Episode 17: “The Bells Toll Twice”

  [INT. PALACE – NIGHT – 20 YEARS BEFORE PRESENT DAY]

  (The Queen’s body lies in a pool of blood. Her golden crown rolls across the floor, spinning slowly until it stops at the feet of Luis Cookington.)

  LUIS (stoic)

  “…It happened again?!?! Fuuuuck…”

  EDWARD (from behind, leaning heavily on a cane)

  “You think it was you this time too?”

  LUIS (sighing)

  “No. But I do think it’s time we stop pretending this place is ruled by bloodlines.”

  Thunder rumbles. The palace is silent—except for a distant ticking clock.

  [FLASHBACK – EARTH OUTSKIRTS – SAME NIGHT]

  (A carriage tears through the rain. Inside: young Lily, blood on her dress, shaking.)

  YOUNG LILY (to her husband)

  “She deserved it! You saw what she did to me! You saw what she did to us both!”

  HUSBAND (nervously)

  “Lily… calm down. You’re going to be queen now!”

  LILY (cold)

  “Wrong. I was already a queen. Now I’ll become a legend...”

  [INT. ROYAL ARCHIVE – YEARS LATER]

  (A much older Luis reads an ancient leather-bound book titled “Clockwork: The God Who Hated Time.”He runs his finger down a passage.)

  LUIS (reading aloud)

  “Time does not move forward in Happy Town. It loops I think—something like that.”

  (Behind him, a small girl peeks into the room—Princess, no older than five.)

  PRINCESS (quietly)

  “Mister Luis… why does the clock in the hall go backwards?”

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  LUIS (startled, then softening)

  “…Because someone made a mistake a long time ago. And… heh..”

  [INT. HAPPY TOWN CITY CENTER – 1999]

  (We see the early Happy Town under Princess’ reign. It’s… nearly abandoned. A few flickering neon signs. No tourists. No music. Just static and silence.)

  A reporter interviews a local barkeep.

  REPORTER:

  “So what happened to Happy Town? Once the capital of joy?”

  BARKEEP:

  “You ever see a place forget how to feel? First it was the Queen. Then her daughter. Now the daughter’s daughter…”

  REPORTER:

  “The Princess?”

  BARKEEP:

  “Mm-hmm! She’s not cruel. Not evil this time!! Hehe. Just… quiet. Too quiet. Like she’s waiting for something...”

  PALACE – PRINCESS’ CHAMBER – LATE NIGHT

  The Princess stares into a frozen mirror.

  PRINCESS (to herself)

  “They said this town was built for peace. But peace doesn’t last forever… does it?”

  (Behind her, the man in the hoodie returns.)

  MAN:

  “There’s an old prophecy in the archives ya’know. The ‘Six Contestants.’ Know what it says happens when they all survive?”

  PRINCESS:

  “…The simulation collapses??”

  MAN (nods)

  “And what do you want to happen?”

  PRINCESS (after a beat):

  “…I want to wake up from all of that bruh”

  [INT. COSMIC LIMBO – PENTUIS’ REALM]

  (Pentuis floats in his golden chair, legs crossed, watching a snow globe of Happy Town glitch and flicker.)

  PENTUIS (mocking):

  “They always think this time will be different. That this version of the cycle will stick for sure. Haha! I’m truly superior...”

  (The camera pans back to reveal thousands of snow globes—each showing different timelines of Happy Town, many which are now shattered. Also he meant to say “no pun intended”, haha…)

  PENTUIS (snaps fingers):

  “Go ahead. Let ‘em try again.”

  [MONTAGE – THE TOWN’S DECLINE]

  The palace staff slowly dwindling

  Buildings disappearing and reappearing in slightly different forms

  Statues of Zane Volkov melting into abstract shapes. Children drawing pictures of things that haven’t happened yet

  [INT. PRESENT DAY – WADE’S ROOM – EARLY MORNING]

  (Back in the present, we cut to Wade, alone, waking up from a strange dream.)

  WADE (groggy):

  “I saw… a woman in red! She was on fire, but… not burning? She was pretty though..”

  (A soft knock at the door. It’s Carrie, holding two mugs of coffee.)

  CARRIE:

  “You okay water man?”

  WADE (nodding, quietly):

  “Just feels like… I was part of something way older than me.”

  CARRIE (sitting beside him):

  “Welcome to Happy Town I guess, but anyways, let’s go get ready.. it’s family day in 25 hours.”

  The Final Notes from Rudy (V.O.):

  RUDY (V.O.):

  “We all thought we were the main characters of this place. But me? I don’t believe in fate for the most part. But I do believe in breaking it. This is such a fascinating world—isn’t it? Oh what would my mother say?”

  Rudy closes her laptop.

  END OF EPISODE 17