Ghostwriter (2019) s02e09 Episode Script

Why did Ruben disappear?
What did we do wrong?
We must've accidentally changed
something here in the past.
[CURTIS] And I think it's making
my time sickness worse.
That's not the only thing
it's making worse.
[THUNDER RUMBLES]
You have made a ripple in time
that has erased your
friend's very existence.
Perhaps you should not
have stolen my ship.
- You're Captain Vincent?
- Of the Vermillion?
Pleasure's all yours.
Now, follow me.
We have a lot to talk about.
[CURTIS SIGHS]
Captain Vincent, sir,
I'm really sorry we borrowed the
Vermillion without telling you,
but we really need to get
our friend back, so
But the Vermillion is not the only
thing you borrowed from me, is it?
I think he means the compass.
[RETCHES] You don't happen
to have a, uh, pudding cup
or some fruit gummies, do you?
Uh
First things first, my compass.
[SNAPS FINGERS]
Your only item to barter, and
yet you gave it up so quickly.
Uh, you should know
never to trust a pirate.
- [HORN HONKS]
- [SQUEAKS]
Did that rat just drive that car?
Meet Santiago,
- my most devoted companion.
- [SQUEAKING]
[DONNA] Wait, this isn't just a car.
It's your transforming time-traveling
ship, the Vermillion, isn't it?
Very perceptive.
You'd make a good first officer.
Are you gonna help us bring
back our friend Ruben?
Well, I would need, uh,
something in return.
What do you want?
As with all things, my intentions
will be revealed in time.
Please, join me.
What do we do?
We don't really have a choice, do we?
Not if we wanna get Ruben back.
Prepare for a quantum time leap.
[DINGS]
[CHILDREN SCREAM]
What just happened?
It really does transform.
[CHUCKLES]
Where's Curtis?
[CURTIS RETCHING]
Looks like I'm seasick now too.
This is incredible.
[CURTIS COUGHS]
Now could someone please
tell me how I got up there?
Items have a tendency to shift
when the Vermillion transforms.
Eh, you'll learn where to stand.
- [SQUEAKS]
- Uh, no, Santiago, it's not for you.
[SIGHS]
This popcorn is from your time.
It should heal your time sickness.
- You want a piece, Santiago?
- [SANTIAGO SQUEAKS]
So, where are we?
The Vermillion prefers to
return to her original form
between missions.
But our only mission is to find Ruben.
Such loyalty.
Now, if I'm to help
you find your friend,
you must first do something for me.
What were you thinking?
Well, when you, uh, borrowed
my ship, my crew disappeared.
I will need a new one, 'cause
rats alone can't run a ship.
[SQUEALS]
Wait, you want us to be your crew?
Precisely.
Pirates forever.
Forever?
On the Vermillion, you have
loyalty or you have nothing.
- We need to discuss this as a group.
- Uh, think quickly.
There is a Spanish battleship
headed our way.
What do they want?
Well, I may have taken
some of their prized possessions
off of their hands.
[CHILDREN GASP]
Looks like they want them back.
Did they just fire a cannon at us?
Uh, cannons, yes.
[CHILDREN SCREAM]
So, uh, discuss, but discuss quickly.
- Hard to starboard, Santiago.
- [SANTIAGO SQUEAKS]
We have no choice but to be in his crew.
We have to save Ruben.
We can't be trapped here forever.
In the book, Captain Vincent
double-crossed three kids.
He told them one thing,
but then did another.
And we can do the same to him.
I'm sure once we find Ruben
and get the manuscript,
G.W. will put him back in the book.
- They're not yours!
- [SANTIAGO SQUEAKS]
But we do get to be in his
crew for a little while.
I can work with that.
As long as we get Ruben back,
of course. [CHUCKLES]
[CANNONS FIRING]
- Faster, Santiago, faster!
- [SQUEAKS]
We agree.
- [SQUEAKS]
- [CHUCKLES]
We'll be part of your crew if
you help us save our friend.
And if you help us recover
a Mason Briggs manuscript.
Ah, yes, I did overhear you talking
about this Mason Briggs fellow.
[ALL SCREAM]
Ah [CHUCKLES]
But, uh, we'll save that for later.
In the meantime, pirates forever.
Forever.
Forever.
For Ruben.
- [CHUCKLES]
- [CANNONS FIRING]
Not a moment too soon.
Now, prepare for a quantum time leap.
[DINGS]
When are we?
Your new present.
[STAMMERS]
We must see what has
changed in the present
to figure out what to
correct in the past.
- Bookstore?
- We better change first.
- [SANTIAGO SQUEAKS]
- [SIGHS]
I do not require you on this mission.
Mm-mm-mm.
- [DOOR ALERT CHIMES]
- [SANTIAGO SQUEALS]
Mason Briggs is a mystery writer.
People think he left behind
an unpublished manuscript
called The Cobalt Mask,
so we're trying to find it.
Is he a well-known writer?
Can we please focus on
finding Ruben right now?
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
Grandpa?
Oh.
I don't have any grandchildren.
Welcome to Crowley Books.
- Crowley Books?
- Yeah.
It's, uh, been in my
family over 70 years.
My grandpa started this
way back in the 1950s.
And now you see how your actions
have shifted the sands of time.
Is everything all right?
We're just surprised.
We thought a man named Ernesto
Reyna owned this store.
The only Ernesto I know is a
teacher over at Hammett Middle.
He comes in here all
the time to buy books.
Speaking of which shouldn't
you kids be in school?
We're on lunch, but we're headed back.
Thank you so much for your help.
If the bookstore doesn't even
belong to Ruben's family,
I wonder what else has changed.
- [CURTIS] Looks about the same to me.
- [CAPTAIN VINCENT] Ah
Never underestimate what
one small change in the past
can do to the future.
Hello, fellow Hammett-ites.
Wait, did he win the election?
- Hey, Asher, uh, congratulations.
- Thank you.
Yeah, congrats. You ran a good race.
Well, it wasn't much of a race.
No one ran against Krista and I.
No one?
Wait, Curtis, what are
you even doing here?
I thought you got sent
to boarding school.
What? When?
[ASHER] Months ago.
Anyways, gotta go. See you around.
Why would I get sent away?
Seems your friend Ruben
may have had a bigger impact
on your life than you know.
He's right. If there's no Ruben,
then there's no mystery,
and we wouldn't have all become friends.
And if we weren't friends,
I wouldn't have gotten
help with my dyslexia.
Mom and Dad must have
sent me to boarding school
because of my grades.
- I don't like this timeline.
- Me either.
We better find Grandpa.
And I bet I know which class he teaches.
I knew it. You're an English teacher.
Yes, Chevon. I'm your English teacher.
And I already told you this morning
I'm not changing the grade
on your Wrinkle in Time paper.
You deserved a D.
I got a D? But I get A-pluses.
Not this time.
We already talked about
how you need to cut down
on the extracurriculars.
Do you remember this?
"Bring your favorite characters
to life with Miss Weaver."
It was a lifetime ago.
Where did you get this?
Oh, uh, we're doing a history
project on the neighborhood.
We heard you won the
mural design contest.
That's true, but I haven't
thought about that in years.
Who told you?
Tess Vargas.
Who's that?
There's our time ripple.
[SIGHS]
We accidentally changed the
past and created a ripple,
so Ruben's grandma and
grandpa never became friends
when they were kids.
Which means they never
met again in the future,
never had Ruben's mom, and
since she never existed
Then Ruben never existed.
[CAPTAIN VINCENT LAUGHS]
Does that sound about right, Captain?
This This Owen Quinn is
quite the private investigator.
Now, Ruben's grandparents never
becoming friends is why he's gone,
but we still don't know what
you did to cause the ripple.
- I caused it.
- [SANTIAGO SQUEAKS]
I told Tess I admired
how much she stands up
for what she believes in.
You think that's why she wrote
a boy's name on her design?
I think so. If she hadn't
made Mr. Crowley mad,
she would've been the girl winner.
And Ernesto would've
been the boy winner.
The mural contest is where
they were supposed to meet.
[CHEVON] Exactly.
And I messed it up.
But we can clean up the mess.
Together.
I have a plan.
- Captain?
- Quantum time leap?
[CURTIS SIGHS]
Why did Ruben disappear?
What did we do wrong?
We must've accidentally
changed something here.
Which is exactly what we
weren't supposed to do!
We can't see our past selves, or else
Time catastrophe.
[THUNDER RUMBLES]
You have made a ripple in time.
It may already be too late.
We must hurry and bring back your friend
so we can focus on the manuscript.
Then one of us should
go find Albert Hughes.
He's here in 1955, and we think he knows
where the Mason Briggs manuscript is.
I like the way you think, Curtis.
I will accompany you while Donna and
Chevon work to bring back Ruben.
[THUNDER CONTINUES]
Time is not on our side.
Oh, Donna, there you are. Good.
I wanna get a photograph
with the winners.
Ernesto, come here, please.
Uh, Miss Weaver, could
you get the camera?
I'm sorry, Mr. Crowley,
but I can't paint the mural.
But you're our girl winner.
And I'm honored that you
chose my mural design,
but you liked Tess's design better.
Well, that was before I knew a
rule breaker had designed it.
I prefer people who
stay within the lines.
Miss Weaver, what do you
think of Tess's drawing?
I think
that the best artists see the
world a little differently.
I know you only want the best
for your bookstore, Mr. Crowley,
and you said it yourself
Tess's design was best.
It is a beautiful design.
And I get such a kick out of the
dancing teacups. [CHUCKLES]
Oh, fine, fine. Tess can paint
her mural in the back hallway.
[TESS] Not a chance.
I don't want to paint
my mural in a store
that doesn't treat girls fairly.
So that's when we figured
out that Albert Hughes
and Mason Briggs are the same person.
Fascinating.
And how do you intend to
make this Albert confess?
I hadn't really thought that far ahead.
Ah. Oh, you could, uh, borrow my sword.
Let's try talking to him first.
- Mm. Well, we should hurry.
- [THUNDER RUMBLES]
- The time ripple's worsening.
- [CURTIS GROANS]
This is the building that Albert
went inside when I got time sick.
Like Miss Weaver said, this contest
isn't about winning or losing.
For me, it's about what's
right and what's wrong.
And if you paint the mural,
you think you'd be telling Mr. Crowley
that you think his rules are right.
- She has a point.
- [MISS WEAVER] Tess.
I know that the hallway isn't
the best mural location,
but isn't it better that some
people see your work
rather than no one at all?
I know what I need to do.
Hello, Ernesto. My name is Tess.
May I help you with your paints?
Timeline restored.
Where's Ruben?
Hello?
[MAN] One second.
He's alone.
Shh, just be quiet.
Everything all right?
Can I help you?
Um, yeah, I, uh, need a lawyer.
Really? You're a kid.
Sometimes kids need lawyers.
My office is this way.
Hmm.
Let me do the talking.
- Swell book?
- I haven't started reading it yet.
Because you know how it ends?
Do you really need a lawyer?
I need the truth.
You know how this book
ends because you wrote it.
I'm no writer. I'm just a lawyer.
I don't write anything but contracts.
You, sir, are a scoundrel and a liar!
Qualities I normally find
admirable, but not today!
You're telling tales!
You write about this city on a
typewriter with a slanted U,
and even though you don't
want anybody to know
This is you. You're Mason Briggs.
Not bad, kid.
That is me.
But a photograph doesn't
make me Mason Briggs.
- It doesn't?
- Doesn't?
If the person who writes
Mason Briggs novels
doesn't want anyone to know,
would they put their
own photo on the book?
Would you like my sword now?
But if Albert isn't Mason,
he must know who is.
Did you ask him about "S"?
No. I can't believe we're back to "S".
- The mystery continues.
- Hmm.
Don't get too excited, Donna.
If you got Ernesto and Tess to meet,
then why isn't Ruben back yet?
Perhaps you have caused
another time ripple.
We'll have to return to
your present to investigate.
Prepare for a quantum time leap.
[DINGS]
[GASPS] We must've done something right.
It's called Village Books again.
Chevon, you're late for work.
Grandma?
- Uh, didn't she, um
- Die.
[SOFTLY] Die, yes.
Grandma?
"Grandma"?
You trying out another nickname for me?
You know, I prefer "Boss."
You work here?
Not for much longer
if she keeps showing up late.
I'm so sorry.
[GRANDMA] Oh.
Just kidding. Mostly.
There's a delivery in the
back that needs sorting.
[SNAPS FINGERS]
Grandma's back, but Ruben is still gone.
[CAPTAIN VINCENT] Uh, time
works in mysterious ways.
Uh, we need to find out
what happened to Ernesto.
Hey Boss.
Can you remind me, when did
you and Ernesto get married?
Who's Ernesto? You know
I've never been married.
What's with you today?
Do you remember this?
Where did you find that old relic?
We're doing a history project
on the neighborhood.
We heard you won this mural contest.
[GRANDMA] Boy, did I.
If I remember correctly,
the contest rules weren't
fair to us girls.
So I might have convinced the boy winner
to switch mural spots with me.
[CHUCKLES]
But how did you do that?
I didn't give him any choice.
I was fighting for what I believed in,
for what I thought was right.
And sometimes, to do that
you have to spin the wheel of life.
Thanks for the trip down
memory lane, kids,
but I better take care of this customer,
and you need to start sorting, huh?
It's one thing to stand up
for what you believe in,
but she stole Ernesto's spot.
No wonder they didn't become friends.
But why does that mean she's here?
[CAPTAIN VINCENT] One ripple
in time can cause others.
She took a different path.
It means she made different choices.
Take comfort in the fact
that she may still be alive
in countless timelines.
But not in ours.
And those two, they're up
against the left wall there.
[WOMAN] Thank you.
I'm actually having a really bad day.
I'm sorry to hear that, kiddo.
Do you mind if I get another hug?
Sure, if you think it'll help.
[CHEVON] It does.
[SNIFFLES]
I miss you.
Okay, I forgive you for being late.
Come on.
Tess, this isn't right.
This isn't your spot.
Don't be a square.
Ernesto agreed to switch with me.
Didn't you, Ernie?
Now, stop making a big fuss,
or Mr. Crowley and Miss Weaver
will come back here to stop me.
Maybe they should.
Come with me, Ernesto. Come on.
Why did you let her take your spot?
Dude, she stole your spot.
Go tell her you want it back, come on.
Answer me, why aren't you talking?
My English is
How do you say
I'd say it's pretty good.
Thank you.
Listen, it's not a big
deal to ask for help.
We all need it sometimes, right?
Do you wanna practice what
you're gonna say with me?
Please.
Tess, listen up.
Ernesto has something
he wants to tell you.
Your mural design is
very beautiful, Tess.
Thank you.
But we are both winners,
so we could paint something
together, maybe.
I show you.
[TESS] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
That's a great idea, Ernesto.
I mean, painting together would be fair.
I like your Alice.
But we should use your rabbit.
They're getting along.
Does that mean the timeline's restored?
But where's Ruben?
He should be back by now.
[GROANS] We can't keep
doing this. We need him.
Need who?
- Ruben!
- There you are!
[CURTIS] I missed you, man.
Mm.
Okay, this is weird.
Curtis, are you better?
Do you still need a snack?
Hmm. [CHUCKLES]
Wait. Captain Vincent?
Ah. [LAUGHS]
The one and only.
And you, Ruben, are a
very hard person to find.
We'll explain later.
No way!
You know, when I think back
What is Albert Hughes doing
in the bookstore alley?
Come on.
[TESS] Hmm.
Uh-huh.
That's great.
[ALBERT] Look at this, now.
You're a published author. It's amazing.
I was hoping you could
autograph your book for me.
[DONNA] This moment right now
is why G.W. sent us to 1955.
Albert, you are such a good friend.
I hope you don't mind
I sign it Mason Briggs.
[ALBERT] As your lawyer,
I insist. [CHUCKLES]
Congratulations on your
first novel, Sarah.
Miss Weaver's first name is Sarah?
She's the "S" from Grandma's letter.
She's Mason Briggs.
And she's Ghost Writer.