THE SPACE RATS' EPISODE GUIDE | |
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TITLE:"The Sleeping Princess" (official)"The Tree of Life" (mine) WRITTEN BY:"The Blob" |
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Teaser -- Notes --
Synopsis -- Neat Stuff/Analysis --
Snapshots --
Quotes Previous Episode -- Next Episode -- Episode Index | |
The Lightning League (LL) springs into action. At Jayce's command, Herc uses the ship's laser to blast a path through the vines. The troopers attack the ship with their lasers, but the Pride is well armored. Herc blasts vines and troopers and the ship plows its way right through the tangle. They emerge safely on the other side, having severed the vines that held the two asteroids together. Behind them the asteroids slowly drift apart.
As Jayce helps Herc secure the ship after the battle, Gillian announces that they're almost there. "Almost where?" Jayce asks. "To the planet where your father is waiting," Gillian replies. Incredulous, Herc explains that there isn't a planet nearby... and if there were then he would know about it. Gillian tells him he'll learn about it the hard way if he doesn't prepare the ship for a landing. Herc is still unconvinced--but just then the ship begins to shake.
The emptiness of space is filled now with strange lilypad like plants--floating all around the ship. Flora is standing by the windows at the front of the bridge and she sees them. "Plants!" she exclaims. "Where?" demands Herc. "Everywhere!" Flora replies.
Gillian explains that the plants are telepathic, and that they form a kind of shield that keeps the planet hidden from outside eyes. Jayce replies happily that if such plants guard this planet, his father is sure to be there waiting for them. The Pride navigates past the plants and lands on the planet. A young woman dressed in Egyptian style clothing watches the ship land.
Jayce and the League use the lift to leave the ship. They look around them to find a barren, desolate land. No plants or trees seem to grow, and the sky is dark and foreboding. Faint forms of the telepathic guard plants can be seen high in the sky beyond the gloom. Jayce looks around and catches sight of the young woman who had watched them land as she starts to run away. Jayce chases after her, explaining who he is, and that he's a friend.
When the woman hears the name Jayce, she stops running. "I'm looking for my father," Jayce explains. "So you're Jayce," says the woman. Surprised that she knows of him, Jayce learns that his father has been to this world... but that he has since left. The young woman, a Lady in Waiting to the Princess Kiandra, explains that the planet Treton was being over run by the MM. Audric waited for Jayce as long as he could, but in the end, he was the only one who could lead Treton's people to safety.
Gillian asks if Audric left word about where he was going with Treton's people. The lady in waiting replies that the princess Kiandra knows.... but when Jayce asks where Kiandra is, the lady in waiting's expression becomes downcast and she explains: "She's in the cave."
The lady in waiting leads the League deep into a large cave. There, a beautiful young woman in egyptian dress floats in an enchanted sleep. The lady in waiting explains that in addition to being the world's princess, Kiandra is their only link with the plants that guard their world. Jayce tells Gillian to wake the princess up.
Suddenly, a voice comes from back up in the cave. A suave, gray haired man dressed in black and red surprises everyone. (No one notices he's there until he speaks.) "Nothing can awaken her," he says matter-of-factly. "She's been enchanted."
"So it appears," Gillian agrees. "Who would do that?" Jayce demands. The man in black's only reply is an indignant huff. Flora points out in a distressed voice that the telepathic guard plants will die if the princess doesn't wake up, and begs Jayce to do something. Jayce turns to Gillian and asks him to wake up the princess with his magic. Gillian tries a spell, but to no avail. The sleek man in black looks on the whole time with a smug expression on his face.
When Gillian's spell fails, Jayce surmises that now all that can be done to awaken the princess is to find the one who put the spell on her in the first place. To that, Gillian replies: "We've already found him." Gillian points to the man in black, who sneers and runs off. "Parawan?" asks the Lady in Waiting, quite shocked at the suggestion, "But that's impossible." But Gillian explains that one wizard knows another wizard when he sees one.
Our heroes regroup at the ship. While several of the LL vehicles form a defensive perimeter around the Pride on automatic battle program, Gillian digs through a bunch of stuff in his trunk of magical goodies. At last, he pulls out a small, oval gilded mirror. "This mirror can read people's minds," he explains. He tells Jayce to bring Parawan to him... then he can use the mirror to learn the spell that was used to enchant the princess. Jayce and Oon head off in Drill Sergeant (DS) to bring Parawan in.
Parawan is not happy about the fact that Jayce is coming after him. He declares that this is his world now, and no one is taking it away from him. With a good deal of smoke and mirrors and magical posturing, he throws a spell at Jayce and Oon. Red disks fly through the air around DS, and huge glowing spikes erupt out of the ground around the Vehicle. Only with quick reflexes is Jayce able to maneuver around them. He calls to Gillian for help.
Gillian steps out into the open air on top of the Pride. "We'll see whose magic is stronger," he says calmly. Without all the special effects, Gillian simply waves he staff in a wide arc. A thin trail of golden magic leaves his staff. It moves quickly to Parawan's stronghold, and zaps him good. Parawan's concentration is broken, and the spell attacking DS dissipates.
Parawan recovers quickly from his zapping. He straightens himself out, and shouts: "Hah! How dare you? Taste this!" Parawan hunches forward and clenches his hands into fists, closing his eyes in concentration. A green aura glows over him.
The ground in front of Drill Sergeant suddenly opens up into a huge chasm. DS is going far too fast to stop. It hurtles into the chasm, but in the nick of time, Gillian throws another spell against Parawan's magic. Falling stones form into a bridge, which DS drives across. Once DS is safely on the other side of the chasm, the stones fall away again.
After this, Parawan seems to realize that he's magically out of his league. "He's not going to stop me!" Parawan rants. His soldiers bow to him. "No one can stop me!" Parawan continues. "For this, I'll do anything."
In his throne room, Sawboss smiles with anticipation. "I've been searching for this planet all my life, and now it comes to me!" he announces. After he speaks, Sawboss forms a telepathic communication link to Parawan. Parawan proposes a "deal" with Sawboss, in exchange for Sawboss's protection, Parawan promises to capture Jayce. Sawboss shuts Parawan out for a moment. He doesn't think Parawan will be able to capture Jayce, but tells his troopers: "Capturing Jayce means nothing now. Once I join my MM with those psychic plants, nothing in the universe will stop me!" Looking forward to the power he can gain, Sawboss smirks and tells Parawan: "Of course you've got a deal."
Meanwhile, Jayce and Oon close in on Parawan's stronghold. Before they get there, however, they see a group of Monster Mind troopers moving with purpose down in a canyon. Oon wonders where they're going, and Jayce realizes that they're headed for the barge. Jayce tells Herc that the MM are on their way, then voice commands the vehicles to defend the barge. Then he and Oon break off their pursuit of Parawan and head back to help with the ship's defense.
Jayce and Oon must fight their way through the MM to get back to the ship. But when they get there, they find the ship covered in flames. Sawboss sees this also, and laughs triumphantly. "Now the Universe is MINE!!!!" Sawboss declares, as Jayce and Oon look at the burning ship in horror.
Some time later, at his stronghold, Parawan angrily sends his guards off to search for Jayce, who by now has infiltrated the building. Jayce creeps quietly among the shadows. Before he can make it to Parawan's throne room, he is discovered by the guards. Jayce jumps through a window and escapes into a courtyard, but is soon cornered by Parawan's guards. Parawan comes out into the courtyard to deal with Jayce personally.
Parawan postures menacingly, and laughs at Jayce. "Now for your imprisonment!" Parawan declares. He starts to dramatically call up a spell. Jayce doesn't wait for the theatrics to finish. He braces himself and calls upon the ring. Bolts of lethal energy fly from Parawan's hands, but the ring's magic causes Parawan's spell to fall apart. Rings of blue energy surround Parawan, and when the dust settles he falls to the ground with his hands magically bound together. Jayce grabs Parawan, Oon drives up with DS, and our heroes make their escape from Parawan's stronghold with the wizard in tow.
Later, everyone gathers in the Princess's cave. Parawan struggles against his bonds and demands to be let go. Gillian brings out the mirror, and invokes its magic. Parawan laughs at Gillian's efforts, and brags that he'll never reveal the spell. But after one glance at the magic mirror, Parawan is forced into a trance. At Gillian's urging, Parawan reveals the spell without further protest. "We should have used this earlier," Gillian remarks.
Gillian goes over to the princess and uses Parawan's spell: Ga Zuchiba Wanda Boba-wojik! to awaken the princess. Kiandra's enchantment is broken. At first she is quite disoriented, but when she learns that Jayce is the son of Audric, she offers to guide him to his father. But then she swoons, as though she's feeling a great pain. Her lady in waiting explains that Kiandra is feeling the death of the plants. Gillian surmises that Parawan broke Kiandra's psychic harmony with the plants while she was sleeping.
Kiandra explains that now the Monster Minds will reach the tree of life-- the source of all the psychic plants. When that happens, their world will die. "Then we'll have to get to the tree of life first!" Jayce declares. "Even if we could, I ... I don't have the strength," Kiandra explains. "Maybe we do," says Jayce. He turns to Flora. Flora agrees to try and help.
Jayce takes Flora and Kiandra with him in Armed Force. With the other LL vehicles to help them fight, they race toward the Tree of Life... with many MM in close pursuit. Some MM are in front of them too, and they must fight their way through. Jayce calls for Herc to give them some cover from the air. Herc uses the Pride's laser to dig a huge trench behind AF. The pursuing MM troopers crash into the chasm, freeing Jayce to hurry onward to the tree of life. Pleased with his own handiwork, Herc sits smugly back in the pilot's chair and says: "So, there's eight of them, and one of me!"
Jayce drives as quickly as he can across a barren plain. At last, they see a huge tree, hundreds of feet tall, growing up from a large pedestal. It's branches spread over a wide area--with small, lilipad like leaves and flowers growing up from each branch, then turning gray and falling to dust in a matter of moments, over and over again. "The tree is dying!" Kiandra explains worriedly. She is weakened by the weakness of the tree. Jayce helps her climb the many steps up to the base of the tree. Flora follows along behind.
Kiandra steps up and places her hands on the tree. "Please, we need you to live. We'll all die without you!" she cries, but the tree continues to weaken. Flora runs forward and clings to the tree, begging it not to give up. "Try!" Flora cries. "Take all my strength if you have to, but try. Please?"
Flora and Kiandra clutch at the tree, looking up at it with tears brimming in their eyes. Amidst all of the psychic plants that are born and immediately die, one tiny flower grows strong, and the light from its flower brightens. Then another survives, followed by hundreds more. Light from the tree of life soon sparkles brilliantly among its branches, and the tree is saved. Relieved, Flora hugs the tree and breaths: "Thank you. Thank you!"
But even with this victory, it's not over yet for Jayce. Hundreds of MM troopers are headed his way now. Jayce, Kiandra and Flora try to flee in Armed Force. Jayce is set for a fight, but before he knows it, golden beams of energy come down from above, causing the MM troopres to go out of control. Jayce pulls AF to a stop, and looks on, amazed, as the MM troopers crash into each other. "What?" he exclaims. Flora gleefully explains that the tree of life is protecting them... and that the tree won't let the MM have the psychic plants!
Later, the recovery of the tree of life can be seen throughout the land. What was once a barren plain is now covered with grasses, and the sky is bright. Kiandra and her lady in waiting meet Jayce by the Pride's ramp to say goodbye. Kiandra hands Jayce the transmittor that Audric left for him, and their hands touch. They both pause, and look up at each other, embarrassed. Jayce manages to say: "Thanks. Ah... goodbye," then heads for the ramp.
"Wait!" Kiandra calls after him. "I can show you the way!"
"No!" Jayce protests. He tells Kiandra that she must stay--she is a vital link between her people and the tree of life. Kiandra cries over the wind that she'll remember him, as the ramp begins to rise. Jayce says he'll remember her too, then crouches down to keep sight of her as long as he can before the ramp closes, and shouts goodbye. Kiandra shouts her goodbyes as well, and sadly watches as the Pride lifts off into the sky.
Later, Jayce stares off sadly at the darkness of space, thinking of Kiandra. Concerned, Oon urges his master to cheer up. Jayce tells Oon he's fine, while Herc rants to Gillian in the background: "Yup. There were two-hundred of them, and one of me. Hey, are you listening? There were two hundred of them... and only one of me...." as the Pride flies onward in search of Audric and the Lightning League's next adventure.
Ep. 7: "The Sleeping Princess":
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Synopsis -- Neat Stuff/Analysis --
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