Princess Mononoke Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Singing Mountain ❯ Chapter 15: Rescue Masquerade! ( Chapter 15 )

Last time on Singing Mountain…

Cell was appalled, and it showed on his face.

"You brought me here to kill me?" he growled. "You're the size of a house, and twice as thick!"

The ravens walked towards him, closing in on him. Cell didn't bother to look around hi; he just kept his gaze on Suzaku, who was slowly becoming angered. The giant raven lowered his head to Cell so that its beak was almost touching Cell's nose. Cell didn't flinch, blink, or move.

"And now, my children and people can rest in peace, knowing that their murderer has been laid to rest by us, and that our hands and claws are stained in your blood."

"This is a good thing?" Cell wondered, hearing the ravens around him caw and clap their beaks together in a chomping motion. He could see their surprise attack coming from a mile away, and their intimidation process wasn't working at all. He wasn't worried about picking a fight with them; he was more worried about Masquerade.

Would she be alright?

Singing Mountain: Chapter 15

Masquerade was escorted by Sir Marcus to the further most corner of the camp that was hidden in a rather large ditch lined by a wall of hard boulders. The ditch must have been the place of a large river, but became the victim of an either an awful drought or a dam farther away. In the ditch was a separate camp from the raven clan. She saw only one tent…and a familiar God laying next to it with his wings folded on his back and his scales giving off a faint shine in the setting sun.

"Osa Gami?" Masq wondered. "What is he doing here?"

"The dragon god would love to answer your questions for you." Marcus explained. "After all, he was the one who asked us to come here." Masquerade looked at the high priest in shock. She couldn't believe her ears or her eyes. She looked back at Osa, who turned his head to the two approaching humans and smiled in welcome. Masq hesitated, so Marcus gently took her by the elbow, and led her down a small trail to the bottom of the ditch. She couldn't take her eyes off Osa as she walked against her will.

Why? Ran through her head several times. Why, Osa?

Why did you ask the ravens to come here?

What is it you want with us?

Then, a dragon priest walked out of the tent to greet Masq. She recognized him immediately.

"Biso?" she blinked. It was him alright. He was still the same lanky, scrawny, pale skinned man with long, grassy hair like the leaves of a weeping willow. Perhaps it was the new clothes he was wearing instead of his warrior armor that made him different? She wasn't sure. He just looked strange to her.

"Hello, San Masquerade." Biso smiled charmingly as the priestess was walked to him. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person." He gently took her hand and brought it to his lips. Masq blushed, turning her saddened eyes to the ground. She felt distressed, and alone, and betrayed, and frightened…she wanted Cell next to her. She wanted him to come and save her…she wanted to go home so bad and pretend none of this was happening.

"Sir Biso…" Masq began, her voice slightly shaking in fear and coming tears. "What is…what is the meaning of this?"

"I thought it was polite for a gentleman to greet a lady by kissing her hand…"

"No, not that." Masq shook her head, pulling her hand away from Biso's gentle grip. She stared at the moccasins on her feet, wanting to cry. "Why are you and Osa Gami here? Why are you with the ravens? Do you know what even happened to my people?"

"So, the attack was successful…" Osa said, smirking through his leathery lips. "That's good to hear." Masq turned her attention to the giant dragon, and walked up to him. He was gigantic enough to feel greatly intimidated. He could easily step on her and squash her like a bug with his kitchen-sized clawed feet. She looked up his snake neck to his massive head and eyes the size of boulders. He could swallow Masq whole in his toothy jaws, but she refused to be intimidated by a God.

"Osa Gami…" Masq began, "Please don't tell me you organized the attack on my people."

"I'm afraid I must." The dragon nodded, leaning his head down to her and speaking more softly so as not to accidentally make her go deaf with his powerful voice. "It was necessary."

"But why?" Masq asked firmly. "My lord, Osa, why? What is it you came for this time?!"

"Exactly what I came for the last time. Cell. He is still here, still under your care, and he is still alive. Despite the fact that the traitorous wolf tribe is protecting him, I will do anything and everything I can to see him dead once and for all. I will succeed where Mr. Satan had failed."

She was getting mad. Her eyebrows narrowed and her hands tightened into fists.

"How dare you call us traitors…" she growled, "…when it is you who is the traitor! We helped you in that demon attack! I saved your only survivor, and this is the thanks we get?! How did you thank us, Osa? You stabbed us in the back!"

"Cell killed the people of all tribes!" Osa argued back, raising his voice. "He does not deserve to live! He killed our people, the raven's people, and yes he even killed your people! You punish him by protecting him from those trying to avenge their clans! Who betrayed who, San?!"

"Osa-san!" Biso called in alarm, rushing to his God's side. "Please calm down! Show her some courtesy! She did save my life!"

"She is protecting the beast that killed my children and killed your wife!" Osa yelled at his high priest. "You of all people should want revenge!"

"I do." Biso nodded. "But I wouldn't take my anger out on those not responsible for Milla's death…like the San here." He waved his hand at Masquerade. She looked away from Osa, feeling frightened about her fate. "She didn't kill my wife, and she didn't kill your children."

"She is harboring the monster!"

"Allow me to talk to her." Biso wished, taking one of Masq's hands into his own. "I do wish to talk to her and answer any more questions she has." Osa hesitated, looking at the tiny Masq next to his snout. Finally, he closed his eyes and raised his head stubbornly. Biso smiled, and guided Masq to the tent with a tug.

Masq's attention went to San Marcus as another raven priest walked up to him.

"Sir," the unknown priest reported, "according to Suzaku's army, Cell is in their custody and is being executed as we speak."

"Excellent." Marcus nodded. "Keep in contact with the ravens at Suzaku's base. Make sure the job has been done, and then we will continue with our plans."

"Yes, sir." The unknown priest bowed. A tear fell from Masq's eye as she disappeared behind the tent flap.

Cell…oh no…

/|\

Rhapsody rallied together what priestesses remained from the raven's attacks and those from the other mountains of the Wolf Jaw. Priestesses, wolves, and volunteering villagers gathered as Rhapsody stood on an elevated boulder, using that as her platform. Amon stood beside her, and Amaroq was a few feet away. Rhapsody stood before the crowd just a few feet below her, and lifted her mask off her face to make herself heard to the very back of the crowd lingering by the trees. A breeze blew up, shaking through the wolf fur of her shroud, giving the image of a white field of grass. She held up her hands, one of them holding her steel dagger.

"People of the Wolf Jaw," she began, "Sans, Gods, villagers…we are gathered here to push away a foe. But this is what most of you think. You are all going to be part of a search and rescue mission. Fighting is not our goal. Retrieving our two imprisoned comrades is. A priestess named San Masquerade is held captive to the north." She pointed in that direction with her free hand. "We don't know if she is alive or dead…but we must hope for the best.

"The other prisoner was headed the exact opposite direction, to the south." She pointed with her knife in the indicated direction. "It is not known whether he is alright or not, but it is my understanding he may be able to fend off the ravens by himself. Even if he could, he will need help.

"This is where we all come in. This giant group before me will be split into two groups, both heading in their directions." She pointed her knife over the crowd, splitting her view of it in half. She waved her free hand to the north. "This half goes with me to the north!" Then she waved her hand to the south. "And this half follows Amaroq-san to the south! We must hurry, for we have almost no time left! Remember, fighting is not the goal! This is a rescue! LET'S GO!"

The crowd roared in cheer as the halves began going in their directions. Priestesses hopped onto the backs of their wolves, villages followed them at a run, carrying blazing torches. Rhapsody jumped on to Amon's back, and faced the giant Amaroq.

"Amaroq-san, bring back Cell alive, and take him to the Shishi Gami pool." She asked. She never gave a God a direct order. "I will be back with San Masquerade."

"Why not join me?" Amaroq asked the priestess. "After all, that is my son you are riding on, and he follows you wherever you feel you must go." Rhapsody shook her head.

"Sir Marcus is where Masquerade is." Rhapsody insisted. "I believe it is time I faced him in person instead of cowering away from him like I did in the past."

"If that is what you wish." Amaroq nodded his head once. "The best of luck to you, San."

"We're off." Rhapsody said to Amon. The large, brown wolf bounded down the boulder to join the northern party. Some of the priestesses had already launched into their marching song as they rode into the distance. Amaroq galloped along side the southern party, releasing a loud howl of warning to the setting sky.

The wolves were on the move.

/|\

Cell was not afraid of his odds…simply because they were in his favor. Sure, the ravens were many, and they were huge. However, they were angry, and they were birds. Birds weren't very smart. Cell was not afraid, but rather calm. He knew he could get out of his position alive.

He closed his eyes, and concentrated on his ki. A yellow aura burned around him gently, causing the dusty ground beneath him to shake slightly and gather clouds around his ankles. Some of the ravens looked down at their feet and shifted around uneasily. Suzaku, however, didn't take his beady black eyes off of the android. Cell crossed his arms in front of him in an X, slowly gathering more power.

Some of the further away ravens felt something was wrong, and smartly took to the skies in retreat. The ravens closer to Cell began to squawk at each other in worry. They had no clue what was happening…

…which meant they would never know what hit them.

Cell flung his arms out, thrusting his ki to it's maximum. His aura became blindingly bright, and the force of his ki pushed out of his body. Several ravens around him were blown backwards with surprised squawks, flapping their wings harshly to stay upright. Cell could feel the wind from their wings beat against his face. He didn't shield himself. Instead, he surpressed the intensity of his ki and his aura dimmed in light. Suzaku flapped his wings furiously several times with an angry caw, then stabbed his beak foreword towards Cell.

Cell effortlessly caught the beak in one hand, and thrusted an uppercut on Suzaku's chin with his other hand. The bird was flung into a nearby empty building on its back. He righted himself, fanning his wings out to protect his underside.

"Kill him!" he shrieked angrily to his army of giant birds. "Kill him now!"

All the birds flocked around him, and Cell quickly powered up and took to the skies. As expected, the birds flew after him, cawing and squawking angrily and with murderous intentions. Cell stopped his accent and hovered in the air, letting his prey catch up to him. The first raven that got to him reached its feet out to claw him. Cell grabbed on of its feet and flung it back to its comrades below. The falling raven impacted on the attacking ravens, sending several of them falling back to the ground. Only three flapped out of the free fall in Cell's direction.

"You should never have brought San Masquerade into this!" Cell shouted at them, powering up a ki attack in one hand. He flung his hand at them, firing three blasts from his hands. Each impacted on one bird, killing them instantly. Cell flew through the clouds of dust and light to the base below. Several of the human priests were lined up to start an attack of their own.

The first wave showered Cell in arrows. They bounced harmlessly off Cell's body, but he caught one in his hand for inspection. The bows of the raven clan were more primitive than the ones of the raven clan. The arrowheads were carved stone. And the wood for the arrows were mere sticks that were practically picked up off the ground from where they had fallen off the tree. And they managed to kill members of the wolf clan with them? Strange?

Cell continued his decent downward towards the raven priests. Suddenly, one ran foreword with a large laser cannon strapped to his shoulder. He aimed and fired at Cell, striking the android in the stomach. Cell instantly felt pain, stopping his dive and hovering in the air to bend over his wound. Purple blood was spilling in his hands, and his breathing began to labor.

This is impossible!

How could I be hurt?

Then, more warriors with laser cannons rushed onto the scene, firing red beams in Cell's direction. Cell tried to dodge them, but the gunners had remarkable aim. Laser shots began piercing his chest and arms. They were aiming for his heart and head. The pain was unbearable, every wound was bleeding badly. He raised a hand to fire a ki blast to stop them from shooting at him. Suddenly, a raven appeared behind him, kicking him harshly in the back. He didn't realize it fast enough until they surrounded him and began pounding on him, pecking at him, and clawing his face and body…

…the ravens had ganged up on him to finish him off.

On the ground, the raven priests began cheering in triumph, ceasing their fire so that they wouldn't hit one of their gods by accident. Cell couldn't defend himself, and he was too injured to gather any more strength. Holes were everywhere in his body, and all of them were bleeding. Soon, the stabbing and scratching were too much to take from the ravens. Cell's weakened body fell to the ground and landed with a thud on the dirt. He made one attempt to try to stand on his feet, but when he did the ravens swamped on top of him. They cawed hungrily, pecking, scratching, standing on him, and pounding him with their large feet. Cell made no sounds of pain, he kept his aches to himself.

"Enough!" Suzaku called. "Away!" The attacking ravens flocked away from Cell's body, leaving it battered, beaten, and bleeding but alive. Suzaku laughed, spreading out his wings for a moment, then folding them at his sides.

"So, this is the mighty Cell? Laying here on his stomach, slowly dying?" he squawked in amusement. Cell lifted his head to the giant bird.

"Your people…designed…those weapons…to kill me…specifically…" Then he coughed blood out of his throat. "Didn't you?"

"Ha!" Suzaku throated out a massive cawing laugh. "We did! I am glad you noticed, Mr. Cell."

"You can stop…with the formalities…" Cell snarled through his blood stained teeth. "There's…no reason…to be polite…anymore." He raised a hand to Suzaku to blast him with ki, but the giant raven pecked it hard. Cell gritted his teeth to keep from screaming in pain, and he dropped his hand. Suzaku leaned his beak close to Cell.

"These are the last words you will ever hear, monster." The raven spoke softly. "My people have been avenged, and you have received your just fate."

"You will…regret…using San Masquerade…in this... you birdbrain!" Cell cried out desperately in a cracking voice. Suzaku cawed his order into the air.

"KILL HIM!"

/|\

"Cell had better be alright." Masq snapped at Biso when they entered the tent. Biso walked to a lantern hanging from a support pole, and dimmed the light slightly. "I don't want him a part of this!"

"Don't say 'he didn't do anything to us.' " Biso immediately said as he slowly turned down the light. "Because he did. He killed many of our people as he destroyed our islands. He left only one island standing, and he even ripped all life off of it as he evolved into that perfect form you love so much."

"And I'm sorry for what he did to your people!" Masq tried to reason with him. "But that's in the past now. Try to put it behind you!"

"I have tried." Biso nodded to her. "I tried and I tried…" He lowered his head and sighed. "But you don't put a woman like my Milla behind you easily. She was a delicate woman…afraid of her own shadow. I was her protection, her guardian…I was her world. No one and nothing else mattered to either of us when we were together. I loved her…and she worshiped me as though I was the last man on Earth. And now she's gone forever. I will never see her again, or look into her darling green eyes, or touch her soft silky hair…never again. San, I dream about her every night."

"Do you actually think killing Cell will bring her back?" Masq scolded.

"No." Biso shook his head. "But it will lay her soul to rest knowing that her murderer is burning in the depths of hell."

"It will not solve your problems!" Masq continued to scold. "The most you can do now is remember all the good times you two had together and move on!"

"Oh, I do remember." Biso nodded again, with a slight smile. He looked back into Masquerade's eyes and took a step towards her. "I remember all the good days of Milla and myself being together. But…even though I miss her…I feel lonely without a woman beside me."

"And I do feel sorry for you." Masq continued to scold, but let go a little of her firm attitude. "Find another woman, go back to the sea, and be happy with what you have now."

"But I have found another woman." Biso smiled. "However, I don't know if she likes me yet." He took another step towards Masquerade. She took one step away.

"What do you mean?" Masq wondered, becoming firm again. Suddenly, she didn't want to know the answer to that question. She became frightened, and started shivering. Biso rested his hands on her shoulders.

"San, the dragons and the wolves aren't enemies…we can be friends again. We can stop the fighting now." Biso said gently.

"Get your hands off me!" Masq yelled, trying to squirm out of his grasp. He gripped her shoulders more tightly, and pulled her into a tight embrace. Masq frantically tried to wiggle away, beating at his chest and trying to kick him.

"I know you have feelings for that monster, Cell." Biso reasoned. "But that's all he is: a monster. He doesn't have feelings. He kills people, and he won't stop. Sooner or later, he will kill you too. San, understand…you can't attach yourself to him. Don't give him your heart…he'll rip it apart." He put a hand under her chin and pushed her head up to him so they were looking into each other's eyes. "Leave him. He is only toying with you. He will hurt you very badly, San. Let him die, and let this world breathe a final sigh of relief. Be mine, San. Be my new wife, and our tribes will be at peace at long last."

Masq froze. She had no idea what to say or do…

"Can't make up your mind?" Biso smiled, leaning closer to her. "Well, how is Cell's kiss? Has he kissed you?" Masq closed her eyes and sighed.

"No. He hasn't." she moaned.

"Well then…" Biso said softly, then he pressed his lips against hers.

Masq panicked at first, freezing and staying perfectly still. Biso hugged her closer to him, and she relaxed against the warmth of his body. The kiss lasted for only a moment, then Biso slowly parted from her. Masq pushed him away, walking away from him to a corner of the tent.

"No." she shook her head. "No, it just doesn't feel right. I can't love you."

"Why not?" Biso narrowed his eyes. "Do you still feel for that…thing?!"

"I'm sorry he killed your wife, but that's in the past." Suddenly, emotion took over her senses, and she began yelling. "I love him! I love Cell, and you can't make me change my mind or my heart!" She headed for the tent flap.

"Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to go find him! I won't let you kill Cell!" She ran out the tent, Biso trying to run after her.

"Stop her!" he yelled to the ravens. "Don't let her escape!"

Several birds heard her planned escaped, and quickly surrounded her. One dive-bombed from the air and knocked her over. Masq fell to the ground on her stomach as many gigantic ravens swarmed on top of her, clawing and cawing. Masq curled herself into a tight ball, protecting her face with her hands and arms. She screamed as the ravens clawed and pecked her. They were going to kill her any moment now.

No!

I don't wanna die!

Cell! Help me!

Closing in on the camp came a low, long sound.

"AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The howl of a wolf god.

/|\

Before the ravens could jump on top of Cell's battered body and kill him, an explosion rocked the raven base. Humans toppled over from the force of the blow. Several ravens raised themselves into the air for a few moments squawking in confusion.

"What?" Suzaku wondered, looking towards the explosion. Cell sensed several ki presences in the air, and he turned his head to look up. Cheering in victory of the destruction were two welcome and one not welcome presence. Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan. Cell wondered why Gohan was with Krillin and Piccolo, and what the boy's intentions were. He looked to what they had destroyed: one of the buildings of the base. Several humans were yelling and screaming that they had lost their laser cannons in the destruction. Cell smiled.

That must have been Piccolo's idea: destroy the arsenal first.

Thank you, Piccolo.

The three of them hovered back down on the ground, and the raven tribe backed away from them in fear. Some brave priests raised the remaining laser guns at them.

"How dare you attack our tribe!" one shouted, firing. Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan batted the blasts away easily. Piccolo's eyes shimmered for a moment, and the remaining laser cannons blew themselves up. The raven clan was all but defenseless. Gohan approached Cell with a small bag in his hand. Suzaku backed away from the boy in fear, as did the followers behind him.

"Who are you?" the raven god demanded. Gohan didn't answer him. Instead, he bent down to Cell, reached into the pouch, and handed the tiny content to the android.

"Senzu…???" Cell recognized the tiny bean in his hand.

"Take it." Gohan suggested. "We'll need your help, Cell." Cell looked at the boy, confused. Gohan looked back at Cell, and smiled. "I know you hate me, Cell, but that's in the past. Eat the senzu and get up. Let's end this battle together as allies, okay?"

He looks so much like Goku… Cell marveled in his head. He quickly popped the senzu in his mouth and chewed as Gohan helped him up.

"You are reviving him." Suzaku glowered, lowering his head and fanning out his wings. "Don't help him, boy! We were just about to kill him!"

"Oh really?" Piccolo snarled back. "We're here to punish you for trying just that."

"Yeah. Leave him alone." Krillin shouted at them. "Your fight is with us now."

"I can't stay here." Cell said to the others. "San is in danger and I have to go to her before something bad happens. I think you three can fight the ravens with no problem."

"But Cell…" Gohan looked up at his old nemesis. "We don't know anything about them. We may need you."

"Let him go, Gohan." Piccolo nodded. "We can handle the ravens. Cell has more important matters to take care of." Gohan looked at his Namekian mentor for a moment, then nodded.

"Go ahead, Cell." Gohan nodded to the android. "Take care, okay?"

"Thank you." Cell nodded to the boy, then flew off. Suzaku cawed angrily.

"Get him!" he shouted to his army. "He's getting away!"

Before the army could fly after Cell, a low and long sound was heard in the distance...

"AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The howl of a wolf god.

/|\

Rhapsody led the rescue force towards the camp, riding on Amon who was swiftly taking lead. Rhapsody quickly loaded her bow with an arrow tied in a prayer, and held onto a tuff of Amon's neck fir to keep herself steady as he ran. Other priestesses were right behind her on wolves, and several villagers were taking up the rear while holding their lit torches in the air. It looked more like an attacking mob…but then again, they were enraged priestesses. How could it not look threatening?

Rhapsody finally found the camp of the raven tribe. She spotted a huge cluster of ravens flocking on top of someone or something. She took aim with her arrow, and let go of the drawstring. The arrow sang noisily at the group of ravens, hitting one precisely between the eyes. It slumped to the ground dead, causing the others to flock away in cowardly fear. What they were crowding around clumsily got to her feet.

"San Masquerade!" Rhapsody called. Masq looked at her high priestess, and sighed in relief.

"Rhapsody!" she called, waving her arms up in a vibrant "over here!" motion. Amon quickly ran to her, and the rest of the rescue party flocked out of the woods. Rhapsody helped Masq onto Amon's back, and prepared to take off back into the woods with the mission completed. However…

"Stay right where you are, wolf priestesses!"

Rhapsody froze, hearing the voice. Masq looked in the direction of the voice.

"Sir Marcus…" Masq whispered in fear. One of the many high priests of the ravens rode onto the scene on one of the giant birds, sitting comfortably on his back. Rhapsody lifted her mask off her face for a better look. Marcus looked at Rhapsody's face and smiled. They stared at each other, not saying a word. The raven cawed at Rhapsody.

"So, we have the only priestess of the wolf tribe here before us?" he crowed in amusement. "Perhaps the rest of the Sans are too weak to share her position. Don't you think so, Sir Marcus?" The raven priest didn't respond. "Sir?" Nothing. He wasn't even listening. He was staring into the eyes that were identical to his through heritage. He smiled at Rhapsody.

"Maria…" he said to her, as though he was saying hello. Her response was slightly colder, but a greeting nonetheless.

"Father…"

/|\

Surreal watched Cell fly past the Shishi Gami realm, headed to the second raven camp where Masquerade was held. She sighed, sitting back in her tree.

Good, he's alive.

The ravens appall me. I can't believe they tried to kill him.

I wish they could see that I don't want Cell dead…

…yet…

I need him alive until tomorrow night…

And to be sure that happens, I guess I better help him rescue his girlfriend…

She disappeared into the night. After a moment of stillness, Akimo came out of hiding from behind a gigantic tree. Several kodama appeared as well, thankful that the scary force of evil was gone.

The tiny tree children were silent, and afraid.

Akimo felt their fear.

Tomorrow night…none of them knew what would happen tomorrow night.

To Be Continued

END OF EPISODE BONUS!!!

About Singing Mountain: Princess Mononoke

In 1997, the Japanese anime movie Princess Mononoke (created by Hayao Miyazaki) aired in Japan, and became the nation's highest grossing movie ever, beating E.T. This was short lived, when Titanic aired in theaters. In 1999, Mononoke came to America, dubbed by Miramax and bringing great talents such as Billy Crudup, Gilian Anderson, Billy Bob Thorton, Minnie Driver, and Jada Pinkett Smith. Since it aired the same time as the Pokemon Movie did, Mononoke became a "box-office disappointment," but to anime fans, it became a classic creation among Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

The story of Princess Mononoke centers around a warrior named Ashitaka, a man seeking a way to cure a deadly scar on his arm. His travels take him to a mountain to the west where a battle between the humans and the Gods was taking place. The Gods, gigantic beasts that are residents of the mountain, are fighting the humans for the right to live on the land. Among these Gods is the wolf clan, Moro Gami (or Moro no Kimi), her two sons, and a human girl named San. When San and Ashitaka meet, the destinies of the humans, Gods, and the forest around them, change forever.

For those who have never seen this movie are missing out on a great story and fantastic animation. 10% of the movie is computer animated, the rest used with state of the art animation technology. The storytelling style is unique and the music is rich and beautiful. I'm not kidding when I say this is one of the best animes ever made, and I'm especially not kidding when I say the dub is better than the Japanese version. For those who've never seen Mononoke, the video and DVD are available in stores. For those who have seen it, I hope you're enjoying Singing Mountain and the backstory I'm putting in it. This column talks briefly about Mononoke and its tie in this fanfic.

People of the Mountain

Last chapter, I talked about the gods of the mountain. This chapter, I want to talk about the history of their worshipers: humans.

Back in the prehistoric days, the gods and the humans lived in harmony. They worked together as one society, and they were happy. As the eons and ages passed, the humans evolved and took on their own liberties. The gods were rejected and the humans began taking the land as their own. Forests were cut down to build cities and farmlands, and animals were killed for their meat or fur.

You bet the gods were ticked off.

The ancient capital of Japan is where the fighting starts (I can't really remember the name, but that ancient capital is known today as Kyoto). The gods tried to attack the humans, but were beaten back by the new weapon used by humans: guns. Heading the gunning squad was an Imperial official known only in the Mononoke movie as Lady Eboshi.

On Singing Mountain, a mountain "far to the west," a village was created to serve the Japanese Empire. It was Tatara Ba, translated in English as "The Iron Making Town." The people there were known as the Tatara tribe, and they dug ore from the surrounding sand areas to make iron for weapons and trade. Iron was created mostly for trade. Soon, Lady Eboshi bought the town from its original leader, and made it her investment. She brought some riflemen she received from a priest named Jiko. Although Eboshi oversaw and managed the iron works of Tatara Ba, she was not there to become wealthy off the business or to receive a higher place in the imperial court. She was there to slay the Shishi Gami and be rid of the ancient gods forever.

The people of the Tatara were peaceful, humble, and hardworking. Eboshi pays for their food and supplies off the money she makes in iron trades. Therefore, there we no merchants in Tatara Ba, however there were accountants that counted those who took food and supplies from stalls and barns. The men of Tatara are both hardworking and easy going. They dug for the iron and chopped down the surrounding trees for lumber. The women are equally hardworking and were very strong willed. Their job was to forge the iron and pump the massive bellows that keep the forge's fire ablaze. The women are known for their smarty-pants attitudes, and also the working song they sing as they pump air into the bellows.

Another peoples, far to the east of Singing Mountain, are called the Emishi. Little is known of these primitive peoples, and I don't know if they truly did exist or not. However, if they did exist, there is no trace of them left. Five hundred years before the Mononoke movie began, the Emishi were the highest authority of Japanese religion, especially when it came to the ancient gods. However, the emperor ordered all of the Emishi clan dead for their loyalty to the gods and the Shishi Gami. The Emishi fled to the east, where they began to thrive the best they could off what little they had. A prince or princess, who took advice from a council of elders, which was ruled by a Wise Woman or witch doctor, leads the Emishi. Ashitaka-san was the last prince of the Emishi, leaving his people behind, never to return, to cleanse his demon scar.

The people were very hard for me to consider while writing Singing Mountain, since I had to combine the world of Mononoke, Dragonball Z, and the Muramachi period of Japan into one world where they could thrive with each other. To keep Singing Mountain the way it was six thousand years ago, I kept contact with the outside world down to a minimum, and turned the mountain into a place time forgot. Following along with the movie, I made the villagers and a majority of the priestesses descendents of the Tatara people. Characters like Masquerade were immigrants from other parts of the DBZ world (Masq, aka me!, is from an American province. ^_^), coming to the mountain to either live there or find their purposes in life. The mountain is suppost to be a place of inspiration and spiritual renewal because of its fascinating history. However, since people who are looked down upon by others or seem to have no place in life go to the mountain to find a new life and home. (Masquerade went to the mountain not just because she had always wanted to, but she began her journey there when her family was killed by Cell. Also, it is mentioned that Yamcha was born and raised on the mountain…well, I haven't seen anyone who talked about Yamcha's origin so I decided to take a stab at it. His attack is the Wolf Fang Fist, right? I thought he learned that from somewhere.) Thus, the Singing Mountain was also known as the "mountain of outcasts."

The modern day Mononoke would have the conveniences of the modern/futuristic world of DBZ, so they would have electricity, indoor plumbing, communication, and other household conveniences of the day. However, the life style hardly changed at all. Most Mononoke religions welcome men and women into the sanct, but the wolves are different. The wolves raised their first priestess, San,, and she was the only one they ever trusted. After the ravens destroyed the first Moro Gami temple, several of the Tatara women decided to join San's unique lifestyle among the gods of the forest. Only women were accepted as worshipers of the wolves, since the Tatara women's motto was "You can't trust men." Although men are respected to the wolf clan, none can really ever become part of the clan itself. Wolf priestesses, like other Mononoke priests and priestesses, have the right to fall in love, marry, and have children. However, they were to erase any religion they once had, no matter what they were. If you were either a Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Shinto, or whatever, you couldn't practice it in public. You could still be Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Shinto, or whatever, but that was practiced in the privacy of home. Most Mononoke tribes don't do this to their members.

This way of life hardly ever changed since the last six thousand years. However, that could change as the events of Singing Mountain unfold…as Ashitaka's story is once again, brought back to life, and the people touched by the story are changed forever.