Dancing Mantis
Clone of Mewtwo
Posts: 42
(4/19/05 5:19 pm)
Reply
|
Mantis Saga
My characters story, using the Temple Of Mewtwo Characters.
THE MANTIS SAGA
By Dancing Mantis
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Meeting
Mantis leaned up against the wall of the temple. Didn't look like there would be any visitors today. The roadside temple didn't get many visitors in the summer anyways. Mantis lived there with a few others, who took care with the temple in exchange. He was a guard, one of three. It was Ichiro Rikudo who headed the guards. Ichiro was an almost stereotypical mysterious, silent, and cynical, captain. Mantis had gotten a particularly nasty scar on his leg for asking about his past. Since then, Mantis and the other guard, Koelle, stayed away from him when they could. Mantis wasn't exactly noticeable, a dark gray robe with let-down long black hair was his idea of fashion. His blue eyes were just as ordinary. There was nothing really special about him. He had come across the temple while he was wandering, and decided to stay there. He didn't have any other real purpose in life. He didn't remember anthing before 2 years ago, and had taken to wandering. Now he guarded the temple from any would-be intruders or monsters. He looked over to the other guard, Koelle, a mage, and sighed. Nothing happening. He stared out into the open field ahead, when he noticed a slight shimmer. He blinked rapidly, but it was still there. With a small pop, the figure of a woman appeared. She appeared to be breathing heavily and had her arms outstretched. She started to lean forwards and fell. Mantis swept under her and caught her by the arms. He got to finally examine her. She was in her 20's, and had long blue hair that reached her waist. She was wearing a black and red traditional kimono, with a small necklace holding a dark crystal. She slowly opened her eyes, they were dark purple, with a touch of yellow in the middle. "Keep them away..." she managed to get out before she fainted.
Then the ninjas came.
Three of them appeared and instantly launched themselves at the group. Koelle cast a barrier around them and started muttering a chant. The ninjas bounced against the barrier and landed on the gorund in front of it. They stood up and watched as Mantis put the girl on the temple steps and unsheathed his sword. It was a simple katana, borrowed from the temples armory. The ninjas knew the mage couldn't hold the barrier much longer. As the barrier faded, one ninja threw a shuriken at the mage. It struck him in the hand, and he screamed as the barrier collapsed completely. The ninjas rushed at the group and caught the mage offguard. While one of them finished him off, the other two attacked Mantis. Blades flew as they tried to take him down. Parry, block, attack, block, parry...Mantis was having trouble keeping up. He realized his opponents were trying to wear him down instead of finish him off outright. The third ninja joined in, and he knew he couldn't win. Then, his hand felt funny. He looked down at it, and realized there was sword pushing against it. His hand was glowing, and the fighting had stopped. The ninjas looked as confused as he was. A shock then traveled his body, welling up in his chest. A surge emanated from him, and the ninjas flew outwards. Two slammed into the temple wall, while the other was thrown to the ground. The two slumped down in lifeless heaps while the third got up and teleported away. Mantis got one last blurry look at the girl before he fainted as well.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Chapters 2: The start of a Journey...
Mantis woke up on the small couch inside the temples employee area. His head hurt like hell and he was incredibly sore. He propped himself up, with much difficulty, and looked around. Artemis, the temple healer, was seated in an armchair , reading a magazine, next to him. She was an attractive 25-year-old woman, with short green hair and a semi-skimpy denim outfit. He was friends with her, and they both knew it. "What happened?" he asked. "We found you and some girl outside, along with Koelle. Poor Koelle, I was crushing on him. He was a nice guy. I was going to ask him out. Ichiro said he didn't feel right and wanted to check on you. We went out and found all of you on the ground. What the hell happened?", she replied, flipping through the 'zine. "Ninjas happened. Wierd ones too. They were excellently trained." he answered. He flipped his legs over the side and sat up. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest. "Oh...that's not pleasant...where is the girl?" he said with a grimace. Artemis looked up from her magazine. "I think Ichiro put her in Room 1. Why?". Mantis stood up with a groan. "I want to know why the ninjas attacked. They seemed to be trying to get her." he said as he walked out of the small lounge. "I'll be back later."
While it was true that the temple was in fact a temple, it was more of an indoor town. There were free rooms for travelers, which they were allowed to use for up to three weeks. Merchants were allowed to set up shop in the main hallway. The only thing that actually made it a temple was a small chapel which supported the worhip of most dieties. Mantis headed out of the employee area to the main hall, then into the travelers rooms. There were thirty rooms, but only about 10 of them were occupied at one time. Soom rooms hadn't even been used yet, and never went through renovation. Mantis liked to wander around those rooms and look at the different furnishings of a previous era. Artemis had said she was in room 1, so he didn't walk down the rather long hallway any farther. He knocked lightly on the door. No answer. He knocked a bit harder. Still no answer. He opened the door a little and looked inside. The lights were dimmed down, and he could see a figure sitting at the edge of the bed. "Miss?" he said as he stepped in and looked around. She had no personal belongings, but she was fiddling with the crystal around her neck. She looked up at him, and her purple eyes shown brightly. "You, you are the one called Mantis? The knight said you saved me from them. Thank you." she said. Mantis dismissively waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. It's my job. One question though. Why were the ninjas after you?". At this, she looked away from him. "I don't know why the Black Lotus is after me." she answered. Mantis tilted his head to the side questioningly. "Black Lotus?".
She looked back up at him. "The Black Lotus is a clan. They are an organized crime syndicate situated on the west side of the Kyoto Region. There is also the White Lotus Clan. They fight the Black Lotus at any chance they get. They reside in the eastern side." she replied. Mantis nodded his head. "So...who are you?" he asked. She stood up and bowed to him. "I am Ai. Just Ai. Yourself?". Mantis bowed as well. "Mantis Katsurame, at your service.". "Katsurame...that sounds like Katsumarame..." she muttered. "Katsumarame?" he asked. She quickly sat down. "Nothing...it's nothing. Listen, the only way I can find out why the Black Lotus is after me is if I travel to the White Lotus Region and contact them. They will know." she said. Mantis stood straight. "I'm going with you then. You wouldn't survive a day without protection." he said. Ai was offended by this statement. "Wouldn't survive a day?!? Do you know who I am?!? I am Ai... the...nevermind...although I suppose it would be helpful..." she said. Ichiro stepped in through the door. "I will accompany you." he said. Someone pushed from behind him and fell forwards. It was Artemis. She looked up at Ai. "Me too!". Ai giggled and stood up. "When do we leave?"
__________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3: An old or new aquaintance?
The journey was peaceful for a few days. Nothing but open plains and sun. It was on one such day, when the group came to a forest. Ichiro, silent as ever, said nothing, and hadn't for the entire trip. Mantis took one look at the woods and twitched for a while. Artemis loudly expressed her opinion about dark forests and bandits, and Ai simply said "I don't know.". After a heated game of rock-paper-scissors, they decided to go into the forest. They traveled safely for about an hour before they came to a small clearing. By now, the sun had started to set, and an eerie twilight fell over the entire area. As Mantis looked around, an arrow flew at him. He ducked quickly, and it flew over his head, barely missing. Immediately Mantis and Ichiro drew their swords. Ichiro had his own sword, a ornately made longsword, with a single amethyst set in the center of the hilt. Mantis was still using a katana from the armory. A group of armor-clad warriors entered the clearing. "Who are you, who can dodge an arrow from the greatest archer in the Western Kyoto Region?" came the voice of the the man who was clearly the leader. He wasn't armored with the same material as his followers, who were in various pieces of knight armor. He was clad in the traditional Samurai Armor from the Nippon Era. Only in the Kyoto Region could one find such armor. He drew his own sword, a finely crafted katana, and pointed it at Mantis. "Answer me!" he boomed. Mantis stood up and faced him. "I am Mantis Katsurame. Who might you be?" he answered. The man lowered his sword. "I am Dred...Dred Katsurame. From where do you hail?" he questioned in a now softer tone. "I do not know from where I hail...why do you ask such questions?" Mantis replied. Dred sheathed his sword and walked away. He raised a hand to his followers. "Finish him." he said as he dissapeared into the shadows. The other warriors drew their swords, and Mantis knew that this wouldn't be pretty. "Artemis! Take Ai and get out of here!" he yelled. Artemis grabbed Ai's arm and tried to run, but Ai simply stood there, transfixed on the figures in front of her, ready to fight. Her hands started to glow and the energy started to form a ball on each hand. She clenched her fists and put both arms behind her, and flung the energy at the warriors. The first one contacted an unfortunate man, and he flew backwards into several others. The next landed on the ground next to a few others, and sent a shockwave that knocked them down. After that, only three warriors were left. Ai lowered her hands, and fell to the ground. Mantis looked back. "Ai!" he got out before one of the remaining warriors attacked him. He blocked the blade easily and spun around him, stabbing him in the back. Ichiro had his own trouble, as the other two had attacked him. He was now pressing the offense, showing them that his sword was not just for show. Mantis walked up behind one of them and tapped him on the shoulder. The man looked behind, and his eyes went wide as he saw a glowing purple ball of energy appear before them. He flew to the ground almost instantly. The other was finished off quickly by Ichiro. Mantis turned back towards Ai and rushed over. Artemis was knealing over her. "She's unconcious, she'll be fine. What the hell did she just do?" she asked as she looked up at Mantis. "It was a Realia spell. It's incredibly powerful, but drains the caster of most of their energy. I wonder where she learned that. Come on, we better find someplace safe to rest for the night."
That night, they traveled to the outer edge of the forest before they stopped to rest. As Artemis and Ai slept, Ichiro and Mantis kept guard. "Ichiro...I have to..." he said before he choked up. "I know Mantis, just go, I'll tell them in the morning." he said, his gaze not leaving the small fire. Mantis grabbed his small pack and katana, and silently walked back into the forest.
The next morning, Ai was last to wake up. Artemis was tending to some kind of meat on the fire and Ichiro was sitting on a log, staring off into the distance. She couldn't find Mantis anywhere. "Where is Mantis?" she asked as she rolled up her small blanket. Ichiro looked back at her and stood up. "Mantis has left to find Dred." he answered. Ai stood up as well. "Why?" she asked.
"Because Dred is his brother."
__________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 4: The news that Dred was Mantis' brother was greeted with silent shock. "Ho-how do you know?" asked Ai. Ichiro decided he was in the mood for talking and explained. "When I first met Dred, it was a year ago. He has a potential I'm not sure he knows about. When I saw him staggering into the temple, I knew that he was different. He immediately went to the library and started reading ancient books. Not once in the entire week he stayed did the light in the library go out. He's half-insane, and hellbent on killing Mantis now. " he said. "Why?" asked Ai.
"I have my theories"
"Care to share them?"
"No."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mantis walked slowly through the forest. Dred could be anywhere. He scanned his surroundings. Nothing. Just him and his thoughts.
For now.
Two quick flashes alerted to him that Dred was there. He already knew where he was going. He knew which way to block, how to pull his sword out, and how to use his momentum. All that mattered was how fast he could do it.
Apparently not fast enough.
The tip of Mantis blade was pushed back easily as Dred flew out at him from the shadows. However, when Dred's blade got to within a centimeter of Mantis' skin, it stopped. He flew backwards after a wave of blue energy surged through him. He landed on his feet and hands, and stood up slowly. He raised his hand and the trees exploded. They had now a 50 foot arena for a battle neither one could win. Everyone knew they couldn't win. Leon knew, Artemis knew, and Ai knew.
However, they didn't.
It started with a simultaenous charge. Both sides knew that they would likely shatter eachothers' blade, but neither side cared much. It was about the idea, I'm not afraid of you. When they got within a foot of eachother though, timed seemed to slow for Mantis. He could feel Dred's blade pushing down on his with force he could not match, but he knew something. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew. He let up a bit on his blade, and then pushed all his magickal energy through it.
CRACK
That was expected.
BOOM
That was not.
Both of them flew back into the trees. Mantis slammed into a particularly large one, while Dred flew far enough back to extricate himself from view. Mantis noted with blurry vision that several figures rushed from the trees to help Dred, and then he fainted, still wondering who they were.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 5: Le Twist
Way up high in what some would call heaven, several figures were seated at a table with an image in the center. One of the figures spoke. "Well, at least we know who the last one is.". Another figure spoke as well. "Yes, but that doesn't mean that either of them will join us."
"We don't have to have them. We have enough as it is, we just need to know who could stop us"
"Or him"
"Yes, or him."
"Although, if you think about it. He would make an excellent final test."
"Hmm....yes, and he might possibly join us if we did this right"
"It is settled then. Mantis will confront Takeshi"
All the figures nodded their heads in approval.
"It is unanimous"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mantis woke up somewhere else. Not exactly the place one would want to call home. The wooden walls were rotting and the bed he was on was damp with water. The place stank of death. He propped himself up and looked around. It was worse than his first impression.
"You know, I read somewhere that sibling rivalry isn't a good thing."
Mantis quickly turned to face the voice. Standing in the doorway was a man about Mantis' height. He was in a loose black shirt and black pants. He had a small goatee and long black hair. On his left eye was a long scar that reached down to his cheekbone. He had what looked to be a kind of I-don't-care smile on his face.
Mantis knew him instantly.
"Seph. Where in HELL have you been lately?"
Seph laughed. "Away. Dealing with some things. That's not the point. What the hell were you fighting Dred for?". Mantis stood up and walked out of the hell-hole. "I had to know who he is. It is said that the only way to truly know a person is to fight them. So I did."
"And what did you find?"
Mantis whirled to face him. "Rage. Lots and lots of pent up rage. Too many bad things to count. It's almost as if he's fueled completely by negativity. It was strange though. Although his fighting suggested anger, his spirit said something else. It's like someone else is being angry for him. Like he has a connection to someone else."
Seph left his leaning position in the doorway and sighed. "I suppose I have to tell you this then. Dred is my son".
Mantis wanted to be somewhere else.
"Your...son? But...he's my....brother...so wouldn't that make you...."
Anywhere else.
"Your dad, Mantis. I'm your dad."
He wished he was back fighting Dred.
"Well damn"
__________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 6: Past of a Sinner, Present of a Priest
AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
The Birth of Seph Katsurame
It started with a demon mother, and a human father. A forbidden love. His golden eyes gave that away. When he was old enough, he realized the inherent flaw in his nature. The flaw that made his father want him dead. A flaw that gave enough emotional baggage to give him an excuse to never speak ever again. He ran away from his home, never seeing his parents again. He stumbled upon the Temple, and they gave him shelter and training. Trained by Takeshi Rikudo, master of Blades. He left the temple after some-odd years, and went and did what he trained to do.
Kill.
He went and killed his father, his mother, his siblings, everyone connecting him to his past. He lost memory that night, and even now only remembers some things. However, because of those sins, he has dedicated the rest of his life to atonement.
He then met her.
The love of his life, the one who made him forget his past and live in the present. She died though, after bearing him two children. He did not want them to know his past, so after raising them until age 18, he wiped their memories of him and sent them on their way. This brings us to now.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Well, at least now he knows."
"Yes, things will be easier."
"True"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ai sat at the fire, staring silently into it. They had traveled for a few days, and she didn't know if they would ever see Mantis anymore. Ichiro was silent as usual. They were in a field of grass, with the path breaking the endless green. They decided to stop to eat. Ichiro had caught a small rabbit, and it was cooking over the fire.
thunk
Huh?
thunk thunk thunk
Ai looked for the source of the sound. It came from a log nearby now filled with arrows. Ai got up and ran towards Ichiro and Artemis, who were playing some sort of chess game nearby. "Ichiro! Bandits!" she yelled as she ran. Ichiro stood up quickly and unsheathed his sword. Artemis stood up as well and pulled out a few shuriken. Three men, followed by someone indistinguishable behind them. They spread out and the three brought arrows to their bows. The last man, who could now be seen as having short grey hair and yellow eyes, although he was young, about 22. He was wearing a grey jacket and a grey shirt underneath, with grey pants. Apparently he really liked grey. He pointed at Ai, Ichiro and Artemis and the three archers let loose their arrows.
tink tink tink
"Freaking BOOM!"
"Yee-Haw-Haw!"
Two men stood in front of them. Both held swords and faced the archers. They launched themselves at the four attackers and went to work on the archers. Within ten seconds all the archers were down. They circled around the final combatant like vultures. They charged at him, and were launched back past Ai.
"Boom"
Mantis stood in front of the man. "Don't harm my brother. That's my job." he said as he sheathed his sword. "YOU" Dred yelled as he launched at Mantis. Mantis faced Ai and smiled. Dred froze about a foot from Mantis, still in the air, and was blown back as well. Mantis signaled to someone behind him, and Seph walked out and stood next to him. They walked over to Ai and the group. Mantis gestured to Seph. "Ai, Artemis, this would be Seph, my dad. I assume that Ichiro Rikudo knows him." he said as he smiled. Ichiro nodded. "Yes, my master trained you. Takeshi Rikudo. Yes". Seph smiled. "Lets get started, shall we? First we should pick of Gold and Ryu though.".
Ai was puzzled. "Gold and Ryu?" she asked. "Yes. God Golden and Seishin Ryu, the two who saved you. Mantis couldn't have them killing Dred though." he said as he walked over to the now recovering men and helped them up. "You'll be with us from now on, guys" he said. Ryu looked at him, puzzled. "Doing what?"
"In our journey to the west, of course."
__________________________________________________________________________________
PS: If you don't want to be in it, tell me so I can change your name or keep you out.
Will work for tokens |
Email This To a Friend
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies 
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies