Showing posts with label 07 ~ Juliet Firebird. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 07 ~ Juliet Firebird. Show all posts

The Maiden's Tale ~ chapter three

Inside the tank, the cannon fires.

Mariposa drives sitting on a book while Mishil works the gunnery sights and Nocturne loads another shell (all loud over the engine).  Yorick watches, fixed sideways to the wall by the suction stand.

Nocturne - "I get that seeing a random fuzzy picture of maybe you with some giant robots is really fucking weird, but honestly.  Who cares !?  That's all it is !  And it's not even that high on the weird scale in my book or hers so what's really bothering you ?"
 
She seals the barrel and smacks Mishil hard on the back.

Mishil - "Fuck !  Doesn't need to be that hard."  She fires.  "It's not just that ... it's ... I've never actually felt like I belong anywhere.  In like any time period in any place and that picture ... it made more emotional sense to me than anything I've felt in a very long time ... except you.  ...  Kind of."

Nocturne - "Kinda !?"  Loads and preps.  Smacks Mishil hard on the back.

Mishil - "I swear to fucking god I'm going to ..."

Mariposa - "I understand !"  (cannon fires)  "I already have the answers all my own and only.  But it really doesn't help to know, when knowing only means you know you shouldn't be at all."

...

Mishil - "... fuck ..."

...

Nocturne - "That's fucking awesome."

Both - "What ?!"

Nocturne - "I'm actually the normallest person in this tank.  I'm the only one here who even belongs in this fucking universe.  I love you guys ..."  She finishes the load and pulls the seal.

...

Mariposa - "I think that actually caused me physical pain."

Mishil - "Yeah that really does sting a bit."

Yorick looks to the side with concern ...

...

Nocturne - "Yeah ..." She slaps Mishil hard on the back (dirty look back), "Cheer up y'adorable damned freakazoids !  We're loaded and locked.  Now lets roll these fools and go home."

Cannon fires.

~ 1923 ~



(B&W with yellowed tint like a silent with music and cartoonish)

A man in a grey suit with a thin pointy mustache exits the patent office, smiling over the papers and directly into the street.  He looks up, wide eyes.

(placard) 

~ The Maiden's Tale ~


~ (exaggerated) The maiden and the man waving their arms and arguing in the car as it bobs side to side).  The police chase behind, over packed and wobbing, shooting wildly in all directions. 

(see Keystone)

The mustached man turns to run, his legs like spinning wheels while the maiden and the man try to wave him aside.  They chase through streets and traffic, the man cartoonishly fast and twirling his legs, always too stupid to be out of the way until finally they turn off different directions at a T intersection.

Breathing hard against a wall, he looks up.  The city planner's office.  His eyes light up with a smile, he straightens his tie and walks in.

~ They park their car among others in front of the bank, the police drive past shooting not seeing.  They run inside.  Inside the bank, the man shoots his gun in the air and everyone's hands go up.

~ Snap-shots flashes and cheers.

The mustached man walks out of the city planner's smiling over his new map, out into the middle of the street.  He looks up.  Eyes go wide.

~ The maiden and the man fuck while the man drives fighting to keep control.  Swaying side to side, money bags bouncing in the backseat, police bobbing and shooting behind.

The mustached man flees through the traffic, their car swerving after.  After a chase he leaps to an intersecting trolley, safe.

(song fades out with the car's distance, police shooting behind)

He breathes ...

Walks to pay the driver directly and turns back for the seats and poles.  The passengers watch the police shooting after the maiden and the man, then at him uncomfortably.  He joins the rest as they whisper watching from the seats.

He leans standing on the pole.

Through the city, he dabs the sweat from his brow, ignores the stares until an uncomfortable smile and nod.  A glance out the window, he hops off at the (same) bank as the trolley clangs away.

He enters and sees the aftermath of the robbery, scene turning to color at the door.  He looks to the man at the loan desk.  He shrugs and shakes his head.

"We got nothin'."


~ while just the other day ... ~


Pragmatism - Tapping the crusted keys at the engineering console, he pulls a rolled up potato chip bag from his pocket and removes a flash drive from it.  Plugs it in and taps around ... "Well ... we have an operating system ... and a virtual environment for the autopilot to plot coordinates."

Strophius - Looking at the potato chip bag suspiciously, "We'll still need that active singularity ... this one was installed only for demonstration and speaking of which, how did you get that data past your core's interference ?"

Nocturne - "Flash data is solid state.  Non magnetic.  Just a lot of tiny hard switches in a mylar bag."

Pragmatism - "And a few did get flipped in the boom, but we've got what we need.  I think.  One functional option left for the Op-Sys ... but the jump drive registers as a printer.  Solitaire's broken but the emulators still work for virtual triangulation plotting.  How's that planetary data look ?"

Strophius - "The probe collected everything we need to jump anywhere around this sun, but only.  They wiped everything clean before archiving the ship ...  but can this ... 'operations controller' ... network so many sub-systems ?"

...

Pragmatism - "Sure !"

The monitor clicks on with a tube start sound, Windows 2000 boots.

('American Horse' by The Cult)


Nocturne - "What about the autopilot ?"

Strophius - Watching a spider drone walk by with suspicion, "I think he's hiding among the spiders.  ...  He's never liked me."


~ Juliet Firebird ~


Outside, a laser light scan of the museum crumbled around the ship, a broken wall fallen over it's hull at its entry.  Surrounded by props and other exhibits of its era among dinosaur bones to decorate a forgotten 'space history' museum, the section mostly devoted The Brotherhood Wars.  The machines and craft appear pulled apart forcefully and devoured.  Scan complete, clicks off.

...

Inside mechanical arms, encrusted swing out to operate the monitors and stations light beneath the moss.  Repair drones pry panels, bending them open and entering.

Through the inner hull a munitions works, scrapping all non-essential for shells.  Well reinforced, and crawling with drones.  Mismatched beams and plates suggest their origin from other museum works and craft over the eras long after buried.

(The fall of this civilization occurred when Zeu killed Chronu 25,000 years ago, the museum shelled in the preceding crossfire.  While the Decibel had already been decommissioned by Chronu long before this, as a danger to his temple.)

Engines fire smoke, filling the museum floor before burning away the relics.  The ramp closes, crimping around the debris of a lost pillar.

A vertical barrage strikes the ceiling while horizontal takes the walls and other displays.  As it rises through the destruction, it bombs the floor beneath, caving the remaining structure away.

It rises until most debris fallen off, then jumps away.

A man stands watching, smoking a pipe at the nearby camp as the dirt from the explosions hits him in the face from the cavern once leading to, others gathering around.

Puffs, "Well ... I guess that makes it go time then."

A flock of small black birds gathers in swarming flight overhead.  Waves like starlings as he watches with curiosity, then gone.
__

Juliet walks through the carney stands and into a passing mist where a man steps out for harm.  With her glare a stiltwalker steps over and lashes his throat dragging him off with a tip of his hat with the smokey passing.

Ahead she watches as all rebuilds to suit her wishes as some passers-by seem malleable and others not, more curious and watching.  A woman real catches her watching with a discerning eye and then a smile and bow, backing from her path.
__

The Decibel exits jump over the Voyager probe, descending from safe distance with extending claws to grab it and pull it into the bay (note here it's filmed very much like the 'space bird').

A claw pulls debris from the clamped ramp before the ship jumps again, Nibiru scout-ships approaching.  They stop to examine the debris, spotlights shining.
__

Juliet walks as the world forms around her, hiding her eyes from the people around, walking faster until returning to the bridge.  One last look across, the carnival completed in brass works and steam, a perfection to her eyes and no one watching.
__

The Decibel exits jump over the Earth and dips for entry.  Visual to virtual mapping recorded as the holo-mapper clicks stuttering on.

Two American fighters move to intercept as forward mapping on the holo registers their AF base and jumps away.

In a hard gust it ports in over the 'AF Boneyard', knocking aside the aircraft wrecks in a circle in the burst.  Ports out and back to knock them away further before settling to the ground, lights going out.
__

Juliet turns to cross back over, seeing a little white mouse with red eyes watching her from the middle of the path.  A squeak.  As she peers closer it doesn't run, so she kneels to pet it before it skitters up her arm and over her shoulder.

Juliet Firebird ~ two

~ The Maiden's Tale ~ chapter three ~ part two ~



The pipe smoking man in the the shanty town surrounding the shattered museum goes shelter to shelter (many eating food grown in the Decibel). 

They all begin to leave, walking to other towns and settlements, doing the same.  Waves of starlings flock over the dwellings and shanty towns, guiding the views along.

~ A patrol lands to check the museum wreckage, abandoned.

More people walk to more shanty towns, among the workers.  All are garbed the same in the cities, old oiled cloaks under hoods, patrols among them, but grown bored and lazy in their ancient status quo.

Starlings through the alleyways.

~ Elizabeth and the general greet the Decibel's opening ramp and the Boneyard (song over).

Pragmatism - "Singularity located ?"
 
Elizabeth - "Stolen.  Seems our girl is ahead of us."

Pragmatism - "Which permutation ?"

Elizabeth - Smiles ... "Mine.  She'll come through."

Pragmatism - "She'd better.  We need it to prime these shells or that's it."

Elizabeth - Smiles turning for the ramp as the Gaslight soldiers march to the opening cargo bay.  "They do come and go you know.  Prep the ship.  After she makes contact ... with me ... I'll be your overseer.  So take good care of her please."

Up the ramp.

General - Walks up beside and slaps a bottle of gin to Pragmatism's chest, "How you holding up ?"

Pragmatism - Opens and drinks, passes.  Looks around and smells the air, smiles.  "Holding.  You ?"

General - Looks up the ramp and back, holds the bottle high.  "Fuck all this shit."  Drinks and passes.

Pragmatism - Holds high, pours a splash, "Fuck it all to hell."  Drinks.
________

A bell rings at the old door.

Turnstile - Feet on her desk next to the blunderbuss and powder bag, looks up.  "You'll need another token to get back in.  No re-entry."

Juliet - Glancing to the desk and back, "I'll take the job.  And the blunderbuss.  Crazy world."

...

Turnstile - "Tell me about it."  Sees Goremouse in her hair ... she whips a fresh broom from her sleeve.  "And one broom.  Done."
________

~ As the Decibel takes off.

Nocturne (Eastern voiced over) - "I can't believe we didn't destroy it ..."

An invasion fleet exits the Nibiru gate (Ishi Tales), ship by ship.  Similarly designed as the current and past, but maintained with superior model and updated design.  Immediately upon exiting the gate, each greater deploys smaller similar to the Decibel, all porting away.
__

Nocturne - Smoking aboard Decibel, "And that was it.  All gone."

Pragmatism - "But you said it was the future ... aren't we pre-empting that ?  Right now ?"

Nocturne - "No.  I didn't say that."  Smokes.  "We were a perfect society.  A world removed.  Everything your world dreamed of, we became.  And with no real ... historical restraints we advanced more quickly.  For what it was fucking worth.  We launched in '77'.  It's called 'The Battle of 77'.  In school."

Pragmatism - "But it wasn't the war."

...

Nocturne - "All we had to do was destroy the gate."

...

Pragmatism - "So ... that makes you the same age as me ?"

Nocturne - "Well. ... I mean I guess so."

...

Pragmatism - "Damn."

Nocturne - "What."

Pragmatism - "You look good."

...

Nocturne - Smiles down, "Thanks."

...

Pragmatism - "You know that one ..." He nods to Timepiece, "Has seen our world die more times than any of us will ever know.  More than any conceivable being."

Timepiece, on the motorcycle, plugged into it, it plugged into the engine, looks up from it's fuselage monitor.  Back down to insert the drive from Dealer Mike.

Pragmatism - "Over and over.  Won't say how many times, won't talk about it.  May not know.  May be older than both of us combined just by reliving it.  Over and over again."

...

Nocturne - "You callin' me a bitch ?"

Juliet Firebird ~ three

~ The Maiden's Tale ~ chapter three ~ part three ~

The Keeper wanders the carnival unnoticed, head down, hiding her eyes under hair, holding her book with both arms.

"There you are."

The Magistrate and Asherah pulling her in for a hug.
 
Asherah - "You made it back ... we couldn't find you."

...

Keeper - "I ... I think I've done bad things ..."  Tears stream.

Magistrate - "Ashua.  You were in a bad wrong world in a bad wrong time and you did what you needed to find your way back to us.  But you know what ?  I don't think you need to live there, ever again."

He kisses her forehead, she drops the book and hugs him.  They stand and walk away, holding her each hand, book left behind in the mist.



Asherah - (voiced over into the next scene), "Now let's go home."

Apollo enters his control room (filmed as 'Ishi Tales'),  A mist drifting through the distant end of the main thoroughfare, people entering from the rubble in rags, greater and greater populous pouring.

Apollo - "Lead ships bomb the courtyard please.  Kill them all and return to dock."

As it a gust of fog passes in a front, Lord Charon and Lady Styx walking.

Out across the Tartarus asteroid belt, spirits cling to stone amid ghostly biospheres.  They look up before they dash across space, intertwining and dividing through the worlds, collecting more.  Then last joined by those of the outer asteroid belt, another people entirely.

Mist wisping in the front he sights the army of Lost Brotherhood.  People begin exiting the rubble surrounding the main thoroughfare to join them.

Nibiru ships dip noses from the docking ring departing. 

Apollo looks the field and arriving ghosts more curiously than concerned, swapping the view modes, the spirits being non-existent on most, while more and more living pour out to fill the field.  A smile and a short laugh.

~ Behind the brotherhood, turtle walkers emerge looming over them as they charge, ghost-ships porting in.

Colorful clouds, lightning across shows a grid-work sky.

The Decibel ports directly in front of the control tower firing fore and dropping bombs along it slight incline, knocking out the turrets and hitting the squared base.  A team chutes in after.

~ Decibel jumps away, tearing at the beaten structure of the command.

Apollo turns running from his console before destruction for the door.  The emergency panels slams behind.  He pulls his rifle off an aching shoulder from beneath the conquered flags and jacks out the long pike blade.

The Decibel ports back over the field, deploying chuted guns to the crowd and firing on the lucky targets to clear their way.
____

Pragmatism - Upon hard landing to the gathering crowd, "They're breached !  Get in before the bombs, and let the ghosts care for the damned !  Raid !  These !  Mother !  Fuckers !"

The full field charges the hole at tower's base, more pouring from the surrounding city.  While the bombs beginning to strike from Apollo's ships, as many scream for shelter as justice.

~ The chuting guns fall ...

Behind, the ghost army swarms for the nearest ships in the air, ground firing pods of dead brigades into their hulls.  More flurry ahead of the living charge while the fortunate gather arms and take point, swarming Apollo's guards gathering at the tower base.

The guards' views of the world become terrifying with sight of the undead among the charging hoard.  Many turn to flee and are taken and disarmed, dispatched before moving on.  Halls haunted, pouring ahead the follow the screams.
____

At the ring control over the primary beam mechanism, Decibel ports back and bombs the light turrets in a flurry, then pounds a hole with the cannons.

Nocturne dives in followed by Timepiece.

~ Decibel ports back to the nose of the lead cruiser then away, pulling it's course sideways.  Back over another, bombing run across it's surface ending with a hard hit on it's engines, finishing them with a port.  Returns showing the fore cannon of another with the debris of the other.

Inside the ring, gathering guards on either side of the breach above, they back to back and prepare.  The no-birds flock through, filling the hall in a swarm, knocking back the nearest attackers.  It gathers and turns form before Nocturne.

No-Queen - "Hi."

Nocturne - Smiles, "... hi."

The No-Queen Pulls her into a kiss (with Timepiece about to attack, then pulled in back to back by the neck, vaguely gently).

Timepiece - Struggling to turn and see, "You ... manage a complicated love life for ... facing the end of our worlds."

Nocturne - As the No-Queen pulls away, looking down shyly, she smiles.  "yeah ... i do ..."

The No-Queen smiles back, then splits her flock into two and clearing the halls to alien screams, gone.

Nocturne - "... her name is Shumi."

... distant screams ...

Timepiece - Locks through her eye pieces (annoyed) and loads her gunblades, "I'd really like to destroy things now."

Nocturne - Smiles after the screams ... "yeah ... me too ..."  Sees her staring.  The eyes.  "Yeah.  Let's go."

They turn running.
__

Apollo notes the lack of guards at the elevator, two guns on the floor and discarded insignia sashes.  He kicks them aside and enters, works the controls, the door stutters ... he pounds the panel hard.

Head up, Strophius' gunblade an inch from his eye.

Strophius - Smoke from his mouth as he speaks, filling the elevator, "She was right."  He shoots.

The door closes.
________

Nocturne - Firing down a filling hall, "Speaking ... of 'complicated' ... did you know ... you're dating ... the zombie queen of England ?!"

Timepiece - "Not your concern right now !"  She launches the blades, clearing the front and runs to advance, loading more.  She smiles ... then slashes into screams.

Nocturne - Shouts after, "Like it won't be later !?"  Ignored and watching, to herself.  "Hm.  Really thought being an unkillable super soldier would be more useful here."

Shot in the back of the head, blowing her helmet off and face-plant.

Nocturne - Pushing back up, "! Finally !"  Leaping into attack, firing from the left, she throws a ribbon blade with the right (alien Wilhelm).
____

The elevator passes down, lights through the view, smoke drifting across the lights.
____

ring part ...
____

The elevator further down ...
____

goes here ...

and ...

The crumbling ring, gate shutting down before demolition ... (yay !)
____

The door opens to the view over his headless body, identity ignored and unknown among the masses overtaking the guards in a riotous noise.  A random cloaked Nibiru worker pries the gun from his hands and continues the fight as it rages down the hall, leaving silence.

(credits)


(the performers listed as DOOM monsters)

Remember the two frame flat monsters that looked like they were dancing while throwing fireballs ?  It plays through as the 'Dance Lessons' scene (barely) in 32 bit while the view shoots through the non-party demons (cast credits, they choose their beast).

Weapons out of ammunition one by one, down to the chainsaw.

(1:31ish)

~ mid-song pause after credits ~

Outside the gate to Persephone's manor, undamaged with no sign of fire on the house or lawn.  Yet the gate chain's been cut and left as was piled, only the normal latch on the gate.  A dragon silhouette crosses the moon with a distant roar ... gargoyle heads turn watching.

Women's voices in the dark, shadows in the bushes shaking the leaves.

1 - "I can't believe you call this a date night."

2 - "Last time worked out great !"

...

1 - "Sure.  So what the hell is with all the zombies."

2 - "I heard it's got secret passages to the underworld.  Like Versailles.  I hit Versailles once you know.  Looking for airship designs.  Someone else got there first so I took it out on the treasury.  Before our time."  Laughing, "DeBaatz was pissed !  Nearly shot his own guard.  Ever been ?"

1 - "I took a bath there once and had to kill a shit talking gnome."

...

2 - "Really ?"

1 - "Yeah.  It was when you were hanging out with your creeper friend."

2 - "Keeper.  She's nice !"

1 - "Like hell.  She's going to kill you."

2 - "No she won't."

...

1 - "Fine.  But it's still stupid, those are zombies, and I am not leaving this bush."

...

2 - "Let's ... just focus on training the new girl."

1 - "You mean date night."

...

3 - "Are we highwaymen yet ?"

(1:00 continues, boring credits continue 'til the end)

~ The end of Persephone's Manor, volumes I and II ~