In this episode the Searchers head into dangerous territory, and we learn a bit more about the Monster Rancher world, its inhabitants, and what awaits the Searchers next!
Our heroes are strolling through a foggy pass, and Suezo and Genki wonder if they're going in the right direction.
Holly checks her Magic Stone and confirms that they are--they're headed north.
Genki's eager to charge ahead, but Tiger stops him. "Genki! I smell danger in the air." Genki doesn't smell anything odd, and Hare's quick to tease him. "Tiger, you really need to stop worrying and relax a little!"
Despite Holly telling them to wait, Genki and Mocchi run forward... and when they're out of sight, they scream.
She immediately asks if they're okay, and when Suezo yells that this isn't funny, Genki responds with "Well, I'm not exactly hurt!"
"Not exactly hurt. What does that mean," Suezo asks.
"IT'S A CLIFF!" Mocchi yells.
Hare grins, snapping his fingers. "Ah, I get it! Not exactly hurt is a cliff."
Then they realize what was just said, and panic before charging for Genki and Mocchi.
"Help me! Somebody, help!"
Luckily, Golem saves the day! Holly asks if Genki is okay, and he nods. "I am--thanks to Golem!"
Golem smiles."Welcome." Suezo says that Genki owes Golem for saving him, but the boy is soon distracted by the canyon itself.
"What is this place?"
"Looks like the ends of the earth," Holly says. Tiger says that this place is Heaven's Canyon.
It appears to be both endless and bottomless--even Suezo can't see how deep it is when Holly asks him. "I'd say... pretty deep."
Hare realizes the name's familiar to him. "Heaven's Canyon drops down forever, and it's the very end of the continent."
Tiger's dismissive. "Some genius. A flat world theory." Genki agrees that it's impossible, and sets out to prove it via a large rock.
Poor Suezo thinks Genki's out to get him. "Genki! Pal! We can work this out! Think about thiiis!"
Genki heaves the rock over the edge, and everyone listens to hear it hit the ground. They can't, and Holly dexides the canyon is bottomless.
Despite this, Genki vows to continue north... but they have no way of crossing such a long canyon.
That's when the group hears something. Mocchi points to something in the sky!
Holly blinks. "It looks like an Iron Bird!" Genki squints. "There's someone riding on it!"
Then Mocchi realizes that he's falling, chi! The Iron Bird crashes, and everyone moves to see if the man's alright.
"Can you hear me," Holly asks. The man's unconscious and badly hurt...
That night, he's resting by a campfire, his arm heavily bandaged.
"I see," Genki says. "So in this world you call a flying machine an Iron Bird, right?" Holly nods. "That's right! And Iron Birds have been dug up from all the ancient remains."
Meanwhile, Mocchi is playing with a blue capsule of some kind. "I found it-chi!"
Genki asks what it is, and Holly explains it's a Spirit Capsule. "It's the power source for an Iron Bird. Must've dropped out of his Iron Bird," she says, eying the unconscious man.
Tiger then wonders if the man is one of Moo's baddies, but Suezo isn't sure. "With a face like that!?" Hare declares "It's the face of a man who is hungry for gold!"
And that's when the man wakes up. "Hi, flying man," Mocchi chirps.
The man's response is to panic and scream. Very loudly. He makes a run for it, and Holly warns him that way's dangerous--but he doesn't listen, and it's only Genki tackling him that saves him from falling into Heaven's Canyon.
"Please let me go! If it's gold you want, here! I-I've got some!"
Hare is excited over this, but Holly stops him. "Wait! We're not after your golds!" (Apparently the plural of gold is golds. Who knew?)
The man stop panicking after this. "That means you're uh, goodies?" The Searchers nod.
At that, he slowly smiles... and celebrates. "Yahoooooooo! I did it, I did it!"
The others are confused, so the man, named Ed, explains. "It's been a dream of ours to get that Iron Bird right across the canyon!"
"Of ours," Holly asks, and Ed quickly responds that he means a dream of his. Hmmm...
Then he asks the Searchers what they're doing, and Genki and Suezo tell him about their mission to stop Moo and find the Phoenix. "You know, Ed! The legendary firebird that can turn baddies into goodies!"
Ed tells them to be prepared to fight, and Genki says that it's possible the Phoenix's Mystery Disk is just on the other side of the canyon.
Ed flinches at that, but denies anything's wrong. Then Genki says that he has something they really need--the Iron Bird! "If you're not going back, can we have it?"
Suezo steps in here. "Let me put that another way for you, Ed--can we have it if we pay you?"
Ed's excited over the prospect of money, but Mocchi offers him only one gold. Hare calculates that 200 golds would be a fair price, but Ed's thinking more along the line of 100,000 golds.
Suezo points out that the Iron Bird is in bad shape and he's more greedy than Hare, and Holly thinks that it's their only hope of crossing the canyon.
Suezo and Hare agree to 200 gold, and only if Ed helps with repairs. Ed agrees, and sets to work that night...only to see that it's a bit more than a repair job. Suezo and Hare decided to attach a hot-air balloon to the rig so Golem can come with them!
Ed outlines the materials they'll need, and Holly, Suezo, and Golem set off to gather wood, while Genki and Mocchi gather leaves. Tiger and Hare set off to get oil, which will power the hot-air balloon.
But the group is being watched... by Kuros, Magic/Plant Monsters. They speak in an indecipherable language.
That morning, Genki and Mocchi gather leaves...
While Tiger and Hare (mostly Tiger) gather nuts to harvest oil from.
Suezo and Golem gather wood, but Holly is lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Ed surveys his handiwork. "Not much for an Iron Bird... Oh well! Better than nothing!"
He thinks. But if they fly the Iron Bird away...Moo will find me!
We then see quick flashbacks of how Ed got the Iron Bird... and it's clear he glossed over a lot. (Those monsters are Clays, Jell/Monol types.)
"I can't go back! I escaped," he cries. "I'm free!"
But he's not... Captain Kuro and his gang were watching him.
Ed tries to run for it, but a blast from Captain Kuro stops him. Ed is immediately surrounded.
He begs for his life, and the Captain communicates with him through telepathy. He doesn't intend on capturing Ed, and if he does as he says, he will guarantee Ed's safety. He'll even pay him!
All Ed has to do is rig the Iron Bird to fall apart as soon as it lands.
Cornered and fearful, Ed agrees to their terms, and the Kuros teleport away.
That night, after work on the balloon is done, everyone sits down for dinner. "Y'know, food always tastes better once you've earned it," Genki says with a smile.
Suezo's also happy. "Just a few adjustments and we're ready! We've got ourselves a flying machine! We'll kiss the sky at dawn!"
But Genki has a good question. "So does anyone here know what's on the other side of Heaven's Canyon?"
Ed again deflects the question, turning to his soup. "Uh, you know, same old stuff, like mountains, trees, Monsters--Hey, this is delicious!"
That night, as everyone sleeps, Ed sneaks over to the Iron Bird and opens up the Spirit Capsule compartment, visibly shaking...
And by the next morning, the flying machine's ready to go!
Everything's set, especially the Spirit Capsule... and the engines hum to life.
Ed stares at his departing friends... and makes a decision.
"No, don't! It's not safe," he yells, bravely grabbing the ropes to slow them down.
"You've gotta believe me! The machine's been rigged so the Spirit Capsule will overheat and the Iron Bird will crash!"
Immediately, Golem leaps off the balloon and helps slow the Iron Bird down, while Ed climbs on to of him to reach the Searchers.
Genki asks who would sabotage the machine... and Ed admits it was him.
Immediately, the Kuros charge, with Genki asking who they are. "The Kuros ordered me to sabotage the Bird!"
They start to attack Golem, and Tiger leaps off the Bird to help him.
Tiger charges through their ranks, and Genki goes to help fight while Ed fixes the equipment.
They do quite well!
Holly asks Ed why he betrayed them, and he's shaky when he responds. "Holly, that's not the worst of it! There's something even more horrible that I didn't even tell you about! The other side of Heaven's Canyon is very dangerous!"
Holly gasps, and Ed continues. "The Baddies rule, and hard labor is enforced under strict surveillance! Freedom is unheard of..."
Holly points out that he escaped, and Ed nods. "Some of us got our hands on this Iron Bird, but my friends didn't make it!"
"And I... I don't want to lose any more friends, Holly," Ed says, fixing the machine.
The fuel gauges spring back up, and Mocchi celebrates... until the Kuros climb on board! He tackles some off, but they keep climbing...
And they use a shockwave attack to stun Suezo and Hare!
Luckily, the Searchers rebound...until they realize the Iron Bird is taking off without them! Genki and the others leap for it just in time, with Golem clambering onto his seat.
And that's when Captain Kuro tries to attack Genki from behind...
And Ed tackles him off the edge.
They fall...
But Ed is okay, barely clinging onto the edge of Heaven's Canyon.
Everyone cheers that he's okay, and Ed waves goodbye.
Holly thanks him and wishes him luck, then turns to the controls. "All right, my friends! To the North!"
"It's the call of the Mystery Disk," Genki says. "And so the journey resumes!"
Next time on Monster Rancher, the Searchers meet their most powerful enemy yet. Don't miss it!
I love this episod.
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