EarthBound By Thom Cote

Based on MOTHER 2 By Shigesato Itoi

EarthBound, tcote000@gmail.com the MOTHER series, and all related characters are Copyright Nintendo

OVER BLACK SUPER: "What sweetness is left in life, if you take away friendship? Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief. The rule of friendship means there should be mutual sympathy...each supplying what the other lacks and trying to benefit the other..." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero EXT.SPACE A small shuttlecraft flies at top speed through space. Close behind it, a huge starship is in pursuit. INTERCUT BETWEEN EXTERIOR SHOTS, INTERIOR OF STARSHIP, AND INTERIOR OF SHUTTLE Inside the shuttle, a THIEF, 20, narrowly dodges laser fire from the starship. THIEF Thisll throw you off... He presses a button, and a round object is released from the back of the shuttle. It explodes on contact with the starships sensor array. Inside the starship, the captains chair faces the front window. The chairs occupant is not visible, but the com officers in front appear to be tall, thin, bright white beings. The bridge shakes as the shuttles bomb explodes. The shuttle dips and flies into Earths atmosphere. COM OFFICER He has entered this planets atmosphere, but sensors are now nonfunctional! We cant find him! The captain speaks with a slightly high-pitched voice. CAPTAIN Break off pursuit. COM OFFICER Yes, sir. CAPTAIN (speaking to no one in particular) I dont care how long it takes. I will find you and and I will punish (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

2.

CAPTAIN (contd) you for what you have stolen. Justice will be served...and then...revenge. FADE TO BLACK TEXT: "65 YEARS LATER" EXT.CLIFFTOP - MIDNIGHT On a remote clifftop in Dalaam, somewhere in the far East, a small campfire blazes. Two figures, PO, 17, and STAR MASTER, elderly, sit across from each other. Their identities remain unknown as their faces cannot be clearly made out. STAR MASTER Your training is now complete, young master. Soon you must leave Dalaam. It has been foretold by the stars... PO Why must I leave, master? STAR MASTER The day is coming when a great evil will take command of this planet. Everything we know will be lost unless you and three others band together to defeat it. Your abilities and those of your friends will prove crucial in stopping Giygas. PO Giygas? STAR MASTER looks up at the sky. STAR MASTER He will arrive very soon. Seek out those three whom you must join. The Earths fate is bound to yours. PO How will I find them?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

3.

STAR MASTER Let your mind guide you. A bright shooting star can be seen flying through the sky overhead. BEGIN TITLES INT.SCHOOL - MIDDAY - 1990S The bell rings to dismiss class at Onett Middle & High School. NESS SANDHOP, 14, stands in a group of five students outside their classroom. Also in the group is chubby PORKY MINCH, 15. PORKY So then I said to her, "I dunno, maybe hes in Da-KO-ta!" BOY 1 (not amused) Uh huh, good one Porky. BOY 2 (looks outside) Hey, isnt that your bus? PORKY Yeah...bye guys. PORKY walks off but hides around a corner. hear what the others are saying. BOY 2 Finally. BOY 1 I almost feel sorry for him. must know... He He can still

NESS Guys, stop. He might still be able to hear us. BOY 2 Porky might hear us, but he never stays quiet long enough to listen. Besides, hes long gone now. Good riddance. PORKY walks off, cringing.

4.

INT.HOUSE - EVENING NESSs mother ANA SANDHOP places a steak dinner on NESSs plate. NESS looks ecstatic. TRACY SANDHOP, 16, is much less excited. NESS Yes, steak! TRACY Why do we have to have steak all the time? NESS Because its awesome! TRACY No! The texture, it just feels...ugh! They pause as a loud argument can be heard coming from the house next door, followed by a door slamming. TRACY (mumbling) Not fair. ANA is laughing to herself. TRACY Mom, what are you laughing at? NESS smiles as well. Really? TRACY You always side with him! Its

ANA Im not siding with anyone. just funny! TRACY Oh, I cant believe you! TRACY gets up to leave.

ANA (still laughing to herself) Stay here and finish your dinner! TRACY reluctantly sits back down. Someone starts knocking at the front door. TRACY quickly gets back up.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

5.

TRACY Ill get it! TRACY looks through the peephole. starts walking back. TRACY Never mind-ANA Open the door. TRACY slowly opens the door. Standing outside are PORKY MINCH and his equally portly brother PICKY MINCH, 10. Their blond hair nearly covers their eyes. PORKY gives TRACY a big smile. PORKY Why, hello there Tracy. Lookin good. May we join you for dinner? TRACY Id rather not-Of course! ANA Come right in! She quickly turns and

TRACY (whispered) Mom! ANA Im happy to have guests. Everyone sits back down at the table. PORKY places a stained handkerchief with a pig-nose pattern on his lap. ANA So what brings you here tonight? PORKY Well, Picky and I just love to eat out on occasion, and I had heard you make the best sirloin in town. ANA Oh, well thank you!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

6.

PICKY (whispered to NESS) Truth is he was kicked outta the house tonight.

PORKY (in background) And of course I simply adore visiting my good friend Ness. Isnt that right?

NESS (whispered) Again? Ness? What? PORKY Isnt that right? NESS Oh, um, yeah.

PORKY Then you wont mind if we sleep over here for the night. NESS What? ANA Great idea! Ill get you all set up in the living room. INT.HOUSE - LATER PORKY and PICKY are in sleeping bags. PORKY Got any games? NESS Ive got a deck of cards in-PORKY No, I mean real games. You know, Super Mario and all that. NESS Well, I have this. NESS opens the bottom of the TV cabinet to reveal an old Atari 2600 with a Space Invaders cartridge. PICKY Whoa, retro!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

7.

PORKY Hmm. Well, its no Super Nintendo but I guess itll do. Care to play? Im fine. NESS Go ahead.

As PORKY starts up the game, NESS heads upstairs to his bedroom. He falls asleep hearing the beeps and blips emanating from the TV downstairs. EXT.SMALL SUBURB - MIDNIGHT Signs can be seen indicating the suburb is called Onett. quiet night. INT.HOUSE NESS sleeps uneasily. Suddenly, he awakes when a loud noise echoes through the night. Police sirens can be heard approaching as NESS gets out of bed. NESS What in the... NESS looks out the window. A large hill next to his house is surrounded by police cars. Something like a giant glowing coal is half buried at the top of the hill. NESS quickly pulls on some denim shorts, a yellow and blue striped T-shirt, and a red baseball cap, and heads downstairs. PORKY and PICKY are gone. ANA Where do you think youre going at this time of night? NESS I want to see what happened out there. ANA I guess, but be back in ten minutes. NESS But Mom, that wont be enough-A

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

8.

ANA Ten minutes. Starting now. NESS runs out the door. EXT.HILL NESS scales a winding path up the hill. He turns a corner and bumps into PORKY and PICKY standing in front of a group of POLICEMEN. PORKY Ness? What are you doing here? Youre getting in the cops, I mean, officers way! NESS Porky, will you-PORKY Im gonna be the first to see the meteor anyway! Go home, Ill tell you all about it tomorrow. NESS Im just going to-PORKY Home, Ness. NESS relents and heads back. PICKY seems disappointed. PORKY smiles smugly, while

POLICEMAN Will you please leave as well? Kid? INT.HOUSE NESS enters the house. ANA Well, that was quick. on? Whats going

NESS I dont know. Porky was there. Said I was getting in the officers way.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

9.

ANA Well, were you? NESS Im going back to bed. NESS goes back to sleep, but is awoken again by a loud knocking at the front door. He goes to the door and opens it. PORKY Ness, you gotta help me! Picky...Pickys gone! TRACY comes to the door. PORKY Oh, uh, hello Tracy. Looking lovely as ever, heh heh. Say, think we could-TRACY Picky is missing? PORKY Oh, that. Yeah. Picky and I were up by the meteor, and suddenly he was gone! Cmon, weve gotta find him! Ugh, fine. NESS Cmon, King.

KING, NESSs dog, wakes up and drowsily comes to the front door. PORKY Wanna come, Tracy? (Whispering) We could ditch Ness and-TRACY Ill stay here. I dont do well with strong odors. PORKY We could leave King here. TRACY I wasnt talking about King. TRACY quickly closes the door.

10. EXT.HILL NESS, PORKY, and KING climb the winding path up the hill. NESS Where did the police go? PORKY They left. Reports of more gang violence downtown. NESS The Tiger Sharks again? PORKY Heh heh, I hope so. Did ya see old Loyds house after the Sharks, ah, "stopped by?" NESS No... PORKY (nonchalantly) Course ya didnt, numbskull, they blew it up. Heh, good times. They find PICKY hiding behind a tree near the meteor. PORKY There you are! What the hell are you doing here? PICKY The space rock was making weird noises. Ness, Im scared. PICKY reaches to cling onto NESS, who is examining a charred red bow found on the meteor, but is harshly pulled aside by PORKY. PORKY Oh shut it, theres nothing dangerous about the meteor-Suddenly, a bright column of light emanates from the meteor, going up into the sky. A shockwave nearly throws NESS, PORKY, PICKY, and KING off the hillside. PORKY What the hell! A tiny robot emerges from the column of light and flies over to the kids. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

11.

PICKY A bee? NESS What was it doing in the rock? Ness! Why? bee! BUZZ BUZZ Listen to me! PORKY Youre just a A...talking...bee...

BUZZ BUZZ I am not an insect. I am a robot. I was sent from the future to tell you something. Sent? NESS By who? BUZZ BUZZ A friend. NESS Tell us WHO! BUZZ BUZZ You cannot know. Now, I must relay the message before my power cells are depleted. Listen well. A great evil power is destroying our world even as we speak. In the future, all will be lost unless you begin fighting now. You will soon meet three new friends your age who will be crucial to defeating Giygas, an immensely powerful alien bent on conquering this world. Search for Paula Polestar in Tussone. The others will find you themselves. But now, you must leave home and-BUZZ BUZZ is hit hard with an energy blast coming from behind the kids. He falls to the ground. The kids turn around and see a STARMAN, a strangely shaped humanoid in a white jumpsuit. His eyes are not visible under his tinted visor. He speaks in a robotic voice. STARMAN You have heard enough.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

12.

The STARMAN fires an energy beam, knocking NESS to the ground. STARMAN Try as you might... The STARMAN fires on NESS again. beam with his arms. NESS tries to block the

STARMAN The might of Master Giygas will prevail. The STARMAN fires on NESS again. absorb the energy. NESS No! NESS channels the energy into a powerful beam firing from his hands. The STARMAN is knocked down and severely damaged. NESS stares at his hands, shocked. STARMAN You are...more powerful than...initially...anticipated. The STARMAN teleports away. NESS and PICKY rush back to BUZZ BUZZ while PORKY sits still, dumbfounded. BUZZ BUZZ Ness...you must go. Hone your psychic abilities...and above all...find Paula. Giygas...will not wait. You must...hurry... BUZZ BUZZ twitches, sparks, and falls silent. NESS, PICKY, and PORKY walk back down the hill. KING carries the limp body of BUZZ BUZZ in his mouth. PORKY So. Youre apparently some great hero or something, huh? NESS I...I dont know. PORKY Why am I not the hero here?! Im stronger, bigger...I bet I could take down this Giygas ten times faster than you! Maybe then Tracy wouldnt ignore me. Picky, go home (MORE) (CONTINUED) NESS, however, seems to

CONTINUED:

13.

PORKY (contd) and tell Mom Ill be gone for a while. PICKY PORKY, maybe Ness should do this. PORKY Screw Ness, Im gonna go fight aliens whether some stupid bee wants me to or not! PORKY shoves PICKY towards their house. house. NESS returns to his

PORKY Picky, tell Mom and Dad Im leaving in the morning. PORKY and PICKY begin to enter their house, but are stopped by their father ALOYSIUS MINCH and mother LARDNA MINCH. LARDNA Get in here, Picky. PORKY begins to follow PICKY inside, but is roughly stopped by ALOYSIUS. ALOYSIUS Youre not coming inside tonight. PORKY Where am I supposed to sleep?! ALOYSIUS Go sleep in the doghouse. PORKY We dont have a-ALOYSIUS (gesturing to NESSs house) Then sleep in their doghouse! Just get out of my sight! ALOYSIUS whacks PORKY across the face with a newspaper and slams the door shut. PORKY stands shocked and genuinely hurt. He rubs a spot on his face where a paper cut has started bleeding.

14.

EXT.ACADEMY - MIDDAY Nobody is outside Snow Wood Boarding School during class time, even though the sun has provided a temporary break from the usual snow on the ground. INT.CLASSROOM PROF. MAXWELL LABS busily teaches a science lesson to his students, all wearing the formal green school uniform. MAXWELL That said, a laser beam of this magnitude generates an intense amount of heat wherever it strikes, often enough to melt types of metals such as iron. MAXWELL pauses to write on the blackboard. JEFF ANDONUTS, 14, sits at his desk, nearly asleep. TONY, a brunette of 14, sits at an adjacent desk. A small ruler is in her hair, keeping it in something of a Chinese bun. TONY Hey...hey Jeff. JEFF Huh...what? TONY gives a friendly smile. JEFF immediately acts more awake and nervously tries to smile back. TONY Sorry, just making sure youre awake. You dont want to miss this lesson. Its about lasers! JEFF Uh, t-thanks Tony. MAXWELL Now if the laser emanates from a handheld source, some recoil can be expected, contrary to what you might think. But lets get back to the basics. I digress. JEFF (under breath) Oh, please do.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

15.

MAXWELL Im sorry, what was that? JEFF Nothing, sir. MAXWELL Uh huh. See me after class, Mister Andonuts. INT.CLASSROOM - LATER The bell rings. All the students file out of the classroom except Jeff. TONY glances worriedly at Jeff before heading out. MAXWELL Jeff. If you want me to talk in more detail about something more advanced, just ask! I know youve already got the basics down. Id gladly help you with further study. JEFF Thank you, sir. Alright. lunch. INT.HALLWAY JEFF walks down the crowded hallway. Most other kids ignore him, though a couple greet him as he passes by. JEFF largely ignores them uncomfortably or timidly says "hi" back. INT.CAFETERIA JEFF sits at a table alone with his lunch. He pulls out blueprints for some kind of box-shaped machine. He begins to edit his design with a pencil, using the edge of his lunch tray to make straight lines. TONY Hi Jeff! JEFF looks up, realizes with a shock who it is, and quickly straightens his glasses. MAXWELL Better get going to

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JEFF Uh, h-hi Tony. TONY What are you working on? JEFF Just a project. TONY Looks cool. TONY reaches behind her head. JEFF Not really, its just a simple... TONY removes the ruler from her hair. JEFF Well I guess it...Its... TONY sits down next to JEFF, who cowers a bit. him the ruler. TONY Here, use this. better edge. JEFF T-thank you. Youll get a

16.

She hands

The school bell rings. Another girl comes over and TONY leaves with her. JEFF watches as they go, then continues drawing, using the ruler now. INT.HOUSE - EVENING NESS and his family are having dinner. NESS looks at his mother and sister with a tired look in his eye. He gets up and walks toward the stairs. ANA Where are you going? NESS I...dont feel well. ANA Try to go to sleep. Youll feel better in the morning. NESS does not respond, and continues upstairs.

17.

INT.HOUSE - LATER NESS sits on his bed silently. He looks at a side of his room with a desk and wall covered in alien-related content: posters, figurines, games. In the middle of it all is a family picture. NESS picks up the picture and looks at himself, his mother, and his sister. He puts it on his window sill and goes to sleep. INT.HOUSE - JUST BEFORE DAWN Everyone in the house is asleep. NESS quietly sneaks out of his room and grabs some food, his school backpack, and a map. He traces his finger along the map, following a route southward from his house through Onett, and into the main city of Tussone. He leaves a note on his bed and sneaks out of his room. He sneaks into TRACYs room and grabs a baseball bat leaning against the wall. He sneaks out and leaves the house. EXT.HILL - EARLY DAWN SEEN FROM TOP OF HILL, NEXT TO METEOR NESS walks into the distance, the sun rising on his left, as he heads South towards Tussone. On top of the hill, next to the meteor, PO appears out of thin air. His identity remains secret as only his lower legs and feet can be seen, along with the end of an Arabic sabre. Turning towards the meteor then back towards NESS, who does not know of his presence, PO teleports away seconds later. EXT.MIDSIZED CITY - MIDDAY, SAME DAY NESS enters Tussone and walks down the central street. He passes the usual businesses and houses present in a mid-sized 1990s city. He slows down and stares as he passes by a house painted entirely blue, including the grass and everything else on the property. Not looking where hes going, he bumps into "GORGEOUS" TONZURA, a slightly chubby jazz singer of about 35. GORGEOUS Hey kid, whaddya tryin to pull here?! I know a pickpocket when I see one! Cmere ya little thief! NESS raises his baseball bat.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

18.

GORGEOUS Whoa there, careful kid! hurt someone wit that! NESS I didnt steal anything.

You could

GORGEOUS Ugh, ya sure as hell didnt. Got nothin on me to steal. I just want to keep thieves like you off Tussones streets. NESS Im not a thief! GORGEOUS Sure, sure. Whateva. Just get outta here before I call the police on ya. Theres enough of this crap in Tussone already. Hell, I heard just two days ago that someone had nicked fifty-thousand dollas from some tycoons bank account. Cant stand this, specially when other people like me cant afford to even leave this place! NESS What do you mean? GORGEOUS sits on a bench next to him. well. NESS sits down as

GORGEOUS Me and my guys are stuck here. Heard of the Runaway Five? NESS No. GORGEOUS We got a little show running down at the theater on 14th Street, but we got a debt with the owner. Ten grand. Were stuck here til we can pay up. NESS Sounds bad. I wish I could do something.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: GORGEOUS Nothin a kid like you can do. Call us up in about eighty years--maybe then well be able to ditch this place. For now, were stayin right here in Tussone. Shame, too--we got one helluva tour bus. NESS Sounds cool. Hey, um, Im looking for a girl here. GORGEOUS Arent we all? NESS No, I mean a specific person. Someone told me Id find here in Tussone, but I have no idea where. GORGEOUS Well, that isnt much help, now is it. Hmm...Id say look wherever ya want to find her. NESS What? GORGEOUS The mind is a powerful thing, kid. More powerful than you might think. Search where ya think yad like to find her. Maybe ya will, or at least find some help. NESS Hm, well I know where my kind of friend would be...

19.

QUICK TRANSITION: EXT.OUTSIDE AN ARCADE GORGEOUS Why am I not surprised. their games these days. Kids and

NESS Thanks for taking me here! NESS begins walking across the street towards the Arcade. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

20.

GORGEOUS No problem. Good luck wit the girl, kid. Get in there and score! NESS stops and looks back at GORGEOUS. GORGEOUS (imitating playing on an invisible game controller) ...In the games, I mean! A high score! INT.ARCADE NESS enters the very loud Arcade. There are a couple GANGSTERS hanging out along the back wall, but otherwise the Arcade is empty. They look to be in their early 20s. NESS (can barely be heard over the noisy Arcade) Paula! Paula! GANGSTER 1 You lookin for someone, squirt? NESS Yes, do you know where Paula-GANGSTER 2 Perhaps ya dont know how things work around here. This place is ours. Got that? NESS Im just looking for-GANGSTER 1 Why are you still talkin kid? Ey, Frankie, why dont ya teach this kid a lesson in respect! The hulking FRANKIE approaches carrying a two-by-four. NESS raises his bat. They fight for a short time before FRANKIE knocks the bat far out of NESSs reach, and corners NESS against a wall. NESS frantically searches for a weapon but finds none. Suddenly, he inadvertently uses telekinesis to slam a cash register against FRANKIEs head, knocking him unconscious. The other GANGSTERs stand staring.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: GANGSTER 2 You little freak!

21.

All the GANGSTERs flee the Arcade. NESS slowly gets up, shocked. He stares at his hands and then touches his forehead. He exits the Arcade. EXT.OUTSIDE THE ARCADE EVERDRED, a shady-looking middle-aged man with sunglasses is waiting outside. EVERDRED Kid, I saw how ya handled the Tiger Sharks in there. Youre somethin special, I can tell. NESS (uneasy) Thanks. Uh, gotta go now. looking for-EVERDRED Paula Polestar? NESS How did you know that? EVERDRED Im a friend of hers. Shes got similar...talents as you. NESS So you know where she is? EVERDRED Last I heard, she went missin early this mornin. I bet its that no-good Cult of Blue again. Theyre always stirrin up trouble but lately its gotten worse. NESS Giygas. EVERDRED Say what? NESS Never mind. Thanks for your help. NESS starts walking away. (CONTINUED)

Im

CONTINUED: EVERDRED Hurry, kid! Come see me if you find Paula! Good luck! NESS increases his speed when told to hurry. EVERDRED (under breath, concerned) Youll need it... EXT.BLUE HOUSE

22.

NESS arrives at the entirely blue house he saw earlier. He hops over the blue fence and sneaks up to a window. Looking inside, he sees PAULA POLESTAR, a girl of 14 with golden hair and a pink midlength dress. She is tied to a chair in the middle of a group of people dressed in blue robes and hoods. They are chanting something, and their apparent leader is slowly approaching PAULA. He is in some sort of trance. NESS runs to the door of the house and tries to open it. It is locked. He furrows his brow and attempts to use psychic powers to turn the lock. The knob shakes a bit but his unrefined telekinesis does not succeed. Finally, he resorts to smashing the window with his bat and awkwardly clambering in. INT.BLUE HOUSE NESS runs toward PAULA, but the cult leader fires a bolt of electricity from his fingers, hitting Ness in the leg. NESS trips and grips the burn on his leg. PAULA uses telekinesis to remove the ropes around her, but collapses out of the chair, exhausted. The middle-aged cult leader, MR. CARPAINTER, makes a slow hand motion, and several cult members drag NESS and PAULA away. CARPAINTER takes all of NESSs belongings. INT.DUNGEON NESS and PAULA are locked in a cave connecting to the cellar of the blue house. There is a period of silence. NESS ...Sorry. PAULA Better here than anywhere near Carpainter.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

23.

NESS Who? PAULA Cult of Blues head priest. But...hes different than before. But you know all that. NESS No I dont. NESS and PAULA turn to face each other, and get a bit closer. PAULA Well, the Cult of Blue used to be fine. Something about painting the town blue, but harmless enough. Lately, theyve started acting strange, more extreme. Its like theyre suddenly trying harder, willing to take more risks. I have no idea why, though. NESS And Carpainter, has he always had the, you know... PAULA No, thats another thing! He got his lightning stuff around the same time the cult went bad. I dont know what to make of it, Ness. NESS Wait, how did you know my name? PAULA You told me. NESS No I didnt. PAULA Yes you--oh. I get it. NESS What? PAULA My psychokinesis.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: NESS Ive never heard of that. PAULA Basically, its like limited telekinesis, and maybe some other stuff depending on the person. For me, I can sort of read minds. NESS Telekinesis. Ive noticed some stuff like that Ive done. Sometimes I can make stuff move when I want to. PAULA Sounds like you might have psychokinesis too. Huh, I didnt think Id find anyone else like me. Can you, like, read peoples minds? NESS I havent before. PAULA Then you probably cant. rare ability. Its a

24.

NESS This psycho-whatever stuff seems very normal to you. PAULA Ive gotten used to it. Ive known I had psychokinesis for a long time. Though it seemed to get a lot more powerful around the same time the cult changed recently. NESS And I only discovered mine recently. Wait a minute, you got yourself free from that chair with psychokinesis! Why didnt you just do that before? PAULA Before you distracted Carpainter, something was blocking my psychokinesis. I guess Carpainter must have some control over it as well. Strange, he hasnt showed signs of it before. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

25.

NESS This has gotta have something to do with the alien. PAULA Hold it. I dont want two cults to deal with! NESS Youre funny. But this is real. That meteor that landed in Onett, it was a message to me. It told me to find you here. PAULA Oh, really. What is my name? NESS Paula Polestar. PAULA eyes NESS for a moment. PAULA Alright. They turn back the way they were before, facing the same direction towards the cell door. There is another period of silence. NESS So, um, how are we gonna get out of here? PAULA I dont know. Another period of silence. NESS That mind-reading thing you said you "sort of" can do...can you, you know, go into peoples minds and sense whatever theyre thinking? PAULA They have to want me to know their thoughts. Like you wanting me to know your name. NESS So you dont know, like, what Im thinking all the time.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: PAULA Right. NESS ...alright. NESS leans against the wall and faces away, looking relieved. INT.CAFETERIA - MIDDAY

26.

JEFF sits at a table alone, building the device from the blueprint. TONY comes over from a table of other kids. TONY Hey Jeff, want to come sit with us? JEFF ...No thanks. Im fine here. TONY sits down next to JEFF. tenses. Again, JEFF immediately

TONY Jeff. You cant stay like this forever. Make some friends! JEFF I have friends! to do. I just have work

TONY Jeff, every student in the school is having lunch in here right now. Introduce me to your friends. JEFF ..... TONY give JEFF a knowing look and starts fiddling with the machine. TONY So is this almost finished? JEFF Dont touch that! Its very--

A powerful laser bolt very loudly emanates from the machine and hits the edge between the wall and ceiling. That area of the wall and ceiling disintegrates and is left smoldering.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

27.

JEFF ...sensitive. Every person in the cafeteria turns and stares at Jeff. JEFF And you wonder why I dont have friends. JEFF scoops up his machine and designs and rushes out of the cafeteria. INT.DORMITORY JEFF lies on his bed. Hes not quite crying but very close. He is about to fall asleep but hears something knocking at the window. He gets up and looks out. Outside, BUZZ BUZZ is repeatedly flying into the window to make noise. JEFF opens the window. BUZZ BUZZ Jeff Andonuts, I have come to-JEFF A working insectoid nanobot, in perfect condition! Remarkable! BUZZ BUZZ Yes. Now, I have come to tell you a message of the utmost importance. I come from the future, and-JEFF No way! A time-traveling insectoid nanobot! BUZZ BUZZ busily begins marking a series of numbers on JEFFs notebook. BUZZ BUZZ Please listen. I must relay the message before my power cells are depleted. You must go to your fathers laboratory and acquire his Sky Runner. Fly it into Tussone and land at these coordinates. BUZZ BUZZ finishes writing out the coordinates.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JEFF The Sky Runner is an experimental prototype. I doubt my father will allow me to take it. BUZZ BUZZ Your father has been notified already, and will fill you in on the details. The Earths fate is bound to yours. Leave as soon as possible. You must-A fly swatter smashes BUZZ BUZZ against the desk. ACADEMY KID Disgusting little fly. BUZZ BUZZ twitches, sparks, and goes limp. JEFF sadly scoops up the tiny robots remains and begins packing. INT.LABORATORY JEFF enters the laboratory through a large metal door. ANDONUTS is working busily at a lab table. DR. ANDONUTS The Sky Runner is ready, son. JEFF So you also received a message from a time-travelling insectoid-DR. ANDONUTS --insectoid nanobot. Yep. JEFF Where is it? DR. ANDONUTS Well, um...well, to tell the truth, it was standing in my workspace and was dumb enough to walk right where I was about to transfer 200 milliliters of hydrochloric acid. JEFF ...you set a beaker on top of it. DR. ANDONUTS It was its own fault. A robot from the future should know where it should and shouldnt stand on a lab bench!

28.

DR.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JEFF Maybe it was only from a couple weeks in the future-DR. ANDONUTS Doesnt matter now. The Sky Runner is ready to go.

29.

JEFF and DR. ANDONUTS enter a small metal aircraft shaped like a fat flying saucer. DR. ANDONUTS begins working the controls to start taking off. DR. ANDONUTS You know, this Sky Runner is still an early prototype. I normally wouldnt take it out of the lab like this. But since you are my son, and it was a time-traveling insectoid nanobot... JEFF ...and its directly related to the fate of the planet. DR. ANDONUTS Yeah, that too. The Sky Runner is flying high in the sky by this point. JEFF This seems to be flying just fine. Why is it just a prototype? DR. ANDONUTS I havent quite perfected the lander mechanism yet. JEFF Well here, let me take a look. I could work on it while were en route. DR. ANDONUTS I doubt thatll help. Why? JEFF I know what Im doing.

DR. ANDONUTS I know that. By "not perfected yet", I meant this doesnt have any landing gear. JEFFs eyes widen. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: DR. ANDONUTS Oh I almost forgot. You probably should fasten your seatbelt. INT.DUNGEON - LATER NESS is throwing rocks up at the ceiling of the cave. PAULA What are you doing? NESS Testing the ceiling. Not hollow. Nothing but solid rock above us. PAULA Whats that sound? NESS Rock hitting rock. sound. Tends to make a

30.

PAULA No, that sound thats getting louder! The Sky Runner drops down straight through the ceiling and smashes down to the floor, barely missing NESS and PAULA. JEFF and DR. ANDONUTS exit the craft. JEFF Sorry to drop in without warning. JEFF fires his laser machine and melts the cells lock. JEFF Were getting out of here. NESS Wait just a minute, who are you? JEFF Jeff Andonuts. This is my father.

DR. ANDONUTS is looking over the wreckage of the Sky Runner. DR. ANDONUTS Jeff, hold this for a minute. DR. ANDONUTS hands JEFF a part of the Sky Runner with a blinking light. A periodic beeping sound is coming from it.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: PAULA Now wait, how did you know to find us here? JEFF A time-traveling insectoid nanobot told me to. NESS Cool, same here.

31.

JEFF hands the Sky Runner part back to his father. It produces a small explosion offscreen, leaving DR. ANDONUTS ashy. DR. ANDONUTS Me three! PAULA Okay...whos for leaving now? NESS Me. JEFF Sure. The three kids leave the cell. DR. ANDONUTS hangs behind for a second. He hugs the Sky Runner. DR. ANDONUTS Goodbye, beautiful. INT.BLUE HOUSE - EVENING NESS, PAULA, JEFF, and DR. ANDONUTS peer out from under a trap door in the wooden floor. A large group of CULT MEMBERS are gathered. NESS Theres gotta be at least twenty between us and the door. PAULA Were gonna have to run. Ness, this would be a good time to try some more psychokinesis. JEFF Psycho-wha?-Before JEFF can be answered, a CULT MEMBER throws the trap door open. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

32.

CULT MEMBER Theyve escaped! And they got friends! PAULA Run! The four run toward the door but are blocked by the group of CULT MEMBERS. JEFF brandishes his laser device, but everyone else is defenseless. PAULA Stand back guys. NESS What? PAULA takes a deep breath and close her eyes. MEMBERS become frozen in ice instantaneously. NESS Cool. PAULA I know, right? CARPAINTER emerges from behind the frozen CULT MEMBERS. His hands are sparking with electrical energy. He seems to be in a trance. CARPAINTER So...it has come to...this... PAULA Look, I dont know whats wrong with you, but-CARPAINTER Nothing is wrong...all is right... PAULA We can help you, Mr. Carpainter, but you have to let us go. CARPAINTER No...Im...h...happy... JEFF Oh, its no use reasoning with him. JEFF starts to walk forward rather briskly. All the CULT

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: CARPAINTER (horrid scream) No!!!

33.

CARPAINTER shoots electricity from his fingers at JEFF. It hits JEFFs laser device, causing it to surge and fire back at CARPAINTER. CARPAINTER disintegrates in a flash of light. PAULA Jeff...it wasnt your fault. JEFF (hesitantly) I know. DR. ANDONUTS The robot that notified me of the situation...it said that after Carpainter was dead, you should go to Foreside. He said youd meet a friend there. NESS checks his map. NESS Foreside? Thats days away by foot! We dont have time for that! PAULA Well figure something out. on. Come

DR. ANDONUTS If you dont mind, Id like to stay here and see if I can repair the Sky Runner. PAULA Could we use that to get to Foreside? DR. ANDONUTS Ill try, but I dont know how long itll take to fix. Youd be better off finding some other way there. NESS Alright guys, lets go. PAULA Lets get some sleep. Ness, we should recover from using psychokinesis.

34.

NESS, PAULA, and JEFF leave the blue house. Behind them, PO appears secretly. His head and face still cannot be seen. He is gripping his sabre. After a few seconds, he teleports away. INT.HOTEL ROOM - LATE EVENING The kids open the door to Room 140 and go in. The cheap hotel room has only two small beds. The three kids stand silently for a moment. NESS ...this was your idea. PAULA Shut up. INT.HOTEL ROOM - LATER NESS and JEFF are lying very close together, on their backs, in their very small bed. PAULA gets the other bed. PAULA I love traveling, dont you? NESS and JEFF glare at PAULA. PAULA (amused) Alright, I get it. JEFF What? PAULA That he hates this right now. JEFF Well so do I, but how did you know? PAULA He wanted me to know. JEFF Okay, now Im just confused. is going on here? What

NESS Paula has some kind of telepathy.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

35.

PAULA I can sense peoples thoughts, but only those they want me to hear. JEFF ...right. Fine. So you two are, like, mentally linked. PAULA Not really, only what he wants me to hear, and I cant send thoughts to him. Its not really that great. JEFF Are you kidding me! incredibly-Its

NESS Guys, lets get some sleep. got a busy day tomorrow. Good idea. Goodnight. JEFF (mumbling) Night. PAULA Night. NESS

Weve

After everyone else is asleep, JEFF lies awake in bed. He sits up and focuses his eyes on the digital clock on the bedside table. After focusing hard on the clock, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Moving his hand, he attempts to move the clock using telekinesis. Nothing happens. After one more try, he gets out of bed and pulls out his blueprints and laser device. Sitting on the floor with his back to the others, he quietly works on his device through the night. INT.HOTEL ROOM - MORNING JEFF has fallen asleep on the floor next to his work, but he is awoken by NESS. JEFF Huh...what?...

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

36.

NESS Hey, Jeff. JEFF Wha?... PAULA I want to go see a friend before we leave. Hes probably worried sick. JEFF blinks and gets up. EXT.MIDSIZED CITY The three kids walk into a city park. news reporters follows them. A group of clamoring

REPORTER 1 The mind whiz is back in town! REPORTER 2 Paula Polestar, tell us about your secret power! REPORTER 3 Would you mind scheduling an interview tomorrow? REPORTER 4 Youve had mind powers since you were a child. How has that impacted your-A loud gunshot rings through the air. REPORTER 4 ...life. The reporters retreat. carrying a pistol. Hey, kid! EVERDRED approaches the kids,

EVERDRED Ya found her!

NESS You were right, it was the Cult of Blue. EVERDRED You okay, Paula?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: PAULA Im fine. EVERDRED (to NESS) Thanks, kid. You dont know how much good you done Tussone by takin down the Cult. Besides, Paulas a good friend of mine. PAULA This is the only place in Tussone I can escape all the media following me around. EVERDRED Sad thing nowadays. No privacy. Some kids wish they were on TV, but its not all its cracked up to be, specially when youre...different. Anyway, Ive gotta repay you kids somehow. EVERDRED pulls a wad of bills from his back pocket. EVERDRED Heres ten grand. Dont ask where I got it. NESS accepts the money, understandably surprised. NESS Thanks! EVERDRED No problem, kid. If ya ever need any help, Ill be headin to Foreside myself in a couple days. I, uh, dont want to stay here much longer. Sure! PAULA I guess well see you there! EVERDRED Take care.

37.

The three kids leave the park and begin walking down the street towards the theater. JEFF You just missed a great opportunity! Why dont we just wait a few days and go with him? (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

38.

NESS We dont have a few days. is attacking even now.

Giygas

JEFF (getting very irritated) Would you mind telling me who this Giygas is? NESS Oh, did the robot not tell you? JEFF He just said to come to Tussone. NESS Well, to be honest, I dont really know much about this myself. From what the robot told me, Giygas is some alien trying to take over the world. For the last few days, theres been weird stuff starting to happen. Like, I only recently found out I had psychokinesis. PAULA And Carpainter got his powers about the same time. NESS So we figure there must be some connection to this alien. JEFF ...fair enough. But why dont I have this psychokinesis thing? NESS I dont know. The robot told me I would meet three more people who would help to defeat Giygas. You must be one of them since the same robot guided you here. PAULA So there must be something about you thats special. Something necessary to fight Giygas. JEFF That would be more comforting if I knew what it is thats special! Im not special! Im (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

39.

JEFF (contd) just a random kid from a boarding school in the middle of nowhere! PAULA You got us out of that cave with that laser, didnt you? Who else could build that? JEFF Well... NESS The same lasery thing saved us from Carpainter. JEFF What, so Im special because I have a laser? PAULA I dont think so. more than that. Its got to be

They walk in silence for a moment. JEFF (sincerely) Thanks, guys. They reach the theater. Standing outside are five members of the Runaway Five jazz band: GORGEOUS, LUCKY, NICE, GROOVY, and KEYBORE. Theyre standing against their black Runaway Five tour bus. LUCKY No shows until Tuesday! NESS Were not here for a show. NICE No one is anymore. GORGEOUS Hey kid. NESS Do you think you could take us to Foreside in your bus?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

40.

GORGEOUS I told ya kid, were stuck here. NESS Will this help? NESS holds out the wad of bills. GORGEOUS Holy smokes! Lemme see that! GORGEOUS grabs the bills and carefully looks them over. GROOVY Theyve gotta be fakes. GORGEOUS Holy...these are legit! The other members suddenly perk up. GORGEOUS These for us, kid? NESS Its all yours if you take us to Foreside. GORGEOUS Damn straight! Lucky, show this to em! GORGEOUS hands the bills off to LUCKY, who runs into the theater. GORGEOUS (smiling, amused) No thief, eh?

So.

NESS Long story. GORGEOUS Ya know, I wouldnt mind goin to Foreside anyway. I hear the theater there packs a good thousand per night! Foreside...thats where the real money is, what with Monotoli runnin the town. PAULA Monotoli?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

41.

JEFF Ive heard of him. Huge business tycoon from Foreside. GORGEOUS Yep. Ya wouldnt believe the economy there. I bet wed get twice per ticket as we do here! LUCKY exits the theater, without the money. LUCKY Its paid off! Paid off! GORGEOUS What luck! The Runaway Five members high-five each other. They begin hastily filing into the bus, followed by the kids. GORGEOUS All aboard the bus! to Foreside! Were headin

The bus pulls out. The Runaway Five are ecstatically waving their arms out the window and yelling. Atop a building, a PILOT in a large yellow attack helicopter watches them. PILOT (into radio) Targets have entered the bus. Heading to Foreside. bus en route to Foreside.

Repeat,

The helicopters rotors begin to rotate. INT.BUS - MIDDAY LUCKY is driving the bus along a straight highway through a desert. Each bus seat fits two people, though the Runaway Fives instruments take up some extra space. NESS and PAULA are seated next to each other, with PAULA by the window and NESS by the aisle. JEFF is in the seat behind them, next to a stack of drum cases. They have been traveling for several hours, and all 3 kids are getting sleepy. PAULA Any idea when well get to Foreside?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

42.

NESS Well, looking at this map, maybe another four or five hours. PAULA leans her head back and closes her eyes. PAULA Well, wake me when we get there. NESS Sure. PAULA begins to doze off. JEFF reaches around the seat and taps NESS on the shoulder. JEFF Hey, Ness? NESS Yeah? PAULAs head slips down onto NESSs shoulder. NESS keeps a poker face and tries to stay still. JEFF cannot see NESS or PAULA from the seat behind, as the seat back is too large to see over and the drum cases prevent JEFF from leaving his seat. JEFF is occupied working on his laser device. GORGEOUS, sitting across the aisle from NESS, watches with amusement. JEFF Can you come into the aisle and look at this? NESS Uh, what is it? JEFF Im trying to modify my laser device to be less volatile. NESS Well, thats good. How goes it?

JEFF Just come around and see. NESS Um...ok, for a second. NESS tries to find another place to rest PAULAs head, but finds none. He holds her head where it is using his hand and awkwardly leans around the seat to see JEFFs project.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JEFF See look, Im trying to go for a design more like a firearm than a-NESS A box? JEFF (in background) ...yeah. Now, this is the trigger mechanism. Here, look closely. Youll see theres a small spring there to provide a bit of resistance. Of course, we dont want the trigger going off too easily. So anyway, the trigger very briefly closes this circuit here, which is connected to both the power source located in the butt of the gun, and the "barrel" here, though that is something of an inaccurate term to describe this type of weapon. The weapon fires a short burst of laser energy. You know, a common misconception is that the laser light is the dangerous element. But in fact, its the heat produced that poses the true threat. Fascinating, isnt it? Yeah. NESS Very--very impressive.

43.

While JEFF talks, NESS must find a way to get closer to what JEFF is showing him without letting PAULAs head drop. He tries his foot to keep her head up, but that quickly proves ineffective. He quickly catches her head with his other arm, which is now bent backward at an awkward angle. He uses his other arm to grab his baseball bat. Using the bat as an extension of his arm angle around the chairs back, he keeps PAULAs head up from far enough away to be able to see JEFFs project up close. Even with the bat, he must balance on one leg and lean far forward to see the project. GORGEOUS watches this, trying to keep himself from laughing. JEFF ...quite. Now there is recoil when firing, but it originates not from the discharge but from the-The bus suddenly swerves as a large yellow helicopter swoops down, firing on the bus. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

44.

INTERCUT BETWEEN BUS AND HELICOPTER PAULA is jerked back awake. PAULA Whats going on? LUCKY Not sure, Maam! GORGEOUS Drive, Lucky! Drive! PILOT Engaging the target. engaging the target. Repeat,

JEFF sticks his head out the window to look above. He narrowly evades a stream of bullets. He starts hastily reconstructing his laser device. JEFF Got it! JEFF leans out the window and fires at the helicopter. He misses several times. The helicopter falls back behind the bus and lowers it altitude. PILOT Targets possess some sort of laser. Falling back, but continuing pursuit. JEFF opens the rear door of the bus for a brief moment and fires again at the helicopter, which is only a few feet off the ground. He misses again, partically due to the snaking bus. He pulls the door shut just as a spray of bullets makes impact with the rear of the bus. PAULA Monotoli?! NESS What?! PAULA The helicopter! on the side! It says Monotoli

NESS What does Monotoli want with us?!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

45.

PAULA I dont know! GORGEOUS Dont tell me the ten grand belongs to Monotoli, kid! NESS I dont know where it was from! friend gave it to us! GORGEOUS Who?! NESS Everdred! Really?! GORGEOUS Youve gotta be kidding! A

NESS You mean he stole it?! JEFF fires the laser out the back of the bus again, and very clearly misses. The copters windshield cracks and the PILOT falls out onto the ground. NESS Nice shot! GORGEOUS Way to go, kid! JEFF But I missed... NESS Huh? They all look and see a second person, PO, in the cockpit. PO dislodges his sabre from the windshield and barely manages to pull up before the copter can hit the ground. The kids watch as he inexperiencedly pulls the copter high into the sky, then plummets back down. As the copter falls from very high up, the machine gun continues firing and hits the front end of the bus. The buss engine explodes and the bus screeches to a halt. The kids watch as the copter crash-lands in the distance, on the other side of several sand dunes.

46.

EXT.DESERT Everyone gets off the bus. A column of smoke is visible in the distance where the copter crashed. Everyone stands for a moment. NESS I think we should find whoever that was. Yeah. PAULA He did save us.

JEFF Mhm. If we go now he might not be far from the smoke. GORGEOUS You guys go ahead. Well stay here and try to get the bus fixed up. LUCKY Hey genius kid! Can ya help?

JEFF I dont know much about automobiles. Im more into lasers and aircraft. LUCKY (sarcastic) And aircraft with lasers too, I bet. JEFF Exactly. ...right. LUCKY See ya later, kids. An old steamboat

The kids begin walking across the desert. is half-buried in the sand. NESS Whats a boat doing here?

JEFF This desert must have been a lake or sea in the past. After walking across some more dunes, the three kids come across a larger hill made more of stone than sand. There is a cave entrance in the side of the hill, leading toward the (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

47.

valley in the middle of the hill, where the column of smoke is originating. NESS tries to climb the side of the hill, but slips back down. NESS I guess well have to try the cave. INT.DESERT CAVE NESS, PAULA, and JEFF walk through the cave. PAULA Do you think hes alright? JEFF Well see. That sounded like a very rough landing. Still, he seemed very adept at what he was doing. NESS makes short eye contact with PAULA. PAULA My thoughts exactly! JEFF What? PAULA He wasnt very adept at flying the helicopter! JEFF smiles a bit. EXT.SATURN VALLEY The kids exit the cave to find that the valley is a large oasis. The bright green grass, blooming flowers, and small streams are in direct contrast to the outside world. The small valley seems completely isolated from the rest of the world. There are several small cylindrical huts with conical roofs in the valley. The huts seem to be built for people only two or three feet tall. As they walk into the village, which appears to be completely deserted, a scuffling sound draws the kids attention off to the side. They very briefly see a short, round, stumpy figure scurry behind a hut. NESS Hello? She giggles.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

48.

The kids go round to the other side of the hut. Hiding behind the hut is a tiny creature called a MR. SATURN. It appears to be just a spherical bald head with round feet. The strangely cute creature has beady eyes, large prominent eyebrows, a cartoonishly large and round nose, and a single hair with a red bow tied around it. It is wary of the kids presence. PAULA kneels down and gives it a friendly smile. PAULA Hi. MR. SATURN 1 ...hi? PAULA gestures to the others to join her. PAULA Hi. NESS Hi. JEFF Hi! MR. SATURN 1 Hi...hi...hi? PAULA Nah, just "hi." Hi hi hi. MR. SATURN 1 Hi hi hi!

MR. SATURN 1 perks up and seems excited to meet his new friends. About 20-25 more MR. SATURNs slowly emerge from various hiding places and circle around the three kids. The MR. SATURNs repeat the same phrase "Hi hi hi!" over and over. It becomes a disorganized chorus of "Hi"s. PAULA (giggling) Theyre like a bunch of little kids! JEFF They kinda scare me... PAULA They act just like the kids back home! My mom runs a preschool.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

49.

Slowly, the talking dies down. the front of the group. Hi hi hi.

Another MR. SATURN moves to

MR. SATURN 2 I Mr. Saturn.

PAULA Hello Mr. Saturn. Another MR. SATURN approaches PAULA. Whenever one MR. SATURN talks to the kids, the others in the group quietly repeat the last word he says in a thought. They seem very happy and satisfied when they do this, though no MR. SATURN ever smiles. Their mouths are never visible and as such do not move. PAULA And who are you? MR. SATURN 3 I Mr. Saturn. NESS You too? MR. SATURN 3 I Mr. Saturn. He Mr. Saturn. Mr. Saturn. They Mr. Saturn. Here, we all Mr. Saturn! Boing! He

JEFF Well. This isnt something you see every day. MR. SATURN 4 See Mr. Saturn every day! All day, every day! Zoom! Saturn Valley all Saturns! PAULA Ness, arent they so adorable? NESS pokes a Mr. Saturn. It slowly tips over.

NESS Theyre...interesting... JEFF Guys, we need to find the helicopter!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

50.

PAULA Right, right. They move toward the column of smoke on the other side of the valley. The Mr. Saturns follow. NESS There it is, up on that cliff! The cliff is a smooth, vertical rock face about 12 feet high. There is no way for the kids to climb it. All 3 kids turn away from the cliff to talk. PAULA How are we gonna get up there? NESS (to JEFF) Got anything? JEFF Just the laser, and I doubt thatll do much good. While they are talking, in the background 5 MR. SATURNs climb on top of each other into a tower. MR. SATURN 1 oversees the construction. MR. SATURN 1 Help! PAULA What? MR. SATURN 1 You climb here! The three kids stare at the wobbly tower of MR. SATURNs. JEFF Better than nothing. MR. SATURN 1 Nothing better. The kids begin awkwardly climbing up the "ladder" of squishy MR. SATURNs. BOTTOM MR. SATURN Bottom Saturn strong.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

51.

2ND MR. SATURN Play ladder, zoom! 3RD MR. SATURN Shoe print on nose. 4TH MR. SATURN Saturn hair tickles. TOP MR. SATURN Afraid of heights. NESS and PAULA reach the top of the cliff. As JEFF steps off the top MR. SATURN, he loses his footing and barely grabs the edge of the cliff before the five MR. SATURNs tumble to the ground. NESS and PAULA help him up. JEFF Thanks. Hello? NESS Is anyone there?

MR. SATURN 1 (from below) Mr. Saturn here, boing! PAULA They really are cute, arent they. I wonder how the babies look. JEFF Theyre called Mr. Saturn, so I would think theyre all male, which brings up very interesting ideas regarding how they-Ssh. NESS Look.

PO exits the helicopter. He is wearing a white martial arts suit with a black belt. His long black hair is tied up. PO Greetings. I have been instructed to assist you in your quest. I shall perform my duties to the best of my ability. NESS Wait a minute, who are you?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

52.

PO I am Prince Po of Dalaam. My master foretold the coming of a great evil to the Earth. He explained I must find you in order to defeat it. JEFF And how did you find us? PO When I heard news of the meteorite, I knew something important had occurred. I went there immediately and have been following you ever since, to make sure you are the three I am looking for. NESS Fair enough, but that still doesnt explain how the heck you got onto Monotolis helicopter. PO I simply teleported onto the craft. PAULA Teleportation?! rumors... I had only heard

JEFF So you have this psychokinesis stuff too, huh? PO In Dalaam we call it the Power of Mu. But yes, that is how I can teleport. JEFF looks disappointed and silently climbs into the helicopters cockpit. PAULA Can you teleport more than one person? PO Anyone I touch during teleport comes along with me. PAULA Cool!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

53.

NESS Can you take us back to the bus? JEFF No, Im trying to get this working. PO Besides, I need rest. NESS Lets head back down. I get the feeling the Saturns will be more than happy to help us. JEFF You go ahead. Im trying to fix up this copter. Arriving back at the cliff, NESS, PAULA, and PO can see out over the whole village. Every MR. SATURN is lying on its back with a red balloon tied to its large round nose. They are simply staring up at the balloons floating several meters above them. The kids carefully drop down the cliff and enter the village. NESS What the...? MR. SATURN 1 Fishing time. NESS Huh? MR. SATURN 2 Watching sky. MR. SATURN 1 Fishing for birdie. PAULA Caught any? No. MR. SATURN 1 No birdies. MR. SATURN 3 Birdies run!

Quiet!

The kids stand there silently for a moment, watching the MR. SATURNs futile efforts to catch a bird.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

54.

PO If you give me a place to rest, I will catch a bird for you. MR. SATURN 1 You will catch birdie? Yes. PO Is that okay?

The MR. SATURNs glance at each other. MR. SATURN 1 Kay-o! INT.SATURN HOUSE A couple MR. SATURNs along with NESS, PAULA, and PO enter a house. The building built for the little MR. SATURNs is uncomfortably small for the humans. MR. SATURN 1 Sleep here. MR. SATURN 1 offers PO a very small round bed designed for MR. SATURNs. PO Thank you. MR. SATURN 1 Is kay-o. PO sits cross-legged on the bed and closes his eyes. NESS and PAULA take two other beds. The MR. SATURNs sleep on the floor. MR. SATURN 1 climbs inside a metal trash can. MR. SATURN 1 Cramped. INT.HELICOPTER - EVENING JEFF sits silently in the cockpit. He messes with some wires but cannot get the copter working. He leans back in his seat and covers his eyes with his hand. JEFF (mumbling) What am I doing here?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

55.

He opens his eyes and stares at the jumble of wires. He takes a deep breath, touches his fingers to his temples, and stares intently at the wires, trying to use telekinesis. Nothing happens. JEFF bites his lip, exits the copter, and fires his laser, causing the copter to melt and catch on fire. He walks away as the ruined helicopter burns behind him. EXT.SATURN VALLEY - MORNING NESS, PAULA, JEFF, PO, and all the MR. SATURNs stand in a group in the middle of the village. MR. SATURN 1 Time for fishing birdies. MR. SATURN 1 brings PO a red balloon on a long string. MR. SATURN 1 Fish. PO I do not need that, thank you. MR. SATURN 1 looks confused, but backs off. PO Stand back. PO spots a bird in the air. He teleports up into the air, grabs the bird, and lands in a nearby small pond. The MR. SATURNs and the kids come over. MR. SATURN 1 Birdie?... PO holds up the bird he caught. Birdie! MR. SATURN 1 First birdie! You thank!

As usual repeating the last word said, the other MR. SATURNs swarm PO to get a good look at the bird. Your bird. PO Where shall I put it?

MR. SATURN 1 Put in sky.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

56.

PO The sky? MR. SATURN 1 Birdie in sky! MR. SATURN 2 Watch sky! MR. SATURN 3 Birdies! PO You do not want to eat it? MR. SATURN 1 Eat birdie? MR. SATURN 2 Mr. Saturn eat noodles, not birdie! Sky! MR. SATURN 3 Sky birdie!

PO Very well... PO releases the bird back into the sky. MR. SATURN 1 (repeated by other MR. SATURNs many times) Sky birdie! MR. SATURN 2 (repeated many times) Birdie sky! MR. SATURN 3 (repeated a couple times) Zoom! MR. SATURN 4 Run birdie run! MR. SATURN 5 Dakota! The four kids watch as the elated MR. SATURNs hop after the bird as it flies away.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

57.

PO What is our goal now? NESS Weve gotta get to Foreside. Somehow Monotoli is involved in all this. JEFF (to PO) Monotoli is a wealthy businessman living in Foreside. PAULA We filled Po in on everything while you were fixing the helicopter. JEFF (not hiding his irritation very well) Right. Of course. NESS So is it ready to go? JEFF It was, uh, broken beyond repair. NESS Well, at least you tried. JEFF I didnt help anything. NESS If anyone else had tried to fix that, we would have ended up blowing up half of Saturn Valley. Whether you think so or not, Jeff, youre on our team. We need you. JEFF ...thanks. They begin walking through the village, toward the cave. PAULA I feel kinda bad leaving the Mr. Saturns here alone. They seem really helpless.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

58.

PO They seem capable. fine.

Theyll be

MR. SATURN 2 hurries over to the kids. MR. SATURN 2 Flying boy. Secrets tell! PO Secrets? MR. SATURN 2 How you fly! See! MR. SATURN 2 and the rest turn around and look into the background, toward the cliff they climbed earlier. A MR. SATURN jumps off the cliff toward a bird flying. He plummets and splats facedown on the ground. There is a line of MR. SATURNS waiting their turn behind him, and a pile of dizzy MR. SATURNS stumbling around at the bottom of the cliff. MR. SATURN 2 Mr. Saturn tried flight. ground. Nose bump. Fell to

PO Dont fly. Try making something to catch birds. MR. SATURN 2 Kay-o. Make things for birdies. Zoom! MR. SATURN 2 runs off and joins the other MR. SATURNs. kids continue walking out of the village. PO ...theyll be fine. MR. SATURN 1 curiously follows them into the cave. EXT.DESERT - LATE MORNING The Runaway Five are waiting outside their bus. GORGEOUS So ya found yer friend, eh? to head to Foreside? Ready The

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

59.

NESS Ready when you are. GORGEOUS Alright, the bus is all fixed up. Guys! Lets head out! The Runaway Five and the kids pile into the bus. MR. SATURN 1 sneaks aboard behind them but hides under a seat when the loud bus starts up and startles him. The bus continues on its way. INT.BUS - MIDDAY The configuration of seating in the bus is the same as before, except this time JEFF has PO sitting next to him, rather than the drum cases. JEFF is building a small electronic device. PO You seem quite young for a mechanic. JEFF What? Oh, Im not a mechanic. Working on stuff like this is a hobby. My dad is a scientist. PO It is remarkable that you are so knowledgeable about such things at so young an age! I suppose. Seventeen. JEFF And you say youre a prince? PO Prince of Dalaam. JEFF Well thats something. PO What are you working on? JEFF How old are you? PO

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

60.

JEFF This is going to be a Phase Inverter. My father and I are working on building a Phase Distorter, and this is a crucial component. PO Interesting! What will this Phase Distorter do? JEFF In theory, it will create a stationary warp bubble around itself, allowing anything within to exist outside of normal space and time. In essence, it will allow for instant travel to any point in space and time. PO Amazing! You know, Ive had an interest in this type of thing. I just never had the time to pursue them. JEFF Prince stuff? PO Some, and a lot of Mu training. But Id like to learn more about this. JEFF Well, I could always use some help building the Phase Inverter. PO I would be glad to help if youll teach me. JEFF Sure. Alright, so this section here controls the flux variant. You can see that on the blueprints here... As the bus continues toward Foreside, JEFF teaches PO.

61. EXT.METROPOLIS - NIGHT The kids exit the bus next to a hotel. NESS Thanks guys! GORGEOUS No problem, thanks for gettin us outta Tussone! PAULA Where are you going now? GORGEOUS I figure well try to set up shop here in Foreside. If ya need us, well be at the theater! NESS Alright. GORGEOUS Well, see ya around, kid. The bus drives off. NESS So Jeff, your dad said we should come to Foreside. Any idea why? JEFF He said the robot told him wed meet a friend here. PAULA Someone weve met before? JEFF I dont know. PO What is going on over there? PO points to a crowd of people gathered around a dark alley. The kids come over. PO, who is fairly tall, can see over the crowd. PO Theres a man lying on the ground. He looks badly hurt. Dark round glasses, long black hair, a hat--

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

62.

PAULA Everdred! PAULA pushes through the crowd and the others follow. EVERDRED ...P-Paula... PAULA What happened?! EVERDRED They...they found me. NESS Who? EVERDRED Mono...Monotoli. He sent them...after me... JEFF The money you gave us. PAULA is silently tearing up. EVERDRED Yes...his money. PAULA So its our fault. EVERDRED No...no....none of this is your fault. It was...my fault. It makes me wonder... NESS Wonder what? EVERDRED All my money. In the end...was it...worth it?... EVERDRED falls silent. PAULA hides her face in her hands. NESS looks back up. NESS Thats it. Were paying a visit to Mr. Monotoli tomorrow. Everdred, were gonna make it worth it.

63.

INT.FANCY HOTEL LOBBY The receptionist ignores the kids at first. NESS Two rooms please. RECEPTIONIST Im going to need your credit card if you dont have any cash. The kids exchange glances. ruby earring from his ear. PO steps forward and removes a

PO Will this suffice? The RECEPTIONISTs eyes widen but she quickly regains her composure. RECEPTIONIST (faking indifference) Itll cover one room. PO Ill have you know that this-NESS Its fine. JEFF Im not sure about only getting one room. We dont want a situation like last time. NESS These nice hotels always have one of those pull-out couches and an air mattress or something. INT.HOTEL ROOM The hotel room is conspicuously couchless. The beds are bigger than in the last hotel, but there are still only two. NESS ...right. Well, its just for one night. You two can get that bed, and Paula can have the other. Ill sleep on the floor.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: PAULA No Ness, you can...

64.

NESS and PAULA look at each other for a moment. Meanwhile, JEFF sets his backpack of machine parts onto the floor and lies down on one of the beds. PO gets into the same bed. They put as much distance between each other as possible. NESS (to PAULA) Go ahead. Ill be back. PAULA gets into the other bed and watches as NESS leaves the hotel room. INT.HOTEL HALLWAY NESS looks out the window at the end of the hall. He can see the many lights and hear the traffic of downtown Foreside outside, yet it is strangely serene. Leaning on the windowsill, he simply stands looking out. After a minute, he feels a hand on his shoulder. PAULA Hey, you alright? Yeah. NESS Just...remembering home. PAULA Homesick? NESS Maybe a little. PAULA I like getting away from home sometimes. A break from all the media following me around. NESS How do they know you have psychokinesis? PAULA They found out a long time ago. It was something stupid. I must have been six or seven. I tried to open a door using it, but the doorknob came off and flew across the room. A lot of people saw it.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

65.

NESS So how come Ive never heard of you before? PAULA Its stayed kind of a local legend. Makes me glad were in Foreside. Not everyone in the entire town will know me by name! They share a quiet laugh. NESS About Everdred-PAULA I dont want to talk about it. NESS Yes you do. I dont need to be a mind reader to know that. PAULA Youre right. Its just...Ive never lost a friend before like this. NESS Neither have I. PAULA And now that hes gone, it makes me scared. NESS Scared of what? PAULA Scared that with all this Giygas business...I might lose more friends. Silence. PAULA Well, Im going to sleep. Goodnight. NESS Night. PAULA heads back down the hallway. NESS stands by himself for a minute, then goes back to the room.

66.

INT.HOTEL ROOM NESS stands by the door for a moment. JEFF and PO are fast asleep, and PAULA is sleeping under the covers on the second bed. NESS quietly makes his way to the second bed and lies down on top of the covers. INT.OFFICE BUILDING NESS walks up to the receptionist desk in the lobby. RECEPTIONIST Hello, welcome to the Monotoli Building! Do you have an appointment? NESS No. We were hoping to see Mr. Monotoli. RECEPTIONIST Im sorry, nobody may go to the 100th floor without an appointment. NESS Oh, alright. NESS goes over to the other 3 kids, who are standing by the elevator doors, hiding behind a newspaper. They all enter the elevator and the doors close. PAULA pockets the newspaper. NESS Yeah, they wont let us. JEFF Thats a shame. JEFF pulls a panel off the wall of the elevator and fiddles with some circuitry inside. JEFF Next stop, 100th floor. They exit the elevator at the top floor of the building and enter the only door in the otherwise bare hallway. Through the door is a huge, fancy office filled with gold objects and statues. There is a gold victrola in a corner playing a gold record of Sousas "Liberty Bell March." In the middle of the room, sitting on a golden chair at a golden desk, is PORKY.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

67.

PORKY Ah, Ness! I was sure youd make it here eventually. Porky?! NESS What is going on here?!

PORKY Im working for Mr. Monotoli now! Im...an intern. Yeah, thats it, an intern! JEFF By the looks of it, youre a bit higher up than that. PORKY Arent you going to introduce me to your friends, Ness? Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. NESS I dont know how youre involved in all this, but Im going to put a stop to it. JEFF Starting with this music. Why do you have a record player, anyway? PORKY Its a gold record player with a gold record of, I dunno, some classical stuff! How much more classy can you get? NESS Class for the sake of class doesnt-PORKY (approaching PAULA) Oh, and I see youve got yourself a lovely girlfriend, Ness. Tell me, sweetie, if you had a choice between this kid and the whole world-PAULA Anything but you.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

68.

PAULA slaps PORKY across the face gets a paper cut in the same spot fathers newspaper. PORKY stands slightly, and starts tearing up a

with the newspaper. He as the one made by his silently, begins trembling bit.

PO Its just a minor injury-PORKY (shaking, violently distressed) What do you mean its just--?! NESS Its just a paper cut, Porky. PORKY pauses and looks at NESS. PORKY Its not just a paper cut. PORKY sniffles once, and tries to regain his composure. PORKY You... PORKY snaps his fingers, and four handkerchiefs with pig-nose patterns fly into the air and gag the kids. PORKY (suddenly manic, but still trembling) Ive heard enough out of you all! As you can see, Master Giygas is gaining control over matter itself, and hes allowed me a tiny part of that power. NESS (muffled) Master Giygas?! PORKY gestures, and the handkerchief gagging NESS tightens. Meanwhile, JEFF secretly tosses a tiny device on the floor. It rolls toward PORKY and sticks to his shoe. PORKY You know that saying, if you cant beat em, join em? Well, I joined em. And its great. At least, it will be after pathetic whiners like you arent around to pester me anymore. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

69.

PORKY gestures, and the victrola starts shaking. PORKY And since you dont like my music, my music doesnt like you. Ill let Mr. Suesue or whatever finish you off! PORKY snaps his fingers, and the record flies off the victrola. The victrola begins walking toward the kids. PORKY runs off through a golden door labeled "Roof Access." The gold record zooms toward NESS and cuts clean through his backpack strap. The backpack falls onto the ground. NESSs bat rolls out of his reach. JEFF tries to fire the laser gun but it shorts out. The victrola and record back the kids into a corner. Suddenly, a saxophone smashes down on the record, shattering it into pieces. GORGEOUS I never liked Sousa anyway. LUCKY removes the gags from the kids as the other four band members fight off the victrola. GORGEOUS We figured youd find a way up here. After fighting the victrola for a bit, GROOVY deals the finishing blow by smashing his bass guitar onto the victrola, Pete Townshend style. NESS Porky went to the roof. They follow after PORKY. EXT.SKYSCRAPER ROOF PORKY and an elderly man, MR. MONOTOLI, are in a small yellow passenger helicopter. The copter rises into the air. PORKY (over loudspeaker) Too late! Ahahaha! I wish I could see you again, Ness, but knowing how Master Giygas plan is progressing, I dont think I will be!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

70.

MR. MONOTOLI (in a trance) Im...h-happy! MR. MONOTOLI tries to jump out of the open copter door, but PORKY restrains him. The helicopter flies away. PAULA Now well never find him. JEFF Not so fast. I attached a tracking device to Porky. Hopefully we can follow him straight to Giygas. NESS Nice going, Jeff! JEFF Oh, it was nothing. EXT.CITY STREETS The kids and the Runaway Five exit the Monotoli Building. NESS So, why did you come to find us? GORGEOUS To return yer little friend. NESS What? They enter the tour bus parked by the building. 1 is sitting on a passenger seat. MR. SATURN 1 Hi hi hi! GORGEOUS We found him hiding under a seat. Funny little guy, isnt he? PAULA Mr. Saturn, what are you doing here? MR. SATURN 1 Followed. Then big bus zoomed! Not Saturn Valley anymore. MR. SATURN Thanks.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

71.

PAULA We need to get you back home. A loud whirring noise outside gets their attention. They exit the bus. Outside the bus, a beaten-up Sky Runner is floating overhead. DR. ANDONUTS yells down to the ground. JEFF Perfect timing. Hey, son! DR. ANDONUTS Whats new?

JEFF (yelling up) We know where to go next, but we need to get this...thing...home first! DR. ANDONUTS No problem! The Sky Runner is all fixed up! I even added landing gear! DR. ANDONUTS tosses a rope ladder down, and JEFF climbs aboard. PO This does not look safe. NESS Its fine. Id trust Dr. Andonuts with my life. PO hesitantly climbs aboard the Sky Runner. PAULA (whispering) Really? NESS (quickly) No. NESS and PAULA, who is holding MR. SATURN 1, board the Sky Runner.

72. INT.SKY RUNNER DR. ANDONUTS And were off! The Sky Runner lurches and jerks, but successfully starts moving. JEFF What still baffles me is how Porky-DR. ANDONUTS Excuse me, sorry, but where are we going? JEFF We need to take this guy-PAULA Mr. Saturn. JEFF ...Mr. Saturn...back home to Saturn Valley. Here are the coordinates. While JEFF talks, MR. SATURN 1 curiously wanders over to the window. When he sees how high up they are, he zooms back to PAULA and hides his face against her, quivering. JEFF Anyway, how did Porky end up so high-up with Monotoli so quickly? Ness, didnt you say he only left home a day before you did? NESS Yeah. I think Giygas must be involved somehow. Monotoli was acting just like Carpainter. Maybe Giygas led Porky to Monotoli. PAULA But why? NESS I cant think of any reason Giygas would want Porky on his side. JEFF If Porky is Giygas top choice for an ally, this is one stupid alien were dealing with. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

73.

PO Thats my fear. JEFF What? PO If Giygas is acting erratically, were in even more trouble than we thought. NESS Why? PO It means he has absolutely no restraint. A reckless enemy is the most dangerous enemy of all. DR. ANDONUTS Alright, were arriving in Saturn Valley. EXT.SATURN VALLEY - EARLY AFTERNOON The Sky Runner crash-lands in the middle of the village. The MR. SATURNs gather around, intrigued. and DR. ANDONUTS exit the Sky Runner. JEFF You said this had landing gear! DR. ANDONUTS I didnt say it worked. MR. SATURN 1 dizzily stumbles out of the Sky Runner. MR. SATURN 1 All your things fall? NESS, PAULA, and PO exit the Sky Runner. PO (to JEFF) I think my first project should be making some landing equipment. DR. ANDONUTS Too late for that. The Sky Runners totaled. JEFF

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: NESS So how are we gonna follow Porky? JEFF Well figure that out later. For now, lets find out where hes headed. JEFF pulls a small device out of his backpack. on and studies the small viewscreen. JEFF According to this, Porky is...here. Ness, check these coordinates on your map. NESS ...theres nothing on the map there. Just a blank spot. DR. ANDONUTS The Deep Darkness. PAULA What? DR. ANDONUTS A small island out to sea so dangerous that it has never been charted. There are rumors that anyone who sails close to the island is eaten by a great sea serpent. JEFF Impossible. Sea monsters are just a myth. DR. ANDONUTS Agreed. But theres something out there, and its deadly. NESS Maybe Giygas has been there a lot longer than we thought. Either way, we need to get there somehow. Po, can you teleport us? PO I dont think so. I can only teleport to places I can see clearly in my mind. I would need a picture of the destination.

74.

He turns it

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

75.

DR. ANDONUTS There are no pictures of the Deep Darkness. Nobody has made it there alive. PAULA Then how can we get there? MR. SATURN 2 Found thing to catch birdies. Doesnt catch birdies. They turn to see the MR. SATURNs have brought the old steamboat into Saturn Valley. It has been given a Mr. Saturn-colored (light skin tone) coat of paint, and the flagpole now sports a large red ribbon. JEFF Perfect! I can modify this to get it sailing again! MR. SATURN 2 Doesnt catch birdies. That? What is?

JEFF Its a ship, a boat.

MR. SATURN 2 Ship boat. Is Saturn Ship Boat! Boing! Five MR. SATURNs ladder up next to the boat. They paint "SATURN SHIP BOAT" in the iconic Mr. Saturn font on the side of the boat. NESS The S.S. Boat. PO Its very...straightforward. JEFF Whats not so straightforward is how were gonna get this to the sea. DR. ANDONUTS Oh, thats easy. Jeff, can I see that Phase Inverter you were making?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

76.

JEFF Of course, the Phase Distorter! didnt realize you had it here!

JEFF tosses the Phase Inverter device to DR. ANDONUTS, who inserts it into the Phase Distorter, a spherical metal machine with a compartment inside, through an open panel. It is painted the same color as the S.S. Boat, and has a red ribbon tied to the antenna on top. DR. ANDONUTS That should do it. The Phase Distorter is complete! Just put it next to the boat and youll be set! NESS Wouldnt it have to be inside? DR. ANDONUTS Thats whats so great about warp bubbles! Objects in contact with the source will be enveloped by the bubble! Fortunately the Earth is much too massive for that. Otherwise it would be disastrous. Here, help me with this. The kids, DR. ANDONUTS, and the MR. SATURNs move the Phase Distorter so it touches the S.S. Boat. DR. ANDONUTS Alright, now you four just touch it and Ill send it off. PO Are you sure this will work? From what Jeff has taught me, a stretched warp bubble is extremely unstable. DR. ANDNONUTS Stable, schmable. Youll be fine! Now, Im sending you to Threed, the closest town to the Deep Darkness. DR. ANDONUTS types in numbers on the Phase Distorters keypad. PO I am still not sure about this. might put us miles away from-It

77. DR. ANDONUTS punches one final button and the Phase Distorter, S.S. Boat, and four kids disappear in a flash of light. EXT.MOUNTAINSIDE - AFTERNOON The four kids materialize in a flash of light. They are on the side of a forested mountain, but there is a view of a coastal town down below. PO --the coast. NESS, having landed right on the edge of a somewhat steep incline, wobbles and falls. Both JEFF and PAULA reach out to grab his hands, helping him back up. NESS Thanks. Jeff, is your dad trying to kill us?! JEFF He means well. PAULA Could use a bit more focus. PO And some common sense. Look down there. Theres a town. NESS Right by the sea. Threed. Maybe its

JEFF And with any luck the boat at least landed in the right spot. NESS Alright, I think we should search the town now, before someone takes the boat. EXT.FOREST EDGE The kids come to the border between the dense forest and Threed. The town is overrun with Starmen and other monsters. Inanimate objects such as fire hydrants, street signs, and mail boxes have come to life and are rampaging around the town. No human inhabitants can be seen; all the buildings are locked and windows closed. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

78.

NESS On second thought, maybe we should wait a while. PAULA (quickly) Yep. JEFF (quickly) Yeah. PO (quickly) Agreed. EXT.CLEARING - NIGHT A small campfire is barely staying lit in the middle of the group. PO The fire is dying, and well freeze to death tonight without it. We need anything that will burn. NESS tosses his backpack and everything in it to PO, who puts it on the fire. PO Jeff? JEFF I just have these blueprints. NESS looks in JEFFs pack. NESS And this ruler. NESS pulls out the wooden ruler which TONY had given to JEFF. JEFF No! Theres plenty of wood in the forest! PO Its too wet. recently. Must have rained

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

79.

NESS Jeff, its just a ruler. JEFF (hesitantly) ...its...just a ruler... NESS tosses the ruler onto the fire. PO So. It appears Giygas has already taken control of Threed. NESS Yeah. Well have to make a run for the coast and hope the boat is there. PAULA No, we have to stay and help the people here! NESS Paula, we dont have time for that. We need to find Giygas. PAULA I cant believe you! NESS What?! PAULA You say were going to fight off aliens, but at the first real chance we get you want to run away! NESS Were not running away, Paula! Listen, whats most important now is Giygas. Its for the greater good. PAULA Are you saying passing Threed by and letting everyone there die is perfectly fine? Because its all for the "greater good?" NESS Maybe that is what Im saying!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

80.

PAULA Jeff, Po, help me here! JEFF The way I see it, either of you could be correct, depending on whats most important to you. PO Help these people and risk letting Giygas gain even more power, or go after Giygas now and let Threed die? JEFF I would consider the greater good to be finding Giygas rather than liberating Threed. The entire planet is at stake. PAULA Threed is in the most danger right now! And you three passing it by is...inhuman! NESS Look, Paula, tomorrow we can-PAULA You can do whatever the hell you want tomorrow! But Im not gonna be here! PAULA runs off into the woods. Not expecting this, the three boys get up and run to the edge of the clearing, but PAULA has gotten away. NESS Paula!! PO Ness... JEFF Who knows whats out there, what with Giygas able to control matter itself. Its too dangerous to search at night. Ness, we should get some sleep. NESS Then shut up and go to sleep!

81. JEFF and PO retreat and lie down on the ground. NESS collapses against a tree with his head in his hands. EXT.DEEP FOREST PAULA sits on a fallen tree, her head in her hands as well. Hearing something moving along the ground, she uncovers her eyes and sees a red mushroom with legs scampering along the ground. She smiles wryly. Suddenly, a foot in a gold jumpsuit smashes down on the mushroom. Looking up, PAULA finds herself surrounded by Starmen. All are normal white-suited Starmen except for their leader, STARMAN DELUXE, who is the one in gold. In a much deeper robotic voice than the Starman seen by the meteor, STARMAN DELUXE speaks. STARMAN DELUXE The human female has been located. PAULA jumps up and tries to fight, but the other Starmen restrain her. STARMAN DELUXE Proceeding to Threed base. Hearing this, PAULA stops trying to get away. STARMAN DELUXE, and PAULA teleport away. INT.HOUSE - MORNING TRACY and ANA are eating breakfast. NESS left in his room. TRACY grips the note The Starmen,

TRACY I cant stand just sitting here while Ness is out who knows where! ANA Tracy, weve done everything we can to get him found. Nobody has reported seeing him. TRACY angrily rips up NESSs note. TRACY His stupid note didnt even say why he left. ANA (blankly) Why who left?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

82.

Ness!

TRACY Who do you think?! Whats

ANA Ness didnt leave, dear. gotten into you? EXT.CLEARING - MORNING

JEFF and PO are hastily shaken awake by NESS. JEFF Eh...wha?... NESS Get up, were going into Threed now. JEFF Its a bit early to-NESS Do you care about Paula or not? PO I thought we werent stopping in Threed. NESS I...changed my mind. JEFF and PO exchange amused glances. JEFF Glad to hear it. EXT.FOREST EDGE They arrive at the edge of the conquered town. JEFF This change of mind wouldnt happen to have been caused by Paulas-Shh! NESS Quiet, they might hear us.

PO We are well out of earshot.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

83.

NESS Im just being safe. JEFF I think youre trying to avoid more than just those aliens. NESS Shut up. Now, look. That building over there looks like their HQ. I bet thats where well find Paula. PO And this armys leader. NESS That too. JEFF How are we getting in there? The whole road is swarming with aliens and...street signs and...mail boxes...and...benches... JEFF buries his face in his hand. JEFF What am I doing here... NESS I think we should just make a run for the door. PO There will surely be more inside. NESS Then we run for the stairs. PO As good a plan as any, I suppose. Alright. Ready. JEFF Guess so. NESS Everyone ready? PO

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

84.

NESS Alright, and...run! EXT.THREED - CONTINUOUS NESS, PO, and JEFF make a break for the building, defending against the Starmen and various hostile commonplace objects roaming the streets. NESS is largely helpless, as he does not use any psychokinesis. JEFF uses his laser gun while PO uses his sabre. Dodging melee attacks from objects and laser fire from Starmen, the three narrowly make it into the building. INT.STARMAN HQ - CONTINUOUS Inside there are more Starmen waiting, in addition to the others following them inside from the street. The kids rush up a staircase to the top floor, still dodging attacks. A Starmans laser destroys a section of staircase below them, making it impossible to get back down. At the end of a short hallway on the top floor is a single door. Before the boys can reach it, a large group of Starmen materializes in front of them. PO Ness! NESS Duck! NESS uses telekinesis to throw the Starmen over their heads and back down the staircase. They boys dash forward and practically fall over each other getting through the door. NESS Paula, you here?! PAULA (voice) Yeah. The boys look up to see PAULA standing in the middle of the room. She is unharmed, but lying strewn around the room are defeated Starmen. PAULA I knew youd change your mind. NESS (astonished) Wha...why? (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

85.

A fallen Starman weakly raises its gun. PAULA nonchalantly freezes its hand in a thick chunk of ice, causing it to thunk back down onto the ground. PAULA (smugly) A girls intuition, I guess. Still smiling smugly, PAULA brushes past NESS and walks out of the room. The boys follow sheepishly. NESS (stammering) Yeah, well...the stairs are out. The boys walk past PAULA and examine the staircase. NESS Anything you can do, Jeff? JEFF Ness, I cant just magically fix a staircase! PO Maybe we could jump. JEFF I dunno, looks a bit far. Its a whole flight of stairs, at least fifteen feet. NESS (turning to face PAULA) So were stuck up here. I dont think your "girls intuition" will be enough to-PAULA is standing next to an open elevator door. PO glance at NESS. Luck. EXT.THREED Coming out of the building, the kids find the streets to be clear of aliens and evil objects. People slowly begin coming outside. NESS That was luck. JEFF and

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

86.

PO Theyve retreated. NESS Good riddance. JEFF Weve got to find Giygas before they return with help. The Phase Distorter was supposed to land right at the coast, so if the boat went where it should have, itll be there. EXT.COAST The S.S. Boat is waiting just off the coast, and the Phase Distorter is sitting on the beach. JEFF We should send this back to Saturn Valley. JEFF punches a few buttons and sends the Phase Distorter on its way. The Phase Distorter disappears in a flash of light. Well. PO Shall we shove off? JEFF Alright! They begin boarding the boat. PAULA I love this boat! are so sweet! The Mr. Saturns

NESS They act like a bunch of clueless kids, but they can do one heck of a paint job. JEFF Everyone aboard and ready to begin our journey? NESS What?...

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JEFF You will never win if you never begin. NESS Uh, thanks for that. JEFF Helen Rowland. I kinda just wanted to say something cool like that. The other three exchange glances. JEFF Alright. Quotes dont work. remember that. EXT.STEAMBOAT DECK - LATER, MIDDAY NESS, PAULA, and PO are standing on the ships deck. PO Ness...where did you get that hat? NESS My baseball cap? It was my dads. He grew up a long way from Tussone, somewhere called Podunk. He was a big fan of the Podunk Smashers, their baseball team. JEFF Was? NESS I dont know where he is now. He calls occasionally but hes always busy. Business, I guess. PO He sounds like my father. NESS How so? PO I am a prince. My father is the king of Dalaam. His duties leave him little time for me. JEFF exits the cabin onto the the deck. Ill

87.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

88.

JEFF Hey Po, can you give me a hand in the cabin? PO Sure. JEFF and PO go off to work, leaving PAULA and NESS alone. PAULA Aliens, psychokinesis, and now rumors of sea monsters...what a week. NESS A week ago Id never have imagined Id be fighting off a record player alongside a jazz band at the top of my neighbors skyscraper. PAULA Or a street sign! Really makes me think about how weird this all is. I didnt think Id be meeting those little Mr. Saturns, or the Runaway Five...or you... PAULA pauses for a moment. NESS turns to look at her.

PAULA ...or Jeff and his dad or Po. Even with my psychokinesis, my life had been pretty normal. Then Carpainter went bad and all this started. NESS Do you ever wish none of this happened, and everything were back like it was? PAULA Nope. JEFF and PO come running back. JEFF The...the monster! Its here!

Everyone rushes to the other end of the boat. A large creature, nearly identical in appearance to the Loch Ness monster, has risen out of the water. It leans its long neck in close to investigate the four kids. It looks at NESS for (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

89.

a moment, then gently pushes its leathery head against his chest. Then it leisurely swims away and dives underwater. JEFF ...that was it? NESS That wasnt so bad. friendly. PAULA Yeah. Behind them, a giant sea serpent rises out of the water. looks behind him and sees it. PO That wasnt the monster. NESS What? PO That was not the monster your father was talking about. JEFF If thats not it, then what is? PO That. The sea serpent lets out a furious roar and slaps the boat with its huge tail. JEFF Okay, fair enough! PAULA Your laser?! JEFF fires his laser gun at the serpent. It evaporates some of the water on the serpents back, but does no damage to the beast itself. They continue talking while dodging the beasts attacks. JEFF Its no use! NESS Why didnt we prepare for this?! What do we do?! PO It seemed

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

90.

PO Heres a quote for you, Jeff! Before you begin, prepare carefully! JEFF Cicero?! PO I believe so! NESS (sarcastic) Has Cicero got anything about sea monsters?! JEFF In De Natura Deorum Book One, he discusses the potential of sea creatures to cross-mate-NESS Not helpful, Jeff! PAULA Guys, shut up and let me concentrate! PAULA takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. The head and upper neck of the serpent become encased in ice. The serpents head falls and smashes onto the deck, shattering the ice. JEFF drops his laser gun onto the deck of the ship, and it simply vanishes. JEFF stares confusedly at the spot where it was. PO Look! The Loch Ness-ish monster charges forward from behind the boat and fights the serpent. JEFF Thats not going to hold the monster off for long! We need to get away from here! JEFF runs back into the cabin and moves the boat forward, leaving the two creatures fighting behind them.

91.

EXT.SWAMP - EVENING The Deep Darkness is less an island and more a dense mangrove forest flooded waist-high with murky water. JEFF Well, here we are. Darkness. Suddenly, the boat vanishes. NESS What happened?! JEFF I dont know! The ship just disappeared! PO Thats impossible! They make their way to the edge of the forest. JEFF The same thing happened to my ray gun. It just vanished. JEFF opens his backpack. machine. Inside is the old boxy laser The Deep The kids fall into the water.

JEFF Wait...this is the old version of the ray gun! PAULA The old version? JEFF Before I made it a proper gun on the Runaway Fives bus. But now its back here like this...its like I never even built the newer one. As JEFF talks, NESS watches behind them as water, mud, sticks, and leaves coalesce into a large blob. NESS Does it still work? JEFF I would assume so. Why?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

92.

NESS Because it looks like well need it. The blob moves surprisingly quickly towards the kids, making a low grumbling sound. A large fold forms what looks like a mouth. JEFF Ugh, this thing stinks! The blob lurches forward and begins to cover PAULAs foot. With difficulty, she pulls her foot and backs away from the sticky ooze. The blob very quickly bends around the kids to form a ring. The kids are trapped. NESS Fire! JEFF Where? NESS I mean fire your laser! JEFF Right, right! JEFF fires his laser at the side of the ring, but the chunk it burns off quickly is replaced with more mud. The ring begins getting smaller, closing around the four kids. PAULA Ness, Po? PO slices into the mud with his sabre but it does no damage. PO Ness, try your bat! NESS reaches behind his back into his backpack, but does not pull out the baseball bat. Its gone! NESS The bat is gone!

PAULA Ness, lets try psychokinesis! NESS doesnt say anything but nods at PAULA. He stares at the ring, which shoots up into the air. PAULA closes her eyes, and the ring freezes in ice. She then raises her hands into the air. Lightning sparks from her fingers and (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

93.

hits the frozen mud ring, which shatters into tiny pieces. As she does all this, NESS looks at her and smiles slightly. His smile fades quickly when PAULA, exhausted from the heavy use of psychokinesis, begins to faint. He catches her before she falls down into the water. NESS Hey, you okay? PAULA Yeah...just tired... NESS Alright, lets find somewhere to get some rest before were attacked again. PAULA leans on NESS and the four kids continue through the dense flooded forest. They barely manage a few feet, however, before another blob forms in front of them. JEFF This again! All around them, more and more blobs form. The vines and branches around them begin to move. A branch takes a swipe at PO. PO (cutting up branches and vines with his sabre) Im...not sure...were...going to make it... Clearly fighting a losing battle, the kids are suddenly blinded by a bright light. A shower of what appear to be tiny fiery shooting stars rains down from the sky, ripping the monsters to shreds. JEFF Who did that?! PO That was an incredibly powerful Mu technique. The only person I know can do it is-STAR MASTER (O.S.) Me? They turn around to see the STAR MASTER standing there, having just teleported.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

94.

Master!

PO What are you doing here?

STAR MASTER I will explain. But first I must block Giygass Mu from this place. Giygass power over matter is fully established here. Until I block his power, Giygas could cause anything to turn hostile at any moment. Come, I know of a dry place. INT.HOUSE - EVENING TRACY is nearly in tears talking to ANA, who seems fine. TRACY Mom! He left! You read his note yourself! ANA What note? TRACY You were crying! remember?! Dont you

ANA There wasnt a note. Tracy, I dont know whats up with you. TRACY Mom, the note said he might be gone for a long time! Why cant you remember?! ANA Tracy. Ness never left a note for us, and he certainly never left for a long time. Though I wonder where that kid is? TRACY blinks away tears, and her face suddenly relaxes. A note? TRACY What about a note?

ANA You were just saying Ness left us a note.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

95.

TRACY Huh? I never said anything like that. ANA Are you okay? some sleep. Maybe you should get

TRACY Yeah, okay. Maybe Im just feeling forgetful. TRACY heads upstairs into her room. As she climbs into bed, NESSs baseball bat can be seen leaning against the wall, exactly where it was before NESS took it. EXT.SWAMP - NIGHT The kids and the STAR MASTER set up camp on a small raised bit of land that is not flooded. STAR MASTER uses psychokinesis to start a campfire. STAR MASTER I cannot block Giygas power for long, only a few hours. Tomorrow morning you will have to hurry. PO Arent you coming with us? STAR MASTER I will be no help against Giygas. JEFF What are you talking about? You just made stars literally fall from the sky! STAR MASTER Neither the starstorm nor any of my other abilities will stop Giygas. Only you can. PAULA Why? Youre so much more powerful than us! STAR MASTER Power is not what matters now. That has not been the case for many decades.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

96.

NESS Then what does matter? STAR MASTER ...allow me to tell you a little more about Giygas. A long time ago, a man traveled to the planet of Giygas people and foolishly stole the secrets of their ultimate power: Mu, or as you call it, psychokinesis. The man brought these powers back to Earth. Giygas was enraged by the theft, and traveled to Earth to search for the man. However, Giygas inadvertently rubbed some of his power off on whoever he was near to, and a small group of people overpowered him and sent him back to his planet. Now, however, it seems Giygas has returned. This time he is not simply seeking justice. He has a personal vendetta against the entire planet and everyone on it. NESS How do you know all this? STAR MASTER Because all of this is my fault. I was the one who stole Giygas secrets and brought them to Earth. I made a foolish, selfish mistake long ago, and now others are paying the price. PO Do not blame yourself for what Giygas is doing. But why can only we defeat him? STAR MASTER I have been sensing Giygas for about a week now, but there is something strange. I sense Giygas himself, but just faintly. There is something else I sense much more strongly, something unmistakeably evil. I believe that Giygas has been consumed by pure evil after so many years of hate for Earth.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JEFF We already knew he was really evil. Why is that strange? STAR MASTER I am not being poetic about this. I mean Giygas has become the literal embodiment of pure evil. No amount of physical force can stop him...it...now. Even Giygas himself cannot. NESS How do you know that? STAR MASTER It is the only explanation of why you three have such strong Mu powers. Pure evil intentions with no intelligence guiding them results in erratic actions. NESS Porky. STAR MASTER And anyone else to whom Giygas has extended his Mu power. He is lending his power to random people because he has no sanity left to guide him. JEFF So what youre saying is, what were up against isnt just an incredibly powerful Giygas. Its a completely insane, invincible embodiment of pure evil with the incredible power of Giygas? STAR MASTER Precisely, except for invincible. It is impervious to physical attacks, but like anything else, pure evil can be negated by its total opposite. JEFF Like matter and antimatter. STAR MASTER Yes. So pure evil can be defeated if it is brought into contact with pure--

97.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: NESS Pure good. STAR MASTER No. The true opposite of pure evil is pure innocence. For even the good know of the presence of evil, and even that can fuel evil itself. The absolute absence of evil is innocence. That is why this new Giygas can only be defeated by children. No adult retains the pure innocence of childhood. PAULA And why you cant help us fight Giygas. STAR MASTER Yes. PO You said pure evil and pure innocence negate each other. Wouldnt that mean... STAR MASTER I am afraid you are correct. PAULA What? JEFF Like matter and antimatter... NESS What does he mean? JEFF When matter and antimatter collide, one does not simply destroy the other. They both destroy each other. NESS You mean when one of us makes contact with Giygas... JEFF Both will be destroyed. Silence.

98.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

99.

NESS Ill do it. JEFF No! PAULA Ness, you cant! PO I would gladly take your place-No. NESS Ill do it.

STAR MASTER There is no other way. But for now, you must sleep. Sleep. Everyone reluctantly goes to sleep. EXT.SWAMP - MORNING The four kids walk through the swamp. ahead of the others, listening. NESS walks a little

JEFF So your master told us to go this way? Yes. PO He said Giygas is this way.

JEFF Im not sure. I dont think hes right about what he said last night. After all weve been through, I dont think any of us are still innocent enough to destroy Giygas. PO At this point, we have no time left to change anything. Though I will admit I have had my doubts. Ness will have to block out his evil memories in order to defeat Giygas. If he doesnt, even the slightest thought of evil, even that of others, will strengthen Giygas rather than destroy him.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

100.

NESS Guys, I found something. They stand in front of the entrance to a small cave. faint green light emanates from within. They enter. INT.LAIR The small tunnel leads directly into a larger chamber. An array of green tubes covers a whole wall. Each tube has a person in it. Men, women, children, and even a MR. SATURN are trapped inside the tubes. A group of STARMEN guard the room. PO Physical force should be effective againt Giygas minions. JEFF cracks his knuckles. JEFF Just what I like to hear. JEFF fires his laser, instantly disintegrating one STARMAN. The other STARMEN immediately begin firing back. PAULA fires lightning at one, and NESS uses telekinesis to move other STARMEN into JEFF and PAULAs lines of fire. Before long, the room is secure. NESS What are all these people doing here? JEFF People that Giygas abducted, no doubt. NESS But why? JEFF Experimentation, hostages, who knows? Giygas isnt acting rationally, remember? PAULA walks up to the tube containing a MR. SATURN. MR. SATURN 1 (muffled) Hi hi hi! A

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: PAULA Are you the one who came to Foreside? MR. SATURN 1 Yes. Big city Saturn. Hot dogs. Then taken here. Is cramped. PAULA Well get you out. You thank. I promise.

101.

MR. SATURN 1 One by one, PO uses his sabre to crack the glass of the tubes, letting everyone out. They all form a crowd in the room. GORGEOUS Hey kid, where are we? NESS Long story. Just stay here for now. Well...theyll be back later. The kids continue through a door at the other end of the room. After walking through a windy metal-lined corridor, they reach a large metal-plated room. The dim reddish lighting casts an eerie glow around the room. On the far wall is a large rusted hatch. It is closed. JEFF Looks like that hatch is the only way forward. PORKY (over loudspeaker) Not that youll be going anywhere! The kids look up to see PORKY in a large, heavily armored, six-footed walker robot clinging to the ceiling. The walker drops to the ground, landing smoothly on its feet. PORKY Ahahaha! So youve made it this far. I-JEFF fires his laser several times at the walker, breaking off one of the feet and melting small parts of the hull. PORKY squeals and the walker quickly scampers up the wall and up through a large hole in the ceiling.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

102.

JEFF Didnt want to listen to him talk again. Ill check this hatch. JEFF tries to open the hatch, but it doesnt budge. Nothing. JEFF Weve hit a dead end.

NESS What do we do now? JEFF Maybe the Phase Distorter will be able to get us to the other side of this door. Lets head back to Saturn Valley. Suddenly, the ground shakes. NESS Whats happening? Outside, Giygas now old beaten-up starship breaks free of the ground covering it and flies into the air. PAULA The cave is moving! JEFF This is no cave! They rush back down the corridor to the room where the people are. GORGEOUS What the hell is going on here, kid?! JEFF checks his viewscreen device. JEFF Were on a direct course for Saturn Valley! Right where Dad has the Phase Distorter... PO Porky wants the Phase Distorter? JEFF Hard to say what he wants, but thats the most likely explanation! The Phase Distorter (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

103.

JEFF (contd) will give him nearly unlimited power over space and time! Were flying incredibly fast--we should be touching down in about a minute. NESS Isnt that the S.S. Boat? JEFF looks out the window where NESS is. Down in the desert, the old ruined steamboat is back exactly where it was, in the exact condition it was before the MR. SATURNs took it. JEFF Yeah... Giygas ship lands in Saturn Valley. EXT.SATURN VALLEY - MIDDAY The MR. SATURNs and DR. ANDONUTS watch as the ship lands. MR. SATURN 2 (commenting to MR. SATURN 3) Giant birdies fall too many. The kids, the abducted people, and MR. SATURN 1 exit the ship. DR. ANDONUTS Impressive! Did you build that, son? JEFF No. DR. ANDONUTS Thats a shame. JEFF More than a shame. This is Porkys ship. He wants to steal the Phase Distorter. DR. ANDONUTS Ive spent my whole life researching this! We cant let him have it!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

104.

DR. ANDONUTS pulls the Phase Inverter out of the Phase Distorter. PORKY in his walker lands on the ground between JEFF and DR. ANDONUTS, having jumped from the roof of the ship. PORKY And here I am! Did ya miss me? An arm on the walker grabs the Phase Inverter from DR. ANDONUTS. The walker moves next to the Phase Distorter and reaches toward the open panel to insert the Inverter. Before the Inverter is added, however, PORKY and the walker vanish. The Inverter falls to the ground. DR. ANDONUTS Holy Marconi! What just happened? NESS Yeah! Stuff like this has been happening for a while now! JEFF And I think Ive finally figured it out. Everyone looks at JEFF. JEFF Random things, at random times, have been doing this. My laser, the boat...theyre not disappearing, theyre reverting to how they were before this all started. PO What do you mean? JEFF Before any of us went after Giygas, my laser was this boxy thing. The S.S. Boat was just a ruined ship in the middle of the desert. Only because of us did the box become a gun, did the ruins become a boat. Things are changing back to how they would be if none of this had ever happened. Very slowly, time is rewriting itself. DR. ANDONUTS Great sco-DR. ANDONUTS vanishes. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

105.

NESS No! JEFF If Im right, your bat is back at your house right now, and my dad is back at his lab. PO So how do we fix this? JEFF We think. For whatever reason, we never left home. Whatever caused us to go after Giygas simply never occurred. Ness, you and I both were told by a small robot to go to Tussone. PAULA Your dad too-PAULA vanishes. NESS Paula! Not me. PO My master told me to go.

NESS And Paula only came because of me. JEFF I suspect shes back at Carpainters house, and Carpainter is still alive. But for me, my dad, and Ness, one common event-JEFF vanishes. NESS looks at PO, then vanishes. The robot.

PO One common event.

PO adds the Phase Inverter to the Phase Distorter, and powers up the machine. He quickly builds three very crude insectoid robots, made only of a power cell, a small speaker, a tiny processor, and some tiny wings. He opens the door of the Phase Distorter and puts one of the robots in. He types in some numbers on the keypad of the Phase Distorter, and a bright light flashes inside the machine. INTERCUT BETWEEN SATURN VALLEY AND THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

106.

In Winters, BUZZ BUZZ appears outside the window of a dorm of Snow Wood Boarding School. BUZZ BUZZ begins knocking against the window. PO puts the second robot into the machine, types in some numbers, and sends it on its way. In Winters, outside DR. ANDONUTS laboratory, BUZZ BUZZ appears and flies in through the open window. DR. ANDONUTS notices the robot and grabs a magnifying glass to examine it. PO puts the third robot into the machine, types in some numbers, and pushes a different button he hadnt before. The Phase Distorter disappears in a flash of light. In Onett, NESS sleeps uneasily. Suddenly, he awakes when a loud noise echoes through the night. Police sirens can be heard approaching as NESS gets out of bed. NESS What in the... Back in Saturn Valley, one by one, PORKY and his walker, Porkys ship, DR. ANDONUTS, PAULA, JEFF, and NESS reappear. At NESSs house, ANA and TRACY remember. ANA Tracy, wheres Ness? TRACY (voice from upstairs) I dunno, but theres a note in his room! END INTERCUT Back in Saturn Valley, JEFF examines the spot where the Phase Distorter used to be. His laser box turns back into the modified gun form. JEFF Figured it out, I presume? PO Your mechanics teachings paid off. JEFF Hey, it takes more than just a mechanic to fix time and space.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

107.

PORKY Hey, wheres the machine? PO I couldnt let you have it, Porky. It has been destroyed. Destroyed! PORKY Ill destroy you!

PORKY sends out a squadron of Starmen on Saturn Village. NESS fights PORKY in his walker while the other three take on the Starmen. NESS uses telekinesis and JEFF fires his laser, while PAULA uses psychokinetic ice attacks and PO swipes with his sabre. As they fight, they continue talking. NESS Porky! Didnt you see what happened to Monotoli? PORKY That old man was senile! NESS No! That was Giygas influence that made Monotoli go insane! And the same will happen to you if you keep this up! PORKY Nice try, neighbor, but Im not buyin it! NESS The same thing happened to Carpainter! Porky, Giygas feeds on the evil in people! The more evil people act, the more powerful Giygas becomes! Thats why Giygas is causing people to do things like this! Hes controlling them! PORKY I think not! Im doing this all by myself! Impressive, huh? Master Giygas...no, Giygas...cant control me! By the time Im done, Giygas will be wiped off this planet, and so will everyone who doesnt like me!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

108.

NESS Nobody likes this you! its not the real you!

Because

PORKY hesitates before striking at NESS again. NESS This isnt you. PORKY stops striking at NESS. NESS Look, Im not going to say youre the greatest neighbor ever, Porky. But youre not evil. The Porky I knew would never do this. PORKY The...Porky... NESS Think of Picky. Is this what he thinks you are? Is this how you want him to think of you? PORKY Picky... NESS Is this how you want Tracy to know you? PORKY powers off the walker and climbs out. PORKY No. NESS Then dont do this. Dont let Giygas do this to you. PORKY I wont. PORKY turns to face the big starship. PORKY Ya hear that?! Im Porky Minch, the coolest kid in Onett, and Im not gonna let any stinkin alien tell me what to do!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

109.

NESS Porky, yes! PORKY (hopeful) Do ya really think Tracy will-JEFF Look! A thick black and red fog begins leaking out of the starship. NESS What the... The fog streams quickly out of the ship and engulfs the middle of Saturn Valley as well as the sky. Soon, NESS, PAULA, and PO are completely surrounded from all directions by the swirling red and black. Nothing else can be seen. However, JEFF, PORKY, DR. ANDONUTS, and the MR. SATURNs are thrown backwards by the fog. Heard both inside and outside the swirling fog, a whispering, slightly high-pitched voice can be heard, in a similar trance-like state as CARPAINTER and MONOTOLI. GIYGAS Ness... PAULA Giygas. GIYGAS Ness...Ness...Ness...Ness... NESS What is it you want! GIYGAS Nothing...everything...the world... The swirls of fog slowly begin closing in on the kids. suddenly keels over. GIYGAS (in background while they talk) Im...h...happy...the pain...it...happy...me... PAULA What is it? NESS

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

110.

NESS (pained) I...dont...know... PO Hurry, you must destroy it! NESS slowly gets up. He stares into the fog, takes a deep breath, and walks forward. He reaches out and touches the fog. Behind him, PO keels over. PO (pained) Its...not...working... PO slowly gets up and touches the fog. destroyed. PAULA Its still not working! JEFF hears this outside the fog. JEFF (to self) I was right. We need someone truly innocent. JEFF runs back into the starship to the room with all the people in it. He looks around. Meanwhile, inside the fog, PAULA reaches forward and touches the swirls. Nothing happens. NESS This isnt working! JEFF (voice) Guys! PAULA What?! JEFF stands outside the cloud of swirling fog holding MR. SATURN 1. JEFF Ive got him! NESS Who?! Still, nothing is

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

111.

JEFF Mr. Saturn! PO Pure innocence. PAULA Jeff, no! JEFF Any other suggestions?! PAULA is silent. She looks at NESS.

NESS Go ahead, Jeff! JEFF sets MR. SATURN 1 on the ground. JEFF Are you sure about this? Am kay-o. MR. SATURN 1 Save Saturn Valley. Youll

JEFF You wont be here anymore. be... MR. SATURN 1 This I know. Still do. JEFF Thank you. MR. SATURN 1 Tell Saturn friends...zoom! JEFF Will...will do.

MR. SATURN 1 turns and walks into the fog. NESS, PAULA, and PO from the middle. NESS There he is! PAULA Mr. Saturn! MR. SATURN 1 begins fading out of existance.

He is visible to

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

112.

MR. SATURN 1 Tall friends! PAULA smiles sadly. PAULA Yeah...tall friends. Thank you.

MR. SATURN 1 Friends...you thank. Now Mr. Saturn goes. Yep. PAULA Now...you go...

MR. SATURN 1 Bye...bye...bye... MR. SATURN 1 fades out of existance. dissipate. GIYGAS The pain...happy...end... As GIYGAS lets forth a terrible scream, the fog fades away. Left on the ground where MR. SATURN 1 was is a little red bow. Silence. MR. SATURN 2 approaches the bow, sniffs it, and looks up at JEFF. JEFF (to MR. SATURN 2) He zoomed. EXT.SATURN VALLEY - LATER, MID-AFTERNOON Everyone sits outside. JEFF Well...now that weve saved the world, I think I should be heading back to school. PO Myself as well. study. I still have Mu to The fog begins to

NESS Well guys, its been fun. Next summer we should meet in Foreside for, like, a Lets-Save-The-World convention or something.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

113.

JEFF See ya then. PO See you. NESS Yeah, but seriously, we should all meet up sometime. JEFF Oh, definitely. PO Yeah, I was serious. PAULA hugs JEFF and PO. jealous. Bye guys. JEFF and DR. ANDONUTS grab POs arm, and they teleport away. PAULA I guess I should be heading home as well. NESS Me too. PAULA You live in Onett, right? So were going to almost the same place. NESS Yeah, my house is about ten minutes past Tussone. PAULA Maybe you could come over sometime. NESS I would like that. They laugh a bit. NESS Alright, lets head out. Itll take at least a day to get back to Tussone. NESS looks the slightest bit

PAULA

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

114.

PAULA (to MR. SATURNs) Hey, were gonna leave now. Maybe well see you around sometime. MR. SATURN 2 walks up with MR. SATURN 1s ribbon balanced on his nose. MR. SATURN 2 You take. PAULA reaches down and takes the ribbon. Alright. INT.CAFETERIA TONY approaches JEFF, who is sitting alone at a lunch table. TONY Hey Jeff, youre back! you been? JEFF Um, Ive been busy. TONY sits next to him. TONY Jeff, Im sorry about the other day. I shouldnt have-JEFF Its fine...Tony. Look, I even finished it and made it look like a proper gun. JEFF reaches into his backpack, but as he pulls the laser gun out it spontaneously discharges, burning a hole in the bottom of the backpack. JEFF ...It still needs some work. TONY Its looking a lot better, though! Now Ill actually ask this time. Do you need...want any help fixing it? Where have PAULA I take.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JEFF Well, uh...sure.

115.

I, uh--

TONY Alright. Classroom 37 at five-thirty. Maybe Mr. Maxwell can help too. That okay with you? JEFF (nervous but smiling) Y-yeah, thats great! Cool! TONY See you then.

TONY gets up and starts returning to her friends table. JEFF hesitates, then quickly stands up as well. JEFF Tony? TONY Yeah? JEFF (more confident) Do you guys have an extra spot over there? TONY smiles. TONY Cmon. JEFF smiles and grabs his lunch and backpack. EXT.TUSSONE SUBURB - EVENING NESS and PAULA walk up to PAULAs house. PAULA is wearing MR. SATURN 1s ribbon in her hair. They have a playful conversation. PAULA I enjoyed our walk. NESS Coulda been about twenty-two hours shorter...alright, twenty-one. PAULA So, still gonna come around sometimes, even when were not busy fighting aliens? (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

116.

NESS Didnt we already have this conversation? PAULA Just making sure. NESS Well, Im in huge trouble as it is. Better not keep my mom waiting any longer. PAULA Hey Ness? NESS Yeah? PAULA Remember when I said I could only hear thoughts you wanted me to hear? NESS Yeah... PAULA That wasnt true. NESS turns very red. PAULA Your mind wanders a lot. Im still not sure how to react, so... PAULA delicately kisses her hand, then slaps NESS in the face. NESS (rubbing the spot where he was kiss-slapped) What was that for?! PAULA That was for you. She gives NESS a quick kiss. goes and enters her house. NESS stands stunned as PAULA

117.

EXT.SMALL SUBURB NESS walks by PORKYs house, which now has the mechanical walker parked in the driveway. PORKY and his family are standing in the driveway examining the walker. ALOYSIUS is holding a rolled-up newspaper. ALOYSIUS (to PORKY) Well, you did bring home this new car. I guess you can come back inside. PORKY Im beat. Can I have thirds at dinner tonight? ALOYSIUS Sure, why not. The Minches walk back into their house. ALOYSIUS tosses the newspaper on the ground as he goes back inside. When NESS reaches his house next door, ANA and TRACY run out the door. Ness! TRACY There you are!

ANA Where on Earth have you been?!... NESS, TRACY, and ANA enter the house. star flies through the sky overhead. A bright shooting