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Fellowship of the Morpher Part 4
By Vito_The_White
ZACK checks out the door, almost gets hit by two
arrows, shuts the door.
ZACK
They have a Tyrannosaur Zord.
MERRIC
Stay back, close to Zordon!
They bar the door with the weapons of the dead.
MAX
Let them come! There is one midget yet in Munchkins
who still draws breath!
TANGU break holes in the door. ANDROS and MERRIC shoot
arrows through the holes and kill the TANGU on the other
side. Finally, the doors break open and TANGU flood in. All
the companions join in the fighting, even the TEENS. Then
the T-REX ZORD comes through the door and part of the wall. ADAM
slips under him. Many TANGU killed. The ZORD smashes the
tomb MAX is standing on top of, but misses MAX, then
kills several of the TANGU in its attempt to get the midget.
The Zord uses its chain like a whip, trying to hit
ANDROS, who dodges. The chain becomes momentarily caught
around a pillar, and ANDROS runs up it to stand on top of
the ZORD and gets a shot at its head, but jumps off when
the ZORD grabs for his ankles. ADAM hits several TANGU over
the head with his frying pan.
ADAM
I think I'm getting the hang of this!
ZORD catches sight of the three TEENS. They all dodge,
but JUSTIN goes one way and ROCKY and BILLY the other. The
ZORD follows JUSTIN, who manages to stay on the opposite
side of the pillar from the ZORD for a while, but then he
is surprised, falls down, and the ZORD grabs his foot.
JUSTIN
Merric! Help!
JUSTIN cuts the ZORD’S hand with Nash, and it lets go.
ZORD reaches for JUSTIN again, but MERRIC runs over and
stabs it with a spear, prompting the ZORD to smash him
into the wall. JUSTIN shakes MERRIC, but he doesn't get up.
ZORD stabs at MERRIC, but renews its interest in JUSTIN
when he moves. JUSTIN dodges the spear, then runs into it
and gets thrown against the wall. Before he can move, the
ZORD stabs him with the spear. JUSTIN falls, with the spear
in his side. ROCKY and BILLY jump on the ZORD’S back and
stab it wildly. ZORD grabs ROCKY and throws him off,
BILLY stabs it again, when it rears up, ANDROS kills the
ZORD with an arrow through the head as sparts go everywhere. BILLY has a hard
landing, still being on top of the ZORD when it falls.
MERRIC
Oh, no.
Thinking he's dead, MERRIC rolls JUSTIN over, but he sits
up.
ADAM
He's alive!
JUSTIN
I'm all right, I'm not hurt.
MERRIC
You should be dead! That spear would have
skewered a wild boar!
ZORDON
I think there is more to this Teenager than
meets the eye.
JUSTIN pulls open his shirt to reveal a Mithril vest.
MAX
Mithril! You are full of surprises, Mr.
Dillon!
More TENGU approach.
ZORDON
To the bridge of Khazad-Morn!
They run through the cavern, but become surrounded by
TENGU. There is a roar in the distance. The TENGU all run
away.
ZACK
What is this new devilry?
ZORDON
Dark Spector. A demon of the ancient world. This
foe is beyond any of you. Run!
They run. ZACK abruptly comes to the edge of the path,
drops his torch and teeters on the edge of a very long
drop. ANDROS pulls him back from the edge.
ZORDON
Lead them on, Merric! The bridge is near. Do
as I say! Swords are no more use here!
They come to a gap in the apparently endless staircase,
which ANDROS jumps across easily. ZORDON follows after a
moment's hesitation. ZACK grabs ROCKY and BILLY, jumps
across as the edge crumbles. MERRIC throws ADAM across, but
MAX holds up a hand.
MAX
Nobody tosses a midget!
MAX jumps, but doesn't quite make it, and ANDROS grabs
his beard to keep him from falling.
MAX
Not the beard!
More breaks off the edge, JUSTIN and MERRIC scramble back.
The gap is now too far to jump. Part of roof breaks off,
breaks the section JUSTIN and MERRIC are on loose from the
rest of the stair. It starts to tilt. Trying to keep his
balance, MERRIC finds he can influence the direction the
stair falls.
MERRIC
Lean forward!
They do, and the section falls forward into the rest of
the stair, allowing JUSTIN and MERRIC to rejoin the party.
They keep running as the enormous section of stair falls
into the abyss. They manage to get down the stairs to level
ground without more trouble. As they run toward the bridge,
DARK SPECTOR emerges from the chasm behind them. ZORDON
makes sure everyone is across the bridge before he makes
his stand. In the center of the bridge, he turns to face
the demon, staff and sword in hand.
ZORDON
You cannot pass.
JUSTIN
Zordon!
A wave of flame spreads across DARK SPECTOR.
ZORDON
I am a servant of the secret fire, wielder of
the flame of Anor! Dark fire shall not avail
you, flame of Udun!
DARK SPECTOR draws a flaming sword and swings at ZORDON, but he
blocks it.
ZORDON
Go back to the shadow! You shall not
pass!
ZORDON slams his staff on the ground, and a flash of
white light drives DARK SPECTOR back. The demon draws a whip
of fire, steps onto the bridge, and the bridge gives way,
dropping DARK SPECTOR into the chasm. It seems they have won,
but as he turns away, the tail of the whip catches
ZORDON’S ankle and pulls him down. He gets a brief grasp
on the edge of the bridge.
ZORDON
Fly, you fools!
And ZORDON follows his enemy into the abyss.
JUSTIN
No!
JUSTIN tries to return to the bridge, but ZACK holds him
back.
ZACK
Merric!
MAX carries JUSTIN away. MERRIC pauses, looking back
until TENGU arrows drive him away. The diminished group
escapes into the sunlight before most collapse with grief,
weeping for the loss of their friend. ANDROS seems
stunned. MERRIC becomes their leader.
MERRIC
Andros, get them up!
ZACK
Give them a moment, for pity's sake!
MERRIC
By nightfall these hills will be crawling with
Tengu! We must reach the woods of Phadous.
Max, Andros, get them up! On your feet, Adam.
Justin?
JUSTIN has drawn away from the rest. Tears spill down his
face.
MERRIC jogs across a very cold stream to see PHADOUS
in the distance. After some travel, they enter PHADOUS,
a wood of silver trees.
MAX
Stay close, young teens. They say a great
sorceress lives here, a princess-witch of terrible
power. All those who look upon her fall under
her spell, and are never seen again.
DULCEA
Justin. Your coming is as the footsteps of
doom. You bring a great evil here, Morpher holder.
MAX
Well, this is one midget she won't ensnare so
easily! I have the eyes of a hawk, and the ears
of a fox!
Suddenly, they are all surrounded by ELDERS with drawn
bows.
DIVATOX
The midget breathes so loudly we could have
shot him in the dark.
MERRIC
Divatox of Phadous. We have come for help. We
need your protection.
MAX
Merric, these woods are perilous! We should
go back!
DIVATOX
You have entered the realm of the Lady of the
Wood. You cannot go back. Come. She is waiting.
They enter the elf city in the trees, are brought before
ANIMUS and DULCEA.
ANIMUS
Eight there are here, but nine there were set
out from Switzerland. Tell me where is Zordon, for I
much desire to speak with him.
DULCEA
He is fallen into shadow. The quest stands on
the edge of a knife, stray but a little and it
will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains
as long as the company is true. Do not let your
hearts be troubled. Go now, and rest, for you
are weary with toil and much sorrow. Tonight
you shall sleep in peace.
DULCEA
Welcome, Justin of Angel Grove, one who has seen
the Eye.
There is singing in the background while they camp, more
comfortable on the ground than in the trees.
ANDROS
A lament for Zordon.
What do they say about him?
ANDROS
I have not the heart to tell you. For me the
grief is still too near.
MERRIC
Take some rest, Zack. These borders are
well protected.
ZACK
I shall find no rest here. I heard a voice
inside my head. She spoke of my father and the
fall of France. She said to me, even now, there
is hope left, but I cannot see it. It is long
since we had any hope. My father is a noble
man, but Izual is failing, and the people lose
faith. My father looks to me to set it right,
and I would do it, I would see the glory of
Gondor restored. Have you seen it, Merric? The
white tower of Ecthelion glimmering like a
spike of pearl and silver, its banners caught
high in the morning breeze. Have you ever been
called home by the clear ringing of silver
trumpets?
MERRIC
I have seen the White City, long ago.
ZACK
One day, our paths will lead us there, and the
tower guard will take up the call, 'the lords
of France have returned!'
MERRIC makes no promises.
The company sleeps, and when DULCEA passes, only JUSTIN
wakes. He follows her to a basin set in stone, which she
fills with water from a silver urn.
DULCEA
Will you look into the mirror?
JUSTIN
What will I see?
DULCEA
Not even the wisest can say, for the mirror
shows many things. Things that are, things that
were, and some things that have not yet come to
pass.
JUSTIN looks into the mirror, and sees ANDROS, ROCKY and
BILLY, then ADAM. Angel Grove as it was, then Angel Grove
ravaged, overrun with TENGU, and ADAM in chains. Then the EYE
appears, and the MORPHER grows heavier, trying to pull itself
down into the mirror. JUSTIN snatches it away, falls
backward onto the ground.
DULCEA
I know what it is you saw, for it is
also in my mind. It is what will come to pass
if you should fail. The Fellowship is breaking.
Already it has begun. He will try to take the
Morpher. You know of whom I speak. One by one, it
will destroy them all.
JUSTIN
If you ask it of me, I will give you the One
Morpher.
DULCEA
You offer it to me freely. I do not deny that
my heart has greatly desired this.
A dark light comes over her as she touches the power of
the One MORPHER.
DULCEA
Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a
queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as
the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger
than the foundations of the earth! All shall
love me and despair!
DULCEA backs away from the MORPHER, but for a moment, she
looks old, and it seems to bring her no joy to have done
the right thing.
DULCEA
I passed the test. I will diminish, and go
into the west, and remain Dulcea.
JUSTIN
I cannot do this alone.
DULCEA
You are a Morpher holder, Justin. To bear a Morpher of
power is to be alone. This task was appointed
to you, and if you do not find a way, no one
will.
JUSTIN
Then, I know what I must do. It's just I am
afraid to do it.
DULCEA
Even the smallest person can change the course
of the future.
RITA talking to the first ORG.
RITA
Do you know how Tengu first came into being?
They were elders once, taken by the dark powers,
tortured, mutilated. A ruined and terrible fall
of life. And now perfected, my fighting Org.
Whom do you serve?
Rita.
Now RITA addresses the army of ORGS.
RITA
Hunt them down. Do not stop until you have
found them. You do not know pain, you do not
know fear, you will taste man-flesh! One of the
teenagers carries something of great value.
Bring them to me alive, and unspoiled! Kill the
others.
The company departs in three small boats.
DULCEA
Farewell, Justin Dillon. I give you the light
of Earendil, our most beloved star. Numarii.
May it be a light for you in dark places, where
all other lights go out.
They paddle down the river a long ways.
ORGS on the march.
The company comes to a bend in the river and MERRIC taps
JUSTIN’S shoulder.
MERRIC
Justin. The Aragornath. Long have I desired to
look upon the kings of old, my kin.
There are two enormous statues of MEN in armor flanking
the river, their left hands outstretched in a gesture of
warding. The company goes past them, into a lake, where
they find an old moorage and beach their boats.
MERRIC
We cross at nightfall, hide the boats and
continue on foot. We approach Germany from the
north.
MAX
Oh? Just a simple matter of finding our way
across Alta Muil, an impassable labyrinth of
razor-sharp rocks! And then it gets even
better! Festering, stinking marshlands as far
as the eye can see!
MERRIC
That is our road, sir midget. Perhaps you
should take some rest, and recover your
strength.
MAX
Recover my...!
ANDROS
We should leave now.
MERRIC
No. Tengu patrol the eastern shore. We must
wait for the cover of darkness.
ANDROS
It is not the eastern shore that worries me. A
shadow and a threat has been growing in my
mind. Something draws near, I can feel it.
MAX
Recover my strength! Pay no heed to that,
young teens.
ROCKY returns from gathering firewood.
ROCKY
Where is Justin?
MERRIC looks around and realizes ZACK is also missing.
JUSTIN walks in the forest, ZACK finds him.
ZACK
None of us should wander alone, you least of
all. So much depends on you. Justin? I know why
you seek solitude. You suffer, I see it day by
day. Be sure you do not suffer needlessly.
There are other ways, Justin, other paths we
might take.
JUSTIN
I know what you would say, and it would sound
like wisdom, but for the warning in my heart.
ZACK
Warning? Against what? They are all afraid,
but to let that fear drive us to destroy what
hope we have... Don't you see? It's madness.
JUSTIN
There is no other way.
ZACK
Why do you recoil? I am no thief.
JUSTIN
You are not yourself!
ZACK
I ask only for the strength to defend my
people! If you would but lend me the
morpher.
JUSTIN
No!
ZACK
What chance do you think you have? They will
find you, they will take the morpher, and you will
beg for death before the end! It is not yours
save by a happenstance. It could have been
mine. It should have been mine! Give it to me!
JUSTIN
No!
They struggle, JUSTIN puts on the morpher and disappears.
ZACK
I see your mind! You would take the morpher to
Lord Zedd! You will betray us! You go to your
death, and the death of us all! Curse you!
Curse all you teenagers!
ZACK falls, and seems to recover himself.
ZACK
Justin? Justin? What have I done? Justin, I'm
sorry!
JUSTIN runs away, with the Morpher on his belt. He hides atop a stone platform in the woods, looks east and sees the PALACE, and
army of TENGU, and the EYE. He falls off the platform and
takes off the morpher. MERRIC arrives.
MERRIC
Justin?
JUSTIN
It has taken Zack.
MERRIC
Where is the morpher?
JUSTIN backs away.
JUSTIN
Stay away!
MERRIC
Justin? I swore to protect you.
JUSTIN
Can you protect me from yourself? Would
you destroy it?
MERRIC resists the morpher, but leaves it with JUSTIN.
MERRIC
I would have gone with you to the end, into
the very fires of Germany.
JUSTIN
I know. Take care of the others. Especially
Adam, he will not understand.
MERRIC
Go, Justin!
Nash is glowing.
MERRIC
Run! Run!
ORG
Find the teens! Find the teens!
MERRIC fights a lot of ORGS. When the ORGS return to
hunting teens, he jumps off the platform onto them.
ANDROS and MAX join him. When one ORGS gets too close to
shoot, ANDROS stabs him in the eye with the arrow he is
holding, then puts it in his bow to kill the next one, too.
JUSTIN runs away, sees ROCKY and BILLY hiding.
BILLY
Here, Justin, hide here!
JUSTIN shakes his head.
BILLY
What's he doing?
ROCKY
He's leaving.
BILLY
No, Justin!
BILLY bolts from his hiding place, only to realize that
he has been seen by ORGS. ROCKY determines that they must
provide a distraction so that JUSTIN can get away.
ROCKY
Run, Justin. Go.
ROCKY waves his arms at the approaching ORGS.
ROCKY
Hey, you, over here, this way!
ROCKY and BILLY run, leading a pack of ORGS. JUSTIN runs
the other way.
BILLY
It's working!
ROCKY
I know it's working, run!
ZACK kills a bunch of ORGS defending ROCKY and BILLY.
His horn brings friends and enemies alike. ZACK gets
shot three times before he stops killing ORGS. ROCKY and
BILLY get kidnapped, and the ORGS leave ZACK alive
since he can no longer fight. The ORG is going to
finish him off, but MERRIC arrives, and manages to kill
him after extended fighting. Returns to ZACK after.
ZACK
They took the little ones.
MERRIC
Stay still.
ZACK
Justin. Where is Justin?
MERRIC
I let Justin go.
ZACK
Then you did what I could not. I tried to take
the morpher from him.
MERRIC
The morpher is beyond our reach now.
ZACK
Forgive me. I did not see it. I have failed
you all.
MERRIC
No, Zack. You fought bravely. You have kept
your honor.
MERRIC reaches to pull out one of the arrows, but ZACK
stops him.
ZACK
Leave it. It's over. The world of men will
fail. All will fall into darkness, and my city
to ruin.
MERRIC
I know not what strength lies in my blood, but
I swear to you I will not let the White City
fall, nor our people fail.
ZACK
Our people. Our people.
MERRIC gives ZACK back his sword.
ZACK
I would have followed you, my brother, my
captain, my king.
ZACK dies.
MERRIC
Be at peace, son of France.
JUSTIN at the boats, holding the Morpher in his hand.
ADAM searching for him.
ADAM
Justin! Justin!
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 you have to
decide is what to do with the time that is
given you.
JUSTIN regains his resolution, tucks the MORPHER in his pocket
and jumps in a boat. ADAM arrives on shore.
ADAM
Justin! Justin!
JUSTIN
No, Adam.
ADAM starts wading in.
JUSTIN
Go back, Adam. I'm going to Germany alone!
ADAM
Of course you are, and I'm coming with you!
ADAM keeps going, well into the lake.
JUSTIN
You can't swim! Adam!
ADAM gets in over his head, JUSTIN turns around and pulls
him into the boat.
ADAM
I made a promise, Justin. A promise. Don't
you leave him, Adam Morgan, and I don't mean
to. I don't mean to.
JUSTIN
Oh, Adam. Come on.
They hug, then start paddling across the lake.
ZACK’S body, in one of the boats, floats over the
waterfall. ANDROS pushes the last boat to the water.
ANDROS
Hurry! Justin and Adam have reached the eastern
shore!
MERRIC buckles on ZACK’S bracers, with the white tree
of Frace. ANDROS realizes that MERRIC isn't coming.
ANDROS
You mean not to follow them.
MERRIC
Justin’s fate no longer rests in our hands.
MAX
Then it was all in vain. The Fellowship has
failed.
MERRIC
Not as long as we remain true to each other.
We will not abandon Rocky and Billy to torment
and death. Not while we have strength left.
Leave all that can be spared behind, we travel
light. Let us hunt some Tengu.
MAX and ANDROS agree, and the three set off in pursuit.
JUSTIN and ADAM reach a height from which they can see the
path ahead.
JUSTIN
Germany. I hope the others find a safer road.
ADAM
Howling Wolf will take care of them.
JUSTIN
I don't suppose we'll ever see them again.
ADAM
We may yet, Justin. We may.
JUSTIN
Adam, I'm glad you're with me.
JUSTIN and ADAM set out into the Alta Muil.
THE END
1/30/2003 10:09:56 PM
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