Skyward Epidose 3: Axed Out

Previously on Skyward

 

Soren takes the seat on Nolan's other side, "Heard something interesting over by the market. There's an old fortress about 2 miles out in the forest. Rumor has it that it was occupied by Norman's group for a while."

"Mind getting something for our guest too?" Brad locks Norman out of the cockpit.

"I'm sorry...the more I try to remember, the further my memory seems to slip away." The unknown girl laments, slowly sipping her apple juice.

Nolan stares up at the sky. "Fine...if only a little while."

 

[Opening]

 

> Ｓａｉｎｔ＇ｓ　Ｂｒｏ

Ｉｎｓｉｄｅ　ｔｈｅ　Ｆｏｒｔｒｅｓｓ

 

 Amy lets out a low whistle, "Well this dump has seen better days." She places her hands on her hips as the group surveys their surroundings.

 The building itself is old and decrepit, stone pillars cracking and falling apart in places.

"Yeah..." Nolan looks a bit uneasy, his eyes wary of any possible dangers that could be lurking inside.

Soren claps his hands and marches right on in, "It ain't getting any younger! Lessgo!" He starts going in but Nolan grabs him by the collar. "Whaaaat?"

"I don't like the feel of this place."

Just as he speaks, part of the roof collapses. Soren yelps and falls back, tripping over Nolan. They both get knocked down. "Ow!" "Idiot!"

Amy rolls her eyes and walks around the rubble, carefully avoiding anything that might cause a disturbance.

She kneels down to inspect a loose woodboard and finding nothing, moves on.

The two boys disentangle themselves and go their separate ways in their search for clues.

 

[search montage]

 

[hours later]

 

Nolan kicks a crate out of frustration. "Tch. This was a waste of our time, Sor." He slumps down on the floor, crossing his legs. He rests his chin on a hand and stares at his friend. "I'm so damn tired."

"Calm down, man. Remember it was just a rumor." Soren adjusts his goggles on his forehead as he digs through a pile of old rags.

"I know, I know. I just..." Nolan grumbles, leaning his back against the wall. "I'm tired of finding dead ends."

Soren smiles, and simply nods his head. A faint glimmer catches his eye. "Eh?" He pulls away the last rag on the floor, revealing a handle that had been hidden underneath. "Nolan...?"

 Nolan looks over and he scrambles to his feet. "What is it?"

"The basement? A cellar? We won't know til we check it out." He pulls on the handle only for it to snap off in his hand and send him tumbling back into the rags and crate that Nolan had kicked earlier. "The hell is with me and falling today?!"

"What are you two doing?" Soren looks up to see Amy standing over him, a book in her hands.

He rolls over and clambers to his feet, dusting himself off. "Found a door but..." he holds up the broken handle. "Yeah..."

"What's that your holding?" Nolan asks, coming over to them. Amy briefly blushes but quickly hides it.

"A ledger. The last log recorded here was from a year ago."

 

> Ｓｃｏｔｌａｎｄ　Ｙａｒｄ

 

 "Unacceptable, Chief! We cannot allow these ruffians to roam free!" Officer Axel Jones slams his hands down on the chief's desk. "Are we just going to sit back and let them? There was a crossfire between the Ｓａｉｎｔ＇ｓ　Ｂｒｏ and the Ｎｏｒｍａｎｄｉｅ over our airspace!"

 "Calm yourself, Officer Jones," Chief Celestia continues to write. She sets her pen down and rests her elbows on her desk. "You know as well as I that sky pirates are under the jurisdiction of the Royal Air Force. There is nothing I can do."

 Axel tightens his hands into fists and turns to leave. "I...understand, Ma'am." He goes out into the hallway, closing the door behind him with more force that he had intended.

"Those guys in the Air Force are not capable of catching them as I am. THEY DESERVE TO BE BROUGHT DOWN BY ME. FOR I AM THE LAW!"

>spontaneous combustion in the background.jpg

"The law isn't as loud or as boisterous as you, Mister Jones." A voice waves the background away, her slim green hand fanning her face as she coughs.

"Deputy Sophia..." Axel crosses his arms. "Just the person I wanted to see." He grabs her hand and begins dragging her off to places unknown. "You're coming with me."

"Unhand me!" She tries to yank her hand back, but he refuses to let go. "I'll have you charged for kidnapping!"

 

Ｓａｉｎｔ＇ｓ　Ｂｒｏ

Ｔｈｅ　Ｒｕｉｎｓ

 

The trio are set up around a crate, the ledger lying open between them.

"Says here that they stopped by to grab supplies..." Amy taps the page, glowering at the scribbles. "Though whoever wrote this looks like they have never held a pen before, so it's hard to make out."

Nolan looks it over, flipping through the pages. "Hmm." A photo flutters out of the ledger landing on top of his boots.

"Nols, you dropped something," Soren bends over to pick it up, and dusts it off. "Oh...hey look at this." He held out the picture to his friends, "It looks similar to the one you hung up, Amy."

 The picture depicts Norman standing next to a blue-haired male, two girls one violet-haired and the other blonde. They were all smiling save for the one face they couldn't see. It was a purple-haired girl standing in the background, looking off in the distance.

 "Wonder who she is..." Soren said, rubbing his chin. He turns the picture over, but finds nothing.

"Oh, I think that's...hmm, give the book back," Amy takes the book, and thumbs through the pages until she finds what she's looking for. "Their names are all listed here. Norman Normal...Brad Sentry...Twilight Sparkle." Soren and Nolan snicker over Twilight's last name. "Shh! Uh let's see...Applejack...and Rarity..."

 Nolan tapped the figure facing away from the camera, "That one was not among the crew when I saw them during our brief...chat."

"Maybe she was elsewhere? It's not like the whole crew NEEDS to be in the cockpit." Amy shrugged. Turning towards the cellar door, she began digging through her bag and pulled out a hammer. "Now, let's get this baby opened."

 She brings it down on the door, cracking it open. She drops the hammer with a loud thunk and turns her head back to her two male companions. "Let's go."

Soren and Nolan share a look, and nod.

"Sure thing."

"Ladies first!"

 

Ｉｎ　ａｎ　ｕｎｋｎｏｗｎ　ｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ

 

The lights flicker on, almost blinding Sophie. "Argh!"

Axel lets her go and points straight ahead. "BEHOLD! MY PRIDE AND JOY!"

"A...barracuda?" Sophie stares in awe at the airship, admiring the silver plating and details on the fins.

"INDEED! Something to strike fear into the hearts of all lawbreakers!" he stands at attention, his chest swelling with pride. "Now get in, we're going pirate hunting."

Before Sophie can even registered what's going on, they've already taken off, the ground shrinking away.

"GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"

 

[Credits]

 

Extra scene:

Chibi Brad stares at the credits rolling and looks at the camera. "I'm not even in this episode!" He throws a fit and accidentally cracks the camera. "...oops. Hey are you all ri-" [static]