Rayman Legends Adventures in The Sword in the Stone/Script

Walt Disney presents
The Sword in the Stone
An old book opened, revealing an old legend warned throughout the ages. A story about a legendary sword.
A legend is sung
Of where England was young
And knights were brave and bold
The good king had died
And no one could decide
Who was rightful heir to the throne?
It seemed that the land would be torn by war
Or saved by a miracle alone
And that miracle appeared in London town
The sword in the stoooooOOOONE!!!!
The book turned to a page, which showed a beautiful silver bladed sword, appearing in the middle of London. Sitting in the throne where everyone could see. And below the hilt of the sword, in letters of gold, were written these words:
Who so pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is right wise king born of England.
Though many had tried to pull the sword out with all their strength, none could move nor stir it. Then the miracle didn't work and England was yet without a king and in time, the marvelous sword was forgotten. This was a dark age. There was no law and there was no order. Men lived in fear of one another, for the strong preyed upon the weak.
In the middle of the darker part of the woods, a wizard named Merlin was gathering, well...attempting to pull water out of the well that was outside his cottage.
"A dark age indeed," Merlin grumbled as he continued to attempt to pull the chain, "the age of inconvenience. No plumbing. No electricity. No...no...nothing!"
He reached over to catch the bucket, but ended up almost slipping inside the well. He yelped and pulled himself out as he held onto the bucket, spilling almost all the water he had collected.
"Oh, hang it all up," he grumbled in annoyance.
He suddenly felt his grizzly beard snag on something. He looked to see it had gotten tangled in the chain. He squeezed it away and then walked back to his cottage as he mumbled, "everything is complicated. A big medieval mess!"
He walked inside and shut the door. He poured some of the water into a kettle and placed it over the fire. His cabin was filled with books, clocks, chemistry sets and everything.
He set up the table with cups and cookies and then looked at one of the many watches as he said, "now let me see....he should be here in.....uh...I'd say one half an hour."
"Who? Who," a brown owl named Archimedes asked as he came out of his birdhouse, "I'd like to know who?"
"I warned you, Archimedes, I'm not sure," Merlin responded as he positioned the chair at a table, "all I know is someone will come. Someone very reluctant. Fate will direct him to me, where that in turn can guide him to his rightful place in the world."
Archimedes scoffed and asked skeptically. "And you say he'll be here in half an hour?"
He flew over and sat on another perch and scoffed in disbelief. "Well...we'll just see about that!"
He pulled out a pipe and began to smoke a little. As the smoke appeared from the pipe, he began to get a vision of the person he knew was coming. "It'll be, uh...a boy. A little boy....11...12 years old. And a skinny little guy..."
The vision in the smoke showed someone, but not the boy he was describing. Walking down the path near the entrance of the forest was a tall 20-year-old man. He was carrying a set of arrows and a bow as he continued his road.
Merlin shook his head at the man and said, "oh, dear! It can't be that one. Surely not why this big boy must be almost 20 years old."
Then he saw the boy he had exactly described, trying to keep up with the man. Then he shrugged.
Merlin grinned and said with a chuckle. "Ah, there he is! A skinny little fellow about 12 years old!"
Archimedes placed his wings on his hips and asked, "and where would you guess he is right now?"
Merlin frowned at Archimedes and snapped, "I'm not guessing, Archimedes! I know where he is!"
He closed his eyes and began to envision where the boy was. "Less than a kilometer from here, just beyond the forest. Just in time."
Wart, the boy Merlin had seen climbed up the dead tree and sat above Kay, making a little bit of noise and disturbing Kay's concentration as he looked out for the deer he was hunting.
Wart was taken in by Kay's father as he was a baby and became his foster son and right now, he had followed Kay during his hunt since he was warned to help him carry the deer back to their home for dinner.
"Silence, Wart," Kay snapped silently.
"I try to be," Wart said.
"Nobody asked you to come in the first place," Kay said as he continued to look out for the horizon.
"I'm not even moving," Wart said.
"Shut up," Kay snapped and continued to look.
Then he grinned as he saw the deer. He pulled out an arrow and loaded it to the bow, taking aim at the creature as he said, "c'mon, boy. Here we go! Push in the old gizzard."
Wart leaned forward more on the branch to watch, unaware it was breaking from his weight. Suddenly, the branch broke, causing Wart to fall straight on top of Kay, not only frightening the deer, but also causing Kay to release his arrow straight into the air and heading into the forest.
"WHY, YOU AWKWARD LITTLE FOOL," Kay shouts in frustration and begins chasing Wart around, trying to hit him with his bow.
"Kay! I'm sorry! I couldn't help myself," Wart pleaded as he dodged the blows and began running towards the entrance of the forest.
"If I ever...." Kay began to shout while chasing him, incidentally falling over a dead tree. He stood back up and finished. "If I ever get my hands on you, I'll ring your skinny neck! Then help me, I will!"
Wart stood behind a tree and said, "I'll go get the arrow, Kay. I'm sure I can find it."
Kay stopped at the entrance and laughed a little. "Don't warn me you're going in there," he said, "why, it's crawling with wolves."
"I'm not afraid," Wart said and then took off into the woods.
Kay scoffed and said as he left. "Go ahead. It's your skin, not mine."
Wart continued his journey through the dark forest. Looking everywhere for Kay's missing arrow and determined to bring it back, trying to avoid getting into more danger with his foster brother. As he jumped over to the next rock, he was unaware that he had caught the attention of a wolf.
The wolf looked at Wart, now in hunger while chewing on a bone. He smirked at the sight of new meat. He looked at the bone he was chewing on in disgust, before spitting it out and began to silently stalk his prey.
Wart pushed off a branch as he continued ahead, but as he let go, the branch hit the wolf right in the mouth and whacked him off. Wart stopped for a breather and looked up, he suddenly grinned as he saw something stuck on a tree branch was Kay's arrow.
He began to float up, just as the wolf was about to sneak up behind him and take a bite out of his leg. Wart continued to float up and landed on one of the branches, but he proceeded to climb up the tall tree.
The wolf stood ready at the bottom of the tree with his mouth open, ready to eat him if he fell. Wart stepped on a branch and almost fell since it snapped, luckily, he managed to float himself back onto the tree. The broken branch fell right into the wolf's mouth.
The wolf spat the branch out and continued to follow Wart as he climbed along the branch closer to the arrow, keeping his mouth open, ready to eat his meal. Wart reached out to the arrow, but suddenly, the whole branch snapped and with a yelp, he fell right through the roof of Merlin's house and landed right on the chair, just as Merlin predicted.
Merlin coughed as dust filled the room. Wart straightened himself up as Merlin said after the dust cleared. "Well, then you came for tea after all."
He chuckled and looked at one of his watches and said, "oh...you're a little late, you know?"
"I am," Wart asked, confused.
Wart looked at all the contraptions and amazing facts in Merlin's house as Merlin got up and filled a teapot with hot water.
Then Merlin introduced himself. "And my name is Merlin. Come, come. Who are you, boy?"
"Oh...my name's Arthur, but everyone calls me Wart," Wart responded.
Then he saw Archimedes standing so silent and said as he poked him. "What a perfect stuffed owl."
Archimedes was taken aback and spoke in seriousness. "Filler? Please excuse me?!"
"He's alive and he's speaking," Wart said, amazed.
"And certainly much better than you," Archimedes snapped before flying back to his birdhouse, already disliking Wart.
Merlin poured a cup of tea and gave it to Wart as an apologetic gesture to give to Archimedes as he said, "oh, come, Archimedes! Come, come now! I want you to meet Wart. Now you must forgive him. He's just a kid."
Archimedes poked his head out and said grumpily, pretending that Wart wasn't even there. "Boy? Boy! I don't see any boys."
He went back inside his house, but not before snatching away the cup and closing the small door. "Oh, I'm sorry that I....." Wart said.
Merlin chuckled and gestured for Wart to sit back down as he said, "that's alright."
"He's too sensitive," he said silently.
"Sensitive? What? Who? What, what," Archimedes asked in seriousness again, poking his head out, hoping it wasn't him or Merlin was speaking about.
Merlin laughed a little as he took his seat and poured Wart a cup of tea and then poured himself one. Wart took a sip of the tea before asking. "How did you know that I was..."
"Oh, you would come," Merlin cut in, knowing what he was asking, "well, I happen to be a magician. A fortune teller, a forecaster. I have the power to see the future. Centuries to the future!"
Wart looked at Merlin in amazement as he continued, "I've even been there, boy, and I've seen all these facts."
He picked up a small model train he had made and placed it on the table and explained what it was. "Now this, for example, is a steam locomotive."
He poured a little bit of tea into the back of it and placed the lid on. Steam began to come out from the pipe of it and Wart watched in amazement as it began to move. He caught it and turned it around, allowing to move right back to Merlin's side of the table.
"Now that it won't be invented for hundreds of years," Merlin said.
"Oh...you mean you can see everything before it happens," Wart said with awe.
"Really? Everything, Merlin," Archimedes challenged with a smirk.
Merlin frowned at Archimedes for a moment before admitting. "Uh...no, not everything. I admit I didn't know who to expect for tea, but as you can see, I calculate the next location."
"You're very smart, sir," Wart complimented.
"Now would you mind the sugar," Merlin offered.
"Well, please," Wart responded, "allow me to introduce you to the Company."
Merlin clapped his hands and commanded, "sugar."
Suddenly, the sugar pot picked up a teaspoon and began moving towards Merlin. Then Merlin scolded the sugar pot. "No! Guests first, you know."
The sugar pot stopped and immediately jumped over to Wart and began placing some tablespoons of sugar. Then Merlin said as he got up and began catching a few books. "Say it, boy."
"Yes," Wart said to the sugar pot and it immediately jumped over to Merlin's cup and began placing sugar in his tea.
"Have you had any education," Merlin asked as he continued to catch some books.
After swallowing one of the crackers, Wart responded, "oh, yes. I'm training to be a squire. I'm learning the rules of combat, fencing, jousting and horsemanship."
Merlin, at first, nodded in approval before shaking his head and saying, "no. I mean a real education."
The sugar pot continued to put sugar in Merlin's up, overheating it as Merlin came back over and was continuing speaking to Wart. "Mathematics, history, biology, natural sciences, English, Latin, French..."
Then he eventually noticed the amount of sugar being placed in his cup by the sugar pot and started shouting in annoyance. "Yes! Yes! Damn you! YES!!"
The sugar pot immediately stopped and jumped over, hiding behind the teapot from Merlin's wrath. "You reckless piece of china!"
He calmed down and was about to sit down, but he noticed his chair was far too back. He moved his finger and his chair immediately moved back over and he sat down.
"Now, boy, you can't grow up without a decent education," Merlin said as he opened one of the books, "well, I'm going to be your tutor."
Then Wart got up and said, "I have to go back to the castle. They'll want me in the kitchen."
"Oh, very good then. We'll pack up and hit the road," Merlin said as he pulled out a carpet bag and opened it up.
Then he floated in the middle of the room as he pulled out his staff and said, "look now, you'll like this."
He tapped the staff on the ground before speaking in a loud clear voice. "Higitus Figitus, zumba kazing! I want your entire attention!"
Then everything turned as if they were looking at attention to Merlin, making Wart almost jump in shock. "We're packing to go. Let's go," Merlin spoke again.
The sugar pot was about to come first as Merlin stopped it and said, "no! Not you. Books always come first, you know."
The books suddenly began to float around the room and began to head towards the carpet, back in a straight line, truly amazing Wart at the sight of Merlin's magic at work.
Merlin: Hockety pockety wockety wack
Abra dabra cabra nack
Shrink in size very small
We have to save enough room for all
The books began to float down and as they did so, they shrunk in size and went inside the carpet bag.
Higitus Figitus migitus mum
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!
A pile of books that Archimedes was standing on top of, suddenly floated right out from underneath him, causing him to fall away. He looked at Merlin annoyed, this was clearly one of his least favorite spells that the wizard had performed.
The tea set and crockery was the next to go in line. As the teapot floated over to the sugar pot, it knocked off its lid. Wart picked it up, but the sugar pot floated up to Wart and snatched its lid and spoon out of his hand before racing back to the line.
Alakafez, balakazez
Malakamez, meripedes
Hockety, pockety, wockety...
The sugar pot cut right in line in front of the teapot and whacked it back, before everything seemed to pile up in a traffic jam against each other.
"Now, stop! Stop! Stop," Merlin commanded, before floating up to the sugar pot and scolding it, "now look, sugar bowl, you're getting tired. That poor old tea set is pretty broken."
He floated back over to his spot. The sugar pot hit the teapot in annoyance before floating in silence, waiting for Merlin's orders to move again to continue his packing.
"Now, alright. Let's start over...." Merlin said and was about to, but he seemed to have forgotten where he was up to with the spell.
Then he looked at Wart and asked, "where is he, boy?"
"Uh...hockety, pockety," Wart guessed.
"Oh, yes, yes! That's it," Merlin said before continuing with the spell.
Hockety pockety wockety wack
Odds and ends and bric a brac
Packing's almost done!
More and more of the items in the house continued to float over to the bag to get packed. Archimedes floated to his birdhouse and went inside, closing the door. He suddenly felt his house move and shrunk, but swiftly squeezed out of it just as it shrunk down into the bag.
"YOU STUDENT BLOCKHEAD," Archimedes snapped at Merlin.
Wart swiftly turned intangible, allowing the items to squeeze through him where he wouldn't get crushed or hit by the floating furniture as Merlin finished the spell.
Higitus Figitus migitus mum
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!
Higitus Figitus migitus mum
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!
The last item floated inside and the bag closed. Wart, Merlin and Archimedes now stood in the middle of a now empty hut.
"What a fashion to pack," Wart said in amazement.
Merlin chuckled as he picked up the bag and began to head out of the cottage, with Archimedes flying behind them. Wart followed behind as they went outside.
Merlin stopped at the doorway and said to Wart. "Yes, it is rather. Don't have any silly ideas that magic will solve all your problems. Because it won't."
"But, sir, I don't have a problem," Wart said, both of them unaware that the same wolf that tried to eat Wart earlier was hiding in the bushes, waiting to chomp down on the boy.
"Oh, pah! Everyone has problems. The world is complete with problems," Merlin said as he closed the door to the cabin, unaware that his beard got caught in between the door and now he was stuck.
He pulled tight, trying to get his beard unstuck as he said, "there already! You understand what I mean?!"
As he eventually pulled his beard free, it wrapped around his staff and head, tangling it up. He pulled his staff off in annoyance and as his beard pulled back, it became now a ball of fluff on his face. Wart covered his mouth, trying not to laugh out loud as Merlin neatened his beard.
As Wart flew behind Merlin and Archimedes, walking through the forest, the wolf began to follow after them.
"Everyone banging their heads against a brick wall," Merlin continued, "all muscle and no mind. Do you want to be all muscle and no brain?"
"I don't have any muscle," Wart responded.
"Well, that's enough. Now develop your brain, knowledge, wisdom. There's the real power," Merlin said as they flew over a small chasm, just as the wolf was about to jump and bite Wart on the head.
However, the wolf missed and almost fell into the chasm, but fell on the hanging root of the tree and whined as he hung there.
Merlin flew over the small ravine and waited on the shore for Wart to catch up as he said, "then first fact in the morning, we'll start a complete schedule. Eight hours a day. We'll have six hours for the classroom and two for the study period."
Wart stopped for a moment, but then incidentally slipped on the steep hill and slid down it before skipping across the ravine and coming to a stop. He caught his breath and tried to explain to Merlin. "But I have time. I have page duties."
Merlin scoffed at that and continued on with Wart following behind him. The wolf yelped as he slid down the hill and slid right under the water of the ravine, hitting the bottom of the rocks as he came to a stop.
Merlin began flying up a hill, squeezing through a boulder as he said, "well, we'll change all that. There has to be a milkshake."
"I guess so," Wart said as he stepped on the boulder and then continued to fly behind Merlin up the hill.
The boulder shook and began to roll down the hill just as the wolf was wearily walking up to it. As soon as he saw it rolling towards him, he immediately turned back around and dove back into the ravine. The boulder bounced right over his head as he resurfaced and only a small stone hit his head. He turned and frowned at the sight of Merlin, Archimedes and Wart heading up the hill and began to climb once again.
"How do you hope to get to something without an education that I'd like to know? Even in these awkward and backward medieval times, you have to know where you are going," Merlin continued as they came to a stop at the top of the hill, "you must plan for the future, boy, you have to find an address."
Then he came to the realization that he didn't know where Wart lived. He turned and faced Wart and asked, "by the way, which road is that castle?"
"I think it's north, backwards," Wart responded, pointing the other road.
"Oh. Alright then, we better move. C'mon, boy, pick up your pace," Merlin said and began to fly in the separate direction.
Wart and Archimedes began to follow behind as the wolf eventually made it to the top of the hill, breathing heavily as he was out of breath from chasing after Wart, Archimedes and Merlin. He continued to shiver and huff, until he gasped in shock as he saw Merlin, Archimedes and Wart heading away in the center of the universe at the bottom of the hill.
Shivering once more, he decided to give up and fainted from pure exhaustion.
Night had fallen in the home of Sir Ector. Kay sat down at the dinner table, eating meat off a bone while his father Sir Ector was pacing around the dining hall, feeling concerned about Wart since he yet hadn't returned back to the castle.
He turned back and spoke to Kay sternly. "Oh, the hell take this! Everyone has better sense than breaking into this hellish forest alone. You had no right to let him go."
"Look, Dad..." Kay began, taking another bite of meat. Then he threw it to their large Great Danes as he finished his sentence, "I'm not the Wart's keeper."
"Well, let it all! I AM," Ector argued back, as Tiger began to chew at the bone he was given.
Ector sat down as he finished, rubbing his head in concern. "I eventually accepted it. You could say that I adopted a boy. Being his adoptive father, I'm responsible for this."
Suddenly, Talbot got really emotional and ran to the door as Wart entered. Tiger jumped right on top of him and Wart laughed as Talbot began licking his face and he tried pushing him off playfully.
Archimedes and Merlin entered and Merlin couldn't help but grin at the scene. Ector caught Tiger by his collar and pulled him off as he said, "Tiger, Talbot, away with you!"
Wart laughed once more as he rubbed the drool off him. Then Ector frowned at Wart and said sternly. "Now look over here, Wart, what's the big idea of wandering in the woods and concerning everyone with living daylights?!"
"I'm sorry, sir," Wart apologized.
"Well, I'm sorry too little. That's four offenses. Four extra hours in the kitchen," Ector said, "go to the cook!"
"But sir, I'd like you to meet....." Wart tried to introduce Merlin, but Ector cut him off and snapped, "c'mon, boy! Jump to it! Jump to it!"
Unwilling to make his foster father madder than he already was, he immediately hurried away to the kitchen. Then Ector turned to Merlin and said, now calmer. "Yes, you must have a tight schedule to run such a large venue. You need strict rules, especially for little boys."
"And I most certainly agree," Archimedes said with a nod.
"Who are you..." he first began to ask Archimedes, but then stopped and asked Merlin, "I mean, uh...you?"
"My name is Merlin," Merlin responded before poking Archimedes with his staff and finishing, "and this is Archimedes, a highly educated owl."
Archimedes cleared his throat and stuck his beak in the air. Then Ector began to laugh, taking it to be a joke. "Educated owl?"
Archimedes frowned at Ector as he continued to laugh and merely flew away, perching himself on one of the tusks of a stuffed boar head. Then Ector realized that Archimedes did speak and guessed at Merlin. "Warn me, I know. You had him under a spell, Marvin. Are you a magician? Huh?"
"My name is Merlin, and I happen to be the most powerful wizard in the world," Merlin corrected.
That made Ector really laugh out loud and long, not believing Merlin one bit and taking it as a big joke. Merlin shrugged and said, "it's alright. I will present."
He raises his staff above Ector's head and shouts an incantation. "Higitus, Figitus, Migitus mow! Wind and snow, whirl and blow!"
A stream of white energy and wind suddenly hovered above Ector and before he knew it, a bunch of snow fell on him and it began to snow right on top of him, he could already feel the coldness of the snow as it continued to fall on top of him and him only.
"What the hell are you up to," he shouts in full shock and realizes that Merlin isn't messing around.
Merlin chuckled and said, "this is what a magician blizzard."
Ector shook at the coldness and said to Kay in shock and amazement. "Hey, Kay, would you please take a look at this? Blizzard indoors and in July."
Kay continued to eat and said with little interest. "Then what?"
"Alright, Marvin, turn it off. I'm sure," Ector said, shivering from the coldness of the snow.
Merlin raised his staff and said, "alakzam!"
Immediately, the blizzard stopped and Ector brushed the snow off himself. Then he asked, a bit concerned. "Uh, I hope you don't follow any of that black magic."
"Oh, dear! Never touch these facts," Merlin responded as he placed his bag down, "my magic is mainly used for educational purposes. This is actually what I'm here for, I came to educate the ripples."
Ector's eyes widened at that. There was no fashion he was going to allow this wizard to change his schedule like he was the boss. He walked straight up to him and snapped, "oh, dear, you won't! I run this place and if you think you'll be messing around with my schedule, you'd better pack your bag of tricks and be gone."
And then suddenly, without a trace, Merlin disappeared, fully shocking Ector. He didn't expect to see the sorcerer to just...disappear as he warned him.
"Well, for fun, Kay! He's gone," Ector said, yet shocked.
Kay shrugged and said, "good getaway."
"I left...but then, I didn't leave," the sound of Merlin's voice could be heard, making Ector jump a little.
He looked around for the voice and even looked inside the man's bag, but he wasn't there. "Then if I leave, you can never be sure that I'm gone. Can you," Merlin asked.
Ector chuckled hesitantly and sighed as he agreed. "You're going to stay, I have to say you had me there, Marvin. Well, if you win, you can stay if you want."
Then Merlin re-appeared right behind Ector, speaking and making him turn around. "Thank you. You're very kind, very generous, I must admit."
Then he led Merlin outside and on the other side of the castle, he gestured to a very run down old tower as he said, "well, all we can offer is accommodation and food. You know, hard times. We'll put you in the Northwest Tower. It's a guest room. It's the best room in the house."
Merlin knew Ector was giving him the room on purpose, but simply said as he floated towards it with Archimedes flying behind. "Oh, yes. Very cute indeed."
"Just feel at home, Marvin," Ector said with a slight smug smirk.
Merlin said nothing and proceeded up to the tower. Later that evening, heavy rain began to fall and lightning began to strike and it certainly didn't make the tower very homey even after Merlin and Archimedes unpacked everything and set it up. Merlin was trying to patch all the holes in the roof with his cane and umbrellas, trying to keep the rain from falling inside.
Pots and buckets could be seen anywhere, catching the leaking water and filling up fast. Then Merlin said in annoyance as he continued to patch the holes in the roof. "Best room in the house? Hah! Unpleasant guest room! Well, if he thinks he can get rid of me, I've had news for that old walrus, I'm leaving."
"And I say we're going back to the forest," Archimedes said, coming out of his birdhouse.
"Oh, not for dear life," Merlin said as he placed the sugar pot under a stream of water, "this boy must be educated. He has a future."
The sugar pot came to life and stuffed out all the water it caught inside with its teaspoon, and then hit its lid back on in annoyance at Merlin.
Archimedes gave a chuckle as he joked, "well, you might be right. A skinny boy like that would make a great chimney sweep!"
He laughed at his own joke, but karma had came back to him as a huge amount of water fell right on top of him, drenching his bones wet. Merlin laughed at what just happened and joked right back. "Something's warning me you're all wet, Archimedes!"
Archimedes frowned at Merlin and went back inside his birdhouse. Suddenly, the sound of a horn could be heard outside. He went over to the back window and looked to see a grey-haired man wearing a dark cloak was blowing a horn at the castle near the moat that surrounded it.
"Who's going there," the guard called from the top of the entrance.
"Pellinore! It's Pellinore, stop this all! I've had reluctant news from London. Big news," the man replied, announcing himself as Pellinore to the guard.
The guards immediately lowered the bridge, hitting it down hard and causing the tower to rock a bit. Merlin arched his head in interest from that announcement. He knew he couldn't go down there to hear about it, where he decided to send Archimedes instead.
He walked over to the birdhouse and began to ask. "Archimedes, would you please go there and..."
Archimedes, however, knew exactly what he was going to ask him to do and immediately said, "he's not interested."
Merlin poked his staff in there and tapped Archimedes on the head gently as he said, "oh, come now! You're as wet as you can get."
"No, no, no, no, no," Archimedes said stubbornly, crossing his wings in refusal.
Merlin tapped him on the head once again and threatened, "Archimedes! I'll turn you into a man."
Archimedes gasped at the thought. "You dare not!"
"I will! Then help me, I'll do it," Merlin warned once again.
Archimedes eventually climbed out and began to fly away as he said, "OK, that's it!"
Merlin chuckled as he watched Archimedes head for the dining room. "It works every time. Just like magic."
Archimedes flew in through the window and perched himself on one of the stuffed deer's antlers. He watched as the door opened and Pellinore entered, taking away his cloak to reveal him wearing a pink tunic with long purple sleeves. He had gray hair, black eyes and a small goatee on his chin.
Ector said joyfully at the sight of his friend. "Pellinore! Greetings, old man. What's all the fuss about in London?"
Wart decided to listen in as he was stacking the dirty dishes and clearing the table. Pellinore sat down behind Ector and began to warn the big news. "Really reluctant news. On New Year's Day, they organize a grand tournament."
"This is not news. It's always like that," Ector said, before taking a sip of his wine.
That was if Pellinore finished. "Oh, but here's all the emotion. The winners of this tournament receive the crown."
That certainly took Ector by surprise. He immediately choked on his wine and spat it out in shock, all over Pellinore's goatee. He frowned and shook the wine off his goatee.
Then Ector asked once he got over the shock. "You mean he'll be king of all England?"
"King of all England," Pellinore confirmed as he raised his glass in the air, but incidentally dropped another small amount of wine on his goatee.
"Kay, did you hear that," Ector asked his son.
Kay grinned and said with emotion. "I'd say quite a fair award."
"Yes, and you can win it, boy, if you let yourself be tempted to practice," Ector said as he got up and patted Kay on the back, "and by Christmas, you'll get a knight's belt and we're going to London. You were saying?"
Kay shrugged and replied. "Sure. Why not?"
Then Ector turned to Wart, who was carrying a huge pile of dishes in his hands. "Wart, boy, how'd you like to go to London?"
Wart grinned at the thought and asked, "Sir Ector? You mean it?"
"If you stick to your duties, you can become Kay's squire," Ector promised.
"I will, sir. I will," Wart said as he turned around, heading to the stairs that led to the kitchen, however, in his emotion, he tripped over his own feet and incidentally fell over, dropping all the dishes down the stairs, "take gaaaaad."
Pellinore and Ector laughed at the boy's clumsiness, while Kay merely frowned and sneered. "I don't want a nipple for my squire."
Ector and Pellinore, however, ignored him and began to celebrate the big news and the possibility of Kay winning the tournament and becoming king. With that said, Archimedes began to fly away back to the tower and warn Merlin everything he had heard.
The rain had eventually come to a stop as dawn came. At first, everything seemed peaceful and silent...until it was broken by the sound of Ector shouting at the top of his lungs. "CHARGE!!"
On his horse and in armor came Kay charging down the castle training ground. In one hand was his shield and in the other was his lance. Wart was turning his wheel on the dummy knight, making it look like it was moving.
"BEND HIM! HOLD IT DOWN!! HOLD HER STRONGLY," Ector kept shouting as Kay was clumsily holding his lance and shield.
Kay charged faster and closer until he fully missed his target and the lance of the dummy knight, hit him right in the chest and sent him flying right off his horse. Ector moaned and slapped his face in agitation.
Kay flew in the air and smashed right at the bottom of the tower where Merlin and Archimedes were currently residing. Ector shouts as the tower shakes a bit. "ATTENTION!!"
The shaking of the rundown old tower was enough to awaken Merlin and Archimedes. Merlin, however, seemed to be yet be half asleep.
"Archimedes? A-Archimedes, where are we," Merlin asked tiredly.
"In an old crumbling tower," Archimedes began to respond as he climbed out his fallen birdhouse, "in the oldest and most miserable castle in all of Christendom, that's where!"
"C-Castle? Castle," Merlin asked, yet half asleep.
"Don't you even remember the boy," Archimedes asked in annoyance.
Merlin was about to respond, but then heard the sound of Ector shouting. "DON'T YOU REMEMBER A DESTROYED FACT?!"
Merlin frowned, thinking it was Archimedes who said that, but then stopped as he heard Ector's voice again. "Hold the spear steady."
Merlin climbed out of bed and walked over to the window where Archimedes had perched himself. They both watched down below as Ector was helping a bruised up Kay get back on his also bruised up horse.
"Loosen the saddle, knees tight, weight forward and stay on target," Ector continued to instruct as he eventually managed to get Kay back on his horse, "you keep losing control."
Kay sat down hard on the saddle, causing the horse to neigh in pain from the impact. The horse snorted in annoyance. Pellinore held out Kay's helmet for him and advised to the young knight in training. "It's not just a matter of muscle, sir. Fairs is an excellent skill. It's a highly developed science."
Kay said nothing and simply put on his dented helmet. Merlin chuckled a little bit and then said in annoyance. "Science, indeed. A doll trying to knock another doll down with a stick."
Then Archimedes gestured to Wart, who was resetting the training dummy once again for Kay and said, "and the Wart's just as hot for him as the rest of them."
Merlin grinned at Wart as he could see was putting everything he had into his work, trying to show Ector that he certainly had what it took to be Kay's squire for the tournament.
"He certainly is. That boy has a real spark and a lot of spirit," Merlin said, "throws himself body and soul into everything he does and it's really worth it if it can be directed in the right direction."
"Not a chance of that," Archimedes laughed.
"Oh, I mean to cheat, of course," Merlin said with a smirk, "use magic. To the last trick of the trade, if you have to."
Later that day in the afternoon as Wart had some free time on his hands, he and Merlin were going for a walk outside the castle walls just near the moat that surrounded the place.
"I'd give anything to go out riding a great white horse, slaying dragons and griffins and man-eating giants."
Merlin chuckled at this enthusiasm and asked, "well, won't you?"
Wart looked down in disappointment and responded, "oh, dear. You see. I'm an orphan and a knight must have a proper birth. I just hope I'm worthy to be Kay's squire. That's a great job as well, you know."
Even though Merlin didn't think of being a squire was a reluctant job, he decided to along with for now and said to Wart. "Oh, indeed, yes, yes. I'd say almost impossible. Well, now then. If I said I could swim like a fish...I really meant like a fish."
Then Wart asked in amazement. "You mean you can turn into a fish?"
"After all, I am a wizard," Merlin said with a grin.
Then he had an idea and said, "would it be strange if I made a suggestion?"
"Well, great. Then I guess my magic can do the rest," Merlin said and was about to cast the spell, but then stopped as he realized he had forgotten what the spell exactly was that could turn people into fish.
He turned at the tree Archimedes was sleeping in and poked him with the end of his staff, asking, "Archimedes, what is this fish formula?"
Archimedes yawned and frowned in annoyance before responding. "Uh...Aquarius Aquaticus Aqualitus."
Then he flew over to another tree and laid down with a huff as he grumpily said, "and now if you don't mind, I'll say good morning to you both, please."
Merlin whispered to Wart with a smirk. "Since he stays out all night, he's always tired and grumpy the next morning."
Wart laughed a little and suggested. "Then he must be gone every night."
Merlin suddenly burst out laughing from that and said, "this is very good!"
Archimedes heard that and asked in seriousness. "Who? What? What?"
Merlin cleared his throat and began to tap Wart on the head, slightly hard with the end of his staff as he began to cast the incantation. "Aquarius, Aquaticus, aqualitus, quum. Aqua digi tarium!"
In a flash of light instead of Wart the human, he was now a very small orange fish.
"Merlin! Am I a fish," Wart called in shock as he was flapping around.
Merlin tried to hold onto him, but he kept slipping out of his hands as he said, "yes, you're a fish, but if you don't stop that shaking and get in the water, you won't last long!"
Eventually, Merlin managed to get a good grip on him and held him over the water as he instructed. "Stay right here past the rules and I'll be with you in a moment."
Then he dropped Wart in the water. Wart couldn't believe it. Here he was, from a boy to a fish now underwater. He was so emotional that he couldn't wait to try out his new fins, however, he couldn't seem to quite get the hang of it yet.
He tried to flap one fin at a time, but ended up just going to the side. Then he just tried using his side fins, but ended up getting his head stuck in the sand below. Merlin eventually came into the water as a blue fish.
He chuckled as he saw Wart attempting to get himself out of the sand and teased, "well, you thought you could take off like a shark, didn't you?"
Using his mouth, he caught Wart by his tail fin and pulled him out. Wart began to float upwards past a curious frog as he asked, "well, I am a fish, aren't I?"
"You just look like a fish, that doesn't mean you can swim like one. You have no instinct," Merlin responded as the frog pushed Wart back down with its webbed foot, "you're going to have to use your brain for a change. You're living between two planes now. Somewhere between the ceiling and the floor. There's a lot of ups and downs, like a helicopter."
"Helicopter," Wart asked, really confused.
Then Merlin remembered that it wasn't the 21st Century. Deciding to try a different fashion of explaining, he just decided to present as he swam around him, using his tail fin. "Every movement of the fin creates wind."
"First, we'll start with a tail fin," Merlin said in a presentation.
Wart concentrated hard and began moving his tail fin very swiftly, causing him to bump right into Merlin. Merlin chuckled and said, "this gives you a boost now. Let's get a rhythm."
Merlin: Right, left
Right, left
Right left
They both slowly swished their tails right and left, moving them forward. Wart began to grin as he was eventually getting the idea on how to actually swim like a fish.
One, two, left and right
By day and night
That's what makes the world go round
Wart watched as the frog lazily swam around him in circles. He shook his head and followed his teacher through a log.
In and out
Thin and stout
That's what makes the world go round
For every up, there is a down
They passed by a turtle, who suddenly got afraid and hid in his shell.
For every square....
Wart looked at the shape of the turtle's shell and guessed, "is there a round?"
Merlin grinned and nodded, confirming that Wart had the right idea about where the lesson was going.
For every high....
"There is a casualty," Wart even guessed as he went underneath Merlin.
Merlin nodded once again and continued his lesson as he swam left and right.
And for every to, there is a fro
To and fro, stop and go
That's what makes the world go round
Wart suddenly saw a water bug sitting on the surface and suddenly felt hungry. He swam up to it and swallowed it entire. His eyes widened in full shock and he said in disgust. "Merlin! I swallowed a bug!"
Merlin merely laughed a little and said as they continued to swim. "Oh, what's wrong with this? After all, my boy, you're a fish. Instinct, you know."
"But you said I had no instinct," Wart reminded him.
Merlin stopped and merely said, "well, that's neither here nor there, but the main fact is that you must remember."
Set your sights upon the heights
Don't be a mediocrity
Don't just wait and trust your fate
Then Wart practiced swimming in and out of the holes of the chain that connected to the drawbridge of the castle.
And say that's how it's meant to be
It's up to you how far you go
If you don't try, you'll never know
Wart swam until he stopped to a dark small cave that led to a field of tall underwater grass. Merlin noticed his hesitation and simply grinned at him, showing he would go with him.
And then, my lad as I've explained
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Then they both traveled through and found that the grass was quite ticklish and began laughing hysterically at the sensation. They came out the other side and yet couldn't stop laughing. Then they swam back and went through the tall grass once more, laughing even louder as it began to tickle them once more.
Then Wart continued to swim as he began to memorize Merlin's lesson.
Wart: For every to, there is a fro
For every stop, there is a go
And that's what makes the world go round
He suddenly found himself, unable to swim further. He turned back and saw the frog was holding onto him by his tail, having some fun with him.
Wart, however, didn't find it fun and demanded, "oh! Let go!"
The frog did so as he was warned, sending Wart smashing into a broken old mug. He swims out of it and shouts at the frog. "You big bug-eyed bully!"
"Now, then. It makes no sense to go around insulting bull-frogs. A fish has many other problems without it," Merlin began to explain as they continued to swim around the moat, "the aquatic world has its own forests and jungles as well. Then it has its tigers and its wolves..."
As he continued to speak, the three of them were unaware that a pike had begun to follow them. His eyes looked hungrily at its prey as it began to swim a little faster after them.
"You see, my boy. It's nature's fashion upon the weak, the strong ones prey in human life, the strong will try to conquer you and that is what you must expect unless you use your intellect..." Merlin continued.
The frog noticed the pike and began to swim for dear life. Wart turned to see what made the frog so afraid and then saw it himself and realized the pike was coming after him. He swiftly began to swim and follow behind the frog, who hid in one of the holes of the brick wall. Wart swiftly hid in there and the pike swam past.
Then the frog, however, pushed Wart out of the whore and the pike had seen him. Wart immediately began to swim away in a fast pace and shrieked as they went past Merlin. "MERLIN!! HEEELLLPPP!!!"
Then Merlin saw what was going on. The pike was just about to eat Wart and he swiftly caught the pike's tail and pulled it back just as it snapped its jaws at Wart, but missed thanks to the man.
Wart swam away with the pike following, it flicked Merlin off its tail and sent him trapped in an old helmet.
"Faster, Merlin...the magic," Wart exclaimed in a panic.
"No! No. You're alone, boy. Now's your chance to prove my point," Merlin said.
"What point," Wart asked, suddenly panicking as the pike came charging at him.
"He's strong and you're the brains! Oh, don't panic now," Merlin said to him, but then Wart swam away, "you use your head and you're smarter than the big brute."
Wart continued to swim at high speed and saw the chain in the water and had an idea. He stopped and waited, before he squeezed through the chain, just as the pike closed his jaws at him.
Then the pike found its mouth trapped within the gap of the chain. Then Wart swam away and hid behind the wooden beams as Merlin said, "smart move, lad! That's using old intellect."
Wart remained hidden behind the beam as the pike managed to free itself from the chain. Then the pike began to swim slowly, keeping its eyes out for Wart. Wart peeked out from behind the beam, not knowing that he revealed himself.
The pike frowned and then suddenly, swam away in a separate direction. Wart looked down at the bottom of the water floor and saw a broken arrow and picked it up with his mouth. Then he swam to the other side of the beam and looked to see if he could see the pike, but found it wasn't there.
However as he turned around, the pike was now floating right in front of him, its eyes staring hungrily at him. Wart almost dropped the arrow in a panic just as the pike was about to attack and eat him.
Wart swiftly put the arrow in between its jaws and then blasted it back with an ecto-blast, hitting it right in the face and sending it flying back right into the stone wall.
Merlin cheered as Wart swam back over to him. "Bravo, boy! Great strategy!"
"Is the lesson over," Wart asked, "do you understand? Stronger brain!"
The pike snapped the arrow in half and began to chase Wart once again, while Merlin was trying to figure out the spell as faster as he could to change Wart and himself back into a human.
Wart jumps out of the water as the pike swims after him and shouts, "MERLIN!!"
The noise of the water splashing and the jaws of the pike snapping was enough to awaken Archimedes. He looked around and then saw the pike trying to snap Wart in its jaws as Wart caught hold of a ledge out of the water.
"WHAT'S DRAGGING," Archimedes shouts and immediately flies towards Wart to help him.
"HEEEELP," Wart shouts as he slips off the ledge.
Wart was about to fall into the pike's mouth as it jumped up from the water, until Archimedes caught him by his fishtail in his mouth and tried to hold the jaws open with his feet. The pike's jaws, however, closed and snapped onto Archimedes' claw, causing him to drop Wart back into the water with a yelp.
Archimedes fell into the water and swam back up to the surface and watched as Wart jumped over his head and blasted another ecto-blast at the pike, but it didn't do much damage this time as the pike jumped over Archimedes and slapped him back underwater with its tail.
"ARCHIMEDES, HEEEEEELLLP," Wart exclaimed as the pike continued to chase after him.
Archimedes tried to catch Wart, but he slipped right out his feathered wings. Then Archimedes suddenly found himself riding on the back of the pike like a cowboy atop some wild stallion as it began to chase Wart right back up to the surface of the water.
Archimedes climbed up the pike's back and swam in front of it, trying to catch Wart by his fishtail with his beak. As they broke through to the surface, Archimedes swiftly shut the pike's jaws and caught Wart by his tail with his beak as they fell behind the pike's tail.
The pike's tail hit Archimedes hard, sending them skidding across the water like a skipping stone. The pike chased after them as Archimedes continued to go as fast as he could. He jumped over the rocks as the pike tried to snap at them again, only this time hitting the rocks dead on and fell back underwater.
Archimedes dropped Wart on the dry land as he slipped on the ground and smashed right at the bottom of a tree.
Merlin eventually emerged from the water in his elderly form and the helmet yet on his head. He climbed out of the moat and removed the helmet as he said in annoyance. "What the hell is a monster like that doing in the ditch?!"
He caught his staff and said, "I'm going to turn you into a goldfish!"
"Merlin, over here," catching the man's attention.
Merlin turned and saw Wart flopping on the ground and swiftly tapped him with his staff and chanted, "snick snack snorum!"
In a puff of smoke, Wart was changed back into his human form as Merlin asked, "how the hell did you get out of that mess?"
"That big fish almost swallowed me and Archimedes saved me," Wart responded, gesturing to the soaked wet Archimedes who was yet at the bottom of the tree, spitting water out of his mouth.
Merlin chuckled and picked Archimedes up, placing him back on the tree and said, "what have you done about that?"
"I didn't do any of that," Archimedes denied with annoyance as he shook the water off, "I intended to eat him. Young perch is my favorite dish, you know that!"
Merlin merely chuckled as he rinsed out his beard. Wart was about to say something, until he heard his name being called by Ector. "WART! WART!!"
"I have to go, thank you, Merlin. It was a lot of fun," Wart said with a grin.
"WART!! WHERE ARE YOU, WART," Ector shouts.
Wart began to run back to the training grounds, unwilling to make his foster father grow more impatient.
"Well, Archimedes, why would you drown halfway to China by a piece of fish and after such a big breakfast," Merlin asked with a smirk.
"OH, PINFEATHERS AND GOLLY FLUFF," Archimedes said, yet annoyed.
Wart was explaining the entire story at why he was late. Ector and Kay, however, didn't believe one word of it.
"And man, that's the biggest fish I've ever heard," Ector said, calling Wart a liar.
"But it's true, sir," Wart protested.
"There are three demerits for the delay and another three for the fish story. Now jump into the kitchen," Ector ordered.
Unwilling to make his foster father angrier than he already was, Wart headed straight for the kitchen to get started with his chores.
Kay snickered and said, "I warned you the Wart was crazy."
Ector shrugged and said, "well, he's either out of his mind or there's something very suspicious going on around here."
Soon the two went to cleaning in the kitchen as Wart began to sing Merlin's song.
"For every high, there is a low, for every to there is a fro, stop and go, that's what makes the world go round," Wart sang as he cleaned up with Richie, but soon they would have some company.
Merlin was on his road to see Richie and Wart as Jesse followed the wizard, only for Lex to be stopped.
"Oh, forget these guys," Kay smirked at Lex, "you could always use someone like me."
"I'd rather lick my adventure teacher's shoes than hang out with you," Lex frowned in disgust.
"You don't know what you're missing," Kay smirked.
"Oh, believe me, I think I do so," Lex said before getting away from him. Soon she joined the others in the kitchen.
"Did he touch you," Jesse asked Lex.
"No, but I wouldn't mind if my fist hits his face," Lex smirked.
Soon Merlin tapped the pot to get Wart's attention as he scrubbed it.
Then Wart looked up and grinned at the wizard. "Oh, it's you, Merlin, sir," he said.
"Yes, my boy, have you now mistaken one of you for a squirrel," Merlin asked Wart and Richie.
"No, sir," Richie shook his head before seeing Riley walking next to them.
Riley chuckled as she poked her head out from behind the wizard. Richie glanced at her before grinning a bit bashfully.
"Well, now, there is a tiny being with enormous problems," Merlin remarked, "how he survived over the centuries is one of nature's great mysteries. His life is dangerous. Downright dangerous."
Richie and Wart glanced over as they continued to clean up.
"Uh, would you like to try it," Merlin asked the boys.
"Oh, dear, I shouldn't," Wart shook his head.
"Oho, too dangerous for both of you," Merlin asked playfully.
"Oh, dear; it's not that, Merlin," Wart said.
"We only have six downsides," Wart added as he scrubbed with Richie, "all this work to do so."
"Bummer," Riley pouted.
"What a mess," Merlin gasped, "what a medieval mess. We need to modernize it. Start an assembly line system," he said before he went to move to the other side of the room to take care of the chore.
"Uh, I don't think we should," Lex spoke up hesitantly.
"But if you're done with all these dishes, it'll be sunset," Merlin warned her.
"He makes a good point," Riley said.
"As long as you're using this magic properly," Lex warned, "I once tried to wash my dishes with magic at home and it became a pots and pans monster that attacked me!"
"That's because you read your spell wrong," Jesse reminded.
"Don't help me..." Lex rolled her eyes.
"Alright now. One and a-two and a-three and a-four," Merlin began as he used his magic to make the dishes stand up and moved the washing tub and the dishes went into the tub to get instantly washed as he recited his spells, "higitus figitus migitus mum, skitun de bitun de batun de dum!"
"Have Wart and I do the dishes," Rixhie said.
"Yes," Wart nodded.
"Well, as long as no one else warns you about that, it's like you're doing this," Riley said.
"Nobody will notice the difference, children," Merlin reassured, "who cares while the job is done?"
"Exactly my thoughts," Riley agreed.
"Oh, that just better doesn't backfire," Lex moaned.
"Rubbedy scrubbedy, sweepety flow," Merlin continued as the clean dishes piled up and the mops began to mop around the wet floor and the brooms swept the dust off before he decided to let the magic take care of the rest from there, "c'mon, children. There he is, let's go," he warned the children before leaving the room with them.
Soon the children began to follow Merlin out of the kitchen as the dishes were getting cleaned along with the kitchen itself.
"That seems to be going well," Jesse said.
"The one time with Flora, Fauna and Merryweather..." Lex smirked.
"Lex..." Jesse sighed.
"Jesse," Lex smirked.
"Are you both related," Riley asked.
"Perhaps not from blood, but I think he's been like a brother to me for a long time," Lex shrugged.
"Yes, it's true," Jesse nodded.
"Nice," Riley grinned.
Soon they came out into the forest.
"I know you only experience being human, but right now, it's time to be a squirrel," Merlin said to Riley.
"It's going to be quite a day," Riley said.
"Yes," Jesse nodded.
"Time to go, squirrel," Lex said.
Soon, Merlin worked his magic and turned all of them into squirrels and it was time to explore life from at the top of a tree.
"Wart? Wart! Wart. Now, take it easy," Merlin warned the boy who was already running across the tree, now as a brown squirrel, "take it easy, boy. Wart! Oh, dear, boy! No, no!"
Soon Wart lunged out and jumped, catching hold of a faint branch before it suddenly snapped and he fell from the tree.
"Wart," Merlin cried out in grief.
"Whoa. Oh," Wart yelped before he fell and caught hold of a stronger branch and dangled from it.
"Well, what did I warn you," Merlin, who was now a blue squirrel, scolded from another tree, "always check before you jump."
"Always hesitant to look before jumping," Jesse said as a red squirrel.
"Blah, blah, blah..." Lex muttered, being shown as a black squirrel.
"Well, I did it, didn't I," Wart asked before Richi helped him up, who appeared to be a green squirrel, standing with Riley, who was a golden blonde squirrel.
"Yes, yes, you did it," Merlin replied, "you did it, but you, you can't always trust in luck, boy. Now you start with the short jumps first. Measure the distance carefully," he began to demonstrate, "and...oh," he jumped out and yelped as he almost slipped before he caught hold of the branch, almost losing his glasses, "well, do you see? Even then, you can miss," he advised the children, "well, don't take gravity too lightly, or it'll catch up with you."
"What's gravity," Richie and Wart asked.
"Gravity is making you fall," Jesse explained.
"Exactly," Merlin said as he pointed down for emphasis.
"You don't know what gravity is," Lex raised an eyebrow.
"That's before Isaac Newton," Jesse reminded her.
Lex just shrugged at that.
"Oh, like a trip or something," Wart asked Merlin more about gravity.
"Yes, it's like a trip or a--" Merlin began to reply until he realized what the boy said while the children climbed all around the tree in their new squirrel bodies before a new squirrel who wasn't apart of their group was shown. "No, no, no, no, no," he shook his head, "it's the force that pulls you down. The phenomenon that any two material particles or bodies, if they can move freely, are accelerated towards each other."
"Ohh," Richie said, now understanding, "then it's more like a fall than a trip or something."
"In a way, that is," Jesse said.
Soon a female squirrel ran into them.
"Oh, uh, hello," Lex blinked at the squirrel.
The female squirrel grinned at them, though mostly at Wart and she seemed to block their road.
"Merlin, how are we getting along," Wart asked the wizard.
"Huh," Merlin blinked before he saw the female squirrel and decided to move them elsewhere, "oh. Oh, well, I-I suppose we'd better go back to a branch."
But as they went the separate direction, soon they heard the female squirrel following after Wart.
"Whoops. We know that look everywhere," Jesse whispered to Lex.
"I'm just glad the squirrel girl doesn't have a brother or something," Lex smirked sheepishly, trying not to laugh at Wart's dilemma.
"Go ahead, go ahead," Wart said, trying to shoo off the female squirrel, "you've had lots of room."
"Well, I guess she won't be distracted," Merlin chuckled as the female squirrel messed around a bit with Wart as she looked like she had a huge crush on him, "that's a girl squirrel and a redhead at that."
"She must be acting weird," Wart commented.
"Well, she likes you," Richie warned his friend.
"Yes, and if someone's in love, start first as a swarm and where she shows the clear sign of love," Jesse grinned.
"Yes, I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do about it," Lex smirked.
"Now, Lex, don't laugh," Jesse began.
Soon Lex broke down laughing any matter. "You have a squirrel girlfriend! You've had a squirrel girlfriend," she teased Wart in a sing-song tone.
Jesse sighed and shook his head.
"Yes, well, well, well, that's nature again, but I'm afraid there's no time to explain," Merlin chuckled as the squirrel girl continued to chase Wart all around, refusing to leave him alone, "here, here, now. Better let me out," he said, deciding to give the two some privacy.
"I'm sorry, Wart, but I'm not getting involved," Richie said as he and Riley joined Merlin.
"Same here," Jesse and Lex added as they joined Richie, Riley and Merlin.
"Merlin! Merlin," Wart cried out in grief as he was going to be stuck for a while.
The squirrel girl chuckled as she dragged Wart by his tail and buried him with her bushy tail.
"You're alone, boy," Merlin chuckled as he picked an acorn from afar, "I'm afraid magic can't solve this problem."
Lex was yet laughing at Merlin's misfortune.
"You shouldn't laugh like that," Riley warned Lex.
"It's kind of funny," Lex replied innocently.
"All we can do is watch from the windows," Jesse said.
"I think so," Richie replied.
Lex was yet laughing while the others sighed and shook their heads at her.
"Listen, I-I'm not a boy," Wart said as he tried to avoid the squirrel girl who fussed over him, "I mean...I'm not a squirrel. I'm a boy. A human boy. I'm not a sq----"
Then the squirrel girl wrapped her tail around him and kissed him all over his face.
"Oh, leave me alone," Wart complained once he got free from her and soon came over to the wizard in frustration, "Merlin, what have I done? She won't leave me----"
"Well, I'm afraid you're stuck, boy," Merlin remarked, "well, if a squirrel picks a mate, it's for life," he added.
"But I won't be a squirrel tomorrow," Wart warned Merlin.
"But she doesn't know that; she only knows a simple fact that you're a he and she's her," Merlin replied.
"Yes, then you have to deal with it, Dimple," Lex replied.
"It's Wart," Richie corrected.
"Yes...that's better..." Lex deadpanned.
"That's a natural phenomenon," Jesse advised to Wart while he tried to get away from the female squirrel who continued to stalk him.
"Phenomenon-menum," Wart asked before hiding in Merlin's tail as the squirrel girl kept coming back.
"Well, it's the, uh...it's a state of being," Merlin explained before pointing at his tail where that the squirrel girl could find him. "A frame of mind, it's a most befuddling fact," he began to sing.
"Oh, nice," Lex sounded weary, "one more song."
"If you don't want to hear it, turn it off," Jesse suggested as he magically gave her squirrel-sized earplugs.
Soon Lex accepted them and put them in her ears. The squirrel girl was seen getting Wart out of his hiding place before he put her hands down where she would stop touching him until she kissed his nose twice.
"It's a state of being, a frame of mind, it's a most befuddling fact, and to every being of every kind, it is discombooberating," Merlin sang as Wart kept running for dear life, "you're wasting time existing, you'll find the more you do so, the more she'll keep existing, her him has had to be you."
"Leave me alone," Wart cried out in grief, "I'm serious!"
"It's a rough game anyone knows," Merlin continued as Howard and Riley sat together.
"Go away," Wart cried as the girl squirrel kept going anyhow.
"There are no rules, anything goes, there's no logical explanation, for this discombooberation," Merlin continued to sing before a certain predator was shown below the tree, "it's a most befuddling, most befuddling fact!"
"You again," Lex frowned once she saw the wolf, "why, I should turn you into dog food."
Soon Wart went and jumped off the branch of the tree and ended up on the next tree as the squirrel girl gasped, thinking he wouldn't have made it. As Wart ended up at the other tree, he slid down it and ended up on Archimedes as he was fast asleep.
"Ooh, Archimedes won't be too happy about that," Jesse said.
"Oh! Who? Who? What...what..." Archimedes grumbled as that awakened him and he went to shove Wart off from his personal space, "now, go ahead. Hush! Get your own tree. Skedaddle!"
Soon Wart was pushed away and ended up on top of a bird who was in its nest before it frowned at Wart, pecking at his head and even pulled on his tail with its beak before Wart escaped into the tree hole.
"Wart, you alright," Richie asked as he came past the tree hole.
"Is she gone," Wart asked back as the squirrel girl came up behind him.
"Uh..." Richie smirked hesitantly.
"What," Wart asked before looking to see the squirrel girl was next to him before he started to make a break for it again with the squirrel girl following him by his tail.
"Farewell," Richie warned him.
"Howard, you snitch," Wart cried out in grief as he ran off from the squirrel girl.
At last, Archimedes tried to get some more sleep, only for Wart and the squirrel to ruin it for him again.
"Why, you..." the owl frowned as soon as he chased after them through flight, "oh, you squirrelly squirrels!"
"She's catching up with you, Wart," Merlin teased the boy, who was clearly not having a fun time.
"So hopeful," Lex deadpanned about Merlin's behavior.
"Oh, don't worry, Lex; I have a feeling that karma will catch up with Merlin from this tease," Jesse said.
"Oh, I have to see that," Lex smirked.
"There's no sensible explanation, for this discombooberation, it's a most hodge-podgical," Merlin continued to sing as he balanced and played with the acorn he had picked, "most illogical, most confusiling, most bamboozling, most bemuddling, most be--befu--befuddling----"
Soon a large female squirrel was shown as she came to Merlin with a coy smirk and even treated him like the young squirrel girl was treating Wart.
"Thiiiiing," Merlin gulped hesitantly as the squirrel came to have her fun with him, "really, miss, uh...madam. I, uh...you, you, you made a mistake. Now, now, now, please. Please, you...oh! Madam! Madam! I'm not a boy."
The squirrel woman smirked and ignored him as she gave Merlin a taste of his own medicine at what just happened to Wart with the little squirrel girl.
"I-I mean, I'm...I'm not a squirrel. I'm a b---no, that's not what...no," Merlin cried before laughing as she began to tickle him.
"Oh, dear..." Lex commented, "who would have thought that squirrels are such flirtatious rodents?"
"Well, now we do," Jesse said.
Merlin kept trying to warn the squirrel woman that he wasn't a squirrel, but couldn't as she kept tickling until he eventually got himself out of the tickling trap. Soon a squirrel's tail came on top of Jesse's head.
"Oops...looks like you're next," Riley warned Jesse.
"Aw, man..." Jesse moaned before turning around to see a bright orange squirrel behind him.
The squirrel girl chuckled before soon she saw Lex and looked ready to attack the gothic girl.
"What's going on now," Lex asked.
"I think you two have to fight for supremacy over Jesse," Riley advised.
"Oh, HELL NO," Lex complained as she got out of the road, "I'd rather lick the bathroom floor than kiss Jesse!"
"I'd never will to kiss Lex in a million years, she's like a sister to me," Jesse said, "and we're just friends."
Soon the squirrel girl looked happy and relieved to hear that as she hugged him.
"Oops," Lex smirked.
Jesse sighed and now he was stuck with his own squirrel girlfriend.
"Have fun, Jesse," Lex smirked as she left the two of them alone.
"No. I'm a foolish old-----" Merlin frowned at the squirrel woman, "no! I'm an old man. An old person. You understand?"
The squirrel woman continued to tease him before kissing him right on the lips.
"Oh, everything hangs up," Merlin complained, "now go away. Shoo, shoo!"
The squirrel woman smirked and batted her eyelashes at him, refusing to leave him alone.
"Yes, I'm sorry, Merlin, but she's not going anywhere," Howard smirked as he and Riley sat and watched.
"No, not a bit," Riley shook her head.
"Uh, you two seem to be close," Lex smirked, "perhaps you should spend more time alone."
"Oh, uh, I don't know...perhaps..." Riley replied, unaware that she was meant to be with Howard in the end.
"I think you should," Lex urged, "it could be great for you guys!"
"Um, a-alright," Riley said, alarmed by that.
"I wouldn't mind the company," Richie said.
The squirrel woman continued to flirt with Merlin as she had pushed him at the tree, causing his glasses to be crooked as she kept chuckling.
"Impossible. Impossible," Merlin complained as he put his glasses back on, "ooh, confuse it! Confuse it all!"
The squirrel woman chuckled as she played with his tail and wiped herself with it.
"Merlin, I'm sick of being a squirrel," Wart frowned as he came up to the wizard, "it's nothing but danger."
"Oh, you're in danger," Merlin frowned, "look at mine...turn back there!"
The squirrel woman chuckled as she continued to play with him.
"One side, boy," Merlin frowned as he charged off as the squirrel woman chased after him.
Then Wart slipped away from the tree branch he stood on and soon fell and caught a lower branch that was close to breaking apart. "Help, Merlin," he cried out in grief as this looked bad for him, "HEEELLLPPP!!!"
The wolf looked ready to eat Wart this time for good. Soon the squirrel girl gasped as she looked concerned about Wart before she hurried over to help him before he would fall to become a snack for the wolf.
"Wart," Richie gasped.
The squirrel panicked and soon she ran for it and caught Wart's paw to save him. Wart tried to hold on this time since she was trying to save him, but his paw seemed to slip, even with her help. Soon Wart fell with the branch and the branch landed on top of the wolf. The wolf got hit right on the head before coming right back up and Wart was on the ground and soon began to run off from the predator. Unfortunately for him, Wart's tail was stuck in the branch as the wolf put his front right paw on the branch where it could eat him. Soon the squirrel girl went to the wolf before starting to bite his left back leg and where he felt each bite.
"Hahah! Go get them," Lex laughed as soon as she cheered for the squirrel girl.
Soon the wolf cried out in grief before he suddenly dropped her and then began to chase her, looking ready to eat her.
"Fly, Squirrelette, FLY," Lex called out.
Soon the squirrel girl jumped out over a cliff before gliding right back as though until he heard Lex and ended up on a dead tree in front of the cliff. Then the wolf went smashing down the cliff and ended up in the river down below and soon a log fell after it and the wolf was now stuck in the log and soon it began to float downriver, now stuck and unable to move.
"Smart thinking," Riley grinned at the squirrel girl.
Soon the squirrel girl hurried over to Wart as she tackled him with a hug, getting his tail free.
"Ooh, brother," Lex sighed as the squirrel girl fussed over Wart again.
"With George! I've had enough of this nonsense," Merlin complained at the squirrel woman before he fell from the tree and ended up smashing in a pile of leaves. "Alakazam," he called out.
The squirrel woman came to look for him, only for Merlin to be longer be a squirrel, but in his true form as he looked very frustrated with her. "There? You see now? I'm an ugly, horrible, grouchy old man!"
The squirrel woman was both afraid and disappointed before she went to hide off in the tree for shelter.
"Merlin," Wart and Richie cried out in grief as their squirrel girlfriends kept coming at them.
"Faster, Merlin, the magic," Richie suggested.
"Snick snack snorum," Merlin recited the magic words as the group who were squirrels through magic changed back into normal form.
"There. Now you see," Wart said to the squirrel girl who kept hugging him until she saw what just happened, "I'm not a squirrel. I'm a boy. I tried to warn you. A human boy. Oh, if you could only understand."
Soon the squirrel girl climbed up the tree into the hole and began to weep from heartbreak.
"Eventually, she's gone," Lex said in relief.
"Oh...but I feel a little bad for her," Jesse suddenly frowned.
The squirrel girl that was with Jesse seemed to be smart enough not to let her heartbreak caused her to weep as well, but instead went to console the other squirrel girl.
"Fit well on her boyfriend, alright," Jesse asked.
The other squirrel girl chattered at him.
"Poor fact," Riley frowned.
"I'm a very sorry for her," Jesse added.
"She'll get over it, she's just a squirrel," Lex shrugged.
The others looked at her, a bit firmly.
"W-What," Lex asked.
"Where's your sympathy," Jesse scolded Lex, "I know she was just a squirrel, but Hazel was in love with Wart."
"Ugh, you named this rodent," Lex replied, "you shouldn't name facts, then you'll be attached to them!"
"Lex, I'm afraid Jesse is right; Hazel won't get over it, love is a mighty fact," Merlin said, "even if she could be a squirrel, she'll be brokenhearted for a while."
"Why not? Heartache was hard...." Lex shrugged.
Whoosh! A powerful purebred silver-and-charcoal malamute led a dog sled team down a snow-covered trail. His steel-blue eyes looked steadily out of the mask on his face. Sunlight gleamed off his golden championship collar.
"Steele! We're not going to make it," yelled Star upset, a hesitant gray-and-cream husky, as they approached a narrow pass.
But Steele kept up his pace. He closed in on a small husky leading another, less experienced team, bared his fangs and growled. That was all it took to send the other team careening out of control. As the musher and dogs were thrown off the trail, Steele flashed a satisfied grin and pulled his own team through the pass––victorious.
The fallen musher shook his fist furiously, who growled in frustration before shouting out an enraged "STEELE!!"
This yell was so loud that it echoed across the passage. Steele scoffed as he raced on toward Nome and the finish line. Down the trail, a spotter on the ravine caught sight of Steele's team. He pointed his flare pistol skyward and pulled the trigger. Bumpf!
Lex let out a small yelp and bowed her head with tears in her eyes.
"Let's just move ahead," Lex mumbled as she wiped tears in her eyes in present day.
"Also, we'd better go back to the kitchen to make sure the spell doesn't get out of hand," Jesse said.
"That can happen," Richie asked.
"Lex," Jesse prompted.
"Let's just say we had magical mishaps at home," Lex chuckled sheepishly, hearing the frustrated sled puller shout his name.
Soon they came into the kitchen as the spell was yet going and even Ector, Kay and the kitchen maid were under distress in the spell.
"Now, what have we got here," Merlin asked as he opened the door as bubbles flew everywhere during the kitchen cleaning chaos.
"Jumping toads! It's getting worse," Wart gasped, "Jesse and Lex were right!"
"You see? Even if you cast a spell correctly, you also need to know where to stop that before it gets out of control," Jesse said.
"Merlin, you better end this spell," Riley said.
"Please, allow me," Merlin replied as he would work his magic to do just that, "ALAKAZAM!!"
Soon the cleaning tools stopped doing what they were doing and suddenly, the washtub smashed down on the floor with Ector inside of it. Lex put her hand to her mouth as she chuckled a bit at what just happened to Ector, feeling that he deserved that.
"Then there you are, you old goat," Ector frowned once he saw the wizard, waving his sword which was cut in half somehow. "Well, what's the big idea of you casting your evil spells all over the place, huh," he growled as he was unable to get out of the tub on his own, "oh, oh, give me a hand, boy."
Soon Kay came over and helped his father out of the tub and was able to, only for him to slip and fall into the tub next due to the slippery soap. Soon Lex laughed even harder at what just happened to Kay.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, huh..." Ector asked Merlin firmly before coughing out bubbles.
"You call washing dishes and sweeping floors a work of evil," Merlin asked back.
"I have to admit it's a little weird," Lex smirked.
"Ladies don't speak unless you speak to them," Ector firmly warned Lex as he looked at her.
Then Lex stuck her tongue out behind his back as he turned back to Merlin.
"I'll decide what's right or wrong around here," Ector sharply warned the wizard. "Besides, this is the Wart's job. One of his duties," he faced Howard and Wart who just frowned at him, "uh, and look here, boy. If you want to take that trip to London, you'd better do the same for you, Howard."
"You old coat, if I ever catch you in my kitchen again, I'll-" the kitchen maid frowned at Merlin.
"Lady, you won't," Merlin frowned back before looking over to Jesse and Lex, "will you join me?"
"Gladly," the two replied before they suddenly went with him through magic, shocking the kitchen maid a bit.
"Oh, dear. They're gone," the kitchen maid gasped.
"Well, by Jupiter," Ector said, wide-eyed as bubbles came out of his mouth.
"We should get the old man and these children out of the castle," Kay suggested.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear, Kay. No," Ector panicked as he covered his son's mouth out of fear. "He could cast an evil spell on all of us. And turn us all to stone. No. There's no warning about what the old devil might do next," he warned him.
"He's not an old devil, he's good," Wart defended.
"And his magic is good as well," Richie added, "i-if I left him alone!"
"Now, look here, guys," Ector frowned, "these are three more demerits for both of us."
"Shoot their ears, Dad," Kay smirked meanly.
"Just because you can't figure something out doesn't mean it's wrong," Wart frowned with Richie.
"10 more demerits," Ector frowned back.
"You make all the rules and no one can say anything," Wart and Richie frowned back as tears began to form in their eyes.
"YOU'VE SAID A LOT, GUYS," Ector snapped as he backed them off, coming toward them. "This entire blowout just cooked your goose. Kay, from now on, young Hobbs is your squire," he warned his son.
Kay grinned fiendishly while Howard looked shocked and depressed for Wart.
"Did you hear that, Wart," Ector continued with a smug grin, "from now on, Hobbs will be Kay's squire."
"Y-Y-Yes, sir," Wart replied, trying to hold back his tears.
"Now this'll teach you how to burst, little chubby," Kay smirked as he went to follow his father before he looked at the broom and cut in half with his sword.
"Oh, my..." Riley frowned.
Soon the three of them were seen alone in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Richie said to Riley.
"It's alright," Riley replied softly, "I thought it was brave and kind to defend Wart, even if nothing came of it."
"I'm glad I did as well," Richie grinned mournfully, "he's like the brother I've ever had sometimes."
Soon Merlin, Jesse and Lex began to appear out of magic.
"I'm sorry, guys, I'm sorry I screwed everything up for you; I know that trip to London means a lot to you," Merlin said softly to Wart and Howard.
"Oh, it's...it's not your fault," Wart said softly, "we shouldn't have burst off. Now we're really finished."
"No, no, you're in a great position, my boys, but you can't get off now," Merlin advised.
"He's right," Jesse agreed, "it can only be from here."
"We'd like to know how," Richie and Wart replied softly.
"Use your heads," Merlin said as he hit the top of their heads with his cane, "an education, boys."
"What purpose does it serve," Wart asked as he and Howard rubbed the top of their heads.
"Get it first and who knows? Ready to try it," Merlin asked the two young boys.
"It's the best we have," Richie said to Wart.
Wart heaved a sharp sigh. "What have I done to lose," he replied.
"That's the spirit," Merlin smirked as he patted the boys on their backs, "we'll start tomorrow! We'll show them. Isn't that right, boys?"
"Yes, we certainly will," Wart shrugged in defeat.
"Uh, Merlin, could anyone warn if a spell is about to wear off," Riley asked.
"Yes, you'll probably feel a strange wave deep within yourself, almost as if your life is being drained or sucked in," Merlin explained, "it's a pretty amazing and faster painful feeling."
Riley began to wobble a bit and this reminded Jesse of as Ariel didn't kiss Eric in time and suddenly, his future mother began to suffer the same fate as her legs disappeared and her mermaid tail fin came back.
"Oh, dear..." Merlin said to her, "I suppose the spell is over sooner than I expected."
Soon Howard picked up Riley bridal style and carried her back to the moat as fast as he could.
"It seems that the power of love has no limits," Merlin grinned.
"Love," Richie and Riley asked, blushing.
"Ah, yes, I can feel it in you as well," Merlin chuckled, "you both sound tweeted."
"The last time I heard that word, it was about a deer," Lex commented.
"We'll speak about that later," Richie said as he hurried Riley to the moat.
"Well, Howard and Riley are really in love," Wart asked.
"Ah, I can warn he likes it here and she likes it as well," Merlin chuckled.
"I hope so any matter," Jesse replied.
Wart gave him a funny look.
"Uh, I-I-I mean...uh...I have a feeling about them..." Jesse grinned sheepishly, "I...you know...they look like a perfect match."
"Now you two warn us why you're here; you must have a reason," Merlin said.
"I'm sure it could end up altering the future," Jesse said.
"Yes, time travel's kind of fun for that fact," Lex added.
"Well, you travel to different times and different worlds," Merlin asked.
"Yes, it's hard to explain, but we've decided to go on a lot of adventures like this," Lex tried to explain, "I don't know why we were chosen, I guess the universe likes to make fun of us or something."
"Pretty interesting," Merlin said.
"Sure," Wart agreed, "but do you know why you're here?"
"Yes, we know, we have to prevent anything from the past from being altered, but everything seems to be going perfectly just one fact," Lex said to Jesse, "I thought they first met at the beach?"
"You don't think this will make me disappear or something, do you," Jesse asked Lex.
"If not, it looks like I might have a new best friend in the present," Lex said with wide eyes.
Jesse looked a bit wide-eyed and afraid about that.
"Think! Let's go home and then you're not there," Lex gasped, giving him a bit of paranoia as she smirked, and he even began to look very pale in the face, like he was about to pass out, "I'll have an entire other life that I wouldn't remember or even know how to say and then YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SHOW YOUR FACE IN GREENDALE!!"
"Now, now, if I know one fact about time travel, it's that as long as Richie and Riley meet and fall in love, Jesse will be fine in the future," Merlin winked at them.
"Whew," Jesse grinned.
"Well, I guess it's alright to warn you then," Lex suggested.
"I'll erase their memories after the truth if you wish," Merlin whispered to Jesse and Lex.
"Would they also believe it," Lex asked, "it's kind of a shock, magic or no magic, especially in the time travel movies I saw."
"I think they'd believe anything, especially after meeting Merlin," Jesse said to her.
Lex rolled her eyes at him before looking at Richie. "Well, boy, we have a secret to warn you," she began and decided to do this slowly and paused, giving him time to react.
"Um, alright," Richie said.
"You see, Jesse is kind of yours and Riley's son in the future," Lex warned him.
"What," Richie asked flatly.
"Yes, you're both hundreds of years old, but somehow you have decided to start having children in the 21st century," Lex shrugged, "the reason you did is beyond me since you were both alive as long as Tim was. I mean, if our friend Joanie was born, at least her father met her mother in the modern world."
"I'm sorry..." Richie said as he walked off with wide eyes, "that's a lot to understand...how could I marry a mermaid?"
"You warned me it was a special magical spell," Jesse grinned, "kind of like if Ariel and Eric got together and she decided to leave Neverland because she wanted to be a human girl after she met someone like you and you saw yourself again and fell in love."
"Too much information," Lex coughed.
"Oh, my..." Richie moaned as he held his head.
"Whoops," Jesse grinned sheepishly.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear it..." Richie said as he rubbed his head wearily.
"The point is, you'll find true love," Jesse grinned, "and we'll get you out of this dump."
"I only came here to help Wart as my sister helps these gummy bears," Richie nodded as Lex snickered at the mention of the Gummi Bears.
"Would you like to see the Care Bears in person," Merlin asked Lex firmly.
"Sure, why not," Lex smirked, "perhaps they'll give me a death threat."
"Oh...c'mon..." Merlin said in annoyance.
"I'm sorry for her," Jesse said to the wizard, "Lex sometimes forgets to take facts seriously."
"That's alright enough, but perhaps once she sees the Gummi Ship, she'll take them seriously," Merlin said.
"Sounds like a good idea," Jesse grinned.
Later on, they left the kitchen and decided to get some work done.
"Now, first of all, boy, we have to get all these medieval ideas out of your head," Merlin began as he showed a map to Richie and Wart soon before he pulled it out of the road, pointing to his globe, "and pave the road for new ideas. Learn about man's famous discoveries for centuries to come. Now this will be a big plus, guys."
"An advantage, really," Archimedes scoffed as he flew down and landed on top of the orb, "if the children say the world is round, they'll take them for a bunch of crazy hyenas."
"The world is round," Richie and Wart asked like that was news to them.
"Yes, yes, that's it," Merlin nodded before he spun the sphere around, "and it turns as well."
"You mean it'll be around someday," Wart said to Merlin.
"Yes, that has to be it," Richie grinned.
"No, the world has always been round," Jesse said.
"Besides, Columbus invaded innocent people in 1492 and we have a day off from school for that," Lex rolled her eyes.
"Lex," Jesse whispered in a scolding tone.
"That's right," Lex defended, "at least, I didn't say a worm warned him that the world was round and then he met an evil Swarm Lord who was holding Princess Zelda of the Moon Sprites hostage in his secret lair that just happened right here in America."
Richie and Wart looked wide-eyed and even more confused.
"Ignore her," Wart said.
"Man will discover this for centuries to come and he'll also discover that the world is just a tiny speck in the universe," Merlin continued as he looked out into the night heavens by his telescope.
"The universe," Richie and Wart asked, out of confusion.
"You're just confusing the guys, before you're done, they'll wear shoes on their heads. Man has always learned from the past; after all, you can't do history backwards, because it's confused," Archimedes warned Merlin, who was puffing smoke out of his smoky pipe.
"I get a headache just thinking about that logic," Lex commented.
"OK! That's it! Do as you please, Archimedes," Merlin frowned as he was fed up with the owl's behavior, "you're in charge. You're the headmaster now."
"Oh, Merlin, don't be like that," Lex said softly as Merlin huffed smoke out on Archimedes, making the tiny owl cough a bit.
"Then from now on, they're your pupils," Merlin decided as he sat in his chair in the corner.
"Very well then, from now on, guys," Archimedes coughed a bit before he faced Richie and Wart and coughed out a smoke ring from his beak, "do as I say."
"Yes, sir," Wart and Richie grinned.
"Now for starters, I want you both to read these books," Archimedes warned Wart and Richie as he pointed to the stack of books in the room.
"Everyone," Wart asked.
"This, my boys, is a source of knowledge," Archimedes warned Wart and Richie.
"So many homework," Lex commented, "that's enough for graduation!"
"But I--but I can't read," Wart spoke up.
"I can only read a little," Richie added.
"What, what? What," Archimedes stared at him, "then I guess you can't write?"
"No, sir," Richie and Wart shook their heads.
"What have you done," Archimedes asked.
Richie and Wart were about to respond that.
"Maybe we should start from the ground up like kindergarten," Lex suggested, "ABCs, 123s and some Do-Re-Mis."
"You're absolutely right, Lex; we'll start from the bottom," Archimedes agreed.
Soon enough, a blackboard was shown with cursive writing of the alphabet.
"My boys, please write the alphabet on the board, please," Archimedes asked.
"Yes, sir," Wart and Richie replied as they would try to write their alphabet.
"Alright," Archimedes instructed as the boys began to write for the first time in their lives, "first the A, and now the B. Loop is around and there's the C."
"Take a look, Merlin," Richie grinned, "we can write!"
"Oh. Yes, yes," Merlin replied as he pulled out a box, "that's very good, guys. Very good."
"It's a bit sloppy, but italics are hard the first time," Lex advised, "you're doing better than if you tried it for the first time."
"Chicken nuggets, it's all chicken tenders," Archimedes frowned at Merlin.
"How about we get to the next letter," Richie suggested to Archimedes.
"D, E, F, and now the G," Archimedes mentored, "Richie, you're doing very well. You see, it's as simple as-----"
Wart did his best, though he wasn't as good as his friend.
"No, no, no! No, boy! Now, use your head," Archimedes scolded as he stomped on Wart's head, "use your head, right? How do you expect to learn something?"
"Hey, wait, we're yet learning," Richie frowned, "you don't have to treat Wart like that."
"Archimedes! You saw this, uh...flying machine model," Merlin called to the owl.
"I have nothing to do with your futuristic violin, you know," Archimedes frowned a bit.
"Uh, excuse me, sir, but isn't it like that up there," Lex asked as she pointed at the model plane above the wizard's head.
"Huh...? Oh, yes, of course. Well, here we are," Merlin grinned once he looked up and soon took the plane away from its string and held it in his hands.
"You mean that one day the man will fly on one of these facts," Wart and Howard asked, out of curiosity.
"If man were meant to fly, he would've been born with wings," Archimedes said with a harrumph.
Lex opened her mouth to encounter, though she paused thoughtfully before shaking her head.
"I'm going to prove otherwise, Archimedes, if you want to watch," Merlin frowned at the owl as he began to spin the propeller on his model planes, "here she goes."
"Uh, Mr. Merlin," Jesse spoke up.
It's too late since Merlin ran for the window and let the plane took off, though it got twisted in his beard, where it twirled around his beard before it took away. "No, no, no, no, no," he panicked.
Soon the plane went through the air, only to suddenly come smashing down and ended up in the moat down below.
"Man will fly well," Archimedes mocked with a laugh, "just like a rock!"
"It would've worked if it weren't for this infernal beard," Merlin warned the owl as Archimedes kept laughing as the wizard went over back to his chair.
"Alright, Archimedes, we get it; you find the plane smash funny," Jesse said.
Archimedes let out a loud, anguished shriek as he kept on laughing.
"Somehow, I think Shenzi, Banzai and Ed laughed less harder," Lex whispered to Jesse with a smirk.
"I think you're right," Jesse nodded.
"I never, never in my entire....." Merlin grumbled as he puffed smoke from his pipe, "the man will fly one day, I'll warn you. I was there, I saw it."
"Oh, I really hope so," Wart grinned as he looked out of the window as the birds flew around outside, "I always dreamed of flying...that I was a bird and that I could fly high in the heavens above everything."
Lex and Jesse panicked for Wart as they knew that Merlin would try to use magic on him just for saying such a fact.
"I dreamed of the same fact, but I also had some weird worlds bursting up in them," Richie said as Merlin began to sneak up behind Wart and Howard.
"Yes," Archimedes asked.
"Yeah, like this dream; it went something like, uh, um..." Richie said as he tried to remember the words, "oh, that's right, they were..."
"Avis alitus avita atheta. Prestidigitorium," Merlin and Richie said a spell at the same time without knowing it as Merlin used his the spell on Wart while Howard did the spell himself.
"Nice," Lex smirked, "now they're tiny little birds."
Jesse moaned and face-palmed at Lex's behavior.
"It's my favorite dream," Wart grinned, seeming oblivious of the magic at first, "oh, but then I suppose everyone dreams of flying."
Lex pulled out a hand mirror to show Wart what just happened.
"I'm a bird! I'm a bird," Wart gasped and he looked ready to fly off, "I'm a bird!"
"Wait, boy. Not so fast. Not so fast," Merlin said as he caught Howard and Wart in his hand. "Before, I'll better improve the mechanisms of a bird's wing. Now, these great feathers are called the primaries. And, uh-" he began as he caught Archimedes' wing with his free hand to show the wing's feathers.
"And, uh, where do you know all about bird wings," Archimedes frowned at him.
"I've done a thorough study of birds in flight," Merlin retorted.
"And if you don't mind, I happen to be a bird," Archimedes frowned.
"Alright, Mr. Know-It-All, they're your pupils," Merlin frowned back as he hit down Richie and Wart on the windowsill.
"Ouch," Richie and Wart complained.
"During spring break, you went to see the girls from Monster High in Skull Shores," Jesse said to Lex, "Gertie and I became birds if we went to visit Rio and we had to help these birds called Blu and Jewel."
"Oh, it's a pity I missed it," Lex replied innocently.
"Now, guys, flying is not a crude mechanical process," Archimedes warned Wart and Richie before clearing his voice over to Merlin.
Merlin simply cleared his throat right back at Archimedes. And just like that, Wart and Richie were both now two young sparrows.
"It's a delicate art," Archimedes continued. "Simply aesthetic. Poetry of movement. And the best fashion to learn it is to do it. Now, since we're high enough, we'll start with a clearing," he presented as he spread his wings out for Howard and Wart to see, "spread your wings out, far out."
Soon the boys did that and grinned hopefully.
"Here. Here," Archimedes nodded as he fanned out his tail, "now, wave your tail."
Then Richie and Wart did that next.
"Tippity-toe, tippity-toe, and off we go," Archimedes said before dropping out the window with Richie and Wart following.
Jesse and Lex leaned over to watch them from up above. And where they saw Wart and Richie gliding with Archimedes.
"Now tuck your feet up like me," Archimedes warned Wart and Richie.
Richie and Wart did so as they were warned as they liked flying like birds so far.
"Here. That's the idea," Archimedes approved.
"Whoa! What? Oh," Richie and Wart yelped as they almost fell through the air.
"And don't fight the air drafts," Archimedes advised. "Use them," he suddenly panicked for Richie and Wart.
The two were about to smash into the meadow before they suddenly picked up the air with their wings in the air and they glided to prevent themselves from smashing.
"Well, let's say, guys," Archimedes grinned proudly, "that's good enough. Well, guys, you're both natural!"
"Isn't it nice, Lex," Jesse asked before looking over as she didn't respond him right away, "Lex?"
"I'm sorry," Lex said as she was looking through binoculars, "I'm just making sure there are no predators in the heavens this time. It seems like every time Wart becomes an animal, something has to come in and eat him."
"Ooh, clever thinking," Jesse said, "especially if they encounter a--"
"Hawk," Lex panicked.
"Yes, a hawk," Jesse nodded.
"No, I mean there's a hawk," Lex warned him.
"What? Oh, man," Jesse asked before looking with her binoculars.
"Are you sure this is the first time that--" Archimedes grinned before he looked up to see something right behind them, "guys! Guys! Hawk! Hawk!"
Richie and Wart panicked as they flew as fast as they could, even going faster than Archimedes himself.
"Watch out, guys," Archimedes warned, "watch out! Guys!"
"Archimedes! HEEEELP," Richie and Wart cried out in grief as they were close to being prey.
Archimedes bit on the predator bird's tail feathers, only to get one feather in his beak, though the hawk was stopped briefly.
"We have to go help them," Jesse said as he turned himself and Lex into birds as well.
Lex looked around before sighing.
"You can do that, just remember the flying lessons Draculaura and Sibella gave you," Jesse advised.
Lex nodded and soon they flew after Archimedes, Rihcie and Wart as the hawk chased after them.
Soon Howard and Wart flew into the dark and spooky woods and landed on top of a chimney from a cottage in the middle of the woods.
"Whew! I think we lost this hawk," Richie sighed.
Soon the hawk screeched as it went down to try to catch and eat them.
"I was wrong," Richie panicked.
Soon the two stumbled and fell down in the chimney and ended up being covered in soot in a fireplace inside of the cottage.
"Richie! Wart," Lex called out as she flew with Jesse.
"Wart," Jesse added.
Soon the hawk saw them and came right for them.
"Ow! Get away from me," Lex complained before she flew out of the road.
Soon Jesse flew right at the hawk as he did yet have his incredible strength, even if he was a bird. As the two collided, Jesse sent the hawk flying as he hit the flying predator hard with his beak, but not so much to murder it, but to send it flying off afraid.
"Phew..." Lex sighed, "hopefully, this hawk will go for a while like that predatory fish and that wolf."
"This never happened in Rio," Jesse rolled his eyes.
A boy around Richie and Wart's age with wild dark hair slowly rose up right behind them with a jar and smirked as he carried a bat in his other hand and soon knocked them out, though the bat broke in half. Then he caught the birds and stuffed them into the jar and sealed it shut. "Oh, boy! A scrap," he smirked before going away into the cottage.
Richie and Wart coughed from the soot inside of the fireplace as a wild, purple-haired woman was shown to be playing with cards at her table. "Oh, sounds like someone's sick. So lovely," she smirked once she heard the coughing and soon came in front of Richie and Wart and picked them up by their beaks, looking annoyed now, "oh, bat gizzards. It's nothing but a pair of dirty little sparrows with beaks complete with soot!"
"We're not really sparrows, we're boys," Wart warned her.
"That's right," Richie agreed.
"Two boys," the purple-haired woman gasped as she let them go.
"Merlin changed us with his magic," Wart explained as he and Richie shook away the soot, "he's the world's most powerful wizard."
"Merlin. Ho-ho! Merlin, the world's most powerful bungler," the purple-haired woman laughed in mockery. "Why, boys, I have more magic in one little finger. Don't warn me, you've never heard of the wonderful Madam Mim," she said to them as she curtsied.
"Well, no, I guess not," Richie shrugged as Wart shook his head.
Soon the young boy came into the room with his jar filled with birds and he set them down on the table and began to start up the fireplace to cook the birds with. "Two birds and I didn't need a stone," he chuckled at himself.
"Let us out of here," Lex yelped.
"These are our friends," Richie warned the young boy.
"And I'm hungry," the boy smirked as he looked Lex and Jesse dead in the eye from inside their jar, "speaking birds or no speaking birds."
"Now, now, now, Tim, don't be rude," Madam Mim warned her apprentice, "how do you expect to become Chief of the Council with that behavior?"
"Tim," Jesse's eyes widened.
Soon Lex passed out in exhaustion with wide eyes and an anime soul left her body from the shock. Soon Jesse picked up Lex before charging at the glass jar breaking out, thanks to his god strength as soon as he flew over to Wart and Richie as he carried Lex with his feet.
"Unbelievable," Madam Mim said from what she and Tim saw in front of them.
Tim looked wide-eyed before frowning. "No one should be stronger than me," he huffed.
Soon Lex awakened as she sat up and shook her head. "Who are you," she asked the purple-haired woman.
"Allow me to introduce myself," Madam Mim smirked, "you should know who I am."
"Madam Mim? Oh," Archimedes panicked as he appeared at the door and he swiftly flew off once he saw the witch woman, "thank heavens, thank heavens, thank heavens!"
"Shall we," Lex asked.
"This is Madam Mim," Tim warned them.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Lex rolled her eyes.
"That's not my name...." Tim replied rudely and crossed his arms, "strange."
"With only a touch, I have the power, zim zaba rim bim, to wither a flower, I find delight in the gruesome and grim," Madam Mim sang as she sent magic to a potted flower, which soon died instantly from her magic.
"Oh, that's awful," Wart said.
"Thank you, my boy, but that's nothing, nothing to me," Madam Mim replied as she continued, "because I'm the magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim," she spoke to them again, "you know what? I can even resize."
The children looked a bit wide-eyed as the witch suddenly grew very big and large, touching the ceiling of her cottage.
"I can be huge; fill the entire house," Madam Mim sang before she shrunk in size and stood on the table with them, "I can be teeny, small as a mouse, black sorcery is my dish of tea, it comes easy to me, because I'm the magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim!"
"You're wonderfully alright," Lex snarked to herself.
Soon Tim went to hit his fist down on top of Lex before Jesse zipped over and held the young warlock's fist, though he got flattened by it due to his small size before Drell retracted his hand and waved it as it throbbed in pain.
Madam Mim began to fly around her cottage while the size of a mouse before landing, going back to her normal size. "Say, children, did you know I can make myself uglier than," the witch woman asked the children.
"Oh, you mean this isn't you in your ugliest face yet," Lex snarked.
"He may have crushed me, but I'm yet strong," Jesse frowned, though something was changing without him or Lex noticing or realizing it yet.
"Well, that would be a ploy," Wart said hesitantly, "uh...uh...I mean...uh-"
"Wanna bet," Madam Mim smirked before she moved her hair to show a long, ugly snout, looking like a pig monster, "boo!"
The children looked a bit alarmed.
"Do you see? I win, I win," Madam Mim beamed, "am I not horrible, children? Perfectly outrageous?"
"Well, uh...yes, madam," the children replied without hesitation.
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet; look at this," Madam Mim said as she pressed on her pig nose. And where this caused her to go from ugly to a beautiful woman.
"That's a big improvement," Lex smirked.
"I can be beautiful, lovely and fair, silvery voice, long purple hair," Madam Mim sang as she bounced her hair about before scratching Richie and Wart's chins playfully, which felt very nice, "fa la la la la la la la la!"
"That's good, ma'am; just leave it there," Tim smirked at his magical mentor.
"But it's only skin-deep, zim zabberim zim," Madam Mim sang as she pulled her hair, turning back into her true self, "I'm an ugly old creep, I'm the magnificent, marvelous, mad, mad, mad, Madam Mim!"
"Bravo. Bravo," Tim applauded for his mentor.
"Well, uh...you're closing," Jesse asked Tim.
"My parents sent me to train with her where I can fulfill my destiny," Tim smirked proudly. "I'll be the boss of Witch's Council one day and I have to learn the best achievements and magic if I'm going to be the most powerful man in the universe. Ladies? I'm single," he winked.
Lex shuddered in disgust from that.
"What do you think, children," Madam Mim smirked, "who's the biggest?"
"Madam Mim," Tim cheered.
"Well, uh...Merlin's magic is always...um...yes...useful...uh...for something good," Wart said hesitantly.
"Yes, even though his spelling of cleaning the dishes and cleaning the kitchen went a bit chaotic," Richie said.
"And I guess he also sees something good in the four of you," Madam Mim said as she walked past them.
"I guess so," Lex shrugged.
"Yes, and in my book, that's bad," Madam Mim replied as she shut her window shutters, "yes, my children, I'm afraid I have to destroy you."
"De-Destroy us," Jesse, Lex, Richie and Wart asked hesitantly.
"Yes, I'll give you a chance to sport," Madam Mim replied as soon as she turned into a cat, "I'm frustrated at games, you know."
"I wouldn't fight her if I were you," Tim warned the others, "you should take it if you don't want to play with ME instead," he added with a sadistic smirk on his face.
"Guys, we better fly before we can jump and stay in the air. That fashion she can't get us," Jesse suggested.
"Didn't agree more," Lex, Richie and Wart said.
Soon all four of them flew up into the air as Madam Mim pounced, missing them.
"Get them! Get them," Tim called out to his mentor.
Madam Mim laughed as they flew around and she kept on pouncing after them, almost making her cottage a mess as she knocked down the table and her shelves. "Yes, yes, get started, children," she mocked, "you have to stay your toes in this game."
Richie, Jesse and Wart flew out of the road, only for Lex to be caught.
"Yaiee," Lex yelped as she was caught in Madam Mim's paw before she went flying into the dart board, hitting the bull's-eye in the process.
"I win, I win," Madam Mim smirked as she caught Lex in her paws, "oh, the game's over!"
Lex frowned and pecked the old witch in her nose, making her change herself back to normal.
"Why, you little devil, you," Madam Mim frowned, "I'll twist your little throat!"
"Just try it, you old hag," Lex frowned back.
"Let her go," Jesse frowned before using his magic and changed back to human as he landed on his feet.
"Impressive," Tim smirked.
"YOW," Madam Mim yelped as she threw her hands in the air, dropping Lex.
Lex panicked as she fell through the air before flapping her wings and soon landed on a high shelf and frowned down at Madam Mim while she was up there. Soon the door opened as a magical presence came into the cottage.
"Mim! Mim! Wh-Wh-What-" Merlin frowned as soon as he came in the room before looking around the cabin, "right, what have you done?"
"Oh, M-M-Merlin," Madam Mim smirked innocently, "yes, you're just in time. The children and I were playing a little game."
"She would destroy me, Lex, Richie and Chip," Jesse warned Merlin.
The other three swiftly agreed as it was true.
"You witch," Merlin frowned at Madam Mim.
"And just what have you done about it," Madam Mim frowned back, "do you want to fight? Do you want a magician's duel?"
"As you wish, ma'am," Merlin decided firmly.
"It's Twilight and Trixie," Lex whispered to Jesse as she flew down and perched on his shoulder.
"Just hopefully, the loser doesn't have to leave town forever, but if they do so, I hope it's Madam Mim," Jesse whispered back.
"In your dreams, monkeys," Tim smirked as he came up behind them, alarming them a bit, "Madam Mim is the best witch in the world! Next to perhaps my mother, because I may become a powerful leader one day if I'm an adult."
"Oh, you're learning that knowledge is power," Jesse said.
"Well, c'mon," Madam Mim warned Merlin.
"After you, madam," Merlin replied.
"This should be good...." Jesse said, "now, Lex, are you tired of being a bird?"
"Please change me back," Lex moaned, "animal conversions are so embarrassing."
Jesse nodded as soon as he changed her back to normal, though they fell on top of each other in the middle of the floor.
"Tim, come here and help me show this old fool how it's done," Madam Mim called to her student.
"You're very sorry...." Tim shook his head before grinning and following after Madam Mim, "c'mon!"
"Alright, is it just me or am I starting to wonder if we should've asked what we're looking for and without changing the past to save the future," Jesse said as he and Lex got up.
Soon Merlin followed after Madam Mim and Tim as soon as the others followed.
"I think we just have to make sure your parents love each other enough to get married," Lex said to Jesse, "I've seen this in movies."
"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What is this, children," Archimedes asked as he flew out onto the tree behind Richie and Wart, "what's going on here?"
"They have a magician's duel," Wart replied, "what does that mean?"
"Oh, that's a conclusion," Archimedes explained, "the players switch to different facts and try, uh...to destroy each other."
"De-Des-De-Destroy," Richie and Wart got wide-eyed and hesitant.
"Well, just look, children, just look," Archimedes replied, "you'll get the idea."
Soon Madam Mim stopped walking before facing Merlin as she faced his beard.
"Well, that's a little too close in someone's personal space," Lex smirked.
"Now first and foremost," Madam Mim faced Merlin before muffling since his beard was in her face, where she moved it aside, "then you don't care, I'll make the rules."
"Reigns really," Archimedes scoffed, "why, she just wants rules where she can break them!"
"I'll take care of you later, feather board," Madam Mim frowned before she made the rules, "now, version #1; no minerals or vegetables. Only animals. Version #2; no makeup stuff, like...uh...oh...pink dragons and stuff. Now, version #3; no one disappears."
"Version #4; no cheating," Merlin firmly decided.
"OK, that's it," Madam Mim replied as she stood with her back to his before they split up, "now, pace away ten. 1, 2, 3, 4..." she started to count.
"1 and three quarters.....5 1/2....TEN," Lex called in a Bugs Bunny tone of voice.
"Shut up, baby," Madam Mim glowered.
"You better be silent," Tim warned Lex.
"OK. That's it," Lex rolled her eyes.
Merlin and Madam Mim continued to pace together until something new happened.
"Merlin! She's gone," Richie warned the wizard.
"What? MIM," Merlin asked before looking around sharply, "now blow everything up, you've made the rules!"
Soon Madam Mim appeared right behind him as a crocodile and got ready to hit her jaws down on him. Then Merlin swiftly vanished and she bit down on his hat, though something was inside the hat now.
Soon Madam Mim opened the hat and reached inside before something bit her finger. "Ouch!"
It was shown to be Merlin was a snapping turtle before he fell on the ground after biting her.
"A snapping turtle?! Why not a dinosaur," Lex asked, "seriously, of all the animals in the world, he walks with a turtle."
"Even I think it's a bad choice," Tim smirked.
"Oh, yes? You see? I agree with Tim," Lex replied before her eyes widened as she cupped her mouth and she went over behind a tree and suddenly threw up.
Jesse rolled his eyes as he knew that would happen.
"Switch to something else, Merlin," Richie suggested as he and Wart flew over to a higher tree.
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, give me time to think," Merlin replied as he crawled off from Madam Mim, who came after him, "ah, higgety-piggety. Ah, duh...no, no, no, no, no."
"Faster, Merlin, hurry up," Wart panicked.
"Ah...duh...hoppity-hip-hip," Merlin called out and soon he turned into a rabbit, "ha-ha!"
"A BUNNY," Lex asked, "this is supposed to be the world's greatest wizard we learned about in the history of warlocks?! This is something Porco Rosso would do so!"
Soon Madam Mim chomped down on Merlin's bunny tail and where that was the only part that stayed in her mouth as Merlin looked to see his tail in her mouth.
"Madam, just a moment," Merlin frowned as he began to try and get his tail out of Madam Mim's mouth.
Madam Mim chuckled and soon turned herself into a fox and pulled on Merlin's cottontail with him.
"Turn into a dinosaur," Lex called out, "that's not a mythical creature and I should know!"
Soon Merlin ran from Madam Mim before they both ended up in a tree trunk together.
"Ugh! He's not listening to me," Lex complained.
Madam Mim began to start laughing as she thought she had Merlin cornered until her laughter stopped. Merlin was seen coming out of a hole in the tree trunk as a caterpillar.
"Wow," Tim smirked.
"MERLIN," Lex complained.
Merlin silenced her as he slunk along the tree trunk, getting away from Madam Mim.
"Merlin! Nothing disappears," Madam Mim's voice called.
Soon Merlin got to a branch before Madam Mim's eye burst out from the hole and soon she turned into a chicken and came to bite on him since she was a bird and he was bird food.
"Watch out," Richie cried for Merlin.
Soon Madam Mim bit on the branch with Merlin's caterpillar tail, sending the old wizard flying in the air and was about to come right down and she opened up her beak, ready to eat him. Merlin saw this coming and soon turned into a walrus and landed right on top of her.
"Phew..." Richie sighed in relief, "that was really close."
"Mim? Mim! Are you--" Merlin started until he felt himself going up as Madam Mim changed into an elephant, "what's going on?"
"Ooh, she's frustrated now," Tim smirked.
"This can only end so well," Lex moaned.
"We should've made this a money bet..." Tim smirked as he put his hands together, "you little suckers should SERVE ME!!"
Lex shoved him back, but only slightly.
"Why, you...you big blimp," Madam Mim frowned as she caught Merlin by his neck with her trunk.
Then Merlin changed himself into a mouse and made faces at her, which frightened Madam Mim since it was often said that for whatever reason, elephants were afraid of mice. Jesse and Lex knew that all too well especially since their adventure with Dumbo. Merlin began to chase after Madam Mim before he began to run for dear life as Madam Mim changed into a tiger. Soon Merlin jumped into a hole and where Madam Mim jumped and landed hard on the hole until Merlin came out of another hole and was about to bite down on Madam Mim's tail. Jesse, Lex, Richie and Wart were in mild suspense for Merlin against Madam Mim. Tim just watched Madam Mim, hoping she would in and he smirked in emotion for her.
"Ah-ah-ah-ah, Merlin," Madam Mim smirked as she wagged her tail, showing it was a rattlesnake tail that she had changed herself into a snake.
Merlin panicked before he made her bite her own tail and he kept on running.
"Ouch! Ooh," Madam Mim frowned as she got caught in knots and the wizard mouse ran away.
"Bravo," Archimedes approved as he watched with the children.
"C'mon, Merlin, outsmart her," Lex whispered to herself.
"Oh, just you wait," Madam Mim frowned as she slunk in a hole and chased Merlin through it until he came out of a different hole, "just you wait! You will pay for this!"
Then Merlin pushed a big rock to the hole he just came out of and where that was if Madam Mim's head hit the rock.
"Wow. It had to hurt," Lex smirked with a wince.
"Get up! Get up," Tim called out to Madam Mim.
Merlin panicked as he knew that Madam Mim would be back, where he changed himself into a crab. Madam Mim came back up and went right back down before he could pinch her with his claws. The two went back and forth for a while until Merlin eventually pinched her, but the claws didn't hurt her soon before she rose out of the ground and smirked darkly as she was now a rhinoceros.
"Ooh! That's good," Tim hooted with laughter.
"Oh, that's not good," Richie gulped.
"He's really been lucky and then unlucky," Lex said.
"Then you want to play rough, right," Madam Mim frowned as she went to charge over to a tree that was over the edge of a cliff, "alright, Merlin. I'll crush you good, you old crab!"
"I can't look," Tim said, covering his eyes before smirking, "who am I joking? Yes, I can! She'll make a crabcake of the salty old codger!"
"I wouldn't be so sure," Jesse replied.
"Jehosaphat," Merlin exclaimed as he crawled up on Madam Mim's horn and jumped out of the road.
Soon Madam Mim shrieked once she got stuck in the tree. "Tim boy, take the butter and take me out of this tree, otherwise you're grounded," she threatened and yelled.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Tim. I think Roger had this covered," Jesse smirked.
"What do you mean by that," Tim asked him.
"You'll see," Jesse smirked.
Soon Merlin got off and began to turn himself into a goat. "Here I come, Mim, ready or not," he called out as soon as he went charging towards her to headbutt her.
"Merlin, you don't dare," Madam Mim cried out in grief.
But he would and did so, then Merlin headbutted against Madam Mim, making her shriek and end up in the boiling water below the cliff. Lex and Jesse smirked at each other, sharing fist bumps, though Tim panicked and went to run and hide for cover as he knew what was coming.
"Hey! Where are you going," Lex called out with a smirk.
"Get out of here and if you're smart, you'll do the same," Tim replied, "MADAM MIM'S GONE FRUSTRATED RIGHT NOW!!"
"What do you mean," Lex asked.
Soon something happened as Madam Mim came out of the water as a purple dragon.
"Oh, then she's not been in this wizarding duel yet," Lex said.
"Well, she didn't become a pink dragon, but technically she doesn't break one of her rules," Jesse said before warning Merlin, "I suggest you run!"
"Now, now, Mim, Mim," Merlin panicked at the purple dragon, "n-no dragons, remember?"
"Did I say no flaming spiritual purple dragons," Madam Mim smirked darkly before she breathed fire around him, "DO I HAVE IT?!"
"RUN FOR IT, OLD MAN," Tim yelled out from his hiding spot.
Soon Merlin ran from the flames as Madam Mim chased him, breathing fire everywhere until he turned into a mouse and hid inside of a hole.
"Don't burn me...don't burn me...don't burn me..." Tim shivered hesitantly from behind a large boulder.
"I wish I had my phone right now," Lex smirked at his fear.
Soon Madam Mim smirks as she takes a deep breath and blows fire into the hole Merlin just hides inside of and where it shoots him out of another hole as he shouts out in pain from the fire.
"We have to stop her," Jesse frowned as he jumped out into the churning waters.
"I-I-I'm not sure if it's wise," Lex warned.
"Trust me, it really isn't," Tim added from his hiding place.
Soon Madam Mim caught Merlin in her dragon claws. "I win," the witch smirked as she laughed.
Jesse gasped and frowned, about to go towards Madam Mim, only for Tim to pounce out and tackle the young boy down to the ground. "Ow! What is going on," he complained.
"Oh, that horrible old witch," Wart frowned as he was about to fly towards Madam Mim, "I'll...I'm going to cast my eyes on her!"
"What, no, no," Archimedes shook his head as he caught Wart and restrained the young sparrow, "no, no, no."
Soon Madam Mim opened up her dragon claws to see Merlin, only to see that he was no longer in his claws.
"He's gone," Richie gasped.
"Well, shoot," Lex remarked.
"Disappeared," Archimedes frowned.
Madam Mim looked around for Merlin as Tim came over to her as he tried to help her look.
"Ma'am, I haven't disappeared. I am very small," Merlin's voice said. "I'm a bacterium. A rare disease. I'm called 'malagolintomontorosis', and you've taken me, Mim," he announced with a laugh.
"What," Madam Mim asked out of shock.
Archimedes laughed as this meant Merlin had won.
"Did Merlin win," Lex asked as Tim magicked himself up a hat to purposely stomp it on the ground and jump on it in frustration.
"A blow of ingenius," Richie grinned.
"First, you break out in spots," Merlin began to explain as red spots appeared on Madam Mim's body as she turned into a sickly green color. "Followed by hot and cold flashes," he added as she suddenly sweated before shivering. "Then violent sneezing," he concluded.
Madam Mim sniffled and then she suddenly sneezed out a bunch of fire, making Jesse and Lex jump out of the road and the flames came toward the tree that Archimedes, Richie and Wart were on.
"Watch it, boys," Archimedes warned and they luckily missed the flames.
"Oh! Er...y-y-y-you foolish old villain," Madam Mim frowned as she was defeated.
Later on, Madam Mim was yet sick, but she was back to her old self and in bed. Soon Tim put a thermometer into her mouth with a hesitant grin.
"Oh, it's not that serious, ma'am," Merlin said as he decided to check the thermometer, "ah, you should recover in a few weeks and be just as well, uh...ah...he-he...I-I mean as bad as ever."
Archimedes, Richie and Wart began to chuckle.
"But, ah...I suggest plenty of rest and lots and lots of sunshine," Merlin said as he punched his cane in through the straw roof to let in some sunlight.
Lex and Jesse chuckled a bit.
"Yes, yes, laugh it up," Tim frowned at them, "while you're gone, I have to take care of her."
"Why haven't your parents become Merlin's apprentice," Richie asked.
"Because my mum and Madam Mim are old friends and she wants me to learn the best and darkest magic where I can one day become Chief of the Magic Council if I grow up and beat fear in my heart and crush their souls like little punks like you," Tim smirked as he crossed his arms, "she'll teach me how to have the best magic in the universe and people will FLUKE if I mention my name!"
"Well, he's right in the last part," Lex whispered to Jesse with a smirk.
"But how about good magic," Jesse asked.
"Yeah, because seeing good magic is as powerful as the magic you learn," Richie warned Tim.
"Pfft," Tim scoffed and rolled his eyes, "good magic gets you nowhere!"
"But it can be nice," Lex said, "shouldn't your job be about helping people and making sure they follow the rules?"
"You guys know nothing," Tim replied as he went over to his room in the cottage, which was very messy and disorganized before he sat on his bed as it creaked under his weight, "I'll go down in history one day and learn the magic of that fool Merlin won't do it. What good is this to have power if you can't have some fun with it?"
"You can't be serious," Archimedes said, unimpressed.
"You see? I knew you wouldn't understand," Tim replied as he got comfortable and put his hands behind his head, "if you excuse me now, this future Winter Warlock will take a nap before Mean Old Mim awakens and makes me scrub her feet or something."
"So you should just stay here alone with just your mentor," Richie asked softly.
"Yes, but then what? It's not like I need any friends," Tim said.
"Friends are a wonderful fact, Tim," Richie frowned, "I know I don't know you well, but I'd like to be your friend if you'd let me."
Tim snorted and rolled his eyes. "And why should I be friends with someone like you," he then scoffed, "are you even a war merchant?"
"Well, no, I'm an Indian, but--" Richie began.
"Ha! Then you have weaker magic than I do so," Tim smirked.
"Well, perhaps, but I don't have many friends myself either," Richie defended, "my sister has many friends of her own, but I don't have anyone to hang out with except Wart. You just seem like you could use a friend."
"Friendship is magic," Lex and Jesse added, Lex a bit sardonic, but Jesse sweetly sincere.
Tim simply scoffed as he looked away. Richie grinned as he was sure he and Tim would become friends in the future.
"Then let's get started," Lex warned Merlin.
"Keep moving and get out of here before I turn you into piles of stone," Tim snorted as he turned over in his bed.
"He did never grow up," Lex rolled her eyes.
"I HATE SUNSHINE," Madam Mim screeched as soon as Merlin led the children out the cottage door, "I HAAAAAAATTTTTTTEEEEEEEEE AWFUL, HEALTHY SUNSHINE! I HATE IT!! I HATE IT!!! I HATE, HATE, HATE, HAAATE–––"" she growled in frustration before shouting out an enraged "TAKE IIIIIT!!!!"
This yell was so loud that it echoed across the turbulent waters. "And you think I'm gloomy," Lex smirked at Jesse.
"I guess you're not as much a drama queen," Jesse smirked back.
Soon the door shut behind them.
"You were really great, Merlin, b-but you could've been hurt," Wart said to the wizard.
"It was worth it if you and Richie taught us a lesson, boy," Merlin warned Wart.
'From what they've seen, I'm sure they did so,' Jesse thought to himself.
Wart paused to think about it before responding the wizard. "Knowledge and wisdom are the real power," he said.
"You're right, Wart, then stick to your schooling, boy," Merlin nodded.
"Oh, don't worry, I will, sir," Wart reassured, "I will, oh, I really will."
"I will as well," Richie promised.
"And young lady, I hope you learned that you don't need to be big and powerful just to take someone down," Merlin said to Lex, "I appreciate your dinosaur idea, but I yet beat Madam Mim, right?"
"Uh, yes, I guess you did so...." Lex shrugged.
Tim watched the group leave from his bedroom window before sighing and shrugging as he began to feel bored all on his own, especially since Madam Mim would be stuck in bed for a while and he'd have to take care of her.
"And Patrick, you should know that I had just turned Wart into a bird; you had actually turned into a bird on your own with your own magic," Merlin warned him.
"Wait, for what," Richie asked.
"It'll come to you at last," Merlin said.
"Well, I'm a wizard," Randolph asked.
"Actually, you seem to have cold blood in you," Merlin advised, "unlike that Sarah Ravencroft, who plans to use her magic for evil, especially if she'll be reborn centuries later in the city of Oakhaven."
"Whoa! Then I'll change back if I say...alakazam," Richie proclaimed and within a matter of seconds, the young Indian changed back to human.
"That's one of the streets, yes," Merlin nodded, "you have a great legacy ahead of you, Richie."
"So I guess my sister's an Indian as well," Randolph asked.
"But of course," Merlin replied, "Delilah's probably discovering her magical side with the stray dogs right now."
"Wow," Randolph grinned.
"And I think I'm seeing her and the stray dogs right now," Wart said as he saw a group making their way through the forest.
Jesse and Lex shared a look before they looked around into the forest.
A Kuvasz dog grinned as she stepped out and stretched.
"How do you feel," a voice asked the Kuvasz.
"Great," Delilah grinned, "I always knew my brother and I were destined for something special and I guess you helped me see what it was..." she waved her hands as magic sparkled in her paw-tips, "this must be what it's like to be the Seaver family."
"Magic can be a wonderful thing, but remember to use it responsibly," another voice said from a second stray dog.
"These are the stray dogs," Lex asked Merlin.
"Yes, they are," Merlin replied, "I understand you've compared them to the stray dogs."
"Well, can ya blame me," Lex shrugged as she saw stray dogs with the white Kuvasz who appeared to be friends with her, "they're a bunch of stray dogs."
"I know of the stray dogs in your time myself," Merlin nodded, "in fact, the stray dogs are the ancestors of Fisherman's Wharf before they discovered San Francisco and their cousins in the Forest of No Return," he explained.
"They sure are a colorful bunch," Richie said.
"Indeed they are," Merlin nodded.
"Quite literally," Lex said.
"Perhaps you'd like to go see your sister and her friends," Merlin said to Richie.
"Yes," Richie beamed as he ran through the bushes, "Del! Del!"
Delilah looked over before the two siblings fell on top of each other by incident, though they laughed. "Hi, Richie," she said, "fancy seeing you here since you've been so busy with Wart and helping him with Sir Ector and that miserable goofball, Kay."
"Wart and I are learning from Merlin," Richie grinned.
"Who's Merlin," Delilah asked.
"He's a powerful wizard," Richie grinned.
"Could I meet him," Delilah asked.
"Sure," Richie grinned, "eight after you introduce me to your friends."
Delilah chuckled. "OK, that's it," she said, "c'mon out, guys!"
The stray dogs peeked out of their hiding spot and came to go and see Delilah.
"Everyone, this is my brother, Richie," Delilah introduced.
"Hello," Richie smiled and waved at the stray dogs.
"Hello," the stray dogs greeted him.
"This is Riley, Bando, Sledge, Spike, Shadow and Chance," Delilah introduced the dogs with her who nodded and waved after their names were said.
"Are you hungry, darling," Sledge asked Richie as she poked her paw against his stomach, "you look like you're all skin and bones."
"Sometimes it's hard to get food whenever I'm with Wart at Sir Ector's place," Richie said softly.
"Well, I suggest you come with me and I can give you a meal fit for a king," Sledge suggested.
"Wow, thanks," Richie grinned before feeling throat getting a little dry, "I could go for something to drink though."
"Try this," Chance said as he gave Richie a flask filled with something familiar to the stray dogs.
"What? Oh, thanks," Richie grinned, "....is this the juice?"
"Yes, it's very good," Chance nodded.
"Thanks, Chance," Richie grinned as he opened up the flask and began to drink down the juice to quench his thirst.
"Chance, that's Gummi Berry juice! That gives humans incredible strength! Don't you remember," Bando asked out of shock.
"Oops. I guess I kinda forgot," Chance smiled sheepishly.
"Wait, how does that work," Lex asked. "Jesse gave his dad special strength later in life a long time after we had met Hercules and Zeus."
"You see, lass, Gummi Berry juice gives humans incredible strength, but not very long," Merlin warned her, "the effects are different for stray dogs as they become rather bouncy."
"Ohh..." Lex said.
"Either fashion, it's yet pretty good," Francis grinned, "thanks, Chance."
"Heh, you're welcome," Chance grinned back, bashfully.
Soon Richie felt powerful as he now had super-strength.
"You'll only have your super-strength for a little while," Merlin told Richie.
"Dang it," Richie sighed, "at least I can be strong for a while, right?"
"Yes, you may," Merlin replied, "no worries though, someone very special to you will give you special strength permanently."
"Really," Richie grinned, "who?"
"We don't wanna spoil the surprise," Jesse grinned innocently.
"You're an interesting guy, Jesse," Richie rolled his eyes playfully, "I hope after all of this is over, I'll see you again."
"Oh, don't worry; you will sometime in the future," Jesse assured him.
"Well, that's good," Richie grinned.
"Shouldn't we get back to the castle before Ector gets frustrated as he doesn't find Richie or Wart because he'll most likely have a chore for them to do," Lex advised.
"Del, I have to go," Richie said to his sister, "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Of course, Richie," Delilah grinned, "I know how sore Sir Ector can get."
Then the siblings shared a fond hug with each other as Jesse looked emotional as his father and aunt shared a warm and tender hug.
"Don't ever disappear from me, okay," Richie grinned mournfully.
"Richie, you're never gonna lose me," Delilah promised.
Luckily, they made it back before Ector could get mad, though he was yet frustrated.
"Like we expected anything else," Lex rolled her eyes at how Ector got, "I take back everything I said about Tim being a frustrated pig all the time."
"Yeah, this guy takes the cake on that," Jesse said.
But before they knew it, it was snowing and seemed to be around Christmastime.
"Christmas comes faster and faster every year," Lex commented.
Jesse nodded in agreement.
"We pledge our loyalty forever, the white stands for right purity and might, the blue stands for truth yea verily, forsooth, then we'll drink to a toast to the banner we love most, may it proudly wave on high," Ector and Pellinore began to sing as they had a victory song in honor of Kay, who sat proudly at the table, "we will sing all night and all day we will fight, for the blue oak tree on the field of white, for the blue oak tree, on the fie-ie-ie-ie-ield, of white," the men shared boisterous laughter as they had a drink and a toast to honor the older boy.
Lex flinched from the loud laughter and frowned as she helped the boys clean up.
"Onto victory in London for my son Kay," Ector grinned.
"Sir Kay; I've been knighted, don't forget that," Kay smirked.
Lex just rolled her eyes.
"The ladies love a knight, don't they," Kay smirked towards Lex.
"Get the Plague," Lex scoffed.
"No, of course, son, of course," Ector chuckled as he raised his glass with Pellinore, "ah, to Sir Kay. Who knows? The future king of all England!"
Then the two clinked their glasses, though Pellinore's glass shattered and some of the drink spilled out on top of Kay's head.
"Kay as the king? What a horrible thought," Pellinore stuttered.
"Take the words right out of my mouth," Lex smirked.
"Sir Ector? Sir Ector," the kitchen maid called as she ran inside the room in a panic, "Hobbs came down with the mumps! His face is puffed up like a toad!"
"Then Kay needs another squire, hang it all up," Ector grumbled before thinking about it and then pointed sharply at the blonde boy, "huh...Wart, it's you."
"I'm what, sir," Wart asked as he moved the dishes away from the table.
"Kay's squire," Ector explained, "you're going to London, son."
"I don't think Merlin will be happy to hear that," Richie whispered to himself.
"Oh, Sir Ector...wait, wha...what! Whoa," Wart yelped as he tripped his road out of the room.
Richie gasped as he dove down to help protect Wart from hurting himself and caught the falling dishes, carrying them all and was stronger than he was before.
"Phew! Thanks, Richie," Wart sighed in relief, "wow, you've really changed after seeing your sister."
"Well, I felt motivated enough to train a little more," Richie grinned sheepishly.
Soon a while later, Wart was wearing a traditional robe that every squire wore as he, Richie, Jesse and Lex made their road to Merlin and Archimedes.
"Merlin! Archimedes! Merlin," Wart called out as he raced up the tower, a bit faster than his friends before he opened up the door, "Merlin, look! I'm a squire!"
Merlin looked over and looked a bit wide-eyed as he was warmed up by the heater. "Hah! Sir Ector has changed his mind, right," he asked the boy.
"Yes, because Hobbs got sick and he said I could take his place," Wart explained in emotion.
"Oh. Um, very nice, boy," Archimedes said softly.
"Yes, indeed," Merlin nodded firmly, "a fine monkey suit for polishing boots.
"Well, he had that right," Lex deadpanned.
"But it's Wart's choice; Merlin, don't try to support him," Richie asked the old wizard.
"Besides, all the squires wear it," Wart said.
"And I thought you mean something," Merlin frowned sharply at Wart as he kicked over a stack of books, along with his globe. "I thought you had some brains! Great future. Hah! A straw man for that big dick Kay. Congratulations, boy," he scoffed with bitterness and sarcasm.
"Look, I don't like Kay any more than the next boy, but you could at least be a helping hand," Lex frowned with her hands on her hips.
"Yes! You could at least try to support yourself instead of being bitter and sarcastic about what Wart's going to do in London," Jesse frowned at Merlin.
"What do you...what do you want me to be," Wart frowned as tears started to come out of his eyes, "I'm nobody."
Archimedes began to look a little wide-eyed and worried.
"You...you don't know anything about what's going on today," Wart continued firmly, "I-I-I-I'm lucky to be Kay's squire."
"D...oh! D...of all that idiotic...y-y-y...I..." Merlin stammers as he feels flustered before he shouts. "BLAST ME TO BERMUDA," he snapped before his magic surrounded him and he took away, shooting like a rocket right out of the tower.
Soon they went to the window to see Merlin continuing to shoot like a rocket far away.
"Where did he go," Wart asked Archimedes.
"To Bermuda, I think," Archimedes shrugged.
"Where's that," Richie asked.
"In the middle of nowhere, you're going and never coming back," Lex said in a haunting voice.
"Yes, but right now, it's an island far off that hasn't been discovered yet," Archimedes warned Lex.
"But yet," Lex retorted.
"Is he ever coming back," Wart asked softly, out of guilt.
"Who knows," Archimedes shrugged, "who knows anything?"
"Well, we better get some sleep," Richie said softly.
"Yes, I need it for that trip to London," Archimedes said.
"I'm sorry about Merlin," Jesse said.
"It's alright, Jesse," Richie replied.
"Ah, let him go," Lex rolled her eyes, "I don't see what's so great about that old guy, any matter!"
"How can you say that," Richie frowned.
"He doesn't want anything to do with us, then I don't want anything to do with him," Lex frowned back.
"Give him some time, he'll cool down and he'll be back before we know it," Jesse said.
"You know that for sure," Archimedes asked.
"Well, yes," Jesse grinned.
"Well, boy, I really hope you're right," Archimedes nodded.
"I know I am," Jesse nodded back.
"Anyhow, we haven't seen each other again," Lex narrowed her eyes.
"That's true," Archimedes nodded.
Before long, London was shown in the morning as the tournament began.
"For the crown of all England...let the tournament begin," an announcer proclaimed.
Soon two men in armor with lances and on their horses began to charge together. Many of the girls in the crowd swooned over the knights in shining armor.
Lex yawned and looked exhausted and bored already. "I've never understood why girls joke about knights in shining armor," she rolled her eyes as she flopped her arms out over the concession stand she sat behind, "you'll never see me do that nonsense."
Both knights continued to charge at each other until their lances collided with the other's body, sending them both flying off their horses before they got up and pulled their swords out. Lex yawned while she watched the action in the refreshment stands with the other people.
"Oh, Kay, you see," Ector beamed at his son as soon as the knights fought with the swords next, "now it's up to the swords."
"Swords," Wart asked hesitantly, "swords?"
Richie gulped slightly. "I knew we were forgetting something," he said to his pal.
"Oh, dear! Kay," Wart spoke up hesitantly.
"What? What," Kay glowered at the blonde boy.
"I, uh...I-I-I forgot your sword," Wart explained.
"Forgot my sword," Kay snapped.
"I-I-I left it at the inn," Wart explained.
"Well, you clumsy little fool," Kay growled as he went to chase after Wart.
"Hey, stop this, Kay," Richie complained as he stood in front of Wart to protect him.
"We're just going to get your sword now; no harm, no foul," Jesse warned Kay.
"Yes, by the way, we've had a little while until you have to move ahead," Lex said.
"You can stay and be my little cheerleader if you want," Kay smirked at her.
"Alright...close your eyes, put out your hands and you're in for a big surprise," Lex smirked.
Kay chuckled at himself before he did so what he asked, looking hopeful and eager.
Soon Lex pulled out a random fish and soon slapped him in the face with it, knocking him down. "RUUUUUN," she warned Richie and Jesse before running with them.
Kay was yet persistent with a chuckle, though he lost a tooth in the process. "What a woman!"
Wart, Richie, Lex and Jesse continued to run to the Village Inn along with Archimedes, but as they got to the inn, the door was locked.
"Ugh...I hate being left out......I feel so foolish," Lex complained.
"Let me in! Let me in," Wart cried out in grief as he tried to open the door before pounding on it, "someone, please! Please let me in!"
Archimedes wiped off the icy stains on the window to look inside before frowning. "It's no use, boy. They all went to the tournament," he warned Wart.
Lex instinctively glanced at Jesse all of a sudden.
"What?! I didn't know everyone would be at the tournament," Jesse said.
"Now what have we done? Kay has to have a sword," Richie said.
Soon Archimedes saw something in the distance and looked hopeful. "Look, children! Over there in the cemetery," he warned them.
"A sword! Oh, Archimedes, a sword," Wart beamed as he began to run right toward the sword before stopping suddenly and gasped.
Tim was shown to be coming up behind the sword with a smirk and soon caught hold of it.
"Oh, I'm too late..." Wart frowned, "that boy will get it before I can."
Soon Tim caught on the sword and pulled, though he groaned and strained, despite being very strong for his age and began to have a hard time pulling the sword out of the stone.
"Having damage," Lex smirked.
"Foolish sword," Tim groaned as he failed to get the sword out.
"Such a pity," Lex smirked, "farewell next time, Redbeard."
"Why, you," Tim frowned, looking like he was going to hit her, but he stopped himself, "ugh...I can't hit girls....Mummy says that's foolish."
"Oh, well, perhaps someone else is luckier than you," Lex shrugged innocently.
"Wart, why don't you try and pull the sword," Jesse asked.
"Me," Wart asked.
"Kay needs a sword," Richie reminded.
"Well...alright..." Wart said as soon as he caught the sword by its handle as an angelic choir was heard, which alarmed him at first until he retracted his hands and the choir suddenly stopped.
"Look, boy," Archimedes advised Wart as he felt unsure about this, "better leave it alone!"
"But Kay's had to have a sword," Wart reminded as he caught the sword and soon managed to pull it right out of the stone without great strength.
"ARE YOU A-JOKING ME," Tim lamented as he fell on the ground and pounded on it, throwing an immature temper tantrum, "that little punk can win the sword in the stone while I get NOTHING?! This is bullshit!"
"Well, we'd love to stay and chat, but we really have to go," Jesse said.
"He's right, we need to get back to Kay fast," Lex said.
"This is so unfa-a-a-a-air," Tim continued to weep as Jesse and Lex backed off slowly from him.
"Now, c'mon, faster," Archimedes urged before they ran out of the churchyard as Tim continued to weep, "let's get out of here!"
Back at the tournament......
"You're next, my son," Ector warned Kay, a bit hesitantly, "uh, get ready."
"Kay, Kay, here's a sword," Wart said as he rushed over with the sword from the stone.
Soon Kay took it and frowned in annoyance. "This is not my sword," he complained.
"Wait a moment, Kay! Wait a moment," Ector said as he took the sword and found some writing on it. "Whoever draws this sword like that," he stopped in realization, "ooh, er...it's the sword in the stone!"
"Roll credits," Lex smirked to herself.
"The sword in the stone? It can't be," a man with a black beard said as he took a closer look at the sword.
"But, look, that is," Ector said.
"It's the beautiful sword," Pellinore gasped.
"Hold everything," the black-bearded man called out to the other spectators, "someone has pulled the sword from the stone."
"Where did you get it, children," Ector asked.
Jesse, Lex and Richie pulled off to let Wart warn the man.
"I-I-I pulled it out of an anvil standing on a stone in the graveyard," Wart stammered hesitantly.
Soon the spectators began to laugh like that was a joke.
"Stop laughing," Lex frowned.
"Women are to be seen and not heard," the black-bearded man warned her, "you should be at home with your mother and learn to cook."
"Wart really pulled the sword out of the stone," Richie warned Ector and the spectators.
"You're joking us, boy," Ector frowned sharply at Wart, "now warn me of the truth."
"But I did, sir," Wart existed before getting dragged by his scarf, "ow! Ooh!"
"Then c'mon, prove it," Ector snarled as he dragged the boy, "back to the stone with you."
"Yes, prove it," one man laughed as they went to go see Wart in action.
"C'mon," another man agreed, "follow me!"
Tim sulked as he sat on the anvil with his back turned with his eyes closed and narrowed.
"Um, you're going to have to move," Richie said.
Tim snorted. "Why? Is that Bunyan boy going to beat me up if I don't," he scoffed.
"Um...no, because we have to put the sword back in there where Wart can prove he pulled the sword out of the stone," Richie said.
"Seriously," Tim asked.
"Yes," Richie nodded, "sure, you can see the reluctance of that!"
Tim snorted and crossed his arms.
"C'mon," Richie said as he came behind the young warlock. "How are you going to prove you deserve the title of the Magic Council member with that attitude? I know you're strong, you're probably stronger than I ever will be," he grinned, "I'll make up for this somehow, as long as my friend doesn't forget about me as he becomes a rich and famous king."
"Yes, alright," Tim rolled his eyes, "they'll probably put him in charge instead of me...I just want to be special and people remember me...now they'll remember that boy and not me."
"I'm sure people will remember you," Richie grinned, "you seem like a great guy......even if you're a little hot-tempered and studying under a lady like Madam Mim."
"You think I'm a great guy," Tim asked.
"Well, yes," Richie grinned.
"Huh..." Tim looked away with a smirk, "I hate arguing with that mindset."
"Oh, brother, I just fed his ego," Richie rolled his eyes before walking away with Tim, who then got away from the anvil.
Soon the people gathered around as Ector placed the sword back into the stone with Wart standing next to him.
"Alright, boy, let's do the miracle," Ector smirked as he slid the sword back into place with everyone watching.
Soon Wart rolled up the sleeve from his left arm as he was about to pull the sword out of the stone again, only to be stopped by Kay.
'Oh, brother. I can warn why Kay's holding Wart back,' Lex thought to herself.
"Hey," Richie complained, "what's the idea, Kay?!"
"Well, wait a moment," Kay frowned as he went to move Wart out of the road and went to catch on the sword's handle to pull it out of the stone, "anyone can pull it once it's drawn."
Soon Lex put her hand to her mouth with a snicker as Kay began to have a little bit of damage.
"Go for it, Kay," Ector coached. "Give it all you've had. Put your back in it," he added as he tried to help Kay, but even with his help, even he couldn't move the sword from the stone.
"They cannot be serious," Lex said.
"Ah, you know how men can be these days," Jesse rolled his eyes, "they're all a bunch of animals to make themselves look bigger and stronger."
"It kind of reminds me of you on the soccer team," Lex smirked.
The rest of the men began to try and get the sword out of the stone together.
"Oh, brother," Jesse sighed.
"If I can't do it, they certainly can't," Tim huffed, "also guys, I've been thinking."
"A dangerous pastime," Lex corrected.
"I know," Tim rolled his eyes, "but...I was thinking about what you said about Madam Mim and I think you might be right."
"Knowledge can get you through any situation," Jesse said.
"I'll remember this," Tim grinned.
Soon Jesse grinned back. Soon the other spectators tried to get the sword out of the stone while the children just watched and began to sweat-drop, unimpressed with their efforts.
"Wait a second! That's not fair," the black-bearded man groused.
"I say we let the children try," Pellinore spoke up.
"That's what I say," the black-bearded man suggested, "give the children a chance."
"I wonder what's been happening to them," Lex rolled her eyes.
"All of us," Richie asked, "I don't know..."
"You children are here, you might as well be doing something," Richie rolled his eyes, "except the girl....she should wear a nice clean dress and in the kitchen."
"Yes...not happening," Lex said.
"You'll know your place, young lady," the black-bearded man frowned.
"Says the big strong hard guy who can't lift a limp little sword," Lex smirked.
The black-bearded man growled at her. Soon Richie went up first to try to move the sword, but of course, it wouldn't work.
"I'm sure that boy can do if one of them does so," the black-bearded man said before he pointed sharply at Jesse, who went to go next after his future father.
Soon Jesse went to pull the sword out of the stone next, but knew that it wouldn't come out even with his strength or at least he hoped it wouldn't. Luckily, the sword didn't move an inch.
"Next one," Lex called flatly.
"Go ahead, son," Pellinore lightly warned Wart.
"He can do it," Lex said.
"I can't believe you'd support that loser instead of someone else you met," Kay sneered at her.
Lex just gave him a look before a familiar squirrel girl hit him on the head with an acorn, looking protective of the blonde boy which reminded her of which squirrel that was. "Thanks, Hazel," she said to the squirrel girl.
Wart looked over and soon held onto the sword's handle as the angelic choir came back and soon he pulled the sword out of the stone with ease.
"It's a heavenly ordained miracle," the black-bearded man gasped as he looked wide-eyed along with the others, "this boy is our king."
"Yes, he sure is," Tim nodded.
"Well, then to speak," Ector said, out of shock.
"What's the boy's name," the black-bearded man asked.
"Wart," Ector began before he decided that the boy should have his name earned back to him, "I mean Arthur."
"Hail King Arthur," the black-bearded man proclaimed.
"Long live the king! Long live King Arthur," the crowd jeered.
Archimedes began to laugh as he actually felt happy for the boy. "I can't believe it!"
"I always knew you were destined for something big," Richie grinned at his friend.
"Oh, forgive me, son, excuse me," Ector warned Wart as he knelt down to him.
"After all the shit you've done to him," Lex rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please don't, sir," Wart said to Ector.
"Kay, bow to your king," Ector demanded to his son.
Kay looked frustrated about doing so, but soon he did what was asked of him.
A while later, Wart, Richie, Jesse, Lex, Tim and Archimedes were seen in the throne room.
"Eventually, a miracle happened in that distant time of the New Year, and the glorious reign of King Arthur began," a narrator's voice was heard.
Wart sighed as the crown slumped down and covered his eyes briefly.
"What's wrong, buddy," Richie asked.
"I can't be a king, everyone," Wart sighed as he moved the crown to cover his eyes, "I-I-I know nothing about controlling the country."
"I warned you to leave facts in the stone, boy," Archimedes frowned softly.
"I'll run off, that's what I do so," Wart decided as he got off the throne.
"What," Richie gasped.
"Wow! Acme! This is crazy," Tim warned him, "you're very honored to go for you!"
"They'd just have to take someone else," Wart said as he got away from the throne room and soon looked for a road out of the throne room.
"You should take the door, Wart," Archimedes suggested, "outside the door."
Soon Wart rushed over to the door and opened it, only to flinch as yelling was heard on the other side.
"Bail King Arthur," the crowd boomed from outside, which blew Archimedes back suddenly, "hurray for the King!"
"There's another door," Archimedes suggested, "over there, over there! C'mon, follow me!"
Soon Wart tried to the other door, only for the same result to happen as Archimedes was sent flying and was thrown at a corner in the room.
"Hooray for King Arthur," the crowd cheered until Wart shut the door on them, "hooray for---"
"There's no road out," Lex cried out in grief.
"We're surrounded," Jesse added.
"You should call Merlin. Perhaps he will help," Tim said.
"So far, that's the best advice," Richie said.
"I think we call him," Lex shrugged, "like Beetlejuice."
"Who," Richie asked Jesse.
"Don't worry now," Jesse grinned bashfully.
"MERLIN!! MERLIN," the children cried out in grief.
And soon just like that, Merlin was seen flying in as he looked like he just came back from vacation.
"Merlin, am I glad to see you," Richie grinned.
"Did you go to Hawaii or something," Lex asked.
"No, I'm back from Bermuda and the 20th century," Merlin reminded her.
"Have you been from the 20th century," Richie asked.
"Yes," Merlin nodded.
"Then you really went that far," Tim asked.
"Yes, my boy, and believe me, these children can't get it," Merlin huffed as he took off his sunglasses. "One big modern mess! Alakazam," he recited before he changed back to his normal self.
"I'm horribly pickled, I'm the king," Wart warned Merlin.
"He pulled the sword out of the stone," Archimedes added.
"You're sure you already know that," Lex guessed.
"Ha-ha! Of course, of course," Merlin chuckled warmly as he helped Wart back to the throne, "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table."
"Round table," Wart asked, hearing the frustrated witch woman shout at them to take it.
"Oh, uh...w-would you like a square one," Merlin asked.
"Oh, dear. The round is alright," Wart shook his head.
"I think this is your destiny, Wart," Richie said to his old friend, "but I really miss you."
"I miss you as well, Richie," Wart said, "but you're going, right?"
"Of course," Richie grinned.
Then the two boys shared a friendly/brotherly hug with each other. Soon they heard some chattering from the window. Lex glanced over, seeing Hazel and soon came to see her as even she came to see "King Arthur" in action.
"Boy, boy, boy, boy, boy. You'll become a wonderful legend," Merlin grinned as he helped Wart back up into the throne and put the crown back on his head, "they will have been writing books and plays about you for centuries. Why, they might even make a movie about you."
"Movie," Wart asked, hearing the frustrated witch woman shout for them to take it.
"Oh, uh, uh...uh, it's like a TV without commercials," Merlin explained.
Chorus: Hail to King Arthur, long live the kiiiiing!
Executive ProducersDENNIS DESHAZERSHERYL STAMPS LEACH
Senior ProducerJIM ROWLEY
ProducersJEFF GITTLEMARTHA DATEMA LIPSCOMB
DirectorBRUCE DECK
WriterMARK S. BERNTHAL
Production DesignerJESS NELSON
Musical DirectorBOB SINGLETON
Lyricists/ComposersSTEPHEN BATES BALTESLORY LAZARUS
Performance DirectorPENNY WILSON
Educational SpecialistsMARY ANN DUDKO, Ph.D.MARGIE LARSEN, M.Ed.
Cast:Voice of Barney... BOB WESTBarney's Body Costume... DAVID JOYNERVoice of Baby Bop... JULIE JOHNSONBaby Bop's Body Costume... JEFF AYERSVoice of B.J. ... PATTY WIRTZB.J.'s Body Costume... JEFF BROOKS
Cast:Shawn... JOHN DAVID BENNETT, IITosha... HOPE CERVANTESStella the Storyteller... PHYLLIS CICEROJason... KURT DYKHUIZENKathy... LAUREN KING
Cast:Juan... MICHAEL KROSTCarlos... COREY LOPEZMin... PIA MANALOKenneth... NATHAN REGANJulie... SUSANNAH WETZEL
Associate DirectorERIC NORBERG
Stage ManagerTERRIE DAVIS MANNING
Lighting DesignerSTEVEN BRILL
EditorMCKEE SMITH
Audio DirectorDAVID M. BOOTHE
Art DirectorELIZABETH SAGAN VELTEN
Wardrobe Supervisor/DesignerLISA O. ALBERTSON
Technical Operations SupervisorRANDY BREEDLOVE
Video EngineerBINK WILLIAMS
Camera OperatorsLARRY ALLEN OZ COLEMANTOM COX BRUCE HARMON
Production AudioRONALD G. BALENTINE
Boom OperatorsJAMES JOHNSONDAVID SMITH
Lighting DirectorCASEY COOK
Key GripBUZ CANNON
Lighting Board OperatorTODD DAVIS
Grips/ElectricalJAMES EDWARDSSTEVE RITCHEYSTEVE WALKER
Construction SupervisorCHARLES BAILEY
Craft Shop SupervisorRAY HENRY
Art/Craft CoordinatorAMY ATHERTON
Set DresserAGGIE DAVIS-BROOKS
DraftspersonCHRISTOPHER MCCRAY
Craft/Prop ArtistMARK BROGAN
Props/Special EffectsDAVID COBB
CarpentersTY M. BURNSDANNY SMITH
Scenic PainterE. (BILL) SLETTE
Swing CrewCARMELO GOMEZ
Costume Shop ManagerGEORGIA FORD WAGENHURST
Costume TechnicianD.J. SEGLER
Costume SewingSUSIE THENNES
Make-Up DesignerJEANIE L. D'IORIO
Hair StylistDEBRA HERTEL HAEFLING
Costume/Wardrobe AssistantsBRIAN N. BLEVINSJANET BUSH
Field ProducerSANDY JANTZEN
Post VideotapeDUDLEY ASAFF
Dialogue EditorDENICE CROWELL
Post Production AudioCRAIG CHASTAIN
Production Office ManagerSUE SHINN
Script SupervisorCATHERINE REYNOLDS
Production CoordinatorsJULIE HUTCHINGSKELLY MAHER
Production AccountantDEBBIE COTTLE
Production SecretaryAUSTIN GRAY
Asst. to Performance DirectorDAVID VOSS
Production AssistantsBRADEN MCDONALDJOEL ZOCH
Barney Music DepartmentJILL HANCE CHARLES KINGJONATHAN SMITH ETHEL WADSWORTH
For Singleton Productions, Inc.BRADFORD COLEMAN LARRY HARONMIKE PIETSZCH
Educational Research StaffKIMBERLY THORNTON, M.Ed.JOY STARR
Children's TeachersSANDRA GILPIN HAMODY GILPIN
Children's SupervisorsMARY EVANS MAGAN CRAWFORD
Barney and the Backyard Gang™ and Barney & Friends®were originally developed by Sheryl Leach,Kathy Parker and Dennis DeShazer.
Vocal Performances Enhanced with Help fromSingleton Productions, Inc.
"I Love You" • Lyrics by Lee Bernstein (BMI)
Special Thanks toTom Rennen of Intelligent Light Digital ImagingThe Ox Yoke Inn
Original Barney, Baby Bop and B.J.Costumes byIRENE COREY DESIGNASSOCIATES
Produced byTHE LYONS GROUP ANDCONNECTICUT PUBLIC TELEVISION
For Connecticut Public TelevisionExecutives in ChargeLARRY RIFKINSHARON BLAIR
Executive in ChargeRICHARD C. LEACH
BARNEY & FRIENDS • What's That Shadow?Copyright 1963 • Lyons Partnership, L.P.