who has a secret mission involving both The Program and The Founders.
Episodes 15-19, Galaxy Force Five
In the world of Magical Space Princesses, the pilots become members of Galaxy Force Five, and Thomas is thrust into a new role as pilot of the avatar Chad, Magical Space Prince Esteban. With the power of friendship and his trusty turkey leg Chadblaster named Brad, Thomas helps the others to fight Queen Lorrianna who has allied with a mysterious new evil. The team is joined in their final confrontation by Nick Krieger, patched in by Crash. Tessa learns that Thomas has information she seeks and is unwilling to let the others leave the metaverse so quickly after the fight. Thomas resists but Nick reveals that Thomas was part of Nick’s team a previous world, before the others knew him, and got Nick killed during a mission. Because Nick had no body to return to, he became a gestalt entity instead, an amalgamation of memories and traits scrapped together from avatars. Nick and Crash break the pilots out of The Program and flee with the pods in a high-speed chase. Emerging from the pods, Crash demonstrates super strength, like that of Kid Titan in Sentinel City as he loads the truck. Once onboard, the pilots discover they are being recruited into The Founders, sworn enemies of The Program.
Episodes 20-24, Sentinel City
Now members of The Founders, the pilots return once again to Sentinel City in search of the truth. They are horrified to learn that Kid Titan’s old friend and mentor, Dr. Migraine, has been taking over people’s minds and killing superheroes. The group travels to visit Kid Titan’s ex-girlfriend, Molly Migraine. She knows what her father has been doing and helps the team recover the mind of Blue Streak, Kid’s friend and Dr. Migraine’s latest victim. The Alpha Squad travel to the cemetery in search of answers about Dr. Migraine’s son Mikey and are confronted and attacked by Death Blossom. Once Death Blossom is dispatched, the Alpha Squad finally realize the truth… all of Sentinel City is covered by a large dome, with no normal people inside at all, and no one remembers that this ever happened. Retreating to a brand-new Joe’s Diner to confer, the team is shocked to see themselves on live TV ransacking a hospital. The Alpha Squad confront the duplicates and barely manage to defeat them. They race back to Molly’s house and find Migraine outside mind-controlling the body of Major Tom. He accuses Kid Titan of failing Molly and everyone else. Hex uses her magic to keep him from hopping bodies, while Kid Titan knocks him out and. The team enters Molly’s house in the hopes of gaining more answers. More questions than answers remain…for both the pilots and all of us.
END OF SEASON ONE
Nathan Hill | John Stone | Scott Thompson
Episodes 27-32, 80s Invasion
Rosie, Nick, and Aquamarine along with new pilots Scott and John are sent into avatars with jury duty on earth, circa nineteen-eighty-something. While starting jury deliberations aliens attack. The pilots escape with the other jurors and make an odd discovery: none of the avatars are very skilled or powerful, and the pilots keep shunting between the twelve bodies. Fleeing from the aliens, Scott uses his avatar to attempt to strike a deal with the invaders. His mind is sucked out into the unknown and his avatar is killed. When Crash and new pilot Nathan finally rejoins the group, Crash confirms that Scott is very, very dead in the real world.
At Joe’s, one of the few places where neither the Founders nor the Program can listen, the pilots meet Cook, who confirms what Crash already knew: Avatars are real people. All the worlds they visit are real . Reeling from this information, the stunned group finds themselves on board an alien spaceship. Crash reveals to them that The Program has killed all the avatars in this world because they are looking for something…which the pilots uncover is Brad,The Chadblaster. They take Brad to Joe’s Diner for safe keeping. After, the pilots return to the Founder’s Safe House only to see it attacked and destroyed by Program pilots. In the ensuing chaos, Thomas is killed, and his consciousness merges with the metapod system. Now, only the pilots can see him, and he can only interact physically with objects in a metaverse.
Episodes 33-38, Fartherall
After fleeing from the ruined safe house on a boat, the pilots are sent into a locked world, previously unreachable, to learn more about it and the gods within. The pilots inhabit new avatars in the fifth age of Fartherall, and search for the baby godling Amalia and her missing binky, milk, and blankie. Along the way they meet Amalia’s sentient bunny, and a jello-wolf trying to coax an unwilling chosen one to her destiny. After nearly failing their mission and unmaking a world, the group successfully appeases Amalia and returns to their own bodies on the boat, adrift in the Adriatic Ocean.
A Megalodon out of time pushes their boat onto a small island. Inside a cave on that island, Xerates the Spartan has been waiting for metapilots for 2500 years. He tells them that The Founders created travel between metaverses and that every pilot possessed runes or DNA . Pilots used to travel between worlds, each metaverse sending their own pilots to help other worlds, slaying beasts, righting wrongs, doing things that ordinary people could not do. But then The Program rose up and became The Roman Empire in an attempt to control the metaverse. Xerates has been guarding the pillars containing The Arena mission, waiting for pilots who could journey to the world of “caged gods” and “save the world”.
Episodes 39-40, Sequelibrium and The Arena
The pilots, Nathan, Aquamarine, Thomas, and Rosie enter The Arena and find themselves in 1990s Colbie, OH where movies are coming to life and taking over the town. Jenika, Nick, and Crash have remained outside the pillars and are soon under attack by more pilots sent by The Program, led by Jebidiah Lexington, their old teammate and friend…and the person who designed the metapod system. They are about to engage in battle with him and his team when the entire island shifts violently and begins to sink. Jenika is thrown into The Arena and Nathan is forced out. Once inside, Jenika finds her avatar, previously Nathan’s, fading away. Jenika’s real self appears instead. Aquamarine’s avatar soon fades as well, while the battle on the island rages on and the sea levels climb.
Inside The Arena, Jenika and Aquamarine see a sign with four little words on it: “Welcome To Sentinel City”.
END OF SEASON TWO
Project: Metaverse Arc One
Episode One
Nine months after the close of season two, four ususpecting players take part in a “simulation”called Project: Metaverse. After completing a scenario where they have to neutralize various High Value Targets and SWAT Team members, the players are taken to the office of the creator of Project: Metaverse, Jebediah Lexington. These four are in the top fifty players and are placed on a team tasked with tracking down an opposing team of metapilots across metaverses.
The team is made up of singer-songwriter Andi Jaymes, private security specialist Maddox McPhernon, ex-con and CPA Wyatt Maxwell, and professional gamer Robert Munson. Robert “Brony” Munson is especially eager to track down the other team when he learns that his nemesis, Crash Jaxun, is among its members. Newly formed, the group is sent into a new metaverse with TOM, the Tactical Operations Matrix, as their guide and assistant.
Episode Two
The new avatars are are Knights of Borkdom. The inhabitants of Borkdom, the Borks, are sweet, lovable, cute, innocent, and appear as cross between a gumdrop and a hamster. These creatures are also worth fifty points each in Project: Metaverse, so the team decides to murder the entire village before pursuing the Eldest Bork and the team’s established objective: the Borkstone. . After the carnage is complete, the group realizes that the littlest Bork has escaped and resolve to burn down the forest to find him. In dissent, Maddox takes off to save him. TOM removes the pilot’s immersion inhibitors. For the first time the group are able to feel the full emotional impact of their avatars. The Knights of Borkdom realize they have murdered all their friends in cold blood.
Reeling from this emotional wallop, the team finds the Eldest Bork and the Borkstone which, when touched by Brony, turns into a doorway leading to a new metaverse. Before they can step through, Jebediah appears in the form of a newly pubescent Littlest Bork and tells them that this new metaverse is a world they have not yet been able to access. He urges them to no longer worry about points, much to Brony’s chagrin, and instead focus on gathering as much information as they can. Jebediah disappears, and the pilots step through the door.
They find themselves in Sentinel City circa 1995. They have dropped into the avatars of various super villains, namely Balthazar the Black, The Skinwalker, Ezekiel the Undying, and Rita Riot. What first appears like a self-help group for ex-villains is soon revealed to be a cover for the real evil plotting. In a hidden evil lair, behind a picture of Teddy Roosevelt on Mt Rushmore, the child named General Mayhem lays out his plans for evil doing. He intends to erect a dome force field over the newly constructed Sentinel City, thereby trapping most of the superhero population. He plans to power this by using Butch “Kid Titan” Baker as a battery. General Mayhem reveals that he already has Kid Titan and companion, Rosencrantz the Superchimp, tied up behind the curtain.
Before the pilots can stop his evil plan, General Mayhem demonstrates his mind control abilities by forcing Butch Baker to shoot Rosencrantz in the head. Balthazar manages to communicate with the distraught young Butch and let him know that not only are they on his side but that they want to help him. Thanks to his power of prophecy, Balthazar knows two key pieces of information: thanks to his power of prophecy. One, the world is going to end, so the dome force field would protect Sentinel City. Two, if Butch Baker dies so will Balthazar’s beloved granddaughter Hex Destiny.
Butch reveals that he has a panic button on the inside of his belt buckle which, when pressed, will summon The Sentinels. After Rita and Butch get into a bickering match about their shared past, it is decided that The Skinwalker will press Butch’s button. As The Sentinels are called, Balthazar works to resurrect Rosencrantz the Superchimp, and Butch calls Rita by her real name, Abbi.
Episode Three
A sudden buzz from the teleporter reveals a strange, non-super, woman. Wendy Gates is an investigative reporter and an anomaly in the metaverse. Somehow, every metaverse has a Wendy Gates in it and every Wendy knows what every Wendy knows. She can also sense metapilots inside avatars and confronts the team as to their purpose. She tries to show them that this world and the people in it are real, but the team remains unconvinced. Wendy agrees to help them save Butch and escape of the lair.
Titan soon crashes through the wall of the lair, summoned by the belt buckle, and begins punching Ezekiel. Balthazar and Skinwalker attempt to convince him that they are not the enemy while Rita appeals to Butch. She sets him free and Butch tries to kiss her, but instead they bump heads. A fight ensues, and the team manages to calm Titan down slightly and fight off the rest of the villains. In a final push, Rita wraps everyone up in The Skinwalker and literally punches Mt. Rushmore into oblivion. Seeing this desecration of a national monument, Titan readies himself for another fight.
Episode Four
The team are suddenly aware that Andi is no longer in the avatar of Rita. When asked, TOM states that she has logged out of the system and can provide no further information. Meanwhile, Titan has decided that he is going to punch an extremely weakened Rita in retaliation for destroying Mt Rushmore. Butch pushes himself in the way and takes the full brunt of the blow. He is killed instantly. Titan suffers an acute psychotic break. TOM announces that the main objective is now to save Butch Baker and that they must kill Titan.
The team tries their best to convince Titan to give up the Titan Matrix to save Butch. but he is beyond reason. As Titan tries to destroy them all, TOM initiates a System Override and leaps into Rita. He uses the Presto Gun obtained from a loot box and transfers his consciousness into Titan. TOM forces Titan Matrix into Butch Baker, transfers back into Rita just as Titan crushes his own head between two rocks. As the system override fails,TOM is sent back into the system. Rita, confused but alive, checks on Butch. Rosencrantz the Superchimp, resurrected, takes General Mayhem’s plans for the dome and agrees to start working on its creation over the next several years.
The Skinwalker uses her ability to change into Titan and hides his body. The remaining Sentinels arrive including Dr. Migraine, Armor Guy, and Cybotron. The Sentinels have no problem accepting the new fake-Titan, but Dr. Migraine knows something is amiss. Upon learning the truth from Balthazar, he agrees that the team had no choice and decides that the secret must be kept. Dr Migraine is introduced to Wendy Gates who is horrified to feel him rooting around in her brain without permission. Wendy ejects Dr Migraine from her mind and spits on him, but he has no trouble wiping the memories of the Skinwalker, Ezekiel, and Rita.
The team feels themselves pulled back toward reality. But before they can be removed completely, TOM pulls them into a new place of pure white light. He tells them that they are going to help him save the metaverse.
Back in reality the pilots have more questions than answers. Andi’s pod is empty and a giant hole is punched in the nearby concrete wall. Before reviewing the mission with Jebidiah, the team heads to the common room where they search the internet for “Wendy Gates.” They find a photograph of someone who looks very familiar…and she happens to be sitting across the room from them.
END OF ARC ONE
Episode Five
Arc Two begins some time since the events of Sentinel City. Andi Jaymes has been working with TOM, traveling to New York City with a man named Bruno, to London with a man named Cole, meeting with mercenaries, gathering passports, credit cards, anything that TOM needs her to do. She makes her way to Africa and comes upon an ancient chamber. Inside, she finds a cave painting depicting a domed city, an individual with thousands of duplicates, and the end of the world. She steps up to a pillar and places her hand on it, transporting instantly to TOM inside the metaverse.
Meanwhile, the other pilots have been in lockdown with any attempts at uncovering the truth constantly frustrated. One night they receive a message from TOM and head for the lowest basement level while what sounds like an all out assault rages on above them. As they descend deeper and deeper, they could swear that they hear a man calling out for someone named Eli Stone. In the basement level, the pilots find five metapods. Stepping into the pods they too are transported into the metaverse, reuniting with TOM and Andi. TOM reveals that he is neither AI nor a Program creation. He made himself. The Founders and The Program are in his estimation squabbling children who have lost sight of the bigger threat. A threat on the scale of an apocalypse is coming for the metaverse and he needs the pilots to help him save everything. They must catch up to the other team of pilots and in order to do that, they must follow their trail...which leads them to the Kingdom of Yosemite.
In the bodies of four disgraced Confederate generals, John Wesley Hardin, Doc Holiday, Jesse James, and Billi the Kid, the pilots must run from Richard Gatling, Johnny Appleseed, and their forces in order to avoid a court martial and the hangman's noose. They dodge strange and twisted creations from Edison's graveyard, floods, and disappearing pants. Eventually, they stumble upon an abandoned house. The floors are splattered with old blood and the door has been clawed off its hinges. The group decides to sleep in the barn for the night and when they awake they hear the sounds of many men and horses just outside their door.
Episode Six
The group finds themselves surrounded by Sheriff Pat Garrett and her posse, and missing John Hardin. Pat rounds everyone up and they head off to see the President of Free Texas, Samuel Clemmons. As they travel, they come upon a small town that is filled with the sound of gunfire. Pat and her men go to investigate, and Jesse James notices some small, demonic looking purple people eaters climbing over the rooftops. She, Billi, and Doc engage with these new foes as John appears from a side alley...and promptly shoots the four men guarding them. John Hardin is revealed to be TOM who is piloting in Brony's absence. Apparently, power fluctuations have taken his pod offline and TOM is filling in while he's gone. Unfortunately, TOM is fully immersed in the avatar of John Hardin and has no way of moving himself out of that range, which means John's murder spree might only be just beginning.
The team finally makes their way to the camp of Samuel Clemmons. He tells them to rest for the evening and they will speak more in the morning. That night, the group gets drunk in order to avoid letting John get hold of the bottle. Hearing some noises from outside, John goes to investigate and finds Samuel Clemmons under attack from several vampires. A little worse the wear for drink, the outlaws are able to defend the president of Texas and eliminate the vampires. Samuel has an offer for the team...take a letter to one George Custer and ask him for assistance in this conflict. In return, Clemmons will pretend to have never seen the outlaws who are then free to ride east as far as they can. This works out just fine for Doc, who happens to have a bone to pick with Custer, and for Billi, who is planning on robbing the Alamo. And according to TOM, the Alamo is the key to getting to the next metaverse…
Episode Seven
John Hardin wakes up, this time with Brony back inside his body. From the roof he hears the sounds of creaking and scratching. Waking the others, who are just as confused as he is about where he has been for the past four days, they find themselves confronting a creature that appears to be a werewolf of some sort. During this time, the team calls out for TOM only to have him not appear. This is because he is currently inside of Andi's body and can only be heard by her.
The team confronts the werewolf and manages to take him down, in spite of Billi/Andi attempting to ride him. The decision is made to ride on to San Antonio to deliver the letter to George Custer. Along the way TOM is able to answer some questions for the pilots. When asked why he is currently inside of Andi, TOM states that it is likely the work of "them". "Them" being a part of the metaverse known as CHAT. The pilots are making "a lot of noise" as they travel through these worlds which the Metaverse doesn't always like. When that happens, CHAT tends to make strange things occur.
Upon reaching San Antonio, the group does some scouting and learns several important pieces of information. There is a poker tournament being held by George Custer in a few days but it requires a $10,000 buy in. George Custer is also holding a party the next evening and will be in attendance himself. Also, a man by the name of Robert Ford is present in town…the same man that killed Jesse James' brother. TOM and Andi get drunk while the others make plans to go in search of ways to make money in order to enter the poker contest. Jesse takes Billi/TOM up to bed as Doc and John confront a group of men who were talking about a lost ship of treasure in the Medina Gorge. As the remaining three outlaws make plans, upstairs Billi/TOM are plotting a little bank heist of their own...
Episode Eight
Jesse James is alone in the dining hall early the next morning when she hears that Robert Ford is making a run for it. Rushing after him, she is confronted by the ghost of her brother Frank. He warns her that she is riding into an ambush and Jesse heads back to town before its too late. The others gather at breakfast waiting for Billi to arrive in order to be off on their treasure hunt. When they go to her room, they find that TOM is no longer sharing an avatar with Andi and that they are now $10,000 richer. It appears that Billi robbed and subsequently destroyed one of the nearby hotels. With enough money to now enter the poker tournament, the crew heads off to Custer’s welcome party.
There they meet a few unsavory characters, like a necromancer and J.M. Browning, as well as making peace with others, namely Robert Ford who seems convinced that the end is near. They also pass on the message from Samuel Clemmons although Custer seems less than impressed. Billi meanwhile is visited by the spirits of her dead friends who lead her to a secret passageway, inlaid with silver, heading down to the basement of the Alamo.
The day of the tournament arrives and the group convenes for a final strategy session. TOM notes that the local population is quite strange, leading the others to realize that there is a distinct lack of wildlife…and that everyone in town is a werewolf. Once at the poker game, Doc sits down at the table and is greeted by the ghost of his friend Wyatt Earp. Earp proceeds to help him know when to fold and when to hold as Billi, Jesse, and John attempt to set up some distractions and get into the basement unnoticed.
Things proceed as well as can be expected until J.M. Browning tries to gun down the entire room, only to have his weapons fire confetti instead. Chaos ensues and the team breaks into the basement. Once there they discover that it is in fact a tomb to Davy Crockett and Kit Bowie, adorned and loaded with silver. And it’s a good thing too as the entire upstairs is now filled with werewolves and they’re heading down the steps. The crew makes a valiant effort but they are soon overrun. They manage to take out many of the lesser werewolves as well as George Custer himself, the leader of the pack, but it’s too late. One by one the avatars fall and their pilots go offline. The last thing we see is the devil in the form of Wyatt Earp reaching out a hand to Doc Holiday. “You didn’t think it would be that easy did you Doc?”
Episode Nine
Three children lost in time wake up outside the inviting grounds of an amusement park. Angel is the Self Proclaimed Queen of Fairyland and seems to be straight out of the 1920s. Bobby is a little boy from the 1950s armed with his wooden gun and a wealth of military history knowledge. Lizzie seems to be from the 1970s or 1980s and has no time or patience for childish things like magic and pretend. She takes care of herself and is armed with a slingshot, a switchblade, and several very sticky fingers. The trio make their way through the abandoned park and soon begin to notice that things are not quite what they seem. They come upon a pink and white tropical flower in a blue pot with a note nearby. The note is from someone they don't know, someone named TOM. TOM claims that they are in danger and he is trying to reach them in time. He implores them to work together and stay safe. Darkness suddenly falls and the previously welcoming scene becomes far more sinister. Stuffed animals come grotesquely to life and begin attacking the children while the food Lizzie previously ate isn't sitting so well with her. Bobby and Angel find that their previously imaginary tools now work with spectacular results. The children run off and stumble into the food court. Another flower and another note are waiting for them. Lizzie begins to vomit as Bobby reads the note. TOM is trying to reach them but he has discovered that they are in a world that is both a metaverse and not one, and this world is controlled by a highly intelligent and sinister being. He tells the children to find a place to hide and wait until morning. They crowd into an unused refrigeration unit in the ice cream stand and wait until the sun rises. Stumbling out into the light, they find that the world is as it was before. There is no sign of the horrors from the night before. A random system shock sends the children back toward the pilot side and Wyatt, Maddox, and Andi try to piece together what is happening to them...and where Brony has disappeared to. Andi uses her magic from Angel to try and summon TOM from his flower but only manages to create a tiny bobblehead version. Maddox places him in her backpack and they head off, as darkness begins to fall once again. They spot a small boy running off toward the fun house and give chase. Once inside the building night truly falls...and Maddox is separated from the group. Andi comes upon the boy who tells her that "he" is coming before looking up to reveal two bloody holes where his eyes once were. The trio reunites and is thrilled to discover that TOM has found a way to communicate with them via the bobblehead. He is even able to send them two loot boxes containing a hand break and a mirror. These items come in handy as the children find themselves in a mining car heading down the tracks as a tentacled monster attempts to sweep them overboard. Finally emerging from the fun house, the group is horrified to see that they have stumbled into a freak show. They begin to fight the performers but things seem off. One of the attackers almost appears to apologize to them and a glance in the mirror from TOM reveals that all the side show performers are being controlled like marionettes. Maddox burns away some of the strings and Wyatt discovers the power of an imaginary machine gun. They make their way out of the side show of horrors but they are far from safe...and far from home.
Episode Ten
The darkness fades and Wyatt, Andi, and Maddox find themselves in a mysterious room surrounded by hundreds of boxes. Inside each box is a child, tormented by their own personal nightmare. In the three closest boxes, the pilots find Angel, Bobby, and Lizzie. Before they can react a sudden sound announces the arrival of a new sort of evil. Impossibly pale, thin, and long, the being calls himself Harvester, and this is his "masterpiece". It seems that the Harvester is feeding off the essence of the children and is toying with them to make the meal all the sweeter. He is curious about the pilots...and TOM. The pilots wake up, back in the bodies of the children, only to discover that Lizzie is being pulled up into the ceiling by a giant spider, who looks an awful lot like Harvester. Bobby discovers the true capabilities of his gun, while Angel utilizes some of Andi's speed and strength. Lizzie is rescued and the three fight back against the demonic insect. They manage to force him into a retreat and as he vanishes, TOM appears. He is concerned about this not Metaverse that should not exist. While he cannot provide much information, he does have one piece of advice. Keep moving. TOM disappears in search of more information while the others board a small train that was waiting nearby. On board the train, they discover a wooden locker with the names of three children, Mikey, Sarah, and Johnathan carved inside. Beside the names are twenty-two hash marks and a crudely scratched map of Toyland. They also find a quill pen, some marbles, and a Yoda toy. The train travels on until they reach an area marked on the map as Candytown. Once there, the track is blocked by icing and candy forcing the team to disembark. The town is nearly destroyed and a partially maimed gingerbread man approaches them. He tells of monsters that come to eat them and laugh as they do so, pleading with the pilots to help save them all. Angel holds up the mirror to reveal that the gingerbread people of this town are actually children, all injured and yet still surprisingly alive...as if they cannot die. Just then the sound of rumbling alerts them to the approach of several large jawbreakers who attack the town. Before rushing into battle, two loot boxes are opened revealing a jackhammer and a container of rocket fuel. Bobby's gun and the rocket fuel, along with a flaming gumdrop, prove very effective against the monsters and they are soon run off. Bobby begins working with the jackhammer to find out what lies beneath the sugar and frosting, when Harvester appears and pulls the tool away from him. The hole left by the jackhammer reveals a deep gray nothing...that seems to point in the direction of the great tower on the horizon. Approaching the front door of the tower, the children hear the sound of hammering and spot a creature at the top of one of the turrets, seemingly carving in the fondant. Angel shines a light in his eye, angering him, but any attack is diverted as soon as he sees the quill. Angel gives it to him, and the creature becomes a little boy who vanishes into light...free at last. Climbing to the top of the tower the group finds a candy garden complete with a giant white chocolate tree. Another loot box is opened, revealing their very own H Bomb. The group begins climbing the tree, higher and higher, when a long red licorice snake wends its way down toward them. Harvester suddenly appears overhead. Seemingly having tired of this game, he reaches down and stabs into Angel before flinging her off the tree and out into the nothingness beyond. At the very last moment there is a burst of light and a Hawaiian shirt and Angel is gone. Andi sees a flash of an abandoned shed or building, a single light bulb in the center before everything goes white. Angel is standing next to her, holding her hand. Angel introduces herself as Angela Hamilton before Andi sees a vision of Angel sleeping in her garden amongst her faerie tea party. Andi wakes up on the floor of the cave in Africa, mouth dry and stomach empty. As her eyes adjust, she realizes she is not alone. Cole looks up from sharpening his knife and smiles. "'Ello,luv."
Episode Eleven
The tower begins to collapse around Maddox and Wyatt who are at a loss of what to do until TOM suddenly appears. He quickly moves them both to full pilot and imparts the knowledge of base jumping to them, along with some parachutes. The pilots jump and glide down into a darkened forest. Upon landing they lose all memory of the previous events, believing themselves to have only just left the Weird West. TOM appears again and causes a gust of wind to begin blowing in an attempt to help dispel the fog that seems to be affecting the pilot's memories. Wyatt and Maddox begin to dimly recall some of what they have experienced as they begin walking. In the distance they see something twinkling and, upon closer inspection, find a Christmas tree complete with presents. There are five boxes, one for each pilot as well as Lizzie and Bobby. The last present is for TOM. Wyatt opens the box for Bobby and finds the pocket watch left to him by his father. The watch, previously broken, is now working but running backwards. Upon touching this watch, Bobby's memories are completely restored. Wyatt's gift contains a letter that never reached him. Inside is a message written by his father before he died, all the things Wyatt wished he would say and thought he never did. Maddox's box contains a note from Mac, written on a page of an Archie comic, that reads "I miss you Maddie". Lizzie receives the mix tape she made for Troy in the group home before they took him away, returning her memories to her. Both Wyatt and Maddox have their memories restored as well. TOM's box contains an answering machine and on it, a message. The voice of Abbi comes out, asking Butch why he got in the way of Titan's punch that day on Mount Rushmore. TOM seems bothered by this and states that he remembers too. Their resolves hardened by their real memories, the group heads off to a skull faced castle in search of Harvester and the missing children, Sarah and Mikey. Before they enter, TOM gives them each new weapons. A psionic spirit blade for Maddox and a magic sword that turns Wyatt/Bobby in a muscular, deep voiced hero with furry underwear. Once inside, Wyatt notices that the setting seems very familiar and soon realizes that it is based on a video game. This suspicion is confirmed when they meet the king, who can only move in two dimensions while trying to murder them. Maddox and Wyatt easily out maneuver him and make their way into the torture chamber. They find a snake pit with a boy hanging over it. Clearly this is Mikey, and Maddox manages to catch him as he falls into the pit. They discover that Harvester is using all the children's worst fears against them, something that is not as affecting to Maddox and Wyatt as they are full pilot, in an attempt to feed. Harvester appears in the form of a giant snake and Maddox hands Mikey his missing Yoda. As Mikey disappears, Maddox and Wyatt easily dispatch the Harvester snake and head off in search of Sarah. As they walk through a swamp filled with zombies, yes really, they encounter memories of their past and the people they left behind. Ignoring their calls, the pilots press on as TOM is approached by Harvester. He proposes that he keeps one and let's TOM leave with the other. TOM refuses and tells him that they will take his hat once they have finished with him. Harvester vanishes in a huff. Bobby becomes more and more exhausted and slumps down on the side of the trail. Maddox tries to rally Wyatt and finds herself pulled under the water by a tentacle for her trouble. Wyatt wakes up in time to hear TOM exhorting him to help Lizzie. He dives in and manages to free Maddox and they both make their way to the surface. Exhausted, they both collapse on the bank and fall asleep. They wake, hours later, with TOM standing over them and shouting. Their magic weapons are gone, as are Lizzie's walkman and Bobby's gun. These totems gone, each avatar feels a piece of themselves missing. The group finally reaches a decrepit mansion and makes their way inside. They search for Sarah, encountering more of Harvester's tricks as they do so. Having realized that fear is what he wants, both Maddox and Wyatt deride each horror they see, giving it less power. Until Maddox sees a memory of her and Mac. She asks TOM where Mac is and he assures her that he is safe. She wants to go to him as soon as they get back but TOM reminds her that they first need to escape Toyland before they can go any where else. Maddox agrees and they head off to join Wyatt in a final confrontation with Harvester. He appears and grabs Maddox, once again asking TOM to let him keep just one pilot in exchange for the others. TOM refuses and Maddox is flung to the side, as Harvester pulls Sarah up from her hole and threatens to kill her. Maddox uses her slingshot to send Sarah's marbles back to her as Wyatt provides cover. Sarah vanishes and Harvester shrieks. He sends two bladed arms out into TOM's chest and TOM slumps to the ground. Stunned, Maddox and Wyatt rally and fight back...insulting Harvester the whole time. They seem to be evenly matched until TOM reappears. He has just chained Harvester to the ground using the chains of Prometheus, thanks to a Loot Box. As Harvester screams, Maddox sets the Hydrogen bomb and TOM opens the door to the white room leading the way out of Toyland. Inside the room Lizzie and Maddox, and Wyatt and Bobby have a moment to say hello and goodbye. The children return to their homes and Maddox and Wyatt find themselves in a new Metaverse. Chicago. The 1940s. Maddox is in the avatar of a PI with Wyatt as her secretary. There is no sign of Andi or Brony, and on the radio the Sentinels are fighting Nazis.
END OF ARC TWO