Summary:Bastille Versus the Evil Librarians

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This page contains a chapter by chapter summary of Bastille Versus the Evil Librarians. We hope this summary will make it easier to find specific areas of the book, as well as providing a quick plot refresher for anyone who doesn't want to take the time to reread the entire book.

Author's Foreword[edit]

Bastille calls Alcatraz an idiot, and apologizes for the previous books ending. She explains how she will finish the story because he refuses to, and reminds the reader how she was mostly absent from The Dark Talent due to being unconscious. She gives a quick summary of the infiltration of Highbrary, and claims Alcatraz is a hero, despite what he claims.

Chapter 1[edit]

Characters

Bastille awakes on the Penguinator, confused as the last thing she remembers is the battle of the Librarians against the Free Kingdom of Mokia. She is confused as to why she is in pajamas, but grabs her sword and exits the ship to find herself in a library.

Alcatraz is strapped to an altar ahead of her, so Bastille rushes to rescue him as a Knight of Crystallia does. Bastille fights off many Librarians trying to reach Alcatraz, while an airship with Biblioden escapes.

Kazan Smedry and Draulin meet up with Bastille at the altar, where they find a mentally broken Alcatraz, and a dead Attica Smedry. The group goes to escape the library, as it is counting down to self-destruct, and no one stopped the countdown.

After meeting up with Folsom and Himalaya, Kazan explains to Bastille how the Smedry Talents are broken due to Alcatraz, and they have to escape without his Talent for getting lost. While trying to figure out what to do, they see the self-destruct mechanism is hot magma, that starts to pour in through a hole in the wall.

Chapter 2[edit]

Characters

Bastille explains how Alcatraz's plan is to show to the world that he is a straw man, someone without integrity. She on the other hand does not wish to do the same.

Escaping from the magma that was filling the main chamber, the group entered a tunnel looking for a way out, led by Himalaya. Coming across a room full of clothing, Bastille took the opportunity to get dressed rather than continue to run around in pajamas. Catching up with the others who had continued on, with some of the reformed Librarians sorting a rack of infant bodysuits by alphabetical order.

Discussing the situation with her mother, Bastille finally learns about the death of Leavenworth Smedry at the hands of Biblioden, who is also somehow still alive. Trying to get assistance from Alcatraz who was still somewhat catatonic, she asked for a miracle. Alcatraz finally reacted to Bastille, and started to snore.

Chapter 3[edit]

Characters

People who read the note at the end of The Dark Talent would know that Leavenworth Smedry survived, so Bastille explains that at this moment in time, she was unaware of him being alive.

The reformed Librarians are unable to deactivate the self-destruct mechanism, as there is a password that comes from a book that they should have read. However, like most people, they knew it was a good book, but just never actually read it.

Trying to think of a way out of the rapidly approaching magma, Bastille identifies a ventilation system. Leading the way, they cross a bridge rapidly being consumed by magma. Reaching the massive fans that make up the ventilation system, a group ahead of evil Librarians break the bridge over the fans. Bastille jumps down to the fans, stopping the blades with her Crystin sword. She finds controls to override the fans, and flips switches to cause the fans to run in the opposite direction and generate lift.

Following Bastille, the group jumps into the air above the fans, and are flung up and out of the Library. Bastille lands in a classic superhero pose, definitely not in the mud like her mother. The Librarians have put up a glass veil, to hide the fact the Library is being destroyed. Alcatraz finally awakes, and informs them that Biblioden has harnessed the power of the Incarna.

Chapter 4[edit]

Characters

Bastille explains how when she first met Alcatraz, she was mean to him because she was jealous that he was an Oculator. However, Oculator magic is genetic and there was no way she could become one.

Alcatraz explains how their cousin Dif Smedry was actually Biblioden in disguise. Biblioden had killed Dif many years prior. Bastille getting mad writing this part, broke her typewriter with her sword and had to grab a new one. Bastille tries get Alcatraz to accept that his fathers death wasn't his fault, but he is insistent because he told Biblioden to kill his father and not himself.

Kaz presents the briefcase full of Oculator lenses he had managed to keep a hold of, but Alcatraz is not too keen on trying any of them out. Bastille learns that since Alcatraz broke the Talents, they can no longer burn off the excess energy, and that is why Biblioden wants to give everyone powers, to kill them. Alcatraz shows off this energy, by powering a pair of lenses with a mere touch, as opposed to the normal method of needing to wear them.

Draulin wants to get Alcatraz and the other Smedrys to safety, as is their job. Bastille is for going to the Worldspire to defeat Biblioden and stop him from accomplishing his plan. Unable to decide on a course of action, she just sets the group off down the hill they are on.

Chapter 5[edit]

Characters

Bastille starts by explaining she lied about her typing. She goes on to explain the setup for what could be a fart joke, but isn't. She shows off her literary license, something Alcatraz does not have. The license in question says on it how she threatened a book place, demanding they give her one, despite no such license existing.

Pulling Alcatraz along with her, Bastille comes across a bookmobile. A traveling arsenal for Librarians to use to spread misinformation in the Hushlands. Convincing Alcatraz to try some of the lenses that she was carrying, which ends with them finding a new type of lens that shows the perspective of the person you are looking at, as if the lenses themselves were flipped around like some sort of mirror.

An Alivened proceeds to show itself and Bastille frantically tries to think of a way to defeat it, before the timely intervention of a dumpster truck driven by Himalaya. Bastille uses this distraction to defeat a sniper that was nearby, before Alcatraz grabs her and apologizes in advance. He then proceeds to use the Windstormer's Lenses, and due to him being so charged because of the Talents being broken, sends them flying into the air.

Flying quickly through the air, they cover a lot of ground, leaping over whole continents. The lenses, getting very hot (like Bastille's neck when she presses her mouth to his ear) cause Alcatraz to have to turn them off, sending them plummeting back towards the Earth.

Chapter 6[edit]

Characters

Alcatraz believes he is responsible for every evil thing that has happened so far, and so Bastille claims he is being arrogant. She then proceeds to list several other people who also failed to save Attica, including Alcatraz's grandpa and uncle.

Continuing their journey around the globe, with bursts of the Windstormer's Lenses to keep them from hitting the ground, they cover a large distance with the help of Alcatraz accidentally breaking their flight path on multiple occasions. Aiming for the Worldspire, Bastille tries to direct him, but bumps him to hard, sending them off course and sending the lenses he had been using flying. They fall towards the ocean with no way of avoiding it, hitting the water.

Chapter 7[edit]

Characters

Finding themselves in the ocean, Bastille makes use of her Crystin powers to keep herself and Alcatraz from drowning. Swimming towards the nearest stretch of land, located in completely opposite direction to the Worldspire. Climbing up on the beach, they discover the remains of the flying glass dragon they originally flew when leaving the Hushlands with Alcatraz for the first time. Deciding to check up on the surviving lenses they still had in their possession, Alcatraz explains that with the build of energy he is experiencing after breaking the Talents, that he can now power other things besides lenses. Alcatraz then decides to surprise Bastille, and falls to his knees and weeps.

Chapter 8[edit]

Characters

Alcatraz's usefulness finally started to get to Bastille, he couldn't stop thinking about his fathers death and his role in it. Bastille does a nice transition back to the present, where she is feeling defeated and tries to help Alcatraz. Bastille tries to learn more about how the Talents broke, and Alcatraz explains that the Talent hates him now.

His attitude getting to her, Bastille grabs Alcatraz and growls at him using her number thirty-seven growl, out of a possible fifty-two. This helps Alcatraz, and he starts to open up and explain what happened at Highbrary. How Biblioden is alive and had been pretending to be Dif. Bastille refuses to accept that Alcatraz is worthless, and she storms off to relieve herself, despite Alcatraz insisting she can't write about relieving ones self.

Noticing the grass nearby moving, before a Gak emerges. Bastille runs screaming back towards Alcatraz, trying to warn him of the Gak, but he believes she is just Gakking. Bastille uses a nice money making word, before the Gak looks towards them.

Chapter 9[edit]

Characters

Bastille tries to explain guilt, something Alcatraz is struggling with. She struggles to explain it properly though, and refers to matricide and cannibalism instead.

Never having seen or heard of a Gak before, believing it to just be a word used when you are surprised, Alcatraz quickly gets caught up on Gak's and their history. Bastille explains how Gak's need straw to help with digesting their prey, who being humans, now use soap a lot more which causes terrible things for their stomachs. A renowned explorer, Polunsky Ansel therefore was able to broker a truce, which means a Gak caught touching straw has to perform a service for the person who caught them.

Alcatraz, playing for time, engages the Gak in a battle of puns, with the most strawsome puns being needed for success. The Gak strawggles to keep up with Alcatraz's excellent puns, and eventually admits defeat. However all this means is that the Gak will let them choose who it gets to eat first, and Alcatraz immediately offers himself.

Chapter 10[edit]

Characters

Despite not being a classic chosen-one type of person, Bastille still has faith in Alcatraz and his abilities to save them.

Not being happy with Alcatraz offering himself up so easily, Bastille walks away as if in disgust, but moves towards the downed Dragonaut, looking for anything to assist them before Alcatraz gets eaten by the Gak. Alcatraz manages to distract the Gak long enough to get himself close to the Dragonaut, by explaining how Biblioden is trying to destroy the world, or more specifically, the Free Kingdoms.

The Gak, having had enough moves to attack them, but Alcatraz reaches out and touches the glass dragon, giving it the power needed to lift off, escaping the Gak. Despite the dragon not having an engine, or wings, Alcatraz keeps his hands in contact with the glass, enabling him to do the impossible and fly the ship to the Worldspire.

Chapter 11[edit]

Characters

Realizing that they don't get paid more for writing big, fancy words, Bastille decides to do the complete opposite and use short words for a bit. She describes them approaching the Worldspire, and getting shot down.

Scrambling from the wreckage, they come across a group of Librarians led by Etna, who immediately engages Alcatraz in a lens battle while Bastille is left to fight off the other Librarians. Bastille makes short work of the Librarians, her Crystin shard offering more than the Librarians could face against.

Meanwhile Alcatraz is engaged in his first ever direct battle using Oculator's Lenses. Etna adds several pairs of lenses to her attack, but Alcatraz manages to barely hold off her attack using just his Oculator's Lenses. Knowing he has to do something to fend off the attack, Alcatraz uses the Slantviewer's Lenses. He marks Etna as his target and then uses the lenses to send her attack right back at her. The beams between the two explode, sending all parties flying. Alcatraz and Bastille falling through the air, see that they are falling towards a pack of circling sharks. Bastille screams at Alcatraz, who puts his arm towards the tower before they suddenly stop falling.

Chapter 12[edit]

Characters

Luck is a matter of perspective, or so Bastille writes. She explains how she wanted to be an Oculator, but unfortunately Alcatraz was the one lucky enough to be one, though he would say she was lucky to be a knight.

Alcatraz and Bastille stop falling from the Worldspire, still travelling downwards but no longer falling. The waves below them start to break up and float, forming blobs in midair around them. Alcatraz says he think he broke gravity, and Bastille realizes he broke gravity everywhere. The Librarians hushed this up so you don't remember this happening.

Bastille notices the Gak, spinning in the air uncontrollably, evidently it had been trying to reach them after their great escape earlier. Even more alarmingly however, is the sharks that are now angling themselves towards the pair of them, flying through the air with the conscious desire to meet them. Finding her sword spiraling nearby, Bastille grabs it and starts to fight the sharks, and attempts to save Alcatraz's from a head on collision with a shark.

Chapter 13[edit]

Characters

Bastille shows off her literary license, using it to explain why in a previous chapter she was allowed to violate which point of view was being followed.

Defeating the shark that they had collided with, Bastille manages to navigate through the air back towards the Worldspire, with added bonus of dragging Alcatraz by his hair as payback. Alcatraz claims his Talent is mad at him, and that he can see it in reflections. Bastille grabs a pair of glasses, floating by, and they start to glow. The power of the Incarna is running lose, allowing Bastille to use them as if she was an Oculator.

Seeing his Talent in the reflection of the glasses, Alcatraz starts to argue with his Talent. Bastille uses the Slantviewer's Lenses to see through Alcatraz's eyes, and see the Talent as he sees it. Alcatraz tries to argue that the Talent failed him, in allowing his father and grandfather to die. The Talent argues it did help, shown by the floating sharks nearby it saved them from. Alcatraz finally apologizes for being angry and blaming the Talent, and the Talent forgives him, giving back all the Talents.

Kaz comes running, now able to get to them as he has his Talent back. Grandpa Smedry also shows up, having following Kaz, managing to still keep turning up late to the bullet coming for him.

Chapter 14[edit]

Characters

Alcatraz is in disbelief at seeing his supposedly dead grandfather. Leavenworth explains that despite Alcatraz breaking the Talents, it still didn't fully abandon them, and saved him at the last moment. Alcatraz explains that he fixed the Talents by apologizing to it, and then goes on to explain how Biblioden killed his father and is about to destroy the world.

Bastille tries to interrupt this heart to heart, wanting it to wait till Biblioden is defeated, however Alcatraz storms off.

Chapter 15[edit]

Characters

Leavenworth wants Bastille to give Alcatraz a moment to get himself together, but she blows him off and goes after him. She finds him sulking, blaming himself for his fathers death. Bastille tries to argue that the whole thing is her fault, as she was in a coma and unable to save them. Alcatraz tries to talk her out of it, saying she didn't fail. She then kisses him, and they both turn a bright crimson, before she bolts for it.

Sitting down and hugging her knees, Bastille struggles to deal with her failures, and how she is getting all mushy-feely for Alcatraz. Tears come to her, and Alcatraz approaches, coming up to her slowly to not startle her. He then admits it's not the fault of either of them. They then hold hands, though still bright red in embarrassment.

Chapter 16[edit]

Characters

Biblioden arrives at the tower in his glass blimp, disrupting the mushiness between Alcatraz and Bastille. Bastille gives Alcatraz a ride as she races up the Worldspire, with her sword in one hand, and Alcatraz clinging to her back. Arriving at a platform towards the top of the spire, they see Biblioden at the very tip, with the bloodforged Lens at the ready.

Alcatraz notes that Biblioden is doing something to the spire, when suddenly one of the many Librarians blocking the way trips in a perfect way, causing Bastille to stumble. Somehow the Librarians now had Talents due to Biblioden's actions at the tip. Having to fight their way through the Librarians, who now had the Talent to fight back. Struggling to defeat all the Librarians, Alcatraz breaks the Talents again, giving a little respite.

However, they still had many Librarians to get through, still very much armed and dangerous. In her peripheral vision, Bastille notices the Gak slithering up the stairs towards them.

Chapter 17[edit]

Characters

Bastille tries to distract the Librarians while the Gak still works its way up towards them. She tries to convince them that dropping her sword would be bad, though many don't believe her blatant lie.

Kaz ambles up out of nowhere, and he comes armed with kittens, a kittenpalooza some might say. Also arriving just in time is members of Alcatraz's family and the reformed Librarians. Some Librarians decided to risk the water rather than the arriving force, but others swept in to attack.

Bastille and Alcatraz rush to meet Biblioden at the tip of the spire. He notices their approach, and to the dread of all, starts to monologue. While this goes on, Bastille subtly moves towards Alcatraz and grabs Slantviewer's Lenses, putting them on her face. Biblioden decides to attack then with a pair of Concussor's Lenses, though somehow Bastille is able to use her Lenses to send the attack right back at him. Before she could strike a blow to end him, the Gak finally reaches them.

The Gak is not wanting to let them get away this time however, and refuses to engage fully in another pun battle about straw. Bastille comes up with an idea, she claims Alcatraz is a strawman, a man lacking substance and integrity. And as the Gak touched him, he touched straw and thus owes them. Quickly using this argument, Bastille gets the Gak to devour Biblioden, who fails to defend himself and is consumed. The Gak decides not to eat them as well, claiming it likes them and is having difficulty digesting an ancient Librarian.

Chapter 18[edit]

Characters

Bastille talks a bit about endings and how failure doesn't happen at the end of a story as the characters so often believe before they solve the problems. But this is a true story so it doesn't always work out that way, and that's what Bastille thought, before things started to get exciting.

Bastille picks up the bloodforged Lens, and starts to hear Attica's voice. Alcatraz doesn't believe her at first, but she gives him the Lens so he can hear Attica, who is now in a Lens. Attica claims it was all according to his plan, which is to release the power as it is too much for one family to manage. Every person must get access to the power, which will give everyone a Talent. However, due to it being diluted more because of being spread between more people, the Talent's will not be anywhere as near as powerful as they are for the Smedry's.

Alcatraz at his fathers insistence, uses the Lens against the spire, channeling his power through the Lens, breaking everyone in the world ever so slightly. The Lenses Bastille has now stop working, as the power gets diluted for them all. Alcatraz promptly collapses against Bastille in tears.

Chapter 19[edit]

Characters

Now Bastille is able to explain how she is very patient. She did not do many things while they were up on the spire, including not stealing the bloodforged Lens to chew out Attica for his treatment of Alcatraz.

Nearby an airship neared the spire, and a ramp descended which Shasta was able to step onto. The reformed Librarians organized the remainder of the kittens that had been used in the attack. Descending to meet their friends and family, they give a quick run through of what they had just accomplished, and are surprised to hear Attica is still alive, though stuck in a Lens. Shasta plans to take over leadership in the Hushlands now that Attica has achieved his goal, though keeping them in the dark despite what had transpired.

Shasta offers to take Alcatraz with her, but he refuses, insisting he has never belonged in the Hushlands and never will. Draulin comes over to hug Bastille, weirding her out, though she did like it.

Getting a moment together, Bastille can see she no longer can use them, with the power issues being resolved. She is not upset however, feeling lucky that she did get to touch it at least once. Alcatraz uses the Slantviewer's Lenses to see what his grandpa thinks of him, and tears come to his eyes and he insists his grandfather is wrong, though Bastille disagrees with him.

Epilogue[edit]

Characters

Many years later, Bastille and Alcatraz get married. Despite what the readers may have wanted, they were still kids when this all happened so of course they didn't get married for years. They got married in Nalhalla, and while a congo line ran around the castle, Bastille met up with Alcatraz on a balcony.

Attica was never freed from the Lens, though was still at the party, and Alcatraz dodges his publisher, who wants the end of his story. Bastille offers to write the end however, and Alcatraz is grateful for this. He also points her attention to the railing, which has started to crumble, something he hadn't caused this time. Bastille had now gained his Talent of breaking because of marrying him, something that would cause many arguments between them in the years to come.

Bastille's Afterword[edit]

Bastille insists Alcatraz is a hero, as the story will show. Though he obviously is not perfect, but no hero is. She explains how some things never got resolved, like Attica being stuck in the Lens, or Alcatraz's strained relationship with his mother.

Alcatraz's Afterword[edit]

Alcatraz ends up writing a piece of this book, after bullying from Bastille. He still claims to be a coward, though he does acknowledge he sometimes does good and can do heroic things; he did save the world after all.

Notes[edit]

This meta article is complete, but has yet to be reviewed.
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