She sits at the table with her family eating breakfast ~
Ari -
" ... and there were these really tall people, like giants ! They
lived in the woods ... I woke up when their maid was carrying us away on
a platter."
~ Strange singing in the background fading in ... "Doo-dee-doo ... doo-dee-doo ... doo-dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo ... "
Dad - "Well ... there's an imagination. I love it. You should write that down."
Mom - "After you do your homework."
Ari - Suddenly angry, "But I Did do my ... "
She
sits up in the darkness in motion, the singing from the maid as she
skips with the platter in both hands in front of her gleefully.
Ari - She looks around in the darkness, "Are you still there ?"
Mike - "We're here ... "
Ari - "Dreamed I was in the real world again ... and it's like I woke up back here."
Maid - From outside the dome, "This is the real world. That's the dream one. You can tell because it makes no sense."
Mike - "Where are you taking us ?"
Maid
- "To the chef of course ! Doo-dee-doo ... doo-dee-doo ...
doo-dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo ... to the chef ! Doo-dee-doo ...
doo-dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo ... to the chef !"
Fading away down the hall with her over-pleased skipping ...
(repeated opening)
In the dark castle's throne room ~
Bal - "And what say you, 'cartographer' ?"
Cartographer - Insect-like with many quills and parchments clutched, "Their paths are divergent. In the superficial sense, they appear to have no singular destination at all."
Bal - "Do I rule superficially ?"
Cybal looks at the cartographer.
Cartographer - Looking between, "Of ... course not my lord ... to the point. They take the closest routes to water. As all lakes and rivers do wash from the Lady Styx into the infinite ocean, it is to the infinite ocean they go."
Bal - "Yes ... then we meet them at river's edge. There is a fortress there, long abandoned as the dead left Hades' throne and wandered ... the Earth ... "
Cybal - "My Lord ?"
Bal - "The Earth." He looks at Cy-Bal and smiles, "The Earth." Spotting the cartographer skulking away ... "Cartographer."
Cartographer - A stop and turn back, "Yes ? My lord ?"
Bal - "Through whose realms must they pass while crawling those shores ?"
Cartographer - "Of course all realms belong to you my king. But the fools who lay claim along that way would be ... Roman leading to Greek, Egyptian to Nubian ... as the tales follow the Nile."
Bal - "Speak clearly .. before I mistake you philosopher and have you poisoned ... "
Cartographer - "After the Twilight, the Roman adaptations of the Sidhe, are the only remaining concern."
Bal looks to Cybal.
Cybal - "Blue elves."
Bal - "Ah ... I remember them now." A laugh. "And their Erie kin ?"
____________
Cartographer - Voiced over as the maid sets the tray down in the kitchen, "Extinct."
The chef chops a piece of meat. Tall and dressed in white robed dangling cooking knives from the sash, a tall straight white hat. She twirls a blade in her hand and cuts again.
Maid - Pulls the lid, "Surprise !"
Chef - "Oh look at them ... they're perfect. Donuts I think."
Maid - "Yah donuts."
____
Bal leans back in his throne laughing maniacally ...
____________
In the throne room the court leans forward surround the Xenofix as it does a kick dance crossing two front legs as arms while the all shout "Hey ! Hey ! Hey !"
The maid returns with the platter and a donut in her mouth and removes the lid, the children eating donuts four times the normal size, with more for the rest and Gabby still babbling ~
Gabby - "And so like I was in the lunchroom and my teacher thought I was in with the wrong grade so I went to the principle's office and ... "
Maid - "Uh-huh ! Yeah none of that's real."
The crowd applaud the Xenofix, it takes a bow.
King - "Excellent excellent. And my apologies dear hunters three. I believed this to be a cyborg sire ! Imagine that."
Guard - "More than understandable really ... "
King - "Yes ... so. Now that that's settled, why are you trespassing on our land ?" He leans back in his throne waiting as the rest all stare ready.
Sam - "We're just dreaming !"
A look ...
King - "Well that's insulting. So now I'm a figment."
Guard - "They think they've imagined you sire ... "
King - "So now I'm too much candy before bedtime. That's quite a lot of nerve for such tiny little peasant babies."
Mike - "Hey !"
Guard - "It's almost respectable."
King - "Hm."
Ari - "Excuse me. But didn't she say you were, 'the invisible king' ?"
Mike - "Yeah ... and you only appeared when we got here !"
King - Draws back in his chair with a flailing jolt, "Whoa. Hey now ... you just keep all that to yourself. That's really quite deep."
Guard - "It does have a disturbing sort of ring to it."
King - "It does indeed."
Eve - "I don't think they've got a clue."
Lilith - "Still waiting to wake up."
Sam - Donut half gone, "That's not true."
Naamah - "We'll keep an eye on them."
Both - "What !?"
Naamah - "What. It's the best way to find out what all these things are up to."
King - "Logical. So ... ordered."
Both - "What !?"
King - "So ordered !" He disappears into Naamah's smile and scene's end.
____________
As they leaver the Invisible Kingdom it flickers out into nothing but woods behind them, leaving only the high tower drawing downward until beneath the trees.
As the walk a long series of platforms strewn between oaks and pine, with vines of age and time strung along until they to disappear in their passing, with those following in curiosity along them.
The familiar shadows still follow them, but in unfamiliar tone. Where before they were followed, now they are stalked by these things which move as nightmares.
Darting here and there, changing what they touch as if to look their way was to be drawn somewhere else, as nightmares conquer one's dreams. They sense it inside and around in their silence, hands twitching for weapons intuitively.
Sam - "Does it seem darker in here ?"
Ari - "I'm scared ... but there's no reason."
Gabby - "I keep thinking about things the maid said don't matter anymore."
Mike - "Do they ?"
Outside the walker ~
Naamah - "We are stalked."
Eve - "Nightmares."
Lilith - "They should listen to their mother."
Eve - "You know that story isn't true."
Naamah - A laugh, "A demon to whom ?"
Eve - Raises a hand, "Stop."
All and the walker freeze, looking around.
Ari - "I wish we could hide."
Mike - "We are hiding. They don't know we're in here."
Ari - "How do you know ?"
Sam - "He doesn't."
Gabby - "I like the idea though."
A hissing among the surrounding shadows as one weaves out like a smoke, permeating the walker's hull and passing under Sam's nose. He stutters an inhalation in unknowing fear.
The trees all around them crash with the charge of a massively sized football team, as large as the giants, knocking into the walker. The Erie draw on those nearest, too easily thrown off.
Regrouping to the side they see the team flip the walker and start pounding its kicking undercarriage (cliffhanging commercial break).
Bal - "And what say you, 'cartographer' ?"
Cartographer - Insect-like with many quills and parchments clutched, "Their paths are divergent. In the superficial sense, they appear to have no singular destination at all."
Bal - "Do I rule superficially ?"
Cybal looks at the cartographer.
Cartographer - Looking between, "Of ... course not my lord ... to the point. They take the closest routes to water. As all lakes and rivers do wash from the Lady Styx into the infinite ocean, it is to the infinite ocean they go."
Bal - "Yes ... then we meet them at river's edge. There is a fortress there, long abandoned as the dead left Hades' throne and wandered ... the Earth ... "
Cybal - "My Lord ?"
Bal - "The Earth." He looks at Cy-Bal and smiles, "The Earth." Spotting the cartographer skulking away ... "Cartographer."
Cartographer - A stop and turn back, "Yes ? My lord ?"
Bal - "Through whose realms must they pass while crawling those shores ?"
Cartographer - "Of course all realms belong to you my king. But the fools who lay claim along that way would be ... Roman leading to Greek, Egyptian to Nubian ... as the tales follow the Nile."
Bal - "Speak clearly .. before I mistake you philosopher and have you poisoned ... "
Cartographer - "After the Twilight, the Roman adaptations of the Sidhe, are the only remaining concern."
Bal looks to Cybal.
Cybal - "Blue elves."
Bal - "Ah ... I remember them now." A laugh. "And their Erie kin ?"
____________
Cartographer - Voiced over as the maid sets the tray down in the kitchen, "Extinct."
The chef chops a piece of meat. Tall and dressed in white robed dangling cooking knives from the sash, a tall straight white hat. She twirls a blade in her hand and cuts again.
Maid - Pulls the lid, "Surprise !"
Chef - "Oh look at them ... they're perfect. Donuts I think."
Maid - "Yah donuts."
____
Bal leans back in his throne laughing maniacally ...
____________
In the throne room the court leans forward surround the Xenofix as it does a kick dance crossing two front legs as arms while the all shout "Hey ! Hey ! Hey !"
The maid returns with the platter and a donut in her mouth and removes the lid, the children eating donuts four times the normal size, with more for the rest and Gabby still babbling ~
Gabby - "And so like I was in the lunchroom and my teacher thought I was in with the wrong grade so I went to the principle's office and ... "
Maid - "Uh-huh ! Yeah none of that's real."
The crowd applaud the Xenofix, it takes a bow.
King - "Excellent excellent. And my apologies dear hunters three. I believed this to be a cyborg sire ! Imagine that."
Guard - "More than understandable really ... "
King - "Yes ... so. Now that that's settled, why are you trespassing on our land ?" He leans back in his throne waiting as the rest all stare ready.
Sam - "We're just dreaming !"
A look ...
King - "Well that's insulting. So now I'm a figment."
Guard - "They think they've imagined you sire ... "
King - "So now I'm too much candy before bedtime. That's quite a lot of nerve for such tiny little peasant babies."
Mike - "Hey !"
Guard - "It's almost respectable."
King - "Hm."
Ari - "Excuse me. But didn't she say you were, 'the invisible king' ?"
Mike - "Yeah ... and you only appeared when we got here !"
King - Draws back in his chair with a flailing jolt, "Whoa. Hey now ... you just keep all that to yourself. That's really quite deep."
Guard - "It does have a disturbing sort of ring to it."
King - "It does indeed."
Eve - "I don't think they've got a clue."
Lilith - "Still waiting to wake up."
Sam - Donut half gone, "That's not true."
Naamah - "We'll keep an eye on them."
Both - "What !?"
Naamah - "What. It's the best way to find out what all these things are up to."
King - "Logical. So ... ordered."
Both - "What !?"
King - "So ordered !" He disappears into Naamah's smile and scene's end.
____________
As they leaver the Invisible Kingdom it flickers out into nothing but woods behind them, leaving only the high tower drawing downward until beneath the trees.
As the walk a long series of platforms strewn between oaks and pine, with vines of age and time strung along until they to disappear in their passing, with those following in curiosity along them.
The familiar shadows still follow them, but in unfamiliar tone. Where before they were followed, now they are stalked by these things which move as nightmares.
Darting here and there, changing what they touch as if to look their way was to be drawn somewhere else, as nightmares conquer one's dreams. They sense it inside and around in their silence, hands twitching for weapons intuitively.
Sam - "Does it seem darker in here ?"
Ari - "I'm scared ... but there's no reason."
Gabby - "I keep thinking about things the maid said don't matter anymore."
Mike - "Do they ?"
Outside the walker ~
Naamah - "We are stalked."
Eve - "Nightmares."
Lilith - "They should listen to their mother."
Eve - "You know that story isn't true."
Naamah - A laugh, "A demon to whom ?"
Eve - Raises a hand, "Stop."
All and the walker freeze, looking around.
Ari - "I wish we could hide."
Mike - "We are hiding. They don't know we're in here."
Ari - "How do you know ?"
Sam - "He doesn't."
Gabby - "I like the idea though."
A hissing among the surrounding shadows as one weaves out like a smoke, permeating the walker's hull and passing under Sam's nose. He stutters an inhalation in unknowing fear.
The trees all around them crash with the charge of a massively sized football team, as large as the giants, knocking into the walker. The Erie draw on those nearest, too easily thrown off.
Regrouping to the side they see the team flip the walker and start pounding its kicking undercarriage (cliffhanging commercial break).