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Breath of Fire III: Of Gods and Dragons
Chapter Four: Curse of the McNeils
Written by Estrelita Farr
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"What? Thieves in the manor?"
The voice echoed hauntingly through the large red-carpeted room, yet there were no one in the room. It was a hall that was once used for events, its floor polished, but now it remained empty, except for the eerie portraits that hung on the walls.
"Unfortunately…" another voice, one that was different from the first, hissed. "They must have a death wish."
"Let me at them!" a third voice yelled gallantly. "I shall show them what the McNeils are made of!"
"Hm… yes, we should teach these rogues a lesson, since they managed to sneak past all those guards," yet another voice, a hoarse one this time, stated. "All right, we shall do that. Perhaps you would like to have the first go, Torast."
"Ooh, yes! Of course!" the gallant voice shouted. "I'll beat them to a pulp!"
There was a soft sigh. "Torast, please do remember that despite being in this form, we are definitely not invincible."
"I suppose that's the drawback, that we have to materialise in order to hurt victims and they in turn can reduce our transformation energy by hitting us…" The speaker stopped, as though to shake his head.
Yet another voice laughed lightly, amused. "And whoever heard of spirits being defeated by mere mortals?"
"Enough," a new voice spoke, a firm and calm voice. "Now, Torast, if you may."
"All right!" Torast said. "I shall show them!"
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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It didn't take the boys long to realise that the interior of this manor was much larger than they had thought it would be. A huge staircase led upstairs from the red-carpeted entrance hall, decorative suits of armour stood silently at the sides, and there were several doors leading to other rooms and halls. The chandeliers on the ceiling were so numerous that they dazzled Ryu for a while, so bright that it was as though he was staring right at the sun.
The first door they tried on the right led to a huge room covered in rich red carpet, which appeared to be some sort of an art gallery as its walls were decorated with large portraits of men and nothing else. Each of these portraits had either the same brown hair or silvery ones, but each of their expressions was blank as they stared coldly forward. Somehow Ryu could feel a light yet freezing cold gust in the room, sending a shiver up his back.
Apparently his companion had felt it as well, for he asked, "Ryu… don't you think this room is creepy? I feel like I'm being watched…"
Ryu nodded – he, too, had the same feeling as well. But yet there were no guards around in sight…
"I've got a funny feeling, but I hope it's just us…" Teepo shivered. "L-let's just get out of here."
"Y-yeah…"
Back in the main hall, they decided to go up the giant staircase. However, the moment they placed one foot onto the first step, a strong unknown force threw them back, as though a large sledgehammer was slammed into them.
Teepo was up on his feet instantly. "Hey, what hit us?!"
A loud, haunting, hollow cackle echoed through the entrance hall as the surrounding suddenly grew dark, sending yet another shiver up Ryu's back. A figure then materialised before the two boys, first the silhouette, followed by a bright silver colour, then the features formed.
It was a dazzling suit of silver armour, with one gauntlet wielding a large broadsword.
"Halt, you scurvy cur!" the person within cried loudly, in the same hollow voice as the cackle before. "I, Torast, the fifth McNeil, shall put you out of your misery!"
"Who says we're miserable, you smelly old bat?!" Teepo shouted back in an equally loud voice, kicking the air before him arrogantly. "You looking for a fight?! Hah! Bring it on!"
"You are as uncouth as they say!"
Without warning, Torast charged towards them, who scrambled out of the way just as he swung the broadsword right at them. Ryu gave a cry as he lunged, swinging his weapon wildly, but the blade merely bounced off the metal armour with a loud clang. His eyes widened, he quickly jumped back just as Torast's broadsword whooshed right in front of him.
"Stand up and fight, you coward!" the armoured person yelled as he swung the blade heavily at him again.
Ryu quickly dodge again, wondering how to strike a full suit of armour… at which spot would his own short sword be able to hit?
"Iceblast!" Teepo yelled from the back, swinging his glowing hand as he unleashed a spell that his companion had never seen before.
Their opponent was abruptly encased in a mountain of ice, which then shattered in a burst of light as though it was glass smashed by a hammer. Torast gave a great haunting scream as the silver armour turned a dull brown, as though it was rusting at an alarming rate, and then all at once, the suit of armour faded away. In its place was a small blue flame, floating in midair like the burning wick of an invisible candle, while the surroundings gradually returned to its original state of brightness.
"W-what?" Ryu said in surprise as he stared.
"Alas! I have dishonoured you, my brethren!" The hollow voice then hissed. "But I shall be back!"
The little blue flame quickly floated away in the opposite direction, disappearing through a door.
"…was that a ghost?" Teepo wondered aloud, then shivered lightly. "I really hope not, I hate ghosts…"
"Still, all it took was one hit from your spell." Ryu shook his head. "I never thought ghosts are that easy to fight…"
"Me neither…"
Both of them climbed the large staircase, the red carpet eventually turning into blue and green tiles. Strangely, most of the doors in the hall they arrived in were completely nailed shut… perhaps the owner was paranoid when it comes to burglars?
Finding their way past the numerous spare bedrooms and boarded-up doors, they soon exited to a huge balcony, the blue tiles stretching as far as eyes could see.
Teepo stopped. "Hey, there's someone here…"
Sure enough, a figure was there waiting for them. It was an overweighed man, dressed in a large red suit that was somehow able to cover his large belly, complete with a long-sleeved top with frilly edges. Deep brown hair, tied in a long plait, framed his deceptive-looking face and a thin, curly moustache spouted from either side.
"Ah! Welcome, welcome!" he greeted as he extended a hand towards them, seemingly excited to have visitors even if they were two thieves. "I trust that you enjoyed your trip through my guards in the garden?" Without waiting for a reply, he laughed heartily as though he had uttered a great joke. "Well, as you might already know, I'm McNeil, the owner of the house."
"Oh, really? Well, that makes it simple then…" Teepo pointed a finger at him. "You're the villain we've been looking for!"
He laughed once more. "Oho ho ho! Me? A villain?" He wagged a finger at them. "Oh, no no no no, you seem to have misunderstood… how am I a villain for collecting taxes from the people?"
Ryu felt as though there was something strange about this man, something that sent a chill up his spine. He couldn't quite understand it… until he saw the strange, cold flicker in McNeil's eyes.
"Teepo!" he cried, drawing his sword. "He's an impostor!"
"What?! An impostor?!" His companion was immediately on guard, pulling his rapier out as well.
The fat man cackled loudly, a booming, haunting cackle that was similar to Torast's. His form beginning to change, he spoke in a dangerously soft voice, "Oh, no, I'm certainly a McNeil…"
As with before, the room turned dark, and in an instant, the man was no longer there. Now, the young boys were face to face with the strangest thing they had ever seen – it had the head of a clown, with thick white and red paint and a large constant grin on his face, a black jester hat with bells at its ends, a long black cloak that swept the ground and two pure white gloves, both holding a gigantic dark scythe… but this person's body could not be seen at all, as though it was invisible, and the head, cloak and gloves floated mysteriously in mid-air.
"I am Kassen, the spirit of the third McNeil!" the clown cried, swinging the sharp scythe at them.
His opponents jumped out of the way to evade, both in the opposite direction, and Ryu tried to strike at the billowing cloak. To his horror, his blade hit nothing but air and the cloak. The scythe gleamed above him.
Kassen cackled once more. "Why aren't you using your eyes, boy?!"
The younger boy inhaled sharply as the scythe fell towards him and hurriedly scrambled out of the way, just as the curved blade struck the floor. He gripped his sword, his heart racing with fear.
"Simoon!" Teepo shouted.
An explosion of fire expanded, causing Kassen to scream loudly, then the cloak and gloves began to burn. The flames kept moving upward, burning the painted clown's face, and finally a small azure flame remained. Just like Torast.
"Oh, it seems I was beaten as well…" Strangely Kassen's voice did not sound upset, but rather amused, as he floated away almost casually.
Ryu blinked. "Wow, Teepo, your spells are powerful, only one of them does it…"
"Ah, well, they're just really weak…" Teepo shook his head. "Still, no one told us this place's haunted!"
He shrugged. "Do you think anyone would believe it just because someone says so?"
"Uh… no, I guess not." He turned towards the other boy, seemingly puzzled. "But hey, Ryu, how come you're such a scaredy-cat, but you're not afraid of ghosts?"
"…Teepo, that's an insult."
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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Rei jumped from one part of the roof to the other, moving along the red tiles quickly. It was rather hard to see in the darkness of the night, despite the fact that the moon was out, but his tiger eyes could see in the dark, or at least well enough to see where he was going.
He slowed down to a stop, his eyes searching, and then sighed.
"Geez, those two are really late." He scratched his head uncertainly. "And I just had to lose that rope of mine… doesn't this really beat all?"
A squeaking noise came from behind him, prompting him to turn around. It was the biggest rat he had ever seen, running along the flat surface of the dry gutter at the edge of the roof. Rats were to be expected in a house or its roof, but what caught his attention was the coil of grappling hook in the rat's mouth.
"H-hey!" he exclaimed. "That's my rope!"
The rat, having heard his voice, squeaked in surprise and sped off quickly. In response, the half-tiger chased after it, his daggers instantly out of their sheaths.
"Sheesh, doesn't this just beat all?"
And thus began a long wild goose chase around the roof.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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"Both of you there! Freeze! Halt! Stop!"
"…okay, this is beginning to get annoying," Teepo commented, shrugging.
Ryu nodded as they turned from the staircase they had decided to descend, facing at what would be another McNeil.
Like before, the area around them grew dark as a light, freezing cold gust blew, but unlike before, this time there were two figures materialising before them. Both had exactly the same features – height, shape, look – and they were dressed in dark clothes made for speed, with a veil and a hood that covered their whole head. There was a gap in the cloth on their face where their eyes were, but the eyes were only two glowing spots within darkness, as though they were just shadows…
"I am Galtel!" one of them cried in a hard voice. "The twelfth McNeil!"
The other, however, seemed to be the quieter one. "…Doksen."
This seemed to set Galtel off, for then he turned towards the other. "Geez, great-grandpa! Be a little more enthusiastic, willya?!"
Doksen didn't reply.
He gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine! Ignore me as usual!"
Ryu shook his head. "They aren't a happy bunch, are they?"
Galtel swung one arm dramatically. "I am Galtel, the twelfth McNeil, and this is Doksen, the eighth!"
The older boy shrugged. "So what?"
He growled. "What do you mean by 'so what'?!"
"Well, it's not like we really care who you are…" Teepo pulled out his sword, grinning. "All we have to do is to beat you up, right?"
"Grr… you… you…!" He turned to his ancestor. "C'mon, great-grandpa! Let's show them!"
Doksen simply nodded.
The two ninjas suddenly started moving around in a circle with such a speed that a huge gale stormed in the small room, forcing the boys back. It was clear that these two were stronger than the first McNeils they had fought earlier, and more dangerous too…
"Hah! How'd you like that?!" Galtel shouted.
There was no reply.
An evil grin spread on his face beneath the veil; it seemed that his two opponents were nothing like that Torast and Kassen had said.
The ninjas stopped moving, letting the wind die down on its own, and started looking around for the bodies of the two boys.
It took them only a minute to realise that they were not in the room at all.
"What? Where are they?!" Galtel searched under the table and inside the cupboard, determined that they were somewhere nearby, but his attempt was futile.
Suddenly the door, which he didn't realise was closed, slammed open with a bang as Ryu barged in from outside. Behind him was Teepo, his left hand holding a sphere of light as he grinned.
"Eat this!" he shouted. "Iceblast!"
Both ninjas were caught off guard as a huge mountain of ice formed around Doksen, who gave a hoarse scream when it shattered in a great burst of light. When the spell ended, all that was left of the eighth McNeil was a small blue flame floating in midair.
Galtel's eyes widened in shock. "Great-grandpa!"
Doksen said nothing as he floated away casually, as though a ghost being defeated by a mortal was a normal everyday activity.
The remaining McNeil's eyes flared as he turned towards the opponents, and then widened once again for the second time as Teepo threw a Simoon spell right at him. After an explosion, a scream and the transformation of the McNeil into a floating blue flame, Teepo smirked.
"You guys talk too much… why waste so much time?" he asked.
"You… you'll pay for this!" Galtel cried and fled quickly after Doksen. However, he had misjudged the position of the door and hit first the wall, then the table. He cursed loudly before managing to escape through the door.
The older boy shook his head as he sheathed his sword. "You know, Ryu, I always thought that ghosts are creepy…" He grinned again. "But if they're all this ridiculous, then there's nothing to worry about!"
Ryu gave a nod. "Yeah, they aren't really that scary at all, are they?"
"Nope! In fact, they're really quite comical!"
They continued their search a way to the rooftop and after climbing two staircases and a ladder, they finally arrived at their destination. Ryu was greeted by a cool gust of wind as he reached the top of the ladder, the owls hooting loudly to each other, the crickets chirping loudly.
They were on one slanted side of the large, wide roof, with a small part of it raised at the ladder. It seemed that McNeil's mansion was separated into two blocks, for there was another wide roof a little ways from the one they were on.
"Hey, we made it!" Teepo remarked as he climbed onto the roof.
His companion glanced around. "Yeah, though I wonder if Rei got away okay…"
"Ah, he'll be fine, he's pretty good at running away… hey!" he exclaimed loudly, making Ryu jump. "Look on the other roof!"
Ryu complied. The other roof was almost exactly the same as the one he was standing on, except it was slanted the other way, but to his surprise, smoke was coming out from a chimney on the other side.
"There's smoke coming from that chimney!" Teepo continued. "There must be where McNeil is!"
"I think so too! But…" Ryu shook his head. "How're we going to get over there? We can't jump that far…"
"Ryu! Teepo!" a familiar voice called out from behind.
"Rei!" the older boy cried, turning.
Sure enough, it was the half-tiger, one hand holding a grappling hook. He leaped from a high roof and landed in front of them, startling Ryu.
"Looks like everything went according to plan," he observed. "How was it inside? Any trouble?"
Teepo nodded. "You bet there was trouble! We had to fight ghosts!"
"Ghosts? Wow, I didn't expect that…" He scratched the back of his head. "How did you two manage to get past them?"
The other boy shook his head. "They weren't really that hard… they fall with just one hit of Teepo's spell."
"Heh! They're pushovers!" Teepo boasted.
Rei grinned. "Well, if there are anymore of those ghosts, it's your call!"
"You bet!"
"But say, Rei…" Ryu paused for a moment. "How do we get on the other side? We think McNeil's there…"
"Way ahead of you there, Ryu," the young stated, holding up the hook end of the grappling hook above his head and swinging it in a circle, preparing to throw it. "With this, we'll get there no problem! YAH!"
He gave a loud cry as he tossed rope, but in his over-enthusiasm, his foot slipped on some wet moss. He sped uncontrollably all the way down the slope, out of control, and after he reached the bottom of the roof, he did world record-breaking leap!
"WAAAAAAAHHHH!"
And he landed neatly on the other roof, just barely inches away from the edge.
Breathing hard from the shock, it took him a while to realise what just happened. Once he calmed down, he scratched the back of his head uncertainly.
"…um… well, I'll just act like I did it on purpose… yeah, that's it…"
He turned around, his hand still holding onto the grappling hook, and he spun it above his head. This time he threw it properly, and the hook caught itself at the edge of the other roof, creating a makeshift bridge between the two roofs.
As he tied the rope properly on a nearby pole, Teepo did the same on the other side, and once the rope was firm and secure, he walked across the rope casually as though it was a proper bridge. Ryu, on the other hand, hesitated at one end of the rope, trembling when he saw how high the rope was from the ground below.
"I… don't think I can do it…" he muttered.
"C'mon, Ryu!" Teepo cried from his side. "You can do it!"
He nodded, gulping, and slowly put a foot onto the rope to see if it would hold his weight. Slowly but surely, he moved across the rope, and it was a long time before he finally arrived at the other side.
"Great, we made it!" Teepo stated, grinning.
Rei nodded. "Right, all's left is McNeil now!"
"Yep! C'mon, let's go!"
Ryu shook his head – he had started having the bad feeling again, the same one that came when they spoke to Loki earlier… but now that they had come this far, he could not ask them to stop now.
Sighing, he followed the other two down a staircase leading into the manor.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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Galtel hit the wall with a fist. "Damn it! Both great-grandpa and I were defeated too!"
Doksen merely nodded.
He shook his head. "There's must be some way to finish them…"
"I say we beat them to a pulp!" Torast's gallant voice cried. "Make them cower in fear!"
Kassen waved his finger, the grin still on his clownish face. "Torast, Torast… have you forgotten? You were the first to fall, after all."
Galtel sighed. "All four of us, the ones who could materialise alone, fell… that spellcaster kid and his companion were much stronger than we thought. I guess our only hope is the living McNeil, the thirteenth … but I really don't think he's up to it."
"Ah, yes, he is certainly rather incompetent…" a new voice spoke, a rasping one.
The four of the materialised spirits turned to look at the largest painting on the wall, one of an old man with a stern look, a partly balding head and a long silver beard.
Kassen seemed amused. "You don't seem too upset about it, Grandfather Kanzei."
"I must say I am certainly rather upset," the same rasping voice stated. "However, we still have our trump card…"
"Then we can give them the punishment they deserve!" Torast yelled, punching a gauntlet above his head.
Galtel shook his head. "Oh, shut up."
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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The moment Ryu, Rei and Teepo entered a huge, luxurious bedroom, they heard a woman's scream.
"W-what?!" Ryu exclaimed.
Further into the bedroom, there was a large four-poster bed, and in front of it was McNeil – looking exactly like how Kassen did as an impostor, with long brown hair tied in a plait and a deceptive look on him – and a beautiful blond woman in a tight-fitting purple dress.
As McNeil wormed a hand around her waist, the woman giggled and cried, "Oh my! What are you doing, Mr. McNeil?"
The mayor had a devilish grin on his face. "Just having some fun…"
She giggled once again and pulled away, prompting him to chase her.
"Come here, you vixen! Heh heh!" he said as he chased her around playfully, though disgusting to the trio watching them.
Rei shook his head. "Oh, brother… doesn't this just beat all?"
Both McNeil and the woman heard him and immediately spun around, just in time to see one half-tiger man and two boys approaching them.
"W… w…" McNeil gulped, shivering madly in fear. "W-who're you?!"
"Who cares who we are?" Teepo pointed a finger at the mayor. "We've come to take back all the money you've stolen!"
Rei and Teepo pulled out their weapons, though Ryu complied rather reluctantly.
Upon hearing this, McNeil ran behind the woman, using her as a shield, and she shrieked.
"I don't have anything to do with this! Leave me out!" With that she fled out of the room, her long blond hair flowing behind her.
The mayor fell onto his bottom and gulped again, looking even more scared now. "W-w-what do you mean t-take back? I-I just… I just…"
Rei shook his head. "Oh, come on now, Mr. McNeil, you've been cheating the villagers out of their money… just so that you can have your 'fun', haven't you?"
He backed away, still in a seated position, but he could not retreated further as his back touched the foot of his bed. "N-n-no, I h-haven't… you m-must be m-mistaken…"
Suddenly, there was a tremor in the room as the surrounding area grew dark, similar to what happened when the ghosts appeared before. Eleven blue flames appeared in a circle, followed by one more in the centre, and then a loud hollow voice spoke.
"Enough! You are a disgrace to the McNeils, Horen…"
McNeil stared wide-eyed at the flames, and then whimpered.
Ryu shook his head, he hadn't thought that there may be more ghosts than they had fought…
"That's them, Rei!" Teepo exclaimed. "Those are the ghosts! We only fought four of them, not that many… but those are the ghosts of the old McNeils!"
"Let me at them!" Torast's gallant voice cried. "I'll teach them a lesson!"
"Shut up, great-great-great-great-grandpa!" Galtel's irritated voice shouted.
"Oh, but he's partly right," Kassen's amused voice stated. "We do need to teach them a lesson. Don't we, Grandfather Kanzei?"
"Yes, we definitely do," an unfamiliar voice, a rasping one, spoke. "I am the first of the McNeils… I shall not let all my hard work to go waste."
"Of course, of course, Grandfather," Kassen agreed.
"Let's do it now, my ancestors!" Galtel shouted.
The area grew even darker as the eleven blue flames approached the centre one, disappearing into it, and suddenly, there was a great burst of light. When the light dimmed, however, the blue flames were no longer there.
In its place was the form of a huge spirit!
This spirit had a round head, its waist attached to smaller forms of spirits. Its eyes were dark and hollow, like the creepy eyes of a skeleton.
"You may have defeated us while we were separated… but now, let's see if you withstand Amalgam's wrath!" It gave a huge hoarse roar, as though he was sounding a battle cry.
Teepo was the first to strike. "Simoon!"
However, even as there was an explosion of fire, Amalgam stood still and laughed hoarsely.
"You fool! Do you think that we are the same as we are separated?!" it roared, sending an invisible force that threw the trio off their feet. "Your pathetic spell won't even faze us!"
"Damn!" Rei cursed, flipping back onto his feet. "Isn't there any way to defeat this thing?!"
"We'll just have to keep throwing spells at them!" Teepo yelled. "Iceblast!"
Ryu stayed silent as a mountain of ice formed around Amalgam, searching his mind frantically for a way to defeat this giant ghost… and an answer came to him. A little voice in his mind kept telling him to cast a healing spell, telling him to use it on the enemy... his intuition had work once before, so why not?
He focused, keeping an eye out on the enemy, his blade beginning to glow brightly. Then, he stabbed the air above him and cast it, but it wasn't the spell that he was familiar with.
"Rejuvenate!" he cried.
Unlike Heal, Rejuvenate was much brighter and there were much more sparkles. Even as Amalgam began glowing, he screamed out loud, his hoarse voice echoing off the walls.
Ryu blinked. "It actually worked?"
"Wow, I didn't expect that!" Teepo grinned. "It's going to make it easier now! Keep doing it, Ryu!"
He nodded and complied, charging yet another spell, but unfortunately for him, Amalgam decided not to let him repeat it and threw him onto his back with an invisible force.
"Teepo!" Rei shouted. "Keep throwing spells at it!"
"What? But it doesn't work!" his companion argued.
"Just do it!"
"Okay, okay!"
When Teepo cast more spells at the ghost, Amalgam kept laughing hoarsely. This allowed Ryu to cast another Rejuvenate spell, and yet another while Amalgam flinched horribly.
Rei twirled his daggers once. "One more should do it, Ryu!"
Ryu nodded quickly, determined to finish the battle. "REJUVENATE!"
That was the final spell needed, for Amalgam let out another hoarse scream, so loud that everyone in the room had to cover their ears, and he warped away in a great pillar of light.
"That was great, Ryu!" Teepo exclaimed, sheathing his sword and slapping Ryu's back.
His blue-haired companion turned red as he kept his weapon. "No, it's really nothing… I was lucky a healing spell hurts it."
"We were lucky, you mean," Rei corrected, stashing away his daggers. "But we still have something to do…"
As though suddenly realising it, the boys turned towards McNeil, who was still sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed. He was still shivering terribly in fear.
"W-w-w-w-what was THAT?!" he exclaimed loudly. "W-w-what's going on?! I-I-I-I-I was just… I n-never did…"
The half-tiger shook his head. "Take it easy, old man, those were your ancestors…" Thinking that this silly mayor would never believe him, he sighed. "Look, we're just here to take your money, okay?"
McNeil whimpered, but did not move.
Teepo frowned and crossed his arms. "You're pretty dumb, are you?" He drew out his rapier once again and pointed the sharp end at McNeil's throat. "Hurry up and show us where the money is!"
Ryu shook his head. "Teepo, you're going a little too far…"
The mayor whimpered even more. "T-the m-m-money's at the b-back…" Still shaking, he tried to back away again. "P-p-p-please don't k-k-kill me… oh, p-p-p-please…"
"No, we promise we won't touch you," Rei said as he nodded at Teepo.
As his companions went to the back to get the money, Ryu stayed behind, feeling sorry for this man… even though he had wrongfully overcharged the villagers for tax, what right did the trio have to steal it back from him?
"Hey, Ryu! Take a look at all this dough!"
With one last look at McNeil, Ryu followed the other two.
The moment the mayor was left alone in the room, the woman he was accompanying earlier came running back in, scowling at him.
"Huh, you're a wimp!" she stated, tossing her hair lightly. "Those robbers were much manlier than you are!" She shook her head. "Wait until I tell all everyone about it, then we won't be working for you anymore!"
With that, she left with a huff.
McNeil remained stunned for a while, and then started laughing weakly. "Aha ha ha…" And then he started sobbing like a child, throwing his arms about as though he was in a tantrum. "Just you wait, we'll see who has the last laugh, you little brats…" He looked up determinedly albeit the fact that his face was red. "I'll show you who's got the real power here!"
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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"There, that's the last one," Rei stated as he put the bag full of coins at the doorstep of a house.
"That was a lot of fun, wasn't it, Rei?" Teepo grinned from ear to ear as the trio started exiting McNeil village. "That McNeil looked so silly!"
Ryu said nothing. Now that everything was over, his guilt had started to return again… and there was still that terrible feeling that something bad would happen.
"There's no one who can beat us!" Teepo went on boasting. "We're the best!"
The young man shook his head. "I don't know if I'd go that far…" Then he grinned. "But I'd say things went pretty well last night, eh?"
"I can't wait to see the looks on the people's faces when they see what we've done!"
"Yep, even they'll start treating us with respect now!"
"You bet they will!" The long-haired boy puffed out his chest. "We haven't stolen anything lately, and we got rid of that Nue! Let's go down to the village tomorrow!"
Ryu continued staying silent through their one-hour trek back to their cabin in Cedar Woods, even after they had arrive at their home and went straight to bed.
I really hope nothing bad's going to happen…
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End of Chapter Four.
Author's Note:
I know, I know, the ghosts aren't supposed to be having these humanoid figures, but I thought this is interesting than just the appearance of the Pacman ghosts, and especially when they have their own personality. It does have a personalised feel to it, doesn't it? xP
The current living McNeil's name that I put here (which is Horen) and the first McNeil's name (which was Kanzei) were random names I put there for the heck of it. Otherwise it gets confusing calling them McNeil since the ghosts are also McNeils. O_o
Also, a minor correction in Chapter 3; Lord Kain pointed out that I missed out the pooch battle. While I did that on purpose since my previous draft with it was too long, he mentioned that having that particular scene would emphasise further on the incompetence of McNeil Manor's guards. So I inserted a one-page scene on it, hopefully you'll enjoy it! :D
Thanks for all your helpful reviews!
Review Replies for Chapter Three:
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To ZoharKnight:
I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the novelisation! BoF3 is also my favourite of the series, since it's the first BoF I played!
Though in my opinion, I feel that Ryu isn't showing off when he starts swinging his sword normally; I feel that it's more like he's gained enough confidence and determination to not swing in that ridiculous manner. But no worries, each one of us interprets things differently. :D
Thanks for reviewing!
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To Nina Windia:
Thanks for telling me the "you'd" and "you'll" errors! Sadly, it took me a moment to even see the mistake; I've been more accustomed to use "would" instead of "will", then forgetting that it's the past tense of will. Talk about embarrassing errors. T_T
I'm glad you like the characterisation! I admit that one of my bad points from my first novel (three years ago, eheh…) is the fact that many of the characters have very similar personalities; the protagonist is kind, his brother is kind, his sister is kind, two other guys are kind… and I didn't really distinguish between them much, except the protagonist and his brother. You get the idea. I'd love to strangle myself when I re-read that novel (though actually, I enjoy reading it too o_o), but if I were to do that now, there'll be no more BoF3 novelisation for everyone to read. xP
Upon playing the game, I always thought of Teepo as the main driving source (i.e. the one who forces / coaxes the others to accept his decision), Ryu as the weak / indecisive one (i.e. it's easy for you to force your decision on him), and Rei sitting on the fence (i.e. he may feel that the decision is wrong, but as long as it's not entirely wrong, he'd go with it). Easier for me to distinguish them, if they're that different! As for Nina… well, hopefully I portrayed her well enough when we see her in a later chapter, but I don't think I portrayed her as annoying… at least, not to me. o_o
And thanks for letting me know your views on the apostrophe thing… other than Kestre's point of view, I asked two of my friends about it (who don't write, sadly, but love to read); one mentioned I shouldn't use apostrophes, the other mentioned she doesn't mind either way. My point of view on the apostrophe thing is actually quite similar to yours; I switch between the two, but I tend to not use apostrophes when it's serious, and I use them when I feel like it otherwise. So I was like my portrayal of Rei; part of me disagreed with it, but I went along with it. T_T Thanks for your advice, it helped me to learn more of my writing style. I'll go back and put back the apostrophes in the earlier chapters now. xP
Thanks for all your helpful reviews!
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To Lord Kain:
Actually, I didn't quite forget the battle with the dog; my initial draft had this as the ending of the chapter (inclusive of the short scene with the winged woman), so the McNeil Manor scenes in the draft chapters are longer than the current length in total, and I removed the (badly written) scene to save space. But since you mentioned it being another reminder of McNeil Manor's incompetence... well, I decided to give it another go and end up writing a one-page scene. It's kinda funny, after all. xP
Thanks for letting me know, and thanks for the review!
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To Windscreen Wipers:
Thanks, I'm glad you like the story! While I followed the scenes quite closely, I have a bigger part planned out later on… even the part with Teepo. I just hope it goes well with readers' tastes. o_o
I like the part on the statue too; as I mentioned to Kestre in my review reply for her chapter 2's review, I always liked the idea of statues coming to life for a split second, then back to normal again as though you imagined it. It has that mysterious feel to it. :D
Thanks for reviewing!
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To Airess Byrd:
Too bad Ryu's too indecisive at this point to go against Rei and Teepo, or the tragedy could just be avoided… oh well, without it, the story wouldn't continue. And I do like the fact that most of the guards were on strike, too. xP
Thanks for the review!
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To mikefoxcerano:
Thanks! It's recommended that you read the game script or something so you can remember what's changed and what's not in my novelisation, but glad to see you like it!
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To Dragoon Cecilia:
Whoa, I can't believe how I missed this! I never did receive notification of the review and somehow I didn't check my review page until now... sorry!
Although it's been a good 4 years since you sent me this wonderful reply, better a late reply rather than none at all, eh? Hope you don't mind my extreme tardiness. xD
When I wrote the part when Ryu's random flailing attacks, I replayed the part of the game to confirm when he stops flailing with this sword; as you've confirmed, it's immediately after meeting Nina (or rather, protecting her) for the first time. I just think of it as a psychological reason; he was this scared little boy being too dependent on his friends, and his fear turned that flailing attack into a habit. It was while having to protect Nina for the first time that his courage bursts, and that blew his flailing attack habit away. That's my version, anyway. xD
I'm happy you find this story great! While the whole silent hero thing is pretty common with video games, I personally prefer to unmute these heroes in my novelisations, and I'm glad you think it's nice that my version of Ryu speaks!
Thanks for the review!