Octi Gone

Note: WD = wavering dissolve.

(Opening shot: the city skyline during the day.)

Narrator: The city of Townsville! (Turn down to the street and follow a minibus down the block.) Where all the who's-who of the city's most frou-frou are preparing for the big to-do at the home of Townsville's very own Professor U.

(During this line, the minibus rolls into the suburbs and pulls up in front of the girls' house. Close-up of a sandal-clad foot, with flies circling it, and lifted to ring the doorbell with its big toe. Pull back to show said foot as belonging to a rather scraggly young fellow with a large covered tray hoisted over his head and a dirty apron over his clothes - a  caterer delivering food for this big event. More flies buzz around him.  The door opens to reveal the Professor on its other side; he wears a bow tie and a dinner jacket, complete with a flower for the buttonhole.)

Professor: Yes?

Caterer: (sniffling) Townsville Quality Discount Catering.

Professor: Oh, yes. Come in.

(Cut to the living room. Blossom and Buttercup fly into view next to the Professor; they are wearing party dresses that look very much like their  everyday clothing, but the skirts puff out a bit. Blossom is in a good mood, but Buttercup is considerably less enthused about the wardrobe change. A small green bow is perched in the brunette's hair, down toward  one side of her head. The sound of clattering utensils is heard o.c. - the caterer at work laying everything out.)

Blossom: Wow! What's all this?

Professor: It's what we're gonna be serving at tonight's party, girls.

(Camera shifts to behind the three. They are looking at a table on which the caterer has spread out the food; he stands at one end.)

Caterer: Totally, and on the menu we got, like...

(Close-up of his end, where a pitcher of some beverage sits among several glasses.'  As he continues, pan along the table to show the named items and others. )

Caterer: (from o.c.) ...non-alcoholic sparkling chilled apple juice, black-eyed peas, baked ham, fried calamari, bacon-bit salad, and for dessert my very own creation: banana cream pie.

(Stop on this last item as it is mentioned. The bananas are whole, unpeeled, and protruding from a pile of cream filling that stands at least twice as high as it ought to. He leans into view and give a double thumbs-up.)

Caterer: It's wicked awesome, bro. (He laughs; pull back. He holds up a clipboard.) Please sign here. (The Professor does so.)

Professor: Thank you very much.

(The caterer walks o.c.; cut to the front door. He exits and pulls it shut -  leaving behind a cloud of flies. They buzz near the door for a few seconds, after which he opens it a crack and they leave as well. Back to  the Professor and the two girls at the spread; he rubs his hands eagerly over it.)

Professor: Oh boy, oh boy, oh, boy! I sure do love parties. Don't you, girls?

Buttercup: No! 'Cause I have to wear this stupid girly party dress and I look like a dork!

Professor: Oh, honey, you both look adora-hey! Where's Bubbles?

Buttercup: (very snarky) She's probably upstairs combing her hair, so she'll be the prettiest girl at the party.

(She crosses her eyes and imitates Bubbles on the last five words. Cut to said girl, who is brushing her hair at the bedroom vanity. She too wears a party dress, and each pigtail is tied with a small blue bow. The  camera is near the head of the bed, pointing along it toward her back.)

Bubbles: I'm gonna be the prettiest girl at the party. (Cut to just behind her; she sings.) La-la-la-la-la, la... (She stops short and looks at the counter.) ....huh?

(Zoom in quickly on a patch of the countertop nearby; her reflection is still in view.)

Bubbles: Octi?

(The doll is not there. Cut to her side of the bed as she kneels beside it, spotting one of Octi's tentacles poking out from underneath the blanket.  Close-up of this; she pulls it out, revealing it as having been ripped off the body.)

Bubbles: (from o.c.) What are you doing under the bed?

(Pull back. Now standing up, she regards the severed limb with great shock; zoom in on it briefly, then pull back. Having thrown it to the floor in front of herself, she lets loose with a shrill scream of pure horror. Snap to black, which resolves into the view from beneath the bed as Bubbles lifts the blanket and peers in.)

Bubbles: Where's the rest of you? (Close-up; she has pulled her head out.) Oh, no. This can only mean...(Pull back.) ...you've been mutilated!

(She moans weakly and collapses to the floor, clutching Octi's tentacle. Around her, the light fades in the bedroom, marking nightfall; after a moment, the door creaks o.c. and a shaft of light falls over her from the hallway. Head-on view of the open door, with the Professor peeking in.)

Professor: Oh! Um...all set for the party?

Bubbles: (small voice) Yes.

Professor: Everything okay?

Bubbles: (voice breaking) Yes.

Professor: Okay, uh...um...see you downstairs.

(He closes the door, but she does not budge from her spot for a few seconds. Suddenly her eyes snap open and she sits up. She looks down at the tentacle, her mouth wobbling, and starts to cry.)

Bubbles: Oh, Octi... (Zoom in slowly; her tears give way to rage.) ...I'm going to find whoever did this to you, and they will pay!

(Dissolve to the exterior of the house. The minibus is gone, but several cars - the party guests' - have pulled up to take its place. Light music and the murmur of conversation are heard from inside; cut to the living room, packed with guests. One of them is Ms. Bellum, who has traded her red suit for a slinky lavender dress slit high up her hip. Turn up from this group to the second-floor balcony. Bubbles slowly peeks out from behind the fireplace chimney that runs in front of it. Close-up of her; she regards them with contempt.)

Bubbles: (thinking) Go ahead and laugh! But I know one of you is guilty! (rubbing'  chin ''') But who? Who would want to kill poor Octi?'''

(Cut to a fat woman eyeing a tray of hors d'oeuvres held by the other two girls.)

Bubbles: (from o.c., ' thinking ''') Of course! (Zoom in on...) Buttercup! (She reluctantly offers a morsel; back to Bubbles.) She always hated Octi. In fact, I remember one time...'''

(WD to Blossom and Buttercup, who each have hold of one tentacle of some huge creature whose body is o.c. They pull on these with all their might. In this flashback and the others that follow, the girls are in the appropriate everyday clothing, not their party dresses.)

Buttercup: Bubbles!

(Close-up of that girl, who is taking no part in the struggle. Instead, she hugs Octi blissfully.)

Buttercup: (from o.c.) Bubbles! Put down that stupid octopus and help us with this stupid octopus!

(On the end of this line, pull back to show the creature just behind Bubbles - the giant purple octopus seen in "Monstra-City"; Buttercup is now in view, as is Blossom. They are then lifted screaming into the air. Back to Bubbles, who pays no attention.)

Buttercup: (from o.c.) Bubbles!

(She is slammed to the ground. After each indicated pause in the following, she is lifted and slammed again.)

Buttercup: Some...day...I'm...gonna...rip...that...doll...to...shreds!

(She is yanked away again. Zoom in on Bubbles, for whom the full impact of this sentence finally sinks in. WD back to her on the balcony.)

Bubbles: (thinking) It's gotta be Buttercup. (Cut to her sisters and the fat woman; she continues o.c.) Who else could it be?

(Zoom in on the other sister, who tips a wink to the camera. Bubbles gasps and ducks farther back behind the chimney.)

Bubbles: (thinking) Not Blossom! It couldn't have been her... (fiercely) ...or could it?

(WD to the bedroom at night.'  The camera points toward the bed over a pile of stuffed animals, which Bubbles is eyeing closely. Her sisters are tucked in; Buttercup sleeps like a log, but Blossom is sitting up. )

Blossom: (cross, tired) Would you stop fooling around and come to bed? I need to get some sleep!

Bubbles: And I need to find Octi. (Close-up of Blossom; zoom in slowly.)

Blossom: You don't need it. You want it 'cause you're insecure. And as soon as you get over that, you won't think you need it anymore. All you need to do... (Quick zoom in to extreme close-up.) ...is grow up!

(Pull back to the original camera position. Bubbles pulls the stuffed octopus out of the pile, hiding the bed from view.)

Bubbles: I found him!

Blossom: (from behind her) This time...but maybe someday you won't.

(These words strike fear into her sister, who sinks down into the pile. WD back to her by the chimney; she floats sadly over to the stairs and touches down at their head.)

Professor: (from o.c.) Oh, Bubbles!

(Cut to just behind her, the camera pointing over the stairs toward the living room. He is standing with Ms. Keane, who has decked herself out in an orange dress that matches the shirt she usually wears.)

Professor: Your teacher, Ms. Keane, is here.

(Close-up of those two; she waves up toward Bubbles. Zoom in on her.)

Bubbles: (from o.c., thinking) Ms. Keane, huh?

(WD to a slow pan across the classroom of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten.'  Kids are coloring and working; stop on Bubbles, sitting alone at a desk and hugging Octi. )

Bubbles: (singing) La-la-la-la-la...hee-hee...la-la, la...

Ms. Keane: (from o.c.) Bubbles?

(This word catches her off guard. Pull back to just behind the front desk. Ms. Keane stands at it, hands on hips, and her attention and everyone else's is concentrated on the girl.)

Ms. Keane: Are you paying attention?

Bubbles: No.

Ms. Keane: How do you expect to learn anything if you're always playing with that doll?

Bubbles: Well...but...

Ms. Keane: (stepping closer) No buts! Now hand it over.

(Bubbles looks down at her prized plaything for a long moment before it is snatched out of her hands. She gives the camera a forlorn glance, cut to a close-up of one drawer of the front desk. Ms. Keane yanks it open, revealing it to be full of other confiscated toys, and shoves Octi in with them. The drawer is slammed shut; back to Bubbles and pull back slowly from her. All the other kids point and laugh.)

(WD to the party.'  Ms. Keane and the Professor are near the camera, which points up the stairs. Bubbles glares angrily down at them. )

Ms. Keane: Oh, yes. I try to be extra nice with the girls.

(Bubbles floats dejectedly downstairs as the Professor sips his apple juice; close-up of her as she reaches the bottom and starts to look around. Her perspective: she is looking at the living room couch, which has a coffee table in front of it. A potted plant sits on this; through the leaves, a small top hat can be seen atop a patch of bald scalp - the Mayor.)

Bubbles: Octi?

(He steps out from behind the plant; pan to follow him toward the fireplace and Ms. Bellum.)

Mayor: So, Ms. Bellum, are you enjoying yourself? (Back to Bubbles, fired up all over again.)

Bubbles: (thinking) The Mayor! That little creep always wanted to get his hands on Octi!

(WD to the two of them in his office.'  They are using the doll in a tug-of-war. )

Mayor: Mine!

Bubbles: Mine!

Mayor: Mine!

Bubbles: Mine!

Mayor: Mine!

Bubbles: Mine!

Mayor: Mine!

Bubbles: Mine!

Mayor: Mine!

Bubbles: Mine!

Mayor: MINE!

(Cut back to Bubbles in the present. The Mayor's voice draws her attention.)

Mayor: (from o.c.) Ms. Bellum, what is the color of that dress again? (Cut to the two adults.)

Ms. Bellum: It's called "octopus purple."

(Bubbles is stunned by this; now Blossom brings more hors d'oeuvres to the fat woman seen earlier.)

Blossom: Octopus sushi?

(This hits Bubbles even harder. Buttercup offers another tray to a fat man.)

Buttercup: Octopus rolls?

(Bubbles is flabbergasted; now the Professor proffers a dessert tray to Ms. Bellum.)

Professor: Octopus-ink ice cream?

(Bubbles cannot believe her ears. We see guest after guest laughing in increasingly sinister tones, including the Mayor and Ms. Bellum, Ms. Keane, the Professor, and finally Blossom and Buttercup. Bubbles' mind is playing a trick or two of its own; back to her. While she floats in place, the room starts to spin behind her - but it suddenly comes to a stop when she screams in rage, slams the front door with murderous force, and locks every one of its bolts. Once she finishes, she wheels on the crowd, her voice dripping with fury.)

Bubbles: No! No one leaves...

(Pull back quickly through the living room; everyone stares dumbfounded at her. Back to the door.)

Bubbles: ...until the person who took Octi fesses up!

(Cut to a group of four guests as they trade a bewildered look, then back to her. She puts a hand on the light switch.)

Bubbles: When I count to five, I'm going to turn off these lights. And when I turn them back on, I want my Octi back!

Blossom: Bubbles, what are you talking about?

Bubbles: QUIET! One...two... (Her perspective, panning across the group.) ...three...four... (Long shot of her.) ...five!

(She flips the switch, and the view snaps to black. A second later, she turns the lights back on. The guests continue to stare at her silently; the tension is broken by the ringing of the telephone. Bubbles answers it, reverting to her usual tone of voice.)

Bubbles: Hello?

' Mojo'  Jojo: (over phone) I have your Octi doll. And if you ever want to see him alive again, you'll meet my demands. (Bubbles screams.) I want one thousand gallons of Chemical X, or your precious little Octi dies!

Professor: (panicked) What? What do they want?

Bubbles: (covering mouthpiece) He has Octi!

(The rest of the family gasps, as do the Mayor and Ms. Bellum, and Ms. Keane and the four guests who looked at each other.)

Bubbles: He wants a thousand gallons of Chemical X! (Another round of gasps, as before.) Or he'll kill him!

(There is a third round of gasps.)

Bubbles: (on verge of tears) Please, Professor, please do what he says!

Professor: (softly) No.

(A fourth round of gasps, with the Professor absent.)

Bubbles: But why?

Professor: Because...I killed Octi!

(A fifth round of gasps, as the fourth.)

Bubbles: But why? I can understand Buttercup 'cause she's so mean...

Buttercup: Hey! (Blossom smiles at her.)

Bubbles: ...and Blossom 'cause she's so bossy...

Blossom: Hey! (Buttercup smiles at her.)

Bubbles: ...and Ms. Keane 'cause she wants me to pay attention...

Ms. Keane: Hey! Oh. No, that's right.

Bubbles: ...and the Mayor 'cause he's a big baby...

Mayor: I am not a baby! (He blows a raspberry; she lets her hand drop from the mouthpiece.)

Bubbles: ...but you? I never thought you would do anything to hurt me. Why didn't you tell me?

Professor: I wanted to tell you what happened, but I didn't get a chance to. Oh, earlier this evening, when I was cleaning up for the party...

(WD to the bedroom.'  It is earlier in the day, and he is vacuuming and talking on the phone; Octi lies on the floor near the machine. )

Professor: (voice over) ...I was in your room when I accidentally ran over Octi with the vacuum.

(As he says this, close-up of the nozzle as it sucks the doll in. Pull back; he shuts the vacuum off and frantically lays it down to check it. Unzipping the dust bag, he pulls the toy out - singed, filthy, and badly  mangled. He stares down at it in horror.)

Professor: (voice over) I felt horrible about it. (He looks around furtively.) But since no one else had noticed, I decided to take him back to the lab and fix him myself.

(He runs o.c. on the end of this line. Cut to the lab, which is dark except  for a single desk lamp that shines down on him as he operates a sewing machine. Zoom in; he is trying to reassemble Octi.)

Professor: (voice over) I worked on him for a good two hours. (Extreme close-up of the needle.) And to my surprise, it was a perfect success.

(He has now finished and passed a pleased eye over his work. However, his face soon falls.)

Professor: (voice over) Well...

(His perspective of the doll's head, turning down to its tentacles - and one of them is gone.)

Professor: (voice over) ...except Octi was missing a leg.

(Cut to the hallway; he tiptoes stealthily into view.)

Professor: (voice over) So I decided to return to the scene of the crime and retrieve the missing leg.

(Cut to just inside the partially open door of the now-darkened bedroom; he peeks in carefully.)

Professor: (voice over) But when I got back... (A sigh; cut to his perspective of the brokenhearted Bubbles, tentacle in hand.) ...it was too late.

(He smiles nervously. Back to the hallway as he eases the door shut and checks his watch.)

Professor: (voice over) And with the party about to start, there was no time left.

(WD to the present.'  Bubbles has moved away from the phone, and he has knelt down to her level. )

Professor: And, well...that's what happened.

Bubbles: So...do you have him?

Professor: (pulling Octi out of his jacket) Of course I have him. (The Mayor gasps.)

Ms. Bellum: Mayor, we're done gasping. (He hangs his head.)

Bubbles: (holding tentacle out to Professor) Can you fix him?

Professor: Of course I can.

(She gives it to him, and he starts trying to reattach it by pushing it against the spot where it was torn off. Nervous sweat pours down his face; cut to a knot of tense guests, then back to him as he steps up the  pace. Ms. Keane, the Mayor, and a few other guests watch anxiously, as do Blossom and Buttercup, and he now jabs the tentacle furiously against  the doll's body. Finally he gives up.)

Professor: (moaning in frustration) It doesn't fit!

Bubbles: That's because you've got the leg in backwards. (He hands it her, and she turns it end-for-end and gives it back.) Now try it.

(He does so and meets with immediate success; she smiles.)

Bubbles: (laughing) Yaaaay! (grabbing'  and hugging doll ) Oh, Octi, I'll never let you out of my sight again, ever!

(The guests cheer at the happy ending to this mystery, but Blossom and Buttercup are instead eyeing the dropped telephone receiver.)

Buttercup: But, Professor, then who's on the phone? (He raises it to his ear.)

Professor: (impatiently) Hello. Who is this?

' Mojo' : (over phone) Sorry to interrupt your little party, but unless you give me one thousand gallons of Chemical X, Octi dies! (The Professor says nothing.) Hello?

Professor: (playing along) Yeah. Okay. Hold on.

(He dials the operator; what he gets is a bored female voice.)

Operator: (over phone) Operator.

Professor: Operator, can you trace the last incoming call I received?

(On the other end, the operator sits at a telephone switchboard and inspects a connection. The clamor of other phones is heard around her.)

Operator: Yes. I'm reading that the call's coming from...inside the house.

Professor: Inside the house?!

(Blossom and Buttercup gasp, followed by Ms. Keane, Bubbles, and the four guests  seen earlier. Ms. Bellum and the Mayor remain silent; she puts her hands on her hips.)

Ms. Bellum: (impatiently) Mayor!

Mayor: Huh? Oh. (He gasps. Cut to Bubbles, with the receiver in the hand not holding Octi.)

Bubbles: Who is this?

' Mojo' : (over phone) I told you, I'm holding Octi hostage for a thousand gallons of Chemical X.

Bubbles: (playing along) Oh, really now?

(Pull back. As her sisters smile, the Professor makes a circling motion with one finger and walks o.c. Blossom and Buttercup follow him.)

Bubbles: So can you describe him for me?

(Cut to the balcony, the camera pointing toward the stairs. During the next line, the rest of the family comes up and the camera zooms in on a phone  that sits on a table by a closed door. It is off the hook, and the cord  disappears into the room.)

' Mojo' : (muffled, as through a wall) Uh, he's, uh, pink with...

(Close-up of the banana cream pie laid out by the caterer; he reaches into view and takes a slice.)

' Mojo' : (from o.c.) ...blue flowers...

(Pull back to frame him; this is the bathroom, and he sits on the toilet with the receiver in hand.)

' Mojo' : ...and, um... (He takes a mouthful and talks through it.) ...eight, um...um...eyes.

(He eats the rest of the slice. A short beep is heard over the line.)

' Mojo' : What's that clicking? (Split-screen view, with Bubbles in the other half. Another beep.)

Bubbles: Oh, it's, um...an incoming call. Please hold.

(A third beep, and she taps the hook. The screen splits again to show that  the caterer is now in on the conversation as well. Mojo starts on another slice of pie and licks his fingers.)

Caterer: Yeah. This is Townsville Quality Discount Catering. (His face fills the screen.) Whatever you do... (The bathroom; he is heard over the line.) ...don't eat the banana cream pie.

(During these last six words, zoom in on another hunk of it being lifted to Mojo's mouth and chomped. Pull back at the end of the sentence.)

Caterer: (over phone) It's contaminated! (Mojo's'  eyes pop at this news; the man laughs. ) Sorry.

(Mojo'  drops the pie, groans, and clutches his stomach, and we can clearly hear it churning - the tainted dessert has already struck. Cut to just inside the now-open bathroom door, where the girls, the Professor, and a bunch of guests have gathered. They are all ready to tear him to bits. )

Bubbles: Mojo, you get outta there! You're nothing but a big party-pooper! (Cut to the hallway; the door is closed again.)

' Mojo' : (through door, groaning) How'd you know? (Toilet flush; he groans again.)

(The background for the end shot comes up.)

Narrator: And so once again the day is saved... (The girls appear in their usual pose.) ...thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!

(They are replaced by a slice of the pie, with flies buzzing around it.)

Narrator: And a contaminated banana cream pie.

(The music winds down as if it too has been hit with stomach cramps.)