Kubo and the Two Strings Page #16

SISTER (CONT’D)

You took her from us. It was only *

fitting we took something from you! *

How swiftly those memories spilled *

from your head. Wiping out all *

recollection of your obscene union, *

HANZO. *

The smoke turns Little Hanzo in the air. Folding. Reforming. *

Until the paper samurai has become an exact replica of Beetle *

himself. *

DRAFT:
01.05.16

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

77/92

BEETLE *

What..? *

Monkey turns to Beetle, confused. *

MONKEY *

Hanzo..? *

Kubo wriggles and strains against his smoke bonds. *

Beetle turns to Monkey. Neither can believe what they’re *

hearing. *

BEETLE *

I didn’t know... *

Monkey looks at him with sympathy. *

The Sister CACKLES, finding this scene perversely enjoyable, *

and throws Beetle into a wall. *

MONKEY *

No! *

And then she notices Kubo, frantically struggling behind her. *

SISTER:

(laughing) *

I’m forgetting what I came here *

for... *

As the Sister glides toward him, Kubo is finally able to *

reach into the back of his belt. With a blur of his hand he *

slashes at her with his bachi pick, cracking her mask in half *

and breaking the pipe! *

The smoke demons disappear, the source of their power *

destroyed, dropping Monkey and Beetle to the ground. *

The Sister SCREAMS into Kubo’s face, the lower half of her *

mask broken away. *

She tosses him across the courtyard, knocking him *

unconscious. *

Monkey hefts her sword and launches herself at the Sister. *

Just as her blade is about to make contact, the Sister spins *

and produces two crescent-shaped blades seemingly from *

nowhere. Sparks flash across their faces as weapons collide. *

The two spin, strike and dodge, a beautiful dance illuminated *

by the light of their magical blades. *

DRAFT:
01.05.16

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

78/92

The Sister’s assault is relentless, and Monkey’s wound is *

hampering her defense. Slowly but surely the Sister is *

gaining the upper hand. *

She rains down blow after blow, forcing the sword from *

Monkey’s hand, LAUGHING as she gains the advantage. *

Nearby, Kubo begins to come to, groggy and disoriented. He *

suddenly CRIES out... *

KUBO *

Mother! *

Monkey sees Kubo and crawls towards him. *

And then, as the Sister floats into the air preparing to *

deliver a fatal blow, a rusted sword spins at her, knocking *

her to the ground. *

The projectile came from Beetle, and he grabs more swords *

from the pile of armor around him. *

Beetle runs to where Kubo is comforting Monkey. *

KUBO (CONT’D) *

Shhh...it’s okay. I’m here. *

Kubo looks up to Beetle. *

KUBO (CONT’D) *

Father! *

BEETLE *

My son. *

MONKEY *

(weakly) *

Seems I’m married to a bug. *

She hesitates as she looks him up and down. *

BEETLE *

Yeah. A samurai bug. *

She smiles grimly, holding onto Beetle’s arm. *

BEETLE (CONT’D)

You are my quest. You always have

been.

MONKEY *

Hanzo. Keep him safe. No matter *

what. *

DRAFT:
01.05.16

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

79/92

BEETLE *

I promise I will. *

Suddenly, Beetle YELLS in agony as the Sister appears behind *

him and plunges her blade deep into his back. *

MONKEY *

NO! *

Beetle slumps down beside Monkey, who looks up, dazed and *

horrified, as the Sister stands over them. *

She raises her blade above Monkey’s head. *

Monkey looks over to Kubo. *

MONKEY (CONT’D) *

Fly home, Kubo. *

Time seems to slow down. The only sound we hear is the quiet *

THUMPING of Monkey’s weakened heartbeat. *

THUMP... THUMP... *

Kubo races towards the shamisen, reaching out his hands. *

THUMP... THUMP... *

The Sister’s sword carves through the air toward Monkey’s *

neck. *

THUMP... THUMP... *

Kubo grabs the shamisen, raking his bachi across the strings *

so violently that two of them actually snap in half, and the *

REVERBERATING SOUND of the shamisen swallows up everything *

with a shockwave of blinding white light. *

(3000 KUC) KUBO CRIES

INT. COURTYARD BEETLE FORTRESS - NIGHT *

DISSOLVE THROUGH to find Kubo on hands and knees, blinking *

his eye as he tries to get his bearings. *

Around him are pieces of the Sister’s broken mask. In front *

of him lies the netsuke statue. It is broken in half. *

Beetle’s broken bow lies next to him.

Out of silence we gradually become aware of the slight but

steady PLUCKING of a string. Dull. Empty.

DRAFT:
01.05.16

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS 80/92

Kubo kneels, cradling the shamisen with the two brokenstrings in his lap as a steady stream of teardrops fall fromhis face and repeatedly strike the one remaining string.

Behind him, with the sound of each tear, shredded scraps ofpaper surge up into a tiny blizzard. Within it a pathetic,

flimsy version of Little Hanzo begins to take shape.

Sensing something, Kubo turns to see the figure there. Apitiful, torn version of its former self.

But Hanzo Origami is not giving up. Using all of hisstrength, he drags himself across the floor and points hissword again.

He slowly rises and goes over to the place where Hanzo fell,

and sees the diminutive figure, damaged but undeterred,

pointing with his sword and staring up at Kubo beseechingly.

Finally, Kubo turns to see what he was pointing at. It’s anillustration of the Helmet Impenetrable. Only from here it

looks exactly like the bell in Kubo’s village.

CLOSE ON his face, staring as realization dawns.

Kubo packs his bag with the sword, Hanzo Origami, and thebroken netsuke. He ties the straps of the breastplate ontothe side and then steps over Beetle’s broken bow. He pausesfor a moment as he looks at it. Then he kneels down and takes

the bowstring from the shattered wood and wraps it around hiswrist alongside his mother’s bracelet.

And then he picks up his shamisen, closes his eye, and standsfor a moment in the center of the courtyard, the only soundthe FLAPPING of the frayed beetle banners as they billow inthe wind.

(3200 RTT)

Kubo plays one last note, PLUCKING the string as hard as hecan, snapping it completely.

With a RUSTLING, the beetle banners flutter more violently,

twisting and folding and breaking off their mounts. Thebanners envelope him, intertwining with his own robe tobecome a magnificent pair of wings that lift him up into theair, soaring above the ruins...

EXT. CENTRAL AVENUE - DAY *

The bell rings above the village ruins. It has been utterlydecimated, like a bomb went off. The once lively and colorfulplace has been burned to the ground.

*

*

*

DRAFT:
01.05.16

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

81/92

Kubo‘s new wings fly him across the landscape and land him on *

central avenue near the bell tower. *

Kubo struggles to his feet and stares up at the bell. *

Kubo steps over to the blackened wooden scaffold of the bell

tower. It’s quiet enough to hear his footsteps CRUNCH as he

walks. And then, face determined, he starts hitting the *

broken tower until it crashes down with the bell. *

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