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DD II Shrine

 

 

 

The Soothsayer's Secret

By Eddie MountainGoat
Contributor

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I was thinking a lot about how the places and people should look, for this one.  If detailed character description doesn’t interest you, feel free to just scroll down for more plot.

THE SOOTHSAYER’S SECRET

(A Double Dragon cartoon fan-script.  This story is set after “The Revenge” – although you don’t need to know that story to follow this one.)

SCENE 1: A dark chamber (interior).  Red fires burn in the background, but everything else is completely black.

BG MUSIC: Dark, sinister and unlike any theme previously heard in the series.

TRIGGER HAPPY is onscreen, unarmed and looking worried.  He cautiously walks to center-screen when a deep, booming voice suddenly comes out of the darkness. 

VOICE: That’s close enough.

(TRIGGER HAPPY stops, now clearly afraid.)

VOICE: We know you.  You are Trigger Happy, the Shadow Warrior.

T.HAPPY: Uh… yes.  At least, I was.

VOICE: Why are you here?

T.HAPPY: I can’t go back to the Shadow Dojo.  The Shadow Master tried to sacrifice me for another warrior!

VOICE: So, you have seen the Shadow Master’s true nature.  He uses his minions as he will, but cares none for them.

T.HAPPY: I can’t follow someone who would do that to me!

VOICE: So you now offer your loyalty to me?

T.HAPPY: Yes!  I will do as you command!

VOICE: Excellent.  You will return to the Shadow Dojo, immediately.

T.HAPPY: But… the Shadow Master will…

VOICE: (interrupting) Be pleased with you if you tell him you’ve found something he has long sought.

(Red flame cut to next scene)

___

SCENE 2: Establishing shot of the Shadow Dojo (exterior, night).  Cut to Shadow Master’s Throne Room.

The SHADOW MASTER and SICKLE stand in front of the Shadow Mural.  TRIGGER HAPPY enters (still unarmed) through the portal.  As SICKLE notices him, he draws his weapons, ready to fight.

SICKLE: Trigger Happy!  You don’t belong here anymore!

SHADOW MASTER: You have some nerve appearing in my Dojo.  What’s to stop me from imprisoning you in the Shadow Mural, right now?

T.HAPPY: Because, after searching and searching, I know where to find the Soothsayer!

S.MASTER: So… after all this time, the sacred stones will finally be mine.  Welcome back to the Shadow Dojo, Trigger Happy.

(The three villains walk toward the Black Flame.)

SICKLE: Shadow Master!  Allow me to capture the Soothsayer for you!

S.MASTER: Capture is not my intention.  This will be an ideal proving test for my newest Shadow Warriors: The Neo Shadows!

(BG MUSIC: The same music used in Episode 2: “The Legend Continues” when the Shadow Warriors first appeared.)

The six NEO SHADOWS emerge from the Black Flame in the following order: GIBSON, ROBINSON, DABY, a FAT thug, a THIN thug, and finally their leader, JESSE JIM [NOTE: For ease of reading, this script will usually refer to JESSE JIM as simply JESSE].

(CHARACTER DESIGN: GIBSON, ROBINSON and DABY are primarily based on their appearance in the manga accompanying the Nintendo Famicom port of Double Dragon III [“the Famicom manga”].  The coloring of their clothes and hair is the same as in the Nintendo game [“Nintendo DD III”]. 

(The FAT and THIN thugs are the grunt enemies from the first level of the arcade Double Dragon 3 [“Arcade DD3”].

(JESSE JIM is a huge man based on the character “Jim” in Nintendo DD III [not his arcade counterpart].  Like Jim, he is the brother of WILD WILLY [the cowboy villain, from the first two episodes of the cartoon].  He is primarily based on Jim’s appearance in the Famicom manga.  The coloring of his clothes is the same as in Nintendo DD III. However, his face is similar enough to his brother’s to see a family resemblance.  Like his brother, he has orange hair and a black cowboy hat.  When he speaks, his accent has the same twang as his brother’s, but it’s far less annoying, and much deeper and more gravelly [though not to the point that it could be confused with the voice from the first scene].)

S.MASTER: Neo Shadows, I have a mission for you.

(Blue flame cut)

___

SCENE 3: The Weapon Shop (exterior, day).  The shop from the beginning of Arcade DD3, Mission 1.

The view focuses on the entrance as BILLY, JIMMY (looking agitated), BLASTER and MICHAEL (all unarmed) step out.

(CHARACTER DESIGN: MICHAEL wears his yellow singlet and blue pants, not his Dragon Dojo gear.  BLASTER is dressed in his military greens from the real season two.  The singlet he was given in later season one episodes just didn’t fit the character.)

JIMMY: (frustrated) Man, I can’t believe the overcharging in that place!

BLASTER: Everybody’s gotta make a living Jimmy.

JIMMY: There’s making a living, and then there’s fleecing people for every last quarter they’ve…

HIRUKO: (off-screen, frantically) HELP!  HEEEEEEEELP!

(Cut to the footpath, in front of the “HASEPIN” Café: The area from Arcade DD3, Mission 1, to the right of the “Power Records” store.)

HIRUKO, looking terrified, comes into view from around the street corner.  She’s hobbling along the footpath as quickly as she can, but she’s quite slow.

(CHARACTER DESIGN: HIRUKO is an old soothsayer, about half the Double Dragons’ height.  Her face is based on her talking portrait in Arcade DD3.  Her white robes and long, white hair are from her incarnation in Nintendo DD III.  She leans on her gnarled wooden cane from the arcade game.)

HIRUKO is quickly followed onscreen by her pursuers: the NEO SHADOWS, all riding Shadow Raven motorbikes.  The view then cuts back to the shop entrance and the four heroes.

JIMMY: Trouble!

BILLY: That woman needs our help now!  Jimmy and I will draw them away from her.  Michael, as soon as it’s safe, get her out of here. Blaster, you know what to do.

BILLY, JIMMY and BLASTER: Dragons Go!

(BILLY, JIMMY and BLASTER all rush off screen; The Lee brothers to the viewer’s right, and BLASTER to the left.)

(Cut back to the footpath, directly into the next scene.)

___

SCENE 4: The footpath (day).  The area from Arcade DD3, Mission 1, to the right of the Weapon Shop, up to and including the HASEPIN Café.

HIRUKO is still being pursued, and JESSE and the FAT thug are almost on her.  Just as they are about to reach her, BILLY and JIMMY both zoom on screen in midair [already in mid-flying kick].  Their attacks hit the two NEO SHADOWS, knocking them off their bikes and off-screen.  MICHAEL then runs up to HIRUKO, and the view focuses on the two of them.

MICHAEL: Please ma’am, we need to get to safety, now!

HIRUKO: Oh thank you, Sonny.

(MICHAEL leads HIRUKO off screen.  As they leave, the view remains stationary, and what was behind them is revealed: JESSE, on the ground, shaking himself off.  He gets up, furious, and glares as BILLY and JIMMY come into view.)

BILLY: (angrily) Didn’t anyone ever teach you to respect your elders?

JIMMY: Whoever you are, you’re under Deputy’s arrest!

JESSE: (pointing at the Dragon Masters) GET THEM!

(The remaining four NEO SHADOWS speed their motorbikes toward the twins.  Suddenly, a series of laser blasts bursts in from off-screen with appropriate SOUND EFFECT.  The lasers hit the ground in front of the bikes, causing potholes.  The bikes immediately get their front wheels stuck in the potholes, sending them and their riders flying.  The view then cuts to the source of the lasers: BLASTER, in his yellow and blue Dragon Warrior suit, with his plasma cannon smoking.)

BLASTER: Sorry, I just didn’t think that motors against bare hands was very fair.

(SOUND EFFECT: Police Sirens)

Several police cars pull up.  The view cuts back to JESSE, re-mounting his bike.

JESSE: Head for the hills!  Retreat!

(JESSE, GIBSON, ROBINSON and DABY all drive off.  MARIAN and another cop slap handcuffs on the FAT and THIN thugs.

(BILLY, JIMMY and BLASTER stand triumphant in the same pose portrayed on the American flyer for Arcade DD3 [with BLASTER taking the place of the “Sonny” character].)

BILLY, JIMMY and BLASTER: By the power of the Dragon!

(Green flame cut)

___

SCENE 5: Establishing shot of the Metro City Police Station (exterior, afternoon).  Cut to an interior interview room.

BILLY and JIMMY sit on one side of a small table.  HIRUKO sits on the other.  A door is visible behind the Lee brothers.

HIRUKO: Thank you for saving me Dragon Masters.

JIMMY: Hey, as Dragon Warriors and as Metro Deputies, it’s what we do!

BILLY: As the code of the Dragon says, “Any warrior may defend himself, but the moral warrior will defend the innocent.”

(The door opens and MARIAN enters.)

HIRUKO: Ah, Officer Marian Martin.  Good of you to join us.

(BILLY, JIMMY and MARIAN are shocked that HIRUKO seems to know MARIAN.)

MARIAN: You… know me?  Who are you?

HIRUKO: I am Hiruko.

MARIAN: But, Hiruko… we’ve never met!  How can you know me?

HIRUKO: I know many things.  For I am a soothsayer!

(CLOSE UP on the stunned faces of BILLY, JIMMY and MARIAN as the BG MUSIC plays three or four alarming notes.)

(Fade to black for commercial break)

___

SCENE 6: Police Station interior interview room.

Exactly where we left off. BILLY, JIMMY, MARIAN and HIRUKO are still around the table.

MARIAN: You’re a soothsayer?  That’s like, you can tell the future?

HIRUKO: No.  But I can see things that others cannot.  I can know things without learning them.

MARIAN: I don’t suppose you know who those bullies harassing you were?  The ones we arrested aren’t saying anything.

HIRUKO: All I can tell you is that one of them has a connection to [turning to JIMMY] your past Jimmy Lee!

JIMMY: Uh, Okay.  But why were they after you?

HIRUKO: Because I carry a secret that would sell for a high black market price!  I know the locations of the sacred stones of Noiram!

JIMMY: The what-what of what-what?

(Hiruko holds up a crystal ball.  The view zooms in on the ball as an image begins to form within it.  This image eventually fills the screen.)

___

SCENE 7 (The tale of Noiram): Flashbacks within the crystal ball.

(Hiruko’s monologue narrates this scene.  As she talks, the crystal ball shows everything that she says is happening.  NOTE: For ease of reading, this script only contains the monologue rather than both Hiruko’s words and the descriptions of them playing out.)

HIRUKO: Many hundreds of years ago, the First Shadow Master led his armies to enslave the known world.  To face this threat to freedom, an alliance of nations was formed under the leadership of the greatest spell-caster of the age: Princess Noiram of Ancient Egypt.

After many battles and much sacrifice, Noiram herself faced the Shadow Master in a duel.  They fought long and hard, but Noiram emerged victorious.  With the Shadow Master defeated, Noiram was able to extinguish the Black Flame. 

Years later, Noiram’s power was locked within her pyramid to keep it from ever being used for evil.  The pyramid was then sealed with three sacred stones, which were immediately scattered from one end of the world to the other.

To this day, the stones remain heavily guarded by the Keepers; elite warriors who have handed down the duty of protecting the stones for generations.

(The view zooms out until it is the crystal ball itself that is the focus, not the image within it.)

(Green flame cut)

___

SCENE 8: Establishing shot of the warehouse (exterior, night).  The building from Arcade DD3, Mission 1, to the farthest right of the first background.  Its roller-shutter door is down.

Cut to the warehouse interior.  The second background of Arcade DD3, Mission 1.

The view pans across left to right.  Several low-level “Blade” Shadow Warriors are riding around on Shadow Raven motorbikes.  The SHADOW MASTER and SICKLE stand on the elevated level at the end, observing.  JESSE enters, followed by the remaining three NEO SHADOWS.

S.MASTER: Report, Jesse Jim.

JESSE: The law got two of mah Neo Shadows!

S.MASTER: Merely the chaff being separated from the wheat.  What of the Soothsayer?

JESSE: She’s with the Dragon Masters.

SICKLE: You idiot!  If she tells them where the stones are, we could lose everything!

S.MASTER: Silence, Sickle.  Everything is going according to plan.

(Blue flame cut)

___

SCENE 9: Double Dragons’ secret lair.

BILLY sits on a swivel-chair with his back to the big computer.  JIMMY paces up and down in front of him.  They both now wear their swords.

JIMMY: I don’t get it.  Hiruko said that one of them has a connection to my past…

BILLY: And it’s clearly troubling you.

JIMMY: Well, I hate to admit it, but my past is pretty shady!

BILLY: That’s not who you are anymore Jimmy.

JIMMY: Thanks to you.  But if those guys are linked to that life, then guess who’s probably behind all this.

BILLY: The Shadow Master!

(SOUND EFFECT: A radio buzz)

MARIAN: (off-screen, over the radio) Billy, come in, it’s Marian!

(BILLY swivels his chair around, and pushes a button.)

BILLY: Billy here, go ahead.

MARIAN: One of the thugs we arrested agreed to talk.  He said they’re using a warehouse at the end of the M1.

BILLY: We’re on our way!

___

SCENE 10: The hidden back entrance to the Dragon Dojo [the wall with the “Red Dragon Tea” sign] (night).

The wall opens and the Dragon Cruiser speeds out into the night.

___

SCENE 11: The warehouse (exterior, night).

The Dragon Cruiser pulls up in front of the warehouse, and BILLY and JIMMY get out.  BILLY looks cautiously at the building.

BILLY: There’s no telling what could be in there.

JIMMY: Then we’d better be prepared for anything!

(JIMMY draws his sword, holding it up and out.)

JIMMY: For might!

(BILLY draws his sword, crossing JIMMY’s with it.)

BILLY: For right!

(Green energy emanates from the swords, transforming BILLY and JIMMY into the Double Dragons.)

BILLY and JIMMY: We are Double Dragons!

(The Double Dragons sheath their swords, open the roller-shutter door, and enter the warehouse.)

___

SCENE 12: The warehouse (interior).

The lights are all out.  BILLY and JIMMY make their way along in the darkness.  It’s not completely black (like the first scene was), but the background is still dim.  They then reach the “KEEP OUT” sign from Arcade DD3 (which is visible, and easily readable).

BILLY: (noticing the sign) Looks like they don’t want visitors.

(The lights suddenly come on with appropriate SOUND EFFECT.  The warehouse interior is now clearly visible.  It’s also now clear that BILLY and JIMMY are surrounded by many low-level “Blade” Shadow Warriors led by GIBSON and ROBINSON.  JESSE stands on the elevated level at the end.)

JESSE: Welcome, Double Dragons!

JIMMY: Expecting us, were you?

JESSE: Heh.  Let’s just say, ah heard it from a squealing piggy.

JIMMY: Well there’s something I’ve gotta know!  Who are you?

JESSE: Ah’m Jesse Jim, boss of the Shadow Master’s Neo Shadows!

(The view focuses on JIMMY’s shocked face as he has a realization.  It then switches to JIMMY’s view of JESSE, flashing between JESSE and WILLY [in the same way that VORTEX saw SICKLE flash between his current and younger incarnations in the episode “River of Tears”].  It finally goes back to JIMMY.)

JIMMY: I know who you are.  You’re Wild Willy’s brother, aren’t you?

JESSE: (furious) Don’t you mention mah brother’s name!  Tar-and-feather these varmints!

(BG MUSIC: Fight scene music)

(A number of “Blades” rush to attack the Double Dragons from all directions.  BILLY and JIMMY take them all down with a DD3-style “back-to-back hurricane kick.”  More Blades attack, and a fight scene ensues.  GIBSON throws a survival knife at BILLY, prompting him to draw his sword and block it.  JIMMY keeps his weapon sheathed and uses the “Mid-Air Somer-Assault” attack [from Nintendo DD III] on ROBINSON.  When only a few of the Blades remain, JESSE gets fed up.  He leaps down to ground level, landing with a thud.  JIMMY’s attention is drawn, and JESSE beckons him over.)

JESSE: C’mon, Pilgrim!

(The view zooms in on JESSE, as the BG MUSIC plays a few immediate, exciting, pre-fight notes.)

(Fade to black, for commercial break)

___

SCENE 13 (the showdown): The warehouse (interior).

Exactly where we left off.  JESSE, now on the ground level (but still some distance from the battle), beckons JIMMY over.

JESSE: C’mon, Pilgrim!  Jus’ you an’ me!

BILLY: Go!  I can handle things over here.

(JIMMY rushes towards JESSE.  Before JIMMY can close the distance, JESSE hits him with his (Jim’s) surprisingly fast flying knee attack.  JIMMY is knocked down, and JESSE towers over his fallen form, smirking.)

JIMMY: (getting up) Jesse, you can’t trust the Shadow Master!

JESSE: He’s gonna make me Shadow Boss!

JIMMY: He trapped your brother in the Shadow Mural!

JESSE: No… you’re lying.

JIMMY: I was there!

JESSE: Ah don’t believe you!

(JESSE attacks.  Due to the size difference between the two, the resulting fight should be a tribute to the Bruce Lee/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fight in “Game of Death” [obviously, it’s toned-down].  Eventually, JIMMY stands victorious over JESSE.)

JIMMY: It doesn’t have to be like this.

JESSE: It does!  Ah’m a Neo Shadow!

JIMMY: If being a Shadow is so important to you, go and see where it took your brother!

(JESSE’s face shows his absolute disbelief that JIMMY is apparently willing to let him go.)

JIMMY: I mean it.  Take a good look at the mural, and decide if you really want to follow the Shadow Master.  Because I promise you, he cares about no one but himself!

(JESSE gets up, and flees.  BILLY joins JIMMY.)

BILLY: He got away?

JIMMY: I let him go.

BILLY: Why?

JIMMY: Because he needs to see the Shadow Master’s true nature, like I did.

BILLY: And then what?

JIMMY: Then, it’s up to him.

(HIRUKO enters, clapping.)

HIRUKO: I knew it!  You truly are great warriors!

JIMMY: Hiruko?  How’d you get in here?

HIRUKO: I have my ways, Jimmy Lee.

JIMMY: You know?

HIRUKO: I told you, I can see things that others can not.

(Green flame cut)

___

SCENE 14: Establishing shot of the Shadow Dojo (exterior, night).  Cut to Shadow Master’s Throne Room.

JESSE faces the Shadow Mural, and puts his hand over the hand of the clearly visible WILD WILLY.

JESSE: So, the Dragon wasn’t lying.

S.MASTER: (approaching from behind) And now, you know the truth.

(With betrayal in his eyes, JESSE turns and faces the SHADOW MASTER.)

JESSE: You knew about mah brother all along?

S.MASTER: I did.

JESSE: And you still used me against the Dragons?

S.MASTER: You have served me well, while you were still of any value.  But your usefulness has reached its end.  Take him to the dungeon!

(GIBSON and ROBINSON emerge, smirking evilly.  They are now dressed as low-level “Blade” Shadow Warriors.  Each one fires a laser-lasso over one of JESSE’s arms, and together, they drag him away.)

(CHARACTER DESIGN: Neither GIBSON nor ROBINSON wear the full “Blade” get-up.  They don’t wear the masks or headgear, allowing the viewer to see their faces.  ROBINSON has the chest-and-shoulder-armor, but GIBSON maintains his bare-chested look. However, they both wear the pants, boots, gloves and laser-gauntlets.)

(Blue flame cut)

__

SCENE 15 (Epilogue): A Metro City park (day).

BILLY, JIMMY (both now in the form of the Lee brothers) and HIRUKO sit under a tree.

BILLY: So, Jesse Jim and his gang were working for the Shadow Master all along.

HIRUKO: Yes.  And if the evil one is hunting me, he can have only one dark purpose in mind.

JIMMY: He wants the sacred stones!

HIRUKO: Should the Shadow Master unlock the power of Noiram, he will shroud the world in formless evil.

BILLY: Well, then we must find the stones before they fall into his hands!

HIRUKO: Will you commit to this, Double Dragons?  Will you embark on a quest for the sacred stones?  A quest that will take you on a journey around the globe and pit you against the world’s strongest enemy?

BILLY: For might and for right, we will!

BILLY and JIMMY: By the power of the Dragon!

(The view pans up, into the tree.  DABY crouches on a branch, spying on the heroes.)

(Green flame cut)

___

SCENE 16 (Bad guys’ epilogue):  Establishing shot of the Shadow Dojo (exterior, night).  Cut to Shadow Master’s Throne Room.

DABY and SICKLE stand before the SHADOW MASTER, seated on his throne.  Behind them is a large horde of low-level “Blades” led by GIBSON and ROBINSON.

S.MASTER: So, it has begun.  The Soothsayer will lead the Dragons to the stones.  We will follow from the shadows.  And when the Dragons find the stones they will have to face the Stone Keepers.

SICKLE: And then there will be no Dragons or Keepers to stop us from taking the stones!

S.MASTER: I shall succeed where the First Shadow Master failed.  The power of Noiram will be used, not to fight the Black Flame, but to fuel it!

SICKLE, DABY, GIBSON, ROBINSON and BLADES: The Shadow falls!

(Fade to black)

___

SCENE 17 (Message): A different Metro City park (day).

BILLY, JIMMY and MICHAEL (still in his yellow-and-blues) are exercising with dumbbells.

BILLY: A true friend likes you for who you are.  Not for what you have or what you can do for them, but for you – and only you.

MICHAEL: But what if somebody says that if I don’t do something, they won’t be my friend?

JIMMY: If you have to do something in order to be their friend, then they’re not a real friend!  Real friendship is based on care and kindness, not using people to get what you want!

BILLY: As the code of the Dragon says, “True friendship is more valuable than gold or riches, and far more rewarding.”

BILLY, JIMMY and MICHAEL: By the power of the Dragon!

(Roll Credits)