04x03 - Light Trap in the Darkness

[bunniefuu]

[wind whooshing]

[SUIKA] All this time,
we've been waiting to say.

♪

Hello, America!

[all gasp and chuckle]

[FEMALE EOM 207A]
It's about time!

[KASEKI]
Senku came through!

-[indistinct chatter]
-[smirks]

That stupid trip
was way too long!

But it's finally over.

Land h*!

[ALL]
Meat, go!

[all cheering]

[laughs]

I am not surprised,

we went for a long time
without meat

while we sailed the high seas.

[stomach rumbling]

-[gasps]
-Hm.

We've been training hard,
and quite long.

So the battle team
would certainly benefit

from a nice meal
of animal protein.

[whimpering]

Sign me up!

Bet there's some great wildlife

just waiting to be
hunted out there!

What kinda animals
even live here?

This is actually
my first time traveling abroad!

Although, this isn't exactly

the kind of vacation
I had in mind!

Vacation?

[laughs]

You know what,
I think all you meatheads

might just be on to something.

♪

[flag fluttering]

[HOMURA]
Look...

beyond the fog.

Uh?

[water burbling]

[telescope whirring]

Uh...

[waves crashing]

♪

Really, now.

We all knew
it would be like this.

But then again,
this is our very first

voyage overseas
in the stone world.

We had no way of truly knowing

what we would find here.

♪

[GEN]
It was a possibility,

that our Lilian lie
was actually the truth,

and only Japan
was still petrified.

Maybe the rest of the world
was already back to normal.

Or maybe, they'd been spared

from the petrification beam
from the beginning.

Deep in our hearts,
though just a glimmer,

there was still some hope!

Y'know?

♪

-Check out that cape there.
-Huh?

[KOHAKU] So many statues
are all clumped together.

[MINAMI]
You're right.

But why?

[SENKU]
Hm.

Must've been
a massive car pileup.

♪

[UKYO] All the cars would have
corroded by now,

leaving only
the statues behind.

Ugh!
What a load of nonsense.

Cars driving on water?

[Ryusui laugh]

This place
was once filled with cars.

I sailed by here
a long time ago,

several thousand years.

Back then, this spot was known
as the gateway to the Pacific.

That red practically
glowing through

the San Francisco fog.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

♪

Then it's true.

Everything that
humanity built.

Every last bit of it
is gone now.

[MALE EX EOM 403A]
If I'm being honest,

a huge part of me was
banking on finding people

to help us out of this mess.

[MALE VILLAGER 307A]
Yeah, same here.

[TAIJU]
Listen,

you've got that backwards.

We're gonna find
and raise us some corn!

And once we do that,

we're gonna use
the power of science

to revive everyone
in the world!

[SENKU]
Damn straight.

We'll be the ones
who are gonna help them out.

Every last one,

all 7.8 billion of 'em.

LIGHT TRAP IN
THE DARKNESS

♪

[TAIJU]
Finally! The US of A!

We have arrived!

[all cheering]

How 'bout that.

It's Lilian's homeland.

[Kohaku scoffs]

So this is America, huh?

I've heard so much about it,

and I've been dying
for a peek, but uh...

[groans]

It doesn't seem much
different from Japan.

Hm.

Looks like
another forest to me.

[all groan]

Yeah, well.

I suppose
all of the distinctly

American landmarks are gone.

So it's unrecognizable.

[giggles]

[SUIKA] Oh!
It's a pine cone!

Except, it's huge!

How could a pine cone
ever get this big?

[laughs]

[SENKU]
That's a sequoia.

Sequio...
What now?

[thudding]

This monster.

-[Suika scream]
-That's bad!

Like, in a giant way!

[Kaseki laughs]

[KASEKI]
I've seen my share of forests,

but never a tree like that!

It's almost as though

it's reaching clear
to the heavens!

[SENKU]
Sequoias are ridiculously huge.

They can grow
over 80 meters tall,

making them the biggest
trees on Earth.

[TAIJU]
Whoa.

That's a whole lotta meters!

[vulture snarls]

[whimpering]

Huh, even after
civilization's fall,

the world just keeps
on reaching for more.

[gulps]

That's badass.

America.

[water burbling]

We'll split into teams here
at the Sacramento River.

The resource acquisition
team'll stay with the ship.

Meanwhile, the corn
scout team will head inland.

As for the battle team,

our assignment
is escorting the scouts

and dealing
with dangerous wildlife.

♪

[engine revving]

We're gonna find
this special corn

even if we gotta turn over
every stone in America.

Yeah, that's really
not that easible-fay.

America is big.

Like, huge!

That aside, what we seek
may not exist anymore.

America's favorite crop
may have hybridized

after all these years.

So, we'll try the Corn Belt.

If the yellow stuff's
still around,

that's where we'll find it.

On the West Coast,

our best bet
is Northern California.

♪

We'll go through
San Francisco Bay,

and then just follow

the Sacramento River
to the city beyond.

Um, hello, Earth to Senku.

You realize most people
aren't as familiar

with American geography as you?

He lost me, too.

But basically, we'll find
some corn up this river?

Let's get moving!

[GEN] Our little Chrome always
finds his way to optimism

no matter the situation.

The ideal scout-team leader!

[rattling]

♪

[UKYO]
Fall is almost over.

That means we're nearing
the end of corn season.

Let's hope we're not too late.

Nah, that's not gonna
be an issue.

The planet goes through
a thing called precession.

Think of it like
a toy top tilting as it spins.

PRECESSION

Earth's axis has been
shifting slightly

for the past 3,700 years.

Which is good news for us.

It means the planet's seasons

have been offset
by about nine days.

[ALL]
Whoa!

[TAIJU] So we just barely
made it in time!

Don't party yet.

A shifted climate also brings

subtle ecological
changes with it.

So there could be
some big-a*s animals

looking to make us
their next meal.

I would gladly
welcome an attack

by a sizable creature out here.

Me, too.

[GINRO]
Hm.

Hey, wait a sec!
Are you crazy?

Huh?

♪

[whimpering]

[GEN] There you go jinxing us
again, Senku!

Though, actually,

I think I finally
caught on to your game.

Yeah!

It's not bad luck
or anything of the sort,

because there's no such thing

in science-man Senku's world,

so he just concocts
the worst-case scenario

because he knows that's
exactly what'll appen-hay!

♪

[gasps]

A float of American crocs!

[screams]

[CHROME]
How are there so freakin'

many of those things?

[water bubbling]

[engine revving]

[smirks]

[ALLIGATOR 403A]
Fresh meat!

[ALLIGATOR 403B]
Fresh meat!

[ALLIGATOR 403C]
Fresh meat!

[KOHAKU]
Fresh meat!

[YO]
Fresh meat!

Ah, I guess that explains it.

That's why you were
all hoping we'd get attacked!

-Fresh meat!
-Fresh meat!

[TSUKASA]
Yes.

I'm so thankful
for the great circle of life.

Mm.

Look at them go!

[GEN]
Our almighty all-stars!

♪

[yelling]

[thuds]

[grunts]

[RYUSUI] You know what being
in America means.

[fingers snap]

We can't leave here
without having

some of these first.

[fire crackling, sizzling]

♪

[FRANCOIS] For your enjoyment,
I present crocodile burgers.

[TAIJU, GEN]
No way?

[BOTH]
Hamburgers? Ah!

Hamburger?

Watch and learn.

Ya eat it like this.

[chomps]

[giggles]

[chomps]
[munching]

Oh, wow,
this tastes super yummy!

[all munching]

It's so bad!

And good!

I've never
had anything like it!

My mouth is in ecstasy!

[groans]

[munching]

♪

[sobbing]

[sword slicing]

Senku.

Huh?

One of them swallowed this.

[SENKU]
Ugh?

Huh?

Is there something inside it?

♪

[gasps]

[SENKU]
Corn!

[KOHAKU]
Uh...

That's the fabled
American corn we're after?

[laughs]

Landed right in our hands.

Seems as though
we'll find the key

to reviving all of humanity
just upstream.

[engines revving]

So this is the life-giving
corn, huh?

Yup.

That's the most OP corn
variety of the Americas.

Say hello
to the glorious yellow dent.

The corn's OP?

[chuckles]

I mean, it does taste like a*s,

but its power is being
insanely efficient

at producing alcohol.

Ah!

You know what that means!
Yes!

We're finally gonna
revive the whole world!

Hang on!

We're coming to save y'all,
statues of America!

I should clarify that
I have no idea

how much of this corn is left.

It's fine.
Just takes a little.

We'll take what we can get
and grow what we need!

[RYUSUI] It'll be a race
against time either way.

We've still got to face
our enemy soon,

fight the twisted Why Man.

Well, am I wrong?

You're not.

We're getting right to work,
establishing Corn City!

[KOHAKU]
Huh!

[yelling]

Tiny corn babies!

[Kohaku scoffs]

There's a bunch of them
flowing down river.

[Hyoga whimpering]

[HOMURA]
Um.

Stay strong, Hyoga.

Rest assured,

there's corn growing
somewhere up ahead.

I betcha there's a whole
crap load of it too!

Hm.

Corn drifting down
the river seems

ten billion percent
too convenient.

Wouldn't you say?

[phone ringing]

[YUZURIHA]
Hello?

Speaking from the Perseus.

[GEN] Heya!
Scout team speaking,

you should know
we found corn in the river.

[all cheering]

That's nice and all,
but we haven't actually

found it growing yet.

We need more intel.

Copy that?

So let us know

if you find any floating
downstream, will ya?

[YUZURIHA]
Okay, on it!

You heard the man, guys!

Keep your eyes peeled

and don't let one single
kernel escape our sight!

[cheering]

♪

[growls]

[growls]

♪

[engines revving]

[sighs]

It's around here.

Those places you mentioned.

Their names were
quite confusing.

I think you called it
the Sacramento City area?

[crickets chirping]

[GEN]
What are you making

in such a hurry over there?

A white cloth over a light?

You'll attract loads of bugs

with such a bright light
at this hour.

That would be the whole idea,

and why it's called
a light trap.

We can learn more
about the area

by analyzing
the phototactic bugs

this light attracts.

And if I'm right about this.

♪

[grunts]

[SENKU]
Some European corn borers.

These guys subsist on corn.

And that confirms

there's a boatload
of it nearby.

Butterflies?

-They're beautiful.
-Uh?

Actually, they're moths.

You're not wrong.

But there really
isn't that much difference

between them.

They have such
a mystical kind of beauty.

[SENKU]
Kohaku.

Actually, everyone
from the village.

-[ALL] Huh?
-[SENKU] Tell me something.

Have you ever seen
moths like this before?

[Kohaku scoffs]

Now that you mention it,

I don't believe
I've seen that one.

Though it's not something
I ever really thought about.

This type much prefers
snacking on cloth over grain.

That said, their numbers

should have dwindled
when humanity vanished.

But that doesn't seem
to be what's going on here.

Just look at how many
gathered in no time flat.

It almost makes me wonder

if there's a settlement
nearby farming loads of corn.

Come on! How can you be
so serious at a time like this?

We're gonna revive
all of humanity!

What more could you ask for

than to find
a massive cornfield?

[gasps]

♪

[TSUKASA]
What is that?

♪

Bloodlust.

What's wrong?

Is it some kind of beast?

There's nothing to fear

with our all-star battle team
on the job!

You say
as you're hiding behind me.

Our foe's ki,
do you recognize it?

[TSUKASA] Ki?
There's no such thing.

Rather, I believe
we're perceiving

the byproducts of adrenaline
coursing through our enemy.

Although, I can't claim
to know that for certain.

Stay focused.

I vowed
to protect these people.

I know that faint scent
on the air.

[clatters]

[gasps]

[TSUKASA]
It's smoke from a fired g*n.

[HYOGA]
It would seem our adversary

does things properly.

♪

In the end,
we have been the ones...

lured in by a different
kind of trap.

Retreat!
To the boat!

[g*nf*re]

Ah!

[screams]

[grunts]

[g*nf*re]

[grunting]

It's a machine g*n!

Machine g*n?
What the heck is that?

[g*nf*re]

Never doubt a captain
when he's at his helm!

[tires screeching]

[RYUSUI]
Water barrier!

[rumbling]

[g*nf*re]

♪

[rattling]

[STANLEY]
Oh, how did they detect me?

[engines revving]

[GINRO]
We're alive!

Thanks to Tsukasa's
super senses.

[RYUSUI] I'm just glad
everyone is in one piece.

Machine g*n?

Who, how, and also why?

I thought
there were no more humans left

around these parts.

I guess the US dodged
petrification somehow?

They couldn't have.

'Cause how would you explain

all of those statues we found?

This means someone did it,
just like Senku.

Revived on their own.

[all gasp]

And whoever it is,
is growing corn.

[SENKU]
Then we're lucky as hell.

Think we've got a science
duel on our hands.

So, strap in.

Because we're looking
at an epic showdown

against a real-life
evil scientist.

[scoffs]

And if it's a fight like that.

We can't lose.

Don't tell me
you're not stupid excited now.

NEXT EPISODE

THIS IS A WORK
OF FICTION.

THE PLANTS, ANIMALS,
AND PRODUCTION

METHODS DESCRIBED
ARE REALITY BASED.

PLEASE DO NOT IMITATE
WITHOUT EXPERTISE.