“Her blood is tainted with pirate blood.”
Suzaku swung at me with a wing. I held up my sword to defend myself. The two weapons bounced off one another. The blade had no effect on the phoenix.
“People are not born evil, Yoshi, regardless of how evil their parents are. It is their surroundings that make them evil or . . .” She searched for words and looked at me, “heartless.”
My blood was too hot with anger and satisfaction at avenging my parents to listen to her. “Fine,” I spat. “Let’s go then. My work here is done.”
I turned and stepped once again over the dead body of the pirate that had killed my mother and father. I kicked him for good measure along the way. I heard no motion behind me to suggest that Suzaku was following. I turned at the door and saw she hadn’t moved.
“You coming, companion?”
“No,” she said quietly.
“I thought we were connected by destiny?” I mocked.
“No, Yoshi, we are not.” She sat slumped, not looking as graceful as she did when flying. “Destiny isn’t really predetermined. I thought that if I guided you, led you down the right paths, that you would become the great warrior I felt you were capable of being.”
“I am a great warrior, Suzaku.”
“But you are no hero.”
I pointed to the dead Pirate King on the ground. “I defeated an evil man to protect future innocents from suffering.”
“You killed an old, defenseless man who was pleading for his life on behalf of his daughter.”
I smirked, “You say potato, I say–“
“Stop it. I’m staying here, Yoshi, to look after Zephyr. Maybe she’ll be able to live the life her father envisioned for her. Someone has to stop the cycle of anger, death, and revenge.”
I felt a little sting of pain. Suzaku had been with me for years and was the closest thing I had to a friend in the world. The sting of righteousness hit me more strongly, though. “Fine. I am going back to Animetown to receive my hero’s welcome.”
“You are no hero,” she repeated. “You are anti-hero. You are anchihiiroo.”
I shrugged at Suzaku and turned away from her again. I began my trek back to Animetown alone.
“Anchihiiroo,” I said out loud. “I can live with that name.”
Part Seven: The Shadow Man
Despite Suzaku protesting against the way I enacted my revenge on the Pirate King, I received a hero’s welcome in Animetown as stories of my heroics against the pirates made their way through the rumor chain. I was hailed as the hero who ended the Ninja-Pirate War. It wasn’t entirely honest, but I felt the truth was no excuse for letting Naito and Boreas get the credit.
When I made my way back to Suzaku’s temple, Bikkhu Soohei greeted me with a smile. “Where is Suzaku?” he asked.
“She decided she was better off playing babysitter to pirate spawn than remaining with me,” I answered. Soohei looked at me suspiciously. I shrugged. “We don’t need her, Bikkhu. I am the strong warrior that I set out to be when I left this temple four years ago.”
“You certainly look like it,” a male said from behind me. I smiled at the sound of Yuki’s voice. I turned to see my albino friend from the temple. “You’re monstrous.”
I looked down at myself and compared my physique to Yuki’s. I was always bigger than him but I hadn’t realized how muscular and large I had become during my warrior training. I generally only had Suzaku to compare myself to and she grew faster than I did.
“What is that?” I asked, pointing to a robotic frame standing on four legs next to him.
“It’s a prototype of the artificial intelligence I told you about years ago. I’m programming it to act like a dog.” He patted what I guessed was the head of the robot. “Sit, Wan-Wan.” The hind legs of the robot frame bent and sat down just like a dog. “It’s going well!”
I laughed. “Only you would come up with something like this, Yuki.”
“Nice sword,” Yuki added.
I unsheathed my Masamune and let it catch the sunlight to make it shine. “Forged from the ashes of Suzaku,” I explained.
“Where is she anyway?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Yuki eyed me with the same suspicious glare as Soohei. “So, hero, what’s your plan now that you have fulfilled your destiny and become Animetown’s hero?”
“Do tell,” added Soohei.
I rubbed my chin. I hadn’t actually thought of that before. I was so sated with my vengeance against Boreas that I didn’t know what I planned on doing next. I had become a warrior to get revenge. Now that the revenge was complete, I didn’t know the next step.
“I guess I’ll just be a hero-for-hire,” I concluded.
“For hire?” asked Soohei.
“Sure. Why not? Who said that heroes had to work for free?” I smiled.
Yuki and Soohei didn’t return the smiles. Yuki said, “I didn’t think becoming Animetown’s hero meant you would become a mercenary.”
“Hey, I still will fight bad guys and save people and the like. Mercenaries work for anyone who pays. I’ll just work for people who need me to help them. It isn’t any different from paying a blacksmith for his skills in sword-making or a tinkerer,” I pointed at Yuki, “to do whatever it is you do.”
Yuki and Soohei protested my establishment of a hero-for-hire business in Animetown but I did it anyway. It turned out that the job was very lucrative. I didn’t always work for money, and I didn’t always complete my tasks exactly as my clients asked.
“I didn’t want you to kill him,” one whiner said. “I just wanted my cows back.”
“You got your cows, didn’t you?” I replied.
“And a dead neighbor!”
“Consider it a bonus, free of charge.”
I established myself as the preeminent hero in Animetown, just like my fake destiny said I would. I did it on my terms, however. If I was destined to become a great hero and had no control over that aspect of my life, at least I would make a profit from my abilities so graciously taught to me by the senseis.
Suzaku never returned to the temple. Over the years, there were rumors of a giant red bird being spotted on some of the pirate ships that still sailed the waters outside of Animetown’s territory. No pirates came into Animetown on my watch.
For ten years, I continued my hero-for-hire business. Everything changed the day a mysterious shadowy figure appeared in front of me.
“Anchihiiroo,” rasped the shadow man. He was covered in smoky wisps and shadows and I couldn’t really make out any true form other than a vague human shape in the smoke.
“Smoking is bad for you,” I said to the man.
“Funny,” said the shadow man in a deadpan.
“What can I do for you, sir? Ma’am? What should I call you?”
“I have become known as Shadowy Figure to the residents of Toonopolis.”
“Not very original of a name there, Mr. Figure.”
“Says the man who goes by the name Anchihiiroo?” I smiled at his rebuttal. “However, it is not what you can do for me that brings me here, Yoshi. It is what I can do for you.”
He caught my attention with his raspy words and his usage of my real name. I stood up and realized that I towered over him. His shadows grew so he was the same height as me.
Shadowy Figure continued, “I’ve heard your story throughout Animetown. You hate having to be a hero when all you wanted to do was get revenge for your family, right?”
“I make do.”
“How would you like to make your own path and decide who you want to be instead of following someone else’s vision?”
“I’ve already done that.”
Shadowy Figure laughed. It was a grating, shrill laugh that made my arm hair stand on end. Something in the laugh made me want to know what he was talking about. I asked him to explain. What he told me was amazing.
At first, I thought he was crazy. He told me that Toonopolis was actually populated by ideas and tho
ughts of people from a place called Earth and other universes that were filled with sentient beings. All the people in Animetown and Toonopolis, myself included, were just creations from the minds of these beings.
“They’re like gods?” I asked.
“Hardly,” he said. “But that’s not important. What is important is that there exists an invisible thread from you back to your creator on Earth. You can follow that thread back to him and change who you are from within that person’s mind.”
“Why should I believe you?” I asked him.
“Because I have been there. I have seen in done. I learned about the technique from a woman in the Black Light District. I taught it to a boy in Supercity. You can change yourself. I promise you that.”
What he said still came across as crazy. If I were to believe him, I would have to accept that someone else–even above Suzaku, Bodhi, and Tsuyoi–was really pulling my strings like I was a marionette.
“So this creator, if he exists, is the real reason I have suffered so much? The loss of my family? The death of my love, Gisei? My phoenix abandoning me?”
“Maybe. Probably. Your creator is definitely the reason you still feel like you have to be a hero, even if you want to be a villain. The creators don’t necessarily control every aspect of your life, just your basic programming.”
I sat back down and figured that I had nothing to lose by at least trying it. If the Shadowy Figure was pulling a prank on me, I could always just kill him in retaliation. I learned his technique for finding the string and was surprised to find that it was real.
I traveled with my mind across the string and found myself inside the mind of my creator. It is very hard to explain the experience to someone who has never done it. Inside his mind, I was able to shape his vision of me. I removed the portion of my personality that compelled me to be a hero.
When I returned to my body, Shadowy Figure was giggling. “How do you feel, Anchihiiroo?”
“Call me Han’Eiyuu,” I replied, a grin across my face. I felt so different. There was no longer a conscience tugging on me to do good deeds. I felt totally free, like I could do whatever I wanted.
“Well, Han’Eiyuu, it is time for you to pay me for your freedom,” Shadowy Figure said, his giggles gone.
“Pay?” I questioned.
“Don’t worry,” the shadow man said, “I don’t want money. I have another target to teach this Rogue technique and I must be on my way. I am planning on changing Toonopolis forever, Han’Eiyuu, and you Rogues are just the beginning.”
“And your payment?”
“You will likely be meeting an Outsider to Toonopolis soon, a young man who calls himself Gemini. He will want to defeat you to get to me. I am not ready to deal with him yet. I need you to stall him here.”
“Shall I eliminate him?” I pointed to my Masamune.
“You won’t be able to but I need him alive anyway. As strong as you are, Gemini has powers you can’t even fathom since he is one of these creators whose mind you just saw. He is strong in ways you can’t imagine. Slow him down. That is all I ask of you.”
“It is a promise, Shadowy Figure.”
“Good boy,” he replied.
He wafted through the door of my house and left Animetown. I decided to experiment with my newfound freedom and lack of conscience by terrorizing some of the local townsfolk. They were completely caught off guard. I decided not to kill any of them but it was fun taking what I wanted and seeing the fear in their eyes. Causing other people pain helped to make me feel better about my own.
I found myself in the center of Animetown and looked up at Suzaku’s temple. I balled up my fists and shouted at the temple, causing the few remaining people who weren’t shuttered inside their homes to flee. “You think you’re better than me, Suzaku?”
I charged at the temple and kicked in the door. The orange-robed monks cowered in fear at me. I made my way through the temple, destroying anything that got in my way. I found myself in front of the wooden door with the phoenix’s picture painted on it. I sliced it in half with the blade made from the ashes that were once scattered on the floor of Suzaku’s egg room.
My rage at Suzaku’s abandonment finally started to subside as I stood inside the room.
“Yoshi!” cried Bikkhu Soohei from the door.
I looked back at the old monk and sneered. “This is my temple now, Soohei.”
“What has gotten into you?”
“I am making my own destiny now. No monks or senseis or legendary birds or creators telling me what to do.”
My eyes felt open wide and wild with power. Soohei simply backed away and left. I established Suzaku’s old temple as my own after kicking out the monks.
It was not long before I heard from the villagers that a teenage boy dressed in lime green and fuchsia clothing was asking about me. I made my way to the roof of Suzaku Temple to survey Animetown from my perch.
Part Eight: The Present
Here I stand, wearing nothing but a pair of samurai pants and my Masamune on my back. I rest my hand on the top-most spire of the temple that once served to worship and prepare a warrior to represent Suzaku and be her companion. I have full control over my own life and my own future for the first time.
Shadowy Figure tells me that this child is coming to defeat me and make me follow my creator’s original idea for my personality, despite how illogical it is. The shadow man tells me that Gemini is strong in ways that I can’t imagine. He cannot be stronger than me. He cannot be faster than me. He cannot defeat the sword I forged with my own hands from phoenix ashes.
I wait and I smile. I will defeat this Outsider and set my sights on greater things. It feels so good to be free. I feel the air changing. It feels like battle weather.
I can’t wait.
About the Author
Author Photo By Julia Haggarty
Jeremy Rodden holds a Bachelor’s degree in Religion and English Writing from La Salle University and a Master’s in Education from Holy Family University. He worked briefly as a High School English teacher before becoming a full-time stay-at-home dad and author.
Follow his blog and learn more about the author and his works at http://www.toonopolis.com.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all of my friends and family, especially my wife, for their support and encouragement. Thank you also to my two wonderful sons, who keep my mind young enough to explore my imagination every day.
Thanks to Jennifer Bruck for her help with design and font selection, not to mention her constant support and being the best alpha beta reader out there. Also thank you to my other beta readers, Nelson Díaz and Jonathan Gould.
If you enjoyed Toonopolis Short: Anchihiiroo, check out this excerpt from Jeremy Rodden’s Toonopolis: Gemini. Find out what happens to Anchihiiroo and his fight with Gemini in Chapter Eight!
Prologue
Agent Log: Project Gemini
Entry Number: 1
Date: April 15
When I first returned from my trip to Toonopolis, I found it hard to put into words what I had experienced. I worried that the story about my time in the cartoon world would be seen, at best, as an excuse for failing a mission; at worst, as the rambling delusions of an agent who had lost his mind.
To this day, I still struggle when trying to explain my experiences. Fortunately for me, my superiors were not men to dismiss extraordinary tales easily, and my track record with the Agency was otherwise pristine. I reported to those stoic men just as I had done thousands of times before–specific, detailed, chronological, and truthful.
At first, I simply hoped they believed me. After I completed my report, my feelings shifted to a hope that they wouldn’t have me exterminated as an insane liability. If it were not for the possibility that this avenue might open doors to a new realm of opportunity for the Agency, they probably would have. I am just lucky that they were willing to take risks.
Based on my report, they funded Project Gemini. After initially
fearing that my life was in jeopardy, I found myself leading a venture for the Agency that placed us at the genesis of a new era of covert operations.
The Agency spent millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours in the attempt to recreate the conditions that led to my entrance into the cartoon world, the Tooniverse, as the natives called it. It wasn’t until we tapped into the resources of our neurology division that we realized we already possessed the requisite knowledge.
Though he didn’t know it at the time, renowned neuroscientist Dr. James Robert Grenk had already discovered the process that could send someone into the Tooniverse. His research into a pain disorder known as RSD gave us the key, and his family yielded us a keymaster in his sixteen-year-old son. Jacob Grenk is a perfect test subject for us–intelligent, creative, and antisocial. Aside from his father, Jacob has no real meaningful connections to anyone.
After a year of research, development, and preparation, we are finally prepared to show my superiors that their judgment was not lacking and their trust in me was well-placed. Today we send a human consciousness into the Tooniverse to do our bidding.
Special Agent Mimic
April 15
Chapter One
Field Of Dreams
A teenage boy suddenly appeared in a field, his brow wrinkled in confusion. He was definitely stunned. In his left ear, he heard a faint popping sound followed by a slight whoosh of air as if an untied balloon had been released.
He unsuccessfully tried to remember anything prior to finding himself seated in this grassy field. He felt lost and confused and he realized that he was sitting down. He stood up, straightened his glasses, then brushed the clinging grass and dirt from his pants, and rubbed his hands together to remove the rest of the debris. He gazed around but could see nothing save the wide-open field in front of him.
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