A-FEW
Chapter 1: Back to the Past
Ext. Downtown Quakerville – Midafternoon
(The sky is dark red with black and white clouds circling overhead as buildings crumble from the flames surrounding them and screams of innocent townsfolk echo throughout the city as everyone tries to run for safety. Police sirens ring out as squad cars begin to parade the streets. While this is happening, a long figure stands upon the roof the highest building in the city and overlooks the destruction below. The figure is a monster made entirely of black, brown, and gray stone with bulky muscles, a stone patch with gold on one half and silver on the other over his left eye, and stone sword in hand.)
Figure: (ominously) Ah yes, see the frantic humans run in fear for their lives. Hear their screams of unbearable torture. Nazar the Great, you have done good.
(Down below, a small group of people running down the street, but they are stopped by a small team of rock monsters. They hold up stone spears and prepare to charge. The people begin to run the opposite way but just as they turn around, the rock monsters throw their spears into their backs and the tip of each spear pushes its way through their backs and out their fronts. The high pitch screams of the people echo throughout the city as each victim falls forward, motionless as they hit the ground with blood pouring profusely on the sidewalk and street. The monsters removed their spears from their dead victims and holding out their weapons, they fire a stream of dark energy blasts into a series of buildings and car, creating a massive explosion with debris flying in all directions.)
(Back on the rooftop)
Nazar: (chuckling and licking his lips) Mmm, how delicious. The pain, the everlasting pain…it's so good I'd almost hate to see it end.
(Suddenly, a portal opens up behind him and outsteps a tall, slender rock monster with glasses, a cape with silver on one half and gold on the other, and stone tablet in hand walks up.)
Figure: What is it, Roco?
Roco: (looking at his tablet) Well your majesty, the formidos have successfully killed ninety-nine point four percent of the city's population. By this estimate, the city has met its end. (Looking up) Our best move is to continue on. There's no more need for us to be here anymore.
(Nazar slowly turns around and angrily looks at Roco.)
Nazar: You mean to tell me that we should just leave when a small percentage of this pathetic city is still alive!?
Roco: (nervously stumbling) Well I…I just…uh…uh thought that…that…
Nazar: (walking angrily up to Roco) Thought what!? THOUGHT WHAT!? Thought that just because nearly everyone is dead, it's okay to just "move on!?"
Roco: No-no-no-no-no of course not sir. I-I-I mean, considering the city is in complete ruins, wasting our time to find the last few people seems a bit trivial.
Nazar: Does that tablet say who's not dead yet?
Roco: (looking back down at the tablet) No your majesty, it only keeps track of who has been killed.
Nazar: (turning around) Well ain't that just damn perfect! (Walks back to the building ledge) I can still feel some power out there. It's almost feels…indomitable…
Male Voice: (from close-by) You better believe it's indomitable.
(Nazar and Roco turn around to see a young teenage boy with ripped blue jeans, a torn red long sleeve shirt, and black shoulder length hair levitating above the ground in white sneakers.)
Nazar: (evilly) Oh yes, hello Horace. I can see you're going to once again try and play the heroic champion of the city, am I right?
Horace: (descending to the ground) Perhaps, if I'm feeling up for another round, which I always am.
Roco: Sounds like a lot coming from just one warrior. (mockingly) Wait a moment, where are your little friends to back you up? Surely they have the power to put us to shame don't they? (Chuckles)
Horace: (angrily clutching his fist) You really think they'd be of any use to me? They had their chance to do good for this world but it looks like I made the wrong choices.
Nazar: (slowly pacing back and forth, tauntingly) Now don't go beating yourself up over a few mistakes they made or you might have made. If anything, the real mistake was the one your father made a year ago.
Horace: Leave my father out of this!
Nazar: Now why should I do that? Do you see all this damage around you? THIS could have been avoided, every little bit of it, if your father had just nature alone. He could have spent his time trying to find cures for disease, he could have found a solution to world hunger, he could have done many amazing things for mankind, but no. He wanted to "control the elements," for what purpose I ask you?
Horace: Maybe because my father wanted to be different. Cures, vaccines, solutions, they all sound like nice pursuits but they've all been chased before. Someone needed to branch off and fly toward a new horizon. Why not him?
Nazar: Why? Because if he had just left (pointing to a high mountain far out beyond the mountain) THAT alone, we wouldn't be here having this conversation. Those people down there wouldn't be dead. ALL OF THIS wouldn't have occurred. So really in a way, it's your fault your worthless team is dead. Bad choices lead to bad things.
Horace: (smirking) Well you got me there, but there's at least one good thing that came out of this.
Nazar: (intrigued) Oh?
(Horace extends his palm and blasts a green energy beam, which Nazar manages to dodge by jumping into the sky. Nazar blasts his own green energy beam from his hand while Horace jumps into the air and begins to launch a stream of fire from his other palm like a hose. Nazar evades the stream by spinning rapidly, making the flames deflect off of him. Horace's fire stream turns into giant spheres of water but this causes no effect on Nazar, who finally stops spinning.)
Nazar: I can feel that you're power is slowly dropping. At this rate, you'll burn yourself out before the real battle even begins.
Horace: (panting) Don't…count…me out yet…(deep inhale and exhale) I still have a natural ability to fight.
(Horace puts up his fists and flies toward Nazar, who also does the same. They throw close punches at each other, each being throwing their respective punches into the other's face and chest. Nazar suddenly grabs Horace by the wrist and throws him down toward the building roof but Horace manages to pull himself together and fly upward again, this time with his hand glowing white. Nazar looks on and at the last moment, extends his open palm and catches Horace's fist. Nazar pushes his palm forward while Horace tries to push his fist forward. Quickly, Horace's other fist glows white and manages to hit Nazar in the stomach just as the rock monster clutches his hand down on Horace's other fist, making his bones crack. Both move back a few feet and pant deeply as Horace feels his broken hand.)
Horace: Cheap move, I'd say.
Nazar: Maybe so, but I commend you for your surprise attack. I have to admit, I didn't see it coming.
Roco: (calling out) Sir, shall I step in to take care of this weakling? There's no need to dirty yourself with the likes of him.
Nazar: That won't be necessary. This warrior is mine and mine alone. You'd only get in my way.
Roco: But sir, I have just as much power as he does and even more. I'll be more than match for him.
Nazar: Are you implying that he'll be tougher to beat if I'm fighting alone?
Roco: That's…that's not what I meant, your highness.
(Nazar angrily fires multiple dark energy shots of Roco, who just barely avoids being hit by all of them.)
Nazar: You seem to have forgotten your place Roco. When I'm fighting, you are to only intervene when I give you an order and if I'm right, I didn't say you could help me, now did I?
Roco: Your highness, all I was saying was…
Nazar: Don't even say it you impudent little bastard. (Descending to the roof) Who do you think you are anyway?
(While Nazar and Roco are arguing, Horace slowly and silently flies higher into the sky and begins charging a multi-colored energy ball in his hands. It begins to grow bigger and bigger every few seconds.)
Horace: (to himself) With all the elements combined, there's no way they can withstand this. Might be the first time doing this, but it looks like my options are limited.
(The ball of energy begins forming over one of his hands, growing to the size of a house. At last, he chucks the energy ball and begins hurdling toward the rock monsters.)
(Meanwhile, Nazar and Roco continue their squabble until they notice the area around them is getting darker. They look up and see Horace's energy ball coming towards them.)
Nazar: No, damn it all!
(He runs over to the edge of the building and extends his arms ready to catch the ball.)
Roco: (running up) Hold on sir!
(Nazar snaps around and fires a dark energy beam from his arm, which sends Roco flying back and off the building, out of view.)
Nazar: If he doesn't get back up, then he's gone.
(He extends his arm again just in time to catch the energy ball. The massive ball begins pushing Nazar back with him straining to stay up. He is pushed back toward the ledge on the opposite side of the building. Just as he is about to fall, he lets out a massive roar and sends the ball, now twice as big from Nazar's added enery, hurdling back into the sky. Horace sees the bigger ball coming at him.)
Horace: WHAT!? How could he just…?
(He generates a small boulder in his hand, throws it toward the ball, and takes off in the opposite direction. The rock makes contact with the ball, creating a giant, fiery explosion that knocks both Horace out of the sky and forces Nazar through the sky.)
(As the dust settles, a pile of rumble on the city streets begins moving and out comes Nazar, groaning in pain and dusting himself off. He notices his arms have some stone chipped away. He takes a deep breath, extends his arms to the side, and flexes them up, restoring his arms to their original form. He begins eying around the destroyed city to feel out any sign of life.)
Nazar: Hmm, he seems to have taken off. It doesn't matter. I'll be sure to find him in a matter of…
(He then notices something gleaming near a distant building. He walks over to it and sees a shiny object sticking out of some fallen bricks. He picks it up and the object turns out to be the gold half to Roco's cape.)
Nazar: (eying the object) I don't feel his presence around here, but at this point it's not even worth my time to worry about the likes of him. I told him to never interfere, so I guess he won't be interfering anymore. (He throws the torn piece of cape into the wind and it blows out of sight.)
(He begins walking through the ruined streets, seeing corpses lying about, damaged cars, and buildings still burning.)
Nazar: (to himself) Where are you A-FEW warrior? You'll die just like the rest of your kind. One way or another, I will destroy you.
(Off in the far distance, Horace is flying limply through the sky just above the forest near the mountain Nazar pointed to. He can barely hold himself up as he flies.)
Horace: (in pain) That last move sure did a number on my body. I was lucky I didn't use all of my power. Otherwise, I'd be walking home and Nazar would have found me way before then.
Ext. Horace's house
(Horace lands beside a small country style house and runs around to the backyard. He runs over to a metal door that leads to an underground basement. He opens the door and walks down, closing the door behind him.)
Horace: (calling out) Dad, I'm here.
(Horace surveys the many beakers and test tubes lying on the table with a few stones scattered around. He notices some chemicals spilling onto the floor. He starts carefully walking around looking for his father.)
Horace: Strange, Dad never leaves his experiments like this. (calling out again) Dad, you left your chemicals out! Dad!
(He turns a corner and finds his father Jonathan blowtorching a giant arch-shaped device.)
Horace: (shouting) DAD!
(Jonathan becomes startles and nearly drops his blowtorch. He turns off the torch, lifts up his helmet, and turns around.)
Jonathan: Woah son, you scared the hell out of me. What's wrong?
Horace: Well first off, you left your chemicals running all over the lab table. What's up with that?
Jonathan: Oh that? Well it's because I was trying to figure out a compound that could terminate the lifespan of the formidos. I've tried every periodic element available and I've tried every experiment possible on those small rocks but nothing works.
Horace: Dad, these formidos walk, talk, and shoot lasers from their hands. I don't think acid is going to do much against that.
Jonathan: Speaking of which, I'm guessing you couldn't do much against Nazar?
Horace: (scoffs) I barely made it out of there this time. I tried launching most of my energy at him and he just deflected it back.
Jonathan: Horace, I told you that you can't do that anymore. A last ditch effort like that could have killed you. Wasn't a wise move.
Horace: Seemed like it at the time. (Remembering something) Wait Dad, check on those four people I chipped. They still alive?
(Jonathan removes his one fire-retardant glove and pushes a button on his digital wrist watch. The letters C, D, A, and S appear on screen. Each letter lights up in a yellow color.)
Jonathan: They're still alive…but for how long, I don't know.
Horace: (angrily punching his fist into his hand) Damn it, I still can't believe we have to face this.
Jonathan: Now son, you didn't know this would happen. After all, you said they all had the qualities they needed to use the suits and they all had the same attitude…
Horace: But that's just it, they only had similar personalities and the A-FEW qualities. But you realize without the suits, they were nothing right? And when their similar personalities began to clash, they ended up dead. This whole mess is my fault, okay? I screwed up! (Punches the nearby wall and slumps down to the ground) I should have probably picked those four survivors. Then everything might have been… (He stops talking and begins smiling while he is in pensive thought).
Jonathan: Horace…you alright boy?
Horace: (standing up) That's it!
(He runs over to the arch-shaped device and begins pressing some buttons.)
Jonathan: Woah boy, what are you doing?
Horace: Dad, how far into the past do you think this can go?
Jonathan: No way, we're not risking this machine. I haven't worked out all of the kinks yet. If something goes wrong, we could end being stuck between the past and the present with no way to return.
Horace: It's a chance I'm willing to take!
Jonathan: No Horace, it's out of the question. Even if we were to make it back, there's no telling how we could alter the future. Things may end up being as bad as they are now, maybe even worse.
Horace: Dad, I don't think this is the time to start thinking negatively about this. The world has already gone to Hell, so what else is there to lose? It's only a matter of time before Nazar comes for us next.
Jonathan: Look, if there was any other way…
Horace: Well there isn't…except this one. If there's even the slightest chance that we can change the future so it doesn't turn out like this, then we might as well risk our lives doing so. Would you rather die right now from Nazar or at least try to put an end to him now?
(Jonathan silently ponders his thoughts as Horace looks deeply into his eyes. After a deep breath, Jonathan speaks up.)
Jonathan: …I'll get the power suit reserves.
(Horace smiles as his dad walks around the corner and Horace begins looking at the machine's buttons.)
Horace: Now let's see, which one…
Jonathan: (from afar) Hold on Horace, let me check that. (He rounds the corner and gives his son four small individually colored wrist watches. Jonathan begins configuring the buttons on the machine.)
Jonathan: I'll be honest, I can't go back to the time when I first blasted the mountain. I can only go as far back as a week after.
Horace: As long as Nazar and his minions haven't showed up yet, then there's still a chance. Well, I'm ready.
Jonathan: Me too son, so hold on.
(The two hold each other's hand as Jonathan flips the machine's switch, triggering a spark stream to emit from the machine's antenna and a white aura appears within the arch. The two step in and blinding white engulfs the basement.)
Ext. Downtown Quakerville- Midafternoon.
(In a dark alley, a small portal opens up and Jonathan and Horace step outside. They let go of each other's hand and look at their surroundings.)
Jonathan: Looks like the machine wasn't a failed experiment after all.
Horace: (chuckling) Never said it was.
Jonathan: (looking up to the sky) Well the sky is normal, so we're safe for now.
(Suddenly, they feel a shiver in their spines. They anxiously look around from side to side.)
Horace: You feel that same vibe?
Jonathan: Yeah, let me check this out.
(Jonathan pushes a button on his wrist watch and moves around with the watch beeping until it makes buzz noise.)
Horace: Nothing huh?
Jonathan: Oh there was something alright. But whatever it was, it's gone now. It dropped off the radar.
(Jonathan walks over the edge of the alley and notices that everything in the city looks normal. People walking casually, no buildings are on fire, and no sirens going off.)
Jonathan: Excellent, everything is exactly how it should be. Now, we need to get back to the house, just to make sure our past selves aren't there.
Horace: Good idea, let's go. (Looking down at the four wrist watches.) And this time, things are going to be different. Count on it.
TO BE CONTINUED…