01x32 - The Future Comes But Once

[bunniefuu]

♪ Defenders of the Earth, Defenders ♪

♪ Out of the sky ♪

♪ His rockets ignite ♪

♪ Jets into battle, flies faster than light ♪

♪ Flash Gordon ♪

♪ Lord of the jungle, the hero who st*lks ♪

♪ The beasts call him brother, the ghost who walks ♪

♪ Phantom ♪

♪ Defenders of the Earth, Defenders ♪

♪ Master of magic, spells and illusion ♪

♪ Enemies crumble in fear and confusion ♪

♪ Mandrake Defenders of the Earth ♪

♪ Defenders ♪

♪ His strength is a legend, his skills conquer all ♪

♪ Armed with his power, we never will fall ♪

♪ Lothar Defenders of the Earth ♪

♪ Defenders ♪

♪ With our new young heroes, proving their worth ♪

♪ Four become eight, defending the Earth ♪

♪ Defenders of the Earth, Defenders ♪

♪ Defenders of the Earth ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- No sign of Ming's roboships yet.

Guess I spoke too soon.

[lasers blasting]

[humming]

I always wanted to see the desert.

I hope it's not a one-way ticket.

That's odd.

There aren't supposed to be any pyramids around here.

I'd better check this out.

Looks like this place hasn't been opened

for thousands of years!

Whatever this is, it really is beautiful!

[shimmering tone]

I've--I've never seen anything like this before.

What could it mean?

Flash Gordon calling Monitor, over.

- This is Rick, Dad. Where are you?

- In the North African Desert.

- Are you okay? - My ship is down, Rick.

I think I'm gonna need a ride home.

- Those worthless roboships

failed to find the ancient obelisk.

- There is only a % probability

that the obelisk exists, Sire!

- I know it does exist, Octon!

And I must have it before I locate the Time Drive.

- Sire, I have prepared new data on the Time Drive.

The ancients who once visited Mongo

also visited planet Earth.

These ancients used Time Drives for all their craft.

The Time Drive moves the craft four times faster

than the speed of light.

- One must be able to see the future

so as not to collide with objects

that will be in the way.

- The ancients used their time-sense

to navigate.

Forgive me, Sire,

but you do not possess such time-sense.

- That is why I must have the lost obelisk.

It will show the future, and with it,

I will control the Time Drive!

And then no one, no one,

can stop me from conquering the Earth!

- What do you think it is that Flash found in the desert?

- I'm not sure, Lothar.

But if it is what I think it is...

- Look what Zuffy and I found!

- That's a very old and valuable book, Kshin.

Do be careful with it.

- I'm sorry, but look!

- It says here,

"The sacred obelisk was believed

"to foretell the future.

The obelisk vanished after the reign of Karnak."

- Mandrake, the reign of Karnak

was over three thousand years ago.

[camel bleats]

- I will not ask you again, Scavenger.

What else did you find in the desert

besides these useless trinkets?

- Nothing, I swear.

I am telling you the truth.

- I can make things very unpleasant for you--

very unpleasant.

Tell me, where is the obelisk?

- I know of no obelisk.

Only what legends tell us.

[alarm blaring] - What is it?

- Sire, Defenders approach.

Distance miles.

- Prepare for them.

The Defenders must not know we are here.

Scavenger,

we shall continue our little talk later.

[wind howling]

- Dad, we can run tests on it,
[ … ]

but I don't know what we're going to find.

- Me neither, Son.

That obelisk, it worries me.

- First thing in the morning,

I will do a bit of research on it, Flash.

- The obelisk will be well protected

by my new energy shield.

Nobody will be able to get near it.

- I have a sneaking suspicion

Ming might be after our little treasure.

- Don't worry, Dad!

I'll set up the force field first thing tomorrow morning.

- This will do as my temporary command post.

- It once belonged to a great sheik.

Now it belongs to me.

And you are most welcome here, O mighty Ming!

- Hold your tongue, Scavenger!

Or would you prefer to deal with Garax again?

What did you learn

from our most gracious host, Garax?

- Nothing, Sire.

He says he knows nothing of the obelisk.

- Nonsense!

I will make you a bargain, Scavenger.

Guide me to the obelisk.

Once I have it and the Time Drive I seek,

I will become Emperor of the Earth.

Then I will make you Prince of the desert.

- I know nothing of obelisks and time drives.

- Remove him, Garax.

Scavenger, consider my offer well.

It is my last.

- [squealing]

- Shh! Come with me, Zuff.

I've got to see the obelisk!

- [gibbering]

- It's okay. Come on.

Don't be afraid.

Zuff, this is no place to be caught in a cave-in!

Wow!

It looks just like it does in the book!

[rumbling]

That stairway was in the vision and it--it--

[rumbling] [screams]

[coughing] Zuffy?

- [squealing] - Zuffy! You're safe.

Don't be scared, Zuff,

Mandrake will find us before we run out of air.

- Mandrake?

What is it? What's wrong?

- Kshin and Zuffy are gone.

I know they are in danger.

And I think I know. where they have gone.

Kshin?

Zuffy?

Kshin, Can you hear us?

- Yes, yes! We're in here!

- [grunting]

- You're doing it, Lothar.

The rock is moving.

- Are you all right, Kshin?

- Yeah, we're okay,

Thank you for getting us out!

- Well, young man,

what do you have to say for yourself?

- I touched it and I got pictures and I saw the cave-in

and then it caved in

and well, it told me the future!

- Looks like the obelisk really works.

Except, Zuffy didn't--

- Thank you for the information, Kshin.

But next time...

- I know, I know, don't do it again.

But it was so exciting and I couldn't wait.

- Remember, Kshin,

it was curiosity that k*lled the cat.

- What do you say we all get back to sleep?

- - I've got the energy shield controls hooked up

and working now, Dad.

- Good, son.

Now nobody can get at the obelisk.

- Unless they're wearing one of these neutralizer belts.

- The energy shield will prevent any more cave-ins.

- Good work.

And good night, all.

- I have detected an energy shield

surrounding a half-buried pyramid, Sire.

- Obviously, the obelisk is inside that pyramid.

And the Defenders have found it before you did, Octon.

- Yes, Sire.

The Defenders have set up near the pyramid.

- Octon, break that energy shield.

I will break the Defenders!

- Rick, what do you think

this obelisk thing will tell us?

- If we knew that, L.J., we wouldn't need the obelisk.

- I hear.

[shimmering tone]

- What do you wish of me, Master Rick?

- Go on, L.J.!
[ … ]

Try it. Tell me what you see.

[shimmering tone]

- You've beaten me.

I surrender!

- I destroyed Octon!

- That's weird.

I reprogrammed Octon to do whatever I want.

How could both futures be right?

- Who cares?

It's obvious we're the ones.

- Who will finally destroy Ming!

Let's go for it!

[exciting music]

♪ ♪

- Now where do they think they're going?

- Wherever it is, they're in an awful hurry.

- There's something I've got to tell you all

about the obelisk.

When I first discovered the obelisk, I touched it.

I saw a vision of Rick and L.J. flying the Terry.

And I saw them crash in the desert!

- What's going on?

I heard the Terry take off.

- We gotcha now, Ming!

- You said it, partner!

- Calling Terry.

Return to camp immediately, do you copy? Over.

- What do we do now?

- Let me handle this.

All is okay.

We're just on a little security recon.

We'll be back in time for breakfast!

- Pretty smooth!

- Look at this.

There's something down there.

- Let's check it out.

Weapons armed?

- Armed and ready.

- Where in space are those two going?

- Flash, look!

Rick and L.J. have disappeared!

- It's just as the obelisk predicted!

They crashed!

- What hit us?

- I don't know, but we're going down!

[footsteps approaching]

- Two young captives.

They must have friends nearby.

- At last, I have the Defenders where I want.

- The Defenders' neutralizer belts

will allow access to the pyramid, Sire.

- And to the obelisk!

- Mighty Ming, the Scavenger has escaped!

- Let him go.

He was of no use to me anyway.

Send Ice Robots to bring me the obelisk.

- [coughing]

- This man has come from Ming.

Who are you?

- I am Scavenger.

Ming has used me to find the obelisk.

- What do you know about the obelisk?

- Ming has the sacred obelisk, and your two young friends.

- Rick and L.J.? They're alive!

But I saw them crash.

- I knew it.

That's what Ming was after.

- But why? I don't understand.

- What else can you tell us?

- Ming spoke of a Time Drive.

I know nothing of it.

I know only that he is an evil man.

- Can you take us to him? - Yes.

- And now, obelisk, make the future mine.

[exciting music]

♪ ♪

I have seen the Time Drive.

And the future.

Quickly, Garax, the time drive vehicle is near.

We must find it!

- I can only guess

that this Time Drive is some sort of engine

that can go faster than speed of light.

You'd have to know the future to navigate it.

- And Ming thinks that the obelisk

can tell him the future.

He doesn't know how wrong he is.

- Mandrake, what do you mean?

It showed Flash the future, Kshin saw the future, too.

- The obelisk shows only

what the future is in the person's mind.

What you fear or desire for the future

is what the obelisk will show you.

- That's why Rick and L.J. didn't crash-land after all.

I was just afraid they might,

and that's what the obelisk showed me.

- Exactly!

- But Mandrake, I saw the cave-in before it happened

and I didn't want it to happen.

- Were you frightened
[ … ]

that there might be a cave-in, Kshin?

- Yes, I was!

- The obelisk merely gave you back your thoughts.

- That's right.

Zuffy wasn't hurt in the cave-in like I saw.

- Enough talk.

What do we do next?

- We must anticipate Ming's next move.

- The Time Drive!

- There it is.

The vehicle equipped with the Time Drive!

Garax, start the chronometer.

[shimmering tone]

The time, Garax?

- Negative, seconds.

You arrived before you departed, Sire.

- Three orbits of the planet in minus thirty seconds!

The Earth is truly mine!

Garax, take the vehicle to the palace!

- As you wish, mighty Ming!

- I have set the Time Drive controls

as you have instructed, Sire!

- Excellent, Octon!

First, to the Ice Palace for fit weapons,

then to Monitor,

where the Defenders will die

and never even see their assailants!

- I am ready, Mandrake.

- Fine, Scavenger.

Remember our plan:

keep Ming occupied as long as possible.

- And I will take care of the Ice Robots.

- Go!

- Halt!

- Release me, you foul creature!

[grunting]

- You escaped once;

it will not happen again.

- So you have returned.

- This is my home, Ming.

You have no right.

- How dare you tell me what rights I have.

- I beg you to go.

I have nothing here.

I am a poor scavenger. I have nothing.

- Silence, you useless desert viper!

Why did you not tell me of the obelisk immediately?

- Please, please listen to me.

The obelisk will destroy all of us.

Its force is a deceptive one.

It lies!

- You lie, not the obelisk.

- Others have used the obelisk in just these few days,

disturbing its great power.

- Your lies are transparent,

I can see right through them.

- The obelisk cannot be trusted.

- Garax, place the obelisk in the Time Drive vehicle,

immediately.

- There, now I have created new control settings.

The Time Drive will now self-destruct.

[rumbling] - Garax, report.

- We are under attack

from the Defenders of the Earth!

- Let him go.

I will attack Monitor itself

before the Defenders can fire another shot.

Quickly, Octon, Garax,

return my flying throne room to Ice Station Earth.

[engine humming]

[lasers blasting]

- Something has gone wrong with the Time Drive!

The vehicle is going to crash!

I must eject!

[groans]

Garax,

home to Ice Station Earth.

- I kind of wish we hadn't had to destroy that Time Drive.

- And the obelisk.

At least it is where it belongs,

beyond the reach of mortal men.

- Mandrake, that obelisk sure taught me a lesson.

When I start thinking about the future,

it better be positive.

- [chuckling] Positively.