Sand Land: The Series (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

[automobile approaches]
Yeah, yeah. I know. I don't get why
we have to do all this sneaking around.
What is it?
This job not exciting enough for you?
Look, I just became a soldier.
I wanna be in the heat of battle.
But no. I'm a pack mule for water.
Stop complaining and keep your gun ready.
There's definitely no shortage of demons
around here.
Demons? Are you kidding me?
[chuckling] That makes things interesting!
[chuckles]
They don't stand a chance
against me and my gun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hey, listen. Don't underestimate demons.
Hold on.
I think I just saw something behind us.
Hey, cut it out.
I don't fall for dumb jokes like that.
All right?
[chuckles] My bad.
I must be seeing things,
'cause the sandstorm's
getting a lot worse.
[both sigh]
[both screaming, grunting]
Wh-- What the hell was that?
-[gasps, screams]
-No, you fool! Stop it!
-[gunshots]
-[both grunting]
[both screaming]
[demon growling]
[growling continues]
[soldier grunts]
[gasps]
Stop right there!
Ow!
[metal clanks]
[gasps, pants]
[grunting] Are you okay?
-[demon grunts] That hurt, you know?
-[screams]
[demon] We're only gonna take a little.
[whimpering, panting]
-[screaming]
-[gunshots]
EPISODE 1 - DEPARTURE
[music on radio]
[music stops]
[bell rings]
[TV presenter] And the drought
is expected to continue for some time now.
Good afternoon, Sheriff.
Hey. How's it going?
[groans] This heat is brutal.
[chattering on TV]
-And your water?
-Same as always.
Very little water makes its way
to areas as remote as this one.
-[dings on TV]
-My faithful subjects.
[Sheriff] Huh?
I know that you must be suffering
from our most recent water shortage.
Fear not. For I, your generous king,
am offering my subjects
a limited-time-only sale.
[audience gasps]
What kind of sale will it be this time?
A half-liter bottle sells for 20,000 zeni.
But-- But wait. Now it's only 17,500.
That's 17,500 zeni!
-[audience gasps, cheers, applauds]
-[follower] Bravo.
[villager grunting]
-How's it going?
-Not good.
Just like the south well,
this one's also completely dried up.
That bad, huh?
There's no sign of rain
on its way here either.
And there's no water left for our cattle.
We're desperate.
Our supplies are running out
and getting smaller every day.
Please, Sheriff.
-Isn't there something you can do?
-Sheriff. We beg you. Help us.
-Please, Sheriff. We need your help.
-All right, everyone. Okay.
I'll take care of it somehow.
Just be patient. I'll work it out.
[Sheriff grunts]
That said, now what?
[bird twitters]
Huh?
-Wait a minute.
-[bird twitters]
[child] Sheriff Rao!
[panting]
-[Sheriff] Where'd you get that?
-[grunts]
I got stuck without any water,
but a nice demon gave 'em to me.
A demon, you say?
Yeah! [chuckles]
Hey! Come on now. Wait for me!
Unbelievable. Our very own Fiend Prince
gives water to a human child.
What's happened to you? [gulping]
Will you knock it off?
I'll give him hell once he's grown up.
Good deeds aren't considered
very demonly, you know?
They put themselves through this
all the time.
They should just take
the King's water source. It's madness!
Patience is a virtue.
They'll have to make a move on him
sooner or later.
Otherwise, they'll all be wiped out.
Hey! We brought you some water!
-[demon 1] Oh, hey!
-[demons clamoring]
-[demon 2] Water. I'm dying of thirst!
-[demons chatter, laugh]
Your Majesty, do you have a moment?
I'm afraid our friend Slime
is at death's door.
[demon] Oh, dear. We may be too late.
Nah, he's still okay.
Oh, man.
So this is
what our world has come to, huh?
[Sheriff] Fifty years ago,
when the desert was all that was left
of the world,
humans struggled to find water
and even fought hard to get it.
Rain no longer fell,
and the rivers stopped flowing.
There was only one water source left,
and it was controlled by the King.
[Prince grunts]
[shouts] Damn. I died!
-Isn't it someone else's turn by now?
-You said that I was next.
[demon] It's my turn!
-[vehicle approaching]
-Huh?
[hand brake clicks]
[engine stops]
[Sheriff grunts]
[gulps]
[clears throat]
I am Sheriff Rao,
and I come from a nearby town.
I've come to ask the demons who live here
for their help.
Who among you is willing
to discuss it with me?
Someone who would hear me out?
[Sheriff grunts]
Takes a lot of guts for a human sheriff
to come to demon country.
So, are you the one in charge here?
The Great King Lucifer is our leader,
but he'd never meet with you.
I am the Fiend Prince Beelzebub.
Talk to me or go.
All right.
I'll just get straight to the point then.
I need to secure help
in finding the Legendary Spring.
Legendary Spring?
[gasps] What's that?
A body of water that I believe
actually exists somewhere in this desert.
You think there's some kind of spring?
Here in this desert?
[chuckles] How ridiculous.
Are you out of your mind?
What kind of proof have you got?
Have you ever heard of
a little bird called a water finch?
Uh, huh?
[Sheriff] Water finch.
It's a small bird
that feeds on freshwater fish.
During their breeding season,
they head to their nests
north of the desert in the rocky cliffs.
Oh, yeah. We know all about that.
Right, Thief?
[Thief] Mm-hmm.
I too have seen this bird.
But is there a connection
with this spring you speak of?
-I believe there is.
-[bird twitters]
I saw a water finch flying in these parts.
And it's not the first time.
Every year, same season,
they're always active.
-[bird twitters]
-Which can only mean
there must be a spring with enough water
for small fish to survive
somewhere in the south of our desert.
[Thief] Hmm.
It's not just my village.
The whole country is suffering
from this drought.
As I imagine, you are too.
The journey from here to the south can
be quite dangerous, as we know.
I doubt any humans like myself could make
the trip alone.
And that is why
I have come to seek the help of a demon
willing to join me in this quest.
[chuckles] And what makes you think
a demon would help out a human?
There was a little kid in my village
who told me
that he was given some water by a demon.
Sounds like someone
who'd be willing to hear me out.
[gasps] A demon gave water
to a human child?
No one here is stupid enough to do that!
Even sketched out a drawing of him too.
You've gotta be kidding me.
I don't look like that.
It's just as I suspected.
[gasps]
He got me.
Let's just say we are able
to find this Legendary Spring.
Do you really think that humans and
demons would actually be able to share it?
Of course.
In fact, you could even end up
living there if you really wanted to,
just as long as you'd be willing
to share water with us from time to time.
So, is this your idea?
Or do you speak for the King?
The plan is mine and mine alone.
That selfish King who doesn't care about
the citizens of his country,
he's the reason
why we must find the spring on our own.
Hmm.
Let's have a meeting now.
[whispering] So, what do you think
we should do?
It's not a terrible idea.
I think we get by just fine
stealing whatever we need.
It would certainly make things
a lot easier
for the poor merpeople and the kappa.
What are you talking about?
None of us want to work
with any of those yucky humans.
Hmm.
I know, right?
Hey. Sorry, but I don't think so.
Well, I've got this for you too.
It's said to be a rare game machine
left over from the wars.
-[demons gasp]
-Oh, wow!
This is super rare!
-There are games too!
-Wow!
[gasps]
[clears throat]
We'll have to consult
with King Lucifer first.
[footsteps]
So there are all kinds
of different demons, huh?
Yeah. We all come
from many different places and races.
-[whirring]
-[sniffs]
[groans]
-[grunts]
-[demon groans]
[Beelzebub] You idiot!
Stop burning cactus in here! It stinks!
But I wanted to scare him.
Do it with something else.
[scoffs] He's all worked up
'cause he hasn't seen a human in so long.
Wait right here.
[Beelzebub] Um, Dad?
I-- uh…
-[King Lucifer] Hmm?
-[gasps]
[King Lucifer] I heard
the whole conversation.
[Beelzebub gasps] You did? So?
You should accompany him.
I find this human interesting.
This could prove
to be educational for you.
[gasps] Yes!
[King Lucifer] However!
Upon your return, you can
only play video games an hour a day.
Is that clear?
[stammers] Yes, understood.
I told him everything.
[grunts] And?
He said yes.
So this is our ride, huh?
How many passengers can it hold?
I'd say with the luggage,
two at best.
Only two, huh?
So me and someone else.
Anyone wanna come along?
Well, then I guess we'll try out for it.
[both] Huh?
But none of us really wanna go.
Right. Time to show us your best move.
'Kay, Kamaitachi?
[gasps] My best move?
Yeah. One that might help us
find the spring.
Okay, very well.
Here it goes.
[grunts]
[grunts]
Yeah, we've all seen that one before.
[Kamaitachi] I did it a little differently
this time.
[Beelzebub] All right. You're next.
Huh? I gotta be next?
Well then…
[stammers] …I can fly, I guess.
Oh! That's cool. Yes!
We could search from the sky.
-Huh?
-Indeed.
[pants, grunts]
[groaning]
-[Beelzebub] Weak.
-[Thief] So slow.
-Forget it.
-[grunts]
Is that really the best you can do?
I tried, but I guess
I'm a little out of shape.
[demon] Did you really give it your all?
Of course I did!
Who's next?
I, uh, I can transform myself.
Oh? Let's see.
[grunts]
Ta-da!
Did something change?
Yeah. This little patch of hair did.
Next!
And there!
[sneers]
-[arrow whistles]
-[grunts] Oh, crap.
Oh! So nice.
But I didn't mean to.
But Centaur's way too big
to fit into that little car.
Yeah. I agree!
Who's next?
Looks like Centaur was the last one.
-No way! That's everybody?
-Yeah.
-What about you? Show us what you can do.
-Huh?
Who? Me? Oh, no, Your Highness.
That's not such a good idea.
My back's not what it used to be,
and I'm no good at fighting.
Is that so?
All right. Got it.
The one I've chosen to come along…
[crowd murmuring]
…is you!
What?
No fair. Why me?
You're really smart and experienced.
And you're good at stealing.
-Everyone okay with that?
-[all gasp]
[all cheering]
What was the point of tryouts?
[Beelzebub] We're all set!
Then go ahead and load your bags
on the seat and get in.
[Thief] Your Majesty,
I'm sure if Gargoyle and Ghost had
given it their all,
they could fly higher.
Then I wouldn't have to go.
Quit your complaining
and just get in already.
-Yeah. Go on, get in.
-Giving up is for losers!
[engine starts]
-Everything all right?
-Oh, yeah. Wait.
Hey, guys. No one touches those games
until I get back.
[all] Huh?
Now,
let's go!
[creatures squawking]
Oh! [chuckling]
Isn't this so exciting?
Not at all.
-Huh?
-[Thief] Not one bit.
Not even a little!
In fact, there's absolutely nothing
exciting about it whatsoever.
Ah, knock it off, Thief. And act your age.
[Thief] Like I said, not exciting.
I got a question.
How long do you think
this journey is gonna take?
Well, let's see.
Assuming everything goes smoothly,
about five days, I'd say.
[groans] That long?
Sounds way boring.
You fed up with it already, are you?
Hey.
Let me take a shot at the wheel.
Your Majesty, please!
Not this human contraption.
[Beelzebub] Okay.
So this is the gear shift, right?
-[Sheriff] That's right.
-[Beelzebub] And then?
Release the brake
and slowly step on the gas pedal.
[Beelzebub] This foot goes here.
[laughs]
We're moving now! Look at that!
[Thief] Not bad at all, Your Majesty.
It's an automatic so it's pretty simple.
Watch out for that bumpy area up ahead.
[Beelzebub laughing]
This is fun!
Don't push it too hard now
or else you could overheat it.
Uh, may I have a chance
at the wheel, Majesty?
What the hell?
I thought you were against this.
-Just for a minute. Please?
-No way.
[grunts] Stop being so selfish!
[exclaims]
Now this is exciting!
Don't you think you're driving too fast?
You want to see me go even faster?
No. My turn. You're taking too long.
Your turn was much longer than mine was.
And so was your turn before that.
Liar!
No. I swear to King Lucifer.
That's the truth!
[Beelzebub] No fair.
Leave my dad out of this.
[Thief] You're the one
who's always cheating.
[Beelzebub] This coming from the guy
with the weird hair.
-[Thief] Oh, I see.
-Hmm?
-When all else fails, insult my hair, huh?
-[Sheriff] That hole.
[Beelzebub chuckling]
I'm just teasing you, Thief.
[grunts] Oh, no.
-Floor it now!
-[both gasp]
-[Thief] Are you sure?
-Go!
[all scream]
What the hell is happening?
It's a Geji Dragon! And it's hungry.
-[Beelzebub] Thief! There, look out!
-Huh?
[screaming, grunting]
[Beelzebub] Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy.
Not even the likes of me
could take that down.
[shouts] It's here!
Your Majesty, it's your turn to drive now.
Now of all times? Uh-uh. Hell no!
Here it comes. Go faster!
Yeehaw!
-[Thief sighs]
-No time to relax. Look at that!
[gasps] A hole!
[all screaming]
Put all your weight on the right side.
[Beelzebub] Here it comes again!
Damn. We're on his turf.
He'll catch us for sure.
Wait! What are you doing?
Go faster!
[Thief] This is as fast as it'll go!
[Sheriff] We're too heavy.
No choice.
[Beelzebub] Hey. What are you doing?
Keep the pedal to the metal!
I would. But look ahead!
Another hole!
Now! You can trust me!
You expect me to trust a human
that I just met?
-That's impossible!
-[Geji Dragon growls]
-[Sheriff grunts]
-Old man!
-[gasps]
-[grunting]
All right.
Now floor it!
[grunts]
[Beelzebub] Go!
-[Geji Dragon roars]
-[Thief screams]
[all screaming]
[all grunt]
[Thief laughs]
-We did it! We made it out!
-[Beelzebub] All right. Good job!
Yeah, we did it. Let's go!
You see that, Your Majesty?
My driving skills are excellent.
[Thief] What are we going to do?
We have to turn back. We have no choice.
We have no fuel, no food and no water.
Unfortunately, we don't have enough fuel
in the tank to turn back now.
Huh?
Then what are we gonna do?
[Sheriff] Hmm.
I've got it.
I think there's a town not too far
from here that's about an hour away.
We don't have any money,
but we'll have to make do.
[Beelzebub] Old man, don't you get
confused by these weird roads?
Somewhat. I used to travel around here
quite a bit for my old job.
Your job, huh?
I've been wondering about something.
Just how old are you guys?
How old? Well, that's a boring question.
I don't really know how old.
Probably somewhere around 2,500.
And I'm just a little older than he is.
Is that so?
Hmm. Guess that makes me just a kid.
Were things any better in the old days?
[Beelzebub] I don't know.
It sucks that the world's
turned out like this.
But humans had problems then
and still do now.
[Sheriff] I'll give you that. But not
as many problems as you demons have.
You're one to talk.
Sure, we might like to play tricks
on people, but we don't kill.
Not like humans do.
You gotta be joking.
According to the legends, demons are
responsible for the worst horrors.
[Thief scoffs]
Humans have always blamed us demons
whenever anything goes wrong.
It's always the same. Since ancient times.
For example, when this river dried up,
weren't there all kinds of rumors going
around that it was the demons' doing?
Yeah. So they said.
Why would we do that?
Look. It's a big problem for us too.
I see.
Listen, if what you're saying
is really true,
then I believe
we may have misunderstood the situation.
Come on.
Let's not get all carried away here.
We're baddies, and don't forget it.
For example, I went to bed last night
and I didn't even brush my teeth.
Nasty, huh?
And today I slept in
and still haven't brushed my teeth.
I even attacked the King's water truck.
How's that? Pretty badass, right?
Uh, yeah.
Maybe I haven't killed any humans yet,
but I've definitely knocked out
more of them than I can count.
After all, I'm the baddest one around.
'Cause I am the Fiend Prince.
[Thief] Yes. Bravo!
[Beelzebub] I bet you've done
a few bad things yourself, haven't you?
Admit it!
Just smoking cigarettes
doesn't make you bad.
Something worse.
[sighs]
-Some might think of me as a killer…
-[both gasp]
…of quite a few men.
It all happened during the war.
[stammers] The war?
[chuckles] Is that so?
Bottom line, it's still killing.
[Beelzebub] So you mean
you were in the war?
[Sheriff] Yeah.
[grunts]
Easy prey coming in!
First in ten days.
[Sheriff] There. Just up ahead.
The town's on the other side
of those rocks.
[tires pop]
[Beelzebub groaning]
What the heck?
What the hell?
All four of the damn tires are punctured.
[bandit] Hey.
That guy looks like a sheriff.
-Hmm?
-[bandit 2] Like it freaking matters.
Let's just get rid of them quickly.
Any resistance,
and this guy's as good as dead.
Bunch of lousy bandits.
Are you the ones responsible for this?
Oh, dear.
Gramps doesn't know
what kind of trouble he's in, does he?
-Let's show him!
-[bandit 3] Yeah!
-Get him!
-[bandit 4] He's mine!
Oh, great.
Hey, Thief. Get a look at that bunch
of freaking posers.
[Thief] Yeah.
Their style is similar to yours.
[grunts]
[bandit grunts]
-[Sheriff grunting]
-[bandits grunt]
Oh! The old man's got some fight in him.
[Beelzebub] Not bad for a human.
-[Sheriff grunts]
-[bandit groans]
Pretty good for an old geezer.
That said,
how do you fare against bullets?
[Sheriff grunts]
[both grunt]
Uh-oh.
Looks like it's my turn now.
[exclaims, grunting]
And just what the hell are you?
[Beelzebub] I'll admit,
you've got a pretty good look.
And you've had your fun.
You think you're better than demons?
No one's better
than the Fiend Prince! [chuckles]