Plot of Volkonir: Rise of Semaphry

The following is an in-depth plot synopsis / outline of the events in Volkonir: Rise of Semaphry.

Romantic issues
Vinny wakes up in his apartment in Bozeman, Montana to discover Kayla asleep on the couch. He kisses her awake, and reminds her that she should not stay up so late. He warns her that the others will start asking questions about how much time they spend together. Kayla complains that they won't be able to keep it a secret from Hanom forever that the two of them are dating - in spite his having issues with his employees dating each other. She apologizes for "letting things get out of hand" a few weeks back, and that it wasn't fair to Vinny to make him make compromises. He assures her that things will get better; but tells her they should take things slow. He doesn't want to destroy their friendship - nor her job - by them rushing love.

Strange signals
The two of them get a call to come in to Dr. Fred Hanom's office, in spite it being Kayla's day off. They try their hardest to pretend they're not in the same building together. Hanom alerts them that he has urgent news. Carlos, already there, begins tracking a signal on a screen of an unusual energy pulse emanating from Yellowstone. Hanom argues that it's more than likely Cortascian. Vinny and Kayla arrive and are shocked to learn from Vinny's observation that the signal spike is of the Crystal Swan of Cortascius. This implies that Silnya Semaphry, the warrior who trained Volkonir on Cortascius to wield the Golden Lion and become the defender of Morzhuk's realm, might still be alive. However, finding her would require a trip to Yellowstone. Vinny and Kayla would have to explore an area of the park that is off limits to the public, endangering themselves. Hanom promises to make arrangements in case they get caught by park rangers instead of Gwirmalesh's forces.

A old new enemy
A paper falls out of one of Hanom's folders, with a picture of an old rival of his named Terrence Hoshijo on it. Kayla immediately acts perplexed by the image, and announces that Hoshijo was the man responsible for the death of her daughter a few years earlier. Vinny asks for an explanation, as he didn't know Kayla used to have a family before him. She promises to tell him the story later. Hanom informs the other three of how the rivalry between them began, and warns that Hoshijo might still be out for revenge. His picture was in the folder because an alert had gone out that he was missing.

Inside of King Gwirmalesh's lair, Gwirdon treaders hand a tied-up Hoshijo to Gwirmalesh. A Gwirdon leader explains that Hoshijo vanished from the Social Security office in Washington specifically requesting Gwirmalesh by name. Gwirmalesh finishes explaining his plans for his new monster: Diabloq. He then insists Hoshijo be untied so that he may hear Hoshijo's proposal. Hoshijo at first explains that he has found a way to turn the government against Volkonir and his friends. He elaborates that friends of his in other government agencies have been spying on the area near Gwirmalesh's lair, and know both about Gwirmalesh and about Team Volkonir.

Hanom the credit zombie
The two villains plot to take over Washington - after first ensuring that the government has totally turned against Volkonir and his friends. Diabloq is sent to Yellowstone to ambush Volkonir, anticipating he'll try to find Silnya. Hanom attempts to buy some more staples online, but gets a notice that his cards have all been hotflagged. He calls up the bank, and is informed that he's legally dead.

Hanom immediately suspects that Hoshijo may have been involved somehow in his name being added to the Death Master File, and asks Carlos to go into town to investigate the matter. However, Carlos no sooner makes it to the bank than it is surrounded by federal agents. Hoshijo assures Gwirmalesh that everything is going according to plan, as Carlos alerts Hanom to the situation and is immediately arrested. Hanom orders Vinny and Kayla to use their transporters to go to Yellowstone immediately. No sooner do they leave, than tanks begin rolling up to Hanom's front door. He uses a secret underground tunnel system to elude capture, as the base is raided. He secures a comm unit and attempts to make contact with Vinny and Kayla.

Kayla's dark and troubled past
Kayla decides to tell Vinny the backstory of how her father became a POW, of how her mother died, and of how she became a mother. She also divulges how Hoshijo played a role in her daughter drowning, how she herself was initially blamed for the incident as Hoshijo tried in vain to cover for his own actions, and how her fingerprints are in a federal database. She explains that she saw working for Hanom as a way to bury her past life of being on the streets with no family, and suffering persecution for it. Vinny warns her that since they're technically trespassing on a federal land, she'd better be careful not to get caught. His equipment picks up another energy pulse from nearby in the park, and it startles his mogriffer. He hands it to Kayla, saying he can't afford to have it damaged going directly inside the chasm. He warns her not to use it unless she has no other choice, as the Golden Lion was intended for use with Cortascian physiology.

Rescuing Silnya
Vinny enters the chasm, and soon finds the Statue of Silnya. He also finds himself battling Diabloq inside the chasm for control of the wand that can undo Silnya's curse. Diabloq threatens to throw Vinny into a geyser several times, though Vinny always finds a way out of it. He also attempts numerous times to turn Vinny into another statue. But he then realizes that Kayla must have the Golden Lion mogriffer. Believing there is no chance for Vinny to escape even with the wand, he abandons Vinny in the chasm to secure the Golden Lion from Kayla.

Wanted by both sides
However, the Gwirdons that were supposed to go after Kayla attack a park ranger instead. Kayla finds the park ranger and starts fighting the Gwirdons to protect him. He warns her that he'll inform the police of where she is and have her arrested for trespassing. She informs him that his "4:00 is open," to run and do it while she keeps the Gwirdons busy. Diabloq shows up and threatens her, forcing her to activate the Golden Lion on herself in spite Vinny's warning of what might happen. Vinny manages to free Silnya, but learns that her spell worked differently from the one that turned him into a toy. He only resumed aging after being freed, and aged normally. Silnya's spell was the only thing keeping her from aging rapidly. The two hold a brief reunion inside the chasm, and she hands him the Crystal Swan mogriffer. She informs him that it can be reconfigured for an Earth woman to become the new Semaphry. However, it can also be a power-up for the Golden Lion - or the other way around. She says goodbye, then disintegrates into ashes. Vinny suddenly realizes Kayla is in danger, and uses the Crystal Swan mogriffer to get himself out of the chasm.

Diabloq transports himself and the Gwirdons to the city, forcing Kayla as She-Volkonir to travel there and battle him. Vinny uses the Crystal Swan to get himself there, with a baffled park ranger too much in shock to call police in spite having the phone in his hands. Kayla begins battling him in the city. While she initially proves herself quite competent and wielding Volkonir's powers, she starts to feel horrible pain after the first 14 minutes of fighting. Diabloq takes advantage of the powers rejecting her to humiliate her. Vinny arrives and has Kayla de-mogrify so he can reclaim the powers right as a SWAT team arrives, combining the Crystal Swan and Golden Lion into a power-up and forcing Diabloq to retreat after one punishing blow too many. Upon retreat, Diabloq attacks and kills several of the SWAT, leaving only one alive. Kayla makes the surviving SWAT woman a makeshift tourniquet after stealing and tossing away her gun. She tells the SWAT woman to wait for paramedics, and to inform her superiors that Gwirmalesh should be a target. The SWAT woman warns her that the APB makes no mention of a Gwirmalesh, and that the two need to decide pronto whether to run or surrender. Vinny makes sure Kayla isn't seriously injured, warning her that wearing the suit too long could kill her. He promises to make Silnya's Semaphry powers work for Kayla safely; but the two of them hear police sirens and flee the area.

Fugitives
Hanom informs the team via phone that the base has been ransacked, and that the feds are hunting all of them. Carlos is near Washington, and could be sent to Guantanamo if not careful. Hanom warns the other two that he must travel to Washington alone to plead his case. The two of them have enough transporter power to get them from Bozeman to the outskirts of Pittsburgh before they'd have to travel to Washington by other means. He also warns them that they will very quickly run out of money and food, since their bank accounts are frozen. Vinny and Kayla head back to Vinny's apartment to reconfigure the Semaphry mogriffer to make it safe for Kayla to use. As Kayla manages to initiate the reconfiguration, a swat team shows up with a helicopter to threaten the residence. They call out Prince Volkonir specifically by name over a megaphone. Vinny transforms and distracts them while Kayla continues to reconfigure her mogriffer. However, SWAT manage to distract Volkonir enough to break open the door right as reconfiguration completes. Kayla transforms into Semaphry and fends off the SWAT and their bullets. She takes out the helicopter, then activates the transporter to get herself and Volkonir to safety in Pittsburgh.

The price of failure
Mike Threbel of the FBI, a friend of Hoshijo's calls him on the phone and congratulates him on leading them right to Volkonir's apartment. However, he grows curious as to how Hoshijo was able to piece together the case. He informs Hoshijo that a man claiming to be Hanom was apprehended in Nebraska, acting very much alive. An awkward silence unfolds when Threbel also reveals that Volkonir and a new being were seen escaping. Gwirmalesh throws a tantrum at the news. He informs Hoshijo that Semaphry cannot be allowed to join Volkonir, that their combined powers would make them almost as great a threat to Gwirdon kind as the Red Snake of Cortascius was. He educates Hoshijo on Cortascian history, then warns Hoshijo of the consequences of any additional failures.

Layers and smokescreens
Inside the prison where Carlos is sent, he meets an inmate inside for knowing too much about the NSA and letting a friend also know too much. Lenny tells Carlos that there is no good reason for Carlos to be in there, and promises to protect him. Carlos informs him that their only hope is that Vinny and Kayla are still out there somewhere. As night approaches, Kayla suggests finding a cheap motel to break into. Vinny suggests that they can remain lower-key longer and get updates if they find a bench to sleep on. He reminds her that the homeless are not appreciated in Pittsburgh, and that they can use it to their advantage. Counting on Pittsburgh police not knowing that Vinny Mason and Prince Volkonir are the same, he uses his Vinny alias. Kayla claims to be "Macy Dixon" when confronted. Vinny warns "Macy" as they're sent to their cells that on his signal, they'll need their mogriffers.

Jailbreaks
The two get their rest, but are awakened the next day for questioning. Kayla attempts to fabricate a new story of her life that doesn't involve Volkonir; yet she keeps her narrative as close to the truth as possible outside that, hoping they don't cross-reference her fingerprints with the federal databases. Vinny, without saying he's Volkonir, begins boring the detective with Cortascian history. The news hits, and Diabloq is seen assassinating Secret Service personnel in Washington. Vinny asks to be sent back to his cell until needed again. On the way, he sees Kayla in hers and overhears a panicked guard proclaim Kayla's correct name. They take that as "the signal," and activate their mogriffers. Volkonir and Semaphry escape with little trouble, but need a vehicle to get to Washington. Hanom arrives out of nowhere and offers them a ride after the police lose track of them.

Hanom informs the team that he's been making some contacts. He teases them about suspecting all along they were a couple, offering Kayla his approval of the relationship provided it doesn't significantly alter the dynamic of Team Volkonir as a whole. He drops off Vinny near Carlos' prison right as guards prepare to take him to the plane that will transfer him to Guantanamo. Hanom hands the others new transporters to replace the drained one. Lenny instead attacks and provides a diversion for Carlos to escape. The other inmates also agree to help Carlos escape, deciding that their own fates don't matter as much as the need to stop Gwirmalesh.

Vinny partially climbs the fence and hands Carlos the Golden Lion mogriffer. Carlos uses it to summon Selshon and jump higher than normal. The two run into the forest. Vinny activates the Golden Lion armor to protect himself and cover Carlos' escape. Meanwhile, Hanom makes a scene in Washington going on live television and denouncing Hoshijo and Social Security for assassinating his identity. Kayla uses the diversion to infiltrate the Social Security office and compel an employee there to help her resurrect Hanom's identity. Diabloq begins terrorizing the public right as the president is about to give a speech, and sends a larger-than-normal army of Gwirdons to cause trouble. Amidst the chaos, Carlos finds his way to the president. He takes an energy blast to the shoulder. Trina, the Social Security worker, attempts to wrestle Kayla to the ground. However, Kayla regains control and exits the building as Semaphry. A showdown occurs between Semaphry and Diabloq while Volkonir cleans up as many of the Gwirdons as possible.

The Gwirdons go to Washington
Gwirmalesh turns Hoshijo into a ginormous blue glob, and unleashes him on Washington. Carlos advocates for the president to issue pardons to all of Team Volkonir, as SWAT helicopters begin firing on Diabloq and the Gwirdons. A Volkonir-Semaphry team-up finally leads to Diabloq's defeat. But a surprise attack from Gwirmalesh deactivates Volkonir's powers and sends his mogriffer flying. Gwirmalesh turns Volkonir back into a stuffed toy, taunting him with the wooden trinket that used to be King Morzhuk. A furious Kayla secures the Golden Lion mogriffer. Against Volkonir's warnings, she combines the Golden Lion into a power-up for Semaphry. The power surge nearly kills her; but she maintains her composure long enough to kill Gwirmalesh and puncture Hoshijo's brain. The military sends a missile to blow up what's left of Hoshijo.

Aftermath
Team Volkonir is rewarded with full pardons for their crimes, a new base, witness protection, a conditional pardon for Lenny, and a free trip to Big Rapids to break the spell on Vinny. Mogabir, the next-in-line to the Gwirdon throne, vows to continue Gwirmalesh's legacy and punish Team Volkonir. They first decide they need a new base of operations, given that their old location has been exposed.

Before dying, the spell-broken King Morzhuk helps Hanom create prototypes for a Red Serpent and Silver Ferret mogriffer, allowing Carlos and Lenny to join Vinny and Kayla. Vinny is allowed to bury his father, confident that the peace will last for at least a little while. And that when war does resume, he now has more friends than ever to count on. Carlos asks if Vinny and Kayla getting married will affect the team dynamic in any significant way, and Kayla assures them that it won't.