The panel is dark.
After a moment, Nakatomi speaks.
“The toughest prison in the world is not physical. You don’t get there by committing crimes. You only find yourself there when trapped in a wrong relationship—an abusive marriage, unforgiveness, and low self-esteem.”
—Bamigboye Olurotimi
The darkness fades into a bright, well-kept suburban home.
The front door bursts open.
A man storms inside, loudly announcing that he’s home for his wife and kids.
A young Nakatomi comes running down the hallway with her arms stretched out, pretending to be an airplane. She laughs as she runs straight into the man’s legs. He scoops her up immediately and lifts her into the air, spinning her around like a jet.
She squeals with joy.
He sets her down, but she continues bouncing with excitement, asking rapid-firing questions about his day.
Her mother enters the room, cradling a newborn baby boy. She gently tells Nakatomi to calm down and give her stepfather, Bryant, a moment to relax—he’s just returned from a long deployment.
Bryant greets them both with overwhelming excitement. He kisses his wife, then gently touches the baby’s face.
He has news.
Good news.
Great news.
He practically shouts that everything is about to change.
The mother looks confused as Bryant announces that he was promoted during his deployment.
The family erupts in cheers.
Hugs. Kisses. Laughter.
Once the excitement settles, the mother asks what the promotion means for their family.
Bryant explains that during his deployment, he was approached by the United Union. They offered him a position on their Sol Partner test committee. He would volunteer himself—and his Sol Partner—for experimental testing involving a new energy source called Solar.
The mother grows uneasy, but Bryant reassures her. This is the future, he says. Soon everyone will be using Solar. They’re just lucky enough to be part of the first wave.
The United Union would cover all of the family’s expenses, as long as Bryant and his Sol Partner remained available for testing.
Then he drops the final bombshell.
They’re moving.
A big city. Fully funded by the UU.
They should start packing immediately.
The mother hesitates, worried about Nakatomi’s schooling and how such a massive change might affect her.
Bryant crouches down in front of four-year-old Nakatomi and asks her if she wants to move to a huge house in an amazing place where she can make tons of friends.
Nakatomi screams yes, launching herself into his arms.
Bryant laughs, kissing her forehead over and over, then looks back at his wife and assures her that everything is going to be fine.
The panels shift.
The family travels to a place that looks like Hollywood.
The moment they step off the plane, they’re treated like royalty. Escorts. Smiles. Cameras.
They’re driven to their new house and it’s massive, spotless, unreal!
The kids sprint through the halls, exploring every room.
Outside, Bryant pulls Nakatomi’s mother close and kisses her. Together, they stand on the sidewalk, staring up at their new home.
Bryant smiles.
“Let our new life begin.”
A montage follows.
The family on a cruise ship.
At amusement parks.
Walking a red carpet premiere.
They become famous. Well-known. Admired.
Everyone wants to be like them.
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They’re at their peak.
The scene cuts.
Nakatomi is at a sleepover.
The kids are around six or seven years old.
The setting mirrors something straight out of Mean Girls—a massive bedroom, luxury everywhere, and a friend’s mom hovering nearby, desperately trying to be the “cool mom.”
When the mom finally leaves, the room changes.
Whispers turn into gossip.
The girls lean closer together, voices dropping.
One girl whispers into another’s ear.
Then she calls out to Nakatomi.
They tell her they’re going to give her a makeover.
The room erupts with excitement.
Before Nakatomi can react, they shove her into the bathroom.
Three girls surround her—pushing, pulling, smearing makeup across her face.
They finally step back and force her to look in the mirror.
She looks like a clown.
Not figuratively.
An actual clown.
Bright colors. Smudged lips. Painted eyes.
A fake, exaggerated smile.
Nakatomi starts to cry.
The girls tell her maybe a haircut will cheer her up.
She screams no, but two of them hold her down on the toilet.
The third girl turns the music up loud and starts cutting.
Chunks of hair fall to the floor.
Nakatomi screams and struggles, trying to break free.
Outside the bathroom, the girl’s mom walks past, hears the music, and laughs—thinking the girls are just having fun.
Nakatomi finally breaks free and looks in the mirror.
A large patch of hair is missing.
Her face crumples.
Then something changes.
Anger rises—visible beneath the clown paint.
The girls back away.
One says it was just a joke.
Another calls it a silly prank.
Nakatomi grabs the plunger beside the toilet.
“I don’t like pranks.”
She attacks them.
Clown face and all.
The bathroom door flies open.
The girl’s mom stands frozen, holding refreshments.
She drops everything. To see two of the girls on the ground crying and Nakatomi on top of the other girl beating her face in with her fist.
The mom grabs Nakatomi by the arm.
Slaps her across the face.
The ringing is deafening.
The panel goes blank.
The cold snaps back.
We’re at the pre-exams.
Nakatomi breaks through the surface of the water, gasping. All around her is water and broken pieces of ice. Nothing but frozen landscape.
Kahan and his two others that look like twins emerge nearby, quickly realizing they’ll need to swim under the ice to reach the next checkpoint.
They dive and disappear.
Then Patto surfaces.
He panics.
He screams Bosatsu’s name.
No response.
He looks down.
Bosatsu’s body floats beneath the surface, lifeless.
Patto dives, grabs him, and drags him up.
Bosatsu’s skin is blue. Ice-cold.
Patto sobs, screaming for help.
He sees Nakatomi and begs her to assist.
He explains he has just enough energy left to get Bosatsu to the next stage, but not enough to heal him. He needs her help transporting him so he can save Bosatsu and continue the exams.
Nakatomi refuses.
She has her own problems.
She dives beneath the ice and swims away.
Patto remains in the freezing water, begging anyone who passes for help.
No one stops.
Many quit the exam entirely—the cold is too much.
Patto looks down at Bosatsu.
“It’s up to me,” he whispers. “I won’t let you die.”
He surrounds both of them with his remaining energy and swims the entire distance.
At the next stage, he collapses, laying Bosatsu on the ground before dropping beside him, completely drained.
Nakatomi sees them.
Patto weakly asks her to stop.
He talks about how all he ever wanted was a friend. How Bosatsu showed him kindness and real friendship.
“I just want to help him,” Patto says. “I don’t want my friend to die.”
Then he asks her:
“Isn’t there anyone you care about? Anyone you ever wanted to help?”
The question triggers a memory.
Nakatomi sits in her bedroom as her mother brushes her hair in front of a mirror.
They talk about how some girls at school don’t understand Nakatomi—how they’re jealous because she’s “too pretty.”
A reflection appears behind them.
Bryant.
Drunk.
He announces it’s time for the mother to take the younger child to soccer practice.
The mother agrees quickly.
Nakatomi says she wants to go too.
Her mother agrees.
Bryant insists she stay.
He says mother and daughter need some time apart.
The women protest gently, saying it’s not a big deal if Nakatomi comes along.
Bryant grabs the mother’s arm.
Hard.
She freezes.
Then she leaves alone.
Bryant watches her car disappear from the window.
He turns slowly.
Smiling.
Nakatomi sits on her bed, hugging her knees.
Bryant approaches.
Talks about how much he’s missed her.
Touches her shoulder.
Kisses her neck.
The door creaks.
The mother returns—something felt wrong.
She sees everything.
She screams.
Bryant snaps.
He hits her.
She screams that she’s leaving—taking the kids.
He tells her she can’t survive without him.
That they’re nothing without him.
He screams that the youngest child isn’t even his.
Accuses her of cheating during his deployment.
She calls him a liar.
He slaps her.
She collapses beside Nakatomi.
They lock eyes and both begin to cry.
Her mother mouths for her to run.
Nakatomi grabs her sibling and hides in the closet.
Bryant finds them.
He rips the door open.
Grabs Nakatomi.
Throw her aside.
Before he can reach the other child, the mother smashes a lamp over his head.
She grabs the kids.
They run.
They escape in one of the UU-funded vehicles.
They flee.
At a red light, Bryant pulls up beside them.
Terrified, the mother guns it into traffic.
Bryant follows.
SMASH!!!
A crash.
His car is destroyed.
He’s dying.
The mother hugs her children.
“He’s gone,” she whispers.
The news later reports Bryant’s death.
The mother is charged.
The UU cuts funding.
The family loses everything.
The memory shatters.
Nakatomi gasps.
She turns back toward Bosatsu.
Toward Patto.
Her jaw tightens.
She kneels beside Bosatsu’s body. His skin is cold, too cold.
She reaches for him, then pulls her hand back.
“I don’t know how to do this,” she says quietly. “I’ve never transferred energy like that before. Only taken it.”
Patto lets out a weak laugh.
“Figures,” he says. “Guess we’re both bad at this.”
He closes his eyes.
“Take mine,” he says. “Whatever’s left.”
Nakatomi hesitates.
“Being a good friend, means you don’t leave someone behind.”
Nakatomi gets a determined look on her face. She looks down at Bosatsu’s weak body and she tries the energy transfer.
Nothing happens.
Bosatsu doesn’t move.
Patto’s breathing becomes shallow.
Nakatomi feels the pressure building in her chest, panic, anger, fear. They’re all crashing together.
She slams her hands down on the ice.
“No,” she mutters. “Not like this.”
She leans down.
Presses her mouth to Bosatsu’s.
Once.
Nothing.
Again.
Her hands shake as she forces air into his lungs.
Bosatsu begins coughs violently.
Ice water spills from his mouth as he jerks forward, gasping for air.
His eyes snap open.
Patto laughs weakly, collapsing onto his back.
Nakatomi sits there, frozen—hands still hovering, breath unsteady.
For the first time in a long while, she doesn’t look angry.
She looks relieved..
“Did we just kiss?” Bosatsu coughs up.
The panel slowly fades to black.
