Futurama

The Frylight Zone - Episode 7: Of Legends and Psychos
By The Frylight Staff

By Allen Tanner and Kryten

The legend of the dimensional traveler has been passed down through the ages. As with all legends, the truth has been weeded out over time. It is now little more than a delightful bedtime story. It has been somewhat expected because humans prefer to remain oblivious of the constant threats of oblivion that surround them. This is why only one person is chosen to save the Universe. The ancient prophecy, thought lost for centuries, is recorded here:

"It is said that in the 30^th century, an evil force shall awaken and seek the destruction of the dimensional barrier. There exists a Chosen One. It is not known the form the Chosen One will take, but this unnamed evil and the Chosen One are connected. It is known the Guardian of the Barrier shall choose the dimensional traveler, thus resulting in the unnamed evil's form. The Chosen One shall have a companion that will serve as his/her protector. The Guardian of the Barrier is a position passed down through the ages. The current Guardian shall help the Chosen One overcome this great evil. In the end, the Chosen One will be alone in his final fight with the unnamed evil. Future uncertain…"

The prophecy was regarded as vague and silly. I can assure that it is not silly at least. Ever since the First Guardian spoke the name of the traveler when he retired from the position, the Guardians have been ever watchful, waiting for their appearance. Guardians are long lived. There are five before me. My time is almost up and the unnamed evil knows this. If I can't locate the sixth Guardian, the Barrier will be left unprotected and the obliteration will begin. Chaos will rein as every dimension is crammed into one and personalities merged into one body.

I can only hope…

Somewhere across space and time…

A blue doorway opened and ejected its three passengers by force. They struggled to their feet, a bit dazed and confused. This last landing had been a bit more rough. Perhaps it had something to do with escaping the bomb they set to blow up the building. In order to free an enslaved world from a maniacal Bender, they'd blown up his base. Unfortunately, the door made its appearance in the final seconds before the bomb was due to explode, thus resulting in a mad dash for it. The force of the explosion propelled them through the doorway and resulted in the hard landing.

Fry got up and dusted himself off. "Let's not do that again, ok guys?"

Amy chuckled as she pushed herself up, but the laughter died in her throat when she got a good look at her friend. "Fry," she whispered hoarsely. She ran up to him, a look of concern splashed across her features.

Fry was confused. "What's wrong?" He grimaced as Amy gingerly touched his face. "Oh that. It's just a scratch, no need to fuss." Amy pulled her hands back and showed them to Fry. Blood was smeared on them, his blood. Leela had already gotten up and joined them. She held up a mirror so Fry could see his 'scratch.' His right eye was crying blood from a cut just under it. His face was riddled with scratches. The pavement had not been kind to any of them, but he looked the worse.

"The scratches came from the pavement, but the cut came from Bender's fist didn't it?" Fry dumbly nodded. He received a punch in the stomach for his trouble. "Damn it Fry! You swore you were fine! That eye could get infected. Do you want to be blind!?" Leela held Amy back, not that she could restrain the Martian if she wanted to.

"Easy Amy! Fry has enough damage already."

"I didn't tell you because we were out of time. I was afraid you'd react like this," Fry quietly said. He held his stomach in slight pain. "Could you please be more careful? You're stronger than all of us now, you know." Amy's angry expression relented as she shrugged off Leela and ran to embrace Fry.

"Oh my god. I'm sorry, Fry. I definitely forgot my own strength for a moment there." She looked him straight in the eyes. "Want me to kiss it and make it all better?" a suggestive tone laced her voice. Fry gently eased out of her embrace.

"Uh, sorry Amy. That sounds great, but I really have to decline." Amy pouted, almost succeeding in driving Fry back to her arms, but fear held him back. No, I can't. I'm a monster. They don't know it. Best they don't, or I'd find myself one lonely guy. Amy sensed something was wrong, but decided to let it go for now.

"I wonder when the Professor will pop in with his usual cryptic message regarding our mission?" Amy asked. The others shrugged.

"He'll find us. He always does," Fry muttered. They began to walk off in search of clues to ascertain their location. None of them were aware they were being watched.

Meanwhile…

Darkness was her reward. It was all she could see, feel, and taste. She groggily opened her eye. Pain now touched her body and made her wish she were still unconscious. A voice faintly called her to awareness. "Leela?" 37 worlds and not a sign. "Leela?" Defeat felt heavy. "LEELA!" She snapped to full attention, taking in the full view of the Professor's hologram. "Are you alright?" it asked. Leela attempted to stand but failed. "Easy you suicidal woman!" Her hand groped for the diamond tether to find it severed. The Professor nodded slowly. "Bad news Leela. The tether isn't as unbreakable as we thought."

"You mean I'm stuck here?" Turanga Leela almost screamed.

"Not necessarily. There's a slim chance our lost companions will happen onto this world and take you with them. Until then…I don't know." Leela picked up a rock and threw it at the Professor's image. "Ow! You're mean. I'm going to find Fry and the others. The image vanished and Leela groaned in dismay.

"Might as well make the best of it. Where the hell am I?" She walked off to explore, unaware that she, too, is being watched.

Closer than you might think…

Leela Fry felt somewhat scared. They'd been walking for what seemed like an hour and the streets were empty, devoid of life. They hadn't heard from the Professor either. What was taking so long? A newspaper fluttered by and Leela made a grab for it. She stopped when she caught sight of the date: February 9, 3005. Her legs grew rubbery. Five years? Hadn't it been only a few months? The others noticed that she had stopped and came back to see what the commotion was. They too were shocked at this date. It couldn't have been more than one or two years since the Professor's machine sent them on this journey.

"Let's not panic," Amy said. "Maybe years are shorter here. That said though, I think it never hit how long we've been gone."

"Look at the top headline!" Fry exclaimed. "This might explain why nobody's out here." The title read: Unthawed Menace Still At Large!

"You're right. It says here the mayor instituted an early curfew to keep the citizens safe from the killer. Oh great! As if we didn't have enough problems." Amy sighed and yelled "WHAT NEXT, HUH?" to no one in particular. As if to answer her question, several police cruisers enveloped the small group. The police got out and pointed lasers at them. One of them raised a megaphone to their mouth.

"Philip J. Fry, A.K.A. The Unthawed Menace! You're hereby under arrest! Release you hostage!" Amy and Fry looked at each other then behind them. The newspaper had fluttered to the ground. Leela was gone. The cops encircled Fry, placing his hands in cuffs. Some of the others led a protesting Amy away. All she could do was watch hopelessly as he was shoved into the backseat of a police cruiser and driven downtown. Among the questions running through her mind. She briefly addressed one.

Where did Leela go?

Leela awoke suddenly. Her head hurt and she silently wished for aspirin. Her vision was blurry at first, but it cleared up quickly. She screamed. She saw herself in a cryo-tube, similar to the one she came to the future in. There was only one problem: she was dead! A voice behind her whispered, "Lee-la?" The voice spoke her name haltingly, as if it had not spoken that name in quite sometime. "No, not Lee-la. Different. She just looks like her. What are you?" The voice was demanding now.

Leela turned around and gasped at the sight of her kidnapper. It was Fry. He was disheveled. He stunk to high heaven as if he'd never been bathed in his life. His clothing was torn. In short, she could have mistaken him for a hobo. "What do you mean? My name is Leela." She said this with uncertainty, not knowing how he'd react.

"LIAR!" Fry roared.

"Well, I'm not her of course. I'm a Leela from a different dimension."

"LIAR! You're not from anywhere!"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm from somewhere. I told you, I'm from…"

This world's Fry cut her off. "The smells. Everyone has one. Me, Lee-la, the old guy. Everybody. I should know. Being frozen…olfactory senses heightened somehow. I can't stand it! Only one way to stop the smells. Gotta kill…gotta freeze. Frozen stuff doesn't smell."

Leela stared at him surprised. Obviously this Fry hadn't taken to freezing too well and become crazy. "Sure, everybody smells."

Fry shook his head. "Not you. Five years. Everything smells. Not you. Leela lost any expressions after that revelation. She silently prayed for rescue. Fry smiled an impish grin. "My blood." He laughed amusedly and began chanting, "No blood, no smell!" over and over again. Leela just plugged her ears and tried to dwell on happy thoughts.

"This is ridiculous! Fry couldn't hurt a fly!" Amy shouted to the interrogation officer.

"Ma'am, he's killed several flies. Not to mention people. You don't realize how lucky you were. That cryogenics counselor and the staff of Planet Express weren't. All dead. All frozen. He's made the Applied Cryogenics building his hideout."

"If you know where he is, why haven't you captured him already?"

"He's ready for us in there. Taking the building is like walking into one giant death trap. We've lost several officers. Robot and human causalities abound. The only hope of capturing him is when he leaves the building. Which we just did." The officer grins proudly. Amy balled her fist tightly, meaning to slug the officer. The appearance of the Professor's hologram stopped her.

"Hello girl with my blood type! Where are the others?" Amy made silent motions that she knew the Professor wouldn't understand, but it was better than being thought crazy. "Amy, this is no time for charades! Just tell the others: One must leave, one must stay behind and protect the savior! To leave this world, you must catch a murderer. Oh and our Leela has been looking for you." The hologram vanished, his time up. Amy sat in silence memorizing the message before she spoke again.

"May I please see Fry? I, uh, want to tell him how much I, um, hate him for kidnapping me." The officer nodded, leading her to Fry's holding cell where he graciously left them alone for a few minutes. Fry looked worn out, almost defeated in a way. He lifted his face to look at Amy, sadness shining his eyes.

"Amy! No, go away Amy. I'm a monster. Just leave me here."

"Fry, you're not a monster. They have you confused with this world's Fry."

"What's the difference? I'm afraid, Amy. This guy can kill without a second thought, and the Ferror IS me – MY dark thoughts; MY evil tendencies. I don't want to hurt you, Leela, or anybody else."

Amy, unable to bear seeing Fry in this pain, bent the bars and ran to embrace him. She held him tightly enough to prevent him from squirming out of her grasp. He turned his head away in shame and fear. Amy brought it back to face her. "Fry, look at me." He closed his eyes tightly. "Look at me!" she commanded. Fry opened his eyes slowly. "What you said just now, about not wanting to hurt us? That's the difference. The Fry of this world is very sick. Something went wrong when he was frozen. He's crazy. The Ferror? It doesn't have morals, it doesn't care about anyone but itself. You care, you love, and when the chips are down you know right from wrong. You're not a monster, you're not anything like them. You're Philip J. Fry and you call no man mister." Fry broke into a grin that made Amy fall in love with him all over again. She leaned into kiss him. Fry offered no resistance. The door burst open.

"Stop right there!" an officer commanded. He leaned into the walkie-talkie to report a potential breakout in progress. As he did so, he heard the sound of stone wall breaking. When he looked up, there were two missing people and a giant hole in the wall. "Holy cow!" he exclaimed

Turanga Leela stumbled across an abandoned version of her old workplace. "Applied Cryogenics. Well, at least it'll help me pass the time." She entered the building and began to climb the stairs. She heard a faint voice singing what seemed to be a couple of short words over and over again. As she got closer to the source, the words became clearer. "'No blood. No smell'. What the hell?" She made her way to the source carefully and found it coming from one of the cryo-tube rooms. She peered inside and observed a messed up Fry singing the words over and over. He appeared to be dancing around a huddled lifeform. Suddenly, he stopped. He sniffed the air, and before Turanga Leela could react, he was in front of her.

"Lee-la! So nice to see you again! You smell just as awful as before, but don't worry, I'll soon fix that." He ushered her into the room.

"Wow Fry, you've really let yourself go. Where's Amy?"

"You mean rich snob? She's over there in 42." Leela turned to observe a horrible sight. Amy had been mutilated. She could hardly recognize her friend.

"You killed Amy? Why?"

"Probably because she smelled, or so he thought. Don't worry Leela, that's not Fry. It's just this world's version of him," a familiar voice explained.

"Shut up, thing!" Fry kicked Leela Fry's huddled body and she cried out in pain.

"You think she's real and not me. Why?"

"No blood, no smell!"

"I have blood!" she cried. She grabbed a shard of broken glass and cut her right arm, causing blood to spill out. She showed this to him. "See?!"

Fry simply shrugged and said, "MY blood." He turned to look at Turanga Leela. "HER genes."

"Are you saying I'm your daughter?" Leela Fry asked in a shocked voice. Fry just shook his head.

Suddenly a loud feminine voice filled the room. "He doesn't understand well enough to tell you what you are. You were made. At long last, the sixth Guardian has been found!"

The room was filled with blank stares. "Huh?"

Amy was just slightly pissed her romantic moment had been ruined by ignorant cops. When she'd tried again to kiss him, Fry resisted. The moment was gone, but Amy knew there was something more. He still longed for Leela. She growled softly in her mind. "The police said the killer hides out in the Applied Cryogenics building. That'd probably be a good place to start looking."

Fry nodded and snuggled into Amy's embrace to get comfortable. Amy smiled at this and flew in the direction of the Applied Cryogenics.

"The unnamed evil captured you and bound you in a body of flesh. The only thing that can hold a Guardian or potential Guardian is the blood of The Chosen one. Knowing this, the evil one created your body with Fry's blood and Leela's genes. By doing this, he erased your memories and created Leela Fry. The evil one then picked a world to put you on, giving you Fry's past. It dropped in from time to time to make sure you stayed weak and afraid in the guise of Philip Turanga.

"Let me see if I've got this straight. A disembodied voice is telling me that Leela Fry is a lie and I'm supposed to be this all-powerful Guardian of the Dimensional Barrier?"

"Correct."

"How delusional were you before you lost your body?"

"I never had one. Before you were captured, you didn't have one either."

"O-K," Leela Fry said, twirling her finger around her ear.

"I saw that!"

"As fascinating as this is. If she's really the Guardian, how do we prove it?" Turanga Leela asked.

"It's up to her. Only she can uncover the truth. I'm just preparing her for when realization hits." Suddenly, two other people burst through the door. Everybody stared at everyone else. The psycho Fry seemed stunned to see another him. Turanga Leela broke the silence

"Fry, is it really you?" She ran forward to embrace him, only to be stopped by Amy.

"I'll ask the questions if you don't mind. As you can see we have a dead Leela and two others walking about. Which one are you?"

Leela looked offended. "Amy, it's me. Turanga Leela. I came to find you guys."

Fry shook his head. "I'm afraid she's right. We've run into a bunch of Turanga Leelas. How do we know you're our Leela?"

Leela nodded. "I figured this might happen. I brought this as proof." She dug into her pockets until she produced a golf ball and tossed it to Amy. "Recognize this?"

Fry and Amy stared at it. "Bender's golf ball," they said in unison. Their seemingly endless journey could not make them forget the accursed object that sent them on it in the first place.

"Does this mean the machine's fixed? We can go home?" Fry asked hopefully.

Leela shakes her head. "The Professor made this Pandimensional Portal, but there was no way of retrieving people. In short, the door is one way. We were using the diamond tether to pull me back if I couldn't find you. It didn't survive this time."

"It's unbreakable!"

"The Professor must not have calculated the wear and tear of dimensional crossing on a diamond tether."

While the three were arguing, the psycho Fry has taken advantage of the situation to grab his trusty knife. "The smells! Must stop the smells!" Within seconds, he leaped on to Leela and wrestled her to the ground. "You're the smelliest one! You go first! He put the knife to her throat. Amy pulled him off before he could slash her throat. Fry shoved the hilt of the knife handle back into Amy, causing her to drop him. He crawled up Leela's body and prepared to slash Leela's throat once more. Leela was amazed at how strong the psycho Fry is. She wasn't used to being at a man's mercy, and was terrified.

Fry lunged for his evil self, only to be knocked backwards by an effortless backhand. He flew backwards and smacked against the wall. Amy ran to his side to check his vitals. Leela Fry watched in terror as her friends fail to stop the psychotic Fry. Then, Turanga did something alien to her nature: She screamed for help. If there was anything Leela Fry understood, it was fear. She didn't know Turanga Leela personally, but her friends thought the world of her and for one second she wanted to be something other than a quivering mass of fear.

She pushed aside her fear and tackled the psycho Fry. Her plan worked. Fry couldn't smell her and defend against her. The two rolled around fighting for top position. The friends stared in amazement at this feat of bravery. Psycho Fry lost his grip on the knife and it skidded across the room. Unfortunately, he picked up a glass shard during the tumble. He gained top position and plunged the shard into Leela Fry's heart. A furious Amy grabbed the vicious Fry and flung him toward an open tube. The door slammed shut and set for a thousand years. "Oh God! I'm so sorry I didn't do that sooner!" Amy cried.

Leela Fry hacked up blood and spoke haltingly. "It's ok. He couldn't smell me and he was abnormally strong.

Fry ran to her side as well. "Don't die, Leela! You just found your courage; you CAN'T die!

She reached up and caressed her dear brother's face. "I only knew you for a while, but you were the best brother I could have ever asked for."

Turanga Leela approached her counterpart slowly. "This is hard to say, but I'm gonna swallow my pride because you deserve to hear it. Thanks for saving my life."

Leela Fry's eye shone brightly. "Praise from Turanga Leela? It was a great honor to save the life of someone that means so much to my friend and brother." She coughed up more blood and her eye slowly closed. Fry and Amy sobbed. A good friend was gone. They'd had their share of loss on this journey, but they'd never lost a companion.

"I hate to interrupt this painful, emotional moment, but I have good news," the disembodied voice spoke.

Fry glared around the room. "You! Why don't you shut up for once?" Amy stared at Fry questionably. "It's not the first time I've heard her. I first heard her when we met the Ferror as Philip Turanga. I think they were arguing over me."

Amy's eyes widened. "One must leave, one must stay behind and protect the savior," she whispered as she repeated the Professor's message.

"Quite correct," the disembodied voice confirmed. "Leela Fry, as you call her, isn't dead. The form she was trapped in is gone, and had she remained a coward, she could have been killed. That changed when she saved Turanga Leela's life. By doing so, she became a Guardian again and the psychotic Fry released her from her prison by killing her."

Leela Fry's voice filled the room. "Well, what do you know? I AM the sixth Guardian! Hi guys! Sorry I can't come with you anymore, but now you have the real Leela to keep you company."

Turanga Leela absorbed all this and said, "Wow, it's not just speculation anymore. Fry's the Dimensional Traveler!"

"The what?" Fry asked.

"Long story, I'll tell you later!"

Amy looked bummed. "I guess that means I'm just a body guard after all."

"Well, if you are, there's no one better for the job," Fry said cheerily.

"Of course not, you idiot. I was designed to be a body guard, remember?"

"Uh, well, you may be genetically altered but you're still a good friend and you've gotten me through rough times."

Amy smiled at Fry's attempts to cheer her up. "Thanks Fry." Just then, the doorway appeared.

"Ladies first," Fry said. Both Leela and Amy said their good-byes to Leela Fry before going through the doorway. Fry watched as Leela became a solid light version of her old body.

"I couldn't let you leave without a hug from my brother, she said. They embraced for a few seconds, and she shoved Fry into the door as she became a disembodied voice once more. The room stayed lit until the doorway disappeared. Then all was dark and silent.

Except for an odd beeping sound coming from the psychotic Fry's tube. 'Malfunction' flashed in red letters for a few seconds while the door swung open. A familiar pink mist invaded the room and took a hold of the wayward Fry. His eyes now flashed red and his face had a malicious grin on it. "Hmm, an interesting body and an insane minion. What more could one ask for?" Evil laughter pervaded the room as the Ferror and his newly acquired body/minion vanished.

Stay tuned for part 8.