The Legend of the Orochi
"I'm not coming out!" Lance whined.
"Oh come on Lance!" Althea said. "It can't be that bad."
"Such fuss over clothes," Granny shook her head.
"Well these clothes yeah," Lance walked out in a blue outfit with a definite Japanese style. He was wearing a white shirt underneath his blue jacket and his hair was in a ponytail. He was also wearing sandals "What kind of pants are these?" He asked. "They look like I'm wearing a skirt."
"They're called hakama," Althea explained. "It's a traditional Japanese style of dress."
"I feel silly dressed like this," Lance looked at himself.
"I think you look very handsome," Kima said. She herself was dressed in a short red skirt and white and red top. Her wings, horns and tail could be clearly seen now. "Like how Kima dresses?"
"Uh yeah," Lance blushed.
"This is no time for a fashion parade," Granny snapped. "We have important business to discuss."
They sat around the table. "As you may have noticed this island has some unusual properties. That is because of one thing. The waters of the Spring of Life."
"I've heard of those!" Wanda said. "Don't these springs have some kind of healing powers?"
"Yeah I've been to one!" Lance remarked.
"Yes there are pockets of the healing waters all over the world but the water from the Spring of Life on this island is especially potent," Granny nodded. "That is because of the five headed Orochi, the guardian dragon of the spring. Her body creates secretions that give extra powers to the water."
"She's a dragon like you?" Wanda asked.
"She's a dragon all right but she's nothing like me," Granny huffed. "There are other types of dragons you know?"
"Actually we do," Xi said. "There's one living with Lance's ex-girlfriend."
"What?" Kima asked. "Was he the one two timing you?"
"No this one's her pet," Xi explained.
"Well so was Lance if you think about it," Wanda said. "Rolled over for her and jumped every time she snapped her fingers."
"Can we get back to the subject please?" Lance snapped.
"Right, anyway the Orochi guardian may try to use your friends to escape her duties," Granny said.
"Wait if the Orochi's a guardian for the Spring of Life, why is that a bad thing if she gets loose?" Xi asked.
"The Orochi was forced to be a guardian of the spring as a punishment for all its misdeeds," Granny explained. "Long ago the Orochi spread terror throughout all these islands and even parts of Asia. Destroying and ravaging the land until one day the great leader of our clan used his powers to confine her body to the spring, allowing only her heads to be able to surface. I was only a young dragon at the time but I can still remember the horrible battle and the great power that was used. My dragon clan is entrusted with the protection of this Spring of Life as well as to see that the Orochi never escapes again."
"So why does it need my friends?" Lance asked.
"There is only one way it can break its confinement. A male sacrifice on a full moon," Granny said.
"Male sacrifice!" Althea gulped.
"Well this Orochi is female. It would be pretty pointless to have a female sacrificial victim now wouldn't it?" Granny folded her arms.
"That does make sense," Kima said.
"She's gonna eat them?" Lance gasped.
"She doesn't even need to eat them," Granny said. "All it will take is a single drop of blood from a male virgin to break her confinement."
"Oh well isn't that a cheerful thought," Althea said sarcastically.
"What kind of crazy spell is that?" Wanda asked.
"Hey it's not my idea!" Granny showed her a small book filled with papers nearly falling out. "It's all here in my book about spells and legends. I just read it and keep important notes in here! Like I said, I was just a pup myself when the Orochi was trapped."
"Let me take a wild guess where it's trapped," Althea sighed. "That place where we saw all that mist right?"
"Exactly," Granny nodded. In the heart of the mist is the volcano where the spring is at its main sources."
"Well if its trapped in the spring how can it get to the boys?" Althea asked. "I mean all we have to do is get them and keep them out of the water right? I mean even Todd, Pietro and Fred aren't dumb enough to go walk into a volcano."
"Don't underestimate the Orochi," Granny warned. "She has her ways and once they're at the spring she'll be able to trap them and keep them from getting out. That's why I didn't want you to come with me Lance. I couldn't take a chance that you would be captured too."
"Wait Granny, since Lance isn't a virgin he can come help us after all," Kima said.
"That's true," Granny nodded. "I suppose with a whole bunch of virgins to choose from the Orochi won't really care for him. But it's still dangerous."
"Hey! I can handle it!" Lance said. "Besides! I'm not going to let my friends become dragon chow!"
"Yeah and I have the power over water," Althea said. "I can use the spring itself as a weapon if I have to!"
"All right!" Granny said. "It's settled then! It will be dark in a few hours and we won't have much time! Let's get cracking!"
"YAY!" Kima jumped up happily. "This is so exciting!"
"Goody we get to go fight dragons!" Wanda sighed.
"And to think we thought that this would be a nice quiet little survival training exercise," Lance sighed.
"Well it's certainly going to be an exercise in survival," Xi said.
"Typical," Althea sighed. "My father does it again! And he's probably boozing it up as we speak goofing off and having the time of his life while we have to fight for our lives!"
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"AAAA! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" Shipwreck shouted as he waved a broom at a very large seagull.
"Where the heck did these things come from?" Cover Girl shouted as she used a flame-thrower to keep a giant bird at bay. "Even bullets don't hurt 'em!"
Three large seagulls were circling around annoying the Joes. The boat started to rock. "Now what?" Low Light grumbled. The boat seemed to rise up in the air. "What is this? A wave?"
"Not exactly," Spirit gulped as he looked over the side. The yacht was on the back of a giant sea turtle.
"WHAT KIND OF CRAZY OCEAN IS THIS?" Shipwreck shouted.
"THAT'S IT! SHIPWRECK THAT'S THE LAST TIME WE LET YOU ARRANGE OUR TRAVEL PLANS!" Roadblock shouted.