Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz, Sailor Moon, Trigun, Evangelion, Lupin the Third, Outlaw Star, Rurouni Kenshin, G-Gundam, any other Gundam Series, Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, any movies, books, or any songs that are used in this story. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Notice to Readers: To understand certain parts of this story, you'll have to read the other stories before this one. It is recommended by not required.
The DarkTower:
Anime's Unite
Chapter 10: The Western Group
The Key Master
It had been nearly two full days that the Kenshin Gumi and the Peace Guns had been at each other's sides. Each of them getting along quite well with each other, as Kaoru had said that Vash the Stampede and Kenshin Himura were twin stars, two souls that were exactly alike to one another in every way. The same was said about the others, Miss Kaoru and Meryl Strife, for them looking at one another in controlling their men was like looking into a mirror. Though for Millie Thompson and Yahiko Meyojin, the two of them really were somewhat opposite. For Millie was like a child in a woman's body, while Yahiko was more like a man in a child's body. Then there was Wolfwood and Sanosuke, who got along quite well with the drinking as well as gambling.
The only one who didn't seem to have a twin star for himself was Millions Knives, but from Kenshin's point of view there were several people who had that look in his eye. It was a look that Kenshin had seen many times before in the eyes of men who had killed without any remorse. He saw it in the eyes of Aoshi Shinomori and Hajimae Sito. Even though Vash had told Kenshin that Knives was on their side, Kenshin still got the creeps from looking into those twin blue eyes that seemed as if they had no pity or mercy, the eyes of a manslayer.
They had trekked through the dark forest, heading northeast. Traveling by day and making camp at night. Each night they would share stories of their lives, tales of the Meiji Era and the Planet Gunsmoke.
"So." Kenshin laughed, "I came back from fishing with this catfish and I find out that it swallowed an engagement ring and I was instructed to give it to Miss Kaoru."
"And you had no idea of what it meant?" Meryl asked
Kenshin shook his head with a smile, "Absolutely not."
"Yeah." Sanosuke continued, "So Yahiko and I were trying to get the ring back from the missy since I met a guy at the river who said he threw a ring just like the one Kenshin found into the river."
"We even went as far as trying to get the ring while Kaoru was in the tub." Yahiko explained with a little wincing about it.
They all had a good laugh about it, even Kaoru who was the one that was the most devastated that day. After all since it was Tanabata day, she felt that if Kenshin gave her a ring on that day their love and marriage would grow stronger. After all she always said that she was a young maiden who blushes at flowers, and having the man she loved give her a ring like that on that day of all days was her dreams come true. Then to have them taken away from her was really devastating to her, but eventually Kenshin did set it right by giving her a ring, and they became husband and wife.
Meryl, who was sitting next to Vash poked him in the side with her elbow to get his attention. Vash looked down at the woman he loved who seemed to have a sour face, like that of a child who saw some kid possess some great toy that she wanted above all others.
"They're married." She said with a small glare in her eye.
"Ummm…" Vash tried to dance around or at the very least escape the issue, because after all he and Meryl had been together for a very long time. They had admitted love to one another so, why not? Perhaps it was because Vash was still trying to overcome things within himself before he could allow himself to move on in other areas of his life. He had forgiven his brother and moved on with his life from that, but his intrapersonal relationship is another issue altogether.
"Then there was this time…" Sanosuke began to tell the next story, this one was about an enormous brown dog that he had found while he was at a temple praying for good luck in his gambling.
On and on the stories around the campfire went between the Peace Guns and the Kenshin-gumi. All of them laughing together about the adventures that they have had.
There was one story that Meryl was telling about how she met Vash the Stampede. Coincidentally, Kaoru had told a similar story about how she met Kenshin. At first thinking that he was the Battousai who was smearing the name of the Kamiya-Kasshin style by killing people left and right. In meeting Kenshin, Kaoru found out that he was a goof-ball with a reverse blade sword. For Meryl she continued to deny that the man with blonde hair, red coat, and a silver gun was the Humanoid Typhoon. In both stories they never truly saw who these men were until they saw their skills in action with their own two eyes.
As the stories continued, Vash felt something on his left side like something was landing upon it. He looked in that direction, which is where Kenshin was sitting, but it was something closer to him. He looked upon his red clothed shoulder where he found…dust. He reached over and pinched some of it off like a chef going for a pinch of salt. He brought the pinch to his front and examined it like a sharp-eyed scientist. He rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger and saw how rough it was in some places and it was fine in others like flour.
It didn't take long for the members of both the Peace Guns and the Kenshin-gumi to see what their friend was doing. He had the look of a man who has found something but doesn't know its significance yet.
"What is it, Vash?" Meryl asked
"I don't know." Vash answered so softly it was as if he wasn't speaking at all, only moving his lips. As the source of the dust had trickled out of his hands, he looked up as if someone had whispered the very instruction into his ear.
In the branches of the tree above him, Vash's eyes only saw them rustle as if it were the wind, but there was no wind that night. There was one branch in particular that was continuously moving up and down like the arm of a metronome. Vash squinted hoping to see what was up there with the little light that the fire had to give. An image came clear as he saw a pair of pants among the branches, but when the image became clear everything took a sharp turn.
SNAP!
One of the branches had cracked and began to tumble down upon Vash the Stampede with a completely unfamiliar voice that followed it. Down from the tree came the branch that had cracked and the very thing that was giving off the image of pants. It came up out of the twigs and leaves brushed itself off of the dirt it had accumulated and then turned to look upon the Kenshin-gumi and the Peace Guns.
By the fire's glow, they saw a young boy, probably the same age as Yahiko give or take a few years. Yet, his clothes weren't child-like at all; they looked more like they belonged to a forty-year-old. He wore a gray suit (or perhaps it was charcoal, but the fire's light didn't precisely give off what shade it was) with a white dress shirt & red tie. But there was one other feature that gave him away as a kid, it was the backpack that he wore, which seemed very heaving in the way its straps buried themselves in the boys shoulders.
The boy looked out at the Kenshin-gumi and Peace Guns with eyes that were very bright in the fire's glow. His hair was light like Vash's but not as bright, it was more of a dirtier shade than Vash's like beach sand. In his hand was a branch of the tree he fell out of. It looked twisted and gnarled from the years of trying to grow from the tree with some of the leaves still attached to it. One part of it looked like it had been carved into by a dull knife the very part where the branch had once connected to the tree before the boy had cut it away.
In silent observation the Kenshin-gumi and the Peace Guns had locked eyes with the boy. Until the boy himself smiled widely at them as if they were his long lost friends that he spent his life searching for. In fact, the very next thing he said was very much like that.
"You've come." The boy smiled, "You've all come."
"Excuse me." A desperate wheezing voice called out, "But could you get off me?"
The boy looked below to find his feet were in the chest of a man in a red coat. Within a second the boy was off of Vash's chest and apologizing.
"I'm sorry; I didn't know you were there."
"No problem." Vash wheezed as he got to his feet. He never quite saw the boys face until he turned around to greet him, but when he did he froze in his tracks. He didn't know at the time, but Kenshin Himura was the same way when his eyes met the boy. It was the very boy that Vash and Kenshin had met in their dreams. The one who said that they would be needed soon.
"Who are you?" Kenshin asked his throat feeling as dry as the desert itself.
"I am Jake Chambers the Key Master."
On the other side of the fire, Kenshin's mind became a storm of questions. Questions of how this boy was able to appear in his dream and then appear in front of his face. Was whatever he carved on that doorstep connected to the branch he had in his hand? Did he bring them all here to this land? All such questions, but Kenshin hoped that the boy would unlock the door to the answers.
"It was you." Kenshin uttered, "In my dream, I saw you."
"So did I." Vash added
The boy cupped his chin, "Let's sit down."
Everyone had already followed his advice since the whole camp was sitting down around the fire except for Jake and Vash, who sat down near the fire. After Vash took his seat, Jake pulled out a small knife and began to carve away at the branch of Ash he had in his had.
"Alright" Kaoru demanded
"Explain yourself." Meryl finished
Jake continued to carve out the tree branch in his hand but he spoke as he did, "I've already given you my name, but there's no need for any of you to give me yours."
"Oh?" Knives inquired, "Why is that?"
"I already know yours." Jake explained never taking his eyes away from his little carving project.
"How's that possible?" Vash asked
"There are many things that are within my masters' power."
"You're master?" Wolfwood asked, "Who is he?"
"He is the one true king of our land." Jake explained
"And what is this land?" Vash inquired
"This land is called Mydar."
"And if you know about us," Vash postulated, "then you must know why we are here."
"I do." Jake said as the last piece of the twig fell off of the branch making it into one long twisted stick.
"Well, spit it out already!" Sano spat in frustration of waiting
"You see," Jake began putting his knife away and the piece of wood at his side, "In the beginning my master ruled this land of Mydar with a just and fair hand, but then a group of strangers came. It was because of my masters' kindness that allowed them into his Ivory Tower. Once inside, they took over; they pillaged, ransacked the tower, captured our master, and turned the once beautiful Ivory Tower of Mydar into a dark and forbidding place."
"What does all of this have to do with us?" The young impatient Yahiko asked, but was given a good hard tap by Kaoru telling him to be quiet and let Jake explain.
"As our lord was captured he told us that he would find a way to combat the Scourge of Mydar."
"You mentioned 'us'." Kaoru observed in her cat-like curiosity
"We seven are the guards of the One." Jake explained with the intensity of a great campfire story teller. "After our master was captured we seven scattered through the lands of Mydar waiting for a sign that it would be time to take back the tower."
"And the time is now." Kenshin said as he gripped onto his sword
"Yes." Jake smiled, "You will be part of a great army that will help us seven take back the tower and free the king as well as the lands of Mydar from this scourge."
"So there could be others that have come to this place?" Millie asked
"I'm sure of it." Jake nodded, "After all…there are other worlds than these."
"Where is the tower?" Wolfwood then asked
"To the northeast from here…"
"That's explains why we've been going in that direction!" Yahiko immediately connected, "This tower is drawing us to it."
Jake pointed to Yahiko, "Exactly!" he said in a low voice, "We can get to the city of Nash by train which departs from Hilldale which is about ten miles or so in the same direction."
"A train?" Sano asked with a great shudder
"I should send a message to the other two guards who are there." He said that as he was looking up into the night sky like a stargazer or an astrologer hoping to find just the right kind of sign.
"Hey," Wolfwood interjected, "If you say that this tower has been taken over by these people and only you seven escaped then wouldn't they be out looking for you?"
Jake began to laugh out loud like a man who had heard the greatest joke in his life.
"What the hell's so funny?" Sano demanded
Jake calmed down, "My…my master truly was wise in choosing you, but you're right. The ones who imprisoned my master have been out looking for us. For several reasons, one of them is that our master took the bulk of his power and split it into seven different items."
"Items?" Vash asked
"One of them is embedded in this branch." Jake had laid his hand upon the ash branch as if it was his only love in his life, "As for the rest of us, the others have either sought refuge in the country like me or went in disguise into the city, and we've only managed to communicate to each other by bird." He looked up once again at the night sky as if he was expecting something to come to him.
"Woah, woah!" Wolfwood halted Jake in his story telling, "Bird?"
"Yeah." Jake answered back, "It's the only way we seven can communicate with one another without our enemies suspecting anything. But I think that they'll catch on soon." At first Jake's voice was sounding enthusiastic but then took a very sullen turn, "I do fear for our master, I fear that there may not be much time left."
"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked
"Well…" Jake began as if he was struggling to find the right similes, metaphors, or euphemisms to describe his masters' condition. "In separating out his power into the seven items it was like loosing blood, but in this case he can't regenerate what he has lost."
"Shouldn't we be looking for the other items as well?" The cautious Meryl asked
"Under normal circumstances I would agree." Jake said, "but I would imagine that the others have the same idea in mind and probably have them already. There is so much at stake in all of this, so our main concern should be getting to the City of Nash which lies at the foot of the Dark Tower. Once there we can hope that the others will arrive there as well, but I need to send a message to them as soon as possible to tell them that we're coming."
Jake leaned back looking up to the night sky with that hopeful stare in his eyes as if it was the only thing in the world that he wanted.
So, a new member was added to the group of swordsman, the boy who was called Jake the Key Master.
The Kenshin-gumi, with the Peace Guns made their way to the town of Hilldale lead by their newly acquired guide, Jake. All of them had come to like the boy in their own way. Such as Yahiko liked him as if he was some kind of distant cousin that lived his life in a strange land. While the couples of the group, such as Vash and Meryl, Wolfwood and Millie, Kenshin and Kaoru, looked to the boy and saw him in a way a parent looks upon their child. It is unbelievable that such a bond or even an imaginary one could have happened in such a short time, but there it was, the ways of the heart are never clear.
It had been a few days after they headed north towards the town of Hilldale that lied in the northeast. In their trek towards that direction slowly the forest had already become a very unfriendly place. The once lush green leaves that had patches of sunlight upon them grew darker as if they were slowly burning into ash with each step they took. The forest around them grew darker and darker as they made their way through. Soon the warmth from the sun was replaced by a cold chill that made the mist rise from the ground like some kind of dance hall trick.
Very soon, the forest was a gray, dismal place where it felt as if they were being watched in all directions. All around them there was a very ominous feeling. Even the extra abilities of Vash and Knives could feel it as well. There was that feeling that they weren't alone in the forest.
SNAP!
They heard a twig snap somewhere in the distance. Several of them looked to the left where they saw a black figure move quickly and disappeared into the fog as if it was some kind of specter.
SNAP!
Another twig snapped and there in the distance they saw another figure move in and out of the fog.
SNAP! SNAP!
Around them there were more and more figures moving in and out of the fog like black ghosts. Several of the members drew out their guns and their swords getting prepared for whatever was going to come out of that fog to face them or perhaps even kill them, until as they moved ahead, something appeared right in front of them. It was like the trunk of an enormous tree. At least that's what they had thought until they looked up and found a face...a human face within a helmet that was crowned with deer's antlers and scraps of fur
"Ni!" The figure said
Instantly as if the word was an echo in a cave there were other darkly dressed knights in black armor and fur all saying the same odd word, Ni! The very sound of that word sent chills up and down their spines. Even the plants, Vash and Knives couldn't resist but cringe at the very sound of that word. It made them cringe down to their stomach muscles like licking a lemon or pouring salt on their tongue.
"Ni!" The other knights repeated
"Who the hell are you?" Sano asked holding up his fists trying to hold his ground even though he felt sick to his stomach by hearing that word.
The tallest of the knights, the one with the deer antlers upon his helmet spoke out, "We are the Knights who say...Ni!" His voice was very high pitched and almost squeaky like a cartoon mouse but despite that comical voice there was still the fear in the air like that fog. The fear of what the knights might do, something even worse than uttering that word.
"No," Jake shook his head in desperate sorrow, "Not the Knights who say Ni."
"The Same!" The tallest knight announced proudly
"What are you?" Kenshin asked with his hand on the hilt of his sword
"We are the keepers of the sacred words...Ni!...Peng!....and Newong!"
"Newong!" The other knights repeated as if they were an echo in a cave.
Jake leaned in to tell the others about them, "Those who hear them, seldom live to brag about it."
"Oh great..." Sano moaned
"The Knights who say Ni!" The tallest Knight declared, "Demand a sacrifice!"
Jake stepped forward and tried to speak reason with the knights, "Knights of Ni" he said, "Have mercy on us, we are only travelers who wish to reach the town of Hilldale to aid in the freedom of our lord and master."
The tallest knight grew a face of irritability like a child pouting over a toy that he hadn't gotten, "Ni!" He shouted down at Jake, "Ni! Ni! Ni!"
"Ni! Ni! Ni!" the other knights repeated after him
The very sound of that word was nothing like any of them had ever experienced. It was even worse than having nails scratching a blackboard. The pain stretched through their brains and down through their nerves causing them to bend over in pain and trying to cover their ears to block out the painful sound.
The tallest Knight rose his hand to stop the attack and Jake with his friends recovered from the after effects of that word, but the knights of Ni weren't finished with them.
"We shall say, Ni again to you...if you do not appease us."
Jake was desperate to try to help his friends reach the Dark Tower and so he bent to the will of these knights. "What do you want?" He asked
"We want..." the tallest knight paused, "A shrubbery!"
The request sounded...ridiculous to all of them. They even resorted to looking at each other as if to ask, were they for real? Then again the last few days were very unreal indeed. The Kenshin Gumi meeting a three headed warrior that argued with itself. The Peace Guns who met desert dwellers that rode large worms like the tomahs back on Gunsmoke. Then there was the meeting of one another…and then the Knights who say Ni? All of them thought that this would be one hell of a story to tell the folks back home.
"A what?" Vash asked
"Ni! Ni! NI!" The tallest Knight shouted out while the other knights joined in.
"Please, please no more!" Jake pleaded with the knights, "We'll find you a shrubbery."
"You will return here with a shrubbery. Or else none of you will pass through this forest...ALIVE!"
"Knights of Ni, you are just and fair. We will bring you a shrubbery."
"One that looks nice." The Tallest Knight requested quickly as if it were a last minute item.
"Of course." Jake agreed
"And not too expensive." He instructed
"Yes."
"NOW.....GO!"
The Kenshin-gumi, the Peace Guns, and Jake quickly escaped the company of the Knights who say Ni. Some of them felt terrified out of their minds to know that people like that existed in this place called Mydar. Even worse, some of them felt humiliated to be brought down by a word.
"Why couldn't we have just shot them where they stood?" Knives asked
"Do you think you could have stood up to them saying "NI!"?" Jake asked
Hearing Jake say Ni made Knives skin crawl, even though he didn't want to admit it, but even he was paralyzed by the sound of that word.
"Didn't you say that the next town is Hilldale beyond this forest?" Meryl asked
"Yes." Jake answered, "But there is a small village just a few miles from here. Hopefully we'll find a shrubbery for the Knights."
After a few hours, they had found the town that Jake was talking about. It wasn't a village that Millie or Meryl had ever seen. There were straw huts, people in absolute rags, and there was even an old woman beating a cat against a rug.
"Old woman!" Jake called out, and the woman came out to meet the young boy. "Is there anywhere in this village where we could buy a shrubbery?"
The old woman's face cringed and she asked, her voice old and crackling like a piece of dry wood, "Who sent you?"
"The Knights who say Ni!" Jake said truthfully
The woman's face contorted at the sound of that, "No...Never we have no shrubberies here."
Jake had no choice as far as the matter goes, he had to reach the Dark Tower with the Kenshin Gumi along with the Peace Guns. With so much on the line he was willing to resort to drastic measures.
"If you do not tell us where we can buy a shrubbery, my friend Sano and I will say..." he looked to Sano hoping that he would back him up on this, "We will say...Ni..."
The old woman cringed again but held her ground, "Do your worst!" She dared
"Alright, you asked for it, if you will not help us..." He looked around to make sure that no one was looking for he didn't want to disgrace himself that badly, "Ni!"
The old woman bent over in pain, "No! Never! No Shrubs!"
"Ni!" Jake shouted
"Nu!" Sano stepped in trying to say the word as best as he could since it really was unusual.
"No, no." Jake corrected the gunslinger, "It's not that, its Ni!"
"Nu." Sano said again in frustration trying to make it sound right
"No, no, you're not doing it right, its Ni!"
"Ni!" Sano repeated
"That's it you got it!"
"NI! NI! NI!" They said together at the old woman as she fell to her knees at the sound of that word. While behind them the Kenshin-gumi as well as the rest of the Peace Guns were in awe as well as shock at what was going on. It all seemed so....so...silly. So mind boggling ridiculous that it seemed that all of this was just some bizarre dream.
"Are you saying Ni to that old woman?" A man asked from behind. Jake and Vash turned to look at him. He was dressed just in the same kind of rags as the old woman, nothing too fancy, just wool and leather to protect him from the elements.
To his question, Jake could only speak the truth, "Um...yes."
The man shook his head, "Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a curse upon our land ever since our lord was captured, nothing is sacred anymore. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period of our history."
"Ruffians..." Sano muttered to himself
"Did you say shrubberies?" Jake asked
"Yes." The man answered, "Shrubberies are my trade. My name is Roger the Shrubber. I arrange, design, and sell shrubberies"
Sano pounced upon the opportunity, "Ni!"
"No, no, no!" Jake stepped in.
Within a few hours they were all back deep into the dark forest of Ewin to meet with the Knights of Ni once again with their appeasement.
"Knights of Ni" Jake approached, "we have brought you your shrubbery. May we pass through now?"
At the feet of the tallest Knight, was the shrubbery already planted into the ground.
"It is a good shrubbery." He said with great glee, "I like the laurels particularly....but there is one small problem."
"Uh-oh." Kenshin said to himself
"What is the problem?" Jake asked
"We are now, no longer The Knights who say Ni!"
"Ni!" One of the knights shouted out behind him but was quickly silenced.
"We are now the Knights who say...Ecky...Ecky...Kak-clang, baw, wep, granna, weep, nini, bong!"
"Ni!" One of the other knights added
"Therefore we must give you a test."
The situation had gone from silly to just plain ridiculous to the minds of the Kenshin-gumi as well as the Peace Guns. If everything else in this land was as silly as these Knights who say Ni, then it will probably be the weirdest adventure any of them had ever been on. Especially in the case of Meryl Striffe, filling out the report for the insurance company would be murder.
"What is this test, knights of..." Jake couldn't bring himself to repeat the silly noises that the tallest knight had uttered, "Knights who formerly said Ni?"
"Firstly..." the tallest knight proclaimed, "You must find...another shrubbery!"
"Shrubbery! Shrubbery!" The other knights jumped up and down with great joy at the sound of that word.
"Not another one." Vash moaned
"Then..." the tallest knight instructed, "When you have found the shrubbery, you must place it here beside this shrubbery. Only slightly higher, so we can get the two level effect with a path running down the middle..."
"A path! A path! A path!" The other knights shouted out
"Then after you have done that. You must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest....with....a SALMON!"
"Salmon! Salmon! Salmon!"
That finally had done it for most of them.
"Oh, for Christ sake!" Wolfwood moaned up to the sky as if asking God why such silliness exists in the world.
"We won't do that!" Jake declared
"Oh please." the tallest knight pleaded
"Cut down a tree with a salmon!" Jake shouted, "It can't be done."
"AHH!" the knights screamed and shrieked in pain.
"Don't say that word." The tallest knight stated
"What word?" Miss Kaoru asked
"I cannot tell, because it is one of the words he Knights of Ni dare not tell."
"How can we not say the word, if you don't tell us what it is?"
"There's the word again!" The tallest knight shrieked
"What? Is?" Sano asked
"Oh no, we won't go very far in life not saying is."
"Then what is it?"
"Ahh!" they screamed, "stop saying the word."
The Kenshin Gumi smiled among themselves as well as the Peace Guns since they all knew what was causing them so much pain. It didn't take too long for Jake to figure it out either.
"It!" The all shouted together, "IT! IT! IT! IT!"
"AHHH! STOP SAYING THE WORD!" the tallest knight screamed
'"IT!"
"Oh, he said it again!" He shouted out, "Wait, I said it... I said it again, and again, ahhhh!"
"Let's go." Jake called out as he ran past the Knight of Ni and headed towards the town of Hilldale and back on their path towards the Dark Tower. Something that the Peace Guns and the Kenshin-gumi were still trying to understand, but then again it didn't matter any more. Something higher took over, the sense of duty. The sense that there was something of greater need for them to intervene, but of course there was the need to get back home, but that seemed only secondary to their duties. It was as if they had been willfully drafted to fight an enemy that they would have no problem in fighting. It would be there at the Dark Tower of Mydar where they will find it.
To be continued…