*Usual Disclaimers apply

Chapter 4: Wickedness of Blackwater

Here was Blackwater. A town similar to Pharian in layout and structure but not in feel. For some reason, as Angelique, Rayne, and J.D. trotted quietly along the dirt main road, they could tell that this town mostly held undesirables. Angry looking men chewed on their tobacco and eyed them dangerously. Beaten, broken and, promiscuous women feigned ignorance upon seeing them and went about their business. There were at least five fistfights in the streets and instead of people trying to break them up, they were cheering.

Angelique tightened her grip around Rayne's waist fearful of the one moment she would have to touch the ground.

"It's alright, Ange," a soft voice whispered. J.D. had noticed her uncertainty and smiled up at her trying to loosen her fear. It was a good attempt, but as a drunk man stumbled out of the saloon, issuing slurs, her fear resurfaced.

"What are we going to do?" she asked Rayne as he steadied the horse in front of the saloon. He dropped from his horse and tied it to the trough. Rayne and J.D. both helped her down, shielding her from the prying eyes of some of the leering men.

"We need to get some better clothing and I know someone who would have some clothes to spare."

J.D glanced over his shoulder spotting a group of men around a table, gazes focused on cards and chips.

"Rayne, look who's here," he murmured. Rayne glanced over his shoulder as well and inhaled sharply.

"Silver Knights," he murmured with spite. He grabbed Angelique's arm and ushered her into the shady saloon.

She honestly felt nauseous with the strong smell of booze and smoke clogging the air inside. Men were laughing and playing cards and other games. Gambling would be a more proper term. The few women that were there wore corsets that barely covered their breasts and skirts that were a tad too high. Angelique swallowed when she realized who those women were.

Rayne took her to the side, near the back by the bar. He cleared his throat to address the woman barkeep. She wouldn't turn. He cleared his throat again, but she still resumed her task of cleaning the glasses. Finally, he slammed his fist down on the bar top, causing many to turn and look for a brief moment.

"Mother of mercy, Rayne!" the barkeep jumped and scolded. The woman was very pretty, with big green eyes, tan skin, and dark hair.

"What the hell do you want?" she seethed, slamming her clean glass down.

"I need help, Sedona," Rayne murmured, pointing to Angelique. She blushed as Sedona stared at her. The woman's face softened, but her eyes became shifty.

"Come on back," she whispered as she stepped out from the behind bar and led them down the hall. She ushered them into a storage room where boxes of salted meats, swill, and other foods lay in crates.

"You three have a lot guts making a lot of noise here," she seethed. "Do you know who's outside?"

"Silver Knights, we know," J.D said, pressing his thumb on the butt of his gun in the holster.

"No Thanatos?" Rayne asked.

Sedona shook her head, "If there were, you think would be walking in here alive?"

"So what's her story," Sedona asked nodding towards Angelique.

"I need to take Angelique to Celestizm…and get her another pair of clothes."

"I see. You're best bet is to go to Wodon but that's a several days ride from here, not to mention dangerous. You'd better catch a train from the station outside here. Who the heck knows where it goes, but it's better than here."

Rayne's shoulders slumped, "When does the next train leave?"

"I have no idea, but trains aren't safe anymore. Thanatos have been known to infiltrate and attack trains."

"Do you at least have clothing more comfortable clothing you can spare?"

"Yes, c'mon Angelique. Let's see if there's still something that will fit you," Sedona grabbed Angelique's wrist and led her out of the storage room. Rayne and J.D. made to follow, but suddenly the tan woman turned, "What are you doing? You can't watch her dress. Find something to do AWAY from us for the moment."

Rayne scowled and J.D. shrugged.

Sedona shook her head, "Boys."

"You'll have to excuse my spat," she continued, leading her up the stairs to a dormant room. "The Silver Knights have been driving away my customers. That being said I rather have them here to take care of any Thanatos bandits."

"I confess, I don't really understand what this whole Thanatos band is," Angelique said watching the older woman pull open a wardrobe and begin rummaging through.

The woman began chuckling, "Then you obviously aren't from here. The Thanatos are said to be the bastards spat out from hell and their leader is a man so horrid that the demons didn't even want him."

Angelique's heart went into her throat. She was already frightened by the Dragon Clan and the Silver Knights, but these Thanatos seemed to be much worse. She wanted desperately to go back home.

Sedona pulled out a plain white blouse and beige skirt from the wardrobe, "Here try these on."

Down below, Rayne had left J.D. to wait for Angelique. He wasn't going far, but he needed information. It would be hard to get, but he had a viable source sitting outside. J.D. watched the red-haired shooter leave for the porch of the saloon with a worried look. He remained still, waiting for Angelique.

Outside, Rayne strolled over to the card table, where the hoard of Silver Knights were playing a "friendly" game of poker. He waited patiently, not caring if his staring bothered them.

Finally, a Silver Knight with a waxed mustache threw down his cards and scooted his chair back, "I'm out."

The man grumbled as he got out of his chair and leaned against the pillar watching the others play. Rayne approached the table, his hand not far from his gun and tapped the now vacant chair, "May I join you boys?"

The bandits glanced up from the table, each giving him a scrutinizing look. One puffed at his cigar and growled out of the corner of his mouth, "We're saving that for Lucky Gilbert."

Another Knight pushed up the brim of his hat, "No, Lucky's sittin' next to me. That chair's free."

"Lucky Gilbert? He isn't a Knight," Rayne pointed out in a low tone, and immediately the Knight with the cigar pulled out his revolver, placing the barrel on the edge of the table so as to not make a big show of it and cause panic. Rayne's hand immediately went to his holster but he didn't draw his gun.

"Yeah, he isn't a Knight," the Knight seethed, teeth biting into the cigar, "But he don' know we're Knights now do he? And if you want to see the light of day again, you'd better keep it that way."

Rayne nodded. So Lucky was a target. He probably wasn't from the Thanatos but from some other gang.

"I see, gentlemen," Rayne kept his tone calm and not too cynical, "I shall not say a word but I do wish to at least play one round."

The cigar-chomping Knight slowly pulled his gun away until it disappeared under the table. Rayne took that as an affirmative and he slid into the empty chair, quickly anteing up. The poker game resumed.

J.D. leaned against the bar, waiting for Angelique, eyes traveling warily over the gamblers inside the saloon. He became worried when Rayne left to play cards with some Silver Knights, so he kept his eyes flicking towards the window outside in case something went wrong.

"Well, here we are," Sedona announced as Angelique emerged down the stairs.

She wore a plain white blouse, and a long beige skirt with a shallow slit in the front making it easier for her to move faster and ride horses. Even in these plain clothes, she looked very beautiful. J.D. smiled and took off his bowler hat in respect.

"You still look breath-taking, Ange," he murmured.

"My thoughts exactly," Sedona beamed patting her on the shoulder, "I wish you all the best of luck on your journey, but don't become a stranger now."

Angelique turned to Sedona, her eyes shining with gratitude, "Thank you, Sedona. I promise I will return these as soon as I can get settled."

"Nah, don't worry about that. Coming back here might not be the safest thing."

"We'd better try to catch that train, Ange," J.D. said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. They bade Sedona farewell and headed out the saloon.

They turned and glanced at Rayne who was engrossed in his poker game. Rayne's green eyes glanced up and he jerked his head, motioning for them to move on and wait.

J.D. with his hand still on Angelique's shoulder ushered her away towards the bench by the General Store where they waited.

Rayne kept his face passive, waiting for one of the Knights to mention something about any dangers towards Wodon. Instead, for the most part, they were grumbling and cursing at each other. Rayne kept to himself, as he promised. He was good at cards, but he made sure he wasn't drawing any undo attention by winning many hands.

The door to the saloon creaked and out stumbled a man, wearing a black hat that covered his eyes, white shirt and a black vest. He had long black hair tied loosely in the back, and a black bandanna around his neck. He looked pristine, which was odd for a drunk. He took a sharp swig from his bottle, and stumbled towards the card table.

"Playing cards, eh?" the man slurred.

A Knight grunted, "What do you want?"

"Ohh, I can play. I can be very good," he hiccupped and stumbled towards the empty chair. As soon as he laid a hand on the chair the Knight sitting next to it pulled out his gun and pointed it at the drunk.

"That's Lucky's seat. Now BEAT IT!"

Swaying a little, the man held up his hands, "Alright, alright, but I just…er…I just saw Lucky in the company of a woman. Why not let me play until he's done. But if you don't want my money that's fine."

The Knight with the cigar eyed the mysterious man, taking interest in his somewhat fancy attire, especially the gold chain that was nestled in between the buttons of his vest.

"Fine, son," he said, nodding towards the younger Knight. Reluctantly, he lowered his gun. Meanwhile, the stranger stumbled into the chair and the dealer gave him some cards. He clumsily put down some coins.

Rayne eyed the newcomer. There was something curious about him. He certainly didn't look like a vagrant, which this town had plenty of. No doubt the Knights couldn't resist taking some easy money from a drunk. Still, the games continued on, and the Knights were loosening up, especially after the stranger offered his drink to everyone. Rayne kept his focus on his cards.

That was, until a disgruntled looking man with a red handlebar mustache came up to the group, standing directly behind the man with the black bandana and vest.

"What is this?"

Everyone paused from their game play and glanced at him.

"Sorry pal, looks like your time is up," a Knight said to the stranger.

Grunting, he turned back to the man standing, "Are you Lucky?"

"Yeah," Lucky crossed his thick arms over his chest, "What do you want?"

"You."

There was a bang as the dark-haired man shot Lucky with his gun that was hidden under the pit of his arm, aimed at Lucky the entire time he was standing there. Lucky collapsed and the Knights cursed, pulling out thier pistols. But the mysterious man slid back in his chair, pulled out another gun, a sawed-off shotgun, and blasted two others away.

Immediately, Rayne dodged out of the way, pulling out his weapon and shooting Silver Knight who had aimed his pistol at him thinking he was with the dark-haired maniac.

Confusion was rampant and Rayne quickly found himself shooting another Knight that was aiming after the stranger. Not wanting to stay much longer, Rayne made a bolt towards the General Store, but a Knight shot after him, missing, yet he tripped to the ground.

People were running and hiding, some men taking out their guns just in case anyone saw fit to cause more trouble.

The stranger who started it all turned as J.D. rushed towards Rayne, pulling out his own gun and taking aim at the stranger. The dark-haired man was faster and shot J.D. right in the thigh.

"J.D.!" Angelique screamed, rushing to his side.

Rayne fumbled for his gun, finding it thrown off to the side, lying in the dirt. He crawled towards it, keeping his head low, but he heard a distinct click of a cocked gun over him. Slowly he turned his head, staring straight up at the finely dressed man. He was pointing the sawed-off shotgun straight at his face a grin playing on his lips.

"At the risk of sounding horribly cliché," the stranger's cool calm voice said without an ounce of hesitation, "This is a double barreled sawed-off shotgun you are staring at. I do know what you are thinking. Did I fire one shell or two? If I were honest for a moment with you, that during all of this confusion I have lost track. Silly isn't it? For a gun with only two shells. Regardless, if there is one shell left in this shotgun, it'll blow your face clean off."

The man's voice dipped lower, dangerous, and venomous, "Now all you have to do is to ask yourself: Do I feel lucky? Well…do you?"

Rayne's heart stopped beating and he swallowed. He still stared up at the men, with a dangerous glare, but his shallow breathing gave away his fear. The man pressed the trigger.

The click rang in Rayne's ears.

It was a dead click. Empty. The stranger drew the weapon back with a smirk.

"Well, kid, you'll see another day."

With that, the man turned and walked away, seemingly confident that no one was going to pick a bone with him.

Regaining his wits, Rayne scrambled to his feet, picked up his gun and hat and rushed to the injured J.D.

The larger man's thigh was bleeding and he was in pain writhing on the ground, Angelique was supporting his head, whispering reassurances. She turned to Rayne, a strange mixture of horror and confidence shining in her eyes.

"The bullet isn't in that deep," she said, "But we can't leave it in there. We need to get him to a doctor."

"No," J.D. gasped, "We need to get you…to that train."

He turned to Rayne and breathed, "Rayne, did you see…who that was."

"Yes," Rayne answered with spite glancing over his shoulder, "A shame I couldn't get a shot on him."

"Who…?" Angelique asked, keeping her hand on J.D.'s bullet wound.

Rayne sighed and whispered, "I'm not absolutely sure, but I believe that could be Erebos."

"Erebos?" Angelique asked, her thoughts on the mysterious shooter. She thought that there was something familiar about him.

"The leader of the Thanatos," Rayne clarified, his face souring, as if a bug was caught in his throat.

"H-He may not be alone," J.D. breathed.

"You're right. We can't stay here," Rayne said, making to lift J.D. up, but Angelique stopped him.

"Wait! We can't move him!"

"Why the heck not!"

"It could make the wound worse. We have to take the bullet out."

Rayne stood, hands on his hips, staring down at Angelique, face beat-red. He was withholding his temper and it would not do well to yell at a young woman in the middle of the town. He placed his hat on his head, adjusting it several times to cool himself down.

"No offense meant, ma'am, but that is hardly practical," he said through ground teeth.

"Practical? Rayne, he's shot in the leg."

"Yes and if we don't get out of here soon, we will all be shot."

J.D. sighed inwardly before taking a deep breath and using his fingers to press against the hole in his thigh. He dug a finger in, teeth clenching, and with a push and a tug, he pulled the shallow bullet out of his leg.

"There," he groaned, "would it be safer now?"

Angelique was wide-eyed and sickened. She had never seen anyone pull a bullet out of their own leg before. Heck, she hadn't even seen it surgically removed before, but she never thought it cause so much blood. Rayne tore a small portion of J.D.'s sleeve and wrapped it around the freshly bleeding wound.

"You are crazy."

"Hopefully this will hold until we get on that train," J.D. smiled down at Rayne who was busy creating that makeshift bandage.

"Angelique, get the horse will you?"

With a nod the woman obeyed and quickly ran to the trough and untied the steed. She normally wasn't comfortable around horses, but the sense of urgency overpowered her fears. The horse, thank god, was incredibly tame, and followed Angelique's lead.

"Come on," Rayne grunted as he slung J.D.'s arm around his shoulder and, with difficulty, helped the larger man up. J.D. managed to hop to the horse, and Rayne pushed him up so he could mount the saddle with his bad leg.

"Come on, Angelique," he motioned for her. She couldn't refuse. She just hoped that nothing worse could happen.

A/N: I know it's been a while since I updated. Don't give up on me yet. Most of you will recognize that one quote from Dirty Harry. I didn't want to be that cliche but I couldn't resist. Please Review