Ultima: The Fall of Magincia (Urutima: Majinshia no Metsubou) manga translation story and art by Hiroyuki Watanabe NOTES (Proceed to the line of asterisks to skip directly to the manga translation itself.) Enclosed please find a text translation of the Ultima: The Fall of Magincia manga published by JICC/Takarajima Comics, ISBN 4-7966-0054-X. The comic is the third in a series of four manga produced by three different artists; it is also the first not to be (loosely) based on an existing game but instead is a side-story retelling of the titular event that took place between Ultima III and IV. I hope you got all that, because I don't think _I_ did. You don't need to have read the previous Ultima manga to understand Fall of Magincia; most likely, they're not even in the same continuity. Additionally, though all the manga are very (very) loose adaptations, the publishers labeled the Magincia manga as an "iden" ("another story," "another world"), even though Magincia's destruction itself was never depicted in-game (save for Ultima Online, which wasn't around in 1990, when the manga was published) and therefore lacks much in-game material to contradict. This manga is kind of...special in how it treats franchise material, though, so I can understand the apparent need to distance it an extra bit from the rest of Ultima. About the other manga: Translations of the first two manga (adaptations of U3 and U4 respectively) are currently available - The Terror of Exodus: http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/ultemang.txt Quest of the Avatar: http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/u4manga.txt The U4 manga also has a scanlation by the tireless Blu3vib3 at: http://www.unmasqued.com/eclecticify/manga2_start.php The fourth and final manga, Schwarzschild's Labyrinth, is as of this writing (August 2011) untranslated; it appears to be a sequel to the U3 manga with an original story. The comic's characters are near-completely original, so below please find a short primary cast list: Susadora: Young captain of a gang of pirates from the island of Golaia, Susadora wants only to lead a carefree life of pillage, plunder, and bar brawling. The crimes of a group of seafaring monsters and a misadventure in Buccaneer's Den, however, draw him into a larger quest. Susadora has short brown hair, is muscular but a bit stocky, and is frequently shirtless - which is on balance a good thing, as his taste in shirts runs toward belly shirts that border on bikinis. Likes drinking, bar fights, swearing, belly shirts, the fair and equitable treatment of the working class, getting hit in the head. Rani: Captain of Britannia's special forces, Rani brings some much-needed level-headed perspective - and some not-needed added physical infighting - to Susadora's quest. Rani has a long ponytail (black in the manga, kinda greenish on the cover) and is clad in a guardsman's uniform. Likes min-maxing, hitting people, multiclassing. Johnny: Grover Dill to Susadora's Scut Farkas, Johnny's a diminuitive young man who wields a mean boomerang for Golaia's pirates and spends a lot of time indulging his yen for violence in Susadora's shadow. He's also conducting a turbulent courtship of Susadora's younger sister. Johnny has blond hair with bangs and is known by his taste for vests. Likes drinking, bar fights, blood. D'Artigny: Older pirate whom the book likes to sketch as slightly incompetent, nervous, and cowardly, but I'm not so sure: like Cohen the Barbarian, in one of the most dangerous professions in the world, he has survived to be - well, reasonably old. Might just be a late-career crisis of confidence. D'Artigny is bald, a bit short, with a white moustache and short beard. Likes drinking, bar fights, late retirement. Godot: Level-headed middle-aged pirate who seems to manage practical matters in Susadora's piracy: hauling in the treasure, overseeing the men - he seems to be second-in-command, in fact. Has brown/steel-grey hair (mostly in front; balding in back) and a beard and has lost his right eye - but he eschews the traditional pirate eyepatch, leaving only the scar of the wound that took it visible over an eternally closed lid. Still likes drinking and bar fights, but is a bit more level-headed than his compatriots. [Note: Godot's name is written in the original Japanese as "Goudo," with the "u" written in smaller script (like the "a" or "u" in "sha" or "shu," for those who know the language; the go-smaller "u" is not, though, a normal construction). This tempts me to think that his name might have been meant as "Goudeau," but the "deau" would require a long "o" sound at the end. Upshot: I'm keeping his name as "Godot," but bear in mind that I might be wrong here.] Frowd: Hulking young man volunteered by Susadora to help tote purchases in the pirates' supply run to Buccaneer's Den. I don't think Frowd's a pirate, but he proves a stalwart, capable ally in the ensuing events into which he is roped regardless. Has brown short hair and muscles. Likes not talking much, probably a smart decision with the company he keeps. Soma: Bard of Britain who never mastered that whole "singing" thing; Soma can't really fight but is more than willing to help out the party however he can and is in general a nice and agreeable fellow. Soma is drawn as if to be of Chinese descent, almost as a caricature - right down to the Fu Manchu moustache and topknot. Likes drinking, albeit a higher grade of liquor than the Golaia gang's usual quaff, Morrissey, and San Francisco for reasons related to unfortunate Japanese stereotypes of the Chinese. Vitor: Completely ridiculous adversary who spouts totally derivative lamentations of humanity's weaknesses. Ostensibly head of Magincia's proud merchants, though we never see him conducting embargoes of outlying trade routes or whatever. His name is pronounced "vee-TORE," by the way, like the Italian name "Vittore" with a silent final syllable. Looks like... well, let's wait till he pops up in the comic. Likes Vega/Balrog from Street Fighter, though apparently never internalized the whole "handsome fighters never lose battles" thing. Warning that probably doesn't need to be made in this day and age: pirates like to work a little blue, so expect expletives where no expletives were in the previous manga. To come right out with it: Fall of Magincia is the worst of the three Ultima manga I've read. It makes a horrendous first impression: the art is rough; the heroes are bloodthirsty and make for largely unpleasant company; the artist, Hiroyuki Watanabe, is attempting to echo U3 manga artist Seiji Tanaka's style of over-the-top gore but lacks his self-parodic imagination, and so the violence therefore comes off as just brutishly distasteful. The characters wear a bit better as time goes on - to set a side story among the pirates of Buccaneer's Den is an interesting choice, and the laid-back, dumb indifference of Susadora's group toward its quest is almost refreshing - but new problems pop up: the story structure is heavily propelled by infodump prophecies instead of the characters' own decisions, and the manga's story, in the end, has precious little to do with Ultima. (That might be by design, though, as the manga seems to resent the bits of lore it does work in: the hero, a seeming mouthpiece for the author, goes out of his way to mock Lord British on multiple occasions, and the artist bases his Britannia heavily in a fantasy Hinduism - a seeming rebuke to the heavily Christian allegory that some Japanese fans apparently perceive the Ultima series to be (see the U4 manga).) The Exodus manga is, to be kind, a very loose adaptation and ridiculously gory, but it has a few genuinely imaginative bits. The Quest of the Avatar manga misses the point of the game completely and is a mass of JRPG cliches, but it has serviceable art and some thoughtful running reflections on the nature of family. Neither is in the upper echelon of game-based reading, but they're interesting takes on old material through different lenses. While Magincia's tale of conscientious small-business owners who take care of their employees vs. avaricious tycoons who rot the government from within seems particularly prescient these days, Fall of Magincia really isn't interested much in adding to its source world; indeed, it was probably conceived as a standalone story - and not a very good one, populated with Gary Stus and tiresome cliches. (Its climax, however, is unrivaled for sheer lunacy.) As it was published in 1990, the secondary market would be the only way to find a copy of the Fall of Magincia manga, and it's a bit rarer than the first two comics in the series. A Japanese deputy-bidding or special-order service would be the way to go in this instance; you'll need to provide the ISBN, author, and original Japanese title listed above, and possibly the original price: 980 yen. (Standard advice on choosing a service: Shopping Mall Japan's not bad; stay away from Celga and Rinkya.) Copies might pop up on eBay, of course, but only once in a blue moon (or two, considering this is Ultima). Images from this manga can be found at http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/picpage.htm. Any text in the translation in parentheses is spoken by the characters sotto voce or as an aside; any text in brackets is stage direction, description of action, or commentary by me, the translator. Each new line in a character's dialogue indicates a new word balloon. Many thanks to the hard work of Blu3vib3, who provided images of the manga and put up with endless litanies of scan requests. Translation by R. Capowski, RACapowski@sceneryrecalled.com, 8/14/11. Ultima is property of Richard Garriott, Origin, Electronic Arts, FCI, JICC, etc. etc. etc.; this document is not affiliated with any of the above. *************************************************************************** pg. 1 [Two ships in a turquoise sea. We see their skulls and crossbones upon their sails; both are pirates. Man: !! [A tanned young man clad in leather armor flashes a feral grin. He raises his blade; the tip drips blood.] SFX: ::drip drip:: Man: So we finally caught you.... SFX of man's blade being readied: ::whip:: Man: YOU _FUCKING FAKE PIRATES!!_ [Silhouetted in red against his ship's rigging, the man looks not unlike a demon from hell.] pgs. 2-3 [A grand skirmish takes place between the two crews - one human, the other not. Human pirates are overrunning a monsters' ship, slaughtering its crew. The tanned man from the previous page, now revealed to be a young man with in his twenties with short brown hair, stocky and muscular, gives a (paradoxically) blithe grin as he hacks a lizardman's swordarm off at the elbow.] SFX: ::CHOP:: pg. 4 Man: Don't you recognize the great Susadora!? SFX: ::SLASH:: [Note: "Susadora" is a Japanese portmanteau meaning "Wild Tiger." Perhaps the armored foe Susadora was facing didn't expect anyone Great to be clad in blue jeans and a belly shirt. We'll never get an answer, though, as Susadora slashes the opponent in half at his waist.] Susadora: The lapses in education among your common monsters these days!! SFX of Susadora's sword: ::glint:: [Susadora pauses to smirk over his victory. A goblin, however, lurks unseen behind him.] SFX: ::LURK:: [Axe in hand, the goblin raises his arms to strike, but Susadora takes notice - ] SFX: ::FWISSSHH!!:: [- but, just then, a boomerang flies down from above and, rather unconvincingly, cleanly slices off the monster's head. (Susadora has raised his sword to strike, but his blow obviously is no longer necessary.)] SFX: ::THWACK...:: Susadora: Heh! Noticed 'im the same time I did, didn't ya, Johnny?! pg. 5 Johnny: Yep! Got 'im a second before you, though! [Susadora is addressing a blonde boy clad in blue cloth sitting on the crosspiece of the ship's mast. His boomerang wings its way back to him.] SFX: ::whooshwhooshwhooshwhoosh:: ::THWAP!:: [Johnny catches his boomerang in his right hand.] Johnny: Heh heh! You just leave it all to Johnny the Magnificent - and you'll just SEE those heads roll, boss!! [Note: Johnny refers to Susadora as "aniki," a slangy term that means "older brother" but which younger folk typically use to refer to the boss or head of their gang (be it an informal group of delinquents or a pirate gang like this). Though Johnny would have reason to use "aniki"'s literal translation, as we'll see, I've translated "aniki" in this usage as "boss." Speaking of heads rolling...] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: [An older pirate decapitates a fishman who had been struggling aboard the vessel. His head rolls insipidly down the deck; his body, still struggling for a handhold, begins to slide down the side of the ship. (Britannia's monsters' heads seem to come off so easily in this manga; osteoporosis?)] SFX of pirate's spear: ::swish:: SFX of head: ::roll roll:: SFX of body: ::SLIP:: Pirate: _M-Monsters!! COWARDS!!_ I-I may look like an old man, but I can still pack a punch! [The fishman's crewmates, however, raise their blades and advance undeterred...] Pirate: *gulp...* pg. 6 [Into their midst, however, leaps Susadora...] SFX: ::POW:: [...who leaps onto one of the enemy party, a Cyclops, and stabs him in the eye. Wit?] SFX: ::STAB:: Pirate: B- S--SONNY!! SFX of blood gushing out of eye: ::PSSSHHH:: Susadora: D'Artigny, you just _gotta_ think about retiring soon! SFX of Susadora alighting: ::tap:: Johnny: Yeah, _really,_ D'Artigny! Make way for the young'uns!! SFX of Johnny alighting: ::THOMP:: D'Artigny [indignant]: Hmph! Not a chance!! This is no time for me to throw in the towel - not when monsters are masquerading as pirates!! SFX of D'Artigny thumping his armored chest: ::CLANG:: [Susadora and Johnny continue throwing boomerangs/decapitating.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: ::THWACK:: ::THUMP:: pg. 7 [A red sun sets. Blood has been spilled this day. ...But you knew that. The pirates have massacred the counterfeit privateers and wander the ship for any stragglers with unsevered limbs.] One-Eyed Pirate: _All right, let's gather up their treasure!!_ _And find their captain! He has to be hiding somewhere on this ship!!_ SFX: ::thwick:: ::roll:: [Susadora quietly finishes his hacking duties. Suddenly he hears -] SFX: ::FLAP FLAP FLAP:: [A flock of sickly wyverns passes over the ship. A figure rides upon the back of the one in lead.] pg. 8 [The figure looks over his shoulder to regard the crew. It is a not a monster, but a human - an older man in white robes and keffiyeh.] Pirate: _THEIR CAPTAIN!?_ _Shit!!_ [The pirate clumsily readies his bow, but Susadora stays his hand.] Susadora: Forget it! He's too far! D'Artigny: _Demons_ in their employ! Just when you think they can't sink any lower! No honor among pirates these days, I see... Susadora: Doesn't matter... we'll have his head eventually! Johnny: Yeah! Yeah! [Johnny looks like freaking Gollum in that last panel in his lust to kill. I like my heroes a little less bloodthirsty.] pg. 9 [Out of the blood. Susadora's ship speeds under blue skies toward a lush island. On the shore ahead, a lookout spies the approaching vessel.] Lookout: _!!_ HEY--!! They're back! They're back!! SFX: ::CLANG CLANG CLANG:: [The lookout rings a bell hanging from his wooden tower.] pg. 10 [The lookout waves happily as the boat speeds past; those on board return the greeting. The ship nears port in a nearby cove, and each lookout tower rings its bell in merry salutation as the crew passes by.] SFX: ::clang clang:: ::clang clang:: ::clang clang:: [The ship passes a group fishing by the shore; happy pleasantries are exchanged. Then, from above -] Voice: Susadoraaaa - BIG BROTHER!! Johnny--!! [The boys look up to see...Nadia from The Secret of Blue Water. There're a few very token changes to costume and hair ornament, but...well, it's Nadia.] Na--Er, Girl: WELCOME BACK! pg. 11 [Anyhow, Johnny and Susadora wave at their friend from another franchise.] Susadora: Hey--! Good to see you again, Leila! [The ship docks at port. The pirates begin the laborious process of hauling treasure aboard.] SFX of treasure-hauling pulleys: ::creak creak:: :creak creak creak:: SFX of treasure chest dropping: ::BAM:: [Susadora stretches after the haul.] Susadora: Ahhhh--! Sure is nice to be back in Golaia! Even the air you breathe seems different! Leila [smiling]: Ha ha! Susadora: And nothing but hard-workin', honest folk to meet ya, either! Leila: Ha ha! No kiddin'! pg. 12 [Susadora calls to a subordinate below.] Susadora: Godot! You take care of the rest! I'm gonna report in with the old lady! Godot: Sure! Give my regards to 'er! [Susadora and Leila depart. They walk across the fields away from port.] SFX of wind: ::whoooosh:: SFX of items blowing in wind: ::rattle rattle:: [An elderly woman notices the two approaching. Susadora flips her a wave hello.] Woman: My, if it isn't the young pirate lord! Back for a while? Susadora: We're home, Rashaa! How's the wheat doing this year? Rashaa: Oh, very well indeed! We've been blessed with good weather since early spring, as you can see! Susadora: Really! You girls keep it up! We guys'll do our part and keep bringin' home the bacon for ya! Rashaa: All right! Before you know it, we'll have lots of tasty bread to fill your stomachs! pg. 13 [Susadora returns to a modest (and somewhat dilapidating) stucco house overlooking the sea. A dark-haired woman in a long, leather dress waits stock-still for him at the door. She does not smile - and neither does Susadora as he approaches her. Leila hangs back, waiting at a distance.] Susadora: ......... Woman: ...There were casualties, I take it. Who? SFX of chickens near door: ::cluck cluck:: Susadora: ......Yeah. Barga...Surt...and Salloum. ......Three people. Woman [still stony]: Did you give them a proper burial? [Susadora closes his eyes. His expression is one of patient tolerance.] Susadora: We wrapped their bodies in the flag of Golaia and offered prayers to Idorah, Lord of the Tides. Then we gave their bodies, with some offerings, to the sea. Also...... [Susadora takes a satchel from his shoulder and lays in on the ground in front of the woman.] Susadora: ...Their worldly possessions...what they left behind. ...Would you take care of them for me?...... Woman: ......... pg. 14 Susadora: I'm giving their families each ten shares of our haul. And I'll be sending them support on a regular basis. ............ ...Is that enough? [A breeze passes by.] SFX of sheets in the wind: ::flutter flutter flutter:: Woman: I suppose... [Susadora looks up with a smile. The woman at last grabs his shoulders.] Woman: Welcome back, Susadora. I'm so glad you returned safely. [The two embrace.] Susadora: Yeah! I'm home, Ma!! [The scene shifts to night, back to the harbor. All the windows are lit at the local pub.] SFX of fish splashing atmospherically in the harbor: ::splash:: ::splash:: SFX of inn: ::chatter chatter:: pg. 15 [Inside, the bar is full of rowdy patrons celebrating the haul.] Leila: C'MON! Get off it, Johnny; you can't expect me to buy _that!_ I'll bet you were just getting in the fellas' way again, as _usual!_ [Leila and Johnny are sharing some wine up on the second story, away from the main celebration below.] Johnny: ........._C'moooon_, Leila, I _told_ you it wasn't like that!... I took out THIRTY of 'em single-handed!! Leila: Ha ha! Johnny, you're such a liar! If you did that, there'd be no monsters left for the other guys! Johnny [getting a little angry]: _Tuh!_ You could have a little _faith_ in me, y'know!! I even saved _Susadora's_ skin when he was in a tight spot! [Susadora, in his hell-demon pose, predictably appears behind Johnny as he brags.] Johnny [holding up boomerang]: (It's true, ya know!) (With this boomerang right here!) Susadora: ......... _WHO_ WAS IN A TIGHT SPOT!? Johnny [turning around]: _*AH.*_ Susadora: Hm? _Who_ was in a tight spot, Johnny, _dear!?_ [Er, *you,* Susadora. Johnny's telling the truth.] pg. 16 Johnny [petrified]: Um...boss? You been drinking much? SFX of Susadora cracking knuckles: ::CRACK:: ::CRACK:: Johnny: Uh, look, boss, forget it-- it's nothing-- SFX: ::GRAB:: [Susadora manhandles Johnny by the neck with both arms and begins to throw him about, half-strangling him all the while.] Susadora: _AIN'T YA GONNA ANSWER ME?!?!_ SFX of Susadora strangling Johnny: ::GURK!:: Leila [smiling]: Ahh! _I_ see _now!_ Johnny: _OWWWWWWW--!!_ _OWWWWWWOWWWWWWWWWWW!!_ [Johnny's screams attract the attention of the patrons below.] Patron: ? What's going on up there? [A waitress brings drinks to Susadora's mother and D'Artigny, seated at the same table.] D'Artigny: Cheers!! SFX: ::clink:: Susadora's Mother: Ahh. Good job, D'Artigny. D'Artigny: I guess. But, ma'am - SFX: ::sip:: D'Artigny: Your boy deserves some credit, too......he's become quite a man. SFX of glass set on table: ::clink:: Susadora's Mother: Ha ha - he's still a child. Boy hasn't seen real bloodshed yet. pg. 17 D'Artigny: That's because his father was the one who united the pirates of Buccaneer's Den. SFX of D'Artigny eating: ::chomp:: D'Artigny: He was a great man... Didn't prey on anyone but unscrupulous merchants. He lived the code. Susadora's Mother [smiling a bit]: ............ [Suddenly, a villager bursts in the pub from outside.] SFX of door: ::BAM:: Villager: _HEYYY! EVERYONE OUTSIDE!_ _WE GOT A LOST GRAV IN TOWN! HE'S STUCK IN THE HARBOR!_ SFX of crowd: ::murmur murmur:: [Susadora is sufficiently distracted to stop punching Johnny, who has a veritable tower of lumps on his head.] SFX: ::WOBBLE:: Johnny [out of it]: Whaa? A grav-v-vuh? [Outside...] SFX: ::splash:: [We see a giant fish the size of a ship just beneath the surface of the water in the harbor. (Note: I know of no fish in real life or Ultima lore with the name "grav" ("guravu" in katakana); the closest reference I can find is to "gravlax," the Nordic salmon dish.] SFX of fish: ::blub blub blub blub:: [Suddenly, the fish comes to the surface...] SFX: ::SPLASH:: [It's a far larger cousin to the small fries that've been popping up throughout the manga.] pg. 18 [Susadora grabs a harpoon and flashes a (drunken) grin.] SFX: ::grab:: Susadora: ALL RIGHT! Watch me! I'm gonna take it down in one blow! _Hang on to your liquor, boys! I'm gonna make fish sticks outta that joker!_ Godot: (C...captain...) I'm tellin' you - don't mess with those gravs! [Susadora, too drunk to listen, dives into the harbor. (Note: Susadora is making sort of a double pun here. He says that he's going to make the fish a "sake no sakana" - an appetizer, a dish to accompany sake. Part of the expression, however, is a homonym for the Japanese word for "fish" (also "sakana"). In addition, to make someone a "sake no sakana" means to make a fool out of them.)] Susadora: LET'S GO! Pirate: *sigh*...... Rhubarb 1: *Ummmmm*...... Rhubarb 2: H-he did it...... [Susadora, however, surfaces rather unceremoniously.] SFX: ::GLUBGLUB:: Rhubarb 1: Ah! He's back up! Rhubarb 2: Bellyflopped, I'll bet. [D'Artigny and Susadora's mother (be nice if she had a name) watch from the window.] D'Artigny: But...... SFX: ::SPLAAAAAASHH:: Susadora: AAAAAAAAAAA [The fish surfaces for the last time beneath the light of Trammel and Felucca, Susadora's harpoon buried in its head.] D'Artigny: He's got spirit, your son. pg. 19 Susadora's Mother [smiling a bit]: Heh...... Nowadays, monsters disguise themselves as pirates and wreak havoc on the waves. A sign of the times. [Down in the harbor, Susadora stands triumphant on the grav's great corpse.] D'Artigny: But with a soul like that leadin' us...... Still, though. Unless we get some reinforcements, we'll be fighting those monsters forever. Susadora's Mother: D'Artigny, you look after that boy, now. D'Artigny: Hmm...as you wish, ma'am...... But that's a tall order. SFX of D'Artigny pouring himself another round: ::glup glup:: D'Artigny: We're the only ones who know that those fake-ass pirates are taking their orders from monsters... World's got its shit mixed up with its shinola - they think their crimes are _our_ handiwork, not theirs. SFX of D'Artigny drinking: ::GULP:: Susadora's Mother: ............ [Note: Though D'Artigny does indeed say that the fake pirates were "mamono no tesaki" ("demons'/monsters' stooges"), this does seem incongruous with the opening fight, where the fake pirates were monsters themselves - though I do imagine that monsters take orders from other monsters. Then again, when the captain fled at the end of the fight, D'Artigny expressed dismay that _monsters_ were working for the _fake pirates_, so maybe he's just thoroughly confused on the issue. The question's about to be resolved, in any case.] pg. 20 [A change of scenery. We are taken to a massive stone keep with many towers and buttresses situated in the middle of a caldera crowning a mountain.] pg. 21 [We go inside, to a throne room of lizard statues and organic veiny walls and torches and flaming pits - and an eye motif apparently appropriated from Agahnim from A Link to the Past. An indistinct dark lord figure sits on the throne.] Dark Lord: So, then, the name of this pirate lord - is Susadora...is that correct? [Before him kneels the captain of the monstrous pirates Susadora massacred. Two demons kneel behind him.] Captain: Y...yes--!! H--he was - he was a mere boy - not 17 or 18! - but he possessed unfathomable power... Dark Lord: ............ [Yeah, Dark Lord, I think that's a bit much myself.] Dark Lord: So, then.... ...you're telling me you fled without a fight? Captain: N-no, I-- my own pitiful magic simply wouldn't have an *effect* against such an oppon-- SFX of Dark Lord raising his hand: ::flip:: Dark Lord: Give your excuses to the hell of the Abyss......! pg. 22 [The captain looks behind him, startled, as the two demons behind him rise into the air.] SFX of wings unfolding: ::FLAP:: ::FLAP:: Demons: KII-- KIKIII-- [But it is not by their own power. A great invisible force hurtles them toward the ceiling...] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: ::WHOOSH:: [...where they come dangerously close to its stalactites...] SFX: ::SPLUT!:: [...and red drips down below.] SFX: ::splut:: ::splut:: ::splut:: SFX of blood on captain's face: ::splash:: [The captain looks up to see the demons speared through the stalactites. One is speared from crotch to mouth, affirming that this artist has seen too many Dario Argento movies. (Incidentally, two additional fell beasts fled from the enemy vessel with the captain; we never saw their faces, but I suppose these were their riders.)] pg. 23 Captain: !! [The captain whirls about, his hands raised to defend himself with magic.] SFX of spell: ::VOOM:: ::POFF:: [The captain's spell ignites twin fireballs, which hone in upon their target - who sits calmly on his throne, completely unconcerned.] SFX: ::VROOOM:: ::KAPOWWWWW:: [And indeed, they hit home.] pg. 24 [In the ensuing exposition, the Dark Lord's gauntlets land near the surprised captain with a clang.] SFX: ::CLANG:: SFX of dust settling: ::flutter:: ::flutter:: ::flutter:: Captain [thinking]: I... I did it............ [The captain turns away...] Captain: I'm safe... [...not seeing the gauntlets rise behind him.] SFX: ::GRAB:: Captain: !! [The gauntlets latch onto the captain's neck. They reattach via a stream of fluid or spiritual ether (kind of like the Death Hands power from the Sailor Moon manga, if you've ever read that) to their utterly unharmed owner, of whom we get a first clear glimpse. And it is ridiculous. He accents his usual dark lord cloak-and-iron- epaulets with a mask resembling the one Vega/Balrog from the Street Fighter series wears. The bigger problem is his hairstyle, which is in the hair-metal band tradition of long and poofy on the sides - but shaved on top, in order to make way for a spiky mohawk. Oddly, in front, the mohawk seems to be growing directly out of his Vega mask, but who am I to tell an eldritch horror what to do with his hair.] Dark Lord: You fool. Die like the dog you are. SFX of fluid between gauntlets and hands: ::SLURP SLUP:: ::SLURP:: ::SLUP:: [The shocked captain initially is paralyzed by the attack, but he closes his eyes, focuses...] SFX: ::FLASH:: [...and teleports away. The gauntlets clatter to the ground uselessly.] SFX: ::DROP:: ::clang! clang!!:: Dark Lord [thinking]: Heh heh... So, fast travel, hm?...... pg. 25 SFX: ::VOOM:: ::VOOM:: ::VOOM:: ::VOOM:: [We see the captain has teleported to...the outside of the keep? Not someplace not directly under the Dark Lord's control? Like...anywhere else in Britannia? Argh. Anyhow, he teleports from the roof down each successive rampart before resting at the lowest level.] Captain: Ha-- Have I really escaped?! SFX: ::RUMBLE...:: [Suddenly, the cobbles composing the floor at the captain's feet break apart...] Captain: Ahh...!? SFX: ::POW!:: [...and a staff with the head of a winged serpent shaped like a numeral "2" busts through the floor.] Captain: ! [It launches itself into the sky above, wending its way like a boomerang...] SFX: ::whoosh...hhh...:: pg. 26 [...then returns to stop short in the air just before the captain, its tip held a little before his heart.] SFX: ::WHIRL:: ::hover:: Captain: Sh...shit--! [Distracted, the captain fails to notice the danger behind him...] SFX: ::chitter:: ::chitter:: ::chitter:: ::chitter:: [A bandaged hand latches onto a nearby wall...] SFX: ::CLAP!:: [..and from behind, a great force races toward the captain...] SFX: ::LUNGE:: Captain: !! pg. 27 [Rats - a legion of rats, biting the captain's head, his keffiyeh, his sleeves.] Captain: S... _SLEEP!!_ [The captain tries the spell, but the rats are overwhelming.] SFX of rat: ::chomp:: [All else having failed...] SFX: ::FLASH:: [...the captain uses fire.] SFX: ::FWOOOOSSSHHHH:: pg. 28 [...And that does indeed consume his plague of rats.] SFX: ::SIZZLE:: Captain: *Whew*... [The captain, it seems, is safe. He turns on his heel and staggers forward.] SFX: ::wobble...:: [He pauses for a breath...and then notices something out of the corner of his eye. He opens his mouth, starts to scream...] SFX: ::THUMP:: [...but he falls before any sound can escape. The point of the serpent staff that threatened him before - about the presence of which the captain forgot - has lanced itself cleanly through his head.] SFX of captain's body falling to its knees: ::crumple:: [The apparent owner of the bandaged hand from before, the Dark Lord appears in person...] SFX of DL's boot: ::CLANG:: [and, for good measure, immolates the body of his dead underling.] SFX: ::FWOOSH:: Dark Lord: Incomprehensible...utterly incomprehensible. Why would the Creator bother to concoct a being so entirely without worth? pg. 29 [The Dark Lord retrieves his sceptre from the burning corpse.] Dark Lord: But...for now......... SFX of staff as it is withdrawn: ::HISS...SSss...:: ::hiss...:: Dark Lord: I must continue to have those foolish demons pose as pirates. SFX of mantled Dark Lord turning away: ::whoosh...:: SFX of corpse collapsing: ::CRUMBLE:: [The Dark Lord casts a spell with his staff...] SFX: ::FLASH:: [...and teleports himself to room tastefully decorated with a balcony of skulls and serpents and pillars of grinning demons. In lieu of a floor, there is a lake of fire and lava, in the middle of which sits a flaming circular...er, flame-like symbol with a giant spherical jewel housed within. A figure kneels before it.] pg. 30 [The Dark Lord approaches the figure, revealed as a decrepit woman in a headband and robes.] Dark Lord: I suppose I'm intruding, Mother...... Dark Lord's Mother: You're late, boy... Give me a report at once... [Post-report...] Dark Lord's Mother: WHAT--!? This man for whom you've been searching... is...it's _him_?!?! B...but he...he couldn't be - a mere _PIRATE!?_ If it truly is..._him_, then will he not soon be awakened to the truth like a comet illuminating the night sky!? Dark Lord: His memory for some reason seems to be--......... He has lost sight of his true form......... But I recognized it immediately. It was burned into the captain's mind. Susadora is unmistakably the one. pg. 31 [In anger, the woman rends the prayer beads she was holding.] Dark Lord's Mother, and Really, I Wish These Mothers Would Get Proper Names Sooner or Later: _WHAT--!!_ _Then we must DESTROY him while his memory is yet unclear--!!_ Dark Lord: I...I have nothing to fear from _him._ And I will have the world in the palm of my hand as you wish. But, Mother...you place too much confidence in me. My objectives might not be your own. SFX of Dark Lord's cape: ::rustle:: [Meanwhile, elsewhere, the captain's corpse continues to smoulder. The artist has made a continuity error here, as he has drawn the staff as still embedded in the man's head. Anyhow, again elsewhere -] SFX of fire: ::ROOOAAARRR...:: [...a seafaring ship burns against the morning skies.] pg. 32 [As in the opening, this ship is being boarded by a pirate vessel. The prey this time, however, is a decidedly human crew (albeit with the same apparent weak bone structure as the demons, judging by the ease of decapitation). The pirates are headed by a figure resembling Susadora - though he, as well as his crewmates, seems to have adopted a feral, demonic form. One poor fellow skewed by twin swords attempts to address him.] Sailor: Y-you...damn you pirates... We're a transport vessel for the Britannian navy. We have nothing for you to take! "Susadora": *Nothing?* Why, you have _plenty!_ ["Susadora" approaches...] Sailor: Eek...... "Susadora": YOU HAVE YOUR HEADS!! SFX: ::thump:: [...and decapitates the sailor.] pg. 33 Not Susadora, Though He's Not Behaving Much Differently, Honestly: KILL THEM! _KILL THEM!!_ _LEAVE NONE ALIVE!!_ SFX of sailor's head: ::rollrollroll:: [The head of the poor sailor from before lands at the feet of the only human left standing. He takes his blade and confronts the demonic pirate.] SFX of sword: ::glint:: Lingering SFX of head: ::roll:: Captain: How _dare_ you...my men!! What purpose could you have in attacking us!? Not Susadora: Hmph...... No reason! pg. 34 Not Susadora: Can't help it... _WE JUST ENJOY SENDING EVERYTHING BACK TO OBLIVION!!_ [The captain runs toward the pirate to engage him.] SFX of running: ::WHOOSH:: [He slashes at his foe...] SFX: ::POW:: ::SLASH:: [but...] SFX: ::whiff:: [...the demon ducks, and the captain catches nothing but air. It is the last blow he will deliver.] SFX: ::POW:: ::SLASH:: [The fake Susadora slashes the captain's swordarm off at the elbow.] pg. 35 [Blood splurts from the stump as the severed limb falls to the ground.] SFX: ::splot splot:: ::THUMP:: Not Susadora: Hey, deputy! Your life - yours _alone_ - I'll spare. So... if anyone asks who attacked you, tell them - Captain [holding stump]: Uh...u...h... Not Susadora: tell them you crossed swords with the pirates of Golaia... and that their captain Susadora was the one who took your arm! Heh...heh heh heh... [Susadora walks away; his face shifts to reveal the eye decorations of the Dark Lord's mask. This is perhaps the only Dark Lord grand scheme in manga history inspired by frat-house graffito tagging practices.] pg. 36 [Meanwhile, back to the real Golaia pirates, who've finally hauled Susadora's giant catch up to the harbor.] Golaia Village Woman: But...... how long is it going to take us to EAT it all.........? [Elsewhere...] SFX of steam through pipes: ::PSSSsstt...:: SFX of blades: ::WHIRRR...:: [We see Susadora overlooking a different fleet of ships - zeppelins with the blimps painted in bold patterns of suns, snakes, and wings, looking genuinely snazzy.] SFX of zeppelin motors: ::WHIRRR:: ::WHIRRRR:: ::WHIRR:: ::WHIRR...:: ::WHIRRRRR:: ::WHIRRRRRRR:: Susadora: OK, everyone!! pg. 37 ["Everyone" - the pirates and many of the villagers, including Johnny, Leila, and Godot - sits on the overlook with Susadora, listening attentively.] Susadora: Thanks for all your hard work; we all did a great job! Maybe this'll shut those asshole monsters up for a little while! Now, all you expats get on home! You old ladies 'n' children are gonna strain their necks looking for ya!! Crowd: HA HA HA... [Back at Susadora's mother's house, Susadora's overdue-for-a-name mother is doing some washing.] pg. 38 [She looks up from her chores with a smile as the fleet passes overhead, sending Susadora's hired crew home. With the scalelike patterns painted on some of the ships, the scene looks not unlike a school of giant, placid fish aswim in a sea of clouds. From his perch on the cliff, the former captain of the homeward-bound pirates waves them a final farewell.] Susadora: OK, Godot, D'Artigny! Once we catch our breath here, we need to head for Buccaneer's Den and stock up on weapons. Godot: Aye aye! Johnny: Heyyyy - I'm going _too!_ [Susadora turns to a lumbering, oblivious young man over a head taller than Susadora himself.] Susadora: Come with us, Frowd! It'll be a cinch toting our stuff with you along! Frowd [blankly]: Uhh...... Uhhhhhh... [OK.] pg. 39 Leila [angrily, to a sweatdropping Johnny]: _WHAT?!_ Didn't you say you were going _fishing_ with me today!? Godot: Captain! Can we have a little R 'n' R after we shop?......... Susadora: Heh heh! You know it! [Despite protestations, later, the sail on a smaller ship unfurls.] SFX of sail: ::WHAP:: SFX of wind: ::WHOOSH:: [On board, Frowd sits complaintly, still blank.] Susadora [sweatdropping]: But, I mean... you really are huge, Frowd. Frowd [blankly]: Uhh... Thanks... pg. 40 [Back on shore, Leila seethes.] Leila: _Ohhhh!_ Johnny, you _jerk!!_ And you had _just_ got back!......... Susadora [to Johnny]: Hey, you OK breaking your promise to Leila? She's got you pretty whipped, you know! Johnny: _WHAT...!?_ SFX of ship sailing: ::WHOOOOSH:: Johnny: What're you talking about? ......... There's no way I'd put up with any chick who doesn't understand the importance of men's work! Susadora [smoothly]: Ohhh, I know _exactly_ how you feel. And I'll be sure to tell Leila _all about it_ when we get back. Johnny: _B...Boss, you wouldn't!!_ Susadora: Dumbass! That's what you get for making fun of my little sister. _Now_ we'll see some bloodshed when we get home. pg. 41 [The ship sails into the bustling port of Buccaneer's Den. Johnny wanders its crowded marketplace, browsing its wares.] Susadora: C'mon, we ain't got time to window shop. Leave it...... [Susadora shops for spears and reads the notices posted locally. The ' shopkeeper in the spear stall shakes his head in unexplained disgust, possibly during a bartering session.] pg. 42 Shopkeeper: Hey, Golaia! Been a while, hasn't it!? Susadora: Hey! Foram!! How's business!? [The two chat, unaware that in the background...lurk NINJA.] Ninja: ......... [Well, what else would you expect ninja to say? The apparent leader observes the movement of the pirates and directs the team to move out, presumably to reinvigorate age-old internet arguments.] SFX: ::RUSTLE:: ::RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE rustle...:: [Meanwhile, Johnny looks at jewelry. To the bemused consternation of the team, he tries to pocket a necklace.] SFX: ::pocket:: Shopkeeper, Presumably: HEY HEY HEY HEY! pg. 43 [No confrontation, however, is immediately forthcoming. The pirates, in the meantime, head for the nearest bar.] Everyone: _CHEERS--!!_ SFX: ::CHING:: Susadora: _OK, we're flush with cash after that last job!_ _So let's chug-chug-CHUG!!_ [They do so. They get quite drunk.] pg. 44 [Inevitably...] Susadora: THe _HELL!?_ SFX of breaking bottle: ::SMASH:: [Susadora's drunk mob is facing down another, slightly better-organized drunk mob.] Susadora: _Say ONE MORE WORD, Gallus, I SWEAR!_ Pirate Apparently Named Gallus: Oh, I'll shhay it as many times as I need ta! (hic) A pale-assed brat like yaself's got a full ten yearsshh ahead a' ya before ya kin go drinking in the Cap'n's bar! "Young pirate lord"!? _HAH!!_ (hic) Yer jes' ridin' the coattails of yer dead ol' man! Susadora: _WHAA!?_ [At this, Susadora begins to unsheath his blade.] SFX of unsheathing: ::snick:: Susadora: Y'know, my old man... he wasn't a small-time punk like you! Gallus: Oh, so ya wanna go!? C'mon, cmon! Draw yer weapon! I'll take ya on! Pirate's Friend: Heh heh heh... pg. 45 [For a moment, though, Gallus's drunken haze clears -] Gallus: --Huh? SFX: ::WHAM!!:: [- as Susadora answers his accusations not with a blade, but with a beer keg to the chest. Gallus and keg go flying across the room till they hit the wall; the keg splinters, leaving Gallus bleeding from the shards of wood stuck all over his body.] SFX of blood: ::PSSHHHTT:: Susadora: I don't _need_ weapons to deal with _you._ pg. 46 [And then something curious happens.] SFX: ::FLASH:: [A strange glowing symbol appears on Susadora's forehead. It's rather faint and a bit indistinct, but it looks like a third eye.] Susadora: THERE'S NO WAY I'D TARNISH MY BLADE _WITH THE BLOOD OF TRASH LIKE YOU!!_ SFX of Susadora advancing: ::step:: Johnny [nodding in assent from background]: (Heh - yeah, _really!_) [Susadora offers his fists instead. Gallus's drunk friends take up their own blades in retort.] SFX: ::glint:: ::glint:: ::glint:: ::glint:: Pirate: Oh, realllly? Them's _fightin'_ words!! _We'll give ya a CARNIVAL of blood!_ Johnny [pointing]: D'Artigny! Lookit boss's forehead! D'Artigny: That birthmark didn't show up even when we battled those monsters......... Poor suckers......... [Finally...] Susadora: _GET 'EM!!_ [A fight finally breaks out in earnest.] One Side: _YAAAA--!!_ Other Side: _YAAA--!!_ pg. 47 SFX: ::grab:: [One pirate advances with a spear...] SFX: ::whiff:: ::YANK:: [...but Susadora takes hold of the other end and yanks the bearer off the floor, over his head, and slams him on the floor.] SFX: ::WHAM:: [At the same time, another keg from...somewhere falls onto Susadora's unfortunate opponent.] pg. 48 SFX: ::grab:: ::grab:: ::KNOCK:: [Godot grabs one pirate in each hand and knocks their heads together. Meanwhile, Johnny takes his boomerang...] SFX: ::glint:: ::WHOOSH:: ::whizz:: ::THUNK:: ::THUNK:: [and takes three pirates out of the fight.] Johnny: (With the back of the blade, no less!) SFX: ::SLASH:: [Well, not _all_ of 'em with the back of the blade, as that fourth pirate is clearly spurting blood.] pg. 49 SFX: ::POW:: ::pinggggg:: ::SLASH:: ::sproinggg:: ::crunch:: ::crack:: ::crunch:: ::crunch:: ::POW:: [Susadora punches someone, Frowd is stabbed in the leg and hardly hurt, a pirate slashes at Johnny only to have the boy land deftly on his blade and kick him in the face, D'Artigny stands triumphant on a downed opponent's back, Godot punches somebody. What is the purpose of this exercise?!] D'Artigny: (*sigh*... I tell ya...) pg. 50 Foram: Lemme give ya a hand...... SFX: ::clench:: Foram: _Golaia!!_ SFX: ::POW:: Susadora: Hey! Cap'n Foram!! SFX of downed foe: ::drop:: Foram: Your father saved my bacon plenty a' times, Susadora!! [I have to say, I was not expecting a captain in this manga to be named after the deep-sea microorganisms used to measure historical oceanic carbon-isotope ratios.] SFX of continuing battle: ::POW:: Foe: AHHH-- SFX of spear almost hitting Susadora ::whoosh...:: SFX of Susadora punching bearer before spear reaches him: ::KA-POWWW!:: [Outside, a crowd of spectators gathers.] Spectator: Wowww...what dumbasses, huh? Picking a fight with the Golaia gang...... SFX: ::POW:: ::CRUNCH:: Foe: (EEEEEK!!) [From behind the spectators, meanwhile, a ninja watches with a lack of stealth that would be notable if this crowd were not probably drunk.] pg. 51 SFX: ::THUNK:: [The last man standing on the other side has fallen, so...] Johnny: *Phew*...it's finally over. Godot: You're not kidding. Thanks to them, though, we're not gonna be able to set foot in this pub for a while. Voice: No...it's not over. SFX of step: ::pad:: Voice: _I_ still remain...... [All eyes turn to the ninja who has just set foot in the bar.] Someone from Behind Johnny: Hey, *he* don't look like the others. Johnny: Oh, _brother_; _give it up!!_ Were you even _watching_ before?!? Get the hell outta here! Ninja [unfazed]: Hmph...... Well, then......shall we see *who* will disappear before *whom*?! pg. 52 Godot: W...what's his game? Susadora [holding other pirates back]: _HOLD ON!!_ Hey, asshole. You got a little more backbone than those small fries from before. Ninja [thinking]: ......... Susadora: Y'oughta make for more interesting sport... _Draw!_ Ninja: No need. I can take you five... with my bare hands......... Johnny [being held back by Frowd]: (Y-you...YOU--!!) Susadora: Ohhh, _really..._ SFX of Susadora's knuckles: ::crack:: Susadora: _THEN LET'S GO!!_ SFX: ::DASH:: pg. 53 [Susadora advances on his prey and throws his punch...] SFX: ::WHIFF:: [...but it catches air.] Susadora [falling forward]: Huh?-- GA-GA-GAAAHH!!......... SFX: ::WHUMP:: Susadora: ! [The ninja has landed on Susadora's shoulders, and Susadora is strangled by his foe's arms *and* legs.] SFX: ::GRIND GRIND:: ::GRIND GRIND:: Susadora: *GAK*...... Foram: Go...Golaia?... pg. 54 [But Susadora, though staggering, manages to break free.] SFX: ::BAM:: ::wobble:: [The ninja alights from Susadora's shoulders...] SFX: ::whoosh:: Susadora: *gack* *cough*...!! [...but the masked brawler lands hands first...] SFX: ::BAM:: [...and, from a handstand, kicks Susadora in the neck.] SFX: ::CRACK:: D'Artigny: S......sonny...!! SFX: ::THUD:: [Susadora lands in a heap at the others' feet.] SFX: ::tap:: ::pad:: ::WHOOSH:: [The ninja, meanwhile, lands unscathed...but runs away instead of finishing the fight.] Johnny: *Hey*...! _Get BACK here!!--_ pg. 55 [The pirates give chase (D'Artigny hitching a ride on Frowd's back); the pursuit leads all the way to the shoreline. The gang can barely keep up, though - the ninja is way ahead.] Unspecified Pirate: Wha......what the _hell?!_ Quick li'l bastard... SFX of ninja running in surf: ::splash splash:: [The others fall hopelessly behind, but Susadora catches a second wind. Determination on his face, he breaks out ahead.] Godot: ! He ran into that building!! [The others follow Susadora into a large brick warehouse.] SFX of pirates: ::huff:: ::puff:: Godot: *Whew*...... SFX: ::sag:: Johnny: ? Boss! [Susadora, undeterred, scans the area for his foe.] pg. 56 [The trail, however, leads only to an empty, cobwobbed hold.] Johnny: Huhh?......It's a dead end! Susadora: Bastard... Where'd he go!? [Johnny starts to look around as well. He wanders outside (???); two figures on the roof above stand up upon spotting him.] SFX: ::lurk:: ::lurk:: [We see they are ninja as well; they signal a group of their fellows on the roof opposite. Within the warehouse Susadora is searching...] SFX: ::SNAP:: ::SNAP:: ::SNAP:: [...and a hail of canisters surround Susadora and his crew. (Johnny is back at his side and indoors; I don't think the staging in this section was thoroughly thought through.)] Susadora: !! SFX of canisters: ::poff:: ::poff:: ::poff:: ::poff:: pg. 57 SFX of canisters: ::PSSSTTT:: Johnny: *COUGH* *COUGH* [The chamber fills with noxious fumes.] Susadora: Don't breathe it in!-- It's poison gas!! [No good, though; Johnny collapses to his knees.] Johnny: *GAK* Godot: *cough* *cough*... Susadora: *choke* *HACK* [Everyone else is on the floor; even Susadora near his knees.] Susadora: G...Godot--!! Shit!--There're five or six of 'em............Dammit... [Struggling, Susadora rips the shirt from his chest...] SFX: ::RIP:: Susadora: Y... You won't lick the pirates of Golaia that easily!! [...and ties it around his mouth like a bandit's mask.] Susadora: We... we're not goin' down like THIS!! *ack* *choke* [Outside a shipwreck between two buildings - oh, OK; I see the staging now - the ninja close in on their felled prey.] SFX of surf: ::SPLASH:: ::SPLASH:: pg. 58 [One ninja perches on a high rock in the surf.] Ninja: Hmph...seems this Susadora...... doesn't quite have the talent to back up his mouth... SFX: ::BAM:: ::BAM:: Ninja: ! [Suddenly, from within the shipwreck...] Another Ninja: ? What...!? SFX: ::BAM:: ::BOOM:: Ninja: !! [The wall of the ship gives way like an explosion. The two ninja closest to the wall are knocked back.] SFX: ::BANG:: pg. 59 [And they are knocked farther back by...] SFX: ::POW:: ::BAM:: Susadora: Y'aint licked the Great Susadora yet - have ya, Black Hood!! [Susadora emerges from the wreckage toting a giant log - possibly the crossbar to a ship's mast.] SFX of log swooping: ::WHOOSH:: SFX of Susadora stepping forward: ::BAM:: [The lead ninja, however, is undeterred and produces a mace. Pressing a button on the handle...] SFX: ::click:: [...four blades shoot out of the head.] SFX: ::SSHHSST:: Susadora [shocked]: Huh......_what?!_ _THAT'S_ your sword!? SFX as ninja swings mace around: ::WHOOSH:: pg. 60 [The ninja rushes toward Susadora...] SFX: ::DASH:: [and Susadora readies his...er, log.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: [Weapons clash...] SFX: ::CLANG:: [...and Susadora's log is predictably cleaved in half as steel beats wood.] Susadora: Uhhh... W...whoaaaa... SFX of ninja: ::WHIRL:: Susadora: Y... You're one strong fucker!! [Worried, Susadora draws his sword. The ninja's mace looms in the foreground.] SFX of sword: ::SHING:: SFX of mace: ::SWISH:: pg. 61 [Upon Susadora brandishing his blade, however...] Susadora [thinking]: H...Huh!? SFX of blade: ::CRACK:: [...the blade breaks off cleanly just above the hilt. From behind Susadora, we see his sheath cloven in two as well from an apparent earlier blow, clattering uselessly behind his back.] Susadora [thinking]: When'd he hit me!? SFX of sheath swinging: ::swiff:: [Before Susadora can react, the ninja leaps behind him.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: Susadora: ! [The hilt of Susadora's blade is knocked away...] SFX: ::CHING:: [...and Susadora himself is given a felling blow to the gut.] pg. 62 SFX: ::THUMP:: ::flutter:: ::flutter flutter:: [Susadora lands against the ship's mast, its riggings fluttering limply in the wind.] Susadora: U...Uhhhh... F...fuck!... Never met an asshole as strong as you before. [Susadora attempts to get up, but his arms cannot support him. His assailant stands still a distance across from him.] SFX: ::s...slip...:: Susadora: W-who... W...who the hell are you?... [The ninja takes a seat on a nearby sea stack, brandishing the mace that felled Susadora.] Ninja: ............ The captain of Britannia's special forces - RANI SENTRI! Susadora [weakly]: Sounds like a chick's name......... ...Hey, Rani. [The ninja begins to approach Susadora.] Susadora: ...you gonna let me have a rematch?...... SFX of waves: ::splash splash:: Rani: .........CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!! pg. 63 [The ninja whips off the mask to reveal - an angry-looking young woman, her black hair tied in a ponytail, clad in epaulets, a padded tank top, and black wristguards.] SFX: ::WHAP:: Rani: Susadora, Lord of the Golaia pirates!! You're under arrest by order of Commander Wajda!! [Note: the characters used here denote that Commander Wajda is a naval commander.] Susadora: _!_ _You...you CAN'T be...--a GIRL!?_ [The rest of the pirates, still suffering the effects of the gas, look on in equal shock.] Pirates: ::COUGH:: ::HACK:: Godot: S...sonuvabitch! We...we've been... Johnny: _Uhh_-- [Johnny, on his stomach, grabs a rock in a weak attempt to defend himself...] SFX: ::THUD:: [...which he drops when Rani's ninja subordinates surround him threateningly.] Johnny: *Tuh!!* At this rate, I'll be so late getting back, Laila'll kill me for sure! Remember that! It's on _YOUR_ heads! [Rani's fellow ninja don't seem to be too concerned.] pg. 64 [Back at Golaia one night, Susadora's mother waits on a stone wall at the foot of the hill before her house. She stares calmly at the ocean below.] SFX of Mom's hair in wind: ::flutter flutter:: SFX of ocean: ::splash splash splash:: [Laila comes running down the lane behind her.] Laila: Moootherrrr!! pg. 65 [Susadora's mother gestures Laila to have a seat beside her.] Laila: That ocean breeze is getting _cold!_ Come on back to the house! Susadora's Mother: Ahhh...I suppose. [Laila hoists herself up...] SFX: ::hyup!:: [...and, now seated, turns sadly introspective.] Laila: ............ What could have happened to the boys? It's been three days already, and they're still not back. SFX of tide: ::lap lap:: Susadora's Mother: It'll be all right. We sent the young folk off to Buccaneer's Den just a little while ago, after all. Besides......... SFX of Mom brushing something off her skirt: ::brush:: Susadora's Mother: ...they're men of Golaia. They can handle anything that comes their way! [Er......... Anyhow, against all reason, Laila seems to take these words to heart.] Laila: ............ You're right! [Laila gives a smile of relief. S's mom puts an arm around her shoulders.] SFX: ::hug:: [The two women move closer together and contentedly watch the sunset below.] Laila: They'll come home safe. I just know it! pg. 66 [Yeah, well, about that.] SFX of Silver Serpent flag flying above Lord British's castle: ::flap:: ::flap:: ::flap:: [A great commotion is taking place within Lord British's throne room.] pg. 67 [The Golaia pirates have been tied up and unceremoniously dumped in the center of the carpet. Rani and her team stand on guard nearby.] Susadora [slyly]: Hey, toots! How long you gonna keep us sitting here? Rani: Hold your horses a little longer. And my name is Rani - not "toots"! How many times do I have to tell you!? Susadora: OK, Rani! Geez, you're _already_ mad at me... [Susadora then turns to gleefully gossip among his fellow pirates.] Susadora: (But... you can bet that the man who marries that amazon's gonna be led around by his ass for the rest of his life!..........) SFX of pirates gossiping: ::psst!:: ::Ha--!:: ::I bet, I bet!:: ::Yeah, yeah!:: ::psst!:: ::psst!:: [Rani looks flustered.] Rani: (_You_......) [Rani approaches Susadora threateningly, and it's time for Susadora to look flustered, but before anything further can happen...] Guard: Silence, all of you! The King approaches!! pg. 68 [Everyone stands at attention. (Everyone who isn't currently bound, that is.)] SFX of footsteps: ::clack:: ::clack:: ::clack:: ::CLACK:: [Lord British emerges from behind the curtain. He is a stocky man with thick, almost greasy black hair, a thin moustache, and a short beard. He wears an open crown/tiara through which that hair pokes ill-advisedly and pants that are markedly too tight on him. He also looks like he's gone a few rounds with Tyson, though he's hardly unique in that regard in this manga. British takes his throne and regards Susadora.] British: So you are Susadora, then? Word of your deeds has reached even my ears! Susadora [miffed]: Hmph. Nothin' but _bullshit,_ I imagine. pg. 69 Susadora: Haulin' me in your fancy throne room so your smug ass can look down at me - you don't understand _shit!!_ Rani [taken aback]: _Wha--!!_ [We've panned back to see Lord British's throne, which is framed by two giant coiling snakes. Lord British wears the Silver Serpent symbol on his brooch; this manga seems to have taken it as his royal symbol. Anyhow, when we pan in, we see that Lord British is indulgently amused at Susadora's cheek instead of vengeful. Rani, on the other hand, immediately moves in to set him straight.] Rani [tugging Susadora upright]: Such insolence before the king! Now, _apologize_ for your words!! SFX: ::TUG:: ::TUG:: ::TUG:: Susadora: OW- _OW!_ Johnny: (She really _does_ have him by the ass, doesn't she?) Godot: (Yep!) SFX of gossiping pirates: ::psst:: ::psst:: British: "Understand" - what, I wonder?... Understand, perhaps, that monsters took your form and perpetrated a massacre in your name...? [Rani looks askance at Lord British's words. Susadora has other matters on his mind.] Susadora: (Hey! Hey, Rani! Didn't anyone ever tell ya how to be _gentle!?_) pg. 70 Rani [puzzled]: What!? But, sire - then what do you wish with these scoundrels!? Susadora [looking intently at British]: ............ British: Britannia contains many truths within its borders. As many as there are people across its lands..perhaps as many as there are sands in nature's hourglass... Johnny [sweatdropping]: Hey...hey, D'Artigny - he don't back down, that old guy, does he. D'Artigny [also intimidated]: M...mm. British: And, likewise... ...so have an equal number of lies been given voice. One of the duties of a king is to recognize the truth and reject falsehoods. pg. 71 Susadora [helplessly, like a kid to his mother]: Ra...Rani, what's he talking about? Has he lost his marbles? Is the king fucked in the head!? Rani [not really sure herself]: Fool! Our king is a _gifted_ prophet!! [(Note: the expression Susadora uses to refer to Lord British, "kamigakari no baka," can mean either "touched" or "fanatically religious." Susadora hasn't been given any reason to think the king to be religious yet, so I've gone with the former meaning, but considering ensuing events, it's possible the author just got himself mixed up and dropped a "religious nut" comment before the appropriate events happened.) Suddenly, the jewel in Lord British's tiara begins to light up.] SFX: ::flash:: [A laser shoots from British's forehead toward those before the throne.] SFX: ::SKREEEEE:: ::FLASH:: [A great light flashes, and the rest present shield their eyes; when the Trammel Tiara Magic clears, the pirates' bonds have snapped.] SFX: ::SNAP:: Johnny: H...huh? SFX: ::flutter:: ::flutter:: British: The oracle has given me a great sign. It was Heaven's will that we should meet... Susadora & D'Artigny: .........!? pg. 72 British: I don't intend to interrogate you about your acts of piracy, Susadora... Rather, to atone, you will slay Vitor, head of the merchants of Magincia! Pirates: !! Random Guy in Throne Room: W...what! Susadora: (Ch...cheatin' bastard... Ropin' us into shit when he's got us where he wants us...) [Susadora, still taken aback, approaches the throne a bit.] Susadora: Hey, old man! Even us pirates ain't a match for the proud merchants of Magincia! Why do you want his head? Random Guy; Really, What Is Your Job?: I...indeed, Sire! Despite these villains' words, Sir Vitor is a pillar of Britannia! He has contributed great sums every year to the national treasury!! Susadora: ("Villains"...?) British: Indeed...... And to your own pockets as _well_, Wajda...... pg. 73 Wajda: *gulp*...... SFX of British rising from his throne: ::slide::: Wajda: Perhaps it was Vitor himself who suggested Susadora's arrest. But you fail to recognize the truth. SFX of British approaching: ::clack:: ::clack:: British: His mother, Danne, leads the evil mages of the land. Wajda: W...what!? British: And the attack on the transport vessel was perhaps the work of his minions as well. And Vitor himself - none know his true form. But he seeks to return this world to nothingness - and is amassing dark power to accomplish his goal! pg. 74 [The pirates are none too keen about being recruited to confront this Vitor.] Johnny: G-gehhhh--!! Godot: H, hold on here! What are _we_ doing butting heads with someone like this!? British: We have no clear evidence of his misconduct. And without it, I cannot send our armies to act...... I have no choice but to take private action against him. Godot: B...but, King!...... You cannot expect us to slay the lion in his _den!!_ British: Rani, you will go with them. I'll excuse you from your duties as captain of the special forces for the time being. [Rani and Susadora exchange uneasy glances.] Rani: ............ [Finally, though, she salutes her liege.] Rani: _If it is your order, sire!!_ SFX of Rani's heels: ::CLACK:: pg. 75 Susadora: Ah......hey, ol' man? Don'cha think you've got the wrong men - and woman - for the job here?! Rani: _What!?_ Johnny: (You can say _that_ again.) Godot: (What's he thinking?) SFX: ::psst psst:: ::yeah, yeah!:: British: I want all of you to aid Susadora! Dark energy is surging throughout the land as we speak! To accomplish your task, first......you must seek out the Ultimate Weapons and the Truth. Your efforts against Vitor shall come to no avail without them! [When British was talking about the importance of truth to a king's duties, I didn't think he was talking about something equippable.] British: Heed my words of prophecy...... You and you alone can triumph against Vitor!! [Rani herself looks particularly sobered.] pg. 76 [Morning comes. The drawbridge is lowered...] SFX: ::creeeaaakk...:: ::creak creak creak:: ::THUD!!:: [A horse's hoof steps over the gate...] SFX: ::clack:: ::WHINNY:: [...and the pirates and Rani, kitted out for land instead of sea, strike a heroic pose astride government-issued chargers. Oh, and Susadora has a shirt now. I think it's part of a guardsman's uniform, actually.] pg. 77 Susadora: _LET'S GO!!_ _LET'S GIVE THAT VITOR WHAT FOR!!_ Pirates: _RIGHT!!_ Godot: By the way, cap'n, where're we goin'? Susadora: ............ [Susadora turns to Rani.] Susadora: Rani, where're we going?......... Rani: How should I know!? Susadora [sweatdropping]: ......... Pirate: I dunno. Pirate: I dunno either! [Rani pulls up alongside Susadora.] Rani: *Well?* What do we do _now?!_ SFX: ::trot:: ::trot:: Susadora [sweatdropping even more heavily]: ............... pg. 78 Susadora [unsure]: ..._All right!!_ ...Wanna go get a drink first and then think it over? [Rani would be facepalming if her hands weren't on the reins.] Pirates: Aye aye! Aye aye! Aye aye!! SFX of horse: ::whinny:: [A crow hovers overhead.] SFX of wings: ::flap flap:: [Magic swirls about as the crow's eyes grow pure white, perhaps to relay what he sees elsewhere... For the meantime, however, our scene shifts to in town.] Susadora: But, c'mon - what was that wacko king thinking?! Entrusting a crazy-ass task like this to a _pirate_?! pg. 79 Johnny: Well, there's no turning back now! Y'aint gonna reason with _that_ fruitcake! [To resolve their current quandary, the pirates are consulting the cause of and solution to all of life's problems at a local pub. Rani is standing indignantly against a wall. (Actually, this part isn't that far from actual Ultima, is it? Susadora finds himself stymied by nonlinear open-world gaming, so he heads to a pub to get a clue as to where to head next, albeit not from the bartender.)] Johnny: But......... boss.........what _do_ we do now? Susadora: "What do we _do_"?...... [Susadora eyes some unattended rowboats in the harbor below.] Susadora: Well, it's just the _king's_ orders keepin' us on this, after all... It'd be easy enough to ditch the job and blow this town... [Rani's face makes it quite clear that she's not amenable to this arrangement.] Susadora: _AH!_ WE'RE NOT RUNNING! WE'RE NOT RUNNING! JUST KIDDING! [Susadora instead turns his gaze to two kids splashing in the harbor.] Susadora: If we did, anyhow, word would spread all the way to Golaia. We gotta do what the old guy says. But...how does he expect _me_ to take on that monster? What's so special about _me?_ SFX of kids in harbor: ::Yay!:: ::Ha ha!:: pg. 80 Johnny: It's _bullshit!_ We're doin' all the work here!...... If he were really such a fabulous prophet, why didn't he _tell_ us where we needed to go!? SFX of Frowd happily eating noodles, utterly ignoring all this: ::SLURP:: Johnny: He's holding back, I tell you - just to spite us!! Jes' _laughin'_ at us by throwin' us crumbs!! D'Artigny: This "truth", these "ultimate weapons"...... We still have no clue as to where they might be...... [Godot turns to Rani.] Godot [honestly]: Do you have any ideas, girl? Rani [caught off-guard for a minute]: Of course not! [Rani skulks over to a cowering Susadora.] Rani [pointing finger at Susadora]: That's _your_ problem!! Give some serious thought to your task - for one MOMENT!! SFX: ::NAG:: ::NAG:: ::NAG:: Susadora [sweatdropping]: *Ah...* D'Artigny, Godot, Frowd [thinking]: Whoa... Scary lady... Scream: _STOPP! THIEEEFF!!_ SFX ::CRASH:: pg. 81 [We see a bearded man with a short pigtail running across the pub to escape from a few thugs. Though the manga's artist is obviously Japanese, this character is curiously drawn in the overly slant-eyed, skinny, Fu Manchu- mustached caricature that populated Western ideas of Eastern characters during the '40's.] Pigtailed Man: EEEK--!! SFX: ::DASH:: [The man dashes to Susadora's table.] Susadora [sweatdropping]: Hu...huh? [He hides behind the pirate.] SFX: ::COWER:: [Meanwhile, the man's pursuers approach. The big sticks they carry do a great deal of talking, but their employer, an apparent merchant, feels the need to add a few words.] Thug: Slippery little bastard! Merchant [to Susadora]: You there! That man stole some mandrake wine from my pub! Hand him over OR ELSE!! pg. 82 Rani [stonefaced]: Or *what?* You think he's one of us? Susadora [also stonefaced]: ............ I don't care for your tone of voice. SFX of Susadora's cup: ::CRACK:: Susadora: If you didn't have your thugs backin' you up... I wonder if you'd still be talkin' so tough? SFX: ::SMASH:: [Susadora has smashed his wine glass to drive home his point.] Rani: HOLD IT!! [Respectfully, Rani motions for Susadora to stop. She calmly strides up to the merchant and his henchmen.] Rani: I'll pay for the wine. How much? Merchant: Heh...heh heh. It's not a trifling sum. pg. 83 Merchant: 2500 G would settle it... Johnny: Tw...twenty five _hundred_!?! Wh...whatta ripoff! You could buy a Magic Sword for that mo-- ::GLUH GAH:: Rani [hand over Johnny's mouth]: All right. [Rani produces the sum and hands it over to the merchant.] Merchant: Myyy......thank you very much...... Heh...heh heh heh! You must be blind drunk...... SFX of merchant thumbing through money: ::shuffle:: Merchant: Helping a man like that... SFX: ::THWIP!:: Merchant: Huh...? SFX: ::WHISH:: ::WHISH:: ::FLUTTER:: [Johnny has loosed his boomerang, knocking the two hoodlums back and scattering the money from the merchant's hands.] Johnny: Get a move on, old men! SFX of boomerang returning to Johnny's hand: ::WHAP:: SFX of punk's baton falling apart: ::CLONK:: pg. 84 Johnny: --Or the next shot'll take your heads clean off your necks!! Thugs: _EEEEEEEEK--!!_ [The thugs & merchant do so. That leaves, however, no shortage of money- grubbing merchants in the bar, whom D'Artigny and Godot turn to observe.] D'Artigny: People have their priorities all backwards these days. The city of Britain was once known as the soul of compassion... But nowadays, everything revolves around lust and greed! Those "Mondain" and "Minax" magicians tried to establish a reign of violence and terror back in their day - and how it is any different now!? The proud merchants of Magincia......... they're already under the thumb of _sorcerors_ like Vitor! You can just _see_ how it's gonna turn out! Pigtailed Man: That's right!......... We bards used to be _treasured_ by merchants in the days of yore - and just look at us now!! pg. 85 [Interjecting, the bard pops up from his hiding spot beneath a nearby counter.] Pigtailed Man: And it's not just here in Britain! SFX of man popping head up over counter: ::POP:: Pigtailed Man: No one has any compassion _anywhere_ nowadays! Oh, my - I've forgotten to introduce myself! (Thank you, thank you!) [To Susadora's consternation, the man climbs over the counter to greet them.] Pigtailed man: They call me Soma! I come from a long line of bards in this town! Myyy...... D'Artigny: Bards?...... _You're_ a bard? Soma: Heh heh! SFX of Soma's cloak: ::whap:: [Out of his cloak, Soma reveals...] Pirates: _MANDRAKE!!_ WHOOAAAA... THE REAL THING!! *OHHH...* SFX for wine: ::SLOSH:: Soma: Well - I don't forget my debts! As soon as I laid eyes on the mandrake wine - "the wine of wildest dreams," it's called! - the drunk in me just got the better of me, and before I knew it-- Rani: I'll take that. [Before _she_ knows it, however, the pirates have broken open and are enjoying the wine for which she paid.] Pirates: OH--HHHH!! IT'S GOOOOD! pg. 86 [Crying tears of anger, Rani grabs Susadora by the collar and starts smacking him across the face back and forth. I dunno; I'm beginning to think they're well-matched.] Rani: _How - How DARE you! How DARE YOU--!!_ You......you jerk - _YOU JERK--!!_ SFX of Susadora: ::ugh ack grah ow ow ow:: Soma [approaching Johnny & Frowd]: By the way, kind sirs, you appear to be traveling, am I correct?......... If you're interested in seeing Britain, I can give you a musical tour! [Soma takes out his harp.] Soma: Oh, I wouldn't _charge,_ of course! Here, have a listen! [The bard begins to play. His music does not induce confidence in the crew. It more induces vomiting, in fact.] SFX of harp: ::SKREEEEK SKRAAAAK:: ::SKREEK:: ::SKREEK:: SFX of crew: ::EEEEEEEK--!:: ::OH MY GOD!:: D'Artigny: O...OK, OK, we got it, we got it, enough. Thank you, but I think it's time for us to get going. Godot: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rani: Oh, you mean to find your "ultimate weapon"............... or - what was it? The "truth"? Johnny [looking at Susadora's smacked-up face and freaking out, which is kinda normal for him]: (With his face lookin' like _that?!_ No way!) D'Artigny: But we haven't the slightest idea where they could be...... Soma: ......... [Suddenly, a light goes on for Soma.] Soma: _!_ SFX ::POP:: Godot: (?) pg. 87 [Soma dashes off.] SFX: ::DASH:: Godot: H...hey!? Soma: HOLD ON, GENTLEMEN! [Soma leaves lickety-split - and returns just as lickety-split with an old woman in a hood and robes, bowling over Godot in the process.] SFX of sudden stop of old woman Soma's pushing: ::SCREEEEECH:: Soma: This old lady knows a song that speaks of what you're looking for!! Rani [to sweatdropping Susadora]: Well, well, well, look what we have here! Everything is proceeding *JUST* AS THE KING FORETOLD. Old Woman: A very old song, it is...there is none older. I scarcely remember it myself, but...... "Deep within Britannia / far beyond its eight great rivers across its seven great ranges / lieth lofty Mount Meira. Climb ye its expansive foothills / to its soaring peak / said to divide heaven from earth. / For there, ye shall meet the Absolute - pass beyond to the sacred ground where Brahman dwelleth. / But to this day, not one of those lost souls who hath wandered there in their life's search hath returned from Meira's bourne... pg. 88 [To elsewhere. A wooden sign - written in the pidgin Hindi that seems to be Britannia's script in this manga - stands in a wooded glen. But not for long...] SFX: ::SMASH:: Johnny: "No Britannians beyond this point"...... NYEH! _We're_ not Britannians - we're pirates of Golaia! SFX of Johnny stepping on sign: ::CRACK:: pg. 89 Reverb of Old Woman's Words: The high mountain streams be ill fond of human foot; here lieth the domain of mythic beasts, waiting to devour trespassers upon their ground. Beyond dwelleth the Twin Guardians, they who keepeth watch over the foothills of the Holy Land - waiting to bathe in hellfire all those who fail to answer their riddles. [The pirates get ready to cross a stream to a peak one can suppose is Mount Meira, its foothills covered with mist in the distance. At least, one might suppose it from the woman's prophecy to be a stream - but its surface is covered with innumerable lilies, denoting unusual calm. Soma looks out over their rowboat's bow; Rani nervously tries to steady her horse.] Rani: Cross _this_ stream?......... They say no one's _been_ here in a hundred years! At least, not anyone who came back _alive_............ SFX of oars: ::splash splash:: Reverb of Old Woman's Words: Long, long ago...yet longer still...the great savior of Sosaria walked these lands, vanquished the black magician, and sealed countless monsters deep beneath the earth. One day, that hero journeyed to Meira...never to return. However...he left to his people the answer to the Guardians' riddle. The answer is-- D'Artigny: Say, Mr. Soma...... You should go back. Your life is in danger here, you know! Soma: Such a cold shoulder! Ive got no worries with you fellows. If *I* compose a ballad atop the home of the Oldest Song, *I* will be Britannia's GREATEST STAR!! (~Tralala~) (San Francisco, here I come! CHINATOWN!) [What, no New San Antonio? Soma is swept up in his dreams of stardom, flower in his hair.] pg. 90 [All are aboard the rowboat...except Godot, who holds back upon the shore.] Godot: Say, Captain. I'm going to head back to Golaia and let the missus know what's happened. Susadora: OK. Take care of yourself, Godot. [Susadora gets out of the rowboat to clasp his friend's hand.] Godot: Captain, I'll be praying for you and the crew.-- Susadora: Don't worry. You tell my mother that, too, OK? [Godot watched on the shore as the rowboat sails away.] Susadora [calling from boat]: Tell her we promise............ We're comin' back to Golaia safe and sound! Godot: ............... [Godot watches silently as a tear escapes his one good eye. Johnny gives an atypically solemn goodbye. Above, however...] SFX: ::flap:: pg. 91 [Crebain from Dunl--er, Magincia flap their wings.] SFX: ::flap:: ::flap flap:: [There's a whole flock of them. They beam the scene of the heroes' crossing to Dark Lord Vitor and his mother, Danne.] Danne: Heh heh.........Susadora, you fool. [Parent and child stand before their lake-of-fire flaming-jewel thing.] Danne: Go on. Begin your ascent. This world is nearly consumed by Vitor's darkness. [Danne stares into the jewel, which begins to hum with a strange(r) power.] Danne: My son will surely carry out thy will. SFX of jewel: ::HUMMMMMMMMMM:: Danne: Ye master of the deep magics... MONDAIN!!............... SFX of jewel: ::RRROOOOAAAARRRRRR:: [The jewel flares in flame to reveal a skull beneath, like one of Shang Tsung's soul fireballs.] pg. 92 [We pan to a friendlier fire.] SFX: ::crackle:: ::crackle:: [Nightfall on Mount Meira. The group makes camp. Supper is being cooked around the fire.] Susadora: But, y'know, this tale is so vague...it's like we're chasing shadows. Should we really be following this song? SFX of kettle: ::glup glup:: Rani [calmly pouring tea for group]: Don't worry. It'll be all right. I know it will. ......... Susadora: Huh!? Rani [passing cup to Johnny]: ........I don't know why. I just have a feeling. Johnny [genuinely mulling it over]: Hmmm... pg. 93 [Susadora rolls over on his back to get some rest.] Susadora: Hmmm... "Women's intuition," huh? SFX: ::RUSTLE:: [Susadora's eyes shoot open.] SFX of nearby horse: ::WHINNY:: [Susadora, tense, rolls into a crouching position.] SFX: ::lurch:: Soma [oblivious]: Say, Mr. Susadora......... [A few of the others glance around silently.] Soma: ? Wha...What's wrong? Susadora [motioning to Soma to be quiet]: *SH!* [Susadora swiftly takes his blade.] SFX: ::glint:: [The others wordlessly follow with their own weapons.] SFX of weapons: ::RUSTLE:: ::CLACK:: ::GLINT:: Soma: Wha...what's going on?...... Why're all of you... pg. 94 [Soma looks toward the forest, where he hears something...] SFX: ::SNAP:: ::CRACK:: Soma: ? What's that noise? Susadora [readying sword]: Take the horse and get back, Soma. DO IT!! SFX of Susadora's sword: ::glint:: Soma: EEK!! [He does so. The rest of the party stays near the campfire, tensed and silent, weapons ready. The sounds come ever closer...] SFX: ::CRACK:: ::SNAP:: ::CRACK:: [Then, out of the forest steps a giant claw...] SFX: ::THUD:: [..attached to a hydra.] SFX of HYDRA: ::SKREEEEEE::: [Oh, and it brought a friend, too.] pg. 95 Soma: AAAAAH!! SFX of Soma running away: ::DASH DASH DASH:: Susadora [sweatdropping]: Not one, but _two_ hydra... We really _are_ in no man's land. [The first hydra advances. Susadora narrowly dodges one of its maws.] SFX: ::DASH:: Susadora: You four take this one!! [Recovering himself, Susadora readies his sword, a wicked smile on his face.] Susadora: I'll draw the other one's attention. Johnny: Aye aye! [Rani presses the switch on the end of her mace to activate the blades on its tip.] SFX: ::click:: ::SHACK:: pg. 97 [The second Hydra swoops toward Rani.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: [Rani, however, is too quick for it.] SFX: ::DASH:: [She flies up into the air and brings her mace down upon one of its jaws.] SFX: ::WHACK:: ::SNAP:: [The front half of the jaw snaps cleanly off. Two maws to go, though, and one is menacing D'Artigny.] SFX of jaws: ::SNARF SNAP:: SFX of D'Artigny: ::EEK!:: [Johnny, however, wounds its forehead with his boomerang.] pg. 97 [The hydra's mouth opens again, however...] SFX: ::ROAR...:: Frowd: ! [...and the two remaining heads shoot fireballs down at the pirates.] SFX: ::FWOOSH:: ::FWOOSH:: Johnny: AAAHH!! [The two narrowly dodge the fire.] SFX: ::FWOOSH:: ::FWOOSH:: [The fire doesn't die down, though; it merely flares up to surround the group.] Rani: ! SFX: ::RRROOOAAAARRRR:: D'Artigny: D...dammit! The fire's all around us!! pg. 98 [The flames close in. Rani, undeterred, readies her mace.] Johnny [trying to fan flames away]: *Ah*...ow yow! SFX of Rani's mace: ::glint:: [A light sparkles from between her wristguards.] SFX: ::HUMMM:: Rani: _DISPEL--!!_ [The flames are extinguished.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: [Actually, I may be making a mistake in translating this as "Dispel." When Mariah from the Ultima IV manga cast the same spell, it was directly transliterated - "disuperu." Here, Rani is shouting "kiero," the imperative form of the Japanese word meaning "to vanish." Anyhow.] Johnny: A...AAAAAH! R...Rani!! You know MAGIC!! Rani: It's not getting through THIS spell! [Undeterred, however, one hydra head stirs...] SFX: ::RUSTLE:: [...and instead of spewing Dispelable fireballs, attacks the group head-on.] SFX: ::HISSSSS:: [But...] SFX: ::THUMP:: [...Frowd hacks its lower jaw clean off.] pg. 99 [Frowd then takes his axe to the final head, splitting it through to the eye.] SFX: ::SLASH:: ::SPLURT:: [The last head falls over, the beast dead.] SFX: ::THUD:: Rani: Th...thank you, Frowd! [Frowd smiles. D'Artigny takes Rani's hand.] D'Artigny: Not bad, Rani! Rani [smiling]: You guys weren't bad yourselves! By the way...what happened to Susadora?... Susadora: You _FUCKER!_ I'll cut you to _MINCEMEAT_ and have you for _SUPPER!!_ SFX: ::slash slash slash:: Susadora: Take THAT! And THAT! And THAT! Frowd: (A hydra all on his own...) [Everyone stands in awe of Susadora seemingly felling a hydra on his own. I dunno, though; Susadora seems to be nicking it to death. I think Frowd's near-instant two-heads-in-almost-one-blow was more impressive.] pg. 100 [Anyhow, Susadora's hydra falls. He raises his sword in triumph.] SFX of dead hydra: ::THUD:: Soma: A...ai yi yi~~ I... I sure picked the right party......... [The manga shows us a map of the party's progress toward Mt. Meira. There are apparently six sets of foothills interspersed with five rivers lying between the outskirts of no man's land and Mt. Meira. The party currently is in the process of traversing the second set of foothills.] Label on Map: Current Position [The party is backpacking through deep jungle. (Incidentally, they've been down to one horse since the beginning of this trip; they gave one to Godot, but what happened to the others? I can't imagine they kicked their horsie buckets without gory illustrations of their deaths.)] SFX: ::peep peep:: ::ribbit...ribbit ribbit...:: pg. 101 [Johnny's having rough going.] Johnny [very weakly]: H...hey, boss... I......I need some water~~... SFX of Susadora's boot in grass: ::RUSTLE:: Susadora: _Hang in there._ We don't know how far we are from the next stream. And we've hardly got any water left......... [Susadora takes a worried glance back at Rani, trailing the others and having quite a hard time of it.] Rani [breathing hard]: *huff*... *huff*... *huff*... Susadora: Are you all right, Rani? You wanna take a little break? Rani: I'm...I'm fine! Susadora [worried]: "Fine"? Your legs are shaking... Rani: _I SAID I'M FINE!_ [Then, however, Rani's legs give way.] SFX: ::wobble:: pg. 102 [She collapses, nearly unconscious.] SFX: ::THUS:: Susadora: Y...YOU _DUMBASS!!_ _What did I TELL you!?_ [Susadora runs to her and feels her forehead.] Susadora: ! You have a _horrible_ fever! [Later. All have taken a break near a tiny pond. Rani lies in a glen in the shade, with a cold compress and...er...under a blanket. Oh, well; I suppose we should be happy he got one part of heat stroke treatment right. (Maybe it's a wet blanket.) Susadora approaches.] Susadora: Rani? Are you up? SFX of Susadora's feet on leaves: ::RUSTLE...:: [Rani opens her eyes.] pg. 103 [She rouses herself a bit, puzzled.] Susadora: Hey, here's some water. Use it to wash down these anti-fever meds. [Susadora sits down to join her.] Susadora: Don't worry; it's just fatigue. Get a little sleep, and you'll be all better. (Here, take your pill!) Rani: I'm sorry...you're wasting our precious water on me. Susadora: Dummy! Don't you worry about that! You just get better soon! Get back to being the big bully we all know and love! [Susadora, smiling, gets up to leave.] SFX of Susadora moving: ::rustle:: Rani: *Oh*...! You jerk!! Susadora: Ha ha--!! [Rani watches him go, a gentle smile on her face.] Rani: ............... [Time passes. Suddenly, a dark shape looms in the sky...] SFX: ::swoosh:: pg. 104 [The shape, now revealed as batlike, nears the party, swooping downward.] SFX: ::thud:: [As Rani sleeps, something moves through the bushes...] SFX: :RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE:: Rani [eyes flying open]: *gasp!!* [Something swoops down...] SFX: ::SWOOP:: [...and the others hear...] Rani: AAAAAA!!! pg. 105 [A giant bat swoops over the party, Rani in one of its claws. It opens its mouth as it passes; venom (or maybe just saliva) drips from its jaws.] SFX: ::FLAP:: Johnny: I...It took Rani!! SFX: ::DASH:: Susadora: _HEY, YOU!! COME BACK HERE--!!_ pg. 106 SFX: ::RUSTLE RUSTLE:: [Leaves blow in the breeze as the bat swoops off, Susadora racing behind on the horse.] Susadora: Bastard... He's gonna have Rani for dinner--!! [The bat turns to spit something at Susadora from its mouth...] SFX: ::FWOOSH:: ::FWOOSH:: [Venom flies through the air; Susadora ducks and maneuvers his horse so that it barely misses.] SFX: ::SPLUT SPLUT:: Susadora: HYAAH!! SFX of venom landing on ground: ::SPLOOSH:: ::SPLOOSH:: [The bat swoops around Susadora to the other side.] SFX: ::FLAP FLAP:: [Just then, Susadora feels something strange in his left arm - or, rather, doesn't feel it; it's gone numb. Apparently, the venom didn't completely miss.] SFX: ::tingle:: pg. 107 Susadora: _SHIT--!!_ [Sensing now or never, Susadora leaps off his mount to dive for the bat below, his left arm hanging numb at his side.] SFX: ::DASH:: [The bat spews venom anew...] SFX: ::SPEW:: ::SPEW:: [...but Susadora deflects it with his sword, somehow.] SFX: ::SPLURT:: ::SPLURT:: ::SPLURT:: ::ting:: ::ching:: [I don't know why deflecting a liquid makes a metallic sound. Anyhow, Susadora lands on the bat's back...] SFX: ::thud!:: Susadora [hand on sword]: You asshole... pg. 108 Susadora: _PICKIN' ON SOMEONE WHO'S SICK--!!_ SFX: ::SLASH:: [And thus ends the bat. As the creature dies, however, its grip relaxes...] SFX of Rani falling: ::WHOOSH:: Susadora: Awawa--_WAIT!!_ [He leaps off the bat, hoping to catch up to terminal velocity, apparently.] SFX: ::BAM:: Susadora: _Rani!!_ SFX: ::WHOOOOSSSHH:: pg. 109 [...and, through the brush below...] SFX: ::CRACK:: ::CRACK:: ::SNAP:: ::CRACK:: ::THUD!:: [Rani's fall is broken by Susadora below, as well as every branch and twig in the canopy on the way down. Pirates are immune to physics, apparently.] SFX of leaf falling past Rani's face: ::rustle:: [Rani awakens and rushes to Susadora's side.] Rani: S-Susadora, are you all right!? Wake up! Susadora [turning head to side, face banged up as usual]: W...well......... Firs' time I ever thought I was gonna die... [Rani smiles.] Rani: Ha ha! ......... Thank you, Susadora. Susadora: uh.... uhhhh.... 'S all right... 'S all right... pg. 110 [A new day dawns.] Johnny: YAHOO--!! [We see...] SFX: ::RUSHHHH:: ::RUSSHHHH:: ::BUBBLE:: Johnny: _THE RIVER!! WE FOUND THE RIVER--!!_ [Johnny rushes toward the stream. Everyone soon follows.] Everyone: YAYYY--!! SFX: ::russshh:: ::russshh:: ::russshh:: [Rani and Soma take a drink.] Soma: Ahhh - it tastes so good--!! [Rani looks up to see the pirates swimming around.] SFX: ::russshh:: ::russshh:: ::russshh:: pg. 111 [From his perch upon a rock, Johnny looks beneath the water to see...] Johnny: ! SFX: ::whoosh:: [...a few familiar shadows moving beneath the surface.] Johnny: Hey, boss! Fish! I see a nice, big breakfast swimmin' around down there for us!! Susadora: All right--!! [The pirates dive beneath the surface.] Susadora: Let's show 'em what we beach bums are made of!! Johnny: Our legendary prowess and tricks of the trade!! SFX: ::splash:: ::SPLASH:: [Rani and Soma wait on the shore.] Legend: 3 minutes pass SFX of waterfall: ::whooshhh:: ::whoosshhh:: ::whoossshh:: Legend: 4 minutes pass SFX of waterfall: ::whoosshhh:: ::whooshhh:: Soma [worried, turning toward Rani]: You--... You don't think... Rani [equally worried, looking at Soma]: T......they couldn't have drowned, could they? pg. 112 [No, not with the manga not even halfway over. Beneath the surface, the river teems with life. A huge sea serpent swims past the pirates, possibly about to eat D'Artigny (he's almost outside the frame; it's hard to tell).] SFX of Johnny flailing: ::glub:: ::glub:: ::glubub:: SFX of serpent: ::GAAAHHH:: ::HISSSS:: [Susadora stabs and slits the top of the serpent's head.] SFX: ::STAB:: :PSSSSHHH:: pg. 113 [Undetered, however, the sea serpent continues to swim after Johnny and D'Artigny.] Johnny & D'Artigny: *ahh!* *ahh!* [Susadora, however, keeps his blade in, despite the serpent's best efforts to throw him off.] SFX: ::SHAKE SHAKE:: Susadora: ::glub blub!:: ::glub blub!:: [Susadora grabs hold of the serpent's jaw and tries to push it up...] SFX: ::grab:: ::push push:: ::shake shake:: [...to above, where Frowd pushes a stone on the serpent's head, killing it.] SFX: ::THUD:: ::thud:: [Oh, and a smaller rock hit Susadora, too. An impressive display, but what is the purpose of this exercise? You're not going to be able to eat all this serpent, you know.] pg. 114 Legend: 6 minutes pass Soma: You... you don't think they were attacked by a monster?... (Though it certainly _seems_ that way...) Rani [calling]: Johnny! Susadora--! [No answer.] Rani: What...what should we do? I'm worried now......but I'm no good at swimming! Soma: Me neither, I'm afraid. [She probably ran out of points after min-maxing her ninja-druid-mage chara configuration. Rani, tears in her eyes (overselling the character conversion a bit, guys), continues to call to the river.] Rani: Ohhh-! _WHERE _ARE_ YOU GUYS--!?_ SFX: ::SPLASH!:: Susadora: _AYE AYE--!_ [Susadora surfaces, fish in hand and giant bump on his much-abused head. (What happened to the sea serpent?)] Susadora: See, Rani? Skills 'n' tricks of the trade!! Huh? Whassa matter?? Rani: ......... SFX of writhing fish: ::slap slap slap:: Rani: YOU _JERK!!_ _I JUST DON'T FREAKING _GET_ YOU PEOPLE--!!_ SFX: ::slap:: ::slap:: ::slap:: Susadora: OW! OW! Ra...Rani... what'd I do _now?_ pg. 115 [We're shown the overhead map again. The party is two sets of foothills away from Mt. Meira.] Label on Map: Current Position [A montage. Soma tries to sing for the group, with predictably devastating results.] SFX: ::PLUCK PLUCK SCREEEEECH:: Soma [singing]: (The boyyyy with the thooorn in his siiiide...) [......I wasn't aware of any Chinese stereotypes regarding the Smiths. Back to the montage: Gazers attack the party, with predictable results. Rani tries to teach Johnny a little magic, with a bit of success.] Rani [smiling]: (1, 2, 3 - go!!) Johnny: (Di... dispel!!) SFX of weak magic field: ::H...HHHUUMMMMM:: SFX of campfire extinguishing: ::POFF:: [The party fords a river on a raft.] pg. 116 [Rani points ahead. Susadora smiles. They are at the peak of the last foothill; Mt. Meira looms ahead.] Label on Map: Current Position SFX: ::russshhh:: [The party has just forded a small stream.] Susadora: OK, everyone, just a little farther! Once we cross this range, we can pay our respects to Mt. Meira! [Susadora blithely whistles to himself, but Rani senses something... She stops in her tracks, glances about, and grabs her pack to ready herself.] Rani: ............ SFX: ::grab:: pg. 117 Rani: Susadora.........do you feel that? SFX of Rani stepping on forest: ::SNAP:: Susadora: Huh? Rani: Close by...... Someone's watching us...... Susadora [disturbed, holding horse still]: ......... Who!? SFX of horse: ::whinny:: Rani: Listen... [Suddenly -] Voice: SUSADORA!! Soma: W-What!? Johnny [readying boomerang]: Who's talking!? Voice: So you've come this far?... I respect such power. Allow me to congratulate you in person on your accomplishment. [Suddenly, D'Artigny notices...] D'Artigny [pointing]: S...sonny! Over there!! Susadora: !! pg. 118 SFX: ::FLAP:: [A caped figure looms above Susadora...] Vitor: At last we meet. Or rather......we meet AGAIN, Susadora. SFX of Vitor's cape: ::WHOOSH:: [Vitor stands on the hilltop before the party.] Rani: ...You're Vitor!? Susadora: Hmph! So you're the one behind all those fake pirates, are ya? pg. 119 Vitor: Mondain, Minax, Exodus............ where my predecessors have failed, I will succeed...I will create a world of darkness - a world of avidya - under my rule... [The Hindu concept of avidya and refers to ignorance of the true nature of the world. It is not the first or last reference to Hinduism in the manga. Vitor whirls his staff around to point it at Susadora and Rani.] SFX: ::whip:: Vitor: Susadora.........why are you trying to destroy me? Susadora: ! [Vitor unleashes a bolt of energy from his wand. D'Artigny and Johnny hit the deck.] SFX: ::BAM:: ::WHOOSH:: Johnny: EEP!! Vitor: This world - this _rough sketch_ brought into being by the whims of the Creator... [Vitor's beam continues through the field...] SFX of beam: ::SKREEEEEEE:: Vitor: ...would it not be better to throw off the chains of this endless cycle of rebirth and return it all to the Void? [...strikes a rock formation behind the heroes...] SFX: ::POP:: pg. 120 [...and blows it up, sending everyone running for cover.] SFX: ::BANG:: Vitor: No matter...I will accomplish my goals regardless. [Susadora draws his sword.] SFX of debris: ::PLOP:: ::PLOP:: ::PLOP:: Susadora: Bastard...... SFX of sword: ::CHING:: Susadora: All you do is spout shit... [Susadora throws his sword.] Susadora: _SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH--!!_ SFX of sword: ::SHING:: [The sword hits home...] SFX: ::THUD:: [...but does no good. Vitor simply disapparates in a puff of black feathers.] SFX: ::POFF:: pg. 121 [Taking form as a flock of crows, Vitor flies away.] SFX of crows: ::CAW:: ::CAW:: ::CAW:: ::CAW:: D'Artigny: C...crows...? Johnny [knocked on his rear]: W...whoa. We're facing some enemy. SFX: ::plop:: Vitor [psychically]: I'll be waiting for you, Susadora! Hurry to my keep... Heh heh heh... Susadora: Rani... I've made up my mind. I'm not doing this for the king. SFX of Susadora pacing in grass: ::rustle rustle:: Susadora: On my honor as a pirate of Golaia - I _WILL_ DEFEAT HIM! SFX of Susadora's fist pounding in palm: ::SMACK:: Rani: But... Susadora, what did he mean by "we meet _again_"!? Susadora [retrieving sword from ground]: ............ I haven't got a clue! SFX: ::SHING:: pg. 122 [We return to Britain, where suddenly, a great sound rings out through the air.] SFX: ::RRROOOOAAAAARRRR:: ::RRROOOAAARRRR:: [The townsfolk stop and look up in the sky, unable to pinpoint its source further.] Townsfolk: W...what is that? What's that sound!? [We cut to the site of Susadora's (second) bar brawl, where the barmaid from before is serving the old prophetess from before.] SFX: ::RRRROOOOAAAARRR::: Barmaid: My... it'd be nice if that noise stopped, wouldn't it, ma'am? [Note: The barmaid refers to her customer as "baachan," an informal term that can mean "grandma" or simply "old woman." I believe in this case that it's the latter, as nothing else in the barmaid's demeanor points to a familial relationship, though note that I may be mistaken and the prophet might well be the barmaid's actual grandmother.] SFX: ::RROOOAARR...:: SFX of teapot: ::plup plup plup:: Prophetess: ......... That sound heralded the rise of Mondain......... pg. 123 Barmaid: Huh?...What? Prophetess: And Minax, when she made ready to unleash _her_ evil...and when Exodus's curse befouled the earth...... It is the cry of heaven and earth at the power of darkness escaping this planet's core. SFX: ::RROAAARR:: Prophetess: The earth is telling us......... that once again, a great evil is threatening to blacken the land...... [Lord British stands on the castle rooftop, listening.] SFX: ::RRRROOOAAAARRR:: British: Please, Susadora. My request may be sudden...a burden...but... I can give you no guidance beyond my words - your key. The only way to find your path is to look within yourself. pg. 124 SFX: ::RRROOOOAAAAARRR:: [We return to the party. Yep, the noise is here, too, but our heroes (?) are distracted by another spectacle...] Susadora: _LOOK! MT. MEIRA--!!_ [We come to the peak, the heart of Mount Meira. It is a Mount only in name - it looks instead like a Devil's Tower that's broad at the peak instead of the base. I am disappointed at the lack of mashed potato jokes.] SFX: ::RRROOOOAAARRRR:: pg. 125 [All look on in awe - and a strange recognition...] Johnny: D...do you get the feeling we've been here before......? D'Artigny: Y...yes...I get that sense as well. Rani: Me too......... I know I haven't, but... it somehow seems familiar to me!...... Susadora: ............ So...do I... SFX: ::RRROOOAAARRR:: Susadora: _--Shit!!_ Why do I feel like this?! [The party walks on.] SFX of members in back: ::whisper:: ::psssst:: ::whisper:: Johnny [to D'Artigny]: Whaddaya think's the matter with the boss 'n' Rani? They haven't said a word since we got here...... pg. 126 [Suddenly, Soma sees something that gives him pause...] Soma: H...hahhh... [A thin, high stone bridge over a long, low lake, spiraling up to twin statues above.] SFX of wind: ::WHHHOOOOOSSSSHH:: Soma: Ai yi yi! I can't _swim,_ I _hate_ heights...... (Ohhh...what a mess...) [Soma turns to Frowd.] Frowd [suddenly noticing Soma]: ......... Soma [bowing fervently]: *Ah*...please, sir... have some pity... SFX: ::bow bow:: pg. 127 [Frowd wordlessly takes Soma on his back. The party begins to cross.] Susadora, I Think: It's just a little farther, Soma. Soma: T......thank you. SFX of wind: ::WHHOOOSSSSHH:: [As the party approaches the end, the statues' eyes light up...] SFX: ::FLASH:: [...and the statues themselves come to life, stiffly turning their gaze to the heroes.] SFX: ::CREEEEEEEAK creak creak:: ::creak creak creak creak creak:: Rani: !! SFX ::CREAK!...:: ::CREAK!...:: SFX of debris: ::crumble crumble crumble:: ::crumble crumble:: Statues: We have been waiting for you. Mortal! Ye have not changed since last we met. pg. 128 Susadora [shocked]: What...!? Statues: Answer us this......... Where is the Left, and where is the Right? Answer or ye canst not pass. Johnny: Th...the komainu... They're _talking!_...... [Note: komainu ("koh-MAH-EE-noo") are lion-dog statues placed at the entrances of Shinto shrines to ward off evil spirits. They often guard the inner portion of the shrine accessable only by the gods.] Susadora: The Right is whichever that cannot be called the Left. The Left is whichever that cannot be called the Right. Komainu: Answer us this......... WHERE IS THE CENTER? Susadora: Wherever Right is indistinguishable from Left and Right from Left. pg. 129 Johnny [with pleased recognition]: *Oh*...boss, that's the song the old lady taught us! Komainu: Very well...... Ye may pass. But remember this, mortal...... That ye knowest those words, that ye hast come here with these companions... none of this is the product of mere chance. [One of the komainu opens its mouth.] SFX of mouth opening: ::haa:: Susadora: What...!? Komainu: Your smell is familiar...carrieth memories of long ago... [The komainu disgorges a key.] SFX: ::CLINK:: Komainu: Remember, mortal - remember the Truth! SFX of Susadora catching key: ::PLUNK:: Susadora: ......... Komainu: This key will open the gate. Step through, and in the blink of an eye, ye will be transported to this mountain's peak. pg. 130 Susadora: Vitor...those komainu things... all they do is run their mouths about crazy-ass shit!! Rani: Susadora...... [Despite his brave words, Susadora is visibly disturbed.] Susadora: I... I don't believe in "fate" or "destiny" or any of that religious crap. Rani: ............ [I should specify that Susadora mentions that he doesn't believe in any of this "incense-soaked crap," as religious preferences are strongly (and strangely, for an Ultima work) identified with fantasy-equivalent Hinduism.] Susadora: FUCKIN' _HELL!!_ I DON'T REMEMBER _ANY_ OF THIS SHIT!! [From behind, however...] SFX: ::CAW:: [Before Susadora has time to react...] SFX: ::RRROOOAAARRRR:: SFX of crows: ::GYAAA: ::GAAA:: ::GAAA:: [...the komainu roast Vitor's crows alive with their breath.] pg. 131 SFX of flaming crows: ::thud:: ::thud:: ::HISSSS:: [The crows' bodies fall to the ground as they burn, turning demon in form.] SFX: ::HISSSSS:: Susadora: Of course. Vitor's minions can't set foot in here. Rani: He _did_ say this was the Holy Keep. [The group keeps going beyond the gate, until they reach...] SFX of echoing footstep: ::CLACK:: [...what we would recognize as the universal Stonehenge-esque manga form of a moongate.] pg. 132 [D'Artigny is the first to explore. In the center of the moongate, he finds a keyhole.] D'Artigny: Sonny! Look! Susadora: This is our ticket up, then!? SFX of key dropping on ground: ::thud:: Susadora: Everyone in the circle! [Indeed, everyone gathers around the keyhole on the ground. Susadora inserts the key...] SFX: ::slip:: ::kaCHUNG:: [...and, to the surprise of the party (who were expecting an elevator or something), the entire "moongate" lights up.] SFX: ::VOOOOM:: Susadora: ! pg. 133 [The party is teleported away.] SFX: ::VOOSH:: [When they come to, they find their feet on grassy ground dotted with tiny white crocuses.] Johnny: Wha......what _is_ this place!? [Giant crystals the size of those in the Naica mine in Mexico dot a landscape of flowered fields. Will-o'-wisps fly through the air, dancing around shafts of light.] Johnny: Is this really the top of the mountain!? Are we still in our own world!? pg. 134 Voice: One could say that this is indeed _not_ the peak of Mt. Meira... SFX: ::BOOM!:: [Susadora and Rani brace as something approaches...] Voice: One could _also_ say that beyond this light lies the Holy Keep where Brahman dwells - the very Absolute itself. SFX: ::BOOM!:: [A giant foot pounds into view of the party. They look up to see a similarly-sized hand...] SFX of something in hand: ::JANGLE:: Voice: Ahhh! It has been a while since last we met! [...and before them appears a gigantic tri-faced Hindu goddess.] pg. 135 Johnny [holding head]: Argh...my head feels funny! I...... Susadora [fed up]: _ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT!_ I'VE BEEN A PIRATE ALL MY LIFE!! _I'VE GOT NO MEMORY OF YOU FUCKING MONSTERS!!_ Johnny [frantically trying to wave Susadora away]: (Uhhh...boss... I think this chick's a little too big to fight...) Goddess: Of course......... The seal is flawless...... [A light forms before the party, in which appear familiar shapes...] Goddess: Here......are these perhaps for what you came? SFX: ::VOOM:: [A sword and boomerang materialize from the light and drop before Susadora and Johnny.] SFX: ::THUD:: ::THUD:: Goddess: However...our friend now _himself_ commands fearsome power through his alliance with foul demons. Perhaps your venture may yet succeed...however... Johnny [examining boomerang]: (Whoaaa~) Goddess: Vitor now poses a threat far greater than this world has ever faced.............. [Where're eye-rolling emoticons when you need them?] SFX of Susadora's sword: ::SHING:: pg. 136 Soma: F...forget just a _song!_ If I put _this_ odyssey into an epic poem, I'l be a MILLIONAIRE!! SFX of weapon appearing before Rani: ::WHOOSH--:: Rani: Huh? For...for me? [The rest of the party receives weapons as well.] SFX of Frowd's axe: ::glint:: D'Artigny [holding sword]: H...huh?... Why are we getting weapons too? Johnny [flicking boomerang around]: AWESOME!! A golden boomerang!! You're not jerking us around?! These are FREE?! SFX of boomerang: ::WHOOSH:: ::WHOOSH:: Johnny: All right - let me give it a whirl!... [Johnny throws the boomerang...] SFX: ::WHISH:: ::WHOOSHWHOOSHWHOOSH:: [..and it neatly shaves a few of the man-sized crystals lying about from their beds. (Er, how is Johnny going to catch it safely, then?)] SFX: ::CLANG:: ::CLANG:: ::PLINK:: pg. 137 SFX of crystals shattering: ::SHATTER...:: Johnny [freaked out]: H...holy _shit_... SFX of boomerang returning to Johnny's palm: ::SMACK:: Rani [nervously, holding up mace]: Does...does this hold similar power? Goddess: Great power is sealed within all your weapons. However...even with that power... the task before you will be an extraordinary trial. Johnny: Umm...don't mean to be rude, but while you're here - what's this "Truth" we're supposed to find? Goddess: ......I cannot yet tell you. Johnny: _What?!_...Tight-ass!! Why _NOT!?_ It's the LEAST you could do!! pg. 138 [The goddess turns away (or maybe not - she's facing three ways at once, after all) and begins to leave.] Goddess: In order to learn the truth, Susadora must break the seal......... And, to do so, you yourselves hold the key......... SFX of goddess walking: ::THUMP:: ::THUMP:: Johnny: U..._US!?_ Goddess: As for your next step... you need no instruction from me......you already know. Return to Earth, mortals. SFX: ::BOOM:: ::BOOM [The goddess leaves. Susadora is disquieted.] Rani: Susadora......... Susadora: ......... Golaia...... Golaia is.........I get the feeling - that something terrible is about to happen there............... WE'RE GOING BACK TO GOLAIA! Guys, c'mon, we've gotta get back RIGHT NOW!! D'Artigny: R..."right now"?... From here? _How.........!?_ pg. 139 [Just then, Johnny hears something...] SFX: ::whirrrrrr:: [He turns around to see an approaching shadow...] SFX: ::WHIRRRRRRR:: [...that belongs to a giant blimp.] SFX: ::WHHHHIIIRRRRRRRRRR:: Goddess: My offering to you. Fix your minds upon your destination! And by the power of thought, it will fly you there far faster than any ordinary ship... Susadora: Let's go home, everyone! TO GOLAIA!! pg. 140 [Back to Golaia. Godot has returned and is relating his tale to Susadora's mom and Leila.] Susadora's Mother: I see.......... I'm sorry for all the trouble you've been through, Godot. Godot [extremely tired]: It...it was nothing! I was the only coward to slink back home......... [Susadora's mom touches Godot's shoulder in reassurance.] Susadora's Mom: But...why would they entrust such a great task to those children? Leila [enthusiastic]: It'll be OK! My brother and his friends can handle it!! Godot: That's the spirit! pg. 141 SFX: ::ding dong:: ::ding dong:: ::DING DONG:: [The sound of the homecoming bells across the bay. Everyone turns to the port with hopeful eyes.] Leila: Ah...! My brother's back!! [A ship appears on the horizon.] Leila [pointing]: Mother, Godot - look-! [Susadora's mother smiles warmly...at first. Suddenly, however, her eyes are gripped with terror...] Susadora's Mother: *gasp*--! pg. 142 [Two ships appear on the horizon behind the first. Leila's face joins her mother's in shock -] Leila: ! _That's_ not my brother!! SFX: ::WHOOSHH:: [The ships close in. From the deck come a battery of cannons.] SFX: ::CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK:: [They turn their sights toward the lookouts along the bay...] SFX: ::whirrr:: ::BOOM!:: ::fwooshhh:: pg. 143 SFX: ::BOOOOOOOMM!:: Leila: _MOTHER, THE GUARDHOUSE!_ [But Susadora's mother is already running for the house.] SFX: ::DASH:: [She grabs a sword.] Susadora's Mother: Dear, I'm sorry...I have to borrow your favorite sword... SFX: ::clack:: [Susadora's Mom swings it out of its sheath to assume command.] Susadora's Mother: But I have to use it to protect our island! SFX: ::SHING!: [The crew of the invading vessels appears on deck. The ships are wholly manned by demons.] SFX: ::lurk:: ::lurk:: pg. 144 [The winged creatures fly from tehhir ship and descend upon the town.] SFX: ::FLAP:: ::FLAP FLAP:: ::FLAP FLAP:: [They sink their teeth into the flesh of the residents.] SX: ::CHOMP:: ::crack crunch:: ::crunch:: ::SPLUT:: [Meanwhile, the ships themselves continue their barrage.] SFX: ::CHA-KOOM:: ::CHA-KOOM:: ::WHOOSHWHOOSHWHOOSH:: ::BANG!:: pg. 145 [There is chaos in the town square as the remaining residents attempt to flee.] SFX: ::SKREEE:: ::KEEEE--:: ::AAAAAA!:: Man: _GET THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE TOWN HALL!_ _MEN, TAKE UP YOUR SWORDS AND FIGHT!!_ [The man's call to arms, however, is interrupted by a spear through the head.] SFX: ::GOOSH!:: [What are presumably the elite troops of the invading force descend upon the town square, with the predictable eviscerations and decapitations. (Oddly, the demons are armed with what appear to be half-scissors.)] pg. 146 [Meanwhile - well, forget "meanwhile" at this point. It's just alternating between this:] SFX of shelling: ::BOOOOOMM!!:: [and this:] SFX of man being gutted by demon: ::SLASH:: [The scene shifts to inside the assembly hall. Children cower in their mothers' arms while a female guard stands by with a spear.] Guard: What...what could _demons_ be doing _here...!?_ SFX of spear: ::clack:: SFX from outside window: ::thump...thump thump:: [Suddenly, from the window...] SFX: ::ROAARRR:: Guard: ! [A demon crashes through the window and immediately sets upon the guard.] SFX: ::SMASSHH:: Guard: AAAAAA! pg. 147 SFX: ::SLASH:: [Godot, at least, gets a decapitation in for the good guys. He and Susadora's mother, though, are surrounded.] Godot: Sh...shit! We keep killing 'em and killing 'em, and they just keep coming!! SFX of demon alighting: ::thump:: [Occupied with the enemy in front of him, Godot doesn't realize the presence of the enemy above...] SFX: ::SWOOP:: Susadora's Mother: _Godot, above you--!!_ SFX: ::THUD:: [...but it is too late. Godot is run through by the demon's spear.] Susadora's Mother: _GODOT--!!_ [In an underground storehouse, Leila sits shaking in the dark alone. Her arms are wrapped around her, and a tear falls down her cheek.] Leila: Susadora... Johnny......save us! pg. 148 [We return to the airship.] SFX: ::WHRRRRRR:: ::WHRRRRRR:: ::WHRRRR:: ::WHRRRR:: Johnny [looking our window]: We're almost to Golaia! [The airship nears...only to find smoke billowing from the island.] Johnny: Hey...boss, look--! SFX: ::WHRRRR:: ::WHRRRR:: Susadora: !! pg. 149 Johnny: _THE ISLAND...IT'S BURNING!!_ [The airship lands and the crew climbs out to witness the wreckage. The ships in the harbor are on fire, the bodies of their crews strewn in the harbor.] SFX of fire: ::RROAAARRR:: [Those who defended the village in the town square lay massacred, their bodies pincushions for spears and daggers. The party moves inside the town hall.] SFX: ::clatter:: [D'Artigny falls to his knees.] D'Artigny: M...my God......how could they... _Women and children..._ Rani [trying to steady him]: .........D'Artigny... pg. 150 [Outside, Susadora discovers two more sad sights.] Susadora: Mother............ Godot............ [Susadora cradles his mother's body in his arms. There is not a soul left alive on Golaia.] SFX: ::CREAK:: [Johnny runs out, a human form in his arms. He's found Leila.] Johnny: Hey...Leila's...... she's not breathing... Leila's......... _Leila's not breathing, boss!_...... pg. 151 SFX of shovel: ::CRUNCH:: [The party has set about the business of digging graves. (The graves are marked with crosses, an odd choice in this manga's apparently Hindu society.) They are suddenly distracted -] Johnny: _NO--!!_ [Susadora has approached Johnny, who is still carrying Leila's body.] Johnny: _I said NO!! I WON'T DO IT--!!_ Susadora: Johnny......... ...C'mon. We'll let Leila be at peace...OK.........? [Johnny is still reluctant, silent in his shock and grief.] Susadora: ...It's OK, Johnny. Johnny: ......! [Johnny relents, and Susadora takes Leila's body. He walks over to an open grave.] pg. 152 Rani: Who is she...? Susadora: ......... ...My sister. She was a good friend of Johnny. [Rani is silently horrified. Susadora places Leila's body in the grave. He gently takes the bandana she kept around her arm and ties it around his own.] SFX: ::slip:: ::tug:: Rani: Susadora.........I'm sorry. If......if I hadn't arrested your crew......... [A light rain begins to fall.] SFX: ::splot:: ::splot:: pg. 153 [Rani begins to cry. She wipes the tears from her eyes as she continues.] Rani [weakly]: I really am...... so sorry..... [Rani takes Susadora close to her in a hug. The rain intensifies into a downpour.] Rani: I'm sorry......I'm sorry!......... SFX of rain: ::SSS:: ::SSS:: ::SSS:: ::SSS:: ::SSS:: ::SSS:: Susadora: It's not your fault......... That fucking Vitor...... He did this just to make us suffer. Mark my words, Vitor......you'll PAY for this! _I'll send you to the lowest depths of hell!!_ [We see Susadora's face; he is crying silently. His third eye has begun to glow.] pg. 154 [We cut to a castle that lies deep within a forest.] Voice: What is it, Palmer? [Further cutting sends us to the royal observatory, where a knight and attendant stand in waiting as an astronomer fiddles with an impressive telescope that looks not unlike the neck of a saxophone. (This artist does have a couple interesting ideas regarding machinery, and it's a pity we don't get to see more of them.)] SFX of rusty knob: ::EEKEEKeekeek...:: Palmer, Apparently: Hmm......there's no doubting it. The movement of the heavens bodes unmistakably ill. pg. 155 Knight: ........................... Palmer: Several stars of ill omen have grown in intensity... just as when Mondain, Minax, and Exodus brought about calamity... No...there is not much time remaining... SFX: ::VOOOM:: [The discussion is interrupted by an unexpected visitor teleporting in...] SFX: ::FLASH:: [...Lord British, deathly silent. The knight turns to greet him.] Knight [kneeling]: Sire...thank you for coming all this way to see us. British: It's been a while, Robert Frasier. [Huh. I guess that castle was the Lycaeum, then. And, dammit, Lord Robert's dressed like a knight in this.] British: So...what is this urgent business of yours? Robert: Well...actually, it's my yogi, Tymus, who requested an audience with you, sire...... But before that, I have something I want to show you... This way......... pg. 156 SFX of step: ::CLOP:: British [walking behind Robert]: My...I've heard the stories, but......... I never realized the space below the Castle of Truth was so cavernous... [British and Robert are descending a long flight of stairs in a vast vaulted space, like Escher without the illusions.] SFX: ::CLOP:: ::CLOP:: ::CLOP:: Robert: As you're aware, sire, we discovered these catacombs only a year ago... We discovered many ancient documents as well, though we have only just begun to plumb their depths. We have, however, uncovered several illuminating facts. As you know, the duty of this keep is to house the Book of Truth......... However, according to the documents we've unearthed, this castle serves another important purpose. [The two reach an iron door.] Robert: Please - have a look. We were able to pry open this door only a mere ten days ago...... SFX of door handle: ::clack:: pg. 157 [The door opens, reluctantly.] SFX: ::CREEEEEEAAAAAKK-CREAK-CREAK-CREAK:: British [apprehensive]: But...what is this dark energy I sense? [He finds his answer on the other side of the door.] British: _!!_ [A giant statue of a six-armed...man? god? demon? - sits in the center of the room. It is about ten times taller than the two nobles. Two of the statue's arms hold up the ceiling; two hold weapons; and two seem to hold down the circle of stones that lies beneath its feet. (Incidentally, the statue is illuminated with two Klieg spotlights. Did the ancients thoughtfully install them to bring light to the dark catacombs, constructing them to fulfill an exceptional warranty, or did the scholars of the Lycaeum install them for dramatic effect?)] Robert: According to the documents, beneath this statue lies a bottomless pit. Demons from antiquity are said to be sealed below. British: I see...this, then, would be the castle's other purpose?......... Robert: Yes...... pg. 158 Robert: I thought it was a mere legend, of course. But for the past two or three days, an increasing amount of dark energy has been emanated from this space. And look, sire. [Robert raps on the statue's arm.] SFX: ::knock knock:: Robert: The statue is cracking - from the violent activity of the monsters beneath...... [Indeed, the statue's face cracks as the two look on.] SFX: ::crack:: ::crrraacck:: Robert: ...It is said the monsters feed off the evil in men's souls...could we not then suppose that they are taking their increased strength from the corrupt world we face today? Sire...frankly speaking, I'm afraid of Vitor. I fear his actions have a more sinister purpose than mere dominion over Britannia... British: ......What, then? What is his purpose? You're a wise man, Robert; can you not see?... Robert: I haven't a clue...but the monsters' activity has to be connected with Vitor somehow. British [anxious]: But...... if those monsters escape the underworld... Britannia...will become a literal hell on earth...... pg. 159 [Time for an action scene. Susadora takes his shiny new sword to the water's edge and hoists it to the midday sun.] SFX: ::FLASH:: [He brings it down with a mighty stroke. It causes a small ripple in the water...] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: ::SPLASH:: [...that resonates deep into the sea...] SFX: ::WHHOOOSSSSHHH:: pg. 160 [...suddenly parting the waves, Moses-style, as far as the eye can see.] SFX: ::WHHHHOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHH:: pg. 161 [Susadora turns toward the party.] Susadora: _SO WHAT IS THIS 'TRUTH'!?_ _WHERE IS IT!?_ SFX of wall of water behind him: ::HSSSSSHHHH:: Rani: .........I don't know. All I know...... is that without this Truth, we supposedly don't stand a chance against Vitor......... [Susadora resheathes his sword.] SFX: ::CLACK:: Susadora: Dammit......I'm sick of these games, Rani. _D'Artigny! Put out a call to Britannia's pirates! We're going to ask them for help!!_ D'Artigny: G...got it, boss! [D'Artigny runs to carry out Susadora's Call for All the Brigands of the People, but Rani stops him with her mace.] SFX of mace: ::clack:: Rani: The King's prophecies are never wrong. And he _told_ you to find the Truth...! pg. 162 D'Artigny [sweatdropping]: Ra......Rani, what're you...!? Rani: You can't let emotion get the better of you right now. That's what Vitor wants. If you confront him without this Truth, you're walking right into his trap. Susadora: ......... Step aside, Rani. [Susadora takes out his sword again.] SFX: ::glint:: Susadora [brandishing sword]: If you try to stop us... then I swear, it'll be over my body or yours. Rani: ! [Rani is shaken at the ultimatum - but suddenly, everyone is distracted from the standoff by another phenomenon. Rani's weapon, as well as Susadora's, has begun to flash with a brilliant intensity, virtually emitting packets of light.] SFX: ::FLASH:: ::FLASH:: ::VOOM...VOOMVOOMVOOM:: pg. 163 [Rani thinks, then...] Rani: ............ Let's go, everyone. SFX of mace spikes retracting: ::HSSH:: Susadora: !! [Rani turns to walk away.] Rani: Well, hurry up! [Rani turns back to glance at Susadora.] Rani: Idiot! Have you forgotten that I promised you a rematch!? If either of us die, there's no chance of one, is there!? [Rani turns back.] Rani: Let's find Vitor and take his head first. Then we can talk about how I'm going to thrash you. [Susadora and D'Artigny are taken aback and a little intimidated. Rani gets a fair distance before Susadora gathers himself together to run after her.] Susadora: HEY! Talk about a turnaround! FUCK!! [Back at the graveyard, though, Johnny sits silently by Leila's grave. We see the pendant he tried to steal from the Buccaneer's Den marketplace, now swaying in the wind, draped over her cross.] pg. 164 [We return to Buccaneer's Den. One pirate runs into the town square.] Pirate: My... My God! YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!! _Something HORRIBLE's happened to Golaia!!_ Pirate 2 [turning around]: _What!?_ [More pirates tell more pirates...] Pirate 3: Huh? Golaia's been _destroyed!?_ Pirate 4: _Golaia!?_ Pirate 5: Yeah! Vitor did it! It was his lackeys!! Pirate 6: Vitor? The boss of the merchants of Magincia!? pg. 165 Gallus: _FUCKIN' UNFORGIVABLE!!_ SFX of fist hitting table: ::WHAM:: Gallus: He might as well've picked a fight with every pirate gang in Britannia!! Nervous Pirate: B-boss...you say "unforgivable," but...... wasn't the Garm gang - weren't we totally stomped by Susadora!? [Incidentally, interesting hairdo the two pirates talking to Gallus have going on. One has an afro, and the other has taken his from Pebbles Flintstone. We turn to Foram's place, where he and a few of his men are consoling Johnny.] Foram: I see......I'm just heartsick over Leila and the old lady......... [Foram claps Johnny on the shoulder.] Foram: But don't give up hope, Johnny!! SFX: ::CLAP!:: Foram: My gang'll get revenge for ya!! Johnny: T...thank you, Captain Foram! pg. 166 [The pirates assemble at the docks. Susadora steps forward to address them.] SFX of Susadora stepping forward: ::CLACK:: Susadora: LISTEN UP, EVERYONE!! Vitor's evil is threatening to cover the whole _world_ in darkness! If we don't take a stand against him, our world'll go straight to hell! PIRATES OF BUCCANEER'S DEN! _ARE YOU WITH ME!?_ pg. 167 [The pirates raise their fists in unison.] Pirates: _YEAH!!!!_ Susadora [smiling]: ......... Thank you, everyone! [Legions of pirates board their vessels. Anchors are aweighed.] SFX of anchor chain: ::rattlerattle:: [Arms are taken up.] SFX: ::clack:: ::clack:: D'Artigny: We've received word from Golaia's expatriate pirates. They're too far away at the moment - they won't be able to make the gathering... Susadora [troubled]: Really... pg. 168 [The sails of Susadora's pirate fleet unfurl. He stands at the helm of the flagship.] SFX: ::FLAP:: Susadora: _LET'S GO!!_ SFX: ::SPLASH!:: Susadora: Mother... Leila... Everyone on Golaia - lend me your strength!! Rani [consulting with the others elsewhere on the ship]: Aren't you afraid of dying _now_, Soma? Soma: Perish the thought! I intend to see your battle through to its very end!! pg. 169 [We cut to the pirates' destination, the city of Magincia.] SFX: ::BAM BAM BAM:: ::BAM BAM BAM:: [Spectators gather in a cave overlooking the town.] Rhubarb 1: But whaddaya think she's _doin'?!_ She's jes' a _shepherd_... [Wait...wait, something's coming back to me...] Rhubarb 2: She says she got a message from God!! Rhubarb 3: From _God!?_ [We see the focus of their attention - a young blonde woman and an older carpenter.] Rhubarb 2: She says he told her to build a giant ark in this cave......... Whispered it right in her ear, he did - 'ccording to her... SFX: ::BANG BANG:: Girl [carrying meal to carpenter]: Here, Father. Take a rest. Carpenter [holding mallet, the source of all the BANGing]: Ohh! Thank you, Katrina! [...Oh, that's right. There's supposed to be someone named Katrina somewhere in the Fall of Magincia, isn't there?] pg. 170 Katrina: I'm sorry, Father. This is a great favor I've asked of you. Carpenter [good-naturedly]: What're you talking about, Katrina?! This is the first thing you've ever asked of me! You haven't had a single selfish thought since the day you were born! The _least_ I could do for you is to build you a ship or two! SFX of Rhubarb [impressed witih scale of ship]: ::Whoa...:: Rhubarb 4: Hey, old man! Quit the sheepherding business? Rhubarb 3: You a shipbuilder now? Carpenter: Silence, you foul money-changers! Katrina's sacred charge is not to be trifled with! Rhubarbs: HA HA HA HA HA... pg. 171 Rhubarb Who Knows: Hey, Katrina! Quit foolin' around and come down here with us! It's a shame, you know! You're the hottest chick in Magincia, and you're letting those looks go to waste! Rhubarb ?: With a face like that, you'd have Vitor himself wrapped around your little finger! [Katrina merely glares at them, which is enough to send the rhubarbs running.] Rhubarbs: Whoa! Scary chick! Scary chick! Run! Run! Katrina [to father]: It might be true what they say - we might be just wasting our time... But the voice told me that the day would come when this ship would serve a purpose - I can't ignore it!!...... pg. 172 [We cut further to a ship piloted by monsters. It seems to be at the head of a fleet.] SFX of ship moving: ::WHOOSSH:: Helmsman: LOOK SHARP, BOYS!! WE SHOULD BE RUNNING INTO THOSE PIRATES ANY MINUTE NOW!! Captain: Tuh! This bloody fog......... Can't even tell if the ship right next to ya is friend or foe! [Right on cue, the ship next to them moves closer...] SFX: ::whooosSHHH:: Captain: Eh...!? [The silhouettes of the crew aboard the neighboring vessel are dimly visible through the mist. As the vessel moves closer, the shapes resolve themselves...] pg. 173 [...into Susadora and his crew, weapons at the ready.] SFX: ::WHOOSSSHH:: Helmsman: _P-PIRATES OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!!_ Captain: _BREAK OFF IMMEDIATELY!! GET US WITHIN CANNON RANGE--!!_ [Before they can do so, however, the pirates latch onto the enemy vessel with grappling hooks and pull it flush with their own ship.] SFX of grappling hooks: ::whooosh:: ::whooosh:: ::whooosh:: ::CLANG:: ::CLANG CLANG CLANG:: ::TUG:: Susadora: _ALL RIGHT, BOYS!!_ _LET'S BEGIN OUR MONSTER HUNT--!!_ pg. 174 [The crews begin their clash. The monsters' winged crewmen fly up in the air, watching the battle from a higher vantage point.] pg. 175 Susadora: _HAH!!_ 'BOUT TIME THE FOG WAS ON _OUR_ SIDE!! [Susadora decapitates a few monsters with weakened bone density with his sword. Even Soma joins in, serenading some monsters into senselessness.] SFX: ::PLINK:: ::SCREEECH:: pg. 176 [Johnny decapitates a horde of monsters with his upgraded boomerang.] SFX: ::WHOOOOSH:: ::SLASH:: ::SPLURT:: ::SLASH:: ::SKREEEEEEE:: Johnny: This is for Leila!! SFX of boomerang returning to hand: ::whap:: [D'Artigny and Frowd join in the carnage with their own god-weapons.] SFX: ::SLASH:: pg. 177 [A bunch of lizard-monsters surround Susadora.] SFX: ::FWOOOOSSH:: ::FWOOOOSSSHHH:: [They all whip out their tongues, ensnaring Susadora.] SFX: ::THWAP:: ::WHIP:: Susadora: Shit...... [Secretly, though, from above -] SFX of foot: ::scrape:: pg. 178 [A pirate jumps down from the crossmast, his sword drawn.] SFX: ::WHOOOOSH:: [Susadora uses this distraction to turn the tables...] SFX: ::TUG:: ::WHIRL:: Susadora: _MOTHER......_ [He turns on his heel and throws the leader by across the ship by his own tongue. (The other pirate lands on him for good measure.)] Susadora: _FUCKER--!!_ SFX: ::THUD:: pg. 179 Susadora: NEXT! SFX: ::TUG:: [Susadora whirls another lizard across the deck.] Susadora: ORDER UP! SFX: ::WHOOSH!:: [The lizard barrels into a companion, and they both hit against a mast.] SFX: ::WHAM:: ::THUD:: [Meanwhile -] SFX: ::RIPPPP:: ::RIPPPP:: [Captain Foram punches (?!?!) through Susadora's bonds. He then starts in on the monsters themselves, and, like Jason in Friday the 13th Part VIII, punches their heads clean off.] Foram: _Ho!_ Allow _me,_ Golaia!! SFX: ::BASH:: pg. 180 [In the meantime, however, we see another ship raising its cannons...] SFX of cannons moving: ::RUMBLE...:: ::RUMBLERUMBLE:: [We see the crew; they are the fake pirates that attacked the naval vessel earlier.] Fake Pirate: _READY--!!_ SFX of cannons locking into place: ::CLACK:: ::KA-CLACK:: Rani [pointing]: _Susadora, look--!!_ Susadora: Argh! Dammit! They got in firing range! Fake Pirate: _FIRE--!! SFX of Fake Pirate's hand motion: ::WHOOSH:: [Susadora covers Rani and hits the deck.] SFX: ::GLOMP:: Susadora: _NAMUSAN!!_ ["Namusan" is short for "namusanbou," "I believe in the three jewels [of Buddhism]," which Susadora is exclaiming because he apparently believes he will be reunited with the first Jewel, Buddha himself, very shortly. Wait, I thought he was Hindu?] pg. 181 [Before the two can hit the ground, however, their faces are illuminated by a great -] SFX: ::FLASH:: [The two watch in awe as...] SFX: ::WHOOOOOOOSH:: ::POW:: [...something drops from above, and the enemy ship explodes into a million pieces.] Susadora: Wh......what...!? SFX of splintered wreckage falling, hitting side of ship: ::poff:: ::poff:: ::poff:: ::clink:: ::clink:: Voice: _CAPTAIN--!!_ SFX: ::WHIIRRRRRRRRR:: ::WWHHHHRRRRRRR...:: [Susadora looks up, and, overjoyed, sees -] pg. 182 SFX: ::WHHHHRRRRRRRRRR:: Man on Ship: _GOLAIA'S EX-PATS REPORTING FOR BATTLE, CAP'N!!_ [A whole new contingent of pirates waves in salutation to Susadora.] Susadora [casually decapitating another foe]: Golaia's ex-patriates! They made it!! SFX: ::THUNK:: [The ships drop rope ladders...] SFX of ladders: ::flit:: ::flit:: pg. 183 [...and the airship crews rappel down to the boats.] SFX of rappel: ::WHOOOOOOSSSHHHH:: [Meanwhile, a new aerial force joins the fray. The demons that had been flying above the battlefield ready their weapons and swoop toward the airships...] SFX of weapons: ::grab:: ::whip:: SFX of wings: ::FLAP:: ::FLAP FLAP:: [Johnny and Frowd notice only too late -] SFX: ::FLASH:: [- they are helpless as one of the airships goes up in flames.] SFX: ::BA-BOOOOOM:: pg. 184 [Rani will not take this lying down. She readies her mace, which lets out a long wail, and waves it before her as she casts a spell.] SFX: ::SCREEEEECH:: ::WHOOOSHHH:: [The demons are fried en masse.] SFX: ::POP:: ::POP:: ::POP:: ::BZZZZZZT:: [Johnny and Frowd, meanwhile, finish off the remaining monsters on deck.] Johnny: BOSS...!! SFX: ::THUD:: [Susadora, fresh from felling another foe, follows Johnny's voice.] Johnny: Boss......D'Artigny............ [He finds a crying Johnny cradling D'Artigny in his arms. D'Artigny has been felled by a demon's spear; he is dead.] pg. 185 Susadora: _SHIIIIIT!!_ [Tears in his eyes, Susadora expresses his grief the only way he knows how - by heaving both his arms back and bringing down his sword in a mighty blow against the deck.] SFX: ::BOOM:: [It shatters the planks...] SFX: ::CRACK:: [...and creates a shock wave that continues through the boards in front...] SFX: ::CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK crack crack...:: [...and directly through the three monster-pirates before him, cleaving them in half.] pg. 186 SFX: ::flutter...:: ::flutterflutterflutter:: [Susadora is distracted by the motion of a rope dangling limply from above. His eyes follow it to the cabin of the airship above, whose remaining crew slumps dead out the windows.] SFX of engine: ::WHHIRRRRR:: [Susadora steels himself, then...] Susadora: All right--!! Rani! Everyone - we're leaving!! _All aboard for Vitor's keep--!!_ pg. 187 [The pirates make one last sweep of the ships.] Someone: _Whoa - what a rout!!_ _We musta taken out almost his whole army!!_ Someone on Another Ship: _Yeah - all clear here, too!!_ Foram: Susadora, where are ya?! Let's all have a victory slug together! SFX: ::WWWHHHHIIIRRRRRRR:: Susadora: _HEEEEEYY!! Foram!!........._ [Foram looks up to realize that Susadora's crew has boarded the remaining airship.] pg. 188 Susadora: _We're gonna go finish off Vitor!!_ _Take care of the rest for us--!!_ [Foram and his crew raise their arms in farewell.] Foram: _Do your best!!_ _Come back with a win--!!_ [Foram watches as Susadora sails out of sight.] Foram: ...Come back _alive,_ Susadora!......... pg. 189 [Meanwhile, at Vitor's keep, Vitor himself is kneeling before some kind of altar (not one we've seen before). He's not in great shape.] Vitor: Ugh... SFX: ::wobble:: Vitor: Uhhhhuhhhh...... Susadora!......... [Vitor is so bad, in fact, that some seaweed-like ichthyian appendages are creeping out from beneath his robes.] Vitor: _This_ lifetime, I will succeed. The world will be _mine._ SFX of appendages: ::slither...slitherslitherslither:: ::slurp:: ::slurp:: Vitor: _This_ time, I will expose humanity for the evil at its core... [Vitor casts off his mask.] SFX: ::CLATTER:: Vitor: ...and after that, only the Void shall remain! [Beneath, we see that his face...looks exactly the same as it did with the mask on? What is the purpose of this exercise!?] Vitor: Creator!...... It is _I_ who shall reap all the bad seeds you have sown! SFX of seaweed, which's up on his neck now: ::slither slither...:: pg. 190 [Back to the Lycaeum. Robert and British are ascending a tower.] Robert: My yogi, Tymus, has shut himself up in this tower. He hasn't come out for twenty years......... During his long seclusion, he has not requested a single meeting with a anyone unknown to him...... So when he asked me to bring _you_ to him, sire...... He says he has something to tell you... British: I sent them off to battle with the vaguest of directives...that they would not triumph without finding "ultimate weapons" or some unspecified "Truth"...... I want to do every least bit I can to help them further. SFX of British's footsteps: ::CLACK:: pg. 191 [Robert and British approach a door.] British: My prophecies... They were utterly worthless! All I've done is to Susadora off on a hopeless quest... Robert: Sire...... [Robert opens the door.] SFX of lock: ::clack:: Robert: This...is Tymus. British: !! [Tymus the yogi floats above, sitting cross-legged. He is a diminuitive elderly man with eyes devoid of pupils and long white hair trailing a balding head.] Robert: Tymus! The King is here!......... Tymus: Sire!... They.........Susadora and his comrades have already found the Ultimate Weapons. They are presently headed for Magincia. pg. 192 British: _WHAT?!?!_ Tymus: They have claimed victory over Vitor's hounds and now seek to engage Vitor himself. British [nervously]: They have found the Truth, then!? Tymus: ......No. It remains a mystery to them......... Susadora will probably elect to confront Vitor without it. British: ......... Then he will lose!? Tymus: I cannot say......... However, I was able to discover the Truth he must discover himself. Robert: WHAT!? ...Tymus, what's wrong!? [The one who answers, however, is not Tymus, though she speaks through his voice. A vision envelops Tymus, and the goddess Susadora met atop Mt. Meira addresses British.] Goddess in Tymus's Voice: The memories Susadora himself sealed away... The memory that he was once a god......that - _that_ is his Truth!! [A god. Susadora is a God. ......... You know, at least the hero of the last manga only claimed to be Jesus.] pg. 193 British: Wh--What!? Who speaks to me through Tymus's voice?! Goddess: I am the goddess who protects the barrier around Mt. Meira, bridge between this world and that of the heavens. ......... He...Susadora is an old friend of mine! I wish to enlighten you mortals as to the true nature of affairs... that is why I have borrowed this child's body. British [unsure about all this, as are we all, I imagine]: ............ Goddess: Susadora and Vitor were once both guardian deities of the Creator's heavenly temple. But Vitor for some reason descended to the earth as a god of evil... incarnated himself as a human time after time, in dimension after dimension... [We see an image presumably of godly Susadora in robes with a glaive-type weapon. We also see godly Vitor, who looks exactly the same, his dreadful fashion sense unchanging throughout eternity.] Goddess: He seeks to return the earthly realm to an utter void. pg. 194 [Meanwhile...] SFX: ::BANG!:: [Trouble aboard the dirigible - the entire blimp has just exploded (though the gondola is intact).] SFX: ::BA-BOOOOM!!:: [We get an establishing shot of Vitor's fortress, wreathed in lightning and smoke.] SFX of lightning: ::CRACKKK:: SFX of smoke: ::VOOMVOOMVOOM:: SFX of lightning again: ::CRACK:: ::CRA-KOW!!:: [Susadora and crew, meanwhile, have sunk to the bottom of the sea. (It seems that he took only the immediate party with him, not any of Foram's crew or the Golaia ex-patriates.)] SFX: ::GLUB:: ::GLUB:: ::GLUBGLUBGLUB:: [The party soon swims toward the surface, though, with Frowd giving Soma a lift.] pg. 195 [Everyone breaks through to the surface.] SFX: ::GASP:: ::GASP:: Susadora: Holy hell! Lightning out of nowhere! Little overboard on the reception, don't you think?! [Johnny, though, realizes where they are...] Johnny: Boss--!! It's Vitor's castle! [They all look up at the looming fortress.] Johnny: What's our plan of attack!? [No answer.] Johnny: Boss, did you hear me?! _What's our plan of attack!!_ [He turns around to find...Susadora getting a lecture from Rani, even neck- deep in water.] Rani: What were you, a wild _boar_ in a past life!? "OK! Full steam ahead! _CHARGE!!_" You call _THAT_ leadership!?! Do you have anything up there at _ALL?!_ SFX: ::NAG NAG NAG NAG NAG:: [Well, this is the essence of the "pirate vs. ninja" debate, isn't it.] Johnny [trying to get their attention]: _BOSS, LOOK--!!_ pg. 196 [Attention is turned to a particular turret of the keep.] SFX: ::ROOAARR:: [Just as before, when Lord British looked nervously from the ramparts of his castle, dark energy is rippling through the sky. This time, though, its locus is visible - that particular turret of Vitor's keep.] SFX: ::RRROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR:: Rani [nervously]: .........dark energy is gathering......... [From afar, Katrina and her father look on.] SFX: ::RRROOOOAAARRR:: Carpenter/Katrina's Father: W...what on earth? What's happening, Katrina? SFX: ::RROOOOOOAAAAAARRRR:: Katrina [hugging her father with one arm]: I don't know............ but that power......is born of great evil! pg. 197 [Back at the Lycaeum, the goddess continues her story.] Goddess: Susadora swore that wherever Vitor went, he would follow. So he was reborn as a human, come to earth to seal away Vitor's power.........like the demons sealed beneath this castle. Britain: Goddess! Tell me one thing. Why did Vitor turn to evil!? Goddess: Well... The great evil that dwells within you humans roused Vitor's anger. British & Robert: ! Goddess: In his eyes, a perfect world would consist of utter nothingness... Vitor took his job as Guardian seriously, and your evil drove him to despair...... He developed a hatred for all the Creator's works...every human on the face of the earth...and made plans to destroy them. [If I may speak on behalf of the wretched refuse of humanity, Vitor, may I say that we are driven to equal despair by your hairstyle.] Goddess: The evil in the hearts of the thousands...the millions of humans upon this earth is capable of laying waste to the sacred realm - even of sowing doubts in the minds of its Guardians about the Creator himself...... you humans have even created a world you know as Hell through its great power!! pg. 198 Goddess: To humans, nothing is worth protecting - nothing is just or right......they dismiss it all as mere illusions...... And so, Vitor turned his back on a Creator who would make such imperfect beings...he became a fallen god, a dark god, brought the monsters under his domain, and seeks an end to the global cycle of samsara. But Susadora and his comrades swore to save humanity...... They had faith in the essential goodness of humanity. They reincarnated themselves as humans time and again in their attempt to save you...in their attempt to save their former friend, Vitor. [I don't own this manga. You can't sue me for injuries caused by excessive eye-rolling.] Robert: Susadora "and his comrades"?............ So there are more gods on earth...!? [Before the goddess can answer, however, the ground beneath the men shakes.] SFX: ::WOBBLE:: Robert: W-What was that tremor!? SFX: ::RUMBLE...RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE:: British: It came from below!! pg. 199 [Below...] Magician/Scholar: Wh...what is this!? [The giant statue atop the seal to monsterland is crumbling quickly.] SFX: ::CLATTER:: ::CLATTERCLATTER:: Magician/Scholar: _DEMONS! THE DEMONS WILL OVERRUN THE EARTH!!_ SFX: ::CRACK...:: ::CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK:: ::RUMBLERUMBLE:: [Meanwhile again, Susadora and his squadron of godlings have swum ashore to Vitor's lair.] Susadora: *Whew*... what a trip. SFX of Rani & Soma pulling Frowd ashore: ::hup!:: [Johnny spots the nearest arch and makes a dash for it.] Johnny: OK! Let's go, boss! pg. 200 [Into the dark hallways the party goes. Susadora takes a torch from a hallway fixture and lights it, as does Rani.] SFX of torch: ::clatter:: ::POFF:: Susadora [I think]: But you know...we haven't seen a monster yet...... smells like a trap. [Suddenly, Rani (who's been in the lead) stops short.] SFX: ::stop:: Susadora: ? What's wrong, Rani? Rani: MONSTERS! Look around! [Sure enough...] SFX: ::CHITTER:: [...the party is surrounded by the rats that devoured the captain near the beginning of the manga.] SFX: ::CHITTER CHITTER CHITTER:: pg. 201 [They -] SFX: ::POUNCE:: [The party fights back, but has a bit of trouble with such small targets.] Rani [setting rats on fire]: _H...How did these rats get so huge!?_ [Soma, in seeming panic, runs away from the group.] Soma: E...EEEEEEEK!!... Susadora [spotting Soma's retreat]: _D-Dumbass!! Didn't I TELL you to stick close to us!?_ [Soma runs to a wall, seemingly surrounded. He turns and nervously reaches for his harp...] SFX: ::CHITTER:: ::CHITTER:: ::CHITTER:: ::CHITTER:: Soma: M...maybe... I can at least help with a song...... pg. 202 SFX of harp: ::SCREEEEEEECHHH:: [And as Soma opens his mouth and strums his harp, and friend and foe alike are flattened into a horrified stupor.] Soma [singing]: IIIIII'M GOOOOOOING TO DIIIIIIIIIIIE - HEY! HOY! HOY! SFX of harp: ::PLONK:: ::PLINK:: SFX: ::THUD:: ::THUD:: [The rats twitch on their back, foaming at their mouths; they die, felled by our anti-Pied Piper.] SFX: ::TWITCH!:: Susadora [staggering to feet]: Naturally......Soma's lute is way more deadly than any of _our_ weapons. Johnny: (Ugghh...) Soma: What's _that_ supposed to mean!? [The party stops before a door.] SFX: ::SCREEECH:: ::BOOM:: [Susadora uses his sword's shockwave power to blow the door up good.] pg. 203 [Susadora and Rani grab their weapons and steel themselves.] Susadora: _LOOK--!!_ SFX: ::DASH:: [The heroes run into the room now open to them - and stop short upon discovering...] Susadora: W...who's there!? SFX of fire: ::RRROOOOOAAAAAARRRR:: [The heroes have blundered into the altar-room of lava and fire that Danne inhabited earlier in the manga. Before the burning jewel at its center, Danne stands before them.] Susadora: Rani, your intuition's off. All that dark energy's from one little old lady?! Danne: Ho ho......... "Old lady," hmmm? Such manners...... pg. 204 Danne: I am Vitor's mother, Danne. Soma: !! Danne: I used the power of Mondain to draw my child into my womb...my child of darkness...... And if you've come to interfere with my little sweetheart's plans... I cannot allow you to live. Rani: MONDAIN!? The same Mondain who tried to destroy the world ages ago? Danne: Hee hee! Clever girl... [Danne grasps her prayer beads, which have been restrung since last time, I guess.] SFX of beads: ::CLACK:: Danne: Your efforts are all for naught! Very shortly, my son will have enough energy to plunge this world into darkness! Susadora [readying sword]: Ain't gonna happen! Where's Vitor, old lady!? SFX of sword: ::glint:: [Danne breaks her prayer beads, again.] SFX: ::SNAP:: Danne: Ho ho...... DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET YOU LEAVE!? pg. 205 [Danne spreads her arms wide to cast a giant spell.] Danne: Bathe in poison... SFX ::WHOOOOSHHHH:: [A giant plume of poison/lava lunges up from the lake behind Danne.] Danne: _AND DIE--!!_ SFX: ::ZOOOOOOOM:: [The plume speeds toward the party.] SFX: ::WHOOSH!:: [It draws a bead on Rani, Danne perhaps recalling who calls the shots in her own godly avatar-mother figure relationship and choosing her target accordingly (and correctly). Just before the plume hits home -] SFX: ::GRAB!:: Rani: ! [Frowd grabs Rani from behind and takes the blow himself.] SFX: ::THUD:: Frowd: _UHH--!!_ pg. 206 [Frowd collapses to his knees, a huge hole smoking in his back.] Frowd: NGAH-- SFX: ::HISSSS:: ::HISSSS:: Rani [catching him]: F...Frowd--!? [Susadora flies toward Danne in a rage as Frowd collapses completely.] Susadora: _FUCKER--!!_ SFX of sword: ::glint:: SFX: ::THUD:: Rani: _FROWD!!_ [Danne casts a spell...] SFX: ::POW:: [...but Susadora deflects it with his sword.] SFX: ::TING:: ::TIIING:: Rani [tears in eyes]: _SUSADORA! SMASH THE JEWEL ON THE ALTAR--!!_ _THAT FIREBALL IS THE SOURCE OF DANNE'S POWER!!_ Danne [readying another spell]: GO AHEAD AND TRY!! SFX: ::POFF:: pg. 207 [Danne looses her spell...] SFX: ::BOOM:: [...but Susadora vaults upward.] SFX: ::DASH:: [He tumbles over Danne's head toward the orb and cleaves it neatly in twain.] SFX: ::CLINK:: ::SLASH:: [It turns out that the jewel was hollow; inside is a skull, which was also smashed in two by Susadora's blow. Danne looks on in horror...] Danne: Aaa...... AAAAAA... _MONDAIN'S SKULL--!!_ [Well, great, Susadora. The Avatar'll never get into the Abyss _now._ Anyhow, Danne's flesh begins to bubble.] SFX: ::HISSSS:: ::HISSSSS:: pg. 208 Danne: URGH... MY LIFE FORCE... _MY LIFE FORCE...!!_ _AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!_ SFX: ::HISSSS:: ::HISSSS:: ::HISSSS:: [Danne's flesh begins to melt; lovely. Susadora looks back to Rani.] Susadora: _Rani - how's Frowd.....!?_ Danne: Eeeeee... Eeeeee.... [Rani looks away in silent reply, tears in her eyes. Soma cradles Frowd's body.] Soma [shakily]: He...he didn't say much...but he had a good heart!......... [Thus ends the most consistently likable of the heroes. But, in the words of the great sage LP-Bot, "IN-EVERY-STORY-THAT-HAS-A-CHOSEN-ONE,-THE-HERO- ALWAYS-LOSES-THEIR-COMPANIONS-AND-HAS-TO-MAKE-THE-FINAL-TREK-TO-FACE-THE- ULTIMATE-EVIL-ON-THEIR-OWN." Danne, despite being little more than a pile of cape and hair on the floor at this point, begins to speak.] Danne: Heh...heh heh. I survived for three hundred years by feeding on the energy left in Mondain's skull! My baby...Vitor...I called him into my womb...gave birth to him as if he were my own... SFX: ::HISSS:: ::HISSSS:: ::HISSSS:: [Danne's face is down to a skull at this point, eyes dangling from the sockets.] Danne, Still Speaking Somehow: I thought today that I would be there to see it finally come to pass... to see the day my boy would at last remake this earth into a world of darkness... but... pg. 209 [Danne is down to cloth and a puddle. How is she talking!? How does she have a tongue!?!?] Danne: No matter how many times he is reborn, no matter _where_ he is reborn, you find my boy and interfere... Susadora: !! [Susadora, piqued at this comment, runs to pick up what's left of Danne and tries to interrogate her/it.] Susadora: _HEY! WHO THE HELL IS VITOR!?_ _WHAT'S HE GOT TO DO WITH ME!?_ [Predictably, this is not successful.] Rani [quietly]: Stop, Susadora. She's...already dead... [Susadora stills. He quietly drops the remains.] Susadora: ............ I can't take it......... Everyone's died for this bullshit... Everyone on Golaia... D'Artigny... Even Frowd, now! The only way I'm gonna solve this fucking riddle......... is to end this by taking Vitor's head!! pg. 210 [Meanwhile, a flotilla of ships from Castle Britannia races across the ocean.] Captain: _Two hours till we reach Magincia--!!_ [British sits on a throne that's been installed behind the ship's rudder. Priorities.] British: Robert......... We humans might indeed deserve annihilation. I cannot help but think...that Vitor's conclusions might very well be correct............. [Lord B., look at his haircut. No one with that fashion sense "might very well be correct" about anything.] British: Perhaps it would be just if Vitor wiped every single one of us from the face of the earth. Robert: But......did he - did Susadora not disagree? [For the record: we're so far into Gary Stu country that the ruler of the known world believes his people deserve genocide just because they disappoint one of the author's original characters, and the major argument against this line of thinking is that one of the author's _other_ original characters disagreed.] pg. 211 [We see a picture of Katrina and her ark as a voiceover - the goddess in flashback, I suppose? - resounds.] Voiceover: If humanity truly is beyond salvation.... then the world will fall into the Dark Lord's hands, and silence and the void shall reign. But he......_he_ believes that there remain within humanity those pure of heart who deserve to survive............. ...so said Susadora, in his true form. Katrina [pointing to bow]: Father, look! Katrina's Father: The prow!? SFX: ::VOOOOM:: [The prow of the ship has begun to glow with presumed divine radiance. Meanwhile, back in Vitor's keep, Susadora calls the others over to a spiral staircase he has found.] Rani: Well, Susadora? Susadora: ......Here. No doubt about it. He's up these stairs... [The group looks skyward to the archway at the end of the staircase.] Susadora: Let's go! Johnny: Aye aye, boss!! [Everyone starts to proceed, but Susadora hangs back, stopping the others just before they ascend.] Susadora: Hey......... Before we go, I got something to say. I...it's hard for me to say this... But if I die, I'm never gonna get to... ...so I'll say it now. pg. 212 [Susadora thinks of his home on Golaia - of the farms overlooking golden fields of wheat; of deep-sea fishing among abundant ocean life; of Frowd, Godot, and D'Artigny; and of his mother, carrying in a big catch of fresh fish.] Susadora: When this all gets settled, let's all go back to Golaia. Let's all lead a peaceful, happy life there - for the sake of those who died. We'll fish, like we did before...plow the fields...wallop the bad guys and take their treasure from 'em... You should come, too, Soma, if you want. There's gotta be some reason you've come this far with us! Soma [surprised and pleased]: Huh? Me too? Susadora: You come with us, too, Rani. Quit government work! Become a pirate and give that dumbass king the shock of his life!! Rani [smiling]: ............ All right......... I'll give it a thought, Susadora!......... [Meanwhile, in Britain, the sounds of doom continue unabated.] SFX: ::RROOAAARRR...:: ::RRRROOOAAAARRRRRR...:: ::RRROAAARRRR:: pg. 213 SFX: ::RRRROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR:: [Now, however, the sky itself has taken on a dark and menacing tint, like "Starry Night" wrought in black and white.] Woman on Street: L...Look! The color of the sky......... I...is this the end of the world?! [At the bar, the barmaid and the prophetess cower together under the table.] Barmaid: ...Ma'am?... The wrath of God is upon us now, isn't it? SFX: ::RRROOOAAAAAAARRRRR...:: [The barmaid's grip on her tray (with her beneath the table, for some reason) falters at hearing the last roar.] SFX: ::clatter clatter:: Barmaid [sobbing]: There's no escaping it - it's just terrifying! And our town of Britain seems to be the focus of his wrath... But aren't there plenty of good people here!? I wouldn't call myself a saint, but I've done nothing to deserve this!! SFX: ::SOB:: Prophetess [calmly]: ............ Then pray...... Barmaid: _!?_ Prophetess: Pray! With the pure heart that beats inside you. But, even so...we will be destroyed nonetheless if the dark power prevails. pg. 214 [After that meaningless, demotivational talk, we return to: decapitations!] SFX: ::THUNK:: ::THUD:: ::SLASH:: ::WHOOOOOSSSHHH:: [Johnny's boomerang returns to his hand. A few more enemy heads fall off on time-delay.] SFX of boomerang: ::THWAP:: SFX: ::THUD:: ::THUNK:: Susadora: LET'S GO!! [They do so, but as they step beyond the door...] Susadora [shaken]: _!!_ pg. 215 [The group discovers with horror that the carpet leading to Vitor's throne is covered with human heads. (Which is rather inconvenient; you'd think he'd merely line the carpet's edges with human heads so his access to his throne was at least unimpeded.)] SFX: ::splut:: [A fat red drop lands on Susadora's cheek. He looks up to find scores of headless bodies suspended by their feet from the ceiling above.] Rani [covering her mouth]: UGH... Susadora: Soma, get back... This guy's gonna be one tough customer...... [Susadora's eyes then wander to the throne itself...] Vitor: Heh...heh heh... I've been waiting for you all...... SFX: ::SLITHER SLITHER:: pg. 216 [Susadora gazes in horror at the throne at Vitor's devolved form - really just a lazy, slumping mass of flesh with seaweed feelers. C'mon, man, move it in your evil transformation! If Seiji Tanaka were in charge, you'd have ten eyes, fourteen maws, and a hundred ropey flesh-tentacles by now!] SFX of feelers: ::SLIP:: ::SLITHER SLIP SLOP:: ::SLOP FLAP:: Susadora: Vitor............ What the hell happened to you? Vitor: The merchants of Magincia have been of great use to me indeed, Susadora! It is their moha that allowed me to ascend to this state. [Note: "moha," one of Buddhism's Three Poisons, is deep-rooted conviction based on false beliefs.] Vitor: Their screams as I cut their heads from their necks became my wings...... And their minds' desperate cries of "I don't want to die!" - their DESPERATION to continue their greedy guzzling of life's pleasures - made my scales grow ever brighter...... SFX of appendage: ::twitch:: [Despite Vitor's words, he doesn't really have wings or scales, just fleshy sorta-appendages in those vague shapes.] pg. 217 [Vitor's neck begins to elongate from the rest of the mass.] Vitor: _Indeed,_ humanity's vices are a dreadful force... SFX: ::STRETCH SNAP CREAK...:: Vitor: ...and they render their owners truly an unsalvageable race......... That they were suffered to abide on this earth... is inexplicable beyond mere oversight...don't you agree?! [Vitor actually does spawn some wings in back...] SFX: ::BAM:: Vitor: I will annihilate life on earth and cut the thread of samsara. This foolish world is bereft of meaning... Return it to the Void...and we will have the uninterrupted peace of nothingness!! SFX: ::GRRRRR...:: [Vitor's face has changed into that of...] Johnny: A...a dragon!? [Johnny is stunned, but Rani and Susadora draw their arms.] SFX: ::glint:: Susadora: ......Rani, Johnny, let's go! We gotta wipe this dragon dumbass off the face of the earth!! pg. 218 Vitor: I don't want the _world_... _I WANT ONLY A VOID!!_ [The heroes ready their weapons as Vitor's dragon form lunges forward...] SFX of weapons: ::glint:: ::clack:: SFX of Vitor's neck: ::CRACK:: ::WHOOOSHH:: [Susadora leaps in the air to avoid his strike...] SFX of leap: ::HOP:: SFX of Vitor passing by: ::WHOOOOSSHH:: [...and, falling back to earth, draws his sword to deliver a strike of his own.] SFX of sword: ::clack:: SFX of sword glowing: ::VOOOOOM:: SFX: ::SLASH:: pg. 219 [...but...] Vitor: FOOL! _HOW CAN YOU HOPE TO DEFEAT ME WITHOUT KNOWING THE TRUTH--!!_ SFX of dragon's cry: ::SCREEEEECHH:: [...Susadora's blow glances harmlessly off Vitor's body.] SFX: ::thud:: [Vitor turns his breath upon the pirate...] SFX: ::FWOOOOOOSHHH:: Rani: ! [...which hits him full-blast and flings him limply against the floor.] SFX: ::BAM:: ::SLAM!:: Susadora: uhh...... SFX: ::slump:: pg. 220 Rani: _SUSADORA--!!_ [Rani runs to Susadora. Johnny, meanwhile, dashes in the opposite direction...] Johnny: _DAMMIT--!!_ SFX: ::DASH:: [Boomerang drawn, he runs to face Vitor...] Johnny: _DIE, MONSTER--!!_ SFX of Vitor: ::GRUNT:: [Vitor, however, sees him coming.] SFX of Vitor's eye: ::GLINT:: [Before Johnny can act...] SFX: ::FWOOOOSHHH:: [Johnny is instantly immolated in a puff of flame.] SFX of flames: ::ROOOAAARRR:: Susadora: J......Johnny...? J...... [Susadora looks on weakly in disbelief. Rani, steadying Susadora, turns away from the sight and sheds a tear.] Rani: .........................!! pg. 221 Vitor: Ha......ha ha ha... [Johnny's boomerang is callously thrown from the wreckage.] SFX: ::CLANG:: Vitor: USELESS! ALL FOR _NOTHING!_......... Very shortly, the legions of monsters sealed beneath the Lycaeum will flock to me! However..._lower life forms_ who feed on the ill will of humanity cannot survive in a world devoid of a single human life. Both Mother and the demons put their faith in me...trusted that I would become the Dark Lord of their world of evil... ...what foolish creatures inhabit this earth. [Vitor flexes his...tentacles.] SFX: ::rustle:: ::rustle:: ::rustle:: Vitor: Through time and space you have chased me, but _no more!!_ You have interfered with my plans for the _last_ time, Susadora! Return to the heavens......and begone henceforth from my sight!! Farewell. Heh heh heh...... pg. 222 [Vitor unleashes another blast of fire...] SFX: ::FWOOOOOOOSHHHH:: [...but...] SFX: ::BAM:: [...Rani steps in front and blocks it. Whether she's using a spell or not is unknown, but she stands - shakily, but stands determined nonetheless - between Susadora and Vitor's assault.] SFX of fire: ::HISSSSS:: Rani [weakly yet fiercely]: I.........I won't let you kill Susadora!! SFX of fire burning on Rani: ::hissss:: ::hissssss:: ::sizzle:: SFX of Rani: ::wobble:: [Susadora watches in wordless horror.] Rani: Even _without_ the truth... _Susadora WILL defeat you!!_ pg. 223 [Rani falls to her knees.] SFX: ::THUD:: Rani: Uhhh.... Susadora: R...Rani......... [Susadora begins to pick himself up and crawl toward her.] Susadora: ...Dammit...what the hell did he do to you! [Rani turns slowly back to look at Susadora.] Rani [weakly]: ...Goodbye, Susadora... I'm sorry...I can't go back to Golaia with you...... SFX: ::THUD:: [Rani collapses.] Rani [weakly]: I'll......I'll be watching over you with Johnny...and everyone...... so win this for us...OK...Susadora?...... SFX: ::THUMP:: Susadora [weakly, in horror]: R......Rani! [Rani does not respond; she is dead. Susadora sits in shock. From outside the room, Soma looks on in horror and despair.] Soma: A...aaaaahhh....... SFX: ::tremble:: pg. 224 Soma: Everyone......everyone's dead...... Vitor: Heh heh...such trifles those humans were, Susadora!...... Did this truly never enter your _dim_ perception!? [Vitor opens his mouth and prepares to fire.] Vitor: Now, let us end this farce...... _RETURN TO WHENCE YOU CAME!!_ SFX: ::ROAR:: [Then, however...] SFX: ::VOOOM:: ::VOOOOM:: [Johnny's boomerang and Rani's mace begin to glow. They fly up toward Vitor's head...] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: ::WHOOSH:: pg. 225 [...but...] SFX: ::GULP:: [...intentionally or unintentionally, Vitor swallows them.] SFX of Vitor's insides: ::RUMBLE...:: ::RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE:: [...Which, in retrospect, may have not been the best idea.] Vitor: _GYAAAAAAAAAAH--_ Susadora [struggling to feet]: Uhh...... SFX of Susadora's back against wall: ::slide slide:: [Suddenly...] SFX: ::SPLUT!:: [Jets of blood begin to erupt from within Vitor's dragon body.] Vitor: _WHAT...? WHAT IS THIS POWER?!_ SFX: ::SPURT:: ::SPURT:: ::SPURT:: SFX of Susadora: ::wobble:: Vitor: _WHAT!? IMPOSSIBLE--!!_ [Despite this advantage, however, Susadora is too weakened; despite his attempt to stand, he once more collapses to his feet.] SFX: ::THUD:: pg. 226 SFX: ::BAM:: [Vitor blows a hole in the castle wall and slithers out in a bid to escape (though I don't see how that's going to work, given that his attackers are inside him).] Vitor: Hmmm...yes, I see... SFX: ::SLITHER SLITHER SLITHER SLITHER SLITHER:: Soma [running to Susadora]: _M...Mr. Susadora!!_ vitor: So they were like Susadora as well...... [Soma reaches Susadora and moves to steady him.] Soma: Stay with me!! Susadora: Rani and Johnny...... SFX of Susadora's leg moving: ::rustle rustle:: SFX of falling debris: ::flutter:: ::flutter:: [Susadora looks once more toward Rani's body.] Susadora: Rani and Johnny... they protected me. Soma: ! [Susadora makes again to stand up.] Susadora: Soma......... get outta the castle. SFX of Soma rising: ::URG UGH:: Soma: Huh--?! Susadora [standing now]: You said it yourself! You have to see this through so you can write your song... Soma: But...but with _those_ injuries...!? [Susadora claps Soma on the shoulder.] SFX: ::CLAP:: Susadora: Farewell, Soma...! pg. 227 [And then...] SFX: ::VOOOM:: [Susadora teleports Soma away.] SFX: ::FLASH:: [Susadora's third eye opens.] SFX of eye: ::STARE:: Susadora: Let's go, Rani - _EVERYONE!!_ [Outside the castle walls, a portal opens.] SFX: ::VOOOOM:: [Soma tumbles out.] SFX: ::tumble tumble:: ::BONK:: Soma: Aaaaaahh... Owww...... [Pulling himself together, Soma realizes what's just happened.] Soma: --_AAAAH!!_ pg. 228 SFX: ::BAM:: ::CRASH:: Soma: THE CASTLE! IT'S COLLAPSING!! [Indeed, Vitor's keep is falling in on itself.] SFX: ::RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE:: ::RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE:: ::BANG:: pg. 229 [Out busts Vitor in his seaweed dragon form.] SFX: ::SLITHER SLITHER SLITHER SLITHER SLITHER:: ::CRACK:: ::CRUMBLE:: [Vitor lunges forward...] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: [...but a pair of hands stop him.] SFX: ::GRAB:: Soma: Aaah--...... That's.........!! SFX: ::SLITHER...SLITHER SLITHER:: ::STAB!:: pgs. 230-231 Vitor: W...WHY!?!? _HOW HAVE YOU ASSUMED THAT FORM!?!?_ SFX of Vitor: _SKREEEEEEE--_ [Susadora has grown into a giant to battle Vitor. (He has lost his shirt, but oddly not his pants.) He stabs Vitor with a giant sword in his hand.] Soma: A...a giant!? But it can't be--it _is!_ _Mr. Susadora!!_ [Vitor lashes at Susadora with a claw, knocking him back.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: ::SLASH:: pg. 232 SFX of Susadora hitting the water: ::SPLASH:: Vitor: Heh heh... I'll take my time in making a meal out of you. I'll pay you back for all the suffering you've caused me in this life!! [Vitor unleashes his Ghidorah-like lightning/fire breath at Susadora.] SFX: ::ROAR:: ::WHOOOOOSH:: [It hits Susadora, shocking him.] SFX: ::BZZT!!:: ::CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE:: [vitor unfurls his wings and closes in.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: pg. 233 [His teeth latch onto Susadora's shoulder.] Vitor: FIRST, YOUR ARM--!! SFX: ::CHOMP:: [Dragging Susadora by the shoulder, Vitor flies up.] SFX: ::SKREEEE:: Vitor: NEXT, HOW ABOUT YOUR LEG - OR EYE?! [They near the surf...] SFX of nearby lapping water: ::splash:: [...where Vitor slams Susadora's back through a nearby rock formation.] SFX of rock wall: ::CRACK!!:: Vitor: MY, _MY!!_ _WHAT'S WRONG, SUSADORA?!--_ [The blow shatters the rock wall - leaving a huge gap, considering the colossal size of the combatants. From the other side, a deluge of ocean water rushes through...] SFX: ::FWOOOOSHHH:: pg. 234 [...and over neighboring Magincia. The volume of water is enough to cause a catastrophic flood.] SFX of waves: ::RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE:: [In the meantime, Vitor continues to wallop Susadora.] SFX of fight: ::BAM:: ::SLAM:: ::CRACK:: [The town of Magincia, meanwhile, is overrun by the wall of water. The buildings that tower too high to be submerged are instead cracked and felled by the force of the onrushing floods.] SFX: ::RUMBLE RUMBLE:: ::RUMBLE RUMBLE:: [A battered Susadora lies flat on his back.] Voice: Susadora......... Susadora! Pull yourself together! Susadora [weakly]: R...Rani!? [Susadora's sword lights up.] SFX: ::SCREEEEEE:: Rani's Voice: You _should_ be awakened to your true nature by now. _That's_ the Truth you had to realize, you know. [Lightning from Susadora's sword begins to fry Vitor.] SFX: ::CRACKLE CRACKLE:: SFX of Vitor: ::SKREEEEE--:: ::sizzle:: ::sizzle:: pg. 235 SFX of Vitor: ::GHEEEEEE--:: SFX of Susadora's blade: ::FLASH:: [Once again, Susadora staggers to his feet.] SFX: ::WOBBLE:: Vitor: ...W...Why......!? Why do you have this power, Susadora, when you are still ignorant of the Truth and lie on the brink of death?! SFX of Vitor: ::SIZZLE:: Susadora: I dunno myself! But I know this - I know that Rani and everyone else who died is at my side, standing with me. pg. 236 [In answer...] SFX: ::SPLUSHHHH:: [...Vitor vomits his tongue at Susadora, which is made of all tentacle- liquidy-seaweed material that wraps around our pirate god.] SFX: ::HISSSSS:: ::SPLAT:: ::SLAP:: ::SPLAT:: Vitor: *FEH--!* Of course - they were of the heavenly realm just as _you,_ Susadora!! SFX: ::SSSSST:: Voice: That's right...you were totally blinded by your hatred for Susadora - it never crossed your mind that others of Heaven's realm would rally to his defense, did it!? Vitor: ...! [Rani has appeared next to Susadora in a form of pure sparkly light.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: Rani: You grew overconfident with Susadora's memory sealed away...... but the minute we were purified of our flesh, we rushed to Susadora's aid! Susadora: Rani...you're......... Rani: It'd be tough for Susadora to carry the day alone against the tremendous power of the dark arts you wield......... but you don't know about our second gambit...... SFX of Rani's mystic energy: ::crackle:: pg. 237 [Vitor kinda doesn't want to hear it. He unleashes a second blast of fire breath (along his still-engaged tongue).] SFX: ::ROARRRR:: Vitor: FOOLS!! The Creator you serve made the humans just as he did this Earth - from dust and mud, as a joke... [Susadora is engulfed in flames...] SFX: ::SIZZLE:: Vitor: Why else would this worthless world exist!? Why else would such filthy creatures be permitted continued existence in the universe!? [...but...] SFX: ::SKREEEEEEEE:: [...the magical sword in Susadora's hand lights up, burning away Vitor's tongue and protecting Susadora from the flames.] SFX: ::FWOOOSH:: [Vitor doesn't initially realize this, however...] Vitor: I can finally challenge the Creator himself............ and I will allow NO ONE to interfere with my plans! pg. 238 SFX: ::SLAP:: ::SIZZLE:: ::HISS:: ::SIZZLE:: [But the light of the sword breaks Genji free, anyhow, annihilating Vitor's tongue that was binding him. Fortunately, Vitor's real tongue is still intact (???). In other news, the status of the antagonist's tongue is a vital plot point in the climax.] Susadora [struggling]: Uh...... Rani, even _I_ understand now......that "Truth" I was supposed to realize... [A sweaty and shirtless giant Susadora struggles to his feet and turns his sword toward his globby dragon-thing adversary, who spreads his wings. This is kind of ending like the Turkish TV version of whatever the original was.] SFX of Susadora's sword: ::glint:: SFX of Vitor's wings: ::WHOOSH:: Vitor: You _still_ cannot overcome the curse of your earthly body! YOU CANNOT HOPE TO DEFEAT ME WITH THAT BROKEN FORM--!! pg. 239 [Susadora brandishes his sword.] SFX: ::WHOOSH:: [A great beam of light shoots out of it, screeching toward Vitor.] SFX: ::SKRREEEEEEEEE:: [At the same time, below, waves continue to cover the buildings of Magincia.] SFX of waves: ::RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE:: [Susadora staggers, then collapses. Again.] SFX: ::STAGGER:: ::THUD:: pg. 240 Divine Voice: Stand and fight, sonny! Pain, joy, suffering - they're all part of being human!! [Vitor lunges toward Susadora.] SFX of Vitor's wings: ::FLAP:: Divine Voice: That's right!! Being reborn as humans set us free from those pesky/boring astral forms we had - let us have some _fun!_ We owe the good humans of the world big, boss! Wanna be reborn as a human again!? SFX: ::POW:: [Light begins to screech from Susadora's third eye.] SFX: ::SKREEEEEEE...EEE:: Susadora: 'Course I do!! Whoever said I wanted to _stop!?_ [Susadora seizes his inner light and grabs the Vitor-dragon by his neck.] SFX: ::GURK:: Vitor: Fools! Those "good humans" have brought this earth to _ruin_ through their insatiable lusts! They are evil by NATURE! WHY can't you understand that!? pg. 240 SFX: ::SPLASH:: [Susadora takes a stance and begins to grapple with the dragon. This is definitely ending like the Turkish TV version of whatever the original was.] Vitor: *gak*......H...how does such power yet remain in you... [Susadora grabs Vitor's jaws and begins to wrench them apart/open.] Susadora: I...I know... _I know everyone on GOLAIA was a good person!!_ SFX: ::TUG...TUGTUGTUGTUG:: Susadora: _GOOD SOULS WILL ALWAYS EXIST IN ANY WORLD!!_ _HUMANITY! SHOW THIS GOD OF EVIL THE TRUE NATURE OF YOUR HEARTS!!_ [Suddenly, as if on cue...] SFX: ::SPLASH:: ::WHOOOOOSH:: pg. 242 [...a ship comes out of nowhere from behind Vitor. Yes, a boat. Bear with me. The ship's prow is imbued with divine light, screeching like everything else in this fight imbued with divine light.] SFX: ::SKREEEEEEEE:: [The ship's prow (and the ship itself, for that matter) plows right through Vitor - and Susadora - skewering them both and dealing them a fatal blow.] SFX: ::THUD:: Vitor: W...was _this_ your other "gambit"!? What......WHAT IS THIS POWER!? Susadora: Nothing you could ever comprehend...... THIS is humanity's true power, Vitor!! [It's at this point that the origin of the ship hit me - it's Katrina's ark. God told Katrina to build an ark not to save her people, not to save herself (though I suppose she and her father could be alive if they're in the ship's hold), but so that the pirate's opponent could be felled with a thematically consistent weapon at the climax. ... ......... To paraphrase Roger Ebert, when the artist got that idea, I hope he lit up a cigar. Side note: If we dare take the story seriously for a moment (yeah, I know), it seems that the real Truth that Susadora had to realize was that he and his divine friends reincarnating themselves over and over to save humanity from itself wasn't going to work - that humanity ultimately needed to save itself, paving the way for the Avatar and a Britannia-wide initiative toward self-improvement. And, well, a giant ark skewering the lead villain. But the goddess stated outright that the fact of Susadora's godhood was the Truth, so perhaps I'm trying to impose order and logic where none truly exists.] pg. 243 Vitor: No! I won't believe it! SFX: ::SPLASH:: [Vitor's body, still held by the growing-limp Susadora, falls into the ocean.] Vitor: Humans embrace their evil karma! That _never_ changes, no matter _how_ many times they are reborn!! [Finally, Susadora and Vitor themselves begin to sparkle with divine light.] SFX of divine light: ::HSSSSSS:: Vitor: I will return to this world...I will not rest until I have annihilated humanity!...... [Both Vitor and Susadora revert to pure light and ascend to the heavens above.] SFX of ascent: ::VOOOOM:: [For those keeping track, we are now 3-for-3 in protagonist deaths in Ultima manga, all involving reuniting with the great Ultimate and temporary in the grand scheme of things, and 3-for-3 in the villain's plot involving resurrecting Mondain somehow. From their ship, newly arrived in what's left of Magincia, British and Robert watch the two souls depart.] British: _D...does this mean that Susadora won!? [Meanwhile, safe from his high perch, Soma observes the ruins of Vitor's keep.] Soma: A...aaaaaa...! M...Mr. Susadora...... Vitor, too.........they disappeared......!! pg. 244 Soma: ......... I.........I just _have_ to immortalize this in song for the generations to come...... [Inexplicably, Katrina's ark sails blithely through Magincia's ruins, utterly unharmed after plowing through the giant avatars of two gods. Katrina and her father appear on deck.] Katrina: I understand now, Father. The light that gathered within this ship... ...was done so through Heaven's grace...... It was the light that everyone on earth holds deep within their hearts! [Katrina's ark drifts silently and smoothly over a now-placid sea. Below, schools of fish swim content among Magincia's ruins - the last vestige of life in the once-great city.] END [In other news, Katrina killed the Big Bad dragon-god. Stick that in your Flaming Oil flask and smoke it.]