"The Flashback" is the 7th episode of the Animator vs. Animation Series, also being the 3rd episode of Animator vs. Animation Season 2. It is a prequel to all of the episodes in the season and explains the events following Animator vs. Animation 3 and the well-being of The Chosen One and The Dark Lord.

Unofficial Synopsis

The Chosen One's backstory is revealed, his history with The Dark Lord and how he survived his last appearance. What's his story?

Plot

The episode begins with a flashback from October 2nd, 2011, during the events of Animator vs. Animation 3, with Alan battling The Chosen One and his newly reformed ally, The Dark Lord. As Alan desperately tries to avoid the two, they fly in a spiral around each other, creating a vortex at their barycenter that would destroy his computer. While Alan tries to save his computer, the two sticks try to escape the destruction.

TCO makes a valiant escape via the Wi-Fi connection and smashes it open, creating a portal to the other parts of the internet. Grabbing TDL, the two jump inside, in the nick of time, as Alan's operating system crashes and displays a Blue Screen of Death. Meanwhile, in the ethernet cable, TDL revels their victory with a celebratory high-five and the two journey into the internet.

After traveling to the internet, the two friends begin a 7-year-long reign of terror, wrecking havoc in websites such as Yahoo, StickPage, Newgrounds, video games such as Angry Birds, and killing countless innocent animations for their own satisfaction. As they invade StickPage, TCO begins to hesitate more and more about what they're doing.

In the present day, TCO walks in on his friend programming on a red insect-like object, then sees its schematics and a map of its intended destinations. TDL notices and happily shows TCO his newest creation, an extremely potent virus he calls ViraBot. He demonstrates its abilities by programming a blade and touching a nearby globe with it, causing it to rapidly dissolve into nothing. While TDL is excited, TCO imagines a future with many of these viruses under command of TDL, and is unsettled. Before TCO can say no, TDL has already assembled the ViraBot and loads it into a cannon, then programs it to fire into a specific computer. As he is about to fire, TCO prevents him and asks him to stop. TDL is confused and tries to push the button again but his indignant friend pushes him aside, adamant. TDL pretends to walk away only to run forward and try again, only to be grabbed by TCO and thrown onto the floor.

On the floor, TDL prepares a ball of energy and launches it at TCO, just barely missing. Angered by his friend's intervention, TDL begins fighting TCO. One of TDL's energy balls flies and misses, though it gives him the opportunity to press the button. TCO races against him and draws energy into his fist, but TDL manages to press the button, sending the ViraBot away. TCO punches TDL into the sky, and prepares to race against the ViraBot, but before flying, notices where the ViraBot's destination was: ALANSPC. He has a moment of recollection and remembers the times he and Alan used to fight. But his sense of mercy overcomes him, remembering Alan as his creator. He ignites his fists and races the ViraBot. The app manages to easily phase through the IP address firewall, but TCO is left behind the barrier.

The ViraBot makes it to Alan's computer and activates, using all the CPU's power and causing it to overheat, to the confusion of Alan and The Second Coming. Meanwhile, TCO uses his laser vision to break through the barrier and travel through the internet tube to ALANSPC, but he is stuck behind ALANSPC's firewall. He sees that he is almost too late, as the ViraBot has managed to trap the Stick Gang in webbing and is preparing to kill them. Initially attempting to use his laser vision to break through the screen, he resorts to summoning energy into a concentrated beam in a final attempt to get into the computer. The beam breaks through, saving TSC by seconds and knocking the ViraBot back. TCO emerges from the portal and engages in combat with the ViraBot.

TCO is traveling through the internet tube back to the Outernet as the Stick Gang are right behind him. The Chosen One disappears into the light, and moments later the Stick Gang do as well, ending the episode.

Characters

Protagonists

• The Chosen One

• The Dark Lord

Other characters

• Alan Becker

• Stick Gang

  • The Second Coming

  • Fighting Stick Figures

    • Red

    • Yellow

    • Blue

    • Green

• Other Stick Figures

• ViraBots

• Yahoo! Messenger

• My Computer

• Avast! Antivirus (flashback)

• Angry Birds Characters

  • Red (cameo)

  • Chuck (cameo)

  • Bomb (cameo)

  • Corporal Pig (cameo)

  • Foreman Pig (cameo)

• Pico (cameo)

• Tankman (Sgt. John Captain) (cameo)

• Henry Stickmin (cameo)

• Meat Boy (cameo)

• Hank J. Wimbleton (Avenger design) (cameo)

• Blockhead (cameo)

• Bitey (cameo)

• Doki and Nabi (cameo)

• Solid Snake (Metal Gear Awesome design) (cameo)

Trivia

• The Wilhelm scream can be heard at timestamp 2:32.

• During The Chosen One's imagination, some stick figures shown had represented the Corn Dog Guy, and King Orange.