Chapter 34: The Janitor Boy

Ucara only has one tavern. It's old, wooden design and lack of proper maintenance gave it a crude appearance, but that didn't keep the locals away. Located right next to the airline factory, its customers usually consisted of workers. However, for one week, the tavern received a very different audience.

Twelve smugglers sat across the tavern's bar. Their brown, ragged dusters, faded white cowboy hats, and spurred black boots easily distinguished them from the rest of the crowd. They carried lever-action rifles strapped to their backs and revolver blasters holstered on their belts. While their weapons and clothing gave them a menacing look, the smuggler's themselves were very friendly with everyone around them.

The tavern's janitor, a nine-year old raccoon boy, sat on the bar. He snarled at the supposed leader of the smuggler group, who appeared completely chill with a casual welcoming smile. The leader was a komodo dragon, a very rare race in the Lylat System (some would say the rarest). Like the others he wore a duster and carried the same weapons, but his cowboy hat was black like the night sky, and he wore white-glassed goggles over his eyes. The boy's face turned red as he cried out,

"I'm gonna be the best bounty hunter in the Lylat System!"

All of the smugglers in the bar laughed, including the leader.

"You want to be a bounty hunter, do you?" the komodo said with an amused grin, "Please. You're too small and weak for that Coby."

"I'll do it Manco!" Coby yelled as his face turned red, "I just need to get older first. Then I'll be a legendary bounty hunter!"

Manco grinned at Coby, exposing his small, yet razor sharp teeth. Coby continued to growl, but secretly the raccoon loved that smile. Manco's face always looked so kind and friendly. Coby had to keep himself from beaming back.

Over the past week, Coby had managed to befriend Manco and his comrades. The smugglers had taken quite a liking to Coby, and the group seemed to enjoy the kids company. Coby didn't go to any school, so he didn't have any other friends. The raccoon was happier than he had been in a very long time.

"You'll see. The underworld will tremble when they hear my name someday," Coby began again, beaming with pride, "Even you guys will take me seriously at that time!"

"Oh man, I can't get enough of this kid," one of the smugglers laughed.

"I don't know," Manco said with sarcasm, "Maybe he will be a threat someday. The thought of him cleaning our ship sounds terrifying."

The smugglers burst out with laughter again. Coby's pride diminished, and the child grimaced as he sulked in the chair next to Manco. Coby's eyes frowned as he rested his chin on the bar.

"I don't plan on being a janitor in the future," Coby mumbled.

"Of course you don't," Manco chuckled as he regained himself, "However, you need to understand that a lot of people have said what you're saying Coby, both old and young. Those people were a lot more experienced then you, and yet they never reached their dreams."

"No, I'll do it for real though!" Coby lifted up his head and starred at Manco with determination, "You've seen me shoot, right? I'm pretty good!"

A couple of times, Manco let Coby use his revolver to shoot his crewmates empty bottles outside. Each time, Coby impressed Manco and his crew by shooting every bottle without wasting a shot. It was nothing compared to the group's speed and accuracy, but each member agreed that Coby was a natural crack shot. After learning this, Manco and his crew took an even greater liking to the boy, and the friends had a somewhat relatable ground.

"For a nine-year old," Manco grinned at Coby again, "I never said it was good enough to become the best bounty hunter."

Coby beamed again and looked ahead.

"I'll get better then," Coby said, "I'll practice shooting every day until my quick-draw is as good as yours."

"That'll take a life-time," Manco yawned, "and sometimes it's more than just training you know."

"I know, but it's where I'll start," Coby still held his confident smile, "I just need to get older. I'll keep practicing, no matter what!"

"Hey Coby, I'm not paying you to sit down!" the tavern owner yelled from across the room, "Pick up your mop and get cleaning!"

Coby groaned and got up from his chair.

"Don't worry kid, I'm sure you'll find plenty of time to shoot between chores!" one of the smugglers said, causing his comrades to laugh with him.

Coby frowned and grumbled as he began mopping the floor.

A few hours passed, and the smugglers continued to talk and laugh amongst themselves. Coby didn't say anything for a while, until he stepped over to Manco and asked,

"Do you think I stand a chance?"

"Hm?" Manco looked at Coby.

"Being a bounty hunter," Coby expressed a curious, and somewhat worried face, "Do you think I can do it?"

Manco stopped grinning. He almost looked disappointed.

"Why are you asking me that question?" Manco asked, "Didn't you already make it official, regardless of my opinion?"

"Well, you guys don't really seem to believe me, so-

"So what?" Manco interrupted as he turned to face Coby more fully, "Why do you care what we think about it Coby?"

"You guys are the best gun smugglers in the system!" Coby yelled, and then he looked away, "I just wanted to know what you thought about it."

Manco blinked behind his goggled and grinned, chuckling.

"Well, in that case, I really don't think you stand a chance," Manco said.

Coby felt his ears drop.

"Oh," the child said with a disheartened tone.

Later that day, Coby walked on the sidewalk towards his home. His head and ears were down. Manco's words seemed to echo through his head.

"I really don't think you stand a chance…"

Coby sighed and looked up. He began to wonder if Manco was right. Maybe he was being a little bit too ambitious. Coby didn't want to admit it, but the man's words really had a big effect on him. Never once in his life had Coby even considered the possibility of not reaching his dream. He held onto it, always charging forward with unyielding faith no matter what. But now…

Coby rubbed his arms and shivered. The night was colder than usual. Coby looked straight ahead and continued walking.

Coby lived with his uncle in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Ucara. Coby's uncle, who Coby always referred to as Uncle Gabe, worked as a freelance mechanic for small companies and businesses. He and Coby lived in a one story house (although "shack" seemed like a much more fitting term to describe the miserable little shelter), but neither one of them ever seemed to care. Uncle Gabe was very optimistic, and while it seemed unrealistic from a financial perspective, he always bragged about sending Coby to school someday. Secretly, Coby didn't really care about school. He only wanted to get into the Flight Academy. If he wanted to become a bounty hunter, leaving Corneria would be a first huge step.

As Coby approached his home, he was stopped by an unfamiliar scene. His uncle was outside in their front yard, speaking to a group of grim looking men. There were six canine boxers, all dresses in white tank tops with worn out, blue jeans, but the most noticeable features they had were the crowbars on their backs and blasters on their belts. Another member, who Coby rationalized as the leader, was a male bunny with a navy blue suite and red tie. He carried a fancier looking blaster then the other thugs and appeared less grizzly, but that didn't make him any less intimidating. Uncle Gabe had a worried look on his face as he tried reasoning with the leader.

"Just give me a few more days," he pleaded, "You'll have your money then."

"We don't have a few more days," the leader said with an aggravated voice, "Your debt is due now."

"Please, you have to understand. My nephew was sick with a very deadly disease, and I had to use the money for his medication. I would've used it to pay the rent, but-

"Do I look like I care about your personal affairs?" the leader asked with a louder voice, "I don't care if your nephew was sick or not. You should have let the disease do its job if you ask me, saved yourself a lot of money in the future. Kids are too expensive."

Coby's eyes widened when his name was mentioned. He remembered being sick a few weeks before. He was in bed for four whole days, and his uncle stayed home from work. He knew it cost them money sense neither of them were a work, but he had no idea the medicine was expensive.

"Please, show some mercy!" his uncle cried out.

"No, I'm not in the mood," the leader looked bored. He nodded at a couple of the other men, and they grabbed Uncle Gabe, forcing him to his knees. The leader pulled out a blaster.

Coby began to panic. His uncle was about to be executed right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Coby looked around for anything he could use as a weapon, and he found the perfect missile. A bumpy rock, just big enough to fit in his palm. Coby picked up the rock and hurled it at the back of the leader's head.

A direct hit.

The bunny yelped with pain and looked behind him, holding the back of his head. Coby's smile quickly disappeared as he realized his plan might not have been the smartest idea.

"Grab that runt!" the leader demanded.

Coby didn't even try to run. He picked up another rock to throw, but two of the thugs grabbed him and pulled him over before he could take another shot. They set him down next to his uncle, and the raccoon looked at him with horror.

"Coby!" he yelled, "What were you thinking? You should've ran the moment you got here!"

"They were gonna shoot you Uncle Gabe!" Coby yelled back, but he looked more terrified than angry.

"Is this the child you spent my money on?" the leader asked.

"Please, let him go!"

"No, this seems like a great way to accept my fee," the leader said with a menacing smile, "Don't worry Gabe. I'll spare your life today. In return, I'll take your nephew's."

"No!" Uncle Gabe yelled, and he began crying, "Oh Lord, please don't! Take my life instead! You can't kill a child!"

The leader slowly raised his weapon towards Coby's forehead. Coby's eyes were wide with shock. It was over. His life was about to end. He would never become a bounty hunter. He would never leave Corneria. He would never even leave the city. Coby's eyes turned red, and he tightly closed them as tears began pouring down.

"Supreme Creator, please help me," Coby prayed, "Please, don't let me die!"

"Excuse me," a voice called out.

Coby opened his eyes. The leader turned around, and both Coby and his uncle looked to see who it was. Coby smiled with pure joy, and he cried even harder, yelling,

"Manco!"

The komodo stood with four of his comrades. He had his hands on his hips, grinning as usual.

"Sorry, but me and my boys actually like that kid," the komodo's teeth showed as his grin widened, "We can't just let you kill him and his uncle."

The leader huffed and pointed his weapon at Manco.

"Stay out of this smuggler," the leader ordered with a warning tone, "It's none of your business. This man owes me a debt, and he'll pay for it with his nephew's life."

Manco grin slightly decreased, and the komodo chuckled

"Oh, you're pointing a gun at me," Manco tilted his hat down, "Guess that means you want to fight us. Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

The leader snarled.

"I warned you, sewage spawn!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger.

What happened next, Coby couldn't really explain. Manco rotated his body, somehow dodging the laser from only a few yards away. His movement was so quick, Coby only saw a blur. The leader's eyes widened in terror.

"That's…that's impossible," he mumbled as the blaster shook in his hands, "Nobody can move and react that fast!"

Next thing Coby saw was the leader tumbling over on his back dead with a hole in his head. Once again, it was obscure to Coby's eyes what exactly had happened. Manco's quick draw was more than fast.

It was unnatural.

The thugs exasperated with surprise as their leader fell over. Manco spun his revolver around and holstered it, never breaking his casual stance

"Now then," Manco said lifted up his goggles to stare at the thugs with his large, green, lizard eyes, "You boys gonna throw your lives away too?"

"You…you ass hole!" one of the thugs yelled as he and his buddies began pulling out their blasters.

This time, Manco's crewmen did the job, but there was still nothing normal about it. Even though the thugs had a second head start on them, the smugglers managed to pull out their lever-rifles faster. Coby couldn't tell what was happening, and the thugs were killed in an instant.

Coby looked around at the dead bodies, still shocked from what had just happened. Soon, he felt the arms of Uncle Gabe wrap around his back in a large hug.

"Coby, oh Coby I'm so sorry!" he cried, "I'm so, so sorry!"

Recovering from his shock, Coby's face scrunched up as tears began to fall from his eyes. He tightly closed them as he turned around and hugged his uncle back.

"I'm sorry Uncle Gabe!" Coby cried, "I should've had a better plan when I threw that rock!"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry," his uncle said as he tilted Coby's head up to his eyes. His uncle beamed, "That was stupid, but very brave of you Coby. Thank you."

Coby smiled back. He heard footsteps approaching, and turned to see Manco looking down at them both with his contagious grin.

"Guess it's a good thing I kept an eye on you," Manco laughed.

Coby tried to keep himself from crying when he saw the komodo. He really wanted to look tougher, but he only succeeded for about two seconds. Coby began balling even harder when he jumped up onto Manco, wrapping his legs and arms around his torso.

Coby tried to speak, but he couldn't manage to say anything comprehensible. He only balled as he hugged his friend and guardian. Manco hugged him back, putting a hand behind his head.

"Hey, what's the matter kiddo?" Manco asked as he tilted Coby's eyes up to his own, still grinning, "Stop crying! It's okay now."

Coby tried to control himself, but he still whimpered as he buried his face in Manco's chest.

"I…I thought…" Coby mumbled, "I thought I was gonna die Manco. I really thought-

"Did you really think we would let our friend die?" Manco asked.

Coby eyes brightened a little, and Manco laughed.

"Besides, you still need to become the best bounty hunter, right?" he added, "Well, if that's the case, you can't die now."

Coby's eyes watered up again as he beamed.

"You…you really think I can do it?" he asked.

"No, not really," Manco said with a small laugh, "However, it's not my dream. It's yours. I might not think you can do it Coby, but I do want to see you try."

Coby didn't respond. He only laughed a little as he buried his face in Manco's chest.

Coby's Uncle looked at his nephew and his recent savior with bewilderment. Not knowing what else to do, he put his hands on the ground and buried his forehead in the dirt, literally bowing towards Manco.

"I'm eternally grateful," Coby's uncle said, "I don't know who you men are, but I owe you my life!"

Manco stopped smiling when he saw the man. His comrades, who were looking at the scene from a few yards away, looked dumfounded.

"Uh…is that guy bowing to the captain?" one of the smugglers said.

"He's weird," added another one.

Manco smiled awkwardly as he set Coby down.

"Uh, sure no problem," Manco said, "But you really don't owe us anything. Coby's a friend. We didn't save him for anyone's gratitude…no offense."

"No, none taken," the raccoon said as he stood up smiling, wiping his eyes, "You still have my thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Manco nodded like it was nothing. The komodo resumed a friendly grin, "You guys have been shaken up a bit. Tell you what; why don't you head down to the tavern with us and spend the night? We'll pay."

"What?" Uncle Gabe's eyes widened in shock at the man's generosity. The man had already save their lives, so he saw no right to accept the offer, "N-no, we'll be fine, thank-

"Oh come on, don't act like that," Manco laughed and outstretched his arm, "It's no big deal. I really want to talk some more."

Coby looked overjoyed with the proposal.

"Can we spend the night with them Uncle Gabe, please?" Coby begged.

Uncle Gabe blinked and then sighed, smiling. He shrugged and said,

"Alright, I don't see why not,"

Coby laughed with excitement, and the group began walking back to the tavern. Manco lagged behind a little to speak with Uncle Gabe. Coby stood right next to him.

"By the way, what was that all about?" Manco asked, "Why was that man trying to kill you and your nephew?"

Uncle Gabe blushed with shame and looked away.

"It's a long story, and it involves me being a tremendous coward," Uncle Gabe mumbled.

"I highly doubt that," Manco huffed, "Tell me more at the tavern. I'm truly curious about it."

The next day, Manco and his crew decided to leave the planet. Manco's crewmen packed up, but Manco himself had to accept Coby's farewell, but it wasn't really a farewell at all.

"Why are you already leaving?" Coby whined, "You guys can stay at the tavern for a few more days, right?"

"Sorry Coby, but we've got other things to do," Manco grinned at the raccoon.

"Come on, just one more day!" Coby begged.

"Captain! We're gonna leave soon!" one of the crewmen yelled.

"I'll be there in a minute," Manco yelled back, "Go ahead and fire her up."

"Aye captain," the man responded.

Manco looked back at Coby. The raccoon looked sad.

"Are you guys gonna come back?" Coby asked.

"Maybe someday, but don't get your hopes up. Smuggling's a busy business, especially in today's market."

Coby looked down with sad eyes. Manco stepped closer to him and got on his knees.

"But you can come see us in the future Coby," Manco said, "When you grow up and become a bounty hunter, you'll come after us, and then we'll spend lots of time fighting each other. Didn't you say you would become a threat to us?"

Coby looked back up at Manco.

"If you don't think I can do it, why do you keep counting on it?" Coby asked, "I know you want to see me try, but why are you making it sound like you know I'll succeed?"

"Coby, I'm gonna be honest with you," Manco said as he lifted up his goggles, "I'm only saying that because I think you can become more than a bounty hunter."

Coby's eyes widened with confusion.

"Like I said, it's your dream, you do what you want," Manco said, and then he chuckled and added, "But I just don't think it's a very aspiring dream. The best bounty hunter in the system? No Coby, I don't think you can do it. Because, in the future, when you discover more and more about yourself, you'll see that you're born for so much more than that. You'll understand that your abilities can take you through much greater lengths, and then you won't want to become the best bounty hunter. You'll want to become something even greater."

Coby blinked at the komodo. He didn't know what to say. He never thought he believed in him that much. Beforehand, Coby felt his spirits crushed by the man, but now he felt a little nervous by the man's expectations for him.

"What…what will I become Manco?" Coby asked.

Manco continued to grin as he pulled off his hat, putting it on Coby's head. That hat was way too big for him, and Coby had to lean it all the way back just to see Manco.

"Something great Coby," Manco answered as he stood up.

The komodo began walking towards his ship, and Coby cried out,

"Hey, what about your hat!?"

Manco didn't answer. He walked up into his ship, and the ramp closed. The ship lifted up off the ground, and blasted off towards the sky.

Coby watched as the ship passed through the clouds and out of sight. He took off his hat and looked at it. For some strange reason, Coby couldn't help but smile. He looked up into the sky again.

"You guys are so awesome," Coby whispered.