[Dark Elite_H2]

Here we go, Lobo:



A STRANGER’S DEMISE

Distinct grumbling and chattering filled her ears up. She felt her arms and legs bound together like some sort of freak experiment went bad. She felt drugged somehow, feeling nausea crawl through her stomach. She looked down, seeing she was nearly three feet off the ground, hanging and bound together with ropes, wrapped around her arms, legs, and tied together around her body. She then looked over without the outlaws knowing, seeing Stranger the same, but stripped down of his personal belongings: Bow, poncho, and hat, piled together near the outlaws gibbering non-stop. An outlaw Shooter came by, unarmed, peeking up at her. She snapped her eyes shut, hoping it wouldn’t notice her conscious had returned. The outlaw sniffed around her face for a moment, then grumbled off back in to the small crowd of others. She opened back up, gazing around in front of her. It looked of an old attic, stashed on the sidelines of explosives. The room was lit dimly of a small fireplace, reflecting off the yellow skin of the minions. She saw planks nearly ripped open, revealing the outside to be completely pitch-black with the crickets chirping quietly. Umi knew trying to escape would be an attempt that would probably cost her life. She looked over desperately over to the unconscious Stranger, hoping he’d wake soon, but only he hung from the ropes that held him up, swinging back and forth softly, with his head following as well. But then, she saw that may turn all hope around. She saw Stranger’s ear, twitch slightly, and seeing his eyes peek open as well.
Another minion watched closely to Stranger’s face, his neon eyes coming back to life. The outlaw gazed back to the others, “Hey. Hey, boss! Stranger’s coming to,” it backed away from Stranger, he regaining conscious quickly. D. Caste sat on a wide wooden crate, cracking every knuckle he had in his hand. Stranger groaned slightly, snorting then slopping his tongue back in to his mouth. He slapped his lips together, waking from his deep unconscious. Then he saw something familiar to him on the floor about him. His bounty hunting equipment, his bow, his poncho, his ammo sack, and worst of all, his hat. He then began to let out frustrating growls, rocking his ropes back and forth, glaring around at the outlaws snickering at him.
“Well...If it ain’t the big, bad, bounty hunter...” D. Caste said cooly, his hat tipped over his face mockingly and his hands dangling between his legs. “So, Stranger. All we need to know is...” he brought up a finger pointing to Stranger. “...Where’s the Steef?” he let out a startling chuckle. Stranger let out a fierce growl towards the Outlaw. Then, the entire hideout filled up with malicious laughter, the minions beginning to group up to Stranger slowly. He became stressful, tensioning his legs and flailing them around. The operation bill in his tights loosened from its grip, as he continued to kick his legs. Then, the papers popped out from his tights, wafting slowly like a feather to the dusty ground. His mouth dropped open, muttering a distinct distress. The outlaws watched the papers slowly land to the ground, as one nearly scooped it up, when D. Caste shouted, “Hold it!” then passed through the crowded minions, up to the bill. He glared at it for a moment, then bent down and picked it up. “Wha’...” he droned, gazing over the front page of the bill. Stranger’s ears flattened to the back of his head, frowning madly at D. Caste and his discovery. D. Caste muttered to himself, his minions piling up on each other to see over the Outlaw’s shoulder. He let out a surprised quiver, then turned over the page. Suspicion drew over his face, looking down and up the picture that he thought couldn’t be real. “What the...” D. Caste grumbled, looking over and turning the next page. Stranger could hear quarreling minions to D. Caste’s suspicion, him still shaking his head. Umi became involved with what the operation bill held in it as well, watching D. Caste read over the bill over and over. D. Caste then looked over the paper and up to Stranger, with mean beady eyes. “What are you hiding, freak boy?” D. Caste growled loudly, then turned the page. His eyes widened with total suspicion, grunting loudly at the page, bringing it closer to his face. The minion next to him let out a long gasp, and stared up to Stranger. He dropped the papers, glaring evilly up to Stranger. “Get them pants off!” D. Caste pointed to Stranger’s legs, blinking furiously, as his minions passed around his arms. One walked up behind the struggling bounty hunter, while two more came to his front. Umi began to struggle as well, rocking herself up to Stranger as close as she could get. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t try to protect him while in her present situation, so she watched them intensely, as the minion in the back gripped on to his kicking legs, and the other two whip out a small pocket knife hidden in their hands. Stranger snapped his jaws threateningly together at the minions, watching as they began to cut down on his tights. Patches flung off from his legs, and Stranger knew it’d be over within a few more seconds. He raised his head away from the minions, his teeth tightly clenched together. Then their worlds turned upside down. The tights came off to a set of red overalls, and the minion behind him dropped his boots. The entire crowd of outlaws gasped in unison, as the minions near them backed away from the upsetting scene. Umi even let out a shocked gasp, her eyes wide open in disbelief. Dangling not only two legs that she expected the whole entire time, but four scrawny thin horse legs popping out from the leg holes of the red overalls. Stranger’s head bobbed down to his well-hidden secret, then back up with a shy grin to the crowd. D. Caste’s eyes were flushed of anger, as he passed through the minions around him, staring up and down once more to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.
“It’s a god-dang Steef!” D. Caste roared, scruffing Stranger’s head of hair in his hand, pulling closer down to the outlaws and himself, Stranger growling defensively. “Hidin’ his legs! Got no horns!” D. Caste growled, then threw Stranger’s head aside, he attempting to bite him with his pointy teeth as he threw him aside, but showed him a heinous glare and growling with baring teeth.
“Aww, Blisterz Booty bagged by a Steef!” a minion shouted out, its hands pointing out to Stranger. The others began to yell out Steef as well, agreeing with the minion that had shouted out. “You think you could be like us?” D. Caste balled a fist from his pointing finger to his chest. “You think you can be...normal?!“ D. Caste raised a brow of anger. “Skin that thang!” D. Caste shouted to his minions, turning his glare away from Stranger, wiping his palms together like a deed’s been done. “Twenty-gran’,” he shot two fingers out. “Wish they all that easy...” he said hopefully to himself, then turned back to his minions, gaining closer in to Stranger, holding out their knives and poking at him like they were prodding a cow with fun. He looked over to the human, struggling and trying to break free to save her friend in danger. D. Caste only chuckled in her demise. “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, human!” D. Caste shouted out to her, she snapping her glance over to him. “Sekto got’s big pay on yer head as well!” D. Caste cackled loudly, then turned back around. Just then when he turned back around, a rock that had been knocked down missed his face nearly by inches, and tumbled on the ground. “What the-“ shadowed figures passed over the barred window above, barely shining in the moonlight as it passed over. But D. Caste caught it well, and let out a startled gasp. The minions behind continued to gather around Stranger, him kicking and flailing his legs around defensively. The minions chuckled devilishly, as one came up to Stranger. It flashed suddenly, piercing through the minion’s clothing and flesh, acting like slow motion, as the minion tumbled down, roaring in pain. When it hit the floor, it let out a quick gasp, then fell silent. The others around quivered startlingly, looking around fearfully as if it were next.
“Ambush!” a minion shouted, and then the entire hideout began to scramble around, hiding from any open window that they figured they would be shot as well. Arrows showered down on to Stranger’s pile of gear with strings attached, and his belongings were dragged up through the bars of the roof window. Stranger watched helplessly as his stuff was being stolen. He saw a familiar shape in the window, aiming carefully with a bow and arrow equipt to it. The creature released the bow with lightning-fast reflexes, and the arrow passed over Stranger’s ear with only centimeters before it pierced his ear. The arrow cut through the rope that held him up, and sent him to the ground with a loud grunt. He took a moment to recover from that fall, then looked up in surprise that he was free from the ropes. His lips parted shakily with anger, his eyes sparked up quickly, as he got himself up to the crowd of cowering minions. He wiped himself off, glaring at D. Caste angrily.
“So now you know. But you won’t live te, tell the tale,” Stranger growled, holding his arms down with his hands clenched in tight fists. D. Caste grinned without fear, leaning down to the handle of his hammer.
“I don’t think so, you fou’-legged freak! Yer worth bookoo alive, when I’ll settle fer yeh dead,” D. Caste growled, keeping his sly smile on. Stranger grinned challengingly as well. “Bring it on. Yer mama did,” Stranger writhed his fingers to him to come closer. “Tear ‘im up, boys! To pieces with him!” D. Caste Raider slashed his arm in front of him. The minions began to close on him again, a Shredder coming up faster, slamming his shredder in to his palm. Stranger beckoned him closer, wringing his fingers towards him. When the Shredder was close enough, Stranger balled both of his fists together, and slammed them in to the minion’s gut, sending him in to the fireplace. The minion screamed bloody murder, sprinting out of the fire with a tail of sparks following behind. It slammed unknowingly in to one of the explosives around the attic. The fire spreaded around the barrel, then let out a shakily explosion, causing a slight chain reaction around the other explosions. Now all was left was a fast-spreading fire, touching on to explosives. The hideout was now coming apart. But that only left Stranger alone with the outlaws, and Umi still dangling by her arms. She began to panic heavily, tears flowing down her cheeks and avoiding fires that nearly touched her. He couldn’t worry about her right now. The outlaws closing in were the biggest threat. And with his four legs, he had double the speed and power. He kicked off his hind legs, circling around the entire hideout nearly touching the flames sparking and growing. He rammed in to some of the outlaws, sending them in to the fires and them being stupid enough to run in to one another. D. Caste came out hauling after Stranger, banging down his spiked hammer near Stranger, but he was a little faster than D. Caste and his strength. Minions still survived, but not as much as there were. D. Caste stopped and looked over to the human, dangling stressfully at her ropes.
“Git that human! Make sure it don’t get outta here alive!” D. Caste shouted. Umi now was frightened, along with the fires spreading all around her, and the rest of the minions circling around her, prodding her with their knives and shredders. Stranger growled angrily, skidding to a stop, then charging at the minions cutting to his partner. He slammed them aside, ramming one in the ribs, and smacking the other one in to the fire. D. Caste was the only one left out of the entire hideout. He growled irritatingly. “That was only a starter platter fer you, Stranger! It’s my turn, the workout!” D. Caste roared, raising his hammer and rushing after Stranger. He stayed hunched down in front of Umi, waiting his turn to move. He jumped aside, and D. Caste brought down his hammer meters away from Umi. His nails got caught in the soft wood, him tugging hardly at it to break it free. Stranger took his opportunity, and stampeded towards the helpless Outlaw, his head down low. D. Caste saw the stranger coming for him, his head low. He tugged violently at his hammer now, frantically watching Stranger as he got closer. Seconds later, D. Caste felt a sharp pain impact his ribs, feeling them cave in to his insides. He let out a heavy groan, flinging back down on the boarded floor. He felt a heat touch his arms and head. He looked up immediately, seeing that he was inside the fire on the sidelines. He screamed back up, flailing his self around, patting out the flesh that was on fire. Stranger, meanwhile, recovered from his side impact with the Outlaws’ side, his head throbbing in pain. He saw the Outlaw screaming and running around with his skin on fire. He shook his head to fix his sight, then grinned devilishly. He lowered his head again, and kicked off the boards, heading straight for D. Caste. He felt another seering pain, this time, in his behind, sending him flying back in to the flames. And this time, he didn’t get back up. The flames engulfed him entirely, the burn flashing all over his nerves, exploding in pain. He knew it was over, and that’s how he ended it. Giving up intentionally, and being eaten by the flames. Stranger shook his head from the throbbing pain he had left in his skull. He looked around, only seeing red-hot flames beginning to take over the hideout. He saw Umi, crying loudly and stressing hardly to break free. He rushed over to her, untying her from the ropes, and letting her down. She didn’t part away from Stranger. Instead, she clung on to him, like he was velcro, tightly around the waist, her eyes shining of fright. She quivered something scarce he couldn’t hear, but he put his hands around her, trying in any way to comfort her so they could get out. There was a loud crack at the top of them. The fire had spreaded above them on to the roof. A beam on the roof came tumbling down with a few flames crackling. Stranger leaped aside, as the beam came down. It fortunately, made a big hole in the floor, and led down in the fortress. He placed Umi on his back, she still clinging on for dear life, and he kicked off down the beam. The fire was spreading quicker, eating up the beam they’d gone down through and engulfing the walls around them. The top of the attic came down behind them. Luckily they weren’t trapped behind it. A straight-away, leading right to a window and the flames beginning at the sidelines. He took his chances, and sprinted with all his muscles down to the window. Umi squeaked, and burried her head in to his back. He leaped off high enough to hit the window and break through. Shards of glass pricked at his skin, he slid down the window pane, and thumped down on the ground. Minions were all around the hideout, watching as the Steef got away. The fortress exploded in to a giant cloud of smoke and flames in a giant bolero. Minion bodies also shot out of the windows of the hideout, making a whistling sound off in to the rainy night. He ran down a giant tunnel, heading off on to a roof of a giant house. He slowed down, keeping his hoof beats silent as possible as he trekked on to the tin roof of the house. He could hear Clakkers, speaking around a dinner table and dinner china dinging with the silverware.
“Ya know? I’ve never seen a Steef ‘round here in ages...Pass the ‘taters,” a male Clakker said. Stranger peered through the window, pressing hard on it to make a creaking sound and cracks growing on it. Then, then window broke in to large pieces of glass, raining down on the Clakkers and their dinner conversation. Stranger fell down as well, smacking himself on the dinner table, making it snap in to two. The Clakkers began to quiver in fear, screaming a shouting around. “Oh! It’s a Steef! It’s a Steef! P-please don’t eat us, Mr. Steef!” a female and male cried, running further in to their homes. Another male broke through a wooden gate, only leaving its shape in it, more likely a cartoonish action. Stranger broke down the fence blocking the way outside, and stepped out. He felt large raindrops splatter over his dampened brown hair, and shook it off. The Clakkers around Dusky Hollow jumped in fear, seeing the Steef emerge out from the house.
“Oh! A Steef’s runnin’ ‘round town! Quick, get the children and hide them, ‘fore it bites their heads off!” a female Clakker screamed, rushing three child Clakkers in to a trailer home, and locking it up. Gun ports from towers began to open up. The gates in town were closing. They were trapped.
“Hey! There’s a Steef ‘round town! Shoot it down, so’s I can get that bounty from that Sekto guy!” a Clakker shouted over the intercom of the town.
“It can hear you, Joel!” another Clakker yelled in the background. “Who cares! Steef’s are stupid creatures! They can’t understand us!” the Clakker shouted, and clicked off the intercom. Stranger, becoming more frustrated, hid under a canopy from the gun turrets, the bullets tanging off the metal, leaving small dents. He saw further out in front of him another window lower in to a house. He quickly charged off from under the canopy, and crashed down through the window. No Clakkers were inside, which was good. He broke through the front doors, exiting out of the town faster than a Stingbee. He could hear the Clakker ramble all over the intercom, shouting out to the town and wondering where the Steef had gone to. He kept running, until he dropped off from a cliff, slamming in to the mud. Umi flung off Stranger’s back, rolling in to a boulder that stopped her from going on. Stranger wiped off the mud covering his face, and ran up to Umi, who was still slightly crying. He knew she had a rough night, too much that she couldn’t handle. He picked her up, standing her up straight on the ground. She knelt on the wet grass, wiping her eyes of tears, then felt a deep anger beginning to fire up through her stomach.
“It’s over, Umi. We’re safe now,” Stranger said, running his fingers through her hair. She looked up, he noticing a spark of anger in her eyes.
“You...lied to me,” Umi said nearly calm. Stranger pulled back from her, with a confused grin on him. “What? How’d I lie to yeh?” Stranger asked, feeling himself lying to her again. “You lied to me! Remember, back in Buzzarton? I asked you if you weren’t lying to me! How could you do this to me!?” she slammed her fists in to the watered grass, diverting her angry gaze away from him. “You don’t know how bad this makes me feel. We’re friends, Stranger! Friends don’t lie to each other! What you did is just broke my trust, to you,” Umi said, tears running down with the rain splattering on her cheeks. Stranger didn’t reply, but his gaze kept on Umi, his glowing eyes darkening. She stood up from him, walking away with arms wrapped around her, walking under a tree canopy that kept some of the rain off of her.
‘Let ‘er go, Stranger...She ain’t too happy with yeh,’ Stranger thought, his head limping down. He curled himself up with his legs, using his arms under his head to keep off the wet grass. Rain continued to splatter all over him, soaking his overalls and his fur. He sniffled a little, wishing that his partner was there with him, to make sure she was safe. But winning back her trust was going to be a bigger thought, and that’s what he fell asleep with.