MMVII

MMVII is the name of Gaia Online's first series of animated shorts, with casting by Idealogue and direction and animation by Tronic Studios.


 * The once-peaceful world of GAIA is on the brink of unavoidable chaos. An age-old prophecy has begun to materialize, filling all who know of it with a sense of impending doom. Louie Von Helson - the heir to GAIA's most powerful vampire coven - is sent on a murder mission by his father, Vladimir Von Helson. The target .. His brother. Louie sets out into the night but the darkness holds unexpected distractions. At war with his birthright and the world, Louie must determine the lives of millions. As the prophecy descends upon GAIA, some take to the shadows, and some to the light.

Trailer
The trailer was first released on July 20 2007, along with the winners of the Gaia Film Festival.

It starts with a blooming flower that soon wilts, petals falling away. An image of Louie Von Helson embracing Moira is then shown, followed by Zhivago and Vladimir Von Helson. The Prophecy is then recited in a whisper: ''A White Eclipse will descend at twilight. Beware the Flower of the Night. The time is now for Flight or Fight.'' The title of MMVII is then shown, and a blade slices through the II, creating an H to spell the initials VH - Von Helson.

White Eclipse
The first of the trilogy was released during the Summer Festival 2k7, on September 7 2007.

Vladimir Von Helson and Zhivago are in Von Helson Manor. Vladimir asks Zhivago if he has found the whereabouts of his son, and Zhivago tells him that he is in the G CORP facility with Edmund and Gambino. Vladimir tells him to go and finish it, but then Louie Von Helson walks in and asks to go instead, saying that Zhivago had failed twice already. Vladimir agrees, and Louie leaves the manor.

Whilst in the woods outside, Louie attempts to chase down a white wolf, but fails. The first part of the Prophecy, A White Eclipse will descend at twilight is whispered, and snow starts to fall, starting off the blizzard that the news reports for the Summer Festival had warned about. Louie starts running, and suddenly stops when he sees Moira standing in the woods. He hides behind a tree, but having noticed him, Moira looks around for him. He leaps on her and pins her to the ground, bearing his teeth, but stops when he looks at her face. There is a pause, and then he jumps back up to make another attempt at catching the wolf. Moira follows, the snow covering more of the landscape. She makes her way up a hill, where she sees Louie drinking the blood of the now dead wolf. She asks who he is, and he approaches her, starting to answer her but instead says 'Look, it stopped snowing,' a line later made fun of by the admins themselves when announcing that the films were available to download and create parodies of. Louie disappears.

Flower of the Night
The second part was released October 11 2007.

Edmund and Johnny K. Gambino are in the G CORP facility, where Edmund is focusing on test tubes on a bench in front of him. Edmund exclaims 'Eureka! We've done it Johnny: a cure,' to which he replies 'It's beautiful. We'll be heroes. Extremely rich heroes. Picture the slogan: New Life for the Undead.' They laugh and walk off.

Ian stands on a balcony at G-Corp, when Louie jumps up and says 'We have to get inside. I've been followed. I can't explain now. I think we're being watched,' and Zhivago peers at them through binoculars. Ian asks 'By who?' to which Louie replies 'The Sniper, Zhivago.' Zhivago then says 'Traitors,' and fires a grappling hook in between Ian and Louie. He travels down the zip-wire and kicks Louie in through the glass window of the facility. A fight ensues, with Ian kicking Zhivago into darkness below, but he suddenly climbs back up to stab Ian in the hand. He shakes off Zhivago who plunges down, and takes out the knife. He looks back to Louie and they laugh.

Vladimir Von Helson stands in the woods by a carnival, with a colony of bats behind him. He sends the bats out as Moira and Louie take a seat on a ferris wheel. They descend on them as they lean in for a kiss, and after the screen blacks out, a scream is heard.

Fight or Flight
Part three was released the night of October 31 2007, although technically November 1.

Louie and Moira hear the screams and look down to see Vampires attacking Gaians. One unhinges the ferris wheel and pushes it, tipping it over, and he waves as it forces Louie and Moira to jump through the glass roof of the Fun House. Louie wakes up and stares at his distorted reflections in the hall of mirrors, then goes over to see if Moira is alright. She doesn't wake up, so he apologises and then bites her. She jerks awake.

Ian kicks a vampire outside, then shouts Louie's name as the two exit the building. He says to him 'Dad's gone too far this time, Louie. We have to get to the castle and put a stop to this.'

The three enter the manor and begin beating up vampires. Louie sees his father and jumps up the stairs to face him. Vladimir asks 'So you've come to kill your father then?' and Louie responds to this by kicking him against a large mirror, shattering it. Vladimir laughs, and his hand begins to glow red. He holds it up towards Louie, who is sent flying back down the stairs and smashes into the door. Vladimir jumps after him as Edmund hides behind a pillar, setting up his gun, and Zhivago stands atop a balcony, steadying his rifle. Vladimir picks up his son and holds him against the door as Edmund inserts the cure into his gun. Vladimir holds a clawed hand up to Louie but Edmund shoots him. As Louie falls from his grasp, Zhivago accidentally shoots Vladimir too. Louie holds up his father as he slumps to the floor, who says 'Louie, do not deny me my last wish. Keep the Von Helson name alive. Take what is rightfully yours,' and as his father's body starts to glow red again, Louie replies 'I will, father, but only on my terms.' Vladimir's body disintegrates and floats up in the air.

Ian urges Louie to end what they had come to end, and Moira holds up the cure saying that they can be human again. Louie says 'Human? But Moira, this is what I am, I am a Vampire.' Moira looks down at the cure again and lets it fall to the floor as Ian gasps. The vial smashes.

Trivia

 * White Eclipse was edited prior to its release. At first, Moira had strange yellow eyes and ran in a peculiar way, but was later shown with her correct brown eyes and her running had been changed to look less awkward.
 * In Fight or Flight, the ferris wheel only has one seat.