Edgar Alighieri wrote this, but since his Hotmail mailbox is unable to handle
huge files, I've volunteered to send it. If you wish to send C&C to him,
either
send it here and I'll foward it, or send it to nubrady@hotmail.com. Thanks
again. And a special thanks to Edgar Alighieri for getting us out of a sticky
situation.
[Cut here]
Kunou. Kodachi. Gosunkugi. Mousse. Sasuke. Ryouga. Cologne. Children
of the pen, characters of Rumiko Takahashi - SUPPORTING CHARACTERS--
Ridiculed and hated by the readers they've sworn to entertain. These
are the weirdest heroes of all!
Bile-Animax Entertainment Studios Presents: SineRanma
!
[We fade in to a shot of Ryouga walking across a range of
mountains.]
Ryouga: [Grumbles] I'm certain the Kunou manor was around here
somewhere, maybe over the next hill.
[Ryouga goes over the next hill and sees a village.]
Ryouga: [Scratches head] <That doesn't look very Japanese to me.
I'd better go down and ask directions.>
[Ryouga enters the small villiage and sees a lot of women there.
Ryouga tries to initiate a conversation with some of the
villagers but they all ignore him. Finally he grabs one of them
by the arm and pulls her in front of him. She looks a little put
off.]
Ryouga: Excuse me Miss, could you please tell me the name of this
village?
Woman: {Get your hands off me!}*
[* - Translated from the Cantonese -Creeping Chris]
Ryouga: What was that?
Woman: {Remove your hands, or I shall remove them for you!}
Ryouga: [Bemused] Come again?
[The woman slaps him. Ryouga takes his hands off her.]
Ryouga: Gah, I'm in China. Too bad I never learned the language.
Now what am I suppose to do?! [grabs hair]
[A tall, male figure walks behind him.]
Man: {I'll take care of this, Faye.} [He turns to face Ryouga] You're
one of Mousses's friends aren't you?
Ryouga: Well, not exactly a friend....
[The figure grabs him and jumps across the rooftops quickly.]
_____________________________________________________________________
SineRanma
A Production of Bile-Animax Entertainment Studios Inc.
SineRanma Created by Jang Choe and Chris Schumacher
Episode 5: Thirdsword
Written By: Edgar Alighieri
Plot Original By: Chris Schumacher
_____________________________________________________________________
[The male figure continues to leap across the rooftops despite the
protests of Ryouga. Finally, he stops and throws Ryouga into a
hut. The figures goes in also. Ryouga gets up pissed.]
Ryouga: Who the hell are you? What the hell are you doing?
Man: You certainly use the word 'hell' a helluva lot. You ever heard
of a Shaolin Marital Arist called Gel?
Ryouga: No.
Man: [A bit put off] Well, try to remember that name.
Ryouga: I don't have time for this shit, I have to get to the Kunou
Manor and attend an important meeting.
[The man walks in front of Ryouga and refuses to move.]
Ryouga: Move it old man!
Man: Remember that Shaolin martial artist I just mentioned? Gel?
Ryouga: What the hell is it with him? Why do you keep bringing him
up, do you know him or something?
Man: Of course I know him. [Points thumb towards chest.] He's me.
Ryouga: You are the most self-absorbed person I've ever met, you
know that? Get out of my way!
Gel: What are you going to do if I don't?
Ryouga: Kick your ass.
Gel [pointing]: Damn, that Amazon bitch is fine!
Ryouga [looking]: Huh?
[Gel punches Ryouga in the stomach and kicks him down. Then he
puts his foot over his head.]
Gel: Listen up, you want to go to the Kunou Manor? I can take you
there.
Ryouga: How do you know where the manor is?
Gel: Cologne contacted me about the situation over there. She
wanted me to come over and help out, but I said, "look woman, I ain't
helping you out, see?" So she said that the whole world is in danger
or something. And I said, "so?" What I'm getting at is that I have
to contribute something because she kept bugging me so I guess I'll
help you go to Kunou Manor.
Ryouga [getting up]: Good, now lets go.
Gel: Wait a sec, I wanna test you out, for fun.
Ryouga: Te... Test me out?
Gel: No not like that, I wanna see how well you fight.
Ryouga: Oh, but watch out, I'm pretty strong.
Gel: Look, cut that shit out. I'll save you some trouble and going
straight to the training part.
Ryouga: Training?
Gel: Yeah, I hear that the thing you have to fight is pretty strong
so I have to train you for it.
Ryouga: So you're not going to fight me?
Gel: No, I'd beat the shit out of you and you wouldn't learn anything.
[Gel takes him to this huge boulder.]
Gel[cont.]: Okay, now shatter this rock.
Ryouga: No problem. Breaking Point Attack!
[The rock shatters.]
Gel: Hmmm...You're further along that I thought.
Ryouga: Never underestimate people.
Gel: [Thinks about it for a moment, then nods.] Good idea.
[Gel punches and his arm extends the five foot gulf in between
him and Ryouga and hits him in the chest. Ryouga scampers
backwards in a futile attempt to stop his fall, but eventually
fails.]
Ryouga: How... [Gasp] How did you do that?
Gel: I learned that from some guy I knew in India. Come on, fight me
Jimmy-me-boy, fight me!
Ryouga: Who's Jimmy?
[Ryouga stands up and dusts himself off. He then assumes the
mantis pose. Then he starts as if realizing something, and
assuemes a regular posture.]
Ryouga: Screw this, I'm not going to fight you. This is asinine.
[A gleam appears in Gel's eyes, then he assumes a regular pose
as well and places his palms together respectfully and bows.]
Gel: One should fight only when they need to fight. That is the most
important lesson of any martial arts school. Except for Ninjitsu,
but they're dishonorable bastards, and We're Better Than Them anyway.
[Gel walks off and motion for Ryouga to follow him.]
Gel: Come on, we're warming up the jet.
Ryouga: JET?!
Gel: Yeah. What'd you think we were going to do, walk? The meeting's
in two hours for crying out loud! Besides, the second most important
lesson is that you should never walk when you can ride, fly, skate,
jet-ski, teleport....
[He walks off into the distance. Ryouga turns to look at the
camera.]
Ryouga: What an odd person.
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to a room deep beneath Kunou Manor. There is a large oaken
table with metal chairs set all around it. Above a giant oval
shaped light fixture provides each chair with a small spot of
light. Sitting at the head of the table, on a milk-crate, is
Cologne. Next to her on her right sits Kunou, across from him
is Kodachi, who is dressed in rather conservative clothes as
opposed to her usual leotard. Next to her is an empty seat.
Next to Kunou is Gosunkugi who is dressed in a midnight blue
robe and wears a pointy wizard hat. Next to Gosunkugi sits
Mousse, who is wearing new glasses with thick square lenses
with built in magnifying spots. Next to the empty chair next
to Kodachi is Sasuke, dressed as usual. Before all of the chairs
mentioned are a water glass and a green folder. Kodachi's is
open and she's sifting through it.]
Kunou: [Shifting in his seat] Where is he?!
Kodachi: [Not looking up] Patience Elder Brother.
Cologne: These matters take time. Especially when Ryouga is involved.
It shouldn't be much longer, though, I sent an old friend of mine to
find him. It's his job to find missing things. And beating up people
who deserve it. And piss him off. And look at him the wrong way. And
ugly and annoying people, we can't forget them.
Mousse&Gosunkugi: HEY!
Cologne: [Shrugging it off] Needless to say he's a very multi-talented
individual.
[Suddenly the doors to the room fly open and our two heroes emerge.]
Cologne: Speak of the devil.
Gel: Is this your man? I found him lurking about my country.
Cologne: It's "our" country comrade, have you forgotten the Communist
regime?
Gel: [Glares] I'm Tibetan, Cologne.
Cologne: And Tibet is part of China, watch the news once in a while.
[The two glare at each other across the room. Ryouga sighs and
takes his place between Kodachi and Sasuke. He flips open his
agenda and leafs through it.]
Ryouga: [Mumbles] Could use more naked girls.
Kodachi: [Turns to him] What was that?
Ryouga: Uh, nothing. [Blushes]
Cologne: [To Gel] Would you care to stay, "old friend"?
Gel: Don't mind if I do, "old hag".
[He takes the chair next to Mousse, who gives him a disgusted
look and moves his chair a little bit closer to Gosunkugi. Gel
cackles.]
Cologne: Everybody, except for Mousse and Ryouga, this is Gel my
"old friend".
All: Hello "old friend".
Gel: Will you stop with the quote-marks-in-air?! It was funny the
first couple of times only!
[With everyone seated Cologne finally opens her own agenda.]
Cologne: I call to order the third meeting of the Coalition To Get
Tofu.
[She slams her fist down onto the table and everyone, including
Gel, jumps.]
Cologne: Our expert on weaknesses, Tatewaki Kunou, will inform us of
his analysis of any possible weaknesses in Demon-Tofu. Tatewaki?
Kunou: There are none.
Cologne: Okay, now we figure out what we're going to do about this.
Any suggestions?
[After a moment Mousse raises his hand.]
Cologne: No Mousse, we are NOT going to try nuclear weapons.
[Mousse lowers his hand, sheepishly.]
Ryouga: [Laughing] What say we call in Godzilla?
[Cologne nods to Sasuke, and he tosses three shruikens at Ryouga.
They all imbed themselves in Ryouga's umbrella, which he just
happened to bring with him.]
Cologne: Any other smart-ass suggestions?
Sasuke: Gameron?
[He throws three shruikens at himself, but they deflect off his
psi-forcefield.]
Mousse: Mine wasn't smart-ass, it would probably work!
Kodachi: Mousse, according to the original Atlanteian scrolls* the
demon originally fed on exploding stars, I don't think a relatively
small fission explosion is going to have that much of an effect.
[* - The ones Albertus Magnus painstakingly translated, as mentioned
in SineRanma #0. -Creeping Chris]
Mousse: Well, we won't know until we try, will we?
Ryouga: Don't you remember War Of The Worlds and Independence Day?
The nuclear weapons NEVER work, and all you end up doing is making a
big hole in the ground and a bunch of radiation.
Gel: Sounds like me after I eat chili. BWAHAHAHAHA!
[Sound FX: Waugh, waugh, waugh.]
Cologne: Ever superbeing has SOME sort of weakness, and I bet that
Tofu is no exception.
Sasuke: Wait a second, that's not right.
Cologne: You don't think Tofu has a weakness?
Sasuke: No, that every superbeing has a weakness. The Incredile Hulk
doesn't have a weakness.
Ryouga: Yes he does, he becomes weakened whenever he turns back into
Bruce Banner.
Sasuke: Yes, but the Hulk himself have a weakness?
Kodachi: If we're talking the Green one, there's the fact that he
isn't very intelligent.
[Cologne slams her fist into the table.]
Cologne: SILENCE!
[A moment passes in silence.]
Ryouga: What about the Leader? Does he have a weakness?
Sasuke: Yes, physical weakness. He may be the smartest being that
ever lived, but the Hulk could beat the living hell out of him.
Cologne: Will you PLEASE cut it out?!
Ryouga: I still say turning him back into Banner is his weakness.
Kodachi: Could we do that with Tofu?
Cologne: [Shakes her head] No, we can't. Their minds are so
intermingled that we can't destroy one without destroying the other.
Mousse: Hey, what about Doctor Manhattan? He doesn't have any
weaknesses.
Kodachi: That's because he symbolized God.
Ryouga: I always thought he symbolized Fate.
Kodachi: Same difference.
[Cologne throws up her hands and lays her head down on the table.]
Cologne: [Mumbles] Why the hell did I bother with teenagers?
Mousse: Hey, why don't we make a huge mutant spider, and he can
eat Tofu?
Sasuke: Spiders are carniverous, they wouldn't eat tofu.
[Sound FX: Waugh, waugh, waugh.]
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to the front of Kunou Manor, much later. Everyone's leaving.
Sasuke and Cologne walks off together.]
Cologne: Kodachi told me about that sword you used to kill the Kraken,
it was quite magnificent from what I heard.
Sasuke: Aye, it probably was one the greatest blades ever forged.
[He reaches back into one of his two sheathes and pulls forth
what is left of The Katana Of Swordstrike; the hilt and about
a foot of blade. The blade is terribly rended at the end.]
Sasuke: Still, it couldn't stand up to the Kraken unsacthed. I dug
it from the pile of stones that constituted its corpse shortly after
the battle.
Cologne: Can I see it?
Sasuke: Sure.
[Sasuke hands the broken sword to Cologne, she holds it in one
hand and looks upon the broken slate-grey blade.]
Cologne: This is the one they call the Life Stealer's Twin, isn't it?
Sasuke: Yeah, though I could never figure out why.
Cologne: With the proper magics, we might be able to reforge this.
[She hands it back to him. Sasuke shakes his head.]
Sasuke: I don't think we should bother. I doubt we'll ever have need
of this blade again. [He sheathes it.]
Cologne: Then why do you still carry it?
Sasuke: Because of my great ancestor Shinobi. A continual reminder
which will allow me to become greater in emulation of him.
Cologne: You shouldn't try to imitate anyone Sasuke, you should try
and become great in your own way. Shinobi merely imprisoned the demon
his way. Perhaps doing it your way will finally destroy him.
Sauske: [nods] We can only hope.
[They stop walking, they're in front of Nekohanten.]
Cologne: Thanks for walking me home, Sasuke, though it wasn't really
required.
Sasuke: Duty is always required, ma'am.
Cologne: Would you like to come in for a drink or some soup?
Sasuke: [Shakes his head] No thank you ma'am, I've got to get back
home, there's something I need to look up.
Cologne: Call me if it's anything important.
Sasuke: Will do.
[Cologne jumps through the window at the top of the door and
lands inside. Sasuke looks at the door in amazement for a
moment, and the begins to make his way back to the Kunou manor.]
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut back to Sasuke's room. He opens the doors, comes in, and
flips on the lights. He walks over to an old wooden chest set
at the foot of his futon which he flips open and takes several
scrolls out of. A different kanjii symbol is written on the
outside of each scroll in blue ink. He keeps sorting through
them until he finds the one he wants, which looks very ancient
indeed. He puts the rest back into the chest and closes the lid.
He goes over to the table in the center of the room and rolls
the scroll out before him. He reads some of it and then smiles.]
Sasuke: I *KNEW* it!
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut back to the same board room deep under Kunou Manor that we
saw earlier. Kunou, Kodachi, Sasuke, Ryouga and Gel are in
their usual seats. Sasuke is enthralled by the scroll that we
saw earlier, and he's scribbling notes on a notebook next to the
scroll. A moment passes and then the door fly open. Gosunkugi,
Cologne and Mousse enter and take their seats without a word.
A moment passes in silence. And then Sasuke finally looks up.]
Sasuke: Sorry for the delay. I believe that I have found a possible
new tool in our fight against Tofu.
[He pauses to let it sink in.]
Gel: Well don't keep us on the ropes boy, tell us what it is!
Sasuke: [Glares] Do NOT call me "boy"!
Gel: Hey, don't get all touchy-feely on me now.
[Sasuke turns back to his notebook.]
Sasuke: Some of what I'm about to say some of you already know, but
for the three new members of this coalition, I will repeat the legend
of Shinobi in its entirety. A long time ago what we would call a
"demon" was walking, or floating rather, this area of the world. He
came in conflict with the originator of my clan, Shinobi. Originally
all but ten of Shinobi's rather large clan were killed in a battle
in an attempt to destroy this demon. My ancestor commissioned the
blacksmith and mage of the clan to construct three swords that would
help him defeat the demon. The first was the Life Stealer, which
Shinobi used to steal the demon's psyhic powers. Shinobi then used
these powers in conjunction with the blade and an ancient idol which
my family possessed to imprison the demon. He thus became imprisoned
in the idol. Which was later taken away from my clan by the Tendo clan,
and was buried on their property. Where it was found a month ago. Thus
the other two swords remained unused.
Ryouga: Let me guess, one of them was the Katana of Swordstrike?
Sasuke: [Nods] Exactly. The first sword was called Life Stealer and
stole the lifeforce from whoever it attacked, unbeknownest to Shinobi
it also stole other things. The second sword, the Katana of Swordstrike,
transformed the flesh of the opponent into stone. And the third...
[He looks down at the scroll sadly] is covered by an ink stain.
Cologne: WHAT?!
Sasuke: This must've happened in Shinobi's time, because every other
scroll refers to this sword simply as "Thirdsword". And nothing is
known of its powers. But since these swords were originally constructed
to defeat this demon, it must have taken advantage of some weakness of
the demon. Some weakness which Shinobi knew that he had.
Kodachi: Where is the Thirdsword?
Sasuke: [Sighs] Shortly before Shinobi died the sword was stolen from
our compound by the rival ninja clan of Luz. In his dying breath
Shinobi ordered them to retrieve the Thirdsword. They sacked the base
of the Luz clan, killing all its members, but didn't manage to find the
Thirdsword. Although I'm certain they were thorough, they must have
overlooked something. We need to retrieve it from the Luz compound.
Gosunkugi: But that was over 500 years ago, would the compound even
still be standing?
Sasuke: [Nods] When I was growing up my father warned me never to go
near the old Luz compound because the ghosts of the slain members
inhabited it, crying out in the night for vengeance. Of course I went
there once during the day, I assure you that it's still standing.
Gel: Woohoo, a field trip!
Kunou: Who's going then?
Kodachi: Are you, Elder Brother?
Kunou: Someone needs to stay behind and protect Nerima.
Gosunkugi: You're just a coward.
Kunou: [Jumping to his feet] Why you!
Cologne: [Eyes glowing] Sit down. Now.
[Kunou sits down, his face still glowing with rage.]
Cologne: Tatewaki brings up a good point, we can't leave Nerima
defensless. Therefore this mission must be completed as soon as
possible. In other words, you leave within the hour, and you should
be back by noon.
Kodachi: Are you out of your mind, going into the Luz compound at
NIGHT?!
Kunou: Is little Kotchi afraid of ghosts?
Kodachi: I am not afraid of ANYTHING. [Holds up her Indra Signet
ring, which glows] especially with this.
Ryouga: I'll go too, we need all the help we can get.
Sasuke: [Rolling up scroll] Naturally, I'm going.
Mousse: I'll lend a hand.
Gel: Me too.
Mousse: No "you too", you go to Hell, you go to Hell and you die!
Gel: [Walking towards the door] Don't fret Muumuu-chan, this'll be
a good chance for us to catch up on things. Last one to the jet's
a decayed fingle egg. Woohoo! [Jumps and clicks his heels]
Mousse: [Groans] Oh God this is going to be a long trip.
Kodachi: [To Cologne] Are you sure you two can manage?
Cologne: We'll do just fine dear.
Kunou: Yes little sister, go off and find your little play sword. I
assure you Tokyo will still be standing when you get back.
[Kodachi sticks her tounge out at Kunou and runs to catch up
with Ryouga as he leaves the room. Gosunkugi twiddles his
thumbs and looks down at the table. Suddenly a shadow falls
over him. He looks up and sees Ryouga.]
Ryouga: Do you want an engraved invitation or something?!
Gosunkugi: [Pushing his chair back] A "would you please come along"
would've been nice.
[He walks over the door and exits with the rest of the group.]
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to an external/aerial shot of a jet flying through the
night. Cut to an interior shot of the lit cabin. Our heroes
are all sitting in chairs facing each other. They all seem
to be listening intently to Gel. All, that is, except for
Mousse.]
Gel: "And I said "Nobody, I'm nobody." Your mistake was believing
me."
Mousse: Could we please talk about something...
Ryouga: Shhh!
Mousse: And then Capone turns to him and says "I'll be back Ness,
sooner than you think.". And then he walks out of the courtroom. Cue
that cool theme music, and then the black screen with "Executive
Producer Christopher Crowe."
Kodachi: We never got The Untouchables over here, we always had to
watch crap like G Gundam and Legend Of Galactic Heroes.
Ryouga: Hey, I resent that! G Gundam was a great series!
Kodachi: Uh-huh, and the last time I heard that one I fell off a
bronotsaurus in Eodon.
Gel: You see the trick is to get a satellite hook-up.
Ryouga: Aren't those illegal in China?
Gel: [Shrugs] What isn't? And then you can get the Sci-Fi channel,
that's really cool because they show reruns of Alien Nation and...
Mousse: [Groan] Could we PLEASE talk about something else? My brain
is starting to atrophy.
Gosunkugi: Where did you learn that word?
Mousse: I'm so bored that I'm starting to have knowledge of stuff
that I haven't learned yet.
[Everyone spares a glance to Gosunkugi in his wizard's hat.]
Gel: Why don't we talk about all that fun we used have when you
were training, how will THAT satisfy you Mousse?
Mousse: [Groan] Please, ANYTHING but that.
Gel: [Laughs] I used to dress up like Fonzie whenever he taught him.
He told me that I wasn't taking the art seriously. [Laughs] Imagine
that, a student telling his teacher he isn't taking the art seriously?
Ryouga: Hey, that's something I've wondered about. If you're Mousse's
teacher, then how come you don't dress or fight like him?
Gel: He picked up that "Hidden Weapons" crap after he flunked out of
my classes. Poor sot could never learn to be a decent fighter.
Mousse: That's enough out of you!
Gel: Don't take that tone with me, I could wipe the floor with ya.
Mousse: Could not!
Gel: [Challenging] You want a piece of me?
Mousse: Yeah, let's have at it.
[The two fly at each other. Cut to an exterior shot of the plane,
suddenly one of the windows punctures and various implements
get sent out the plane. Cut to a few moments later. Everyone is
now wearing those oxygen masks that fall from the overheard
compartment and Gosunkugi is casting a mending spell on the
plexiglass window. A moment passes and it's mended. Our heroes
take off their masks.]
Kodachi: You stupid klutz, you should know better than to fight in
here!
Mousse: Well excuuuuuuuuse me!
Gel: You know this wouldn't have happened if you bothered to learn
my barehanded tactics.
Mousse: Bearhand this old-man!
[He starts to pull something from his robe, but Ryouga brains
him with his umbrella. Mousse falls to the ground unconsious.]
Gosunkugi: Thank you.
Ryouga: No problem.
Gel: Now where was I...oh, yes. Capone's in prison. So Nitti's in
charge, and the first thing he does is have Ness's HQ blown up...
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to a jeep driving down a dirt-road somewhere in southern
Japan. It is around 3:00 AM. Cut to the cramped interior of
the jeep. Sasuke is looking at a map. Kodachi and Gel are
looking over his shoulder. The unconsious form of Mousse is
belted into the shotgun seat. Gosunkugi is currently driving.]
Gosunkugi: [Mumbles] It's amazing what's in those old books...
Sasuke: Now, where I put this yellow X is where the Shinobi compound
is.
Gel: Is the X below or on top of the compound?
Sasuke: [Blinks] Uh, it doesn't actually exist, it's just on the
map.
Gel: Oh, I see. Go on.
Sasuke: Ah, thanks. Anyway, somewhere in this wood over here is
where the ruins of the Luz compound are. Somewhere within the vincity
of this red circle.
Gel: They should've known better than to build near a landmark like
that.
Sasuke: So we take the jeep into the trees, and we spread out. And
look out for Charlie, up in the trees. [Shakes his head] Damn you
old man, now you've got me started!
Gel: [Smirk] Thanks, I try.
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to our heroes trudging through the woods. An errie green
circle floats in the air, the four cardinal points marked with
the kanjii symbols indicating the direction and a bunch of
inch-marks all over the rest of the ring. Gosunkugi is leading
the bunch and has two soft yellow orbs floating over his
shoulders providing illumination for the area.]
Gosunkugi: Hmmm, nothing yet. You did say in the center, didn't you?
Sasuke: [Irritated] Yes! What else sounds like "center"?!
Gosunkugi: Christ boy, switch to Decaf.
Sasuke: [Furious] Don't call me "boy"!
Kodachi: Simmer down! Look, if we keep going at the 45-degree angle
to the north we should run right smack into it.
Ryouga: That is if it even exists.
Sasuke: Of course it exists! Do you think I'm making this up?!
Gosunkugi: Hey, the trees are thinning out up ahead.
[Our heroes rush forward, the light spheres and compass ring
just managing to keep up with them. They enter into a clearing
with a huge ancient Japanese building before them.]
Ryouga: Holy shit, it's here.
Gosunkugi: [Wide-eyed] And it's real.
Sasuke: Of course it's real!
[Sasuke pulls a photocopy of one of his scrolls from the satchel
he has strung on one shoulder. He looks at it and hums.]
Sasuke: There's a secret entrance into one of the parlors on the
other side.
Ryouga: Why would we need a secret entrance? You're not afraid of
ghosts, are you? Who believes in ghosts anymore?
Sasuke: Ryouga, we're fighting against someone possessed by a demon
that escaped from an idol, ghosts are scientifically proven compared
to that. [Lifts hand] Weapons at the ready. Gosunkugi, produce one
light source per person.
Gosunkugi: As you wish.
[He holds out his hand and a green glow surrounds it, he runs his
hand through it as if making minute adjustments. Suddenly
yellow light spheres pop up next to all of our heroes.]
Sasuke: I don't need one, thank you.
[He reaches up and snuffs it out, much to Gosunkugi's surprise
and chargin. Sasuke holds up his hand and a pulsing ball of
glowing psionic energy appears above his right shoulder. He
unsheathes his one katana and walks towards the house, motioning
for the rest to follow. Cut to a shot of the other side of the
house. Our heroes creep up towards the wall. Sasuke starts to
probe the walls with his hands. Then he draws them back and
closes his eyes, a small glimmer of blue psionic energy sparks
across the house. Suddenly a ledge is pulled down by an invisible
hand and a door flies inward.]
Kodachi: I'm surprised that this place managed to remain in such
great shape after 500 years with no one taking care of it.
Gosunkugi: I haven't detected a magic field anywhere. Can you feel a
psionic one Sasuke?
Sasuke: Nope. Come on, let's go.
[They go in through the door. Cut to a shot of the door from
the inside. Sasuke walks in and faces the camera. He looks
extremely shocked.]
Kodachi: [OS] Move Sasuke, we can't get in.
[Ryouga's face appears over Sasuke's shoulder. It quickly changes
to a look of astonishment.]
Ryouga: Christ on a crutch!
[Cut to a shot of the room. There are at least half-a-dozen
human figures standing in the parlor. All of them are made out
of an eerie form of blue light.]
Lead Ghost: So, a descendant of Shinobi has finally come to visit
his victims. We have waited five centuries to make you pay the price
for what your clan did to us!
[The lead ghost flies through the air towards Sasuke, becoming
less and less human as it approached him. Finally it's nothing
more than a blur of blue light that strikes him and sends him
flying out of the door and back into the yard. All of our heroes
look in.]
Gel: Holy Spielberg Batman!
Kodachi: They're here...
[Ryouga helps Sasuke back to his feet.]
Sasuke: Damn, I was afraid of something like this.
Ryouga: Something like WHAT?
Sasuke: When the Shinobi clan came here to get Thirdsword the Luz
clan refused to tell them where they hid it. Then the Shinobi clan
massacred the entire clan. To the very last member and they still
refused to tell them where they hid it.
Kodachi: Well, it's rather obvious where they hid it, isn't it?
Sasuke: Eh?
Kodachi: In the Inner Sanctum, dummy! Every ninja compound has a
place, a bolthole, where the leader can hide and goes to be alone.
It would only make sense that the sword would be there.
Gel: Right! All we've got to do is go in there and find it!
Ryouga: [Motion to the house] What about this lot then? I don't think
they'll be too keen.
Sasuke: Pop quiz, you've got about two-dozen blood thirsty ghosts
in a house which have a personal vendetta against your family, what
do you do?
Kodachi: Shoot the hostage?
Sasuke: No, you send in someone who isn't a member of the family.
[They all look around. It falls on Gosunkugi. He rolls his eys,
sighs, and then shrugs. He makes his way towards the door and
walks into the parlor. The ghosts turn to look at him.]
Gosunkugi: H-hi, I'm just here to..uh...appraise the place. You know,
for, uh, taxes.
Lead Ghost: Are you a Shinobi?
Gosunkugi: Uh, no.
Lead Ghost: Are you a friend of a Shinobi?
Gosunkugi: [Shrugs] Well, yes, I suppose.
Lead Ghost: Then...DIE!
[The ghost does the blur thing again and Gosunkugi is thrown out
of the house. He skids a good ten feet before our heroes manage
to catch him.]
Gosunkugi: Damn them, they got grass stains on my good robe!
Jun: Gos, when someone asks you if you're a friend of their mortal
enemy, you say NO!
Gosunkugi: Thanks, I'll remember that next time.
Kodachi: What now?
Ryouga: What does one do with a house dominated by the dead?
[Sasuke's eyes widen.]
Sasuke: That's it!
Kodachi: What? What's "it"?
Sasuke: In the scroll!
[He digs it out.]
Sasuke: "The dead shall have no dominion, the living shall reign.
Only those who have fear in their minds shall feel the pain". As
long as we don't fear them, the ghosts can't touch us!
Ryouga: Oh yeah, that's simple, don't be afraid of people made out
of blue light. Easy, do it all the time.
[Sasuke stares Ryouga in the eyes, a moment of meaningful exchange
passes, and then Ryouga blinks and steps back a few feet.]
Sasuke: Are you afraid of ghosts?
Ryouga: [Surprised that anyone would ask that question] No, of course
not. The dead shall have no dominion, right?
Sasuke: Then go into the house.
Ryouga: Right-o.
[Ryouga walks through the door, and is not replused.]
Kodachi: [Angry] What did you do to him?
[Sasuke is taken a bit aback by the fierceness of her reply.]
Sasuke: I put a psyhic block in his mind, he can't feel any fear for
about another two hours. I'm going to do that all of you in turn,
and we'll go in.
Gel: What about you?
Sasuke: I can block myself easily enough.
[Cut to a few moments later, all of our heroes are walking through
the house. The ghosts are lunging at them but going right through
without affecting them in the least.]
Ryouga: Now where would they hide an inner-sanctum?
Kodachi: Maybe we should do a scan of the place. Can you do that
Sasuke?
Sasuke: [Shakes head] It's taking most of my resources just to keep
the mental blocks active. What about you Gos?
Gosunkugi: No can do, ghosts are psyhic projections, this much
psionic energy in a confined space really fucks up magic.
[They come to an intersection.]
Kodachi: I think I know a way. Ryouga, which way should we go?
Ryouga: Ummmm...This way. [Points to the right.]
Kodachi: Are you sure?
Ryouga: Yeah.
Kodachi: Okay then.
[She goes through the left one, everyone except Ryouga following.
he looks a bit bemused, then angry, then amused. He smirks and
follows.]
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to a little while later. Our heroes walk through a passageway
and find themselves at a deadend.]
Kodachi: Hmmm... [Looks at one wall, turns around and looks at the
other.] This is a puzzler.
Ryouga: I feel we should go...up.
[Kodachi looks down. She motions to Mousse to come hither. He
does.]
Kodachi: Pry the floor boards out.
Gel: Wait, there should be a catch around here...
[He searches the floorboards, finally he finds it. He pulls on
a floorboard and a wooden hatch rises out of the floors, it
leads to stairs going down.]
Gel: Well, how about that.
Mousse: One of these days you're going to screw up and I just hope
I'm around to see it.
Gel: You already have, it's the day I chose you a student.
Mousse: Blow me.
[Sasuke walks down the stairs and comes to a door. He tries the
knob but it won't open. He walks back up the stairs and turns
to Mousse. They exchange meaningful glances.]
Sasuke: Be my guest.
Mousse: [Smirks] All right!
Sasuke: Okay, everyone back.
[He motions for all of them to step back a few feet and moves
back with them. Gel looks a bit disgusted. Mousse reaches into
his cloak and comes out with a chicken.]
Kodachi: Where'd he get THAT from?
Ryouga: A master doesn't reveal his secrets.
Sasuke: Shhh!
[The chicken lays an egg, Mousse takes it in his other hand and
stuffs the chicken back into his robe. He eyeballs the distance
between the egg and the door, not once lifting his new glasses
from where they're perched on his face. Then he steps back a
pace and throws the egg at the door. As it hits the door it
produces a large explosion and blows the door inwards.]
Sasuke: [Pats him on the shoulder] Way to go boy!
Mousse: Don't call me "boy"!
[Everyone except Mousse and Gel go down the stairs. Gel makes
to go down, but turns to exchange a glance with Mousse.]
Gel: I will admit, your abilities do have their uses.
Mousse: I like to think so.
[Gel turns and walks down the stairs with Mousse tailing behind
him. Cut to an interior shot of the room below them. It is in
fact another room with another door on the wall.]
Sasuke: I hope we don't have to blow this one too. Another blast
like that and the house might come tumbling down.
[He walks over and pulls on the doorknob. Suprisingly it comes
open easily. He turns around to the rest.]
Sasuke: I'd like to be alone at this moment. It's a family thing.
Kodachi: [Nods] We understand.
[We follow Sasuke as he walks in. It's another room, similar to
the one before, but instead of a door in the end there is a
curtain. And between Sasuke and the curtain stands a man who
looks impossibly old. He wears a wrinkled white cape and looks
at Sasuke as he comes in.]
Man: I smell the blood of Shinobi in you, and thus the smell of Luz
blood on you.
[Sasuke looks startled. Then his face is filled with relief and
he smiles.]
Sasuke: The dead shall have no dominion, you cannot harm me.
[The man pulls a long metal staff from where he was hiding it
under his robe. He swings it in an arc and hits Sasuke on the
head with it. Startled, he falls to the ground.]
Man: Wanna bet?
[Sasuke crawls back a few feet on his hands and feet.]
Sasuke: Th-That's impossible! All the Luz were killed 500 years ago!
Man: All but me, the chief.
Sasuke: But that's impossible, that was half a millenium ago!
Man: Hatred is a powerful emotion boy, it has kept me alive for
500 years. And it will give me the power to destroy you! Get up,
I want you to have a fighting chance, unlike my people!
[Sasuke rises to his feet.]
Sasuke: What is your name? I want to know the name of the man who
stayed alive 500 years to kill me.
Man: My name lost its meaning a long time ago. It will suffice to
call me Rage.
Sasuke: So be it Rage. Prepare, at long last, to die.
Rage: Gladly!
[Sasuke pulls his katana from its sheath and assumes the tiger
position. Rage makes to slam the staff into his head again,
but Sasuke reaches up and grabs it. He tries to pull it from
his hands but fails.]
Sasuke: You're pretty strong for an old guy!
Rage: Enough talk!
[He jerks the staff upwards, pulling Sasuke off his feet and
sending him slamming into the ceiling of the room. He falls to
the floor and gets winded again.]
Sasuke: You...
Rage: Die!
[He slams the butt of the staff towards Sasuke, prepared to
smash his spine. Sasuke rolls out of the way and manages to do
a footsweep from his position. Rage falls on his ass as Sasuke
jumps to his feet. Sasuke arcs the katana towards Rage, but
he blocks it with his metal staff, which he then uses to hit
Sasuke in the left leg, he grabs it and doesn't manage to
avoid the blow that Rage delievers to his gut with the other
end of the staff. Rage then swings it in a 180 degree arc,
posed to smash Sasuke's head in. Sasuke holds up his katana
in one last show of defiance. It breaks the blow and the staff
bounces off, but the blade snaps in two.]
Sasuke: You bastard, that was a birthday present!
[He leaps to his feet and slowly moves back. Rage barrels towards
him, swinging the staff every which way, screaming a chorus
of unconnceted and incomprehensible shouts, entering into a
berserker rage. As he comes closer Sasuke reaches onto his
back and pulls the hilt of Katana of Swordstrike from his
sheath. He looks at the broken sword in panic and curses. He
then drops to a laying position and succeeds in knocking Rage's
feet from beneath him, Sasuke then kicks at his staff which
goes flying into a corner of the room beyond his reach. Sasuke
lunges forth and plunges the broken Katana of Swordstrike into
Rage's heart. Rage lets out a bellowing scream. Sasuke slowly
crawls away.]
Sasuke: There, how's that for you?
[Rage pulls the Katana of Swordstrike fragment free and throws
it onto the floor. He then falls back to the floor.]
Rage: A telling blow, indeed. Thus the last of Luz dies.
[Sasuke walks over his body and into the curtained room. Beyond
there is nothing. Sasuke moves the lightsource around the room
in an attempt to find something, but there's nothing. He walks
out past the curtain and crouches over Rage, grabbing him by
the tunic.]
Sasuke: Where is it?
Rage: Where's what?
Sasuke: Thirdsword! The sword you stole from my clan 500 years ago!
Rage: We never stole any sword. Shinobi lied, he wanted the clan to
wipe us out completely, but he knew that if he attempted it as a
campaign he would fall from favor. So he enraged them. We never stole
the sword, Shinobi hid it.
[Sasuke's eyes widen with shocked realization.]
Sasuke: That bastard, that fucking bastard!
Rage: [Long sigh] I can rest in peace now, knowing that the
Shinobi clan knows that the chamber is empty. And you now know the
depth of your clan's crimes.
[When Sasuke looks back down at Rage he's become stone and had
bonded with the floor. Sasuke rises and leaves the room. Cut
back to the room where the rest of the group was waiting.]
Kodachi: Well?
Ryouga: Where's the sword?
Sasuke: In the same place it's been for the last 500 years, back at
the Shinobi compound!
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to the foyer of the Shinobi compound, dawn. Sasuke's father,
in bathrobe, comes to door. The doorbell is ringing repeatedly
in the background. Sasuke throws open the door to see our
heroes standing on the porch.]
SDad: Sasuke! I, I wasn't expecting you, but I'm glad you finally
decided to put this bitterness aside and pay me a visit!
Sasuke: Put a sock in it dad, take us to the inner sanctum.
SDad: What?! Who are these people? The Inner Sanctum can only be
entered by the leader of the Clan, so...
[Sasuke grabs his dad by the front of the robe and shoves him
up against the wall.]
Sasuke: Listen to me pops, and listen good. I've taken just about
enough shit off you , so either you take us to the inner sanctum
or I'm going to rip off your fucking balls and stuff them down your
throat, is that crystal clear father dear?
SDad: S-sure!
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to a room somewhat similar to the outer sanctum we saw in
the Luz compound. There is a curtain pulled against the doorway
just like in the Luz compound. Sasuke turns to the assembled
group.]
Sasuke: I'm going in there alone.
SDad: But it's forbidden, only the current leader can go in there!
Sasuke: If you want to fight for the leadership then fine, elsewise
I'm going in there.
[Sasuke starts to go towards the curtain but his father steps in
the way.]
SDad: All right, this has gone far enough. I don't know what strange
ideas these people put into your head, but the fact remains that I
am the clan leader, not to mention your father, and what I say goes!
[Sasuke holds his finger up towards the ceiling, the tip begins
to glow with bluish psionic energy. He touches his father on
the shoudler with it, a huge blast of energy appears and sends
his father cartwheeling sideways into the wall. He smacks his
head and falls over, dazed. Sasuke walks through the curtain.
The inner sanctum is dark, but Sasuke brings up the ball of
psionic energy again to light the room. There is nothing in
it. Sasuke looks around, apparently not fooled.]
Sasuke: There has to be something to it, something I'm missing.
[He taps the index finger of his right hand on his lips several
times, then a look of realization crosses his face and he snaps
his fingers.]
Sasuke: Of course!
[He closes his eyes and raises his hands, which are covered in
the blue psionic energy, to them. When he opens his eyes they
are covered with the blue energy. The wall is now transparent.
He walks through it into another room beyond. Standing in the
center of the room is a traingular piece of stone. Stuck into
it, blade down, is a silver sword with a traingular handle. It
is a cross between a European longsword and a katana. Etched
onto the hilt is the symbol of Clan Shinobi. Sasuke walks forward
and looks at it, holding his breath at the sight.]
Sasuke: Thirdsword!
[He reaches down and tries to pull it free, but it won't come out.]
Sasuke: <Hmmm...Maybe a little nudge.>
[His hands start to glow blue a little, but it spreads like
wildfire to the blade and the stone and Sasuke wrenches the
blade free. He stares at the sword as the blue light dances
across it and then winks out. And then he smiles a smile of
final realization.]
-+S-I-N-E+-
[Cut to the outer sanctum. Sasuke's father still is dazed, but
he's been moved to a more dignified position, lying slumped
against the stone wall. Our heroes are sitting around in a
circle.]
Gel: I wonder what's taking so long.
Kodachi: I hope he didn't run into an old friend like he did back at
Luz.
SDad: You were at Luz?! What the HELL were you doing there?
Ryouga: [Sighs] It's a loooong story.
[Suddenly the curtain parts and Sasuke walks out, holding
Thirdsword in his right hand. He looks different than when he
went in, his facial features are more severe, more well defined.
He looks taller and generally more mature. He walks to the
center of the room and extends the blade of Thirdsword forward
so that everyone can see its shining silver blade.]
Kodachi: Is that really...?
Sasuke: Yes, it is Thirdsword.
Ryouga: It really existed...
Sasuke: I have come to realize something of importance. The reason
why the Katana of Swordstrike was called Life-Stealer's twin instead
of it's triplet was because it WAS Life-Stealer's twin.
Kodachi: I don't understand...
Sasuke: The scroll lied. Shinobi only had two swords forged, this
sword was forged AFTER. In the old world the people only knew of
two forces, the physical world and the realm of ether. It wasn't
until this century that most people began to realize that there was
a third, far more massive, power. This sword was forged for Shinobi's
use AFTER he stole the psionic powers from the demon. Due to it's
crystalline structure it's a psionic power amplifier. Whatever power
you put in produces an amount up to ten times the original output.
Gosunkugi: It's a psionic super-conductor...
Sasuke: [Nods] Yes. And Thirdsword is not it's name, it's true name
is Mindslayer. And it was constructed with the singular purpose of
destroying the demon if ever he should rise again.
Kodachi: How do you know all this?
Sasuke: Because Shinobi left some of his memories in his sword. None
of his consciousness, mind you, but just memories and thoughts,
things which he thought we might need.
Ryouga: We?
Sasuke: Or anyone else who came out to fight the demon. Shinobi knew
that the demon would eventually get released, it was inevitable. He
put his stake on the line continuing and the powers being inherited
in each new generation, and that when the time came, the right person
would find the sword. That's why he had the Luz killed, so that Clan
Shinobi would survive.
[Sasuke sheathes Mindslayer and walks out of the outer sanctum.
Our heroes exchange glances and then follow him, leaving his
dad lying against the wall.]
SDad: That kid became the very model of the modern Clan Shinobi
Leader. Who would've thought?
-==The End==-
-==Kensu==-
kensu@madison.tdsnet.com
Proud Member Of The Blue Cloaks Corps and INARS.
"Those who wish it do not understand that it is not I that possess the
Ability Creative, but the Ability Creative that possesses me."
-The Silver Writer
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