Episode 9: Music for the Masses--Part 2
The guys meet down stars in the morning
for breakfast. Kevin is already eating as Leon and
Marcus enter the room.
Kevin: Hey guys.
Marcus: Hey.
Leon: Good morning. What’s up?
Kevin: Not much. Just getting started.
Marcus: Where’s Maya and Paige?
Kevin: I don’t know. I thought I heard them leave kinda
early. There must be a sale at the mall
or something.
The guys start to laugh a little.
Kevin: But Maya left her tape recorder here.
The tape recorder is sitting on the
table.
Kevin: I was fixing to turn it on and listen to a little bit
of it. I made some breakfast. Have a seat.
Leon: You bet. I’m starving. Marcus?
Leon heads to the kitchen area.
Marcus: Nah, I’ll grab something to eat later. I need to
get some new strings for my guitar.
Then I was gonna head out to the park and play a little bit
for some of the kids.
Kevin: Okay. We’ll see you later.
Marcus: Laters.
Marcus heads out the door as Kevin turns
on the tape recorder and Leon grabs a plate and sits
down. The music plays in the background.
Kevin: So what do you think about yesterday?
Leon: You mean about Levina? I don’t know, Kev. Seems
kinda peculiar.
Kevin: Exactly. I couldn’t stop thinking about it last
night. She has to be up to something, but
what?
Suddenly, the flute solo begins. As Leon
picks up his fork to take a bite of his food, he stops as
he goes into a trance. Kevin does the same thing as he stares
off aimlessly. The solo finishes
and the two come out of their trance.
Leon: Man, that was incredible.
Kevin: Yeah.
Then Levina’s voice can be heard in
their minds. They stop what they are doing again to listen.
Levina’s voice: Remember children. Come to me. Bring me
valuables. Come to the old
industrial mill. Honor your mistress Levina.
Kevin/Leon: We will obey you, Levina.
Kevin and Leon get up from the table and
head out the door.
At Mount Havoc, Levina is in her secret
cavern, looking into the mound of lava as she see
various scenes from the city. Many scenes show people
stealing and robbing stores and other
people. Levina starts to laugh.
Levina: Ha, ha, ha! Perfect! Everyone is doing as I told.
Soon we’ll see how well my plan
really works.
An image of Maya and Paige entering a
jewelry store appears in the smoke.
At the park, Marcus is playing his
guitar. He’s surrounded by a group of people of various
ages.
When he’s finished, everyone applauds him.
Marcus: Thanks. Thank you.
In the distance the voice of a man can
be heard yelling.
Man: Stop! Thieves!
Marcus hears the yell for help and gets
up. He turns to one of the kids sitting next to him and
hands his guitar to her.
Marcus: Do me a favor and watch my guitar for me.
The girl smiles and nods as Marcus pats
her shoulder and runs off. When he arrives at the
jewelry store, the owner is on the phone with the police.
Man: . . . That’s right, officer. Two young women. Okay.
Thank you.
The man hangs up the phone and Marcus
approaches him.
Marcus: What happened?
Man: (aggrivated) Isn’t it obvious? I just got robbed!
Marcus: You said two women did this. What did they look like?
Maybe I can catch up with
them.
Man: It’s too late now. They’re long gone. They
both seemed very trustworthy. They were
both attractive, one moreso than the other. Anyway, I was
with another customer and told them
I’d be right with them. I went to the back to grab my
customer’s order and when I came back
out he told me that the girls had swiped a few bracelets from
out of the case and took off.
Marcus: Did you notice anything odd about them?
Man: Not at all. They seemed perfectly normal and pleasant. I
should have known better. But I
did notice the funny watches they had on. The looked like
some new type of futuristic timepiece
or something. Who knows what they’re coming up with
nowadays.
Marcus looks down at his Z-Band.
Marcus: A fancy watch, hunh? You mean like this?
Marcus shows the man his Z-Band.
Man: Yeah, like that! Hey, do you know those two? I want some
answers.
Marcus: Uh, well I really don’t know what’s going
on. But I promise you I’ll get those bracelets
back to you if I can.
Marcus heads out the door and looks
around.
Marcus: (to himself) Maya and Paige robbing a jewelry store?
It can’t be. I better get back to
the others.
Marcus heads off back to the park.
At the edge of town, at an old
industrial mill, Levina stands atop a cement cylinder
surrounded
by people who have brought various valuable goods such as
televisions, stereos, and even money
bags. She starts to laugh.
Levina: Ha, ha, ha! Ah yes! Bring them to me. Show me your
loyalty. I’ll soon have the entire
world under control, just as I have you!
Just then Maya and Paige walk up
together to offer Levina the diamond bracelets they stole
from
the jewelry shop just moments ago.
Maya/Paige: For you, Mistress Levina.
Levina: Ah, my prized catch thus far. These two beauties will
bring the fall of Zodiac Five.
They continue to hold their hands out
with the bracelets, but Levina refuses their offer.
Levina: No, my pretties. These luxuries mean nothing to me.
Only you miserable humans hold
such valuables as prize possessions. Keep them for you will
have earned them.
Maya and Paige both bow their heads with
gratitude.
Maya/Paige: Thank you, Levina.
Levina: No, thank you.
With those words, Levina gives a
deceiving look.
At Zodiac Central, Marcus enters looking
around for the others.
Marcus: Kevin? Leon? Hmm, where is everyone?
Dr. Kesler enters and rushes to a
computer monitor.
Marcus: Doc! Where’s Kevin and Leon?
Dr. Kesler: That is a good question. But we have other
problems to worry about right now.
Take a look at the monitor.
Marcus: What’s going on?
Dr. Kesler and Marcus both look at the
monitor and see a late breaking news story. A news clip
of a man in a suit being put in hand cuffs and into a police
car is showing while the news anchor
speaks.
Anchor: This afternoon Mayor Thomas Reed was apparently
arrested for the attempted robbery
of local credit union. This, and the apprehension of District
Attorney David Morales, adds to a
sporadic and rather uncharacteristic chain of robberies that
occurred earlier this afternoon. No
other city officials have been arrested at this time, but
many of the offenders have not been
apprehended. We’ll continue to keep you in touch as news
occurs.
Marcus and Dr. Kesler look at each
other.
Marcus: The mayor, arrested for stealing? C’mon!
Dr. Kesler: Whatever is going on, Dimoc is definitely behind
it. Radars have indicated that
Levina is at the edge of town at the old industrial mill. She
has a rather larger group of people
with her, but I need you to find out what is going on. I have
tried contacting the others, but no
one has answered.
Marcus: You got it. I’ll take the Z-Runner just in case
I need to get outta there.
Dr. Kesler: Good. And be careful. Do not act foolishly
without the others around.
Marcus: Don’t worry, Doc. I won’t.
Dr. Kesler nods and Marcus heads out of
the room.
Marcus is driving up the street to the
old industrial mill. He notices the group of people standing
around Levina and dismounts off his Z-Runner. He sneaks up
behind a small shack not to far
from where Levina and the others are standing to hear what
she is saying to them.
Levina: You have done wonderfully. Just as I asked. And now
to devise a plan so that all can
hear my sweet, hypnotic music and no one will be able to
escape my control!
Marcus: (to himself) Hypnotic music?
Just then Marcus turns to see Kevin and
Leon walking up towards him, unaware that they are
under Levina’s control as well.
Marcus: You made it. Listen, Levina’s trying to--
Kevin grabs Marcus by the shirt and
pulls him out from behind the shack. Levina notices the
little scuffle.
Marcus: (to Kevin) Hey! What are you doing? You’ll blow
our cover!
Levina: What’s this?
Kevin continues to pull Marcus towards
Levina and the rest of the crowd. Kevin throws Marcus
to the ground in front of everyone. Kevin and Leon reach into
their pockets and pull out
handfuls of one hundred dollar bills.
Marcus: No!
Levina: Ha, ha, ha! Oh, but I’m afraid so. Looks like I
got more than I bargained for. Ladies?
Marcus watches as Maya and Paige both
walk through the crowd and stand in front of Marcus
who’s still on the ground.
Marcus: Not you too?
Levina: Don’t worry, Blue Pisces. You’ll soon join
them and then who will there be to stop me?
Get him!
Both Maya and Paige raise their legs to
try and stomp on Marcus, but he rolls out of the way. He
does a kip-up and Kevin immediately takes a swing at him.
Marcus ducks from the punch and
blocks a kick from Leon. Marcus is knocked back some and Maya
and Paige grab him from
behind by the arms. Kevin punches Marcus in the stomach a few
times as Leon stands behind
and watches.
Levina: Give up! You know your powerless alone.
Marcus glares at Levina as he takes
another punch from Kevin. Marcus then tries to kick Kevin,
but he grabs his foot. With his free leg, Marcus kicks Kevin
across the face and knocks him
away. He stomps and Maya and Paige’s feet to free
himself. He then jumps into the air, step
kicks Leon on the shoulder, and flips back to the ground a
several feet from his friends. He turns
around.
Marcus: You guys, I’m sorry, but I have to help somehow.
He starts to run towards his Z-Runner
and talks into his Z-Band.
Marcus: Dr. Kesler, something’s very wrong here. The
others are under Levina’s control.
Dr. Kesler: I know. Hurry back to Zodiac Central. I know what
has happened.
Marcus: I’m on my way.
Marcus gets on his Z-Runner and speeds
off.
Levina: Argh! Next time you won’t get away so easily.
Back at Zodiac Central, Marcus enters
the main control room where he finds Dr. Kesler
observing a computer monitor.
Marcus: What’s going on, Doc? I can’t take them all
on at once. And how am I supposed to
fight back?
Dr. Kesler: You may not have to.
Marcus: You said you know what happened?
Dr. Kesler: Yes. I tried to contact the others to help you
find out exactly what is going on.
When I received no answer from the others, I knew something
had to be wrong. I checked out
the rest of the estate for anything peculiar, but the only
thing I found was the tape recorder Maya
left for everyone. Afraid that it might have been tampered
with I went ahead and ran some tests
on it. This is what I found.
Dr. Kesler points at the monitor to show
Marcus his a series of images of sound frequencies, but
Marcus doesn’t quite understand what he’s looking
for.
Marcus: I don’t get it.
Dr. Kesler: You see this main frequency here? That is the
music you can hear on the tape that
Maya recorded. Now see this frequency down here? That
represents another frequency,
inaudible to the ears. Rather, it is a frequency that is sent
directly to the cerebral cortex.
Marcus: So basically, it’s a subliminal message?
Dr. Kesler: Exactly. But this message is almost hypnotic.
Whoever listens to it can do nothing
but follow its message.
Marcus: You think that’s what happened to the others?
Dr. Kesler: There is no other explanation. But I think I have
a solution to this problem.
Marcus: What’s that?
Dr. Kesler: We do exactly what Maya’s tape has done to
everyone else. We send another
message to the others to break whatever control they are
under. I have produced this device to
do just that.
Dr. Kesler picks up a small silver box.
It has holes on it like a speaker and a couple of buttons.
Dr. Kesler: Place this device in your guitar and start
playing. This should have the same effect
as the music from the symphony. But I am uncertain how well
the device will work or how soon
it will take effect.
Marcus: I guess that’s a chance I’ll have to take.
Thanks, Doc. Keep your fingers crossed.
Marcus heads out with the device and
speeds off on his Z-Runner with his guitar strapped on his
back. He arrives back at the industrial mill where the others
are still gathered around Levina.
He gets off his Z-Runner and puts the device into his guitar.
Marcus: (to himself) If this doesn’t work, I’m in
big trouble.
Marcus slowly starts to walk toward
Levina and the crowd. He begins to play a song as everyone
turns around.
Levina: I see. Back for more? I’m afraid you’ve
made a grave mistake.
Marcus closes his eyes and continues to
play as he walks closer to the others.
Levina: That’s enough! Get him!
But as she orders the others to go after
Marcus, they stand there in a trance, listening to the song.
Levina is shocked as she realizes what has happened.
Levina: No! What have you done?
She raises her staff into the air and
sends a stream of lightening at Marcus. The lightening hits
the guitar, causing it to explode across his chest.
Marcus: Ahh!
Marcus is knocked onto the ground. The
others snap out of their trance and see Marcus fall to
the ground.
Others: Marcus!
They run towards their friend and help
him up.
Maya: Marcus, are you alright?
Marcus: Yeah. It worked. You’re no longer under Levina’s
control.
Kevin shakes his head.
Kevin: Thanks to you.
Levina: Fools!
Everyone turns to face her.
Levina: Do you realize who you’re dealing with here? I’m
the greatest sorceress, the most
omnipotent being you’ve ever come face to face with!
Kevin and the others run to get between
Levina and the crowd, who are standing around confused scared.
Marcus: And you’re about to deal with the most powerful
force that can stop you!
Kevin: Let’s do it!
All: Celestial change!
Pisces: (posing) Blue Pisces!
Aries: (posing) Red Aries!
Taurus: (posing) Green Taurus!
Gemini: (posing) Yellow Gemini!
Libra: (posing) Pink Libra!
Pisces: Celestial Task Force . . .
All: (posing) Zodiac Five!
The crowd cheers in the background.
Levina: Argh! I’ll destroy you all!
Levina raises her staff and fires
lightening out to the crowd. Zodiac Five stand with their
arms
out and take the shots as blasts explode on their chests.
All: Ahh!
They each fall to the ground, except
Aries who goes down on one knee, grabbing his chest. He
yells back to the crowd.
Aries: Hurry! Get out of here!
The crowd starts to scatter causing a
mass confusion. Levina starts to point her staff at the
crowd again. Libra turns to Gemini as they get up.
Libra: We’ve got to distract here until everyone is
gone.
Gemini: (nodding) Right!
Gemini/Libra: Kyah!
Libra and Gemini jump into the air and
perform their special attack.
Gemini/Libra: Air Elemental Assault!
They send a flying whirlwind at Levina,
which picks her up and throws her in the air. But as
she’s thrown across the air, Levina disappears. Gemini
and Libra land back on the ground and
look around.
Gemini: Where’d she go?
The others regroup with them. Levina
reappears atop a the scaffold of a large crane.
Levina: How dare you even attempt to fight me! Zoodos!
A large group of Zoodos appear around
Zodiac Five. Each call on their personal weapons to
take them out.
Aries: Aries Sacred Sword!
Taurus: Taurus Double Axe!
Pisces: Pisces Mega Triton!
Gemini: Gemini Battle Batons!
Libra: Libra Lunar Bow!
They each successfully defeat the Zoodos
they are confronted with. Libra uses her crossbow to
knock the Zoodos away. With her final hit she kicks a Zoodo
away, spins around, crouches low
to the ground, and fires at Levina. Levina ducks from the
blasts and disappears. Libra gets up
and looks around.
Libra: Unh! Missed!
Levina reappears behind Libra and uses
her staff to grab her from behind.
Libra: Hunh?
Levina: That was a close one, Pink Libra. And for that you’ll
have to pay. Argh!
Levina spins Libra around and knocks her
away with her staff.
Libra: Ahh!
Libra flies through the air and lands on
the ground. Levina fires shots from her staff and blasts
explode on and around Libra.
Libra: Ahh!
Aries and the others hear Libra’s
cry.
Aries: Libra! Everyone . . .
Each pull out their guns.
Aries/Taurus/Pisces/Gemini: Z-Magnums!
They fire a shot which hits Levina and
explodes across her chest. They run to help Libra up.
Levina is knocked back but responds furiously.
Levina: Argh! That is the last time you will ever get a shot
on me!
Levina staff starts to glow as she
raises it in the air and points it towards Zodiac Five. Five
beams of energy shoot out of the crystal ball the end and
wrap around each member.
Aries: What the . . .
Taurus: I can’t break free!
Gemini: Unh!
They struggle to get out of the streams
of energy but have no luck. Levina starts to raise her staff
back to the air and Zodiac Five is lifted into the air.
Levina: Try to escape this one!
Suddenly, blasts explode across Zodiac
Five repeatedly.
All: Ahh!
They levitate helplessly as they are
confined by Levina’s energy beams, taking every pulse of
explosive energy.
Pisces: Argh! Can’t . . . take . . . much . . .
Libra: Aries! Unh!
Aries: Hang . . . in . . . argh!
Levina: I told you you had no idea. And now, nothing will
stop me from destroying you. And I
shall rule the universe.
Just then, the sky gets dark. Levina
looks around to see what is going on. The clouds shift so
that
Dimoc’s face appears in them.
Levina: No!
Dimoc: It is time I deal with you!
Levina: No! Don’t ruin this for me!
Dimoc's face in the clouds comes down
and towards Levina. It's mouth opens up and Levina is
swallowed into the clouds.
Levina: Argh!
The clouds rise back to the sky and
disappear. The energy beams cease and Zodiac Five falls to
the ground. Zodiac Five struggle to get up.
Gemini: Did that really just happen? I mean, she could’ve
. . .
Pisces: Yeah. It’s a good thing someone jumped in. And
neither seemed too pleased.
Libra: She was speaking like a mad woman.
Taurus: I know. Kinda like she no longer wanted to be
associated with Dimoc. What do you
thinks happening at Mount Havoc?
Aries: I don’t know. I have a feeling we’ll find
out soon enough though. In the meantime, let’s
get back to Zodiac Central and recoup.
Everyone helps each other in support and
walks away.
At Zodiac Central, everyone is gathered
around a table, tending to their injuries with Dr. Kesler.
Kevin: So it was the music in Maya’s tape that did it,
hunh?
Dr. Kesler: I am afraid so.
Paige: See. I told you not to use that thing.
Maya: I’m sorry, guys. I had no idea that was going to
happen.
Marcus: It’s not your fault. Levina’s the only on
to blame here.
Leon: We may never have to blame her again with the way she
was swept away from the scene
like that.
Kevin: Obviously Dimoc and Levina have issues to deal with.
Someone apparently had other
plans in mind.
Paige: I wonder what the turn out will be.
Everyone just looks at each other,
thinking about Levina’s fate.
At Mount Havoc, Dimoc yells furiously at
Levina as Balizar and Vex stand off to the side.
Dimoc: Argh! How dare you betray me! I have trusted you
through the centuries only to be
deceived by you. But I will make that mistake no longer.
Dimoc’s eyes start to glow red with
hatred. The scene changes and only the outside of Mount
Havoc can be scene. Suddenly, Levina’s cry can be heard.
Levina: Nooo!
The End