Les Jeux Mystèrieux: The Mysterious Games
This title is a parody of FFX, in case you didn't guess.
The first cultist is named in this chapter. You're slowly gonna find out their names, so get used to not hearing "Person x"!
Nick: Last episode, our little group got one member bigger.
Chris: Sadly, the gain in mental power was negative.
Max: Shut up! I more than made up for you!
Luna: Assassins also attacked us, but the attack was pitiful.
Anne: I wonder why they were so easy…
Kat: Oh well. Now the group is about to search for the next Warrior…
Janna: But it's not going to be quite as easy to find the next one…
Jeff: Bum bum bum!!!
Episode 13: Suteki Ja Nai (It isn't elegant)
(The group wakes up, awake and refreshed. They're back on the road again, riding west randomly)
Tokaki: (stretching out with several snaps) Aaaaah…that felt good.
Subaru: That is so disgusting it's not even funny.
Anne: So, are you gonna scry today?
Karasuki: Whenever you want me to.
Tatara: How about now?
Karasuki: Um…if we get off these horses, ok.
(The group stops under a large tree by the road. Karasuki sits down, cross-legged, and takes out an ornate, circular mirror.)
Subaru: Wow…that's a nice mirror.
Karasuki: It's magic.
Tatara+Tokaki: REALLY???
Karasuki: Actually, it's not. Gotcha.
Tatara: Aww…
Tokaki: IDIOT!!!!
Anne: So, how does this scrying thing work?
Karasuki: You'll see. What do you want me to find out?
Subaru: How about…the general direction of the other three Celestial Warriors?
Tatara: You mean Kat, Janna and Jeff?
Subaru: That too. (to Karasuki) That wouldn't be too draining, would it?
Karasuki: I don't think so…here, I'll try.
(Karasuki closes his eyes and holds his hands over the mirror, which begins to swirl ominously. The back of his neck glows white.)
Karasuki: "North, South, East, West, tell me where the Warriors rest!"
(The mirror swirls faster and faster, and then suddenly clears, glowing a bright white. A large map shows, with four triangles arranged inside a square.)
Anne: Woww….the four countries, I suppose?
(Karasuki nods, eyes still closed. Three small dots and one star appear on the map. The star is in the central part of Sailo. One dot is just a bit west of the star, the second is further west and south, and the third is far to the east, almost in Kutou. Karasuki opens his eyes.)
Karasuki: Here we go. These are the approximate locations of the other Warriors. The star is us.
Tatara: Hey, there's one really close to us!
Tokaki: Who's that?
Karasuki: I could see…but I wouldn't be able to scry any more today.
Subaru: You wouldn't need to! If we know where the Warrior is, then we just go!
Karasuki: OK…one sec.
(Karasuki waves his hand over the mirror, which clears. He closes his eyes again.)
Karasuki: "Bonds of power yet unbroken, strengthened still from distant far, take me over hill and dale, show to me the nearest Star!"
Tatara: That's pretty good poetry for the spur of the moment…
(The mirror clouds over, but does not clear. Karasuki's eyebrows raise without his eyes opening)
Anne: What's going on?
Karasuki: (creasing forehead) Something's…trying to block me from scrying! It's almost like that same power blocking the assassin.
Subaru: You don't think…the cult?
Karasuki: They'd have to be pretty strong…hold on, I think I'm breaking through it. Watch the mirror!
(The mirror's cloud suddenly disperse. A flash of white light, and then a white temple shows up. Another flash, and a sort of alter. A girl lies on it, motionless.)
Tatara: Janna?????
(A flash. A nun, or what appears to be a nun, is tending to Janna. She places her hand above Janna's mouth, and then shakes her head sadly)
Tokaki: Hey! You stay away from her!
(Another flash, and Janna's lips appear to be slowly moving. The picture is breaking up, and Karasuki is visibly sweating. Then there is a very loud bang, and Karasuki is flung backwards from the mirror)
Subaru: Karasuki!!!
(Karasuki sits up)
Karasuki: No, I'm fine…I think the mirror cracked, though.
(Yes, there is a long crack down the length of the mirror.)
Anne: Oh…that was such a nice mirror too.
Karasuki: Don't worry, I always carry a spare. What worries me is that there is a cultist with enough power to send my power back through the mirror.
Subaru: Why would that be worrisome?
Karasuki: Normally, the only people with strong chi would be the Celestial Stars. But somebody there has strong chi, and is overpowering me.
Tatara: That sucks…
Tokaki: Hey! We have bigger problems to worry about! That was Janna, and she looks like she's not doing so good!
Anne: Doing so well. Adverb.
Tokaki: Shut up! That's a minor issue right now!
Subaru: That's true…Janna did seem like she was hurt, or something.
Tokaki: Well, we have to find her! Karasuki, can you find out where she is?
Karasuki: Nope. I've already used up most of my power just trying to perform that last scry; otherwise, I could.
Tokaki: But, she could be in danger!
Karasuki: Yeah, I did sort of sense a feeling of impending doom around her.
Tatara: You're a really happiness-inducing person, you know that?
Subaru: Tokaki's right, though. We have to find her, and preferably sooner than later.
Anne: But, all we know is that's she's to the west of us.
Karasuki: And, she is black.
Tokaki: EXCUSE YOU!!!!
Tatara: No, he actually has a non-racist point. She would kinda stand out in ancient China.
Anne: Just like me or you or Karasuki would too…
Tokaki: So then it's decided! We go look for Janna!
Subaru: Keep your pants on. Nothing's decided yet!
Tokaki: You don't want to help Janna???
Subaru: I never said that! That's a fallacy!
Tokaki: What???
Tatara: Debate lingo.
Karasuki: We should try to find her. I couldn't tell what went wrong, but it seems bad. We should go.
Anne: Alright! Let's go find the fifth Celestial Warrior!
*************
(Inside a moving wagon. A shadowed person lies curled up in the corner. The person looks up, with a muffled sob. The entire wagon is sheathed in darkness, making it impossible to see the person, or their gender. The person sees a small crack in the wood, and crawls over to it. Their hands are bound, as are their legs. The crack shows rolling grassland, moving rapidly past. A tear runs silently down the person's face.)
*************
(The cultist headquarters)
Person 4: Why are we being called here so much??? It's so boring!
Person 1: Silence! The council has been called to order by Ren.
Ren (Person 3): Yes, some new and disturbing information has surfaced.
Person 5: I also have some news to share.
Person 2: Ren, darling, you go first.
Ren: Thank you. Our assassins found the defenseless Celestial Warrior yesterday night.
Person 1: And?
Ren: They did not succeed in killing him.
Person 4: What??? Why not???
Person 2: It appears that the Priestess and her three Warriors found him before we did. Our assassins were no match for them.
Person 5: How could this happen?
Person 1: You mean to tell me that you have failed again?
Ren: That would be what we're saying, yes.
Person 1: Fine. One more Celestial Warrior found. Three still remain. I hope that they are under control.
Ren: The Guanjun plan is coming along nicely. One of the Warriors is on the way to Kutou as we speak, powerless to fight back. The final one is at death's door due to our poison.
Person 4: Can't you guys just go and slit their throats? It never works otherwise.
Person 2: Even somebody as stupid as you should know by now that brute force is not working against the Warriors. We need tactics, and these ones are infallible.
Person 1: Good. I did not mean to get angry before; we only need to kill one and the Priestess becomes powerless.
Person 5: I have news as well.
Person 2: Oh really? Do go on.
Person 5: The fourth Star is a seer of sorts; he can see over distances and time.
Person 4: Cool!
Ren: Not for us. If he were to find us out…
Person 5: I understand the risk, and I have taken measures to stop him. By praying to Senri-e, I can block his chi and stop him divining. The last time he tried, the backlash was tangible.
Person 1: That is quite good. Does this mean that you can block any of the Warrior's chis?
Person 5: With enough prayer, anything is possible. His chi is a little weaker than mine, so it is not a stress. I could probably break through the girl's chi with no problem, and certainly the fighter as well. The plant-boy I am not sure of, and I have not measured the other three's chi.
Person 2: That is quite remarkable of you. Please continue to pray; hopefully Senri-e will smile upon us and bring us victory.
Person 1: Yes. Now, if there is no more news…
Person 5: Let us pray.
*************
(The group rides quickly from town to town, asking everywhere for news on Janna. They continue west without hearing of her for days. Finally, exhausted, they enter an inn in a medium-sized town.)
Man at reception counter: Good evening, travelers!
Anne: Hi. I'm the Priestess of Byakko, and these are my Celestial Warriors. We're tired and hungry.
(The entire inn makes way and treats Anne wonderfully. The group sits down at a table as a nice-looking waitress brings food.)
Anne: I could get used to this whole Priestess of Byakko thing.
Subaru: I thought you didn't want to impose before!!!
Anne: I did think that earlier, but, here's how I see it: why fight it?
Tokaki: (eating ravenously) Amen!
Tatara: (amid hungry chews) So, what are we going to do now? We can't just keep going west aimlessly; we might miss her.
Karasuki: (eating quickly) I suppose I could scry again; it might be taxing, though.
Subaru: (eating slowly) So what? You're in an inn; all you have to do is sleep it off!
Karasuki: Hey, don't talk about my powers like you know them! They're hard!
Subaru: Like mine aren't???
Anne: (politely eating) Hey, hey, calm down. It doesn't matter whose powers are more stressing to use!
Tatara: Yeah! Just scry after dinner, and we'll all be fine.
Karasuki: OK, fine.
(Dinner comes and goes, and the group goes upstairs to the girl's room. Karasuki pulls out another mirror.)
Karasuki: Alright, here goes nothing.
(Karasuki places the mirror on the ground and sits down in front of it. The nape of his neck glows, and he closes his eyes.)
Karasuki: "Relative to where I sit, location shown to questing eyes, patterns of fate forever writ, lead me to where Janna lies!"
Tokaki: I didn't understand that one.
Tatara: Poetic license, maybe?
(The mirror begins to glow faintly white, and Karasuki grits his teeth in concentration. The mirror slowly glows brighter and brighter, until it finally flashes a blinding white. The mirror shows the inn, then zooms out to the surrounding countryside. It continues to zoom out until another town, close by, is in its view. It rapidly zooms into that town, to the white temple, and then to Janna's still form upon the alter. The mirror darkens again, and Karasuki falls over.)
Subaru: Aaahh!! Karasuki!
Karasuki: (weakly) I'm ok…that was kind of hard though.
Anne: So that's where Janna is!
Tatara: We're close, aren't we?
Tokaki: I think so. We can get there tomorrow, no sweat.
Subaru: I'm worried…she doesn't look healthy.
Karasuki: She isn't…her life force has weakened since I last scryed.
Anne: Then there's no time to waste! We have to go to sleep now!
(everybody except Karasuki falls over)
*************
(The blue imperial court. The old, ugly emperor sits on the throne.)
Emperor: Report!
(A blue-cloaked herald runs up the blue carpet and kneels in front of the throne)
Herald: It is good to see that you are healthy again, Emperor!
Emperor: I told you to report. Do not make small talk with me.
Herald: My apologies. The vanguard troops have supposedly encountered a lone Celestial Warrior.
Emperor: That's wonderful. I suppose they just watched him go by and went about their business?
Herald: Actually, on the contrary, they managed to subdue the Warrior.
Emperor: Quite amazing. I never would have expected it.
Herald: The Warrior is currently on the way to the capital.
Emperor: This is wonderful news. Listen, I have a proclamation to make. I want it to go out throughout the entire city…
*************
(The group wakes up early and rides hard for the town. At about noon, they ride into the town where Janna is.)
Karasuki: Ok, this is it. Where's the temple?
Subaru: RIGHT THERE!!!!
(The temple in question is about two stories taller than any of the other buildings in the town, and is right in front of the group.)
Tokaki: Oh, there it is.
Anne: Why would they make such a big temple in such a small town?
Tatara: Maybe they were bored?
Tokaki: Come on! Let's go get Janna!
(The five enter the large temple. The entrance-room is large and white. It's also empty.)
Karasuki: Ok, straight ahead!
(There isn't a door right ahead.)
Subaru: Ok, one problem. THERE'S NO DOOR!!!!
Tokaki: Fine, then we'll take the only door there is.
(There is only one door, and the group takes it. Down the hall…is an even larger room. A skylight is open on the ceiling, letting down light onto a white marble altar. Laying on the alter is Janna. She is motionless, and does not appear to be breathing.)
Tatara: OH MY GOD!!! SHE'S DEAD!!!!!
Anne: Wait a second!
(Anne rushes over to the bod- I mean, Janna, and puts her hand on Janna's mouth)
Anne: No, she's breathing…shallowly, but breathing.
Karasuki: And look! On her chest!
(Janna's rather low-cut shirt reveals the white character for "Rain Net" at the base of her collarbone. It is glowing.)
Tokaki: Whoa…what's happening?
Subaru: Maybe, she's using her chi to do something???
Woman's voice: She's placed herself into a coma.
(The group turns. A young-looking woman stands at the door, dressed in immaculate white garb.)
Woman: I thought you'd come eventually. You must be the Priestess of Byakko.
Anne: Well, yes, I…who are you?
Woman: Praise Byakko, you have finally come! I am a shrine maiden at this temple. I am in charge of this girl.
Tatara: Is she all right???
Woman: This girl came in here about a week ago, suffering from a horrible wasting disease. She told us that the Priestess of Byakko would come here, and that she had slowed down her bodily functions in order to survive.
Tokaki: Survive from what???
Woman: The disease, of course. We didn't know what it was; it seemed to be the result of a poison, though.
Karasuki: So, what are we supposed to do?
Woman: I'm not sure. She probably wouldn't last out of the coma.
Tatara: Subaru, could you reset her body?
Subaru: Wait, how long ago did she get poisoned?
Woman: I'm not sure; it must have been about a week and a half now.
Subaru: I don't think I can use my powers for such a long span…
Anne: Well, we can't just do nothing!
Woman: Well…there is a healer in a town north of here that is said to be able to cure any disease…
Tokaki: Then why didn't you get him???
Woman: The town is in Kutou-occupied territory. We cannot get in.
Karasuki: Well, we can probably get the healer out. Tell us where the town is, and who the man is.
Tatara: Janna…we'll be back for you…
Anne: WE'RE NOT LEAVING YET!!!!
Janna: Noooo!!! What's wrong with me???
Nick: No idea.
Chris: Hope it's not fatal.
Anne: You're horrible!!!
Max: The word is "realistic."
Jeff: Don't worry, she can't die. It'll ruin the plot.
Kat: That doesn't matter, you know that.
Luna: ANYWAYS, the next chapter is called "Seifuku o hajimarimashou!", or "Begin the conquest!"