Chapter 2: The Two Widows

As the caravan tugged along the icy mountain path slowly heading to wherever this…Arthur was taking it, Inuyasha and the others looked in surprise to see such things. Clothing they'd never seen before. Such intricate saddles of various designs, horses of great beauty, and all.

Inuyasha frowned, "So…who are all these people being led by Michiru's ancestor or whatever?"

"The Van Der Linde Gang," The Australian explained, "Arthur's best friends and closest thing the orphan has to a family. He's quite loyal to it to a point."

"Why do they call it the 'Van Der Linde' gang?" Kagome wondered.

"That man in the bowler hat is the gang's leader," The black woman answered, "His name is Dutch van der Linde. He took Arthur in when he was a boy and lost his father. A father Arthur hated."

"What about Michiru's late grandmother?" Shippo wondered, "Is she a member of this gang too?"

"No, we don't really know the mother of whoever sired Arthur's future bloodline," The redhead stated, "Arthur had one son that he knew about named Isaac, but unfortunately, he and his mother were murdered by another gang for a measley ten dollars. Isaac was a pre-teen when he died and nearly too young to sire a child of his own."

"How awful…" Kagome murmured, "…but if Arthur is Michiru's ancestor, how…wait…I don't know much about it, but wasn't the Old American West known for its whoring, gambling, drinking, and prostitution?"

"Unfortunately, yes," The redhead grumbled, "Arthur was quite the ladies man when he was younger, and part of an outlaw gang. Trust us, we've seen it. There is indeed a very good chance Michiru's late grandmother was some barmaid or whore that Arthur Morgan bought and paid for the right to have sex with."

"Or she could be that Mary Linton woman," The black woman piped up.

"No way!" The Australian grumbled, "They broke up years ago and on bad terms at that! She rejected Arthur! There's no way they could have-"

But then from the speakers, a loud squeaking was heard. Everyone turned their attention to the silhouette of the elderly man at the front of the caravan entering a small building with a lantern in one hand and something that looked familiar to Sango, but she wasn't sure. She gasped at the sight of it.

"That…looks like a pistol…" She shuddered, "Only different."

"It's a Cattleman's Revolver," The Australian explained, "It is a pistol, but unlike the ones you've seen in your Feudal Era, it holds and fires six bullets instead of one at a time."

Hearing this, Sango grimaced as memories of a little over an hour ago resurfaced about her late husband's recent death. The idea that something that was already so deadly and dangerous could be deadly and dangerous up to six times was not a pleasant thought for her. And to see someone connected to Michiru Kururugi hold it in his hand…

"I…I don't like guns…" Sango shuddered.

"Bring him in here!" The old man called out as a group of people started entering the room. At the lead was a lovely young woman. Following her was a huge man and Arthur carrying a corpse into the room. Dutch was outside the door guiding the others in. Among them were a few women and even a small boy.

"Did someone die?" Shippo asked.

"Yeah," The redhead explained, "Recently these guys were robbing a bank in a town called Blackwater. Someone informed them they would arrive and had a whole posse of lawmen waiting for them. A good portion of their gang was killed off. They barely escaped with their lives."

"Wait…these guys are bank robbers?!" Kagome gasped incredulously, "Don't tell me they've killed people!"

"They have," The Australian nodded, "Arthur too. His hands are anything but clean."

"What?!" Kagome gasped, "Why…why would Michiru want to hang out with common criminals?!"

"Probably because this gang once upon a time robbed from rich people and gave to widows, orphanages, churches, hospitals, and homeless shelters," The black woman explained, "We've seen them kill, but we've seen them help a lot more people along the way. Arthur once donated one hundred American dollars in gold to a church."

"So?!" Kagome demanded, "That's virtually nothing! That's something a child gets excited for!"

"Not in 1899," The man corrected, "Back then that gold was worth $100, but today it'd be worth about $3000."

"Oh…" Kagome spoke, "…right. I forgot about inflation. Well…I guess that's good, but it still doesn't justify stealing from people and threatening to expose their secrets or even kill them!"

"You mean like how Miroku used to do similar things in the past for money?" Mr. Kururugi wondered as Sango gasped at this, "At least Arthur shares a good portion of his money with those that need it. Can you say the same about Miroku?"

Despite the betrayal Miroku confessed to before he died, Kagome and Sango still shot Mr. Kururugi dirty looks at this but said nothing. They just continued to watch.

"Miss Gaskill," A middle-aged woman's voice spoke, "Get that fire lit quick. Miss Jones, bring in whatever blankets we have. Mr. Pearson, see what we've got in terms of food."

Some people nodded and separated from the group to investigate. The pretty woman from before spoke up.

"Davey's dead…" She said.

"There was…nothing more you could've done…" A middle-aged man's voice answered as he put a pair of coins over a dead man's eyes.

"What are we gonna do?" The older man's voice asked, "We need supplies."

"Well, first of all, you are going to stay here," Dutch's voice answered, "And you are going to get yourselves warm. Now I sent John and Micah scouting out ahead. Arthur and I, we're gonna ride out and see if we can find one of them."

"What?" Arthur asked, "In this?!"

"Just for a short bit…" Dutch assured them, "…I don't see what other choice we have."

Arthur begrudgingly nodded agreeing with this as Dutch turned to address everyone in the room.

"Listen," He began, "Listen to me, all of you, for a moment."

Everyone gathered to listen to their leader.

"Now we've had…well, a bad couple of days…" Dutch admitted, "I loved…Davey…Jenny… Sean, Mac…they may be okay, we don't know. But we lost some folks. Now, if I could…throw myself in the ground in their stead…I'd do it. Gladly."

Arthur turned at this and nodded a bit.

"But…" Dutch continued, "We're gonna ride out…and we are gonna find some food. Everybody, we're safe now. There ain't nobody following us through a storm like this one, and by the time they get here…well we're gonna be long gone."

"What about ice demons?" Shippo asked, "Demons with big wooly coats and all? Won't they attack a bunch of vulnerable humans hiding in the snowy mountains."

"Demons don't exist anymore," The redhead answered, "In fact, they and magic are all classified as myths."

"What…?" Shippo asked, "…how…?"

"We've been through worse than this before," Dutch said turning to two others, "Mr. Pearson. Miss Grimshaw. I need you both to turn this place into a camp. We may be here for a few days. Now all of you, all of you, get yourselves warm. Stay strong! Stay with me!"

The way he said that raised an eyebrow in Sango's eyes. It didn't sound as if Dutch was asking them or reassuring any of these people. It…sounded more like a demand than a request.

"We ain't done yet!" Dutch declared, "Come on, Arthur."

"I don't know about this…" Kagome frowned, "…on one hand, it seems like these guys mean well despite their crimes, but…I'm getting the feeling that these people are just running away from the times. Like they don't want to accept that they were part of something that worked once upon a time but doesn't really work anymore."

"Hmph!" Inuyasha grumbled, "I think this is a waste of time! Why can't we just contact Michiru Kururugi, tell him to get his ass out of that contraption already, and talk to us! Besides, what's so great about this anyway? All I see are a bunch of wimps scampering in the snow like rats looking for a hole to hibernate in!"

Kagome sighed at this. It was a decent point they hadn't considered.

"Can you guys possibly communicate to Michiru through this machine or something?" Kagome wondered, "Convince him to leave?"

"There is one way, but unfortunately the machine only delivers messages to Michiru in a form relative to the situation he's living in through Arthur," The black woman explained, "He'll be told that he has a letter at the train stations, but he nowhere near one of those right now."

"What's a…train station?" Sango asked.

"It's like a boat dock only for giant metal wagons that move about under their own power on land known as locomotives," Kagome explained, "Once upon a time they were the fastest and most comfortable method of travel because they would cover thousands of miles in less than a week. Then planes were invented. You've seen cars, and busses, and locomotives were basically big early versions of those only they run on a track."

Sango and Shippo were still confused, but figured they'd see what Kagome was talking about later. For now they watched the screen.

"We ain't run into them yet," Dutch said to Arthur outside the cabin, "So they must've headed down the hill."

"Sure," Arthur answered, "Hey, I ain't had time to ask. What really went down there on that boat?"

"Boat? What boat?" Inuyasha asked.

"A recent member of the gang named Micah Bell told Dutch that in addition to the Blackwater bank robbery there was a poorly guarded steamboat full of loot at a dock," The redhead explained, "He convinced Dutch to send half his gang to rob it. Guess it wasn't very successful considering very few made it back alive."

"We missed you," Dutch said to Arthur, "That's what happened. Come on."

The two friends walked in the thick snow together only to be interrupted.

"Hey, you need horses?" A voice spoke as they turned to see a big man dressed up real thick. He had a mixture of red and black skin and seemed to know them.

"Oh yeah," Dutch nodded as both he and Arthur got on the saddles of the two fine-looking steeds the Native American was leading, "And Mr. Smith, get yourself indoors. You need to rest that hand."

"I'll live," Mr. Smith answered toughly.

"Get indoors, son!" Dutch ordered, "I…I mean we…need you strong. Alright, let's head out."

Everyone watched as Dutch and Arthur rode along through the heavy snowfall.

"I'm not too sure what they're going to find out there," Kagome spoke hesitantly.

"They have to try," Sango spoke, "They should stay close and do their best to stick to the trail."

"This goddamn weather!" Arthur cursed under his breath.

"Been two days or more like this now," Dutch answered, "Oh, it has to blow over soon."

"Have they really been traveling through such a treacherous snowstorm riding up a steep mountain with next to no food or shelter for over two days?" Inuyasha wondered, "These guys may be tougher than I thought."

"In all our years traveling we pretty much stayed indoors for days and even weeks whenever it snowed," Kagome admitted, "I don't think we'd last very long riding through a storm this intense on horseback like them."

"I know," Sango admitted, "Especially with little food and no fire magic."

"Message sent," The Australian spoke, "As soon as Morgan enters the station, he'll get the message and Michiru will read it through him."

They all watched Arthur and Dutch's ride.

"Ride next to me, son," Dutch spoke, "I don't wanna lose you."

"I can't believe we lost Davey too…" Arthur gasped internally.

"He's the last one, Arthur," Dutch spoke with conviction, "No more. We need to get those people warm and fed."

"Least we don't need to worry about Pinkertons tailing us in this," Arthur said with a slight chuckle.

"A couple more days we'll be on the other side of this mountain," Dutch said, "You need to help me pick the others back up. You're the only one I can rely on to stay strong right now."

"We got a fire and shelter," Arthur answered, "It ain't much, but it's a start."

Not much of one for a team that size. Sango thought to herself. She still couldn't believe that this strange looking man was one of Michiru's ancestors. This…criminal. This thief. This killer. How could it be so? He looked nothing like him save for the eyes. He was white, tall, rugged, and spoke with a raspy voice that showed signs of being in a lot of pain. He did seem to care about members of his gang a lot which was one thing they had in common.

Then again, I haven't seen much… Sango admitted, Maybe there is more of Michiru in this…ruggedly handsome man. She gasped at this thought that entered her head and realized that she was staring at both Arthur's face and Michiru's half-naked body sleeping in the tube at the same time….

Ugh! What's the matter with me?! Sango asked herself incredulously. I…I…I just lost my beloved husband two hours ago and I'm already ogling my ex and some stranger?! I…I need to get a grip!

S

"So? Do you think it was a trap?" Arthur asked, "In Blackwater?"

"That many men?" Dutch asked, "Oh, they knew we were coming, but there was money on that boat, alright. Lots of it. I stashed what we took with all our money in town right before we fled."

They rode for a minute more until Dutch slowed down.

"Hey, I think I see something up the path," Dutch pointed out as they rode slowly holding up their lanterns, "You up ahead! Who's there?"

From the snow another figure on a white horse appeared. He had a big-rimmed white hat, was dressed in red, and had a scraggly goatee. He had long hair, and some deep peering eyes."

"He's creepy looking…" Shippo shuddered, "…I don't like him."

"Micah," Dutch said.

"Gentlemen," The man answered in a quiet growling voice.

"Found anything?" Dutch asked the man.

"I think so," The creepy man answered, "I found a little homestead down thataway."

"Okay," Dutch nodded, "Anyone home?"

"Sure," The man nodded, "The place is blazing with light and noise. Sounded like a party."

"Let's go see," Dutch ordered.

"Follow me," The man answered turning his horse, "How's Davey doing?"

"He didn't make it," Dutch answered sadly, "Nor did little Jenny."

"L-L-L-Little?" Sango gasped, "Did…did a small child die as they were fleeing the authorities?"

"I'm afraid so…" The black woman nodded sadly, "…poor little Jenny Marston. Had her whole life ahead of her, and was accidentally hit by a bullet chasing them all."

"That's awful…" Kagome sobbed, "…why didn't all these guys quit this life as soon as that happened?"

"That's too bad," The man said, "Davey was a real fighter. Both of them Callendar Boys is…or was. And Mac and Sean?"

"We don't know…" Dutch answered, "But I'm glad you're alright, Micah!"

"Always!" Micah answered with bravado.

"Ask him if he's seen John!" Arthur called out.

"Hey, have you seen John, Micah?" Dutch asked.

"Didn't see much of anything after this storm came in," Micah called back.

"He hasn't seen him, Arthur," Dutch called.

"He'll be fine," Arthur answered, "Things always turn out right for that boy!"

"I hope Mac and Sean are still out there somewhere too…" Dutch answered, "Move up, Arthur. I'll cover the rear."

Arthur rode his horse between Dutch and Micah's following with a look of disgust on his face as he looked at Micah.

"Did you run into anyone else?" He demanded.

"I reckon we're the only ones crazy enough to be out in this, Morgan!" Micah called back.

"Don't talk to me about crazy!" Arthur demanded.

"Oh, so no 'Glad you're alright, I was worried, Micah?'" Micah taunted, "Look, it's all gonna work out, Morgan. We lost a few folks, but that's just how it goes sometimes."

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling so good about it!" Arthur spat back.

"Where are all the others?" Micah asked.

"Old mining camp back up the hill," Arthur answered, "It ain't much, but it's shelter. So this house? You speak to the people there already?"

"No," Micah answered, "Like Dutch told us: 'Look but don't talk to anyone.' Just following orders. You know me."

"Right…" Arthur grumbled, "How much further?"

"Not far…" Micah grumbled back.

"What does that mean?" Arthur challenged.

"Not….far…!" Micah answered back.

"Thanks…!" Arthur spat again.

"These two must not like each other very much," Kagome observed, "This…Micah does seem to have a bit of an attitude. Guess he has been doing this for a bit."

"He's only been part of the Van Der Linde Gang for under a year," The Australian answered, "Yet he is a good shot, but he's also a bit of a sadist and lunatic. For some reason he gets a lot of respect from Dutch. We don't really know why, so don't ask."

"Okay, let's keep it down now, gentlemen," Micah spoke as they neared a ledge, "It's just up ahead."

"Snuff and stash those lanterns, boys," Dutch ordered, "Best you two lie low on this."

Arthur put away his lantern and followed Dutch and Micah down the ledge slowly. He spotted a small cabin with a small stable, a barn, and a wagon. It wasn't much, but perhaps they would have some food. They rode down the steep side through some pine trees and neared a broken wood fence surrounding it.

"Let's hitch up right here," Dutch ordered pointing at a hitching rack for horses near some boulders. Arthur followed them both to it, got off his horse, and hooked its reins to it. From inside the cabin they could hear merriment, dancing, drinking, and fiddling.

"Let me handle this," Dutch ordered, "We don't want to spook these fine people."

The trio marched through the knee-high snow on foot as the fiddling was getting louder and louder.

"Sounds like quite the party," Micah said.

As they grew nearer, Dutch spoke, "You two. Get yourselves out of sight. One lonely man is a lot less intimidating that three nasty looking degenerates. Arthur, you get in that cattle shed to the left. Micah, get down behind that wagon in front."

Arthur and Micah split up hiding in their respective spots as Dutch went to the cabin's door.

"Hello?!" Dutch called out, "Excuse me?! Hello?!"

The front door opened as a man came out.

"Oh, hello friend," Dutch greeted politely.

"What you want?" The man spat out rudely.

"I am very sorry to disturb you," Dutch said, "My friends and I, we got into some trouble up the way. Lost in the storm."

As Dutch spoke to the men that exited the building, Arthur turned to Micah behind the wagon.

"Arthur, we got a problem," Micah muttered pulling up the sheet on the wagon revealing a decaying man's corpse with a bullet hole in his forehead.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Kagome screamed seeing this and averting her eyes.

"SHHHHHH!" The scientists admonished turning to Mr. Kururugi, "Get her out of here! She'll wake him!"

"Of course," Mr. Kururugi nodded, "Out Kagome. Out! My wife will help you pitch your tent."

"My tent?" Kagome asked.

"You're not getting home without a bus, and you're not welcome in our house," Mr. Kururugi elucidated, "If you want breakfast in the morning, you're staying in the backyard. That is final."

Sighing, Kagome nodded and exited the lab with Inuyasha and Shippo following realizing that Michiru probably wasn't going to wake up soon.

"Come on, Sango," Kagome offered, "Let's turn in for the night."

"You go," Sango offered, "I'll stay behind and keep guard."

"Sango…" Kagome said.

"I have to do this, Kagome," Sango said, "I have to know more. How is this…Arthur Morgan Michiru's ancestor?"

Kagome nodded as they left the Shrine turned lab and continued to watch.

"…there's a body in the wagon," Micah rasped.

"I hear ya, just keep an eye on Dutch," Arthur answered looking up from his cover. As he looked, he pulled out his small revolver from his holster and loaded it listening to the men at the house trying to dismiss Dutch.

"Wait…" Dutch began, "…those green scarves….YOU'RE GODDAMNED O'DRISCOLLS!"

"Awww shit!" Arthur swore coming out from cover, taking aim, and shooting blasting one of the three men in the noggin, the other in the heart, and the other in the shoulder. Seeing the final guy trying to get up, Arthur took aim only to gasp as Micah shot him to death from the wagon!

"Watch out!" Dutch called, "One on top of the window!"

Arthur looked to see a silhouette in the top window and shot his three remaining shots through the window as it shattered sending a dead man falling through the shattered glass and cracking through the wooden steps below!

"There's more comin' Arthur!" Dutch called, "Reload!"

Arthur ducked behind his cover, pulled the barrel out of his revolver, and loaded six more bullets into it before jumping out and then taking a deep breath as this time time seemed to slow to a crawl as he took more careful aim at the others' heads before unloading watching them all drop to the snowy ground!

He jumped from his cover to approach the cabin when one leapt out from the outhouse and pointed. Arthur turned just in time and shot him in the head.

"One's trying to make a run for it, Arthur!" Micah called out as Arthur saw one trying to run away for the cover of the woods. Arthur gave chase, got him in his line of sight, took careful aim, and shot watching him fall to the ground dead. He reloaded his pistol and returned to Dutch and Micah up front.

"GODDAMNED O'DRISCOLL BOYS HERE?!" Dutch asked incredulously, "What are they doing here?!"

"Enemy gang?" Sango asked as the three scientists nodded.

"I dunno, maybe same reason as us," Micah answered.

"Micah, go bring the horses closer to the cabin," Dutch ordered, "Arthur, let's go search the cabin."

Arthur followed Dutch inside. Inside was a quaint little place. It had a full bed, a dining table, kitchen, shelves, and even a ladder leading to an upstairs loft.

"Smells like a party in here," Arthur said.

"Turn the place upside down and grab as many supplies as you can," Dutch ordered, "We need the essentials. Food, medicine, whiskey."

"Ohhh, I'm starving…" Arthur answered.

"You should eat something now," Dutch answered, "Get your strength back up for the ride back."

Arthur approached a cozy fireplace mantle and picked up a picture frame like the ones in Kagome and Michiru's mantles. Sango was no stranger to photographs, but she'd never seen ones in black and white.

"Looks like the poor bastard was married too at some point," Arthur said sympathetically.

"If we can't eat it or drink it, put it down," Dutch ordered.

Arthur returned to his search finding some edibles, took them out of his satchel, and ate a bit. He felt a bit better and kept searching shelves, chests, drawers, and other nooks and crannies picking up various canned foods, bottles of medicine, wrapped salted meats, and even some alcohol.

"O'Driscolls!" Dutch said, "I don't believe it!"

"It's a strange one, alright," Arthur agreed, "Maybe they're hiding up here too. There's a big price on Colm O'Driscoll's head. Nearly as big as the one on yours."

"Wanting Colm O'Driscoll dead is about the only thing me and Uncle Sam agree on," Dutch grumbled.

"This place is dry and warm," Arthur observed, "Maybe we could move the women and Jack here."

Sango smiled a bit at this. It was a kind suggestion after all. Of course, one act of honor did not a true ancestor of Michiru Kururugi make.

"Maybe…" Dutch responded, "…we'll see how they are when we get back. I really don't want us to split up. Keep searching while I pack these supplies on the horses."

Dutch exited the cabin as Arthur searched thoroughly finding canned fruits and vegetables, beans, more medicine bottles, revolver cartridges, and even a purse of change. Seeing as there was nothing else of importance, he exited the cabin.

"Micah, Arthur, keep looking for stuff," Dutch ordered, "Arthur, go see if there's anything in that barn. Micah, you search the cabin and see what we've missed."

"Sure," Arthur nodded as he ran towards the barn. Before going to it though, he noticed the bodies of those he killed in the snow as he shrugged, knelt next to them, and searched their corpses for cash, valuable, ammunition, and whatever. Sango, despite the situation, let out a bit of a chuckle. She remembered how thoroughly Michiru tended to search for artifacts, charms, jewelry, and other things when they traveled through woods together. Maybe this was where he got that from. After obtaining some things, he went back to the barn.

Once outside it, he shoved it open, pulled out his revolver, and went inside. He was delighted at the sight of a fully healthy black and white horse in a stable on his own, and he went to tame it only to collapse as someone leapt at him from above causing him to lose his pistol.

"Argh!" Arthur cried in protest, getting up to his feet to see another O'Driscoll.

"You bastards shot my cousin!" The O'Driscoll shot out.

"Well, he started it!" Arthur shot back, getting to his feet and taking a fighting position knowing this was a hand-to-hand combat situation.

"I'm gonna break your neck!" The O'Driscoll declared.

The two got into a scuffle with Arthur landing some good blows to the O'Driscoll's head and body as Dutch nonchalantly entered the doorway.

"What's going on?" Dutch asked as Arthur continued fighting the O'Driscoll.

"This guy just jumped me!" Arthur shouted out while landing a blow to the O'Driscoll's face.

"Oh, did he now…?" Dutch asked watching the show as Arthur grabbed the O'Driscoll and tossed him to the ground in front of Dutch.

"Sneaky little bastard…!" Arthur hissed, "…should I kill him?"

"No…" Dutch said, "…not yet….find out what they're doing here and where Colm is."

Arthur picked the O'Driscoll by the collar and balled up his fist!

"Oh, this son-of-a-bitch will talk!" Arthur growled menacingly as Sango frowned at this display a bit only to wince more watching Arthur punch him a couple times more before demanding, "Where's Colm O'Driscoll?!"

"….with the others…" The frightened O'Driscoll relented, "At an old mining camp southwest of here, near the lake."

Shaking the O'Driscoll even more, Arthur demanded, "What are you bastards doing? Why are you up here?"

"We're fixing to rob some train…" The O'Driscoll answered frightened, "…gonna blow the tracks. I don't know more than that, I swear!"

There was a chuckling from Dutch.

"Well, I would say it looks like you have this, Arthur," Dutch said, "Do what you want with him, I don't care. But bring that horse when you're done."

As Dutch left, Sango watched with a frown as Arthur held the prisoner's neck in his hands. Blood all over the knuckles of his black leather gloves. He was either going to let him go, continue interrogating him, or kill him to prevent him from talking.

"I don't know anything else…" The O'Driscoll pleaded as worry spread on Sango's face as she could tell Arthur was a little rough around the edges. She went to the glass Michiru was sleeping in with a pleading look on her face.

"The interrogation's over, Michiru,"Sango whispered quietly not wanting to see any more of this display of violence. "Let him go. Please let him go. He's had enough and you've proved your point already."

Michiru's eyebrow twitched inside a bit all of a sudden as on the screen Arthur shoved the O'Driscoll to the ground and waved to the door.

"Get the hell outta here," Arthur ordered, "Go."

He watched the O'Driscoll run outside as Sango sighed with relief. She watched as Arthur retrieved his revolver, his hat, and turned to the big horse approaching slowly.

"Easy there boy…" Arthur soothed as the horse seemed a bit panicked, "Eaaasy… Easy. You're okay. You're okay, boy…" He then went to the horse's neck and began patting him as the horse calmed down. Seeing him calm, Arthur took the horses reins and led him outside to regroup with Dutch and Micah. Dutch saw him approach.

"You let him go, huh?!" Dutch called out, "I saw the little bastard scurry off."

"Yeah, I figured he gave us the information we needed, so the least I could give him is a chance to live," Arthur replied, "I figured he won't get far in this anyway, but at least I gave him a chance to live."

"That looks like a decent horse," Dutch nodded, "You should keep him. You need to hitch him. He's already skittish."

Arthur led the black and white horse to a hitching post and wrapped his reins around it. As soon as the horse was hitched though, a woman's cry of terror and agony was heard.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She yelled, "AHHHHH!"

"What the hell?" Arthur asked heading back inside the cabin.

"Micah!" Dutch cried out, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

As soon as Arthur reentered the cabin, he saw to his shock Micah dealing with a woman who was in her sleepwear screaming, struggling, and trying to attack him.

"Ohhh, look what I found in the cellar!" Micah sneered, "Wild thing, ain't ya?!"

"Leave her alone!" Dutch ordered.

"I wasn't doing nothing!" Micah protested as the girl got on the other side of the table to get some distance between her, Micah, Dutch, and Arthut, "She's one of them O'Driscolls!"

"No, she ain't, Micah. Look at her!" Dutch declared, "Miss! Miss, are you-"

But he was cut off by Micah impulsively throwing the whole table to the side to get a dart to her as the lantern on the table broke and caught the wooden floorboards of the cabin on fire!

"Oh, you fool, Micah!" Dutch snapped grabbing Micah by the shoulder and shoving her away before turning to the woman who had picked up a big knife to protect herself as Dutch tried to reason with her, "Miss, now it's gonna be okay. We mean you…no harm." He looked into her eyes with softness, warmth, and understanding as the woman lowered her weapon slowly, "Come on, it'll be okay." He took her in his arm leading her outside, "We need to get out of here, and quick. Come on now…"

As the cabin started to burn, Dutch and Arthur led the young woman outside wrapping a blanket around her due to the snowstorm.

"You okay, miss?" Dutch asked the poor traumatized lady.

"They…came…three days ago…" The woman answered, "…and my husband, they…" She then started sobbing.

"It's okay, Miss, you are safe now," Dutch assured her, "You can't stay here. You come with us. Arthur."

Dutch handed Arthur his lantern as Arthur nodded.

"Miss, it's okay, alright," Arthur said leading her to his new horse, "We're bad men, but we ain't them, so…it's okay. Get on…!" He lifted her to his horse, "We'll keep ya safe until you figure out what you wanna do."

The trio got on their horses and started riding away from the smoldering old cabin in the woods.

"What's your name, Miss?" Dutch asked. "Miss?"

"Adler…" The woman answered.

"Adler?" Dutch asked.

"Sadie Adler," The woman elucidated, "Mrs…I…he…he was my husband…" She pointed to the wagon with the dead rotting corpse in it with a bullethole in his head that Micah uncovered upon arrival to the area.

The trio left the cabin to burn to ashes back to their camp bringing Sadie Adler with them. They rode softly through the woods and the snow until the abandoned mining town was in sight. They had a guard there. A young black boy with a repeater.

"Hey, somebody's coming!" The black boy called out loading his weapon, "Looks like it's Dutch. Hey everybody, Dutch is back."

"How'd you get on?" The older man asked coming out of the primary building.

"Micah found a homestead," Dutch answered, "But he weren't the first. Colm O'Driscoll and his scum, they beat us to it." He handed some things to his gang members, "We found some of them there, but there is more about apparently scouting the train."

"That's the last thing we need right now, Dutch," The older man pointed out.

"Well, it is what it is," Dutch answered, "But we found some supplies, some blankets, a little bit of food, and this poor soul, Mrs. Adler." He turned to two other young women holding lanterns, "Miss Tilly, Miss Karen, would you warm her up? Give her a drink of something?" The two ladies took the half-naked Sadie Adler inside as Dutch called out, "And Mrs. Adler, it's gonna be okay. You're safe now."

When she was out of earshot, Dutch scowled, "They turned her into a widow….animals! I need some rest. I haven't slept in three days."

"You're over here," Miss Grimshaw answered gesturing to another cabin in the camp, "Miss O'Shea will show you the way." As Dutch left with another woman in the gang, Miss Grimshaw addressed Arthur, "Mr. Morgan, we put you in a room over here." She pointed to another building.

"Thank you, Miss Grimshaw," Arthur nodded heading to his sleeping quarters.

"Mr. Bell, you're with the fellas over there," Miss Grimshaw said to Micah pointing to a bunk room.

"Wha-?" Micah called out incredulously, "How come Arthur gets a room, and I get a bunk bed next to Bill Williamson and a bunch of darkies?!"

"Get yourself to bed!" The older gentlemen grumbled as Arthur followed Miss Grimshaw to the room she set up for him as the screen suddenly went black.

"Huh?" Sango gasped, "Where…where did the picture go?"

"We shut it off," The Australian scientist answered, "Mr. Hosea Matthews is right. Arthur's going to sleep, Michiru's going to sleep, and it's time we got to sleep too. It's late."

Sango didn't want to waste time sleeping. She wanted Michiru to wake up so she could apologize and talk to him, but she was a bit groggy. Perhaps a little sleep would be good for now as she nodded heading out.

"Why not try the couch, Sango?" The redhead offered gesturing to a couch in the lab, "You probably want to be near Michiru right now."

"Oh…" Sango spoke, "…um, y-y-yeah, I guess I can do that."

"Great!" The redhead smiled, "Oh, by the way. I'm Amy. Amy Garter. This is Jessie Ingles and Chris Ericson."

"Pleased to meet you all, Sango smiled as she got onto the couch right next to Michiru's sleeping pod. The scientists left the lab as Sango contemplated all she experienced and saw. She thought of her marriage coming to a sad and deadly end. She thought of Fushizenna, the problem he imposed, and the fact that he would probably recover sooner or later. She thought of the betrayal her husband revealed and the anger and pain it inflicted upon her and worry that Michiru would not accept her apology. But mostly she thought of Michiru and Arthur Morgan. Was this ruffian outlaw murderer really Michiru's ancestor from over 100 years ago?

I mean…I guess there are some similarities. Sango admitted to herself. Arthur's observant, strong, reasonable, and merciful, but he's a bit of a big mouth with an attitude. Not to mention he uses a gun. The idea of anything associated with Michiru carrying a gun really bothers me…oh well. I guess it can't be helped. I guess I'll just have to wait and see more and wait for Michiru to wake up.

Sighing and settling down, another thought entered Sango's head as she blushed a bit Arthur Is also…kind of handsome…or a man of European descent….oh, there I go again! Ugh! Sleep, Sango! Sleep!