"... That Ends Well" by DJ Clawson Additions by Claudia Carranza and Fero McPiglet Final draft - 4/28/02 Edited by Rygar SCENE 1 - TOAD HOMEWORLD A dim laboratory. ENGINEER WILLY DUWITT works on a partially built matter transmuter under a hot lamp light hovering inches above his blond, messy hair. Willy is more disheveled than his usual teenage self; his KOMPLEX uniform is sloppily hanging from his skinny frame, and his long hair resembles a mop. Slumped over his work, his glasses slip down his nose, and he has to push them back up. WILLY Dammit ... Willy is talking to himself; it's clearly late at night, and he is alone. WILLY What am I doing? Willy groans, as if there's a pain in his head. He begins shaking, and he speaks with a desperate, forced tone of voice. WILLY What am I doing? This ... this is wrong ... evil ... must not ... With great difficulty, Willy raises his hand, which contains a wrench. WILLY Have to stop this ... must ... With a grunt, Willy hurls the wrench into the exposed machinery. It explodes, knocking his chair back onto the ground. He is not able to pick himself up before the door slides open and TOADBORG enters. TOADBORG What is going on here? Willy picks himself up. Noticing his hands are shaking, he shoves them behind his back and straightens. WILLY N-nothing ... j-just a minor explosion. I made some mistakes in my calculations. I apologize. TOADBORG (looking at the mess of machinery) Do not fall behind schedule. KOMPLEX expects his projects to meet their deadlines. WILLY Of course, Toadborg. Toadborg grunts and leaves. Willy exhales and looks at his hands. WILLY What's wrong with me? SCENE 2 - TOAD HOMEWORLD The command center is empty aside from KOMPLEX's face on the screen until Toadborg enters. He immediately turns his attention to the monitor, which shows Willy's laboratory by way of camera. Toadborg hits a button on the keyboard, and the monitor rewinds, then shows Willy's destruction of his model, then rewinds and shows it again. There is no audio. TOADBORG It is as we suspected, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX. He is regressing. KOMPLEX He was never completely loyal. Allowing him to keep his memories of his past was our first mistake. As long as he has them, he will always have lingering loyalties to the mammals. TOADBORG But my machine ... KOMPLEX (sighs) Was a perfect conversion of the machine I used on the toad race. Yes. But you worked with an imperfect model. (beat) For years now, I have suspected that no matter how powerful the device is, it eventually wears off. TOADBORG But it's been over a decade! And yet your people have remained loyal to you! KOMPLEX Why do you think I introduced that brain-drain known as Toad TV? What purpose do you think it serves me? Toadborg is dumbfounded by this revelation. TOADBORG But I do not ... KOMPLEX ... watch it. No. But is it not true, Cyrus, that you have yourself obeyed me willingly, as one of my original storm troopers, before I had even conquered this planet? It was always your choice to follow me, before you became a machine. TOADBORG (still trying to put all of this together) DuWitt. He watches ... KOMPLEX But, like all mammals, it has no effect on him. You only converted the brainwashing machine. You didn't convert Toad TV to signals his brain would respond to. (beat) I wished it would not come to this, but we will need to reprogram DuWitt, without the machine. It is faulty. (beat) You know of what I speak. TOADBORG Cravis? KOMPLEX No, it requires more caution than that. I still need the human's mind intact, if completely loyal. I am charging *you* with this delicate task. If Toadborg could gulp, he would. KOMPLEX Proceed immediately. And inform the Air Marshal that if he interferes, he will be disposed of. The human is more important than an incompetent footstool. TOADBORG (for once in his life, hesitantly) Yes, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX. SCENE 3 - LABORATORY Back in the lab, Willy has fallen asleep on the table, his cheek pressed against the keyboard as the monitor types gibberish. Toadborg enters, flanked by two stormtoads. TOADBORG (slamming his metal fist on the table) Wake up! Willy snaps to attention and adjusts his glasses on his face. WILLY I'm up! I'm up! (blinking) Was I asleep? Crap ... uh, it's not finished. Sir. TOADBORG Come with me. Toadborg's voice has an ominous sound that makes Willy swallow apprehensively. SCENE 4 - UAC HEADQUARTERS, GENUS In a conference room of the Security Council Headquarters, DR. LURIE, a wolf, is giving a presentation to CHAIRMAN FRITZ WARNER, VICE CHAIRMAN GRIFF, ENGINEER BUCKY O'HARE, COMMANDER SIRIUS DOGSTAR, and CAPTAIN MIMI LAFLEUR. DR. LURIE ... we do not have the technology to "unzap" Mr. DuWitt, so to speak. The toads, for obvious reasons, have never made that technology public. BUCKY So what's Plan B? DR. LURIE Apprehending him and bringing him to Watership Medical Center for a normal deprogramming procedure. FRITZ If it fails, it will still be better having him here as a captive than on the Toad Homeworld. DR. LURIE For strategic purposes, yes. But it will be rather traumatic for him. MIMI From what I understand, he's already probably pretty traumatized. DR. LURIE Well, I can't make a diagnosis without examining the patient. (beat) There is one thing that may help us. The brainwashing process does not seem to be 100%. Mr. Horst is an example of someone who fought it. FRITZ What about Horst? DR. LURIE I've worked with him, but he still has no explanation as to why his loyalty to KOMPLEX decreased over time. But we're fortunate to have him. BUCKY So we should bring Willy to Genus. This is what I've been advocating all along! Why did it take a shrink to figure that out?! FRITZ Calm down. Even if we wanted to get him out, we still have no feasible plan of infiltrating the home world, much less finding him, then successfully getting him out with no heavy causalities. BUCKY We should at least try! DOGSTAR (beating Mimi to it) Captain O'Hare, the Chairman is right. We're watching toad space, and when we see a window, we'll go through it. But until they provide us with an in, we have none. A mission would be suicide. Bucky looks as if he's going to say something but holds it in this time, saying nothing as he storms out of the office. FRITZ Well, that went well. SCENE 5 - ISOLATION CHAMBER, TOAD HOMEWORLD Willy is strapped to a chair. Several wires are connected to various key points on his body, but most of them converge on the tight metal band encircling his head. His glasses have fallen off, and intense bright lights nearly blind him as he struggles to keep still. Despite the heat from the lights, Willy still feels a cold shiver run down his spine as Toadborg observes him, waiting for an answer. WILLY No! No! I'm loyal to KOMPLEX! Please! I swear it! TOADBORG (changing the direction of the conversation) How do you feel about Captain O'Hare? WILLY (reluctantly) Um, he's the enemy? TOADBORG Then why did you not destroy him and his crew when you had a chance? WILLY I don't know. Because I couldn't *kill* anyone. TOADBORG What if KOMPLEX made it a direct order? Would you do it then? WILLY ... I think so. But I'm not a soldier. I don't even know how to fire a blaster. TOADBORG Being a soldier has nothing to do with it. Before KOMPLEX was here, the toad race was nothing but peons. Now they are an army thousands strong. (beat) No, I think somewhere in your heart, you are still loyal to the mammals. WILLY It's not true! TOADBORG That is your conscious response, yes. But you cannot hide your mind from the Toad Empire! Toadborg hits the controls, and the wires around the headband light up as Willy is shocked by electricity. He cries out briefly as the volt surge ends, and he drops his head over his chest, taking a minute before lifting it again. TOADBORG Tell me ... Willy opens his eyes cautiously as his vision remains a blur. TOADBORG What do you think about Jenny? WILLY Jenny? ... TOADBORG She was your master, was she not? Various memories shine across Willy's mind, memories Toadborg cannot see. There is his first few minutes in the aniverse, when she kissed him on the cheek for choosing to stand by their side. There are several flashes of training exercises, of long meditations and toying with quark demons. They flash faster across his mind until coming to their last communication on the toad base. JENNY (in memory) The image dissolves, and Willy is still facing Toadborg, with KOMPLEX as a giant backdrop. WILLY Yes. She was. TOADBORG She means something to you? Willy wonders how he's supposed to answer that question. WILLY My loyalty is to KOMPLEX. TOADBORG Do you ever look back on your time with her fondly? WILLY (has a feeling lying would be worse than telling the truth) Um ... yes? But ... it was a long time ago. It doesn't matter. TOADBORG Memory always matters, DuWitt. Memory keeps us loyal to those we should destroy. WILLY I can't ... I can't *forget* about my life. TOADBORG Even with a direct order? From KOMPLEX? WILLY No ... (sees where he's going with this) I mean, yes! Yes, I could! Anything for KOMPLEX! KOMPLEX, who has been silent for quiet a long time, speaks up, his voice booming around the small room. KOMPLEX Engineer DuWitt, I *order* you to forget your past with the mammals. You will go on as if you have always served KOMPLEX. Do this, and I will believe you are loyal. WILLY (hesitantly) I can *try*. I mean, it's a pretty tall order ... Toadborg gingerly pushes the button again, sending another shockwave through Willy's prone form. WILLY Augh! TOADBORG You will say it. Say you have always worked for KOMPLEX! WILLY (forced through a sea of pain) No! Please! Don't make me do this! TOADBORG Say it! Toadborg pushes harder, and another wave hits Willy. His cry echoes on. SCENE 6 - JENNY'S APARTMENT, GENUS FIRST MATE JENNY is meditating in her Spartan apartment on Genus. Her eyes open abruptly, as if sensing something. JENNY Willy ... Jenny immediately stands and rushes to her vid-link, switching it on and dialing it up. JENNY I have to speak with Chairman Warner. Now! SCENE 7 - ISOLATION CHAMBER, TOAD HOMEWORLD Back on the Toad Homeworld, the scene has not changed for Willy. Toadborg holds back on the shock button long enough to allow Willy to answer. TOADBORG Say it! Toadborg leaves his giant metal claw in easy reach of the button, so Willy can clearly see it. WILLY I can't ... I just can't ... Jenny ... Captain ... my parents ... Christ, do I have to forget my parents? TOADBORG KOMPLEX is your mother and your father, as he is for me and every member of the toad race! Do you not understand?! Just as a reminder, Toadborg gives Willy another shock, the electric current racing up and down his human form. WILLY (hoarsely) I understand ... just stop ... please ... TOADBORG Then say it! You have always worked for KOMPLEX! WILLY (weakly) I ... have ... always ... worked ... for KOMPLEX ... Another flash appears in Willy's memory, this one of him pleading for his life as Toadborg prepared the machine that would alter his mind. TOADBORG You have always hated the mammals. Say it. Yet another flash -- a kaleidoscope of all of the people who have colored his life -- comes. Bucky, Jenny, Deadeye, Blinky, Bruiser, both his parents, Mimi, Ramsay MacLeod, Dogstar, Fritz -- they all slide together, moving and blurring together in perfect order. Willy opens his bloodshot eyes but is afraid to raise them to Toadborg or KOMPLEX. Tears of pain slide down his cheeks. But despite the hovering metallic finger of Toadborg and its connection to the electric juice that is sapping his life force, he can't bring himself to say it. TOADBORG DuWitt ... Willy bites his lip but says nothing. Toadborg rewards him with another shock. But Willy surprises them both by responding only by losing consciousness. SCENE 8 - UAC HEADQUARTERS, GENUS Dogstar is rushing through the corridors of the UAC Headquarters. He rounds a corner and nearly bumps into another person. MIMI Watch it! Oh, Dogstar, it's you. You heard, too? DOGSTAR I got the message, yes. Jenny's supposedly made contact with Willy? MIMI (going toward the Chairman's office) Something like that. In any case, we have to go check. How's the arm and leg, by the way? DOGSTAR (flexing his arm as he keeps up with Mimi) Still pretty tender, but the special bio-casts the doctors made are doing their work. I may not be in top condition, but at least I can remain in active duty. MIMI (opens the door to the Chairman's office) We're here. Mimi and Dogstar enter to find Bucky and Jenny confronting Chairman Fritz. Jenny is particularly agitated. JENNY It's Willy -- please. He's dying. FRITZ The toads wouldn't kill Willy. He's their greatest resource. JENNY No. They're killing his spirit. The part of Willy that made him Willy is dying. That was all he could get across to me before I lost the link. MIMI (stepping forward) Can you get it back? JENNY (noticing Mimi and Dogstar for the first time) No, he's unconscious. And he's been rejecting communications since he was first brainwashed. I think it was his subconscious reaching out to me. (beat, shakes it off) Please, we have to help him. Now. FRITZ I can't permit this. We've been through this. I can't order the fleet to go on a suicide mission. I could be impeached for something like that. BUCKY We don't need your frelling orders! To no one's surprise, Bucky storms out, and Jenny hesitates only a moment before following. MIMI Fritz ... Fritz shrugs nonchalantly. FRITZ Don't look at me for direction. I'm just a politician. Mimi and Dogstar glance at each other before chasing Bucky and Jenny out of the room. Fritz doesn't follow. They finally get caught up with the couple, who are walking determinedly out. MIMI What's the plan? DOGSTAR Yes, something tells us you've had your mind on the attack plan for some time, Captain O'Hare. Bucky has a look of rigid determination on his face. He begins to roll off the battle plan with cool passion, not even looking at them, just straight ahead. BUCKY If we want to get near the Toad Homeworld, we have to take out one of the guard post satellites. The nearest and easiest one to take out is in Sector Six, right beyond the asteroid field. From there, your ships will create a diversion so that the Righteous can dive in. The Croaker would be shot down, but the Righteous has decent shields. It can get us to the surface intact. MIMI But even if you make it to the surface with your crew intact, the Righteous would surely be destroyed while you're searching the planet for Willy! BUCKY Bingo. That's why you guys need to have your ships ready to pick us up. MIMI Bucky, it's your ship. BUCKY I know. But Willy is more than the ship will ever be. (almost flippantly) And besides, when he's back, he'll have a ball designing a new one. DOGSTAR How will you find him when you're on the surface? In case you've forgotten, the Toad Homeworld is a ... BUCKY - factory, seven layers deep. I know. But that's where Jenny comes in. JENNY (completely in sync with him) I can trace Willy with a spell. If we sweep the planet in two areas, I can triangulate the location and depth of Willy's hiding place. It's a little tricky, but I'm fairly sure it will work. MIMI You've really thought this out, haven't you? BUCKY Let's just say I don't sit on my paws while my engineer is a toad captive. SCENE 9 - REC ROOM, TOAD HOMEWORLD CRAVIS wanders into the recreation room with an empty glass in hand. He heads straight for the bar and refills his drink. He is just about to leave when he hears a dejected sigh coming from the couch. The furniture was facing away from him, so Cravis walks over and sees a miserable-looking AIR MARSHAL staring at the blank television screen in front of him. The space beside the Air Marshal is noticeably empty. The Air Marshal sighs again. CRAVIS (leans over) Hey Marshal, why so glum? Your show's about to go on hiatus or something? Don't worry. It'll be back next season. AIR MARSHAL (gestures at the void on the couch beside him) Willy ... CRAVIS Ah. (sips his drink) Yeah, I know. Missed my big chance. AIR MARSHAL What? CRAVIS You know, to sink my teeth into that pound of mammal. I've practically been petitioning Toadborg from day one to let me break him in, but Toadborg's all high-and-mighty: "KOMPLEX gave *me* the orders to do it." AIR MARSHAL (alarmed) Wait -- what orders? CRAVIS Reprogramming. Seems the little shit's not a model of loyalty after all. And Toadborg thought his machine was so perfect ... AIR MARSHAL (cursing) Where is he? CRAVIS Who? Toadborg? The Air Marshal grabs Cravis by his uniform's collar. AIR MARSHAL No! Willy! *Where*. *Is*. *He*?! CRAVIS Mighty KOMPLEX, don't have a fit. He's in an isolation chamber beneath central command. You know, the ones we use for traitors? Cravis is abruptly dropped by the Air Marshal, and he returns to his drink. But by the time he has lifted the glass to his mouth, the Air Marshal is gone. SCENE 10 - ISOLATION CHAMBER, TOAD HOMEWORLD The lights are dimmed but not out as Willy uneasily hovers in the gray area between unconsciousness and sleeping, still strapped to his chair, his head fallen to the side. He does not stir when the Air Marshal storms in and gasps. Checking first to make sure the KOMPLEX monitors are indeed just showing static, he carefully lifts the wired headband off Willy's head and replaces his fallen glasses over his eyes. It is only then that Willy begins to stir, opening one bloodshot eye but saying nothing. AIR MARSHAL Are you all right? Willy is either too tired or unwilling to answer. He gives no indication that he will respond, even though he does acknowledge the Air Marshal's presence. AIR MARSHAL Mighty KOMPLEX, what have they done to you? WILLY (finally croaks out) Tired. No more questions. Loyal. AIR MARSHAL I'm sure you are. WILLY (starts closing his eyes) Want to sleep. Don't want to wake up. AIR MARSHAL (starts fumbling with the straps on the chair) I ... I think I'd better get you out of ... TOADBORG Air Marshal! What are you doing here? The Air Marshal turns and sees Toadborg striding into the room. Willy also sees the huge toad cyborg and whimpers. The Air Marshal starts to stammer. AIR MARSHAL I ... I just wandered into the room. I must have made a wrong turn. I ... Toadborg shovs the Air Marshal aside and sending him tumbling to the floor. TOADBORG Spare me your excuses! Just get out! The Air Marshal slowly gets up, turns, and walks slowly toward the door. He feels Willy's eyes burning in the back of his head. The Air Marshal spares him a backward glance as he leaves the room. TOADBORG Now, let's continue where we left off ... Toadborg presses the shock button. Willy's vacant stare shifts into a grimace of pain as the electricity courses through his body again. The charge stops, and Willy is left trying to catch his breathe. WILLY Enough. Loyal. Please ... TOADBORG But what about Captain O'Hare? WILLY What ... about him? TOADBORG How do you feel about him? WILLY He's the enemy. TOADBORG DO you hate him? WILLY Don't know. Confused. Toadborg gives him a mild shock that wracks his body. TOADBORG I repeat the question. Do you hate him? WILLY Yes. Just stop. No more. TOADBORG Say it! WILLY (mechanically) I. Hate. Captain. O'Hare. TOADBORG You have always hated him. Willy struggles with this; Toadborg is quick with his response. This time around, it takes Willy considerably longer to recover from the electrical currents coursing through his body. TOADBORG DuWitt. WILLY I have always hated him. TOADBORG And the Aldebaran witch? WILLY Jenny? TOADBORG Yes. WILLY (tonelessly) I hate her. Toadborg grunts and leans over until his visor is inches away from Willy's face. Willy closes his eyes and turns away. TOADBORG Before we're through, I'm going to make you mean it. Willy opens his eyes, which are filled with fear. TOADBORG We're going to stay here until you hate all mammals, from the bottom of your heart. WILLY But I don't ... *hate* anyone. TOADBORG You will. KOMPLEX requires it. (beat) We will begin again. Willy shudders under his constraints. SCENE 11 - SPACE The three UAC frigates are on their way to the Toad Homeworld. Jenny is piloting The Righteous Indignation when she is struck by an intense emotion of fear. She quickly stands up, as she's afraid to be caught sitting down, and walks to the wall, holding the jewel on her head. Bucky immediately turns on the autopilot and approaches her. He holds her until she stops shivering. BUCKY What is it? Was it Willy? JENNY Yes. And no. BUCKY What do you mean? Have you been able to reach Willy or not? JENNY Not really. What I get when I reach out to him is confusion, exhaustion and fear. No formed words. Just emotions. BUCKY Well, we're almost at the toad guard post. Maybe you'll get a stronger feel of Willy there. (leading Jenny back to the pilot's chair) We're going to get him back. JENNY I know. (thinks) SCENE 12 - ISOLATION CHAMBER, TOAD HOMEWORLD Toadborg continues to reprogram Willy. The cyborg is so bent on his work that he fails to notice that the KOMPLEX monitor behind him has quietly turned on. TOADBORG (hits the button as he speaks) Who is your father? WILLY (through a sea of pain) KOMPLEX. TOADBORG And your mother? WILLY KOMPLEX! KOMPLEX! Toadborg finally takes his finger off of it, giving Willy a chance to recover. KOMPLEX, who has been silent, finally speaks. KOMPLEX Enough. If Toadborg was caught by surprise, he doesn't show it. TOADBORG The job is not complete. I wish to be more thorough. KOMPLEX It is complete enough. I want his spirit broken, not his mind. He will finish the transmuter. TOADBORG Now? KOMPLEX No. Let him rest. If he sleeps, he will forget what we've done here, as if it were a bad dream. But he will be loyal. Whether Willy has heard or processed any of KOMPLEX's speech is unclear. His head is dropped on his chest and he barely acknowledges two toad guards coming forward to remove his electric headband and free him from the straps. SCENE 13 - WILLY'S ROOM, TOAD HOMEWORLD Willy is asleep on his undersized bed, his feet hanging over the edge. The Air Marshal is sitting in the chair by the bed, patiently waiting for Willy to stir. His vigilance is rewarded when Willy wakes up with a groan. WILLY (propping himself up on his elbows) Hey. AIR MARSHAL Hey. WILLY How long have I been asleep? AIR MARSHAL Twelve hours. WILLY Christ. Is Toadborg pissed? AIR MARSHAL He seems OK. How are you? WILLY Waking up. Why do you ask? AIR MARSHAL (stammers) Ah, well, you know ... Briefly, Willy gets a flash of memory of the torture. With it comes an instinctual pain, and he briefly clutches his head. AIR MARSHAL Are you OK? WILLY Yeah. Just ... I don't want to think about it. (sits up) What's goin' on? AIR MARSHAL Well, when you're ready, KOMPLEX would like you to resume work on the transmuter. WILLY KOMPLEX said that? (getting up unsteadily) Fine. I'll go back to the lab right now. AIR MARSHAL (tries to push Willy down) Y'know, you don't have to start work at once. You can go back to sleep if you want. WILLY (tonelessly) No. I must ... do the will of KOMPLEX. Willy said the words as if on automatic. The Air Marshal gives the boy a worried look but no longer tries to stop him. He just watches as Willy wearily puts on his lab coat and stumbles out of the room. SCENE 14 - ASTEROID FIELD NEAR TOAD GUARD POST The mammals have reached the asteroid field by the toad guard post. They station the frigates behind the moving debris and use a cloaking device for good measure. A small team in space suits, led by Bucky, uses smaller asteroids to disguise their approach toward the toad station. Bucky reaches it first. BUCKY Stay on your toes, everybody. Blinky, are you close enough to do a bio scan? BLINKY (eyes glowing as he scans the compound) Affirmative. DOGSTAR Well, how many storm toads are stationed in this post? BLINKY Fifty. MIMI Swell. BLINKY But all toad bio signatures are inactive. It is as if ... DOGSTAR (cutting off Blinky as he points) Look! The entrance to the compound has been torn open. Realizing that something is wrong, Bucky and the rest enter the station. They remove their helmets after they leave the airlock. Bucky draws his maser and cautiously steps into the inner level. BUCKY What the ... Bucky keeps his blaster high as he scopes out the parameter. The hallway is littered with toad bodies and hit with blaster fire, and the walls are singed as well. The portal to the control room, which was clearly sealed shut for safety, has been violated, and there is a gaping, well-cut hole in it, big enough for almost anyone to fit through. Bucky cautiously steps through it, followed by Mimi and Dogstar, then the remaining fighters. The control room has the same scene -- toad bodies lying stunned or dead from blaster fire. Bucky points his gun upward and checks the control panel; the defenses have been deactivated. DOGSTAR Looks like someone got here before we did. (glancing at the new doorway) Cut through the entrance to do it -- six inches of solid titanium. BUCKY Only a lightsaber could do that. (beat, turning around to face Dogstar) Are there any other scents here? Other than us and toads? DOGSTAR (takes a good, long sniff) Yes. One. Well-disguised by a scent masker, though. (takes another one) Not well enough. MIMI (instinctively) Fritz. BUCKY That hypocrite. MIMI Well, you're hard to please, aren't you? BUCKY Just tired of his games. Jenny steps through the portal. JENNY What games? BUCKY Nothing. (with resolve) Let's move on. Get Blinky to download the toad security clearance so the Righteous can slip by the outer perimeter while ... MIMI (finishing) ... while Dogstar and I create the obvious diversion. Yes, we know the plan. I just hope you know what you're putting on the line when your frigate breaches the inner defense systems. Bucky just nods grimly. SCENE 15 - TOAD HOMEWORLD Toadborg is sitting down at the surveillance monitors when the Air Marshal walks into the room. AIR MARSHAL Toadborg? TOADBORG What do you want? AIR MARSHAL (shifts on his feet) Look, I know what you're doing to Willy. You're keeping him on the side of the toads. That's good. But could you at least go easy on him? You might ... I mean, overworked as he is, his body may not, um ... well, it's possible that you might, uh, accidentally ... TOADBORG What? That I might kill him? The Air Marshal is silent as he looks down on the floor. Toadborg's sensors narrow. TOADBORG You've formed an unhealthy attachment to the boy. Pathetic. Well, you need not worry about his health. Not as long as he is completely loyal to KOMPLEX. AIR MARSHAL What do you mean? Alarms suddenly blare. Toadborg turn to the monitors as they begin to show various shots of two mammal frigates racing about in toad airspace. Fleets of double bubbles and toad motherships stationed to guard the Toad Homeworld are already engaging the invaders. TOADBORG The Indefatigable and The Screaming Mimi. Interesting. But where is The Righteous Indignation? Toadborg uses the computer's radar array to scan the inner perimeter of the Toad Homeworld. He immediately zeroes in on a ship that registers with toad clearance but doesn't fit the size of a double bubble. TOADBORG There we go ... Toadborg is about to alert the toad armada when the screen turns to static and is replaced by KOMPLEX's visage. AIR MARSHAL Oh Mighty KOMPLEX! We are under attack! KOMPLEX I know that, you fool. TOADBORG Oh Mighty KOMPLEX, Captain O'Hare and his crew are trying to sneak into the surface, no doubt to rescue their former comrade. Grant me permission to personally dispatch their accursed frigate and all those inside it. KOMPLEX No, Toadborg. That honor falls to the Air Marshal. AIR MARSHAL (surprised) What? *Me*? KOMPLEX Yes. The other two frigates are of no consequence at the moment, but The Righteous Indignation is another matter. You are in charge of repelling that particular frigate. AIR MARSHAL But why? KOMPLEX You abandoned me in the Toadstar debacle. This will be your chance to redeem yourself. Serve your master well in this endeavor. Or else. AIR MARSHAL (shudders) Yes, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX! The Air Marshal runs out of the room. Toadborg turns to KOMPLEX. TOADBORG Oh Mighty KOMPLEX! How could you give such an important assignment to *him*? He will surely botch it up! KOMPLEX I am aware of that. That element and other contingencies have been factored into my theoretical scenarios. And we will use them to test DuWitt's loyalty to me. SCENE 16 - INNER TOAD AIRSPACE The Righteous Indignation is screaming in to attack. As the scene pans around, they are up against horrible odds: one toad mothership, its full compliment of frigates, and its double bubbles. JENNY (slightly worried) This is too much. We're seriously outnumbered. I'm just as worried about Willy as you are, but we should wait for reinforcements. BUCKY (shakes his head) Dogstar and Mimi have already drawn away most of the toad armada to the other side of the home world. We have to overcome this on our own. Get us in there. JENNY Aye, Captain. SCENE 17 - WILLY'S LABORATORY Willy is feverishly working at his table. He heard the alarms but chose to ignore them. What he couldn't quite let go was hearing the door slide open. WILLY (looking up from his work) Hello? Toadborg steps into the room. Willy involuntarily shudders, but he isn't sure why. He stands and salutes. TOADBORG At ease. Willy immediately turns back to his prototype. WILLY It's not finished. It's very, very close -- I promise. TOADBORG KOMPLEX does not appreciate the delay. WILLY I know, OK? But that's not going to get it done any faster. TOADBORG (hesitates before speaking) Bucky O'Hare is on his way. He is here to "rescue" you. Willy briefly stops what he is doing, then resumes it. WILLY I don't need rescuing. TOADBORG He needs to be made to understand that. WILLY (tonelessly) Do what you have to do. TOADBORG Your assistance may be required. This gives Willy pause. WILLY I don't see how. But OK, I'll do anything for KOMPLEX. TOADBORG Good. SCENE 18 - TOAD AIRSPACE The Righteous Indignation zips into the fray, GUNNER DEADEYE DUCK sending the maser blasts blaring. The planet's inner defense fleet flies out to engage. The toads aren't holding back this time. They know they outnumber and outgun the Righteous, but with the crew's track record, intimidation helps our heroes more than they know. Inside the toad mothership, the Air Marshal sits at his command module. AIR MARSHAL Squads One through Five, deploy. Frigates Three and Four split off to flank. Squads Six through Ten, stand by. All around him, the toads scurry about in organized chaos. Outside the massive ship, five squads of ten double bubbles fly out to meet the lone Righteous. On the Righteous' command deck, Bucky reads the ship's sensors. BUCKY Fifty bubbles, straight on. Two frigates taking flank. (over comm) Brace yourselves. Bruiser, man the secondary cannon. Blinky, report to the Upper Bay. Jenny pulls the ship into a tight spiral, flying straight toward the bubbles. She pulls out, buzzing two of the toad ships, frightening them. AFC BLINKY pulls himself up into the ship's upper bay. BLINKY (saluting) Android First Class Blinky, reporting as ordered, Captain. How can ... BUCKY (stands quickly) Sit. Run shields and sensors for Jenny. BLINKY (without looking up) Where are you going? BUCKY (moving to the ladder) You're dropping me off on the planet. (turns to Jenny, gesturing with the datapad in his paw) Are you sure these coordinates are where Willy is being held? It was a pretty quick sweep we did. JENNY I'm positive. BUCKY (going down the ladder) All right. JENNY Buck? BUCKY Yes? JENNY Good luck. BUCKY (before he disappears down the ladder) Same to you. SCENE 19 - THE TOAD HOMEWORLD The Righteous buzzes as low into the atmosphere as it dares, causing several of the not-so-expert pilots to bounce straight into the clouds and burn up. Bucky, dressed in light infantry armor, oxygen tank, and parachute, jumps and dives. It's actually pretty peaceful, almost picturesque, in a way, contrasting harshly against the intense battle scenes above. Several minutes into the fall, as the ground looms closer and closer, Bucky opens the chute, slowing his decent. A few seconds later, he cuts the parachute, only to open another, smaller one. This drops his descent also and gives him the ability to maneuver toward a metal ledge. As he makes contact, he cuts the chute and rolls into a ball. His momentum stopped, he stands and drops the backpack, pulling out a datapad. He reads the information that Jenny gave him, then breaks into a fast jog. Bucky hikes up toward a tower and peeks over the edge. The wall of the main toad base rises high over his head. He watches the guards make their rounds. Slinking off to the side, he waits for the guards to pass, then leaps to the top of the wall, immediately bouncing down behind an airshaft. He looks up and counts the guards' rotation again. In a free moment, he quickly cuts a hole in the shaft and turns to drop in. As he disappears into the hole, he fails to notice a toad on the other side of the building reporting in. Inside the ventilation system, Bucky pulls out his datapad again. He reads a bit more, then puts it away, hurrying through the maze-like tunnels. At a dead end, he rips up the grating and drops down into an empty hallway. BUCKY (thinking) Bucky turns as he hears the sound of toad troops heading his direction. Thinking quickly, he runs down a hall. He pulls out his datapad and grumbles. He turns a corner, thinking to shoot a hole in the ventilation system and then hide in a corner, making them think he'd gone back to the tunnels. Just as he reaches to pull his blaster, he looks up to see ten toad troops leveling rifles at him. BUCKY (thinking) Bucky's forced to fight. He does rather well, considering the odds he's up against, and he makes it through the ten guards in front of him. But by this time, the fifteen he'd just left behind have caught up, and he is now on the losing side of this battle, as fifteen more have arrived to reinforce the troops he took down. With a harsh curse, Bucky charges a doorway, landing feet first. It gives slightly, but not enough, and Bucky is dropped to the floor. He rolls up and presses his back to the door, tensed and waiting. His blaster is leveled to drop anyone who appears in the doorway in front of him, when the unexpected happens. The door behind him slides open quickly. Unprepared, Bucky stumbles backward. He trips over the downward steps and lands, falling flat on his back. He moves to roll to his feet, when from further in this room, ten blaster shots ring out. Remarkably, he dodges two of them. The others land squarely on their target. He staggers, giving the toads behind him who charged through the doorway after him the chance to tackle him. His blaster is wrenched from his paws, and it's all downhill from there. SCENE 20 - KOMPLEX'S MAIN VIDEO ROOM Willy enters KOMPLEX's main room. He's only been here a few times, and he's never felt comfortable with the huge screen projecting KOMPLEX dwarfing everybody else in the room. WILLY What is it? TOADBORG Ah, DuWitt ... KOMPLEX appears on the screen. KOMPLEX Where is the transmuter? WILLY I-it's not finished. I-I'm sorry, sir. I just ... KOMPLEX Silence! (narrows his eyes) I sense disobedience in you, mammal. Your loyalty is faltering. WILLY No! No, it's not ... I am your most loyal servant ... KOMPLEX We shall see. (to Toadborg) Send in the prisoner. The door opens and two toads enter, dragging in a handcuffed Bucky. BUCKY Willy! Willy hides his shock and tries his best to ignore Bucky's presence. He turns back to KOMPLEX, his back to his former captain. KOMPLEX Are you ready to prove your loyalty to me? WILLY (somewhat firmly) Yes. Toadborg hands Willy a toad blaster with only one setting: kill. Willy looks at KOMPLEX. KOMPLEX Destroy him. SCENE 21 - SPACE BATTLE True to her piloting skills, Jenny, so far, has managed to outfly the bulk of the toad armada. Sadly, the ship doesn't have the systems for an extensive battle, and internal lighting is the first to go. DEADEYE (over comm) That cannae be good, lass! JENNY (over comm) I can't spare Blinky to take a look! Bruiser, do you think you can? BRUISER (over comm) Nothin' looks blowed up. JENNY (sighing softly) "Blowed up." Just what I needed to hear. On the toad mothership, a toad CREW MEMBER turns from his console to look at the Air Marshal. CREW MEMBER Air Marshal, sensors indicate a system failure on the Righteous. AIR MARSHAL (seems utterly shocked) There's a what? (comm, to toads) She's stumbling! Double your attack efforts. Deploy Squads Six to Ten. *Attack*! On the Righteous, Blinky does a sensor probe and reports his findings. BLINKY Sensors indicate twenty-five more double bubbles headed our way, First Mate ... JENNY We can't handle that many. Blinky, set the computer on shields and sensors. Get down to engineering and give me a status report. Blinky salutes and makes his way down to the lower bay. JENNY (to Deadeye) Switch your fire pattern to Rapid Spray Six. We need to give Blinky the time to check our systems. He may have to reroute things. The ship rocks as several toad masers score direct hits. On the toad mothership, every officer holds his breath as a wave of double bubbles streak toward the slightly smoldering mammalian frigate. Jenny's piloting skills are incredible, but without their main shield man and tactician, it's a losing battle. A roar of happiness goes up from the toads as the Righteous' main shield generator goes and a huge explosion sends the ship rocketing close to the Toad Homeworld. The mammals continue fighting, Deadeye still dropping toad ships. Without their shields, the toad weapons are now even more deadly, and the weapons system is the next to go. DEADEYE That's it, lass. No guns, no engines, no power. No hope. JENNY Blinky? Is there anything salvageable? There has to be something left. BLINKY Negative. Humble robot regretfully offers his apologies. BRUISER Jenny? What happens now? JENNY (strangely calm) We prepare ourselves. This is it. A few seconds after that, the first frigate of the United Animal Coalition goes dark, and an explosion ripples through her. Then, there's nothing left of The Righteous Indignation except smoldering debris. AIR MARSHAL I don't believe it. The Air Marshal turns on the comm unit with a shaky hand and speaks in a shakier voice. AIR MARSHAL Air Marshal to Toadborg. We have destroyed the Righteous. Repeat. We have destroyed The Righteous Indignation. SCENE 22 - KOMPLEX'S MAIN VIDEO ROOM Willy is paralyzed by the order. His hand grasps the blaster unsteadily. WILLY (shocked) *What*? TOADBORG Destroy him, DuWitt. That is an order. WILLY B-but ... KOMPLEX Are you questioning my authority, mammal? WILLY N-no ... I just ... I don't want to *kill* anyone ... KOMPLEX He is a filthy rodent, and he must be destroyed. TOADBORG Do it. Willy begins shaking. He glances briefly at Bucky. WILLY (softly) No. KOMPLEX What? What did you say? WILLY No. I won't do it. BUCKY Go, Willy! You can fight this! WILLY (furious, to Bucky) Stop it! KOMPLEX Mammal, I *order* you ... WILLY Shut up! Willy drops his blaster and puts his hands over his ears. He is near tears. WILLY Shut up shut up shut up! I can't take any more orders! (mainly to himself) I want to be alone ... KOMPLEX (to Toadborg) This mammal is useless. You have failed to bring him to heel. Destroy him. TOADBORG Of course, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX. Without a moment's hesitation, Toadborg strikes out at the human with the intention of grabbing him by the neck and choking him. Willy has his eyes shut tightly in a desperate attempt to block the world out and seems to see none of this. But before Toadborg's metal claws sear into his flesh, Willy leans back, leaving a trail of reflections of himself, and dissolves into apparent nothingness. Everyone in the room is momentarily too shocked to respond to his sudden disappearance. SCENE 23 Every step away from the situation, leading him deeper into a dark nothingness, populated only by balls of white light that resemble quark demons, is like a mile to Willy, tearing at his being. It takes what is left of his willpower to continue onward, though he does not know where he is going. The balls of light, which are of varying sizes, some bigger than himself, surround him, not in his path but around it, some interacting with his presence, some not. Despite all of his confusion, he quickly feels lost, in a way he has never felt so before. There is no up, no down, no left or right, only forward at first, then forward dissipates, and his mind is unable to guide him any further. A gentle presence reaches out to him, not on a physical plane or even through mental telepathy like the Aldebarans, but on a spiritual level, communicating with every fiber of his being. Listening to the voice, calming and inviting but something he has no choice but to do, is threatening to his understanding of himself, like an invasion of his privacy. PRESENCE Not surprisingly, Willy is able to speak back through the same channel. WILLY PRESENCE WILLY PRESENCE WILLY PRESENCE Willy thinks about it as much as possible. It is peaceful here, but also digging into his soul, dissolving who he is by osmosis. WILLY PRESENCE WILLY PRESENCE Willy has no proper answer to this. Instead, he begins to call up his memory, but it's like trying to start an old car on a winter morning -- sluggish, sleepy. Various names come up -- The Air Marshal, Bucky, Jenny, KOMPLEX -- but they are dissolving images, like a picture undeveloping, and hard to see clearly. Diving deeper into himself, he hits upon the biological connection -- to his parents, Susan and David DuWitt. Their faces are unclear, but their presences are not. He can sense them. WILLY Willy gets direction but instantly knows he cannot make the journey. WILLY PRESENCE It's getting harder and harder to get the old car of his mind started. Images come up -- Bucky, Jenny -- but attached to them are pain, the pain Toadborg instilled in his mind when he tortured him. Deadeye, Blinky, Bruiser -- all familiar, all inviting, all loaded with emotional baggage of electric shocks. Mammals -- evil -- pain -- all of these words were drawn into heavy association by a masochistic cyborg. KOMPLEX ... he served KOMPLEX. Always? Real memories and implanted ones are beginning to blur together, at least in this place. There is no one. He is meant to be alone. Except ... WILLY The path appears before him, as if it had always been there and he had not noticed it. There is no physical change to his surroundings -- the path worked only on an instinctual level. Walking it, not a physical action as much as a spiritual one, seems like the hardest thing he has ever done in his life. Is there a light at the end of his tunnel? What is that light, then? Not the creatures of the plane. No, it is the harsh fluoresce of a room, a physical room, a control room with a lot of painful lights and monitors. Too bright, too many lights ... SCENE 24 - COMMAND ROOM, TOAD HOMEWORLD The Air Marshal scratches his head and rushes to check the vitals of the human who has just appeared on the floor of the command center. He orders a medical team to the room immediately and yells at the rest of the staff to leave them, to give Willy some air. They follow his orders without question -- he *is* the Air Marshal. AIR MARSHAL Willy ... Willy's face is pale and drawn, his breathing uneasy but steady. There is nothing apparently wrong with him, other than the fact that after a brief fluttering of his eyes, he falls into a deep sleep from which the Air Marshal is unable to rouse him. SCENE 25 - HALLS OF THE TOAD HOMEWORLD In a hallway, Deadeye is scoping things out as Bruiser finishes off the last of a pile of stormtoads when his comm-link clicks on. Deadeye presses his wing against his headphones to answer it. JENNY (over comm) Deadeye? DEADEYE Read ya loud and clear, lassie. What's up? JENNY Something weird just happened. My sensors indicate Willy was with Bucky, and ... well, now he's somewhere else. DEADEYE So he's on the move. Tha's not a shocker. He's got long legs. JENNY No, I mean he just disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the complex ... (sighs in a frustrated manner) Anyway, sensors indicate he's near you. I'll try to get in contact with Bucky, but you and Bruiser should go after Willy. According to the blueprints, you should make a left at the next intersection and go on to the end. It's one of the troop command centers. If you meet with resistance, deal with it. DEADEYE Aye-aye, lass. Deadeye indicates that Bruiser should follow, and they sprint through the hallway, finally reaching a sealed down. Deadeye backs away as Bruiser kicks it in, leading to the control room, where the Air Marshal is slumped over an unconscious Willy. He sees the baboon and cowers, but does not leave Willy's side. Deadeye walks up to him and puts his blaster in the toad's fat face. DEADEYE If ye touched our buddy Willy ... AIR MARSHAL Of course not! Just don't hurt me! Keeping an eye on the toad, Deadeye checks Willy's vitals. DEADEYE I'm no doctor, but he's alive. AIR MARSHAL He just ... appeared ... it must be some freaky Aldebaran thing ... BRUISER I should smush ya, ya stinkin' toad! Ya blew up our frigate! If Jenny hadn't'a done her thing an' covered us in a magic bubble, we'd'a ... AIR MARSHAL (putting his arms up feebly) Look, just take him and go. DEADEYE Aye, let's get outta here ... Deadeye motions to Bruiser, who picks Willy up, cradling him as if he were a small child, even though Willy is much larger than him, at least by height. AIR MARSHAL (under strain to actually be able to say this) He'll be better off with you ... The Air Marshal's passionate plea, so contrary to his KOMPLEX programming, goes unnoticed by Deadeye or Bruiser, who carry Willy out. SCENE 26 - KOMPLEX'S MAIN VIDEO ROOM Meanwhile, back in the main control room, Bucky, Toadborg, and KOMPLEX are still recovering from Willy's sudden disappearance. TOADBORG Aldebaran witchcraft ... KOMPLEX (more than slightly flummoxed) I don't care what it takes! Find the insolent mammal, or I'll have what's left of your toad hide on a stake! KOMPLEX's screen flips off in a huff. Toadborg only sighs. TOADBORG That human is so much more trouble than he's worth ... Toadborg turns to Bucky, who is still handcuffed and held by toads. TOADBORG Now ... what to do with you? Should I use you in some trap to lure in your crew? Or just flay you while I have the chance? BUCKY (with a surefire arrogance) Well, I'd love to discuss the options, but I have an engineer to find! Breathlessly, Bucky hops into the air, breaking out of his captor's hold, using Toadborg as a landing pad as he launches himself out the door. Toadborg groans in frustration at yet another unfortunate turn of events. Bucky runs. He only stops when he bumps into a lone storm toad and takes his maser. He destroys the handcuffs on him and reaches for his comm-link. BUCKY Let's hope they can hear me. (into comm) Bucky to The Righteous Indignation. Come in Righteous. There is some static, but through Bucky's comm-unit comes a familiar voice. MIMI (fuzzy, over com) -ptain O'Hare? You still with us? Dogstar also comes in on the channel. DOGSTAR Bucky? You still alive? BUCKY Barely. Listen, have I got a story to tell you ... DOGSTAR About Willy. Yes, we know; Jenny found his new location and your crew collected him. His condition is stable. BUCKY Thank the Great Mother! (beat) I think we're done here. As much as I'd like to disconnect KOMPLEX while I'm at it, I don't really have any idea how to do that. DOGSTAR We'll be back, Captain O'Hare. (beat) My ship can hold off the toads long enough for ... (static) -ptain LaFleur to swing by. What are your coordinates? BUCKY Mimi? (looks around and checks his datapad) I'm just inside the main ship hatch. 64-832.9, I think. MIMI Transmission received. See you in five. Over. SCENE 27 - THE SCREAMING MIMI Mimi's tiny ship is further cramped by the presence of the entire Righteous crew, who are gathered around a stretcher that, like the bed on the Toad Homeworld, is too small for Willy, and his legs are propped up on a stool over the edge. Jenny has attached a small monitor to his temple and is looking over the signals from it with her medical scanner. JENNY He's all right. He has some malnutrition, and his body is exhausted. BUCKY Any explanation for his little magic act? JENNY Honestly? No. But he's sapped of all of his ... energies. He pulled something off that I've never seen anyone from the aniverse do. BRUISER Dat's easy to explain, Cap'n. Willy's not from around here. If Jenny has a response to this, she keeps it to herself, unwilling to divulge any more information about Willy's magical abilities. JENNY Bucky -- you spoke to him. How was he? BUCKY Confused. I think he was fighting it, but the toads messed him up pretty well. He's going to need a lot of therapy. SCENE 28 - WATERSHIP HOSPITAL, GENUS Bucky, Deadeye, Blinky, and Jenny are loitering nervously in the waiting area. Several officials and security guards are also standing around. Fritz and Griff enter, shadowed by their respective bodyguards. FRITZ What's up? BUCKY We got him back in one piece. Or at least, it looked that way. (beat) But we haven't heard from the doctor. There is a tense silence. Griff is about to say something when Dr. Lurie enters. Everyone rises to greet him. DR. LURIE Captain O'Hare? (they shake paws) I'm Dr. Lurie. I'm the chief of the psychiatry wing here at Watership. (hesitates, looking at all of the people) This is ... sort of confidential information. FRITZ It's also, unfortunately, a matter of intergalactic security. BUCKY How's Willy? JENNY Can we see him? DEADEYE When're ya releasing him? They speak all basically at the same time, and Dr. Lurie puts his paws up. DR. LURIE (sighs) Please! (beat) Mr. DuWitt isn't going anywhere for a little while. BUCKY What do you mean? He's all right, isn't he? DR. LURIE Aside from exhaustion and malnutrition, there's no notable physical damage. He has, however, suffered an extensive mental breakdown. BUCKY and JENNY *What*? DR. LURIE From what has been described to me, Mr. DuWitt has been under incredible stress for the past three weeks. Being forcibly brainwashed, worked almost to death, and still managing to recover some of his original loyalties is enough to drive any mammal off the tracks for a little while. BUCKY But the brainwashing -- he fought it? He didn't shoot me, even with a direct order from KOMPLEX. DR. LURIE To some extent, yes. We are still proceeding with an extensive deprogramming procedure to make sure he doesn't have any ... lingering loyalties to KOMPLEX. BUCKY But then he'll be OK? How long will that take? DR. LURIE (shrugs sadly) He needs a lot of rest and a lot of therapy before he can return to normal life. I want to keep him in the psych ward for at least a few weeks. There are murmurs among the crew. BUCKY A few *weeks*? His parents are coming home in two weeks. DR. LURIE I'll make a note of that, but I can't force any deadlines on my patients. JENNY (softly) Can we see him? DR. LURIE Not now. He's heavily sedated, so he wouldn't appreciate anything that would disturb his sleep. JENNY We'll be quiet. We just want to see him. DR. LURIE (exhales) One visitor, and make it quick. The crew looks at Jenny, giving her the signal to go. A guard leads her through the locked doors into the psych ward. BUCKY (to Lurie) Can we do anything else to help Willy? DR. LURIE I'm sure when he's a bit more lucid, he'd appreciate the comforts of home -- clothes and the like. And he needs a new pair of glasses, I believe. Bucky nods and begins to leave in the opposite direction, signaling the crew to follow. They reluctantly shuffle out, solemnly, leaving Fritz and Griff alone with the doctor and their security detail. Fritz crosses his arms and looks at Lurie expectantly. DR. LURIE Don't look at me like that. You know what I recommended in his psych profile when I did the annual examination a year ago. (beat, almost angrily) I fully blame the Security Council for this. I don't care how useful he is; he's just a child, and he shouldn't be in this war at all, much less at ground zero. GRIFF Try telling that to O'Hare. DR. LURIE And O'Hare! (throws his paws up into the air) I've had the kid in my care for four hours, and he's already asking when Willy will be ready to jump back onto the field and fight toads! The doctor collapses into the chair Bucky was sitting in. There is a long silence before Fritz speaks. FRITZ What's Willy's condition? Lurie sighs again and looks Fritz in the eye. DR. LURIE It is severely unlikely that Willy DuWitt will ever be able to serve on active duty again. FRITZ (neutrally, after a beat) Thank you, doctor. You do good work. Fritz and Griff leave. Dr. Lurie glances at his chart and gets up. He walks past the security guard and into the psychiatric ward, not noticing Jenny situated carefully against the wall beside the door. She has clearly heard everything. SCENE 29 - WILLY'S HOSPITAL ROOM The room is dimmed, but the lights are not off entirely. Willy is on the bed, nearly asleep. He is being hydrated by an IV and has a bandage on his forehead where he hit the ground, but otherwise appears all right. Jenny enters, quietly. Willy doesn't seem to notice, staring past her at the wall. She stops and glances at the visitor chair, where in a plastic bag labeled "evidence" is Willy's toad uniform -- the white lab coat, the shirt with KOMPLEX's insignia, and the pants. All are dirty and torn. Even his shattered glasses are in another plastic bag, though all that remains are the bent frames with a few shards of glass attached. Setting the bags back down, she heads cautiously over to Willy's bedside. He still has not acknowledged her presence. Taking his hand in her paw, she tilts his head so that he is sort of facing her. JENNY Hello, Willy. I know you can't understand me, but it's good to have you back. Willy looks at her -- or past her, possibly -- with lazy, drugged eyes. Concentrating, she attempts to use her powers to reach him telepathically, but even his thoughts are quiet and sluggish. The desperation and confusion -- especially the latter -- that she receives from him is painfully disorienting. JENNY Oh, Willy ... Jenny leans close to Willy, stroking his hair. JENNY Shh. (whispering) You can rest now. Willy closes his eyes. THE END