Power Down

**Episode Information**GalleryTranscript

Power Down

Release Information

**Release Date**
July 22, 2022

Credits

**Written by**
Kevin LerdwichagulJeffrey Yang

**Directed by**
Luke Lerdwichagul

**Storyboard by**
Jarrad RumbleElle Nguyen

**Power Down** is the first episode of the third and final season of Meta Runner and the 21st episode overall. It was first aired on July 22, 2022 on the GLITCH channel.

Synopsis
THE BEGINNING OF THE END IS HERE. After over a year of waiting we're back with the first episode of the final season. Taking place right after the events of Season 2, Tari is met with a serious fate. Thank you so much for your support throughout the years 💙

Characters
Main Characters* Marco
* Tari
* Theo
* Lamar Williams
* Sofia Porter
* Masa Shimamoto
* Belle Fontiere
* Dr. Sheridan
* Evelyn Claythorne

Minor* Derek Lucks (A.I.)

Other
Locations* Rustworks
* Sheridan's Hideout

Games* Skybreakers
* Turbo Crash 9

Plot
A week has passed after the events of Lucks's death.
The episode starts out with Marco playing a game of Skybreakers where he raids a player's ship, eventually triumphing in the end but is then interrupted by someone telling him to go do something. Marco heads to a cell and opens a metal slit that lets him see inside the cell where the rest of MD-5 is being held captive to which they attempt to break themselves out by making Theo do a fake pass out. Tari notices Marco staring in the cell and immediately warns the others. After Marco opens the metal door, Theo throws his coconut at the person Marco was being accompanied by, knocking him out. Marco tells them to come with him because it was "Judgement Day".
MD-5 are immediately placed in handcuffs and are brought to the arena in Rustworks. Lamar questions Marco about them being in handcuffs was necessary to which he replies back that this is a counter measure to ensure that they don’t attempt to escape to which Theo objects Marco and throws his coconut at him but is immediately grabbed by one of his Meta Runner Arm before it could ever hit him. Tari then interrupt Theo and shows her consent to Marco for saving them at the scene but is interrupted by an annoyed Sofia, demanding for an explanation as to why they haven't been able to leave yet. Marco explains that he's been trying to find out what to do with them after Masa slapped a control bug on his arms to get the parts unfairly and shows footage of him doing that back at the arena. Lamar objects that Masa would do that at all to which Marco shows footage of Masa shooting Lucks in the head a week ago to which Lamar takes back what he said.
Marco gives them an offer; work for him and he'll cancel the debt they owe him for the parts to which Tari rejects the offer to work for him as she made up her mind on being forced to work for someone again after working at TAS-Corp. Lamar tries to interrupt Tari so that they don't get screwed, but Marco, impressed by Tari's determination changes his mind on them working for him and instead offers them one last chance to beat him in Turbo Crash 9 properly without cheating, to which Tari accepts his challenge. The gang heads on down to the arena, each grabbing a controller where Tari is approached by Sofia, impressed by Tari’s Actions, asks how she got mature so fast. Tari replies back to her that Marco was just a "bully" and that she was confident that she can beat him. Theo notices her hands shaking on the controller and tells Tari that her hands were shaking but she replies back that it was just the “controller vibrations". She then closes her eyes to to concentrate there.
Meanwhile Masa wakes up in a strange yet familiar office room with Belle that seems to be advocating for SherCorp. Suddenly, Lucks walks into the room to which Masa and Belle took notice and asks him questions if he's actually Lucks to which it is revealed that he is just an A,I. Version of Lucks who alerts someone of their presence. The office chair in the room rotates to the opposite side revealing to be Sheridan himself, welcoming Masa and Bella to his office to the surprise and shock from both of them. A confused Masa asks Sheridan where they are, to which he replies back that they're in a simulation. He then asks again how come they are in the simulation itself where Sheridan responds that he did a little tweaking to their brains so they could warp into the simulation, similar to Tari's Warping Ability. After realizing this, a provoked Belle yells at Sheridan for being insane for doing obscured surgery on them to which Sheridan turns her into a Facepalm from Ultra Jump Mania to the shock of Masa. Sheridan also reveals to Masa that he slapped a control bug onto his arm a week back at the arena Tari was in, which he did to shoot Lucks in the head, to the surprise of Masa who angrily lashes out towards him for making him a murderer, but is stopped by a forcefield that is preventing him from reaching him. Sheridan puts Masa back to the seat he woke up from using his force power where he turns Belle back to herself in the process. He then gives an offer to the two to work for him in his new venture of SherCorp as Meta Runners. Both Masa and Belle angrily decline the offer, much to an annoyance to Sheridan who then teleports and leaves the room.
Back at the Arena at Rustworks, Theo and Sofia are practicing for the match while Tari and Lamar decide on who to team up with. Tari insists to him that they're not that bad at playing video games, to which audio footage reveals that Sofia drifted her car near a group of explosive barrel and stopped which then allowed Theo to shoot at one of them, killing both of their characters in the process. Marco ends the practice round to get ready for the match and tells Tari to do the warp ability Lucks was so obsessed with over her. Tari gives an inspirational speech and warps into Turbo Crash 9. Unfortunately, the Warping Process for Tari gets hijacked and a reminiscent voice can be heard, saying "There you are." while sending her to a Virtual Replica of Silica City placed inside a box where she is located at the same location Lucks was shot. After noticing her surrounding, fake doll versions of Masa and Belle then say that they're going to jail because Tari had abandoned them at the scene which then traumatizes Tari. The Fake Doll version of Belle then says it doesn't matter since they now have Evelyn where they proceed to sing a song about her being better than everyone and then pose to show a badly drawn doodle of Evelyn holding a trophy and Tari on the ground, laying dead. Suddenly, a giant Evelyn appears to which a confused Tari asks her why is she here. Evelyn then replies back that she was in her room. Tari then rants to Evelyn that her friends need her now and doesn't have anytime to play her sick game as she tries to find a way to escape where Evelyn proceeds to put a control bug on Tari's Meta Runner Arm which results in her screaming in pain from the shock that locked her Warping Ability, making her unable to leave the simulation. Evelyn reveals to Tari that she now has her warping abilities now from Sheridan where Tari spots Lucks's Revolver lying on the ground from the scene and craws to get it, while also replying that she's not surprised that Evelyn has her ability to warp. Evelyn replies back that she can also do more to which then switches to Evelyn's POV, revealing that she also has Tari's Meta Runner Vision as Tari grabs Lucks's Revolver and pulls the trigger. Evelyn manages to dodge the gunshot, knock the revolver out of Tari’s hands and starts to beat her up as Tari has a hard time fighting against her. As in the Evelyn-Mart Evelyn picks up a Bot-Boy as she starts to slam it into Tari who has a bat with her taking her to the hallways of TASCorp. In the hallways of TASCorp Tari is struggling to get up as Evelyn decides to mock Tari more as she decides to spawn the pineapple hammer to smack Tari down. Tari was surprised at this and wondered how Evelyn even got it as Evelyn just replies she is just better than Tari. Evelyn starts to attack and overwhelm Tari as her pineapple hammer is much better than Tari's bat. As Tari is getting overwhelmed Evelyn then smacks Tari extremely hard through the wall there as Tari ends up in a room full of digital lifeless Meta Runners. Evelyn confidently walks up to Tari to exclaim her victory as Tari then tries one last attack before getting knocked out by Evelyn.
Evelyn starts to drag Tari on over to see the doctor as Tari is then restrained by the table as Sheridan congratulates Evelyn in doing so there. Tari is shocked at seeing Sheridan who is still alive as Sheridan does not bother explaining about why he is alive as he just gets to work on the program. Tari also sees Belle and Masa who are pounding on the glass concerned for Tari there. Sheridan mocks Belle and Masa by going over to them and not hearing about the two concerned for Tari as Belle and Masa are behind the glass wall there. This then causes Sheridan to spawn in more programs in order to help with configuring the program as Sheridan goes on to talk about how Tari was his weapon in taking down Lucks and that the others were just extra variables. The doctor then starts to tell Tari that Tari is not useful anymore as he says to Tari that all her extra brain functions should go back to the person she took them from. Sheridan takes off the blanket revealing that Lucinia was on the other side of the table of Tari's as Tari, Belle, and Masa were shocked. Sheridan sighs as he reveals the program he was working on was to transfer Tari's data fragments of Lucinia over to Lucinia. Tari begs to Sheridan to let her friends go since they do not deserve any of this as Sheridan angrily responds that he did not deserve the scars he got from the explosion either.
He then goes off as then the drill pierces the back of Tari's neck, draining the fragments of Lucinia from Tari to transfer it over to Lucinia. Belle and Masa look on with concern.

Trivia* The episode has a reference to the chad and virgin meme on a wall in the Evelyn-Mart, where Evelyn is the chad, and Tari is the virgin.
* The episode has a Coraline reference as both Masa and Belle had red button eyes and fabric for skin in Evelyn's twisted digital landscape.
* If you look closely, you can sometimes see Belle's right foot clipping through the floor when she is sitting in the chair.

Sources