The huge chamber was inmerse in complete darkness, the only light being the dim spotlight illuminating the chamber's only inhabitant. his name is Kaneda, that being one of the very few things the young ninja remembers about his past, and right now, one of the only two that matters, the second being his purpose for coming here all the way from America to Tibet... the recovery of his very soul. A proud member of the Go-Zoku, the five families, the most renowed ninja clans in our modern world. Each family blessed with affinity and control over the elements, each master of one different element, each fighting one another in an endless rivalry. A ninja of the fire clan, the fiercest among the Go-Zoku, the warrior commited a fatal mistake in battle, and lost his soul to the dreaded curse of Dim Mak. Kaneda has traveled all over the world the last three years looking for a way of restoring his spirit. His quest bringing him and Kira, his travel companion, to a forgotten temple in a secluded part of Tibet. A talk with the keeper of the temple allowed the now souless warrior to take the test that will bring back his soul, a test he must take alone. "WHO ARE YOU?" A spectral voice boomed all across the room. "WHO ARE YOU!?" The ninja sighed, this was the thirtieth time he was asked that question, each time marking the begining of a new stage of the test. This was the last stage according to the temple's keeper, but somehow, that fact didn't make the situation less frustrating. "Kaneda, my name is Kaneda..." "WHY ARE YOU HERE?" The voice continued, so did another repeated question. "To recover my soul" "WHAT DO YOU WANT IT FOR?" This question was new, not that Kaneda didn't have an answer for it, but it was unexpected however. "...To continue my mission" An arrow came from within the darkness piercing the warrior's soulder. A couple of times he has recieved something similar, and it was a sign that the spirits of the temple didn't find the answer to their questions satisfactory. "WHAT DO YOU WANT IT FOR?" Removing the arrow from his soulder (and increasing his pain in the process), he tried an alternate answer. "...to erradicate the supernatural..." Another arrow greeted Kaneda's answer, this time plunging in his left thigh. "WHAT DO YOU WANT IT FOR!?" Gritting his teeth, the ninja removed the arrow, crimson with his blood. Not an easy task is thinking when you're in pain... "¡To find out who I am!" The arrows dissapeared from his hands, but the wounds remained. However, it was a relieving sign that the spirits have finally aproved his answer. Ready for the last part, Kaneda adopted his fighting stance, wondering what kind of monster or whatever was waiting for him once the light came back. A minute passed by and the light didn't come back. The ninja closed his eyes and opened his perceptions to the surroundings, wondering if it was another invisible monster that would come next. Another minute passed by and the same deathly silence reigned the chamber. However, after a couple of minutes, the spectral voice reberverated once again, making him open his eyes in surprise. "WHO IS THIS WOMAN?" A second spotlight appeared before him, this one illuminating the form of a beautiful girl, black, lank hair that flowed to the midst of her back. Black eyes with a confused look in them, and an expression on her face of something missing. "WHO IS THIS WOMAN?" When the voice finished his sentence. An overload of images assaulted the ninja's mind all at once. Confusing images of people he has never seen, events he never heard about, and that girl. In fact, the girl appeared in many an image, and each time an image of that girl flashed in his mind, something sparked within Kaneda's heart, a confusing emotion he didn't wholly understand. He has seen that same girl before in his dreams, but as with the rest of his past, he was never able to figure out where or when he has met her before (if ever). Dazzled, Kaneda holds his head with both hands while trying to mantain his balance. "She is....is....is...." ------------------------------------------- G.U.A.R.D.I.A.N A Thrash's chronicle by ROMeo Thrash is a Role Playing Game (RPG) about videogame fighting games and anime martial arts created by Blackbird (AKA Ewen Cluney). G.U.A.R.D.I.A.N is the settig of my current Thrash's campaing and, in fact, this writing is the product of my current game which is being translated here in 90% original form. Also, this is my first attemp in writing a fic, so I really hope you like it and the flames don't go up too high. ------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: Interrupted by fireworks <10:30 PM> "Kaneda?...Kaneda?" A female voice brought Kaneda back from his mental flashback. Upon returning his attention to the here and now, the same face he was pondering about in that temple six months ago was now looking at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Kaneda, are you alright?" "Huh? Oh... yeah, sure. Sorry" "¿What were you thinking about?" The girl asked an abscent-minded Kaneda. Mistral is her name, and somehow, she is a key to Kaneda's past that he is still not able to decipher. For some reason, fate has brought her in Kaneda's way, and over the course of these six months they have become best friends... maybe for a second time. "Oh...nothing, nothing really" was the fire ninja's answer. "Well, follow me then, I want to go to the mirror house, let's go!" Taking his confused friend's hand, the two made their way to the mirror house. In a corner of the park, a lone figure watched the couple march away. Her blue wavy hair moving with the wind and the moonlight flattering her brunnete skin, Kira has been following the couple from a distance. Since Kaneda's misadventure in mid east where he lost his soul, Kira has become Kaneda's traveling companion, helping him whenever possible, either with her knowledges on several mystic places around the world, or with her honed skills with blades, rivaling those of Kaneda himself. However, now she was facing a battle she wasn't able to win, a battle against herself. The time she has spent with Kaneda has made her feel really close to him, closer than Kaneda will ever realize. Kaneda has talked with her about his amnesia, but from the moment he met with Mistral, Kira felt instantly the existence of a special bond between the two, like if they'd have met each other from a long time ago, a bond that not even the lack of memories could break... a bond that she could never break and, as his friend, she sould respect. Nevertheless, she couldn't avoid following him to this, his very first true date with her. She just can't understand why she tortures herself that way, but still, she does. The couple makes a stop in almost every single game: the mirrorhouse, the cups, the roller coaster, etc. Kaneda on the other side, feeling uncomfortable around anything mechanic more complicated than a bicycle, cannot help but feeling awkward. He even almost performs an impression of the Pope upon getting down from the roller coaster. When Mistral decided to take a minute or two to sit on a bech, Kaneda started feeling a LOT better. "Kaneda, I've been thinking..." She started. "¿Remember when we first met, six months ago? When you just arrived in that costume, remembering nothing about who you were and stuff?" "Yes, I remember" was Kaneda's answer. Under the light of the moon, Mistral looked strikingly beautiful, and for some reason her eyes were now gleaming. Of course, Kaneda would have noticed that gleam in her eyes if not for that strange feeling inside himself. It wasn't like he was feeling awkward, but he was also feeling a kind of anxiety, a special something you may call it. "You know, when you first arrived I thought you were... you know, strange. But during these months I have got to know you and... well... now, how do you feel?" Kaneda would have managed to answer, but she continued talking. "First I thought you were strange, but now I know that you are a very sweet and kind person and... and I... I have come to feel very close to you... you... you are my best friend" "You are my best friend too" Kaneda replied. "Not only that, but I also like very much to have you around and... to be close to you and... and..." The girl tried to continue, but she was still finding hard to get the words. By now the couple was barely inches away one from the other. Kira, who was still watching them, was clenching her hands into fists, barely able to contemplate the show before her. Her vision started to blur, and she rather decided to turn around and head back home, not able to take any more. Suddenly, the romantic tension of the scene is broken by the booming sound of an explosion coming from the roller coaster. The romantic triangle turned their heads to the source of the boom to find a chaotic scene in the roller coaster: a complete portion of the railways has been blown away and half of the cars are suspended in the air, hanging from the other half of the cars which, miraculously, got stuck between some steel bars that shifted out from place when the explosion occured. "Oh my God!" Mistral exclamed in horror, cupping instinctively her mouth with both hands. Kaneda is not truly made of hero stuff, but the horror and worry in Mistral's eyes obligued him to do something. Stepping foward, Kaneda closed his eyes for a moment just before being eveloped by a red flame. In a matter of seconds, his clothes were dissapearing, everything burning away and being replaced with the fire clan's ninja attire: black gi and hakama, red arm and legguards now gleaming with the flames, so was the red scarf covering his mouth. "I'll Be right back. Here you'll be safe so don't move." were the fire ninja's last words before leaving his friend and and jumping his way to the scene. Upon arriving to the scene, it was only getting worse. The bars were starting to shift place again and the cars were starting sliding foward. He was ready to climb his way when two figures quickly intercepted him. "¿Going somewhere, pal?" The two figures were clad in skin-tight leather, and when Kaneda tried to sidestep them, they as quickly positioned themselves in front of him. However, like a fat dude, sometimes its rather easier to jump some obstacles than to try to run around them. "No time for you guys" was all Kaneda said before leaving his oponents behind in a super jump. In a few instants, Kaneda was only a few meters from the peak of the roller coaster and was hanging from a steel bar. there, a guy in spandex and a leather jacket was waiting for him... standing horizontally in the same bars Kaneda was hanging from. "Hi there!" the strange guy said before raising one fist to the air. A couple of seconds later, the stranger's forearm started generating crackling electricy at the same time the roller coaster's nearby rivetings started jumping out on their own, thing that collapsed that part of the structure and left the whole row of cars hanging now from the last car only. The horrid show joined to the screaming inside the cars distracted Kaneda's attention just enough for the stranger to slam him down with both fists. "Eyes on the road buddy!" smiled the spandex-clad stranger as Kaneda plummeted down. Kaneda fell for aproximately two seconds before being able to grasp another steel bar. Wiping the blood from his mouth, the ninja muttered in anger "Ok, you picking a fight?...now you'll have some". Afterwards, he propeled upwards with both arms with such an astonishing speed that his oponent never saw that hook punch that sent him flying several meters down and to his left. The stranger's magnetic powers prevented him from falling to his doom, but when he finally got a good grasp of another bar, his angered oponent was already reaching for him... and would have finished him outright if it hadn't been for the sniper behind that triggered the young ninja's trained danger sense. It was not only a two-on-one situation, but the fact of having to hang from bar to bar also puts him on quite a tactical disadvantage. After a quick analysis of his situation, Kaneda decided his best bet would be to jump away and see if they they followed. Fortunately, his oponents decided to give chase. Kaneda jumped his way out of the park in order to lure his persecutors to the woods, where it would be him the one with the tactical advantage. In ancient times, superstition associated the ninja of old with magic, having astonishing powers like turning themselves invisible, breathing water, and other miracles. While not mages (the vast majority at least), any person versed in the ways of ninjutsu can, with enough training, learn how to become "invisible": camouflage, stealth, shadowing, scuba diving... Shinobu, "seeing without being seen". Hiding in a nocturne forest is a walk in the park for the ninja, and Kaneda was not the exception. A couple of seconds was all it took him to vanish in the greenery. A few seconds later, Kaneda's four persecutors arrived at the woods, but their prey was nowhere to bee seen. However, as Kaneda kept watch on their presecutors, he caught sight of one in clad in a lot of gadgetry... and special goggles. Not willing to risk the possibility of being detected, but also not willing to loose the oportunity of striking first, he decided to take the inititative. A ring of fire quickly formed around the quartet and, while the troublesome four were still surprised, Kaneda jumped inside and, landing in the center of the flaming circle, he decided to take their oponents head on. Trapped in close quarters, three of the four instantly surrounded the lone ninja... completely confident that no matter how good you may be, as long as you have only one pair of arms and eyes it was impossible to cover yourself from all angles at he same time... they were wrong, for as they launched themselves kaneda greeted their attackers with an 360° iron broom kick that knocked the three to the ground. Unfortunately, as the three atackers fell, Kaneda saw a small metallic ball bouncing towards him... the incapacitating pain of a sonic grenade and the stunning shock of a tazer was the last sensation Kaneda felt before lousing consciousness. ------------------------------------------- Well, that was all for this chapter. I'm really hoping I don't screw it up too bad. Flames and feedback please to azalin1@lycos.com Visit G.U.A.R.D.I.A.N's HQ at: http://g-u-a-r-d-i-a-n.net AND the Thrash's Official homepage can be found at: http://www.blackbird.nu/thrash/ Oh... and also I want to thank to this fic's main responsibles: its actors, my players... thank you for such a good game! CYA!