Balan Wonderworld Goes to Hell

Episode Nine: The Artist Facing the First Death

(Lights up on the Isle of Tims where we last left off. LEO, EMMA, and ATTILIO are all standing over BALAN at the edge of the island. BALAN is now lying on his side with his hands still on his hat and his legs curled up. His suit is no longer sparkly.)

Attilio-Do you think he's gonna be okay?

(BALAN takes a deep breath in and rolls over onto his back.)

Emma-Balan! Are you alright?

Balan-(groaning) No.

Leo-Dude...what happened?

(BALAN sighs.)

Balan-This is what happens when I use all my power.

Emma-All your power?

Balan-I have no more power.

Emma-What are we supposed to do now?

Balan-Go on without me. I'll catch up with you. I just need to recharge for a few minutes.

Emma-Good. He can recharge.

Leo-Okay. Um...

(He looks around.)

Leo-Go where?

(BALAN shakily lifts his arm and points at door number 10.)

Balan-Door number 10. That's the last door that doesn't involve death. That is, unless you count mourning the loss of your artistic passion.

Emma-You heard him, Leo. Let's go on without him.

(She and LEO run over to door number 10. Opening theme. Cut to a room with a checkered floor and paint splattered on the walls. LEO and EMMA appear on a circle in the middle.)

Leo-Do you really think we can do this on our own?

Emma-We kind of have to, at least until Balan catches up.

(She summons the changing curtain. They see the costumes inside.)

Emma-The costumes are back!

Leo-Lance must have changed his mind after that little heart-to-heart.

Emma-The heart-to-heart where Lance left Balan in his dust?

(She changes into the Frost Fairy costume. They continue through the doorway ahead of them. On the other side is an even larger room full of stairs going in all different directions.)

Leo-Hey, Emma. Look! We're in Picasso!

Emma-Leo...

(Long pause.)

Leo-What did you think it was?

Emma-It's clearly MC Escher! Were you not paying attention in art class?

Leo-Well, what art class did you attend?

(They run up the stairs ahead of them. It's a dead end.)

Voice-Hey!

(They both flinch.)

Leo-Please tell me that was just an illusion.

(They jump off to the right. There's a key in front of them. LEO picks it up. They turn around and find another set of stairs. An illusion of LUCY WONG sits about halfway up.)

Leo-Alright, Miss Art Expert Extraordinaire. Who's that?

Emma-I think that's Lucy Wong.

Leo-Wait, she's actually famous?

(They start climbing up the stairs.)

Emma-In the Chinese-American art world, yeah. She's most well-known for her landscapes and still lifes. Some people say her paintings are "too Western," but those are the types of haters that she paints for. In one interview, she said, "Whenever someone says my paintings aren't Chinese enough, I paint another still life."