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Fellowship of the Morpher Part 3
By Vito_The_White
HOWLING WOLF lifts JUSTIN onto SHAYLA’S horse.
HOWLING WOLF
Stay with the teenagers. I will send horses for
you.
SHAYLA
I am the faster rider. I will take him.
HOWLING WOLF
The road is too dangerous.
SHAYLA
If I can get across the river, the power of my
people will protect him. I do not fear them.
SHAYLA gets on her horse, behind JUSTIN.
HOWLING WOLF
Princess Shayla. Ride hard and don't look back.
ADAM
What are you doing? Those monsters are still
out there!
SHAYLA and JUSTIN ride, chased by some BASMOUTHOIDS. MONSTERS
try to influence JUSTIN, either to give in to the poison or
to put the MORPHER on.
SHAYLA
No! Justin, you must not!
They get to the river, SHAYLA stops partway across. RIDERS
or their horses do not want to enter the river.
GOLDAR
Give up the teenager, she-witch!
SHAYLA draws her sword.
SHAYLA
If you want him, come and claim him!
RIDERS start to cross the river. SHAYLA speaks to the river
in her native tounge, and it rises suddenly. A flood of water washes
down the riverbed, led by white horse-shapes. MONSTERS are
washed away. JUSTIN is losing his battle. SHAYLA gets off her
horse, lays him on the ground.
SHAYLA
No, Justin! Don't give in! Not now!
SHAYLA
Let what grace is given me be passed to him.
Let him be spared. Save him.
JUSTIN’S world dissolves into light.
JUSTIN wakes up, in bed.
JUSTIN
Where am I?
ZORDON
You are in the House of Ninjar, and it is ten
in the morning, on October the 24th, if you
want to know.
JUSTIN
Zordon?
ZORDON
Yes, I'm here. And you're lucky to be here,
too. A few more hours and you would have been
beyond our aid, but you have some strength in
you, dear young one.
JUSTIN
What happened? Why didn't you meet us?
ZORDON
I am sorry. I was delayed.
Top of the tower.
RITA
The friendship of Rita Repulsa is not lightly cast
aside. One ill turn deserves another.
RITA holding ZORDON out over the edge of the tower.
RITA
It is over. Embrace the power of the Morpher or
embrace your own destruction.
ZORDON
Rita, you were against Earth once before. However, you turned from your evil ways and became the leader of the wizard order. I’m begging you not to go back to your sorcerous ways. The morpher has but one master. Only one may bend it to his will, and he does not share power.
ZORDON jumps off the edge of the tower, King of Eagles
catches him and they fly away.
RITA
So you have chosen death.
JUSTIN
Zordon, what is it?
ZORDON
Nothing.
ADAM comes in, and NINJAR.
ADAM
Bless you, Justin, you're awake!
ZORDON
Adam has hardly left your side.
ADAM
We were that worried about you, weren't we,
Zordon?
ZORDON
Thanks to the skills of Master Ninjar, you
have begun to mend.
NINJAR
Welcome to Switzerland, Justin Dillon.
JUSTIN meets ROCKY and BILLY again, and JASON, looking
older.
JUSTIN
Jason!
JASON
Hello, Justin, my boy!
JUSTIN looking at JASON’S book.
JUSTIN
Might Morphin Power Rangers, a teenager’s tale, by
Jason Dillon. This is wonderful!
JASON
I meant to go back, wander the paths of
Poland, visit Sweden, see the Lonely
Mountain again, but age, it seems, has finally
caught up with me.
JUSTIN
I miss Angel Grove. I spent all my childhood
pretending I was somewhere else, off with you
on one of your adventures, but my own adventure
turned out to be quite different. I'm not like
you, Jason.
JASON
My dear boy.
ADAM packing.
ADAM
Now what have I forgotten?
JUSTIN
Packed already?
ADAM
Doesn't hurt to be prepared.
JUSTIN
I thought you wanted to see the elders, Adam.
ADAM
I do.
JUSTIN
More than anything.
ADAM
I did, but... we did what we set off to do,
didn't we? We got the ring this far, to
Switzerland, and seeing as how you're on the
mend, I thought we'd be off soon. Off home.
JUSTIN
You're right, Adam. We did what Zordon wanted.
The Morpher will be safe in Switzerland. I am ready
to go home.
ZORDON and NINJAR, watching JUSTIN and ADAM.
NINJAR
His strength returns.
ZORDON
That wound will never fully heal. He will
carry it for the rest of his life.
NINJAR
Yet to have come so far still bearing the
ring, the teen has shown remarkable
resilience to its evil.
ZORDON
It is a burden he should never have had to
bear. We can ask no more of Justin.
NINJAR
Zordon, the Enemy is moving. Lord Zedd’s forces
are massing in the East. His Eye is fixed on
Switzerland. And now you tell me Rita Repulsa has betrayed us once again. The list of our allies grows thin.
ZORDON
Her treachery goes deeper than you know. At
Falcraft, Rita has crossed Tengu with goblin
men. She is breeding an army in the caverns of
Eiffel. An army that can move in sunlight,
and travel great distances at speed. Rita is
coming for the Morpher.
NINJAR
This evil cannot be concealed by the power of
the elders. We do not have the strength to stand
against Germany and The Eiffel Tower both. The Morpher
cannot stay here.
ZACK arrives, and ANDROS, and a group of MIDGETS.
NINJAR
This peril belongs to all Earth, and
they must decide now how to end it. The age of
Elders is over. My people are leaving these
shores. Who will you turn to once we are gone?
The Midgets hide in their mountains seeking
riches and care not for the troubles of others.
ZORDON
We must place our hope in men.
NINJAR
Men! Men are weak. The race, failing. The
blood of Numenor is all but spent, its pride
and dignity forgotten. It is because of men
that the Morpher survives. I was there, Zordon. Three
thousand years ago, when Tommy took the Morpher.
I was there when the strength of men failed.
TOMMY takes the MORPHER.
NINJAR
Tommy! Follow me!
NINJAR
I led Tommy into the heart of Mount Destruction,
where it was forged, the one place it could be
destroyed.
NINJAR
Cast it in the fire! Destroy it!
TOMMY
No.
NINJAR
Tommy!
NINJAR
It should have ended that day, but evil was
allowed to endure. Tommy kept the Morpher. The
line of Kings is broken. There is no strength
left in the world of men. They are scattered,
divided, leaderless.
ZORDON
There is one who could unite them. One who could
reclaim the throne of France.
NINJAR
He turned from that path long ago. He has
chosen exile.
HOWLING WOLF reading a book.
ZACK
The shards of the Galaxy Sword. The blade that cut the
ring from Lord Zedd’s hand.
He cuts his finger on it.
ZACK
Still sharp. But no more than a broken end.
The sword falls when ZACK tries to replace it on the
statue. HOWLING WOLF picks it up, and returns it to its place.
SHAYLA
Why do you fear the past? You are Tommy’s
heir, not Tommy himself. You are not bound to
his fate.
HOWLING WOLF
The same blood flows in my veins, the same
weakness.
SHAYLA
Your time will come. You will face the same
evil, and you will defeat it. The shadow does
not yet hold sway. Not over you, not over me.
Do you remember the first time we met?
HOWLING WOLF
I thought I had strayed into a dream.
SHAYLA
Long years have passed since then. You did not
have the cares you carry now. Do you remember
what I told you?
HOWLING WOLF
You said you would bind yourself to me, and
forsake the immortal life of your people.
SHAYLA
And to that I hold. I would rather share one
lifetime with you than face all the ages of the
world alone. I choose a mortal life.
SHAYLA gives HOLWING WOLF the flower necklace she wears.
HOWLING WOLF
You cannot give me this.
SHAYLA
It is mine to give to whom I will. Like my
heart.
A council is gathered of MEN and ELDERS and MIDGETS and
JUSTIN.
NINJAR
Strangers from distant lands, friends of old.
You are summoned here to answer the threat of
Germany. Earth stands on the brink of
destruction. You will unite or you will fall.
Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom.
NINJAR
Bring forth the morpher, Justin.
JUSTIN puts the MORPHER on the stand in the center of the
council, and seems much relieved to be rid of it.
So it is true.
The Morpher of power.
The doom of man.
ZACK
It is a gift, a gift to the foes of Germany.
Why not use this Morpher? Long has my father, the
Steward of France, kept the forces of Germany at
bay. By the blood of my people are your lands
kept safe. Give France the weapon of the enemy.
Let us use it against him.
HOWLING WOLF
You cannot wield it. None of us can. The Morpher
answers to Lord Zedd alone. It has no other
master.
ZACK
What would a ranger know of this matter?
ANDROS
He is no mere ranger. This is Merric, son of
Eric. You owe him your allegiance.
ZACK
This is Tommy’s heir?
ANDROS
And heir to the throne of France.
MERRIC
Sit down, Andros.
ZACK
France has no king, France needs no king.
ZORDON
Merric is right. We cannot use it.
NINJAR
We have but one choice. The morpher must be
destroyed.
The Morpher murmurs its displeasure.
MAX
What are we waiting for?
MAX picks up his axe and hits the Morpher. JUSTIN sees the
eye, and the axe is shattered. MAX is knocked to the
ground.
NINJAR
The morpher cannot be destroyed, Max, son of
Martin, by any craft that we here possess. It
was made in the fires of Mount Destruction. Only there
can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into
Germany, and cast back into the fiery chasm from
which it came. One of you must do this.
Silence.
ZACK
One does not simply walk into Germany. Its
black gates are guarded by more than Tengu.
There is evil there that does not sleep, and
the great eye is ever watchful. It is a barren
wasteland, riddled with fire, ash and dust. The
very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. It is
folly. Not with ten thousand men could you do
this.
ANDROS
Have you heard nothing that Lord Ninjar has
said? The Morpher must be destroyed!
MAX
And I suppose you think you're the one to do
it?
ZACK
And what if we fail? What happens when Lord Zedd
takes back what is his?
MAX
I will be dead before I see the Morpher in the
hands of an elder! Never trust an elder!
The Morpher chants, telling its name, and its terrible
purpose, in the language of its master. The council
dissolves into arguing, flames spread across the Morpher as it
feeds their distrust and anger.
JUSTIN
I will take it.
Arguing continues.
JUSTIN
I will take it!
ZORDON hears, and it pains him that JUSTIN must continue
to carry the MORPHER, but the rest of the council has just
demonstrated how easily the MORPHER can influence most people.
Silence returns.
JUSTIN
I will take the morpher to Germany. Though I do
not know the way.
ZORDON
I will help you bear this burden, Justin Dillon for as long
as it is yours to bear.
MERRIC
If by my life or my death I can protect you, I
will.
MERRIC kneels in front of JUSTIN.
MERRIC
You have my sword.
ANDROS
And you have my bow.
MAX
And my axe.
ZACK
You carry the fate of us all, little one. But
if this is truly the will of the council,
France will see it done.
ADAM runs in.
ADAM
Here! Justin’s not going anywhere without
me.
ADAM takes his place beside JUSTIN.
NINJAR
Indeed, it is hardly possible to separate the
two of you, even when he is summoned to a
secret council and you are not.
ROCKY and BILLY barge in.
ROCKY
We're going, too! You'd have to send us home
tied up in a sack to keep us away.
BILLY
Anyway, you need people of intelligence on
this sort of mission. Quest. Thing.
ROCKY
Well, that rules you out, Billy.
NINJAR
Nine companions. So be it. You shall be The
Fellowship of the Morpher.
BILLY
Great. Now, where are we going?
JASON gives JUSTIN his old sword and armor.
JASON
My old sword, Nash. Take it, take it!
JUSTIN
It's so light!
JASON
Yes. Made by the elders, you know. The blade
glows blue when Tengu are close. And it's times
like those, dear boy, you have to be extra
careful. Here's a pretty thing.
JASON holds up a chainmail vest, sized for a TEENAGER.
JASON
As light as a feather, and as hard as dragon
scales. Let me see you put it on.
JUSTIN starts to take off his shirt. Jason looks down and sees the MORPHER hanging from a necklace.
JASON
Oh, my old morpher. I should very much like to
hold it again, one last time.
JUSTIN knows better, and buttons up his shirt again. JASON
has an evil moment, then recovers.
JASON
I'm sorry I brought this upon you, my boy. I'm
sorry you must carry this burden. I'm sorry for
everything!
JUSTIN comforts him.
The company leaves Switzerland, wanders past ruins, over
mountains, through fields.
ZORDON
We must hold to this course west of the Himalayan
Mountains for forty days. If our luck holds,
the Gap of Berlin will still be open to us, and
from there our road turns east toward Germany.
They stop for lunch, ROCKY and BILLY practice
swordfighting with ZACK.
ZACK
Very good. Again!
MAX
If anyone were to ask my opinion, which I note
they have not, I would say we're taking the
long way around! Zordon, we could go through
the Mines of Munchkins. My cousin Bart would give
us a royal welcome!
ZORDON
No, Max, I would not take the road through
Munchkins unless I had no other choice.
MERRIC adds comments.
MERRIC
Move your feet!
ZACK accidentally hurts BILLY.
BILLY
Ow!
ZACK
Sorry!
BILLY drops his sword, kicks ZACK in the shins and
tackles him. ROCKY joins in, and the two of them wrestle
ZACK to the ground. ANDROS notices something on the
horizon.
ADAM
What's that?
MAX
It's nothing, just a wisp of cloud.
Everyone looks.
ZACK
It's moving fast, against the wind.
ANDROS
Ravens from Monaco! Hide!
Everyone gathers possessions, they put out the fire and
take cover. When ravens leave, they come out again.
ZORDON
Spies of Rita. The passage south is being
watched. We will have to go over the pass of
The Himalayans.
Climbing a snowy mountain, JUSTIN falls and rolls down.
MERRIC catches him, but the morpher is missing. ZACK picks
it up.
MERRIC
ZACK.
ZACK
It is a strange fate that we should suffer so
much fear and doubt over so small a thing. Such
a little thing.
MERRIC
Zack! Give the morpher to Justin.
ZACK
As you wish. I care not.
But he too obviously does care, and when ZACK turns
away, MERRIC takes his hand off his sword.
The Ravens return to The Eiffel Tower, and report to RITA.
RITA
So, you tried to lead them over The Himalayans. And
if that fails? Where will you go? If the
mountains defeats you, will you risk a more
dangerous road?
ANDROS runs atop the snow while the others struggle
through it. Stands at the edge of a cliff, listening.
ANDROS
There is a fell voice on the air!
ZORDON
It’s Rita!
Rocks fall from the side of the mountain, followed by
snow.
MERRIC
She's trying to bring down the mountain! Zordon, we
must turn back!
ZORDON
No!
ZORDON tries to stop the storm, but RITA is
reinforcing it from The Eiffel Tower.
RITA stands on top of The Eiffel Tower chanting her spells toward
The Himalayans.
Lightning strikes the mountain, and ANDROS pulls ZORDON back from the edge just before snow falls and buries them all. One by one, they dig out or shake the snow off.
MERRIC
We must get off the mountain!
ZACK
We must take the Pass of Berlin, or take the
road west to my city!
MERRIC
Berlin takes us too close to The Eiffel Tower!
MAX
If we cannot go over the mountain, I say let
us go under it! Let us go through the mines of Munchkins.
RITA
Munchkins. You fear to go into those mines. The
midgets delved too greedily and too deep. You
know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-
Morn. Shadow and flame.
ZORDON
Let the Morpher holder decide! Justin?
JUSTIN
We will go through the mines!
ZORDON
So be it.
MAX
The walls of Munchkins.
They walk next to a dark lake. JUSTIN’S foot slips in the
water, and he scrambles back. They reach a wall framed by
two great trees. ZORDON scrubs away dirt to find a pattern
on the wall.
ZORDON
Isildin. It mirrors only starlight and
moonlight.
Moon comes out, showing the shape of a door, with writing
above in elderish.
ZORDON
It reads, The Gates of David, Lord of Munchkins.
Speak Friend and enter.
ROCKY
What do you suppose that means?
ZORDON
Simple. If you are a friend, you speak the
password, and the doors will open.
ZORDON tries a number of passwords, but none of them
work. MERRIC and ADAM unload the pony and let him go.
MERRIC
The mines are no place for a pony, even one so
brave as Bob. Go on.
ADAM
Bye bye, Bob.
MERRIC
Don't worry, Adam, he knows the way home.
ROCKY or BILLY is throwing rocks in the water, MERRIC
stops him.
MERRIC
Don't disturb the water!
ZACK shares his suspicion.
ZORDON
This is useless!
Having tried any number of passwords, ZORDON sits down in
disgust.
JUSTIN
It's a riddle. What's the Elderish word for
friend?
ZORDON
Cantalope.
The gates open. They go in.
MAX
Soon, mister elder, you will enjoy the fabled
hospitality of the midgets! Roaring fires, malt
beer, red meat off the bone! This is the home
of my cousin Bart. And they call it a mine. A
mine!
ZACK
This is no mine, it's a tomb.
Light reveals skeletons all over
MAX
No!
ANDROS pulls an arrow out of one of the skeletons.
ANDROS
Tengu!
ZACK
We make for the Gap of Berlin! We should never
have come here! Get out! Get out!
JUSTIN is grabbed by a tentacle from the water.
ADAM
Howling Wolf!
ADAM cuts off the tentacle, then a dozen more push the
TEENAGERS away while one grabs JUSTIN.
Tentacles dangle JUSTIN far above the water. MERRIC and
ZACK chop off tentacles. When a head shows, and a giant
mouth, ANDROS puts arrows in it. MERRIC chops off the
tentacle holding JUSTIN, ZACK catches him when he falls.
ANDROS puts an arrow in one of the KRAKEN'S eyes, giving
MERRIC and ZACK time to get out of the water.
ZORDON
Into the mines!
They retreat to the mine. KRAKEN crumbles the gate behind
them.
ZORDON
Now we have but one choice. We must face the
long dark of Munchkins. Be on your guard! There are
older and fouler things than Tengu in the deep
places of the world. It is a four day journey
to the other side. Let us hope our presence may
go unnoticed.
BILLY almost falls down the stairs, which are steep and
cluttered with debris.
ROCKY
Billy!
They come to the top of the stairs.
ZORDON
I have no memory of this place.
BILLY
Are we lost?
ROCKY
No, we're not lost.
BILLY
I think we're lost.
ROCKY
Quiet, Zordon’s thinking.
BILLY
Rocky? I'm hungry.
JUSTIN sees something behind them.
JUSTIN
There's something down there.
ZORDON
It's Finster. He's been following us for three
days.
JUSTIN
He escaped from the dungeons of Zedd’s Palace!
ZORDON
Escaped, or was set loose. Finster hates and
loves the Morpher, as he hates and loves himself.
He will never be free of his need for it.
JUSTIN
Pity Jason didn't kill him when he had the
chance.
ZORDON
Pity? It was pity that stayed Jason’s hand.
Many who live deserve death, and some who die
deserve life. Can you give it to them? Do not
be too eager to deal out death in judgment.
Even the very wise cannot see all ends, but my
heart tells me that Finster still has a part to
play, for good or ill. Before this is over, the
pity of Jason may rule the fate of many.
JUSTIN
I wish the morpher had never come to me. I wish
none of this had ever happened.
ZORDON
So do all who live to see such times, but that
is not for them to decide. All we have to
decide is what to do with the time we are
given. There are other forces at work in the
world than the will of evil. Jason was
meant to find the ring, which means that
you also were meant to have it. And that
is an encouraging thought. Ah! It's this way.
ROCKY
He's remembered!
ZORDON
No, but the air smells less foul down here.
When in doubt, Rockky, always follow your
nose.
ZORDON
Let me risk a little more light.
They see a huge cavern, held up with immense pillars.
ZORDON
Behold! The great realm of the Midget city of
Munchkindelf.
ADAM
Well, that's an eye-opener and no mistake!
MAX sees a door, runs through it.
ZORDON
Max!
The others follow, find MAX grieving over a tomb.
ZORDON reads the midget runes on the top of the tomb.
ZORDON
Here lies Bart, son of Homer, Lord of
Munchkins. He is dead then. It is as I feared.
ZORDON finds a book held by a skeleton leaning against
the tomb.
ANDROS
We must move on. We cannot linger here.
ZORDON
They have taken the bridge, and the second
hall. The ground shakes. We have barred the
gates, but cannot hold them for long. A shadow
moves in the dark. Drums, drums in the deep. We
cannot get out. We cannot get out. They are
coming.
BILLY knocks a skeleton into the well, which makes a
little more than enough noise to wake the dead.
ZORDON
Fool of a Heath! Next time, throw yourself in,
and rid us of your stupidity!
There is a pause where it seems they might not have been
heard, then drums start pounding. JUSTIN’S sword is glowing
blue.
ANDROS
Tengu!
1/30/2003 10:06:14 PM
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