Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit the Complete Season 2

Episode 9: Rodney's Goodbye

Featured Cryptid: Flying rods

Our episode opens up with Tony visiting Cyborg Blake in prison asking his father if it's true that he killed Doctor Rylander. Blake confesses to his son that it is true and that he was blackmailed into working for the Black Dot saying that they threatened to take his eyesight away if he didn't do it. Tony retaliates by telling Blake that they took his eyesight anyway so it didn't matter if he listened to them or not reminding Blake that the Black Dot don't care about him all they care is about exploiting cryptids for money. Blake sheds a tear from his cybernetic eye, telling Tony that he has every right to hate him, saying that he failed as a father to both him and Nina. Tony then begins to feel sorry for Blake before Daniel enters the room to tell Tony that he and Natalie need him for something. Tony then looks at his father sulking in his cell before leaving the room to follow Daniel through the hallway, Tony asking Daniel what he needs him for. Daniel explains to Tony that something strange has happened to Rodney, he's been acting crazy today and Natalie has been having a hard time keeping him under control. Daniel and Tony then enter Natalie's room where they see Rodney zipping around the room like crazy while Natalie struggles to catch him, Rodney zipping around her head causing her to go dizzy before Rodney flies underneath her skirt causing her to blush. Daniel then chuckles telling her "you should really start wearing pants" followed by Natalie whipping out one of her electric batons to comically electrocute Daniel causing him to fall over while Rodney giggles at Daniel before going back to zipping around the room. Tony then helps Daniel back on his feet before asking Natalie what the heck has gotten into Rodney. Natalie tells Tony that she doesn't know herself followed by Rodney crashing into Daniel waking him up, Daniel telling the little skyfish to slow down. Tony then opens up the Cryptozoologicon and tells Daniel and Natalie that he may have found the answer. Tony explains to the two that today is Rod breeding season, saying that once every year the Rods all congregate in massive numbers at the Sótano de las Golondrinas (AKA the Cave of Swallows) in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Daniel then tells Natalie and Tony that they should take Rodney there themselves, however Natalie tells Daniel that if they do that there's a chance that Rodney won't return, which makes Daniel sad. however Bill enters the room to tell Daniel and Natalie that he has a mission for them. Bill then notices Rodney zipping around the room before telling Daniel and Natalie to meet him in his office, and get Rodney under control. Rodney then starts zipping around Tony's head only for Tony to catch Rodney in a bug jar. Tony then hands the jar to Daniel and Natalie, telling them to thank him later before wishing them luck on their next mission. Daniel and Natalie then enter Bill's office where Bill explains to the two that he got a call from their old friend Delgado Vasquez who said that he spotted Black Dot activity near the Cave of Swallows so they need to get down to Mexico and protect the Rod population at all costs, as today is Rod breeding season and it is important that their courtship remain uninterrupted to insure that they may successfully reproduce and continue the species. Daniel then looks down at poor Rodney still trapped in the jar before Helena hands Daniel and Natalie two bracelets telling them that she designed a pair of experimental flight suits that will allow them to soar amongst the skyfish. Natalie and Daniel both board the X-Jeep and blast off. we then cut to Domino's airship where we see the twins sparring with each other, Domino instructing the two on their training. Cloak easily bests her sister, dodging Dagger's knives before freezing her in place with her telekinesis. Cloak then lifts up one of her sister's daggers with her telekinesis and holds it up to her neck, telling her that she's clearly the superior sister. Domino then applauds Cloak on her training, telling her that she's progressed in her mastery of her telekinesis very nicely. Cloak then drops Dagger, followed by Dagger objecting to Domino that she's just as cable of being a cryptid-killing machine as Cloak is, saying that she's mastered the art of knife-throwing, Dagger throwing one of her knives at a taxidermied sasquatch slicing its head clean off causing the stuffing to go all over the floor. Cloak then lifts the taxidermied sasquatch's severed head into the air and re-attaches it to the body, Dagger yelling at her sister frustrated at how unfair it is that Doctor Uno gave Cloak the ability to move objects with her mind while she got stuck with the ability to throw knives good which isn't as cool. Doctor Uno then tells the two girls that they need to stop their petty squabbling, telling the two that today is a special day since today the rods all gather at the Cave of Swallows for their breeding season and he doesn't want their sibling rivalry to ruin what could potentially be the Black Dot's biggest heist in years. Domino tells the two that the good doctor is right, saying that with so many rods in one spot the Black Dot is granted the opportunity to bag as many of the little flying invertebrates as they can to sell them all on the black market. for a reasonable price, of course. Domino then tells the two that he expects both of them to be on their best behavior, Domino giving Dagger the evil stare with his one eye. Cloak and Dagger both kneel before their "father" promising that they won't come back empty-handed. we then cut back to the X-jeep arriving at the Cave of Swallows. Daniel and Natalie both look out the window to see a massive swarm of skyfish fly past the X-jeep, little Rodney watching them from outside his jar in awe of seeing other members of his kind for the first time in years. Rodney gets all excited and starts banging against his jar. Daniel picks up the jar and tells Natalie that little Rodney's getting all antsy right now. Natalie then tells Daniel that it's obvious since Rodney hasn't seen another skyfish in so long. Daniel then asks Natalie how Rodney ended up as a part of Animal X in the first place, and Natalie tells Daniel that Rodney was her childhood pet. we then cut to a flashback scene where we see a young Bill spelunking in the Cave of Swallows with a 10-year old Natalie holding onto his back for dear life. young Natalie suddenly loses her grip and starts falling followed by Bill exclaiming "NOOOO!!!" as he watches his adoptive daughter descend into the deep chasm below. however a giant swarm of rods fly down after young Natalie and catch her, Natalie amazed at being lifted into the air by millions of skyfish. Bill then climbs back to the top of the cave and the Rods drop Natalie who lands in Bill's arms, Bill thanking the skyfish for saving Natalie. Bill then notices Natalie holding a baby skyfish in her hands and asks her where she got it. Natalie then tells Bill that the little guy stowed away in her clothes when she was saved by the adult rods. the baby skyfish nuzzles against Natalie, taking a liking to his new human friend. Natalie asks Bill if she can keep him, however Bill tells young Natalie no saying that Cryptids belong in their natural habitat with no human interference, just like any wild animal. Natalie begs for her adoptive father to let her keep him, giving bill the ol' puppy dog eyes. Bill then gives in and lets her keep the baby skyfish, Natalie naming the creature "Rodney". we then cut back to present day where Daniel tells Natalie that he had no idea they had such a connection. Natalie tells Daniel that her and little Rodney go way back. Rodney then starts bumping the edges of his jar until the jar falls over shattering the glass container freeing Rodney in the process. Rodney then starts zipping around the X-jeep until he hits the button that opens the hatch before flying out of the X-jeep to join the rest of his species. Daniel then presses the button on his bracelet activating his gliding suit followed by Natalie asking Daniel what he thinks he's doing. Daniel then tells Natalie that he's going after Rodney, however Natalie warns Daniel that it's too late as Rodney is with his own kind now. Daniel then asks Natalie how she could say that about her own childhood pet, and Natalie tells Daniel that letting go is something she learned to cope with the hard way having to come to terms with her parent's deaths last season and that the sooner he learns how to do the same the better. Daniel however doesn't listen and leaps out of the X-jeep. Natalie then sighs before activating her flight suit before jumping out of the vehicle after Daniel. the two then freefall down the Cave of Swallows as swarms of rods swirl around them like a giant tornado made of skyfish. The two then open the wings of their gliding suits to parachute down to the bottom of the cave, followed by Rodney showing up to nuzzle up against both Daniel and Natalie happy to see his people again. Daniel is happy to be re-united with his little skyfish buddy until a pink skyfish (who is obviously female) approaches Rodney who has no idea how to interact with her and starts flying away from his female counterpart. The pink skyfish chases after her crush around the cave while Daniel asks what the heck is going on. Natalie explains to Daniel that the pink rod is clearly in love with Rodney, but since Rodney has completely forgot how to interact with others of his species due to a life of domestication he doesn't know how to properly court a female skyfish. Daniel begins to feel sorry for Rodney before opening the Cryptozoologicon and reads an excerpt revealing that Rods or "Skyfish" are a late-surviving descendant of the Anomalocarid family (a group of marine invertebrates from the Cambrian) that have adapted to an airborne lifestyle and spend their entire lives without ever touching the ground. they are able to fly at high speeds capable of breaking the sound barrier as well as the ability to camouflage. Rods spend most of their time in Earth's upper atmosphere feeding on small insects only coming close to the ground to breed. Rodney looks at the book followed by Daniel looking at the little skyfish and telling him that he had no idea he was capable of things like this. the pink skyfish then zips around Rodney followed by Daniel giving the pink skyfish a name: Rina. Natalie facepalms, telling Daniel not to name them or else he'll get attached. However it's too late as Daniel has already gotten attached to the female rod. Daniel begins to feel sorry for Rodney's lack of social skills among his species and we cut to a montage of Daniel teaching Rodney how to be a skyfish again (with some help from Rina, of course). Rodney learns how to camouflage, catch live insects, and even learn the Rod mating dance where the two fly around each other while the other skyfish and Natalie watch. Meanwhile Cloak and Dagger observe our heroes inside a hot air ballon with the black dot logo on it. Dagger is busy sharpening her knives while Cloak tells her sister that when she gives the signal, Dagger will be the one to drop the net. Dagger asks Cloak why she can't do that herself, since she's the one with psychic powers after all. Cloak tells Dagger that she's gonna be the one fighting those meddling Animal X agents to keep them distracted buying her sister time to bag the rods. Dagger rolls her eyes, asking her sister why she can't fight the Animal X agents, saying that she's been dying to cut them to pieces. Cloak then chokes Dagger with her telekinesis, telling her to just go with the plan if she knows what's good for her. Dagger reluctantly agrees to go with Cloak's plan before we cut back to Daniel and Natalie sitting on a rock at the bottom of the Cave of Swallows watching as Rodney and Rina bond with each other. Daniel comments how cute the two skyfish are together, but Natalie tells Daniel that once the two mate they mate for life meaning they're gonna have to say goodbye to Rodney. Daniel tells Natalie that he understands but he doesn't feel ready to say goodbye. Natalie puts her hand on Daniel's shoulder assuring him that it's for the best and everything's going to be alright. Daniel watches as the swarms of skyfish swirl above his and Natalie's heads before he notices a balloon with the Black Dot logo descend into the cave of swallows, followed by Cloak leaping out of the balloon to greet Daniel and Natalie, telling them that she won't let them get away this time. Daniel and Natalie both ready their weapons, followed by Cloak using her telekinesis to fling rocks at them. luckily our heroes manage to evade her attack, Daniel asking Cloak "let me guess, you have the ESPer gene too" followed by Cloak telling him yes. however while they are preoccupied fighting Cloak her sister Dagger lets down the net capturing all the rods save for Rodney who calls out to his lovely Rina and the other skyfish are carried off in a net by the balloon. Daniel and Natalie watch in horror, followed by Cloak telling Daniel and Natalie that they are too late, saying that soon all the rods will be sold on the black market, making the black dot millions. Daniel then fires his grappling hook at the balloon and hops aboard, confronting Dagger who whips out her knives telling Daniel that papa Domino is gonna be so proud of her when she brings him the head of an Animal X agent, something that will finally prove herself to be just as good as her sister. Daniel dodges Dagger's throwing knives while Cloak puts Natalie into a chokehold with her telekinesis, however Rodney then closes his eyes and flies at supersonic speeds for the first time, breaking the sound barrier and flying right through the balloon like a kamikaze while Daniel and Natalie and even the twins watch in awe, shocked to see the little skyfish master the ability for the first time. the balloon then drops the net freeing all the skyfish followed by Daniel leaping out of the balloon before it hits the ground and explodes taking Dagger down with it. Cloak drops Natalie before rushing towards the wreckage of the balloon desperate to save her sister. Cloak eventually finds Dagger alive, however she lost her right arm in the explosion. the two sisters retreat, Dagger vowing revenge on Daniel and Natalie for the loss of her arm. after that, Rodney has a happy reunion with Rina along with the other rods. Daniel begins to shed a tear due his conflicted feelings: on one hand, Rodney is happy to be with his own kind. but on the other hand, this is gonna force them to save goodbye. Natalie comforts Daniel before we get an emotional goodbye scene where Rodney nuzzles against both Daniel and Natalie before flying off with the rest of his kind. Daniel and Rodney look at each other before Daniel and Natalie both hop into the X-jeep. before taking off. as the X-Jeep flies out of the Cave of Swallows, Natalie notices that Daniel is looking sad. Daniel tells Natalie that he misses Rodney already. Natalie tells him that she understands, but it's best that he remains in his natural habitat with his own species in order for them to stay hidden, reminding him that the whole point of Animal X is to make sure that the existence of Cryptids remains a secret, so that they can live out their lives in peace. however Rodney pokes his head out from the back of the seat, revealing that the little skyfish has decided to stay with his humans. after that, we cut back to Domino's airship where we see Dagger trying to throw her knives at a target, but she keeps missing due to no longer having her throwing arm. our episode then ends with Dagger breaking down and crying.