| OOOOOOOHHHHHHH! |
(The 1900s. At the Park, the House is under construction. Inside the house is Pops as a child, and his father, Mr. Maellard. Pops laughs as he looks into a telescope to look at the stars, before coming across a bright pink planet in the sky)
Pops: Ooh, lovely!
(Pops turns to his father, who is doing paperwork at his desk)
Pops: Papa! I just saw the most beautiful planet in the sky!
Mr. Maellard: Calm down, it's just a planet. And don't touch that telescope, it's a family heirloom. We're gonna sell it soon.
(Pops stamps his foot in anger, then levitates slightly off the ground while glowing pink. He then drops back to the ground and looks back at his father, who shoos him away)
Pops: Yes, papa.
(Noticing that his father isn't looking, Pops grabs the telescope and takes it with him. Many years later in the 1950s, Pops is outside the house with the telescope)
Pops: That planet should be visible any minute now!
(Pops looks through the telescope to see the planet appearing slightly, giving the appearance of a waning crescent. Behind him, Mr. Maellard pulls up in his car)
Mr. Maellard: There you are, Jack.
Pops: It's Pops.
Mr. Maellard: I need you to come down to the tiki hut with me. I gotta convince some investors that I'm a family man. Hop in!
(Pops begins to sob in anger, then emits a pink glow for a brief second, before admitting defeat)
Pops: Oh...
(Pops looks up at his father checking his watch and tapping his fingers on the side of the car, waiting for Pops to get in the car)
Pops: Yes, daddy-o.
(Pops gets in the car. A few decades later, in the 1980s, Pops is in his room with his telescope pointing out the window)
Pops: Alright, planet. This time, it's just you and me. The telescope's ready, the door is locked, and Papa is at a business retreat in Bora Bora! Nothing can stop me now!
(Suddenly, a wrecking ball smashes through Pops' wall, causing the telescope to fly across the room, unharmed. Pops screams, then looks down from the hole in his wall to see his father sat in a crane, hooked up to a wrecking ball)
Mr. Maellard: Sorry, son. Didn't know you were in there.
Pops: What about Bora Bora?
Mr. Maellard: "Bora Boring" is more like it. Besides, I wanted to get some work done around the house.
(Mr. Maellard pushes a lever forward, making the wrecking ball swing into the floor below Pops' room. Pops clenches his fists in anger, emitting a pink glow and telekinetically causing his bed and telescope to levitate from the ground)
Pops: Oh...
(As Pops calms his anger down, the bed and telescope drop back to the floor. Pops looks out into the sky to see a distant pink light reflecting from the planet)
Pops: Maybe next time...
(Present day, during the second dome occupation of the Park. Benson is hosting a morning meeting at the front steps. Attending are Mordecai, Rigby, Skips, Hi Five Ghost and Pops, who is staring into the sky with inflated eyes. Strangely, Muscle Man is missing from the meeting)
Benson: Okay, so that's about it for assignments, so how about some announcements, huh? So...
(Benson notices the absence of Muscle Man)
Benson: Wait, where's Muscle Man? I need to tell everyone that -
(Benson's strap-on fax machine begins to print a fax)
Mordecai: Is that from the dome guys?
Skips: What do they want this time?
Benson: Everybody, just calm down. Let me check it.
(Benson sweats as he takes the fax and reads it out loud slowly)
Benson: "Be at the meeting soon. Got held up in my own "morning meeting". If you know what I mean. Sincerely...Muscle Man"!?
(Muscle Man opens the front door)
Muscle Man: Hey, Benson. Did you get my fax? Did you get what I meant?
(As Muscle Man walks down the steps, he falls into them, wedging himself in the middle)
Benson: (sighs) That's what I wanted to tell everyone. It's nothing to be concerned about, but the house is infested with an aggressive strain of termites.
(A colony of termites approach Muscle Man, still sticking out of the stairs)
Muscle Man: Uh...
Benson: That are just a little bit poisonous.
(Muscle Man squeals as the termites climb up his face)
Benson: Anyway, because of security reasons, the dome guys have arranged for the exterminators. They're coming today and the house will be tented tonight. So Pops, I'm sorry for the inconvenience but you won't be able to sleep here tonight.
Pops: I beg your pardon?
Benson: But, we've got a reservation for you at Sleep Lodge. They've got a pool, on-call masseuse, 24-hour breakfast bar... Frankly, I wish I was staying there.
Mordecai: What about us?
Rigby: Where are we gonna sleep?
Benson: Yeah, you gotta leave.
Mordecai: Aw, come on, Benson!
Rigby: Yeah, that's not fair!
Benson: Excuse me, but Pops and I were having a conversation!
Pops: Benson, I can't! Tonight, I have an appointment at the park with an old friend.
Benson: Really? Who?
Pops: Well, I don't know her name exactly, but she's visible via telescope once every 25 years. She's pink and made of rock and is hundreds of thousands of miles wide!
Rigby: Who is this giant magic woman!?
Mordecai: A planet. He's talking about a planet.
Pops: My favorite planet! I've felt a strange connection to her my entire life. If I miss her tonight, I might never see her again! Can't we reschedule?
Benson: Sorry, Pops. There's no way way to reshe - reshke - dang!
Mordecai: Reschedule.
Benson: There's no way to reschedule!
Mordecai: Oh! You know what we haven't done in a while?
Rigby: Tried to make triple-fried corn dogs?
Mordecai: No, dude. Camping! How fun would it be if the three of us camped out tonight and looked at that planet with Pops?
Pops: That sounds like an enchanting idea!
Benson: So...you don't want your hotel room anymore?
Pops: No.
Benson: Okay, I'll take it then!
Pops: Roughing it will suit us just fine, thank you.
Benson: Now, if you all don't mind, I've got a date with that 24-hour breakfast bar.
(Benson walks off enthusiastically. Later in the night, Mordecai, Rigby and Pops are all sat around a campire. Mordecai and Rigby start rapping about stars.
Mordecai & Rigby: Stars!
Mordecai: Yeah!
Mordecai & Rigby: We're lookin' at stars!
Rigby: Yeah!
Mordecai: So many stars, how many do you think there are?
Pops: Millions?
(Mordecai and Rigby shake their heads)
Pops: Billions?
(Mordecai and Rigby shake their heads)
Mordecai: Probably trillions.
Rigby: But, I'm bettin' it's zillions!
Mordecai & Rigby: Floating in the milky way, millions of light years away!
Rigby: What is a star anyway?
Mordecai: They're big balls of gas!
(Mordecai and Rigby laugh)
Mordecai: Gas balls...
Pops: (laughs) Yes, stars are great. But now, back to what I was saying before you interrupted me with that really long song.
(Pops points to the sky)
Pops: The universe is filled with billions and billions of stars. Mankind has been looking to the skies for generations and noticing beautiful pictures known as constellations.
(Pops points out different constellations in the sky, with them appearing as Pops mentions them)
Pops: Like, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and Orion's Breakfast!
Mordecai & Rigby: Whoa...
Rigby: Normally, I hate learning about stuff, but this is pretty alright, Pops!
Pops: Well, boys. I'd say it's about time we set up the telescope.
(Pops opens up the telescope's case and sets up its mount)
Rigby: Whoa, that's awesome. This is like a real telescope!
Mordecai: Yeah! We had no idea you were so into astronomy.
Pops: Yes, I really do love it.
(Pops sets the telescope onto the mount)
Pops: You know, it's quite amazing. With this simple device, you can see planets and stars too far away to reach on your own, and that viewing experience can help you put things in perspective.
Rigby: Totally.
Pops: I've had a fascination with this particular planet since the first time I saw it.
(Pops points to where the planet's location is)
Pops: It should appear...right there! I can't wait to show her to you!
(Pops reaches into the telescope case to find the eyepiece)
Pops: And now for the final and arguably most important piece of the viewing experience!
(Pops struggles to find the eyepiece)
Pops: Oh, dear!
Mordecai: What's wrong?
Pops: It seems I've misplaced the eyepiece. It must be in my room, where I was cleaning it in preparation for tonight's viewing! I'm afraid without the eyepiece, the telescope is useless.
Mordecai & Rigby: Aw, man!
Pops: Well, we'll just have to flutter on in like a murder of crafty crows and bring it back to our nest!
Mordecai: So, we're just going to your room to get the eyepiece?
Pops: Precisely!
Mordecai: Hmm...maybe we should check with Benson. See if it's okay.
(Mordecai calls Benson on his phone. Meanwhile at the Sleep Lodge hotel, Benson is in the 24-hour breakfast bar eating pancakes. He notices that Mordecai is calling him, but ignores it as he notices the waitress)
Benson: Waitress! More butter!
(Back at the park, Mordecai puts his phone down)
Mordecai: He didn't answer. So, I guess it's fine?
(Mordecai, Rigby and Pops return to the house, which is covered under a tent and fenced off. Inside, "exterminators" are doing work on the house's interior, with their silhouettes appearing occasionally inside the house. It appears to be a much bigger operation than just ridding the house of termites)
Mordecai: Whoa, those must be some crazy termites.
(The trio approach the fence surrounding the house to see three signs reading: "DANGER: TOXIC", "DANGER: EXTREMELY HARMFUL CHEMICALS" and "Joe's EXTERMINATION: VOTED "NOT GUILTY" IN A LOT OF OUR COURT CASES")
Mordecai: Yeah, I don't think we're getting in there.
(The trio turn their heads to look around the corner, where they see two "exterminators" in hazmat suits, holding a mysterious box, while what appears to be welding metal occurs behind them)
Mordecai: I guess the dome guys are fixing the porch?
(Rigby looks into the sky to see a bright pink light, similar to the light projected by Pops' planet in the 1980s)
Rigby: Hey Pops, is that the planet?
Pops: Yes, it is. We only have an hour before she fades away for another 25 years!
Mordecai & Rigby: What!?
Mordecai: I didn't know we only had an hour, what are we gonna do!?
Pops: Hmm...
(Pops looks up at the planet's light)
Pops: Perhaps, Skips will have an idea.
Rigby: Doesn't seem likely, but it's worth a shot.
(Sometime later, the trio are joined by Skips in his garage, where he searches through his toolboxes for an eyepiece)
Skips: Ah, here we go!
Pops: Thank you, Skips! I knew you would -
Skips: Oh, wait. This is just an electric nose-hair trimmer.
(Skips activates the nose-hair trimmer)
Pops: Oh, bother.
Skips: Sorry, Pops. I thought I had an old eyepiece in here, but I can't find it.
Mordecai: Great, how are we gonna see Pops' planet now?
Rigby: I guess we just have to wait another 25 years?
Skips: Hmm, I should be free.
Pops: Thank you for looking, Skips, but there must be something else we can do!
Skips: Well, there's that abandoned observatory deep in the park. It's been out of commission for quite a while, but there's no reason we couldn't make it work! I'm pretty sure I know the way there.
Pops: Smashing! We'll be modern-day astronomers in no time! And I really mean no time, because the planet will be out-of-view soon, very very soon!
(Later, the group are heading towards the park's observatory holding flashlights. Pops dances around as he moves behind Skips)
Mordecai: Man, that dude does not break.
Rigby: What do you mean?
Mordecai: He's always super positive! Do you know anyone more positive than Pops?
Rigby: Benson.
(Mordecai and Rigby burst out laughing. Mordecai wipes a tear out of his eye)
Mordecai: But seriously, think of all the stuff that should've set Pops off, but he totally kept his cool.
Rigby: Yeah, you're right. Like if Benson kicked me out of the house, I would've been furious!
Mordecai: He did kick you out.
Rigby: And I was furious! But, Pops has been a trooper this whole time. As a guy with a lot of rage just below the surface, I'm really impressed. How does he do it?
Mordecai: I don't know, it's just a Pops thing, I guess.
(The group approach some bushes)
Skips: We're here.
(Skips pulls open the bushes to reveal the Park Observatory. The group enter the building, and head up the stairs. On the wall above the stairs is an ancient mural, featuring images of the Earth, a computer, a gaming console, two game controllers, an atom symbol, a cassette tape, some mountains, a sun with an eye inside, and what appears to be Iacedrom and Ygbir, photorealistic versions of Mordecai and Rigby. Upstairs, the group find a large telescope, with a giant plasma ball nearby. Pops runs up to the telescope)
Pops: Oh, what a wonderful telescope! Quickly, Skips, let's set it up!
(As Pops and Skips work on the telescope, Mordecai and Rigby approach the giant plasma ball)
Mordecai & Rigby: Whoa...
(They both look into the ball and start to giggle, but are soon interrupted by Skips)
Skips: Quit messing around!
Mordecai & Rigby: Sorry!
(To pass the time, Mordecai and Rigby play catch with a baseball, as Pops fixes the telescope)
Pops: I've got it! The telescope's ready!
Rigby: Aw, yeah! Time to look at the planets time!
(Rigby chucks the baseball to the ground, but it bounces across the room and ricochets off the observatory's roof, smashing into the giant plasma ball, shattering its glass and unleashing the plasma inside)
Rigby: Oh no!
(The plasma begins to grow and grabs Mordecai, sending him into the air with a plasma bolt. It does the same to Rigby, Skips and Pops, before pinning them all to the wall and paralyzing them)
Mordecai: I can't move!
Rigby: What is this!?
Skips: We gotta break that mechanism somehow!
(The group struggles as they try to break free from the plasma bolts)
Skips: Maybe we can call for help.
(Pops looks up through the observatory's window to see the planet's light beginning to fade)
Pops: But that will take too long! She's almost out of sight!
Skips: Sorry, Pops! But as long as that globe is still on, we're definitely gonna miss seeing your planet!
(Pops begins to cry and stares at Mordecai and Rigby in anger)
Pops: Agh, it's not fair!
Mordecai: Uh, I don't know what to tell you!
Rigby: We're really sorry!?
Pops: I'm not going to wait another moment! We're going to see my planet!
(Pops clenches his fists, causing the plasma to wrap around him)
Mordecai: Dude, Pops! It's just a planet!
(Pops grows more frustrated as the plasma wraps even tighter around him. He closes his eyes tightly, then opens them, causing them to glow. Pops begins to levitate forward, then absorbs all of the plasma bolts, freeing Mordecai, Rigby and Skips, who fall to the ground. Pops then breaks free from the plasma bolts. His friends look up at him)
Rigby: Huh?
Mordecai: What the?
(Pops levitates towards the plasma bolt. He then uses his hidden telekinesis to lift the telescope's case, a screwdriver, a wrench, a cardboard box, a solar system diorama, a ladder, three books, and countless more items into the air. With them, he levitates closer to the plasma ball and telekinetically throws them at the plasma ball, causing it to illuminate the entire observatory and explode. Mordecai, Rigby and Skips cough as the smoke clears. They look ahead to see Pops looking through the observatory's telescope, looking at his favorite planet)
Pops: (laughs) Hello again, old friend. I've missed you.
(Pops turns to see Mordecai, Rigby and Skips)
Pops: Fellows! Come have a look, it's glorious!
(Mordecai, Rigby and Skips stare at Pops in shock, confused as to what he just did)
Mordecai: What...just happened?
Skips: I have no idea...
End of "Pops' Favorite Planet"