The Saint of the Cybernetic Land Star (parts 1 - 6)
Captured gets chopped into little bits by two robots, and some
scientist is rejoicing over the carnage. Dr. Bomb is using a mock-up of
Cap to test 01 and 02. Cradle enters the lab and asks why Bomb is doing
this -- the good doctor says that he hates Spect Masters, so -- this is
his hobby. Meanwhile, outside, a bunch of attack ships shaped like
demon skulls are flying around and shooting at Cap. Cap is having fun
blowing up the ships. Then, we get a flashback. One hour earlier, Cap
had announced that he was going to challenge Full Nelson to get the
second Cobra's Eye (the 2 gems make a matched set.) Manji and Moonsault
object, saying that Cap can not hope to defeat a Saint, and if he tried,
Moonsault would have to kill him. They have to explain that according
to legend, Mother had four children -- the Saints. The Saints are
inviolate. Cap replies that Nelson is still a bad guy, right? So it's
ok for him to fight Nelson. The others try to stop him, but Cap jumps
from the blimp and uses a portable kite to fly down to the surface of
Mystral. Moonsault's handmaiden yells out that they have to kill Cap
themselves, and Manji claims that Cap has "no chance" against Nelson.
As Cap cuts up skull ships with General, one of the skull ship pilots
taunts Cap, saying that there's no chance of Cap destroying his ship.
Cap answers back that to "the universes' strongest fighter", "no chance"
translates to "full of possibilities". He destroys the ship and keeps
moving forward. Ahead, he sees a huge skyscraper in the middle of a
teaming metropolis -- Full Nelson's Castle. In the castle, Nelson is
providing a floor show for his citizens: Some young near-naked women are
being menaced by a big slime monster (Mystral's version of mud
wrestling). Nelson berates Cradle for allowing his party to be
disrupted by Captured's presence, then decides the killing Cap will be
part of the highlights. Nelson wants to teach Cap the meaning of
"futility".
The party gets disrupted as guards are overcome. Nelson asks who the
intruder is, and is told "my name is Steiner, I'm here for the Cobra's
eye." Steiner frightens the cowardly partiers, and tells Nelson that
taking the Eye will be punishment for the degrading things being done to
the women. Cradle insults Steiner for being rude to a Saint, but Nelson
decides that Steiner will become part of the evening's festivities -- he
pushes a button and 02 steps forward. Meanwhile, back at the blimp,
Manji is struggling with the question of which is more important,
treating a Saint with respect, or running the risk of punishment for
stealing the second Cobra's Eye from Nelson. The Eye (which is like a
shaped ruby with a black strip inside) is worth 30 to 40 billion Dottsu,
and when both Eyes are together they generate a lot of energy.
Currently, Nelson's Eye is used to power the machinery on Planet
Mystral. Manji gives up, and decides to wait and see what happens.
Moonsault is still trying to decide how to punish Cap if he succeeds in
defeating Nelson.
Back on Mystral, Steiner is putting up a good fight, but 02 was
designed to defeat Captured, so will have little trouble dealing with
this "Zako" (small fry.) Being called "Zako" just makes Steiner angry,
and he attacks again with his orochi. But, 02 cuts up his clothes, and
we discover that "he" is really a very well-endowed girl. Then,
Captured breaks through a wall and discovers that Steiner is already
here. (The partiers panic, and tell Cap to go away. Cap sticks his
tongue out at them.) Nelson tells the boy that they've been waiting for
him, and Cap thanks the Saint for the attention. 01 is told to kill
Cap, while 02 is to finish off the zako. Steiner spins the orochi in a
"fan" attack, and hits 02 with "Bahamuuto" (Dragon Lord's Flame). On
people, Bahamuuto causes the blood to boil and explode from the inside.
On machinery, the circuits overheat; 02 malfunctions and collapses.
Steiner asks again who the "zako" is, and Cap (currently evading 01)
congratulates the girl.
On a moon floating near Mystral, Camel and Manji are out walking in a
pleasant countryside setting. Camel drools, since the hill they are on
is known as "Lover's Hill". According to tradition, a couple that sees
the sunset from Lover's Hill will have good fortunes together. She
wants to be here with Cap for this, and Manji reminds her that Cap may
well die on the next planet over. Camel answers that there's no good in
worrying over that, because if Cap dies, he dies. Besides, he won't die,
so she begs Cap to arrive here soon (in the background, Moonsault
is planning on Killing Cap herself.) Then, Manji tells Camel that this
planet has stopped turning, and hasn't had a sunset in 8 years.
With 02 down, Steiner stakes her claim on Nelson. Cradle blocks her
way, and Cap attacks her, saying that Nelson is his and the "zako" has
to settle for Cradle. Dr. Bomb arrives, and is nervous that his robots
may not be good enough to handle the real Captured. Cap cuts off 01's
wrists, and Nelson agrees that Bomb's robots are too weak. However, 01
was designed for this -- it's body is a hollow rubbery shell, and a
second set of arms can be shot out from the wrists or shoulders at will.
Cap gets beaten up a little, then carves up 01 a bit. Bomb commands 02
to act, and part of 02's shoulder armor combines with 01 to make 01 even
stronger. Cap gets punched again. He leaps forward and cleaves 01's
head in two. The partiers, and Dr. Bomb have a panic fit. Nelson tells
the doctor to return to the drawing board. Cap is rejoicing, and Nelson
comments that prior to 01 and 02, there was another robot built -- 00.
Also known as "Cradle".
Cradle has finished defeating Steiner, and holds the girl's limp body
by the head. Bomb orders Cradle to kill the Earthling, and Cap says
"Steiner, that's why we called you a small fry." Cap is confident in
being able to defeat one more robot, while Nelson tells him that Cap is
about to learn the meaning of "Futile." Cap and Cradle attack.
On Lover's Hill, Camel is planning to fix the machinery of this moon
to get it rotating again. She imagines herself with Cap, watching the
sunset. Cap reaches out with his right arm to hold her and...
On Mystral, Cradle chops off Cap's right arm and the boy rolls up in
pain. He is no match for Cradle, and Nelson says that this is what
"Futile" means. Nelson is now going to give his guests two special
attractions -- The torture and death of the Earthling, and a strip show
from the beautiful girl. (Steiner has been chained to the wall.) Cap
won't give up, and even as Cradle bashes him into the walls, he still
claims to be a threat to Nelson.
While, on the moon, Camel is having trouble getting the machinery to
work. Manji claims that she's changed, from the Land Starian that used
to fear Cap when they'd first met her. Camel claims that she
understands Cap now, and that's why she likes him. Then, she asks about
the rumor concerning Cap. Since the boy isn't around, Manji cheerfully
describes how, a few years ago, Cap used to be a big cry baby. Since all
of the Land Star kids used to bully him, Cap would cry every day, for
all kinds of petty reasons (during this, Cap is still getting smashed
up). But, after getting the Spect Master's ring, he's gotten stronger
and hasn't cried since.
Cap's body is in a heap on the ground, and Bomb is yelling at him
about Cradle's great strength. Nelson pulls out a knife and cuts off
all of Steiner's clothes. The guests get a full view of her perfect
body, and Cap yells out for Nelson to stop this. Nelson wants to see
the color of Cap's pupils when his eyes are wide with pain. So, Cradle
cuts off three of Cap's fingers from his left hand, including the one
that General was on. Cap bleeds a lot and pants in pain. Nelson claims
that this is his own power as a Saint. He has Cradle punch a hole
through Cap's body, and then a trapdoor opens to dump the boy's carcass
into the caverns below. He hits the ground hard, denying that he has
been defeated, and trying to keep from crying. Captured remembers all
of the taunting that he used to receive, and the words "you lose" echo
through his head. With the bloody stump of his left arm next to his
head, Cap cries uncontrollably.
There is no further use for Steiner either, and she is also dumped
into the caverns. She has been defeated and humiliated in front of
hundreds of people. She wraps a piece of cloth around her shoulders and
pouts. Meanwhile, General's ring has been lying on the floor nearby,
and General has been trying to mentally get her attention. General
tells the girl that if she wants to see Nelson punished for this, she
should put General's ring on the remaining finger of Cap's left hand.
Steiner is too full of dispair to react right away.
Cap is convinced that he is dying. Then, he sees a spectral figure.
The figure holds out General's ring, and claims that it is the only way
Captured can come back to life. However, with all of the bad things
that has happened to him, maybe he should refuse and accept death
peacefully. Cap thinks about this, and decides that rather than trying
to escape from a bad world, he will instead fight to change it for the
better. Cap wakes up, and is suddenly in great pain all over his body.
He notices Steiner and asks what happened. Steiner doesn't know, and
Cap (ignoring the fact that the ring is again on his hand) decides that
GOD has considered him so important that God himself has intervened to
save Cap's life. Steiner bites her tongue.
Cap then apologizes to Steiner, for not being able to help her, and
for seeing her naked body like that. Steiner wasn't expecting Cap to
help her out in the first place, and dismisses the boy's concern.
However, Cap had been sincere about his apology, and Steiner recognizes
this. She asks if Cap wants to learn how to defeat Cradle.
On the moon, Camel alternates between giving up on repairing the
machinery, and trying out a new way of fixing it (which still doesn't
work.) In the caverns, Steiner is shooting pebbles at Cap from her fist
and thumb. This is reaction training to speed up Cap's reflexes (Cap's
body has been bandaged up, and General has secretly stopped the bleeding
and compensated for the hole in Cap's chest.) Cap keeps getting hit in
the face with the rocks. Later, while lying on the ground exhausted,
Steiner tells Cap about her childhood.
Steiner had been born on a Land Star filled with mishapen men, who
attacked her because she was so different from them (being a
good-looking female.) Her brother had tried to protect her, but she
grew up with a childhood much like Captured's had been. Steiner has
been trying to escape her childhood, and Cap tells her that if the world
is bad, you don't try to run away from it: you change it for the better.
Steiner asks if Cap is serious about this. Cap angrily replies, "of
course, do you have a problem with that?" Steiner doesn't have a
complaint, she just uses Cap's resolve as an excuse to shoot more rocks
at his face.
Three days later, back in Full Nelson's castle, another batch of
girls are tearfully waiting for the slime monster, while Nelson
announces the start of his next party. Cap busts through the wall, and
the guests yell at him to curl up and die and get out of their way. Cap
yells back that God himself has decided that he is too important to die.
Nelson says that Cradle is to kill Cap once and for all; Cap replies
that even if he does die, he'll return from Hell to cut off Nelson's
moustache. Cradle and Cap attack. Steiner repeats the phrase about
changing a bad world, while Cap counts off the blows and blocks he gets
from Cradle. Cradle smashes Cap into the walls again. But, Dr. Bomb
notices that Cap is moving out of the way of Cradles punches much faster
than before.
In a flashback, Steiner is telling Cap about attacks and feints. If
you get an opponent into a pattern, and then break that pattern, you can
stab the opponent in the stomach when he is expecting another blow to
the head. 1: attack to the head; 2: block the counter-attack; 3: attack
to the stomach. Steiner says that she can keep up this pattern for a
count of 7. Cap is only good for a count of 5. She doesn't know about
Cradle.
In the first exchange, Cap only gets to 3 before getting smashed.
Nelson tells the boy that nothing has changed from the last battle, and
that Cap is still going to lose again. However, if the boy really wants
the Cobra's Eye, it's in Nelson's empty right eye socket. Cap gets into
another exchange with Cradle, and on the fifth count, chops into
Cradle's chest. On the moon, Camel has realized that the moon's problem
is a lack of energy. She needs "800 omega giga watts." Manji tells her
to not be stupid, there's no way to get that much energy, and that she
should admit defeat in the face of the inevitable. Manji continues,
saying that Camel has the same zero-odds that Captured has against
Nelson.
Steiner is cheering Cap on, and Cradle (being another hollow robot)
is unaffected by the damage. Camel claims that Manji is wrong, and Cap
starts counting off attacks and blocks again. 1: Attack to the wrist.
2: Block. 3 and 4: Repeat. 5: Attack to the head, blocked. 6: through
9: Repeat. 10: General rips through Cradle's torso and cuts the robot
in two.
Full Nelson can't believe his eyes, and tells his man to open the
escape doors. But, before he can move, Steiner uses her orochi to grab
Nelson's arms and hold them over his head. Steiner tells the guests
that the new floor show will be the "death penalty for the ugly abuser
of power." Nelson shouts out for them to stop -- they don't know what
they're getting themselves into. But, it is pointless and Captured
chops Full Nelson in half.
Later, on the moon, Camel is shocked to notice that the planet is
turning again. She sees Cap, missing one arm and 3 fingers, approaching
with the Cobra's Eye in his almost-remaining good hand. Manji thinks
that the "sunset that couldn't happen, is happening." Camel rushes to
Cap. Manji is trying to accept the fact that Full Nelson has been
defeated. Moonsault claims that she will now have to kill the boy. Dr.
Bomb swears vengence from the wreckage of the castle. Steiner is
sitting on the wreckage, and she just says "Captured... huh?" And, on
the hill, watching the sunset, Camel happily starts telling Cap about
the tradition concerning this place.
A older, balding, square-jawed scientist with black wire-rimmed glasses.
Is a coward that works as Full Nelson's chief robotics designer.
Created 01 and 02 as part of his hobby of making things for killing
Spect Masters, but is apparently not responsible for making Cradle.
One of the Four Saints (AKA the West Saint.) The Saints are Mother's
direct off-spring; all other Land Starians supposedly are descended from
the Saints. As a Saint, Full Nelson can get away with anything that he
wants to do. Nelson has a triangular face with a pointy beard, flowing
brown hair, and is missing his right eye (in the socket is a gem.)
Nelson looks very Viking-like, and enjoys providing S&M sex shows for
the men of his "cybernetic" Land Star -- Mahisutoraru (Mystral?).