Chapter Four

Finally, after an hour, they made it outside Tokyo. Climbing up a high hill, Patrick and Buzz saw a sushi bar made from wood called Sushi-Kuma.

"Rook." said Buzz, turning back to see his friend. "Rook?"

Patrick and Buzz saw Rook coming over looking very exhausted. He said "I'm okay." Then, he fell into a trash pile.

"Now, the sushi bar's just up ahead." said Patrick. "We're almost done here."

The trio entered the restaurant where a lot of Japanese people were dining on whatever food they had. Patrick, Rook and Buzz came forward to sit at the bar table.

A waiter came over and said "Afternoon, Canadians. What can I do for you?"

"Konichiwa." replied Patrick. "We're looking for someone named…. Uh…. 'Kijimunaa', is it?"

The waiter replied "Kijimunaa would be me. Who wants to know?"

"Your father, Kinomoto, sent us," said Rook. "It's just-"

Then Patrick interrupted "What do ya know about Akuma?"

Suddenly, everyone in the restaurant stared at Patrick for saying that name.

"Please, don't." said Kijimunaa. "Never say that name when you're surrounded. It brings bad luck."

"Sorry," whispered Patrick, "I didn't know. But what do you know about him, anyway?"

Kijimunaa replied "Everyone in Japan knows him. Consumed by his jealousy for the magician, Tenchi, Akuma sold his soul to the devil in exchange to become a demon warlord. As he did, he was given command of the Dreadful. Hideous black demons. Puppets sworn to serve their master."

Rook interrupted "Okay, that's one thing we like to know. But your father said you know where to find the Ryu Sword."

"I do. It is in a palace, seven miles from here. On top of that mountain."

The trio looked out the window to find a giant mountain, all stared at it.

After spending time at the restaurant, Patrick walked uphill to the mountain. He found himself in front of a 1700s palace. This could be the place where the sword is hidden. But it would depend on if he can find it inside. Patrick gestured to Buzz who was covered in leaves. He ran to Patrick but as he did, the leaves fell off him except one when he reached him.

"Buzz." said Patrick. "We're not hiding."

"Oh." said Buzz, shrugging with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

Rook just walked over to them normally, but he was looking so bored about this trip. "This better be it. Cause my homesick state is elevating a little more than it used to today."

Buzz saw a sign post nearby. It had a Kanji written on it, but below it had English to translate the words. He said "Beware of Oni. Um… must mean 'dog'."

"So how are we supposed to get in?" asked Rook. "It might be locked."

Patrick said "Maybe, we can circle around and find the back door." But when he faced the palace, Buzz was running for it. "Buzz!"

Buzz rushed to the front, but instead of taking the door, he jumped into the window that shattered it. Patrick and Rook were shocked to see that; they face palmed themselves in annoyance. The door was unlocked and Buzz walked out to wave at them.

Annoyed, Rook said "This cannot be happening to me."

Both Patrick and Rook entered inside the palace where Buzz stood by and they looked disdained. Buzz was baffled about what they were looking at him for.

"What?" he said. "Did you say something?"

"I don't mind you helping us get in," said Patrick, "but since this was my idea, I'm the one who should-"

Suddenly, Patrick saw something from twenty-eight feet away: the Ryu Sword itself. It looked stuck to a stone. Even Buzz and Rook gazed upon it. The whole place looked deserted; a beam of light was shining on the sword.

Buzz said in relief "Whoa. That was easy."

"Well dude," said Rook, "let's have the miracle."

So excited about this moment, Patrick adjourned to the sword in the stone. Putting a gentle touch on the hilt, he slowly grabbed it, held it and pulled it out with all his might. But he found out it was only the hilt of the sword.

"What?!" shouted Patrick in disappointment. "It's just the hilt of the sword?!"

"The what of the sword?" asked Buzz.

"It's just the handle! We came all this way for a fucking handle?!"

"Didn't you pay attention back home?" Rook puzzled. "Kinomoto said it broke and scattered everywhere."

Then Buzz interrupted "Hey guys, look over here!"

Buzz found something on the floor. The gang gathered around and they saw a map of the entire Earth. There were Xs marked on Japan, England, and Canada.

"I think this is a map to the other pieces." guessed Patrick.

Just then, Rook also found something on the floor. He told his roommates "Check that out." The note he found there said "Un-dreadful must defeat Dreadful."

Confused, Buzz asked "What does that-"

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. A black mist appeared forming a human shape, then a flash of lightning struck. A figure showed up wearing black armour on his chest, shoulders, arms and lower legs, worn over a maroon outfit, a four-horned kabuto and an ankle-length black cape with red flame decals.

"Holy trombones on a pogo stick!" surprised Rook.

The samurai smirked "Ah. I knew this day would come. I am Akuma. Oni Daimyo. Leader of the Dreadful. You three may bow before your new king."

Unafraid at the moment, Patrick responded with a glare and his arms crossed "The king I bow to is Godzilla. And I don't see you growing spikes on your back."

"And I don't see 'you' wielding the sword at full throttle. But I can show you how to use its guiding power… Patrick."

Then the whole trio was shocked. How did the Akuma know Patrick's name?

Rook asked "How- how did you know his name?"

"I know your people," Akuma replied, "as I have crossed more than a few commoners in my time."

Not wishing to fight, Patrick interrupted "Err, wait, dude can't we talk about this?"

"The only thing we would about, is how dead you're about to be!" Akuma pulled out a seven-branched sword and slashed at the stone between Patrick and Buzz.

"RUN FOR IT!" shouted Buzz.

The trio ran out of the palace. And down the hill to escape. Akuma watched as they ran down the hill.

He yelled with his hands glowing and rising up "Dreadful, rise!"

Then several black, ninja-suited humanoid beings with sharp bladelike fingers and goat-like legs rose from the ground like spirits. They took one look at their summoner and they bowed down to him.

"Seize those mortals!" Akuma ordered his minions while pointing at the runaway Canadians.

Back with the gang, Patrick looked horrified as they kept running down the hill. He probably thought this was going to be easy, but obviously he was wrong. He tripped over a rock, but got back up and rushed with the others.

"I can't believe it's all real!" he complained. "I thought Kinomoto was lying!"

Then the gang stopped running when they saw a parked bathtub with wheels. It was the size of a rowboat, it had a sink for stirring, a toilet at the back, and a label that said "Bath-mobile".

Rook said with amazement "Awesome. This could be useful."

And so, they all climbed aboard the tub and drove down hill with Patrick taking the sink like it's a wheel. But then, the trio looked at the back to see the Dreadful chasing after them.

"Crazy guys coming!" shouted Rook in panic. "Step on it!"

Patrick drove down hill as fast as he could, but the Dreadful were coming even faster. Buzz and Rook found some broken pieces of bricks and rocks in the tub. They picked them up and threw them at the incoming demons, but they still kept going. It's as if they're not feeling the agony from being hit.

The Dreadful fired knives from their hands like arrows fired by a crossbow. A few bounced on the tub, but one hit Rook on his rear end.

"Y'ouch!" he yelled in pain. He pulled it out before throwing it away.

Buzz, eager for a way to stop them, suddenly said "Hey, I've found some candles."

"You found candles?" puzzled Patrick. To prove his word, Buzz lit one, and held up…. a stick of dynamite with a sparking fuse. Seeing the stick and realizing it, he panicked "AAHH! Buzz! Don't you know what that is?!"

Buzz looked at the print on the side. "Uh, DEE-NA-MEE-TAY. Huh, must be Italian."

Hearing that, Rook panicked "Dynamite?! Lose it, lose it!"

Patrick wrestled with Buzz for the stick, which fell, rolled, and ignited every single stick of dynamite stored in the back. The trio yelped and Buzz started rapidly throwing sticks behind the tub as they went down the hill onto a ground. The chasing Dreadful stepped on the sticks one by one and exploded, but they still kept going.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Rook. "We throw rocks, blow them up, and they're still chasing us! What kind of demons are these things?!"

Just then, the Dreadful stopped in their tracks for whatever reason. The trio looked at the scene, confused. Then the driving bathtub went up a ramp, giving it a high jump and ended up falling to the sea. Safely, their ride floated without anyone being hurt.

"Nice driving, Patrick." said Rook.

"Yeah!" Buzz said. "We were flying. Um… right?"

Patrick replied "This thing was obviously made for driving or God knows what it's for. We weren't flying. We just fell with style."

Back on shore, Akuma watched those boys float away from a distance. When he turned around, he vanished without a trace.

After a few hours, the gang were still floating in the middle of nowhere. A storm was coming as the lightning struck and the three of them were having a conversation.

Buzz asked "You accepted this shit because you thought Kinomoto was crazy?"

"No," said Patrick, "I thought that Akuma guy was a fake. Cause guys like him would make up silly stories just so people can buy it."

"Well, at least we went to Japan, at least for my sake. Cause I always wanted to go there. But seriously, I think they should rename those demons. I don't see why they're called 'Dreadful'."

But being so worried, Rook said "Akuma knows us. He probably has clairvoyant powers. The ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known senses. If he knows our names, then it must mean he knows everything about us."

"That's nothing to worry about, Rook." said Patrick. "We're getting our quest on to recover this wizard's sword."

"Actually," interrupted Rook, "Kinomoto said Tenchi was a 'magician'."

"Whatever. I'm more worried about missing Chelsea's birthday party without getting her a present."

"If that's your problem, then why are we here? You could've just got Chelsea some flowers instead."

"How boring do you think I could be? We're doing this to have our own adventures. Remember in grade six? I said we would do this kind of thing."

"What?!" shouted Rook. "Six years you lived with that crap?!" Then he shook in anger. "FUCK YOU!"

Then the two of them started fighting as the storm was getting worse. Buzz was not getting involved with their feud. He just stayed put, watching them throw punches at each other.

"Come on, dweeb!" said Patrick, picking up a fight. "You wanna piece of me?!"

Rook punched Patrick on the nose, and Patrick kicked him in the balls. Even though he's in pain, Rook leaped on Patrick and punched him multiple times. Then Buzz separated both of them away to stop the fight.

Buzz told them "Cool it, guys. This is no time to fight. A storm's-"

Suddenly, the sound of thunder began as it rained. Rook turned to his right and saw something very dangerous coming closer: a hurricane.

"That can't be good." he said, then shouted "Hurricane coming! Patrick! Get us out of here!"

Patrick took the sink, which was something about "taking the wheel", and tried to get away from the incoming hurricane. "How do you work this thing?!" he asked.

"You have a drivers' license!" panicked Buzz. "You must know how to drive!"

"I know how to drive a car, not a freakin' bath tub!"

"SHUT UP AND FUCKING DRIVE!" argued Rook in a panicked state.

But a tidal wave came in and washed the tub away. Then everything went black. However, the trio resurfaced before they swam to the tub. Lightning struck the tub, splitting it in half. They were all knocked back into the sea. They turned around to see a giant wave crashing into them. Patrick's phone was sinking with Chelsea calling. It died due to being all wet and sank into the deep, dark sea.