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(Jesus "Jesse" Zamora of the Imperial Order of Hentai
[Http://members.tripod.com/~Vampgirl.hentaiempire.html])

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Saint@Shadow.net
(Henry "Ho-Sung Pak" Lee)

Dyluc@aol.com
(Andre the Giant)
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() Soundtrack info
<> Character thoughts
[] Notes
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                        B L O O D    O M E N

                  L E G A C Y    O F    K A S U M I

     Based on "Blood Omen:Legacy of Kain" from Crystal Dynamics.
_________________________________________________________________

                            Chapter 6:
                      The Pillar of Conflict

Open on the Pillars of Nosgoth.  Kasumi, her black armor is
leaning on the Pillar of the Mind, looking straight at Mana, who
hovers over the platform in front of the Pillar of Balance.

KASUMI:So, who should I go after next?

MANA:If you are to have any hope of defeating the Circle, you
must first defeat Tatewaki Kuno, the Saraphan warrior.

KASUMI:Kuno!?  I think I met him at Yuta's retreat... Yes, he was
the armor...

MANA:Ah yes, his is a pitiful story.  Do not be fooled by his
appearance, though; he is VERY strong.

KASUMI[confident]:PLEASE!  You made Yuta sound like a big man,
and yet he fell easily!

MANA:Do not be fooled, girl!  Kuno is one of the greatest
warriors in all of Nosgoth; he has only fallen ONCE, and that was
due to a vanity which Rezo did a good job of undoing.  Do not
expect Kuno to pull punches or to be off guard.

KASUMI:If he's so difficult, why don't I just get the others
first and then fight off the bastard when I'm more skilled?  I've
already taught myself some pretty neat tricks.

MANA[reproachful]:You must have led a sheltered life, Kasumi, for
you know nothing.  Whenever the members of the Circle face
danger, Kuno shows up to save them.  You won't defeat anyone else
lest you kill him first.

KASUMI:A "knight in shining armor" in every sense, eh?  So, where
does Kuno normally stay?

MANA:He resides in the most lifeless place I know, the mountains
north of Coorhagen.

KASUMI[grimacing]:Oh my!  The endless snow and cold could kill
anyone!

MANA[smiling grimly]:Yes, they can.  As such, I suggest you feed
well before getting into the mountains.

KASUMI:Good advice.  [Turns into a bat and flies away, her sword
in her claws].

MANA[watching Kasumi fly away]:Such an eccentric girl

In the distant sky, Kasumi looks around for her home.

KASUMI:<Shouldn't be to hard; just look for the town with the
most bodies lying on the ground.>

She spots her target in the distance, east of Vasserbunde.  As
she had said, it is a town of death and despair, bodies lying on
the ground, most in the very place they died and half-eaten by
maggots.

KASUMI[sarcastically mimicking pride]:<Coorhagen, my home.  One
of the greatest lands in all of Nosgoth; rich in vanity and
conceit.  Funny, I don't think that Father shall be too happy to
see me today.>

Kasumi flies down in front the town, landing behind a cart filled
with the dead, then returns to her normal form.

KASUMI:Looks like death both leads AND follows me.

Kasumi takes on her human disguise, places her sword in her
sheath, arranges the red cloak replacing her armor, and walks
into the town.  She is greeted by a man in a merchant's green
overalls.

MERCHANT:Girl, what are you coming here willingly for!?  Don't
you know that the plague is here!?

KASUMI:I am well aware of that.  Now, does the Tendo Dojo still
stand?

MERCHANT[nodding]:Yes, it does.  Shall I lead you?

KASUMI:No need.  I'm very aware of where it is, I just wanted to
know if that had been claimed by the plague yet.  [Walks on past
the merchant].

Kasumi walks further into the town, careful not to step on any of
the many bodies that lie on the street, until she sees a large
stone building bearing the name "Tendo Dojo, house of Lord Soun
Tendo of Coorhagen."  Cautiously, she walks up to the door and
knocks on it lightly.

KASUMI:Hello, Otousan?  Nabiki?  It's me, Kasumi!

The door opens, revealing Kasumi's younger sister, Nabiki, in a
black blouse and skirt and fishnet stockings.

NABIKI[applying a heavy blush on her cheeks]:Welcome home,
oneechan!  Otousan's been worried sick since you left!

KASUMI[concerned]:Nabiki, what are you putting so much makeup on
for?

The two of them walk inside and sit on the living room floor,
across from each other at a brown dining table.

NABIKI:Well, things have gotten pretty bad here lately, and we
don't have any money to buy food with.  We've sold everything
else that anyone would give a damn about, so I figured I'd go to
Vasserbunde or Steinchencroe and find work at...

KASUMI[furious]:A brothel!?  Nabiki!!  How do you know your body
isn't being ravaged by the plague as we speak!?

NABIKI:I don't.  What I do know is that I have to do something to
help Otousan survive... God dammit, Kasumi, with Okaasan dying
just after you left and Akane's disappearance, he can't--.

KASUMI:WHAT?!  Okaasan's dead?!  Akane's missing!?!?

NABIKI[nodding]:Yeah.  Okaasan died the day after you went off to
look for that herb.  And Akane... She vanished the day after
that.  Some say a vampire took her.

Kasumi's eyes widen with shock.

KASUMI:... Va-vampire...

NABIKI[worried]:Kasumi-oneechan, are you alright?  You sound as
though you've never heard the word "vampire" before.

KASUMI[recomposing herself]:Um... Sorry.  [Desperate for a change
of subject] Say, how's Otousan?

NABIKI[sadly]:He's... Near death from the plague.  Gods, he looks
so scrawny, so pale, like he were already dead.  He's not been
allowing me near him for the last week, and I don't think he'll
let you see him either.

KASUMI[sorrowful]:Damn... [looking for something that won't cause
grief] Nabiki?

NABIKI:Yes?

KASUMI:Have you ever been to the mountains?

NABIKI:Heavens no!  Why do you ask?

KASUMI:I have to go there now.

Nabiki bursts into wild laughter.

NABIKI:Surely you jest!  Even the most powerful of men never
return from there!  Why in all hell would you want to!?

KASUMI:I need to see someone who lives there.

NABIKI:Look, I think you've been out in the sun too long, and I
could wait to go selling myself for a little while.  How about
you and I go to the forests up north and talk for a bit about
your travels?

KASUMI:... Alright...

In the forests up north, Kasumi and Nabiki sit upon a large rock,
looking at the distant mountains.

NABIKI[in awe]:Despite their deadliness, the mountains are
beautiful, the teeth of our world biting at the skies...

KASUMI:Yeah, I suppose.  <Hmm, let's see if I can spot the
bastard's home from here...>

NABIKI:Tell me, oneechan, did you pass by Willendorf?

KASUMI:I haven't been gone THAT long!  I only got to Ziegsturhl
before starting back.  [Contemptfully] That man who told you
there was an herb to cure the plague there was a blasted liar. 
Not that it matters anyway, with Okaasan dead and Otousan just
about dead himself...

NABIKI:You couldn't find it?  Damn...

KASUMI[cooley indifferent]:I know.  Now, otousan will surely die
from the plague.

NABIKI:Yeah... [trying to change the subject] Hey, y'know what I
heard?

KASUMI:What?

NABIKI:Someone killed Yuta the Mentalist yesterday.  Rumors say
that his scream could be heard for miles.

KASUMI[grinning]:I know... 

               (BGM:"Self-Destruction, Part Two.")

Her eyes catch a glimmer of light from within the mountains.

KASUMI[excited]:There!!  [Gets off the rock and walks four paces
in front of it, toward the glimmer].

NABIKI[concerned]:What is it, Kasumi?

Kasumi ignores Nabiki, her eyes transfixed on what she sees.

KASUMI:That's it.  Kuno's bastion...  [Undoes her disguise,
returning to vampiric state].

NABIKI[fearful, looking at Kasumi's death-pale face and wicked
black armor]:K-Kasumi...

KASUMI[pulling her sword from her sheath and holding it in front
of her in ready, a wicked snarl on her face]:KUNO!!!  Ready
yourself to join Yuta!!

NABIKI:You... You're a vampire... [anger seeping]... You...
[Pulls a knife from the cleavage of her dress]... [vengeful] YOU
KILLED AKANE!!!  [Lunges at Kasumi, knife gleaming in the light
of the setting sun].

Kasumi adeptly jumps back, away from Nabiki and her knife.  Her
right hand flickers with energy.

NABIKI:How can you kill your own sister!?  [Runs toward Kasumi,
knife at the ready]

KASUMI[lifting her right hand toward Nabiki with a grin]:I didn't
kill her.  [Eyes narrow].  [Her grin bearing teeth] INCAPACITATE!

A sphere of white energy leaps from Kasumi's hand and slams into
Nabiki's chest, her nerves locking into place a mere foot from
Kasumi.  

KASUMI:But I SHALL kill you!

Nabiki's face, the only thing unaffected by the spell, becomes a mask
of terror.

KASUMI[suppressing laughter]:Otousan will be SO sad when he hears
of your death.  Perhaps if you weren't so encompassed by blind
hatred...  [Walks around Nabiki, stopping in front of and facing
her back].

NABIKI[fear and anger fusing together]:So, you plan to wipe out
the whole family?!

KASUMI[sarcastic]:Racist to the end, aren't you?  [Brushes her
lips against Nabiki's neck].  [Yearning]  Your skin is so soft...
[Bites into Nabiki's neck, her fangs going in deep].

NABIKI[feeling her blood drain away]:How do you know my body
isn't being ravaged by the plague...?

KASUMI[savoring Nabiki's sweet red honey]:... Mmmmmmm...

Kasumi drains away all of Nabiki's blood and releases her fangs. 
The lifeless form of her sister still stands as it had when she
had been hit by the spell.

KASUMI[icily]:Simple, dear sister.  You're blood doesn't carry
the taint.  [Turns into a bat and flies off in the direction of
the mountains, her sword in her claws].

                         (BGM fades away)

As she flies toward the mountains, the distant glimmer becomes
closer and gains definition.  It is a large fort with no decor,
save for the snow that rested upon it's roof.  Indeed, there is
an air of sterility about the entire setup.  Kasumi slowly lands
four meters from the front door and returns to her vampiric
state, guarding her face from the powerful winds and the blinding
coat of snow they would bring.  Her hands begin to burn from the
snow.

KASUMI:AARGH!!!  Even the gentle snow brings pain to me. 
[Flinches as some flakes get on her cheeks].

She notices the guards, in bright silver samurai armor and
helmets, at the door.

KASUMI[mildly shocked]:Oh?  More food still?  And here I am
killing my own sister!

Kasumi steps up to one of the guards, confused as to why he
wasn't attacking her, and tries to lift one of the samurai's
helmet from him.  It doesn't budge.

KASUMI[realizing]:Well, the armor's frozen onto him.  Well, he
seems quite dead, anyway.  [Looks at the other guard].  He's
pretty stiff, too.  Looks like Nabiki's death wasn't in vein
after all.

Kasumi kicks open the door and walks into the fort.  Total
darkness.

KASUMI:Well, that's no problem.  [A white ball of pure light
appears in her left hand.  She raises it to the ceiling, and it
flies away from her and sticks to the ceiling]

Having lit the area, Kasumi examines it.  The structure itself is
plain; steel walls and iron doors at the center of each wall,
with no sort of embellishment.  The floor is littered with
spikes, pitfalls and oddly shaded squares which are no doubt
triggers to horrible traps.

KASUMI[grimacing]:Oh my!  It would seem that Kuno has laid out
the red carpet for me.

Suddenly, Kuno's voice bellows from nowhere, permeating
throughout the entire room.

KUNO'S VOICE:Who dares challenge me?  A vampire?  Come, girl, and
meet my blade!

KASUMI[shouting]:Why not come here, Kuno!?  It would make my job
even easier than it is!

KUNO'S VOICE:What, and deny you the ability to experience the
hospitality of my home?  That would be uncivilized.

KASUMI:The hell with being civilized!  I want to fight!

KUNO'S VOICE[confident]:By all means, come then.  Just remember
this; your undeath does NOT make you immortal.

Dodging spikes and triggers, Kasumi runs over to one of the doors
in front of her and opens it, running inside.  A hall with a pit
of spikes followed by a door.

KASUMI:If he weren't my enemy, I'd give him some homemaking tips.

Kasumi examines the walls at her sides and finds a lever at her
left.  She carefully pulls it and watches in surprise as a wooden
bridge spits out from the sides of the pit and links the two
parts of the hall.

KASUMI[crossing the bridge]:Well, Kuno seems to want to kill me
as bad as I want to kill him.

Kasumi runs to the door on the other side and kicks it open,
revealing a room with three armored samurai ready for her,
guarding a door behind them.  Another door was at the right of
the room, but Kasumi took little notice.

KASUMI:C'mon, little ones.  Let's dance.

Kasumi runs into the samurai, cleaving them all in three 
strikes.  They fall without bleeding.

KASUMI[looking at the bodies]:Undead?  They sure didn't look it
to me.  Well, they're pathetic enough to play the part, so let
them.  [Looks at the door they guarded].  <Hmm, this door
probably has another trap.>  [Looks at the other door].  <Perhaps
this one...>

Kasumi walks over to the side door and opens it, seeing a slim
hall with long spikes going in and out of the walls in a pattern,
leading to still another door.

KASUMI[examining the trap]:<Left... One... Right... One...
Left... One... Right.  It would seem that the spikes on the right
extend when the left retract and vice versa.>

The right spikes on the left retract, bringing out the right
spikes, and Kasumi runs on the left.  One.  Kasumi quickly jumps
to the right as those spikes retract, giving way to the left
spikes, and then continues running toward the door.  One.  She
jumps left as the spikes switch, and makes the rest of the way to
the door, kicking it open as she goes through.  It leads back
into the cold, though now windless outer world, another steel
structure facing her.

KASUMI:So, Kuno's here... [Licks her dry, cracked lips.  Her
knees start to get weak].  Damn, this place is really getting to
me... And no food in sight... Looks like adrenaline can only last
for so long...

Weakly, she pushes the door open and enters the pitch black room,
and creates a light sphere in her hand, letting it float up and
stick to the ceiling.  The room is bare, save for the throne at
the far wall, a skeleton sitting upon it, smiling at her through
it's broken, blackened teeth.

KASUMI:A corpse?

KUNO'S VOICE:It is a strange thing to see one's own corpse, isn't
it?  It's a rather... Humbling experience.

KASUMI:That's you?  Well, this shouldn't be too hard.  [Steps up
to the skeleton and slaps it across the cheek.  It's skull falls
off it's neck and to the floor, where it shatters into many
pieces]

KUNO'S VOICE:Very cute, little vampire.

KASUMI[enraged]:I have a NAME!

KUNO'S VOICE:Ah, yes... Kasumi, isn't it?  Don't worry about your
pathetic attempt at humor, for I'm far less interested in my own
corpse than I am in YOURS.

KASUMI:Ah, looking for a mate to this one, I see.  [Notices a
door at the far side of the wall].  Here I come!

With a wicked, fang-bearing smile, Kasumi runs over to and
through the door.  Just a regular hall with a door at the end.

KASUMI:This leads to the lord of the manor, no doubt.  [Walks
slowly over to the door and opens it cautiously].

Kasumi goes through the doorway into what can be best described
as the closest thing to a ball room that the sterility of the
fort can provide, wide and long, with a red carpet running down
the center as the only decoration.  At the far end of the room is
an empty suit of samurai armor, complete with the finest helmet
Kasumi had ever seen in her whole life and a katana in it's right
hand, glowing with a life of it's own, standing in front of the
far wall.

KASUMI[to the armor]:I take it YOU'RE Kuno?

Kuno [the armor] moves toward Kasumi, getting into fighting
stance as he does.

KUNO:You haven't forgotten me, young maiden.  Good, for I have
not forgotten you.

KASUMI:I was hoping you wouldn't.  [Raises her sword to Kuno]. 
Now I shall destroy you!

Kasumi and Kuno run toward each other and attempt a slash, their
swords meeting with large sparks.  Kasumi kicks Kuno's torso,
sending him back a pace, and attempts to stab Kuno in the chest. 
Her sword doesn't penetrate the armor.

KUNO[smugly]:There are times when my suffering can produce good. 
Your pathetic attempts cannot defeat me!  [Leaps at Kasumi and
swings his sword at her stomach, cutting it slightly, then
kicking her in the head]

Kasumi falls to the floor, clutching her stomach.

KASUMI:<Damn!  That shouldn't have got me!  Am I so depleted?>

KUNO[taunting]:How can a vampire even fight when she is weak from
starvation?

Kasumi gives Kuno a cold stare as he walks over to her.  He
points his sword down to her left breast, it's cold blade shining
evilly in the light.

KUNO:Now, it is time for you to die!

As Kuno thrusts his sword, Kasumi rolls out of the way, only
seconds away from being skewered.  She gets back up and
roundhouse kicks Kuno in the face, sending him spinning to the
floor.

KASUMI:You were saying!?!?

Kuno jumps back to his feet and charges at Kasumi.

KUNO:LIGHTNING STRIKE!!!  [His hands become a blur as he stabs
repeatedly at Kasumi].

Kasumi leaps back, away from the stabs, and gathers her magical
power in her left arm.

KASUMI:ENERGY... [Lifts her arm up to Kuno]... BOLT!!!

Lightning from her left arm slams into Kuno's chest, knocking him
back down with a loud clank.

KUNO[staggering back up]:Well... Who'd have thought you had
anything left...

Kasumi runs to Kuno, slashing his chest forcefully and sending
him back down.

KASUMI:Just like Yuta, totally impotent and hopeless!

Kuno staggers back up, apparently shaken.

KUNO:So you think so?  [Leaps back to the far wall, landing on
his feet.  He laughs as Kasumi leaps away in preparation].  Try
this, then!  [His sword crackles with energy as Kuno slashes the
air in front of him]

A surge of power flies from Kuno's sword, forming a row of energy
as wide as the room and as long as he was high, rolling like a
keg toward Kasumi.

KASUMI[examining the energy]:<Shit, there's no gap like Yuta's
balls!>

The energy, emitting sparks of electricity, is meters from
Kasumi.

KASUMI:<I better think of something... Let's try this...>

Now, the energy column is mere inches from Kasumi.

KASUMI[confidently]:Gotta go, Kuno!  [White energy envelops her
body].  SANCTUARY!  [She disappears]

The column rolls through where Kasumi had been.

KUNO[furious]:Coward!!  How DARE you run from me!

Kuno is left fuming, knowing he could have killed her.  At
Kasumi's crypt in Ziegsturhl, She appears seemingly from nowhere
in front of her coffin.  She then turns to face it.

KASUMI[in contemplation]:Well, it would seem that Kuno's destiny
at my blade's gonna be held up for a while.  Maybe Mana can lend
me some assistance.  [Looks at her reflection on her blade]. 
[smiling] Nabiki... You were SO sweet.  I wonder how Akane will
taste.  [Begins chuckling softly]

Fade to black.

_________________________________________________________________

     "Self-Destruction, Part Two." By Nine Inch Nails.  From the
     cd\cassette "Further down the Spiral."  Nothing/Interscope
     Records.

     COMING SOON!!!!          CHAPTER 7:The Oracle of Nosgoth.

_________________________________________________________________

     Due to having been mentally drained by this chapter, the
next one will be on a separate post.  Sorry for the
inconvenience.

     



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