ACT TWO, SCENE TWO

(Edna drives to Springfield General, where several ambulances are clogging the emergency entrance. Skinner was not the only one hurt in the riot, it seems.)

EDNA: Hold on, Seymour. We're here. We're at the hospital. Please hold on….

(Skinner stirs, just barely, groaning with pain.)

(Edna pulls as close as she can to the entrance, and gets out of the car, running to the nearest EMT.)

EDNA: I need help! Please!

(The EMT turns to her, concerned.)

EMT: Is everything alright, M'am? Are you hurt?

EDNA: No, it's not me. It's my boyfriend. He's in the back of my car. Please hurry!

(Edna and the EMT rush to the sedan, and soon a few more paramedics are helping to load an unconscious Skinner on a crash cart.)

(Cut to the City Hall. The group following Smithers has worked into the night on a plan to assault the power plant, and the planning has devolved into an intense argument between all parties as to when they should strike.)

MOE (sitting amid blueprints of the plant and waving his shotgun at Smithers): I say we do it tonight! Storming the plant now will be what he least expects! We can take him quick and clean!

SMITHERS: You idiot. We're all hurt and exhausted from the riot! If we tried anything now, Mr. Burns' security enforcers would send us packing.

(One among the group- Kirk Van Houten- looks confused.)

KIRK: Security enforcers? When did he get security enforcers? I thought he had guard dogs and… well… you, Mr. Smithers.

SMITHERS: He has military backing. He worked this deal out with the president, remember? The government wants to make sure his project goes without a hitch. If we attack, unprepared, with nothing but makeshift weapons, and with most of us injured, we would be mowed down without so much as a fight. It would be hopeless.

(Moe and the part of the group who agree with him- Krusty the Clown, Captain McAllister, Barney Gumble, Sam and Larry the barflies, and twenty or thirty others- seem undeterred by this knowledge.)

SEA CAPTAIN: Bah! Ye are a fool! The sooner we strike, the sooner we be reapin' the rewards!

MOE: Whatever the hell it is he said! We gotta do something now, Smithers! Or else we're screwed! C'mon, guys!

(He and the others leave, leaving Smithers with half the group he had.)

(As that group leaves, however, another enters: the Simpsons and their entourage.)

MARGE: Alright, everyone. We've conceded defeat. We'll help you fight-

SMITHERS: We're not fighting. We'll do it your way.

(A few in the crowd gasp. One, Lenny, turns to look at Smithers, openly puzzled.)

LENNY: But Mr. Smithers, you said-

SMITHERS: I know what I said! We can't! If we try to fight, Mr. Burns will only have more reason to destroy the town! It will make us look like animals in the eyes of the government! We can't fight. You were right, Mrs. Simpson. There's no use. We simply have to persuade Mr. Burns that this town is worth something. Who's with me?

(The silence that ensues is accompanied by the sound of crickets from outside. After a moment, noise erupts in the hall as varying shouts of, "I knew that was the right idea!" " Smithers is a coward! He can't stand up to his boss!" and "Won't somebody please think of the children?!" are heard.)

(A few of the townsfolk get into fistfights, and a new, brief scuffle ensues, after which many of the group in the Town Hall leave, to go off after Moe and his followers.)

(Smithers, ten other people from his group, and the Simpsons and their group are left standing in the hall. Smithers looks dejectedly after them. He sighs, then stands up.)

SMITHERS: Oh well. All hope is lost. I'll go back to the apartment and pack.

(He turns to leave, but a hand on his shoulder stops him. It's Marge.)

MARGE: Please, Mr. Smithers, don't give up hope yet. No matter how bad it seems…

SMITHERS: It always darkest before the dawn.

MARGE: Exactly.

(Smithers offers her a small smile before Homer comes forward and claps him on the back.)

HOMER: That's the spirit, Mr. Smithers. Now, how are we going to do this thing?

SMITHERS: Oh, I've got an idea…..

Author's Note: Finally, a long chapter put up again. It only gets better after this, I hope. Action's coming up, so get ready. Enjoy!