Princess Mononoke

~The Great Spirits Head~

Meanwhile the city of Iron town was finally quiet. The women slept against each other still near their weapons in the event of another invasion. Toki sat upright peering out a slit in the barricade.
"It shouldn't jam anymore" a women with leprosy assured Toki, handing her a fixed gun.
"Thank you"
"It's awfully quiet"
"Asano must be waiting until morning"
"I wonder, do you think that young man ever found Lady Eboshi?"
"Don't worry about him. He found her, all right" Toki assured with a slight chuckle. "They'll be marching over that hill any minute now"
Nuzzled in her side was her faithful Kohroku.
"Big dope. Don't ask me why I love him, hey Kohroku" Toki said gently nudging her husband.
"Let him sleep Toki while he can".
A noise started from the forest. "Huh?" Toki said startled.
"What's that?" A woman asked fearfully.
"I don't know but I don't like it" Toki responded, gripping her weapon.
In the distance, black ooze poured down the trees and a large headless creature had begun to stand. Toki gasped. "It's the nightwalker!"
The woman became frantic.
"Everyone hold your positions!"
"But Toki it's coming right at us!"
"No! We promised Lady Eboshi we would defend Irontown!"

Suddenly Toki spotted a familiar face riding on the back of a white wolf pup. Ashitaka stopped in front of the barricade and called out to the women,
"Get everyone out! The Great Spirit's head had been cut off and it wants it back, if that black ooze touches you you'll die! Run for the lake, the water slows it down. Lady Eboshi and her men are on their way from the other side. I'm going to try and return it's head before he kills us all. Now hurry!"
The women gasped and cried.
"Get everyone down to the lake and stay calm. Carry the sick and wounded" Toki ordered.

Chaos. It left a chill in the air as the people of Irontown stood in the water watching the Forest Spirit destroy their home. "We're done for! Once the forge burns it'll be the end of Irontown." Kohroku weeped.
"We're still alive. We'll manage somehow, now lets go" Toki took his arm and continued forward.

San and Ashitaka rode forward scanning the entire mountain for Jigo and his men. "There they are!" San pointed.
The pair hopped off the pups and chased after Jigo. "Stop right there!" Ashitaka scowled, standing in their path.
"Oh hey, you're both still alive. How nice" Jigo commented sarcastically.
"I'm giving the creature back his head. Put down the box and walk away" Ashitaka commanded.
"Give the head back now? Come on boy don't be silly. Now, when the sun's about to come up? Look, it's a brainless, swollen, life-sucking God of death. But at sunrise he'll vanish. Everybody wants everything. That's the way the world is. But I might actually get it!"
Ashitaka gave Jigo an evil look. "Don't force me to kill you" He spoke coolly.
"Oh dear you make it sound so very easy. You really ought to relax" Jigo said before attacking Ashitaka.

The men took off with the head and San chased after them. But the Great Spirit reached a hand down to stop them. In fear they dropped the tin and San chased after it as it rolled down the hill. Jigo saw the tin and caught it but the force made him roll with it. "Everything- oof! Is under- ow! Control!" He cried before stopping against a large boulder. The boulder was slowly being surrounded by the ooze. "Come on sun! Rise!" Jigo pleaded.
San and Ashitaka jumped upon the rock. "Open the box" Ashitaka sneered.
"Why are you wasting your breath talking to him?" San spat.
"Human hands must return it" Ashitaka explained.
"Don't say I didn't warn you" Jigo muttered. He pulled the lid off the case and it was seen that it had been filled with water that poured from the severed head.
San and Ashitaka grabbed the head and raised it to the sky. San gasped as she noticed Ashitakas mark suddenly cover his whole body and her own.

"FOREST SPRIT!" Ashitaka cried as loud as he could. "We give you back your head! Take it and be at peace!"
Ashitaka wrapped his free arm around San and gripped her tightly. Then the spirit dipped its neck and submerged the trio on the boulder in it's body. Elextricity shot through the air. The ground shook.

The people of Irontown watched from the water.
"I think it's over" Kohroku whispered. Toki turned her head as she heard yelling. All the men of Iron town were rowing across the water on handmade boats of fallen tree trunks.
"I really can't believe we made it. I thought we'd never live to see home again" The men sighed in relief.
"Milady!" Toki cried running to Lady Eboshi.
"Her ladyship has been injured" Gonza informed.
The people watched as the Nightwalker regained its head and stand tall above them, pulling the ooze off the ground and back into it's own body.

And then the Great Spirit of the Forest collapsed.

The ground shook with the power of the strongest Earthquake. An exploding sound rang through the air and into every available ear. The sheer force destroyed everything in it's path, including Irontown. But as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The once dead forest began to regrow. Buds sprouted and fresh green grass grew like a blanket on the Earth. Trees began to reach, full in bloom, towards the sky. The citizens watched and for some reason they didn't feel any fear. And they didn't feel sadness about the destruction of their village. They just felt calm. Kohroku watched and spoke to himself,

"I didn't know the Great Spirit made the flowers grow"