Chapter Text
EXT. WOODS OUTSIDE RADIANT GARDEN — DAY — FLASHBACK
FADE IN.
In a clearing on a hill overlooking the town, LAURIAM,
ROULD, RELENA, and SOMEONE LOOKING LIKE DEMYX are seated
around a large tree stump, in that order counter-clockwise,
playing poker — an Enchanted Forest variant on Five-Card
Draw.
RELENA
(sighs)
Fold...
She puts her cards down. Then, her head.
ROULD
Dyme?
The Demyx guy eyes him.
DYME
Oh. I’m IN!
He tosses some baguette slices in (serving as poker
chips). No doubt from Olive and Pumpernickel.
LAURIAM
What’s taking them?
He tosses in a couple slices, too.
ROULD
Who knows...
He tosses in some of his mom’s bread. Relena lifts her head
up a tad.
RELENA
Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s
important, right?
Dyme discards a card and draws another. His eyes widen, and
he tosses in some slices of bread.
LAURIAM
Ugh...
He folds and slouches back.
ROULD
(to Dyme)
Guess it’s just you and me.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
(to Lauriam)
Don’t worry. I’ll avenge you,
babe.
He twiddles his fingers over his and, pondering what to
discard.
ROULD (cont’d)
You know...I’m gonna go all
in. Why bother wasting my time
putting my chips on the table, only
to pick them back up?
He and Dyme slam down their hands, but while Dyme looks
rather defeated, Rould is smug. And with good reason, his
hand easily beats Dyme’s.
ROULD (cont’d)
(shaking his head)
You are a terrible bluffer, Dyme.
(smiling, to Lauriam)
They’re yours.
Smiling, Lauriam takes the bread slices. Relena also
smiles, as she raises her head. Dyme then takes the cards,
shuffles them, and deals them.
DYME
Alright, let’s hope for something
better this time.
RELENA
(laughing)
Yeah, you’re not having any lunch,
today.
A GUY LOOKING LIKE AXEL, but with shorter hair, steps out of
the woods. He is wearing an orange vest, a white
undershirt, brown pants, and a yellow scarf and carrying
some kind of metal pan with an angry-faced fireball on it.
RELENA (cont’d)
Oh. Hey, Lea...
And that’s pronounced "Lee." She tucks her hair behind her
ear and look down to her side.
LEA
Well...we lost Isa.
LAURIAM
He’s DEAD!?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
LEA
No. Just...lost.
DYME
Then, go find him. He’s YOUR mess.
LEA
That’s up to him. It’s his OWN
mess.
ROULD
Let’s not worry about Isa. This is
our weekend to get away. We should
ENJOY ourselves.
Lauriam smiles.
LEA
Eh...
He sits between Relena and Dyme, cross-legged.
LEA (cont’d)
Deal me in.
Without looking up from his hand, Dyme, grabs five cards
from the deck and tosses them to Lea, Yu-Gi-Oh!-style. The
moment Lea catches them, he holds them up to his face and
fans them out.
They are the Eight of Spades, Ace of Clubs, Queen of Hearts,
Eight of Clubs, and Ace of Spades. Zoom in on QoH.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. VILLAIN’S VALE DECK — NIGHT — PRESENT DAY
CORA is stepping onto the deck. MANY CARD SOLDIERS stand at
attention in two groups facing eachother, forming an aisle
for her to walk through. At the bow of the ship are MILINAH
and JAFAR.
MILINAH
What’s the plan, mumsy?
CORA
I tried sending you out to do
damage; that obviously didn’t work.
Milinah sulks, then Cora turns to Jafar.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
CORA (cont’d)
I’ve decided to make another
offer. The one called Luxord has
something in common with
you. You’re both bastards rejected
by your royal fathers. Get to know
him.
JAFAR
And what, pray tell, do you want
from him?
Cora smirks.
INT. ROUND ROOM WHERE NOTHING GATHERS — NIGHT
XEMNAS drums his fingers on the arm of his throne with his
left hand, while leaning his head on his right hand,
bored. POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF! XIGBAR,
XALDIN, SAÏX, AXEL, DEMYX, and LUXORD all bamf into their
seats.
XEMNAS
Let us begin...
END OF TEASER
(CONTINUED)
There will be a title card coming soon!
CONTINUED: 5.
ACT ONE
EXT. WOODS OUTSIDE RADIANT GARDEN — NIGHT
Dyme is sitting on the stump, sitar in hand.
DYME
(singing)
When you walk away, You don’t hear
me say, "Please, oh baby, Don’t
go."
Meanwhile, leaning against a tree is Lea. He opens his
hand, a small flame quickly appears, then he closes it and
does the whole process over again. Relena walks up to the
next tree over and leans against it, her arms folded.
RELENA
I don’t know how much more of
Dyme’s singing I can take.
Lea chuckles.
RELENA (cont’d)
What’re you doing?
LEA
I’m trying to summon a fireball.
He looks at her.
LEA (cont’d)
Burn that thing out of his hand.
RELENA
(chuckles)
I didn’t know you could do magic.
LEA
It’s...a new skill I picked up.
Rould and Lauriam come out of their tent. She looks at
them.
RELENA
Well, I’ll leave you to it, I
guess...
She starts to walk away.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.
LEA
Hey Rels?
She stops and turns around to face him.
RELENA
Hmm?
He nudges his head toward the sunrise.
LEA
(smiling)
Happy Birthday.
She smiles, double-tucks her hair (There’s just these two
long locks she can’t control!), and continues heading for
her brother. And Lea continues his fireball
attempt. BLAMMO! One of Hollow Bastion’s walls blows out!
LEA (cont’d)
I swear that wasn’t me.
They all run up to the hill to see what’s the
matter. THINGS. ARE. HAPPENING. Earthquakes, tornadoes,
even small blizzards.
LAURIAM
That’s...not normal.
DYME
No kidding.
ROULD
I’m gonna go check on my family.
He runs off.
LAURIAM
Wait!
He follows.
LAURIAM (cont’d)
ROULD!
DYME
I should see what’s going on, too.
He sets his sitar down on the stump and runs off.
RELENA
(smiling)
Guess that leaves us.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.
LEA
You’re staying here?
She nods, sits down on the stump, and tilts her head down a
touch.
LEA (cont’d)
You mind if I, uh, check out what’s
going on at the castle?
RELENA
(waving him off)
Go ahead.
LEA
You sure?
She looks up and nods.
LEA (cont’d)
Okay...
He runs down the hill to a pair of bicycles. He puts on his
helmet and hops on his bike.
LEA (cont’d)
Here goes nothing...
As he bikes into town, his name appears on screen, over the
sky in big letters — LEA.
EXT. RADIANT GARDEN TOWN — DAY
Lea enters the square. As he rides his bike through town,
the ground breaks apart and becomes uneven, tossing him
around. Rocks have fallen in front of the gate to the
castle, so he is forced to take a detour.
EXT. HOLLOW BASTION — DAY
Once Lea finally reaches the castle, he disembarks and walks
toward the entrance, no longer guarded.
INT. HOLLOW BASTION COMPUTER ROOM — DAY
BRAIG and Saïx are looking out the window at Ansem’s heart
vault, their faces reflected in it. Leaning against the
console is a sort of forked, U-shaped sword. They are both
wearing those black coats.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 8.
Saïx, whose hair is much shorter, touches the bandage above
his nose.
BRAIG
Ya get used to it.
SAÏX
Yeah, okay.
BRAIG
Who woulda thought it’d be this
easy?
SAÏX
(chuckles)
Just don’t screw up.
BRAIG
Screw up? As if...
Lea enters, and Saïx turns to face him.
SAÏX
Lea! What brings you back into
town?
LEA
Thought I’d find you here.
Saïx looks down and smiles.
SAÏX
(to Braig)
Leave him to me.
Braig heads for the exit.
BRAIG
Whatever you say, Saïx.
He walks out.
LEA
Saïx, huh? That’s what you’re
going by, now?
SAÏX
(points to temple)
Got it memorized?
Lea is not amused.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 9.
SAÏX (cont’d)
You know —
He grabs the sword, and walks toward Lea.
SAÏX (cont’d)
— I’m actually GLAD you came here!
He stops.
SAÏX (cont’d)
I could use your help.
Lea smirks and takes out his pan. As Saïx strikes with his
sword, Lea uses it to block the attack. Saïx tries to knock
it out of Lea’s hand, but he slips it out of the sword just
in time.
LEA
Is that all you’ve got?
Saïx smirks. He leaps into the air and superhero-lands,
stabbing the floor, sending some kind of energy at Lea,
knocking him back. As Lea struggles to get up, Saïx bolts
over and swats the pan out of his hand with his sword.
SAÏX
We can get you something better
than that.
Lea tries to summon a fireball. And again. And again.
SAÏX (cont’d)
(o.s.)
And...we can help you HONE your
magic!
Lea looks up. Saïx is now holding out his hand, his sword
tucked away.
LEA
Who’s..."we?"
SAÏX
Join us, and you shall see! All it
will cost...is you heart.
He looks around, checking to see that nobody’s there.
SAÏX (cont’d)
Then, when the time is right, you
and I will take over.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 10.
Lea takes his hand, and he helps him up. Then plunges his
hand into his chest and rips out his heart. It lights on
fire, darkens, grows, sprouts wings and tiny feet, splits
near the flames, and opens a pair of eyes.
This Flame Core bursts into flames and flies away. Saïx
waves his hand, and three letters fly out of Lea’s body —
L, E, and A.
LEA
What are you —
He waves his hand again.
SAÏX
Shh.
A capital Greek letter chi flashes into place. The four
letters arrange to spell "Axel."
SAÏX
You are Number Eight: Axel. Commit
it to memory.
INT. DATASCAPERS — NIGHT — PRESENT DAY
A portal opens, and Luxord steps out to find Jafar sitting
by the counter.
JAFAR
Hello, Luxord. Please. Take a
seat.
He waves his hand, and a chair slides under Luxord, knocking
him into it.
LUXORD
What do you want, Jafar?
JAFAR
Good. We can skip the
introductions. Her Royal Highness
seeks audience with your cult
leader.
LUXORD
My — I’m not interested in one of
your...wishes!
He fans out some cards.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 11.
LUXORD (cont’d)
I’ve got plenty of magic of my own,
thank you very much.
JAFAR
Yes, well...Be that as it may, she
has an offer that could benefit us
both. At the end of the day, both
of our superiors want the same
thing.
Luxord gets up and starts to head out.
JAFAR (cont’d)
You’re a bastard, are you not?
Luxord stops.
JAFAR (cont’d)
You are every bit the prince your
father wanted, but he never
accepted you as his own. No, he
flat-out rejected you. And
why? All because your were born
out of wedlock. And of a peasant,
no less.
Luxord turns around.
LUXORD
What do you know of my life? How
can you —
JAFAR
Because your story...is also mine.
He gets up and walks up to Luxord.
JAFAR (cont’d)
But at least I still have my heart.
LUXORD
Some things are easier without one.
JAFAR
Like working with your mother’s
killer?
LUXORD
What is it your Queen likes to
say? Love is weakness?
Jafar gives a little smirk then walks past him.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 12.
JAFAR
If you have any grievances you
would to air, I’m all ears.
He stops, turns around, and smiles.
JAFAR (cont’d)
Would you like to hear the story of
how I killed my father?
LUXORD
Perhaps another time.
JAFAR
Time, yes. Something you know a
thing or two about.
Luxord walks into his portal, stopping just before he steps
completely through to address Jafar.
LUXORD
Shall I ask Xemnas to meet Cora on
the Vale?
JAFAR
(smiles)
That would be preferred.
Luxord steps through the portal, and it closes.
INT. MILLS MANSION — NIGHT
EMMA, HENRY, NEAL, SNOW, DAVID, LILY, RIKU, MALEFICENT,
LAWRENCE, EVEN, AELEUS, MR. GOLD, BELLE, and ROBIN are
seated. David and Robin are holding SNOWFLAKE and
PISTACHIO. Regina enters from the kitchen.
REGINA
We’re gonna need all the help we
can get, if we want to go up
against my mother and her countless
card soldiers.
RIKU
And what about us?
LAWRENCE
Yeah, we’re still recovering.
REGINA
I can speed that up with magic.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 13.
RIKU AND LAWRENCE
(in unison)
THEN, DO IT!
She walks up to them and waves her hand in front of Riku’s
face. A shimmer comes from it. She then does the to
Lawrence.
REGINA
Okay. You should be fine, now.
They remove their bandages.
LAWRENCE
I can see!
RIKU
I can fight!
REGINA
Right.
She sits down next to Robin.
LILY
I mean, I’ll talk to Raps, of
course.
HENRY
Yeah, and Kairi, Aqua, and Roxas
are already on-board.
EMMA
But we need help from outside
Storybrooke.
NEAL
Emma’s right.
(to Mr. Gold)
You’ve met pretty much everyone.
Gold shrugs in a sort of "Yeah" way.
NEAL
Can you...pull a couple strings?
MR. GOLD
I’ll see what I can do.
BELLE
And I will be researching some
strategies...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 14.
EMMA
I’ll have Mulan work with you.
BELLE
Thanks.
ROLAND comes down the stairs.
ROLAND
Dad...what’s going on?
ROBIN
Roland, sweetie, go back to
bed. We’re discussing grown-up
things.
Roland...doesn’t. Instead he runs right down the stairs.
ROLAND
Are you going to battle again?
ROBIN
That’s the plan. And we need to
make sure you’re safe. Along with
your sister.
ROLAND
I wanna fight!
Robin gets up and bends down to Roland’s level.
ROBIN
Here’s what you can do. There’s
gonna be a lot of kids. They’re
gonna need you.
ROLAND
So, I’m in charge...
ROBIN
No. The sitters are. But that
doesn’t mean you can’t help out.
ROLAND
Hmm...
He heads back up.
MALEFICENT
I’ll talk to Briar.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 15.
EVEN
And Relena and Lauriam should be
on-board.
AELEUS
Yeah.
DAVID
So...Now what?
REGINA
One thing’s for sure. We’re gonna
need help from someone skilled in
facing Cora.
SNOW
I’ll get the candle.
REGINA
Not. That.
INT. VICTORIAN OFFICE — DAY
SOMEONE is typing on a typewriter. She takes the paper out
and puts a new one in, on which she resumes typing. The
door opens, and there’s CYRUS, poking his head in and
carrying a BABY GIRL.
CYRUS
We’re needed in Storybrooke.
Alice gets up from behind her typewriter, faces Cyrus, and
removes her glasses, Supergirl-style.
END OF ACT ONE
(CONTINUED)