Wow, chapter 50 huh? Great Scott, I NEVER imagined this when I started this fic o_o. I expected this fic to be 'round 20-30 chapters long, but then a few unexpected things happened, like the Bentley and Priscilla romance, the Smuggle King joining the party, the Gajerras etc. And suddenly, this mammoth is fifty chapters long, and it's not even close to ending yet o_o... It's going to feel so weird when this finally gets wrapped up, and if things continue like this, I expect the ending to come somewhere around chapter 70... Yeah...

And omg, I'm having another one of those "Oh holy cheesecake, what have I written?" thoughts when it comes to this chapter o_o... Chapter 50 is a special one, as I promised... A little TOO special TT_TT

This is definitely the longest chapter yet, and in a while, this chapter will be probably the most gory thing I've ever written (and ever will write again), and I think I even managed to creep myself out here! So, I'm so, so sorry, any sensitive persons and hemophobiacs who happen to read this. I really am so, so sorry :(... Consider yourselves warned though! I'm pushing the M-rating to the max!

That's all I'm gonna say... Hope you'll somehow enjoy it anyway! (Keep a bucket close)

*** Chapter Fifty : The Madman ***

It didn't took long for them to reach the entrance to the Nest. While the posse from Dirt randomly scoured around the area, not even knowing what to look for, Jonas slithered up to the hidden door and pulled it open. Priscilla took a deep breath before walking towards the entrance, but Woodrow and Gus managed to brush past her and cautiously sneaked inside, their guns loaded and the hammers clicked back.

Inside everything was gloomy and dead silent. Not a single sign of life anywhere. But that didn't mean that they could relax just yet. At least not in Woodrows opinion, as he told everyone to stay on their toes as soon as they stepped inside. When sheriff Rango walked into the entrance hall, he couldn't help but to gaze up at the roof and whistle. Jake barely fit through the entrance, and was hardly impressed by the hall, although Jolene seemed more intrigued by the underground hideouts origin, and immediately began to pester Jonas with loads of questions.

Shortly after them came Mongo and Caleb, the giant accidentally gave them all a fright as he knocked over an unlit lantern from a crate. The glass and metal object crashed to the stone floor and shattered, making the posse quickly snap around with their guns drawn.

"Woah, we're sorry 'bout that!" Caleb hurried to say and threw his hands up in defense. Everyone went silent and listened if there was someone else who might've heard the lantern crash. But when no voices or footsteps were heard, Gus cursed something about a 'deranged freak', and turned to Woodrow.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone 'round 'ere, Woodrow..." The old jackrabbit said and holstered his gun again.

Caleb walked up next to Priscilla. "Yo slut, they're all probably stuck in the Basement, if Jet decided to lock 'em up that is" He said. "And I can bet my sorry ass that B's down there too!"

She cocked her head at him. "Where's the Basement?"

"C'mon!" He waved at Priss to follow him as he began to walk towards one of the corridors.

Woodrow noticed them separating from the group and immediately aimed his rifle. "Hold it, y'two!" He barked, and the two aye-ayes along with the overgrown mountain lion stopped dead in their tracks and turned to the old sheriff. "And just WHERE d'ya think you're goin'?"

"Listen gramps, we THINK we're goin' to find the others. I know where they might be!" Caleb replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Ya really think we'd let ya leave all by yourselves?"

"It would've been for the best, yeah. I can't imagine any universe where Rango might be happy in this situation, and I know that y'all might've noticed this, but when Rango gets mad he tends to get outta control. The last thing we need right now is a royally pissed off Rango meetin' his copycat over there!"

A silence which quickly grew awkward arose in the vast entrance hall as everybodys eyes turned to the chameleon sheriff. Sheriff Rango gulped nervously and shrugged.

"Y-y'all know I-I didn't mean to..." He stuttered, but were interrupted by Caleb.

"Yeah, well, try to tell Rango, the real Rango, that! Boy, you should've seen him after he 'eard 'bout you and yer tall tales! We had to shove a poster of a guy with a 5k dollar bounty on his head in his face to git him on other thoughts than to ride over to Dirt and separate yer body from yer head with his own hands!"

"Alright, alright! I guess I might've overdone a bit, but it was ten years ago, wasn't it?!"

"Overdone it a bit? Tell me, Rattlesnake-Jake, how did you react to the happy news of yer long lost brother Rango showin' up in a nowhere town and start yabberin' tons of bullshit?"

A fain grin was visible in the corners of the rattlesnakes mouth. "I r'member almost dyin' of laughter"

"Then you handled the news better than HE did!" Caleb pointed to another corridor, just to the right of them. They curiously followed his finger and saw who it was he pointed at; A tall, green lizard with a sharp fin on his head and a ridged tail, all dressed in black. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and watched the gang with narrowed, yellow eyes. The bountyhunter in black himself.

"I thought I heard somethin' over here!"

The reaction was instant when the posse from Dirt saw him and they all aimed their weapons at him. The clicking of multiple hammers being drawn back was deafening, and Jolenes growl of anger sent chills down the rest of the posse members spines.

"Y'all really gonna shoot an unarmed man, huh?" The bountyhunter smirked. "Congratulations, ya just stooped to my level!"

"Oh, we'll let this one time slip past the code..." Jolene snarled. "Ya shot my brother, ya filthy maggot!"

"Woah, watch that mouth, girlie! Did ya teach yer sister that, Jake?" Rango the bountyhunter moved away from the wall and let his arms fall to his sides. "An' for the record, I wasn't the one who shot Blake, Sam did!"

"Then I'll kill that Sam too, after I'm done with ya!"

"Listen, Jo, this day went to hell in a handbasket already this morning for both me an' my men, killin' me would probably piss them off even more. An' I ain't the only one who gets nasty when he's mad, Hicks has quite the temper too y'know!"

"Aww, poor lil' Rang-Rang an' his goons!"

Now it was Jakes turn to growl. "Then what do ya suggest we do instead?"

"Put down the weapons, I hate havin' those things pointed at me when I can't point back!"

Jolene laughed dryly. "As if!"

But to everyones surprise, Jake was the only one who withdrew his gatling-rattle. The others stared blankly at him in confusion before reluctantly following his example. The last one to put his rifle down was Woodrow, the old prairie dog snorted in dismay as he slowly let the muzzle point down at the floor instead.

"Thanks! I see Victor, Hog and GoldJack are here too huh? Great, first thing's first: where's Arrow?"

"She's outside with the other roadrunners. She's exhausted from movin' 'round so much, since she's hurt n'all..." Victor answered with a nervous nod to the entrance.

"Good, VERY good! Coral?"

"Thunder Wing just went to retrieve her, she'll probably show up here any minute now!"

"Perfect! An' Jonas, I'm terribly sorry 'bout yer Basement... I reckon you'll have a livin' hell gettin' that place cleansed out!"

The gray viper grew pale as the color drained from his face. "V-vhat happened?"

"Bentley happened"

"B-Bentley?" Priss made it past the group of Dirtonians blocking her path, pushing them aside using her unharmed arm.

Rango raised both of his eyebrows in surprise when the ex-deputy emerged from the group. Other than the damaged shoulder, the fresh slash on her temple and all the other minor wounds she had, she seemed fine. "Well, if this ain't a pleasant surprise!" He said and threw his arms out. "You're alive! Too bad you're too late, though..."

"W-whaddya mean?"

The bountyhunter scratched the back of his neck while scrunching his face in a troubled grimace. "It's hard to explain..." He mumbled and looked back up at the deputy.

She felt her heart skip a beat. "He isn't... hurt, is he?"

"I dunno..." He shrugged and shook his head. "Haven't seen him since he tried to crush my face..."

"WHAT?!"

"Nothin'!"

"Where is he now?!"

The bountyhunter hesitated for a while before answering: "Come with me..." And signed with a winking finger for her to follow him. Priscilla began to walk after him into the corridor, but a hand grabbed her wrist and held her back. She turned around and saw that it was sheriff Rango holding her back. With a frown she yanked her hand and ran to catch up to the bountyhunter.

The chameleon took a step back, surprised, but then he nodded to the rest of the posse. "C'mon, we better follow them!" He didn't have to say that twice. However, to the Rattlesnakes dismay, it turned out that the corridors were too narrow for the two large snakes, so they were more or less forced to wait in the hall. Jake rolled himself up in a bun and pulled the hat over his eyes, he was planning on finally getting some shuteye, but his sister didn't seem to agree.

"Why didn't ya shoot him, Jacob?!" She hissed angrily and swatted away his hat with her tail.

"Why didn't YOU shoot him, Jo?" Jake hissed back and retrieved his hat with an annoyed groan, as it had flown further away from him than his tail could reach.

"B'cause I thought YOU wanna shoot him! He tried to kill our brother, y'know, an' nearly did it too! But ya just gone n' let him go, AGAIN!"

Jake placed his hat on his head again and glared at his sister. "Shut it, Jo! I'm just as angry at that bastard as ya, but..." He paused.

"But what?!"

"But it's what that deputy said, that Als kids are on that Longway-guys side, that's troublin' me... Ya r'member Al Gajerra, dont'cha?"

"I couldn't forget that asshole if I so tried to..." Jolene mumbled and turned her head away. "After all, he's the one who killed...!"

"I know, Jo. I was there"

"So, that still doesn't explain why ya didn't blast Durangos sorry behind to kingdom Come!" She hissed and faced her brother again. "We had him right there, unarmed an' everythin' but NOBODY shot him! Do ya have ANY idea how pissed off that makes me feel?!" She snorted angrily, but before Jake could answer her she said: "Next time I see that slimy lizard, I'm gonna kill him! I don't care WHO gits in my way, I'll put him down like the monster he is!"

Jake arched an eyebrow at her. "Y'know, usually I'm the one who murders in cold blood..."

"How 'bout a refreshin' change? Let me handle the soul-dragging-down-to-hell business for a while, while ya take a vacation, eh brother Reaper?"

Priscilla had never been in the main storage before, but it was without a doubt one of the biggest rooms in the Nest, probably about the same size as the entrance hall! And as soon as she and Rango entered the main storage, she was instantly greeted by the gang. Seeing her alive and well was a great relief to them, even to Hicks. She was also feeling relieved that they were okay, or at least most of them;

Scrange was lying unconscious on a stretcher made from broken boards, sailcloth and ropes. He had a bloody bandage wrapped around his neck and torso, and a giant blackeye covered his entire left eye. As Priss walked up closer to the wounded rat, she could also make out scratches and nasty bites everywhere. And Bentley were nowhere to be seen.

"What's happened to Scrange?" She asked worriedly and turned back to the gang. As she looked closer, even the others seemed to be covered in bruises.

She barely finished the sentence before Fledge began to ramble about something in Spanish and wildly flail his arms about. "Scrange tried talkin' some sense to him, but he just gone n' attacked him..." Was Flitchs shortened down translation.

"Who attacked him?" She looked around, still no sign of Bentley anywhere. "An' where's Bentley? I-is he alright?"

The entire gang averted their eyes and some even began scraping their foot in the ground. "Bentley's down there... In the Basement..." Rango said after a while, pointing with his thumb at a staircase in the corner that led downward.

Priscilla frowned. "What's he doin' there?"

"Probably tryin' to break down the door. Or, that's what he was doin' a while ago..."

"Break down the...? Rango, what's goin' on here?" She staggered back, not knowing what to assume here. Her eyes wandered to the wounded rat, lying on his back on the stretcher and started adding two and two. "No..." She whispered when the horrifying thought of Bentley attacking his best friend appeared in her mind. "No, he can't have...?"

"We can't believe it either, girlie" Rango slowly shook his head. "I guess that today was a bit too much for him, especially with ya runnin' off in the mornin'..."

"I didn't run off!" She protested with a scowl. "I..." She paused and looked away. "I was gonna sneak away and warn Dirt 'bout...!"

"'Bout us?"

"Well, yeah, y'all, Jet, the underground lake... Crap!" At the last thing her eyes widened and she slapped herself on the forehead. "I forgot to tell 'em 'bout that!" The gang gave her puzzled looks, while Rango just nodded to her to go on. "Oh right. Well, I was in the stable when... When the Gajerras sneaked up on me an' they must've knocked me unconscious, b'cause the next thing I remember is wakin' up like this just a few hours ago in a quarry, along with the Jonas, Coral, Thunder Wing, Caleb an' the rest!"

"So, ya don't remember Jet usin' ya to press Bentley on the Valve key?" Hicks looked up from the ground and frowned at her.

She shook her head. "No, but Caleb told me what happened"

"So, ya didn't run away after all?" Rango tilted his head.

"No, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...!"

"Oh great..." Rango hopelessly threw his arms out. "Now I feel even worse for sayin' those things to him..."

She glanced over to the staircase again and worriedly bit her lip. "C-can I see him?" The rest of the gang hurried to say "no!" and shake their heads furiously.

"If ya really wanna, then sure!" Rango said, earning shocked and slightly alarmed looks from the others.

"Rango, a word?" Hicks snapped out of the shock and motioned with his head for them to leave the group. Rango nodded and followed the coyote, putting some distance between them and Priscilla, Sam and the porcupine brothers.

"Are ya outta yer mind, partner?" Hick hissed as soon as they got out of earshot. "Ya can't let 'er go down there! Ya saw him yourself, he'll kill 'er as soon as he see 'er!"

Rango shook his head confidently. "Nope, I disagree!" He said and folded his arms across his chest. "I reckon she's the only one he'd never hurt, it can't harm to send 'er down there"

"Can't harm?! Rango, he tried smashin' yer head against the wall, an' listenin' to ya now makes me think he might've succeeded! That THING down there ain't Bentley no more, we CAN'T send 'er down there alone!"

"Sure, we'll have to stand by, just in case, but we can't follow her in! Our presence might make things worse, y'know..."

"Worse? HOW can anythin' git any worse than this?!" But just as he finished that sentence the posse from Dirt, along with Jonas, Caleb, Mongo, Victor, Hog and GoldJack, entered the enormous storage room. "Of course... Wait, how did they git 'ere?" He cocked his head against the bountyhunter and gave him an annoyed look.

"Dunno, I think they followed Priscilla down 'ere, but let's focus on gettin' Bentley back first, 'kay?"

Sheriff Rango looked around in amazement at the main storage and spotted the bountyhunter discussing something with the coyote. The coyotes jaw was clenched shut and the ears were pressed against his neck, whatever they were discussing seemed to upset him. He turned his head to the other direction and saw Priscilla, together with the two porcupines, the bobcat Samuel and the rat. However, the rat looked like he just been thrown off a cliff into a pit full of rabid lions.

Upon seeing each other, the outlaws and the posse warily let their hands hover over their weapons. However, the smugglers just walked over to the outlaws and greeted them with short nods. Jonas slithered away as fast as he could to the Valve when he saw that the heavy metal door was open. It didn't take long before they heard a loud scream.

"HELVETE! INTE MINA SEMLOR OCKSÅ!"

Sheriff Rango gave Priscilla a confused look, but she just shook her head at them and shrugged. He then glanced over at the bountyhunter and the coyote again. "Umm, what are those two talkin' 'bout?"

"I think they're arguin' whether or not to let her see Bentley..." Sam mumbled and threw a nervous glance at Woodrow and Gus. They knew he was the one who had shot them during that sandstorm, and neither of them were especially happy at him for that.

"What? He's batshit again?" Caleb winced when Sam nodded in reply.

"Ya can say that again..."

"Great! This'll be a drag, won't it?"

When Rango and Hicks returned to the group, the bountyhunter immediately held up his palm against the tense posse and sighed. "Listen, I know y'all wanna arrest me an' would more than love to place a bullet between my eyes, but could that wait for a moment? We're kinda in the middle of somethin' here. Priss?" He waved at the young aye-aye. "You're comin' with us" She nodded and brushed past the puzzled gathering of men.

"Wait up!" Sheriff Rango piped up and rushed up to the three of them.

When the other Rango noticed who it was who spoke, he gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "Whaddya want, sheriff?" He spat out the last word, like it gave him a bitter taste in his mouth.

The sheriff ignored the tone of the other, taller lizards voice. "Where'she goin'?"

"She's gonna try to bring one of our men back 'to shape, an' drop the accent. It doesn't suit'cha!"

Sheriff Rango insisted on coming with them down the stairs, and the bountyhunter was all too tired of arguing to object. When the four of them walked down the stairs, they came out in a room about the size of a normal sized living room, an oval table stood in the middle of the room, and a lantern placed on it spread a dull, gloomy light on it's surroundings. Bloody tracks led from a door at the furthest end, up on the table and then up through the stairs.

"Scrange was bleedin' like a dyin'!" The black clad basilisk explained, but it did nothing to make Priss feel better about the blood. Instead she felt her heart rate pick up and her mouth felt dry.

They walked up to the door and Hicks put his ear against the cool wood. Everything was silent. Too silent. He shook his head at the others. "Can't hear 'im... But for all we know he might be right outside the door!" He flickered his eyes to Priscilla. "Are ya sure 'bout this, Priss?" She nodded. Suddenly, a faint sound was heard from behind the door and Hicks instantly pressed his ear up against it again. "I think he just laughed, it sounded distant though... Have ya got a gun?" He asked Priss again.

"Nah, the Gajerras took 'em..." She answered and shook her head. Without a word, Hicks handed her his revolver. She look at him in puzzlement.

"It's better to have one an' not need it, than to need it an' not have one..." Was the coyotes solemn answer to her silent question. She swallowed nervously and stuck the gun down in the back of her pants and pulled down her shirt over the handle to conceal it. When she was done she nodded to Hicks, who slowly opened the door.

Rango, the bountyhunter, stopped her before she walked in "If he as much as growls at ya, don't hesitate to call fer help. We'll be right outside, an' at any suspicious sound we'll barge in there..."

"An' shoot him?"

The basilisk hesitated. "If necessary, yeah..."

"I need to close the door b'fore he realize it's open, Priss!" Hick said impatiently and glanced inside. He couldn't see anything moving, and neither did he hear anything, but you never knew with Bentley...

Priss nodded and carefully scurried inside before Hicks closed and locked the door, leaving her in the room alone. Or, almost alone...

"W-will she be okay?" Sheriff Rango gulped when he saw the door close behind his deputy.

"We hope so..." The other Rango answered seriously and turned to the sheriff. "Why dont'cha go make yourself useful an' git us some firearms? An' hurry up, we never know when she might need us!"

Rango didn't hesitate, he immediately turned around and bolted up the stairs.

Priscilla heard the door lock behind her, and it made her feel even more uneasy as she stood in the dark room. Most of the lanterns and torches that were used to illuminate the Basement were crashed or snuffed out, leaving the room a lot darker than usual. As soon as her eyes got used to the darkness, she started looking around. Crates, boxes and barrels had been strewn across the room, some were broken with it's contents spread all over the place. The sides of the basement was lined with prison cells, all of which doors were open.

She didn't see any signs of Bentley anywhere, so she began to walk forward on the path between the two rows of cells when she suddenly staggered over something. She looked down and almost screamed with horror; on the floor lied the lifeless body of a desert lizard with a huge slash straight across his face and a torn up throat. She backed away from the corpse with staring eyes and took a new look-around. This time she saw the bodies littered across the floor, carcasses she previously mistook for contents from the broken crates.

She began to breathe harder as her heart drummed against her ribcage, the ground was spinning underneath her feet and she felt her stomach turn. The sight of the carnage made her wanna throw up so badly, but she managed to hold it in. Suddenly she heard the shuffle of feet and she turned around in fright, just in time to see a man quickly stagger up from the ground and bolt towards her. With a short shriek, she jumped out of the way and pressed herself against the cool bars of one of the prison cells, but the creature just ran past her for the door.

It wasn't Bentley, it was a mole rat with a freshly chopped off, bleeding tail. He threw himself at the door and desperately banged on it with his blood drenched fists.

"LEMME OUT! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, RANGO! LEMME OUT, I BEG OF YOU!" He screamed while pounding the door. "PLEASE LEMME OUT!" He was close to sobbing with fear as he turned around and screamed. Priscilla followed his eyes and spotted a familiar figure, slowly walking closer with his eyes locked on the mole rat.

The tall, strong, dog-like creature stalked closer to his terrified prey. Underneath the thick, heavy bangs his eyes were watching the mole rat squirm in terror. The left eye was twitching frequently and despite the darkness, his pupils were no more than small black dots in his frenzied, crimson colored eyes. The bloody muzzle and mouth was tugged up in a sinister, joyless grin, displaying all the sharp fangs in his maws. He was drenched in blood, especially his hands and around his mouth, and a constant, faint giggle originated somewhere back in his throat.

"B-Bentley?" Priscilla stuttered as the hyena walked past her, completely ignoring her.

The mole rat panicked and tried to get Rango to open the door one more time before bolting to the side, trying to run past the hyena. It turned out to be a big mistake, as Bentley threw himself at mole rat and knocked the much smaller rodent to the ground. The mole rat hit his head in the bars on the cell and was momentarily stunned from the hard blow, but he quickly regained his bearings and looked up at the hyena in fear.

"Ya lose, buddy!" Bentley chuckled, sending cold chills down Priscillas spine. He picked up the begging mole rat by the skull, which fit perfectly in the hyenas big paws and flung him across the room, laughing maniacally when the rodent hit the bars right next to Priss with a deafening clang, sending a chain reaction on vibrations through the entire row. She jumped to the side when the rodents skull cracked due to the impact and dropped sprawling to the ground. He was twitching for a while on the ground while blood ran from his nose and ears, before he finally lay still. Dead.

She stifled a scream by pressing her hand against her mouth and stared at Bentley with bewildered and scared eyes. She grew even more scared when she found that he was staring straight back at her. She thought he was going to walk straight up to her, but instead he turned his head away with an amused smirk and walked back to the dark corner where he had emerged from.

"Bentley...?" She gulped and slowly followed him, tip-toeing between the corpses. Some of the dead were still more or less intact, perhaps only missing an arm or a leg, while some where mashed to unrecognizable pulps, or just random dead meat tossed around. She was still fighting the nausea when she passed a barrel that was still standing up straight. The lid was missing and revealed that it contained blood splattered apples.

"Bentley!" She hollered, but the hyena ignored her once again. She picked up the apple with least blood on it and took a deep breath before tossing it at Bentley. It bounced against his head and got him to freeze up before slowly turning to face her. She tried to smile friendly at him, but the fear growing in her chest turned it into a nervous grimace. "H-hi, Bentley..." She staggered back upon meeting his eyes. Who ever this was, it wasn't Bentley. Not her Bentley. Not anymore.

His once so kind, cheering, slightly childish eyes were now the opposite; frightening, frenzied, eyes of a psychopath. The mischievous glint had been replaced by a bloodthirsty fire.

"Ya still here?" He snarled and shook his head. "You're a stubborn one, I'll give ya that!"

"W-what?"

"Usually when I see a mirage, they only lasts for a couple of seconds, but it's been five minutes since ya walked through that door an' you're STILL here!" He turned around entirely and glared at her.

"A m-mirage?" Priss shook her head again. "I ain't no mirage, Bentley! It's me!"

"Oh shut it, will ya?" He made it clear that he didn't believe a word of what she was saying. "It CAN'T be the real Prissy, I ain't fallin' for that, no siree!"

"Oh really?" She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head at him. "An' why not?"

"B'cause..." He paused and looked down at the ground. "B'cause you're dead!" He said and balled his fist. "Dead. I killed ya. I helped them kill ya!"

She lost her composure and took a step back. "Bentley, it's alright! I-I'm okay!" His shoulders began to shake. "C-calm down, okay?"

"Dead..." He repeated slowly. "Dead. Dead! Dead! DEAD!" He spun around and slammed his fist into a crate, crashing through a hole in the wooden box. She jumped in surprise and glanced back at the door far behind her. "You're all dead..." He said with an uncharacteristic cold voice as he slowly pulled out the contents of the crate.

"Wanna know the first thing I ever did in life?" He glanced at the startled aye-aye from the corner of his eye. "The very first thing I ever did, was to murder my own mother." He pulled out an orange from the crate and studied it while he spoke. "I couldn't walk, I couldn't crawl, I couldn't speak, hell I didn't even know what was goin' on 'round me yet! Still, somehow..." His lips curled into an eerie grin as he crushed the orange in his hand, the sweet juice staining everywhere. "Somehow I managed to kill the very one who brought me to life!" He dropped the crushed orange on the ground and retrieved a new one.

"Then, seven years later, it was my fathers turn to die. I was dumb enough to disobey him, an' even managed to convince my sister to follow me to see the Spotted ONES!" By the last word, he threw the orange at the wall. The fruit splattered against the dirty rock wall and bounced to the floor. "Anyhow, my father ended up with a bullet in his brain, b'cause his son was a spoiled lil' brat who couldn't follow the simplest commands!" He pulled out a new, smaller orange. "I have no idea what happened to my sister since she was taken away by the Spotted Creeps, but I bet she's just as dead too, AGAIN thanks to me!" He threw the orange over his shoulder, not at violent as with the previous.

"An' then we had the snake, Bucktoothed Buck, the ONLY guy on the entire ship to show me ANY kindness..." Another orange was retrieved, this one he threw on the ground and stomped on. "Crushed! SPLAT! Flatter than a pancake! When savin' my sorry ass from gettin' crushed by a fallin' mast!" The orange juice exploded from the crushed fruit and ran along the ground, mixing with any blood it happened to pass.

"Next person I lost was Corny..." He held a new orange, weighing it in his hand. "She was my friend, some crazy, spoiled girl who loathed the norm an' declared war against ev'rythin' considered girly. She wanted to be a teacher so badly, she used me as some sort of practice target an' taught me to read, write an' count. Even though she knew we'd both be in deep shit if anyone found out!" He chuckled and gently ran his hand over the smooth texture of the orange, smearing blood and orange juice in his wake. "We even did it once, but that was a mistake we both vowed to ever make again!"

At that, Priss couldn't help but to scowl and fold her arms across her chest. Thanks for tellin' me that now, ya lil' ass! She thought bitterly.

"An' when her father found out I was her friend... An' that she educated me on top of all, an' that we even..." He paused and gripped the orange with both hands. "He sent her away, an' next thing I hear 'bout her is that the school she was sent to burned down to the ground during the war. Five survivors, I doubt any of them were her. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have had to go there!" He gritted his fangs and clenched his eyes shut as he burrowed his claws into the soft fruit and ripped it in two pieces. He threw the two, dripping pieces in separate directions.

He kept pulling out and trashed new oranges for every name on the people he assumed were dead; "Granny Ama, Lottie, The Baxter family, lil' Rosie and her brother Roscoe..." With a sigh, he pulled out the final orange. "An' Prissy... My Prissy..."

Priss felt her heart skip a beat when he said her name, or the nickname he gave her. She had been listening with alarmed fascination to his rant. She didn't know whether to feel horrified or sad, she could just stand there a few feet away from him and cover for the splatting orange juices. But when he mentioned her, she felt tears try to well up in her eyes, but she blinked them away.

"When I saw ya the first time, I thought I had gone double-crazy. As soon as I saw ya, I felt... Weird. Like nothin' I never felt before! Happier than usual, an' perhaps slightly nervous. Ya were always so stern, so serious, an' still I knew that I liked ya the very moment I watched ya an' yer sheriff ride into town with the two wounded lawmen from Diego City. When Rango announced that he wanted ya in the gang, I was so happy. I was literally cheerin' loudly when he told Hicks to fetch ya, to talk to ya. However, maybe I was cheerin' TOO loud, b'cause he sent me away to the saloon. But that didn't matter, b'cause I knew I got to see ya ev'ryday! An' when I realized whatta sourpuss ya really were, I saw it as my duty to make ya laugh! My aunt told me once that girls love it when ya make them laugh, so I did! An' I realized I want'cha to like me the way I liked ya! B'cause I... Well, I love ya!"

While he was talking about her, Priss could notice a change in his behavior; he seemed more relaxed, genuinely happy, almost like his old self. Maybe the real Bentley was still in there somewhere?

"An' that night we spent together was, without doubt, the best night in my life. Sure, we were both a bit fuzzy in the head, but I r'member. It's been five years since I walked out from the Aventine farm, but it wasn't until when ya fell asleep right next to me I felt free for real! I could laugh b'cause I wanted to, not b'cause I had to! The nightmares I had seemed erased from the Earths surface, all thanks to ya! A-an' I promised myself that night, that I'd never, ever stop lovin' ya!" He gritted his teeth even harder, until he thought he felt blood trickle down from his gums. "But when we returned to the Nest, my nightmares grew worse. I started dreamin' 'bout'cha, dreamin' that ya were killed. An' my dreams came true... Ya died. First ya ran away, then they took ya away from me for good! I TRIED to save ya, I WANTED to save ya, but I just..." For a moment, he looked like the real Bentley. Or at least, like the real SAD Bentley. His ears were drooping and the big red eyes were starting to tear up, his shoulders were trembling as he dropped the orange on the ground. But then the sinister snicker returned on his blood covered lips and his eyes flickered to her, just as insane as before. "But that doesn't matter now! They killed you, so I killed them!"

He raised his head and tilted it slightly to the side. Priscilla felt her heart beat so madly she thought it was going to burst out through her chest any second, but she remembered his fathers words and tried to not show how scared she really was, in case it would make everything worse.

"I know what you're doin' here now..." He said and took a step towards her, but she stood her ground. For now. "You're here to haunt me, ain't that it? You're a ghost, a vengeful spirit, roho! Ya ain't gonna get some peace 'til you've had yer revenge, is that it?" He threw his arm out at the massacre around him. "Well, torment no further! I know neither of us can forgive me for what I've done, but I hope THIS is to any consolation for ya!" He laughed, a maniacal, spine chilling sound. "I killed some of the men who killed ya! An' when I've finally got that door outta the way, NOTHIN' can stop me from takin' down the rest! Ooh, I can't WAIT to see Panchos face when I show him his own insides!" The left eye twitched as he took another step towards her. "Just thinkin' 'bout it makes me so... gleeful! So excited! They'll all pay for what they did, dont'cha worry Prissy! I'll personally make sure of that! 101% satisfactory result guaranteed!"

"B-Bentley..." She took a step back as he slowly got closer to her. "S-stop..." She shook her head when it became harder and harder to hide her fear.

"Sure, I'll stop! WHEN THEY'RE DEAD!" He threw his head back and roared with laughter.

Her legs were trembling. Every instinct in her brain told her to turn around and hightail it outta there, but she just couldn't move. She still couldn't believe what had happened to him. As a matter of fact, she had NO idea what had happened to him! All she knew was that she wished for all this to be just another nightmare, from which she'd soon wake up.

"Well, I should get back to the door, shouldn't I?" He abruptly stopped laughing and turned to the half-empty crate of oranges. He lifted it down and began to walk up to the door. Priss quickly moved out of the way and watched as he lifted the crate over his head and flung it at the door. The crate loudly crashed into the door and splintered, oranges bounced out everywhere. "Dang it... Maybe I'll have to throw somethin' else..." Bentley said pondering and looked around. His eyes fell on the carcass of a rather large jackrabbit with overdimensioned drooping ears and his lip curled up in a grin once again. "Of course! Prissy, you're still here right? Why dont'cha meet an old friend of mine..." He said as he walked up to the jackrabbit and grabbed the ears, lifting him up to a sitting position. "Prissy, this is Gringo. Gringo, meet Prissy! Oh wait, ya already met her when ya bastards murdered her, didnt'cha?!" He growled and picked up the limp jackrabbit, staggering slightly due to the jackrabbits weight, as he tried to get closer to the door.

"Bentley, no! Stop it!" She yelled at him, but he didn't listen. He did the same to Gringo as he did to the crate: hoisting him up and tossed him at the door. This time the door began to bend inwards upon the impact of the jackrabbits corpse, muffled curses could be heard from Hicks on the other side when the door hit his ear and forced him to step back.

"Oh c'mon, what do they make these doors of?! Titanium?!" Bentley growled in disappointment and began to look around for more things, or bodies, to throw.

"W-what...? What're ya doin'?!" Priscilla sobbed in panic as Bentley found his next victim; a skink lizard with the bottom half of his body missing.

"What does it look like? I'm tryin' to break down the door!" He snorted as he bent down to pick up the small lizard. "I know I COULD ram the door myself, but I actually tried that b'fore an' now my shoulders hurt like a bitch! By the way Priss, meet Jones!" He picked up the skink by the neck and jumped in surprise as the organs fell out through the hole where the rest of his body once was. "Hah! Look, Prissy! Jonesys innards b'came his outards!" The mental hyena laughed, but his 'dead' girlfriend didn't.

"Bentley, please! I'm serious, listen to me...!"

Bentley snorted at her. "Why so serious?" He said and turned his attention back to the skink. A creepy giggle left his lips as he came up something he thought would be hilarious; he took his free, right hand and shoved it inside the lizards half-empty carcass. His hand squirmed his way up to the lizards mouth and after some fidgeting around, he managed to get Jones mouth to open and close as his hand did.

Bentley laughed at his macabre hand-puppet and turned back to Priscilla. "Howdy there, kids! This is the Uncle Bentley an' Mr Jones' show!" He said with a hysterically distorted voice as the lizards mouth was opening and closing, pretending to be a ventriloquist even though he wasn't very good at it.

Priss felt the color drain from her face and her stomach churned. She wanted to throw up at the mental Bentleys bizarre sense of humor, this couldn't be real... "Y-you're... insane!" She sobbed and took a step back to the wall.

Bentley snorted again. "No I'm not! I ain't crazy, I'm a ventriloquist!"

"What's the difference, really?" He made the skink say. "Both constantly talk to themselves an' laughs at their own jokes, don't they?"

"Ah, ya make a good point there, my good fellow!" The hyena smirked at his gory puppet. "Ya see, an insane person doesn't really talk to themselves; they talk to figments of their imaginations an' invisible people, they can't decide whom they're talkin' to! A ventriloquist however, creates an alternate personality an' uses it to communicate to the public with. The puppet is a dead thing, quite literally in this case, but ev'ryone knows it exists! An' it doesn't come to life until the ventriloquist say so! The ventriloquist is in full power of the puppet, while the mentally unstable fella can't control his imaginary friends!" To prove his point of the ventriloquist being in control of the puppet, he used the skinks arm to hit himself in the head. "See, I can even make ya hit yourself, however I can't get HER to disappear, which might mean that I perhaps could be a bit looney after all..."

"A lil' bit?! Buddy, ya think you're a ventriloquist havin' a discussion 'bout crazies with a dead guy, you're absolutely loco, amigo!" The skink snorted with Bentleys distorted voice. "Not to mention that ya SUCK as a ventriloquist!"

"What?! No I don't!"

"Yes you do, ev'ryone can TOTALLY see yer lips movin'!"

"Liar! If ya weren't already dead I'd kill ya to death!"

"No, ya can't do that! That be a form of suicide, wouldn't it?"

"Hmm, maybe ya got a point there, Jonesy..."

"STOP IT!" Priss screamed, not even trying to hide the tears rolling down her cheek. She's had enough. She wanted Bentley back, and she wanted him back now! "Bentley, STOP IT! Just... STOP!" She sobbed and leaned her head in her hands. "Stop..."

"Alright, alright! I heard'cha!" Bentley sighed and lifted the skink off his hand with a sickening schlurp. In his hand he held a jiggly organ about the size of his fist. "I know my jokes can be a a bit too much sometimes..." He said chuckled before lifting the hand with the unidentifiable organ. "... But you'll just have to learn to STOMACH them!" He laughed and threw the organ at her, she barely managed to jump out of the way in time.

She was looking at him with the fear clearly reflected in her eyes, her legs trembling. She didn't know if it actually WAS a stomach Bentley had thrown at her, but she really couldn't care either. All she could do was staring at him laughing his ass off while throwing the lizard at the door too. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and wiped the tears away. She tried to regain the illusion of being calm again, but she just had to open her eyes and look at him to feel her knees grow weak and her heart race.

"Bentley..." She said and had to concentrate hard to keep herself from stuttering or faltering on the words. "Listen to me Bentley, it's me. I'm me, the REAL me! I didn't mean to disappear like that, I was just gonna leave for a couple of hours, then I'd come back! I told ya I'd couldn't leave ya, y'know."

"Oh please, don't start again!" Bentley snarled at her. "Now you're just gettin' annoyin'!"

She ignored him. "I-I can't r'member ev'rythin' that happened, but I remembered that it was the Gajerras who kidnapped me, but I can't recall anythin' after that. All I know is that I woke up a few hours ago, saved by Caleb an' Mongo..."

"Ugh, I'm really startin' to hate those two..."

"When they told me ev'rythin' that happened, I just b'came so worried 'bout'cha!" She felt her throat tighten up and it became harder to speak. "I thought they hurt ya, or worse: killed ya! But now I see you're even worse than that!"

"What'cha talkin' 'bout? I'm healthy as a horse!"

"No, you're not! This..." She paused and held back the tears. "This ain't you! This ain't the real you!" She subconsciously began to walk up to him as she spoke. "Where is he? Where the guy who taught me that life's a game an' ya better have fun while playin' it?"

"S-shut up, ghost!"

"Where's the guy who claims to be a pacifist, yet loves to infuriate ev'ryone he meets just to see what would happen, an' builds weapons of mass destruction when he's locked alone inside a workshop?"

"Just go away already!"

"Why did he have to go? The guy who pulls practical jokes on people when he's bored, an' has the most contagious laughter I've ever heard..." She paused, coming to a stop just a few inches away from him. "Where's the guy I fell in love with?"

"ENOUGH!" He screamed and took a threatening step forward. She backed away again and in a flash she drew the revolver at him. His eyes dilated when they met with the pitch black muzzle of the barrel, but then he snickered and flickered his frenzied eyes to meet hers. "Go ahead, pull the trigger. Shoot me with one of yer non-existin' bullets an' watch me writhe on the floor, LAUGHIN'!"

She sobbed as she took another step back. Her hand holding the revolver was shaking uncontrollably, and she slowly lowered the weapon from his face. This was the first time she's ever held a gun against an outlaw threatening her, and she just couldn't find the strength to pull the trigger. Bentley sighed and shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Tragic, Prissy. Tragic..."

The muffled shouts from the Basement got them all tensed up. Since the crazed hyena inside tried to crash the door down again, more people had joined them in the guard room: Caleb, the porcupines, Wounded Bird, Hog, GoldJack and Woodrow had all poked their heads down there at the noise.

"How do we know if she needs help in there?" Caleb said and frowned at the coyote blocking the door.

"We told her to call for help if he as much as growls at her, an' we ensured her that we'd burst in at the slightest suspicious sound..." The bountyhunter replied without looking at the aye-aye.

"Well, it sounds to me like he's doin' a LOT more than growling at her!" Caleb continued. "An' I reckon it ALL sounds very fuckin' suspicious!"

"Why're ya suddenly so worried 'bout the 'tramp'?"

"B'cause this will be the fourth time I'll have to save her sorry ass, and it's gettin' mildly tedious by now! I REALLY don't wanna have to barge in there an' find B tryin' to maul 'er, I can only stand up for a person for so many times, y'know!"

They heard Bentley shout something again, and sheriff Rango threw a nervous glance at the door. "M-maybe we should, y'know, check what's happening in there...?"

The other Rango threw his a dark look. "Sure, go ahead!" He said, but as the sheriff reached for the door, Rango continued: "Stroll in there an' ya might doom yer deputy to an early death!"

Sheriff Rango gulped and backed away from the coyote and the slightly bent door. "W-what should we do then?"

"We wait... That's all we can do!"

"I'm THIS close to swat ya like a fly, but I know it wouldn't do me any good since you're just a GHOST! YOU'RE NOT REALLY THERE! YOU'RE DEAD!" Bentley yelled at her face.

"No! I-it IS me, Bentley! WHY WON'T YA JUST LISTEN TO ME?!" She retaliated, the fear was getting challenged by another equally strong feeling: anger. WHY did he have to be so damn stubborn all the time?! WHY couldn't he just reach his hand out and touch her, and he'll see for himself just how much of a ghost she really is! His denial was REALLY starting to get on her nerves!

She was forced to take a step back as he lifted his fist, like he was going to punch her. But instead he roared and spun around, slamming the fist on a wine-barrel instead, cracking the lid and plunging his fist into the dark red liquid inside. "WHY won't ya just LEAVE ME ALONE?!" He snarled as he turned around to her again.

"I ain't leavin' 'til I've got MY Bentley back!"

"ARGH! Why are ya so stubborn?!"

"YOU are the one bein' stubborn, Bentley!"

"Of course I am! I'm an hyena, whaddya expect?!"

"I expect YOU to frickin' get a hold of yourself an' see what the hell it is you've been doin'!"

"I've avenged you!"

"You've HURT me!"

He stopped and looked at her with a new expression on his face: confusion. "What?"

"Seein' ya like this has been one of the most painful an' horrifyin' things I've experienced..." Her voice sounded thick and sad thanks to the lump in her throat, trying to hold back the sobs. "This isn't you, Bentley! My Bentley would NEVER do somethin' like this!" She slowly moved her free hand up to his face.

He growled at her, pressing his ears back against his neck and bared his fangs. "Back off!" He snarled.

"No, not 'til I've made ya see I'm real!"

"BACK OFF!" With a roar he threw his fist out, hitting her on the side of her head.

Black stars danced in front of her eyes as she was sent crashing to the floor, but the sharp pain that jolted throughout her entire body when she landed on her damaged shoulder made her snap out of her half-conscious state. Her cry of pain as she crashed her shoulder on the ground echoed throughout the basement, making the men outside the door perk up.

"That's our cue!" Rango the bountyhunter said and drew his gun. "Hicks?! What're ya waitin' for! Just open the bloody door, already!"

"I can't!" The coyote snarled and threw his entire weight at the headstrong door. "It's jammed!" He cursed when the realization hit him. Whatever Bentley had been throwing, must have managed to wedge the door.

"Caleb?!" Rango snapped his head to the aye-aye, but he was already on his way up through the stairs.

"I know, I know! I'll get the big guy!" The teen hollered from the stairs. But when he leaped out into the main storage, he looked around in panic. He saw Doc, tending to the wounded Scrange with Gus scouting the area. Jonas was in the Valve, searching frantically for a new hat, but no Mongo anywhere. "For fuck sake, Mongo! Not now!" He shouted and bolted out to search for the giant.

Meanwhile, Bentley was staring down at the wincing aye-aye on the ground. She was clutching her shoulder and trembled in pain while blood seeped through the bandage. The corner of his mouth was tugged up in a grin. "Soo..." He mused, earning a frightened look from her. "You're that kind of roho ya can touch, eh? Does that mean I can 'help' ya disappear too?"

She shook her head and sobbed. "No... Bentley, no!" She tried to back away, but the sudden pain reawakening in her shoulder held her grounded.

"If I kill ya now, will ya promise to leave me alone?" He tilted his head in that eerie way again, the bloodthirst returned to his eyes. She didn't answer, just clenched her eyes shut and cursed at her shot shoulder. "I'll take that as a yes!"

With slow, dragging steps he began to make his way to the curled up woman, but suddenly he felt himself stepping on something and looked down. On the ground lied a dirty voodoo-doll. One of it's button eyes were missing and the gray yarn on it's head looked old and tangled.

Granny Ama... He stared on it for a while before slowly bending down and picking it up, just as Priss opened her eyes and looked at him. She saw the doll and was taken by surprise, she must've had it in her pocket. But why didn't the Gajerras take it along with everything else?

"Where did ya get this?" Bentley asked without taking his eyes off the little doll.

"Y-ya gave it t-to me..." Priss sobbed and managed to push herself up on her knees. Without the pressure on her shoulder, the pain eased up a bit. "R-r'member?"

He shook his head. "N-no... I gave it to HER! T-the REAL Prissy!" He looked back at her, this time the mental, murderous look was replaced by a look of fear and confusion. "Y-you're not her! WHERE did ya get it?!"

"Y-ya gave it to me, a-after I gave ya the scarf, a-an' ya told me I c-could keep it..." She paused, trying to focus on anything else but the pain. "A-a good luck charm..."

Bentley dropped the doll and it landed on the ground with a soft thud. "N-no..." He backed away. "Y-you're dead! I-I saw you! P-Pancho shot ya!"

"But he didn't kill me..." She forced her eyes to meet his. "Look at me, it IS me!"

"L-LIAR!" He screamed, sounding more scared than angry. "S-she lyin'!" He clamped his hands on the sides of his head and began to swing back and forth. "NO! S-she's just a ghost! She ain't real! She CAN'T be real, b'cause she's DEAD! They took her away!"

"An' I came back!" She slowly got up on her feet, staggering when the pain coursed through her once again. She hunched over and put her hand on her shoulder. "I-I came back, to you!"

"NO!" He answered without looking up. "Ya left me alone! All alone! As ALWAYS!"

"You've NEVER been alone, Bentley!" He slowly looked up at her with mixed emotions. "Y-yer father... I've met him, a-an' he told me that he's always been watchin' over ya! He's been there, even if ya couldn't see him. He's ALWAYS been there with ya!"

"Y-you're lyin'..." He shook his head. "Ya can't meet him! He's dead! Just like you!"

"I'm alive, Bentley. An' ya know...!" She was going to walk over to him, but the pain in her shoulder forced her to stop. She cursed and clutched at her bleeding shoulder. Could really use some of that disgusting tea Thunder Wing gave me...

Bentley was trembling, his mind cluttered with thoughts. He staggered to the side and tripped over something on the ground. He fell to the ground and landed on his stomach, next to whatever it was he tripped over. Breathing heavy, he heaved himself up on his elbows and looked over at the big, bulky object; it was the corpse of Burt. The shrews ears had been ripped off, he had a big, gaping hole in his stomach and his own hand was sticking out from his wide opened mouth. He stared with dead, unseeing eyes at Bentley, the milky white eye with the scar was slightly more opened than the normal one. Blood was splattered all over the shrews face, and the sight of the mutilated corpse made Bentleys entire mind come to a stop. He started screaming in fear and quickly got up on his knees, but he shortly discovered that his surroundings wasn't any better. Wherever he looked, he saw dead people. Mauled carcasses were strewn around the room, blood stained the cells, the walls, the crates and barrels, the floor and roof.

Blood.

Blood and death everywhere.

And in the middle of it all, stood Priss. Blood was running from her shoulder, where her arm was in a dirty sling. She was quivering in pain as she fought back the tears. Bentley felt the world rock underneath his feet, and his stomach turn in uproar. He couldn't take it anymore and staggered over to a barrel that was still standing and leaned against it. He felt nausea wash over him like a wave, and one last look at the carnage made him lean over the barrel and vomit. Despite just throwing up, he could still feel the taste of blood in his mouth. The retching returned when he discovered that he too was entirely covered in blood. The thick, red liquid was everywhere he saw.

He walked away from the barrel and slumped down against the bars of a cell and winced when he discovered the mole rat with the cracked skull right next to him. With a pained groan he buried his face in his dirty, bloody palms, trying to push the tears back. Suddenly he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and he jerked in surprise. He looked up and saw Priscilla, kneeling down beside him.

"Bentley?" She said worriedly, moving her hand to his other shoulder.

"I-is that ya, Prissy?" He bit his lip and threw a short glance at her hand. He could feel her, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was there.

"That's what I've told ya all this time, it IS me!" She managed to pull of a half-assed smile and leaned her head against his. She was getting bloodstains all over her, but she didn't care. He was back, he was FINALLY back! Or, mostly...

He didn't move, he just stared blankly at his surroundings. "I did this..." He mumbled and shifted his eyes up to her. "I did all this, didn't I?"

She sighed and withdrew from him. "No, ya didn't."

"Yes I did!" He averted his eyes again, staring down at the ground. "I'm a murderer!" He sobbed.

"No, ya ain't! YOU didn't murder them! It was..." She hesitated. "It was somethin' else..."

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the cool metal bars. "No, it was all me... An' I wanted to kill ya too..." When she didn't answer him, he looked back up at her. "I know it ain't 'nuff to cover for what I've done, an' tried to do, but I'm sorry, Prissy... I'm really sorry!" Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes, so he cursed and wiped them away. "Damn it..."

"It's alright, it wasn't yer fault, y'know!" She shook her head. "Ya really shouldn't blame yourself for everythin'! Just b'cause bad things happen to the people 'round ya doesn't mean it's yer fault! Take Corny for instance; it was her father who sent her away...!"

"Thanks to me..."

"Well, yeah, but he could've let her stay too! Ya didn't want her to leave, right?" He slowly shook his head. "See? Ya didn't decide to send her away, her father did! IF somethin' happened to her, it's HIS fault, it ain't yers!" He didn't answer to that. "Look, as I said; I met yer dad, an' he told me that yer sister..."

Suddenly his ears perked up slightly and he tilted his head at her. "Ya really met him?"

She nodded. "Tall fella, brownish yellow fur, dark spots and grayish mane? He had a strand of hair hangin' like a pendulum from his temple, an' he was constantly chucklin'... It grew kinda annoyin' after a while!"

"Yeah..." Bentley smiled faintly and looked away. "That sounds like him alright..."

"Anyway, he didn't say anythin' 'bout yer sister bein' dead either... I think she's alive, Bentley! She's had it pretty rough, an' probably lost her mind too, but she's alive!"

He looked back up. "Y-ya think so?"

Priss nodded. "An' I almost forgot, yer dad asked me to tell ya 'hi'! Oh, an' there was somethin' more..." She scrunched up her face in concentration as she tried to recall those foreign words. "I think it was nakupenda... Nakupenda wanango or somethin'"

He tensed up and stared at her. "N-nakupenda mwanangu?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

He was silent for a while, before his shoulders began to tremble. He didn't answer when she asked him what was wrong, instead he hung his head even lower and seemed to struggle to breathe.

She frowned in concern and sat down in front of him, trying to reach eyecontact. "Bentley? What does it mean?"

"I-it means..." He sobbed and leaned forward, resting his head on her undamaged shoulder. "It means... I-I love you, m-my son..." He started sobbing, and when Priss placed her left, free arm around his neck and hugged him, he responded by throwing both his arms around her and pull her close. Almost squeezing her like a snake while burying his face in her shoulder.

"Nakupenda pia, baba..." He sobbed before he began to cry a river into her shirt. Not sobbing quietly like he used to, but wailing loudly. She couldn't help but to feel the tears burn behind her eyelids as well when she nestled her fingers in his mane and leaned her head against his.

Maybe I should've delivered that message AFTER he's calmed down... She thought and felt her own tears trickle down her, by now blood-smeared, cheek.

Suddenly the door to the basement was barged open by a giant mountain lion, the crates and bodies were roughly pushed to the side and what seemed like a minor army of men swarmed in with their weapons ready. They all stopped dead in their tracks as they were met by the ghastly scene, and sheriff Rango fainted, slowly dropped in a pile on the floor.

"What in tarnation...?" Woodrow growled and took a step back.

"Oh, I think it turned out to be a false alarm..." Caleb said and poked his head up behind the group of men and pointed at the hugging pair.

Priss turned her head to the gang and angrily narrowed her eyes. She untangled her hand from around his neck and waved it in a shooing motion at the men. Rango, the Rango who was still standing, turned around and motioned for the men to go back into the guard room. His eyes went down the chameleon sheriff who fainted, he was giggling and mumbling in his sleep. The other Rango rolled his eyes and first poked with his toe on the chameleon, before kicking him in the shin.

Sheriff Rango woke up with a yelp. "The Germans are comin'!" When the other Rango hushed angrily at him, he jumped in surprise. "AHH! What're you doing he...?" The basilisk pointed angrily at Bentley and Priscilla, sheriff Rango followed his finger and saw them. "Oh, I see..."

When they were back in the guard room with the rest, leaving the two for themselves for a bit longer in the Basement, Rango turned with a relieved sigh to others.

"GOOD, now I can check the mental hyena off my list too! Whats next?" He let his eyes travel over the men from Dirt. "Oh, that's right!" As on a cue, all weapons were immediately drawn and the two sides aimed at each other. "Now, can ya hillbillies please tell me what you're doin' here, instead of defendin' yer beloved town 'gainst an army of ex-smugglers, two walkin' morality issues an' a greedy raccoon with megalomania?"

Holy shit, this chapter will definitely go down in history or something! DAMN, Bentleys freak-out turned out worse than I intended o_o! Not sure what I myself think of this story though, all I know is that I didn't mean for it to get so bloody, it just... happened :(

And I'm really, really, really, REALLY, sorry to hear that your lunch ended up on the floor, and that your coming weeks will be littered with nightmares about crazy hyenas :(... To be honest, I think I failed when I said I wasn't going to let the creepiness and goriness go overboard... Failed hard!

My excuse? Repo! The Genetic Opera... That's where the thing with the sock-puppet comes from... But look at the bright side: this is the ONLY time I'll EVER write about someone using a dead guy as a sock-puppet!

EEEUWWWGGH!

Anyway, I'll take this opportunity to thank all and everyone of you who reads this fic, and ESPECIALLY to those of you who also writes reviews! Like StoneColdAphrodite, Bat13SJx, Canzet Yote. Your reviews are literally what keeps me going with this, and it might take some time before I get the time to check the reviews, but you guys ALWAYS manage to put a grin on my face when I read them :)! You guys are awesome beyond words!

Now, I've probably stretched the M-rating to the limit here... I'll go and see if Niko wants to share some of her beloved vodka...

See y'all next chapter! If I haven't scared everyone away with all the gore ;_;... Hyenas aren't funny when they snap...

Sorry...

Oh, and if anyone wanna know: this chapter breaks an amazing SWG record by being whopping 14 pages long! Fun fact;)

As usual, I blame google translate for any incorrect Swahili...

... I still can't believe I actually wrote this TT_TT...