Disclaimer:
I do not own Outlaw Star or any of its characters. It belongs to Sunrise, Funimation, Madman, and Bandai Entertainment.
Summary:
Up and coming gunslinger Gene Starwind finds himself thrown headfirst into adventure in the search to make a name for himself. With wisecracking partners, beautiful damsels, mystical skinchangers, foreign assassins, and more besides. Pride and greed threaten to tear the frontier apart, and the lines quickly become blurred between doing what is legal, and doing what is right. Rated PG-13 for Violence and Sexuality.
On the edge between the savage frontier and the peace of civilization was a quaint little town called Sentinel.
Originally a quaint little farming community with a small garrison, it had been chosen as an ideal spot for the train railway to cut through on its way westwards. During the war it had upgraded its garrison into a full blown fortress for soldiers, and the economy had blossomed thanks to their protective presence and patronage. Now, with peace on the rise, it was rapidly on turning into the place to go for people of all walks of life.
This was where the story started.
The watering hole on the edge of Sentinel was somewhat unimaginably called "Clyde's Saloon." Judging from what you could see on the outside it had seen better days. It was one of the oldest buildings in Sentinel, in desperate need of repair and upkeep. A fresh layer of paint had been slapped on the outside but that did little to conceal its flaws from the outside world.
None of this seemed to phase the red-haired young man who casually pushed open the swinging doors and stepped inside. Giving himself a moment to let his eyes adjust, the gunslinger felt everyone else's eyes fall on him. Pointedly ignoring them all, he strolled between the tables and straight up to the bar.
Gene Starwind pulled off his beaten up hat and set it on the bar beside him as he ordered a whiskey.
"Taking it easy today?" asked Clyde, owner and bartender both, setting a glass on the bar in front of Gene and filling it up. The red-haired outlaw downed it in one go, which wasn't surprising considering he normally ordered something stronger and more expensive. And usually as a double.
"Something like that," Gene replied. "How's business?"
"Been a bit slower since Iris left to visit her kinfolk. And since we finally got the chandelier fixed," he added pointedly.
The redheaded outlaw rolled his eyes, but paid for his drink... and was sure to include an extra-large tip. After all, he'd been the one to wreck the place.
"Don't suppose you've heard of any new bounties, Clyde?"
The mustachioed barkeep shook his head. "Not since you boys brought down Death Rob. The army must feel they're getting the job done now, they don't feel a need to hire out mercenaries."
"Lousy military thugs," Gene muttered. "Taking good honest work away from people like me."
"I hear that. Oh, speaking of which... Mikey stopped by, said he was lookin' for you. Might want to pay up your tab with him before it's your ugly mug on some wanted poster."
Mikey was the local stable owner and a horse rancher. Gene and his partner left their horses in his care whenever they were in town for long stretches of a time. The swindler liked to rob his customers blind, but Gene had to admit he did take damn good care of Outlaw. He probably ought to pay him soon, else there'd be hell to pay.
Sighing, he plunked his hat back on his head. "Better get me another."
The bartender smiled, pouring him another shot, then leaving the bottle on the bar with it. "On the house. I owe you for making sure I didn't up full of holes that one time."
"Thanks, Clyde," he muttered. "You're a true friend," he said, toasting with his shot glass before downing it. The way the day was going, he was going to need it.
Slapping down a little extra coin, Gene grabbed the bottle and ambled out of the saloon, leaned up against one of the posts outside, watching the various passerby as he waited for the buzz to kick in. This time of day was fairly quiet, most people had finished their travelling when the sun had reached the horizon, but a few would press on in the dimming light to reach their destination, rather than be stuck out in the frontier with bandits, natives, and worse.
"Bro! Hey!"
He glanced up at the call, none too surprised to see his partner making his way towards him, for he was the only one who addressed him like that. James Hawking.
Dirty blonde hair peaked out from underneath a black, wide-rim hat and he wore a leather duster over a red shirt. His boots were a smidgen too big for him, likely intended to be grown into. Whereas Gene was just shy of six foot even, Jim barely managed four and a half. Considering he was only twelve, however, it left plenty of time for him to grow up. But what he lacked in size he more than made up for with a host of other talents, intelligence, and maturity that rivalled and sometimes surpassed Gene's own. They weren't brothers, but they were closer than any blood kin he knew of.
At the moment, however, his expression told Gene that all he was going to get was a headache. Resigning himself to it rather than cut and run, he leaned against the nearby post as his partner ambled up to him.
"There you are Gene. What're you doing here? We haven't got enough money for drinks."
"Clearly we do, because I just spent it on them," Gene retorted, taking a sip from his bottle. "Besides, after the day I've had I need a drink. Rachel was killing my back."
The shorter boy rolled his eyes. "Oh woe is you," Jim said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Gene you idiot you're burning right through our pay faster than we earn. At this rate we're going to lose the store. And if that happens...!"
Gene tuned him out by virtue of long experience. While he valued his partners input (why else make him his partner?) there were times he worried too much. This was definitely one of those times, and it was boring him to tears. Idly his gaze strayed over to a carriage that had stopped in front of Clyde's, seeking a distraction.
Boy did he ever find one.
Two girls were stepping out of the carriage, and Gene's mouth hung open as he caught sight of them. They shared the same dark hair and pale skin, but apart from that were unalike as day and night. The first girl was buxom, brazen, and wild. She wore a man's shirt and a duster, a stetson atop of her head, shielding her golden, hawk-like eyes from the rays of the sun. By contrast, the other girl had a sort of lithe, graceful beauty. She was wearing a sky blue dress that look entirely too fancy for the dusty town of Sentinel, all frills and ruffles. A parasol rested over her shoulder, while the first girl had a revolver resting at her hip.
One wild and untamed, one dainty and sweet. Both utterly beautiful in their own way.
"Hey, Gene, are you even listening to me?"
His train of thought interrupted, Gene shook his head, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the raven-haired beauties to regard his partner.
"Sorry, what?"
"I said if we can't grab any new bounties we're going to have to go back to work at the Swanzo's. That or you'll have to sell your body down at Paradise." Paradise being the local whore house.
"Doesn't sound so bad," Gene remarked. "I spend most nights down at Paradise anyway."
"You'll be selling it to the guys," Jim pointed out.
The redhead rolled his eyes, he knew that well enough, and the thought did nothing to appeal to him. "We'll be fine, Jimmy. When have I ever let us down?"
The dirty blonde boy opened his mouth, but Gene beat him to it. "My thoughts exactly. So, quit worrying. Go home, get some sleep. I'm uh... gonna keep my ear to the ground. See if any new bounties have come up." He took another sip of his bottle, only to find it empty.
"You mean keep your head to the floor, 'cause you'll be too drunk," Jim muttered. "Fine, fine, I'm going... just... try to stumble home tonight? I don't want to come and pick you up again in the morning."
Bidding his partner a goodbye with a tip of his hat, Gene turned back to try and find the girls from before.
He couldn't spy the wild one but he caught sight of the more refined girl heading past the stables towards the general store. Problem was, she was lingering awful close to the alleyway between the two of them, and as Gene watched a pair of tough fellows nudged one another and followed after her. She looked alone. Frowning, Gene checked again. Sure enough, her guardian was nowhere to be seen.
Looked like the little city mouse might've been getting herself in trouble. Gene shook off the buzz he'd been enjoying and quietly followed to make sure she would be alright.
Melfina.
That was her name. And right now, it was precious to her as anything in this world, because it was almost all she had.
The dark-haired maiden glided along the streets of Sentinel, eyes grazing over the worn buildings and people. She didn't recall every quite seeing a place like this, and despite its rough and tumble appearance it had a sort of rustic charm that appealed greatly to her.
Right now, she was drawn to the general store on the corner, the back window of which had been left open between it and the stables. A pair of bells shaped like six point stars chimed merrily in the breeze.
It wasn't the wind chimes that drew her eye. Nor the beautifully woven dreamcatchers hanging next to them that natives had traded to the community. No, it was that strange symbol on an innocuous looking lantern on the shelf inside. A shape, like a long lizard... or a dragon...
... it seemed to be calling to her...
A hand came down hard over her shoulder, spinning Melfina around. Her parasol fell from her shoulder to clatter on the ground as she stumbled backwards. Two very big men in dusty leathers had blocked off the alleyway exit and were advancing on her, leering with undisguised lust at her lovely figure.
"Well ain't you a purdy little thing," the first said, leaning in close. She smelled whiskey on his breath, so strong she nearly gagged.
"Please leave me alone," she protested, trying to edge past them back towards the main road. No such luck, they were quickly in her way. She started to turn and run down the alleyway and circle around back, but the bigger of the two of them grabbed her arm just above her elbow, and she was trapped.
"Aww, don't be like that, darlin'... we'll treat you right. Find ourselves a nice little place to-"
A shattering sound interrupted his offer, and both Melfina and he turned to regard the other drunkard at the mouth of the alleyway. He had a most comical expression of disbelief on his face, before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell forward. The great brute hit the ground with a dull thud, broken glass all around him. The first thug looked up in shock to find a red-haired man in a duster and a stetson standing behind him, clutching the remains of the broken bottle.
Gene looked up, almost comically innocent, as he stepped over the down man and towards Melfina and the other one. The huge brute, for his part, grabbed the dark-haired damsel and held on tight to her arm, drawing his revolver with his other hand.
"You bastard! How dare you attack like that! We was just gonna show this cute little filly a real fun time," he said with a grin. It was plain as day the girl was terrified, her bright blue eyes wide and fearful.
"Somehow, I don't think the ladies interested," Gene deadpanned. "Besides, if anyone should be complaining, it's me. That was good whiskey."
"This ain't none of your business, boy... just keep on walkin'"
The redheaded gunslinger cocked an eyebrow, and tugged back on his duster, showing the six-piece resting on his hip. "Care to try that again, fellah?"
Either too drunk or too foolhardy to recognize the dangerous tone in his voice, the drunk raised his own gun and pointed it at Gene, the tip wobbling as his hand shook. "Go get fu-!"
BANG.
In less time than it took for a rattlesnake to strike, Gene's revolver had cleared its holster and materialized in his hand, his aim straight and true. Unlike traditional revolvers, it wasn't cast of steel, but a bronze alloy that gave it a dull golden sort of look. It was also a lot heavier built than most, with a longer and wider barrel that required special bullets to use.
And whatever else it looked like, it packed a punch.
The drunken gunslinger was knocked clean off his feet by the force of the blow, dead before he hit the ground. His sudden fall, to say nothing of his death grip on Melfina's arm, sent her crashing to the ground as well. She gave a muffled squawk that was threatening to blossom into a full scream. Gene quickly holstered his sidearm and held up his hands to show he meant no harm.
"Hey, hey, whoa, easy there little missy... it's okay now. I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise."
"W-w-wh-...?" she seemed to be trying to ask a question, and he could guess easily enough what it was.
"Right thing to do, I suppose. I'm Gene," he said, offering his hand to help her up. "Gene Starwind."
"M-Melfina," she intoned, in a voice like a dove's. Her dainty hand slipped into his, and he helped gently pull her back to her feet. She dusted off her dress before letting her fingers slip from his.
"Sorry you've had such a rough welcome to Sentinel, ma'am," Gene said. "You really should be more careful though. What were you doing heading this way?"
"I... I saw something in that store that looked familiar," she explained, pointing. The window of the General Store. Some Dragonite Company merchandise, mostly, and some wind chimes hanging outside on display, shaped like stars. Gene had to admit, they certainly were nice quality. Must've been what caught her eye.
As a fellow appreciator of beauty himself, Gene was glad he'd stepped in to help her, but there was a time and a place for such things, and right now certainly wasn't it.
"Come on, let's get you back inside... whatever you saw should still be there in the morning."
Gene and Melfina's return to the saloon was met with hushed whispers and mutterings. Evidently the gunshots had been heard, and it seemed readily evident who'd been the one to fire it. The fact that he was now walking into the saloon with a fine lady on his arm meant rumor and gossip were about to go into overtime.
"Is that the local gunslinger? Starwind?"
"I heard he gunned down seven men at the same time! With a gun that only held six bullets!"
"Who's the pretty lady with him? He get engaged?"
"They say his hands are like lightning."
"You blink and it's all over."
"That's why they call him the Caster! 'cause his shooting is like magic!"
Gene Starwind smirked as some of the more outlandish whispers reached his ears. Honestly, next time the story would get told he'd kill seven men with one bullet. It hadn't been nearly as spectacular as all that. He'd simply gotten off a lucky shot and killed one marauder hiding behind another with the same shot. There was nothing mystical about him.
Even so, he loved the stories.
Jim came dashing up to Gene almost the instant he spotted him, likely having already connected gunshots and trouble equaling his partner.
"Bro, you okay?" asked Jim.
"Yeah, sure, you know me. Just defendin' this young ladies honor," Gene said with a grin. Melfina blushed hotly, lowering her gaze shyly.
The other dark-haired woman who was with her came sauntering over. Melfina immediately flew into her arms, as the other woman stroked her back and soothed her fears. Her ward comforted, the wild one turned to regard Gene coldly.
Sensing the tension but deliberately ignoring it, he stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you. Name's Starwind."
"Hilda," she said sweetly, not taking his hand.
"Hilda and Melfina, huh? Got a last name to go with those?"
"One's enough," she replied. A subtle challenge, but not one worth pursuing, he decided. He had bigger polecats to skin.
"Hey, Jim? Why don't you go let the sheriff know there's a body outside the stables? You can take Melfina with you, she's a witness."
Jim caught the undercurrent in the conversation. "You sure bro?"
"I got this."
Melfina looked questioningly at Hilda, who nodded. That settled, Jim and Melfina departed, leaving Hilda and Gene behind. For a moment, neither said anything, they seemed determine to wrestle the answers out of each other by simply staring into each other's eyes.
"That was a good thing you did back there," she said finally, taking a seat at an empty table.
"Suppose it was," Gene replied ambivalently, joining her.
"Favors don't come free 'round these parts," Hilda remarked, eyeing him coldly. Her eyes were bright like gold, but also cold like metal.
Gene shook his head. "Relax, lady. Honest, there's no debt. Just doing my good deed of the century."
A long silence stretched between them.
"Tell you what, next time I save your little sister I'll be sure to take you for all you're worth, how's that grab you?"
Hilda barked a laugh at that.
"She's not my sister," Hilda explained. "I guess you could say she's my good deed of the century."
The redhead considered that. "You two on the run from something?"
"Something like that," she replied, keeping her golden gaze steady. Challenging, almost. "Got a problem with that, Caster boy?"
Gene snorted at the nickname. "Not at all. Ain't none of my business."
"Could be. I could use a little muscle for what I'm about to pull... and you obviously fit the bill," she said, giving him a calculating once-over.
"We ain't in for anything shady," Gene countered. He and Jim may have killed some bounties in the past, even skirted dangerously close to the edge of the law where it came to apprehending city officials and the like, but overall their actions were strictly legal.
"Oh it's not a crime," Hilda said. "The real crime is letting this sort of treasure go undiscovered."
That got his attention. He practically had dollar signs in his eyes, despite his attempt to sound uninterested. "Treasure?"
Hilda smirked, recognizing he'd been caught. "I'll keep the details to myself, Caster... but it'll totally be worth your while, and then some. You in?"
Gene Starwind considered his next move carefully. True, they had a shop here in Sentinel that was doing some business, but they'd closed it before for long stretches of time. And with no big bounties in the area, he was getting sick of doing odd jobs just to make ends meet. By contrast, a more risqué adventure with a beautiful gal or two sounded like just the thing. It's not like the two of them were going to rob him, he'd already established the younger one was harmless as a kitten.
As for Hilda, well... he'd just have to keep an eye on her. "Deal," he said.
He spat into his hand, she spat into hers, clasped them together across the table, and shook.
They found Jim and Melfina just outside, stargazing. Gene and Hilda took the time to explain their new partnership and plans to strike out in the morning. Jim wasn't overly happy about it, it sounded much more risky than he usually preferred. But Gene was dead set on this, and Jim had been warming up to Melfina, so he supposed it beat scraping by a living out of their workshop. He was in.
"Where're you two spendin' the night?" Gene asked, adjusting his hat. "We might be able to find you some space at our place," he added, letting his imagination run over the possibilities.
Hilda glanced up at him, smirking. "Pass. We'll find some rooms down the way, meet you back here in the morning... your place is over there, you said?"
He nodded as he pointed out his pride and joy, the Starwind and Hawking General Store. Not quite on par with the likes of the mainstream one nearby, which Swanzo owned, but they doubled as a repair shop for all sorts of odds and ends thanks to Jim's talent with machines. A few more years, and they'd run their competition right out of town.
Gene was in the midst of explaining this to his new partners when he felt a cold chill run down his spine.
That's when he spotted them. They looked innocent enough at first, ordinary men and women going about their business, even though it was well after sundown now. But as they approached Gene and the others in the middle of the street, they pulled out from underneath their dusters, jackets and cloaks a number of white bandanas and used them to cover the lower half of their faces. Bandits. At least six of them. Jim glanced at Gene, catching his eye, then inclined his head. Yeah, he spotted them too. A pair of snipers, one up atop of the water tower, another in the window of a nearby building. So eight total.
"I'd say this night just got a bit more interesting," Gene remarked casually, glad he'd reloaded his revolver after the trouble in the alleyway.
One of the bandits shifted aside, revealing a taller, red-haired man standing behind him. In terms of physical appearance, he could easily have been Gene's kin, red-haired and dark-eyed. In terms of fashion, they could not be more unalike. Gene Starwind wore a tan duster and black, this troublemaker was in a colorful, almost comically bright purple suit that looked more at home on a travelling performer. He too wore a white bandana to cover his face, marked with a red sunburst over his nose and mouth. Gene flinched, recognizing that symbol.
Kei.
These were Kei Bandits.
"Hilda. Glad we finally found you," the lead bandit drawled. "You're coming with us. Dead or alive."
The dark-haired woman tensed, ready to reach for her gun, but Gene stepped casually in front of her, shielding her. The bandit turned to regard Gene, evidently surprised by his boldness.
"You got a name, partner?"
"Tobigera," the bandit replied. "This ain't none of your business, boy... just keep on walkin'"
Gene smirked. "If I had a dollar for everytime I had that..."
Hilda pulled out her revolver and opened fire, slapping down on the hammer each time to maximize the speed of her shots. Tobigera ducked low, using one of his fellow bandits for cover, and returned fire. The other bandits took this as a cue to open fire. Gene swiftly pulled out his own weapon and shot two dead, then ducked to avoid the sniper up on the water tower. His bullet grazed over Gene's red head, nearly missing Melfina as it impacted in the ground.
"Careful you idiots, don't hit the girl!"
Two of the bandits stopped firing, but it was because they were out of bullets. They moved swiftly to reload while the others covered them. Gene took down one but another took his place, and it looked like more were crawling out of the woodwork. He and Hilda weren't going to be enough to hold them all off.
He turned back to Melfina and Jim. "Get out of here! Jim, gimme some cover!"
The young boy reached under his jacket, pulling out the shotgun hidden there, and cocked it with his hand as he spun it around. He had to aim from the hip thanks to the weapons infamous recoil, but his aim was true as he blasted away at the bandits, sending them scattering to avoid his shots. Gene grabbed Melfina's hand and pulled her out of the way, while Jim and Hilda fell back with them.
"Get to the store!" Gene shouted, providing cover fire. A missed shot knocked Tobigera's hat off, but failed to splatter his brains like Gene had intended.
"Don't let them get away, you stupid idiots!"
The bandits opened fire, gunfire erupting in the night sky as they took shots at their fleeing targets. Fortunately for them, none of the Kei Bandits could hit the broadside of a barn from inside said barn.
Unfortunately, one of them got lucky.
Hilda cried out as a bullet hit her shoulder, sending her crashing into a nearby post. Her left arm hung limply, but she grimly fought down the pain and stumbled after the others. Blood stained her black hair from a nasty blow she'd just suffered smacking right into the post, but she grimly ignored it.
"Hilda!"
"Keep going!" she snarled back fiercely. She stumbled, almost losing her balance, but Melfina quickly moved to her side to support her, heedless of the red stains accumulating on her blue dress. Gene provided their cover, opening fire over their heads and ushering them past him, around the back of the building. Jim was already there, holding the door open. Wasting no time, they climbed inside and down the stairs into the cellar of the store.
Jim pushed over some shelves to barricade the door as Gene reloaded his revolver. "That won't hold them long," he muttered, snapping the chamber back into place.
Meanwhile Hilda slumped over onto a nearby crate as Jim and Melfina fussed over her. The small boy ripped off the sleeve of Hilda's shirt, tying off her left arm to try and staunch the bleeding. The blood flowing from her head poured over her right eye, obscuring it in crimson.
A thud came from above, and Gene warily backed away from the door. "They're gonna get in."
"Is there a back way out of here?" asked Hilda.
Jim nodded. "We can climb out the window."
"Then get out of here," she commanded, fumbling at her pocket for a cigarette.
"What about you?"
"Leave me. I'll only slow you down," Hilda said darkly. "Go on without me."
"Hilda, we can't!" protested Melfina. "We don't...!"
"There isn't time! Go!" she shouted.
Jim needed no further promptings, only hanging back long enough to gently push Melfina through the window first. Gene moved to follow, but Hilda caught his arm, her grip tight as her eyes met his.
"Protect her," she said. Her hand pressed against his, and something cold slid into his grip. He looked down to find a single bullet resting in his palm.
Understanding her meaning, Gene nodded, and she let go. The door slammed behind her, leaving Hilda alone.
She slumped with her back against the exit as the Kei Bandits came swarming in. Their leader, a red-haired goon with a bandana mask and a white stetson came in last, only after his subordinates made sure everything was safe. As if there was anything to worry about from an unarmed, half-dead outlaw.
"Time to tie up some loose ends," said Tobigera, lifting up a hand with a pair of razor blades attached to the back of his wrist. "I'm gonna enjoy this."
"So'm I," Hilda replied, reaching over with her good arm and pulling down a nearby blanket, revealing the contents underneath. A number of carefully stacked barrels, the topmost one of which was uncovered. Specifically, barrels of gunpowder.
Hilda drew a deep breath from her cigarette, savoring the look on Tobigera's face almost as much as the nicotine filling her lungs. She then tugged the cigarette from her lips and held it up before her as she spoke her final words:
"Outlaws never go down easy."
And then she flicked her cigarette towards the open barrel and closed her eye.
The resulting explosion rocked the small town of Sentinel, nearly knocking Gene, Jim, and Melfina flat on their faces from the sheer force of it. As it was, they managed to cross the remaining distance to the stables where their horses were.
"Saddle up Jim," Gene said, wasting no time in throwing a saddle over his own horse.
"What about Melfina?" asked Jim, getting Ehferau ready to go and hauling himself up onto the dark horse.
He didn't hesitate in his reply. "She's coming with us."
"She is?" asked Jim.
"I am?" asked Melfina.
Gene found Outlaw, his own rust-colored mustang, and hopped up onto his trusty steed with an easy motion, offering a hand down to Melfina in the process. "We're not just going to leave you here. Hop on."
She tried, but the long length of her dress didn't make it easy to hop. Or ride, for that matter. Melfina eventually had to settle for riding side-saddle practically in Gene's lap. He wasn't exactly complaining, though it did force her to cling to him awkwardly as they took off. They galloped towards the edge of town and turned sharply right, skirting under a series of street lamps and into the darkness. Hopefully the sudden change of light would throw off immediate pursuit.
When they were a safe enough distance away, so far they couldn't even see the smoke still rising from the remains of their business, they finally slowed their breakneck speed down to something more manageable. Melfina eased her death grip on Gene's neck and slumped forward. She looked impossibly tired, ready to pass out any moment, but stubbornly clung to consciousness. She was stronger than she looked, that much was certain.
Jim maneuvered Ehferau up alongside Outlaw so he could converse with his partner without shouting.
"What now, bro?"
Gene chewed over that a moment. There was no way they could go back to Sentinel. Even if they weren't prosecuted for the destruction that, frankly, wasn't their fault... the remaining Kei Bandits would be waiting for them. Crossing them would make them all very dead, and Gene liked being not dead, thank you very much.
"Keep heading west. We'll head to Farfallus, catch a train heading for Heiphong... figure out what to do there."
His partner nodded, then lowered his voice, and more mouthed his next question than voiced it aloud. "And her?"
The red-haired outlaw glanced down at the raven-haired maiden resting in his arms. "We'll decide what to do about that later," he said. And silently hoped there would be a later.
Authors Notes:
I got nothing.
