THICKETS, MASKS, AND TREACHERY--The shadow of the Steef
Remembering what the Clakker said back in the Bounty store, Stranger and Umi wandered around the town of New Yolk City, finding Clakkers to see if they could help them find their Outlaw. Most of them denied Stranger of his plea, saying rude comments behind his back as they waltzed away from him. He just kept a minimum grudge on them until he got back from his mission, that is, IF they’re going to get to their mission.
“This, is, ridiculous! None of these guys’ll help a Bounty hunter and a human!” Umi frowned. Stranger couldn’t agree more, but one of the townsfolk should know where McGee should be. He thought of one more option to ask the Clakkers, then he’d be going on his own to find McGee by himself. He spotted one lonely, but elderly female Clakker, rocking back in a rocking chair on a front porch of a small house by the General store. He had some doubt in his mind that the Clakker wouldn’t of know where the Outlaw was, but he gave it a shot. He walked up to the Clakker, it having its head down with its spectacles slipping down its wrinkly beak. It pushed back its glasses up to its nose and its head, seeing the stranger come closer to it. It didn’t show any surprise in its old, but sparkling olive-green eyes, but gave a wrinkled toothless smile to the strangers.
“‘Scuse me. I, don’t mean to be botherin’ yeh toady, but...”
“Well, hello thar, sonny. What may you want from me?” the elderly Clakker said with a witchy voice, but having somewhat of life in it. Stranger’s lip drooped slightly, but shook his mane of hair under his hat, and repeated again. “I’m lookin’ fer a bounty, goes by the name of X’plosives McGee. You, know where he could be found?” Stranger asked in his most calmest voice Umi has ever heard. She even gave a slight smile when he continued to talk in his manner. The Clakker looked at him awkwardly, her beak frowning lower with every second they breathed. Stranger’s impatients grew, as the Clakker wasted more and more of their precious time with no answer. Umi could see his eyes actually growing brighter. The Clakker looked over to Umi, its eyes now grown wider with surprise. “Well, now! If it ain’t the human! I heard that news all the way from Gizzard Gulch! Why you with this...Bounty hunter?” it asked, looking back to Stranger, and now he had a teeth-baring grin, and his lower eyelid twitching madly. Umi touched his arm, him flinching a little, but looked down to Umi, her eyes telling him to calm down. His nostrils flared with his deep sigh, but nodded. She looked back to the elderly Clakker.
“Uh, ma’am. Could you please help us with our bounty,” Umi took a step forward to the Clakker. It smiled up to Umi, nodding its head. “Anything fer yeh, lil’ missy,” it said sweetly. “Well, we’re looking for the bounty, named Flint X’plosives McGee. We were wandering around town all day, asking ‘round town to see if anyone’s seen where this bounty goes to. So...d’you know where the Outlaw is?” Umi asked. It gave another, but weak smile. “Well, yeah! I’ve seen that dirty varmin ‘round town, pesterin’ the people out front. Eh, I’ve seen ‘im and ‘is boys use that thar elevator near the end of town, just right passed the gun tower. It’s probably still useful,” it replied, coughing out at its last words. Stranger looked down at Umi with blunt surprise. She actually got something out of the Clakker, rather than him talking politely to the elderly. She grinned proudly up to Stranger, then bowed her head to the Clakker respectfully. “Thank-yee kindly, ma’am. Have a nice day,” Umi smiled, and turning around from it, and walking away. Stranger’s jaw dropped down, following Umi up behind her.
“How the hell’d you do that?” Stranger asked curiously. Umi grinned with her white teeth showing. “I’ve been ‘round elderly people all my life, and I know how to talk their language. Believe me. Thirteen years of experience, and I’m already gettin’ precious information out of the elderly,” Umi looked back down. Stranger let out a loud laugh. “You damn varmin! Why didn’t you just say in the beginning that you’d take car o’ it?” Stranger ruffled her hair playfully. “‘Cause, yer the independent one when it comes to conversational skills. I just stepped in ‘cause you were gettin’ all pissy,” Umi grinned. He put an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her closer to his side, and walking down the cobble-brick road, passed the General store.They could see a tall tower leading straight up to an opening and leading further down. There was a metal basing around a wooden platform with thick belts looping below and above on wheels that would support a limited weight on the elevator. They stepped on the elevator platform, hearing the wood under their feet creak and whine in a threateningly way, but they took the risk. The elevator rose on its own, climbing higher up to the tunnel. The belts wobbled with the platform, the metal chains clanking as the platform rose higher above the town. The platform made a loud thump, as it stopped roughly at the top of its heights. Stranger and Umi led through the tunnel, hearing the elevator sliding back down loudly.The tunnel stretched far out, and dropped down on a flat piece of land, but mountainous boulders built widely around the flat land, trees reaching out from between the rocks. Out far in front of the exit was a crane, with its giant claw gripped on a gigantic boulder over a squared off patch of grass. Far away on their left was a mine cart with an open track, leading over the deep forested drop over the tracks. A mixture of Shooter and Shredder minions occupied around the area, baring out their armaments. Stranger stopped themselves from moving out further in to the minions’ sights, behind a stack of metal crates towering over Stranger’s height. While loading his bow up with his ammunition, he watched the pattern of the outlaws’ patrolling stations. At least two were walking behind a boulder that stuck out of the ground, and the rest stayed out front. Any concoction of his ammo would work.
This time, he used Stingbees and Bolamites. Stingbees, to keep closer outlaws busy, and Bolamites for farther outlaws, so he could have some time to get rid of the closer ones. He told Umi to stay where she was, and he kept himself bent low behind one small wooden crate. The closest outlaw was two Shooters. He watched them come back from trotting left, and coming back in front of the exit through the tunnel. He shot straight up when he counted to three in his mind, and fired the Stingbees steadily. He moved his arm all over the two minions, making sure they both would get hit by the fast-firing Stingbees. When another outlaw further behind moved up to the attacked minions, they were immediately wrapped in to a Bolamites’ web, growling and muffling curses to the Bounty hunter, as they struggled from their trap. He quickly reloaded his Stingbees launcher, but kept the Bolamites flowing to the farther outlaws escaping early from the webs. Ten to twenty more Stingbees at the surviving Shooters, and the Shooters gave out one last scream before they fell dead, their blood spilling out of their faces. He jumped down from the tunnel, and bountied the trapped outlaws first before he went to the dead ones. Umi jumped down as well, looking immediately over to the mine cart in front of a open gate, hilling down and over the forested ground. She ran up to the cart, then looked out at the open track. She grunted in uneasiness, looking back to Stranger.
“Dunno if we should take this...” Umi frowned. Stranger looked around the vicinity, then shrugged back to Umi.
“It’s the only way we got’s to take,” Stranger said. True to his word, Umi also looked around, seeing no special passages that would make her nervousness diminish. She then looked back to the train tracks, and then sighed, jumping in to the cart and standing out front of the cart. Stranger also jumped in, pulling a lever close to the cart. The cart thumped hardly, making Umi fall back in to Stranger’s arms, and then the cart began to move forward slowly.
Polishing its rifle and reattaching its high-powered scope, a Sniper minion heard the carts’ metallic start, and snapped its view to the cart, slowing moving down the tracks. It growled, activating its scope and lighting the fuse to its rifle.
“You ain’t gettin’ too far down the track, Bounty hunter ” it shouted loud, and held down the trigger, firing a red smokey stream of red out of the rifles’ long barrel.
The bullet zoomed passed Stranger’s tip of his ear, and he pushed Umi’s head down in to the cart, holding his bow up with a Zapp Fly and a Boom-bat.
“Stay down until I say it’s safe,” Stranger growled loud enough so Umi could hear. She nodded, squatting down low so the Snipers’ bullets would avoid her. Even though she desperately wanted to help Stranger, she didn’t want to bother him in such dangerous conditions. Orange barrels with the same insignia of the fire symbol stood behind the minions’ spot. His Zapp fly was already charged up with electrical blue sparks, and he aimed for the barrels. The Zapp fly was launched, its sparks zapping the air, and heading straight for the explosives barrels behind the minion. The Sniper lowered its rifle, watching the bug soar through the air, and passing its arm to the barrels.
“Oh, bloody hel-“ then its life ended before it could say the last of its words. The tracks began to hug close to a mountain side, curling with it, and over to a large plateau, the tracks beginning to flatly lay out on the plateau.Shooter minions and a Nailer began to rush out near the tracks. Stranger locked down his bow with Boom-bats and Zapp flies, first firing the Boom-bat at the Nailer. There were more orange barrels of explosives as they followed through deeper in to a wide-open tunnel, with minions pouring out from each side. Umi felt the rumbles of explosions close to the cart, and held her hands over her ears. Nothing could be more scarier than to hear outlaws scream while they are blown up to mighty heaven. Stranger had blown the last barrels, with the minions coming out and blowing up with the explosives, when he saw the track fly over another set of tracks. And you think everything’s going to be Ok? Well, you’re wrong.
Umi peeked her head up over the edge of the cart, seeing the tracks over the other tracks, explode, and shatter down to the bottom tracks below it. She felt her heart stop for a second, then clenched on to Stranger’s arm, screaming, then feeling the cart fly down on to the second set of tracks below. Stranger gripped on the edge to the cart, holding on as the cart thumped down on the tracks, and continued to slide further in to a large mine shaft. The track ended at a bump, sending the cart a few meters back, then stopping at a complete halt. Umi was still clinging on Stranger’s arm, her eyes tightly shut and her entire self shivering within fear.
“C’mon, kid. It’s all over,” he ruffled her hair gently. Umi didn’t respond for moments, then opened one eye, only to see a lit mine shaft and the cart at a stop. Her grip loosened on his arm and her constant shivering dimmed.
“What...the hell...happened?” Umi held her poise, hunched down and squatting. Stranger chuckled, bringing her up. “It’s all over, Umi. We’re safe...fer now,” he growled over to a dangling rope that led above the musty mine shaft. Tall beams held up the shaft and groups of metal crates were gathered around a thick beam. They hunched down behind the stack of the lot, hiding from minions, whom climbed down the rope from above, and scouting out the shaft. Stranger kept his bow arm up from the edges of the crates, so that the minions wouldn’t see it. Fuzzles were in his grasp, them growling in his muffling hand. They heard the minions’ footsteps growing louder as they came closer. He laid the Fuzzles around them, then had Stingbees on his bow. Muttering of the first outlaw came around the crates, and then the Fuzzles growled louder like proximity mines. The minions’ footsteps stopped right near the Fuzzles, listening intently to the growls. The Fuzzles stopped their growls, looking up at the minion, their teeth baring out, far out. Stranger, grinned at the minion, and then the Fuzzles struck back. The others nearby ran to the attacked minions’ side, helping whatsoever to get off the Fuzzles. But Stranger stood up and out from the metal crates, and attacked the others with fast-firing Stingbees. Umi popped up as well, holding out her Needler defensively at the minions. She managed to beat one down while crawling away from the Stingbee’s path of flow, with the front of her gun. You know, where the needles stuck out? Stranger quickly bountied the fallen outlaws, and walked up to the rope hanging down the rooftop shaft, leading up to sunlight and sounds of low growling. He slowly climbed up the rope, popping his head over the edge of the wooden base over the shaft. He lifted Umi out of the shaft first, she falling in to a bush of reeds, and then he jumped off the wooden base, without the minions seeing them. He planned out his action, loading on a Chippunk and a Bolamite. The Chippunk was fired out, but this was unexpected.
The Nailer was the first to react, rushing over to the Chippunk’s gibbering mouth. Stranger mumbled to himself quietly, the Nailer coming closer. Umi also watched the Nailer coming closer, and knelt down. She could see Stranger having some difficulties with his plan, and crouch walked by him. The Nailer was now beating on the Chippunk, when Umi crept by its ankles, and went behind it. She stood up a little hunched, and readied her attack. Stranger saw Umi up behind the Nailer, and was about to shout at her, when she leaped up on the Nailer, gripping on its spikes on its back. The Nailer wobbled, roaring in fury, as it wrangled around Umi, she clenching down on its spikes. She pulled out her pocket knife from her pocket, and whipped it out to the blade side. The Nailer heard the knife swipe, and panicked more, reaching its arms over to its back to pluck off the nuisance that was going to end its life. Stranger ran out of the reeds, watching his partner being swung around violently with a knife in her hand.
“No, Umi...Why’d you do that...” Stranger muttered disappointingly to himself. Umi held a steady arm above the Nailer’s neck, and brought down the knife through its pale yellow skin. The Nailer squealed in pain, as she slipped the knife back to her hand. The gashing wound was now gushing red blood, and the Nailer becoming weary. She felt it thump down on its knees, but not the way she expected to fall. It was tipping itself backwards, and Umi had no way to escape. Stranger growled, and jumped in the way of the dead Nailer, snatching Umi by her collar, and throwing her on the ground. He skidded to a stop, watching the Nailer fall on the ground with a loud thump. He spun to Umi, who was sitting up slowly, holding her side.
“I know what yer thinkin’, buddy. And I don’t wanna hear it,” Umi stood up. Stranger frowned in a rock-hard expression. “You know better than tha’, now do you?” Stranger shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. There were more outlaw scowls from above their heads. A wooden ramp leading on a high walkway rumbled with heavy footsteps and outlaw growls. The Semi-auto saw the bounty hunters, and reloaded its bullet chamber. Umi held down her Needler, while Stranger reloaded his bow with critters. Four outlaws in a variety came down the ramp above them, and roared intimidation. Two Suicide bombers, one Shooter, and a Shredder surrounded the intruders. “We’re outnumbered,” Umi said through her gritted teeth. Stranger nodded, watching the outlaws close in on them. Umi waited for anything that Stranger would command, but he only held down his bow. “Do something...” Umi desperately said. At that time, his head snapped up, with a twinkle in his eye, and shot down a load of Fuzzles in front of the outlaws. The Fuzzles impacted the minions immediately, knocking them down with a Fuzzle on each of them. The Semi-auto, far behind the surrounding outlaws, shot its rounds of fast-firing bullets. Umi rolled on the ground, behind the ramp, and hid from the outlaw. Stranger, on the other hand, kicked away the screaming outlaws in his way to the Semi-auto, and released Fuzzles out to it. The Semi only jumped sideways out of Stranger’s range, near the lip of the ramp, and ran to the side of it. Stranger heard more outlaws up the ramp come down, and ran to the head of the ramp, seeing only three Suicide bombers.
“Ah, hell...” he grumbled, reloading his bow with more Fuzzles. The outlaws spotted the stranger, and screamed out incoherently a jumble of curses, and pulled their strings to their time bombs, and then ran like the devil towards him. Umi, still hiding under the ramp, heard Stranger ran a different direction from her and the ramp. But she didn’t notice the Semi-auto, sneaking up behind her with its rifle above its head. The minion chuckled sinisterly to itself, and brought the butt of the rifle down on Umi’s back of the head. Her eyes fell blank, and she tumbled to the grass. Stranger, on the other hand, was now backing up the ramp, leading the Suicide bombers up closer to him. When one got close, he balled his fists together, and slammed it away from himself, and down on the other minions, falling in to the grass. He shot down at the minions with Bolamites, wrapping them in their present state. But behind him was far most the worst part ahead of him. A pack of Shooters ran up from the far end of the walkway, shooting their boomerang-headed guns. “Where the hell is Umi when yeh need’s her?” Stranger growled to himself, loading a Boom-bat on one launcher on his bow. There was a sharp metallic slam below him, but he ignored it, concentrating hardly on the Shooters beyond him. The Boom-bat fluttered out of Stranger’s bow, and attached on the closest outlaw to the pack it could find, gave a few gibbers to the outlaws, then detonated with the other minions close behind, stunning one, but killing the rest. The Shooters were done for now, but now he focused on the slam of the gate below him. He also heard a faint screeching sound far off in the distance, but he reckoned it was a mill or something going off in one of the Clakker’s towns. He bent down to an edge of the walkway, looking at the closed gate that slammed below him. He growled a sigh, wondering what was going on around here. Then it struck him. Umi.
He shot up, and walked down the ramp and around the grassy bottom.
“Umi, c’mon out, kid,” Stranger beckoned, but no reply. “C’mon, kid. I ain’t playin’. Let’s get movin’,” he said more firmly. But no reply came out from nowhere. He knew Umi wouldn’t do something like this if he wanted her to come. Panic-stricken, he wandered around more faster, searching for anything that would help him out to find his lost partner. He felt something soft touch the bottom of his boot, and looked down. Umi’s scarf was fluttering softly in the wind, the woven dragons seeming to come to life. He picked off the scarf from the stub it was caught on, and stared at it for seconds. His lip twitched, his fingers rolling on in the scarf. Anger singed through his nerves. He knew what happened to his partner again, and this time, he wasn’t happy about it. His teeth clenched together, baring out far, and looking up from the scarf to the gate. He tied the scarf to his upper arm tightly, and ran up the ramp, down to the other end, but saw the tracks empty. The cart was already taken. He heard then squeaky hinges open up from another gate the Semi-auto was standing in front of the first time he saw it.“That damn bounty hunter’s here somewhere, guys! Keep an eye out!” another Semi-auto minion shouted to two other Nailers coming out from behind it. Stranger reloaded his bow now with two Boom-bats, on each launchers, and walked out in front of the minions’ sights. The Nailers roared out to the Semi-auto, pointing to Stranger. But before they even thought of making a move, Stranger shot both the Boom-bats on to the Nailers, and only left the Semi-auto wide open. He dropped his arm to his side, and ran up to the minion with fists baring out in front of him. The Semi watched the barraging bounty hunter brawl his fists towards itself. The remainder of its time is that it dropped its weapon in front of its feet. The worst was to come yet. Then, a brief moment of pain, then a total blackout. Stranger left the outlaw laying on its back, and moaning painfully, passing through an arch in to the next mine shaft, with the main Outlaw near his cart, and watching one of his minions rush back to him.
A Flamer outlaw was this new kind Stranger saw. It wore a type of hockey mask, with red eyes glaring out of the eye holes. Its arms and legs were mechanical, with two cylinder-like gas tanks on its back, and a nozzle attached to a thin metal pipe leading in to a black tube, and attached right in to each of the gas tanks, was what it held in its hands. The red eyes in its mask locked straight on Stranger when it saw him come through and around the corner.
“Boss! Boss! That bounty hunter’s here right now!” the Flamer exclaimed to Flint.
“What the...” Flint whirred around, seeing in to the Flamer’s eyes. “Aww, shit! I got’s to get down and guard my loot!” he turned his head to the cart, then back to the outlaw. The Flamer nodded to his boss. “Got-cha, boss!” it acknowledged. “Don’t let that son of a Clakker down this mountain, ya hear me!?” Flint yelled, jumping in to his cart, and slowly moving down the tracks, lower and lower to his lair. The Flamer turned around. Muttering to itself, “Yeah, don’t worry. That sissy bounty hunter’s going to be a pile of ashes before it can even get passed me...” Then it charged straight to Stranger, releasing gas through the black tube, and sending out scorching blue and red flames out of the wide nozzle of the flamethrower. The flames reached out near Stranger, he actually feeling the heat singe his hair on his arm.
“Oww...” Stranger grumbled, jumping away from the flames’ path. The Flamer followed every direction Stranger sprinted, jumped, even rolled to. It was as if he was playing jump rope, only the dangerous version. There had to be some way to take down the Flamer...
“Thud slugs. They’ll survive through the flames...’till it hits the outlaw,” Stranger chuckled to himself, loading on a Thud slug on his bow, and aiming for the Flamers’ stomach: The weakest spot for any living thing, then shot the armored hide of the Thud slug, right through the flames the Flamer produced, and in to the gut of the outlaw. It let out a harsh choke, then fell over on its behind. Stranger locked down his bow, walking by the outlaw, giving a shallow breath, as he walked by it. There was an extra cart beside the one Flint took down. He jumped in to it, and pulled the lever to start his journey down the steep coaster. When I go by steep, I mean a near sheer drop at the beginning. The cart passed under a series of boarded platforms, and under more tracks that led the Outlaw to some different location. He heard separate rail carts screeching on his every side. One above, one left, and one behind him. The one on his left was empty, but the others held a Shooter in each, firing at the stranger. He ducked down from an angle from both on the minions, reloading his bow with Stingbees and Boom-bats. He shot the Boom-bat above him, which broke the tracks in front of the Shooter, and plunged to its death, and the Stingbees, for the one behind him, to get it out and tumbling down to the deep trenches of the forest below. Now, the one on the left was still empty, but beginning to slow at his level. Then, a Semi-auto popped up, cackling heinously, and bringing up something else, rather than its rifle. And that something...more than someone, is who Stranger recognized well.
Umi was tied up, and a bandana with something behind it, gagging her to scream for help. Stranger’s lip dropped in horror. This was such an unlikely situation she has been put through.
“DON’T YOU DARE PUT A HAND ON HER!” Stranger roared over to the Semi-auto. The minion only laughed.
“Don’t’cha worry, bounty hunter! The human’ll be handled with care, compliments by the boss! And when I mean handled with care, I don’t mean kindly!” it cackled once more, and fired its rifle to Stranger. The cart was pulling away from Stranger, and entering a roofed tunnel through another set of tracks, leading above Stranger, and then led off and away, curving right. He growled loudly over the wind brushing against his fur and the sound of the screechy rail tracks, banging his fist on the pane of the cart. The cart was now leading down from the tracks the outlaw had gotten away on, and coming to a slow stop. The land was becoming less forestry, but more flat and patchy with small shrubs on the sidelines and thick patches of grass scattered out from the tracks. The cart, still slowing, was now slow enough for Stranger to hop out, which, indeed, he did. The only way to save Umi was to move as quickly as possible throughout the track lines. High above him, as he traveled forward through the train yard, was the series of tracks, winding up or below each other. Some broken, some on their last hinges, and some still actually lucky to be alive. But there was a slight problem...outlaws occupied the vicinity...everywhere.
Above him, at his level, even right below him! Snipers up high mostly, but Shooters and/or Shredders at or below his level. It was tough getting through the haul, even trying to bounty up some of the fallen outlaws. Bust since his partner was taken away from him again, he didn’t have much choice but to take them down one by one. First, the biggest threat: The Snipers. Perched on some of the tracks, which was stupid of them, and some holding out on wooden platforms. A Snuzi dart or a Zapp Fly would simply bring them down. Next, his level of enemies. Fuzzles and Boom-bats were what he only used on them. When he burst through one last wooden gate barrier, he was brought out to a flat, but slanting, stretch of land, curving over a sharp right bend. What possibilities were to come out? Well, we all know there would be outlaws, and of course, we all thought right. But what he didn’t expect, was that most of the outlaws, were Suicide bombers, and only one Nailer, and one Semi-auto.
“Damn...Why does it always have to be them, damn suiciders?” Stranger growled out a sigh, hiding behind a splitting boulder that made a pathway split in to two. He saw nearly 5 of the Suicide bombers, huddled up with each other, awaiting the bounty hunters’ face to appear any moment. Luckily, they were huddled, which made them an easy target. Loading on a Boom-bat, he aimed for the closest one in the middle. When on-target, the Boom-bat was released, and flew right on the first minion in the huddle. The outlaw felt the Boom-bat attach one of its spikes to the minions’ clothing, and screeched around, long enough for the Boom-bat to explode, leaving the minions’ flaming and burning, scattered all around in front of the next mine shaft. The Nailer and Semi-auto ran over to each of the dead minions’ corpses, putting out the flames spreading throughout their clothing. Fuzzles were up next, as they were set down right near the remaining outlaws’ toes. They didn’t notice anything. That is, until the Fuzzles leaped on the outlaws, and chomped at their flesh. While busy with their nuisances, Stranger sprinted passed the outlaws, and straight in to the mine shaft they stood in front of the first time he saw them. The tunnels turned sharply through on-going piles of wooden crates, wobbling on the sidelines. He noticed a switch beside a tightly shut metal gate, the wires lining up to the hinges of the gate. He pulled hard on the switch, and an electric pulse traveled through the wires, and in to the hinges, snapping open the gate. He passed through the gateway, and out to another flat piece of land, with a high stone wall behind him reaching beyond his limits to climb it, but he wasn’t interested in that. The fact of a high metal gate blocking a steep drop down to a circular train yard managed to catch his fancy: Train tracks circled around a large base in the middle, built-in quarters were leaning up on the mountains above the train tracks, and series of closed guard posts. He felt something sudden surge through his mind, his lip revealing his teeth.
“Eh, it’s quiet down ‘ere...,” he looked around more to see anything living down there. “...too quiet...” he said to himself once more. He looked left of his arm, seeing another rope dangling down below a wooden base, to another mine shaft similar to the one Umi and he traveled through at first. He slid down the rope, shaking off the painful rope burn he got, and opened another metal gate, leading out to the train yard. This is where things were going to get ugly.
Up on the highest level of track, was a fenced off area, covering partial of the Outlaws’ face. Behind Flint, was Umi, struggling out from her ropes, and trying to spit out the gag in her mouth. They both stood in a cart, of course, painted with red and orange flames on each side. Stranger growled nearly silently to the Outlaw, but frowned at the fact Umi was still captured.
“Glad you could make it, Stranger!” Flint shouted below. Stranger’s hat was tipped low over his face, the shadow covering his expression of hatred towards the Outlaw. Then, he looked up at Flint, his face revealing a confident type of grin.
“Well that's, good ter know. Now, why don't yeh, c’mon down here. ‘N, make it easy on yerself,” Stranger offered, wiping his arms off casually. “Oh! Sure thing! I’ll come down! You want me to, tie up myself as well!?” he cackled, then looked back to Umi, then chuckled back to Stranger. “And I bet you want yer lil’ friend as well,” he slapped her where she really didn’t like it: her backside. Her face was all of a sudden, painted red with anger, growling loathingly deep within her throat, but Flint didn’t hear. Stranger saw Umi’s flushed face, and knew he would stay out of her way when she was free, but focused back on the Outlaw, grinning with his jaw of crooked teeth, and his long cone-headed head, covered in a spike-roofed mask. “Figured as much!” he laughed, picking up his weapon of choice next to his leg. Outlaw Snipers gathered above the tracks, and Stranger, lighting their rifles and awaiting an order. “Make ‘im dance, boys!” he shouted. The Snipers hooted loudly, and shot down at Stranger’s legs, he jumping back, and under the base.
“Damn, I can’t bag ‘im in that cart,” he growled lowly, then looked over out from under the base, seeing generators attached to switches on the tracks. His eyes gleamed with a plan, and loaded on a Zapp fly with a Boom-bat. He then walked out from under the base, looking up to the Outlaw.
“Alright, McGee! You lookin' fer a beatin'? You’ve got one comin’!” he shouted. McGee grinned, and pulled a lever next to the cart, the cart slamming forward, then moving about the track.
“You gotta get me down first, bounty hunter!” Flint yelled over the cart’s wheels screeching against the metal. Umi shouted through her gag, trying to yell, “Shoot the generators! That’ll bring ‘im closer!” He nodded to Umi, but fired Boom-bats up to the Snipers first, until he had no more Boom-bats to kill them with. Then, he heard a train bell, dinging loudly as McGee’s cart came towards the track switch. He turned his arm over to the generator, and fired the Zapp fly without aim. Luckily, the Zapp fly charged the generator, switching the switch, so McGee would come lower. The Outlaw looked down at the track, seeing he came down one level. He scoffed, and punched down on a button, buzzing and opening the guard posts near a slide. Umi, on the other hand, used her tongue to push out the gag bit by bit.
Semi-auto stood at the posts, charging up their infrared goggles, and shooting at Stranger while he was out in the open. Supplanting the Zapp fly with Fuzzles, he shot the growling balls of fur towards the outlaws, then screaming all around, and falling out of their posts. He heard the track bells ring again, and he barrel-rolled towards the ringing bell switch, firing a quick reloaded Zapp fly towards the track switch. The generators hummed, and switched over another switch, bringing McGee one more level down near him. Umi spat out the gag on the cart floor, looking up to McGee with one heinous of a face on her. Far on Stranger’s left was a large gate, opening up to a large variety pack of outlaws, rushing out of their holding area, and jeering towards Stranger. All he used was Fuzzles and Boom-bats, which took care of the ordeal quickly, and yes, painfully, which he loved to hear from the outlaws’ screaming voices. It took some time for the track switch to ring again, for he missed it once. McGee, who was now fending for himself, shot out rockets by the threes, homing on in at Stranger. He ducked under the base again, and hugging the wall, until he heard the switch ring once more. The base was becoming tarnished and bent from all the rockets impacting and exploding on it. It wouldn’t take long before his cover was destroyed.
‘C’mon, damn it...c’mon...” Stranger thought hard, listening intently for the bell. Then his ears filtered in the sweet sound that he awaited for. The bell tolled again, and he jumped out, flying sideways and out towards the generator, blaring out their lights. The Zapp fly was launched at the generator, seeming that time went in to slow motion while the Zapp fly traveled through the air. Then the critter struck the generator, and the snap of the track switch came. The cart thumped down on the last set of tracks, and headed down a steep fall, barreling in to a fenced gate. The cart abruptly stopped, and McGee and Umi came flying through the gate. He was laying flat on his stomach, while Umi layed struggling on her side. McGee jumped back up, glaring at Stranger hatefully, but then grinned a sly one.
“I ain’t dead yet! Bring it on, sucka!” McGee scowled loudly, and raised his weapon up to his elbows. Stranger’s eyes shined back in to his head, and jumped away from McGee’s firing rockets. He sprinted around the train yard on all four limbs, passing Umi and him once. McGee became annoyed with Stranger’s stalling
“I’m gettin’ tired of yer dancin’ and prancin’ around! Fight like a man!” McGee manipulated. Stranger gave a mischievous grin, as he halfway passed McGee. He then jumped back up on his legs, with his bow wide open, and a Thud slug, along with a Boom-bat, was locked on his bow. When he skidded passed his face, he jumped back, and launched the critters at McGee. The Boom-bat missed, but that was supposed to happen. The Thud slug, however, knocked him flying back in to the gated area of the tracks, and the Boom-bat exploded behind him, sending him back forward to Stranger. He groaned painfully, his gun far off from his reach, and his arms and body feeling like he has been shattered in to pieces. Stranger lowered his arm, walking up to the Outlaw, holding a surprise behind his back. McGee, having little strength he had, used it to lift his head up to the grinning bounty hunter, with one arm behind his back. He laughed tiredly, his eyes drooping low.
“You ain’t....you ain’t got me yet...yeh, pansy!” he shouted his last words. That’s what Stranger waited for. Then, slammed the surprise on his bow, which was a Bolamite, and shot it right at McGee’s mouth. The Bolamite spread its web, by crawling around his body, He wouldn’t be going anywhere soon. He looked over to the other side of the train yard, smiling greatly, and began a sprint on all his limbs.
Umi, way on the other side of the train yard, finally struggled out of her ropes, shoving them off her arms and legs. She tore off the bandana from her mouth, then stood up, wiping herself off of dirt and dust. There was one last thing to do before leaving: Exacting revenge. But she heard faint footsteps, coming around the train yard, now sounding off from her right. She suddenly saw Stranger, appear out of nowhere, stampeding towards her. She backed away, waving her hands to make him stop, but he didn’t comply. When he figured he was close enough, he leaped out to her, and out from his sprint, and snatched her up in a great embrace. He couldn’t be any more happier to see she was safe. She stared blankly out over Stranger’s shoulder, but relaxed, and played along, so to speak, hugging tightly around his neck. She felt his throat rumble a soothing sigh, his arms becoming tighter around her. She knew well he didn’t want to let go. But time was flying by, as their little moment seemed not to end.
“I know...I know...You worried about me,” Umi nuzzled her face in to his shoulder.
“Damn right, I was,” Stranger said in a near purr, rubbing her back up and down. She lifted her head off of his shoulder, looking around the train yard. Then she saw him: McGee. She growled a growl only a dragon could make, and lifted over Stranger’s shoulder. He let her down, and she stomped towards the fallen Outlaw, putting her fists on her waist, glaring down with eyes of fury. “How you likin’ it so far, fat ass?” Umi scowled loud enough that McGee would look up a little from his daze. She dropped her arms down her legs, and lifted a leg up behind her, and brought it in to his ribs hardly. “Don’t...you...ever...EVER...touch...me...there...ever...AGAIN!” she kicked with every word she said, and ended with one last kick in the ribs hard enough to let McGee spit out blood from his mouth. She panted hardly, still glaring at McGee, wiping a thin strand of hair out of her eyes. Stranger chuckled to himself, putting a heavy hand on her shoulder.
“I think yeh made yer point, kid,” Stranger said down to her. She didn’t make any reply to him, but her face cooling down from the anger sparking through her veins. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I made it quite clear, didn’t I?” Umi looked up to him, then back down. Stranger smiled at her comment, and bountied him up, so she wouldn’t actually kill him, if she had the chance. He turned back around to Umi, smiling down proudly at her. “Well’p, let’s get back ter town, ‘n get s’more bounties, before it turns te night,” Stranger nodded. She agreed with a deep nod down, then walked by his side. She secretly looked up to Stranger, without him knowing, and put both hands on it, moving closer to him, and leaning her head on his arm. He looked down to her attempted cuddle, and wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her closer to him. And that’s how they walked to town: They safely, and their bond, growing tighter with every step.
Last edited by Dark Elite_H2; 11-11-2005 at 06:33 PM..
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and I'm looking forward to more kiddo!
Mwahahahaha!
Hey, maybe Umi and Bailey could start a McDonalds chain, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Love the chapter, keep it up!
Heeeee!
Well, I'll start another tomorrow, and I'm waitin' fer more from you, Lobo. I did my part of the deal. (kiddin'. You did yer part already)
Hiya!
