King Beast(June 22, 2019)

“Everyone on this planet has a purpose...a reason for existing. They all have one thing in common, they have at least one person that they can rely on, that can rely on them. But what if you don’t have any of that? What if you don’t have a purpose? What if you don’t have friends? Family? What if you just wander through life aimlessly, heading to the next destination when you have no idea what that destination is? What does that make you? I’ll tell you what it makes you...it makes you me.”

In Fantastic City, rain is pouring down on the concrete, as if the sky had opened up. Through the rain, a man is walking downtown, as if in a complete trance. He continues down the sidewalk, not even paying attention to the people around him, the stores around him, or where he is going, as if he is the only person in the world. As he is walking, two men in uniforms step in front of him, one grabbing him by the shoulder. “Not so fast! We are gonna need to see some form of ID.” One of the uniformed guys say. The man removes the uniformed person’s hand from his shoulder, ignores the other uniformed person’s demand, and attempts to keep walking. However, this time, they both grab the man. “Only residents of this city are allowed to be in the city, and we don’t recognize you.” One of them says. “I was just passing through.” The man tells them. “Sorry, but that’s not a good enough explanation. We’re going to have to let the king sort this out.” One of the uniformed men says, as they drag the man off.

In a ball room, located within the grand Fantastic City Castle, the dictator of the city, King Damien Beast, is socializing with a wealthy couple. “You have put together a marvelous event tonight, Damien! And the turn out is wonderful!” The wife says. “Why thank you, Darlene. I suspected that such a banquet would draw out the finest people of my city from hiding. I imagine the chardonnay played a substantial role in getting people to attend.” King Beast jokes. “Well, whatever the case may be, thank you for throwing this event! I haven’t seen some of these people in YEARS, its nice to reconnect. Anyway, I should go mingle. I trust I’ll see you on the golf course, Sunday morning?” The husband asks. “Of course, Fred. Here’s hoping you do a better job than you did last week.” King Beast says. Fred laughs, and he and Darlene walk off. Once Fred and Darlene are gone, the very beautiful Mrs. Molly Goo approaches the king. “Are you enjoying the party, King Beast?” Mrs. Goo asks. “Why, hello Mrs. Goo. Yes, I am very much enjoying the party. How about you?” King Beast asks. “Oh yes, it is such a wonderful event!” Mrs. Goo says. “Indeed, though I’m sure its proven to be quite stressful for you.” King Beast suggests. Mrs. Goo finds that response to be curious. “Stressful? Why is that?” Mrs. Goo asks. “Isn’t it obvious? You must be fighting the men off with a stick tonight! You look absolutely devine this evening!” King Beast notes. Mrs. Goo giggles. “That’s very kind of you to say. This is a new dress.” Mrs. Goo notes. “Its suits you perfectly, my dear.” King Beast compliments, leaving Mrs. Goo even more flustered. While they are in conversation, the two uniformed men enter the ball room, and drag the man they captured over to King Beast. They drop the man on the floor, right at King Beast’s feet. “We found this guy wandering through the city. He isn’t a resident, sir.” One of the men says. “Who is he?” King Beast asks. “That’s what we are trying to find out.” One of the men says. “Like I told these guys, I’m just passing through.” The man tells the king. “Toss him in the dungeon, I’ll deal with him after the banquet is over.” King Beast orders. The uniformed men then pick up the mystery man, and drag him out of the room…

The man is tossed into the dungeon, a dark, dreary location, underneath the castle. “Wow, you look like crap.” A voice tells him. The man looks up, and sees a woman sitting on the bed. “I’ve been in worse condition before. So what are you in here for?” The man wonders. “I was caught stealing from the castle’s safe. See, King Beast doesn’t like it when people steal from him, so he tossed me in here and sentenced me to death. The only reason I’m not dead yet is because he had some stupid event to attend to tonight.” The woman notes. “Stealing IS kind of wrong, but I think a death sentence might be a bit harsh. How does King Beast have the power to do that? This is the United States of America, its a democracy, so why is Fantastic run by a dictator?” The man questions. “Obviously, you’re new here, so let me break things down for you. Fantastic City, and the city next door, Fishkit, are the biggest swamps in America. They are filled with criminals and crooked politicians. The problems got so bad, that the country cut the two cities loose, which means they’re basically their own nations now, despite technically being part of the U.S. This all happened a few years ago, and once it did, King Beast came into power. At first, he seemed like a relatively non deranged ruler, and people were pretty cool with him. But, as more time went by, he began to let the power get to his head, and the people of this city started to lose more and more privileges. Now, they aren’t allowed to leave the city, they aren’t allowed to commit any crimes without being given the death sentence, and they aren’t allowed free speech. Fun, huh?” She sarcastically asks. “If you knew all that already, why would you try and break into the castle safe?” The man asks. “One, I wanted the cash, and two, I wanted the adrenaline rush.” The woman tells him. The woman holds out her hand. “I’m Thea. You?” Thea asks. “Dylan.” Dylan responds, as he shakes Thea’s hand. Before the conversation can continue, footsteps can be heard, getting louder as the person gets closer. Dylan and Thea stand up, just as King Beast reaches their cell. “I see you’ve made friends with the resident thief.” King Beast makes note of. “I think you’ve made a mistake here.” Dylan says. “I don’t. Everyone in this city knows that Fantastic isn’t some tourist attraction. You are the one who made a big mistake by trespassing here.” King Beast notes. “There doesn’t need to be any trouble between us. Just let me go, and I’ll leave Fantastic, and never come back.” Dylan tells King Beast. “I might have considered letting you go, but this issue first came up when I was enjoying myself at a party, and that annoyed me. For that reason, I don’t see any reason to let you go.” King Beast says. “Like you would’ve let him go, anyway.” Thea comments. “You should at least be happy that you aren’t going to die like the thief, here. By the way, your execution is tomorrow, so try not to sleep in.” King Beast tells her. Thea gives an annoyed smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Thea sarcastically responds. King Beast smiles at them, before heading back upstairs. “Okay, we need to get the hell out of here! You might not have a problem rotting in a dungeon for the rest of your life, but there is NO way I’m dying tomorrow!” Thea frantically says. “Don’t forget that unlike me, you actually committed a crime.” Dylan reminds her. “And don’t forget that you said the death sentence is kinda steep for stealing! Come on, help me out, and we BOTH win!” Thea tells him. “I’ll help you, only if it will shut you up.” Dylan says. “Excuse me for being afraid of dying. So, what’s the plan?” Thea asks. Dylan turns towards the wall at the back of their cell. “Do you know what’s behind that wall?” A curious Dylan asks. “A hallway, I think. I hope you do plan on trying to dig through the floor with a spoon, to get to the other side.” Thea says. “Stand back.” Dylan warns her. Dylan aims his arm at the wall, and all of a sudden, a burst of fire emerges from his hand, and flies towards the wall! The fire ball creates a giant hole in the wall, which leads to the hallway behind the dungeon. Thea stares at the hole in the wall in shock. “How did you do that?!” A stunned Thea asks. “I’ve had some crazy stuff happen to me. Do you know where we’re going when we get into that hallway?” Dylan asks. “Uh...yeah, I think so. We take a left, and there should be a staircase that brings us up to the first floor. We just need to watch out for guards.” Thea notes. “Come on.” Dylan urges. Dylan and Thea climb through the hole in the wall, and run up the hallway.

Its a new day in Fantastic City, and Dylan is asleep on Thea’s couch. His eyes begin to open, and he sits up. When he sits up, he notices Thea in the kitchen, making coffee. “Good morning.” Dylan tells her. “Oh, good, you’re awake! Now, you can try the coffee I made you. Its my own special blend.” Thea says, as she hands Dylan a cup. Dylan takes a sip, and cringes slightly. “Its...good.” Dylan lies. “Yeah, right. Obviously, I need to make some adjustments to the recipe.” Thea says. “So why’d you bring me here last night?” Dylan asks. “Because you were exhausted and you probably would’ve dropped dead if you didn’t get some shut eye.” Thea says. “Thanks.” Dylan tells her. Dylan stands up. “Where are you going?” Thea asks. “I’m leaving town. I never planned on sticking around this long, so its time for me to get moving.” Dylan tells her. Thea runs in front of the door, and stops Dylan from leaving. “Not so fast.” Thea says. “King Beast will come after me again if I don’t leave, and I’m not looking for a fight!” Dylan notes. “Well then maybe you should be! See, I was thinking about it, and I think you might be the only person who can bring an end to King Beast’s reign.” Thea admits. “I hope you don’t expect me to kill the guy.” Dylan says. “All I’m saying is that you should dethrone him! King Beast has everyone in a tight grip, and he refuses to let go. For this city’s sake, he needs to be stopped.” Thea says. “Are you sure you don’t want King Beast out of the way so you can get another crack at that safe?” Dylan asks. Thea shrugs. “That’d be a nice little bonus for saving the city. But, the city is my number one priority. How about you go clean up in the bathroom a bit, and think about what I said?” Thea asks. Dylan sighs. “I’ll think about it.” Dylan says, before heading into the bathroom.

In the living room of Fantastic Castle, Mrs. Goo approaches King Beast. “King Beast, can I talk to you for a moment?” Mrs. Goo asks. “What, not even a good morning? I think business can wait a few moments, Mrs. Goo.” King Beast says. “This is rather important, sir. Its about the two prisoners you were keeping in the dungeon.” Mrs. Goo says. “That foreigner and Thea Alanis?” King Beast asks. “They escaped.” Mrs. Goo reveals. “How on earth is that possible?” King Beast asks. “I don’t know. There is some sort of large hole in the back wall of their cell, but no one seems to know how it got there.” Mrs. Goo tells him. “Obviously, they created it somehow to escape! I want you to call the security team and the police department, and tell them to locate those criminals!” King Beast orders. “I will, if that is what you want. But...I was thinking, maybe you should just let them go.” Mrs. Goo suggests. “Why on earth would I do that?” King Beast asks. “Thea may be a thief, but I’m not sure that she deserves to die for it. And that man, he was just passing through.” Mrs. Goo notes. “This city has a no visitors law for a reason, to keep criminals out. I intend to make an example out of Thea and her friend, and though I originally intended on letting him live, his escape has caused me to reevaluate that decision, and he will now be executed right next to Thea.” King Beast reveals!

When Dylan returns to the living room, he finds Thea looking at a picture of him and a bunch of other people. “Sorry, you dropped this on your way into the bathroom. I recognize you, even though you’re a lot younger, but who is everybody else?” Thea asks. “They were my family.” Dylan confesses. “Were?” Thea asks. “We aren’t in contact anymore. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier...” Dylan says. “I hope you decided to help, do you have any idea what its like to be at the mercy of a ruthless monster 24/7?” Thea asks. “I know something about that, which is why I’m gonna do what I can. But, I’m not sure how much I can get done on my own, even with my powers.” Dylan notes. “I can help.” Thea tells him. “I’m not sure how much help your crow bar will be.” Dylan jokes. Thea reaches into a cabinet, and pulls out a high tech looking gun! Thea then fires a shot at a vase, and the vase immediately turns into ice. “Where did you get that?” Dylan asks. “I stole it from a scientist. The guy was acquitted of rape. Everyone knows that he did it, but unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough evidence. A pig like that seemed like the perfect mark. I stole some of his inventions, destroyed the others, and drained every cent from his bank account, leaving him with zilch.” Thea reveals. “I think I get it now...you steal from bad guys.” Dylan realizes. “Stealing isn’t so bad when you are taking from bad people.” Thea notes. “Your ice weapons might come in handy. If we’re gonna get to King Beast, we need to get past the guards, and I don’t want to kill anyone. Your weapons can’t actually kill anyone, right?” Dylan asks. “They’ll only incapacitate. Believe it or not, I’m not a killer, either. Anyway, I think we’ve wasted enough time chit chatting. Its time for some action. Lets go bring King Beast down.” Thea says.

At Fantastic Castle’s front gate, Dylan and Thea enter the court yard, and are immediately met by two guards. The guards both pull out guns, but Thea uses her freeze gun and aims it at their arms! Both guards arms freeze, including the gun they are holding. Thea then shoots them both in the legs, freezing them to their current position. “You aren’t half bad with that thing.” Dylan notes. “I’ve used it a few times already, so I’m pretty use to it. At least the good for nothing pig that made this bad boy did something useful with his sucky existence.” Thea says. “So, any idea where we can find King Beast?” Dylan asks. “Its a little early for him to be bar hopping, so he’s probably home...working, maybe? I don’t know if he actually does any work, or if he just orders people dead. Anyways, I’d check the living room or the study.” Thea says. “You are sure this place has a living room or a study?” Dylan asks. “That’s what the floor plan said.” Thea notes. “Why do you have a floor plan of the castle?!” Dylan asks. “Kinda hard to plan a burglary if I don’t know where I’m going. I studied that map about a thousand times, so I know exactly where I’m going. Follow my lead.” Thea urges. Dylan and Thea run up to the front door, and discover that there is a keypad on the door. “Damn, we don’t have the password.” Dylan notes. Thea walks up to the pad. “5270.” Thea says, as she punches the numbers in. The red light on the pad turns green. “Would you look at that! King Beast should’ve changed the password after the last time I broke in.” Thea notes. Thea opens the front door, and she and Dylan walk in. A guard comes down the stairs, and Thea fires a shot of ice at him, freezing him on the staircase. “Ow!” The guard screams. “Sorry, but we really need to have a word with your boss. Any clue where he is keeping himself today?” Thea asks. “How the hell am I suppose to know?!” The guard asks. “Oh, okay. Just wondering.” Thea says. Thea shoots both of the guards arms! “Stop! You’re gonna kill me!” The guard screams. “Relax, its just ice. You’ll thaw out in a couple of hours, no biggie.” Thea says. Thea turns towards Dylan. “Come on, lets go.” Thea tells him.

In the living room, King Beast pours himself a drink, as Mrs. Goo looks on. “I don’t know why I haven’t heard back from security or the police yet! Are those two REALLY that difficult to find?!” King Beast asks. “Thea has been able to evade the police for quite some time.” Mrs. Goo notes. All of a sudden, Dylan busts open the door, with Thea close behind! “How did you get in here?!” King Beast angrily asks. Dylan ignores him, and rushes towards him. Dylan then puts his hand around King Beast’s throat, and pushes him up against the wall! “This stops now. You better start seriously considering stepping down as king.” Dylan warns. Mrs. Goo attempts to get in between Dylan and King Beast. “Please, don’t hurt him! No matter what you may think about him, he is a good man!” Mrs. Goo claims. Dylan ignores her. “Resign now, or you won’t like what happens next.” Dylan says. “You aren’t going to kill me. If you were capable of that, you would have eliminated my guards when they initially captured you.” King Beast notes. “Yeah, he probably won’t kill you. But, he might hurt you really, really bad, and you might just wish you were dead. So, do everybody in this room a favor and just take your poor excuse for leadership over to a lemonade stand or something, because you aren’t fit to run a city.” Thea says. Dylan looks up, and notices that King Beast’s crown is lighting up! Dylan lets King Beast go. “What are you doing? We had him on the ropes!” Thea notes. Dylan begins to back away from King Beast. “Uh, hello? Earth to wimp!” Thea snaps at Dylan. Thea looks at King Beast, and notices his crown glowing. “Oh damn.” Thea remarks. All of a sudden, King Beast fires a beam of shadows at Dylan and Thea! Dylan and Thea are both hit by the blast, and are launched to the other side of the room! Dylan pulls himself off the floor, and helps Thea back to her feet. “You okay?” Dylan asks. “I think I might’ve chipped a nail...” Thea complains. They return their attention to King Beast, who’s eyes are now glowing red! “King Beast?” A nervous Mrs. Goo asks. “What scary movie did he rip this trick off from?” Thea wonders. “You shouldn’t have interfered!” King Beast growls, in a demonic tone of voice! King Beast launches another attack, similar to his previous one, but this time, Dylan counters by launching a sphere of flames! The two attacks collide, and burst into a cloud of thick smoke. Dylan turns towards Thea. “We need to leave, NOW!” Dylan urges. “But we haven’t won!” Thea argues. “And we aren’t going to if we stick around, come on!” Dylan tells her. King Beast patiently waits, as the cloud of smoke begins to clear. However, once the smoke has faded, he sees that Dylan and Thea are nowhere to be found. King Beast swiftly pulls out his phone, and makes a call. “We have two intruders on the property, I want you to find them, and I want you to use lethal force to stop them! Those two are NOT to escape this castle alive!” King Beast roars, before hanging up the phone. Mrs. Goo rushes over to King Beast. “Are you okay?” A concerned Mrs. Goo asks. “I’m fine, darling. Thank you for asking.” King Beast assures her. “I’ve never seen anything like that before...where did you get those powers from?” Mrs. Goo asks. “I’ve always had them. I guess you simply didn’t notice before because I’ve never had to use them.” King Beast claims. “I guess so...” An unconvinced Mrs. Goo responds.

Back at Thea’s place, Thea bandages up a wound on Dylan’s arm, that King Beast caused. “Does it hurt?” Thea asks. “Compared to some of the pain I’ve felt in the past, this is a walk in the park.” Dylan notes. “I underestimated King Beast, I never knew he was so powerful.” Thea says. “It was a bad idea for us to go up against him...” Dylan suggests. “No, that’s not true. Someone needs to stop him, and we are the people for the job. No offense, dude, but you should probably work on your powers, so we have a better shot at beating him next time. You’re good, its just that King Beast is much better.” Thea comments. Dylan doesn’t respond. “Wait a minute...don’t tell me you went easy on that old bag!” Thea says. “I told you, I didn’t want to kill him.” Dylan reminds her. “King Beast could’ve killed US, since you didn’t feel like putting in any effort!” Thea argues. “King Beast shouldn’t be the one we are attacking, anyway.” Dylan notes. “Did you hit your head, too? What are you babbling about?” Thea asks. “King Beast isn’t the one who launched those attacks. The source of them was the crown on his head.” Dylan says. “Right, I remember seeing the crown lighting up...that must be some crown.” Thea notes. There is a knock at the door. “You expecting a friend?” Dylan asks. “I don’t have friends, just enemies and people I pretend to like.” Thea says, as she draws her freeze gun. “Don’t you think that’s a little overboard?” Dylan asks. “Not if its King Butthead’s men, coming to gun us down.” Thea says. Thea opens the door, and finds Mrs. Goo standing in the hallway. Thea attempts to close the door in her face, but Mrs. Goo stops her. “Please, Thea, hear me out.” Mrs. Goo begs. Thea sighs, and motions for Mrs. Goo to come in. Mrs. Goo comes in, and sees Dylan. “Hello, sir.” Mrs. Goo says. “You can call me Dylan.” Dylan tells her. “You have five minutes to explain why I shouldn’t toss you out the window.” Thea says. “Despite the way King Beast has been acting, he hasn’t always been like this. He was a good man, and its only recently that he began acting like this.” Mrs. Goo notes. “Was it after he became king?” Thea wonders. “No, it was much after! Honestly, I think it was after he put that creepy crown on his head that his behavior began to change.” Mrs. Goo suggests. “Where did King Beast get the crown?” Dylan questions. “A mining team on his payroll found it buried, in a place just outside the city, called Tip Top Canyon. Listen, I know that the two of you can’t stand King Beast, and I don’t blame you one bit, but you have to help him! I was worried about him before, and I tried to downplay my concerns. But, when he used those powers, powers I’ve never seen before, that is the moment where I knew something was seriously wrong!” Mrs. Goo says. “I don’t know if us helping him is such a good-” Before Dylan can finish, Thea interrupts him. “We’ll do what we can.” Thea assures Mrs. Goo. “Oh thank you, both of you! I should be going now, King Beast may begin to wonder where I am. And don’t worry, I have no intention of telling him where the two of you are hiding.” Mrs. Goo assures them. Thea smiles. “Appreciate it.” Thea tells her. Mrs. Goo then leaves. “You shouldn’t have made a promise you can’t keep.” Dylan tells Thea. Thea rolls her eyes. “What’s your problem now?” Thea asks. “Like I’ve said before, stopping King Beast isn’t gonna do anything, another dictator is just going to take power, and the vicious cycle will continue.” Dylan states. “Somehow, I doubt the next dictator will have super powers. Besides, we made a promise to Mrs. Goo.” Thea notes. “I don’t think you care much about that promise, considering you’re mainly doing this to get another shot at King Beast’s vault.” Dylan notes. “Is that a crime?” Thea asks. “Yes!” Dylan reminds her. “Well, there isn’t anything I hate more than failing a mission, so yeah, I’d like another crack at that vault! Big deal! I get to rob a really bad dude, while saving a bunch of innocents, the gruesomeness of it all!” Thea sarcastically remarks. Thea’s face grows slightly more serious. “But, I would also like to help the city, too, believe it or not. I’m not completely heartless, Dylan.” Thea says. “I never said you were...okay, if we are going to do this, we need to find out more about that crown King Beast is wearing.” Dylan says. Thea smiles. “Its a good thing you’re working with someone who has a talent of finding stuff out.” Thea says.
Thea is now on her laptop, while Dylan is sitting on the sofa in the background. Dylan looks down at the coffee table, and notices a certificate sticking out of a folder, which makes it appear that Thea donated money to something. Dylan leans in to grab the folder. “I think I found something!” Thea states, before Dylan has the chance to look at the folder. Dylan stands up, and walks over to where Thea is sitting. “What is it?” Dylan questions. “After checking nearly every internet browser under the sun, I finally found something on a no name browser some hipster nerd made in his Mommy’s basement. Look at this, the crown is apparently in demand for some artifact collectors. Rumor has it, it gives the person who wears it special powers, which we already know. But, what we didn’t know, is that there is an itsy bitsy catch.” Thea says. “What’s that?” Dylan asks. “The crown is possessed by an evil spirit, and once you wear it, you’re possessed, too.” Thea responds. “Why would King Beast wear it, then?” Dylan wonders. “Maybe he wrote all the myths off as nonsense.” Thea suggests. “Can’t say I blame him. I’m still a bit unsure about the evil spirit part.” Dylan notes. “Says the guy who shoots fire from his hands.” Thea remarks. “If we’re going to beat King Beast, we need to get that crown off his head.” Dylan says. “Agreed, but that’s gonna be kinda tricky. King Beast isn’t going to just let us take the crown off him, he’s going to put up a fight.” Thea points out. “So we’ll give him one.” Dylan responds.

On a nearby rooftop, Dylan and Thea are staring at Fantastic Castle. The castle now has several spot lights moving around the exterior of the property, as well as guards crawling everywhere. “Wow, they really beefed up security since we broke in this morning.” Thea comments. “King Beast wasn’t expecting us last time.” Dylan notes. “Follow my lead, I am an experienced breaking and enterer.” Thea proudly states. “Enterer isn’t a word.” Dylan notes. “My point is, I’ve busted into more secure buildings than this one. Come on.” Thea urges. Thea runs, and jumps off the roof of the building! Dylan follows her lead, and the two begin to plummet to the ground below. They end up both activating parachutes, and they land in the front court yard. Almost immediately, four guards arrive on the scene. Dylan punches one of the guards, which causes the guard to flinch. The guard pulls out a nightstick, and swings it at Dylan. However, Dylan knees the guard’s arm, and causes him to drop the nightstick. Dylan then picks up the nightstick off of the ground, and whips the guard in the face with it! The guard falls to the ground, and Dylan quickly kicks him in the face, knocking him out. Meanwhile, Thea is taking on the other three guards. Thea does a cartwheel into one of them, which knocks him down. Thea then jumps to her feet, and kicks him in the face! Thea turns towards the other two guards, and does a handstand. Once she is standing on her hands, she spins her legs in a circle, and manages to knock both remaining guards over! Thea runs over to one of the guards, and smashes his head into the ground, knocking him out. Thea turns, and sees that the final guard is attempting to get up. Thinking quickly, Thea picks up a rock, and chucks it at the head of the last guard, knocking him out. Dylan walks over to Thea. “Nice work. Where’d you learn to do all that?” Dylan asks. “Gymnastics.” Thea responds. “Cool. Lets keep moving.” Dylan urges. Thea nods. On the balcony up above, Mrs. Goo can be seen watching them. Mrs. Goo heads into the corridor, and bumps into a guard. “Mrs. Goo, good evening!” The guard says. “Good evening, sir! What are you up to this fine evening?” Mrs. Goo asks. “The king has asked me and every other guard to keep a watch out for two potential intruders.” The guard says. “Oh yes, I heard. But, I honestly don’t think they will be coming tonight, so why don’t you take the rest of the evening off?” Mrs. Goo asks. “Sorry ma’am, orders are orders. The king wants us on patrol all night. Anyway, I gotta get back on the job. Take care, Mrs. Goo.” The guard says. The guard begins to walk away. Mrs. Goo notices a nearby flower pot, and smashes it over the guard’s head! The guard then falls to the floor, unconscious. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to do this to you, you are such a nice man...but this is for the greater good.” Mrs. Goo tells the unconscious guard. Mrs. Goo very obviously looks around, to make sure no one was watching, and then sprints off.

Dylan and Thea are proceeding further through the courtyard. “Heads up! The spotlight is coming this way!” Thea warns. “Where are we suppose to hide?” Dylan wonders, as the spotlight comes closer. Thea looks around. “I’ve got it! Follow me.” Thea says. Thea grabs Dylan’s hand, and pulls him behind the water fountain. The spotlight hits the fountain, just as Dylan and Thea hide behind it. The spotlight passes the fountain, and the two remain undetected. “That was close.” Thea notes. “Too close, another reason I didn’t want to do this.” Dylan says. “Oh stop being such a baby!” Thea scolds. Dylan and Thea come out from behind the water fountain, and approach the front door. “5270.” Thea says, as she types it into the keypad. However, the keypad rejects the password! “Damn, he figured us out!” Thea says. “What now?” Dylan asks. “If I can get into the keypad, I can cut the wiring, and disable it. It’ll take me a minute, though, so I’ll need you to keep watch.” Thea tells him. “Sounds simple enough.” Dylan says. Dylan walks to the bottom of the steps, and looks around, as Thea pulls out a screwdriver, and begins to open the keypad. A guard arrives on the scene, and reaches for his weapon. Dylan then tackles him to the ground, and punches him out! Dylan stands up, and is immediately decked by another guard! Dylan falls to the ground, and the guard begins to pull out his gun. But, Dylan manages to kick the back of the guard’s legs, and he drops to the ground as well! Dylan then quickly crawls over to the guard, and knocks him out before he can make another move! Dylan gets back to his feet. “Almost done yet, Thea?” Dylan wonders. “Hold your horses! This is a process.” Thea notes. “Your process takes too long, I’m getting my butt kicked!” Dylan tells her. “Take some self defense classes.” Thea responds. “If I live that long.” Dylan remarks. “Trust me, you won’t.” A voice says. Dylan turns, and sees a guard pointing a gun at him. “Oh, hi.” Dylan says. “I’m gonna be so freaking rich after I kill you two.” The guard says. “You don’t want to do this, pal. We aren’t the bad guys, here.” Dylan tells him. “I don’t care who you are. The king wants you two dead, and if I’m the one who kills you, I’m gonna be hailed a hero.” The guard says. “You’d be more of a hero if you just walk away, trust me.” Dylan says. “Nice try, but you aren’t talking me out of this one. Once I kill you, I’ll get the respect I-” Before the guard finishes, a dart hits him in the neck, and he immediately falls unconscious! Dylan looks up, and sees Mrs. Goo standing in the window, holding a dart gun. “A dart through a window, nice.” Dylan says. “Got it!” Thea speaks up. Dylan runs back over to Thea, and the two enter the castle.

In the study, Mrs. Goo enters, and finds a guard standing by King Beast’s desk. “What are you doing in here?” The guard asks. “I could ask you the same thing. This area is suppose to be off limits for anyone but King Beast and only the most trusted of his inner circle.” Mrs. Goo notes. “The king asked me to keep watch over his computer.” The guard says. “I see. Well, I can take it from here.” Mrs. Goo says. “No can do. I have my orders.” The guard says. “Yes, from me! Have you forgotten that I am King Beast’s second in command?” Mrs. Goo asks. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I only take orders from King Beast.” The guard says. Mrs. Goo sighs. “I see...” Mrs. Goo says. Mrs. Goo walks over to the fireplace. “Uh...if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to work.” The guard says. “Actually...I do mind.” Mrs. Goo says. Mrs. Goo picks up a fireplace poker, and whips the guard across the face with it! The guard then falls to the floor, unconscious. “I’m sort of new at this thing, so I am so sorry if that hurt too much.” Mrs. Goo apologizes to the unconscious guard. Mrs. Goo then makes her way over to King Beast’s desk, where his laptop is sitting…

Dylan and Thea run up the stairs in the foyer, and Thea is grabbed by a guard from behind! Thea does a backflip over the guard, and ends up behind him. Thea pushes the guard up against the wall, elbows him in the back of the head, which causes him to tumble down the stairs. “He’ll live...I hope.” Thea says. “Maybe we should call him an ambulance.” Dylan suggests. “Yeah, maybe after our lives aren’t in immediate danger. Lets go!” Thea urges, as they continue to scale the stairs.

Back in the study, Mrs. Goo is now in King Beast’s laptop. “Last I checked, King Beast has a way of communicating with his guards through this. One press of a button, and all of the guards will be signaled to stand down...” Mrs. Goo says. Mrs. Goo discovers that the computer is password protected. “Oh dear, this is problematic. Lets see...HogtheDog19.” Mrs. Goo says, as she types in the password. The password is incorrect. “Damn it, he loves that show! Uh...ProtectorofArgi17.” Mrs. Goo says, as she types. The password is incorrect. “Oh, I know! His favorite writer! Qg2004...” Mrs. Goo says, as she types in. The password is correct! “Yay!” Queen Goo gleefully says. “What are you doing?!” A voice asks. Mrs. Goo looks up, and sees King Beast! “I see you caught me...” Mrs. Goo says. “Yes, so explain to me what you’re doing!” King Beast demands. Mrs. Goo stands up. “I’m trying to save you! I have been appalled by your horrid behavior as of late, and I refuse to be complicit in it, not for one more second!” Mrs. Goo states. “That is such a shame. You were the one person I trusted with my very own life, Molly, but clearly, that was a mistake. All this proves is that you can’t trust no one. Guards!” King Beast calls. Two guards enter the room. “Take Mrs. Goo down to the dungeon.” King Beast orders. “Sir, did I hear you correctly?” One of the guards asks, confused. “You heard me. Mrs. Goo has betrayed me, therefore, she must be punished.” King Beast says. “Do with me as you wish.” Mrs. Goo proudly says. “Oh I intend to. I’m going to have you executed tomorrow morning. I intend on making an example out of you, that no one betrays me and lives to tell the tale...no one.” King Beast says. “Please, King Beast, think about this for a moment! See through the darkness, and you will see that this isn’t who you are!” Mrs. Goo states. “I disagree, this is EXACTLY who I am. Get her out of here!” King Beast orders the guards. The guards begin to drag Mrs. Goo out, but are then frozen in place! It is revealed that Thea shot them with her freeze gun, with Dylan standing right beside her. Mrs. Goo then breaks free from the guards. “You should go, Mrs. Goo.” Dylan urges. “Alright, just as long as you promise you won’t hurt King Beast too badly.” Mrs. Goo says. Dylan nods. “You have my word.” Dylan tells her. Mrs. Goo then runs out of the room. “It was foolish of you to come back, considering you ran like cowards earlier.” King Beast recalls. “That was a mistake on our part. We know the crown is controlling you, and is causing you to act like this.” Dylan reveals. “If you don’t want to get hurt, you should probably take it off.” Thea adds. King Beast begins to maniacally laugh. “He has officially snapped...” Thea mumbles, as Dylan nods. “This crown has given me power and confidence beyond anyone’s wildest dreams!” King Beast notes. “It possessed you!” Thea argues. “No, it clarified things for me! It helped me see that to get anywhere in life, you can’t be nice. You need to be mean, cruel, ruthless, and unsympathetic to those who ask for sympathy. There is no way in hell I am going back to my old life!” King Beast states. King Beast launches an attack at Dylan and Thea, and they both jump out of the way! Thea aims her freeze gun at King Beast, and shoots both of his arms! As King Beast’s arms are frozen in place, Dylan takes center stage, and summons flames fro the floor, which head straight for King Beast! King Beast is hit by the flames, and somewhat damaged. However, the fire melts the ice off of his arms, and he launches a sphere of darkness at Dylan. Thea points her freeze gun at the attack, and fires a ray of ice. Thea’s ice hits King Beast’s attack before it reaches Dylan, and the collision causes a small explosion. In the smoke, Dylan launches a sphere of flames at King Beast, but ends up missing because of the thickness of the smoke. The sphere instead hits a bookshelf, destroying it! “Do you need to borrow a pair of glasses?” Thea asks. “Shut up!” Dylan snaps. King Beast summons up three smaller spheres of darkness, and then unleashes them on his opponents! Dylan and Thea attempt to avoid the attacks, but for some reason, the spheres follow them around the room! “This stupid thing won’t leave me alone!” Thea tells Dylan, as she is running from the sphere. “It must be tracking us somehow!” Dylan says. King Beast begins to maniacally laugh again. “I’ve got an idea!” Dylan says. Dylan runs over to King Beast, and somersaults under his legs. While Dylan is doing this, the sphere of darkness that was following him hits King Beast instead! King Beast falls to the ground, and Thea then does a cartwheel right over him, which causes the other two spheres to hit him! Thea then pulls out her ice gun, and shoots King Beast’s arms and legs, freezing him to the floor! “And that’s that, WE win!” Thea tells King Beast. Thea walks over to King Beast, and pulls the crown off his head! Immediately afterwards, a dark cloud can be seen leaving King Beast’s body. Once the spirit is gone, King Beast passes out from exhaustion. Mrs. Goo returns to the room. “Is it over?” Mrs. Goo asks. “Yeah. You’ll need a good housekeeper, though.” Thea notes. “I don’t care, just as long as King Beast is back to his old self!” Mrs. Goo says. As Thea is holding the crown, it all of a sudden floats out of her hand! “What the...” Dylan begins to say. The crown then floats above Thea, and sits on her head! “Oh dear!” Queen Goo cries out. Thea starts to hold her head in pain. “Its possessing her!” Dylan realizes.
Thea lets go of her head, and then looks at Dylan. “It’ll take more than a little fire to stop me.” Thea notes. “I see you finally decided to stop hiding behind someone else’s identity, like when you possessed King Beast.” Dylan comments. “I admire you for figuring out the truth, but you haven’t won. You could NEVER win against me!” A possessed Thea states. Thea shoots a beam of darkness at Dylan, which Dylan counters by raising flames from the floor, to use as a shield. Dylan then runs over to the china cabinet, and pulls out a plate. “What are you doing with my fine China?” Mrs. Goo asks. Thea fires another beam of darkness at Dylan, and Dylan jumps out of the way. The beam of darkness then destroys the entire china cabinet! Once Dylan is in the clear, he turns towards Thea. “Not today!” Dylan says. He throws the last remaining china plate like a frisbee. The plate flies towards Thea, and ends up knocking the crown right off her head! The crown falls to the floor, and the darkness can be seen vacating Thea’s body. Dylan runs over to the crown, picks it up, and immediately heads onto the balcony. Dylan then chucks the crown off into the trees below, before it has the chance to possess anyone else! Dylan runs back in, and over to Thea. “Are you okay?” Dylan asks. “I’m a little sore, but other than that, I’ll live.” Thea says. Mrs. Goo walks over to them. “Well done, you two!” Mrs. Goo congratulates them. Dylan and Thea smile, and high five each other.

The next day, Thea comes out of her bedroom, and finds that Dylan is already up. “Thanks for letting me stay an extra night.” Dylan tells her. “No problem. You needed the sleep, after the day we had yesterday. So...now that the big bad evil spirit has been defeated, what are your plans now?” Thea questions. “I’m gonna do what I always planned on doing. I’m leaving Fantastic.” Dylan reveals. “Oh, well, good luck, on whatever it is that you do next.” Thea says. “Thanks, and...good luck to you, too, I guess, and...uh, try not to steal anymore.” Dylan says. “That’s not gonna happen, but thanks anyway.” Thea says. “It was worth a shot.” Dylan notes. Dylan opens the door to leave, and finds two men in black suits standing in the hall. “Can I help you fellas with something?” Dylan asks. “Our employer wants to see the two of you.” One of the men says. “Who’s your employer?” Dylan asks.

The scene cuts to the Study in Fantastic Castle, where King Beast and Mrs. Goo are. Dylan and Thea are brought in by the two men. “I see you got this room fixed up, real fast.” Dylan comments. “Thank you for coming.” King Beast says. “We didn’t have much of a choice, thanks to these boneheads. So much for being a changed man, huh King Beast?” Thea remarks. “I apologize. I needed to talk to the two of you, and I wasn’t sure if you would come.” King Beast admits. “What do you want?” Dylan asks. “I’d like to offer the two of you a job.” King Beast reveals. “I’ll pass.” Dylan and Thea both say. “Can you please at least hear me out, before you make a decision?” King Beast asks. “I don’t even live in Fantastic! Before your thugs came and grabbed me, I was on my way out of town!” Dylan notes. “I’m aware of what you are doing, Dylan. You’re running from something.” King Beast assumes. “What gave you that idea?” Dylan questions. “Its just the impression I got from you. It is never a good idea to run, no matter how dangerous the threat may be, because it will always catch up. Besides, you shouldn’t have to spend the rest of your life globe trotting, which is why I am giving you the opportunity to settle down.” King Beast says. “Tell me more about this offer.” Dylan says. “Wait, you can’t seriously be considering this!” Thea protests. “I was impressed with the way the two of you fought me when I was possessed by the crown. You exhibited a great deal of both strength and talent, which is precisely why I wish to hire you. You see, the crown on my head wasn’t the only super villain that has plagued this city. The reason the government cut Fantastic City off was because its abnormal amount of super villains wreaking havoc around the city, people with special abilities that normal humans don’t have, people like the two of you that choose to use their gifts or inventions for evil. Now, as much as I admire the Fantastic P.D, they aren’t equipped to handle people like that, which is why I’d like to hire the two of you.” King Beast reveals. “This is a fantastic opportunity for the two of you, and it would do a great deal to protect the city.” Mrs. Goo chimes in. “You’ve done a good job courting Dylan, but I still don’t see why I should take the job.” Thea notes. “Are you satisfied with your life of crime?” King Beast asks. “Yes.” Thea responds, without even taking time to think about it. “I know you have an unhealthy fondness for money, and I promise that if you come work for me, you will be compensated nicely.” King Beast says. “How much money are we talking here?” Thea asks. “$25,000.” King Beast states. “A year? Screw you.” Thea says. “A month. You will both be making that much in a month, each.” King Beast announces. “Can you even afford that?” Thea asks. “I’m a very wealthy man. I can understand why you might be hesitant to accept the job. Not only does this job interfere with the lives you have planned for yourselves, as abysmal as those may be, but you also don’t trust me entirely.” King Beast notes. “You tried to kill us, after locking us in jail.” Dylan reminds him. “He wasn’t in his right mind!” Mrs. Goo notes. “Thank you for the defense, but it isn’t necessary. They have every right to feel this way.” King Beast states. King Beast turns his attention back to Dylan and Thea. “I am offering you both a purpose, and you should really think about what will likely happen if you don’t accept my offer. Dylan, you will spend the rest of your life wandering across the globe, until what you are running from either catches up to you and consumes you, or you simply just die one day. Thea, no matter how good of a thief you may be, you will eventually get caught, and with all the high profile thefts you have committed, you will likely end up spending the rest of your life in prison. The paths the two of you are currently going down...there is no happy ending!” King Beast claims. “You aren’t offering us a happy ending, either.” Dylan points out. “Yeah, sounds more like a death sentence.” Thea adds. “I know that the job is dangerous, but at least if you die, you will die for a cause, rather than for nothing. Anyway, I’ve made the best argument I can, now, its up to you two to decide.” King Beast states. Dylan and Thea share a glance, and Dylan looks back at King Beast. “I’m gonna need a place to live if I am going to be sticking around.” Dylan notes. “You can crash at my place for now. After all, we’ll need to get to know each other better, if we’re going to be working together.” Thea tells him. King Beast smiles. “Does this mean you’ve accepted my offer?” King Beast wonders. “I have. But if I get the slightest impression that you’ve lied, and you haven’t turned over a new leaf, I’m walking. I’ve been around way too many power hungry monsters in my life, I won’t be around another.” Dylan says. “You don’t have anything to worry about.” King Beast says, as he shakes Dylan’s hand, and Mrs. Goo pulls Thea into a hug.

Later that night, Dylan and Thea are back at her place. “Are you regretting agreeing to work for King Beast yet?” Thea asks. “Yup.” Dylan confirms. “Same, but at least this job isn’t gonna send me to jail or get me killed. Okay, scratch that, it MIGHT get me killed. Anyway, I’m heading to bed. Good night.” Thea tells him. “Night.” Dylan responds. Once Thea is out of the room, Dylan returns to the coffee table. He opens up the folder from before, and pulls out the certificates. Dylan looks through them, and sees that Thea has made several large donations to Alzheimer’s charities…
In the other room, Thea is on her laptop. “This is a long shot, but if anybody can find something out, its me.” Thea says, as she types Dylan’s name into the browser…

Back at the castle, Mrs. Goo and King Beast are sharing a drink in the Living Room. “I haven’t said this enough, but I am so terribly sorry for all the pain I caused you.” King Beast says. “I understand, and I don’t hold you responsible. On another note, it was very smart of you to hire Dylan and Thea. I think they will be a big help.” Mrs. Goo suspects. “I agree. I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership.” King Beast says.