. "FOR BETTER, OR WORSE" Written By: Keetanna SCENE 1 - Toad Mothership Toadboart, The Air Marshal, Frix and Frax stand in front of Complex. COMPLEX What do you have Toadboarg? TOADBOARG I have a plan to be rid of that pesky rodent Bucky O'Hare, oh mighty Complex. AIR MARSHAL You have another plan. You and your stupid plans they never work. TOADBOARG Was that a threat? COMPLEX Enough you two. What is your plan, Toadboarg. TOADBOARG We attack Aldabaran. FRIX Why do we attack Aldabaran? FRAX Yeah, remember what happened the last time we attacked those witches. FRIX Yeah. TOADBOARG Simple, you idiots. Bucky O'Hare has an Aldabaran on his crew, and the Aldabaran on his crew only has one living member of her family, and if we get ahold of her sister, they will come after her for sure. Once we get them here, we get ahold of the Aldabaran, and she will lead her Captain right into our trap. We will be rid of that rodent once and for all. FRAX And then what do we do with the Aldabarans? TOADBOARG We kill them, both. Once Bucky O'Hare is out of the way we are free to do as we please. COMPLEX Excellent plan toadboarg. AIR MARSHAL You may think so but it isn't gonna work. TOADBOARG Yes it will, you'll see. Toadboarg picks up the Air Marshal by his collar and laughs. SCENE 2 - Aldabaran. Jenny and the Queen are alone in one of the rooms in the Queen's Palace. Bucky and the rest of the the crew wait outside patiently. QUEEN (To Jenny) You must go now, it's an emergency! JENNY (Looking a little confused) Go where? QUEEN To get your sister. JENNY (Surprised) Why? Where is she? QUEEN (Worried) That's why it is so important that you came as soon as possible. The Toads attacked us and they took your sister prisoner. JENNY But why would they want to do that? QUEEN I guess they did it to get to you, and they figured that if they got to you and got you out of the way, it would be easier to get to your Captain and kill him. (Raises her voice) Now, go! Before it is too late. JENNY Yes, your majesty. Bucky nocks on the door, then sticks his head inside the room. BUCKY Is everything alright in here? JENNY (Looks at the Queen, then at Bucky) Bucky, I need to talk to you... (Looks at the Queen, again) ... Alone. The queen turns and walks out of the room, leaving Jenny and Bucky alone. BUCKY O.K. We're alone now, what is it? JENNY Where do i start? BUCKY At the beginning. JENNY O.K. Here it goes. The toads attacked Aldabaran, and they kidnapped my sister. The Queen seems to think that the toads are going to use her to get to me and get me out of the way . . . (tears come to her eyes) . . . and then, they are going to use me to get to you. Bucky walks up to Jenny and puts his arms around her and rubs her back. BUCKY Don't worry, Jen. Everything's going to be alright. The toads haven't got me yet, have they? (lifts her up and looks into her eyes. Reassuringly says) We'll get your sister back. Jenny nods, wiping the tears from her eyes. SCENE 3 - Lower deck of the righteous. Bucky, Deadeye, Bruiser, Blinky, and Willy stand talking. DEADEYE Bucky, me boy, i wish ya' would tell us why we're goin' after teh toads. I don't mind goin' after the bug-eyed maniacks for no reason, but still BRUISER Yeah, what he said. BUCKY Don't say anything to Jenny about it, because you'll upset her even more. (sighs) The toads attacked her planet and kidnapped her sister. WILLY (interrupts) That's aweful. Why would they do something like that? Everybody looks at Willy like he has two heads. WILLY (Backs down) Oh, yeah. BUCKY Jenny and the Queen think that the toads are going to use her sister to get to her and then use her to get to me. Jenny pokes her head out of the upper bay and looks down at bucky. JENNY Bucky, can we go now? BUCKY (Turning to go up the ladder) Yes, we can. (Turning back to the rest of the crew) Are you guys ready to croak some toads? The rest of the crew agrees, noisily. SCENE 4 - The toad mothership Toadboarg stands in front of Complex, holding Kisha, Jenny's sister, by the arm. Kisha struggles to get away from him. TOADBOARG Hold still, filthy mammal. COMPLEX Now you are going to cooperate with us, or else we are going to kill you. KISHA Do whatever you want to me. I'll never a part of one of your evil plans. Toadboarg puts out his claws and puts them in front of Kisha's face. Kisha struggles even more to get free from Toadboarg's grasp. TOADBOARG That wash't such a smart thing to say, little kitty. KISHA (Harshly) Hey, who you callin' little kitty, bub. Toadboarg prepares to kill Kisha. Complex stops him. COMPLEX (yells) Toadboarg, don't kill her yet. we still have to get that mangy Bucky O'Hare and that Aldabaran pilot of his to come and get her so we can do away with them. She won't be any good to us if she's dead, now will she. KISHA You leave Jenny out of this. TOADBOARG (yells) Scilence! Beeping in background. COMPLEX Incoming frequency. Bucky's face appears on an absolutely huge screen. BUCKY Alright, Toadboarg, you had better let Jenny's sister go or you're going to pay TOADBOARG Is that a threat? (laughs) Your threats are worthless, mammal. Complex severs the connection. COMPLEX (Evily) Our plan is working out nicely. KISHA They're gonna come to get me, and a lot of people are gonna get hurt . . . (raises her voice) . . . and I hope you are one of them. Toadboarg produces his claws once more and moves them closer to Kisha's face, laughing the whole time. SCENE 5 - Upper Bay of the Righteous Bucky slams his fists down on the console. BUCKY Damn, it! Bucky looks at Jenny. JENNY They're gonna kill her aren't they? (tears come to her eyes) Bucky puts his paw on her shoulder. Jenny looks up at him. BUCKY If that's what they are planning on doing to her, we'll do everything we can to stop them. I promise. (smiles at her) Jenny gives him a half smile in return. SCENE 6 - Launch pad of the toads mothership Everyone is standing around, looking very anxious. DEADEYE Alright, Matey's, lets go an' croak us some toads. BUCKY Not so fast, Deadeye. Lets get things straight. We're going to go, get Jenny's sister, get her to safety, and THEN we can croak us some toads. Got it. DEADEYE Got it. BUCKY Bruiser, Blinky. Guard the ship. BRUISER & BLINKY Aye-aye. BUCKY Deadeye, Willy. Take the croaker. Meet back here at 0200 hours. WILLY Aye-aye, Captain. BUCKY Jenny, you come with me. They turn and leave. SCENE 7 - a long hallway. BUCKY ( Looks to the left) I'll go this way. (pointing to the left) We'll cover more ground if we split up. JENNY Yes, sir. BUCKY Good luck. JENNY Be careful, Bucky. BUCKY Don't worry. I will. They both take off, running in separate directions.. SCENE 8 - Launch pad Bruiser stands outside of the Righteous, fighting off toads. BRUISER (to Blinky) I love this part, little buddy. BLINKY (to Bruiser) Me, too. SCENE 9 - an open room with a lot of bleachers in it. Bucky steps into the room, holding his MASTER Pistol up, ready for just about anything to happen. Toadboarg emerges from the shaddows. BUCKY Toadboarg, I should have know. What have you done with Jenny's sister, you waste of scrap metal. TOADBOARG Such harsh words coming from such a scrawny rodent. (laughs) Don't worry, I think your precious little Jennny will be finding her soon enough. BUCKY Stop screwing around, Toadboarg. If it's me you want I'm here just don't hurt Jenny's sister. She's all the family Jenny has . . Bucky is cut off by a distant scream. He knows immediately that it is Jenny. He turns and runs. Toadboarg laughs as hard as his circuits will allow him to. SCENE 10 - another hallway. Jenny knocks open a door with a blast of energy from her forehead. A body falls out at her. She screams with horror, at the top of her lungs. She recognizes her sister through the blood on her face. JENNY Kisha, no. Jenny begins to cry. SCENE 11 Bucky comes running around the corner and stops deand in his tracks. Jenny is bent over a figure. It is a white cat who is wearing a pair of gray stretch pants and a black sweater. Much to his surprise she looks almost identical to Jenny , except her hair is shorter. Bucky kneels next Jenny and puts his paw on her shoulder. Jenny looks up at him crying. JENNY (trying to catch her breath) Bucky, she's dead. BUCKY (puts his arm around her shoulders) Are you sure? Jenny leans against his chest and Bucky notices the claw marks across Kisha's face. He takes his free paw and touches her on the neck to see if she has a pulse. JENNY Well? BUCKY Nothing. Jenny starts to cry even harder BUCKY I'm so sorry, Jen. If we'd have left right away instead of standing around talking maybe . . JENNY (cutting him off) Bucky, it isn't your fault. We didn't know that the toads would kill her before we got here. BUCKY Shhhh. Jenny settles down a little. JENNY She must have been so scared. I can't even imagine what she went through with the toads. I - I mean before the killed her. BUCKY I hpe, when they killed her, they did it quick. JENNY Yeah, me too. Bucky picks Kisha up and carry's her back to the Righteous. Jenny follows. SCENE 12 - Righteous Bucky lays Kisha down in the back room. Jenny sits down on the bed next to her sister. BUCKY Blinky, set course for Aldabaran. BLINKY Yes, sir. Bucky salutes and turns to Jenny. BUCKY Are you alright, Jen? JENNY (not crying anymore) She's in a better place now. BUCKY What do you mean? JENNY (looks up at him) She doesn't have to worry about the toads hurting her anymore, and she's with the rest of the family. She's happy now. BUCKY What makes you so sure? JENNY Why wouldn't she be? BUCKY Well, you're alone now. She knows that. And it will cause her pain knowing that you're alone. JENNY No it won't. I have you to take care of me. Bucky smiles. SCENE 13 -Aldabaran Jenny and Bucky stand inside the palace with the Queen and Felicia. QUEEN Jenny, I'm so sorry. JENNY We tried. FELICIA That's all that matters. QUEEN Your sister was always very proud of you. I think she's prouc that you tried. It's all anyone could ask. SCENE 14 - Aldabaran two days later Everyone stands in rows in an open field. Everyone is dressed up looking at the Queen and a coffin. Bucky and Jenny stand in the front row. Bucky has his arms around Jenny. Jenny cries. QUEEN Kisha was a blessing to all who knew her. She was kind and caring. She was a great friend and a wonderful sister. And so it ailes us all to say goodbye to her. Jenny and Bucky step forward to say goodbye one last time. SCENE 15 - Space station in orbit of Genus. Dogstar, Bucky, and Mimi sit in a booth next to the bar. DOGSTAR So how is Jenny taking loosing her sister. BUCKY Better than we all thought she would. DOGSTAR Oh, she is. MIMI I feel so sorry for her. BUCKY Why would you care about how Jenny feels. I thought you didn't like her. MIMI Maybe I should. It seems that I have a lot more in common with her than I thought, and besides, maybe it will make her feel a little bettter if she made a new friend. I know how it feels to lose your whole family, I lost mine. DOGSTAR Why don't you tell her yourself! Jenny enters looking rather depressed. She sits down next to Bucky and puts her head on his shoulder. BUCKY What do I look like? A pillow. Jenny backs off. JENNY I'm sorry. (starts to cry) BUCKY (pulls her into his arms) Hey, I was just playing with you. I thought . . (tapers off) . . . oh, nevermind what I thought. I'm sorry. JENNY It's alright. MIMI (interrupts) Jenny, I need to talk to you. JENNY Sure. Jenny and Mimi walk over to another booth. BARTENDER Can I get you two lovely ladies something to drink. JENNY Water. MIMI Me, too. Mimi turns to Jenny. MIMI Jenny, I've been thinking JENNY Is that good or bad? MIMI Good, actually. Bartender puts drinks down MIMI Thanks (turns to jenny) Do you know why I never treated you like a friend. JENNY No, Why? MIMI Because I thought that we were too different to be friends. But now I know that we really aren't that different after all. JENNY How so? MIMI Well you see, at first I was jealous because your crew cares about you so much. I always thought that it was because you were pretty (sips her drink.) But now that I have a crew of my own, I see that it is because your crew is like family to you. I lost my whole family and I guess that makes my crew like my family. You're the same way, right? JENNY Yes. MIMI Don't worry, I know how it feels. So you see, we do really have a lot in common. JENNY What are you trying to say? Bucky, Dogstar, Fritz, and their crews are all standing up and watching now. FRITZ (To Bucky) Would you look at that! BUCKY I know it's amazing isn't it? Fritz nods. MIMI I just wanted to know if you would be willing to forgive me for the way I treated you and be my friend. I'm sorry, Jenny. JENNY (Smiles) Sure, why not? Mimi gives Jenny a hug. Everybody smiles, then claps. Out a smile on Bucky's face. THE END