Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms. This is the first in my series that will tie all of the games together. If you want to contact me you can email me at ericpaladin@hotmail.com
Full Circle
By David Knight
Chapter 3: The Lady of the Fast Draw
The young woman was trying her hardest to run away. She had to get away this time or she knew that the monster would make things even worse for her. Blonde hair and blue eyes, she was a beauty, but she had definitely seen better days. Her life was hell and she was determined to escape it. She wished she could have taken her father's keepsake with her but the monster kept it with him, showing it to her only to mock and humiliate her.
_I don't care what happens now...I just want to be free... how can no one be brave enough to stand up to that monster after all of this time?_ She asked herself.
*BANG!*
_Oh no! They've found me!_ the girl cried to herself as she kept on running, trying to escape from this hell. If she could only get to another town, or at least out of the wastelands near the village, then she'd have a much better chance at gaining her freedom.
However, it would appear that the Higher Forces were not looking down upon her today.
"Ahhhh--!!!" she screamed and all she saw then was darkness.
* * *
Moments later, several men came to an open ditch, which had been a camouflaged trap hole. Inside was the young woman trying to escape.
"Gotcha again you little jackrabbit," a portly fat man in beige clothing and a 10-gallon hat sneered as he turned around to his men, "Haul the brat out and let's head back to town. Butch will be glad to get that little brat back and pay us the bounty for her."
"Wonder what he'll do to her this time," one of them laughed.
"I think we all know what. Now get her out of that hole." the fat man sneered.
"Sure thing, Sheriff Marty."
* * *
Meanwhile a certain Dream Chaser unfortunately was having a stroke of bad luck himself.
_Now did they say east or west of the train tracks... or was south and then go north and then east... oh I knew I should have asked for a map!_ Rudy groaned as he mentally berated himself for getting lost. He here was, the last of the Holmcross, one of the three Dream Chasers to help destroy the Metal Demons, defeated Ziekfried three times.
And he couldn't even get anywhere without a map.
"Argh...can't I get a break?" Rudy groaned as he dropped his Bayonet and sat on the ground. There he sat, cradling his head in his hand while sitting with his legs crossed. Taking a look around the wilderness around him, he saw a broken signpost in front of him. It looked faded but Rudy could still read it. It didn't look too faded. Not as far as it being hundreds of years old, maybe just one, maybe two.
But it was what he read that made his eyes widen.
Surf Village - Ten Miles South
Jolly Roger - Twenty Miles North
_Surf... it still exists... and it's near Baskar?_ Rudy blinked as he looked at the sign post. Maybe a new town had been made up here and had the same name as a town that held some memories for him both pleasant and unpleasant. Still just the name plus the fact that it was closer for him to walk there than it was for him to walk to Jolly Roger was a plus. Also it was midday and common sense told him that it would be better to spend the evening there and start out for Jolly Roger in the morning.
Just one thing occurred to him though.
"... I have no money," Rudy groaned as he decided to fish through his pockets. He had the ammo clips but considering they were widespread they probably would be cheap to buy and probably just as cheap to sell. His medical supplies he would need and he wouldn't sell his ARMs even if all hell froze over.
_... wait a minute!_ Rudy quickly fished in through his back pocket and found it. "Come on! please don't be cracked or ruined because of the fight with Lord Blazer!" Finding the pouch he opened it up and emptied into his palm. Purple and green dust came out first and Rudy cursed. "Shit! There go the emeralds and amethysts!" However his eyes locked onto the three small gems that came out, two diamonds and one ruby.
"Jack, thank you so much..." Rudy smiled remembering how Jack had given to him a small bag of priceless gems, saying it to be a way of thanking him for saving his butt all of those times and in case he ever needed gella. Living in the cabin in the mountains, Rudy didn't have any need for money.
Now he did.
"Hope there's someone in there that can give me good enough of a deal on these gems...and not try to cheat me..." Rudy mused. Slinging his Bayonet back over his shoulder, he started to walk in the direction of Surf Village.
* * *
The young girl groaned as she started to wake up but found to her dismay that she was now in shackles and that two men were watching over her in the horse driven carriage they were in.
She tried to for back her tears. She knew what had happened. She had failed... and now she was be taken back to that hell.
Back to Surf Village.
* * *
When Rudy entered Surf Village, he saw that it was very much like the Surf he remembered. Wooden houses and people outside. Not much had changed about the style of clothing either.
What he did notice was there something different about the people. For some, they looked haughty and confident. Others looked tired, fear underneath their emotional masks. As a Dream Chaser, he had seen so many people, gotten to know how some people hide their emotions or how some people had a darker nature within them. He could not judge on looks alone though. It was also the words, tone and actions of a person that allowed Rudy to know the type of person he or she was. Deciding to look around now, he spotted something that got his attention. An ARMs Dealer.
_Guess I'm going to have to get used to seeing ARMs being sold as normal weapons._ Rudy shrugged as he walked into the ARMs shop. He looked around and saw a young man behind the counter. "Hello there."
"Yes. Can I help you Drifter?" the ARMs seller asked. He became concerned when Rudy frowned.
"I'm not a Drifter," Rudy stressed the not in his statement, making it clear that he didn't want to be confused with Drifters, especially after seeing what Janus Cascade and his two buddies were like. He walked up to the counter window and started to go toward the pouch on his belt while he spoke to the dealer, "Do you know where I can do approximations for selling items?"
"Doc Henesy is out of town for the week so the General Store is closed until he gets back," the man explained, "Can I interest you in anything though? If you were to buy something I could possibly give you a trade in though."
Rudy thought about what he said and found it strange that a General Store for a town would be closed for a week. _That is just really weird._ he mused. He looked back at the ARMs seller, "You have any Bayonet Shells?"
"Bayonet Shells...hardly anyone uses a Bayonet these days... though I do have three types. MultiBlast, Shotweapon, and BoltAction."
"BoltAction?" Rudy enquired.
"It allows the user of a Bayonet to drive into a shooting and slashing combination attack," the ARMs seller explained. "The shot stuns who, or whatever is hit by it, allowing the user of the Bayonet to get in a slash or stab. Costs about 4000 gella."
_4000!_ Rudy blinked as he looked at the man. Regaining his composure he asked, "How much you think you can give me for this?" Rudy pulled out one of the diamonds from his pouch and showed it to the ARMs seller, who took it from Rudy and studied it for a few long moments with a magnifying glass. After awhile, he came to his decision.
"5500."
_WHAT?! Jack said it could be worth maybe 10,000 at least!_ Rudy stared yet again at the man, however he also noticed something about him. It wasn't greed, but something else. _Still I need the money. 'Sides, 1500 will be enough for now and I get a new part to this ARM._ "Alright. We have a deal."
After making the transaction Rudy left the store and the ARMs seller breathed. "Thank god that went well..."
"Matthew," a deep voice spoke from behind him.
The young man whirled around to see a man standing seven feet tall, wearing nothing but black. On his sides were two handgun ARMs. "Mr... Mr. Kane..."
"You are behind in your protection insurance..." Mr. Kane said with a smirk on his face as he went for one of his ARMs. "I think I told you what would happen if you were late again."
"Wait! I have the payment! This single diamond here! Its worth more than enough to cover everything that I owe you!" Matthew pleaded from his knees, holding it out gem for him to see.
The man in black took the diamond and looked at while another person entered in from the back door. "Butch, the Sheriff brought back little brat for you."
Butch looked back toward his man before looking back at Matthew. "You're lucky I am in a good mood and my lady needed a nice gift. But remember, just thirty more days until your next payment is due, and this time...I give you no time extensions." he laughed as he walked out through the back with his cohort.
All Matthew could do was cry on his knees wishing that young girl had actually made it out of this hell that had once been their home.
* * *
As Rudy left the ARMs seller's building, he started walking around and after getting more of a feel of what this Surf was like; he wasn't exactly liking what he felt.
_Maybe I should just carry on and walk the thirty miles over to Jolly Roger,_ Rudy decided. _This town isn't very friendly and it just doesn't feel right to me._ He was about walk out of town when he got pushed to the ground by a group of men who looked rather suspicious to him.
"Get out of our way chump!" one of them sneered as he actually kicked Rudy while he was down.
"Yeah! You're interfering with the Law!" Another laughed.
_The Law? You have GOT to be kidding me!_ Rudy stared in disbelief as he started to get up. Sure enough as he looked at this group of men, half of them were wearing outfits of bandits that Rudy had seen in his time and others were of lawmen by seeing their badges but they weren't like the one he was thinking about though. _Especially considering how rare they are._ he smirked at that thought. However, he found nothing funny in the way he saw how two opposing groups were actually seeming very chummy with each other.
"Let go of me!" a female voice cried out.
The voice caught Rudy's attention as he saw that the group of men that had been calling themselves the law were practically manhandling her.
"Shut up brat!" one of the lawmen spat in her face before slapping her in her face and another shoved her down into the ground.
_I don't believe this!_ Rudy's fists were clenched as he saw this scene being played out right in front of him. This wasn't justice, this was little more than bullying and domination. He looked at some of the people in town and saw that they had looks of sadness on their faces but then looked away and went about their business.
_Now I know something isn't right..._ Rudy knew as he decided to look at the girl that was being taken away. She looked cute but also having gone through a bit of hell, her face was cut, dirty, scared and most of all, full of anger and pain.
But it was what she was wearing around her neck that got his attention the most.
_I don't believe it! It's the Sword Rune! That was Jack's personal favorite!_ Rudy stared wide eyed at it and the girl who he saw trying to break free but couldn't against such numbers. His hands became fists as he glared at the men taking her away. _Looks like going to Jolly Roger is going to have to wait. I want to find out about that girl and why she has Jack's rune stone... and figure out what the hell is going on with this town._
* * *
"Ouch!" the girl groaned as she was thrown into small room that she considered her personal hell.
"Why don't you reflect on your stupidity you little brat? You should know better than to leave this safe little haven and go into the unknown hellish wastelands." The Sheriff sneered at her.
"You call yourself the law... you're nothing but a cheat and a liar," the girl spat.
"But he also follows my orders."
The girl and Sheriff Marty heard the deep voice and saw Butch Kane come in. "Get out, now. My men will come later to pay you." The Sheriff left and then Butch looked down at the girl. "I thought I told you never to try to escape you little brat," She saw that he was holding a leather whip in one of his hands.
"... I don't want your world...Ahhh!" she screamed as she was whipped across her back by the man she despised.
"Your lousy daddy owed me much even after he died and you are going to pay for t heir debt just like everyone else in this town pays me respect and gella." Butch chuckled evilly at her, enjoying the pain he was inflicting on her.
"But out of fear you butcher..." the girl muttered as she was brought up to her feet when Butch put one of his massive hands around her throat and hauled her up.
"I'm going to enjoy this," Butch grinned viciously as he used his other hand to repeatedly hit her over and over again. In the stomach or even in the face, it didn't matter to Butch. He enjoyed every moment of it. When he finally decided she had had enough, he let her go and she fell to the ground. "You're lucky your mother loves you. If she didn't, I would have killed you long ago."
"I will not become your whore!" she screamed defiantly at her tormenter.
"You know what," Butch sneered as he left the cell for just a moment to bring something inside for her to see. It was a black ebony sword. "It's time to teach you a lesson in respect."
"No!" the girl cried out, "That's my father's sword! You don't have any right to it!"
"Ha. What good is a sword in these days huh? It didn't work against me... then again, I did kill him in his sleep," Butch boasted. "Be glad you get to keep your clothes and that little stone... cause if you escape again I'll take both away! Now take a good long look at this sword... because today I am selling it at the auction!"
"No!"
"And if you escape again and when I bring you back, I'll sell that stone next and if you do it another time after that... well I am sure someone would want to have their own personal wench to please them for the rest of their lives." Butch laughed cruelly as he walked out and slammed the door shot.
As the girl hear him leave, she could only whisper in hate, "Butch Kane... I swear... I will kill you for the insult you have done to my family..."
* * *
After looking for a while Rudy couldn't find that girl but he knew that some of the people that he saw holding her captive were in the crowd heading toward a saloon. When he walked in he saw something of an auction going on. Going up to the bar he asked for a drink, though he didn't really need one. He just wanted to blend in with the crowd.
"And now we have a really old outdated antique," The auctioneer said as his people pulled out a sword.
Rudy's eyes went wide when he saw it. _That... that's the Black Feral!_
"What do I hear for this piece? Let's start the bidding at 10 gella." the auctioneer said casually.
_TEN GELLA?! That sword is for the leader of the Artica Knights! It was one of Jack's swords!_ Rudy gasped in shock. He kept hearing the bits being so low, it was if it was disgracing his friend's memory. He decided to end that insult. "50 gella!"
"50 gella! Do I hear 75 gella? Do I hear 100 gella?" The auctioneer went on.
"100 gella!" said someone else from within the crowd.
"I have 100 gella! Do I hear 125?"
"125 gella!"
"125 gella! Do I hear 150?"
Rudy couldn't take this anymore. If he didn't act fast and end the betting now, someone else might get it. "500 gella!" he shouted.
The crowd gasped and turned to him. Even the auctioneer looked at Rudy with a quizzical look. "We have...500 gella. Do I hear 525? 550?" No one else placed up a bet. "No? Going once...going twice...sold, to the young man with the bandanna!"
Rudy was given the sword by one of the representatives and he kept it in a case that he put over his shoulder. Right now though, he had some questions to ask and decided to wait until after the auction had ended. When it had finally come to an end, he noticed the auctioneer going to a rough looking man in black with a beard.
"What? Only 500 for that piece of trash!" Rudy could hear the angry scream. "Dammit! Well at least she'll never see it again!"
Rudy looked up over at the Bartender who was a bit in fear of the men and only relaxed when they were gone. Rudy looked at him. "Who was that?"
"If I were you Drifter I would suggest getting out of Surf Village as soon as you could," the Bartender said solemnly, "This place has never been the same since Butch Kane came in five years ago."
"Tell me about him," Rudy inquired, wanting to know just what kind of a human being this Butch Kane was.
"No one could ever prove it, but some say he killed the old marshal, then put one in that takes his orders. He's been running this town ever since. Two years ago, he killed a man in cold blood in this tavern but the sheriff said self-defense. From what I might add, the man was asleep," the bartender took a look around, then leaned in and whispered to Rudy, "Personally, I think the wife was in on it because the daughter, Miss Dianna Stampede, has tried to get out but that man keeps sending his own Drifters to get her and they keep on succeeding." The bartender then saw Rudy totally frozen, his face almost as pale as a ghost's. "Son you okay?"
"...did you just her last name was Stampede?" Rudy asked in a quiet whisper.
"Yes... do you know her?"
"I knew one of her relatives," Rudy stated as he got up off of the stool he had been sitting on, "Where are the sheriff and Butch located in town?"
"Son didn't you hear a word that I said?!" the bartender exclaimed, "That man is a monster! He'll kill a young sprout like you easily! Hell, the man is even related that Janus Cascade and he's just as bad as he is."
"I know. He tried to kill the people in Baskar until I stopped him and his buddies."
"You what?!" the bartender gasped but even more so when Rudy opened his vest and showed the bartender the shiny object inside. It was something that in his time had given him the authority to act according the law and in this town the law was being broken. Something that only the best of the best could ever obtain.
The Sheriff's Star.
"I repeat..." Rudy looked at the bartender with narrowed eyes, "Where do I find them?"
* * *
Meanwhile, the young girl woke up to the sound of the door opening up. She saw entering a haughty middle aged woman wearing a lavish dress, brown hair done up in an extravagant style. She looked down at the girl with a sneer on her face.
*SLAP!*
"Why do you keep defying me!?" the woman shouted.
"Because I won't be a slave..." the girl said.
*SLAP!*
"Never talk back to me you ungrateful little girl! I am your mother! You will address me as such!"
"Sorry..." the young girl said in a quiet voice, then raised the volume of her voice and added a venomous edge to it. "Margaret..."
*SLAP!*
Margaret stared at the girl down at the floor. "You're just as stubborn as your father was. Wanting to run free in the wastelands to be of help. He had skill to be something great."
"My father was a great man..." the girl said.
Margaret laughed, "Alex Stampede was a foolish man who allowed honor and compassion to cloud his reason. Only the strong survive in the world. I am strong... do you want to be weak for the rest of your life Dianna?"
The girl, Dianna just stared at the woman, "I would rather be as I am...then follow your rules."
*SLAP!*
Dianna fell the ground after that last slap. Margaret looked down at her. "I do this for your own good, child."
Dianna watched her leave and cried again, she wished her father was still alive... but she wanted also something more than that.
She wished she had a sword so she could kill them all.
* * *
"Well now... I think this here is quite a bit of gella," Sheriff Marty gleamed greedily as he and his deputies put their hands through the chest of gella that two of Butch's men had brought to him. He could barely contain his excitement at the sheer amount of gella that was inside.
"Mr. Kane wants to thank for all of the work you have done so far the last five years. After all, this is the fifth year of your permanent installment." one of Kane's lackeys chuckled.
"Yeah, it is. The people at Fort Tristan 're kept assured of the town bein' all peaceful...and it is, so long as Mr. Kane pays up," Sheriff Marty sneered.
"Speaking of the people... Mr. Kane has been thinking of having the people going into the Diamond Mines," another one of Butch's people told the Sheriff.
"Now, I can't be sendin' innocent people into doin' things they don't want ta do..." Marty said innocently. One of Butch's men threw a sack of gella to him. "... but I know even the innocent have some sort of a criminal past. I'll get ya at least ten workers real soon."
"I don't think so."
The sheriff and his thug deputies spun to see a young man standing in the doorway. He was dressed in a red vest, with a white undershirt and jeans, but the thing that caught their attention was the long fluttering red bandanna that he wore around his forehead. "Who the heck are you?" the Sheriff asked gruffly.
"Someone who has just witnessed criminal activity. Namely 'lawmen' taking money from known felons," Rudy said disgustedly, "Not to mention witnessing a transaction to enslave innocent people. You're all going down."
As soon as he said that, the villains pulled out their ARMs and aimed them at Rudy. The Sheriff stood up from his chair and let out a gruff laugh. "You really are a stupid kid ain't cha? You know you're goin' ta die."
Rudy grinned. "Actually...no," he said calmly as he pulled out his Prism Laser ARM. Faster than they could see, he pulled the trigger and the blasts hit their ARMs, turning them into nothing more than useless, smoldering paperweights.
"What the..." one of the thugs gasped.
"And I thought Janus Cascade was bad... you guys... I don't know what to classify you people as," Rudy growled, as he felt sick just by looking at them. The Metal Demons had reasons for what they did and they weren't even human. But these humans he was looking at now, he didn't know what to classify them as. They didn't count as human beings in his book.
"W-who the hell are you?" One of Butch's men stuttered.
Rudy smirked as he showed the Sheriff Star off and it made all of them gasp and stare.
_Normal lawmen have silver badges... only the elite have gold and there are only six elite and they all have worldwide jurisdiction... Meaning...!_ Marty knew he was finished if this guy got out of town and to went to Fort Tristan. "Guys! We have ta kill this kid now or we'll all be goin' to jail!"
"How do you propose to do that?! He's got an ARM pointed at us!" one of the men asked.
Surprisingly, Rudy put Prism Laser away at his side, "What ARM?" he said innocently as he cracked his knuckles. "Now it's fair."
The six men just leered and laughed at him as they surrounded him. "Kid, you just made the biggest mistake of ya whole life," Marty sneered as he knew whoever this kid was, Elite or not, when it was six to one, the guy who was out numbered always lost.
All Rudy could do was smirk.
* * *
A mother was taking her little girl home through the dusty streets of Surf. She always hated having to past the Sheriff's station. She wished there would be some honest lawmen.
"Ahhhhhh--!"
The mother held her child tightly as she looked on and saw Sheriff Marty being thrown through the window of his office, laying motionless on the ground.
"What in the world?!" the mother exclaimed as she saw a shadow rushing toward the other window and moved away quickly. She did so just in time to see one of the deputies get thrown out through the window.
After that, people in the street started to notice the commotion and started telling others in town as they started to get to the Sheriff's office to see what was happening.
* * *
"No way! We out number him! He should be dead!" one of the deputies spat as he tried to attack Rudy from behind with a punch, but Rudy ducked under it, grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder and into one of the thugs that worked for Butch. Both lay motionless on the floor of the station.
*BANG!*
Rudy moved out of the way of the shot as he saw the last deputy had found another ARM and had it aimed at him.
"It's over now, hot shot," The man sneered as he held his ARM firm and aimed at Rudy.
"... yes, it is," Rudy spoke. Suddenly, a red light beam appeared and it was aimed at the deputy who just stared at this.
"Huh?" the deputy asked. He looked forward again and saw Rudy right in front of his face... and a sword blade only a few centimeters away from his face. The deputy was scared witless, giving Rudy the chance to nail him in a very private part of the human anatomy. He gave him a right cross to the head and sent him to the ground.
Rudy turned around and saw the last man in the room was the only other member of Butch's gang that had been sent to meet the Sheriff. Rudy narrowed his eyes at him and spoke in a low voice, "Tell your boss his reign in this town is over."
The thug turned and ran out of there like a bat straight out of hell. Rudy knew he would go to Butch... just like he planned.
When he walked outside though, he didn't expect to see almost everyone in town out there. Some of them tying up the sheriff and his men, some were just extremely overjoyed. Rudy even saw a few men with small-caliber ARMs as if they had found the courage to stand up for themselves.
"There he is! The kid with the Sheriff's Star!" Rudy noticed the Bartender from the saloon as the one who said that.
"He's an Elite?! He's kind o' young, ya think?" someone said.
Rudy decided to go back over to the bartender, "Do you happen to know where they might have taken that girl? She wasn't in the jail cells."
"She'd be in basement of Butch's home... but with that guy escaping he'll now have his front door totally surrounded."
"Is there a cellar entrance?" Rudy asked.
"Yes, there is, but he's got it chained up," the bartender explained, "There's no way to get it open without a key."
Rudy just smiled as he looked around and saw the perfect starting point for his second stage. Going into his vest, he was searching it for something. He found that he still had three of them left. _Been a while since I used these._
* * *
"WHAT?! What are you telling me?!" Butch screamed as he held the man that had escaped from Rudy by his throat.
"There's... an Elite here boss... we ... we should get out of here... he's... he's strong... really..."
With a scream of rage, Butch Kane threw the man down to the floor and pulled out his handgun ARM.
*BANG!*
Butch's men stared in shock as their boss put a bullet through the survivor's eyes. Even Margaret couldn't believe it. When Butch saw no one was moving, he started barking out orders, "What are you all staring at?! Guard the front door, you idiots! It's the only way in! I want this Elite brought down and then I'll hang him in front of everyone! No one crosses Butch Kane... No one!"
Margaret meanwhile, was having other thoughts, _Hmm... maybe I should prepare to make a way to make a deal with this Elite. I cut a nice deal and maybe I'll get something... maybe I can even offer my...services to him. I mean who couldn't use someone like me?_
* * *
Rudy was now sitting on a rooftop several houses away. He had to plan this just right and first off he needed to use his Bayonet for the first phase of his plan. After that, he'd have to use his other tools to get the job done.
_Probably will only have a window of only a minute or two. Better make this count._ Rudy decided. Taking a breath, he inserted the MultiBlast shell into the ARM, aimed high and then let it fire.
It was about to rain fire.
* * *
As if the pandemonium in Butch's compound was bad enough, when the whistling sound of a shell falling out of the sky was heard, and then the ensuing impact, it seemed as if all hell had broken loose.
*BOOM!*
"What was that!" Margaret shouted.
"It's a MultiBlast Shell! Someone used a Bayonet from far away. He's better than I thought..." Butch growled. _But that will make my killing him that much sweeter._
*BOOM!*
This time, the foundation of the building shook.
"Argh! That one actually felt like it hit this house!" Margaret complained. "Can't you do something!?"
"Shut up!" Butch snapped at her, "I have to worry about this guy first! Make no mistake... He will die!"
* * *
In the cellar below, only one guard was assigned to watch Dianna. She saw the door open and saw the guard have a look of lust on his face. He had his ARM out and was aiming it at her.
"Time for some fun. You're gonna be my little play thing tonight," he sneered.
"I think... NOT!" she cried as she gave him a low blow, making him wobble back to the door.
"Why you little brat!" the guard growled, "Now I'm going to..."
"Go to sleep."
"Huh?" the thug blinked before he got a chop to the neck, knocking him out cold.
"What the..." Dianna blinked as she saw a blue haired young man walk in.
"Are you Dianna Stampede?" he asked.
The 17 year old blonde haired girl may have been dressed in rags, had been beaten badly, but there was a fire in her eyes and a beauty that would not die. "I am... and you are?"
"Rudy Roughnight," he then threw to her a clean pair of clothes (which were a pair of blue pants and a red shirt) and the Black Feral.
Dianna gasped when she saw the ancient weapon. Her mouth agape as she ran her hands over it, "My father's sword..."
"You do practice the Fast Draw style right?"
Dianna stared wide eyed at Rudy when he said that, "How could you..." she saw him pull out his own sword. "Do you..."
"No. I'm not a Fast Draw practitioner," Rudy told her. "ARMs are my specialty but I also am good with a sword."
"An ARMs user who also uses a sword... I didn't think such a person existed in this world..." Dianna stated, finding herself intrigued by her mysterious rescuer.
"Well you aren't looking that well being in this jail cell," Rudy returned, "So how about you get changed so you can help me out with getting rid of this Butch Kane?"
"You mean..." Dianna stared at Rudy even more seeing how casual he spoke of fighting against that monster.
"Yeah. So get dressed," Rudy said but suddenly got kicked to the ground by Dianna. Getting back on his feet, he looked at her and said, "Hey! What was that--"
*SLAP!*
"Don't you know not to look at a lady when she's changing?" Dianna snapped.
Rudy slapped his hand over his head as he turned away from her and sat down. _Okay... did Jack and Cecilia have an affair or something? Cause I have to say this girl is as stubborn as both of them combined._
"By the way," Dianna asked as she was changing, "How did you get in here?"
"Through the cellar entrance," Rudy said casually. He heard the sounds of changing very quickly until he saw her in his face.
"But that entrance was chained up! How did get through it?!"
Rudy smirked as he held up one of his tools. "I blew it up with a bomb."
* * *
"What the hell is going on here... he attacked the front of the house... why isn't he coming?" Butch asked. By now he had gotten some people to help in watching the interior of the house.
"Maybe we should think of leaving boss," one of the men said.
"Shut up! The last thing I am going to do is give up this gold mine I have had for the last five years! It's easy living for me! Always!"
"Then you're about to get a rude awakening."
Butch looked to the cellar stairway and saw Rudy. "You! You're the one behind all this trouble!"
"Actually, you are since the day you took this town over. By the way, if I were you I would look outside or just listen," Rudy growled as he finally got to see the evil Butch Kane and liked him even less than he liked Janus Cascade. If all Drifters were just like what he had seen, he really felt pity for the planet. Even the worst Dream Chasers he had ever encountered during his time had better morals than the Drifters he had seen in the Surf of the Future.
Everyone just stopped and heard the sounds of people screaming. 'We're done being afraid!' 'This is our town and we won't let you ruin our lives any more!'
"No!" Butch shouted. "They can't do this! I am the law! I am the master!"
"You are the master of nothing," Rudy told him flat out.
"Arrogant whelp! I am Butch Kane! One of the baddest Drifters in Filgaia!"
Rudy narrowed his eyes at Butch, the look making Kane move back just a little bit as he felt uncomfortable by Rudy's stare, "And as I told Janus Cascade when sent him packing, that means absolutely nothing to a Dream Chaser."
"Kane!"
"What?!" Butch gasped as he saw Dianna appear from behind Rudy, her face in rage and hate with her father's ebony sword drawn.
"Dianna!" Margaret cried as she saw her charging like a woman possessed.
"This ends once and for all! Sonic...Blade!" Dianna screamed as she unleashed her Fast Draw attack. Running her hand across the blade, a yellow glowing energy began to emanate from where her hand had been. Raising the blade above her head, she brought it down for a slash, creating a shockwave of energy that struck all of Butch's guards, and even him as well.
Butch cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. He started to get up looking for her, "Where are you, you little bitch?! I'm gonna kill you!"
She didn't give him the chance to. Apparently, while he had been stunned she had maneuvered herself behind him.
"Psycho Crack!"
Butch turned around just in time to see Dianna's blade slice him across the chest. As the blade made contact with him, there was a blinding flash of light, causing a temporary state of mental overload/confusion for Butch, as was the nature of the attack.
"This is for my father!" Dianna screamed as she raised the Black Feral to deliver the killing blow to Butch, but then Margaret got in-between her daughter and the man she despised.
"Dianna! I demand you stop this! I am your mother!" Margaret soon found herself at her daughter's blade.
"My mother died a long time ago... because my mother would have never allowed that monster to beat me black and blue for two whole years!" Dianna spat, she felt nothing for the woman before her except disgust and hate. She wanted her dead, she wanted to take her head and the head of her father's killer. Her eyes took on a demonic form as she raised the blade above her head once more. "NOW DIE!" she swung her sword down with the intent to take their lives.
*CLANG!*
"No."
"Huh?" Dianna blinked, being brought back to reality as she looked and saw that her blade had been intercepted by another sword. Rudy's.
"No killing," Rudy told her firmly.
"They deserve to die," Dianna growled. "You have no idea what they've done to me!"
"Maybe they do deserve death, but we aren't the ones that will do it," Rudy replied calmly, "The people in town are no longer afraid of them. Let the townsfolk decide what to do with them."
"They hurt me..." Dianna cried as she felt all of her emotions coming to the surface, making her choices harder to make.
"If you kill them, you'll be no better than them," Rudy told her, "Maybe Drifters can live with themselves for killing, but I'm a Dream Chaser and I can't allow killing of another human being..." He narrowed his eyes at them both, "Even if they are scum."
"Dianna... please... I am your mother..." the woman pleaded but Dianna grabbed her by the throat.
"My mother is dead...and you have no daughter!" Dianna screamed as she grabbed her, throwing her against the wall. The impact caused the woman to fall unconscious. It was only then that Dianna allowed herself to break down in tears and used Rudy to cry on.
And all Rudy could do was just stare and just allow her to cry while he himself felt very strange about the whole thing. "It's okay... it's okay Dianna. It's over."
* * *
A short while later, Rudy and Dianna looked on at a wagon that was taking Butch, Margaret, Marty and their accomplices to Fort Tristan to be judged by a tribunal and to be sentenced. With the evidence and the people going with them to make their case, they would be behind bars for the rest of their natural lives.
"So where do you go from here?" Dianna asked her and the village's savior.
"Well, I have to make my way to Jolly Roger. I got lost on the way there. That's how I found this place again." Rudy sighed.
"Again? You've been to Surf before?"
"A long time ago."
"Before that monster?"
"Long before that monster," Rudy smirked. "What are you going to do?"
"Be free. I want to roam Filgaia like my father did before he settled down. I want to find my place in this world," Dianna answered, "But I don't want to be a Drifter."
"Then be a Dream Chaser," Rudy smiled. At her stare he replied, "It means person who chases his or her dreams."
"Dream Chaser... I like the sound of it," Dianna smiled back at the blue haired teen, "Say Rudy..."
"You want to know if you can come with me for a while," Rudy said surprising her. Looking at her, he smiled, "To be honest, I hope that is what you were going to ask. I'd like to have you around."
"Really?"
The blue haired hero nodded. "I think I might be able to help you out learn a few more Fast Draw techniques."
"But I thought you said you don't practice Fast Draw," Dianna questioned.
"I had a friend who knew the style," Rudy said truthfully. _I don't know all of Jack's tricks but I know a few of the hints he had to see and hear in order to come up with some of his other techniques. I don't know if she'll be able to duplicate them, but she knows the Psycho Crack and Sonic Blade attacks so that's gotta count for something._
"Rudy... you okay?" Dianna asked.
Rudy shook his head out of his reverie as he looked at her. "Um yeah... anyway, Mike the Bartender said he'd put us up for the night. It's too dark to go traveling now so we'll do that in the morning."
"So long as we don't stay in that house for the evening, I don't care where we stay," Dianna said.
"Well then let's go check in and get some sleep. We're going to be waking up early." Rudy replied.
"You go ahead," Dianna told him. "I just want to see the stars for a moment."
Rudy looked up at the stars and smiled. _Hey Jack, if you are looking down at me, be proud of this girl. She'll be going far._
As Rudy went into the Saloon, Dianna looked up at the stars, fingering the Sword Rune that she wore around her neck. _Hey Daddy... I'm free... we got the monster... rest in peace. I love you Daddy._
* * *
At the caravan that was holding Butch, Margaret, Marty and his friends they all wondered about their fate and how they were going to get out of this mess. Suddenly they felt the carriage stop and they saw guards fall down.
"What's going on?" Butch asked, wondering what had just happened.
"I would like to know that."
They froze when hearing the cold female voice as they saw a hooded figure walk toward them.
"Miss Vilente," Butch breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness its you! Please get us out of here!" Margaret pleaded.
"What has happened at Surf Village?" Miss Vilente asked.
"What do you think since we have been carted off like criminals?! How did we ever expect an Elite to come near us!? We made it as if Surf never existed for the last couple of years! It's all his fault we are in this jam!" Marty fumed.
"His fault?" Miss Vilente inquired.
"Yeah! That stinking Sheriff Star, ARM using, blue haired punk!" Marty hissed. "It was a fluke! Just a freak accident!"
"Yes... a freak accident... like the freak accident that is about to happen here..." The hooded woman said emotionlessly.
Everyone suddenly became fearful. "You... you wouldn't..." Butch gasped.
"You knew the rules Butch... and you have lost," Miss Vilente said emotionlessly as she snapped her fingers.
Suddenly the entire carriage erupted into flames. It was all consuming, killing everyone inside. She watched them die, hearing their screams of pain and agony before walking away. As she did, she saw the sleeping bodies of the people from Surf sleeping peacefully thanks to her. Leehalt's orders were to tie up all loose ends. No one would miss Butch and his friends after what they did. The people that were escorting them to be brought to justice were another matter. They would live another day.
After a while she pulled out a circular device and spoke into it, "They are dead."
"And the one that stopped them. Did they tell you anything Melody?"
"Blue hair. ARM user. Sheriff Star," Melody Vilente reported. "I would say your theory about this 'Dream Chaser's identity is looking very plausible, though I don't know how he could have lived for 2000 years."
"It doesn't matter to me. Just this sign is more than enough for me. Return back to the Library."
"You don't want me to look for him Leehalt?" Melody questioned.
"No. Now get back here." With that Leehalt severed the connection.
"... I hate it when he does that." Melody muttered.
* * *
Leehalt sat in his chair pondering over what he had learned. Surf Village had been something of a project, using Butch Kane had gotten him the services of Janus Cascade and the last few years those two had brought him pleasant results for what he asked.
Until now.
_If it really is him then our plans could very well be interrupted... but I must know for sure._ Leehalt mused. Suddenly he heard the door open.
"You asked for me?" a male voice asked. Leehalt looked up and at the figure that had entered his chambers, "Yes I have assignment for you."
"Why not pass it off to our errand boy Janus?" the male voice questioned.
"Because I have Janus on a seven day deadline to find at least one of the three shields that seal the Eternal Sparkle, and second..." Leehalt's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man. "The man I want you test beat Janus easily."
The man's lips formed into a smirk. "So I am assume this one will actually be a challenge... perfect."
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: This goes out to my readers. Rudy's going to be meeting up another descendent of a Wild Arms character. Who do you think it should be or think it will end up being? Your input matters to me. Also who do you think is the man that Leehalt is ordering to target Rudy. You can guess but you'll find out the answer to that question in Chapter Four, which will hopefully be out by the end of the month. Feel free to review or email me at ericpaladin@hotmail.com.