One of Those Days

by Darkwraith

This takes place during and immediately after the episode "Rampage," with focus on Thunderstick, Vipra, and Scuzz. Where were those three outlaws when Tex Hex really could have used their help? And how did they react when they saw the damage to the Hexagon? What started out as a good day for those three, quickly turned into a nightmare. One-shot. Rated T for safety.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bravestarr or any canon characters.

Author's Note: This is just my thought on where most of the other outlaws were during the episode "Rampage."

Scuzz, Thunderstick, and Vipra slowly walked through the streets of Fort Kerium, heading back to the Hexagon, reflecting on their day so far. They'd spent the morning in Handlebar's saloon: cheating miners, playing cards, drinking sweetwater, harassing Deputy Fuzz, and generally having malicious fun, until Handlebar finally had enough of their antics and bodily picked all three up, marched them to the door, and threw them out into the street, much to the amusement of the locals who'd witnessed the scene.

As they walked past the last building, they noticed Bravestarr and Thirty-Thirty approaching from the opposite direction they were heading. At first, they thought they were in for a fight, but when the lawman and his partner got close enough for them to see their faces, they could tell something was off: Bravestarr looked haggard, and Thirty-Thirty seemed really embarrassed. Neither so much as glanced at the three outlaws as they passed. Scuzz looked over his shoulder at the pair, confused. "What up with them?," he muttered, half to himself. "Who cares?," Vipra replied, "it has nothing to do with us." They continued on in silence.

When they reached the Hexagon, the atmosphere seemed strangely ominous. "W-w-w-why d-does it seem l-l-like the c-calm b-before the s-s-storm?," Thunderstick stuttered nervously. "That good question," Scuzz said quietly. Vipra nodded. The trio stood there quietly, almost afraid to even think about setting foot inside the ship. After a very long moment, Vipra whispered, "we may as well go in and face the music." Swallowing hard, the three closed their eyes, pressed the button to open the doors, stepped inside, opened their eyes, and stared in shocked horror.

The Hexagon had been trashed! Large blast holes riddled the walls and ceiling, debris was everywhere, and a terrified Sandstorm was rushing around, gathering twisted and blackened pieces of metal. Before anyone could recover from the shock, Cactus Head wondered into view, glaring daggers at Sandstorm. He looked so dangerous, Scuzz couldn't help emitting a barely audible squeak of terror. Upon hearing the squeak, Cactus Head turned, and everyone could see a large, black blast mark in the middle of his forehead. Before anyone could say a word Cactus Head spoke up: "I wouldn't bother Tex Hex if I were you. He's in a very bad mood. Bravestarr had apparently gone missing earlier today, and Thirty-Thirty came here looking for him. Tex tried to tell him the marshal wasn't here, but he wouldn't listen and proceeded to dang near blast the place apart."

Skuzz, Vipra, and Thunderstick exchanged horrified looks. "Wow," Skuzz said, "I bet boss man real mad!" "That," a low, ominous, threatening, and horribly familiar voice growled from a nearby doorway, "is an understatement." Everyone quickly looked over where the voice was coming from and noticed Tex Hex standing there. Nobody had heard his approach. Tex's appearance was terrifying: his glare was intense enough to melt the suns, and his normally lavender skin had taken a reddish hue. His appearance was scary enough to send Stampede running for the hills. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, staring intently at his underlings. "For the record," Tex said quietly, "if any of you have any intention of doing something that might attract Bravestarr's attention, I want to know about it beforehand, OR ELSE!" He yelled the last two words, effectively inducing religious zeal in every one of them. With that, he turned around and walked deeper into his ship.

"So, what did happen to Bravestarr?," Vipra asked in a very quiet voice as soon as Tex Hex was out of hearing range. Cactus Head moved closer to the others and said in an equally quiet voice: "apparently, Sandstorm was causing trouble in a distant settlement without telling Tex Hex what he was up to first, and Bravestarr went to deal with him without Thirty-Thirty's knowing where he was." At that, everyone looked over at Sandstorm, who was busy cleaning up the mess left by Thirty-Thirty. "Wow," Vipra muttered, "I'll bet he won't do that again. And, I can guarantee I certainly won't do that ever." The others muttered their agreement as they continued to watch Sandstorm.