Balance

A story following Jax and Beau, ex-Resistance members working with the new GLACIA organization, as they seek to find out who’s behind the increasingly more dangerous bombings plaguing Central City.

This story is a transcript from Discord.

## Story

### Episode 1: It Started Innocently Enough…

```
The sun sets on another relatively good day. A lumbering Tortoise Mobian strolls along the harbor docks, searching for a specific destination that he’s heard described at length. A specific ship. *The Rising Hope*, Admiral Beauregard Cheddarosier’s ship.

Jax:
“He said it should be here somewhere…”

Mudbaum finally comes across one of many massive watersheds with the right number, and the shadows of a ship visible through the crusty, seawater-washed windows.

Jax:
“There she is…”

Stepping through the door, Mudbaum sees two crewmembers painting over the old Resistance symbol on the side of the ship, with fresh paint cans and stencils ready to replace it with the symbol of GLACIA.

Jax:
(Out with the old, in with the new…)

Hurrying along, Mudbaum nervously tests the perfectly sturdy gangplank with a foot before scurrying over onto the relatively sturdier floor of the ship’s upper deck.

Jax:
(Oh boy.) *Jax immediately seeks the railing as his sense of balance fails.*

After a few minutes of stumbling around and saying a shaky hello to various crewmembers, Mudbaum finds his way to the Captain’s Quarters.

Beau:
*Beau is working on paperwork.*
“Oh! Hello Jax. Need something?”

Jax:
“Hullo, Beau. Actually, no. Not immediately. I’ve found a brief moment of respite in my own paperwork…” *Jax’s eyes shift around nervously.* “So I figured I’d come down here to your ship you talk about so much. See what the fuss was about.” *Jax absently twiddles his thumbs, something else clearly on his mind as he looks around the room.*

Beau:
“Well, not much is really happening here, just paperwork and shifting of people…”
*Beau looks at Mudbaum directly.*
“And you’re sure nothing else is on your mind?”

Jax:
*Jax is caught off-guard by Beau’s directness, then smiles.* “Well. No. I also came because I wanted to talk about Jack.”

Beau:
“What about him?”

Jax:
“I don’t know how much you know about him and his situation. I presume a lot, but… Presuming things can get people into trouble.” *Jax drags another chair over opposite Beau.* “If you have time, I want to hear your end of the story.”

Beau:
“Ah. I’m almost finished with this paperwork if you would just give me one second…”

Jax:
“Certainly.”

Beau:
“Why the sudden interest?”
*Beau continues writing and going through documents.*

Jax:
“I had a bit of a heart to heart with him, you could say. After the Major’s funeral.”

Beau:
“...”
“He really came? Didn’t think he’d risk it.”

Jax:
“I wasn’t sure, either. But yeah, he came. With Angela. He said some words, but I gave him space, and then I approached and we talked for a bit. I just want to corroborate everything he said. Make sure he wasn’t lying. Not that I think he did… but…”
*Jax points at his forehead.* “Pirate hat and all…”

Beau:
“I wouldn’t put it past him. I thought I knew who he was once, before he betrayed me for ‘the glory of the Eggman Empire’. Not exactly the most trustworthy bird.”

Jax:
*Jax nods.* “Apparently, he and that insane tyrant are family. And he’s against all the violence on an extreme scale, but not the whole… prosperity, and taking over the world?” *Jax shakes his head.* “The point is, there’s family ties, and I don’t understand it.”

Beau:
“Well–”

Suddenly, there is a quick rap on the door, followed by a dog mobian gruffly bursting in.

```

```
Bozo:
“Admiral, I’m afraid those boosters on the starboard front are going to need ret–Oh, you have co–”

```

```
Beau:
*Beau clears his throat.* “Ret…?”

There is a brief pause as the sweaty Blue Mastiff Dog Mobian takes in the small meeting she’s interrupted.

Bozo:
“Sorry, Admiral. Didn’t know you were in a meeting with *Jax the Juggernaut!!!*”

Beau:
“..?”

Jax:
*Jax twists around in the chair in confusion.* “Who?”
*Jax lays eyes on an old friend.* “...Bozo?”

Bozo:
“Jax! Where have–I mean, I know where you’ve been, but–” *Bozo’s ears drop sadly for a moment.* “But I didn’t know that you’d gotten out.”

Jax gets up as quickly as he can, which is pretty slow, what with the small space, three bodies, and the chair that didn’t match his shell to begin with. As he does so, Bozo backs up a half step, her floppy ears twitching with concern.

Bozo:
“Are… are we good, speaking of?”

Jax:
*Jax freezes.* “Yeah. Why wouldn’t we be?” *Jax slowly takes off his shades, to reveal a perplexed and cautiously smiling face.* “It’s just good to see you.”

Beau:
“Would someone please inform me what is happening here?

Bozo:
*Bozo turns to Beau.* “Sorry, Admiral. This is Jax. Jasper Mudbaum. He was a Resistance member that I fought with back in the early days on South Island. Him and… Twitch.”

Jax:
*Jax flinches.*

Beau:
“I know, he was a part of GUN’s destruction and all that havoc a while back. I just didn’t know you two were such good friends, or even knew each other at all!”

Bozo:
“Wait, what?” *Bozo turns to Jax.* “You were in all that big battle and stuff!?”

Jax:
*Jax smiles wider, but his eyes glaze over.* “Yeah…”

Beau:
“Shoulda seen him! Tearing up more bots than anyone else!”

Bozo:
“Admiral, I need to get off this boat more often, and that’s a fact!” *Bozo laughs.*

Beau:
*Beau smiles and shrugs.*

Bozo:
“Oh, but that reminds me what I originally came in here for. The boosters on the starboard front are going to need retuning pretty soon. I can do it here, but it would be better to get it done at a professional place. The can really clean it out, and make that retune last longer.”

Beau:
“Maybe wait a little longer, lots of new recruits that still need shown around the ship. How about we just…”

Suddenly the sound of a mighty ROAR of an explosion RIPS through the walls of the Captain’s Quarters, taking away whatever else Admiral Beauregard was going to say! Moments after, the softer, more distant sound of collapsing structure can be heard.

Beau:
“Cheese niblets! What on Mobius was that?!”

Jax:
*Without a word, Jax trips over the chair, and scrambles out of the door, just as the ship is gently rocked by a slightly larger wave.*

Bozo:
*Bozo rights the chair, then follows with a much more sure gait.*

Beau:
*Beau runs out as well, to keep an eye on them.*

Another explosion! This one is slightly less loud, and slightly further away sounding.

Jax:
*Jax glances back at Beau.* “I’m going to check it out.” (People are getting hurt!)

Beau:
“Hey! Are you really gonna walk?”
*Beau holds up and shakes a pair of keys.*

Bozo:
*Bozo turns about-face to Admiral Beauregard, even as other crewmembers look to him for orders.* [I dunno what “about-face” means… but I have chosen to leave it :P]

Jax:
*As he flops to the deck again, Jax mutters:* “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

Beau:
“Brenda, get some men and medical supplies. Head there ASAP! I’m gonna see if we can help!”

Bozo:
“Affirmative, Admiral!”

Beau and Jasper scramble off of the ship, and all but dive into Beau’s car, before driving off down the harbor road. It’s not too hard to find the explosion, with the sight of multiple smoke columns now rising into the sky near the entrance of the harbor.
As Beau and Jax near the scene, a number of citizens and dock workers are standing around a number of buildings.

Jax:
*Jax jumps out of the back of the car and runs up to the people, even before Beau comes to a full stop.* “What’s going on?”

Beau:
*Beau parks the car.*
(Couldn’t he wait a couple seconds?)

Random Mobian:
“My office just blew up! Oh, and there’s still people inside!”

Beau:
*Beau runs out to Mudbaum and Random Mobian.*
“Has anyone called the fire department?”

Mobian:
“I left my phone in there, but the alarms should ha–”

Other members of the crowd confirm that the fire department has been called, but many voice that by the time they get here, it will be too late to save most of anyone or anything. The blaze is hot. And intentional.

Jax:
“Which building blew up first?”

Mobian:
*Mobian points at the rightmost one.* “First, that one, one of the Harbor control offices. Then that left one, a control tower. Then others across the harbor way blew up! That warehouse in the middle just caught flam–”

Beau:
“We have backup arriving soon, they’ll be better equipped. The best we can do is wa–”

Jax:
*Jax runs into the rightmost building.*

Beau:
“What the heck are you doing?! Get back here!”
*Beau runs after Mudbaum but stops outside the door.*

Jax:
*Immediately, the blazing heat reminds Jasper of one of his more unfortunate sun-tanning sessions on the beach, but he throws that distracting thought away to focus on his efforts. Closing his eyes, he listens for coughs. Hearing plenty, above him, he gets down on the ground and looks for stairs.*

A large beam crashes down next to Jax, showering him in embers.

Jax:
*Rolling away, Jax hears a yelp as someone falls down with the beam.*

Beau:
*Beau waits outside impatiently.*
“Is he an idiot? What does he hope to accomplish in there?”

Jax:
*Jax picks up the person, who moans, barely conscious.* “Hang on, I’m getting you out of here. You know where anyone else is?”
*Not getting a response, Jax move on, an idea having appeared in his head. Staying low, Jax listens for more coughing. Once he zeroes in on another directly above him, Jax sets the first person out of the way, crouches down, then springs up, punching the ceiling with as much strength as he can.*

Another person falls, along with the debris, and a scream.

Crisis Cat:
“AAAH!”

Jax:
“Ha! It worked!” *Jax coughs.*
“Did you see anyone else up there?”

Crisis:
“Ow, my elbow! Huh? Oh, uh… I think so? Maybe?”

Jax:
“Can you walk? Great, the exit’s that way! Take this guy with you!” *Jax runs deeper into the building.*

Beau:
“Are you alright?”
*Beau gives Crisis Cat a place to sit from his newly arrived crew.*
“Did you see a large tortoise in there?”

Crisis:
“Oh, you mean the hunky guy? Yeah, he just kept going.”

Beau:
*Beau rubs his head.*
“You got the gear soon ready Bozo? Mudbaum’s inside being a ‘hero’.”

Bozo:
“Right here!” *Bozo holds up a fire suit and a medkit.* “And a fire extinguisher.” *Bozo’s face turns to disbelief.* “Wait, Jax went *in there*?!”

Beau:
“Yeah, like an idiot! Now put that on already!”

Bozo:
*Bozo blinks twice.* “Not you?” *Bozo shakes her head, jowls flopping.* “I mean, aye aye, Admiral!” *Bozo rapidly puts on the outfit.*

Just as Bozo finishes putting on the outfit, and picks up the medkit to rush in, Jax rushes out, blackened from head to toe in either soot, burns, or both. He carries two more people, and a few more are following him.

Beau:
“What were you thinking?!”
*Beau realizes now’s not the time.*
“Let me help you with that. Bozo, can I see that medkit?”

Jax:
*Limping, gritting his grimy teeth underneath his shades, Jax all but tosses the people to Beau and Bozo.* “I’m going back in!”

Bozo:
“Oh, no you’re not, big guy!”

Beau:
*Beau wants to interfere but has a person on top of him.*

As Jax turns around, with Bozo ineffectually trying to stop him with warning and words, the sound of sirens is distantly heard.

Jax:
*Jax turns to listen for just a moment, before grinning and running full tilt at the building.*

However, the building picks that moment to collapse with a deceptive whoosh, blowing fire out from all the bottom floor openings, sending Jax skidding backwards on his shell.

Jax:
*Jax slides all the way back to Bozo’s feet, who’s staring down at him with a disapproving grin.*

Bozo:
“Still being a Juggernaut rebel, huh…”

Jax:
*Jax chuckles.* “You know it…” *Then Jax passes out.*

Bozo:
*Bozo picks up Jax’s duct-taped sunglasses that have skittered to a stop next to him. Jax’s face has a relatively clean space where the shades were. Bozo glances up at Beau.* “So, you two working together? You’re in for a ride.”

Beau:
“Just acquaintances, I doubt we’d make a good team.”

Bozo:
*Bozo shrugs.* “You’ve certainly got two different ways of operating. Maybe the two of you could strike a balance.”

Beau:
*Beau gives a coy smile and rolls his eyes.*

As the Fire Department arrives, Beau surveys the situation as it is put under control. But what caused the fire? And why? Find out next time, on Balance!

```

### Episode 2: …It Was Business as Usual…

```
A new day has dawned. Admiral Beauregard makes his way to the General’s office to report on the events of last night.

Beau:
*Beau walks up to GLACIA’s front desk.*
“Hello Jewel. I have an appointment with Flame.”

Jewel:
“Be careful. He’s in one of his moods. At least, I think he is… It’s hard to tell.” [I suspect she hasn’t yet seen what one of his moods actually looks like :P]

Beau:
“Alright, thanks.”
*Beau straightens papers on the desk before walking to Flame’s office.*
*Beau knocks on the office door.*

Flame:
“Come in.”

Beau:
“Good morning General. I have the reports of the bombing from yesterday.”

Flame:
“Yes?”

Beau:
“It was mostly warehouses and office buildings. Although some cargo ships carrying Eclipse shipments seemed to have gotten caught in the crossfire.”

Flame:
“Eclipse?”

Beau:
“Yes. It’s a Japan-based company, they manufacture a variety of things. The shipment was mostly circuitry and other items of the sort. A rather big deal coincidentally.”

Flame:
“I see. Do you have any idea who caused this?”

Beau:
“There wasn’t really any immediate indication no, sir. Although it was on a fairly large scale.

Flame:
“Certainly *intentional…* I assume we took some casualties?”

Beau:
“Not many workers were in the warehouses. Unfortunately the office buildings had quite a few citizens, the fire department arrived fairly quick. But you see Jax was visiting me at my ship at the time and came with me to the bombing site.”

Flame:
“Jax who?”

Beau:
“Oh, sorry sir, ‘Captain’ Mudbaum. I told him not to do anything stupid but he ran into one of the buildings before backup arrived. Although I still don’t agree with his decision, but he did save a few people before passing out himself.”

Flame:
*Flame nods.* “As long as he doesn’t get himself killed…”

Beau:
“Well, that’s all I know as of now. Any ideas how we’ll deal with this?”

Flame:
“GLACIA will be investigating this attack. We’ll get to the bottom of it. You won’t be getting involved.”

Beau:
“That’s fine with me, I could use some time to rest. I’m still tired from a month ago.”

Flame:
(That’s what Hannah says…)
“Thank you for your report, Admiral. Dismissed.”

Beau:
*Beau nods before leaving the papers on the desk and leaving.*

We’re no closer to having answers, but time will tell what is in store for our heroes… next time on Balance!

```

### Episode 3: …Then He Walked In…

```
Later, Beau goes to visit a recovering Mudbaum in Central City Hospital.

Beau:
“Yes, thank you.”
*Beau opens the door to Mudbaum’s room.*
“Hello there.”

Jax:
“Admiral Beauregard! Good to see you!” *Jax smiles wryly.* “How’s the investigation going?”

Beau:
“Oh, it’s being handled. How are you feeling?”

Jax:
“Eh. I feel fine, more or less. Doctors are trying to keep me in here a whole week. I’m planning more on 3 or 4 days max.” *Jax leans in conspiratorially with a grin.* “Then I’ll make my escape!” [this was in italics… I suspect this means his voice is lowered?]

Beau:
*Beau chuckles.*
“Well, don’t push yourself too hard.”

Jax:
*Jax suddenly becomes serious.* “Was there anyone else in that fire? Or in the other building?”

Beau:
“Don’t worry, you seem to have it the worst. The rescue crews got everyone out, the biggest damages were to the cargo ships after all.”

Jax:
*Jax is visibly relieved.* “Good. I can take the worst.”

Beau:
“It was most likely just a one-off event. If it wasn’t I’m sure whoever Flame assigned has got it covered.”

Jax:
“Do they know who did it? Did anyone see–Wait, Flame’s assigned someone else to it?”

Beau:
“What do you mean ‘assigned someone else’? We just happened to be close at the time, I’m no detective.”

Jax:
“But we were there first, doesn’t that mean we’re on the–” *Jax blinks rapidly.* “Darn, I wish I had my handbook here to read. Detectives. Who’s the detectives then? Did they talk to the witnesses, did they get any leads? Maybe I can make some calls… Walking is right out, at least for a day or two.”

Beau:
“Jax you gotta calm down. Whatever their strategy is I’m sure it’ll go smoother without you pestering them, hmm?”

Jax:
“Pestering? Pestering?!” *Jax sputters for a moment, before glancing back at Beau’s even stare.* “...You’re sure that’s how it’s done?”

Beau:
“The investigation is in good hands.”
*Beau stands up from the chair he was sitting in.*
“Well, I better be going, lots to do.”

Jax:
“Heh. Must be nice.” *Jax chuckles.* “Thanks for stopping by, Beau.”

Beau:
“Yep, see you when you’re feeling better. But not before.”
*Beau winks as he leaves Mudbaum once again alone.”

And so, time passes. Beauregard continues about his business, as Mudbaum recovers in the hospital. 5 days pass before Mudbaum is let out of the hospital.

Jax:
“First things first.”

Jax immediately heads down to his favorite spot on Emerald Beach. He spends the day there, recovering in his own way. Until the beach closes. Then he takes the bus home in Emerald Town, and goes to bed in his rental.
The next day, Mudbaum heads via the bus to GLACIA Headquarters. To work.
As Mudbaum enters the HQ, to talk to Jewel, the receptionist, a number of agents rush out.

Jax:
“Hey, what happened?”

GLACIA Agent:
“Central Dam just blew up!”
*Agent turns around.*
“Wait, who even are you?”

Jax:
*Jax straightens up a bit.* “Captain Mudbaum! Do you have a phone, agent?”

GLACIA Agent:
“I can’t stop and chat right now. I have work to do.”
*Agent runs off.*

Jax:
“Darn.” *Jax runs after the agents, but is too late to catch a ride as they drive off.* “Central Dam… Where the heck is that?”
*Jax stops to think for a minute.* “I need to tell Beau. And I need someone who can take me to the Dam. For both, I need a phone.” *Jax glances back at HQ.*

20 minutes later, after some minor difficulty, Jax has called a taxi, and left a quick message on Beau’s answering machine.

Jax:
“To the Central Dam!”

Random Mobian:
“That’s a strange request. You know they don’t do tours, right?”

Jax:
“I’m well aware! No tours today!”

The taxi drives casually towards the dam, and soon enough, the exploded dam becomes visible in the distance.

Random Mobian:
“Oh nuggets! That’s a lotta damage!”

Suddenly, the streets up ahead are closed off. Perhaps due to the small river running through them, and the various debris.

Random Mobian:
“Guess this is as far as I can take you, sir!”

Jax:
“It’s appreciated!” *Jax pays the taxi driver.* “Now to hoof it on foot!”
As Jax approaches the closed-off road, a GLACIA agent stops him.

GLACIA Agent:
“Excuse me sir, this area is off-limits. In case you didn’t notice there has been a major accident.”

Jax:
“I’m aware, hold on.” *Mudbaum takes a moment to shuffle through his pockets.*

GLACIA Agent:
*Agent taps his foot.*

Jax:
“Aha. Here it is, my ID.” *Jax pulls out his GLACIA ID.* “Captain Jasper Mudbaum. I’m here to help. Help take a look at that crime scene up there.”

GLACIA Agent:
*Agent looks closely at the ID.*
“Hmm… I suppose you can go, but don’t make a big fuss or they’re gonna blame me.”

Jax:
“Me? A fuss? Pfff.” *Jax tucks the ID away.* “Son, I’m a professional.” *Jax steps past the barricade and stares at the low, but fast-running water.*
*Jax tentatively steps down into the watery street, like he’s testing a bath.* “Yeah, this is fine.”

Mudbaum makes his way, quicker and quicker, up the rest of the way towards the Central Dam, which sits high above the city, surrounded by lovely hillside residential areas. A large reservoir of the city’s water. Partially from a natural spring at the bottom of the Mobian-made lake, and partially pumped in from other sources. It’s upper concrete construction, terribly marred on one side here, now running a low and wide river through the residential portion of town.
Once he arrives at the scene, Mudbaum quickly gets into the habit of flashing his ID, and is left relatively alone as he comes up towards the damage.
Following other agents, Mudbaum follows the main crowd of agents into the control room of the Dam. There, on the wall, a message.

```

```
“The Druids will rise, as the city falls.” What does it mean? Who are these Druids, and why are they threatening Central City? Were there any witnesses?!
Find out next time, on Balance!

```

### Episode 4: …From The Look In His Eye, I Knew…

```
Jax:
“Beau!”

Jasper slides into the door of Admiral Beauregard’s Captain’s Quarters.

Jax:
“Beau! Are you in? Crew says you’re in!”

Beau:
*Beau is sleeping with his head on the desk.*

Jax:
*Jax knocks on the door twice, before swinging the door open and staggering in.* “I gotta say, I think I’m getting the hang of sea-legs.”

Beau:
“Whuh! Oh, ahem.”

Jax:
“I’ve got a breakth–Oh, were you sleeping?”

Beau:
*Beau shakes his head and rubs his eyes.*
“Sorry.”
*Beau yawns.*
“I’ve been doing paperwork here all night.”

Jax:
“My condolences.”

Beau:
*Beau sips his tea only to realize it’s cold.*
“Blegh. What are you so excited about today, Jasper?”

Jax:
“Aha!” *Jax slaps down a photo on the desk.* “This wall!”

Beau:
“That’s a photo.”

Jax:
“Of an incriminating wall!”

Beau:
“Is this about the bombings again?”

Jax:
“This message was spray-painted on the destroyed Central City Dam.” *Mudbaum grows somber.* “Thankfully, there were minimal injuries, though lots of property damage to a lot of domiciles. So, yeah. It’s about the bombings. They’re getting worse.”

Beau:
“Well, that’s all very unfortunate. But why are you telling me this at…”
*Beau checks the clock.*
“six AM?”

Jax:
“Is that the time?” *Jax checks the same clock.* “Huh, so it is!” *Jax shrugs.* “I’ve been up all night trying to figure this out.” *Jax points at the picture. “Obviously, this green doodle is supposed to be a leaf. But what’s this other red symbol?”

Beau:
“The anarchy symbol.”

Jax:
“Anarchy?”

Beau:
“Y’know, the symbol for no laws or government or whatever.”
*Beau stretches as he stands up.*

Jax:
*Mudbaum’s eyes light up briefly, before he quickly attempts to cover it up with a casual shrug.* “Oh. So, someone who’s a fan of chaos, then.”

Beau:
“Either way, why do you care so much? Flame said he’s got people on it, so we can focus on our jobs.”

Jax:
*Jax ruffles through his pockets and pulls out a wadded-up and incomplete police report.* “I got this off of one of our pals at the crime scene. It’s got some good notes.”

Beau:
*Beau stares at Jax with a blank expression, as he prepares new tea.*

Jax:
“If it wasn’t already obvious, this wasn’t some prank or mistake.” *Jax taps the report.* “These forensic reports suggest that it was remote-detonated, and it was submerged when it exploded, due to the epicenter of the blast radius. So it had to be specifically planned for this.”

Beau:
“Uh-huh…”

Jax:
*Mudbaum straightens up, dragging a palm against his non-existent hair.* “If Flame’s got people on it, they’re not doing their jobs.” *Jax frowns.* “If we don’t find who’s responsible for this, the next time, people are going to get hurt. I can feel it. Why do you care so little?”

Beau:
*Beau sighs.*
“It’s not that I don’t care, I just think my place is here with my crew. But it’s *very* obvious you won’t let this go…”

Jax:
“I would…”

Beau:
“If we do things my way, AND you don’t run into any burning buildings, I’ll go along with you.”

Jax:
“...” *Mudbaum considers, staring at the desk.*
“I don’t want to take you from your place with your crew. That’s not what I meant. I just…” *Jax waves at the desk.* “am looking for something to do, I suppose. Something not this.”

Beau:
“Oh, it’s fine, they’re always telling me to take a break anyway. I could really use some air anyway.”

Jax:
*Jax glances up at Beau with a smirk.* “Alright. Do you have any ideas?”

Beau:
*Beau looks at Jax in disbelief.*
“All of this and you don’t have a lead?”

Jax:
“We have a…” *Jax glances at the half-finished report.* “‘motive’.”

Beau:
“Hmm?”

Jax:
“These ‘druids’ are apparently claiming at least the one explosion, there at the dam. It’s possible both explosions are connected. At least, that’s what I think.”

Beau:
“Makes enough sense.”

Jax:
“I don’t know what the two really have in common, other than they’re both near water. Last night, I went back to the first explosion site, but they’d already wrecked what remained of those burnt buildings. They’re already making plans to rebuild. Apparently, they were a bunch of administration offices, and also some warehouses of some big tech company from overseas. No one found any sort of message or note at the harbor like at the dam, though.”

Beau:
“Have these ‘Druids’ done anything like this before? Do we know of any members maybe?”

Jax:
“I’ve never heard of them. Not even while I was in jail, and I heard of a few in there. Do you have access to GLACIA records? Or, retroactively, GUN records?”

Beau:
“Well, I don’t think GLACIA has many records, but I know a guy at the local PD.”

Jax:
*Jax has a sly grin.* “You ‘know a guy’. That’s what I like to hear.”

A short ride in Beau’s car to the Police Department later…

```

```
Tom:
“Hey there, Beau. To what do I owe the pleasure? Who’s your little–-Uh… Who’s your friend?”

```

```
Beau:
“Oh, this is Jasper, he’s uhh… Yeah, he’s a friend.”

Jax:
“Captain Mudbaum.” *Jax flashes the badge.* (It’s been working like a charm so far, now that I know how to show it off!)

Beau:
*Beau looks at Mudbaum confused.*
“We were hoping to use your database?”

Jax:
“Anything you’ve got on the ‘Druids’ or ‘anarchy’.”

Tom:
“Don’t you guys got your own super computers and stuff?”

Beau:
*Beau speaks under his breath.*
“I wasn’t gonna tell him…”

Jax:
“No…? Is that something I can requisition?”

Beau:
“No, Tom. That’s your job.”

Jax:
“Oh.” *Jax whispers back to Beau.* “Can we not trust him?”

Tom:
*Tom raises an eyebrow as he takes a bite of donut.*

Beau:
“Could you just see if you got anything for the search word ‘anarchy’?”

Tom:
“Why? You looking for Ed or something?”

Beau:
“Ed?”

Jax:
“Education? No, I already have my high-school equivalent, thanks. I’m good.”

Beau:
“No–...Like the name?”

Tom:
“Ed G. Hedgehog. He’s a local hooligan. Calls himself ‘Anarchy’.”

Jax:
“Oh? You don’t say…”

Tom:
“I can tell you where he likes to hang out. We try to keep an eye on him just in case he does something stupid.”

Jax:
“Like spray-painting the anarchy symbol in prominent places?”

Tom:
“Prominent places, Bob’s donut shop… He’s not picky about where he puts them.”

Beau:
“Well, it’s worth checking I suppose. Where could we find him?”

Tom:
“I mean, I could get you his home address probably.”

Jax:
“Perfect! We’ll see if we can catch him there. Thanks, Tom!” *Jax glances at the cop’s now empty hand.* “I owe you a donut!” *Jax turns and struts out, before turning back to look at Beau.* “Did I forget something?”

Beau:
“...The address.”

Tom:
“Get me a dozen and I’ll throw in his criminal record.
*Tom takes a napkin and writes the address down.* “Here.”

Jax:
“Oh. Right.” *Mudbaum blushes with embarrassment, but he smiles, laughing at himself.*

Beau:
*Beau takes the napkin.*
“I think we’re good, thanks Tom!”

Tom:
“No problem. Good luck with whatever you’re trying to do.”

Armed with this new knowledge, Beau and Mudbaum make their way to the address of Ed G. Hedgehog. Also known as Anarchy the Hedgehog. What is this new lead? Will it bring answers, or more questions? Will Tom ever truly fulfill his cravings for donuts? Is it spelled Donuts, or Doughnuts?! Tune in next time to see if more circular fried confections is the answer to any of these questions, on Balance!

```

### Episode 5: …This Was Going To Be Quite The Doozy…

```
Beau’s car rolls to a stop in the middle of a suburban area, with dozens of dozens of little cookie-cutter houses far as the eye can see. Their destination is visible, just down the street.

Jax:
“Are we there yet?”

Beau:
“Pretty much. The address is right over there.”
*Beau turns off the car, unbuckles and steps out.*

Jax:
*Jax struggles with the seatbelt, steps out, getting his seatbelt snagged on his shell.* “Ah, dangit. See, this is why I didn’t want to wear that thing. I don’t see how it’s supposed to stop me from flying in a crash anyway.”

Beau:
“It’s the law Jax.”

Jax:
*Jax sighs deeply.*

Without further complaint or fuss, the two would-be sleuths walk down the road to the address. 8436, Upper Platitudes Lane.

Beau:
*Beau rings the doorbell.*
“Okay, just follow my lead. Got it?”

Jax:
“Got it.” *Jax slams his fists together.*

```

```
Anarchy:
*Anarchy speaks from inside.* “Uggh! I got it Mom!”
*Anarchy opens the door.*
“Uhh, can I help you?”

```

```
Beau:
“We’d just like to ask you a couple of questions?”

Anarchy:
*Anarchy leaves only enough of the door open for his head.*
“Like what…?”

Jax:
*From behind his shades, Mudbaum gives this hedgehog a critical eye.*

Anarchy:
“What’s his deal?”

Beau:
*Beau notices Mudbaum’s expression.*
*Beau clears his throat.*
*He elbows Jasper.*

Jax:
(Oh. That must be my cue.) “Where were you last night?”

Beau:
“We just want to know if you know what this–”
*Beau looks at Jasper trying to communicate nonverbally that he is doing the exact opposite of what he told him.*

Anarchy:
“Wait a minute… Are you two some kinda cops or something?”

Jax:
*Jax blinks twice, uncertain of what Beau is trying to convey, but knowing that he’s [Jax] supposed to be ‘the heavy’. He’s always ‘the heavy’. Right?* “Nah, kid. You see a badge on either of us? A gun? Uniforms? We’re just a bunch of dudes.”
*Jax pauses a moment.* “A duo of dudes. But you’re here, and you’re a dude. So it’s a bunch now.”
*Jax is completely lost in contemplation, staring up at the house’s roof.*

Anarchy:
“I’m just gonna go then…”

Beau:
“Wait!”
*Beau puts his hand in the way of the door.*
“Could you just tell us if you know anything about this?”
*Beau holds up the picture of the dam wall.*

Anarchy:
“Psh, just because I like spray paint and anarchy doesn’t mean I know what that is.”
*Anarchy slams the door.* [Beau’s fingers were no longer there :P]

Jax:
*Jax is brought back from his contemplations by the slamming of the door.* “Oh, darn.”

Beau:
“...”

Jax:
*Jax looks back around at the house.* “Well, let’s see what we can gather from here.”

Beau:
“‘Where were you last night?’ Nothing even happened last night!”

In the noonday sun, Jax takes in the whole house. A small, two-story affair, of a dingy beige color, with a few dirty windows, and a chipped and cracked off-white vinyl fence, about 7 feet tall.

Jax:
“Huh? Last night? I was busy running around, why do you ask?”

Beau:
“No I–”
*Beau puts a hand to his face, he is so done.*
“Just get in the car.”

Jax:
*Jax’s eyes alight on the fence.* “Why? There’s no clues in the car.” *Jax starts walking towards the fence with a grin.* “I’ll bet you anything that there’s clues on the other side of this fence.”

Beau:
“I have a plan, just head back to the car and don’t make a fuss.”

Jax:
*Jax glances back at Beau.* “Oh? Plans are good.” *After glancing back at the fence once more, Mudbaum shrugs and follows Beau, smiling.* “Let’s do it your way, bud.”

Beau:
“Thank you.”

The two get back into the car, Beau making a point not to move the car till both of them had buckled in… Then they drove off around the corner… and rolled to a stop.

Jax:
*Jax glances at Beau questioningly.*

Beau:
*Beau looks over at the house.*
“Alright, while you were doing, whatever that was, I noticed something on his calendar.”

Jax:
“Wait, what?”

Beau:
“Yesterday was marked with 5:00 and the druids insignia. Today, the same thing but 1:00.”

Jax:
*Jax nearly jumps out of his seat, but bangs his head on the roof instead.* “Wa–Ow!”
*Jax rubs his head.* “Wait, so does that mean we’ve connected him directly with the Druids? We have, right?”

Beau:
*Beau is still looking away.*
“Uh-huh…”

Jax:
*Jax looks at a non-existent watch, then up at the sun.* “And if there’s another event today at 1:00…”

Beau:
“That’s what I’m thinking, yeah.”

Jax:
*Jax leans back in his seat.* “Dang. That’s good.” *Jax looks over at Beau, who’s watching the house like a… Well, like a cat.* “I was too focused on the guy himself to note anything in the background. I’ll have to remember that.”

Anarchy:
*Anarchy walks out of the house with a trash and duffel bag.*

Beau:
“Oop, there he is.”

Jax:
“Speaking of…” *Jax attempts to sink down into his seat, but ends up just sinking into his unmoving shell.*

Anarchy:
*Anarchy throws the trash into a heavily spray painted trash can.*

Beau:
“Alrighty, let’s see where he goes…”

Jax:
*Jax echoes hollowly from his shell.* “Excellent.”

What follows is the most amazing display of Sunday Driving ever beheld. As Anarchy the Hedgehog briskly makes his way through the neighborhood, Beau slowly follows in his car, keeping it a few blocks away, and occasionally out of sight around corners. Eventually, Anarchy jogs into downtown, around larger and larger buildings. After nearly an hour of this, it’s a little before 1 o’clock when Anarchy walks down an alley, briskly, and with a purpose.

Jax:
“It looks a bit tight in there. And we’ll show ourselves if we turn this down there, right?”

Beau:
“Wait, he just stopped… What is he waiting for…”

Jax:
*Suddenly, Jax perks up.* “You don’t think that duffel bag…”

Beau:
*Beau was distracted thinking.*
“Huh?”

Jax:
*Jax frantically swings the car door open, flailing against the seatbelt, before remembering to unlatch it, then all but launches out of the door.*
“HALT, HEDGEHOG!”

Beau:
*Beau’s face shows annoyance.*

Jax:
“We lied, we are police, STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!” *Jax fumbles for his badge, even as he runs full tilt down the alleyway at this juvenile hedgehog holding a spray can…*

With an open duffel bag of various colored spray cans at his feet…

Anarchy:
“Ohno.”

Jax:
“Oh.” *Going to a fast stop, Jax makes an effort to dodge the hedgehog, and instead trips and careens down the alleyway past Anarchy, and into the garbage stacked all around the dumpsters at the back of the alley.*

Anarchy:
“...”

Jax:
“Ow.”

Anarchy:
*Anarchy is very confused.*

Jax:
*Jax slowly gets up, rubbing his head, as various garbage, including a banana peel, falls off of him.*
“Ah, uh… Sorry, citizen. Thought you were a… Well, that is… Nevermind.”
*Jax straightens up.* “What you’re doing is… technically illegal.”

Anarchy:
*Anarchy nervously looks up at the skyscraper next to him.*
“Oh, yup. Just doing my usual shenanigans, heheheh… I’m just gonna…”
*Anarchy bolts out of the alley.*

Jax:
*Jax’s eyes narrow.* “Beau! He’s coming your way!”

Beau:
“What? Great, he scared him off…”

Jax:
*Jax glances down at the spray cans.* “‘Usual shenanigans’. Anyone who says that is never up to anything ‘usual’!”
*Jax starts shuffling through the cans.* “There’s got to be an ‘alteriour’ motive. Otherwise, there were plenty of other places to spray paint on the way here…!” [ulterior was misspelled, but I left it because it was in quotes]

Searching the bag only reveals what it appears to be. About a dozen or so different colored spray paints.

Jax:
“Bah.” *Jax sits back, unable to hide some slight frustration, as he looks up at the building.*
*Standing up, Jax puts his hands on his hips as he looks down at the spray paints.* “He must have come here for something other than just spray painting…”
*Jax looks around the alley for something, *anything*.*

Suddenly, Jax’s eyes alight on a door here. A door that is normal in every regard… except for its busted lock.

Jax:
“Aha.”
*Jax pushes the door, experimentally, revealing a linen and laundry room.*

Beau:
“What is he doing now?”
*Beau gets out of the car and walks toward Jax.*
“Hey, what’re you–”

Jax:
*After peeking in to make sure no one else was there, Mudbaum steps back.* “This door’s lock has been busted! I’m willing to bet that whatever Ed’s reason for coming was, had to do with something or someone in this building! His ‘usual shenanigans’ were just a cover!”

Beau:
“Well, it’s five minutes until one, whatever he was waiting for is going down soon!”

Jax:
*Jax nearly jumps out of his boots.* “Unless we already messed it up by being here…”
*Jax glances at the spray cans, and then back up at the building sheepishly.*

Beau:
“I doubt they’d call something off just because Ed ran off early.”

Jax:
*Suddenly, a connection is made in Jax’s mind.* “Beau, do you know what building this is?”

Beau:
“It’s the Great Goose Hotel, why?”

Jax:
“You don’t think they’d blow up a hotel, right?”

Beau:
“...I wouldn’t put it past them.”

A moment of silence passes. Jax gives Beau a knowing stare.

Jax:
*Jax bolts into the building.*

Beau:
“Mudbaum!”
*Beau chases after him.*

With 5 minutes to go before 1 o’clock, we’re going to leave it there! Will our heroes find what they’re looking for?! Will Anarchy ever recover his paints?! WHAT HAPPENS AT 1 O’CLOCK?!? All I know is that I’m hungry, and 1 o’clock is my lunchtime. Tune in next time to see everything go wrong, on Balance!

```

[I’d like to mention that this is the point when Mortimer dropped out, and GasglowJones took control of Jax.]

### Episode 6: At Last, I Found a Clue…

```
Ahem. Where were we?
Oh, yes. Our two heroes were heading into a building set for illegal explosive detonation.

Beau:
*Beau catches up with Mudbaum.*
“What are you doing? We should call for backup.”

Jax:
“No time!”
*Jax rushes to the desk and slams down on the bell repeatedly.*

Crisis:
*Crisis speaks from the distance.* “Help! Is anyone there?! Ow… Why do these things always happen to me?”

Jax:
“YES!” *Jax looks around for the citizen.*
“Where are you?”

Beau:
“She’s over here!”

Jax:
*Jax runs over.*

Crisis:
“Oh, thank goodness.”

Beau:
“Are you alright? What happened?”

Crisis:
“Some bird attacked me, it was horrible.”

Beau:
*Beau helps her off the ground.*

Jax:
“Bird?”
*Jax gives Beau a look.* “You don’t think…”

Crisis:
“Yeah. They headed upstairs, to the roof, I think.”

Beau:
“...What? Oh, thank you, here you go.”
*Beau leads Crisis Cat out the door.*

Jax:
“You should probably get as far away as possible. Things may or may not explode.”

Crisis:
“Explode?!”

Jax:
“Yeah, nothing to worry about… hopefully…”

Beau:
“Why would you?”
*Beau sighs.*

Crisis:
“Oh, gosh–Oh, gee.”

Beau:
“You’re gonna go to the roof aren’t you?”

Jax:
“Yup!”
*Jax runs up the stairs hoping that it isn’t the bird he’s thinking of on the roof.*

Beau:
“Ahem.”
*Beau points to the elevator.*

Jax:
*Jax stops and comes back down.* “Right. That’d probably be faster…”
*Jax smashes the down button on the elevator repeatedly.* [the button on the outside, summoning the elevator]

Beau:
*Beau waits while rubbing his forehead.*

Jax:
*The elevator arrives and Jax squeezes inside.*

Beau:
“...Up we go…”

Meanwhile just outside on the busy streets of Central City, the MeteoTech display screen changes to display the Druids symbol and a short countdown.
5
4
3
2
1
Do not worry, the hotel does not explode at this time. But the screen does flash and change to show a cat.

```

```
Kitty:
“Hello citizens of Central City! As you know, about a month ago a group of heroes destroyed the corrupt organization known as GUN. They did a great service to the world…”

```

```
Jax:
(Ugh… Almost there…)

Kitty:
“...Only to reform under a new name GLACIA. I had hoped things would be different. But I should’ve known the cycle of power would continue.”

Beau:
*The elevator door opens.*
“Now we take the stairs.”

Jax:
*Jax nods and dashes up the stairs.*

Kitty:
“And there’s always been one thing at the root of all this…”
*Kitty turns around to reveal a half-robotic figure.*
“As many of you know Eggman ruined the lives of many people… But we never let him win. We always pushed him back. But some went too far, and used his own horrible machines to stop him. But they didn’t stop there, they used them to become tyrants themselves. In fact a company in your city turned me into… this. I’ve realized there’s only one way to show them their transgressions…”
*Kitty ominously holds up a remote detonator.*

Beau:
*Beau goes to open the door but bonks into it.*
“Oww. It’s locked…”

Jax:
*JAX RAMS DOWN THE DOOR SENDING IT FLYING OFF THE HINGES.*

***KABOOOM!*** The ground is shaken violently by a huge explosion.

Beau:
“What the heck was that?!”

Jax:
“We’re too late? Wait. What blew up?!”

Instead of being greeted by their untimely demise our would-be detectives find two mysterious figures.

```

```
Andy:
*Andy gives his cyborg feline companion a thumbs up.*
*He notices the two detectives.*

```

```
Beau:
*Beau draws his sword.* “We have reason to believe you should be under arrest!”

Jax:
“Surrender now and we’ll go easy on you…”

Andy:
“Wow. Bravo, Sherlock. Did it take you all day to figure that out?”

Beau:
*Beau rolls his eyes.*
“You remind me of someone. That’ll make this easy.”

Kitty:
*Kitty is too nervous (because the camera is rolling) to do anything.*

Andy:
*Andy pulls out his pistol and opens fire.*

Beau:
“Whoa!”

Jax:
*Jax rushes at Andromedus.*

Beau:
“Yeah! Get him!”

Jax:
*...and crashes into Kitty…*

Beau:
“Oop, okay…”

Kitty:
*Kitty falls down along with Mudbaum.*

Beau:
*Beau catches up to Andromedus, holds him to the ground and smiles.*
“Well that wasn’t so hard was it?”

Jax:
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”
*Jax fiddles around in his pockets for handcuffs.*

Kitty:
*Kitty is just very confused.*
“This wasn’t supposed to happen!”
*Kitty kicks Mudbaum backwards into the camera.*

Beau:
“Jax!”

Jax:
*Jax crashes backwards onto his shell, crushing the camera.*

Andy:
“Hey! That thing wasn’t cheap ya know!”

Beau:
“Shut up.”

Andy:
“Do you know how hard it is to get decent live streaming equipment in this town?!”

Kitty:
*Kitty leaps over Mudbaum and slugs Beauregard.*

Beau:
“Gah!”

Kitty:
“We should leave!”

Andy:
“Right. Later nerds!”
*Andy blows a raspberry at them as he and Kitty escape.*

Well, that didn’t go great… but it gave us a few answers at least! Yet many more questions… hopefully we will learn more next time on Balance!

```

### Episode 7: …But My Opposition Grew Stronger.

```
A few hours later at the GLACIA HQ Beauregard and Mudbaum are getting debriefed by Major Violet before seeing the general.

Beau:
*Beau is rubbing his head.*
“Hey Violet.”

Jax:
*Jax waves as he’s picking bits of camera wiring out of his shell.*

Violet:
“While you two were on your way to the roof, that cat you met made her declaration to the world.”

Jax:
“Oh?”

Beau:
“So we got a terrorist group on our hands? Great.”

Violet:
“It would seem so.”

Jax:
“So, what exactly were their motives if you don’t mind me asking…”
*Jax shuffles a bit and repositions his glasses.*

Violet:
“She seems to be seeking revenge against MeteoTech. After her speech, she activated a detonator, and the MeteoTech building was blown up. But that may not be her only target. She spoke against GLACIA as well…”

Beau:
“I see… And this is directly correlated with the Druids right?”

Violet:
“We believe so. Their logo appeared at the start of the cat’s stream.”

Beau:
“Hmm, they seem to be getting more aggressive with each attack.”

Jax:
“Well, then we should get this meeting over with and get back out there! Before things get worse.”

Beau:
“He’s not wrong. Can we see Flame now?”

Violet:
“Yes, go ahead. Good luck.”

Beau:
*Beau opens the door to Flame’s office.*
“Hello there General.”

Flame:
*Flame glares at Beau.*
“Don’t tell me you were involved too…”

Beau:
“Mudbaum did a very–”

Jax:
*Jax shoves Beau out of the way.* “Sir, with all due respect, people were dying out there! And if we don’t act now this very base may be next!”

Beau:
*Beau gives Mudbaum an extremely confused look.*

Flame:
“We *are* acting, Captain! Did the Admiral not make it clear to you that you are not on this case?"

Beau:
“Well, I–”

Jax:
“Yes, but given that was a stupid decision I decided to ignore it. Besides, we never saw any of these people who are acting!”

Flame:
“Stupid decision?! You have no experience and risk jeopardizing this situation!”

Beau:
“I know what it–”

Jax:
“Risk?! Risk how?! YOU WERE LITERALLY DOING NOTHING TO HELP PEOPLE! Send some public service announcements or SOMETHING!”

Flame:
*Flame rises from his seat.*
“Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean that we aren’t doing anything! Look, Mudbaum, I know from experience the consequences that rash behavior can have! You need to stop getting yourself involved in this before you mess something up!”

Jax:
“I’ll do you one better…”
*Jax pulls out his badge and slams it on the table.*
“I QUIT!”

Beau:
*Beau is completely frazzled speechless.*

Jax:
*Jax storms out.*

Flame:
“Spared me the trouble of deciding how to punish him…”

Beau:
“...”
“Can I go sir?”

Flame:
“Yes, you may leave. And stay out of this situation.”

Beau:
*Beau pauses for a moment before nodding and leaving.*

Rewinding a bit, we find Andromedus and Kitty riding away after their close encounter at the Great Goose Hotel.

Kitty:
“That was too close. This is getting more difficult every time!”

Andy:
“Meh, I’ve been through worse scrapes as a kid!”

Kitty:
“Even still, we are being watched more than ever now.”

Andy:
“True…”
*Andy runs a red light.*

Kitty:
“Careful…”

Andy:
“Sorry, not used to this city traffic…”

Kitty:
“It’s hard to be this leader so many people look up to… I never asked for this.”

Andy:
“None of us did Kitty… But that’s why we gotta show ‘em…”

Kitty:
“You’re right, if no one else is going to stop them we should…”

Andy:
“That’s the spirit!”

Kitty:
*Kitty gives Andy a weak smile, before turning to look out the window and frowning again.*
“I think those two on the roof were from GLACIA.”

Andy:
“Oh most definitely. Actually, if we need it I could probably get us some intel on them… Just need to make a few calls…”

Kitty:
“It’s only going to get harder to take down GLACIA from here on out. I’m worried about the organization as a whole not those two bumbling fools.”

Andy:
“That’s fair.”

Kitty:
“I want to do the plan. And before you say anything, yes, I know it’s risky.”

Andy:
“...We should probably sleep on it…”

Citizen:
*Citizen is jaywalking while whistling.*

Andy:
“GAH!”

Kitty:
“Look out!”

Andy:
*Andy swerves around the rotund man.*

Kitty:
*Kitty slouches down.*

Citizen:
“Good heavens! Watch where you’re driving punk!”

Andy:
“WATCH WHERE YOU’RE WALKING YOU DUNDERHEADED DIMBULB!”

Kitty:
*Kitty gives Andy a concerned look.*

Andy:
“Ugh… We gotta get out of this town…”

From then on they rode in silence until they were out of the city reaching a good-sized farm house.

Kitty:
“Is this the place?”

Andy:
“Yeah. This is it…”
*Andy goes to hop out but the door is stuck.*
“Come on…”
*Andy jiggles the handle.*
*He sighs.*
*He rolls down the window and climbs out.*

Kitty:
*Kitty giggles.*
“You should’ve let me get that for you. Come on. We should get some rest.”

Andy:
“It’s no big deal, we’ve got this place for a few days anyway…”

Kitty:
*After a few minutes of them familiarizing themselves with the house, Kitty falls asleep.*

Andy:
*Andy sighs.*
*He walks into his room and pulls a laptop and mobile router out of his bag and sets it up.*
*He glances through the open door and sees Kitty lying on her bed.*
“If only things were better… If only she could see she’s not the monster she thinks she is…”
*Andy pulls up a file of photos on his computer, cycling through his memories, good and bad.*
*Suddenly he’s interrupted by a video call.*
“Oh boy…”
*Andy answers it and three birds appear on screen sitting in front of a skull banner: a stout owl with wild eyes, a grumpy cyborg raven who clearly doesn’t want to be there, and a gangly-looking old vulture.*

```

```
Khamberlain:
“Hello there! How’s little Andy?”

```

```
Andy:
“Kommander… Doctor Fukurokov… And uh…”
*Andy looks confused at the raven.* “Why is Blight here?”

```

```
Blight:
“Been wonderin’ the same thing…”

```

```
Khamberlain:
“This is an official Kukku meeting! We have business to discuss…”

Blight:
*Blight boredly slices off a piece of apple with his knife and crunches it loudly.*

Khamberlain:
*Khamberlain winces.*

Fukurokov:
“Hoo hoo! Yes, indeed we do! And unfortunately Blight was the only available member and we needed a minimum of three for the meeting…”

Khamberlain:
“Indeed. Anyway! We’ve noticed you’ve started another pet project.”

Fukurokov:
“Yes… And it is going better than your last endeavor I would hope.”

Khamberlain:
“By the looks of it *I* would say it is.”

Andy:
“Uh huh. What does my life have to do with you guys?”

Fukurokov:
“Oh everything my dear boy…”

Khamberlain:
“Oh come on Andromedus, don’t be so cynical. We just want to help!”

Fukurokov:
“We admit, after your father’s untimely passing and the shifting of command to your uncle we have been a bit harsh on you…”

Khamberlain:
“But you must understand we have reputation to upkeep.”

Blight:
*Blight belches fire.*

Khamberlain:
*Khamberlain gives Blight a perturbed glance.*

Blight:
“Oof, sorry mates, had some bad grog at lunch…”

Khamberlain:
“As I was saying it wasn’t at all personal when we banished you.”

Andy:
“Suuure and Jack being banished had nothing to do with him locking Blight in a freezer…”

Blight:
“OBJECTION!”

Khamberlain:
*Khamberlain sighs.*
“This isn’t court Beakton…”

Blight:
“Hmmph.”

Fukurokov:
“Anyways…”

Khamberlain:
“We just wanted to make sure these followers of yours live up to their potential. Ya’know nudge them in the right direction.”
*Khamberlain holds up a doubloon with the Kukku Empire insignia.*

Andy:
“Uh huh… And what direction would that be?”

Khamberlain:
“Can you really not tell what I’m getting at!?”
*Khamberlain clears his throat.*
“To put it plainly, after that stupid little fox killed your father we’ve been a little short on forces… And from what I’ve seen these Druids will do anything your little girlfriend says…”

Andy:
“She’s not my girlfriend but they are a loyal group. Much more organized than your armada.”

Blight:
*Blight stops munching on the apple core.* “He’s gotcha there.”

Khamberlain:
“Hmph. Well, they’re organized enough to stomp down a few revolutionaries.”
*Khamberlain grins evilly.*

Blight:
“Didn’t take out Jack very well…”

Khamberlain:
“Well that wasn’t *my* plan.”

Fukurokov:
“Gentlemen please! Can we get back on track? I have a clone in the oven…”

Andy:
“Well I’ll leave you old hens to your cackling…”
*Andy goes to end the call.*

Khamberlain:
“Wait! You haven’t heard our offer yet! In return for not crushing your little group, all we ask is that you convince your friend to relinquish control to the glorious Kukku Empire!”

Andy:
“What’s in it for me?”

Khamberlain:
“Besides the first thing I mentioned, we are prepared to give you a seat right here as a council member. And you can bring the cat as well if you’d like.”

Blight:
“Oh? We just letting anyone in now?”

Khamberlain:
“We let you stay, don’t we?”

Blight:
“Aw, you know you’d miss me.”

Fukurokov:
“Like a rotten tooth.”

Andy:
“Well, she could be less than agreeable to those arrangements…”

Khamberlain:
“Ah! We thought you might say that. Go on Doctor tell him what you made.”

Fukurokov:
“OH HO! Yes, a little device to help you get a handle on your friend’s rebellious nature…”

Khamberlain:
“Don’t fret, it’s only designed to ease her… well, insanity!”
*Khamberlain’s smile from earlier returns.*

Andy:
“Hmmm… You **sure** it won’t hurt her?”

Khamberlain:
“Don’t you trust us? We wouldn’t dream of making such a horrible device as that.”

Fukurokov:
*Fukurokov mumbles:* “Although one would be handy for the bucket of bolts and bad manners over there…”

Khamberlain:
“Either way, we’ll let you think this over. But remember if you decide no, we’ll destroy everything you love! Ahahaha! Hahahaha!”

Blight:
*Blight throws his apple core, hitting the Kommander in the head.*

Khamberlain:
“Gaahk! WHY YOU METAL PIECE OF–”

Fukurokov:
“I’ll uh, have the device sent to your location…” *Fukurokov ends the call before it gets ugly.*

Andy:
*Andy sighs.*
*He looks back over to Kitty.*
“If it will help Kitty…*

Alright, who are we rooting for at this point? I thought we knew where the story was going, but at this point I’m not sure. Until next time on Balance!

```

### Episode 8: Catching Wind of Their Scheme…

```
Without any leads but a desire for justice Jax sits at the shore of Emerald Beach, wondering what to do next.

Jax:
*Jax sighs deeply as he stands there, feeling the warm sand under his feet [is sand warm in November though? :P] taking deep breaths of the salt air.*
(I let my temper get the better of me… But something has to be done… I can’t just stand by… But I have no leads… no clues…)
*Jax sighs.* (No partner…)

Beau:
“Hey buddy. What are you doing sulking? We got work to do.”

Jax:
*Jax turns around.*
“Ha! You quit too?”

Beau:
“Nope, I still have it. …For now.”

Jax:
“Hmm. Well, sorry for that little outburst…” *Jax rubs the back of his head awkwardly.*
“I just couldn’t take any more of that sheep’s bureaucracy.”

Beau:
“Yeah, he can be a bit much. But you gotta understand he has a lot on his plate. …But if we don’t do something soon, that cat’s gonna wipe out half the city.”

Jax:
*Jax’s smile turns into a serious expression.* “Right. So, where we headed Chief?”

Beau:
“Golden City!”

Jax:
“Then let’s ride!” *Jax runs to Beau’s car excitedly and almost slides across the hood but rethinks it and just goes around.*

After a few hours driving, mostly filled with Mudbaum speculating, they near their destination. [it wouldn't be quite this long, they're just following the shore of the Twin Cities]

Beau:
“Hopefully we’ll be able to find some answers about the lady that beat you up on the roof.”

Jax:
“Yes… She seemed… interesting. Kinda looked like Eggman robotics… And that bird…”

Beau:
“Yeah, she seemed pretty concerned when I pinned him down. He kinda reminded me of Jack. Heheh…”

Jax:
“Yeah… So… we never finished that conversation…”

Beau:
“Hmm? What conversation?”

Jax:
“About Beakton. What’s your opinion of him exactly?”

Beau:
“Oh, that’s a complicated one… Well, my first impression of him was a lot less… maniacal. He’s actually pretty–”
*Suddenly Beau’s phone starts ringing.*
“Oh that’s right! I told Nezumi to call me. Here, can you answer this?”
*Beau hands Jax the phone.*

Jax:
“Oh right…”
*Jax grabs the phone and awkwardly answers it with his big hands.*

Nezumi:
“So, what is it you want?”

Jax:
“Uh, hello to you too ma’am…”

Nezumi:
“You got a cold or something, Beau? You sound weird.”

Jax:
“Uh, this is Mudbaum. Beau is kinda driving.”

Nezumi:
“Oh. What does he want?”

Beau:
“You can put her on speaker phone.”

Jax:
“Uh okay…”

Nezumi:
“Just put me on speaker.”

Jax:
*Jax accidentally hangs up.*
“Whoops…”

Nezumi:
*Nezumi glares.*

Beau:
“It’s okay, we’re just about there anyways.”

In just a couple minutes they arrive at Nezumi’s garage.

Beau:
“Alright! We’re here.”

Jax:
“Right…” *Jax gets out and follows Beau to the door.*

Beau:
*Beau goes to knock, the door is opened before he gets the chance.*

Nezumi:
“Seriously. What do you want? I did have other things I was doing, ya know.”

Beau:
“We were hoping you could help us out with a couple… slightly less than legal things.”

Nezumi:
*Nezumi squints.*
*She goes inside.*

Beau:
“Okay then.”

Nezumi:
“Oh yeah, come in…”

Jax:
*Jax raises his eyebrows under his shades.*

Beau:
“She’s good for intelligence, come in.”
*Beau follows Nezumi inside and explains their situation.*

After watching Kitty’s video they get down to business.

Jax:
“Hmm. Well. That was… informative… Seems kinda a noble cause honestly… Although their methods are a bit… much…”

Nezumi:
*Nezumi leans back in her office chair.* “You guys got quite the case on your hands…”

Beau:
“You could say that, yeah.”

Nezumi:
“How can I help?”

Beau:
“What I was really wondering is if you had anything on the cat in the video.”

Nezumi:
“Me? No. Some government databases I could access if you really needed me to? Maybe.”

Jax:
*Jax’s eyes widen under the shades.*
“Miss Nezumi, this is a matter of life and death. We need you to.”

Nezumi:
“Eh, who am I kidding, it’s nothing I haven’t done before.” *Nezumi starts tapping away at her keyboard.*
“...”
“Oh, wow.”
“...”
“No way.”
“...”
“Really? Huh.”
“...”

Beau:
“So… do we get to know any of this?”

Nezumi:
“Just a sec, gotta dot my Is and cross my Ts real quick… Don’t need to get caught again…”

Jax:
“Again?”

Beau:
*Beau shrugs.*

[Pip explained that getting caught is how Nezumi got that internship with GLACIA :P]

Nezumi:
“Okay.” *Nezumi turns on her projector and throws up some relevant articles and photos.*
“Here’s the deal. So, her name is Kitty. Alittleonthenosebutwhatever.”

Beau:
*Beau listens intently.*

[the characters in the image have wide eyes and slightly open mouths. Like, :o]

Nezumi:
“According to what I found out, she was kidnapped a while back by Eggman. She was thought dead. But get this. I couldn’t find a lot of evidence…” (My money’s on a shady government coverup.) “But it seems like she destroyed an entire MeteoTech lab!”

Beau:
“That explains some things…”

Nezumi:
“I’m not really sure, but it seems like she was experimented on or something. Which is, ya know, pretty messed up.”

Jax:
*Jax frowns slightly as he thinks about just what sort of horror she’s been through.*

Beau:
“Well, helpful as that was, that does[n't?] put us much closer to any answers.”

Nezumi:
“Eh. You get what you pay for.”

Beau:
“Any info on the Druids in general?”

Nezumi:
“I mean, yes. But not much. They don’t exactly have much of online presence.”

Jax:
“Anything useful? Dates? Locations?”

Nezumi:
“Well,” *Nezumi turns back to the computer.* “I found this one site. Some kind of blog that seems to have something to do with the Druids. Oh, you gotta be kidding me. Well, I got your dates.”

Jax:
“Oh?!”

Nezumi:
“Check it out, he’s got the dates and locations right here. This bozo thought he could hide it by making the text the same color as the page.”

Jax:
*Jax shares a look with Beau.*

Beau:
*Beau shares a look with Jasper.*

Jax:
“Anarchy…”

Beau:
“Anarchy.”

Nezumi:
“Okay, this last one is actually just a date. But there is something going on in a couple days.”

Beau:
“Huh, thought they’d be at it sooner than that… Anything happen on that date?”

Nezumi:
*Nezumi shrugs.*

Beau:
“Hmm…”

Jax:
“Wait. The shipments!”

Beau:
“What shipments?”

Jax:
“The GUN stuff?”

Beau:
“**What are you talking about!?**”

Nezumi:
(Geez, they’re like an old married couple…)

Jax:
“The stuff we’d been moving to the new building! GLACIA! The old GUN stuff!”

Beau:
“Oh!”
“...”
“What about them?”

Jax:
“It’s the perfect way for them to get in! If they were to hijack a shipment…”

Beau:
“You’re right… I think I’m gonna call Flame.”

We’ve finally learned the origins of our crazy cat. Will Flame listen to Beauregard? Will Mudbaum ever get his question answered? Find out next time on Balance!

```

### Episode 9: …I Took Matters into My Own Hands…

```
Jumping right back into it, Beau’s making an urgent call to General Flame.

Beau:
“Come on, pick up pick up…”

Flame:
*Flame eventually answers.* “What do you want?”

Beau:
“Sir, it’s about the Druids case.”

Flame:
“The Druids case?! I told you to stay off that!”

Beau:
“Yes, I know that. But I have some new info–”

Flame:
*Flame wasn’t listening to that last part.* [actually, he didn't *hear* it]
“I don’t have time for this, Admiral, and neither do you! We have our own jobs to do!”

Beau:
“But sir this is really important!”

Flame:
“Yes, and that’s why we have to be sure it’s being handled *properly*, as our investigators are currently seeing to! For the last time, STAY OFF THIS CASE!”
*Flame hangs up, slamming down the phone.*
(Why won’t anyone listen?!)

Beau:
“...”

Jax:
“...”
“Sounded like that went well…”

Beau:
“Yeah… If those shipments are gonna be sabotaged, GLACIA isn’t gonna do anything about it.”

Jax:
*Jax stands up and cracks his knuckles.*
“Then we should…”

Beau:
*Beau sighs.*
“Yep, looks like it’s time for a road trip.”

Jax:
*Jax smiles.* “I call shotgun.”

After saying goodbye to Nezumi, the two head off for the old GUN fortress, where supplies are to be delivered to GLACIA HQ.

Beau:
“Looks like we’ll have some time to kill before moving day, any ideas for a game plan?”

Jax:
*Jax thinks back to the last time they were there.*
“Hmm… Well, we should probably do some recon.”

Beau:
“Mm, good idea. Luckily they shouldn’t be expecting us…”

Jax:
*Jax sighs as he sees the old building visible on the horizon, marks from the previous month’s battle still visible.* “Hopefully…”

Beau:
“Hopefully we can get the jump on them, it sounds like this “Kitty” is quite the handful. But we’ve taken on worse, right?”

Jax:
“Heh. Yeah…” *Jax thinks about the Polybius incident.* “Much worse…”

Beau:
“Then again last month we had some very powerful help… Oh, and Jack was there too.”

Jax:
“Yeah… Jack… Speaking of… we got interrupted last time and we do have time to kill…”

Beau:
“That’s right… Let’s put it this way. When I first met Jack he was assigned to my flotilla. And he was the boldest guy there, not a single time did he ever refuse a mission. Whenever I needed to vent he would always listen and not complain himself. Although, it’s quite obvious why, now. What I’m trying to get at is, he’s a good guy with a bad family. Not the merciless, Eggman supporting, pirate he makes himself out to be.”

Jax:
“Hmm… I see… I honestly don’t quite understand this whole family thing… If Jack’s not the man he makes himself out to be, why keep ties with Eggman?”

Beau:
“Honestly I’m not sure what it is about family that makes you see the best in them… All I know is that, I’m trying my best to remind Jack that he doesn’t have to keep being the way he is. And I think he’s trying to do the same for his uncle…”

Jax:
“Yeah… He mentioned something about that at the funeral… Jack mentioned that Eggman could be a ‘good man’ with the right therapy and if he could get off the Sonic obsession…”

Beau:
“I have a hard time believing that, but if Pipsqueak was a maniacal villain I’m sure I would say the same.”

Jax:
“Ha! There’s a mental image and a half…”

Beau:
*Beau smiles.*
“At least he’s fighting for what he believes in. Which is probably what we should be focusing on. We have a couple of days to scope out the area, it should give us plenty of time.

It looks like Beauregard and Jasper are finally getting along, but can they stop the Druids’ nefarious plan? Find out next time on the Balance finale!

```

### Episode 10: …And Thwarted Them for the Time Being…

```
We return at the night of the shipment, with just an hour until takeoff. Andromedus is currently trying to find Kitty before they can leave.

Andy:
“Kitty? Come on, it’s showtime!”

Kitty:
*Kitty is on the roof watching the stars.*

Andy:
“...” *Andy sits down next to her.* “You okay?”

Kitty:
*Kitty sighs.*
“I suppose… I just hope we make a difference tonight.”

Andy:
“Yeah, of course…”

Kitty:
“When I escaped the lab all those years ago I thought I’d be alone for the rest of my life… So thanks for not pushing me away.”
*Kitty gives Andy a smile and a hug.*

Andy:
“Yeah…” *Andy hugs back and silently attaches the Doctor’s device onto her shoulder.*

Kitty:
*Kitty pats him on the back a little confused.*
“Well that was kind of depressing… Anything I need to [do?] before we go?”

Andy:
“Yeah, I uh… um, actually, no. It can wait…”

Kitty:
“Alright then, we better get going.”
*Kitty hops off the roof.*

Andy:
*Andy is startled.* “I swear you scare me sometimes…”

Kitty:
*Kitty smiles as she walks to the van.*

Later at the old GUN fortress Beau and Jax are waiting for something, anything.

Beau:
“...”
“We’ve been waiting here all day, if they were going to do something don’t you think they would’ve done it already?”

Jax:
“Hmm… Maybe that’s just what they want us to think?”

Beau:
“Well, if they don’t show up in the next…”
*Beau checks his watch and sighs.*
“...ten minutes, then there won’t be anything left to take.”

Jax:
“True… I guess we could always help move boxes…”

GLACIA Agent:
*Agent picks up one of the boxes they were hiding behind.*
“Whoa! What’re you two doing here?”

Jax:
*Jax reaches for his badge to flash it only to remember it’s not there.*

Beau:
“Sorry. We thought we had something to do here, but I guess we don’t. We’ll be leaving…”

GLACIA Agent:
“Well okay then…”
*Agent walks towards the plane but gets shot with a tranquilizer halfway there.”

Jax:
“AHA!”

Beau:
“Is he okay?!”

Jax:
*Jax is too busy rushing into the plane.*

Beau:
*Beau runs up to the agent and looks around for where the shot came from.*

Two figures can be seen running into the plane through the cargo hold.

Beau:
“Jax wait!”

Jax:
“Why?”

Beau:
“They don’t know we’re here, we can wait and surprise them.”

Jax:
“...Or, we rush them now.”

Beau:
“They’ll be carrying cargo, they won’t suspect it. Trust me Jax.”

Jax:
“Right…”

Beau:
*Beau pulls his sword and sidles [?] up to the side of the ramp.*

Jax:
“...”

Beau:
“...”

After many very awkward seconds, something finally happens… The bay door begins to close!

Beau:
“What are they doing!?”

Jax:
*Jax runs over to the door and grabs onto it, pulling it downward against the gears and climbing inside.*

Beau:
*Beau stumbles forward because of the door opening.*
“Jax! A little help?”

Jax:
*Jax grabs his arm and pulls him up.*

Beau:
*Beau brushes himself off once inside.*
“Thanks.”

Jax:
“Come on. We got a hijacking to hijack!”

Beau:
*Beau nods and follows Jax to the hangar.*

Kitty:
“Did you hear something?”

Andy:
“No? Come on, we gotta get this bird in the air…”

Kitty:
“Alright, you do that, I’m going to go check…”

Andy:
*Andy takes a hold of the controls and starts pulling the plane out.* “You can do this Andy… It’s just like the old biplanes… just, bigger…”

Kitty:
*Kitty walks out to the passenger part of the plane where she runs into Beauregard and Jasper.*
“You two again!?”

Beau:
“Hello there.”

Jax:
“It’s showtime…” *Jax cracks his knuckles.*

Kitty:
“We don’t have time for this!”
*Kitty takes a defensive stance and extends her claws.*

Jax:
*Jax goes to rush her before quickly veering off at the last second and bursting through to the cockpit.*

Beau:
“...Well then. En Garde!”
*Beau begins slicing at Kitty.*

Kitty:
*Without much resistance, Kitty slowly pushes Beau against the wall.*

Beau:
“Uhm, buddy! What are you doing back there?!”

Jax:
“Stuff…”
*Jax is struggling to try and get Andy away from the wheel.*

Andy:
*Andy has managed to get out of the hangar and is in the air.* “HOLD ONTO SOMETHING KITTY!”

Kitty:
“What?!”

Andy:
*Andy spins the plan around in a barrel roll sending Mudbaum flying.*

Jax:
(That’s gonna leave a mark…)

Beau:
*Beau lands on top of Kitty, but without his sword.*
“Heheh.”

Kitty:
“Gah!”
*Kitty throws Beauregard against the wall opposite to the cockpit.*

Andy:
(Better switch on auto pilot…)
*Andy props up a crowbar against the controls, keeping them straight.*

Kitty:
*Kitty slices the cockpit door off its hinges and kicks it onto Mudbaum.*

Mudbaum:
“Gah!”

Kitty:
“There! That should keep him down.”

Jax:
*Jax lifts the dented door off himself.*
*And tosses it back at Kitty.*

Kitty:
“How!?”
*Kitty lands on her back, causing the device to start blinking.*

Andy:
“Kitty!”
*Andy rushes over to her.*

Beau:
*Beau gets up from the floor.*
“Wow, good job Mudbaum!”

Andy:
*Andy draws his pistol and points it at Mudbaum.*
“Go ahead Turtle Boy, give me a reason to pull this trigger…”
*Andy helps Kitty up while keeping one eye on the turtle and his gun drawn.*

Beau:
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret…”

Andy:
“Oh really? Well my dear captain, we’re currently on a collision course with your precious GLACIA Headquarters… with a shipment full of explosives…”

Beau:
*Beau clears his throat.*
“Admiral…”

Andy:
“Please, and Beakton’s a baron… Now, where was I? Oh yes… You two stooges will be getting first class tickets to the destruction!”

Jax:
“...”
*Jax rushes to the controls and veers downward toward the ocean.*
[idk, they’re not over the ocean, they’re over Central City.]

Andy:
*Andy fires at Mudbaum to distract the heroes long enough for him to snatch two parachutes off the wall and kick the side door of the plane behind him open.*
“Let’s skedaddle Kitty…”

Kitty:
*Kitty finally shakes off the last hit.*
*She looks Andromedus in the eye and shakes her head.*

Andy:
“What? Why?”

Kitty:
“They’ll stop the ship from crashing. I have to stay and stop them. Just leave.”

Andy:
“Oh no! I am NOT leaving you behind!”

Kitty:
*Suddenly Kitty’s eyes glaze over and the device on her back stops blinking.*

Andy:
*Andy looks concernedly at Kitty.*

Kitty:
*Kitty thrusts her hand forward grabbing Andromedus by the neck, without saying a word.*

Andy:
“Gak, Kitty? What are you–”

Kitty:
*Kitty tosses him out the window without a second thought.*

Beau:
“I am so confused!”

Andy:
*Andy quickly activates his parachute.*

Jax:
“...”

Beau:
*Beau picks up his sword and runs at Kitty.*
“I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re going down!”

Kitty:
*Kitty effortlessly disarms Beauregard and holds him up very similar to how she held Andy.*

Jax:
“...” *Jax’s eyes narrow under his glasses.*
*He quickly tackles the cyborg and begins punching her furiously.*

Kitty:
*Kitty drops Beauregard and takes a decent beating.*
*Until grabbing Mudbaum’s fist mid-punch and twisting backwards.*

Jax:
“Gah! You little…”
*Jax pushes back against the robotic grasp with all his might.*

Kitty:
*Kitty knees him in the face, using her free hand to slam his head against the wall.*

Jax:
*Jax dents the wall and is knocked out by the impact.*

Beau:
“Mudbaum!”

Kitty:
*Kitty gives Beauregard a final glance before hopping out the door.*

Beau:
*Beau rushes over to Mudbaum.*
“Jax! Wake up! Wake up!”

Beauregard receives no response. Suddenly remembering they were about to crash into GLACIA HQ he runs over to the controls, barely steering it off-course into the harbor. [the plane was equipped to be able to land on water, which Beau did successfully]
If you were hoping for a happy or hopeful ending, maybe try another story. This one’s rather bitter, Mudbaum’s been put into a coma, and Kitty’s disappeared leaving the Druids leaderless.
Perhaps things will brighten up soon. Find out in Organization Chaos Phase Five!

```

## Characters

* Jasper Mudbaum
* Beauregard Cheddarosier
* Brenda Gutrail
* Sierra Myst (as Random Mobian)
* Jewel
* Sonny Flame
* Tom Wachowski
* Anarchy the Hedgehog
* Kitty the Crazy Coon
* Andromedus Kukku
* Violet Meadows
* Khamberlain Kukku
* Blight Beakton
* Fukurokov
* Nezumi Numanaga

## Participants

* Mortimer
* BeauX
* Pip9766
* HannahDash
* GasglowJones