Amy and Leela drag Fry and Bender to the gym, and Dr. Zoidberg tags along. While at the gym, Zoidberg behaves erratically and aggressively, and even develops a head fin. Back at the laboratory, Professor Farnsworth examines a restrained Zoidberg, and determines that it is mating season for Zoidberg's species. The crew flies to Zoidberg's home planet, Decapod 10, and, after a short tour, Zoidberg sets up a mound on the beach and begins trying to attract a mate. He is rejected by numerous Decapodian women, especially Edna, an old classmate and former crush, leaving him very depressed.

Fry begins teaching Zoidberg how to win Edna's heart using human romance techniques. Zoidberg struggles to understand how this could work but he eventually gets the idea, and, using his new-found techniques, successfully woos Edna to a date. While at a restaurant, Leela reveals to Edna that Fry is responsible for the change in Zoidberg. Under the pretext of discussing Zoidberg, Edna invites Fry to her apartment and begins an unsuccessful attempt at seducing him, pinning him down until Zoidberg walks in and witnesses this. Enraged, he challenges Fry to Claw-Plach, a ritual fight to the death.

In the Claw-Plach arena, Fry is about to defeat Zoidberg, but cannot bring himself to kill his friend. A still incensed Zoidberg cuts Fry's arm off with his claw to teach him a lesson, prompting an astounded Fry to retaliate, proceeding to beat Zoidberg with his severed arm. After more fighting, Fry and Zoidberg look up to discover the entire Decapodian audience has left – including Edna, who has decided to mate with the king. Once every Decapodian is underwater, masses of eggs float to the surface after the mating frenzy of the species. However, it is revealed that Decapodians die after mating, and so Zoidberg's life has been spared by his failure to secure a mate. He apologizes to Fry for attempting to kill him, and the two make amends. On the way home, Zoidberg tries to reattach Fry's severed arm, but in his effort to fix things, he inadvertently cuts off several of Fry's limbs as the credits roll.

Amy buys a car at Malfunctioning Eddie's Rocket-car Emporium, and Fry joins her on a road trip to Mercury that leads to a long wait for a tow truck after they run out of gas. Then, she and Fry begin a romantic relationship after having sex on the return trip. Meanwhile, Bender refuses to get the recommended safety features installed on his rear end and is warned that it could explode at any time.

With Valentine's Day approaching, Bender decides to start a computer dating service. Fry worries that his new relationship with Amy is becoming too serious, so he asks Leela to come with them on a picnic to Europa they had planned. When she refuses, Fry asks Dr. Zoidberg to come with them. Zoidberg joins them, but when Fry asks him to drive, he accidentally pulls the wheel off, crashing the car. Fry wakes up to find Zoidberg telling him that his body was badly damaged in the crash. Fry, in shock, discovers his head was grafted onto Amy's shoulder in order to be kept alive. After returning to Earth, Fry breaks up with an unwilling Amy, and she makes Valentine's Day plans with another man.

Fry, Amy, and Amy's date wind up at the restaurant Elzar's, where all the people who applied to Bender's dating service—including Leela—are with their dates. All these dates are flops, however; Bender merely rounded up a bunch of strangers from the bus station, and they all leave for the bus ride home. Amy hits it off with her date, and she is about to leave with him—and Fry's unwilling head. Luckily for Fry, Leela spots him across the room and comes over to save him. Leela tricks Amy's boyfriend into talking about his job in bank regulation, and he soon winds up talking very boringly, distracting him from leaving with Amy. Fry quietly thanks Leela for the assistance.

The next day, Zoidberg reattaches Fry's head to his now-repaired body, and everything returns to normal. Some of the nerves in Fry's neck were apparently rewired so that Fry's left leg hits him every time he touches his neck. As a result, Fry accidentally kicks Bender, and the robot's rear end explodes.

While visiting the Past-o-rama theme park, Fry runs over a robot with an uncanny resemblance to Bender. They bring him back to the Planet Express building, where Professor Farnsworth repairs him. The robot's name is Flexo, and like Bender, he is a bending unit. The only physical difference between the two is that Flexo has a goatee. Bender and Flexo hit it off, but Flexo soon begins to grate on the nerves of Fry, who suspects him of being evil, despite his behavior being similar to Bender's.

The Professor reveals an atom of the fictional element Jumbonium, which the crew is to deliver to the Miss Universe pageant, to be held on Tova 9. Due to the value of the atom, the Professor hires Flexo as additional security.

Leela assigns Fry, Bender, and Flexo shifts guarding the atom, but when Fry's shift comes up he falls asleep due to staying up during all of Flexo's shift, and the atom is stolen. Fry not only suspects Flexo, but believes he has disguised himself as Bender. After Bender re-establishes his identity, Fry, Leela, and Bender head off to inform pageant host Bob Barker's head of the theft.

They burst into the contest in pursuit of Flexo, and he and Bender start to fight. At the end of the fight, Bender's chest cavity door is knocked open, revealing the atom. Flexo tells the rest of the crew that he had seen Bender steal the atom and left to inform Bob Barker.

With the atom recovered, and Flexo accidentally imprisoned for Bender's crime due to Bob Barker's disinterest in his identity, the pageant concludes with a giant paramecium (from Vega 4) being crowned Miss Universe, only after Leela is mistakenly crowned first due to a miscommunication from judge Zapp Brannigan.

At the morning Planet Express meeting, the crew discovers Hermes has been assimilated by the Brain Slugs. To avoid Hermes' slack-jawed stare and being assimilated themselves, the rest of the staff takes off for the movies.

While watching ''All My Circuits, The Movie'', Bender picks a fight with a robot that turns out to be the Ultimate Robot Fighting champion The Masked Unit. The Masked Unit trips on Bender's oil-soaked popcorn, and is knocked out by the fall. Coincidentally, the commissioner of Ultimate Robot Fighting, Abner Doubledeal, is at the movie, and hires Bender on the spot.

After training with Leela, Bender has his first fight against a chainsaw-equipped robot called The Clearcutter. Seemingly by a stroke of luck, Bender defeats his opponent, causing The Clearcutter to explode into a pile of parts. However, Bender runs into the robot backstage, and the commissioner reveals that Ultimate Robot Fighting is fixed, and that the most popular robot always wins. Bender is shocked at first, but then celebrates the fact that he is popular.

Bender spurns further training from Leela, and proceeds to win several fights, but eventually, his popularity wanes, and he is told that he can either take a dive in his new role as 'The Gender Bender', or be killed by his giant opponent, Destructor. Bender asks Leela for help, but she initially refuses. When she discovers that Destructor is being trained by Arcturan kung-fu Master Fnog, she changes her mind. The misogynist Fnog had ruined Leela's dream of competing in the Arcturan Kung-fu junior championships years ago, and Leela still holds a grudge.

Bender tries to fight Destructor, but takes a merciless beating in the ring. He begs Fry to throw in the towel, but sees that Fry now has a Brain Slug on his head. Meanwhile, Leela discovers that Destructor is being controlled remotely (using motion capture and virtual reality) by Fnog, hidden beneath the ring. They proceed to fight, but just as Fnog is winning, Leela grabs his fist and forces it into the floor; when Destructor copies this move, his fist smashes through the canvas and knocks Fnog out. Destructor collapses on top of Bender, pinning him and winning the match. The flattened Bender receives a Bed Bath & Beyond discount card, and Fry and Leela roll him up and carry him home. Fry's Brain Slug is found on the arena floor, having starved to death.

In Kansas City, 1933, police lieutenant Speer goes to a diner for coffee. Two men arrive, looking for a former cop turned private eye named Mike Murphy. Speer and Murphy were good friends until the latter left the force. The men pounce on Murphy the minute he arrives. Speer ignores them until a goon causes him to spill his coffee. Both goons are thrown through the front door. Murphy sarcastically thanks Speer for saving his life.

The two rivals have eyes for Murphy's secretary Addy. She loves both and proves it when, after tenderly kissing Murphy goodbye, she goes on a date with Speer. Murphy has a new romantic interest, a rich socialite named Caroline Howley, but finds himself unable to commit.

Speer and Addy go to a boxing match where the mob boss Leon Coll is present. Murphy's partner Diehl Swift is also there, and he seems to be in cahoots with Primo Pitt and his gang. Swift is in possession of a suitcase whose contents are supposed to be the accounting records of Coll's operations. The ledgers are the target of both Pitt's gang and Coll's gang. Coll's financial records are actually in the possession of his bookkeeper, who met and colluded with Swift earlier at the club where black singer Ginny Lee is the star attraction.

Swift leaves the boxing ring, tailed by Speer and Addy, and he is confronted by Pitt and his thugs at his apartment with Ginny, who is taken hostage. She manages to escape but Swift is killed during a struggle with Pitt. A thug opens the suitcase, but it is empty. He picks up Swift's body and throws it out the window, where it lands on the roof of Speer's parked car (occupied by the horrified Addy, who waits while Speer goes to investigate in the apartment).

Murphy vows revenge on Pitt for killing his partner. He asks Speer for assistance, and they form an alliance. After meeting with Murphy at a movie, Ginny is confronted by Pitt's thugs outside the theater. As she tries to escape, she is hit by a car and seriously injured.

After Murphy shows Addy the "laundry" containing the missing financial records, two goons shoot holes through his apartment door. He hits them with a baseball bat when they charge into the apartment and then runs. A gun fight between Coll's men and Pitt's men breaks out on the street below. Murphy hides as the rival thugs battle it out, with Lieutenant Speer watching until one puts a round through Speer's car windshield. Speer pulls out a 12-gauge shotgun, walks up the street, and finishes the fight. Murphy and Speer vow to avenge Ginny and to rescue Caroline, who has been kidnapped by Pitt's gang to force Murphy to hand over the missing records. A final showdown with Pitt and his gang occurs in a warehouse.

In a high class bordello, Speer and Murphy rescue Caroline. Coll shows up holding Addy at gunpoint and demands his records. Murphy hands over the books in exchange for Addy, but the suitcase is booby-trapped; Coll's car is blown up with him in it.

The movie ends with Speer, Addy, Murphy, and Caroline double-dating at the club, listening to Ginny sing and enjoying themselves until Murphy's smart mouth provokes a brawl with some of the other patrons.

The Professor announces to the Planet Express crew that he has finally logged onto AOL after years of trying, and sends them into the Internet for fun. While playing the video game ''Death Factory III'', Leela meets another cyclops, but Fry blasts his virtual form before she can find out who he is and where he comes from. The crew is sent on a mission to deliver popcorn to Cineplex 14. However, the other cyclops recorded her screen name beforehand and sends her a video message. Leela abandons the delivery, and heads off to the coordinates provided.

The cyclops introduces himself as Alcazar, sole survivor of the destruction of the planet Cyclopia. He shows Leela some of the capital city's landmarks, including the sacred Forbidden Valley, before bringing her to the castle where he lives. He says Cyclopia was destroyed by a missile launched by the blind mole people of Subterra 3. Before the destruction, Cyclopia's smartest scientist sent away a baby who Leela concludes must have been her. Alcazar was employed as a pool cleaner and was spared from the chaos while fishing out a dead possum. Leela decides it is her duty to help rebuild the Cyclopian civilization, primarily by procreating with Alcazar. While Bender loots everything of value, Fry, feeling suspicious of Alcazar, tries to investigate the Forbidden Valley, only to stumble into a trap door leading to a dungeon. Now that Leela is committed to Alcazar for the good of their race, he becomes abusive to her, demanding she carry out menial work and humiliating her in front of his friends. Fry tries to convince Leela to dump Alcazar; he almost persuades her when Alcazar proposes marriage. Flattered, Leela accepts.

When Leela refuses Fry's entreaties to let him out of the dungeon, he escapes and breaks into the Forbidden Valley with Bender. They discover four other castles, identical except that the decorations depict different species. They return and interrupt Leela's wedding, bringing with them four women, each of a different species, and each scheduled to be married to Alcazar on the same day as Leela. Alcazar, flustered, involuntarily reveals his true nature as a shape-shifting, cricket-like alien. After the women beat him into submission, he explains that he played with their emotions in order to fulfil his needs to have them scrub his castles, and that he had to stage all the weddings on one day because tuxedos that change shape are expensive to rent. As Leela leaves with the rest of the Planet Express crew, the Professor tries to reassure her she will find her true home, but she disconsolately wonders "How many planets could there be?" as she looks out at a vast, starry space.

Professor Farnsworth receives word from Mars University that they are revoking his professorship. When he arrives before the university's professors, he discovers his crew is actually throwing him a surprise party celebrating his 150th birthday. After he sees a short film summarizing his life, Farnsworth becomes concerned with his own mortality, and decides he needs to name a successor. The Planet Express staff each expects one of them will be named, but Farnsworth reveals that his successor will be a 12-year-old clone of himself, Cubert Farnsworth.

Cubert decides that being an inventor is not an appealing career choice. He makes cutting remarks about Farnsworth and his inventions, which include a time travel machine and a translator which turns words into an incomprehensible, dead language (French). A depressed Farnsworth makes a recording telling his crew that he has been lying about his age; he is actually 160, the age when robots from the Sunset Squad take people away, never to be seen again. Under cover of a thunderstorm, a Grim Reaper-like hooded robot arrives and takes Farnsworth away in a hearse-type hover car.

The crew set off to rescue Farnsworth, and find the Near-Death Star, the Sunset Squad's base of operations. The crew sneak in with Fry dressed up as Farnsworth, with Cubert on his back posing as a hump to make him look "old", carrying a jar full of Cubert's blood as a DNA sample. They locate the professor, who is unconscious and hooked to a life-support system. The robots discover the crew, who then race back to the Planet Express Ship, Farnsworth in tow.

As they reach the landing pad Cubert is knocked unconscious, but they make it onto the ship in one piece. When the ship takes off, the robots open fire, damaging the engines. A reawakened Cubert announces that he knows how to fix the engines, and the crew make their escape. Safely back on Earth, Cubert tells Farnsworth that he has decided to follow in his footsteps.

Hermes is excited because the Central Bureaucracy is conducting an inspection the next day, and he expects to be promoted to a Grade 35 bureaucrat. Leela hosts a poker game with her former co-workers from the cryogenics lab at the office that night. Bender is caught cheating and takes refuge in Hermes’ office. The other players find him and savagely beat him, trashing the office in the process. The mess costs Hermes his promotion, and the inspector, Morgan Proctor, places Hermes on paid vacation, sending him into a suicidal depression. Morgan appoints herself acting as Planet Express head-bureaucrat. Doctor Zoidberg suggests Hermes and his wife LaBarbara take a trip to Spa 5, a sauna planet that gives him a bucket of krill for every patient he sends there.

Morgan, who has a fetish for men who aren't "neat freaks", begins a secret affair with Fry for his messy instincts. Fry is promoted to Executive Delivery Boy, and no longer goes on actual deliveries. After Bender discovers the illicit affair and tries to blackmail them, Morgan downloads his personality and intelligence to a floppy disk, turning him into a mindless drone. She then sends the disk off to the Central Bureaucracy for filing.

Hermes discovers Spa 5 is actually a forced labor camp, and begins to use his natural managerial skills to reorganize the camp for efficiency, to the torment of his fellow workers. The rest of the Planet Express staff infiltrate the Central Bureaucracy in order to recover Bender’s mind. After bypassing several employees and security systems, the crew learns that Bender's brain is in one of an enormous pile of pneumatic tube capsules.

Hermes, who has regained his love of bureaucracy, and LaBarbara return from Spa 5. In a musical number, he sorts and files everything in the pile of tubes with amazing speed, finding the disk with Bender’s brain in the last tube. He is restored to his original rank of Grade 36 by Number 1.0, the head of the Central Bureaucracy, but immediately demoted to Grade 38 for finishing two seconds early, since bureaucrats should not finish early. Because Morgan is still in charge of Planet Express, she fires Fry for exposing their affair. However, Hermes exposes a mistake she made on her high school prom date papers, having stamped them only four times instead of the standard five. Number 1.0 promotes Hermes to Grade 37 for this, and in turn, orders his assistants to get the papers needed to have Morgan taken away. The Professor re-hires Hermes, but at severely reduced pay in order to pay back the damage done to the office and the Bureaucracy; Hermes does the same to Fry in turn, then cheerfully cuts everyone else's pay as well.

A bureaucratic mix-up results in Hermes receiving a "mandatory fishing license" instead of a pet license for Nibbler. The crew takes the Planet Express Ship to the center of the Atlantic Ocean, and starts fishing. After failing to catch anything, a bored Bender fashions a large fish hook and attaches it to the ship's unbreakable diamond filament tether. Sunset comes, and the crew is ready to head back to New New York. Bender begins to haul in his line, but he has caught a colossal-mouth bass. The bass dives, dragging the ship to the bottom of the ocean before the hook slips loose. The Planet Express Ship survives its trek to the bottom, but its engines will not work underwater.

Professor Farnsworth conveniently has an anti-pressure suppository which Fry uses to go help forage for food with Bender and Dr. Zoidberg. Separated from them, Fry sees a mermaid; but when he returns to the ship, no one believes him. That night, the mermaid, Umbriel, lures Fry out of the ship, and they leave to explore the wonders of the ocean bottom.

The next morning, the crew finishes modifying the ship to return to the surface, but finds Fry missing. They set off following Zoidberg's underwater sense of smell to track him, and find the legendary lost city of Atlanta. There, they find a civilization of merpeople who speak Southern American English. A documentary (narrated by Donovan) explains that Atlanta moved offshore in an effort to boost tourism but eventually sank to the bottom of the ocean under the weight of its own overdevelopment, and everyone who chose to stay in the city evolved into merpeople. When Bender points out that it would take millions of years for humans to evolve into merpeople, and questions how the people of Atlanta could've done so in less than a thousand years, Umbriel explains that the evolution process was greatly sped up due to the leaking caffeine from the Coca-Cola bottling plant.

Ready to leave, the crew heads back to the ship. Fry announces he is going to stay in Atlanta to be with Umbriel, shocking the crew. Fry settles in to enjoy his life with Umbriel, but abandons her out of disgust after she explains how sexual intercourse between merpeople works. As he runs to try and catch up with his friends, the Planet Express ship leaves without him. Seeing that Bender's hook is still attached to the tether, Fry grabs hold and is dragged behind the ship. The colossal-mouth bass returns, and is hooked when it swallows Fry whole. The bass stays caught, and Fry returns to the surface with the rest of the crew.

In the first scene, a female Angel of Death is seen having sex with a mortal woman, seemingly impregnating her. This causes humans to stop dying, and those who were already dead return to life as disenfranchised vagabonds.

17 months later, a woman named Susan is working her way through a mostly abandoned town on foot, after having bought food; she has armed herself heavily to fend off the undead. While walking through the downtown area, she encounters several undead people begging for money, begrudgingly giving some to a heavily disfigured man. Though the undead seem somewhat bewildered and eager to please, she catches one trying to siphon gasoline from her car; she chases him down and shoots his gas canister, setting him on fire. Susan then returns to her car and leaves town. When her car eventually runs out of gas on a country road, she suddenly finds herself surrounded by a religious cult of zombies led by a preacher, who claims her car "for the service of the Lord," refills the gas tank, and drives off in it.

After traveling on foot for a while and stealing another undead person's car, Susan arrives in a new town. She encounters some living people who direct her to a safe house to stay the night. While staying there, she encounters Mary, a dead woman pretending to be alive; they end up showering together, and Susan starts to trust Mary after she opens up about her own death, saying that she committed suicide to be young and beautiful forever. That night, the house is attacked by militant, religiously fanatical zombies who murder every living person in the house, including the pregnant landlady, who enters the bathroom and nurses her dead fetus in the shower afterwards. In the chaos, Susan accidentally shoots Mary in the head.

Susan flees the house and encounters the preacher who stole her car. She threatens him while he tries to convince her that death is better than life, opining that the "old generation" of humanity is coming to an end. Susan uses a pocket mirror to check him for signs of breathing; discovering he is alive, she shoots him in the head and takes her car back. Eventually, she returns home to Dan, her boyfriend, but discovers that he had previously killed himself by slashing his wrists in the bathtub. He pours her a glass of milk, but covertly slips poison into it before she drinks it; they then have sex by using Susan's pistol as a strap-on, as he is unable to achieve an erection himself due to being dead. Afterwards, Dan reveals the poisoning to her, reasoning that she will be young and beautiful forever once she dies. She threatens to shoot herself to sully her beauty and tries to vomit the poison out, but he prevents her from doing so. However, she manages to shoot him in the head and send him falling out the apartment window before dying.

The now-undead preacher happens across Dan, having broken many bones and suffered heavy disfiguration from the fall, and fashions wooden splints to allow him to walk again. Meanwhile, Susan wakes up and enters the bathroom, realizing she is now dead. She takes water from a dripping faucet and puts it into her lifeless eyes. Dan is then heard outside the apartment begging to be let in, as the film abruptly ends.

The Planet Express crew attends a taping of Elzar's television show, much to the joy of Bender, who enjoys cooking. Bender continually disrupts Elzar in the middle of the show, until he takes a photo causing Elzar to accidentally spray Leela in the eye with his spice weasel. Leela, who is now temporarily blinded, is forced to wear an eye patch to protect her eye until it is healed. In order to make up for the incident, Elzar invites the entire crew to dinner at his restaurant, serving them the most expensive and appetizing things he has to offer. After the dinner, he bills them, despite the crew being led to believe that the dinner was free. Unable to afford the $1200 bill, Elzar solves things by having them arrested. However, Bender convinces Elzar to let Bender work for him to pay off the debt.

While working at Elzar's restaurant as a busboy, Bender meets the Robot Mafia, and is offered a chance to join them. He jumps at the chance of doing something he enjoys for a living: stealing (Elzar indifferently allows him to quit his job). Bender, under the nickname "Blotto", works hard for the Mafia, quickly becoming one of the Donbot's favorites. Unfortunately for Bender, the whole job turns sour when the target of the Mafia's long planned Zuban Cigar heist is the Planet Express Ship. In an intense space battle, the Robot Mafia destroy the fuel line, and board the ship, where they blindfold Fry, and tie him up with Leela. The ship is robbed, but instead of blowing up the ship and leaving with the Robot Mafia, Bender remains on board, telling the Robot Mafia he will take care of the crew. When the Robot Mafia fly away, Bender ties himself up next to Leela and Fry, and makes up a crazy story to remain unexposed. Back at Planet Express, Leela's eye has recovered and Bender quits the Robot Mafia.

Every Mother's Day, robots made in Mom's Friendly Robot Company factories around the world give gifts, money, and cards to the owner of the corporation, Mom. Despite extensively promoting the holiday, Mom actually hates the day and is in an even more bitter mood this year, remembering a romantic affair that had ended 70 years prior. Such doomed romance had been with a younger Professor Hubert Farnsworth, then an employee of Mom's Friendly Robot Company. When Mom insisted that the Professor's latest design, a children's toy named Q.T. McWhiskers, be changed to an eight-foot-tall death machine to be sold on the intergalactic arms market, the Professor, enraged, stormed out of the room, and they had not seen each other since.

In revenge, Mom attempts to become the "supreme overlord of Earth" for this Mother's Day, ordering the entire robot population of the planet to rebel and overthrow humanity through a control that transmits to every robot's antenna. Wishing to end the robot rebellion and save humanity, Mom's three sons, Walt, Larry, and Igner, cooperate with the Planet Express crew to obtain the robot control Mom keeps in her bra. Their plan is to bring Mom to her rustic cabin near New New York, have the Professor seduce her, remove her bra, and use the control to end the rebellion.

When the Professor and Mom do meet at the cabin, however, their love is rekindled, and they erupt into sex. Amidst this, everyone else comes in to escape the robots, who have made their way to the cabin. In order for their romantic evening not to be interrupted, Mom decides to finally call off the rebellion. Mom dumps the Professor after learning of the initial plot. Life is then returned to normal.

When the Planet Express crew lands on a planet in search for a fast food restaurant, they find that it abounds in a delicious edible life-form, which they call "Popplers". The highly addictive "Popplers" soon inspire a new business venture for the crew. However, after Popplers become an incredibly popular food item and the organization MEAT (Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment) begins to protest against them, it is learned that they are the larval stage of the Omicronian race, and that the planet where they came from is one of the nursery planets of the Omicronians.

Leela, the first to discover this when a Poppler awakens in her hands, leads the charge to stop the eating of Popplers. This mostly fails, partly due to Bender's subversive actions. The warlike natives of Omicron Persei 8, led by Lrrr, arrive to seek justice for humans devouring billions of their young. The Omicronians demand that they be allowed to eat the same number of Earthlings as "Popplers" which were eaten. Since there are fewer humans on Earth than the number of Popplers that were eaten, and since Lrrr filled up on nuts during the negotiations, the Omicronians choose instead to eat the first Earthling to eat their young: Leela.

In order to fool the Omicronians, Zapp Brannigan brings a female orangutan dressed and styled as Leela. The Omicronians are initially fooled because they have difficulty recognizing individual humans; however, hippie Free Waterfall Junior exposes the sham to protect "one of Mother Earth's most precious creatures". After realizing the trick, and after Ndnd eats the orangutan, Lrrr demands the real Leela. With Leela in Lrrr's mouth, the small Omicronian, Jrrr, whom Leela had been nannying since birth, arrives. Jrrr jumps into Leela's mouth and convinces the Omicronians that it is wrong to eat other intelligent life out of revenge. The Omicronians leave, but not before Lrrr devours Waterfall Junior. The amount of drugs in Waterfall's system leads to Lrrr becoming stoned.

The episode ends with the Planet Express Crew eating a smorgasbord buffet of unintelligent animals, including a suckling pig and a dolphin who wasted all his money on instant-lottery tickets.

Professor Farnsworth shows the crew his new invention, the Fing-Longer, a glove with a long rod meant to be used as an extension of the pointer-finger. He demonstrates it by activating the What-if machine, a device that allows the user to view a simulation of a hypothetical scenario after the user asks it a 'what-if' question.

Terror at 500 Feet

Bender offers to take the first turn and asks what would happen if he were 500 feet tall. The simulation begins with the giant Bender being built by hundreds of regular-sized bending units on some distant planet. He flies to Earth, where he meets Fry, having recently arrived in the 31st century. Bender takes a liking to him and they become friends.

After Bender destroys nearly all of Central Park while playing with Fry, the military is sent to deal with him. The military is unable to damage Bender with their electric weapons, and Bender continues to wreak havoc upon New New York. To combat Bender, the Professor uses his enlarging-ray on Zoidberg, only to see him wreak havoc as well. Zoidberg is interrupted by Bender who is not pleased with Zoidberg destroying "his" city. The two fight, with their battle causing massive damage. Bender fills Shea Stadium with boiling water and pushes Zoidberg into it. An enraged and boiled Zoidberg rises out of the water and snaps off Bender's feet, causing him to fall over and impale himself on the Empire State Building. A tearful Fry admonishes the citizens of New New York about the tragedy of Bender, whose final words lament his inability to fulfill his dream to kill all humans. Bender dies, and the scenario ends as the onlookers silently watch on.

Dial L for Leela

The Professor asks Leela to ask a question. Leela refuses at first, but is then teased about being unimpulsive. She asks what would happen if she were a ''little'' more impulsive.

In the simulation, Leela shows off a new pair of boots, bought on a wild impulse - according to her. However, the only difference is a green stripe down the side, which is of no interest to anyone. The Professor tells Leela that he has designated her as his sole heir due to her lack of impulsiveness. Leela then karate-kicks Farnsworth on an impulse, sending him into a pit housing his pet man-eating anteaters where he is devoured alive.

When Hermes discovers the Professor's fate, he shows Leela the Professor's video will, which shows Leela kicking him into the anteater pit. Leela bludgeons Hermes to death to cover up the first murder. Later, Bender walks in on Leela while she is getting rid of Hermes' body parts in the sink disposal. He is morally unconcerned, but takes the opportunity to blackmail Leela. She kills Bender by exposing him to the radiation from an open microwave oven and turns his body into a toy car. Realizing she went too far, Leela resolves to chew gum on the next murderous impulse. However, after Amy makes a derisive comment about her, Leela promptly murders her as well, not having any gum.

Zoidberg holds a meeting with the rest of the crew to determine the identity of the killer. Leela shuts off the lights, and kills the crew one by one with a sword until only Fry remains, who leaves the meeting out of boredom. The next morning, Fry notices Leela eating lobster (which is actually Zoidberg) and accepts her offer to have some with her. Fry then realizes that Leela was responsible for the murders, forcing Leela to "do something really impulsive": have sex with Fry to keep him quiet.

The Un-Freeze of a Lifetime

Fry asks what would happen if he had not been frozen.

In this alternate history, Fry narrowly misses falling into the cryogenic tube, and is never frozen. A rift in the space-time continuum appears, which shows the Planet Express crew in the future. The next day, while telling Mr. Panucci, who dismisses his story, Fry is overheard by regular customer Stephen Hawking who arranges for Fry to be abducted on his way home from work. Fry is introduced to the "Vice Presidential Action Rangers", led by Al Gore, whose constitutional duty is to protect the space-time continuum. His group is filled out by Hawking, Nichelle Nichols, Gary Gygax, and Deep Blue.

Fry explains what happened the previous night. They determine Fry was supposed to die and try to kill him. Another rift appears during the attempted murder, with Bender throwing a beer bottle at the Rangers. Nichols suggests that Fry be frozen in order to stabilize the space-time continuum. Gygax gives Fry his "+1 mace" for protection in the future. Before entering the cryogenic tube, Fry smashes it with the mace, unknowingly creating a paradox, which causes the universe to collapse into a space-time rift. All that remains is Fry and the Rangers, floating in a featureless void. The scenario ends with them playing ''Dungeons and Dragons'' for the next quadrillion years.

Conclusion

After the end of Fry's scenario, the Professor curses the What-if machine for simulating scenarios even he found preposterous and dumps it into the trash. He judges the Fing-Longer to be a success and is congratulated by the crew. It is then shown that everything before was just a simulation by the What-if machine created when the Professor asked what would have happened if he ''had'' invented the Fing-Longer, leaving him to lament the unfulfilled possibilities.

Fry and Bender enlist in the Earth Army to take advantage of the 5% military discount to buy Big Pink ham-flavoured chewing gum. Within seconds of their enlistment, Earth declares war on Spheron I, a planet that commanding general Zapp Brannigan describes as devoid of any natural resources and possessing no strategic value. Concerned for her friends' safety, Leela attempts to enlist, but she is unable to do so with the Army's men-only policy. Leela sneaks aboard the ''Nimbus'' disguised as a man under the name of Lee Lemon (Leela Man), and Brannigan finds himself attracted to this new soldier. Leela takes additional advantage of her disguise to coax Fry into revealing his romantic inclinations, and Fry freely admits that he has a crush on Leela.

The troops are deployed to Spheron I and discover that the enemy is a race of sentient, ball-like creatures. During a battle, a bomb is thrown, Bender opens his chest plate and throws himself on it, absorbing the explosion yet leaving him in critical condition. After the battle, Brannigan sentences Fry to become Kif's assistant for being a war coward, while Bender, now a hero, is treated at a field hospital.

As the soldiers regroup at camp, Richard Nixon's Head sends Bender, now an officer, and Henry Kissinger's Head to negotiate with the Spheron leaders. Leela overhears Nixon and Brannigan discussing the true plan: while Bender was recovering, Nixon had a bomb implanted inside him; the weapon will detonate with enough force to destroy the entire planet when Bender says his most used word, "ass".

Leela and Fry beat up Zapp Brannigan, steal a helicopter then fly to the negotiating hall. In the process Leela reveals her identity while Fry is amazed, Brannigan is merely pleased that his attraction to "Lee Lemon" was in fact heterosexual. Fry stops Bender from accidentally activating the bomb. Bender then threatens to activate the bomb in order to coerce the Brain Balls to surrender. The spheres surrender the planet, incidentally revealing that Spheron I is actually their home world, and then bounce into space and disappear.

Back at Planet Express, Professor Farnsworth and Zoidberg unsuccessfully try to remove the bomb from Bender's body. Instead, they reset the bomb's trigger, utilizing a word from the list of words least said by him. Despite Bender's pleas, the crew refuses to tell him the new trigger word. During the rolling of the credits Bender correctly guesses "antiquing". After a loud boom and flash, Bender states that he is "alright".

As part of his late uncle Vladimir's last will, Bender must spend the night in his family's sinister old castle near Thermostadt, the capital of the Robo-Hungarian Empire, in order to inherit it. However, the castle's holographic "robot ghosts" cause him to flee out into the night, where he is run over by a mysterious non-hover car.

After returning to New New York, Bender begins to experience nightmares and blackouts, and believes that the car has followed him home. In the city, mysterious tire tracks are discovered at places where Bender has been. Worried, he seeks "professional help" from a coin-operated Gypsy Bot machine. It informs him that he was run over by a "werecar", the robotic equivalent of a werewolf, and has thus become one himself. He is cursed to keep running people over and eventually kill his best friend. The only thing that can lift the curse is the destruction of the original werecar. That night, Bender indeed turns into a sedan and goes after Leela. This angers Fry, who takes it as a sign that Bender does not consider him to be his best friend.

After narrowly surviving Bender's nocturnal rampage, the crew returns to the village near Vladimir's castle. From there, they follow a trail of various bizarre werecars, until they ultimately find the original werecar: Project Satan, a demonic car built a thousand years earlier from parts of the most evil cars in history.

Bender once again transforms, and this time goes after Fry, which overjoys him as he sees it as proof that he is Bender's best friend after all. Project Satan accidentally drives into a large furnace, destroying himself and lifting the curse. A back to normal Bender grieves upon apparently killing Fry, but is relieved when Fry emerges from his compartment alive and admits he is grateful for their friendship. However, Bender strangles Fry for taking his last beer.

To entertain themselves, Fry and Bender fly off with the Planet Express Ship. The ship is anchored to the building using an unbreakable diamond tether. As the ship is piloted on a round-the-world joyride, the building is dragged behind it, smashing into a number of landmarks. Professor Farnsworth has Hermes fire Fry and Bender for taking the ship, and Leela for leaving the keys in the ship knowing of their stupidity.

Leela re-implants her and Fry's old career chips, but she mixes them up. Fry is hired for Leela's old cryogenics counselor job, Leela is forced to be a delivery boy, and Bender has the arm and the career chip from the prime minister of Norway. In the lab, Fry finds that Pauly Shore is frozen in a tube and thaws him out. Shore explains he was supposed to be thawed out in Hollywood for the 1000-year anniversary screening of ''Jury Duty II''. When Fry goes to greet the next thawed person, he is shocked to find that it is his old girlfriend, Michelle, who froze herself back in the year 2000 after her life fell apart.

Fry introduces Michelle to the world of the year 3000, but she has problems adapting to the future. She convinces Fry to join her as she re-freezes herself for another thousand years. They awake in a post-apocalyptic wasteland with a green, polluted sky. They join a society of feral children armed with heavy weaponry. Though initially content to be a member of the society, at Michelle's nagging Fry challenges the leader of the society. Fry and the teen wage a Deathboarding street battle amongst freeways and armored cars battling one another with machine guns. Their battle is prematurely ended when the children are picked up for Hebrew school by their mother in an armored SUV. Confused by this new world and tired of Michelle's nagging, Fry leaves her and wanders through the desolate wilderness on his own.

Fry spots signs of a city on the horizon. When he arrives, he finds himself standing in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. The Planet Express ship lands in the street, and the crew leaps out, glad to have found Fry. They explain to Fry that he and Michelle were actually only frozen for two days. The desolate wasteland is not a post-apocalyptic New York in the year 4000, but Los Angeles in the year 3000. Fry was in Pauly Shore's tube, and when the delivery crew discovered en route to Hollywood that Pauly Shore was not in the tube, they tossed it into a ditch. A limousine passes by, revealing that Michelle is now in a relationship with Pauly.

As the Planet Express ship flies home, Fry asks The Professor if he can have his job back. The Professor, after being reminded by Bender of what happened earlier in the episode, drops Fry through a trap door instead.

In the early phase of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, a small US Army intelligence and reconnaissance squad (selected for their high IQs) is sent to occupy a deserted chateau near the German lines to gather information on the enemy's movements. Losses from an earlier patrol has reduced the squad to just six men: Sgt. Knott, Miller, Avakian, Shutzer, Wilkins and Mundy. On their way to the chateau, the men discover the frozen corpses of a German and an American in a standing embrace, seemingly arranged by the Germans as a grim joke.

Settling into their temporary home, they soon discover they are not alone. A group of German soldiers has occupied a position nearby. While out on patrol, Knott, Miller and Shutzer see a trio of German soldiers aiming their weapons at them, but the Germans then vanish without shooting. The Germans, clearly more skilled and experienced than the young GIs, soon leave calling cards, start a snowball fight one evening and offer a Christmas truce. At first, the Americans think the Germans are taunting them, but it eventually becomes clear that the Germans wish to talk to them. Shutzer's Yiddish is enough to communicate with them, and they are revealed to be a small group of teenage soldiers led by an aging officer. Having survived the Eastern Front and sensing that the end of the war is imminent, the Germans say that they wish to surrender. However, they ask that the Americans pretend that the Germans were captured in combat in order to protect their families from possible retribution for their desertion. The Americans agree, but keep the plan from Wilkins, who has been mentally unstable since learning of the death of his child back home.

The two groups meet and proceed to fire their weapons into the air as planned. However, Wilkins hears the shooting and thinks that the engagement is real. Arriving at the scene, Wilkins opens fire at the Germans who, thinking they have been tricked, immediately shoot back. The situation immediately goes out of control and Knott's squad shoots all the Germans, but Mundy is fatally wounded and Shutzer is shot but survives. Mundy's final words are to beg the others not to tell Wilkins that the skirmish was intended to be fake. The squad's superior officer arrives, reprimanding them for their conduct, before taking Shutzer back for treatment (they later receive word that he died in the hospital). Left alone again, the four remaining soldiers quietly reflect as they try to celebrate Christmas and clean Mundy's body in a bathtub. Knott makes a $100 bet with the despondent Wilkins that he will survive the war. The squad is soon forced to flee as the Germans attack the area in strength. Carrying Mundy's corpse, the men disguise themselves as medics and escape back to American lines. When there, Knott is informed that Wilkins has been recommended for the Bronze Star and transferred to the motor pool, while the rest of the squad will be sent into the front lines to fight as regular infantry.

An epilogue screen tells that after the war, Avakian was married, Miller disappeared and Wilkins sent Knott $10 with a blank Christmas card each year for ten years to pay Knott for having lost their bet.

Ataru and Lum are among the students at Tomobiki involved in preparing for the student fair. Some of them grow suspicious that their days have been repeating. To (secretly) validate the theory, they are all sent home, instead of sleeping overnight like they had been. All the students end up back at the school, unable to leave the city limits.

They board a Harrier Jump Jet and fly upwards into space. They see that their entire city is on the back of a giant turtle, in the otherwise empty void of space. The students investigate the school, believing it to be the source of the strange happenings. Seemingly impossible events transpire, like a student chased by his own reflections in an infinity mirror.

Reality quickly shifts. While before, everything seemed normal, the city now has a post-apocalyptic aesthetic. Only a handful of humans are present, working electricity is rare, and many buildings have worn into ruins.

Members of the group trick a dream demon into revealing himself. He describes his plan to create an endless dream, free of another spirit who tends to devour his dreams when they become nightmares.

The nightmare eater is summoned and the reality of the dreamscape collapses as he eats the dream. Ataru continues waking up in successive nightmares. Lum tells him that to wake up, he must speak the name of the person he wants to see. After naming several other women, he names Lum and wakes up in the school. Surrounded by his classmates, he and Lum briefly discuss the dream she had. Lum asks to kiss, but Ataru is embarrassed. Unknown to the others, the dream demon and dream eater are shown working on the school festival. The demon implies he will "keep up" with Lum and Ataru.

At Angel Investigations, Cordelia is painfully reminded of the unfortunate state of her life. Her acting career is not advancing and she lives in a dank, dirty apartment where the utilities do not work well and cockroaches roam freely. Doyle offers to help Cordelia find a new place, but she is reluctant to accept his help. When she goes home to a floor covered in roaches, she flees and tries to call Doyle, who is visited by a demon who has come to collect Doyle's debt, or to kill him as a message to others if he cannot pay. Doyle manages to escape, unknowingly missing Cordelia's call, so she stops by Angel's apartment to spend the night. Angel is annoyed by Cordelia's messy habits, so agrees to help Doyle deal with his demon trouble if he will help Cordelia find an apartment.

Doyle and Cordelia go apartment hunting and eventually find the perfect apartment. Telling Doyle that the unsightly wall that needs removing adds to its perfection, Cordelia immediately closes the deal. In the meantime, Angel waits at Doyle's apartment until the demon, Griff, shows up. Griff explains that his boss no longer cares about the money, but needs to make an example of Doyle by having him killed. Angel placates him and promises Doyle will pay.

Meanwhile, Cordelia discovers that the apartment is haunted when the music plays by itself. She pluckily tries to scare the ghost away. Angel and Doyle stop by and upon seeing this, carry Cordelia, struggling, out the door, promising to help her perform an exorcism. Angel does not understand why Cordelia is fighting so hard to keep the apartment. She explains that she feels she is being punished with an awful life because of how nasty she was when she was younger. If she can get a nice apartment, then it shows that she will stop being punished.

The team researches the building's history for a clue to the ghost's identity. The evidence points to Maude Pearson, builder, owner and first resident of the Pearson Arms building. While Doyle goes to pick up the arcane supplies for the exorcism, Angel finds out from Detective Kate Lockley that Maude Pearson died suddenly of a heart attack, and her son Dennis, with whom she was fighting because she disapproved of his fiancée, vanished afterwards. It seems clear to Angel: the son killed his mother, then skipped town with his girlfriend. Angel then learns that while there have never been any murders reported in the apartment, there has been a long string of suicides there.

The ghost lures Cordelia back to the apartment by imitating Angel's own voice, and Angel and Doyle, realizing what has happened, rush to the apartment. At the apartment, Cordelia is being attacked by Maude and begins to reach the point of emotional collapse under Maude's spate of abuse, targeting Cordelia's feelings of worthlessness. Doyle and Angel arrive just in time to rescue Cordelia, whom the ghost has hung by the neck with the chandelier string. They begin the exorcism without Cordelia, who is a sobbing wreck due to Maude tormenting her, but a cyclone of flying debris prevents them from completing the ritual. When the three try to leave, the door suddenly opens to reveal three demons with large guns, determined to kill Doyle. A brawl ensues, while Maude telekinetically pulls Cordelia back into the bedroom to continue torturing her. However, when Maude calls Cordelia a bitch, it reminds Cordelia of her former reputation, and she begins to fight back. She screams at Maude, causing the ghost to temporarily vanish, and then Cordelia proceeds to start to obliterate the disliked apartment wall.

As Angel snaps Griff's neck, the hole Cordelia has made in the wall exposes a rotting skeleton and the presence of a second ghost. In a mystical flashback, the team learns that Maude prevented Dennis from leaving with his fiancée by bricking him alive into this wall. Upon completion, Maude suffered a heart attack and died. She screams as Dennis' ghost attacks, dispersing and banishing his mother's ghost forever.

In the coda, order restored, Angel reminds Doyle that he will need to reveal his background at some point. Meanwhile, Cordelia, who has found her "inner bitch" again, now feels comfortable speaking with her Sunnydale friends about her exciting life in Los Angeles. She affectionately talks about her new roommate "Phantom Dennis", but claims she never "sees" him.

Detective Kate Lockley struggles unsuccessfully to locate mob boss Anthony Papazian, also known as "Little Tony." She goes to Angel Investigations and offers Angel the job of finding Little Tony. He agrees, and she instructs him to withdraw to safety after he calls her with Little Tony's location because she doesn't want to get him killed.

Kate’s father, Trevor Lockley, comes to the police station. This is a surprise to Kate, but her father didn't intend to see her there. Both clearly uncomfortable, she tells him she'll say a few words at his retirement party his friends are throwing at The Blue Bar in a few days. Angel's phone call interrupts their conversation; he has located Little Tony on a pier in San Pedro. Though Kate told him to get out of there, Angel sees a yacht coming to pick up Little Tony and takes matters into his own hands. He pretends to be a tourist who thinks the boat is going to Catalina, then takes out Little Tony's two goons just in time for the police to arrive and catch Little Tony before he takes off. Kate lectures Angel for not leaving when she told him to, even though Papazian was getting away.

Papazian's Wolfram & Hart lawyer, Lee Mercer, comes to the station and petitions to have Little Tony transferred to another facility, claiming that his client was mistreated and abused by the police and by an "as yet unnamed assailant" possibly working with Kate. Meanwhile, at Angel Investigations, Cordelia congratulates Angel on completing such a straightforward job, but Angel thinks Little Tony is planning something. Doyle reports that Angel's intuition for evil is spot on: Little Tony "is" planning something.

Kate heads to The Blue Bar after work, where a number of fellow officers and even her father congratulate her on finally apprehending Little Tony. Not long after, her co-worker Harlan comes by their table to show her a memo about a mandatory "sensitivity training" seminar that they are all required to attend because of the way she treated Little Tony. The next day at the station, the seminar begins. Allen Lloyd meets with Lee Mercer and reports their plan will yield results after just one more session.

Meanwhile, Angel interrogates Allen, who hits him with the talking stick. Running into the precinct, Kate calls forlornly for her father, who is no longer there, then stares around at her coworkers, all pacing, gesticulating, shouting, weeping. Kind-hearted Heath, wishing to establish parity among the inmates, lets them all loose. Similarly, cops all around are demonstrating signs of their newfound sensitivity with muggers, fender benders, and more.

Cordelia and Doyle meet Angel outside the precinct when, sensing their distress about the situation, Angel smiles a big smile, holds open his arms and sing-songs, "O-ka-ay, I think someone needs a hu-ug," and firmly embraces them both. Having been cursed by the talking stick when Allen hit him with it, he refuses to follow Cordelia's order to "get all vampy" to rescue Kate because he knows it makes them uncomfortable. As the three of them try to get into the locked station, Kate waits for a response to the messages she's left on her father’s answering machine, begging him to talk to her. Out of his cell, Little Tony collects an impromptu gang and breaks into the precinct armory. Just as he finds Kate, the AI team arrives. While Angel and Kate try to "reach" Little Tony, Cordelia and Doyle urge Angel to stop talking and fight.

Later, Little Tony calls Mercer, who tells him that the Senior Partners will no longer represent his interests because he threatened a police officer and shot up a precinct in full view of witnesses, and the firm cannot accept that kind of exposure. While they talk, Mercer views a precinct surveillance tape and freezes it on Angel, unmistakable in his black leather coat. At the precinct the next morning, the cops resume their taciturnity with a vengeance. Angel checks in with Kate, and they both say that they don't remember much about events of the night before. Trevor walks away and Kate sits carefully in her chair, holding herself stiffly against the pain.

At a party in Cordelia's new apartment, Angel is feeling awkward around the women who are interested in him there. Meanwhile, a man standing watch at an ice factory hears spooky voices crying from inside the coffin-sized crate he's guarding. Believing there is someone alive and suffering inside, he breaks open the box, then stands staring in shock at its contents.

Angel offers Wesley a staff position at Angel Investigations, a move which Cordelia heartily approves. However, Cordelia suddenly receives a graphic vision of a man being burned alive from the inside at an ice factory. Since it is still daytime, Wesley drives Angel to the scene. Inside the facility, Angel finds the incinerated corpse as well as the crate he was guarding, now containing only ice. In the corpse’s pocket, Angel finds a business card for Peter Wilkers Private Security, which he pockets. Hearing a noise from another section of the factory, Angel discovers the presence of a humanoid demon named Tae, who reveals that he is from another dimension, sent to bring back the vicious demon, a "vessel of pure rage," which has escaped from his realm into an unsuspecting L.A.

Angel goes to the office of Peter Wilkers Private Security and finds an envelope containing an invoice for Jericho Ice and a large amount of cash. Angel is surprised by the sudden appearance of an attractive female demon who effortlessly knocks him out of the way and scorches his arm. Receiving a call on her cell phone, the demon leaves hastily, pulls up her hood over her head, and climbs into her vehicle. Angel gives chase and calls Cordelia to describe the demon's appearance so she and Wesley can begin their research. Angel follows her to an art gallery but she sets museum security after him. Angel thwarts the security guards by acting as a museum guide.

In a storage room at the back of the gallery, the demon stands staring into space, then turns when Angel comes in behind her. She orders him to leave but at that moment, wind, lightning, and thunder spring from nowhere. A swirling portal forms, the shrieking coming from it seeming to draw rapidly closer. A naked humanoid girl drops out of the portal and hits the floor hard. As Angel pulls over a tarp to cover her, he gets a brief but clear glimpse of the girl's smooth forehead and of the raised ridges running along her upper spine. At that moment, Tae and his all-male team break into the room armed with kama weapons. The female demon and Angel battle furiously, but Tae abducts the newly arrived girl and drives away with her. Looking helplessly after the speeding vehicle, Angel asks the female demon what will happen to the girl and learns that she will be "unmade." The male demons take the frightened girl to their base where, without further ado, they use a special clamping tool to cut out the raised ridges extending down from the girl's nape to between her shoulder blades. Gone breathless with fear, the girl screams in agony at the first cut.

Back at Angel's apartment, he brings his wary guest a bandage for the shallow cut on her arm while she drapes her cardigan over a railing and takes a look around. In response to her challenge that vampires are known killers, Angel tells her he was cursed, then evades her skeptical theory that he's been "cursed to help people," focusing the inquiry on her situation instead. The exotically beautiful demon accepts Angel's invitation to tell her story and introduces herself as Jhiera, a princess from the Oden Tal dimension, dedicated to helping other female refugees escape her home world to the relative safety of L.A. Jhiera tells Angel that for the women of Oden Tal, the personality is located in an area of the body called the "ko," the source of their desires and passions. At this, Jhiera turns her back to Angel and shows him the raised ridges running for several inches along her spine. Angel, who found Jhiera attractive at first sight, is now deeply aroused by her nearness and bends his head closer to her vulnerable neck. Resisting his own desires, he listens as Jhiera tells him that the men of her dimension control the women by cutting out the ko, thus removing their "physical and sexual power," their volition. "We leave behind dreaming," she tells him bleakly. Feeling herself at the center of his intense predator's focus, Jhiera begins to circle Angel as she explains that young women of Oden Tal must learn to control the raw power of their maturing ko, to which men of this world respond involuntarily. She tells him of her own struggle, with the help of the frozen water, to contain the "heat under her skin." Jhiera proceeds to demonstrate her power to arouse them both, as well as her iron control of that power. Angel, fighting on several levels for self-control, moves a few steps away and asks pointedly about the incinerated corpse at the ice factory, and about the other four men crisped to death over the past year. Jhiera grows defensive of her manifesto and starts to storm off, but Angel blocks her path. Her power flashes to the surface and they are almost irresistibly drawn to each other - a connection lethal to Angel - until Jhiera damps the intensity of her radiant heat. Telling him again to stay out of her way, she escapes, leaving him wrung out, barely able to stand.

While Angel and Jhiera fight Tae's team at the art gallery, Wesley continues his research and discovers that the men of this demon species are called the Vigories of Oden Tal. Reading from an ancient volume, he tells Cordelia that the Vigories are said to be fierce warriors, and "the women live enslaved to them." Also learning that the Vigories are herbivores and must eat half their weight in partially rotted vegetation each day, Cordelia and Wesley leave the office to go looking for compost. They find Tae's team headquartered in a large plant nursery and overhear a briefing about their plans to capture Princess Jhiera, cut her, and take her back to Oden Tal to signal the end of all rebellion. The girl who arrived through the portal at the museum is shown - her top ridges cut - and Tae refers to her as “it” (the pronoun Vigories use for women is “it” rather than “her”) while suggesting “it” will enjoy going home. The girl - compliant and seemingly void of all personality - agrees. Jhiera, meanwhile, returns to the sanctuary she has created at the Palm Ridge Spa, where the other young women are being kept, rendered safe by lying in whirlpool tubs filled with ice. Jhiera informs the spa's proprietor, Mars, that this sanctuary has been compromised and the girls must be moved to another, safer location. However, unaware that Tae is right on her tail, Jhiera tells Mars they will leave the following day. In the meantime, unable to raise their boss by cell phone, Cordelia and Wesley barely escape detection at the Vigories' base and return to Angel's apartment both to locate him and seek his help. They find him, apparently unharmed and unconcerned, just emerging from the shower. Upon hearing their report that Tae's group plans an assault on an undisclosed location that recently started receiving large shipments of ice, Angel remembers the address listed on the invoice he lifted from Wilkers' office. Grimly determined to get there first, Angel gathers his team and heads to the Palm Ridge Spa.

Arriving at the spa, Angel leaves Cordelia and Wesley (who falls down getting out of the car) to act as lookouts. Angel brushes past Mars and, finding Jhiera with the still-somnolent girls, tells her that Tae is closer behind than she thinks. At that moment, Cordelia frantically rushes in to report Tae's approach. While Cordelia and Wesley are still rousing the girls and trying to get them moving toward the back exit, Tae and his team burst in. Cordy and Wes continue with the evacuation, while Jhiera and Angel engage Tae and his men in battle. The two demons manage to hold their own until Wesley and Cordelia, returning to the fight after securing the girls, are suddenly taken hostage. When presented with Tae's ultimatum to hand over the refugees or see the humans die, Jhiera, hardly hesitating, says, "Then they die." As she wheels for the exit, Cordelia and Wesley seize the initiative and break away from their captors, who seem momentarily stunned at the failure of their ploy. Outside, Jhiera makes her way towards the cab of the truck loaded with crates of ice-packed refugee girls. She is just steps away from freedom when two of the Vigories grab her from behind and restrain her for Tae, making sure that her ko is exposed. Jhiera's nemesis holds up the cutting tool and prepares to mutilate the Princess of Oden Tal to bring her under immediate control. Appearing out of nowhere, Angel grabs Tae in a headlock and, giving him a couple of demonstrative squeezes, threatens to snap their leader's neck unless the Vigories holding Jhiera release her. As soon as they do, Angel tells Jhiera to get the girls to safety. Giving Angel a slight nod, she climbs into the cab of the truck and drives away. As soon as Jhiera is out of sight, Angel releases Tae and tells him to go back to Oden Tal, morphing into vamp face to let the Vigories know he can make good on his promise of mayhem if they continue their war in this dimension.

The next day, Angel arrives in the office first and squeezes a bag of whole coffee beans to test Cordelia's theory that he can effectively grind the coffee with his "vampire strength." The bag bursts, scattering coffee beans everywhere, just as Cordelia and Wesley come in the front door. Wesley immediately slips and falls, then starts to sweep the beans up with his bare hands, apologizing distractedly for making a mess. In what appears to be a natural segue for him, Wesley also apologizes, as he carefully regains his feet, for being taken hostage by Tae's men. Angel tries to reassure his friend and compliments him on a job well done, which prompts Wesley, in turn, to express his sincere regard for Angel. Cordelia is just teasing Wesley for turning groveling into an art, when Jhiera walks in. Cordelia opens verbal fire on the warrior demon, asking if they can offer her anything, such as a couple of hostages to let die. Angel firmly shows Jhiera into his office and closes the door. After ascertaining that the other women are safe, away from the city, Angel again tells Jhiera that he'll stop her if she crosses the line and endangers people of his world while trying to protect people from hers. The sexual and political tension thick between them, Jhiera looks at Angel, then agrees with his terms. She hesitates, clearly torn, clearly having found a "desirable mate," and Angel grows even more breathless. With the harsh discipline of an abnegation as rigid and as necessary as Angel's, Jhiera turns toward the door, away from the object of her desire. As she walks away from him, Angel sees what he has already inescapably sensed - Jhiera's ko glows red hot. Raging desire at war with self-preservation, Angel stands desperately immobile until she is out of range.

In a flashback to Galway, Ireland, 1753, Angel - at that point, still human and known as "Liam" - is fighting with his father. Enraged by his son's chronic recklessness and current mocking demeanor, Liam's father slaps his son in the face, shouting that he'll always be a layabout and a scoundrel. In the present, Angel is fighting a demon that is dressed like a homeless person on the train tracks in an L.A. subway tunnel. As Detective Kate Lockley arrives on the scene, the demon clutches its chest, sinks to the ground and expires. Forced again to deal with L.A.'s dark side and Angel's place in it, Kate ironically wonders whether she should call the coroner or Hazardous Materials, while Angel tries to convince her not to report the supernatural aspects of this case. Later, as an officer interviews the Blue Circle courier who pulled the emergency cord after allegedly being attacked by "your average Joe-stink homeless guy," Angel's instincts are immediately aroused when he spots Kate's dad, retired police detective Trevor Lockley, take a package from the crime scene.

At Angel Investigations, Angel identifies the demon in one of Wesley's reference books as a Kwaini demon, an inherently non-violent race. Angel visits Kate at the precinct, but as he explains that something must have set off the Kwaini demon in the subway, Kate interrupts, preferring that he say "evil thing" instead of "demon." He is unable to convince Kate that the demon she saw dead in the subway is not an ''evil'' evil thing. Kate is reluctant to admit that his news means that this case is not as routine as they initially believed. The AI team splits up to pursue their two leads. Angel, suspicious that the Blue Circle courier was on a train during his shift, follows him to an apartment building, where Trevor Lockley opens the door to the courier's knock and shoves a brown-wrapped package into the man's hands. Once the courier leaves, Angel confronts Trevor about the exchange, theorizing Trevor was returning the parcel he removed from the crime scene that morning. Intending to discover who Trevor is working for, Angel gives Kate's father a chance to come clean so they can take care of the problem without further police involvement. Taking umbrage at Angel's angry implication that he cares nothing for his daughter, Trevor tells Angel that he can't possibly interpret a father's actions, and slams the door in his face. After locating the Kwaini's body in the subway tunnel, Wesley performs an autopsy which reveals the demon was on drugs, and attacked the train because someone on board had more of the drug.

In Galway, Liam tearfully bids goodbye to his mother and younger sister, and exchanges more harsh words with his father. Making his way back to the pub, Liam spends the remainder of the day carousing wildly. An elegantly dressed Darla watches in fascination as a very drunk Liam brawls with beautiful abandon, besting several men in quick succession. That night, luring the vulnerable young man into a dark alley with promises of exotic experiences and places, Darla sires Liam, first biting him, then drawing her own blood for him to drink in turn. That night, Liam rises from his grave and is greeted by Darla. She watches as he morphs and kills his first human. Liam adopts the vampiric name 'Angelus' when his younger sister sees him coming home and mistakes him for an angel. Angelus subsequently kills nearly the entire population of his village, including his sister, mother, and father, but leaving a few alive so that they will spread the vampire's reputation.

Two men in suits visit Trevor Lockley to make sure he hasn't said anything to his daughter. Angel arrives to warn Trevor of the danger in which he's involved, but before he can convince Mr. Lockley to invite him inside, the men in suits reveal themselves as vampires and kill Trevor. Kate arrives and finds her father dead. She trails the vampires to the demon drug lord's base, then stakes the vampire who killed her father. Angel shows up, helping her fight and kill the remaining vampires. Angel finally chops off the head of the lead demon. Kate walks away, saying that her father was human, and Angel doesn't know anything about that. Back in Angel's past, Darla finds that Angelus has killed all of his family. She reminds him that even though his father is dead, his memory will always haunt him. Kate visits her father's grave while Angel watches from the safety of the shadows.

Marina is a mermaid who is in love with Prince Justin, a human prince from a kingdom on the shore. Marina saves Justin when he almost drowns after a chase from a giant Cyclops and a shipwreck attack from a three-headed sea serpent. She then makes a deal with Hedwig the sea witch to become human temporarily to try to win Justin's love. Justin and Marina become close but Justin thinks that Princess Cecily, a human princess, was the one who saved him from drowning and therefore he gets engaged to her. Justin eventually remembers that Marina was the one who saved his life but by then Marina becomes a mermaid again. The two continue to secretly meet and try to find a way to be together while dealing with Hedwig's plans to take over the kingdom and Cecily's attempts to get Justin to marry her. Marina and Justin are aided by their underwater friends Winnie the seahorse, Bobo the tropical fish, and Ridley the sea otter. They are also aided by the wizard Anselm and by Chauncey, Justin's page.

The game's two main characters are Agent Ysanne Andropath and Jack T. Ladd. Ysanne, who works for the Federation Police and pilots the space ship ''Relentless'', is a tough feminist/misandrist redhead, while Jack is a notorious thief and womanizer. The game starts with Ysanne capturing Jack for his crimes, when the player gets to choose one of the characters to play the game as. The locations and evolving plot are largely the same both ways, but the player can experience two sides of the story, and will be solving different puzzles.

After being jailed aboard the Relentless, Jack escapes his cell and destroys the ship's hyperdrive, when Ysanne is notified about a disaster on Lixa, a mining planet in the Altaros Nebula sector. It turns out that there is no one on the planet. As Jack the player has to find Tyrenium fuel for the ship, while Ysanne has to salvage the installation's logs. The clues lead to an invasion from another dimension.

The unwilling team visits other planets in order to triangulate the alien signals and locate their point of origin. One planet is Gelt which houses the Lucky Star casino/resort complex. There the player will meet Harrisienetta Fjord, the secretary of the casino owner who turns out to be Jack's old acquaintance, Tennant, and his girlfriend who is none other than Ruth P'Pau'D'P'Pau, Jack's love interest from the previous game. The ''Relentless'' is confiscated for different reasons depending on which is the protagonist and the player has to get it back.

The other planet is Broygus which is occupied by the Federation military forces. Once more, the ship is confiscated by the local military to serve in the war. Jack has to steal back the Gyro Mechanism taken from their ship while Ysanne attempts to save the lives of soldiers who are sent to be sacrificed needlessly.

When this task is complete, the protagonists receive a distress call from Lowe's Planet where they must save the colonists from an assault by an indigenous species. In that planet, the player will meet Nalm N'Palm, his sidekick from the previous game, who has joined the Interstellar Xenophobic Mercenary Force. Jack brings alien eggs to the leader Collins while Ysanne is fighting the mother of the creatures.

It is then discovered that the aliens come from the taxmen's station, the ''Corrupticon''. On their way there they stop on the planet Haven which is a monastic retreat of retired taxmen. The protagonists are held captive there until the player dresses as a monk and causes the other protagonist to be "executed" for sacrilege.

The remaining protagonist reaches the Corrupticon where they meet the other protagonist who had teleported there. Also, they meet the villain from the previous game, P'Pau'D'P'Pau, who explains that events of the previous game and the breaking of his Transatron caused the aliens to find a way from Dimension 238 to this side of the universe. Finding the shards of the Transatron, the player closes the dimensional rift.

Following her attempt to make him kill her, Angel takes Faith to his apartment. In a brief, violent vision, Faith charges at Angel with a knife and cuts up his face. When Angel comes up to get food to feed Faith, Wesley argues about giving Faith another chance, and Cordelia gets Angel to sign several checks to fund her vacation so she can be gone for as long as Faith is around.

Downstairs, Faith confesses to Angel that she is haunted by visions of her violent past in Sunnydale. Angel talks to Faith about redemption, saying she has to make amends for her crimes, no matter how hard it is. Faith tells Angel how worried she is about making up for everything she has done, and in process reveals that Buffy has a new boyfriend, which upsets Angel. Meanwhile, Wesley plays darts at a bar, and encounters Weatherby, a member of the Watchers' Council's Special Operations team on the hunt for Faith. The council members offer Wesley a chance to return to the Council if he is willing to turn in Faith. They give him a syringe that, if injected, will sedate Faith and let them take her back to England. Wesley agrees on the condition that Angel is left unharmed, to which the team reluctantly agrees.

At Wolfram & Hart, Lindsey MacDonald, Lilah Morgan, and Lee Mercer, upset that Faith has teamed up with Angel, hire a demon to have her killed. The demon sneaks into Angel's apartment and attacks. Faith kills it with a knife, and is frightened by the sight of the demon's blood on her hands. Without warning, Buffy arrives at Angel's place and is shocked to find Angel hugging Faith.

Buffy is determined to turn Faith over to the police, but Angel objects and the two come to blows. Buffy hits Angel and, when he hits her back, she is in utter shock. Wesley arrives with the news that the Council is looking for Faith. The two Slayers escape to the roof, where they argue about everything that has happened. Though Faith is genuinely sorry for what she has done, Buffy is unwilling to forgive her. One of the Council members attacks Buffy and Faith as another hovers above the roof in a helicopter. Inside the apartment, Wesley stabs Weatherby with the syringe while Angel runs upstairs and as the two Slayers seek cover against their attackers, Angel bursts through the roof skylight and gets inside the helicopter.

Detective Kate Lockley, guided by Lindsey's information, arrests Angel for harboring the fugitive Faith. When Angel and Kate arrive at the police station with Wesley and Buffy in tow, they are surprised to see Faith is voluntarily confessing to her crimes. Later, Buffy admits to Angel how hard it was for her to see Faith with him. Angel counters by saying it was not about Buffy, rather it was about saving Faith's soul. Buffy proceeds to explain that she had come because he was in danger, but Angel knows that she was merely using this as an excuse to get revenge on Faith, which she does not deny. Buffy lashes out by telling Angel she has someone else in her life, and, unlike her relationship with Angel, she can trust her new boyfriend. In response, a furious Angel launches a tirade against Buffy, reminding her that while she has moved on, he himself cannot and has no one to share his pain with. He then informs Buffy that they lead their own separate lives now and that she has no right to tell him how to do things. As Angel harshly orders Buffy to go back to Sunnydale, she reluctantly complies, complaining that he just gave Faith another victory. As soon as she is gone, Angel regrets his harsh words and decides to head to Sunnydale to make amends. Meanwhile, Faith manages to find peace in her jail cell.

A girl named Alonna Gunn walks down the street, followed by a group of vampires. When the vampires turn around, Alonna's brother Charles Gunn and many others are there, armed and ready for a fight. Several are killed on both sides and in the end the vampires run off leaving the humans to deal with the wounded.

Cordelia, Wesley and Angel meet prospective client David Nabbit at a party, who explains he is being blackmailed by Lenny Edwards for going to a demonic brothel called Madam Dorion's. Angel tracks down Lenny Edwards, and makes him promise he will hand over the incriminating photos the following night. Gunn, after receiving news that a vampire is nearby, witnesses Angel intimidating Edwards from afar, and plots to kill Angel. David pays Angel Investigations with a very large check, and promises more when the job is done.

The next night, Angel meets with Lenny, who brought the photos and a demon security guard. Angel kills the demon and gets away with the photos. However, he gets staked in the chest by a couple of the human gang members. He is chased and forced to run through a gauntlet of vampire killing weapons. When confronted by Gunn and the others, Angel saves Alonna's life from one of the traps and tries to explain that he is fighting for good.

Cordelia dresses Angel's wounds while they look at the graphic pictures that were being held for blackmail. Angel's still in pain, but goes off to find the nest of vampires before the gang of kids find it. Gunn questions Angel and his motivations for supposedly helping them. The vampires throw smoke bombs into the humans' hideaway, forcing them to escape to the surface. Covered in heavy clothes and wearing gas masks, the vampires capture several of the teen gang members, including Alonna.

Angel offers his assistance to Gunn and the others, but Gunn refuses and locks Angel in a meat locker. Angel tries to punch his way out of the locker, only to have Cordelia and Wesley open the door for him. Searching for the vampire's lair, Gunn finds a newly undead Alonna, but at first can't bring himself to kill what used to be his sister. When she offers to make her brother a vampire, he stakes her.

Angel kills the vampire gang leader and arranges a truce with the rest of the group: he'll allow them to live if they leave town and never return. Cordelia considers getting involved with David for his money, but ends up talking herself out of it. Angel tells Gunn he may need his help in the future.

Wesley continues to try to decipher the text of The Prophecies of Aberjian (part of which is the Shanshu Prophecy). When he deciphers the crucial word "shanshu" as "death", he surmises that means Angel will die. The lawyers at Wolfram & Hart call forth a warrior of the underworld named Vocah to perform a Raising. Vocah learns that the scroll containing the prophecy is in Angel's possession and sets off to retrieve it. Cordelia has a vision that sends Angel on his way to help a homeless woman fighting a slime demon. Kate arrives on the scene after Angel has defeated it, and declares she is determined to rid the city of vampires.

The next morning, Wesley and Cordelia discuss Angel's ability to change and grow, and Cordelia decides he needs a hobby. Vocah, after killing the Oracles of The Powers That Be, follows Cordelia, and inundates her with hundreds upon hundreds of visions; she collapses to the ground in agony. Angel reads up on the scrolls while the cloaked figure makes his way into the apartment. Angel locks the scroll away, and then leaves after getting a call about Cordelia. At the hospital, Cordelia is suffering, and the doctors are unable to save her. Angel is horrified by what is happening to his friend. Wesley returns to the apartment just in time to see a bomb was left in place of the scroll. Angel approaches the office building just as it explodes into a fiery blaze. Angel searches through the wreckage and finds that Wesley is still alive but badly hurt. Kate confronts Angel, but with his friends in serious condition, he refuses to take any of her hostile attitude toward him and goes with Wesley to the hospital.

Angel goes to see Cordelia, now in a catatonic state. He then notices a symbol on Cordelia's hand, and goes to the Oracles for help. He finds them dead, but the spirit of the female Oracle gives him instruction. He needs the scrolls, specifically the words of Anatole, to save Cordelia. She points him in the direction of Wolfram & Hart. Refusing to leave his friends unprotected again, Angel asks Gunn to stand guard at the hospital while he goes to hunt down Vocah. Vocah reads from the scrolls while sacrificing five vampires that are chained to a large cage. Angel watches as the Wolfram & Hart lawyers leave to attend the raising ritual.

Angel crashes the party and goes into a battle with Vocah. Lindsey picks up where Vocah left off and continues the ritual. His chanting kills the five vampires chained to the cage and then Holland orders the cage removed. In the end, Angel kills Vocah, and then faces Lindsey for the scroll. Lindsey tells Angel that the key to defeating the vampire with a soul is to cut off his connections to the Powers That Be and starts to burn the scroll. However rather than let Cordelia's only hope burn, Angel cuts off Lindsey's right hand and retrieves the scroll.

Wesley reads the words of Anatole and Cordelia is released from Vocah's curse. After seeing so many visions, Cordelia realizes how many people out there need their help and she and Angel vow to help them. At her apartment (and the temporary headquarters for Angel Investigations), Cordelia feeds Wesley and Angel, showing them her new, kinder side. Wesley discovers that the prophecy means that Angel will become human once he has fulfilled his duties. The lawyers go check on the cage, and Lilah looks inside, revealing a terrified Darla.

The individual members of Angel Investigations are called to action. Cordelia, Wesley and Angel meet at a gym to stop some demons attempting a human sacrifice. Meanwhile Lilah visits Lindsey's office where Darla is listening to classical music. She can feel Angel nearby, and Lindsey wants revenge against him.

Back at Cordelia's apartment, which is their new base of operations after their offices were blown up last episode, the gang tries to figure out what Wolfram & Hart might have been trying to raise. Cordelia suddenly has a vision about a Prio Motu demon. At Wesley's suggestion they go to Caritas, a demon karaoke bar and safe haven, to find Wesley's demon informant Merl, who knows where to find the Prio Motu. Lorne, called the Host, is introduced. He is described by Wesley as an Anagogic demon who can see into the hearts and read the future of those who sing. The Host tries to convince Angel to do a number, but Angel refuses. Angel finds the Prio Motu demon along with a pregnant woman, Jo. He kills the demon, only to have Jo tearfully inform him that the demon was her protector - mentioning something called the tribunal. Angel tries to offer help, but she runs away from him. Back at the apartment, Cordelia and Wesley's attempts at comfort only make things worse. Angel, feeling guilty for having killed an innocent fighting on his own side, declares that he intends to take over the dead demon's mission, telling Wesley and Cordelia to find out what the Tribunal is. Angel tracks down Merl and roughs him up. The demon tells him there is a price on Jo, or more specifically, her baby - a daughter who is supposed to become someone powerful and important to the side of good. The price is tempting, but with the Prio Motu defending her, no one could get to her. Angel picks up what Merl knows about where the Prio Motu would have been living and leaves.

Angel finds Gunn hunting vampires in a bad part of town and asks for help in finding the Prio Motu demon's hideout. They find the hideout and an important looking talisman. Angel asks Gunn to deliver the talisman to Wesley and Cordelia, leaving him to wait for Jo. When she appears Angel offers his help, and she tells him all she wants is to protect her unborn daughter. When he persists she asks him to help her find the "Coat of Arms" which might convince the Tribunal to call off whatever they're doing - the talisman Angel had just given to Gunn. When he confesses he already found it and sent it off to his friends, she tells him in exasperation to stop helping and turns to leave, only to find a demon coming through her door. Angel kills it, and they escape through the tunnels. Jo compares the Tribunal to a court and says the dead Prio Motu was going to be her champion. More demons attack, and the two are separated.

Angel arrives at the house, Gunn having already delivered the Coat of Arms and left, but Jo never showed. He and Cordelia talk about how they got cocky - treating the news that Angel had a chance to become human as if it meant the fight was over. Wesley interrupts with more information about the Tribunal, including the fact that it's a fight to the death. To get more information, Angel is forced to sing karaoke in front of the Host. He sings "Mandy", for which the Host tells him the Trial will be wherever Jo is - though he offers no conclusive answer to whether or not Angel will be able to save her. As he sets off to find her, the trial begins and with no Champion and no Coat of Arms, Jo is told her life is forfeit, but Angel arrives in time and throws down the Coat of Arms, declaring himself her champion. Angel is stabbed in the ensuing fight, and the Tribunal declares his opponent to have won, but Angel pulls out the sword and cuts off the other Champion's head. The Tribunal grants Jo and her daughter protection until the child comes of age.

Angel returns to Cordelia's apartment and removes the board they had been keeping track of their kills on. Wesley agrees that keeping score was a mistake - it's a job, not a race. Angel goes to visit Faith, now serving a long prison term, and they talk about redemption.

The story follows the adventures of a fictional "Cyrus Spitama", an Achaemenid Persian diplomat of the 6th-5th century BCE who travels the known world comparing the political and religious beliefs of various empires, kingdoms and republics of the time. Over the course of his life, he meets many influential philosophical figures of his time, including Zoroaster, Socrates, Anaxagoras, the Buddha, Mahavira, Lao Tsu, and Confucius. Though vehemently identifying himself as a Persian and speaking disparagingly of the Greeks, he is half-Greek himself – having had a formidable Greek mother.

Cyrus, who is the grandson of Zoroaster and who survives his murder, grows up at the Achaemenid court as a quasi-noble, and becomes a close friend of his schoolmate Xerxes. Because of Cyrus' talent for languages, the Achaemenid King, Darius I, sends him as an ambassador to certain kingdoms in India, and in fact as a spy gathering information for Darius' intended invasion and conquest of the Gangetic Plain. Cyrus becomes interested in the many religious theories he encounters there, but being a worldly courtier fails to be impressed with the Buddha and his concept of Nirvana. After coming to power, Cyrus' former schoolmate, now King Xerxes I, sends Cyrus to China, where he spends several years as a captive and "honored guest" in several of the warring states of the Middle Kingdom, and spends a great deal of time with Confucius – who, unlike the Buddha, seeks "To rectify the world rather than withdraw from it". Upon returning home, Cyrus witnesses the defeat of Xerxes and the end of the Greco-Persian wars. Cyrus then goes into retirement, but is called upon by Xerxes' successor, Artaxerxes I, to serve as ambassador to Athens and witness to the secret peace treaty between Pericles and himself.

The story is related in the first person as recalled to his Greek great-nephew Democritus. Cyrus's recollection is said to be motivated in part by his desire to set the record straight following the publication by Herodotus of an account of the Greco-Persian wars.

The book starts with a prologue on Lagrimas Negras (black tears), an island haven for criminals in the Caribbean. The boss, El Huracán, informs his lunch guests that one of them has broken the rule against contacting the outside world. Robert King is tricked into confessing, then made to run ''La Avenida de Muerte'' (The Avenue of Death), a deadly obstacle course. He is killed by a jaguar less than halfway through.

Following the events in ''Double or Die'', James Bond travels to Mexico with his Aunt Charmian, who is visiting the ruined Mayan city of Palenque. In the fishing village of Tres Hermanas, Angel Corona, a young Mexican pickpocket who closely resembles James, steals Charmian's bag. James chases and corners him. Corona is subdued and soon arrested by the local police. While Jack Stone, an American flying ace and friend of Charmian's flies Charmian to Palenque (as a storm is on the way and she has to leave that night). James is left in Tres Hermanas with Stone's children, where he quickly finds problems: Stone's daughter, Precious, is a spoiled, self-centered girl about the same age as James, while her younger brother, Jack Junior or JJ, is immature and annoying.

During a devastating hurricane, some gangsters led by a Mrs. Theda Glass enter the Stone house and steal the safe. James knocks one of the gunmen, Manny, out of the window, the youngsters hid from the gangsters and the storm in an underground ice house. After the storm, James takes the Stone children to town in Jack Stone's Duesenberg, which is wrecked by a sudden flood. JJ is nearly killed but is rescued by Garcia, James's sailor friend. When JJ and Precious are captured by the remaining four robbers, James passes himself off as Angel Corona to join the gang and Garcia tags along. The names of the other criminals are Strabo, 'Whatzat' (real name Charlie Moore) and Sakata. The Japanese gangster Sakata befriends James and teaches him jiu-jitsu.

Mrs. Glass takes the group to an old oil field in order to get tools and explosives to open the safe. She tells Precious the full story: Jack Stone had lost money after the end of the war and had become a smuggler to regain money; one of his clients was an ex-U.S Navy officer who had stolen some important documents about the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet, which Stone managed to steal after abandoning the officer. Sakata had been sent to steal the plans, which would be very valuable to the Japanese in the event of a war. However, the documents are not in the safe, so presumably Stone had not removed them from his plane. Whatzat attacks James and drowns to death, and Garcia attempts to take JJ to Veracruz for treatment but is killed by Strabo. James learns from Mrs. Glass that Whatzat name was Charlie Moore. When JJ's injured leg becomes severely infected, Sakata, prompted by James, leaves the gang and takes JJ to the hospital in Vera Cruz.

Mrs. Glass and Strabo make a new plan to flee to Lagrimas Negras and sell the documents to the ruler of the island, El Huracán. James and Precious escape and camp out for a while. Precious has undergone a change in character; she is no longer rude and self-centered, and even develops affections for James, which she expresses by waiting for him to fall asleep and then kissing him. Then Manny shows up in a car. He is very sick, as he has had brain damage following his fall at the Stone Mansion. He slips in and out of confusion. Finally, James and Precious knock him out of the car as he sleeps and escape. They head for Pelanque, but are unable to stop Mrs Glass escaping with the documents, though Strabo is killed by army ants. The Pelanque Ruins are mentioned in the chapter titled "Pelanque" where James and Precious fall asleep in the tall tower.

Mrs. Glass goes to Lagrimas Negras alone. James and Precious follow on a ship. Manny follows them and gives chase. He is killed by El Huracán's guards and James and Precious are employed as servants on Lagrimas Negras. James discovers that when the guests of Lagrimas Negras run out of money, they are forced to work as slaves on El Huracán's farm. James also hears that running ''La Avenida de Muerte'' is the only way to get off Lagrimas Negras, though no one has ever survived it. Precious steals a map of the obstacle course from a bathroom she is cleaning and she and James start training. They trick El Huracán into letting them run the course which he does reluctantly, as he was hoping James would stay on as his successor.

James and Precious successfully traverse many obstacles, helped by their advance knowledge. Finally they reach a massive water tank containing a vicious crocodile that will almost certainly kill them, as there is no way out. However, James has left some explosives in the maintenance tunnel and blows out the wall. He is knocked unconscious by the landing. He wakes up on a rock with Precious, who passionately kisses him while they wait to be collected. El Huracán keeps his promise to release them and the book ends with James and Precious leaving Lagrimas Negras with Jack Stone. They share a private moment watching the sunset, during which Precious admits to James that she loves him (despite her understanding that he must return to Britain after the events of the story).

In 1836 in southern California near Santa Barbara shortly after California became part of the United States, American settlers and the U.S. government discriminate against the Mexican landowners and frequently take their land by force or legal skullduggery. Wealthy Latino ranchers whose land and wealth are at risk decide to misdirect a U.S. government ship carrying gold so that it will be wrecked and plundered. To prevent themselves from being caught, they plan to massacre the local Chumash Indians. The hero is the now-estranged adoptive son Finley (Tom Laughlin), a master swordsman and gunfighter, who tries to prevent this while still saving his family.

Late one night, Littlefoot sees a strange, blue-colored meteor falling from the sky and crashing into Threehorn Peak, an active volcano in the Smoking Mountain range. When Littlefoot describes it the next morning, the adults in the Great Valley do not take it as a serious matter if they even believe it at all, except for two newcomers, the mysterious "Rainbow Faces", who are dinosaurs with rainbow-colored beaks. The Rainbow Faces tell them of possibilities of wonders beyond what they know, and suggest the rock may be a "Stone of Cold Fire", which is capable of possessing magical properties. Cera's father, however stops the Rainbow Faces and forbids them or anybody else to "fill the children's heads with rubbish". Littlefoot tries to tell Cera's father that he knew where the flying rock was and how he can find it. But Cera's father warns Littlefoot about the Mysterious Beyond and how it's off-limits. Littlefoot's grandfather agrees and tells Littlefoot that until the far-walkers leave the Great Valley, it would be better if they don't make any more fuss about the flying rock.

Pterano, the long lost outcast uncle of Littlefoot's friend Petrie, overhears the entire conversation and conspires to find the rock to use its powers to take control of the Valley. Pterano asks Petrie, who idolizes him, for the location of the rock and learns its location. Littlefoot's friend Ducky overhears Pterano's plan, but before she can warn the others, Pterano and his cronies, Rinkus, a ''Rhamphorhynchus'', and Sierra, a ''Cearadactylus'', capture her and set out to find the Stone. Upon discovering Ducky's abduction, the adults tell the young ones how Pterano led some of their herd during their search for the Valley, but had accidentally brought his followers to a pack of ''Deinonychus''. Pterano was able to fly away, but the event left him emotionally scarred, and he was expelled from the herd as punishment for leading his followers into danger. Because the adults are slow to reach a decision, Littlefoot, Petrie, Cera, and Spike take off by themselves in search of Ducky.

Meanwhile, Ducky escapes the Flyers and falls into a cave while fleeing. After the children find her, Ducky comforts Petrie, who is distraught about his uncle's actions, by stating that she could tell that Pterano is the least wicked of the three Flyers, and that he still has a potential of doing good. Rinkus and Sierra suddenly re-capture Ducky and pursue the children in violation of Pterano's orders, but the children are able to outsmart the two evil Flyers. As the Flyers fly away, Petrie tells them not to go and a thunderstorm comes. They see some lighting and hear thunder. Later as the thunderstorm comes and there is wind, thunder and lightning, the adult dinosaurs meet and Cera's Dad tells Petrie's mother what they will do since they will never catch up to the kids on land. Grandpa Longneck tells Petrie's mother to find another flier to help her and hurry. Afterwards later during the thunderstorm when it rains, Sierra displays mutinous feelings towards Pterano, but Rinkus convinces him to hold off betraying Pterano until they find the Stone. Pterano sings a song about how a very important creature he is.

The children pursue the Flyers, hoping to reach the Stone before them. They reach inside the cave and they sleep in the cave and the thunderstorm lasted until morning. The children wake up in the morning as the thunderstorm is over. Aided by the Rainbow Faces, who suddenly appear and offer their knowledge of volcanoes, they manage to arrive at Threehorn Peak before the Flyers. However, both groups discover that the Stone is just an ordinary meteorite. Lamenting over this realization, Pterano explains that he had meant to create a paradise with the power of the stone, not realizing that this paradise already exists in the form of the Great Valley. Unwilling to believe the Stone is not magical, Rinkus and Sierra betray Pterano. However, as they attempt to get the Stone to give them power, the volcano begins to erupt with lava, lightning and thunder, and Pterano sees Ducky holding on to a cliff and as lightning from the ash clouds strikes nearby and Ducky falls, Pterano saves Ducky from certain death.

Petrie's mother arrives with a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' (who is a huge flyer) to evacuate the children, leaving Rinkus and Sierra to be caught in the meteorite's explosion (which they tried to bash) and they land back at the site where they camped earlier (quite burned, singed, and bruised). Pterano is thanked for saving Ducky's life. Back in the Great Valley, the grown-ups have a meeting and decide about Pterano's fate. For rescuing the children (spoken by Littlefoot's grandfather), Pterano's exile from the Valley will be reduced to until five cold times have passed (five winters/years). Petrie cuts in and tries to plead against the punishment, begging the grown-ups to let Pterano live in the Valley forever. However, Petrie's mother tells Petrie that even though Pterano may be sorry, it does not change what he did (erase his actions) and he must still be held responsible. Pterano, agreeing with the banishment, tells Petrie that everyone (including himself) has to take responsibility for their actions and assures Petrie that he should be fine. Accepting the result, Petrie tearfully bids Pterano farewell with the latter saying he will miss Petrie before Cera's father forces Pterano away (begging him to move on). This prompts him to remark to the latter that there are things he will not miss at all.

That night, Littlefoot finds the Rainbow Faces and asks them if the meteorite really was a Stone of Cold Fire. They admit that while it wasn't, his effort to search for it was what really mattered, and reiterate that there are many unknowns to be discovered "beyond the Mysterious Beyond". Littlefoot is then momentarily distracted, and when he turns around, he finds the Rainbow Faces have disappeared in a pillar of light, implied to be a ''Tractor beam'', indicating that the Rainbow Faces are aliens. As the Rainbow Faces leave the planet Earth, they sing one last song to Littlefoot about Beyond the Mysterious Beyond. As Littlefoot's friends find him, an inspired Littlefoot reflects that there are many unknowns and that such unknowns make life wonderful.

On New Year's Eve, high school juniors Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez meet at a ski lodge party during winter break. The two are called upon to sing a duet together for karaoke ("Start of Something New"). Returning to school after the break, Troy sees Gabriella in his homeroom. She explains that she has just moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and transferred to East High School over the break. As Troy shows Gabriella around the school, drama club president Sharpay Evans assumes that Gabriella is interested in auditioning for the school musical. Wanting to eliminate the competition, Sharpay discovers Gabriella's past academic achievements, and anonymously informs scholastic decathlon captain Taylor McKessie of them, so she will recruit Gabriella for the team. Taylor and Gabriella become friends over their shared interests.

During a basketball practice, Troy is distracted by thoughts of Gabriella and the idea that he might enjoy singing in addition to basketball ("Get'cha Head in the Game"). Gabriella and Troy go to the musical auditions where Sharpay and her twin brother Ryan Evans perform "What I've Been Looking For". However, Troy and Gabriella are hesitant to audition. When Gabriella gains the confidence to step forward once the auditions are unofficially declared "over", Troy offers to sing with her. However, drama teacher Ms. Darbus tells them they are too late and leaves. Kelsi Nielsen, the musical's composer, drops her music sheets on the stage; Troy and Gabriella rush to help her and sing the same song together. Overhearing their performance, Ms. Darbus gives them a callback audition.

When the callback list gets posted, Sharpay is furious that she has competition for the lead role, while the Wildcats basketball team is shocked that Troy has auditioned. After finding out that Troy can do activities outside his clique, other students confess their secret passions and talents ("Stick to the Status Quo"). This alarms Taylor and Troy's best friend Chad Danforth. Taylor and Chad come up with a plan to divert Troy and Gabriella from singing in the musical so they can focus on their upcoming competitions.

In the locker room, Troy is tricked by his teammates into saying that Gabriella and the audition is not needed. Gabriella watches this via a hidden webcam that the scholastic decathlon team has set up. Upset by Troy's perceived betrayal ("When There Was Me and You"), Gabriella decides to not audition for the musical. Troy, confused by Gabriella's decision, is unable to concentrate on the game, while Gabriella is low in spirits. Realizing their mistake, Chad and the basketball team tell Troy what happened and offer to support him in the callbacks. Taylor also explains to Gabriella that she was wrong but Gabriella dismisses this, believing Troy meant what he said. That evening, Troy goes to Gabriella's house where he explains the truth and they reconcile, determined to audition for the musical.

Overhearing Gabriella and Troy rehearse, Sharpay asks Ms. Darbus to move the callbacks so they start at the same time as both Troy's championship game and Gabriella's scholastic decathlon competition. Kelsi overhears the conversation, and both the basketball and decathlon teams make a plan together. On the day of the competitions, Taylor and Gabriella use the school's computers to delay the championship game by hacking the power in the gym and causing a chemical reaction that forces an evacuation during the decathlon. Troy and Gabriella rush to the auditorium as Sharpay and Ryan finish their callback song ("Bop to the Top"). After Gabriella and Troy successfully perform their song "Breaking Free", Ms. Darbus gives them the lead roles, making Sharpay and Ryan understudies. Both teams win their respective competitions, and the entire school gathers in the gym to celebrate ("We're All in This Together"). Chad asks Taylor out, and Sharpay makes peace with Gabriella.

In a post-credits scene, Zeke Baylor paces alone in the gym, when Sharpay runs in, declaring that the cookies he had given her that she had initially rejected are "genius". She hugs him, and he says he will make her a crème brûlée. Zeke smiles in victory.

An international consortium of scientists, operating as Project Inner Space in Tanganyika, Africa, is trying to tap into the Earth's geothermal energy by drilling a very deep hole down to the Earth's core. The scientists are foiled by an extremely dense layer of material. To penetrate the barrier and reach the magma below, they intend to detonate an atomic device at the bottom of the hole.

The leader of the project, Dr. Stephen Sorenson (Dana Andrews), who is secretly dying of cancer, believes that the atomic device will burn its way through the barrier, but the project's chief geologist, Dr. Ted Rampion (Kieron Moore), is convinced that the lower layers of the crust have been weakened by decades of underground nuclear tests, and that the detonation could produce a massive crack which would threaten the very existence of Earth.

The atomic device is used and Rampion's fears prove justified, as the crust of the Earth develops an enormous crack that progresses rapidly along a fault line, causing earthquakes and tsunamis along its path. Rampion warns a committee of world leaders that the crack is capable of extending beyond the fault, and that if it were to encircle the Earth, causing the land masses to split, the oceans would be sucked in, generating steam at high enough of a pressure to rip the Earth apart.

Sorenson meanwhile discovers that there was a huge reservoir of hydrogen underground, which turned the small conventional atomic explosion into a huge thermonuclear one that was millions of times more powerful. Another atomic device, lowered into the magma chamber of an island volcano in the path of the crack, is used in the hope of stopping the crack, but it only reverses the crack's direction. Eventually, the crack approaches its starting point at the test site, and a huge chunk of the planet outlined by the crack is expected to be thrown out into space. Sorenson remains at the underground control center to record the event, despite pleas by his wife Maggie to evacuate with the rest of the project staff. She and Rampion barely escape the test site in time to observe the fiery birth of a second moon. Its release stops the crack, and the Earth survives.

The player takes role of a 16-year-old Boris Verne, who is taken to a parallel universe from the present time, when playing around with his eccentric uncle George's newest invention, which he called the Virtual Dimension Inducer. Boris finds himself in an alternate dimension called Pararela, being at the centre of a prophecy that says that he is the Saviour that will end the reign of the mad tyrant King Emperor Neiamises of the Mekelien Empire, who possesses god-like powers and is bent on conquest of the whole galaxy. Throughout the game Boris encounters allies and enemies on a variety of worlds, installations and starships on his quest to bring peace to the universe.

Jack Leary and his younger brother Dylan start over in Oakland, California, in 1972 following the death of their mother Elizabeth, who was killed in a car collision. The boys live with their father John, who entertains late-night horror film audiences as ''Midnight Shriek'' host-commentator "Al Gory." Even though he is a loving parent, John has a drinking problem that disrupts the smooth running of the household. Some parental duties fall to Jack, who takes Dylan to his first day of preschool.

One of the Learys' neighbors is a young man, Norman Strick, who walks with a cane due to a car accident as a teen. Norman is an anti-social neo-Nazi who feels the neighborhood is going downhill.

Jack has a love affair with his classmate Karen Morris. Jack's friend and next door neighbor, Dexter, comes from a broken home. Dexter resides with his grandparents; he begins suffering a downward spiral after his grandmother died while becoming acquainted with Norman. On Halloween, having given Dexter a Nazi costume, Norman approaches John to ask for a donation for a racially prejudiced candidate. During an airing of ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'', a drunken John interrupts the movie and mimics the racially charged beliefs of Norman while naming the candidate.

The next day, Jack is woken when Norman's golden retriever Cheyenne dies on their front lawn from poisoning. John apologizes for his actions on television while giving his condolences despite Norman refusing to shake his hand. Backlash from John's previous actions on his show jeopardizes his job and endangers Jack's relationship with Karen. Taking out his anger on Dylan and leaving him with Dexter, Jack learns that his brother was kidnapped by Norman.

Jack calls the police as he and John are extremely worried until Dylan is found alive in a nearby forest a few days later and taken to the hospital. He has been traumatized by the ordeal of being left to die in the wilderness. The emotional trauma has rendered him mute.

Three days later, bringing Dylan home with Norman not seen for days, John begins getting agitated to the point of taking out his frustration at the Strick home with a bat, terrorizing the Stricks for their son's whereabouts before destroying Norman's beloved T-Bird. Fearing for his current state of mind, John lets his in-laws take the boys to their home in Los Angeles as he decides to shape up. Jack sneaks back to Oakland and falls asleep watching ''The Wolf Man''. By the time John arrives home, Norman cuts the power as he sneaks into the house. Stirred awake by the outage, Jack is aware that someone intruded but accidentally knocks John out with a bat. Found by Norman, Jack runs upstairs and out the bathroom window to a branch of a nearby tree with Norman in pursuit as John regains consciousness. However, chased up to the higher point of the tree, Jack watches Norman losing his grip and falling into the backyard behind the Leary house where he is mauled to death by the neighbor's Doberman Pinschers. Soon after, as Norman's parents move away, Dylan returns home while John gets his job back with his show now airing more comical horror films like Abbott and Costello.

One afternoon, the neighborhood children all appear and ask if John will play one of his monster games with them as usual. After his experiences with Norman, John tells the children he won't play the monster game anymore. When they ask him why, John sees Dexter smoking a cigarette while realizing he's going down a dark path. John looks to the children that there are real monsters out there, but he promises to play a better game with them. Later finding Jack playing his mother's lullaby on the piano while getting Dylan to say the lullaby's title, John tries to comfort his son when he breaks down crying. As John gives Jack and himself closure, the two embrace Dylan after he says the title of Elizabeth's lullaby: "Jack the Bear." The next day, with their lives beginning to return to normal, John watches his sons playing in the front yard.

Wealthy and leisured Roger Lawrence adopts twelve-year-old Nora Lambert after her father kills himself in the hotel room next to Lawrence's. Roger had refused financial assistance to the man, and he feels remorse. Nora is not a pretty child but she soon starts to develop, as does Roger's idea of eventually marrying her.

Unfortunately for Roger, once Nora matures into a beautiful young woman, she is attracted to two other men: worthless George Fenton and the somewhat hypocritical minister, Hubert Lawrence (Roger's cousin). After various adventures Nora winds up in the clutches of Fenton in New York City, but Roger comes to her rescue. Roger and Nora marry in a conventional happy ending.

While sketching in Siena, Bernard Longueville meets Angela Vivian and her mother. Later, Bernard's friend and self-proclaimed "mad" scientist Gordon Wright calls Longueville to Baden-Baden to pass judgment on whether he should marry Angela. Bernard recommends against it, based on his belief that Angela is something of a mysterious coquette.

So Gordon marries the lightweight (in both senses) Blanche Evers. After a couple years Longueville again meets Angela at a French beach resort and realizes he loves her. They get engaged, and Angela tells Bernard that she had refused Gordon when he proposed to her. Eventually Angela manages to reconcile Gordon and Blanche, who were becoming estranged due to a supposed extramarital affair Blanche had. Everybody lives happily ever after.

A massive corporation known as DOATEC (Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee) host a fighting competition called the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship, where fighters from all over the world can compete for the title as world champion and a vast amount of money. A runaway kunoichi known as Kasumi enters the Dead or Alive tournament to seek revenge against her uncle Raidou, who was responsible for crippling her brother, Hayate.

Kasumi's brother, Hayate, was next in line to succeed their father, Shiden, as the 18th leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan. After Hayate was crippled by Raidou, Shiden was left bitter from what Raidou did to his son, and Shiden refused to discuss the details surrounding the attack. Shiden ordered his daughter, Kasumi, to take her brother's place as the next leader of their clan. However, Kasumi abandoned the village. Learning that her evil uncle was her brother's attacker, Kasumi tracks him down to the Dead or Alive tournament where she enters to defeat him.

Kasumi eventually defeats and kills Raidou, but her decision to leave her village without permission violates the strict laws of the ninja society and is punishable by death. As a result, she becomes a hunted fugitive.

''Mickey Mouse III: Dream Balloon''

Mickey Mouse is working part-time selling balloons in order to buy a present for Minnie, whose birthday is a few days away. He gets news from Pluto that Minnie cannot wake up. He sets off to visit her, only to find that she has been trapped in a nightmare. Now, Mickey must journey into Minnie's mind in order to free her from the nightmare.

''Kid Klown in Night Mayor World''

Kid Klown and his family are on their way to perform in a circus when they meet the magician Night Mayor (a pun on "nightmare"). He asks Kid Klown to help him open a treasure vault, but Kid Klown, having been warned about the evil magician by his parents, refuses. Not willing to give up so easily, Night Mayor kidnaps Kid Klown's family and dares him to follow him into his world if he ever wants to see his family again.

The game starts as Gnome looks through telescope in his House. He suddenly spots a planet moving towards his home planet. He goes to his airship Polokonzerva and flies to the Planet. He lands on the planet and after some adventures he finds an engine room of the planet. He changes the planet's course so it narrowly misses Home Planet. Gnome then returns home as cheering is heard.

On the verge of his retirement in 1876 at Fort Starke, a small Frontier Army post, aging cavalry veteran Nathan Cutting Brittles is given one last mission: to deal with a breakout by the Cheyenne and Arapaho from their reservation following the defeat of George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and prevent a new frontier war. . ( )

Brittles' task is complicated by a second order: to deliver his commanding officer's wife and niece, Abby Allshard and Olivia Dandridge, to an eastbound stage. His troop officers, 1st Lt. Flint Cohill and 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell, meanwhile, vie for the affections of Olivia while uneasily anticipating the retirement of their captain and mentor.

Assisting Capt. Brittles with his mission is his chief scout, Sgt. Tyree, a one-time Confederate captain of cavalry; his first sergeant, Quincannon; and Maj. Allshard, Brittles's long-time friend and commanding officer.

After apparently failing in both missions, Brittles returns with the troop to Fort Starke to retire. His lieutenants continue the mission in the field, joined by Brittles after "quitting the post and the Army". Unwilling to see more lives needlessly taken, Brittles takes it upon himself to try to make peace with his old friend Chief Pony That Walks. When that too fails, he devises a risky stratagem to avoid a bloody war by stampeding the renegades' horses out of their camp, forcing them to return to their reservation.

Brittles is recalled to duty as Chief of Scouts with the rank of Lt. Colonel—a U.S. War Department order endorsed, he is pleased to see, by Gens. Phil Sheridan and William Tecumseh Sherman, and by President Ulysses S. Grant. Olivia and Lt. Cohill become engaged. The film ends with the troop of cavalry trotting down the road on patrol.

After the American Civil War, highly respected veteran Captain Kirby York (John Wayne) is expected to replace the outgoing commander at Fort Apache, an isolated U.S. cavalry post. York had commanded his own regiment during the Civil War and was well-qualified to assume permanent command. To the surprise and disappointment of the company, command of the regiment was given to Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda). Thursday, a West Point graduate, was a general during the Civil War. Despite his Civil War combat record, Lieutenant Colonel Thursday is an arrogant and egocentric officer who lacks experience dealing with Native Americans, and in particular local tribes with their unique cultures and traditions.

Accompanying widower Thursday is his daughter, Philadelphia (Shirley Temple). She becomes attracted to Second Lieutenant Michael Shannon O'Rourke (John Agar), the son of Sergeant Major Michael O'Rourke (Ward Bond). The elder O'Rourke was a recipient of the Medal of Honor as a major with the Irish Brigade during the Civil War, entitling his son to enter West Point and become an officer. However, the class-conscious Thursday forbids his daughter to see someone whom he does not consider an equal and a gentleman.

When unrest arises among the Apache, led by Cochise (Miguel Inclán), Thursday ignores York's advice to treat the tribes with honor and to remedy problems on the reservation caused by corrupt Apache agent Silas Meacham (Grant Withers). Thursday's inability to deal with Meacham effectively, due to his rigid interpretation of Army regulations stating that Meacham is an agent of the United States government, so entitled to Army protection (despite his own personal contempt for the man), coupled with Thursday's prejudicial and arrogant ignorance regarding the Apache, drives the Apaches to rebel. Eager for glory and recognition, Thursday orders his regiment into battle on Cochise's terms, a direct charge into the hills, despite York's urgent warnings that such a move would be suicidal. Thursday relieves York and orders him to stay back, replacing him with Captain Sam Collingwood (George O'Brien).

Following Thursday's orders, York spares the younger O'Rourke from battle. Thursday's command is nearly wiped out, but a few soldiers manage to escape back to the ridge where Captain York is positioned. Thursday himself survives, but then returns to die with the last of his trapped men. Cochise spares York and the rest of the detachment because he knows York to be an honorable man.

Subsequently, now Lieutenant Colonel Kirby York commands the regiment. Meeting with correspondents, he introduces Lt. O'Rourke, now married to Philadelphia Thursday. A reporter asks Colonel York if he has seen the famous painting depicting "Thursday's Charge". York, about to command a new and arduous campaign to bring in the Apaches, while believing that Thursday was a poor tactician who led a foolhardy and suicidal charge, says it is completely accurate and then reminds the reporters that the soldiers will never be forgotten as long as the regiment lives.

Joining the Horror family is a group of societal outcasts who shun the light of day and avoid mainstream society: spectral apparition, Polychrome; amphibious spitfire, Starfish; pyrokinetic swordsman, Firelion; reptilian, Komodo; streetwise animal-human chimera, Raccoon; the silent undead gunslinger, Gunwitch. They live in or frequent Doc Horror's underground sanctuary called the Tomb, both home and fortress to the group, as they battle the criminal underworld and various supernatural threats which often rear up in nearby Pacific City.

Doc Horror's chief nemeses are the Crim, a parasitic species of extradimensional conquerors who ravaged his home world before he and Eve escaped to Earth. They have aligned themselves with the insidious Narn K Corporation, a powerful bioengineering firm specializing in controversial experimentation and covert weapons development, and have been busy producing animal-human hybrids and synthetic soldiers for use in warfare and ultimately global invasion. Aside from the Narn K and the Crim, Horror and his crew have encountered everything from wish-granting demon lanterns and vampire street gangs to hillbilly swamp witches and robotic mobster hitmen.

The hallmark of the Eisner-Award nominated, ''Nocturnals: Black Planet'' miniseries is Brereton's moody, gothic style realized by hand painted art in every panel. The storytelling and visual imagery draws its influences from an eclectic mix of sources, including gangster films, science fiction, Lovecraftian creatures, and film noir. Brereton's supernatural art made a fan of rocker/filmmaker Rob Zombie, who tapped Brereton to paint an interior illustration for his multi-platinum ''Hellbilly Deluxe'' album. Zombie also wrote the introduction to ''Nocturnals: The Witching Hour'' one-shot.

The Nocturnals were seen in various appearances from 1994 through 2002. In 2003 "Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion" was published by Green Ronin as a sourcebook and guide, which won three gaming industry awards (ENnies) for that year. Olympian Publishing collected the first of two oversize hardcover volumes, followed by the second collected volume from Image Comics in 2009.

The Guardian World lies in another dimension, and its inhabitants are charged with guarding and controlling magical forces. To this end, the inhabitants possess varying levels of magical power which allows them to change shape, destroy objects, suspend time, or call up elemental beings to do their bidding. The source of power in the Guardian World is the Throne of Yord, a mysterious painting watched over by the Elders, who train Neutralizers to tend the Throne and make sure it is kept safe. One of these Neutralizers (Kagetsu) has stolen the Throne and taken it to Earth for an unknown purpose, causing the Elders to send two different teams to Earth to reclaim the Throne—for if the Throne is away for too long or is destroyed, the Guardian World will be undone.

Act I

Jonathan Harker, a young lawyer from England, travels to Transylvania to fix a deal with the elderly Count Dracula, who wants to buy a home in London (Prologue). Harker enjoys a lavish supper set by his host and asks the Count if he knows anyone in England. Dracula responds that he knows Harker and that other contacts have been made in advance to ensure his arrival in England is well received. The Count voices his desire to begin a new life in his new country ("Solitary Man"). Dracula shows Harker to his bedroom, where he notices a picture of Harker's fiancée Mina Murray, which seems to have a strange effect on him. Once Dracula leaves, Harker composes a letter to Mina, who herself remembers how they met ("Whitby Bay"). Mina, in England, suddenly hears Dracula's voice in her head; the Count forebodingly informs her of his imminent journey to England and his desire to be with her.

Early one morning, Dracula surprises Harker while shaving, causing Harker to cut himself. Dracula advances towards his guest's bleeding throat but retreats once he catches a glimpse of a crucifix around Harker's neck. Harker tries to get Dracula to focus on the contract, but Dracula ignores him, instead advising him to only sleep in his chamber. Harker's stay in the castle slowly begins turning into a nightmare, and he frantically searches for a way out ("Jonathan's Bedroom").

Dracula's Brides appear in one of the rooms the unfortunate English man wanders into and begin to seduce him. Harker removes the crucifix from his neck, and the Brides prepare to drink his blood ("Forever Young"). Dracula suddenly appears and scolds the women for disobeying his orders to leave Harker for himself. When the Brides ask if they are to have nothing, Dracula gives them an infant to consume. When the infant's distraught mother enters, begging for the return of her child, Dracula kills her and proceeds to drink Harker's blood to restore his youth ("Fresh Blood"). Fully rejuvenated, Dracula flies into the air, while Harker escapes to Budapest.

Back in London, Dracula contacts his servant Renfield, who is incarcerated in the insane asylum of Dr. Jack Seward and promises him eternal life in exchange for his services. Renfield envisions Dracula's approach to Whitby Bay via the ship ''Demeter'', and sees the Count kill the captain and the crew ("The Master's Song").

After reading about the disaster, Mina discusses the news with her friend Lucy Westenra, and about Lucy's trouble with sleepwalking, which the latter had inherited from her late father. The conversation quickly turns to Lucy's dilemma of having three marriage proposals offered to her in one day. All three suitors come to dinner at her house that night: Quincey Morris, the "brave" cowboy from Texas; Dr. Jack Seward, the "bright" owner of the mental institution in Purfleet; and Arthur Holmwood, Lucy's "boring" childhood sweetheart. In the end, Lucy chooses Holmwood ("How Do You Choose?").

That night, Lucy sleepwalks and finds Dracula. When the vampire begins to drink her blood Mina, who had followed Lucy, appears. The Count explains, inside Mina's mind, that she is the one he wanted, but Lucy answered his call instead. When Mina begs Dracula to release her friend, the Count vows he will, but only if Mina will come with him; a proposal that Mina blatantly refuses. Angered and shocked that Mina can resist him, Dracula vanishes. Lucy awakens and describes her encounter with Dracula to Mina ("The Mist"). Mina explains to Lucy that she has received a telegram from Harker in Budapest and that she must go to marry him at once. Lucy congratulates Mina, excited that they will both become brides. Dracula, watching from afar, comments that he has already corrupted one mortal soul. ("The Mist-Reprise").

Mina prepares for her journey, upsetting Dracula. Stirred by emotions he has not felt in centuries, Dracula follows Mina to the train station and, from afar, voices his desire to be with her. Torn between her devotion to Harker and her darker desires, Mina begins to question what she wants in life. Ultimately, she travels to Budapest and marries Harker ("A Perfect Life/Loving You Keeps Me Alive/Whitby Bay-Reprise"). At the same time, Lucy marries Arthur Holmwood in London ("The Weddings"). Feeling that Mina has eluded him, a frustrated Dracula appears before Lucy at her reception, causing her to faint.

Dr. Seward calls upon the renowned vampire expert Abraham Van Helsing to help the weakened Lucy. Van Helsing decorates Lucy's room with garlic and gives her a bottle of holy water to keep with her as she sleeps. Drawn to Dracula's power, Lucy disposes of the garlic and holy water and invites the vampire into her room ("The Invitation"). Dracula appears and drains Lucy of blood, all the while feeding her his own.

The next morning Lucy attacks Holmwood, her teeth now long and sharp. Van Helsing saves Holmwood and sends the feral Lucy into a frenzy with a prayer. Lucy dies, leaving Holmwood confused and heartbroken. Van Helsing comforts the despairing man while explaining the nature of the vampire ("Nosferatu").

Lucy is buried and shortly rises again as a vampire. Dracula comes to her and christens her as the first of his new "dynasty." The Count then sends Lucy out to find her first victims, before flying into the sky in the form of a giant bat ("Life After Life").

Act II

Two weeks later, Van Helsing leads Holmwood, Morris, Dr. Seward, Harker, and Mina to Lucy's tomb. There has been an epidemic of small children being abducted and drained of blood in the dead of night by someone described as a "bloofer lady." Van Helsing seeks to prove to Holmwood, Morris, and Dr. Seward, who remain skeptical, that the culprit is none other than the undead Lucy Westenra. They enter and find Lucy's coffin empty. Lucy then enters the tomb, with a small child she intended to feed on, and is confronted by the vampire hunters ("Undead One, Surrender"). The group forces her into her coffin with religious chanting, and Holmwood tearfully drives a stake through her heart, while Van Helsing decapitates her. Lucy dies and is finally able to rest in peace.

While musing on the events of the previous day, Mina once more hears Dracula's voice in her mind. When Dracula asks why she is forcing him to wait, Mina points out that he murdered Lucy. Dracula retorts that she is wrong, for he gave Lucy eternal life, and it was the vampire hunters who killed her. Mina feels a strange attraction to the Count, even though he turned Lucy into a vampire. Caught between her fear of his terrible power and her growing affinity towards him, Mina pleads with the vampire not to make her love him unless he truly loves her ("Please Don't Make Me Love You").

Van Helsing discovers Renfield's mind connection with Dracula and visits his cell with Mina. Renfield explains his connection with the Count and how he has been promised eternal life. When Van Helsing asks if he and Renfield had met somewhere before, the madman eerily replies that he knows what happened to Van Helsing's wife. Shaken by Renfield's comment, Van Helsing storms out of the cell. Mina tries to reason with Renfield by asking him if eternal life is worth damning his soul. Renfield warns Mina of Dracula's plans for her but quickly realizes she has sealed his fate by betraying his master. Once left alone, Dracula appears and kills his former servant ("The Master's Song-Reprise").

Van Helsing has a private moment as he recollects on his youth and his wife Roseanne, whose death at the hands of a vampire, hinted to have been Dracula, inspired him to become a vampire hunter in her honor ("Roseanne").

Holmwood, Morris, and Dr. Seward have uncovered Dracula's hiding place in the house Harker had sold to him while they were in Transylvania. Van Helsing, Holmwood, Morris, and Dr. Seward leave, leaving Mina with Harker. While Harker shows the men to the door, Mina can't help but feel a growing need to save Dracula from destruction. Unable to fight her desire for the Count any longer, she invites the vampire into the house ("If I Could Fly"). Dracula enters and puts Harker in a trance before seducing Mina. The two share a moment of passion before Dracula cuts open his chest and lets Mina taste his blood, intending to turn her into a vampire ("The Seduction (There's Always A Tomorrow")). The vampire hunters return and confront Dracula, causing him to flee ("It's Over").

Using hypnosis, Van Helsing gets Mina, who is now telepathically connected to Dracula, to reveal the Count's whereabouts. Dracula is shown to be returning home to Transylvania due to the destruction of his hiding place in London. Mina makes each man, even Harker, promise to kill her if it seems her soul is beyond saving ("Jonathan's Promise"). The hunters then prepare for their journey and the final battle with Dracula ("Deep In the Darkest Night"). Meanwhile, Harker broods over the horrifying promise he has made to his wife but vows to keep it ("Before the Summer Ends").

Aboard a train, Van Helsing again hypnotizes Mina to reveal Dracula's movements. She reveals Dracula is hidden in a coffin in the hull of a ship, before becoming engulfed by Dracula's mind. With the trance broken, Mina retires while the others plan their next move. ("The Train Sequence/Life After Life-Reprise").

Dracula, back at his castle, reflects on his eternal life and realizes he has fallen deeply in love with Mina ("The Longer I Live").

The hunters reach Dracula's castle, and the showdown takes place. Morris is killed by Dracula when he tries to stake the vampire in his coffin. Van Helsing leaves Mina in a protective circle of holy water to help Holmwood, Harker, and Dr. Seward fight Dracula's Brides. Dracula shortly appears before Mina, who now decides to follow her beloved into the darkness. Upon hearing the death screams of his brides, Dracula realizes that Mina will share the same fate if she becomes a vampire. Having fallen in love with her, he cannot bring himself to condemn her to live in death.

Knowing that her only salvation is his demise, Dracula asks Mina to release him from his doomed existence with a Bowie knife he took from Morris. With tears running down her face, she fulfills her lover's last wish, just before the hunters return. Harker finds his wife cradling the body of Dracula in her arms ("Finale: There's Always A Tomorrow").

When Nathan (Neil Patrick Harris), a doctor, loses a patient on the operating table, he decides that being a doctor isn't meant for him, and he wants to give it up. He decides to take a vacation to his hometown, and stay with his father (Hugh Thompson).

While volunteering at the local grade school, he meets Charlie (Angus T. Jones), a young boy who has also lost his mother, and Meghan (Rebecca Gayheart), Charlie's teacher. Charlie and his father have also just arrived in town, to work at estates doing chores. Nathan, searching for the shoes he gave his mother the Christmas she died (Even though in the "17 years later" epilogue of ''The Christmas Shoes'' he left them on her grave and walked away), learns that Charlie now has them. And Meghan, wanting to buy a house for those in need, may not be able to.

Soon after his arrival, Nathan learns that Charlie is ailing from an irregular heart defect, and Meghan has cirrhosis of the liver, and will die unless she has a transplant. In the end, it is Charlie who saves her life, by giving her his liver. As a dying wish, he asks Nathan, whom he calls coach, to give her the shoes. And Robert (Rob Lowe), Meghan's friend, buys the house for her. In honor of Charlie, Meghan names the house after him.

In the future, mankind has rapidly advanced in technology, to the point where colonies orbiting Earth and Mars are constructed. However, political and economical strife have led to a recession that has affected the colonies the hardest. To deal with these issues, the multitude of Earth governments have united under the banner of the United Community of Earth (UCE). The attempted reorganization instead causes the formation of rebel forces, such as White Fang and the United Lunar Empire Gigano. To counter this, the UCE establishes a special task force, the Londo Bell, to eradicate them and similar groups.

During the same time frame, the UCE began the development of a new energy source called "E2", created in response to the global energy crisis affecting the Earth-orbiting colonies. Though powerful, E2 is also highly volatile, with many of the rebelling forces seeking to steal it for their own purposes. This leads to a worldwide war against the opposing groups, with the Londo Bell being sent out to stop them from stealing. The player assumes the role of a squad member working for the Londo Bell, teaming up with others to destroy those that seek to steal E2. In one mission, the Londo Bell destroys a shuttle fleet led by Char Aznable, carrying surplus amounts of E2. Undeterred, Aznable flees to the colonies orbiting Mars as the Londo Bell pursue him. A climactic battle ensues that leads to the destruction of the E2 energy and Aznable's defeat. However, using the refugee ship incident, hardliner Duke Dermail seizes power within the UCE government, replacing the pacifist Relena Peacecraft and foreshadowing the coming of a new war.

A.C.E.2 is not a direct sequel to its predecessor, as it involves its own original plot, as well as covering events that already happened in ''A.C.E.'', albeit differently. This is not an unusual occurrence, as Banpresto has done this with most entries in the ''Super Robot Wars'' franchise; most of the games in that series are not connected by an established continuity (exceptions include the ''Super Robot Wars Alpha'' games and the titles in the ''Super Robot Wars'' classic timeline), with remakes or updates abounding.

However, there are some links back to ''A.C.E.'' in the sequel. The ''Ark'' series, including the main character's Gunark, use as their power source the super-volatile substance E2, which was introduced in the first game. Additionally, most of the ''A.C.E.'' original enemies return, this time with a backstory, while in A.C.E. they were simply there to add to the challenge.

Retired NYPD detective Joe Leland is visiting the 40-story office headquarters of the Klaxon Oil Corporation in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, where his daughter Stephanie Leland Gennaro works.

While he is waiting for his daughter's Christmas party to end, a group of German Autumn–era terrorists take over the skyscraper. The gang is led by the brutal Anton "Little Tony the Red" Gruber. Joe had known about Gruber through a counter-terrorist conference he had attended years prior. Barefoot, Leland slips away and manages to remain undetected in the gigantic office complex. Armed with only his Browning Pistol and in communication with Los Angeles Police sergeant Al Powell and his belligerent supervisor, Dwayne Robinson. Leland fights off the terrorists one by one in an attempt to save the 74 hostages, his daughter and grandchildren.

After executing the CEO of the Klaxon building, Mr. Rivers, Gruber and the terrorists proceed to steal documents that will publicly expose the Klaxon corporation's dealings with Chile's junta. They also intend to deprive Klaxon of the proceeds of the corrupt deal of $6,000,000 in cash by attempting to access a safe. Leland interferes with this plan by stealing explosives and progressively killing terrorists and receiving multiple injuries in the process.

Leland kills most of the terrorists and, despite no help from the police, faces off with the leader of the terrorist group, Anton Gruber, who is holding his daughter hostage. Gruber falls to his death after being shot by Leland. Unfortunately, taking Stephanie with him. Blaming Klaxon for the terrorist attack and his daughter's death, Leland throws the cash out of the window himself. Once Leland is back on the street the last terrorist, Karl, who was presumed dead earlier, returns and starts a shooting rampage, killing police (including Robinson) and a doctor in the process, before Sgt Powell finally kills him, allowing Leland to receive medical care.

In the storyline, a civilization much more advanced than ours falls to its knees when electricity suddenly disappears. Chaos, disease, and famine ensue, which readers witness through the adventures of a small group of survivors led by François Deschamps. The group leaves Paris and starts a journey toward Provence where the survivors will create a new patriarchal society with Deschamps as their leader.

Ralph "Papa" Thorson (Steve McQueen) arrives in a small town in Illinois where, despite being a terrible driver (a running joke used throughout the film), he captures fugitive Tommy Price (LeVar Burton) for fleeing on his bail. Thorson next drives to Houston to bring in a dangerous punk named Billie Joe, whose kinfolk include Sheriff Strong (Ben Johnson), a corrupt redneck lawman who warns Thorson not to get involved. Papa ignores him and ends up in a destructive fight with the enormous fugitive but succeeds in apprehending him.

Thorson drives both Tommy Price and Billie Joe back to Los Angeles, where he collects his reward for bringing them back. However, Thorson vouches for Price, who soon begins fixing things at Thorson's house and becomes one of Thorson's many acquaintances who hang out there.

At home, Thorson is an old-fashioned guy who has a love of antique toys and classical music. His schoolteacher girlfriend Dotty (Kathryn Harrold) is pregnant and would like "Papa" to be there for her when the baby is born, but his job continually keeps him on the road.

Thorson works for elderly bail bondsman Ritchie Blumenthal (Eli Wallach) who sends him out on dangerous assignments to chase down fugitives in all parts of the US. However, Thorson himself is stalked by psychotic killer Rocco Mason (Tracey Walter), who was one of Thorson's former convicts.

Thorson is sent to rural Nebraska to bring back two fugitives, the Branch Brothers. He flies out to Nebraska and heads to the Branch farmhouse, where the two psycho brothers steal his rental car and try to kill him with dynamite. Thorson commandeers a combine harvester and chases after the two Branch Brothers through a cornfield. A stick of dynamite they drop blows up the car, but they both survive. Thorson arrives back at the local airport with the destroyed car on a trailer and brings the Branch Brothers on a plane back to Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Rocco Mason terrorizes Dotty at her workplace, which leads Thorson to try to protect her, but she instead tries to make him give up his bounty hunter way of life and to take her to a Lamaze class. When Thorson grows tired of it and tells Dotty he wishes she had had an abortion, she threatens to leave him.

Thorson's police friend Captain Spota (Richard Venture) commits suicide after he is investigated for dealing illegal drugs from the department's evidence rooms, whereupon Thorson starts drinking more heavily.

Blumenthal sends Thorson to a Chicago slum to pick up fugitive Anthony Bernardo (Thomas Rosales Jr.), a dangerous ex-con. Thorson and Bernardo exchange gunfire with each other at an apartment building. Thorson then chases Bernardo on foot through the streets to an elevated train where Thorson is forced to climb on the roof of the train to avoid being shot. The long chase leads to the Marina City complex, where they both steal vehicles and drive to an upper level of the parking garage. There the psychotic fugitive drives off the edge and plunges several stories into his death in the Chicago River.

Returning to Los Angeles, Thorson learns from a badly beaten Price that Dotty has been kidnapped by Rocco Mason, who is holding her at the high school where she teaches. There Mason disarms Thorson, kills a security guard with an assault rifle, and attempts to kill Thorson. Thorson lures Mason into a chemistry classroom that he has flooded with flammable gas. Mason opens fire, igniting the gas and blowing up the room and himself.

Dottie goes into labor, and Thorson rushes her to the hospital, where he collapses in the lobby. When he comes to and walks back outside, Dotty has already given birth and he holds their new baby, who looks eerily like McQueen himself.

When a French expedition in Antarctica reveals the ruins of a 900,000-year-old civilization, scientists from all over the world flock to the site to help explore and understand. The entire planet watches via global satellite television, mesmerized, as the explorers uncover a chamber in which a man and a woman have been in suspended animation since, as the French title suggests, "the night of time". The woman, Eléa, is awakened, and through a translating machine she tells the story of her world, herself and her man Païkan, and how war destroyed her civilization. She also hints at an incredibly advanced knowledge that her still-dormant companion possesses. The man she says was frozen with her, a scientist, Coban, was the main source of interpretation of this knowledge, knowledge that could give energy and food to all humans at no cost. She hates him for having separated her from her lover Païkan. The superpowers of the world are not ready to let Eléa's secrets spread, and show that, 900,000 years and an apocalypse later, mankind has not grown up and is ready to make the same mistakes again. Thus, the international team of scientists works under the constant fear of sabotage, a fear that eventually is fulfilled when one of the scientists kills one of his comrades and commits suicide. The scientists then decide to wake up the man, Coban, who could personally deliver the knowledge they seek. He would require a blood transfusion, but Eléa, the only living donor for his blood type, poisons herself to kill the man she hates and then die. She had, however, been replaying her actual memories of her last days prior to the freeze, to the scientists, and she was not aware that just as she was put under anesthesia for the freeze process, her mind was recording events around her that she was not conscious of, and at the last minute, her lover had confronted the scientist Coban, killed him, and taken his place. The man she had just poisoned with her dying blood was in fact her lover, for she had not seen the body for the whole of the book, and no one could have known the body was his. She dies before the scientists could tell her her tragic mistake, at the same moment her lover dies. All recordings and engravings of the advanced knowledge are either destroyed or now completely uninterpretable, and mankind loses this knowledge again. The novel ends with Dr Simon going back to France, heartbroken, ignoring the cries of war and the world youth's demonstrations.

''" "''
"They're here! They're us! They repopulated the world, and they're just as dumb as before, and ready to blow up the house again. Isn't it great? It's man."

The novel cuts between Walter Toland, a former police officer, and Baal Curran, an angst-ridden teenage girl. Both are playing Killobyte from their own home, hooked to the network through a telephone modem. Walter notices Baal's name on a list and initially assumes she is a man. Indeed, each of them first poses as the other sex.

Walter is learning the game as he goes, having neglected to read the instruction manual. He narrowly survives attacks by gunslingers, snakes, and runaway vehicles. Each time he destroys an enemy, he receives a point, and a door to a new setting appears. Eventually he must solve a more complicated problem when he finds himself in a women's prison, evading execution and a possible mole.

In the meantime, Baal enters a fantasy setting in which a knight must rescue a princess from an evil sorcerer in a castle guarded by a dragon. She first goes through the adventure as the knight and fails. When she tries again, this time in the role of the princess, Walter has entered the setting as the sorcerer. He captures Baal under the ruse that he is the hero, but when she makes sexual advances at him, he tells her the truth, too honourable to take advantage of her even if it is only within a game.

They begin telling each other about their real lives. In his days as a cop, he had an affair with a battered woman he was protecting, and the jealous husband ran him down with a car, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. He still has sexual feelings but is unable to perform. Baal, a plain girl despite her voluptuous appearance in the game, has type I diabetes and is depressed from having recently broken up with her boyfriend, who couldn't handle her disease. She pursued the game as a way of flirting with suicide.

They discover that he may be capable of sex within the game, but they are interrupted by a hacker who has infiltrated the software. Calling himself Phreak, the hacker targets specific individuals and locks them in the game so that he can harass them. Walter receives an error message every time he attempts to return to the real world. Aided by his police training, he remains calm and talks to Phreak, even though he knows his real body is in danger of eventual dehydration.

Baal temporarily quits the game after agreeing to meet Walter later in the game's next section, where they would use signals to identify each other, since they would have a different appearance. After unsuccessfully trying to get the police involved, she contacts the game's company, who want Walter to stay in the game as bait so that they can capture Phreak, who has eluded authorities for years. They give Baal a patch that will lock Phreak in the game along with Walter, so that they can force him to give the code that will free Walter.

We learn that Phreak is a 15-year-old boy whose father was part of a snake handling sect and died of a rattlesnake bite. The mother eventually died, and Phreak is convinced that she was also killed by snakes, which he believes lurk in the shadows waiting to pounce on him. He lives in his aunt's house, secretly using his own telephone line to hack into games, but he avoids experiencing the games directly for fear of being traced, despite the temptations of online sex.

Baal reenters the game world. Unfortunately, the next section is especially violent and unpredictable, modelled after Beirut. She poses as an Israeli spy, he as a Druze, and after several dangerous adventures they find each other, but not before Phreak catches up with them. Baal successfully sets the patch on Phreak, locking him in the game, though he has now locked her inside as well. They all end up in a prison together, and Walter tries to force the information out of Phreak, while Baal makes motions to seduce him, but he resists their methods.

Walter bombs the prison, causing their virtual deaths (so that they will no longer be imprisoned when they reappear). Walter believes that if his character dies again, he will die for real, for the electric shocks are interfering with his pacemaker and causing heart palpitations. Baal, meanwhile, is in danger of insulin shock if she does not exit the game soon. Phreak is traumatised by the game's simulated death and is terrified of experiencing it again, but he will not volunteer that information to Walter, whom he decides to kill.

They all end up in a special section called Potpourri, which mixes elements of various other sections. Baal is able to track the approximate locations of Walter and Phreak. Walter and Baal decide they are in love and want to marry if they manage to survive their current ordeal and meet in the real world. They chase Phreak across Potpourri, evading various obstacles he places in their path. Baal goes into insulin shock and her game body becomes still. Walter finally corners Phreak on a train and threatens to encase him in a box with snakes. Phreak finally relents.

Baal wakes up in a hospital, recovering from the insulin shock. She tries calling Walter, whose number she has memorised, but she gets no answer. She has her ex-boyfriend drive her across the country, and it gives him a chance to assuage his guilty conscience as he is comforted that she has found love again. Phreak has manipulated police records so that there is a phony arrest warrant on Walter, but the friends he met in Killobyte show up and refute the charges. A small party is held where Walter and Baal meet face-to-face at last.

The heroic Maciste arrives on an island only to find it rocked by a catastrophic volcanic eruption...and sinking. The survivors board Maciste's raft, and he pilots toward a nearby yet unknown island. The group are captured by a tribe led by the beautiful Queen Amoa. Her people are under repeat attack by another tribe on the island—a tribe of savage headhunters. Maciste and his survivors decide to help her, so he and some of his friends set out to find Amoa's father. They travel to a ruined castle occupied by the hunters—previously a great city of gold—and find Amoa's father, now blind, imprisoned alone in one of the dungeon rooms by the hunters.

The headhunter leader captures Amoa and decides to marry her by compelling her father to give his blessing. A large battle erupts at Amoa's village when the hunters attack. During the fight, the leader abducts Amoa. Maciste pursues them, saves Amoa, and fights and defeats the leader. Having saved the day, Maciste sails away on his raft with Amoa.

In the distant future on a terraformed Mars, Daric discovers that he is a clone of a former Emperor of Earth named Darius. Daric is kidnapped by Kay-Tee agents in an attempt to bring him to earth to open Darius' complex that was sealed long ago. He escapes and begins a journey that takes him to an asteroid, Triton and Pluto's moon Charon.

A lonely widow longing for a child of her own is given a barley seed by a friendly witch. The planted seed grows into a flower, and a tiny girl emerges from inside, no bigger than the old woman's thumb. The old woman names the tiny girl Thumbelina and raises her as her own. Although Thumbelina loves her mother, she craves companionship from someone her own size. One night, the fairy prince Cornelius stumbles upon Thumbelina after hearing her singing. The two take a ride on Cornelius' bumblebee and fall in love. During this ride, Mrs. Toad and her son Grundel are enchanted by Thumbelina's singing. That night, Mrs. Toad kidnaps Thumbelina, desiring her to join their show troupe and marry Grundel. Thumbelina is rescued by Jacquimo, a swallow. Meanwhile, Cornelius learns of her kidnapping and returns to his kingdom, the Vale of the Fairies, to ask his parents to try holding back the winter as long as they can, but they can only hold it for a day.

Grundel learns that Thumbelina escaped, and ventures out to find her. While trying to get home, Thumbelina is ambushed by Berkeley Beetle, who promises to show her the way home if she sings at his Beetle Ball. She reluctantly complies, but her bug disguise falls off during the concert and she is denounced as "ugly" as well as being publicly humiliated in front of the audience. Beetle rejects her without helping her. She is next found by Jacquimo, who promises to find Cornelius. Beetle is confronted by Grundel and suggests that Grundel kidnap Cornelius and use him as bait to lure Thumbelina. Grundel coerces Beetle into partnership by removing his wings.

Upon the arrival of winter, Jacquimo injures his wing and loses consciousness from the extreme cold, while Cornelius falls into a pond by wind and is frozen. Beetle finds Cornelius' frozen body and takes him to Grundel. Thumbelina is forced to take refuge in an old shoe, where she is discovered by Miss Fieldmouse and granted shelter in her underground house. After relaying Cornelius' fate to her, Miss Fieldmouse introduces her to her neighbor Mr. Mole, who becomes infatuated with her and desires to marry her. Devastated by the apparent loss of Cornelius, Thumbelina gives in to hopelessness and accepts Mr. Mole's proposal. Jacquimo revives and, before Thumbelina can get a chance to explain to him what happened to Cornelius, resolves to find him before the wedding.

Beetle tells Grundel of Thumbelina's wedding. When they leave Cornelius behind, a trio of friendly insect children find and thaw Cornelius. At the wedding, Thumbelina finds herself unable to marry Mr. Mole after remembering Cornelius' promise to always love her. Grundel and Beetle arrive, and a chase ensues. Cornelius also arrives and engages Grundel in a fight, which culminates with the two falling into a chasm. Thumbelina escapes on a pile of Mr. Mole's treasure, causing it to fall at Mr. Mole and the wedding guests. Jacquimo finds the Vale of the Fairies and takes Thumbelina there. She and Cornelius reunite, and she magically grows her own pair of wings upon accepting his proposal and kissing him. With her mother and the fairy court in attendance, the two marry and depart on Cornelius' bumblebee.

The credits images reveal that Beetle's wings regrew and he resumed his pop career; Grundel survived the fall with a broken leg and married a female toad to his mom's delight, and Mr. Mole married Miss Fieldmouse.

The game features a story line in which 24-year-old Bruce battles multiple enemies to rescue his kidnapped father and retrieve the mystical Golden Relic from an organized crime organization known as Black Lotus, led by mysterious "Dragon Lady", whose father Chai Wan was inadvertently killed by Lee. Players control Lee through a series of areas set in various locations around the world, including Hong Kong, London and San Francisco. The game's bosses include Dragon Lady's sisters, including Cleopatra and Rhianna, and her other followers, such as Cobra and female ninja assassin Tsuki.

The film is set in Italy in 1922. Two friends returning from the First World War, Rocchetti and Gavazza, join the Fascist Party in Milan. While the latter is an opportunist, the former is a Roman Catholic who is persuaded by his friend to join the party, and is convinced by the revolutionary program issued in Piazza San Sepolcro. In October, the two friends join a group of Fascists marching to Rome to take, but during the trip Rocchetti, seeing the behaviour of the fascist officials and the forces which help the party, gradually gives up his hopes about the fascist revolutionary program. When Rocchetti finally tries to escape, he is beaten almost to death. Gavazza saves him, and runs away with his friend. However, the March on Rome is made, and the two friends cannot help but watch in silence as the political change happens. The last scene of the movie shows King Victor Emmanuel III watching from the balcony of the Quirinal Palace the fascists. He then turns to Grand Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel and tells him that he is willing to "test the fascists for some months".

The first series starred Pauline Quirke as Faith Addis, a teacher, and Warren Clarke as her long-suffering husband Brian, as they encountered various misfortunes and difficulties in adjusting to their new rural lifestyle, which is not helped by their uncooperative children's attitude to moving to a new location. The series was generally light in tone, although took a tragic turn following Brian's death in a road accident in series three.

In 2003 the Addis family leave the farm for good. They are replaced by the Brewer family. Matt Brewer (Ian Kelsey) is Brian's cousin. He leaves the big city with his young new wife Frankie (Angela Griffin) and his three children from his first marriage to move to Devon to take over the farm.

Two years later the Brewer family moved back to the city and were replaced by Jackie (Denise Welch), Tony Murphy (Ricky Tomlinson), and their wayward daughter Emma (Zara Dawson), who owned the local pub. The 5th and final series was broadcast from 2 January 2005 to 6 March 2005.

:''For the full list of episodes, see List of Cheers episodes'' The 'Cheers' sign ''Cheers'', like most sitcoms, featured an abundance of standalone episodes with sub-plots and characters that had little to no bearing on the overall show. However unlike many sitcoms, possibly due to ''Cheers'' lengthy run, larger plots began to develop that spanned multiple episodes, seasons, or even the entire show. See also themes below.

:*^here you may want to add words like story arc. a use of possibly... gonna need a ref/note ;-)

Romance

The show's main theme in its early seasons was the stormy romance between upper-class, over-educated server Diane Chambers and earthy ex-baseball pitcher and bar owner Sam Malone. In later episodes the focus shifted to Sam's new relationship with neurotic corporate executive Rebecca.

:*^ ref/note, no matter how obvious this ''should'' be to the viewer, as discovered in TWW

Social classes in ''Cheers''

Social class was a strong subtext of the show. The 'upper class', represented by characters like Diane Chambers, Frasier Crane, Lilith Sternin and (initially) Rebecca Howe rubbed shoulders with middle- and working-class characters like Sam Malone, Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. An extreme example of this is the relation between farmboy Woody Boyd and millionaire's daughter Kelly Gaines, although they share the same naiveté.

:*^naivete line maybe rephrased

Strong comedic support came from the bar staff, including sassy waitress Carla Tortelli and sometimes-befuddled assistant bartender Ernie 'Coach' Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto). Following Colasanto's death in 1985, the assistant bartender role was filled by an even more naïve character, Woody Boyd. Many viewers enjoyed Cheers in part because of this heavy focus on character development .

:*^may want to explore the naivete issure as it seems it was important to replace pantusso with a similarly naive character. Why is that?

Feminism and the 'Glass Ceiling'

Feminism and the role of women was a recurring theme throughout the show. Diane entered the show as a very vocal feminist, trying to appear as intelligent as possible and speaking out against any percieved injustice.

:*^ percieved->perceived

On the other hand, Sam was the epitome of everything she hated, a womanizer and a male chauvinist. While their relationship was the central plot, their clashes over the role and status of women kept feminism at the front of the show.

:*^AHHH! ref/note ref/note

Carla can be seen as another important feminist character in ''Cheers''. She was, in virtually every respect, Diane's foil. Where Diane was tall, blond, and attractive; Carla was short, brunette, and plain.

:*^is "Where" necessary?

Yet, Carla held all the power Diane spoke about, respected not for her words but her actions. Carla can be seen as a realistic feminist (a woman for whom the issue is important, but does not consume her entire life) while Diane is an ideologue (preaching her values non-stop).

:*^ ref/note again

Rebecca enters the show as yet another angle on feminism, though not a true feminist herself. Rebecca is powerful like Carla and pretty like Diane, and is trying to climb up the corporate ladder.

:*^remove ", and is" from this sentence so it reads: Rebecca is powerful like Carla, pretty like Diane, and trying to climb up the corporate ladder.

Along the way, however, she hits a glass ceiling. She complains that despite her years of service to the company she is relegated to managing a small bar like Cheers.

:*^may want to explain that her company bought cheers and she was the new manager... i think maybe you do this somewhere else, but i haven't come across it yet, liek the usual user wouldn't have, just a thought

She even goes so far as to court several company executives (most notably Robin Colcord) to try and earn promotions and/or raises.

:*^ parentheses to commas and "and/or" to "or"

While Diane and Carla commented on feminist ideology, Rebecca was a display of feminism and women in the modern business world, albeit unsuccessfully—over the years she sinks ever further, from a manager to a plumber's wife.

:*^ odd use of dash, REF/NOTE! ;-)

''Cheers'' owners

The bar set In the season 5 finale, "I Do, Adieu", Sam and Diane part ways, Shelley Long leaves the regular cast, and Sam leaves to attempt circumnavigating the earth. Before he leaves, Sam sells ''Cheers'' to the fictional Lillian Corporation. Sam returns in the season 6 premiere, "Home is the Sailor", after his boat has sunk, to find the bar under the new management of Rebecca Howe. He begs for his job back, and ends up being hired back by Rebecca as a bartender. Throughout season 6 Sam tries a variety of schemes to buy back Cheers. This plot largely comes to an end in the season 7 premiere, "How to Recede in Business", when Rebecca is fired and Sam promoted to manager. The Lillian Corporation still technically owns Cheers, although this plotline largely ended after Sam became manager again, save Sam's occasional attempt to buy the bar back from executive Robin Colcord.

:*^ give this a grammar read for run-ons and proper comma usage

The Finale

NBC dedicated a whole night to ''Cheers''' final episode. It began with a "pre-game" show hosted by Bob Costas, then the final 98 minute episode itself , followed by ''Cheers'' tributes during the affliates' local news, and concluded with a special ''Tonight Show'' broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub where fans had gathered to watch the final episode.

:*^run on, reword and split

Critics said the episode of ''The Tonight Show'' was in poor taste because much of the cast was drunk and were doing silly things on camera—like a spitball fight between John Ratzenberger and Woody Harrelson.

:*^ref/note

In the story a man is executed for driving a car in a futuristic London where environmental correctness has run rampant. The citizens suffer under the Dark Green totalitarian regime where the party prohibits alcohol, cars, tobacco and all other luxury goods that contribute to the pollution of the planet. People who do not follow the rules of the government are executed or brought to the ''Dark Green Re-education Centre'' in Mid-Wales where they perform various duties such as dusting off leaves day after day, cleaning out badger setts and nursing cattle.

The main character of the story, Arnold Watney, intrigues against the Dark Green government and puts up secret resistance against it by owning a car (which is called ''Mabel the Morris Minor'' and hidden under a sheet in his lounge at home), smoking cigarettes and drinking his home-brew beer.

While watching the execution of a car driver (Dr Stone), Watney realises how dangerous his violations of the Dark Green laws are. Therefore, he secretly dumps his beloved Morris Minor into a pond and confesses his drinking and smoking habits to the Dark Green Cell, who sends him to the Re-education Centre.

After three weeks of re-educational treatment, the Dark Greens are overthrown. Besides Watney, many other people have hidden their cars. However, it turns out that the news of the overthrow has only been a clever strategy of the Dark Green government to rouse cars from their hiding places. The owners of the cars have to bear the consequences of their disobedience and "up and down the country" people are killed by the government.

''Aftershock'' is set in a post-apocalyptic 2050, after the events of ''UFO: Aftermath''. The game assumes that the player took up the Reticulans offer of resettling the most able of humanity in a space station, while allowing the rest to die, consumed by the Biomass that the Reticulans could not control. (However, in the first game the player could reject their offer, and save the Earth while defending against both the Reticulans and the Biomass.) Having lost contact with the Earth, the player must find out what happened.

Amy has been receiving phone calls for a year, where the caller stammers and then hangs up. The calls are from Kif, who loves Amy but is too nervous to speak. Zapp realizes that Amy and Leela know each other, and asks them on a double date with him and Kif. Leela agrees as a favor to Amy, and they go to a restaurant aboard a space liner.

Kif uses Zapp's boorish pick-up lines, offending Amy. To prevent her and Leela from leaving, Kif sings karaoke. Amy is touched, but Zapp pushes Kif off the stage and sings poorly to Leela, causing the passengers and crew of the ship to flee the restaurant. Zapp crashes the ship into the planet Amazonia, where the Amazonians, a race of giant, muscular, tribal women, capture them.

Fry and Bender travel to Amazonia to rescue their friends but are also captured. Fry, Zapp, and Bender ridicule female values, which makes Leela and Amy appreciate how good life would be without men. When the Amazonians ask what the purpose of men is, Amy explains, and the Amazonians realize she is describing "snu-snu," something they have heard of, but never experienced.

The leader of the Amazonians is the Femputer, a giant computer (voiced by Bea Arthur). Bender is spared for not possessing male anatomy, but Zapp, Fry, and Kif are sentenced by the Femputer to death by snu-snu—a fate that both excites and horrifies Fry and Zapp while only horrifies Kif—and are repeatedly snu-snued by Amazonians. Before being taken away, Kif tells Amy that he was the one who kept calling her and hanging up, that the offensive pick-up lines were not his own words, and that he loves her. Amy resolves to save him.

Leela and Amy convince Bender to reprogram the Femputer. He discovers that the Femputer is actually a computer operated by a fembot, who created the Amazonian society because her home planet was extremely chauvinistic. Amy rescues Kif; the Amazonians chase after them, cornering them in the Femputer's chamber. By this time, however, Bender and the fembot have become romantic. They order the Amazonians to release their captives and bring gold.

The crew returns to Earth where Fry and Zapp receive treatment for their crushed pelvises. Bender has a pile of gold bricks, and Kif and Amy are a couple. They all agree that Amazonia was their best mission ever.

While making a pit stop at an interstellar truck stop, Fry buys and eats a decaying egg salad sandwich from a vending machine in the restroom. Upon returning to Earth, Fry and Bender are assigned the task of fixing the plasma fusion boiler, which promptly explodes. Bender is not damaged, but Fry is impaled by a large pipe. Despite the severity of the injury, Fry's damaged body repairs itself in seconds, and the subsequent medical examination reveals to the crew that Fry is infested with microscopic worms from the egg salad sandwich.

To eliminate the infestation, Professor Farnsworth makes miniature robotic versions of the crew, except for Fry and Leela. Because the worms know all that Fry knows and would thus defend themselves if Fry knew about the mission, Leela is assigned to distract Fry, who is not told what is happening. Controlling the micro-droids using virtual reality gear, the crew board a miniature Planet Express ship, and enter Fry's ear. Throughout the travel, the crew discover that the worms are drastically improving Fry's intelligence, health, and fitness.

The crew make their way into Fry's bowel, and fight their way to the pelvic splanchnic ganglion, intending to cause a massive bowel movement to expel the worm society. Meanwhile, Leela is enchanted by the now intelligent and muscular Fry. Fry reveals that he loves Leela but only recently was he able to articulate his thoughts. Leela realizes that the worms are responsible for the new, improved Fry, and sets out to stop the Professor. Her micro-droid reaches the nerve, and hacks the rest of the micro-droid crew to pieces with an axe. The Professor tells her that the worms will burrow so deep into Fry's body, he will be stuck with them forever, but Leela reasons that Fry is better off with the worms.

Fry is informed of what has been happening, but is more interested in romancing Leela than clearing the worms out of his body. Although the two share a romantic evening at Leela's apartment—made more powerful when Fry composes Leela a sonnet on the complex musical instrument the Holophonor—Leela tells Fry that she loves the new him. Worried, Fry tells her that he needs to find out something, leaves, and, using his own micro-droid, enters his own body.

Fry confronts the worm leader and engages him in a sword fight after asking the worms to leave so he can learn if Leela loves him or just what they have made of him; he eventually coerces the worms into leaving by threatening to kill himself by destroying the medulla oblongata. With the worms gone, Fry returns to Leela's apartment and explains to her about the worms, and his decision to dispose of them. His awkward attempts at being romantic end when he mentions his previous relationship with Amy, and Leela kicks him out of her apartment. Back at his apartment, Fry begins to re-learn the Holophonor, and creates a crude image of Leela.

The series begins in 82 BC when Julius Caesar is 18 years old. He is out in the town with his daughter Julia (who in real history was not yet born) when news comes that Lucius Cornelius Sulla is just outside the city walls and intends to take the city with his army. The guards sent with the news post death lists on the senate door. When he sees his father-in-law's name he rushes to his house to try to help him escape. Pompey arrests him and takes him to Sulla. Caesar's mother, Aurelia, asks Sulla to show him mercy; out of respect for her, he promises to let Caesar live if he divorces his wife, Cornelia but Caesar refuses. Sulla lets him go but orders Pompey to kill him and bring his heart to him. Pompey follows Caesar and tells him to leave Rome, which he does. Pompey buys a swine's heart from the market and tells Sulla that the heart is Caesar's.

Caesar is captured by pirates who intend to ransom him for money. When the Romans crew sent with the message of the ransom don't return, the pirates plan to kill him. Caesar bargains to fight one of them for an extra day and wins, then has a seizure and the pirates believe him worthless, deciding to throw him in the sea; just in time the Roman boat returns with the money and they let Caesar go. Back in Rome, Sulla dies of a heart-attack and Caesar is allowed to return home. While he was gone Cornelia became very ill and Julia befriended the young daughter of Caesar's rival Marcus Porcius Cato, Portia, her brother Marcus and their cousin Brutus.

When Cornelia dies from her illness, Caesar swears at her funeral that he will make Rome a better place. Around this time the same pirates who held him captive cut off the grain supply. The senate send Pompey to deal with the problem after Caesar convinced them that he will not take the city with his army like Sulla did. Several years later Pompey returns to Rome and Caesar has achieved the consulship. On the day of Pompey's triumph Julia, Portia and Marcus decide to go and Portia insists on dragging Brutus along with them. At the triumph, Caesar has another seizure but is aided by Calpurnia, daughter of a wealthy man in Rome. At Pompey's welcome home party, while Pompey gets on well with Julia, Caesar notices Calpurnia who he doesn't remember from their encounter before.

Caesar swears to his mother that he will make a name for himself. Julia realizes that her father needs an alliance and offers to marry Pompey in order to obtain his legions. Pompey agrees and he marries Julia. In marrying her, he agrees to allow Caesar to take his legions to Gaul, despite the fact that the senate wished to send Cassius. Calpurnia tells Caesar that she knows about his "falling sickness" and he confesses that it shames him. Before he goes to Gaul, Caesar marries Calpurnia and the two of them remain in contact through letters.

While sacking a town in Gaul, Caesar comes across a strong-willed warrior who refuses to give in to the Romans attacking his home. He tells Caesar his name is Vercingetorix. Caesar asks him why he is willing to die for something that will be destroyed no matter what, and the warrior replies "because it is mine". Admiring his strength of will, Caesar lets him go, giving him a horse. However, later on, the same warrior chief summons a huge army to fight Caesar's legions at the Battle of Alesia. Outnumbered and surrounded, Caesar's army nevertheless emerges victorious.

Meanwhile, in Rome Julia dies in childbirth, and Pompey begins to turn against Caesar who he fears is becoming too powerful. He allies with Cato to attack Caesar politically. Caesar sends Mark Antony to talk to the Senate, but this makes the situation worse. Pompey begins planning to attack Caesar before he can march to Rome, but is too late. Caesar makes his way back to Rome and crosses the river Rubicon with his army.

Pompey, Cato and Brutus immediately decide to leave to regroup their own troops in Greece. Upon his return to Rome Caesar is made dictator. He then catches up with and defeats Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus, who then flees to Egypt. After the battle Caesar pardons the captured soldiers of Pompey, including Brutus to whom he says that if anyone wants peace they shall have it. Pompey arrives in Alexandria and is immediately killed by the regent for the boy king Ptolemy XIII in Egypt. When Caesar arrives he is given Pompey's head as a gift but is not pleased to know of Pompey's death. Then Cleopatra VII meets and seduces Caesar, and before he leaves he installs her as rightful Queen of Egypt over her brother Ptolemy. Going on to Utica to find Cato and his son, Caesar wins the Battle of Thapsus. Upon hearing of his allies' loss Cato, who didn't fight in the battle, commits suicide by falling on his sword.

With the Civil War over, Caesar returns to Rome with his new ally Cleopatra and their son Caesarion. This disturbs several of the senators, who plot against Caesar thinking he wants to become King. Cassius, the principal mover of the plot, convinces his brother-in-law Brutus, who was spared earlier by Caesar, to join them and end Caesar's reign as Dictator. Calpurnia has a dream about Caesar's death and begs him not to attend the Senate that day but he ignores her advice. When he takes his seat on the Ides of March, the plotting senators mob Caesar, stab him several times and then flee from the building. Calpurnia learns of the plot from Brutus's wife Portia and rushes to the Senate to find him dying alone on the floor.

Concerned by pink spots on his chest, Bertie goes to see E. Jimpson Murgatroyd, the Harley Street doctor recommended by his friend Tipton Plimsoll (who himself saw Murgatroyd for spots in ''Full Moon)''. On the way, Bertie sees Vanessa Cook, a headstrong girl he once proposed to but no longer wants to marry, leading a protest march. She is with her fiancé Orlo J. Porter, an acquaintance of Bertie's. Orlo and Vanessa are unable to marry since Vanessa's father, the trustee of Orlo's inheritance, refuses to give Orlo his inheritance because Orlo is a communist.

Bertie finds Major Plank (who was told that Bertie is a thief called Alpine Joe in ''Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves'') in the doctor's waiting room, though Plank does not recognize Bertie. Murgatroyd tells Bertie that the spots will go away, but recommends that Bertie get fresh air and exercise in the country. Bertie's Aunt Dahlia is going to Eggesford Hall, the home of her friend Colonel James Briscoe in the town of Maiden Eggesford in Somerset, near the seaside resort of Bridmouth-on-Sea, and gets a cottage called Wee Nooke for Bertie there. Jeeves is disappointed that they must cancel their upcoming trip to New York, but has the consolation that he will see his aunt in Maiden Eggesford.

At Maiden Eggesford, Bertie walks to Eggesford Hall, but goes to Eggesford Court, the home of Vanessa's father Mr. Cook, by mistake. Seeing a black cat with white fur on its chest and nose, Bertie pets it and moves to hold it. Cook sees this and thinks Bertie is stealing the cat. After he threatens Bertie with a hunting crop, Plank, who is Cook's guest, advises Bertie to leave, which he hastily does. Jeeves informs Bertie that Cook's horse Potato Chip and Briscoe's horse Simla will soon compete in a race at Bridmouth-on-Sea, and to perform well, Potato Chip must be near this stray cat that it recently befriended.

Vanessa urges Orlo to demand his inheritance from Cook. When Orlo refuses, she ends the engagement and decides she will marry Bertie. Bertie doesn't want to marry her, but is too polite to turn her down.

Aunt Dahlia has bet on Simla's victory in the race, and arranged for poacher Herbert "Billy" Graham (a joking reference to evangelist Billy Graham) to kidnap the cat to sabotage Potato Chip. Graham brings the cat to Bertie's cottage, but Bertie pays Graham to return the cat to avoid trouble.

After suggesting that Orlo approach Cook about his inheritance after Cook is mellowed by a good dinner, Jeeves goes to visit his aunt, Mrs. Pigott. Plank remembers that Bertie is Alpine Joe, and he and Cook suspect Bertie of stealing the cat. Graham fails to return the cat, so Bertie tries to return it himself. Carrying the cat up to Eggesford Court, Bertie trips and loses it. The cat ultimately goes back to Bertie's cottage.

Orlo is unable to convince Cook to give him his inheritance, yet Vanessa is happy that Orlo confronted her father anyway, and they elope. At his cottage, Bertie is accosted by Cook and Plank, who believe that Vanessa wants to marry Bertie. Bertie hands over a letter from Orlo proving that Orlo and Vanessa eloped. Cook is apologetic to Bertie, until the cat wanders in.

Thinking Bertie stole the cat, Cook and Plank tie him up. Cook brings the cat back to Potato Chip while Plank leaves to fetch the police. Jeeves appears and unties Bertie. Plank returns and initially thinks Jeeves is a policeman called Inspector Witherspoon (from ''Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves''), but Jeeves denies this. Pretending to be Bertie's solicitor, Jeeves convinces Plank that he is mistaken about Bertie, since Bertie, having ample wealth, has no reason to be a thief like Alpine Joe.

Jeeves realized that the stray cat actually belongs to his aunt. Bertie and Jeeves make a deal with Cook to lend him the cat until the race is over and not press charges for tying Bertie up, in exchange for Cook paying Mrs. Pigott a fee and giving Orlo his inheritance.

Bertie and Jeeves go to New York, which Bertie finds much calmer and quieter than Maiden Eggesford. In a letter, Aunt Dahlia's husband Tom Travers writes that the race was awarded to Briscoe's Simla after Cook's cat ran across the racecourse and startled Simla. Bertie is pleased for his aunt. However, he attributes the tranquility of his and Jeeves's stay in New York to their distance from aunts, particularly Aunt Dahlia, who, though genial, has a lax moral code. The trouble with aunts, Bertie tells Jeeves, is that they are not gentlemen.

Springfield Elementary School holds a school fair, where Lisa purchases a caricature of herself drawn at a carnival booth. She is horrified at the unflattering drawing and the reaction of the surrounding crowd, and feels she is unattractive. Homer wins the fair's raffle, with the grand prize being a ride in the Duff Blimp. He later sees on TV that Laramie Cigarettes is sponsoring this year's "Little Miss Springfield" pageant, and decides to enter Lisa to boost her self-esteem. The entry fee for the pageant is $250, so he sells his Duff Blimp ticket to Barney to raise the funds needed. Homer excitedly tells Lisa about the pageant, but she is reluctant until Marge tells her that Homer sold his Duff Blimp ticket to pay the entry fee. Realizing her father's sacrifice, she enters the pageant.

At the pageant's registration, Lisa meets a formidable competitor named Amber Dempsey, a blonde girl who uses eyelash implants from Paraguay to make herself look cuter. In preparation for the pageant, Lisa receives makeovers at the beauty parlor and encouragement from her family. The day of the pageant arrives, and onstage Lisa explains her aim to make Springfield a better place, and her talent is a jazzy medley of "America the Beautiful" and "Proud Mary", while Amber wins the crowd's adoration by batting her large eyelashes. After Krusty the Clown's interview segment, Amber is announced as the winner with Lisa the runner-up. At Amber's first official appearance, a thunderstorm creates a lightning bolt which strikes her metal scepter. She is hospitalized for her injuries, and Lisa is crowned Little Miss Springfield.

One of Little Miss Springfield's duties as spokesperson for pageant sponsor Laramie Cigarettes, is to lure a younger demographic into smoking. Instead, Lisa protests against the dangers of cigarettes at her appearances, and also vows to target the corruption of Mayor Quimby. Quimby and the Laramie officials look for a way to dethrone and silence Lisa. They find a technical error on her entry form: Homer wrote "OK" underneath the instruction "Do not write in this space". As Amber is recrowned Little Miss Springfield, Homer is upset that he cost Lisa her title, but Lisa reminds Homer that he entered her in the pageant to help her self-esteem, and thanks him because it worked. Homer requests that she remember it "the next time I wreck your life", to which Lisa gladly agrees and embraces him.

It is Xmas again, and everyone is locking down for the arrival of Robot Santa. The Professor sends the crew to deliver children's letters directly to Santa at his fortress on Neptune. After reading some of the letters, begging Santa not to wreak havoc on the writers, Fry decides to bring Christmas back to the way it was in the past. They land at Jolly Junction, Neptune, and enlist the aid of a pair of Neptunians in sneaking into the fortress.

The crew confront Santa, and Leela presents him with what she believes to be a logical paradox intended to destroy him. Unfortunately, Santa proves immune to paradox, and he takes off after them with a missile launcher. The crew escapes the fortress, and is about to leave in the ship, but Santa grabs the engine and prevents the ship from taking off. The heat from the engine melts the ice under Santa's feet, and he sinks in the ice, which refreezes around him.

With Santa frozen in ice, Bender takes over, and toy-making resumes in Jolly Junction. Bender heads to New New York, where he gets an unwelcome reception from citizens expecting Santa. While taking a beer break, Bender is arrested and put on trial for Santa's crimes against humanity. Bender is found guilty and sentenced to execution by magnetic dismemberment.

Fry and Leela rush back to Neptune to bring in the real Santa to prove Bender's innocence. They carve Santa out in a large block of ice, but the ice melts due to pollution from the toy factory, and Santa is freed. Fry and Leela escape in the ship, but Santa rides on the ship back to Earth. The Planet Express crew tries one last attempt to save Bender, with all of them pretending to be Santa and Zoidberg pretending to be Jesus. Their effort fails, and the execution device is activated.

Moments later, the real Robot Santa bursts through the wall. He rescues Bender and the two go on a proper Xmas rampage. As the Planet Express crew huddle in fear of their lives, Fry concludes he has somewhat succeeded in bringing back the old spirit of Christmas, even if it is fear that is bringing people together instead of love. At the end of the spree of destruction, Santa tells Bender that if he tries a stunt like that again, he will kill him, and pushes Bender off the sleigh amid the burning buildings.

Part 1: "Mike at Wrykyn", or, "Jackson Junior"

Mike is leaving his private school to go to Wrykyn. His sisters hope that he will get into the school team his first year, although his brother Bob and Saunders, the pro, are sceptical. On the train down to Wrykyn, Mike is joined by a stranger; seeing the boy get off the train without his bag, Mike throws it out onto the platform, but the boy returns at the next stop. It turns out that the stranger is Firby-Smith, head of Wain's house, which Mike is to join.

Mike meets and befriends Wyatt, Wain's stepson. Wyatt asks Burgess, the cricket captain, to allow Mike to try out; Mike performs well and gets on the third team.

Mike is later allowed to play for the first after Wyatt is involved in a fight between some of the students and a gang from Wrykyn town, which ends up with a policeman being thrown into a pond. The policeman exaggerates the incident to the headmaster, claiming several hundred boys had thrown him into the water, and the headmaster punishes the school by cancelling a forthcoming holiday. In retaliation, Wyatt organises a mass walk-out, taking most of the school with him to a nearby town. As punishment for this, the younger boys are caned, and the older boys are all given "extra" during a cricket match against the M.C.C. As there are now several openings in the team, Wyatt persuades Burgess to let Mike play.

Mike plays well in the M.C.C. match, scoring 23 not out, against a team that includes both Mike's brother Joe and the pro Saunders. However, in a later house match, Firby-Smith runs Mike out, and Mike insults him. Firby-Smith insists that Mike be punished, but Bob persuades him not to. In gratitude, Mike, finding that he has squeezed Bob out of the team, feigns a sprained wrist so that Bob will get into the team instead of him.

Soon after, a boy brings the chicken-pox to the school. The outbreak takes out one of the first-team players, giving Mike another chance; he plays reasonably in a poor game. Bob tells him he thinks the first-team place is now Mike's, but next day Mike again angers Firby-Smith by missing early morning fielding practice for the house. When Burgess hears Firby-Smith's story, he decides to pass Mike over in favour of Bob.

Neville-Smith, a bowler who has taken the other place in the team, plans a party at his house (he is a day boy) in celebration of his placement, and Wyatt sneaks out of school to attend. On his way out he is spotted by a master, who reports it to Wain; the housemaster waits in Mike's room until Wyatt returns, and tells him he is to leave the school at once, to take a job in a bank. Mike takes Wyatt's place in the team, and persuades his father to find Wyatt more interesting work, via his connections in Argentina.

Wrykyn go into the match against their biggest rivals, Ripton, short on bowling but with both Jacksons. The wicket is sticky from rain and Ripton notch up a good score, and taking the field reveal they having a strong bowler of googlies. After a bad start, Wrykyn's fortunes look up when the brothers bat together. Bob gets out, but has given Mike time to settle in; with the tail of the team accompanying him, he deftly collars the bowling, finishing on 83 not out; Wrykyn wins.

Part 2: "Mike and Psmith", or, "The Lost Lambs"

Mike has been at Wrykyn for another two years and is due to become cricket captain next term, but during the Easter holidays, his father, receiving Mike's poor performance report, removes him from Wrykyn and sends him instead to Sedleigh, a far smaller school.

Arriving at Sedleigh in a bitter mood, he meets Mr Outwood, the head of his house. Mike then meets a well-dressed boy with a monocle, who introduces himself as Psmith. The P in his surname is silent and was added by himself, in order to distinguish him from other Smiths. He is an ex-Etonian whose family lives near Mike's, and, like Mike, is a new boy. They decide to avoid cricket and instead join Mr Outwood's archaeological society.

Having made friends with a boy called Jellicoe, the three take a dormitory together. The next day, they meet Adair, school cricket captain, and house-master Mr Downing, both of whom are disappointed by the new boys' refusal to play cricket. Both Psmith and Mike claim ignorance of cricket, a decision which Mike comes to regret.

Bored by their archaeology trips, they wander off one day, and Mike runs into an old cricketing friend, who offers him a place in a local village team. Mike enjoys the games, but keeps his village cricket career a secret. Mike eventually reveals his cricketing history, and is persuaded to play in an upcoming house match as revenge against Mr Downing, who unfairly favours his own house. The game ends with Mike making 277 not out, and Downing's not getting an innings at all.

Mike agrees to deliver money to a pub owner in Wrykyn town for his roommate, Jellicoe. After discovering that the money was not owed, he returns to Wrykyn, attempts to return to his house, and is chased by Downing. He rings the school fire bell and escapes in the confusion.

The next morning, Sammy, Mr. Downing's dog, turns up covered in red paint. Downing is enraged and proceeds to investigate: he finds that a boy from Outwood's was seen abroad that night, and finds spilled red paint in the bike shed with a footprint in it. He gets Psmith to show him round Outwood's house, searching for boots with red paint on them, and he finds one of Mike's with paint on it. Psmith successfully hides the boot, but does not tell Mike, so Mike ends up wearing shoes to school, attracting Downing's attention.

Meanwhile, Stone and Robinson, not pleased with Adair's proposal to hold an early-morning cricket practice, decide they can safely skip it. Adair has other ideas, and fights Stone, bullying them both into playing. He then visits Mike and invites him to either play or fight. Despite being the better boxer, Adair loses his temper, and loses the fight. Psmith persuades Mike to play, telling him that he also will be playing, revealing that he had been a very good bowler at Eton. Adair sprained a wrist during the fight and is unable to play; the match is rained out. Downing tells the headmaster that he suspects Mike of painting Sammy, but it is found out that it had been done by Dunster, an old student. Mike and Adair arrange a match between Sedleigh and Wrykyn, and Sedleigh wins.

The episode opens in the mid-1970s, where a young Yancy Fry is jealous of his newborn brother Philip, and copies him in anything he can. In 3000, Philip J. Fry is getting fed up with his bad luck in a horse rally. A flashback shows Fry discovering a seven-leaf clover, which grants him extraordinary luck and allows him to beat his brother in any contest, from basketball to breakdancing. Fry sets off, with Leela and Bender, to find his clover in the ruins of Old New York and makes his way to his old house.

Back in the 1980s, a teenage Fry hides the seven-leaf clover inside his Ronco record vault in his copy of ''The Breakfast Club'' soundtrack. In 3000, Fry finds and opens the safe, only to discover the clover is missing. He concludes that Yancy must have stolen it. They happen across a statue of whom they believe to be Yancy, with the seven-leaf clover in his lapel. The inscription, "Philip J. Fry - The Original Martian", angers Fry because he believes Yancy stole his name and his dream.

Professor Farnsworth pulls up a biographical movie about "Philip J. Fry", where the crew learns that he was a millionaire, rock star, astronaut, and is now buried with the seven-leaf clover in Orbiting Meadows National Cemetery, a graveyard orbiting Earth. A furious Fry sets off to rob Philip J. Fry's grave and recover the clover. The story jumps back to the early 21st century, where an adult Yancy is rummaging through his missing brother's music to find something to play at his wedding. Yancy discovers the seven-leaf clover and takes it.

Fry, Leela and Bender reach the grave site and start digging, but Fry knocks loose some moss that is covering part of an inscription on the tombstone. The story jumps back to Yancy, who is discussing naming his newborn son with his wife. Yancy reveals he misses his brother, and gives Fry's clover to his newborn son and names him Philip J. Fry. The inscription on the tomb reads "Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit." Bender finds the clover, but an emotionally touched Fry returns it to his nephew's grave.

Professor Farnsworth gives the crew an "extremely controversial" mission: towing a dark matter tanker through the solar system, and dangerously near a penguin nature preserve on Pluto in order to avoid a tollbooth. Leela refuses to take part, so the Professor makes Bender the new captain. Leela joins the protesters from Penguins Unlimited.

After initially failing to stop the tanker, Leela and the protesters race ahead to intercept the tanker at Pluto. Meanwhile, aboard the Planet Express ship, Bender lets his new power go to his head. Fry gets fed up with Bender's captaining, and rejects both his leadership and friendship. A distraught Bender goes on a sobriety binge, and takes the tanker on an erratic course over Pluto. The tanker collides with an iceberg, and spills dark matter across the landscape.

For his part in the disaster, Bender is sentenced to community service, cleaning up the spill alongside the Penguins Unlimited environmentalists. However, when the police officers supervising his work are distracted by a round of friendly hugging, Bender dons a tuxedo and blends into the colony of penguins.

Leela sets off to search Pluto for Bender, while Fry inexplicably decides to take the Planet Express ship and search for Bender in space. That night, Bender is mauled by an orca, and the damage causes him to shut down. When he reboots, his boot loader reinitializes him with penguin-like behaviors.

Back at the Penguins Unlimited facility, it is announced that the dark matter has dramatically increased the penguins' reproductive speed. Whereas one penguin usually lays one egg a year, the penguins (both males and females) are now laying eggs at a rate of six eggs every fifteen minutes, which go on to hatch in 12 hours. In order to save the penguins from mass starvation, penguin hunting season is declared. A reluctant Leela agrees to take part; but her first shot hits Bender in the head, causing him to reboot into his normal personality.

When the hunters arrive, Bender leads a large force of penguins in an assault. After the penguins succeed in driving off the hunters, Bender takes off his tuxedo. Unfortunately, since he had taught the penguins to hate anything that was not a penguin ("''If it ain't black and white, peck, scratch and bite''"), he and Leela come under attack. The penguins corner them on a floating slab of ice, but Fry arrives in the ship to save them. When it lands on the ice, it tips the block, sending the penguins sliding into the gaping mouth of a hungry orca. Leela and Bender board the ship, and everyone returns to Earth. Leela reasons that nature will set things right. Two penguins pick up guns left behind by the hunters and cock them at each other in a threatening manner.

After crashing onto the streets of New New York, the crew discovers that the Planet Express ship's essential L-unit has been straightened. The crew plays a security tape from the night before, which shows Bender "sleep-bending". Professor Farnsworth, whom Bender bent backward, sends Bender away to satisfy his psychological need for bending. The Professor annoys the rest of the crew with his uplifting personality and fascination of looking up at the sky now that he is bent backwards.

Bender gets hired at a bending plant as a scab worker during a strike, and discovers that Flexo, who was sent to prison in Bender's place in a previous episode, is also employed as a scab. Also working at the factory is a buxom blue-collar beauty of a fembot named Angleyne. Bender quickly develops an affection for Angleyne, and they begin dating. Their relationship goes well, until Bender discovers that Angleyne and Flexo are a divorced couple on friendly terms, and that they may still be affectionate.

In an attempt to discover Angleyne's true feelings, Bender disguises himself as Flexo, and meets her at an orbital nightclub. While there, Bender flashes the wad of cash he has made as a strikebreaker, which angers the members of the Robot Mafia who are present. Bender (as Flexo) succeeds in seducing Angleyne, but when she discovers his identity, Bender rushes off to kill Flexo.

Bender arrives at the bending plant where Flexo is working the night shift, and starts a fight. Meanwhile, in the crane control booth, the Robot Mafia moves an unbendable girder into position above Bender and Flexo. Because they do not know that Bender was disguised as Flexo, the Robot Mafia wants Flexo dead for Bender's monetary indiscretions. The girder is dropped on top of Flexo, crushing him. Angleyne confesses that she still loves Flexo, and Bender decides that her happiness is more important than his, and resolves to save Flexo by bending the unbendable girder. After a mighty struggle, he frees Flexo, earning Angleyne's appreciation, but not her love.

Having satisfied his need for bending, Bender returns to his job at Planet Express.

It is New Year's Day of 2006, more than a year after the events of ''Night Watch''. Anton Gorodetsky, the protagonist of the first film, finds himself in the middle of an approaching conflict between the Light and Dark Others, who are still bound with an uneasy truce. Anton is still a Night Watch operative, now working with his trainee and romantic interest, Svetlana. As his son Yegor has now become a Dark Other, Anton is forced to secretly destroy evidence of Yegor's attacks on normal people, which violates the treaty, leaving the Night Watch unable to sentence Yegor.

To redeem for his previous mistake, an attempt to use a witch's service to kill the unborn Yegor (shown in the beginning of the first film), Anton seeks the legendary Chalk of Fate, a magical chalk that could rewrite history, which was once Tamerlane's property and one of the main reasons for his numerous military successes.

Meanwhile, Zavulon, the leader of the Dark Others and their Day Watch, is waiting for Yegor's birthday. At the birthday, Yegor would become a Great Other and acquire the power that would allow the Dark Others to break the treaty (which is only supported because the Others fear that the two sides will destroy each other). Zavulon's gratitude to Anton for covering Yegor's violations of the treaty doesn't stop him and the Day Watch from attempting to frame Anton for murder and bring him in front of the Inquisition. They succeed, despite the efforts made by Gesser, the head of the Night Watch, to protect Anton from the Dark Others by putting him in Olga's body. While in her body, Svetlana confesses that she loves Anton to the person she thinks is Olga, which pushes their relationship forward. This happens despite Svetlana's initial anger at Anton for not telling her that he was in Olga's body.

Anton obtains the Chalk of Fate from its hiding place in a Central Asian cafe in Moscow and uses it to summon Yegor. They initially get on well, but Yegor is resentful when Anton refuses his request to patch things up with Yegor's mother. Anton puts his large coat on Yegor, who seems to be cold, and leaves to order food. At this time, Svetlana rings Anton's mobile, which he left in the pocket of the coat, and Yegor, angry at her intrusion into his relationship with his absentee father, yells at her, "He has a family. Don't call again." He smashes the phone and leaves with the chalk, which he takes to Zavulon. Zavulon cannot use or touch the Chalk, because doing so would be a direct violation of the treaty, so he has Yegor give it to his minion/lover Alisia to do with as she wishes, although it is implied that Zavulon knows what she will do with it.

Yegor's birthday party begins soon after that; the guests are Dark Others (some of them are Russian pop stars), although Anton makes his way to the party as Yegor's father to expose the real perpetrator of the murder he has been charged with - his vampire neighbor, Kostya's father. He is unable, however, to avert a disaster: as Svetlana rushes to the party to find Anton, Yegor confronts her. She tries to avoid a conflict but Yegor repeatedly challenges her and expresses resentment at her relationship with his father; Svetlana accidentally strikes Yegor and spills a drop of his blood, which Zavulon interprets as a violation of the Treaty and thus uses as a pretense to declare all-out war on the Light Others.

Yegor, now a Great Other, unleashes an apocalypse upon Moscow, killing most of the guests and blinding Svetlana. The city is nearly destroyed, starting with the Ostankino Tower; a fierce battle between the Light and Dark Others follows, with few survivors on either side. In the midst of the chaos, Anton, who survives, finds Alisia who is trying to revive her dead lover, Kostya, but without success. She cannot revive him because her actions did not cause his death. The scene implies the user of the Chalk can only change decisions that he or she made, not anyone else's. Anton convinces Alisia to give him the Chalk so that he can prevent the destruction of Moscow and the deaths of scores of Others, but is almost immediately caught by a panicked Svetlana and an enraged Yegor. The two Great Others fight for Anton, but nearly kill him in the process. Saved at the last minute by Gesser, Anton runs through the ruins of Moscow to the house where he, fourteen years ago, made his visit to the witch — the visit that caused the entire sequence of events, starting Anton's own initiation into the Night Watch. Anton writes ''NO'' (нет; pronounced ''nyet'') on a wall in this house. Moscow reverts to its normal, undemolished state and the film returns to 1992 and the first scene of ''Night Watch''.

In the epilogue, as a result of the Chalk's influence, Anton rethinks his deal with the witch, and therefore never inadvertently agrees to harm his wife's unborn child, who would have been Yegor. He walks out of the house and into the street, where he meets Svetlana. Zavulon and Gesser watch them from a park bench, eager to see if Anton will recognize Svetlana, despite now having never met her because of the rewriting of history. Gesser's prediction turns out to be accurate; despite not knowing how or why, Anton recognizes Svetlana and they walk off together, implicitly striking up a less harried relationship than the one they have/had in the first film.

Ordered by his father to find a bride, Prince Ludwig (Lui), a flamboyant former collector of female corpses, travels the land with his loyal and soft-hearted servant Wilhelm.

Leela is entering Nibbler in a pet show on Earth. After hearing that the top prize is $500 and a year's supply of dog food, Bender and Zoidberg also enter. After a series of tests, the Hypnotoad wins by hypnotizing the judges. Nibbler is crowned the "dumbest pet in show" while Bender and Zoidberg the "whooping terrier" win second prize, much to Bender's disappointment.

Later, the Planet Express staff discusses an ominous trail of destroyed planets leading toward Earth. Nibbler begins gibbering worriedly and runs away. Tracking Nibbler to an alley, Leela is inexplicably attacked by giant floating brains and sees Nibbler, who has donned a uniform and is piloting a tiny flying saucer as he regretfully prepares to leave Earth. When the brains continue to attack Leela, Nibbler has a change of heart and rescues Leela, letting her on his ship. As they fly away from Earth, Nibbler explains to Leela telepathically that he is a Nibblonian ambassador sent to observe humans in secret.

The next morning, brains start sending blue beams at buildings, and Fry discovers that all the citizens of New New York have been rendered stupid, except himself. Meanwhile, Nibbler and Leela travel to the planet Eternium, at the exact center of the universe. There, in the Hall of Forever, a Nibblonian council tells Leela of the threat of the Brainspawn, the giant brains that have invaded Earth and are attempting to wipe out all thought in the universe. While the Nibblonians have been fighting them since the beginning of the universe, they are powerless against the Brainspawns' powers of stupidity. Fry is the only being in the universe immune to the Brainspawns' mental attack, and is the only one capable of combating them and their leader. They explain to her that once she re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, she will become too dumb to remember, so they write the information on a note and pin it to her clothing.

Leela arrives on Earth to tell Fry of his mission, but he takes the note, blows his nose on it, and throws it into a burning fireplace. Leela has retained just enough of her intelligence to remember the Nibblonians' message. Fry seeks the leader of the brains at the New New York Public Library, reasoning that a leader of big brains would be a big nerd and would go to a library. Fry discovers that thinking hurts the brains, but the brain leader traps Fry and Leela in a mental realm based on ''Moby-Dick''. Fry and Leela pursue the giant brain through ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' and gain help from Captain Ahab, Queequeg, and Tom Sawyer, and into ''Pride and Prejudice''. Fry breaks free of the illusion, and quickly writes a story in which he is crushed to death by a bookcase, one riddled with "plot holes and spelling errors". In accordance with the story, the giant brain announces it is leaving Earth "for no raisin" (Fry's misspelling of "reason"), and the people of Earth regain their intelligence. Other than the Nibblonians, Fry is the only other one to have any recollection of the event, and no one believes his story. Nibbler returns to his undercover position observing Earth as Leela's adorable pet.

The prestigious bridal magazine ''Confetti'', owned by the arrogant, suave Antoni Clarke (Jimmy Carr) and managed by the long-suffering, uptight chief editor Vivienne (Felicity Montagu), is holding a competition to see who can hold the most original wedding, with the winners being presented with a new house and a cover shoot for the magazine. Three couples and their proposals are selected to participate: Sam and Matt (Jessica Stevenson and Martin Freeman), a middle class couple of old-fashioned romantics who have elected to hold their wedding in the style of Busby Berkeley musicals of the 1930s and 1940s, despite the fact that Sam can barely hold a tune; Isabelle and Josef (Meredith MacNeill and Stephen Mangan), a pair of hyper-competitive professional tennis players holding a tennis-themed wedding; and Joanna and Michael (Olivia Colman and Robert Webb), a naturist couple who intend to hold their wedding entirely naked. All three weddings are planned using the services of Gregory and Archie (Vincent Franklin and Jason Watkins), wedding planners and partners in both business and love.

The film follows their planning, and the various crises that each couple faces over the three-month planning period. As well as learning to sing and dance, Sam and Matt must contend with Sam's dominating mother (Alison Steadman) and attention-seeking sister (Sarah Hadland), who appear intent on hijacking the proceedings and constantly browbeat and undermine the shy and easily cowed Sam such as preventing her from inviting her beloved but estranged Sam's father (Ron Cook), much to Matt's growing irritation. The couple must also deal with Matt's oldest friend and best man Snoopy (Marc Wootton), a musician who nurses a bitter resentment towards Sam for coming between him and Matt that he expresses in not-so-subtle lyrics that he intends to sing at the wedding. Despite the constant support and encouragement the couple receive from Archie and Gregory, the gradual tension eventually builds to a bitter argument between Matt and Sam's mother and sister which sees him kicked out of the house where he is staying with them; this prompts Sam, however, to finally stand up for herself and put her mother and sister in place.

Isabelle and Josef, meanwhile, are intensely determined to win, owing to unexplained financial difficulties. Suspicious and competitive, they become increasingly paranoid that the competition is being 'fixed' against them in favour of Matt and Sam, eventually resorting to the extreme measure of having Isabelle's nose – and her extremely large nostrils – altered by plastic surgery (with the result being that the nose she ends up with is much longer than her original one). In the process, however, they find themselves combating their own anxieties; Josef, in particular, finds himself confronting his jealousy over Isabelle's friendship with their tennis coach, Jesus (Jesús de Miguel), and insecurity over his largely finished tennis career and that he will not be able to be a worthy husband to Isabelle. Joanna and Michael, however, find their plans challenged at every turn by Vivienne, who has no intention of putting a naked couple on the front of the magazine should they win. Michael, an experienced naturist, angrily resists Vivienne's efforts to make him dress up for the wedding, but Joanna, a recent convert and still insecure about revealing her body to strangers, finds herself of mixed minds about the issue. The pressure of the magazine and the tension between the two becomes so great that it briefly looks like the marriage will not even take place at all.

The big day finally arrives, amid much jitters and anxiety on all sides. All three weddings go off largely without a hitch, although Michael and Joanna raise eyebrows when, in defiance of Vivienne's rulings, they bare all (literally) in their wedding service. The winners are soon decided – Matt and Sam, which prompts a display of sour grapes on part of Josef and Isabelle. The movie then briefly glimpses at the three couples a few months later, all of whom are adjusting to married life relatively happily.

After a disastrous attempt at stand-up comedy, Dr. Zoidberg informs the crew that his uncle, Harold Zoid, was a star in the silent hologram era. Zoidberg writes to his uncle, asking for help with his comedy act. The washed-up Harold Zoid sees this as an opportunity to restart his career. The crew sets off for Hollywood.

While taking a bus tour of movie stars' homes, Bender leaves the tour, and scams his way into employment as Calculon's water heater. Shortly afterward, Zoidberg meets his uncle in a restaurant. Harold Zoid tells him to give up comedy, because he would be perfect for drama, and he needs Zoidberg to finance a drama to the tune of a million dollars. As Zoidberg is practically broke, Bender tells Calculon that he can star in the movie if he provides the production money. Calculon initially refuses on account of disliking the font, but after learning Harold Zoid wrote the script, and getting a guarantee from Bender that he will win an Oscar, he accepts.

The film, ''The Magnificent Three'', is a story about a son (the Vice-President of Earth) not wanting to follow in his father's (the President of Earth) footsteps. Due to Harold Zoid's inexperience with drama and outdated directorial style, the movie is terrible, and at the premiere, the entire audience walks out. Furious, Calculon threatens to kill Bender, Zoidberg, and Harold Zoid if they do not get him an Oscar. They all agree to rig the awards. Meanwhile, Leela and Fry crash their ship in the La Brea Tar Pits on the way to the premiere.

When the awards reach the Best Actor award, Dr. Zoidberg tosses presenter Billy Crystal off the stage and takes his place. In place of the fifth nominee, he substitutes Calculon. But when he sees his uncle's depression at being a has-been, Zoidberg announces him as the winner. In his acceptance speech, Harold Zoid says his nephew's gesture has made him realize that the award itself is secondary to the knowledge that someone, even if only one person, still respects him as a filmmaker. Calculon, somewhat chastened by this speech, decides not to kill him or the others. Fry and Leela finally escape from the tar pits and are allowed to enter the after party when the skeleton they are dragging is recognized as that of Sylvester Stallone.

Leela is invited to a reunion at her old orphanarium. She initially dreads seeing the people who made fun of her eye as a kid, but she decides rubbing her success in their faces would be very satisfying. Leela attempts to wave her impressive lifestyle in the other orphans' faces, but they quickly resume making fun of her eye. But Adlai Atkins (voiced by guest star Tom Kenny), the only other success story from the orphanarium, shoos them away. Adlai, now a phaser eye surgeon, offers to rework Leela's face to make her look normal, and she jumps at the chance, in spite of Fry's objections. Meanwhile, Bender adopts twelve orphans for the $100-a-week-per-child government stipend.

The operation is a success, and Leela adapts to her new, normal-looking life. Adlai asks the two-eyed Leela out, which causes Fry to exhibit signs of jealousy. In short order, Adlai tells Leela that he is ready to settle down and have kids. A receptive Leela suggests that they should adopt, and Adlai agrees. They go to Bender, who is now selling the twelve children because the government stipends are not a good get-rich-quick scheme. Leela wants to adopt Sally (voiced by guest star Nicole St. John), a girl with an ear on her forehead and a tail. Adlai objects, and then suggests that the child have an operation to remove the ear and make her "acceptable". Leela, horribly offended, finally realizes that she was better off abnormal and physically threatens Adlai into removing her prosthetic eye.

Bender, having been arrested by child services for "child cruelty, child endangerment, depriving children of food, selling children as food and misrepresenting the weight of livestock", returns the orphans to the orphanarium (which is subsequently named after him, though later episodes do not reflect this). After the children give Bender a drawing of him and the orphans, Bender expresses distaste for it and crumbles it up and throws it in his chest as the orphans sadly walk off. Bender then sneakily pulls the drawing back out, smooths it out, and places it on the inside of his chest door with a magnet. The children notice this and mob him with hugs.

Playing cricket for a team run by Psmith's father, Mike meets John Bickersdyke for the first time when he walks behind the bowler's arm, causing Mike to get out on ninety-eight. Shortly afterward, Mike's father regretfully informs him that, having lost a large amount of money, he will have to sell the house, and won't be able to send Mike to Cambridge as he had hoped. Mike hears that Psmith is in the same position, as he is sent off to London.

Mike, feeling very lonely, homesick and sorry for himself, rents a horrid room in Dulwich, and next day presents himself for work at the New Asiatic Bank. He is put to work under Mr Rossiter in the Postage Department, replacing a youth named Bannister, and is befriended by Mr Waller, a kindly employee of the bank, who takes him to lunch; on his return, he is joined by Psmith, also a new employee, in the same department as Mike.

They go for a stroll, and Psmith reveals that he has been placed there on a whim of his father's, having annoyed Bickersdyke while he was staying for the weekend. Mike is worried that their employer has it in for them both and that they are powerless, but Psmith announces he plans to toy with Bickersdyke outside of work, being, like their employer, a member of the Senior Conservative Club. He also insists that Mike move in with him in his flat in Clement's Inn. That night Mike feels much happier for having an ally.

Trying to find a means of pacifying their manager Mr Rossiter, they find out from Bannister that he is a devotee of association football and a fan of Manchester United. For a few weeks Psmith uses this knowledge to ingratiate himself with Rossiter, before moving on to Bickersdyke. He haunts the man at their club, his position in the workplace unassailable thanks to his friendship with Rossiter, and disrupts a political meeting, part of Bickersdyke's campaign to become a member of parliament, turning it into a near-riot. Bickersdyke is angry at Psmith, but powerless.

Psmith continues to cultivate Mr Rossiter, and Mike gets used to his work. After a while, a new man starts, and Mike is moved on to the Cash Department, under Mr Waller. One day, hearing Psmith call Mike "Comrade", Waller reveals that he is an ardent socialist, and Psmith agrees to come and hear him speak, dragging Mike along. When a spectator goes to throw a stone at Waller, Mike intervenes, and a fight starts, which soon involves Psmith and a mob; the friends flee. Returning that evening for tea, Mike has an awful time, but Psmith acquires Waller's book of the proceedings of the "Tulse Hill Parliament", including some particularly fiery words from Mr Bickersdyke.

One day, worried by his son being ill, Waller fails to spot a forged cheque. To save the man's job, Mike takes the blame, and is fired and roasted by Bickersdyke. After work, Psmith trails Bickersdyke to a Turkish bath and threatens to leak Bickersdyke's anti-royalty speeches from the Tulse Hill book. Bickersdyke, furious, agrees to keep Mike on at the bank. Soon after, he is narrowly elected to Parliament, rendering the threat of the book useless, and Mike is moved to a new department, Fixed Deposits, a much less pleasant spot, with Psmith replacing him under Mr Waller.

As spring and sunshine arrive, Mike begins to long for the outdoors and his beloved cricket. One day, he is called by his brother Joe, who is playing for their county at Lord's. They are a man short, and need Mike to play; he agrees, asking Psmith to tell his new boss he has to "pop off"; the boss tells Mr Bickersdyke, who, as usual, is furious. Mike, convinced his job is over, resolves to play his heart out.

Psmith leaves work early, to take his father to the match. Mr Smith is shocked that the bank does not approve of people leaving to play cricket; Psmith persuades him that rather than working at the bank, he should study for the Bar. They arrive at the game just as Mike, playing well, reaches his century. After the match, Psmith tells Mike of his plans to study law at Cambridge, and also that his father, needing an agent for his estate, is willing to take Mike on, having first paid for him to go to the 'varsity too, to study the business.

Mr Bickersdyke, relaxing in his club, overjoyed at the thought of finally being able to sack Psmith and Mike, is further enraged when Psmith sympathetically announces their retirement from business.

The episode opens on a girl fleeing down a street from a shadowy figure. She stumbles, allowing the pursuer to catch up. The man holds her and runs a finger with a metal claw over it down her cheek, carving a cross into it. Once finished, he bites her and drains her of blood. The camera's view moves over the figure's head and it looks very much like Angel, who is jerked from sleep in a cold sweat. Meanwhile, detective Kate examines the body and comments that it must be the same man.

The next morning, Cordelia is practicing talking to clients when Wesley enters with their mail and inquires if Cordelia or Angel have noticed anything sinister going on, but Cordelia has nothing for him and tells him he has brought in the wrong mail. Wesley notices something that seems familiar and frightening on the front page of the newspaper he has brought. Angel comes in, cranky about her looking up a license plate. Cordelia suggests Angel try asking Kate for the favor. Angel, distracted, tries to leave by the front door and almost bursts into flame. After he leaves, Angel goes to the police station to talk to Kate and notices the crime scene photos, which call up haunting images of his dreams. After that, Wesley confronts Cordelia about the fact that the recent murders match Angel's MO. Cordelia is skeptical until Angel himself admits it might be him, dreaming. They chain him to his bed to test the theory. That night, instead of dreaming about a current murder, he dreams about his past when he had just turned a vampire named Penn. He realizes the killer is Penn and resolves to tell Kate, despite Wesley's objections.

Angel goes to Kate and talks to her in private. He asks Kate if she trusts him, and gives her a sketch of the vampire's face and a clue about who and where he will strike next. On his way out, he steals a police radio so he and Wesley can intercept Penn before the police confront him. Kate's task force find Penn in the act and force him into an abandoned warehouse. Kate goes in alone to capture him, while Angel and Wesley drive to the building and Angel sneaks in. Kate finds and shoots Penn, but he gets up and attacks her until Angel interrupts. Penn expects Angel to be on his side until Angel attacks him. Penn escapes and Kate is confused. Afterward, Angel confronts her and tells her to leave Penn to him because she does not know what she is dealing with.

Penn confronts Cordelia in their offices. Cordelia surmises his identity and has him cornered with Angel until Wesley walks in and Penn uses him as a hostage. After Penn escapes, Angel searches for him and ends up at Kate's apartment, where she reveals she now knows about vampires and particularly his past. She mentions Penn's previous visits to Los Angeles, which Angel takes as a clue. Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley use his previous visits to find Penn's lair in an oft-remodeled hotel/apartment building. Angel and Wesley go there and find photos of school buses, along with schedules for such buses. It appears Penn's next target will be a bus of schoolchildren. Kate is prepping her task force for apprehending Penn when he reveals that he is in the room and attacks them all, then captures Kate. Penn drags Kate to the sewer and Angel intervenes, revealing that he had known that the schoolchildren were a decoy. They fight until Penn has Angel in a lock with Kate holding an oversized piece of wood. She jabs it through both of them, intentionally missing Angel's heart but killing Penn.

Afterward on a rooftop, Cordelia tells Angel she had a vision, but he is worried about his nature, because he enjoyed the dreams of hunting and killing. She tells him his actions count, not his dark internal issues, though she promises to stake him if he becomes a problem.

The film takes place during the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings between 1995 and 1996. The Afrikaner poet Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche) is a South African broadcaster covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. While her husband remains supportive, her work causes friction with her parents and younger brother Boetie (Langley Kirkwood), who are struggling to come to terms with Black majority rule. Due to increasing crime and cattle rustling, Malan's family are uncertain about their place in post–Apartheid South Africa.

While attending a press conference in Cape Town, Anna meets up with her black colleague, the sound engineer Dumi Mkhalipi (Menzi Ngubane). She also encounters the African American journalist Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson), who has been sent by ''The Washington Post'' to interview the former South African Army Colonel De Jager (Brendan Gleeson), who has been accused of human rights violations. While initially hostile towards White South Africans particularly Afrikaners, Whitfield forges a working relationship with Anna and Dumi.

Anna, Dumi, and Langston travel the country covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's hearings. The hearings are predicated around the concepts of restorative justice and Ubuntu; the belief that a universal bond connects all humanity. The TRC involve victims testifying about their experiences and perpetrators confessing to their crimes in return for an offer of amnesty. While most of the perpetrators are white and victims are black, one hearing involves a group of black guerrillas who killed members of a white farming family. Due to the African American experience with racism in the United States and the unrepentant behavior of several perpetrators, Whitfield is initially dismissive of Ubuntu.

During the course of their work, Whitfield befriends Dumi and Anna. When their car breaks down in the gramadeolas, Anna and her colleagues are forced to spend the night together at the home of an Afrikaner farmer. Despite their philosophical differences, Anna and Whitfield come to develop romantic feelings for each other. Besides covering the TRC hearings, Whitfield also interviews De Jager, an unrepentant racist who claims that he was following orders but believes that he has been made a scapegoat by the South African government.

Frustrated with the ''Washington Post'' reluctance to highlight the TRC hearings, Whitfield writes a sensationalist article laden with incendiary rhetoric. While the article is published in the front page of the ''Washington Post'', Anna is furious and argues with Whitfield. The two later reconcile after Anna convinces him that not all whites are guilty of the crimes of the Apartheid regime. Anna later introduces Whitfield to her parents, who help him to reevaluate his views of South African society. While interviewing De Jager, Whitfield convinces him to incriminate his superiors, which he does in return for a possible amnesty offer from the TRC, and to get revenge for their scapegoating of him.

Using De Jager's information, Langston and Anna discover a farm near Anna's family homestead which was used by the South African military to torture and kill African National Congress guerrillas. The two also discover the corpse of a former guerrilla. As a result of this discovery, De Jager is able to incriminate his superiors. However, his application for amnesty is rejected on the grounds that his actions were "disproportionate to the objective sought." Before being led away, De Jager tells Anna to ask her brother about the atrocities.

When Anna confronts Boetie about his complicity in the tortures, Boetie commits suicide. Following the funeral, Anna's mother confesses to an extramarital affair with a Chilean poet. This leads Anna to confess to her romantic affair with Langston to her husband. While initially angry, Anna's husband finds the power to forgive his wife. Anna and Langston depart on friendly terms. While Langston is driving with Dumi to visit his family, Dumi is killed by a gang of men in revenge for his prior actions as an informer who betrayed people who the police arrested and murdered, despite Dumi's claims that he only did so because the police threatened his family. This murder leads Langston to reflect on the importance of forgiveness. Meanwhile, Anne reflects on the sins of her people and pleads for the land to forgive them.

The postscript mentions that 218,000 victims testified to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and that 1,165 perpetrators received amnesty under the peace process.

Mr Wilberfloss, editor of ''Cosy Moments'' magazine, is forced by ill-health to go away to the mountains for ten weeks of rest, leaving his subordinate Billy Windsor in charge. Pugsy Maloney, the office boy, brings in a cat he has rescued from some ruffians in the street, which he says belongs to his cousin, gang leader Bat Jarvis.

Psmith, accompanying his friend Mike on a cricketing tour, is complaining that he finds New York a little dull, especially with his companion frequently called on for cricketing duties. They meet Billy Windsor, dining in the same restaurant, when the cat escapes its basket, and Psmith helps soothe an irate waiter. Invited back to his place, there they meet and befriend Bat Jarvis, come to retrieve his cat. Perusing ''Cosy Moments'', Psmith tells Windsor they must sack the current writers and rebuild the paper in a more exciting style, and volunteers to act as unpaid subeditor.

Wandering lost, Mike and Psmith find themselves in "Pleasant Street", a slum neighbourhood. Upset by the poverty they see, Psmith resolves to dedicate the energies of ''Cosy Moments'' to the issue. Next day, Mike heads off to Philadelphia, and Psmith arrives at the offices to find them besieged by angry contributors, whom he soothes and takes out to lunch. Returning, he sees Kid Brady, who has been complaining to Windsor that he cannot get a fair chance in the crooked world of New York boxing; they resolve to make the magazine his manager, and use it to boost his career.

They begin work, attacking the owner of the tenements and pushing Kid Brady, amongst other stirring pieces, and are soon visited by a Mr Francis Parker, a well-dressed representative of the tenement owner, who offers them bribes to stop the articles. That night, they are approached by an associate of Bat Jarvis, who tells them a large price is being offered to get rid of the duo, which Jarvis, grateful to them for returning his cat, has turned down. On their way home they are dogged by suspicious types.

Kid Brady, his career now on the up thanks to the paper, has his first big fight and wins handsomely. After the fight, the ''Cosy Moments'' boys hire Brady as "fighting editor", to protect them. He is needed soon after, when, in an alley outside the stadium, they are set upon by a gang of thugs. They chase them off, capturing one, a man named Jack Repetto, who reveals he is a member of Spider Reilly's "Three Points" gang. His comrades begin shooting, ruining Psmith's hat, but flee when the police arrive.

Finding the paper's distribution hit by thugs, Psmith realises they must up their game, and plans to use the tenement's rent-collector to track the owner. Pugsy Maloney tells them about an incident at "Shamrock Hall", neutral ground under protection of Bat Jarvis, where Dude Dawson insulted a prominent member of the Three Points' girl and used a crude racial epithet, after which Spider Reilly shot Dawson in the leg. The resulting inter-gang warfare leaves ''Cosy Moments'' unpestered for a time, and Psmith and Windsor head off to await the rent-collector in one of the tenement apartments.

The man, named Gooch, arrives, and they are trying to shake his employer's name out of him when Maloney reports the arrival of Spider Reilly, Repetto and other gang members. Sending Maloney to fetch Dude Dawson, Psmith and Windsor repair through a hatch to the roof with the rent-collector, holding out there until gang warfare draws their attackers away. They leave a man guarding the skylight, but Psmith finds a ladder, and they cross it to the next building and escape.

Windsor got the rent-collector to divulge a name, that of Stewart Waring, a candidate for city Alderman and former Commissioner of Buildings. After a pick-pocket nearly makes off with their signed proof of Waring's involvement, Psmith posts it back to the paper. Next day at the office, Brady is forced to leave their service to begin training for a fight, and Psmith hears that Windsor has been arrested for hitting a policeman, who was trying to arrest him as part of a raid on a gambling den. Psmith relates a similar experience, and they realise the gang has used the police to get them out of the way while they search for the paper.

With Brady away training and Windsor in prison for a month, Psmith decides it is time to call in a favour from Bat Jarvis. He takes Mike, returned from his match, to visit the cat-lover. Pretending Mike is an English cat expert, they win Jarvis round, and he and his henchman Long Otto stand guard on the office the following day. Repetto and two other Three Pointers burst in, and are chased off with a warning from Jarvis to leave ''Cosy Moments'' alone.

Later, Francis Parker appears again, and persuades Psmith to send Jarvis away so they can talk; a message arrives from Windsor asking Psmith to come help him, and Psmith jumps into a taxi, only to find himself kidnapped at gunpoint by Parker. They drive out into the country, but get a flat tyre; while it is being fixed, Kid Brady comes along, out jogging, and distracts Parker long enough for Psmith to overpower him and escape. Next day, Parker invites Psmith to a meeting with Waring, but Psmith refuses, insisting the great man come to him. He also receives a telegram from Wilberfloss the editor, saying he will return the following day.

Wilberfloss arrives with the old contributors, enraged at the changes in the paper; he threatens to contact the owner, but Psmith reveals that he himself owns the paper, having bought it a month previously. Waring appears, and threatens Psmith, but is forced to give him $5,000 to improve the tenements, plus three to replace his hat; Psmith restores Wilberfloss and the staff of ''Cosy Moments'' to their positions, Billy Windsor having been offered his previous job at the paper back at a fine salary.

Some months later, back in rainy Cambridge, Psmith hears that Waring lost his election, and that Kid Brady has won his chance at a title-fight, while Mr Wilberfloss has regained the paper's old subscribers.

dance in front of men

Tira (Mae West) shimmies and sings in the sideshow of Big Bill Barton's Wonder Show, while her current boyfriend, pickpocket "Slick" (Ralf Harolde), relieves her distracted audience of their valuables for Big Bill (Edward Arnold). One of the rich customers, Ernest Brown, arranges a private rendezvous, during which Slick barges in and attempts to run a badger game on the customer. The customer threatens to call the cops, so Slick whacks him over the head with a bottle. Mistakenly thinking he has killed the man, Slick flees, but is caught and jailed.

Fearing that Slick will implicate her, Tira asks Big Bill for a loan to retain her lawyer, Bennie Pinkowitz (Gregory Ratoff). He agrees on condition that she does her lion taming act, which includes putting her head into the mouth of one of the beasts, promising her that it will get her (and him) to the "Big Show". It does. (West did some of her own stunts, including riding an elephant into the ring. )

Tira's fame takes her to New York City, where wealthy Kirk Lawrence (Kent Taylor) is smitten, despite being engaged to snobbish socialite Alicia Hatton (Gertrude Michael). He showers her with expensive gifts. Kirk's friend and even richer cousin, Jack Clayton (Cary Grant), goes to see Tira to ask her to leave Kirk and his fiancée alone. He ends up falling for her himself. Tira and Jack’s romance leads to a wedding engagement.

Tira tells Big Bill she is quitting to get married. Unwilling to lose his prize act, he has Slick, recently released from prison, sneak into Tira's penthouse suite, where Jack finds him in his robe. As a result, Jack breaks off the engagement. Tira sues Jack for breach of promise. The defense tries to use her past relationships to discredit her, but the judge allows her to cross examine the witnesses herself and in doing so she wins over not only the judge and jury, but also Jack. Jack agrees to give her a big settlement check. When he goes to see her, Tira tears up the check, and the two reconcile.

It’s 1995, when William Tibbs, a young American man studying law in Paris, searches the newspapers to find signs of his girlfriend Juliette, who has been missing for a couple of days. One night from nowhere his room is attacked by a menacing dark knight with a view to killing William, but William quickly defeats him and the knight evaporates, leaving behind a ring without a stone and a mystical mirror through which William sees far into the past where Juliette is a prisoner in the hands of the evil inquisitor Wolfram. This is where the adventure begins, when William must find a way to go back in time to the 14th century, the era of the ancient Knights Templar, and to become a knight. Without properly understanding the twists and turns around him, William just wants to find Juliette and get back to modern times. But first he must defeat Wolfram and thus restore the glory of the Knights Templar.

The Planet Express staff head to the Wong Ranch on Mars for a Mars Day barbecue. Amy Wong's parents are happy to see her, but considerably less enthusiastic about her co-workers, especially Dr. Zoidberg, who immediately begins making a nuisance of himself. Kif arrives, and is nervous about meeting his girlfriend Amy's parents for the first time (even though they have clearly met before).

The barbecue proceeds, with Amy's parents being thoroughly unimpressed with Kif. Everything is going well until a strange sound begins, and a dust storm rolls in. Everyone takes cover in the Wong mansion, but the unprotected buggalo outside are rustled during the storm, ruining the Wongs.

Kif sets off with the last remaining buggalo, Amy's personal pet Betsy, in an effort to draw out the rustlers. Professor Farnsworth sends Fry, Leela, and Bender along with him. As the group tell ghost stories, Amy jumps out of the bushes to join them. Kif and the crew find the stolen buggalo hidden in the crater of Olympus Mons when the ground shakes. They find a way to eject the buggalo from the crater, but when they are about to head back to the ranch, the same strange sound from the barbecue begins, and another dust storm whirls in.

While the crew is trapped in the center of the storm, the rustlers fly in on buggalo. The rustlers are the native Martians, who are angry over their ancestors' sale of Mars for one bead. The crew are surprised to learn the buggalo can fly and the Martians indicate only those who truly love the planet can fly a buggalo. The Martians also reveal they had planned to ruin the Wongs by stealing the buggalo; but with the opportunity staring them in the face, they kidnap Amy. Kif and the crew return the buggalo to the Wong Ranch. Initially the Wongs are very impressed with Kif, but another mini-dust storm brings a ransom note.

The Wongs, more unhappy with Kif than ever, call in Zapp Brannigan to resolve the situation. Brannigan, Kif, and the rest of the crew set off for the face on Mars, one of the two entrances to the Martian reservation. Brannigan botches the negotiations, and the Martians call up another dust storm, which engulfs Amy. Kif jumps on the back of Amy's buggalo and flies it into the whirlwind, recovering Amy. The Martians, impressed by Kif's ability to ride a buggalo, call off the storm and offer peace.

Unfortunately, when smoking the Martian peace pipe, Kif chokes on the smoke, angering the Martians. The Martians sentence him to be crushed by the bead they traded the planet for. As the bead lowers from the ceiling, the crew discovers that the "bead" is a gigantic diamond. When they inform the Martian chief of the bead's value, the Martians call off the execution, and leave Mars to find a planet they can purchase. The Wongs cannot believe Kif saved Amy, and credit Zapp with the rescue.

On the Wongs' porch, Kif still feels bad as Amy's family still don't like him, to which she replies that if they liked him, she would not. They kiss while the buggalo stampede and shake the ground, and Kif writes in his diary that he "just made love for the second time".

While at Big Apple Bank to open a retirement fund, Fry and Bender become involved in a holdup. The criminally insane robot Roberto hands them bags of cash for their trouble, and after he runs off, Fry and Bender are charged for their role in the robbery. At the trial, Roberto surreptitiously threatens to kill Fry should Fry testify against him. After pleading insanity on the advice of their lawyer, Fry was going to be sent to a human asylum, and Bender to a robot asylum; yet since the human asylum is overcrowded (as poverty had been deemed a mental illness by the judge), both Fry and Bender are sent to the HAL Institute for Criminally Insane Robots.

Once there, Fry undergoes a torturous physical examination, to Bender's enjoyment. To make matters worse, the doctors refuse to acknowledge that Fry is human, due to their logic that, if Fry is a patient in a robot asylum, he must be a robot, completely disregarding that he is a biological life form. Fry is roomed with car salesman Malfunctioning Eddie, who is undergoing treatment for his condition of exploding when surprised or shocked. Fry perseveres, surviving on food coughed up by a sick vending machine robot, but his mental state continues to rapidly deteriorate.

When Fry thinks he is going to be released, Malfunctioning Eddie gets released instead, and Fry gets a new roommate: the insane bank robber Roberto, who was captured after robbing the same bank again. The day after suffering a complete mental breakdown, Fry is released, having been "cured" of his delusion of humanity, causing him to think he is a robot. Roberto, fed up with life in the asylum, breaks out and takes Bender with him.

Back at the Planet Express building, Fry attempts to discover his function as a robot. He has no success as a "foodmotron" since no one wishes to eat the sandwiches from his "compartment" (the crotch of his pants), nor as a calculator since he cannot identify a plus sign, nor as a toolbot since he cannot unscrew a bolt with his bare fingers (even after he puts oil in his armpits). Fed up with Fry's attempts at proving he is a robot, Leela passionately kisses Fry in order to remind him of his humanity, but it fails to work.

A newly escaped Roberto decides to rob the Big Apple Bank a third time, and Bender takes him back to the Planet Express building to hide out after nearly getting caught. The New New York police surround the building, and Roberto takes the staff hostage, including Bender who is now convinced that Roberto is a maniac. After waking up from a drunken stupor induced by "refueling" with alcohol, Fry, now convinced that he is a battle droid, takes on Roberto, who jumps out a window after stabbing a can of oil in Fry's chest pocket (thereby "proving" to Roberto he really is a robot and thus a battle droid). Roberto is apprehended by the police. Fry, seeing that he was cut and bleeding after Roberto threw the knife at him before jumping, overcomes his delusions completely. The Planet Express crew praise him for his bravery, with Leela kissing him on the cheek, and Bender tells Fry that he has the heart of a robot inside, just like the severed human heart Bender has in his own body, which he shows to everyone, much to their disgust.

Having been suspended from school for salting the bully Bret Blob (who appears to have the same weakness as slugs), Dwight and Cubert find themselves stuck with their fathers. After the boys send the Planet Express crew on a fake mission to deliver pizza to a nonexistent planet and generally annoy the staff, their fathers order them to get jobs. They decide to start up a company to rival Planet Express: a paper route. They become so successful that they take over Planet Express when it is discovered that the Professor was declared legally dead three years ago (he was really taking a nap in a ditch in the park). The name of the company is then changed to the name of the boys' delivery route, 'Awesome Express'. Humiliated, Hermes and the Professor leave Planet Express. Meanwhile, Fry, Leela and Bender brew beer inside Bender, then they treat Bender like an expectant mom.

Dwight and Cubert end up taking on too many customers and cannot deliver the papers. In a panic, they run to Hermes and the Professor to solve the problem. All the papers are successfully delivered; however, as they pass Bret Blob's house the boys admit that they broke his window last week. Hermes and the Professor take the boys to apologize. When Mr. Blob does not accept the apology and insults them, the boys' fathers take offense and start a fight. Blob beats them up, but later apologizes in the hospital. Bender comes in with his beers to enjoy, and everything ends happily except for Cubert and Dwight who are swallowed by Bret Blob.

Fry gets a free Volkswagen microbus, excavated from the ruins of Old New York. He pushes it back to the Planet Express office, and has to fuel it with whale oil, which replaced gasoline. While opening a barrel of Mobil Dick whale oil, Bender becomes caught by the opener's magnet and is horribly damaged.

Bender is rushed to a hospital, where the doctor informs him that he will never move again. He falls into a depression, but revives upon finding out that Beck's disembodied head is in the next bed, having checked in to get a mannequin body attached. Beck loans Bender a pair of neck-mounted robotic arms, which Bender uses to scrape across his mangled chest, and invites him to join Beck's tour as a washboard player.

Fry, Leela, Amy, and Dr. Zoidberg pile into Fry's microbus to follow Beck and Bender on tour. During a stop at a laundromat, their money is destroyed in a washing machine, forcing them to live in the vehicle and scavenge for food. However, Zoidberg begins to cough up beautiful blue pearls, which Leela and Amy string together to sell as necklaces. While on tour, Bender is insulted by the treatment of other broken robots and writes a song about them. Together with Beck, he decides to put on a benefit concert in San Francisco to help others like himself.

Fry and the crew catch up with Bender, who is relaxing in a San Francisco hotel. Bender miraculously regains the ability to move on his own, much to everyone's shock, but decides to fake being broken in order to keep his music career going. The concert goes on as planned, but when the time comes for Bender to perform his song, he cannot restrain himself and begins dancing around the stage. Having been found out, Bender runs off with the oversized benefit check in Fry's microbus.

Bender, pursued by an irate Beck, drives the microbus into the San Francisco Bay. Beck catches Bender and recovers the check, but forgives him since Bender has done so much for broken robots. The crew begins to row the microbus back to New New York, and Bender wades after them with a magnet stuck to his head so that he can have one last taste of being a folk singer.

Representatives from the Globetrotter homeworld land in Central Park and challenge Earth's honor on the basketball court, for no apparent reason. Professor Farnsworth accepts the Globetrotters' challenge, resolving to create a team of mutant atomic supermen to take them on. When he completes his work, he is left with a team of mutant infants which necessitates the Professor sending the crew to gather chronitons to accelerate their growth. Bender's objection that the particles in question were responsible for the destruction of an entire civilization is ignored. All the while, Fry is trying to woo an unreceptive Leela.

The crew returns with the chronitons, and the mutants' growth is successfully accelerated. The game proceeds, with Farnsworth's team of mutants maintaining a lead over the Globetrotters. But at the start of the second half, time begins inexplicably jumping forward. The Professor calls a timeout during which one of the atomic supermen is killed and Fry joins the team. Although the Earth team holds a substantial lead, and there are only two minutes left in the game, the Globetrotters win an overwhelming victory during a time skip. The Professor formulates a theory that the crew's collection of chronitons has destabilized space-time, and will lead to the premature destruction of the universe.

With the assistance of the Globetrotters' leader, Ethan "Bubblegum" Tate, Farnsworth builds a "bad ass gravity pump". With the pump, they intend to reposition stars around the source of the problem, thus diverting the time skips to the empty side of the universe. The time skips worked in their favor, with Richard Nixon's Head granting them "all the money on Earth" to build the "bad ass gravity pump" and attach it to the ship. Once they finish moving the required number of stars, Fry begins romancing Leela again, but just as she's refusing him, time skips yet again—to their wedding. Then, as Leela accuses Fry of tricking her into marriage, time skips straight to their divorce. This leaves Fry wondering what he did to win her over. Meanwhile, the time skips are only getting worse, with peoples' entire lives being lived out in only a few seconds.

Meanwhile, Bender tries to persuade Tate to let him join the Globetrotters, but Tate tells Bender the hard truth that he will never be "funky enough" to join the team, causing him to break down in tears.

With the assistance of the other Globetrotters (the greatest scientific minds in the universe), a new plan is devised. The Planet Express crew will use one of Professor Farnsworth's doomsday devices to implode the nebula, creating a black hole which will prevent the further release of chronitons. Fry and Leela have an amicable conversation where Fry apologizes for his actions and agrees that Leela will probably never feel the same way he does about her. Bender releases the doomsday device and Leela, feeling bad for breaking Fry's heart, allows Fry to pilot the ship to safety. As they leave, Fry notices that during one of the time skips, he had spelled out the message "I LOVE YOU, LEELA" with stars, but the message is destroyed by the implosion before Leela can see it. Fry stares sadly out into space while Bender whistles a slow, sad version of "Sweet Georgia Brown".

After the crew sees an episode of ''The Scary Door'', Fry decides to do all the things he always wanted to do, and the Planet Express crew obliges. After demolishing a planet, visiting the edge of the universe, and riding a dinosaur, one of his few remaining fantasies is to date a celebrity. Fry and Leela venture into the Internet to visit nappster.com and download a celebrity's personality. Fry downloads the personality of Lucy Liu into a blank robot, which begins projecting an image of her.

Fry and the Liu-bot begin dating, aided by her being programmed to like Fry. The other Planet Express employees, concerned about his relationship, show him the standard middle-school film that predicts the destruction of civilization if humans date robots. Unfortunately, Fry ignores the movie, and keeps making out with his Liu-bot.

Bender, offended by the concept of competing with humans for the attention of female robots, sets off with Leela and Zoidberg to shut down Nappster. In the Nappster building, a broken sign eventually reveals that the company is actually "Kidnappster". Breaking into the back room, Bender discovers that Nappster has been kidnapping the heads of celebrities and making illegal copies of them. Leela grabs the real Lucy Liu's head, and the four take off. The Nappster CFO loads a backup disk of Liu, and creates a horde of Liu-bots ordered to kill.

Leela and the others, running from the robot horde, duck into a movie theater, where Fry is seeing a movie with his Liu-bot. Everyone ducks into the projection room. Zoidberg discovers a five-ton bag of popping corn, and sends it pouring onto the robots on the theater floor. The robots eat their way out from under the corn and start shooting popcorn kernels from their mouths at the room. Fry's Liu-bot points the projector at the other robots, and the heat causes the popcorn to pop, bursting the robots. At the request of the real Lucy Liu, Fry blanks his now-damaged robot in order to protect her image. A hypocritical Bender begins dating Liu's head much to Fry's anger.

Working in a remote Welsh mining town, a rogue scientist, Professor Mathers (Edward Mulhare), discovers a process that affects the speed of evolutionary mutation. Mathers suffers guilt for his role in developing a super-destructive atomic bomb, and hopes his new discovery will better the human race. A disgruntled miner, Gwyllm Griffiths (David McCallum), volunteers for an experiment that will enable the professor to create a being with enhanced mental capabilities. As a man sent forward equal to 20,000 years of evolution, Gwyllm soon begins growing an overdeveloped cortex and a sixth finger on each hand. When the mutation process begins to operate independently of the professor's influence, Gwyllm takes control of the experiment. Now equal to 1 million years of evolution, and equipped with superior intelligence and powers of mind, such as telekinesis, that are capable of great destruction, Gwyllm seeks vengeance on the mining town he loathes. When he meets 2 motorcycle cops, he says, "Your ignorance makes me ill and angry ... your savageness ... must end!" Before he acts on his thoughts, Gwyllm holds back. He has "evolved beyond hatred or revenge, or even the desire for power," and instead longs for "when the mind will cast off the hamperings of the flesh and become all thought and no matter – a vortex of pure intelligence in space." He enlists the help of his girlfriend, Cathy Evans (Jill Haworth), to operate the machine to push his evolution even further forward. Instead, out of love for him, Cathy reverses the process at the last second, bringing Gwyllm back to his former self. But, the out-of-control reversal is too much for Gwyllm, and he slowly succumbs to the adverse effects while Cathy comforts him.

Dummyland is a fictional world inhabited only by living crash dummies. Many make a living testing cars, just like the real ones.

The story begins with crash dummy professor Dr. Zub has creating a new "uncrashable" prototype armor called the Torso 9000 and is testing it with the help of crash dummy Ted. Unfortunately the initial trial run goes awry and Ted's head is severed from his body. The following night however, Ted is accidentally replaced with the head of the evil Junkman, who can now harness the power of the Torso 9000 and manages to break free from the Crash Test facility.

Plotting to destroy the crash dummies, the Junkman sets up his base near an abandoned scrap heap and creates an army of killing machines out of spare car parts. When a valuable disc of information on the Torso 9000 is stolen, and finally Dr. Zub himself is kidnapped, heroes Slick & Spin step in to save the day.

Mink Snopes, on trial for murder, waits for his successful cousin Flem to show up and use his power and influence to save him from prison. Flem doesn’t appear, and Mink spends his entire prison sentence waiting until he is free and can murder Flem. Flem knows that Mink will kill him once he is free, so he arranges for Mink to attempt an escape and his sentence is increased. However, after thirty-eight years, Mink is finally released. With the money he has upon release, he buys a cheap gun, finds his way to Jefferson, and kills Flem.

Gavin Stevens, one of the narrators, and an intellectual and idealist, was in love with Flem's wife, Eula Varner, who committed suicide before the events of this novel. Partly because of his feelings for Eula, Stevens loves and idealizes Eula's (and presumably Flem's) daughter, Linda. After Flem is killed, Steven comes to realize that Linda intentionally helped Mink find and kill Flem, as revenge for what she perceives as Flem's role in her mother's suicide. This shakes Stevens's perception of Linda as pure and innocent.

After Flem dies, the townspeople of Jefferson come to realize that his death changed almost nothing, as more and more Snopes family members are appearing and establishing themselves in Jefferson.

Magic Knight has been sent to the Castle of Spriteland by the King of Ibsisima in order to find a special present for Princess Germintrude. If Magic Knight is successful in his quest, he may have proved himself worthy of joining the famous "Polygon Table", a reference to the mythical Round Table from the legends of King Arthur.

On June 13, at a top-secret government laboratory in rural California, a weaponized version of influenza, called Project Blue, is accidentally released. A U.S. Army soldier, Charlie Campion, escapes the lab and flees across the country with his wife and daughter, unintentionally spreading the virus. On June 17, Campion crashes his car into a gas station in Arnette, Texas, where Stu Redman and some friends are gathered. With his wife and child already dead from the superflu, Campion warns Redman that he had been pursued by a "Dark Man" since they left the lab, before he succumbs to the virus as well. The next day, the U.S. military arrives to quarantine the town on orders from General Starkey, commander of Project Blue.

The townspeople are taken to a CDC facility in Stovington, Vermont. All but Stu succumb to the superflu, called "Captain Trips" by the populace, which kills 99.4% of the world's population in two weeks. General Starkey commits suicide, and it is implied that the rest of his team are killed by the superflu. The scattered survivors include would-be rock star Larry Underwood, deaf mute Nick Andros, Frannie Goldsmith and her unborn child, her teenaged neighbor Harold Lauder, imprisoned criminal Lloyd Henreid, and "Trashcan Man", a mentally ill arsonist and scavenger. The survivors begin having visions, either from kindly Mother Abagail, or from the demonic "Dark Man" Randall Flagg. The dreams counsel the survivors to either travel to Nebraska to meet Abagail, or to Las Vegas to join Flagg.

Lloyd is freed from prison by Flagg in exchange for becoming his second in command. Trashcan Man destroys fuel tanks across the Midwest and is directed to Las Vegas. Larry escapes New York City with a mysterious woman named Nadine Cross. Despite their mutual attraction, Nadine is unable to consummate a relationship with Larry because of her visions of Flagg, who commands her to join him; she leaves Larry to travel on her own. Larry then meets a young school teacher named Lucy, and a traumatized boy she calls Joe, outside Des Moines, Iowa, which has been burned to the ground, most likely by "Trashcan Man", who is seen blowing up a petroleum refinery. After escaping the CDC facility, Stu gathers a group of survivors, including Frannie, Harold, and former college professor Glen Bateman. They are joined by various other immune survivors.

Harold is consumed with jealousy over Stu's leadership of the group and his growing relationship with Frannie, on whom Harold has an unrequited crush. Nick barely escapes an attempt on his life in Shoyo, Arkansas by the bigoted town bully, and makes his way across the Mid-South. Nick ends up in May, Oklahoma where he meets Tom Cullen, a large mentally challenged man who spells every meaningful word he utters as M-O-O-N. The two men travel into Kansas, and encounter Julie Lawry, a vicious girl who vows to kill them when they refuse to let her join them. Nick and Tom then meet kindly farmer Ralph Brentner, and the three head west together in Ralph's pickup truck. Nick's group reaches Abagail's farm in Hemingford Home, Nebraska. She warns that a great conflict is imminent and they must travel to Boulder, Colorado. The survivors form a community called the Boulder Free Zone and begin restoring civilization.

Flagg sets up a brutal autocratic regime in Las Vegas, with the intent of defeating the Boulder survivors using salvaged nuclear weapons, which he sends "Trashcan Man" out to find. Harold's resentment toward Stu and Frannie intensifies, causing him to be seduced by Nadine and join forces with Flagg. Abagail, convinced that she has fallen into the sin of pride, leaves Boulder to walk in the wilderness in an act of atonement. Three Boulder survivors are chosen by the Free Zone Committee to infiltrate Las Vegas as spies: Tom, Dayna Jurgens, and Judge Farris. Glen hypnotizes Tom to follow a specific set of instructions, including that he leave Las Vegas at the next full moon.

Harold and Nadine plant a bomb in Frannie and Stu's home using demolition dynamite, planning to set it off during a meeting of the Free Zone Committee. A weakened Abagail returns to town, and gives a psychic warning to the council members. The warning allows most of the council to escape the explosion, but Nick and a few others are killed. Before she passes away, Abagail tells Stu, Larry, Glen, Ralph, and Frannie that the men must travel by foot to Las Vegas to confront Flagg. When Nadine and Harold flee Boulder, Flagg causes Harold to be crippled in a motorcycle accident. Nadine leaves him in a ravine, and he kills himself with a gun the next day. Once Nadine reaches the desert, Flagg calls her to him. She realizes that she has made a terrible mistake and tries to escape, but Flagg forces himself on her, revealing his true demonic form. Nadine is catatonic following the sexual attack by Flagg, and her hair has turned white. Flagg's men intercept Judge Farris, who is accidentally killed by one of his henchmen, Bobby Terry, before he can be tortured. Flagg tears Bobby to pieces for not following instructions. Upon returning to Las Vegas, Flagg has Dayna brought to him. He plans to torture her for information about the identity of the third spy. Flagg could see Judge Farris and Dayna with his powers, but whenever he tried to see the third spy, all he could see was the moon. After a failed attempt to kill Flagg, Dayna kills herself before he can extract any useful information from her.

Tom leaves Las Vegas when the moon is full, but Julie Lawry recognizes him; she tries to alert Flagg, but Tom escapes into the desert and hides from Flagg and his men. A crazed Nadine taunts Flagg, and she commits suicide by jumping off the hotel balcony with the baby he conceived in her. With winter approaching, Stu, Larry, Glen, and Ralph leave Boulder to set out on their quest. Stu breaks his leg when he falls in a dry riverbed, and must be left behind with Glen's dog, Kojak. The remaining three are captured by Flagg's forces a few days later, and Glen is separated from Larry and Ralph. Flagg orders Lloyd to kill Glen after he taunts Flagg. As Larry and Ralph endure a show trial on Fremont Street, Flagg uses his powers to silence a dissenter, striking him with a ball of plasma energy emitted from his fingers. "Trashcan Man" arrives towing a stolen nuclear weapon with an ATV and showing signs of radiation poisoning, so Flagg orders Lloyd to kill him. Flagg is unable to stop the energy ball from transforming into a spectral hand, the Hand of God, and it detonates the nuclear bomb as the voice of Mother Abagail declares that God's promise has been kept, and she welcomes Larry and Ralph into heaven. Las Vegas is destroyed by the nuclear blast, and Flagg is apparently killed along with all of his followers.

Stu is rescued by Tom, and they witness the nuclear explosion together. Tom takes Stu to a nearby cabin to set his leg as winter arrives, but Stu has contracted the flu. In a dream, Nick comes to Tom and tells him which medicine to give him. Stu recovers from the infection, and the two of them return to Boulder in a snow storm via a Snowcat. Stu finds that Frannie has given birth to a daughter, whom she has named Abagail. The baby has contracted the superflu, but she is able to fight off the virus. Lucy reveals that she is pregnant with Larry's child, and Joe sees a spectral image of Mother Abagail, as she blesses the newborn baby. Assured that the immune survivors can safely reproduce, the inhabitants of Boulder set to work rebuilding the world.

George Flack is the Paris correspondent for an American scandal sheet called ''The Reverberator''. Francie Dosson, a pretty but not always tactful American girl, confides to Flack some gossip about the Proberts, the Frenchified (but originally American) family of her fiancé, Gaston Probert.

Predictably, to everybody except Francie, the nasty gossip winds up in ''The Reverberator'', much to the horror of the stuffy Proberts. Francie makes no attempt to hide her role in giving Flack the juicy details. Gaston is initially dismayed by his fiancée's indiscretions. But with the somewhat surprising support of his sister Suzanne, he decides to accept Francie, who never tries to shift the blame to Flack. Gaston stands up to the outraged members of his family and marries his fiancée.

Gray Evans, a movie star, is losing his grip on reality, unable to adjust to his own celebrity, and addicted to romantic fantasies about idealistic love and his once simple life. With his celebrity marriage to the beautiful actress Mia already strained by jealousy and frustration after only a year together, Gray is looking for escape. An avid photographer, his voyeuristic nature leads him to a local video store, where an encounter with the video clerk's wife Jane leads to a dangerous obsession over what he imagines to be an ideal love. Gray falls further over the edge, as his conceptions of love and reality are further blurred by the similarities between Jane and his ex-girlfriend Shana to the point where obsession becomes delusion. Gray's life is further complicated by the realities of his own celebrity, an obsessive fan and the need for him to create his public persona as a successful man with a successful marriage. Profession, obsession, and delusion twist together beyond repair when Gray pulls the video clerk, an ambitious screenwriter, into his world by offering to make a movie with him. Their relationship succeeds in bringing him closer to Jane but takes away any last hold on reality, as his fantasy leads to destruction. The layered narrative swings around on itself, taking us on a journey through love, madness and paranoia all the while holding on to a darkly comic view of its own absurd world of crazy Russian bodyguards, loyal assistants, playboy producers and true celebrity.

Julia Bream dies after giving birth to her only child, a daughter named Effie. Julia had a horrible stepmother, so she extracts a promise from her husband Tony never to marry again as long as Effie is alive. Several years pass. Julia's childhood friend Rose Armiger is in love with Tony though she is ostensibly engaged to Dennis Vidal. Tony has grown close to Effie's nanny, Jean Martle, who is herself pursued by Tony's neighbor, Paul Beever. After Jean rejects Paul's marriage proposal, Rose takes Effie on a walk. She returns without Effie, claiming to have left her with Jean. Later Effie's body is found, having drowned in a stream near the home.

Eventually, Rose confesses to drowning the child but everyone decides to conceal the crime. Family physician Dr. Ramage convinces the authorities that Effie died of natural causes and Rose is sent off with Dennis Vidal, all becoming, legally, accessories after the fact to murder.

Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan and members of the Mount Hua Sect are planning to retire from the ''jianghu'' (martial artists' community). They learn that Dongfang Bubai has seized control of the Sun Moon Holy Cult and is secretly plotting with some Japanese ''rōnin'' to rebel against the Ming Empire and dominate China. Dongfang Bubai had castrated himself in order to master the skills in the ''Sunflower Manual'', and his appearance has become more feminine, even though he is now a formidable martial artist.

Linghu Chong meets Dongfang Bubai by chance without knowing his true identity, mistakes him for a beautiful young woman, and falls in love with "her". Dongfang Bubai knocks out Linghu Chong while he is not looking and imprisons him in an underground dungeon. In the dungeon, by coincidence, Linghu Chong meets Ren Woxing, Ren Yingying's father and the former leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult. They escape from captivity together. One night, while Linghu Chong is distracted by Dongfang Bubai's lover Shishi, Dongfang tracks down his Mount Hua Sect fellows and kills them.

Linghu Chong brings Yue Lingshan, Ren Yingying, Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian with him to confront Dongfang Bubai at Black Woods Cliff. In the ensuing battle, Dongfang Bubai apparently dies after refusing Linghu Chong's help and falling off the cliff. Ren Woxing regains control of the cult and starts killing the traitors who defected to Dongfang Bubai. Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan secretly escape with help from Xiang Wentian and Ren Yingying because they know that Ren Woxing cannot tolerate them.

It starred Sharon, Lois and Bram and two new characters C.C. Copycat, a sarcastic blue feline played by Dwayne Adams, and Ella Acapella, a young female elephant, played by Tikka Sherman.

The show mocked the life of an actual television station. It included many skits and musical bits with Sharon, Lois & Bram acting as many different characters. Along with Ella Acapella and C.C. Copycat, Sharon, Lois & Bram operate a fictional TV station called ''Skinnamarink TV''. The name comes from the song Skidamarink which closed the trio's original program, The Elephant Show.

The wraparounds involved the Big Red Button which did various things to the studio and the group.

After serving the King loyally for years in foreign conflicts, an elite unit of knights returns home to find it a changed place. The knights are appalled by the discovery that dark magic has corrupted their kingdom and that the King now plans to use them against their own people. Therefore, they devise a plan to assassinate the malevolent ruler. When the attempt on the King's life is foiled, the would-be assassins barely escape. They end up on the run from an army they once served.

The ESU Timberwolves start optimistically, although Coach Sam Winters must win this season or be fired. Sophomore quarterback Joe Kane spends Christmas with his alcoholic family while junior Alvin Mack gives his mother a door knocker for the house he will buy when he turns pro. Running back Darnell Jefferson is recruited to ESU. Autumn (Berry), an ESU student, gives him a tour; they bond and kiss.

Kane introduces Jefferson to Mack, backup quarterback Bobby Collins (dating Winters' daughter Louanne) and senior Steve Lattimer, (35 pounds heavier since last fall), hopeful starter in his senior year. Fumbling at practice, Jefferson must carry a football with him at all times. Coach Winters tells him if anyone but Jefferson returns the ball to him "...[you'll wish you were never born.]" Jefferson discovers Autumn is back with starting tailback Ray Griffen (his competition for starting running back). Later, worried about entrance exams and asking for advice, Lattimer passes on his fourth try. Mack gets test copies beforehand.

Illiterate, Mack tells Jefferson he will stay eligible if he's talented; he only needs to know how to sign an NFL contract. Jefferson is neither surprised nor worried when he fails the test; he convinces Autumn to tutor him. ''Sports Illustrated'' declares Kane a Heisman Trophy candidate; the pressure and stress cause him to drink. Meeting tennis player Camille (Swanson) after riding on his motorcycle, they start dating.

Mack, a junior, is waiting for April's NFL Draft, clearly indifferent to academics. His strong ability to understand strategy during film study shows his commitment to football. Meanwhile, the offensive coordinator fears Lattimer is on steroids, but Winters trusts him. If he is, NCAA testing will catch him.

When Lattimer is named starting defensive end, he shatters car windows with his head, screaming, "STARTING DEFENSE!! PLACE AT THE TABLE!!" Witnessed by the coordinators, they do not tell Winters, but warn Lattimer the NCAA will be drug-testing at the start of the season. The Heisman campaign for Kane picks up speed and the players' individual motivation is revealed: Kane plays because it distracts him from the stressors of his life (his alcoholic father), Jefferson is escaping the ghetto, Mack enjoys the physicality & Lattimer genuinely loves the game.

Lattimer substitutes clean urine for his own during the NCAA drug tests. They have a stream of victories initially. Meanwhile, Griffen isn't being effective as tailback, and Jefferson is doing well. Uncomfortable with monetary donations from wealthy alumni as he improves, Mack tells him to take it. Jefferson and Autumn begin a relationship, but she is ashamed to tell her well-read father, another former ESU football player. She goes back with Griffen, who plans to attend medical school.

Winters' daughter is expelled for cheating for Collins; he is kicked off the team and expelled. When Kane and ESU lose a close game to Michigan, with another Heisman candidate, he is put in doubt. Lattimer assaults a girl who won't put out, but her dad gets her to drop the charges. When Winters sees Lattimer is juicing, he wants to suspend him for the season, but his defensive coordinator warns him it could jeopardize his draft status. Lattimer is suspended for three games after confessing to Winters, but they keep the doping secret. When Mack criticizes him, Lattimer says, "You do what you have to do to play."

After the Michigan game, Kane gets drunk, fights someone and sends the other man to the hospital. Taking another player's truck, he is charged with a DWI. Coach Winters negotiates a plea with the DA: all charges dropped if Kane completes a 28-day program (missing four games and ending his Heisman candidacy). They must win three more games in the next five weeks to win the conference championship and secure a major bowl game, so need a capable quarterback.

School officials pressure Winters into reinstating Collins for Kane. He reluctantly agrees, vouching for him. (Despite his daughter being expelled for cheating for him.) Collins and the team go 2-1 in the first three games. Lattimer passes his drug test after the three weeks, returning for the penultimate game of the season against Iowa.

The game is close, but Mack has a career-ending knee injury and Lattimer is run over at the goal line. Kane finishes his 28-days, reaching out to Camille, whom he didn't speak to in rehab, and also to his father. He buys him a plane ticket to the final game against Georgia Tech. Meanwhile, Lattimer continues to take steroids, having an associate replace his tainted urine with clean to pass his next drug test.

ESU's final game is against Georgia Tech for the Eastern Athletic Conference (EAC) and to secure a major bowl game. Jefferson is the starting tailback and Griffen is fullback. Despite Mack's absence the defense keeps them in the game, but GT leads 10-0 at the half. Kane starts in the 2nd half. Realizing his dad is not there, he accepts it. Winter realizes Lattimer has continued taking steroids without failing a drug test. Lattimer looks guilty although Winters seems to understand. Kane rallies the team to victory in the fourth quarter, securing a major bowl game and saving Winters' job. They both realize Kane will likely make another run at the Heisman as a senior. Lattimer sits on the bench crying instead of celebrating, realizing he won't be able to play professionally without steroids.

After the game, Autumn presents Jefferson to her father as her boyfriend. Kane reunites with Camille, offering her another ride (this time with Sprite, not beer) and the coaches go recruit for next year.

The play is set in Sicily at Mount Aetna. Silenus explains that he and his sons, the chorus, are slaves to a Cyclops, Polyphemus. The chorus enter with singing and sheep. Silenus tells them to stop singing and send the sheep into the cave because he can see a Greek ship by the coast and men coming to the cave.

Odysseus enters with his men and asks where they can find water and if anyone will sell them food. Silenus questions Odysseus and Odysseus questions Silenus. On learning that he will probably be eaten if found, Odysseus is keen to leave. Silenus is keen to swap the Cyclops' food for Odysseus' wine. Silenus exits into the cave while the chorus talk to Odysseus. Silenus reenters with much food.

The Cyclops enters and wants to know what is going on. Silenus explains that Odysseus and his men have beaten him and are taking the Cyclops' things and have threatened the Cyclops with violence. The Cyclops decides to eat them. Odysseus says that Silenus is lying, but the Cyclops believes Silenus. Odysseus tries to persuade the Cyclops not to eat them. The Cyclops is not persuaded. All but the chorus exit into the cave. The chorus sing until Odysseus enters from the cave and tells the chorus that the Cyclops has eaten some of his men and that he has been giving the Cyclops wine and that he intends to blind the Cyclops and save everyone, including the satyrs. The chorus are keen to help.

The Cyclops exits from the cave singing and drunk and wanting more wine from Odysseus. The Cyclops wants to go and share with his brothers but is persuaded to stay. Silenus and the Cyclops drink wine until the Cyclops decides to take the now very appealing Silenus to bed, and the pair exit into the cave. The chorus affirm that they are ready to help Odysseus, but urge him to go in and help Silenus. Odysseus calls on Hephaestus and Hypnos then exits into the cave. The chorus sing.

Odysseus enters from the cave and tells them to be quiet and come and help burn the eye out. The chorus excuse themselves. Odysseus suggests that they can at least offer encouragement. They agree to provide this and do provide this while Odysseus exits into the cave. The Cyclops enters from the cave with noise and blindness. The chorus mock him and direct him away from Odysseus and the others while they escape from the cave. Odysseus addresses the Cyclops before exiting toward his ship. The Cyclops says that he is going to smash the ship then exits into the cave, which is "pierced through" (ἀμφιτρῆτος). The chorus say that they will go with Odysseus and be slaves to Dionysus.

The Chunhyangga is composed of seven parts: * Yi Mongryong and Chunhyang's first meeting at Gwang Hanru. * Mongryong and Chunhyang's love. * Mongryong and Chunhyang's parting. * Byeon's tyranny and Chunhyang's imprisonment. * Mongryong wins first place in a state examination and meets Chunhyang again. * Byeon is punished and Mongryong and Chunhyang live a long and happy life. * Mongyong is married to Chunhyang.

''Heungbuga'' is also called ''Bak taryung'' (''Gourd Song''). Poor but good-hearted younger brother Heungbu cares for a swallow's broken leg, and the swallow repays Heungbu's kindness. The swallow brings a gourd seed to Heungbu, who plants the seed. The gourd yields fruit containing treasure. Upon hearing this, Heungbu's older brother, the nasty and greedy Nolbu, becomes jealous, and he breaks a swallow's leg intentionally. After that Nolbu, too, gets a gourd seed; however this time the fruit contains goblins.

The story begins in a fictional kingdom in the Southern Sea ruled by a Dragon King. The King suffers from an illness that can only be cured by consuming the liver of a rabbit. In hopes of finding the liver to cure his disease, the dragon king commands his servants to go onto land, find a rabbit, and bring its liver back to the kingdom. Out of the servants, a terrapin volunteers to perform this act, showing his loyalty to the king.

The terrapin is met with several challenges on land from an encounter with a predatory tiger to not knowing what a rabbit looks like. At the end, however, the terrapin succeeds in finding a rabbit. In order to get the rabbit to follow it back to the underwater kingdom, the terrapin lures the rabbit by telling him that a wonderous and luxurious life awaits it there. The rabbit falls for it, follows the terrapin underwater, and soon finds itself captured in the dragon king's palace. The rabbit soon realizes that it had been tricked and will be soon slaughtered for its liver. Right before slaughtering, however, the rabbit tells the dragon king that its liver is so much in demand that someone may steal it away from the king as soon as he kills it and that because of this, it had to be slaughtered somewhere away from everyone. The dragon king listens to the rabbit and commands the terrapin to kill it away from the kingdom. Upon getting far enough from the kingdom, the rabbit ridicules the dragon king's naïveté and flees back onto land, essentially tricking both the terrapin and the dragon king.

The story ends with the rabbit ridiculing the king and the terrapin once again, but admiring the terrapin's loyalty to the king as well.

Part 1

Since he will be out of town, Mr. Peterman asks Elaine to bid for him at a Sotheby's auction on a set of golf clubs once owned by John F. Kennedy. Jerry takes Elaine to the auction, where they bump into Sue Ellen Mischke, Elaine's rival. The two snipe at each other, provoking a bidding war between them over the clubs. Elaine ends up paying $20,000, twice what she was authorized by Peterman to spend. Elaine leaves the clubs in Jerry's car.

Newman learns that bottles and cans can be refunded for 5 cents in New York but 10 cents in Michigan. Kramer tells him it is impossible to gain a profit from depositing bottles in Michigan due to the gas, tollbooth and truck rental fees. However, while crunching the numbers for himself, Newman recalls that there will be a surge of mail the week before Mother's Day to be sorted in Saginaw, Michigan. He signs up for a mail truck that will carry spillover mail from the four main trucks, leaving plenty of space for bottles and cans to refund in Michigan, and thereby avoiding truck rental fees. Newman and Kramer set off collecting and stealing cans and bottles.

Mr. Wilhelm scolds George for needing to have orders repeated to him. While talking of a big project for him to do, Wilhelm enters the bathroom. George waits outside, but then finds that Wilhelm had been explaining the details of the project in the bathroom, thinking George was there. Afraid to ask Wilhelm to repeat orders again, he instead asks him the best way to get started, and is directed to payroll. However, the payroll clerk knows nothing about the project. He calls Wilhelm to verify, but when George asks him what the project is, he thinks George is berating him for not immediately believing him.

Wilhelm asks if George has gone downtown for the project yet, and mentions "the song". Thinking he means the Petula Clark song "Downtown", George and Jerry try to decipher the lyrics, but to no avail.

Jerry's car breaks down because Kramer and Newman, who had borrowed the car, left their groceries in the engine compartment. He takes it to Tony, a mechanic obsessed with car care. After examining the car, Tony guilt trips Jerry over his lackadaisical care for it, in particular getting substandard oil changes at Jiffy Lube outlets and not knowing the mileage, and demands he change his ways. Weary of Tony's moralistic harangues, Jerry asks to have his car back so he can take his business elsewhere. Tony says he will bring the car out front, but drives away with it instead.

Part 2

Mr. Wilhelm, having forgotten to take his medication, completes George's project himself and, finding it complete, congratulates George on it. George is puzzled but opts not to question his lucky break. However, when Steinbrenner sees the project he recognizes that the author is certifiably insane, and has George put in a mental institution.

While driving the mail truck to Saginaw, Kramer spots Jerry's stolen car on an Ohio highway and alerts Jerry by mobile phone. At Jerry and Elaine's urging, Kramer diverts from the road to Saginaw in order to pursue Jerry's stolen car (with JFK golf clubs still inside) as it exits the highway. Struggling to keep up, Kramer dumps their bottles, cans, mail bags, and ultimately, Newman himself to make the truck move faster. Newman finds his way to a farmer's house, and is offered hospitality. As Kramer continues his chase, Tony throws all of the JFK golfclubs at him, putting the mail truck out of commission. Kramer collects the discarded clubs and meets up with Newman at the farm house, just before they are both chased away due to Newman having a sexual liaison with the farmer's daughter. Elaine gives the golf clubs, several of which were bent during the hot pursuit, to Mr. Peterman. He assumes their battered state is due to Kennedy venting his frustration on the golf course.

At a diner, a man (Kirk Baltz) talks to an older man (Philip Baker Hall) over cigarettes and coffee. He explains how, while gambling at a casino, he wrote his name on a $20 bill for good luck. Before he could use it, he ran into his friend Steve and loaned him the bill. He headed back to the hotel room where he was supposed to meet Steve, Steve's wife, and his wife, but his wife told him that Steve and Steve's wife would come later. He saw the bill with his name on it on the floor and became paranoid. He took the bill and won almost $8,000 gambling with it. At another table, a husband is angry that his wife lost all their money gambling on craps. He recounts his marriage proposal and lights his last cigarette. Outside, another man, Bill (Miguel Ferrer), finishes a phone call. He enters the diner and orders coffee and cigarettes, which he pays for with a $20 bill. The younger man confesses that he has paid to have Steve and his wife killed. As the waitress gives them their change, the older man notices the name Douglas Walker written on a $20 bill. He drops it on the floor. Bill returns to his car and opens the trunk; Steve is inside. The couple leave, and the woman takes the bill. The older man tells the younger man that drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette will make everything right. Outside, the couple kiss. Bill drives down a desert road.

The story opens with Nansal returning from boarding school to her family. The family of five lives in a yurt and lives off of their livestock, which include sheep, goats, and cattle. Nansal's father is worried about his family's survival because of the wolves that have been attacking their herd.

While Nansal is out collecting dung, she stumbles across a cave in which she finds a black and white dog. She brings the dog home and names it "Zochor" (Spot). Her father is worried, knowing that wolves live in caves and may follow its scent and kill their livestock.

The father departs for town on his motorbike, to sell the pelts of the sheep killed by wolves. He instructs his wife to get rid of the dog before he is home. Nansal is sent out to graze the herd, but she is distracted and gets lost. The mother is distraught when the herd comes back without Nansal and goes out looking for her.

Meanwhile, Nansal finds refuge in the yurt of an elderly woman. The old lady feeds Nansal and gives her shelter while a storm passes. It is here that Nansal hears the story of the Cave of the Yellow Dog. In this story, a yellow dog is trapped in a cave with no exit by a man to cure his daughter's illness.

The mother finds Nansal soon after and takes her home. Zochor is still with the family when the father returns home. He is upset but still gives gifts to his wife and children nonetheless, including a plastic ladle and a flashlight (torch). The father tries to sell Zochor to some wolf hunters, but Nansal tells them she found him in a cave and the deal falls through.

It is time for the family to move on. They pack up all of their belongings and the yurt and load them onto carts to be pulled by their cattle. The three children are put onto the wagons, with Nansal watching her younger brother. Zochor is tied to a stake so he cannot follow them. Nansal is distracted by Zochor and does not watch her brother. Her brother escapes.

The family travels several miles until they realize that their son is not with them. The father turns back immediately and rushes back on his horse. Meanwhile, their son is stumbling slowly towards a flock of vultures. He ventures near a stream, while moving further and further from Zochor. When the son is right next to the flock, Zochor breaks free and scares them away. This is witnessed by the father who, in gratitude for protecting his son from harm, accepts Zochor into the family.

In the final scene, the family's wagons travel down the road, with Zochor in the wagon with Nansal and a truck driving down the road blaring reminders to vote in the upcoming elections.

It is four years passed when the narrator hunted after the elusive sheep and his friend, The Rat. The Dolphin Hotel and missing girlfriend with perfect ears is still on his mind.

The narrator recounts how for six straight months, following A Wild Sheep Chase, he did no work and had little social contact of any kind; actively avoiding people. The days were a mix of drinking, sleeping, cooking himself meals and only going outside his apartment to stores for the most minimal of goods before returning home again, usually at night. No newspaper or television. The narrator's former business partner was now doing well in his new business venture. And the narrator's ex-wife was now happily remarried. Not to the man she had left the narrator for in A Wild Sheep Chase, but a new man who wanted a family.

The narrator then began working again, getting a strong foothold into copywriting. Gradually growing in demand until he was enjoying a fair amount of economic success. His savings account swell, business demand increases astronomically due to his efficiency, and he buys a new car. The narrator is even able to date again. Finding limited success for a few months with another woman until she abruptly ends the relationship (no reason is stated).

Realizing that he is lonely and in need of closure with the hotel and former flame, the narrator cancels his appointments and assignments for the next month and heads to Hokkaido again. After a small assignment, he checks into the Dolphin Hotel again, which has gone through a large amount of upgrades in the years since his visit, serious money being spent to give it a more presentable appearance. It is now multiple stories tall, deck out with a lounge for both clients and staff, as well as new, more formal staff. The management is welcoming and friendly, but their mood becomes dodgy when the narrator asks questions about the previous owner. Settling into his room, he notices the upgrade and changes to the town as well, which seemed to have come into new money.

Fighting off boredom a short time into his stay, the narrator chooses to enter a cafe in the hotel, reading Jack London and having coffee. An attractive staff member with glasses who was visibly disturbed by his inquiries the previous days approaches him under the guise of talking about car prices and asks if they could go somewhere to talk. When they meet up for dinner, the attractive hotelier with glasses informs the narrator that she had a disturbing experience at the hotel on the last New Years Day. Misplacing her book, she advanced towards the employee lounge on the 16th floor. However, the elevator shutdown. Finding herself walking in darkness that wasn't possible, on a hard floor that couldn't have been that of the hotel's, she traveled cautiously and terrified until she saw the dim aura of candlelight. It was then that she heard footsteps, heavy footsteps coming towards her, footsteps that didn't sound human. She fled in desperation before ending up in the once again lit elevator and heading to the lounge. The waiting manager and staff saw her terrified and searched every inch of the floor, finding nothing. However, once she recounted the events, in the privacy of her manager's office, the manager told her to keep the matter under-wraps and not to speak of it again, signaling that this was possibly not the first occurrence. The hotelier with glasses only brought it to the narrator's attention due to him inquiring about the matter earlier. Afterwards, they drink, and the narrator passes on a chance to sleep with the woman.

The narrator begins his own research into the hotel, bound by his own curiosity and the hotelier's story. It turns out that there was an article written by a journalist a couple of years prior that identified the hotel as one of the holdings and acquired properties of multiple paper companies that were liquidated and resold over and over for ever-increasing amounts of cash. The commonality being a single company that acquired them and most likely set them up from the start; B Industries. This, in turn was a subsidiary company of A Incorporated, which held ties to local business, political and even underworld figures. The Dolphin Hotel was one of many acquired properties in the area, designed to be the first in a new chain of hotels.

For further information, the narrator contacts his old business partner, who in turn asks a contact for more about the Dolphin Hotel in an effort to know what happened to the previous owner. The narrator's former business partner calls later to inform him that the hotel was one of the last hold-outs that the business interests obtained; having to send in Yakuza henchmen to threaten and intimidate the owner; who only relinquished if the hotel kept its name.

The next day the narrator struggles with boredom, reading the newspaper and watching the snow falling outside. Unsuccessfully, he tries to convince the receptionist with glasses to have dinner with him, but she has work and swim practice. So the narrator drinks alone in the lounge. Taking the elevator to his floor, he thinks about an old classmate-turned-actor of his that was charming, dashing and popular. And then makes and intricate daydream of his junior high classmate, Gotunda, now a famous actor, staring in a Egyptian swimming club. The dream then turns sexual, with celebrities kissing the classmate, then the glasses-wearing hotelier being in bed with him, then his old girlfriend with perfect ears, Kiki.

It is then that the music in the elevator stops. Complete darkness is in the elevator. No light. The narrator remembers the receptionist with glasses' story. He makes his way in the pitch blackness, feeling his way through what appears to be a hallway until hearing inhuman footsteps and encountering The Sheep Man in a dimly lit room, the notes, newspapers and aged books of the Sheep Professor illuminated on the floor. The Sheep Man gives cryptic explanations to the darkness that the narrator finds himself. Explaining that The Sheep Man is, in fact a part of the Sheep Men, a species that was driven into the darkness a long time ago; and they too, have no idea of the origins or facts of the place where he and the narrator now found themselves. The Sheep Man announces that the reality exists both because of and for the narrator. The previous owner of the hotel insisted on the name staying the same for the narrator. The Sheep Man reveals that the narrator is tied to the pitch-black reality and that the narrator must "keep dancing while the music still plays". The Sheep Men would be there to help where they could.

The darkness ends and the narrator is in the elevator again. Lights and music are on as if they never stopped. The narrator returns to his room and sleeps. He wakes up the next morning having trouble wrapping his mind around the encounter. He bathes repeatedly, eats and naps well into the afternoon.

The next day follows with more boredom and reflection, coming to grips with what he encountered at the hotel. The narrator sees a movie staring Gotunda just to pass the time. However, upon seeing the film, a sex scene halfway into the movie stuns the narrator, as it is, indeed, Kiki and a character played by Gotunda, having sex; revealing that all may be connected.

The narrator, needing to get back to his life in Tokyo and wanting some distance from the hotel, checks out. The receptionist with glasses asks him to accompany/chaperone a 13-year-old girl, Yuki, with him on the same plane and then get her to her home, as her photographer mother abandoned her at the hotel to go on another photoshoot in an exotic location. They land and the narrator drives her home in his car.

After the narrator arrives back to his own place, Yuki calls the narrator on his phone. Revealing that she had also seen the Sheep Man.

The next day, the narrator manages to get in contact with Gotunda, who seems eager to catch up and open about meeting with him. They go out to dinner where Gotunda talks about his life, including a recent painful divorce, frequent outings with escorts and how he sometimes resents the actor's lifestyle. Gotunda also reveals several details about Kiki once asked by the narrator. That he met Kiki through an escort service, that he gave her a shot at film work, that she never collected her pay from the scene, that he and her had slept together (in real life, as well as on-screen), mainly in threesomes and then she disappeared some time ago without a word.

Gotunda and the narrator go to Gotunda's home where they drink, listen to music and Gotunda suggests that they call some escorts for some fun, mentioning that there is a business that allows him to right off expenses for escorts as a gift and entertainment expense. He also suggests receiving an escort that knew Kiki. Two escorts arrive soon after and they all drink and listen to music before Gotunda goes off to his bedroom with one, leaving the narrator with the other escort who knew Kiki, named May. After sex, May reveals that Kiki left the escort business about a month prior and disappeared without a trace. The narrator gives her his business card in case she finds out anything new about Kiki. Gotunda then drives him home.

The narrator makes plans to meet Yuki in order to learn what she knows about the Sheep Man. Not long after, two police officers (called Fisher and Bookish respectively) pick him up and take him to the police station to question him about his whereabouts the previous night. At the station the police inform the narrator that there has been a murder last night. They show him photographs of the victim, and it is revealed to be May. She was strangled to death at a hotel with stockings. The narrator's business card was found in her wallet.

The narrator answers question after question over the course of over twenty hours, before the police release him. While being questioned, he denies knowing May, keeping in mind that revealing the truth would harm Gotanda's career. It is later revealed Yuki's father, Harumi Makimura (an amalgam of the letters in the author's name) that had an influence in helping the narrator be released.

Glad to be released, the narrator meets with Yuki. She reveals elements of clairvoyance/premonition in her life, that she hasn't been to school for almost a year due to bullying and has an alienated relationship with her parents. She never encountered the Sheep Man, but knows about him through her abilities, picking up on energy waves, "like making an image through squiggly waves of a television" The narrator walks with Yuki along a beach to her father's house. Harumi Makimura is a famous novelist that lives with a 20-year-old attaché (and, as later revealed, lover). Harumi attempts to the pay the narrator to regularly spend time with Yuki everyday, however the narrator states that he will keep their relationship platonic and leaves.

The Narrator moves next to inform Gotanda of May's passing, picking him up in his car and driving him to his next acting job. Along the way, Gotanda tells the Narrator that he is in heavy debt.

The Narrator is then invited to accompany Yuki to Hawaii for a week by Harumi and is given access to an expense account to make a pleasant vacation there. Yuki and he lay out by the waves before visiting Yuki's mother, Ame's home along the beach. There, the pair meet Dick North, a pleasant, one-armed poet and US Marine Corps vet who lost his arm in Vietnam. He is Ame's lover, having lived in Japan for over 10 years before relocating to Hawaii, being married to another woman. Next, Ame enters and expresses thanks to the Narrator for being a good influence on Yuki, stating she would like to do the same. Yuki and the Narrator leave afterwards, Yuki crying over her broken family and absent, bohemian mother. The narrator and her retire to their hotel room and for a couple more days surf and lay out by the beach.

One night, an attractive, Southeast Asian prostitute named June knocks on the Narrator's door, being sent by Makimura and paid to spend up to three nights with the Narrator. They spend the night together and June leaves the number of her call service with the Narrator before she leaves. Yuki's gift allows her to see, much to her discomfort, that the Narrator spent the night with someone.

A day later, the Narrator is driving Yuki to see ET: The Extraterrestrial, when Yuki touches his forehead and he is surprised to see Kiki walking by. Darting after her, he calls out to her and follows Kiki into a seemingly abandoned building. She boarded an elevator to what he figures out to be the 8th floor, he bolts up the stairs. The Narrator enters a floor of near darkness, finding little before light begins to shine upon five skeletons in a bedroom and then a table in the middle of a room, a piece of paper with a number on it lay on top. The Narrator grabs it and heads back to the car. Yuki's sense allowed her to know that he had experienced something just then. The Narrator tells Yuki that he will need to head back to Tokyo. That night, following a hunch, he holds the slip of paper that he found to the number that June had given him. Both identical.

The Narrator tells Yuki that he needs to head back to Japan to make sense of his revelation. Bringing Yuki to her mother and Dick, the Narrator flies back home. He goes to see Makimura and they talk about him sending June. The Narrator asks if it is possible to reach out to the service and get more information. Makimura tells him that the club is exclusive to its clientele and that even Makimura would have trouble finding out more than their service number. Then Makimura hands him a 300,000 yen check for his Hawaiian expenses and the Narrator leaves.

Gotanda and the Narrator hang out together, enjoying a night hanging out to 60s music, dinner and a few drinks. While together, Gotanda describes how he still misses his ex-wife and is still sleeping with her despite the bitter divorce. He also describes being in debt and laments his fame. Gotanda asks if he can borrow the Narrator's car and he gives the Narrator the keys to his wealthier Maserati in the meantime. The Narrator works on his relationship with Yumiyoshi (the cute receptionist with glasses from the dolphin hotel) by calling her more often.

Yuki, Ame and Dick return from Hawaii. Yuki is bored The Narrator picks up Yuki and takes her for a ride in the car. However, Yuki becomes increasingly disturbed during their ride, saying that there is a dark aura about the car and to never drive around in it again.

Dick North dies by being struck by a car while shopping for groceries. Ame and Yuki are depressed. The Narrator brings his belongings to his wife. While at a home goods store, Bookish meets the Narrator and they meet for coffee. Bookish tells the Narrator that due to a recent crackdown, they were able to track the service that May worked for and found out her name. The police still didn't know the identity of her killer, but the call-girl service had top-tier clientele due to their headquarters being tipped-off and abandoned by the time they raided the location.

The Narrator meets with Gotanda again, watching a video of all of Gotanda's commercials. While talking though, the Narrator feels the presence of a small, unseen but powerful entity in the apartment.

Two months pass and the Narrator hasn't worked. He calls Yuki to make sure she is okay. Yuki states that her mind and body don't feel like they are connected, that Ame has been in a downward spiral since Dick died, as Dick had been the organizational backbone in her life, as well as her lover. The Narrator picks her up and they go to see Gotanda's movie. During the scene where Kiki and Gotanda make love, Yuki becomes physically ill and they leave the theater.

Yuki reveals that her abilities had revealed a vision of Gotanda killing Kiki; straggling her, putting her inside of his Maserati and burying her far away from the city, a ceremonial impression on the vision. The Narrator drives her home and spends the next few days trying to wrap his head around the news, unable to call his friend to inquire further.

Gotanda drops by the Narrator's place unexpectedly. Gotanda picks him up and they go for pizza. They make small talk at first until out of the blue, the Narrator asks Gotanda if he killed Kiki. Gotanda confesses that he "thinks he did", having no reason to want to hurt Kiki. He had to strangle and kill his shadow self, Kiki being compliant in the ordeal. He cites that since childhood he has had a different "shadow" personality that has done bad things (destroying a neighbor's window, blowing up mailboxes, killed cats in his neighborhood) with him experiencing depersonalization while it was in control. He didn't think he would be believed with a confession by the police, and he worried that one day his shadow would kill his ex-wife. Though he had no idea who killed May. The Narrator, having trouble coming to grips about what he had just heard, suggests that Gotanda and he go to Hawaii, disconnect from everything and just live for a while. Gotanda agrees and asks the Narrator to get him a couple of more beers. When the Narrator returns, Gotanda is already gone, along with his Maserati.

The next day, they dredge Gotanda's Maserati out of the water. Gotanda committed suicide soon after his and the Narrator's meeting.

The Narrator contacts Yuki, and they go out for food. Yuki tells the Narrator that she is determined not to live her life in neutral and was seeing a tudor for her education. The Narrator tells her that Gotanda killed Kiki and that he was intent on going back to Sapporo. The Narrator considers leaving commercial writing all-together and writing something for himself, without any idea of what it could be.

The Narrator travels to Sapporo and checks into the Dolphin Hotel, intent on seeing Yumiyoshi. While waiting for Yumiyoshi to appear for a couple of days, the Narrator has a dreamlike experience where he his back in the room where the skeletons were and he sees Kiki. Kiki states that the skeletons disappeared, that they were a part of the Narrator and that so is the hotel. Kiki explains that Gotanda thinks he killed her, she agreeing to help him try to kill his "shadow". The Narrator asks if she died. Kiki says that she didn't die, she disappeared. Jumping into the nearest wall and inviting him to do the same, adding that "it's simple". The Narrator complies and ends up back in his real world hotel room.

Finally, the Narrator makes contact with Yumiyoshi. They meet at the Narrator's hotel room and make love; the Narrator stating his intention to move to Sapporo. The couple spend time together before the darkness appears around them. They hold hands throughout the ordeal, the Narrator stating that they need to stay together through the storm. They try to find the Sheep Man, but reach the conclusion that he is dead. After rifling through some materials in the Sheep Man's room, the Narrator becomes separated from Yumiyoshi, the girl being swallowed by the darkness. He tells Yumiyoshi about disappearing through the walls as Kiki had done, but he is apprehensive. Yumiyoshi replies that "it's simple" and travels through the darkness. The Narrator follows behind, passing through the darkness, through the ocean where the Sheep Men live, then back into the hotel room in the real world. He sees Yumiyoshi already dressed and sitting down. They end up spending another night together, waking up committed and in a relationship.

Adopting the stylized alter-ego, Henry 'Hank' Chinaski, a character used in previous novels, this book relates his experiences of working with a director, finding financial backing, losing financial backing, writing the screenplay and finally completing the film, ''Barfly''. The seemingly preposterous exchanges and occurrences within these pages leave the reader with the conviction that Hank Chinaski's life was truly stranger than fiction.

Tutankhensetamun was an impulsive but kindhearted young Egyptian Pharaoh who lived a luxurious but short life. He died because back in Ancient Egypt he saved a friend of his from being smashed by rocks from a collapsing temple, so he himself was crushed to death. He carries the mighty Sceptre of Was, and the circumstances of his death are unknown at first.

In the 21st century, 12-year-old middle school student Cleo Carter accidentally witnesses his awakening after a bolt of lightning hits the mummified body of Tut that is on display at the local museum. She with her anthropomorphic pet cat Luxor must now help Tut to find his way around in the modern world. During the whole series, Set, god of disorder and violence, attempts to destroy Tut and gain possession of the Sceptre to become the ruler of all.

Ryker (Lazenby), a former mercenary, comes out of retirement to take part in the overthrow of an African dictator. He travels to London to meet former war comrade Jesse Jones (Ben Carruthers), and his associates Freddy Bradshaw (Robin Hunter) and Temple Smith (Alan Barnes). After helping fellow mercenaries test and ship weapons to South Africa, Ryker begins to have ethical concerns about his involvement. He eventually distances himself from the others, and rents a flat in London. He falls into hippie culture, and begins dating a girl named Chrissie (Chrissie Townson).

Jesse tracks down Ryker. Explaining that the operation is not producing the profits he expected, he tries to convince Ryker to return. Ryker declines, but develops a plan with Jesse to thwart the operation and take the money for themselves. They succeed and escape with Bradshaw's car. A weapons dealer named Rawlings (Edward Judd) pursues them.

Jesse discovers that their "take" is somewhat less than the amount of cash they supposedly embezzled. Ryker reveals that his real plan was to sabotage the gun running operation, not to take all the money. Jesse assaults Ryker; Ryker, now a pacifist, refuses to defend himself. Ryker is eventually forced to break Jesse's ankle to end his assault. As Ryker bundles Jesse into a car to seek medical treatment, Rawlings shoots them down with rifle fire.

The film opens with the young boy Nemo experiencing a nightmare in which he is pursued by a locomotive. Upon awakening the next day, he goes with his pet flying squirrel, Icarus to see a parade welcoming a traveling circus. However, Nemo is unable to see the circus since his parents are too busy to take him. Later that night, Nemo imitates sleepwalking in an attempt to sneak some pie away, which acts against a promise he had made earlier to his mother, who catches him in the act and makes him run back to his room empty-handed. Upon actually falling asleep later that night, Nemo is approached by figures from the circus parade. The circus organist introduces himself as Professor Genius and claims that they had been sent on a mission by King Morpheus, the king of a realm named Slumberland. The mission involves Nemo becoming the playmate of the princess, Camille. Although Nemo initially has reservations about interacting with royalty of the opposite gender, he and Icarus decide to set off to fulfill his mission after being persuaded with a gift box of cookies from the princess.

Nemo is taken to Slumberland in a dirigible which he is allowed to drive, causing some chaos, and is introduced to King Morpheus, who doubles as the circus ringmaster on Earth. Morpheus reveals that he summoned Nemo to become his heir to the throne. Morpheus gives Nemo a golden key that opens every door in the kingdom and warns him of a door with a dragon insignia that must never be opened. Nemo is introduced to Princess Camille and the pair roam the entirety of Slumberland together. Afterward, Nemo meets the mischievous clown, Flip, who angers a group of cops and forces him and Nemo to hide out in a cave. There, Nemo discovers the door that Morpheus warned him not to open. Flip tempts Nemo into unlocking the door, which unleashes "the nightmare". Nemo rushes back to Morpheus' castle in time for his coronation ceremony, where Nemo is handed the royal scepter, the only thing capable of defeating the Nightmare King the ruler of Nightmare Land, should he ever return to Slumberland. In the middle of a dance session between Morpheus and Genius, "The Nightmare" reaches the castle and steals Morpheus away. As the partygoers search for a scapegoat, Flip and Nemo reveal each other responsible for The Nightmare's escape, since Morpheus gave Nemo the key and it was Flip's idea to open the door.

Nemo awakens in his home, which floods with seawater and ejects him into the ocean. Genius discovers Nemo and tells him not to blame himself for all that has happened and that Flip is to blame. When the two return to Slumberland, Flip reveals that he has a map to Nightmare Land, where Morpheus is currently being held. Nemo, Icarus, Camille, Flip, and Genius set off in a tugboat in search of Morpheus. They are soon sucked into a whirlpool and find themselves in the monster-infested Nightmare Land. The five come across a group of shapeshifting goblins who wish to aid in the quest to rescue Morpheus. The Nightmare King sends a flock of fearsome and gigantic bats to seize the rescue party. Nemo attempts to use the scepter but awakens in his bed instead. The goblins appear in Nemo's room and the group travels to Nightmare Castle by flying through a hole in the sky. However, they are subsequently imprisoned in the castle, where the Nightmare King demands possession of the scepter. Nemo soon uses the scepter to finally eliminate and defeat the Nightmare King but almost at the cost of Nemo's life. Slumberland celebrates the fall of the Nightmare Kingdom. Camille escorts Nemo home on the dirigible. The two share a kiss after which Nemo awakens in his room, where he apologizes to his mother for breaking his promise and trying to take the pie. Nemo's parents also agree to take Nemo to the circus. Nemo stares out the window as he reflects on his adventure.

The novel tells the story of two cousins, Jean Taconnat and Marcel Lornans, travelling from Cette, France, to Oran, Algeria, with the purpose of enlisting in the 5th regiment of the ''Chasseurs D'Afrique''.

Sailing to Oran aboard the ''Argelès'', they meet Clovis Dardentor, a wealthy industrialist. Jean and Marcel, whose desire to travel to Africa arises from their pursuit of financial independence, find out that Clovis —an unmarried man, with no family— has left no heirs to his fortune.

Yet Marcel, well-versed in the Law, knows that any person who were to save Clovis' life either from a fight, from drowning, or from a fire, would have to be adopted by Clovis. The cousins come to a plan: They will find a way to save Clovis' life, so that he will indeed be legally required to adopt them.

Clovis saves the cousins' lives: Marcel is saved from a fire, and Jean is saved from drowning.

Eventually, while Jean continues to look for the opportunity to save Clovis' life, Marcel falls in love with Louise Elissane, the prospective daughter-in-law of one of Clovis' acquaintances, the unpleasant Desirandelle family. Louise becomes a key character in the novel, for it is she who saves Clovis Dardentor's life.

In the end, Louise is adopted by Clovis, and marries Marcel.

Ms Martin, the CEO of Tri-Oceanic Corp., hires geologist Steven Beck to supervise an undersea mining operation for three months. The crew consists of members Dr. Glen 'Doc' Thompson, Elizabeth 'Willie' Williams, Buzz 'Sixpack' Parrish, Justin Jones, Tony DeJesus Rodero, Bridget Bowman and G.P. Cobb. While working outside their deep sea station in a pressure suit, Sixpack discovers a Soviet shipwreck, ''Leviathan''. The crew salvage a safe from ''Leviathan'', finding records detailing the deaths of several crew members as well as a video log from the captain. Sixpack also finds a flask of vodka which he shares with Bowman. Doc and Beck review the captain's video, which describes puzzling medical problems amongst his crew. They also discover that ''Leviathan'' was scuttled.

The following morning, Sixpack feels sick and Doc discovers lesions along his back. He dies a few hours later, but Doc and Beck say nothing to the group to avoid a panic. Doc checks the crew to confirm no one else is sick, but does not have the chance to examine Bowman. While Beck and Doc confer with Martin on the surface, Bowman begins feeling ill. She finds Sixpack's corpse, which is mutating and growing. When Bowman's hair starts falling out, she realizes the same thing is happening to her. Beck and Doc request emergency evacuation, but Martin reports a severe storm on the surface that will delay evacuation for 12 hours.

Doc finds that Bowman killed herself. Her body is taken to sickbay, where it merges with Sixpack's. When the crew discovers the mutating bodies, they decide to dump both of them in the ocean. As they are about to "flush" the cadavers, the body bag begins squirming. Believing someone inside may be alive, the crew opens it. The creature inside claws Cobb before they eject it. They realize that ''Leviathan'' was experimenting on its unwitting crew with mutagens. The mutagen was mixed with the vodka that the crew drank; Sixpack and Bowman, later encountering the bevarage, also partook in it. The ship was scuttled when the experiment escaped control.

A tentacle was severed when the corpses were ejected; it mutates into a lamprey-like creature that attacks DeJesus in the kitchen. Jones seals the kitchen's pressure doors and goes for help. He asks Cobb to watch the door, but when he searches for a weapon, the creature assimilates DeJesus and rips its way out of the kitchen. It then grows tentacles that attack the crew.

The creature attacks the medical bay, devouring blood and plasma from the cooler. This inspires Beck to use a pint of his blood to attract the beast, then attempt to flush it the same way they did with the Sixpack and Bowman creature. Doc ejects the escape pods so that no one can escape and risk bringing the mutagen to the surface. Beck consults with Martin for emergency evacuation. Martin assures them that they will not be left behind, but that she cannot carry out the rescue because of a hurricane.

Cobb's injuries worsen, causing him to mutate and infect Doc. Williams escapes as Beck and Jones try trapping the creature. They escape to another part of the station. The crew tries accessing weather information through the computer, but it is blocked. Williams asks the computer for a financial report from the company and they discover that Tri-Oceanic Corporation has declared them dead, labeling it an accident.

The creature damages vital systems, causing the pressure to drop and an implosion to occur. They decide to use their dive suits to escape. The creature attacks them, but is crushed by the lift as Beck escapes. They make it to the surface, which is calm and sunny. As they are met by a Coast Guard helicopter, the mutant surfaces nearby and tries to kill Jones. He keeps it from escaping but sacrifices himself, and Beck throws a demolition charge into the creature's mouth, which causes it to blow up.

After they are dropped off on a Tri-Oceanic oil drilling platform, the two survivors are greeted by Martin. Martin tells them she believed they would make it, smiling insincerely and asking how Beck feels. Beck punches Martin in the face, knocking her out, and then answers her question by saying "Better. A lot better."

Alvin Johnson (Nick Cannon) is an extremely intelligent nerd skilled in designing car engines. He has also taken up a job as a pool cleaner, to raise money to buy a camshaft, a part needed to build an engine for a scholarship project that will ensure him a full ride to the school of his choice. Alvin has always dreamed of hanging out with the popular kids, especially Paris Morgan (Christina Milian), a beautiful, popular cheerleader dating NBA star Dru Hilton (Elimu Nelson). When Paris crashes her mother's expensive SUV during an argument with Dru, Alvin agrees to repair the car using the money he had earned for his project, jeopardizing his scholarship opportunity, after a few missteps, Paris eventually pays him back by giving him a $1,500 makeover and agreeing to pretend for two weeks that she's dating Alvin.

Alvin then begins to ingratiate himself with the popular crowd. He and Paris grow closer as she shares with him her secret love of music and he shares with her that he knows how to build car engines. Paris begins to develop feelings for Alvin and at the end of their two-week dating period, she tries to hint that she would like to kiss him. However, Alvin misinterprets her and goes along with their original plan of a public break up at school.

Even after the break up, Alvin continues to grow in popularity, alienating his former nerdy friends and flirting with Paris's friends. Paris is unhappy to realize how shallow and vapid her friends are, and by extension, Alvin. Tired of him constantly ditching them in favor of the popular kids, Alvin's friends confront him on the matter, during which Alvin's sister Aretha overhears. She comes to realize that Alvin paid Paris to date her seeing how he has nothing of value after his big makeover. She tells their parents, who attempt to talk to Alvin, but he blows them off.

At the end of the year on Senior Ditch Day, Paris asks Alvin to hang out as real friends, but a newly egotistical Alvin insults her. They argue and storm off from each other. Dru is also at the party to meet up with Paris but breaks up with her when he finds out she had been "dating" Alvin. In an attempt to win Dru back, Paris reveals the truth about her and Alvin to the whole school, and Alvin is immediately ostracized. Now back to being unpopular, Alvin finally realizes he does not have the camshaft for his project.

Alvin's father Clarence (Steve Harvey) pays for the camshaft, telling Alvin that they will work out a plan later to pay him back while also explaining to Alvin that he'd supported his sudden transformation because he wanted Alvin to have the same experiences he did while he was in high school, seeing as he was one of the most popular guys at his school. He also admits that he didn't have Alvin's brains or potential but he's always been proud of his son. With this confidence restored, Alvin builds an engine with the part his dad bought. Alvin's friends push the broken car they had been working on into the garage. They congratulate him on a job well done on completing the engine but are still angry with him for blowing them off. Alvin sees that their car needs a new engine so he installs the one he just built to restore their car, telling them to let him have it sometime within that next week so he can present it to the scholarship committee. Alvin's friends forgive him.

Together, they all attend a school basketball game where Alvin stands up for his nerd friends against the basketball players. Alvin finally redeems himself in front of everyone and his friends become friendly with the popular crowd. Alvin leaves the gymnasium, and as Paris follows him out, she is stopped by Dru. Paris blows him off and chases after Alvin. They finally kiss and agree to start a real relationship.

There are a total of four Man-Kzin Wars, as well as major and minor "Kzinti incidents". The First War began circa 2367. By this time, Human space was in the middle of the "Long Peace". ARM, the United Nations security force, has completely suppressed all "dangerous" technologies, histories, mental illnesses, and media, leading to not only an end of war and almost all violent crimes, but a change in society so vast that most people have a difficulty even conceptualizing such things.

The U.N.'s reach was limited to Earth, however. There were a number of other colonies in space, the most important being the Asteroid Belt, Wunderland, We Made It, Jinx, and Plateau.

First Man-Kzin War

The Kzinti, with vast technical superiority (including gravity drives, telepaths, and a large military empire), detected a human colonization ship in deep space, the ''Angel's Pencil''. After the Kzin telepath learned that the humans were unarmed and didn't even understand the concept of weapons, they attempted to kill the human crew in a slow, painful manner using an inductive heating weapon hoping to capture their ship intact for intelligence purposes. However, one of the humans used the ship's powerful drive system (which doubled as interstellar communications laser) as a weapon and destroyed the Kzin ship, beginning the First Man-Kzin War. The crew then warned Earth of the warlike aliens, although the transmissions were initially dismissed as an outbreak of psychosis. Then a similar encounter between another human ship and Kzin vessel led to the destruction of the more primitive human ship. However, one of the human prisoners, with the aid of a rogue telepath, was able to escape to the ''Angel's Pencil'' and warn them of the danger from their increasing penetration into Kzinti space.

In the course of the First Man-Kzin War, the Kzinti invaded and occupied the human colony of Wunderland, in the Alpha Centauri system, as a staging point for an attack on Earth. Human ships attempting escape back to Earth were shot down, but a single vessel managed to carry some refugees to the sister colony We Made It. The Kzinti fleet moved on to Earth, but in a replay of first contact, the peaceful humans used laser communications, fusion drives, and mass drivers to cut the first invasion fleet to ribbons. Over the next several decades, three more fleets were launched against Earth, and all were beaten back. However, after near defeat by the fourth fleet, it was becoming clear to Earth's military leaders that the Kzinti were learning to wage war more effectively than their traditional "scream and leap" tactics, and that the Solar system's defenses would quickly succumb to the Kzinti's superior numbers, firepower, and technology, were it only wielded with a modicum of tactical and strategic sense. In order to delay the next attack, a Terran Bussard ramjet starship was utilized to transport and deploy several relativistic kill vehicles in the Wunderland system. Using iron slugs accelerated to 99% of the speed of light, it devastated a portion of the planet, killing humans and Kzinti alike and delaying the launch of yet another Kzin fleet against Earth. A number of specialists traveled aboard this ship, using Slaver stasis fields for lithobraking, and successfully assassinated the Kzin military leader on Wunderland, Chuut-Riit. Despite this setback for the Kzin cause, preparations for a fifth and decisive assault fleet were nearing completion.

At this point, a passing Outsider ship sold the colony of We Made It the manual for a hyperdrive, a technology unknown to the Kzinti. Dimity Carmody, an escapee from Wunderland and a genius who had toyed with FTL drive concepts since before the occupation, managed to construct a working prototype drive using the manual. Hyperdrive ships were dispatched to Earth, where the faster-than-light drive was installed on several ships for a preemptive attack on the Fifth Invasion fleet. The attack hit the Kzin amidst internal struggles following the death of their leader. Due to the huge success, Wunderland was quickly liberated, freeing the fleet to attack other Kzinti worlds. The FTL drive allowed the human fleets to coordinate and concentrate their forces beyond anything the Kzinti could manage, even letting them outrun and jam the news of each successive Kzin defeat. The first indication the Kzinti Patriarchy had that much of the Kzin empire was gone and that a significant percentage of all Kzinti had died was when human warships appeared in the skies above their homeworld.

Meanwhile, however, on Wunderland, now liberated by humans, several surviving Kzin, led by Vaemar-Riit, last surviving kitten of Chuut-Riit, and with the cooperation of Dimity Carmody, Nils Rykermann, Leonie Rykermann and other humans, began to cautiously cooperate with humans and try to learn human ways. Vaemar-Riit even enrolled at a human university and obtaining a reserve officer's commission. These became known as the Wunderkzin, and some later proved to be human allies. This slowly growing Man-Kzin co-operation was bitterly opposed both by many other Kzin and by many revanchist humans on Wunderland, while others among the human and kzin communities on Wunderland sought to manipulate the situation for their own ends. There were also ongoing human situations - for example Nils Rykermann, a Wunderland academic, in love with Dimity Carmody, married Leonie Rykermann, one of his students, during the occupation, believing Dimity to be dead. This situation has not been resolved. There was also a somewhat ambiguous growing relationship between Dimity and Vaemar-Riit; the two are depicted together on the cover of ''Man-Kzin Wars XI''.

The war ends in 2433 with the signing of the MacDonald-Rishaii Peace Treaty. The vast majority of the ''Man-Kzin Wars'' stories are set around the First War.

"The Peace"

Following the end of hostilities, the Human forces use their hyperdrive ships to initiate a blockade of all Kzinti worlds within range of Human space. The Kzinti of both their homeworld and the prominent colony of W'kkai begin researching hyperdrive technology in an attempt to break the blockade, with the High Admiral of W'kkai also hoping to overthrow the Patriarch. Due to the treachery of Ulf Reichstein Markham, the Kzinti of Kzin gain access to hyperdrive designs and an engineer familiar with them in 2438. During this time, the Kdaptist religion spreads among the Kzinti.

On Wunderland, an attempt is made to form a stable, democratic government. On Earth, although no one seriously believes the Kzin will stay away, the ARM returns to its old habits of trying to eliminate all knowledge and technology of war. We Made It continues to create hyperdrives, as the Human military forces attempt to reverse-engineer Kzinti gravity technology. They also attempt to locate and form an anti-Kzin alliance with the Pierin aliens (although according to the Ringworld RPG, the Pierin may already be enslaved at this point).

A troika of officers - Belter General Lucas Fry, flatlander Major Yankee Clandeboye, and Wunderlander Admiral Blumenhandler - established a semi-covert training center on Barnard's Starbase where unconventional officers devise plans for fighting hyperdrive-equipped Kzinti in the second war, as human tactics in the first were restricted by their own ignorance and by the ARM's structure (besides the liberation of Wunderland, only two other planetary assaults, on Down and Hssin, succeeded). They devise two ways to help prepare the rest of the human military: a war game called ''Trolls and Bridges'', and a book, ''The Heroic Myth of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine''. Written by Clandeboye, they are a fictionalized account of the diary of his cousin, Nora Argamentine, a U.N. officer caught by Kzinti who later rebelled against them before being gradually lobotomized. The book becomes extremely popular and helps raise morale, as well as the belief that the Kzin will attack again.

Second Man-Kzin War

All information on the second war comes from the Ringworld RPG guidebook. It begins in 2449 when the Kzinti launch "diversionary raids" on Sigma Draconis and Barnard's Star (which can probably be retconned to be due to the Barnard's Starbase from ''The Heroic Myth of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine'') and ends in 2475 with the liberation of the Kdatlyno from Kzin rule.

Third Man-Kzin War

The Third War is mentioned in the Ringworld RPG and ''The Ringworld Engineers''. According to the ''Known Space'' novel ''Juggler of Worlds'', it started in 2490.

At the end of the war, the Wunderland Treatymaker weapon is used on the Kzinti fortress-world of Warhead, creating a huge, habitable canyon on the otherwise Mars-like world. Warhead is annexed by the humans and renamed Canyon. This war is chronicled in considerable detail in the novel ''Destiny's Forge''.

Fourth Man-Kzin War

The war begins on an unknown date, with Kzinti suicide attacks on Epsilon Eridani. During the war, human adventurers engage in similar suicide attacks on Kzinti harems. The war ends in 2505 with the signing of the Covenants of Shasht, named after a Kzinti world which is annexed by Humans and later renamed Fafnir. The Kzinti are disarmed and restricted to police weapons only. This restriction was still in effect as late as 2657, as specified in ''The Soft Weapon''.

Aftermath

Over the next decades and centuries, some Kzinti dream of another war, and go through great lengths (such as piracy, seeking Slaver stasis boxes, and going to Ringworld) in an attempt to gain enough of an upper hand to begin one. There is at least one "major incident" after the Fourth War, which some humans describe as another "war" (see ''Flatlander''). However, each Man-Kzin War ended with the death of 2/3 of all Kzin currently alive, and the confiscation of two Kzinti worlds; the Kzinti finally faced the fact that another all-out war would be pointless. At the time of ''Ringworld'', Kzinti numbers are still less than an eighth of what they were when they first encountered humans.

In the events of ''Ringworld'', Nessus inadvertently reveals to Wu and Speaker-to-Animals that the Man-Kzin Wars were engineered by the Puppeteers. The Puppeteers viewed the Kzin as too dangerous and hoped a series of wars in which generations of the most aggressive Kzinti males were killed off by humans would help breed reason into the Kzinti as the preferred alternative over outright extermination. To that end, the Puppeteers used a starseed lure on Procyon to ensure that the Outsiders would equip mankind with hyperdrives, knowing that it would be the tool that would allow victory for humans.

A lewd old lady claiming to be Mother Goose (Hal Smith) has been put on trial for obscenity due to telling the "true versions" of famous fairy tales. Her evidence is presented as a collection of pornographic animated shorts, those of Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood.

Joseph Amadeus von Dracula, known as Pepe or Pepito to his friends, is a trumpet player in 1930s Havana. He spends his time away from the bandstand dabbling in quasi-terrorist plots to overthrow the Cuban government of dictator Gerardo Machado. Von Dracula is unaware that he is really a vampire, and that his uncle Werner Amadeus von Dracula, the son of Count Dracula, has been using him as a test subject for a formula that negates the usually fatal effects of sunlight.

A Chicago-based crime syndicate and a group of vampires with members from several countries in Europe have both learned of the formula and wish to possess it for different reasons—the Chicago group to suppress it and thus maintain their monopoly on indoor, artificial beach resorts, and the Europeans to market it as "Vampisol." When Pepe learns of his true heritage (and his uncle's wish to give the formula away to vampires everywhere) he becomes the target of a multi-pronged manhunt, leading all parties involved on a wild chase through some of the seediest neighborhoods of Havana.

At the film's climax, Pepe and his girlfriend Lola find themselves cornered by the Chicago vampire cartel, led by vampire mobster Johnny Terrori. He tells Pepe to have some O positive blood as his last drink, the blood type which vampires consider to be the most delicious. However, when he spits it out in disgust, Terrori realizes that Pepe's dislike of drinking blood, the fact that he was harmed by a lead bullet earlier (vampires can only be harmed by silver bullets), and that he is completely impervious to sunlight (it instantly kills vampires) means that Pepe has stopped being a vampire.

Terrori loses interest in the Vampisol formula, realizing that its effect is to turn vampires into humans. However, the leader of the European vampires suggests a deal with his counterparts from Chicago, whereby they can encourage vampires to take small amounts of Vampisol in the summer and visit the mobsters' artificial beaches in the winter. Both groups believe that they are going to make a fortune from Vampisol but, as a final resolution, Pepe sings instructions on how to prepare the formula over the radio to vampires worldwide, instructing them to use it sparingly to avoid becoming human. The Vampisol formula becomes financially worthless and both vampire cartels find themselves defeated.

At the very end of the film a vampire addresses the audience and says, "Be careful, because that guy next to you on the beach... might just be a vampire!"

The play is set in Antioch, about two millennia ago, where Simon Peter calls on four students of the Cherintos Academy - John, Mark, Matthew and Luke, the writers of the New Testament - to write four "books" about the life of Jesus. The play tells the story of Jesus in a manner very different from that of the New Testament, with many subversions of plot. For example, in the play, Peter is portrayed as a negative character, violent, misogynistic and accused of killing Jesus. Additionally, Mary Magdalene is shown as performing oral sex on Jesus while washing his feet, while the Last Supper is shown as a violent gathering in which Peter kills all of the other apostles.

Characters

There are 24 playable characters in the game. Some of them can only be obtained in normal or hard mode.

Lenneth is the primary protagonist of ''Valkyrie Profile'', a recently awakened warrior-maiden and servant of Odin, who has been tasked with recruiting the einherjar to fight with the Æsir in their war against the Vanir and prevent the destruction of Asgard in Ragnarok. Lenneth is one of the three goddesses of fate (the other two being her sisters, Hrist and Silmeria) the three apparently share the same body, though only one is awake at any given time and can be distinguished by their hair color and armor.

Loki is revealed to be the final antagonist of ''Valkyrie Profile''. He is half-Æsir and half-Vanir by blood. Although he has been accepted by the Æsir, he is not completely trusted by either side. Odin and Freya sealed his power so that he remains a young version of himself. He seeks the power of the Four Treasures, which will give him the power to challenge Odin.

Story

In the village of Coriander, a 14-year-old girl named Platina lives with her cruel parents. The village falls upon hard times and her friend Lucian finds out that her parents are going to sell her into slavery. The two run away, but Platina inhales the toxic pollen of poisonous flowers in a nearby field and dies in Lucian's arms.

Lenneth Valkyrie awakens in Asgard and is tasked by the god Odin and goddess Freya with recruiting the einherjar for their war with the Vanir and the coming of Ragnarok. Her first recruits are the princess Jelanda and mercenary Arngrim. After the arrogant Arngrim inadvertently embarrasses her father, Jelanda plots revenge but is kidnapped by a traitorous court minister and transformed into a monster. Lenneth helps Arngrim kill the monster and claims Jelanda as an einherjar. Arngrim, having unknowingly aided Jelanda's captors, kills the man responsible but commits suicide rather than be arrested. At Jelanda's request, Lenneth makes Arngrim an einherjar but Odin and Freya find him lacking the qualities of an einherjar and refuse to accept him into Valhalla so Arngrim remains at Lenneth's side.

During Lenneth's travels, she meets Brahms, lord of the undead and enemy of Odin, who possesses her sister Silmeria (due to circumstances explained in ''Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria''); and the necromancer Lezard Valeth, who lures her to his tower. Lenneth learns that Lezard has been experimenting with half-elven homunculi to use as vessels to attain godhood. Lezard wants Lenneth for himself, but she refuses to cooperate and destroys his experiments. The sorceress Mystina, one of Lezard's rivals, discovers what he has been doing and takes his last remaining homunculus. When he discovers her theft, Lezard freezes her body while she is spirit walking, effectively killing her. Lenneth recruits her, though Odin and Freya refuse to accept Mystina into Valhalla and, like Arngrim, she remains with Lenneth.

B Ending

Playing through the game normally means that Ragnarok is fought at the Jotunheim Ice Fields, where the Æsir army under Thor's leadership charges the Vanir to open a path for Lenneth to storm the Jotunheim Palace and defeat Surt. At the start of the final stage, all surviving einherjar that she has sent to Valhalla rejoin the party.

Lenneth and company fight their way past Bloodbane, which awards her the sword Levantine (Levatienn), and on to the throne room, where Surt awaits and draws his flaming sword. When he is struck down, the Æsir prevail and the eternal reign of Odin and the Asgardians is assured as Freya puts Lenneth to sleep until she is needed again.

A Ending

Considered the true ending of the game, it fully explores the story and Lenneth's origins.

Lenneth eventually meets Lucian, who grew up to become a poor thief in Gerabellum. He notices that Lenneth resembles the silver-haired Platina, though Lenneth does not know who Platina is. Lucian later becomes an einherjar when he is killed by soldiers cleaning up the slums. Before he is sent to Valhalla, Lucian tells Lenneth he still loves Platina. Lenneth tells him to forget about her and kisses him before she sends him to Valhalla, but Lucian continues to brood upon Lenneth and Platina. Although Lenneth laments that love between mortals and gods is not possible after his departure, she states that she hopes he lives so they may meet again.

Meanwhile, in Valhalla, Lucian learns that valkyries "sleep" in Midgard, reincarnating in Asgard upon their human deaths. However, Odin and Freya seal their memories, as they might interfere with their valkyrie duties. Loki tells Lucian that the Water Mirror can be used to contact the valkyrie, though it is forbidden for anyone besides Odin to use. Lucian does so anyway and gives Lenneth an earring, telling her she will know where to find its match, but Lenneth is angry at him for his disobedience. Loki uses the distraction to steal the Dragon Orb and kills Lucian, using him as a scapegoat to cover his theft. When Lenneth returns to Asgard, Freya tells her of the Dragon Orb's theft and Lucian's death.

Lenneth finds the other earring at Platina's grave and her memories as Platina return. Sensing that the seal is broken, Odin performs the Sovereign's Rite, transmigrating Lenneth's soul and summoning Hrist. Hrist takes control of the valkyrie's body and tries to destroy her companions Arngrim and Mystina, who refuse to serve her, but Lenneth intervenes. The blast shatters Lenneth's soul and Mystina crystallizes the fragments to prevent them from dissipating. Lezard joins them and attempts to salvage the situation by fusing Lenneth's soul to a man-made Homunculus body, but it is a temporary measure with Lenneth's soul still decaying. To fully restore Lenneth's soul requires fusing it to valkyrie's original body whom Hrist is occupying. Hrist's challenges the Vampire King, Brahms, to a duel on behalf of Odin's long ongoing war against the undead whom consume, desecrate, and defile the natural order of the living. Brahms allies with Arngrim, Mystina, and Lezard to defeat Hrist and separate her soul from valkyrie's body. Mystina and Lezard fuse Lenneth's soul, homunculus body, and the valkyrie's body to have Lenneth reborn. Her memories of Lucian and Platina intact, Lenneth is disgusted with how the gods manipulate humans and the suffering they cause.

Loki betrays the Æsir and travels deep within enemy Vanir territory to Jotunheim Palace. He offers Surt, the King of the Vanir, two of the four treasures along with Fenrir. They include the Dragon Orb and the Levantine sword within the Dragon Bloodbane. Ragnarok occurs and Loki, with the power of the Dragon Orb, takes his adult form. Surt refuses his offer and is defeated by Loki. His new powers allow him to heavily besiege Asgard into ruin. He turns his attention to the Æsir, engaging Odin in battle. As one never truly accepted by the Æsir or the Vanir, Loki seeks to destroy everything. Though Odin is armed with the spear Gungnir, one of the Four Treasures, he is forced to divide its power to protect Freya. With the power divided between two, Loki overpowers and kills him.

Returning to Asgard, Lenneth slays Fenrir and the dragon Bloodbane before confronting Loki. Lenneth obtains the demon sword Levantine, another one of the Four Treasures, from Bloodbane and uses it in her battle with Loki. He reveals to her that she cannot utilize all the power of a Divine Treasure unless she is willing to sacrifice her friends (as dividing a Treasure's power is exactly what Odin did to save Freya, and died because of it). Loki unleashes the full power of the Dragon Orb, killing all of Lenneth's companions and destroying both Asgard and Midgard. Lenneth undergoes the process of fusing her soul back together with the valkyrie and homunculus body which allows her divine powers to grow. Her compassion for mankind and love for Lucian allows her to acquire the power of creation. Lenneth undoes Loki's destruction and kills him, becoming the new Lord of Creation. She then turns to see Lucian, who has been reborn, and the two are reunited. Having recreated both Asgard and Midgard, and revived Midgard's humans who were killed, all of humanity has become Lenneth's einherjar.

Setting

There are two main settings in ''Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria'': Midgard, the realm of mortal men, and Asgard, the realm of the Gods. Midgard is the world of men, a place stricken by war, famine, and disease; with the taint of death everywhere. Throughout history, the fate of Midgard has been influenced by the Gods on numerous occasions, but now the kingdom of Dipan is set upon resisting such divine interference.

Asgard is the world of the Æsir, ruled over by Odin, Lord of the Heavens. In Asgard lies the Hall of Valhalla, where the einherjar, the brave souls of the fallen, reside. The Æsir occasionally influence the course of history in Midgard in an effort to preserve the order of the universe.

''Valkyrie Profile 2'' takes place in an alternate timeline from the first game: in ''Valkyrie Profile'', Silmeria was imprisoned within a crystal and taken by Brahms; here, Brahms is the one imprisoned within a crystal. Events that should have happened did not because of a certain character's interference with history.

Story

The game's story is independent of and not directly related to the first ''Valkyrie Profile'' and takes place hundreds of years before the first game. ''Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria'' is about two characters, Silmeria and Alicia, who are contained in the same body. Silmeria is one of the valkyries tasked with collecting the souls of brave warriors and delivering them to Valhalla. After she disobeyed Odin, he reincarnated her in the body of Alicia, the Princess of Dipan.

Silmeria was supposed to remain trapped, but she awakens in the body of the Princess, which makes many people think that Alicia is insane or possessed. The king imprisons her and announces her death, but unbeknownst to the public he sends her to live in a small palace outside the city of Crell Monferaigne. In the pre-game prologue, Odin sends the current valkyrie, Hrist, to take Silmeria's soul back to Valhalla. Escaping from Hrist, Alicia/Silmeria flee into the wilderness, where they try to evade capture and attempt to avert a catastrophe that could spark a war between the Gods and Midgard.

Chapter 1: Defiers of the Gods

The game begins in the port of Solde. Learning that the ferry is out of service, Alicia/Silmeria plans to enter Dipan through the secret Royal Underground Path. Seeing Rufus, a half-elf archer wearing a special ring, Alicia/Silmeria hires him to accompany them to Dipan, although Rufus has his own reasons for helping. As they journey through the underground ruins to Dipan, Alicia finds an old necklace and Silmeria calls forth Dylan, the most powerful of her former einherjar.

Chapter 2: Darkness in Dipan

Alicia/Silmeria, Rufus, and Dylan enter Dipan where Rufus decided to leave the party, Alicia requests him to stay, Rufus go on talking until he discovers that Silmeria is within Alicia silmeria switched with alicia and started introducing herself, Rufus looks on his ring and decided to stay with them. They sneak into the palace, finding demonic research and a mysterious machine before being discovered by the Three Mages of Dipan. They are almost captured but Lezard Valeth, the mages' new apprentice, helps them escape. Lezard informs them that King Barbarossa and The Three Mages have delved into dangerous research, including the Sovereign's Rite, demonic transformation, and time travel, and plan to use the Dragon Orb to create a new world, free of the gods' interference. Odin cannot allow this and is planning to destroy Dipan. Alicia/Silmeria, Rufus, and Dylan decide that getting the Dragon Orb themselves is the only way to stop Odin and save Dipan.

Chapter 3: Ulterior Motives

Alicia/Silmeria, Rufus, Dylan, and Lezard head to the Serdberg Mountain Ruins, the Dragon Orb's last known location. Searching the ruins, they meet Leone and Arngrim, two mercenaries who agree to help in exchange for any treasure they find. Silmeria recognizes that Leone is Hrist in disguise, but fearing a confrontation, does not expose her to the others. Discovering the Dragon Orb gone from the ruins, Silmeria uses her powers to follow its magical trail throughout Midgard. While searching Audoula Temple On The Lake, Rufus' ring is knocked off, causing him to go into convulsions before it is replaced. Rufus reveals why he is helping Silmeria: as the only other half-elf, Odin keeps him around in case of injury (the Ring of Mylinn he wears keeps him from aging) and should Odin ever transfer into Rufus' body, Rufus would cease to exist. Silmeria's rebellion provides an opportunity to escape his fate. The group eventually finds the Dragon Orb's final resting place in the Palace of the Venerated Dragon where Hrist reveals herself, escaping with Arngrim and the Dragon Orb.

Chapter 4: Wrath of the Gods

Hrist takes the Dragon Orb to Valhalla and Odin orders Dipan's destruction. Alicia/Silmeria, Rufus, Dylan, and Lezard return to Dipan but are too late to prevent Hrist from destroying the city and executing King Barbarossa. They confront Hrist and as Alicia/Silmeria and Hrist duel, the Three Mages cast the Sovereign's Rite, transmigrating Silmeria's and Hrist's souls from their bodies. Brahms reveals himself from within Dylan's body and stops them, at which point Freya appears and tries to apprehend him. This is where the timelines of ''Valkyrie Profile'' and ''Valkyrie Profile 2'' diverge:

• In the original timeline, Silmeria, separated from Alicia's body, blocks Freya's spell, becoming crystallized herself. Brahms escaped with Silmeria, explaining why she was crystallized in his castle in ''Valkyrie Profile''.
• In the altered timeline, Lezard, unknown to the others, casts his own spell and captures Silmeria. Without Silmeria's intervention, Freya crystallizes Brahms and returns with him and Hrist to Valhalla, though she cannot explain the strange distortion (from Lezard's spell) during the encounter nor why Silmeria vanished.

Chapter 5: The Invisible Hand

Alicia awakens to find Silmeria absent, Brahms and Lezard gone. She and Rufus decide to retrieve the Dragon Orb themselves. They journey through the Forest of Spirits, cross into Asgard, and climb to the top of Yggdrasil, where they confront Odin and Freya. Lezard reappears, and offers to aid Alicia in defeating Odin, but it is revealed that he only does this to obtain Odin's soul. Using Silmeria's captured soul, he casts a spell causing Odin to transmigrate, which also displaces Rufus' soul, before teleporting away with Odin's body and soul. Freya, unable to do anything, retreats. Alicia is able to use the Ring of Mylinn to rematerialize Rufus and restore him to his body.

Alicia and Rufus descend from Yggdrasil and head to Valhalla, where they meet Arngrim, who asks to accompany them in penance for his past actions. The three of them find the Dragon Orb and the crystallized Brahms, along with Hrist and Freya. Hrist wants their help rescuing Silmeria, but Freya refuses to negotiate with humans and attacks them. Fed up with the gods trying to kill her einherjar, Hrist stops Freya by using the Dragon Orb, transporting Alicia, Rufus, Arngrim, Brahms, and Hrist into Lezard Valeth's twisted world.

Chapter 6: The Twisted World Tree

Finding themselves on Lezard's twisted world tree, Brahms and Hrist agree to a truce when Lenneth arrives, having come from her future to stop Lezard who, using the machine in Dipan (a time machine), traveled back in time and changed history. Ascending the tree, they rescue Silmeria, whom Alicia rematerializes into Valkyrie form. Their reunion is short-lived, though, when Lezard reveals that his target all along has been Lenneth. Having absorbed Odin's soul and power, Lezard casts the Sovereign's Rite, transmigrating the three Valkyries, and takes Lenneth's soul. Without bodies, the Valkyries will fade away so Alicia rematerializes Hrist's and Silmeria's souls into crystals until Lenneth can be freed. Following Lezard into his fortress atop the tree, they fight Lezard and shatter Lenneth's crystal prison. The three Valkyries combine their souls, using Alicia's body to form a single true Valkyrie. The Valkyrie defeats Lezard, but he stabs her before he dies, causing Alicia's body and soul to dissipate. Rufus and Arngrim return to Midgard with the Dragon Orb but Brahms decides to stay and die as Lezard's world crumbles; it is the only place where he is mortal.

The three Valkyries' souls are shown separating again, the fates of Hrist and Silmeria are unknown while a new future awaits Lenneth she returns to her own timeline in the present. Years later, Rufus is traveling through Coriander Village when he sees a young girl resembling Alicia, suggesting that her soul has been reincarnated. A young Lezard is also shown sitting on a fence if Valkyrie is not used during the final battle. This may suggest that Lezard's soul was also reincarnated.

The teenage Chris is on holiday at Saint-Tropez with her mother Claude, while her father remains at work in Paris. After seducing a married friend of her parents and undergoing an abortion, she is looking forward to new sexual adventures. Initially she falls for the older Romain, whose interest is in supplying young girls to rich men. For himself, Romain is far more interested in the mother Claude, who gradually thaws to his approaches and becomes his enthusiastic lover. Put out at this, Chris befriends a German married couple but, after a threesome in their hotel room, the husband leaves in disgust. While starting a romance with the abandoned wife (Barbara), Chris murders Romain in order to thwart her mother.

An inexperienced young actress is invited to play a role in a film based on Dostoevsky's novel ''Demons''. The film director, a Czech immigrant in Paris, takes over her life, and in a short time she is unable to draw the line between acting and reality. She winds up playing a real-life role posing as the dead wife of another Czech immigrant, who is manipulated by the filmmaker into committing a political assassination.

Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) is a "mechanic" (a top assassin). He works exclusively for a secret international organization that has very strict rules. Bishop regularly listens to classical music, has an art collection, and is a connoisseur of fine wines. However, he is forced to live alone - he cannot show emotions or trust people. Bishop is under constant emotional pressure, so much so that he is prescribed anti-depressants for depression. One day he is temporarily hospitalized after he loses consciousness due to the stress. Bishop pays a call girl (Jill Ireland) to have a simulated romantic social and sexual relationship, including her writing fake love letters to him.

When Bishop is assigned one of the organization's heads, "Big Harry" McKenna (Keenan Wynn), he shoots at Big Harry while making him think that the shots are being fired by a hidden sniper. Harry, who Bishop knows has a weak heart, runs up a steep incline, which triggers a heart attack. Bishop then finishes Harry off by smothering him.

At Big Harry's funeral, Bishop runs into Harry's narcissistic, ruthless and ambitious son Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent). Steve is intrigued by Bishop and seeks to find out more about him. Bishop is also intrigued, as he realizes that Steve has a personality suited for being a hit man, and plays along. As part of his training, Bishop teaches Steve that "every person has a weakness, and that once this weakness is found, the target is easy to kill." However, Bishop failed to get his superiors' prior consent for the arrangement. Following a messy assassination conducted by Bishop and Steve, the organization warns Bishop that his irresponsible choice to involve Steve has been interpreted as selfish behavior.

The organization then gives Bishop an urgent mission, this time in Italy. Once again, Bishop involves Steve in the new plan, but just before they leave Bishop happens to find among Steve's belongings a file containing information about Bishop. This file is very similar to the files Bishop prepared for his targets. Nevertheless, Bishop allows Steve to go with him to Italy.

In Italy, Bishop and Steve approach a boat where their intended victim is supposed to be, but it becomes apparent that this was a trap and they are the real targets. Bishop and Steve are ambushed, but they manage to kill all their would-be assassins.

His apprenticeship apparently complete, Steve shares a celebratory bottle of wine with Bishop, having coated the latter's glass with brucine, a colorless and deadly alkaloid. When Bishop realizes that he has been poisoned, he asks Steve if it was because Bishop had killed Steve's father. Steve responds that he had not realized his father was murdered. Steve taunts Bishop, saying "You said every man has his jelly spot. Yours was you just couldn't cut it alone." Steve goes on to reveal that he was not acting on orders to kill Bishop.

Steve returns to Bishop's home to pick up the Ford Mustang he had left there. He finds a note affixed to the rear-view mirror, which reads: "Steve, if you read this it means I didn't make it back. It also means you've broken a filament controlling a 13-second delay trigger. End of game. Bang! You're dead." As Steve frantically reaches for the door handle, the car explodes.

The English village of Wall lies near a stone wall that borders the magical kingdom of Stormhold. A guard prevents anyone from crossing. Dunstan Thorne tricks the guard and crosses over the wall to a marketplace. He meets an enslaved princess named Una, who offers him a glass snowdrop in exchange for a kiss. They spend the night together. Nine months later, the Wall guard delivers a baby to Dunstan, saying the baby's name is Tristan.

Eighteen years later, the dying King of Stormhold throws a ruby into the sky, decreeing that his successor will be the first of his fratricidal sons to recover it. The gem hits a star, and both fall out of the sky, landing in Stormhold. The remaining princes, Primus and Septimus independently search for the stone.

In Wall, Tristan and Victoria see the falling star. He vows to retrieve it, in return for her hand in marriage. Tristan learns that his mother is from beyond the wall, but he is not able to get past the guard. He receives a Babylon candle that she left for him, which can take the user to any desired location. Tristan lights it and is transported to the fallen star, personified as a beautiful woman named Yvaine. He uses a magic chain to claim her and to take her to Victoria.

Three ancient witch sisters resolve to eat the fallen star's heart to recover their youth and replenish their powers. Their leader, Lamia, eats the remnants of an earlier star's heart, and sets off to find Yvaine. She conjures up a wayside inn as a trap.

Yvaine becomes tired, so Tristan chains her to a tree and promises to bring food. In his absence, a unicorn releases her, but unwittingly takes her to Lamia's inn. Tristan discovers Yvaine gone, but the stars whisper that she is in danger, telling him to get on a passing coach, which happens to be Primus'. They stop at the inn, interrupting Lamia's attempt to kill Yvaine. Lamia kills Primus, but Tristan and Yvaine use the Babylon candle to escape into the clouds, where they are captured by pirates in a flying ship. The leader, Captain Shakespeare, tells his crew that Tristan is his nephew and Yvaine, a friend. He provides them with new clothes, teaches Tristan how to fence and Yvaine how to dance.

Septimus discovers he is the last surviving son, and only needs to find the stone to claim the throne. He learns it is in the possession of the fallen star and realizes that the heart of a star grants immortality.

After leaving Captain Shakespeare, Tristan and Yvaine confess their love for one another and spend the night together at an inn. Next morning, Tristan leaves Yvaine sleeping and goes with a lock of her hair, to tell Victoria he has fallen in love with Yvaine. When the lock has turned to stardust, he realizes Yvaine will die if she crosses the wall, and rushes back to save her.

Yvaine finds Tristan gone, and–thinking he has abandoned her for Victoria–despondently walks toward the wall. Una notices Yvaine walking to her doom and takes the reins of Ditchwater Sal's caravan to stop her. Lamia kills Sal, and captures Una and Yvaine, taking them to the witches' manor. Septimus and Tristan both pursue Lamia, agreeing to work together for the time being. Barging into the castle, Septimus recognizes Una as his long-lost sister, and Una tells Tristan that she is his mother.

Septimus and Tristan kill two of the witches, but Lamia uses a voodoo doll to kill Septimus. Lamia is about to finish Tristan off, when she appears to break down over the loss of her sisters. Lamia frees Yvaine, but her feigned defeat was a ruse, and she tries to kill them both. As Tristan and Yvaine embrace, their love allows her to shine once again, killing Lamia.

Tristan retrieves the stone from Yvaine. Una explains that, as her son, Tristan is the last male heir of Stormhold. He becomes king with Yvaine as his queen, and Dunstan and Una are reunited. After eighty years of benevolent rule, they use a Babylon candle to ascend to the sky, where they live together as stars.

Peter Parker has recently experienced a lot of misery in his life: his best friend Harry Osborn has become a junkie, his close friend Captain George Stacy died in his arms, and Gwen Stacy – Peter's girlfriend – wrongly blamed Spider-Man for her father's death. He has a fatal thought: ''for Peter Parker to live, Spider-Man must die!'' Peter has been working on a serum to terminate his spider powers ever since he got them, and decides to take it. He then falls into a troubled sleep in which he fights all his enemies, while enduring excruciating side pains. The dream ends with George Stacy's spirit imploring Peter to keep protecting New York as Spider-Man, stating that his powers are both a blessing and a curse. When he wakes up, Peter notices a ghastly thing: he has grown four extra arms. The serum has increased his spider powers rather than nullifying them.

After rejecting an invitation to a movie from Gwen, and a late-night photo assignment from the ''Daily Bugle'', Peter, as Spider-Man, calls Dr. Curt Connors for help, who offers him his summer house as refuge. Elsewhere, Michael Morbius is found stranded in the ocean by a boat and taken aboard, only for numerous passengers to then mysteriously disappear. When the crew confronts him, Morbius attacks them and flees. As night falls and the crew goes to sleep, Morbius, now resembling a vampire, returns and feeds on their blood, but is overwhelmed by guilt and attempts to kill himself by jumping into the ocean. He washes ashore and stumbles upon Connors' summer house, which he enters before falling asleep. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is working on a cure for his condition in Connors' lab in the lower levels of the house and, frustrated, smashes a test tube. Morbius is awakened by the noise and attacks Spider-Man. As the two fight, Connors arrives and the stress of being attacked by Morbius causes him to transform into the Lizard.

Morbius and the Lizard fight over who will kill Spider-Man. Morbius manages to bite the Lizard before escaping. An enzyme in Morbius' blood allows Connors to temporarily regain control of his mind, and he joins forces with Spider-Man to track down Morbius, believing that his blood can help cure them both. Meanwhile, Morbius reflects on how he became a vampire following a failed experiment that he, his fiancée, Martine Bancroft, and his assistant worked on to cure Morbius' rare blood disease; he killed his assistant before jumping into the ocean, not wanting to hurt Martine. As Spider-Man and the Lizard search for Morbius, Gwen and Aunt May worry about Peter, as they haven't heard from him in a while, and J. Jonah Jameson reveals to Robbie Robertson that the ''Daily Bugle'' is facing financial problems. Eventually, Spider-Man and the Lizard find Morbius and defeat him, but the vampire ends up falling into the river and disappears. Nonetheless, Spider-Man managed to retrieve a blood sample from him, which he uses to cure both himself and the Lizard.

Fenn is the head of Kay's, the most unruly house in Eckleton. He tries to keep order, but is hindered by Mr Kay, who is demanding and critical of Fenn. Fenn is a skilled cricketer and admired by the members of his house for almost single-handedly getting his house's cricket team into the finals of the inter-house cricket cup. Mr Kay is uninterested in the cup and keeps Fenn from playing for part of the final match after Fenn argued with him. This results in a loss for Kay's, which upsets the members of the house. Mr Kay oversees a school concert at the end of the term, and Fenn is one of the performers. He plays a lively song which causes the students, especially the members of Kay's, to loudly stamp their feet, angering Mr Kay. He tries to restore order, but the students continue stamping and abruptly start leaving after Fenn has finished playing. The concert is prematurely brought to an end. The incident increases Mr Kay's disapproval of Fenn. Fenn expects there will be more trouble between him and Mr Kay next term.

During the summer holidays, Fenn plays cricket while his friends Kennedy and Jimmy Silver, who are both members of Blackburn's House, go to an army-style camp. An unpleasant member of Kay's named Walton makes trouble at the camp. They all return to school when the next term starts. Kennedy enjoys being a prefect in Blackburn's House, which is much more unified than Kay's. He is dismayed to learn he has been appointed the head of Kay's in place of Fenn, due to Mr Kay's disapproval of Fenn. The members of Kay's, already disorderly, resent Kennedy taking Fenn's place, and make Kennedy's task of keeping order even harder. Fenn and Kennedy are both irritated by the situation, and they have a falling-out. Walton is the leading troublemaker in Kay's, and Kennedy decides the only way to stop him is by winning a fight against him. They follow the rules of boxing and Jimmy acts as timekeeper, but Walton cheats by injuring Kennedy with an illegal hit. Jimmy tries to stop the fight, but Kennedy perseveres, and defeats Walton. His victory makes Kay's less rebellious, though the house is still as unruly as when Fenn was the head of the house.

Fenn sneaks out to the nearby town's theatre to see a show written by his older brother. Spotting Mr Kay and two other masters in the audience, he tries to return to school unseen, but gets lost. A stranger in town steals his pocket watch and he loses his prefect's cap before he finally makes it back to Eckleton at night. He sees Mr Kay, who is hunting a burglar, and pretends he is also awake because of the burglar. Fenn is concerned about being expelled for going to town without permission if the cap is found, since the cap has his name in it. Jimmy helps Fenn and Kennedy reconcile. Fenn's cap is returned to him by the Headmaster, but he is not in trouble since the cap was found among the objects taken by the burglars, who have been caught. Kennedy and Fenn, now friends again, work together to bring order to their house. Mr Kay leaves the school and a more pleasant schoolmaster, Mr Dencroft, becomes the new housemaster. Under the leadership of Kennedy and Fenn, their house, now called Dencroft's, does much better in sports than before. Dencroft's narrowly loses to Blackburn's in the inter-house rugby cup, but manages to score the most points overall in a series of races and other contests to win the sports' cup. Kennedy remarks that this is the first trophy Dencroft's has won, and Jimmy says that it will not be the last.

Jeremy Garnet, hearing that his old friend Ukridge has called while he was out, and fearing that the peace he needs to plan his next book is about to be disturbed, decides to leave London for a time. But he is too late. Ukridge arrives, with his wife Millie in tow and immediately starts explaining his new get-rich-quick scheme, involving producing hen's eggs on a farm in Dorset. Giving in to Ukridge's forceful personality, Garnet agrees to accompany him to the farm; there will, Ukridge assures him, be plenty of golf and sea-bathing available. On the train to Dorset, they are joined in a compartment by a pretty, brown-haired girl named Phyllis and her elderly Irish father. By coincidence, Phyllis is reading a copy of Garnet's new novel, given to her by Molly MacEachern.

They arrive at the house, meet hired man Beale and his wife, and settle in. Next day a consignment of hens arrives, and they spend some busy days putting up fences and building coops; Ukridge buys various supplies on credit, and begins to arrange to supply eggs to various outlets. One day, chasing an escaped hen, Garnet tumbles into a garden containing the girl from the train, her father Professor Derrick, and a friendly young navy lieutenant named Tom Chase, whose familiarity with Phyllis irks Garnet. They recapture the chicken, and Garnet is invited to lunch, stays to play croquet afterwards, and his love for Phyllis is sealed.

Soon the Ukridges invite their new neighbours over for dinner, but the cat gets stuck up the chimney and they are unable to cook. Fed cold food, and upset by Ukridge's small talk, especially on the topic of Irish Home Rule, the Professor storms out, and Garnet finds himself in his beloved's father's bad books.

The chickens become ill, and Garnet, on his way to fetch help, runs into Phyllis, who shows him some friendliness. Later, bathing at the beach, he spies the Professor, fishing from a boat. He hatches a plan, bribes a local, Harry Hawk, to upset the Professor's boat, and saves him from the sea, restoring the man's faith in him. He visits Phyllis, but is interrupted in his wooing by Chase, who hints that he is wise to Garnet's boat plot, and thrashes Garnet at tennis.

With the chicken farm struggling, a local informs Derrick of Garnet's boat plot, and he finds himself once again despised. He buries himself in the farm and his writing, but after a week he comes across Phyillis alone, and explains his actions to her. He declares his love, and she returns it, revealing that Chase is in fact engaged to her sister Norah, but adds that her father, loathing Garnet, would never consent to them marrying. On Ukridge's advice, they beard the man in the sea, and Garnet announces his love for Phyllis, but only makes Derrick angrier.

Garnet finds himself up against the Professor in the final of a local golf tournament, which, he has learned, the Professor has long been desperate to win. He plays a bad game, and wins the Professor round, giving him the match but winning his consent. Returning to the farm, he finds that the Ukridges have disappeared, apparently bolted to London to flee their creditors.

A swarm of said creditors arrive, and begin ransacking the farm; they have turned to the chickens when Ukridge returns, bearing wealth courtesy of Millie's Aunt Elizabeth. He berates the assembled throng, and sends them off with fleas in their ears. Later, Garnet finds Ukridge on the beach, and hears of his plan – to start up a duck farm...

The '''plot''', or storyline, is the rendering and ordering of the events and actions of a story. Starting with the initiating event, then the rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, and ending possibly with a resolution.

Plot consists of action and reaction, also referred to as stimulus and response and has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.

The climax of the novel consists of a single action-packed sentence in which the conflict (problem) of the novel is resolved. This sentence comes towards the end of the novel. The main part of the action should come before the climax.

Plot also has a mid-level structure: scene and sequel. A scene is a unit of drama—where the action occurs. Then, after a transition of some sort, comes the sequel—an emotional reaction and regrouping, an aftermath.

Silvestro Ferrauto is a Sicilian working as a typesetter in Milan, who beset by strange feelings of hopelessness, decides to visit Sicily after receiving a letter from his father which reveals that the father has abandoned Ferrauto's mother. Ferrauto has not visited Sicily since leaving at the age of 15 and ends up on the train to Sicily apparently without conscious thought. Ferrauto then has various conversations with a number of Sicilians on the way to, and in, Sicily. His return to Sicily and his new understanding of his mother from an adult point of view seems to calm his hopelessness. In a drunken state he seems to have a conversation with his dead brother, or at the age, he was when he was alive. The novel closes with his father sobbing in the kitchen whilst the mother scrubs his feet.

'''Roland Crane''', a wealthy map collector and dilettante archaeologist, is visited by '''Polly Gould''', a cousin of an army friend who has disappeared. She is obsessed with locating a map of '''Ireland''', torn down the middle, that her cousin discovered just before he vanished. This same map had formerly been in the possession of Roland and his family, and transported them into a strange alternate dimension. Polly believes the map holds the key to recovering her cousin, and that Roland can help her find it. Roland reluctantly agrees to help.

The two travel to Ireland and begin their search, soon learning that someone else, a mysterious and sinister man, also seeks the map. The mystery deepens when they witness the apparent abduction of another man by a strange "eye" in the sky. Finally they are offered the map at an enormous price by an old man who speaks of having used it to travel to another place, full of both treasure and terror. He fears to go back himself, as his son-in-law was trapped there.

Accepting the challenge, Roland and Polly buy and follow the map, and when they reach the place corresponding to the tear in the map, they are transported into the alternate dimension hinted at.

Though this novel bears some thematic similarities to Bulmer's later Keys to the Dimensions series, it is otherwise unrelated.

Jake Sisko is astonished to find that the Mirror Universe doppelganger of Jennifer Sisko, his late mother, is visiting Deep Space Nine. Jennifer kidnaps Jake back to the Mirror Universe, and Captain Benjamin Sisko must travel there to retrieve his son. Benjamin learns that he was lured to the Mirror Universe to help the Mirror Miles O'Brien prepare their version of the starship ''Defiant'' for battle against the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance, in what could mean freedom for the enslaved Terrans (i.e., humans). By this time, the Terrans have taken Terok Nor (the Mirror DS9), and captured the Intendant (Mirror Kira Nerys). They are preparing to defend against a recapture by the Alliance forces led by the Regent (Mirror Worf). Meanwhile, Jake bonds with Jennifer, seeing her as a second chance to have a relationship with his mother. With Benjamin Sisko in command, the rebels' ''Defiant'' wins the battle and forces the Regent to retreat. However, during the fight, the Intendant is released by Mirror Nog. In her escape, she kills Mirror Nog and Mirror Jennifer, leaving Jake beside her body, and the Siskos, father and son, must grieve the loss of Jennifer once more.

The Mirror Universe version of Vedek Bareil arrives on DS9 in the Operations transporter, taking Major Kira Nerys hostage. He promises not to hurt her as long as he can have a ship to flee the station, because he is trying to get away from the Alliance in the Mirror Universe. Sisko allows them to leave, signalling Odo with an authorisation code. When Bareil and Kira arrive at landing Pad A, Kira points out that the disrupter Bareil is holding has a cracked powercell and cannot hurt anyone. When he attempts to overpower the Major, she knocks him unconscious, and he is arrested by Odo, who appears from the airlock with security officers.

While in the holding cell, Bareil convinces Kira that he never intended to hurt anyone and that merely wants to escape the Alliance in his own universe, and begs her to destroy the device he used to transport to the Prime Universe so that he can never be taken back. Convinced, Kira tells Captain Sisko that she does not want to press charges and that she feels he should be released. Concerned, Sisko warns Kira that while Bareil may look like his Prime Universe counterpart, not to be fooled.

Mirror Universe Bareil attends a Bajoran religious ceremony with Kira and tells her that he will need all the help he can get in adjusting to his new life in the Prime Universe. Kira invites Bareil to dinner with Commanders Worf and Jadzia Dax, and afterward they go to Kira's quarters, where he tells her about his partner who died in the Mirror Universe, and Kira starts to fall for him. They spend the evening together and make love. The following day, Kira takes Bareil to the Bajoran temple to have an experience with the Orb of Prophecy at his request.

When Bareil returns to his quarters, the Intendant, Kira's Mirror Universe counterpart, comes out of the back room. She asks how their plan to steal the Orb of Prophecy is coming along. The real reason for being in the Prime Universe is to steal the Orb and return to the Mirror Universe, where the Intendant plans to use it to unite her Bajor against the Alliance. Bareil visits Quarks bar under the guise of having a drink and then scouts out the Bajoran Temple. Quark warns Major Kira that he has seen the look before and suspects that Bareil will attempt to rob the Temple of something.

Kira surprises Bareil in the temple as he is unlocking the safe where the Orb is housed. In turn Kira is surprised by the Intendent, who holds her at gunpoint. The intendent mocks the Prime Kira, saying that the last two days have all been an elaborate hoax and that the Mirror Bareil never cared for Kira and was merely using her. However, Bareil has a change of conscience and stuns the Intendant with a phaser in the middle of her taunts. Bareil explains to Kira that when he looked into the Orb, he saw Kira and himself together on Bajor with a family, building a life together. Despite what could be, he knows that he would soon find a way to ruin it, as he will always be a thief, and he belongs with someone like the Intendent. Kira says if that's the case, then he should go. Bareil transports himself and the unconscious Intendent back to the Mirror Universe, leaving the Orb behind.

Having accidentally travelled through time, astronaut Joseph Reardon lands on Earth in the year 2148 A.D. to find it a desolate realm. He meets Andro, a mutated human stricken with a disfiguring disease for which there is no cure. Andro is one of the few survivors of a biological disaster brought on by an ambitious scientist named Bertram Cabot Jr., who isolated and developed a viral symbiont from an interstellar microbe. Cabot's symbiont physically altered the human race, precluding the ability to reproduce, and turned much of Earth's landscape into a barren wasteland.

Andro laments that there is no hope for mankind to survive after the last of his generation die off. But Reardon claims there is hope, and decides to see if he can return to his own time, taking Andro with him to show others what the future will be and to prevent the disastrous outcome. However, while making the return journey through the time rift, Reardon suddenly feels himself slowly dying and mysteriously vanishes, possibly from the stress brought about by making the journey twice in one day. He manages to tell Andro to kill Cabot if he has no other way to stop him, to save billions of lives at the cost of one.

The deformed Andro can project himself as a normal human using hypnotic suggestion, and uses this ability to begin searching for some way to stop Cabot's work, even if it means his assassination. It soon becomes clear that Andro has arrived on Earth prematurely: Bertram Cabot Jr. has not been born yet, and his parents, Noelle Anderson and Bertram Cabot Sr., are only about to be married. Andro, in the guise of a normal human of the time, attempts without success to convince Cabot that he should not marry Noelle.

Andro himself begins to fall in love with Noelle. While planning to shoot Cabot during the couple's wedding ceremony with a revolver obtained from Reardon, Andro hesitates and is in turn assaulted by Cabot and his wedding party, revealing his true appearance in the process. Andro flees, but Noelle follows him. He explains his mission, and Noelle confesses that she has fallen in love with him. She convinces him to take her with him to the future, thereby avoiding any possibility that she and Cabot will have a child.

However, the flow of time has been altered by Andro and Noelle's actions: because Bertram Cabot Jr. was never born, the symbiont that made Andro's mutated existence possible never existed, meaning that Andro was also never born. Andro disappears just as the ship arrives in 2148 A.D., leaving Noelle, weeping, to face the future alone. The final scene breaks the fourth wall by showing Noelle in her spaceship chair next to a similar empty chair, on a dimly illuminated stage instead of in a spaceship.

As with the other songs on ''The Wall'', "The Show Must Go On" tells a segment of the story of Pink, the story's protagonist. This song leads into "In the Flesh", where the show is performed by Pink as he begins to mentally unravel and hallucinate that he is a fascist dictator.

Setting

''Stella Deus'' takes place in a world called Solum, which is slowly being swallowed by "Miasma", a mist-like substance that destroys all life it touches. Against this creeping apocalypse, several groups have developed responses. The Aeque Church, led by High Priestess Lumena, believes that the Miasma is God's will, sent to bring the world to an end, not with a bang, but a whimper. A warlord, Dignus, has taken to ravaging the countryside with his armies, imposing the law of the jungle: he who will not fight for his life does not to deserve to live. And finally, an alchemist named Viser is using Dignus's patronage to hunt the world's Spirits (polygonal creatures whose nature is unknown), draining their life-force to fuel his alchemic inventions, which he is sure will save the world. His friend and deputy, Spero, is the game's protagonist. Spero must make his way through this muddy political situation and see if he can save Solum.

Characters

''Stella Deus'' has a total of 21 recruitable characters. Each has their own skill sets, armament and abilities, and can be sent through a "Rank Up" process to raise stats, change class (along a linear progression) and unlock new abilities.

• '''Spero''': the main character; dual-wields katanas. Though his world-view is not especially complex, it is he who leads the quest to open the Gate of Eternity, as each of the other characters in the party is loyal primarily to him, and is generally busy keeping everyone motivated and calming hostilities.
• '''Linea''': the other main character; a shaman who fights with a bow and offensive magic. The game's epilogue reveals a budding romance between her and Spero.
• '''Avis''': prince and heir-apparent to the kingdom of Fortuna. Dignus destroyed Fortuna, and Avis has sworn revenge. Wields a longsword.
• '''Lumena''': the High Priestess of the Aeque. Though pacifistic and highly spiritual, she is an implacable foe when roused, and has an array of healing magics and a staff.
• '''Grey''': Grey's passive abilities allow him to walk farther in one turn than most other characters, and his spear allows him to strike two enemies at the same time. Grey is flippant and prone to speaking before he thinks, often leading to bickering with Adara.
• '''Adara''': an alchemist who lost an arm in an experiment by the wicked alchemist Malkar; her mechanical replacement from Viser, an "argyrion", doubles as her battle weapon. She is one of only two magic-users with an emphasis on attack spells. Outside of battle, Adara is kind-hearted and upbeat, but ashamed of her prosthetic arm.
• '''Gallant''': a taciturn man, Gallant is an axe-wielder. He is later revealed to be, like Linea, a member of the Anima people, though he does not share her affinity with Spirits.
• '''Prier''': an eleven-year-old girl and Lumena's most faithful attendant, she is sent along with the party early in the game; though she insists on Aeque doctrine at first, Spero eventually teaches her not to passively wait for a peaceful end.

Story

Spero's two best friends and companions in the hunt for Spirits are Adara, a woman who lost her arm and had it replaced by an alchemic limb, an "argyrion", and Grey, a free-wheeling jokester who rags on Adara constantly. Early in the game, they meet Linea, a member of the nearly-extinct Anima culture, and a shaman: she can talk to Spirits. She informs them that the constant death of Spirits is what is bringing on the Miasma, and that the only way to save Solum is to open the "Gate of Eternity", which will bring a fresh crop of Spirits in and push the Miasma back. Spero agrees to help her with her quest, which involves securing the aid of four elemental Summon Spirits before opening the actual Gate.

Their primary resistance comes from Lord Dignus and his lieutenants (including Viser), but allies also arrive in the form of Avis, the last heir of a kingdom Dignus destroyed, and Lumena's lover; he leads the official resistance against Dignus, along with Linea's Anima clan, and eventually brings Lumena's Meridies faction into the fold. However, the Nox faction of the Aeque becomes a major thorn in Spero's side, as its leader, Nebula, is dedicated to bringing about Solum's destruction by summoning God himself: Dies Irae, the God of Destruction. Spero must stop Nebula and Dignus both to cement the victory begun with the opening of the Gate.

Richard Lieberman, the scientist in charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives a press conference with his colleagues Jock Galvin, Dave, Matt and Nancy, and their boss, Michael Eldridge, to present their new virtual imagery simulator VIRGIL, which Eldridge claims will greatly aid in their research. Reporter Maggie Chin asks about the possibility of an eruption, which Rick dismisses as a remote possibility.

After an earthquake triggers a tsunami on one of the park's lakes, Maggie interviews Kenneth "Ken" Wylie on TV about his new book on volcanoes. Rick is upset by Ken's appearance and it is revealed that the two are brothers-in-law. Rick and Ken later argue, with Rick accusing Ken of creating a mass panic in order to sell his book.

The undersecretary of FEMA, Wendy Reiss, visits and asks Rick about the worst-case scenario if Yellowstone does release a "super eruption". He shows her a simulation, revealing the devastating results of an ashfall across the US should the volcano ever erupt.

After a hydrothermal event at the Norris Geyser Basin and more questions from the press, Rick's team runs a simulation of possible eruptions on VIRGIL. They learn that even a moderate eruption could potentially destabilize the rest of the magma chamber under Yellowstone and trigger a super eruption.

After more seismic events, the park is closed. Maggie comes to Yellowstone anyway, and Rick sends Matt to give her a tour of the park. They discover harmonic tremor near Norris, indicating that an eruption of unknown scale is imminent.

An email about the expected eruption leaks to the press, causing a national panic. FEMA schedules a press conference in Washington, DC, at which Rick is pressured into saying that the eruption will not be large.

While Rick is flying back from the conference, his colleagues in the field office finish plugging in the latest data for the eruption. They discover that the top of the magma chamber alone has more than enough eruptible magma to destabilize the chamber and trigger a super eruption. The volcano erupts violently, severely damaging the field office and injuring Jock. Matt investigates the eruption and contacts Dave about it to inform Rick. Jock flies the helicopter while Nancy and Matt flee in their truck, but the resulting pyroclastic flow overtakes and kills both Nancy and Matt.

Rick contacts Dave, another team member who left before the eruption to set up a backup office in a hotel in Boseman. Meanwhile, the vent is blowing ash east across the US and across major commercial air routes, prompting FEMA to clear American airspace and take other protective measures. Rick's plane flies directly into the ash cloud, damaging the engines, and they make an emergency landing in Cheyenne. Rick and Ken decide to go to the FEMA office in Denver but are caught under the ashfall and decide to look for a nearby military installation instead.

The motel roof collapses due to heavy ashfall after more caldera vents open, killing Dave.

Rick and Ken manage to reach the military installation safely. Rick makes contact with FEMA and determines that the vents are going to merge into one massive caldera in an eruption on the scale of the Huckleberry Ridge Eruption, the largest in Yellowstone's history.

Government officials try to come up with a plan to save the 25 million people trapped by the ashfall, but Rick convinces them that they cannot possibly hope to do so; the ash will make it impossible for planes to safely evacuate people or drop supplies. Instead, following his advice, FEMA creates the "Walk to Life" program, telling people to walk through the ash to safety.

One week after the eruption starts, the ground above the magma chamber begins to fall into the empty space left by the ejected magma, signalling the end of the eruption. However, the damage has been done; the lingering atmospheric effects causes a volcanic winter to occur. Much of the US has been rendered uninhabitable, some were liquidated by the eruption without the possibility of restoration. The Walk to Life program saves 7.3 million of the 25 million people trapped by the ash, including Rick and Ken, who manage to walk out of the ashfall.

The film opens on a beach in Malibu, where Tobolowsky recounts a miraculous swim he took on an earlier birthday. It continues in the kitchen of his home, as he boils sausages for his guests and recounts stories about his early auditions in Los Angeles. After some stories in the backyard, where he is grilling the sausages, the guests arrive. Then Stephen entertains his guests with stories about being nominated as one of 100 coolest people in LA, being in a rock 'n' roll band, and working on such films as ''Bird on a Wire'' and ''Mississippi Burning''.

The film ends in the dark of night with a few leftover guests in his candlelit backyard and a tribute to his close friend Bob Darnell. Among the guests at the party are the actors Mena Suvari, Amy Adams, and his wife, Ann Hearn.

Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Monica (Courteney Cox) are woken up too early in the morning by Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler's (Matthew Perry) chick and duck, as the maturing chick has just begun crowing. Later, as Rachel returns with her shopping and complains to the others about the situation, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) urges the boys to get rid of their birds as they should not be living in an apartment.

As Phoebe leaves for her doctor's appointment to get her brother Frank (Giovanni Ribisi) and his older wife Alice's (Debra Jo Rupp) embryo transferred into her uterus, Monica and Joey enter having an argument after Joey boasts that he and Chandler know more about Rachel and her than vice versa. Chandler backs Joey up, and the two correctly identify the contents of Rachel's shopping bag. Monica suggests a trivia contest to see who knows more about whom: the men or the women. They place a $100 bet on the outcome and Ross (David Schwimmer) puts together some questions and plays as host.

Meanwhile, Phoebe learns that the doctor will implant five of Frank and Alice's embryos into her uterus, which only has a 25% chance of success. She offers to do this as many times as possible for them, but is concerned when the two reveal that they are paying $16,000, which is all of their savings, for the single IVF procedure, and is helpless to influence the results.

The trivia game begins, with various facts about the characters being revealed such as Joey's space-cowboy imaginary friend (Maurice) and Rachel's actual favorite movie (''Weekend at Bernie's''). A nine-all score leads to a lightning round. Monica raises the stakes: If the women win, Joey and Chandler must give up their birds. Chandler rebuts by suggesting Rachel and Monica give up their apartment to them, which Monica immediately agrees to without consulting Rachel. The girls lose the lightning round because they cannot identify Chandler's job, and the boys win.

As the four pack up their respective apartments—Rachel, in particular, displeased about having to switch—Phoebe returns home and takes a pregnancy test, though it is too soon for a result, so she sits in the apartment for several days waiting for another result. Later with packing complete, Rachel finally refuses to move as Frank and Alice come by with another pregnancy test. The boys and the girls begin to argue along with Ross, which is cut short when Phoebe emerges from the bathroom and joyfully announces she is pregnant, the mood turning to one of celebration.

The tag scene shows Rachel and Monica horrified at having to deal with living in Chandler and Joey's cramped and dirty apartment, while the boys are content to live in the girls' large apartment.

To cover the gambling debts of his daughter Kitty Imber, the widowed Lord Theign is planning to sell his beautiful painting ''Duchess of Waterbridge'' by Sir Joshua Reynolds to American billionaire Breckenridge Bender. Hugh Crimble, a young art critic, argues against the sale, saying that Britain's art treasures should stay in the country. He is supported by Theign's perceptive daughter, Lady Grace. When the newspapers get wind of the potential sale of the Reynolds, they raise a patriotic outcry, which delights Bender.

Meanwhile, Crimble has found another painting in Theign's collection that he suspects is a rarity by Mantovano. (James thought this artist was a fiction, but it later turned out that there really was an obscure painter of that name.) Eventually, Crimble's hunch about the Mantovano turns out to be correct. Theign decides to donate the Mantovano to the National Gallery and not to sell the Reynolds to Bender. His friend Lady Sandgate also donates her family's Sir Thomas Lawrence painting to the Gallery, which unites her and Theign.

The novel begins in a near future world of ray guns and robots, but ends up marching all over time. Khamushkei the Undying, a horror out of space, destroyed an ancient civilization on earth, but ended up locked away in a Time Vault. After seven millennia, the vaults seals are giving way, and five average citizens are caught up in a race to reseal the vault - even though they know it will cost one of them her life.

A dead body is seen lying in a strange-looking room. The scene shifts to the room of Agnes White, a waitress at a gay bar who is living in a run-down motel in rural Oklahoma. Unable to move on after the disappearance of her young son nearly ten years ago, she binges on drugs and alcohol with her lesbian friend, R.C. Agnes is being plagued by silent telephone calls that she believes are being made by her abusive ex-husband, Jerry Goss, who has recently been released from prison.

One night, R.C. introduces Agnes to Peter Evans, a drifter who says he is a recently discharged soldier. Agnes's and Peter's mutual loneliness draws them together. They start a relationship after Jerry barges into Agnes's room. Peter convinces her that he was the subject of biological testing by the U.S. government while in the military, and says the anonymous phone calls were made by government agents in anticipation of his arrival. Agnes and Peter have sex, and afterward, he tells her that the room has become infested by bugs planted by the government as part of the experiments.

Peter's movements and behavior become more erratic as he fights the bugs, invisible to the audience, that he claims are infesting his body. Over time, Agnes begins to share in his behavior. R.C. tries to convince Agnes to leave Peter, and mentions that a man named Dr. Sweet is looking for him. But, after Peter has an episode, Agnes slaps R.C. and tells her to leave and never come back. Peter and Agnes isolate themselves, closing the room and covering it with flypaper and aluminum foil to fend off communications, and lighting it with the glow from bug zappers. Peter, believing that a colony of microscopic bugs was implanted in one of his teeth, tears it out with pliers. After examining the tooth using a child's microscope, he believes he sees the bugs in the remains of the crushed tooth, as does Agnes.

Dr. Sweet arrives at the motel and tells Agnes that Peter escaped from a mental institution where he was undergoing treatment. He says that delusions about insects are a known symptom of Peter's mental illness. Peter kills Sweet, telling Agnes that he was a robot sent by the government. Together, Peter and Agnes elaborate upon Peter's beliefs in a conspiracy, becoming convinced that Agnes's son was kidnapped by the government to lead her and Peter to meet. They believe that each was separately infected with bugs meant to mate with each another and take over the world. To prevent this, Agnes and Peter douse each other in gasoline and set themselves on fire.

During the end credits, the toys in Agnes's room are shown completely intact, with no sign of the aluminum foil. The opening shot of the film is repeated with the body of Dr. Sweet in the room covered with foil, but undamaged by fire. It is left unclear which shot, if any, is "real."

Retired detective Bob Carter and his wife Ethel are travelling from Cleveland to San Diego through the New Mexico desert for their silver wedding anniversary; with them are their three children, Lynn, Brenda, and Bobby, Lynn's husband Doug and their baby daughter Catherine, and their two German Shepherds, Beauty and Beast. They stop at a gas station where the elderly attendant suggests a different route through the hills, claiming it will save them a few hours. Not long after, their tires are punctured by a hidden spike strip, causing the truck and trailer to crash.

Bob and Doug set off in opposite directions to find help while the rest of the family stay by the trailer. Beauty escapes and, when Bobby chases her into the hills, he finds her mutilated corpse. Horrified, he flees back to the trailer but falls off the hill on the way, knocking himself unconscious. A timid female mutant Ruby protects him from her brother Goggle. Meanwhile, Bob arrives back at the gas station. Upon searching the station, he finds newspaper clippings detailing various disappearances in the area after recent nuclear testings at a mining town by the US government that caused the mutants' deformities. He confronts the attendant who then shoots himself. Bob attempts to flee in an abandoned car but is attacked by the mutant leader Papa Jupiter.

Bobby is found by Brenda, but he decides not to tell his family about Beauty. Doug returns after heading towards the interstate and finding nothing but a huge crater filled with numerous cars and other belongings. Worried that his father has not come back, Bobby tells Doug and Lynn he doesn't think they're alone in the desert, just as Pluto and Lizard infiltrate the trailer. They attack and rape Brenda, who has stayed in the trailer with Catherine, while using a distraction of immolating Bob to a tree to divert the others. When Lynn and Ethel return to the trailer, Lizard shoots both of them before abducting Catherine, and then escapes with Pluto. Doug and Bobby return to discover the carnage; Lynn and Ethel die shortly afterwards.

The next morning, Doug, along with Beast, set out to rescue Catherine. He comes across an abandoned nuclear testing village through the miner town's cave system but is knocked unconscious by Big Mama. Awakening in an ice box, he escapes and encounters Big Brain who reveals the mutants' origins to him. Pluto appears and attacks Doug but he manages to gain the upper hand and kills Pluto with his own axe before killing another mutant, Cyst. After ordering Lizard to kill Catherine, Big Brain is mauled to death by Beast. Ruby manages to take the baby from Lizard and escapes through the hills.

Back at the trailer, Brenda and Bobby build an explosive trap, which they set off when Brenda is attacked by Jupiter. Meanwhile, Doug catches up with Ruby but Lizard attacks them before Ruby can hand Catherine over. A struggle ensues and Doug manages to defeat him with Cyst's shotgun. Ruby then gives Doug his daughter back. Lizard, still alive, aims the shotgun at Doug but Ruby tackles Lizard off a cliff, sending them both falling to their deaths.

Bobby and Brenda find Jupiter wounded from their trap and Brenda finishes him off with a pickaxe before the siblings are reunited with Doug, Catherine, and Beast. As the survivors of the Carter family embrace, an unknown mutant watches them from afar through binoculars.

Chester Lee (Rodney Dangerfield) is desperate for a promotion at work and some respect from his boss. To impress his boss, he claims to have been a good soccer player in his youth and is badgered into coaching a girls' team called the Ladybugs. Dragging his assistant Julie (Jackée Harry) along as assistant coach, Chester figures the gig easy as the Ladybugs, sponsored by his company, are a dynasty, having dominated previous seasons. If he can get this team to a championship, he will get the promotion. Unfortunately, only one player has returned for the new season. The new team, which includes the boss' daughter, Kimberly (Vinessa Shaw), are clueless, make a dreadful start to the season and the boss is less than impressed.

In his personal life, Chester is engaged to Bess (Ilene Graff), who has a son, Matthew (Jonathan Brandis), from a previous marriage. Matthew just happens to be a great athlete, but poor grades get him kicked off the soccer team. Chester invites Matthew to watch the Ladybugs practice and to get some tips. Matthew has a crush on Kimberly from school and it is partly due to this that Chester persuades him to dress like a girl and play for the team under the name Martha. With only Chester, Matthew and Julie knowing the secret of Martha's identity, the team wins the rest of its games to get to the championship game. Kimberly makes friends with Martha, not knowing "she" is in fact Matthew.

Just before the championship game, Bess finds out that Matthew has been dressing as a girl to play. She becomes angry with Chester, making him drop Matthew from the team. Kimberly, who has not been playing well, is also dropped on the request of Chester's boss.

The Ladybugs go down 3-0 in the first half. At halftime, Matthew reveals to Kimberly and the rest of the team that he is Martha. His honesty fires the team up and with Chester's encouragement, Kimberly scores the winning goal on a penalty kick. As the Ladybugs win the championship, Chester gets his promotion. Bess and Chester get married while Matthew and Kimberly begin dating. Chester is now managing the company's girls softball team, where the entire team are boys dressed as girls. Chester says to the audience "I finally got some respect" after his boss tells him that he's on top of the world when getting the job he wanted and the girl he wanted.

''Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu'' is a story revolving around a secret war that has been going on below the public's eye since 1947 and a group of people involved in the war, either directly or indirectly. The main protagonist is a young high school student named Naoyuki Asaba who, on the last day of summer break, sneaks into the school at night to swim in secret. However, upon arrival at the pool, he meets the mysterious Kana Iriya, who is there for the same reason. However, she doesn't know how to swim, so Naoyuki offers to teach her how to swim. During this private lesson, a group of people show up in search of Kana and take her back to the nearby air force base where she is staying.

The next day, Naoyuki is surprised to find that Kana joins his class as the new term begins. Eventually, both of them take a liking to each other and Naoyuki even gets her to join the school newspaper club. Little does Naoyuki know that Kana is in fact an expert fighter pilot engaged in a war between humans and aliens that has been going on since the Kenneth Arnold incident on June 24, 1947. The whole world's fate rests in the hands of Kana Iriya and if she can ultimately hold off the invasion in the final battle.

The story is set in the ''jianghu'' (martial artists' community) of China during the Ming dynasty. The two protagonists – Nie Feng (Wind) and Bu Jingyun (Cloud) – learn martial arts in their early years and grow up to become legendary figures in the ''jianghu''. As the story progresses, more characters are introduced in new story arcs.

Part 1

The first story arc is about the origins of Wind and Cloud. When they were still boys, they were accepted into the martial arts clan Tianxiahui (Under Heaven Society) by its chief, Xiongba (Lord Conqueror), who trained them in martial arts for an ulterior motive. Conqueror was once told by a Buddhist prophet that he would rise to power in the ''jianghu'' with the help of "Wind and Cloud". When Conqueror reaches the pinnacle of his conquests, the prophet reveals that "Wind and Cloud" are also destined to bring about Conqueror's downfall, so Conqueror plots to turn Wind and Cloud against each other. The rest of the story arc follows the adventures of Wind and Cloud after they escape from Tianxiahui. They gradually improve their skills, acquire powerful weapons, befriend other notable ''jianghu'' figures, and meet their respective lovers. Wind and Cloud eventually return to confront Conqueror and defeat him, thus fulfilling the prophecy. After that, Wind and Cloud decide to retire from the ''jianghu'' to lead reclusive lives with their respective lovers.

Juewushen (Lord Godless), a formidable Japanese fighter, leads his clan to China with the intention of dominating the ''jianghu'' and ruling China. He captures the Chinese emperor and sends his son, Juexin (Heartless), to impersonate the emperor and then pretend to pass the throne to him. Wind and Cloud come out of retirement and collaborate with their ''jianghu'' allies to stop Godless. After his defeat, Godless takes the Chinese emperor and other ''jianghu'' figures hostage and retreats back to Japan. Wind and Cloud travel to Japan, where they meet Tennō, a Japanese warlord, and join forces with him to counter Godless. Godless is eventually betrayed and killed by Heartless, who has switched allegiance to Tennō. After returning to China, Wind and Cloud realise that Tennō is secretly plotting to seize the Dragon Bones, the spiritual foundation of the Chinese empire. Wind learns a new but dangerous skill to counter the invaders, and falls into a demonic trance as a result. Even though they manage to defeat Tennō and the Dragon Bones get destroyed in the process, the demon-possessed Wind now poses a serious threat to the ''jianghu''. In the final showdown, Cloud confronts Wind and manages to knock him out of his trance, but falls off a cliff during the fight and goes missing.

Part 2

Huaikong, a member of the Iron Sect, goes on a quest to search for the missing Cloud. He manages to find Cloud, who has lost his memory and become a fisherman, and gradually help him regain his memory and return to the ''jianghu''. Wind also returns to the ''jianghu'' and reunites with Cloud. Around this time, a mysterious martial arts clan, Tianmen (Heaven Sect), has emerged in the ''jianghu'' and attracted many top fighters to join them. The clan's leader, Dishitian, is actually Xu Fu, who has become immortal and spent the past centuries mastering all kinds of martial arts, thus making himself nearly invincible. He has a grand plan to gather the seven fighters who possess the seven most powerful weapons in the ''jianghu'' to join him in his quest to slay a dragon and obtain the Dragon Orb, which can boost their inner energy by several times when consumed. The quest is successful but the orb breaks into seven pieces. Out of greed, Dishitian consumes more pieces than his body can take, and suffers serious internal injuries. His treacherous servant, Duan Lang, seizes the opportunity to kill him and absorb his powers. Duan Lang becomes the new threat to the ''jianghu'' and he kills Wind and Cloud's loved ones. Although Wind and Cloud manage to destroy Duan Lang, they end up being frozen in ice and are never seen again in the ''jianghu'' for many years.

Part 3

Many years have passed since Wind and Cloud's battle against Duan Lang. Order and stability have been restored in the ''jianghu'' while a new generation of characters make their debut. These new characters include Wind and Cloud's respective sons, Yifeng and Bu Tian, as well as Duan Lang's twin sons, Shenfeng and Lanwu. In the meantime, Wind and Cloud are saved from being frozen in ice, and they return to the ''jianghu'', where they face an old foe, Juexin (Heartless), as well as other enemies.

In May 2004, a giant spacecraft approached Earth. Hovering over the planet, it released large clouds of spores into the upper atmosphere. Rapidly multiplying, the spores soon darkened the skies, obscuring the sun completely. This period is known as the "Twilight". Having reached critical mass in the skies, the spores began to rain down, clogging the streets and bodies of water, smothering people in their homes and burying animals in the wild. During the "Nightfall", as it would come to be called, most of the higher life forms on earth were wiped out. During the Twilight, all human responses were futile. The governments of the world chose caution over aggression, not realizing how quickly the end could come, and were buried. However, a few survivors sealed themselves in underground bases with stocks of food and oxygen. After several weeks, the spores seemed to disintegrate, decomposing and settling into the soil.

The player must gather together the remaining peoples of the planet, find out what has happened, and, if possible, take vengeance. The aliens the player fights are known as the Reticulans, who are heavily based on Greys, controlling various horrific mutant lifeforms.

In Egypt, Andoheb travels to the Hill of the Seven Jackals in answer to the royal summons of the High Priest of Karnak. The dying priest of the sect explains the story of Kharis to Andoheb, involving the theft of sacred tana leaves that can restore life to the dead Princess Ananka, who Kharis secretly loves. Kharis' penalty upon being discovered is to be buried alive, without a tongue, and the tana leaves are buried with him. During the cycle of the full moon, the fluid from the brew of three tana leaves is to be administered to the creature to keep him alive. Should despoilers enter the tomb of the Princess, a fluid of nine leaves will restore movement to the monster.

Meanwhile, in 1940, down on his luck archaeologist Steve Banning and his sidekick, Babe Jenson, discover the remnants of a broken vase in a Cairo bazaar. Banning is convinced it is an authentic ancient Egyptian relic, and his interpretation of the hieroglyphs on the piece lead him to believe it contains clues to the location of the Princess Ananka's tomb. With the support of the eminent Dr. Petrie (Charles Trowbridge) of the Cairo Museum, but against the wishes of Andoheb, who is also employed by the museum, Banning seeks funds for his expedition. Banning and Jenson meet an American magician, Solvani (Cecil Kellaway), who agrees to fund their quest while they also get into a scuffle with Andoheb's henchmen. His daughter Marta is not as convinced, thanks to a prior visit from Andoheb, who brands the two young archeologists as frauds. The expedition departs in search of the Hill of the Seven Jackals, with the Solvanis tagging along. In their explorations, they stumble upon the tomb of Kharis, finding the mummy along with the tana leaves, but find nothing to indicate the existence of Ananka's tomb. Andoheb appears to Dr. Petrie in the mummy's cave and has the surprised scientist feel the creature's pulse. After administering the tana brew from nine leaves, the monster quickly dispatches Petrie and escapes with Andoheb, through a secret passageway, to the temple on the other side of the mountain. The creature continues his periodic marauding about the camp, killing an Egyptian overseer and eventually attacking Solvani and kidnapping Marta. Banning and Jenson set out to track Kharis down, with Jenson going around the mountain and Banning attempting to follow the secret passage they have discovered inside the tomb.

Andoheb has plans of his own. Enthralled by Marta's beauty, he plans to inject himself and his captive with tana fluid, making them both immortal. Jenson arrives in the nick of time, and guns down Andoheb outside of the temple, while Banning attempts to rescue the girl. However, Kharis appears on the scene and in the ensuing struggle, Banning's bullets have no effect on the immortal being. Marta overheard Adoheb tell the secret of the tana fluid and tells Banning and Jenson that Kharis must not be allowed to drink any more of the serum. When the creature raises the tana serum to his lips, Jenson shoots the container from his grasp. Dropping to the floor, Kharis attempts to ingest the spilled life-giving liquid. Banning seizes the opportunity to overturn a brazier onto the monster, engulfing it in flames. The ending has the members of the expedition heading happily back to the United States with the mummy of Ananka, and the spoils of her tomb.

Having rescued his friend Gimbal the wizard from a self-inflicted white-out spell, the Magic Knight finds himself transported into the far future aboard the starship USS ''Pisces''. Magic Knight must find a way back to his own time, with the help of the Tyme Guardians, before he is apprehended by the Paradox Police. On board the USS Pisces, the Magic Knight is first not recognized at all by the crew of the ship, and must create an ID Card, which he receives a template of from Derby IV, the ship's main computer. After getting his ID completed, he then takes command of the ship, first arriving at Starbase 1 to refuel the ship. After refueling, the Magic Knight collects the pieces of the Golden Sundial from Monopole, Retreat and Outpost. Returning to the ship with all the pieces of the sundial, he discovers that a time machine has appeared inside the USS Pisces to take him back to his own time.

The film begins in Kuvukiland, a kingdom somewhere in Southern Africa. Mr. Bones arrives as a baby, the sole survivor of an airplane crash that happens nearby. He grows older and becomes the bone-throwing prophesier for the kingdom. King Tsonga, ruler of Kuvukiland, longs for a male child to be heir to the throne. After having seventeen children, all of them girls, he gives up hope, until he remembers fathering a boy decades before in Sun City. He immediately sends Mr. Bones to find the future prince.

At the same time golf star Vince "The Prince" Lee, along with his coach, The Wild Boar, arrives in Sun City for a golf tournament. A local casino owner, Zach Devlin, places a huge bet on Vince Lee winning the tournament, but just before it begins, Wild Boar is injured in a freak accident when a passing plane drops a wild boar on him. He quickly recovers, but is held against his will in a local hospital. Without his coach, Vince Lee plays terribly, until he meets the eccentric Mr. Bones, who believes him to be the actual prince, and gives him a lucky streak. Vince nearly wins the game until Mr. Bones remembers his mission and stops a perfect putt. Vince retires in disgrace, but meets a local singer, Laleti, afterwards, whom he is stricken with. Mr. Bones notices this, and by impersonating her, he kidnaps Vince.

The next day, Wild Boar manages to escape from the hospital and goes on a search for Vince, along with Laleti and her mother. Enraged by Vince Lee's performance, and by the fact that everyone had gone missing, the casino owner mounts a search for them in a helicopter, along with two of his henchmen. After a series of comical mishaps, they all meet near Kuvukiland. Mr. Bones introduces Vince to King Tsonga, but after discovering that Vince is terrified of animals, King Tsonga disowns him, and prepares to die. The casino owner quickly locates Vince and Laleti, and attempts to kill them both, but Vince escapes. He finds Laleti tied to a tree with a lion about to eat her, and overcoming his fear, he chases the lion away. King Tsonga sees this, and decides that he doesn't want to die. Soon after, the casino owner reappears, but Mr. Bones, with the help of an elephant, causes the helicopter to crash. King Tsonga proclaims that Vince is his son, but asks Mr. Bones to throw his prophecy bones once more just to be sure. As Mr. Bones does this, Wild Boar arrives upon the scene, and it is confirmed that he is the actual prince.

The film closes with Mr. Bones, King Tsonga, and Wild Boar watching from Kuvukiland as Vince Lee, now married to Laleti, wins the Masters golf tournament.

Two masked wrestlers, one named "Boa" the other "Python", are grappling. Enjoying this spectacle is multi-millionaire casino owner Broddick (Adam Kendrick) and his girlfriend Eve (Angel Boris). Their night out is interrupted by a phone call. The caller, Ramon informs Broddick that his "package" has arrived overseas from South America and is being delivered. Broddick is delighted and promises lucrative compensation to Ramon for his work.

During the journey, whatever is sealed inside the back of the truck has awakened and become enraged. Ramon stops the convoy and gets a tranquilizer gun, ordering a panel to be opened. Unfortunately, a serpentine tail smashes through the panel and begins to wreak havoc. One of the men is startled and fires his gun, accidentally hitting the main control circuit on the back of the truck. The main door of the sealed container opens, and an abnormally large, nightmarish reticulated python, about long and , emerges and kills the group. Ramon detonates a bomb in the process, destroying the convoy, but not the snake.

Broddick reveals his plan to bring extreme big-game hunting to the city, as yet another pastime for the mega-wealthy, and the python is to be the quarry. Broddick then sees a news report detailing the destruction of Ramon's convoy. Now realizing the python has escaped, Broddick decides to bring his big-game hunting associates to their prey.

FBI Agent Alan Sharpe (Kirk B.R. Woller) investigates the wrecked convoy and discovers a large snake scale on the wreckage. Quickly realizing what he is up against (Agent Sharpe is familiar with the events in the film ''Python''), Sharpe is determined to prevent the snake from killing more people. He enlists herpetologist Dr. Steven Emmett (David Hewlett) and marine biologist Monica Bonds (Jaime Bergman) to devise a plan to stop the python. They plan to merge Monica's dolphin-camera headgear and tracking system to Dr. Emmett's giant long, , genetically enhanced Scarlet Boa named Betty. They hope Betty will seek out and kill the python.

The trio, now joined by a backup team of FBI agents and US Army soldiers, transports Betty to the water treatment facility. She quickly enters and begins to track the python. The tracking system proves faulty, providing only sporadic coverage.

Broddick and his surviving hunters enter the opposite end of the treatment facility and begin to track the reptile. They are surprised when they stumble upon a nest of eggs, guarded by Betty, whom they had not expected to see. Betty constricts Eve, killing her, which causes Broddick to snap. Eventually, he makes his way out alone, the rest of his team being killed by both snakes. Broddick finally meets up with Dr. Emmett and Monica. The python devours the eggs, enraging Betty, who engages the python in a fight.

Broddick is taken into custody. The tracking system starts to function again, and Dr. Emmett finally sees Betty's nest. He decides to go back into the treatment facility to save the nest. Monica goes with him. Broddick, however, has sneaked away and commandeered an APC. Dr. Emmett and Monica, using the tracking system, track Betty to a nightclub. Betty smashes through the floor, as does the giant python. The two snakes grab Broddick and, in a vicious and bloody tug-of-war, bisect him, each devouring their half. The two snakes continue their battle underneath the disco, with Dr. Emmett and Monica hot on their trail.

The battling snakes end up fighting on subway tracks. Betty is winning, but a train is about to run over both combatants. Betty is saved by Dr. Emmett, who activates an electrical spike device he implanted into her head. The shock throws her off the tracks just as a speeding bullet train slams into the python and beheads the beast. Dr. Emmett and Monica celebrate the death of the python, but become concerned when it is revealed Betty has crawled away. The duo heads back into the treatment facility to bring Betty and her remaining eggs home.

While inquiring into the murder of an administrator at a government research facility, a U.S. senator is confronted with paranoia, secrecy, and intimidation. He ultimately learns the cause: An unusual security device that is used to monitor its employees. The Outer Band Individuated Teletracer (known by the acronym O.B.I.T.) is so pervasive and invasive that no one can escape its prying eye, at any time within . It is even deemed addictive by some of its operators. After a missing administrator is found and reveals his knowledge of O.B.I.T., its sinister, unearthly origins and purpose become apparent; the device is, in actuality, an alien invention that was designed to demoralize and desensitize the human race in preparation for invasion. During government hearings, Lomax, one of the project's administrators, reveals himself to be an alien, proudly warning onlookers as to the horrific impact O.B.I.T. will have on mankind. As he speaks, a nearby O.B.I.T. machine shows Lomax in his true alien form. He then proceeds to commit suicide by disintegrating himself with an alien weapon, leaving the government to deal with the problem of destroying O.B.I.T.

The story takes place in 1919–1920, just after the First World War, and is divided into five parts. It deals with the final year in the life of its main character, Henry Earlforward, a miser with a slight limp, who keeps a second-hand bookshop in the Clerkenwell area of London, at Riceyman Steps. Henry harbours a secret passion for Violet Arb, a widow who inherits a neighbouring confectionery shop. When Henry tries to woo Violet, the widow realizes that they share the same charwoman and maid servant in the simple, loyal Elsie Sprickett.

When Elsie’s boyfriend, the shell-shocked war veteran Joe, loses self-control and runs after Violet with a carving-knife at her shop, Henry gallantly intervenes after Violet approaches Henry for help. Violet, who sees in Henry a financially secure future, finally decides to marry him after a short courtship. Joe, meanwhile, disappears after writing a letter to Elsie that he will come for her when he has recovered from his traumatic disorder.

Henry's parsimony drives the married couple into an increasingly wretched existence. He is aghast, for example, when Violet spends fourteen pounds vacuuming his dusty shop as a wedding present. He begins eating less and less, even forgoing meat for cheese, and refuses to go to the hospital to treat his undernourishment when the doctor and his wife insist that he does. All the while Elsie stands devoted to the couple, despite having problems of her own—she pines secretly for Joe, and pilfers food to binge eat at night.

Their lives—in which Henry’s passion for money and his obstinacy finally consume himself and his wife—are contrasted to that of their loyal maid servant Elsie Sprickett, and it is the latter, despite her extreme poverty, who brings life and a future to the bittersweet tale.

Graham ("Gray") Fielder returns from Europe to the wealthy resort of Newport, Rhode Island, to see his dying uncle Frank Betterman. Rosanna Gaw, the daughter of Betterman's embittered ex-partner Abel Gaw, is also at Newport. She has succeeded in bringing about a partial reconciliation between the two elderly men.

Gaw and Betterman both die, and Fielder receives a large inheritance from his uncle. Gray is inexperienced at business, so he entrusts the management of the fortune to the unscrupulous Horton Vint. At this point the novel breaks off. From his extensive notes it appears that James intended Vint to betray Fielder's trust much as Kate Croy did with Milly Theale in ''The Wings of the Dove''. Fielder would then magnanimously forgive Vint, but it is not certain if he would marry Rosanna, who may be in love with Gray.

Young Ralph Pendrel of New York City has written a fine essay on the reading of history. The essay so impresses a distant English relative that he bequeaths an 18th-century London house to Ralph. Pendrel goes to London and explores the house thoroughly. He feels himself going back in time as soon as he crosses the threshold. He finds a portrait of a remote ancestor, also named Ralph Pendrel. The portrait comes alive and the two men meet.

Later, the modern-day Pendrel goes to the U.S. ambassador in London and tries to tell him of these strange occurrences. He then returns to the mysterious house, steps across the threshold, and finds himself in the early 19th century. At this dramatic juncture, the part of the novel that James wrote in 1900 breaks off. James resumed the novel in 1914 with scenes of Ralph meeting his ancestor's relatives, as he has taken the other's place. He finds that he is engaged to one of those relatives, Molly Midmore, but realizes that he is attracted to her sister Nan. He also meets Molly's mother and unpleasant brother, and Nan's suitor, Sir Cantopher Bland.

The novel breaks off completely here. James left extensive notes on how the novel would continue: Nan would eventually realize that Ralph is actually a time-traveller from the future; she would sacrifice her own happiness to help him return to his own time and to Aurora Coyne, a woman who had previously rejected Ralph but would now accept him.

Mufasa and Simba are on the top of Pride Rock on a cold winter's evening as Mufasa tells Simba the story of Mohatu, a past king of the Pride Lands and the brightest star in the sky.

A terrible drought had gripped the Pride Lands with water in short supply. Mohatu made a law about how much each animal could drink. Lions were to go the water hole last, as they could survive a relatively long time without water.

The law worked and each animal was able to survive. But one day a selfish, lazy lion sat at the water hole and drank a large amount of water. When an antelope approached him and asked if she could drink too, the lion lunged at her, and all of the waiting animals ran in fear.

Mohatu was outraged when the news reached him, and decided that he had to find a more permanent solution to the water shortage problem. He walked for many miles until he came to a large river.

Mohatu walked for many miles and eventually came to a river. After having a drink, he lay down to rest, when he heard someone crying. Upon investigating he found a large crocodile sobbing in the river. The crocodile was lonely and wanted some friends, but the other animals were afraid of him, because he once bit Hippo's tail. Mohatu said he would help the crocodile gain the trust of the other animals again.

As Mohatu left the river, he bumped into a hippopotamus. Hippo said that she did not go to the river because he was scared of Crocodile. Mohatu walked further until he came to a wildebeest. The Wildebeest did not go to the river because he was scared of Hippo. Mohatu then came across a zebra. Zebra did not go to the river because Wildebeest did not go. After Mohatu returned to the Pride Lands, he realized that of all the animals needed to trust each other so that they could all use the Great River as their water supply.

He told the animals that no animal could harm another until the drought had passed. A zebra spoke up saying that since the first law was not followed and was broken by Mohatu's kind (the lions), he wanted the protection of the wildebeest. But Wildebeest did not want to go, as he did not trust the hippos near the river. A hippo spoke up and said that the only animal to be feared was the crocodile. The animals began to argue with each other, and Zebra said that it was each animal for themselves.

All of the animals ran off towards the Great River in a massive stampede. Cheetah ran forward in a burst of speed and tried to overtake Giraffe and Zebra. Zebra kicked Cheetah in the chest, and the animals ran over Cheetah as they rushed forward to try and be first at the river. Zebra reached the river first. He raced forward to drink but became lodged in quicksand. All of the animals rushed forward to try and pull Zebra out, but Zebra was firmly stuck.

Mohatu finally arrived with Cheetah on his back. Mohatu, seeing that Zebra was stuck, called out to Crocodile for help. Crocodile appeared, and digging his muscular legs into the bank, swung out his tail to Zebra. Zebra clamped onto Crocodile's tail and was pulled to safety.

Zebra apologized to Cheetah for kicking him. All of the animals drank their share of the water, being careful to avoid the quicksand. The animals of the Pride Lands returned to the Great River again and again, and Crocodile was always kind to them. Finally, the drought ended, but King Mohatu still journeyed to the river to see his friends Crocodile, Zebra, Wildebeest and Hippo.

Many years passed under Mohatu's kind and gentle rule until Mohatu's death one winter's evening. The animals grieved heavily and began fighting once more. But just as they thought that there would never be peace again, a mysterious star appeared in the sky. The star was bigger and brighter than any other star. The star filled the animals with peace and harmony and the fighting ceased, as they knew that it was the spirit of their king.

Nicole and Chase have lived next door to each other their whole lives and were childhood best friends, until junior high school when Nicole joined the popular crowd while Chase began to rebel and pull pranks around school, constantly landing him in detention. During their senior year, Nicole devotes much of her time and energy into planning their high school's centennial dance, which she expects to go to with a basketball player named Brad but he falls in love with a cheerleader from a rival school and asks her to the dance instead of Nicole. Chase is dating Dulcie, though she ultimately leaves him for a socially conscious college student. One night, Nicole calls Chase and asks him to the dance, suggesting that they pretend to date to make Brad and Dulcie jealous, he agrees to her scheme and they both agree to have an easy out clause in the relationship, so it can end at any time with no hard feelings.

Nicole gives Chase a makeover so that he fits in better with her friend group and takes him to events where he becomes friends with the popular kids, all while insisting to his old friends, Dave and Ray, that the whole thing is just a scam and that he hasn't really changed, though it's clear to them that he has. While Chase does all the activities Nicole asks him to with little resistance, he eventually points out that everything they've done is for her benefit. Nicole agrees to do whatever he wants and they go to a club he used to frequent with Dulcie, where Nicole has a good time and begins bonding with his friends. Chase has a run in with Dulcie and her new boyfriend, Nicole comes to his aid and kisses him, which makes Dulcie jealous. Nicole and Chase begin to fall in love but don't admit their feelings, to each other or themselves, and continue their ruse. Nicole's vindictive best friend, Alicia, seduces Chase at a party, making sure Nicole would see them together, leaving Nicole heartbroken. Chase calls Dave to pick him up, since he is too drunk to drive, and angers Dave when he says that "everyone" was at the party, which Dave says is not true because he and Ray were not there, reminding him they used to be his friends. Meanwhile, Brad and his girlfriend break up and Dulcie also ends things with her new boyfriend. Chase attempts to talk to Nicole about what happened with Alicia but she rebuffs him, reminding him of the easy out clause, she also ignores his calls. Chase eventually makes up with his friends and gets back together with Dulcie. Brad finally asks Nicole to the dance. Despite getting what they both wanted from the beginning, Chase is unhappy with Dulcie and Nicole rejects Brad.

The night of the dance, with no date, Nicole calls Ray, who had offered to take her earlier, and goes to the dance with him. While Chase is out with Dulcie, she realizes he doesn't want to be there, or be with her. Ray and Nicole have fun together at the dance, but he leaves when Chase arrives, knowing that despite their claims that their relationship was never real, Chase is the one she wants to be with. Chase asks Nicole to dance, she asks who they're trying to make jealous now, he tells her everyone.

In the final scene, Chase and Nicole come home early the next morning and Nicole walks Chase to his door, they kiss then find her mother with his father. Their parents tell them that they're also in a relationship and are going to move in together. Nicole suggests she and Chase discuss the new living arrangements in the treehouse they used to play in as children. They hold hands as they walk into Nicole's backyard, then hug and kiss under the treehouse.

A man staggers into a police station to report a murder. When the desk sergeant asks who was murdered, he answers: "I was."

That man is Professor Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid), who then sits down to video-tape his account.

Thirty-six hours previously, Cornell is on campus. He is a college professor, was once a promising writer, made his name and is secure in his tenure, but he has spent the last four years going through the motions and playing it safe. "Publish or perish" is the contrasting rule of university politics and Cornell helps his friend Hal Petersham (Daniel Stern) with his first book.

While Cornell is in his office, a promising student, Nick Lang (Robert Knepper), jumps off a building right outside his office window in an apparent suicide. This, coupled with the depressing Christmas season, unseasonably hot weather, and a pending divorce from his estranged wife Gail (Jane Kaczmarek) who he suspects was having an affair with Lang, leads Cornell to seek out the local bars for a night of heavy drinking. There he meets admiring student Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan) and they proceed to get drunk.

The next morning, Cornell, feeling his sickness is more than just a hangover, stops by the campus medical clinic for a checkup. After running some tests, they discover that he has been poisoned and has 36 hours to live. An incredulous Cornell staggers out to try to make sense of it all.

Aided by Fuller, whom he kidnaps by super-gluing himself to her arm, he attempts to recreate the events of the previous night hoping to discover who could have murdered him. The list of suspects includes his wife, who is also the victim of a murder, which the police make half-hearted efforts to pin on Cornell.

It is learned that Lang was not a suicide but was also murdered. Cornell also suspects Lang's mentor; the wealthy widow Mrs. Fitzwaring (Charlotte Rampling). Bernard (Christopher Neame) the Fitzwarings' chauffeur and Graham Corey (Jay Patterson), a jealous co-worker.

In a subplot, it is explained that Lang's college tuition was being paid for by Fitzwaring; despite having shot Lang's father years ago in self defense after he broke in to her home and killed her husband. Lang's death however is a harsh blow to both Fitzwaring and her irresponsible daughter, Cookie, who in a drunken rant, reveals to her mother's alarm, her and Lang's sexual escapades.

Later, after a skirmish with Bernard results in Cookie's unfortunate death, Fitzwaring finally reveals to Cornell that Lang was her son from a previous marriage she walked away from to marry her wealthy late husband, without actually finalising the divorce with her former spouse.

But when the jilted lover later brought this revelation to the late Mr Fitzwaring. He threatened to cut her off from their daughter, forcing Fitzwaring to shoot both men to silence them.

Now with both her son and daughter dead. Fitzwarring ends her own life through suicide.

In the end, at the police station, Cornell has solved the crime. His friend Hal Petersham had read and was so impressed by Nick Lang's manuscript that he decided to kill Lang and steal the novel for himself. However, this involved killing anyone who knew that Lang was the original author, including Cornell and his wife, who was in possession of a copy Lang had given her.

The tragic irony for Cornell however was that due to weariness, he instead gave Lang's novel a pass without ever having read it. Petersham however shows no remorse, callously stating it was Cornell's own fault that he believed he had.

Yet, had Petersham bothered to warn Cornell immediately after learning this, Cornell may have had a chance.

After a scuffle, Cornell shoots Petersham, who then falls to his death out his office window. Cornell resigns himself to his fate.

Stuart Conway has developed a hand-held, cellphone-like time travel device called "Slipstream" that allows the user to travel back in time 10 minutes by interfacing with a cellphone system regional antenna. At first, he uses the device primarily to try, albeit unsuccessfully, to arrange a date with a female bank clerk.

The final time he tries to use the device, a group of bank robbers commanded by Winston Briggs rush into the bank and demand the money from the vault. At the time, FBI agent Sarah Tanner and her male partner Jake (Kevin Otto) are in the bank tracking Stuart. Tanner initiates a gunfight against Jake's advice. Both agents are armed with pistols, while the criminals are wielding automatic weapons. By the end of the fight, Jake is shot and killed because he chased the criminals outside the bank.

During the fight, Stuart had been shot in the chest by a stray bullet. Before he dies, Stuart takes Sarah and himself back in time to before the bank robbery, and Sarah unsuccessfully tries to foil the heist. Unfortunately, Briggs takes the Slipstream device as a souvenir. Stuart and Sarah realize it's only a matter of time before Briggs and his cronies discover the true potential of the device.

What follows is a high-speed car chase of the criminals, a hijacking of a bus, a highway shootout, and a shootout in and downing of a commercial airliner. Near the end, as a passenger in the falling airplane, Stuart is able to reverse the entire sequence of events because, being airborne, he has access to many cellphone relay systems and therefore is not restricted to the 10-minute limit. Stuart rewinds time to just before the bank robbery, taking Sarah with him, but Briggs grabs on as well and is rewinded too. This time Briggs decides not to rob the bank as he knows what will happen and that all of his men will die and he and his men leave without anyone being the wiser. This time Stuart is able to get a date with the teller by being himself and escapes using the Slipstream device from the bank when he is about to be arrested. Sarah is relieved that her partner is alive again and decides to let Stuart go as she knows that he's harmless. The movie ends with Stuart having fun using the Slipstream device.

The short story is divided into six sections:

;First Night:

The narrator describes his experience walking in the streets of St. Petersburg. He loves the city at night, and feels comfortable in it. He no longer feels comfortable during the day because all the people he is used to seeing are not there. He drew his emotions from them: if they were happy, he was happy; if they were despondent, he was despondent. New faces made him feel alone. As he walked, the houses would talk to him and tell him how they were being renovated or painted a new color or being torn down.

He lives alone in a small apartment in Saint Petersburg with only his old and unsociable maid Matryona to keep him company. He tells the story of his relationship with a young woman called Nastenka (a diminutive of the name Anastasia). He first sees her standing against a railing, crying. He becomes concerned and considers asking her what is wrong, but eventually continues walking. There is something special about her and he is very curious. When he hears her scream, he intervenes, saving her from a man who is harassing her.

The young woman holds his arm, and he explains that he is alone, that he has never known a woman, and that he feels timid with her. Nastenka reassures him that ladies like timidity and she likes it, too. He tells her how he spends every minute of every day dreaming about a girl that would just say two words to him, who will not repulse him or ridicule him as he approached. He explains how he thinks of talking to a random girl timidly, respectfully, passionately, telling her that he is dying in solitude and that he has no chance of success with her. He tells her that it is a girl's duty not to rudely reject or mock one as timid and luckless as he is. As they reach Nastenka's door, he asks if he will ever see her again. Before she can answer, he adds that he will be at the spot they met tomorrow anyway just so he can relive this one happy moment in his lonely life. She agrees, stating she can't forbid him not to come and she has to be there anyway. The girl would tell him her story and be with him, provided that it does not lead into romance. She too is as lonely as the narrator.

;Second Night: On their second meeting, Nastenka seeks to find out more about him. He tells her that he has no history because he has spent his life utterly alone. When she presses him to continue, he suggests that he is of the type of the "dreamer". "'The dreamer'", he explains, "is not a human being, but a creature of an intermediate sort." He gives a long speech (in a style that anticipates that of the Underground Man in ''Notes from Underground''), about his longing for companionship, leading Nastenka to comment "...you talk as if you were reading from a book". He begins to tell his story in the third person, calling himself "the hero". This "hero" is happy at the hour when all work ends and people walk about. He references Vasily Zhukovsky and mentions "The Goddess of Fancy". He dreams of everything, from befriending poets to having a place in the winter with a girl by his side. He says that the dreariness of everyday life kills people, while in his dreams he can make his life as he wishes it to be. At the end of his moving speech, Nastenka sympathetically assures him that she will be his friend.

;Nastenka's Story: Nastenka tells the narrator her story. She grew up with her strict grandmother who gave her a largely sheltered upbringing. Her grandmother's pension being too small, they rent out their house to gain income. When their first lodger dies, he is replaced by a younger man. The young man begins a silent courtship with Nastenka, often giving her a book so that she may develop a reading habit. She takes a liking to the novels of Sir Walter Scott and Aleksandr Pushkin. On one occasion, the young man invites her and her grandmother to a performance of ''The Barber of Seville''. On the night that the young lodger is about to leave Petersburg for Moscow, Nastenka urges him to marry her. He refuses immediate marriage, saying that he does not have money to support them, but assures her that he will return for her a year later. Nastenka finishes her story at the end of this, noting that a year has gone and he hasn't sent her a single letter.

;Third Night: The narrator gradually realizes that despite his assurance that their friendship would remain platonic, he has inevitably fallen in love with her. He nevertheless helps her by writing and posting a letter to her lover, and conceals his feelings for her. They await his reply to the letter or his appearance, but Nastenka grows restless at his absence and takes comfort in the narrator's friendship. Unaware of the depth of his feelings for her, she tells him that she loves him because he hasn't fallen in love with her. The narrator, despairing due to his unrequited love, notes that he has now begun to feel alienated from her as well.

;Fourth Night: Nastenka despairs because she knows that her lover is in Petersburg but hasn't contacted her. The narrator continues to comfort her, for which she is extremely grateful, leading him to break his resolve and confess his love for her. Nastenka is disoriented at first, and the narrator, realizing that they can no longer continue to be friends in the same manner, insists on never seeing her again. She urges him to stay, and suggests that their relationship might become romantic some day, but that she wants his friendship in her life. The narrator becomes hopeful at this prospect. As they are walking, they pass by a young man who stops and calls after them. He turns out to be Nastenka's lover, and she jumps into his arms. She returns briefly to kiss the narrator but journeys into the night, leaving him alone and broken-hearted.

;Morning: The final section is a brief afterword about a letter he receives from Nastenka, in which she apologizes for hurting him and insists that she would always be thankful for his companionship. She also mentions that she will be married within a week and hopes that he will come. The narrator breaks into tears upon reading the letter. Matryona, his maid, interrupts his thoughts by telling him she has finished cleaning the cobwebs. The narrator notes that though he'd never considered Matryona to be an old woman, she looked far older to him then than she ever did before, and wonders if his own future is to be without companionship and love. He refuses to despair:

"But that I should feel any resentment against you, Nastenka! That I should cast a dark shadow over your bright, serene happiness! ...That I should crush a single one of those delicate blooms which you will wear in your dark hair when you walk up the aisle to the altar with him! Oh no — never, never! May your sky be always clear, may your dear smile be always bright and happy, and may you be for ever blessed for that moment of bliss and happiness which you gave to another lonely and grateful heart ... Good Lord, only a moment of bliss? Isn't such a moment sufficient for the whole of a man's life?"

Emperor Kuzco (David Spade) narrates the story about Kronk Pepikrankenitz (Patrick Warburton), now chef and Head Delivery Boy of Mudka's Meat Hut, who is fretting over the upcoming visit of his father. Kronk's father always disapproved of young Kronk's culinary interests and wished that Kronk instead would settle down with a wife and a large house on a hill.

In a flashback, Kronk tells the story of how he almost had both of these. As unwitting accomplice to Yzma (Eartha Kitt) – the villainess of the first film who turned into a cat at the end of the original, but is now human again despite still having a tail – he goes along with her plan to sell sewer slime as a youth potion. He makes enough money to buy the old folks' home from the old folks and put his large new home there. Eventually, Yzma is revealed as a fake and the old folks chase her down and corner her at a bridge over a river full of crocodiles. To prevent them from attacking her, she transforms herself into a rabbit, but is then caught and taken away by a condor. When Kronk realizes the old folks have sold everything they own in return for something which doesn't work, he gives his home back to them.

Kronk, as camp counselor of the Junior Chipmunks at Camp Chippamunka, falls in love with fellow counselor Miss Birdwell (Tracey Ullman); but when one of his Chipmunks, Tipo, pulls a prank to win the camp championships and is caught, Kronk, feeling responsible for the situation (due to having previously told his Chipmunks to do whatever it took to win), protects the boy at the cost of alienating his love.

Kronk's father (John Mahoney) arrives and confusion ensues as several supportive friends try to pass themselves off to him as Kronk's wife and kids. But in the end, Kronk realizes that his wealth is in his friendships, and this finally wins his father's thumbs up and Miss Birdwell's love.

Meanwhile, just outside the house, Yzma is in the condor's nest with two eggs, which hatch and presumably attack her before the credits roll.

As King Arthur prepares for battle against his former friend, Sir Lancelot, he reflects on the sad circumstances which have led him to this situation.

Arthur thinks back to the night of his marriage to Guenevere. It is an arranged marriage, and he is afraid of what lies ahead ("I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight"). Guenevere herself is worried about marrying a man she has never met and longs for the romantic life of a fought-over maiden ("The Simple Joys of Maidenhood"). They converse, and as she does not know his true identity, she fantasizes about escaping with him. Arthur tells her what a wonderful place his kingdom is ("Camelot"). She finds herself drawn to him, but they are interrupted by his men and her entourage. Arthur's identity is revealed, and Guenevere gladly goes with him to be married.

Four years later, Arthur explores with Guenevere his idea for a "Round Table" that would seat all the noble knights of the realm, reflecting not only a crude type of democratic ideal, but also the political unification of England. Inspired by Arthur's ideas, the French Knight Lancelot makes his way to England with his squire Dap, boasting of his superior virtues ("C'est Moi"). Lancelot's prowess impresses Arthur, and they become friends; however, many of the knights instantly despise Lancelot for his self-righteousness and boasting manner. Back in Camelot, Guinevere and the women frolic and gather flowers to celebrate the coming of spring ("The Lusty Month of May").

Guenevere, who initially dislikes Lancelot, incites three of the best knights to challenge him to a joust ("Then You May Take Me To The Fair"). Arthur ponders how distant Guenevere has become recently ("How to Handle a Woman"). Guenevere's plan goes awry as Lancelot easily defeats all three, critically wounding Sir Dinadan. A horrified Lancelot pleads for Sir Dinadan to live, and as he lays hands on him, Dinadan miraculously recovers. Guenevere is so overwhelmed and humbled that her feelings for Lancelot begin to change. Despite his vows of celibacy, Lancelot falls in love with Guenevere.

Guinevere and Lancelot meet in secret to discuss their future. Lancelot vows that he should leave and never come back, but finds it impossible to consider leaving Guenevere ("If Ever I Would Leave You"). Arthur decides to rise above the scandal. Mordred, Arthur's illegitimate son, arrives at Camelot determined to bring down the fellowship of the Round Table by stirring up trouble. All this takes its toll on Arthur's disposition, and Guenevere tries to cheer him up ("What Do the Simple Folk Do?") despite her conflicted emotions.

Mordred convinces Arthur to stay out hunting all night as a test, knowing that Lancelot will visit Guenevere in her bedchamber. Lancelot and Guenevere sing of their forbidden love and how wrong it has all gone ("I Loved You Once In Silence"). Mordred and several knights catch the lovers together. Lancelot escapes, but Guenevere is arrested. Thanks to Arthur's new civil court and trial by jury, she is sentenced to die by burning at the stake. Bound by his own law, Arthur cannot spare her. Preparations are made for Guenevere's burning ("Guenevere"), but Lancelot rescues her at the last minute, much to Arthur's relief.

On the battlefield, Arthur receives a surprise visit from Lancelot and Guenevere, at the edge of the woods, where she has taken residence at a convent. The three share an emotional farewell.

Prior to the battle, Arthur stumbles across a young boy named Tom, who espouses his commitment to Arthur's original ideal of "Not might 'makes' right, but might 'for' right." Arthur realizes that, although most of his plans have fallen through, the ideals of Camelot still live on in this simple boy. Arthur knights Tom and gives him his orders—run behind the lines and survive the battle, so that he can tell future generations about the legend of Camelot. Watching Tom leave, Arthur regains his hope for the future ("Camelot (reprise)").

At a military outpost in Greenland, Project Engineer Maj. Brothers (Guardino) begins losing his grip on reality - while wrestling with guilt and remorse - after losing one of his soldiers in an icy crevasse. Mentally haunted by a spectre of the dead man, Brothers decides he must detonate an atomic device to obliterate the crevasse, along with any implicating evidence of self-imposed incompetence - and the outpost, as well - to purge himself of his emotional anguish. The outpost's psychiatrist, Dr. Hamilton (Merrill), uses a revolutionary mind probe machine in an attempt to understand what is driving Brothers mad. During the experiment, Hamilton learns of the officer's plan to destroy the outpost as their minds join for a split second. When an unexpected earthquake causes the device to malfunction, the minds of Hamilton and Brothers are switched. This new identity enables the insane officer to set about his plan for destruction while in the guise of the doctor, with the ''real'' doctor confined to a padded cell, desperately trying to warn everyone of the impending doom. When Hamilton's administrative assistant, Ingrid (Kellerman), who had earlier expressed her love for the doctor, reads his notes that were taken prior to the experiment, she learns of the possible exchange of minds between the two men. When Ingrid goes to the cell to talk with Brothers, he convinces her that he is actually the man she loves by revealing an intimate detail regarding their relationship. She helps him to escape. Meanwhile, attempting to obtain information from another officer on how to detonate the bomb, Brothers is ordered to return to the doctor's office, where he encounters Hamilton and Ingrid. Brothers, intent on killing Hamilton before he can expose his true identity, is mortally wounded during Hamilton's attempt to attach the electrodes from the mind probe machine - with help from Ingrid - to himself and to Brothers. At the final moment of the process, just before Brothers dies, Hamilton's mind is successfully returned to his body. Afterwards, both Hamilton and Ingrid try to make sense of the ordeal, while wondering how to explain the unbelievable circumstances surrounding Brothers' death, with Hamilton suggesting that they simply tell the truth - Maj. Brothers shot himself.

Journalist and photographer Mae Jordan (Laura Gemser) publishes her work under the name Emanuelle. She accepts an assignment from a diplomatic couple in Nairobi, and starts a sexual relationship with both. Together they teach her the ways of the country and love.

The horrors of war are examined from the view points of lifelong friends and expert sharpshooters Vlado Selimović (Linus Roache) and Slavko Stanic (Vincent Perez), who end up on opposing sides of the Bosnian War in Sarajevo. Slavko, an ethnic Serb and unemployed bachelor, becomes a sniper and instructor training the Army of Republika Srpska snipers who used to terrorize the city. Vlado, a Muslim married father and successful owner of a furniture factory, rejects his friend's offer to gain an escape from the city. Instead, he becomes a marksman in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and attempts to counter the sniper threat. Vlado soon realizes his friend, an exceptionally skilled marksman, is the enemy sniper responsible for a number of seemingly impossible shots against residents of their own neighbourhood. The two friends eventually have to face-off and only one survives.

Middle-class Princeton student Tom Townsend, an admirer of Charles Fourier, attends a debutante dress ball one evening on a whim. After the ball, a mix-up leads to his meeting a small group of young Upper East Side socialites known as the Sally Fowler Rat Pack, after the girl whose apartment they use for after-hours parties. Believing that they accidentally stole a taxi from Tom, they decide to invite him to their after-hours party, to prevent ill feelings.

Tom decides to attend the party, and befriends several other attendees, including Nick Smith, a cynic who takes Tom under his wing; Audrey, a shy girl who enjoys Regency-era literature and develops a crush on Tom; and Charlie, an overly philosophical friend with an unrequited love for Audrey. Tom learns that he and the Rat Pack have some common friends, including his ex-girlfriend Serena Slocum, with whom he remains infatuated.

Under Nick's tutelage, Tom ingratiates himself to the Rat Pack and soon becomes a full-fledged member. Much of the film is composed of dialogues in which Tom and the Rat Pack discuss the nebulous social scene they occupy, including how they are coming of age just as the culture in which they were raised is ending, leaving them with uncertain social futures. During these discussions, Tom reveals that he, too, was raised wealthy, but that his father abandoned the family to marry another woman, leaving Tom and his mother with limited financial resources. As a result, Tom harbors a love–hate relationship with wealth and the upper class.

Serena has been dating Rick Von Sloneker, a young, titled aristocrat notorious for his womanizing. At a party after the International Debutante Ball, Nick alienates himself from the group by accusing Rick of getting a girl drunk and convincing her to "pull a train" several years before, after which she committed suicide. Nick admits that the story was a "composite" of incidents from Rick's life, but insists that it was based on real events. Shortly thereafter, Nick leaves Manhattan, giving Tom his top hat as a token of friendship.

Believing that Tom is not interested in her romantically, Audrey decides to leave Manhattan to spend the rest of vacation in the Hamptons with Rick and another girl from the Rat Pack named Cynthia. Realizing that he has developed feelings for Audrey, Tom recruits Charlie to help him rescue her from Rick. The two travel to the Hamptons together, bonding en route. Against their expectations, they arrive to find Audrey in no peril. Tom and Charlie nonetheless instigate a fight with Rick, which ends with them being kicked out of his beach house. Afterward, Tom and Audrey talk on the beach, with Audrey saying that she is planning to attend college in France, and Tom contemplating going to visit her there. Tom, Audrey, and Charlie begin hitchhiking together towards Manhattan.

When he is forced to vacate the office of his debt-ridden correspondence college, 'Professor' Will Davis (Will Hay) goes to the Ministry of International Commerce at Whitehall in order to confront his one-and-only student, PR man Bobby Jessop (John Mills). To get Davis off his back, Jessop proposes to get him a job at Whitehall. Jessop then leaves in order to fetch a Professor Davys at the railway station. The professor is a leading economist who has returned from a long stay in South America in order to advise the British government on a trade treaty with the South American nations, which could be crucial to Britain's war effort.

The clueless Davis is mistaken for the expert and gets involved in a series of interviews, giving answers based on gambling, con jobs, double entendres or just plain ignorance. These scenes are very funny and are made more so by the reactions of an increasingly incredulous Joss Ambler as government minister 'Sir John'. Jessop later returns with 'Professor Davys' and the confusion is sorted out, though it has left the BBC interviewers in a state of mental collapse. Jessop then discovers that the man he brought with him is in fact Crabtree (Felix Aylmer), a member of a group of fifth columnists working for Nazi Germany.

Jessop promises Davis a job if he will help him track down the real Professor Davys (Henry Hewitt), who is being held in a safe house by Crabtree's associates. Assuming a number of disguises, Davis and Jessop set off to foil the plot before the treaty is compromised.

''The Mummy's Tomb'' picks up the story of Kharis thirty years after the conclusion of ''The Mummy's Hand''. One evening in the fictional town of his Mapleton, Massachusetts, Steve Banning recounts the story of Kharis to his family and evening guests in his home. As he concludes his narrative of the successful destruction of the creature, the scene switches back to the tombs of Egypt. Surviving their supposed demise, Andoheb explains the legend of Kharis to his follower, Mehemet Bey. After passing on the instructions for the use of the tana leaves, and assigning the task of terminating the remaining members of the Banning expedition and their descendants, Andoheb expires. Bey and Kharis leave Egypt for the journey to the United States.

Bey takes the caretaker's job at the Mapleton cemetery, sets up shop, and administers the tana brew to Kharis. The monster sets out to avenge the desecration of Ananka's tomb. His first victim is Stephen Banning, whom the creature kills as the aging archaeologist prepares for bed. As the sheriff and coroner can't come up with a lead to the killer, newspapermen converge on Mapleton to learn more about the story. Babe Hanson (Wallace Ford) arrives on the scene after learning of his friend's death. When Jane Banning (Mary Gordon), Steve's sister, is killed, Hanson is convinced it is the work of a mummy. Meeting with the sheriff and coroner, Hanson is unable to convince them of the identity of the culprit. He tells his story to a newspaperman at the local bar, but, after a chase and struggle, is himself dispatched by Kharis almost immediately afterwards. Dr John Banning (John Hubbard) enlists the help of Professor Norman to solve the puzzle of the "grayish mark" found on the victims' throats. Norman's test results prove that Hanson was right: the substance was indeed mold from a mummy.

Meanwhile, Bey has plans of his own. Knowing that Banning and his girlfriend, Isobel Evans are planning to marry, he sets out to disrupt their nuptials. Bey himself has become smitten with Isobel, and sends Kharis on a mission to bring her to him. Kharis initially balks, but finally adheres to Bey's command. In the dark of the night, the monster stealthily enters the Evans's home and abducts the fainting girl to the cemetery caretaker's hut. Bey unveils his plan to the reluctant Isobel, that she is to become his bride, as a "High Priest of Karnak", and bear him an heir to the royal line. Banning and the rest of the townspeople have become convinced that their recent Egyptian immigrant may be involved in the crimes. Arriving in force, they confront Bey outside the hut. Kharis slips away with Isobel unbeknownst to the horde, and Bey attempts to shoot Banning, but is himself gunned down by the sheriff. The creature is observed heading toward the Banning estate, and the group begins pursuit, many bearing torches. Inside the home, Banning has a fight with Kharis and holds him at bay with a torch while he rescues Isobel from the mummy's grasp, but inadvertently sets fire to some curtains. With the aid of the sheriff and coroner, John and Isobel escape via a trellis as Kharis pursues them out onto the upstairs balcony. The townspeople keep the mummy from similarly escaping by hurling additional torches at him, and the monster perishes in the flames of the thoroughly consumed house. Banning and Isobel wed in short order, as he has received his draft notice and is due to report for his tour of duty in World War II.

The novel follows the life of the Jewish protagonist Jacob Heym in the ghetto of Łódź, Poland during the German occupation of World War II. Jacob met an 8-year-old girl named Lina, whose parents were both killed and who is hidden from the Germans after escaping from the camp transport train.

While walking around the ghetto near the time of curfew, Jacob is suddenly stopped by a seemingly bored German officer on a patrol. The officer pretends that the Jewish curfew of 8 pm has already passed, and sends the hapless Jacob to the police station. Jacob obeys him submissively and is followed by the sentinel's flashlight. He arrives at the station where he hears radio news reporting about the approach of the Red Army. Miraculously, Jacob is released since the sentinel was playing a practical joke on him and it was not yet curfew. The first Jew to leave that station alive, Jacob cannot believe his luck. Both this and the radio broadcast fill him with hope.

The next day he is working with his partner Mischa, who wants to risk his life by stealing potatoes. At the last moment, Jacob impedes his attempt and gives him the good news about the Russians, but Mischa is skeptical - so Jacob, to give Mischa hope, tells him he has a hidden radio, otherwise forbidden in the ghetto.

Jacob lies for the first time by pretending that he possesses a radio since he figures that nobody would believe him if he tells them he saw the precinct from inside. The question raised in the reader's mind is "Does he act responsibly by lying, even if he has only good intentions?" Jacob has enlivened Mischa who immediately goes to Rosa Frankfurter's parents to convey the word. Although he promised Jacob not to mention his name when spreading the news, Mischa breaks his word. Rosa's skeptical father Felix is enraged by the dangerous news Mischa is spreading without proof. Felix destroys a radio he is hiding in the basement. Mischa eventually spreads the lie out: Jacob possesses a radio.

Jacob is now forced to become creative in order to maintain the lie. Now that the neighbors believe he has a radio, he has to provide new items of fictional news each day in order to help maintain the peace and hope, and prevent despair from returning to the ghetto. Striving to propagate some real news, he decides to steal a newspaper from an "Aryan water closet", which Jews are strictly prohibited from entering. While he is in it, a nervous guard comes close to the toilet but Jacob's friend Kowalsky distracts the watchman's attention by knocking over boxes and saves Jacob's life.

The next day Herschel Schtamm, a usually fearful and timid man, hears the voices of deportees coming out of a wagon. Intent on giving them hope by telling them the news, he gathers his courage and approaches the wagon but is seen and shot by a watchman.

Jacob feels responsible for Schtamm's death. He comes home to find Lina looking for the radio while he was gone. He tells her to stay out of his room but realizes that hearing the radio will give her much needed hope. From another room where Lina can not see him, Jacob imitates the sounds of a radio-show, emulating the voice of Winston Churchill, telling her the metaphorical story of a princess who became ill because nobody could provide her a cloud. The princess was cured when a gardener brought her a cloud made out of cotton wool, because she thought in reality that was what clouds were. It implicates the question of authentic versus perceived need, and of course the question about the imagined world created by the lies of Jacob inside the ghetto. Just as the princess became healthy after she received the "fake" cloud, the hope of the Jews is inspired by artificial truth.

Over time, the lie becomes cumbersome and inconvenient to Jacob, and the attention tedious. He pretends that the radio is becoming defective but is still swamped by people who are either begging for news, inculpating him, or pretending friendship to get access to the news. Jacob cannot stand this pressure and in a moment of weakness confesses everything to Kowalsky, who reassures him that he understands everything and would have acted exactly in the same way, and that Kowalsky will not bother Jacob again with any questions.

The novel has two endings. The narrator thinks that there should be an independent ending based on what really happened, but he also wants to corroborate that he is trying to reach the reader emotionally, and thus proposes a second ending. However both endings are equally powerful in their own ways.

'''The fictitious ending'''

Jakob is killed while attempting to escape from the ghetto. Immediately after, as if Jacob's death-shot is the opening of the battle for the city, the Russians arrive to liberate them all. It is ambiguous why Jacob was trying to escape: to save himself and abandon his people to their fate; or to get first-hand information about the course of the war and return to the ghetto, thus redeeming himself for the lie about the radio.

'''The true ending'''

Kowalsky hangs himself shortly after Jacob's confession about the radio. Everyone is deported to the death camps.

In the previous season, the Cleveland Indians won the division title by beating the New York Yankees in a one-game playoff, but were defeated in the ALCS by the Chicago White Sox.

The success of last season has changed the attitudes of the Indians. Pitching sensation Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn has become a media sensation and is now more concerned about his public image than his pitching, causing him to lose the edge on his fastball. Instead, he begins to rely on highly ineffective breaking balls, to which he gives nicknames such as "Eliminator" and "Humiliator." Home run hitter Pedro Cerrano becomes a Buddhist and adopts a more placid, carefree style as opposed to the angry and aggressive player he was before. Center fielder Willie Mays Hayes has become a Hollywood actor and now fancies himself a power hitter, due to a sprained knee he suffered while shooting his new film, a box office flop. Aging catcher and team leader Jake Taylor has also returned, but once again is dealing with injuries to his knees.

Rachel Phelps, the owner who previously attempted to sabotage them last season, sells the team to Roger Dorn, who has retired as an active player to take the job. One of his first acts is to sign Oakland Athletics all-star catcher Jack Parkman, which forces Jake to compete for his old position. Parkman is an arrogant player who does not respect the team. To further complicate things, minor-league catcher Rube Baker has also been invited to camp despite his inability to throw the ball back to the pitcher with any consistency. As the team breaks camp, manager Lou Brown informs Taylor that he is keeping him on as a coach rather than a player. Jake is upset at first but reluctantly accepts the position.

The Indians get off to a slow start, with various complications and conflicts between the players. Parkman quickly becomes a divisive figure in the clubhouse due to his ego, for which Lou suspends him after Parkman criticizes the team in the local papers. Parkman then informs Lou that the suspension is moot as he has been traded to the White Sox. Lou confronts Dorn for not consulting him about the trade. Dorn explains that he could no longer afford to pay Parkman's salary and had no choice but to trade him. In return, Japanese import Isuro "Kamikaze" Tanaka, a gifted left fielder with a penchant for crashing into the fence, is sent to the Indians.

Finally out of options, Dorn sells the Indians back to Rachel Phelps. Rachel keeps Dorn on as the Indians general manager and his first order of business is to re-activate himself as a player. Phelps bought the team back as revenge for ruining her plan to move the team to Miami. With the Indians now in last place, she has another chance to do so. Lou suffers a heart attack in the clubhouse due to his frustration over the team's performance and Jake takes over in his stead.

When Rube is hit by a pitch in his ankle during a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, Hayes is called upon to run for him but refuses to do so, which angers Jake. Vaughn quarrels with Hayes and the two begin fighting, which leads to the entire team fighting each other and getting ejected. After the game, Tanaka criticizes Cerrano for not having any "marbles" due to his struggles and Hayes makes a wisecrack at Baker about his injury, leading Rube to chastise Hayes and the rest of the team for their lack of passion. Inspired by the speech, Hayes volunteers to run for the injured Baker in the bottom of the ninth inning of the second game and promptly steals second, third and home to tie the score. Cerrano, also inspired, demands that Jake insert him into the game to pinch hit. As he bats, other players hold bags of marbles to help Cerrano who responds by hitting the game-winning home run.

The win sparks a hot streak that the Indians ride all the way to a second straight division title, clinched by beating the Toronto Blue Jays on the last day of the season. Despite this, Vaughn continues to slump as his ineffective breaking pitches have caused him to lose confidence in his best pitch, his fastball. To make matters worse, he refuses to finish games he starts and has allowed the heckling fans to get into his head.

In the ALCS, the Indians meet the White Sox again and win the first three games of the series. This inspires Rachel to give the team a phony pep talk before Game 4, which is purposely designed to get in the heads of the players and distract them. It works, as a still struggling Vaughn gives up a game-winning home run to Parkman in the bottom of the ninth. With strong offense by Parkman, the White Sox defeat the Indians in the next two games, forcing a seventh game in Cleveland. The night before the game, Jake goes to visit Vaughn at his home and tells him that he might be called on to pitch in relief in Game 7. Vaughn nonchalantly tells Taylor he will be ready, which infuriates Jake. He calls Vaughn out for having lost his edge and strongly advises him to find it again before the upcoming game.

The White Sox jump out to an early 2–1 lead in Game 7 after Parkman bowls over Rube on a play at the plate. With the Indians down by one, Hayes reaches base on a walk and taunts Parkman by saying he is going to score on the play without sliding. Rube then lines a drive to the left field corner and Hayes rounds the bases and heads for home. The ball gets to Parkman first, but Hayes, making good on his promise not to slide, leaps over Parkman and lands on home plate, taunting him saying "I told you I wasn't going to slide." Parkman responds, however, by hitting a three-run home run in the seventh inning and the White Sox take a 5–3 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

Although the Indians get a runner on, two quick outs are recorded and Jake is forced to make a strategic move. He calls upon Dorn to "take one for the team" and sends him up to pinch hit. Dorn takes the first pitch off his lower back and is pulled for a pinch runner. Cerrano steps in, having apparently reverted to his more placid self. After taking two pitches, Cerrano's teammates begin shaking little bags of marbles at him. With this, the Cuban slugger is able to find his focus and send the next pitch over the fence to give the Indians a 6–5 lead.

However, the go-ahead runs reach base with two outs in the top of the ninth. Jake calls on Vaughn to get the final out and to the crowd's delight, Vaughn has taken Jake's message to heart and rediscovered his edge. To further this, he tells Jake that he intends to walk the current batter and pitch to Parkman instead, who is on deck. Knowing that an intentional walk will load the bases, Jake initially balks but takes confidence in Vaughn and allows him to face Parkman.

Vaughn throws a fastball that Parkman swings through for strike one, then follows with another fastball that Parkman fouls straight back. With two strikes on him, an impressed Parkman dares Vaughn to throw it a third time. Vaughn fearlessly complies with one more fastball dubbed the "Terminator" that Parkman swings through, striking out to end the game and send the Indians to the World Series.

''The Assassin's Knot'' is a sequel to ''The Secret of Bone Hill'', picking up on themes from that module and shifts them to a new locale. The player characters must solve the mystery of who committed the murder of the Baron of Restenford, with evidence pointing towards someone from the town of Garrotten. The scenario details both the town and its castle.

''The Assassin's Knot'' module is different from most of its contemporaries in that it contained no dungeon or dungeon-like area. The longer the players take to find the murderer, the more unfortunate events occur in the village.

The village, Garrotten, is reputed to be the place to go to have someone killed. The entire village shuts down when the Baron of Restenford is found dead, mutilated beyond the possibility of magical restoration. Three small clues are all the player characters have to unravel the mystery.

The film begins with Robinson as a boy. He is given a worn-out baseball glove by a stranger impressed by his fielding skills. As a young man, he becomes a multi-sport star at UCLA, but as he nears graduation, he worries about his future. His older brother Mack was also an outstanding college athlete and graduate, but the only job he could get was that of a lowly street cleaner.

When America enters World War II, Robinson is drafted, serving as an athletic director. Afterward, he plays baseball with a professional African-American team. However, the constant travel keeps him away from his college sweetheart.

Then one day, Brooklyn Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth invites him to meet Branch Rickey, president of the Major League Baseball team. At first, Robinson considers the offer to be a practical joke, as African Americans are not allowed to play in the segregated major leagues. When he is convinced that the opportunity is genuine, he and Rickey size each other up. After thinking over Rickey's warning about the hatred and abuse he would have to endure ''without'' being able to strike back, Robinson signs with the Dodgers' International League farm team, the Montreal Royals. Though he wants to delay marrying Rae to shield her, she insists on an immediate wedding so she can support her man in the trying times ahead.

Robinson leads the league in hitting in his first year, and despite the grave concerns expressed by the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rickey goes ahead and promotes him to the Dodgers. Reviled at first by many of the fans and some of his own teammates, Robinson gets off to a shaky start, playing out of position at first base and going through a hitting slump, but then gradually wins people over with his talent and determination. The team goes on to win the pennant, with Robinson driving in the tying run and scoring the winning run in the deciding game.

Sixteen-year-old Nelson Potter is part of a bank robbing team with his father Sam — Nelson scouts targets for the group and acts as a hostage in their endeavors. Their accomplices include Tony and Lilly, the latter a skilled martial artist and Sam’s current love interest. Wanting Sam all to herself, Lilly tries to persuade him to cut Nelson from the group, but Sam declines. When she overhears him insulting her afterwards, Lilly refuses to give Nelson his share of the money from their latest heist and viciously attacks Sam, leading Nelson to subdue her at gunpoint. With the partnership dissolved, Tony and Lilly leave the group.

After stealing a new getaway car, Sam and Nelson continue on their own. Sam’s goal is to eventually steal enough money to pay for Nelson’s college education, although Nelson sees nothing wrong with robbing banks for a living. While robbing yet another bank in Utah, Tony and Lilly tip off the police from their hotel room across the street, and Sam is arrested. With Nelson deemed a runaway, Lilly and Tony rush to claim him at the police station, hoping to utilize him in their own robberies. However, a woman named Lorraine picks up Nelson first after learning about the attempted heist on television. She deftly evades Tony and Lilly in a high-speed chase and takes Nelson back to her home. Impressed with her driving skills, Nelson pleads for her help in breaking his father out of jail.

With Lorraine at the wheel, Nelson successfully retrieves Sam, who reveals that Lorraine is Nelson’s biological mother, having lied to his son about her death for years so that Nelson would stay with him after their separation. Feeling betrayed, Nelson tells his father he can no longer trust him. The next evening, Tony and Lilly track down Lorraine at her workplace and follow her back to her home, where they kidnap Nelson.

Using Nelson’s maps, atlas, and other resources, Sam and Lorraine deduce that his next target is not a bank, but instead the Salt Lake City Amphitheater. They race to confront Tony and Lilly, who have already robbed the venue by using Nelson as a hostage in a vest loaded with dynamite. After forcing Nelson into the back of their pickup truck at gunpoint, Tony and Lilly attempt to get away with Sam and Lorraine in hot pursuit.

In desperation, Lilly attacks Nelson and throws him from the truck, leaving him dragging precariously behind the vehicle on a strip of chain link fence. With Lilly distracted by a police helicopter, Sam climbs aboard the moving truck and gets the upper hand against Lilly, knocking her onto the highway. He then forces Tony off the road, giving Nelson enough time to remove the bomb and plant it in the truck. While Sam reaches for the detonator, Tony attempts to run him over, but Lorraine rams into the truck with her car at the last second, sending it tumbling down a cliff where it explodes. As the three drive away to seek medical treatment for Nelson, Tony is shown dangling helplessly from the face of the cliff, having survived the ordeal.

Sometime later, Sam, Nelson, and Lorraine embark on a road trip to Canada, where they jokingly make plans for their next bank robbery.

The story starts out with Elektra in a mental institution in South America, attempting to recover her memory. The first issue is very disjointed, as Elektra pieces together jumbled memories ranging from the murder of her mother, molestation by her father (which she says is actually an invented memory), to more recent events such as an assassination she carried out. This led her to discover the existence of "The Beast", which controls people by forcing them to drink its milk. At first, The Beast's motives are unclear, but it is gradually revealed that it is attempting to bring about a nuclear war. When its initial plans fail, it launches the presidential campaign of Ken Wind (with a face resembling a grainy Dan Quayle photograph, whose resemblance is a coincidence, according to Sienkiewicz, since it is a Sienkiewicz self-portrait). Wind proves extremely popular, through various platitudes which disguise his evil nature; when Wind takes over, he intends to launch a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, bringing about mutually assured destruction.

Elektra uses her psychic powers to escape, running afoul of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Garrett. Garrett, an alcoholic, feels ashamed and becomes obsessed with Elektra, but she manages to stay one step ahead of him. She traps him in a building which is blown up, and most of his body is destroyed. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s experimental cybernetics division builds him a robotic body and attaches his head. His psychic bond with Elektra continues to grow, and he eventually realizes he is powerless against her. She sets out to stop the Beast, killing various subordinates and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the process. In response, Nick Fury sends Chastity McBryde, a strictly by-the-book agent. Perry, a sociopath who was Garret's former partner, has now also been turned into a cyborg. Chastity learns of Perry's suppressed sociopathic criminal history, and informs Fury, but Perry manages to escape before S.H.I.E.L.D can deactivate him. Perry is extremely dangerous and eventually comes under the service of The Beast.

The Beast manages to get Wind elected president, but Elektra thwarts the plan with her psychic powers and ninja skills. In a final confrontation, Elektra manages to injure The Beast, terminate Perry, and transfer the mind of Garrett into Ken Wind and vice versa before she and Garrett are captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. As Chastity is giving her final report to the President about what happened, it is realized that in the end, Garrett, in the body of Wind, is the President. Elektra, using her psychic powers yet again, manages to escape S.H.I.E.L.D after she has recovered, by placing her mind in one of the blue helper dwarfs, knocking out Chastity and then releasing her own body.

Craig Blake is a young Southern man born of a wealthy family, but left lonely and idle after his parents died in a plane crash. He is content to spend his time fishing, hunting and puttering around his large family mansion in Birmingham, Alabama, inhabited only by himself and a butler. Blake is employed at a shady investment firm run by a slick con artist named Jabo where Blake does very little actual work. He is asked to handle the purchase of a small gym that the firm is buying to clear space for an office high-rise.

Blake represents himself as a businessman looking to buy the gym and meets its owner Thor Erikson and employees Franklin and Newton. He is strangely fascinated with the world he discovers there. Blake's usual social life is centered around his upscale country club and its crowd, including his friends Lester and Halsey, and spends his time there playing tennis, shooting poker dice and flirting with women, one of whom asks Blake to find a musical guest for an upcoming party.

As Blake moves forward with the business deal, he is smitten with the receptionist, Mary Tate Farnsworth, and befriends bodybuilder Joe Santo, who aspires to win the Mr. Universe title. He finds he ultimately cannot sell out his newfound friends at the gym for the sake of his job, so he constantly evades questions about the progress of the gym deal from friend and coworker Hal Foss.

Mary Tate and Craig begin a passionate relationship, but trouble erupts when he tries to integrate her into his country-club scene. At a party at the club, which features Santo performing with a country group, Craig's friends mock Santo as a "freak" and an outcast. A fight nearly breaks out between Halsey and Blake but is broken up. Halsey and his friend Packman formulate a plan to embarrass Santo. When Santo takes the stage, Halsey and Packman drunkenly heckle him and the band. Santo tries to ignore it but soon stops playing his violin and leaves the party. Craig tries to convince Mary Tate to see him for who he really is, and not for his snobbish friends and surroundings.

When Jabo realizes that Blake will not purchase the building, he plies Thor and his assistant Newton with drugs, booze and hookers. The Mr. Universe competition arrives and Santo is hoping to beat his rival Dougie Stewart. While Thor is drunk and distracted with the prostitutes, Newton secretly stashes the prize money inside his bag and flees.

Blake visits the gym and engages in a fight with the drunken and drugged Thor. He finds Mary Tate, who earlier had been assaulted by Thor in an amyl nitrite-fueled rage.

When the Mr. Universe contestants discover that the prize money has been stolen, they run after Santo, who is running to meet Mary Tate. The chase of bodybuilders pours out into the streets of Birmingham and attracts an amazed crowd of onlookers. The bodybuilders engage in an impromptu posing routine for the crowd.

Craig sarcastically derides his former bosses at the real-estate firm and goes into the gym business with Santo. Craig mocks Jabo with an exaggerated bodybuilding pose and moves out of his family's mansion, leaving his old family memorabilia to his butler.

In Encino, California, ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' fan Patchy the Pirate presents his favorite episode "Shanghaied" to audiences.

SpongeBob is shocked to find that an anchor (which he mistakes for a "baby") has suddenly dropped onto his house during breakfast, and alerts his next door neighbor Squidward to what happened. As Patrick shows up to take notice of the anchor, it soon swings from SpongeBob's house to Squidward's. This compels Squidward to begin climbing the anchor rope to see where it comes from, with SpongeBob and Patrick joining him.

The three come across a large, floating, and glowing ship, which Squidward proceeds to board, impatiently demanding to know its owner. As SpongeBob tries to recall the ship's owner, the Flying Dutchman appears and insists on knowing who disturbs him, upon which SpongeBob naively expresses to him Squidward's complaints. After the Flying Dutchman burns Squidward for his alleged insults, the pirate turns to SpongeBob and Patrick for their own punishment, from which they try to escape multiple times and fail. The Flying Dutchman then explains his rule that anyone who sets foot on his ship will be forced to serve as his "ghostly" crew for eternity. Due to Squidward's continuous complaining, the pirate throws him through the "Fly of Despair", a seemingly endless void filled with horrific imagery, which intimidates SpongeBob and Patrick into becoming part of the ship's crew.

After the Flying Dutchman instructs SpongeBob and Patrick to prepare the ship for a Bikini Bottom haunting spree, they prove inept at their haunting task, failing to frighten citizens even with the pirate leading by example. Due to their poor performance, the Flying Dutchman decides that he will just eat SpongeBob and Patrick. The two then try to escape through the perfume department, though they still end up on the ship. However, they overhear the Flying Dutchman mentioning in his diary that he could not eat without his dining sock, which leads the two to steal it. The pirate notices them, and tries to take the sock back, which results in a stalemate. The Flying Dutchman proposes that when they give back the sock, he will give them three wishes. Upon settling the terms of the proposition, Patrick unwittingly wastes the first wish by wishing they had known this earlier, while SpongeBob wishes that Squidward could see them having wishes.

Squidward safely returns to his home after passing through the void, only to be brought back to the ship by SpongeBob's wish. Upon realizing there is only one wish left, SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward argue as to who should get the last wish. The Flying Dutchman intervenes and uses eeny, meeny, miny, moe to ultimately decide who gets the wish, with SpongeBob ending up selected. SpongeBob then wishes that the Flying Dutchman was a vegetarian so that he will not eat them. The three are then seemingly transported back to SpongeBob's pineapple home, but they quickly realize that they have also been turned into fruits, and are now in the Flying Dutchman's blender. A chase ensues as they bounce their blender away from the pirate, who now resides in a hippie van with a mast.

After the episode proper, Patchy tries to read fan mail, only to be blown up with his parrot Potty who lit a fuse on himself, not knowing it is no longer planned for the program.

Alternate endings

In the original airing, alternate endings were shown if Patrick or Squidward were chosen for the final wish.

Squidward wishes he never met Spongebob, and the Flying Dutchman makes SpongeBob and Patrick forget who he is, but they remain on the ship and are still eaten. Patrick wishes for some bubble gum.

Josh and Dinah Barkley (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) are a husband-and-wife musical comedy team at the peak of their careers. After finishing a new show, Dinah meets serious French playwright Jacques Pierre Barredout (Jacques François), who suggests that Dinah should take up dramatic acting. Dinah tries to keep the suggestion a secret from Josh, but when he finally discovers Dinah hiding a script for Jacques' new show from him, the couple splits up.

Their good friend, acerbic composer Ezra Millar (Oscar Levant) tries to trick them back together again, but fails. When Josh secretly watches Dinah's rehearsals for Barredout's new play and sees how she is struggling, he calls her up and pretends to be the Frenchman, giving her notes that help her to understand her part, the young Sarah Bernhardt. As the result, Dinah gives a brilliant performance. After the show, she accidentally learns that her late-night mentor was Josh and not Barredout, so she rushes to Josh's apartment and the two reconcile.

The story is told by the reserved Bartolomeo Aguilera whose cunning and bravery contribute to the outcome of the novel. Born with physical defects, he has integrated prosthetic material into his body as compensation. Bartolomeo is a close friend and advisor of the Argonos' captain, Nikos.

Within the first few chapters it is clear that Nikos is in an increasingly dangerous situation and that tensions on the ship are beginning to rise. Niko's credibility as captain is declining and many are ready for a new leader. Nikos informs Bartolomeo of news which may help to improve or reduce Nikos' position. While the Bishop's previous failed landing helped to place Nikos in good light, there seems little to improve Nikos' ordeal. A planet suitable for human life has been discovered. It is a short distance away and therefore a landing can be attempted, but more importantly, a signal has been sent from the planet. It is a basic signal offering no information as to who sent it or why. Nikos asks Bartolomeo to join the team which is to land on the planet, which the Bishop names Antioch.

The team consists of representatives of the Executive Council, Bartolomeo included, and of the different classes on the ship. The crew, along with harvesters which are to collect and process materials for the Argonos, descend on the planet. They soon discover that Antioch appears to have been settled by humans at one time, but it has been deserted for a long time—decades, if not centuries. Although the team visits only a handful of the city-complexes, there are presumably numerous cities around the planet. All of them contain enigmatic and crumbling structures.

The first startling discovery the team makes foreshadows the epiphany of evil which looms over the Argonos for the latter part of the book. A number of human remains are found outside several of the city-complexes. The remains are all but decayed with only bones remaining, and the few intact skeletons they find reveal no apparent trauma or instance of a violent death. However, the second discovery haunts the team even after leaving the planet.

The team enters a glass structure which at first reveals nothing about the world or its former inhabitants. In the structure, they uncover a staircase winding down underground to another chamber. At the bottom of the staircase lies a nightmare: in a vast room there are contained, on hooks and in chains, an unimaginable number of mutilated human skeletons, including a number of children and infants. The Argonos is contacted at once and the team decides it is time to leave.

The Argonos prepares to leave orbit, but amongst the underclasses there is talk of settling on Antioch. Par, a friend of Bartolomeo asks him for his help in a planned insurrection; the common people of the ship's blue-collar "lower decks" desire to leave Argonos and live on Antioch in order to escape their lives of unending drudgery on the Argonos. Bartolomeo agrees to help and he obtains access codes for the bay-doors and shuttles. However, the operation is thwarted and fails miserably resulting in several participants, including Bartolomeo, being taken into custody. Bartolomeo soon discovers that Nikos knew about Bartolomeo's involvement and used it to his advantage and reassert himself as captain. Bartolomeo remains in prison for months on end until he is finally released along with all of the other prisoners.

He stands before the Executive Council and defends his reasons for aiding in the operation. Under his advice, other political prisoners are pardoned. Bartolomeo's position as advisor is reinstated and he is updated on a new mystery which Argonos has come across.

Unbeknownst to the planet exploration team, upon their entry into one of the buildings on Antioch, a signal from the building was sent deep into space. The team was never informed of this, but Nikos decided that the Argonos should travel to where the signal had been sent, which ended up being the location of the alien ship. There, this alien starship—a vast, immeasurable, structure far larger than the Argonos—lies dormant in the dead of space, and it appears just as silent and uninhabited as Antioch. Bartolomeo takes head of a team which has been attempting to explore the mysterious ship. There has already been a number of deaths and other unfortunate incidents among previous exploratory team members while exploring the ship. Bartolomeo therefore ensures that extra precautions are taken as he takes control.

Some time after Bartolomeo assumes control of the operations aboard the alien ship, the mystery becomes even greater: a solitary old woman is found in a compartment of the ship which, unlike the rest of the explored sections, inexplicably has Earth-like gravity and air breathable to humans. At first, the old woman is unable to understand the languages used to communicate with her and speaks only in gibberish. She eventually begins to communicate with scientists in English. She says her name is Sarah and claims to have been from Antioch, and says the aliens saved her people, but can clarify nothing else in her delirious state.

Upon Bartolomeo's urging, the Executive Committee decides that rather than continuing to explore the staggeringly huge vessel themselves, they will attach the ship to the Argonos and take it with them in hopes of delivering it to another human settlement with greater resources to continue the ship's exploration. This proves to be a horrible mistake as the true nature of the ship is revealed. Shortly after this decision is made, a young boy known by Bartolomeo sneaks aboard the alien ship, and Bartolomeo uncovers a horrifying part of the puzzle when he goes on board to bring the boy back to the Argonos: behind a door that the exploration team was not able to open on previous visits, Bartolomeo and the boy discover an enormous chamber containing horribly mangled corpses similar to the ones uncovered on Antioch, but in much greater quantity and more well-preserved because they had been frozen. It becomes clear that the aliens who committed the genocidal acts on Antioch were or still are on board the alien vessel, and were most likely its builders. While talking to the distraught boy, Bartolomeo has a sudden realization: How did the old woman know that they had named the planet "Antioch?" She is, as deduced by Bartolomeo, an alien.

Bartolomeo calls an emergency meeting with the Executive Council and tells those taking care of "Sarah" to seal the room and sedate her. Once the "Sarah" realizes something new is happening, her human shape begins to change somewhat and she displays an extreme amount of strength while trying to break out of the medical room. She is eventually sedated and ejected into space, but not before momentarily transforming into something other than human.

Attempts made to separate the alien vessel from the Argonos fail. Weapons have no effect. As panic begins to intensify aboard the ship, a final plan is devised. The residents on the Argonos will be crammed into the harvesters and shuttles, and they will travel back to the abandoned planet Antioch. To rid themselves of the aliens, Nikos and a few other trusted crewmen will remain aboard the ship and conduct a random jump out of the galaxy, possibly out of the universe, thereby taking the alien vessel with them.

The plan is put into action and while the alien vessel struggles to free itself from the Argonos, the two star-ships are soon gone. The story ends with the convoy still on its way to Antioch, although Bartolomeo hopes for the future.

''The Swoop!'' tells of the simultaneous invasion of England by several armies — "England was not merely beneath the heel of the invader. It was beneath the heels of nine invaders. There was barely standing-room."Chapter 3 — and features references to many well-known figures of the day, among them the politician Herbert Gladstone, novelist Edgar Wallace, actor-managers Seymour Hicks and George Edwardes, and boxer Bob Fitzsimmons.

The invaders are the Russians under Grand Duke Vodkakoff, the Germans under Prince Otto of Saxe-Pfennig – the reigning British monarch of the day was Edward VII of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha — the Swiss Navy, the Monegasques, a band of Moroccan brigands under Raisuli, the Young Turks, the Mad Mullah from Somaliland, the Chinese under Prince Ping Pong Pang, and the Bollygollans in war canoes.

The initial reaction to the invasion is muted. "It was inevitable, in the height of the Silly Season, that such a topic as the simultaneous invasion of Great Britain by nine foreign powers should be seized upon by the press", but the English are far more interested in cricket and one newspaper placard announces "Surrey Doing Badly" (at cricket), ahead of "German Army Lands in England". And when the Germans begin shelling London — "Fortunately it was August, and there was nobody in town." — the destruction of nearly all the capital's statues, the reduction of the Albert Hall to a heap of picturesque ruins, and the burning of the Royal Academy, earn Prince Otto a hearty vote of thanks from the grateful populace.

The European parties form an alliance and expel the other invaders, but the Swiss soon leave, to be home in time for the winter hotel season, and when Prince Otto and Grand Duke Vodkakoff are offered music hall engagements and the leader of the army of Monaco is not, he takes offence and withdraws his troops.

The two remaining armies are overcome thanks to the stratagems of the indomitable Clarence Chugwater, leader of the Boy Scouts. By causing each commander to become jealous of the other's music hall fees, he succeeds in breaking up the alliance and, in the ensuing chaos, Clarence and his Boy Scouts are able to overcome the invaders.

In ''The Military Invasion of America'', the United States is invaded by armies from Germany, under Prince Otto of Saxe-Pfennig, and Japan, led by General Owoki. Once again it is Clarence Chugwater who saves the day.

The Sixth Doctor lands on the planet Refiloe, where it seems the TARDIS has taken her final flight, and is amazed to encounter his former companion, Peri.

The Sixth Doctor and Peri are passengers on the ''Lankester'', a ship that makes its run every year from Madagascar to New Orleans. However, this time, the ship hides a secret...

Former CIA analyst Jack Ryan now teaches history at the United States Naval Academy. In London with his physician wife, Cathy, and their young daughter Sally, Ryan witnesses and intervenes in a terrorist kidnapping attempt on Lord William Holmes, the British Minister of State for Northern Ireland and a cousin to the Queen. Ryan is wounded but disarms one terrorist and fatally shoots two others, then subdues Sean Miller. Among those killed is Miller's younger brother. All belong to a radical IRA splinter cell led by Kevin O'Donnell. Shortly after the incident, IRA operatives attempt and fail to assassinate O'Donnell, considering him and his followers too radical.

Miller is tried and convicted. As he is being transported to prison, O'Donnell and his comrades ambush the police convoy, killing the guards and freeing Miller. Fleeing to North Africa, O'Donnell plans the next attempt on Lord Holmes. Miller vows to avenge his brother's death, and O'Donnell allows him, O'Donnell's lover, Annette, and several others to travel to the US to assassinate Ryan. Meanwhile, British police have determined that an informant has been tipping off the terrorists and are surveilling a book shop owner who is an IRA operative.

Back in America, Ryan is informed about Miller's escape. Soon after, he narrowly survives an assassination attempt by Miller's accomplices, while Miller simultaneously targets Cathy, causing her car to crash into a highway divider, seriously injuring Sally. Ryan's former CIA superior, Vice Admiral James Greer, asks Ryan to rejoin the agency to help capture the terrorists. While investigating, Ryan recalls glimpsing a red-headed woman during the attacks on him and Lord Holmes. Ryan approaches Sinn Fein representative Paddy O'Neil for information. O'Neil denies IRA involvement and denounces the attacks, but refuses to betray any fellow Irishmen. Ryan threatens to sabotage O'Neil's American fundraising efforts by showing images of his hospitalized daughter to the media. O'Neil eventually relents and identifies the red-haired female accomplice as an Englishwoman (Annette). Finding her will lead to Miller. Satellite analysis indicates that Miller and O'Donnell are at a terrorist training camp in Libya. The Special Air Service raid the camp, killing everyone, though Miller, O'Donnell, and their cohorts have already fled to North America to coincide with Lord Holmes's visit there.

While Lord Holmes is at the Ryan residence to present Ryan's KCVO medal, a severe thunderstorm apparently knocks out the house's power. Ryan notices the boat-house lights are still on, and he is unable to radio any DSS agents or state troopers guarding the premises. He deduces the house's power was deliberately cut and fears an imminent attack. Ryan realizes that Holmes' assistant, Watkins, is the informant and forces him to reveal information. Outside, O'Donnell, Miller, and their team have killed all security personnel, then infiltrate the house. After Ryan and his Naval Academy associate, Lt. Commander Robby Jackson, eliminate several terrorists, Ryan lures O'Donnell, Miller, and Annette into pursuing him on open water in their waiting speed boats. Upon realizing it is a ruse, O'Donnell demands they return and complete their mission to abduct and ransom Holmes. Miller, crazed with revenge against Ryan, refuses, then fatally shoots O'Donnell and Annette. He leaps aboard Ryan's boat where a struggle ensues; Ryan kills Miller and jumps overboard just before the burning boat crashes into jutting rocks and explodes. A FBI Hostage Rescue Team arrives, rescuing Ryan.

The action begins with bachelor Jimmy Pitt in New York; having fallen in love on a transatlantic liner, he befriends a small-time burglar and breaks into a police captain's house as a result of a bet. The cast of characters head to England, and from there on it is a typically Wodehousean romantic story, set at the stately Dreever Castle, overflowing with imposters, detectives, crooks, scheming lovers and conniving aunts.

Killings of innocent ranchers indicate the Apaches have broken the peace treaty. Old Shatterhand, blood brother of the Apache chief Winnetou, finds out that ruthless land grabbers did the killings, hoping to start off a war between the Indians and the settlers, and follows the trail right back to the gates of the cavalry's fort.

Mrs Nesta Ford, in her London hotel room, reveals to her new friend Lord Mountry that she hopes to take her son Ogden on a yachting trip proposed by Mountry, despite her ex-husband having won custody of the boy. As Mountry leaves, Cynthia Drassilis arrives with Ogden, whom she has led away from his father's country house. Mrs Ford rewards Cynthia, but soon Mr Ford's secretary, a Mr Minnick, arrives to recover the stolen child. Cynthia tries to bribe his colleague, Mrs Sheridan, but to no avail, as she believes Nesta's influence has spoiled the boy. After they have gone, Nesta reveals to Cynthia Ogden's past as the 'Little Nugget', and the repeated attempts to kidnap him made by US gangsters. Nesta wishes to call in professional help, but Cynthia persuades her she can still do it, with the help of her new fiancé, a wealthy man called Peter Burns, who she suggests can take up a post at Ogden's new school, posing as a trainee schoolmaster.

We meet Peter Burns, and learn that he fell deeply in love, sometime between the ages of 21 and 25, with a Miss Audrey Blake, daughter of an impoverished artist. Though he treated her in a patronising way, they got engaged, but shortly after the death of her father, she ran off and married another man. This event crushed Burns, once a carefree and selfish youth, and after some years of travel he returned to London chastened, and became engaged to Cynthia Drassilis mostly out of sympathy for her plight. When she visits him the day after his proposal, she easily talks him into helping her out in her scheme. He meets school head Mr Abney, and is soon signed up as Classics master at Sanstead House, the school to which Mr Ford plans to send Ogden.

At Sanstead, Burns takes up his duties and soon finds his feet with the boys; he also befriends White, the smooth-mannered butler. Ogden Ford arrives a few days later, and a rather shocked Abney requests that Burns discourage his rudeness and smoking. Burns quickly learns that any attempt to kidnap the tempestuous boy will require great skill.

Time passes and Ford introduces numerous vices to the school. In the local inn one day, Burns sees a suspicious-looking American; later, he sees White the butler chasing someone away from the school with a pistol. White explains that he is a detective from the Pinkerton agency, hired by Mr Ford to watch over his son. The following day, another American visits the school, a pleasant man claiming to be a friend of Mr Ford, who soon leaves again having toured the place.

The next evening, Burns is strolling outside when he hears Ogden scream, and a man runs into him, knocking him down. An excited crowd gathers to discuss the incident, a man found breaking into Ogden's room, when Mrs Sheridan appears, for an appointment with Abeny; Burns quickly sees that she is in fact his former fiancée, Audrey. Things are awkward between them at first, but they soon make up. Burns meets the American from the village, who turns out to be Buck MacGinnis, former kidnapper of Ogden, and who thinks Burns is none other than his rival, "Smooth" Sam Fisher. Burns questions White about these men, and learns that while Buck a common hoodlum, Fisher is an educated and dangerously smooth man. Spending more time with Audrey, he realises his love for her is still strong.

One day MacGinnis and his gang raid the school, holding up the masters at gunpoint. MacGinnis takes Burns to search for Ogden, but Burns flees out of the study window. As he is climbing out MacGinnis shoots him, but he makes it to the cover of some bushes. Burns tackles MacGinnis, breaking his leg, and the gang flees without the missing Ogden. Burns frees the rest of the school, and the police are called. Ogden still cannot be found, and a friend is also found to be missing. Burns volunteers to go to London to search for the runaways, and Audrey implores him to search well, saying she will lose her job with Mr Ford if Ogden is not found.

We learn that Burns has bribed Ogden to go to London, and arranged to have his valet send the boy to his mother Nesta Ford. Abney the headmaster, sick in bed with a cold, learns that the butler is a detective and sends him on the trip to London with Burns. On the way White reveals that he saw Burns give Ogden his directions, and also that he is in fact none other than Smooth Sam Fisher, proposing to come in with Burns on the presumed kidnapping job. Burns flees to his flat, but learns that Ogden has not arrived there. Fisher arrives having followed Burns, but on learning Ogden is off enjoying London he leaves to seek him.

After a day's search, Burns finds the boy at the house of his friend's mother, and brings him back to the school. Fisher also returns, threatening to expose Burns' actions if his identity is revealed. Ogden is moved to a safe room, and guarded; Burns' relationship with Audrey chills after he is reminded he is engaged, and he foils another attempt by Fisher to take the boy. The school term ends, but Mr Ford cannot collect Ogden for a few days, so Abney asks Burns to join Audrey and the butler in guarding him, but Fisher reveals Burns' plot to return Ogden to his mother.

Burns leaves in shame, but returns and contacts Audrey to tell her about Fisher. She doesn't trust him, remaining aloof, and he sees MacGinnis is also back in the neighbourhood. He drives Fisher out of the house, and takes guard himself, still without Audrey's faith. Fisher comes back having joined up with MacGinnis, and offers Burns a last chance, which he rejects. With the phone wires cut, Burns tries to sneak Ogden across country, but they are trapped in the loft of the school stables. Ogden, bored of the chase, surrenders himself, and Audrey breaks down in tears, comforted by Burns.

Some days later, Burns and Audrey speak of their love, but she insists he stand by his promise to Cynthia. They part, and Cynthia's mother appears with Nesta Ford. Mr Ford also arrives, as does Sam Fisher, who persuades Ford to reunite with his wife and to take Fisher on as Ogden's security guard, in lieu of a ransom. Ford agrees and they leave. Mrs Drassilis reveals that Cynthia has fallen for Lord Mountry, and Burns gives them his blessing, releasing her from the engagement. He heads off after Audrey.

Financier Peter Pett lives in a New York mansion with his formidable wife, crime novelist Nesta Ford Pett, his step-son, the stout and ill-behaved fourteen-year-old Ogden Ford, and his niece, the strong-willed Ann Chester. Mr Pett sees an article in the ''New York Sunday Chronicle'' about Mrs Pett's 21-year-old nephew, James Braithwaite Crocker, a wild young man called "Piccadilly Jim" who is currently in London but used to work for the ''Chronicle''. Mrs Pett decides the family will go to London to bring Jimmy back and keep him under control in New York. Ann does not like Jimmy, because five years prior, Ann wrote a book of poetry and Jimmy interviewed her about it for the ''Chronicle'', but made a joke of her poems and the interview in his article. Ogden behaves rudely to Mr Pett and Jerry Mitchell, Mr Pett's fitness trainer. Ann suggests to Jerry that they kidnap Ogden and send him to the pet hospital run by Mitchell's friend Smithers, who cures sick dogs with a regimen of a healthy diet and exercise. She believes the same treatment would reform Ogden.

In London, Nesta's sister Eugenia, who inherited a fortune from her first husband, and Eugenia's husband Bingley Crocker, who was a penniless actor before marrying Eugenia, reside at their fashionable residence, Drexdale House. Jimmy Crocker is Bingley's son and Eugenia's step-son. Nesta claims Eugenia married beneath her, so Eugenia wants to have Bingley made a lord. Bingley would rather return to America to see baseball games, but Eugenia does not want Bingley to leave England until he has been made a peer. Bingley commits a gaffe by opening the front door for the Pett family, instead of waiting for the butler Bayliss to do so, and covers this up by pretending to be the butler. He and Mr Pett bond over their love of baseball, and Pett says he would gladly hire him. Nesta argues that Jimmy should be sent to New York, though Eugenia dismisses the idea.

Jimmy wakes with a hangover, and learns from Bayliss about a newspaper report which shows that Jimmy got into a fight with an influential young man, Lord Percy Whipple. This will delay Eugenia's goal of making Bingley a lord, which upsets Bingley. This makes Jimmy feel guilty about his behaviour. Jimmy decides to go to America to save his father any more trouble, and explains this to him in a letter. He sees the beautiful Ann Chester, who is returning to America along with her family. They do not recognize each other. She clearly dislikes Jimmy Crocker, so he pretends to be Algernon Bayliss, son of the butler Bayliss.

Back in New York, Nesta Pett hosts a party, where Jimmy's friend Lord Wisbeach is present, as well as the Pett family's new butler, Skinner, who is actually Bingley Crocker. Lord Wisbeach warns Mrs Pett to safeguard the explosive powder called Partridgite invented by her nephew Willie Partridge. Mitchell is pushed too far by Ogden and hits him, and Nesta Pett fires Mitchell. Jimmy volunteers to take Mitchell's place in Ann's kidnapping scheme for her, and is welcomed into the Pett household under his real name, though he still pretends he is not Jimmy to Ann. He plays along with his father being the butler, and also pretends to recognize Lord Wisbeach, though he realizes the man is an imposter. After Jimmy learns that the imposter, alias Gentleman Jack, is after the Patridgite, the so-called Lord Wisbeach tells Mrs Pett that Jimmy and Skinner are imposters. Mrs Pett hires a tough detective, Miss Trimble.

Ogden makes a deal with Jimmy to be kidnapped and receive half the ransom. Jimmy remembers he mocked Ann's poetry, and keeps his identity secret. He confesses his love for her, but she has agreed to marry Lord Wisbeach. Bingley tells Jimmy he came to New York because of his homesickness and Jimmy's letter, and left a note for Eugenia saying it was for a vacation. Jimmy discovers Lord Wisbeach stealing the Partridgite. The thief sets off the powder, but it does nothing, and he flees. Miss Trimble asks questions, and Jimmy reveals the whole truth to everyone. The kidnapping plan fails, though Mr Pett insists to Mrs Pett that Ogden be sent to a boarding school. Eugenia Crocker appears and says that Bingley will soon be made a lord, since Lord Percy Whipple respects Jimmy. Jimmy stays in New York to work for Mr Pett. Ann agrees to bury the past and marry Jimmy.

The narrator visits the New England home of an ancient widow, Mrs. Rimmle, and her three aging daughters: Becky, Jane and Maria. Long ago Mrs. Rimmle visited Europe, which was the great event of her life. The daughters would also like to see Europe but their mother falls ill whenever their plans get close to materializing. Finally, family friends take Jane to Europe, where she is too happy ever to return.

When the narrator next sees Mrs. Rimmle, she tells him that Jane has died abroad, which is not true, and that Becky will soon be going to Europe. Becky never actually gets away from the family house and finally dies. When he last visits the family, the nearly mummified Mrs. Rimmle tells the narrator that Becky has "gone to Europe," a sad euphemism for her death.

Dissatisfied 38-year-old attorney Roger Cobb (Martin) is dating his boss' daughter and is also an aspiring jazz guitarist. A difficult, eccentric millionairess named Edwina Cutwater (Tomlin) has been bedridden since childhood. Edwina, who has employed Roger's law firm to manage her estate, asks him to make some unusual final arrangements to her will.

Having discovered she is dying, Edwina has enlisted the aid of a culture-shocked mystic named Prahka Lasa (Richard Libertini), who has mastered the secret of transferring human souls. She has made an arrangement with Terry Hoskins (Victoria Tennant), a beautiful young woman. Edwina wants her own soul placed in Terry's vacated body so that she can finally experience youth and health. Terry, who expresses discontent with the material world, will have her soul released to the universe. Roger is to change Edwina's will so that Terry, as Edwina's future self, is her sole beneficiary. Unsurprisingly, Roger believes the whole plan is "bananas".

Edwina dies at the law office. The soul-transfer works, but the bowl temporarily holding her soul falls out the window and hits Roger. Roger ends up with Edwina's soul sharing his body. She has control over the right side of his body and he the left. She causes him to lose both his girlfriend and his job. Besides being able to hear her thoughts, Roger talks to Edwina's image that appears in mirrors and other reflective surfaces. Their relationship gradually warms up, but both of them want Edwina out of his body. Meanwhile, Terry is shocked to learn that the soul transference really works, as she admits she only agreed to it to get Edwina's fortune. Terry tries to prevent Roger from finding the guru by sending him to the airport with a plane ticket, but when the holy man shows up again unexpectedly, she refuses to cooperate.

Roger pledges to help Edwina transfer to Terry's body as originally planned with the guru's help. They, along with Tyrone Wattell (Jason Bernard), Roger's blind friend and fellow musician, pose as band members and sneak into a party Terry is throwing at her mansion, newly inherited from the deceased Edwina.

Guru Prahka successfully transfers Edwina's spirit back into the bowl, but when Roger attempts to force Terry to touch the bowl, it is flung into a bucket of water, transferring Edwina into the liquid. Prahka explains that he must repair the dented bowl before her soul can be transferred again. Terry summons security to apprehend Roger and the bucket. Roger flees and pours the water into a pitcher, which he gives to Tyrone for safekeeping.

Roger allows himself to be caught with the bucket, which he has filled with ordinary water. Terry, however, appears with the pitcher, which she empties into a flower bed. Believing Edwina to be lost forever, Roger despondently wanders around the mansion as the party continues into the night.

When he reunites with Tyrone, Roger discovers that his friend, mistaking the water for gin, had drunk from the pitcher before Terry took it, thereby transferring Edwina into his own body. Guru Prahka, having repaired the bowl, sends Edwina back into Roger.

Roger, Prahka and Tyrone sneak into Terry's bedroom to attempt another transference, but she meets them at the door with a loaded gun. She intends to kill Roger and pass him off as an intruder, but Roger manages to gain the upper hand. In the course of the struggle another guest's life is threatened and he threatens to call the police. It is revealed that the discontent with the world Terry referred to included a storied criminal record, and rather than go to jail for life as a "three-strikes loser," Terry consents to having her soul placed into the body of her favorite horse and to let Edwina take up residence in her body as originally planned. The final shot shows Roger and Edwina (who now resides in Terry's body) dancing together.

Spencer Brydon returns to New York City after thirty-three years abroad. He has returned to "look at his 'property'", two buildings, one his boyhood home on "the jolly corner". The second, larger structure is now going to be renovated into a big apartment building. These properties have been the source of his income since the deaths of his family members. Spencer finds he is good at directing this renovation, despite never having done this work before, suggesting that his innate ability for business was hiding deep within him unused. Spencer rekindles a relationship with an old friend, Alice Staverton. Both comment on his "real gift" for business and construction which he also finds "vulgar and sordid". He starts to wonder who he would have been if he had stayed in the U.S.

He starts to prowl the house at night to try to meet his American alter ego. Brydon has begun to realize that he might have been an astute businessman if he hadn't forsaken moneymaking for a more leisurely life. He discusses this possibility with Alice Staverton, his friend who has always lived in New York.

Meanwhile Brydon begins to believe that his alter ego—the ghost of the man he might have been—is haunting the "jolly corner", his nickname for the old family house. After a harrowing night of pursuit in the house, Brydon finally confronts the ghost, who advances on him and overpowers him with "a rage of personality before which his own collapsed". Brydon eventually awakens with his head pillowed on Alice Staverton's lap. It is arguable whether or not Spencer had actually become unconscious or whether he had died and has awoken in an afterlife. She had come to the house because she sensed he was in danger. She tells him that she pities the ghost of his alter ego, who has suffered and lost two fingers from his right hand. But she also embraces and accepts Brydon as he is.

The New Warriors (Night Thrasher, Namorita, Speedball, and Microbe) battle a group of villains (Cobalt Man, Speedfreek, Coldheart, and Nitro) in Stamford, Connecticut, while filming a reality television show. Nitro explodes, killing more than 600 people (including school children and all of the New Warriors except Speedball). The rest of the superheroes appear in Stamford to search for survivors.

Public opinion turns against superhumans. Even the inactive members of the New Warriors are branded as "baby killers". Hindsight (desperate to distance himself from the team) releases their secret identities online, and several are attacked. She-Hulk forces Hindsight to shut down the site, and Hindsight is arrested by John Jameson. Angry civilians attack the Human Torch outside a club after he cuts the line and arrogantly delivers the quip “When you save the world from Galactus, you can too”.

Guided by Iron Man, Congress quickly passes the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), 6 U.S.C. § 558, requiring the registration of all persons with superhuman abilities with the U.S. government, and the enlistment and training of those wishing to operate as superheroes. The law applies to those with naturally-occurring superhuman abilities, those humans using exotic technology (such as Iron Man), or anyone who wants to challenge the superhumans. Enactment of the federal law leads to revisions of state criminal codes.

Captain America refuses to join a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force hunting superhumans in violation of the act, and is attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Cape-Killers", even though the act has not been passed yet. Afterwards, he becomes a fugitive and forms an underground resistance movement calling itself the "Secret Avengers". This team includes Hercules, Falcon, Danny Rand (who is acting as Daredevil in Matt Murdock's place),''Civil War'' #2 Luke Cage, and the Young Avengers. Iron Man, Reed Richards, Hank Pym (actually a Skrull in disguise), and She-Hulk come down in favor of the act. Spider-Man unmasks at a press conference as a show of support for the act. Doctor Strange wants no part of the act and tells Iron Man and Mister Fantastic that they are never to call on him again (the government declares Doctor Strange exempt from the act).

The government-backed heroes track down unregistered superhumans and subsequently detain or register them. Captain America's Secret Avengers and Iron Man's Avengers end up fighting in Yancy Street. The Thing, who was only visiting the old neighborhood, gets roped into crowd control. However, when a young member of the Yancy Street Gang is killed in the violence that ensues, Grimm, disgusted with both sides, leaves the country for France.

The Secret Avengers, responding to a false emergency, are lured into an ambush by the pro-registration forces. As the battle turns against them, a new weapon is brought into play: Project Lightning, a cyborg clone of Thor (created from a few strands of the Asgardian's hair and empowered by a technological copy of Mjolnir). Confronted by Bill Foster, "Thor" sends a bolt of lightning through the hero's chest, killing him. With both sides in shock, Cap orders a retreat. Sue Storm shelters the re-grouping Secret Avengers under an energy shield, allowing their escape.

Bill Foster's death shakes up both sides: Stature and Nighthawk surrender and register, while the Human Torch and Invisible Woman oppose the act. In turn, Pym drafts a sub-group of the Thunderbolts to their cause.''Civil War'' #4

Spider-Man demands to see the concentration camp-styled prison facilities "42" in the Negative Zone.''Amazing Spider-Man'' #535 He concludes that he has made a mistake by siding with Stark and attempts to defect from Iron Man's side but is confronted by Iron Man and, after a brief battle, escapes. Against Iron Man's will, he is hunted down and badly beaten by the Jester III and Jack O'Lantern of the new Thunderbolts. The Punisher saves Spider-Man by killing the two villains, and carries him to a Secret Avengers safe-house. After recovering from his injuries, Spider-Man joins Cap's forces,''Civil War'' #5 and makes a public statement in which he pledges to fight the Registration Act.

The Punisher seeks to join Captain America's forces, pointing out that Iron Man's decision to employ infamous mass murderers as enforcers of the act is what has motivated the vigilante to come out of hiding, although crime is at an all-time low as a result of the registered heroes. Captain America reluctantly accepts Punisher's offer of help.

As the Punisher makes his way through the Baxter Building to retrieve plans for the Negative Zone prison, Sue Richards travels to Atlantis to persuade Namor to join the Secret Avengers, although he refuses. The supervillains Goldbug and Plunderer arrive at the Secret Avengers' base to join Captain America's team, but the Punisher immediately kills them, leading Captain America to attack him and kick him out of the group.

While meditating, Doctor Strange speaks with Uatu the Watcher, who asks Strange why he doesn't use his immense power to end the conflict. Doctor Strange informs Uatu that the Sorcerer Supreme has no business in mankind's internal struggles, but promises to pray for an outcome that will benefit mankind and spill the least amount of blood.

As the final battle begins Cloak teleports the combatants to New York City, where Namor and an army of Atlanteans arrive to fight alongside the Secret Avengers, while the Champions, the Thor clone, and Captain Marvel reinforce Stark's team. Mister Fantastic saves Invisible Woman from a bullet launched by Taskmaster, and Hercules destroys the Thor clone. The Thing returns to protect the citizens from harm. As Captain America is about to deliver a final blow to Iron Man, policemen, EMTs, and firefighters try to restrain him. Realizing how much damage the fight has already inflicted upon the very people he wishes to protect, Captain America surrenders and orders his team to stand down.

Aftermath

Following the Civil War, many changes have occurred in response to the events that transpired:

• The President of the United States grants general amnesty to all opponents of the Superhuman Registration Act who turn themselves in or register *Captain America, the main opponent to the act, is arrested and subsequently assassinated by a brainwashed Sharon Carter.
• Spider-Man's identity of Peter Parker is now known, causing J. Jonah Jameson to sue.
• An assassin hired by Kingpin misses Spider-Man, but strikes the "secondary target" of Aunt May, putting her in critical condition. An enraged Spider-Man dons a cloth version of his black suit and then confronts Kingpin in prison, mercilessly beating him within an inch of his life giving him a warning that if his aunt dies, Kingpin will too as well and threatens the other inmates that he will come for them if they ever try to harm him or his family.
• Tony Stark is appointed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. while Maria Hill is demoted to deputy director.
• The 50-State Initiative is set up to eventually place a superhero team in every state.
• The Mighty Avengers assemble as a new team.
• Some heroes choose to leave the country rather than submit. In Canada the third Omega Flight is gathered; Firestar retires; and several heroes remain underground, including the New Avengers:''Civil War'' #7 Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman (actually the Skrull Queen Veranke), Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Ronin (actually a resurrected Clint Barton), Echo, and Wolverine.
• Goliath, Bantam, Typeface, and Stilt-Man have been killed during the conflict. Tom Foster continues his uncle's legacy, becoming the new Goliath.
• Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman take a break from the Fantastic Four to work on their marriage and are replaced by Black Panther and Storm.
• Captain Marvel enters the present day.
• Speedball's powers (and sanity) are drastically altered, and he becomes the new Penance, a member of the Thunderbolts.
• A reconstituted version of the New Warriors emerges, bearing little resemblance to the original; most of the former Warriors are a part of The Initiative Program.
• Nova returns to Earth (after destroying Annihilus and thwarting its annihilation wave with the Nova Corps Worldmind in him). He finds out that his former teammates on the New Warriors are dead and has to decide whether or not to be on The Initiative as he battles the Thunderbolts. He chooses to leave Earth, heading for the Kree space.
• The real Thor Odinson was recently revived alongside other surviving Asgardian after Ragnarok and based New Asgard over Broxton, Oklahoma. Displeased that one of his friends who registered the unjust law betrayed those who opposed it, as well as secretly use his DNA to clone him, an angered Thor dispatches Iron Man and tells him to give the government who supported the act a merciless warning if they ever approach New Asgard uninvited again. Although he agrees with Stark's suggestion on keeping New Asgard as a separate location from United States, alongside its mission-related, and not to be bound by the currently active registration act, as long as the location remains hovering above the ground. *In an attempt to save his aunt May's life Spider-Man consults Doctor Strange for help only to be refused. He is then offered by Mephisto a difficult deal, save his aunt's life in exchange for his and Mary Jane "MJ" Watson's marriage to be erased from history as the demon sees their eventual daughter pose a threat to him in the future, both eventually agree to it after some deliberation and thus May's life is saved but Peter and MJ's marriage is erased and Spider-Man's secret identity is restored again.

In a ''jumak'' (tavern) on a small pass called Soritjae of Boseong County, South Jeolla Province during the early 1960s, Dong-ho, who is in his 30s, asks a pansori singer at the inn if the road and inn's name, "Road of Music" and "Inn of Music", were named after her singing, which the woman denies. The singer says that they were named after a man called Yu-bong and that she learned singing from the man's adoptive daughter, Song-hwa. Dong-ho requests a song and accompanies her with his drum, recalling his past.

A young Dong-ho is crying in the fields while his mother is looking at Yu-bong singing pansori for the opening ceremony of the local mill. Later that night after the performance, Yu-bong enters the hanok of Dong-ho's mother. The woman greets Yu-bong unaware that Dong-ho has woken up, and the two have sexual intercourse while Dong-ho watches from the side. Yu-bong convinces the woman to elope with him. The couple, Dong-ho, and Song-hwa leave the village and begin their journey. The woman becomes pregnant with Yu-bong's child, but both die from birth complications.

Yu-bong teaches young Dong-ho and Song-hwa the verses to Jindo Arirang. Dong-ho does not exhibit the same singing talent as Song-hwa, but Yu-bong begins to teach Dong-ho the role of a pansori gosu to accompany Song-hwa. Meanwhile, Song-hwa begins to learn the verses to Chunhyangga. While traveling, they meet Yu-bong's friend, a street artist calligrapher. Yu-bong planned on bringing Song-hwa and Dong-ho to see a professional performance of Chunhyangga starring Lee Dong-seong, but the calligrapher expresses lament at Yu-bong's intentions. The calligrapher tells Yu-bong that Korean folk music is no longer a means to make a living as people turn to Western and Japanese songs instead. Yu-bong believes that Pansori is still superior and will become internationally renowned. During the performance, both children are moved to tears. After the performance, Lee stops Yu-bong and asks him for a drink. A long time ago, Lee and Yu-bong were both studying under the same master, but after a scandal between Yu-bong and the master's favorite concubine, Yu-bong was excommunicated from the community. Upon the master's death, he forgave Yu-bong and now Lee is asking Yu-bong to come back to Seoul. Yu-bong, angry and drunk, picks a fight with Lee and others declaring that although he is not a mainstream star, he will prove his value, then he storms out alone.

During autumn many years later, Dong-ho and Song-hwa have both grown up to be young adults. They pick up a job to sing at an event gathering and Song-hwa impresses the male audience with her singing. One man begins to dance and approaches Song-hwa to put money in her bosom, inviting her to join them for drinks. Song-hwa reluctantly obliges. After returning home, Yu-bong slaps Song-hwa for pouring drinks and dishonoring the pansori profession. Dong-ho defends her and tells Song-hwa that since Yu-bong is not their real father and has no right to abuse them in this way. Song-hwa defends Yu-bong and admits that she loves to sing. The three continue their journey and continue to lose jobs due to Yu-bong's rash behavior. Once, while traveling through wheat fields, they break out into Jindo Arirang and begin to dance. While the song progresses, Song-hwa starts to improvise lyrics to the tune, Yu-bong joining in.

While singing on the streets, Song-hwa and Yu-bong sing a duet from Chunhyangga, gathering an audience. However a marching band passing by quickly grabs their audience away drowning out the pansori singing. Yu-bong expresses disgust at the people's tastes in music and leaves. Yu-bong has gone to seek a friend in order to teach Song-hwa new skills. Dong-ho interjects that Song-hwa has no energy to sing, living off of porridge every day due to their poverty. Yu-bong grows furious, stating that a true singer does not sing for money, but rather chases after producing the best sound, which transcends both wealth and fame. Having had enough, Dong-ho packs his belongings and leaves. Song-hwa chases after him, but ultimately decides to stay with Yu-bong.

The contemporary Dong-ho ends his flashback and takes a bus to Osu, where he finds out from a gisaeng that Song-hwa left their establishment 3 years ago as well after waiting for her brother on the porch. Dong-ho travels to a bar and coincidentally meets the old calligrapher on the side of the street. Surprised by this reunion, the two have a drink and the Calligrapher tells Dong-ho that after he left, Song-hwa ceased to sing or eat, worrying Yu-bong greatly.

Yu-bong and the calligrapher were catching up and joking about the aphrodisiac that the calligrapher was taking. Earlier, Yu-bong humiliated himself at a performance earlier and Song-hwa was reluctant to sing either. Yu-bong inquires that if one overdoses on aconite, they would become blind. Later that day, Yu-bong prepares medicine for Song-hwa and has her drink the concoction. A few days later while traveling, Song-hwa falls and admits that she has turned blind. Yu-bong takes her in his arms and brings her to a lodging near Baekyenosa Temple. By the window, Yu-bong combs Song-hwa's hair and tells her that the sun is up but the air is heavy with morning fog. Later that night, Song-hwa tells Yu-bong that she wants to learn to sing Simcheongga. Yu-bong begins to instruct Song-hwa but critiques her for not having enough despair and emotion in her voice. The father and daughter travel across snow, Yu-bong leading Song-hwa by a rope while Song-hwa practices daily in the freezing snow, singing towards the empty valley and mountain. Yu-bong tells Song-hwa that sorrow is accumulated throughout one's lifetime. He questions why the blind and orphaned Song-hwa still has no sorrow in her voice. Time passes and the frail, sick Yu-bong is on his deathbed with Song-hwa by his side. Yu-bong admits to Song-hwa that he was responsible for blinding her and asks for forgiveness. Many years later, the calligrapher travels to an inn where Song-hwa is staying. He recognizes her singing and is shocked at her blindness. She asks him to write her name for her, expressing that she can see with her heart despite being blind.

Dong-ho, having had the calligrapher point him to the inn, also arrives at the inn. He meets Song-hwa and requests a song. Song-hwa sings Shimcheongga with Dong-ho accompanying her throughout the entire night. In the morning, Dong-ho leaves. The innkeeper asks Song-hwa if Dong-ho is the brother she has been waiting for. Song-hwa nods and admits that she knew at once the man was Dong-ho. Song-hwa tells the innkeeper that she has stayed for 3 years already and needs to move on. Reluctant, the innkeeper jokes that he is back to being a widower and asks Song-hwa to give him her address after she finds her next location.

Song-hwa begins her journey through the snow. A young girl holds the rope to lead Song-hwa.

Just released from prison, John Muller (Paul Henreid) masterminds a holdup at an illegal casino run by Rocky Stansyck (Thomas Browne Henry). The robbery goes bad, and the mobsters capture some of Muller's men and force them to identify the rest before killing them. Stansyck has a reputation for tracking down and killing his enemies, no matter how long it takes, so Muller decides to leave town and hide. He takes an office job recommended by his law-abiding brother, Frederick (Eduard Franz), but quickly decides that working for a living is not for him.
Joan Bennett as Bartok's secretary A chance encounter with dentist Dr. Swangron (John Qualen) reveals that Muller looks exactly like a psychoanalyst who works in the same building, Dr. Bartok, the only difference being a large scar on the left side of the doctor's face. Seizing the opportunity, he begins researching Bartok, even slipping into his office to examine his records. He is discovered by the doctor's secretary, Evelyn Hahn (Joan Bennett). She mistakes him for her employer and kisses him, but quickly realizes he is someone else. He persuades her to go out with him, though she has become embittered and claims to have given up any dreams of finding love.

Muller sets out to impersonate Bartok, aided by the fact he studied psychoanalysis in medical school before dropping out. He takes a photograph of the doctor and uses it as a guide to cut an identical scar on his own face. Unfortunately, the developers of the photograph reversed the negative, so now Muller has the scar on the wrong side. He discovers the mistake only after he has already murdered Bartok and is preparing to dump the body in the river. He has no choice but to go through with the plan anyway. Luckily, no one (except the office cleaning lady, whose suspicions he manages to lull) notices the difference, not even Evelyn or Bartok's patients.

Muller discovers "he" has a girlfriend, Virginia Taylor (Leslie Brooks), and that they frequent Maxwell's, a high class casino. It also turns out Bartok has been losing heavily.

When a worried Frederick Muller tries to contact his brother, the trail leads to Bartok. The scar convinces Frederick that the man he sees is merely a lookalike. Evelyn, previously unaware of the switch (but now very suspicious), reveals that John Muller said he was going to Paris. Frederick Muller tells "Bartok" that his brother no longer has to hide; Stansyck was convicted for "income tax problems" and is scheduled to be deported.

Afterward, Evelyn realizes that Muller is an imposter and that he must have killed the psychoanalyst. Though he admits to her he did, she does not turn him in to the police; instead she purchases a ticket to sail to Honolulu. Muller finds out and promises he will go with her, but she does not believe he would leave such an opportunity to enrich himself. Muller arranges for other doctors to take care of his patients and heads to the dock. There, however, he is intercepted by two men who want to discuss Bartok's $90,000 gambling debt. When Muller tries to break away, they fatally shoot him. Evelyn sails away, unaware that Muller lies dying on the dock.

Intelligent, parasitic extraterrestrials that resemble Terran rocks, intent on enslaving the human race, find a hideout in geologist Dr. Jonas Temple's lab. Although undetected by ordinary humans, physician Dr. Paul Cameron, who has a surgically implanted metal plate in his skull, is able to "hear" the alien "rocks" communicate with each other. Aware that he can hear them (while referring to Paul as "the listener"), they realize he is a threat, and compel him to kill himself by jumping from the lab window. At the last moment he is saved when his wife, Laurie, Dr. Temple's assistant, returns to the lab, breaking the aliens' mind control.

Thinking he is going insane, Paul takes an impulsive vacation to Mexico with Laurie to help clear his troubled mind. Dr. Temple, now controlled by one of the "rocks" after it enters his body, pursues them.

In Mexico, Laurie becomes possessed after Dr. Temple finds her alone in the remote desert cabin that she and Paul had rented, and is commanded by the aliens to possess her husband upon his return. Fighting for his life, Paul is forced to stab Temple, and shoot Laurie (though it is not clear that she dies), forcing the aliens to evacuate the bodies they inhabited, thus showing their true form –hideous, shiny-black, crab-like beings with two glowing eyes. He then starts a fire inside the cabin, where the aliens are presumably destroyed, while carrying Laurie's seemingly lifeless body away from the blaze.

The book is set in numerous places, including Vienna, New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro. The novel tells the story of three people: a middle-aged woman yearning to become a musician, a ghostly violinist, and the ghost of Beethoven.

The story begins with Triana, who apparently becomes insane due to the death of her second husband, Karl, who had AIDS. Her first husband was Lev, with whom Triana had a daughter. Stefan, the ghost, appears the day Karl dies and plays his Stradivarius (s long Strad) (apparently also a ghost). Triana secludes herself in her house for several days without informing anyone of Karl's death.

The book tells the story of both Triana and Stefan. Stefan takes Triana in a travel through time, visiting scenes from his life and his afterlife in an attempt to reclaim his violin, which had been taken by Triana. Stefan had many mentors including Beethoven and Paganini, but it is Beethoven whom Stefan cherished the most. After Stefan's story is "told" Triana returns to her rightful time but not to New Orleans where the story began but to Vienna, and now seemingly possessing a talent to improvise in the violin.

The ghost of this great musician is shown about two times in the novel, the first one in a scene where Stefan's house in Vienna is burning, and the second one almost at the end where Beethoven appears in modern Vienna in the hotel room where Triana was staying.

With Triana still in possession of the strad, Stefan continues his attempts to reclaim the violin but to no avail, until finally, after achieving success with her improvisations it is in Brazil that Triana returns the violin to his rightful owner and Stefan finally crosses over.

Category:1997 American novels Category:Novels by Anne Rice Category:American horror novels Category:Alfred A. Knopf books Category:Novels about music

Victor and Hilary, the Earl and Countess of Rhyall, are dealing with the financial difficulties of owning a large English country house and estate in twentieth century Britain when inheritance taxes have taken a toll on their financial situation. Like many other such estates, they have opened up their house for guided tours for the public at two shillings and sixpence per person.

Charles Delacro ignores a large "Private" sign on the door and barges into the private quarters, finding Hilary. At first annoyed, her behaviour is transformed when he introduces himself and mentions that he is a millionaire American oil tycoon. While making conversation about the house, and despite knowing that she is married, he makes very clear his attraction to her and his intentions towards her. In fact, his attraction to her is reciprocated, but Hilary is clearly discomfited by realising that Charles knows this. Charles invites her to visit him at the Savoy hotel in London where he is staying, making no pretensions about the fact that he is asking her to have an affair with him. When Victor suddenly enters the room, he notices his wife's attitude, and treats Charles with exaggerated courtesy.

That evening, Hilary makes an appointment with her hairdresser in London for early next day, explaining to Victor that she will have to stay overnight with their friend Hattie Durant. Rather than behave jealously, Victor tells her the times of the trains she can catch and affects not to know the real reason for her trip. Meanwhile, Charles has tracked down Hilary’s hairdresser and appointment, and next day he is outside waiting when she leaves. They go back to Charles’ hotel room and into the bedroom.

Next day, Hilary does not return home, but Hattie does arrive, an ex-girlfriend of Victor's who still carries a torch for him, and she tells him about Hilary and Charles’ affair. Victor phones his hotel to ask Charles to visit and he accepts, against Hilary’s wishes, and even offers to give her a lift back from London.

When they arrive next day, Victor is determined to remain civilized at all times and acts as if he does not know that his wife is having an affair with Charles. The two men go fishing together and Victor tells Charles he knows about the affair and that he feels a compulsion to defend his honour, and therefore challenges Charles to a duel, which Charles feels he cannot refuse. In a long corridor in the mansion, they go through with it, firing once apiece, with Victor wounded in the arm while Charles is unharmed. It is later revealed that both men fired to miss, as Victor expected Charles would do, while Sellers, the family butler, an ex-army man and an expert shot, wounded Victor with a weapon of his own.

When the women find out, Hilary cannot bring herself to leave her loving husband for Delacro who drives off, taking Hattie with him.

Yi-Lang (Jackie Chan) is a smart-alec martial arts student at a Shaolin Temple. An anonymous thief steals a book from the library which teaches a potentially fatal style of Kung Fu. Yi-Lang, along with a group of five other monks, is punished for not stopping the thief, but his bravery leads to him signing up to defend a supposedly haunted portion of the school.

Upon discovering the ghosts, who are masters of a supposedly lost style of fighting known as The "Five Style Fists", Yi-Lang offers himself as a student, masters the form and uses it to progress quickly through the ranks of the school. In order to defend the school against the very thief who stole the book from its library, Yi-Lang demonstrates his new style and defeats the invading troupe, with a little help from his five spiritual masters.