archemoros@aol.com (Archemoros)

P R O   L U D I S   S C A E N I C I

There had been once a tiny island on the vast blue planes of the
Mediterranean, halfway between the Cyclades and Crete.  It was small in
comparison to Delos or Naxos... in fact, to compare the two would have
been to compare a dwarf to a giant.  Of course there were no recordings of
the island passed down to present generations despite the fact that it was
gone for more than three thousand years from the face of the earth : no
one could have cared for the loss of such little land and life during the
eruption of Thera.  The majority were busy looking elsewhere when the
series of deep-sea earthquake reached the shores.  Along with the ashes
which covered half of the Aegean sea went tens of thousands of lives in an
instant as terror of the fragility of human life racked through the
remaining survivors of the disaster -- perhaps heaven was mocking them.

Thus no one had ever noticed that unique, delicate island when it sank
quietly back under the waves, nor the exquisite little village of no more
than a hundred souls when it went down with the island.  It was quite a
shame.  That little village, though not quite tainted with the newer
Hellenic civilization outside its little sphere anyhow, was where a small
group of firmly bonded people resided.  They had their own unique culture,
blended with the earliest cultures of Minoan, Egyptian, and Greek
civilization.  Its religion was also of the most obscure kind; though
still within bounds of later Hellenic myths for some unknown reason...
maybe someone survived when the sea engulfed the island after all.  But
then again, even back then no one knew for sure that this land even
existed; navigation could only had so much luck exploring surroundings.

So certainly no one would have known about that little stone shrine
erected so long ago at the dead center of the island, its detailed frescos
and fresh caryatids riveling the beauty of the ones in Parthenon.   So
certainly no one would have even suspected there was an island at all,
much less the deity who was worshipped and honoured in that stone shrine
by the clan.  Even less would they dream that inside the shrine there was
a pamphlet; no, a scroll...dedicated in front of the image of the statue
of a hideous looking man - or god, there was no telling which - gripping
two unearthly-beauteous swords criss-crossing right in front of his chest,
one sword in each hand.  No one would have known this, since of course it
sounded too much like all other myths, too outlandish to be taken
seriously.

And so no one would have ever thought that the scroll contained the
remains of a secret account, having survived much, much longer than the
shrine itself and even the oldest predecessors of the clan who dwelled in
this land centuries ago.

It went back to the ages of the Gods.



excerpt. A.
[[Hermes - the travelling one, the messenger god, and the sly god of
thieves - was credited to have been the leader of the dying souls to
Hades.  He was thus named Psychopompus, the conductor of souls.  However
Apollo shootafar would have said otherwise if not for the agreement that
in exchange for the lyre he said not a word about the incident :
Psychopompus was in fact another earthling.  He was named Paeonias during
his lifetime, having been a physician of unequalled skill.  It said that
his healing skills surpassed even Asclepius, the son of Apollo himself and
Coronis -- he could raise the dead, they said.  His beauty shamed that of
Endymion, or any other god for that matter; his heart so generous that no
one doubted him to be the living incarnate of some powerful god.]

[It should be mentioned that while father Zeus had dispatched Hermes for
the undertaking jobs, Hermes did not execute them out of his own wills. 
And being quite jealous of Paeonias, who eagerly indulged in the
continuous advances of Aphrodite while Hermes himself could not even dare
to touch her, the sly one devised a scheme.]

[One day the god went to Hades and bribed the shadowy one with fifty
strong oxen and much dazzling jewelry to Persephone in return for the
guaranteed fall of Paeonias.  Hades accepted with much glee as the mighty
one himself hated this man who unjustly snatched away his souls back to
human realms with his medical skills.  And thus Hermes filled a cup of
water from the dark river Styx and flew up to earth, where he spotted
Paeonias healing a dying warrior.  He turned himself invisible, and
silently poured the waters of Styx down into the throat of the suffering
soul.  As planned, Hades started chanting the verses of death which turned
the water into fatal acid, and the warrior died instantly, convulsing in
agony and spitting acid back out as he did so.  Paeonias, as he was
operating on the man, had his handsome face touched by the poisonous acid
and fell instantly to the ground.  Hermes cackled silently as he watched
his rival lying helplessly on the ground, but gradually his malicious
laugh turned to a howl of anger as he watched Paeonias reviving himself. 
He stormed into the palace of death again but Hades said it was no use to
try to kill this man : he was, in essence, immortal.  Rather, Hades
proposed to Hermes that it would have been equally torturous if Hermes
secretly relieve the job of Psychopompus to Paeonias - who was under the
spell of Hades - for he would have to guide dying souls to the underworld
and not able to save them with his own hands.  Hermes thought for a while,
and consented merrily.  And thus Paeonias became the true Psychopompus,
immortal yet dying from poison and suffering at every moment, unable to
cure his own corroded face or change the dark colors of his hair tainted
by the murky Styx back to the colors of the fresh springs.]

[From afar Apollo saw the incident and was disgusted of the two gods and
the abuse of their heavenly powers.  He sought Hermes out but was bribed
with the lyre, which he could not part with.  Thus agreed not to mention a
fact about Paeonias to anyone on earth, he could only secretly send a
messenger-bee to  the innocent man himself, telling him the truth of the
treachery.  As a compensation for the wrongdoings of his fellow god Apollo
granted Paeonias godhood under the name of Paeon the healing god, and thus
was the cult of Paeon.]]



excerpt. B.
[[seal...earth.  sacrifice......invasion.   two swords...land of
asphoedols... hatred. love.death.........beware. heartless...]]





ukulele presents
	in accordance with

silky dolls (c) inc. studios




      
     -D  E  V  I  L       H  U  N  T  E  R       Y  O  H  K  O-


                              -P  H  O  C  H  I  A-
                                       (the seal)





                        PART   ONE   :   F E A R S



CHAPTER   ONE   :

	X E N O P H O B I A


"Ringggggggggggggggggggg!!!"  A hand climbed up from under the white-laced
silk blanket and completely covered the alarm clock with its long, slender
fingers in an awkward fashion.  Then a face popped up into view about ten
nanoseconds later as the sleepy-figure bolted upright and sulked.  Bad
hair-day... school...no boyfriend......life sucked.

Yohko mechanically rolled out of bed and tumbled onto the floor in a most
ungraceful manner.  Painfully remembering that it's generally not a good
idea to walk when her legs were still asleep, Yohko spraddled on the
carpet and massaged her slightly sprained ankles carefully.  The wounds
from the last fight haven't completely recovered yet, and she ached all
over like what she always imagined baa-chan would have once she reached
seventy.  After a little exercise which was unusually early for her to
practice, Yohko gingerly walked into the kitchen and munched away at
whatever she could get her hands on.  Of course, Azusa was in a somewhat
similar state; after that battle she wouldn't have minded if auntie-Madoka
just locked her up in the fridge.  Yohko had never seen a little girl
having such a monstrous appetite in her sixteen years of life.  *Well,*
Yohko thought, *at least now she is a bit quieter...*

"Yohko-san!!!" A sickening cheerful voice screamed into her ears from
right next to her and broke her trance and probably eardrums too she
didn't know she was so startled she almost choked to death on the
sandwich.  

"Mmbnnmbbbwlprrfphmm!!!"

Fortunately, after a couple moments of wild hand gestures and purpled-face
Yohko finally regained her composure.  "Uh, Azu-chan?"  "Hai?"  "Don't do
that again, you almost scared me to death!"  Yohko said, not really
reprimanding at all.  "Hai, hai.. gomen gomen..."  Azusa giggled cutely. 
It's impossible to get mad at her and she knew it.

See, grandma hasn't gone back from her vacation in Hokkaido yet and mom
was off on a business trip in Shinjuku, and they left her and Azusa
running wild again as usual.  *sigh* Irresponsible parents.  Always like
this.  Yohko rolled her eyes up and they settled on the dials of the
clock.  Uh-oh.

Yohko suddenly recalled something.  Oh no what's she been doing all this
time?  They're almost late again!  Yohko, still eating the sandwich,
dragged Azusa along without a word and sprinted towards the direction of
the school.  "Yohko-san, what are you doing?" Azusa's voice drifted into
her ears through the wind.  "Azu-chan, we're late again!!!"  "Eh?  I
thought we cancelled school because of the earthquake coming up..." 
"WHAT?"  Yohko stopped dead in her tracks.  It was three blocks away from
school and she'd just sprinted a 5-min. mile.  

"Come on, Yohko-san!  We have to hurry to add the reinforcements to the
house or else it might be dangerous!!!"  Azusa yelled cheerily as she ran
past Yohko.  "W.Wait, Azu-chan!"  Yohko slumped to the ground.

		x	x	x

Two people walked towards from the direction of the metro towards the Mano
residence.  One was hip-hopping around excitingly; the other, the taller
girl, was dragging behind painfully, almost collapsing with each step she
took further.  Such a pretty scene, ne?

As they approached their home, both girls saw something unusual.  A man, a
beggar it seemed, was clad poorly in ragged clothes and sitting on a pile
of oil-stenched newspaper scattered on the ground.  He leaned against one
of the walls around the neighborhood, just under one of those infamous
"Devil-Hunter posters." He was burying his face in his arms and, probably
due to the coldness, holding his knees close to his chest, apparently not
noticing the two curious girls.  Both girls felt much sympathy for the
man.  It has been a long while since they had met a homeless person, as
the district of Yokohama they lived in had a very extensive public welfare
program which took care of all who sought financial aid for survival,
people whom, judging from the scene, the girls concluded he was a part of.

"Azu-chan, do you have any spare change?"  Yohko shuddered at the thought
of the man's fate when the quake comes, and desperately tried to find any
possible means with which she could help him.  Azusa fumbled through her
pockets and all over her shirt trying to find spare coins and was on the
verge of tears when she realized she had no luck at it whatsoever.  "Oh
no!  I think I left them all at home!  Yohko-san, do you have any?"  Yohko
searched laboriously and concluded that she didn't bring any either,
having got up oh-so-early and had to rush to school.  They both looked at
each other and felt a sense of guilt from their conscience.  "Azu-chan,
can you rush back home to get some?  I don't think I can run any more." 
Azusa nodded.  "Un!  I'll be right back!"  Azusa, now really like an
apprentice on an urgent errand, sped off towards the house.

Yohko, meanwhile, was left alone with the stranger.  She couldn't really
see his face, since it was hidden inside the dirty cloak, behind the
shadows.  Thinking it might cause critical embarrassment if she kept
staring at him without talking, Yohko stepped up, took a deep breath, and
then crouched down to talk to the man.  "Hello, mister!  My name is Yohko,
nice to meet you!"  Yohko ignored the stench around and greeted him as
politely as she could.  Seeing no response, Yohko closed in further and
asked, "um, what's your name?"  *What am I doing,* Yohko thought.  *Am I
that depraved of guys?*

The man, obviously not used to people so close to him, turned his face
away quickly and said slowly, "P...Pei......"  Noting his accent Yohko
asked, "you're not from around here?"  "N.No, my country is quite far
away...I have travelled for many years now and I have been looking for
something special."  "Really?  What is it?"  Yohko asked, suddenly
interested.  Yohko recalled that grandmother used to say that many
travellers are very knowledgable, and have much to share... and some of
those may even know about the supernatural a bit or two.  "I'm looking for
my other sword."  He stated simply.  Yohko almost facefaulted as her head
hang comically down.

*sigh*  Grrrrrreat.  I'm talking to a nutskull.  Going around for years
just looking for a sword?  Must be SOME sword he got there.  Yohko thought
sarcastically.  But just to humor him until Azusa comes... *hurry up
Azusa!* Yohko cried desperately in her mind while managing to keep her
smile.

"Why is it so important that you find the sword?"  Yohko had to ask.  "It
is like a family sword that has been kept for centuries?"  The man shook
his head.  "I don't know, miss Yohko.  I...can't remember why I need that
sword.  I just think it's important......maybe when I find it I will know
why.  But I think I have almost found it already."

This must be the weirdest guy I've met for a looooooong while, Yohko
muttered to herself quietly.  And I can't even see his face!  Thinking
this Yohko was determined to at least had a glimpse of what he looked like
before she leave.  Hmmm, maybe if he looked like Biryu-sama then it
wouldn't be that bad after all... but then again I'm dreaming.  *Biryu is
a GOD, dimwit.  No way on earth a human could look anything as hot.*  

"Yohko-san!!!"  A familiar yell interrupted her trance.  Yohko
instinctively turned to look at the direction of the voice, and found
Azusa with a GIANT bag on her back, its contents clittering and clanging
inside.  Yohko held her hands over her face.  "I should've known......"  

"Yohko-san,"  She heard Azusa ask as she stopped beside her.  "where's
that gentleman?"  *Huh?*  Yohko looked up.  "Isn't he right...there......"
 Yohko didn't finish her sentence as she stared at the empty space where
the man had been.  "uh... Azu-chan, did you see him when you came back?" 
"No, I was wondering where he was when I saw you.  I wonder where he
went... haaa, and I collected all *these* just for him!"

Yohko was just too shocked to reply.  

*Where'd he go?*

Yohko took a tentative step forward and looked around.  Nada.  Not a
trace.  No...way.

Then something else caught her eye.  Her poster.

The soulsword in the poster was glowing with a beautiful incandescent
blue.

"Wuh...what was that, Yohko-san?"  Azusa asked in a small voice, trying
not to show her fear but failed.  Yohko, on her part, stood rooted where
she was and couldn't move at all.  

The glow faded.
Yohko gasped.

Around the edges of the sword, a thin line of arcane symbols appeared
where there hadn't been before.

		x	x	x

half an hour later...

"Wuh...what was that, Yohko-san?"  Azusa asked in a small voice, trying
not to show her fear but failed.  Yohko, on her part, stood rooted where
she was and couldn't move at all.  

		x	x	x

half an hour after that...

"Wuh...what was that, Yohko-san?"  Azusa asked in a small voice, trying
not to show her fear but failed.  Yohko, on her part, stood rooted where
she was and couldn't move at all.  

		x	x	x

The two walked home slowly.

		x	x	x

[Cut to a much later time that day outside the Mano resident... the night
has fallen on the streets and due to the earthquake everyone seems to have
gone home early.  There is no sign of life outside the residential areas,
and coke-cans are blown across the alleys haphazardly by gale wind,
clanging and clittering as they go.] 

Azusa.	nee, Yohko-san...

Yohko.	um?

[screen turns to a uncomfortable Azusa shifting her weight around on each
of her legs and not standing quite still.]

Azusa.	Do you think we saw a devil today?  But I thought 	they could
only come out at nights like thi... (suddenly 	stops when she realizes
what she was about to say.)

Yohko.	I dunno, Azu-chan... but there should be no trouble for 	us
dealing with devils if he really was one, right?  After 	all, we
*are* devil-hunters!

Azusa.	(cheerfully)  Of course!

Yohko.	What I wonder is why my sword on that poster 	glowed... (thought
to herself) does it have anything to 	do with what he was looking for? 
(recalling the 	trembling voice of the man)  *I am looking for my 
other sword.  I think I have almost found it though.*

[Azusa finds Yohko deep in her thought and is about to raise a question
when the someone rings the bell.]

Azusa.	(thinking) Hmm, I wonder who is coming this late at 	night? 
(Out loud)  Lemme get it!

[Azusa rushes to the door and opens, but finds no one there.]

Azusa.	(poking her head out the door a bit)  Strange.  I 	thought I
heard someone rang the bell... ooh, raining 	already?  (turning her
head) Yohko-san, did we finish 	all the reinforcements on the house?

[Outside the rain starts.  As Azusa turns her head back to the door she
sees Madoka standing outside with a suitcase, a bit soaked.]

Azusa.	Auntie-Madoka!!!  Oh no!  I am sorry, please come in 	quickly...
I thought no one was at the door and...

Madoka.	No worry, child.  [Madoka hugs Azusa]

[Inside Yohko starts when she hears Azusa calling her grandma.  She rushes
out.]

Yohko.	Grandma?  How come you got back so early?  I               
thought you said your vacation runs until next Friday?

Madoka.	(Walking slowly into the living room, flanked by the 	two
girls.)  Uum, children... I have something to tell 	you.  I sensed a
very great energy building up 	somewhere in eastern Japan...

Yohko.	You mean the earthquake?

Madoka.	There is some connection... but strangely, it came from 
the sea...... and whatever it is, it is the... purest...... evil 	I
have ever sensed in my lifetime.

[suddenly the power in the house went out.  the girls were startled beyond
death.]

Azusa.	*gasp*

Yohko.	w.what???  You mean this earthquake is caused by 	devils? 
How can that be?  We need to stop it!

Madoka.	How can devils cause earthquakes?  Easy.  See for 
yourselves!  (Suddenly grinning)  So there ARE devil 	hunters after
all... I was thinking this was only a joke 	when I saw the
poster...... hehehehehehe I think when 	I eliminate you two, lord Hades
will be verrrrrry 	pleased!!!

[all of a sudden Madoka starts to glow a dark, ghastly green and all of a
sudden her face and figure melt away, revealing a very black, humanoid
shaped entity.]

Madoka.[in a very low and distorted voice]  HAHAHAHAHA!  	I think
you should have died looooong ago, Deeeevil 	Hunters!  It is so clever
of Lord Hades to sent me out 	as a scout for all possible
interferences!!!  (forming a 	dark energy ball in each hand)  Die!

[Yohko and Azusa are in shock as they see Madoka turns into a demon.  The
shock, however, rapidly gave way to indignant anger as the girls locked
their eyes firmly on the dancing shade in front of their eyes.]

Yohko.	How dare you defile my grandmother!  (Dodging one 	of the
energy balls) Dark powers whose black deeds 	escape even the light of
the moon, behold now the 	radiance of the power of love!

[Insert your favorite Yohko and Azusa transformation  here]

Demon.	(grinning) Nice.  (icely)  Shandrakar Mahodan!!!  

[a GIANT hemispherical energy gathered in front of the demon and then
fired towards the two girls at almost the speed of sound before they can
summon their own weapons]

Azusa.	Kyaa!  (Azusa flies back against the wall, knocking off flower
vases and paintings and goes unconscious)

Yohko.	uugh!  (Yohko manages to raise a temporary shield 	before she
took the blunt force of the blast and is only 	driven back several steps.
 She turns to look at Azusa 	momentarily who is not faring so well,
bruised all over 	and unconscious.)  Azu-chan!!!  (Flash of anger in
her 	eyes)  Go back to hell, Demon!!!  Soulsword!!!

[in a fluid motion Yohko calls upon her soulsword and starts to hack away
at the shape-changing demon.  The demon, very surprised at the force and
agility of her blows, finds itself only able to parry with its claws,
which gradually are being sliced clean off by the soulsword.  Finally,
Yohko thrusts at the demon, which breaks the window with its back and
floats in mid air out in the streets.  Setting up for this opening, Yohko
leaps at the demon, parts her thighs and raises her legs over the
shoulders of the demon and clamps them to the back of its neck, does a
beautiful 180 degree flip downward while the rest of her body is
suspending in mid-air and

SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!

jumps back in a defensive stance after executing a beautiful
Frunkensteiner that would've make Cammy proud.  The demon screams in pain
as the sound of bones crushing could be heard upon impact.]

Yohko.	Doppleganger who dares defile the image of my 	grandmother the
107th Devil Hunter of the Mano line, 	go back to where you belong!!!


-------------------------------------------------END CHAPTER 1-1
well, this is one messy convoluted script... drop a note if you're still
interested to see how it turns out...... and which format you like to see
it in, story or dialogue style.

have a nice spring break!

flea.................................:................................:...
.....................