Legend of the 5 Dragons/Transcript

This is a transcript for Legend of the 5 Dragons the third episode of season 5 of TMNT (2003 series).

	INTRO
	A dark ship with red sails and markings glides in close to a shoreline, lit by a full moon.
Water Mystic	At last brother mystics, we have arrived. The first artifact is ours.
	He blasts the water with his power and a huge wave rises up next to the ship. The five Mystics step onto the wave, which carries them to the shore. They reach the dry Kawachi River, emptied of water by Leonardo using Gunshin in the previous episode. Lying on the ground are dozens of defeated kappa tengu.
Metal Mystic	No! Kappa tengu, you wretched demon! [He uses his staff to flip one onto its back and then plants a foot on its belly.] Who did this to you?
Kappa Tengu	Tribunal. New acolytes.
Metal Mystic	And the cask? Where is the cask?
Kappa Tengu	They-they have it.
Metal Mystic	You had one duty; to protect the cask.
Kappa Tengu	Ah-ah. They fought like demons!
Metal Mystic	But you are demons. Demons who failed in your duty. The supreme master we have come to revive accepts no excuses – and neither do we.
	The Mystics lift their staffs, pointing the tips downwards, and fire. Cut to theme song.

{Opening sequence; title song}

	The episode begins at the Monastery, in the bedroom shared by the turtles, Splinter and the Ancient One. Michelangelo rolls around on his mat and then finally sits up.
Michelangelo	Ah, I can’t sleep.
	His brothers sit up and Donatello yawns.
Donatello	Me neither.
Raphael	Shh. You’ll wake the old guys.
	They look over to see Splinter and the Ancient One sitting cross-legged across from each other, their eyes closed.
Leonardo	They’re not sleeping, they’re meditating. There’s a difference, Raph.
Raphael	Not in my book.
Splinter	Ah, so much danger. Never wanted this for them.
Ancient One	Ugh, Splinter, I cannot meditate with you muttering like that. Besides, my butt has fallen asleep.
	Splinter lifts the teapot and pours out liquid into his cup.
Splinter	My apologies, Ancient One, but the Ninja Tribunal troubles me more each day. I cannot allow their foolish judgment to cost me my family. Not again.
Ancient One	Your sons are capable, sort of.
Michelangelo	Um, hello, we’re like five feet away. How about showing a little tact?
	The turtles approach the pair.
Leonardo	Master Splinter, when you say the Ninja Tribunal cost you your family, what-what are you talking about?
Splinter	I am talking about my beloved Master Yoshi, and of a time in the past. Yoshi-san was a guardian then, pledged to protect the Utrom.
	A flashback begins. Yoshi and the Ancient One have arrived at the monastery. The walk through the Oratory and approach the Ninja Tribunal, who are seated on their thrones.
Splinter	[narrates] He came to enlist the Ninja Tribunal’s aid.
Ancient One	[narrates] Yoshi was my prize pupil, but he insisted on becoming a guardian.
	Yoshi bows to the Tribunal.
Hamato Yoshi	My lords, we must form an alliance. The Shredder’s threat is beyond imagining.
Chikara-Shisho	This alien bug imposter you call the Shredder is nothing to us. He is not a real Shredder.
Yoshi	Do not underestimate him. He may even channel the evil of the one you fear.
Kon-Shisho	A distraction. We must remain vigilant against a return of the true Shredder.
Ancient One	Masters, please reconsider.
Kon	We have spoken. Go now, and trouble us no more.
	Yoshi and the Ancient One turn and leave.
Splinter	[narrates] The mighty Ninja Tribunal ignored my master’s warnings, and because of the Tribunal’s cold indifference, [Flashback to Shredder standing over a fallen Yoshi.] one of the countless victims of the Utrom Shredder would be my Master Yoshi. And the Tribunal did nothing.
	The Shredder strikes Yoshi down. Return to the present.
Splinter	Nothing. Had the Tribunal heeded Yoshi, my master might be alive today.
Ancient One	The Tribunal sees a bigger picture than we do, Splinter. At least I hope they do.
Raphael	Is anybody gonna tell us what the shell is going on here?
Michelangelo	Real Shredder, true Shredder, Utrom Shredder.
Donatello	How many Shredders are there?
	Splinter and the Ancient One glance at each other and then back at the turtles.
Splinter	My sons, it is time you know the true story of how this all began. Of an evil darker than all evils. A primal force of malevolence that was and is the original Shredder.
Ancient One	No one knows what level of the dark depths spawned him, but…
	A flashback begins.
Ancient One	[narrates] Back in the year 300 a.d., in Yamato, [People run through the streets of a town, fleeing the green fires burning their homes.] the Shredder rose from some power stinking pit, in the form of a terrible tengu. [A giant Shredder being stomps towards the town.] A demon that had but one goal, to subjugate the world and to turn it into his own personal empire... [The Shredder Tengu begins slashing apart buildings with his razor sharp gauntlet.] …full of agony and destruction.
	The Shredder Tengu laughs and then breathes green fire. Return to the present.
Splinter	The Shredder Tengu spread his evil everywhere. He seemed unstoppable.
	Flashback resumes. Shredder Tengu stands in the center of the town, laughing. Cut to a pristine Japanese palace.
Splinter	[narrates] But there were five great warriors in Japan at that time. [Hisomi-Shisho appears. He is in a dojo and opens his Tessen.] Their courage and their victories were legendary.
	Hisomi uses his Tessen to slice through a thick wooden post several times, and then slices the cut pieces again as they fly up in the air.
Ancient One	[narrates] And you young pups [Hisomi smashes the stand with his foot.] have already had the honor of meeting them. There was Hisomi. [Cut to Chikara-Shisho, lifting two separate heavily weighted barbells. She sets them down and backflips halfway across the room.] Chikara.
	Juto-Shisho jumps out from behind a pillar and flings several different weapons at a target hanging on the wall, hitting it every time.
Splinter	[narrates] Juto.
	Kon-Shisho is shown next, holding a lance. He spins it and then flings it across the room. It zips through the fires of a dozen sconces, extinguishing their flames, before striking the center of a target.
Ancient One	[narrates] Kon. [Next appears Oroku Saki, wielding a sword.] And perhaps the most skilled and ambitious of them all, Oroku Saki.
	Oroku Saki leaps at a thick dummy and slices it in half.
Leonardo	[during flashback] Saki? Shredder’s fake human identity? He was real?
Ancient One	[narrates] Don’t interrupt, Leonardo. Just listen. [A door slides open and all five of the warriors enter the Emperor’s throne room.] So, these five great warriors were summoned before the Emperor, who informed them they were the world’s last hope.
Michelangelo	[during flashback] Whoa. No pressure or anything.
	The Emperor rises and turns, lifting his arms as a gesture for the curtains behind him to be opened. Behind the curtain stand five suits of armor, each a different color.
Splinter	[narrates] The empire’s greatest craftsmen had forged armor for the warriors. Special armor engraved with protective spells and talismans of purity. [Forward to the warriors, all wearing their armor, astride horses.] Armor they would soon wear into battle against the evil Shredder Tengu.
	The warriors ride towards a burning village. Standing atop a hill is the Shredder Tengu. He laughs and shoots bolts of magic, hitting and knocking all but Hisomi from their saddles. Hisomi leaps his horse over a blast and the other warriors run behind him. Hisomi quickly fires arrows at the Shredder Tengu.
Ancient One	[narrates] The warriors fought bravely.
	The Shredder Tengu scoops up Hisomi and his horse and tosses them into a nearby lake. As the Tengu Shredder breathes green fire, Chikara charges him with a lance.
Splinter	[narrates] Despite overwhelming odds, they refused to give up. [Chikara leaps onto Shredder and stabs the side of his mouth. Shredder shrieks and flings his head back, causing Chikara to fall.] They had vowed to fight to the very end.
	Kon throws a chain mace, striking Shredder Tengu in the center of the forehead with the metal spiked ball. Kon then runs to a nearby tree and circles it, wrapping the chain around its trunk. Shredder extends an arm and strikes the ground near the tree, then retracts the arm. Out of the dust, Oroku Saki appears, leaping onto the chain and running up it towards the demon.
Ancient One	[narrates] Saki’s attacks were the most epic, the most damaging.
	Shredder snaps the chain, causing Oroku Saki to fall, but he lands on the demon’s leg. He jams his sword into the Tengu’s leg, and when he withdraws it, magic flows out. Oroku Saki jumps up and slices the demon’s stomach, then chest, and then leaps high to slice a horn from his helmet. As Oroku Saki comes down, he slashes with his sword and cuts off the Shredder Tengu’s left arm. The Tengu falls on its back and Oroku Saki stands on its chest, poised for another blow.
Oroku Saki	I am Oroku Saki, demon. Let my name be the last sound you hear.
Ancient One	[narrates] It was he who finished the demon.
	Oroku Saki slams his sword into the demon’s chest. The green light goes out in the Shredder Tengu’s eyes and the flames vanish from his mouth. Then the entire body dissolves into the ground, leaving Oroku Saki standing in the imprint of the demon’s form. Cut to the palace, where thousands of cheering people have gathered. Inside, the throne room is packed with people as the five warriors stand before the Emperor’s throne.
Splinter	[narrates] The Emperor held a great celebration and decreed that the warriors would be known as the Five Dragons. There could be no higher honor.
Ancient One	[narrates] He awarded them their own banner, the three-toed sign of the dragon. [The Emperor walks down to the warriors and presents the banner to Oroku Saki, who bows.] But the celebration was premature. [A closeup of Oroku Saki’s eyes show a red flame burning within, which then becomes the image of the Shredder Tengu.] Saki’s battle with the Tengu had been fought on more than the physical plane.
	Flashback to the scene just before Oroku Saki delivers the killing blow.
Oroku Saki	I am Oroku Saki, demon.
Tengu	There is greatness in you, warrior. I can make you a god among these insects. Every wish fulfilled; every dream made real. You could rule all, have all. Just allow me inside your soul and the world will be yours.
Splinter	[narrates] The demon’s words ignited some dark heart of Saki. He accepted the offer.
Ancient One	[narrates] Invisibly, the Shredder’s evil spirit merged with Saki’s, [Magic flows from the Tengu into Oroku Saki.] so that even as the warrior landed the final flow, the Tengu was only an empty vessel. The dark spirit of the Shredder had filled Oroku Saki - [Back to the Emperor’s ceremony.] – and now he was host to the greatest evil the world had ever known.
	The new Shredder lifts the banner and laughs. Outside, there is a solar eclipse.
Splinter	[narrates] Oroku Saki’s betrayal plunged Japan into an age of darkness. [Oroku Saki climbs to the top of a hill which overlooks the palace.] The malevolent essence of the swelled within him and all around him. [Dark spirits follow Oroku Saki.] There seemed no limit to the evil of which he was capable.
	Oroku Saki begins firing his black magic at the palace, destroying buildings. On a mountaintop, reached only by a narrow stone bridge, sits a humongous palace surrounded by high walls. The Emperor’s army flees before a horde of demons.
Splinter	[narrates] Having created an impenetrable stronghold, and his only true opposition destroyed, Saki became the most feared warlord of all. His name was spoken in whispers.
	Oroku Saki stands atop a mountain, blasting all with his magic powers.
Ancient One	[narrates] And the name they all whispered was - - the Shredder. [Cut to a sanctuary inhabited by monks. The four Dragons sit together in a garden.] The Dragons vowed to defeat the Shredder at all costs. They needed to increase their power, so they sought out mystical knowledge, [Kon reads a scroll and then levitates. The other three follow suit.] …the ancient spells and wisdom that would allow them to stand against the Shredder’s might. They studied hard and learned much.
	Cut to a snowy mountaintop. Kon stands before an old witch.
Ancient One	[narrates] The Dragons scoured the globe for masters of the mystic arts who would be willing to teach them.
	The witch places her hands together and forms a glowing globe, which she then separates into two. Kon emulates her moves and also produces a globe, which he then separates into four. Juto stands on a hilltop beneath thick clouds and lightning.
Ancient One	[narrates] As their knowledge grew, so indeed did their power…
	The hilltop overlooks a large body of water. At Juto’s gesture, a whirling cyclone of water lifts into the sky. Using the witch’s magic, he forms a glowing globe, and then there are suddenly two water spouts. Cut to Hisomi, standing atop a boulder in a forest clearing. All around him are trees, growing close together.
Ancient One	[narrates] …until finally, they became more than warriors, [Hisomi produces a glowing globe, and then his entire body is suffused in a glowing yellow light.] more than merely humans.
	Hisomi runs, moving ever faster, his mystic energy pushing over trees in his wake until he finally stops. On to Chikara, who forms a glowing globe which becomes green. Standing before a huge boulder, she lifts the globe, which causes the boulder to rise from the ground. Pushing outward with both hands, she throws the boulder high into the mountains. Hisomi zips up to join her, following by a cyclone that turns into Kon, and finally a bolt of lightning reveals Juto.
Ancient One	[narrates] Beings of sheer power, but tempered by wisdom and purity of heart.
	Wearing their armor and astride their horses, the four Dragons ride to a confrontation with the Shredder. They carry their banner with them.
Splinter	[narrates] And at last they were prepared to confront the Shredder once more.
	The four Dragons ride across the stone bridge. Seated on a throne inside his palace, the Shredder is waited upon by handmaidens. Suddenly, the Dragons crash through the windows and walk towards him. The handmaidens flee.
Shredder	My old friends. Are you in such a hurry to meet your doom?
Kon	It is time to pay for your crimes, Shredder.
Shredder	You fools are the only ones that will pay. Pay with your pathetic lives.
	He shoots bolts of magical energy at them, but the Dragons deflect the magic.
Ancient One	[narrates] This time when the Shredder attacked, the Dragons were ready.
	Shredder shoots lasers from his eyes, but Kon forms a mystic swirling globe, which pushes against the lasers. The globe reaches Shredder and engulfs his body. He shouts as it lifts him and then slams him to the floor, where he lay unmoving as smoke rises from his body. He manages to rise on wobbly legs.
Shredder	Now you shall taste the terrible beauty of true power and you shall be destroyed.
	Ribbons of black and red energy swirl around him and lift his body. All of the windows are blown out and the building reduced to rubble. Shredder unfurls his dragon form and flies high into the sky before diving back down at the four Dragons.
Splinter	[narrates] The Shredder manifested his dragon avatar, a foul monstrosity, his decayed spirit made flesh. [The four dragons press their hands together and are surrounded by mystic energy.] But the four heroes were prepared even for this. Their training allowed them to tap into the eternal energies of the astral plane, and they too manifested their dragon avatars. [The four warriors rise into the sky and their glow pushes aside the red swirling mist.] Dragons of purity and light and power, ready to fight in an epic battle of dragon against dragon.
	The Shredder sits atop a crumbling tower, trying to blast the four dragons who fly around him. Chikara slams into him and knocks him from his perch and he plows into the ground. As the dragons land around him, Shredder rises up and knocks Kon and Hisomi out of the palace yard. Chikara goes to attack, but Shredder grabs her and throws her into a tower. The top of the tower is sheered off and nearly lands on Juto. He dodges and Shredder begins shooting flames in all directions, completely destroying his fortress. As he hangs in the air, the four dragon warriors attack, and while he is fighting off three, Hisomi flings a spinning metal weapon at him. The spikes hit the Shredder’s right hand and sheers off his fingers before going through his wing. It then comes back around and slices through the other wing before taking off Shredder’s left hand. Magic drains from the wounds, but Shredder pushes the magic down at Kon, who catches it in a glowing globe of energy, which he then fires back at Shredder. The other three Dragon warriors fire their energy at Shredder at the same time and though he struggles, he is soon overwhelmed. Reverting to his human form, Shredder plummets to Earth, his body punching a large hole into the ground.
Ancient One	[narrates] The four heroes had defeated the supreme evil.
Splinter	[narrates] But though he was defeated, the Shredder could not be destroyed. His dark magic was too great.
	The four Dragons return to their human forms as they stand around the defeated foe.
Ancient One	[narrates] So the four heroes had to find a way to keep him and his evil contained forever.
	Cut to the Shredder, without his helmet, awakening to find his body surrounded by good magic.
Shredder	What? What are you doing?
	The shot pulls back to reveal the Shredder lying in a sarcophagus, with the four Dragons staring down at him.
Ancient One	[narrates] The dragon’s power kept him helpless as they placed him in what they prayed would be his final resting place.
	The sarcophagus lid is floated over the frame.
Shredder	I will return. This world will be mine! You will pay for this! You will…
	The lid slams shut.
Splinter	[narrates] Since that fateful day, the Tribunal has kept a careful vigil over Shredder’s helmet, gauntlet, and body. [The Lap of the Gods. Each Tribunal member is shown in full armor, standing watch.] For if these three artifacts ever were to come together, the Shredder could very well be revived.
Michelangelo	[during flashback] Wow. Seventeen hundred years. That’s one long vigil.
Ancient One	[narrates] They knew the Shredder’s evil would never die.
	Back to the present.
Splinter	They began training others. Those that could help them in their fight. Acolytes chosen for their potential and purity of heart.
Ancient One	The Tribunal taught an art of fighting with the power of the dragon at its core, which would become known as ninjutsu.
Splinter	And these immortals, the remaining Dragons, became known as the Ninja Tribunal.
Leonardo	So there was a real Shredder.
Donatello	And the alien Utrom Shredder we fought was an imposter who was just using the name of the original demon Shredder to gain respect.
Raphael	And this original Shredder has all sorts of butt kicking magic powers that almost destroyed the Ninja Tribunal.
Leonardo	And now someone’s trying to resurrect him, the greatest evil the world has ever known, and the only ones who even know about this ....
Michelangelo	Are cute, green and way the shell out of our league. Um, any chance we can still go home? [Everyone stares at him.] No, I didn’t think so.

{Roll end credits}