I finally saw Kubo and the Two Strings over the weekend, and it was awesome! Enjoy everyone!

I. The Beginning

The entire village held their eyes on the young story-teller. "He's coming," Kubo told them, prompting the villagers, Kameyo especially, to turn away and try to hide, all the while holding expressions of worry for the young boy. As Kubo prepared himself for the inevitable confrontation, the Helmet Invulnerable, along with the breastplate, and the sword glowed, radiating an aura of authority and power.

"Grandfather!" Kubo called out, unsheathing the Sword Unbreakable and peering in all directions. "It's me, Kubo! I know you can hear me!"

Kubo looked in front of himself and saw the image of a far older man, glowing blue and seeming not of the Earth materialize in front of him. "So good to see you at last," the Moon King, Raiden said, his tone condescending. His chuckles were ominous. "So to speak."

Kubo's one eye narrowed at the Moon King; the memories of what had occurred throughout his journey all rushing to him: his mother's sickness, death, the death of his mother a second time, and the revelation that Beetle was actually a reincarnated form of his father Hanzo. The young samurai picked up a rock.

"Seems your mother had reason to bring you to this dreadful place after all," Raiden commented, sauntering closer to Kubo. The boy launched the rock at him and Raiden caught it without effort. "I see," Raiden growled, crushing the rock as if it was paper.

"I know why you're here!" Kubo began, holding the Sword Unbreakable in front of him. "You finally saw me. That was my fault, I should've listened to my parents."

"Kubo, you and I both want the same thing."

"You want my other eye! And I know why: because you are old, and mean, and cruel."

Raiden frowned at the boy's declaration. "Come now, let us not dissolve into petty insults." The god paced around Kubo. "You see, as long as you cling to that silly little eye, you cannot ascend to me." Raiden then stopped in front of Kubo.

"You'll be stuck down here, in this hell, staring at all the hate, all the heartache, all the suffering, all the death!" The Moon King smiled at his grandson. "Where I want to take you, there is none of that."

"You've got it all wrong!" Kubo exclaimed. "There's good people down here. People with happy, fulfilling lives!"

"Only a cynical person would call what these people have 'lives'," Raiden sneered. "I can reunite you with your family."

"My family is gone! And you killed them!"

"Bah," the Moon King growled, waving his hand in dismissal. "They brought their fates on themselves! They disgraced me, they upset the natural order of things!"

"That is how your story goes," Kubo replied.

"And how do you suppose your story ends? By killing me?" Raiden advanced on Kubo, pushing the young boy back even with the Sword Unbreakable blocking him. "Is that your wish? To do battle with a hideous monster who ruined your life? To prove your worth, like your foolish father?!"

The Moon King's human form began crackling like the ground during a massive earthquake. "So be it!" At this declaration, Kubo witnessed his grandfather transform into a giant, dragon-like creature, flying around in the sky, before the dragon began flying toward him.

Kubo scowled in determination and ran at his grandfather with a battle cry, sliding under the belly of the beast and slicing him with the Sword Unbreakable, making the Moon King roar in pain and anger; as Kubo slid to the other side, he could see Raiden flying back up into the sky to once again strike down at him. Kubo ran and jumped as the Moon Dragon advanced toward him, managing to slice his mouth.

Raiden, seething in pain, whipped his tail at his grandson, slashing him in the back and sending him crashing to the ground. Kubo quickly got back up, ignoring the searing pain in his back, and attempted to once again jump at Raiden, before he was grabbed.

"You want to be human?!" Raiden began as he removed the Helmet Invulnerable from Kubo's head. "Then share their weakness! Suffer the humiliation!" He squeezed Kubo to the point where the boy nearly lost consciousness. "FEEL THEIR PAIN!"

With this, he flung Kubo into the forest, near the cemetery, sending the boy flying through the air before he was stopped by hitting the ground. The Sword Unbreakable planted itself in the ground when Kubo crashed. When the samurai recovered, he grabbed toward the famous sword before coming to a halt; is this how he wanted to his story to end? Using violence and vengeance to right the wrongs inflicted on him? Would it bring back his family?

Then, Kubo's thoughts came to something else. "Memories," he whispered to himself. If there was anything he learned during his journey, and his short time with his mother, is that the preservation of memories was the most powerful thing one could possess.

Kubo heard the low-pitched growls of his grandfather slowly approaching. He grabbed his sword, but decided to re-sheath it instead; he picked up his shamisen and glanced at his wrist. "This is for you mother. You also, father." The strings, not strings, but the last remaining remnants of his parents, were strung onto the shamisen, but then Kubo realized that he was missing one string, so he plucked one of his hairs out of his ponytail and strung it on also.

"Hahahaha!" Raiden laughed as he approached Kubo. "Take one last look with that lonely eye this wretched place you call home!"

"I will not leave," Kubo said quietly. "I know why you want my eye! Because without it, I can't look into the soul of another, to see their love-"

"EVERYTHING YOU LOVED IS GONE!" Raiden bellowed, baring his teeth at the boy. "TAKEN FROM YOU!"

Kubo began playing the notes of his shamisen with the newly attached strings. "If you must blink, do it now." As he strummed out the last note, a wave of magic spread all over the cemetery. Raiden could see the bright lights swarming Kubo, the souls of the departed come to fruition.

"You say everything I love is gone? That's where you're wrong, grandfather. It is my memory; they exist in my memory, the most powerful magic there is!"

Raiden growled at the frustration at seeing the power which his mortal grandson possessed.

Kubo gestured to the souls of the departed that surrounded him. "This! This is what makes us stronger than you'll ever be!" As Kubo spoke, the villagers who were hiding throughout the duration of the battle stepped out, also gathering around Kubo. "These are the memories of those we have loved and lost! And.." Kubo paused, letting a tear roll down his one eye. "And if we hold onto their stories deep in our hearts, then you can never hope to take that from us!" The next note that Kubo strummed sent a wave of magic that hit Raiden, sending him flying back a few feet back.

Raiden narrowed his eyes at the crowd of sentimentality before him. "It seems we have reached an impasse, young Kubo. We will have to settle this in a different time."

"There is no different time for you!" Kubo exclaimed, ready to play another magical note. "Your story has concluded!"

"That is where I disagree." Too quick for Kubo to react, Raiden let out a screech of dark magic, which surrounded Kubo, causing the young boy to cover his arms.

"What kind of magic is this?!" Kubo cried as nothing seemed to happen to him; caught off guard, the young boy seemed to disappear, to fall within the Earth below him. It seemed that Raiden had opened up a portal of some kind and flung Kubo inside.

"Worry not, young Kubo. We will meet again. But next time, you will not be so fortunate." The villagers, surprised at the boy's sudden disappearance, cowered before the Moon King, who began slowly advancing on the frightened populace.

Within the void that Kubo was flung into, the boy screamed a distorted, screech, as it seemed that his body was being stetched beyond his limits; the void itself appeared to be nothing but black and white colors, disorienting and hypnotizing, so to speak. Kubo could barely catch a glimpse of the light at the end of the void; where it would lead would remain to be seen...

There's my first draft, think I should go with this?

Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what this is inspired by...