Episode 00 – PilotThe room was filled with a number of odd phials and potions. A hand adds another phial to the medicine cabinet. “Soon I shall be ready to test. The villagers of Skaro won’t know what hit them when I get through with them,” a dark voice states as he turns off the amazing machine.
A cute black cat awoke to a breath taking dawn of pink and blue skies. It was the day she planned for so long. Jumping out of bed, she quickly changed out of her pajamas and put on her finest argyle knit. After breakfast she placed a sign on the door and hurried over to her neighbor’s house.
“Are you ready, kitty cat?” she called as she knocked on the door.
“Come on in, squeaky. The others are in the living room. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Kiki opened the door. Dora’s house was just as sharp as her outfits. You would have never thought that her recycling hobby would have paid off as well as it did.
“It’s about time you showed up, quacko.” Kiki was startled by the voice that came from the other side of the modern sofa.
“If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the bus, grooof. Bill & I may not be the total shoppers that you and Dora are, but we are putting off our morning jog for this.”
“Don’t worry about it, Teddy. We’re going to get a good workout for our legs. It’ll be better than doing 1,000 squat thrusts, quacko.”
Dora bounded down the stairs. “Come on, squeaky. We don’t want to be late. The city awaits.
The four arrived at the bus station just as the bus arrived. The door opened and the friendly tengu invited them aboard. “Take yer seat. We be off to the city in just a moment.” As soon as it was obvious that there were no more villagers heading to the city, the doors of the bus closed.
The bus took off. While Bill & Teddy were admiring the scenery that zoomed by the bus, the girls were busily chatting to themselves. It’s not everyday that they have the bells, but with the additional discount, they were sure that they’d find some really special things in Gracie Grace.
“It’s great that we’re going to have some help, kitty cat.”
“You’re right, squeaky. Let’s give those boys a workout for not only their legs but their arms as well. I brought my gold card with me & it’s itching to be used.”
“You sound like you’re planning to buy out the store, kitty cat.”
“I might be, squeaky.”
The bus comes to a stop and the four get off. The bus takes off as the four get over their shock.
“Welcome to Requiem?! What’s this all about, kitty cat?”
“I don’t know, quacko. We should have been in the city.”
“You didn’t notice anything odd on the trip did you, squeaky?”
“I didn’t, grooof. Everything looked normal to me.”
“It did seem a bit long, quacko. Look at the time over the gate. It’s nearly 5PM.”
“But we left at 9AM. It didn’t seem like we were on the bus for 8 hours. Let’s split up. There’s got to be an answer around here, kitty cat.”
“I’ll go with you, Kiki. We can take the East side of the river, grooof.”
“Then Bill & I will take the West, squeaky.”
Bill & Dora headed off to the closest bridge. As they were crossing it, Bill noticed something covering the skyline.
“Hey, a castle! I bet we can get some help up there, quacko.
“Let’s hurry, squeaky.”
The two arrived at the drawbridge of the castle pretty quickly. As soon as they crossed over the moat, they were taken by surprise. The furniture, drapes and carpet looked very regal.
“A king must live here, squeaky”
“Not quite, my dear. We had a king, but the people wouldn’t put up with his evil ways. After he was ousted along with his queen to be, we decide to use his castle a combination town hall / mayoral residence. I’m the mayor of Requiem. You may call me Katrina. You look puzzled. Come into my parlor.”
Dora & Bill followed Katrina through a drape covered archway. As they passed over the threshold, they heard a bell tinkle away. Dora noticed a table in the center of the room. It was covered in the deepest red cloth she had ever seen. A scent of birch wood filled the air.
“Sit in those two seats, oh weary travelers of the Aquarius sign. I can tell you’re far from home.”
“How did you….” Dora started.
“Know that you weren’t from around here? I have my ways. The stars are portents to our lives. By knowing what the stars have in store, you can better create a peaceful world.”
“What do the stars tell you about our journey, quacko?”
“Let me read them for you.
"Keee ha mo-ata
Keee ha mo-atata
Loo-ta matata
YEEEEeeeeee!
In the cemetery,
A back talking robot
Will be moaning."
That’s what I see.”
“What does that mean, quacko?”
On the other side of town, Kiki & Teddy were busy talking to the other villagers.
“I’ve never heard of hopping on the bus & going to another town, tenderfoot. When I moved to Requiem, I flew to the city & caught the bus here.”
“Thanks, Elmer. It seems that’s the same story both Yuka & Peaches told us, kitty cat.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you out more, tenderfoot.”
“That’s OK, quacko. We appreciate the information.”
As Teddy & Kiki excused themselves from Elmer’s house, Teddy thought. “I hope the others are having better luck than we are.
As they walked over the rest of the town, the sun began to set. A wrong turn later, the two found themselves at the cemetery staring at a headstone:
"Here Lies His Majesty Tom Nook (Robot)
He Died For His Country
He Died For His Dream
He Died For His Nephews
He Died For His Regime
May He Rest In Peace"
“Erm…”
“Did you say something, kitty cat?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing, grooof.”
“Erm…. Excuse me. Over here….”
“Hello? Kitty cat?” Kiki’s voice cracked.
“I’m over here. Please help.”
Teddy put his arm around the shivering cat. Together they walked toward the disembodied voice.
“I’m a bit lost. I used to live in this town, but after an accident with a rapier, I lost my way. Can you help me? I need to find that can help me light the way home.”
Kiki frowned. It had been a while since she had heard such a sad story. “Come on, kitty cat. We have to help,” she said as she clenched her fists.
Teddy smiled. “I agree, grooof”
“Would you meet us at the bus stop, kitty cat? Like you, we seem to have lost our way due to an accident.”
“If you can help us find our way, we’ll be happy to help you, grooof.”
“Thank you, my friends.”
Dora & Bill said their farewells to Katrina.
“One more thing before you leave Requiem. The road ahead is going to be long. You’ll find some good times and some bad times. Just remember that some times those bad times are just times that are bad. They don’t always have a hidden meaning.”
“Thanks,” they said in unison as they turned to walk toward the bridge.
Along the way Dora noticed something glitter in the moonlight. “What’s that, squeaky?”
“It looks like one of those lamps from Aladdin, quacko,” Bill said as he picked up the dirty metal oil lamp.
“Let’s take it to the Lost & Found, squeaky. Since they have one in Skaro, I’m sure there’s one around here somewhere.”
Bill & Dora headed toward the gate. Along the way they were met by Kiki & Teddy.
“How did you do, kitty cat?”
“We met the mayor, squeaky.”
“Yeah. She didn’t have much helpful information about our situation. I think we’ll just have to tough it out and go wherever this journey takes us, quacko.”
“We got just as far, grooof.”
“We did meet a spirit who was looking for something to light his way home. So far we’ve looked all over, but haven’t had any luck, kitty cat.”
“Do you think this will do, quacko?” Bill revealed the lamp he had put in his pocket.
“We were on our way to the Lost & Found with it when we met you, squeaky.”
“I bet that’s what he’s been looking for, kitty cat!”
“There’s no time to lose, grooof.”
The four travelers arrived at the bus stop & found the apparition that scared Kiki earlier.
“Is this what you’re looking for, kitty cat?”
“That’s it. Oh, thank you! I don’t know how to repay you!”
“Can you help us get home, quacko?”
“Our bus dropped us off here instead of in the city like we expected, grooof.”
“I think the only way you’ll be able to get home is to hop on the bus and hope for the best.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. How will we know when the next bus that we should get on leaves, kitty cat?”
“That’s easy. Look on the bus schedule. The time that doesn’t make sense in the schedule with the other times is the one you want. I hope you make it home. You deserve it for helping me light my way.”
The ghost disappeared from sight as the bus pulled up to the stop. As all four got on, Kiki made a silent wish.
The next morning the bus arrived. As the travelers got off the bus they noticed that it wasn’t Skaro.
“Welcome to….” Kiki read off the schedule next to the bus stop.
What if all of the towns in this Wild World were linked together by a special bus service? Instead of taking you to the city, it would take you to another town where anything could happen? What if the only problem is that you are never sure if the next bus would take you home?
CROSSERS
Special thanks to
CrazyOldLady for the use of her town Requiem as it appeared in "Choke Hold".
Posted: 7/16/2009 5:25pm Edited: 1 
64
Jack
I may not know all of the ACC catchphrases, which makes the reading more interesting and causes me to slow down when reading for easier following, but I was still more than able to walk away with a picture of who went where and said what. I think Crossers is going to be a fanfic to watch and read with much delight.
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