The Infiltration Mission

The Infiltration Mission is the thirteenth episode of TOME.
==Summary==
From the TOME Website:
After a triumphant victory over the “Challenge of the Netkings”, our heroes were shocked to learn that the dangerous “Forbidden Power” that has so heavily affected their lives since joining TOME…might in fact be a threat directly tied to the creators of the game! Alpha and the others, left with a thousand more important questions, are expelled from the Heavens of Magical Expertise and are greeted, the next day, to a collection of dark clouds made to hide out the newly-uncovered virus from the public eye…
…but they know the truth. Suddenly, some major new information is presented to the group that could change everything. Can our heroes band together and put a damper on their enemy’s plans!?
==Plot==
 
The episode begins with the Netkings using black clouds to shield the existence of the Forbidden Power, announcing that the game will be temporarily shutting down for maintenance at 12:00 AM pacific time. Meanwhile, Rockoon is rambling about the end of TOME, and warning players to never come back, as Saturndiva, Whyti, Asterob, Bishipp, and several other players stare worriedly at the sky, wondering what may be in store for them. In ;Lavendera, Flamegirl, Nylocke, and Alpha are discussing what happened the day before, in regard to the incident occurring near the end of the Challenge of the Netkings. Alpha, Flamegirl, and Nylocke begin to wonder what the hackers' true motivations are, and if they are truly a force for evil or whether or not they may in fact be trying to do something good. However, before the three can reach a conclusion, Neomutant approaches the trio to tell them his suspicions about what the hackers had actually been doing, telling them that the one factor they are not considering is him. 
Neomutant claims that he originally came to a similar conclusion as Flamegirl and the rest, and that he believed that Tigerlilly, his anonymous benefactor, was seeking out the Forbidden Power to prevent uninformed players from being hurt by it. However, for unknown reasons, he now believes that Tigerlilly and the hackers are attempting to use the Forbidden Power to blackmail the Netkings into meeting their demands, and has a plan to infiltrate their base at midnight to try and "put a stop to this plan". Although Alpha, Flamegirl, and Nylocke are originally hesitant to trust him, they eventually decide to so long as they have a chance to contact a couple friends of theirs first. Neomutant claims that he would allow this so long as said friends (Kirbopher and Gamecrazed) fully understand the severity of the situation. Alpha and the others make a plan to meet him at the Tournament Stadium and go their separate ways, to prepare for their upcoming "Infiltration Mission" into the Hacker base. 
In ;Mechcity, Rockoon is still rambling about the end of TOME when people begin to identify him as the "slimy rat hacker" who got a "sword up his ass" in the tournament. Skeight shows up to try and save him, but Rockoon, irritated by Skeight's constant presence, pulls him aside and asks him what he wants. Skeight replies that he wanted to make sure Rockoon was OK, but Rockoon says he's much better off on his own and Skeight finally gives up. Skeight tells Rockoon it was nice knowing him, calling him "Motherscratcha" as a reference to their conversation in Episode 1. Rockoon finally realizes who Skeight is and begins to break down, realizing he just pushed away the person who, for all intents and purposes, amounted to his only friend. Kirbopher, meanwhile, is looking on the whole scene worriedly when he gets a PM from Alpha, telling him to meet him at the park. 
Kirbopher and Alpha have another brief battle before Kirbopher asks Alpha if he wants to round up the others and hang out. Alpha tells Kirbopher about Neomutant's Infiltration Mission plan, but Kirbopher, being Zetto and not wanting to disrupt the hackers' actual goal of containing and erasing the Forbidden Power, tries to goad Alpha into not going and warns him that it might be dangerous and that he might get hurt. Alpha, feeling he needs to go to stop the hackers from doing something bad, ignores him, and Kirbopher tells Alpha that he's nuts. The two fight and go their separate ways, with Kirbopher realizing that before long, he will probably have to fight his friend, causing him much grief. 
Nylocke, meanwhile, is trying to persuade Gamecrazed to come along as well, but Gamecrazed tells Nylocke he cannot and 
explains his reasoning to Nylocke, however, a gust of wind prevents his words from being heard by all except for Nylocke himself. Nylocke says he understands, and proceeds to meet up with Flamegirl and Alpha, who are having a conversation in the back alleyway of ;Mechcity that Ravenfreak tried to lure Flamey and Alpha to a while back. Alpha asks Flamegirl what the deal is with her and Neomutant, and Flamegirl explains that Neo was her partner in her high school science class her senior year, who got it in his head that Flamegirl having some respect for his computer skills was a signal that she liked him and wanted to start dating him. Flamegirl says she never had any interest in Neo like that, and didn't even know that he played TOME until he came after Alpha looking for the virus. Flamegirl also remarks, though, that despite all that's happened, she's still glad she started playing TOME because otherwise, she never would've met Alpha. Alpha proceeds to suggest something to Flamegirl when Nye interrupts and shouts that "Sir Gamecrazed isn't joining us!" (which causes Flamegirl and Alpha much discomfort as he not only interrupted an intimate moment but is risking the security of their mission by yelling loudly and potentially drawing unwanted attention to them from the Moderators.)After Flamegirl gets annoyed with him, Nylocke apologizes, then states that he is "Nylocke, master of fighting with the might of three warriors while also remaining ever so quiet", before Neomutant shows up and reveals his plan. 
Neomutant explains to the trio how the mission will work - the foursome will enter the moon through Neomutant's hacked logout function which will teleport them to TOME's moon instead of the world map, which is where the hacker base is located. The only line of defense Neomutant is aware of is Tigerlilly, so he believes that they can easily overcome them so long as they don't lose and get logged off, however, Kizuna is revealed to be talking to Odboll and giving him directions. Neomutant directs the trio to get to the top of the moon to destroy the core of the antivirus weapon, which he believes the hackers are going to use to try and control the Forbidden Power (as opposed to their actual goal of stopping it). The four proceed with the Infiltration Mission and travel to the top of the Hacker Base... 
Meanwhile, the Netkings are ensuring that everyone had been logged off safely, unaware of the ongoing Infiltration Mission. As the Netkings look on worriedly, Webmaster assures the other Netkings that the Forbidden Power will be finally dealt with once and for all... 
== Trivia ==
* Episode 13 was the first episode to be animated all at once instead of scene-by-scene.
* According to the TOME audio commentaries, TOME Episode 13 is the first episode to get the story "back on track" after the Challenge of the Netkings, as the Challenge of the Netkings was originally supposed to occur directly after the incident with Demon Zetto in Episode 10 when it was the season 2 premiere as opposed to the season 1 finale it ultimately ended up as. 
==Transcript==
==Gallery==
==Video==
TOME Episode 13 The Infiltration Mission by Chris Niosi
==References==
Category:Season 2
Category:Episodes