Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Felix and the Ten Titans (save Shatner).
THE CARTOON WARS
Episode 10: Escape the Capital!
TIMMY TURNER, along with VLADIMIR POPOV, have teleported away from the CAPITAL building. Little do they know; the entire city of the CAPITAL will blow up in two hours. The explosion, started because of THE MASTER'S sudden execution of COMMANDER ALEX, will eliminate the CAPITAL and any living thing around it. With ALEX'S death, GENERAL GRIEVOUS now assumes command of the LOYALIST army...
For a few seconds, Timmy and Vlad were surrounded by a green glow and, just as quick as it started, the glow ended. They now were in an abandoned alleyway, surrounded by destroyed buildings, debris, and a garbage can or two.
"You idiot!" Vlad yelled and lightly slapped one of his hands across Timmy's chest, "Had you given me a few more seconds, I could have had us out of this hell-hole!"
"A few more seconds and I would have been killed by Grievous, and you would have been back with your Loyalist friends," Timmy replied smugly.
Vlad just scowled, "Where ARE we anyway?"
Timmy looked around and told him, "We're in an alleyway, hopefully away from the Capital building."
"What are we going to do now?!" Vlad asked angrily.
"Well I'd say we should retake the Capital, since Alex is dead, but I don't see any rebel forces around. I just wanted to leave because, as far as I knew, I was the only rebel in that place," Timmy confided in Vlad.
"Well that music is definitely playing," Vlad stated as he put his hands over his ears. The old PA system was now on its 6th or 7th song and continued, keeping the droids offline as long as it played. Timmy ignored this and walked over to peer out of the alley to see if the area ahead was clear. First Timmy checked one end that went out into the street. Debris and corpses littered the street and the buildings on both sides, but it did not make it clear if a sniper was hiding or not. The other end, which led to a small grass-filled area in between two buildings near each other seemed like the best bet.
"Let's go this way," Timmy told Vlad.
Vlad replied with, "Why not, I didn't want to die alone anyway."
Timmy glared at Vlad and they both departed into the little area. They stealthily made their way across the area and encountered no resistance, though they saw many dead bodies. It was still not apparent to them that the Capital was on a countdown to destruction as they were in an elevator at the time of the announcement.
Inside the Capital, Loyalists and droids ran everywhere in chaos and confusion. Nobody knew what to do in this emergency. Of everyone in the building, only Grievous, Shatner, and Skarr seemed to know what to do. With the Loyalist forces scattering everywhere, Grievous led his two henchmen into the room that controlled the new PA system.
Grievous turned around and told Skarr, "Broadcast to every one of our remaining forces in the city over the intercom to evacuate via the nearest possible exit of the city."
"But sir, the rebels control all the train stations in the area!" Skarr muttered back.
"I don't care, General! Tell them to gather up and attack one to attempt to get it back," Grievous replied, annoyed. Grievous turned to leave, but suddenly turned back to Skarr and added, "Use the radio to tell our troops near the building that it has its own escape pods, and they may use them."
Skarr answered, "Of course, General."
Grievous turned around to leave but turned back once more to add, "Also tell our troops to stop Turner, he'll still be in the confines of the city. The teleport that took them out couldn't have been reconfigured in time to transport them out of the city. Tell the soldiers that retrieving Popov from him will be their number one priority, with escape as the second priority."
"Sure," Skarr replied. With that, Grievous turned around and left the room, Shatner following close behind.
"Shatner?" Grievous asked.
"Yes...sir?" Shatner replied in his fashion, saying the first word or words in the sentence in a long, dramatic fashion, a pause, and the rest of a sentence fast.
"I want you to spread the word to all these idiots running around to get into the escape pods. Next, stand guard with the others outside and usher our soldiers inside here to get them into the pods. I'll come out to get you when there are only a few pods left and we have to leave," Grievous commanded. As Grievous turned to leave, he stopped and asked, "Where are those two blithering idiots, Snah and Corpla?"
Little did Grievous know that the twin shuriken throwers were already in an escape pod as per The Master's orders.
Snah sat down opposite the door while he told his brother, "Shut the door, Corpla."
"Sure thing, brother," Corpla complied and closed the pod door behind him. Next, Corpla pushed a button on the wall next to him and sat down. At pressing the button, the pod instantly launched itself out of the wall of the Capital.
Grievous and Shatner heard the noise and ran outside to witness the twin's pod flying away.
"I...think that's them, sir," Shatner told Grievous.
Grievous simply growled and headed back inside while Shatner yelled at anyone running around to get to the escape pods.
After launching out, the engines started up and the pod flew away. Both Loyalist and rebel forces stared in awe at the pod moving like a plane in the sky.
As they passed overhead on an auto-piloted course, Corpla asked, "You want to have some fun before we leave?"
"Of course, brother," Snah replied with an evil smile. Snah pressed a button which slid open the floor so the ground could be seen through some glass. The twins each sat across from each other and again pressed two buttons. Handles with buttons on top came out from a compartment in the wall and placed themselves in front of Snah and Corpla. They each grabbed the handles and pressed the buttons on top. Blasters on the sides of the pod pointed to the street and fired. The blasts hit several rebels that were on the ground staring at the pod. The surviving rebels were so dazed that they did not have time to fire back at the pod which was quickly flying away. Snah and Corpla continued to fire their blasters on the rebel forces in the street as they sped along their way.
"It would be more fun if we had someone at the front blaster controls as well," Corpla chuckled, as he smiled at blasting rebels.
Snah shook his head and replied, "But that would take our controls away, the front controls both the left and right guns."
Less than four minutes later, the pod passed beyond the edge of the city, and continued towards its destination.
Back at the Capital, Shatner was outside commanding the panicked Loyalists to come inside and get to escape pods. Several were particularly stubborn and refused to move, assured that the rebel forces would be back. This was preposterous as the rebels, learning of the Capital's doomsday, had not even gotten close to the building in quite some time and were instead looking for a way to get out of the Capital.
When Shatner told a Loyalist to go in, he replied, very frightened, "Wh-what about the droids?"
Annoyed, Shatner pointed his gun at an old PA system speaker and fired. The blast connected and the speaker blew up, the music stopping from that one speaker. Instantly, Storm Droids and Destroyer Troopers in the vicinity that were once incapacitated were brought back online and stared around at the former battleground. Seeing this, the Loyalists told one another by radio to spread out and shoot down the old PA speakers to bring the droids back online. Also, upon seeing the droids back online, several of the stubborn Loyalists ran inside to pile into escape pods.
In another part of the city, Timmy and Vlad, the only ones who had not heard of the Capital's destruction, heard the roar of the rockets of Snah and Corpla's escape pod but failed to catch a glimpse of the pod overhead.
"What the hell was that!" Timmy yelled.
Vlad looked up in the sky before turning and answering, "That sounded like one of the Capital's escape pods."
"Your side must be giving up," Timmy replied.
Vlad ignored the comment as they both now ventured into an intact building by a door. Inside, Timmy and Vlad slowly made their way through the bottom floor. They approached another door and Timmy put a finger to his mouth in a shushing motion to Vlad. Timmy slowly opened the door and peered inside. Inside, two Loyalists were crouched by a window, peering out into the street searching for any living rebels. They were unaware to Timmy and Vlad who had entered the door near them. Across the way was another door that led out to the street. Attached to the wall by the other door were several laser trip-mines that, if touched, would explode, taking whomever entered the door with it. Timmy, not wanting to disturb the Loyalists, took a small step to get closer to them. As he brought his foot down, Timmy crushed a paper bag that was lying on the floor. The Loyalists looked at the noise and saw Timmy and Vlad. One grunted as they started firing their guns. Vlad went back out the door when the shooting started while Timmy drew his lightsaber and rushed. Before they could fire again, Timmy sliced at one of the Loyalist's guns, slicing it in two. In one fluid motion, Timmy turned around, slicing one of the Loyalists across the chest. Timmy turned around again and punched the other Loyalist, causing him to hit the ground and slide over to the opposite wall with the trip-mines under it.
Vlad slowly came back into the room as Timmy handed him a Loyalist gun.
"Use this if you want to live," Timmy told Vlad.
Vlad yelled, "I hate shooting guns!"
"It's either that, or you end up like these two idiots," Timmy pointed out.
Vlad opened his mouth to speak but shut it again once he realized Timmy was right.
"And now, if you'll excuse me," Timmy nonchalantly stated as he ran and leaped out of the window into the street. "The guy under the trip-mines isn't dead yet! But you will be too if you don't get the hell out of there!" Timmy yelled to Vlad.
Vlad, spying the Loyalist under the trip-mines was regaining consciousness, yelled as he followed by climbing out of the broken window into the street. Inside, the Loyalist woke up and tried to reach his hand back to rub his head. The Loyalist realized too late; however, that his arm crossed the laser line and the trip-mines exploded, blowing up the room and killing him.
Timmy and Vlad looked at the resounding explosion before turning around and leaving. Suddenly, several Loyalists came out of nowhere and pointed their weapons at the pair.
"Hold it there!" one of the Loyalists commanded.
Timmy and Vlad slowly turned around to view the Loyalists. Seeing they were outnumbered; Timmy and Vlad placed their weapons on the ground and put their hands up in the air. The odds were seven to two in the Loyalist's favor.
Across from them was the commanding officer of the group, a sergeant Loyalist, brandishing a shotgun. The Loyalist sneered as he told the others, "I think we found our missing Jedi, boys."
The sergeant Loyalist turned to his left and addressed a burly radio operator with a portable radio, "Radio the general so we can get confirmation that these are the right ones."
"Right away, sir," the radio-op responded and stepped away to radio the palace.
The sergeant went up to Timmy and straight out told him, "There is no way you are going to get away from us, Jedi."
"Maybe I'll get away yet," Timmy responded.
The sergeant looked at Timmy, and angrily exclaimed, "You rebel fools make me sick!" The Loyalist spat on the ground near Timmy's feet.
Timmy, ignoring the insult, looked around at the other Loyalists. Two were very near, pointing their machine guns at Timmy and Vlad, one had a bandage wrapped around his head, apparently wounded. Two others were conversing a small distance away, one carrying a machine gun and the other with a sub-machine gun. While the radio-op was away, the last Loyalist, a female, was checking her sub-machine gun over very carefully.
After looking his opponents over, Timmy formulated an escape plan in his head. Before he could think for very long, Vlad tapped Timmy on the shoulder and quietly asked, "How are we gonna get out of this?"
"I was thinking of a way until you interrupted," responded Timmy.
Immediately after, the radio-op came back into Timmy's view and told the sergeant, "Sent in their descriptions, sir. It's them."
"Very well," the sergeant addressed, "if you'll kindly step with us, Mr. Popov, we can get you out of here."
Looking around cautiously, one of the other Loyalists casually stated, "Hopefully we can get the hell out of here before this place blows."
Both Timmy and Vlad turned to face the Loyalist with shock as Timmy asked, "What do you mean, 'blow'?"
"Don't ya know what's gonna happen?" another Loyalist asked.
"Stupid rebels," muttered another under his breath.
Ignoring the comment, Timmy responded by asking, "No. What is gonna happen?"
"In less than two hours," a Loyalist explained, "the Capital will blow up."
Vlad shockingly yelled, "WHAT!"
'That must have happened when we were in the teleporter or the elevator,' thought Timmy, only slightly shocked at the turn of events.
"It can't blow up!" Vlad screamed, "I don't believe this!"
The sergeant smirked and replied, "Believe it. Now if you'll please come with us, we can leave this place."
Seeing salvation, Vlad stepped away from Timmy to leave with the Loyalist squad when suddenly, a humming noise commenced near the Loyalists.
"What the fuck?" asked the bandaged Loyalist.
The sergeant replied, "Materialization! Get on the radio and tell them we have a materializer."
Vlad backed up next to Timmy and asked, "What the hell is happening?"
"Didn't Alex ever tell you how we came into this land?" Timmy questioned.
Vlad shook his head and replied, "No, he didn't even explain how he teleported US here."
"Once a cartoon is drawn or show is aired in the 'real world'", Timmy explained, "they are sort of teleported or materialized into our part of the Fiction World, our country. Hence the name materialization. You ever wonder why this place was made the Capital?"
Vlad shook his head as Timmy continued, "Because most of the materializations happened right here in this city," Timmy sighed and continued again, "There used to be a materializer nearly every day, but when Alex came into power, the Loyalists constructed some device which somehow blocked the materialization grid from the real world. If it was ever reconnected, I'm sure many cartoons would materialize at once."
"If it doesn't work, then how come a material-thingy is happening right in front of us?" interrupted Vlad very noisily.
Timmy replied, "The blockade apparently has bugs in the program as some materializations still occur, like this one right here. Although now they happen sparingly. While we used to have materializations every day, now we're lucky to have one in three months. Even the ones that happen, the Loyalists are usually on the scene to convince the materializer to join them. If they refuse, they are killed on the spot." Timmy lowered his head in thought.
"How long do these things usually take?" Vlad asked.
Timmy shrugged and responded, "Well it depends, sometimes they happen in a few seconds, other times, they have taken a whole day. Although, on average, they only take a few minutes."
The sergeant Loyalist, who had listened to the little history lesson, smiled and barked to the others, "We'll stay here and wait for our new friend, shall we?"
The humming noise turned into a whirring noise almost immediately after he spoke.
"Perfect timing," the radio-op observed, "Now time to meet our friend."
"Wait until my command to fire if they refuse to join us," the sergeant ordered, sending one of the two soldiers who were having the conversation (the one with the machine gun) over near the whirring.
Instantaneously, a blinding flash occurred, and the whirring noise increased in speed and intensity. Next, a figure seemed to slowly faze tangible before a second flash occurred. After the flash, the whirring stopped, and the figure was fully in the flesh. The Loyalist stepped forward to greet the figure when he saw fully what it was. It appeared to be a humanoid cockroach, about seven feet high, with a dark-colored body apart from a glowing yellow sac on its abdomen. The beast, a reaper from the video game Resident Evil 5, screeched at the unfamiliar surroundings and spied an unknown organism: The Loyalist soldier. It screeched again before grabbing the screaming trooper with two of its four upper body claws. It lifted the soldier's arms high with the two claws and used its two middle razor-sharp talons to repeatedly stab the Loyalist in the abdomen. As it stabbed, again and again, the other Loyalists opened fire. Getting hit by the gunfire angered the reaper, which dropped the disemboweled Loyalist. It turned around towards the others and began to vent a noxious gas from its dorsal and abdomen sac, creating a misty blur effect around itself. The reaper slowly crept towards the closest Loyalist, the bandaged Loyalist's friend who had held Timmy hostage.
"Keep shooting!" the sergeant yelled.
"Aim for the head," the female told her companions.
When the reaper had approached the bandaged Loyalist's friend, it stopped secreting the gas and tried to grab him in the same way it had done the first. By pure luck, the concentrated fire from the Loyalists managed to shoot off one of the upper body claws. It screeched in pain as the Loyalist sergeant fired his shotgun right at the creature's face. The impact of the shot blew the reaper's face clean off. The other Loyalists lowered their weapons and expected the thing to fall over on the ground, dead. To their shock and amazement, the reaper stood in place and swung with its second grabbing arm wildly. The attack still connected, hitting the Loyalist and sliced his neck. Catapulted to the ground by the hit, the trooper soon bled out afterward. The other Loyalists backed away in fright as an arm exactly like the one the reaper lost, regenerated and replaced the destroyed limb. A short time later, the reaper's head followed suit and regrew. Screeching angrily, the creature started crawling towards the others on its six limbs, revealing two more glowing yellow sacs on its back. The Loyalists fired at anything they could on the monster but did not manage to hit its only weak point: the sacs. Crawling, the reaper moved faster than walking and now attempted for the bandaged Loyalist himself. The reaper stood back up once it got close to the bandaged soldier and commenced its slow walk. The bandaged trooper screamed and attempted to dissuade it by shooting wildly at it. The Loyalist shot off both mid-body talons which angered the reaper. It raised one of its upper claws and swung, instantly decapitating the bandaged Loyalist. Next, the reaper vented more mist from its body and slowly crept along towards the radio-op. The radio-op was distracted and attempting to call for reinforcements. When he saw the thing, the radio-op tried to raise his gun and fire, but the reaper grabbed him and repeatedly stabbed him like the first Loyalist, disemboweling him.
The other three: the sergeant, the female, and the other chatterer, had long since backed away from their original positions and were firing madly at the beast. The creature screeched again, and, once again, started to walk towards the sergeant now. It did not vent the mist, but opened its abdominal sac and, by chance, some sub-machine gun fire hit it. The reaper backed away in pain and knelt on a knee, exposing one of its sacs on its back.
"That's the weak point!" the female yelled out. The three now fired at the sac on the back, hitting it, causing it to explode and damaging the reaper more. The reaper screeched in pain and backed away a few feet. It knelt on its other knee, exposing the second sac on the back. Once again, some gunfire hit the other sac, exploding it. Now, the reaper's upper body, with no support on its back sacs, collapsed on itself, now fully revealing the massive sac on its abdomen. It slowly attempted to walk as the sergeant once again fired his shotgun into the sac. Sustaining heavy damage, the reaper collapsed on the ground and its body began to spasm as it made several noises and finally laid still. As the Loyalists gathered around the body, it dissolved into the ground, the terror finally over.
The other Loyalist looked around the area and questioned, "Where the hell did the other two go?"
The female and the sergeant looked around to see that Timmy and Vlad had disappeared entirely. The sergeant growled in defeat and threw his gun on the ground.
Minutes beforehand, while the reaper had begun its assault, Timmy and Vlad gathered up their things and quickly sneaked away from the scene unnoticed by the preoccupied Loyalists. After moving away a few feet, they ran as hard and fast as they could for several blocks until they rounded a corner and hid along the side of a building. Breathing a sigh of relief, Timmy and Vlad relaxed for a short while.
"What the hell was that thing!" Vlad yelled after breathing heavily.
Timmy shook his head and responded, "I don't know. I had heard that sometimes we have materializations from some of the other countries. Up until now I've never experienced one."
Vlad sighed and asked, "Now what are we gonna do?"
Timmy looked back at the Capital building and looked the opposite way before stating, "Well, if this place is really gonna blow, we had better head for the nearest train station and make our way out of here."
"I can't believe this place is really gonna blow," Vlad quietly whispered.
"I know, it hasn't been much, but it's been my home for many years now." Timmy paused and, after a long silence, spoke again, "Well, I think we'd better get going now."
Timmy helped Vlad stand up and they both went on their way to the nearest train station. They traveled a few city blocks before they were stopped in their tracks by a building that had collapsed in the street.
"Damn it!" exclaimed Vlad. "Now what are we gonna do?"
Timmy looked around and spied a door that led into one of the still standing buildings. "I guess, we'll just have to go into the buildings. There isn't much time to find anywhere else to go."
As Timmy started advancing towards the door, Vlad replied, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you totally sure about this, Jedi?"
"Oh, come on. What could possibly go wrong?" Timmy smirked as he rushed head-long into the building.
Vlad sighed and quietly spoke to himself, "I know I'm gonna regret this."
Timmy Force Pushed the double doors off their hinges and ran inside, Vlad following suit. They both headed up a flight of stairs to the next floor. Nothing was different on this floor, scattered debris, a few bodies, and used shells from guns, no more to be touched by their deceased masters. Timmy and Vlad continued their trek and made their way down the hall. At the end of the hall, they ascended another flight of stairs. The same view awaited them as they made their way to the end of another hall.
As they passed by a body of a Loyalist, the Loyalist, only wounded, spotted the two of them and reached for his nearby weapon. Vlad turned around briefly to view the carnage behind them when he saw the Loyalist getting ready to fire his weapon. In a split second, Vlad made a choice and fired his weapon, shooting the Loyalist who fell backwards. Timmy turned around too, having sensed the danger, and was shocked that Vlad had saved his life.
"Hey," Timmy smiled at Vlad, who was in semi-shock from firing the gun, "Thanks for that."
Vlad shook his head to regain his composure and replied, "I was protecting myself. Don't think this will ever happen again."
Timmy rolled his eyes, "Come on," before going down the hall and down the stairs. They both went down another flight of stairs and went out into another street. They walked slowly outside, and instantly heard gunfire coming from the end of the street.
"I think it'd be best if we didn't go that way," Timmy mused and turned around to go the other way. Right as the pair turned around, however, a gun cocked and was pointing directly in their faces.
Vlad moved backwards, startled, as several more Loyalists joined the one already on the scene.
Timmy tried to slowly reach for his katana, but the Loyalist with the gun pointed at him gestured, "Uh-uh," and stuck the gun even closer to Timmy's face.
"We were radioed to find you and get Vlad back, General's orders," spoke another Loyalist, grinning at their success.
Timmy stood still and thought for the second time within five minutes that he would be dead when a voice rang out, "Rebels! Get down!"
Timmy obeyed quickly and ducked to the ground. Vlad, confused by the instructions, also ducked down. Instantly, several shots rang out and the Loyalists were hit. The one that had aimed at Timmy fell, hit in the face. As more shots rang out, the rest of the Loyalists were on the ground, dead. Hearing no more shots, Timmy stood up, observing the carnage with Vlad following suit.
Behind them the voice that had saved their lives spoke again, "Hey, are you guys okay?"
Turning around to acknowledge him, Timmy replied, "Yeah, thanks."
The rebel came closer to Timmy and started to say, "That's gre-," but suddenly noticed who he was speaking to and gasped, "Timmy? Is that you!"
Timmy focused on who was talking and noticed that it was Ash.
"Ash?!" Timmy replied, "How did you-? What's been-? Never mind, I'll ask when we get moving, it's too dangerous out here to be talking."
"You're right," Ash retorted. Ash noticed Vlad and asked Timmy, "Um Timmy, who the hell is that?"
Timmy looked at Vlad himself and replied, "Oh that's just a Loyalist scientist I stole out of the Capital."
Ash glared at Vlad and asked Timmy, "You really think he's gonna be of help?"
Timmy shrugged and answered only with, "Well, he DID save me."
"Can we move now? If you didn't notice, fools, this place is going to be one big hole in less than two hours!" Vlad barked.
Timmy glared at Vlad before adding, "He's right. We only just found out that the Capital is going to be destroyed. Where are you guys heading?"
"Well," Ash began, "we WERE heading for a train station, but that idea got shot to hell when a Rider stuck its face in our business, and we had to fall back. Now, I don't know where the hell we are in the city."
"How many men are you?" wondered Vlad.
Ash looked over at one of the rebels and hollered at him, "Charlie, see how many of us are there."
"Right away, Major," came the reply. A small group of rebels came walking down towards the three of them while a larger rebel was busy counting the heads of everyone present.
Ash smiled and explained as he pointed out several individuals in the group, "I've got a lot to tell you when we get moving, Tim. I don't know any of these guys except for Charlie, the one you just heard; my muscle and get-it-done man, Hal, my worrywart and complainer, and Lester, my sharpshooter. While he's no Felix, he'll get the job done. You probably had seen them back at the base."
"Oh, so that's what their names are," Timmy interjected.
"You didn't even learn their names while we were in the base together?" Ash joked.
"I was probably too busy training, or I didn't notice anyone out of my main group of friends," Timmy embarrassingly explained.
Ash smirked while Charlie came up next to him and relayed, "There are twenty-one of us with those two now, Major."
"Very good Sergeant, tell them to move out," Ash instructed.
Charlie moved away towards the others spouting cries of, "You heard the Major! Move it, people!"
"We had best be moving," Ash suggested, "we don't have long to figure out where we are and get the hell out of here."
"You're right," Timmy replied and turned to Vlad, "Let's go, buddy."
Vlad grumbled and trudged along with the others. The group moved along at a quick pace despite being a larger group. They moved around destroyed buildings, through destroyed streets, and past forgotten bodies of rebel and Loyalist forces alike. They encountered absolutely no resistance, only a few deactivated droids along the side of the street. While they moved, Timmy talked with Ash about the others.
"So, what happened after Squidward and I separated from you guys?" Timmy questioned.
Ash began, "Well, Grim said they fought off the resistance and managed to make it outside the building where the rest of us were taking a beating. Grim ordered a retreat and we slowly pulled out. Just as we get ready to leave, your Jedi Master comes out of some hangar, hacking at anything Loyalist. He joined us and we went into full retreat. While running, we heard some weird noise coming from one of the Capital's hangers. The next thing I know, I see a motorcycle whiz by me with some freak job with a samurai sword in one hand and steering the motorcycle with the other."
"That must have been Cyclops," Timmy quietly murmured, "What happened after that?"
Ash continued, "Well, more motorcycles go by me, some running our forces over; some shoot at us. All I know is that I just kept on running, even though some rebels started shooting the motorcyclists. I just kept on running. Next, some ten minutes later, I hear on the PA system that the Capital is going to blow up! Let me tell you, THAT was a sight. Rebel troops scattered everywhere. I was separated from the rest, but managed to find Lester, Hal, and Charlie. Together, we've been trying to make our way to the closest train station, gathering some lost, roaming rebels here and there. When we finally had found a radio-op, he relayed to us that the Generals had gotten out of the city okay, and you know the rest of the story. If that Rider hadn't blocked us, we could have made it to a train station. Now, I don't know where we are."
"What about my Master, Inuyasha, Kagome, Felix, the others? Where are they?" Timmy asked, intrigued.
Ash replied with mostly good news, "I'm not entirely sure about some, although I know that Squidward and Felix were on the train with the Generals. I can assume that Inuyasha and Kagome are not in the city, because otherwise we'd have found them by now. You can see signs of their handiwork anywhere with his sword and her arrows. I'm not sure if they were on the train with Grim, but I at least know that they are out of the city."
"Well that's good. Now what the hell are WE gonna do!" Vlad shouted sarcastically.
Ash stopped in place and violently grabbed Vlad, "I don't know, smart ass, maybe shoot your ass dead, how 'bout that one?"
Vlad instantly shut up as Timmy came behind Ash and just put an arm on his shoulder. Ash let go of Vlad and they started moving again. Vlad breathed a sigh of relief as he followed.
In the Capital building itself, things were still in complete disarray. Loyalists and droids piled in escape pods and launched them to leave the city. Some of these pods predetermined paths led them very close to the rebel forces in the city and the rebel forces own escape trains. A few pods were bombarded with gunfire and rockets which led to several of them being shot down.
In the meantime, Skarr, having done his job, was busy gathering several items to take with him. Skarr also monitored the number of escape pods very closely, as he wanted to be on one of those pods. Skarr did not know where Grievous was now.
Shatner was outside escorting Loyalist forces into the Capital building. Some of the cartoons Shatner was helping were not even Loyalist troops. They were just ordinary citizens not involved with either side of the war. Deciding to be nice, Shatner sent anyone who walked up asking for help inside to the pods as well. Shatner was oblivious to the escape pod situation and also did not know where Grievous was.
Grievous was inside the building patrolling around on one of the upper floors. As Grievous slowly paced around, his thoughts dwelled on words that he was told years ago. It was around seven long years ago, right when Alex and his regime took over. As part of a test of his reformatted body, Grievous was facing a captured Jedi Master in a duel to the death. Grievous had easily disarmed the Jedi, and stood near him, ready to execute him.
The Jedi, kneeling on the floor simply stated, "I sense much conflict in you, General."
Grievous hesitated at the statement and brought his raised arms down to his sides.
"Your destiny is whatever you make of it," the kneeling Jedi calmly smiled.
From behind, the voice of a belligerent Alex spoke, "What the hell are you waiting for? Kill him!"
Grievous did not listen to the command and only pondered on the words of wisdom. As Grievous did this, the cloaked form of The Master slowly walked forward and stood next to the robotic General.
The Jedi gasped as he looked at The Master and murmured, "I sense great evil in you. But no matter how evil you are, you will never be triumphant in your cause."
In response, The Master simply outstretched his right hand and lifted one finger from it, creating a powerful Force move, flinging the Jedi to the back of the room. The Master slowly walked forward to the battered Jedi.
"I detest using guns," The Master uttered out loud, "but it is a pleasure to see the amount of pain they cause."
The Master flung out his left hand and a small pistol came to his hand. Cocking the gun using the Force, The Master took aim and fired twice, directly into the Jedi's kneecaps.
The Jedi groaned in pain and grabbed his bleeding knees. The Master took aim again, at the Jedi's shoulder and fired. In defiance, the Jedi threw out his hand, blocking the bullet with the Force. The Jedi dropped his arm as the bullet whizzed by him and collided with the wall.
The Jedi breathed heavily before speaking, "I know all about you, even your past."
The Master said nothing in response, and only threw out his right hand with a jolt of Force Lightning. The Jedi groaned in pain but did not scream. Wanting his victim to suffer, The Master stopped his lightning barrage.
"Y-you'll ne-ever succeed, my padawan will find a way to beat you," the Jedi stammered and groaned, "Someday he'll be even more powerful than me, maybe even more powerful than you. Squidward will destroy you."
Once again annoyed, The Master let loose with another barrage of Force Lightning from his right hand. All the while, Grievous watched the torture. After the Force Lightning, The Master raised the Jedi in the air and clenched his hand together in a fist. Grievous remembered that The Master called this attack Force Evisceration - an attack which tears open the body of its victim in multiple areas. If the victim's organs were not crushed or severed from their body, the victim would bleed to death. Another one of The Master's attacks that Grievous remembered was called Force Annihilation, a move which literally separates skin and muscle from bone. The Master performed this move by bringing his hands together and parting them. Both attacks were used in succession on the hapless Jedi. Grievous viewed the Jedi's horrid death with indifference, still pondering on his words.
Alex was behind Grievous screaming his head off about how badly he had failed while The Master slowly came up to him and calmly told Grievous, "That's all, General, you may go."
In defiance of Alex, Grievous turned around and left the room, completely ignoring his fit of rage.
Even now, years later, the Jedi's words still floated around in Grievous's head. They helped fuel the ever-growing conflict in Grievous' mind. Grievous sighed and kept walking very slowly back and forth in the hallway. Skarr suddenly came running down the hallway, desperately looking for the General.
"Thank goodness I found you, General," Skarr relayed, "the number of escape pods is dwindling. I suggest we find Shatner and get out of here."
"You are correct, General. Let's get out of here," was all that Grievous could say in reply. Grievous followed his underling down several flights of stairs to locate Shatner. Rushing outside, they found Shatner showing Loyalist troops inside the building to the escape pods.
Skarr tugged at Shatner's arm and told him, "Come on Shatner. We must go! We are running out of escape pods!"
"I...don't want to go yet," Shatner replied, "We...have to help some more of our forces."
Skarr sighed and answered, "I've relayed a message to any unit nearby that can make it here in time. They know where to go."
"Well...all right," Shatner quietly whispered.
Skarr led Grievous and Shatner back inside and around several corners where no one had been yet. Skarr pressed a button on the wall, opening part of the wall which led to an escape pod.
"Come on, get in," Skarr ordered.
Shatner looked around before blurting out, "No one's...been here yet! Cartoons...don't know that there are escape pods here."
Skarr ignored Shatner's statement and shoved him inside the escape pod. Grievous looked around the area one last time before climbing inside as well. After going inside, Grievous pressed a button and the pod door closed. Next, Skarr pressed a button next to him, the engines ignited, and the pod shot out of its docking point. The pod flew on its programmed course and flew high above the city.
Skarr took the forward gunner controls and asked, "May I fire on the rebel forces, General?"
Grievous shook his head and answered, "I don't think that would be a good idea. We don't want any of the rebels to attack us."
"That seems reasonable," Skarr observed and simply sat in the gunner's chair. Grievous looked down through the glass, and viewed the buildings, some destroyed, and some still standing. Grievous also viewed Riders destroying several places, while teams from both factions moved in chaos, looking like ants from the air. Soon, the escape pod flew out of the city limits, and towards the place where the escape pods were programmed to converge. Shatner and Skarr were soon asleep while Grievous just stared at the scenery below them.
The group of rebels continued to make their trek towards a train station. To shorten the journey, they now were inside some destroyed buildings, still moving cautiously around, when they heard helicopter blades above them. Hal gasped, and told the others, "Now we don't have to go to the train station! We can just take the helicopter!"
"Don't count on it, Hal," Ash told him. "Grim told me that the helicopters were only to be used for offense, and not for evacuating anyone who is able to get out of the city."
"Why would that one come near us?" asked Vlad, also hoping that they would be picked up.
Almost instantly, a screen came up on a working computer next to them. "There's your answer," Ash replied. Most of the rebels gathered around the screen and viewed what appeared to be a map with many flashing white dots scattered around the screen. Also, on the screen were several larger red flashing dots.
"Well that map is the Capital obviously, but what are all those circles?" asked Lester.
Timmy observed the map and put forward his explanation, "Well, obviously the white dots are us. Apparently, we aren't the only rebel group that hasn't reached a train station. But what the red dots are, I do not know."
Ash finished by saying, "I've got it! The red dots have to be the train stations, and this has to be us." Ash pointed to one of the white dots towards the center of the city. It turned out that they were one of the farthest groups away from a train station. "The helicopters are obviously out here to show the rebels controlling the train stations how many more groups are out here."
"They also show us which train station we should head for," Lester added.
Hal, still skeptical, asked, "Then why is this chopper still heading for us?"
Everyone turned to see that indeed the helicopter was flying towards them. Hal raised his hands to show the helicopter that they were there. In reality, the pilots of this helicopter had some sympathy and were attempting to evacuate the group of rebels they had viewed. However, as they approached, a Rider-AT rose from the ruins, and whirred at its enemy. The pilots of the helicopter attempted to retreat, but as they started to turn, the Rider fired its heavy machine gun at the helicopter. The helicopter started smoking and spinning out of control as the rebels ducked for cover. The helicopter finally crashed into the remnants of a building and exploded, toppling the remains of the building. The Rider, having completed its job, stomped away.
Hal stood, dumbfounded at the scene that had played out in front of him. "THAT'S why the helicopters don't go after us," explained Ash, who proceeded to move out, with the others following suit. Charlie grabbed Hal and drug him along with them. They continued along their trek, and still did not encounter any resistance. Every so often, they would hear a helicopter overhead and find another screen that showed how close they were to a train station. As more time passed, more and more dots disappeared from the map, either having reached a train station, or destroyed by a Loyalist squad. Throughout their journey, Ash and Timmy would share stories with each other about their exploits. Vlad overheard these conversations and pondered thoughts of his own, not having any real human connection other than being told what to do by Calamitous. Soon, they had reached a more secluded area with two buildings on either side. Deactivated Storm Droids were scattered here and there, still standing, but completely offline.
Some of the rebels examined the Storm Droids when Ash yelled, "Come on, we only have 45 minutes left! We need to hurry!" As they started again, though, Timmy stopped in place, and sensed something amiss.
Ash noticed this and went up to his friend, "What's wrong, Timmy?"
Timmy's eyes shot open as he yelled, "Loyalists!" and, indeed, from both rooftops, a group of Loyalists rappelled down towards the rebel group. Several rebels began to open fire, hitting some of the Loyalists. Lester even managed to shoot one of the ropes, causing that Loyalist to plummet screaming to the ground. In response, the Loyalists themselves retaliated by firing from above, killing two of the rebels. Another Loyalist, wanting to have help, fired his weapon at one of the old PA speakers, destroying it. As it was destroyed, the Storm Droids in the vicinity came back online, and drew their weapons. One droid that had his weapon stolen, walked up behind a preoccupied rebel, and grabbed a pistol from the rebel's pocket. Feeling his weapon being lifted, the rebel turned around only to be shot by the droid.
"Droids!" yelled out another rebel, who was in turn blasted by the Storm Droids. Several other rebels turned around and began blasting the droids. Timmy withdrew his lightsaber and zoomed out to the rear of the rebels to defend them from the newly awakened Storm Droids. Timmy used his lightsaber to repel several blaster shots back at their owners, hitting more of the droids. Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, the rappelling Loyalists reached the ground and started their offensive against the rebels, trapping them between both sides. As a few more rebels fell, Ash and Charlie rushed to the front lines and began firing wildly, hitting several more Loyalists. This small burst of morale caused the rebels in front to finish off the small Loyalist force and aid Timmy in destroying the droids in the rear. Soon enough, the Loyalist force was decimated, and the rebels breathed a huge sigh. All in all, seven rebels were killed.
"Leave the dead," Ash told the others, which they obeyed. The smaller group of rebels now moved forward again, surprisingly not meeting anymore Loyalist resistance.
Timmy told Ash, "There are bound to be other Loyalist patrols still around that will try to take Vlad back."
"We'll just have to keep an extra eye out," replied Ash.
After a while of moving, Ash noticed an open building to his left and yelled to the others, "Let's cut through this building!"
The group of rebels quickly rushed inside the former apartment complex. What they did not know was that a massive group of Loyalists and reactivated droids were on the other side of the building controlling the street. Also, a group of Loyalists were waiting in the apartment complex itself ready to ambush any rebel group that dared to wander inside their territory.
With a spotter leading the way inside the complex, the rebels rushed forward as they were nearing their evacuation train station. However, as the group ran, they barely had time to notice a grenade roll into their path.
"Watch it!" yelled Ash as the grenade exploded underneath the spotter. Several other rebels behind the spotter fell backwards from the explosion. The Loyalists came out of the shadows and fired upon the rebel group, hitting several of them. Hal, thinking he could outrun the Loyalists, quickly rushed forward to avoid being shot.
Timmy noticed this and yelled, "No!" to stop him from being killed. Timmy's cry fell on deaf ears as Hal sped forward and a blaster shot rang out. Hal's speeding body plopped to the ground, dead. In revenge for this, Timmy activated his lightsaber and rushed out to attempt to kill the attacking Loyalists. Timmy deflected several shots back at them, using a Force Push attack to throw several more Loyalists flying back. Coming out of their hiding place, Ash and the rest of the rebels shot at any remaining Loyalist resistance, eliminating most of them. Those that remained rushed back outside to join their reinforcements on the street.
Ash slumped over Hal's body and closed his open eyes as a sign of respect. "Rest in peace, you stupid son of a bitch," Ash whispered.
Timmy took position near the door and noticed the figures rushing along either side of the street, fortifying their positions. "I think we'll have some more resistance out there, Ash," Timmy pointed out. Quickly, Ash, Vlad, Lester, and Charlie gathered around Timmy to formulate some sort of plan.
"We only have twenty minutes, so whatever we do, we have to do it fast!" Ash exclaimed after looking at his watch.
Several of the rebels farther back who were helping their wounded comrades from the last skirmish told Ash, "We are not ready to fight off more Loyalists!"
"I could attempt to draw away their fire while those that are able to fight return fire," Charlie suggested.
Ash shook his head and replied, "We are too few and have too little time to try a stunt like that."
Vlad, who was listening to the conversation, suddenly turned to Timmy and told him, "Turner, I wish you could have rescued me from that place a little sooner." Vlad extended his hand to Timmy.
Confused, Timmy shook Vlad's hand. Vlad suddenly ran out into the open with a suicidal plan. "Ash, stop him!" Timmy yelled after figuring out the scientist's plan.
"Charlie, take some guys and go get him!" Ash commanded.
"Right, let's go boys," Charlie told three rebels who quickly rushed out after Vlad. However, the hidden Loyalists poked out of their positions and fired upon the four rebels. Charlie and the other rebels were riddled with bullets and blaster shots, bringing an end to their rescue attempt only seconds after it had begun. Ash watched the bloody massacre unfold right before his eyes and after it was over, simply stood in the doorway with a horrified look of shock on his face.
Meanwhile, seeing that Vlad had apparently broken away from the rebels, several Loyalists and droids left their hiding places to meet him. As they came to take him away, time seemed to slow down for Vlad. Vlad slowly exhaled and withdrew his weapon and fired upon the incoming enemy troops. The spray of bullets hit the unsuspecting droids and Loyalists, confused about why one of their own scientists would fire upon them. After the initial shock however, the remaining ones inside their hiding places realized the scientist they were told to retrieve at all costs had defected to the rebellion. Bullets sprayed everywhere from Vlad's sporadic firing, some hitting the ground, others hitting their targets square on the mark. Loyalists and droids ran everywhere to avoid the spray. Several tried to pop out of their hiding places to kill him, only to be hit by a shot.
Timmy, Ash, and Lester quickly rushed out and provided support. Within thirty seconds, no Loyalist or droid was seen moving, indicating they were all dead. Timmy had to go over and give Vlad a pat on the back for being so courageous against his former allies.
"I have to admit, that was very nice," Timmy admitted.
Vlad simply smiled and replied, "I just did what I felt I had to do. I see now which side I SHOULD have been on."
"That's okay, when we leave the city and catch up to the others, you can be a major asset for our cause," an understanding Timmy told Vlad.
Ash nodded and added, "Let's get the hell out of here."
Unbeknownst to them at the end of the street in an elevated position was a sniper that had taken aim at the rebels. Not knowing who Vlad was, the sniper took aim at him since he had taken out many of his Loyalist comrades. As Vlad looked around, the sniper fired a shot that zoomed and hit its mark dead on, sending Vlad down to the ground.
Timmy sensed the bullet before it hit Vlad and yelled, "NO!" only to be too late. Lester instantly turned around and quickly returned fire with his rifle, hitting the sniper in the stomach, causing him to fall off his elevated position to the ground with a splat. Timmy and Ash ducked near Vlad to attempt to stabilize him.
"You're gonna be all right, Vlad!" yelled Timmy, "We can bandage up this little wound and you'll be right back on your feet."
Vlad weakly laughed as he placed his fingers inside of the wound in his chest. Because the bullet was armor-piercing and since Vlad had no armor, the bullet had zoomed straight through him. "Go on, I'm done for," Vlad coughed, growing weaker by the second.
"Don't say stuff like that, Vlad, we can put you back together!" yelled Timmy.
"I'm dead meat. Tell the others of my good. Tell them I apologize for all the evils that the Loyalists have done. Turner, I just want to let you know that I know you rebels can defeat the Loyalists, I just know it-," Vlad closed his eyes and breathed his last breath.
"Vlad? VLAD!" yelled Timmy to no avail. All Ash could do was put his hand on Timmy's shoulder in comfort. Two more of Ash's rebels who were assisting a wounded third soldier came out of the destroyed apartment towards the other three.
"Major?" One of the rebels told Ash about their wounded comrade, "He's in pretty bad shape, we had better get him to the train station."
Ash shook his head and replied, "Here, I'll help with him, is there anyone else?"
The rebel simply shook his head to signify that they were the only six left.
"Well, we had best be moving. The train station is nearby," Ash ordered, "Lester, you and Timmy lead on."
Lester nodded and patted Timmy on the shoulder. Timmy simply got up and proceeded to lead ahead towards the station. Ash and another rebel helped the injured rebel make his way while the third rebel stayed behind them for rear defense. Within ten minutes, the group finally made its way into the train station, where several rebel guards greeted them and led them closer.
The rebel in charge at the train station jokingly told them, "Well THERE you are, we thought you weren't gonna make it! We were just about to head out. Only a few minutes left before this place hits the shitter!"
"We met up with some heavy resistance. How are the other rebel groups out there?" Ash asked as he gave the wounded trooper to several other rebels who would help him into the train.
"You're the last group left," the rebel explained, "Everyone else has either made it out of the city or was taken down by Loyalists. The other stations have been abandoned and our helicopters are safely out of the city. We were told to wait after it looked like you might make it. Some Loyalists have retaken some of the other train stations for their own use."
Timmy interrupted the conversation by saying, "We'd better get going! If I remember correctly, this is the last song on the CD!" Timmy was right, "Ghostbusters" was indeed playing, and several seconds after the song's conclusion, the Capital would be destroyed.
In no time flat, the remaining rebels at the station boarded the train with Timmy being the last one on. Timmy was in the back of the last car, staring out at the scenery with Ash beside him. The train slowly moved out of the station, soon gaining speed as it chugged on and on.
Ash smiled, "Well, we finally did it! We're getting the hell out of here!"
"Yeah, but at what cost?" asked an upset Timmy. "One of my friends, and two of yours are now dead."
Ash only replied, "That's war. That's how we must deal with things. I've lost more friends than I care to remember, and not a day goes by that I don't think about them. By continuing to do what I feel my friends would want, that's what gives me the strength to keep going."
Timmy turned and gave Ash an understanding smile. Timmy proceeded to look up at the Capital building itself. Escape pods were shooting off left and right and heading in every direction, including directly over them.
"Not now!" yelled Ash at seeing that an escape pod was going to fly directly over them.
Timmy reacted quickly and started to climb up a ladder to the top of the train car while he screamed out, "They're not going to gun US down!" Reaching the top, Timmy quickly spied the escape pod zooming overhead. The pod's occupants quickly saw where they were and took the gun controls of the pod. Raising his hands, Timmy concentrated with all his might to grip the pod with the Force. With every ounce of strength in his body, Timmy hurled the pod to his right where it collided with the ground, exploding on impact. Timmy dropped to the roof of the train car, exhausted. After several seconds of catching his breath, Timmy climbed back down the ladder and turned to Ash.
"Now, where were we?" smiled Timmy at a stunned Ash. Ash tried to open his mouth to speak but was instantly hushed by Timmy. "Listen," Timmy ordered, "can you hear anything?"
Ash listened for a second before replying, "No, nothing but the train."
Timmy grabbed the side of the train car and told his friend, "That means the CD has run out. The city will blow any second, brace yourself!"
"But, we're not out of the city limits yet!" yelled Ash who also braced himself.
Suddenly, a thunderous boom came from underneath the city itself. Timmy and Ash looked at the Capital building far in the distance. Every remaining escape pod launched itself as the Capital building rattled from explosions under the ground. The initial explosion of the underground bomb directly below the Capital building caused a chain reaction that spread to the other bombs placed underground. Ash and Timmy watched as the massive Capital building began to tilt as the ground below it gave way. With its supports gone, the Capital building slowly started to collapse. As it slowly fell, several more explosions, apparently inside the building itself, caused several pieces of the building to fall into the collapsing streets below. With a loud crash, the building crashed into the ground, allowing the weakened ground to crumble, creating the start of a giant hole. The massive tower, once seen as a symbol for peace, though now seen as a symbol of destruction, was gone, completely engulfed underground. Though many cartoons had escaped the building before its destruction, hundreds more were still inside as it fell, dooming them to die.
The streets were a scene of panic for anyone still in the city. As the explosions spread out, streets and buildings began to fall into the hole created by the explosions. Not even the few remaining Riders still in the city were safe, as they too fell into the hole, crashing into destroyed buildings and debris. Anyone who survived the drop into the hole was still in danger of being crushed by falling debris.
Ash and Timmy started to sweat as they saw ground not far away from their speeding train fall into the ever-growing hole. All they could do was hope their train could outrun the bombs and the enlarging hole. Their hearts raced as the collapsing ground appeared to be catching up to them. The portions around the train tracks suddenly gave way, the land right behind them on the train tracks falling backwards. They both held their breath as the collapsing ground behind them was only inches away.
Not a moment too soon, the train sped its way passed the outer limits of the city, passed the armored wall and out into the countryside. Timmy and Ash breathed a sigh of relief as they looked back one last time to see the armored wall fall backwards into the now massive hole. Timmy and Ash only laughed as they patted each other on the back and went into another train car to see the rest of their companions.
"So, where is this train heading anyway?" asked Timmy.
Ash chuckled and replied, "Why only rebel central! My friend, we're going to Miracle City!"
Timmy smiled as he looked out the window back at the remains of the Capital, looking for only a moment as he turned and looked at the countryside. Now, Timmy thought that he could forget the horrors of losing so many of his friends in that despicable city and look forward to reuniting with the rest of his friends in Miracle City.
Bits and pieces of the Capital still stood, since not all the explosives had gone off. This saved countless lives of those still trapped in the city. However, thousands of droids, Loyalists, and even several Riders were caught in the destruction. Surprisingly, not a single living Rebel was killed inside the blast.
The battle had been a costly one on both sides. Out of every single cartoon (rebel, Loyalist, or civilian) and droid inside the city, sixty-five percent of them were dead, with another twenty percent wounded. Despite the loss of the city and many soldiers, the rebels celebrated for their victory. They believed that Alex and Grievous were dead and they were victorious in their cause.
Unbeknownst to them, Grievous HAD escaped the city and, for all intents and purposes, would now assume command of the Loyalist army and all its resources. His five biggest underlings had also been in the fifteen percent of the city not dead or wounded. Though they had been separated, General Skarr, Colonel Merchant, Colonel Fancyson, Colonel Shatner, and Colonel Cyclops still maintained a big control in the Loyalist hierarchy. Baraka and his bodyguard Scarpine had also escaped the city unscathed, meaning Baraka would be back with more of his Horde.
Finally, The Master still had control of things behind the scenes and very few knew of his existence. Snah and Corpla had evacuated the city very early on and The Master's brother Pagoro still posed a threat, especially now since he was more than half robotic with all of his new limbs. With Shatner and Cyclops to round things out, six of the Ten Titans still lived and posed a massive threat to the rebellion, even more massive than Grievous himself.
End of Episode 10
Character Bios:
Sergeant Charlie (Deceased): One of Ash's good friends that survived the first Rider attack and the Battle of the Dome. He was a get-it-done man and strong. He was Ash's best friend after Misty, Brock, May, and Dawn. He was shot dead while attempting to retrieve Vlad. Ash was visibly disturbed by his death.
Private Hal (Deceased): One of Ash's friends that had survived the first Rider attack and the Battle of the Dome. Though a constant worrywart and complainer, he was still a good friend. Blasted dead as he tried to flee.
Private Lester: One of Ash's friends that survived the first Rider attack and the Battle of the Dome. He is one of the best rebel marksmen. Lester eventually escaped the Capital with Ash and Timmy.
Vladimir Popov (Deceased): Former henchman to James Bond villain Gustav Graves. Was Graves' scientist and originally sucked out of a plane. Teleported by The Master to serve as another brilliant scientist to serve under Calamitous. He initially survived his first encounter with Timmy and grudgingly began to like him. Timmy also helped him see that the rebel cause was noble, and he had been on the wrong side of the war. Vlad unfortunately was shot dead by a Loyalist sniper shortly after he had had these revelations.