AUTHOR'S NOTE: We get a little bit of everything here. Wilbur is the chief of TIME. Karena is visiting Todayland with her family during the summer. The time machine comes into play. Idrial and Morwen cause mischief. And we're visiting some old friends. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to "Meet the Robinsons" or "Lord of the Rings: The Third Age," I only own Karena, her son-in-law, and her granddaughters.
STORY #30: Risks
STORIES OF REFERENCE: Catastrophe; Disaster; Trouble
NARRATORS: Karena and her granddaughter Idrial
JULY 4, 2088 – TODAYLAND, NORTH MONTANA, USA
KARENA'S POV
I heard my phone ringing next to me on the nightstand, and I did not hesitate to pick it up.
"Hi, sweetheart," I said sweetly into the phone.
"Karr, there's trouble in Middle-Earth," I heard my husband Wilbur say on the other line.
"What are you talking about, Wilbur? Middle-Earth has been full of peace for thousands of years."
"Karena, someone took the time machine back to the Third Age and disrupted history."
"What happened?"
"Go to Carl and ask him to activate the machine of possibilities. You'll find your answers there. Karr, you're the only one who can fix this."
"Wilbur, I'm almost seventy," I replied with a flat expression. "I'm not as spry as I used to be."
"Karena, it involves your friend Berethor. You know, the one from Gondor? Not Diana's husband, whose name is no longer Berethor."
"What? Oh my gosh!"
I hung up the phone and sprinted to the nearest travel tube in the Robinson house. I took that travel tube to my husband's childhood room, and then I sprinted to my late father-in-law's lab.
"Carl, I need you to do me a favor."
"What can I do, Karena?" Carl, our robot friend who had survived his family after they passed on.
"Something happened to Berethor and I need to figure out what so that I can fix it."
"Is Berethor okay?" Carl asked with panic in his voice.
"I hope our Berethor is okay. It's the one in Gondor Wilbur and I are worried about. Someone took the time machine back in time."
"Hold on a minute."
I watched as Carl quickly activated the machine of possibilities, and he let out a gasp.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Karena, do you know of how Berethor is the leader of his small band who followed the Fellowship of the Ring?" Carl asked, and I nodded. "He isn't anymore."
"What happened to him?" I asked.
"He's wreaking havoc in Minas Tirith!"
"Minas Tirith is his home," I replied with confusion in my voice.
"He fled Osgiliath with his band and was captured by the Witch-King, who sacrificed himself after giving his ring to Berethor."
I let out a gasp, realizing that my friend in Gondor became the new Witch-King.
"But now, this doesn't make sense," Carl continued with a perplexed expression. "There are two new members in the band, Rial and Morrie… oh no!"
"Don't tell me they are my granddaughters—"
"They are, Karena. And now the band is totally confused."
"I'll take the time machine over there and try to see what's going on."
THIRD AGE 3019 – MINAS TIRITH, GONDOR, MIDDLE-EARTH
I parked the time machine in a secluded spot where no one would be able to spot it, but then I remembered the time machine carried a cloaking device to where no one would see it. I started to walk away after turning on the cloaking device.
"Idrial!" I called out. "Elegost!"
"Can I help you, milady?" I heard a woman ask me.
"Have you seen an elf, a dwarf, two men, and a woman travelling through here together?" I asked. "Maybe with two girls as well?"
"I haven't seen any girls except my own, but they're exploring the third level."
"Thank you."
I ran through the courtyard, through the second level, and I finally reached the third level.
"Morwen!"
The red-haired woman, carrying two axes and dressed in green, turned around with confusion on her face. The rest of the group paused as I ran up to them.
"Do I know you?" Morwen asked.
"You look familiar," Idrial, the elf with her long brown hair in a braid, chimed in.
"I'm Karena Robinson, formally Karena Edwards."
"Karena?" Elegost, the Dunedain ranger with medium, wavy brown hair, replied with surprise in his voice. "You've aged, and you've aged well."
"I'm flattered," I replied. "Where's Berethor? And where are my granddaughters?"
The five warriors exchanged worried glances before turning back to me.
"Do your granddaughters share the same names as us?" Morwen asked, and I nodded with a worried look on my face.
"Yes. One of them had long red hair and the other had shorter brown hair."
"We have a lot to talk about," Eaoden, the blonde Rohirrim outrider, said with sadness in his voice.
TODAYLAND, NORTH MONTANA, USA
IDRIAL'S POV
"Morrie, are you sure we should be doing this?" I asked with worry in my voice as we ventured into the garage.
"Come on, Rial, it'll be fun!" my twin sister Morwen answered excitedly.
"Morwen, if we go back in time, we might disrupt history!"
"Not if we're careful," Morwen insisted.
"I know we're going to regret this," I mumbled as we got into the fancier blue time machine. "Do you even know how this works?"
"I don't, but I bet you do."
"Why do you always assume that I know how things work?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because Jedi are quick learners!" Morwen excitedly explained. "Besides, you know how to fly Uncle Art's spaceship!"
"Well, where would you go if you could go back in time?" I asked with a smile.
"I'd love to head back to the time where times were simple."
"Morrie, I hate saying this, but we are in simpler times," I said with a smirk.
"Oh yeah? Why do you say that?"
"Well, for one thing, it doesn't take us weeks to get to our destination," I explained. "We don't need to light a fire in order for us to see in the dark. We don't have to churn butter. And we don't have to worry about dusty streets."
"Idrial, I'm surprised at you," Morwen replied with a smirk. "Well, then if you prefer simpler times, then where would you go?"
"I think I'd like to go back to the 1920s when the women start to wear their eccentric dresses," I answered, successfully turning on the time machine.
"Then let's head to the 1920s!" Morwen suggested.
"Well, now we need to figure out how to get there."
"Maybe you just type in the year on this keypad?"
I typed in the year '1920' and the time machine started to fly away.
"Here we go!" Morwen yelled excitedly.
"Wait, something's not right!" I exclaimed, sensing something was wrong.
"What do you mean?" Morwen shouted just as a colorful bubble appeared and surrounded us.
OSGILIATH, GONDOR, MIDDLE-EARTH
"Idrial, this doesn't look like the 1920s," Morwen said with nervousness in her voice.
"Because this isn't the 1920s," I replied nervously. "Actually this looks very familiar."
"Too familiar. Idrial, we're in Osgiliath."
"How did we end up from trying to go to the 1920s to being in the Third Age of Middle-Earth?" I asked out loud.
Suddenly, I screamed, and in my mind, I saw a female elf being carried away by an animal that looked like a dragon – the fell beast.
"Idrial!" I yelled.
"Yes, your name is Idrial," Morwen said. "And my name is Morwen. We've established this already."
"We need to get to Idrial," I said with determination as I parked the time machine in the river and turned on the cloaking device.
"Why? Is something going to happen?"
"If we don't get to her in time, yes. Now come on!"
We got out of the time machine and tried to run our way through Osgiliath.
"Idrial, watch out!" I heard Morwen scream.
Right on cue, I drew my blue lightsaber from my belt and slashed the two orcs coming toward me in two.
"Do you not have a weapon?" I asked, stopping to glance back at her.
"I do now," Morwen answered with a smirk, holding up two oddly-shaped axes.
"Where did you find those?" I asked.
"They were just left here. You can't be the only sister with a weapon. Besides, I highly doubt orcs can die by a punch and a kick. Now, let's go!"
Morwen and I continued to run through the ruins of the city, killing every orc that ran toward us. Then, we reached the plaza where we found a group of Gondorian soldiers running through the double doors.
"Fall back!" one of the soldiers yelled, and I watched Faramir, the leader of that group, following them.
We heard a scream above us, and I saw the same fell beast that was in my vision fly over us.
"Get her!" I heard the Ringwraith command the beast.
"I would not get so near if I were you!" the victim yelled back, slashing the beast's foot with her sword.
"Idrial," I said out loud as the beast circled around. "No!"
I thrust my hands forward with all my might, trying to push the beast away, and I was successful. The beast and its rider spun around and left the city.
"Thank you for your aid," I heard a man say.
We turned around and saw a man who looked exactly like our dad, only he had some scars on his forehead.
"Dad?" Morrie asked.
"Berethor?" I asked at the same time.
"I beg your pardon?" Berethor asked with confusion on his face. "I do not have a daughter."
"I'm sorry, it's just that you look just like our dad," Morrie explained.
"Who are you?" my twin sister's counterpart asked with compassion in her voice.
"We're both named after you and Idrial," I explained. "But we like to call each other Rial and Morrie for short."
"And our father was named after you, Berethor," Morrie chimed in.
"Well, thank you for saving Idrial's life," Berethor said with a smile on his face.
"We have a bigger issue at hand," the blonde Rohirrim, Eaoden, chimed in. "Faramir abandons the city. We will be surrounded or else we will die! They fill the city!"
"Boromir once spoke of sewers under the city," Berethor said with determination. "We must find them!"
"Yes, deeper into an occupied city speaks of wisdom!" Eaoden replied. "Why do we delay?"
"We must take the rooftops to avoid the main orc force. Hurry!"
Berethor paused, turning back to us.
"You two are welcome to come along."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Idrial replied. "Something is not right here."
"I am curious about one thing," Morwen chimed in, walking up to my twin sister. "How did you come across my axes?"
"These were yours?" Morrie asked in response. "I had no idea! I just found them lying around and I needed a weapon. Rial already has one."
"Oh good!" Hadhod the dwarf exclaimed in relief. "I thought I was going to have to give you one."
"My sister's training to be a Jedi," Morrie explained, and I smacked my head.
"Morrie—"
"What is a Jedi?" Elegost, the ranger with brown hair, asked. "What does a Jedi do?"
"The Jedi can commune with the forces of nature, like you do with water, Idrial," I explained just as we heard another scream.
"Nazgul!" Morwen yelled out.
"We need to get out of here!" Berethor yelled, and we did not hesitate to follow the group onto the rooftops.
"You guys go on," I shouted to them. "I can handle this."
I drew my lightsaber after I skidded to a stop.
"Rial, what are you doing?" Morrie screamed with worry.
"Morrie, come on!" I heard Berethor yell behind me.
"Go!" I yelled just as the Nazgul were closing in on me. "I'll catch up!"
"Get her!" one of the Nazgul yelled out.
Just as one of the fell beasts closed in on me, I cut off a foot with my lightsaber, and the Nazgul were instantly frightened and started to fly away. Then, I saw another vision. I fell down to my knees and focused on the vision, which was of one of the Nazgul taking off a ring and placing it on someone else's finger. That Ringwraith instantly disappeared, and the man became the new Ringwraith.
"BERETHOR!" I screamed, realizing what Idrial had meant earlier. "What have I done?"
I used my Jedi training to jump from one rooftop to another until I approached an island. I got to the island just in time to see Berethor being separated from his group, and the Witch-King of Angmar approached him on his steed. I crept around the top of the island to try to listen in.
"I've come to claim you, Gondorian. You fought here with Boromir. He was driven away. You were chosen."
I watched Berethor recognize a Morgul blade that I saw from a distance, but the rest of the group gave him strange looks.
"Your mind had journeyed in shadow," the Witch-King continued explaining. "We wanted you here, Gondorian, full of power to throw open the gates of Minas Tirith and sow terror. Now, fulfill the will of Sauron. Submit to the power of the Nazgul. Bow to me."
"Never!" I heard Berethor yell.
I watched with horror as I watched him charge the Witch-King, only for the beast to swing its face at him and knock him out.
"BERETHOR!" I screamed.
I watched the Witch-King look up at me, and I did a series of flips down to the ground right in front of the Gondorian warrior.
"If you want him, you're going to have to get me first," I told him angrily.
"Rial, what are you doing?" I heard my twin sister scream.
"Get Berethor out of here!" I screamed back.
"This is not your affair," the Witch-King hissed at me.
I walked over to where the Morgul blade was, and I picked it up.
"Try me," I taunted him.
I watched the Witch-King get off the beast, and he armed himself with his own Morgul blade as well as a mace. He shrieked as he attacked me, and I didn't hesitate to block his Morgul blade with mine, and then I blocked his mace with my lightsaber. We fought each other vigorously for a few minutes until suddenly, I felt myself get hit hard, and I blacked out.
MINAS TIRITH, GONDOR, MIDDLE-EARTH
KARENA'S POV
"Rial tried her best to fight for Berethor, but the old Witch-King had taken her life," Hadhod the dwarf finished the story with tears in his eyes.
"We watched the Witch-King slip his ring off and place it on Berethor's finger," Elegost explained. "That was the most amount of pain I had ever witnessed."
"I could tell that Berethor was gone," Idrial chimed in with sadness in her voice. "Our power wasn't strong enough this time. We had prevented Berethor from turning into a wraith with our artifacts the first time. But the ring completed his transformation."
"Morrie opted to stay with her sister," Morwen explained. "And before I left, she was in mourning. I wanted to stay, but I knew I needed to protect my people. I'm sorry that it has all come to this."
"I was skeptical of Berethor at first," Eaoden chimed in. "But he was a true leader. It won't be easy to defend Minas Tirith with him on their side."
"He isn't supposed to be on their side," I said with anger in my voice. "He is supposed to be here with you, free from that Morgul blade."
"Rial and Morrie interfered with history," Idrial replied, also with anger in her voice. "I had felt that something wasn't right after Rial had saved me from the fell beast. The Nazgul were supposed to take me captive as a trap for Berethor, where he would be tested a final time. He was tested, but the Nazgul prevailed."
"How do we get him back?" Morwen asked.
"Leave that to me," I answered. "I need to get back to the time machine that is by the courtyard."
"Let me help you," Eaoden offered. "Hey, you! I need that horse!"
Eaoden helped me up onto the horse, and he escorted me back to the time machine.
"Please, help our friend," he pleaded with me.
"Don't worry, I will."
OSGILIATH, GONDOR, MIDDLE-EARTH
After I parked the red time machine right next to the blue one that my granddaughters had taken, I ran through the city, noticing all of the orcs that were sliced in half by my eldest granddaughter's lightsaber.
"I would not get so near if I were you!" I heard Idrial's voice.
I approached the plaza and saw my granddaughter preparing herself to protect the elf.
"No!" we screamed at the same time.
Before my granddaughter could save Idrial, I ran up to her and grabbed her from behind. I continued to hold her as the fell beast took the elf away.
"I have you, witch!" we heard the Nazgul say.
"Idrial!" Berethor yelled out after her.
"What's going on?" my granddaughter asked.
"Faramir abandons the city," Eaoden said. "We will be surrounded. You must leave her!"
"Honey, if you had saved Idrial, then you would have changed everyone's history," I quietly explained to her.
"I will not fear again," Berethor promised himself.
"Then we shall die," Eaoden replied. "They fill the city!"
"Boromir once spoke of sewers under the city," Berethor proposed. "We must find them!"
"Yes, deeper into an occupied city speaks of wisdom! Why do we delay?"
Me and my granddaughters watched as Eaoden, Hadhod, Morwen, and Elegost followed Berethor to the rooftops.
"Grandma, what are you doing here?" my youngest granddaughter Morwen asked.
"I'm here to stop you two from changing history."
"How did you know we were here?" Idrial, my eldest granddaughter, asked me.
"Carl explained everything. And then I went to Minas Tirith where I met everybody but Berethor. They explained what happened."
"What do you mean by that?" Morwen asked.
"Idrial, because you had intervened in the elf's kidnapping, Berethor had turned into a Ringwraith."
"But I don't understand," Idrial replied with shock in her voice. "I saw a vision of her being kidnapped. I thought I could prevent that from happening."
"Come with me."
Idrial and Morwen followed me, and when we got into our time machines, we went a few hours ahead.
A FEW HOURS LATER…
IDRIAL'S POV
Morrie and I followed our grandmother to the island in Osgiliath where we witnessed Berethor and Idrial fighting the Witch-King. But Berethor staggered back.
"I cannot harm him," Berethor said in fear, dropping his sword.
"He's immune to your power," Idrial the elf explained. "He created you. The Elves held back his enchantment with our artifacts, so he could not turn you into one of his kind. But his fell power still exists within you, embedded deep upon the tip of a Morgul blade."
Berethor looked around, and I couldn't figure out if he was believing what my elvish counterpart was saying or not. But I saw a glimmer of hope in his blue eyes as he looked down at where he was stabbed in the past.
"Then I shall remove it," he said.
Morrie and I watched in horror when he took out a dagger and stabbed himself with it, trying to remove the tip of the blade from inside him. When he was successful, he got up from the floor and threw the dagger aside while heavily bleeding, putting on a bold expression on his face.
"I'm free of you creature. Now face me!"
"You are strong enough now to survive that!" Idrial said with worry in her voice. "I did not think you would dare. Now, let us dare together."
Idrial tossed Berethor his sword using hers, and he easily caught it.
"I welcome it, my friend."
"Let's go home," Grandma suggested, and we took it, happy that our dad's counterpart made it through his trials.
TODAYLAND, NORTH MONTANA, USA
"Karena! Idrial! Morwen! Thank goodness you're back!"
We smiled at Carl's greeting after we returned home.
"Is there a way I can talk to Grandpa?" I asked. "I have some explaining to do."
"I'm right here, Idrial."
We turned to our right to see our grandfather Wilbur approaching us with a smile.
"When I found out you two were involved, I had to come over right away from New York."
"Grandpa, I'm so, so sorry!" I told him, feeling the tears coming to my eyes. "I had these visions and I thought I could save my Elven counterpart."
"You have the right intentions, Idrial, but you need to let things run its course. Visions can lie to you."
"I had no idea Berethor would turn into a Ringwraith because of my actions."
"Well, thanks to your grandmother, Berethor walked Middle-Earth a free man."
"And my name is now Berethor again," our father said, walking into the garage.
"Dad!" Morwen and I both exclaimed, running up to him and hugging him.
"Did I miss something?" Dad asked.
"We just saw someone who looked just like you," Morwen answered.
"What was your name before we got back?" I asked.
"Faramir. I can't explain it. One minute, my name was Berethor. All of a sudden, I answered to Faramir. Now, I got my name back."
"It's my fault," I confessed. "I almost changed history and made someone something he wasn't."
"Well, things are normal now," Dad said, still carrying a smile on his face. "And now you know why Grandpa was hesitant in showing you the time machine."
"Remind me to not work for TIME," Morwen said out loud. "This changing history thing is messing with me."
"I don't think we'll be touching the time machine for a long while," I replied in agreement. "I've learned my Jedi lesson today: don't trust your visions."
"Well, I didn't say that, exactly," Grandpa corrected me. "Visions can prove to do good things. Just ask your mother. Visions can guide you to make the right decisions. But do not ever use them in time travel."