PRE-COMIC BANNER.)

 (Words are in white over the Kingfisher page's customary black, with fancy quasi-gothic hand-crafted lettering. Supporting the
   words are images of a santa-capped robin head and a fanged deer with candy cane in mouth. Snowflakes are peppered about.)

TEXT: Gottmesse Grüße    ihr treuen Jungs!

1.)

(The comic's style recalls the old Antearctan Godmastide edition with Olga, Jack, and friends. The colors are shades of green
    with red touches. The difference? We open with Anselm, Von Hechten, and Regen chilling in VH's abode. Anselm sighs.)

ANSELM: EXAGGERATED SIIIIGH

2.)

(Two shot of Von Hechten and Regen. VH is dismissive and Regen has an ambiguous expression.)

VON HECHTEN: Oh what is it now? We've got to get to the Winter Blood Social.

3.)

(Anselm looks forlorn as he complains.)

ANSELM: It's nearly Gottmesse and I haven't gotten to do anything festive.

4.)

(Von Hechten is still dismissive pulling "talk to the hand" stance, Regen sits impassive, and Anselm freaks out with bug eyes.)

VON HECHTEN: Tch, don't knock the Blood Social 'til you try it, thanks.

REGEN: What's so special about Gottmesse?

ANSELM: Heilige Sheiße!

5.)

(Anselm explains bitterly, talking with his hands like Shatner.)

ANSELM: It's only the most interesting Grauisch cultural experience of the year.

REGEN: (off panel) ...Okay.

6.)

(Now Regen is making dismissive gestures.)

REGEN: Interesting? I mean, didn't you get your fill of that in childhood?

ANSELM: (off panel) No way!

7.)

   (Flashback of child Anselm, receiving a rock from his
mother in disappointment and impoverished surroundings.)

INTERTITLE / ANSELM NARRATION: We couldn't even afford real eggs to sacrifice,

8.)

(Child Anselm and a friend approach a scruffy tree on an urban street, ribbon-festooned rocks in hand.)

INTERTITLE / ANSELM NARRATION: And it turned out that the local yew tree was just an ugly pine...

9.)

(Back to reality. Von Hechten puts on a jacket, impatient for their social plans. Anselm continues rambling.)

ANSELM: No wonder we didn't find any hedgehogs.

VON HECHTEN: Ran-dom!

REGEN: It's child's fare. You of all people should know what the world's like.

10.)

(More wistful Anselm faces as visions of rats scurry by.)

ANSELM:   But this is the time of year you can forget all that, by burying cookies
under your porch. Okay, putting them under my welcome mat only attracted rats, but...

11.)

(Anselm looks childish and cartoony now, while still sad. A potted poinsetta of the imagination looms near, a bell sitting in its soil. To the right we see )

DANIELLE'S RINGTONE: OO DANCE WE GOTTA OO

12.)

(She looks upon it with hints of surprise and sorrow, low key.)

13.)

(Her message screen.)

M.ENDL: Hey I still have a thing of yours. Meet me @ the gift shop, 7:00~?

14.)

(Later, she is entering a hospital's gift shop. The world looks gloomy.)

15.)

(Someone in an aisle whistles to her. Balloons hang above near the artificial lights.)

SOMEONE OFF PANEL: ♪

DANIELLE: Mark?

16.)

(She begins to turn, expression weary but friendly.)

DANIELLE: I

17.)

(Her expression is replaced with astonishment.)

DANIELLE: *

18.)

(Jack is there in the Dracula hypno-pose! He wears the glasses from Red Boots and a flannel like unto his youthful styles.)

JACK: RELAX

19.)

(Jack continues his spiel from off-panel while Danielle's eyes swirl in hypno thrall.)

JACK: Tonight you will feel Jack Ballard calling. When you come...

20.)

(Danielle is swirly-eyed and surrounded by swirls.)

21.)

(She snaps to, with someone getting her attention.)

SOMEONE: (from off panel) Danielle? Hello. Hey.

22.)

(It was a scene change! She's at home in bed with her loving man, just chillin'.)

DANIELLE: Sorry, Lionel. Guess I'm more tired than usual.

LIONEL: It's alright, love. Have a sleep, then.

23.)

(The lovers are all snuggly. Aww.)

24.)

(Danielle is startled to wakefulness by the phantom mouth of Jack doing his magic call.)

JACK MOUTH: CURLY FRY, COME TO ME

25.)

(Her nightstand, with glasses and contact lenses.)

26.)

(She has taken the glasses.)

27.)

(As she staggers along putting on her glasses, we can see her hair has, in the course
 of her evening, shaken off the effects of the straightening comb. It is voluminous.)

28.)

(Swirls abound once more as she moves along in the hypno haze. She is now holding her clothes - one tiny garment and one large.)

29.)

(The tiny item was her purple leggings, the large a green t-shirt that reads "PARK - VARSITY." She is donning them as she goes.)

30.)

   (The elements are assembled - big hair, glasses, big t-shirt, skinny leggings,
skinny person within it all. Her head is obscure like a wolfman before the howl.)

31.)

(At her door stands Jack, in the accoutrement of his living self.)

JACK: Oy, Fry.

DANIELLE: (off panel) Oy, Jick.

32.)

(DANIELLE IS BECOME CURLYFRY ONCE MORE! AIEEE! She smiles and tries to grasp the meaning of this image of her dead friend.)

CURLYFRY: Wot dark fate leads this smiling spectre of yesteryear to shadow Curly's door?

33.)

(Jack is expressing his lament and Curly is looking thoughtful.)

JACK: The darkest! I am dead, Curlyfry, & it sucks in more than just the obvious way.

CURLYFRY: Death is dark. To see the light of it, we must blaze something

34.)

(Jack smiles and flashes two doobies between his fingers.)

JACK: Blaze we will.

35.)

(Moments later, green smoke puffs, and the two have become more cartoonish. Curly is able to feel the effects more
   and has become a wriggly-tongued monstrosity such as might grace the bottom of a skateboard decades before.)

***TEXT INTERLUDE BEGINS***

36.)

('Tis Curlyfry in glory, chilling with a fat spliff in the outdoors at her apartment complex. Smoke tendrils abound.)

37.)

(Curlyfry gestures for serious with a clawed hand.)

38.)

(Jack and Curlyfry look spacy, with silky strands of smoke floating all about them.)

CURLYFRY: I dunno.

***TEXT INTERLUDE ENDS***

39.)

(Jack and Curlyfry look more realistic than previously, Curly in the foreground and space-faced.)

CURLYFRY: I don't know. 'Tis drastic to awaken the Fry...

40.)

(Jack looks concerned as Curlyfry is looking more twisted, with stars floating about her head.)

JACK: Are you OK?

CURLYFRY: The ganj is unpeaceful

41.)

(Curly makes a dire pronouncement in a horror movie style, fingers claw-like.)

CURLYFRY: We must burn this unholy fuel in ways befitting its herbal rancour.

42.)

(Jack looks faintly freaked out and Curly is exhaling at the car ceiling like a wolf to the moon.)

JACK: When you're right, you're right...

43.)

(Degenerate "comix" style Jack and Curly express dark intent.)

SPOOKY LETTERINGS: LET'S RIDE

44.)

  (Jack and Curly drive out on a mission of mayhem. Jack waves an arm in the night air, Curly hangs out the window with
her doobie smoking. Jack's car is the mighty Shiny One that was previously deployed in the service of global chaossss 'n' shit.)

THE SHINY ONE: VreeeooommbBBB

45.)

(We see a sleeping lady. Her hair is now pink, yet she was once a dark-dyed goth baby putting tongues on Jack in Chapter 9.5.
      In the background also snoozes her dude. She was once named Aster but I changed it to Cyanide. Don't judge me.)

APPROACHING VEHICLE OUTSIDE: RMBBBB

46.)

(Cyanide is awakened in terror, with spectral Jack eyes floating in her brainspace.)

JACK: (in the mentals) CYANIDE, COME TO ME

47.)

(With trepidation she pulls on the cord of her horizontal blinds.)

48.)

(Cyanide is shocked to see levitating Jack and Curlyfry outside her window, and drops the cord. The blinds remain open.)

49.)

(Curly points to Jack as he makes a sassy accusatory expression at their victim.)

CURLYFRY: Your kissing made him gaaay...

50.)

(Cyanide is mortified. Or terrified. She pulls a pulp novel cover expression, hands on face, shock lines shocking.)

51.)

(The hot rod flies through the air rumbling. We see it from beneath, mid-leap.)

THE SHINY ONE: RMMBBB

52.)

(The shiny one is looking hella BA powering on, motion lines all about it. Lil' white reflections of Curly and Jack glasses can be seen within.)

53.)

(Outside a nightlife spot, Jack and Curly loom all menacing. The neon sign is lovely and pink.)

NEON SIGN: The Gay Duke

54.)

(Inside the club, Jack and Curly creep toward two seated people. One wears
     a fur coat and makeup, the other is balding with elaborate piercings.)

55.)

(Behold! We see it's the villainous harpy personage known as Stevia. The other person must be Bucket of Cheese.)

STEVIA: I know, Bucket, I (text disappears off panel) you don't (text disappears off panel) that see (text disappears off panel)

THEIR PHONE VIBIN': BZZ

56.)

(As Stevia receives the call, Jack and Curly can be seen in the background, biding their time for to prank them. Bucket of Cheese is nonplussed.)

STEVIA: Oh my god, Councilman Wenders, you have got to stop calling me like this. I know, but-

57.)

(Stevia momentarily muffles the receiver of their phone to explain the situation to Bucket of Cheese.)

STEVIA: He can't get enough of me.

BUCKET OF CHEESE: Yup.

58.)

(Jack's face as his patience wears thin. So furious.)

59.)

(Stevia still gabbles away into their phone piece.)

60.)

(Curly's face as her patience wears thin. So curly.)

61.)

(Tighter shot of the Stevia mouth, still running. It never ends!)

62.)

(Jack and Curly drive away in frustration, car engine thundering. Jack flips a bird.)

JACK: FUCK IT!

THE SHINY ONE: NNYEEERRMBBB

63.)

(Cerise is startled to wakefulness by ghoulish Jack summons.)

JACK: (in the mentals) CERISE   COME TO ME

64.)

(Cerise staggers through a long hall and out into the street lights.)

65.)

(Jack has Curly by the arm and they are floating around Cerise like mothaflippin' Lost Boys. She is amazed.)

CURLYFRY: We're the ghosts of youthness past...

JACK: Karl is still totally into you...

CERISE: Really?

66.)

(Jack's sporting machine peels away with muscle fury.)

THE SHINY ONE: VRRRR

67.)

(Jack's car is losing traction as it brakes hard. Hints of Jack and Curly are visible within.)

THE SHINY ONE: SCREEEE

68.)

(Jack's hot rod is driving in reverse.)

THE SHINY ONE: VRM BM VRM

69.)

(They've returned and Jack is reprogramming Cerise with a tender expression on. Curly leans in on his shoulder.)

JACK: OK, actually, Karl is totally gay. Also, you're over him. You got hella self-respect.

***END TEXT BEGINS***

70.)

(Jack and Danielle share a hug. Will he erase her memories? Will they ever see each other again? No answers as the story concludes.)

LAST BIT O' TEXT: THE END