In the inn room, the team gathers and packs items into bags, preparing for a trip. Meanwhile, Cyrus works on constructing a machine, tweaking its wires with a screwdriver. Pixal approaches him.
Pixal: Sir, if you wish to accompany us, I would gladly assist you.
Cyrus: Thank you, Pixal, but I am not a fighter. (shakes his head) I wouldn’t be able to contribute.
Pixal: I doubt that, sir. Your mental capacities and problem-solving skills are keen and would serve us well.
Cyrus (smiles): Thank you. But I’m sure you could serve that role just as well as me. Though, I am in the process of creating something that could potentially help you. It is not quite finished yet, but I will send it to you when ready.
Pixal: How?
Cyrus: Ah. You will see.
Acronix wanders over, his gaze darting to the contraption Cyrus is constructing.
Acronix: New technology?! Oooo! It’s so shiny! Can I have—
Cyrus: Absolutely not.
Acronix: Oh, phooey.
Ultra Violet: You guys are taking forever. Are you ready yet?
Morro (shoving more items into a bag): Just a minute…
The scene transitions. Fugi-Dove, Acronix, Morro, Garmadon, Ronin, Pixal, Ultra Violet, and Killow walk across the desert. It is just before sunrise: light enough to see but still dim.
Fugi-Dove and Acronix whisper together, chuckling. Morro sneaks up behind them, trying to eavesdrop but Fugi-Dove spots him, shooing him away.
Fugi-Dove: Go away, mosquito!
Acronix (in a sing-song voice): I think he’s jealous!
Morro (scoffs): I am not. I have no desire to join your weirdo club.
Fugi-Dove: You mean the Awesome Club of Awesomeness?
Acronix (delighted): YES. Best. Name. EVER.
Acronix and Fugi-Dove high-five each other.
Acronix: Wait. You know what I’m thinking?
Fugi-Dove gasps.
Fugi-Dove: We need a…
Acronix & Fugi-Dove: SECRET HANDSHAKE!!!
Morro groans. Garmadon chuckles at Morro’s annoyance. Ultra Violet rolls her eyes and continues to file her fingernails with her dagger. Killow, oblivious, hums to himself until he spots something in the distance.
Killow (points with a finger): Look!
A massive sandstone fortress rises out of the desert, colored red by the sunrise. Large banners of the Sun King’s eagle and sun symbol drape from it. Sentries strut around the tops of the outermost walls, scanning for potential intruders.
Acronix: How the heck are we supposed to get into that place?
The group thinks, their foreheads wrinkling.
Killow: Wait just a minute!
Killow sprints away. The team glances at each other, surprised.
Killow returns minutes later pulling a large cart full of hay.
The team gazes at him in a dumbfounded silence.
Ronin: Buddy, where did you get that?
Killow: I found it!
The team looks at him skeptically.
Killow: Well, I mean it was just lying at the side of the road next to a few horses tied to a stake… (mumbles) With a sleeping person next to them…
Pixal: Killow! That’s stealing!
Killow: Well, their owner obviously doesn’t care about them, falling asleep like that! And I didn’t steal the horses. (He smiles) I set them free.
Pixal: Oh no.
Ultra Violet (pointing at the cart): How does that help us?
Killow (smiling): Trust me, I saw this in a TV-show once. It will work.
Fugi-Dove: Don’t worry! If Killow’s plan fails, Acronix and I have another one.
Acronix: Yes! And it’s pretty awesome, I must say.
Fugi-Dove and Acronix perform their “secret” handshake: high-five each other and then wiggling their hands and wings together.
Morro: So immature.
Acronix: Look in the mirror, jealous!
Garmadon shakes his head, muttering “idiots” under his breath.
The scene transitions to two guards standing at the main gate of the fortress. Killow walks up to them, pulling the wheelbarrow full of hay.
Guard #1: Who goes there?
Killow: I’m just a friendly citizen bringing some hay for the horses. The horses are verrrry hungry for some yummy hay. Mmmm.
Guard #2: We need to see a formal ID, sir.
Killow: Uh… Uh…
Fugi-Dove and Acronix leap from the pile of hay. They point squirt guns at the guards.
Fugi-Dove (coos): Surrender or face the wrath of Fugi-Dove!
Acronix: ANNNND Acronix!
The guards jump, surprised, and aim their spears at them.
Fugi-Dove: NOW!
Fugi-Dove and Acronix squirt the guards in their faces and open mouths. The guards blink as the liquid hits them, dazed. For a minute they stand still, then they begin to tremble slightly, as if on a sugar high.
Guard #1: Oooh look, Benny! (Pointing at Fugi-Dove) A giant, fluffy bison!
Guard #2: I know, man. Isn’t he majestic??
The two guards approach Fugi-Dove and stare at him in awe.
Guard #1: Maybe it’s friendly!!!
The rest of the team climbs out of the hay, looking uncomfortable and disheveled. This quickly turns to confusion as they peer at the scene before them.
Ultra Violet: What. The. Heck.
Garmadon: Ah. That explains it.
Killow: What?
Garmadon: Acronix was asking me about potentially dangerous desert plants two nights ago. I told him of a particular cactus that would induce hallucinations to whoever drinks its juice. I then found out that Acronix only wanted to use this information to prank Morro because he asked for plants that wouldn’t dissolve but very much annoy a “ghosty ghost.”
Morro: ACRONIX!
Acronix (grins guiltily): Whaaaat?
Ronin (to Morro): Hey, bub. Chill. At least he didn’t want to kill you.
Morro (mumbles): That’s a low bar.
Pixal: Quick! Let’s get inside now before the other guards notice us!
The team sprints inside the gates, leaving the guards to mumble to one another in a cheerful, dream-like state.
The team emerges in a magnificent courtyard. The Sun King’s symbol is etched in the courtyard’s center in an intricate mosaic. Four large golden sundials inlaid with gemstones glimmer at each edge. Guards march around in single-file lines.
The team ducks behind one of the sundials.
Ultra Violet (looking at the sundial): Who even uses these anymore?
Acronix (groans): Ugg. This is sooo old fashioned. This Sun King has no taste.
The team slowly makes their way across the courtyard, darting behind decorative trees, vases, and sculptures.
Ronin (looking at the sculptures): Man, the dough I could get for these.
Morro (hisses): Ronin, focus!
The team enters the stronghold and begins to creep down a hallway. Suddenly, a set of guards appear at its end. Before they can yell, Fugi-Dove and Acronix spray them with their squirt guns.
While the team makes their way through the stronghold, Pixal scans the walls for hidden cameras, lasers, and technology that can deter them. However, her scans come up empty.
Pixal: There’s no technology or modern contraptions anywhere. Bizarre.
The team darts into another corridor and sees a large golden sign that reads:
“HIS MAJESTY’S THRONE ROOM”
Garmadon: Huh. That’s obvious.
Morro: Maybe a little too obvious.
Ronin (nods at Morro): Be careful, everyone. (To Pixal) Let us know if you sense anything, Pix.
Pixal nods.
The team enters the throne room. Gold and gemstones drip from every conceivable surface. Large paintings of the sun, sundials, and eagles line the room. At the very end, there’s a silver throne inlaid with lapis lazuli. Two massive hourglasses flank the throne, silver sand trickling through them gradually into the cavities below. The room is entirely symmetrical, except for a bizarrely large scarlet rug that takes up the left third of the room.
Ronin (noticing the rug): Hmmm. That’s weird.
Fugi-Dove (pointing upwards with his wing): Look!
Right above the throne, haloed by bright golden slashes in the stone around it lies a ruby the size of the bowling ball. Its many facets twinkle in the light streaming in from the throne room’s extensive windows.
Morro: The Bane of Shiian.
The team moves towards the ruby.
Guard #3: FREEZE, RENEGADES!
A swarm of guards surge into the room, surrounding the team on all sides.
Fugi-Dove, Killow, and Acronix raise their arms in surrender. Pixal, Garmadon, Morro, Ronin, and Ultra Violet attempt to fight back but are subdued by the sheer amount of bandits (Morro with deepstone chains and the rest with rope).
Guard #3 (turns to speak in the direction of a shadowed corridor beside the throne room): Your majesty, we caught the renegades who so blatantly intervened in your dealings in Oasis and broke into your fortress.
Shadowed figure: Well done. It’s about time my minions did something right.
Fugi-Dove trembles. Acronix looks up in interest.
A man’s voice off-screen (to the team): So you really think you could waltz into my fortress and take the ruby? How foolish. You wouldn’t have made it a foot inside here if it wasn’t for my specific instructions to my underlings.
Shock coats Acronix’s features.
The Sun King steps into the light of the throne room. A twisted gold crown sits on his brow. Long purple robes drape over his body. He looks at his new prisoners with glee.
Morro (whispers): Oh, no.
Krux (to Acronix): Hello, little brother.
The screen cuts to black. A dramatic outro plays. The credits roll.
_________________________________________
Writer’s Note: Do I reference two other tv shows in this one? (Shrugs) Perhaps. We may never know.
Thanks for reading! Message me if you would like to be pinged!
Links to previous episodes:
Ep. 1: “Pixal and Cyrus fall off the face of the earth”
Ep. 2: “Acronix loses a footrace”
Ep. 3: “Morro desecrates a sacred artifact”
Ep. 4: “Garmadon adopts an explosive mushroom”
Ep. 5: “Acronix and Pixal destroy everyone (and Pixal makes smoothies)”
