Shirley the Beginning - A Courage the Cowardly Dog Story

by TheTexasPowerhouse

In this intense action/thriller, we discover how a timid Chihuahua lost in Romania became the mysterious Gypsy Sorceress of Nowhere.

Courage The Cowardly Dog:

Shirley The Beginning

Inspired by the character from the TV Series

Created, Produced, & Directed by John R. Dilworth

Teleplay by TheTexasPowerhouse

CONTENT WARNING!

Sequences of Intense Creature Violence and Action

Thematic Elements

FanFiction Rating: T

Preface

When the Cartoon Network was the go-to channel for fun, hilarious entertainment, it kept a lot of us sucked in to great shows endlessly on the TV, including the exceptionally unique concept that is Courage the Cowardly Dog. Blending cartoon hijinks with horror and supernatural elements is always tricky, but John R. Dilworth and his team found a truly great balance of it all. What made this show particularly great and memorable were the unique and fun supporting characters. And to me, no supporting character was more fascinating or intriguing than the sorceress gypsy that is Shirley the Medium.

How did a Chihuahua obtain the magical powers of a powerful magician, gain a Romanian accent in her tongue, and keep a moral compass that is straight as Polaris? And also, how did she wind up in the middle of Nowhere?! Well, that's the questions I asked myself and I will strive to answer in this story. No special T.V. show format, just a riveting, hopefully entertaining, thrill ride into the origins of Shirley the Medium. There is Romanian dialogue throughout, along with some German and English, but the translations can be found in the action descriptions. Enjoy!

[The camera fades from black to a bright, shining sun against a civilized town in the early 1990's time of the country of Romania. Some of the buildings have scars of damage, including broken windows, black burns, and debris on various properties and streets.]

[In one of the town's streets, we see two townspeople picking up and sweeping off of the rubble from the street as if they are living in the aftermath of a war, maybe the Romanian Revolution of 1989 as suggested by the few decimated, or burning, pictures of Nicolae Ceausescu all over the streets and near the homes.]

[We see a little girl, Daniela, throwing broken wood and twigs from her family home onto a burning pile near the street.]

[Daniela coughs against the smoke. Suddenly, a man, Vasile, takes Daniela by the hand and leads her away from the smoke and back towards the broken home.]

[Inside the broken home, Daniela and Vasile sit down, taking a break from the clean-up process. The interior of the home is no different than the disastrous environment just outside of the property lines.]

[Daniela speaks to her father. As she does, the text reading, "Why, Father?" appears on the bottom of the screen.]

Daniela: De ce, Părinte?

[Vasile responds plainly. The text reading, "Communism. Selfish, arrogant Communism." appears on the bottom of the screen.]

Vasile: Comunism. Comunismul Arogant egoiști.

[Daniela sighs in remorse and fatigue. She speaks again, making the text, "Why is communism selfish?" appear on the bottom of the screen.]

Daniela: De ce este comunismul egoist?

[Vasile speaks plainly to his daughter, prompting the text, "Because it wants to think for us all!" to appear on the bottom of the screen.]

Vasile: Pentru că vrea să se gândească pentru noi toți!

[That statement makes Daniela make a confused face. Vasile explains more, prompting the text "I have my own mind, just like you have your own." to appear on the bottom of the screen.]

Vasile: Am propria mea minte, la fel ca ai propriul tau.

[Vasile continues as he looks away from his daughter and at the sight of destruction in front of their lawn, prompting "The bad guys wanted to control our minds, not allowing us to think for ourselves." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Vasile: Baietii rai a vrut să controleze mintea noastră, nu permițându-ne să gândim noi înșine.

[Vasile looks back at his daughter, and uses his finger to turn Daniela's head towards him.]

[Vasile looks sincerely at Daniela as he speaks, prompting, "No one should control your mind. Yours is too precious." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Vasile: Nimeni nu ar trebui să controleze mintea. Al tău este prea prețios.

[Daniela, getting a little teary-eyed, rubs her face against her father's hand amorously.]

[Vasile smiles gingerly as his daughter.]

[Daniela looks back up at her father, with tears in her eyes. She speaks, prompting, "And no one should control your brain. It's too good." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Daniela: Și nimeni nu ar trebui să controleze creierul. E prea bine.

[Vasile smiles, picks up her daughter and embraces her. He speaks, prompting "I love you." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Vasile: Te iubesc.

[Daniela responds, prompting, "I love you, father." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Daniela: Te iubesc tată.

[As Daniela and Vasile embrace gingerly, they hear yapping of a little dog and screeching of a small cat. The yapping and screeching get louder, causing Daniela and Vasile to open their eyes, let go and look around.]

[Daniela and Vasile look outside their broken house window as the screeching and yapping continue.]

[The camera focuses on Daniela and Vasile as they see something running among the yapping and screeching. Their eyes follow it as it goes on. Daniela inquires, prompting the text "Communism?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Daniela: Comunism?

[Vasile replies casually, prompting "No. Nature." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Vasile: Nu. Natura.

[A still camera angle catches a tan-orange house cat running away swiftly up the street, screeching and hissing, quickly followed by a Chihuahua barking and yapping while chasing the cat.]

[We see the tan-orange cat, screeching and hissing, as it continues running.]

[We see the Chihuahua, barking and yapping, as it continues running.]

[A planted camera angle shows the tan-orange cat running into an alleyway among the debris and neglected newspapers. The Chihuahua quickly follows the cat in. The running paw steps fade away, as does the yapping and hissing. Suddenly, a loud, ferocious "ROOOOOOOOOAAAAWR!" is heard from within the alley, causing a slight rumble that shatters a couple of half-broken glass bottles into smaller pieces. Suddenly, the Chihuahua BOLTS out from the alleyway, stumbles a bit, but blazes away from the alleyway past the camera, whining in total fear. Her paw steps fade away. From within the alleyway, the tan-orange cat comfortably emerges with about 15 or 20 of its friends of various colors and breeds. They look where the Chihuahua was running, laugh with a slight hiss, and congratulate each other for scaring off its predator.]

[We see the Chihuahua running out from the town and into the grassy fields towards the tree-laden mountains. We hear the Chihuahua whining as it runs off.]

[Later that night, among the owl hoots and insect noises, the Chihuahua is heard whining softly.]

[We see the full moon above with several stars and a couple stray clouds. We hear the Chihuahua whining again among the insect noises. The camera pans down into the forest.]

[We see the Chihuahua finding a patch of land near a fallen tree trunk. The Chihuahua uses her paws to swiftly excavate and get a feel of the soft patch of land. She softly whines as she curls up, shivers at the slight, cool breeze, and tries to close her eyes and sleep. The camera zooms in on her head.]

[FLASH! We see in Black & White, a couple of grown Chihuahuas rummaging through a trash bin in a well-kept and maintained alleyway, before any war destroyed it. Just below the garbage bin is a very young Chihuahua, our Chihuahua, maybe about two months old. She's shaking nervously as she keeps watch. Suddenly, we hear some yipping from within the bin.]

[The older Chihuahua jump out from the bin; one is gripping a few half-eaten pieces of Mititei in its jaw, and the other is gripping a couple, partly-eaten strips of smoked bacon. The little one yips and leaps with joy at the sight of the feast.]

[A piece of Mititei and bacon are tossed to the little Chihuahua's feet. She instantly starts feasting on her meal as the other Chihuahua's also feast on their prize. After a moment, a shadow of another canine, growling a deep growl, makes the Chihuahuas pause and gasp.]

[We see a ferocious looking German Shepherd, growling at what he perceives as trespassers. However, the German Shepherd stops and looks down towards the Chihuahuas.]

[The German Shepherd notices the pieces of Mititei and bacon on the ground at the nervous Chihuahuas feet.]

[The German Shepherd licks his snout in hungry lust. He growls and barks.]

[The Chihuahuas yelp, but suddenly, one of them notices something to the right of them.]

[We see a small hole in a wooden fence.]

[The older Chihuahua barks to the little Chihuahua and points to the fence. The little Chihuahua whines a little, licks her mother, and runs towards the fence.]

[The little Chihuahua makes it through the hole in the fence, turns around, and yips for her parents.]

[We see the older Chihuahua's running towards the hole in the fence, when suddenly, BAM! The German Shepherd crashes into them, knocking them away from sight.]

[The little Chihuahua yips and whines as we see shadows of the growling German Shepherd fighting the Chihuahuas, who are yelping and barking over the crashing, violent sounds.]

[Suddenly, from beyond the fence, BLAM! BLAM! We hear two crashing sounds, followed by silence. We hear paw steps walking, followed by chewing sounds, and more paw steps. The little Chihuahua, very cautiously, looks within the scene of the fight, and not seeing much, enters the hole.]

[On the other side of the fence, among the wrecked garbage bins and debris, we see the little Chihuahua, scared and nervous, looking around as she slowly makes we way around a fallen, damaged garbage bin. The little Chihuahua looks around the bin, and suddenly whines and leaps back at a horrifying sight.]

[We see, among the debris and wreckage, the fallen, bite-laden bodies of the older Chihuahuas, beaten, and lifeless.]

[The little Chihuahua's eyes start tearing up as she whines in mourning. With her head down, she goes to and lies next to her fallen parents.]

[The camera zooms out from the scene as we hear the little Chihuahua moaning and whining in total pain.]

[From above, we see wind blowing newspapers and debris as the camera zooms out. We hear the little Chihuahua howl in desperation against the wind.]

[FLASH! Back in the present, and in color, we see the little Chihuahua shivering and whining as she tries to get some sleep. FADE TO BLACK.]

[Fade to daytime. The sun is shining in the sky.]

[Against the sun and a breeze, the little Chihuahua walks through a green, slightly golden, field.]

[A moment later, the little Chihuahua takes a drink from a sparkling fresh water stream. The Chihuahua licks her snout as she looks up. She raises her hear and her ears point straight up as she eyes something. It might be something good as evidenced by her happily wagging tail.]

[Looking from behind the Chihuahua's head, we see small houses and a tent that make up a small Romanian community. The Chihuahua runs for it.]

[Later that afternoon, the Chihuahua is walking among the many townspeople in the Romanian marketplace. Most of the goods being traded and sold are locally grown fruits and vegetables.]

[Among the walking townspeople and the trading chatter, we see the Chihuahua sniffing around the ground.]

[Suddenly, the Chihuahua spots a discarded apple on the ground underneath the tables of fruits. She leaps from the sidewalk into the area under the table.]

[The Chihuahua sinks her moderately maintained teeth into the apple, and eats in haste. She stays under the fruit tables as she eats away at her good fortune. While chewing, she looks around under the table.]

[From under the table, we only see the legs of many other marketplace shoppers walking around and stopping in front of the tables. Not much else can be found in the area under the tables.]

[The Chihuahua looks to the other side. She spots something that engages her curiosity.]

[From the Chihuahua's point of view, we see the tail of a fiery red dress with green trim.]

[Seeing that her apple is consumed, the Chihuahua leaves from under the table and follows the red dress.]

[From outside of the market place, we see that the red dress with green trim belongs to a young gypsy, Sonya. She's a woman in her mid-20's, brunette, slender, lovely face. Her red blouse with green trim works with her white top, laced up in black. Her high-heeled, worn black boots gives her an additional 1 ½ inches to her moderately petite stature. Sonya dons a pale red hood which covers her hoop earrings in each of her ears. She has a large, wicker basket with some fruits and vegetables that she obtained from the marketplace.]

[We follow Sonya as she walks along from the marketplace. She stops as she hears some whining down below. She looks down and gasps softly at what she sees.]

[From Sonya's point of view, we see the Chihuahua looking up at her with a slight grin. Sonya speaks which prompts the text "A poor, little Chihuahua." to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Un sărac, puțin Chihuahua.

[Sonya, with her basket still on her arm, picks up the slightly trembling Chihuahua and inquires, prompting the text, "Where is your family?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Unde este familia ta?

[The Chihuahua, understanding what was asked, lowers her head and whines sadly.]

[Sonya, seeing this, understands and holds the Chihuahua close and continues walking. She speaks gingerly, prompting the text "Oh, you poor thing. Come with me." to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Oh, lucru sărac. Vino cu mine.

[We see Sonya walk off with the Chihuahua and her basket of goods in her arms into the sunset.]

[Later that evening, we see a team of two horses pulling a double-axle wagon, which is Sonya's travelling home.]

[Sonya is seen as the driver of the wagon. The Chihuahua is trying to stay stable on the driver's seat next to her new owner, but it's kind of hard for her to stay on, due to the rocking of the wagon. Seeing this, Sonya picks up the Chihuahua and speaks to her as sets her inside the wagon, prompting the text, "Stay in here so you don't get hurt." to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Stai aici, astfel încât să nu fie rănit.

[We see Sonya gently setting the Chihuahua inside the wagon. It still rocks a bit, but the Chihuahua is in much better control of her feet, partly because she on Sonya's bed. The Chihuahua looks around inside the wagon.]

[The interior of the wagon is decorated with red wallpaper, light red beads, and several trinkets, including wind chimes, basketry, and other various artifacts, including medallions and charms. On the right side of the wagon is a single round table populated by a blue tablecloth with gold trim and a base for a crystal ball, which is not seen. On the left side of the wagon is a countertop, obviously meant for preparing meals.]

[We get a better view of the front of the wagon, where the little Chihuahua is still seated on the double-sized bed. The bed features two big pillows, a small, heart-shaped pillow, and a wool blanket. The entire bed scheme is matching in deep red and white trim. The Chihuahua is rather amazed at the spectacle of the well-maintained Gypsy wagon. The wagon still rocks a little, but it doesn't seem to bother the Chihuahua.]

[The Chihuahua looks around the wagon a little, smiles at her fortune, and curls up on the bed, keeping watch.]

[We see the wagon trotting on in the night. FADE TO BLACK.]

[A few weeks later, we see Sonya's wagon set up for business just on the outskirts of a Romanian town. A text appears, reading "Deva, Romania". We see Sonya approaching her own wagon, holding a few pieces of metal wire and a few bags. Sonya calls out to her pet, prompting the text, "Shirley! Shirley, come here!" to appear after the location text disappears.]

Sonya: Shirley! Shirley, vino aici!

[The Chihuahua, Shirley, who has grown in stature a little but has maintained a slim figure, pops out from the wagon, panting and yipping happily.]

[Sonya approaches Shirley with a ripe, red apple. She speaks contently to her pet, prompting the text, "There you are! Thank you for keeping watch." to appear on the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Acolo ești! Vă mulțumesc pentru păstrarea ceas.

[Shirley leaps and takes the apple.]

[Shirley starts eating it as Sonya goes inside her wagon, past the closed red with silver trim curtain that leads inside the back of the wagon. Shirley enjoys her apple as we hear hammers pounding from within the wagon. After a moment, Sonya's hand from within brings out a door decoration made from red sparkling beads and the metal wire and hangs it on the back roof edge of the wagon for sale. We hear some more hammer pounding, followed by another door ornament made of green and gold-yellow beads and the metal wire being hung from the back edge for sale. We hear some more pounding, followed by 3 more ornaments of various, appealing color patterns and design, being hung in quick succession on the back edge for sale.]

[As we hear more hammer pounding, something in the distance has caught Shirley's attention, prompting her to bark commandingly to her master three times. Sonya speaks from within, prompting the text, "What's that, Shirley?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Ce-i asta, Shirley?

[Sonya comes out from behind the curtain. She looks to where Shirley was looking. Sonya smiles as she speaks, prompting the text, "Oh, customers." to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Oh, clienții.

[We see a few Romanian civilians approach along with one young American man wearing sunglasses. Shirley calls out welcomingly to them, prompting the text, "Welcome to one and all! Please come in!" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Bine ati venit la unul și de toate! Te rog, intra!

[The American is initially confused, not being familiar with Romanian, but he is intrigued by Sonya's natural beauty. He talks to his translator, an elder gentleman.]

American: Whoa! I had no idea that Gypsies could be that mysterious OR beautiful at the same time!

Translator: Careful, friend! Gypsies do not mate with non-Gypsies!

[The American snaps his fingers in slight disappointment.]

American: Aw, man!

[The civilians approach and make a single file line in front of Sonya.]

[Fade to later that evening, at sunset. The customer line is gone, but we hear Sonya talking to someone within. We also notice the door decorations from the back roof edge are all gone, probably sold. Also, Shirley has left her outdoor post. We hear Sonya speak softly, prompting the text, "What's this I see?" to appear in the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Ce-i asta văd eu?

[Inside, we see Sonya reading the palm print of the American's right hand. The Translator sits right next to the American, while Shirley has taken her post on Sonya's bed. The wagon is lit up by short candles, placed in various, safe places in the wagon, and there's even a big candle lantern hanging from the top of the roof of the wagon.]

[We see a close-up of Sonya's hand touching the palm of the American. She speaks with caution as she examines the palm, prompting the text, "Ooooh….Overconfident yet ignorant. Demanding yet selfish. These are the hands of a pampered child." to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Ooooh ... . Prea încrezător încă ignorant. A cere încă egoist. Acestea sunt mâinile unui copil răsfățat.

[The American swiftly pulls his hand away, and looks at the Translator.]

[The Translator seems casual as he fibs.]

Translator: She says that you're, uh, a man who knows what he wants and, um, knows how to get it.

[The American, assured, nods and agrees with what was told.]

American: Yeah, that's right. I always know what I want.

[Sonya looks at the Translator, not believing what had transpired.]

[The Translator responds casually to Sonya, prompting the text, "Just to keep him happy." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Translator: Doar ca să-l țină fericit.

[Sonya responds straight-faced, prompting the text, "Good luck." To appear at the bottom of the screen as she puts her hands over her crystal ball.]

Sonya: Mult noroc.

[Sonya gazes into the crystal ball, and hums in meditation.]

[Shirley looks deep into the ball as well from her post on Sonya's bed.]

[Sonya meditates as she gazes into the ball, prompting the text "Show me….Show me….." to appear in the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Arată-mi ... Arată-mi ...

[Shirley looks more intently at the ball.]

[The American and the Translator look more intently at what Sonya's doing.]

[Sonya's eyes open up in slight shock as she realizes what was seen. She speaks softly, prompting the text, "An anvil!" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: O nicovală!

[The Translator didn't like that at all. The American doesn't know what has transpired. The Translator inquires, prompting the text, "What is this?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Translator: Ce este asta?

[Sonya explains with the straightest, most concerned face, prompting the text, "An anvil will be your destiny. I cannot say when or to what end, but I can see that you and an anvil will meet soon. I do not think it will be a kind meeting." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: O nicovală va fi destinul tău. Nu pot spune când sau în ce scop, dar eu pot vedea că tu și o nicovală se va întâlni în curând. Nu cred că va fi o întâlnire fel.

[The American is still confused while the Translator is dead scared at the unkind fortune told.]

American: Doesn't she seem scared?

Translator: Oh, well she, uh, she's just astonished at how gifted you are.

American: Oh, well thank you, ma'am.

[The Translator speaks to Sonya, deeply concerned, prompting the text, "Nothing good for him?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Translator: Nimic bun pentru el ?!

[Sonya shakes her head as she responds truthfully, prompting the text, "I see nothing for him." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Nu vad nimic pentru el.

[The Translator, wanting to leave, speaks to Sonya, prompting the text, "How much do we owe you?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Translator: Cât de mult iti datorez?

[Sonya responds with her hands out, prompting the text, "60 Leu, please." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: 60 Leu, te rog.

[The Translator looks at the American.]

Translator: Twenty American Dollars.

[The American is surprised by what he perceives as a cheap wage.]

American: Wow! No wonder they live in a shack.

[Sonya didn't like that response, but the Translator responds assuredly, prompting the text, "It's nothing." To appear at the bottom of the screen as the American pulls out a $20 bill from his wallet.]

Translator: Nu-i nimic.

[Sonya speaks straight-faced, not forgetting the fortune, prompting the text, "For him, it might be." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Pentru el, ar putea fi.

[Later that evening, the Translator and the American are walking around the town square of Deva.]

[As they walk down the square, we hear some metal clanging not too far away. The men look off to their right.]

[We see a blacksmith hammering a red-glowing rod. Behind the blacksmith on display on his wall are various swords and knives.]

[The American is intrigued as he walks towards the blacksmith's shelter. The Translator is nervous as he follows.]

American: Hey, maybe I can add to my sword collection!

[The American enters casually and greets the blacksmith as the blacksmith dips the red-hot rod into a wooden bucket filled with water, making a loud hissing sound. The Translator nervously enters behind the American.]

American: Good evening!

[The Translator does his job, nervously.]

Translator: Bună seara.

[The blacksmith responds jollily, prompting the text, "Good evening, gentlemen. What's your pleasure?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Blacksmith: Bună seara, domnilor. Care este plăcerea ta?

[The Translator, looking around the shop concerned, does his job simultaneously.]

Translator: He says "Good Evening. How can I help?"

American: I've been hunting for a German officer's sword, the Holler Model number 21. I know it's very rare, but if by any chance you had it, I'd pay handsomely for just one.

[The Translator, still nervous, has to think about how to translate that, as he speaks erradically, prompting the text, "He seeks a Holler Model 21." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Translator: El cauta un model de Holler 21.

[In cartoonish fashion, the Blacksmith stands up sharply, flinging his rod, straight up.]

[The iron rod bounces off of the roof and taps a barrel, which starts rocking from its post on the wood timber holding the roof.]

[From above the barrel, we see the barrel is just above the American, who is standing close to the anvil.]

[The Blacksmith shouts incredulously, causing the screen to shake a little, prompting the text, "A German blade?! You're crazy!" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Blacksmith: O lama germana?! Esti nubun!

[The shake was enough to knock the barrel off of its post and it starts falling off.]

[CRASH! BLAM! The camera goes to instant black as we hear a crashing sound, followed by the sound of a body collapsing on the ground.]

[Late that night, Sonya, in her night dress, is getting under her bed covers, ready for bed. Shirley is at the foot of her bed, curling up. Sonya speaks contently to her pet, prompting the text, "225 Leu collected tonight, Shirley. A pretty good night for us, my friend." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: 225 Leu colectate in seara asta, Shirley. O noapte destul de bun pentru noi, prietene.

[Shirley yips softly, understanding. She curls up.]

[Sonya gets comfortable under her covers. She talks to her pet once more, prompting the text, "Good night, Shirley." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Noapte buna, Shirley.

[After a moment of peace, we hear several footsteps approaching from outside, followed by BLA-BLA-BLA-BLA-BLA-BLAM! Quick, erratic pounding at the back of the wagon, which causes Sonya to sit up instantly, scared, and Shirley to jump high and hit the roof of the wagon and fall back down on the bed, dazed.]

[We see the back of the wagon. Past the closed curtain is a soft orange glow, accompanied by several demanding voices, prompting the texts, "GYPSY!", "Gypsy, help me!" "Tell me my future!" "Please tell me!" to appear at random times at the bottom of the screen.]

Townsman1: GYPSY!

Townswoman1: Gypsy, ajuta-ma!

Townsman2: Spune-mi viitorul meu!

Townswoman2: Vo rog spuneti-mi!

[From outside the back of the wagon, Sonya, still in her night wear, emerges from the wagon past the curtain to the crowd, a couple of them holding lit torches for lighting purposes, and asks for silence, prompting the text, "QUIET! Quiet, please!" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: LINIȘTE! Vă rog, liniște!

[The crowd quiets down.]

[Sonya, still perplexed, inquires, prompting the text, "Why do you wish to see me at this late hour?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: De ce vrei să mă vezi la această oră târzie?

[A scared townswoman speaks up, prompting the text "The visiting American was killed tonight!" To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Townswoman1: Americanul vizita a fost ucis in seara asta!

[A townsman provides more details, prompting the text "His head was crushed between a barrel and an anvil!" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Townsman1: Capul lui a fost strivit între un butoi și o nicovală!

[Another townswoman adds one last detail, prompting the text, "Just like you foretold!" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Townswoman2: La fel ca tine prezis!

[Sonya, still a little tired, opens up her curtain fully as the townspeople start to form one line.]

[Inside the wagon, Sonya puts on her day shirt and blouse as she speaks to Shirley, prompting the text, "I'm sorry, my pet, but it's going to be a long night." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Îmi pare rău, animalul meu, dar va fi o noapte lungă.

[Shirley, understanding this, turns her head into the bed and groans. FADE TO BLACK.]

[Fade into day. About a week later, we see Sonya's wagon parked in a field nowhere near a town, but near a river, the Mures River.]

[At the river bank, we see Sonya reading what looks like an ancient spell book. Shirley is taking a drink from the river.]

[Shirley takes a drink, licks her snout, and retreats from the river.]

[Shirley, still walking from the river, pauses and closes her eyes.]

[FLASH! From her point of view in black & white, she hears the German Shepherd growling, barking loud, and smashing, crashing sounds.]

[FLASH! Back in the present, Shirley is trembling. She looks as Sonya.]

[We see Sonya studying the spell book.]

[Shirley's face goes to focused determination. She goes to her master.]

[Sonya is reading. Suddenly, Shirley pops up from her lap, catching Sonya off-guard, but glad to see her pet in her lap. Sonya speaks her surprise, prompting the text, "Oh, Shirley. Aren't you jumpy?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Oh, Shirley! Nu ești nervos?

[Shirley is trying to read the book, but is struggling.]

[From Shirley's point-of-view, we see her vision blurring. She doesn't understand the Romanian language in the book.]

[Shirley whines in frustration.]

[Sonya, not believing what she's seeing. She looks at her pet, thinks, and had an idea.]

[Shirley is still frustrated. However, Sonya's hands rest on Shirley's head. Sonya talks to her pet sweetly, prompting the text, "Come, my friend. Come. Tell me your desires. Let me in. What do you seek?" to appear at the bottom of the screen. Shirley stays calm as Sonya attempts to read her mind.]

Sonya: Vino, prietene. Haide. Spune-mi dorintele tale. Lasă-mă. Ce căutați?

[Sonya focuses with her eyes closed. What she picks up concerns her. Sonya speaks what she feels, prompting the text, "Oh, distress. Anger. Bitterness. Tragedy. Family!" to appear at the bottom of the screen. The last discovery opens her eyes and breaks her hand from her pets head.]

Sonya: Oh, stres. Furie. Amărăciune. Tragedie. Familie!

[Sonya caresses Shirley's head as she understands what has transpired, prompting the text, "Oh, my pet. I sense you've seen nothing but tragedy and loss in your early life. I am so sorry that happened to you." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Oh, animalul meu. Simt că am văzut nimic altceva decât tragedie și pierdere în viața ta timpurie. Îmi pare foarte rău că sa întâmplat cu tine.

[Sonya offers more sincerely, prompting the text, "Darling, if there's anything that you want, please let me know. I mean, anything I can do to help." To appear at the bottom of the screen. The proclamation gets Shirley yipping excitedly.]

Sonya: Dragă, dacă e ceva ce vrei, te rog să-mi spuneți. Vreau să spun, ceva ce pot face pentru a ajuta.

[Shirley leaps from her master and goes to the spell book, placing her paw on the open pages.]

[Sonya, initially confused, but she thinks she understands. She inquires, prompting the text, "What? You want to learn the magic?" to appear on the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Ce? Vrei să înveți magia?

[Shirley leaps and yips in excitement at the idea.]

[Sonya, seeing the reaction, thinks for a moment. She sees a path, and speaks, prompting the text, "Okay. But before you learn the magic, you must first learn how to read and speak the language of man." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Bine. Dar, înainte de a învăța magia, trebuie mai întâi să învețe cum să citească și să vorbească limba omului.

[Shirley leaps and yips in excitement as Sonya takes her spell book.]

[Sonya thumbs through several pages of the spell book as she speaks, prompting the text, "I think there's a spell for that here. But it might be tricky. I don't think any of these spells were meant for animals or—" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Cred că există o vrajă pentru asta aici. Dar ar putea fi dificil. Nu cred că vreunul dintre aceste vrăji erau destinate pentru animale sau-

[Sonya points to something in the book, and speaks, prompting the text, "Here it is! The Language Charm! Giving the bearer the ability to decipher and speak any language, man or mystic. Let's give it a try. Are you ready, my friend?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Aici este! Limba Farmec! Oferind purtătorului abilitatea de a descifra și să vorbească orice limbă, om sau mistic. Hai sa incercam. Esti gata, prietene?

[Shirley nods her head as she pants hurriedly.]

[Sonya sets the book next to her, still open. She takes a little pouch from within her top, and opens the top. She reads the book, pours a little bit of lavender powder into her hand from the pouch, and recites the spell, prompting the text, "Spirits from within the earth's shell…come forth and give us the skill….the languages and forms that man and woman use…..to share wisdom, call, command and ruse." To appear at the bottom of the screen as Sonya blows the lavender dust towards Shirley's face.]

Sonya: Spirite din cadrul cochilie pământului ... ieși afară și să ne dea abilitatea ... .Cele limbi și forme pe care omul și utilizarea femeie ... ..pentru înțelepciunea parts, apel, comandă și şiretlic.

[The dust settles in on Shirley, causing her eyes to close.]

[We see the cranium of Shirley's head rumbling. This also makes her eyes rumble.]

[Sonya is curious, but wary at what is happening.]

[Shirley's head rumbles more, but then, POP! PLOP! Shirley's eyes become engorged that they fill out from her cranium and grow eyelashes with golden tips.]

[Sonya YELPS in shock as this happens.]

Sonya: YAHHHH!

[Shirley's rumbling calms and stops. She slowly opens her eyes, revealing her enlarged eyes, and the heterochromia in her left eye.]

[Sonya gasps as she sees her pet's eyes.]

Sonya: Shirley! Shirley?

[Shirley tries to walk, but her larger head is showing its weight as her hind end keeps propping up. Shirley realizes this, and jumps a couple times from her front legs. On the third jump, she's able to stand on her hind legs. Shirley waves her hands around to keep balance.]

[Sonya's mouth drops in stunned silence.]

[Shirley looks around, and focuses on Sonya, still in stunned silence.]

[From Shirley's point-of-view, we see her wide-angle vision focusing to crystal clear clarity on Sonya, her mouth still agape.]

[Shirley talks out loud, surprising herself and making Sonya gasps in total shock and surprise, while the text, "Hello, ma-! Wha-!? I CAN SPEAK! I CAN SPEAK!" at the bottom of the screen.]

Shirley: Bună ziua, mae-? Wha- !? POT VORBI! POT VORBI!

[Sonya is evidently trembling in shock, but Shirley approaches her master gingerly as she talks, prompting the text, "Thank you, master! Thank you, Master Sonya, for this precious gift you've given me! Wow! It feels so good to talk like a human!" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Shirley: Vă mulțumesc, maestru! Vă mulțumesc, Maestrul Sonya mulțumesc, pentru acest cadou prețios pe care mi-ai dat! Whoa! Se simte atât de bine să vorbești ca un om!

[The proclamation from her pet is reassuring for Sonya, but she's still not able to speak. Shirley implores her master to speak as she picks up the spell book, prompting the text, "Master Sonya! Don't be afraid! I do not feel sick or hurt! I feel much better than I ever have! Please, teach me! Teach me the spells from this sacred book!" to appear at the bottom of the screen. Towards the end of her plea, Shirley shows a flicker of vengeance in her twitching right eye.]

Shirley: Maestrul Sonya! Nu-ți fie teamă! Nu mă simt rău sau rănit! Mă simt mult mai bine decât am vreodată! Te rog, învață-mă! Învață-mă vrăjile din această carte sacră!

[Sonya, still trembling at the shock of seeing her miracle, slowly calms when she realizes the sincerity of her pet.]

[We see Shirley, her eyes wide and slightly twitching.]

[Sonya, calmed, responds, prompting the text, "Very well, my pet." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Foarte bine, animalul meu!

[Shirley, excited at the prospect granted, jumps around briefly and yips. When she stands on her hind feet again, panting, she looks down, and yelps as she covers herself in embarrassment. She queries, prompting the text "Ah! I'm not decent! Where do you keep the linens?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Shirley: Ah! Nu sunt decente! Unde păstrați lenjeria de pat?

[Sonya holds in her very brief laughter at what she saw, and points inside as she speaks, prompting the text, "In the top right shelf under the counter." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: În raftul din dreapta sus sub tejghea.

[Montage: Shirley learns to become Shirley the Medium.]

[Mystical Romanian music starts. We see Shirley's paw pulling open a deep drawer, full on rolls of linens, sewing string, and scissors.]

[We see Shirley smiles.]

[Shirley's paws grabs the linens, string and scissors, and SLAMS the drawer shut.]

[From above Shirley's partly seen head, we see her studying a book intently. As the camera gently zooms in, we hear Sonya speak, prompting the text, "We will amaze hundreds of people with our craftsmanship, while luring others with our social skills." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Vom uimi sute de oameni cu măiestrie noastre, în timp ce altele cu abilitățile ademenindu noastre sociale.

[Inside the wagon, we see Shirley ripping a green linen cloth.]

[We see Shirley using scissors to cut a marked purple linen cloth.]

[We see Shirley drawing two perfect circles in a blue linen cloth.]

[We see Shirley's right eye wink.]

[We see Sonya holding Shirley, only seen by her ears from over the book, gingerly in her arms as they appear to be reading a book together as they rest against a tree in the daytime, inaudible. We hear Sonya speak, prompting the text, "We will become the most entrancing, and the most-feared, fortune tellers in the world." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Vom deveni cel mai entrancing, iar ghicitoarele cele mai de temut din lume.

[We see Shirley sewing the green pieces together in a professional manner with her paws.]

[We see Shirley pulling out a top drawer, unveiling a lone earring.]

[As Shirley puts on her attire, we hear Sonya narrate, prompting the text, "We will become the greatest mysteries the world has ever known. Sonya the Beautiful…." To appear at the bottom of the screen. We see Shirley's right paw going through the green dress.]

Sonya: Vom deveni cele mai mari mistere din lume a cunoscut vreodată. Sonya frumoasa ...

[We see Shirley's left paw going through the green dress.]

[We see Shirley's ears poke through the holes in the blue cloak.]

[We see a purple cape flutter around sharply, and wrap itself around Shirley, standing.]

[We see the open earring, it's piercer exposed and sparkling.]

[Shirley takes a big gasp and closes her eyes.]

[Outside the parked wagon, Sonya is thinking of something, prompting the text, "…and…." To appear. Suddenly, SNAP! A sharp sound kills the music as we hear Shirley's howling scream of short pain, instantly prompting Sonya up and towards her wagon.]

Shirley: AAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEE!

Sonya: ….si…SHIRLEY! SHIRLEY!

[Sonya bursts through the back wagon door, and stops short of the bed and inquires to her pet, prompting the text, "Shirley, my pet. Are you okay?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Shirley, animalul meu. Esti bine?

[Shirley rises up from crouching down on the bed, and slowly turns to her master, revealing her new look of Shirley the Medium, sporting her lone earring in her right ear, green, sleeveless dress partly covered by her purple cape, and having a blue cloak on covering her head. As she turns to her master, Shirley speaks, prompting the text, "Yes. Yes, my master. I have found who I truly am. I am Shirley the Medium!" to appear in the bottom of the screen.]

Shirley: Da. Da, stăpânul meu. Am găsit cine sunt cu adevărat. Sunt Shirley Medium!

[The camera sharply zooms in on Shirley, accompanied by a thunderous BOOM and Shirley's signature gypsy theme.]

[End of Montage]

[In the evening, we see the Gypsy wagon in a field next to a big tree, just off a dirt road. We see a soft candlelit glow emit from within the wagon.]

[Inside the wagon, Shirley and Sonya are sitting opposite each other at a table with two small glass spheres in front of them. There is also an old-looking, open spell book propped up on the far side of their table. Sonya shows Shirley a text in the book. Sonya reads aloud as Shirley follows, prompting the text, "Divination is when we seek knowledge of the future or unknown through the ghosts of the heavens. To help the normal person see the future, the use of a material treasure or their hand clasp is vital." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Divinație este atunci când căutăm cunoașterea viitorului sau necunoscut prin fantomele cerului. Pentru a ajuta persoana normala a se vedea pe viitor, utilizarea unui tezaur material sau agrafă lor de mână este vitală.

[Shirley, already intrigued, continues to listen with a laser-focused demeanor as Sonya continues, prompting the text "Identical methods may also be used for seeking friends and lovers in the present and in the past, but must be done so with care. Seeing friends or enemies in the present opens the opportunity for curses to be born while certain doom awaits those who seek past souls." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Metode identice pot fi de asemenea folosite pentru căutarea prietenilor și iubitori în prezent și în trecut, dar trebuie să fie făcut acest lucru cu grijă. Văzând prieteni sau dușmani în prezent se deschide posibilitatea de blesteme să se nască în timp ce osândă anumit îi așteaptă pe cei care caută suflete fi salvat.

[Shirley is perplexed by the last declaration. She inquires, prompting the text, "But master, why does seeing the present and the past make people susceptible to curses?" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Shirley: Dar maestru, de ce văzând că prezentul și trecutul face pe oameni susceptibili la blesteme?

[Sonya explains in a serious manner, prompting the text, "The menacing ghosts from the past will always roam this earth, even after a pure soul and its worn flesh has gone. Every being on this planet collects pain and grief from their troubled past. When the flesh expires, the purity rises to the heavens, but the pain and menace still roam the earth, just waiting for the next opportunity to latch onto another pure soul to taint." To appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Fantomele amenintatoare din trecut se vor cutreiera întotdeauna acest pământ, chiar și după un suflet curat și carnea uzată a plecat. Fiecare ființă de pe această planetă colectează durere și durerea din trecutul lor tulbure. Atunci când expiră carnea, puritatea se ridică la ceruri, dar durerea și amenințarea încă cutreiere pământul, doar de așteptare pentru următoarea oportunitate de a dispozitivul de blocare pe un alt suflet curat să contamineze.

[Shirley becomes entranced by this proclamation. Shirley makes an accurate and safe declaration, prompting the text, "So, that's why it's better to seek the future, because the visions of the future are but ghosts themselves." To appear in the bottom of the screen.]

Shirley: Deci, de aceea este mai bine să caute pe viitor, pentru că viziunile asupra viitorului sunt, dar fantome în sine.

[Sonya replies sincerely, prompting the text, "Exactly!" to appear at the bottom of the screen.]

Sonya: Exact!

[Shirley, understanding the nature of the situation, nods her head assuredly. Shirley has another question, prompting the text "Could we even see our loved ones? Our friends, our family? Even if they are only in our memory?" to appear.]

Shirley: Putem vedea chiar și pe cei dragi? Prietenii noștri, familia noastră? Chiar dacă sunt doar în memoria noastră?

[Sonya nods as she speaks, prompting the text "Yes, but you must ensure that the visions you seek are not your own." To appear.]

Sonya: Da, dar trebuie să vă asigurați că viziunile pe care le căutați nu sunt ale voastre.

[Shirley's eyes droop a little, and confides in her owner, prompting the text "I wish to seek visions of my mother and father before my time. I only want to have a happier memory of them, instead of the final, piercing nightmare I have." To appear.]

Shirley: Vreau să caut viziuni ale mamei și tatălui meu înainte de timpul meu. Vreau doar să am o amintire mai fericită despre ei, în loc de coșmarul ultimul, pătrunzător pe care-l am.

[Sonya, picking up sad feelings from her pet, inquires gingerly, prompting the text "Oh, of course. Of course. Seeing the demise of your mother and father is very devastating. A happier memory will help soothe your soul. Come, let us join hands." To appear.]

Sonya: (nurturing) Oh, bineînțeles. Desigur. Văzând dispariția mamei și tatălui dvs. este foarte devastatoare. O memorie mai fericită vă va ajuta să vă liniștiți sufletul. Haideți să ne alăturăm mâinilor.

[Sonya takes the front paws of Shirley, and they close their eyes.]

[The camera focuses in on the crystal ball on the mount, with gentle green clouds building in the crystal. Sonya and Shirley, together, call out to the other-world, prompting the text "Ghosts of the past, hear our cry. Show us love, the mystery divine. Lover's lane, no more in pain. Show them to us, comfort we gain." To appear. The green clouds in the crystal ball build and spin around.]

Shirley & Sonya: (together) Fantome din trecut, auzi strigătul nostru. Arată-ne dragoste, misterul divin. Lanei, fără dureri. Arată-le nouă, confortul pe care-l câștigăm.

[By this point, the camera is completely consumed inside the crystal ball as the spinning green clouds start to take the shape of Shirley's mother and father. The green clouds give way to a pure color image of Shirley's mother and father in a green lawn.]

[Shirley's mother and father are evidently younger than previously seen. We see them yipping and lovingly playing together in the green lawn.]

[The image fades to another image sowing Shirley's parents wrestling with a chew toy. There is no foul play, just a true test of grit in the jaws and stamina.]

[We see an image of Shirley's parents rolling on the green lawn, happily panting and all smiles. We hear Sonya talking softly, prompting, "So much love…" to appear.]

Sonya: Atât de multă dragoste...

[The image fades to Shirley's parents staring at each other gently on the lawn. We hear Shirley talking softly, prompting, "So beautiful…" to appear.]

Shirley: Atat de frumos…

[Suddenly, WHOOSH! The green clouds quickly rush the scene then quickly show Shirley covering her face, softly weeping. Sonya tries to comfort. We see, "I cannot….I cannot…" and "It's okay. It's okay, my pet." To appear.]

Shirley: (softly weeping) Nu pot ... Nu pot ...

Sonya: E in regula. E în regulă, animalul meu.

[Shirley still softly weeps. Sonya believes she understands, prompting "You miss them dearly, yes?" to appear.]

Sonya: Îți lipsește cu drag, da?

[Shirley nods her head. Then, Shirley dries her tears and inquires, prompting "There's no such thing as a resurrection spell, is there?" to appear.]

Shirley: Nu există vraja de înviere, nu-i așa?

[Sonya shakes her head "No" as she speaks, prompting "We are not Gods, only gypsies." To appear.]

Sonya: Noi nu suntem zei, ci doar țigani.

[Shirley closes her eyes, accepting that obvious defeat. She thinks for a moment, and inquires, prompting "What is said about curses and how they latch onto the souls of the evil that roam the earth?" to appear.]

Shirley: Ce se spune despre blesteme și cum se blochează pe sufletele răului care plictisesc pământul?

[Sonya didn't like what she heard, prompting "Shirley….using a curse as a means of vengeance is a severe misuse of our craft. If we create an accidental curse and kill our target, we only set ourselves up for our self-destruction. The ghosts of the past will seek us and destroy our very souls if we misuse their tools for our own means without justification." To appear. Shirley slowly realizes the weight of responsibility that her tools bring.]

Sonya: Shirley ... Folosind un blestem ca mijloc de răzbunare este o utilizare greșită a navei noastre. Dacă creăm un blestem accidental și ne ucid țintă, ne-am stabilit doar pentru autodistrugerea noastră. Fantomele trecutului ne vor căuta și ne vor distruge chiar sufletele dacă le vom folosi în mod abuziv instrumentele pentru mijloacele proprii fără justificare.

[Shirley, eyes wide, thinks for a moment. She nods her head and accepts the facts as told, prompting "So, if we kill the evil, we only set ourselves up to die." To appear.]

Shirley: Deci, dacă ucidem răul, ne-am stabilit doar să murim.

[Sonya nods her head, prompting the text "In the most basic sense, yes." To appear.]

Sonya: În sensul cel mai de bază, da.

[Shirley thinks for a moment, and inquires again, prompting, "But, if there was a sense of justice for the agitator's misdeeds…" to appear.]

Shirley: Dar, dacă a existat un sentiment de justiție pentru răul agitatorului ...

[Sonya finishes the sentence, prompting, "The ghosts would not be as irritated, making the risk of disaster more reserved." To appear.]

Sonya: Fantomele nu ar fi la fel de iritate, făcând riscul de dezastru mai rezervat.

[We see a clever, mischievous look from Shirley, as evidenced by a raised eyebrow and small smile. She says one last thing, prompting "Let's keep reading, master." To appear.]

Shirley: Să continuăm să citim, stăpâne.

[A few days later, we see the gypsy wagon parked under a tree in a different village.]

[We see Shirley waving to Sonya as Sonya goes into the village with a basket in her hand.]

[From inside the wagon, Shirley walks through the curtain cover and towards her little bag, speaking to herself, prompting "I can taste those Mermaid Apricots already. But first…" to appear.]

Shirley: Îmi pot gusta deja caisele Mermaid. Dar mai intai…

[Shirley reaches into her little bag, and pulls out her glass sphere and stand. She sets it down on the floor, and touches it.]

[With her hands still on the glass sphere, Shirley closes her eyes and calls out, prompting "Show me the beast with blood on his hands, only then can we all make amends. Hatred and angst, fire he boasts, let us see today how much he gloats." To appear. The sphere is filled with green clouds as she calls out.]

Shirley: Arată-mi fiara cu sânge pe mâini, doar atunci putem să ne amendăm cu toții. Ura și furia, focul pe care-l laudă, să vedem astăzi cât de mult se bucură.

[The camera dives into the green clouds, whisking through various images of inanimate objects and buildings. We then whisk through images of various animals before we hear a soft THOOM! that causes the whooshing through to stop on the growling, menacing face of the German Shepherd walking down an alley.]

[We see Shirley's vengeful eyes, flooded by the green glow of the sphere, glaring at the image as she growls softly, prompting, "The savage." To appear.]

Shirley: Sălbaticul.

[We see the German Shepherd walking along, and pauses upon seeing something. The Shepherd then starts growling. The sphere quickly pans over and sees a kitten with white fur looking around, apparently lost.]

[We see Shirley's eyes, still engulfed in the green glow, squint in angst and vengeance. We hear her mutter with angst, prompting, "Oh, no you don't!" to appear, swiftly followed by a magical zing from Shirley's eyes to appear.]

Shirley: Oh, Nu o faci!

[In the crystal ball, the charging, barking German Shepherd is suddenly frozen in motion, as if all time in the environment stopped.]

[We see Shirley's face, smiling in her small victory. But, she's not done. She starts waving her arms in the air as she summons a curse from the sky, prompting "Evil dog with heart of black, bear this curse upon your back…" to appear.]

Shirley: Câine rău cu inima de negru, purtați blestemul pe spate ...

[Outside where the German Shepherd is frozen in time, the winds pick up and the skies become engulfed in dark storm clouds, sparking up a few strikes of lightning within the clouds as Shirley finishes her summon, prompting "Should bad things come through your heart, pain will give a shocking spark." To appear.]

Shirley: (echoing) În cazul în care lucrurile rele vin prin inima ta, durerea va da o scânteie șocantă.

[Lighting lights up within the clouds before, BOOM! A HUGE lightning bolt emits from the clouds and shoots towards the ground.]

[We see the frozen German Shepherd. BOOM! The lightning bolt strikes the German Shepherd, making him glow bright yellow, while still suspended in time. The thunderclap echoes and gradually fades.]

[Among the clouds, we see the Goose God, from the episode, "The Gods Must Be Goosey", lying among the clouds, lovesick. However, the echo of the thunderclap caught his ear. He arises, curious.]

Goose God: Wha-? What was that glorious sound? That beautiful sound of power and love?

[We see the golden glow of the German Shepherd, still suspended in time, gradually fade away. The skies are still full of dark clouds.]

[In a green glow, we see Shirley's right paw do a sharp wave in the air.]

[We see a magical whisk appear around the German Shepherd, then suddenly, the German Shepherd instantly resumes his vicious barking and running to the kitten.]

[The kitten screeches and starts to run away.]

[The German Shepherd is running and barking, but suddenly, CRACK! A popping lightning bolt strikes the German Shepherd in the rear, stopping the predator and sending it into a whining, yipping frenzy of pain.]

[Seeing this in the green glow, Shirley laughs in delight at the sight of the pain.]

Shirley: HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!

[The German Shepherd rolls over and shakes off the pain, still whining a little. He tries to stand on all fours, but his left hind leg is a bit limp due to the strike of light. He sees this and whines, but looks forward.]

[From behind the German Shepherds head, we see the kitten pokes its head out from behind a house corner with a soft, gentle "Mew."]

[The German Shepherd growls, and begins to run again, but CRACK! Another lightning bolt pops and strikes the German Shepherd again, stopping the predator again and sending it into an even more painful frenzy of pain as evidenced by faster rolling around and louder whining and yelping of pain.]

[Shirley, still not sympathetic, laughs at the misfortune of her parents' killer. She even mutters out an insult, prompting, "Stupid monster." To appear.]

Shirley: HAAA! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! E un monstru prost.

[By this point, the German Shepherd is practically crying in extreme pain. It's even worse for him as he tries to stand on all fours, but is unable to, due to the weight of pain on his hind left and front right legs are too much to overcome.]

[A close-up shows tears running down the eye of the whining German Shepherd as he twitches in pain.]

[Shirley, still laughing, looks into the glowing glass, and her laugh gradually recedes. Her eyes open wide.]

Shirley: HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! Ha, ha…..ha, ha….hah-ha?

[In the green clouds, we see tears rolling down the German Shepherd's eye as it twitches in writhing pain.]

[Shirley's eyes widen as she gasps at the pain she has caused. She pauses for a moment, and gradually looks up, and shudders at the sight.]

[BOOM! A lightning bolt lights up the gypsy wagon interior as we see Shirley looking at her own reflection in Sonya's mirror, in shock and, gradually, shame.]

[Shirley, realizing what has transpired, asks herself in a berating manner, prompting, "Who is the real monster, Shirley?" to appear.]

Shirley: Cine este monstrul adevărat, Shirley?

[She looks again at the glowing glass.]

[We see the crying German Shepherd in the glass, rolling and writhing in pain.]

[Shirley grabs ahold of the glass firmly and closes her eyes, in meditation.]

[Over the German Shepherd, the dark clouds dissipate and go away, revealing a sun-filled sky.]

[The German Shepherd is still writhing in pain with tear-filled eyes. Suddenly, we hear Shirley's voice, prompting, "Dog!" to appear and causing the German Shepherd to open his eyes.]

Shirley: Câine!

[We see an apparition of Shirley's head, tinted in green.]

[The German Shepherd swiftly realizes what he sees and whines in terror as he struggles to get to his feet. He collapses at his pain. Shirley swiftly reassures the German Shepherd, prompting, "Be still! Sit! It will only hurt worse if you try to run!" to appear.]

Shirley: Stai liniștit! Sta! Va răni doar mai rău dacă încercați să rulați!

[The German Shepherd, realizing his fate, gradually accepts his fate, and lies down, easing the pain off of his legs.]

[The Shirley apparition talks to the German Shepherd, prompting, "You have killed many, destroyed families, and destroyed lives in ways that you could never imagine." To appear.]

Shirley: Ai omorât multe familii distruse și ai distrus vieți în moduri pe care nu ți-ai putea imagina niciodată.

[We see the German Shepherd feeling the pain as Shirley continues, prompting, "The pain that you feel might give you an idea of what you have done, but it will never really compare to what you have done to me." To appear.]

Shirley: Durerea pe care o simți ți-ar putea da o idee despre ceea ce ai făcut, dar nu se va compara niciodată cu ceea ce mi-ai făcut.

[The German Shepherd looks at Shirley hard, and his eyes widen, realizing who that is. He closes his eyes, whines a little, and starts muttering through his pain in German, prompting, "I was driven almost insane with hunger. I had not eaten in many days. You and your parents were the only eatable thing I had seen for months. I couldn't stop. I just wanted the pain to end." To appear. We see shots of Shirley listening intently throughout the confession.]

Shepherd: Ich war fast verrückt vor Hunger. Ich hatte in vielen Tagen nicht gegessen Du und deine Eltern waren die einzigen essbaren Dinge, die ich seit Monaten gesehen hatte. Ich konnte nicht aufhören Ich wollte nur, dass der Schmerz endet.

[Shirley, seeing the no-win situation, replies, prompting, "The pain of hunger can never compare to the years of pain of losing the ones you love. I initially cursed you, dog, but seeing the intense pain and hint of regret, I will offer you this one chance at redemption. Will you accept the chance?" to appear.]

Shirley: Durerea de foame nu se poate compara cu anii durerii de a pierde pe cei pe care îi iubești. Te-am blestemat inițial, câine, dar văzând durerea intensă și indiciul de regret, îți voi oferi această singură șansă la răscumpărare. Vrei să accepți șansa?

[The German Shepherd's eyes open and is initially giddy. But, he suddenly pauses and inquires, prompting, "Wait. Why should I trust you? You nearly killed me. Twice!" To appear.]

Shepherd: Warte ab. Warum soll ich dir vertrauen? Du hast mich fast umgebracht. Zweimal!

[Shirley responds firmly with a touch of gingerness, prompting, "If I was more cruel, you would be dead already. Plus, I have come to realize that two monsters doesn't make this world better." To appear.]

Shirley: Dacă aș fi fost mai crud, ai fi deja mort. În plus, am realizat că doi monștri nu fac această lume mai bună.

[The German Shepherd, realizing he has no options, nods in acceptance. He slowly, and gingerly, rises to his feet. He struggles to retain his balance since two of his legs are limp. Eventually, he finds his center of gravity and stands up strongly. He inquires to Shirley, prompting, "What do I have to do?" to appear.]

Shepherd: Was muss ich tun?

[Shirley looks down towards the kitten and speaks, prompting, "That kitten appears to be missing a home. If you can help it find one, your pain should be lifted swiftly. A home of love and comfort is so much better than no home at all." To appear.]

Shirley: Pisicuța pare că lipsește o casă. Dacă o puteți ajuta să găsiți una, durerea dumneavoastră trebuie ridicată rapid. O casă de iubire și de confort este mult mai bună decât nici o casă.

[The German Shepherd is not sure about it, prompting, "It will not be easy, witch." To appear.]

Shepherd: Es wird nicht einfach sein, Hexe.

[Shirley offers one last bit of help, prompting, "One who provides healing is destined to receive it back. Remember that, and everything should be fine. Good luck." To appear. Shirley's head disappears from the German Shepherd's eyes when she concludes.]

Shirley: Cel care asigură vindecarea este destinat să o primească înapoi. Ține minte asta și totul ar trebui să fie bine. Mult noroc.

[The German Shepherd, still struggling to keep balance, gingerly walks over towards the house corner where we last saw the kitten.]

[From around the corner, we see a poorly maintained alley. The German Shepherd walks up and looks down the alley. There is no sign of the kitten.]

[Even among the twitches of pain, we see strong hints of determination from the German Shepherd. He slowly walks in and talks gingerly, in an effort to lure out the kitten, prompting, "Kitty? Here, kitty. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." To appear.]

Shepherd: Kätzchen? Hier Kätzchen. Hier, Kätzchen, Kätzchen, Kätzchen.

[After a moment of no activity, the Shepherd is not liking his chances. We hear some newspaper rustling, which catches the ear of the Shepherd and prompts him to look down to his left.]

[Where the Shepherd looks, we see a pile of crumpled-up newspapers that appear to be shaking. Sticking out from the newspapers is a short white tail that belongs to the kitten.]

[The German Shepherd smiles, seeing that he has found the kitten. He bends his head down to talk sweetly to the Kitten, prompting, "Kitten, do not be afraid. I am here to help." To appear.]

Shepherd: Kätzchen, hab keine Angst. Ich bin hier um zu helfen.

[The kitten swiftly realizes that she's been discovered, and screeches out for help, prompting, "HELP! SOMEONE! BEAST! HELP! PLEASE, HELP!" to appear. We see the newspapers rustling even more and the tail curls up under the newspapers as the kitten screeches.]

Kitten: (screeching) HILFE! JEMAND! TIER! HILFE! BITTE, HILFE!

[The Shepherd, feeling the pain in his legs again, looks around and sees that nothing and no one is coming. The Shepherd again talks sweetly to the kitten, prompting, "Please, listen, little one. Please, hear me. My legs are hurting very bad. So bad that I won't be able to catch or eat anything." To appear.]

Shepherd: Bitte, hör zu, Kleine. Bitte höre mich Meine Beine verletzen sehr schlecht. So schlimm, dass ich nicht fangen oder etwas fressen kann.

[The kitten, still hiding under the newspapers, is still not buying it, prompting, "Liar! You are a beast that calls light down! That's how you kill!" to appear.]

Kitten: Lügner! Du bist ein Tier, das Licht ruft! Das ist, wie du tötest!

[The Shepherd, reminded of his pain, takes a deep breath and gingerly, although a little bit strained, spills the truth, prompting, "No. That was a witch. She cursed me. If I did anything mean or cruel, I was to be zapped by her light of pain. She hit me twice, almost killing me with severe pain." To appear.]

Shepherd: Nein. Das war eine Hexe. Sie hat mich verflucht Wenn ich irgendetwas bedeutete oder grausam war, sollte ich durch ihr Licht des Schmerzes zappeln. Sie hat mich zweimal getroffen und mich fast mit schweren Schmerzen umgebracht.

[Shirley, still looking at the glowing glass, closes her eyes in pain, knowing that she had stepped too far.]

[The kitten appears from under the newspapers, and slowly looks at the Shepherd. Seeing the limp legs, the kitten asks, prompting, "Did the witch do that weird thing to your legs?" to appear.]

Kitten: Hat die Hexe das seltsame Ding zu deinen Beinen gemacht?

[The German Shepherd responds softly as we see a slight tear rolling down his eyes, prompting "Yes. When she hit me, she killed my legs. If I try to use them, the pain becomes unbearable." To appear.]

Shepherd: Ja. Als sie mich traf, tötete sie meine Beine. Wenn ich versuche, sie zu benutzen, wird der Schmerz unerträglich.

[The kitten looks closer at the Shepherd, and sees the tear rolling down the Shepherd's eye. The kitten realizes, prompting "You are not a monster. Monsters do not cry. How can you make the pain go away?" to appear.]

Kitten: Du bist kein Tier. Die Tiere weinen nicht. Wie kannst du den Schmerz weggehen?

[The German Shepherd lets out a sigh of relief, seeing the opportunity open. He tells the kitten, prompting, "I am so happy you asked. The witch came to me and said that if I help you find your family, the pain will go away." To appear.]

Shepherd: Ich bin so froh, dass du gefragt hast. Die Hexe kam zu mir und sagte, wenn ich Ihnen helfen, Ihre Familie zu finden, wird der Schmerz weggehen.

[The kitten leaps and jumps in excitement, but just has one last question, prompting, "My family? Mommy? Daddy? YAY! I can go home! Wha-wait! Are you sure the witch will make you feel better after we find my mom and dad?" to appear.]

Kitten: Meine Familie? Mama? Vati? YAY! Ich kann nach hause gehen ! Wha - warten! Bist du sicher, dass die Hexe dich besser fühlen wird, nachdem wir meine Mutter und meinen Vater gefunden haben?

[The German Shepherd, knowing it is still something of a gamble, still presses forward with whatever faith he has in Shirley, prompting, "I'm not sure, but I think she wants to make sure that I do more good things than bad. And that starts with me helping you find your family." To appear.]

Shepherd: Ich bin mir nicht sicher, aber ich denke, sie will sicherstellen, dass ich mehr Gutes tun als schlecht. Und das beginnt mit mir helfen Ihnen, Ihre Familie zu finden.

[The kitten, seeing the opportunity, leaps and bounds and starts back up the alley, prompting "YAY! A good witch is helping me! Yay! Well, come on! I think I remember the way…" to appear. The German Shepherd starts to follow.]

Kitten: YAY! Eine gute Hexe hilft mir! Yay! Na komm schon! Ich denke, ich erinnere mich an den Weg ...

[As the German Shepherd is trying to keep up with the Kitten, we hear a magical WHIF! that encircles around the Shepherd's back, and straightening out the back as the magical spectacle swiftly concludes.]

[The Shepherd initially winces at the shock of the magic, but instantly feels a rush of relief as he lets out a sigh. He observes, prompting, "My back! It feels so much better! It's working! It's work—oh, OW! Ohh-ho!" He briefly leaps, but quickly stops when he realizes that his two limp legs are still limp.]

Shepherd: Mein Rücken! Es fühlt sich so viel besser an Es funktioniert! Es ist Arbeit-oh, OW! Ohh-ho!

[The Shepherd swiftly realizes the situation and knows the work is not yet done, prompting, "Right. Let's get him home." To appear. He then walks on to catch up with the kitten.]

Shepherd: Recht. Lass uns ihn nach Hause bringen.

[A few moments later, the kitten leads the way with the German Shepherd just behind him, still limping and panting, as they trek down the side of a road of a somewhat shady German-like neighborhood of homes. The Shepherd inquires, prompting, "I hope you were not too far from home when I found you." To appear.]

Shepherd: Ich hoffe du warst nicht zu weit von zu Hause, als ich dich gefunden habe.

[The kitten looks around and speaks with uncertainty, prompting, "I don't know. I was only away from home for one day. That's how long it took me to find that mouse, but after I ate it, I was lost." To appear.]

Kitten: Ich weiß es nicht. Ich war nur für einen Tag weg von zu Hause. So lange hat es mich gedauert, diese maus zu finden, aber nachdem ich es gegessen habe, war ich verloren

[The German Shepherd, realizing the gravity, exclaims with a slight growl, prompting, "A whole day?!" to appear. The kitten swiftly responds with a slight whine, prompting, "He was very fast!" to appear.]

Shepherd: Ein ganzer Tag?!

Kitten: Er war sehr schnell!

[The German Shepherd, still limping, whines a little, realizing this might take more time than what he wanted.]

[The kitten looks around, and stops cold at what he sees on his left, prompting, "That house…there's a mean dog in there." To appear.]

Kitten: Das Haus ... da ist ein mittlerer Hund.

[The German Shepherd stops and looks at where the kitten looks.]

[From behind where the Kitten and the Shepherd are looking, we see a very shady, poorly-maintained house. There is a front porch, populated by a rocking chair and a dismantled rocking chair with plenty of dog bite and claw marks present.]

[We see a close up of the German Shepherd's eyes, only slightly twitching, looking around the house.]

[We see a close up of the Shepherd's snout, sniffing out the surrounding air.]

[We see a close up of the Shepherd's two good paws, getting a good feel of the surroundings.]

[The Shepherd gets another whif of the air. He doesn't like what he smells, prompting, "It's Malinois." To appear.]

Shepherd: Es ist Malinois.

[The kitten didn't like the sound of that as is lies low in shaking fear.]

[The Shepherd gets another whif of air that opens his eyes wide in fear, prompting "MILITARY!" to appear as he mutters in shock.]

Shepherd: Militär!

[Suddenly, a male Black Belgian Malinois bolts from under the house's front porch bushes and charges straight at the Shepherd and the kitten, barking viciously.]

[The Shepherd yells at the kitten as he swiftly lunges toward the Malinois, prompting "KITTEN! RUN!" to appear.]

Shepherd: KÄTZCHEN! LAUF!

[The kitten bolts away sharply up the street.]

[The Malinois gives chase to his little prey, barking viciously, only to be hit by the charging, defending Shepherd.]

[The two canines roll over once and engage in a brief melee: We see the Malinois chomping for the Shepherd's good front leg, but the Shepherd counters with a light jump and bite attempt at the Malinois rear. Getting no hits, they stand, hunched over and growling at each other for a moment. The Malinois looks down and spots the Shepherd's limp leg. Suddenly, the Malinois chomps for the limp leg, but the Shepherd counters with a leg swipe that makes contact with the Malinois face. Barely affecting him, the Malinois bites for the Shepherd's face, which almost graces the Shepherd's snout. This sends the Shepherd leaping back, with a slight whine, and makes contact with another swipe on the Malinois' snout. The Malinois feels the scrape, but it doesn't bother him. With a slightly deeper voice, the Malinois inquires in German, prompting, "Seriously? Two limp legs, and you still stopped me from my lunch?" to appear.]

Malinois: Ernst? Zwei schlaffe Beine, und du hast mich immer noch von meinem Mittagessen angehalten?

[The Shepherd swiftly responds, prompting "I will not let you hurt that child. Pick a better fight." To appear.]

Shepherd: Ich werde dir das Kind nicht verletzen lassen. Wähle einen besseren Kampf.

[The Malinois, with nothing better to do, obliges, prompting, "If you say so." To appear. He suddenly leaps forward to chomp as the Shepherd.]

Malinois: Wenn du es sagst.

[The Shepherd is stunned as he and the Malinois exchange a dozen chomp attempts at each other's face, only to keep evading and chomping again. Their fore legs can't get within striking distance of each other amidst the chomping.]

[Suddenly, CHOMP! The Malinois chomps at the Shepherd's neck. The Shepherd whines and, in survival mode, takes a swipe at the Malinois face. The camera FREEZES when contact is made.]

[In a close-up shot, we see the Shepherd's claw pierce through the eye-lids of the Malinois and appears to make contact within the eyelids as evidence by a hint of seeping blood from within the eye-lids.]

[The Malinois swiftly releases his grip, sending the Shepherd to the ground. Both canines are whining in pain, just about equally in severity.]

[The Shepherd slowly rises up, catching his breath, while the Malinois is writhing in pain as he uses his paw to comfort his torn eye.]

[Suddenly, a magical whish whooshes around the Shepherd's neck, and his two limp legs. The Shepherd gently lets his legs down, and smiles as he is able to place full weight on all of his legs AND is breathing normally again. The Shepherd looks around for the kitten, but doesn't see him.]

[The Malinois, growls in anger as he slowly recovers from the scratch, prompting, "My best eye!" To appear.]

Malinois: Mein bestes Auge!

[Realizing that maybe the kitten has found success in his quest, and that his body has return to prime form, the Shepherd makes one last plea to the Malinois, prompting, "Last chance! Go back to your home, or you will lose more!" to appear.]

Shepherd: Letzte Möglichkeit! Gehen Sie zurück zu Ihrem Haus, oder Sie verlieren mehr!

[The Malinois growls and, in wrath, charges the Shepherd, jaws agape.]

[The Shepherd evades the first chomp attempt, and sicks his teeth DEEP into the Malinois' hind right leg with a vicious CHOMP!]

[The Malinois whines in pain as it takes a chomp towards the Shepherd, but the Shepherd, seeing the almost-futile attempt, sinks its teeth into the Malinois throat HARD, sending the Malinois to the ground gasping through weak whines. The Shepherd is maintaining his solid bite grip on his opponent.]

[With the Malinois still whining and weakly gasping, the Shepherd growls through his grip, prompting, "Just go back home!" to appear.]

Shepherd: Geh einfach nach Hause!

[The Malinois, blinded and out-done, uses his front right paw to make a tap-out gesture.]

[The Shepherd, seeing it, releases his grip and instantly gets to his feet as the Malinois gasps for precious air.]

[We see the Malinois getting up and instantly starts limping back to his home, without a look back or a word.]

[The Shepherd, seeing that he's won the scrap, shakes his head a bit and, seeing the road where the kitten ran off on, starts to gallop up the street.]

[Further up the road, we see the Shepherd quickly approaching, examining the streets he passes by, looking for the kitten. Suddenly, close to the camera, he stops.]

[We see that the kitten has found his mother and father just up a street. The parents are consoling their child, all purring. The kitten sees the Shepherd, and speaks softly, prompting, "Thank you, friend." To appear.]

Kitten: Danke Freund.

[The Shepherd, seeing his job is complete, nods his head as if he says, "You're welcome", and starts to go up a different street.]

[We see the Shepherd walking up the street with the sun shining in his eyes. He breathes in the air, and opens his jaws and extending his tongue as he exhales. He enjoys the new sensation of the good deeds as he walks on.]

[From behind him, we see the Shepherd walk into the sunset and fade into the light. Suddenly, WHOOSH! The green clouds block the sight and the camera zooms out from the glass orb in Sonya's wagon where Shirley performed her deeds and observed all of the events.]

[We see Shirley take a moment to reflect, and sighs in content, prompting, "That's better." To appear.]

Shirley: Asa e mai bine.

[Suddenly, a small clock on Sonya's vanity chimes, reading 2:00 A.M.]

[This alerts Shirley, who looks around the wagon, but not seeing what she's looking for, prompting, "Master? Master?" to appear.]

Shirley: Maestre? Maestre?

[From outside the gypsy wagon, Shirley pops her head out and looks around.]

[We see a dark field of breeze-plown wheat, but no Sonya.]

[From inside the wagon, Shirley goes back to the glass sphere and places her front paws on it. Shirley closes her eyes and speaks softly, prompting "Master, oh master, where can you be? Show me your place. What do you see?" to appear. The camera goes into the green clouds of the glass sphere.]

Shirley: Maestre, oh Maestre, unde poți să fii? Arată-mi locul tău. Ce vezi?

[Suddenly, WHOOSH! We see Sonya being escorted, against her will, to a big wooden stake by three men while a small community of about 30 townspeople, holding pitchforks and big fire torches, watch and shout random names, prompting, "Witch! Sorceress! Devil's wench!" to appear.]

Townspeople: Vrăjitoare! Vrajitoare! Diavolul!

[We see Sonya gasping and screaming in fear as the townspeople still continue their angry chant, prompting "NO! I've never hurt anyone! No one! Why kill me?!" to appear.]

Sonya: NU! N-am rănit pe nimeni! Nimeni! De ce mă omorâți?!

[A man tying Sonya up slams her against the stake at her chest, prompting "Because you practice the devil's work, witch! You will do better in Hell!" to appear.]

Townsman: Pentru că practicați lucrarea diavolului, vrăjitoare! Veți face mai bine în Iad!

[Sonya belts out a piercing scream, prompting, "NO!" to appear.]

Sonya: NU!

[We see Shirley's eyes, lit up by green light, open wide in shock. Then, Shirley's eyes go from shock to sheer determination. Shirley closes her eyes, and starts muttering a curse, prompting, "Savage beasts, big and mad, it's time for you to get bad. Townspeople await for lunch! Save my master, have a bunch!" to appear.]

Shirley: Fiarele sălbatice, mari și nebuni, e timpul să te rănești. Oamenii din oraș așteaptă la masa! Salvează stăpânul meu, au o grămadă!

[The echoes of Shirley's curse is heard in the deep dark woods of a forest. Within the dark forest, we see several pairs of red eyes appear. Suddenly, we hear a bunch of rabid barking and growling from the wolves that own the eyes as they run furiously through the forest.]

[A rolling side shot follows some of the running, rabid wolves, as many as 50 or more barking and growling, blazing furiously through the moon-lit shadows of the forest.]

[A still shot sees the town, with the townspeople shouting and Sonya screaming in the distance, sitting poorly-lit. We hear soft rumbling, soft barking and growling from behind. The camera starts to shake as the rumbling, barking and growling get gradually louder.]

[In the town center, Sonya, sobbing for mercy, is seeing the inevitable as a townsman is about to light up the kindling at the stake with the townspeople still shouting.]

[Suddenly, some growling and barking catches the ear of a townsman, stopping him from lighting the kindling. He looks towards the forest area, past the townspeople, squinting.]

[Sonya, seeing that the townsman stop the ritual, looks out to the forest.]

[A full shot of Sonya's face show her squinting, trying to make sense of what's happening. As the rumbling, barking and growling get louder, almost surpassing the volume of the shouting townspeople, Sonya realizes what's coming, as she speaks softly, prompting, "Shirley?" to appear.]

Sonya: Shirley?

[The townsman realizes the danger, and retreats to the rear of the townspeople pack, shouting and prompting, "WOLVES! GET THE WOMEN TO SAFETY!" to appear.]

Townsman: LUPII! FACEȚI FEMEIA PENTRU SIGURANȚĂ!

[The townspeople scream as some of the younger men escort the women swiftly away from the scene while the older, well-built men prepare to defend.]

[From above the fire torches that the men are holding, we hear some strong growling and barking among strong rumbling as we see the open street leading to the forest.]

[Suddenly, a HUGH pack of rabid wolves charge into the town square, barking, drooling, and mercilessly charging into the square.]

[A zoom-in shot shows the townsmen, pitch forks pointed down towards the wolves, some nervous, a few scared, others unaffected.]

[A side shot shows the raging wolves barking and growling as they do not relent their charge.]

[A camera shot zooms in on one townsman, his pitchfork in front, sweating and softly gasping.]

[A charge shot shows the blood-red eyes of a charging wolf, growling.]

[A charge shot shows the sweaty townsman's eyes widen as he gasps in horror.]

[A still shot to the side of the townspeople show the pack of wolves jumping and landing on top of the townsmen; some wolves land on the pitchforks, but plenty more pile up and swiftly take down the wall of townsmen.]

[We see an image of a wolf biting a townsman's arm.]

[We see a townsman kicking off one wolf, but another wolf jumps on him, taking him down.]

[We see a townsman brushing off a wolf, and about to attack with his pitchfork, but suddenly BLAM! another wolf jumps on the townsman from the side, blindsiding the townsman.]

[We see four quick, different shots of four separate wolves biting at various spots on various townsmen's legs and arms, accompanied by four different screams from the townsmen.]

[From beneath the pile of fallen, fighting townsmen trying to fend off the wolf pack, the Townsman that chided Sonya fights out from the pile of suffering humanity. While trying not to draw attention, he looks around, and smiles.]

[The Townsman spots an unattended, lit fire torch away from the pack.]

[Crawling, the Townsman cautiously approaches the torch.]

[We see the Townsman crawl to within arm's reach of the torch. He reaches for the torch.]

[From over the pile of fallen humanity, a wolf pokes his head up. It sees the Townsman going for the torch. The wolf growls as it dashes towards the Townsman.]

[We see a quick shot of the Townsman's hand grabbing the torch handle.]

[The Townsman, still in a crawling stance, sharply turns around, sees, and swiftly heaves the torch around.]

[PAM! The flaming torch whiffs around and makes hard contact with the charging wolf, sending a shower of sparks and smoke to accompany the fall of the wolf.]

[The wolf lands HARD on the ground in a heap of smoke, away from the fallen pile.]

[The Townsman slowly gets to his feet, smiling smugly.]

[Suddenly, the wolf gets right back up on its feet, growling loud at the Townsman, apparently unaffected by the scorching blow.]

[The Townsman gasps in shock at what he has seen.]

[The wolf barks and growls towards the pack of humanity. The pack of wolves, some of them scratched, stabbed and others burned, but still very much alive, poke all of their heads up looking at their barking colleague. Then, they look at the Townsman, and charge the Townsman, barking.]

[The Townsman screams at the horror he's seeing, and starts swinging his flame torch swiftly in defense. But suddenly, SNAP! A wolf bites into the leg of the Townsman, sending him screaming, but he takes a swipe at the wolf. However, the more he swipes he attempts, the more wolves attach their jaws to the legs and arms of the Townsman. Eventually, his entire body is populated with wolves, and the Townsman is screaming in excruciating pain. The Townsman eventually collapses with a big THUD!]

[We see the flame torch the Townsman had fall out of his limp arm. The lit end lands just in front of the stake kindling. However, some of the kindling starts to catch fire as some more of it starts to smoke.]

[Sonya, seeing her fear realized, screams out, prompting, "No! NO! Help! Fire! HELP, PLEASE! HELP!" to appear.]

Sonya: Nu! NU! Ajutor! Foc! AJUTATI-MA VA ROG! AJUTOR!

[Hearing the cries, the pack of wolves who were on top of the limp Townsman, raise their heads up, see the danger, and leap into action.]

[One wolf swiftly uses his jaws to remove the fire torch from the lit kindling.]

[We see a few wolves swiftly approach the stake, catching Sonya nervously off-guard.]

[We see a wolf chewing on the rope binding Sonya's hands.]

[We see two wolves scratching hard on the rope binding Sonya's torso to the stake.]

[We see two wolves digging the lit kindling, trying to remove it from the stake pile. As they continue to dig more, they excavate the lit kindling away from the pile, unaffected.]

[We see some of the lit kindling landing on the limp body of the Townsman, who doesn't seem affected by the lit wood.]

[We see the rope binding Sonya's hands SNAP apart, thanks to the wolf's chewing.]

[Sonya, relieved, fights to get the final bind off. She breathes shallow as she fights the rope.]

[Two wolves continue chewing on the binding chest ropes as Sonya strains. Suddenly, SNAP! One of the ropes snap.]

[Sonya, sensing the bind has weakened, exhales swiftly, and pushes the rope over her head, freeing herself.]

[Sonya starts to run from the stake pile, but when she leaves the pile, she stops.]

[Sonya is stopped by two townsmen with pitch forks. One speaks, prompting, "WITCH! GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM, OR WE'LL TAKE YOU THERE!" to appear.]

Townsman2: VRĂJITOARE! Du-te înapoi de unde ați venit de la, sau te vom lua acolo!

[Sonya points to the townsmen and shouts, prompting "HELP ME!" to appear. The command instantly makes the remaining wolves attack the townsmen, allowing Sonya to run off.]

Sonya: AJUTA-MA!

[The Townsmen strive to fight off the wolves, but are eventually overwhelmed as they fall to the ground.]

[From a distance, we see Sonya run away from the town, the wolves growling and men weak screaming heard faintly in the distance.]

[We see a front shot of Sonya, running hard. She's panting as fear is painted all over her face.]

[A moment later, we see Shirley inside the gypsy wagon, staring at the glass sphere with a slight smile. We hear some faint rustling of wheat from outside. Shirley smiles bigger, for she knows what it is without even looking, prompting, "Thank goodness." To appear.]

Shirley: Slavă Domnului.

[Sonya bursts through the back of the wagon, and instantly embraces her pet, prompting, "Shirley! Oh, Shirley! Thank you! Thank you so much!" to appear.]

Sonya: Shirley! Oh, Shirley! Mulțumesc! Mulțumesc foarte mult!

[Shirley smiles in satisfaction, but swiftly realizes her job is not done yet, prompting, "You're welcome. Oh, wait. I must send the wolves away." To appear.]

Shirley: Cu plăcere. Oh, așteptați. Trebuie să trimit lupii departe.

[Sonya sets Shirley down. Shirley walks to the back of the wagon.]

[Outside the wagon, Shirley is instantly met with the pack of wolves, quiet, tame and attentive. Some got scraped, some got scorched, and others still sporting stab wounds from pitch forks with some slight blood oozing out.]

[Shirley keeps it simple, prompting, "Thank you for your service. Now, go." To appear.]

Shirley: Vă mulțumim pentru serviciul dvs. Acum, du-te.

[The wolves swiftly and quietly run away.]

[Shirley retreats to her glass sphere. She is picked up by Sonya, who caresses and pets her gently. They both watch the glass sphere.]

[From behind Shirley and Sonya, they watch the wolves retreat swiftly towards the forest.]

[Sonya again thanks her pet for the help with a kiss. Shirley gets comfortable with her master. After a moment of quiet, Shirley inquires cutely, prompting, "So, how was the marketplace?" to appear.]

Shirley: Deci, cum a fost piața?

[Sonya, hearing this, laughs softly and kisses her pet again. Sonya speaks softly, prompting, "I've seen better." To appear.]

Sonya: Am văzut mai bine.

[Shirley smiles. She looks at the glass sphere.]

[In the glass sphere, we see the pack of wolves arriving in their home in the woods, their eyes still glowing a fierce red.]

[Shirley raises her right front paw as if she's about to snap her digits. She makes one last suggestion to her master, prompting, "Time to say good-night." To appear.]

Shirley: Este timpul să spunem noapte bună.

[Shirley snaps her fingers.]

[The green clouds showing the wolves in the glass ball suddenly vanish.]

[In the forest, the red glow from the wolves' eyes instantly disappears. Suddenly, the wolves surrender to the agonizing pain of their battle wounds, letting out whines, howls and cries that echo through the woods. They go to treat their own wounds through rolling around and licking their cuts. The IMAGE SLOWLY FADES AWAY to black as the howling, crying and whining also fade with it.]

[A few days later, we see the Gypsy wagon being pulled by the same two horses. The wagon appears to be going further and further away from the golden fields and more towards a slightly modern city, still well in the distance. Sonya is driving while Shirley is not seen on the wagon seat. We see a text that reads, "Three days later, about 30 miles from Bucharest, Romania" appear and then fade away.]

[The camera centers on Sonya, content for the moment, but the past events are still fresh on her mind. She calls to the inside of the wagon, prompting, "Is everything packed, Shirley?" to appear.]

Sonya: Este totul împachetat, Shirley?

[Inside the slightly rocking wagon, we see Shirley jumping on a large trunk, beating it down to close.]

[SNAP! The lock on the trunk clicks shut and locked. Shirley pants for a little bit, then calls back out to her master, prompting, "Yes, master. Where are we going again?" to appear.]

Shirley: Da domnule. Unde mergem din nou?

[Sonya, still slightly disturbed, answers back, prompting, "Anywhere that is more tolerant of who we are!" to appear.]

Sonya: Oriunde este mai tolerant cine suntem!

[Shirley pops her head out from behind the front curtain and inquires with happy curiosity, prompting "America?" to appear.]

Shirley: America?

[Sonya is not certain as she replies, prompting, "I hope so, but I'm afraid that we don't have enough for safe travels there." To appear.]

Sonya: Sper că da, dar mă tem că nu avem destule pentru călătoriile în siguranță acolo.

[Shirley picks up a large box full of paper and coin currency and inquires, prompting, "Surely, 4000 leu can get us somewhere far away." To appear.]

Shirley: Desigur, patru mii de leu ne pot duce undeva departe.

[Sonya replies with less enthusiasm, prompting, "But, we cannot break ourselves out of food and water, either." To appear.]

Sonya: Dar, nu ne putem desface nici de mâncare și de apă.

[Shirley looks for a moment at the box, thinks, and sets the currency box down inside the wagon. She then pops out and lies on her master's lap, reassuring her, prompting, "If we can't go anywhere else, I will be more than happy to stay and fight the angry strangers to keep you safe." To appear.]

Shirley: Dacă nu putem merge nicăieri altundeva, voi fi mai mult decât fericit să rămân și să lupt cu străinii furioși pentru a vă menține în siguranță.

[Hearing this, Sonya keeps her left hand on the horse reigns and uses her right hand to gently pet her pet, prompting, "And I you, my love." To appear. Shirley enjoys the gentle rub on her head and back.]

Sonya: Și eu, iubirea mea.

[We see the wagon train ride off towards Bucharest. We hear a jet liner whoosh by as the camera fades to another image.]

[The other image fades in, showing an above shot of Bucharest International Airport. We see a commercial liner, an MD-11, taxiing down the taxiway towards the end of Runway 26 Left. We hear a man speaking, prompting, "Where to, Miss?" to appear.]

BlueAir Agent: Unde sa pierd?

[We go to a shot inside the terminal gates, where Sonya is at the Ticket Booth for BlueAir. Shirley is in a little pet cage made by Sonya from timber that appears to be from the Gypsy wagon. Sonya speaks, prompting, "How far West do you go?" to appear.]

Sonya: Cât de departe mergeți la vest?

[The Agent responds, prompting, "London." To appear.]

Agent: London.

[Sonya, disappointed, inquires, prompting, "You don't go to America?" to appear.]

Sonya: Nu te duci în America?

[The Agent responds honestly, prompting, "Sadly, no, miss. We are a low-fare airline, so we don't go across the Atlantic. Now, British Airways goes to America, but their fares are much more expensive. If you really want to get to New York, I suggest you take our 4 o'clock departure to London-Luton, then take a taxi cab to London's Heathrow Airport, and catch a flight on American Airlines to New York from there. It would still save you a little money than flying British from here." To appear. As the Agent talks, he points to the British Airways ticket area down the way, and pulls out a map to show where they are and where London is.]

Agent: Din păcate, nu, dor. Suntem o companie aeriană low-cost, așa că nu mergem peste Atlantic. Acum, British Airways merge în America, dar tarifele lor sunt mult mai scumpe. Dacă chiar vrei să ajungi la New York, îți sugerez să pleci la Londra-Luton la ora patru, apoi să luăm taxiul pe aeroportul Heathrow din Londra și să luăm un zbor de la American Airlines spre New York de acolo. Încă ți-ar economisi puțin bani decât să zbori britanici de aici.

[Sonya, seeing that it's going to be a little more stressful than she hoped, thinks for a moment. She bends down towards the pet crate, whispering softly.]

[The agent, curious, but thinking this weird, tries to listen in on the whispering, but then instantly stands tall as Sonya rises.]

[Sonya inquires one last thing, prompting, "Do I have to pay extra for my pet to ride next to me?" to appear.]

Sonya: Trebuie să plătesc suplimentar animalul meu să meargă alături de mine?

[The Agent, tactfully, answers truthfully, prompting, "Our company policy states that all pets are required to be checked in and ride in the cargo area of the plane. Customer comfort and safety is the priority. But, ensuring a safe and smooth ride for all pets is very important. And no, there is no extra fee for that." To appear.]

Agent: Politica companiei noastre prevede că toate animalele de companie trebuie să fie verificate și plimbate în zona de marfă a avionului. Îmbunătățirea confortului și siguranța clienților reprezintă prioritatea. Dar asigurarea unei călătorii sigure și netede pentru toate animalele de companie este foarte importantă. Și nu, nu există o taxă suplimentară pentru asta.

[Sonya goes back to the crate, and after brief whispering, she rises back up and replies, prompting, "We'll take it. How much for the 4 o'clock flight?" to appear.]

Sonya: O vom lua. Cât de mult pentru zborul de la ora patru?

[The Agent types on the old-fashioned IBM computer with a big and bulky monitor. He sees the result, and speaks it to Sonya, prompting, "425 Leu, Miss." To appear.]

Agent: Patru sute Douăzeci și cinci de leu, dră.

[Sonya, hearing the amount, smiles and gladly pulls out her box of currency, opens it, and starts dealing out the amount, prompting, "If only all air travel was this cheap!" to appear.]

Sonya: Dacă numai călătoria cu avionul a fost ieftină!

[The Agent, counting the Leu, offers a slick reply and further advice, prompting, "Only us. Just remember, Miss. Any flight from London to America is going to be much more expensive, and it won't be on a low-fare carrier. So please, save your pennies." To appear.]

Agent: Numai noi. Ține minte, dră. Orice zbor de la Londra la America va fi mult mai scump, și nu va fi pe un transportator de low-cost. Deci, vă rog, salvați banii.

[Sonya, hearing this, breathes and exhales deeply, thinking. After a moment, she smiles and replies as we hear a printer printing, prompting, "Thank you for the great advice, sir. I'll never forget it." To appear.]

Sonya: Mulțumesc pentru sfatul mare, d-le. Nu o voi uita niciodată.

[The Agent smiles, and nods as he gathers the paper work and Sonya's boarding pass.]

[We see Sonya whisper to the pet crate again, prompting, "We're going. Stay safe, my love." Shirley softly replies back, prompting, "You too, master. See you soon." To appear.]

Sonya: O sa. Rămâi în siguranță, dragostea mea.

Shirley: Și tu, maestre. Ne vedem în curând.

[A moment later, we see a BlueAir Boeing 737-300 takeoff from Bucharest, and climb furiously as it roars past the camera.]

[Inside the cab, among the many different people in the cab, we see Sonya in a seat close to the walking aisle. She's buckled in and okay, but concerned. She looks down at the floor, knowing that just below her feet is her precious pet.]

[Inside the cargo area, we see a few pet crates resting on top of the luggage bags. We hear some dogs whining in fear.]

[We see Shirley inside her crate trying to rest. But the occasional whining is keeping her awake. She softly grumbles inaudibly as she rolls over.]

[The camera fades to an image of London-Luton International Airport on a sunny day. Still undergoing professional development as a whole, the freshly constructed asphalt runway 8/26 welcomes in and sees off the traffic. A BlueAir Boeing 737-300, landing gear down and flaps fully extended is seen on approach.]

[From above, we see the BlueAir jet glide over the runway as we see the number "26" stenciled into the runway pass by.]

[A moment later, we see the main landing gear touch the runway with a loud rubber SCREECH!]

[Inside the cab, everyone inside feels the jet touching down with a quiet THOOM! With this, Sonya instantly looks down and speaks with concern, prompting, "Shirley?!" to appear.]

Sonya: Shirley?!

[Inside Shirley's crate, we see Shirley holding herself against the walls and roof against the slight bounce of the landing. Seeing that she and most of the other pets were not affected by the touchdown, she quips, prompting, "That wasn't so bad." To appear.]

Shirley: Nu a fost așa de rău.

[We see the side of the engine of the Boeing 737-300, with some panels opening up with a mighty ROAR!]

[Inside the cabin, the engine ROAR is heard, muffled, as most of the passengers lean forward due to the gravitational force caused by the reverse thrusters. Feeling the rumbling, great force, Sonya whines, even more concerned for her pet.]

[Inside the cargo area, we see most of the crates being pushed forward by the reverser's gravitational forces. The crates start running into each other, clunking loudly. One of the crates in the back of the line is Shirley's. We see her crate approach and crash into another crate with a CLUNK! sound. The structure barely holds up.]

[Shirley is hurled to her right side upon the impact of the colliding crates. She regains her composure as the reverse thrusters continue for about 12 more seconds. By the time that the engine roaring has subsided, Shirley is back on her feet and normal. Shirley speaks again in slight disgust, prompting, "So, that's a cheap flight….it's dangerous." To appear.]

Shirley: Deci, e un zbor ieftin ... e periculos.

[A moment later, inside the terminal of London-Luton, we see Sonya with her Gypsy trunk in one hand and Shirley's crate in the other. She's walking swiftly out of the terminal. Only a few passing passengers take note of what Sonya looks like.]

[Outside the airport front doors, a gentleman opens the door as he sees Sonya approaching. Seeing the nice gesture, Sonya thanks him as she exits the terminal, prompting, "Thank you." To appear.]

Sonya: Mulțumesc.

[The gentleman, not understanding the language, but sensing the gentle tone of her voice, thinks lightly of it as he enters the terminal.]

Gentleman: My pleasure, madame.

[We see the front drive of the terminal is still under construction in parts, as evidenced by the surrounding barricades that are also taped off if not occupied by workers. Sonya, luggage in tow, looks around. Another gentleman, in an airport official's uniform, approaches Sonya, accidentally catching her off-guard.]

Airport Agent: Madam, may—oh, I'm sorry. Madam, may I help you get a cab?

[Sonya, thinking she recognizes the word, and responds.]

Sonya: Cab? Ca-ca-Taxi?

Airport Agent: Yes. Yes, ma'am.

Sonya: Yes. Taxi!

[The Agent waves his hand to something up the driveway behind Sonya. Sonya looks to where the agent is waving.]

Airport Agent: Yes, ma'am. Um, do you speak English?

[Sonya recognizes another word, and responds.]

Sonya: Nu. Nu English.

Airport Agent: Oh, Blimey. Oh, your accent….are you from Romania?

Sonya: Romania? Yes. Romania.

Agent: Oh, sit tight. Stay. I will return.

[The Taxi Cab pulls up, prompting the Agent to stop from going back. Instead, the agent goes to the other side and talks to the cabbie as Sonya looks on.]

Agent: Wait a moment. She only knows Romanian. I'm going to find a translator.

Cabbie: Sounds like cobblers, but very well.

[The Agent dashes inside the terminal.]

[We see the Cabbie walk out of his door and stand outside his cab on the terminal curb. He sees Sonya and inquires.]

Cabbie: Where are you going, Madam?

[Sonya doesn't understand, prompting "What?" to appear.]

Sonya: Ce?

[The Cabbie tries charades as he attempts to communicate to Sonya, including pointing to the city behind him, pointing at Sonya, and imitating himself driving.]

Cabbie: Where….are you….going?

[Sonya thinks she understands.]

Sonya: Oh, "going". Uh, He—Heathrow.

[The Cabbie makes sure they both understand, imitating a plane flying.]

Cabbie: Heathrow? Heathrow airport?

[Sonya understands, nodding and pointing to the Cabbie's charades.]

Sonya: Heathrow! Heathrow!

[The Cabbie wipes the sweat from his brow as he points to Sonya's trunk and motions to the back of the cab.]

Cabbie: Very well! Can I put your trunk in the back?

[Sonya, seeing the pointing, looks at her trunk, and then seeing the cab, she understands, but is still feeling out of place.]

Sonya: Trunk? Tru-? Oh, cab. Cab-trunk. Da.

Cabbie: Very well.

[The Cabbie lifts Sonya's trunk, and takes it to the back of his cab, loading it in. After closing the back door, the Cabbie goes back to Sonya and points to Shirley's crate.]

Cabbie: Is that a cat or dog?

[Shirley barks and yips from within her crate, prompting "THIS BOX IS KILLING ME, YOU JERK!" to appear.]

Shirley: BARK! BARK, BARK, BARK! YIP-BARK! GRRR!

[Sonya talks reassuringly to Shirley in the crate, prompting, "Calm down, Shirley. We'll take a break as soon as we get to Heathrow." To appear.]

Sonya: Shh, shhhhh. Calmează-te, Shirley. Vom lua o pauză de îndată ce ajungem la Heathrow.

[Sonya goes back to the Cabbie, pointing out her pet in the crate and the cab back seat as she talks.]

Sonya: Sonya, Shirley…cab.

Cabbie: Oh, you and your dog in the cab, yes?

Sonya: Cab! Yes!

[The Cabbie goes to the door for the back seat, opens it, and shows Sonya and Shirley in.]

Cabbie: Very well. Here you are, Madam.

[Sonya enters the cab with Shirley in her crate, prompting, "Thank you, sir." To appear.]

Sonya: Multumesc domnule.

Cabbie: You're welcome, madam.

[The Airport Agent returns with a female Translator, Christina, a woman maybe a hair younger than Sonya, but of Romanian descent. She speaks with a Romanian accent, almost identical to Sonya.]

Christina: Is this her?

Agent: Yes.

Cabbie: I think we reached a basic understanding, but….

[Christina speaks to Sonya, and reaches for a handshake, prompting, "Good evening, ma'am. I'm Christina, an agent with BlueAir. I understand you're on your way to Heathrow Airport, yes?" to appear. Sonya, relieved at hearing her native tongue, takes the handshake and responds, prompting, "Yes. Thank goodness you came. I was feeling so lost." To appear.]

Christina: Bună seara, doamnă. Sunt Christina, agent cu BlueAir. Înțeleg că te duci la aeroportul Heathrow, da?

Sonya: Da. Mulțumesc că ai venit. Mă simțeam atât de pierdută.

[Christina reassures Sonya, and inquires with a gentle demeanor, prompting, "I understand, ma'am. If you don't mind me asking, do you have a flight already booked at Heathrow?" to appear. Sonya swiftly responds, prompting, "No. I was hoping to catch a flight tonight to America. What are the best cities to go to in America?" to appear. The agent and the cabbie look on with interest.]

Christina: Înțeleg, doamnă. Dacă nu vă deranjează să vă întreb, aveți un zbor deja rezervat la Heathrow?

Sonya: Nu. Speram să luăm un zbor în seara asta în America. Care sunt cele mai bune orașe din America?

[Christina gasps, realizing its late in the day. She talks to the agent in haste.]

Christina: Sir, call Heathrow and inquire about the remaining available flights out of Heathrow to New York. She doesn't have a booked flight yet.

Agent: What? She just wants to get away but with no compass?

Christina: Just please call for flights. It's getting late.

Agent: Just one thing: How will she pay?

[Christina groans and inquires to Sonya, prompting, "He's wanting to know how much money you have to pay for the flight." Sonya tells truthfully, prompting "About 3600 Leu." To appear.]

Christina: Vrea să știe câte bani trebuie să plătești pentru zbor.

Sonya: Treizeci și șase sute de leu.

[Christina tells the Agent.]

Christina: She has thirty-six hundred Romanian Leu.

[Realizing the situation, the Agent shakes his head as he retreats inside the terminal.]

Agent: Romanian Leu? That's not a high-value currency. I'll make the calls, do the math, and I'll return.

[On a black screen, we see the words "Twenty minutes later…." For about five seconds.]

[The camera goes back to the airport terminal driveway, where the Cabbie, Sonya, Christina are still waiting. They hear a door slide open, and the Agent returns. Christina translates for Sonya, who smiles happily when hearing the news.]

Agent: Okay, I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that there is a flight on TAP Portugal that leaves Heathrow and goes to New York's JFK Airport, and the fare is 450 pounds, or about 2300 Romanian Leu.

Christina: Vestea bună este că există un zbor pe TAP Portugalia care pleacă din Heathrow și se duce la Aeroportul JFK din New York, iar tariful este de patru sute cincizeci de lire sau aproximativ douăzeci și trei sute de lei.

[Shirley yips for excitement as Sonya smiles. Suddenly, Christina realizes something, prompting her to ask the Agent.]

Christina: Oh, wait, sir. You said that there's bad news.

Agent: With regret, the flight does not leave until tomorrow morning.

[Christina didn't like that news as she pierces her eyes shut in pain. But, she turns to Sonya and delivers the message.]

Christina: Zborul nu pleacă până dimineața.

[Sonya sighs in fatigue and uncertainty. Shirley from within her cage also groans in disgust. Sonya inquires, prompting, "Are there any cheap places near Heathrow where we can stay for the night?" to appear.]

Sonya: Există locuri ieftine în apropiere de Heathrow unde putem sta pentru noapte?

[Christina, knowing the answer with great certainty, shakes her head, prompting, "Near Heathrow, I doubt it." To appear.]

Christina: Lângă Heathrow, mă îndoiesc.

[Christina thinks for a second, and then a thought hits her head, prompting, "Oh, wait a minute! I know of a relatively cheap place where you and your pet can stay on Staines Road, just outside Heathrow. My friends own a flat: they don't ask for much, but it's a roof with a bed for a quick sleep. Also, it's right next to the Heathrow Express Tube that can take you to the airport in the morning very quick for a very cheap price." To appear.]

Christina: Stai puțin! Știu despre un loc relativ ieftin unde tu și animalul tău de companie poți rămâne pe Staines Road, chiar în afara Heathrow. Prietenii mei dețin un apartament: ei nu cer mult, dar este un acoperiș cu un pat pentru un somn rapid. De asemenea, este chiar lângă Heathrow Express Tube care vă poate duce la aeroport dimineața foarte rapid, la un preț foarte ieftin.

[Sonya, still feeling uncertain but liking the sound of it, inquires, prompting, "Is there any way we can make sure they can have my and Shirley tonight?" to appear.]

Sonya: Există vreo modalitate de a ne asigura că pot să aibă pe mine și pe Shirley în seara asta?

[Christina invites Sonya out of the cab, prompting, "Yes. Let's make the call. Additionally, I think you should convert the Leu into British Pounds. It'll be easier to get you where you need to go here. We can ask our currency convertor here to do that." To appear. Sonya gets out of the cab with her currency box, to the slight dismay of the Cabbie, who's showing a little impatience with a head shake.]

Christina: Da. Hai să sunăm. În plus, cred că ar trebui să convertiți leul în lire britanice. Va fi mai ușor să ajungeți acolo unde trebuie să mergeți aici. Putem să cerem convertorului nostru de valută să facă acest lucru.

[Sonya replies, prompting, "All right." To appear. Christina starts escorting a relatively uncertain Sonya back into the terminal while telling her Agent the situation.]

Sonya: In regula.

Christina: Hey, Boss. We're going to turn her Leu into Pounds and I'm going to call my friend in Hounslow, see if we can get her a place to sleep.

Agent: Very good, Christina.

Cabbie: My clock is ticking.

Agent: Don't worry. We'll see that you're compensated when you bring my colleague back after she takes care of our customer.

Christina: What's that, sir?

Agent: Clearly, this woman came here lost with no plan of action. I couldn't sleep well at night if we just let her walk into the wild woods of London without some compass to guide her.

[Christina understands as she continues inside with Sonya.]

Christina: Oh, yes. Very good, sir.

[The terminal door opens. The Agent speaks under his breath as Christina goes inside with Sonya.]

Agent: (softly, to himself) It's good for business, too.

[Later that night, we see the cab parked outside an apartment building, nestled in front of a city street with four joining business buildings off to the right, including a small pub, named "Sleazy Dog" with a music stage. We see the Cabbie closing the back door of his cab with Sonya's trunk at his feet. He picks it up as he takes it inside. Sonya, with Shirley out of the crate and in her arms, greets the two flat owners, Ion and Lindsay. Ion is of Romanian descent, sporting a short black haircut and slight ruggedness on his face, but Lindsay is a Scottish lady, slender, cute, and sporting back-length Redhead locks held back in a pony-tail. Christina formally introduces the visitors to the flat-mates while getting hugs and greeting kisses on the cheeks.]

Christina: Ion! Lindsay! So good to see you again!

Lindsay: Heeey, Chrissy! C'mere, girl!

Ion: Christina! Great to see you, too!

Christina: Hey, guys. Thank you so much for agreeing to this on short notice.

Ion: Hey, it's alright. Always happy to help out our fellow Romanians!

Lindsay: Yeah, and besides, another participant for "Spin the Bottle" tonight!

[Ion laughs with Lindsay. But, Christina is not feeling it.]

Christina: No! No, no, no. Count me out! Not with your loud mouth, girl!

Lindsay: WHAT!?

[Ion interjects to formally meet Sonya.]

Ion: Anyway, where is this woman?

[Sonya approaches and extends her hand for a handshake, prompting, "Good Evening. Sonya & Shirley. Thank you for taking us in." to appear.]

Sonya: Bună seara. Sonya și Shirley. Mulțumesc că ne-ai luat în seara asta.

[Lindsay is perplexed and Ion takes Shirley's hand and shakes.]

Lindsay: Wait! What?

Ion: Sonya just said "Hello", said her dog is "Shirley" and she just thanked us for tonight.

Christina: I was hoping you'd remember your native tongue, Ion.

Ion: Home is where the heart will always be.

[Lindsay elbows Ion, who immediately talks to Sonya, prompting, "Yes, welcome, Miss Sonya. I'm Ion and this is Lindsay. She will show you to your room. All we ask is for a peaceful night's sleep for our guests." To appear.]

Ion: Da, bine ai venit, domnișoară Sonya. Sunt Ion și asta e Lindsay. Ea te va arăta în camera ta. Tot ce cerem este un somn liniștit pentru oaspeții noștri.

[Sonya and Shirley and flattered at the offer, prompting, "I just wish I had a gift to give in return." To appear.]

Sonya: Aș vrea doar să am un dar pe care să-l dau în schimb.

[Lindsay inquires as the Cabbie approaches with the trunk.]

Lindsay: She's not depressed, is she?

Ion: Nah, she just wishes she had something to give in return.

Lindsay: Awwww, don't worry. Having people over is a gift in itself.

[CLUNK! The Cabbie sets the trunk down next to Shirley.]

Cabbie: There we are, Miss. Are we returning to Luton?

Christina: Oh, yes. Yes, sir. Well, I must be going. Ion, Lindsay, thanks again!

Ion: No problem, Chris.

Lindsay: Ain't nothin', girl.

[Christina speaks professionally to Sonya, prompting, "Miss Sonya, it's been a pleasure to serve you today. I hope you have a safe journey." To appear.]

Christina: Domnișoară Sonya, a fost o plăcere să vă slujesc astăzi. Sper că aveți o călătorie sigură.

[Sonya offers a handshake, and a couple cheek kisses to Christina, prompting, "Thank you for everything. I would've been lost without your help. Many Blessings, my friend." To appear.]

Sonya: Domnișoară Sonya, a fost o plăcere să vă slujesc astăzi. Sper că aveți o călătorie sigură. Multe binecuvântări, prietene.

[Christina offers one last word, prompting, "Same to you." To appear.]

Christina: La fel şi ţie.

[Christina leaves with the Cabbie to the cab.]

Christina: Let's go back to Luton, sir.

Cabbie: (softly, under his breath) About bloody time.

[Lindsay and Ion look back at that quip, inquisitively.]

[Sonya, seeing the looks on their faces, grins slightly, and holds up her hand and shaking her head, as if saying, "Don't worry about it."]

[From a distance away from the flat, we see Lindsay escorting Sonya and Shirley in while Ion gets Sonya's trunk. The camera zooms out sharply when the door closes, bringing a bald males head into view. The bald male quickly looks around, and runs off.]

[A moment later, we see Sonya and Shirley sitting with Lindsay on a couch in the flat's living room, while Ion sits on the recliner near the corner of the flat. The flat is well decorated with local trinkets, including snow-globes, framed pictures, and other memoirs. The fireplace is also going well. We see in front of the ladies and the gentleman a coffee table, populated but four hot beverage mugs of differentiating solid colors. Ion talks, prompting, "So, you just left the homeland on an impulse?" to appear.]

Ion: Deci, tocmai ați părăsit patria într-un impuls?

[Sonya speaks sternly, recollecting the horrors, prompting, "No! A town nearly killed me! I was scared." To appear.]

Sonya: Nu! Un oraș ma ucis aproape! Eram speriat.

[Ion, understanding, explains to Lindsay.]

Ion: Oh, da. She said some people almost killed her and she ran away fearing for her life.

[Lindsay's face gets a little red.]

Lindsay: Blasted bokes need a skelping. How'd you escape?

Ion: Cum ai scăpat?

Sonya: Un pachet de lupi vicioase a ieșit din pădure și ia atacat, dându-mi o șansă de a scăpa.

[Ion's eyes widen upon hearing the tale.]

Ion: She, um….she said a pack of vicious wolves came out from the forest, attacked the people, and she was able to escape.

[Lindsay's eyes widen.]

Lindsay: Whoa! You don't hear tales like that very often. But hey, we glad that you're here, safe and sound. Where was your dog in all of this?

Ion: Unde era câinele tău în acel moment?

Sonya: Era în siguranță în căruța mea.

Ion: Safe in her wagon.

[The last word threw Lindsay off.]

Lindsay: Wha-Wagon?

[Ion is being tactful and trying to downplay the obvious that might be eluding Lindsay.]

Ion: Lindsay, she's a gypsy.

Lindsay: Gypsy? So?

Ion: Gypsies have deep cultural traditions that never deviate from the roots. Racial purity, social structures, even their homes, which may also include their means of transportation…..in this case for Sonya and Shirley, a wagon.

[Lindsay is starting to understand the situation.]

Lindsay: Oh, my goodness. I see. But why was she about to be killed? Is it because of the whole "fortune-telling" thing or something?

Ion: That's part of it. Many purists in the homeland, and many other countries, have extensive histories of constant persecution towards the Gypsy people. Fearing that fortune-telling would anger the spirit world, many radical purists sought to put Gypsies to death, mostly by burning them at the stakes.

[We see Lindsay's wide-open eyes, taking in the shock. She glances over to her right.]

[We see Shirley giving her a straight faced and Sonya looking at Lindsay, calm but still with a slight hint of fear.]

[Lindsay thinks for a moment. Then, a thought hits her.]

Lindsay: Oh, wait. You said that Romani people love piano music, yes?

Ion: Yes, that's right!

Lindsay: Well, maybe to lighten things up for our guests, maybe we can take them to a pub down the street? I hear that a Jazz Piano player is on tonight….an American!

Ion: American? Cool, the best kind of Jazz out there! Hey, Sonya, Shirley! Înainte de a merge mâine, v-ar plăcea să auziți o mare muzică de pian în seara asta?

[Sonya and Shirley gasp in excitement. Shirley yips and leaps, and Sonya responds, prompting, "YES! Yes, we'd love to! Who's playing?" to appear.]

Sonya: Da! Da, ne-ar plăcea! Cine joacă?

[Later that evening, we hear piano Jazz music as we see a poster of Velvet Vic, smiling in his zoot suit. The words around his face read "Velvet Vic: Swingin' 2-Nite". The camera zooms out, revealing the poster is attached to the outside wall of a music pub, "Treble Pub", with the name sign decorated with a Treble Clef and music notes.]

[Inside the Treble Pub, we see Shirley, Sonya, Lindsay and Ion all sitting at a table in a half-circle booth lined by a black leather couch. On the table in front of Lindsay is a tall glass of ale, in front of Ion is a fancy glass of red wine, in front of Sonya and Shirley are their glasses of iced water. We see several patrons sitting in their tables and booths, enjoying "Swingin'" from Velvet Vic, seated on the corner stage playing on an electric keyboard, sporting is signature zoot suit and fancy hairstyle. A couple of patrons are dancing on the open dance area between the other patrons and Vic.]

[We see several quick images of dancing couples swinging, twirling, spinning, and dipping to the jamming tunes from Velvet Vic.]

[We see Velvet Vic, all smiles, jamming hard and enjoying the atmosphere.]

Velvet: Swing it, you wild cats.

[Lindsay, Ion, Sonya and Shirley are enjoying the show.]

[Sonya speaks to Shirley, prompting, "Sure is better than home, yes?" to appear. Shirley swiftly responds, prompting, "Yes! I feel like a pampered pup!" to appear.]

Sonya: Sigur e mai bine decât acasă, da?

Shirley: Da! Mă simt ca un puști răsfățat!

[While playing among the lively dancing patrons, Velvet Vic is really digging the vibes. While playing, he opens his eyes, and something wipes his smile away for a brief moment.]

[From Vic's perspective, we see Lindsay, Ion, Shirley and Sonya, jamming to his tunes.]

[Vic is initially disgusted by the appearance of Sonya and Shirley, as evidenced by a resentful face and a slight rebuttle under his breath.]

Velvet: Man! Blowing my gig!

[Realizing he's distracted, Velvet re-finds his smile and finishes his tune. There's strong applause as Velvet address the crowd on his microphone.]

Velvet: Thank you very much! You swingin' cats take five, and I'll get back to the hot ivery in a little while.

[We see the patrons return to their seats, as the applause dies down and the chatter picks up. Velvet Vic approaches the table of Lindsay, Ion, Sonya and Shirley. This catches fan-girl Lindsay off-guard initially, but she turns and gasps at the "hot hunk" Vic. Lindsay speaks with her authentic, thick Scottish accent.]

Lindsay: Vic! You're a Bonnie Scunner!

[Velvet laughs at the quip, but he appreciates it.]

Velvet: Thanks, you hot-headed hottie!

[Lindsay, melts and faints at the compliment. Ion grabs onto his girl before she falls flat on her face.]

Ion: Aw, man. You made her night!

[Velvet goes towards Sonya and Shirley with caution.]

Velvet: That's what I strive to do, man! And you…what are you two bunnies of dust doing in this shack?

[Sonya and Shirley don't understand, but picking up on the bad vibes, they feel rather insulted.]

[Ion interjects.]

Ion: Sir, they can't speak English.

Velvet: What? What good cat caught their tongue?

Ion: Vic, they just got here today from Romania.

[Velvet didn't like what he heard.]

Velvet: Aw, man! No wonder it got funky up in here. You really think it's cool to bring such diminished chords here to my gig? No way, man. It's a trill of shrills.

[By this point, Sonya and Shirley are definitely picking up bad vibes as Shirley starts to growl.]

[Upon hearing the growls, Lindsay instantly pops, grabs Vic by the neck and brings him close, speaking with her native Scottish accent.]

Lindsay: I'm going ta skelp yer wee behind, ya wee tattie!

[Vic pushes himself away, knowing he overstepped. Lindsay slowly lets Vic go as he retreats away from the scene.]

Velvet: No, no, no….no need for that, baby girl! I'm just gonna shuffle my way back over to the ivory.

[Sonya, Shirley, Ion and Lindsay go back to their table. Ion looks at Sonya, and speaks, prompting, "Sorry. We didn't know he was a jerk." To appear.]

Ion: Scuze. Nu am știut că e un nebun.

[Sonya replies stuffily, prompting, "Yeah, he's junk." To appear.]

Sonya: Da, este deșeuri.

[Shirley, clearly disgusted and insulted at Vic, looks around. She eyes something.]

[At the corner of the front door, we see a stack of Velvet Vic's "Swingin'" phonograph albums and an old record player on a stand.]

[We see a hint of clever thinking in Shirley's eyes. She crosses her fingers and shows them to Sonya, who understands the gesture and tells her to go ahead, prompting, "Yes, go do your business." To appear.]

Sonya: Da, fă-ți afacerea.

[Shirley hops off the bench, and goes to the front door. Before leaving through the front door, Shirley snatches an album, and the phonograph record and dashes out.]

[Outside the pub, Shirley gets to the corner behind the glass window where Velvet Vic is returning to his place in front of the electric keyboard.]

[As Vic speaks, we see Shirley setting up the record player and unsheathe the phonograph from the album cover. Shirley lays a paw upon the center of the phonograph, whispers a curse to it, and places it on the roundtable of the record player.]

Velvet: Alright, you groovy cats, let's get swingin'! Get on this dance floor and let's make it hot!

[As Vic starts up his song, Shirley swiftly winds up the record player lever, and puts the needle on the record, starting up the "Swingin'" tune. She turns the amplifier on the record player in Vic's direction.]

[Inside the pub, Velvet is getting his swing on, but suddenly, Velvet becomes a transparent ghost as he is sucked from his place and towards the record player outside.]

Velvet: Drags-ville!

[Outside the pub, we Velvet being sucked into the record player, disappearing.]

[Shirley removes the phonograph from the record player, tosses the record player aside towards the alley, making a CRASHING! Sound, and swiftly slides the phonograph into the album cover. Shirley briefly laughs at her deed, prompting, "That'll teach you some manners." To appear.]

Shirley: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Asta te va învăța câteva maniere.

[Suddenly, another CRASHING sound is heard. Shirley looks down the alley.]

[Within the slightly dark alley, we see something shiny glistening at Shirley.]

[Seeing this, Shirley places the record on her person under her purple cloak, and goes towards the shine as several pub patrons and workers scream as they bolt from the pub.]

Patron1: AHHH! HELP! GHOSTS!

Patron2: WITCHES! THERE ARE WITCHES HERE!

Patron3: IT'S HIM! SWEENEY TODD! TODD'S GHOSTS HAS RETURNED!

[Inside the pub, among the glass debris, spilled ales, and knocked-over or damaged furniture, all that's left are Ion, Lindsay and Sonya. Ion and Lindsay are in a state of shock, while Sonya is very content with what and how it happened, prompting, "This isn't Shirley's first time." To appear. Ion and Lindsay slowly turn their heads and look at Sonya in shock as she takes a brief sip of her water.]

Sonya: Nu e prima dată pentru Shirley.

[Suddenly, SCREECH! A big black van rolls up, and an army of 6 fully-masked troops, armed with machine guns and heavy vests, with small swastikas printed on their vests, jog towards the Treble Clef.]

[In the alley, Shirley approaches a partly-opened instrument case. She slowly opens it, and finds a slighty old, worn-down Alto Saxophone. Shirley's intrigued as she starts to reach for the instrument, prompting, "A Saxophone? Well, the spells book did mention that instruments can be a powerful tool-" to appear.]

Shirley: Un saxofon? Ei bine, cartea de vrăji a menționat că instrumentele pot fi un instrument puternic-

[Suddenly, a loud glass crash is heard followed by BOOOOOOOOMM! A HUGE fireball blows up from within the Treble Clef, sending fire-torched debris and glass flying in all directions.]

[Inside the alley, Shirley is blown back by the fiery blast. She is thrown to the alley road next to a dumpster. The Saxophone lands near her as well.]

[Outside the fire-engulfed building, the masked men quickly offer a salute reminiscent of the Nazi party, and then run off.]

Neo-Nazis: Seig Heil!

[Back in the alleyway, Shirley rises and realizes the horror. She screams as she runs towards the blaze.]

Shirley: SONYA! NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

[Shirley runs to the front of the pub, avoiding the heat and flames. She screams, prompting, "SONYA! MASTER SONYA! MASTER!? MASTER! NOOOOOOOOO!" to appear. She breaks down in tears as she realizes that her master is gone.]

Shirley: SONYA ! MAESTRU SONYA ! MAESTRU!? MAESTRU! NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

[Shirley cries for a moment, but then in the distance she hears doors opening and closing, prompting her head up, eyes wide and teary-eyed.]

[We see the Neo-Nazis running into their van, laughing and shouting.]

[Shirley's eyes slowly go from teary-eyed to full raging anger as we hear her growling.]

[Suddenly, we see the van start up and BLAZE towards her.]

[Shirley swiftly rolls over out of the way of the blazing van, but she instantly looks at it.]

[We see the van's license plate, reading "666 666".]

[Shirley, enraged and driven, bolts back into the alleyway.]

[Shirley, her eyes glowing with red fury, pulls out the Saxophone, and lifts it high in the air as she shouts out a charm, prompting, "Great, sweet gods of justice and might, bear your will upon this tool of light. Let me use this for good will firm, so that I can summon my deeds on all worms!" to appear. Rolling, dark clouds swiftly roll in as Shirley calls out.]

Shirley: Zeii minunați, dulci ai dreptății și puterii, poartă voia voastră asupra acestui instrument de lumină. Dă-mi voie să folosesc asta cu fermitate, ca să-mi pot convoca faptele asupra tuturor viermilor!

[Shirley tosses the Saxophone into the air. Suddenly, CRACK! CRASH! BOOM! Three lightning strikes hit the Saxophone, making it spin suspended in the air and glow brighter than a lit light bulb. After a moment of glowing, the Saxophone drops back down.]

[We see Shirley catching the Saxophone. It glows for a moment, then recedes back. Shirley has a remark, prompting, "Now, that's hot!" to appear. She swiftly runs out of the alleyway.]

Shirley: Acum, e fierbinte!

[Shirley stands out in the street. The camera is fixed to where the smoking, burning pub is directly behind her. She calls out prompting, "Wretched monsters with hate in your veins…." to appear. She plays a quick lick on the Saxophone after she shouts, prompting a slight lighting flash with thunder.]

Shirley: Monștri nenorociți cu ură în vene ...

[Shirley calls out again, prompting, "Hell will come to you on fiery reigns!" to appear. She plays another lick on her Saxophone after shouting, prompting a brighter lighting flash with a stronger thunderclap.]

Shirley: Iadul va veni la voi în domnii fierbinți!

[Shirley continues, prompting, "May you all suffer in burning wrath…." To appear. She plays another Saxophone lick after shouting, prompting a series of bright flashes and strong accompanying thunderclaps as the wind picks up a bit. We also hear some slight rumbling building.]

Shirley: Fie ca voi să suferiți cu toții în mânie ...

[Shirley finishes the spell, prompting, "And forever take a fiery bloodbath!" to appear. She plays a concluding Saxophone lick.]

Shirley: Și pentru totdeauna să ia o baie de sânge!

[More lightning and thunder fill the air. Shirley looks up in the sky and then turns around, looking down the street as the wind and rumbling get more intense.]

[We see a brief image of a silhouette of galloping horse feet galloping. We also see glowing, sparking, fire-molten hoof prints in the brick roads as the hooves make contact.]

[Hearing the rumbling among the wind and lightning, Shirley smiles, her eyes still glowing with fury.]

[We see a brief image of a silhouette face of a warrior, with a silhouette helmet and armor, his eyes glowing a fire-laced red. Judging by the sounds and his body movements, he's riding the galloping horse.]

[We see a close-up of Shirley's red, raging eyes as the galloping rumble gets louder among the intense lightning and thunder.]

[We see a brief image of the snout of the silhouette galloping horse, sharply exhaling fiery smoke out of its nostrils.]

[We see Shirley's furious smile among her raging, fiery eyes among the crackling lightning and thunder. She knows her Calvary approaching.]

[Intense, heavy music fades in slowly to a loud volume as we see from behind the descending road, the rumbling intensifies as we see the silhouette warrior and his silhouette horse charging up the road swiftly. Both the horse and the warrior are sporting blood red eyes, edged by short flames of fire. The hooves of the horse emit horseshoe prints of crackling, white-hot fire with each gallop. SNOOORT! The horse emits a smoky, fire-laced exhale through its snout, swiftly followed by a HUGH FLASH of lightning and HUGE CRACK of thunder amongst the furious windstorm. Just behind the warrior and horse is 23 other mounted warriors charging up in similar fashion.]

[Shirley, still in full fury, smiles. Suddenly, with her Saxophone in tow, Shirley leaps up.]

[Shirley is caught in the arm of the lead silhouette warrior as they charge on.]

[From above among the intense wind, lightning and thunder, we see Shirley on the lead warrior as the team of 24 mounted warriors charge hard up a street.]

[On another street, we see the Black van drive through a city street, obeying the laws of the road. But, they are quickly stopped by a car waiting on a traffic signal to go green, not trying to draw attention.]

[Inside the van, the army of five Neo-Nazis, still masked, sit in quietness, even as the wind, thunder and lightning build around their vehicle outside.]

[From outside the back window, we hear low rumbling among the intense weather. One of the Neo-Nazis appears to look out the window. Something causes his head to slouch a little, trying to make sense of what he sees.]

[From within the van, we see through the back window a distance away the Silhouette Army, with Shirley on the lead, charge on the road from around the right corner.]

[From outside, the Neo-Nazi is scared to death, letting out a scream, prompting, "GHOSTS! OUTSIDE, GHOSTS!" to appear. His shouts create a stir within the van.]

Nazi1: GEISTER! DRAUSSEN, GEISTER!

[Not buying it, the driver looks into the rear-view mirror laughing, but pauses when he looks in the mirror.]

[In the right, driver-side, rear-view mirror, among the wind, lightning and thunder, we see the quickly approaching Silhouette Army, with Shirley approaching.]

[From her perch on top of the lead warrior, a fiery-eyed Shirley points and shouts a command, prompting, "KILL!" to appear. A HUGE CRACK of lightning and THUNDERCLAP lights up the area in-sync with the strong command.]

Shirley: (loud, commanding) UCIDE!

[The Neo-Nazi driver screams in fear as he instantly revs the van and turns hard to the right.]

[The Black van, with the Neo-Nazis screaming, bullies the civilian car to the side, taking out part of its fender as it speeds off.]

[The civilian in the civilian car, inititally shaken, screams at the van as it charges off, screeching.]

Civilian: OY! What the-!? HEY, THAT'S HIT AN-

[The Civilian, instantly realizing the approaching intensity of the hoof sounds, instantly turns to the left, eyes wide-open. Seeing the approaching Army, he screams and ducks for cover within his car.]

Civilian: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

[The intense, heavy music stops as we see from above the car, we see the lead warrior ride straight through the civilian car, not hurting it, just like a ghosts. Suddenly, the remaining 23 warriors ride straight through the civilian car without even hurting it of the civilian inside. After the warriors ride through, the galloping, as well as the wind, thunder and lightning gradually recede.]

[From just outside the passenger door, we see the civilian slowly sit up, eyes still open wide. Seeing the danger has passed, but still emotionally traumatized, lets out a scream, slams the accelerator in his car.]

[From above, the car swerves around swiftly, and blazes away in the opposite direction away from where the Army went. The car engine's sound fades into the distance.]

[The heavy, intense music starts again. We see a rolling shot from behind the Silhouette Army, the Army is galloping really fast, closing the gap between them and the Black van. The wind, lightning and thunder do not relent. The Black van is struggling to maintain control on the road as it tries to keep screeching away.]

[A running side shot shows that the Army, with Shirley's warrior still in the lead, is approaching within striking distance of the Black van. The Silhouette horses snort out blistering fire as they continue to gallop.]

[Suddenly, the back door of the Black van opens up, revealing that the Neo-Nazis have three MP5 semiautomatic rifles, trained on the Army.]

[The lead Silhouette warrior pulls out what appears to be a silhouette-laced sword.]

[A command is heard from within the Black van, prompting, "FIRE!" to appear, followed by all three MP5's firing automatic gunfire.]

Neo-Nazi: SCHIESSEN!

[The Silhouette sword covers Shirley, deflecting the bullets that come near her. The remaining bullets go through the warrior's bodies, unfazed.]

[We see the remaining 23 Silhouette warriors riding with the bullets going straight through them, not even hurting them.]

[We look past the flashing gunfire, and the Neo-Nazis who are observing and not firing, are stunned at what they see.]

[Suddenly, a warrior to the left of Shirley's leader, Silhouette sword drawn, leaps from his horse into the air.]

[The observing Neo-Nazis see this and shout, prompting, "ABOVE!" to appear.]

Neo-Nazis: ÜBER!

[We see the leaping Warrior land square on the Black Van, cutting the sword through the roof. The machine gunfire stops firing towards Shirley and is instantly trained on the cutting Warrior on the roof, who doesn't flinch.]

[Inside the van, the Warrior cuts a hole big enough to drop into the van interior, sending the observing Neo-Nazis back to the back of the cargo wall and prompting the gun-toting Neo-Nazis to cease fire. The music also stops here. Seeing the specter, the Neo-Nazis stand still seeing what move the Warrior makes.]

[The gun-toting Neo-Nazis, with their backs towards the open back door where Shirley and the rest of the Army keep pace, look at each other, nervously.]

[Suddenly, sensing the weird awkwardness, the Warrior in the van swiftly uses his sword and arms to grab the gun-toters and SLAM them to the back wall with the others, starting up the heavy, intense music again. The gun-toters re-focus after the slam, and instantly resume firing at the Warrior.]

[The Warrior, with the bullets running through itself, shakes his head "no" with his right hand holding up his head, not believing the criminals' delusional hopes. Suddenly, the gunfire stops, followed by some clicking. The warrior looks up.]

[The Neo-Nazis' weapons are depleted of ammunition, making them even more nervous. They immediately start checking the gear on their person for more ammo.]

[The Warrior growls low, and puts away his sword.]

[Suddenly, BAM! The Warrior punches the lead gun-toter in the stomach, sending him down, wheezing.]

[CRUNCH! The Warrior slams another gun-toter against the steel wall of the van.]

[BLAM! The Warrior shoves a Neo-Nazi with a wet mask down hard into the steel floor of the van.]

[WHAM! Another Neo-Nazi is slammed hard into the van floor.]

[From outside the van, Shirley and the other warriors keep pace as more violent, metal-crashing, bone-crunching sounds are heard with violent blows landing.]

[We see a close-up of Shirley, smiling with her furious eyes, as she motions with the Warrior inside the van with every metal slam and bone crunch heard.]

[After a moment, the sounds from within the van cease. The Warrior is seen approaching the end of the back of the van. Suddenly, he leaps from the van and back onto his vacant horse.]

[Seeing that it's almost over, Shirley gives another command, prompting, "TIME TO BURN!" to appear.]

Shirley: TIMPUL DE A ARDE!

[The lead Warrior carrying Shirley lets out a low, ghastly bellow that sounds somewhere between a fog horn and a French Horn. The Warrior and his horse start to glow red.]

[The entire Warrior team also starts bellowing in the same manner, but in various pitches. They also start to glow red. The Warriors all start to meld together into a glowing mass of spectral matter while keeping pace with the Black van. As the meld continues, the galloping gradually recedes until all the horses disappear from form. In all of this, Shirley eventually finds her way to the top of the red, spectral mass.]

[From atop the spectral mass, Shirley smiles in guilty delight at what she sees.]

[We see the spectral mass slowly engulf the Black van as it all stays keeps charging up the road.]

[The Neo Nazi driver inside the cab of the van, still scared senseless, notices that the black night has suddenly become red and warm.]

[We see a shot from way above the red spectral mass as it approaches the end of the road that leads to a river, the Thames River.]

[Shirley, knowing what ahead up the road, continues, flinging her hands towards the direction of the Black van.]

[Suddenly, the van starts to melt slowly.]

[Inside the cab, a couple of the Neo-Nazis wake up when they realize that the intense heat is building, prompting, "OW! HOT! IT'S HOT!" to appear.]

Neo-Nazi: WIE! HEISS! ES IST HEISS!

[Inside the cab, the Neo-Nazi driver is sweltering in heat, but can't say anything because suddenly, BLAM! Fire engulfs the cab.]

[BLAM! The explosion comes from within the van, implying that the gas tank ruptured due to extreme heat. The explosion does not pierce the boundaries of the red spectral mass bubble as is spreads the bubble briefly, but the bubble retracts to its previous size as the smoke clears and the mass pieces fall apart and get left behind as the spectral mass has not lost speed. As the smoke clears, we see six glowing gray-white masses of matter, the six lost souls of the Neo-Nazis. Each gray-white soul has a faint pair of eyes, implying a state of consciousness even after the death of the flesh.]

[Seeing this happen, Shirley, eyes still fury-lit, summons her hands forward, accompanied by a sound of magic.]

[In the Thames River, a hole swiftly opens up, revealing a slight orange-red glow from within.]

[Seeing that time is night, the music intensifies as Shirley looks down and talks directly to the six souls, who appear to hear her, prompting, "MAY YOU SUFFER FOREVER IN THE BOWELS OF HELL!" to appear.]

Shirley: MAI SĂ VĂ RUGĂȚI ÎNTOTDEAUNA ÎN BUCĂȚI DE IAD!

[Upon hearing Shirley's declaration, the six souls let out a SCREECH of terror from within the spectral mass.]

[From above, we see Shirley leap from the spectral mass onto the last bit of road as the spectral mass leaps from the road and into the hole in the Thames River, taking the souls with them. When the spectral mass enters the hole, the glow becomes more intense. After a moment, we hear a thunderous, fiery EXPLOSION from within the hole, accompanied by intense screams of pain, which concludes the heavy, intense music. The screams gradually fade as the hole slowly closes, making the Thames River look normal again.]

[We see Shirley at the edge of the road as the wind subsides and the lightning and thunder quickly dissipate. Her eyes slowly recede to normal. Eventually, Shirley lets herself relax and reflect. She pulls out her Saxophone, and ponders. Her eyes start to tear up as she walks back to where she came from. FADE TO BLACK.]

[Slow, mourning music starts as the camera fades on a scene later that evening where we see the smoking remains of the Treble Clef as the Fire Brigade, the Paramedics and Scotland Yard investigate the area.]

[We see Shirley just up the street from the Treble Clef, tears in her eyes and Saxophone in her hand.]

[We see the Paramedics wheeling three carts with one body bag each on top out of the smoky building.]

[We see Shirley sob to herself, knowing her master is no longer living.]

[Shirley slowly walks away from the scene, still sobbing, as we see the Paramedics load the three carts into the Ambulances and shutting the doors.]

[A while later that evening, we see the flat of Ion and Lindsay with a window broken into on the front of the house. The front door opens, and Shirley emerges from it dragging Sonya's trunk.]

[The next day, we see Sonya's trunk in a UPS warehouse in London. The top label, a First Class Delivery packing slip, is shown with the text on it reading, "Ship to: 1000 State Hwy. 3, Nowhere, KS, USA". We hear Shirley narrating.]

Shirley: My dear, precious Master Sonya….

[We see an image from the previous evening where Shirley, still crying, was inside the flat of Ion and Lindsay. She's in the guest room throwing out a bunch of unnecessary items, but keeping the spell books. She continues narrating during this.]

Shirley: There are no words in any language, man or dog, that can properly describe my eternal debt to you.

[Still in the flat, Shirley, still teary-eyed, looks around the book library of Ion and Lindsay. She finds two things: an atlas of the USA, and a book reading, "How to master English". She narrates during all this.]

Shirley: You took me into your life, without pause, without reflection, without any second thoughts. You showed me what a real, meaningful life can be. You showed me that with hard work and fervor, all things are possible, no matter how cruel this world is.

[We see in the daylight, the inside of Sonya's trunk. The right half is filled with items, including the looking glass, the USA atlas, the English learning book, the various spell books, the Saxophone, the Velvet Vic record, and several fruits and small bottles of water.]

[We see Shirley examine the inside of the trunk, which is placed on a big flat hand truck inside the UPS warehouse. She looks around, and seeing no one looking, she places the First class sticker on the top of the lid. After doing one last look around, she slams the door on top of her. She narrates as she does all of this.]

Shirley: I will never be able to repay your debt, in this world or after. But I swear on your precious, living soul, that I, Shirley the Medium, will complete the quest to America, find a peaceful place, and will continue to live my life in peace.

[We see a UPS MD-11 jet takeoff from London Heathrow and climb into the skies. The sounds are somewhat muted during this.]

[The image fades to a day or two later in Nowhere, Kansas where the sun is shining brightly. We see a small, local UPS truck drive on a road.]

[We see the truck pass by a farm home that belongs to Eustice Bagge. We hear Shirley narrate.]

Sonya: I have arrived, safe and sound. I only wish you could be here with me to see this beautiful land called "America".

[From within the Bagge house, we hear Muriel speak.]

Muriel: Look who I found in town hiding in the alley, Eustice.

Eustice: BOOGA, BOOGA, BOOGA!

Courage: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

[We hear a loud CLUNK from within the house.]

Eustice: OW! What'd I do?!

[Further down the road, we see the UPS truck pull up and stop at a point on the road where nothing much is to be seen.]

[The UPS delivery man, carrying Sonya's trunk, look around, but seeing the 1000 Block marker near him, he shrugs it off, sets the trunk down, and leaves.]

[We hear the UPS truck drive off. Shirley opens the trunk from within, adjusting to the bright sunlight, looks around and hops out.]

[Shirley surveys the land, which is only a flat land. We see three time-lapsed shots of Shirley constructing her home: the first shows Shirley building the fire pit using stones to outline the circle; the second shot shows the completed fire pit as Shirley, whom has collected pieces of scrap wood and old wagon wheels, constructs her home Gypsy wagon with Sonya's trunk nearby; the third shot shows the completed wagon and completed new residence of Shirley the Medium at a colorful sunset. All of this is shown as Shirley narrates.]

Shirley: But no matter where I go or what I do, I will use the craft and passion that we hold so dear to our hearts to do the most good that I can. I will help other lost souls, like I was, find a clear destiny, as you have shown me. The oppressed, the meek, the pressured, the weak…I will strive to steer them to the paths of glorious salvation. I will punish the fools, the bullies, the criminals, anyone who prey upon the vulnerable. I will ensure that the righteous will be rewarded and that the wicked will be disciplined.

[Inside the wagon, a single candle lights up the interior. We see the looking glass mounted on the cloth-covered table with a chair right next to it. We hear soft wood scraping as Shirley slowly hauls the trunk over to the right side of the room. She wipes her brow as she opens the trunk, pulls out a spell book, and shuts the trunk.]

[We see the spell book cover that reads, "S & S Spells by Sonya & Shirley". Shirley narrates one last thing.]

Shirley: All will be right in our world and in this…..with all my love, Shirley.

[We see Shirley hug the spellbook gingerly as the image beings to fade. Mysterious music starts and swiftly intensifies.]

[From outside the wagon, we have a good view of Shirley's land as the sun sets and the image fades. The music concludes with Shirley's Theme as we hear one last thunderclap and the image goes black.]

THE END – Shirley: The Beginning

Reflection

I honestly did not anticipate this to be as dramatic as it came out to be, but considering how it all played out and what worked for me, I knew there was no other way.

Thank you for reading this. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.

Again, special commendation to John R. Dilworth for making the show a fun and scary treat for all of us. Without his tireless efforts, this fanfic would've never happened.

If anyone knows actress Mary Testa, tell her that Shirley is here!

Special Thanks to Google Translate for the Romanian and German dialogue.

Sincerely,

TheTexasPowerhouse