Dogfight Days of Summer
A nice cooling drink was plucked from the table beside an outdoor pool, Mary put the straw to her lips as she wore a pair of shades, "That's it, I've finished the internet. There's nothing left to see. I'm so bored, this summer isn't crispy at all."
Jim perked up as Mary instantly looked at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "You forever live on in our hearts," Mary joked.
"Yeah, haha," Jim said sarcastically.
"I can't believe Crispy is actually staying, you should be proud Jim, you started a whole new trend."
"So thankful."
"There's nothing to do, it almost makes me miss school," Darci spoke, resting beside her and holding Toby's hand who also took advantage of finally relaxing.
"I'm a little upset that during school we were frantic, never resting, busy. Now, that everything i over, it's the calmest summer, the most relaxing thing in the world, all the breaks you want." Claire stated as Aja grew curious but also confused.
"Was it your Trollhunting activities?"
"Yeah, it seemed like every night we were trying to live our normal lives while nearly dying. It was awesome but tiring." Toby added.
"The Trollhunters started everything, but they had zero luck with time," Eli mentioned.
"That's crazy-town talk, Darc," Toby responded. Beside him, Steve was also a part of the group, turning to face them to suggest a new idea.
"We could go see a movie. Ooh, Gun Robot Versus Laser Ninjas." Steve sat up as Luug, disguised as a regular dog hopped onto his lap, begging for attention.
"Okay, I will never, ever be used to him turning to them and asking to hang out, especially Toby."
"Hey!"
"I mean, he was rud–"
"AH!" Steve interrupted, noting Aja's main focus was on the conversations, wanting to learn more and ask more questions. "We don't need to relieve any of that, why continue to talk about the past when we are looking at the future?" He laughed nervously.
"Yeah, I see what you're doing," Mary said. "Aja's mostly going to watch Jim's past too… might as well rip the bandaid off."
"What are we talking about? And why would we rip off strange sticky fabrics?" Aja asked.
"Nothing!"
"Seen it," Darci said. "Needed more ninjas."
"Accept it, Steve. This is the most boring summer on record," Mary mentioned. All Steve did was chuckle, putting Luug on the chair as the view moved from them, toward the sun, only hearing what Mary was enduring. "Steve, put me down!" She let out a scream as water splashed into the air.
"Is it boring now?"
From Arcadia finally being happy and relaxed, the scene changed to Akiridion 5 as numerous guards stomped through, a male voice speaking.
"Armada launching in T-minus one horvath." Krel, Aja, Vex, and Zadra were watching the screen from their ship, looking shocked and worried at the sight.
"You can never have a happy moment without some crazy psychopath ruining it."
"Ay, that does not sound good," Krel stated as Zadra moved closer.
"It appears Morando wasted no time readying his fleet to invade Earth," she responded before a small screen with Izita appeared, standing in front of the resistance.
"I'm receiving an incoming transmission from Loth Saborian." The transmission was answered as Loth stood in front of the screen, filled with panic.
"Code red! I repeat–"
"How much time do we have?" Izita asked.
"We are out of time," Loth stated, jumping when Morando spoke to him.
"If this dude is warning everyone behind Morando's back and Morando is near this panicked little Loth guy, how the heck does Morando not hear any of it? Sorry, but Morando would kill, no hesitation, especially if someone was keeping him from making progress."
"Dude can't get what he needs if Loth is dead. That guy has been doing all of Morando's dirty work."
"Initiate launch sequence and set a course for planet Uurrth." Morando stepped up beside the smaller Akiridion.
"Your Highness, we shall reach Earth in just under 16 horvaths, or we can take a more scenic route."
"Then in 16 horvaths, the last of House Tarron shall end and none shall mistake them for royals again." As Morando spoke, the Resistance had been listening into the conversation and Izita wasted no time working.
"Base to Resistance Strykers, you need to stop Morando's fleet. Take out his Syclopion ship." She swiped at the screen, focusing on the main target as the pilot spoke to her.
"Copy, in pursuit now."
"They're our last hope," Zadra spoke, placing her hands on the kids' shoulders. "If they fail, nothing will stop him from coming to Earth. Back on Akiridion, the ships had come into view, racing toward their target.
"Target in sight," one pilot spoke.
"Affirmative," another responded. "May Gaylen's glory be with you." On that, the ships moved onto their path, Izita watching the five fighters nearly racing to their deaths.
"The Resistance will remember the sacrifice you have made this day." The Resistance placed their hands over their cores as the enemies continued to take off toward their destination. However, one robot had spotted the Strykers approaching.
"Sir, a puny but determined fleet of V-Strykers approaches."
"They're trying to keep us from launching," Morando responded. "Open fire!"
"But, sir, we should wait and initiate communication," Loth stated.
"Firing is a perfect way to communicate." The weapons on the massive ship, turned to face the Strykers, rapidly firing as the much smaller ships twisted through the blasts. Some had fallen while others had fired back, not doing much damage.
One small Stryker remained, causing Aja to gasp when she noticed and Izita was frantic. "Come in! Do you read me? Anyone?"
"I read you, it's not looking good." The remaining pilot spoke.
Aja and Krel watched with tension, realizing that people would begin to lose their lives against Morando all for the royal family. Well, they were also doing it for their home planet, but the community should not be risking their lives, the royals should be there to support.
"I know what you're thinking, it is not worth any risk. Morando is dangerous but we are glad we have different tactics to try and defeat him, even if there are sacrifices. Not you royals, not when the success comes from your death and everyone is hoping for your safety." Zadra stated.
"It's not fair for them to do our dirty work," Aja asked.
"It's not dirty work. It's supporting their true leaders."
"One left," Izita breathed out as everyone covered their cores again. "Seklos and Gaylen help us." The pilot weaved and fired through the numerous blasts, focusing hard on surviving before diving downward. Once free from the blasts, the ship turned, racing back toward Morando who only laughed in response.
"Target locked, firing." The pilot mentioned before his weapon shot at the much larger ship. Only one blast from the massive ship had completely obliterated the ship, Aja yelled out with a gasp as they watched the collision.
Varvatos sighed as Zadra spoke up, "Seklos and Gaylen be with them." Izita appeared back on the screen, looking devastated.
"I'm afraid there is nothing else the Resistance can do to stop them. Those were the last of our ships."
Krel gasped, "What about nuclear drones?"
"Nuclear? Hardly," Izita replied. "There are parking enforcement drones, but we do not have enough pilots." As she showed the small drones, there was a massive explosion on her side, causing a massive panic. "The Resistance is under attack. Royals, I fear you and Earth are on your own."
Another massive explosion had turned off her feed, causing the group to panic as Steve appeared in the doorway, holding an empty glass.
"Is it now a bad time to say we're out of lemonade?" He shook the glass as Aja glanced at Varvatos. There was a moment of silence before Vex spoke, his tone dry.
"Yes."
"And, Steve, we need a mekron to think. Can you make sure no one comes inside the Mothership? And that includes you, sorry." Aja asked.
"On it, I'll keep the civilians at bay. Palchuk out." Once he was gone and the door slid shut, Varvatos turned to the kids, speaking.
"Why must the local youths lounge by our aqua pit?"
"Because Mother gave us the only house on the block with a pool," Krel answered.
"Your Majesties, invasion is imminent," Zadra spoke up, more worried about the attack than the humans sitting and enjoying the pool.
"Then we have no choice, Varvatos must alert the Earthen authorities."
"What?" Aja breathed out.
"The police, are you a soolian?" Krel asked.
"We cannot aspire to victory without the aid of the hoo-mans' military support. The police will help us acquire the army we need."
"I concur with the traitor."
Varvatos turned to look at Zadra with a frown, wishing she would stop calling him that, even after everything. Technically, she was unaware of what happened and Varvatos was nothing but a pawn, and he also understood why she felt that way, but he wished it would stop being brought up.
"Don't look at me like that. I need time."
"Varvatos, you were at Area 49B. You saw what the humans would do to us," Aja answered.
"With human lives now at stake, defending this mudball must take priority over our well-being." Vex grabbed a serrator and Krel jumped to grab it.
"Hey, that one's mine."
"Varvatos knows you have been working on a portable method for transduction."
"It was intended to hide our Akiridion forms, not expose them." Krel switched from Human to Alien, tossing his serrator up while Vex tried to catch it. When Krel had stopped moving, Vex had gently pushed him back and stole the serrator.
"Ha! Your concern is noted, but we cannot face Morando without an army and right now, the hoo-mans are all we have."
"He's right," Aja spoke up. "We need an army, we need to recruit new warriors." From then on, Toby and Eli were sitting in the house, playing Go, Go Sushi as Toby's competition had come out.
"Order up!" Toby yelled. "Sashimi me, Pepperjack!"
"Okay, they make the most sense, they dealt with the unusual battles and understand most of the sides."
"Thank you, I try to be epic," Toby said, smiling proudly.
"Yes, Chef!" Toby began to spew things in Japanese as Aja and Krel returned to their human form. "That is a sad California roll."
"I keep forgetting the avocado 'cause I'm allergic."
"You're allergic to winning," Toby playful nudged Eli in the shoulder as Aja and Krel walked in front of them. "Thanks for letting us hang here, guys. This is the most boring summer ever, and–" As they played their game, Aja stepped in front of them, holding a box full of strange devices.
"So, I've got some good and bad news for you," they struggled to play around her, focused on the game. "The bad news is that your planet is about to be invaded by an extraterrestrial force."
"What's the good news?" Eli asked as he and Toby never faltered at the bad news, which made sense since they already dealt with the 'end of the world' scenario.
"Your summer is officially no longer boring," Aja responded, dropping the box. "Now, enough fishy games, we must train you." The two looked at the box and placed down their controllers.
"A real intergalactic army is coming for Earth and you want–"
"Our help?" Eli finished Toby's sentence.
"You are the most accomplished human warriors we know."
"She means the only human warriors we know," Krel added as the two boys glanced in the box. From then on, the two boys gasped before coming to a stand and twirling around, clapping each other's hands in excitement.
"Yeah, awesome sauce!" Aja and Krel watched them with confusion and slight irritation. Krel was the one who reacted in a more irritated way.
"Ay, ay, ay."
The two squealed and laughed, "So cool, so cool, so cool!" Toby chanted before grabbing Eli's shoulders, turning into a more serious tone. "Wait, play it cool, Pepperjack. Before we agree to enlist, we're gonna need to know if this training is going to involve laser blasters."
"I mean, can you blame us for reacting that way, after all…trolls wanting to eat our faces?"
"I want to see your story, it fascinates me and how we think you would react to the situations much differently," Aja said.
"Very different from the other humans that we encountered, or seen," Krel added.
"We'll need a lot more than serrators if we're going to stand up to the Akiridion fleet," Krel answered.
"We've survived some tough odds before. Imminent death numerous times, the end of Arcadia twice," Toby stated.
"Wait? Twice? When was the second time?"
"Uh, duh, Bular trying to open the bridge, I count that as the end of Arcadia." TOby said, sarcastically bonking his forehead in a 'duh' manner.
"Oh, yeah!"
"At the rate that we were going, I think we nearly lost both of our lives and Arcadia a bunch more times." Jim hissed, remembering the Morgana situation, Angor Rot, and every enemy that decided it was a good idea to be let loose with no repercussions.
"Not to mention the Go-Go Sushi Omaskase level," Eli added. Their seriousness instantly dissipated when they bent over to pull things from the box.
"Alien weapons! How cool is that?" Toby squealed, pulling off small warrior moves and activating a shield from the serrator.
"We're talking about a warship full of robot soldiers, people." The two were stuck within the shield, hitting the walls of it before Aja gently pushed them out.
"Sorry," Eli mumbled.
"This is not a game," As she pushed them away, Krel turned to face the TV where the game was left on, the high scores displayed on the screen, Aaarrrgghh having the most points.
"Hmm, it could be."
From his planning, the scene changed to Varvatos in his old man attire, sitting in a black room, yelling at Detective Scott. "As we speak, an entire armada is traversing the galaxy, intent on raining sweet death and destruction upon the dump heap that is your home world!"
Detective Scott had his feet resting on the table as he leaned back in his chair, slurping on his coffee while he had opened a magazine and numerous donuts waited on a plate beside him. He sighed in delight once he pulled the mug away, flipping a page.
"An armada of, uh, aliens, is it?"
"Robots! Death machines!" While Scott was collected and calm, Varvatos was yelling and panicked. "Programmed to kill by the most vile General Morando. They are as without mercy as Varvatos himself and almost as adept at slaughtering."
Scott laughed, setting down his mug which read 'world's greatest cop.' "You know, ever since trolls literally surfaced in this town, everyone's got a theory on what's next. Vampires, wizards. My own daughter thinks the Billycraggle is real, but killer robots from outer space? That's a first."
"Uh, sorry, wizards are already a thing. One helped be a sorceress. I mean, where was this guy during the battle?!"
"You humans are brainless," Merlin hissed.
"You're human…"
"I'm ancient and not as blind as the rest of you."
"YOU HAVE POWERS!"
"So, I'm not fully human."
"AGH!"
"Your distrust of Varvatos Vex's veracity is most distracting though not unexpected, which is why he comes bearing irrefutable evidence." He pulled out the serrator, Detective Scott dropped the magazine to watch the old man. "Stand back! What you are about to witness could very well melt the fibers of your feeble hoo-man mind."
He aimed at the serrator and clicked it, however, nothing changed. Detective Scott slurped from his mug once more as Varvatos struggled, his serrator clicking. "Uh, one secton. Varvatos is not tet accustomed to this new mobile technology."
"Uh-huh. Mind melting."
While Varvatos struggled to impress the cop, Eli and Toby had dressed themselves in their warrior outfits, only disappointed at the flashlights they were holding.
Eli groaned, "I was under the impression there would be laser swords."
"In time, but first, the key to a soldier's victory is patience."
"Patience, check," Toby said excitedly. "But there will be laser blasters, right?" He shined the flashlight onto Eli, shocking the smaller boy and causing him to shield himself from the bright light. "Look at Eli," Toby laughed.
"It's so nice to have friends and have an eventful night, not spent by myself," Eli said and the crowd was silent, realizing how terrible that sounded and how they treated Eli, especially when he knew what was going on before it was even revealed.
"We really owe him an apology."
Eli grew a big smile, shining the light onto Toby and the two began to start a small fight. However, Zadra was also in the room and didn't take the screaming lightly, "Could you please quiet yourselves? The King-in-waiting is working." She gestured to Krel who was staring at a laptop, and a list of words written in Akiridion language appeared.
"Your Taylon access codes were still active," Krel laughed. "Morando's getting sloppy." While Krel had luck getting to where he wanted to be, Varvatos wasn't. He still struggled, throwing and shaking the serrator.
"By Gaylen's Honor, Varvatos swears-"
"Look, gramps, wasting police time is a serious offense. Now, if you'll excuse me, there are actual emergencies I need to attend to." Detective Scott spoke before biting into the donut.
"What could be a greater emergency than planetary annihilation?" The question was answered when the walkie-talkie turned on, and a man speaking through it.
"Detective Scott, we've got an 11-66A-old lady stealing shopping cart."
"Okay, let the old lady take the gawd damn cart!"
"Ooh, now, that's serious," He finished the contents in his mug as Varvatos grew angry, watching as the policeman placed the mug on the table. Back with Aja, she was watching as Toby and Eli charged at one another, Eli smacking into Toby and causing the bigger boy to lose his balance.
Toby spun, yelling out and nearly falling into Krel if it hadn't been for Zadra who stopped him, keeping him steady. "Whoa, that looks so cool!" Toby cried out when he regained his balance and saw what Krel was currently working on.
"Krel now is not the time for video games," Aja scolded.
"It's exactly the time for video games," he answered. "Their raw fish game gave me this idea."
"Whoa, cool! You're hacking into the Matrix!" Toby breathed out as Eli joined behind him, staring in wonder. However, when Aja appeared behind everyone, she shared an annoyed expression instead of the regular happy and proud faces.
"Uh, guys-"
"This is not a matrix."
"Right, tight, of course. For sure, totally," Toby replied. "You're hacking into the mainframe."
"Still cool!" Eli added.
"No, not cool," Aja hissed. "You know what's actually cool? Patience."
Claire turned to face Aja, "You're surrounded by boys. This was bound to happen. They think the important stuff is boring and find something more interesting even though it probably sucks."
"I better not be a part of that list," Jim stated.
"You are a little different, you pay attention but I'd bet if you were there with Toby right now, I couldn't get you to focus."
"Technically, I am accessing the royal security network via an intergalactic data mining client."
Krel grinned and faced his sister, "now who is making friends and has all the attention?" He stated, doing a small excited dance while Aja sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, fine, you happy?"
"Very, currently the loner is more intriguing than his popular sister!"
"Okay, that's fine, too, but you think we could call it the mainframe?"
"Ugh, fine! What is it you're doing?" Aja asked, realizing her attempts to regain attention was no longer an option.
"I am saving the planet," Krel stated before his finger hit the enter button, the software powering down before it showed an image of a dog barking, a bone as the loading screen.
"Okay, what's that Luug-looking thing?" Aja wondered.
"It's the game. And now, we need to sync it with the parking drones." Krel stated before pulling out a small communication device. "Izita, I need you to access the drone depot."
"On it," Izita mumbled as she pressed herself against a surface, hiding from the numerous robots that marched passed her.
"Security alert," one robot spoke, changing their pathways. "Sector three delta available for class IV transport." Izita took her chance once the area was clear to run toward the drones.
"Prince Krel does realize that without pilots these drones will be of little use."
"He's working on that," Zadra answered, looking at Krel who was now on his phone, everyone surrounding him. "Just input the transmit code." On the phone, there was a video game, a dog shooting lasers out from his butt, colliding with walls that seemed to fire back as the winning target was a large red fire hydrant.
"I call it Dog Fight. This Luug represents us and the giant hydrant he's laser peeing on is Morando."
"Earth is about to fall victim to a full-blown Akiridion invasion and you want to play a video game?" Aja scolded.
"Please, dear Aja. Pay attention," Krel joked, letting out a small laugh.
"Oh my!"
"Also, I've seen better graphics on a calculator," Toby mentioned.
"It's retro man," Eli added.
"This video game is directly linked to the parking drones' data cache. Once the Resistance uploads the code, we'll be able to remotely pilot the drones from Earth." Krel said while Izita was currently working on grabbing a code. One drone wakes and follows the circle movement of the dog on the screen.
"Meaning, we play the game, we fly the drones," Toby said with an epic and excited tone.
"Data uplink confirmed. We now have a battalion of drones at our disposal," Zadra spoke.
"Awesome," Toby started, pulling out his phone as Eli already had his out. "But there's only five of us. Not enough to drive an army of drones. We need more people to play the game."
Behind them, Aja looked out the window to see Mary, Darci, and Steve taking a photo. "We need this to go viral."
Outside, Mary pulled down her shades, looking at her phone while Krel stood beside her, frowning. "I don't get it, Carl. What's Dog Fight?"
"My name is Krel!"
"It's a super lively video game Carl made and the new cure for summer boredom! It's super contagious, make it go viral, Mary." Aja added when she appeared out of nowhere, hoping to help push the idea forward. "Infect everyone."
"Why does it look so old?" Mary asked.
"It's retro!" Aja defended.
"Doesn't retro mean old?"
"Please, Mary, we're not asking you to make us popular or cool, we're asking you to help us save the-" Krel started but Aja panicked, quickly covering over his possible outburst.
"The summer."
"Oh, please. The would already almost ended before, just tell us the truth, let us pilot those drones and kick Morando's butt."
"Secrets are still a thing, it's more fun running around trying to protect a secret identity."
"I would play it if I knew I was battling."
"Meh," Mary sighed. "It's not like I have anything better to do."
"Yes! Thank you, Mary!" Aja shook the poor girl, nearly knocking off the sunglasses.
"You're welcome. Now, scoot over. You're in my light." She held up her phone, beginning to record, and wearing the biggest smile. "Hey! It's your girl Mary telling you to download the super cool new game, Dog Fight! It's a blast and it will save your summer. #RetroRules #Lively."
Mary was seen on numerous phone screens, even the phones by the chess board where Nancy, Jerry, and Phil were. Varvatos grunted as he flipped the table, coming up beside them.
"Hey! You just ruined our game!" Jerry hissed.
"Varvatos, why the long face?" Nancy asked.
"Glorious battle looms on the horizon, and you, the old guard, are Earth's last and only line of defense." He turned to face each of his acquaintances, startling them, however, Nancy just giggled as her phone chimed.
"Oh, excuse me, Varvatos, but my Toby Pie sent me a game invite." As the game loaded on her phone, Varvatos had to scold her.
"There is no time for games or Toby'd pies!"
"I got an invite from MaryWangWorld22, whatever that is," Jerry spoke, his phone out as well."
Mary looked offended, "Uh, excuse me!"
"That's the first time Mary hasn't been heard of. Her nightmare came true."
"No, we all know what my nightmare was," Mary said, recalling the day when they were tainted with pixies from Angor Rot and she believed she was running around naked.
Phil, who also had his phone out, was already playing. "What is it? It's fun! I mean, look at these cool graphics. Thank you for the invite, Nancy."
Nancy giggled, "Yeah." Out on the streets, other people received invites, all mumbling and chatting, seeming excited about the new game.
"What in the great Gaylen?" Varvatos said in shock, watching everyone pull out their phones, distracted. "Is Varvatos Vex the only battle-born warrior concerned about glorious death?"
"Always."
"Yep."
"Sure, sure. I'll alert the military right after I get this bone." His friends all answered, too engrossed in their phones.
"Yes! Twenty points!" One celebrated.
"The military…" Varvatos mumbled. From that, Izita worked on getting the drones set up, their target on the screen as Izita stared at the small devices.
"Come on, Royals. We don't have much time."
On Earth, Toby and Eli were sitting in the mothership, watching the screen load. "Ugh! Intergalactic downloads take forever." The phone chimed as the screens loaded, readying each player.
"Okay, here we go," Krel mumbled, pressing the start button and the game barked before an announcer spoke, telling them to dogfight. As his game started, so did a drone, waking up and leaving the ship.
"Xerxes' maelstrom," Izita breathed out. More and more drones lifted from their hold, flying out into Akiridion as the group watched the screens.
"Yes! I've got eyes on Morando," Krel mentioned, both Eli and Toby celebrating at the news. Toby quickly regained his composure, readying himself up for the battle. His drone activated the moment he pressed play.
"Us humans are so brainless, if you shared the feed from the drones and said it was good graphics, that could have passed as a video game and others would play thinking it was so much fun, especially because you're trying to blow up a ship."
"You insulted our species but it's true."
"Whoa, you are all so simple," Krel said.
"Uh, let's mind our Ps and pees, people," Toby said before piloting his drone. Both Darci and Mary sat outside, activating their drones unknowingly as they tried the new game.
"Here goes nothing," Mary mumbled.
The view went back to Toby, the screen split into three as one view was him, the other was his drone, and the last was the phone screen. The drone fired every time the dog in the game had, moving with Toby's commands. "Uh, come on, come on! Yes, yeah, yeah!"
The drones charged after Morando's ship, firing at it while the dog in the game fired at the massive hydrant.
"What are those?" Morando asked.
"Those are my drones…"
"I believe those are parking security drones," Loth mentioned, staring at the screen while Morando towered over, watching the small orbs chase and fire at them. "Most peculiar."
"Blast them out of the sky!" The four massive wings on the ship had turned over, rapidly firing at the drones, but thankfully they had moved out of the way, continuing to close in on the ship while everyone on Earth had focused on the game.
Unfortunately, one drone had been turned to nothing but ash when a blast collided. Toby had fallen back in his chair dramatically while Eli continued to focus on his screen. "I'm hit!" The stout boy cried.
"Well, reset, then," Eli answered calmly. "I've already been blown up like, five times."
"It's not working, Krel," Aja mentioned as she stared at the massive screen, showing their target and the much smaller fleet charging after it. "The Pepperjack has already lost us five drones."
"Was that already stated?"
"Damn, Eli why not just sacrifice the entire army of drones."
"Give it time, they just need to learn the game."
"Yeah, Aja. How about a little patience?" Eli stated, using her own words against her. He sucked in a small breath before focusing, his drone flying through the clouds of smoke left behind by other drones being blown to pieces. Despite all the firing from the enemy, Eli's drone managed to stare down one of the canons, firing at it and causing Morando's fleet to lose one of its guns. "Yeah! I got 5,000 points!"
As Eli spun in his floating chair, Toby moved his chair over beside the smaller boy, "And the doggy gets a bone. Cute touch, Krelito." As more and more people focused on the game, Morando's ship was surrounded by numerous drones, overwhelmed.
"Whoo!"
"Yeah, give me my points."
"Yes!"
"Yeah, laser pee!" Even the cops focused on the game, everyone managing to get the upper hand.
"They're learning," Zadra stated.
"It's working!" Aja said, gripping her brother's arms.
"I can't believe it!" He breathed out, watching Morando's ship. "I mean, of course, it's working." The music played as the entire Arcadia nation focused their full potential on the game. Sounds of the dog barking and lasers firing seemed to be heard everywhere.
People chanted to get rid of the hydrant, cheering for themselves and others to succeed. Even Phil and Nancy were sucked into their phones while Jerry stood over them, rethinking the chess game.
"You know, chess would be more fun with lasers."
"Quiet, Jerry. Nana's in the zone!" At the poolside, still sitting in the Tarron's backyard, Darci, Mary, and Steve seemed to be enjoying it.
"Eat laser-cakes, buttsnack!"
"My fingers are starting to hurt. I better still be able to text."
"Stop your whining, Wang, and help me hose this hydrant!" Darci commanded.
Inside the mothership, Aja had started up her game, ready to pilot a drone. "For the record, I prefer actual combat, but this is lively, too." Aja gave a menacing giggle right as the scene changed to a military building, the taco truck pulling up in front as Varvatos' voice was heard.
"Well, Luug, the soolian at the police station proved more useless than a larvox in battle. Hopefully, going straight to the source will work." Varvatos turned to face Luug who just seemed excited, right before his hands began to digitalize. "Looks like transduction will expire the old-fashioned way."
"What's funny is Varvatos running around trying to get help and completely unaware of the battle that's already going on, through a game that he is mad at because he still doesn't realize."
"He's about to get himself killed."
His form changed rather quickly and his entire Akiridion body had taken up the front of the taco truck, even popping the driver-side tire from all the excessive weight. Luug barked in surprise as Varvatos let out an irritated groan.
Before he could leave the truck, his phone chimed and Vex was quick to glance, finding the game screen with Luug barking, both the real dog and the game dog had barked in unison, causing Vex to connect the dots.
"Luug? Krel…"
"Oh, thank goodness! He was about to go on a suicide mission!"
Back in Akirdion, Morando was completely shocked at the turn of events. "We're being assaulted by parking drones? Who's piloting them? There are hundreds." Morando asked, startling Loth as he circled him.
"Your Highness, I must advise we return-"
"And I must advise you to respect your king's command," Morando cut the distance between him and the smaller Akirdion, causing Loth to panic before he marched to the robots. "Destroy them all now!" An explosion rocked the ship, Morando trying to keep his footing as more drones rapidly fired at the massive ship.
While some had been taken out, more drones continued to invade, everyone grunting as they tried to take down the hydrant. "Come on, give it to Papa!"
"Ooh, sushi!" Mary randomly said. However, that was explained the moment all the drones had shut down, everyone growing confused at the game that interrupted the Dog Fight,
"Huh, what's a Go-Go Sushi?" Jerry asked.
"Why aren't the drones moving? Whare they stopping, Krel? What's happening to our pilots?" Aja asked as Krel panicked when he noticed the issue.
The answer was quickly revealed when Mary stared at her phone, "Sweet! I'm on a Go-Go Sushi roll!" Instead of a dog barking, a cat meowed, Mary and Darci celebrating their wins.
"No! Why do you have to interrupt a game that's literally saving our lives!?"
"If only we knew that the game Krel gave us was doing all that, we would have put every ounce into that Dog Fighting game."
"Got the edamame bonus!" Darci bragged to her friend as a female announcer had spoken of the new game.
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Toby breathed out.
"Uh, guys?" Steve said, poking his head into the mothership's control room, holding his phone. "Bad news of the fishy variety. Go-Go Sushi 2: Wasabi Revenge just dropped." At the news, Krel's posture deflated.
"And somehow everyone got the game instantly launched to their phones?"
"It's conflict, let it happen. Something bad needs to happen."
"Yeah, I know that for sure."
"Oh, no. People switched from your game to the new fishy one," Aja stated as they watched the screen since all the drones stayed still, they were easy targets and instantly blown to nothing but dust. Morando took the moment to flee the area, his ship moving and having the kids grow disappointed at the failure.
"How many drones still intact?" Zadra asked.
"Two," Mother answered.
"Kleb," Aja breathed out.
"Thanks to Aja's awesome flying skills, make that one." Aja looked shocked at the sarcastic comment from Mother.
"Is it just me, or has Mother developed a bit of an attitude?" Back on Akiridion, Izita stared at the remaining drone that never departed.
"The odds aren't looking good, commander," She mentioned to Krel.
"Who has the last drone?" Krel asked.
"Yes!" Eli suddenly cried out, turning around in his chair. "I got the hydrant bonus! I told you I was gonna get better."
"Oh, kleb! It's Eli!" Krel stated before he and his sister joined Eli's side, everyone crowding around the smaller boy.
"Hey! What's wrong with what I'm doing?"
"Nothing…"
"You lost five drones, dude. I mean, seriously."
"PATIENCE!"
"The fates of Earth and Akiridion-5 both come down to this, the Eli Pepperjack, you're our only hope," Aja mentioned.
"No pressure or anything," Toby mumbled.
"Eli Pepperjack is at your service, Commanders." he saluted the siblings before pressing start on his phone, which chimed in reaction before the last drone activated. "No pressure." The phone announced to dog fight before the view from the drone was seen, racing toward Morando's ship.
It closed on the ship, and the blasters from Morando's ship fired instantly, thankfully the drone survived, even when the angle tricked us that it had blown up. "One more remains," Morando said, nearly losing his footing when an explosion bounced off the ship. "This must be a most vaunted warrior."
"If only you knew…" Mary said as they watched closely.
"You have this, Eli. I have total and complete faith in you," Aja said as everyone watched Eli focus, mostly nervous.
"Don't take your eyes off the game," Krel warned, hunching into himself nervously. The drone raced above Morando's ship, firing rapidly and angering Morando.
"I want every last blaster firing on that drone!" While the drone continued to move through the blasts, Varvatos was currently returning home, hiding in the bushes of his backyard and staring at Mary and Darci who were distracted.
He sighed before tiptoeing through the yard, trying to stay out of sight as he was no longer an old man. He nearly tripped and stumbled, however, thankfully he caught himself, Darci and Mary still not looking up, even when he had to cross beside them to duck behind the wall.
When Varvatos succeeded, he softly spoke, "Glorious." He turned around, knocking into the large table umbrella, yelling out when he nearly knocked it over. Once he gathered himself and the large object, he turned to look at Darci and Mary.
"...glory."
"Yes! I just got a rainbow roll!" Mary said happily and Varvatos sighed, moving into the house and out of sight. Yet, he had been taken down from something, crashing into random things and yelling out in both irritation and pain.
In the Mothership, the gang was still huddled around Eli. "Careful! Watch the fire hydrant." Toby cried out as everyone, even Eli wore a worried and tense look.
"All of the hoo-mans seem to be consumed by their communicator devices," Varvatos mentioned when he poked his head into the room where everyone was gathered. "You too?" Varvatos hissed, everyone but Eli turning to face him as he stormed up and spun the chair where Eli was perched. "Tell Varvatos what is happening, or he will expose your entrails to sunlight!"
Both Aja and Zadra pushed the larger Akiridion away from Eli as Aja spoke up. "Are you familiar with the game of videos called Go-Go Fishing?"
"It's called Go-Go Sushi," Toby mentioned as he flew up behind them on his chair, losing control, and falling out of view.
"The Jack of Peppers has a chance at stopping Morando, he is our last hope," Zadra commented, gesturing to Eli who was still focused.
Toby snorted as Eli frowned slightly. "I like how every time they say your name, it comes out a completely different way."
"And that's why Blinky struggled with your name when he first met you."
"I do not want to be involved in this," Blinky stated.
"I know I'm the last hope! I've seen the movies, okay?" By Morando, the drone raced through the blasts, taking a small hit but not knocking it out of existence.
"Come on, Pepperjack. You're a Creepslayer," Steve cheered.
"I can't get a window, there's just no way. I can't do it!"
"There's always another way, a brilliant engineer once told Varvatos that."
"Another way, that's it!" Krel stated, "Head for the navigation wing!"
"But the precision required for that shot–" Zadra called out.
"I know, but it's our only shot," Krel responded.
"This is too much pressure, guys. I can't do it."
"That's right, Eli, you can't."
"Krel!" Aja hissed.
"I'm going somewhere with this, give me a secton. You may be piloting the very last drone, but we are all in this together."
"Okay, tell me what to do," Eli breathed out.
"Sharp left! Now right," Krel started shouting commands, watching as Eli focused on his phone, following the commands. "And up ahead! Lock on!" As everyone watched, the drone moved through the ship, flying far from the ship and turning to stare where Morando was.
The drone chirped as it focused on the target, "My target is locked." Eli stated.
"You got this, Eli," Krel cheered.
"No, we got this."
"This resistance is over!" Morando yelled, staring at his controls. "You are mine!" The blasters fired a the drone which was already smoking from the last hit. The smaller weapon focused on the window, firing as Morando grinned, laughing as the blasters fired at the drone.
However, the sight was hard to see when a large puff of blue smoke filled the area, shocking the group as Eli looked defeated.
"We lost," Krel gasped. Varvatos put his hand on Eli's shoulder, trying to comfort the upset boy.
"But every drone that exploded with the blast came out red, so why did this one come out blue?"
"Maybe because of the damage from it being hit the first time was the drone itself exploding?"
"Well, we're all going to die soon. Again. Arcadia about to end is now at three. I wish all of you well when we get invaded!"
"A most valiant effort, indeed." Krel was quick to put the small communication device to his ear when he heard Izita breathe out.
"Seklos and Gaylen, you did it," Izita spoke, walking out from the parking drone's base, looking into the horizon where Morando's ship was lowering, pouring out red smoke.
"What, no," Eli said sadly. "I lost, they destroyed my drone."
"But no before your last shot caused critical damage," Izita responded, shocking everyone. "Morando will be forced to retreat." In the ship, Loth screamed as he lost his balance, Morando looked shocked as he tried to remain standing.
"HOW ON EARTH!"
"That's what I am talking about! Eli Pepperjack, saving Earth once again," the small boy smiled smugly, feeling great that he managed to help out with saving two planets.
"Parking drones," the enemy hissed. The group looked towards the screen, smiling as they watched the ship come into view, falling lower and lower.
"I did it? I mean, I did it!" Eli yelled out. "We did it!" The group cheered, Eli and Toby, sharing a high five.
"Oh, thank Seklos, he did it!" Krel breathed out.
"Good job, bro!" Steve said, giving Eli a high five but with too much force, pushing the boy and the chair out of view and Steve was quick to chase to stop the chair.
"Nice work, the Pepperjack!" Aja yelled.
Morando dealt with his loss while the others celebrated, staring at the screen that was warning him of the damage. "Parking drones," he hissed again, mostly in disbelief. "Parking drones. Parking drones!" He ripped a bot's head off as Loth spoke.
"Parking drones."
"Parking drones."
"Parking drones."
"Please, I beg you, stop!"
"My king, we must retreat and dock the ship."
Morando threw the head, "Reverse course to Akiridion-5. How long for the repairs?"
"Two parsons, my liege."
"Make it one parson, and triple the bounty. The royals were behind this and they will pay." His ship smoked as it fell back toward Akiridion. On the ship, Mother spoke as Krel stared proudly.
"Boo-ya! That's what Mother calls game over."
"Who's bad? I'm bad!" Eli celebrated.
"Eli of Peppers, congratulations on your first wartime victory."
"Wait, Varvatos," Aja started. "Did you tell the human authorities about us?"
"Varvatos tried, and Varvatos failed. Apparently, our engineer has not perfected his latest creation." The large man handed Krel the device and Krel stared at the Serrator before his form changed into his Akiridion attire.
"You forgot to remove the safety."
"Huh, in the future, Varvatos Vex will attempt to listen more closely to you and the queen-in-waiting. Varvatos humbly apologizes."
Aja gasped, "An apology from the great Varvatos Vex? Mother, are you recording this?" She asked the hovering location symbol that floated beside her.
"Yes, Your Highness, I plan to review it on loop."
"Your parents once placed Varvartos in charge of your protection, but today it was you and your hoo-man compatriots who protected Earth and Akiridion-5. You are Varatos Vex's equals."
Toby nudged Eli in a slight celebration as everyone smiled up at Varvatos. Both Aja and Krel moved to hug their mentor, even Zadra smiled before she cleared her throat.
"Wait a minute, was she crying?" Steve asked as Aja and Krel both realized, turning to face Zadra who quickly cleared her throat.
"No I won't be. You better think differently."
"Ahem, my royals…" Zadra started but Mother interrupted, floating toward her.
"We are receiving an incoming transmission from Akiridion-5." Aja turned to her Akiridion form before they stepped up to the screen where Izita stood in front of a cheering crowd.
"To the heirs of House Tarron and rightful future Queen and King of Akiridion-5, Aja and Krel Tarron," Izitia spoke.
"Serving Akiridion-5 is the honor and duty of House Tarron," Aja spoke first.
"But we were not the only ones who saved you today. We couldn't have done it without Eli Pepperjack." Krel stated pulling a nervous Eli into the frame. "He's human."
"Hi, I'm Eli, the human."
"Thank you for fighting with us and for our planet's future," Krel said as Steve slowly peaked into the frame.
"Then we thank you, Eli, the Pepperjack," Izitia said, putting her hand over her core and bowing as the others followed suit.
"Eli Pepperjack! Long live Eli Pepperjack!" The crowd cheered, even Varvatos and Zadra bowed as Eli seemed to grow nervous. Aja and Krel soon dropped to their knees as Steve looked shocked.
"They're bowing for the cheese slice?" Steve asked before Aja turned to glance at him, causing Steve to bow as well. Eli smiled at the sight as the Akirdions continued to cheer. Steve nudged Eli to bow as well as Aja faced her brother.
Eli looked at his friend in shock, "CHEESE SLICE?"
"I love it, I'm calling him that from now on."
"I'm not comfortable with all the bowing and kneeling…yet."
"That's okay," Krel chuckled. "I am."
The scene changed from the group bowing as Akiridion cheered, to the group sitting outside, lounging in the chairs while Krel bounced into his chair, dressed in his human attire.
"Ugh! This is the worst, most boringest summer ever!" Mary groaned. "Nothing cool ever happens around here."
"Are we not going to bring up the fact we went to war with Trolls about a month ago?"
"That's so last month, there's nothing new," Mary said. "That we are involved in."
"What happened to Go-Go Sushi 2?" Krel asked.
"Beat it."
"Finished."
"Donezo."
"Well, I, for one, am excited to have a completely boring summer," Aja started right as the sun began to disappear, Arcadia growing dark.
"Agreed," Krel said as thunder crashed suddenly, rain pouring down on the group and causing them to flee from their chairs, shouting as they moved inside the house.
"Worst summer ever!" Mary yelled. As the lightning cracked around Arcadia, a certain spot in the woods had been a main focus, lighting striking the rock as Tronos appeared, roaring angrily.
"Once we hit the future, there is never a good ending."
"Tell me about it," Krel said.