In the meteorite's burn across the woods, Musashi, Akari And Mariko.
With two tongs, Musashi stretches and folds the steel, then reaches for
the hammer and pounds.
____
The water falls from the magistrate's village ponds as the world crumbles in violent quakes
following the dervishes.
The mountains behind shatter and fall.
____
Shumi - Looking directly at the dark spirit crouched over Qiu's bed, "I need you to take care of her. Okay ?"
The spirit hisses at her smiling, then looks away speaking names.
____
The magistrate's land begins to crack apart as the villagers meet the
dervishes in storm. As pieces spin away, roots grow to catch in
trailing paths advantageous to the villagers as they set up fast posts, unheaving their packs.
____
Shumi - To Chiyome on their central ship's deck, filled with her
people, "You won't survive this. You will fall. Do you understand this
?"
Chiyome - "So we fall. We are paid."
She stares then turns, followed by their unison nod.
____
The falling pieces are caught spinning around in the roots of the rising tree.
____
Musashi stretches the steel, folds it and pounds.
____
Shumi carries the sleeping stranger across the deck, the stranger curling in to smile.
________
A faded mist passes the Xinhua vessel. A mild splash brushes the side
of the boat, attracting the attention of the priestess. Within the
mist, a shadow passes, nothing seen past.
The deck crew sniffs the air then looks at her, as he watches another
shadow pass, slightly in the mist. Then the knocking sound of Qiu's
ship.
Priestess - "No ... No !" She turns leaping form the deck to a passing shadow, followed by crew.
________________
With grinding blades, the magistrate and dervish, the palace falling to
ruin around, structures growing over. The floors begin cracking as the
magistrate thrusts a hand under into the dervish's torso.
Against the push of the blades, he struggles pulling a man out by his
throat. The dervish roars to push off, putting it's hand against the
magistrates face with burn.
The man is slowly pulled out, grabbing at his throat and the magistrates
hands with wide eyes until they are separated, the magistrate holding
the man, then releasing.
The man flops wet to the ground and looks up at the magistrate.
Magistrate - His face half smoking, "Go."
The man shakes on the ground staring.
Magistrate - "! Go !"
The man stumbles his way for the door as the ground begins to break
apart, shattering the last of the structure, magistrate leaping across
the breach to strike the defending dervish.
~ Musashi folds the steel.
Their blades strike again in the spinning destruction outside. The tree
grows in spin, connecting the ground as it cracks apart into small
island held in the mist.
With a flash of Musashi striking steel, they spin off in leaps across chasms, drawing back to leap again.
~ Another hammer strike.
____
The priestess lands on the deck of Qiu's ship, the ninjas
turning to attack. As she hits deck a wave of destruction crumbles its
structures in slowed time, echoed sounds, the crew sent flying in the
splintering.
She rises in her own real time, walking through the near frozen chaos to below decks.
The ship splinters across the down deck, flat across it's mid-section, sending the ninjas helplessly through to the sea.
____
The stranger lay in a lifeboat filled with cushions and roses, Shumi
gently works the cranks to lower it to into the misty water.