Rat Run

## Summary

The Cultisits aren't stopping and their latest weapon is the rats of the Dustland. Help Buster do some science and save the day!

## Cast

* Morris
* Buster
* Sketchy Galore

## Mission Requirements

Collect all of the required items to unlock this mission!

1. Completed Ape Mission 2
2. Hold an Operation Ape Pass in your connected wallet
3. 40KM Distance Badge

## Rewards

### Potential Rewards

* Chipz
* Floppy Disk NFT - Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic or Legendary

## Plot

### Vengeance Waits

MORRIS and the Engineers arrive and SKETCHY detects the rats.

### Vengeance has SO MANY TEETH!

Fleeing the ratswarm, the Dustcap and Buster are trapped in a box canyon and must swim their way out.

### Vengeance does SCIENCE

Swimming for their lives, the DUSTCAP and BUSTER discover the HAMELIN transmitters built in the walls and formulate a plan to fight back.

### Vengeance has an Exhaust Port

BUSTER locates the central HAMELIN transmitter and heads toward it with the DUSTCAP but the rats attack.

### Vengeance has a great hat.

Exhausted, the DUSTCAP and BUSTER take a break. Until SKETCHY tells them their next job…

## Transcripts

### SCENE 1: Vengeance Waits

EXT. DUSTLAND NOISES. THE COLOSSUS IDLES.

MORRIS:

Morris, Engineer. Cool truck. This thing takes a team to drive right. Where are the other apes?

BUSTER:

Buster. Ape. Thanks! The others are out looking for this. The Arkists bloody nicked it! So I nicked it back! ARTFUL BUSTER. Sketchy’s called ‘em. They’re meeting us at Coyote SKull.

MORRIS:

They’ll be back, in force, and soon. SIKORSKI! IBRAHIM! HOOK THE BUGGIES UP! WE’RE TOWING THIS THING!

BUSTER:

Why do they want the truck?

MORRIS:

They believe the Dustlands are an eternal prison that can only be escaped in the correct vehicle, vast, holy, complete. They know the apes escaped. They think you stole heaven from them and that the Colossus is the only way to get there. It’s their ARK. They’ve been looking for this thing for YEARS.

BUSTER:

I have questions.

MORRIS:

I was raised Arkist. Learned wiring when my dad would take me out to repair the HAMELIN animal control rigs they seeded these hills with. They like animals. Need them for the ARK. (He spits this line). Lots of rats up here but it works on most animals when it’s powered.

BUSTER:

And now I have answers.

SKETCHY:

Incoming! Hundreds of contacts!

All small!

MORRIS:

RATS. We need time to get thetow hooks in place.

BUSTER:

DISTRACTING BUSTER!

MORRIS:

Buster! DUST DAMNED-Dustcap goafter him! We’ll help if wecan!

### SCENE 2: Vengeance has SO MANY TEETH!

EXT. Water. A box canyon. A just unholy amount of rats getting louder and louder and louder. Seriously. Just ridiculous. An OSTENTATIOUS amount of rats.

SKETCHY:

Buster. What are you doing?!

BUSTER:

So when we’re at home I do yourjob, yeah? I’m an Operator andmy uncle Pierre is our Dustcap.Pierre is the biggest andstrongest and kindest of us.His job is to take the hit forothers and work out how to savethe day. Pierre isn’t here. Sosomeone else has to be Pierre.Enter, Buster, stage left!(slightly crest-fallen on thisnext line) Pursued by rats.

SKETCHY:

You are very sweet. TheColossus is being towed,they’re okay. I’ve got youpositioned in a box canyon,under Knife Edge Ridge. Thatsix foot gap you squeezedthrough is the only way in. letme get you a topographicalscan.

FX: Science noise as DUSTCAP’s headset scans the area. This is the same noise we’re going to hear the Dustcap’s set make in later missions. Somewhere between Aloy’s focus and a less belligerent version of the Fett family’s seismic charges.

SKETCHY:

There’s another way out! Seethat pool of water behind you?It’s 10 feet deep and has anice, big tunnel at the bottomwhich comes up on the otherside of this wall.

BUSTER: (VERY WORRIED)

I can’t swim, Sketch

FX: Footsteps. Loud. Deliberate.

CLARK:

Buster. All I need from you istime. Drive us to heaven. Saveus, Buster. Why won’t you saveus?

FX: Rat squeaks. Quiet.

SKETCHY:

Sir, my name is Sketchy Galore,I am a duly appointedrepresentative for Coyote Skulland I am empowered tonegotiate.

FX: Rat squeaks. Loud.

CLARK:

Salvation does not negotiate.My rats will bring him to meand pick your friends’ bonesclean and I will enter heavenwhile you taste damnation.

FX: RATS! HUNDREDS OF THEM!

SKETCHY:

Fall back to the pool.

BUSTER (PANICKING):

No no no no NO. I CAN’T SWIM,

SKETCHY!

SKETCHY:

I know Buddy. I’m sorry. Dustcap, help him. It’s going to be okay. Deep breaths and GO!

### SCENE 3: Vengeance does SCIENCE

EXT. Sudden silence. Same box canyon. Should sound weirdly restful. Low hum of something science-y. Out heroes break the surface.

SKETCHY:

Hand over hand, there we go, Buster. You see that big spiky rock ahead? You’re going to climb up that and then you’re going to be out of the water and safe and you’ll have a rest okay? Dustcap, you’re brilliant, keep doing that. Keep helping him along. There we go. Interspecies unity! DIPLOMACY BUSTER!

(BUSTER DOESN’T SPEAK HERE BUT IS HAVING NO FUN. HE’S POSSIBLY CRYING, GASPING FOR BREATH, WORKING REALLY HARD ON BEING OKAY)

SKETCHY:

Rats are a good way off and…in a search pattern. Let me just…link your headsets together and …there we go. Give me another topographical scan please. Let’s get you an exit. One that doesn’t SUCK this time.

FX: Headset science noise.

Good news: Canyon is way shallower, like six feet deep. You can climb out. Bad news. Getting some weird interference. Are you near any machinery?

BUSTER (STILL RATTLED BUT PULLING IT TOGETHER):

Mr. Morris said something about the hills, and wiring relays for the Arkist Animal Control equipment up didn’t he?

SKETCHY:

That’s it! It’s like someone seeded the entire canyon with little relays! There’s a transmitter once every two meters starting right

FX: BUSTER punches a wall, very hard. We hear rocks fall.

BUSTER: (Not missing a beat)

In front of us, yeah. Take a look. (Angry) HAMELIN transmitter. I BLOODY KNEW IT!. Gonna do a SCIENCE to it.

FX: Buster begins dissembling the transmitter.

FX: Rats. Lots of them, emerging from water.

SKETCHY:

Time to go. Up the wall.

BUSTER:

Doing a science. There’s got to be a local generator, probably solar, probably surface level to make this practical. I’m turning the transmitter I pulled out of the wall into a bingy stick, it’ll detect it! AND shut it down!

SKETCHY:

Buster, the rats are RIGHT there.

BUSTER (FORCED CHEERY):

Lots of science for Buster today…

FX: Rats. More of them. Closer.

SKETCHY:

Dustcap, buy him time! This is going to suck, charge them!

FX: Rats SQUEAL in protest and retreat.

SKETCHY:

Circle round! Keep going! Act like a scarecrow! Buster the incredible time pressure.

FX: rats,

BUSTER:

Almost there!

FX: RATS

DAMN IT! CLOSE YOUR EYES! I’M OVERLOADING THE SPOTLIGHTS IN YOUR HEADSETS!

FX: FWASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH! 8000 FLASHBULBS DETONATE AT ONCE AS SKETCHY OVERLOADS THE LIGHTS IN BUSTER AND THE DUSTCAP’S HEADSETS

FX: ALL OF THE RATS SCREAM

BUSTER:

GOT IT!

SKETCHY:

Folks that’s bought you a minute

FX: EVEN MORE OF ALL THE RATS

SKETCHY:

Or less. CLIMB!

FX: EVEN MORE OF ALL THE RATS SWARM

### SCENE 4: Vengeance has an Exhaust Port

EXT. Sudden sense of space. Wind. Blasted plains. The plane wreckage should feel tinny and dingy and dangerous.

FX: Headset scanning noise

SKETCHY:

They’re trying to hit you with a pincer movement. Some rats coming up after you and there is a network of tunnels under you that is full of them. You need to get off the ground, now! There’s an old cargo plane wreck to your east about 200m out. Get in or or on it but get off the ground!

FX: BING

Bingy stick’s active! Binaural Infrasonic Negation Generator! Sniffs out the signal the rats are attached to and jams it! SCIENCE BUSTER!

FX: RATS ERUPT FROM THE GROUND IN FRONT OF THE DUSTCAP

BUSTER:

CATCH! HIT THE RED BUTTON!

FX: SCIENCE FICTION NOISE. ULTRASONIC. THE RATS SCREAM.

Jams the signal! Drives ‘em wild! Well done! Chuck it back, yeah?

FX: MORE RATS EMERGE! IN FRONT OF BUSTER!

Sorry little buddies! I know it’s not your fault!

FX: SCIENCE FICTION NOISE. ULTRASONIC. THE RATS SCREAM. BUSTER:

EXTRA SCIENCE BUS

SKETCHY:

BUSTER THEY’RE RIGHT UNDER YOU!

BUSTER:

SCIENCE BUSTER-\*SCREAMS\*

FX: THE GROUND COLLAPSES! RATS! EMERGING FROM THE GROUND! EATING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT! THE DREAD SQUEAKS! THE DREAD SQUEAKS OF DEATH ITSELF!

BUSTER YELLS AND GOES DOWN AS THE RATS SWARM

BUSTER:

I’LL BE OKAY! GET TO THE GENERATOR! CATCH!

SKETCHY (Panicked but holding it together):

I’ve got him, Dustcap. Keep going. SINKHOLE right. Well dodged! They are RIGHT UNDER YOU so we’re coming in hot okay? You see the front hatch? It’s a four foot jump so get a good head of speed up and…NOW!

FX: THUD AS THE DUSTCAP REACHES THE PLANE.

BUSTER:

BINGY THING…TO HEADSET!...TO RIG…IN PLANE! PRESS THE…BUTTON! NOT THE…BUTTON!

FX: RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATS!

SKETCHY:

HOW MANY BUTTONS DID HE PUT ON THIS THING?! THERE! THAT ONE! PRESS IT!

FX: HUMMM THEN BRAAAAAAAAAAAAHMMMMMMMMMMMMM AS THE BINGY STICK FIRES

### SCENE 5: Vengeance has a great hat.

EXT. The PLANE. The wind is rising. The rats are receding.

FX: Rats disperse.

BUSTER:

Oh I am VERY nibbled. OW. OW. Good work though Dustcap! Making you an honorary ape! Blown every HAMELIN rig for a mile and the rats are free! To go do rat stuff!

SKETCHY:

Great work both of you! What do you want first, the good news or the bad news?

BUSTER:

Does the good news involve chips?

SKETCHY:

Not immediately.

BUSTER:

Does the bad news involve chips?

SKETCHY:

Not at all?

BUSTER:

Good news first.

SKETCHY:

You are right on top of a lot of useful parts!

BUSTER:

And the bad news?

SKETCHY:

We need them to fix the Colossus, which has broken down about a mile away.

BUSTER:

ENGINEERING BUSTER!