Episode 0 - second draft
• by ~EmeraldEyes14, Sep 9, 2012, 12:22:07 PM
•
Written by mikarin27, drfarrin, Viking63, and TalisMoon.
Edited by eatpraylove at the request of KikioAnimeSaphire

Scene 1
A neighborhood street in the middle of the day. Soft, happy BGM accompanies some kids playing on the sidewalk. A lady's watering her garden and chatting (inaudibly) with a father grilling hamburger meat on a barbeque. Somebody barrels by in a Mitsubishi, taking up the entire screen. When the car leaves, we're looking at someone's bedroom. It's…erratically decorated; a grand piano takes up one entire corner, there's dirty laundry all over one of the chairs, and the desk has what looks like staff paper on it. Simple white walls and a blue rug complete the look, such as it is.
MASTER (narrating): Most people live their lives outside…warm and carefree, friends all around… I envy them sometimes.

Camera shifts down through the floor to a large, cluttered basement; this is where MASTER conducts his research.
There's one dirty window "illuminating" a desk covered in wires and other computer parts. One side is actually organized, with three monitors connected to each other. MASTER's back is to us, but he's clearly typing away (the monitor is touch-screen). Small close-up: a wooden picture frame with a photo of him and his family—his wife, AUNTIE, the man himself, and MIU.
{Sad instrumental music}

MASTER: (continues narrating) As for me…My life is now contained within this basement.

[Camera zooms back out. MASTER stops typing and freezes, then slowly takes the picture off the desk to look at it, sighing]

If I believed in such things, I might say I had been cursed by fate.



Scene 2
FLASHBACK: Inside a hospital. Young AUNTIE and MASTER are crying next to a hospital bed where their mother sleeps. A heart monitor is beeping. A nurse stands in the corner when the doctor comes into the room and whispers something to him/her.

AUNTIE: No…Not Mommy too. Daddy already—(gets choked up and sniffles)

[Heart monitor beeps faster]

DOCTOR: [faces Auntie and Master] I'm sorry. You might like to say good bye now.

[MASTER runs out of the room. Music slowly fades out.]


Scene 3
Still in the past: MASTER is now about eighteen/nineteen, in his college dorm room. Posters depicting the periodic table, Einstein sticking out his tongue, and an 80's rock band of the art team's choice decorate the walls. His toolbox is open on a table in the middle of the room. As for the man himself, he's sitting on his bed, making some final adjustments to a small bird-like robot.
MASTER (narration): During college, I excelled in robotics. My work, theories, and lab work were unparalleled; even the professors had trouble keeping up with me.
Close in a little on the bed. MASTER tightens a screw, sets the screwdriver aside, and polishes the little guy with his shirt. The robot leaves a small gray stain on the bottom of his shirt, which we see when he puts the robot beside his left leg. MASTER looks at the bird.

MASTER: Hello there. [whistles a soft tune]

CU: ROBOT BIRD. It takes its head out from under its wing, revealing lorikeet-like features. The beak clacks a little as it whistles the tune back, pitch-perfect.

MASTER (voice): That's excellent!


Scene 4
Interior: a small music store with racks and racks of CDs, around noon. This is where MASTER worked as a college student (teenager?). He notices a young woman in the store who looks a little lost.

{Jazzy song (with lyrics) plays over the radio}

MASTER: Can I help you?

LADY: Yeah, I'm looking for Angel Stefani discs. Do you guys have her here?

MASTER: Oh, so you're into soul? Well…Angel Stefani's a rip-off.

LADY (annoyed): What?! I love her music!

MASTER: Oh, I'm sorry! I just meant- she's obviously copying the style of Nina Williams. Here, why don't you listen to her, and tell me what you think. [hands her a CD] Oh- and you should totally try Trey Swift. [pulls out another CD and hands it to her] Look, if you don't like it, you can come back in a few days when we get our next shipment and buy an Angel Stefani CD. But I really think you'll like this even more. [small, awkward smile] I'll give you your money back if you don't, I promise.

LADY: [hesitates, looking down at the CDs] All right. I'll come back and let you know. [smiles at him]

{Jazz ends}


Scene 5
It's a bright, sunny day at a park. MIU is sitting on a swing while MASTER (now in his late twenties) gets ready to push her. The young lady from before is now his wife—MIU's mom—and she sits on a bench nearby, smiling at the two. Childlike, bouncy BGM.

MASTER: [pulls the swing up as high as he can] Ready?

MIU: Yep!

MASTER:  [lets go of swing and gives an extra push] Here we go!

[MIU and her mom laugh joyfully. Camera focuses on MIU's face; her eyes are closed, and her mouth is open in a big five-year-old grin]


Scene 5.5
MASTER stands alone in darkness, a dim spotlight on him as he looks down in contemplation. His lips do not move as he narrates.

MASTER: A little after that, my wife died. The doctors told me the disease ran in her family. It…was likely Miu too would die from it, possibly at a much younger age than her mother. I never told her this, nor did I stop searching for a cure. I even put my dreams on hold.


Scene 6
Interior: MASTER's house (living room). He is showing MIU a wind-up robot toy he built that holds a tray with five or six treats on it. On a shelf over the fireplace sits a picture of his now-dead wife with a single red rose lying in front of it.

MASTER (winding up the toy): Watch closely, Miu.

Brief shot of MIU's curious face before focusing on the toy. It starts walking forward, and stops when it reaches her.

TOY (robotic): WOULD YOU LIKE A SNACK, MISS?

MIU: [laughs and takes a treat from the toy's tray] Thank you!
[Several knocks at the door. Camera follows MASTER as he gets up to answer it. MIU doesn't move, but she looks at the door.]

MASTER (narration): That's when Benzen first contacted me. I had heard of their work before, of course. When he came to my door, I was at first resolved to reject the job offer.


Scene 7
The front steps of MASTER's old house, where he's lived since he was a child. We see the back of a tall guy in a business suit. MASTER carefully opens the door.

MAN: You must be who I'm looking for. A leader in robotics research, am I correct? I hear your daughter is very ill. Please accept my condolences.

MASTER (wary): Thank you—but…how did you know she was sick?

MAN (evasively): We've been interested in you for a while now. [Close-up—he pulls letter from his coat pocket. The text is illegible to us, but we see the Benzen logo both as a watermark in the center of the paper and on the man's lapel.] We would like to offer you a job—and before you turn us down, think about this. We have money, resources, and a place for you to work. Even though your main job would be robotics, you could research a cure on your own time using our advanced facilities. (gently) And as Miu gets worse, she will be guaranteed the best medical care available. [holds out letter, waiting. Eventually, MASTER slowly reaches out a hand and takes it.]


Scene 7.5
Same setup as in Scene 5.5
MASTER: In the end, after many sleepless nights, I couldn't save her. But…I did succeed in a different matter. No one could know about it. Not the company I had worked for, what friends I had, my sister—not right away, at least—or my partner on the project…especially not her… (split-second image of VIPER flashes onscreen)

{depressing slow song, with lyrics}


Scene 8
The cemetery is cloudy this evening. Two men in slate-gray uniforms shovel dirt over a very small wooden casket. We see the backs of MEIKO, KAITO, and MASTER, who are gathered around the edges of the grave. MEIKO is holding KAITO's left hand protectively.

KAITO: [puts right hand on Master's shoulder] I'm so sorry…

MASTER shrugs off KAITO's hand and takes a few steps forward, looking down.

MASTER (very soft, sad): Miu…
{music slowly fades out}


Scene 9
Back in the present, at MASTER's secret lab. Machines are beeping. A long desk covered in computer screens. Some appear to be running diagnostics. There are chairs in front of the desk. No external mouse; the computers are touch-screen. There is a single wireless keyboard (not the kind with a built-in trackpad) used for entering commands. On the left is a chair leaning almost flat. Wires are attached to MIKU, who seems to be sleeping in the chair.

MASTER (quietly, to himself): All good things eventually come to an end… But maybe I can defy that rule. I may have failed to save my daughter, but I can continue my dream in her memory.

[Master taps a particular icon (like, a smaller version of the famine logo), and types in a command prompt using the keyboard. Small close-up: His finger hovers over the enter button. The music box version of Kokoro plays softly. He looks at Miku, and his expression softens.]

MASTER: Here goes nothing…

[He presses Enter. Various whirring noises as screen begins to fade to black. CU: MIKU's sleeping face. Right before the screen goes dark, her eyelashes flutter.]
END