Ludo doesn't sleep at all that night, but still, he lays there fully rested in his bed. He bounds out of bed at 8 o'clock to start his day, bursting through to door and descending the stairs. He goes into the room where his former minions are painting walls and laying down fine carpets. Ludo climbs up on a table to personally address them.
Ludo: "Excuse me! Gentlemen! May I have your attention!"
All of them are completely caught off guard. None of them have been ever been referred to as "gentlemen" before, usually "idiots" or "buffoons". Nonetheless, they look on with a great amount of curiosity at the tiny bird standing on the table before them.
Ludo: "Oh, wow. So many of you. Um, I just wanted to say that... that I have been off, and thinking... that you're right, all of you. I have not treated any of you as if you were people. I have treated you like dogs, workers... slaves. I've been most fortunate the last couple of days, nay, weeks. I have been in the presence of my loved ones, my friends, and, even someone new. I nearly lost my life the other day. I won't go into it, but I'm fine now.
"I'm very lucky to be where I am right now, to stand before all of you. I have made the most egregious mistake of my life never getting to know you all personally. This is all so very new to me, so please, forgive me if I'm not as graceful in my words towards you as you'd hope. Life has changed so fast; I feel like I'm getting whiplash. I have more to do, to better myself as a person, and I look forward to growing, each and every day. Thank you. You may proceed."
They all just look at each other, somewhat dumbfounded, shrug, and continue to go back to work. Ludo gets off the table, takes a deep sigh of relief, and goes down the hall, turning a corner and bumping into Dennis, who drops his clipboard and his pencil. His point breaks.
Dennis: "Oh, shoot! Now I gotta go all the way to the sharpener again. I should just buy one of those little plastic ones with the blade and carry it around with me at this point."
Ludo: "Dennis, you look positively wrung out."
Dennis: "Ludo, I'm exhausted. It hasn't been easy. I just spent 3 hours on the phone with an electrician, and he's a troll."
Ludo: "Oh, he's giving you a hard time and rustling your feathers?"
Dennis: "No, I mean he's a literal troll, can't understand a word he says. Man, even splitting all this work with mom, as far as getting the house fixed, is no easy task. The plumber's been late for the third day in a row. At this rate, the pipes are never gonna get finished."
Ludo: "Dennis, why don't you just take a day off?"
Dennis: (Sighs) "I can't. Who else will manage all this stuff while I'm gone?"
Ludo: "Well, I have some experience in leading and ordering people around, you know."
Dennis: "Oh no, I'm not leaving you in control of all this stuff. Your minions told me how you treated them while they worked for you, and let me tell you, it won't fly anymore."
Ludo: "It's okay. I'm not gonna yell at them, I promise. I'm a nicer, more caring Ludo than before."
Dennis: "Are you sure?"
Ludo: "I'll do my best."
Dennis: "Thanks, Ludo. You're the greatest. I really need to get out of this house for a while. I mean, look at me. I'm molting! MOLTING! Also, I'm starting to feel like I have cabin fever or something!"
Ludo: "Good lord! I'll tell you what. How about, since I'm doing this for you, you go and do a little favor for me?"
Dennis: "What is it?"
Ludo: "I'd just like you to deliver a little something, to a friend. You being able to fly, it would be so much faster than if I were to deliver it on foot."
Ludo gives Dennis a letter addressed to Star and Marco.
Dennis: "'Star and Marco'? I thought you hated them."
Ludo: "As I said, Dennis, I'm trying to be a better person."
Dennis: "Why do you want me to do this?"
Ludo: "Well, I don't know how Star and Marco would react to me just showing up at their door. They might just kick me in the face before I even have the chance to explain myself."
Dennis: "Hm, good point. Okay, I'll do it."
Ludo: "Thank you, Dennis. have fun. I got everything around here."
Dennis: "Anything to get me out of this forsaken castle for a little bit."
Dennis runs outside with the letter. The thought of freedom from the shackles of the castle is so tempting that he doesn't even mind going and running the small errand just to get away from it. Dennis takes flight. Finally able to take his mind off of work for a few moments, he starts thinking about other things. Where was Ludo this whole time? Where was he before? How long did he spend in that void? Also, what's his father doing now that he's stuck in there just like Ludo once was?
The truth is that Brudo has been doing many things, thinking many things, and seeing many things as he lurks in the void. Unlike Ludo, he sees many opportunities in the junk scattered across the void. Manically, he takes the junk, piece by piece, and starts to work on projects. Here we see him in a junky old Cadillac, fuzzy dice in the mirror, sitting there with a button up-shirt and shades, and flipping through the static on the radio until he hears something he might recognize. There's nothing but static, but he hears music, and he bobs his head to it.
Brudo tries his best to hide just how pathetically lonely he is. As he listens, Brudo can hear the radio, blaring putrid music. He lifts up his shades to reveal very tired eyes. He rubs them and watches as the knobs turn themselves and the radio laughs at him. Brudo genuinely can't tell if he's merely under-slept or losing his mind, or both.
Lord Brudo: "Shut up! Stop laughing at me!"
The knob turns more, and a voice comes out of the radio. It's Lady Avarius, pretending to be a sexy radio DJ.
Lady Avarius: "Welcome to the Dead Zone, my little darlings. We'll get back to some more groovin', wildin', swingin' tunes right after this message, and ya better stick in, ya dig? Don't change those dials, sweetie. Yes, I am talking to you, Brudo. Ya ever feel like ya made a mistake, like you really screwed up, really bad? Your Lady is here to tell ya baby, be strong. Keep on persevering. Fight the good fight, soldier. Godspeed."
Lord Brudo: "Meh, I hate this station."
He sips from an empty frosty cup, he tastes something, but it isn't there, blueberry, I think. He stares into the hole in the straw.
Lord Brudo: "Let's see what else is on."
He turns the dial.
Jerry Juvenile: "Welcome to L. O. S. E. R. Radio, radio for losers, losers like you. I'm your host, Jerry Juvenile. We're gonna kick some butt! But first, I got a loser on the line, a kid by the name of Ludo. Welcome on, Ludo! What you gotta say for us, first of all?"
Ludo: "Hi, my name is Ludo, and I'm a loser."
Brudo does a spit-take that's literally nothing but spit, right onto his recently found acid-wash jeans.
Lord Brudo: "Ludo?"
Juvenile pushes a button to make a fake audience applause prerecorded sound effect.
Jerry Juvenile: "Really, Ludo? You're a loser? (Aren't we all?) Mind telling us why?"
Ludo: "Well, I tried to take a royal wand, from a 14-year-old girl, with an army of monsters... and I failed... because she kicked our butts... with some earth boy named Marco."
Jerry Juvenile: "Ooh, that's too bad, Ludo. Do tell. Go on!"
Ludo: "Well, I lost my castle, all of my clothes, I live in a plastic potato chip bag, and I have daddy issues. I am now a 23-year-old adult living with my other adult brothers and sisters at my mommy's house."
Jerry Juvenile: "Wow, what a loser!"
Ludo: "Yes... yes, I am... but at least I'm not Lord Brudo Avarius."
Brudo's eyes stare at the radio with a wide, vein-filled, million-yard stare.
Jerry Juvenile: "Who's that?"
Ludo: "My father. He's a 55-year-old fat slob that never did anything with his life. I kicked him and my mom out after they left to go on vacation by changing the locks in the castle."
Juvenile inserts audience laughter followed by soundboard shenanigans noises.
Jerry Juvenile: "Ooh, and where's he now?"
Ludo: "He lives there, in the void. He's listening right now."
Lord Brudo: "Don't say that, son. You're not a loser! We're not losers! I'm gonna make it up to ya, boy! Do you hear me? I'm gonna make it up to you!"
Brudo rips the radio clear out of the dashboard.
Lord Brudo: "That's enough radio for today. It's time to get back to work on my 'secret project'."
He gets giddy as he climbs out of the car he sees something fly across the sky.
Lord Brudo: "What the? Is that an ANGEL?!"
It's Star Butterfly in her Butterfly form, flying throughout the void in a trance. Like a bug drawn to a lamp, she is drawn to the magic dimension.
Lord Brudo: "Angel! Take me with you! I gotta go home!"
He chases her to the edge of the horizon. Quickly he looks around and spots a rope, some old coiled-up cables by another wrecked jalopy, and quickly uses it to make a makeshift lasso.
Lord Brudo: "Aha! Only got one chance at this, so don't miss it."
Brudo hurls the lasso through the air and pulls. It locks around Star's ankles. After a little resistance, Brudo feels like he's conquered the "angel". Things then take a turn for the worst for Brudo as Star flies faster. She drags him along the ground.
Lord Brudo: "You're not getting away from me, angel!"
Star tugs and pulls, lifting Brudo through the air. He climbs the rope towards her.
Lord Brudo: "You're... not... going... anywhere!"
Star opens up a portal. They escape, narrowly. Star and Brudo hurdle aimlessly through the air until they hit the ground with a thud. Lord Brudo recovers quickly and hears someone coming. He darts off, regaining cognition and semi-awareness of reality. Star, still entranced, falls through the air and is unable to untangle herself. She plummets towards a tree, where she smacks into it face first. Star bangs into several branches before hitting the ground, losing consciousness and reverting into her regular form. She wakes up several moments later, her head throbbing. She opens her eyes to find two bright yellow eyes staring at her. In a knee-jerk reaction, Star panics as her vision clears.
Star: "AH! Ludo!"
Star unleashes a laser blast, knocking someone back, but it isn't Ludo.
Dennis: "Ow! Hey, what gives?"
Star: "OH MY GOD!"
She runs over Dennis, feeling guilty for her mistake.
Star: "I am so sorry! I thought you were someone else!"
She helps Dennis up. Dennis rubs his head after he is sent backward into a tree.
Dennis: "You called me Ludo."
Star: "Well, yeah. You kinda-sorta look like him."
Dennis: "I should. He's my brother. My name is Dennis."
Star: "Oh, well that explains it. Hey, wait a minute, you weren't coming to steal my wand, were you?"
Star aims her wand at him in caution and he throws his hands up in surrender.
Dennis: "What? No! Of course not! In fact, I have something for you."
He hands Star the letter.
Star: "What's this?"
Dennis: "My brother would like the opportunity to talk things over with you, I guess."
Star: "I don't buy it."
Dennis: "What? Why not?"
Star: "I hate to break it to you, Dennis, but your brother is a menace."
Dennis: "I can understand why you think that way. He can be a bit... abrasive."
Star: "He's a jerk."
Dennis: "He's still my brother."
Star: "He's been trying to take my wand for years! He and his creepy goon squad of misfit monsters have been stalking my boyfriend and me and ambushing us with every opportunity they had. Then I put him in his place, and what does he do? He goes and gets a spider and a freaking eagle and sends an army of gross, disgusting rats after me!"
Dennis: "He says he's sorry for all that! Look, you don't know him the way I do. He may have done some bad things in his past, but he's... he's complicated. He's always been there for me. Even when nobody else was. I was always the weird one in my family because I was always too nice, and I've become known as the family doormat because of it. He and I were the two outcasts. Ludo's always been a loyal friend to me. I know you and him aren't on the best of ... but there's a good person in there."
Star starts to feel really bad.
Star: "Aw, you really do love your little brother. That's so sweet."
Dennis: "Little? Ludo's my OLDER brother."
Star: "Say what? But he's, he's so teeny, and you're so, so... tall!"
Dennis: "Yeah, I know. I look way older than him. But yeah, he's the older one. Hey, Princess Butterfly?"
Star: "Call me Star."
Dennis: "Star, I know how Mewmans and monsters don't get along, but would you consider taking up my brother's offer?"
Star doesn't answer right away. She looks at Dennis' face and can see his hope. She caves from the pressure of not wanting to hurt his feelings with outright rejection.
Star: "I'll think about it."
Dennis: "That's great! It's all I can ask for. Thank you."
Marco comes running up to Star. He's out of breath.
Marco: "Star! I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been?"
Star jabs him in the rib cage.
Star: "Well, Marco... if you didn't fall ASLEEP again, maybe we would have found OUT where I was going!"
Marco: "Ow!"
Dennis: "Uh. Maybe I should get going."
Marco: "Who's this guy?"
Star: "Marco, this is Dennis."
Marco: "Sup?"
Dennis: "Hi, not much. Anyhow, I Gotta go. See you!"
Dennis flies away.
Marco: "Uh, is there something I should know about?"
Star: "No. Why?"
Marco: "Well, I come out here to see you hanging out with this 'Dennis'."
Star plays with Marco coquettishly, rubbing up against his shoulders as she makes an obnoxious, cat-like face.
Star: "Marco, are you getting all jealous and defensive because I'm out here with some boy that isn't you? Are you getting all overprotective of me because you LOVE me?"
Marco scoffs, blushing with embarrassment and denial. He folds his arms and looks away as he tries, very poorly, to hide his territorial feelings towards Star.
Marco: "Pf, no! Obviously!"
Star: "I'm just messing with you, Marco."
Marco: "So there's nothing to worry about with that guy?"
Star: "Who, Dennis? I just met him like 3 minutes ago. Anyway, meh, he's cute... but he's not my type."
She leans her head on Marco reassuringly and they head back to the castle.
Marco: "What's that letter?"
Star: "I'll tell ya later."
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