Rise To Stardom - Chapter 126

Chapter 126: Passing on The Torch
{The Curator – Tenth Season | 1st May 2020 | Act 5 | Scene 6 | Take 1}

“Room 3327.” Kiera quietly muttered as she watched The Curator, hesitate to open the door.

Glancing over to him, the lady was concerned, to say the least.

She had never seen him behave like this for the entirety of the short time they’d been travelling together.

First, he hadn’t been an entertaining chatterbox in the manner that he usually was, one she always looked forward to.

And secondly, for the very first time, Kiera saw an expression different from his usual jovial yet mysterious nature.

Anxiety.

The Curator, as of the moment, was evidently anxious.

As a result, she wondered what or whom was on the other side for him to be so anxious.

Yet, The Curator’s hesitation lasted only for a brief moment, a warm smile gracing his visage and his hands, turning the knob as he opened the door and walked in.

Walking from behind him as he stopped before a bed, Kiera’s eyes, landed on a frail-looking old man lying on the bed.

Frankly, he looked like he didn’t have a lot of time left.

Yet, as if sensing their presence, the old man slowly opened his eyes, staring at the people standing before his bed.

“Hello, old friend.” The Curator spoke quietly as Tesla’s eyes, slowly dilated in familiarity.

Slowly forming a weak yet beautiful smile, the old man, responded in a similarly weak tone;

“Hello, Curator.”

“And I… assume… this is… the brave girl, you… talked about?” Nikola, slowly spoke in between measured pauses, gently angling his gaze towards the lady.

“Yes. That’s her.” The Curator responded with a light smile, slowly squatting down to his eye level.

“Hello. I’m Kiera. Kiera Snow.” Kiera quietly introduced herself.

“Kiera…” a very old Tesla, repeated the name with a beautiful smile.

“What a lovely name…” he added with a lot of warmth in his tone, causing the lady to smile shyly.

Even if it wasn’t obvious on her cheeks, it was evident that Kiera was blushing.

“You don’t have a lot of time, old friend…” The Curator, soon spoke again, causing Tesla to smile while responding;

“Oh I know…”

“I’m sorry…” The Curator, quietly said with a sad expression.

“You shouldn’t be…” Tesla, stared at the ceiling as he continued;

“You also… warned me, but…”

“I… really… don’t care… that… they stole… my ideas…”

“I care… that they… don’t use it… for the… betterment of… the world…”

“Regardless of… how things… turned out… though…” Nikola continued his monologue.

“Everyone… dies… eventually…”

“Still, as my… insignificant life… comes to an end… I wonder…” the dying old man asked;

“Did I… make the world… a better place?”

“Will I… ever… be remembered… for the little… that I did…”

Listening to his words, Kiera soon noticed that The Curator, had a genuinely pained and sad expression on his features.

Yet, as tears brimmed on his eyelids, he spoke with a warm expression instead;

“The answer to that question…”

“I’ll show you, old friend.”

“Cut.”

– – ­-

No sooner had the scene ended, Jasmine and Brad, just like every other person in the room shooting the scene, felt very emotional.

In fact, it seemed to have affected even Tiana because, typically, she would say ‘Cut. Print. Check The Gate.’ and not just ‘Cut.’.

But Kyle…

Kyle was far worse than all of them.

Instead of simply leaving his squatting position, he remained there, head facing downwards.

And yet, no one on set, needed to prod him to know what was happening.

Instead, they just let him be.

It was very normal for an actor, especially an actor who was playing the role of a character who had witnessed and lost, way too many people, to be in a far more vulnerable state than anyone of them could ever know.

Still, Kyle himself, knew better than to stay affected by his emotions for too long.

They still had, one more scene left to shoot today.

…

…

…

Queen Victoria Park, Niagara Falls.

It was a beautiful, lush park, further bolstered by the warm rays of the late morning sun.

Adding to the lovely view, was the waterfalls itself, one where its hydroelectric power plant was designed by a certain man, many years back.

It was also where a great monument, to commemorate this certain great man, was built.

That, exactly, was where the crew had travelled to, about two hours ago from NYC, to shoot the last scene of the fifth episode.

This scene, was going to involve all of the major actors who were on set today, all of which included Collins and William too.

Finally, an overarching arc in the long history of The Curator, was going to be laid to rest.

That said, as insignificant as it may have seemed to The 10th Curator’s storyline, it was still a very impactful one nonetheless, one that really added more depth to his iteration.

In fact, Jon was certain, that asides the first episode which he knew was going to be highly rated, this episode was also going to be right up there amongst the higher rated ones.

Maybe it was also due to that reason, that the man himself, cleared his schedule and arrived on set today, alongside Barry to watch the scene being shot.

As for Tiana, she decided to put the two individuals to good use by having them, act as part of the extras in the scene.

Having discussed it with them, one to which they had both agreed, the Director, left to go speak with their cinematographer whilst making other necessary checks.

As this was happening, Collins, soon walked over to Jon and said;

“Thank you, Quentin.”

“For what?” the Showrunner, evidently surprised by Collins sudden gratitude and use of his last name, asked in genuine curiosity.

“For passing on the torch, to the right person.” Collins, directed his gaze towards Kyle.

The young man, as of the moment, was laughing heartily with Jasmine as Brad, now aged up again for the scene, sat in the wheel chair Kyle was pushing as he told the duo some of the craziest things his fans had done.

Staring at the sight before him with a light smile, Jon soon replied after a short while;

“You’re most welcome, old friend.”

“Alright everyone. Quiet on set.” Tiana’s composed voice rang through the set as she clapped her hands once to garner everyone’s attention.

“We begin in five.” she added, ensuring that everyone got the message.

And just as expected, everyone did the necessary in compliance to her words.

Quickly, actors took up their respective positions and the rest of the crew, took their positions.

And so, having gotten his old friend into the wheel chair, The Curator, along with Tesla and Kiera, travelled over to Queen Victoria Park, Niagara Falls, July 9, 2006.

“Start!”

{The Curator – Tenth Season | 1st May 2020 | Act 5 | Scene 7 | Take 1}

“We’re here.” The Curator, pushed the wheel chair forward, staying a fair few meters away from the crowd, journalists and broadcasting companies, all of whom where recording everything that was happening.

There was a white cloth, covering what seemed to be a statue that was yet to be unveiled as everyone waited for the required representatives standing before it, to unveil said statue.

However, as Kiera stood beside them, a certain realization dawned on her and her eyes widened!

Yet, before she could even dart her eyes over to the man in a wheel chair who was lovingly gazing at the scene before him with tears of joy and happiness in his elderly eyes, the statue was unveiled!

It was a monument!

A monument and a tribute to the Great, Nikola Tesla!

Seeing this, The Curator, asked his old friend with a warm smile;

“It’s brilliant, isn’t it?”

To that, Nikola, gently nodded in acknowledgement, the gratitude in his gaze unmistakable as his lips quivered.

“You will never be forgotten, old friend.” The Curator soon spoke again as he also gazed at the scene before them.

“Never.” he added, his tone, definite.

Listening to his words, Nikola, placed his wrinkled palm on The Curator’s, tightly grasping it as he responded in genuine thankfulness and appreciation;

“Thank you, Curator. Thank you…”

To that, The Curator, simply nodded and then stared at the scene for a few more seconds.

After a while though, he then said to Kiera;

“I have to get him back to his hotel. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Sure. Take as much time as you need.” Kiera, instead of simply responding, consoled The Curator by hugging him while lightly tapping his back.

Smiling at that, The Curator, watched as the lady, bent down and then, placed a kiss on Tesla’s wrinkled cheeks while speaking, her words, barely above a whisper;

“Goodbye, Tesla.”

“Goodbye, Kiera.”

Smiling at her with the warmth of a pure soul, Kiera watched as The Curator, pushed the wheel chair, towards a building nearby, his interspatial key already in his hands.

So, waiting for him to come back, her eyes, taking in the sights of the waterfalls from a distance, it took a few seconds for the lady to notice that two random individuals, had casually walked towards her, each of them, standing on her sides.

A bit wary, especially since she literally didn’t know who they were and this was back in the year 2006, Kiera intently listened as one of them spoke;

“Always thought I’d be older by the 10th iteration…” the 5th Curator, coolly stated as the 6th, followed up;

“I don’t like it. Too young…”

Glancing over to both individuals, Kiera, unable to believe what she was hearing, widened her eyes in genuine confusion.

That was something The Curator would often say whenever he looked at himself in the mirror!

But, before she could question the two individuals on what they had just said, her eyes, soon caught sight of The Curator, walking out of the building and towards her.

“And so, we finally say our goodbyes …” The 6th Curator, smiled warmly and said, a brief silence, descending between all three.

“You may not know this but…” his 5th iteration, picking up from where his 6th paused, continued as the 10th Curator got closer while speaking to the lady;

“He’s probably the saddest he’s ever been as of this moment…”

“But he’ll try to move on, like we always do… hiding behind another façade as usual.” the 6th Curator added and said;

“Still, it’s nice to know we’re hanging in there…”

Their words to Kiera, was a bit of a puzzle she couldn’t quite wrap her head around.

Yet, deep down, a certain thought was forming in her head that she didn’t want to believe.

Because, if that really was the truth, then it would explain why The Curator, occasionally had the gaze of an old man that just seemed so normal on his young appearance.

Unperturbed by her conundrum though, The 5th Curator, glanced over to the lady, a hint of amusement in his casual expression as he said;

“Well, we’d best be on our way then. See you in a second, young lady. Literally…”

In an instant, both phase-shifted out of existence, leaving the young lady to doubt, just where they had come from and who exactly, they were.

By now, The Curator had caught up to Kiera who was still looking around in confusion.

“Hmmm… I wonder what those youngsters were up to…” he casually stated the moment he met up with her.

The Hybrid, evidently, had watched from afar as his previous iterations, spoke to his new companion.

“Probably came to see him off too…” The Curator muttered to himself with an unperturbed gaze.

That said, he wasn’t the least bit bothered by what they must’ve said to Kiera.

They were pretty much him, just from another time period.

“Who were they?” Kiera on the other hand, soon asked with a questioning yet curious squint, hoping to high heavens that The Curator would come clean this time.

Yet, unwilling to properly share that information, The Enigma, grinned lightly at Kiera and then replied;

“I haven’t the faintest idea…”

“Cut, Print. Check The Gate.”