S2 | Episode 1 - Bear With Me

The Battle of the Bands is over, and MilkFish settles back into everyday life– or so they think. Their rivals, Devil's Holiday, lost powers tied to a deeply buried piece of their psyche...and now something feels off.

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CREW

Written by Ben French

Art by kaynuvu

Voice Directed by Ben French & Jason Vu

Sound Design by Phoebe Herrera

Audio Mix by Jason Vu

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CAST

► The Narrator - Jason Vu

► Adam Castan - Ben French

► Lawrence Stillman - Conor Kelley

► Frank (Manager) - Nathan Wagner

► Kai Takahashi - Jason Vu

► Zoe DeHaan - Phoebe Herrera

► Commander Sarap - Ben French

► Ezra Kaneko - Aaron Moy

► Ashley DeHaan - Ariane Marchese

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Follow us!

► [Twitter/X] - https://x.com/MilkFishStudios

► [Instagram] - https://www.instagram.com/milkfishstudios/

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Business Inquiries:

► [Email] - milkfish.va@gmail.com

Adam is flipping patties in the Bawker''s kitchen

when Lawrence approaches... Lawrence? I go by

Frost now. I'm not calling you that. Also, why

are you wearing sunglasses indoors? Because I

stole them. That doesn't answer my question.

You better get off my grill, shawty. That's my

station. Yeah? I was just working on it until

you got here to - I was just working on it until

you got - SHUT UP! You're really starting to

piss me off. Just hand the spatula over to Big

Dog before you hurt yourself. Why don't you fetch,

Big Dog? Frost tips his sunglasses down. Go pick

that up. No. He lifts the glasses back up, then

lowers them again for emphasis. No. I said no.

He lifts the glasses one more time and - Stop

doing that! It's not gonna change my mind. You

sure you want to step up to me? These streets

are cold, Adam. What does that even mean? You're

about to find out if you even give me one more

disrespect. Why is everything you say so dumb?

Does your tall, lanky -ass frame put you in a

higher altitude, and your brain isn't getting

enough oxygen? These streets are cold, but your

IQ is room temperature! Like, holy shit! I warned

you. And now you've unleashed the consequences.

Stop biting! That's cheating! Fuck you! Hey!

Hey! Break it up! What the hell is going on in

my kitchen? He's a psycho! He started a fight

with me over nothing! I can't be held responsible

for the destruction when you bring out my Alpha.

You will be held responsible for any destruction

you cause to my store! Tell that to the spatula

that Adam obliterated. Oh, the spatula's fine!

You're both getting a write -up, and you can

forget about getting a pay raise anytime soon.

What? So much for running my racks up. You're

lucky we're understaffed or you'd be shit -canned!

Do your phase -outs and clock out, Adam! Lawrence!

Start stocking your drawer while we're slow!

And I don't want to hear you saying one word

to each other! Dumbass. Idiot. You're just lucky

he stopped me before I really messed you up.

Oh, you don't want to see me go gorilla. Okay,

gorilla. I see red, man. I see red. Yeah, what?

Whatever. You just watch yourself. Meanwhile,

Kai enters Zoe's apartment holding a plastic

bag. She greets him with syrup nested in her

hair. Hey Zoe, Sirop. You can set it right over

there. The cutting board's already out for you.

What's in the bag? You said you never heard of

an eggplant. I read that chickens love them.

I'm not a ch - A chicken, I know, but you like

seeds like chickens do, right? They're okay.

He loves them. Yeah, so maybe you'll like these

too. You think you know me? You don't know me!

We're starting to get an idea. You don't even

know my first name! Yes we do. It's Commander.

That's my rank, not my name. You're starting

to sound like Adam. Wait, so what is your first

name then? Wow. Nice of you to ask two months

after meeting me. It's Bagwis. Bagwis? Huh. What?

Uh, nothing. It's just not what I expected is

all. Well, I think it's a very cute name. Cute?

I should have just kept it to myself. You're

so cranky today. Here, try some. Kai holds out

a handful of diced eggplant. Surab quickly pecks

and tilts his head back as he swallows a bit

of the fruit. Oh! Oh, that's good! Surab goes

to snatch another piece, but Kai closes his hand.

So I have this favor I want to ask. And there

it is. You said you can read minds, right? I

know that Ezra lost part of who he was, but I

want to try and get a better understanding of

the situation. You want me to relay his private

thoughts to you while you interrogate him? I

mean, it wouldn't work like that, but... yeah.

Anyways, he won't be able to hear you anymore,

right? You can just stay hidden in my hood so

he won't see you. Clever. Do you even know where

to find him? Not for sure, but I have a feeling

that you might. What makes you say that? You

knew exactly where to find Marbegarg at the Battle

of the Bands. Doesn't your mind reading let you

pinpoint where somebody is? I actually can't

read the minds of other nori. I can only sense

them. Also, I can only read the minds of humans

within 50 glorks, which for you is about 50 feet.

Okay. Okay, we'll have to see if we can run into

him at his workplace then. You know where he

works? Yeah. Kai and Serap leave Zoe's apartment

and head to the heart of the city. After a short

ride, they arrive at a glass monolith. The words,

The Tea Group, stamped in bold white letters

across the top of the building. Kai pulls into

the parking lot, scouring the area for Ezra's

car. He spots it, three rows down next to an

empty space. Well, we're in luck. That's Ezra's

car right there. Oh, wow. It's so much nicer

than yours. Thanks. The building's impressive,

too. What's his job? It's his father's investment

firm. He's an intern. The Tea Group, huh? Well,

let's get this over with. We have to wait for

him to get to his car. Huh? Why? Well, first

off, he can't really enter without security clearance.

How long will it take? No idea. Two hours pass.

Can't we just break in? Fight through - kill

through the guards? Be serious. I don't want

to wait out here all day. I'll miss the new episode

of Minnesota Opa. You watch K -dramas? Don't

worry about it. Zoe does. None of your business

anyway. You're the one who brought it up. You

know, you're going through a lot of effort just

to investigate something you already have the

answer to. Like I said... I just want to get

a better understanding. We both know the real

reason. It drives you crazy that Ezra can't remember

the one victory you ever had over him. You're

pretty nosy for someone with so many secrets.

Well, actually, that was something you said out

loud during the battle of - Wait. Hold that thought.

Kai notices Ezra in his rear -view mirror. Come

on! Be gentle! Hey! Uh... Hi. I was wondering

if you had a moment to chat. I'm pretty busy,

so... It'll only take a minute, I swear. Uh -huh.

Sarab closes his eyes to concentrate, holding

one wing to Bautazra and the other to the side

of his head. He's thinking... Gross, a poor person.

You know, our families are actually connected.

Your dad's company invested in my father's business

years ago. He's the founder of Jappuccino. Oh.

Wow, really? That's so... neat. He doesn't believe

you. Yeah, I'm Kai Takahashi. We actually grew

up next door to each other. Do you remember playing

together as kids? Uh, I'm not sure. Let me think.

Hmm, he's starting to vaguely remember your face

from before. But it's not from his childhood,

no. It's from seeing you at the park last week.

We bumped into each other at Central Park, but

we didn't have a lot of time to catch up. Oh,

that's right. What a weird coincidence. What

do you remember from that day at the park? Interesting.

His mind is rapidly filling the empty gaps. I

was at a stink rat concert. Stink rat? Yeah,

and you were there. Yeah, yeah, I remember now.

I bumped into you a lot, actually. Now his mind

is generating false memories. He saw you through

the crowd, facing away from the concert, rubbing

your hands together with a menacing smile. Later

that night, he spotted you half -submerged in

the duck pond, motionless among the reeds, just

watching. And worst of all, he caught a glimpse

of you in the bathroom mirror. Lifting a ceiling

tile to peek down at him. Yeah, he thinks you're

a stalker. He thinks you're stalking him. Uh,

I don't know what you want from me, but you need

to move over so I can get in my car. I think

there's a misunderstanding here - How did you

know I work here? Like I said, we grew up together.

He's not buying it. Move over and just let me

get in my car, okay? Wait, I can explain all

of this. Are you following me around? He thinks

you're following him around. Yeah, no shit! Huh!

So you admit it! What? No! I wasn't talking to

you! I - Ezra takes a picture of Kai's license

plate. Yeah, I'm calling the cops. You're not

gonna get away with harassing me, you creep.

Sorry, I'm moving, see? I swear this isn't what

you think! I think it's exactly what I think.

What? What is that sound? Is... is... Is that

a bird? Is that a bird with a cigarette in its

mouth? Oh, just be going then. What in the world

is - I'm sorry I bothered you! You can't leave?

Get back here! You'll be hearing from my lawyer!

I can't believe he was gonna call twelve on us.

That went horribly. Yup. Are you feeling embarrassed?

Wait, don't tell me. Back at Zoe's apartment!

Coming! Ashley's standing at the door holding

a white box. She looks different than usual.

Her outfit is modest, and the pink dye in her

hair has almost completely faded. Ashley? Oh,

hey sis! Can I come in? I brought cupcakes! Oh,

uh, yeah. Uh, just give me a second to clear

some space. Zoe moves in easel and then pulls

a coffee table from against the wall back to

the middle of the room. There. Sorry, I should

have said I was coming over. Oh, looks like you

got your painting stuff all set up and... Oh,

you got blue right here. Ashley taps her own

cheek playfully. And Zoe responds by rubbing

her own face with her sleeve. Oh no. I'm a mess.

It's alright. Huh. Where's Glizzy? Don't worry.

He's locked up. He always tries to drink the

brush water, so I have to put him away when I'm

painting. Aww. Where's his kennel? I wanna pet

him. Wait. Really? But you always say he's such

a fleabag. What? I would never! Stop playing

around, Zoe. Zoe shakes the surprise from her

face and reminds herself that this is a completely

different Ashley than what she's accustomed to

I'll show you There's the baby Ashley crouches

and holds her hand through the kennel Oh my god,

I'm so sorry. Did it get you? Naughty very bad

boy It's alright, it just scared me is all. Guess

he doesn't remember me. Yeah, that must be it.

He's an old man after all. Zoe remembers how

me and Ashley used to be to Glizzy, but she keeps

it to herself. How old is he now? 14, right?

14 in May. Oh yeah, right around your birthday.

I'm gonna get you something to cover that up.

You want to go sit on the couch? Oh, it's just

a tiny little mark. You don't need to worry about

it. It's no trouble. Let's take care of it just

in case. Where did I put that? Ashley relents

and walks back into the living room. As she's

waiting for Zoe, she spots a painting of several

television monitors with a grumpy -looking baby

chicken on every screen. Got everything? Here,

let's sit down. You painted this? I didn't notice

when I walked in. It's so cute. Oh, yeah, thanks.

You've always been such a good artist. I'm alright.

Oh, please. Your stuff looks pro. You could probably

sell it if you wanted. That's what Kai and Adam

are saying. Are those friends of yours? I'm glad

you're making friends. You were always such a...

loner. Zoe begins dressing Ashley's bite with

rubbing alcohol. Yeah. I guess I was. Look at

you taking care of me. It used to be the other

way around. She puts a band -aid on Ashley's

hand. A long time ago. Yeah. Um... Remember when

you were little, you tried climbing that ledge?

You crushed that bee's nest with your hand? Oh

my god. I forgot about that. You had stings going

from your pinky finger all the way down to your

elbow. You were falling your eyes out. Do you

remember how I treated your wounds? Yeah. The

ice. I tried using gauze wrap to stick a bunch

of ice cubes to your arm like an idiot. Oh, then,

of course, it melted and it got all soggy. Zoe's

smile fades. She pulls back just slightly, catching

herself, realizing that she's dropping her guard

a little too much. So those friends of yours...

Kai and... Alan? Adam. Yeah, Kai and Adam. Are

they the other members of your band? They are.

You remember that? Of course! I went to your

concert, silly! Which one's Kai and which one's

Adam? Just so I could put faces to the names.

Adam's the one with the lighter hair. Oh, okay.

Do you have a crush on one of them? What?! No!

Oh, come on! You can tell me! I don't have a

crush on anyone! Are you sure? Yes! They're both

annoying. And gross. Especially Adam. You have

no idea the kind of gross stuff he does. Okay,

okay, relax. I'm just teasing you. You don't

have to get so defensive. Just don't be weird

then. I just wanted to talk about boys. Oh well.

Hey, so... Random, aren't you also in a band?

Oh no, absolutely not. I could never do what

you do. I don't think I could handle having that

many eyes on me at once. I definitely crack under

pressure. Really? I feel like you'd thrive in

the spotlight. No, I'd be terrified on stage.

Trust me. I'd never in a million years want to

be held to that level of scrutiny. I'm really

self -conscious. What? But you're so pretty.

That's sweet of you to say. But there are times

when I don't feel like it. Why? I mean, I never

would have guessed. Maybe it just goes back to

everything that happened after mom passed. I

don't know. Geez, look at me killing the vibe.

No, it's okay. You're fine. No, I don't want

to make it all about me. Besides, it's nothing

compared to what you've been through. And what

I'm about to say is going to be really cheesy,

so bear with me. I've been thinking about this

a lot since I saw your concert. Seeing you perform

on stage in front of all those people. I think

about how far you've come. How you had nothing

and nobody before we took you in. But now here

you are, making all this art and music. I was

blown away when I heard your song. I just kept

thinking... That's my sister. You're so talented,

Zoe. And I'm so proud of you. I love you. Zoe,

what's wrong? Hey, don't cry. Sorry, I just really

needed that. Well, you know what I need? Some

cupcakes. Want one? Yeah. Oh, how about a blue

one to match all that crap on your face? Sure.

They spend the rest of the night talking about

everything and nothing. Zoe gets lost in the

moment, her walls lowering with every word they

share. Though she isn't sure she deserves to

enjoy this gentler version of Ashley. Not when

she's the one who altered her memories. Those

doubts are now overshadowed by the joy of having

her sister back.