House of the Phoenix

House of the Phoenix is the fifth episode of Hero: 108: Reborn.

Synopsis
Big Green vows to protect a village which declares itself a haven for all humans and animals who desire peace, especially after HighRoller dispatches the firefly army to destroy it.

Plot
Commander ApeTrully is seen coming over a hill, riding a turtle behind which is a wagon filled with gold. Behind, in succesion, also on turtles, are the members of First Squad. As they ride, ApeTrully speaks delightedly of the many rare and precious objects which may be bought in the marketplace of the South River Village, which I also free to both humans and animals. As he continues, Mighty Ray leans toward Jumpy Ghostface, asking him why all of First Squad is needed for a shopping mission. Jumpy can only shrug.

After arriving, the heroes are seen in the village's bustling marketplace, which is filled with many animals and humans enjoying the peace between their races. Additionally, there are many stalls where merchants and vendors display their wares. ApeTrully is seen buying many items with gold, while the members of First Squad also investigate objects of interest to them, including bamboo staffs, shoes, trinkets, articles of clothing, and many other such things.

All of his is disturbed, however, when a series of fireworks are let off, drawing the attention of the crowd to the Zebra brothers, who are standing atop a wooden crate. Armed with megaphones, the two begin to call for the end of human oppression of animals. They claim that the human merchants are cheating the animal buyers and the human buyers are stealing from the animal merchants. They then call for the animals to rise up against the humans.

Sensing that the animals and humans are becoming agitated and angry at one another, Yaksha lifts ApeTrully into the air and twists into a platform for him to stand on, while Mighty Ray creates fireworks of his own to draw the crowd's attention. ApeTrully speaks, denouncing the lies which the zebras tell, and the crowd, realizing that they have been tricked, begins to come after them. The zebras attempt to form a wheel so as to escape, but are cut off and tied up.

In the next scene, the zebra bothers are seen tied to a post, where they continue to hurl insults while the crowd, in turn, throws tomatoes at them. Though First Squad is happy to see the situation defused, Lin Chung voices concern that the village's worries have not yet ended. As he says this, Condor Lord is seen flying high overhead.

Condor Lord is then seen at East Citadel, where he informs HighRoller of the capture of the zebras. HighRoller ignores the news, asking what concern he has for the zebras. Condor Lord then concedes that there is little reason, for HighRoller to be concerned, though he also notes that the zebras emptied a considerable amount of gold from HighRoller's treasury in order to spend in the village's illustrious marketplace. Outraged that they would take his gold, HighRoller demands that the zebras be punished and that his belongings be reclaimed.

From South River Village, a dust cloud is seen on the horizon. Through Lin Chung's Panther Vision it is visible as HighRoller and the bear army. Momentarily, HighRoller has reached the village, riding his throne. He demands that the zebras be given to him. When this is refused, he commands the bears to attack the village.

At this point, First Squad steps in, and, working together, make short work of the bears, though the marketplace is ravaged in the process. HighRoller is driven to a retreat, though he swears to destroy the village.

With this threat looming over them, the villagers implore the representatives of Big Green to defend them against HighRoller. The heroes agree, and begin making plans to fortify the village. They construct a wall using their combined power, and call for backup from Big Green, summoning the tank army to aid them. Mr. No Hands also helps to create a plan of attack. However, despite their preparations, all admit that they do not know what HighRoller has planned.

Finally, as the sun goes down, Lin Chung stands on the wall they have erected, again searching the horizon. He sees something approaching from the air, and finds, upon inspection, that it is the firefly army. As the fireflies approach, the tanks begin to fire, and some hit their marks, though others are destroyed in flame. To make matters worse, Firefly King reveals that he has been carrying even more troops, which then join the fray.

The battle continues as the fire spreads to the buildings within the village. The local humans and animals who are not warriors organize bucket brigades to douse the flames, while Lin Chung attempts to control the flames with Harmonic Energy. Jumpy manages to take down several fireflies with his jump rope before the rope is incinerated. At last, the heroes manage to defeat all of the fireflies, though the village is already in ruins. HighRoller, seeing that his legion is defeated, nonetheless calls out victory, as the village has been destroyed. He then flies away with Firefly King.

The next morning, as the last of the flames are doused, an air of sadness has settled upon the former residents of this place. In the end, however, they resolve to rebuild it. A city will rise from the ashes like the phoenix. For this reason, they name their new home Phoenix City.

Appearances

 * Commander ApeTrully
 * Lin Chung
 * Mystique Sonia
 * Mighty Ray
 * Jumpy Ghostface
 * Mr. No Hands
 * Assorted turtles
 * Zebra brothers
 * Condor Lord
 * HighRoller
 * Bearstomp
 * Assorted bears
 * Firefly King
 * Assorted fireflies