Episode 13 Ant Tunnel Amusement Park

Many booths filled with carnival games, food and souvenir vendors stand in the midst of the large, hollowed out cavern. A huge Ferris wheel stands in the center of the amusement park, its topmost glass compartments overlooking the rest of the park. A huge roller coaster thunders its way around the perimeter of the park, filled with screaming passengers.

Kunai, Ryuu, Arai, and Ivy quickly step into an elevator going down from the top of the cliff to floor level of the amusement park. Ryuu stares irritably at a large group of children slamming into each other in Slime-shaped bumper cars.

Ryuu sighs and folds his arms, turning away from the park. “You know this is quite an unnecessary detour…”

Arai grins as he stands next to Ryuu, watching the other kids as he eats a cookie. “Oh lighten up, Ryuu! Even if we’ve got a Triplicate to kill, it doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun.”

“Yes, but this is quite an unnecessary waste of time!” Ryuu protests.

A soft bell suddenly chimes overhead as the elevator doors slide open and both Kunai and Ivy sprint out to join the large crowd. Ryuu shakes his head as Arai runs after them.

Ryuu suddenly stands alone, glancing around. He suddenly blinks as he sees a large group of people gathered around a small fireworks display. He slowly walks up to the crowd, pushing his way to the front to stare as several firecrackers on the ground explode weakly.

“Tch!” Ryuu cries out loud, pushing his way into the midst of the fireworks, where a couple of workers are sitting lighting matches.

“Hey! You can’t step here! Get back in with the crowd!” one of the workers cries as he notices Ryuu.

“You call those sparks fireworks?” Ryuu growls, unsheathing his sword and raising it into the air. “I’ll show you fireworks!” His sword suddenly bursts into flames as the crowd gasps out loud in surprise.

He then waves his sword, and the fireworks explode with an enormous eruption, flying into the sky and erupting into various colors. Ryuu smirks as he walks away, arms folded. ‘Tch, those little matches are almost pathetic as Arai…’

Kunai and Ivy walk side by side through the many booths and carnival games crowded in the amusement park, moving their way through a large crowd of people gathered at each booth.

As they pass a large booth selling refreshments built in the shape of a cookie, Ivy turns to Kunai as Arai dashes around in the background with a large stack of cookies. “Kunai, are you having fun?”

Kunai grins, glancing at Ivy as they make their way through the crowd. “Yeah, I am, actually…” he murmurs, staring as Arai leaps around throwing cookies in the air.

“You don’t sound like it,” Ivy replies worriedly.

“Well, it’s just that…we’ve been getting closer and closer to the Triplicate hidden inside the Cursed Sanctuary all this time…and I feel a certain darkness in my heart…” Kunai mutters. He shakes his head, smiling grimly to himself. “I’m a little scared, to tell you the truth. I’m scared that…I’m scared that the Triplicate might hurt you all, just like it did with my family.”

“Don’t worry about it, Kunai…” Ivy mutters in reply. “The same thing won’t happen again like it did with your family. We’re better prepared this time, and I’m sure Ryuu and Arai will make sure we don’t get hurt.”

“Even so, it’s a little…” Kunai mutters, trailing off. He turns, shaking his head and staring around at a large group of children eating ice cream shaped like Bubblings.

Kunai suddenly bursts into a wide smile, grinning broadly. “But I suppose I don’t need to worry about it too much just yet…right now, we’re here to have a little fun!”

“Yay! That’s the spirit!” Ivy cries out loud cheerfully, waving her arms brightly.

Just above the two of them, a dark figure shrouded in a long, flowing black traveling cloak stands, hidden within the many stalactites at the uppermost platform of the cavern. A thin Black Seraph’s Cape is draped around it, as it draws a slow, rattling breath under a hooded shroud.

A large burst of smoke suddenly appears next to the dark figure. It turns unflinchingly as an assassin dressed in a Red China set appears as the smoke clears. The assassin bows to the figure immediately.

“Master, I bring word from Lord Fyx. His tests confirm that the Second Phoneme does indeed reside within the girl’s soul. Lady Iris has also confirmed herself to sense the Phoneme within the girl,” the assassin mutters.

The dark figure nods slightly in approval. “Excellent…very soon, the Second Phoneme will be in the possession of the Myougun. And then, the entrance to the Night World shall be opened at last…”

“Lord Fyx has stationed his men at the entrance to the Cursed Sanctuary already. Whenever you decide to give the signal, we shall be ready to attack,” the assassin replies.

“Very well. When I give the signal, you shall order the men to attack. I want them to kill the two Joukai. Capture the girl, do not kill her. Leave the Hermit to himself, I wish to take a measure of his strength…” the figure replies.

“But, Master…are you sure it is a good idea to allow one of them to live?” the assassin questions.

“Do not question my decisions, I merely order you to carry them out!” the figure snaps angrily.

The assassin bows, and with another burst of white smoke, the assassin disappears, leaving the dark figure to himself, watching Kunai and Ivy down below. “Kunai…even without the stain of the Paradox on your soul, you make a veritable opponent. He is truly indeed the key to the Third Phoneme…”

Ryuu walks slowly, prowling through the long alleys of booths and tourists. His right hand is grasped tightly around the hilt of his sword, his eyes straying left and right, on the lookout.

Arai suddenly approaches him silently from behind, yelling out loud as he grabs Ryuu from behind and shoves a cookie in his face.

Ryuu suddenly starts in alarm, unsheathing his sword immediately as it bursts into flames and bringing the tip of it to rest on Arai’s neck. Arai holds up his hands in submission with a grin on his face.

“Now, Ryuu…is it really necessary to be on your guard when you’re supposed to be having fun?” Arai asks, still with the grin on his face.

Ryuu narrows his eyes, staring with an austere expression at Arai. He sighs and shakes his head, placing his sword once again back in its sheath. He gazes up at the roof of the cavern, glaring up at the spinning Ferris wheel in the center of the park.

“I wouldn’t be so light-hearted if I were you right now, Arai…” Ryuu replies. “I’m almost certain the Myougun are out looking for us, I could’ve sworn I’ve seen some of Fyx’s men prowling around on the lookout already. We can’t be too careful. I feel as if we’re in a lot more danger than we realize.”

Arai shrugs, stretching as he too gazes up at the Ferris wheel. “Aww…don’t be such a downer, Ryuu. What will happen, will happen. Now is supposed to be a happy time, can’t you just be happy for once?”

“I haven’t been happy for a long time, not since…” Ryuu mutters in a low voice.

Arai suddenly thrusts out a large cookie at Ryuu, who gazes at it with a look of revulsion. Ryuu takes a large sniff, staring down at the cookie. “What the hell is that smell?!”

“Catfish cookie!” Arai cries out loud.

Ryuu narrows his eyes, glaring at Arai bitterly. Arai shrugs, taking the cookie back and taking a bite from it. “Y’know, even I think this is a bit too much…” Arai says through a mouthful of the cookie.

Ryuu shakes his head. “Well, at any rate, we need to be more careful and on guard from now on. We don’t know for sure what might be waiting for us out there…or in here, for that matter.”

“Oh lighten up, Ryuu!” Arai replies. “Kunai and Ivy don’t seem to be worried about the Triplicate at all! In fact, they’re having fun.”

“Where are they anyway? They’ve been gone for hours…it’s about time we started heading deeper into the Ant Tunnel again,” Ryuu says suddenly. “We’ve got to keep ahead of the Myougun if they really are following us.”

Arai shrugs, gesturing toward the Ferris wheel. “I believe I saw them headed to the Ferris wheel a while back when I was passing by…”

Ryuu shakes his head, muttering something inaudibly to himself. Arai suddenly pokes his head closer to Ryuu’s, better to hear. “They kinda remind me of you and…”

Ryuu draws his sword again, swinging it in the air dangerously close to Arai’s head. “That’s enough!”

Kunai suddenly points ahead as the two of them approach the Ferris wheel from the ground. A long line of people is gathered in front of the Ferris wheel. “Look! Wanna get on?” Kunai asks, turning to Ivy.

Ivy nods, grinning at Kunai. “Yeah, sure!”

Kunai gazes up at the Ferris wheel as they pass under it, heading to the end of the line. At the highest point of the wheel, there is a large opening in the roof of the cavern, exposing the darkening sky outside. A few early stars twinkle in the sky through the opening, as the sun begins to sink, tingeing the sky orange and pink.

“You know, I’ve never been to this park before, but all my life I’ve wanted to come here, ever since I first heard about it as a kid,” Kunai says, staring up at the huge wheel before them.

“Well, didn’t you come here with your family when you went to kill the Triplicate the first time around? I mean, you must’ve passed it on your way…” Ivy asks.

A sad expression suddenly fills Kunai’s face again. He shakes his head, sighing slightly to himself. “They…they told me we’d come here first thing after the Triplicate was defeated. As a celebration treat…”

“I—I’m sorry, that must’ve been terrible, what happened…” Ivy murmurs.

“Yeah,” Kunai replies, shaking away the thought, “but what matters is that we’re here now, having fun.” He stares up at the Ferris wheel, opening his mouth slightly in awe.

Ivy stares up as well, gazing up at the opening in the roof of the cavern. “Wow! It opens up into the sky!”

“Yeah!” Kunai answers, now looking up at the sky as well. “When they built the Ferris wheel, they hollowed out a part of the roof, so that at the highest point of the wheel, you are literally thrust up into the sky. It’s a big hit during the nighttime, because then you’ve got a perfect view of the sky, the moon, the stars…”

“How romantic!” Ivy mutters to herself, still staring up at the opening in the roof.

Kunai glances at her in surprise, then nods slowly in agreement, blushing slightly. “Yeah, in a way I suppose it really is…”

“Hey look! It’s our turn!” Ivy cries suddenly, reaching out and dragging Kunai forward, stepping into one of the glass compartments.

As the two of them step inside, the door to the compartment automatically slides open, and the two of them take a seat on the bench inside the compartment.

“It’s made of glass, so you can really see everything all around you…” Kunai mutters, staring around outside the glass compartment.

“You can see everyone down below!” Ivy cries out loud, stepping up to the edge of the compartment and pointing down to the ground below. “Hey! There’s Arai and Ryuu!” she shouts out loud, pointing down to the ground below where a spark of red and yellow shines as Ryuu waves his sword wildly around.

Kunai stares at the scene down below too. “Looks like Ryuu and Arai got into another fight…”

Ivy giggles slightly, looking up as their compartment rises higher and higher into the air. “Oh look! We’re almost approaching the sky!”

“Oh…how romantic!” Ivy mutters as they reach the opening in the cavern, their compartment just poking out over the ground outside in Sleepywood.

Above them, the moon shines amid a dark sky filled with myriads of twinkling stars. A soft cool night breeze blows by outside, rocking the compartment gently.

As Ivy runs forward to the edge of the compartment for a better view, pressing her face against the glass walls, her hand brushes slightly past Kunai’s.

Kunai glances down, Ivy having not noticed the brief contact. He suddenly clenches his fist, then opens his hand, reaching forward toward Ivy’s…

Ivy suddenly screams, taking a step backwards as the glass wall of their compartment shatters as a Steely slams through the wall with a loud crash.

Kunai steps back as well, his eyes widening in alarm. “What the hell was that?!”

A burning arrow suddenly appears in the air overhead, hitting and rupturing one of the support beams holding the compartment up. It shivers violently, creaking with an ominous noise.

Ivy grabs Kunai suddenly, glancing around in fear and surprise. “Kunai! I’m scared!”

Kunai glances up as their compartment gives another loud creaking, swaying violently. He glances around, staring at the hole in the glass wall. He takes a deep breath, and walks slowly forward, to the very edge of the compartment.

“Ivy! Hold on to me tight and no matter what, don’t let go!” Kunai cries out loud. Ivy reaches forward, wrapping her arms around Kunai’s. He then takes another deep breath and leaps from the compartment, plunging into the air outside as the compartment creaks and sways again, and with another loud bang, falls from the Ferris wheel as people below scream in terror.

Kunai suddenly unfolds his Gaia cape, using it as a parachute as they fall faster and faster towards the ground. He lands softly with a thud, Ivy still holding on to his side. Kunai glances around as Ryuu strikes and parries with his sword, attacking another Humanoid Paradox.

“Ryuu!” Kunai cries out loud.

Ryuu gives a loud shout, striking the Paradox across the abdomen and vanquishing it. He turns to Kunai and Ivy as they run toward him. “Kunai! Where’ve you been?”

“Ryuu! What happened?! Me and Ivy were on the Ferris wheel when our compartment was attacked! Have the Myougun caught up to us?” Kunai cries.

Ryuu waves his hand, signaling them to follow him. They sprint forward for several moments, catching up to Arai as he freezes several Paradoxes surrounding him. “Some of Fyx’s men came after us just right now. They brought along a whole host of Paradoxes as well. We got most of the tourists out of the way, but I’d like to forget how much bloodshed we couldn’t prevent…”

“This is all my fault…” Ivy murmurs, staring around in horror as people run for their lives. “If I hadn’t been so insistent on coming here, none of this would’ve happened! The Myougun would’ve chased us down far, far away from here…but now instead…”

“This is not your fault,” Kunai replies quickly. “We didn’t know the Myougun were following us for sure. And it’s not like it was only you that wanted to come here. All of us agreed to come here too!”

Ivy nods, smiling slightly at Kunai. “Right, Kunai…thanks, you’re right.”

Ryuu stares around soberly, his sword still raised as it flashes flames and electricity. “At any rate…we need to get out of here as soon as we can. It’s getting late, but we’re probably gonna have to journey for the rest of the night. Now that we know for sure the Myougun are tailing us, we need to get to the Triplicate as soon as possible before they catch up.”

“Right!” Arai cries, turning and waving his Dark Ritual as several more approaching Paradox draw nearer and draw their lances. He freezes them immediately, then sends several bolts of lightning, shattering their frozen forms.

Ryuu turns and immediately begins running back toward the elevators, the only exit to the cavern. Arai quickly follows afterwards. Kunai turns to leave, but glances back as Ivy does not follow.

Ivy stares around at the destruction inside the park, as several more Paradox appear. She looks up in surprise as Kunai reaches forward and grabs her hand. “Let’s go,” he mutters. Ivy nods in agreement as yet another spawn of Paradoxes appear.