Apocalypse...Soon
written by
Gary Hopkins
September 23, 2015
PTPfilms
ACT I
EXT.- MEWNIE JUNGLE - DAY (DREAM SEQUENCE)
FADE IN: The screen is black, but slowly fades into a still shot of outside of the Mewnie jungle; looking into the canopy. Psychedelic music is playing in the background as voices and explosions are heard in slow motion. The sounds are off-screen for a few moments.
NOTE: THIS WHOLE SEQUENCE IS IN SLOW MOTION
A reptilian looking monster enters from the left of the screen. The monster is running from an off-screen source and has a frightened look on his face. He is wearing body armor that is torn from battle and his scales are bruised as well. A beam of fire shoots from off-screen towards the monster. The beam hits the monsters butt which causes him to leap in pain with the momentum taking him out of the screen to the right as a mewnie soldier enters from the left wielding military-esque wands. He signals more off-screen soldiers towards the direction where the monster was running. A slew of mewnie soldiers, pegasi, and others charge to the right side of the frame. KING BUTTERFLY enters the frame on a majestic stallion with a fiery mane. The horse stands on his hind-legs as King Butterfly points his sword towards the off-screen enemies belting out a war cry. A loud ringing is heard.
CUT TO:
INT. - STAR'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
STAR leaps out of bed and aimlessly shoots out rapid fire energy beams out of her wand. Her eyes are closed the whole time she's doing this.
STAR
You won't take us alive you slimy serpents!
A large beam shoots out of her wand through her wall into Marco's room which leaves a big gaping hole.
STAR (cont'd)
For Mewnie!
The ringing turns out to be her magic mirror which fully wakes her up. She looks at the damage she has done and realizes the destruction that she had just caused. She turns to the mirror that is blinking red with the words "URGENT" in bold lettering. Star fumbles through the wreckage and answers the mirror. King Butterfly is on the receiving end of the call; he has a very distressed look on his face.
KING BUTTERFLY
Star! This is important. Is there anybody else in your presence right now?
STAR (Grabbing her bearings)
Wha-what? No. No one is in my room.
KING BUTTERFLY
Good. This is top-secret mewnie information. Absolutely no one can hear or see the information I'm about to give you.
Marco stumbles in from the hole in the wall. He is in his pajamas and looks very frustrated.
MARCO
Ugh...Star...did you have that dream with the carnivorous caterpillars again?
Star, surprised by Marco's entrance, uses her wand on Marco to keep him from seeing the mirror.
STAR
AGH! Stars casts a spell which shoots out a large eraser from her wand and, literally, erases Marco's eyes.
MARCO
Star! What have you done! I can't see!
Marco stumbles around in the background and trips on the side of the hole back into his room.
KING BUTTERFLY
Now to business, we have-
A mewnie military official pops in next to King Butterfly enthusiastically.
OFFICIAL
Is that Star? Hi, Star!
STAR
Hey Xander! How's the monster slaying going?
OFFICIAL
Oh, its great we recently slain this half dragon half griffon-
King Butterfly pushes him away.
KING BUTTERFLY
Not now, Xander. This is important.
JEFFREY
Oh, are you talking about Nurtz?
STAR (confused)
Nurtz, nurtz. Where have I heard that name?
(Beat)
Oh! You mean Marlon Nurtz?
MARCO (screaming in the background)
I heard someone named Nurtz? Should I be worried? What's going on?
KING BUTTERFLY
Everyone shut up and let me talk. Go back to your post Xander! Star, get Marco out of here.
STAR
I'll just put him in the soundproof bubble.
Star casts a soundproof glass bubble over Marco. Marco rolls around confused and disoriented.
KING BUTTERFLY
Okay, something happened to Nurtz.
STAR
Did he finally get his poetry published? I tell you, his stuff is really pretentious.
KING BUTTERFLY
No. To put it bluntly, Nurtz has gone AWOL.
STAR (Concerned)
Oh dear. That's not good.
KING BUTTERFLY
Your darn right it's not good.
(MORE)
KING BUTTERFLY (CONT'D)
The man was one of our best soldiers; he even saved my life a few times, but now he's...let's just say, gone mad. He ran off a couple of months ago with a couple of my men as well as numerous weapons of ours.
Xander pops back into the mirror.
XANDER
The guy even took off with my favorite dagger.
KING BUTTERFLY
Xander, if you interrupt me one more time, you're going to pick up after the horses you got it?
Disgusted, Xander slowly walks away from the mirror, but waves Star goodbye. Star with a big smile on her face, waves back. King Butterfly notices her waving.
KING BUTTERFLY
Star, it's time to get serious.
King Butterfly projects images of Serpent tribes and dangerous animals on the mirror.
KING BUTTERFLY (CONT'D)
To the best of our knowledge, Nurtz has stationed himself deep within the jungle and has made friends with the local tribes. They view him as their leader of sorts. We don't know what he's planning, but he knows extremely important secrets that could jeopardize the kingdom. And he uh...cough knows some personal stuff that I'd rather not share at the moment.
(Beat)
Anyway, we need him back. I've sent some our best soldiers and - STAR None of them have returned?
KING BUTTERFLY
You got it.
STAR (Excitedly)
Does that mean I'm going on a top secret Mewnie mission!
KING BUTTERFLY
No, WE'RE, going on a top secret Mewnie mission.
Star bursts with joy and pops the glass bubble that Marco is in. She shakes Marco with glee.
STAR
I'm going on a daddy daughter mission! I've been waiting to do some dangerous Mewnie business all of my life.
She lets Marco go and drops him onto the ground.
STAR (CONT'D)
gasp I have to start packing. So much to prepare for!
Star runs off and leaves Marco on the ground without giving his eyes back.
MARCO
Um...Star? You forgot something! Star! sigh Ah geez.
EXT. MEWNIE JUNGLE RIVER PORT - DAY
Star, Marco, King Butterfly, MR. and MRS. Diaz, and Xander are boarding equipment onto river boat. The heat is sweltering and can be seen on everyones faces. Marco wraps his hoodie around his waist; Mrs. Diaz is using a paper fan to cool her self and Mr. Diaz is using a hanker chief to soak up the sweat. Xander, Star, and King Butterfly are all dressed up in more outdoors-ey wear for the mission.
Xander puts the last crate onto the boat. He is panting due to the heat and from the weight of the cargo. King Butterfly is going through a checklist on a clipboard to make sure all of the equipment is on board. Star is on the ground near the port doing some stretches.
XANDER
Phew! That's the last one.
KING BUTTERFLY
Alright...now seems to be the appropriate to head off.
(To Star)
Time to leave Star.
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz both squeeze Star.
MRS. DIAZ
We're going to miss you so much! Please be careful on this, uh...
STAR
Search and capture mission.
MRS. DIAZ
Right.
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz break the hug.
MRS. DIAZ (CONT'D)
Did you bring that sunblock I gave you?
STAR
I was, but it gets REALLY hot in this area in Mewnie, so I have to use some stuff from home.
Star takes out a blue bottle of Mewnie sunblock to show Mrs. Diaz. The bottle reads Skin Protection Lotion SPF 5,000.
MRS. DIAZ
SPF 5,000?
STAR
Yeah. This stuff is only good for beach trips we have stronger stuff when get deeper into the jungle.
MRS. DIAZ
Well then, stay cool and make sure to drink plenty of water. Also, Mr. Diaz made some Tinga for you in case you get hungry.
Mr. Diaz hands Star a container of Tinga wrapped in tinfoil.
STAR
Aw. Thank you so much.
The three hug it out one last time. After the hug, Marco approaches Star with concern.
MARCO
This is some pretty serious stuff going on, huh?
STAR (with a straight face)
You have absolutely no idea how much this can ruin the kingdom if we fail this mission.
Marco gulps.
MARCO
I don't really know what to say, just tell me all about it when you come back.
Star punches Marco in the arm.
STAR
You know I will.
The two give each other a goodbye hug. After a few moments, King Butterfly shouts out.
KING BUTTERFLY
Come on now. We have to get going.
Star uses her inter-dimensional scissors to open up a portal to the Diaz's house. The Diaz's walk through waving goodbye to Star. Star closes the portal, then looks at the scissors for a few moments. She hops on board the boat and approaches her father who is starting up the boat.
STAR
Hey dad, can't we just use the scissors to teleport to Nurtz's base?
KING BUTTERFLY (Pulling the boat out of the port)
Believe me, we tried every possible angle to get to Nurtz, but he has a strong disdain for anything magic related. The ironic thing is he stole one of our most powerful MDD's ( .Device) and is using to cancel any magic use from here to all the way to the other side of the jungle, but it requires magic to work, it's complicated, the gist is we're going to the center and it takes effect right...
He raises a finger in the air.
KING BUTTERFLY (CONT'D)
Now.
Star's teleportation scissors power down.
STAR (SHOCKED)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, no Magic? Why haven't I heard of this MDD thing? And why was I able to use the scissors back there? Can't we just, I don't know, teleport into Nurtz's base.
KING BUTTERFLY
Some of our science boys were developing it and managed to make a working prototype. No one besides your mother, me and the science team are supposed to know about it. And Nurtz found out about took when he got the chance. And to answer your second question, we tried that, and the scissors would only take us to the river bank, and all around the jungle. STAR So I can't watch space unicorn from my wand during down time?
KING BUTTERFLY
Nope. It's just me, you, Xander and a whole river of piranhas.
Xander is seen at the edge of the boat about to throw a piece of raw meat into the river but is stopped by King Butterfly.
KING BUTTERFLY
Don't even try Xander, they aren't the flesh eating piranhas.
Xander and Star let out a collective ugh.
STAR
That would've been entertaining to watch. How long is this trip to Nurtz's base?
KING BUTTERFLY
Roughly...one to three days.
STAR
Are you kidding me? It's going to get so boring until we get to his base. No magic doesn't help either.
KING BUTTERFLY
I never said that this was going to be a fun, or exciting mission.
(MORE)
KING BUTTERFLY (CONT'D)
Patience is a very important skill to learn Star, and you're not exactly the calm and collected type.
STAR
What does Nurtz have against magic anyway?
King Butterfly strikes a conflicted look on his face as he tries to answer her question.
KING BUTTERFLY
Well, it's kind of complicated, I think it's about time you hear it from Nurtz himself.
King Butterfly takes out an tape reel player and hits play. The recording is scratchy and routinely pops. You can hear fumbling of the mic until their is a brief moment of silence. Commander Nurtz begins to talk in a mumbling manner.
NURTZ
There was a Wizard that was walking through a forest. A rambunctious type. Running around with his robe and hat with stars on them; and a wand that defied all logic was in his possession. No order crosses his entitled mind. The plants see a rule breaker, but they can do nothing. The trees are scared of the possibilities that will come from this reckless youth, but they can do nothing. Soon the wand looses its fuel, no supermarket nearby to pick up more artificial fairy dust. The little wizard can't abide by the rules of magic anymore, but that's all he knows. Now, he's trapped in the web of nature, he wishes to escape, but he can do nothing. As the rules that were placed to him all of his life were meant to be defied, but no longer. So finds a new path, where nature dictates the actions, not the wizard himself.
The tape reels out and it leaves Star, King Butterfly and Xander distraught at the words he was saying. They remain silent for a few moments. Until King Butterfly puts his hand on Star's shoulder.
KING BUTTERFLY
Do you know what he's saying Star?
STAR
I...I don't know.
FADE TO:
EXT. - MEWNIE RIVER - DAY
The river boat is steadily traveling down the river with King Butterfly manning the boat. Star is sitting down against the side of the boat with a portfolio, labeled "CLASSIFIED," covering her face. She is sleeping and can be heard snoring. Xander is lying down at the other end of the boat, with his shirt off and wearing sunglasses, getting a tan.
King Butterfly notices Star sleeping and nudges her with his foot.
KING BUTTERFLY
Star.
He nudges her a little harder.
KING BUTTERFLY
Star...Star!
Star continues to sleeping.
KING BUTTERFLY
Oh for pete sake
(Beat)
Oh my gosh! A giant three headed Anaconda is attacking the boat.
Star instantly jumps up onto her feet and takes out a giant dagger from her boot.
STAR
Where is it! Where is it! Go for the back of the neck, that's their weak spot!
Star sticks the handle of the knife in her mouth and manically gets prepared for the non-existent battle. Her thirst for battle is abruptly stopped when King Butterfly grabs her by the back of her shirt.
KING BUTTERFLY
Whoa there Star child. Calm down, their is no three headed Anaconda.
Frustrated, Star spits out the knife and puts it back in the sheath.
King Butterfly and Xander chuckle at Star's enthusiasm for battle which irritates her. She sits back down to her previous spot and sticks the portfolio back over her head.
KING BUTTERFLY
You better be reading that under there.
STAR
You promised a three headed Anaconda.
KING BUTTERFLY
You know their aren't any three headed anacondas...at least not in this side of the river.
XANDER (Shouting from the back)
I've seen those anacondas. They're huge!
Star hops back up and leans on her fathers shoulder with optimism.
STAR
Please tell me, we're going towards that side of the river? This lack of danger is getting to me.
Star begins to have a noticeable twitch in her eye.
KING BUTTERFLY
We are not.
Star sits back down to her spot. Looking very frustrated.
STAR
HMPH.
XANDER
You're not missing anything. The three headed ones are actually herbivores; the two headed ones are the carnivorous ones. Wrap your head around that.
STAR
Hehe.
XANDER
What's so funny?
STAR
You said "wrap your head around that" and, you know, anacondas wrap their prey up before they eat them.
XANDER
Oh yeah. I didn't realize I was walking into a pun there.
STAR
You can say you "slithered" into that one.
XANDER
You're pushing the joke Star.
STAR
Sorry for the bad joke. Normally I would spend the down time working on spells, but since this stupid MDD thing or whatever is blocking all magic...
Star walks to her bag and takes out her wand.
STAR (CONT'D)
...I can't do anything except hit things with my wand. Well, actually this makes a good back scratcher too.
She quickly uses the wand to scratch her back.
STAR
But that's beside the point. I could've been making my hair glow in the dark, fuse animals together that shouldn't be fused, give a snail the ability to be self-aware and...have you know heard of black holes? Well, I managed to create a white hole!
King Butterfly snatches her wand from her hand.
KING BUTTERFLY
We get it Star. We're all bored, hot and stressed right now. If you bothered to read the portfolio you would've read that the first thing that we're going to do once we get to the base is to disable the MDD.
(MORE)
KING BUTTERFLY (CONT'D)
Once we do that we can use our magic to apprehend Nurtz and to call a raid on his base. Until then, you can either read up on Nurtz, or just be quiet with your thoughts until otherwise.
Star sits back down after King Butterfly's diatribe. Her mood shifts after realizing her attitude is getting the better of her.
STAR
I'm sorry dad. I'm just so used to battling monsters with Marco that I have this hunger to fight that needs to be fed or at least something magic related.
KING BUTTERFLY (Calmly)
sigh I understand Star, but you have to understand that the mission we're on isn't the one where we can just run in and fight everyone with our bare hands. Nurtz has a giant army backing him, and our soldiers back home can't handle them without magic.
XANDER
We sent Peterson, Rogers, and Sheen in on the exact same mission, and they never came back. So everyone except you two and I are to scared to go in without any magic.
KING BUTTERFLY
He's right. Without magic, we need to have a good idea of who we're dealing with. Xander and I know...mostly know everything about Nurtz, but you don't so you better read up. This guy isn't a push over he may not be physically packing, but he one of the smartest, most bright soldiers I have ever had. He has the blood of a leader, but his priorities got sidetracked, and then, he just snapped.
A worried face takes over King Butterfly. His eyes stay forward towards the river. Almost as if he's lost reminiscing.