"Failure" by Rygar First draft - 4/23/01 Final draft - 5/21/01 SCENE 1 - CLASSROOM, WASHINGTON HIGH, SAN FRANCISCO, EARTH ENGINEER WILLY DUWITT is scribbling on a sheet of paper on his desk. He appears to be focusing intently on whatever he's writing, totally oblivious to the world around him. The scribble seems to be a rough schematic for something. There are other desks in the classroom, most of which are occupied by students Willy's age. There is also a TEACHER writing something on the board. She turns from the board and says something to the class. TEACHER ... Willy? Willy, paying no attention, does not answer. TEACHER Willy! Startled, Willy looks up from his paper. WILLY Yes, Mrs. Cord? MRS. CORD Can you answer the question, Willy? WILLY Question? Um ... MRS. CORD (sighs) I suppose not. Willy slumps down in his chair. WILLY Sorry, Mrs. Cord. I ... I guess I wasn't paying attention. Various snickers can be heard among Willy's classmates. MRS. CORD I guess not either. (turning away from Willy) Well, can anyone else answer the question? Eileen? Willy slips back into his own little world, though he tries to pay attention to Mrs. Cord and the subject matter now. The bell finally rings, letting school out for the day. Willy and the other students get up to leave. As Willy passes Mrs. Cord's desk, she stops him. MRS. CORD Willy, I'd like to talk to you for a moment. WILLY (surprised and a little nervous) OK, Mrs. Cord. MRS. CORD Now Willy, I really wish I didn't have to talk to you like this. But you know why I am, right? WILLY Because I didn't pay attention in class today? MRS. CORD Today, yesterday, all of last week. Don't think I haven't noticed, Willy. It's like you're not even aware that you're at school any more. You used to be my best student, hands down. Are you even aware that you're practically failing my class? WILLY (startled) Failing?! But ... MRS. CORD Yes, Willy. Failing. And not just my class, either. I've talked to your other teachers. Your grades have plummeted in all of your classes. I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but you need a good, hard dose of reality. I'm really sorry it's come to this. WILLY I ... I didn't realize. I'm sorry. I've just been so preoccupied with ... MRS. CORD With what? Willy pauses. He can't say anything, because he knows Mrs. Cord will want to know more information until she knows too much. WILLY ... nothing. It's my fault. Um, is there anything I can do to ... MRS. CORD I'm sure you weren't even aware of it, but I'm giving a test tomorrow. If you get an A on it, then you have a fair shot at getting a C in the class. WILLY (startled) A ... a C? I can't get a C, Mrs. Cord! I ... MRS. CORD Do you think I *want* to give you a C, Willy? You're the one that's left me no choice. You'd better put in a lot of studying tonight, Willy. Do you even know what material we're covering? WILLY I ... MRS. CORD Chapters thirteen through sixteen. Now Willy, I know you can do this. I know you *want* to do this. Please, Willy. Study. WILLY Yes, ma'am. MRS. CORD Good. I'll see you tomorrow, Willy. Good luck. WILLY Th ... thanks, Mrs. Cord. Visibly shaken, Willy slowly walks out the door of the classroom. SCENE 2 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION The Righteous is docked on Genus. The crew, having nothing better to do, is killing time as best they can. CAPTAIN BUCKY O'HARE and FIRST MATE JENNY are in the cockpit, testing the controls to make sure that everything is functioning properly. GUNNER DEADEYE DUCK is checking his equipment as well, verifying that his masers are correctly charged and calibrated. BRUISER is using AFC BLINKY to play a game of holo- solitaire. He makes a few moves, then pauses and tries to think for a moment. BRUISER Uh ... Blinky? BLINKY Yes, Bruiser? BRUISER Do ya think, uh ... maybe I could, ya know ... flip this card here over? BLINKY Friend Bruiser, are you trying to cheat? BRUISER Well ... BLINKY At solitaire? BRUISER Uh ... you could call it dat ... BLINKY This does not compute. BRUISER Aw, c'mon, Blinky! Just one card! Just then, Willy's door appears. It creaks open, and Willy walks through. WILLY (a little distracted) Hey, guys. BRUISER Hey, Willy! BLINKY Welcome, Willy. WILLY Where's Bucky? BRUISER He's checkin' out da control panel wit' Jenny. WILLY Thanks. Willy climbs up the ladder to the cockpit. WILLY Captain? Bucky and Jenny turn around. They both smile when they see Willy. BUCKY Willy! Good to see you. WILLY (obviously still a little shaken) Thanks. I, uh ... just wanted to let you know that I'm almost done working on my new project. I should have it finished for you within a few days or so. Just ... just letting you know. JENNY Are you OK, Willy? You seem ... bothered. WILLY Oh, it's nothing. Just something at home. No big deal. BUCKY Can we do anything to help you? You really don't look all that good, Willy. WILLY No, I'm fine. Just ... I've got to go. I'll see you guys tomorrow, OK? JENNY Of course. BUCKY (obviously a little concerned, but willing to let it go for now) Bye, Willy. Take it easy. Willy climbs back down the ladder and walks through his door. Bucky and Jenny turn and look at each other. BUCKY That isn't good. JENNY No, it's not. BUCKY He said he was OK, though. Do you think we can do anything? JENNY I don't know. But I hope so. If we could do something, he'd let us know. BUCKY You're right. But I've been giving this some thought, and maybe we better let him keep his distance for a while. JENNY Beg your pardon? BUCKY You know how much time he spends here now. Maybe that's the problem. He has a life in his own world, too. (beat) At least, I hope he does. JENNY You know, I hadn't even thought of that. You're right; he's here all the time. It's sometimes easy to forget that he's not from the aniverse. Bucky shrugs. BUCKY If that's the case, then all we can do is do nothing. (turning to the controls) Now help me fix the wiring on this panel ... SCENE 3 - WILLY'S ROOM, SAN FRANCISCO, EARTH It is late at night. Willy is working feverishly on his desk. He seems to be drawing some sort of machine. He pauses for a moment, then draws a few more lines and puts down his pencil. WILLY Done! This is great. Wait 'til I built it and show it to the crew! Let me just double-check ... Willy stops and thinks for a second, then looks at his watch. WILLY Aw, man! I've *got* to study. If I fail that test, I'm ... (beat) I'm doomed. Willy jumps from his desk and grabs his backpack, leaving the diagram on his desk. SCENE 4 - WILLY'S ROOM It is now morning. Willy is lying asleep on the floor, an open textbook lying next to him. Suddenly, a faint knocking can he heard on the door. It's DR. DUWITT. DR. DUWITT (in the hallway) Willy? The knocking continues. DR. DUWITT Willy, it's 7 a.m. You shouldn't sleep so late; it'll disrupt your aura. And besides, you have school in a few ... Willy? No answer. Dr. DuWitt opens the door and finds Willy on the floor. He kneels over and jostles him. DR. DUWITT Willy? Wake up, Willy. Willy stirs. WILLY Huh? Dad? What ... what time is it? DR. DUWITT It's 7 a.m., son. You need to ... WILLY 7 a.m.?! Oh no! Willy jumps up, grabs his backpack, and runs downstairs. DR. DUWITT Willy, aren't you even going to change clothes? Your aura has been waning as it is ... Dr. DuWitt sighs. His son has been acting strange lately, and he hasn't any clue how to discipline him. Looking around the room, he notices the diagram from last night, which is still lying across Willy's desk. He walks over and inspects it. DR. DUWITT How odd. What is this for? If I didn't know any better, I'd say it looks like a weapon, but Willy said that he worked for ... Dr. DuWitt pauses, then looks closely at one part of the diagram. DR. DUWITT That's not right. He must have miscalculated. There's too much current that could flow through here. That would cause this mechanism to ... but, there's no way Willy could even build something like this. Dr. DuWitt frowns. DR. DUWITT Well, I suppose I'll mention it to him this evening. Dr. DuWitt leaves the room. SCENE 5 - CHAIRMAN WARNER'S OFFICE It is much later in the day. CHAIRMAN FRITZ WARNER is sitting at his desk, going through a mean-looking stack of papers. FRITZ (muttering) Let's see ... I need to allocate ten thousand simoleans to this account ... would that leave me enough to ... no ... maybe if I ... Suddenly, CAPTAIN MIMI LAFLEUR waltzes in, quietly closing the door behind her. MIMI Hello, *Chairman*. FRITZ (looks up) Mimi! How'd you get back here? I told my secretary I was not to be disturbed. MIMI (rolls her eyes) Right. *She* was hard to sneak past. FRITZ (grumbling) Could this wait? I'm having some trouble here ... MIMI (approaching Fritz's desk, grinning) Oh, it's nothing *too* important. I just wanted to ... check up on you. FRITZ Now's not the best time. We just had a slight budget cut, and that's making it difficult to ... MIMI *Wow*, that's boring. Come on, Fritz, take a break. FRITZ (finally looking up) Do *you* want to be the one to tell the Betelgeusians we're cutting their banana budget? MIMI (chuckling) OK, you're right. That's pretty important. But come *on*, you've been sitting at that desk for what, hours now? Just staring at those stupid pieces of paper. Get up! Stretch. Have some fun. FRITZ (dropping his pencil and standing up) Fine. Fun ... what would you suggest as fun? Mimi reaches over and grabs Fritz's tie, pulling him closer to her. MIMI Well, I can think of a few ... dozen ... things... Suddenly, an urgent knock is heard on the door. VOICE (outside the office) Chairman! Emergency! FRITZ Frelling ... I told her not to let anybody in! (looks around his office) Mimi, get under the desk. MIMI What? FRITZ You're not in here. Now get under the desk. MIMI (scowling) You sure know how to treat a lady, Fritz. Mimi hides under Fritz's desk. Fritz straightens his tie and sits back down. FRITZ (calling calmly) Come in. The door opens, and a canine OFFICER runs in toward the desk. He's short of breath, as if he ran all the way to the office. OFFICER Chairman ... it's urgent ... the toads ... FRITZ Calm down, Howler. What's the trouble? HOWLER The toads just attacked the supply ship to Narnox. There are too many of them. We have to send reinforcements right away, or we're going to lose the ship! FRITZ (frowning) We can't lose the Narnox account. Send in Commander Dogstar. HOWLER That's a no-can-do, sir. The Indefatigable is currently on another mission. FRITZ What? I figured he'd be back by now. HOWLER Sorry, sir, but that's my understanding. FRITZ Hm. Captain LaFleur is ... Fritz glances down, quickly enough that Howler doesn't notice. Mimi is looking up at him with an impatient look on her face. FRITZ ... occupied ... HOWLER Sir? FRITZ Captain O'Hare, then. Contact him immediately. I don't want to lose that ship! HOWLER (salutes) Yes, sir! Howler begins running out the door. FRITZ Oh, and Howler ... HOWLER (stops) Yes, sir? FRITZ Lock the door behind you, please. I told my secretary I was not to be disturbed, but it seems our dear Ms. Sheffield forgot her glasses or something today. HOWLER Yes, sir. Howler locks the door and shuts it behind him. MIMI (from beneath the desk) Any other emergencies I should be aware of? FRITZ Have a little patience, Mimi. Fritz reaches down and pulls Mimi up from behind the desk, then pulls her close. SCENE 6 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION The Righteous is no longer docked but is now flying in space. Willy and Deadeye are in the gunner's chamber. Willy is tinkering with the maser cannons, apparently attaching a new part that resembles the diagram he had been working on the night before. WILLY ... and there we go! DEADEYE Thanks, Willy me boy! So, ya say this'll make me cannons even more powerful? WILLY That's right! This new attachment should double the power of your masers. You should be able to take out toad ships with fewer direct hits now. DEADEYE (grins) Thanks, Willy me boy! Remind me to dedicate the first toad I croak to ya! WILLY (beams a little) Heh. Thanks, Deadeye. Hope it's helpful to you. DEADEYE Oh, boy! (rubs his hands together) I can hardly wait to test it out! Suddenly, Bucky walks in. BUCKY You won't have to wait long, Deadeye. We're en route to Narnox as we speak. Some toads are causing trouble with a UAC-sanctioned shipment, and Chairman Warner is having us check it out. DEADEYE (hopping in the gunner's chair) Ha hah! Say yer prayers, toadies! BUCKY (turns to Willy) Willy, could I talk to you for a second? WILLY Huh? Uh, sure, Captain. The two walk out of the gunner's chamber. BUCKY How are you feeling, Willy? WILLY I'm fine, Captain. Why? BUCKY You didn't seem fine yesterday, and frankly, I'm concerned about you. WILLY Oh, *that*. It's no big deal. I had a test at school today that I was worried about, but it went fine. BUCKY Are you sure you're OK? WILLY Yes, I'm sure. Why? BUCKY I just think that this job is getting to you. I mean, you have a life in your world too, right? WILLY (frowning) I said I was fine, Bucky. Are you trying to get at something? BUCKY Frankly, yes. I think you need some time off. I'm giving you a one-week vacation. WILLY Vacation? But Bucky ... BUCKY Fine or not, Willy, I'm worried about you. I don't see how a week off could do you any harm. Besides, if there are any other problems you need to deal with in your world, this should give you time to fix them so that it doesn't put any additional strain on you. WILLY Bucky ... BUCKY Do I have to make this an order, Willy? WILLY (shoulders slumped) No, Captain. You're probably right, anyway. Can I at least come visit during the week? BUCKY I don't see why not. But only for a few minutes. You're on a vacation, Willy, and I want it to do you some good. WILLY (glumly) Yes, Captain. BUCKY Thanks for understanding, Willy. You know I'm doing this for your own good, right? WILLY (lying) Yes. BUCKY Good. And Willy? WILLY Yeah? BUCKY Please try to relax. It's a *vacation*. WILLY Yes, Captain. Willy turns and exits through his door, which promptly vanishes. Bucks lets out a long sigh. BUCKY I hope that was the right decision. SCENE 7 - THE DUWITT RESIDENCE, SAN FRANCISCO, EARTH About twenty minutes have passed since Willy returned to the universe. He's sitting at the dinner table, trying valiantly to ingest his mother's latest tofu dish. Suddenly, the phone rings. WILLY (jumps up) I'll get it! MRS. DUWITT Now Willy, you know we don't answer the phone at the dinner table. This is a time of peace and nourishment, and it shouldn't be interrupted ... Willy's already on the phone. WILLY Hello? MRS. CORD Willy? WILLY Yes. (blinks) Mrs. Cord? MRS. CORD Hello, Willy. Is your mother home? WILLY Uh, we're eating dinner right now. She won't come to the phone. MRS. CORD Oh. Then I'll call back. WILLY Why are you calling? I did fine on the test, didn't I? MRS. CORD I shouldn't ... WILLY (worried) Didn't I? MRS. CORD Well, Willy, I could tell that you studied. I'm proud of you for that. You wrote good essays, and you would have gotten enough of the multiple-choice questions right to get a low A ... WILLY (interrupting) Wait. *Would* have? MRS. CORD (sighs) You still didn't pay enough attention, Willy. You skipped one of the answer blanks about halfway down. You had nearly all the right answers, but they didn't line up to the right questions on the answer sheet. WILLY What? MRS. CORD I'm sorry, Willy. That gave you a sixty-four on the test. WILLY (panicking) But ... but you know I studied! You said it yourself! Can I take a retest or something? Please ... MRS. CORD I'm sorry, Willy. The grades were due half an hour ago. I already turned them in. WILLY But ... I ... MRS. CORD I gave you a D, Willy. It's more than you earned based on your scores, but I know you tried. It's all I could do ... WILLY (dejected) I ... I understand, Mrs. Cord. But I ... MRS. CORD I shouldn't even be telling you this directly, Willy. If you want to talk about it tomorrow, that's fine; we can go to the principal's office. But right now, over the phone, I can't do a thing. WILLY (weakly) Right. MRS. CORD I'm sorry, Willy. Have a good night. WILLY (weakly) ... good. Night. Willy hangs up the phone and shuffles back to the table. MRS. DUWITT What's wrong, Willy? I told you you shouldn't answer the phone during dinner. WILLY That was my science teacher. There was a ... problem with the test I took today. It's not really my fault, but I got a low grade on it and ... MRS. DUWITT I'm sure it's not your fault, Willy. You're so good at science. DR. DUWITT Oh, speaking of science, Willy, I saw that schematic you were working on last night. WILLY (turns his head toward Dr. DuWitt) The schematic? DR. DUWITT The one on your desk. I meant to tell you, but I forgot. I saw a miscalculation. WILLY A what? DR. DUWITT There was too much charge flowing through one of the capacitors. If that machine actually existed, it would blow up after a minute or two of use. I didn't worry about it because I knew you'd never build ... WILLY (frantic) *Blow up*?! DR. DUWITT Yes. Was that the problem with your science test, Willy? Was that a class project? I've certainly never seen any machine utilize microwaves that way ... WILLY (rapidly) Igottago. Willy darts up the stairs, running as quickly as he can. MRS. DUWITT Well. Something is certainly working Willy up. DR. DUWITT Well, you know how the planets are aligned right now, Susan. This is a bad week for Capricorns. SCENE 8 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION A few minutes after Willy left, the ship arrived at Narnox, and the crew engaged a large force of toad double-bubbles attacking a defenseless mammalian supply ship. DEADEYE Oh boy! Eat my special new masers, ya toady scumbags! Deadeye begins firing at the toads. Sure enough, Willy's invention is increasing his firepower, and the toad ships are taking a pounding. BUCKY Wow, that invention of Willy's is really something. I've got to hand it to that kid, stressed out or not, he knows what he's doing. JENNY Wait. BUCKY Huh? JENNY Something's wrong. BUCKY What do you ... Bucky looks down at the power gauge on the control panel. BUCKY Whoa! These energy levels for Deadeye's maser cannons are ... (into comm) Deadeye! DEADEYE Yeah, Cap'n? BUCKY Stop firing! Now! DEADEYE (still firing) Aw, c'mom, Cap'n! Look at them toadies croak! I haven't had this much fun since ... Suddenly, Deadeye's cannon starts to emit a high-pitched whine. DEADEYE ... the last time I ... Cap'n? BUCKY Deadeye! Get out of there! Deadeye notices that the component that Willy attached is beginning to glow. DEADEYE ... Willy? Suddenly, the whine stops, and before Deadeye can react, the maser cannon explodes. Deadeye is tossed across the cabin, hitting the opposite wall violently. He slumps to the floor, unconscious and apparently badly hurt. The glass that separates the gunner's cabin from the void of space has cracked from the explosion, and the cracks are spreading. Bucky and Jenny both hear the explosion. BUCKY Deadeye? *Deadeye*! JENNY I'm getting us out of here. BUCKY Jenny, get us out of here! JENNY Right, Bucky. Jenny turns the Righteous around and heads for the nearest planet. Bucky leaps from his chair and climbs down the ladder to check on Deadeye. Just then, Willy's door appears. He bursts through. WILLY Bucky! Don't let Deadeye shoot the cannon! Bucky turns and glares at Willy. BUCKY *Now* you tell me. WILLY (petrified) Oh, no... what happened? Bucky ignores him and runs to the gunner's chamber. Willy hesitantly follows. His face turns white when he looks in. WILLY Oh no ... In the Narnox air space, the toads celebrate their victory as they destroy what's left of the mammalian supply ship. SCENE 9 - HOSPITAL, GENUS Bucky and the rest of the crew are in one of the hospital's waiting rooms. Bucky is pacing nervously, Willy is stark white and not talking or moving, and the rest of the crew is sitting down, anxious but quiet. A wolf DOCTOR finally approaches Bucky. DOCTOR Captain O'Hare? BUCKY (anxiously) Yes? DOCTOR If you'd like to see you friend ... BUCKY How is he? DOCTOR Perhaps you'd like to see for yourself? The rest of the crew hears the doctor. All of them but Willy get up and approach him, but the doctor waves them off. DOCTOR Sorry. The patient is unconscious, so I can only allow his commanding officer to visit. Regulations. Nothing I can do. BRUISER Is Deadeye OK, Doc? BUCKY I'll be right back, Bruiser. I'll let you know how he is. Bucky and the doctor walk off. The rest of the crew sits back down. Willy has not budged. SCENE 10 - DEADEYE'S HOSPITAL ROOM Bucky and the doctor enter a small hospital room. Deadeye is laid out carefully on a bed. He's not in traction, but most of him is bandaged. His face is uncovered, and he's obviously unconscious. DOCTOR (checking a chart) Well, Deadeye suffered second-degree burns over most of his body. Nothing's broken, but he's got some bad internal bleeding, and there might possibly be some brain damage. Until he regains consciousness -- which he will -- we can't tell that for sure. There shouldn't be any need for surgery. Best case scenario, he'll be out in three weeks. Worst case ... let's just say you're gonna need to hire a new gunner in the meantime. BUCKY (shaking his head) Deadeye ... is there anything I can do, doctor? Me or my crew? DOCTOR While he's unconscious, there's nothing you can do to help him. Once he's awake, I'd recommend visiting him occasionally, though not often. Since we don't know for sure how his brain is doing, we don't want to risk anything. BUCKY All right. Is there anything else I need to take care of? DOCTOR Nope. His medical bills are covered by the UAC. Heck, from what I understand, he was wounded in the line of duty. He might even get some sort of medal, right? Bucky tries not to laugh, but does so -- a forced, almost choking laugh. BUCKY Right. Thank you, Doctor. DOCTOR I'll get in contact with you as soon as he regains consciousness. Bucky looks back at Deadeye, then leaves the room. SCENE 11 - CHAIRMAN WARNER'S OFFICE Fritz is sitting at his desk, reading the sheet of paper he has just been handed. FRITZ Dammit. I can't believe we lost that ship. *Dammit*! Fritz shakes his head, then massages his temples. FRITZ Ok. This is not good. I don't know *how* I'm going to explain this to Narnox ... and this sure as frell doesn't help the budget problem any ... (beat) My secretary's not gonna like us losing a shipment to her home world, either. My coffee's probably gonna taste funny for a week. A knocking is heard on the door. Fritz doesn't acknowledge it, but the door swings open anyway, and Mimi walks through. MIMI Fritz, I heard about what happened with Bucky, and ... FRITZ That's Chairman to you, Captain LaFleur. And you're going to be doing double duty now that the Righteous is out of commission. Now please leave my office. MIMI But I ... FRITZ Out, Captain. Mimi pauses. She knows there's no better way to handle this situation than leaving, so she does so. After the door closes, Fritz bangs his fist on the table. FRITZ Dammit. SCENE 12 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION Blinky has just finished replacing the windows in the gunner's chamber. The glass was badly cracked and had barely held together long enough for the Righteous to make a landing. The cannon was a total loss, and Blinky can't do anything with what's left. Bucky enters. BUCKY How's it going, Blinky? BLINKY Window replacement 97% complete, Captain. I estimate that five more minutes will be necessary for me to finish the task. BUCKY That's not bad. Anything else you can fix? BLINKY No, captain. Only the windows and the maser cannon were damaged. I thoroughly inspected the remains of the cannon, and nothing was salvageable. I estimate the replacement cost at fifteen thousand simoleans. BUCKY Shit! (beat) There's no way we're going to be able to come up with that any time soon, especially with the budget problems. I can't believe this is happening. Have you seen Willy? BLINKY Willy returned to his home world approximately thirty minutes ago, Captain. BUCKY Really? Did anyone talk to him before he left? BLINKY Negative. Willy has made no contact with any crew member since the explosion. BUCKY I've got to talk to him. Where's Jenny? BLINKY Jenny left the ship approximately seventeen minutes ago, Captain. Destination unknown. BUCKY Great. What next, a hole opens up in the ground and swallows Bruiser whole? BLINKY Normally, I would estimate a less than 0.1% probability of such an event occurring. Considering the events of the past five hours, I estimate a 2% probability. BUCKY Great. Nice to know that even mathematics is against me today. Bucky climbs up to the cockpit, sits in his chair, and buries his head in his hands. BUCKY This is not my day. SCENE 13 - WILLY'S ROOM The room is dark, and Willy is lying down on his bed. He did not bother to remove the clutter from it, meaning that he is uncomfortable, but he does not care. He is still pale white, and the image of Deadeye burned and unconscious across from the maser cannon wreckage remains firmly in his mind. Slowly, two other thoughts enter Willy's head and mingle with the gruesome image: "I failed my test" and "I failed my friends." The word "failed" jumps out at him repeatedly and strongly, and he beings to shiver as a tear runs down his cheek, though his facial expression remains unchanged. After about twenty minutes, Willy's lips part slightly. WILLY (whispering) Failed ... I failed them ... I hurt them ... I ... I ... Deadeye ... Suddenly, a different image enters Willy's mind. It's similar to the scene from a moment ago, but now it appears as though Deadeye is not merely injured, but definitely dead. Willy bolts upright. WILLY (shouting) *Deadeye*! Willy suddenly faints and falls backwards onto his bed. His sleep is drenched in nightmares. A few hours later, Mrs. DuWitt begins knocking on the door. MRS. DUWITT Willy? We heard a shout a while ago, but we didn't want to bother you, but now you've been in there so long ... No reply. Mrs. DuWitt tries the doorknob, but it is locked and she cannot enter. She sighs and turns away from the door. MRS. DUWITT Willy ... SCENE 14 - GENUS Bucky has been wandering about the local area for some time now, trying to find Jenny. Unsuccessful, he returns to the Righteous, only to find Jenny sitting in her chair. BUCKY *There* you are! Where have you been? JENNY I just needed some time to myself. I needed to think. BUCKY OK. Can you contact Willy for me? I need to talk to him. JENNY Willy doesn't want to talk right now. BUCKY What? How do you know? JENNY Trust me. Either way, he's not awake. BUCKY Is he OK? JENNY (glumly) No. How would *you* take this, Captain? His mistake lost us a fight to the toads and nearly lost us a crewmember. There's something else, too ... I can't quite tell what it is. BUCKY Let me know when he's awake. I have to talk to him. I have to tell him that I'm not mad. JENNY *Are* you mad? BUCKY I ... (beat) I am. I'm ... no. Not mad. Just ... disappointed? Scared? I don't know. I've never had a crewmember hurt this badly before, and I've never had a crewmember cause this much damage. I don't know how to handle this. A small part of me wants to ... to yell at Willy, to just scream at him. But I know that's not right. I have to talk to him. I have to forgive him. JENNY Maybe you should calm down a little first. BUCKY (chuckles) Yeah ... calm down. I need a drink. Want to go get a drink? JENNY (beat) Yes. Bucky and Jenny exit the Righteous without saying another word. SCENE 15 - WILLY'S ROOM Willy is still lying on the bed. He suddenly stirs and gets up. WILLY (tiredly) Huh ... what ... Willy's eyes fly wide open as he remembers the events of the past day. He gasps for breath. WILLY (dejected) How am I gonna ... what am I ... Another knock is heard on the door. DR. DUWITT Willy? Could I please come in, son? Willy hesitates, then weakly climbs out of bed and unlocks his door. Dr. DuWitt steps in. DR. DUWITT Thanks, son. Could I talk with you for a while? I've been getting some pretty negative vibes from you these past few hours. WILLY Uh ... yeah, sure. Willy plops down on the bed. Dr. DuWitt comes over and sits next to him. DR. DUWITT Talk to me, son. Is it about that science project? WILLY No, that's not really ... all of it. DR. DUWITT I mean, if you ever need some help with science, I'm here for you. WILLY (surprised that his dad is doing something akin to parenting) Uh ... thanks, Dad. DR. DUWITT So what else is it? I know this is a rough week for you, being a Capricorn and all, but I'd like to know what's cramping your karma. WILLY Well, remember the ... my science project? The blueprint? DR. DUWITT Yes. WILLY (trying to explain without giving the whole truth away) Well, it was a ... a model. A prototype. It was ... some aspects of it were going to be used on the ship I work on. But that faulty circuit caused it, to, well, blow up, and ... and one of my fellow crew members got hurt. He'll be OK, but still ... DR. DUWITT (frowning) You didn't intend for this to happen, did you, Willy? WILLY Of course not! DR. DUWITT Does your boss understand that? WILLY I don't know. I didn't stick around to ask him. I was too afraid. DR. DUWITT Do you think you'll get fired? WILLY (beat) I hope not. I ... don't think so. DR. DUWITT Are you going to have to pay the medical bills? WILLY I don't see why. That should be covered. DR. DUWITT Well, running isn't going to help, first of all. Now, let's look at this situation. Why didn't you double-check the circuitry on that diagram of yours? WILLY I had to study for that science test. DR. DUWITT And why did you have to study? You've never had any trouble with science before. WILLY I wasn't having any trouble. I was just ... behind in class. DR. DUWITT You've never been behind in class before either, son. WILLY I guess ... I was spending too much time in ... at my job, and not enough on my schoolwork. DR. DUWITT (musing) Well, son, it seems to me that you need to prioritize more. Your job is important, but so is your wellbeing. I mean, you can't save the whales if you can't even save yourself, right? WILLY (beat) Right ... DR. DUWITT How badly do they need you at your job? I mean, I'm sure they got along fine before they had you. And you're still young. It's not like you're holding that ship together or anything. WILLY Well ... DR. DUWITT Ask for some time off. Take a break from work and get back on your feet at school. And once you're back on your feet, stay on them. Your job is important, but your education is your life. WILLY (still not entirely sure how to take this) Thanks, Dad. I had no idea you cared so much. DR. DUWITT Of course I care, son. I just wish I could do more. Just remember: Help yourself before you help you help your shipmates, or you're doing everybody a disservice. WILLY Right. I'll keep that in mind. Willy smiles a little. DR. DUWITT I'm glad we had this little talk, son. It's been a while. Now, your mother and I are going for a tofu run at the organic supermarket. Care to come? Willy is actually about to answer "yes" when he feels Jenny trying to contact him. WILLY Thanks, Dad. I would, but like you said, I've got to get back on my feet. So I'd better start ... studying now. DR. DUWITT All right. Good luck, son, and remember that your mother and I are here if you need us. WILLY Right. Dr. DuWitt gets up and leaves the room. WILLY (still surprised) Wow. (to himself) Put myself before my job ... but can I put myself before an entire dimension? Willy sighs and builds up his courage, then throws the switch on his photon accelerator and enters the aniverse. SCENE 16 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION Willy steps through the door to find Bucky and Jenny waiting for him. Both seem relaxed and calm. Willy doesn't feel as though he's about to get in any trouble, but all things considered, he's still quite wary. WILLY ... hi, Jenny. Captain. BUCKY (smiling weakly) Hi, Willy. Mind if we chat for a moment? WILLY Not at all. I really shouldn't stay too long, though. I'm on vacation, remember? BUCKY (remembering) Oh. Right. It'll just take a few minutes. Bucky and Willy climb into the cockpit. WILLY Captain, I ... BUCKY Willy. WILLY Yes? BUCKY Before I say anything else, I want you to know that I understand that what happened wasn't your fault. You were just trying to help us out, and nobody on this ship is mad at you. WILLY I still feel horrible, though. If I'd just checked that circuit ... BUCKY I can't say you didn't do anything wrong. Hopefully, this will teach you a lesson. Hopefully, it'll teach us all a lesson ... sometimes, I still wonder how bright an idea it was bringing a kid into this war. WILLY I'm the one that keeps coming back, Bucky. It's my decision to help you fight the toads. BUCKY I understand that, Willy, and I'm grateful. But you *are* a kid. And this is war. This isn't even your fight. You're a smart kid, Willy. You have a great future ahead of you doing ... doing rocket science, or whatever it is geniuses do. As much as we need you here, your first priority is your home and your life. We can always get another engineer. WILLY (taken aback) You're going to replace me? BUCKY No. Of course not. (beat) What I meant is, don't spend all your time here any more. You've been under a lot of stress lately, and you need to work that stress out. You can't do that here. I gave you a vacation for a reason, Willy. With Deadeye unconscious, we're not going on any missions any time soon, anyway. WILLY Deadeye. The doctor said he'd be OK in what, a week? BUCKY (frowning) More like a month. Or worse. But he has to regain consciousness first. WILLY (dejected again) Aw, man. BUCKY (sternly) Willy! You did not do this on purpose. Do not work yourself up over this any more. And that's an order. WILLY (glumly) Yes, Captain. BUCKY Seriously, Willy. I don't need my ship's morale any lower than it is. (smiling) Go home, Willy. Take a nap or something. Eat something good. Catch up on your studies. I'll have Jenny contact you when Deadeye's awake. WILLY Thanks, Captain. Willy begins to climb down the ladder. WILLY And Captain? Bucky looks over at Willy. BUCKY Yes? WILLY I *am* sorry. Bucky smiles again. BUCKY I know, Willy. I know. Willy climbs down the ladder and walks through his door. Jenny climbs up the ladder and sits next to Bucky. JENNY You handled that well. BUCKY I'm just glad I was able to handle it at all. It was easier than I thought. JENNY Well, you did a good job. I think Willy understands that we aren't mad at him. BUCKY I hope so. Bucky looks out the window and into the sky. BUCKY Sometimes, I wish none of this had happened. I wish I could still be somewhere, painting away, not a care in the world. Sometimes ... I can't believe I've grown up. JENNY Whatever you've done, you've done a good job of it. Bucky and Jenny smile at each other. There's a slight pause, and then Jenny leans over into Bucky's arms. The two exchange a warm hug. BUCKY Thanks, Jenny. I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Without any of you. Even Willy. JENNY I can hardly remember not having Willy on this ship. BUCKY I know. It's been so long ago ... but I still miss Bruce. JENNY (beat) Yeah. BUCKY Here's hoping I never have to lose another crewmember. Bucky gets up. BUCKY And to that end, I'd better go check on Deadeye. Bucky climbs down the ladder and exits the ship. Jenny sighs, then leans back in her chair. SCENE 17 - WILLY'S ROOM A week has passed. Willy has had a few more nightmares, but he's calmed down a lot and has gotten his mind off of what happened. He's sitting at his desk, scribbling. A pile of school textbooks is at one corner of the desk, and another textbook is sitting open, right in front of him. WILLY And ... there. Willy smiles and sits back. It's taken all week, but he's caught up on his homework. He had to keep the D in science, but he's no longer in danger of failing the rest of his classes Still, his grades are lower than usual. He's got more hard work ahead of him. WILLY I've never had to do so much work in my life. I'm glad that's over. And I'm *never* getting this behind in my schoolwork again! Willy picks up the stack of textbooks and places them on the floor. He then takes a rolled-up sheet of paper from beside his desk and lays it out. It's the diagram for the maser enhancer he'd been working on earlier. WILLY Now to fix this ... Willy spends about an hour going over the diagram, making certain that everything is as it should be. He then double-checks everything. It's satisfactory. WILLY Maybe I should let Dad look at this, too. Just in case. Just then, Willy hears Jenny. JENNY WILLY JENNY WILLY Willy gets up and throws the switch on his photon accelerator. SCENE 18 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION Willy walks through the door and is greeted by Bucky and Jenny. BUCKY Willy. Good to see you again. WILLY Thanks, Captain. BUCKY How are things at home? WILLY They're fine. I caught up on all my schoolwork, and I fixed the maser enhancer I was working on. It should work now. BUCKY (chuckles) That's good to know, but Fritz estimates that it'll be at least a week -- probably more -- before he can dig up funds to replace the old cannon. WILLY (winces slightly) Oh. BUCKY It's not a problem. All that means is that we get a nice little vacation. WILLY But I've already had a vacation! I'm tired of sitting around. JENNY (smiles) Actually, we do have some work for you to do around the ship, so don't worry about getting bored. WILLY (nods) Um, how's Deadeye? BUCKY He just regained consciousness a little while ago. He's up and feisty. Want to go see him? WILLY Yeah. Bucky leads Jenny and Willy out of the ship and to the hospital. SCENE 19 - DEADEYE'S HOPSITAL ROOM The trio enters. Deadeye is still lying on the bed and bandaged, but he's conscious and talking up a storm with his doctor, who is standing by the bed. He sees them enter and beams. DEADEYE Willy, me boy! Good ta see ya! WILLY (hesitantly) Hi, Deadeye. How are you feeling? DEADEYE Eh, I been hurt worse than this before. 'sides, I got a good long sleep out of it all. I just wish I could get up and start croakin' some more toads! WILLY (surprised at Deadeye's positive attitude and enthusiasm) So you're not mad at me? DEADEYE Willy boy! Now why would ol' Deadeye be mad at ya? It's not like ya meant t' hurt me or nothin'. And I bet you fixed that invention of yours already, huh? WILLY (smiles weakly) Yeah, I did. DEADEYE Well then! As soon as I'm back on me feet, it'll be time to show those toadies a thing or too. Did you see them toads I shot with your invention on me gun? WILLY No ... DEADEYE Ha hah! They croaked *good*, Willy me boy. Willy grins. WILLY I'm glad you're OK, Deadeye. BUCKY Doctor, you said that there was no permanent damage, right? DOCTOR That's correct. Some of his feathers aren't going to grow back for a few weeks, but he ought to be able to walk out of here on his own by the end of next week. BUCKY That's great. (to Deadeye) Get some more rest, old friend. As soon as we get a new maser cannon, we're going to have a lot of work to do to make this up to Fritz. DEADEYE Aye, aye, Cap'n. SCENE 20 - WILLY'S ROOM It is night. Willy has just climbed into bed and is about to go to sleep. For the first time in a week, he feels peaceful. He still hasn't completely forgiven himself for all that's happened, but he knows that he's been forgiven, and that comforts him. Willy slowly drifts to sleep. A few hours later, he can be heard murmuring unconsciously in his sleep. WILLY I won't fail you guys again ... I won't ... won't fail again ... THE END