Scene 1: Space
COIN’s timeship begins its descent to Acadmium, as shown in episode 4. The camera pans briefly to Coin, then to Acadmium, then to…
Scene 2: Cerrus
We see Coin in the imposter timeship that has trapped her inside. She is desperately trying anything to escape, but every attempt very near kills her. After several attempts, she collapses, exhausted and defeated. She is sweating and breathing hard.
COIN: Whoever did this…you win.
She looks at the door to her ship, contemplating walking out and letting nature take its course. She stands to do so.
COIN: I’m no goddess. The cycle ends here…
Just then, the word “cycle” triggers memories. Of YOUNG COIN, JINN-LIR, and of herself
ELDER COIN (vo): …the Goddess of Time has a small world, one that she cannot leave.
TUROK (vo): …time loops and warps and other time-related magic…you are the wielder of it all.
JINN (vo): …you have become more than I ever thought you could be. And once your path is complete, you will become greater than I could ever hope to be. My mission is nothing. Yours will benefit all of Orbspace, not just us wizards. I believe in you…Time Goddess.
YOUNG COIN (vo): …if I refuse?
ELDER COIN (vo): Then I fail. And time fails. If life marches on on a different path than what it should be, I shudder to think what horrors await us. New timelines, new disasters…new Orbspaces…it cannot happen. No, you shall be the Time Goddess, and I must keep it that way.
With that, COIN stops. She looks back at her ship, and turns around, closing the door.
COIN: I can’t go…Orb needs me…
Coin then makes her way to the cockpit and attempts to turn it on. To her shock, the faux-timeship actually works! She then attempts to make it fly, and it does that as well! Still not trusting it 100%, but feeling this is the right path, she begins to take flight.
COIN: Acadmium. Back to Acadmium.
With course set, the timeship begins to fly towards ACADMIUM.
Scene 3: House Skyblade War Rally
We see thousands of House Skyblade soldiers gathered on a field, awaiting the arrival of their leader, Windchime Skyblade. Soon, she makes her entrance to silence.
WINDCHIME (cont): House Skyblade…cheer!
The soldiers do so loudly and energetically. She soaks in the adulation then raises her arm to silence everyone. The change is almost supernaturally instantaneous.
WINDCHIME: House Skyblade…salute!
Every soldier salutes in unison.
WINDCHIME: House Skyblade…attention!
Every soldier lowers their saluting arm and stands at rapt attention.
WINDCHIME: Excellent. Thai is the kind of unison we will require to win. The Drift system is ours, save the capitol. Planet Acadmium has yet to fall, yet fall it shall. Turok calls himself a president now, and yet he remains the same oppressive ruler who once called himself emperor. How he convinced the CircuitStone to claim him, I don’t know. If a person is responsible, woe be to them should I find out. But for now, all that matters is destroying him and taking Drift for our own. My brothers rule star systems. My brother’s mistress — and make no mistake, that is ALL she is and ever will be — rules another. That leaves me alone without a throne. But not for long.
Pan to soldiers listening with rapt interest
Turok claims he seeks to unite all — Cerrusians, native Orbians, wizards, witches, magic and non-magic alike. But he neglects to mention who he unites them against…us! Against destiny! We were meant to run Orbspace, not him! Not anyone else.
Pan to soldiers listening still, barely moving
WINDCHIME (cont): House Skyblade…cheer!
They cheer until Windchime raises her arm once again. Immediate silence.
WINDCHIME (cont): I should’ve been dead a dozen times over. And yet here I stand, still fighting. Fighting for me. Fighting for you. Fighting for the future! And speaking of my death…who had me marked? Who tried to murder me? My family. Razus Razorblade. Mathias Mindblade. And of course, the true mastermind behind it all…
She looks up at a large screen, which shows her elderly father, EARTHSTONE, chained and gagged in a cell
WINDCHIME (cont): Father…what HAVE they done to you? Stay strong, old man! I hope you live another 20 years…and that each day is more painful and wretched than the last.
She turns back to her soldiers
WINDCHIME (cont): Soon, Turok and Acadmium will fall in line with the rest of Drift. Then, Karetoretos and Loporia, and with them my traitorous brothers. And finally, Akashmiran and that wicked Walker. They will all join Father, who will no longer be alone. No, they will all die together, melted down and crushed into nothing, like the crumbs they are!
Some of the soldiers seem slightly uneasy by this point. Windchime quickly realizes this.
WINDCHIME (cont): House Skyblade…cheer!
The soldiers cheer louder than ever. Windchime looks around, smirking with satisfaction.
Scene 4: Space, Typhus’s Time ship
Typhus is floating above Acadmium, alone. He has no idea what happened to Windchime, not that that’s stopping him from hollering for her frantically.
TYPHUS: WINDCHIMMMEEE??
He keeps calling for Windchime intermittently as he runs around his tiny ship. Finally, he simply looks at the window, accepting that she’s gone and he has no idea why. Finally, he looks down to Acadmium and sees a certain area that sparks inspiration
TYPHUS: LIBRARY…THEY KNOW
Typhus begins to pilot the spaceship down to Acadmium, in the direction of the ENDLESS LIBRARY.
Scene 5: Castle Turok Presidential Councilroom
XOR barges in as TUROK and his team are discussing his upcoming speech against House Skyblade
TUROK: XOR? You’re awake! How are you feeling, my dear?
XOR: DON’T…call me “dear”
TUROK: But why not? Unless you prefer…sweetie?
XOR: That’s worse!…Turok, don’t you feel differently at all? Not yourself?
TUROK: Well, I must confess I do.
XOR is pleased to hear this.
TUROK (cont): I used to be nervous about House Skyblade’s plans for attack. But I have some secret weapons now that will render her defenseless!
XOR is not pleaded to hear this
TUROK (cont): And (brandishing speech in hand) Drift needs to know all about it! But first, a preview for my love. “Citizens of Drift. For too long, you have lived in fear of Windchime Skyblade and her gang of terrorists. No more. For today, I —”
XOR (interrupting): Turok! No…this isn’t you. Something changed you, changed everything…please, try to remember who you were. Are! Remember the Library?
Scene 6: The Endless Library (Past)
We see a young TUROK entering the Endless Library for the first time
XOR (vo): From Day One I knew what you were. Young, cocky, ready to run things.
YOUNG TUROK approaches the INSTRUCTOR
YOUNG TUROK: If I already know what you’re gonna teach me, I should just skip to the final exam, right? Right
XOR (vo): Moreso, I could feel a power brimming from you. Something I hadn’t felt before, but knew I was searching for. The power to forge the CircuitStone
INSTRUCTOR: Sit down, already. This is NOT your typical school.
YOUNG TUROK: And I’m not your typical student, what of it?
We pan to the NEWSROOM and see XOR watching from one monitor and WFC9 from the other
XOR (vo): I knew you would need help. You were too pig-headed to realize your true potential on your own. That’s where I came in. Remember?
Scene 7: Castle Turok Presidential Councilroom
We see TUROK and his advisors looking at XOR, bewildered. Finally, TUROK speaks
TUROK: XOR…
XOR looks at TUROK with anticipation
TUROK: You’re still sick, aren’t you? That fever, it’s making you believe stories!
XOR glares at TUROK in aggravation, as TUROK rises from his seat and embraces his wife
TUROK: I know you wanted to see me, and I appreciate that. But your place is in bed. You need to get better. Focus on that, please? Let me handle House Skyblade while you handle that fever of yours.
TUROK turns to his advisors
TUROK (cont): Go and fetch me the best nurse in the capital! I want 24-hour bedside treatment for my wife until she’s completely better. Understood?
His advisors nod and one of them exits to find a nurse
TUROK (cont): In the meantime, to bed with you, my dear. Get better. I won’t be able to concentrate otherwise.
XOR is ready to explode again. But she catches herself, not wanting to cause a scene. She walks off without a word. TUROK watches her go with happiness.
TUROK: She’s so strong. But still human. Now, where were we?
Scene 8: Planet Taeerrannor: Lifeblood Temple
We see the WIZARD CABAL approaching the LIFEBLOOD TEMPLE, now on their own.
HUNTRESS: Are you sure about this?
JINN-LIR: If anyone knows what happened, it’s sure to be the Priests.
WONN-LIR: They just…disappeared. What makes you think they’ll be here?
JINN-LIR: I…don’t know. It’s the only thing that makes sense
HUNTRESS: Nothing about this makes sense! One second they’re escorting us to the spaceship, the next they’re…gone. Like the gods scooped them up—
WONN-LIR: And forgot about us.
HUNTRESS: Oh cut the fatalistic crap. Let’s focus on what’s important — that we’re blindly following a LIGHT WIZARD into what for all we know is a trap. Hey! I swear to whatever’s up there that if you’re leading us to our deaths, I’ll find a way to come back, revive you, and kill you again
JINN-LIR: Will you knock it off? I don’t think it’s a trap. I’ll…bet it’s nothing at all. We’re going because I need to know, but I’ll bet you we’ll walk right in and find —
They enter the TEMPLE and find the LIFEBLOOD PRIESTS, every one of which in prayer and meditation.
JINN-LIR (cont): —nothing.
The CABAL looks around and observes the PRIESTS. They are not acting at all like the PRIESTS of before. Instead, they’re praying and meditating, behaving more like actual priests than ever
PRIEST 1: Enter brothers…and sister. We are the Priests of Lifeblood, and we welcome all.
WONN-LIR: Um…weren’t…some of you…just out there with us?
PRIEST 2: Were we? I don’t believe anyone here has left the Temple all day, It IS a holy day after all
HUNTRESS: Yes…of course it is.
PRIEST 3: Pray with us? Cleanse your minds and bodies
JINN-LIR: Thank you all the same, but we have important business. Can you…guide us to Emperor Mindblade? We must speak to him now, it is incredibly important.
PRIEST 4: No need to guide, my brother. Simply speak to him
The PRIEST gestures behind the CABAL. They turn around and see EMPEROR MATHIAS, clad in holy garb — if not for the crown on his head, he would look like just another Priest. He embraces the CABAL, one by one.
MATHIAS: You are welcome here. Wizards, is it? I can sense such things. But no matter, for as long as a being comes here with love and acceptance in their hearts, so shall we provide the same
JINN-LIR: Guess you two have to leave
THE DARK CABAL glare at JINN-LIR
MATHIAS: A…joke, I take it?
HUNTRESS: Oh yes, a hilarious one. You Priests love your jokes, shocked you’re not rolling on the floor after that one,
MATHIAS: Oh, you mistake us, child. We do not joke. While we enjoy hearing one every now and again, we have no comedic ability. Our life is dedicated to spreading peace, not laughter.
WONN-LIR: Is this…for real? Just a little while ago, these clowns kidnapped us and dragged us to meet you. You then ordered said clowns to escort us to the nearest spaceship so we could all return to Drift and take care of Emperor Turok once and for all. Does…any of that ring a bell?
MATHIAS: Not at all, my friend. We have all been here all day, concentrating on improving our inner selves. Perhaps you are exhausted, to have these thoughts.
JINN-LIR: We know what we saw. Know what we went through —
MATHIAS: Besides, I would never employ my Priests to do away with Turok. What a fine president he’s turned out to be…
HUNTRESS: President…?
MATHIAS: …defending the Drift against all forms of unspeakable evil. Miss Skyblade doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.
WONN-LIR: I’m sorry, did you just say President?
MATHIAS: Indeed. It’s been this way for a while now. You truly ARE exhausted, aren’t you? Please, rest awhile. Your heads, and hearts, clearly need it.
HUNTRESS: OKAY, ENOUGH OF ThH—
JINN-LIR (stepping in to interrupt): What she means is that we appreciate the offer, but truly must be on our way. We need to catch the nearest spaceship and…meet with President Turok. I’m sure he will be wonderful company.
MATHIAS: I doubt it not. Here (hand the CABAL a slip of paper each) are three free passes to Drift. Make sure the captain honors them, or they shall have to deal with me…personally…
The CABAL stare at MATHIAS
MATHIAS: That was a joke. Like you said we enjoy! Ha ha ha, I enjoyed that! Perhaps I shall make more jokes in the future. Ah, but those passes are no joke. They will get you on your way to Acadmium in a hurry.
JINN-LIR: Thank you, Emperor. We wish you the best, and we wish you peace.
MATHIAS: And we wish you the same.
MATHIAS goes to meditate with the PRIESTS. The CABAL, still unsure of anything, walks off. After they exit the Temple:
WONN-LIR: What was that?
HUNTRESS: It was weird, that’s what.
JINN-LIR: Something is off. Peaceful Mathias? President Turok? And who’s Miss Windchime?
WONN-LIR: Yet somehow, we’re the same?
JINN-LIR: Something’s wrong, and we need to find out now.
HUNTRESS: Well, no better place to start than with the esteemed President.
WONN-LIR: If he’s actually different and…nicer, what do we do with him?
HUNTRESS: I say kill him all the same. All he’s gotta do is drop this President schtick and we’re on the run again.
JINN-LIR: We’ll…deal with that when the time comes. For now, we travel. Destination, Acadmium.
Scene 9: Space, Above Acadmium
COIN approaches ACADMIUM in her timeship and positions herself over the remains of the LIFEBLOOD TEMPLE
COIN: That place has seen better days. Let’s revisit them…
COIN takes a deep breath and attempts time travel. For if this faux ship doesn’t time-skip, her path is forever compromised. Thankfully, the ship DOES time travel! The lights and flashes begin and nearly blind COIN — once finished, she sighs deeply with relief
COIN: I AM the Goddess. The cycle continues with me.
Looks down at Acadmium and the prime-condition LIFEBLOOD TEMPLE
COIN: I’m coming, child…
The timeship descends.
Scene 10: Endless Library
TYPHUS enters the ENDLESS LIBRARY, which looks far better than it did before. Storms toward the front desk, gets right in an ATTENDANT’S face
TYPHUS: BOSS
ATTENDANT: Excuse me?
TYPHUS: SEE BOSS. NOW
ATTENDANT: I see! The…boss isn’t really here right now. Away on official business. Is there anything I can help you with?
TYPHUS: MINDBLADE
ATTENDANT: What?
TYPHUS: MINDBLADE. WHERE??
ATTENDANT: I…don’t know anyone by that name
TYPHUS (somehow more frustrated than before): WINDCHIME…
ATTENDANT: Windchime? Oh, you mean SKYblade! Wait. As in, the conqueror?
TYPHUS: WHAT
ATTENDANT: You know — head of House Skyblade, ruler of Shock, Shift, Nerve…the conqueror.
TYPHUS’S look of confusion confuses the ATTENDANT even more
ATTENDANT (cont): Um…anyway…what do you want with her?
TYPHUS: MUST FIND
ATTENDANT: Why?
TYPHUS: FRIEND
ATTENDANT: I…do hope you’re joking. Any friend of the conqueror is NO friend of Drift. And I don’t know what business an enemy of Drift would even have in the Library. So tell me you’re joking, or leave, now!
TYPHUS lets out a roar of anger and grabs the ATTENDANT. He is about to beat the ATTENDANT mercilessly when lights suddenly flicker on behind them. It is the NEWSROOM, though in this changed world, nobody in the LIBRARY knew of its existence. Both TYPHUS and the ATTENDANT stop and stare at it
TYPHUS: WHAT IS THAT
ATTENDANT: What is THAT?
TYPHUS releases the ATTENDANT and makes his way to the lit, active NEWSROOM. The ATTENDANT attempts to follow. TYPHUS turns and glares
TYPHUS: ALONE
The ATTENDANT gets the point and shrinks off. TYPHUS goes toward the NEWSROOM, alone
Scene 11: Castle Turok Presidential Councilroom
TUROK is wrapping up his speech preparation as two of his AIDES bring in a fully-healed ORBIUS
TUROK: Thank you, gentlemen. (goes to embrace ORBIUS, who half-heartedly returns the favor) Sir Orbius, a pleasure! No doubt you’re wondering why I summoned you here
ORBIUS: I’ve had some…questions, yes.
TUROK: We are up against a powerful force in House Skyblade. If they can create an evil doppelganger of me, sneak it into MY palace, and make ME look like a tortuous maniac, who knows what else they can do? So we need an extra-powerful weapon. Something…or someONE who’s stronger than them. Stronger than anyone, really. And I can think of no one more fitting than you. The Master of Orb.
ORBIUS had a feeling such a proposal would escape TUROK’S lips.
ORBIUS: You…truly have no recollection of committing any terrible deeds?
TUROK: No. Absolutely not.
ORBIUS: And everyone else?
All AIDES and CONSULTANTS agree that they have no recollection, either. To them TUROK has always been fair, conservative, and humane, even when calling himself Emperor. ORBIUS nods to himself — he knows what he needs to do
ORBIUS: Very well. A…pologies for asking again. One can never be too careful. I wish to aid you against Skyblade. To do so, however, I need something from you.
TUROK: Anything, Master Orbius. Name it and it’s yours.
ORBIUS: I require a special machine, one made from the highest of nanotechnologies. It, combined with my magic, will unlock my full wizard potential. Only then could I truly take the fight to one as powerful as Skyblade. Can you do this?
TUROK thinks this over
TUROK: I…have rarely known nanotech to mesh with magic in a safe way. But…I’ll give it a shot. For you. Because if you believe it can be done, then so do I.
ORBIUS: Splendid. Make it happen as fast as possible, and when it is, I will use it to give you the weapon you need.
TUROK smiles and embraces ORBIUS again, who responds more kindly this time around. He’s about to get what he needs from TUROK and he knows it
Scene 12: Endless Library —Newsroom
TYPHUS enters the NEWSROOM warily. Suddenly, the WFC9 pops up on several of the monitors, surrounding TYPHUS
WFC9: Typhus, is it?
TYPHUS is incredibly wary that this…thing knows his name. He simply glares, not answering
WFC9: It is. I know. And please, don’t be alarmed or scared. I need your help. We all do.
TYPHUS continues to not answer.
WFC9: So it’s true, you’re not the talkative type. Can you at least understand me?
TYPHUS: …YES
WFC9: Good. Now listen. I am the Woman From Channel 9. My real name…my past…I no longer recall. I tell people I was a student. But some say I used to be a famous news reporter. I don’t remember. Did you ever watch me?
TYPHUS: DON’T LIKE NEWS
WFC9: …That’s fair. But whatever I was…matters no longer. I’m here now, thanks to her. Have you, perchance, heard of a being called XOR?
TYPHUS: EX? OR? NO
WFC9: You’re about to. She is behind everything. Including you.
TYPHUS perks up at this, staring at WFC9 with intrigue and impatience
TYPHUS: ME?
WFC9: Yes. I know not where she came from. I presume Cerrus, like all of us. At some point, I realized I live here, with her, in what you may call the Plane Beyond Reality. If you value your memories and sanity you…don’t want to move here.
TYPHUS: …
WFC9: As you know, Turok holds the CircuitStone, and XOR is why. At some point, she detected him as the Stone’s chosen one, but realized he would need help. XOR commanded me to shift through time to find young Turok that help. It took so much time and energy, nearly killing me.
TYPHUS: GO ON
WFC9: Clearly the caring type. But after much searching I found the answer. Coin.
TYPHUS: COIN??
From here on, WFC9’s story will combine with flashbacks of XOR’S story
WFC9: Yes. I discovered Coin and Turok, having a heated conversation concerning both the CircuitStone and Coin’s role in forging it.
We flash to WFC9 eavesdropping on COIN and TUROK’S conversation from long ago. They, of course, cannot detect her
TUROK: …you and I worked together on extremely important business. And now here you are, again, as a child. So curious. You spoke then…later…of time loops and warps and other time-related magic…and that you are the wielder of it all. Or rather, YOU (points to COIN) will be. I figured it all hoopla. I don’t anymore.
WFC9 perks up, realizing COIN is the tool she needs to satisfy her master
TUROK (cont): If I fight you, I will kill you. And that cannot happen. If you die, then we’ll never meet. We’ll never forge the Circuitstone. I’ll never escape the Library. All of THIS (gestures around him) gone. Chaos would ensue! And it would be my fault.
COIN: Circuit…stone…library…what???
TUROK: Don’t you worry about that. Until you need to. We will meet again, Coin…
WFC9 nods her head in celebration and shifts herself back to the LIBRARY to tell XOR of her findings.
WFC9: I had found the reality…the time loop I needed. Coin, the would-be Time Goddess herself, aiding the future Emperor.
TYPHUS simply grunts
WFC9 (we see XOR doing everything that WFC9 narrates): Of course, we needed a reason for Coin to help us willingly, So XOR conjured up a book about the four Noble Stones, how they were to be forged, and how the Time Goddess helps with all of them. XOR then attributed the book to Coin herself, bound it with a time-warp spell, and traveled to the Present to place it in the Library…well, the present at the TIME…
TYPHUS: WHAT
WFC9: I’m…ahead of myself. We’ll cycle back to that later. For now…XOR needed to lure Coin to the Library somehow. So she sent me back out to track her movements and soon I saw her with…you.
TYPHUS: ME?
WFC9: Yes. And despite your…issues, something told me you were the key to bringing her into the fold. And XOR agreed.
We again see XOR doing everything that WFC9 narrates
WFC9 (cont): XOR found you as a youth, confronting Jinn-Lir and Orbius. Knowing Coin had just aged up, she used her magic to bind your progress to Coins, thereby aging you when she does.
XOR’s magic ages TYPHUS in front of the LIGHT CABAL
JINN-LIR: Ty…Typhus? What…how…?
ORBIUS: What ARE you?
TYPHUS roars in confusion and rage. Present-day TYPHUS merely simmers and shakes, breathing heavy.
TYPHUS: XOR…??!!
WFC9: Yes. XOR did this to you. But the story’s not over yet. Once Coin met, and fought, the older you, she would naturally seek to learn why. And what better place to go for knowledge than the local bar? Everyone knows that. XOR certainly did.
We again see XOR doing everything that WFC9 narrates.
WFC9 (cont): So she visited Coin’s favorite bar and, well, hired herself…
XOR sneaks up behind the bartender and kills her with a fatal blow of magic to the head. She then drags the body away. Soon the BARTENDER reappears, this time with a smirk and an evil flash behind her eyes. XOR has magically transformed herself into the BARTENDER. We hear a door open, and XOR looks toward it
XOR (as BARTENDER): Weren’t you tiny just a little while ago?
WFC9: From there, Coin ventured to the Library, touched the book, found herself in the past, and helped Turok forge the CircuitStone. She then sat back and watched him grow into his Emperor role. Until another nearly took it all away
We flash back to TUROK getting shot in the gut by HUNTRESS’S gun. He collapses
WFC9 (cont): XOR saw this and knew it was time. She traveled from our plane to yours, easily circumventing Turok’s supposed anti-magic barriers, saved him, and began the process of making him fall in love with her.
We flash back to a pair of legs mysteriously approaching the dying TUROK. We see a woman’s hand reach out and touch his wound. Light emits from the hand and the wound is completely healed. TUROK breathes and sleeps peacefully. Camera now pans up to reveal it was XOR all along.
TYPHUS: WHY??
WFC9: Simple: power. She wants to be Empress. She wants to rule over Drift, and potentially the rest of Orbspace. But the CircuitStone doesn’t recognize her. So why not the next best thing: cozy up to the emperor and manipulate him to do her bidding. And eventually, run all of OrbSpace from behind the scenes. But for all her scheming and planning, she did not anticipate one thing: you.
TYPHUS: ME
WFC9: XOR presumed your story would end once Coin entered the Library. She became consumed with grooming Turok and didn’t realize you were traveling through time and space with Coin. She didn’t expect you to rescue a doomed friend, time-skip with her, and alter our present. She realizes this now…and she is not happy.
TYPHUS: WINDCHIME?
WFC9: Yes, but she is not your innocent friend anymore. She rules her own house, Skyblade, and her goals are just as malicious as XOR’s, if not moreso. Both of them must be stopped before the worst can happen.
TYPHUS: WHY AM —?
WFC9: —why are you the same? Your time, your reality shifting had no effect on you because of XOR’s magic. By magically aging you she connected you with both Coin and herself, leaving the three of you almost…outside of time. I’m the same way. I know not who else. I only know that both XOR and your old friend are dangers. Find them and stop them before it’s too late.
TYPHUS: WINDCHIME…
WFC9: She is not your Windchime. She is pure destruction. Find a way to stop both of them. For all of us. For all of Orbspace
WFC9 vanishes from her monitors. TYPHUS seethes with confusion, anger, and conflict. Finally, he turns around and storms out of the NEWSROOM.
Scene 13: Castle Turok, Science Lab
TUROK, AIDES, and SCIENTISTS are all gathered around ORBIUS. He’s attached to the machine that he requested.
TUROK: Are you ready, Master Orbius?
Orbius nods
TUROK: Very well. Power on!
The machine begins to light up and hum. After a short while, Orbius begins to glow, spark, and shake. He grunts, groans, and then yells out in pain.
TUROK: Orbius? Orbius! (to the AIDES) Shut it down! Shut the machine down!
ORBIUS: NO! KEEP RUNNING! IT’S WORKING!
Soon the machine itself begins to spark and smoke and Orbius screams even more.
AIDE: Mr. President??!!
TUROK: ORBIUS!
ORBIUS only scream louder
TUROK: Enough! Shut it down! No more!
The AIDES attempt to shut down the machine, but it’s too far gone at this point. After a brief struggle, the machine explodes! Turok and his team duck for cover. Once the smoke clears, Orbius is gone.
TUROK: Master Orbius?
AIDE: Not a trace of him…
Scene 14: Castle Turok, Presidential Bedroom
Various AIDES tend to XOR, bringing her drinks and feeling her forehead for fever while attempting to spoon-feed her food. XOR grows angrier by the second. Finally:
AIDE: The First Lady requires a new ice pack. You just relax, madam, your ice is coming right up.
XOR: NO, ENOUGH!
The AIDES all look at her, confused. XOR catches herself before snapping further
XOR: I…simply need alone time. To rest. I feel…faint? That’s all
The AIDES look relieved and prepare to leave her alone. But then XOR hears a voice seemingly coming from the walls
VOICE: It’s time…To get what you want, embrace all you are
XOR instinctively knows the voice is real, and knows what it means
XOR: Did…any of you hear that voice just now?
AIDE: No Madam First Lady, none of us
All AIDES nod in agreement. XOR grins menacingly
XOR: Good
XOR unleashes violent magical blasts that instantly kill all the AIDES. She then magically blasts a hole in the castle wall, and flies off
Scene 15: Castle Turok, Science Lab
TUROK, SCIENTISTS, and AIDES are still reeling from the machine exploding and ORBIUS disappearing when they hear another explosion! This one is coming from the direction of the Presidential Bedroom.
AIDE 1: What now?
TUROK: Did that come from the bedroom? XOR!
AIDE 2: We’ll investigate, sir. You stay here. It could be dangerous.
TUROK: My wife’s in trouble! I’m not staying behind. If there’s trouble, we’ll deal with ti together
TUROK rushes off before anyone can argue. His AIDES rush after him
Scene 16: Space, Above Acadmium
COIN has returned to space after assisting her younger self. She appears unsure of where to go next.
COIN: The cycle continues…now what? Do I just fly around looking for time loops to close? Am I really just stuck in here forever? Is there an even older Me I can go to for advice? What is NEXT?
COIN looks down sadly at ACADMIUM, knowing it’s no longer her home. She’s resigning herself to a lonely life as the Time Goddess when suddenly her ship begins to go haywire! Sparks are flying everywhere, circuit boards catch fire and explode, the ship shakes and rumbles and COIN is thrown everywhere…and then it all goes dark. COIN is aghast to find herself floating in a broken machine, with no ability to slow down, stop, accelerate, or time-skip. It appears XOR’s faux time machine wasn’t meant to last forever.
COIN, as expected, begins to panic, having no idea what to do or how to fix anything. Then, with little warning, the entire TIMESHIP implodes on itself! In an instant, blackness, and no sight of COIN or the TIMESHIP.
We then pan clear to the other side of Acadmium, where hundreds of warships approach. They begin to descend on ACADMIUM. Watching over them is a larger warship captained by WINDCHIME SKYBLADE.
Scene 17: ???
We pan around a new realm — peaceful, serene, clear. After some panning, we see the broken, powerless TIMESHIP appear. A confused and disoriented COIN peers out of the window to take in her new surroundings. She soon sees a figure approach. It beckons
FIGURE: Coin…welcome home. Approach, please.
COIN is apprehensive but decides to chance it, since the alternative is being stuck in a broken tin can forever. She opens the door and cautiously exits the TIMESHIP…and discovers she’s okay. She can breathe, she’s not broken, and leaving the TIMESHIP didn’t kill her. She addresses the FIGURE
COIN: What is this…wait…Mathias?
We pan over to the figure who does look much like MATHIAS MINDBLADE, only older and more put-together. He chuckles.
FIGURE: That was my name…long ago. I’m different now. I’m in a different place. So are you. I am Matthios, Mathias evolved. I am to be the God of Orbspace someday. And THIS…is my realm. Yours, too. Welcome…to Domminna.
We pan around DOMMINNA as a flabbergasted COIN takes everything in.
Scene 18: A Mysterious Island
XOR is flying in the direction of the voice. Finally, she sees an ISLAND in the middle of nowhere. XOR is surprised and intrigued to see the island surrounded by a ring fire. She lands in the middle and a MAN approaches her.
MAN: Are you ready?
XOR: …I might be? But first…who are you and what is this?
MAN: Good, you’re inquisitive. Perhaps suspicious.
XOR: A strange man calls out for a woman to follow him. Very few cases where that turns out well.
MAN: (chuckles) Too true. But you needn’t worry about me. I’m exactly what you need.
XOR: …
MAN: My name is Zero. I rule the underworld of Orbspace. And THIS…is my realm. Yours, too, if you desire. Welcome…to Rhyhiao.
The ring of fire shoots up even higher
XOR: You rule an island?
ZERO: This is but the entrance. Rhyhiao is large, vast, and terrible…for some. For you and me, it is paradise. But for you and me, it’s not enough. We desire more. I know you’re not satisfied being the…First Lady, is it?
XOR bristles at the term
ZERO: you weren’t even satisfied with being Empress. No, you want all of Orbspace, don’t you? And not just as its behind-the-scenes ruler. No, you want to lord over everyone and everything, crush it under your thumb. Dominate Orb, perhaps merge it with your Plane Beyond Reality, and utterly obliterate all who oppose your rule. I can do that for you. Just provide me with the crushed bodies and souls of your dissidents and insubordinates to do with as I please. Consider that my…payment.
XOR: How do I know you’re genuine? This could all be a scam. Some parlor trick
ZERO walks to up her and whispers in her ear:
ZERO: It’s time…To get what you want, embrace all you are
XOR’s eyes widen. She is convinced.
Scene 19: Domminna
MATTHIOS is giving COIN the grand tour of DOMMINNA
MATTHIOS: You are an eyewitness to the highest plane of existence in all Orbspace. A true paradise…and the reason Orb keeps ticking the way it does. From here, we control time and reality, ensuring Orb is and remains on the right and true path.
COIN: And what IS that path?
MATTHIOS: I don’t know…yet. I am not yet fully evolved. At the end of my path I will be a full-blown God and more about reality shall open up to me. On your end, you are well on your way toward being the Goddess of Time, and not a moment too soon.
COIN: How so?
MATTHIOS: Within the plane of Orbspace, what do they care about? Petty squabbles. Who controls this stone or that one? What family member betrays what other family member. Can magic and machine ever truly get along? It’s all just so much childlike babble compared to what’s truly important. Time and reality must mesh perfectly! They must be managed perfectly. One snag in the timeline, one being out of place, and the wrong people win. The wrong empires rule out. Suddenly, the petty squabbles aren’t so petty, and suddenly they threaten Orbspace’s right to exist at all!
COIN: I see…
MATTHIOS: You should see. You’re…familiar with someone being out of place, are you not? With someone bulldozing their way into a timeline they have no business in?
COIN: …Windchime…
MATTHIOS: Yes, indeed. To your credit, you TRIED to stop it. But this is why we must ascend as soon as possible. True Gods and Goddesses don’t get pushed around and overpowered by mortals below them.
COIN: I could’ve been wrong…
MATTHIOS: But you weren’t. As brutal as Windchime’s murder was, her surviving this ordeal made things worse for just about everybody. Whether the previous reality was truly the right one or not, I cannot say. But what has changed since Windchime’s survival is CERTAINLY not right Take a look for yourself.
MATTHIOS directs COIN to peer into the PLANE OF ORBSPACE. She does, and is shown AKASHMIRAN
Scene 20: Akashmiran
What COIN observes is not the peaceful Akashmiran Empire of before. This is a violent hellspace, filled with brutality and violence. Citizens are tortured, animals are burned alive, and brutal magic wars abound. It is as evil a realm as any COIN has ever seen, and after a couple minutes she has to turn away.
Scene 21: Domminna
COIN turns away from the view of AKASHMIRAN
MATTHIOS: You do understand that, as Time Goddess, you won’t be able to look away.
COIN: …What HAPPENED?
MATTHIOS: Saving Windchime’s life didn’t change EVERYTHING, but it changed quite a lot. All four Emperors seemingly flipped 180 degrees. You see Akashmiran — Empress WindWalker is as brutal and evil a tyrant as she once was kind and gentle. Her Fire Walker side destroys all with reckless abandon, and the citizens follow suit. It’s not uncommon for hundreds to die in a brutal magic war sparked by one person not giving another enough room on the sidewalk.
COIN is dumbfounded and saddened
COIN: And the others?
MATTHIOS: Good and bad, depending on how you look at things. Your old friend, Turok Rhygear? No more a genocidal fascist — this Turok is practical, conservative, peaceful, and humane. You might even like him.
COIN: …Turok
MATTHIOS: Indeed. Then the brothers. Razus Razorblade is mad, almost as mad as WindWalker. On the other hand, there’s me. I…killed Windchime. Over, what, romance? Of all the things to murder over…love. But in the new timeline, I became so peaceful and dedicated to righting wrongs, that I evolved into the heavenly figure you see before you.
COIN: With her survival you become a God. How is this NOT the best timeline then?
MATTHIOS: Just because it’s good for me, doesn’t mean it’s good for many others. The goal is to fit the pieces —everyone’s birth, death, ascension, descension, and path in life in such a way that ensures the most peace and prosperity overall. And if finding that realm means Mathias never ascends, then so be it…But do you know how I REALLY know that we are not on the right path?
COIN: Beyond half the empires being violent war zones?
MATTHIOS: Besides that. Windchine survived, and do you know what she became?
COIN shakes her head no
MATTHIOS (cont): Out of vengeance for her family shunning her and almost killing her, she founded her own House. Changing her name to Windchime Skyblade, along the way she learned how to control minds to near zombification. Using that skill, she now rules all of Drift save Acadmium. They’re next. And once they fall, she plans to turn her attention to the other empires. Eventually, every Orb citizen will be her slave.
COIN: Then how do we stop that?
MATTHIOS: Wait! I’m not done. Whatever reality rules — this one or the old one or another in the future — it will have to deal with XOR, a vengeful woman who lives in a Plane Beyond Reality. Her pals are just as insidious as Windchime’s, if not moreso.
COIN: XOR? There’s two of them…After all this info, I’m afraid to ask. But I need to know one more thing. What happened to me? My time ship turned on me, made me a prisoner, and then crushed into itself?? How did I survive that? And how did IT survive? (points to TIMESHIP)
MATTHIOS: That would be XOR, too. That was not your time ship, but one of her magical creations. XOR is a long, long story, but you should know it all…
MATTIOS prepares to explain everything about XOR to Coin. This is said off-screen, as we the viewers/readers already know all this
Scene 22: Castle Turok, Presidential Bedroom
TUROK and his AIDES rush into XOR’s room, having determined the explosion came from there. They open the door and see dead AIDES and destroyed walls. Everyone is aghast
AIDE 1: My God…what happened here?
TUROK: They’re all dead. No sign of XOR?
AIDE 2: None, sir.
TUROK: She’s gone? That hole in the wall…that explosion…it’s Skyblade, isn’t it? They took her! They’ll pay dearly!
As if to prove him “right,” House Skyblade’s forces finally arrive and begin attacking. The ships blast everything in sight, killing countless DRIFT CITIZENS in seconds.
TUROK: …SOUND THE ALARM! ALL HANDS ON DECK! IT’S WAR! WE ALL FIGHT! NOW!!!!
TUROK’S AIDES rush off. Soon alarms go off all through the capital, and indeed in other parts of Acadmium. All who can fight are being commanded to do so.
Scene 23: Domminna
COIN, through the PLANE OF REALITY, watches the war unfold in Acadmium, feeling helpless
COIN: Matthios? Matthios! People are dying, it’s another war zone! What do we do??
MATTHIOS: We wait.
COIN: What?? Wait? What could we possibly wait for? To become Gods? How long’s THAT going to take? And what do we do until then? Watch and hope the mortals figure it out?
MATTHIOS: Not…quite. We wait for one more. Another with the power to exist beyond reality. Another with a higher plane of knowledge than Orbspace can contain. And one with the power to end it all.
From behind them, a familiar VOICE answers
VOICE: No more waiting, Matthios. And Coin…my, how you’ve grown!
COIN turns around and sees
COIN: …Orbius
It is indeed Orbius, looking wiser, stronger, and more alert than ever. He smiles at COIN, who smiles back
Scene 24: Windchime’s Warship
WINDCHIME is piloting her WARSHIP, watching the battle below her. Suddenly, she hears a mysterious voice whispering to her.
VOICE: It’s time…To get what you want, embrace all you are
Unsure why, WINDCHIME decides she must follow this voice. She switches her radio off, turns her WARSHIP around, and jets her way toward the direction of the VOICE. In the distance…an island surrounded by a ring of fire
END