All was quiet in the quaint little town of Success.
At least, for most of the town.
When it came to the infamous saloon at the edge of town, known only as Dead Man's Twist, the place was as rowdy as ever.
Why, you may ask?
Because this was currently a safe haven and hangout spot for some of the scummiest outlaws the west had to offer. The townspeople knew they couldn't do much about them, considering they'd intimidated the local mayor into letting them use this bar as their hangout.
Their deal was, as long as they could hang here, they would "try their best" not to cause "too much trouble".
The bartender nervously looked out over the many different patrons, wondering how his family business had come down to this, become nothing more than some haven for scum and lowlifes.
Of course, he knew better than to say anything like that out loud, lest these outlaws find him and "teach him a lesson".
...like they'd done to his daughter.
Unsure if he'd ever see her again, the bartender was forced to keep up a smile as one of the outlaws, one Jimmy Long Legs, sauntered up to the counter.
"Bartender, hit me up with two of the usual," Jimmy Long Legs chuckled.
As the bartender complied, pouring two of the "usual", he suddenly heard a commotion back in the bar. After serving Jimmy Long Legs his order, he noticed that one of the young women who usually played the piano in this town was being accosted by another outlaw.
Ye gods, he wanted to do something and help that poor girl. But he knew what would happen if he did, so he reluctantly stayed quiet.
"What'd I tell ya about watchin' your step, little girlie?" the outlaw cackled. "Look at what ya did, ya made me spill my drink!"
The piano player looked around nervously, worried about what was no doubt going to happen.
"Hey, I know how y'all can make it up to me," the outlaw chuckled, attempting to drape his arm around the girl and pull her closer. "Why don't you and me go into that there quiet back room and have a little fun, if ya catch my drift?"
The girl wanted to squeal, to kick him in the face, anything that meant she wouldn't have to suffer through whatever this guy was planning...
...but then the doors to the saloon slammed open, causing everyone, even the outlaws, to go silent.
Through those doors stepped a lone figure, covered by a raggedy-looking cloak no doubt for protection from the dust storms around this area, and slowly walked towards the bar, uncaring about the multiple pairs of eyes now dead-set on them.
"This little brat cost me my chance," the outlaw growled.
"Relax, Olsen," Jimmy Long Legs quipped. "I'll go and teach that punk a lesson."
Jimmy Long Legs started towards the new arrival, unaware of some of the looks the other outlaws were giving him. Apparently, at least some of them knew who this new arrival was, and realized Jimmy Long Legs was in way over his head.
The new arrival stopped at the front of the bar, raising her hand in a manner that showed the bartender they meant no harm.
"Excuse me, you little notch, you clearly didn't think with yer brain before musclin' in on our little hangout spot," Jimmy Long Legs quipped as he reached for the cloak to yank it off and reveal the newcomer...
...only to stop when he got it partway off and noticed a head of spiky, wild blonde hair, with two strands shaped remarkably like bird feathers.
Jimmy Long Legs took a couple steps back when it finally sunk in for him who this was.
"What kinda rum you got here, barkeep?" the newcomer asked in a lilting female voice tinged with some sarcasm, given who she was currently surrounded by.
"I-I'll see what we've got," the bartender answered. "It... it's your first time here, right?"
"Yup," she chuckled. "Figured I'd see the local hangout spots."
"Now you see here, little missy," Jimmy Long Legs proclaimed. "I don't give a flyin' dog who ya think ya are, nobody makes a fool out of me and lives to tell the fable!"
She looked back at Jimmy Long Legs, her teal eyes meeting his.
"Do you... not know who I am?" she wondered.
"Like any of us could forget the legendary sharpshooter Dead-Eye Doki," Jimmy Long Legs stuttered. "But how about we see if your reputation is at all deserved, honey-bunch?"
Quick as a lightning flash, Doki had drawn her gun and aimed it right for Jimmy Long Legs' chin, causing him to freeze out of fear of violent retaliation. Nobody had even seen Doki move before her gun was loaded and ready to fire.
"Here's a tip for you," Doki retorted. "Don't ever call me 'honey-bunch'."
"You little wretch!" Jimmy Long Legs bellowed as he jumped back before lunging forward to attack, only for Doki to lazily stick her leg out and trip Jimmy Long Legs so that he crashed head-long into the bar.
Many of the other outlaws were quickly on their feet, their guns out and aiming for Doki...
...but she seemingly vanished without a trace.
Before any of the outlaws had a chance to wonder what had just happened, three of them were suddenly dropped by gunfire, their bodies paralyzed momentarily by the shock rounds that Doki had fired.
The remaining outlaws scrambled to find a safe spot to hide, but it didn't do them any good, as they found themselves twitching on the floor soon enough, the shock rounds temporarily stunning their bodies.
Jimmy Long Legs picked himself up, crashing through the bar and roaring in rage.
"Ya damned wench, yer gonna pay for humiliating me!" Jimmy Long Legs shouted as he jumped towards a cover spot behind the karaoke machine. "Ya can't hit me if you can't see me, can ya?!"
Jimmy Long Legs chanced a peek out from his spot and saw Doki with her back turned to him, meaning he most likely had a perfect opportunity to take her down.
What he didn't see, much to his detriment, was Doki's left eye suddenly turning a bright crimson red and flashing with a crosshair symbol.
"Your mistake," Doki chuckled as she aimed her gun behind her and fired. Much to Jimmy Long Legs' bewilderment, the shock round that was fired actually curved around the karaoke machine and planted itself right in his chest, shocking him and dropping him straight to the ground.
Inwardly, Jimmy Long Legs cursed his cockiness, as he'd just witnessed firsthand why this bounty hunter was so commonly known as "Dead-Eye Doki". If she ever caught you in her left eye's sight, there was no escaping her next shot, no matter who you were or where you were.
Just then, the bartender slowly inched his way out of the back room, having heard the commotion.
"Sorry 'bout that, barkeep," Doki quipped. "Just had to take care of some ruffians."
The bartender simply nodded, still flabbergasted at how easily Doki had stood up to the outlaws.
After being handed her drink, Doki took a sip of it ("just right, huh?") and sauntered her way out of the saloon. She figured it was time to head back and check in with her partner about the whole situation with...
"Ya ain't goin' nowhere, little girl."
Doki sighed in annoyance as she turned back around. They just never quit, did they?
Much to Doki's amusement, every single outlaw that had been in Dead Man's Twist, about two dozen in total, were all standing in the street, every single one aiming their guns towards her.
"You may be a notorious dead-eye, but I'm sure even you can't handle an assault by this many of us," one of the burlier outlaws cackled.
Doki simply reached for her main gun, a modified semi-auto Wassington D42 double-barreled pistol that could easily link up with her hitscan eye, and aimed it for the crowd of outlaws.
"Pointless, little bird," the lead outlaw laughed. "There's nothing for you to do now."
"Um, what time is it, pray tell?" Doki asked innocuously.
"What the heck are ya..."
"Oh, right, right," Doki quipped as she whipped out another Wassington D42 with that trademark gunslinger speed, her hitscan eye locking onto the entire crowd of outlaws.
The outlaws all backed up slightly, now suitably worried.
"...it's high noon."
With those words, the outlaws all dispersed and tried to escape. Doki simply gave them a couple seconds of head start before she started rapid-firing her Wassingtons, the shock bullets flying and curving every which way to strike down the outlaws no matter where they tried to take cover.
It was a glorious display witnessed by the residents of Success, who had all emerged from their homes to see what all the commotion was about.
"Now get out," Doki proclaimed. "You wouldn't want me to start getting serious, would ya?"
That brazen statement was finally enough to get the majority of the outlaws to turn tail and run for their lives, all except Jimmy Long Legs, who was knocked out cold thanks to a shock round that had hit him in the neck.
Doki bent down to check on his unconscious body. He was stunned, but still alive. Good. After that, he'd definitely be out for a while, hopefully long enough to get him to the station and collect her reward. Doki reached up to her ear and tapped on her earpiece headphone.
"Doki to the Dragoons," Doki proclaimed. "Jimmy Long Legs is captured and ready for transport. Y'all know what to do."
A mere twenty seconds later, a small crowd of other bounty hunters that were part of Doki's gang, the Dragoons, were already grabbing Jimmy Long Legs' unconscious self so they could drag him out of town towards their transport.
Her job here done, Doki walked out of Success, sparing the residents one last wink so they would know that they didn't have to worry about the outlaws in this town anymore.
After she made it back to the transport and tied Jimmy Long Legs up, Doki sat down in the transport's main carriage, right next to her partner.
"Someone's happy," said partner chuckled.
"That job was easy as it always is," Doki quipped. "But there were a lot of them."
"Ah, so you finally got to bust out the super barrage, eh? Haven't done that in a while."
"To be fair, not many are stupid enough to try and gang up on me all at once when they know what I'm capable of, Nick," Doki replied.
"And the ones that are, they learn that lesson quick," Nick proclaimed.
Doki laughed at how right that was, until she simply decided to relax and enjoy the trip back to town, leaning her head on Nick's shoulder as she did so.
There weren't many people in this untamed frontier that didn't know the legend of Dead-Eye Doki and her infamous gang of bounty hunters, the Dragoons.
But what most of the people didn't know was that Doki hadn't initially chosen this life for herself.
Once, she had simply been known as Maple, a young girl growing up in the New World. The New World had been everyone's name for a renaissance of sorts, where humanity had abandoned their former home planet due to a devastating war rendering most of the planet uninhabitable. Many moons had passed before the Earth could sustain life again, and eventually, humanity did return to their ancestral home.
But, as anyone with half a brain cycle knows, wherever humanity goes, so too goes its criminal element. After finding themselves unable to handle the rapidly-increasing crime rate all by themselves, the two major powers of this New World, Valiant Industries and Apex Commerce, had decided to reinstitute the bounty system used in the days of the Wild West.
Maple herself had once been a normal girl who enjoyed reading about what the world had been like before the great exodus, who enjoyed most normal things that kids did growing up.
Until she'd turned sixteen, and her life had been upended in the worst possible way.
Apex Commerce and Valiant Industries had been making strides in developing "enhanced warriors", their term for cybernetically-augmented soldiers, to keep up with the outlaws that were festering all over the new world. After all, in their words, humans as they naturally were could only do so much.
One fateful day, Maple and her family had been caught up in a "freak accident" in their old hometown that had been the fault of a particularly nasty gang of outlaws. Maple had tried her best to defend her family from the invaders...
...only to be cruelly gunned down by the outlaws' leader. However, Apex Commerce had recovered her seemingly lifeless body and brought her to their laboratories. She had actually been barely hanging on, so Apex Commerce decided to save her life and augment her, to give her the means to strike back against those who had taken everything from her.
As she had lost her left eye in the attack, Maple had been given a highly-advanced "hitscan eye" as a replacement which would allow her to alter the trajectory of her projectiles to hit anybody she locked onto, no matter where they tried to hide.
At first, Maple had been grateful to Apex Commerce for giving her a second chance.
...then she discovered the horrible truth.
The outlaw gang that had destroyed her hometown and murdered both her and her family were in Apex Commerce's pockets. Apex Commerce was trying to keep up with the demand for enhanced warriors, and some of the more corrupt higher-ups had cut a deal with that particular outlaw gang in order to "create new test subjects".
With that knowledge in mind, Maple had rebelled, storming the Apex Commerce headquarters and using her new hitscan eye to decimate the leadership, only being forced to flee after encountering another enhanced warrior that attempted to take her in.
Knowing she was now likely a wanted fugitive (served those bastards right, honestly), Maple had fled into the frontiers, wandering around and using her hitscan eye to take in whatever bounties she could get to help herself stay afloat.
And then she had met him.
Nick was in a similar wagon, having augments granted to him by Valiant Industries, though in his case he'd willingly asked for the augments in order to provide for his own family. Nick's own augments consisted of nerve reflex enhancers, with buffed up his reflexes and allowed him to move and dodge much faster than a normal human, and a communication relay implanted in his ear to allow him to intercept radio transmissions and find his targets easier.
Alas, the world is cruel and humanity often proves that their own worst enemy is themselves.
One day, Nick had returned from a bounty hunt only to find that his family had also been murdered by a gang of outlaws. Letting his rage get the better of him, Nick had chased the outlaw relentlessly, only stopping when he'd finally ended the punk for his crimes.
After traveling from town to town looking for work, Nick had actually run into Maple, now rechristened "Dead-Eye Doki", on a job. The two had crossed blades after Nick accidentally interfered with a hunt Doki was taking, only to quickly reconcile after learning of their shared pain and actually work together to take the outlaw down.
That was when Nick had decided to join up with Doki on her travels, working alongside her own gang of bounty hunters, the Dragoons. Nick and Doki had rather quickly garnered reputations that made them (and the Dragoons, by extension) quite feared among the world's criminal element, as if either of them had you in their sights, there was very, very little chance you'd be escaping.
"Thinking about the past again?" Doki asked, snapping Nick out of his flashbacks.
"...well, it's hard not to, especially given what we've been through," Nick quipped. "I'd like to think I reflect on the past a little less than most people. ...do you ever wonder what could have been, Doki?"
"Sometimes, yeah," Doki admitted. "But I simply don't let it bother me. I am what I am now, and that's really all there is to it. I'm still me, and nobody can take that away from me."
"True, true," Nick answered. "Hey, I think I see the town up ahead."
"Yeah, I'm itching to finally turn this guy in and get that reward we were promised two months ago," Doki stated. They'd been chasing Jimmy Long Legs all over the place, after all.
"Makes you glad that bounties don't expire, right?" Nick laughed.
"Freakin' tell me about it," Doki chuckled.
After the Dragoons stopped in the town of Lawman's Whistle, Nick and Doki personally escorted Jimmy Long Legs to the police station so they could collect their bounty, proud to finally be rid of the annoying little punk. He hadn't shut up once during the entire trip.
Once that was taken care of and they'd collected their payment, Nick and Doki headed to the nearby tavern in order to check the bounty board that posted job offers for new bounties. A bounty hunter's work was never done, after all.
"Look at all of these scrubs, huh?" Nick quipped as they continued to scan the bounty board.
"Yeah, most of these guys are relatively new to the bounty board, so they haven't really had time to build up a substantial bounty, so..." Doki replied, chuckling a bit...
...until she caught one particular bounty posting and her eyes widened in shock.
"...everything okay, Doki?" Nick wondered, following Doki's eyes to the particular bounty she'd caught sight of.
It was for one Steel Massimo, a rather beastly-looking man with intimidating eyes and a steel chestplate. The bounty was worth 300,000 credits, far more than even the highest bounty the two of them had claimed in the past couple months. Massimo was apparently wanted for at least fifty counts of murder, extortion, blackmail, and god knew what else.
"That's a pretty high bounty for someone who looks like that," Nick chuckled. When Doki didn't giggle back like she usually did, he knew something was up. "...are you all right?"
"That's... that the man who..." Doki gasped.
Nick didn't need another look at Doki's expression, half shocked surprise, half murderous rage, to understand what she had meant by that.
Steel Massimo was the leader of the outlaw gang who had been bribed by Apex Commerce to destroy Doki's old hometown and murder everyone there, including her parents. Doki had spent the last five years searching for him, hoping to bring him to justice one day.
Not needing a single convincing argument, Nick took Steel Massimo's mugshot off of the board and headed right back towards the office where they would normally turn in their bounties.
"My partner and I would like to register ourselves as on the hunt for this guy," Nick proclaimed, placing Steel Massimo's bounty poster down on the desk.
"Damn, you're really going after Steel Massimo?" one of the officers replied. "You know how ruthless he is, right? Once he's got a target in mind, nothing will stop him until that target is either dead or buried. Sometimes both."
"I understand the risks, officer," Nick responded. "But, let's just say that my partner has personal beef with this chrome-chested son of a bitch, and huge bounty or not, I know she'd be delighted to finally be the one to bring that bastard to justice."
"Well, if you're that dedicated to it, we won't stop you," a second officer answered as she typed in the necessary information so other prospective bounty hunters would know that this job was taken. "Just be careful out there. That man is a monster. I don't even know if he's human anymore."
"With all that chrome he installed, I doubt it, too," Nick teased as he headed back out. "Welp, Doki, we've got another hunt."
"...you really took that job?" Doki asked.
"This is the junk heap who killed your family, right?" Nick stated. "Well, then, who better than Dead-Eye Doki herself to finally take his ass down a couple hundred pegs, huh?"
Doki couldn't help but smile, even allowing a few tears to fall. She hadn't really allowed herself to cry since she set out for the bounty hunter's life, knowing that tears weren't going to bring her family back to her. But now, at the very least, she could finally avenge her parents and bring their killer down.
"Damn right, buddy," Doki chuckled as she leaned forward to hug Nick. "When are we setting out to take care of business?"
"Probably tomorrow, all things considered," Nick replied. "That way, we can get some rest tonight. I'm sure the Dragoons are all as exhausted as we are after trekking across half the freakin' continent trying to find Jimmy Long Legs. He may be a complete wimp in a gunfight, especially against someone of your caliber, but god damn is he light on his feet."
"That's probably why he got the name 'Jimmy Long Legs'," Doki laughed.
That night, the Dragoons all stayed the night in Lawman's Whistle to recover their strength and prepare for the undoubtedly arduous journey that lay ahead of them. Despite that, the Dragoons had all been excited to learn of the job they had taken, ready to bring Steel Massimo to justice for everything he'd done.
After a good night's sleep, and one last trip to the general store to stock up on provisions just to make sure (they'd done something like that during one hunt, and Doki had definitely screamed her head off at that chucklehead for wasting water when they needed it for the job), Nick, Doki and the Dragoons all left Lawman's Whistle and set off to get this latest job started. Doki was fiddling with the tracker that the police officers had given them to track Steel Massimo's location, while Nick used his ear implant to track its signal. Hopefully this would make it that much easier to find where Steel Massimo was hiding.
Three days passed since the beginning of the hunt, and the Dragoons continued to pass through town after town searching for information about Steel Massimo. As was to be expected, many townspeople were too scared to say much, if anything. Doki didn't blame them, though, especially considering Steel Massimo's reputation.
The few that were willing to spill what they knew, though, had mentioned something about a heist he was planning from a train carrying cargo between Apex Commerce and Valiant Industries. Thankfully, Apex Commerce was much more benevolent now after Doki had taken care of the original corrupt leadership.
The train, according to the locals, was carrying a shipment of extremely rare metal known as raritanium, a valuable commodity in the New World that both Apex Commerce and Valiant Industries used to create their augments for enhanced warriors.
"He definitely doesn't need all that raritanium for himself," Doki noted as she, Nick and the Dragoons went over what they knew so far. "His whole body's more than fifty percent raritanium already!"
"That's probably how he got the nickname 'Steel Massimo'," Nick quipped. "Besides, 'Raritanium Massimo' doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?"
"What's his game, then?" a Dragoon asked. "Why is he trying to rob the train, unless he just wants to keep the raritanium out of others' hands?"
"It's never that simple," Doki replied. "Steel Massimo never does things just for the sake of doing them. He's gotta have some kind of angle in this..."
"And I'm guessing that the only way we're gonna find out what that is, is if we wring those answers out of him," Nick answered. "Does anyone know where this train is going to be passing through?"
"Well, I think I just got lucky," another Dragoon proclaimed, having just returned to the transport after talking to someone in the border crossing town they had just passed through. "One of the locals told me that the train we're looking through passes through Moonlight Canyon on its way between the two conglomerates."
"Then that's where we're going," Doki stated. "We might be able to ambush him if this all goes well."
"When it comes to Steel Massimo, I'd still be careful," Nick quipped. "After all, Doki, you were the one who taught me a very important rule about the life of a bounty hunter. Namely, no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy."
"Well, then, how about we all get to plannin'? Just in case," Doki chuckled.
With that in mind, the Dragoons all gathered to discuss their main plan, as well as at least four backup plans in case one of them inevitably went south.
During their discussions, Nick couldn't help but notice that Doki was speaking with a lot more conviction than normally. After all, they were going to be facing off against the man who had killed her parents. No doubt vengeance would be sweet indeed.
Just you wait, Steel Massimo, Nick thought. One way or another, this will be the last time you terrorize our world.
The journey continued, taking the Dragoons another day to reach the crossing at Moonlight Canyon where the train with the raritanium shipment was said to be coming through.
The Dragoons waited at the railroad crossing patiently until they heard the telltale rumbling from the tracks.
"Looks like this is it, Dragoons," Doki proclaimed. "Let's get out there and kick some ass, why don't we?!"
A unanimous cry of "HELL YEAH" echoed throughout the area as the Dragoons all unfurled their weapons and prepared themselves.
Ten minutes later, the Apex Commerce train came thundering down the tracks, and the instant it was in sight, the Dragoons all charged in tandem with the train, actually keeping up with it despite the speed of the train.
"Does anybody see an entrance?!" Doki shouted.
"There's an empty car just up ahead," a Dragoon responded. "We might be able to get inside with that!"
"All right, Dragoons, give us a boost!" Nick exclaimed.
Two of the Dragoons straightened up in their seats, allowing Nick and Doki to leapfrog off of their shoulders and land safely on the train car.
Both Nick and Doki made sure they had easy access to their weapons before making their way into the car. Sure enough, there were multiple crates full of mined raritanium, both pure and refined, littered all around.
"Holy crap, there's so much raritanium here," Doki quipped. "And some of it's already been refined."
"You don't think that means..." Nick wondered. After all, refined raritanium wasn't as valuable as pure raritanium, even if refined raritanium was what was mostly used in Apex Commerce and Valiant Industries' augments.
Nick and Doki didn't have much time to mull it over, since they heard commotion from a couple cars ahead.
"Sounds like we've got company, huh?" Doki laughed.
"Let's go wrassle up some scallywags, why don't we?" Nick chuckled.
Nick and Doki both armed their weapons, Doki priming her hitscan eye, before busting through the nearby door to see five men from Steel Massimo's own gang hauling crates of raritanium towards the opposite car.
"Hands where we can see 'em, muscle boys!" Doki shouted, aiming her dual Wassingtons towards the outlaws.
"Well, well, if it isn't Dead-Eye Doki herself," one outlaw laughed. "I guess I should have figured you'd be eyeing this here loot crate. What, you trying to muscle in on our score?"
"Hardly," Doki scoffed. "I don't need anywhere near as much raritanium for upkeep on my augments."
"We're here for your boss," Nick proclaimed.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the outlaws started laughing raucously.
"Are you sure ya don't have brain damage, lassie?" one outlaw cackled. "Because it sounded like you said you're going after our boss man."
"Not even you have a chance of besting Steel Massimo, honey-bunch," another outlaw taunted.
All of a sudden, a flurry of shock rounds thundered out and paralyzed all of the outlaws in the room. Doki didn't even need to use her hitscan eye on these fools.
"I'll repeat what I said to Jimmy Long Legs when I took him in," Doki growled. "Do not ever call me 'honey-bunch'."
"You're the ones who chose to not listen," Nick chuckled as he activated his own augments, blitzing forward so fast that the outlaws only saw his afterimages before they found themselves tossed out of the train.
"That's one car down," Doki quipped. "And if the goon patrol's out, then that can only mean Steel Massimo is already somewhere on board."
"Then let's go find him and take him down," Nick responded.
With that, Nick and Doki charged through the train cars, mowing down any gang members unlucky enough to get in their way. Any who got thrown out of the train car were quickly wrangled up by the Dragoons.
After about ten minutes of shootouts, Nick and Doki made it to the main car, though with no sign of Steel Massimo.
"He didn't dip out on us, did he?" Nick groaned.
"No, he's here," Doki answered. "I'm damn sure of it."
"I wouldn't want to upset you, darlin'."
Nick and Doki looked up as somebody punched a hole in the roof of the lead car before using their metal hand to rip said roof clean off. Staring down at them was Steel Massimo himself.
He was a rather beastly man wearing a dark green suit of armor with yellow and beige highlights, his shoulder pads decorated with blue gems and large spikes, and a red pair of purely cosmetic wings sprouting from his back. He had bright blue eyes with red lines around the edges.
"If it isn't the legendary Dead-Eye Doki herself," Steel Massimo chuckled. "I'm surprised y'all came all the way out here just to see little ol' me. Must be a special occasion."
"Yeah, you could say that," Doki retorted, aiming her Wassingtons for Steel Massimo. "This is the day that I finally bring you in for everything you've done."
"Oh, but I figured you're here for more personal reasons," Steel Massimo quipped. "After all, you and your own gang have more than enough credits to live a comfortable life without hunting me down."
"Stop talking shit, dumbass," Doki growled. "You know exactly why I'm the one here to plant my high heels so far up your ass that you'll be coughing them up into your own face."
"Enjoy your freedom while you can, Steel Massimo," Nick proclaimed, ready to strike. "This is your last day as a free man."
"I'd like to see the likes of you stop me!" Steel Massimo laughed, pressing a button on the side of his neck collar and materializing a helmet that resembled a bird, with a beak-like visor and a mouth guard that covered most of his face.
Nick and Doki only had a second to react before Steel Massimo jumped off of his perch and slammed his steel fist into the ground, the sheer impact actually upending the lead car and launching Nick and Doki out of it.
Thankfully, they landed safely on one of the other cars, but that simply presented a different problem.
The lead car being upended by Steel Massimo, the train was now barreling rapidly across the train tracks over a massive gorge.
And to make matters worse, the train was wobbling precariously thanks to Steel Massimo's attack.
"Well, well, isn't this a bit of a pickle?!" Steel Massimo laughed. "It's such a shame that all of this raritanium is gonna go to waste at the bottom of that gorge, but..."
"...wait, wait," Doki gasped when she realized what Steel Massimo was getting at. "You were never after the raritanium."
"And now she figures it out," Steel Massimo taunted. "I knew you couldn't resist a chance to take me on, so I staged this little 'heist' to draw you out and teach you a lesson."
"Well, you're not getting away from us this time!" Nick proclaimed, drawing his own weapon, a customized Berenna H64 double-barreled semi-auto shotgun. "Prepare to suck on our justice!"
"Real clever, boy," Steel Massimo retorted. "But here's a question for you."
Doki didn't give Steel Massimo a chance to make a smartass comment, activating her hitscan eye and unloading her dual Wassingtons into Steel Massimo's chest. Much to her surprise, though, the shock rounds didn't actually stun him, each round planted into his armor but not actually reaching him.
"The wonders of raritanium armor," Steel Massimo quipped. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes, my question for you, boy."
Before Doki could reload her Wassingtons, Steel Massimo barreled forward, shoving Nick aside before lashing out to strike Doki in the back of the neck with his steel right fist, the impact almost instantly knocking her unconscious.
And the way she was dangerously stumbling towards the edge of the train car...
"...would you rather go after me, or would you rather save your partner?" Steel Massimo cackled. "Your choice."
Nick didn't hesitate to turn around and start running towards Doki, though he spared one last hateful glance towards Steel Massimo.
"...this isn't over," Nick growled.
"Oh, I very much look forward to it," Steel Massimo chuckled as he made his exit, jumping off of the train.
Nick quickly ran towards Doki just as she fell off of the train car and into the gorge below the tracks. Swiftly activating his augments to significantly boost his speed, Nick started running down the steel girders that made up the bridge, keeping pace with Doki and waiting for an opportunity to leap out and grab her.
After a little more running, Nick jumped off and started running on the adjacent cliff face, eventually seeing solid ground a little further down.
Nick made a mighty leap off of the cliff face, grabbing the unconscious Doki in his arms and running back down the opposite cliff face until they both made it down to safe ground at the bottom of the gorge, deactivating his augments so he wouldn't go flying right into anything else that was nearby.
Once Nick was absolutely sure they were both safe, he gently laid Doki down against a nearby outcropping and waited for her to regain consciousness.
As night slowly fell on the canyon, Nick couldn't help but stare up towards the bridge as the last of the train cars fell into the abyss below.
Steel Massimo wasn't going to get away with this. No way in hell.
About forty-five minutes before Doki began to stir, rubbing the spot on her neck where Steel Massimo had struck her, before looking around, not sure where she was.
"We're... at the bottom of the gorge in Moonlight Canyon," Nick answered. "Steel Massimo pulled a cheap shot and KO'ed you, but you were about to fall off, so I had to use my augments to catch up to you. ...sorry if I let him get away."
"Hey, that's not your fault," Doki replied, scooting over to sit right next to Nick. "I know for a fact you would have saved me regardless. In fact, you've done that quite a few times on our hunts."
Doki smiled at Nick. "Don't start kicking yourself over something you had no control over, 'kay?" Doki stated. "Remember one of my personal rules? Focus on the here and now, and don't let what's happened in the past get the better of you. I had to learn that myself, after all."
"Well, in your case, I think you deserved a little vengeance after what you've been through," Nick quipped. "And look on the bright side, Apex Commerce is more on the up and up now than before."
"Too true," Doki chuckled. "I'm sure we've got more chances to take care of Steel Massimo whenever we get out of here. "Why don't we try and get some sleep for now? We'll decide on a plan of attack in the morning."
"Sounds good to me," Nick replied. "And, if I'm allowed to be mushy for a couple seconds..."
Nick leaned over and hugged Doki tightly. "I'm really glad you're all right," Nick admitted.
"Me, too, buddy," Doki giggled as she returned Nick's hug. "Me, too."
The next morning, however, before Nick and Doki could even start planning a way to get out of the gorge (it was a hell of a climb back up, and Nick didn't want to overtax his augments so soon after last night), they were met with a pretty big surprise.
Nick's earpiece transmission augment started beeping, catching Doki's attention as she was searching for anything they could use to get back up.
Much to their joint surprise, a small fighter jet built with wings in the shape of bird wings, much like the personal symbol of the Dragoons, started descending through the gorge towards them.
"They actually busted out plan D?!" Doki gasped before laughing.
"Guess plans B and C couldn't really fit down a gorge like this, huh?" Nick chuckled.
"Hey, you guys, sorry we're late!" one of the Dragoons called out from inside the jet. "We had to go back a ways to get the jet, and, well... somebody wanted in on this when they heard we were the ones going after this guy."
"Wait, wait, who did you let on our jet?" Doki wondered.
"HEY THERE, DOKI!"
Someone popped out of the right door of the jet and revealed herself. She was about Doki's age, with short and curly white hair that faded into green at the tips, tied into pigtails with blue bows, and teal eyes, and the cowboy outfit she was wearing didn't seem to fit what Doki knew about her.
Mint, bounty hunter name Maid Mint Fantome, had been a longtime friend of Doki even before the incident with Apex Commerce and Steel Massimo. Mint's specific augments allowed her to turn briefly intangible to either pass through certain "impenetrable" defenses or easily avoid attacks.
"Holy shit, Mint?!" Doki gasped.
"What'cha doing hanging around these parts, Mint?" Nick chuckled.
"I heard my best buddy Dead-Eye Doki was huntin' down some big game," Mint laughed. "After your Dragoons told me you were going after Steel Massimo, I just had to help ya out."
"The more the merrier, Mint," Doki responded. "Just remember, Nick and I are the ones registered on the bounty board for this guy, so..."
"Hey, I'm not worried about the money, the Wisps and I have more than enough to get by," Mint proclaimed. "I'm just here to help you two finally stick it to Steel Massimo's stupid chin face!"
"Well, then, let's get the hell out of this gorge and stick it to that punk!" Nick laughed.
Nick and Doki jumped into the Dragoon jet, and it began to ascend out of the gorge and back onto the bridge that the raritanium train had fallen off of.
"Now comes the problem with all of this," Doki quipped. "We really have no idea where the hell Steel Massimo flaked off to after he busted up that train..."
"Well, good thing the tracker I got from the bounty guys is still working," Nick chuckled. "As long as it's connected to my augments, there's no way Steel Massimo is going to evade us for long. And... we have a jackpot! It looks like Steel Massimo's hanging out in the Sandswept Ruins a couple miles to the southwest."
"Hold on, what's he doing there of all places?" Mint wondered. "Those ruins haven't been explored in literal decades."
"Yeah, there's rumors that it might have been a sprawling city in the time before the New World," a Dragoon quipped.
"Why it hasn't been occupied by any number of vicious outlaw gangs by now is beyond me," a Wisp, one of Mint's gang of bounty hunters, replied.
"Well, I guess we're going to find out one way or another," Doki responded. "One way or another, this five-year-long chase ends today."
"Hell yeah," Nick proclaimed. "Let's go pound that bastard's face into mashed potatoes."
It naturally didn't take too long to reach the Sandswept Ruins in the Dragoon Jet, since they were able to fly over most of the obstacles in their way.
However, once they arrived at their destination, they quickly found out why the place was commonly known as the Sandswept Ruins. A massive, swirling vortex of sand and wind was surrounding the ruins.
"That does not look natural," Mint quipped.
"And that would also explain why nobody really goes here," Doki stated. "Only the hardiest or stubborn-est of hunters would dare try to make it through that crap."
"Thankfully, we're stubborn as hell, right, Doki?" Nick chuckled.
"Oh, you know it," Doki proclaimed. "Now let's get in there and end this nonsense once and for all."
The Dragoon Jet touched down at the very edge of the sand tornado surrounding the ruins so that Nick, Doki and Mint could jump off and head in.
Mint put her hand on Doki's shoulder before activating her augments, turning them both intangible so they could walk through the tornado. Nick activated his own augments and sped forward, pushing through the tornado until all three bounty hunters were inside the "eye of the storm", even though the tornado was only around the outer edges of the city.
"All right, Steel Massimo, where the hell are you?" Doki snarled. "I'm done playing this runaround with you. Get your metallic ass out here so I can break it a few times."
Nick glanced forward, having seen something shift in one of the many abandoned buildings.
A building that was quaking in its foundations until Steel Massimo, still decked out in his battle armor, literally punched his way through the roof of the house before coming down and destroying the house with another downward punch.
"Well, color me impressed, little bird," Steel Massimo chuckled. "I didn't think you'd survive that fall into the gorge, even with your little partner to help you out."
"Yeah, well, I'm unbearably stubborn," Doki responded, bringing out her dual Wassingtons. "You, of all people, should have figured that out by now, but apparently, oxygen can't flow properly through that punch bowl on your head."
"Ooh, now you're actually gratin' my cheese, honey-bunch," Steel Massimo growled. "You've officially insulted me for the first and last time. I hope you're ready for this place to be your tomb. How fitting, honestly, for your grave to be in a place nobody goes to any longer. Forgotten, just like the rest of the trash."
"If anything, you're the trash one here, Massimo," Mint retorted as she unsheathed her own weapon, a Killenger F45 automatic crossbow. "You're giving real bounty hunters and more upstanding outlaws a real bad name with your antics. I'm sure the world will be cheering when you're the one who's finally brought to justice."
"We're officially through playing around with you, Massimo," Nick proclaimed, readying his Berenna. "The three of us, we're taking you in today, and nothing is going to stop us, especially not you."
"I hope you're ready to back up them boasts, you little punks!" Steel Massimo bellowed as he barged forward much faster than anyone had expected, forcing all three bounty hunters to scatter in different directions.
"Wait, wait, he's got augments, too?!" Mint gasped.
"Of course he does," Doki responded. "This piece of shit was working for Apex Commerce when his gang ran over my hometown and killed my family. It's only natural that they'd augment him."
"I've never actually had to use my augments before today," Steel Massimo laughed. "My armor and brute strength were more than enough. How fitting that the first opponent to make me actually use my augments is none other than Dead-Eye Doki herself!"
The veins on Steel Massimo's arms began glowing an eerie shade of blue as he charged towards Doki, who had backed up against the wall of a nearby house to get some breathing room, raising his fist and throwing it towards her face at speeds that shocked everyone.
"Finally, no more Dead-Eye Doki!" Steel Massimo cackled, his punch colliding and utterly destroying the house in a shockwave of blue electricity, collapsing what still remained in flamboyant fashion.
...only Doki was nowhere to be found.
"Ah, did I overdo it and completely obliterate her?" Steel Massimo laughed, unaware of something rising from behind him.
Mint snapped her fingers and made her and Doki tangible again so that Mint could raise her Killenger and fire a bolt of light energy from it, thundering out with the speed of a railgun shot. The bolt flew true and embedded itself in Steel Massimo's back, actually piercing through his armor and striking him in the back before dissolving.
"ARGH, YOU LITTLE WRETCH!" Steel Massimo snarled.
"Thanks for the save, Mint," Doki chuckled.
"Hey, no way was I gonna let the best friend and bounty hunter I know on this planet get splatted by this big ol' ape," Mint laughed.
As Steel Massimo turned around and prepared to charge again, Nick took aim and fired his Berenna twice, both shots catching Steel Massimo in the side of his armor and leaving visible gashes.
"Gorilla eyes on me, buddy," Nick taunted.
"You think you're hot shit, don't you?!" Steel Massimo shouted, his voice echoing in the empty ruins despite the sandstorm around the town. Suddenly, Steel Massimo lurched forward and growled in pain, as Doki had fired a laser round from her Wassingtons into the hole in his armor that Mint had made earlier.
"Let me remind you why I'm known as Dead-Eye Doki, in case your dumb peanut brain forgot that," Doki taunted, her hitscan eye glowing and locking on. "When I have a target in my sights, it doesn't matter where they are, what they try to do to conceal themselves or escape from me, I never miss a target I'm locked on to. That includes you, Massimo."
"Such bold words from the bounty hunter who's about to be dead in a matter of seconds!" Steel Massimo exclaimed, turning to face Doki only to be nailed by another laser crossbow bolt courtesy of Mint.
"What, did you forget I was here?" Mint laughed, aiming her Killenger for a weak spot on Steel Massimo's armor.
"I WILL NOT BE BESTED BY BRATS LIKE YOU!" Steel Massimo screamed, his armor glowing dark blue once again.
He's officially started screaming, Nick thought. That means he's losing his composure. We just need to get him a vulnerable position and then we can end this.
Steel Massimo lunged forward to try and punch Doki again, only for Mint to once again turn them both intangible, Steel Massimo slipping right through and only destroying another abandoned house, though this time, the shockwave from the impact did uproot a marble pillar that fell on top of him.
"What, did you lose your balance?" Doki taunted, clearly having too much fun pushing Steel Massimo's buttons. "Clearly, that armor doesn't do much for stability."
"So help me god, you're going to regret ever having crossed swords with me!" Steel Massimo exclaimed as he continued to barge forward and try to hit Doki and Mint, but they were too fast for him to catch.
Steel Massimo attempted to activate his augments to close the speed gap, but he found that the only glowed blue for a split second before fizzling out.
"Oh, what, did you overtax your augments?" Mint laughed. "Your mistake for focusing too hard on trying to punch our lights out."
"I don't need my augments to beat all three of you to a bloody pulp!" Steel Massimo snarled as he jumped into the air and came down with a thrusting punch, only for his fist to be knocked off course by a shot from Nick's Berenna.
"You were saying?" Nick chuckled.
"Oh, you are so dead!" Steel Massimo growled as he turned around and bum-rushed Nick, only for Mint to place herself in front of him and reach out to touch Steel Massimo's armor.
Using her augments turned the armor intangible so that Steel Massimo left it behind, only realizing his mistake too late when he couldn't feel the extra weight of his armor.
Steel Massimo turned around just in time to see Nick load a pair of explosive rounds into his Berenna and shoot at the armor, damaging it most likely beyond repair.
"Well, well, looks like you're pretty much forked without your biggest advantage," Doki proclaimed, her hitscan eye glowing bright red as she locked on to Steel Massimo. "And without your armor to protect you..."
Steel Massimo quickly realized the situation he was in, and attempted to book it as far away as he could, but found that he couldn't make it through the sandstorm surrounding the ruins. He'd only been able to march through thanks to his armor.
"...ahahaha, that's right, buddy," Doki laughed, arming her Wassingtons with a special kind of ammunition she'd been saving specifically for Steel Massimo. "...your ass is mine."
Steel Massimo activated his augments in order to speed away, but Doki simply started rapid-firing her Wassingtons, unleashing a barrage of raritanium-tipped laser rounds that zigzagged all across the ruins, following Steel Massimo wherever he went thanks to Doki's own augments.
Eventually, the raritanium rounds caught up to Steel Massimo and blasted him a good ten feet backwards, most of the rounds embedded in his skin as he lay there in pain.
Nick, Doki and Mint all walked up to the downed Steel Massimo, who was still trying his best to get back up.
"Just give it up, you lunkhead," Mint groaned. "Stop being stubborn and just admit that we beat you."
"You... will... will never... best me," Steel Massimo groaned as he tried to extricate the raritanium rounds from his skin, not having much luck. "I... I am invincible... I am the almighty, all-powerful..."
"Oh, just shut your mouth for once in your life," Doki retorted, aiming her right Wassington for Steel Massimo.
"Y-You... you wouldn't..." Steel Massimo gasped when he realized what Doki was most likely about to do.
"What did you think was going to happen?" Doki growled, staring the defeated Steel Massimo right in the face. "...you destroyed my life. You killed my family, you ran roughshod over my hometown, all because you were in Apex Commerce's pockets. I've been searching for you chrome-plated ass ever since that day, and now that you're defeated and begging for my mercy... you honestly think I'm going to give you that?"
Steel Massimo started babbling, attempting to parley with Doki, only to hear the words that sealed his fate.
"You had this coming for five years," Doki proclaimed as she actually shot Steel Massimo in the head, though upon further inspection, it turned out to just be another shock round that knocked him unconscious on impact.
"...damn, Doki, I almost thought you were actually going to execute him," Mint chuckled.
"Well, for one, he'd have deserved it, but I can't really collect the bounty on him if he's dead, can I?" Doki teased. "Second, as much as I wanted to, I think this is a much better form of retribution."
"Yeah, he spent so long thinking he was invincible, that he was untouchable, and that nobody would ever bring him in," Nick quipped. "He let himself get complacent, and karma caught up to him big time."
"Even if he does get out of jail at some point, he'll be too shaken up over his first actual defeat," Doki stated. "He's not gonna be anywhere near as much of a pain in the ass as he's been. In the end, we got him."
Doki looked up towards the midday sky that could be seen through the sandstorm, wondering if her mother, father and sister could see her now.
After a few moments of reflection, all three bounty hunters moved to pick up the out-cold Steel Massimo and lug him back through the sandstorm and onto the Dragoon Jet.
Naturally, the Dragoons were extremely overjoyed to have finally captured Steel Massimo, and were already whooping it up as the jet turned around and set sail for Lawman's Whistle once again.
A couple hours later, Doki and the Dragoons were now 300,000 credits richer thanks to turning Steel Massimo in (Doki would never forget the, in her words, "bug-eyed surprise" on the faces of the officers who ran the bounty board when they realized she'd actually taken down one of the New World's biggest troublemakers), and the Dragoons were, of course, partying at the local saloon. Mint was there, too, showing off her amazing singing voice to the patrons of the saloon.
But Nick and Doki had decided to excuse themselves from the celebrations, at least for now. Doki had somewhere she wanted to go, somewhere she'd promised to herself she wouldn't return to until she'd taken care of Steel Massimo.
About forty minutes later (the Dragoon Jet was surprisingly fast, no doubt due to its raritanium-boosted engines), they touched down in their destination.
The ruins of Doki's old hometown, Bird's Eye Roost.
As if some kind of invisible force was guiding her, Doki made her way into the town, with Nick following closely behind her.
After a couple minutes of searching, Doki stopped in front of a particular house, one that looked much more run-down than the others, which made sense considering what had happened to this house.
After taking a few steps closer, Doki noticed that something was still there, on the front steps of the house's porch.
A gravestone that she'd placed there, inscribed with the names of all three members of her family that she'd lost in Steel Massimo's attack. Thankfully, despite all of the damage to the rest of the town, this headstone was still intact.
"Hey, mom. Dad. Sis. I made it back," Doki proclaimed to nobody in particular. "And yup, that means I took down Steel Massimo like I promised I would. You can all rest in peace now, for realsies."
Doki tried her best to blink back tears despite knowing the waterworks would start flowing at any minute.
"You know, I often wonder what you all would think of me for taking up the life of a bounty hunter," Doki stated. "But, despite that, it was really the three of you who pushed me to live the life I wanted. I figured being a bounty hunter would help me get closer to Steel Massimo so I could finally plug that smart gorilla mouth of his. I really wish you were all still here, even if just to see how far I've come since that day."
Despite knowing she wasn't going to get a response, Doki found herself wishing that one of them had heard her.
Despite her best efforts, Doki could feel that the dam was about to burst. Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning around to see Nick smiling at her, like he always tended to do when she was sad.
And with that, she couldn't hold it in any longer. Doki started full-on crying, letting all of the feelings she'd held in ever since that day five years ago out into the open. Nick simply hugged Doki and let her cry, knowing she'd needed this for a while now.
Once Doki had finally calmed down, Nick glanced over to the gravestone and noticed that there was a picture of Maple alongside her mother, father, and sister, happy as can be, no doubt the only photo of the family that remained before the town had been overrun.
"...you doing okay, Doki?" Nick asked.
"...I am now," Doki admitted. "I just had to let it out. I've been holding that in for way too long."
Nick glanced at the family photo, then back to Doki. "I know I asked this when we brought Jimmy Long Legs, but..."
"Honestly, sometimes I do," Doki replied, knowing what Nick wanted to ask. "I'm sure every bounty hunter out here wants their old life back at some point, considering how many have been driven to bounty hunting because of personal tragedy. But, like I said, I try not to let what happened in the past control what I am now. Despite everything, I'm still me. And nobody's taking that away from me. ...how was it you phrased it?"
"Simple. 'I am me, nobody else'," Nick quipped.
"Damn straight," Doki chuckled. "But seriously, thank you, Nick, for helping me out in taking Steel Massimo down."
"Oh, I definitely wanted to give his big ol' metal suit a few more holes myself," Nick responded. "But I figured, you've been gunning for him for five years, so who better than you to fire the big shot that finally took his ass out?"
"And I really do appreciate that more than you'll ever know, Nick," Doki proclaimed, leaning over to hug Nick again. "You and the Dragoons mean so much to me. It's because of all of you that I finally found my calling in this world."
"Even though, the first time we met, you literally judo-flipped my ass into a wall and then sent me spinning through the air like a water wheel," Nick teased.
"To be fair, I didn't know you then," Doki laughed. There was the laugh he enjoyed so much. "Now, how about we head back to Lawman's Whistle? I don't trust the Dragoons to not get Mint drunk off of that cheap bartown scotch they're serving there."
"Poor Mint really can't hold her liquor, eh?" Nick chuckled.
With that in mind, Nick and Doki returned to the Dragoon Jet and took off for Lawman's Whistle, leaving Bird's Eye Roost behind.
The party lasted well into the night, and thankfully, Mint didn't actually get drunk, as it was a personal rule of hers to not get drunk on the job (she'd actually been chasing a bounty of her own before stopping to help Nick and Doki take on Steel Massimo).
Once the sun rose on Lawman's Whistle once again, the Dragoons were off and running once again, setting out for yet another bounty hunt. Even though they'd taken care of one of the most notorious criminals in the New World, that didn't mean that there would be less trouble.
Doki kept to polishing and refitting her Wassingtons, as she'd used up a lot of ammo, especially those expensive raritanium rounds, in the showdown with Steel Massimo.
Nick was conferring with a couple Dragoons to track down their newest target, double-checking the maps and making sure they went on the most optimal route to get to their destination.
As the Dragoon carriage left the safety of Lawman's Whistle and took off for their next hunt, Nick and Doki both smiled cheekily at each other.
This goofy guy called himself Vanishing Gungaroo, mostly because of his augments that both gave him kangaroo-like kicking power and allowed him to temporarily turn invisible.
But it didn't matter how much invisibility that he had. Once Doki had him in her sights, it would only be a matter of time.
Because, as all criminals and bastards of the New World should know very well, nobody can truly escape the crosshairs of Dead-Eye Doki.
The V-Tuber Fables: Dead-Eye Doki
~The End~
So. Dokibird got a new skin suit recently. And yes, Dragoons, WE HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE BACK THAN THIS.
I was already brainstorming ideas for this particular fable even while I was watching the livestream. That's just how my brain works, after all.
And, guys, Dokibird is pretty much my second kami-oshi after everything she's attained since her return in February. I have never been prouder to be a Dragoon or a Bark Knight than I am now.
And yes, I will get back to the other V-Tuber Fables at some point. It's just been tricky, given that a good chunk of my computer time is already spent working on the likes of Totally Spies: The New Adventures and Kingdom Hearts: Key to Her Heart re:Verse II, and when it comes to my other projects, I decided that if I'm gonna do something like this, I'm going to lock in on it and get it finished before I move on to something else. That's been a problem I've had for a while, working on too many story ideas at the same time and not really making much progress on any of them. I'm trying to get that under control. And that's also probably why this Fable was just a one-shot. I wanted to get it done in a reasonable amount of time.
What might you see on the next new chapter of The V-Tuber Fables? Well, you never know. I'm already brainstorming ideas, like something related to a new Hololive generation that just debuted, or it could be something else entirely. You'll just have to wait and see.
And with that, I'll sign off with Doki's method. So, as always, remember to stay hydrated, posture check, get up and move around to get that blood flowing, and if you stayed up late to read this, head to bed, because you deserve it. I'll see you all on the next chapter of The V-Tuber Fables! MmmmmmBYEEEEEEEEEEEE
Stay gold,
The Blue Time Ranger