Venom in the Blood
Summary: When Dezi, a desert pocket mouse, and her father are found in the middle of the Mojave Desert while trying to locate to rest in their travels, some goons kill her father and attempt to kill her. She is saved by the most feared gunslinger around, Rattlesnake Jake. Shown an unlikely mercy by the gunslinger, Dezi realizes that Jake has something in common with the rattlesnake that she and her father were trying to escape away from. Dezi tells Jake that Black Jack, the Arizona Black Rattlesnake, that is after her now and begs for his protection. Seeing his dark past catching up to him, the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake agrees to help her. But with Black Jack comes vengeance seeking Kingsley, a Desert Kingsnake that has been trying to hunt down both rattlesnakes for years. Jake doesn't understand why he cares for Dezi so much, and he is prepared to ask for Rango and the town of Dirt's help to protect her.
Chapter 1: The Meeting
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Rango the movie, Nickelodeon, or any of its characters, music, etc. This is simply for fun, nothing more. I make no profit from doing this, which is a bummer, but hey who wouldn't agree? Enjoy! :) Also, this is rated T for language and violence, just so ya know!
The heat of the Mojave didn't waver even as the bright, orange sun was starting to set behind the mountains in the distance. Heat was still rising from the dirt and rocks, and wouldn't dissipate until the sky was dark and full of stars. Animals were retreating into their homes, whether it was houses in towns such as Dirt, or dens out in the desert.
A large Western Diamondback Rattlesnake was coiled up not even a mile outside of the town of Dirt, soaking up the last of the rays and the heat from the rock below him. He was different from most rattlesnakes, and it wasn't the black cowboy hat on his head, his fiery red and gold eyes, or the straps of bullets wrapped along his scaly hide. His rattler was replaced by a black gatling gun, one that rattled much like the natural tail of a rattlesnake as he would reload it or move it to aim.
The rattlesnake was well-known amongst these parts. Not only as a gunslinger but as criminal and legend as well. His name was Rattlesnake Jake, and there were few who didn't know his name.
Jake was watching the sun set in the distance, already hearing coyotes howling away in the final rays as dusk was approaching. Soon his eyes moved to the nearby mesquite. There wasn't anything peculiar about this small, spiny, leguminous tree, expect that an empty tortoise shell dangled by a single chain from one of the branches. It was all that was leftover from Tortoise John, the mayor of Dirt whose corrupted plans to destroy the town and the old ways to build modern towns left him to this fate. Jake was the one who hung his flailing, crying body up there, and left him for the sun to torture, and for the buzzards to feed on.
As the rattlesnake thought about it as he tightened his coils into a stronger heap, he realized it had already been a few months since Tortoise John fell. Rango, the chameleon who had come to Dirt out of nowhere and saved the town was still there. He and Jake still crossed paths a few times, but Jake felt as though his time antagonizing the town were over. He heard that they had appointed Miss Beans as the new mayor of the town. It was no wonder why Dirt was doing so well among the few towns in the Mojave Desert.
Still, Tortoise John's final words to the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake still played in his head like a repeating recorder. The age of legends were slowly coming to an end. Jake realized that other legends were hard to come by now. For some reason, this caused Jake to lose his touch. Ever since Tortoise John's death, Jake hadn't felt like raiding towns or killing lives. He found himself always lost in thought, alone and quiet out in the desert, except for the occasional travelers that would pass by. Jake also realized he had only been killing for food, nothing else. He told himself he was just in a rut and would eventually move on away from Dirt to return to his old ways.
By the time he moved again, dusk was now upon the desert. Rattlesnake Jake uncoiled himself and slithered down from the rock, looking one last time up to the empty tortoise shell that swayed slightly in the wind. He decided to head back to the den he had made up for a temporary stay, before it got too dark and cold for him to be out. He could see the town of Dirt's lights turning off in some buildings. In the distance, coyotes were still howling, and silhouettes of towering saguaros seemingly stretching to supernatural lengths, and Jake could also make out bats and even a hawk circling the dark sky.
I should try and move on tomorrow. No point in sticking around here anymore, Jake thought as he slithered for his den.
The next day, when the sun was at its hottest, the rattlesnake gunslinger set out south from Dirt. South was a direction he did not normally take, but he felt compelled to go south this time. He slithered along under the scorching blaze of the sun, not near as affected by its deadly rays as other animals. As usual, other animals gave him respect and stayed out of his way for fear of being killed or attacked. The only animal that Jake kept watch for was a hawk. The sky was clear and blue, with no shadows of a feathered fiend.
As the hours dragged by, the sun slid across the sky until it was dipping into the horizon in Jake's right side peripheral vision. Shadows grew longer, stretching into demons of their own until dusk started to come along and make them disappear.
Jake was starting to search through chunks of rocks and crevices to find a place to spend the night, when he heard gunshots echo from below the slope he was on. He quickly slithered over the edge to see what was going on, tongue flicking rapidly to pick up scents.
He could barely make out two rodents of some sort running for their lives from a group of rats. The rats were immediately familiar, Jake having run into their kind several times. The leader was a large black rat decked out in western attire while firing his gun at the running mice.
Jake could care less about the mice they were chasing or whether they ended up dead or not. Jake just wanted the rats dead. They were a part of his past that he cared not to remember any longer. The black rat, Jet, had been high on Jake's list to be killed.
The bandits were catching up fast to the running mice. As the rattlesnake quickly slithered down the slope, sliding down rocks and dirt in graceful movements while keeping his eyes on the gang, he got his tail ready to start firing.
He could see the mice now, they were desert pocket mice, and one was a grown male carrying all of the supplies. The other, most definitely his offspring, was a young female wearing only a tattered and dirty pink dress. Her father was yelling for her to keep running even as he slid to a halt to turn and face the pack of rats.
The desert pocket mouse withdrew a hidden pistol, firing at the oncoming rats who were still firing their weapons. He managed to drop two rats before Jet was right upon the mouse and grabbed him with one paw and slammed a knife into his throat with the other. The adult desert mouse dropped dead with blood spewing out.
"Jet! You were supposed to leave him alive! We need to get him to talk!" a rat bandit yelled.
"It'll be easier to get the girl to talk! She'll break easily, especially now 'ol Papa is dead!" Jet cackled, taking off for the young female mouse.
The female desert mouse saw her father drop dead and screeched, her throat cracking. "PAPA!"
She had no choice but to keep running as Jet and his gang continued on after her. By this time, Jake had finished sliding down the slope and ended up coiling in her path. The mouse was quick. She darted to the left, a little brown blur that disappeared behind a ridge. Jet and his gang slid to a halt, fear making the black rat's eyes widen.
"Jake?"
"Long time no see, Jet. Still torturing weaklings half your size, eh?"
The rat flicked his tail, whiskers twitching as the bandit leader kept his stance and sneered at the Diamondback Rattlesnake. "Don't tell me you're going all noble on us now! That isn't the Jake I know!"
Jake flipped his coils around, baring dripping fangs and hissing. The other rats yelped, hunkering down behind their leader, but Jet didn't flinch. "Who said anything about being noble? I'm just calling you out for the rat you are. How about you face me instead? We still got scores to settle, haven't we?"
Jake could see Jet calculating his next moves. He gave the motion and the other rats opened fire on the rattlesnake. Jake hissed again, whipping his body around and opening fire with his gatling tail. Jet was quick to leave the others behind and start retreating. Jake killed the other rats and took off in full speed after Jet. The bandit leader had got on all fours to run faster back the way he had came. Jake slithered after him, his body extended prevented him from using his tail. Jet would make cheap shots when he got far enough ahead, but Jake was always quick to evade the bullets and catch up. By the time Jake got to the top of the next hill, he could see Jet slipping away on a roadrunner farther south, disappearing into the darkening horizon.
The rattlesnake was angered that Jet had been able to get away yet again. Jake turned to head back up the slope where he had been searching for shelter. As he was slithering in that direction, he came upon the bodies. He saw the little female mouse by her father. While quietly crying, she went through the supplies her father had on him. As Jake neared her, she whipped her small body around and aimed a pistol at him. Her big, bright yellow eyes were wide, but also glossy with tears. She was so small, she could easily fit in Jake's hat.
"Don't even think about it, you serpentine devil! You ain't getting me or my papa!"
Jake sneered at her, barely raising his lip to let her get a glimpse at a semi-folded fang. "Your father is dead and you are so small and puny, you aren't even worth the calories it would take to eat you. Get lost before more trouble finds you, girl."
"I'm not going to trust the word of a snake like you!" the mouse snapped back, standing her own against the rattlesnake.
Jake could feel his scales bristling in anger and annoyance. "Is this how you thank the person who saved your life?"
"I didn't ask for your help!" she snapped. "Especially not that of a serpent like you."
Jake ignored her words. "Why was Jet after you and your father?"
The young pocket mouse, so tiny to Jake, turned back to her father's body, sighing in defeat. "He works for a serpent, not much different than you. He's already killed Mama, and my little sisters and brother. My Papa and I bailed early, but that black rat managed to track us down."
"That still doesn't answer why," Jake added, red and gold eyes intensely staring at the mouse's back.
The tiny pocket mouse was quiet for a moment, as she gathered a water canteen, her father's pistol and some bullets before turning back towards the rattlesnake. "My father knew something that Black Jack wants."
Jake's pupil's slit, and he felt stab to his gut as the name registered too quickly. His coils tightened at the name, and the little mouse seemed to notice his disgust.
"You know Black Jack…don't you?"
"Unfortunately I do, girl. If he is after you…then you don't stand a chance."
"Dezi."
The rattlesnake gunslinger cocked his head slightly. "What?"
"My name is Dezi, not girl," the pocket mouse answered.
Jake barely dipped his head. "Then I guess I can introduce myself. I am-"
"Rattlesnake Jake…I know," Dezi interrupted. "Your name is well known around here…just like Black Jack and Sidewinder Silus."
The howl of a coyote echoed in the distance, followed by more. Rattlesnake Jake sighed, bringing his coils around. He nodded to the top of the ridge he had slid down earlier. "There are good rocks up there for you to camp in for the night. Once dawn hits, I suggest you head towards Dirt. The people there will take care of you."
Dezi peered at him curiously, as if surprised by his words. She slowly nodded, her voice softer than before. "Thank you."
Jake slithered off, leaving her to mourn by her father. It was later up on the ridge that he looked down to check up on her out of curiosity that he realized she had dug a grave for her father all by herself marked it with a makeshift cross. Dezi was on her way up the ridge near him to find a place to settle in on her own. The rattlesnake watched for a moment longer, then a feeling he didn't understand came over him, and he was forced to retreat back under the rock to hide it.
A/N: And there's the first chapter! Hope you all enjoy it! Black Jack is going to be an Arizona Black Rattlesnake. This story will be all about Rattlesnake Jake's past catching up with him. Rango and the other characters from the movie will make appearances later on, but this story will also be filled with lots of OCs just to let you all know! I think I am going to have a lot of fun writing this story! I loved the movie, and Rattlesnake Jake is a very intense character! Thanks for reading and reviewing folks! :)