Beyond Grim And Evil Installment 2: Return To Bunny Island
Beyond Grim And Evil: Return To Bunny Island
You're Alive…
It had been so quiet, so strange, so uneventful, so different. Without Skarr… Hector couldn't even focus long enough to come up with a plan. Ghastly sat, face buried in her hands, at the table. Even Boskov had been moping around, quiet, unmotivated to move. Hector often continued to call on his General, only to realize with a jolt that Skarr wouldn't answer; and this time, it wasn't because he'd left, or because they'd been put out of business. After realizing this, he'd fall silent, not speaking to anyone. Right now, for instance, they all sat at the table, not speaking.
After a long moment, Hector declared, "My plans for world domination must continue. Why can't I think of anything? Ghastly, help me."
"Mourning, Chief, something everyone does," she quietly explained.
"Not me," Hector insisted.
"Even you," she stated. "Without Skarr, nothing's balanced. It's like losing a wheel off of a wagon. It's just weird," she explained.
He sighed, saying, "Maybe I should watch TV. It always motivates my hunger for world domination. Especially the political and army sessions." Ghastly tiredly looked at the screen.
ECC
It popped up on a news broadcast. The announcer declared, "We are standing outside of the army base, where in only moments, the execution ceremony of a political enemy will be commencing. We now take you inside."
The camera angle changed, and Ghastly, who had been sipping water, spewed it out in shock. Boskov roared and raced to the TV. Hector's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Skarr!" Ghastly could only gape and shake her head. Sure enough, there stood the General, looking bored with it all as ever, then annoyed, then uncertain, then defiant. He was being held in place by two robot arms on either side of him.
"Skarr…" Ghastly said in shock. Hector, Boskov, Stomach, and her, exchanged shocked gazes.
The reporter went up to a high looking official, questioning, "Tell me, General. You're the overseer of this execution. Why, again, are you broadcasting it over the air? Why is he being executed? How did you capture him? Is it true he's one of the members of the famous terrorist organization, Evil Con Carne? Is it true that he was one of Hector Con Carne's top paramilitary generals?"
Skarr scoffed, saying, "Oh please." Hector only had one. Evil Con Carne consisted of two people, a brain, a stomach, and a bear. Technically three, since the bear housed both the brain and stomach. The common soldiers were just there. Backup in case of emergencies. The reporter made Evil Con Carne sound like an actual organization.
"He scoffed at me!" Hector exclaimed, eyebrows knit angrily.
"He-he's alive," Ghastly said.
"Not for long, by the looks of it," Hector declared. They were shocked, mortified, none more so than the doctor.
"Chief, we have to do something!" she exclaimed.
"We need something to get us there quick," Hector agreed.
"A teleporter! Be back in a jiffy," Ghastly exclaimed. She raced to the lab. Hector and Boskov followed. She already had the TV on, and was getting supplies out.
ECC
"We'll tell you all about it," the General, and execution overseer being interviewed, declared. "Yes, he is a member of Evil Con Carne. He is, in fact, Hector's top General. For that very reason, we're broadcasting his execution over the air. What better way to weaken Evil Con Carne, than to kill off their leader's greatest General over national television? While they're all watching, at that. We'll show them that evil never prospers. We're coming after you Con Carne, and we'll capture you, just like we did your militia General here."
"How did you get him?" Hector demanded of the television. "Skarr isn't one to be captured."
"How did we capture him, you ask?" the overseer continued.
"Yes, tell me," Hector insisted.
"Well, Evil Con Carne left him for dead. Maybe next time they won't make that mistake. We found him in the main bomb room, five seconds before it would blow. There was a pulse, no breathing, so we grabbed him and ran out of there. We barely got away. If not for Cod Commando, we wouldn't have escaped, or taken him along. He was dying, see, and we didn't want to risk saving a dying man, but Cod Commando convinced us otherwise after slowing down the bomb's destruction time," the man explained.
"Cod Commando helped save one of my men?" Hector questioned, shocked.
"Well, he is a hero," Ghastly offered, working on the teleporter as fast as humanly possible.
ECC
The overseer continued, "We saw why his boss left him for dead, though. In fact, we're still wondering how he made it."
"You're not the only one!" General Skarr called. His injury had been without a doubt mortal, he knew. He shouldn't have lived, despite medical and scientific advances; and once he figured it out, he'd be sure not to make the same mistake again. Next time he was going to die, and his enemies were closing in, he'd just take the cowards way out and kill himself. It would certainly be more appealing than this! Unless, of course, it had been the hand of some deity that had reached out for him; in that case, he desperately wanted to know which god or goddess' favor he had earned so he could use it to his advantage. Then again, perhaps he already knew. Eris… He smirked coldly at the thought. She wasn't half bad.
Evil Con Carne kept watching. Ghastly frantically worked to whip up a teleporter. The execution ceremony was reaching its end. The execution overseer turned to the camera, saying right into it, "Con Carne, you can still save him. Come out, wherever you are. If you're watching this, I'd advise you call in."
"Fat chance," Hector retorted.
There was a pause, then the overseer General said, "Fine, have it your way." He turned to Skarr, saying, "Last chance, General Skarr. If you turn in Evil Con Carne, and lead us to them, we'll let you live, and pay you as well."
"What?" Skarr exclaimed, shocked; instantly straightening up from his sulking slouch.
"You heard us," the man replied. Everything on Bunny Island stopped as they gazed at the screen in shock.
ECC
For a moment nothing was said. Skarr only blinked. He'd always wanted to overthrow Hector. Now he would be paid to. "You want me to what?" he asked, tossing the idea around. It seemed like a good deal. Then again, to turn in Evil Con Carne would mean to turn it over to the good guys. He wanted Evil Con Carne for himself so he could take over the world. To give it to the heroes…? Sure, he'd turned in Hector before, but not the whole group, or the island.
"You heard us. We'll even give you a job as a General in the army," the General overseer of the execution declared.
Instantly he became suspicious. They would give him a job if he turned in his own? That didn't add up. He suspected a trick. After a moment, he replied, "Somehow I seriously doubt that."
The other General stiffened, then questioned, "Oh, why?"
"Oh please. I'm an army man, sir. You're lying. After all, why would you hire a General to your army who already betrayed his own? You know as well as I, that you couldn't trust a man like that. He could just as easily turn on you. Besides, I get glory from Hector for being, ugh, loyal. From you I'll get nothing. Sorry, but I'm not inclined to your offer."
ECC
To say Hector was shocked would be an understatement. He blinked, then whirled to Ghastly, ordering, "Ghastly, hurry it up will you! We must save Skarr!" Turning back to the screen, he said in awe, "He never betrayed me. He wanted to, but he didn't." Ghastly instantly obeyed, typing in a few more commands.
"Ready chief!" she exclaimed.
"Good, let's go!" he ordered. Instantly they raced in, and in seconds they found themselves on an empty balcony, looking down on the execution. Men surrounded Skarr, each one aiming a gun at him.
"Well, that's too bad, General. There goes your last chance," the execution overseer declared. All at once the weapons were cocked. Skarr's eye widened. Hmm, maybe this wasn't so terribly clever.
He grinned innocently, sweating, saying, "Perhaps now wasn't a good time to call a bluff?" He'd nailed it.
"Men, prepare to fire on my order!" the execution General stated. Skarr gasped in alarm.
ECC
"Chief, we've got to do something!" Ghastly exclaimed.
"So we will!" Hector declared. "Ghastly, bring out the portable plasma shield generator!"
"Brilliant Chief," Ghastly said, quickly handing it to him.
"Now we just need to get down there," Hector stated, looking around.
"Fire!" the General ordered. Ghastly gasped. There was no time to plan something. She seized the shield generator then leapt for a rope, swinging right down into the firing range with a battle cry! The instant she landed, she called up the shield, surrounding herself and Skarr, who stared at her, mouth agape, as bullets rained all around them from all angles.
"Ghastly, what are you doing here?" he demanded. "Where's Hector?"
"Up there," she replied quickly. Skarr looked.
Hector stared wide eyed, then his eyes narrowed. No way was he going to lose both his General and his mad scientist. He ordered, "Boskov, bring out the big guns."
Boskov growled, then whipped them out, aiming. "Shoot the robot arms holding Skarr! Ghastly, put down the shield!"
ECC
Ghastly and Skarr looked up. Quickly Ghastly obeyed, and almost immediately two lasers zapped Skarr free of the robots. Instantly Ghastly put the shield up again. Skarr grinned, then laughed evilly. "I win!" he exclaimed. "In your faces!" He promptly ran for a pulley rope that trailed down from just above the balcony Hector and Boskov were waiting on, Ghastly right next to him, keeping up the shield. Everyone was shooting at them!
"Skarr, the shield's losing power!" Ghastly stated.
"How much is left?" he asked.
"Fifty percent!" she cried, as he grabbed the rope and tugged it.
"I've scaled worse than this," Skarr boasted, smiling.
"What about me?" she asked. "I still have to keep up this shield."
"Hold onto me," Skarr quickly said, as if it were obvious.
"With one arm?" she asked.
"Good point," he remarked, worriedly looking around.
"Skarr, Ghastly, hurry!" Hector called from above.
"Forty percent general," Ghastly said, tone fearful.
ECC
Skarr cringed, then began to sweat, looking frantically around. All at once he saw the solution, and he grinned. His eyebrow knit evilly. He grabbed onto the rope and seized Ghastly around the waist, making her cry out in surprise. She looked at his arm, then at him, confused and slightly nervous. "I've got this," he declared. He let her go for a split second, long enough to draw his rapier and slice the rope, then seized her again, as a sandbag fell from above, making them shoot up towards the balcony! Ghastly screamed in surprise.
Like a pro, he landed right on the balcony, holding her. He let go, exclaiming, "Ah ha, I've just outsmarted the whole army with the most clichéd move in the book! Chalk one up for General Skarr!" He boogied, saying, "Go Skarr, go Skarr!" All at once he stopped, declaring, "I feel like a hero!" Expression souring, he added, "How depressing."
"Skarr, you're alive!" Ghastly exclaimed, suddenly hugging him, taking him off guard.
He looked blankly at her, blinking, then replied awkwardly, as he gingerly held her back, "Um, there, there?"
"You're alive!" Hector exclaimed, as Boskov seized him from the ground, crushing him then licking him.
"Boskov, no! Down boy!" Skarr ordered, balking at the contact and the tongue.
"We're so happy," Stomach said.
"We have to leave," Skarr quickly said, coming up with a way out of the awkward situation.
Putting him down, Hector said, "Yes, of course. Ghastly, teleport us back."
"I can't chief," she cried. "It needs time to recharge. We were in such a rush to save General Skarr that I didn't work out all the bugs. It's only forty-five percent charged."
"What!" Hector and Skarr exclaimed together.
The group looked at each other, then Hector declared, "Then I guess there's only one thing to do."
"What is that, sir?" Skarr asked.
"Run!" he cried, bolting with Boskov. Ghastly and Skarr raced after him.
ECC
"This is going to be a pain," Skarr complained.
"I agree. Cod Commando will be after us in an instant, along with SPORK. On top of that, this place is crawling with army men," Hector replied.
"I think I may know a secret escape," Ghastly declared, smiling secretively.
"Well spill," Skarr demanded.
"This way," she said, suddenly racing into a room. The others followed. She stopped right beneath a big grate, saying, "The vents are our emergency escape. We can use them to get out."
"Don't they have some system for finding anyone escaping through it?" Hector questioned.
"Yes, so we'll have to move fast. They'll find us soon. I doubt two clichéd escape attempts will work out," Ghastly replied, opening it. "Stick close. I don't know what sorts of booby traps they'll throw out for us." Instantly the group clambered inside, shutting it behind them.
ECC
Quietly Evil Con Carne made their way through the vents, barely daring to breathe. They saw the army scrambling below them, or heard them nearby. They were pushing their luck. "How much further?" Skarr demanded to know.
"I'm not sure General," Ghastly replied. She checked the teleporting device, saying, "It's at seventy percent."
"Why don't we just stay here for a moment and rest, then?" Skarr questioned.
Hector and Boskov looked through a grate. "Boskov, open it," Hector ordered.
"Chief…" Ghastly began to protest. Too late. Boskov opened it and peered down, looking about. Soon enough, he and Hector came back up, placing it back.
"It's just an empty room. There's no windows, just one locked door, that's it. The room is bare," Hector narrated.
"I guess we can take a break, then," Ghastly replied. "Just until I figure out where we are, though."
"Thank heavens," Skarr bitterly said, laying back in the vent and closing his eyes. Boskov yawned, leaning against it.
Ghastly shook her head at her friends, then looked at her wrist computer. Swiftly she hacked into the army's computer and got access to the map. She hacked further, tracing her watch. She smiled on seeing the flashing dot. She zoomed in, nearer and nearer. However, the closer she got, the more her smile fell into worry. Finally she gasped. "Chief, we have to get out of here!" she exclaimed.
"Why? Where are we?" Hector asked, not inclined to leave.
"Chief, we're right above a testing room. They test various gasses and toxins here. They have the ability to seal off this vent on all sides, in order to confine it, yet still get air. If they discover our hiding place, they could gas us with anything!" she exclaimed.
"Now all they have to do is find us," Skarr remarked, not concerned. All at once, however, an alarm went off in the vent, and his eyes flew open. Hector sat bolt upright. "That's not good," Skarr remarked.
"They've detected us, crawl!" Ghastly exclaimed, crawling desperately towards the safe part of the vents. The closest thing was a storage room. They had to make it! The vent closed off there. If they could get into the room, they'd be safe!
ECC
Instantly the other two followed her lead. They heard the sound of hissing, and things squealing shut. "What was that?" Skarr asked.
Grimly, Ghastly replied, "They've started the gas, and they're shutting off the vents."
"What kind of gas?" Skarr demanded.
"I don't know General. It could be anything from laughing gas to chlorine gas," she answered.
"Chlorine gas!" he exclaimed in horror.
"It could be a biological weapon, releasing some terrible disease into the air, or it could be harmless," Ghastly said.
"Crawl, Boskov, crawl!" Skarr demanded of the bear, pushing him from behind, trying to speed him up.
They saw gates closing everywhere. Ghastly pointed, saying, "There's our escape!" The vent was growing, so now she could stand up straight. She ran for it, then kicked it open, leaping out. The gate was closing behind her. "Hector, Skarr, come on!" she called.
Hector and Boskov sped up, barely squeezing out in time. Skarr was about to follow, when all at once he realized he couldn't run anymore. "What the…" he began, looking back. He gasped, paling. He'd been snagged! He whirled, trying to free himself. He could see the gas coming at him.
"Skarr!" Hector cried. General Skarr turned as he pulled free. Just then the valve closed off, making him pale. He took a deep breath, seeing the gas almost on him, and held it in, banging on the valve.
"Boskov, break him out!" Ghastly ordered.
"Then the gas will come out here!" Hector replied.
"We just need it open enough to pull Skarr out. Barely anything will escape!" Ghastly argued.
Boskov roared an agreement, hurrying to the valve and seizing it, trying to pry it open. "General Skarr's having nothing but bad luck," Hector remarked. Ghastly bit her lip and rubbed her fingers together worriedly. They heard coughing.
"Boskov!" she and Hector cried. With a grunt, the bear pulled the valve open just barely, and out tumbled the General, coughing and gasping. Quickly Boskov let the valve shut again.
ECC
Ghastly knelt next to him, asking, "Sir, are you alright?" Unable to talk for the coughing, he waved his hand, dismissing her worry.
"We need to get him back to the base for observation, in case that gas was poisonous or will make him sick," Hector declared.
Ghastly checked the teleporter, hoping and praying it was charged. She grinned on seeing it was, then said, "It's ready! We're out of here!" With that she pressed the button, and the group reappeared in the lab.
Skarr remained coughing violently. "Skarr, how much did you inhale?" Hector asked.
Skarr looked up, barely managing to answer, "Only a little bit."
"This isn't good," Ghastly remarked, worried. It wasn't tear gas, or laughing gas, or any other relatively harmless gas that she could come up with. Not with a coughing fit like this. He looked too green, too. "We need to get you to your room, so I can keep you under observation," Ghastly fearfully continued.
"Yes, room, fine," Skarr replied through his coughs, accepting Boskov's help up.
ECC
He lay in his bed looking ill and tired. Ghastly and Hector worriedly watched. "What is it, do you think?" Hector questioned, bringing Ghastly away from the room and into the lab.
"I have no clue what they used Chief. If I did, I'd be doing something other than watching," she replied, tired. "It could have been experimental. I'll have to keep him under observation for a while."
"Do that. Don't leave his side until we know what's wrong," Hector declared. She nodded.
"Oh please, don't be so worried. I'm fine. Just tired, and a little shaken. What's a cough?" a voice suddenly said, startling them. They turned.
"Skarr, you should be in bed!" Hector shot.
"Don't be silly. I'm fine," Skarr insisted.
"Well, as long as you don't do anything too strenuous. You can move around, but we'll be watching you," Ghastly stated. "Any sign of trouble, you're back in bed."
"Oh please. I'm not a child needing to be mothered," Skarr complained. Yet he didn't refuse. He simply sat down exhaustedly.
"Are you okay?" Ghastly questioned.
He looked incredulously at her, then answered, "I sat down. I told you, I'm tired."
"Oh, yeah, right," she said, glancing away, embarrassed.
"Ghastly, watch him," Hector ordered. "I'm going off to plan my latest scheme."
"Sure thing chief," Ghastly replied, eyes glued to Skarr. Hector raised an eyebrow. Boskov looked confused, but nonetheless they left.