Screen shot 1: Muta sits on a couch at the Cat Bureau. He looks over to Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, standing by the window watching the rain falling outside. He asks simply:
Muta: "So, when are you gonna tell her?"
Screen shot 2: Camera flashes to an image of Haru Yoshioka in the Gardens of the Cat Kingdom palace. She is older now, about 27 years old, wearing a smart blue business suit, though her tie has been loosened and hangs limply around her neck. She turns to Prince Lune and Princess Yuki and asks:
Haru: "Please, do you know where I can find a cat called Dead Eye?"
Her response is met by a collective gasp from the Princes royal entourage; one elderly courtier swoons to the ground in a faint.
Screen shot 3: The camera cuts to the Cat Bureau. We see a shot of Barons face. Though it is half in shadow, the half we can see looks grave. He says to Muta;
Baron: "Muta…how do you tell a woman…"
Screen shot 4: We see a little boy, about four years old, wearing a school uniform. He has a serious, thoughtful expression on his face and sweet brown eyes. He is walking towards a school. He hooks his thumbs into his school bag, which is black with a yellow pouncing cat on the front. Above his eye, he has a deep cut, but it is covered by a band aid with a black cat drawn on it in permanent marker.
Baron: "… that her only child…"
Screen Shot 5: As the little boy is about to enter the school gates, he hears a sound behind him. He turns and smiles at a thin cat. This cat is as jet black, save for his unusual eyes. One is sharp, focused and red as blood. The other is white as snow, and twice as cold. It stares into the distance, sinister and sightless. The cat smiles back.
Baron: "… has been spirited away by the most ruthless criminal in the whole cat kingdom?"
Screen Shot 6: We see Haru, walking towards her son's school. She pauses, her attention caught by something hidden behind a bush. She bends over, and picks up her sons discarded school bag. Her eyes wide with panic.
Haru: "Oh no…"
Screen shot 7: We see Haru running through a play ground, fighting to control herself. She scans the crowd, shouting franticly:
Haru: "Torao? Torao? Darling, where are you? WHERE ARE YOU TORAO? TORAO!"
Screen Shot 8: We see Haru, standing next to Baron, Muta, Lune and Yuri; all of them are leaning over a map of the Cat Kingdom. Lune points to the very edge of the map.
Lune: "I can escort your party to this point, but from there you must journey alone. Dead Eye has taken your son into the very heart of the Bad Lands."
Screen shot 9: Torao, Haru's son, clutches the pants leg of Dead Eye, who stands on his back paws, his posture defensive, his hand wrapped around the handle of a sharp rapier. His face is a wicked snarl; he waits for an excuse to draw his weapon from its sheath. That chance may come very soon, because two panther like cats, blacker then Dead Eye, save for their blood read war paint, are circling them, teeth and claws bared and glinting in the moon light.
Screen shot 10: Camera cuts back to the Palace. The former Cat King lounges on a mass of cushions, cackling wickedly at Haru and the Baron. He stops laughing long enough to say:
Cat King: "Good Luck, Kids! Even I wasn't crazy enough to invade Wild Cat territory…"
Screen Shot 11: We see Torao, alone now, with two brown cat ears and a long, curly tail. He is, standing as still as he can before a mighty Lion, who stands on its hind legs and regards him with cold, regal yellow eyes. We hear the King's voice over say, gloatingly:
Cat King: "You though I was nuts? Wait till you meet these guys."
Screen shot 12: A montage of shots flash across the screen. We see a crumbling temple surrounding a still pool. Baron, Muta and Haru running madly from more Panther warriors. A shot of Baron remove his coat, preparing to fight a Giant Tiger, who cracks his muscular neck and smiles with sinister glee. We see Toto, flying over a cliff, looking down into a bustling village carved into the mountain face.
Screen Shot 13: We see Haru, sitting by fire light, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She stares into the jungle surrounding them, and states with eerie determination.
Haru: "My son is alive, Muta. And I'll find him with, or without you and the Cat Bureau."
Screen Shot 14: The screen fades to black, and we see letters forming in Dark blue, bold print:
The Cat Returns: Quest to the Bad Lands.
Screen Shot 15: Haru kneels inside the building of the Cat Bureau, her head bowed, shaking with sobs, tears rolling down her cheeks. Baron, his eyes pouring sympathy, reaches up, and gently brushes a tear from her cheek. He looks into her eyes and says solemnly, yet kindly:
Baron: "No matter what it takes, Haru. I promise I will bring your son back to you..."
Screen Shot 16: We see the Baron, locked in a duel with Dead Eye, their swords clash over and over again. Suddenly, the cliff they are standing on crumbles, and they both fall into a black abyss before the terrified eyes of Torao, Muta and Haru. We hear his voice over finishing that sentence;
Baron:"…even if it costs me everything."
Screen Shot 17: The same blue text as before floats across the screen. It simply states:
Coming soon in 2011.
Authors note.
Blasted story ideas are popping into my head faster then a balloon animal that just found the needle in the hay stack. I though if I get this one typed maybe I can get some sleep tonight.
Though some how, I doubt that very much.
Cheers, U.S.Q.