Heaven Sent: The 7 Blocks
By quamp ([email protected])
Now fortified with writer’s commentary
Author's note: This story diverges from the main timeline around Heaven Sent #5.
Writer’s commentary will appear in red, like
this.
I’ve been asked several times “Why do
you write in script form? Everyone else writes in paragraph form.” To be
honest, I visualize the stories as a comic book, and I see the action-taking
place as comic book panels. I write this way because it’s easier for me
to communicate what I’m seeing in the vision I have of the story. Originally,
The 7 Blocks was supposed to be about the 7 deadly sins of man, and Kyle being
tempted with each of them. After part IV, I realized “this is really
getting too repetitive.” So I decided just to send him into hell to
rescue his mother.
Block #1: Before the fall...
(Front cover. Samantha is flying in the air, leading Kyle towards a nondescript warehouse.)
Kyle: That's where my next phase of training is?
Samantha: Don't judge a book by its cover.
The ‘nondescript
warehouse’ is in fact the headquarters of the Texas Patrol. This is a
team that I created back in 1992 with various incarnations. In 1998, I took
them online at my fan fiction site here. Hopefully, by 2007, I will have them
in actual print.
(Page 1, panel 1. Cupid's retreat. Samantha is sparring with Kyle. Both of them have swords in their hands.)
SFX: CLANG!
Samantha: Focus, Kyle!
(Panel 2. Kyle and Samantha continue to clash swords.)
SFX: CLANG!
Kyle: I am trying to focus!
(Panel 3. Samantha takes Kyle down with an elbow to the stomach.)
SFX: WHAP!
Kyle: OOF!
(Panel 4. Cupid enters. He is wearing his battle outfit and a mask. Kyle and Samantha stop sparring.)
Cupid: So, has he improved any?
Samantha: No, Cupid. He's still leaving himself open to secondary attacks.
(Panel 5. Cupid approaches Kyle.)
Cupid: Well, something major has come up, and I have to leave.
Samantha: But who will handle his training?
(Panel 6. Cupid looks over at Samantha.)
Cupid: You
are to take Kyle to Earth. Seek out our
Samantha: Of course, Cupid.
Lotus was created because I saw a
lot of heroes and villains whose powers were based on their minds, but no
heroes or villains whose powers were based on their spirit.
(Page 2, panel 1. Cupid exits.)
Kyle: Lotus?
Samantha: She was originally supposed to train you... but Lotus has a few... quirks about her. Come on, we don't have time to waste.
Samantha is referring to the repeated habit of
Lotus’ breaking the 4th wall. Lotus is enlightened enough to
know she’s a character in a comic book. Yes, I’ve read the
Sensational She-Hulk. Some of the issues are really good; some stink.
(Panel 2.
Caption (N):
(Panel 3. Inside the building. Lotus, Diving Owl, Starshot, Mindpath, Sonnos and Dormira are sitting in the briefing room. They are in their battle uniforms.)
This is the team as I first visualized it, and
they’re the ones that will be out there when I get my own series. The
metaphors are as follows: Lotus – a traditional Chinese metaphor of
something beautiful coming from something icky. Diving Owl – in many
Native American cultures, the owl is the messenger. A diving owl is said to
bring an important message from the Grandfather Great Spirit. Starshot is
superhumanly accurate with weapons, and her powers augment the power of that
weapon. She’s there mostly as a student for Lotus to teach, and because
many superhumanly powered teams have a redheaded woman on them. Mindpath is the
team’s resident telepath/telekinetic, and he is also their expert at
electronic things. Sonnos was created because a lot of Hispanic characters I saw
weren’t that bright, thug gansta types, or were somewhat bland in nature. I
invented Sonnos in 1992, before El Gato Negro came out. (If you
haven’t read this series, then you should. It’s from Azteca
Productions.) I was flipping channels one day on TV and saw a program here in
Lotus: Well, the mission went off without a hitch, and now we get to relax a bit. The chief doesn't have any new assignments for us.
(Panel 4. A young male angel appears in front of Lotus. He is attired in a robe.)
Lotus: Starsign! What's up?
Starsign (angel): Lotus, I've got new instructions from the big guy. A lad named Kyle Taylor is coming here with his angel Samantha. We need you to train him to go into hell to rescue his mother.
Starsign is Lotus’ guardian angel. His name
comes from a song by the band Teenage Fanclub.
(Panel 5. The Texas Patrol people stand up.)
Lotus: Well, I'll do what I can to help him...
Starsign: Great. He'll be here any minute now.
Dormira: You and your silly angels. There is nobody there.
Dormira doesn’t believe in any of this
‘new age’ stuff. She is the pure pragmatist and refuses to
understand any of this. Typical Dorothy Petulant stuff.
(Panel 6. Dormira puts a fist through Starsign.)
Dormira: You are out of your mind.
Lotus: You perceive me as crazy only because you have closed your mind.
Lotus knows she’ll never win
Dormira over to her side, but she still has to keep trying…
(Page 3, panel 1. Dormira exits.)
Dormira: This is nonsense.
Starsign: Are you sure she's on our side?
Lotus: Well, as near as I can tell... yes. However, she's a Dorothy Petulant. They're always something angering them.
Dorothy Petulant = generic angry girl. A raging case
of PMS 24-7.
(Panel 2. Starsign vanishes.)
Starsign: His mother is a chosen one, like you, Lecita. Kyle is also chosen. Try to train him well.
Lotus: When it comes to the directives of God, I always do my best. Let's get the guest rooms ready.
(Panel 3. Back with Kyle and Samantha, they are flying towards earth. Kyle holds onto Samantha's hand.)
Kyle: So what exactly is this Lotus like?
Samantha: Well, I personally have never met her, so I do not know. I do know that like you, she comes from a long line of chosen ones.
(Panel 4. They approach the nondescript warehouse seen on the cover.)
Kyle: What is this place?
Samantha: Your temporary home.
(Panel 5. Kyle looks at Samantha as if she's lost her mind.)
Kyle: A warehouse? I have to live in a warehouse?
Samantha: Don't judge a book by its cover, Kyle. This is no ordinary warehouse.
“This warehouse will be the site of your
awakening…” a line that got cut by the beta reader.
(Panel 6. They land outside the front of the place.)
Kyle: Well, everything you've said so far has turned out to be right...
Samantha: You'll see.
Notice how Kyle is very trusting of
the divine guidance. Those who are chosen to do God’s work rely on what
is given, but are not foolish to take it blindly.
(Page 4, panel 1. Samantha and Kyle enter the front door to see Spyre at the front desk. She is talking on the phone to someone.)
Spyre: Well sergeant, I'm afraid that's the way it's going to be. They've been quite overworked of late, they need a brief respite from things.
Spyre is the Texas Patrol’s secretary. Her
real name is Vicki Loxberg, and she’s the only native Texan associated with
the team. Why are there no Texans on the team? Well, mainly because every
southern female is eventually labeled a lame-o Rogue rip-off and every southern
male is eventually labeled a lame-o Gambit rip-off. I hate to say this, but
I’ve had that said of Spyre. L
(Panel 2. Spyre looks up at Samantha and Kyle.)
Spyre: Sorry, gotta go. We've got someone here.
Samantha: Greetings.
(Panel 3. Spyre hangs up the phone.)
Spyre: Can I help you?
Samantha: We are here to see Lotus. This is Kyle Taylor, and I am Samantha.
(Panel 4. Spyre pushes a button on the phone.)
Spyre: Lecita, Kyle and his angel are here.
Lotus (from the phone): Right. I'll be there shortly. Have them wait in the briefing room.
(Panel 5. Spyre stands up.)
Spyre: Follow me, please.
(Panel 6. In a hallway, Spyre leads Samantha and Kyle to the briefing room.)
Kyle: So what is this Lotus person like?
Spyre: Well, you just have to experience her for yourself. I could talk about how I perceive her, but that would not match yours.
In his book Your Erroneous Zones,
Dr. Wayne Dyer put it this way (I’m paraphrasing, of course): “A
speaker stood before a group of alcoholics, determined to show them how alcohol
was an evil drug. On a table before him, there were two glasses filled with a
clear fluid. He announced that one contained water and the other pure alcohol.
He then took a worm and put it into the glass of water. The worm wriggled
around for a bit, and then crawled out of the glass. He then put the worm into
the alcohol, whereupon it disintegrated. ‘What’s the moral
here?’ The speaker asked. ‘Well, if you drink alcohol, you
won’t get worms.’” One of the alcoholics responded. In other
words, your life experiences are unique to you, and what you have been
influences what you see. More on this later.
(Page 5, panel 1. Kyle looks nervously at Samantha.)
Kyle: Ooookay...
Samantha: Well, she does come highly recommended.
(Panel 2. The briefing room from earlier. Spyre directs Samantha and Kyle into a pair of seats.)
Spyre: Just have a seat. Lecita will be here at any moment.
Kyle: Right.
(Panel 3. Samantha and Kyle sit. Behind them, there is a clock that reads 10:34 a.m.)
Kyle: Well, I hope that Lotus is a great teacher.
Samantha: I couldn't say...
(Panel 4. Behind them the clock reads 11:42 a.m.)
Kyle: Hmm... is it lunchtime yet?
Chip Amiable’s stomach is always empty.
Samantha's thoughts: Hmm... no signs of impatience. I wonder...
(Panel 5. Enter Lotus, attired in a modest blouse and loose skirt.)
Lotus: Ah,
welcome to
Kyle: That's my teacher?
Physically, Lotus is 5’3”, weighs 100
lbs. In the fighting style she has, size does not matter.
(Panel 6. Lotus approaches Kyle.)
Lotus: Hmm... still stuck in preconceived notion mode, hmm? We'll have to fix that.
Kyle: Huh?
(Panel 7. Lotus shakes her head. Samantha merely shrugs her shoulders.)
Lotus: Well Chip Amiable, I see we have a lot of work to do.
Kyle: Chip Amiable?
SFX: (next to Samantha's shoulders): Shrug.
(Panel 8. Lotus stares deeply at Kyle.)
Lotus:
I've seen it too many times to count. You get chosen by God, you become Chip
Amiable. We'll cure you of that soon enough.
Shortly after I put this online, I put a thread on
AP’s messageboard touting the story. My primary beta reader, Icehole,
asked me “Aren’t you worried that Ben Dunn will get mad about you
calling Kyle Taylor a Chip Amiable?” All I could think of was
“Uh-oh. I didn’t think of that…” Oddly enough, Ben
responded that he liked the story in the thread itself, so I guess it’s
o.k. Chip Amiable is the generic likable kid from How Not to Draw Manga.
Lotus’ original line in panel 7 was “He reeks of being a Chip
Amiable. We’ve got a lot of work to do here.”
(Page 6, panel 1. Lotus sits down opposite Kyle.)
Lotus: The place you're going to is a place filled with suffering, torment, and much more. God says you have the potential to go down there, but right now, I don't see it.
Kyle: What do you mean?
(Panel 2. A light gray window appears in front of Kyle.)
Lotus: You look at life through a dirty window, based on what you've experienced and what your mind perceives. We're going to have to get rid of that before we can move forward. Now, let's have a report on his progress.
Becoming aware of your dirty window is the first
step in cleaning it up.
Kyle: Where did this window come from?
(Panel 3. Samantha speaks as Kyle tries to look around the window. He cannot do so, however.)
Samantha: My name is Samantha. I've been helping him out here and there. Cupid has been training him mostly on his fighting ability.
Lotus: I see. Well, the enlightenment process really should go hand in hand with training on fighting skills. That's probably why Cupid was having such a tough time with him. He always does fighting first, then enlightenment.
Kyle: How do I get around this?
Chip Amiables can be oblivious to what’s
around them, and pretty clueless at times. Kyle shows that here.
(Panel 4. Kyle looks confused as he tries to look around the window. He still cannot do so. Lotus and Samantha continue to talk.)
Samantha: Is there a real difference?
Lotus: Not really, but that depends on the teacher.
(Panel 5. Kyle shatters the window by slamming his fists into it.)
Kyle: I want to see things!
SFX: SKRESH!!
Kyle busts his dirty window, but technically,
it’s still there. It’s only now he sees things for what they are.
(Panel 6. Kyle now sees Lotus' spirit form in addition to her human form. Lotus' spirit form is much larger, and very beautiful. He also sees a bright aura around Samantha as well. Kyle is dumbfounded by what he sees.)
Lotus: Hmm... it seems that he has chosen to empty his cup now.
Samantha: He'll see both of us for what we really are, Lotus. Can he handle it?
The light of truth can be very
blinding at times.
(Page 7, panel 1. Lotus smiles slightly.)
Lotus: God chooses his ones carefully... he should be able to handle it.
Kyle: Whoa... you're a giant!
(Panel 2.)
Lotus: What you see is the form of the spirit. Like you, I am a spirit having a human experience. Tell me, has he been approved for ecumenical style training?
Samantha: I believe so... but I'd have to check...
Ecumenicism is a fighting style that combines aura
magic with chi energy. It is extremely hard to learn and near impossible to
master. Lotus and Diving Owl are mid-level students at this, but even they have
far to go… There is no defense against this style, but it cannot be used
for evil or personal gains.
(Panel 3. They continue to talk.)
Kyle: Ecumenical style training?
Samantha: She speaks of a very special fighting style reserved for chosen ones like you. It combines aura magic and chi energy.
Lotus: Well, let's get started on things, shall we?
(Panel 4. Lotus stands up.)
Lotus: Now, hell is based on the seven deadly sins of man. In the course of your training, you will have to deal with these temptations as my team sets them up. Right now, I want a basic evaluation of your fighting skills.
(Panel 5. The training room. The place looks like a karate dojo. Lotus is now in her battle uniform again.)
Lotus’ battle uniform is the typical spandex
outfit. It is a light blue color with a white cross on it. In the middle of the
cross is a yin-yang symbol. This is to represent “I reach out to you with
balance.”
Caption (N): Later...
Lotus: Well, the test is now up to you. I will fight you with the staff.
Kyle: Fight you? How can I win?
(Panel 6. Lotus smiles.)
Lotus: Right now, you can't, because your mind is filled with doubt. If you focus on your doubt and insecurity, that is what will manifest in your life. If you focus on your strength and certainty, that is what will manifest in your life.
Kyle: Okay...
It took me 33 years to learn that lesson. I hope you
can get it sooner.
(Panel 7. Lotus and Kyle are armed with staffs.)
Lotus: Begin!
(Panel 8. Lotus attacks with her staff, and Kyle narrowly manages to block the shot.)
SFX: CLACK!
Kyle:
Whoa!
(Page 8, panel 1. Lotus and Kyle clash staffs again.)
SFX: CLACK!
(Panel 2. Kyle thrusts, and Lotus dodges. Panel 3. Lotus hits Kyle's staff.)
SFX: CLACK!
(Panel 4. Lotus smiles a bit. Kyle looks nervous.)
Lotus: Level 2 it is then.
Kyle: You've been going easy on me!?
(Panel 5. Lotus disarms Kyle, sending his staff flying out of his hands.)
Lotus: Rule #4 of fighting: the greatest weapon a warrior has is his or her mind. You became unsettled when you thought that I would increase my intensity. Center your mind on the one goal, and let nothing sway you from that.
Every fight is not just a fight of brawn, but that
of brains. No war has been won by a side that did not have an advantage of
information.
Kyle: Right...
(Panel 6. Later on, Kyle is now in a guest room. There is a bed in one corner, along with a table and chairs in the center of the room. Kyle, Lotus, and Samantha are there.)
Caption (N): After a workout...
Lotus: This is where you will stay for a while. Samantha will be next door.
Kyle: Say, I'm hungry. When's lunch?
Chip Amiable’s stomach is always empty (yet
again….)
(Panel 7. Lotus turns towards the door.)
Lotus: Sara is preparing it right now. It's your turn to do the dishes, by the way.
Kyle: Do the dishes?
(Panel 8. Lotus starts going out the door. Kyle looks downhearted.)
Lotus: You want to stay here, you're going to have to earn your keep. Besides, it's a good lesson in humility.
Kyle: Aw...
Even chosen ones must take out the
garbage. To quote the Zen saying:
Before enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment: Chop wood,
carry water.
(Page 9, panel 1. Lotus exits.)
Lotus: We'll call you when it's ready.
Kyle: Right.
(Panel 2. Samantha smiles slightly at Kyle.)
Samantha: You did very well out there, Kyle. Lotus is a very tough teacher.
Kyle: Thanks...
(Panel 3. Samantha and Kyle continue to talk.)
Kyle: However, I don't understand something. Where did that dirty window come from earlier?
Samantha: Oh, it was always there, Kyle. You just didn't perceive it until Lotus brought it to your attention.
I hope you see your dirty window now.
(Panel 4. We see Shiva and Master Baine talking. They are in a lab.)
This presented a problem for me. In some of the
issues of Heaven Sent, he is referred to as Baine. In others, he is Bane. Which
to use?
Caption (N): Elsewhere...
Shiva: We have a golden opportunity now. Kyle Taylor has reappeared on earth.
Baine: Really? Where?
(Panel 5. They continue to talk. Baine looks angry.)
Shiva: We
have found him in
Baine: DAMN! That means Lotus has gotten to him.
Baine/Bane and Lotus have crossed swords before, as
you will see later.
(Panel 6. Shiva looks confused.)
Shiva: Lotus?
Baine:
Another chosen one like
(Page 10, panel 1. Baine looks up at Shiva.)
Shiva: So, we'll just deal with this Lotus person. She can't be that bad, can she?
Baine: My dear, she is the reason why I am confined to this wheelchair. I was chosen to stop her... and failed. You are going to have a very tough time against her.
(Panel 2. Shiva stares at Baine.)
Shiva: I'll do everything I can.
(Panel 3. Back in
Caption (N): Back in
Starsign: Well, it is good to meet you, Samantha.
Samantha: Starsign...
(Panel 4. Starsign gestures to a chair.)
Starsign: Please sit.
Samantha: Okay...
(Panel 5. Samantha and Starsign sit down.)
Starsign: You know the penalty for what you have done.
Samantha: What are you talking about?
(Panel 6. Starsign stares grim-faced at Samantha. She tries to play innocent, but gets nervous.)
Starsign: You've fallen in love with the guy you were assigned to protect.
You can fool some of the people some of the time,
none of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people
all of the time.
Samantha: I'm not in love with him.
(Panel 7. Starsign rolls his eyes at Samantha.)
Starsign: You're a crappy liar, Samantha.
Samantha: No, I don't love him, I just like him as a friend.
(Panel 8. Samantha looks shocked as Starsign stops rolling his eyes.)
Starsign: If that's true, why did you take a peek of him under the sheets*?
Samantha: !
Caption (N): *Heaven Sent #5.
Samantha’s been found out.
Notice how she reacts to this.
(Page 11, panel 1. Samantha looks away from Starsign, nervous.)
Samantha: All right, yes, I love him. But I know that I will never have him - his true soulmate is still on Earth.
Starsign: The big guy knows about this. I have to wonder why he hasn't taken you to the archives to work the next millennia or two.
Accepting responsibility for your actions is the
first sign of maturity.
(Panel 2. Samantha shrugs her shoulders.)
Samantha: I don't understand the big guy's plans either, but I know that he needs me to be with Kyle now.
(Panel 3.)
Starsign: Just remember: don't let your love for him interfere with his mission. He's the one that will rescue his parents from hell.
Samantha: Parents? Only his mom is trapped in hell.
(Panel 4. Starsign strokes his chin in contemplation.)
Starsign: I thought they let you know that Shiva killed his father. She took his soul to hell and left it near his mother.
Samantha: This does complicate things. Shiva has been a thorn in my side for a long time...
The first hint at things to come…
(Panel 5. In the kitchen, Lotus and Kyle are next to a sink filled with dirty dishes, stacked about 3 feet high.)
Caption (N): Elsewhere...
Lotus: Well now, it's your turn to do the dishes.
Kyle: I have to do all of this?
(Panel 6. Lotus hands Kyle an apron. It has lace on it and looks very effeminate.)
Lotus: The sooner you get started, the sooner you will finish.
Kyle: You don't expect me to wear that, do you?
“Now that’s womany!”- Tom Servo,
Mystery Science Theater 3000. It seems that a lot of comic book writers and
artists were MiSTies. Ben Dunn was among that list.
(Panel 7. Lotus puts the apron on Kyle.)
Lotus: Pride goeth before a fall, Kyle. It's time you learned some humility.
Kyle: Aw, man...
(Panel 8. Lotus has left, and Kyle is washing the dishes in the sink.)
Kyle's thoughts: This is embarrassing. Good thing Sam doesn't see me like this.
This joke is really too easy to do.
I really shouldn’t have done it, or done something different.
(Page 12, panel 1. Enter Samantha. Kyle looks very shocked.)
Caption (N): I bet you saw this one coming, didn't you?
Samantha: Hmm... nice apron.
(Panel 3. Kyle nervously turns around, and has a nervous smile on his face as the sweat drips from his head. Samantha can only smile at this.)
Kyle: Samantha! Uh... hi. Lotus said I have to do the dishes.
Samantha: Well, as long as it is to teach you a thing or two, I really shouldn't interfere.
(Panel 4. Kyle turns back to the sink.)
Kyle: Uh... yea. Thanks for understanding...
(Panel 5. Samantha giggles at Kyle.)
Samantha: >Giggle< you're cute when you're nervous... Well, good luck with the dishes...
Kyle: Thanks.
This is the first hint Samantha gives Kyle that
she’s interested in him. It sails a mile over his head. Chip Amiable is
pretty smart, but sometimes, he’s just downright clueless.
(Panel 6. Samantha exits as Kyle continues to work on the dishes.)
Kyle's thoughts: Man, this is going to take forever...
(Panel 7. Kyle continues to wash the dishes. We see some of the dishes now on the other side of the sink. Panel 8. Kyle has finished the dishes, and now relaxes.)
Caption (N): Much later...
Kyle: Whew! All done now. Let's hope that this next assignment isn't so girly.
Doing dishes is not necessarily a
girl thing. At home, I’m the one who’s supposed to do the dishes.
Thankfully, we have a dishwasher…
(Page 13, panel 1. Lotus enters with a mop in hand.)
Lotus: All done are we? Good. The floors need mopping.
Kyle: Aw...
(Panel 2. Lotus hands the mop to Kyle.)
Lotus: "A competent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. If a society allows shoddiness in either profession, neither its theories nor its pipes will hold water."*
Kyle: All right, fine. I'll do it.
Caption (N): *
A quote I picked up online. There’s actually a
sentence in between the two sentences, but I can’t remember it…. L
(Panel 3. Outside the kitchen, Lotus meets up with Samantha.)
Samantha: Just what is the point of all of this?
Lotus: He must be taught humility. Cupid really slacked off when it came to the spiritual side of the equation.
A hero’s journey not only consists of physical
demands, but of mental and spiritual demands as well. The hero manages to
complete his/her mission by rising up to these demands.
(Panel 4.)
Lotus: Having been to hell and back, I can tell you that a balance among mind, body and spirit must be achieved for a person to make it there and back. However, I will need your help in overcoming his next hurdle.
Samantha: What is his next hurdle?
(Panel 5. Samantha looks very uneasy.)
Lotus: Lust. He seems to admire you. He needs to be taught the difference between love that is divine and lust that isn't.
Samantha: Oh...
Samantha’s worried now that she may have to
reveal to Kyle that she loves him. She fears she may have to pretend to come
onto him when she really wants to come onto him.
(Panel 6. Samantha looks nervous.)
Samantha: Well, we really aren't supposed to do that...
Lotus: I don't have anyone else handy that I can turn to. Besides, you've shown an interest in him as well...
(Panel 7. Samantha looks despondent.)
Samantha: Starsign told you, didn't he?
Lotus: There was no need to. The divine plan is at work here; how is something I can't say.
What exactly is the divine plan? Well, if I knew, I
wouldn’t be a mere fanfic writer… this question has eluded the
greatest philosophers of all time.
(Panel 8. Samantha smiles slightly.)
Samantha: All right, I'll do it.
Lotus:
Great. Well, tomorrow we're finishing up his temptation of pride. The training
room will be the place.
We can see here that Lotus is starting to take
Kyle’s training seriously now.
(Page 14, panel 1. The training room. Kyle is standing there, sword in hand. He looks ready to fight. Lotus is nearby. This looks like your typical dojo.)
Lotus: Computer prepare program Ekplixi.mp3.exe.1. Kyle, this is set at the highest level. You must defeat this program to continue.
Kyle: All right...
(Panel 2. A 7 foot tall robot appears opposite Kyle. It looks very menacing in nature, armed with several lasers and swords.)
Kyle (quietly): I can do this, I can do this...
Lotus: BEGIN!
(Panel 3. Kyle strikes the robot, and knocks it back.)
SFX: POW!
(Panel 4. Kyle thrusts his sword through the robot, and it goes down.
SFX: CRACKLE!!!
(Panel 5. Kyle looks at the fallen robot.)
Kyle: I... I did it...?
(Panel 6. Kyle jumps up and down, a smile on his face, and waving his arms.)
Kyle: I did it! I knocked it out!
(Panel 6. Lotus then strikes Kyle with a karate chop, sending him down.)
SFX: POW!!
(Panel 7. Kyle is on the ground, and stars of pain come from him.)
Lotus: If I had been one of your enemies, you would be dead now.
Kyle (weakly): Ow...
The true warrior knows that s/he must be on guard at
all times. The time to relax is when you know the enemies have been defeated.
(Panel 8. Lotus stands next to the fallen Kyle.)
Lotus: A sore winner is just as despised as a sore loser, Kyle. In hell, you cannot celebrate your victories. That will turn into your defeat.
I can’t stand a sore winner either. I try not to be one anymore. A sore winner will gloat over his/her victory ad nauseum.
(Page 15, panel 1. Kyle stands up uneasily.)
Kyle: I guess I deserved that one...
Lotus: By the way, that robot was set on the easiest level. You're not going to meet anyone that easy where you're going.
Kyle realizes that what happened was done to teach
him a lesson. He’s acknowledging that he’s learned the lesson.
(Panel 2. Lotus walks off.)
Lotus: Well, get cleaned up - we're registering you for school tomorrow.
Kyle: School?
(Panel 3. Lotus stops, and looks at Kyle. He looks downhearted.)
Lotus: Your academic career cannot take a pause for this mission of yours. Part of the reason why we are here is to learn. I'm enrolling you into the nearest public school tomorrow.
Kyle: Oh...
One of the things I could never understand about
suojo manga with teen heroes is that the action heroes never seem to need to go
to school, unless the trial is school-related. When was the last time Ash
Ketchum attended a class?
(Panel 4. Lotus exits, and Samantha enters.)
Samantha: So how did it go?
Kyle: I lost by winning...
“To win is to lose, and the loser shall
win.” – Dr. Who, The 5 Doctors. He’s letting Samantha know he
learned the lesson. Like Ben Dunn, I watched Doctor Who. (Professor Azland is
in homage to Dr. Who.) I think I’m starting to sound too much like
him… L
(Panel 5. Samantha smiles slightly at Kyle.)
Samantha: Well, you seem to have learned your lesson well. Come on, get cleaned up, it's almost dinnertime.
(Panel 6. Samantha and Kyle walk out of the Training room together.)
Samantha:
Whatever trials await you, I'll be here to help you out.
-End part I-