The greatest failure
Chapter four: Derailed
Gun fired echoed throughout the dry desert followed by heavy breathing and loud foot stomps as a bullet coming from seemingly nowhere passed deadly close to Phantom's head just as he took covered behind a wooden house, splinters flew in the air as several more bullets followed the first one hitting the wooden wall and shattering random windows. The brave teenager pokes his arm out and fired his Navy colt Revolver six times in a row, despite shooting blind he managed to kill two bandits that had been giving him chase, Phantom confirmed their deaths as both men fell on the ground unmoving, the boy then pulled out his second revolver and made a mad dash to the other side of the street keeping constant fire over his pursuers.
Phantom smiled long and wide as he saw a young tan skin girl wearing a leather bikini with brown cowboy boots and a sombrero hiding behind a few crates, Paulina Sanchez then called out to Phantom as she leaps out from cover firing her Winchester rifle model 73 towards a group of dirty men that quickly fell to the repeating rifle. It was then that the duo hurry down the street as men and women watched them from the widows fearing for their lives.
"Hurry up, Phantom!"- the female Mexican rural demanded as she turns around landing a headshot on a bandit who had taken a position on a nearby rooftop.
The man fell to the ground near his allies who didn't seem to mind at all and continued firing their revolvers and rifles as if possessed by a demon. Phantom prove to be the better marksman as half a dozen bandits died by his guns within seconds. The boy watched in utter surprise as a cart was shoved into the street, a desperado had mounted a Lewis machine gun and was getting ready to rain hell over the two heroes, Phantom turned over to Paulina while reloading his revolver only to see the girl had used a cigar to lit a dynamite cartridge which she tossed over to the cart.
A powerful explosion shook the ground and rattled the windows as the desperado and several of his gang flew in the air allowing for the two heroic gunslingers to continue their valiant journey towards a building at the end of the road, Phantom slammed the swinging double doors open as he marched inside spinning both revolves on his fingers soon to do very impressive gunplay before holstering his weapons while locking eyes over a dark skin female bartender who looked at the two gunslingers with a shock expression.
"We'll have two double Nasty combo burgers set with that new dandy jalapeño salsa."- Phantom said while rubbing his chin and looking at the monitors placed on the wall showing the menus and promotions.
"And a Churro extravaganza."- Paulina added as she rested her elbow on the counter tipping her sombrero.
It was then that the bartender enthusiastically pulled out a tray from underneath the counter carrying two large and most delicious-looking hamburgers that had melting cheese come from the sides, two sets of French fries, and finally two large icy sodas perfect for the brutal desert heat. The two gunslingers took a large bite from the burgers but it was then that a large fat bandit barged into the saloon showing two revolvers, threatening to open yet, both Phantom and Captain Paulina instantly pulled out their own guns and shot the man without so much as taking their eyes off their meals.
"Now that's a flavor to kill for."- the two said in unison.
"Cut!"- Director Vlad yelled out. "Excellent work everybody!"- The man added as he stood up from his chair.
"Thanks for helping us out, Valerie."- Danny said with a huge toothy smile as Paulina simply left both behind while heading towards her father who praised the girl for her fine performance.
"I should be the one thanking you, really needed this paycheck."- the girl said as she removed her cowboy hat.
Vlad Masters then walked over to Danny congratulating him for a job well done while patting his back and pulling him away from the counter, the movie director had to admit that having Danny around saved him more than a few thousand of dollars a day since the kid could do his own stunts without any problems despite his too many near-death experiences, could wield firearms, horse ride and lasso like a professional, almost as if he was an actual cowboy.
Despite having Danny around along with the approval and constant support of Amity Park and her people, the movie require much more money than what was initially predicted, it went massively over budget considering the many extras that "volunteered," new cameras, and even tons of pyrotechnics, but it was Vlad's next scene that butchered the studio's budget, the scene in itself cost around one million dollars and would require extensive building due to his refusal to used CGI, fortunately, and just like his movie counterpart, Danny came up with a modest yet efficient solution, commercials, it would only hold them back for a week or two and by the end, they would have enough money to finish the production.
Not even Vlad expected the local fast-food chain, Nasty Burger, to accept so easily and eagerly his proposal of making a commercial for them at a modest rate, of course, the man expected some reluctance and perhaps even some hostile negotiations as was common in his line of work and considering they already had a television ad with a robot, but the restaurant immediately handed him over two million dollars for a whole three-minute-long ad using the main leads and pyrotechnics, it was something almost unheard of, yet the restaurant owners weren't interested in the cheap 30-second commercial they had so far, not when there was a complete movie studio in town.
Naturally, the director had to cut a lot of corners and recycles several scenes to avoid spending more money than needed, but not a day after accepting to make the commercial for the Nasty Burger along with their posters was that another local business wanted to ride the cowboy train as well approached him with a proposal, Phantom Elite Cosmetics, wanted to have a photoshoot with Danny in order to promote their newest perfume, it wasn't much money but the real trade was in the publicity it would generate for the movie. Vlad didn't need much convincing as he offered his best photographers since they knew how to "move" Danny in front of the cameras and were already doing the photoshoot for the Nasty Burger.
"Come on, Danny, we're burning daylight!"- Aragon called out from a window.
The boy immediately replied in the positive despite being tired from the filming. Vlad watched with a kind expression as Danny ran off towards the Prince siblings ready for his photoshoot. As much as the director wanted to admit that their budget was butchered because of his extravagant scenes and constant use of practical effects, the bottom line was that their budget was running low due to the constant accidents that plague the movie, deep down he wanted to say the bridge accident was due to Penelope's negligence but if she was right, it meant someone was trying to sabotage his film.
(XXXXX)
"That's it! I'm loving it! Give me a naughty look… the camera loves you baby."- Dora said as she walked around Danny while taking pictures of him. "Looking good! Beautiful!"- the blonde-haired woman added as she snaps picture after picture.
Danny never really did like having his picture taken but had to admit it felt good to be praised so much by a beautiful woman, though in hindsight, it had been extremely disturbing when Aragon addressed him in the same manner previously. The boy sigh loudly as he hugged his naked torso while looking back over his shoulder towards the camera while aiming his revolver downwards with his left hand, his right hand showing the newest perfume on sale, "Ghostly Fantasy" on face level. Dorothea insisted on having him take off his shirt so he could "wear" the perfume for the camera, it made little to no sense to the boy but then again, he didn't have the same artistic vision as the two photographers.
In order to save time and production costs was that Aragon and his sister decided to divide the work while using Danny's character, the Phantom, to promote both the perfume and the Nasty Burger. Dora would focus solely on the perfume while Aragon had the Nasty Burger, it was somewhat easy considering that the theme, location, costume, and character including the model were all the same save for the product they were promoting, the two siblings kept their works separate as to avoid getting them mixed and holding production.
The boy turned his attention towards his older sister and parents who were under the shade of an umbrella while enjoying a cold soda, Danny sighed as he could appreciate a cold drink himself as he was thirsty and knowing all too well that the baking sun would end up giving him sunburns by the end of the photoshoot, especially considering the reflectors that made things even hotter, yet gave no mind even after getting a teasing smile from his redhead of a sister who gently shakes her drink, almost in a taunting manner making him frown.
Under Dora's instructions was that Danny sprayed some of the perfume overhead allowing for a magnificent picture of the fragrance falling over his face, the boy had to admit that the aroma was exquisite and could see himself using it regularly, perhaps even at school. The commercial for the Ghostly Fantasy had to be the easiest so far as all Danny had to do was walk down the desert shirtless trying to have melancholic, and drown in thought expression.
"By Nocturne, this is so embarrassing."- Danny whispered as he looked straight at his family who had a hard time keeping a straight face.
Danny slightly opened his mouth keeping the mouthwatering burger a few inches away from his lips while laying over his belly, allowing for the hot Texan sand to "burn" his skin while his cowboy head gave a bit of shade, the burger was already cold, as cold as it could get under the baking sun along with having lost all its appetizing aroma. Danny could swear he could recook the paddy on a nearby rock considering the unbearable heat, the two Prince siblings could testify to the heat as they were drenched in sweat, ironically, the tall mean looking older brother seemed to be ready to have a heatstroke while the cute little sister held her ground.
"By Nocturne, this is so embarrassing."- Danny thought as he looked over his family and friends who all had a hard time keeping a straight face. "Do we really have to do it like this? Can't I just sit on a table and fake that I'm eating this."- The boy asked looking at Aragon.
"Oh, no. we have to let the clients know they are eating the freshest ingredients, we have to let them know that the new Jalapeño and Habanero hot salsa is hotter than the desert"- Aragon replied with pride as he looked over the probes at his disposal.
"And I have to be naked for that"- the boy nearly growled as Dora placed a Winchester rifle over his butt and a Nasty Burger bag over his back while whispering a simple sorry.
"If you wanna sale, you gotta show."- Aragon added as Danny once more took the burger to his face.
The boy grinned his teeth upon feeling the burning hot stone pressing under his back as he laid over the flattest stone the siblings could find, for a moment could even swear to hear a sizzling sound coming from his back similar to that of meat being cooked. Jazz blushed as she saw her brother hang his head over the stone while covering his privates with the revolver as best, he could while Aragon finished taking pictures, Dora made Danny roll on his side so she took could use the same spot for the perfume ad.
All of Danny's embarrassment wasn't for naught as Vlad later that day claimed to have reached the desired amount and production could continue the following day making everyone cheer and applaud, but Danny knew he would never see the end of the mockery and teasing once he got back to Amity Park, back to Casper high school, his picture would be everywhere. Surely, Dash and his cronies would have a field day with him once the movie was over and they all came back to their regular day to day.
"I can't believe all those kids are wearing actual leather vests, so many innocent animals were murdered."- Sam said collapsing over the motel bed as Danny was in the bath though kept the door open. "No one wants the synthetic." The goth continued forcing Danny to ask what she was ranting about seeing that he and his family hadn't returned to Amity for nearly a month.
Tucker commented about Amity Park going through some wild west fever as most teens and even adults started to wear one or two pieces of Wild West paraphernalia, though in some more extreme cases fully cosplaying the characters from the movie despite it not being premiered yet, going out in Phantom, Youngblood or even in Captain Paulina's full costumes, the latter had more than one girl arrested for public indecency or turned back at school which made Danny roared out laughing as he understood how much he was missing out.
(XXXXX)
Just as day broke was that dozens of people gathered around an "abandoned" town made by the studio just the previous week and that had been constantly used for several scenes including the prior scene where Phantom lead a charge against Skulker's hideout, it had been one of the most brutal scenes in the movie so far, a huge twenty-minute-long battle between Skulker's men that included not only his outlaws but also members of the fictional Hueso Indian tribe going against the forces of good composed by Phantom and his trusted allies, Walker who lead a posse from town and finally the female native American tribe chief Raising Moon leading her own troops of Natives.
Dozens of fake bodies lay scattered across the courtyard, hanging from the windows, and over fake animal corpses, dry blood under each bullet riddle body making Danny feel most uncomfortable, ironically, the entire set smelled sweet as the crew was forced to use honey and other sugary treats to attract flies for realism purposes, Danny was more worried upon recalling the ongoing price for each fake body, ranging from three thousand to five thousand dollars each, and all they did was lay on the floor unmoving for a few second as the camera pass over them.
Vlad was more than eager to continue filming his western epic after all the setbacks both monetary and logistically, the man even feared that his star would abandon the production seeing the budget problems and the many mishaps that could have claimed his life at one point or another, and yet, Danny was the first to come to the rescue by offering to film all the commercials for the local businesses free of charge, never had Vlad seen such generosity, any other actor would have either quit on the spot or demand more money.
"Thank again for that favor… uncle Vlad."- Danny spoke, rarely ever using the word "uncle" as it felt out of place considering they weren't related.
"Nonsense, little badger, I owe you way too much, without you this whole film would have plummeted already." The movie director said patting the boy's shoulder. "If you were only eighteen, I would have sent Desiree and a few other girls to your hotel room to show proper gratitude."- Vlad added before walking away.
"What?! Really? I'm totally ok with that"- Danny said without moving from his place.
"Positions everybody!"- Vlad yelled as he got on his crank chair.
(XXXXXX)
Gunfire suddenly erupted from all sides as men and women yelled out rushing towards their main objective, the train station at the far end of town that was being protected by dozens of outlaws who defended the station and surrounding buildings with fanatical resistance, mighty tom-toms echoed throughout the abandoned town encouraging Rising Moon's brave warrior who rushed towards the nearest building, a hotel with a tomahawk in hand. Ironically, the beating tom-toms end up creating an aura of invincibility for Walker's posse who held the Indians with little disregard as they charged further into the main street attacking all they saw.
The Mexican Rural Guard rushed over to the left flank making full use of their horses' speed to charge over the bandits breaking their palisades and scattering them like cockroaches while their brave leader, Captain Paulina, headed towards the train station while in the company of the legendary frontier hero, the Phantom who led the main assault, several bandits tried to cut them off by setting two wagons in the way but it did little to stop the heroes as they gun down the men and end up using the wagons for their own advantage.
It was then that young hero briefly turns his attention towards Walker and his men who were engaged in a brutal gunfight with a large group of desperados who entrenched themselves in the saloon, bullets flying out from each window, the sheriff suddenly broke into a dash heading inside the building, gunning down serval of the outlaw with an impressive display of marksmanship allowing Phantom to continue the onslaught down the road until the sudden creaking of metal out sounded even the gunfire forcing the quartet to stop immediately, dead on their tracks
The heroes held their weapons tightly as they all eyes set over an imposing brick warehouse just on the street corner, a single block away from the station, the two heavy iron doors slowly slide open forcing Phantom and his posse to take cover behind a few wooden crates in fear of more bandits rushing out, two small figures emerged from the darkness dressed in long black dusters, black hats with a skull on the top, Skulker's symbol, rather formal wears underneath with knee-high black leather boots, both were in their early teens and armed with revolvers that rested on their hips.
"It Chaos and her trusty sidekick Bad Luck Tuck!"- Gunslinger Jazz yelled out as the camera zoomed in on both Sam and Tucker respectfully.
Danny couldn't help but smirk nearly breaking character as he saw his two best friends standing by the metallic door trying their very best to act as threatening as possible, though were failing miserably despite their outfits and guns, mainly due to their small height along with their thin and frail bodies which didn't match with the harden characters they were trying to impersonate. One could see Tucker's nervousness from a mile away, even Sam was starting to shake as both stepped aside.
Vlad didn't have any roles for either of the teens initially, but due to their budgetary problems end up caving to Pamela Manson's demands after being offered a large sum of cash, while not being able to give the woman a lead role as she wanted since it would back production, even more, director Vlad offered a second option, to allow Pamela's daughter, Samantha Manson to take a role in the movie as a villain and be given as much screen time as possible, even without major lines to say. The girl wasn't as enthusiastic about being an actress as Vlad expected but couldn't back out, not after taking the money. Apparently, Tucker Foley was part of the package, at this point the director just didn't care.
The earth suddenly trembled to make the heroes look beyond the two outlaws who step aside, Phantom's eyes opened wide in utter shock as a massive machine emerge from the dark, never had Phantom laid eyes over such a bizarre contraption, a cylindrical cobber robot with four mechanical legs that moved like a spider came out from the warehouse, Captain Paulina quickly pointed out at the two Gatling guns placed at the side of the machine, steam expelled from a metallic chimney in the back of the strange contraption creating the same whistle as a train, Skulker's symbol rested on the middle.
Chaos barricaded herself within a circular brick house cocking her Lewis machine gun which protruded from a small square hole aiming it over the heroes who patiently waited for everyone to get into place, Bad Luck Tuck hurried up the stairs taking position over the balcony where he cocked his scoped Rolling Block rifle. The sounds of distant gunfire could be heard as the battle raged on in the background, the outlandish robot rattled for a minute as steam whistled out menacingly before a hatch on the top opening.
"I am Technus, Master of all steam technologies!"- A queer-looking old man dressed like a blacksmith with long white hair going upwards and a pair of black goggles yelled out. "Prepare to meet your doom!"- the outlaw yelled out while pointing over at Phantom.
It was another of Danny's acquaintances, his science teacher Nicolai Ivanov to be more precise, the man left his pride as a teacher and of an adult one hot evening as he got on his knees begging his student to let him be part of the movie, the boy tried to dissuaded his teacher claiming they already had all the actors they needed and that he didn't have any authority in the actors' selection, but it was the promise of having A-plus grades all year long what ultimately convinced Danny to speak with Vlad on his old teacher's behalf, ironically, the director was an act short due to the actor he had playing the role as Technus suddenly walked out on him, Nicolai's audition was cringy as the man overacted his lines but was given the role.
The Gatling guns started to spin and bullets flew out from the multi-barrel cannons at tremendous speed, ten times faster than the normal rate of fire it should have, forcing the heroes to abandon their wooden cover moments before it was devastated leaving behind nothing more than torn wood and a steaming red hot Gatlin gun. Only then was that Phantom and Paulina both fired their revolvers with deadly precision, yet their bullets bounced off the machine as it advances rather slowly due to the heavyweight waiting for the barrels to cool off, Phantom quickly switch the revolver for his Sharps rifle which ultimately did absolutely nothing to stop the mechanical abomination as the high caliber ammunition ricochet on the metal.
Almost on cue as if waiting for the right moment was that Lieutenant Estrella suddenly leaps over a couple of crates showing her beautiful blonde hair and athletic figure protected only by a tiny leather bikini and brown sombrero while holding a single lit dynamite stick in her hand followed by two of her Rural Guards who focused their attention on the nearest bandits whom they gunned down with fair ease making way for their commander who tossed the cartridge towards the robot while her two guards quickly detour before becoming a target themselves, but the stick blew midair forming a black plume of smoke.
The girl's eyes open wide in utter shock as a bullet flew across the plume of smoke passing next to her ear, left without options Estrella galloped away but not without being grazed by a bullet over the shoulder that nearly knocked her off the horse due to the sheer force. Estrella then pulls her revolver and fires toward the balcony where Bad Luck Tuck was hiding, unfortunately, all her shots failed to reach their intended target. The lieutenant rushed as fast as she could while the bandit open fire in her direction, each shot becoming more precise.
Gunslinger Jazz poked her head from behind a stone well, taking aim over the sniper who was completely focused on slaying the fleeing Rural Guard, the girl licked her upper lip as she pulled the trigger. Bad Luck Tuck's hat flew a whole meter into the air as his brain matter was scattered over the wall leaving a red imprint behind as his lifeless body rolled down the stairs bringing about a smile on the gunslinger who reloaded her Buffalo Rifle. Sudden gunfire from the Lewis Machine gun came directedly towards Jazz who was forced to lay flat on the ground to avoid getting ripped to sheds as the stone well began breaking under the intense attack.
Chaos yelled as her entire body shook due to the powerful recoil of the automatic weapon, her violet eyes set over the robot that was still engaged in combat with Phantom and Youngblood who ran around the contraption taking full advantage of its slow movements, just as she was about to move the machine gun to Phantom noticed a group of Walker's deputies and a handful of Rural Guards rushing towards her which made the girl open fire over the group killing several of the girls and couple of the deputies forcing them to scattered behind crates and houses.
The sudden sound of sizzling caught the girl's attention forcing her to turn around only to see a bundle of dynamite on the floor, her eyes move towards the small rectangular window where she saw none other than Paulina running away, the bandit was so focused on killing the forces of justice that she failed to notice Captain Paulina sneaking up to her blockhouse and tossing the lit bundle inside. Chaos simply sighs as the small structure blew up in a spectacular fiery blast that shook the ground.
(XXXXX)
"Damn you! My henchmen may have died but I will prevail!"- the old man said after pushing Phantom and Youngblood into the warehouse.
It was full of all manner of strange contraptions and apparatus of unknown functions, large glass tubes incrusted inside the brick transporting a bizarre fluid towards the upper office, mechanical armors could be seen resting over the long tables, and what seemed to be a metallic backpack. Phantom and his companion had no time to indulge in their fascinating surroundings as the robot made its way inside the warehouse blocking off the only entrance, while most people would consider being trapped inside a warehouse with a deadly war machine a certain death, the two boys knew their best bet was in fact, inside the warehouse.
Phantom was the first to open fire despite knowing his bullets would only bounce off, it was better than just running around waiting for the robot to run out of ammunition. Youngblood followed Phantom's example and fired his rifle with the same deadly precision and same results, it didn't matter as the two continued attacking the mechanical monster who answered with his overpowered Gatling gun shredding the brick wall and destroying many of the odd devices. The two heroes were quickly adapting to this new form of combat and decided their best option was to go up towards the catwalks seeing the robot would have a harder time aiming high.
Their plan worked as the machine couldn't reach them being so up high allowing the kids to fire their rifles in hopes the upper part of the machine was weaker, but that didn't mean Technus was out of options nor a sitting target, a small hose-like appendage pops up from the shoulder and a stream of fire came out from the device forcing the kids to rush away before being burned alive, flames struck the wall and melted away the iron railing. Phantom knew they needed something more powerful than their rifles and revolvers to destroy this hellish machine, dynamite would do the trick but there was none nearby.
"What the hell is that?"- Youngblood asked after jumping into a room.
"Must be one of Technus fancy rifles"- Phantom said as he took hold of an oversized rifle with a long shiny barrel that had a triangular tip, most odd was the pistol-like grip that seemed out of place for a rifle.
The floor suddenly became unbearable hot, so much, that the soles on their boots started to melt away forcing the kids to rush out of the room just in time as the floor collapsed with strenuous noise, dusk clouds formed around the ground before more flames came towards them. Left with no more options was that Phantom leaps back down as Youngblood fired his revolvers at the robot in hopes of distracting him long enough for his compadre to land a killer shot.
Despite having ample knowledge and skill in the use of firearms, Phantom had never seen a rifle with a bolt placed on the back yet quickly understood that he needed to pull it back to lock and load the bullet, the entire device was much heavier than expected up, even so, managed to aim the rifle at the robot. The recoil was so powerful that it sends the boy flying down to the ground, his eyes quickly turned towards Technus leaving him stunned as there was a huge hole on the upper side of the machine, he could right through, it was then that Phantom quickly reloaded the massive weapon as a mad scientist began spinning his only working Gatling.
The powerful gun blast once more tossed Phantom several feet away from his original spot, but his aim was true, the bullet hit center mass leaving nothing more than a bloody hole in the middle. The robot ceased all functions as it unceremoniously fell on the floor, oil and blood formed a large puddle underneath.
"Is it dead?!"- Youngblood asked as he approached still aiming his revolver.
"There ain't no getting up from that."- Phantom retorted as he dropped the heavy rifle, both teens turned around upon hearing the train whistle.
(XXXXX)
Black smoke came out from the train's chimney as Skulker and his gang tried to escape from the town they overtook months ago by either killing or running out the residents, it was the movie's climax where everything came to an end, Phantom soon caught up to the posse being led by Rising Moon. The boy tried to ignore the barely dressed Rurales and the Indian Chief who galloped in front of him by shifting his eyes to the side where he saw several pickup trucks and flatbed trucks transporting the camera crew at top speed while they filmed the entire scene, camera drones flew overhead taking aerial shots. Danny blinked a few times getting back into character.
Phantom's eyes laid over the strangest train that he had ever seen in his entire life, it was massive, windowless, and protected by thick iron walls, a giant metallic skull could be seen on the side. Bandits fired their rifles from small holes while the Rurales replied with their own weapons yet each bullet bounced off not even leaving a scratch behind, a hatch open on top from which came out a Lewis machine gun, bullets came flying towards the posse tearing apart several men and women who rolled on the ground leaving a trail of dust as they become mere dots in the distance. Youngblood laid a miraculous headshot killing the gunner who splatter his compadres with blood.
"Buttercup isn't going to keep up with the train forever!"- Phantom yelled as the townsfolk and Native Americans continued firing their weapons at the speeding train from both sides.
"We need to get in before our ponies run out of steam!"- Youngblood retorted loudly.
"I have an idea!"- Rising Moon interjected as she came closer to the train holding a dynamite stick which she carefully tossed between the two connecting cars.
The explosion shook the armored train but didn't stop it as was expected, nevertheless, the Native Americans imitated their brave leader's actions by tossing more dynamite sticks that the cowboys shot at moments before reaching the train so it could cause as much damage as possible rather than having them roll on the ground exploiting long after the train left. A massive explosion occurred revealing the long-awaited gap.
It was then that both kids rushed up towards the damaged car shooting at the remaining desperados who were still dazed by the explosion, Phantom was the first to jump into the wagon where a cameraman filmed him taking down several more bandits who tried to fend the kid off, the gunshots were far louder than normal given the enclosed environment, the survivors tried to flee to the front cars but were ultimately slain before reaching the door. Youngblood followed soon after making sure their backs were safe from any would-be bandit coming up from behind, both teens pushed forward dramatically firing their revolvers, and then reloading their weapons with unnecessary gunplay that looked spectacular to the camera.
Gunslinger Jazz and Captain Paulina soon boarded from the same hole Phantom and his companion came through, the two girls quickly caught with Phantom who once more took the lead, and a random explosion could be heard coming from the back accompanied by Indian war cries. The four teenagers quickly became an unstoppable force as they carry their brutal onslaught, bandits died one after another putting almost no resistance at all, and a few more fell off the train one after another in a remarkable manner. Phantom was the first to notice the train had picked up speed leaving the posse far behind, no more explosion nor aiding gunfire could be heard.
"Not that I don't appreciate it but what are you still doing here?"- Phantom asked as he reloaded his two revolvers. "You already found your gold."- the boy added.
"It's the principal of the matter, can't let some gringo take our gold without consequences. Besides I don't like leaving a job half done."- Captain Paulina said as she got ready to kick the door open. "Mueran perros!"- The Rural captain yelled as she barged into the car dual-wielding her revolvers.
Before the quartet stood none other than Skulker's honor guard, the best gunslingers he had in his entire gang, dressed in a colorful outfit that reminded him of the confederate uniforms, though the jackets came in bright green with golden buttons, white gloves, and blue trousers with a white hat. Captain Paulina quickly duck allowing a bullet to pass overhead while Phantom rushed in taking cover behind a crate, Jazz and Youngblood remained at the door's sides as they didn't have the time to barge in yet were the first to answer the attack killing one of the honor guards. Paulina suddenly stood up holding a double-barrel sawn-off shotgun which she used to blast away two more guards while destroying the crates in the back.
The men screamed as the four heroes marched forwards; Phantom landed several shots over the nearest guard as two more rushed out the door yet Captain Paulina fired her sawn-off slaying one of the bandits while wounding the other. Youngblood quickly dispatched the survivors allowing for his friends to walk out into the flatcar, only two large crates were serving as a barrier along with several logs placed to the side, more important, was at the end. The gang leader, Skulker.
"It's been a long time, welp."- A tall muscular, and brutish man spoke wearing his distinctive black duster with a steel pauldron on the left shoulder and a shiny cuirass. "After today I will place your pelt at the foot of my bed"- the large man declared.
"That's gross, compadre."- Phantom replied as he unholstered his revolver firing off a shot.
Everyone was left stunned as Skulker deflected the bullet with a retractable blade that came out from his wrist, a wicked smile grew upon the man's face as he left a Gatling gun. All four teens quickly took cover as the multi-barrels began to spin, and hundreds of bullets came flying toward the teens destroying the crates and forcing them to back away. There was no way for Phantom to turn tail now, not after hunting the madman for so long, Skulker's base was destroyed, his gang murdered, and was now corner like a stray dog.
Phantom made use of the large flatcar and the logs to get closer to Skulker who stationed himself at the far end, the trio took turns firing their weapons trying their best to not expose themselves too much as they too advanced, the crates wouldn't last long nor would the logs. Phantom emerged from the tree trunk firing his revolver and hitting the man on the unprotected shoulder forcing him to drop his massive weapon as blood spurt out from the wound.
"Die you little shit!"- Skulker yelled as he dashed towards Phantom with his retractable blade fully extended.
The drone cameras flew around Phantom and Skulker as they engaged in impressive hand-to-hand combat, lighting fast movements that continued to impress Vlad and their stun coordinator as neither of the actors needed to slow down nor pretended to be hitting each other, it was as if they were really fighting to the death. Phantom flipped and twirled dodging the blades and countering with a series of fast tornado kicks, boxer jabs, backflips, and straight kicks while Skulker swung his blades up and down with the same mastery as a martial artist, it no longer resembled a cowboy movie but a fast-moving kung-fu film with cowboy hats.
Phantom rolled on the ground dodging a sideways slash and taking possession of a bowie knife that rested next to a dead bandit. Skulker lifted his blade ready to slice the boy's head off but suddenly felt the cold steel going into his sides. The boy yanked the knife out allowing for blood to gush out, despite the height difference, Phantom plunged the blade into Skulker's neck moments before he walked back and fell off the train. Phantom had finally done it, he avenges his family and friends, and the town was safe. The train engine suddenly exploded, and all four turn their attention towards Rising Moon who arrived in a stagecoach ready to retrieve them.
"Cut!"- Vlad yelled out as Jazz and Taylor leap into a wagon pretending to be in grave danger.
(XXXXXX)
Paulina gracefully leaps into the wagon making Vlad wonder if they should redo that scene since it didn't fully fit her tomboyish character, yet a second unplanned explosion made both the train and wagon shake along with Paulina losing her footing, in any other occasion Danny would have been thrilled to be able to touch the Latina's flawless skin so directly as he pulled her back to the flatcar preventing her fall, feeling her bodyweight fall upon him was nothing short of a dream, but there were more pressing matter to attend as they came to realize the train was moving a lot faster than before, so much that it left the wagon behind.
"Is that my car?"- Vlad asked incredulously.
"Damn it! Nothing ever goes to plan."- Gregory Box said while looking at Paulina who was still on the train while following them in Vlad's convertible. "No hard feeling kids." the man added as he pressed a few buttons on his PDA.
The breaks exploded allowing for the train to gain even more speed, Danny assured Paulina there was nothing to worry about as they were traveling on a ten-kilometer circle track the production made giving the illusion of traveling for several hundreds of miles before the grand finale where the train would be tossed down the canyon soon after making sure all the actors and crew members were out of the train in a fully controlled and well time jump creating a spectacular explosion. All they had to do was either to wait for the train's fuel to run out allowing the machine to gently stop, if that didn't work there was always the option of using the helicopter Vlad was riding to rescue them.
"Umm… Danny… wasn't that the crossing…"- Paulina said as they saw the changing pole pass them. "We're heading for the canyon!"- the two said in unison.
Over at the mesa was Pariah Dark sitting under the shade of an umbrella having tea while watching the kids struggle to survive, the one-eyed man was very impressed by Danny's acting skills and courage which made his upcoming demised feel like a complete loss. His only eye turned over to Box's car as he followed the train, from what the mob boss could recall, the fat little man needed to be close to activate the bombs and make sure Danny fell off the canyon alongside the train, many other cars were chasing the runway, each driver trying desperately to come up with a plan to rescue the kids, but none daring to come close dare as the train was burning away dropping large pieces of metal along the way, the black smoke made it impossible for the helicopter to even come close.
Danny wasn't one to simply stay idle and wait for rescue, the boy headed towards the front of the train where he found the emergency brake lever. Box and Pariah watched from their respective positions as the kid pushed the lever with his twig-like arms, sparks came out from the iron wheels as the train lost speed, yet Box was not done yet, he wanted his money and desperation forced him to press button over button on his PDA trying to deactivate the emergency breaks, only to discover that they weren't connected to the PDA and rather were completely manual.
"Holy shit! It's Buttercup!"- Danny yelled out with cheer as he saw his trusty stallion running towards him, the only one with actual balls to come to his rescue.
The kids look up and could see the canyon coming towards them at a deadly fast pace, they knew there was little time before the animal ran out of energy and they fell to their doom. Danny mounts the girl over his hips as he gently lowers himself down the flatcar, not wanting to leap over the horse and have them all roll across the desert ground. Everyone cheers and applauds as the kids mount the horse and ride away from the train.
"No way! Not again!"- Box yelled out as he saw the train bend towards. "Fuck!"- the man yelled as he flew down the canyon.
"Bummer"- Pariah said as people gathered at the cliff edge.
To be continued