Alright, so I've got some troubles with my laptop so the next chapter MIGHT get delayed! Almost didn't even get to finish this today :o !

*** Chapter Thirty-Six : Niño And The Outlaws ***

Grant slumped down in the old, moth-eaten couch and crossed his long legs. "Well, that wasn't a complete waste of time and energy, right lads?" He said sarcastically and folded his arms. "I wish we'd NEVER do anything else for the rest of our times as outlaws!"

"Hey, t'least we got some laughs this time, eh?" Brumby, the dark colored groundhog, smirked and scratched the back of his ear after taking his dusty hat off. "I mean, y'all saw her face when that bottle 'sploded in 'er face, eh? Priceless!"

Kinski, the hunchback rabbit, chortled out a laugh. "Yah, ya can almost say it vas a real BLAST!"

The gang exchanged a glance before they burst out into a roaring laughter, causing their cavern-like hideouts walls to shake ominously. Everyone except Grant and Bill that is. Grant just frowned and turned his head away.

"Yeah, hilarious! Except that we made ourselves look like fools... Again! And she tried to BITE me!"

Bill muttered something lowly to himself and leaned against the wall with his arms folded. Grant might be whiny, but he's got a point; what the heck were they doing with their lives?! They never really got anything from their trips down to Dirt, except spending the money they made from robbing unfortunate passerbyes and get to spend a night in the jailhouse. Sure, Dirt was always good for a laugh, but it never really got them anywhere. It only made them look silly.

They were at what they'd call their 'home'; a natural cave hidden behind a waterfall in the Crystal Canyon. Ever since the 'aquatic explosion' over in Dirt, the water flow in the area had somewhat returned, and the Crystal Canyon was once again transporting water. Even some vegetation had began to grow again here and there amongst the walls, and their cave was kept illuminated thanks to the greenish glowing moss on the walls. They had dug the furniture out from the abandoned Smugglers Nest nearby.

It wasn't a very impressive hideout, but nobody would think of looking for them there. Not only was it concealed very well behind the waterfall, but there was also rumored to be an indian burial ground nearby, and anyone who's got at least a speck of sense left in their heads knew better than to mess with those places. Bill, however, didn't believe in stuff like that.

He glanced at his men. When was the last time they really did something big? Thirteen years ago, they had the little town of Dirt in the palm of their hands; him, Chorizo, Kinski and Stump had striked fear and nausea into the hearts of the Dirtonians. Back when they were working for mayor John. Before Rango showed up. Bill used to be a proud desperado, but now him and his gang were just a bunch of troublemakers, just longing for their first big heist in years.

"Oi" The gila monster grumbled to his gang. "Git the fire started already! It's gettin' chilly in 'ere..." Bill watched as Brumby and Chorizo began to scrape up what was left of their firewood supply to light the fire inside a dug out firepit. He then turned to Grant, who quietly was inspecting his fingernails and tried to scrape off the dirt underneath them. "Grant, we got any food left?"

"There should be some canned beans and spam left" He glanced up from his dark claws and narrowed his brownish green eyes at him. "But t'ain't much left, Bill. We better rob another food supply soon!"

Bill agreed with Grant, but didn't reply. "Then git cookin', Grant. I'm hungry!" Grant muttered something incoherent and got up from the couch, and Bill instantly snatched the place in the couch.

"Hey, we can't let the hare cook!" Stump exclaimed and nearly bounced up from the cot bed he managed to salvage from the rubbles of the old Nest. He grimaced. "He'd poison us all! Everyone knows that Scots can't cook! Won't someone please think of the haggis!"

"Oh put a cork in it, rabbit!" Grant retaliated. "It's you Englishmen who can't cook! Not without cussin' up a storm, anyway!"

"Shut up! Both of you!" Bill growled loudly, making the two lagomorphs instantly shut up and just simply glare at each other. "Fine, Cho; YOU cook! No, Kinski! I don't want'cha anywhere near the fire an' ya know bloody well why!" He pointed at Grant and Stump, who both flinched when they noticed. "An' y'two go out an' find some more firewood!"

"What?!" Both of them exclaimed simultaneously.

"Ya heard me!" Bill bared his sharp teeth at them in a growl. "Now GIT!"

Grant and Stump exchanged a spiteful glare with each other before they both head towards the waterfall-door behind a slight curve. As they vanished behind the bend and when Bill presumed that they had gotten their roadrunners and left, he turned to the rest of his men with a snort.

"Oi, K, what's the deal with rabbits an' hares anyway?" He asked, but the hunchback rabbit shrugged.

"I don't knov ze entire story, but ze bottom line iz zat all hares are cowardly, backstabbing bastards!"

"All of 'em, huh?"

Kinski shrugged again, but just then a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the cave, which made everyone jump in surprise. Both Grant and Stump came running back around the bend, screaming in terror at the top of their lungs and both were pale as if they just had seen a whole bunch of ghosts! Grant took a giant leap over the couch, almost kicking Bill in the face, while Stump dove in under his cot bed. Both of them were trembling like leaves as they carefully peeked out from their hideouts.

"What the HELL are ya doin', ya schmucks?!" Bill roared, his face was red with anger, and got up from the couch.

Grant glanced at him, and at first he appeared to be answering him, but then he saw something and his eyes widened in fear. "THERE!" He yelled and pointed with a stiff finger at something behind them, and Stump yelped as he crawled back in under the bed. "I-IT'S COMIN'!"

Bill and the rest of the gun spun around, just as a tall shadow emerged on the wall in front of them. It was the shadow of a snake. A HUGE snake! Chorizo, Brumby and Kinski too screamed when the large shadow-snake opened its mouth in a wide smile, and even the long fangs were visible. A laugh began to echo in the cavern as the rodents and the rabbit tried to run to safety, but Bill barked at them to stay. There was something odd with the laugh, it sounded almost like a young boy, and the shadow appeared to get smaller as it got closer. Eventually, an a lot smaller snake emerged from behind the bend, grinning widely.

"Wow, really, amigos?!" The young diamondback, they recognized as the kid Blake had brought along the day before, laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "I KNEW you guys didn't seem especially bright, but really?! Dios mio, y'all look like you've seen a ghost!"

Slowly, the gang collected themselves as they slowly began to realize what was going on. The shadow hadn't been the shadow of some huge monster snake, it was the distorted shadow of a little brat. Grant got up from behind the couch and growled angrily at the young snake, and Stump crawled up from under the bed, his face was red from embarrassment and anger. Withing a few seconds, they had all drawn their guns at the snake, but the youngster remained calm.

"Oi, what're ya doin' here, boy?!" Bill growled and walked up to the little rattlesnake, glaring down at his calm face.

"Oh nothing, just takin' a stroll. It's a beautiful night outside!"

"No lies! What are ya doin' here, an' whaddya want?!"

"Actually, señor, the question isn't what I want; it's what YOU want" Niño could hardly contain his amusement when Bill and his gang flinched. They hadn't been prepared for a response like that! "I've heard 'bout you and yer petty crimes. You're more like rascals than outlaws, am I right?"

"'Scuse me?!" All six outlaws exclaimed simultaneously, but Niño ignored them.

"You heard me, and you know it's true!" He said. "I mean, what kind of outlaws rides into a town, puts a firecracker in a bottle of whiskey b'fore offering it to the deputy sayin' it's a 'peace offering'?"

The rodents exchanged glances while Bill gritted his teeth. It was true.

"What're ya playin' at, kid?" Bill growled and refused to let his guard down towards the kid. There was something off with this youngster...

Niño held up his rattle in defense. "Nothing, señor! I'm just curious; why would you rather mold in this ol' cave, rather than do something the town will NEVER forget! Something REAL outlaws do! Like... Hmm..." He scratched his chin with his rattle as he pretended to be thinking. "... I dunno, robbing the bank maybe?"

The gang went silent for a while, but then they all burst into laughter. Now it was Niños turn to get surprised.

"Rob the bank of Dirt?! Yeah, good one!" Chorizo laughed and shook his head.

Stump nodded. "Yeah, and when we've done that we might as well go punch god in the face!"

"Why on Earth would we be stupid 'nuff to try somethin' like that?" Bill was the only one who wasn't laughing. "Not only would it take a week to break into the vault at night, but durin' the day the entire town is safeguardin' the bank! Not to mention that we're already number one on Jolenes hit-list"

Now it was Niños turn to laugh. "Who said anything 'bout breaking into the bank?" He rolled his eyes. "Just use the keys, silly!"

Bill blinked in confusion. "K-keys?"

"Yeah, y'know; long, thin sticks with funny lookin' prods at the end? They are used to open stuff, a great invention!"

"We know what keys are, lad!" Grant growled impatiently and folded his arms. "But how the heck are we supposed to get them!?"

"Easy, leave it to me!" Niño nodded. "I know exactly where they are! Just gimme something I can use to make casts out of 'em and I'll help you out! In one condition, however-...!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Stump interrupted with a skeptical frown. "Hold up a second, WHY do you think we want your help?"

"An' vhy should ve trust ya?" Kinski growled in agreement. "You're just one of zem!"

Niño growled lowly. "I'm NOT one of 'zem', hunchback! And y'all better accept my help if you EVER wanna be able to call yourselves outlaws with pride ever again, shorty!" The young snake flickered his tongue at the men. "B'sides, if I wanted to bust you guys, why didn't I bring the lawmen here? My mom has taught me a trick when it comes to track people down, and finding you hombres was a piece o'cake! I could lead the entire town to yer hideout in no time!"

"Is that so?" Bill drew a bowie knife from his belt. "It was foolish of you to come here alone, kid... We can't have anyone knowin' 'bout this cave, not even you!"

"Dios mio, are you serious, señor?!" Niño groaned in annoyance. "I'm willin' to help you guys commit the biggest robbery in the towns history, and you'd rather kill me to stay hidden?! Trust me, amigo, if you robbed the bank you'd be able to buy an entire island to hide on! Ya haven't seen what I've seen"

Now, the gang finally began to look interested. "Really, eh?" Brumby asked curiously.

"What have ya seen then, niño?" Chorizo continued.

"I'm not yer Niño, señor; my name's Alejandro, and what I've seen..." He paused to chuckled. "Is just the entire exchequer! AND a couple of mighty appealing Keystone safes, I for one am really curious 'bout their contents!"

The gang all turned their heads to Bill, who was standing still with his knife in a tight grip. "An' ya know where the keys to the vault are?"

Niño nodded and grinned. "Si!"

"What's stoppin' us from just simply beatin' that information outta you?!"

"Well, you could do that too" Niño shrugged. "But then, who's gonna keep the deputy and ev'ryone else away? If keys begins to vanish after you've been seen in the area, then I guess it's just a matter of time 'til they've got'cha behind bars again! The Dirtonians wouldn't trust ya if so their lives depended on it, y'know!"

"It's always good to have someone from the inside, eh?" Brumby pointed out and everyone else agreed mumbling, except Bill. He was still skeptical.

"What are ya plannin', kid?"

Niño grinned slyly. "I thought you'd never ask, señor Bill..." Within moments, the gang had gathered in a circle around the little snake, who used his rattle to draw things on the ground as he revealed his plan. "It's a simple three step plan: first, I fix copies of the keys. I'm going to need something to make casts out of, so that'll be on yer inventory list! When that's done, it's time for step 2: break into the bank at night. Nobody will expect that!"

"But what 'bout Jolene?" Stump winced. "She's always out on her night rounds!"

"Don't worry 'bout my aunt, leave 'er to me!" Niño didn't look up from the ground he was drawing on just as he drew a large, encircled 3. "Step 3: you'll have half an hour to stuff yer bags an' break into the safes b'fore y'all will have to hightail it outta there. It ain't too hard to break into those safes; Keystone safes have relatively weak hinges, so just apply enough force to those and the door will practically fall out on its own!" He paused and looked up at the men. "Now, there's a couple of things I want in return..."

"Name yer price, kid" Bill nodded, now even he was getting curious about this scheme.

"I want enough money to take me to California! An' I want y'all to tell everyone about the young rattlesnake who helped you! I want y'all to mention my name in case anyone would ask 'bout this heist once it's done!"

The outlaws exchanged glanced and raised their eyebrows. "Vhy do ya vant us to tell everyone you vere involved?"

"Let's just say I've got my reasons..." Niño answered Kinskis question through tightly clamped teeth. "So, ya still interested, señor Bill?" He glanced at Bill.

The gila monster rubbed his chin for a while, thinking about the plan. The kid seemed trustworthy, and his plan seemed crazy enough to actually work!

He nodded slowly and nodded. "Sure! Why don't give it a shot!" He said with a grin, but then the grin disappeared and he narrowed his eyes at Niño. "But listen, kid, if it turns out you've been playin' with us, then I'll make sure that ya will regret it for the rest of yer short, miserable life!"

Niño just snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever"

…

Blake muttered something inaudibly and bitter while he stared at the muddy snake trail leading from the door to Niños bed, where the youngster was snoring loudly all coiled up underneath thick blankets. Had that brat really been this muddy when he went to bed last night?! Blake pondered for a while, trying to recall last night but he couldn't remember if Niño really had dragged this much mud into his room... But then again, what else could he have done? Sleepwalking?

"Hey, kid, wake up!" Blake eventually stopped thinking about it and bit into a corner of the blanket. With one swift jerk of his head, he yanked the blanket off the sleeping snake. "Time to go to school!"

When the blanket was yanked off to suddenly, Niño shuddered and coiled up tighter, opening one dark green eye and glared at the other snake who just woke him up. "Are you mental?!" He lunged for the other corner of the blanket and tried to pull it back. "Leave me alone, estupido!"

"That's it!" Blake hissed and yanked the blanket away again, this time throwing it away across the room so it landed on a big, potted plant. "Stop callin' me stupid an' git yer lazy ass up, Niño! Jo got'cha a spot in the school, an' if you're late she's gonna skin us both!"

"Only if you stop call me Niño and start callin' me-... Wait, school?!" Niño hissed at the last word.

"She thinks it would be good for ya to make some friends yer own age 'round 'ere, since you'll probably be stayin' for a while" Blake didn't sound all too convincing when he spoke, and he even rolled his eyes. "It ain't my idea so stop glarin' at me!"

Niño clenched his jaw. "I don't need to go to school... And I definitely DON'T need any friends in this place!"

"It's either school or I'll have to babysit ya to ensure Jo that ya ain't gonna run away or nothin'"

Niño went quiet for a while, then he cursed loudly and slithered down from the bed. "Te odio!"

"Hey, I just told'cha it ain't my idea!"

"Todavia eres estupido!"

"I heard that! STOP callin' me estupido, ya lil' brat!"

Niño didn't reply, and slammed the door shut behind him as he left 'his' room. They were borrowing the halfway finished house sheriff Rango had lived in before he married Beans, Jolene was hoping that he wouldn't mind. Blake winced as he heard his son angrily slither away and mumble loudly to himself in Spanish. Neither of them had asked for this!

But to look at it at the bright side, Blake tried to comfort himself with the thought that a Niño in school meant that he'd get more time to do the things he actually wanted to do! Though, he couldn't help but to feel sorry for the poor teacher who'd be stuck with that brat...

Yeah, it's a pretty short chapter, sorry 'bout that ^^"...

Well, I hope I won't be without a computer for too long so I can finish the next chapter soon... Plus I'm close to (finally!) finishing the next RDR chapter :D