Futurama

The Fugitive
By Officer 1BDI

A/N: This story was written before season 4 aired, before we were properly introduced to Morris and Munda, before Leela was revealed to be a mutant, and before the fate of Mother’s Day in the future had been established. As such, this is now an “alternate universe” story and does not accurately reflect the events that occurred in the show.

"The Fugitive: Part 1"

OPENING SEQUENCE

CAPTION: Futurama: Bigger, Longer, and Uncensored by Rupert Murdoch

TV SCREEN: Couch Gag from The Simpsons

SCENE 1

TEXT: May 8 3003

FADE IN:

INT NEW NEW YORK-- PLANET EXPRESS BUILDING-- MORNING

ZOOMS between the buildings of NNY until it sees the Planet Express Building, which FRY and BENDER are walking towards. They're talking to each other.

ZOOM to Fry and Bender

FRY: Man, why's everything red around here?

BENDER: The building's always been red, you moron.

FRY: No, not that. I mean back there!

Fry points behind him, where the whole town is decorated in red banners and sales on candy, flowers and jewelry are being announced.

BENDER: Where have you _been_? Mother's Day is in a week.

FRY: Mother's Day? Oh God! I forgot again!

BENDER: What are you talking about? Your mom's been dead for centuries.

PAUSE

FRY: Oh yeah. Wait, what about Leela? What's she gonna do this year?

BENDER: Probably what she does every year. Run out of the building in tears and come back the next day like nothing happened.

Fry pushes the door open and pauses.

FRY: Must be tough being an orphan your whole life. Maybe I should do something with her this year.

BENDER: Like what?

FRY: (annoyed) I dunno. What am I, the 411?

Bender and Fry walk in.

SCENE 2

CUT TO- PE CONFERENCE ROOM

HERMES is holding a meeting with the crew when Bender and Fry come in.

HERMES: (annoyed) Where have you two been, mon? It's almost noon!

FRY: Um . . . The bus broke down.

There happens to be a window behind Fry that looks out towards the streets. A bus suddenly drives up and pulls over to let a few people off.

FARNSWORTH: Oh, well then. In any case, you must know that this year, we've gotten so many Mother's Day orders, that I'm afraid that I'm going to have to double you're delivery hours. (Groans from the crew) Now, starting today , you'll be making deliveries to Hafern 23, Wendig 5, Lerrum, Vardon . . .

As the Professor continues talking, Fry slips into a daze and dully looks around, until he sees Leela, growing uneasy with every planet being named. He starts feeling sorry for her.

FARNSWORTH: Desser 45, Bennyon 6 . . .

FRY: (interrupting) Um . . . professor?

FARNSWORTH: Wha . . . yes?

FRY: Shouldn't I start loading those things on the ship?

FARNSWORTH: Well . . . I suppose . . .

FRY: And could Leela help me?

Leela perks up, surprised.

LEELA: What?

HERMES: I don' think you need Leela's help.

FRY: Yes I do.

FARNSWORTH: Well, if you actually saw all of the gifts, I do believe that . . .

FRY: (dragging Leela out with him) Thanksbye!

SCENE 3

CUT TO- PE HANGER

Fry continues to drag Leela into the hanger until she yanks her arm away.

LEELA: What were you doing?

FRY: Getting you out of there before we both went nuts.

LEELA: (angry) Why?

FRY: Oh come on. You were getting so depressed in there, _I_ couldn't stand you.

LEELA: Oh. You noticed?

FRY: Noticed? You looked like you were ready to kill yourself, Leela.

LEELA: No I . . . (realizing) *sigh* thanks, Fry.

FRY: No problem. (PAUSE) Look, if you need anything . . .

LEELA: Fry, every year, I get so worked up over this, and this year, I just wanted to forget about everything. So if you want to help, just don't bring it up. For once, I'd like to forget that next week is Mother's Day.

Bender walks in, carrying a box of "candy" in one hand and half a dozen metallic roses in the other.

BENDER: Hey Leela! Do you think I should send my mom the Liquor-Covered Lug Nuts or the Iron Roses?

Leela looks from one gift to the other, getting teary-eyed.

LEELA: Excuse me.

Leela runs out of the room. Fry watches her leave, then turns and glares at Bender.

BENDER: Um . . . so, whadda you think, the nuts or roses?

SCENE 4

CUT TO- PE HANGER- THE DAY BEFORE MOTHER'S DAY

The hanger is now full of last-minute Mother's Day gifts to ship around the universe. Leela looks over the gifts in a bit of a slum, and then looks over the calendar on the wall, where all the days up to the day before Mother's Day are crossed out, and Mother's Day is circled. Leela sighs depressingly.

Fry is in the background, loading the gifts into the ship.

FRY: Man, we're gonna be busy today.

BENDER: I know. Better put an extra six-pack on ice.

AMY walks in and comes up to Leela.

AMY: Hey, Leela?

LEELA: Yeah.

AMY: Um, I was wondering . . . if it wasn't too much trouble . . . could you drop me off at Mars? (Leela turns around and stares at her) I wouldn't ask, but my car broke down and I promised mom that I'd come over this weekend to spend tomorrow with her.

LEELA: (sarcastic) Oh, and I suppose next you'll want me to send your boyfriend to _his_ mother's since you're not going to be here to chauffeur him around.

AMY: Yeah! Would you?

Leela glares at her and storms out of the room.

AMY: Well, are you going to or not?

SCENE 5

CUT TO- PE SHIP- MONTAGE

As the day proceeds on, Leela's forced to drive the ship around to send gifts to other mothers other than her's, and with every trip she gets more aggravated and upset. Finally, when she thinks that it's all over . . .

CUT TO- PE CONFERENCE ROOM- EVENING

Leela, Fry and Bender come out of the ship, looking exhausted.

LEELA'S MIND: Thank God that's over with. Now I won't have to endure any more stupid Mother's Day reminders . . .

They all enter the conference room, only to find the rest of the crew wrapping their own gifts for Mother's Day. Leela sighs, annoyed, and takes a seat with Fry and Bender. Hermes pulls out a pre-wrapped package.

HERMES: Oh, Amy. Your mom sent this over.

AMY: Really? Cool.

She grabs the package and rips it open. Out falls a pile of baby clothes.

AMY: Oh God, not again!

ZOIDBERG: What's wrong?

AMY: Mom does this every Mother's Day! Every year, she sends some stupid clothes, or a crib, or a bunch of diapers and bottles, 'cause she thinks it'll make me want to have a baby or something.

FRY: Why don't you just tell her to stop?

AMY: Why would I? I'm gonna trade them in and get the cash for a new car.

BENDER: But why would you need to trade in stuff for cash? You're a billionaire.

Before Amy can speak, Farnsworth interrupts.

FARNSWORTH: Now, I know you're all going to hate me terribly for this, but I have decided to risk mutiny this week; because of our enormous quantities of shipping, and what with the differences in time around the universe, you'll all have to work tomorrow.

The crew's reaction is not pleasant.

HERMES: Work tomorrow? But I was gonna visit my parents!

BENDER: Aw, c'mon Professor! My mom blows a fuse when I don't show up. And then I spend hours trying to reconnect her again!

The crew continues to object loudly to this, all totally ignoring Leela, who throughout this time has grown more angry.

ZOOM TO- LEELA

LEELA: (SOTTO, tense) Don't say anything . . . It's not their fault . . . they don't know any better . . .

But the objections become louder and more direct, and finally, Leela, erm, snaps.

LEELA: SHUT UP!

The room falls silent and everyone turns towards Leela.

LEELA: I can't stand this! (mocking) Oh, my plans are ruined. I'm going to miss one day with my mother because of work. Oh, this is so terrible. (upset) All week, all you've been talking about is "Mom's Day" this, and "Mom's Day" that. And I can't take it anymore! Am I oblivious to you guys? Do you even care?

BENDER: Obviously not.

LEELA: I thought that for once, I wouldn't be left out . . . now I know better . . .

Leela runs out of the room sobbing. The rest of the crew glance at each other with guilty faces, all except for Bender.

BENDER: There she goes again, always thinking about herself.

Fry heads out of the room after Leela.

SCENE 6

CUT TO- OUTSIDE PE

Leela's sitting in front of the office, crying her heart out. Fry comes out and watches her sadly for a few seconds.

FRY: Leela . . . you okay?

Leela shoots him the mother of all glares.

FRY: Okay . . . wrong question . . .

LEELA: (monotone) Fry, sit down. (He does) I'm really sorry about what happened in there. I wasn't talking about you.

FRY: Are you sure you're gonna be OK tomorrow?

LEELA: (annoyed) I'm not a little kid, Fry. I can take care of myself.

FRY: You just seem more paranoid this year that usual.

LEELA: (sarcastic) Well, it would be nice to have a family to share tomorrow with.

PAUSE

LEELA: I know you're trying to help, and I appreciate that. But, there's really nothing you can do.

Leela and Fry look at each other, and once again, something passes between them. They lean in a little closer, eyes full of love, almost about to kiss when . . .

BENDER: (opens door) Are you done buttering her up or . . . Woah! Am I interrupting something here?

LEELA: (embarrassed) No.

Both of them stand, and she pushes past Bender and goes back inside. Fry looks at Bender for as second. Then he slaps the back of Bender's head.

FRY: What did you do that for? I almost got her that time!

SCENE 7

EXT ROBOT ARMS APARTMENT-- FRY AND BENDER'S APT.-- LATER THAT EVENING

Bender and Fry are talking about Leela. Fry's locked himself in the bathroom while Bender's standing around, drinking a beer.

FRY: (OS) She said something about wanting a family.

BENDER: A _family_? Aw . . . that can't be good.

FRY: (pokes his head out) Why?

BENDER: Fry, when a woman says she want's a family, that means she wants to _start_ a family. Just like when they say they're not your type, that means you're a jerk. Or when they ask you if they look fat, they mean you'd better say no or I'll kick you outta my house so fast . . .

FRY: Since when do you know so much about women, anyway?

BENDER: Since never. I'm just guessing.

FRY: (comes out) You're not helping! Seriously, what should I do?

BENDER: Well, she told you there was nothing you could do. So why worry?

FRY: Because I want to do something. She just seems so lonely all the time . . . hey, maybe I should ask her out to dinner.

BENDER: (spits out his beer) You wanna take out Ms. Emotional on a date?

FRY: It's not a _date_. It's a . . . um . . . er . . . yeah, I guess it is a date.

BENDER: You're not trying to go for her, are you?

FRY: Well . . . yeah.

BENDER: Fry, there are two people who go looking for chances like that, and I'll be damned if I ever become one of them. The first are desperate fools looking for any love that walks their path. The second . . . (shudders)

FRY: What?

BENDER: The second type really love the person. And believe me, you'd have to be pretty stupid to fall in love.

FRY: Oh. Which one do I wanna be?

BENDER: (insistent) The first one.

SCENE 8

EXT LEELA'S HOME-- LEELA'S BEDROOM-- MOTHER'S DAY MORNING

Leela wakes up, smiles at the sight of Nibbler curled up at her feet, and then takes a look towards her calendar. She sighs depressingly and lies back in bed, wide-eyed and wondering.

FARNSWORTH: (VO) Now, I know you're all going to hate me terribly for this . . . you'll all have to work tomorrow.

Leela throws her covers over her face.

FARNSWORTH: (VO) Don't try to hide your face when I'm talking to you!

Leela slowly lifts the covers from her face, confused.

SCENE 9

CUT TO PE CONFERENCE ROOM- LATER

Half the crew is awake and grumbling over their latest day of work. Fry and Bender walk in.

FRY: Hey, whaddup?

HERMES: Nothin', unless you note dat Leela's missin'.

FRY: Leela's _missing_? Didn't anyone try to call her or anything?

ZOIDBERG: Not yet.

FRY: Why?

AMY: Guh! We know why she's gone. She's so angry with us, no wonder she didn't come in today.

FARNSWORTH: Well, I hope you're all happy. After the way you all acted yesterday, it'll be a wonder if she comes in this week at all.

BENDER: Hey! It was your fault that we started arguing.

FARNSWORTH: Be as it may, (SOTTO) which it isn't, (to crew) I think we should still give her a couple of hours to cool down. Maybe she'll come in later.

SCENE 10

INT LITTLE NEPTUNE-- THAT AFTERNOON

A melancholy Leela is walking down the street, passing by every indication of Mother's Day that's possible. Nibbler's at her heels, desperately trying to keep up.

As they walk past the various alleys in the town, Nibbler sniffs something strange in the air. He suddenly bolts down the hall of an alley, heading straight to one of the few trash cans scattered around NNY. Leela looks down and suddenly notices that Nibbler's missing, and heads down the same alley.

CUT TO- CLOSE UP OF NIBBLER

Nibbler, who's perched himself up on the rim of the can, looks curiously into it, then looks back at Leela, confused. Back into the can, back at Leela, and so forth. Finally, out of puzzlement, he falls straight into the can.

LEELA: Nibbler. Get out of there, now! (No response) God, Nibbler. Sometimes you . . .

As Leela bends over to dig Nibbler out, she reels back in surprise. Nibbler pokes his head above the rim and looks into the can, back at Leela, back at the can . . .

SCENE 11

INT PE HANGER-- NOON

Fry, Bender and Amy are all in the hanger. Amy's filing her nails, Bender's reading porn, and Fry's pacing wildly.

AMY: Well you stop it, Fry? I can't hear myself file.

FRY: Where is she? She should have been here by now.

BENDER: Don't worry. Leela's a tough one. She'll come around. And if she doesn't, more booze for me!

FRY: Maybe I should call her. (Leaves)

CUT TO- PE STAFF ROOM

Fry tries to use the Video Phone to call Leela, but he gets no results. Finally, he gets a recording.

MESSAGE: Hi, this is Leela. I'm not home right now, but if you could leave a name and number, I'll call you as soon a I can.

SFX: BEEP

FRY: Leela? Are you there? (PAUSE) Leela? C'mon, pick up! *Sigh* Look, call me, okay?

Fry hangs up and drags himself out of the room.

CUT TO- PE HANGER

Fry walks in looking disturbed.

BENDER: Well, what's wrong? She still ticked?

FRY: (worried) She wasn't even home. Maybe I should go over there.

AMY: Fry, stop freaking out already! She's fine. I'm sure if anything came up, she would have called us.

FRY: Yeah, I guess you're right.

SCENE 12

INT FRY AND BENDER'S APT.-- THAT EVENING

Fry's lying in bed, trying to get to sleep, but not succeeding. Suddenly, his VideoPhone rings. He tosses on a robe and hurries to pick it up. Leela's on the other end of the line, standing in a sterile white hallway, looking exhausted and concerned at the same time.

LEELA: Hi Fry.

FRY: Leela! Oh my God! Where were you? I've been trying to call you all day! Why didn't you come to work?

LEELA: Look, I'm sorry I didn't come in . . . wait, you were trying to call me?

FRY: What happened?

LEELA: Look . . . I would have come in, but something came up. In fact, I need to tell you . . .

SPEAKER: (background, on Leela's side) Code Blue on Level 5. Stat.

FRY: Wait . . . Code Blue . . . Leela, are you in a hospital?

LEELA: Yeah.

FRY: Is anything wrong? Do you want me to come over or something?

LEELA: Fry, stop it. Nothing's wrong. But I need you to tell Hermes that I might not be in tomorrow, okay?

FRY: Yeah, sure. But Leela . . .

LEELA: (rushed) I gotta go. Bye, Fry.

FRY: Leela, wait! Why . . . (she hangs up) are you over there?

Fry stares at the screen for a second, then sighs and climbs back into bed.

SCENE 13

INT PE ENTRANCE-- THE NEXT MORNING

All is still in the entrance hall, until the door is suddenly opened and Leela enters, Nibbler at her heels and a small clump of blankets in her free arm. She looks around cautiously and walks through the building towards the conference room. She attempts to sneak past a working Hermes, but fails.

HERMES: Hey Leela.

LEELA: Oh, hi.

HERMES: Fry said you wouldn't be comin' in today, mon.

LEELA: Well, I had a change of plans . . .

HERMES: I wouldn' have blamed you, after we all acted like jackasses de other day. Sorry 'bout dat.

LEELA: Oh. Well, thank you. (PAUSE) Can I leave now?

HERMES: (confused) Um, yeah.

Leela rushes out and heads for the hanger. Hermes watches her, scratching his head.

CUT TO- PE HANGER

Fry and Bender are hanging around, talking, when Leela comes in.

FRY: Hey, Leela!

LEELA: Hi Fry. (Rushes past)

FRY: Um . . . okay.

BENDER: (whispering) She's still angry at us.

FRY: But she was fine when I talked with her last night.

BENDER: Didn't you hear a word I was saying? Woman say what they _don't_ feel, moron, they show it by educing physical pain. I bet she was carrying her laser under all those blankets!

FRY: Blankets?

Fry watches as she heads into the ship. Finally, he follows her in.

CUT TO- PE SHIP- LEELA'S QUARTERS

Leela's in her quarters, sitting on her bed, fiddling with the blankets and mumbling something.

LEELA: I can't believe I'm going to do this. If I get caught, who knows what they'll do to me . . .

FRY: (in doorway) Leela?

Leela jumps at his voice and jerks her head around.

LEELA: Fry, what are you doing here?

FRY: I dunno. I wanted to see what was up. You've been acting weird all week. (Raising his voice) And why were you at the hospital last night?

LEELA: (shushing) Fry, be quiet. Okay, I was at the hospital because . . . well, I got sidetracked. Something unexpected happened.

FRY: Like . . .

LEELA: Well . . .

Leela trails off, unsure of what to say. She looks down towards the blankets, avoiding Fry's gaze.

FRY: C'mon Leela, I won't tell anyone else. You can trust me.

LEELA: (quick) No I can't. (Fry gives her a hurt look) I'm sorry Fry, but I can't trust you to keep this a secret.

FRY: If it's so secret, then why'd you come back to work?

PAUSE

LEELA: I needed to get something from Bender.

FRY: Like . . .

LEELA: I told you, I can't tell you.

FRY: What if I swore to you that I'd keep this a secret?

LEELA: What would that do?

FRY: I'm just trying to help.

LEELA: You can start by staying out of this. It's none of your business.

FRY: Oh yeah? Let's just see how it's "none of my business".

Fry reaches out to rip one of the blankets off.

LEELA: Fry, stop!

FRY: (shouting) MAKE ME!

The shouting seems to have an effect on the blankets.

"BLANKETS": WAAAAAAAAHHHH!

Fry jumps away, shocked. Leela starts cradling the blankets, crooning at them. The "blankets" stop wailing.

FRY: (studdering) Da . . . da.. dat's . . . that's a . . .

Leela looks at him expectantly.

FRY: (CONT) That's a _baby_!

LEELA: _Now_ do you know why I didn't come in yesterday?

FRY: (babbling) You . . . he . . . da . . . that's a baby! But how'd you . . . when did you . . . could I look at it?

Leela thinks for a second before giving a meek nod. Fry cautiously lifts one of the blankets up and drops it on the floor in shock. We finally see what the big deal was all about. The child (who BTW, isn't more than a week old), is another cyclops, with a small fuzz of blue-grey hair on his head.

FRY: (SOTTO) That's a baby _cyclops_! (To Leela in disbelief) Is he yours?!

LEELA: No! Of course not! (SOTTO) That's the problem . . .

FRY: But I thought you were the only one of your species.

LEELA: Not anymore.

FRY: Where did you find him?

LEELA: Actually, Nibbler sort of found him. I was walking through Little Neptune with him yesterday, to clear my head, you know? And we came to this alleyway, and we found the poor thing. (Angry) Dumped in a trash can.

FRY: A trash can?

LEELA: Uh huh. He looked sort of sick, so I took him over to the hospital, and they had to do all these stupid tests, but he's fine now.

FRY: (CONT) Who the hell puts a baby in a trash can?

LEELA: (dryly) I don't know. The same type of people who dump their kids on a pile of "Abandoned Property."

Fry realizes he's hit a hard choir with Leela. He tries to change the subject.

FRY: Can I hold him?

LEELA: Actually, I . . .

Fry's already taken the baby by this point. He hold him up close, examining him.

FRY: (smiling) Hey, he's kinda cute. In a weird sort of way.

LEELA: Fry, be careful with him. He might do something.

FRY: Aw, c'mon. What can he do, except cry and sleep . . .

The kid suddenly spits up on Fry's jacket. Fry holds him away at arm's length.

LEELA: . . .and throw up.

FRY: Eeeewww! Get it off me!

Leela takes the baby from Fry and throws him a blanket. He starts wiping himself off with it.

LEELA: Oh stop whining. I warned you.

FRY: You didn't tell me that he just ate.

Fry takes off his jacket and tosses it and the blanket on the floor, frustrated. He glares at the baby.

FRY: So what're you gonna do with him? Put him up for adoption?

LEELA: (quiet) Actually, I'm going to adopt him.

PAUSE

FRY: You're gonna _what_?!

LEELA: Please, would you just keep this under your hat until I figure out how I'm going to do this without getting busted?

FRY: Wait, how could you get busted for . . .

Bender unexpectedly struts in.

BENDER: Yo Fry, are you coming out or whAAAHHH! (Points at the infant and starts freaking out) WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING?

SCENE 14

CUT TO- PE CONFERENCE ROOM- LATER

The whole crew is sitting around the table, staring at Leela and this new addition. Their back is to the entrance of the kitchen.

BENDER: You're _adopting_ him!? Why'd you go ahead and adopt a kid? Wasn't the garbage disposal enough?

LEELA: First of all, Nibbler isn't a garbage disposal, he's just sensibly challenged when it comes to food.

In the background, Nibbler sniffs around the kitchen, and starts eating various appliances as Leela talks.

LEELA: (CONT.) And second, I couldn't just leave the poor thing where I found him. (Snuggling him) He needs me.

AMY: But couldn't you have just put him in an orphanage or something?

LEELA: Uh-uh. I _refuse_ to put him through that. Besides, no one's going to adopt him, he's too . . .

AMY: Weird?

FRY: Freaky?

BENDER: Just plain butt-ugly?

LEELA: Not exactly.

ZOIDBERG: But how can you take care of this kid by yourself? I hear it's hard enough for a young human to be cared for by _two_ parents.

SFX: DULL SCREECH

Nibbler has pulled the refrigerator from it's place, into the camera's view, and starts eating it. No one notices.

LEELA: (defensive) Hey! I practically raised myself as a kid. I can handle this, okay? (PAUSE) Um . . . Amy, about all the stuff your mom sent you . . .

AMY: They're yours.

LEELA: Thanks.

FRY: So he's yours now? That's it?

LEELA: (shakes her head) That's the problem. The only way he's legally mine is if I adopt him, but it's against the law to let a single person adopt anything that's not a pet. I don't know how I'm going to pull it off. (Glaring at Fry) Which was why I didn't want to tell you in the first place until I settled this with Bender . . .

AMY: Why don't you just have Fry pose as your husband or something?

Fry slyly drapes his arm around Leela's waist.

FRY: (half-joking) Yeah. We never got to the honeymoon part of our little Titanic trip, "fiancee".

LEELA: Are you _that_ eager to loose another limb?

Fry gets the point and quickly yanks his arm away.

LEELA: It wouldn't work anyway. They'd probably ask for proof of marriage or something. Which is why I wanted to see you, Bender. (SOTTO) Oh Gawd, I'm never going to live this down . . . do you have an adoption certificate lying around that we could possibly forge?

BENDER: Say no more, my cyclops friend. You see, while we were paying a visit to the Center of Buerocracy, I managed to grab a few blank papers off some guy. I figured I could make a few bucks off of them. The guy almost didn't let them go, but I got 'em anyway.

LEELA: (hopeful) Really? Which papers?

BENDER: Let's see . . .

Bender reaches into his chest compartment and pulls out 'the guy's' arm clutching a stack full of papers. He flips through the papers, reading off their various names.

BENDER: (CONT) Death, Marraige, Career Chip, Birth . . . Wait a minute. Why don't you just use the Birth Certifiacte?

LEELA: How would that help?

BENDER: Well . . . you're not gonna like this . . . but you could pretend you're his mom . . .

LEELA: (dryly) That's the whole point of this, Bender.

BENDER: Wait, hear me out. You pretend your his _real_ mom, and you just sign yourself up as the mother. Then they can't take him away from you.

LEELA: Bender, that's breaking about five hundred inferior laws right there. What if his real mom ever comes looking for him? Then what?

BENDER: That won't happen.

AMY: Bender's right. I mean, look at you; 28 years later, and you're still an orphan.

Leela attempts to glares down Amy, who doesn't notice. She looks from the baby, to Bender waving the papers, back to the baby . . .

LEELA: Bender, give me that Birth Certificate.

Bender hands it over to her, and she looks it over.

LEELA: This is going to take me forever to fill out. I don't know when he was born, who his father it . . . I don't even know what I want to name him!

FRY: Oh, I know! How about Mark?

Before Leela can comment . . .

BENDER: (rolls his eyes) Bor-ing!

AMY: Or Steven. I had a boyfriend named Steven. Actually, I had two, but they spelled their names different. See, one spelled it S-T-E-P-H . . .

BENDER: (interrupting) Hon, all of your boyfriends' names could fill up a Phone Book, so if you'd mind, please spare us the comparison.

ZOIDBERG: What about Zeggre. Very popular name back home.

BENDER: (raising an eyebrow at Zoidberg) Your planet sure has a weird definition of "popular".

LEELA: This is even harder with you guys around.

BENDER: Aw, forget this. I'm gonna get a beer.

Bender leaves, and the rest of the crew starts talking at once. Leela throws her hands over her ears.

BENDER: (OS) Hey! Where's the fridge?

SCENE 15

INT SHOT- PE CONFERENCE ROOM- EVEN LATER

The table is abandoned, all except for Leela, cradling the baby in one arm and studying the forms with her free hand. Farnsworth walks in.

FARNSWORTH: Are you still stuck on that name thingy?

LEELA: Yeah. I have everything else filled out, but I can't think of any name that sounds good.

FARNSWORTH: You know, there was a rather famous professor before my time, Professor Aaron Isaac Newt, who was one of the discoverers of our current system of traveling. It was he who discovered that faster-than-light-speed travel was possible by the average man. Of course, everyone thought he was mad for his theory of space travel, but he got the last laugh, after he invented Soylent Cola, oh yes.

The Professor suddenly blanks out. Leela stares at him.

LEELA: Um, Professor . . .

FARNSWORTH: (snapping out of it) Wha . . . oh dear. Sorry about that. (Leaves, mumbling)

LEELA: (sighing) Aaron Isaac Newt. (Brightening) Yeah!

Leela turns back to the form, and under NAME, she puts Aaron.

LEELA: Well, I guess that's that. (Smiling) You're mine now, Aaron.

"The Fugitive: Part 2"

by: Officer 1BDI

Just a few reminders; there are no more introductions (the scene number will not start over at 1), and even though Simpson characters appear from here on in, this is NOT a Simpsons Vs. Futurama Spin-Off!

And now, here''s Part 2.

SCENE 16

EXT SHOT- TEXT

Text: One Month Later

EXT MILKY WAY GALAXY-- PE SHIP

On the bridge of the ship, everything seems back to normal. Bender''s drinking a beer and reading porn at the same time, Fry''s asleep on the couch, Amy''s calling up one of her latest boyfriends on the VideoPhone, and Leela''s driving the ship, looking tired. It seems like nothing''s drastically changed, until Nibbler scrambles onto the bridge and into Leela''s lap, holding his ears.

LEELA: (mumbling) Hi Nibbler. What''s wrong...

AARON: (OS) WAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

LEELA: Not again... (calling) Okay, I''m coming! (To Amy) Amy, could you cut that short and take over for a second?

AMY: (annoyed) Yeah. (To VideoPhone) We''ll talk tonight, ''K Ramon?

Leela grumbles as she follows Nibbler out of the bridge.

CUT TO- LEELA''S QUARTERS

Back into her room, where her quarters have gained quite a few items, including a crib. Aaron is lying in the crib, still crying.

LEELA: (entering, grumbling more to herself than anyone) woke me up at two in the morning... ...had me scrambling to the store to get another batch of formula... spend half an hour mixing it……then he falls asleep before he drinks the damn bottle... I swear, if he wakes up screaming one more time, I''m...

Leela looks over at Aaron, who stops crying when he sees her and whimpers, reaching up for her. She softens up.

LEELA: (baby-talk tone) Oh, don''t cry, sweetie. (Picks him up and starts cradling him) It''s okay. Mommy''s here...

Bender comes into the doorway, rolling his eyes.

BENDER: (sarcastic) You know, ""mommy"" there''s an easier way to get him to shut up.

LEELA: Get out, Bender.

BENDER: (CONT) Yeah, all you have to do is cover him in dog food...

LEELA: Bender...

BENDER: (CONT) ...dump him in Nib''s food dish, and viola, no more tears. Of course, then there''s no more Aaron, but...

Leela slams the door in Bender''s face.

BENDER: (OS) _What_?

SCENE 17

INT PE STAFF ROOM

The crew has gathered in the Staff Lounge to relax and kick back with some TV. Or, to be more precise, to kick back and fight over what to watch on TV. Bender and Fry are standing behind the couch (which Leela (holding Aaron) and Amy are sitting on), Fry trying to grab the remote out of Bender''s hands.

FRY: Simpsons!

BENDER: South Park!

FRY: Simpsons!

BENDER: South Park!

AMY: What''s the difference? They''re both just cartoons.

FRY: Yeah, but these cartoons have class. (To Bender) Give me the remote!

BENDER: Make me!

He holds it high over his head. Fry pounces for it and topples over the couch, nearly landing on Leela and Aaron.

LEELA: Will you guys knock it off? I''m trying to get Aaron back to sleep.

BENDER: Why? He''ll just wake up again in an hour.

Fry sees his chance and grabs the remote from Bender. He flips it to FOX but his high hopes for his Simpson show are soon dashed. The program has been interrupted by the latest news report, via Morbo and his Co-Worker.

FRY: Aw man.

BENDER: He he he. My turn! (Snatches remote back)

LEELA: Wait, I want to hear this.

CUT TO- TV

LINDA: DOOP was left devastated this morning after reports of hostile activities on Pluto were reported earlier this week. It seems that the race of... um... erm... (to Morbo) can you read this?

MORBO: You puny humans will soon regret handing over your decisions to us.

LINDA: (Laughs) Anyway, a hostile race of octopus-like aliens had taken control of Pluto earlier, leaving the icy planet in flames and killing millions. Grant?

They cut to a camera view of Pluto in it''s current condition. The towns are now piles of ashes, and the majority of the people around the area are just the frozen remains of burnt bodies. GRANT comes up to the camera.

GRANT: Well, as you can see here, there''s nothing left of Pluto''s capitol, Mihkee, but DOOP had sworn that these menaces known as... (looking over a paper) um... how do you say this? Anyway, these aliens will be stopped. And that...

LINDA: Grant, there''s something behind you.

GRANT: Huh?

Grant turns around in time to see a long green tentacle reach out and grabs him around the waist. He starts beating at it wildly.

CUT TO- PE STAFF ROOM

The crew watches the report in shock. You can still hear Grant scream off-camera. Leela looks down at Aaron (who''s watching this, wide-eyed) and covers his eye.

FRY: Um…… nice graphics.

VOICE: (OS) Greetings, humans and humanoids.

CUT TO- TV

The shot is now showing two rather familiar one-eyed aliens on-camera. The source of the voice speaks.

KANG: I am Kang, ruler of my species, the wrath of the destruction that you have witnessed.

KODOS: And I am his sister, Kodos.

CUT TO- PE STAFF ROOM

Something occurs to Fry.

FRY: Wait! I know them! They were characters on The Simpsons. (Realizing) But... I thought they weren''t real.

LEELA: Well, apparently, they are.

FRY: Did you know about these guys?

LEELA: Never heard of them.

CUT TO- TV

KANG: We mean no harm to the rest of you...

Kodos whispers something to Kang.

KANG: Oh. Right. (To camera) We mean hostile harm to you all if our demands are not met. We want the Fugitive. Until you turn him in to us, we will continue destroying all of your planets in this galaxy. That is all.

Kang sits there, waiting for something. Kodos taps him on the shoulder.

KODOS: Um, I think you have to turn it off yourself, sir.

KANG: Oh, for the love of...

The TV goes blank. Then it flickers to the Newsroom.

LINDA: Um... Thank you, Grant.

CUT TO- PE STAFF ROOM

The crew remains silent for a few seconds.

FRY: If they want ''The Fugitive'', maybe we could transform PE into a set again, and this time I could play...

LEELA: You moron. They weren''t looking for a movie. They''re really looking for some criminal.

AMY: (sarcastic) Yeah. Real nice description they gave us, though.

LEELA: Well, if he were here, we''d have known about it by now. But I think we should stay prepared. These guys seem a little dull in the head.

BENDER: Eh, I wouldn''t worry about it. Things''ll probably blow over soon.

SCENE 18

MONTAGE

As the days and weeks go on, reports of further attacks on Saturn, Neptune, Mars and Venus are flooding in. With every attack, the aliens become more frustrated, and the PE crew becomes more concerned. Until finally...

INT PE STAFF ROOM

Fry''s lounging on the couch, flipping channels, when he comes across another News Report.

CUT TO- TV

MORBO: In more joyous news, the race of hostile aliens has targeted their next victims, the pathetic race of humans on our own planet earth. They will start in the lesser-known capitals like Paris and London, and eventually work their way to cities like New New York and Washington, the District of Chaos.

LINDA: Makes me feel even better about living in LA, right Morbo?

Someone off-screen hands Morbo a sheet of paper.

MORBO: This just in, LA is also a prime target.

LINDA: (Laughs)

SCENE 19

INT PE CONFERENCE ROOM

Everyone is at the conference table, minus Aaron.

LEELA: Are you sure that''s what they said?

FRY: Positive.

BENDER: We''re boned.

ZOIDBERG: Wait! I heard they''re planning to launch a counter-attack on the aliens.

LEELA: That''s a relief. Who''s leading it?

ZOIDBERG: Zapp Brannigan.

PAUSE

BENDER: We are _so_ boned.

AMY: Gawd, why can''t we ever get a decent captain to lead these missions? Like Joah Sheecera or something?

FRY: Yeah! I know! And who''s Goan Ceeshera?

Everyone looks over at Fry, shocked.

BENDER: Where have you been?

FRY: Hey, I can''t help it if I don''t know my own cultural icons!

LEELA: Fry, Joah Sheecera is an extremely famous rebel captain. He''s always fought in the biggest battles in the known universe, and so far, he''s never lost. He''s probably the bravest, most courageous captain ever known.

FRY: Yeah, well if he''s so famous, how come he isn''t fighting in this war now?

LEELA: Because no one knows where to find him. He apparently doesn''t have any home, and he''s usually wandering any random part of the universe. Unless he finds out about it from other sources, Captain Sheecera has no idea about what''s going on now. The truth is, no one except for his own crew has ever actually seen him. No one knows anything about him.

FRY: So, you''re saying our fate lies in the hands of some guy who has no clue what''s going on? We''re doomed!

LEELA: First of all, our fate has nothing to do with Captain Sheecera. And we''re not totally doomed yet.

HERMES: Leela''s right. We can just take the ship and fly outta here, right?

FARNSWORTH: Unfortunately, they thought of that. The bastards have their ships planted everywhere in the galaxy. There''s no way we could escape alive! We can''t even make our deliveries.

CUT TO- CLOSE UP OF LEELA

As the professor continues talking, Leela starts thinking...

FARNSWORTH: (CONT) It would take an ace pilot to dodge their artillery.

LEELA: Hey, _I''m_ an ace pilot! What if we try to dodge them?

FRY: _Try_ to? Are you like really fond of death or something?

LEELA: No. But what else are we going to do? Just sit here and wait to die? The most we can do is try. Right?

PAUSE

LEELA: So…… if anything happens, just come to the office, and we''ll try to escape.

FRY: What if we don''t make it?

LEELA: Well, then... we don''t make it.

BENDER: Yeah. I guess I''m ready to die if you are.

FRY: What is it with you and ''going with the crowd'', anyway?

BENDER: If you don''t like it then you can just... hey, where''s Leela?

Fry looks over towards the hanger and watches Leela board the ship.

SCENE 20

INT PE SHIP- LEELA''S QUARTERS

Leela is leaning over the crib, watching over a sleeping Aaron. She leans over to play with his hair and sighs loudly.

LEELA: What was I thinking? I can''t get them off earth. (To Aaron) If I screw up, then we''ll both die, and there''s no more Cyclops race...

Leela suddenly yanks herself out of such a thought.

LEELA: (SOTTO, scolding) No. I can''t think like that.

FRY: (OS) Think like what?

Leela turns and sees Fry in the doorway.

LEELA: Why do you keep following me?

FRY: I''m bored. But don''t get all freaked out over this. You''re the best captain I know.

LEELA: But you only know a few other captains. (Dryly) And one of them is Zapp.

FRY: Your point?

LEELA: Fry, I don''t want to let everyone down. If I make one mistake, just one, then we''re all dead!

FRY: But you''re not gonna make a mistake. I know you won''t. And maybe we won''t even have to escape.

LEELA: (hopeful) Really? Why?

FRY: Because Zapp''s launching an attack on them tomorrow.

Leela''s face crumbles.

SCENE 21

EXT NIMBUS-- BRIDGE-- NEXT DAY

Waiting on the bridge is the DOOP crew, listening to one of ZAPP''s lectures. As soon as he''s done lecturing, Zapp joins KIF over at a nearby VideoPhone.

ZAPP: Did you recruit everyone on... (looks around cautiously, then leans into Kif) The List?

KIF: Yes Sir. (reading off a list, crossing off names) That''s the last of them. Except for... (shudders) Oh God, you can''t be serious.

ZAPP: (looks at list ) Ah yes, my lover Leela. As soon as she''s recruited, she''ll be mine faster than you can say... um... easy street.

KIF: Easy street, sir?

ZAPP: No! You''re supposed to say that _after_ she comes!

Kif sighs.

KIF: Sir, did it ever occur to you that maybe that night _was_ a mistake, and she wants nothing to do with you?

ZAPP: Of course I haven''t. Now give me that number so I can call her and personally request for her services.

Zapp grabs the number from Kif and turns to the phone, looking it over, trying to figure it out.

ZAPP: Um... ah... yes that looks right... no wait... Kif, you dial.

Kif (reluctantly) dials in the number. Hermes picks up.

HERMES: Hello?

ZAPP: Yes, is Captain Leela there?

HERMES: Yeah. I''ll get her.

Hermes leaves and Leela comes back a couple of seconds later.

LEELA: Yes... (disappointed) Oh. Hi Zapp.

ZAPP: I have requested that you join my force.

LEELA: Why should I?

ZAPP: Um... it''s for the good of the galaxy.

LEELA: Among other things.

ZAPP: (amorous) Does it matter? You can''t hide it Leela. You know you want me.

LEELA: No I don''t.

KIF: It''ll have to be a better reason than that, sir.

ZAPP: You stay out of this. (To Leela) So, why don''t you come and get me?

LEELA: You want to know why? Fine.

Leela walks off camera for a second, and comes back holding Aaron.

LEELA: How''s this for ''Why?''

ZAPP: (flustered) Well... um, yes... I guess that could... wait a minute, when did you have a ba...

LEELA: Bye Zapp. (Hangs up)

CUT TO- PE STAFF ROOM

Leela sits in a chair, grinning over her success.

FRY: (walking in) What happened?

LEELA: Oh, nothing. Let''s just say I avoided yet another disaster.

AMY: (OS) Leela, help! Bender''s caught in the engine, and it keeps switching it on and off! It''s stuck on automatic!

You can hear Bender scream, then sigh with relief, and scream again as the engine keeps turning on and off.

Leela sighs.

SCENE 22

INT STAFF ROOM

The crew is eagerly watching the latest report on the war between them and their alien foes.

CUT TO- TV

LINDA: It seems that DOOP was terribly defeated earlier this afternoon. Over 60 thousand ships went down, and the death toll has reached over 67 million. A new record, I believe.

LEELA: (VO) Oh no...

LINDA: (CONT) Surprisingly enough, it seems that Captain Zapp Brannigan and his ship the Nimbus retreated halfway through the fight, unharmed. Captain Brannigan has declined all interviews.

CUT TO- PE STAFF ROOM

BENDER: Baby.

AMY: Coward!

LEELA: (fretting) Oh... this is all my fault! None of them knew what they were doing. If I''d actually joined that crew and fought with them...

FARNSWORTH: (interrupting) Then you would have died as well. Leela, I''m glad you didn''t join that crew. You''re the best pilot I''ve had, and I''d hate to loose you to a captain like theirs.

LEELA: (embarrassed) Um... thanks, Professor.

FARNSWORTH: Besides, my insurance doesn''t cover death by alien invasion.

FRY: Hey, what about us? When do we get attacked?

LINDA: (VO) New New York and Washington DC can expect their attacks within the next few days.

FRY: Should we stay here tonight?

LEELA: (calming down) No. We don''t even know when they''ll attack. (Reassuring) They wouldn''t attack us tonight. Who knows, maybe Joah Sheecera will come through for us.

FRY: Leela, give it up. He''s not gonna just come out of the sky and save our sorry butts.

BENDER: Exactly. Although, Leela''s got a point. The aliens are too dumb to see that we''re weak and vulnerable in this pitiful stage to fight back. (To Leela) By the way, can I borrow your laser tonight?

"The Fugitive: Part 3"

by: Officer 1BDI

SCENE 23

INT FRY AND BENDER''S APARTMENT- FRY''S ROOM- THAT EVENING

Fry''s concerns over the war have finally gotten to his subconsciousness. As he tosses and turns, trying to fall into a deeper sleep, he fades into an unpleasant dream...

FADE TO- FRY''S DREAM SEQUENCE

In his dream, Fry''s running down the street, racing to keep ahead of Kang, who''s chasing after him with laser gun. He shoots at Fry, but misses and pulls out a larger gun. Fry sees this and runs faster. Kang shoots, misses, and pulls out a harpoon gun. Once again, he shoots, misses (do you see a pattern here?), and after a few more instances like this, Fry finally comes across an alleyway. He dives into it, hiding behind a set of trash cans.

FRY: He he he... he''s out of guns.

Suddenly, Kang pulls out a giant missile launcher (hey, it''s a dream) and aims it towards the cans.

FRY: Eeep.

Kang fires, and Fry''s about to become headless, when someone grabs him and pulls him out of the way. It''s Leela.

LEELA: Come on!

Leela starts dragging Fry through the alley, which has suddenly become endless. They come to a T in the path, and Leela motions for Fry to stay there. She walks into the right road in the T, out of Fry''s view. There''s a sudden flash of light, and Leela lets out a blood curling scream.

FRY: Leela!

The scene freezes.

ANNOUNCER: This hellish nightmare is brought to you by Robofresh! Made by Robots, for Robots!

END DREAM SEQUENCE

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

Fry bolts up in bed, gasping, half asleep.

FRY: Leela! Lee... (wakes up)

Fry looks around, puzzled, when he suddenly hears a scream outside. He jumps at the voice and throws his covers over him. There''s a few seconds of silence (Fry pokes his head out), and there''s another scream (Fry hides again). Finally, Fry throws the blankets off and throws open the curtains of a near-by window. Below, the buildings across the street are in flames. The aliens (including Kang and Kodos) are breaking hell loose all over town, torching buildings, dragging people out of their homes and shooting them out in the streets with flame throwers (or some futuristic weapon similar to them). Fry reels back.

FRY: Oh. My. God.

Suddenly, Bender comes in the room.

BENDER: Hey, what''s the deal?!

FRY: They''re here! Those alien guys are here and they''re torching New New York! Look!

Fry drags Bender over to the window just in time to witness Kodos take a flame thrower, aim it at a passer-by, and... let''s just say he''d really like some water at that point. The two watch with open mouths. Bender finds the strength to say one thing and only one thing.

BENDER: Well, I''m going back to bed. G''night.

FRY: (shaking Bender) Don''t you get it? We''re next!

BENDER: Yeah, whatever... (realizing) aw crap.

CUT TO- FRY''S ROOM- TWO MINUTES LATER

A fully dressed Fry is currently shoving anything he can get his hands on into a suitcase; a few Slurm cans, a Playboy Magazine, his wallet. Bender, in the meantime, is in the kitchen, frantically emptying the fridge of anything alcoholic.

FRY: (to Bender) You finish packing. I''m gonna call Leela.

BENDER: (OS) _Leela_? Why her? She''s a jerk! And she doesn''t owe me money!

Fry ignores him and dials her number.

SCENE 24

INT LEELA''S HOME - LEELA''S BEDROOM

Leela''s sleeping peacefully, when suddenly the phone rings. She rolls over, groans, and hits a button on the dresser next to her bed. A VideoPhone screen pops up, showing a frantic Fry.

LEELA: (mumbling) Fry... what is it? It''s almost two in the morning.

FRY: Leela, you have to get out of there. Now!

LEELA: What? But...

FRY: They''re here! They''re here right now! I can''t talk long, but you''ve got to call the others and get out of there. They''re totaling the city!

LEELA: Okay, don''t panic. I''ll come over to the office in... (looks at clock) twenty minutes.

FRY: But you don''t have twenty minutes! They''re all over here! You''ve got to get out...

Suddenly, the screen goes dead.

LEELA: Fry? (Pounding the screen) FRY? Dammit!

CUT TO- FRY''S ROOM

Fry stares shocked at his blank screen, which suddenly erupts into flames. Within seconds, the whole wall is on fire.

FRY: AAAHHHH!

He runs towards the window and looks out to see that the aliens have started destroying the apartments, the building already in flames. He grabs his suitcase, runs into the kitchen (OS), back through his room (back on-screen), dragging Bender (who''s drinking a beer), and hurries out the door.

CUT TO- HALLWAY

The hall is filled with robots and the occasional human racing to get out of the smoke-filled building.

FRY: Jeeze, there''s no way out of here!

BENDER: Wait! There''s the elevator!

Everyone starts running over to the only elevator on the floor, but an extremely large and fat robot pushes his way to the front and into the elevator, leaving no room for anyone else.

ROBOT: Ha! (Sing-song) I got the elevator, and you didn''t! See you in hell, loosers!

What he doesn''t notice is that because of his weight, the elevator wire is starting to break.

FRY: Uh, sir?

ROBOT: Shove it, meat bag! I''m only saving one bot here, and it''s m...AAAAAAHHHHHHhhhhhhhh..

SFX: CRASH/THUMP

Needless to say, that was the sound of him falling to his ultimate doom.

BENDER: Um, maybe we should try the stairs.

CUT TO- STAIRWELL

The residents, Fry, and Bender, have finally reached the door to the roof of the building. Bender pushes it open, and everyone gathers outside. Unfortunately...

FRY: We''re trapped! There''s no way off here!

BENDER: Aw, quit your whining, mammal.

Bender walks over to the edge of the roof and looks it over. Fry follows him.

FRY: Oh yeah? How''re we gonna get down?

Bender looks over at Fry, grabs him, and holds him over the ledge.

FRY: (frantic) What the hell are you doing?

BENDER: Don''t worry. I saw this in a movie once. The guy lowered his friend down from the building and placed him down safe and sound. Of course, a swarm of killer mutant Pikachus killed him seconds later... oh wait, that was Pokemon 3000. Never mind.

FRY: Just don''t drop me or anything.

BENDER: What do you think I am, an idiot?

Bender starts lowering Fry down with his arms, when a fellow robot comes up to him.

ROBOT2: Hey Bender! Some guy brought a beer keg up here!

Bender''s eyes light up. He lets go of Fry and follows the robot OS, dragging his stretched arms behind him, not paying any mind to Fry''s scream.

FRY: AAAAHHHHhhhh... (faded, hurt) Thank you...

SCENE 25

EXT PE BUILDING

CUT TO- PE CONFERENCE ROOM

The rest of the crew (minus Fry, Leela and Bender) are either pacing the floor, or sitting worriedly at the table. Hermes is obviously with his wife and son, LaBARBARA and DWIGHT.

FARNSWORTH Oh dear. Where could they be?

Bender and Fry walk in, Fry wearing a neck brace. Everyone stops what they''re doing and stares at them.

FRY: (to Bender, tugging at the neck brace) Is this thing really necessary

BENDER: If you want your lawyer to win your case it is... (Dr. Nick-like) Hi everybody!

AMY: Oh shut up.

HERMES: Thank God. Now almost all of us are here.

FRY: What do you mean _almost_?

LaBARBARA: Leela hasn''t shown up yet.

FRY: WHAT? But I told her to leave.

BENDER: Oh boo hoo. C''mon, we''ve only got ten minutes to raid the place and leave before those alien guys come.

FARNSWORTH Oh, but we can''t leave. They''ll gun us down in the streets in seconds, and there''s no one here who can drive the ship!

The crew starts mumbling worriedly. Amy grumbles over being an ignored pilot.

FRY: Well, someone has to go get her!

He gets no reply.

FRY: Someone? Anyone? (PAUSE) Fine! I''ll go find her myself.

Fry tears the brace off and starts for Leela. As Fry heads for the door, Bender runs after him.

BENDER: Wait! I need to tell you something.

FRY: (turning to him) Yeah?

BENDER: As your best friend, and seeing how you''re risking your life to save Leela and keeping in mind that I may never see you again, I just wanted to let you know that your wallet''s always safe with me.

FRY: (genuine) Gee. Thanks Bender.

He hands Bender his wallet and leaves. Bender starts pulling out the money, laughing.

SCENE 26

EXT- LEELA''S HOME

Meanwhile, outside of Leela''s place, one of Kang''s race is chasing after a crowd of humans.

CUT TO- LEELA''S HOME- DINING ROOM

Leela, who hasn''t had time to notice, is running back and forth through her home with Aaron in her arms, making sure she hasn''t forgotten anything. She looks over at the clock and realizes...

LEELA: Oh God, I''m late!

Leela gathers her things, calls for Nibbler (who comes running into the room) and is just about to open the door, when suddenly, someone starts pounding on it from the other side. She pulls back her closed curtain to see that it''s Kang. She backs away quickly, searching quickly for a place to hide. In the center of the room, there''s a table with a large tablecloth draping over the sides. She dives under it, just as Kang breaks open the door and enters, along with two others.

KANG: Hmmm... are you _sure_ you saw him in here?

ALIEN1: Positive, sir. I saw him with my own eye.

ALIEN2: That''s what you said at the last house we raided!

ALIEN1: Oh, and what about you, Mr. ""He''s in the Stripper''s Lounge""?

KANG: Shut up you two! I want you to search the house. If you find him here, bring him to me, _alive_ this time! I don''t want another bloody corps on my hands, unless _I_ killed him! And if you don''t find him, burn the evidence.

ALIENS: Yes sir.

Kang leaves the house, and the two others sigh in relief.

ALIEN1: (mocking) And if you don''t find him, burn the evidence. God, if I have to take one more order from him again...

ALIEN2: Quiet, you! It was your fault you brought that girl in dead.

ALIEN1: Which one?

ALIEN2: Oh, you know, the pushy one... um... Jeanne!

ALIEN1: But she was annoying!

ALIEN2: I don''t blame you. But you heard the boss. You can''t kill him!

CUT TO- CLOSE-UP OF LEELA

LEELA: Jeanne... who the...

SFX: (PLATE) CRASH

Leela lifts up a corner of the tablecloth to catch a gimps of the aliens totaling her kitchen. She sighs annoyingly and gives a longing gimps towards the door.

CUT TO- TEXT

Text: Time Passes...

CUT TO- CLOSE-UP OF LEELA

Leela''s totally bored at this point; you could even say that she''s a bit out of it...

SFX: DOOR SLAM

LEELA: *Sigh* Finally! (Sniffing) Hey, is something burning?

She quickly rises from under the table, carrying her company, and gaps as she realizes that, yes, the whole house is burning. She heads for a back door, but that whole side of the house is on fire as well. With little other options left, she races upstairs, to her room. There''s a closed window next to her bed, and she places Nibbler down to try to open it...

LEELA: Ow! (Starts shaking her burnt hand) Dammit! It''s too hot!

She heads back for the stairs, but right before she steps on the top step, the whole staircase collapses. She runs back into her room, panicked, realizing that there might not be a way out...

SCENE 27

INT STREETS OF NNY-- LATER ON

Fry is racing through the streets, past the few buildings still intact and into a part of the city under ruins and smoke, calling out desperately for Leela. He comes across a road traveling up a small hill (obviously on the way to her home) and starts up it, a little short of air.

CUT TO- CLOSE UP OF FRY

FRY: As soon as I get up there, I''ll be able to see her whole street...

Fry stops talking and gasps in shock ...

ZOOM OUT

...Because the whole street is nothing but ashes.

PAUSE as Fry (eventually) puts 2 and 2 together.

FRY: (frantic) LEELA!!!

He bolts down the street, straight to where her house, um, was. He searches frantically through the remains, desperate to find any sign of her (well, any sign of her left).

FRY: C''mon Leela! Don''t do this to me! (To the Man Upstairs) God, just give me a sign. Where is she?

A strong wind picks up, blowing away some of the ashes. A remaining bottle is blown into view, a poison/death label clearly printed onto it...

FRY: That''s not what I was looking for!

The wind continues to blow, finally pushing the ashes off of a book lying several feet away. It''s Leela''s Precious Memories photo album. Fry leans over, picks it up, and flips to a picture of him, Leela and Bender from the Fear of a Bot Planet episode.

CUT TO- SHOT OF FRY

Fry looks over the picture, and looks up over the book at the ruins. Realization suddenly hits, and his eyes get misty

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

Fry falls to his knees and starts sobbing, clutching the album close to him.

FRY: (beyond devastated) Oh God, I''m sorry Leela...

He breaks off, stands, lays the book back down on the ashes and wipes his eyes. He stares at it for a few seconds, before turning away... ...and running straight into one of the aliens. He grabs Fry, whips out his gun, and fires at the album. It flashes for a second before it dissolves.

FRY: (soft moan) Nooo...

ALIEN3: (holds gun to Fry''s head) Don''t make me use this!

FRY: (sarcastic) Are you gonna shoot me now?

ALIEN3: I''d like to save you for questioning by our leader. You may even be lucky enough to be salvaged.

FRY: You mean how you ""salvaged"" all those other people you killed?

The alien growls and whacks Fry with the gun.

ALIEN3: If you know what''s good for you, you''ll stay quiet! Now march!

The alien starts walking off, but Fry stays put, partly out of stubbornness, partly because he''s furious over Leela''s shortened fate. The alien tugs on him, and finally yanks him forward, pushing him down the road.

CUT TO- ANOTHER NNY STREET- LATER

The alien is still marching Fry down the road, trying to get any information that he can on ""the fugitive"". Fry is being anything but co-operative.

ALIEN3: For the last time; Where is the Fugitive? (Fry doesn''t respond.) What do you know about the Fugitive? (No response.) What is his name? (Starts shaking Fry) ANSWER ME!

FRY: Look, I don''t know anything, okay? I''m totally useless to you.

Frustrated, the alien throws Fry to the ground and pulls out his laser gun. He aims it at Fry''s head.

ALIEN3: I''m getting tired of playing Mr. Nice Guy, but my patience is not worn out yet. You have three seconds to get the hell out of here.

Fry doesn''t do anything more that glare up at him.

ALIEN3: Very well.

CUT TO- CLOSE UP OF GUN NOZZLE

The gun goes off.

CUT TO- CLOSE UP OF FRY

Fry winces, but nothing happens. He''s not even hit.

ALIEN3: AAAHHHHHH!!

The camera zooms out to show the alien glowing a bright yellow, before disintegrating into a pile of burnt, green ashes. Fry stares in shock, and looks over towards an alleyway parallel to him.

SFX: FOOTSTEPS

He hears the footsteps breaking into a run and immediately races after the figure.

The alley''s dark and gloomy. Fry pulls out his lighter and looks around. He starts walking forward, and a little ways in, trips over something. The light goes out (because Fry drops it) and the alley''s nearly pitch black. He turns over to see what he tripped over. It has three beady eyes.

FRY: (surprised) Nibbler?

Nibbler whimpers a little and looks up at Fry. Fry reaches over to pick him up, and hears a gun click. He soon finds himself looking into the nozzle of another laser. He quickly reaches over for his lighter and holds it up to the person. It''s Leela, aiming the gun with one arm and cradling Aaron in her other. Leela drops the gun in surprise.

LEELA: Fry? What are you doing here?

FRY: (standing) Leela? Oh my God, you''re... (annoyed) What am I doing here? What am _I_ doing here? I came over here looking for you, worried sick, saw your destroyed home, thought you all were _dead_, almost got myself killed by that alien mutant because I felt so guilty about not saving you, and all you can ask me is ""what am I doing here""?!

LEELA: (touched) You risked getting caught just to try to save me?

FRY: Yeah, and I almost got myself killed...

LEELA: Ohhh... that''s so sweet, Fry.

FRY: But I almost got killed and...

LEELA: Shhhh! Be quiet! Do you want to _really_ get us killed?

Leela picks up her own gun before she pokes her head out of the ally, and reaches out to grab the gun the alien had. She checks its ammo as Fry keeps talking.

FRY: Why''d he dissolve when you shot him? Those gun never did that to anyone else.

Leela just shrugs and continues loading the gun, occasionally looking up to check the street for more aliens.

FRY: How''d you get out?

LEELA: Well, there''s a window in my house by my neighbor''s roof. Luckily, their house wasn''t totaled yet, and I just climbed out and escaped when the aliens weren''t looking.

PAUSE

FRY: So ,you know that there''s nothing left, right?

Leela looks up, upset. She turns to Fry.

LEELA: Did anyone else get off the street?

FRY: Didn''t look like it. I couldn''t tell. The whole place just dust.

Leela looks down sadly for a few seconds, then suddenly snaps out of it.

LEELA: (waving one of the guns) Can you shoot one of these?

FRY: Not very well.

LEELA: Then you''ll have to take Aaron. I can''t shoot while I''m holding him.

FRY: (whining) But Leela... what if he barfs on me again?

LEELA: Stop complaining and just take him!

Leela holds him out to Fry, who unwillingly takes him.

LEELA: Now... how do we get to Planet Express from here without being seen?

Leela looks around the corner and quickly ducks back. Two of the other aliens are coming up the street.

LEELA: Now what?

VOICE: (from the shadows) I know the way.

FRY: (looking around) Who said that?

VOICE: Over here.

Fry and Leela (Nibbler following Leela) head off towards the shadows, and look around cautiously.

VOICE: I''m down here!

Fry and Leela look down towards the floor, over at the tiny ''cripple'' robot with the British accent, who looks rather familiar.

FRY: Hey, I know you. You''re Tinny Tim.

TIMMY: Yes sir. I know how we can get to your building. There''s this secret passage...

Timmy limps over and tugs on a loose brick in the wall. A part of the wall suddenly slides open. He motions for them to follow him in, down a short flight of stairs, and as soon as they do, the wall slides in behind them.

SCENE 28

INT PASSAGEWAY

The passageway is even darker than the alley (in this case, you can only see their eyes). Fry flicks on his lighter again.

FRY: Where are we? The sewer?

TIMMY: We''re in what we call the nooks of New New York. There''s all this space between the city and the sewer that''s just left for... well, empty space. But we''ve found a use for them.

LEELA: Who''s ""we""?

TIMMY: The rest of the bums in New New York.

FRY: Bums? I thought you were supposed to have a career chip installed in you or something.

LEELA: Not everyone does. Some people get so sick of their jobs that they take the chip out. And without any other chip, they can''t get any other job.

FRY: What about the robots?

TIMMY: Sometimes they''ll build a robot that just keeps falling apart on them, and they''ll unprogram him. That''s what happened to me, anyway. Others... the humans disable them. Forever.

There''s a long silence as Fry and Leela look over at Tim.

LEELA: Sorry.

TIMMY: Don''t worry, I''ll manage. Always have

Tim suddenly erupts into a hacking fit, and coughs up a few nuts and bolts.

ZOOM TO- FRY AND LEELA

FRY: (to Leela) See, he''s fine. You don''t need to worry.

As Tim keeps coughing in the background, you hear a sudden clang.

TIMMY: Um, could one of you help me, please? I seemed to have coughed up part of my engine.

SCENE 29

INT PE CONFERENCE ROOM

The whole crew is sitting around the table, looking melancholy. Bender suddenly perks up.

BENDER: Okay people! I''m taking my bets now! 11-3 that Leela comes back without Fry!

HERMES: I bet $20.

FARNSWORTH (shocked) Hermes!

ZOIDBERG: 50 for me!

FARNSWORTH Dr. Zoidberg!

Amy is browsing through her wallet.

AMY: Um... shoot... I only have a thousand. Is that okay?

BENDER: (sweetly) Amy, any money of yours is welcome here.

Bender takes her money looks over his collection, and his pupils are instantly replaced with dollar signs..

FARNSWORTH My God, have you all gone mad? This isn''t some charity or Vegas. We''re talking about our own crew members still being out there! And all you can go on about is betting on their lives? You should all be ashamed of yourselves! (PAUSE) And lastly, I''ll bet $75 on Leela.

SFX: DOOR SLAM

Fry (with Aaron), Leela (with Nibbler), and Timmy run into the room, gasping. Everyone else groans.

BENDER: Well, you all lost. Sorry.

LEELA: We''ve got to get out of here, now! I just saw them heading this way.

BENDER: (points at Timmy) Wait, what''s _he_ doing here?

LEELA: Tim helped us get back here.

Leela kneels down to Tim''s level.

LEELA: Thanks for all your help, Tim. I guess you can go back to your family now.

TIMMY: Oh. Yes. I suppose so.

Tim starts limping out the door, and Bender comes up to Leela.

BENDER: What the hell were you trying to do?

LEELA: What are you talking about?

BENDER: Didn''t you know Tim was _human_ made? He doesn''t have parents! That''s why he''s such a lousy robot.

Leela gasps at her mistake.

LEELA: Tim, wait!

TIMMY: (turning) Yes, ma''am?

LEELA: Tim... if you want to, you can leave with us.

Bender slaps his forehead in disgust.

BENDER: Aw crud! Now she''s adopting _him_!

LEELA: (to Bender) No I''m not.

TIMMY: Really? I''d love to.

BENDER: Wait, you don''t know what you''re saying kid! (points to Leela) This moron here thinks she can fly us past a swarm of those laser-armed ships waiting to blow us to silicones!

TIMMY: Well... I suppose it''s still better than staying here.

BENDER: That proves it. I''m surrounded by idiots!

SCENE 30

INT PE SHIP- BRIDGE

The crew is rushing around the ship, preparing for takeoff. Leela is settling down at the helm of the ship, when Fry comes up to her, _still_ holding Aaron.

FRY: Um... what did you want me to do with Aaron?

Leela takes him from Fry and cuddles him as she talks.

LEELA: Well, I can''t hold him and drive at the same time...

FRY: (getting the picture) Jeeze, can''t you ever get Amy to hold him or something?

LEELA: Look, this is really important. I can''t mess anything up. One wrong move, and I kill us all. Plus, if you have Aaron, it''ll at least keep _you_ from screwing up anything major.

FRY: Leela, for once, stop worrying about ""screw ups"". You''re a good captain and you''re not going to kill us. I trust you.

Fry puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and Leela puts hers over his. They look up/down at each other, start leaning towards each other, looking ready to kiss each other...

Bender comes running in, causing Leela and Fry to pull away, both looking annoyed.

BENDER: Guys, I''ve got the beer packed...

SFX: DOOR CRASHING OPEN

Amy comes running in.

AMY: The aliens broke in!

LEELA: That''s it! We''re leaving, now!

CUT TO- PE SHIP HANGER

Meanwhile, Kang and his army take notice that the engines on the ship have come on.

KANG: Fire! NOW!

All of the aliens start firing at the ship, with little effect.

CUT TO- PE SHIP BRIDGE

LEELA: Hang on!

The ship suddenly shoots off into space, zooming straight out of earth''s atmosphere. The coast apparently appears clear, and the crew starts cheering.

FRY: Way to go, Leela!

BENDER: (disappointed) Aw man. I''m still alive. I owe you ten bucks, Fry.

Leela turns to face them.

LEELA: I don''t know, something''s not right. I have the strangest feeling that we forgot something...

CUT TO- PE CONFERENCE ROOM

(NOTE: The following may be taken as offensive by a few Cubert fans. You have been warned.) The totally empty room becomes not so empty when CUBERT walks in, dragging a suitcase behind him.

CUBERT: Alright guys. I''m ready... guys? Guys?!

As he looks around frantically, Kang''s shadow falls over him. He gulps.

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

In the background, a mushroom cloud appears on earth, right about where Planet Express is. Leela shakes her head.

LEELA: Nah. We''ve got everyone.

As she speaks, several of the ""stars"" in view zoom up closer to show that they''re actually small white ships (ala When Aliens Attack). Leela turns around sharply and gasps.

TIMMY: This isn''t a good thing, is it?

Indeed it isn''t, because the ships open fire. Leela thrusts the wheel down and sends the ship soaring forward.

BENDER: Oh dear God! (To Leela) Are you getting us a kiss from death or what?

LEELA: I know what I''m doing!

CUT TO- SHOT OF THE SHIP

The ship sprints forward, straight for one of the opposing ships, while several other enemy ships have started trailing the PE ship. The enemy ship in front of the PE ship fires several times, and as the PE Ship suddenly spirals downwards, all of the ships behind it are blown away. The ship continues to dodge lasers until finally the enemy is totally behind them. Or so they think.

CUT TO- PE SHIP BRIDGE

LEELA: We''ve only got a few more ships to pass... oh no!

Suddenly, another fleet of ships appears in front of them. With the enemy also behind them, the ship''s surrounded.

FRY: We''re dead! There''s no way out.

Leela thinks hard for a second.

LEELA: Yes there is. Hold on!

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

The enemy line of fire in front of the ship fires at the same time the enemy behind does. But at the last second, the PE ship shoots straight up, just barley dodging the lasers.

CUT TO- PE SHIP BRIDGE

Meanwhile, inside the ship, everyone except for Leela is getting tossed around in the ship.

BENDER: (flying past) What the hell are you doing?

LEELA: I told you to hold on! (SOTTO) C''mon baby, only a few more miles...

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

The enemy ships are racing after the PE ship, when suddenly, they stop and turn back. They''ve reached their boundaries. The PE ship continues soaring up for a few seconds before Leela finally levels it out.

CUT TO- CLOSE UP OF LEELA

LEELA: (shocked) I did it. We''re still alive. (To crew) I did it! Can you believe it!? I actually pulled it off!

ZOOM OUT

We see that the rest of the crew and furniture have been tossed around and thrown to the back, all looking ready to kill an unnoticing Leela, except for Farnsworth (who''s sleeping) and Aaron (who''s bawling).

BENDER: (sarcastic) Oh yeah, _real_ impressive.

LEELA: (turns around) Whoops, sorry! But... I got us out.

FRY: Who cares that you... wait, you did get us out! That''s amazing!

AMY: Yeah... but now what?

PAUSE

LEELA: I don''t know. (Hinting) I guess we should find another planet that''ll help us...

PAUSE

No one can think of anyone who''d want to help them. Leela begins to look anxious.

LEELA: Anyone? *Sigh* (SOTTO) I guess that leaves one choice. (to crew) Could you excuse me for a second?

Leela hurries past the crew, into her quarters. Everyone goes on with their business, all except for Fry, who''s still holding Aaron, who''s still crying. Fry sighs annoyingly.

CUT TO- LEELA''S QUARTERS

Leela''s in her room, looking through some papers on her desk, her back to the door.

FRY: (coming in) Leela, I need your help...

Leela drops her papers in surprise and turns around.

FRY: ...the kid won''t shut up and Bender won''t stop hoarding credit card numbers in our room and... hey, whachya doing?

LEELA: Well, I was thinking...

Leela trails off and looks down.

FRY: What?

Leela gathers the papers again and hands them to Fry.

LEELA: Here, give these to Amy. Their coordinates for a planet that might be useful.

Leela takes back Aaron and starts pushing Fry out the door.

FRY: Wait! Leela, is something wrong?

LEELA: (stops pushing Fry) I''m just not sure this is a foolproof plan.

FRY: Are you giving us a plan that''s not going to work?

LEELA: Maybe... Oh! I don''t know!

FRY: Well ,what''s the plan?

Leela takes a deep breath.

LEELA: You see, this place I found...

SCENE 31

INT PE SHIP- BRIDGE- LATER

Bender, Amy and Timmy are out on the bridge (Amy''s driving, and Timmy''s trying to catch a glimpse of the magazine fold-out that Bender is looking at). Fry walks in, grasping a few papers, looking a little concerned.

FRY: (to Amy) Leela wanted me to give you these.

AMY: Cool. (Looks papers, and then Fry over) Hey, where''d she get these, anyway?

FRY: Um... She doesn''t know...

AMY: But how could she get them if she doesn''t know where they came from... and where is Leela, anyway?

FRY: Erm... you know... there''s a very good answer for both of those questions... (hesitates) What''s that over there?!

Amy turns to look where Fry''s pointing, but there''s nothing there. Fry takes this opportunity to run off the bridge. Amy turns to find he''s gone.

AMY: (SOTTO) Fuh, moron.

SCENE 32

EXT PE SHIP- LATER

As the ship enters a galaxy far, far away from home...

INTO PE SHIP- BRIDGE

...everyone has crowded into the bridge, awaiting their approach to the new planet, what maybe their new home. Leela''s standing at the window, looking excited.

AMY: So, why are we coming _here_?

LEELA: (turns around, back facing the window) Well, I heard this place was really beautiful and the atmosphere was good, and most importantly, I heard it was full of...

BENDER: (interrupting) Empty space!

LEELA: Huh?

Leela whips around and stares into... well... space. There''s no planet, just a few passing asteroids.

LEELA: (desperate, SOTTO) No... no this isn''t happening. (To Amy) Check the map. Are you sure this is it?

AMY: Yep, pretty sure.

LEELA: No...

AMY: Oh wait. We''re facing the wrong way. Sorry.

Leela sighs with relief as Amy turns the ship, but lets out a gasp when a half-shattered planet comes into view. Everyone else is just as shocked.

BENDER: You dragged us across the universe to visit a nuclear testing site?

Leela runs out of the room, horrified.

FRY: Leela, wait!

Fry''s about to follow her, when he overhears Amy and the professor talking.

ZOIDBERG: I know Leela''s disappointed, but what''s the big deal? There are other planets around.

FARNSWORTH I don''t know. I think the stress of helping me sort my many lengths of wire may have finally gotten to her.

FRY: That''s not the only thing. See, she was really hoping that... (hesitates)

AMY: (encouraging) That...

FRY: (nervous) ...That these guys would help us. (Looks down at his wrist, which happens to lack a watch) Oh boy, it''s getting late. Better go dish up some bachelor chow...

FARNSWORTH You''ll do no such thing! I''m saving that chow for later. Are you hiding something from us?

FRY: No, of course not. I''m just keeping Leela''s promise by not telling you that she thought she might find her species on this planet.

The room falls dead silent.

LaBARBARA: What did you say?

FRY: Um...

AMY: Was that supposed to be the planet Leela''s from?

FRY: Um... yeah.

PAUSE as the whole crew gaps at him more.

FRY: She told me that she''s been looking everywhere for this place for years! And she finally found it. But I guess their Census was a bit overdue, because she wasn''t expecting this.

Fry gestures to the ruined planet. Farnsworth shakes his head.

FARNSWORTH Oh, poor Leela. But how did she track them here?

FRY: She said she was looking up her species on anything she could find, finally found something over at DOOP or something, and she located them here. But she was to scared to come over to find out if it was true or not.

TIMMY: Poor dear. Maybe we should try to talk with her or something.

BENDER: Tim, there are three rules to being a robot. One, drink plenty of beer.

Bender pulls out a six pack, gulps them down, cans and all, and belches out the plastic rings they were packed in.

BENDER: (CONT) Two, being a robot means never having to say your sorry for killing another human. Three, you must never be sympathetic. You got all that?

TIMMY: No.

BENDER: That''s okay. Rule four is that you break all the rules anyway.

"The Fugitive: Part 4"

by: Officer 1BDI

SCENE 33

CUT TO- LEELA''S QUARTERS- EVENING

Leela''s sprawled out on her bed, asleep. She stirs awake and looks dully around the darkened room. She looks out the window, suddenly remembers the planet, and her eyes start welling up. She puts her head on her knees, and a lone tear falls down her face.

SFX: DOOR KNOCK

LEELA: Come in.

A worried Fry walks in.

FRY: Leela, are you okay? You haven''t been out for a couple of hours.

LEELA: (monotone) I''ve been better.

FRY: I feel really bad about this.

LEELA: Why should you feel bad? You didn''t do anything.

FRY: Yeah, I know. But I... I can''t stand seeing you so lonely all the time.

LEELA: (sarcastic) Why? Does my depression spread?

FRY: Well, aside form that... it''s just that you set yourself up, hoping someone will actually come around and every time someone does, they let you down. It doesn''t seem right.

LEELA: Fry, there''s a little thing you''re forgetting about called reality. Reality isn''t about what''s fair and what''s good, it''s about being let down by everyone around you. The only person who hasn''t is Aaron. And Nibbler.

FRY: What about me?

LEELA: You''ve let me down plenty of times.

FRY: Oh yeah? When?

LEELA: Let''s see; You nearly got us killed on the moon when you went looking for the original landing site, on that robot planet when we were delivering those lug nuts, on Trisol because you _drank_ the _emperor_ when I specifically told you not to...

CUT TO- LEELA''S QUARTERS- MUCH LATER

Leela''s still lecturing a now bored Fry.

LEELA: (CONT) ...on Hlino when you thought their leader was going to attack earth because her name was Ivana Kilyal, when...

FRY: Alright! So I''ve disappointed you before. But it''s not like I did it on purpose.

LEELA: I know... I''m sorry, Fry. I'' m acting like such a jerk to you and you''re just trying to help.

FRY: (sitting on the bed) Hey, don''t worry about it. I know it''s tough for you.

LEELA: (sarcastic) Oh yeah. (SOTTO) Especially when no one cares about me.

FRY: That''s not true! I care.

LEELA: (touched) Really?

FRY: Uh, well, yeah. I mean, I''m your friend, and you''re my friend, and friends are supposed to care about each other...

Fry trails off as they look at each other lovingly, and move in for a kiss, when suddenly, the ship rocks and Fry falls off the bed.

FRY: Damn, why does that always happen when we do that?

AMY: (OS) Leela! Someone''s boarded the ship. You''d better come... AAAHHHHHHH!

LEELA: (panicked) Amy?

Leela runs over to the door and opens it slightly. She slams it shut, backs up to Aaron''s crib, and grabs Aaron.

FRY: What?

LEELA: (heading for her closet) Quick, in here!

They head into the closet and shut the door. It''s dark enough that you can only see their eyes.

FRY: What''s happening?

LEELA: Someone''s taken over the ship! And it''s not the same aliens who''re taking over earth, either.

FRY: God this is confusing.

PAUSE

FRY: So... wanna make out?

LEELA: We''re under siege by a group of people I don''t even know, stuck in a closet with a one month old infant, we don''t even know if we''ll live through this, and you want to _make out_?

FRY: Um yeah...

Suddenly, the door is whipped open by a humanoid alien creature that could very well pass for a tall ET. Except ET didn''t have a laser aimed at Fry and Leela.

LEELA: Who are you?

GROXN: I am Groxn, and I''ve been sent to seek out the Fugitive.

LEELA: What are you doing to my crew?

GROXN: We''re merely loading them onto our ship, the Cerca de Casa.

FRY: But we''re not the Fugitives!

GROXN: That''s a matter I''ll leave for our captain to decide.

He reaches out and grabs Leela''s free arm and drags her out. Fry obediently follows.

CUT TO- PE SHIP/CERCA AIR LOCKS

As Groxn leads Fry and Leela through the AIR LOCKS, several more different aliens, humans, robots, etc. join him, looking them over.

GUARD1: I dunno. They don''t look anything like the Fugitive.

GUARD2: Of course they do, how could you miss it? What are you, blind?

GUARD1: (defendant)Yes.

GUARD3: (running in) Well, you''d better have them this time, because Glab''s coming over!

GUARD1: *Pfff* Big whoop. What''s the ol'' bitch know about fugitives anyway?

YIANNA: (OS) *Ahem*

The guards that once surrounded Leela and Fry part as a new face appears. YIANNA GLAB (I didn''t like the name Glab, so I made up a first name for her) appears to be the same alien who ran the DOOP ceremony that Zapp Brannigan ruined (the one who''s the same species as Kif).

GUARD 2: (to Guard 1) The ol'' bitch, eh?

GUARD 1: Shut up!

Yianna looks the PE crew up and down, and gives a stern look to Leela.

YIANNA: You look familiar.

LEELA: What are _you_ doing here? I thought you were with DOOP.

YIANNA: I am. But in the interest of our galaxy, I''ve decided to seek the aid of this crew in searching for the Fugitive that Kang''s species has been requesting.

She looks Leela up and down, and then spots Aaron.

YIANNA: (CONT) And I believe we''ve found him. Guards, take the infant.

LEELA: WHAT?

Groxn snatches Aaron out of Leela''s arms while several others trace their guns on her and Fry.

LEELA: Give him back! You don''t need him!

YIANNA: Oh, but we do. You see, _he''s_ the Fugitive.

Leela looks aghast at her, and then looks back over at Aaron.

FRY: You mean our whole galaxy is being blown up because of that stupid baby!?

YIANNA: I''m afraid so. It is sort of pointless if you think about it.

LEELA: But... But he''s not even two months old! You can''t just take him away from me for no reason!

GUARD3: Actually, in this case, we can.

LEELA: (through gritted teeth) Give me back my son.

FRY: (shocked) He''s your son?

Leela elbows him in the ribs. Yianna laughs.

YIANNA: Your _son_? Ma''am, this child is as much your son as he is mine.

LEELA: I have the proof. It''s in my room right now. If you''ll let me show it to you....

YIANNA: I don''t have time for this.

LEELA: I''m going to ask you one last time. Give him back!

YIANNA: Guards, take them to their appropriate quarters.

The guards reach to take Leela and Fry, but Leela grabs one of their arms, twists it behind him and grabs his gun. She aims it towards Yianna, who continues to look neutral.

LEELA: I said give him BACK!

One of the other guards acts fast, whips out his gun, is about to fire at Leela when Fry notices and shoves Leela down. But because of this, her gun goes off (though it doesn''t hit anything), and the guard that was aiming at her fires...

SFX: LASER SHOT

Leela lands hard, and Fry follows. She glares over at him.

LEELA: What the hell were you doing Fry? I had it under control! (PAUSE) Fry?

Fry lets out a soft moan, causing Leela''s concern to grow. She turns him over onto his back and sees that the guard''s laser went right through him. She glares at the guard as she gets to her feet.

LEELA: You little S.O.B., you almost killed him!

GROXN: (pointing to Yianna) Yeah, well you almost killed her!

Yianna stares grimly at the scene, coming to a conclusion.

YIANNA: Give her back the child and take them away.

GUARD3: But Glab...

YIANNA: Do as I say! (To the guard who fired) And Foxxro if you screw up like that again, I''ll report you to the captain! Do you understand?

FOXXRO: Yes ma''am.

YIANNA: Good. (Leaves)

Two of the guards grab Fry and carry him off. Groxn hands Aaron back to Leela and leads her out of the airlock and into a long hallway, heading in opposite directions. She casts a worried look towards Fry, who''s being dragged off in the other direction.

CUT TO- CERCA PRISON CELL- LATER

The prison cell is rather empty and cold. Leela is sitting on the bench/bed, trying to silence Aaron. Groxn is standing guard, growing more annoyed.

GROXN: Can''t you get that kid to shut up? He hasn''t stopped bawling since I took that blood sample from you two!

LEELA: Not unless you have some food on you.

GROXN: If you''re his real mother, then why don''t you feed him yourself?

Leela looks down bitterly.

GROXN: (sincere) Sorry, didn''t mean anything against you... Look, I know you don''t like this set-up much. Neither do I. In fact, I think you''re a pretty mellow kid. It''s my Commanding Officer, Saloffe Nallyd. He''s all high on security for our captain. Says we can''t afford to loose him.

LEELA: Who is your captain?

GROXN: Whaddaya mean ''Who''s my captain''? Haven''t you ever heard of Captain Joah Sheecera?

LEELA: (surprised) You''re captain is _Joah Sheecera_? This is his ship?

GROXN: Well, yeah.

LEELA: Oh my God! I''m actually inside Captain Sheecera''s ship! But how come we''re prisoners?

GROXN: I already told you, my Commanding Officer wanted to take extra safety measures. We can''t risk anything.

LEELA: What about my friends? What about Fry?

GROXN: Fry? Who''s tha... oh, the guy who got shot. Well, I''m not gonna lie to you; he took that shot in just the right spot. And knowing Nallyd, he''s probably rotting away in another prison cell.

LEELA: But he injured!

GROXN: And Nallyd doesn''t care. Sorry to say, but your friend is a dead man.

LEELA: He can''t die! (upset) He... but he... he _saved me_. You can''t just let him _die_.

GROXN: *Sigh* Like I said, you''re a nice kid, so I''ll see what I can do. Okay?

Before Leela can reply, Yianna comes onto the scene.

YIANNA: Leela, the captain would like to see you. (To Groxn) You. Take her to his office.

LEELA: Can I take Aaron?

YIANNA: Actually, the captain requested that I take the infant.

LEELA: Either I take Aaron with me, or I don''t go at all.

YIANNA: (annoyed) Fine. I guess he can make an exception. But he won''t be too happy.

SCENE 34

INT- CERCA SHIP MAIN CORRIDOR

Groxn is leading Leela down the hall. As they pass by the other cells, Leela spies various other aliens and robots, including her own crew. Nibbler (who''s stuck in a cell with Amy) tries running up to Leela upon seeing her, but is shocked by the electric bars. Annoyed, he tries to chew through them, which only results in getting more shocked. As they go forward, they pass the last cell. Leela runs up to the bars when she sees Bender, Timmy and Fry in it, Fry sprawled out on the bench, unconscious, Bender pacing the cell worriedly.

LEELA: (aghast) Bender? Tim?

BENDER: (looking up) Leela! We need your help. Fry''s doing all these freaky human things, like coughing up this gross red stuff and changing colors, and I don''t think those are good signs.

LEELA: What kind of colors?

BENDER: You know, all pale, sorta blue... he''s been shaking a lot too, it''s getting really weird...

LEELA: Just hang in there. I''m going to go get help.

Leela bites her lip as she passes the cell and gives one last look towards Fry.

CUT TO- JOAH''S OFFICE- ENTRANCE

Groxn and Leela finally arrive at the quarters. Groxn presses a button and the door opens, leading into a dimly lit room.

GROXN: Well, this is it.

LEELA: (looking around) Sorta gloomy, isn''t it?

Groxn shuts the door before replying. Leela looks around nervously.

JOAH: (whispering) Leela...

Leela turns to a desk in the back of the room, concealed in the shadows. JOAH, also hidden, is sitting at it. He clears his throat. Suddenly, the room lights up. Leela shields her eyes for a moment, until they adjust, and she finally sees Joah; a tall, strong, lean looking middle-aged man with wild-looking white hair. He''s wearing shades that are...um... how do I explain this(?)... similar to Leela''s.

LEELA''S MIND: He doesn''t look that bad. Could do without the glasses, though.

JOAH: Welcome, Miss Toronga Leela. I hope they haven''t been too rough with you. (Amused) I see you brought the child with you.

LEELA: First, I go by Leela (Joah smirks). And second, I didn''t feel comfortable leaving him behind. I hope you don''t mind. Glab said you didn''t want...

JOAH: Oh, don''t listen to her. Whatever you wish to do is usually fine with me anyway.

LEELA: (surprised) Oh. Well, thank you.

JOAH: Please sit down Leela. I really must talk with you. And it actually does concern the child.

Leela sits down at a chair by the desk. Joah smiles kindly at her, then suddenly turns serious and continues on.

JOAH: Before we get into details, I''d like to apologize for the way we took over your ship. I had no intention of scaring you like that.

LEELA: (grows angry) Scaring us? Sir, your men attacked my crew! And while I''m in here for no particular good reason with you, one of _my_ crew members is dying in one of _your_ hell-hole prison cells because one of _your_ men fired at him!

JOAH: (shocked) They attacked you? I never told them to attack you! I just wanted them to bring you aboard!

LEELA: Well they did attack us, and one of my men is dying because of it!

JOAH: How?

LEELA: (upset) He... he took a laser shot for me. Your crew shot at me, he knocked me down and... But it was my fault. I took a gun and tried to scare them off because they were trying to take Aar... the infant from me.

Joah turns grim. He turns to an intercom on his desk and presses one of the buttons.

JOAH: Miss Glab?

YIANNA: (VO) Yes sir?

JOAH: Did my men try to kill that crew?

YIANNA: Not exactly, sir. Foxxro tried to shoot their captain...

JOAH: Was one of the men injured?

YIANNA: Yes, but I''m sure he was taken into the hospital ward...

JOAH: Well, I have the captain of that crew here who tells me otherwise. Who was in charge of imprisoning the crew?

YIANNA: I believe it was your Commanding Officer, Saloffe Nallyd, sir.

JOAH: Okay, here''s what I want you to do. First, I want you to give each crew member their own quarter on the ship. Second, get that poor man hospitalized. Third, send me Saloffe. Is that clear?

YIANNA: Yes sir.

Joah turns the intercom off and turns back to a stunned Leela.

LEELA: You didn''t have to do all that.

JOAH: I''m so sorry, Leela. I had no idea that''s what Saloffe did to you and your crew.

LEELA: That''s okay... you know, you seem different to me. I mean, I expected you to be more... well, harsh.

JOAH: (smiling) Well, you won''t have to worry about that for the time being.

LEELA: Now, what about him? (Points to Aaron)

JOAH: Oh. Right. Leela, after you were being captured, a soldier of mine, Groxn, managed to collect a blood sample from you and Aaron. Correct?

LEELA: (wirily) Yes.

JOAH: Anyway, it seems we''ve come across a shocking discovery. You claim that the child is your own, right?

LEELA: Of course, sir.

JOAH: But he isn''t, is he?

Leela stays quiet. Joah nods understandingly.

JOAH: (CONT) Leela, where did you find him?

LEELA: Find him? Sir, I assure you, he''s really my...

Joah stares hard at Leela through his dark shades, cutting her off.

JOAH: The blood tests say otherwise, dear.

LEELA: Alright! I was walking through Little Neptune, and I found him abandoned in a dumpster, there, you happy? I just couldn''t give him up, so I forged a birth certificate. You''re not going to tell Glab to take him away from me, are you?

JOAH: Oh no Leela, of course not! In fact, you can take him back with you for now.

LEELA: *Sigh* That''s a relief. The whole time, they kept asking me to give up Aaron. They said he was this Fugitive that these aliens are looking for. I mean, how stupid can you get?

Joah stops smiling.

JOAH: Leela, Aaron _is_ the Fugitive. And we will eventually have to take him.

Leela becomes furious and rises.

LEELA: Look, I don''t care what you want with me, but you''re not touching Aaron.

JOAH: (stands, walks over to Leela) Look, you can keep him now, but I''ll eventually have to take him. For his own safety. And yours.

LEELA: I won''t let you.

JOAH: (reaching out to Leela) Leela, let me expl...

Leela pulls away and sends a punch towards Joah with her free arm. At the same time NALLYD, one of Sheecera''s human crew members, comes into the room. Leela''s fist meets face, and Joah''s glasses are knocked off. Leela gaps; Joah''s another cyclops. Meanwhile, Nallyd pulls out his laser and aims it at Leela, firing. The shot grazes her arm.

JOAH: Saloffe, no!

Leela races towards a different door and runs through it. Nallyd aims at her again, and the arm containing the gun arm is grabbed by Joah and twisted behind his back.

JOAH: What are you doing?! I had it under control!

NALLYD: But she was trying to...

JOAH: Those two are not to be harmed! Joah looks around the room, to check to see what door she went through, and groans.

JOAH: And now she''s in the terrarium!

CUT TO- TERRARIUM HALL

Leela finds herself in another hallway, full of different doors. She runs awhile until she comes to a door labeled Tiraffe Environment.

JOAH: (OS, faded) Quick, we can''t let her get away!

Leela gasps and takes her chances with the Tiraffe.

CUT TO- TIRAFFE TERRARIUM

Leela looks around the terrarium, noticing it''s full of exotic jungle foliage.

LEELA: Wow. How big is this ship, anyway?

She walks a ways until she comes to a small lake in a clearing. She kneels down and scoops up some water, rubbing it over the cut on her arm. Suddenly, the water bubbles a little. Leela scoots back as a small, blue tiger head pops out of the water.

LEELA: (adoring) Ohhhh... how...

Suddenly, two more heads pop out and the creature crawls out. It''s a cat-sized, blue tiger with orange stripes and three heads and tails. All three necks are about a foot long.

LEELA: (CONT) ...um, interesting.

The Tiraffe sniffs at Leela''s boot, and starts gnawing on it playfully. Leela reaches out to pet it and all three heads turn and snap at her.

LEELA: Hey! (Slaps one of the heads)

The Tiraffe whimpers and lets out a high pitched wail. Leela sighs and turns to leave, when she hears a loud growl behind her. She turns around to see a grizzly-sized Tiraffe come charging out of the water, straight for her.

LEELA: AAAAAAAHHHH!

Leela bolts for the door, the Tiraffe fast on her heels.

CUT TO- TERRARIUM HALL

Joah, Nallyd and a few of his men are searching the halls frantically for Leela, when her scream suddenly echos through. Joah looks over towards the Tiraffe Terrarium Door, which is slightly open. He grabs his laser and runs in.

CUT TO- TIRAFFE TERRARIUM

Leela''s almost reached the door, when the Tiraffe suddenly takes a swipe at her and knocks her down. Her head hits a rock.

CUT TO- LEELA''S VIEW

Leela''s vision suddenly gets blurry. She can see the Tiraffe standing over her, all three heads growling in her face.

JOAH: (faint) Leela!

Joah''s voice echos a bit before she blacks out.

"The Fugitive: Part 5"

by: Officer 1BDI

SCENE 35

INT CERCA SHIP- LEELA''S QUARTERS- LEELA''S VIEW- MUCH LATER

Leela opens her eye wide, and instead of seeing the Tiraffe, she sees a golden canopy hanging over her... bed?

CUT TO- SHOT OF LEELA

Leela looks around the room, which is a rather large bedroom. She''s lying beneath the covers of a canopy bed. She hears a chattering at her feet and sits up. She notices Nibbler at the foot of her bed.

LEELA: Nibbler! Oh thank God you''re all right. But how''d I... how''d you... (realizing) Oh my God. Where''s Aaron?

JOAH: (walking in) Don''t worry, he''s sleeping in my quarters. How''s your arm?

LEELA: (Getting up) I want him back!

JOAH: Leela, please let me explain. I have to keep him for now. It''s for the good of everyone.

LEELA: You know, I thought you were a good captain once, but now I know you''re just an pompous, conceited jerk!

JOAH: (hurt) You don''t understand. If you''d just let me explain...

Leela starts walking past him, carrying Nibbler.

JOAH: Where are you going?

LEELA: I''m going to get Aaron and my crew and get the hell out of here.

JOAH: I can''t let you do that.

LEELA: You can''t stop me.

JOAH: (growing angry) I can and will.

Joah stands a few feet away from the door, watching as Leela tries to turn the knob, but it''s stuck. Or locked. She tries harder, even kicks the door, with no success.

JOAH: There''s no way out of here Leela. All the doors are locked, and all the windows... well, I''d hate to see you die from lack of oxygen outside.

LEELA: Go to hell.

JOAH: (angry) Toronga Leela, I order you to come here and listen!

LEELA: What gives you the right to tell me what to do?

JOAH: (furious) I am your father GODAMMIT!

Well, _that_ got Leela to stop. In fact, she drops everything she''s doing or holding, even Nibbler (who doesn''t appreciate that). Joah calms down somewhat, realizing he just let something slip. Leela turns around slowly, staring at him eye-to-eye.

LEELA: _What_ did you... did you just say...

Joah nods uncertainly.

JOAH: (nervous) I was going to tell you last night, but... one thing led to another...

Joah reaches out and takes Leela''s hand.

JOAH: (CONT) I know you probably don''t believe me... and that''s fine for now. But please let me explain...

Leela takes her hand away and glares something evil at Joah.

LEELA: About what? The rest of my family? What happened to my home? Those aliens that are killing every living thing on earth as we speak? Why you just decided to abandon me back on earth over twenty-five years ago while you were cruising the universe?!

JOAH: We never _abandoned_ you, Leela! We did what we could to keep you alive! (PAUSE) I think we''d better sit down, there''s a lot I need to explain to you.

LEELA: (SOTTO, sarcastic) This should be good.

Joah and Leela sit down on opposite ends of the bed. Nibbler jumps up into Leela''s lap, and she strokes him while Joah''s talking.

JOAH: I guess the whole thing started a couple of centuries ago. Back on our planet, we used to be a rather peaceful race. And then a band of what we call the Cycuses (being half cyclops & half octopus, we thought the name was appropriate) sought out our planet. They are, of course, the same race that is currently destroying earth now. Cycuses was not their real name, of course, but no one knew how to pronounce it. I believe you had to have your tongue ripped out in order to pronounce it correctly.

LEELA: Whatever.

JOAH: Do you want to hear this or not? (silence) Anyway, as soon as they discovered us, they took over our planet, and made us their slaves. To this day, I''m not exactly sure why. Something about both species being Cyclopes or something. This continued on for quite awhile, oblivious to the rest of the galaxy, until about 50 years ago, when a rebel group called the Sheecera started a rebellion against them.

LEELA: (doubtful) They named the group after you?

JOAH: No, but I''m getting to that. When the group was created, we named it after one of our former leaders or some bull like that. He happened to be called Sheecera. And while we were under their reign, we never had last names. So anyone who was in the group was technically a Sheecera; it became a part of their name. A few years after the group formed, I heard about it and joined. (Smiles) And then I met Jeanne.

LEELA: (intrigued) Jeanne... was she... (trails off)

JOAH: (nods) Yeah... Jeanne was one of the rare ones. As soon as we met, we couldn''t stay away from each other. We ended up marrying a couple of years later... all secretly of course, the Cycuses would never approve of such things... and then there was that fateful night...

CUT TO- FLASHBACK- SHOT OF ''CASTLE''

Text: November, 2975

JOAH: (VO) Karrno and his kind lived in what we called ''The Castle''. But it didn''t even look like a castle, it was just some hole in the ground like our hiding place. But that was the hard part; it was a series of tunnels under the ground, and the key was finding the right one.

Several members of the group gather at the mouth of the tunnels, where they split off into different directions. The apparent leader motions for them to split up.

JOAH: (VO) Since no one had been through ''The Castle'' and come out alive, we ended up splitting up. I was pared up with an old pal named Owen, and we, unfortunately, chose the right tunnel.

The young Joah and OWEN find themselves in Karrno''s room. Joah''s looking somewhat like his older self, except this Joah looks 20-something, slightly weaker and has a more greyish blue tone to his hair. Karrno''s sleeping on a canopy bed, and hanging above the bed is a chandelier topped with candles. (Remember the following) The chandelier is being suspended by a rope, which is hooked to a hook on the ceiling, and then comes down to be tied into a hook on the ground. In other words, it can be easily untied. *sinister grin*

JOAH: (VO) Well, I saw this chandelier hanging over his bed, and I figured that if I untied it, it would fall straight on his head.

Y. Joah is about to untie the rope, when Karrno lets out a rather loud snore. Y. Joah and Owen jump back and Owen knocks over a nearby table. They freeze, but Karrno doesn''t wake up. Giving a loud sigh, Joah goes back to untying the rope, and lets it go. The chandelier comes soaring down, hits the canopy, bounces up and rolls off, crashing on the floor. Karrno fidgets and Joah and Owen duck down for several seconds, until they realizes that Karrno''s still not awake. Frustrated, they climbs back up to the tunnel and start to leave.

JOAH: (VO) We was about halfway back when we heard these screams coming from the bedroom. Both of us turned back and got there to find him, well, engulfed in fire.

Y. Joah and Owen watches for a few moments as Karrno runs around the room, screaming and on fire, and then finally leaves.

CUT TO- CERCA- LEELA''S QUARTERS

LEELA: (doubtful again) Wait, let me get this straight. _You_ helped assassinate the Cycuses'' leader?

JOAH: It was unintended, of course. Although the group payed dearly for what I had done.

CUT TO- FLASHBACK

JOAH: (VO) You see, Karrno had two children, his son Kang and his daughter Kodos. Not that any of us could tell the difference between the two... Anyway, after Karrno died, Kang became the ruler. And Kang''s way of getting justice done was by getting even. And to him, this meant getting even with the whole slave population.

There''s a street of small, rather crummy-looking homes that are obviously the homes of the slaves. Several of the are going down the street, pulling people from their homes and creating a reprise of what they were doing in NNY. Further down the street, Joah is poking his head out of the window of his home, looking over the scene worried.

Y. JOAH: I don''t know Jean. This doesn''t look like it''ll blow over anytime soon.

JEANNE: (OS) I''m not sure staying in their view is going to help any.

Y. JOAH: They aren''t going to see me.

A hand reaches out from OS and pulls Joah away from the window. He sighs and turns around to face JEANNE, a young looking cyclops with dark purple hair resting below her shoulders and bangs similar to Leela''s. She looks up at Y. Joah, concerned.

JEANNE: There''s no way they can prove that you... you know, killed him.

Y. JOAH: They don''t care if I did it or not. They don''t care if Owen did. They''ll still kill us all anyway if we stay here.

JEANNE: But there''s no place for us to go, even if we did run.

Y. JOAH: I know... I know... wait, what if we stole on of their ships and escaped?

JEANNE: Are you crazy? That''ll just increase the risk us getting killed!

Y. JOAH: Do you want to die here, or to you want to try to live by almost getting killed a mile away?

JEANNE: (upset) I don''t know. I just don''t want you hurt. And what about Toronga?

LEELA: (VO) Wait a minute... I was already born?

JOAH: (VO) Actually, you were a couple of months old.

As if the flashback cues in, you can hear a baby start wailing in the background. Jeanne rushes out of the room and comes back carrying a YOUNG LEELA, wrapped in a blanket and wailing. Her hair is, for once, not in a ponytail.

JEANNE: Look, I''ll give it a try if you think it''s our only way out, but if we get caught...

Y. JOAH: I''m not going to let anything happen to you or Leela...

JEANNE: Toronga.

JOAH: Both names works, Jean.

Jeanne sighs and hugs him.

JEANNE: If you think it''s the only way we''ll get out...

CUT TO- HANGER

Y. Joah and Jeanne (who''s clutching Y. Leela) sneak up to a wall of the hanger. Y. Joah pokes his head around the corner and checks out the guards at the door.

CUT TO- CLOSE-UP OF Y. JOAH

Y. JOAH: Okay, if we''re going to get past these guards, we''ll have to be quick, clever, maybe even sink to their level. Okay, Jeanne? Jeanne? ZOOM OUT

Y. Joah looks towards Jeanne''s direction to catch her reply, only to find that she''s opened a back entrance to the hanger and gone in.

Y. JOAH: Or we could just take the back door.

CUT TO- INSIDE HANGER

Y. Joah and Jeanne wander around the hanger bay, looking over the various ships hidden in it.

JOAH: (VO) When we got in there, there were so many ships to choose from, I couldn''t decide on which one to take. But your mother found one. And of course, it was the biggest one in the hanger.

Jeanne''s pointing to the Cerca, which has to take up at least half of the hanger''s space (and we''re talking about a pretty big hanger here).

Y. JOAH: You want to take _that_?

JEANNE: Yeah. Why not?

Y. JOAH: But... there''s no way we''re gonna get out of here using _that_ ship! It''s too big!

JEANNE: Well, why don''t we just look inside?

CUT TO- CERCA BRIDGE

Jeanne and Y. Joah are wandering around the bridge. Y. Joah''s examining the controls.

Y. JOAH: Amazing! It looks so easy to drive... but we can''t take this ship and get away with it alive.

JEANNE: But think about what we could do if we did! If we took _this_ ship, we could come back and rescue others! We could go around, tell people what''s happening here. C''mon Joah... pleeeaase?

Y. JOAH: (considering) Well...

SFX- POUNDING

KANG- (OS, muffled): We know you''re in there rebels! Come out so we can beat you, or we''ll come in there... to beat you!

Y. JOAH: (rushed) Hon, I''ve thought it over and I totally agree with you.

CUT TO- CERCA- LEELA''S QUARTERS

LEELA: (non-believing)You took the ship and just escaped? With no problems whatsoever?

JOAH: I don''t remember how we exactly escaped, but I''ll never forget what we did next.

CUT TO- FLASHBACK

Back on the Cerca bridge, Y. Joah is gazing over the stars through the window in the background, while Jeanne is sitting in the foreground, setting Y. Leela''s hair in a ponytail, looking depressed.

Y. JOAH: I can''t believe it... after all those years, we''re finally free!

JEANNE: (monotone) Yeah.

Y. JOAH: (turns around) Jean, what''s wrong?

JEANNE: I was thinking... if this is one of their ships, can''t they just track us down? What if they find us? And what about Toronga? What''ll they do to her?

Y. JOAH: Jeanne, the chances of them finding us aren''t all that big...

JEANNE: They''re still big to me. (PAUSE) I want to take her to earth.

Y. JOAH: (aghast) To _earth_? But Jeanne... that''s across the universe!

JEANNE: Exactly! They''d never think about looking there.

Y. JOAH: But... there''s so many species on that planet! Maybe even a Cycus! As soon as one sees us, he''ll figure out who we are, what we did... they''ll be sure to tell Kang...

JEANNE: I wasn''t talking about _us_ going to earth... (trails off)

Y. Joah looks over at Jeanne, shocked. He shakes his head.

Y. JOAH: You can''t be thinking of...

JEANNE: Look, if we left her on earth, we know that she''d be safe... they didn''t even know that we had a daughter, right?

Y. JOAH: Right, but...

JEANNE: (CONT) And as soon as things cool down, we can go back to get her.

Y. JOAH : But that could take years! And who would raise her while we were gone?

JEANNE: They have these places that take care of kids without parents... an Orphanarium, or something. She might have to stay there for a little while.

Y. JOAH: What if we never see her again? What if something happens to her while we''re gone?

JEANNE: Joah, she''ll be safer there than she will be here.

PAUSE as Y. Joah considers this.

Y. JOAH: Are you sure this is what you want to do?

Jeanne nods. Y. Joah sighs depressingly.

Y. JOAH: If you think that''s the best way to keep her safe...

JOAH: (VO) It was the hardest thing I ever did. I never wanted to give you up, neither of us did, but we had no choice. If we wanted you safe, we''d have to keep you away from us. When we finally landed on earth...

CUT TO- CERCA BRIDGE- ON EARTH-LATER

Jeanne is looking forlornly out the window, clutching Y. Leela (wrapped in a blanket) close to her. Y. Joah comes up to her, clutching a note in one hand.

Y. JOAH: I wrote the info out... are you ready to take her over?

JEANNE: Actually... Joah, you take her. I don''t think I can... (breaks off )

Y. JOAH: Yeah, sure.

Y. Joah reluctantly takes Y. Leela from Jeanne. Jeanne starts choking up.

JEANNE: You be careful... (to Y. Leela) Goodbye Toronga, I love you... we''ll be back as soon as we can... (breaks off crying)

Jeanne gives Y. Leela one last kiss goodbye and runs out of the room. Y. Joah watches her leave, even more depressed.

CUT TO- STREETS OF NNY- LATER

It''s a cloudy evening on the planet earth. Y. Joah, cradling his sleeping daughter. He comes across the Orphanarium, which had an alleyway between it and another building.

JOAH: (VO) I knew I had to turn you in, but I also knew I couldn''t be caught. So I decided to stake out in an alleyway nearby until someone found you.

LEELA: (VO) Why''d you leave me on a pile of ''Abandoned Property''?

JOAH: (VO) Look, _that_ was just a coincidence...

Y. Joah walks into the alleyway and sets Y. Leela down on the pile. He crouches down to her level.

Y. JOAH: I know you don''t understand... Lord, I wish you could... But your mom and I have to leave you here until it''s safe to come back and get you. I''m not sure how long that''s going to take... Remember, your mom and I love you, and I swear I''ll come back for you... even if it takes a hundred years...

WOMAN: (OS) Who''s there?

Y. Joah gasps and rushes to hide behind a couple of trash cans. A young woman comes around the corner, looking around.

WOMAN: Hello? Anyone here?

The woman suddenly sees Y. Leela. She walks over cautiously and shakes her awake. Y. Leela looks up at her, sits up and smiles at her. The woman smiles back, pulls out her camera and takes the picture that eventually ended up in Leela''s photo album. The woman picks up Y. Leela, finds the note, and reads over it as she carries Y. Leela OS. Y. Joah watches this all from his hiding place.

Y. JOAH: (sad) Goodbye Leela. I''ll miss you.

Y. Joah sits there for a few seconds, hanging his head.

FADE TO- CERCA- LEELA''S QUARTERS

Joah''s sitting on the bed, sitting in the same position. Leela''s wiping her eyes (she''s obviously been crying).

JOAH: (CONT) ...and that''s what happened.

LEELA: That''s so sad... but what about Aaron? Why''s he the Fugitive?

JOAH: Well, first I should say that your mother was right. The Cycuses did track us down. They''ve been chasing us through the universe, but they''ve never been able to keep up. Unfortunately, they also raided every planet that they thought we''d be on. They never gave earth a thought, because 1) We never went to earth when they tracked us down, and 2) they weren''t looking for you, because they didn''t even know you had been born. But about ten years ago, we went back to our own planet. By now, we''d gone around, rescuing the survivors of Kang''s raids, building up our little army. Along the way, we hit a couple of battles that we seem to be famous for. But when we got to the planet, it was destroyed. There was nothing left! It looked like...

LEELA: (interrupting) A bomb went off? I know, I saw it. I went looking for you and I got to the planet... (trials off)

JOAH: (angry) Kang did it. When he figured out that he could conquer almost any planet he wanted to, he figured he didn''t need any slaves.

LEELA: And Aaron? Why''s Kang after Aaron?

JOAH: That''s another story in itself. I received word that another group of Cyclopes escaped the explosion, and were heading to earth. One of them was apparently my friend, Owen. A few years ago, I actually met up with the group. Jeanne and I went back a few years ago, around 3000 or so, and we stayed with them for a few days. But of course, Kang was after us, and he didn''t know about Owen at the time, so we had to leave before we could actually find you. I assume that Kang somehow found them anyway and then, well, you know... The only reason I can think of for him wanting Aaron is that he may have been Owen''s son, and Kang of course despised Owen. (Leela gives him a surprised look) Of course, that''s just a guess...

PAUSE

LEELA: (cautiously) What about my mother? (SILENCE) Joah, where''s my mom?

Joah suddenly becomes rather quiet, and stares off into space for a few seconds.

JOAH: *Sigh* When we heard that the Cycuses were heading for the Milky Way Galaxy, your mother insisted that we go back to find you. I... (hesitates) when we got there... well, someone had to stay on the ship and keep the peace... it was Jeanne who wanted to go... who knew, maybe she could explain this whole mess to you... (melancholy) that was about two months ago.

Leela suddenly remembers what she heard:

ALIEN1: (VO)(mocking) And if you don''t find him, burn the evidence. God, if I have to take one more order from him again...

ALIEN2: (VO) Quiet, you! It was your fault you brought that girl in dead.

ALIEN1: (VO) Which one?

ALIEN2: (VO) Oh, you know, the pushy one... um... Jeanne!

Leela gasps.

JOAH: What?

LEELA: Back on earth, I heard a couple of those guys talking about someone named Jeanne...

JOAH: (monotone) They followed us. Somehow, they found out we were going to earth and they followed us. That''s where they found Owen''s group, before they started the war, just to keep it quiet. That''s why you found him in a dumpster; it was the last place his parents could hide him. And by the time I realized what had happened... it was too late...

Ashamed, Joah turns away. Leela watches him for a few seconds before scooting up next to him. Joah looks up at her.

LEELA: You thought you were doing the right thing... and maybe you were. But you can''t keep blaming yourself for ruining everything... and if you''re telling the truth about all that you just said, then you didn''t loose all of us.

She places her hand on his, and they look up at each other, unsure what to say next...

SCENE 36

INT CERCA- BENDER/TIMMY''S QUARTERS

Bender''s by the bed, unloading everything in his chest cavity, including about 20 6-packs of beer, a rather tall stack of magazines, Leela''s wallet, a couple of stolen jewels, Fry''s wallet, a car tire, a rather scrawny looking cat, Amy''s wallet, a miniature nuclear bomb, a DOOP flag, a Bart Simpson doll (minus shorts), Hermes''s wallet, and pretty anything else imaginable (think Mary Poppins and all her luggage in that one small bag). Timmy''s watching him.

BENDER: Man, I need to clean this thing out more often.

TIMMY: Mr. Bender, do you think we should look for your friends?

BENDER: Well... Yeah. They probably have more booze on them anyway. C''mon.

Bender and Timmy leave the room, (camera stays on a shot of the bed), and the bed, which is totally covered with Bender''s things, suddenly collapses two seconds later.

CUT TO- CERCA- QUARTERS CORRIDOR

Bender and Timmy are turning a corner, when a door opens farther down the hall. Bender reels back and pulls Timmy with him.

TIMMY: What''s wrong, sir?

BENDER: Shhh! It might be that guard I mugged yesterday!

Well, it''s not the guard, it''s Joah. He walks out so that Bender and Tim can''t see his face.

BENDER: Oh. It''s just the captain. I almost mugged him too, but he had all those damn guards. Hmm, looks like he''s...

Leela suddenly comes out of the room and follows him.

BENDER: ...(freaked out) coming out of _Leela''s_ room?!

LEELA: (to Joah) Thanks for coming in... it took a lot of guts to do that.

JOAH: It was my pleasure, Leela. It''s been so long since I''ve seen you. I couldn''t stay away much longer. I''m really sorry about what happened...

LEELA: Don''t worry. You did what you could so I wouldn''t be hurt. And I appreciate that.

Leela leans over and gives Joah a light kiss on the cheek.

BENDER: Oh my God! Leela knows the captain!

EXT- CERCA- HOSPITAL WARD (DOOR)

FRY: (OS, furious) SHE''S WHAT?

CUT TO- CERCA HOSPITAL WARD- FRY''S ROOM

Fry''s lying in one of the beds, apparently better, but he looks rather angry. Bender and Timmy are next to him.

BENDER: I said, she''s having an affair with this guy running the ship! I heard it with my own ears.

TIMMY: But sir, you don''t have ears.

BENDER: Quiet, you! (To Fry) She''s having a fling with the _captain_.

FRY: (disappointed) Aw man. I guess things can''t get much worse than that.

BENDER: That''s nothing. I heard one of the guards call him Captain _Joah Sheecera_!

FRY: Bender, do me a favor. Could you take that pillow right there and smother me?

BENDER: C''mon Fry, it''s not that big of a deal.

FRY: Not to you.

BENDER: Well, since it doesn''t make any difference, I heard that Aaron isn''t even adopted. I think he''s a result of a little... *ahem* you know.

TIMMY: Hey, they never said... mmmph!

Bender has just slapped a hand over Tim''s mouth.

FRY: (depressed) Thank you, Bender.

BENDER: (cheery) No problem, bud.

Suddenly, Leela comes in, carrying Aaron.

LEELA: Hi Fry! How you feeling?

CUT TO- HOSPITAL WARD (DOOR)

FRY (OS): What''s it to you, you little wh***

You can no longer hear Fry, but you sure can hear Leela gasp. I doubt you need to think long to fill the blanks (unless you''re not big on cussing, *good for you*)...

SFX: SLAP

Joah''s walking by the door, when he hears Leela.

LEELA: (shouting) What the hell''s your problem?

Joah enters the room.

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

FRY: You don''t have to deny it! Bender told me everything!

JOAH: Told you what?

Fry and Bender stare at Joah for a few seconds, Fry then turns back to Leela.

BENDER: Oh crud.

FRY: Oh, so he''s older _and_ he''s a cyclops!

BENDER: Um, I have to go now...

Bender gets up to leave, but Leela grabs his arm and swings him into the wall.

LEELA: You''re staying right here, Bender. (To Fry) What did he tell you?

FRY: He said you and him (points to Joah) have been on a fling for years, and that Aaron''s a part of your affair!

Joah and Leela glares evilly at Bender.

LEELA: (still staring at Bender) Timmy, take Aaron for a second, will you?

Timmy grabs Aaron and backs up behind Fry''s bed.

ZOOM IN- FRY, TIMMY & AARON

The three watch, horrified as Leela beats up Bender, complete with sound effects and flying bolts. Finally, you hear Bender scream, a door slam, and Leela comes up to Fry.

JOAH: Despite what Bender told you, Leela and I are not ""going together"".

LEELA: And Aaron is not our ""love child"". Is that clear?

FRY: Yeah, then why were you in her room?

LEELA: He had to tell me something important.

FRY: (SOTTO, bitter) Yeah, like Zapp had to tell you something important...

LEELA: Shut up, Fry!

Joah gives Leela a Look, who in turn is looking ready to kill Fry.

JOAH: (changing the subject) *Ahem*, So _you''re_ the one who risked his life to save my daughter.

FRY: Oh yeah, well, that was nothing. No offence, but your men really need to work on their aim... wait a minute. (Realizing) Your... daughter? You mean Leela... and you... and I... (to Leela) Your dad''s Captain Sheecera?

LEELA: (exasperated) YES!

PAUSE as Fry considers this.

FRY: So you''re _not_ a couple?

LEELA/JOAH: NO!

CUT TO- CERCA- LEELA''S QUARTERS- LATER

Leela''s sprawled out on her bed, smiling. Amy''s sitting in a near-by chair

LEELA: I still can''t believe it! After all these years, all my research, I''ve finally found my family! (thinks) Well, what''s left of my family...

AMY: Man, you lucked out big-time with your dad, though.

LEELA: What are you talking about?

AMY: Guh! He''s popular, a galactic hero, and didn''t you notice how he looked?

LEELA: What?

AMY: Oh come on Leela! I don''t normally say this to a lot of people, but your dad''s pretty hot.

LEELA: Amy! You think every guy you come across is ""hot"".

AMY: So? But all''s I''m saying is, he looks too good to be your dad... Leela throws one of her pillows at Amy''s head, hitting her dead on.

AMY: ...um, I mean, he looks too _young_ to be your dad.

LEELA: Amy, he''s 54. And what are you getting at?

AMY: Well... maybe he''s not really your dad. Maybe he''s just telling you that so you''ll feel better.

LEELA: Oh that''s just stupid.

But as Leela looks back up at her canopy, she begins to think...

CUT TO- CERCA- JOAH''S QUARTERS

Joah is talking with Leela.

JOAH: Lying? Why would I lie to you.

LEELA: I don''t know... I''d just feel better if there was someway we could prove it.

Amy comes in, dragging the professor''s DNA Tester with her.

AMY: Got it!

LEELA: Are you stalking me?

AMY: (ignoring her) All you have to do is use this, and then we can find out if you''re not the lying jerk Leela thinks you are.

Leela gaps at Amy.

LEELA: Get out Amy. NOW!

AMY: Jeeze! Push-ey (leaves).

CUT TO- OUTSIDE DOOR

Bender, Hermes, LaBarbara, Dwight, Timmy, Farnsworth and Amy (who''s just joined them) are all outside the door, trying to listen in. After a few seconds...

LEELA: (OS, muffled) I knew it! You are my father!

Timmy, LaBarbara and Farnsworth cheer, everyone else grumbles as they start pulling out money (most of which is probably going to the winners of some bet).

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

LEELA: There''s just one thing I don''t understand. If the planet''s gone, then where''s the rest of the race?

JOAH: Leela, we _are_ the rest of the race.

LEELA: (shocked) Wha... (denying) Oh no. No no no... there must be someone else...

JOAH: I''m sorry, Leela. Everyone was killed. I''m surprised Aaron even made it alive.

LEELA: (angry) They''re destroying everything in their path da... um, Joah. I can''t just sit back and watch them anymore.

JOAH: I know. We keep trying to run from them, trying to loose them, but they always come too close.

LEELA: But there was no point in running in the first place...

JOAH: (stern) The point was, I was trying to keep you and your mother safe. (Depressed) Not that it mattered.

LEELA: You can''t keep running now, though. (Joah sighs) Don''t you see? The more you run, the more planets they conquer! You''ve got to find a way to kill off the bastards! (PAUSE) And if you won''t, then I will, and you can''t stop me.

"The Fugitive: Part 6" by: Officer 1BDI SCENE 37

INT CERCA- TIRAFFE TERRARIUM- THE NEXT DAY

The door is opened, and in enters Joah with the PE crew (including Fry, who's seemed to recover fully by now, and Aaron, who's being carried by Leela), apparently giving them a tour of the Cerca.

LEELA: (walking in) Oh no! I'm not going any further than this.

JOAH: Don't worry, Leela. The Tiraffes won't hurt you again. Although I wouldn't recommend getting near that cub anytime soon.

BENDER: Jeeze, Leela! What's wrong with a little moronic kitten.

SFX: CAT PURR

Bender looks down and finds the same cub nuzzling his leg with it's three heads. He glares down at it and gives it a good kick. The cub snarls at him, pounces, and all three heads latch onto his arm.

BENDER: Hey! Leggo! (Starts shaking his arm wildly)

I said, GET OFF!

LEELA: Bender!

She removes the cub and places him back down. The Tiraffe gives a grateful mew, and runs off somewhere.

LEELA: Why're there animals on the ship?

JOAH: Actually, the animals were here when we found the ship in the first place. The Cycuses were

studying them, I assume. It's a good thing, too. Now that the planet's destroyed, it's important that

these animals stay out of harm's way.

Joah and the crew walk OS, and in the background, the young Tiraffe sniffs around in the bushes. Several seconds later, a giant snake-like creature with wings and a bird head chomps down on the cub, and flies off somewhere.

CUT TO- TIRAFFE TERRARIUM LAKE- LATER

Most of the crew is exploring the place. Hermes and Dwight are checking out a few caves in the background, Zoidberg is making himself at home in the water, Amy and LaBarbara are discovering the various species of beautiful flowers around the area, and Farnsworth and Timmy are analyzing the remains of the Tiraffe cub's skeleton (Nibbler's nearby, gnawing on one of the bones). Fry and Bender are up on the edge of a small cliff suspended above the lake.

BENDER: (looking into lake) Wow. Can you believe all the stuff that's here? How much do you think we could smuggle outta here without killing the goods, Fry?

(PAUSE) Fry? Fry!

Fry's not listening. He's watching Joah, Leela and Aaron, who're sitting on the lake's shore, the two older ones chatting. Leela bursts out laughing over something Joah told her and Fry grins slightly.

BENDER: Fry! WAKE UP!

FRY: (snapping out of it) Huh? Oh yeah. Good idea.

BENDER: Really? Okay, see ya!

Bender leaves OS. Fry doesn't follow, he just keeps

looking towards Leela. Bender returns a few seconds later, obviously irritated.

BENDER: Yo Fry! That rare Anish isn't gonna club itself... hey buddy, you okay?

FRY: Wha... yeah. I'm fine. (Dreamy) Just perfect...

BENDER: (realizing) Heeeyyy! You're acting sorta... you know... lovey-dovey. I thought I told you not to get the hots for Leela!

FRY: (annoyed) I'm not. I'm not at all attracted to her.

BENDER: Oh yeah? Then why don't you stop staring at her, huh? Why didn't you just let _her_ take that

laser in the chest? Why didn't you just pretend to not care for her at all during Mother's Day?

FRY: I was being a friend, okay?

BENDER: Yeah? Well, I wouldn't have done _any_ of those things for _you_, and I'm still your friend. How do you explain that?

Then, it suddenly dawns on Fry. He turns to Bender, looking worried.

FRY: I dunno. I... I can't help it. I mean, we've always been friends... but she's always been special to me. And all of the sudden, she's more special to me than usual.

BENDER: Uh oh... I knew it!

FRY: Knew what?

BENDER: The signs are all there. God, I should have seen it coming.

FRY: What is it!?

BENDER: Well... I recognize those symptoms. That's exactly the way I felt about... (look around

nervously, whispers) the Countess.

FRY: Oh... (realizing, panicking) The _Countess_?

BENDER: Yep. The Countess.

FRY: (SOTTO) Oh no... Not the Countess! Anyone but her! Bender, what do I do?

BENDER: Just tell her, man. There's nothing to loose. Unless she really hates you, and after you tell her that, she stops talking to you. Or she could get really annoyed and head off another laser beam your way. Or she could tell her dad, and he could get PO'ed...

CUT TO- FRY'S DAY-DREAM SEQUENCE

In Fry's mind, he pictures Leela and Joah, standing, talking behind a door with a window showing their silhouettes, Fry waiting outside the door. It suddenly opens, and Joah darts out, bearing a shotgun, and starts chasing Fry around the room ala Bruce Willis in Armageddon. Fry suddenly hits a corner in

the room, he turns around sharply, to find the gun in his face...

SFX: GUNSHOT

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

Fry shudders.

BENDER: ...Or she could just say that you're just friends, and you'll live with that disappointment for the rest of your life.

FRY: But what do I say to her? I can't just go up to her and tell her something like this out of the blue!

BENDER: Well, I'm not gonna, so whatever you want to do is no metal off my back.

Fry turns back to looking at Leela, and gathers a look of determination on his face.

SCENE 38

INT CERCA BRIDGE- CLOSE-UP OF FRY

With the same look of determination on his face, Fry walks on down the hall. He stops at Leela's door.

FRY: Okay, I'll just go in and confess my profound love for her.

PAUSE

Fry turns around sharply.

FRY: She can wait.

PAUSE

FRY: Ohhh...

Fry knocks on the door. There's no reply.

FRY: Hello... (knocks) Hello! Are you in there? (PAUSE, takes a deep breath) If you are, I have something to tell you. *Ahem*, look, we've been friends for a long time, right? And things sometimes happen during a long time... like our feelings change.

(Hinting) About each other. (PAUSE) Aw, to hell with it. I love you! I've loved you for a long time now, it just took me that long to figure it out. And it's not one of those stupid 'weak loves' either. I love you so much, that... um... uh... well, I love you so much! In fact, the only thing that's keeping me from running in there and making out with you right now is this door between us...

The door suddenly opens wide, and Fry's face falls to despair (and panic) when he sees that it's not Leela.

ZOIDBERG: Why Fry! I didn't know you cared!

FRY: AAAHHHHHHH!

Fry runs down the hall, still screaming.

ZOIDBERG: Wait! Don't leave me! I can change... (SOTTO) Oh why do I bother?

CUT TO- CERCA- LEELA'S QUARTERS

Leela's sitting at a desk with a mirror on it, across the room. Her hair's down, because she's combing out of it what seems to be some sort of brown goop.

LEELA: (SOTTO) Stupid Bender throwing those stupid sludge balls...

When the last strand of hair is clean, she looks up and sees Fry in the mirror. He's standing in her doorway. She gets up to greet him.

LEELA: Fry, what's the matter? You look scared to death.

FRY: I am. I mean, I am? I mean, I do? No, not I do! I mean...

LEELA: Are you okay?

Leela places a comforting hand on Fry's arm. He stares at her hand, like it's a poisonous snake, and

stares back at Leela in the same fashion. Leela gives him a strange look and takes her hand away.

FRY: Leela, I need to tell you something.

PAUSE as the two just stare at each other.

LEELA: (expectantly) And...

FRY: And I'm not sure how to say it.

LEELA: Well, you'd better figure out soon, because d... erm, Joah is holding a meeting in about five

minutes that we all need to go to and I'm not about to waste my time just standing here talking with you...

ZOOM IN- CLOSE UP OF FRY

Leela's still talking, but Fry can barley hear her. He's becoming more edgy, more nervous, more reckless.

And in the sudden moment, that same lovey-dovey music score that's always played when they're about to kiss is building up in the background.

ZOOM OUT

Leela stops talking and notices Fry.

LEELA: Fry, what's wrong?

FRY'S MIND: (to Fry, which I guess would be himself) Just tell her. Go ahead, tell her the truth. Tell her that you're madly in love with her. Give her the little speech you gave Zoidberg.

FRY: (to his mind) I can't just do that.

LEELA: Now you're talking to yourself. Fry, are you sure you're alright?

FRY'S MIND: Well, do something you numbskull! She's not gonna be here forever!

FRY: (to Leela) Of course I'm alright. (Seductively) If I weren't, I wouldn't be doing this...

In a sudden burst of both courage and idiocy, he grabs her by the shoulders, leans towards her, and pulls her into a deep kiss. Leela looks freaked-out you for a few moments, but she finally relaxes into it. The music's still playing, maybe even stronger than before.

ZOOM TO- FRY

FRY'S MIND: Um, this wasn't exactly what I meant... it's nice, though. I'm not complaining.

ZOOM TO- LEELA

LEELA'S MIND: I can't believe that jerk is doing this! He has some nerve to come barging in here and kiss me like I'm some hooker. Or Amy. Or something. (PAUSE) So how come I'm not stopping it?

ZOOM TO- FRY

FRY'S MIND: Where the hell is that music coming from?

CUT TO- CERCA- BENDER'S QUARTERS

Bender is playing an electric keyboard in his room (hence where the music's coming from), Tim is watching him.

BENDER: I've been working on this one for awhile. Sounds a little fruity, huh?

TIMMY: I think it's a beautiful tune.

Bender glares at him, then takes the keyboard and smashes Tim with it, who in turn falls to the floor.

BENDER: (to the unconscious Tim) Weirdo.

CUT TO- SHOT OF FRY AND LEELA

Still kissing Leela, Fry slowly edges towards the bed (right next to them) He tries to sit both of them down on it while still kissing Leela, but he's never been good at coordinating moves anyway, so he ends up tripping over the bed and falling on it, pulling Leela with him. Half horrified (and maybe half flattered), Leela sits up and shoves Fry away.

FRY: (disappointed) Why'd you stop?

LEELA: What do you think you're doing!

FRY: I thought we could make out a little...

LEELA: No! I mean, aside from _that_. What was with that kiss?

FRY: I... I don't know. I wasn't thinking.

LEELA: Like I didn't notice.

JOAH: (OS) Really?

ZOOM OUT

They both turn to see Joah standing in the doorway, looking at them expectantly. Only then do they realize what the scene looks like, and all too late they scramble off the bed.

FRY: (whimpers)

JOAH: Did I interrupt something here?

LEELA: (quick) Oh no. Fry was just demonstrating a scene from... um... a 20th Century movie. With me. That involved kissing. Right Fry?

FRY: Huh? Oh yeah, right!

JOAH: Okay. Which movie?

FRY: (panicked) Um... uh... Austin Powers!

Joah and Leela both give him disgusted looks.

LEELA: (hisses to Fry) Fry, do you know how much sex was in the remake five years ago.

FRY: (gulps) Um, did I say Austin Powers? 'Cause I meant... er...

FRY'S MIND: (chant) Unsexy movie. Unsexy movie.

FRY: American Pie! No, wait, Eyes Wide Shut!

Leela groans and slaps her head in disgust. Joah gives them a Look.

FRY'S MIND: Smooth move, moron.

JOAH: Yeah... whatever. Just thought I'd drop in to tell you that the meeting's starting soon. (PAUSE) I'll see you at the meeting.

Joah finally leaves the scene. Leela and Fry sigh with relief, then Leela slaps the back of Fry's head.

LEELA: You idiot!

FRY: Hey, how am I supposed to know about remakes? And he left, didn't he?

LEELA: But why did... how come you... what was with the kiss?

FRY: (shy) Oh. That. Leela, I came in here to tell you... I think I...

Bender sticks his head through the door, interrupting Fry.

BENDER: Hey Leela, Yianna's starting the meeting soon.

LEELA: Wha... oh yeah. Thanks Bender. I'll be right there, I still need to fix my hair.

BENDER: (walking out, grumbling) Well _sorry_, Mrs. "Anti-Grime"...

Fry follow Bender out of the room, but not before he and Leela give each other a Look as he exits.

SCENE 39

INT CERCA- CONFERENCE ROOM- LATER

The room has a giant round table in the center, where the rest of the PE crew, Joah, Yianna, Groxn, Flexxo, Nallyd and several of Joah's guards are already seated. In the center of the table is a hologram projector (turned off at the moment). Leela enters and sits down next to Joah, who sits across from Fry and Bender. Bender is sitting next to Nallyd.

YIANNA: Well, now that we're all here, we might as well begin. Captain?

JOAH: Thank you, Miss Glab. As you all know, we've been under the attack of the Cycuses for quite some time now. Although we have succeeded in fighting them off during a few occasions, along with quite a few other unexpected battles for which we are famous, we're still getting nowhere. And any attacks on other planets have been our own fault. This has been brought to my attention, and so has to proven point that running from them will only worsen the situation. So, I propose that within the next week or so, we return to earth, seek out Kang's troops, and dispose of Kang himself.

YIANNA: (rising) My God, are you mad? Do you even have the slightest idea of how many guards he'll have for himself? It'll be impossible for us to kill him. And even if we did, what good would that do us?

JOAH: I may not have been under their rule for a long time, but I do remember how they chose their leaders. If a leader's killed, then his son takes over. And if the son is killed, without any heirs to take over for him, then the killer rules over them.

YIANNA: (sits down ) But what about Kodos...

JOAH: The Cycuses have never had a female leader, and they never will.

AMY: (grumbling) Sexist pigs.

BENDER: Wait, you're saying all we have to do is terminate the guy, and we get full control of the

armies?

JOAH: Well, that's the theory.

BENDER: Ohhhhh... sweet, sweet victory.

CUT TO- BENDER'S DAY-DREAM SEQUENCE

Bender is standing atop a hill, wearing a gold crown, commanding the citizens of Kang's army to break into every house and store seen, grabbing everything in sight, and returning it to Bender. Bender starts laughing manically.

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

Bender's still laughing to himself. Fry looks over at him worriedly, then nervously raises his hand.

LEELA: Fry, it's an open discussion. You can put your hand down.

FRY: Oh. Right. Um, how exactly are we going to kill Kang?

Joah looks around the room awkwardly.

JOAH: Ummm... actually, we're still in the midis of figuring that out.

NALLYD: I have an idea.

JOAH: Shoot.

NALLYD: Well, you know how the old saying goes; Fight fire with fire. What if we did that?

YIANNA: Explain, please.

NALLYD: Gladly. The Cycuses dwell in underground tunnels, so their camps obviously won't be in the

city, right? They'll be out in open fields. Or on beaches. If we can find just where they're staking it out for the night, then we can sneak up on them in the middle of the night, while they're sleeping, and we'll trap them and set the tunnels on fire, give them a taste if what they've been shoving down our own throats! There's no way they could escape! Joah and Yianna share a glance.

YIANNA: I must say, that's a rather grand plan of yours.

BENDER: "Grand"? Lady, that plan's perfect! Not only do we get to kill the damn things, we can act like Pyros the whole night! How perfect is that?

Bender reaches into his chest cavity and pulls out a wine glass full of champagne. He raises it in a toast.

BENDER: (poetic-like) A toast to the man / with the

ingenious plan / that'll blow those morons away / BAM!

At "BAM", Bender slams his glass down, and the champagne spills over into Nallyd's lap. He gasps and

hurriedly grabs his napkin to wipe it off.

BENDER: Whoops.

Nallyd glares at Bender and stops cleaning his clothes long enough to examine the napkin. It's totally

covered in what looks like dirt. He sighs annoyingly and sets the napkin on the arm of his chair.

NALLYD: Now, where was I?

Without warning, the napkin suddenly bursts into flames. Nallyd leaps up in shock, and the chair is engulfed in flames. Within seconds, it's reduced to ashes. Everyone gaps at the former chair.

FRY: (breaking the silence) Um... what the hell was that?

JOAH: That chair must have been defected. Are you alright, Saloffe?

Nallyd stares numbly at the ashes.

NALLYD: Yeah, I'm fine, sir.

As everyone still ponders over the chair, one of Joah's guards comes into the room and whispers

something to Joah. Joah nods to him.

JOAH: I have to leave for a bit. Saloffe, if you could take over and explain to the rest of them how we're

going to accomplish this. I want you to take notes as you go along, so I can review this plan afterwards.

NALLYD: (pulling out a notebook) Certainly, sir.

JOAH: Excellent.

Joah leaves the room, and Nallyd continues to droneon. But Leela isn't satisfied with her father's

excuse, and she heads out of the room after him.

CUT TO- CERCA HALLWAY

Leela turns a corner and finally spies Joah, who's at the other end of the hall.

LEELA: (calling) Joah! Hey Joah, wait up! Joah!

(Hesitant) Dad!

Joah finally turns around.

JOAH: Leela. What are you doing here?

LEELA: (runs up to him) I was just wondering why you had to leave so fast... is anything wrong?

As they talk, they continue on through the hallway.

JOAH: Oh, nothing that a few hundred guards can't handle. (Leela looks alarmed) Oh, don't worry, Leela. Aaron just woke up, that's all.

LEELA: They dragged you out of the meeting for that?

JOAH: Yes, I'm afraid so. (Musing) My crew can fight against some of the most strongest armies in the known galaxy. And yet, it seems not one of them knows how to feed an infant.

LEELA: That's nothing. I'm stuck with a crew that's so stupid, half the time they don't know how to feed themselves.

Joah laughs at this, and Leela feels a pang of guilt for putting her crew down.

LEELA: Well, they're not all _that_ bad. Like, I'm the only one Bender takes orders from, Amy's okay if I can get on her good side, Zoidberg's pretty good about keeping his mouth shut at the right times. And Fry...

Leela trails off, and Joah looks at her expectantly. When Leela doesn't answer, Joah breaks the ice.

JOAH: That reminds me; Leela, I hope you won't mind me asking, but do you have any feelings towards Fry?

LEELA: Look, that kiss didn't mean anything. He was just showing me...

JOAH: I wasn't talking about the kiss. Before I caught you two talking about your little lip-wrestling

experience, I heard him try to serenade you with a little speech of his.

LEELA: (curious) What speech?

JOAH: He tried standing outside your room, telling

you... well, I'm not sure what, I couldn't hear him

very well. Pity, he wasted it all at Dr. Zoidberg's door.

Leela stops in her tracks as this sinks in. Joah walks a few steps ahead of her, notices she's stopped,

and turns around to wait for her.

LEELA: Really? He tried to tell me something after you left but Bender came in after that and... (trails off)

JOAH: Don't worry about that now. We've still got a bigger problem on our hands.

SCENE 40

INT CERCA- FRY'S QUARTERS

Bender and Fry are in his room, Fry sprawled across his bed, Bender sitting in a nearby chair, talking about the stolen kiss.

BENDER: Wait, let me get this straight; you wasted that speech on Zoidberg, you lost it in front of Leela, and you kissed her with no explanation? God, Fry. You really are an idiot.

FRY: I know, but I couldn't help it. It was like... instinct took over. Or something.

BENDER: What kind of an instinct?

FRY: I'm not sure. Prob'ly the same one that gave me the sudden urge to rip off her tank top.

BENDER: See, now _that's_ what you should have done.

SFX: KNOCKING

FRY: Door's open.

Fry looks up to see who's entered; Dr. Zoidberg.

ZOIDBERG: Fry, I never got a chance to thank you for that little speech of yours.

Bender and Fry exchange wary looks. Bender walks up to Zoidberg.

BENDER: Uh, look sea scum. That speech wasn't for you.

ZOIDBERG: It wasn't, Robut?

BENDER: Afraid not. It was for...

Bender looks out of the corner of his eye at Fry, who's giving him a "cut it out/stop it" motion. Bender winks at him.

BENDER: It was for Edna. You know, you're long lost crush who had the hots for Fry instead of you?

Fry thinks for a second, and then slaps his head in disgust.

ZOIDBERG: Edna! But she's been dead for three years!

BENDER: Yep, ol' boy. That's what you thought. But she came back, and Fry was just practicing that speech for her.

Zoidberg's eyes narrow as he turns to Fry.

ZOIDBERG: First you steal my anchovies, then you steal my love.

Zoidberg comes closer to Fry, his claws waving dangerously.

FRY: Wait! Bender's got it all wrong! I never would do anything to your Edna, even if she _were_ alive!

ZOIDBERG: So now you're saying she's ugly?

FRY: No, I meant... wait, Zoidberg, I can explain it...

CUT TO- FRY'S QUARTERS (DOOR)

Bender leaves the room. He closes the door and waits patiently outside, while Fry's screams and Zoidberg's battle cries are muffled behind the door.

SCENE 41

INT CERCA- NALLYD'S QUARTERS-NALLYD'S DESK- EVENING

Nallyd's jacket is hanging over a chair next to his desk, the note book with Nallyd's plan to destroy the Cycuses hanging clearly out of the breast pocket. The room is dark, and either no one is in there, or Nallyd is already asleep. A hand with an unseen owner reaches out from the darkness and grabs the notebook out of the chair.

CUT TO- CERCA- CONFERENCE ROOM

That same stranger/SPY is standing in front of a projection of Kang. His silhouetted back is facing

the camera, so you can't see who it is.

SPY: I have the plans for you, sir.

KANG: Excellent. Transport them immediately. Spy places them on the desk and aims a remote control

at them. He presses a button, the notes flash, disappear, and appear in Kang's tentacle a few seconds

later. He looks them over and starts laughing.

SPY: This is no laughing matter, Kang. If Joah finds out where you are, he could burn half of the troops that are in the 'Castle'.

KANG: Then we'll just have to say out of the Castle that night. Surely you'll let me know when he's

discovered me, right?

SPY: Of course, sir. I suggest that if you truly want to capture him this time, that you stalk him. As soon

as you can get him separated from that damn army of his, he'll be yours for the killing. (Sly) Just like

the others. Just like Jeanne.

KANG: Ah yes, that annoying little bitch. And after all this time, we're finally getting what we _really_

want!

The two just stand there, laughing evilly.

CUT TO- CERCA- NALLYD'S QUARTERS-NALLYD'S DESK- THE

NEXT MORNING

Another hand grabs the jacket and puts it on. It's of course, Nallyd. He doesn't notice that the notebook's

missing, and heads on outside, into the hallway.

CUT TO- CERCA DINING HALL- LATER

Both Joah and Leela's crews are sitting at the tables, eating breakfast. Nallyd hurries in to join them, and takes an empty seat next to Joah (Leela's on his other side, holding Aaron in one arm and eating with the other). Nibbler's in Leela's lap, snatching up any scraps that fall off her plate.

JOAH: Good morning, Saloffe. Late start?

NALLYD: I'm sorry sir, but you know how I sleep in.

JOAH: Oh, Saloffe, I need the notes you took for our plan.

NALLYD: Of course, sir.

Nallyd rummages through his pockets, looking for the notebook, but he can't find it.

NALLYD: I seemed to have misplaced it, sir.

JOAH: Nonsense, you never misplace anything.

NALLYD: Either that, or someone... *gasp* wait! I thought I heard someone in my room last night! They must have taken my notebook!

JOAH: (shocked) This is an outrage! We need those plans to win this fight! (To crews) do any of you know about the whereabouts of the note book? Any of you at all?

Joah turns to Fry, who's been very quiet this whole meal (and who's sitting next to Leela).

JOAH: Fry, did you see anything happen? Fry doesn't answer. Leela elbows him hard in the ribs.

LEELA: Fry, he's talking to you. (No answer) Fry, say something!

Fry tries to, which is quite remarkable, considering that he now seems to be lacking a tongue.

FRY: I thoul, bub Zoiher hasn' gisen me my tone bah.

Translation: "I would, but Zoidberg hasn't given me my tongue back". And indeed, after last night's scuffle, he hasn't. He's sitting across the table from Fry, dangling the tongue in front of his face, examining it.

ZOIDBERG: I'll give it back when I'm good and ready.

LEELA: Give me that!

She snatches the tongue out of his claws and hands it back to Fry.

LEELA: I'm sure we can put it back in after breakfast.

NALLYD: (who's been watching this all with fascination) Um... well, no need to worry, Joah. I've memorized the plan anyway. I'll give you a new set of notes this afternoon.

JOAH: Well, alright.

Leela thinks about this for a few seconds, when something dawns on her. But before she can speak up...

JOAH: (pointing at Fry) Um, I think you'd better take him in to see the ship's doctor to get that fixed now.

Leela looks back at Fry, who's unwillingly playing tug-a-war with his tongue and Zoidberg. Leela grabs the tongue again, hands Aaron to her father, and leads Fry out of the room.

SCENE 42

INT CERCA- HOSPITAL WARD- CORRIDOR- LATER

Fry and Leela walk out of an office, Fry rubbing his jaw viciously.

FRY: Stupid Dr. Zoidberg. If he hadn't cut out my tongue, I'd have gladly given him a piece of my mind.

LEELA: You're mind's not big enough to be cut in pieces. Honestly, Fry, what would make him cut out your tongue?

FRY: Um... I was rehearsing something outside his door, and he thought it was for Edna.

LEELA: But Edna's dead.

FRY: I know. Bender told him otherwise.

LEELA: What were you rehearsing?

FRY: (embarrassed) Oh... nothing.

Leela suddenly remembers the speech that Joah mentioned to her.

LEELA: You were rehearsing for me, weren't you?

Fry stops walking (Leela does the same) and they stare at each other, face-to-face for a few moments.

FRY: How... how did you...

LEELA: Joah overheard you and he told me.

FRY: Did he tell you what I said?

LEELA: Not really.

FRY: (disappointed) Oh.

Fry starts walking away. Leela grabs his arm.

LEELA: That doesn't mean I don't want to hear it.

FRY: Um okay... Leela, I...

PAUSE as Fry turns pale white and starts shaking from stage fright. Leela throws her arms in the air in annoyance and starts walking away.

LEELA: Never mind, Fry.

Leela's halfway down the hall when Fry finally snaps out of it.

FRY: Leela, I love you!

Leela whirls around, stunned. She wasn't exactly expecting _that_, and Fry uses her hesitation as an opportunity to run up to her. He gives her a longing look and takes hold of both of her hands.

FRY: I'm not asking for anything in return, except that maybe you feel the same way about me. Leela takes her hands away.

LEELA: Fry, I can't say that, because...

Leela tries to find the right words, and Fry's face falls.

LEELA: (comforting) It's not that I don't like you. It's just... I'm not sure it's in the same way.

(Frustrated) Ohhh, I don't know! I'm so confused about everything now, I don't know what I'm feeling!

FRY: Will you at least think about it?

LEELA: (sighs) Yeah. I guess I could.

Leela looks apologetic and starts walking away, Fry watching her every move. As soon as she disappears from view, he turns to the wall and starts banging his head against it.

FRY: Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

CUT TO- CERCA- FRY'S QUARTERS

Fry's in the same position in his room, banging against the wall, while Bender and Timmy are watching

him.

FRY: (CONT) Stupid. Stupid. Stupid...

TIMMY: Is that all you're going to do today?

FRY: Yep. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid...

BENDER: C'mon Fry, give it up. I told you it was gonna be a waste.

FRY: Stupid. Stupid. (Stops and looks at Bender) It wasn't a total waste. She said she'd think about it.

BENDER: Then what are you banging your head against the wall for?

FRY: Um, you know, I forget.

TIMMY: Don't stress yourself over her, sir. If she didn't like you, then she wouldn't have said that she'd think about it, right?

FRY: (brightening) Hey, you're right.

BENDER: Nah, she was probably just trying to be nice.

Fry gives a depressing sigh and sits down with his back to the wall.

TIMMY: Um, We'd better go now.

Bender and Timmy sneak out of Fry's room, while Fry stares of into space, thinking about whatever.

SCENE 43

INT- CERCA- JOAH'S OFFICE

Leela's standing next to a window in the office, looking out.

SFX: DOOR CREAK

Upon hearing the door open, she takes in a deep breath and turns around. Joah's just entered the room.

JOAH: Leela, I didn't think you'd be in here.

LEELA: I want to talk with you about that plan of Nallyd's.

JOAH: Yes?

LEELA: I don't think it's a good idea.

JOAH: We already went over this...

LEELA: Dad! Just hear me out for a second. There's something wrong with the whole thing. Not the plan, I mean, the plan's great. But what about the missing notebook? What if there's spy on the ship working for Kang, and he has that notebook?

JOAH: Leela, that's preposterous.

LEELA: Is it? You said so yourself, Kang's been able to find you, wherever you go, no matter how well you loose him. How can you explain that? And how would the Cycuses have found out about Owen's group if only you knew about it?

JOAH: Easy. It's called luck.

LEELA: I just have a bad feeling about this whole thing. What if someone gets hurt? Or killed?

JOAH: I'm not going to guarantee that everyone from my crew will make it back without a scratch here or there.

LEELA: I mean you. I've been searching for you for practically my whole life, and I finally found you. I don 't want to loose you again.

JOAH: Don't worry, Leela. Nothing's going to happen to me.

LEELA: Just promise me that you won't get hurt.

JOAH: Okay. (Clears throat) Leela, I promise that you won't get hurt.

LEELA: (satisfied) Okay, then I guess I... wait a minute! Dad!

Joah laughs softly and gives Leela a comforting hug.

JOAH: Fine, I promise I won't get hurt. But only as long as you're safe.

Leela gives him a kiss on the cheek.

LEELA: I love you, dad.

Joah's caught by surprise for a second, but he relaxes.

JOAH: I love you, too...

BENDER: (OS) (mocking) Yeah, and I love Timmy and Amy...

CUT TO- SHOT OF BENDER

Bender's standing in the doorway, counting off "loves" as he continues to drip with sarcasm.

BENDER: (CONT) ...and Fry, and Hermes, and the Professor, and that ugly guard with the three noses, and even Cubert (who's mysteriously disappeared at the moment), and I just love _everybody_ in the whole, wide world!

LEELA: Oh shut up.

Why is Bender the one to ruin moments like these? Does Leela really love Fry or not? Who stole Nallyd's note book? And how many more parts are there in this series?!

Find out in Part 7 (yes, another part... hey, don't give me that look! I invented that look! I... aw, never mind.)

"The Fugitive: Part 7"

by: Officer 1BDI

SCENE 44

EXT- MILKY WAY- CERCA

The Cerca (towing the PE ship behind it) heads through the starry galaxy, straight for earth, which has begun to gather a red haze in it''s atmosphere.

CUT TO- EARTH- RUINS OF A CITY

Both ships land in the midst of an open area, what was once a grand town. Fry, Leela, Bender, Nallyd, Groxn and Joah are the first explore.

LEELA: (looking around) There''s no one here.

At that moment, a laser beam streams right past her face, leaving a deep imprint on the ship. Another one clips Nallyd on the shoulder, and a few flames develop. Cursing, he whacks them into submission. All five of them hit the ground. Nallyd aims his gun towards the source of the shot.

NALLYD: (calling) Hold your fire! We''ve got you surrounded!

BENDER: Meatbag, we''re the only ones out here.

NALLYD: They don''t know that. (To shooter) Come out, drop your gun, and we won''t have to kill you.

From behind the intact wall of a former building, a scared young man, about 17, with brown crewcut hair and tattered clothes stumbles out and tosses his gun aside. Everyone else stands, Nallyd still tracing him with his gun.

NALLYD: Who are you? Why were you shooting at us?

RON: (scared) My name''s Ron... I didn''t mean to shoot you. This isn''t my gun, I don''t know how to use it...

NALLYD: (cocking his gun) Why should we believe you?

LEELA: Oh leave him alone, he''s just a kid. (To Ron) Are you the only one here?

RON: No. A few others are around. We were at the Head Museum when those aliens came here, and the building sort of collapsed on us. Some of the heads are still alive, too...

NALLYD: (interrupting) How did you get out if the museum fell on top of you?

RON: (frantic) I don''t know! I got lucky or something!

LEELA: Hey, calm down. We''ll help you out, okay? (To Joah) Right?

JOAH: Right... except we really should be looking for the Cycuses...

LEELA: Oh, c''mon, dad. It won''t take _that_ long.

JOAH: Fine. Nallyd, go back into the ship and tell Yianna to organize a relief party for the survivors. The rest of us will search for Kang. He couldn''t have left earth _that_ fast... (To Ron) er... he _is_ still, here, right?

RON: Yes sir; (points out yonder) camping out in some field a couple of miles down.

FRY: Wait, New New York doesn''t have fields...

GROXN: Right, not NNY. But this place does.

FRY: Really? Well, where''s this place?

GROXN: Springfield.

FRY: Which...?

JOAH: (interrupting) *Ahem* Alright then. You go with him (indicates Nallyd) so you can show him where everyone else is. The rest of you come with me.

NALLYD: But sir, he could be an informer to Kang!

JOAH: You think that _everyone''s_ an informer, Saloffe.

Joah picks up part of the remaining rubble; a long stick, and uses his laser to light one end of it.

JOAH: Come on.

BENDER: YES! Pyro time!

Bender picks up another stick and belches flames to light it. The small group (joined by a few guards of Joah''s) except for Nallyd and Ron starts to head out past the ruined city.

CUT TO- OPEN FIELD- LATER

Time''s passed, and the five-some look exhausted. And who would blame them; they''ve been searching for Kang for hours now. By now, their torches have gone out. Bender looks towards the horizon bitterly, and the sun is setting in the blood-red sky. He gives a small moan and collapses.

FRY: Bender? You sober?

BENDER: No, just exhausted. C''mon Joah, we''ve been searching this damn place for four hours. They aren''t here.

Joah glances around, looking defeated.

JOAH: You''re right. We''d better head back.

Relieved, the crew turns back towards the direction of the ship, Joah bringing in the rear. They''ve only gone a few yards when...

SFX: BUSHES RUSTLING

Joah turns around, searching for the source of the noise. He can''t find it, and he turns around to join the others, when...

SFX: BUSHES RUSTLING (louder)

Determined to find the source, Joah heads towards it, oblivious to the rest of the group.

CUT TO- CERCA/PE SHIP- LATER

It''s almost nightfall by now, and the crew has just gotten back. Yianna is awaiting their return.

YIANNA: There you are! I thought you were lost.

LEELA: They''ve already left. We couldn''t find a trace of them.

YIANNA: Is Captain Sheecera still looking for them?

LEELA: No, he''s right here.

Leela turns around to point out Joah, except that there''s no Joah to point out.

LEELA: Huh? Where''d he go?

FRY: I dunno. He was with us when we left.

BENDER: (boarding the ship) Oh well. Good riddance.

LEELA: (looking towards the field) He''s still out there. He could be hurt! Or lost!

FRY: Come on, Leela. He''s smart. He knows how to get back. He said so himself, the Cycuses were gone, and even if they were here, I''m sure he''d have a quick and painless death... Leela?

Fry turns back towards Leela''s way, but she''d already run out into the field to search for Joah. Fry groans, then starts running after her. Groxn follows Fry.

BENDER: (looking out of the ship) Fry? Fry? (Spies him) Aw crap!

Bender runs after the trio.

SCENE 45

EXT OPEN FIELD

Fry''s running through the high grass, searching for Leela, who''s seemed to disappear. He stops for a second, and looks around frantically, Bender and Groxn soon joining him.

BENDER: Hey! Where''d she go?

FRY: Don''t know. She just sort of disappeared... wait there she is!

A ways out, there''s a small grouping of trees in the field. Leela, who can bairly be seen, is crouching in the tall grass, just outside the line of trees. The other three soon catch up with her.

FRY: Hey Leela! Whachya looking at... whaahh!

Leela grabs Fry''s jacket and yanks him to the ground, slamming a hand over his mouth. Groxn and Bender crouch down next to her.

GROXN: What''s going on?

LEELA: Shhhh!

Leela points out into a clearing beyond the trees. There''s a group of Cycuses there, Kang and Kodos included. They''re surrounding something, but what?

KANG: It''s been three long decades, but I''ve finally caught up with you, Sheecera.

Leela pales at the mention of Joah''s name.

KANG: (CONT) You destroyed everything that mattered to me, wasted at least 25 years of my life and are indirectly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilizations.

LEELA: (OS) Ooooh, you want death, I''ll give you death...

KANG: (not hearing, louder) And now, you shall pay for the scandalous murder of my father.

CUT TO- THE CREW

GROXN: What will they do to him?

BENDER: Eh, they''ll probably just give him a slap on the wrist...

KANG: (OS) Kodos; my Tenderizilla.

SFX: GUN COCKING

There''s a brief pause, but not brief enough. To match the crews suddenly shocked looks, Joah starts screaming in pain, along with the laughter of the Cycuses and the cackling flames (in other words, you can hear him, but no one can see him)...

FRY: Wow. That''s a helluva slap.

GROXN: Jesus, they''re burning him alive!

BENDER: Mmmmm... live roast...

Well, considering the situation, Leela''s taking it pretty well. If you can call turning white and shaking violently while looking overwhelmingly horrified ""taking it well"".

FRY: We gotta do something!

GROXN: Yeah, like what? If we go out there, then we''re _all_ dead!

BENDER: So we''re just gonna leave him like that?

LEELA: (choking) No, he''ll die too slow.

With trembling hands she grasps her gun and aims it in Joah''s direction.

FRY: Leela...?

LEELA: (acidly) It''s the only way. (SOTTO) I''m sorry, dad...

SFX: LASER SHOT

The gun''s been fired, and Joah''s screams have ceased. As has the laughter...

CUT TO- CYCUSES

KANG: What the...

Kang and company whip around, immediately spying the crew. He lets out a low growl.

KANG: GET THEM! SEIZE THEM! KILL THEM! I don''t care, just HURT THEM!

The whole camp starts for the group. The gang jump up and bolt for it (and OS), except for Leela, who''s more than a little emotionally distraught. Fry realizes this, comes back On-Screen, grabs her arm and leads her towards the ship, close behind the others. They soon come within sight of the ship, but it''s that moment that Leela trips and falls, pulling Fry with her. The others haven''t the time to notice. Before they can get up, Kang''s shadow falls over them.

KANG: (to the few Cycuses around him) Well, well, well. Looks as if we''ve got ourselves a few extras, men. Soon you will be stewing in our secret sauces...

Kang never finishes his comment. Leela whips her gun out and fires it at Kang, who within seconds is turned into ashes. The others gasp, staring at what was once their leader, while Leela glares at the dust, feeling no regrets. Fry gaps at Leela before getting up and dragging Leela back to the ship.

FRY: C''mon Leela! We gotta get outta here!

Leela runs ahead of him, and the two finally reach the Cerca, where Bender and Groxn are waiting.

CUT TO- CERCA''S AIRLOCK

The PE crew and Yianna are waiting impatiently for the group, when Groxn comes running in. Seconds later, Leela brushes past them, on the verge of tears.

LEELA: We''re leaving, NOW!

Before questions can be asked, she marches out of the room. Amy and LaBarbara follow her out to investigate. Fry comes running in (and out) after her.

FRY: Leela, wait!

YIANNA: Wait, what happened?

BENDER: (walking in) Oh, you know, the usual. The evil enemy had the captain burned at the stake, so his bitchy daughter decides to end his suffering...

YIANNA: What?

BENDER: Kang was burning Joah alive, Leela finished him off, and then she killed Kang. Now can we please get out of here?

YIANNA: My God... Groxn, inform the crew of the news, and tell them we''re taking off. And inform them of Sheecera''s demise. Is that clear?

GROXN: As crystal (leaves).

Yianna follows Groxn out the door.

SCENE 46

INT CERCA- LEELA''S ROOM- LATER

Leela''s sitting on the edge of her bed, still in shock over what she''s done. The door opens wide in the background and Fry enters with caution.

FRY: (concerned) Leela? Are you okay?

Leela just sniffs and turns away. Determined to help, he walks over and sits himself next to her.

FRY: If it helps, Yianna knows what you were doing, so she''s not mad or anything.

LEELA: (crying) I killed him! That man risked his life to keep me safe, and what do I do when we meet again? I kill him! I should have died out there.

FRY: (exasperated) Don''t say that. You did what you had to do. If you hadn''t shot him, he would have suffered anyway. There was nothing you could do.

LEELA: (bawling) I _could_ have done something to save him, and instead I killed him...

Leela breaks off and covers her face in her hands. Fry stares at her concerned for a moment and raises a hand hesitantly, before risking it all and draping a comforting arm around Leela''s shoulders. Leela lowers her hands and gives a pitiful glance towards her friend. She whimpers a little, and before he can prepare himself, throws her arms around Fry''s neck and buries her head in his jacket, sobbing into his shoulder. Fry sits there in bewilderment for a moment, but finally collects the wisdom to hug her back.

FRY: (reassuring) Hey, it''s okay. It''s okay, Leela. It wasn''t your fault... (etc.)

The scene fades out with Fry trying to comfort Leela, still holding her in his arms.

SCENE 47

INT- LEELA''S ROOM- NEXT MORNING

Leela and Fry are still curled up in each other''s arms on her bed, but by now they''ve fallen asleep. Leela stirs awake after a moment''s pause, suddenly remembers the situation at hand, and sighs loudly. She looks over in the corner, where Aaron''s crib has been set up; Aaron babbling within. In favor of some cheering up, she goes to take Aaron out of the crib (she''s seemed to have forgotten about Fry), when she''s interrupted...

SFX: DOOR KNOCKINGLEELA: Hold on.

Leela pulls out a miniature remote control, presses a button, and the door clicks.

LEELA: It''s open.

The door opens, and Farnsworth comes in. The door slams shut behind him.

LEELA: Oh, hi professor.

FARNSWORTH: I just came by to tell you they''re serving breakfast.

LEELA: I''m not hungry.

FARNSWORTH: I hope you don''t mind me asking, but I was wondering; why is Fry sleeping with you?

LEELA: Huh? (Looks over and notices Fry for the first time) Oh jeeze... it''s not what it looks like, Professor.

FARNSWORTH: Oh yes, whatever you say.

CUT TO-FARNSWORTH''S BACK- CLOSE UP

Farnsworth''s hands are behind his back, both with crossed fingers.

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

FARNSWORTH: (CONT) Are you feeling better, dear?

LEELA: What do you think?

FARNSWORTH: (gentle) Don''t you think you''re being just a little too harsh on yourself?

LEELA: I killed my own father, professor! How noble am I supposed to be feeling right now!? *Sigh* If I hadn''t killed him...

FARNSWORTH: (interrupting) Then what, Leela? You would have saved him with some ingenious plan? Just stop and think about it. What more could you have done?

Leela opens her mouth to explain, but she finds herself at a loss for words.

FARNSWORTH: Exactly.

Without waiting for a reply from Leela, Farnsworth exits the room. Leela sits down on the bed, Aaron in her arms and an idea in her mind. Suddenly, Aaron starts howling. She checks her watch and looks at it bewildered.

LEELA: (distant) I''m sorry, hon. You''re probably starving. *Sigh* Farnsworth''s right. Which I guess means Fry was right, too.

Leela takes out a blank piece of paper and scribbles out a note. Before she heads off to one of the kitchens, she slips the note into Fry''s hand.

"The Fugitive: Part 8"

by: Officer 1BDI

SCENE 48

INT- PE SHIP- KITCHEN

The kitchen is as dark as night. You can see the eyes of Leela and Aaron wandering around, searching for a light.

LEELA: Now where the... ow! Damn it! Where''s the stupid light switch? A-hah!

Leela clicks something on, but it''s not the light switch. It''s a tiny TV set that Bender put in the kitchen. It illuminates the whole room in a blueish shade. Leela searches the fridge for a bottle, and as soon as she''s found one, sits down to feed Aaron.

LEELA: *Sigh* Now it''s just you and me, Aaron. The last of our kind... *sniff*. Just two orphans wandering the universe... but Kang''s gone, and there''s nothing left to worry about...

LINDA: (OS) Earth was in for a shock today when after a few days of mourning peace, the... um... whatever they are, decided to resume their attacks on earth.

LEELA: What?!

CUT TO- TV

LINDA: It seems that while their wrath of destruction has not halted, their demands for the Fugitive are. What are your thought on this, Morbo?

MORBO: You puny earthlings are too stupid to accept your doom.

LINDA: How right you are, Morbo. How right you are.

Leela sits deep in thought over this, trying to figure it out.

CUT TO- CERCA- LEELA''S ROOM

Fry finally stirs awake. He looks around the room with obvious confusion.

FRY: Leela? Where are you?

He gets up and walks over to the desk, only to find the note in his hand.

FRY: (reading) To Fry, Thanks for being there for me. You''ve been more than a friend to me this whole time, and I really appreciate that. Sincerely, Leela...

Fry blinks, then bolts for the doorway.

FRY: Leela! Leela, I got your no... umph!

Fry looks up at the figure he''s bumped into, discovering that it''s a Cycus. He shrinks away.

SCENE 49

INT CERCA- BRIDGE- LATER

Bender and Timmy are in the Bridge, observing the machinery. Bender seems to be chatting with one of the computers.

BENDER: ...And so I tell Denter, "That's not steel, it''s iron".

COMPUTER: (typed) Ha ha ha ha

LEELA: (OS) Bender? Are you in there?

BENDER: Um... gotta go.

Bender flips off the monitor and wheels around to face Leela (wearing her jacket) in the doorway.

BENDER: Yeah yeah, what is it?

LEELA: Have you seen Nallyd, I need to talk with him about the Cycuses, plus I can''t leave Amy with Aaron for too long.

BENDER: *Pfff*, big deal.

LEELA: They''re torching Los Angeles now.

BENDER: So the place''ll be a few degrees warmer. So what?

LEELA: And Vegas.

BENDER: *gasp* NOOOOOOOO!!!

TIMMY: But I thought you had complete control of them, ma''am. Didn''t you kill Kang?

LEELA: (Shrugs, then thinks hard) There must be a catch.

BENDER: (sobbing) Oh gawd, such a beautiful city. Gone to waste! *sniff* (To God) Why didn''t you take me instead, O Lord...

LEELA: Timmy, have you seen...

BENDER: (interrupting) Ohhhh, precious LV, Viva Las Vegas no more are you...

Leela can''t stand it anymore and pulls out his memory disk.

LEELA: There, that ought to shut him up...

Timmy looks in horror at the sudden appearance of a Cycus behind Leela. He stutters a bit, pointing behind her frantically, and she whips around and ducks before he can grab her. Leela drops the disk and bolts from the room, the Cycus chasing after her. Timmy grabs the disk, shoves it back into Bender...

BENDER: Huh... wha...

TIMMY: Mr. Bender sir! There are Cycuses on the ship!

...with little help from Bender himself.

BENDER: (crying) My precious Vegas, soon to become the filth and sleaze from which it was built!

CUT TO- CERCA- TERRARIUM HALL

Leela''s still running, the Cycus almost on her. She spies an open door, the entrance to the Tiraffe Terrarium, and dashes inside. The Cycus comes in seconds later. The room is incredibly dark, despite the giant wall-to-wall window looking out into the galaxy. Someone had deliberately turned off the artificial lighting. Leela pulls out a laser that was hidden under her jacket, and a bright light suddenly comes on. In the center of the room is Fry, bound, gagged, and beaten to something just above a bloody pulp. For lack of a better introduction, this Cycus is Kodos. Kodos is holding another laser to Fry''s head.

LEELA: (aiming her laser) I command you to let him go, now!

KODOS: Oh, and you expect me to just go ahead and do that?

LEELA: Ah, but you have to. I killed your leader. You now are under _my_ control.

KODOS: (smug) Who ever said that Kang was our leader?

PAUSE

Leela lowers her gun slightly, confused over the situation.

LEELA: (baffled) But... Kang said he was...

NALLYD: (OS) I''m afraid you have Kang mistaken for someone else.

From behind the base of the cliff, Nallyd walks into the scene, his face emotionless.

LEELA: Nallyd, you''ve got to help us. This guy thinks that someone else is his leader...

Leela fades off as Nallyd begins to smile. She grows furious.

LEELA: (growling) YOU! You''re the leader, aren''t you? You''re the spy I was worried about!

NALLYD: (does a sweeping bow) At your services... or not in this case. Kodos, leave us.

Kodos does so. Leela and Nallyd glare at each other for quite some time, before Nallyd breaks it off and turns to Fry.

NALLYD: (looking at Fry, talking to Leela) ''Tis a pity, I was planning on killing him so you could find his pathetic, charred remains. (Turns to Leela) I have Joah to thank. If he hadn''t let me return to the ship, I wouldn''t have been able to warn Kang.

Leela grows furious and does a high-flying kick, nailing Nallyd in the stomach. His body flies into the rocks behind him and crumples on the ground. And for no particular reason at all, he spontaneously bursts into flames, and converts into a pile of black ashes within seconds . Leela and Fry stare at them, horrified. Suddenly, the ashes start vibrating, and they ""crawl"" over towards Leela, who jumps back. They burst into flames again, in front of her, and Nallyd suddenly reappears, fully intact, brushing himself off.

NALLYD: I''d appreciate it if you wouldn''t do that anymore, it gets old real fast.

LEELA: (aghast) What the hell are you?

NALLYD: I am a phoenix, not that you need to go around repeating that.

FRY: Wait, I thought phoenixes were supposed to be a type of bird.

NALLYD: There''s more than just ""feathered"" phoenixes in the world. I just happen to look more... humanoid. (Shudders) In all the centuries I''ve been around, I''ve never seen a more despicable race than you humans.

LEELA: So, you''re not human?

NALLYD: _Me_, being a cheating, lying, stupid, adulterous specimen of your species? Of course not. Although, in the end, it did benefit me. It was a very ingenious plan, if I do say so myself. The perfect way to defeat the perfect foes.

LEELA: But why did you do it? Why are you the Cycuses'' ruler? Why did you totally destroy my homes... both of them? Why even attempt to destroy one of the most powerful races in the galaxy?!

NALLYD: Oh come on, do you really believe I''m going to fall for the ""get all the info and then kill off the enemy"" bit?

FRY: Yes.

NALLYD: (annoyed) Alright. Let''s just cut to the chase then. It began several centuries ago, long before you were born, around the 25-hundreds...

FRY: (interrupting) Actually, I was already born.

NALLYD: Shut up. (To Leela) As I was saying, my race had recently had our home destroyed by a careless member of our species.

LEELA: Let me guess, he burned up the place.

NALLYD: No, actually, he started civil nuclear warfare. We had no home, so we decided to head to earth. The people there were a sucuessful mix of races, so what would one more race hurt? But they wouldn''t let us on the planet. They said we were too... ""dangerous"". So my race was left without a home. But we weren''t going to give up that easily, oh no. We had friends in another galaxy. The Cycuses. We decided to live with them until the sutiation got better, but we never forgot what earth did to us. We vowed revenge against them. But revenge never came, and because of the harsh atmosphere, we were unintentionally destroyed, one by one. Soon, I was one of the few still alive, then I was the only one. And then, fate smiled down at me one day.

CUT TO- FLASHBACK- CYCUSES'' PLANET, ""CASTLE""

Past-Nallyd is standing among a room of Cycuses. One of them is standing in front of P-Nallyd, holding a crown.

NALLYD: (VO) Their leader died a year later, and because he had no kin, and I had been a good friend of his, I was made the next ruler.

The Cycus standing in front of P-Nallyd places the crown on his head. But apparantly, the crown''s too heavy, because P-Nallyd falls over, flat on his face. The Cycuses cheer. A Cycus runs in through the enterance.

CYCUS 1: Hey guys! The new Play-Cyc just came in. With 3-D glasses, too!

CYCUS 2: (OS) But we can''t use 3-D glasses!

CYCUS 1: Um, er, well... It''s the radiation suit edition!

The other Cycuses hoot and holler as they run out of the room, trampling Nallyd as they exit. Unfortunately, being a phoenix, he turns into fire and catches on a few of the Cycuses.

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

NALLYD: After a bit of reconstructive surgery on their part, I commanded that Karrno pose as ruler and enslave earth. The Cycuses were too stupid to realise that if they were ever caught and conqured, I wouldn''t be blamed. How could I, if _I_ wasn''t the ruler that earth was looking for? Another century passed, and I decided to check on their process. But by that time, I''d forgotten where earth was located. So I guess when I finally got there, I was in for a bigger shock than I had bargained for.

CUT TO- FLASHBACK- SOME DISTANT PLANET

P-Nallyd''s ship lands in an empty field and he walks out, soon joined by Karrno and several other Cycuses.

P-NALLYD: I''m sorry I wasn''t here sooner. How has it gone?

KARRNO: Surprisingly easy. These puny humans are so modern. Although, I must admit, it was their lousy depth perception that gave us a leg-up.

P-NALLYD: (SOTTO) Lousy depth perception?

They come to the top of a hill, looking down into the ruins of a scraggly city, full of workers plowing the fields and moving the remains of the city. All of them have their backs to P-Nallyd and Karrno.

KARRNO: (sarcastic) Hello down there! I hope the work isn''t too strenuous!

Everyone below turns to glare at Karrno, and P-Nallyd gasps. They''re all Cyclopes!

P-NALLYD: You idiot! These aren''t humans!

KARRNO: Oh please, that''s the same excuse they used on us. But we weren''t fooled (turns to guards) Were we, men?

GUARDS: (caught off guard) Wah... um... sir, yessir!

P-NALLYD: *Sigh* Humans have _two_ eyes, you imbecile! These are all Cyclopes!

KARRNO: Wait...

He pulls out a notepad and looks over some notes P-Nallyd gave him before.

KARRNO: (CONT) Let''s see... two arms, two legs... four fingers (on each hand)... one head... two eyes... (looks up) Oh. I guess we missed that one, huh?

P-Nallyd slaps his forehead in disgust.

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

NALLYD: But because of their mistake, I knew they could get the job done. The question was, when? Surely not then, when earth had made friends with so many other species that would be willing to fight on their side. We''d need as excuse that would knock them off of their feet. And a few years ago, that''s just what we found. After your father and his S.O.B colleague killed off Karrno, Kang became the official ""fake"" ruler. He demanded that your parents be brought to justice, so we spent all of almost three decades chasing them. But in that time, I came up with a plan that would eventually lead to Sheecera''s dismay, _and_ prove to earth that once and for all they were wrong. As he was being chased, the Cycuses were destroying every planet they thought he''d be on. Your parents obviously felt sorry for these people and allowed any survivors who wanted to the join his little band of rebels to do so. I posed as the only survivor of another humanoid planet, and he gladly took me on. Eventually, he trusted me enough to make me Commanding Officer. He had no idea that I was on the enemy''s side. I never told the Cycuses that Joah was one of their fugitives.

FRY: But if they were so set on killing him, why didn''t you just tell them to kill him off when you first met him?

NALLYD: I was waiting for a sign. I knew there had to be a connection between Joah and earth, I was determined to find it, and I wasn''t about to let the Cycuses destroy the opportunity for me. When the time came, I would turn him over. Then, about a year ago, Joah confided in me that his friend Owen, along with a small group of your species, had escaped to Earth and were peacefully living in hiding. At the same time, I was still looking of an excuse to drag the Cycuses to earth to destroy it. When I heard of Owen''s band down on earth, I''d found it. But I needed to get Earth''s allies out of the way, too. So, I told the Cycuses that their Fugitives were somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy, but I didn''t tell them which planet. Through thoughtful strategy, they sent a spy to Earth to find and destroy them, and then they found your mother a few months later. I doubt I need to tell you what happened after that.

LEELA: (furious) You bastard...

NALLYD: I''m not finished yet. They found your mother, Owen, and the rest of the gang, but they couldn''t find Aaron. They figured that his parents had left him on another planet or something. Now, their original plan was to wait until they heard some news about Aaron, and then strike down on the planet that had shown the nerve to keep him alive. They knew there was an Aaron; they''d seen him with his mother before, and they were hell-bent on staking it out to catch him. But the Cycuses are not patient creatures, and within a month they grew restless and decided to launch an assault, claiming that all would stop as soon as Aaron, or ""the Fugitive"" as they called him, was handed over. The beauty was, no one knew who the Fugitive was, so they were all pitifully destroyed. Had I known you were alive, I would have sent them to destroy you first. (Pulls out a laser of his own) So now, I must accomplish that task myself.

He aims it towards Leela, but Leela fires first and he turns back into ashes. She races over to Fry to untie him.

LEELA: Fry, get out of here! I''ll finish him off, just get out!

FRY: But you can''t kill him! He''ll just reform...

NALLYD: (OS) Alright, Leela, you''ve made your last mistake...

Leela shoots Nallyd again and turns back to Fry.

LEELA: I''ll take care of it! Just go get help!

Fry gives Leela a bewildered look, then repeats his actions of a few nights before; leans over and kisses her. Or he would have, had she not shoved him away, snapping at him to get the hell out of there. Giving her a last startled look, he races out of the room (well, limps very fast) and disappears. Satisfied, Leela turns around and gives her full attention to her opponent. Nallyd aims his gun and cocks it.

NALLYD: I hate to kill you off in this manner, but I never planned for it to end like this. I would have preferred a more exotic death myself... (grins evilly) oh wait, I _can''t_ die. Goodbye, Leela. LEELA: Wait! You like the exotic, don''t you?

NALLYD: To an extent...

LEELA: Then how about we fight the right way? No guns, no tricks; just you and me, and no weapons to hold us back. The winner gets control of the Cerca and the Cycuses. The loser is obviously dead by that point, so there''s nothing holding the other back. What do you say?

NALLYD: (apprehensive) What''s the catch?

LEELA: (nonchalant) Oh, no catch. Just thought you''d like to prove yourself to someone. I haven''t seen you lift a violent finger this whole trip.

NALLYD: Very well.

Leela and Nallyd toss their guns aside and begin glaring each other down. With nothing but two yards of ground separating them, they each begin plotting their moves mentally.

LEELA''S MIND: Okay, Leela. You can do this. Just get him in the water... fire can''t burn underwater. It''s not that hard. What does he know about fighting, anyway?

While Leela''s occupied, Nallyd slowly crouches down and reaches for his gun. In the instant that he stands straight with laser in hand, Leela''s foot comes out of nowhere and knocks it out of his hands. She then tries to punch his face in, but is blocked by Nallyd, who grabs her arm and flips her over on her back, almost effortlessly. Before he can pull another move, Leela rolls onto her stomach, grabs the gun that''s within her reach, and nails Nallyd in the gut with a shot. While his ashes are flaring, she bolts for the cliff''s base, still holding the gun.

LEELA''S MIND: Okay... I underestimated an enemy for once...

Without really thinking, Leela begins scrambling up the cliff edge. Nallyd quickly reforms and hurries up after her. In the process, Leela manages to kick a loose rock in his direction, but it only grazes his shoulder, where another round of flames develop before reforming. Furious, he makes a grab for her foot.

SFX: ROAR

Out of nowhere, the grizzly-sized Tiraffe bounds into the scene and drags Nallyd off the cliff.

CUT TO- SHOT OF CLIFF EDGE

Leela finally makes it to the top (accidentally drops the gun) and hides behind a boulder on the ledge. After a pause, followed by quite a bit of cursing, Nallyd appears. He sees her gun and pockets it in his jacket.

NALLYD: I thought you said we weren''t using weapons, Leela. (Taunting) Come out, come out, wherever you are.

CUT TO- SHOT OF LEELA

Leela''s crouching behind the boulder, her head in her hands. She hears Nallyd''s voice and glowers...

NALLYD: (OS) Oh come now, Leela. Would Joah have wanted to see his daughter die in such a sad state? Honestly, hiding from the enemy... not the most honorable way to go, is it? (His shadow falls over Leela) You''re father''s exit was much more extraordinary...

You could very well say that Leela snaps at this point. She leaps up and dives at Nallyd, regardless of the laser. Surprised by her outburst, he''s knocked off-balance. Unfortunately, she pushes him a bit too hard, and considering that they were rather close to the cliff edge... They both topple off, plummeting into the lake below. With a giant splash, they both disappear from the audience''s view. Leela''s the first to surface (seconds later), and she looks around cautiously. Nallyd is nowhere to be seen.

LEELA: (wheezing) I *gasp* knew it. *gasp* He can''t survive under... AAaaahhh*Mmmhp*!

Nallyd had suddenly surfaced from behind Leela, viciously grabbed her, and pulled her under. Beneath the surface, Leela kicks and swipes at Nallyd, to no avail. He drags her by the hair up to the surface for a split second...

NALLYD: You little bitch. You thought a bit of water would do me in, didn''t you? Well, guess who was wrong?

Nallyd shoves her under again, but this time stays above water. It seems he wants to watch her drown without having to catch his own breath...

CUT TO- TIRAFFE TERRARIUM- DOORWAY

No sooner has this happened than Fry returns, dragging Bender and Timmy with him.

FRY:... and she told me to get help and... AAAAHHHHHHH! LEELA!

BENDER: Aw man, she''s a goner.

FRY: Bender give me a gun! We''ve gotta shoot Nallyd...

TIMMY: But sir! Water conducts electricity!

FRY: Huh?

TIMMY: A laser is a bunch of electrical particles!

FRY: What?

BENDER: *Sigh* It''s like putting a toaster in a bath that Nibbler happens to be using; you''ll fry both of ''em! And believe me, you wouldn''t want to loose the toaster... d''ya mean, Leela.

FRY: Fuh? Forget that, we have to do _something_...

CUT TO- PREVIOUS SHOT

Leela''s obviously running short of time (and air). She eyes Nallyd evilly and glares down everything about him; his scraggly black hair, his humanoid appearance, that laser hanging out of his jacket... Then it hits her; Of course, the laser! She thinks fast, squirms out of his grasp, grabs the laser, and aims it at Nallyd one last time. He sees this move all too late.

NALLYD: (disoriented, because he''s above the surface) You wouldn''t!

LEELA''S MIND: Wanna bet?

Leela pulls the trigger with no hesitation.

CUT TO- FRY, TIMMY AND BENDER

The three friends watch as a look of horror crosses Nallyd''s face, moments before a violent electric current spreads to the opposite shores within a few seconds time. Both Nallyd and Leela fail to show again, even after the water finally clears.

FRY:(less than ecstatic) NOOOOOOOO!

BENDER: What the hell?!

TIMMY: She must have fired a laser in the lake!

Fry sprints to the lake''s shore, crying out Leela''s name, hoping that she''s still alive, failing to realize somewhere in the back of his little mind that there''s no possible way...

FRY: (plunging into the water, searching frantically) Leela! Leela! Lee... oh God, please! Please let her be alright! Leela, this isn''t funny! The whole torched-house was one thing, but... NO!

Fry spies Leela floating limp in the water. Splashing water in all directions, he swims towards her (assuming he''s learned to swim since the Slurm incident) and starts pulling her to shore.

FRY: Bender, Tim! Help me!

The two robots look at each other (Bender more reluctant), and Timmy drags him over to help Fry. The three of them manage to get her on land, but she''s still unconscious. Or dead.

FRY: (fast) Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God he killed her! (Shakes Leela) Leela, wake up! C''mon, please?

Fry crouches down next to her and attempts to take her pulse. He takes it wrong, of course, by feeling her forehead.

FRY: Jesus, she lost her pulse!

BENDER: Well, tell me when she finds it, okay? (starts to leave)

FRY: I''ll have to give her CPR... Bender, how do you give someone CPR?

BENDER: (stops and turns around) I dunno. Isn''t it that mouth-to-mouth thingy?

FRY: Right. (Looking at Leela) Just promise you won''t hurt me when you wake up, okay? (Silence) I''ll take that as a yes.

Fry attempts mouth-to-mouth, and within a few seconds, Leela''s eyes flutter open. After she realizes what Fry''s doing, she gives a (muffled) shout and shoves him off.

FRY: (relieved) Oh God, you''re alive!

LEELA: What the hell were you doing?

FRY: I was giving you CPR because you were dead!

LEELA: (annoyed) First of all, I was just unconscious. And second, CPR doesn''t involve tongues.

FRY: (Disappointed) Oh.

Leela rolls her eye, but looks back at Fry and smirks slightly.

LEELA: Thanks for trying to save my life.

FRY: Um, no problem.

Fry helps her up, and the two follow the robots out of the terrarium, Fry following Leela.

FRY: (SOTTO) Just as long as you''re OK...

SCENE 50

CUT TO- CERCA- CONFERENCE ROOM- LATER

The quartet wander into the room and sink into a few nearby chairs. A Cycus shadow falls over them moments later, and they only raise questionable eyes at each other.

KODOS: Hello there, traitor.

LEELA: (tired) Look, I''m sick of playing this stupid game, so let''s just cut to the chase...

KODOS: My thought exactly.

Kodos grabs Leela from behind and lifts her up into the air. Bender, Fry and Tim hurry to stand, posing themselves to punch Kodos and then run like hell. Kodos stares at Leela for a few second, then hugs her. Hard.

LEELA: OW! Hey, put me down!

KODOS: (places her down and bows) Hail, Queen Sheecera!

FRY: Huh? She''s your queen?!

KODOS: (looking up) Why of course! She has slain the Great King Nallyd, and she is now our ruler!

LEELA: (dazed) Wha... oh, right. (Putting on airs) Then as your ruler, I demand of you three things.

KODOS: Anything, your highness.

LEELA: First, you will go back to your species and demand that they halt these attacks of all planets, including earth.

KODOS: But ma''am...

LEELA: (interrupting) Second, you are to go back to your home planet and remain there for the reminder of your species'' life span. Third, before you return... (thinks hard for a few seconds) you are to meet up with Yianna Glab of DOOP. You are to then apologies for your disorderly actions and beg for your forgiveness by applying to become a member of the Democratic Order of Planets. As soon as you have joined their forces, you are no longer under my ""rein"", but theirs. Is that all clear to you, soldier?

KODOS: Ma''am, yes ma''am!

Kodos salutes her and rushes out of the room. The robots and Fry stare at Leela in awe.

BENDER: Okay... what the hell just happened?

SCENE 51

CUT TO- CERCA- LEELA''S ROOM- LATER

Leela, Aaron, Fry and Bender are gathered in her room, trying to put everything together. Leela''s holding a tightly closed, transparent jar full of water and what looks like dirt. The name NALLYD is scribbled out on it on a piece of tape that is being used as a label.

FRY: So... I guess we''re done now. No more stupid Cycuses.

BENDER: Yeah... wait, when were you planning on telling Yianna about your little ""agreement""?

YIANNA: (OS) AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

LEELA: I think she knows already.

FRY: So, that''s it? We just turn the jar (Nallyd) into DOOP when we get back, and it''s over?

LEELA: Yeah.

PAUSE

BENDER: Aw, screw this, I''m gonna go mooch off some wimpy guard.

Bender exits the room, leaving Fry and Leela alone.

FRY: You know, it''s sorta boring without something chasing us.

LEELA: (outraged) _Boring_? Fry, we almost got killed about a dozen times out there! And we still have to go back home and fix up the place!

Fry freezes and stares out the window. There''s a perfect view of the planet outside, but instead of looking it''s usual wondrous blue and green shades, it''s orange and red, with a crimson haze surrounding it. It looks like an incredibly dead planet

FRY: (saddened) Gawd, they really screwed the place up, didn''t they?

LEELA: No, that''s Mars. Earth''s over at the other window.

Fry turns around, embarrassed, and spies the real earth out of a second porthole. It looks pretty much the same, except for the poisonous looking red-orange ring surrounding the planet, which has already started to fade away since we last saw it.

FRY: When are we going back?

Leela stares at the planet herself, wondering the same thing...

"The Fugitive: Part 9 - Finale"

by: Officer 1BDI

Here's the final chapter in the series. Yay! You don't have to put up with this anymore! Well, not for awhile, anyway.

Now, here's the finale;

SCENE 52

INT- NNY-THE NEXT MORNING

Out in the distance, a large bronze ship towing that of Planet Express lands carefully in the shattered remains of a New New York street. The hatch of the Cerca opens and Yianna climbs out. She looks around, bewildered, and even adjusts her glasses to make sure she's not seeing things.

YIANNA: Zombie Jesus. They destroyed _everything_!

BENDER: (following her) Yeah, but we're home sweet home, so would you mind giving us the reward already?

YIANNA: What reward?

HERMES: (also following) Yeah, mon. We killed deir party, now it's pay back time!

He hold out his hand expectantly. Yianna rolls her eyes and slaps it away.

YIANNA: None of you did anything! Except for Miss Sheecera, but that's besides the point...

LEELA: (OS) Did you find anyone?

Leela (cradling Aaron), Fry, Groxn and the rest of the PE crew join the small group already on the ground. Leela looks around frantically.

LEELA: Someone's _still_ here, right?

YIANNA: Well... no...

_Finally_, it dawns of Farnsworth...

FARNSWORTH: Oh dear God! We forgot Cubert!

PAUSE

A tumbleweed blows it's way across the nearly-deserted street. Farnsworth looks them over one by one.

FARNSWORTH: Doesn't anyone care that my clone's been annihilated?!

AMY: No.

HERMES: No.

LEELA: No way.

FRY: Uh-uh.

BENDER: Course not!

LaBARBARA: Nope.

Dwight shakes his head "no .

ZOIDBERG: What was the question?

YIANNA: Well don't look at me, Professor. I didn't even know you _had_ a clone!

Fry faces the group, turning his back to the camera.

FRY: Yeah, well, good riddance. The last thing we needed was Cubert screwing things up... OMPH!

Fry falls to the ground, clutching his, er, "tender area". Cubert is in front of him, in torn clothing and looking ticked. Real ticked.

AMY: (shocked) Cubert! You're alive!

BENDER: Damnit...

CUBERT: (flaming) You... you... you abandoned me!

BENDER: Yeah, we _wish_!

FARNSWORTH: Dear Lord, you're alive! But how did you survive?

CUBERT: It was elementary, dear father. When those aliens came down, they _thought_ that they had me trapped. But I insisted that there was a much better source for their Fugitive in another state, say, New New Jersey. I took the opportunity of their absence to escape into the nearby sewers, where I hid until I was forced out just a few minutes ago...

FRY: (OS, from ground) Wait! The mutants! Maybe everyone's with the mutants!

YIANNA: (scoffing) Mutants? Ha! There's no such thing as mu...

An arm taps Yianna on the shoulder and she turns around. Her smirk fades away and she gaps in horror at a pale man dressed in scraggly clothes with *gasp* an extra arm where one of his ears should be. RAOUL grins smugly at her.

RAOUL: Oh really?

FRY: (getting up) See, told you!

CUBERT: I heard your ship land, and the other humans chose me to come up to check.

BENDER: (to Yianna) That means they kicked his ass outta there.

RAOUL: At least it's you and not those octo-legged demons.

YIANNA: (still in shock) Wait... there are others down with you?

RAOUL: Of course.

HERMES: Hold on, if they sent Cubert up, then why did _you_ come?

RAOUL: Do you know how bad the sewers reek with another 2 million people crowding in them?

CUT TO- NNY SEWERS

Raoul is leading the crew through the forbidding sewers of NNY. Amy is making disgusted faces the whole time, and the rest of the crew who wasn't down here before gap at this underground universe.

RAOUL: The survivors of the battle were left shaken and homeless, and we as fellow citizens couldn't just stand beneath and watch them crumble. A few of us came up and agreed to take them down into our fair city.

FRY: (looking around) Uh huh. Say, how many mutants live down here an... Oooh!

Fry looks up at what he's bumped into and gulps. A giant, well-rounded figure towers over him, shadows concealing his face, and dressed in the usual untidied mutant fashion. He looks down at Fry and smiles.

ZRAMBO: (dumb) Uh... hi.

FRY: (scared) AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!

Fry attempts to bolt for it, but turns around and rams straight into Leela.

LEELA: Hey, watch it! (To ZRAMBO) I'm sorry, sir, he's not used to... (gaps) oh my God!

Leela and ZRAMBO stare eye to eye. Literally. Zrambo only has one eye. (This is one of the suspected cyclops mutants that was seen in I Second That Emotion)

LEELA: (CONT) Oh my God! This can't... well, it could, but it can't...

Zrambo looks Leela up and down, then sees Aaron.

ZRAMBO: (pointing) Duh... baby.

LEELA: (looks at Aaron) Oh, right. Baby. This is Aaron, and I am Leela, and you... (realizing) you're from Owen's group, aren't you? Who are you?

ZRAMBO: Uh... (points at Aaron) baby.

LEELA: (confused) Okay... (points at self) Me Leela. (Points at Aaron) This Aaron. (Hinting, points at Zrambo) You...

ZRAMBO: Oh! (Points at self) Me Zrambo!

RAOUL: Zrambo moved in with us a few years ago, before the war ever started. Apparently, he came from another planet and crashed here on earth. For some reason, he turned to us. (To Leela) He's a little dull in the head...

LEELA: Were there others?

RAOUL: Yes, about ten or so, but since the war, we've only seen Zrambo and his friend...

As if on cue, another voice, KILYNA's, cuts through the crowd.

KILYNA: (OS) Zrambo! Did you loose yourself again? (Entering) I told you not to wander off without... (sees Leela and Aaron) Toronga?

Leela gazes at this new cyclops; she's just as tall as Leela, with the same color hair, except she looks at least 15 years older and her noticeably shorter hair is pulled up into a bun. She continues gapping at Leela and the baby for a few more moments, then runs up and embraces them.

LEELA: (surprised) Who are you?

KILYNA: (tearful) Oh... Kilyna, a friend of Owen's (bless his soul), but oh my God! It's been so long... I'd thought you'd have died!

LEELA: No, I'm fine... so's Aaron...

KILYNA: (pulling herself together) Oh... yes... of course, Aaron... I though they got him, too. The poor dear... *sniff* right before his parents died...

Leela hands Aaron over to Kilyna, who cradles him lovingly and starts crying. She looks back up at Leela and hugs her again, which triggers a chain reaction that has Leela weeping as well. Fry watches the whole scene with disgust and makes a face.

FRY: Ech! I hate mushy stuff like this, don't you, Amy?

Amy's the wrong person to ask, because when Fry turns to her to get a reply, he finds her blowing her nose and watching the scene teary-eyed. Yianna, LaBarbara and Zoidberg are all in the same state.

TIMMY: (to Fry) Don't mind them, sir, it's a feminine reaction.

HERMES: What about de crab freak?

BENDER: (looks at Zoidberg) Don't mind him. It's a hideous monster reaction

A few of the other mutants/humans/aliens of NNY gather around the returned crew. A few of them groan upon seeing Cubert.

FARNSWORTH: Alright, if you ladies are all done making spectacles of yourselves...

LEELA: No. *SOB*

FARNSWORTH: Well, anyway, shouldn't we tell these people about the Cycuses?

YIANNA: (blows her nose) Oh, of course. *Ahem* Attention, everyone. (Everyone listens in) I have returned from the ship of Captain Joah Sheecera himself, and I've come bearing good news. Thanks to this crew of marvelous people, we have defeated the evil presence of Kang and his band of aliens once and for all!

SFX: CHEERING

YIANNA: (CONT) I wish I could say that Captain Sheecera himself was here to celebrate with us, but as it was, he was killed in the heat of battle a few days ago.

Leela and Kilyna calm down long enough to hear this, and Kilyna gawks at Leela, shocked.

KILYNA: (horrified) Joah _died_?

LEELA: (weepy) Uh huh. So did Jeanne. They're all... *SOB* dead! We're the last ones...

KILYNA: Oh Toronga... *sniff* so is Owen and the others... Zrambo and I are the only... *SOB*

At the thought of their friends/relatives' deaths, the two hug and start bawling again. Bender rolls his eyes while bumming a few cigarettes out of a distracted New New Yorker's pocket.

YIANNA: (CONT) Thus, in memory of his bravery and contribution to this dreadful war, I will be holding a celebration in his honor tomorrow night, in the City Hall of New New York. But this celebration is being held not only for his benefit, but so that we can also honor those who gave and risked their lives to fight and win back our freedom!

SFX: CHEERING

YIANNA: Also, in thanks to our friends underneath the suburbs of this fair city, I invite the mut... er, misshaped people of the sewers to be allowed to dwell with the norm... uh, within the regions of the upper levels of the city.

A few of the mutants, including VYOLET and DWAYNE push their way to the front of the crowd.

VYOLET: You mean we get to live up with you folks now?

YIANNA: I don't see why not. Unless the mayor has a problem with it...

CUBERT: (OS, calling) The mayor's dead!

YIANNA: Um, uh, then it's settled. I think.

SFX: (MUTANTS ESPECIALLY) CHEERING

SCENE 53

INT PE BUILDING (REMAINS)- NEXT EVENING

Lucky for the crew, the PE building's still in somewhat good shape. Only the hanger was destroyed in the carnage.

CUT TO- PE BUILDING- OBSERVATORY/LABORATORY (with the Smell-O-Scope)

Leela and her apparently new found friend Kilyna are in the room (Amy and LaBarbara are in the background), preparing themselves for the party. Leela's looking into a half-shattered mirror, observing herself in a long white sleeveless gown that sweeps at the floor. Kilyna comes out from behind her wearing the dress Leela had on in the Titanic episode.

KILYNA: Remind me again why you keep all of these on the ship?

LEELA: I dunno. You never know when you're going to need them.

KILYNA: I can't thank you enough for letting me stay with you until I can get settled in on the surface.

LEELA: Oh, no problem... (Changing the subject) You know, you never told me what was wrong with Zrambo.

KILYNA: Oh, that. He wasn't always like that, Toronga. He used to be a very intelligent man. But when we crashed on earth, he got injured really bad. He recovered alright, but he was never the same again. I think he likes being away from people now, he was never like that before. Which is probably why he's living in the sewers with the others who are staying.

LEELA: Oh. (PAUSE) Hey, Kily?

KILYNA: Yeah?

LEELA: Did you, um, ever know my mom? I mean, as a friend?

KILYNA: (hesitates) As a matter of fact, we were extremely close. (Looks up at her) You look a lot like her, your mom. Have your dad's eye, though.

Leela blushes.

CUT TO- PE BUILDING- CONFERENCE ROOM

The men are standing around impatiently in tuxes, for the women. Fry rolls up the sleeve of his tux (thankfully the black one) and glares at his watch.

FRY: Where are they? They're like half an hour late...

AMY: (OS) Okay, ready!

The girls come strolling majestically into the room. Fry gawks at the two, but mainly Leela, who's hair is down and sweeping at her waist. A silver tiara decorates her hair, as do a pair of small diamond earrings.

FRY: (makes a weird gasping noise) Leela... you look... great!

FRY'S MIND: Smooth one, idiot. Now she thinks she looks average.

LEELA: Why, thank you, Fry.

LEELA'S MIND: What was that weird noise he made?

FRY: (suave) Would the lady care to be escorted to the party?

LEELA: Sorry, but I'm letting Zoidberg 'escort' me tonight. (To Fry) I would have picked you, but no one would take him. And he was _desperate_! See, he even bribed the kids to watch Aaron tonight!

As if on cue, Timmy, Cubert and Dwight walk by, four hundred dollars in the robot's hands, which they are all starring at bewilderedly. Fry watches with disappointed as Leela and the doctor exit the room. His eyes fall on LaBarbara.

FRY: Hello, beautiful...

HERMES: (fierce) Don' even think about it, mon!

Hermes takes his wife by the arm and leads her quickly out of the building. Fry eyes Kily warily.

FRY: Well well well. Looks like I'm not the only one left out...

KILYNA: Look again, kiddo. The robot's taking me.

FRY: Bender?! (To Bender) When did this happen?

BENDER: Hey, I can be a gentlemen too! Sometimes. (To Fry) But between you and me, I'm really using her to get to this fembot back in the sewers that she knows really well... whooo, you should check out the circuit board on _that_ fine piece of machinery.

Bender whistles happily as he escorts Kilyna out of the building. Fry looks around frantically and sees Amy.

FRY: Amy, can I be your date tonight?

AMY: Well... I _was_ going to go out with this really nice guy from the sewers, but whatever.

CUT TO- (PJ) MANHOLE

Dwayne is there at the manhole, decked out in an obviously old and worn tux. He looks at his watch impatiently, sighs, and retreats back to the sewer.

SCENE 54

INT CITY HALL- LATER

Like PE, the building still stands, and besides the fact that it lacks a roof, it's in pretty good condition.

CUT TO- BANQUET HALL

The room is full of tables, people, and a large dance floor in the center of the room. In the back of the room is a podium between two long tables. Among those sitting at the tables are the REPRESENTATIVES OF DOOP, Yianna, Zapp, Kif, PRESIDENT NIXON'S HEAD (without his robot body), MOM and her THREE SONS (slapping the hell out of each other for no particular reason), PROFESSOR WERNSTRUM (in the middle of a Glaring Contest with Farnsworth) and of course, the mysterious NUMBER 9 MAN. The PE crew is sitting at a large round table near the podium, unfortunately near Zapp (Kif is to his left, Wernstrum is to his right, and Yianna is at the head of the table on Kif's other side). Zapp spots his violet-haired cyclops and leans over to strike up a conversation..

ZAPP: Sooo, we meet again. Ooh, you cut your hair. How... sexy. (Seductively) Let's say you and me go back to my place after this party and get to know each other all over again?

KILYNA: (turning around) Who the hell are you?

ZAPP: Ah! You're not Leela! You're a discriminating duplicate of her! (Whispers to Kif) Kif, make sure that those aliens didn't blast us into some parallel universe where everything is not as it seems.

KIF: (to Yianna) Why did you invite him again?

Back at the table, Kily is looking at Leela strangely.

KILYNA: Do you know that pervert?

LEELA: Um, sort of.

BENDER: Yeah, she should know him after they "did it" .

LEELA: Bender!

KILYNA: (disapproving) Oh Toronga, you didn't.

LEELA: It was an accident! I swear...

ZAPP: (Amorous) Anyway, Leela, I got the Nimbus parked a few blocks away...

LEELA:(snide) Sorry Zapp, but I've already got someone waiting at home for me.

ZOIDBERG: (baffled) You do?

LEELA: (acting) Oh yeah. His name's Aaron, and he's cute and respectful and he loves everything about me...

ZOIDBERG: (furious) You! You cheated on me! Oooooh! This is the last time I pay you to take me out on a date! Now where's that shrimp buffet?

Zoidberg storms off, still flustered at Leela. A few moments later, the lights dim slightly and a spotlight illuminates the podium. Yianna steps up to it.

YIANNA: As you know, we are gathered here today to acknowledge the defeat of the Cycuses, their merge with DOOP, and the heros who made this all possible. It will take may months before our planet is back in the fine shape it was once in, but the heros of the day have proven that once and for all, we will be knocked down, only to rise again and not become the defeated. Wait, that didn't come out right...

SFX: CLAPPING

YIANNA: (CONT) I am sure you all know that none of this would be possible in the long run without help from the famous universal hero, Captain Joah Sheecera. Unfortunately, Joah was unable to attend tonight; (PAUSE) he was killed by the enemy he'd tried so hard to defeat, just four days ago.

SFX: AUDIENCE MURMURS

YIANNA: (CONT) But still we were able to succeed, and it was only with the help of one person, and only one, that we were able to beat the odds and win. That one person is the daughter of the captain himself; Miss Toronga Leela Sheecera.

Zapp spits out his wine at this. The spotlight shifts over to Leela, who's sitting in her seat, shocked. With encouragement from her fellow crew members, she stands up and absorbs the enormous amount of applause that she's being given.

CUT TO- ZAPP

ZAPP: Well, whadaya know. My lover's a galactic hero. Kif, be sure to note that in my Captain's Log tonight. (PAUSE) Well, what are you waiting for, write it already!

KIF: Ugh! (Takes out book) Captain's Log of Important Dates and Occasions. Page two...

CUT TO- PE TABLE

Leela's still standing, and Fry's calling out various forms of verbal praise.

FRY: Woo Hoo! You rock Leela! You da bomb! (Etc.)

Yianna steps down from the podium, carrying a medal down with her. She comes up to Leela and presents it to her.

YIANNA: Toronga Sheecera, for your acts of bravery and courage, and on the behalf of your father, I present you with the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The clapping becomes explosive as Yianna placed the metal around Leela's neck. Somewhere in the whole mess of things, Leela finds herself looking in Fry's direction. He's beaming proudly at her, and for a moment, something passes between them. But, that moment passes as well, and Leela turns red and looks away.

SCENE 55

CUT TO- BANQUET HALL- LATER

A few hours later, the majority of the couples are on the dance floor. Currently, a DJ is set up in the back of the room, playing some 31st Century hip-hop hit. Fry and Amy are among the couples out there, but find that it's had to dance when one partner keeps staring at Leela (Zoidberg's abandoned her for some cocktail shrimp at the Buffet).

AMY: Fry, stop it.

FRY: Stop what?

AMY: That! You keep looking at Leela.

FRY: Oh. Um, sorry.

Fry turns his attention back to Amy, but after only a few more steps he finds it on Leela again.

AMY: *Sigh* Just go over there and ask.

FRY: For what?

AMY: You know what! You want her, so go and get her!

FRY: (stunned) You mean, you don't care...

AMY: Just go. I'll be fine.

FRY: Uh, okay.

Fry heads off towards Leela, and Amy watches him leave.

AMY: Finally! (Wanders over to Groxn). Hey there, handsome. Wanna dance?

CUT TO- SHOT OF PE CREW TABLE

Leela's sitting at the table, chatting with Kilyna, when Fry comes up behind her (unbeknown to Leela herself). He watches her for a few moments.

CUT TO- SHOT OF LEELA

Leela's sitting forlornly at the table with Kily, as Zapp tries to engulf her in some conversation.

ZAPP:(serious) I'm serious, Leela. It's been a long time.

LEELA: Not long enough.

ZAPP: (ignoring her) Please, Leela? I mean, what does this guy Aaron have that I don't?

LEELA: A pacifier. (Kily laughs) Excuse me.

Leela quickly slips away from the table, leaving a disappointed and confused Zapp. Fry backs away to avoid her chair, and much to his surprise, she comes straight up to him.

LEELA: Hey, wanna go outside?

FRY: Um, okay.

CUT TO- CITY HALL- OUTSIDE

As soon as they exit's the building, Leela finds herself eyeing the sky, now scattered with shimmering stars and a crescent moon. Absentmindedly, she clutches the medal around her neck and looks it over in awe; it says plenty on it, but what grabs her attention is the name: Toronga Leela Sheecera. She fingers the letters in Sheecera' for a few moments, then finds herself gazing at the stars for quite some time. Fry shifts uncomfortably.

FRY: You okay?

LEELA: (dull) Yeah.

For awhile, the two don't say anything; they just star gaze. This is incredibly boring on Fry's part.

FRY: Um... congratulations.

LEELA: Thanks.

PAUSE

FRY: Leela? LEELA: Fry?

^--------- (in unison)

LEELA: You go first.

FRY: No, you.

LEELA: Um, I just wanted to say thanks. For being there for me and all that. (Wirily) And for trying to save my life. Even if I _am_ a murderer...

FRY: Are you gonna keep blaming yourself for his death for the rest of your life? Because if you think about it, it wasn't your fault...

LEELA: *Sigh* No, I know I had to do it... but I can't believe I let him just slip through my fingers like that.

FRY: What?

LEELA: (frustrated) It's an endless cycle, Fry! All my life, I've been looking for someone who loves me the way I am. Every time I thought I'd found him, he either disappeared or turned out to be a pig. Somehow, I _did_ find him. (soft) But then I had to let him go. Now I don't have anyone. And I'll just keep on looking until I find someone else who comes even close to that. (Muttering) And that could take forever.

FRY: Well, maybe not. There's gotta be _someone_ out there for you, and I know you'll find him soon enough. (PAUSE) Who knows, maybe you've already found him...

Leela looks up at Fry and stares at him.

LEELA: (sincere) Are you trying to tell me something?

FRY: (nervous) Uh, no, not really. I mean, well, yeah... no, wait...

LEELA: (interrupting) Good, because I sort of wanted to tell you something.

FRY: You do?

LEELA: Yeah. Um, I was thinking about what you said on the ship. You know, what you think about me?

FRY: And...?

LEELA: Well... I guess we... maybe we could... um, look. You and I have known each other ever since you came here. And even though you're dumb, helpless, immature and really annoying sometimes...

FRY: *Moan*

LEELA: ...you're also the sweetest guy I know. Even after all we've been through together, you still honest, and nice, and...

FRY: Impulsive?

Timidly, they take each other's hands. With a romantic hesitation passing them by, they both lean in, close their eye(s), and kiss. Mind you, this is not the sleazy "kiss-him/her-while-he/she's-not- expecting-it stunt pulled back on the Cerca. And this isn't one of those "kiss-n-miss kisses, either. This is the real thing, folks. With lips still locked, Fry wraps his arms around Leela and she in turn secures her arms around his neck. Only one comment can be made about such an amoristic moment as this; It's about bloody time already! Meanwhile, in the background, Cubert is watching with a scowl.

CUT TO- SHOT OF CUBERT

Cubert stares at the new couple for a long time, then turns to the camera (the following scene is dedicated to all the skeptics who believe Fry and Leela are totally wrong for each other).

CUBERT: I can't believe this! This romance thing has been blown totally out of proportion! Since when can two people hook up as friends for four years, and then on the spur of the moment become lovers?! There's no such thing as love at first sight! (Takes out 20 pages of paper) I know, because _I_ have the statistics! Besides, everyone knows that Leela's too smart for an idiot like Fry, there's no denying it! This isn't The Simpsons, people, this is _real life_! How can an moron like him be her lover...

BENDER: (OS) Hey, shaddup!

A beer bottle comes flying from OS, konks Cubert in the head, and he falls out of the picture, unconscious, leaving us with a final glimpse of Fry and Leela kissing in the background. ZOOM OUT to reveal Kilyna watching them across the street for a few more moments, before sighing and wandering off.

SCENE 56

CUT TO- THE STREETS OUTSIDE

Kilyna is standing on the sidewalk, opposite the building, star gazing. Vyolet joins her.

VYOLET: Hey! Whachu doing out here?

KILYNA: Musing. I still can't believe she saved us.

VYOLET: You must be really proud of her.

KILYNA: Yes, but I'm sure she knows that.

VYOLET: You almost lost it back there in the sewers when you saw her. *Ahem* I know you told me not to mention it again, but why didn't you tell her that you were... you know.

KILYNA: Remember a few years ago, when I came down with Owen's group to check the planet out, but I came back, because I knew it wasn't safe for me to stay?

VYOLET: Yeah. So?

KILYNA: When Joah took me back here, I told him that I'd look for Toronga and explain this whole mess to her. That's what triggered this whole thing, and I thank God each day that I never found her before the war. If I had found her and told her everything, then Kang would have found out. Somehow. And he would have found her and killed her, too. And then there would be nothing left of our kind.

VYOLET: There's still Zrambo.

KILYNA: Like I said; nothing left.

VYOLET: But you heard what she said. She thinks you're dead!

KILYNA: I know. I was lucky Kang mistakened Owen's friend for me, I was even luckier to get her son out of his grasp when I could. And even _luckier_ that someone found him before Kang did. The Cycuses aren't gone; they have their followers. They can still turn their backs on DOOP and come back looking for me. They know they missed someone from the group. And if they find me, they'll find Toronga and Aaron.

VYOLET: (Snorts) You and your paranoia. C'mon, you know that's pretty rare.

KILYNA: Not rare enough for me.

VYOLET: So... you're not gonna tell her?

KILYNA: Maybe one day, but not now. Not until I know it's safe.

Vyolet gives her friend a hard stare and shakes her head.

VYOLET: You're a strange one, Jeanne. A good one, but strange.

Vyolet walks off, leaving "Kilyna" with her thoughts.

~FIN

I'll spare you the over-written A/Ns and finish with a round of Virtual M&Ms and roses to all the people who took the time to read this script.

~Officer 1BDI