Beesly 2: Round 6

Last round, Pamela and Rhys Beesly turned to elders, and celebrated their golden anniversary. At the party, Pamela realized that she never solved one of the biggest mysteries of her life-the disappearance of her mother. Meanwhile, their youngest July grew to a child, and they adopted a cat named Mifflin. Rhys also began to focus more on his lifetime want-earning $100,000.



Yup, this is pretty much where I left you last time. How's it going, Rhys?

Rhys: Oh, ok I guess. I'm not getting much closer, though.

Really? I would think those robots would be fetching a small fortune.

Rhys: They do. But they take almost an entire day to make. And then I have my real job, and taking care of July. It's not going to be enough to get me another $50,000.

Well, that real job does pay you, I hope.


Wow, July. You look rather grown-up today.

July: Thanks. I wanted to look special today. It's my last day at my school.

Huh?



Harlem: But we just met! How come you're not coming back anymore?

July: I'm still going to school, silly. But tonight is my birthday-I'm going to be going to high school after that.



Congratulations, Pamela. It's too bad that money doesn't help out your husband.

Pamela: I know. But you know how men are-he wants to do it himself.



What are you looking so dreamy about, July?

July: Oh, nothing.



Happy birthday, dear July...



Not bad. Have you chosen an aspiration yet?



July: I want to have a big family.

Well, we're going to have to have some talks about the "big" part-this place is getting kind of overcrowded. But family aspiration it is, then.



Pamela: Yes! I found it!

Found what?

Pamela: I think I found someone who might be able to help me figure out what happened to my mother.

And you found that person by digging a hole in the ground?

Pamela: No, of course not. I just found the map to get to him.

Seems rather strange that the exact map that you needed was buried right in your own yard.



Now what are you doing?

Pamela: Booking tickets for us. This man lives in the far east. It will be worth the travel if he can help me, though.



Congratulations, July.

July: Thanks. It's good to know I'll be able to take care of this garden once I move back here.



So I guess it's time to pack up for the far east!


Rhys: Bye, Mifflin. We'll see you when we get back.

Why am I sensing that you're not exactly thrilled with this trip?

Rhys: Well, we're only going for 3 days. But that's three days that I can't work on my robots, I can't go to work, and I can't make any money at all. Pamela's lived her entire adult life without knowing what happened to her mom. I don't see why it suddenly became more important.



Glad to see everyone made the trip alright.

Desk Clerk: Will you be needing any amenities sent to your room, sir?

Rhys: Nope. We're heading out right away.



Pamela: Alright, everyone. We've got a long hike ahead of us.

Rhys: Hike? Why can't we take a cab?

Pamela: The cabs don't run to this guy's place. He doesn't take many visitors.



I guess July's going to try learning to teleport first...



Um...wisdom?



I guess not. Oh, well.



Wise Old Man: You have traveled a great distance to meet with me. What knowledge do you seek?

Pamela: Well, it's quite complicated. When I was a teenager, right before my family moved to Tranquility Bay, my mother just disappeared. She was a single mother with four daughters, and she just vanished. I woke up one morning and she was just...gone. It was as if she had never even existed. The police tried to help, but they couldn't find any records of her. My grandfather remembered having her, and raising her. But no one else did. How could a person just vanish?

Wise Old Man: I think I can provide the answers you seek. Listen closely.

Oh boy. Story time!

Wise Old Man: Please do not interrupt.

Sorry.



Wise Old Man: Long ago, in a distant land, there was a village that was plagued with trouble. There were famines, droughts, and bad harvests.



Wise Old Man: The neighboring armies would invade and take what little they had. Only one young woman found the courage to try and save her homeland.



Wise Old Man: She traveled many miles to the sacred place, and made a wish to the dragon for her town to be free from its troubles.




Wise Old Man: The girl was so beautiful, the dragon granted the girl's wish. From then on, he would protect the town.



Wise Old Man: He would protect it from the weather, making each harvest plentiful. He would protect them from poverty, and famine. He would even protect them from death.



Wise Old Man: The town grew more beautiful by the day



Wise Old Man: With the dragon as their protector, the town became paradise. Nobody had to work, though many still did. Families had more children. Parents saw their great-great-grandchildren be born. Nobody ever grew old.



Wise Old Man: But the girl was restless. Such a way of life, while pleasurable, does not give satisfaction. And the earth could not sustain the growing number of villagers.



Wise Old Man: So the girl sent the bravest of warriors out of the village, to find a new way of life. In the next village, they found a land where people worked for what they had. The villagers were just as fulfilled, but were also satisfied as they had earned their success. Surely this was the way of life the girl had suggested.



Wise Old Man: Though the girl was bound by the dragon to remain in the village forever, one by one she sent others to the new land where they could live a full, complete life.



Pamela: Well, that was a very nice story. But...what does it have to do with my mother?

Wise Old Man: The dragon...did not like to see people abandoning his village and abandoning his way of life. So one night, he attacked the village the warriors discovered. He left the village untouched but erased the villagers. Some say...that he still exists to this day, high up in the mountains. When he senses people living lives of honesty, like those in the warriors village, he attacks those who are there...and those who plan to be there.

Pamela: So you're saying my mother was erased from the face of the earth by an ancient dragon....but then why wouldn't my sisters or I have been hurt? My youngest sisters weren't more than two years old when this happened.

Wise Old Man: The dragon picks his victims carefully. Sometimes the young ones are the most at risk. Other times they are the most resistant.

Pamela: So my mom...and all those people...they're just gone?

Wise Old Man: Nobody can say for sure. Some say the dragon keeps them captive up in the mountains. Others say that he has the power to erase their being from the universe. Others say they are banished to another universe, and struggle always to find their way back to ours. These are all the answers I can give you.



Pamela: Wow...I never would have thought.

Rhys: You actually believe him?

Pamela: Well, it did make a lot of sense.

Rhys: Pamela, it was an ancient legend. Legends are just ways that old-time people explained stuff they didn't understand .

Actually, those would be myths.

Rhys: Shut up, mysterious voice. The point is, I'm sure there's a much more logical explanation out there then your mother being attacked by a dragon that magically left you, Ashley, the twins, and your grandfather unharmed.

Pamela: Maybe...I just don't know...

Rhys: Look, we're here for another day and a half anyway. Let's just enjoy our vacation.



I guess we're going on a tour...let's do it the honest way and make a plea.



See? Rhys did get to earn some money after all.



Ninja: Look, I told you this morning you weren't ready. You're still not ready!

July: Oh, ok...

Now, before we go home...did you choose a lifetime want yet?

July: Yup!



Why? Just, why?



July: So then the old guy said the dragon...

Wait a minute...is that Maureen again?

Maureen: Yup.

Can I talk to you for a minute? I haven't seen you in...

Maureen: Can I hear the end of the story first?



July: So do you know the mysterious voice from somewhere else?

Maureen: Yeah, I've always known the mysterious voice.

Oh, hold on. Your dad just got home.



Congratulations, Rhys. That was one huge bonus.

Rhys: I was so worried that I wouldn't achieve it...it seemed so far away.



Did Maureen go home?

July: Yeah, it would be kind of hard to have a friend here while I was on my first date.



Wait...who is that?

July: Um...Roger, I think his name was.

Is your last name Larson?

Roger: Yeah.

July: Hey, that's my friend Maureen's last name too...

Roger: She's my younger sister.

Something tells me I'm going to get all my answers very soon, too.



July: You are pretty cute...

Awkward, but nice...



Aww....



How are you holding up, Pamela?

Pamela: Alright, I guess. I don't know what to make of all this, though.

What are you looking up?

Pamela: Pet listings.



You're getting another cat?

Pamela: If July wants to raise that many animals, she's going to have to start fast. It wouldn't hurt for Mifflin to have a friend.



July: Are you going to be friends with Mifflin?

I hope so. We've got to get those kittens coming soon.



Kick them off campus, Pamela.



Yes!



Congratulations!

Pamela: Thanks, mysterious voice. This has been such a strange week.



Nice job, July! Ready to head to college with Roger?

July: Yup! I can't wait!

Alright, I'll see you at graduation!



A Message From The Mysterious Voice: So who are Roger and Maureen? Well, if you haven't already been there...may I direct you here...
Other than that, I was so happy to see Rhys get his lifetime want. I had no idea the last bonus for natural science was over $20,000. Wow!