Once Upon a Time...
Or maybe twice...
There was an unearthly paradise, called...
Pepperland.
80,000 Leagues, beneath the sea it lay... or lie... I'm not to sure.
It was a beautiful land, full of colors and sounds and life! Everywhere there was life! And music, lovely, lovely music played by everyone with an instrument. Over there sat Lord Mayor and his quartet, and a ways off a duo of musician's shared a piano off a ways, plunking away artfully at it's keys.
Old Fred plucked flowers from the bushes, taking time to smell each one as he listened to a pretty woman in cobalt blue strum away at her harp for the dancing children before her, there mother watching with admiration as she rocked away in her yellow-white rocking chair. Slowly, Old Fred approached her, removing his hat before handing her the bouquet of flowers and blushing deeply as she admired them.
Towards the more public regions of Pepperland, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was giving a public performance, playing away on a raised platform for the park-goers who stopped to watch and listen.
However, a ways away, everything was not so lovely. In the distant, blue mountains an army was beginning to rise. Hundreds of blue fuzzball-looking creatures rallied around a much larger blue fuzzball-looking creature along with tall men in suits holding green apples, and large mangy cats with numbers on their stomachs. Behind them turks with snapping mouth's for stomachs waited patiently for what was to happen.
A palanquin bearing the largest blue fuzzball, with long floppy black ears and ugly yellow teeth, was carried forward.
This was the infamous Chief Blue Meanie, leader of the wretched Blue Meanies.
"Pepperland is a tickle of joy on the blue belly of the universe," He drawled in his high pitched voice before climbing out of the palanquin and sending it away, he turned to his leuitenant, Max, and smiled, "It must be scratched, right Max?"
"Yes your Blueness!" The smaller blue meanie cried. This immediately sent the Chief Blue Meanie into a rage.
"WHAT?!" He screamed, snatching Max's blue floppy ears, "We Meanies only take NO for an answer!" He dropped Max as the rage built and he pressed his face close to Max's terrified one, his eyes glowing yellow, "Is that understood Max?!"
"No your Blueness!" Max saluted, grinning fearfully and the Chief Blue Meanie's rage began to subside. He smiled, at ease, and straightened so Max could sit up better.
"That's better." He smiled, looking around, "Are the troops in readiness?"
"No your Blueness!"
"The Bonkers?" The Chief asked as the tall men in the purple suits raised their giant green apples in preparation.
"No." Max replied in confirmation.
"Clowns?" Large, fat clowns in blue shirts patterned with pink flowers and flashing buttons along their chests, their large grey heads topped with tall pink, pointed hats spinning round and round as they grinned widely.
"No."
"Snapping Turks?" Large men with blue skin and red fezzes let their stomachs snap with their large white teeth and blue eyes inset on their chests.
"No."
"Anti-Music Missile?" The Chief asked as two common Blue Meanies pulled levers and the mountain's rock gave way to reveal a large blue hole as a large glove pulled into a fist with it's pointer finger extended flew by, eyes and a crooked grin flew by, "Dreadful Flying Glove?"
"No!"
"Splendid!" The Chief cried in excitement before a rather nasty look sneered along his face and he leaned over the cliff side to lear down on peaceful Pepperland, his followers leaning with him, "Today," He snarled, "Pepperland goes bluey..." He let his tongue roll out of his mouth in disgust before he flailed his body and pointed a large blue hand with a yellow claw, "FIRE!"
The two common Meanies yanked on their leavers and a large blue ball, like a large blue marble, fired from it's hiding place in the rocks and soared down towards Pepperland. Flying through the air, it landed rather violently on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, causing the ground to shake as it enveloped the performers instead of smashing them.
The area fell silent and Pepperland's resident's looked around in confusion before flying into a panic. They screamed and ran this way and that, fearing the next attack while on the mountain cliffs, the Meanies prepared a number of large blue guns. Firing cobalt blue arrows down on the land, striking their victims immobile and stone gray.
Monuments sunk into the ground, flowers were clipped at their stems and the Meanies ran free! The Apple Bonkers dropped their large green apples on the immobile people of Pepperland as a single man ran free through his fallen, frozen friends.
"The Meanies are coming!" Panted Old Fred as he ran, "The Meanies are coming!"
"Glove... Glove, come here Glove," The Chief Blue Meanie said sweetly on the mountain top, "Look out there and what do you see?" He roughly shoved Max's head back and smiled, "Tell him Max."
"Someone running Glove." Max said, his pointer finger following Old Fred.
"Yes," The Chief said, turning back to pet the pointer finger of the Dreadful Flying Glove, "But you'll soon put a stop to that wont you Glovey? Go! Point and having pointed pounce! GO!" The Chief screamed and flailed as the Glove shot into the sky, leaving a trail of gray smoke as he sped towards Old Fred, who was dodging arrows as he ran.
Old Fred ran and ran, finally finding refuge in the large monument YES until it was smashed and turned stone gray by the raging Glove, who laughed a laugh so deep and dark it seemed to echo from all directions in Old Fred's ears.
Atop the mountain, the Blue Meanies were rolling in the dust laughing as they watched Old Fred run through the large monuments of words that turned gray and crumbled to dust in the grass. As the poor old man ran for his life, his boot caught on itself and his head nearly crashed into the large statue made to look like Sgt. Pepper's old base drum and the Glove came inches from pouncing on the old sailor, pausing to laugh manically before curling into a tight fist and slamming down as hard as it could.
Only to be met with water as the creature housing the statue on it's back picked itself up to move, carrying Old Fred with it. The Glove was submerged completely, remaining in the cold water as it floated there, stunned. Atop the mountain, the Chief screamed and ran in different directions.
"WHAT?! WHAT! THE GLOVE IS LOOSING IT'S TOUCH!" He cried, running towards a waiting Countdown Clown and beat his large fists against it, "Do your worst! Do your worst! Destroy them!" As he raged and ranted Max climbed his small blue ladder and pressed the Countdown Clown's large red nose, issuing a loud squawking sound and the Countdown Clown and a bomb flew towards Old Fred, colorful smoke rising from the ground where it landed. Max pressed the nose again and a number of trees was blown down to stumps. Above, the Glove had caught up and now whipped around ahead of Old Fred, who quickly turned and began running the other way.
"Not polite to point!" He cried, terrified as he was cut off again, the Glove laughed and Old Fred turned back around and sped away, the sound of the Glove rocketing towards him filling him with dread. He ran past the Peace Monument, two hands shaking, and it blew to bits behind him. He could hear the Glove whimpering under the rubble and willed himself to run faster.
Farther away, separate from all the mess, sat Lord Mayer and his quartet, still happily playing away on their instruments.
"Sir... sir!" Old Fred panted, his voice drowned out by the strings of the violins, "The Blue Meanies are coming!"
"Not here Young Fred," Lord Mayor said, his rosy skin crinkling in a smile as he strummed his cello, "They wouldn't dare."
"They would sir," Old Fred said, removing his hat and wringing it, "They are! What are you gonna do?!"
Lord Mayor strummed his cello thoughtfully, "Finish the quartet!" He announced, beginning to play again. His ensemble members nodded and began to play as well, until the fourth member was struck with an arrow and was struck as still as a statue. His violin flew into the air and was caught by Old Fred.
"Trio, sir." Old Fred said, trying to be helpful. At that moment the third member was struck, his violin flying into the air as well only to be caught by Old Fred, "Duet sir."
Lord Mayor, caught up in the music with his eyes closed, frowned, "Duet?"
Only to have the second member struck down as well, her violin flying into Old Fred's arms.
"Solo sir," Old Fred cried, trying to play three violins at once and barely managing to keep them in his arms.
"Young Fred," Lord Mayor opened his eyes and choked on his words before flying into the air in fear, "The Blue Meanies are coming!" Old Fred caught his friend in his arms, dropping the instruments and running for it. Above them the Blue Meanies fired their arrows but couldn't manage to strike the two running men, well... running man and his one passenger.
They ran fast and hard, towards a large Aztec like pyramid on the edge of Pepperland. Atop the pyramid sat a bright yellow submarine, glistening in the sun. Old Fred set the Lord Mayor on his feet and together the two hurried up the steps of the pyramid, both huffing and puffing in their old age.
"Four scores and thirty two bars ago," Lord Mayor wheezed as they climbed, "Our four fathers-"
"Our quartet!" Old Fred corrected as they climbed ever higher.
"And our four mother-"
"Another quartet!"
"Made it in this Yellow Submarine." Lord Mayer said, dropping his cello and Old Fred hurried to pick it up for him before looking up at the submarine sitting on a pillar at the top of the pyramid.
"What that little thing?" Old Fred asked, pointing at it.
"To Pepperland!" Lord Mayer panted hard.
Behind them the Blue Meanies charged the pyramid, large four headed dogs with glasses and whiskers pulling at their black leather leashes as they ran.
Atop the pyramid, Lord Mayor set up a wire stand as a large blue anchor lowered from the submarine, "Climb aboard Young Fred," He croaked much to Old Fred's chargin.
"But sir!" He cried, "I can't even make myself float!" He cried, swinging on the anchor as his friend tuned his cello.
"I'm appointing you Lord Admiral," Lord Mayor said, giving his cello a strum with his bow.
"But sir!" Old Fred cried as he flailed in his seat on the anchor but Lord Mayor was hearing none of it.
"Go Young Fred!" He cried, readying himself to play as the Meanies attacked the pyramid, "Go! Get help!"
"But wh-where-where should I go?" Old Fred asked frightfully. Above, the submarine's hatch door opened and the anchor was retracted inside the ship as Lord Mayor called, "No time for trivalties!" As Old Fred disappeared inside the submarine took off, flying through the air, barely missing the bomb that destroyed it's pedestal.
"Go! Go..." Lord Mayor called, beginning to frantically play as a last stand against the attacking Meanies. He was quickly surrounded by the Apple Bonkers who promptly dropped their green apples atop their latest victim. Lord Mayor grew immobile, turning gray and still, buried beneath a mound of green apples.
As the Yellow Submarine flew far, far away from Pepperland, journeying through 80,00 leagues of sea towards the only quartet who could possibly help.
Or could they?