So several of my random questions have asked something food related. Let's change things up a bit. For anyone who reads this, let me know your favorite fight scene in the Alan Becker-verse. It can be anything from Alan vs. Vic in AvA1 to Green vs. the Silverfish in AvM35. Just so long as two sides are trading some sort of blows, I'll count it as a fight. OK, enough talk, let's fight. Or just get to the RECAP TIME! Whichever comes first.
While making their way through the swamp, King notices Gold is apart from their pack. Upon noticing this, the Squad splits into different directions looking for Purple's older brother, Purple recruiting Green and the Bears in the process. While on his search, Purple hears something and goes to investigate. As he does, Gold emerges from the bushes in a panic, desperately telling Purple that they need to escape. Gold drags Purple with him away from the swamp, and once morning breaks, Gold tells Purple what happened to him: He met a Wolf in a bar. The rest of the Squad rejoins them and Gold tells them what happened. Terrified, Red explains who this Wolf is: The physical manifestation of Death itself, and he fears that the Wolf is after all of them.
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===GUESS THE POV!===
Gold looked back at me with an expression of shock on his face. As much as I didn’t want to tell him, I had to. The Wolf, the most epic villain in all of DreamWorks, was here. All of us, not just Gold, looked at each other in shock, stunned expressions in all of our faces, especially Candy’s. Outside of Gold, she seemed the most spooked out of all of us, but she tried to de-escalate the situation.
“OK, OK, OK… This isn’t real, guys. This is all virtual.” She insisted.
“That’s what I thought, too,” Gold replied, “until the Wolf gave me this.” He showed us all a scar on his forehead that was hidden under his bangs. It looked fresh as well. Candy took a close look at it.
“No… No no no no no this isn’t happening… This cannot be happening…” Panic crept into her voice.
“It’s just VR, right?” King asked. “Just take off the headsets.”
“This isn’t VR any more, Dad.” Purple explained desperately. “We’re inside the movie.”
“Impossible.” Yellow insisted, reaching for his face. “Wait… what became of my headset?” Everyone else followed suit, reaching for their faces. I did the same, only to be just as shocked as everyone else upon realizing that this was no longer VR. We were inside the movie. We looked at each other in a panic.
“Wh- What’s going on?!” Blue asked desperately. “Candy?”
“I- I don’t know!” Candy confessed, also in a panic. “This was not how I told Bishop to program it.”
“You don’t think the dude is still working against us?” Green asked.
“No! There’s no way!” Candy insisted.
“Of course you’d vouch for him.” Gold quipped. “You’re his boss. Candy, I almost died! Like permanently died!”
“I know we shouldn’t have done this.” King said, shaking his head worriedly. “I could’ve lost my son again because of a VR experience.” He sighed deeply, pain in his voice. “How could I have let this happen? Again?!” He took off.
“Dad, wait!” Purple called, racing after him. Gold followed him.
“Wait… ‘Again?’” Candy repeated slowly. “What does he mean by that?”
“Well, you remember the Incident, Candy?” I explained. She nodded, confirming this. “Well, Gold was the one lost in the simulation.”
“That’s why I was so hesitant to join.” SC added. “And I’d imagine King was as well.”
“Oh jeez, I… I didn’t realize…” Candy said, her voice starting to crack as if she were crying.
“It’s not your fault, it’s mine.” I assured her. “I was the one who had this idea. I was the one who pushed so hard for this. I was the one who dreamed of this… And now my dream has turned into a nightmare… for all of us.” I looked up at the guys with tear-stained eyes. “Guys, I…”
“We forgive you, Reddy Bear.” Blue said gently before I could finish.
“We haven’t lost anybody.” Green assured me. “We’ll make it through this together, bro.”
“I recommend locating the Tango family.” Yellow added. “I can only imagine how distraught King currently is.”
“I agree.” Candy confirmed. “Plus, I need to make amends.”
We followed the path and soon found the three Tangos, King leaning against a tree in desperation, with Purple and Gold flanking their grieving father. As we got closer, we heard them talking.
“Dad, it’ll be OK.” Purple said comfortingly. “You haven’t lost us.”
“And you won’t lose us.” Gold added.
“I’ve seen you unleash your lion before.” Purple continued. “I’m sure you can channel that again.”
“I appreciate your words, kids,” King began, “I just feel like an unworthy parent.”
“Wh- What do you mean?” Gold asked, a little shaken.
“I’m supposed to protect you two. It’s my job as a father, but now you’re in danger and it’s partially because of me. If I had just stood my ground… If I had said, ‘No,’ we would be home safe and sound.” King was on the verge of tears, which was a shock to me. I’ve always thought of him as a rock, a firm foundation, but I guess we’re all shakable at some points. “Goldy, I made your late mom a promise that I would raise you right, but how can I do that when you’re being put in legit danger because of me?”
“Dad…” Purple said, tears in his eyes, “it’s not your fault. You’re still a great father. You mean the world to me. You’re exactly what I need, you were then, and you still are now.” He threw his arms around King, and Gold did as well.
“And I think if Mom was still here,” Gold added, “she’d be proud of you. You’re raising me right, you’re keeping me safe… I’m just not raising myself right.” King couldn’t help but smile as he wiped tears from his eyes.
“You’re a great father, one of the greatest, and I don’t think I’m alone in that sentiment.” Purple said, locking eyes with us. King looked up at us through his tear-stained eyes.
“King, we love you like a father.” SC confirmed, nodding.
“And we love you dearly… Dad.” I professed sheepishly.
“You’re the equivalent of the father figure my brothers and I never had.” Yellow confessed.
“You’re a great fighter, dude, and you have my respect.” Green added.
“We’ll be a family, and nothing will ever separate us.” Blue said confidently.
“Kids… my beloved kids… Thank you.” King said. I ran up to him and hugged him, Purple, and Gold, the guys right behind me. King hugged us back, and dried his eyes. He then saw Candy behind us.
“King… I’m sorry for putting you and your kids through this.” She apologized. “I promise you, I never meant for this to happen. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but I swear… I’ll do whatever I can to make it right.”
“We all will.” I affirmed, releasing King to stand at Candy’s side. “We’ve faced Vic, we’ve faced Flodge, we’ve faced the literal Dark Lord! This is child’s play compared to them.”
“You’re right.” King agreed, regaining his composure. “Red, you know DreamWorks more than any of us. What do we do?” After a moment of thought, I knew what was next.
“To the kingdom of Duloc. Let’s play through this as if we were the protagonists. And maybe Lord Farquaad will give us some answers.”
We all nodded in agreement and ran down the path toward the castle, the kingdom of Duloc, home of Lord Farquaad. I could tell there was a lot of tension between us, especially between some of the guys and Candy. No doubt they partially blamed her for getting us stuck here, but I didn’t want to believe she did this deliberately. Candy herself was looking very distressed, almost on the verge of tears while we ran toward Duloc. I had to stop and comfort her several times along the way.
“Don’t worry, Candy, we’ll get out of here.” I assured her. She looked at me.
“I just don’t know fully how we got in here in the first place.” She admitted.
“However we got here, we’re getting out.” I promised. “In the meantime… Let’s enjoy getting to know some of the characters, the heroes, the villains.” Candy chuckled.
“Ever the optimist, Reddy Bear.”
“And you’re still so sweet, Candy.”
As we approached Duloc, we saw the massive castle in the distance. It’s even bigger in person, making me wonder again if Farquaad is making up for his short stature. We stepped through the gates one-by-one and stumbled upon the singing puppet machine with one of the best gags in the movie.
“Ooh, I know this thing!” I said eagerly, pointing to the machine.
“What’s that?” King asked.
“It’s a machine! You pull the lever and cute little puppets sing a song welcoming you to Duloc!” I explained.
“Cute…” SC noted, not fully sure how to react. I pulled the lever anyway. After a moment of random ticking, the puppets sang their song.
“Welcome to Duloc, what a perfect town
Here we have some rules, let us lay them down:
Don’t make waves, stay in line
And we’ll get along fine,
Duloc is a perfect place!
Please keep off of the grass,
Shine your shoes, wipe your… face!
Duloc is… Duloc is… Duloc is a perfect place!”
The machine then snapped a picture of us and printed it. I smiled for it, but everyone else was just visibly confused. I showed it to the guys, and they just shrugged me off for the most part.
“You gotta get your head in the game, bro.” Green said flatly. “We’re trying to get home.”
“I’m trying to lighten the mood!” I exclaimed. “Is that too much?”
“Oh, speaking of which,” Purple began, “Goldy, what else happened to you? With the Wolf?”
“Well, to put it simply, he kicked my butt, nearly killed me.” Gold explained, shuddering. “He didn’t seem interested in killing me at first, but he was just luring me, getting me to strike first for him to retaliate harder. Oh, and he said something after I flushed myself away.”
“What was it?” King asked, concerned.
“Something in Spanish… ‘core-ay, core-ay, or-oh,’ or something like that.” Gold answered. “Anyone know what that means?”
“Corre, corre, Oro. It means, ‘Run, run, Gold.’” Yellow translated. “He’s playing the psychological game with you, my yellow-colored counterpart.” Gold shuddered.
“Red, you seem to be quite familiar with him.” Gold said, turning to me.
“I’ve seen the movie a few times, yes.” I answered humbly.
“A few?” Yellow repeated. “Reddy Bear, you’re past double-digit rewatches at this point.” Candy chuckled. “You’re at 13 at the minimum.”
“14, but who’s counting?” I corrected.
“So… What does he want with me?” Gold asked desperately.
Before I could give an answer, though, we stumbled upon the courtyard where Shrek first met Farquaad in the movie. There was a roaring audience around us, knights everywhere, and the one and only Farquaad standing on his balcony above us.
“Lord Farquaad…” I shouted, staring up at him.
“He’s not the only Lord.” said another, familiar voice. Candy gasped.
“I know that voice…” She noted. “That’s… the peaco*ck…”
Sure enough, the sinister white-and-gray peaco*ck named Lord Shen appeared next to Farquaad.
“Get the baddies ready. We leave now.” Shen ordered. “NOW! Now now now now now!”
“Other villains?” SC wondered, whipping his sword out. Sure enough, several other villains, some of DreamWorks’ best, most powerful, and most iconic antagonists, joined Farquaad and Shen on the balcony. One by one appeared Tai Lung and Kai the Collector from the Kung Fu Panda franchise, Drago Bludvist and Grimmel the Grisly from the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, Big Jack Horner from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, the Fairy Godmother from Shrek 2, Tighten from Megamind, Vincent the Bear from Over the Hedge, and Professor Marmalade from The Bad Guys… and Ken from The Bee Movie for whatever reason. It was the guinea pig, Marmalade, who spoke first.
“So you finally get it!” He exclaimed. I love animals more than almost anything, but Marmalade I despise. The nine of us assumed a fighting position. We might’ve been outnumbered, but we were willing to fight.
“Marmalade… You patchy-cheeked runt!” I shouted.
“Now now, no need for name calling.” Farquaad interrupted.
“Who are you?” SC yelled. “What do you want from us?”
“Those guys, SC, are some of DreamWorks’ villain arsenal.” Candy explained. “Powerful, ferocious, menacing… and Ken.”
“We want to rewrite history.” Farquaad said smoothly. “We are constantly deemed as the villains of our stories, when I just want to be King.”
“Oh calm down, Junior. You’re still gonna be king.” The Fairy Godmother demeaned.
“I rotted in jail for 20 years because of Shifu’s weakness!” Tai Lung thundered.
“My parents hated me.” Shen muttered. “They wronged me, and I will make it right.”
“I alone should’ve controlled the dragons…” Drago added.
“I got my stuff stolen from me… Twice…” Vincent growled. “Arrrr Jaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!”
“I wanted the one thing that would make me happy: All of the magic in the world, for me, and no one else gets any.” Jack Horner said dreamily. “Is that so much?”
“She left me… for a BEE! A BEEEEE!” Ken wailed, garnering a look from all of us, heroes and villains alike.
“Ignore him. He’s here for comic relief.” Farquaad said, waving his hand dismissively. “You nine are now the main protagonists of each of our movies. Since we couldn’t defeat the so-called ‘heroes,’ the villains of our own stories, we had to make our own marks, and who better to make them on than nine puny stick figures?”
“According to us, we’re the heroes, and yet none of us won. Especially Oogway… I loved him like a brother…” Kai said, swinging his iconic jade blades. “We want that chance to do what Oogway did: Come out on top.”
“But first, you’ll have to rescue my princess for me.” Farquaad began. “Play through our movies, see if you can defeat us. Some of you may die, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
“What if we can defeat you?” I demanded to know. “Because if there’s one thing I know about bad guys, they always LOSE!”
“What if we don’t accept your challenge?” King wondered.
“You will.” Tighten said. “I have my eye on someone, and I’ve had my eye on her for a while now.” He gazed at Candy, flew down, and grabbed her before any of us could react.
“CANDY!!!” I screamed. “Let her go, you knuckle-dragging, honey scrounging…!”
“To the tower for the rest of her days with her,” Farquaad ordered, shooing Tighten away. Instantly, he took off into the sky, Candy in his grip. “If you bring her back for me… If you can defeat me, which I doubt you will, you may advance to the next movie, but I’ll be sure you won’t. I know what our boss will do to us if you succeed.” Even he shuddered at the thought.
“Give us a minute to think it over.” SC said. We huddled up.
“Guys, we gotta save her!” I insisted. “She’s a great friend. We gotta rescue her! She’s in danger!”
“Not to mention Farquaad said that we will be capable of progressing through the cinemas if we complete this task.” Yellow noted. “Red, you possess the most knowledge about DreamWorks than any of us do. Do you believe there is something that is capable of assisting us in our quest to escape in one of these cinemas?” I racked my brain for something, a clue that could help, and I came up with an idea.
“Yes! I know how we can get out of here!”
“How, bro?” Green asked.
“The Wishing Star!” I proclaimed. “That star has one wish to grant. Think of what that could mean for us! We can wish us all out of here and home!”
“Red, that’s a brilliant idea.” King complimented. “Assuming it works.” I felt myself blush. Usually it’s Yellow or SC who gets called, “Brilliant.” They’re probably the smartest of all of us, but me? The youngest stick who is even younger at heart, the one who punches first and thinks second? I was honored, but I couldn’t let it go to my head.
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t.” I shrugged. “Puss in Boots wanted it to get his nine lives back.”
“But the only way we can get that wish…” Gold theorized, “is to go along with Farquaad’s quest, right?”
“Yeah.” I confirmed. “We’re looking for The Last Wish. I know you’ve never seen it before, Goldy, but I know it backwards and forwards. We need to finish these quests and get there.”
“So we’re in agreement?” SC asked.
“I believe so.” Blue confirmed. We all nodded in agreement and broke from our huddle.
“Lord Farquaad,” I proclaimed, “we accept your quest. We’ll bring you your ‘queen’ and take you down in the process.”
“I doubt that, but I look forward to your demise.” Farquaad quipped. “Oh, there’s one more of us I forgot to mention.” He clapped his hands together, and instantly a massive shadow began to appear before us on the ground, like the sun was slowly getting blocked out. We all looked up and saw a massive beast casting an even bigger shadow on the ground. It was unmistakable. It was the Queen of the dragons, the Red Death… And she was powering up her fiery breath.
“Guys, move! MOVE!” I shouted. We scattered and escaped just in time to avoid a massive fiery blast from her, escaping the castle and regrouping outside. “This is going to be fun,” I quipped sarcastically, “but we’ve got no other choice. Let’s get home!”
We all nodded in unison and fled into the forest, not the best place to hide from a fire-breathing dragon, but it worked enough to keep us from the Red Death’s gaze. We headed toward the Dragon’s Keep, hoping to rescue Candy.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Thank you all for reading!! I greatly appreciate it! You guys are awesome and I cannot thank you guys enough! Be on the lookout for Chapter 7 hopefully on Wednesday, that's the plan, at the very least. Thank you all once again!
A pup who has gone by many names,
-Perrito
