Cairon I'm sorry, but this is not the time nor place for children. I must ask you to leave.
Atreyu If you don't want me here, you shouldn't have sent for me.
Cairon It was not you we sent for. We wanted Atreyu.
Atreyu I am Atreyu.
Cairon [laughs]
Not Atreyu the Child! Atreyu the Warrior.
Atreyu I am the only Atreyu of the Plains People. But I'll be happy to go back hunting the purple buffalo. [turns to leave]
Cairon No, wait! Come back, please. If you really are the Atreyu we sent for, you would be willing to go on a quest?
Atreyu Yes, of course. What kind of a quest?
Cairon To find a cure for the Empress, and to save our world. No one can give you any advice except this. You must go alone, you must leave all your weapons behind. It will be very dangerous.
Atreyu Is there any chance of success?
Cairon I do not know. But if you fail, the Empress will surely die, and our whole world will be utterly destroyed.
Atreyu [Atreyu takes off his bow and quiver of arrows and lays them on the ground]
When do I begin?
Cairon Now. And you must hurry, Atreyu. The Nothing grows stronger every day. Take this. [Cairon places the Auryn necklace around Atreyu's neck] He who wears the Auryn speaks for the Empress. It will guide and protect you.
Atreyu Are you Morla, the Ancient One?
M Morla
[yawns]
Not that it matters, but yes.
Atreyu Please help me, Morla! Do you recognize this? [holds out the Auryn]
M Morla
Well... we haven't seen the Auryn in a long time.
Atreyu We? Is there someone else here too?
M Morla
We haven't spoken to anyone else for thousands of years, so we started talking to ourselves.
Atreyu [Morla lets out an enormous sneeze, knocking Atreyu out of the tree, he climbs back up]
Morla! I bring terrible news! Did you know that the Empress is very ill?
M Morla
Not that it matters, but yes. Actually, we don't care.
Atreyu If I don't save her, she'll die! There's a terrible Nothing sweeping over the land! Don't you care about that?
M Morla
We don't even care... whether or not we care. [Morla stifles a sneeze, Atreyu braces himself]
Atreyu Do you have a cold?
M Morla
No... we're allergic to youth. [Morla sneezes again]
Atreyu You know how I can help the Empress, don't you?
M Morla
Not that it matters, but... yes.
Atreyu If you don't tell me and the Nothing keeps coming, you'll die too! Both of you!
M Morla
Die? That, at least, would be something. [Morla starts to sneeze, Atreyu braces himself again]
Atreyu Please help me. You said you knew the answer--
M Morla
[Morla sneezes again, knocking Atreyu out of the tree]
We're tired of sneezing, go away! Nothing matters.
Atreyu That's not true! If it didn't really matter to you, you could tell me.
M Morla
[laughs]
Ah ha ha! Clever boy!
Atreyu TELL ME, PLEASE!
M Morla
We don't know, but you can ask the Southern Oracle.
Atreyu How can I get there?
M Morla
You can't. It's 10,000 miles away.
Atreyu But that's so far.
M Morla
That's right. Forget it. Give up.
Atreyu Uh, I was just going to-- I-I-I have to... I was trying to--
Atreyu Yeah...
Atreyu [Falkor chuckles]
I mean no, no!
Atreyu For breakfast?
[laughs]
Never! I'm a luckdragon. My name is Falkor.
Atreyu And my name is--
Atreyu. And you're on a quest.
Atreyu How'd you know that?
You were unconscious, and you talked in your sleep. [winks]
Atreyu Wha--?
[wiggles his right ear, and strains to reach it with his short leg]
Could you... get round and scratch behind my right ear?
Atreyu [giggles]
I can never quite reach it!
Atreyu [approaches him and starts scratching]
Here?
Oh... Yeah! [chuckles] That's so good. Thank you. So, little fella - you're on your way to the Southern Oracle?
Atreyu Yes. But it's hopeless. It's too far away!
Oh, I wouldn't necessarily say that.
Atreyu You... you know how to get there?
Why, sure. It's right around the corner.
Atreyu How'd all this happen?!
[chuckles]
With luck! [winks again]
Atreyu You've already brought me the entire 10,000 miles?
No, only 9,891. As the dragon flies.
Atreyu You're amazing!
[chuckles]
Having a luckdragon with you is the only way to go on a quest. Things will work out fine, Atreyu. Never give up, and good luck will find you.
Get out of my light wench!! You're disturbing my scientific work!!!
Urgl You and your SCIENTIFIC WORK!!!! What the boy needs now...is one of my potions!!
The Boy will need my scientific advice much more!
Atreyu Ahem...
Ahhhhhh!!! He's Well!!! Now it's my turn with him!
Urgl Oh no! It's your turn when I say it's your turn.....Well little man...still in pain??
Atreyu A little....but it's alright.
Urgl I like that!!! The patient telling the doctor it's alright?? It has to hurt if it's to heal! [hands Atreyu cup] Drink that....that's my batwing broth!! There's eye of newt in there, old tree mold....lizard brains...scales from a rancid sea serpent!
Just where did you and your dragon come from? What are you on to? Anything of interest in the, uh, scientific community?
Atreyu My name's Atreyu. I came here to find the Southern Oracle.
Urgl Here we go again!
You've come to the right place, my boy! I am somewhat of an expert on the Southern Oracle.
Urgl "It is my scientific specialty."
It's my scientific specialty!
Urgl Why don't you sit down and be quiet for once?!
Urgl Ooh!!
It's now my turn. [to Atreyu] My name is Engywook. She's Urgl. Ever heard of me?
Atreyu I don't think so.
You don't move in scientific circles. [Atreyu shakes his head] I am the expert on the Southern Oracle. Oh, you've come to the right place, my boy!
Urgl There's no fool like an old fool.
Wait! Stay here! The observatory. To the winch, wench!
SO Southern Oracle
Do not be afraid. We will not harm you. We have been waiting for you a long time, Atreyu.
Atreyu Are you the Southern Oracle?
SO Southern Oracle
Yes, we are.
Atreyu Then you must know what can save Fantasia!
SO Southern Oracle
Yes, we do.
Atreyu Well? What is it? I have to know!
SO Southern Oracle
The Empress needs a new name.
Atreyu A new name? That's all? But that's easy! I can give her any name she wants!
SO Southern Oracle
No one from Fantasia can do it. Only a human child can give her this new name.
Atreyu A human child? Where can I find one?
SO Southern Oracle
You can only find one beyond the boundaries of Fantasia. [the Southern Oracle begins to crumble] If you want to save our world, you must hurry! We don't know how much longer we can withstand the Nothing.
Rockbiter [holding up his hands]
They look like big, good, strong hands, don't they? I always thought that's what they were. Oh, my little friends... the little man with his racing snail, the Nighthob, even the stupid bat. I couldn't hold onto them. The Nothing pulled them right out of my hands. I failed.
Atreyu No, you didn't fail. I'm the one who failed. I'm the one who was chosen to stop the Nothing. But I lost the Auryn, I can't find my luckdragon, so I won't be able to get beyond the boundaries of Fantasia!
Rockbiter [A crash is heard]
Listen. The Nothing will be here any minute. I will just sit here, and let it take me away too. [holds up his hands again] They look like good, strong hands, don't they?
[Atreyu nods sadly]
G'mork If you come any closer, I will rip you to shreds.
Atreyu Who are you?
G'mork I am G'mork. And you, whoever you are, can have the honor of being my last victim.
Atreyu I will not die easily. I am a warrior.
G'mork Ha! Brave warrior. Then fight the Nothing.
Atreyu But I can't! I can't get beyond the boundaries of Fantasia! [G'mork laughs mockingly] What's so funny about that?
G'mork Fantasia has no boundaries. [The ruins start to shake. Some rocks fall]
Atreyu That's not true. You're lying!
G'mork Foolish boy. Don't you know anything about Fantasia? It's the world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it, is a piece of the dreams and hopes of mankind. Therefore, it has no boundaries. [A crash. More rocks fall]
Atreyu But why is Fantasia dying, then?
G'mork Because people have begun to lose their hopes and forget their dreams. So the Nothing grows stronger.
Atreyu What is the Nothing?
G'mork It's the emptiness that's left. It is like a despair, destroying this world. And I have been trying to help it.
Atreyu But why?!
G'mork Because people who have no hopes are easy to control. And whoever has the control has the Power. [A large crash shakes the ground. Atreyu briefly loses his balance, but regains it and turns towards G'mork with a cold look]
Atreyu Who are you really?
G'mork I am the servant of the Power behind the Nothing. I was sent to kill the only one who could have stopped the Nothing. I lost him in the Swamps of Sadness. His name was Atreyu. [The ground shakes again and Atreyu falls. He grabs a sharp piece of stone and stands up]
Atreyu If we're about to die anyway, I'd rather die fighting! Come for me, G'mork - I AM ATREYU!
The Childlike Empress Atreyu, why do you look so sad?
Atreyu I have failed you, Empress.
The Childlike Empress No, you haven't. You brought him with you.
Atreyu Who?
The Childlike Empress The earthling child. The one who can save us all.
Atreyu You knew about the earthling child?
The Childlike Empress Of course. I knew everything.
Atreyu My horse died! I nearly drowned, I just barely got away from the Nothing! For what?! To find out what you already knew?!
The Childlike Empress It was the only way to get in touch with an earthling.
Atreyu But I didn't get in touch with an earthling!
The Childlike Empress Yes, you did. He has suffered with you. He went through everything you went through, and now he has come here with you. He is very close, listening to every word, we say.
Atreyu Where is he? If he's so close, why doesn't he arrive?
The Childlike Empress He doesn't realize he's already a part of The NeverEnding Story.
Atreyu "The NeverEnding Story"? What's that?
The Childlike Empress Just as he is sharing all your adventures, others are sharing his. They were with him when he hid from the boys in the bookstore.
The Childlike Empress They were with him when he took the book with the Auryn symbol on the cover, in which he's reading his own story, right now.
I can't believe it! They can't be talking about me?
Atreyu What will happen when he doesn't appear?!
The Childlike Empress [in a grave tone]
Then our world will disappear and so will i.
Atreyu How could he let that happen?!
The Childlike Empress He doesn't understand that he's the one who has the power to stop it. He simply can't imagine that one little boy could be that important.
Is is really me? How could i make any difference?
Atreyu MAYBE HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE HAS TO DO!!
The Childlike Empress He has to give me a new name.
Atreyu WHAT IF HE DOESN'T COME UP WITH THE RIGHT NAME?!?
The Childlike Empress He's already chosen it. He just has to call it out.
Atreyu [now desperate and hysterical]
WHERE IS HE?!?!?!? WHY ISN'T HE HERE?!?!?!
The Childlike Empress He still does nott have the confidence.
It's only a story. It's not real, it's only a story! [The Nothing continues to consume the tower and another quake from The Nothing kills Atreyu] ATREYU NOOOO!!!
The Childlike Empress [seeing Atreyu's death]
ATREYU!
The Childlike Empress [Back in the attic, a frightened Bastian cowers as The Windows are blown open by the storm as one of them is shattered by a fallen tree branch. Meanwhile, The Ivory Tower is moments away from being entirely consumed by The Nothing] [to Bastian]
Don't you have the courage to save us, Bastian?
[now scared and terrified]
I WISH I COULD!!
The Childlike Empress Why don't you do what you dream, Bastian?
B Basitan
[on the verge of tears]
BUT I CAN'T! I HAVE TO KEEP MY FEET ON THE GROUND!!
The Childlike Empress [as the Ivory Tower is seconds away from being consumed by the nothing]
Call my name! Please, call my name! BASTIAN, PLEASE!!! SAVE US!!!
Atreyu [In the Swamps of Sadness, Atreyu pulls his horse along saying reassuring things the whole time]
That's it. You're doing fine, Artax. [suddenly Artax stops and Atreyu pulls on the reigns. Artax doesn't budge] Come on, Artax. What's the matter? What's wrong? Come on, boy! What's the matter? I understand. It's too difficult for you. [tries pulling him in a different direction and steps into a puddle up to his waist. Suddenly he notices that Artax is sinking!] Artax, you're sinking! Come on! Turn around! You have to! NOW! COME ON! ARTAX! Fight against the Sadness, Artax! Artax, please. You're letting the sadness of the swamps get to you. You have to try. You have to care. For me. You're my friend. I love you. [Artax moves only slightly, but then sinks again, now up to his neck in swamp water. Atreyu panics] ARTAX! STUPID HORSE! YOU'VE GOT TO MOVE OR YOU'LL DIE! [Artax's head remains only a couple of inches above water] [voice breaking] Move, please! [Artax is about to go under] I won't give up! Don't quit! ARTAX! [fades to black] PLEASE!
