**As Jimmy and Cindy retrace their steps in broken silence, Sheen and Libby are happily making their way past the rippling fields of flowers**
SHEEN: Check it out, babe! This has gotta be the biggest bouquet of flowers in the history of ever!
**He whips out a massive conglomeration of badly arranged chrysanthemums**
LIBBY: Sheen, just what are you plannin’ to do with all those flowers?
SHEEN: I’m gonna give ‘em to Carl…
LIBBY: But why? Isn’t he allergic to flowers?
SHEEN: Shhh! That’s the whole point!
LIBBY: (giggling) You’re one strange guy, Sheen. I don’t think I’ll ever understand ya.
SHEEN: That’s OK! I’ll never understand you either. Women are too complicated for us simple-minded guys.
LIBBY: You know it! Ha ha!
**Libby laughs happily as they continue on down the path. As they near a bend in the road, Sheen drops his bouquet and darts into a clump of flowers**
LIBBY: Huh? Sheen, where are you goin’?
**He reappears a moment later holding a single red chrysanthemum**
SHEEN: For you, my sweet. A single red flower in an ocean of white.
LIBBY: (taking the flower) Aww, Sheen! That’s so sweet! I can’t believe you spotted that in the dark! I’m really…hey, what’s that?
**Libby points ahead to a tiny blue flicker in the darkness**
LIBBY: It looks like a lantern…Sheen, come on!
**She grabs his hand and they dart down the gravel path, the light growing closer with each passing step. At the end of the path, Libby can make out two figures sitting on a bench, their movements subdued by the dark of night. A plum blossom tree encircles the bench in its protective arms, its petals falling through the air like a gentle rain. A single Chinese lantern hangs suspended from above and bathes the two women there in soft blue light. One of the figures lifts an arm, and the blue light glints off her golden bracelets**
LIBBY: Shh, slow down Sheen. It’s Aurora and future me.
**He skids to a stop, and she motions for him to follow her behind a small boulder**
LIBBY: (whispering) Let’s try to get closer so we can hear what they’re sayin’.
SHEEN: Libby, why are we whispering? Shouldn’t we just go say hi to them?
LIBBY: No! They’ll never act natural if they know we’re here. Come on, let’s go hide behind that tree over there!
**They creep quietly through the flowers until they come to a small, knobby tree about ten feet away from Aurora and Future Libby’s bench. Libby hears a noise behind her and whirls around, but her scream is stifled when one clawed hand clamps over her mouth**
APRIL: Shh! It is only me! Do not scream and give away our location.
LIBBY: April? What are you doin’ here?
APRIL: I am observing. What are you doing?
SHEEN: Snooping.
LIBBY: We are not! We’re observin’ too!
APRIL: (leering down at her) I see.
**The three fall silent and turn their attention to Aurora and Future Libby, who seem to be very deep in conversation. They cannot see Aurora’s face from their position, but she is hunched forward, as if in great pain**
AURORA: …can’t do it Libby. I keep thinking…sooner or later I’m gonna have to confront him. How can I do it Libs? How can I beat him? I can’t beat him…
FUTURE LIBBY: Then don’t think of it like that…think of it like you’re saving him. You might not be able to beat him, but you CAN save him, Aurora.
AURORA: Save him…?
FUTURE LIBBY: (laying a hand on Aurora’s) You don’t have to hate him forever, you know. Nobody will think less of you.
**Aurora lets out a tiny little laugh**
AURORA: Libby…I’ve…I’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone listen. To have someone understand. You…you haven’t changed a bit.
**Back behind the knobby tree, April sighs in the darkness**
APRIL: She really is amazing…
LIBBY: Huh? What?
APRIL: (peering down at her) Your future self. I have been watching them this whole time, and their conversation has been shocking to me. Aurora has opened up more in these last few hours than she has during the past ten years. Aurora would have laughed at me and insulted me for being weak if I were to engage in such a conversation, and yet…look at how much Aurora is listening now.
**April gazes sadly at the two women holding hands on the bench, then looks away**
APRIL: Is that the price I must pay for her to heal? Must I lose my best friend?
**April looks back at the bench as if expecting an answer, but Aurora is no longer there. A bolt of green fire streaks past her, and with a startled cry April turns a perfect back flip into the gnarled branches of the tree. Sheen and Libby dive out of the way, kicking up a pile of dry leaves in their wake**
AURORA: (blazing with fire) Who’s there? Show yourself!
**April yells down from the top of the tree**
APRIL: It is only me! Stop shooting at everything that moves!
AURORA: Ugh, April! How many times have I told you to cut out that habit of yours? Sneaking around in the dark is just plain creepy!
APRIL: (leaping down from the tree) I am sorry. I keep forgetting.
AURORA: Well, that’s OK. If you hadn’t come along we probably would have stayed up all night gabbing. Let’s head back to the main house now, what do you say?
APRIL: You mean…you are not angry with me for spying?
AURORA: Ah, whatever. What’s a little spying after all the crap we’ve been through?
APRIL: But you…you and she were…
AURORA: (annoyed) Listen, April. We’ve faced death back to back more times than I can count…we’ve fought together, killed together, grieved together…nothing can tear apart that kind of bond. So don’t sweat the small stuff, OK?
APRIL: (beaming) You mean it? You do not intend to reject me?
AURORA: Why would I do that? Now come on, before it gets any later.
**April breaks into a smile, then falls into step beside her friend. The three women walk together, shoulder to shoulder, their steps falling in synch. Hair swinging, jewelry jingling, laughter soft on the air, the three of them chatter amongst themselves as they disappear down the gravel path. For a moment, they look like three ordinary young women on a stroll through the park…as if the decade of suffering was nothing but a bad dream. As their voices fade into the distance, Libby pulls herself up and plants her hands on her hips**
LIBBY: Would ya look at that.
SHEEN: (spitting out dirt) Phht! Ptt! Huh? What?
LIBBY: Aurora thinks she’s so alone, but she’s got two of the best friends a girl could wish for. Look at the three of them! They’re so adorable.
SHEEN: (glancing at their retreating figures) I’ll say. Man…they’re all such babes! I think Future Libs has got the other two beat, but April and Aurora are a close call. I mean, April does have that whole green alien babe thing working for her…but Aurora’s suit is really something…phew, it’s a tough call.
LIBBY: (smacking him over the head) Keep your eyes in your head, Sheen!
**She heaves a sigh, then rubs her forehead in exasperation**
LIBBY: You know, if you weren’t such a hopeless geek, I’d really have somethin’ to worry about. Come on, Casanova, let’s go home.
**Sheen and Libby walk back together through the gardens, silent under the moonlight. When they arrive back at the main house, Cindy and Jimmy are nowhere in sight. April crouches, half hidden in the shadows on one side of the porch, her breath like smoke in the cold stillness. Her narrow purple eyes follow them as they walk past her and through the doorway**
LIBBY: (noticing her suddenly) Oh…hey April. Where is everyone?
APRIL: Libby has taken Aurora on a tour of the house, and Cindy has stalked off into another one of the buildings. I have not seen Jimmy. Carl is in the bathhouse…wait, no. Here he comes now.
**Carl, accompanied by his monk escort, appears from within a cloud of bathhouse steam. He clutches a cup of tea in his pudgy fingers, and his head-to-toe goth has been replaced with another look entirely. He is dressed in what looks like a long purple kimono, its silken fabric embroidered with plum blossoms and swirling clouds**
SHEEN: (eyes bugging) What the…? Paahhaaaahaha! Nice dress, Carl!
CARL: It’s not a dress, it’s a bathrobe!
LIBBY: Actually, you’ both wrong. It’s a Hanfu – a Chinese silk robe.
SHEEN: Robe, dress, same difference! It’s purple, Carl! Purple!
LIBBY: So? Ain’t Ultralord purple?
SHEEN: Yeah, but Ultralord’s clothes are a manly purple! That dress is definitely not manly!
LIBBY: “Manly purple”? Do you even hear yourself?
**As the words leave her mouth, Future Libby and Aurora appear in the doorway. April’s narrow eyes flash toward them, and she bares her teeth in a grin**
APRIL: Check it out, girls. Carl’s new outfit is even better than the last one!
**All three of the women burst out into catty laughter, and Carl turns red in embarrassment**
APRIL: Stunning outfit, Carl! This one makes you look even more fearsome than the last!
**They snicker some more, but Carl seems to buy the ruse and smiles**
CARL: Really?
SHEEN: (covering it with a cough) Gullible!
CARL: Bless you Sheen!
**As they cackle some more, Future Libby calls out to the woman accompanying Carl**
FUTURE LIBBY: Sun-Hi! Would you do me a favor?
SUN-HI: Certainly! What do you desire?
FUTURE LIBBY: Tell Chen-Yu to call the others and meet us for a conference in the main temple, OK?
SUN-HI: Yes my lady, at once!
**She takes off at a full run to the largest temple, and moment later the metallic sound of a gong shatters the nighttime silence**
FUTURE LIBBY: That’s the summons gong. It means we all gotta go meet up in the main temple.
AURORA: Uh, Libby, mind telling me why you just called in the cavalry? Do we really need to sit around and gab with all these monks? I’d rather see more of the grounds with you.
FUTURE LIBBY: I need to tell them that I’m leavin’…plus, don’t ya wanna find out how the monks survived the nanobots?
AURORA: What? Oh, fine! Just as long as they make it speedy.
**Aurora and the others follow Future Libby to the largest temple. They push aside the silken draperies and proceed into the main chamber, where Chen-Yu is waiting for them. Incense and shadows hang heavy on the air, and flickering candles provide the only light**
CHEN-YU: Welcome, my children. Please, take a seat.
**One by one the other monks arrive. They all sit in a large circle, in the center of which Chen-Yu places a small candle. A closer look around the circle reveals many familiar faces, all except Jimmy and Goddard’s**
CHEN-YU: The meeting of the monks and the great Chosen One will now commence. We shall continue until the candle in the center of the circle burns out. When that time comes, we will return to our rooms for the night.
FUTURE LIBBY: Chen-Yu, before we start the whole “Chosen One” bit, there’s something you should know. This Sheen here isn’t the REAL chosen one…he’s…he’s a divine messenger.
CHEN-YU: A divine messenger? What are you talking about my dear? This is clearly the man we have awaited! He can put his foot behind his head…I have seen it myself!
AURORA: (to Libby) What are you talking about? He’s not a “divine messenger”…
FUTURE LIBBY: (whispering) Shhh! I’m tryin’ to explain it in terms the monks’ll understand.
**She turns back to the monks**
FUTURE LIBBY: I know he looks like him, but the REAL chosen one is my age, and he’s in trouble! This one’s just a messenger. These people came here to tell me what’s been goin’ on…and now I need to leave with them.
**There is a collective gasp among the monks**
MEI: But my lady, what will we do without you? Whom will the Chosen One marry?
SUN-HI: Surely you must be mistaken! You cannot really mean to leave us!
MEI: What will we do without you?
CHEN-YU: (waving his hand) Silence, you two. Let her speak.
FUTURE LIBBY: I have to go with these people so I can save him. I have to save Sheen. If I don’t, he won’t ever come back. Please! Let me go look for him! I can’t sit ‘round and wait anymore!
AURORA: She’s telling the truth. Sheen really is missing. I’ve been all over the galaxy, and I haven’t seen him. Please, let her come with us. We need her help in this war…we need her help to defeat the dictator.
CHEN-YU: Ah, so that’s it. You want her help in the war. Well let me assure you, our Libby is a peaceable young woman with no talents in the arts of destruction. Take your problems elsewhere! The monks of Shangri Llama are not interested in the troubles of the outside world!
AURORA: How can you SAY that? Do you have any idea the kind of suffering the dictator has inflicted on this galaxy…on this planet? He is solely responsible for the destruction of the Earth! Do you know what that’s been like for everyone? For Libby? For ME? How dare you decide the fates of so many people while you sit around all day in your comfy buildings and sip tea! You’re disgusting!
CHEN-YU: That anger of yours is most disagreeable, young lady.
MONK #1: You must find inner peace. Only then will you be happy.
**Aurora jumps up and bursts into green fire**
AURORA: UUUGHHHH!!! How DARE you lecture me like that?! This isn’t about happiness, it’s about survival!
FUTURE LIBBY: (laying a hand on Aurora) Sit down, Aurora. I can handle this.
**Aurora reluctantly takes her seat, little bits of green flame still dancing around her shoulders**
FUTURE LIBBY: I’m goin’, Chen-Yu. Please trust me. I know what I’m doin’. It’s not about war, and it’s not ‘bout killin’…it’s about saving. I’m gonna save Sheen. I’m gonna save everyone.
**April casts Future Libby a sideways glance**
APRIL: (to herself) You really mean that, don’t you? You really want to save us.
**There is a moment of silence as the monks exchange glances**
CHEN-YU: (looking back and forth between the women) Well, I see now that I cannot stop you. And if all that you say is true, then I guess we will all be better off in the end. So go, fly off in that metal ship of yours. But please, come back to us as soon as you are finished. Return to us with the Chosen One by your side.
FUTURE LIBBY: I will. I promise.
**There is a long moment of silence, and Sheen inches forward and taps the candle in the center of the circle with his foot. It tips over and the flame winks out**
SHEEN: Well, would you look at that! Since the candle’s out, can we leave now?
CARL: Ya, all this incense is irritating my asthma.
CHEN-YU: (chuckling) All right, if you really wish to go to bed, we can adjourn early.
AURORA: Before we do, I have one more question. How did you escape the nanobots all those years ago? Everyone was hunted down. How did you survive?
CHEN-YU: Ah, yes. The answer to that is quite simple. We placed ourselves into a deep state of meditation, so deep that our life signs were barely recognizable. The nanobots never even detected us, and we were spared.
AURORA: So that’s how…
CHEN-YU: Unless you have any other questions about the past, I would like return to my quarters as well. That rash on my back is acting up again.
**None of the monks seem taken aback by this, but the visitors wrinkle their noses in reaction to such an unexpected and unsavory comment. Future Libby turns to Aurora and April**
FUTURE LIBBY: Come on girls, you can stay in my room tonight. We’ll have a good ol’ fashioned sleep over, just like the ones we used to!
**She slips an arm around Aurora, then breaks into a big smile**
FUTURE LIBBY: We can play truth or dare! Haha! You better be careful though…they don’t call me the queen o’ dares for nothin’!
AURORA: Don’t you think we’re a little old for silly sleepover games?
FUTURE LIBBY: Nah, ‘course not! You’re never too old to have fun!
APRIL: What is “truth or dare”? Is it a battle ritual of some kind?
FUTURE LIBBY: Haha! It can be! Come on girl, you got a lot to learn.
**Future Libby links her arms through theirs and the three head back towards the main house. She turns back and smiles at the kids as they walk**
FUTURE LIBBY: You kids can sleep on mats in the main room. I’m sure Sun-Hi would be happy to set some up for you! They’re actually quite comfortable.
SUN-HI: Yes my lady! At once!
**Sun-Hi dashes away with remarkable speed, and Libby lets out a loud yawn**
LIBBY: Well guys, I don’t know ‘bout you, but I’m about ready to pass out. What do you say we turn in?
CINDY: Same here. A good night’s sleep would be really nice.
SUN-HI: (shouting from inside the main house) Your beds have been prepared! You may retire for the night whenever you wish!
CINDY: That woman doesn’t waste any time, does she?
LIBBY: Sure doesn’t. Let’s go.
**Sheen, Carl, Libby, and Cindy return to the main house to find the interior looking like a Posh hotel, their sleeping mats covered in the finest silk sheets**
LIBBY: Wow, Sun-Hi, you sure know how to set up a room!
SUN-HI: (beaming with pleasure) Thank you! I am happy to have served you!
**She waltzes out the door, and Sheen does a cannonball onto his cot**
SHEEN: Man, this is great! I want a Sun-Hi for my house! Then I’d never have to clean my room or make my bed again! She’d do it all!
LIBBY: Dream on, Sheen. You’re not “the Chosen One” back at your house.
**Cindy leans against the doorframe, her blonde hair waving in the wind as she peers out into the blackness**
LIBBY: Aren’t you going to bed, girl? You must be tired.
CINDY: (distractedly) Where do you think Neutron is? I haven’t seen him since…well…
LIBBY: Since what?
CINDY: We had a fight back in the garden, and I think he was pretty upset. He didn’t even come to the meeting with the monks.
LIBBY: Don’t worry about it, Cind. I’m sure he’s just…workin’ on the antidote or somethin’. Come on, you need to sleep.
**Cindy reluctantly obeys, and Libby
turns out the lantern, plunging the room into shadow. Cindy tosses
and turns, then stops and stares up at the ornate carvings on the
ceiling. The patterns seem to swim in feverish circles, dancing,
mocking, taunting. She closes her eyes, but even in the complete
darkness of her mind, a single image remains…the fuzzy but
unmistakable image of two sad blue eyes looking down at her**
