San Asesino, a small town in the frontier known as the wild west, it is an unassuming little where a new Sheriff resides, Sheriff Nagisa Shiota had worked with US Marshal Yuma Isogai to bring rogue soldier Ryunosuke Chiba to justice via standoff. Months had pass since the incident when a new one happened, on the rail between San Asesino and San Venganza. The train was the 3:10 to San Veganza when a group of bandits attacked the train. Their goal was to relieve the train of its glittering cargo; now on board the train at the same time was US Marshal Karma Akabane who was guarding the gold the bandits wanted. The Bandits stopped the train alerting Karma to their attack.
"They wouldn't be that dumb would they?" he asked as he pulled out his Colt Revolver and made his way to the front of the train as the other guards were using their rifles and shotguns to fend off the bandits. Upon making his way to the front of the train he looked around, seeing nothing "I'm sure that there was someone up here" he muttered unaware that the train was decouples and the carriages were rolling away. Once he heard the sound of moving wheels Karma looked behind him to see that they were a long way back "What the?" he asked before the train engine exploded sending him into the water below as pieces of the train flew past him, some missing him a few hitting him as he slowly sunk to the bottom. He watched as the bubbles of air and life left him as he faded into a cold wet abyss.
Suddenly like a bolt of lightning warmth and air flowed into his body and he coughed. He looked around, noticing he was inside some caravan
"Are you awake?" a sultry voice said as a woman with long dark hair said walking into the area he was
"Who are you?" Karma going for his sidearm, only to feel it missing from its holster
"Someone who saved you from the buzzards and pumas in the region, I have many names, but for now Lawman you can call me Yukiko" she said
"Yukiko, as in Yukiko Kanzaki?" Karma asked shocked
"Maybe" she giggled. She checked his wound "Flesh does not mix well with fire and iron" Yukiko said
"Yeah, so was I dead?" Karma asked
"Nearly, if the rider didn't rescue you" Yukiko informed him
"The Rider?" Karma asked
"A cowboy in all white, who roams the area like a ghost, delivering vengeance" Yukiko said pouring him some tea "He saved a poor soul every now and again"
"Why?" Karma asked
"Who knows" Yukiko said
A couple of days later Karma rode back into San Asesino, his skin was slightly sunburnt when he heard galloping, looking up he saw his fellow US Marshal Yuma Isogai and the town's sheriff
"KARMA!" Isogai shouted as he rode up "you okay man, what happened?"
"Train blew up" Karma said as Nagisa handed him some water. the two looked at each other
"How are you alive?" Isogai asked
"I'm not sure" Karma said "One minute I'm in the water the next I'm in a caravan of some kind" Karma said as the three went into the tavern where Karma sat down
"I'm betting I know who did it" Nagisa frowned
"Who?" Karma asked
"Chiba's partner, the one I didn't gunsling to death" Nagisa said
"Well, looks like we may have to shut down the trains" Yuma frowned
"Or catch her" Nagisa stated.
"Either way it's going to be fun" Karma smirked downing a beer.
That night Karma was struggling to sleep, but there was something, like nagging feeling in the back of his mind wouldn't let him. No matter what he did, the feeling was still there, still in the back of his mind. He stood up and walked outside, the scorching sands given way to the cooling shadows. Looking around the Marshall didn't see anything that would have revealed the feeling that was nagging him.
"Okay, what is going" he said before he heard the footfalls of an animal. He frowned and turned around, his eyes going wide in shock as there was a white horse. It was incredible, glowing as if it was made out of starlight, with heat similar to that of a campfire coming off of it "Hey there
"He has chosen you" a voice said
"What?" Karma asked turning to see Yukiko holding a bag
"This is the garb of the Rider" she said holding it out to him "Take it, and the horse to become the Rider and hunt down the one who dares attacks those who are innocent" she said before walking off
"This is ludicrous" Karma snorted before he looked in the bag to see white clothing, hat and mask included, he picked up the mask and looked at it before the witch "Seriously?" he asked.
"indeed" Yukiko said
"Okay" Karma said as he pulled on the mask and looked at Yukiko "There, nothing" he stopped speaking as the clothes in the satchel turning into light and appeared on Karma, with a holster for his gun, a whip and knife on his belt.
"Welcome back Rider" Yukiko smiled
"This is a different host" the Rider said as he looked around "Where am I?" he asked
"The town of San Asesino" Yukiko said "Which will be targeted soon"
"By who?" the Rider asked
"A bandit who has a thirst for wealth" the witch said
"Very well" the Rider said as he mounted the horse, before riding off, a trail of burning hoof prints, each one lit with a small white flame.
"I would hate to be the one in your sights tonight" Yukiko smirked
"GET A MOVE ON!" a voice shouted as a whip cracked on the back of an elderly man who was forced to carry a large wooden ammo crate
"YOU HEARD THE BOSS MOVE IT!" a snivelling voice cackled
"Muramatsu?" the boss said to him
"Yeah boss" The owner of the snivelling voice said
"I am right here moron, I can speak for myself!" the boss snapped slapping him with his hat
"Hey boss, if Chiba couldn't steal that silver, what chance do we have?" a more stern voice said
"Because Yoshida, you remember Rose Creek, or San Venganza what about Rock Ridge heck I'd take Appaloosa City, and how many times did we our kiester's kicked huh?" the boss asked
"A fair bit Terasaka" Yoshida gulped
"Yeah a fair bit, WE EVEN USED DYNAMITE TO BLOW THOSE TRAIN TRACKS UP SO CHIBA COULD GET THE SILVER AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!" Terasaka snapped
"Now, now Terasaka; no need to be loud or nasty, now you older gentlemen finish up and go get a drink" a female voice said as a coach opened to reveal a women with red hair and piercing Emerald eyes
"Ah Miss Hayami ma'am, as you see we have everything ready to go for tomorrow" Terasaka tipped his hat
"You're not going to succeed" One of the old man spat "The Rider will see to that"
"The rider?" Muramatsu asked
"An old western legend, the Phantom Rider, a ghostly lawman who delivers vengeance on those he deems evil" Hayami said looking in a small compact mirror. Soon a loud neighing was heard making the bandits pull out their gun and look around nervously "So, he has a new host" Hayami smirked "BUT I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO QUICK!" she shouted.
"Rinka Hayami!" a voice said as the Phantom Rider walked up on his horse "What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a ghostly tone of voice
"My men are I are going to deal justice to the people of San Asesino." Hayami laughed as her men aimed at the Phantom Rider. Looking at the weapons they had, he couldn't help but notice two large weapons which had multiple barrels
"Gatling guns?" Phantom Rider asked
"Indeed" Hayami said "Fire!" She simply said as the trio loaded their guns and started to turn the handles, the Gatling guns fired making the Phantom Rider dodge the flying bullets while pulling out his own six-shooters and checking to see if they were loaded. Confirming the were, the Rider reach around the corner and fired blind as .58 calibre bullets flew hard and fast at him. As the fire fight went on Hayami and her soldiers got on board the train, she whistled to the train driver "GOODBYE RIDER! I HOPE YOU CAN CATCH UP!" she cruelly laughed as the train pulled away, the Rider scowled as he looked around and spotted a few barrels of gunpowder. Whistling for his horse; the Rider aimed at the powder filled barrels. Which went up in a bright flash giving the Rider time to get on the back of his horse and ride off after the train. Scowling Terasaka picked up his sharpshooter, only to have his life ended by a blind shot aimed back at him by the rider as his horse followed the train tracks.
The sun was rising on the horizon as Rinka Hayami smirked seeing the town where her beloved had drawn his last breath. With a dark smirk she loaded a shotgun.
"Today, Ryunosuke, you will will be avenged and this whole town will be mine" she smirked as she aimed down the sights ahead of her, unaware that the rider had caught up and had now jumped onto the caboose. Once he was on board the Rider knocked on the back door, forcing one of Hayami's men to open the door and looking out; with the Rider bashing the edge of the door against his skull, forcing the man out cold and giving him a way to enter the train. The other men in the caboose looked up from the card game they were playing, and looked absolutely ready to run, only for them to pull out their revolvers, all while the Rider pulled out a simple whip and tensed it in his hand
"So who's first to move?" the Rider taunted. They all looked at each other before pulling out their guns and aiming at the rider "Oh well" he said pulling out a whip, cracking it while doing so "You're funeral" he simply smirked under his mask before wrapping his whip around the wrist of one of the thug's arm and pulling it towards another thug just as the trigger was pulled. Another thug pulled out a knife as he charged at the Rider, who simply sidestepped him, turning around to kick him out of the train and closed the door locking it. The remaining thugs inside the caboose glared at him warily "Boo" the rider said as he slashed at each of them, one of them going through the window as they sped along. With a single elbow the last of them were dealt with "Now to your boss" The rider said opening the front door on the caboose.
"It's almost time" Hayami said "Load the weapons, and once we get into the station, open fire" Hayami ordered
"Good idea" The Rider said as he seemingly faded out of the shadows
"Too bad you can't stop me, since the more the sun rises the less you can use your ability" Hayami taunted
"Did you forget that I was a marshal before I became the latest Phantom Rider?" the Rider asked as he had his hand by his revolver. Smirking Rinka marched off
"Finish him off" she said to her men who had all their guns aimed at the rider.
"They funerals" he said as he drew both his guns "I see, 9, 10, 11 goons and I have 12 bullets" he cockily said
"Take him!" Terasaka shouted as the men rushed him. A sense of power flowed from Karma into his guns, which he drew, aiming at the one closet to him and firing it, an explosion of white flames, burning the target alive. Look ahead the Rider fired two more shots, the same thing happening again; only one of them fell back onto a barrel of gunpowder making it explode burning another thug. The other gunmen pulled out their firearms and opened fire at the white clad gunslinger; but that did nothing as the bullets looked like they went through the rider as he kept blowing up their men. White flames consumed them all, leaving glittering ashes as if they were incinerated by the stars themselves. "Shit" Terasaka gasped as he saw the Phantom Rider had obliterated his men. Grabbing a rifle and loading it, Terasaka tried to snipe the Rider, only to have his rifles yanked away from his hand but the rider's whip; wincing Rider got closer so he could glare straight into Terasaka's eyes. Rearing back he punched Terasaka off the flatbed; making him roll along, looking forward again the Rider stalked off.
Yoshida was in the next carriage all of the men Hayami left under his command pointed their guns at the door; a smirk of cockiness was on his face, like he knew the Rider was going to die by his hand.
"Where is he?" one of them asked as they all waited the tension being increased the second he was not showing up. What they didn't know was that up above them the hatch to the carriage was being silently lifted by the Rider who drew his bowie knife that he had hidden under hsi cloak at the back. He squinted before lowering himself to the floor right behind the two goons that covered Yoshida's back. Too bad for them that the Rider disposed of them quickly and quietly by stabbing a knife into their guts one at a time while covering their mouths
"Come on we've got to kill him in the two hours before we reach San Asesino!" Yoshida grumped before realising something "who opened the hatch?" he asked looking up
"Howdy Pardner" The Rider taunted using his knife to quickly kill Yoshida's men with skill, so one swing one kill. Glaring at Yoshida the Rider stood up and spun his knife. Yoshida went for his gun, only to have the Rider's knife stabbed into his knee. Screaming in pain Yoshida went down, his hand bloody as he held his knee
"YOU BASTARD!" Yoshida shouted
"Where your boss?" the Rider asked, ripping the bloody knife out
"SCREW YOU!" he shouted as he spat at the rider.
"Very well" he said as he shot Yoshida walking away.
"Where are they others?" Hayami asked
"The Rider done them in" Muramatsu panicked
"Great" she grunted before looking "we'll be there in thirty minutes" she said
"And that blue haired sheriff is probably there with the army and a Marshal or two" Muramatsu panicked
"Quiet" she snapped before she looked up to see the Rider standing there with his cape blowing from the wind of the train. Thinking quickly Muramatsu got onto one of the Gatling guns and swung it around to face him, with a smirk he reached for the crank, only to fly off of a train as he was roped to a bag hook by the rider.
"Now Rinka Hayami, just me...and you" The Rider said as he flicked back his cape and his hand went to his gun just as the first rays of the golden sunrise, Hayami smirked as The Rider turned back into Karma
"So the Rider is no more" Hayami loaded her shotgun "Good, now my remaining half of my forces will wipe this town out while I deal with you"
"Either way I'll still take you down" Karma said as he pulled his Schofield revolver out of its holster and pulled the hammer back
"I like to see you try" Hayami smirked getting a shot off, her shotgun ripping the wood around Karma apart, the marshal dived under cover and started to fire at the redhead as she reloaded; taking a moment to move just as Hayami fired again.
"Damn" Karma said as he looked around for anything he could use. There was the one thing he needed, one of the knives from the men he took down as the rider. Picking it up he looked "What are you planning?" he shouted out
"Picking up where my husband left off, I'm making a withdrawal from their bank!" she shouted
"I see" Karma said as he threw the knife away from him, making it clatter on the deck, so he crouched down and reloaded
"THERE YOU ARE!" she shouted getting two rounds off before reloading and walked over to where the knife was, frowning she bent down and picked it up, hearing the chambering of a round behind her
"Drop your weapons" Karma ordered as he pulled the hammer on his revolvers back as he threw handcuffs in front of her. "Put those on" he ordered.
"Of course" She said picking them up and using them as a weapon against the marshal, making him land flat on his back as she grabbed her gun and started top run
"Not this time" the voice of the rider was heard in Karma's head and the gun in his hand gave off white sparks. Pulling the trigger a bolt of white hit Hayami in the back making her crumple onto the floor. "I can't believe that work" he said tying her up and sitting on a seat
Soon the train pulled into the station and Karma walked off dragging Hayami who was barely alive
"KARMA!" Nagsia shouted "What the heck happened
"This harlot here planned to rob the bank in retaliation for Chiba failing" Karma sighed
"Rinka Hayami?" Yuma asked shocked
"Yeah" Karma said
"By the way where is the rest of her crew?" Nagisa asked
"A rider dealt with them" Karma said a she walked off
"A Rider, what is he talking about" Yuma puzzled asked
"An old western legend" Nagisa simply said slapping him on the shoulder.
"What?" Yuma asked looking around.
"So the rider helped you get justice, or was it vengeance?" Yukiko asked as she walked over as the sun started to set
"Vengeance for what?" Karma questioned
"Your near death" Yukiko said
"I guess I did, she's in jail for now and all of her forces are dead" Karma said
"Very well" Yukiko nodded
"Will he be needed again?" Karma asked
"I'm not sure" Yukiko said "That is for you to decide"
"I See" Karma said as the sun was now fully set, a smirk on his face, before he rode off looking for his next adventure.
G'Day Guys Grizz here with a new contest fic, yeah another western on and so I figured I would use the setting for the first Western I did, only this time I added a comic book twist with Karma being the Phantom Rider, Marvel's ghostly cowboy who has been usually associated with Ghost Rider which is why I chose Karma due to him being Ghost Rider most times I do Marvel/Assassination Classroom fics. Hopefully you guys enjoy this fic because its probably not going to be the last western I write, or the last contest fic
So until next time I'll catch you on the flipside