TRIGUN: GunGrave
By ShadowHawk & Turles
Disclaimer: We do not own the copyrights to Trigun, or any other copyrighted information. All Copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Trigun: Gun Grave
Chapter 4: Truth of Pity
Back in the present, Gun Grave awoke in his bed on the Sand Steamer. His flash about the past had consumed him in his sleep. The sleepiness was still in his eyes as he stared up at the rusty awful looking ceiling of this old ship. Then again, everything on this planet is old and rusted. He sat up in his bed and felt the sweat come between him and his shirt. Reaching up to his forehead he brushed away the sweat on his face. The flashbacks he had were the only memories of the past he had. He didn't know anything before the Gung-Ho Guns, nothing. It was as if he was born of the Gung-Ho Guns.
"Nyao." A small voice called out.
Gun Grave looked and sitting there at the foot of his bed was a small black cat. It looked at him with its enormous yellow eyes with its cat-eye slits. He didn't know what to make of the cat or (for that matter) how it got into his room in the first place.
Looking at the cat, Gun Grave never moved and neither did the cat. They simply looked at each other separated by only a few feet of the bed.
As he stared, Gun Grave began felt something within him. Something that he didn't recognize nor had a word for. Yet the feeling was still there.
He outstretched his arms to the cat and the cat came walking up to the gunman. The cat began to rub its head into Gun Grave chest and for the first time in a very long time the gunman smiled at the cat as he petted it.
He rubbed his fingers through the cats black fur and had no desire to kill it. It truly was a first for him in which he had no desire to kill something that was in his company. Petting the cat Gun Grave suddenly realized that the Sand Steamer had stopped.
Still holding the cat in his arms he got up from the bed and looked out of the small round window he had. From his vantage-point he saw a city that was nestled against a mountain range, it was circular, its streets and buildings almost looked like a spiders web from his distance. He knew this place.
It was Warren City. It was here that he decided to make a stop he looked down at the cat in his arms that looked back at him with its big yellow eyes.
"Nyao." It said.
"I think," Gun Grave said to himself, "I'll call you, Kuroneko."
Still holding onto the cat he went to the coffin and opened it up and placed the cat in it. He gave it one last rub before he closed the lid and heard the cat say its singular phrase.
"Nyao."
Gun Grave gently slung the coffin onto his shoulders before embarking out into Warren City. He walked through the halls of the Sand Steamer, but he never used Bullet Time especially with his furry companion in his coffin. He knew that Bullet Time would have no adverse effects on him but who knows what they might do to Kuroneko. So, carefully stepping off of the Sand Steamer, he came down into Warren City. He had heard of this place before.
It was the town that the gunsmith named Frank Marlin lived. A long time ago in Warren City it was overrun but vicious bandits so Frank Marlin the gunsmith handed out guns to the people that he made and taught the people how to use them. At least that was the sweet side of the story, then it turned dark when his wife and daughter were killed in a bank robbery.
They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but to Frank the worst part was that the robbers had used the very same guns he made. After that horrible incident, Frank Marlin crawled inside a whiskey bottle and had been there ever since. That was until his encounter with a man in a long red coat that made him realize why he was a gunsmith in the first place. It was because of Frank Marlin that there was no sheriff at all in Warren City.
The local tavern of Warren City was the place that was usually bustling with activity. This place also acted not only as the tavern but also as a restaurant and a dance hall. Like so many other places that Gun Grave had been to whenever he entered a tavern (or bar) everyone would stop to gain one look at him. Ignoring the stares he casually walked to one of the barstools, sat down and carefully placed his coffin with his companion still inside.
The bartender was a plump middle-age woman who came over to him.
"What'll you have, stranger?" She asked out of habit.
Gun Grave moved his lips and said "A glass of whiskey and a saucer of milk."
She leered at him wondering why a man would want milk when he could have glorious alcohol instead. She watched as he moved and opened the lid of the coffin and from it sprang a little black cat with enormous yellow eyes.
The bartender didn't ask questions as she served the milk. She set the saucer on the bar while the cat lapped it up, happy as he could possibly be. Yet she didn't give Gun Grave his whiskey. She held it back in one hand but extended the other as if asking for a tip.
"I don't want no trouble." She said, "So, your gonna have to give me your gun until you leave."
Gun Grave didn't exhale or roll his eyes, he just sat complacently. He leaned over to his coffin and pulled out the Cerberus guns and handed them to the bartender. He laid them down upon the bar where his cat still lapped up the milk ignoring the world around him.
The bartender looked at the gun with eyebrows raised. She had to take them one at a time in order to store them underneath the bar since her hand was still holding onto the whiskey.
She never said anything about the guns, she only gave the drink to her customer and went about her daily business.
Behind Gun Grave a friendly game of poker was going on between four people who were just starting to get to know each other.
Sitting at one part of the circular table was a woman in a red outfit (pants and jacket) with a Marshall's star upon her left breast. She was young and blonde with her hair pulled up into a bun in the back of her head. This was Marshall Maryanne Alukaisen.
Next to the Marshall was a beautiful younger girl with long brown hair and hazel eyes that looked carefully at her cards.
Unlike the Marshall who wore very masculine clothes, this young woman wore a proper dress accentuating every curve of her feminine body.
This was the daughter of one of the richest men on Gunsmoke, a man named Bowstock, but otherwise known as Grim Reaper Bowstock.
The beautiful young girl was named Stephanie Bowstock.
The other two at the table were men. One of them was a dirty looking person who looked as though he had worn the same clothes for the past week.
Not in an on and off fashion but more like he slept in the clothes he was wearing. The dirtiest part of him was his hands, which were stained with, grease, dirt and grim that contrasted against the bright colors of the cards.
His bulbous nose was above the edge of the cards as he looked out at his opponents. On the table near him was a bottle of the best whiskey in the house, he took it and swigged it down like water. This man was the hero of the town, the Gunsmith Frank Marlin.
The last person sitting at the table was a very muscular man who wasn't afraid to show off his muscles by wearing a tank top. Yet his pants were only held up not by a belt but by thin suspenders. He looked at his opponents with his bald head shinning in the dim light which didn't hid the star shaped tattoo on his forehead. He was a member of the Big Brother Gang, named Joe Brother.
The game was intense, everyone had made their bets and all was riding on this last set of bets. The Marshall looked at her cards with hidden confidence, in her experience, dealing with criminals she has taught herself a poker face so that she can't give away the zeal she had over her hand. She had three of a kind, three tens, an ace and a king. Luck had to be on her side.
"I'll bet twenty double dollars." She said looking across the table to the man who was next in the turn base, the Gunsmith Frank Marlin.
Frank took one swig of his whiskey bottle, setting it back down he wiped away the excess. He looked back at his cards and deep within the pit of his stomach the excitement grew as he had four of a kind. He had four sevens and a duce, he knew that this could beat several common combos.
"I'll see your twenty, and I'll raise you eighty double dollars." He set his stack of chips at the edge of the pile where the one double dollar antes were chipped in.
Both Maryanne and Frank could only stare at each other hoping that they would win this hand. This game had gone from friendly to frantic with real money on the line. The hearts around this table were thumping with the pile of chips growing with each ludicrous bet.
Next was Joe Brother, he looked at both Maryanne and Frank. He brought his eyes back to his cards and saw that he had a full house. He had two kinds and three queens.
He knew that there were only two hands that could beat this hand. A straight which is uncommon but can be made, and a royal flush.
A royal flush is a hand that is so improbably that it's damn near impossible to get. He knew that the odds were in his favor.
"I'll see your bets," He said, "one-hundred double dollars and I'll raise both of you two-hundred double dollars."
He placed his stacks at the edge of the pile and the colors and height of the stack already scared the competitors. Frank and Maryanne raised their eyebrows and decided that this was definitely the time to quit while they were ahead.
"I fold." Frank said bitterly as he laid his cards down while taking a very big gulp on his whiskey.
Maryanne shook her head, "Too rich for my blood." She laid her cards down and watched as the game came down only to these two, Stephanie Bowstock whose butler was standing right behind her looking at the cards she had.
Stephanie stared right back at Joe Brother and smiled, "Well, then that makes 300 for me to see. So, I'll see that bet and raise you 500."
Joe Brother smirked, "800 double dollars, you must be pretty confident about your hand. I'll see all that and raise you everything else I have. That makes over 1500 double dollars. Let's see your cards."
He shoved the remaining piles of chips he had to the pile making it almost like a fortress of poker chips.
Stephanie did the same making hers like a skyline of poker chip stacks but she still kept her smile.
"I have," the member of the Big Brother gang said, "a full house, kings and queens." He laid his cards out in plain view for Maryanne, Frank and Stephanie to see. He glowed as if he knew he won but he didn't know what was coming to him.
Stephanie took out one card at a time and laid them out on the table evenly spaced.
"10 of spades." She said methodically as if reading the names off of a list, "Jack of Spades, Queens of Spades, King of Spades, and Ace of Spades. I believe that makes a royal flush."
Joe Brother, the member of the Big Brother Gang looked down at the cards and couldn't believe his own eyes and ears. No one had ever gotten a great hand like that and here it was right in front of him. He could only look at Stephanie's cards and back to his in denial hoping that there was some kind of mistakes.
But there wasn't one, he lowered his head and moaned his admission for defeat. While Stephanie Bowstock relished her victory as she pulled in the poker chips like Ebenezer Scrooge hoarding his precious gold.
"I give." Joe said as he walked out of the saloon.
Stephanie didn't even try to call him back because she had a feeling that there was something wrong with that man. Yet, she didn't allow that to spoil her fun as she set her eyes back on her game mates. She smiled.
"Would you two like to play again?" She asked
Maryanne shrugged, "Sure."
Frank took a swig of his whiskey, "Why not?" He asked, "I don't have anything to loose."
* * *
On the outskirts of Warren City there was an alliance of the most ghastly proportions that was taking place. Far from the town was a rocky hillside that when anyone stood on the top of it they could see the city and its odd shape and how its division of buildings and streets made it all look like a spider's web.
Behind the summit of this rocky hillside was a convertible car that had a frilly-laced umbrella perched just right for the man sitting under it.
This was the head of the Big Brother Gang, who has no other name except for the name his members give him, "Big Brother".
Likewise as he only calls his gang members' "brother". He sat under the umbrella that protected him from the hot sun as he read a smutty little magazine and giggled as he looked at the pictures the folded out of them. Yet he wasn't the only one there, around the car were the members of his gang that waited for their plans to go into action.
Again, they weren't' the only ones there, the Nebraska Family was there too.
The Nebraska family, one of the most dangerous families known, for more than obvious reasons. First there was the father of the family, a short bald scraggly little man with a green tinted monocle and only three teeth left in his skull. He was sitting in his sons' pocket. His son, Gofsef Nebraska who was enormous in comparison to his father who was only five foot three inches, while his son was over 200 feet tall same as his mother Patricia Nebraska.
Both Patricia and Gofsef looked almost like machines with their enormous size and mechanical parts driving them. The children of the family were Marilyn (one of the only daughters to the Nebraska's), then there were the sons Chinpei, Tonkachi, and Kanta. The Nebraska family (as one man might put it) was the perfect "Anti-Brady Bunch".
The Nebraska family was nestled away from the car that the head of the Big Brother Gang since the size of Gofsef and Patricia Nebraska made him nervous to say the least.
Then who could blame him? Both Gofsef and Patricia could make anyone nervous with their enormous size and menacing looks with all the primitive mechanical parts in their bodies like steam engine trains.
Just then one of the members of the big brother gang was coming, Big Brother knew who it was just from the look, it was Joe Brother.
"Big Brother." He called gasping for air running up to the car. He came up to the car trying to avoid contact with the Nebraska family, "Big Brother. I found her, I found the girl we need to capture, Stephanie Bowstock, the daughter of Grim Reaper Bowstock."
Big Brother set aside his smutty magazine and took out one of his guns that split open into a lighter. He light it and took in an easy breath to puff it all back out again.
"Excellent work, Brother." Big Brother smiled with the cigarette between his teeth,
"Now we can make even more money then just robbing a bank."
"What are you waiting for?" The little Professor Nebraska asked from his son's pocket, his voice sounding high and squeaky at the same time, "Let's go get the little girl and hold her ransom."
"Huuurrr!" Gofsef grunted as the steam engine piston in the back of his head spewed out smoke as if saying very primitively money good!
"No." Big Brother said sucking in the smoke, "You guys will draw too much attention. I'll send my brothers to get her and I've already written the ransom note."
He reached into the car and pulled out the piece of paper that had the ransom writ upon it. This was the plan and Big Brother couldn't help but to laugh.
"It's 4,000 yars to the nearest town and no sheriff, just like last time. And best of all no one's going to stop us, not the armed towns' people or anyone. We'll just take Stephanie from her bed tonight, got that dear brothers?"
"Yes!" The brothers said in unison.
Later that night at one of the many local hotels of Warren City, Miss Stephanie Bowstock was getting ready to take a very relaxing shower.
She stood in the cast iron bathtub, her curtains drawn and the windows closed she allowed her hair to come down over her body. The soothingly warm water ran all over her naked body and through her brown hair. The only sounds she could hear was the rapid tap, tap sound the water made against the cast iron tub. In this state, Miss Stephanie was even more beautiful then all her clothes could even say. It is said that the nudity of the human body is the purest form that could ever be obtained, in Miss Stephanie's case that statement is only next door to the truth.
She didn't see it; her eyes were closed to the approaching danger that was coming from behind the shower curtain. It was a dark luminous shadow like death itself that was coming for her.
It crept step by step making sure that it didn't step upon any of the loose floorboards that would creak and call Miss Stephanie's attention. The creeping shadow came up to the shower curtain, its weapon of choice in hand, it reached for the shower curtain and it yanked it back.
All of a sudden Miss Stephanie's attention was completely diverted, here she was a young beautiful girl, naked in the shower being attacked by an unknown person. She didn't care if the water or soap got in her eyes or if her hair was in her face. The shadow that was in front of her made her afraid. She tried to cover her body, placing her arm across her breasts while she shrieked.
It was a shriek that almost sounded like an old teakettle that was boiling sending its steam through the whistle of its spout.
Stephanie couldn't fight as the figure shoved a white cloth on her face and the more she shrieked the more effect of whatever was in the cloth got into her.
She let go of the struggle as the chemical soaked into her system. She no longer saw the shadow as she fell into darkness.
* * * Just next door was the room that Gun Grave was staying. He was staying here because according to the schedule of the Sand Steamer it was here to drop off several supplies to this town. So, therefore there was time to actually relax and since he had a new companion not everyday feels so lonely anymore.
Each time Gun Grave would turn there would be that cat, smiling with those big yellow eyes at him. He was dreaming again that night it was about the same two children, but this time a third was there. The third one was much younger than the first two but still the question remained of who these children were. The question burned within the gunslinger like heartburn that wouldn't disappear.
He remembered looking at one of the child's face, it was one of the girls face and her mouth opened like she was about to say something.
Instead the girl screamed such a shriek that Gun Grave awoke from his sleep covering his ears. The scream wasn't in his dream it was coming from the next room, soon it stopped and he was at last in peace with himself.
Or so he thought, next after the screaming came more voices. With buildings such as these there isn't exactly as much insulation so therefore anything loud can be heard in the next room. Such as one could hear a couple screaming out as they make love or when someone is having a fight.
"What's happened?" A commanding ladies voice asked
Next came the sound of sobbing in a mans voice, "It's Miss Stephanie, she's been kidnapped!"
"Calm down." The lady commanded, "Is there a note or anything like that?"
The man's sobbing began to die down as he began to read, "To Grim Reaper Bowstock," He read, "We have your daughter. We demand a ransom of 500,000 double dollars to be delivered 5 isles outside of town."
The man who was reading this tried to keep back his sobbing so that his reading was clear but he couldn't' help it, "If any tricks are used then your precious.." He sobbed, "daughter Stephanie Bowstock will die. Signed, The Big Brother Gang and The Nebraska Family."
"Don't worry." The woman's voice said,
"I'll find a way."
Gun Grave sat up in his bed and listened to the voices coming from the next room. He thought about it but then he figured that it had nothing to do with him. He turned around on his and there was his furry little companion staring at him his eyes speaking something different.
Gun Grave couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly but it was still there. The cat even though it could only speak one phrase seemed to speak in a thousand words with one glance.
The look seemed like disappointment to him, he then understood that the cat was telling him that something should be done about this. Even though he already took his stance and felt that it had nothing to do with him.
The cat was telling him without saying a word that he should do otherwise.
"I guess your right, Kuroneko." Gun Grave smiled, such a rare sight for a man who is undead to be smiling in his state. He had to do something about this situation, who knew what it was, guilt because if the girl died it would be on his consciousness.
Could it have been something deeper under the surface? A residue of humanity left in his undead body? Who knows, but Gun Grave felt that he should do something or his peace would be disturbed.
He gathered his things together into his coffin as well as his cat, but this time the cat didn't jump into the coffin. This time he jumped onto the board shoulders that Gun Grave had. He nuzzled up to his cold cheek and brushing past his cyborg eye. Gun Grave couldn't resist but bring up his hand to pet his cat.
"Let's go then." He said as he made his way down the hall. But as he did just behind him was the Marshall that was at the bar earlier that day.
Marshall Maryanne, she was the one who was asking questions to Miss Stephanie's butler.
Yet, she saw Gun Grave move down the hall and then she grew a little suspicious. Some would call it "police instinct" while others would probably call it "Feminine Intuition".
"Where do you think you're going?" She called to Gun Grave.
Gun Grave stopped and spoke through his mind to the Marshall, "I'm going to save the day."
"Not without me your not!" She said as she ran down to Gun Grave, but she couldn't get in front of him since his wide shoulders were hogging the hallway.
At last when they got down to the street, Maryanne was able to get a glimpse of this self-proclaimed savior. She saw him in the light of the street lamps. His face was cold and expressionless especially with that bionic eye of his. His clothes dark as if he was an undertaker or someone going to a funeral. The coffin that hung from chains wrapped around his shoulders made Maryanne shudder at the sight of them. He looked like he was going to kill anyone who would look at him funny, but if she only knew the half of it. Yet it was the cat that made Maryanne scratch her head. How could a man as frightening as death itself have such an animal like that?
"What do you plan to do?" She asked
Gun Grave moved his lips while he spoke into Maryanne's mind, "I plan to save the girl." He said casually as if he was ordering a meal.
"You're pretty confident aren't you?"
Maryanne asked looking up at him, "Do you realize whom you're going up against? This is the Nebraska family and I'm not just talking about one or two of them, but the whole family is there. Do you really think that you can fight them all?"
"I don't think I can." Gun Grave said walking along to the outskirts of town, "I know I will."
Maryanne suddenly felt a chill run down her spine like the feeling of cool wind brushing the back of her neck. She knew that this man either had to be just plan crazy or he had to be incredibly brave.
She followed him to the edge of town and the two never said a word to each other since. That was until they reached a hillside where they saw the orange blaze of a campfire.
Gun Grave wrapped the chains around his waist, as he crawled on his stomach on the rocky slope. His cat clung to his back with his claws while Marshall Maryanne climbed alongside of him. The two of them could feel the sharp bumps in the rocks as they climbed up the slopes. They came to the summit and found the most diabolical of atmospheres.
They saw the Big Brother Gang and The Nebraska Family laughing as a naked Miss Stephanie was trying to escape them. She was hopping from one foot to the other, the light of the fire showed blood spots in the dirt.
Stephanie's feet were cut from all those sharp rocks, she tried to escape them but she couldn't since her arms kept trying to cover herself up. She was still wet from her shower and she looked terrible with her hair
"Let me go!" She cried pitifully as she still tried to cover up her naked body. She kept running from one side of the fire to the other only encountering even worse people.
"Give me some clothes, please!" Her tears were evident as they ran down her face.
"I'll give you clothes." Professor Nebraska said being the old leach that he was, "If you do something for me."
Miss Stephanie screamed like she did back at the Inn, that same piteous cry that sounded like a teakettle boiling. Gun Grave finally knew what to do. He brought his cat up beside his face.
"Kuroneko." He spoke to the cat, "Stay here, understand?"
"Nyaoo." The cat meowed softly.
"Good." Gun Grave smiled as he turned to the Marshall, "I want you to stay here too." He said.
"What?" Maryanne asked, "Why? I have a job to do and I'm going down there."
"I'm sorry." Gun Grave stated, "But only I can do this, you'd just get in the way."
"I'm going." Maryanne was about to get to her feet, but Gun Grave brought his hand to the back of her neck and knocked her out.
It wasn't a huge tap, this one would only last for a few minutes, which was more than he would need to do his deed. He took his coffin, held it and took one last look at the carnival atmosphere that Miss Stephanie was trapped in.
He looked back at his furry companion who looked at him with the same look of disappointment. Gun Grave felt that the cat was disappointed at him for knocking out the Marshall.
"Don't look at me like that." He said, "She would have gotten in the way." He turned over and slid down the rocky hillside to the bottom. He unwrapped the chains of his coffin and slung it over his neck.
With the coffin on his shoulder he made his way to the campsite. His boots crushing the balls of dirt under his feet and the screaming of Miss Stephanie still drawing closer and closer like coming to a ringing telephone.
At last the members of the Big Brother Gang and the Nebraska Family was in sight. He knew that his telepathic powers couldn't reach that many people, only a few people. He decided to only make himself known silently. He came closer and then his plan was realized when Professor Nebraska who was sitting in Gofsef's enormous pocket noticed the gunslinger.
"Hey!" He shouted, "We got company!"
Everyone turned to look at the strange man and it gave a long enough distraction that the naked Miss Stephanie ran into his arms ever so gingerly as her feet still felt the sharp stones in the sand and dirt. She ran behind him finally covering herself up from all the perverts within the campsite.
"Who the hell are you?" Professor Nebraska asked in such a snippy voice he sounded like a disappointed two-year-old, "you spoiled our fun we were having with that girl." Gun Grave moved his lips and spoke to the Professor, "I am the 14th Gung-Ho Gun, Gun Grave the Undead. I've come back to take back Miss Stephanie and kill all of you."
The Professor only gazed at the stranger and then began to laugh. It was a cackle that was like a crow's caw. The Professors head slammed back against his enormous son's chest, he slapped his hand on his forehead, and his jaw wide open exposing his three teeth.
"You kill us?" He asked as he calmed down from his laughing fit, "you must be crazier than me! Not even Vash the Stampede was that crazy. I think I'll teach you a lesson stranger, using this technique." He snapped his fingers and his enourmous son got up on his feet the weight of this monster made the ground shake beneath him.
"Daddy!" Patricia cried, "Let us take care of him. It's not fair that you get all the fun!" Patricia truly acted her part since her hair was bleach blonde and her clothes accented how much she thought of herself, which was very highly.
"No!" the Professor shouted, "I'm going to use my human mince meat special course!"
With that order Gosef's right hand began to spin round and round like a piece of wood on a lathe. Yet, Gun Grave never moved from his spot. He simply stood there like the man he was and soon his abilities would be shown to the Nebraska family.
"Not going to move?" The professor asked,
"Good, that means less work!"
Gun Grave reached Stephanie's mind, "Hide, now!"
Stephanie didn't ask she dashed away from the scene as members of the Nebraska family and the Big Brother Gang got down. They knew what this attack was like and it certainly wasn't going to be very pretty. BOOM!
The spinning fist of Gofsef Nebraska launched out at Gun Grave. IT was only a short distance between the two of them.
However, to Gun Grave, nothing could touch him. Not even the powerful fist of Gofsef Nebraska could graze the 14th Gung-Ho Gun. He waited for the fist to be near him before giving the command. It was only within a matter of milliseconds before his word was spoken.
"Bullet time!" he said as everything around him froze. The fire flames motionless like pieces of paper standing upright. The people still like mannequins in a department store and Gofsef's fist only an inch away from Gun Grave's nose.
He looked around and saw everything and thought about how this would go. Of course the first target he thought would only be Gofsef and his father Professor Nebraska. With the target picked the only tough choice to make was what attack to use on the sick bastards.
He stepped to the part of the campsite that had the cliff-face and there he saw that a line to the rest of his arm connected the fist of Gofsef Nebraska and then Gun Grave thought of an attack. He brought up his coffin to his shoulder and popped out the scope and targeted the fist.
"Deathblow!" He shouted in his mind and the rocket fired out at his fist as he came out of Bullet time to watch the effects of it all.
"URRR!" Gofsef moaned as the rocket hit his fist and sent it flying into the rocks away from the campsite.
Professor Nebraska looked out in disbelief and tried to recall what happened. It was as if the stranger named Gun Grave had vanished like a fart in the wind. Though the only remaining question he had was where was he. He voice the question in a profaine manner.
"Where the hell are you!?" He demanded Gun Grave sent the message, "I'm over here pinhead."
Professor Nebraska looked and found the stranger leaning casually against the cliffface. From those who went for cover, up came Marilyn Nebraska who paraded herself and offered her weapon.
"How about now, daddy?" She asked, "Can I try now?"
Then another voice called in, "No, how about me!?" It was the leader of the Big Brother gang, he came out with his gun. It looked more like a cannon that had a belt of bullets connected to it. Pressing the release button the cannon flowered open into several barrels of the same gun.
"A piece of advice," he laughed, "Always save your best for last." He cackled again as he knew that no one could survive his gun. He pulled the trigger that sent the bullets flying in nearly every direction but all the bullets were for Gun Grave.
"Bullet time!" Gun Grave stated as he saw all the bullets slow down and become frozen in time like insects in amber. He stepped though the frozen hailstorm of bullets to get behind the man only known as Big Brother.
He got behind him and allowed time to come back up to speed. The bullets hit the cliff-face sending out dust and sand so much that no one could see if the man was being hit or not. Big Brother waited until the dust settled and found nothing there.
"Where did he go?!" He asked looking from left to right.
Silently, Gun Grave took out his guns and shoved them into the back of Big Brother. He whispered telepathically to him knowing that this man like the others was a pervert and that he was doing a great service by killing him.
"By the way," he whispered, "I didn't use my ace." Gun Grave pulled the trigger sending the bullet through Big Brothers chest and bringing down one enemy.
The whole camp watched in disbelief as one man had taken on some of the most dangerous criminals in all of Gunsmoke.
Even the Big Brother Gang, they watched as their beloved leader fell to the ground with his gun still in his hand. All of their hearts were breaking as they ran up to their beloved leader.
Gun Grave spoke to the gang since there were only a few and he could manage speaking telepathically to them, "I felt that I should keep the rest of you alive." He said,
"In order to bury him."
"You bastard!" One man shouted, it was the man who was bald and had the star-shaped tattoo on his forehead. He brought out a knife and came up to Gun Grave with it drawn out ready to cut. Gun Grave felt the he was just walking into death as he ran up to it.
He simply brought out his black gun and shot him. The bullet went right between his eyebrows and came out the back of his head.
"Whose next?" Gun Grave asked himself
"It's my turn!" Marilyn Nebraska shouted,
"Mom, Chinpei, Tonkachi, and Kanta attack him. We shall kill him in honor of our brother and father in our most beautiful style!"
Gun Grave felt sick of this woman. She gave him that same tacky sick feeling that Brilliant Dynamites Neon gave him. She too looked tacky, like Brittany Spears claiming to be a virgin in Victoria Secret underwear.
Gun Grave looked to see three oddly shaped men transform into spinning balls like Sonic the Hedgehog right before he bursts out with speed. Gun Grave had heard of the things the Nebraska Family could do and now he was going to counter it as easily as turning a knob.
"ATTACK!" Marilyn shouted as the three balls of doom fired out at him.
"Bullet time." Gun Grave said again he watched as the man-spheres were frozen, this time four targets were there. Including the enormous woman who looked like a female version of Gofsef. She too looked tacky, like a female weightlifter on steroids.
With four targets in his sight as well as the remaining members of the Big Brother Gang, he knew just the attack to use. He set down his coffin by the cliff-face and came to the center of the campsite with both guns in his hands.
Everything was in place, he held his guns to his chest and began the attack. He held them out in 180 degrees apart from each other.
"Raging Inferno!" he called and began to dance in every direction like the Native American dances that are shown on the History or Discovery Channel.
He sent out bullets in every 360-degree angle each one hitting their target consecutively. The only one that he didn't kill was Marilyn Nebraska; the kill for her would be special. Like the kill he made for Brilliant Dynamites Neon back on the Sand Steamer.
The Raging Inferno was done on the ground, it was time for the second and final part of this gruesome onslaught. He jumped up into the air, still in Bullet time and fired every bullet his finger could pull from his guns down to the ground like a deadly hailstorm.
Slowly he came back out of Bullet Time and the chaos he had inflicted was atrocious. Every member of the Nebraska Family and the Big Brother Gang was dead. Except for one person, Marilyn Nebraska, this kill would be his sweetest.
To put an end of her tackiness, she tried to run. She ran down the hillside, sliding down it, getting the dirt and stones up her skirt, tearing at her pantyhose and underwear.
She got back up feeling the searing pain under her skirt, looking back at the orange glow of the campfire and the silhouettes of bodies that used to be her family.
She turned around and there was the 14th Gung-Ho Gun, Gun Grave the Undead. She shrieked as she fell back onto her ass in the dirt and sand.
"You look just fine down there." Gun Grave smiled wickedly, "Down there in the dirt, sand and filth." He brought up his gun to her forehead, as the muzzle was pressed against her head she was weeping like a little girl with a skinned knee.
"Why? Why are you doing this? We wouldn't have killed her." Marilyn's tears streaked her face just like Stephanie before her.
It truly was ironic that she switched places with her victim, but now she was justifying what she and her gang did. "We only wanted the money." She sobbed, "We weren't going to kill her. We just wanted money."
"Materialism." Gun Grave said still holding the gun at Marilyn,
"Such a human frailty. Your tacky clothes signify that."
"Please, don't kill me." Marilyn continued to sob.
"Sorry." Gun Grave said as he pulled the trigger. It was the loudest since he didn't use this shot during bullet time, the sound echoed across the desert valleys all around sending its feedback to its source.
Strange, he thought, it was the first time that he ever apologized to his victim before killing them. Yet, this one was the only one he was interested in.
He needed her fluids, especially after using all those Bullet Times recently. He went around from corpse to corpse draining them of their bodily fluids. Though the only usable ones were Marilyn Nebraska as well as the members of the Big Brother Gang.
The rest of the Nebraska family were too mechanical to provide any fluid useful enough.
Gun Grave came back to the sight where he left his cat, and there was Marshall Maryanne and Miss Stephanie who was clothed in the Marshall's red coat.
The two of them looked at Gun Grave in a shocked manner as he placed his furry companion back into his coffin. He raised his hat at the ladies.
"My work is done here." He said
"Wait." The Marshall stopped him, "I was just told of what you did to the dead bodies down there. You really are a sick man. Not only that but you've killed these people. That makes you more of a monster than they are."
"Who's the bigger monster?" Gun Grave asked, "the killer or the killer who kills killers?"
"That's not the point, the point is you committed first degree murder."
"I got Miss Stephanie back didn't I?" Miss Stephanie could hear Gun Grave telepathic voice, "That's true Marshall he did save my life despite what he did with them. I'll explain things to my daddy he'll understand."
"Regardless." The Marshall said coldly, "I'm going to have to arrest you sir, whatever your name is."
"I am the 14th Gung-Ho Gun, Gun Grave the Undead." He stated, "Before you arrest me, take a good look at the criminals bodies. They'll be more like that if you attempt to do so."
"I don't care." She said, "You're under arrest for multiple counts of first degree murder, Gun Grave!"
"Bullet time!" Gun Grave said.
It was an unusual word that he said but in that instant in front of Marshall Maryanne and Miss Stephanie Bowstock, Gun Grave was gone.
To be continued
By ShadowHawk & Turles
Disclaimer: We do not own the copyrights to Trigun, or any other copyrighted information. All Copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Trigun: Gun Grave
Chapter 4: Truth of Pity
Back in the present, Gun Grave awoke in his bed on the Sand Steamer. His flash about the past had consumed him in his sleep. The sleepiness was still in his eyes as he stared up at the rusty awful looking ceiling of this old ship. Then again, everything on this planet is old and rusted. He sat up in his bed and felt the sweat come between him and his shirt. Reaching up to his forehead he brushed away the sweat on his face. The flashbacks he had were the only memories of the past he had. He didn't know anything before the Gung-Ho Guns, nothing. It was as if he was born of the Gung-Ho Guns.
"Nyao." A small voice called out.
Gun Grave looked and sitting there at the foot of his bed was a small black cat. It looked at him with its enormous yellow eyes with its cat-eye slits. He didn't know what to make of the cat or (for that matter) how it got into his room in the first place.
Looking at the cat, Gun Grave never moved and neither did the cat. They simply looked at each other separated by only a few feet of the bed.
As he stared, Gun Grave began felt something within him. Something that he didn't recognize nor had a word for. Yet the feeling was still there.
He outstretched his arms to the cat and the cat came walking up to the gunman. The cat began to rub its head into Gun Grave chest and for the first time in a very long time the gunman smiled at the cat as he petted it.
He rubbed his fingers through the cats black fur and had no desire to kill it. It truly was a first for him in which he had no desire to kill something that was in his company. Petting the cat Gun Grave suddenly realized that the Sand Steamer had stopped.
Still holding the cat in his arms he got up from the bed and looked out of the small round window he had. From his vantage-point he saw a city that was nestled against a mountain range, it was circular, its streets and buildings almost looked like a spiders web from his distance. He knew this place.
It was Warren City. It was here that he decided to make a stop he looked down at the cat in his arms that looked back at him with its big yellow eyes.
"Nyao." It said.
"I think," Gun Grave said to himself, "I'll call you, Kuroneko."
Still holding onto the cat he went to the coffin and opened it up and placed the cat in it. He gave it one last rub before he closed the lid and heard the cat say its singular phrase.
"Nyao."
Gun Grave gently slung the coffin onto his shoulders before embarking out into Warren City. He walked through the halls of the Sand Steamer, but he never used Bullet Time especially with his furry companion in his coffin. He knew that Bullet Time would have no adverse effects on him but who knows what they might do to Kuroneko. So, carefully stepping off of the Sand Steamer, he came down into Warren City. He had heard of this place before.
It was the town that the gunsmith named Frank Marlin lived. A long time ago in Warren City it was overrun but vicious bandits so Frank Marlin the gunsmith handed out guns to the people that he made and taught the people how to use them. At least that was the sweet side of the story, then it turned dark when his wife and daughter were killed in a bank robbery.
They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but to Frank the worst part was that the robbers had used the very same guns he made. After that horrible incident, Frank Marlin crawled inside a whiskey bottle and had been there ever since. That was until his encounter with a man in a long red coat that made him realize why he was a gunsmith in the first place. It was because of Frank Marlin that there was no sheriff at all in Warren City.
The local tavern of Warren City was the place that was usually bustling with activity. This place also acted not only as the tavern but also as a restaurant and a dance hall. Like so many other places that Gun Grave had been to whenever he entered a tavern (or bar) everyone would stop to gain one look at him. Ignoring the stares he casually walked to one of the barstools, sat down and carefully placed his coffin with his companion still inside.
The bartender was a plump middle-age woman who came over to him.
"What'll you have, stranger?" She asked out of habit.
Gun Grave moved his lips and said "A glass of whiskey and a saucer of milk."
She leered at him wondering why a man would want milk when he could have glorious alcohol instead. She watched as he moved and opened the lid of the coffin and from it sprang a little black cat with enormous yellow eyes.
The bartender didn't ask questions as she served the milk. She set the saucer on the bar while the cat lapped it up, happy as he could possibly be. Yet she didn't give Gun Grave his whiskey. She held it back in one hand but extended the other as if asking for a tip.
"I don't want no trouble." She said, "So, your gonna have to give me your gun until you leave."
Gun Grave didn't exhale or roll his eyes, he just sat complacently. He leaned over to his coffin and pulled out the Cerberus guns and handed them to the bartender. He laid them down upon the bar where his cat still lapped up the milk ignoring the world around him.
The bartender looked at the gun with eyebrows raised. She had to take them one at a time in order to store them underneath the bar since her hand was still holding onto the whiskey.
She never said anything about the guns, she only gave the drink to her customer and went about her daily business.
Behind Gun Grave a friendly game of poker was going on between four people who were just starting to get to know each other.
Sitting at one part of the circular table was a woman in a red outfit (pants and jacket) with a Marshall's star upon her left breast. She was young and blonde with her hair pulled up into a bun in the back of her head. This was Marshall Maryanne Alukaisen.
Next to the Marshall was a beautiful younger girl with long brown hair and hazel eyes that looked carefully at her cards.
Unlike the Marshall who wore very masculine clothes, this young woman wore a proper dress accentuating every curve of her feminine body.
This was the daughter of one of the richest men on Gunsmoke, a man named Bowstock, but otherwise known as Grim Reaper Bowstock.
The beautiful young girl was named Stephanie Bowstock.
The other two at the table were men. One of them was a dirty looking person who looked as though he had worn the same clothes for the past week.
Not in an on and off fashion but more like he slept in the clothes he was wearing. The dirtiest part of him was his hands, which were stained with, grease, dirt and grim that contrasted against the bright colors of the cards.
His bulbous nose was above the edge of the cards as he looked out at his opponents. On the table near him was a bottle of the best whiskey in the house, he took it and swigged it down like water. This man was the hero of the town, the Gunsmith Frank Marlin.
The last person sitting at the table was a very muscular man who wasn't afraid to show off his muscles by wearing a tank top. Yet his pants were only held up not by a belt but by thin suspenders. He looked at his opponents with his bald head shinning in the dim light which didn't hid the star shaped tattoo on his forehead. He was a member of the Big Brother Gang, named Joe Brother.
The game was intense, everyone had made their bets and all was riding on this last set of bets. The Marshall looked at her cards with hidden confidence, in her experience, dealing with criminals she has taught herself a poker face so that she can't give away the zeal she had over her hand. She had three of a kind, three tens, an ace and a king. Luck had to be on her side.
"I'll bet twenty double dollars." She said looking across the table to the man who was next in the turn base, the Gunsmith Frank Marlin.
Frank took one swig of his whiskey bottle, setting it back down he wiped away the excess. He looked back at his cards and deep within the pit of his stomach the excitement grew as he had four of a kind. He had four sevens and a duce, he knew that this could beat several common combos.
"I'll see your twenty, and I'll raise you eighty double dollars." He set his stack of chips at the edge of the pile where the one double dollar antes were chipped in.
Both Maryanne and Frank could only stare at each other hoping that they would win this hand. This game had gone from friendly to frantic with real money on the line. The hearts around this table were thumping with the pile of chips growing with each ludicrous bet.
Next was Joe Brother, he looked at both Maryanne and Frank. He brought his eyes back to his cards and saw that he had a full house. He had two kinds and three queens.
He knew that there were only two hands that could beat this hand. A straight which is uncommon but can be made, and a royal flush.
A royal flush is a hand that is so improbably that it's damn near impossible to get. He knew that the odds were in his favor.
"I'll see your bets," He said, "one-hundred double dollars and I'll raise both of you two-hundred double dollars."
He placed his stacks at the edge of the pile and the colors and height of the stack already scared the competitors. Frank and Maryanne raised their eyebrows and decided that this was definitely the time to quit while they were ahead.
"I fold." Frank said bitterly as he laid his cards down while taking a very big gulp on his whiskey.
Maryanne shook her head, "Too rich for my blood." She laid her cards down and watched as the game came down only to these two, Stephanie Bowstock whose butler was standing right behind her looking at the cards she had.
Stephanie stared right back at Joe Brother and smiled, "Well, then that makes 300 for me to see. So, I'll see that bet and raise you 500."
Joe Brother smirked, "800 double dollars, you must be pretty confident about your hand. I'll see all that and raise you everything else I have. That makes over 1500 double dollars. Let's see your cards."
He shoved the remaining piles of chips he had to the pile making it almost like a fortress of poker chips.
Stephanie did the same making hers like a skyline of poker chip stacks but she still kept her smile.
"I have," the member of the Big Brother gang said, "a full house, kings and queens." He laid his cards out in plain view for Maryanne, Frank and Stephanie to see. He glowed as if he knew he won but he didn't know what was coming to him.
Stephanie took out one card at a time and laid them out on the table evenly spaced.
"10 of spades." She said methodically as if reading the names off of a list, "Jack of Spades, Queens of Spades, King of Spades, and Ace of Spades. I believe that makes a royal flush."
Joe Brother, the member of the Big Brother Gang looked down at the cards and couldn't believe his own eyes and ears. No one had ever gotten a great hand like that and here it was right in front of him. He could only look at Stephanie's cards and back to his in denial hoping that there was some kind of mistakes.
But there wasn't one, he lowered his head and moaned his admission for defeat. While Stephanie Bowstock relished her victory as she pulled in the poker chips like Ebenezer Scrooge hoarding his precious gold.
"I give." Joe said as he walked out of the saloon.
Stephanie didn't even try to call him back because she had a feeling that there was something wrong with that man. Yet, she didn't allow that to spoil her fun as she set her eyes back on her game mates. She smiled.
"Would you two like to play again?" She asked
Maryanne shrugged, "Sure."
Frank took a swig of his whiskey, "Why not?" He asked, "I don't have anything to loose."
* * *
On the outskirts of Warren City there was an alliance of the most ghastly proportions that was taking place. Far from the town was a rocky hillside that when anyone stood on the top of it they could see the city and its odd shape and how its division of buildings and streets made it all look like a spider's web.
Behind the summit of this rocky hillside was a convertible car that had a frilly-laced umbrella perched just right for the man sitting under it.
This was the head of the Big Brother Gang, who has no other name except for the name his members give him, "Big Brother".
Likewise as he only calls his gang members' "brother". He sat under the umbrella that protected him from the hot sun as he read a smutty little magazine and giggled as he looked at the pictures the folded out of them. Yet he wasn't the only one there, around the car were the members of his gang that waited for their plans to go into action.
Again, they weren't' the only ones there, the Nebraska Family was there too.
The Nebraska family, one of the most dangerous families known, for more than obvious reasons. First there was the father of the family, a short bald scraggly little man with a green tinted monocle and only three teeth left in his skull. He was sitting in his sons' pocket. His son, Gofsef Nebraska who was enormous in comparison to his father who was only five foot three inches, while his son was over 200 feet tall same as his mother Patricia Nebraska.
Both Patricia and Gofsef looked almost like machines with their enormous size and mechanical parts driving them. The children of the family were Marilyn (one of the only daughters to the Nebraska's), then there were the sons Chinpei, Tonkachi, and Kanta. The Nebraska family (as one man might put it) was the perfect "Anti-Brady Bunch".
The Nebraska family was nestled away from the car that the head of the Big Brother Gang since the size of Gofsef and Patricia Nebraska made him nervous to say the least.
Then who could blame him? Both Gofsef and Patricia could make anyone nervous with their enormous size and menacing looks with all the primitive mechanical parts in their bodies like steam engine trains.
Just then one of the members of the big brother gang was coming, Big Brother knew who it was just from the look, it was Joe Brother.
"Big Brother." He called gasping for air running up to the car. He came up to the car trying to avoid contact with the Nebraska family, "Big Brother. I found her, I found the girl we need to capture, Stephanie Bowstock, the daughter of Grim Reaper Bowstock."
Big Brother set aside his smutty magazine and took out one of his guns that split open into a lighter. He light it and took in an easy breath to puff it all back out again.
"Excellent work, Brother." Big Brother smiled with the cigarette between his teeth,
"Now we can make even more money then just robbing a bank."
"What are you waiting for?" The little Professor Nebraska asked from his son's pocket, his voice sounding high and squeaky at the same time, "Let's go get the little girl and hold her ransom."
"Huuurrr!" Gofsef grunted as the steam engine piston in the back of his head spewed out smoke as if saying very primitively money good!
"No." Big Brother said sucking in the smoke, "You guys will draw too much attention. I'll send my brothers to get her and I've already written the ransom note."
He reached into the car and pulled out the piece of paper that had the ransom writ upon it. This was the plan and Big Brother couldn't help but to laugh.
"It's 4,000 yars to the nearest town and no sheriff, just like last time. And best of all no one's going to stop us, not the armed towns' people or anyone. We'll just take Stephanie from her bed tonight, got that dear brothers?"
"Yes!" The brothers said in unison.
Later that night at one of the many local hotels of Warren City, Miss Stephanie Bowstock was getting ready to take a very relaxing shower.
She stood in the cast iron bathtub, her curtains drawn and the windows closed she allowed her hair to come down over her body. The soothingly warm water ran all over her naked body and through her brown hair. The only sounds she could hear was the rapid tap, tap sound the water made against the cast iron tub. In this state, Miss Stephanie was even more beautiful then all her clothes could even say. It is said that the nudity of the human body is the purest form that could ever be obtained, in Miss Stephanie's case that statement is only next door to the truth.
She didn't see it; her eyes were closed to the approaching danger that was coming from behind the shower curtain. It was a dark luminous shadow like death itself that was coming for her.
It crept step by step making sure that it didn't step upon any of the loose floorboards that would creak and call Miss Stephanie's attention. The creeping shadow came up to the shower curtain, its weapon of choice in hand, it reached for the shower curtain and it yanked it back.
All of a sudden Miss Stephanie's attention was completely diverted, here she was a young beautiful girl, naked in the shower being attacked by an unknown person. She didn't care if the water or soap got in her eyes or if her hair was in her face. The shadow that was in front of her made her afraid. She tried to cover her body, placing her arm across her breasts while she shrieked.
It was a shriek that almost sounded like an old teakettle that was boiling sending its steam through the whistle of its spout.
Stephanie couldn't fight as the figure shoved a white cloth on her face and the more she shrieked the more effect of whatever was in the cloth got into her.
She let go of the struggle as the chemical soaked into her system. She no longer saw the shadow as she fell into darkness.
* * * Just next door was the room that Gun Grave was staying. He was staying here because according to the schedule of the Sand Steamer it was here to drop off several supplies to this town. So, therefore there was time to actually relax and since he had a new companion not everyday feels so lonely anymore.
Each time Gun Grave would turn there would be that cat, smiling with those big yellow eyes at him. He was dreaming again that night it was about the same two children, but this time a third was there. The third one was much younger than the first two but still the question remained of who these children were. The question burned within the gunslinger like heartburn that wouldn't disappear.
He remembered looking at one of the child's face, it was one of the girls face and her mouth opened like she was about to say something.
Instead the girl screamed such a shriek that Gun Grave awoke from his sleep covering his ears. The scream wasn't in his dream it was coming from the next room, soon it stopped and he was at last in peace with himself.
Or so he thought, next after the screaming came more voices. With buildings such as these there isn't exactly as much insulation so therefore anything loud can be heard in the next room. Such as one could hear a couple screaming out as they make love or when someone is having a fight.
"What's happened?" A commanding ladies voice asked
Next came the sound of sobbing in a mans voice, "It's Miss Stephanie, she's been kidnapped!"
"Calm down." The lady commanded, "Is there a note or anything like that?"
The man's sobbing began to die down as he began to read, "To Grim Reaper Bowstock," He read, "We have your daughter. We demand a ransom of 500,000 double dollars to be delivered 5 isles outside of town."
The man who was reading this tried to keep back his sobbing so that his reading was clear but he couldn't' help it, "If any tricks are used then your precious.." He sobbed, "daughter Stephanie Bowstock will die. Signed, The Big Brother Gang and The Nebraska Family."
"Don't worry." The woman's voice said,
"I'll find a way."
Gun Grave sat up in his bed and listened to the voices coming from the next room. He thought about it but then he figured that it had nothing to do with him. He turned around on his and there was his furry little companion staring at him his eyes speaking something different.
Gun Grave couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly but it was still there. The cat even though it could only speak one phrase seemed to speak in a thousand words with one glance.
The look seemed like disappointment to him, he then understood that the cat was telling him that something should be done about this. Even though he already took his stance and felt that it had nothing to do with him.
The cat was telling him without saying a word that he should do otherwise.
"I guess your right, Kuroneko." Gun Grave smiled, such a rare sight for a man who is undead to be smiling in his state. He had to do something about this situation, who knew what it was, guilt because if the girl died it would be on his consciousness.
Could it have been something deeper under the surface? A residue of humanity left in his undead body? Who knows, but Gun Grave felt that he should do something or his peace would be disturbed.
He gathered his things together into his coffin as well as his cat, but this time the cat didn't jump into the coffin. This time he jumped onto the board shoulders that Gun Grave had. He nuzzled up to his cold cheek and brushing past his cyborg eye. Gun Grave couldn't resist but bring up his hand to pet his cat.
"Let's go then." He said as he made his way down the hall. But as he did just behind him was the Marshall that was at the bar earlier that day.
Marshall Maryanne, she was the one who was asking questions to Miss Stephanie's butler.
Yet, she saw Gun Grave move down the hall and then she grew a little suspicious. Some would call it "police instinct" while others would probably call it "Feminine Intuition".
"Where do you think you're going?" She called to Gun Grave.
Gun Grave stopped and spoke through his mind to the Marshall, "I'm going to save the day."
"Not without me your not!" She said as she ran down to Gun Grave, but she couldn't get in front of him since his wide shoulders were hogging the hallway.
At last when they got down to the street, Maryanne was able to get a glimpse of this self-proclaimed savior. She saw him in the light of the street lamps. His face was cold and expressionless especially with that bionic eye of his. His clothes dark as if he was an undertaker or someone going to a funeral. The coffin that hung from chains wrapped around his shoulders made Maryanne shudder at the sight of them. He looked like he was going to kill anyone who would look at him funny, but if she only knew the half of it. Yet it was the cat that made Maryanne scratch her head. How could a man as frightening as death itself have such an animal like that?
"What do you plan to do?" She asked
Gun Grave moved his lips while he spoke into Maryanne's mind, "I plan to save the girl." He said casually as if he was ordering a meal.
"You're pretty confident aren't you?"
Maryanne asked looking up at him, "Do you realize whom you're going up against? This is the Nebraska family and I'm not just talking about one or two of them, but the whole family is there. Do you really think that you can fight them all?"
"I don't think I can." Gun Grave said walking along to the outskirts of town, "I know I will."
Maryanne suddenly felt a chill run down her spine like the feeling of cool wind brushing the back of her neck. She knew that this man either had to be just plan crazy or he had to be incredibly brave.
She followed him to the edge of town and the two never said a word to each other since. That was until they reached a hillside where they saw the orange blaze of a campfire.
Gun Grave wrapped the chains around his waist, as he crawled on his stomach on the rocky slope. His cat clung to his back with his claws while Marshall Maryanne climbed alongside of him. The two of them could feel the sharp bumps in the rocks as they climbed up the slopes. They came to the summit and found the most diabolical of atmospheres.
They saw the Big Brother Gang and The Nebraska Family laughing as a naked Miss Stephanie was trying to escape them. She was hopping from one foot to the other, the light of the fire showed blood spots in the dirt.
Stephanie's feet were cut from all those sharp rocks, she tried to escape them but she couldn't since her arms kept trying to cover herself up. She was still wet from her shower and she looked terrible with her hair
"Let me go!" She cried pitifully as she still tried to cover up her naked body. She kept running from one side of the fire to the other only encountering even worse people.
"Give me some clothes, please!" Her tears were evident as they ran down her face.
"I'll give you clothes." Professor Nebraska said being the old leach that he was, "If you do something for me."
Miss Stephanie screamed like she did back at the Inn, that same piteous cry that sounded like a teakettle boiling. Gun Grave finally knew what to do. He brought his cat up beside his face.
"Kuroneko." He spoke to the cat, "Stay here, understand?"
"Nyaoo." The cat meowed softly.
"Good." Gun Grave smiled as he turned to the Marshall, "I want you to stay here too." He said.
"What?" Maryanne asked, "Why? I have a job to do and I'm going down there."
"I'm sorry." Gun Grave stated, "But only I can do this, you'd just get in the way."
"I'm going." Maryanne was about to get to her feet, but Gun Grave brought his hand to the back of her neck and knocked her out.
It wasn't a huge tap, this one would only last for a few minutes, which was more than he would need to do his deed. He took his coffin, held it and took one last look at the carnival atmosphere that Miss Stephanie was trapped in.
He looked back at his furry companion who looked at him with the same look of disappointment. Gun Grave felt that the cat was disappointed at him for knocking out the Marshall.
"Don't look at me like that." He said, "She would have gotten in the way." He turned over and slid down the rocky hillside to the bottom. He unwrapped the chains of his coffin and slung it over his neck.
With the coffin on his shoulder he made his way to the campsite. His boots crushing the balls of dirt under his feet and the screaming of Miss Stephanie still drawing closer and closer like coming to a ringing telephone.
At last the members of the Big Brother Gang and the Nebraska Family was in sight. He knew that his telepathic powers couldn't reach that many people, only a few people. He decided to only make himself known silently. He came closer and then his plan was realized when Professor Nebraska who was sitting in Gofsef's enormous pocket noticed the gunslinger.
"Hey!" He shouted, "We got company!"
Everyone turned to look at the strange man and it gave a long enough distraction that the naked Miss Stephanie ran into his arms ever so gingerly as her feet still felt the sharp stones in the sand and dirt. She ran behind him finally covering herself up from all the perverts within the campsite.
"Who the hell are you?" Professor Nebraska asked in such a snippy voice he sounded like a disappointed two-year-old, "you spoiled our fun we were having with that girl." Gun Grave moved his lips and spoke to the Professor, "I am the 14th Gung-Ho Gun, Gun Grave the Undead. I've come back to take back Miss Stephanie and kill all of you."
The Professor only gazed at the stranger and then began to laugh. It was a cackle that was like a crow's caw. The Professors head slammed back against his enormous son's chest, he slapped his hand on his forehead, and his jaw wide open exposing his three teeth.
"You kill us?" He asked as he calmed down from his laughing fit, "you must be crazier than me! Not even Vash the Stampede was that crazy. I think I'll teach you a lesson stranger, using this technique." He snapped his fingers and his enourmous son got up on his feet the weight of this monster made the ground shake beneath him.
"Daddy!" Patricia cried, "Let us take care of him. It's not fair that you get all the fun!" Patricia truly acted her part since her hair was bleach blonde and her clothes accented how much she thought of herself, which was very highly.
"No!" the Professor shouted, "I'm going to use my human mince meat special course!"
With that order Gosef's right hand began to spin round and round like a piece of wood on a lathe. Yet, Gun Grave never moved from his spot. He simply stood there like the man he was and soon his abilities would be shown to the Nebraska family.
"Not going to move?" The professor asked,
"Good, that means less work!"
Gun Grave reached Stephanie's mind, "Hide, now!"
Stephanie didn't ask she dashed away from the scene as members of the Nebraska family and the Big Brother Gang got down. They knew what this attack was like and it certainly wasn't going to be very pretty. BOOM!
The spinning fist of Gofsef Nebraska launched out at Gun Grave. IT was only a short distance between the two of them.
However, to Gun Grave, nothing could touch him. Not even the powerful fist of Gofsef Nebraska could graze the 14th Gung-Ho Gun. He waited for the fist to be near him before giving the command. It was only within a matter of milliseconds before his word was spoken.
"Bullet time!" he said as everything around him froze. The fire flames motionless like pieces of paper standing upright. The people still like mannequins in a department store and Gofsef's fist only an inch away from Gun Grave's nose.
He looked around and saw everything and thought about how this would go. Of course the first target he thought would only be Gofsef and his father Professor Nebraska. With the target picked the only tough choice to make was what attack to use on the sick bastards.
He stepped to the part of the campsite that had the cliff-face and there he saw that a line to the rest of his arm connected the fist of Gofsef Nebraska and then Gun Grave thought of an attack. He brought up his coffin to his shoulder and popped out the scope and targeted the fist.
"Deathblow!" He shouted in his mind and the rocket fired out at his fist as he came out of Bullet time to watch the effects of it all.
"URRR!" Gofsef moaned as the rocket hit his fist and sent it flying into the rocks away from the campsite.
Professor Nebraska looked out in disbelief and tried to recall what happened. It was as if the stranger named Gun Grave had vanished like a fart in the wind. Though the only remaining question he had was where was he. He voice the question in a profaine manner.
"Where the hell are you!?" He demanded Gun Grave sent the message, "I'm over here pinhead."
Professor Nebraska looked and found the stranger leaning casually against the cliffface. From those who went for cover, up came Marilyn Nebraska who paraded herself and offered her weapon.
"How about now, daddy?" She asked, "Can I try now?"
Then another voice called in, "No, how about me!?" It was the leader of the Big Brother gang, he came out with his gun. It looked more like a cannon that had a belt of bullets connected to it. Pressing the release button the cannon flowered open into several barrels of the same gun.
"A piece of advice," he laughed, "Always save your best for last." He cackled again as he knew that no one could survive his gun. He pulled the trigger that sent the bullets flying in nearly every direction but all the bullets were for Gun Grave.
"Bullet time!" Gun Grave stated as he saw all the bullets slow down and become frozen in time like insects in amber. He stepped though the frozen hailstorm of bullets to get behind the man only known as Big Brother.
He got behind him and allowed time to come back up to speed. The bullets hit the cliff-face sending out dust and sand so much that no one could see if the man was being hit or not. Big Brother waited until the dust settled and found nothing there.
"Where did he go?!" He asked looking from left to right.
Silently, Gun Grave took out his guns and shoved them into the back of Big Brother. He whispered telepathically to him knowing that this man like the others was a pervert and that he was doing a great service by killing him.
"By the way," he whispered, "I didn't use my ace." Gun Grave pulled the trigger sending the bullet through Big Brothers chest and bringing down one enemy.
The whole camp watched in disbelief as one man had taken on some of the most dangerous criminals in all of Gunsmoke.
Even the Big Brother Gang, they watched as their beloved leader fell to the ground with his gun still in his hand. All of their hearts were breaking as they ran up to their beloved leader.
Gun Grave spoke to the gang since there were only a few and he could manage speaking telepathically to them, "I felt that I should keep the rest of you alive." He said,
"In order to bury him."
"You bastard!" One man shouted, it was the man who was bald and had the star-shaped tattoo on his forehead. He brought out a knife and came up to Gun Grave with it drawn out ready to cut. Gun Grave felt the he was just walking into death as he ran up to it.
He simply brought out his black gun and shot him. The bullet went right between his eyebrows and came out the back of his head.
"Whose next?" Gun Grave asked himself
"It's my turn!" Marilyn Nebraska shouted,
"Mom, Chinpei, Tonkachi, and Kanta attack him. We shall kill him in honor of our brother and father in our most beautiful style!"
Gun Grave felt sick of this woman. She gave him that same tacky sick feeling that Brilliant Dynamites Neon gave him. She too looked tacky, like Brittany Spears claiming to be a virgin in Victoria Secret underwear.
Gun Grave looked to see three oddly shaped men transform into spinning balls like Sonic the Hedgehog right before he bursts out with speed. Gun Grave had heard of the things the Nebraska Family could do and now he was going to counter it as easily as turning a knob.
"ATTACK!" Marilyn shouted as the three balls of doom fired out at him.
"Bullet time." Gun Grave said again he watched as the man-spheres were frozen, this time four targets were there. Including the enormous woman who looked like a female version of Gofsef. She too looked tacky, like a female weightlifter on steroids.
With four targets in his sight as well as the remaining members of the Big Brother Gang, he knew just the attack to use. He set down his coffin by the cliff-face and came to the center of the campsite with both guns in his hands.
Everything was in place, he held his guns to his chest and began the attack. He held them out in 180 degrees apart from each other.
"Raging Inferno!" he called and began to dance in every direction like the Native American dances that are shown on the History or Discovery Channel.
He sent out bullets in every 360-degree angle each one hitting their target consecutively. The only one that he didn't kill was Marilyn Nebraska; the kill for her would be special. Like the kill he made for Brilliant Dynamites Neon back on the Sand Steamer.
The Raging Inferno was done on the ground, it was time for the second and final part of this gruesome onslaught. He jumped up into the air, still in Bullet time and fired every bullet his finger could pull from his guns down to the ground like a deadly hailstorm.
Slowly he came back out of Bullet Time and the chaos he had inflicted was atrocious. Every member of the Nebraska Family and the Big Brother Gang was dead. Except for one person, Marilyn Nebraska, this kill would be his sweetest.
To put an end of her tackiness, she tried to run. She ran down the hillside, sliding down it, getting the dirt and stones up her skirt, tearing at her pantyhose and underwear.
She got back up feeling the searing pain under her skirt, looking back at the orange glow of the campfire and the silhouettes of bodies that used to be her family.
She turned around and there was the 14th Gung-Ho Gun, Gun Grave the Undead. She shrieked as she fell back onto her ass in the dirt and sand.
"You look just fine down there." Gun Grave smiled wickedly, "Down there in the dirt, sand and filth." He brought up his gun to her forehead, as the muzzle was pressed against her head she was weeping like a little girl with a skinned knee.
"Why? Why are you doing this? We wouldn't have killed her." Marilyn's tears streaked her face just like Stephanie before her.
It truly was ironic that she switched places with her victim, but now she was justifying what she and her gang did. "We only wanted the money." She sobbed, "We weren't going to kill her. We just wanted money."
"Materialism." Gun Grave said still holding the gun at Marilyn,
"Such a human frailty. Your tacky clothes signify that."
"Please, don't kill me." Marilyn continued to sob.
"Sorry." Gun Grave said as he pulled the trigger. It was the loudest since he didn't use this shot during bullet time, the sound echoed across the desert valleys all around sending its feedback to its source.
Strange, he thought, it was the first time that he ever apologized to his victim before killing them. Yet, this one was the only one he was interested in.
He needed her fluids, especially after using all those Bullet Times recently. He went around from corpse to corpse draining them of their bodily fluids. Though the only usable ones were Marilyn Nebraska as well as the members of the Big Brother Gang.
The rest of the Nebraska family were too mechanical to provide any fluid useful enough.
Gun Grave came back to the sight where he left his cat, and there was Marshall Maryanne and Miss Stephanie who was clothed in the Marshall's red coat.
The two of them looked at Gun Grave in a shocked manner as he placed his furry companion back into his coffin. He raised his hat at the ladies.
"My work is done here." He said
"Wait." The Marshall stopped him, "I was just told of what you did to the dead bodies down there. You really are a sick man. Not only that but you've killed these people. That makes you more of a monster than they are."
"Who's the bigger monster?" Gun Grave asked, "the killer or the killer who kills killers?"
"That's not the point, the point is you committed first degree murder."
"I got Miss Stephanie back didn't I?" Miss Stephanie could hear Gun Grave telepathic voice, "That's true Marshall he did save my life despite what he did with them. I'll explain things to my daddy he'll understand."
"Regardless." The Marshall said coldly, "I'm going to have to arrest you sir, whatever your name is."
"I am the 14th Gung-Ho Gun, Gun Grave the Undead." He stated, "Before you arrest me, take a good look at the criminals bodies. They'll be more like that if you attempt to do so."
"I don't care." She said, "You're under arrest for multiple counts of first degree murder, Gun Grave!"
"Bullet time!" Gun Grave said.
It was an unusual word that he said but in that instant in front of Marshall Maryanne and Miss Stephanie Bowstock, Gun Grave was gone.
To be continued