** *NOTE* This story contains characters from all kinds of people that are copyrighted to people that aren't me. I'm pretty familiar with who owns most of these but I don't know which ones are original. I didn't make up any of these, though.. So.. Don't sue me, please. This is based on a true story.. Sorta.. Between various characters on the Webnet server of IRC. It contains a few rather well known anime and video game characters... Not all of the stories match up with their fiction of origin so don't flame me about discrepancies.... Or typos (X_x) I'm quite aware of most of the story-related errors in this story and they are all intentional.**
Chapter One: Bitter Hatred
It was an unbearably hot day in the desert. The wind stung at the skin of the two travelers; one at the age of 12, the other quite a bit more advanced.. Yet still looking young for his age somewhere around 40. The young boy gasped for breath, exhausted beyond belief as he tried his hardest to trudge along to the small town that was on the outskirts of Desert Road. He spoke in short breaths as he dragged his feet alongside his elder companion "Daddy.. Are we there yet?" The older of the two shook his head in disgust as he said "I am in uniform, Rock; what are you supposed to call me when I'm in uniform?" And indeed he was in uniform, a long red silk hakama and white baggy gi shirt enclosing his body... Hardened and chiseled with the many years of training he had and still endured since before his son's birth. The young boy, now known as Rock grumbled under his breath as he still fought for breath, the distant town coming closer to view as he passed the time zipping and unzipping the left cuff of his red jacket "Otou-sensei.. Are we almost there?" His father, to which 'otou' translates to, nodded in confirmation "We'll be there in just a few moments." Young Rock let out a sigh of relief, not able to take much more as he stepped onto the gravel road at the edge of the small nameless town; knowing that he and his father were finally out of the desert by looking around at the clay and adobe buildings that lined the town's dirt and gravel roads.
Rock looked at his father's hakama as he walked along the 'sidewalk'- which was really just lined and packed slates so that everyone walking wouldn't be run over- thinking 'they just look like really big pants' and indeed they were, their size was made for the purpose of allowing maximum mobility. Rock couldn't help but notice that even though there was only a few people every few blocks, they all shrunk away from his father in fear; he even heard one of them mention "Isn't that the famous Geese Howard?" He knew quite well by now that his father's name was Geese, but he hadn't the slightest clue what it was he would be famous about.
He let out a long, dragged out sigh as his father led him into a small, rather shady looking bar. At least it was cooler in here with the refreshing ceiling fan and calm, soothing voice of a woman singing at the small corner stage. The woman was tall, slender, elegant; with hair that sparkled in a dark blue shade. Her voice hovered over the seedy, burly men that occupied the seats at the bar as her heavenly voice brought the collection of men into a few moments of sweet calm... Before heading back out to their life of danger. It must be noted that this bar was known for hosting some of the most evil of outlaws, and, as such, made it a prime stakeout location for bounty hunters like Geese, but that's just between you and I, of course. Rock couldn't take his eyes off the woman, despite his father's insisting and firm conditioning, he had a soft spot in him for art... for beauty... for calm relaxing things that his father disapproved of. Young Rock was quite fast on the draw mentally, so it quickly caught his attention that the woman turned her eyes to his father and gazed at him quietly from the stage. Geese returned her gaze, and stunned his young son quite thoroughly as he actually smiled for the first time since Rock could remember. The young boy was astounded at what he saw... his father.. and this beautiful mysterious woman.. just looking at each other. He knew it wasn't random, she was on stage, and she refused to look at anything else. Rock looked to his father, who had since turned attention to a barstool and the cute young girl that was serving up drinks, then back to the woman on stage. He couldn't quite understand all that she was saying, she sung in Japanese and not English... but it was enough for him to know that her voice alone was moving him. He felt like he knew her... like they were somehow attached even though he'd never seen her before... but his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden silence from the woman. She was done singing, and the sparse clapping at the end of her song was hardly worthy of her majestic voice. That didn't stop her from smiling and bowing politely before stepping off the stage and taking the stool next to Geese. She was smiling at him... quite warmly, but Geese's attention was fixed on the reflection in the shot glass. Little Rock was growing bored watching the two, so he took the time to look over his clothing. His red jacket fit him a bit too large, the sleeves hung down almost to the tips of his fingers and he wore solid black jeans to accompany the jacket and plain gray tanktop under it. His jacket was probably his favorite piece of clothing of all time, the back had a patch of a five-point star, and the left and right points were donned with a small yet stylistic set of dark blue wings, similar to that of an angel. In a sudden instant his eyes flashed and grew wide, a sudden sense of imminent danger washed over him and his heart beat insanely for several moments... but two full minutes looking over the bar revealed that nothing was out of place. He sighed with relief and combed his blond hair to the sides with his fingers. His long blond hair came down to the sides over his ears, and it had grown rather dusty from the long walk in the desert. Tired of standing, he wriggled up to the seat next to his father, opposite of the woman who now spoke with him. The woman reached out her hand and gently set it on his shoulder "Now, Geese... tell me.. what are you really doing so far from town?" Geese let out a long sigh and ran his fingers through his thin, whitish-blond hair; making sure it was slicked back despite the heat he had gone through over the past several hours "I'm looking for an outlaw" "An outlaw?" The lady inquired, sounding not so amazed by the severity, but almost taken aback in a non-impressive manner "yeah" Geese replied, "A class S bounty" This raised the woman's curiosity quite aways "Wow.. Class S... Be careful, Geese" He took down the shot in a single gulp and set it down roughly on the wooden counter "You too, Blues... You never know what kind of lowlifes stumbles into here" Rock blinked as he looked at the woman as he thought 'So.. her name is Blues? That sounds like an odd name.. maybe it's a nickname' Blues smiled almost coyly as she punched him in the arm playfully "Yeah I know... Met you in here, didn't I?" Rock blinked, his hunch that they knew each other correct. A second quick sense of danger made him whip his head around on the stool to the entrance of the bar.. but there was nothing. He could hear pitter-pattering of feet though, like someone running. He quickly turned his head left and right, scanning the entire floor of the bar, but no one was out of their seats save for a few pool players near the corner. A bloodcurdling scream from Blues caught Rock's attention as he wheeled-about in his chair and saw a terrible sight.
The first thing he caught sight of was the blood... a large gush of it flying upwards and splattering against the wall in an almost perfect vertical line. Rock's eyes widened in terror as he slowly began to realize the whole situation.. his father's stool was ripped in half, and there was a blade above his head, the sharp end pointed upward. Holding the blade was a figure wrapped in a full-body cloak. All Rock could do was gasp.. as his father's body.. seemingly unfazed except for it's still movement.. split in two, right down the center, and collapsed onto the floor in two pieces, several major organs and shards of bone now spilled on the floor as a pool of blood started to form. Rock's wide red eyes glanced to his father, then up to the figure. All he could utter was a whisper.. barely even audible... "Why?" Even though he couldn't see the form's face, he could see several long strands of red hair that slipped from the side of the cloak's hood as well as a malevolent grin that crept across it's face "No one's gonna take me down, kid." The form didn't even speak directly to him, but merely called it out as it dashed by. With that, the form took off from the door, sprinting with amazing speed. Rock growled with anger as he gave chase after it, but as soon as he was out the door, he glanced to both sides of the sidewalk.. and nothing. His eyes began to well up with tears as everything that had just happened finally started to seep into his mind. His father was dead, he couldn't bare to go back into the bar to face the remains. All he wanted now was to avenge his father... his heart boiled with hatred for this mysterious assassin, but even though he had no idea who it was.. all he remembered was that the voice was almost like a woman.. attempting to sound like a man. Even though she did a fine impression, Rock always grew nervous around girls.. so he was quite positive his target was a woman. He clenched his fist.. his hand and arm trembling as the tears flowed from his young eyes. They had seen too much, it was a terribly grisly scene he had laid eyes upon. He looked to the sidewalk as the tears ran down, the left leg of his jeans as well as a portion of his jacket and face soaked in blood. Blues quietly stepped outside to meet Rock, his back turned away, and set her hand on his shoulder. The hand felt warm to him.. so he raised his head and met her deep blue eyes as he fought to hold back the tears, managing a few sniffles as she spoke "Rock... will you let your father go unavenged?" Rock shook his head as his red eyes lowered into a state of anger again "Then, Rock Howard, take this with you" Rock pondered for a moment why she addressed him by his first and last name but quickly let it drop as he reached his hand out. Blues reached into her pocket and placed what appeared to be a ticket. "Take it... With this you'll be able to get off of Keroponas and travel to planet Earth. The shuttle is a mile or so to the north of here and it takes off in about 5 minutes, so if you're serious about revenge.... run like you've never ran before. Now go, quickly!" Rock nodded, took the ticket, and picked up his bag, rounding at the street corner and taking off down the road. His eyebrows clinched as he spotted the figure from before round a corner immediately after spotting him, and after he took off in the same direction he realized that she was headed for the shuttle... he wondered if he'd catch her on board as he dashed off, nothing but the few dollars in his pockets and the ticket in his fist. She was amazingly fast, she had already gone out of view among the machinery at the base of the shuttle a long distance away, but his hate and anger was enough to speed up his usual running and get him to the shuttle before it took off.
Chapter One: Bitter Hatred
It was an unbearably hot day in the desert. The wind stung at the skin of the two travelers; one at the age of 12, the other quite a bit more advanced.. Yet still looking young for his age somewhere around 40. The young boy gasped for breath, exhausted beyond belief as he tried his hardest to trudge along to the small town that was on the outskirts of Desert Road. He spoke in short breaths as he dragged his feet alongside his elder companion "Daddy.. Are we there yet?" The older of the two shook his head in disgust as he said "I am in uniform, Rock; what are you supposed to call me when I'm in uniform?" And indeed he was in uniform, a long red silk hakama and white baggy gi shirt enclosing his body... Hardened and chiseled with the many years of training he had and still endured since before his son's birth. The young boy, now known as Rock grumbled under his breath as he still fought for breath, the distant town coming closer to view as he passed the time zipping and unzipping the left cuff of his red jacket "Otou-sensei.. Are we almost there?" His father, to which 'otou' translates to, nodded in confirmation "We'll be there in just a few moments." Young Rock let out a sigh of relief, not able to take much more as he stepped onto the gravel road at the edge of the small nameless town; knowing that he and his father were finally out of the desert by looking around at the clay and adobe buildings that lined the town's dirt and gravel roads.
Rock looked at his father's hakama as he walked along the 'sidewalk'- which was really just lined and packed slates so that everyone walking wouldn't be run over- thinking 'they just look like really big pants' and indeed they were, their size was made for the purpose of allowing maximum mobility. Rock couldn't help but notice that even though there was only a few people every few blocks, they all shrunk away from his father in fear; he even heard one of them mention "Isn't that the famous Geese Howard?" He knew quite well by now that his father's name was Geese, but he hadn't the slightest clue what it was he would be famous about.
He let out a long, dragged out sigh as his father led him into a small, rather shady looking bar. At least it was cooler in here with the refreshing ceiling fan and calm, soothing voice of a woman singing at the small corner stage. The woman was tall, slender, elegant; with hair that sparkled in a dark blue shade. Her voice hovered over the seedy, burly men that occupied the seats at the bar as her heavenly voice brought the collection of men into a few moments of sweet calm... Before heading back out to their life of danger. It must be noted that this bar was known for hosting some of the most evil of outlaws, and, as such, made it a prime stakeout location for bounty hunters like Geese, but that's just between you and I, of course. Rock couldn't take his eyes off the woman, despite his father's insisting and firm conditioning, he had a soft spot in him for art... for beauty... for calm relaxing things that his father disapproved of. Young Rock was quite fast on the draw mentally, so it quickly caught his attention that the woman turned her eyes to his father and gazed at him quietly from the stage. Geese returned her gaze, and stunned his young son quite thoroughly as he actually smiled for the first time since Rock could remember. The young boy was astounded at what he saw... his father.. and this beautiful mysterious woman.. just looking at each other. He knew it wasn't random, she was on stage, and she refused to look at anything else. Rock looked to his father, who had since turned attention to a barstool and the cute young girl that was serving up drinks, then back to the woman on stage. He couldn't quite understand all that she was saying, she sung in Japanese and not English... but it was enough for him to know that her voice alone was moving him. He felt like he knew her... like they were somehow attached even though he'd never seen her before... but his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden silence from the woman. She was done singing, and the sparse clapping at the end of her song was hardly worthy of her majestic voice. That didn't stop her from smiling and bowing politely before stepping off the stage and taking the stool next to Geese. She was smiling at him... quite warmly, but Geese's attention was fixed on the reflection in the shot glass. Little Rock was growing bored watching the two, so he took the time to look over his clothing. His red jacket fit him a bit too large, the sleeves hung down almost to the tips of his fingers and he wore solid black jeans to accompany the jacket and plain gray tanktop under it. His jacket was probably his favorite piece of clothing of all time, the back had a patch of a five-point star, and the left and right points were donned with a small yet stylistic set of dark blue wings, similar to that of an angel. In a sudden instant his eyes flashed and grew wide, a sudden sense of imminent danger washed over him and his heart beat insanely for several moments... but two full minutes looking over the bar revealed that nothing was out of place. He sighed with relief and combed his blond hair to the sides with his fingers. His long blond hair came down to the sides over his ears, and it had grown rather dusty from the long walk in the desert. Tired of standing, he wriggled up to the seat next to his father, opposite of the woman who now spoke with him. The woman reached out her hand and gently set it on his shoulder "Now, Geese... tell me.. what are you really doing so far from town?" Geese let out a long sigh and ran his fingers through his thin, whitish-blond hair; making sure it was slicked back despite the heat he had gone through over the past several hours "I'm looking for an outlaw" "An outlaw?" The lady inquired, sounding not so amazed by the severity, but almost taken aback in a non-impressive manner "yeah" Geese replied, "A class S bounty" This raised the woman's curiosity quite aways "Wow.. Class S... Be careful, Geese" He took down the shot in a single gulp and set it down roughly on the wooden counter "You too, Blues... You never know what kind of lowlifes stumbles into here" Rock blinked as he looked at the woman as he thought 'So.. her name is Blues? That sounds like an odd name.. maybe it's a nickname' Blues smiled almost coyly as she punched him in the arm playfully "Yeah I know... Met you in here, didn't I?" Rock blinked, his hunch that they knew each other correct. A second quick sense of danger made him whip his head around on the stool to the entrance of the bar.. but there was nothing. He could hear pitter-pattering of feet though, like someone running. He quickly turned his head left and right, scanning the entire floor of the bar, but no one was out of their seats save for a few pool players near the corner. A bloodcurdling scream from Blues caught Rock's attention as he wheeled-about in his chair and saw a terrible sight.
The first thing he caught sight of was the blood... a large gush of it flying upwards and splattering against the wall in an almost perfect vertical line. Rock's eyes widened in terror as he slowly began to realize the whole situation.. his father's stool was ripped in half, and there was a blade above his head, the sharp end pointed upward. Holding the blade was a figure wrapped in a full-body cloak. All Rock could do was gasp.. as his father's body.. seemingly unfazed except for it's still movement.. split in two, right down the center, and collapsed onto the floor in two pieces, several major organs and shards of bone now spilled on the floor as a pool of blood started to form. Rock's wide red eyes glanced to his father, then up to the figure. All he could utter was a whisper.. barely even audible... "Why?" Even though he couldn't see the form's face, he could see several long strands of red hair that slipped from the side of the cloak's hood as well as a malevolent grin that crept across it's face "No one's gonna take me down, kid." The form didn't even speak directly to him, but merely called it out as it dashed by. With that, the form took off from the door, sprinting with amazing speed. Rock growled with anger as he gave chase after it, but as soon as he was out the door, he glanced to both sides of the sidewalk.. and nothing. His eyes began to well up with tears as everything that had just happened finally started to seep into his mind. His father was dead, he couldn't bare to go back into the bar to face the remains. All he wanted now was to avenge his father... his heart boiled with hatred for this mysterious assassin, but even though he had no idea who it was.. all he remembered was that the voice was almost like a woman.. attempting to sound like a man. Even though she did a fine impression, Rock always grew nervous around girls.. so he was quite positive his target was a woman. He clenched his fist.. his hand and arm trembling as the tears flowed from his young eyes. They had seen too much, it was a terribly grisly scene he had laid eyes upon. He looked to the sidewalk as the tears ran down, the left leg of his jeans as well as a portion of his jacket and face soaked in blood. Blues quietly stepped outside to meet Rock, his back turned away, and set her hand on his shoulder. The hand felt warm to him.. so he raised his head and met her deep blue eyes as he fought to hold back the tears, managing a few sniffles as she spoke "Rock... will you let your father go unavenged?" Rock shook his head as his red eyes lowered into a state of anger again "Then, Rock Howard, take this with you" Rock pondered for a moment why she addressed him by his first and last name but quickly let it drop as he reached his hand out. Blues reached into her pocket and placed what appeared to be a ticket. "Take it... With this you'll be able to get off of Keroponas and travel to planet Earth. The shuttle is a mile or so to the north of here and it takes off in about 5 minutes, so if you're serious about revenge.... run like you've never ran before. Now go, quickly!" Rock nodded, took the ticket, and picked up his bag, rounding at the street corner and taking off down the road. His eyebrows clinched as he spotted the figure from before round a corner immediately after spotting him, and after he took off in the same direction he realized that she was headed for the shuttle... he wondered if he'd catch her on board as he dashed off, nothing but the few dollars in his pockets and the ticket in his fist. She was amazingly fast, she had already gone out of view among the machinery at the base of the shuttle a long distance away, but his hate and anger was enough to speed up his usual running and get him to the shuttle before it took off.