Dark Hair Captured

Characters and Summary for Volume 3

Lana Urakan Standpeed's supposed "other half". In fact, she is just a very nice, willowy blonde with a necklace around her forehead, and no sense of fear towards Earthlings.
Sabboten (Sabotan == cactus. Sabboten implies that someone is performing below par.) A cactus that Lana has been tending. However, no matter what she does for it, the cactus never shows blossoms.
Sleeper and Choke Two of Standpeed's pet monsters. At first, they just look like a cross between a wet black mouse and a small crow without the wings. When they actually attack Captured, Sleeper and Choke turn out to be huge black dogs with sharp fangs, and machine guns attached to their shoulders.
Franken Franken A big man with a large bolt through his head, and a bigger ego. Is convinced that he is a master treasure hunter, but in fact is worse than Manji is. Is primarily used for comic relief.
Steiner Steiner Franken's little "brother". Steiner looks like a pretty, underfed teenager with silver/pink hair; but "he" is in fact an INCREDIBLE fighter. Steiner is constantly on the lookout for strong opponents to defeat, but his true commitment is to protect his brother from outside threats. Steiner's weapon is the "Yamatano-orochi" (I can't find a translation for this name, but the kanji used translates to "8-headed Dragon".) The Yamatano-orochi is a staff with eight spikes on one end. The spikes can be controlled at will to attack in all directions, and to hit a target up to 20 feet away. When spun quickly, the orochi acts like a big blender chopper. (In book 4, we learn a LOT more about Steiner.)


Volume 3 Summary
Chapter 7b Kouki no Senshi (parts 4 - 6)
Warrior of Air


Camel and Moonsault are fighting on the blimp again -- this time over who Captured likes best. Manji is at the steering wheel for the blimp, but gets knocked out by a flying rock. Cap is immediately grabbed by Moonsault's demon snake and held over the side of the gondola. Moonsault gives the boy until the count of three to say that he likes her best. Cap is busy trying to get their attention on the steering wheel, so Moonsault drops him overboard. Camel is angry with Moonsault's behavior, so they keep fighting some more.

Standpeed is flying on a specially-guided missile, heading for Haggu. He mentally commands Sleeper and Choke to protect his True Self until he can get there. If they find Captured, they can attack him as necessary. Later, on Haggu, in a little farmhouse next to a running brook, Captured wakes up in a bed. A naked woman has just finished bathing, and Cap commands her to put some clothes on. She asks why he fell on her Land Star, and he answers that she wouldn't understand. The woman hits him with a frying pan, and then puts him to work on the farm.

Later, she is watering a cactus when Cap finishes his chores. They eat, and the woman asks if he is an Earthling. Cap tenses up, expecting to be insulted, but the woman really likes him. He talks about how all Land Starians hate him and throw things at him, so why doesn't she? The woman replies that she's been opposed to Mother as long as she can remember. Anyway, she likes him. Cap thinks that she is weird. Then, a BIG "dog" bursts into the house. Standpeed orders it to protect his True Self, and to eat Cap if it likes. The dog and Cap fight, busting up the house a bit. The dog's machine-gun shoulder pads fire a bunch of what look like fangs. Cap uses one fang to put out the dog's eye, and then finishes it off with his sword.

The woman is very impressed with Cap's strength, then realizes that the dog came for Cap, so he is responsible for the damage to her house. Cap is put to work in the field again, and he just wants to find the True Self and then leave. At the blimp, Manji is berating the girls for losing Cap (Moonsault pouts, and Camel apologizes a lot.) Manji shows a picture of their target -- it is Lana Urakan, the woman that Cap is with. They must kill her to defeat Standpeed.

Cap is arguing with Lana over why he has to fix the house, and she says that he's the reason why it is busted up. Cap is pissed with this reasoning, and hits his finger with the hammer. Lana puts his finger in her mouth to stop the bleeding, and then bandages it. Cap can't understand her behavior, because he's never met a Land Starian that liked him before (even Camel feared him when they first met.) Lana says that he's met that person; if 100,000 people think one way, where is it written that the next person can't be different? She says that her planet will become his "Oasis". He asks what an "oasis" is.

Cap makes his way to the blimp, and says that he's been with a weird woman all this time. Manji panicks, showing the picture of Lana, and adding that she is the only person on this Land Star. Cap can't understand why Standpeed's True Self would treat him so nicely, and Manji answers that it is a charade. Manji continues, saying that even Moonsault and Camel hated him at first. (The girls beat up Manji for doing such bad impersonations of them.) Manji also says that Standpeed has sent out two demon dogs to protect his True Self, and is on his way here. Cap can't believe the evidence against Lana and runs back to her house.

Lana thinks that the boy has forgotten something, then shouts out for Cap to guard his back. The demon dog slashes Cap's arm, and they smash into the house. Some of the wall is about to land on Lana, but the demon dog blocks the rock with its body. Cap is coming to think that Lana really is Standpeed's True Self, when Standpeed arrives. The Mother Guard calls Cap names, and promises to kill him. Cap is still wrestling with the question of what to do with Lana, when Standpeed throws some daggers that trap the boy to the wall. Sleeper attacks, but gets hit in the head by Moonsault's demon snake.

The Youki Princess claims that Standpeed is hers to sentence to death. She adds that she knows who Standpeed's True Self really is, confusing Camel and Manji (who are watching the battle on the TV in the blimp.) Moonsault builds up the suspense, finishing by announcing that Standpeed's True Self is -- the Sabboten. Cap is overjoyed to see that the Mother Guard's face has gone pale. Slipper tries to attack Moonsault, but she exhales her demon giant. The demon dog tries for Cap instead. Standpeed blocks Moonsault's rush on the catcus, and states that he's going to kill her. But, the demon snake becomes wire thin, bypasses Standpeed, and slices the cactus into bits. Moonsault passes her death sentence. And Cap finishes off Sleeper.

Standpeed slowly turns to stone, but he still tries to get to Cap, adding that even if Standpeed fails, Mother will send out more assassins. Captured shatters Standpeed into bits. Unfortunately, Standpeed's magic expires as well, and Lana collapses. Moonsault leaves, warning Cap of what will follow. When Lana recovers, she has lost all memory of Captured, and throws a rock at the boy before running away in fear. Cap remembers her promise to turn Haggu into an oasis for him, and he breaks into tears of torment.

Back on the blimp, Moonsault and Camel are still arguing over who Cap likes best. The boy is close to feeling like he is still accepted when the demon snake bashes him in the head. There is more fighting.
Chapter 8 Eikou no Chanpion Beruto
The Glory of the Champion Belt


In "The Glory of the Champion Belt", Camel has been entered into a all woman's pro-wrestling tournament. Manji has learned of the stakes involved, and had tried to get ALL of the heroes into the game. Manji and Cap are not allowed to enter because their costumes are so bad. Moonsault is disqualified for choking her opponent with the demon snake, and her handmaiden loses her first round without a contest. Camel is the only one that makes it to the finals. But, she hates having such a daring costume (with a "sleeping panther" design. She preferred her simple design with her name on it -- "Camel". Manji offers the alternative "Dead Pig" costume, and Camel is forced to stay with "Sleeping Panther.")

In the last match, Camel is afraid of her big opponent, and is getting slaughtered. But, when Moonsault begins to insult her from the sidelines, Camel recovers and goes into bezerkergang. The former champion doesn't stand a chance, and Camel wins. Later, on the blimp, Camel is saying that she doesn't like wrestling, and has no interest in the champion's belt. But, when Cap tries to call her bluff and claims to want to sell the belt, Camel goes insane and body slams him.
Chapter 9 Furanken . Shutainaa
Franken and Steiner


The next major storyline begins with the appearance of Franken and Steiner. Franken is going around insulting a gang boss that looks like a pig, and Steiner has to save his weaker older brother by destroying the gang. While, in a goods shop, the female shop owner is trying to sell a key and map to Manji for 800 million dottsu. Manji gets her to come down to 500,000 dottsu for what basically turns out to be replicas. The key and map are needed to get to the treasure known as "The Cobra's Eye." Franken berates Steiner for butting into a battle that Franken claims he could have won. The two brothers walk into the shop, and the woman states that they are the ones that bought the original key and map.

Turns out that Manji and Franken used to treasure hunt together 30 years ago, but they haven't seen each other in years. They all go to a restaurant, where the two adults trade stories. Steiner ribs Captured for claiming to be a Spect Master -- all of the Masters Steiner has heard about were old men. The two boys both thrive on a good fight, so they naturally want to battle each other, and have to be pulled apart by Manji and Franken.

Manji and Franken want the boys to behave like the adults do, and Manji starts describing how he and Franken met. They had both been after the same treasure. At first, they had argued over it, but being adults, they teamed up. (During the flashback, Cap takes the opportunity to try to attack Steiner again.) Eventually, Franken slips up and calls Manji "Manjuu" (a bun filled with sweet bean paste.) Manji objects to the use of that old nickname, and calls the other guy "Furanchitai"(which is basically "decomposed dead body".) Very quickly, the two "adults" are shouting at each other, and are now going to race for the Cobra's Eye.

Manji and Captured enter a ruined city that is mostly submerged under a lake. Manji warns the boy of the monsters here, but Cap easily punches away a giant meat-eating rat. Cap complains that the monsters are weak, and Manji yells back at him that the true guardian here is the Three Headed Jarman ("Jaaman", which could either be "Jarman", or "German"). At the other end of the building, Steiner trashes a giant, complaining that it is weak. While, Franken keeps falling into badly concealed trapdoors.

Cap is playing with Manji's cigarette pack, and asks when his father smokes them. Manji is looking for a special data terminal hidden in the wall by the "Trap Designer", and he answers that he only smokes when he is thinking about something interesting. Manji tells Cap that there are two kinds of treasure hunters -- ones that take big risks, and those that can only handle little risks. He asks Cap to travel with him on the road to the BIG treasures, then realizes that his son has left the room. Cap runs off to find Steiner, and they quickly meet again. But, Steiner has no time for fun, while he is trying to protect his big brother. Cap asks "who? Oh, you mean that weird old bald guy."

Steiner can not abide anyone that makes fun of Franken, and they prepare to fight. Steiner's staff's eight spikes lash out at Cap, but this only makes the game more fun. The boys are surrounded by ogres, which get in their way and are quickly defeated. Manji bypasses various traps, and forgets himself in memories of when he had been treasure hunting to get the 40 billion dottsu needed to buy a warp ship so that he could return to Earth. Manji had forgetten how much fun treasure hunting was, and neglects to notice that he is lowering himself down onto a bunch of pointy spikes. His yell of pain can be heard through the wall where Cap is killing ogres. Steiner is effectively using his orochi on the ogres, but is unimpressed with Cap's swordplay. Cap tells him to watch closely, and makes a slash with his sword that creates a huge river of destruction through the ogres. Steiner is so excited at this show of strength that he almost wets his pants.

Manji makes his way to the top of an altar in the middle of the ruins, and puts the key in the keyhole. A metal rod shoots up and pins the key in place. At the same time, the lake's water level suddenly starts rising. Elsewhere, Franken is losing to the giant rat, which he claims is Jarman. Cap and Steiner are battling full out, and enjoying every second of it. Manji is lying on his back, trying to figure out what to do before the water reaches the top of the altar in 7 to 8 minutes. He notices some writing on the wall near the floor. Using his electronic translator he reads -- "To turn the key, turn the key." He tries to figure out what the trap designer meant by this.

Manji is about to give up, and come back later, but hesitates because the traps may prevent the treasure from being recovered later. He uses his whip to cross the waters to the closest pillar, then notices the oil floating in the lake. He realizes that using oil means that something heavy is being lubricated. He returns to the altar, and turns the stone of the keyhole itself around the motionless key to reveal -- a hole in the altar wall. He takes the Cobra's Eye (a big ruby) from the hole, and the Jarman is released from the lake behind him.

Steiner has never faced an opponent so strong as to require the full powers of the orochi. The two boys are about to try to do serious hurt to each other when the flood waters rush through the room and separate them. Manji tries to outrun the Jarman (a big black 3-headed slug that moves VERY fast.) Manji remembers the layout of the temple from the map, and runs over a certain section of the floor. He tosses a grenade. The blast causes the floor to collapse, and the Jarman to land on the spikes below. Manji uses his whip to grab for the ceiling for safety.

Later, Cap swims up to the altar when Manji is smoking a cigarette. Cap thinks that his father is pondering the blessed fact that they are one treasure closer to returning to Earth. Manji slowly replies "Return to Earth? Yeah, that's a possibility too." And, back in the corridors, Steiner discovers that his brother is losing to the giant rat.

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