Disclaimer: I don't own the shows or the songs, they belong to Rooster Teeth and their respective owners, who are named every song.
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Song: All Gone- Gustavo Santaolalla
Near Ain Ranch
York
"York, look." North pointed to the sky up ahead. York followed the man's line of sight, then saw orange light licking at the sky and smoke rising towards the moon.
"Something's not right." Maine growled.
York nodded. "I think something's happened." He said worriedly, then spurred his horse into a gallop.
The others quickly followed suite, and they rounded a hill to see a blazing fire on the Ain homestead, a group of people surrounding it and hooting as it rose.
"No!" York heard Hunter shout. "Mom, Dad, Forrest!"
Her horse took off running, the girl giving a war-cry of rage as she drew a rifle from a case.
"Hunter!" Ruby called, and they all charged, drawing their weapons. Colt slid off North's horse, drawing his own rifle and pulled up his mask and hood. He starting firing, as did Hunter and Ruby, and the men started shouting out, their forms rushing to their own weapons.
A huge gunfight followed as North took cover behind the primary wall, the others charging in. York took aim with his shotgun, holding his reins between the teeth as he blasted a nearby man.
Next to him, Maine had body-slammed a man by leaping off his horse. The giant got to his feet, then grabbed an approaching man, armed only with a knife, by the throat, then threw him into another, who was taking aim with a revolver.
Hunter had drawn her short sword and was tearing into a man's chest, sorrow and anger covering her features as she killed the man.
Soon, the sniping done by Colt, Ruby, and North, the chaos created by York, Maine, Hunter, and Rowan, had killed, maimed, or seriously injured all of the men who had been present. York returned his BR to his horse, luckily unharmed in the firefight, after making sure it was fully loaded.
"What the hell happened?" Colt said after jogging up, hood down but mask remaining.
"They're Cowboys." Hunter told us, the young teen kneeling next to one of the men. "They all wear these." She told them, pointing at the red scarf on the man's neck. "They all wear red, either a scarf or a sash, but if it's a red accessory, it's a Cowboy."
"I thought your parents had no problem with the Cowboys?"
Maine growled, then lifted a conscious Cowboy off the ground by the neck. "Then I suggest that we find out what happened."
The man, who had been shot in the arm and leg by Ruby, spat out blood. "I'm not talking."
"Tell him, before he dislocates your arms." North suggested. "Besides, what's the harm?" Maine added a little pressure to the man's arm, as if he was about to break it.
"We came here for horses, but he wouldn't give 'em to us. We set fire to the place, and then we were gonna grab the horses and leave." He said in discomfort, then a bullet went straight into his forehead.
Everyone turned to see Hunter holding a revolver, barrel smoking as she shook, tears threatening to come. She dropped the gun, then fell to her knees, sobbing with her head down.
Immediately, Colt was at her side, a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey. Don't cry." He told her, and she looked up.
"Everything's gone. My family, my home." She choked out.
"I promise, we'll make every last Cowboy pay for what these guys have done." He growled, looking at the fire.
She looked up, a cold gaze meeting another. "Okay." She said, a steely tone taking her voice.
"We need to get set up. Hunter, can you take Colt and go get a horse?" York asked. Hunter nodded, and Colt helped her to her feet, then they walked off towards the stables.
"He handled that perfectly." North told York.
The tan Freelancer nodded. "I hope he doesn't go too far on that promise."
Maine growled. "These people are the bad guys, York. We need to take them out, free the people of this life, and the local authorities sure as hell aren't doing anything about it."
"We need to get Ruby back to Beacon, I'm not putting her in danger again." York told them.
"Hey! I'm right here, you know!" Ruby cried. "And I wanna help."
"No, we need to get you back to Vale."
"But I can stay with-"
York shook his head. "No. We need to get you back. We had a mission, you got to help, I'm not letting you get into this."
Maine growled. "Maybe we can bring some other Freelancers to help while we're there, reinforcements."
"Yeah, that sounds good."
Ruby groaned. "I'm not going anywhere, York! I'm staying to help."
"You guys are leaving?" Colt asked, now holding the reins to a black stallion with a white star and stripe with four half-socks.
"Yes, we're heading back to Vale to get restocked and get reinforcements, then we're coming back here to help stop the Cowboys."
"There's not enough time, York!" Colt growled. "The Cowboys could have killed even more innocents while you're gone. We need to stay."
"And I'm staying, too!" Ruby yelled.
York shook his head.
"I need to go back, I need more ammunition." Maine growled.
North nodded. "I need to check up on South, she should be fine, but I need to see for myself."
Rowan shrugged. "I'll stay with them." He told the Freelancers.
"Then I guess this is where we go our separate ways." Colt said.
Maine nodded. "I'll see you soon, kid."
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Song: Flawed Legacy- Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori
San Rojeros
Colt
I looked to San Rojeros atop my new horse, Midnight, who also seemed to be scanning the city.
You see anything, Midnight? I sent, using my telepathy.
The horse shook his head with a snort, and I smiled. Behind me, Ruby, Rowan, and Hunter rode along the trail. I wore my trench coat over a short-sleeved version of my armored suit, the bicep armor missing and sleeveless the only change. On my head rested a flat-brimmed hat, much like York's, and a pair of shades underneath. My Punisher Rifle lay in the open-top saddle case, a .30-30 on the opposite side.
I had already spotted four Cowboys before even entering the city, then another five only riding a few feet.
I looked to Hunter who gently tapped the butt of her own rifle, and shook my head. Now was not the time to strike.
"Colt, where are we going?" Ruby asked.
"To an old… you know what, I don't even know what to call the relationship between me and Sarah, but she'll be able to tell us all about the Cowboys, who leads them, where they hang out, stuff like that."
With that, I led them to an old shack near the edge of town, the wood very old and brittle, creaking as we stepped onto the front porch.
"Who's there?" A woman's voice asked.
"It's Colt. That kid that saved your tail back two years ago." I said to the door.
"Colt?" The door cracked open to reveal a woman with tan skin and blonde hair, shoulder-length. Sarah was 37, and lived alone in this shack. "Oh, Oum. It is you."
"Let us inside?"
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Song: Ghosts of Reach- O'Donnell and Salvatori
Ruby
The woman Colt called Sarah set a few glasses on the table, filled with water. I took an immediate sip. "So, Colt. What are you here for? Last time I saw you, it was your back going up a mountain." She asked
"Is it hard to believe I finally came down?" he quipped, planting a foot on top of the table.
"Hard to believe you're still alive." She corrected. "And get your feet off my table."
Colt grinned and replaced his feet on the ground, Hunter rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "We came here for information." She told Sarah. "On the Cowboys."
Sarah's face darkened. "Why are you looking for info on the Cowboys, Colt?"
He sighed. "We're taking them down."
The woman laughed for a few seconds, then grew somber. "Kid, you don't have a chance taking those guys on. Colt wouldn't even survive ten of them."
"We're not alone, and you'd be surprised at what we can do." Colt told her.
"Well, if you wanna take down the Cowboys, you start with the ties they have in the towns they basically run. Then, should they let you live after that, it's never going to be over until you can get to the head honcho, Curtis Lowe."
Colt shook his head. "Curtis won't be the problem, it'll be weeding out the rest that try and run."
Sarah nodded. "I agree with you. You're gonna have to take most of them out, so they won't be a problem, and make sure the towns are ridded of their corrupted mayors and sheriffs, otherwise it'll be like a weed, growing back until you take out the roots."
Colt nodded. "You know who we need and where they hang out?"
"Curtis is usually in Ferris' Saloon every Friday night, and the sheriff and mayor are usually with him. You've got till then to start weeding out the men that loiter around here, so he won't have any reinforcements."
"Anything else?"
"Curtis' second-in-command, Felix Sharp, he shows up every Saturday in the Old Crow."
"Over in Red Village?" Colt questioned. And the woman nodded.
"Is that all?" Rowan asked while standing. "I'm in a hurry to get started."
"All that I think you'll find useful." Sarah confirmed, and we all got to our feet.
"Hey, Colt, now you're off that mountain in one piece, maybe you should come by and visit."
"I might. And can we use your stable for our horses?"
"Sure thing, kid."
"Anyway, let's get going." He told us, and we stepped out of Sarah's home, where our horses waited.
Gunfire sounded next to Ferris' Saloon, and a man was shoved through the doors, then a second man, a red scarf on his neck, stepped out, a revolver in hand.
"Next time you think I'm cheatin', remember that pain your feeling in your leg." He cackled, a couple of his Cowboy buddies joining him through the swinging doors.
Colt scowled, then looked to the side. "Hunter, I'll let you take them." He told the girl next to me, who quickly went to retrieve her rifle.
Colt turned to look at me. "Ruby, I know this isn't your style but until we have somewhere to put these guys that won't immediately spit them back out, some of these guys will be killed."
I looked into his eyes, filled with worry for me, and sadness, something that always seemed to be there, in the corners.
"I understand."
He gave me a weak smile. "Alright. For now, why don't you take the horses around back, put them with ole Apricot."
"What will you do?"
"We came here to rid the streets of Cowboys." He said to me. "It starts now." He looked to the other member of our small team. "Rowan, there's a camp outside of town. We're going to go clear it out."
Rowan chuckled. "Now we're talking."
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Song: Blow Me Away- Breaking Benjamin
Colt
Rowan and I waltzed into the Cowboy camp of tents and pavilions, my sword, Shadowsteel, in my hand. Rowan held his own blade, named Anima.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" A man asked after emerging from a tent. I drew my Deagle and fired twice, the recoil dampeners making it so I could shoot accurately with one hand. The man fell dead a second later, but another was charging, a cavalry saber in hand.
I parried his blow with Shadowsteel, knocking it to the side and striking his foot with enough force to make him trip. The next man held a rapier, and I ducked under his swing, then sent a sharp jab with my elbow into his neck, knocking him to the ground. Rowan, whose grey trimming on his clothes was red, flipped the man over and stabbed him in the heart.
Two men, each armed with a shotgun, approached. I fired with the Deagle, killing the two men with shots in the chest, then turned to block the blow of a brawler Cowboy, armed with only his fists. I cut off his arm, then sliced him across the chest.
"Colt, duck!" Rowan called. I dropped to the floor, and a high-pitched whine came from behind me and a fire Dust round whizzed over my head, about as large as a fist, colliding with a large man wielding a chain-saw, and blowing him off his feet. I rolled to a stand, then sliced into a man's chest, through the ribs and into his lung.
A group of men now approached, with an assortment of guns, and Rowan shouted a warning. I simply clenched my left fist and raised my arm in front of me, a round shield flickering to life, then lifted it over my head, the shield expanding to a dome that blocked all of their bullets.
Rowan stood with his flintlock ready, the whine back in my ears. I switched from my sword and pistol to my SAW M249 before releasing the shield, spraying the squad of men with bullets. Rowan fired again and again, and soon, nothing remained, and there was silence.
I switched back to Shadowsteel and my rapier, a one-edged blade a quarter-of-an-inch thick with a crossguard that had two slender poles that ended in nubs, one side curving up towards the blade, the other down at the hilt. The knuckle bow was crisscrossed lines of metal twisted and intertwined between two curved poles, making a guard like a pirate's cutlass.
"Make sure there are no survivors." I told Rowan, and he nodded.
"You did good, Colt." He told me, that ever-present grin I knew was there hidden by his mask.
"Let's hurry, before more show up." Then I tapped my covered chin. "Actually, take as much time as you wish, the more of these guys we take out, the sooner we cure this area of the disease."
"You seem really at peace with killing other people." Rowan commented.
I shook my head. "Actually, I'm killing them now because we can't put them in jail. They can't be left with the possibility of escape, so for now, we take them out once and for all. As soon as we do have a place for them, though: I won't kill as often."
"I will." Rowan said darkly, but I got the odd feeling that his grin was still there, and it had gotten a whole lot creepier for a few seconds.
