ALETHIA – The mountain should be right around here.

DERVISH – *nods* Alrighty. Guess that’s our sign that we’re getting close.

ALETHIA – Yeah, although…

DERVISH - Hmm? Something wrong?

ALETHIA – I’m thinking it might be best if we land at the base of this side of the mountain.

DERVISH - *cocks an eyebrow* Um, why?

ALETHIA – Well the last thing we want is to get caught so easily, let alone at all. If we land here and trek it the rest of the way,
there’s less chance of an ambush, and I doubt Parvo would expect it anyway.

DERVISH - *thinking for a moment* ….Eh,. I guess that makes sense, but I still don’t wanna have to walk so much.

He begins to land the Turbo Jet Rover near part of Were Mountain. Naturally, the landing is smooth and un-costly. The party
climbs out and looks around.

BEAR - *scratching his head* Okay…now our next problem.

NITRO – And that is?

BEAR – Going over the mountain.

DERVISH – Shouldn’t be THAT bad. Worst that could happen is we get lost, then…a rock slide happens….and….*thinks*
Okay, perhaps it’s a little dangerous but we’ll manage.

ALETHIA – Might be easier if we actually knew how to get over.

BEAR - *shrugs* Well none of us have been here before and we don’t have a guide so --.

VOICE – Hey guys!

The groups quickly looks around, trying to see where the voice came from.

NITRO – Huh?? Who’s there?

VOICE - *laughs* Just your friendly neighborhood werewolf.

They look up in a tree behind Alethia just in time to see Bayson leap down off one of the branches. He dusts himself off and
smiles.

BAYSON – How’s it goin’?

DERVISH – Oh Bay. It’s you. Heh, I knew all along anyway.

Cobber silently rolls his eyes.

COBBER – Uh huh…

BEAR - *to Alethia* Who’s he?

ALETHIA – Oh right, you haven’t been introduced. Bear, Nitro, this is Bayson Wolfie. Bayson, this is Bear and Nitro.

BAYSON - *smiles* Hi!

BEAR – Um, yeah. Hi.

Nitro elbows Bear in the ribs. She then smiles and shakes Bayson’s hand.

NITRO – Pleased to meet you.

BEAR - *rubbing his ribs* Ow…

BAYSON – So what’re you guys doing out here? Come to visit?

ALETHIA – Well actually, we have a bit of a situation. The others were captured and we need to cross the mountain to get to
them, but none of us have been here before, so…

Bayson laughs lightly.

BAYSON – So you need a local to help you out, right?

DERVISH – Well yeah.

BAYSON – Sure, no problem. C’mon.

He hops up onto a stone and starts to climb up and follow a dirt path up the mountainside.

DERVISH - *smirks* Notice how we always get this lucky?

ALETHIA – *smiles a little* Strange, huh?

They start to climb and follow Bayson’s lead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11:15 PM, Parvo’s base, holding cells. The men escort Alan to a cell and abusively throw him into it. Alan lies on the ground,
hands and feet tied up tightly.

MAN 1 – Hope you like the room. You’ll be getting used to it.

ALAN - *ticked* Shut the hell up…

MAN 2 – Tsk tsk tsk. Such attitude, Cook. I’m sure your stay here will change that quickly though. Have a nice life.

The men leave and lock the door. Alan manages to sit up, an aggravated look on his face.

ALAN – Jerks! *looks at his bindings* Wish I paid more attention in Boy Scouts as a kid. Crap…

He hangs his head, feeling a little hopeless.

ALAN - *quietly* Julie…Jamie…I’m sorry…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11:30 PM, across Were Mountain. Bayson manages to lead the group to the base of the mountain.

DERVISH – Well that was quick.

BAYSON – Yeah. Doesn’t take too long when you know your way around. So why’d you guys park back there? Isn’t it
better to land on the other side of the mountain and not have to walk?

DERVISH – That’s the easier way to get caught, Bay. This way sucks, but hey, at least we can probably get something done
better.

BAYSON – Oooohhhh….Makes sense to me.

ALETHIA - *starting to slow down* I’m getting kind of tired, you guys. Can we take a rest maybe?

BEAR – Yeah, my feet are sore. Can’t we just stop for maybe even a little while?

NITRO – Sorry, but I have to agree with them. It’s getting a little cold now too.

DERVISH – Um…..eh, I guess we could. Not like Parvo’s really that fast to move anyway.

BAYSON - *nods* Fine with me.

He leads the group through the nearby wooded area and to a small clearing. The group sits on the ground, tired from the hike.

DERVISH - *looks around* This works.

NITRO – Let’s get a fire going or I’m gonna get goose bumps.

Bear nods and starts to make a small fire with some sticks around the clearing.

BAYSON – Say, I meant to ask, where’s Dyl? Isn’t he usually with you guys?

No one answers. Bay cocks an eyebrow.

BAYSON – Er, did I say something wrong?

DERVISH – Um, dude, I think there’s something we need to explain to you about that…

BAYSON - *nods and sits down* Sure. Go ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five minutes later…

BAYSON – What?!?!
 

Bayson is standing by the fire, wide-eyed in disbelief of what he was just told. Derv and Cobb are seen staring off at the camp fire, rather silent.

Alethia, Nitro and Bear are sitting up against some nearby trees.

ALETHIA - *nods* I’m sorry, Bayson…

BAYSON – But…..but…..*starting to tear up* …..Why???

Derv shrugs in response. Bayson turns away and leans up against a nearby tree and quietly cries for a little bit. Nitro turns to
Alethia.

NITRO – Poor guy…

ALETHIA – He and Dylan were kinda close friends, so…I guess I can understand why it hurts him…

NITRO - *nods* I understand.

BAYSON - *sniffle* Why?? Why him??? I just don’t understand it!

DERVISH - …….hm…..

Bay turns back around and faces Derv, in tears.

BAYSON – Is that all you have to say??

DERVISH - *shrugs* I guess…

BAYSON - *getting slightly cross* Is that how you feel about all this?! You don’t even sound like you care!

Derv slowly turns his head to Bay and looks at him straight-faced.

DERVISH – And I suppose you’d know, right? I’d kindly ask you not to make such quick assumptions, Bayson.

BAYSON - *sniffle* Well it seems to me that his death doesn’t affect you at all.

DERVISH - *standing up* What seems to be and what truly exists are two different things. You think I’m NOT bothered by
this? For your information I AM bothered by it. Sorry if I don’t react in quite the same manner as you do but that’s just me.
Right now, I’m not sure how to feel about it. If I knew, I’d show it, so don’t assume things about me, all right?

Bayson blinks a little, a few tears falling.

BAYSON – I….

COBBER - *low voice* Whatever, dust mop…

Derv cocks an eyebrow at Cobber, who is still staring off at the fire.

DERVISH – Have something to contribute, silent one?

COBBER – Shut up…

DERVISH – Well why should I? You’re the one who’s been so damn antisocial lately.

COBBER - *annoyed, looking up at Derv* Got a bloody problem with that?

DERVISH – Perhaps…though it seems to me that you just won’t say --.

COBBER – Well maybe I’m still upset, okay?!?!

He abruptly stands up and glares at Derv. Derv himself chooses to sit back down on the ground.

COBBER – You’re the one who told me in the first place, Swiffer Boy, so don’t open your stinkin’ mouth to me! I KNOW
you’re not overly bothered by Dyl being dead but you know what? I AM, dammit! *turning away* ..He didn’t deserve to
die…Anyone but him….*weakly* Hell, why couldn’t it have been me in his place?? *tears up a little but quickly wipes the
tears away* It’s not fair…

DERVISH - ……..I see…..

Bay remains quiet and sits down, sniffling here and there. Bear, Alethia and Nitro look rather stunned at what had transpired.

BEAR - …Ouch…

ALETHIA - *sighs* I think maybe we should all just try to relax. Maybe a small nap would help, huh?

NITRO – She’s right. Just calm down and rest for a bit, okay?

COBBER - ….*small nod* Fine…

Derv and Bay also nod a little in agreement.

ALETHIA – Good.

They all find a modest spot to rest and close their eyes to rest. It doesn’t take long before the group falls asleep…..but…..we
soon see five figures by the nearby trees, looking out at the group. Canomutants, no less… One of them takes out a
communicator and flips it on. Jake’s image appears on the comm.

CANOMUTANT - *quietly* Jake, sir. We’ve located them.

JAKE - *over comm.* Good. I assume you all have your scanners, right?

CANOMUTANT – Just as you ordered.

JAKE - *over comm.* As should be expected. You already know what to do, so get to it.

CANOMUTANT – Yes sir. Over and out.

The mutant turns off the comm. and motions the others to close in on the group. Each stands by a different victim and pulls out
a device that somewhat resembles a camera. One bends down over Dervish and aims the device at him, then presses a button
on it for a few moments, then stops, giving a nod to the others. The rest of the canomutants do the same to the rest of the
group. One of them starts to do so to Nitro when he accidentally knocks into her with his elbow, causing her to stir. The mutant
stops and watches as Nitro slowly opens her eyes.

NITRO - …Hnn….hm…? Wha?

As she looks at the canomutant her eyes go wide, but before she can get out a yell the mutant clamps his hand on her mouth
and smacks her in the side of the head with the device, knocking her out. The lead canomutant walks over.

CANOMUTANT – Jake didn’t say anything about hostages but hey, why not make things more fun? Take her with us.

The other mutant nods and picks up Nitro, slinging her over his shoulder. The lead mutant nods and turns around, just in time to
notice Alethia stirring as well. He grins a bit as Alethia sleepily opens her eyes.

ALETHIA - ..?!

CANOMUTANT - *quietly* Hello there. Nighty night.

He whacks Alethia in the head, knocking her out cold as well. He picks her up, then he takes out his comm. again and turns it
on.

CANOMUTANT – *low* Jake sir. Mission accomplished.

JAKE - *over comm.* Perfect. No problems, I assume?

CANOMUTANT – We had one. The two women here woke up on us so we knocked them out and we’re bringing them
back with us. We scanned the men but not these two.

JAKE - *over comm.* Hm…fine enough. Considering that, this should make it all more interesting.

CANOMUTANT – Other than that, all is fine. We’re heading back now.

JAKE - *over comm.* Good, but hurry up. I haven’t all night.

CANOMUTANT – 10-4. Over and out. *flipping off the comm. and turning to the others* Let’s go.

The canomutants walk off in the direction of the base, Alethia and Nitro in tow…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12 AM, campsite again. The fire has gone out and Dervish, Cobber, Bayson and Bear remain asleep. After a few more
moments Bear begins to wake up. He slowly opens his eyes and yawns.

BEAR - *yawn* Well that was a good --.

He looks over next to him, where Nitro SHOULD be…but isn’t.

BEAR – HUH?!

Bayson starts to awaken now as well, stretching and scratching his head.

BAYSON - …Hmm?

BEAR – She’s gone!

BAYSON – Who is?

BEAR – Nitro! She’s not here! …And neither’s Alethia!

Bayson looks around and sees he’s right. He quickly gets up.

BAYSON – What the--?! *turns to Derv and Cobb* Guys! Wake up! Quick!

Derv and Cobb just turn over in their sleep. Bay hurries over to Cobber and shakes him.

BAYSON – Cobber! Wake up!

Cobb starts to wake up finally and sits up, groggy.

COBBER – What now?

BAYSON – Alethia and Nitro are gone!!

COBBER - *raises eyebrows* Gone???

BAYSON – Yeah! They’re not here!

COBBER - *confused* But why….oh crap!

Bayson shakes Derv now, but the orange one doesn’t budge.

BAYSON – Derv!

DERVISH - *in his sleep* Nnnn…..I don’t wanna go to school, Mommy…I wanna stay home and bake cookies with you….

COBBER – Allow me..

He walks over to Derv and leans towards his ear.

COBBER - *shouting* WAKE THE HELL UUUUUUUUUUUP!!

Derv instantly jumps up in shock, wide awake and disoriented.

DERVISH – Whohuhwhat???

COBBER – Alethia and Nitro are gone, lazy! *looks at the ground* And I think I know why.

A trail of faint footprints leads from around the campsite out in the direction of Parvo’s base.

DERVISH – Kidnapped, eh? Figures.

BEAR – Then what’re we just standing around here for??? Let’s go and now!

COBBER - *nods* Right!

DERVISH – Well you seem more eager now.

COBBER - …I have reason to be, carpet boy. Now c’mon.

The four run out of the woods in the direction that the footprints lead…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in a holding room towards the north part of Parvo’s base, an unconscious Alethia and Nitro are tied up in chairs
and being watched over by two canomutant guards. Alethia starts to awaken slowly.

ALETHIA - …Hmm? *blinks a little* Wha..?

She looks around. Nitro begins to wake up as well.

NITRO - …Something wrong?

She looks around as well. Soon both women turn their heads to each other.

ALETHIA & NITRO – *sarcastic* Oh greeeeeeeeeeeeeeat….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:17 AM, Parvo’s base, main lobby (if you wanna call it that). Derv, Cobb, Bear and Bayson walk in and look around the
room. Derv scratches his head.

DERVISH – Um, correct me if I’m wrong here, guys, but….don’t bases usually have guards to stop intruders?

COBBER – Yeah but…..*now notices the emptiness* Yeah…I don’t like the looks of this, really. I mean, no guards at the
entrance? None in here? Something’s just not right about this.

BEAR – Obvious enough but point being, WHY is it like this?

BAYSON – I dunno, guys. I get the feeling we’re being watched too, and that something’s just gonna happen and catch us.

~Quick switch: control room elsewhere in the base. Jake is seen sitting in a chair in front of dozens of monitors, each showing a
different area of the base. He watches the one of the main lobby with a nasty smile on his face. Behind him stands Parvo.

JAKE - *to himself* Oh how correct you are, mangy werewolf. So very correct indeed.

PARVO – I assume this plan of yours is foolproof?

JAKE - *turning to Parvo* Absolutely. I’ve already uploaded their data files to the well-stationed de-synthesizers in the base. I
know how gullible they can be when it comes to their numbers. They’ll go where they’re intended, guaranteed.

PARVO – And these de-synthesizers do what, exactly?

JAKE – Merely makes them create their own fears and nightmares. Saves us so much work when you can just let them get rid
of themselves. Hehehehehe…

PARVO - *grins* Goooooooood. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to meet with a “fellow executive” of mine for two hours.
Dispose of them all…

JAKE - *with a vile grin* Oh you can be SURE I will.

Parvo laughs for a few moments then leaves the control room. Jake turns back to the monitors, grinning.

JAKE – Go on, mongrels. Go on. I’m waiting for you to entertain me…

~Switch back: The four are reasoning with each other as to what to do now.~

DERVISH – Well there’re five halls here and four of us. If we just split up we’ll find Alethia, Nitro and the rest more easily.

COBBER – But it’s better if we go in pairs. Who knows if we’ll get ambushed or something?

BAYSON – He’s got a point. It’s a lot safer if we pair up.

BEAR – But if we do that, it might just waste valuable time and it might be too late then. We have to find them quickly.

Cobber and Bayson sigh.

COBBER – Eh, I guess you’re kinda right about that. Let’s just do that then, but we can’t waste anymore time.

DERVISH - *nods sagely* Glad you see it my way. I’ll take the right. Bayson, you take the one next to mine. Aussie, the one
next to him, and Bear, you take the one next to him.

BAYSON – But what about the one on the left?

DERVISH - *shrugs* Well…We’ll come back to that one if we have to. Now let’s hurry this up.

The others nod and spread off to their designated hall entrances. Cobb stops at his and looks at the start of it. He notices what
appears to be a long opening in the ceiling of the hall.

COBBER – Um, you guys? These halls look kind of odd.

DERVISH – It’s Parvo’s base, Kangaroo Boy. What’re you expecting, the Hilton?

COBBER – Well…*sighs* Maybe I’m just paranoid.

They all enter their halls and start to walk down.

~Quick switch: control room. Jake grins in content.~

JAKE – Hehehehehehe…checkmate.

He pushes a button on the control board in front of him.

~Switch back: the hallways. Suddenly, without warning, heavy steel gates slam down behind each of the four men, blocking off
their entrances. They all turn and stare, thrown totally off guard.~

DERVISH – *sarcastic, to himself* Oh great. A trap. Go frickin’ figure.

BAYSON - *aloud* The heck?!?!

BEAR - *to himself* Dammit!

COBBER - *to himself, ticked* Derv…you’re so gonna get it when and if we get out of here…

~Quick switch: control room. Jake flashes an evil grin and slits his eyes, appearing incredibly vile and twisted. He relaxes back
in his seat and laughs silently.~

JAKE – Hehehehehehehe…..Let the fun begin…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the holding cells, Alan remains sitting on the floor of his cell, trying not to doze off.

ALAN – Uhh…*sighs* I can’t even get out of these ropes. *to himself* Some man you turned out to be, Alan…

Just then the two men from earlier show up at the cell door and open it. Alan watches them in confusion.

ALAN – What do you want from me now?

MAN 1 - *smirks* We’re taking you somewhere else, Cook. Someplace….better, if you will…

The other man walks over to Alan and pulls him to his feet, proceeding to drag him out the door.

ALAN - *faintly struggling* Just let me go, you retards!

MAN 2 – Oh we will….perhaps…

They drag him away. From a nearby cell, Hunter, Colleen, Blitz, Exile and Shag watch.

COLLEEN – Blimey! What are they doing with that poor man?

HUNTER – I dunno, but it’s probably pretty bad.

EXILE – You don’t supposeski…

HUNTER - *shakes his head* Nah, they wouldn’t go so far as to do THAT.

COLLEEN - *to herself* Where ARE you all? Hurry up…

She sighs and hangs her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:25 AM, who-knows-where in Parvo’s base. Derv walks down the closed-off hallway he’s in.

DERVISH - *looking around* This better end up as an Indiana Jones reenactment here. *looks behind him for a few
moments* ….No boulder. Okay, cool.

He leans up against a wall and takes out his comm. and turns it on. DJ’s image appears on it.

DJ – *over comm.* How’s it managing?

DERVISH – I’d be lying if I said okay. Right now I’m in claustrophobia heaven like everyone else.

DJ - *over comm.* Like everyone else? What happened?

DERVISH – Basically we all got split up and sanctioned off in different parts of this heap, or at least I’m guessing that since it
happened to me.

DJ - *over comm.* Uh oh…Isn’t there *zzzzt!* way to get *zzzzzzzzt!* to *zzphtt!*..?

DERVISH - ? Wha?

Suddenly the comm. connection is lost without any more warning.

DERVISH – Deej? ….Aw crap….

He shrugs and puts his comm. back in his jacket pocket.

~Quick switch: RRMC, communications room. DJ opens the panel under the control board and it is smoking slightly
underneath.~

DJ – Crap, not now!

He lets out a disgruntled sigh. Dawn and Cricket look on.

DAWN – Did it burn out or something?

DJ – Sure looks it. Damn…and such bad timing. Can you two go get my tools and some wiring? This needs to be fixed pronto!

DAWN - *nods* Got it.

They run out to get the supplies as DJ continues to survey the problem.

~Switch back: Derv walks down the hall again until he comes to a more open area at the end of it. He looks around for a
moment.

DERVISH – And this serves WHAT purpose?

Just then an iron gate crashes down behind Derv, blocking off the way he came in. He flinches at the crash and stares at the
gate.

DERVISH - ……Okay….

The room then goes pitch black and lights back up some but to a hazy green light. Derv rolls his eyes.

DERVISH – Not bad special effects. Seen better though. Anyway, now --.

He suddenly perks his ears up as he hears a familiar….but not so pleasant…sound. He slowly turns and looks at the opposite
end of the area. Coming at him is a group of vacuum cleaners in full sucking action (don’t look at me like that!). Derv goes pale
white…with a hint of orange…and his eyes bug out.

DERVISH – GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
 

The vacuums get within 10 feet of Derv and he freaks out….and he runs like mad around the area as fast as he can from the vacuums.

DERVISH – *freaked* AGH! GETAWATGETAWAYGETAWAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!
MOOOOOMMMMMMYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

The vacuums continue to give chase around the area as Derv keeps right on running.

DERVISH – HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!

VOICE – Derv!

DERVISH - *stops a moment* ??? Huh?? *remembers the vacuums and keeps running* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPP!!

VOICE – Swing over them!

DERVISH - *still running, looking around* Who the flip are you??

VOICE – Just use the suspension on the ceiling to swing over them and get the fudge outta there!

Derv takes out his whip but still runs from the vacuums, which are quickly catching up to him.

DERVISH – Where??

VOICE – Center of the ceiling!

Derv quickly winds up his whip and jumps up, lashing to what appears to be part of the ceiling. It latches on and he swings up
and over the vacuums.

DERVISH - *swinging around* Now what?? And who the --.

Just then he hears a small crack. He stops in midair and seconds later he comes crashing back to the ground. The vacuums
come closing in on him as he quickly gets up.

DERVISH - !!!!!!!!!

Before they can reach him, however, Derv hears a faint fizzing and crackling sound and almost instantly the lights go back on in
the area…..and the vacuums are gone as well. Derv stands there, shaking…

DERVISH - ….*nervous and confused* Huh??

VOICE – Hallucinations…

DERVISH – What?

He looks to a corner and sees a dark figure standing there, though he can’t make out any features on the figure.

DERVISH – And you are? And what do you mean ‘hallucinations’? *looks next to him* And what’s this thing?

There is a black box-like object on the ground next to Derv, though it’s broken in places now and sparking a little.

FIGURE – That’s a mind de-synthesizer. It uses stored mental patterns from a person to create illusions and hallucinations
based on that person’s mind.

DERVISH – Oooooohhh…but how would it know my thing about vacuums?

FIGURE – Mind scanning. Jake probably had your mind scanned earlier before you got here and was able to upload the data
so that he could inhibit you. He has others around here and your friends might end up with the same circumstances.

DERVISH - *cocks an eyebrow* So basically he’s using our minds against us, eh? Figures he’d sink so low…as always.

FIGURE – Either way, you best get out of here and find the others. *points behind Derv to a door* There’s your exit.

DERVISH – Um….okay, thanks. *turns and walks to the door, then turns back around* Wait a sec…How do you know --.

The figure is gone. Derv scratches his head and shrugs.

DERVISH – Strange guy…

He walks out.

~Quick switch: control room, elsewhere in the base. Jake sits there, jaw-dropped.~

JAKE – WHAT???! How the --?!! Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

He clenches his fists, then relaxes slightly.

JAKE – Well. I guess that Sheltie can’t do much anyway. The guards will take care of him. Now for round two…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:30 AM, elsewhere in the base. Bayson stops in the hall he ended up in and looks around for any nearby doors out. He
sighs.

BAYSON - *scratching his head* Funny how I’m not even a Road Rover and I still end up in these situations. Guess I’m just
that special.

He peers out to the end of the hallway and sees it forks to the left.

BAYSON – Hopefully that gets me outta here.

He takes a few steps forward when the lights in the hall go out.

BAYSON – Gar?? A power outage?  That’s odd…

A few moments later a hazy lavender light illuminates the hallway. Bay cocks an eyebrow.

BAYSON – Awful trippy lighting. Must be the emergency lighting.

As Bayson starts to walk to the end of the hallway he stops and looks at the floor ahead of him and arches his eyebrows in
confusion. Some of the floor tiles appear to be dropping some many feet down, as if parts of the floor sank and others rose.

BAYSON - …Uh oh…

More tiles seem to sink but at a faster rate now and they get closer to Bay’s position. He panics and runs back to the opposite
end of the hall, back to where he came from. Once there he stays pressed against the wall at the end, watching more and more
parts of the floor drop down. A few moments later, though, it stops. Bay catches his breath and looks at the stretch of the
distorted hallway, swallowing hard.

BAYSON - *slightly shaky* The heck..? *looks down and notices even floor parts below him seem to have sunk* …I hate
heights…
 

He sticks one foot out towards a nearby level part of the floor but before he can even touch it, he quickly brings his foot back and remains standing against the wall. BAYSON - *shaking* I..I can’t do this… Bayson continues to stand there, shaking nervously and biting his lip.

BAYSON – Great….I’m gonna be stuck here…*hangs his head and moans* I just can’t do this..

VOICE – Yes you can.

Bay raises his head a little and looks around.

BAYSON – Wh-who? Who’s there?

VOICE – I said yes, you can.

BAYSON – But…

VOICE – It’s all in your mind. You can do it.

BAYSON - *rapidly shakes his head* No, I can’t.

VOICE – Just do it! You wanna stay here forever?

BAYSON - *slows his shaking down* N-no…

VOICE – Then do it.

BAYSON - …..O-okay th-then…

Bay looks at the floor again and swallows hard, seeing the drop down. He slowly stretches out one leg again to another part of
the floor, closes his eyes and makes a small leap to it…and making it. He opens his eyes and looks.

BAYSON – I….

VOICE – Good. That’s a start. Now do the same for the rest. And don’t think about what’s below you. It’s all in your mind.

Bayson nods and carefully does the same technique with each expanse down the hall. He continues until he get about halfway
down the hall.

VOICE – Stop.

BAYSON - ..Huh?

VOICE – Look above you.

Bay looks above his head and notices a small black object suspended from the ceiling.

BAYSON – What’s that?

VOICE – Smash it.

BAYSON -….?? Wha?

VOICE – Jump up there and smash it.

Bayson looks around him and takes into consideration that he’s totally surrounded by drops. He gets a little nervous.

BAYSON – But….what if I fall???

VOICE – You won’t fall. Just trust me on this and smash that thing.

BAYSON – Uh…..o-okay…

Bay takes a deep breath, crouches down and leaps up, grabbing the object and pulling it down. He then takes it and flings it at
a nearby wall and it shatters on impact. Bay closes his eyes and shields himself for a few moments. When he opens his eyes
though, the hallway is completely back to normal in both lighting and the floor. Bayson scratches his head in confusion.

BAYSON – Huh?? What happened to…

VOICE – You were hallucinating.

BAYSON - ….Hallucinating?

VOICE – That object you destroyed was causing your mind to play on your fears, so you hallucinated what apparently was a
fear of heights.

BAYSON - …I…well….

VOICE – See? That wasn’t so hard, now was it?

BAYSON - Who the heck ARE you already??

VOICE - …You shouldn’t concern yourself with that. You need to go find the others now.

BAYSON – But…

VOICE – Just get going!

BAYSON - *to himself* What in the name of Tiger Woods’ golf clubs is going on? *gives a brisk head shake* I must really
be in need of sleep.

He freely runs down the hallway and finally turns the corner and out of sight.

~Quick switch: control room, where we find Jake again…~

JAKE - *wide-eyed at the monitor* He….he….what?! How the --?!

He slams his fist against a nearby wall, cracking it a little on impact. He growls in disgust.

JAKE – Well…those two got lucky….but the other two won’t be so fortunate. Hmhmhmhehehehehehehe….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after, Cobber manages to bust his way through a set of double doors and into a large expanse of a room. He stops and
catches his breath some, then he looks around.

COBBER – You know, I start to wonder why villains seem to make empty --.

As he steps forward a large iron gate drops in front of the door he came through. He jerks at the crash and quickly turns to
face the door, confused.

COBBER – The hell?!

He tries to push the gate out of the way but it doesn’t budge. He kicks it in aggravation.

COBBER – Damn! Great, NOW what??

As he turns back around the room grows pitch black, leaving Cobber in the darkness.

COBBER - !!! The bloody hell is going on here?!

The room then suddenly illuminates briefly by a quick flash of red light, momentarily blinding Cobber. He stumbles back a little
and rubs his eyes hard. The room remains in a hazy red light…

COBBER – Agh! *rubbing his eyes more* I swear whoever is --.

VOICE – *unearthly tone* Hello mongrel…

Cobber freezes and goes wide-eyed, quickly jerking his head left and right.

COBBER - *shaken* ……No……..Oh God no…..

VOICE – Oh yes…Did you miss me? Heh heh heh heh….

COBBER - …Oh God…

He looks ahead of him and slowly approaching is…Stephenson! Cobber grows wide-eyed and backs away slowly in fear,
shaking a little.

COBBER – *afraid* You! No!!

STEPHENSON – Been some time, hasn’t it, mutt? Heh heh…Pathetic as ever, I see.

COBBER - *shaking his head* No! You’re…you’re dead!! You HAVE to be!! *holds his head* No! This isn’t real!

STEPHENSON – Finally losing it, are we? *grins* Just what I like to see in a weakling such as yourself…

COBBER - *gritting his teeth and cringing, still holding his head* No! DAMMIT NO! You’re dead! I swear to God you’re
dead!! I’m going nuts!!! YOU’RE DEEEEEAAAAAAAAD!!!

He drops to his knees, afraid and starting to mentally collapse. Stephenson looms over Cobber, laughing.

STEPHENSON – Such a poor excuse for a canine. Tsk tsk tsk….such a shame, you know that? *smiles* Must be painful to
have such a worthless existence.

Cobber stops shaking and starts to growl lowly…

COBBER - …Then…..I’ll kill you myself!!!

He whips out his sword and swings forcefully at Stephenson…but it goes right through the madman! Stephenson laughs as
Cobb stands there, confused but angry.

STEPHENSON – Wimp.

COBBER - *bewildered* But….I hit you!!!

He swings furiously at Stephenson again, and again the blade whips straight through Stephenson’s body, leaving him unscathed.
Stephenson continues to chuckle.

STEPHENSON - *amused* No wonder it w so easy giving you that scar. You can’t hit for your life! Hahahahaha!

COBBER - *growling* You murderer! You….bastard!!!!!!!

He continues to swing at Stephenson, not a single blow connecting. Stephenson just casually walks around as Cobber attacks
over and over again, the Rover starting to sweat profusely, his eyes burning in anger.

COBBER - *huff* You killed…..*puff* everyone!! You….you…..

He swings one more time, then sags his arm and he slumps to the ground, exhausted but still unnerved….Stephenson quietly
laughs to himself.

STEPHENSON – Pathetic….truly pathetic…You never amounted to anything and you never will. Worthless rubbish you
turned out to be…

He starts to approach Cobber again, but at this, Cobb starts to slide away.

COBBER - *shaking again, both from fear and exhaustion* NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!

STEPHENSON – Heh heh…Afraid now, are we? I like that.
 

He continues to approach Cobber, the Rover slowly backing up until he’s in a corner. He remains there, watching Stephenson come closer, his heart pounding wildly and his body shaking nervously.

COBBER – Get….away!

STEPHENSON – This is too much fun…Hahahahahahahahahaaaa!

He then quickly drops down to Cobber and sticks his face close to the Rover’s. A look of terror rushes across Cobb’s face.

COBBER - *too afraid to speak any more* ………

STEPHENSON – Enjoying the show? *flashes a maniacal grin* Hope you like hell just as much!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Cobber cringes and huddles in complete terror as Stephenson laughs.

COBBER - *shaking violently* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VOICE – COBBER!!!

Cobber jolts up suddenly at the voice, still shaking in fear and Stephenson laughing in Cobber’s face. He knows not which to
fear more.

COBBER - ………???????

VOICE – Your sword! Throw it at the ceiling!

STEPHENSON – HA! He’s fooling you!

Cobb remains where he is, quivering fearfully from Stephenson but confused too.

COBBER - …..Huh???????????

VOICE – Just do it!!!

Cobber swallows painfully and firmly grasps his blade. Stephenson grins, positive of everything.

STEPHENSON – Try all you want. You’re just a weakling!

COBBER - *sternly* …………Rot in hell….

He flings his sword full force at the ceiling. In seconds an explosion above him briefly illuminates the room. He quickly shields
his eyes from the blast as small bits of odd debris fall around him as well as his blade, fully intact.

COBBER - ..The…wh-…..

When he looks back out, the room is fully lit as is was to begin with…….and to his amazement, Stephenson is gone….Cobber
slowly and shakily gets to his feet, picking up his sword as he does, very confused.

COBBER – Huh?….What --.

VOICE – It was a hallucination.

COBBER - *looking around* Who? What?? ….Who are you?

From a shadowed corner we see the bare indications of a figure, standing there.

FIGURE – It was just a hallucination. The machine above you was making you see false images based on your psyche.

COBBER – You mean….*swallows* It was all just fake?

FIGURE – Yes, but don’t worry about that now. The rest of your group needs you. *points to the door at the other side of the
room* You better hurry.

COBBER – But…who are you??

FIGURE – Just go!

Cobber looks at the door, then back at the corner….but the figure is gone!

COBBER - *deep breath* This is too much….

He dashes out the door…

~Quick switch: control room again…~

JAKE - *slamming his fist down on his thigh* Dammit!! How the hell did he get out of that?!?! *growls* And who the heck
was he TALKING to just a minute ago?!?! Grrr…..No matter. The last one should be the most enjoyable…Heheheheheh….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Alethia and Nitro are tied up in their little holding room.

ALETHIA – Ever notice how it’s always the women who get kidnapped like this?

NITRO – Can’t say I blame men for trying.

ALETHIA – True…

She looks behind her at her bindings. They’re actually quite loose, even though she’s holding the ropes as if they weren’t. She
turns to Nitro.

ALETHIA - *whispering* I need a diversion or something. I’m just about out of these things.

NITRO - *whispering* Basic training paid off, huh?

ALETHIA - *whispering* No, just these idiots aren’t all that great at tying things.

NITRO - *whispering* Why doesn’t that surprise me?

Nitro looks at the guard closest to her.

NITRO – Hey! You! C’mere a sec, cutie.

The guard glances at Nitro and walks over to her.

GUARD 1 – What?

Nitro turns her head to the opposite guard as well.

NITRO – You too! I need some help here.

GUARD 2 – Huh? Uh, okay.

The second guard also approaches Nitro and just looks at her.

GUARD 2 – Yeah?

NITRO – I was wooooooooondering….*bats her eyelashes* that maybe if you’d let me go I could go on a date with one of
you strapping young men. Hmmmm?

She smiles innocently at them. Naturally, the guards grin and face each other.

GUARD 1 – She’s mine.

GUARD 2 – I saw her first!

GUARD 1 – No, I did! Back off!

GUARD 2 – I have first dibs on her, scruffy!

GUARD 1 – Who’re you calling scruffy, you dirt rag?!

As this goes on, Alethia quietly slips out of her bindings and stands up, untying Nitro’s more firm bindings. The two tiptoe to the
door and exit the room. And of course, the guards continue to argue up a storm. The women look around for any other guards
nearby then make a run for it down the adjoining hallway.

ALETHIA - *grinning* That was so clichéd. Men can be so easy to figure out when it comes to things like that.

NITRO – Maybe that’s why they say we women are the superior gender.

ALETHIA - *snickers* I doubt anyone could argue.

NITRO - *nods* Anyway, the others are probably already around this trash heap. Hopefully we can find them before anything
worse happens.

ALETHIA – Right. Just be ready for anything now.

They continue to hurry down the halls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:40 AM, another hall elsewhere in Parvo’s base. Bear is seen running down the hallway up to a set of double doors with
small windows in them. He peers through.

BEAR – This better be the exit.

He walks in quickly and looks around. Along the walls are all sorts of medical and surgical equipment as well as boxes marked
with poison and hazard symbols. Apparently this is part of the genetics lab, or the stockroom for it at least. Bear shudders.

BEAR – Eesh…I hate these kinds of places. Makes me wanna --.

The room lighting changes to a low yellowish colored haze rather abruptly. Bear stands there, unsure what to think.

BEAR – Huh?? Who’s playing with the lighting??

Bear starts to walk along but notices other things in the room, such as chemicals and machine-like objects along the shelves. He
just looks at them and everything else for a time. His vision starts to get a little wavy now, as if going into a trance of some sort.

BEAR - ….The heck? …I…

Suddenly he “sees” a flash before his eyes, followed by an image, and he cringes for a moment.

BEAR – H-huh? *holding his head with one hand* That was…

Bear starts to see things in his mind play out: of Nitro…of his past….of his hardships and horrid memories…He hears cries of
pain rush through his mind, tensing him…

BEAR – No! Get out!!!
 

He grabs his head with both hands, cringing, trying to forget the thoughts but they keep rushing through his mind. He looks in front of him barely…

BEAR - …!?!??!

He sees the past play out before his eyes: his wrongs as a human…his becoming a canosapien….his multiple
transformations…..his death….his losses…..suffering….They all play out over and over and over as Bear slowly starts to lose
his mind…and in his mind he hears the cruel laughter of Matthew Slyless…

BEAR - *shaking in mental torture* NO!!!!!! STOP IT!!!!! GET OUT!!!!!

He drops to his knees, holding his head and beating it against the ground in mental pain, yelling out loud at times and shaking.

VOICE – Bear!

BEAR – STOP!!!!!!!! NO MORE!!!!!!

VOICE – Bear!! Hang on!!

In the haze nearby we see the figure again but not clearly enough. It runs over to Bear and kneels down, touching him on the
shoulder.

FIGURE – Just hang on, okay?

BEAR - *shaking still* …….

The figure quickly gets up and looks around the room in haste.

FIGURE – Where IS that thing this time?

It looks over to a corner and sees a small device, just like the others but smaller. The figure runs over to it and smashes it,
shattering the device into pieces. With this, the room lights return to normal, but Bear remains quivering on the ground.

BEAR - *weakly* No….more….

FIGURE – It’s okay now. Just --.

Footsteps are heard coming from outside the room. The figure turns and hurries off, leaving Bear where he is. He opens his
eyes a little….

VOICE 1 – I heard something from this direction.

VOICE 2 – Yeah, sounded like…

Through the room door come Alethia and Nitro. They see Bear on the floor and stare in shock.

NITRO – BEAR!!

She hurries over to him.

BEAR – *shaky voice* N…Nitro…?

Nitro helps Bear up slowly. She hastily looks him over and then hugs him tightly. Bear returns the hug, still shaking a little.

NITRO – Oh thank God…

BEAR - *swallows hard* Are….you okay?

NITRO – Yes, thanks to some obvious diversion.

She lets go and looks at Bear, incredibly worried.

NITRO – But what happened here? Are you all right?

BEAR - *nods a little bit* Y-yeah…now at least…Things went weird and…..I started remembering things….*shakes a little
more* Things I didn’t want to recall…

NITRO – But why? How?

BEAR – I…I don’t know…but it just happened…

VOICE – It was all screwing with his mind…

The three look around.

ALETHIA – Who’s there?

Once again we see the figure standing in a shadowed area. The group notices.

FIGURE – Needn’t worry.

NITRO – What do you mean ‘screwing with his mind’?

FIGURE – There was a device in this room that was causing Bear to hallucinate and recall all those bad memories. It’s all part
of Jake’s little attack plan.

BEAR – Wh…who’s Jake?

ALETHIA – Jake is Dylan’s big brother, but he’s against us.

BEAR - …I see….

FIGURE – I think you all better find your friends and get things done now. The only forces left are the guards and troops so
you might wanna hurry.

NITRO – Um…okay, thanks, but…..how did you -.

FIGURE – Later. Just go. *points to its left* This way.

The three look at each other, confused. When they look back, the figure, as usual, is gone. They just nod to each other and
hurry in the direction the figure pointed, out a door and down a new hallway…

~Quick switch: control room again. Jake is just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle upset now~

JAKE - *roaring* EVERY SINGLE ONE?!?!?!? Oh that does it!!!!!!!

He bolts up from his seat.

JAKE – Looks like I’ll just have to kill them myself! But first…

He storms off out of the room…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:43 AM, a fork in the hallways in the northern part of the base. Derv is seen coming down one of the halls.

DERVISH – Geez, how big IS this friggin’ place anyway?

He sees a guard nearby on the floor and stops and cocks his head. Cautiously he approaches the guard and notices he’s out
cold. Derv taps his foot.

DERVISH – And how come every stinkin’ guard around here is unconscious? Where’s the fun in that? I mean, how --.

VOICE – Derv!!

Derv quickly turns to the fork in the hallway ahead. Standing there are Bayson and Cobber, motioning him to hurry down. Derv
runs down the hall and stops at the two.

DERVISH – Where the Sam hell have you guys been all this time?? I’m running around here like a chicken with…..well
anyway, what’s going on?

COBBER - *rubbing his neck* We had our own little problems to contend with, and I don’t care to get into them right now.

BAYSON – So how do we get out of this place?

DERVISH – Well first things first. We gotta find the others. Hunter and the crew are probably in the prisons of this dump.

COBBER – Yeah but where would those be?

The three look behind them and notice a small directory on the wall. Bayson walks up to it and reads it.

BAYSON - *reading* “Holding cells: next right”

COBBER - *blink blink* That was easy.

DERVISH - *rolls his eyes* Great, Parvo’s turning his bases into mini malls. Let’s just get this over with.

The three hurry down the hall and turn right and head down a set of stairs to the lower level of the base. They stop at a door at
the bottom that reads, “Holding Cells”. They all roll their eyes and enter quickly. The first thing they notice is a group of guards
nearby, all apparently unconscious. Derv walks over and picks up the arm of one of the guards and lets it drop.

DERVISH – Is it just me, or are practically all the guards in this place out cold?

COBBER – Yeah, I noticed that. I mean, since when does this get to be such a free ride for once?

BAYSON – It’s just too weird for me, and….hey look! *crouches down by one of the guards* Cell keys!

Bay takes the keys from the guard’s belt and looks at them.

DERVISH - *smirks* Even the keys are complimentary now.

VOICE – *from some distance away* Derv??

The three turn in the direction the voice came from.

COBBER – It’s them! C’mon!

They rush down the prison hallway until they reach the cell holding Hunter, Colleen, Shag, Blitz and Exile. Needless to say, they
look worn out.

COLLEEN – Took you all long enough. What’s been going on?

COBBER – We’ll explain later.

He tries a few of the keys in the lock until finally one works. Cobb swings the door open and the rest walk out of the cell.

BLITZ – You know, I ended up breaking a nail because you guys took so long.

EXILE – Weird boy…

BLITZ - *quickly facing Exile* Clam it, Snowy! I’m more important than you’ll ever be!

COLLEEN – *smirks* Who is?

BLITZ – I am.

COLLEEN – Who?

BLITZ – *annoyed* Me!

COLLEEN – Me who?

BLITZ – I…*sighs* Whatever…

HUNTER - *scratching his head* O-kaaaaay. Cool. *turns to Cobb, Derv and Bay* Anyway, thanks for helpin’ us out. I was
starting to miss my everlasting tennis ball back home.

DERVISH – Um…..right. Let’s just get out of here, mmkay?

COBBER – *taps his foot* Um, Fluff? You’re forgetting about Bear, Nitro and Alethia.

DERVISH - …..Oh right. Guess we’ll have to go find them then.

HUNTER - *nods* Okay. You guys find them and meet us outside. *points down the end of the hall, where another set of
stairs is located with a set of doors in the ceiling* We’ll go that way since it probably goes outside, k?

DERVISH - *cocks an eyebrow* How come you guys always get the easy exits, hmm?

BLITZ – Because we’re the REAL stars of the show!

COLLEEN - *grins* Who is again?

BLITZ - *opens his mouth but stops a moment* ….No one…

HUNTER – Well, you guys hurry up and get out. See ya then!

Hunter and the others hurry off to the staircase, leaving Dervish, Cobber and Bayson by themselves. They all look at each
other.

COBBER – Guess the name is everything, even for super heroes.

DERVISH - *shrugs* Can’t just call us “dogs that save the world” and expect fanfare, you know. Now let’s go.

The three run back the way they came from and off to find Alethia, Nitro and Bear…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:47 AM, genetics lab. Alan is seen tied to a chair there all alone. A moment later Jake comes storming through the door, an
infuriated look on his face.

ALAN – What the hell??

JAKE - *seething* Well….seems like your little friends managed to get past the traps I set for them.

ALAN - *confused* Huh? What friends?!

Jake grabs the scruff of Alan’s shirt and growls in his face.

JAKE – You know damn well what I mean!!!

He lets go of Alan. Jake goes over to a nearby counter.

ALAN – I don’t know what the heck you’re talking about!!

JAKE – Lie all you want, wimp. It won’t save you any more!

Jake picks up something from the countertop and submerges it in an odd liquid.

JAKE – And I’ll make sure to dispose of them shortly, but you know what?

He walks over to Alan with the object. In the light it appears to be a syringe. Alan looks at it, starting to shake nervously. Jake
smiles a toothy grin.

JAKE – I think we’ll have a little fun first…

He draws his hand back and brings the syringe down full force…