Fantastic S5 Episode 32(12/5/23)

At Slate Gray, Rebecca walks into the restaurant as she is on the phone. “Hey Andy, I’m at Slate Gray now. How long do you think it’ll be before you’re here?...Oh, that doesn’t sound good. Was there an accident or something? Is that why the traffic is so bad?...Okay, well hopefully you won’t be held up for too long…yeah, I asked Ava if she wanted to join us, but I guess she had other dinner plans. As for who they are with, I really have no idea.” Rebecca says. Rebecca notices Lawrence and Ava sitting at a table nearby. “I have to go, I’ll see you when you get here…love you too, bye.” Rebecca says, before hanging up.

At a table nearby, Lawrence and Ava are laughing together. “You know Ava, I am so pleased that we had the opportunity to do this. It has been so lovely being able to get to know you better.” Lawrence says. “Thanks Uncle Lawrence, I feel the same way about you. You aren’t nearly as bad as people say you are.” Ava says. Lawrence smiles. “I’m flattered, truly. So tell me, do you plan on staying in Fantastic?” Lawrence questions. “That’s the plan. Of course, I’m gonna need to find a job soon. Mom and Dad are making me get a job to pay back all the money I “borrowed” from them.” Ava says. “Have you found anything yet?” Lawrence wonders. “I’m probably gonna have to find something basic, like working as a cashier in a grocery store or at the drive thru window at some fast food joint.” Ava says. “Nonsense! No member of this family should ever have to degrade themselves to working at some mediocre job such as the ones you mentioned! As a member of the Stanpatos family, it is only fitting that you go to work at Stanpatos Enterprises.” Lawrence says. “Wait, seriously? Are there even any jobs I’m qualified for?” Ava wonders. “I’m sure we could find something for you. Besides, the only way you are ever going to be qualified is if you get some hands on experience.” Lawrence says. “But are you even able to give me a job? I thought Uncle Dylan was in charge of Stanpatos Enterprises.” Ava says. “He is, but I’m sure if I talk to him and explain your situation, he’d be more than happy to provide you with a job.” Lawrence says. “That would be great! I’d really appreciate that.” Ava says. “Anything for my lovely niece.” Lawrence says. Rebecca walks up to the table. “Hello, I hope I’m not interrupting.” Rebecca says. “Not in the slightest! In fact, I’d be delighted if you’d be willing to join us! The more the merrier, I always say.” Lawrence says. “I should actually be going, I’ve got some other plans tonight, but it was really nice getting to sit down and talk with you Uncle Lawrence.” Ava says. “As it was getting to talk with you, my dear.” Lawrence says. Lawrence and Ava both stand up and Lawrence walks over to Ava and embraces her. “Now please, don’t be a stranger. I would love it if you and I could sit down and have these talks more often.” Lawrence says. “Me too. Mom, I’ll see you at home.” Ava says. “Bye honey, I love you.” Rebecca says. “Love you too.” Ava says, before heading towards the elevator. “Even though Ava is gone, my offer still stands for you to join me. You’ve been gone for quite some time, I’d love the chance to catch up.” Lawrence says. “Andy will be joining me soon, but in the meantime, it seems you and I have plenty to talk about.” Rebecca says. “Then please, have a seat.” Lawrence urges. Lawrence and Rebecca both sit down. “So tell me Rebecca, how was your vacation? I hope you got plenty of rest and relaxation.” Lawrence says. “We aren’t doing this.” Rebecca says. “Doing what?” Lawrence questions. “Sitting down and catching up as if we adore one another. I may have been gone for a little while but my feelings towards you haven’t changed in the slightest.” Rebecca says. “I suspected as much, but given all of that time you had to think and reflect, I was hoping that perhaps you’d be willing to make amends with me.” Lawrence says. “No, that isn’t happening. I am curious about your interactions with my daughter though.” Rebecca says. “Ava is family.” Lawrence says. “Not yours, I don’t want you anywhere near my little girl.” Rebecca says. “With all due respect, she is no longer your little girl. Ava is a grown adult and capable of making her own choices.” Lawrence says. “So it was her choice to come here and dine with you? I didn’t even know you knew each other.” Rebecca says. “Ava stopped by the mansion the other night to better acquaint herself with the Stanpatos side of her family and I invited her to join me for dinner one night. I just had no idea she would take me up on my invitation so soon! I’m so pleased that she did though, getting to know her has been an absolute delight! You have raised an incredibly intelligent young woman.” Lawrence says. “I know I did. Even so, even intelligent people can sometimes fall for the tricks of master manipulators.” Rebecca says. “Surely you aren’t referring to me.” Lawrence says. “Oh I most definitely am, so why don’t you tell me exactly what you have planned for my daughter?” Rebecca asks.

At the Stanpatos mansion, Lysandros is in the living room on the phone as Daisy walks in. “I’m glad to hear that you are pleased with the way everything is going, and I promise you Mr. Kaneko, the best is yet to come…alright, and please give my best to the family…you too, bye bye.” Lysandros says, before hanging up. “Sounds like someone is already making waves as the new CEO of Masters Corp.” Daisy comments. Lysandros smiles. “Believe it or not, me being the new CEO has been a roaring success so far. As it turns out, plenty of Masters Corp’s partners weren’t too thrilled with Lucas’ reign as CEO, including Mr. Kaneko, the president of a company in Japan Masters Corp has been doing business with for over twenty years.” Lysandros says. “Any idea how they feel about Dylan being your Co CEO?” Daisy wonders. “Some seem less than enthused to have Dylan in a position of power at the company. They have more faith in me because I am the brother of the company’s founder.” Lysandros says. “Well it certainly seems that you are doing pretty well in your new job. Good for you!” Daisy says. “Thank you. Care to join me for a drink?” Lysandros asks. “I’d love to.” Daisy says. Lysandros walks over to the mini bar and begins pouring two drinks. “You know, I’ve actually been thinking about you quite a bit.” Lysandros admits. “Good things I hope.” Daisy says. “Of course. I’d like to offer you a job, one I think you’ll find is the perfect fit for you.” Lysandros says.

At Club Aqua, Bethany is working behind the bar when Dylan walks in and takes a seat at it. “Oh great, as if my night couldn’t get any worse.” Bethany says. “Is that any way to speak to a paying customer?” Dylan questions. “If you want to leave, leave. You won’t hurt my feelings.” Bethany says. “You seem more hostile than usual. Bad day?” Dylan asks. “Try bad month, but yeah, today was particularly sucky.” Bethany says. “I’d ask if you want to talk, but I really don’t care.” Dylan says. “I wasn’t gonna confide in you anyways, I haven’t stooped that low.” Bethany says. “Great, well why don’t you make yourself useful then and pour me a glass of your strongest whiskey?” Dylan asks. “Whiskey? Isn’t that a little too regular for a snob like you?” Bethany asks. “I just need something to help me black out.” Dylan says. “Sounds like somebody else isn’t having that good of a day. Of course, if I had to go home to Daisy, that’d probably drive me to drink too.” Bethany says. “This has nothing to do with Daisy.” Dylan says. “I see, so are things not going too good at your new job with Lysandros? I heard the two of you stole Masters Corp from Lucas.” Bethany says. “The job is fine, even though I’m stuck working with Lysandros.” Dylan says. “So if its not the job and its not Daisy…ah ha! It must be Kristina! I saw the two of you at the Halloween party here, you seemed pretty close. I mean, I know Kristina swears up and down that you’re just friends, but still.” Bethany says. “We aren’t anything more than friends. In fact, we aren’t even friends after I took Masters Corp from Lucas.” Dylan says. “So she’s pissed you stole her BFF’s company. Did it honestly never occur to you that might upset her?” Bethany asks. “Honestly? No!” Dylan admits. Bethany rolls her eyes as she pours Dylan his drink. “God you’re dense.” Bethany says, before sliding the drink over to Dylan. Dylan takes a big sip of the drink. “I know, I should have anticipated it. But I didn’t and now I’m paying for it. Kristina was the only friend I had…” Dylan says. “If you want friends, I have a surefire way to make that happen. Stop being such a jackass!” Bethany says. “Oh please, as if you’re some flawless angel! You’re a total bitch!” Dylan says. “Why thank you, that’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Bethany says. “Whatever…” Dylan says. “So is that why you’re here drowning your sorrows? Your one and only friend hates you?” Bethany asks. “Yup, that’s it.” Dylan says. “Aw, poor baby. Well look on the bright side, at least your girlfriend didn’t want out on you like mine did.” Bethany says.

“I don’t have anything planned for your daughter.” Lawrence claims. “And you expect me to believe that?” Rebecca asks. “I understand why you would be skeptical, given our history. However, I assure you that there is no hidden agenda behind me wanting to get closer to Ava. I just want to bring the Stanpatos family closer together, and that includes Ava. As a matter of fact, that also includes you.” Lawrence notes. “You know I’ve always kept a healthy distance between myself and the Stanpatos family.” Rebecca says. “Not entirely. There was a time where you had a close relationship with my son Dylan, prior to his amnesia. I also understand that you were once close with your brother Alexios, may he rest in peace.” Lawrence says. “Dylan and Alexios were the exceptions. You see, they were actually decent people who I wanted to maintain a close relationship with. The same cannot be said for you or most other members of the Stanpatos family.” Rebecca says. “I know you don’t care much for me, with good reason, but I want you to understand that I’m not the man I used to be. I’m trying my best to become a better man, someone who my family can be proud of.” Lawrence says. “Is that right? Do you think Olivia Acerbi would agree with you?” Rebecca asks. “What does Olivia have to do with anything?” Lawrence wonders. “Well I heard that the two of you had a pretty nasty breakup on Thanksgiving. Olivia told us all about it over dinner.” Rebecca says. “Olivia joined you for dinner?” Lawrence questions. “On Thanksgiving, yes. She was pretty furious to learn that you were only interested in bringing Adelina home because you wanted her shares in Masters Corp, though I suppose that is pretty in character for you. You claim to be this loving family man, but ultimately all you care about is the family’s wealth and powerbase.” Rebecca says. “That isn’t true.” Lawrence argues. “It is true! Which is why I don’t understand why you would be showing interest in Ava! What is it you have in store for her? Do you plan on using her as a pawn in whatever game you have planned next? Well let me tell you something, my daughter is not available to be used as your puppet! I won’t allow it!” Rebecca tells him. “I have no intention of using Ava as a puppet, and as for you not allowing her to associate with me, I’m afraid that isn’t your choice to make.” Lawrence says. “Perhaps, but eventually Ava won’t be able to associate with you even if she wanted to.” Rebecca says. “Oh? And why might that be?” Lawrence wonders. “Do you remember when you first returned to Fantastic by crashing my wedding to Andy? When I found out that the WPA had given you immunity, I wanted to find something else that could put you away. Unfortunately, my daughter was possessed at the time and not long after, she ended up in a coma and my husband became possessed instead! Well Virmor is gone now, both Andy and Ava are free from his influence, and guess what that means? It means that I am finally free to pursue an investigation into you and your activities.” Rebecca says. Lawrence smiles. “If you wish to investigate me, by all means do so. Perhaps once you don’t find anything, you’ll realize I’m telling the truth when I tell you I am a changed man.” Lawrence says. “We both know that if I dig deep enough, I’ll find something. For instance, even though I was preoccupied at the time, I know that you were questioned in relation to Kitty Cat’s death. Apparently she called you just a little while before she escaped police custody. You gave the police a bogus excuse that spared you because there was no other evidence, but we both know that you aren’t innocent. And now that I’m back, now that I know you are zeroing in on my daughter, I am going to find the proof I need to nail you to the wall.” Rebecca says. “So you think you can find evidence connecting me to Kitty Cat’s escape and her murder?” Lawrence questions. “I’ll either find evidence linking you to those crimes or another crime, because lets face it, you’re probably involved in something else. I sincerely doubt you returned to Fantastic City just because you wanted to reconnect with your family, you had years to do that! No, there is something more to it, something bigger is going on and I am going to find out what that is! Mark my words, I will bring you down!” Rebecca warns. Lawrence smiles. “I welcome you to try. I’ll be patiently awaiting your apology once you don’t find anything.” Lawrence says. “I’ll find something, its just a matter of how big or small that something is.” Rebecca says. “Let the fun begin then. I’m looking forward to sparring with you more frequently. Have a lovely evening, my dear, and please tell Andy that I said hello.” Lawrence says, before standing up and heading towards the elevator.

“You want to offer me a job? Is it something in the legal department?” Daisy questions. “No, but it is something I think you’ll enjoy.” Lysandros says. “Color me intrigued then.” Daisy says. “You see, before Lydia’s untimely passing, Lucas was the CEO of New Horizons Media. After Lydia died, Lucas took over the reins of Masters Corp but also continued to serve as the CEO of New Horizons. Now that Lucas has been ousted from Masters Corp, he has also vacated his position as the CEO of New Horizons which means that Dylan and I are looking to fill the position.” Lysandros says. “And you think I would be a good fit?” Daisy asks. “Absolutely. I have a feeling you would relish controlling the news that the people of Fantastic City receive. In fact, I suspect you’d particularly enjoy the gossip column of the newspaper run by New Horizons.” Lysandros says. “Hm, that does sound enjoyable, but I wouldn’t be writing the gossip column myself.” Daisy notes. “No you wouldn’t be, but I will leave it up to you whether or not you choose to keep the current gossip columnist or if you decide to bring in someone of your own choice.” Lysandros says. “And I could have them write about anything?” Daisy asks. “As long as it won’t get us sued.” Lysandros says. Daisy smirks. “Its an intriguing offer.” Daisy admits. “I figured you’d think so. So what do you say? Are you interested?” Lysandros wonders. “Out of curiosity, have you spoken to Dylan about this?” Daisy questions. “I told him I was going to speak to someone about possibly taking the job but I didn’t tell him who that someone was.” Lysandros says. “You don’t think he might be a tad upset if he found out that someone you hired was me?” Daisy asks. “I was under the impression the two of you were getting along better.” Lysandros says. “We are getting along better, that doesn’t mean he’ll want me working for him.” Daisy says. “Do you really care if he gets upset over me hiring you?” Lysandros asks. “Not really, would you care?” Daisy asks. Lysandros shrugs. “Not really.” Lysandros says. “Seems like we don’t have anything to worry about then. Should we shake on it?” Daisy asks. “That sounds like a fantastic idea.” Lysandros says, as he shakes Daisy’s hand. “Welcome to New Horizons Media and to Masters Corp.” Lysandros says. Daisy smiles. “Thank you for having me. I can’t wait to show you and Dylan what I bring to the table.” Daisy says.

“Why on earth would Kaylie walk out on you? I figured if she could deal with your horrendous personality, she could deal with anything.” Dylan says. “It all ties back to Dannie Goo.” Bethany says. “Dannie Goo? Andy’s sibling?” Dylan says. “Mmhm. You see, Dannie has been having a little bit of a stalker issue so Kaylie generously invited them to come live with us for protection.” Bethany says. “I think I heard about that whole stalker thing. Isn’t the stalker that Meow Cat character?” Dylan asks. “Yup. So if you know about Meow Cat, you probably heard Kaylie got hurt when he went to try and kill Dannie.” Bethany says. “I did hear about that. I’m glad to hear Kaylie is doing better.” Dylan says. “Well while Kaylie was in the hospital, I threw Dannie’s ass out. Kaylie almost died once because Dannie was living with us, no way was I gonna let something like that happen again.” Bethany says. “Something tells me Kaylie didn’t take it well.” Dylan assumes. “She freaked out! She feels like I put Dannie’s life in danger all over again by kicking them out, but like, Dannie clearly wasn’t any safer with us! Meow Cat still got to them! The only difference was that by Dannie living with us, Kaylie, Issac, and I were also in danger! Its not like I’m being paranoid either, Kaylie almost died because she tried to rescue Dannie!” Bethany notes. “So Kaylie walked out on you just because you tossed Dannie out?” Dylan asks. “Well, not exactly…” Bethany says. “So then there’s more to it.” Dylan realizes. “Like I said, Dannie being there puts Kaylie, Issac, and me in danger and I told Kaylie as much. The only thing is, I said that I was protecting our family, something Kaylie couldn’t be bothered to do.” Bethany admits. “Ah, now it all makes sense.” Dylan says. “I shouldn’t have said it like that, sure, but was I wrong? I get that Kaylie is a cop and her job is to serve and protect, but letting Dannie move in with us is going above and beyond! And she expects me to just be okay with it? After she almost died because we had Dannie living with us? No! I’m not gonna be okay with it! I’m not gonna let our lives continue to be in danger all because Kaylie feels some sort of responsibility to protect Dannie! What about her responsibility to protect me or Issac? My God…I can’t believe I’m talking to you of all people about this.” Bethany says. “Well it sounds like you needed to talk to someone about it.” Dylan says. “Am I wrong though?!” Bethany questions. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually agree with you.” Dylan says. “Thank you! And I can’t believe I’m asking you this, but what do you think I should do?” Bethany wonders. “I think you should have a drink with me, it sounds like you could definitely use it.” Dylan says. “I’m working, I can’t drink.” Bethany says. “You have staff don’t you? I think you could afford to switch from manager to customer for the night.” Dylan says. “I really shouldn’t…but, you only live once.” Bethany says, as she grabs the bottle of whiskey and pours herself a drink.