Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit the Complete Season 1

Episode 2: The Search Begins

Featured Cryptid: Champ

Our episode opens up with Bill and Natalie giving Daniel a tour of Animal X HQ, showing him all of the cool stuff in their underground facility. Daniel asks why their whole operation is located underneath a corny tourist trap, followed by the irked Natalie telling Daniel that it's not a tourist trap but a real museum. Bill tells Natalie to calm down before telling Daniel that the reason behind the museum location is because he was a Cryptozoologist in his younger years, the artifacts on display in the museum were recovered from his many expeditions during his youth. however, he had a change of heart when he decided that Cryptids like all animals should be protected, not have their existence exploited for fame and fortune. we then see a small flying rod zip and zoom around Daniel's head, followed by Natalie telling the flying creature to calm down. Daniel asks what that thing is, followed by Natalie introducing Daniel to Rodney explaining that he's a flying Rod that has made HQ his home. Bill, Natalie, and Daniel then enter Animal X HQ's vehicle hangar where we are introduced to Dr. Helena White and her teenage son Tony. Helena asks Bill who the new recruit is, followed by Bill introducing Daniel to Dr. Helena White, Animal X's leading scientist responsible for developing all the tech that they use on their missions, all the while Tony is tinkering with the X-jeep while looking at Daniel in jealousy. Bill explains to Helena that Daniel was a civilian that Natalie picked up while investigating the bigfoot attacks. Natalie then tells Helena that Daniel managed to calm the raging beast which is why Animal X has decided to recruit him into their ranks. Tony then speaks out against the idea of letting a civilian into the Animal X Natural mystery unit, as it could risk having their whole organization exposed followed by Tony ranting on about how his mom never let him become an Animal X agent yet they're perfectly fine recruiting a civilian with no prior training. Helena then smacks her son upside the head, telling him to be quiet while the adults are talking. Helena then tells bill that the upgrades to the X-jeep are almost done just in time for their next mission, followed by Helena pulling out a remote and pressing a button causing the X-jeep to cycle through each of its different configurations: Land configuration (AKA the default one), Flight configuration, and Submarine configuration. Daniel asks why the heck the jeep needs to turn into a boat, followed by Natalie telling Daniel that their next mission is going to get a little wet so they're gonna need to pack some scuba gear. Bill then explains to Daniel and Natalie that their next mission is going to be in Lake Champlain, Vermont in search of a stray lake monster where Natalie will give him some much-needed on-the-job training. Daniel then begins panicking due to remembering that he's supposed to meet up with the Johnson family at Lake Champlain for their fishing trip. Daniel then bolts off all the while Tony and Rodney stare awkwardly before looking at each other in confusion. we then cut to Daniel returning to the Johnson household to be greeted by Cindy who hugs her uncle Daniel telling him that her mommy and daddy have been worried sick about him. James and Sharon ask Daniel where he's been, as they haven't seen him since the bigfoot attack. Daniel then assures them that he was fine and that he's ready to go on the fishing trip. the four then hop in the RV and drive off towards Lake Champlain. Daniel sitting in the RV gets a phone call from Natalie causing him to hide in the RV's bathroom and call Natalie telling her that it's a bad time to call him since he's a little busy, on a fishing trip with the Johnson Family to Lake Champlain. and funny enough, Natalie is also driving towards that exact same location in the X-jeep. Natalie then tells Daniel that she called because she wanted to inform him of what Cryptid they're up against. Natalie then pulls out the Cryptozoologicon and reads an excerpt from the page talking about Champ. Natalie explains that the Lake Champlain monster (or "Champ" for short) belongs to a family of aquatic reptiles called the Hippocampi, also called Water horses due to their heads being vaguely horselike in appearance. Natalie explains that the Water horses are late-surviving descendants of the extinct plesiosaurs that adapted to life in fresh water and that there are two different species: the European Water horse (AKA Nessie) and the North American Water Horse (AKA Champ), the latter of which has a self-sustaining population in Lake Champlain. Daniel tells Natalie that she called at a bad time, since all he wants is to enjoy his fishing trip with the Johnson family. Natalie then calls out Daniel by telling him that Animal X agents don't associate themselves with civilians. Daniel tells off Natalie by telling her that he can't abandon the Johnsons as they're the only family he's ever known. Natalie assures Daniel that while it is hard to say goodbye to your loved ones as an animal X agent he needs to let them go in order to avoid risking having their entire organization exposed. Daniel tells off Natalie that he can balance having a normal life with being an Animal X Agent and hangs up on her. we then cut back to the X-jeep where Rodney pops out of the backseat and shakes his little head in dismay followed by Natalie assuring Rodney that Daniel will come around eventually. we then cut back to Daniel and the Johnson family in the RV arriving at the shores of Lake Champlain. as the four step out of the RV, Daniel notices something out of the corner of his eye. Daniel then turns his head and sees a plesiosaur-shaped figure stick its head out of the water, followed by Cindy asking Daniel what he's looking at. Daniel tells her that it's nothing before the Johnson Family hop on the fishing boat and head out to the lake. we then cut to Natalie and Rodney in the X-Jeep arriving at the shore of Lake Champlain. Natalie then presses a button that transforms the X-Jeep into a submarine and proceeds to dive down to the depths of Lake Champlain. Natalie then notices the X-Jeep's radar picking up something huge and sees a large plesiosaur-like creature swimming towards her vehicle, recognizing it as Champ of which bumps against the X-Jeep. she then notices Champ swimming towards a nearby boat, remembering that Daniel was going on a fishing trip with the Johnsons and realizes that Daniel is in trouble. we then cut back to the fishing boat where James informs Daniel that he felt something grab the fishing rod. Daniel and the family then feel something ram against the boat followed by Daniel noticing a dark plesiosaur-shaped silhouette swimming below the water's surface. we then see the X-Jeep surface in front of the fishing boat followed by Natalie hopping onto the boat which shocks Daniel who asks Natalie what she's doing here. Cindy asks Natalie who she is and Natalie introduces herself to the Johnson family as a friend of Daniel's. Natalie then grabs Daniel by the hand and the two hop in the X-Jeep where Daniel is greeted by Rodney who is happy to see Daniel again and starts nuzzling against him. Natalie then informs Daniel that the creature that attacked the Johnson family's boat was Champ and that they've got to stop it before it exposes itself to the public. Daniel then tells Natalie that he's more concerned with it attacking the Johnson family, followed by Natalie asking why he cares so much about that family so much. Daniel then explains his backstory to Natalie, telling her that as a child his biological parents mysteriously abandoned him and left him in the care of their neighbors the Johnson family where they became a surrogate family of sorts for him. Natalie feels sorry for Daniel, telling him that he's lucky to have a living family. Daniel asks Natalie what he means, and Natalie explains to Daniel that her parents died when she was too young to remember which is why she was raised by Bill. Daniel feels sorry for Natalie, followed by Natalie telling Daniel that she understands that it's hard to think about saying goodbye to your family along with any chances of a normal life, but as Animal X agents they must put the mission above their personal wants and desires, and that mission is to make sure the cryptids remain protected from the outside world. Natalie then presses a button that activates the X-jeep's sonar system, explaining to Daniel that the creature communicates through echolocation and that with their sonar system they'll be able to find the creature more easily and that the sonar has detected the creature at a nearby shipwreck at the lake bottom. the two then don their scuba suits and Natalie tells Rodney to stay put before they dive into the depths of lake Champlain to search for the creature. the two then come across the shipwreck only for Champ to show up and lunge at them, Natalie dodging out of the way while Daniel gets attacked by the beast while Daniel begs Natalie to help him, only for Champ to bite Daniel's air tubes causing him to start drowning. Natalie then grabs the unconscious Daniel and takes him back into the X-jeep. the waterlogged Daniel then wakes up thanks to Rodney poking him in the face and finds himself in the backseat of the X-jeep and asks Natalie what happened. Natalie tells Daniel that he was attacked by Champ and that she was the one who saved him. Daniel asks Natalie why she bothered to save him, and Natalie tells him that Bill cares so much about him he'll kill her if she didn't bring him back and to not assume that she LIKES him or anything like that. Daniel asks Natalie why Champ attacked him, and Natalie explains to Daniel that water horses are solitary animals, only coming in contact with other members of their kind when it's time to mate and are extremely territorial and willing to defend their territory from intruders at all costs. Daniel then remembers the Johnson family fishing boat and realizes its because of them that the creature's peeved and that he's got to warn them, however Natalie tells Daniel that he can't or else he'll expose the creature's existence. Daniel doesn't listen and puts on his scuba suit and swims towards the Johnson family's fishing boat. we then cut back to the Johnson family sitting in their fishing boat waiting for something to take a bite, James then notices something has grabbed the rod and reels it in, only to realize that he caught Daniel (the hook got caught in his scuba suit). Daniel then climbs aboard and warns the Johnson family that there's a monster in the lake and that they've got to leave NOW. Champ then starts ramming their boat repeatedly until it turns over sending the Johnson family falling into the water. Daniel then rushes to the aid of the Johnson family, managing to save both James and Sharon and get them to safety on top of the upturned fishing boat. Sharon then asks Daniel where Cindy is, and the three notice Cindy in the water screaming for help as she can't swim. Champ then closes in on her from beneath the water only for Natalie to show up and save her. Natalie then climbs onto the upturned boat carrying Cindy in her arms and re-unites her with her parents. Daniel asks Natalie why she bothered to come back and save them, and Natalie tells Daniel that she doesn't have the heart to watch another person lose their family like she did. Daniel asks Natalie what they're going to do when they're stranded on an upside-down boat in the middle of a lake with a plesiosaur circling them. Natalie then has an idea and pulls out a remote that activates the X-Jeep's sonar system in an attempt to communicate with Champ, only for it to work and the sonar frequency alerts Champ that they're not a threat and the creature dives down and returns to the depths of Lake Champlain. the five are then rescued by Bill and Dr. Helena White who come riding in a helicopter and Bill tells Daniel, Natalie, and the Johnson family to hop on. Dr. Helena then lets down the ladder and our heroes climb aboard while Rodney flies beside the helicopter. we then cut to the chopper landing safely on the shores of lake Champlain and the Johnson family along with Daniel and Natalie hop out. Bill then steps out and tells Daniel that he and him need to talk when they get back to base. Bill then pulls a device out of his pocket that memory-wipes the Johnson family, followed by Bill explaining to Daniel that they'll be fine except for the fact that they'll forget everything that happened. our heroes then hop back into the X-copter and Daniel waves goodbye to the Johnson family as they take off. after that, we cut to an airship floating through the atmosphere with the black dot logo on it and our episode ends with the introduction of our main antagonist Domino looking at the X-copter fly off through the window of his airship monologuing about how he will make every last cryptid on this planet suffer just to get to Bill.