SEASON 4, EPISODE 1 — “Echoes of the Fallen Tree”

Tone: Darker, mythic, emotional, but still with the heart and warmth of Toki Toki.

COLD OPEN

EXT. LÓNGSHĀN BAMBOO RESERVE — DAWN

Sunlight struggles through crimson-streaked clouds, painting the bamboo forest in sickly colors. Birds scatter from the canopy. Spirit motes flicker and glitch, blinking erratically.

A deep, distant BOOM echoes across the land — like a heartbeat much too large for any forest.

We push into the bamboo until we find:

TOKI, breathing heavily, his fur shimmering with unstable pulses of green light.
Toki tries to steady himself against the ground — but the earth beneath his paw trembles.

Suddenly—

A tree trunk cracks open, glowing red from within like molten wood. Branches twist unnaturally toward the sky.

Toki gasps, eyes widening.

CUT TO TITLE CARD — “Echoes of the Fallen Tree”

ACT I

EXT. RANGER CABIN — MORNING

TokiToki bursts out the door, hair messy, hoodie askew, panting.

TOKITOKI
Toki! You felt it too, right?!
The forest—it's… it’s wrong.

Toki nods and motions her closer. His bamboo shoot vibrates, glowing in sputtering flickers like a failing lightbulb.

MAYA, half-awake and clutching a tablet, stumbles outside.

MAYA
The energy readings are everywhere.
It’s like someone plugged the forest into a giant, broken battery.

A loud cracking sound echoes.

EXT. BAMBOO HILLS — CONTINUOUS

The trio arrives at a hillside overlooking the reserve.
Before them, dozens of trees have split open, their insides glowing crimson and green.

Strange spirit winds swirl around the forest floor.

TOKITOKI
(whispers)
This… this is Shen, isn’t it?

Toki nods, somber.

His powers surge again — his fur glows bright, then sparks violently. Toki collapses to one knee.

TokiToki rushes to him.

TOKITOKI
Toki! Hey—hey, look at me.
You’re okay. You’re okay…

Toki gives a weak smile, but his body trembles.

Maya scans him with her spirit-tech pad.

MAYA
His energy levels are spiking and crashing. Hard.
The staff kept him balanced before, but now…
Now the corruption is forcing itself through the Green Pulse.

A low rumble rolls beneath them — like something massive moving under the earth.

SCENE 2 — RETURN OF ELDER SHAN

EXT. SACRED CLEARING — DAY

The group enters the clearing where Elder Shan often appears.

The air is strangely still.

Suddenly, green lights swirl into existence — and ELDER SHAN materializes, his expression solemn.

ELDER SHAN
Children of the Guardian…
A great calamity has awakened.

Toki kneels respectfully, wincing from another power surge.

TOKITOKI
Elder Shan, the forest—it’s breaking!
Is it because Shen got away with the fragment?

ELDER SHAN
No.
Not merely because he escaped.
Because he has become something the world has not seen in many ages.

Shan’s eyes glow brighter.

ELDER SHAN
Dr. Shen is now the Spirit Overlord —
A being that can command both corruption and creation.

Toki, Maya, and TokiToki exchange horrified glances.

MAYA
But that would mean—
He can warp the entire spirit network.

ELDER SHAN
(somber nod)
Yes. And he already has begun.

The earth shakes again. Toki braces himself.

ELDER SHAN
Without the Living Cane to balance you, Toki…
Your power will continue to destabilize.

Toki lowers his head. He knows.

TokiToki grabs his paw.

TOKITOKI
Then we fix it!
There has to be a way to help him, right?

Shan’s gaze softens.

ELDER SHAN
There is.
But the path will be perilous.
And the cost… unprecedented.

ACT II

SCENE 3 — THE FIRST DISTORTION

EXT. SPIRIT-RICH GLADE — AFTERNOON

The trio approaches a glade filled with wounded animals — foxes, boars, rabbits — all glowing with crimson fractures like cracks in porcelain.

TokiToki kneels beside a trembling baby deer.

TOKITOKI
(shaken)
They’re hurting…
And it’s spreading so fast.

Suddenly—

A corrupted fox spirit leaps from the trees, eyes glowing red, body twisted unnaturally.

Toki steps forward protectively.

He tries to summon a gentle aura—
—but instead unleashes a massive shockwave that tears through the glade.

The trees bend backward. The ground cracks.

Toki stares in terror at his own paw.

MAYA
Toki… you didn’t mean to—

Another corrupted spirit emerges. Then another.

They swarm.

Toki tries again to control his aura—
—but every attempt fires off unstable bursts.

TOKITOKI
Toki, stop! You’re hurting yourself!

A corrupted wolf lunges directly at TokiToki—

Toki roars and dives in front of her, eyes blazing.

Suddenly—
A pulse of pure white light blasts from him, vaporizing the corruption.

Everyone stares, stunned.

Maya checks her tablet.

MAYA
That… wasn’t recorded.
Toki, that energy surge—where did it come from?

Toki looks down at his paw.
He doesn’t know.

SCENE 4 — VISIONS OF SHEN

EXT. BROKEN TREE TOWER — SUNSET

A massive ancient tree has erupted unnaturally into the sky, cracked open like a lightning-struck monolith.

Toki touches the bark—
—and is instantly pulled into a vision.

SPIRIT REALM — SHEN’S MIND

Shen appears, human-sized, glowing with corrupted bamboo.
But inside his eyes… is fear.

SHEN (spirit)
(stuttering)
Please… someone… help me.
I didn’t mean for this.
I can’t stop it—
It’s eating me alive.

Toki tries to reach for him.

The vision fractures violently into noise.

SCENE 5 — BACK IN THE REAL WORLD

Toki stumbles backward, shaken.

TOKITOKI
What did you see?!
Toki, talk to me!

Toki makes a motion — hands against head, trembling — trying to show Shen is trapped, scared.

Maya’s eyes widen.

MAYA
Wait… Shen isn’t fully corrupted.
He’s still conscious inside there.
Somewhere.

Toki nods.

Elder Shan reappears behind them.

ELDER SHAN
Yes. Dr. Shen’s soul remains.
But the Overlord’s corruption strengthens.
Soon, he will be lost forever.

TOKITOKI
Then we’re not just fighting Shen…
We’re saving him.

Shan’s expression grows grave.

ELDER SHAN
If you can.
But the window is short.

ACT III — FALLOUT

EXT. FOREST RIDGE — NIGHT

The group looks across the valley:
Shen’s corrupted world-tree has grown even larger, branches twisting through clouds like claws.

A deep pulse shakes the land again.

Toki clutches his chest in pain.

Maya puts a comforting hand on his arm.

MAYA
We’ll find a way to stabilize your power.
Before you burn yourself out.

TokiToki stands beside him, fierce and loyal.

TOKITOKI
We’re not losing you.
Not now.
Not ever.

Toki looks down at her, eyes softening.

A final massive BOOM echoes from the world-tree.
The clouds above tear open, revealing a glowing red storm spiraling around the trunk.

Elder Shan whispers:

ELDER SHAN
The Overlord rises.
And the Guardian’s trial begins.

Toki gazes toward the storm—
resolute, trembling, but unbroken.

FADE OUT.