Maneki-Nekomata Prologue "One day, on the 60th day of the year, a cat cloaked in innocence will perish as its tails are splitting into two. This cat will rise again, more powerful than any other creature. This creature will wreak havoc on all of Japan and, if nothing can stop it, the world. Human weapons will not be able to prevent this chthonian apocalypse, but the combined might of the mythical Kirin, the elusive nine tailed fox, Kitsune, the powerful Dragon, Tatsu, and the legendary Phoenix will be the bane of chaos. " This is what a voice inside the Kirin’s head foretold as the kirin was rising out of a deep slumber. Suddenly, the Kirin opened its golden eyes, shining like pure polished gold, with small flecks of jade green. The Kirin raised its head and told itself, “I must awaken the other beasts to prepare for this. This is the dawn of the Maneki-Nekomata.” 火 火 火 Part I: Sarasa Splash! Slosh! Splash! A mysterious stranger came into the light of the nearby lamppost. This stranger, dressed entirely in black, carried a small basket. Tiny mews came from the basket, with the occasional bell tinkling. The stranger smelled faintly of smoke and chemicals, as if the person had just escaped from a fire. The stranger left the basket on the doorstep of an elderly couple. He knocked on the door and peered inside the basket a final time. Inside was a tiny calico kitten with a red ribbon around its neck. The ribbon had a single bell on it. It mewed softly in its sleep. The stranger smiled, and lightning flashed. Rain started pouring, drenching the stranger. The foreigner turned its back on the kitten and walked away. Oddly, some of the raindrops tasted salty. A few days later, the kitten was able to walk. The couple called the cat Sarasa, due to its unusual calico pattern. Sarasa would often go on long walks, and come back with various items for the kitchen. In gratitude, the couple would have a salmon for her. A year later, the couple would give Sarasa different items, such as pebbles and seaweed. Fortunately, there was a river that was almost constantly flowing with fish nearby. After another year, They sometimes forgot to feed her entirely, and finally, six months later, the couple passed away in their sleep. Sarasa laid down on their grave marker, refusing to eat, sleep, or drink. After four days, Sarasa died, but if one looked closely, on could see that Sarasa’s tails were starting to split. The date was February 29th, the 60th day of the year. 火 火 火 Searching frantically around Japan, the Kirin tried to find the beasts. A fiery flash of light appeared in a nearby cherry blossom tree, and the Phoenix appeared. Through an exchange of thoughts, the phoenix said to the Kirin, “I know why you have so intently searched for me. I wish to aide you on your quest to stop this unimaginable evil. Sadly, this evil is an abomination of innocence turned evil, the most dangerous brand of evil ever known. You have my support.” The Kirin replied, “Thank you. Your help is greatly appreciated.” Together, they faced the direction of a lush, verdant forest, thinking the next creature would be hiding there. 火 火 火 Sarasa woke up in a dark, dreary world. She realized that she was not depressed any more. In fact, she couldn't feel any warmth. This strange, drab world was bleak, gray, and cold. A cat was leisurely strolling by. Sarasa asked, “Where am I?” The cat answered, “The Underworld.” Sarasa replied, “I do not know how I got here.” The cat shot back, “Well, do you remember what happened in the world of the living?” Sarasa stuttered, “N-n-no.” The cat proclaimed, “That only means one thing: You are dead!” Sarasa fainted after hearing this. The cat turned and shed its disguise. It left a scroll near Sarasa’s head saying, If you want more information, talk to Death. He is the supreme overlord of the Underworld. He can help you with anything in regards to revival and death. He also can explain more about a secret area of death, the Spirit Plane. To get to him, you need to follow a path where you will face a series of challenges, noticeable by having red, orange, and black lights. By the way, this is basically a brochure in the Underworld. ~Skeletal Lyrebird, familiar of Death. The skeletal lyrebird spread its wings, looked back at an unconscious Sarasa, and flew off, bones quietly clacking. A small black and orange portal opened up, swallowed the skeletal lyrebird, and closed, leading to places unknown. 火 火 火 Rustle, rustle, rustle. The bushes were shaking as though they were caught in a strong gale. Both the Kirin and the Phoenix prepared to attack, thinking that this was the dreaded demon. Then, the shrubs erupted into flames, billowing smoke and spewing ashes. It did not smell of anything. A fox appeared where the fire once was. It had glossy white fur, with a feminine look to it. It had soft amber-tinted red eyes, and had nine tails, each glimmering white and ending in a ebony tip. It had large velvety ears. This fox said, “I sensed your call of distress. What appears to be the problem?” “A great evil is about to attack, and we need you to help us keep it at bay, Kitsune,” came the reply. “Okay, lead on.” Kitsune’s tails vanished, leaving one long sand-colored tail with a black tip. The rest of the fox’s fur changed to be this color, with white shades gradually lightening to become sand-colored. When the transformation was complete, it looked exactly like a fennec fox, albeit smaller and shimmering. Kitsune explained that this was to appear like a normal fox, because the local humans would not believe that there was a nine-tailed albino fox would be living in the woods. Together, they made plans to stop by the coast, trying to see if the dragon, Tatsu, was there, hibernating until she was needed. 火 火 火 Sarasa scampered up a hill of bones and looked at a faraway castle, made entirely out of dark black iron, glowing with a pure white light. Many obstacles lay in front of the castle, such as three rivers, one orange and red, one dark crimson, and one glowing green, and another obstacle was a large majestic ring of volcanoes, ready to erupt at any time. Finally, the nearest obstacle was a room of mirrors. Sarasa entered this room, the first obstacle. Sarasa entered the room and saw a spider-dog hybrid. Luckily, it was sleeping. Sarasa crept around it, and saw a tiny knife on the floor. Carefully picking it up between her jaws. she tiptoed around the dog. Just then, she dropped the knife with what seemed like a thunderous crash. Quickly, she picked up the knife and tried to resume sneaking around the creature, but realized that wrought iron gates appeared over both the entrance and exit, just as the creature was waking up. It opened its eyes and roared. It fired a torrent of seawater at Sarasa, who rolled out of the way to dodge the torrent. Sarasa unsheathed her claws and slashed the dog's legs. It whimpered in pain for about two seconds, then it fired spider silk at Sarasa, who realized that a web was beginning to form. Sarasa sliced the web up. The web was a distraction so the dog could pin Sarasa down with a spider-like leg. Pinned, and unable to move, Sarasa closed her eyes, but then got hit with a rush of adrenaline. She skittered away from the creature, just as the dog was about to bite her, injecting venom into its leg. The dog roared in pain. With one last burst of adrenaline, Sarasa skimmed up a wall, and jumping off and performing a double backflip, attacked the dog with the knife. The dog fell to the ground with a final growl of defeat. The dog shimmered, then vanished. The gates preventing passage disappeared as well. The mirrors forced one to fight their worst fears. Sarasa walked through the once-blocked entrance to the line of volcanoes. A volcano erupted, disintegrating a skeletal pelican. Sarasa scampered up a treacherous area, knowing that safe-looking paths would allow a wave of lava to travel down the path, burning up whatever material in its path. “Oiiiiii! Can you help a frog get around these deadly volcanoes?” A banana colored frog was hopping towards Sarasa. How she got to where she did was unknown. “My cause of death was sickness. What was yours?” “I’m not sure, but yes! You can come with me.” Sarasa replied. The frog leapt onto Sarasa’s back. Conversation revealed that her name was Kero-Chan. As they were ascending the volcanoes, all the volcanoes started erupting simultaneously, causing a tsunami of lava. The tsunami was comprised of mainly lava — there were a few chunks of rock here and there — but mostly lava. Sarasa wrapped her tail around Kero-Chan and launched her above the tsunami. She landed on a chunk of rock — albeit hot— safely. Kero-Chan witnessed the tsunami getting closer and closer to the doomed cat who had saved her existence in the Dead Lands. She lost sight of Sarasa, and knew in her cold and unmoving heart that Sarasa was no more. Leaping down from the rock, she landed beside Sarasa’s body. Suddenly, both she and Sarasa’s body were sucked down into another area. Looking down, she saw a black void with white specks, not unlike outer space. Both she and the body just fell, Kero-Chan not knowing where they would land. 火 火 火 Part II: Kero-Chan 火 火 火 Kero-Chan fell through dimension after dimension, not knowing where she would land. Eventually, along with Sarasa’s spiritual remains, she landed in a black and white world. A voice cried out, “HEYYYYYY YOOOOUUUU GUUUYYYYS!!!!” The voice was coming from a small white alcove. "SILENCE, ROBIRDO! I'M HAVING A MIGRAINE RIGHT NOW!!!" Another voice exclaimed this irritably. With a loud punt, a small golden bird with an orange beak, feet, and amulet went flying out of the alcove. The bird crash-landed on the ground with a resonating boom. Getting back to its feet and brushing itself off, it exclaimed, "¡Hola! Me llamo Robirdo. ¿Como se llama?" "My name is Kero-Chan. Nice to meet you," Kero-Chan replied. "¡Si! So, what are you looking for?" Robirdo inquired. His amulet was glowing as he asked this. Robirdo explained that the amulet allowed him to speak, otherwise, he would be making unintelligible tweeting sounds. "Robirdo, you left yer stupid sombrero up here!" An eccentric yellow and cerulean sombrero with glowing iridescent accents came floating down. This sombrero landed on Robirdo's head. "¡Gracias, maestro!" The sombrero landed on Robirdo's head. Kero-Chan explained to Robirdo that she needed to revive her dead friend's spirit. The iridescent accents absorbed the spiritual remains sitting nearby. Robirdo explained, "First, we need to go to the Swamp of the Will-o's. Then, we need see a magical lamp, which contains a genie. Make a wish, and then go through the portal to the Dead Dwelling. This is achieved by obtaining the magical Paper Bag. First, we will need to find the magical paper bag by —" "IDIOT! I OWN THE MAGICAL PAPER BAG!" An orange frog's face peered over the edge of the alcove. "Dad?!" asked Kero-Chan. THUNK! Robirdo just crumpled into a heap on the floor, fainted like a goat. When Robirdo regained consciousness, he had a shocked look on his face. "Now go, or else your friend will probably disappear, as long as he or she is not stored properly. Since she is in the hat, she is safe," said Kero-Chan's father, leaping back up into the alcove from which he came from, leaving Kero-Chan and Robirdo with the magical paper bag. "Okay, so we need to go to the Swamp of the Will-o's," Robirdo said, heading towards a swirling vortex of color, light, and darkness. When he walked through it, he disappeared. Kero-Chan followed him, clutching the bag tightly. The vortex led them to a large map-like area with a layout like outer space, complete with stars. Upon closer inspection, each 'star' looked like a certain location, such as a tundra, a desert, a lush forest, and a swamp with multi-colored lights. Robirdo tapped this star and caused a star-shaped white, luminous portal to open up. He entered this portal, taking Kero-Chan with him. They emerged in a dark swamp. Robirdo conjured a pair of blue and yellow maracas and a rain stick. He handed Kero-Chan the rain stick saying, "Keep this. You will need this to battle the unfriendly will-o-wisps," as he shook the maracas three times. The bulbous part on the tops opened up, revealing a crystallized orb of golden light in each maraca. One of the orbs floated higher into the air, trailing golden intangible amethyst. Robirdo muttered, "Iluminar," The small orb expanded with the sound of tinkling gemstones, the songs of the waves, the scent of crisp, dry desert air, and a blinding white flash, a brilliant-cut golden amethyst encased the orb, throwing rays or dazzling golden light everywhere. Flashes of fire with the colors like wrath, agony, and loss appeared to hiss in disgust. They shed no light, for they were evil will-o-wisps. Robirdo shouted, "¡Doble hoja!" This caused to other orb to spin as it was encased in amethyst. It kept on spinning as two arms of a spiral emerged from the outer layer. The two golden arms curved in opposite directions, ceasing as they took the shape of two crescent moons. The final result was rather unimpressive; it was a golden, double bladed shuriken with an amethyst core and a deadly aura to it. Robirdo muttered, "Girar," which caused the shuriken to spin at a high velocity. It was spinning so fast, it looked like a golden discus. Then Robirdo commanded, "¡Atacar!" Suddenly, the discus lashed outwards at the wisps, who dissipated upon contact. Meanwhile, Kero-Chan shook the rain stick, creating a small controllable thunderstorm. The rain extinguished numerous wisps, while lightning chains shocked numerous more. The discus was eventually struck by lightning, causing it to travel faster,leaving a trail of brilliant azure light, and never losing the golden interior. Some wisps actually launched a futile flame to attack, which was quickly put out by the rain. Suddenly, a tremendous black inferno swallowed up the rest of the wisps, growing in size. Robirdo yelled, "¡Armadura!" The wave of fire was impeded by a nearly impenetrable sphere of golden amethyst, with Kero-Chan and Robirdo in the center. The inferno transformed into a gargantuan black wisp, and it appeared to say, "Trespassers aren't welcome here. Face your doom in a one-on-one combat with me, the Lord Wisp!" Then, demolishing the sphere with a comet-like blast of black energy, he knocked Kero-Chan away, rendering her unconscious. Robirdo shouted, "¡Doble hoja!" Once again, the shards of crystallized light converged together into one shuriken. As it regained its familiar disc shape, it flew towards Robirdo, orbiting around him like a moon. Lord Wisp exclaimed, "Fool! Prepare to waltz with Death himself!" 火 火 火 On the surface world, the three creatures arrived at the coast. A whirlpool appeared, and from it emerged the serpentine, scaly, teal head of Tatsu. In a light melodious voice, she inquired, "Why do you rouse me from my slumber?" Phoenix replied, "We have requested your assistance to prevent a diabolical evil from wreaking eternal discord and havoc on our world," "Count me in," said Tatsu. “Anything is better than mass annihilation,” 火 火 火 "Traición, lobo silueta," muttered Robirdo. Abruptly, the discus halted and morphed into a golden wolf. The wolf feinted a lunge at Robirdo, then latched its fangs in the wisp. "Toxina," Robirdo muttered this word, and the wolf transformed into a golden liquid, which entered the wisp, who, in turn was trying to launch a nova of black fire at Robirdo. This liquid was highly poisonous, so it crippled the wisp. Then, Robirdo said, "Explotar," causing the liquid to detonate inside of the wisp, therefore securing Robirdo's victory. The fragments of golden light regrouped, becoming an orb of light. A blinding glow of soft white light appeared, and a platinum lamp appeared. It billowed grey smoke, and a turquoise figure of pure energy materialized. It had no definite shape, yet somehow, Kero-Chan knew that this was the genie. “I wish my dead friend was revived,” said Kero-Chan. A strong gale scurried past, carrying traces of #life. It extracted Sarasa from Robirdo’s sombrero, and a cloud of darkness appeared. A brilliant flash of light occurred, and the cloud vanished, revealing Sarasa’s spirit. As this happened, the genie faded away. “Thank you, Kero-Chan. I am forever in your debt,” said Sarasa. The paper bag expanded rapidly until it formed a red portal. leaping through the portal, which closed behind her, leaving Robirdo and Kero-Chan in the Spirit Plane. Sarasa found herself in front of the River of Blood. She saw Death’s castle in the distance, and she knew that she would get to Death’s Castle. 火 火 火 Part III: Rise of the Maneki-Nekomata The River of Blood would harden over time, but would liquify eventually. So, Sarasa would wait for around thirty minutes, and cross. The second river, the River of Magma was the same; Sarasa just waited for it to harden again. The final river, The River of Souls, was different. To cross it, one would wait for the good-hearted spirits to rise, for they were lighter than the evil spirits. Then, the person would stand on the platform created by the kind spirits, avoiding the evil spirits, who would eventually pull the platform underneath as another platform of good spirits was about to rise. Sarasa successfully crossed after the platforms sunk eight times. Death’s castle loomed out from a cloud of haze. The doors opened, and Death’s voice resonated, carrying the words, “You have unfinished business to attend to. I shall revive you to finish that business, but you can not come here again once you die a second time,” Then, everything went dark in Sarasa’s world. Sarasa woke up in the same place in which she died four years ago. A chain of lightning struck a nearby tree, and under the light of a total lunar eclipse, Sarasa’s tails split into two. Her eyes opened, and there were red irises, deep inside of the eyes of a new creature, the Maneki-Nekomata. With a demonic smile and a flash of red, the Maneki-Nekomata vanished, only to reappear in a tree overlooking an ancient dragon skeleton. Leaping over it, a flash of fire appeared, and the dragon skeleton revived itself. Crouching low, the demon set its eyes on a new target: a city. The leaves around the Maneki-Nekomata turned into a swarm of viruses. Swarming to the city, they introduced numerous diseases to mankind. Then, the Maneki-Nekomata sent the dragon to attack Hokkaido. The dragon flew off into the distance. The Maneki-Nekomata turned and prepared to attack another nearby village. 火 火 火 ¨There shall be no more human victims of your season of terror,” a white nine-tailed fox replied from a nearby boulder. ¨Do you honestly believe that a puny fox can vanquish a demon who is already dead, and not afraid of dying?¨ asked the Maneki-Nekomata. In a cloud of smoke, the demonic creature vanished and reappeared on a branch of a nearby tree. ¨I am no ordinary fox. I am—¨ began Kitsune. ¨—You are the mistress of illusions, blah blah blah. You must be really stupid to think that I care for your speech about being a disgrace to the world, Mother Nature frowning upon me, for I have a country to torture,¨ the Maneki-Nekomata said, looking bored. ¨Try to suppress this destruction,¨ Kitsune ordered. ¨You are making me irate, little fox,¨ the Maneki-Nekomata growled, looking even more bored than ever. ¨Do not belittle me, kitty-kitty!¨ Kitsune snapped. ¨What’s wrong? Did the little witty fox run out of insults?¨ the Maneki-Nekomata chided, almost falling asleep from sheer boredom. ¨Get down here and fight me, coward!¨ ¨Loud mouthed creatures trying to pick fights must be dealt with. I will save my energy for later battles. I shall leave something behind to give you company,¨ the Maneki-Nekomata explained, vanishing with a malevolent grin. “Come back here, coward!” yelled Kitsune. “What a naughty little fox….. Enjoy the show!” came a dark voice. Rattling came from the trees, and puppets came down from the trees, and skeletons rose up from the ground. A flash of fire descended from the sky, and the resulting fire incinerated the puppets and skeletons. “Be careful. These cannot be handled by sheer force alone,” warned Phoenix. “I am well aware of that. Thanks, Mr. Obvious,” explained Kitsune. “Just concerned for your survival and well-being here, sheesh,” replied Phoenix. “I don’t need your assistance! I am about nine centuries old, and I do not need someone like you to help me! I had them under control!” “Yet, you just refuse to have assistance. Just accept the fact that everyone needs help at one point or another,” remarked Phoenix. “Talking like a sage again... You know how much that annoys me,” snarled Kitsune. “Suit yourself. It is not my problem if you get yourself killed,” said Phoenix. “When we’re done, I’m off from adventuring for a long time, about a century or two,” remarked Kitsune, vanishing. Silently, Phoenix took flight, away from the grove. 火 火 火 The Maneki-Nekomata reappeared on the back of the skeletal dragon. After commanding it to summon a group of skeletons, it flew into a rift, which lead to the Spirit Plane. 火 火 火 "Sooooo, do you think your friend is happy?" inquired Robirdo. "Yeah...... Wait! What was that noise?" exclaimed Kero-Chan. A quiet swishing noise appeared to be coming from a nearby crystal-like spring. A small red octopus burst from the depths of the spring. "Watashi no namae ha Otako desu. You two are?" asked the Octopus, speaking in a light Asian accent. "My name is Kero-Chan, and this is Robirdo," replied Kero-Chan. "Your father told me about the Shinobi of the Spirit Plane. They are relatively friendly, but they are more on the serious side," Robirdo warned. "What brings you to the former settlement of the Shinobi of the Sea?" Otako questioned. "Why do you say former?" asked Kero-Chan. "We shinobi who live here are tasked with guarding the different regions. I am a guardian of the ocean. #life was well, until a horde of armed skeletons and marionettes attacked, about an hour ago. We fought back. Some of us fled, but they were easily taken down. Some of us were captured, but I think they were eventually killed. I survived because I got knocked out, so they thought I was dead. We were the last tribe to fall. The others were all vanquished about one to three hours ago. All of us are an ancient race called the Majutsu. That race is near-extinct. The Majutsu are in near-harmony with the world. They are powerful warriors who wield both magic and weapons in battle. For example, Robirdo's maracas and Kero-Chan's rainstick were created by the Majutsu, the rainstick by the Majutsu of the Tempest and the Maracas by the Majutsu of Desert. You can tell by the way the magic remains potent after years of use. I am one of the last Majutsu," Otako explained. There was a long silence after Otako said these words. "Since the Majutsu went near-extinct a little while ago, I shall join you, but let me grab something first," Otako said, summoning a shamisen, a Japanese instrument, and a sort of pyramid which floated in the air around Otako. A torrent of inky water followed, and Otako reappeared in a nearby tree. "Hey Otako," Robirdo said. "Hmmmm?" replied Otako. "How are you an octopus...