01x26 - To Bardo and Back

[bunniefuu]

[theme music]

[music continues]

[pleasant music]

tap tap tap

Questworld log on.

Subject, Jonny Quest.
Count down..

zap

[computerized vocalization]
'Three, two, one.'

Yee-haw!

Ha ha! Ride 'em cowboy.

Yee-haw!

Yee-haw! Ha-ha.

[Jessie]
Bull riding in Questworld
is one thing, Jonny

but let's see how you do
at the Cheyenne rodeo next week.

I will never understand
the western need

'to impose one's will on large
and dangerous animals.'

So, Mr. Quest
is playing at bull riding.

How quaint.

Well let's see if I can give him
a real ride for his money.

Julia, log me into Questworld.

I have a little surprise
for our young friend.

[pleasant music]

Yee-haw!

Whoa!

[Jonny screaming]

Hey...wait a minute.
That's not in the program.

[dramatic music]

[Jeremiah ]
'Having fun yet,
young Mr. Quest?'

Surd, you got
a pretty hard head.

[Jeremiah]
'Oh, now you've
hurt my feelings.'

swoosh

clang

That bull is Jeremiah Surd.

Log Jonny out
of Questworld, now.

I cannot, the codes are locked.

Surd must have hacked
the entire operating system.

Care to tango, little man?

Jess, Hadji, come on, guys

can you get the wild man
off my back here?

clang

Aah!

muahahaha

creak

[Hadji]
'Hang toughly, my friend.
Jessie and I are working on it.'

[zapping]

[Surd]
'How terribly pathetic!'

[Jonny]
'Well, what are we waiting for?'

'Let's rock.'

thump

bam bam

whack

[Jeremiah grunting]

thud

[intense music]

[Surd snarling]

wham

[alarm blaring]

muahahaha

[alarm blaring]

[Jeremiah grunting]

thud

whack

thud

bam bam

whack

thud

Julia, pull me out of here.

zap

You may have one this contest
today, Jonny Quest

but let me tell you something,
the rodeo has just begun.

Double up the surveillance
on the Quest, Julia.

I wanna know their every move.

Preferably before they do.

[upbeat music]

[Announcer]
'Welcome to beautiful Cheyenne,
Wyoming, folks.'

'We're glad you all
could make it out'

'for last round of our
Frontier Days Rodeo.'

'Our next contestant

'in the amateur bronco
competition'

'is Ms. Jessie Bannon.'

Yo, Jessie!

[Announcer]
'Her dad is tied for first place
in the bull ridin'.'

So let's see if this little lady
is a chip of the old block.

ha ha ha

[neighing]
Ride 'em, cowgirl.

[Jonny]
'Go, Jessie.'

[Jessie screaming]

thud

[Announcer]
'Oh, how about a big hand
for the little lady, folks?'

That pony was meaner
than a beast on coyote.

Next up, Jonny Quest.

neigh

[audience cheering]

Aah!

Ooh, well, that pony
ain't called Short 'N' Sweet

for nothin' folks. Ha ha ha.

Now, well, we're lookin'

at...Heejad? Hadiji? Uh, no..

Gee, I don't know,
some kinda pseudonym.

'Probably don't want his folks
to know he's at the rodeo.'

You best hold on tight, partner.

Oh, believe me, partner,
in my own fashion

I am holding on tight.

Very, very tight.

Suit yourself, cowboy.

neigh

[audience cheering]

My tranquility
is your tranquility.

[audience cheering]

Now, how'd he do that!

- Huh?
- Alright, Hadj!

Now, wait a minute.
That's not fair.

[audience cheering]

neigh neigh

Oh yeah, tricker!

You kinda laid on
your Q, aren't you?

What can I say, my friend.

It is only mind
over horse matter.

neigh

It's that time.

I guess there's a bull down
there with my name on it.

[Announcer]
'Bring him on, boys.
The Skull Stopper!'

Folks, all Race Bannon has to do
is ride this baby seven seconds

and he'll win this year's
National Rodeo Championship.

clang

[mooing]

[audience cheering]

rip

Hang on a little longer, Bannon

and I'll guarantee you
the ride of your life.

Yeah, I believe this old boy
has the national championship

in the bag.

bang

[bellowing]

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy, fella!

Whoa! Easy fella. Hold on, boy.

[bellowing]

Easy fella! Whoa! Whoa!

Oh, I've never seen him
like this before.

Hold on, dad!

Ooh, this is not good.

Whoa, boy! Whoa!

Oh, no!

crash

Whoa, now! Easy, fella.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy, fella.

Whoa, boy! Whoa!

Ooh, I can't deny,
never seen nothing like that.

Race, look out!

[dramatic music]

Ooh-hey!

Hey, hey, over here.

whack

thud

snort snort

[Race]
Just let me throw
a barrel at him.

swoosh

[Race]
'Over here, prime cut.'

Pick on someone
your own size.

[music continues]

snort snort snort

bellow

[grunting]

Dad!

snort

Oh my god!

bellow

[Jonny]
'Hey! Hey, you big guy.'

'Hey, hey, over here.'

[Jessie]
'Come here,
come here, this way.'

Yo, ugly.

Over here,
you misguided bovine.

snort

[intense music]

moo

Dad...are you alright?

Dad...dad.

beep beep beep

[dramatic music]

Jess, how is he?

Hey, look. If anyone in
the world can pull out of this

it's your dad.

Dr. Quest...isn't there
anything else we can do?

We can't just
sit here and watch.

As a matter of fact, Jessie,
I have been wondering.

'It seems that some vital
neuro pathways'

'between the neocortex
and the hypothalamus'

'are damaged.'

Hence, Race's
comatose condition.

Perhaps we can stimulate
the damaged tissue

by using the phased impulses

of the Questworld
Sensation Simulation System.

But you have to know, Jessie..

...that this
is a dangerous procedure.

You know my dad.
He'd rather go trying

than not try at all.

Questworld, log on.
Subject, Race Bannon.

zap

Going hot.

[buzzing]

What an extraordinarily apt,
even poetical, irony.

It seems that
Race Bannon is...immobilized.

Paralyzed possibly,
and even now

seeking an unlikely cure
in Questworld.

You can't help
but admire Dr. Quest.

He's bitmapped Bannon's
neural pathways and attempting

to rebuild them through
subatomic particle bombardments.

Any one speak english
around here?

The Quests have downloaded

Race Bannon's brain
into Questworld.

They're trying to fix it.

That's all you need
to know, Lorenzo.

No...all you need to know
is if they succeed

I can use the same system
to repair my own injuries.

Log me into Questworld, now.

zap

[buzzing]

[engine revving]

[intense music]

boom

So, the Quests have installed
new security barriers.

Such a weary workmanship.

Ooh, this is not good.

Dr. Jeremiah Surd is definitely

searching for a door
in to Questworld.

zap

swoosh

[door creaking]

bam

What!

[Julia]
'All access to this area
of Questworld is sealed off.'

Hmm.

Are the security blocks holding?

Oh, yes. Questworld
security systems are holding.

Perhaps, I need a faster mode
of data transfer.

Julia, I think I found a way in.

Destructure my persona
into a subatomic form.

You got it, Jeremiah.

[crackling]

[Jeremiah]
'Now, nothing can stop me.'

muahahaha

Dr. Jeremiah Surd
is definitely searching

for a door into Questworld.

I knew the Quests
couldn't block every entrance.

- Yes, he's in!
- Well, ring my bell.

Once again, I even amaze myself.

Nothing is impossible for me.

Dr. Surd's penetrated
Questworld security.

[Dr. Quest]
'Code Blue. Race's
vital signs are fading.'

Dad!

beep beep beep

[intense music]

We're losing him.

[gasps]

[lightning crackling]

You gotta fight!

[Jessie]
'Don't give up on us.'

Jess.

[Jessie]
'Fight back.
We need you.'

Where are you?

I can't see you.

[Jessie]
'We love you.'

[music continues]

[Hadji]
'He's coming back.'

Where am I?

[music continues]

[lightning crackling]

beep beep

We got him, Hadj!
We got him.

Yes, but now,
we must keep him.

Race went critical the instant
Surd broke into Questworld.

So if we're gonna bodyguard him,
we gotta locate Surd.

[dramatic music]

Where am I, Julia?

Something strange
is going on, Jeremiah.

It's as if Bannon has left

the regular
Questworld environment

and-and moved
to a different plane.

I think we've located Surd.

Hold tight, Jeremiah.
I'm going to try to shift you

'to a whole different level.'

[zapping]

- He just disappeared.
- Did he log out of Questworld?

I do not believe so.

'I think Professor Surd
is still in Questworld.'

But somehow beyond our reach.

Then there's only
one place he can be.

In Race's consciousness.

And it'll take us critical time

to figure out how
to access him there.

No, Dr. Quest.
We may not be able

to reach Race directly
through the physics

of Questworld,
but we can reach him

through the metaphysics
of meditation.

[pleasant music]

[zapping]

[music continues]

- Hadji?
- I am here to help.

What's goin' on? Is this
some kind of a dream?

No, it is very real.

Your spirit is hovering
between life and death.

You are on the edge
of The Bardo.

On this side of the river,
your soul exists as Race Bannon.

But once you cross the river,
your soul would pass through

'The Bardo
and into the next life.'

'You are in a weakened state.'

'You must eliminate
all fear and hatred.'

Negative emotions
are amplified here

to dangerous proportions.

Interesting.

Hadji, wait.

I cannot stay, but remember,
whatever happens

'do not cross the river.'

'Remember, not cross the river.'

Oh, this is very bad,
my friends.

Race is between this life
and a parallel existence.

There is a river
between these two realities.

Anyone crossing that river,
is lost to us, forever.

Where do you come up
with this stuff, Hadji?

The moment I saw
Race's predicament

I knew where he was.

It is called The Bardo,
a place which other cultures

'call Limbo or Purgatory.'

Some think it a place
between life and death.

Oh, Bannon.

Gee, I hope
you're feeling better.

[Race]
'Surd, what in the Sam Hill
are you doing here?'

I've come to move you along
your little journey across

the river...into the afterlife.

And who's gonna help you
do that, Jeremiah?

Why, oddly enough, you.

Race Bannon, the man of action
has fear in his heart

and it will surely k*ll him.

muahahaha

muahahaha

[Jeremiah]
'How wonderfully poetic.'

'Crippled in the real world
by a bull'

'Crippled in this world
by fear.'

bellow

[snorting]

clang

thud

muahahaha

bellow

muahahaha

[intense music]

[Race]
How about a swim, Surd?

bam

[both grunting]

Come on, Surd. Come and get me.

[snarling]

splash

gurgle gurgle gurgle

What, what's this?

Time to say goodnight.

bam bam

bam

[gasping]

[Lorenzo]
'What's happening
to the boss, Julia?'

'He looks like he is having
some kind of a heart attack.'

Ah, huh, huh.

thud

[zapping]

[gasping]

Jeremiah's going
into cardiac arrest.

Log him out
of Questworld, Lorenzo.

I can't. It's like
the system's locked up.

[zapping]

If we don't
pull him out, he'll die.

Well, why didn't you say so?

[crackling]

[zapping]

[gasping]

I almost had him.

Oh, Jeremiah! Thank
the stars you're alive.

The stars got nothing
to do with it, Julia.

beep beep

We're losing Race
again, Dr. Quest.

All vital signs are gone.

[zapping]

[Hadji]
'We are losing him.'

[Jessie]
'Dad, please, don't die.
I need you.'

[Race]
Jessie.

[Jessie]
'Dad...I love you.'

[lightning crackling]

beep beep beep

He's coming back.

Stronger than ever.

I think we have effected

an almost miraculous
neurological repair.

We can pull him out, now.

[zapping]

zap

[pleasant music]

[Race]
'Jess. Jonny.'

Man, who dropped the Santa Fe
railroad on my head?

I feel like I've been
to hell and back.

In a manner of speaking

that is exactly
what has occured.

Save it, Hadj. This ain't
the time for metaphysics.

Right now, I need a hot bath
and a cold drink.

I believe that means
your father's back

in one piece, Jessie.

Say, did I actually win
the Rodeo Championship

or was that all just a dream?

[theme music]

[music continues]