S1E4 Search
COLD OPEN
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA
Weekends were fun. Amos and Tom both knew that as they browsed the local ghost hunting supply store out on the island. They mostly just looked at the items one at a time and making fun of them.
"Whad'ya think this is?" Amos got Tom's attention and held up a stick with a menagerie of wires all over it.
"...Alien probe...?" Amos immediately put the stick back where he found it and rubbed his hands on his shirt. After his brief freak-out, he got back to browsing.
"Excuse me." Amos and Tom looked around to see the shop owner. "Are you going to buy anything?"
"No." Amos walked across the store to where Tom was, past a small radio dish attached to the device the shop owner was working on. As he did, a red LED light on the other side of the counter turned on; drawing the attention of the store owner.
"Hey," the shop owner's focus shifted from the device's readings to Amos. "What's your name again?"
"Peter," the shop owner turned his device off.
"What's that thing?" Amos pointed again at the stick.
"It's an antenna modified to pick up spectral energy and run it through an oscilloscope." Peter took a good look at Amos, wondering just what was up with him. "Are you going to buy anything?"
"No," Amos swallowed like a child being scolded. "We'll leave," Amos headed for the door. "C'mon," Tom followed him out of the store as Peter looked on with both intrigue and concern.
The Theme Song, a glorious merging of John Williams and Ron Wasserman, plays.
ARCHMAGE
Created by Seth Campbell
SEARCH
Written by Seth Campbell
PART ONE
Early the next morning at Amos's and Tom's dormitory in Cedar Hall, Tom watched Amos as he set up a small TV to an antenna he had set up outside the dorm window.
"Now, we won't get cable," Amos put the finishing touches on the television. "But we'll get the local channels."
"Well turn on the news." Tom sat down as Amos turned the TV on and switched from the city's slide show channel (3), to FOX. (13)
"Ah!" Amos immediately switched to a Christian network. (8) "Ah!!" Amos again changed the channel to a local independent station. (4)
"Ooh! Stop here." Amos turned around to see two news anchors talking and turned up the volume."
"-On a naked rampage throughout the St. Augustine Historic District." They had just got Amos's attention.
"'Naked rampage'?" Amos couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"The 'nutty figure' is currently wreaking havoc around the Plaza de la Constitution. People are being advised to avoid the area until authorities can detain him." Amos couldn't believe what they were saying.
"I can't believe what they're saying." Tom was just watching without any care. "Did they just make a pun?"
"They do that." Tom just seemed nonchalant as Amos got up, pulled his wooden flute out of his desk drawer, and headed out the door.
Once out of the dorm, Amos (now in his signature disguise) rushed towards the city center and arrived at the central plaza. The moment he slowed to a stop he gazed upon the true form of terror.
"Oh. My. Gawd."
Standing directly in front of Amos was a middle aged man, wearing absolutely no clothes, and wielding a Super Soaker.
"...W-what are you-?" Amos was interrupted when the man fired his water gun and Amos was coated in a mysterious white substance. After a moment of worry about what it might have been. Amos relaxed (not really) when he realized it was just whipped cream.
Amos just stood there for a moment before taking a deep breath and waved his staff, causing the whipped cream to evaporate away.
"Ew." Amos brushed himself off and got back to business as the naked man was getting even more excited every second. This made Amos more terrified every second.
"Magic man!" Amos didn't like where this was gonna go. "Zap me!" The naked man then proceeded to point with both hands towards his groin area. "Zap me right here!"
Amos was in hell, enveloped in panic. Unsure of what to do, he elected to put as much distance between himself and the naked man, screaming like a small child the whole way.
At that exact moment, Peter arrived on scene with his modified antenna. Looking down at the plaza the long way down, he could only see the naked man breaking things and Amos fleeing the scene. His focus narrows in on not the naked man but on Amos
PART TWO
Later that morning, Amos loaded up his knapsack for his classes and headed out the door to the dorm hallway. He briefly remembered the situation with the naked man and the whipped cream, shuddering the whole way.
At the exact same time; Peter, clad in Technoninja garb, hid in the shrubbery surrounding Cedar Hall. As Amos made his way for the college two blocks away, Peter silently trailed behind him all the way.
The rest of the school day, Peter silently observed Amos throughout his classes. Not much happened: Amos attended his classes, took notes, and commuted between them by foot.
Peter trailed Amos as he just went through his day, not even using magic. This confused Peter greatly. He expected Amos to be doing magic behind everyone's backs, but he was just as boring as everyone else.
Peter sighed in boredom. He knew he wasn't gonna find anything. He packed up his Technoninja swag and left the premises as Amos headed for Flagler Hall.
After classes at Flagler Hall; Amos, Tom, and Ellen enjoyed a five O'clock PM dinner. The only others eating were the more elderly and possibly geriatric college faculty.
"Ah, dinner at 5PM." Tom cooed to the tune of warm hibachi. Amos rolled his eyes and Ellen chuckled.
"We're old." Amos did a stereotypical impression of an old person. "Oh, and by the way: Tom... What the Falkner was with that guy?!"
"Yeah," Ellen was just as confused as well. "That stuff doesn't happen in New York. And we've got the Naked Cowboy."
"Welcome to Florida." Tom set his soda down on the table as Amos and Ellen looked upon him with sheer confusion.
"That doesn't explain anything." Amos stated his claim like a small child.
"It explains everything." Tom seemed both unphased and slightly proud. "Naked, drugs, dumb crime; Welcome to Florida!"
"Thank God I'm going back home for Christmas." Ellen was glad that the semester was gonna be over in just a few weeks.
"Oh God, no." Amos buried his face into his hands. He did <i>not</i> like his relatives.
Later that afternoon, Peter passed Cedar Hall and slipped inside. Once again clad in the vestments of a Technoninja, he crept towards Amos's dorm and used a fiber-optic wand to peek inside.
Inside, Amos was lying in his bed while reading a paperback novel. Peter started reconsidering what he was doing until he saw Amos lazily levitating his book while crossing his hands behind his head as he rested.
Peter quickly pulled his optic wand out of the door and flipped around with his back up against the wall, shocked.
"Oh my God." Peter whispered to himself before he headed back home as fast as he could.
Upon his arrival, Peter shed his trappings of a Technoninja and replaced them with a menagerie of ghost hunting swag. He was locked, loaded, and ready to mess Amos up.
PART THREE
Late that evening, a costumed Amos inspected the second floor of Harry's Seafood, a Creole restaurant. After taking care of his second poltergeist that week, (they really like ethnic food for some reason) he considered having a late supper. He elected to go straight home and have a big breakfast at George's Diner the next morning.
He made his way down the stairs and, after collecting his standard fee, out the door into its outdoor courtyard. Once out onto the street, he was jumped by Peter.
"The hell?!" Amos immediately dodged his first attack and summoned a grid like force field around his person. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm going to stop you before you cause any more harm." Peter spoke with an unusual degree of epicness. Amos didn't care.
"I don't have time for this." Amos pointed his staff and Peter and casually fired a beam of energy at him just for it to be deflected by a science-y thing.
"Oh." Amos's eyes widened as Peter inched forward before they both were interrupted by the crazy naked man.
"Oh dear God, not again." Amos groaned as Peter looked at both of them oddly.
"Your thoughts forge your deeds." The naked man cooed in a droll tone. "Your deeds forge your identity. Your identity forges your abilities. Your abilities forge your profession... And your profession forges your end."
Both Amos and Peter just stared at the man as he turned around and ran off into the naked sunset. The two just glared awkwardly at each other for a while before walking off on their separate ways.
Not that much later, the naked man was gleefully jumping up and down as he was surrounded by police officers, all carrying guns and tasers.
"Cops!" The naked man once again started pointing at his groin. "Taze me! Taze me right here!"
He got his wish.
Shortly after the naked man passed out, a small black cloud with tiny red glowing eyes emerged from his slightly open mouth.
"A...mos..."
THE END