FADE IN:
INT. A DARK, OPULENT ROOM - NIGHT
The team tumbles through GLITCH's portal, landing not in a safe house, but in a room that is a fusion of a museum and a prison. Impossible artifacts are displayed in glass cases, lit like masterpieces. They are in the heart of THE CURATOR's collection in Macau. Glitch is there, giving a theatrical bow to The Curator, who sits in a high-backed chair, shrouded in shadow.
GLITCH > Delivery, as promised. They're a bit traumatized, but all the pieces are there. My payment?
The Curator slides a small, intricately carved wooden box across a polished table. Glitch pockets it with a grin.
ARIS > You sold us out!
GLITCH > (shrugs) > It was the most interesting plot twist. Keeps the viewers engaged! Ta-ta!
Glitch vanishes. The team is alone, trapped. Heavy doors slide shut. They are prisoners.
The darkness of this episode comes from its structure, inspired by a psychological thriller. The Curator does not want to kill them. He wants to dissect them, to understand the nature of his new "acquisitions." He separates them, placing each in a room designed to exploit their deepest fears and traumas from the Wasteland.
THE INTERROGATION: A MONTAGE OF TEMPTATIONS
•JULIAN'S SCENE (The Soldier's Burden): Julian is in a stark, concrete room. A large screen shows a live satellite feed of a family in a remote cabin.
THE CURATOR (V.O.) > A good family. The next name on Malakor's list of potential sensitives. An Echo is manifesting nearby. You can't get to them in time. The screen splits, showing a squad of The Curator's mercenaries deploying nearby.
THE CURATOR (V.O.) > But I can. You live by a code of protection, Julian. But you are one man, and your reach is short. Swear your loyalty to me, and my reach becomes yours. You will never have to watch helplessly again. Or you can watch this family die, knowing you could have saved them. The choice is yours. Julian stares, his hands clenched into fists, his code of honor being turned into a weapon against him.
•KAELEN'S SCENE (The Queen's Gambit): Kaelen is in the main gallery, standing before The Curator. He doesn't show her a screen. He gestures to the artifacts around them.
THE CURATOR > All of this... it is the debris of broken timelines. The shrapnel of a war you are only just beginning to comprehend. He leans in, his voice a conspiratorial whisper.
THE CURATOR > I know about the Chronovore. The god that eats time. Malakor thinks he can fight it with force. You think you can fight it with hope. You are both children, throwing stones at a hurricane. He offers her a drink.
THE CURATOR > There is only one way to survive a god: you must starve it. That requires control. Absolute, cold, and calculating. The kind of control the Oracle attempted, but lacked the will to see through. I have that will. Join me, Kaelen. Not as a partner. As a queen. We will build a new kind of empire, a cage of perfect order to protect one, single, pristine timeline. We will save humanity by taking away the choices that endanger it. It is the only move that wins.
THE CLIMAX: THE BARGAIN
The team is brought back together. They are psychologically shattered, each having been offered a dark mirror of their deepest desire. Kaelen sees the brokenness in their eyes. She knows they are on the verge of collapsing.
She looks at The Curator, her expression now cold and pragmatic. She has made a decision. This is not a heroic escape. This is a surrender to necessity.
KAELEN > You want to be a collector. Fine. I will retrieve one item for you. An object from a place only I can reach. In exchange, you will give us Malakor's location, and you will let my people go.
THE CURATOR > (smiles, intrigued) > A fascinating offer. What object?
KAELEN > It's called the "Prometheus Engine." The weapon the Oracle erased from history.
The Curator's eyes light up with insatiable greed. To own a weapon that could rewrite reality... it is the ultimate prize.
THE CURATOR > You have a deal.
The episode ends with the team walking out of the casino into the Macau night. They are free, they have a destination, and they have a mission. But the victory feels like ash in their mouths. They look like soldiers returning from a battle they have lost.
The final shot is of The Curator, watching them on a monitor. He picks up a phone.
THE CURATOR > She took the bait. Prepare the containment team. Once she retrieves the engine for me... collect her as well.
FADE TO BLACK.
END OF EPISODE 20
