Finding a TV studio was no problem when anda were a Beatle. The boys had played in every good studio in town. When they got there, though, the door was swinging ominously on its hinges. The four lads exchanged glances. "Uh-oh..."
"The Beast has already been here," murmured George. He took a small step forward, not really sure if it would be better to continue on atau turn around and find somewhere else. John put out a hand to stop George.
"Wait," he said. Slowly, bravely, John approached the door. He poked his head inside and looked round in all directions - as well as he could, considering everything looked blurry to him. But he didn't see anything that might have been the outline of a Beast. He did, though, see people moving around, in a stiff, aimless way that could mean only one thing.
"It's all right," John reported, turning out of the doorway to face his anxious mates, who had all been ready to pull John away at the first sign that he might lose his soul. "Well, not for all them people inside. The Beast got them - but he's already come and gone."
The boys looked at each other again, silently deciding what to do. Working in a studio full of soulless people wasn't a pleasant thought. But this only proved that they needed to get their message out now - and a studio full of soulless people wasn't likely to stop them from getting on TV and saying what they needed to. They hoped.
"All right, men," John announced, the decision made wordlessly, "we're going in."
The creepy soulless folk inside continued going about their business, seeming to be unable to think of anything to do besides what they had been doing when the Beast got them. They paid no attention to the Beatles, who walked oleh very nervously and tried very hard not to attract their attention. Actually, none of the Beatles was sure what a soulless person might be able to do to them, but that on its own made it worse. They wished the legend had told them what happened when a person lost his atau her soul, but it seemed they wouldn't be able to rely on the legend to tell them what to do on this journey. They had to figure it out for themselves.
But they could do that. They were the Beatles. They could do anything.
One man was standing behind a camera, which was on and rolling. It seemed he had been filming something when the Beast came in - perhaps he had even been trying to capture the Beast on camera - and now he could not stop. The Beatles wouldn't call anyone's misfortune lucky, but it was convenient, because now they could just step in front of the camera and give their message.
"Hello," Paul began for all of them, not really sure what to say in a message like this. "Er - evening, everyone."
John stepped in, putting on an upper-class, london accent. "Welcome to the six o'clock news oleh the BBBBC - the Beatle, Beatle, Beatle, and Beatle Crew." He smiled. "Tonight, we want to talk to anda about something you've wondered about all hari - Beasts."
George glanced at John as if asking whether he could speak next, and John almost imperceptibly stepped back so George could.
"This beast anda might've been hearing about," George began, "he's real, seemingly. And he's been taking people's souls, so anda might not want to stand in his way."
Ringo nodded, blue eyes wide and innocent in a way that would make anyone listen to him. "You might want to just stay inside for a while. We know it's boring and all, but..."
"But it can't be much lebih fun losing your soul and that," John finished. "Just look around at them," and he gestured to the soulless cameraman to turn and film the rest of the crew in the studio, who didn't seem to have any idea what they were doing.
Ringo looked worried as the camera turned back to face him. "We don't want anda to end up like that."
"But we're working on it," Paul put in quickly. "We can stop the Beast -" here he hesitated a moment, not wanting to say on TV that first the boys would have to find four magical objects and had no idea where they were - "we will be able to stop the Beast soon, but we need anda lot to stay indoors until then."
George nodded. "And tell all your mates, too," he added, "in case they didn't see this."
"Do it for us," Ringo finished, with that appealing look on his face.
John turned to the soulless cameraman. "All right, that's enough," he said. The Beatles turned and walked away, without waiting to see if the cameraman would listen to John atau even understand him. They didn't really want to stay in a place full of the soulless folk any longer than they had to.
Back on the streets, everything still seemed deserted. And night was falling. None of the Beatles wanted to be out on the jalan, street after dark when they wouldn't be able to see the Beast coming.
"Let's pop into that store and get a bite," George suggested, and the other three agreed, glad that George had diberikan them this excuse to go indoors so they wouldn't have to admit to being scared.
The store George had pointed out was a small convenience store. The door opened easily, but the store itself was empty. Perhaps the staff had gone outside with the crowd from that morning and had gotten their souls sucked out too, though hopefully there was another explanation. The Beatles ate what they wanted, figuring that if the staff had gotten their souls sucked out, then losing a little merchandise would be the least of their worries. The sun set quickly in the sky, and nobody objected when Paul got up and locked the door.
"Let's just sleep here tonight," Ringo berkata oleh way of agreeing with Paul's actions.
John nodded. "Tomorrow, on to Liverpool."
Sleeping on the floor of a convenience store wasn't the most comfortable thing to do, but when the alternative was walking halaman awal in the dark with a soul-sucking Beast around, the Beatles weren't complaining. Besides, as George put it, "It is lebih comfortable than the Indra Club."
The Beatles spent the night fading in and out of restless slumber. In the still night, it was that much easier to reflect on what they were doing, and they understood that the fate of all England was resting on their shoulders. Doubts and fears crept in, and the task stretched in front of them, overwhelmingly difficult. Ringo curled up on the floor and edged closer to his mates. George squeezed his eyes shut as though he was having a nightmare, and Paul stayed awake for hours, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought. John had taken the Sword of Truth out of his belt, but he kept it oleh his side and even laid a hand on it as he slept, lying between his mates and the doorway, just in case.
Paul was obsessing over how they were ever going to find the special objects if they couldn't even figure out where to look for them. He couldn't think of any clues they could use to start from. And they didn't have that much time to figure it out, because even with their message telling everyone to stay indoors, the Beast might still be able to get at some people and suck out their souls. And if the beast sucked out too many souls, it wouldn't matter what the Beatles did, because there would be no England left to save. And the Beast would be invincible.
In the very early morning, not an jam after he had finally fallen asleep, Paul felt someone oleh his feet. He started.
"It's just me," Ringo whispered. "Sorry."
Paul sat up. "No, I wasn't going to sleep much anyway."
Ringo nodded, edging closer to Paul. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Do anda think we can find all them things we've got to find?"
Paul still wasn't sure. But he said, "Of course we can. We can do anything."
Ringo seemed reassured, sitting selanjutnya to Paul hugging his knees to his chest. "I can't even remember what they all are, can you? We've got the sword, we're after the Green Marmite Yeast Extract, I know there's a Jeweled Crown..."
"A Titanium Pound Coin," Paul remembered. "And the other was an Orb of something atau other."
"Benevolence and Protection," berkata a new voice, and John was sitting up, wide awake, listening to them. "We'd better remember them all," he added. "We're not stopping at our house to get the book first."
"Let's start now," Ringo berkata quickly. "I don't want to leave this longer than we have to, if the Beast is goin' to take lebih souls..."
Paul nodded. "George, wake up!"
George started, looked around to see if the Beast was attacking his mates atau anything like that, then when he saw that he wasn't, relaxed and settled into his usual calm, quiet self.
"Morning, George," grinned John. "We're starting our Beast hunt now."
George nodded. "It's a long way to Liverpool. We should take some food with us."
The others agreed and went to take packages of food for the trip. John wandered over to the counter. There were newspapers and magazines, including one with a headline about the Beatles, who were apparently complaining about how famous they were and the like. John smiled a little - he didn't remember saying anything like that. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he picked up the Sword of Truth and gently touched it to the newspapers.
Instantly, the words began to melt and blur, and letters rearranged themselves. Every artikel rewrote itself, some to say basically the same thing but in a clearer way, others to tell a completely different story. The true version of each story was revealed.
"John?" Paul's voice called. "We're done here, come on!"
"I'm coming." John touched his sword to one last paper, the one with the artikel about the Beatles in it....
And the letters began to swirl and change, everything that implied the Beatles weren't happy with their lives fading away. And as John's mates came up behind him to see what had distracted him, a new story took shape. It was still a story about the Beatles, this time saying they were happily together and happy to protect one another, and that they were glad they could use their fame and influence to protect the people of England, too, as they went on a hunt for the objects that would destroy the Beast of Bodmin Moor.
"You don't want to leave that lying around," Paul told him. "The Beast might see it."
"Can he read now?" John grinned, tucking the sword back into his sabuk as he turned to leave with his mates.
"Who knows what he can do?" Paul said, as the foursome left the store. "If he can suck out souls...."
"If he can understand us, he could've found out what we're up to oleh watching the telly last night," John pointed out. "Stop worryin', Paul."
"How will we get to Liverpool?" George asked, once that conversation had ended.
"I thought we were takin' the underground," berkata Ringo.
"But if everyone's staying inside, who's going to drive the train?"
There was a slight pause, and then Ringo's face broke into a wide smile.
"I know the answer."
"The Beast has already been here," murmured George. He took a small step forward, not really sure if it would be better to continue on atau turn around and find somewhere else. John put out a hand to stop George.
"Wait," he said. Slowly, bravely, John approached the door. He poked his head inside and looked round in all directions - as well as he could, considering everything looked blurry to him. But he didn't see anything that might have been the outline of a Beast. He did, though, see people moving around, in a stiff, aimless way that could mean only one thing.
"It's all right," John reported, turning out of the doorway to face his anxious mates, who had all been ready to pull John away at the first sign that he might lose his soul. "Well, not for all them people inside. The Beast got them - but he's already come and gone."
The boys looked at each other again, silently deciding what to do. Working in a studio full of soulless people wasn't a pleasant thought. But this only proved that they needed to get their message out now - and a studio full of soulless people wasn't likely to stop them from getting on TV and saying what they needed to. They hoped.
"All right, men," John announced, the decision made wordlessly, "we're going in."
The creepy soulless folk inside continued going about their business, seeming to be unable to think of anything to do besides what they had been doing when the Beast got them. They paid no attention to the Beatles, who walked oleh very nervously and tried very hard not to attract their attention. Actually, none of the Beatles was sure what a soulless person might be able to do to them, but that on its own made it worse. They wished the legend had told them what happened when a person lost his atau her soul, but it seemed they wouldn't be able to rely on the legend to tell them what to do on this journey. They had to figure it out for themselves.
But they could do that. They were the Beatles. They could do anything.
One man was standing behind a camera, which was on and rolling. It seemed he had been filming something when the Beast came in - perhaps he had even been trying to capture the Beast on camera - and now he could not stop. The Beatles wouldn't call anyone's misfortune lucky, but it was convenient, because now they could just step in front of the camera and give their message.
"Hello," Paul began for all of them, not really sure what to say in a message like this. "Er - evening, everyone."
John stepped in, putting on an upper-class, london accent. "Welcome to the six o'clock news oleh the BBBBC - the Beatle, Beatle, Beatle, and Beatle Crew." He smiled. "Tonight, we want to talk to anda about something you've wondered about all hari - Beasts."
George glanced at John as if asking whether he could speak next, and John almost imperceptibly stepped back so George could.
"This beast anda might've been hearing about," George began, "he's real, seemingly. And he's been taking people's souls, so anda might not want to stand in his way."
Ringo nodded, blue eyes wide and innocent in a way that would make anyone listen to him. "You might want to just stay inside for a while. We know it's boring and all, but..."
"But it can't be much lebih fun losing your soul and that," John finished. "Just look around at them," and he gestured to the soulless cameraman to turn and film the rest of the crew in the studio, who didn't seem to have any idea what they were doing.
Ringo looked worried as the camera turned back to face him. "We don't want anda to end up like that."
"But we're working on it," Paul put in quickly. "We can stop the Beast -" here he hesitated a moment, not wanting to say on TV that first the boys would have to find four magical objects and had no idea where they were - "we will be able to stop the Beast soon, but we need anda lot to stay indoors until then."
George nodded. "And tell all your mates, too," he added, "in case they didn't see this."
"Do it for us," Ringo finished, with that appealing look on his face.
John turned to the soulless cameraman. "All right, that's enough," he said. The Beatles turned and walked away, without waiting to see if the cameraman would listen to John atau even understand him. They didn't really want to stay in a place full of the soulless folk any longer than they had to.
Back on the streets, everything still seemed deserted. And night was falling. None of the Beatles wanted to be out on the jalan, street after dark when they wouldn't be able to see the Beast coming.
"Let's pop into that store and get a bite," George suggested, and the other three agreed, glad that George had diberikan them this excuse to go indoors so they wouldn't have to admit to being scared.
The store George had pointed out was a small convenience store. The door opened easily, but the store itself was empty. Perhaps the staff had gone outside with the crowd from that morning and had gotten their souls sucked out too, though hopefully there was another explanation. The Beatles ate what they wanted, figuring that if the staff had gotten their souls sucked out, then losing a little merchandise would be the least of their worries. The sun set quickly in the sky, and nobody objected when Paul got up and locked the door.
"Let's just sleep here tonight," Ringo berkata oleh way of agreeing with Paul's actions.
John nodded. "Tomorrow, on to Liverpool."
Sleeping on the floor of a convenience store wasn't the most comfortable thing to do, but when the alternative was walking halaman awal in the dark with a soul-sucking Beast around, the Beatles weren't complaining. Besides, as George put it, "It is lebih comfortable than the Indra Club."
The Beatles spent the night fading in and out of restless slumber. In the still night, it was that much easier to reflect on what they were doing, and they understood that the fate of all England was resting on their shoulders. Doubts and fears crept in, and the task stretched in front of them, overwhelmingly difficult. Ringo curled up on the floor and edged closer to his mates. George squeezed his eyes shut as though he was having a nightmare, and Paul stayed awake for hours, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought. John had taken the Sword of Truth out of his belt, but he kept it oleh his side and even laid a hand on it as he slept, lying between his mates and the doorway, just in case.
Paul was obsessing over how they were ever going to find the special objects if they couldn't even figure out where to look for them. He couldn't think of any clues they could use to start from. And they didn't have that much time to figure it out, because even with their message telling everyone to stay indoors, the Beast might still be able to get at some people and suck out their souls. And if the beast sucked out too many souls, it wouldn't matter what the Beatles did, because there would be no England left to save. And the Beast would be invincible.
In the very early morning, not an jam after he had finally fallen asleep, Paul felt someone oleh his feet. He started.
"It's just me," Ringo whispered. "Sorry."
Paul sat up. "No, I wasn't going to sleep much anyway."
Ringo nodded, edging closer to Paul. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Do anda think we can find all them things we've got to find?"
Paul still wasn't sure. But he said, "Of course we can. We can do anything."
Ringo seemed reassured, sitting selanjutnya to Paul hugging his knees to his chest. "I can't even remember what they all are, can you? We've got the sword, we're after the Green Marmite Yeast Extract, I know there's a Jeweled Crown..."
"A Titanium Pound Coin," Paul remembered. "And the other was an Orb of something atau other."
"Benevolence and Protection," berkata a new voice, and John was sitting up, wide awake, listening to them. "We'd better remember them all," he added. "We're not stopping at our house to get the book first."
"Let's start now," Ringo berkata quickly. "I don't want to leave this longer than we have to, if the Beast is goin' to take lebih souls..."
Paul nodded. "George, wake up!"
George started, looked around to see if the Beast was attacking his mates atau anything like that, then when he saw that he wasn't, relaxed and settled into his usual calm, quiet self.
"Morning, George," grinned John. "We're starting our Beast hunt now."
George nodded. "It's a long way to Liverpool. We should take some food with us."
The others agreed and went to take packages of food for the trip. John wandered over to the counter. There were newspapers and magazines, including one with a headline about the Beatles, who were apparently complaining about how famous they were and the like. John smiled a little - he didn't remember saying anything like that. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he picked up the Sword of Truth and gently touched it to the newspapers.
Instantly, the words began to melt and blur, and letters rearranged themselves. Every artikel rewrote itself, some to say basically the same thing but in a clearer way, others to tell a completely different story. The true version of each story was revealed.
"John?" Paul's voice called. "We're done here, come on!"
"I'm coming." John touched his sword to one last paper, the one with the artikel about the Beatles in it....
And the letters began to swirl and change, everything that implied the Beatles weren't happy with their lives fading away. And as John's mates came up behind him to see what had distracted him, a new story took shape. It was still a story about the Beatles, this time saying they were happily together and happy to protect one another, and that they were glad they could use their fame and influence to protect the people of England, too, as they went on a hunt for the objects that would destroy the Beast of Bodmin Moor.
"You don't want to leave that lying around," Paul told him. "The Beast might see it."
"Can he read now?" John grinned, tucking the sword back into his sabuk as he turned to leave with his mates.
"Who knows what he can do?" Paul said, as the foursome left the store. "If he can suck out souls...."
"If he can understand us, he could've found out what we're up to oleh watching the telly last night," John pointed out. "Stop worryin', Paul."
"How will we get to Liverpool?" George asked, once that conversation had ended.
"I thought we were takin' the underground," berkata Ringo.
"But if everyone's staying inside, who's going to drive the train?"
There was a slight pause, and then Ringo's face broke into a wide smile.
"I know the answer."
