Exhausted from their last adventure*, the Benders return to their base, expecting a respite from the fighting. What they get instead...
- Unknown female: Nice place you've got here, Avatar.Solo: What the...who the hell are they?Avatar: Your guess is as good as mine. Any ideas, Nerdly?Nerdly: For once, no. Krystal, are these old friends of yours?Krystal: What, just because they're strange-looking you assume that the genetic experiment must be the one with a connection to them?
All sweatdrop.
- Unknown female: The name's Persona. The shy one is my sister, Gestalt, and the dumb one is Debutante.Debutante: At your service, Persona!Persona *sweatdrops*: And this is our holy man, Andrews von Mansfield de Liechtenstein XXV. Now, then, I'd ask you to hand over your artifact nicely, but we both know that's not going to happen, so how about we just fight for it. *draws bladed staff*Avatar: Dark Council?Gestalt: Shadow Sculptors, actually. *turns to Solo* Let's dance.
She removes her gloves, revealing sharply manicured nails, which she sets upon Solo with, tearing apart his shirt and creating strangely attractive gashes across his chest.
- Avatar: There's six of us and only four of them. We can win this!
He creates a device out of wires and a cereal bowl that ties up Persona. She makes the wires attack Sue using her magic.
- Debutante: Actually, there are six of us, too.Persona: Debutante!!!Debutante:...Oopsie...was I not supposed to mention the others?Krystal: Okay, I'm going to protect the artifact. Cover me!
Sue nods, having gotten free of the wire device. Fluffykins takes on a snake form and follows Krystal to the artifact room, while Sue takes over fighting von Liechtenstein. Over in Solo and Gestalt's battle...
- Gestalt: Ah, dear Solo. Isn't this fun?Solo: Whatever happened to "the shy one"?Solo (jamming Gestalt's hand into a wall): Well, you're going to need a new weapon. *jams the other hand into a wall* I think you just broke a few nails.Gestalt: You big meanie! Oh, well...*stabs Solo* They're pointier this way.Solo: Shit...The childish personality...Andrews: Gestalt, what have I said about killing?Gestalt: He's not going to die! ...Is he?
Solo staggers to his feet, grabbing an unconfiscated bottle of booze and smashing it. Charging into battle with the broken bottle he cries,
- Solo: Go to hell!Gestalt: Waaaaaaaah!!! *jumps out of the way* Ooh, yay, time to play! Think you can keep up?Solo: Uh-oh, another new personality shift. Looks like a real handful.Gestalt: Yep, that's me! Live life to the fullest! *suddenly behind him* Hi.Solo: So, Genki goes fast...but that's not what you are now, are you.Gestalt *digs the broken nails into Solo's neck*: Nope.Solo: The crazy one again?
Meanwhile, Avatar and Persona are locked in an intense battle. Debutante keeps trying to peel Avatar away from the sorceress, but keeps getting in the way—at least, this is how Persona sees it.
- Persona: Debutante, sweetie, I can handle this. Why don't you take care of the nerdy one?Debutante *grinning*: Whatever you say, Persona! You're the boss!Avatar: Geez, talk about your déjà vu. That girl reminds me of Cleo.Persona: Uh, yeah, I was kind of wondering about that. The intelligence we had on you mentioned a ditz that sounded a lot like Debutante, not a tailless catgirl.Avatar: You really aren't with the Dark Council, are you? Because if you were, you'd know that our former teammate is one of them now.Persona: ......I'm sorry.
Avatar is clearly confused. A villain apologizing? What is this? Meanwhile, Nerdly takes out a laser gun and fires it at Debutante, who backflips out of the way, amazingly managing to avoid giving a panty shot despite her short skirt. Nerdly fires again, hitting her dead center in the chest and burning a hole in the top, unexpectedly revealing skin instead of a bra.
- Nerdly: Is she...Persona *exasperated* Not wearing any underwear? Yes. Baka...
Fluffy and Krystal come upon the artifact room.
- Krystal: A...cat?Fluffy (shifting to dragon form): No, its true form is something much more fearsome.
Krystal suddenly reaches up and catches a thrown knife.
- ???: Impressive. You sensed that attack coming.Krystal: Sure did. You must be the other two members Debutante mentioned.???: That idiot...Indeed we are. The "cat" is Scales, and I am Claude.Krystal *pouncing*: Funny...So am I.Claude: Cute.Krystal *pretending he was talking about her*: Why thank you.
Scales reverts to its natural form, a dragon. Scales and Fluffy fight while Claude and Krystal go claw-against-knife.
- Claude: Impressive...you can stand up to my knives.Krystal: Flattery will get you nowhere.Claude: Not interested.Krystal: Why do you do this, anyway? Your companions said you're not with the Dark Council. So why are you working with them?Claude: We need Narrativium from your universe in order to save our own. That makes you, the protectors of this world, our enemies. Therefore, we have allied with the Dark Council in order to get what we need.Krystal: It doesn't have to be like that.Claude: I'm not the one you should be talking to, then...Hmmph, seems like I'm being summoned. Goodbye, catgirl.Krystal: My name is KRYSTAL!!!Persona: It seems we must be going now. Come on, Debutante. Andrews, will you please go fetch my sister?Andrews: Why me?Persona: She listens to you. She doesn't listen to me—at least, not in that form.
Andrews sighs and gets Gestalt to revert to her usual shy state, earning a mumbled thank you from Solo. Gestalt looks over her shoulder at Solo as she leaves.
- Avatar: Well, that was weird.
A message from the professor arrives.
- E.R.U.: Beware the invaders from the other realm, for they need what our world has.Nerdly: Invaders from another world?Krystal: Geez, talk about getting here late. We've already fought the invaders—that's the Shadow Sculptors. They want something called "Narrativium", whatever that means.Nerdly: Narrativium...the substance that comprises the greater part of Story Gates. So, that's what they were really after...but why ally with the Dark Council?Krystal: Claude said he wasn't the one to talk to about that. I guess we'll have to ask Persona about it if the Sculptors ever show up again.Avatar: Agreed... For now, though, let's rest. It's been a looooooooong day.
*It is implied that this episode takes place on the same day as "Mo' Mecha, Mo' Problems".
Notes:
- The way Nerdly's Shadow Sculptor counterpart, Debutante, blatantly fangirled over Avatar's counterpart, Persona, greatly pleased the growing ranks of Avadly shippers, but the antishipping faction took the whole "anti-Benders" thing and interpreted it as foreshadowing that Avatar and Nerdly will eventually have to fight, and the Krystar fans took it one step further and wrote a lot of fanfics in which Nucleus retakes control and the only way to stop him is to kill Nerdly.
- All of the female fanbase, however, was united on the point of increased Solo fanservice being a good thing. The only argument involving Solo was what to call the new Foe Yay Shipping: Solalt, or Gestolo? It was only after someone jokingly suggested "Golo" that they came up with the unified name: Salt. Solo/Gestalt lemons were henceforth referred to as "Salt Shakers".
