Chapter 5
Ragnarok
"Blade!" the Zoot-look-alike girl exclaimed. "The legendary bounty hunter, Cowboy Blade?!"
"That's right, missy." Lex grinned as he looked to the bounty hunter standing with his arms crossed again. "The most dangerous man to ever walk the face of the earth. Ain't that right, Blade?"
Blade said nothing.
His name had still caused a huge sensation within the Saloon. Even the now awaken town of Liberty was ecstatic of hearing his name, of gaining the knowledge that the "Agent of Death" was among them.
"You know what his name means? Well, I'll tell you anyway. Cowboy, because he's for hire, only a warrior for hire who doesn't lead meat from one place to the other. And Blade, because he's one dangerous mother…"
"I think she gets the point, Lex." Trudy interrupted him with a stern look.
"Oh. Yeah…uh, I just wanted her to make sure she knows what she's dealing with if she doesn't talk." Lex spoke as he glared down at the girl.
"I'll never talk. Never would I betray my master to the weak, even if he is Cowboy Blade." the girl spat on Lex's boot.
"Zoot uses you." Blade spoke. Everyone looked to him. "To the Chosen, he was God. A false god though, with a false priest who wanted nothing but power himself. He used your master's memory as his weapon next to fear."
The girl snorted. "And what does a mere bounty hunter know of anything?"
A gloved hand slammed hard against the back of her chair, nearly knocking her right over. Before she knew it, she stared back in the shadowed cold eyes of the bounty hunter.
"Death is my specialty. Fear comes in second." he sneered.
For that moment, it was fear in her eyes. This warrior was drop-dead serious.
"Y-you're going to let him kill me?!" she cried to the others.
"No, your master will." Blade told her. "Now talk."
"Why did Zoot send an assassin here? And how is it that he's alive?" Amber asked.
The girl kept her eyes on the bounty hunter, and his sword.
"He-he m-made me hire the assassin to find…Ram." the girl admitted. "Only Ram knows the code to a secret weapon we have been searching for a long time now."
"Ragnarok." Ram gasped.
"You know something about it?" Lex asked the ex-Techno leader.
"I should. I found the weapon after all." Ram replied. "But you might as well tell your master that it's not happening. Ragnarok is incomplete…."
"But we have the last part." the girl revealed. "All we need is the weapon itself, and Zoot will rule the world with power and chaos."
"You still haven't answered the last question." Amber said. "How is it that Zoot is alive? I was there when he died, as were my friends here." she acknowledged Trudy and Lex.
"My master had rejected death, and was able to leave of the burning boat and swim back to shore. That is all you need to know. You want the whole story? Then you ask my master, that is if he lets you live." the girl grinned.
Her grin faded when suddenly Blade cupped her face in his gloved hands gently.
And that same look of fear was back in her eyes.
He was going to kill her! He was going to break her neck, or crush her head till her brains were smashed!
Or at least she thought.
"Zoot is human. As all we are. He has no power, no control over you. You have control of your own destiny. Of your own life. Now live it." he spoke.
With that, he brought his thumbs up to her temples, and the girl suddenly gasped.
Tears started to fall from her eyes and run down her cheeks, ruining the mascara and the tribal painting on the side of her face.
And suddenly she smiled.
"Go." Blade told her as he stood back up and made a path for her.
She ran her hands over her face, and laughed with tears of joy. She was happy.
Quickly, she ran out, but stopped and turned around back at the bounty hunter. "Thank you." she said through her tears.
The police cap flew off her head as she ran.
Everyone looked speechless at what he had just done.
"W-what did you do?" Slade asked.
"I freed her." he answered coldly as he crossed his arms again.
"Freed her? What…could you explain to me why you let a prisoner go?" Lex exclaimed.
Blade said nothing else and walked to the entrance where he was positioned for guard duty.
"What is with this guy?" Lex asked.
"That's not important right now, Lex. What's now important is about this Ragnarok. Why was I never told of this?" Jay looked to Ram.
Ram gave him a look telling him he should already know.
And Jay admitted to himself that he nearly had forgotten as well.
"Mega."
"But what is this Ragnoodle or whatever?" Lex asked.
"Ragnarok." Ram corrected. "It's some sort of secret weapon created by Pandorax. It is said it can wipe out half a city in less than three seconds."
"Great. Well, if Messiah over here hadn't FREED that girl, we could've had some better answers." Lex pointed to Blade who gave him a sharp glare.
"We're wasting time here." Trudy spoke up. "Ram doesn't seem to know much about what Ragnarok is, and so far neither does Zoot. So that gives us a head start in all of this."
"Ram, do you know where this Ragnarok is?" Jay asked.
Ram nodded. "Death Valley, Nevada in America."
Everyone but Cowboy Blade looked speechless.
"Pandorax had to make sure this weapon was kept safe."
"Ok then. We know this is a powerful weapon made by Pandorax, we know it's in Death Valley, America. So, now what do we do?" Lex asked.
"Well it's obvious." Ruby spoke up. "I've heard of this Zoot guy, and I know you all feel the same way when I saw that we can't let Zoot get his hands on this Ragnarok. We have to intercept the weapon before he gets there."
"And how do we do that?" Lex asked her. "We've got problems of our own down here, Sweety. One of our own is missing, we've got kids getting sick from that Paradise game, and to make matters worse there are riots shouting Zoot Lives!"
Ruby looked away for a moment. So the Mallrats had their hands full. She remember staying in the city for awhile, and it being run down by Zoot and his warriors.
She would not allow that to happen again.
Ruby turned to her friends. "Slade?" she called to him.
Slade looked over to her.
"Do you think you can watch the bar with Ram while I'm gone?"
Slade and Ram were both speechless.
"Please don't give me those looks. This is something I have…I want to do." Ruby told them.
Amber walked up to the girl. "No. We can't ask you to endanger your life for our sake. We've already caused you enough trouble…."
"Well guess what? It's a bit too late for apologizing. And besides, this isn't just for you. It's for all those children who Zoot had tortured to death. Even in their sleep." Ruby said sternly.
The corners of Amber's mouth curved up into a satisfied grin.
I like her, she thought.
Lex suddenly paused, and a grin crept up on his face as he turned to the bounty hunter standing like a statue in silence.
"Hey Blade?"
The bounty hunter looked up.
"Say if we were to put a bounty on Zoot's head." Lex raised an eyebrow.
"Where is Ram and my messenger?" Zoot asked.
Edge scowled at the ex-Loco king. "Hate to break it to you, but it looks like someone was ready for you."
The tyrant of the city raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Forgive me for not fully understanding here, Edge."
"Well apparently, those kids down at Liberty town had a bodyguard. Tough son of a gun. In fact, I'd say he was no average fighter."
"And you claim yourself to be the best assassin in the city." Zoot scoffed.
"Don't know what happened to your girl though. Maybe she got chopped into tiny little pieces with that sword the guy was carrying." Edge shrugged with a sadistic grin.
"Enough of your psychotic humor, now go before I have you killed right here on the spot for letting me down!" Zoot demanded.
Edge glared to his client, but began heading off out of the temple.
"And Edge?" Zoot called him back. "I guess this means you still owe me." he reminded.
"Yeah." the assassin kept on walking.
For now anyways, he thought as his sadistic grin grew even more.
Ragnarok
"Blade!" the Zoot-look-alike girl exclaimed. "The legendary bounty hunter, Cowboy Blade?!"
"That's right, missy." Lex grinned as he looked to the bounty hunter standing with his arms crossed again. "The most dangerous man to ever walk the face of the earth. Ain't that right, Blade?"
Blade said nothing.
His name had still caused a huge sensation within the Saloon. Even the now awaken town of Liberty was ecstatic of hearing his name, of gaining the knowledge that the "Agent of Death" was among them.
"You know what his name means? Well, I'll tell you anyway. Cowboy, because he's for hire, only a warrior for hire who doesn't lead meat from one place to the other. And Blade, because he's one dangerous mother…"
"I think she gets the point, Lex." Trudy interrupted him with a stern look.
"Oh. Yeah…uh, I just wanted her to make sure she knows what she's dealing with if she doesn't talk." Lex spoke as he glared down at the girl.
"I'll never talk. Never would I betray my master to the weak, even if he is Cowboy Blade." the girl spat on Lex's boot.
"Zoot uses you." Blade spoke. Everyone looked to him. "To the Chosen, he was God. A false god though, with a false priest who wanted nothing but power himself. He used your master's memory as his weapon next to fear."
The girl snorted. "And what does a mere bounty hunter know of anything?"
A gloved hand slammed hard against the back of her chair, nearly knocking her right over. Before she knew it, she stared back in the shadowed cold eyes of the bounty hunter.
"Death is my specialty. Fear comes in second." he sneered.
For that moment, it was fear in her eyes. This warrior was drop-dead serious.
"Y-you're going to let him kill me?!" she cried to the others.
"No, your master will." Blade told her. "Now talk."
"Why did Zoot send an assassin here? And how is it that he's alive?" Amber asked.
The girl kept her eyes on the bounty hunter, and his sword.
"He-he m-made me hire the assassin to find…Ram." the girl admitted. "Only Ram knows the code to a secret weapon we have been searching for a long time now."
"Ragnarok." Ram gasped.
"You know something about it?" Lex asked the ex-Techno leader.
"I should. I found the weapon after all." Ram replied. "But you might as well tell your master that it's not happening. Ragnarok is incomplete…."
"But we have the last part." the girl revealed. "All we need is the weapon itself, and Zoot will rule the world with power and chaos."
"You still haven't answered the last question." Amber said. "How is it that Zoot is alive? I was there when he died, as were my friends here." she acknowledged Trudy and Lex.
"My master had rejected death, and was able to leave of the burning boat and swim back to shore. That is all you need to know. You want the whole story? Then you ask my master, that is if he lets you live." the girl grinned.
Her grin faded when suddenly Blade cupped her face in his gloved hands gently.
And that same look of fear was back in her eyes.
He was going to kill her! He was going to break her neck, or crush her head till her brains were smashed!
Or at least she thought.
"Zoot is human. As all we are. He has no power, no control over you. You have control of your own destiny. Of your own life. Now live it." he spoke.
With that, he brought his thumbs up to her temples, and the girl suddenly gasped.
Tears started to fall from her eyes and run down her cheeks, ruining the mascara and the tribal painting on the side of her face.
And suddenly she smiled.
"Go." Blade told her as he stood back up and made a path for her.
She ran her hands over her face, and laughed with tears of joy. She was happy.
Quickly, she ran out, but stopped and turned around back at the bounty hunter. "Thank you." she said through her tears.
The police cap flew off her head as she ran.
Everyone looked speechless at what he had just done.
"W-what did you do?" Slade asked.
"I freed her." he answered coldly as he crossed his arms again.
"Freed her? What…could you explain to me why you let a prisoner go?" Lex exclaimed.
Blade said nothing else and walked to the entrance where he was positioned for guard duty.
"What is with this guy?" Lex asked.
"That's not important right now, Lex. What's now important is about this Ragnarok. Why was I never told of this?" Jay looked to Ram.
Ram gave him a look telling him he should already know.
And Jay admitted to himself that he nearly had forgotten as well.
"Mega."
"But what is this Ragnoodle or whatever?" Lex asked.
"Ragnarok." Ram corrected. "It's some sort of secret weapon created by Pandorax. It is said it can wipe out half a city in less than three seconds."
"Great. Well, if Messiah over here hadn't FREED that girl, we could've had some better answers." Lex pointed to Blade who gave him a sharp glare.
"We're wasting time here." Trudy spoke up. "Ram doesn't seem to know much about what Ragnarok is, and so far neither does Zoot. So that gives us a head start in all of this."
"Ram, do you know where this Ragnarok is?" Jay asked.
Ram nodded. "Death Valley, Nevada in America."
Everyone but Cowboy Blade looked speechless.
"Pandorax had to make sure this weapon was kept safe."
"Ok then. We know this is a powerful weapon made by Pandorax, we know it's in Death Valley, America. So, now what do we do?" Lex asked.
"Well it's obvious." Ruby spoke up. "I've heard of this Zoot guy, and I know you all feel the same way when I saw that we can't let Zoot get his hands on this Ragnarok. We have to intercept the weapon before he gets there."
"And how do we do that?" Lex asked her. "We've got problems of our own down here, Sweety. One of our own is missing, we've got kids getting sick from that Paradise game, and to make matters worse there are riots shouting Zoot Lives!"
Ruby looked away for a moment. So the Mallrats had their hands full. She remember staying in the city for awhile, and it being run down by Zoot and his warriors.
She would not allow that to happen again.
Ruby turned to her friends. "Slade?" she called to him.
Slade looked over to her.
"Do you think you can watch the bar with Ram while I'm gone?"
Slade and Ram were both speechless.
"Please don't give me those looks. This is something I have…I want to do." Ruby told them.
Amber walked up to the girl. "No. We can't ask you to endanger your life for our sake. We've already caused you enough trouble…."
"Well guess what? It's a bit too late for apologizing. And besides, this isn't just for you. It's for all those children who Zoot had tortured to death. Even in their sleep." Ruby said sternly.
The corners of Amber's mouth curved up into a satisfied grin.
I like her, she thought.
Lex suddenly paused, and a grin crept up on his face as he turned to the bounty hunter standing like a statue in silence.
"Hey Blade?"
The bounty hunter looked up.
"Say if we were to put a bounty on Zoot's head." Lex raised an eyebrow.
"Where is Ram and my messenger?" Zoot asked.
Edge scowled at the ex-Loco king. "Hate to break it to you, but it looks like someone was ready for you."
The tyrant of the city raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Forgive me for not fully understanding here, Edge."
"Well apparently, those kids down at Liberty town had a bodyguard. Tough son of a gun. In fact, I'd say he was no average fighter."
"And you claim yourself to be the best assassin in the city." Zoot scoffed.
"Don't know what happened to your girl though. Maybe she got chopped into tiny little pieces with that sword the guy was carrying." Edge shrugged with a sadistic grin.
"Enough of your psychotic humor, now go before I have you killed right here on the spot for letting me down!" Zoot demanded.
Edge glared to his client, but began heading off out of the temple.
"And Edge?" Zoot called him back. "I guess this means you still owe me." he reminded.
"Yeah." the assassin kept on walking.
For now anyways, he thought as his sadistic grin grew even more.