Chapter 10 Gun Smoke

Leroy was on the ground, he was just barely conscious and couldn't get up. 'Is this my limit?' Leroy turned to see his right arm, which he used to make that fire blast and was shocked to see it looked to be completely burnt. He had third-degree burns all over his arm, he didn't care about the risks, all he cared about was doing the job he needed to do. The Lone Stranger let down his barrier to reveal he had been completely untouched, he then dropped to his knee and coughed up more blood. "I can't take much more...I'm too weakened." He turned around to see what Leroy had done. 3 Buildings in the ghost town were now destroyed, turned to cinder. His clones were also turned into cinder, leaving nothing left, except the money in the safe. "So, this is the power of the Suden family…" He had a serious look on his face. "How intriguing." Leroy was still barely conscious. "Don't...underestimate...my...family…" The Lone Stranger looked at Leroy, he saw his burns and how weak he now was because of one massive blast. "This? This is nothing." This made Leroy angry, as he hated being underestimated. "I've heard stories of your father, he is well known for his firepower, and for what he did." Leroy was concerned. "What...exactly did he….do…" The Lone Stranger looked a bit afraid even by mentioning it. "Let's just say that your father had a bounty that was an entire village of crooks, and it was a death bounty. One minute he shot one fire blast out of his hand toward the village, the next minute the village was gone and turned into dust, along with all his inhabitants." This overwhelmed Leroy by a lot, he thought that even the blast he first pulled off would be at least somewhat on par with Renroy's full power, but the matchup doesn't even look close. "Now, you are an easy hostage, no rebelling against me with those burns on your arm. If you don't get medical attention soon, you may die of infection." The Lone Stranger proceeded to walk closer to Leroy on the ground. "I'll help you out boy, don't worry." Just before the Lone Stranger could get any closer, a shot was fired nearby at the space between Leroy and The Lone Stranger. It turns out that Mark and Gabe have arrived.

"Don't take another step," Mark said very confidently, holding a revolver. "Listen to me master!" Mark looked at Leroy and the shape he was in, he saw the arm and thought. 'So, he went too far. Did he?' Leroy then proceeded to say as much as he could. "That's the real Lone Stranger! He's been using sacrifices as clones to do his bidding! He has a curse where if he uses his powers too much then he dies, and he's nearly dead!" The Lone Stranger got angry for letting this information get out, he proceeded to kick Leroy on the ground. "Leroy!" Gabe screamed as he didn't want to see his friend get hurt. "Don't worry Leroy, I'll come and save you!" Leroy quickly looked up. "No Gabriel! He wants you and if you run toward me then you're giving him what he wants! All he has to do is get you and teleport to deliver you!" Gabe stopped in place. "Well then." Mark walked forward completely unflinching and with a smirk on his face. "I guess I'll have to get Leroy back and kill this bastard..." Mark kept up the smirk. "How do you hope of ever beating me? I have abilities and you don't." Mark kept that smirk. "Do you think I care about goddamn abilities?" The Lone Stranger was confused. "I've fought and killed hundreds just like you, what makes you any different?" Gabe was confused. "What do you mean hundreds? Isn't he the only one with abilities besides me?" Mark gave Gabe a smile. "Kid, there's a lot I have to tell you once we get out of this, just don't forget to remind me." The Lone Stranger started to get angry at his cockyness. "Very well then, so what if you're the Red Terror? Why should I be afraid? The scarier one of you two was always the Blue Death." Mark didn't answer and took a pause, drank a beer and threw it, and then spoke. "That's because I let him get the spotlight." Everyone was confused, "Ugh...cringe…" Gabe Thought. "Ugh...it's these parts I hate about him…" Leroy also thought. Mark then clapped his hands and kept them together, but it wasn't your average cap, because surrounding him was a bunch of red energy. "WHAT THE HELL?!" The Lone Stranger thought to himself. 'It...it can't be!' Mark kept his hands together for a little bit until he finally began to slowly pull them apart, only to reveal a strange red energy item in between both hands. After he was done summoning it, Mark grabbed the item and began to swing it around like a Shaolin monk and a boa staff, only to reveal it to be a red energy scythe. "RED TERROR REAPER SCYTHE!" Everyone was shocked by witnessing it. Gabe was jumping in excitement after seeing such a cool thing. "HOLY COW WHAT IS THAT THING, DRUNKEN MASTER!?" Mark gave Gabe a smile. "I'll show you later, but in the meantime. I've gotta kick this guy's ass."

Mark held his scythe in a battle stance. 'Alright, I've gotta be strategic. I can't go on too long without risking my own energy in my body, so I should try to keep the attacks small and end the fight as quickly as possible.' The Lone Stranger was at first shocked at the scythe, but he began laughing. "So, that's your famous technique of the Red Terror?" Mark smiled. "Yup, invented it myself. Even the Blue Death was jealous." Gabe thought the scythe looked amazingly cool, while Leroy on the other hand had grown to be obsessed with learning this technique. "Alright then, less talk and more fight." The Lone Stranger kept smiling. "Very well then, come at me." Mark held the scythe behind him with one hand, and the other hand made it look like he was in some martial arts fighting pose, while the Lone Stranger stood still. Seconds later, Mark was right in front of the Lone Stranger, apparently, he had moved faster than the eye could see. The Lone Stranger didn't expect this speed, he then put both arms out and pushed Mark back, while falling backward in the air, Mark proceeded to backflip and dashed toward The Lone Stranger again. The Lone Stranger then put a barrier circular shield around his fist, making a boxing glove. Mark also readied his scythe to swing by pulling it back. The two of them swung their moves toward each other, and the scythe broke right through the barrier fist, cutting the Lone Stranger's fingers off. "ARG! DAMN YOU BASTARD!" He then pushed Mark back again and Mark let him do so. Now at a distance, the Lone Stranger thought he had the upper hand, but he didn't. Mark then readied a swing, making everyone else around them confused, until he actually swung and created a beam. The Lone Stranger dodged it and the beam managed to cut right through a nearby house in the village. This shocked both Leroy and Gabe in the background, who were both watching the fight as it went on. Mark swung 2 more beams toward the Lone Stranger and he just barely managed to dodge them. Before Mark attacked next, he realized something. "I have 20% energy left? I've gotta end this quickly." Before Mark could attack next, however, The Lone Stranger had his hands extended fully, it looks like he was doing something except he was standing there doing nothing when it was revealed that he was lifting a giant house over them. "I will die to get that bounty! Do you hear me?!" Leroy and Gabe looked afraid. Gabe realized that The Lone Stranger was distracted trying to focus on lifting that house, so he decided to run over and get Leroy. Mark was thinking of ideas as the house was over them. He then thought of one. Mark proceeded to grab the Scythe with both hands and made orange energy come out of his hands and go into the Scythe. 'Just hold on a sec, this will take a bit to charge.' Gabe made it to Leroy, he proceeded to put his good hand on his shoulder. "What are you….doing here...you nobody…" Gabe smiled. "I'm here to save a friend, whether you like it or not." Leroy didn't fight him right now, all he did was rest as Gabe began to carry him to Mark. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE BRAT!" Gabe turned around in fear to realize that The Lone Stranger was actually paying attention. "I'M GOING TO SMASH THIS HOUSE ON TOP OF YOU TWO!" Mark didn't have enough time to charge, but he could get out of the charging process now or he could possibly die. "KIDS!" The Lone Stranger smashed the house on top of them. Leaving Mark on the outside.

Mark was shocked, he lost both his students, he failed the first Sheriff. Mark was going to wait till he stopped charging before he went to mourn, just then. The Lone Stranger came from under the rubble of wood. "I have him! I have him!" The Lone Stranger began to laugh, making Mark angry as hell. Just then, some rubble was heard and it turns out that Gabe survived the house smash, he proceeded to run toward the Lone Stranger in anger. "YOU HURT LEROY!" The Lone Stranger in return pushed him back, only to fall into the rubble. What Gabe didn't know was that he fell on some small nails that the house had on them. "Arg…bastard! Just die!" The Lone Stranger was fed up. "I knew you'd survive this...which is why I'm going to be taking you with me!" He held out his hand toward Gabe as he slowly walked toward him. Just then, The Lone Stranger screamed in pain as there had been fire on the back of his cloak. It also turns out that Leroy had been alive, and used his last bit of energy to create a small fire to burn the Lone Stranger. In response, the Lone Stranger turned around to where Leroy was and pushed him too, making him fall on some nails as well, except instead of Gabe, Leroy had one big nail come out of his shoulder. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gabe was shocked. "LEROY!!!!!!" The Lone Stranger then took off his cloak and threw it aside. "I said...I was taking you with me…" He then coughed out blood in his hand again. 'No more time to waste. I have enough energy to teleport twice or use one barrier, then I'm done.." The Lone Stranger gave that evil-looking smile as he walked closer toward Gabe, while Gabe had an angry look. "You're coming with me kid…" Gabe had enough. "NO, I'M NOT!" The Lone Stranger laughed. "You stupid child and your thought process...I'm going to have so much fun giving you to the r-" Just then, behind the Lone Stranger was Mark who was holding a now orange scythe. "He was right you know…" the Lone Stranger then turned around in fear, to see the sight of death. "HE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!!!!" Mark Threw his scythe toward the Lone Stranger, who was now panicking and tried to run, but Gabe was holding him in place. "KID!!!" As soon as the Scythe touched something, it exploded, knocking Gabe back so he would fall safely on the ground, along with everything else.

Gabe was on the ground knocked out, until he opened his eyes. His vision at first was a bit blurry, but he adjusted. Gabe got up and looked around to see if there were any survivors, he then saw Mark who looked to be unconscious. "DRUNKEN MASTER!" Gabe ran over to him in sadness. Once Gabe reached him, he saw that Mark looked to be not breathing, he then began to cry. It all came back to him, the moment they first met. '"My name, is-" Gabe couldn't wait any longer. "MARK JOHNSON POTATO!!" The hype was gone for Gabe, as he looked disappointed. "What?" Mark asked. "Well, I was hoping for something cooler than that." Mark looked angry. "OK, THEN WHAT WOULD YOU CALL ME!?" Gabe thought about this, he had known the guy for at least 3 minutes and didn't know much about him, then it hit him. "Oh, I know! Drunken Master!" Mark's jaw dropped. "Are you calling me a drunk!?" Gabe had then realized his mistake. "I'LL KILL YA KID!" Mark chased Gabe around as Gabe screamed from fear.' Gabe cried. "Please, don't die...Please DRUNKEN MASTER DON'T DIE!" Gabe heard noises coming from the rubble nearby, as it turns out, the Lone Stranger did in fact survive the Blast with a barrier. He could barely stand, one of his arms was gone, his entire side had just gone, and he looked like a zombie. "I...will...have….that...bounty…brat…" As soon as he saw Gabe he started walking toward him, making Gabe freak out, just then, Gabe didn't want to give up. Gabe closed his eyes and thought about this scenario. 'He killed my master, my best friend, and I won't give him the satisfaction of capturing me!' As Gabe opened his eyes, the wind began to blow around the two, as it was revealed that his eyes were completely dark blue. 'THE RAGNA!?' The Lone Stranger thought.

Gabe immediately grabbed Mark's hunting knife and charged at him full speed. "YOU ARE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" The Lone Stranger couldn't run, he couldn't even block. Gabe then jumped in the air with the knife at the ready, he held it in a way so that he would get the maximum thrust. "DIE!!!!!!" Gabe thrust the knife into the Lone Stranger's chest, supposedly stabbing his heart. 'This is...unacceptable...dying by a child.." The Lone Stranger was on the ground with blood coming from his mouth. Gabe then got up and put his hand in the air. "I'VE WON!"

Gabe stood next to the body, he began to poke it to see if it was alive, but it appeared to be dead. The Lone Stranger grabbed Gabe's leg and held on with all his strength. "LET GO OF ME, YOU BASTARD!" The Lone Stranger looked extremely angry. "I...win…" Just then, the Lone Stranger got a throwing knife in his forehead, which fully killed him this time. Gabe was able to escape his grasp now, he then looked at where the knife came from, only to find it was Mark who had killed him. Mark had been extremely tired and weak. "DRUNKEN MASTER!" Gabe ran full speed at him and gave him a huge hug that knocked him to the ground. "GET THE HELL OFF ME KID! I'M STILL PRETTY WEAK YA KNOW!" Gabe immediately got up and let Mark get up on his own. The two walked over to the Lone Stranger's body. "Is he really dead this time?" They waited for a bit to try and see if he would decay like the clones would to reveal he was a puppet, but that never happened. "I'm pretty certain he's dead, for good this time." Gabe then walked over to where Leroy was, he was sitting there on the ground unconscious, Gabe then began to cry as he thought Leroy was dead. "It's alright, kid. In the end, he acknowledged you, isn't that what you wanted?" Gabe said nothing, all he did was kneel down to him and looked upon his eyes, thinking of the time that Gabe risked his life for Leroy and the promise Leroy made. 'Leroy just sat there in disbelief of what just happened, he wondered why it did and how it led up to this. "You...You idiot! Why would you ever throw your own life away just to save mine!" The Clerk had also been watching this entire time with disbelief. "You said it yourself…" Leroy was confused, he then remembered his own words echo through his head. 'All I want in life right now is to get revenge on him, and I can't think of anyone better to train me than the Red Terror himself.' Leroy then began to cry after hearing those words. "The day you said you would get revenge on your father was the day you made a commitment...and you must never break that commitment...no matter what…" Leroy then began to cry while getting angry at Gabe.' Gabe kept crying. "He made a promise…and now...he can't fulfill it..." Gabe heavily cried while holding Leroy's body. Just when Mark also gave in to sadness, Gabe felt a hand on his hand, it had been Leroy. "What are you crying about you nobody?" Gabe looked up in surprise to see that Leroy was alive. "LEROY!" Gabe hugged him. "GET THE HELL OFF ME, YOU IDIOT! THERE IS A GODDAMN NAIL IN MY SHOULDER!" Gabe got off him as he heard that. "Sorry, I'm just glad you're alright." Leroy looked up and saw the nail, along with his arm. "So..you went too far?" Mark asked, Leroy stayed silent with his I don't care face. "Why did you go too far? What could have possibly been a good reason?" Leroy thought for a minute if he should tell. '"I won't ever let you take Gabe away! Do you hear me, you bastard?! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE MY FRIEND AWAY!!!!!!!!!!"' Leroy thought about it but ultimately decided not to because it would be best for Gabe. "I did it because I wanted to save my own life, no other reason." Gabe believed him and shrugged it off, but Mark didn't, he knew something was going on inside Leroy's head, but he decided he should cut him a break.

After pulling Leroy out of the nail, he decided to set his arm on fire, along with the wound he sustained. "WHY ARE YOU SETTING YOURSELF ON FIRE!?" Gabe asked. "Because you idiot, fire helps cauterized wounds. It will prevent infection for the time being, and heal on its own." Gabe didn't actually know that but kept it in the back of his head for the future. "Alright boys, I think our business is done here, we should get going to Red River," Mark said. "ALRIGHT! WE'RE GOING WHERE THE BEST BOUNTY HUNTERS ARE!" Gabe cheered, but Leroy barely had enough energy to walk, so he leaned off Mark. "As long as we start training again, I'm fine with the wait." Mark smiled. 'I'm proud of them, they will hopefully one day grow up to be amazing bounty hunters.' They were then on their way to Red River, without a care in the world.

That night on their way to Red River, Gabe was sleeping and dreaming, except something was different. Gabe was seeing through the eyes of somebody, he didn't know who. The person he saw eyes through was playing with another boy, this boy looked a bit familiar to Gabe, mainly because he realized who the boy was, it was Mark. Just then, the boy closed his eyes and made Gabe see nothing until the light appeared. Gabe was now in what looked to be Watersville, it had been completely empty, all except for a man who stood in front of him. The man was tall and it was hard to see his face, he wore a black trenchcoat, long brown hair, black boots, a sheriff badge on the outside of his trenchcoat, a black shirt and pants, and a brown cowboy hat on his head. Gabe could also see him smiling despite not being able to see his face, he looked directly at Gabe as he stood in front of him. "It's nice to see you, Gabe." Gabe was confused, how did this man know his name, he had never seen him before. "How do you know my name?!" The man was silent, he kept smiling in silence. "You will find out, I promise you." Gabe then realized the badge on his chest. "That...that badge! You're...you're-" Gabe immediately woke up, he was sweating, but what he didn't realize was his eyes were in Ragna mode and completely dark blue, but as soon as he woke up they slowly faded away. 'That was...the First Sheriff of Watersville…why did I dream about the First Sheriff?'