6Creepy Android Pasta
Chapter 2: Abominations of the Wild Old West
A/N: I know that when I wrote the first chapter of Creepy Android Pasta, I had intended it to be a standalone story. As you all can see, this is the second chapter to this series but it is not a continuation of the first chapter. What I've decided to do with this story is to turn it into a collection of unrelated AU stories featuring our favorite K18 family and tying them together is the scary, sometimes supernatural theme.
This chapter is written for the 6th annual Chestnutfest under the theme: Western.
A full moon hung high up on the cloudless sky, painting the desolate desert landscape a shade of frosty white. Of all the beings caught under its pale, emotionless glow, two individuals stood out as they raced across the rocky surface, their breaths short and legs buckling as if nearing limits yet none stopped for a split second
Behind them rang a voice both knew well, one that almost persuaded them to halt due to its familiarity warmth. If only it didn't sound like a half beast, half woman hybrid laced with blood lust, the duo would've gladly welcomed the being into their arms.
"Come back to me baby girl, come back to mama."
"Wait up bro, wait for your sister dearest!"
No matter how fast they ran, the voice always remained at the same volume, its tone that of calm woman showing no more sign of physical fatigue than taking a leisurely stroll. For a while, loud audible pants and the unnaturally composed greetings filled the soundscape as no other creatures within this vast empty plane dared making so much as a noise.
"Marron, wait for mama!" The voice rang again, at last prompting one of the runners; a blonde teenage girl with round, crystal blue eyes, to spun her head around and shot the creature a venomous glare.
"You are NOT my mother you freak! Now leave us alone!" Marron screamed but was pushed forward by a raven-haired individual in full cowboy attire running behind her.
"Uncle Lapis?" She asked but the man whose eyes were of the same beautiful ocean color merely grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her forward, his frantic gaze never looking anywhere except up ahead.
Their lungs were about to explode when they finally reached a rundown barn and the two horses inside reared up, seemingly all too glad to see their owners who quickly climbed up without saddling properly. Soon, they were whisked away on the back of these magnificent beasts, drawing distance between them and the bone-chilling voice at last.
The uncle and niece wouldn't stop galloping until they reached a ghost town where a dilapidated building labelled with the word 'SHERIFF' in large capital font stood. There, Lapis dismounted before helping Marron down and, after shooing off the two tired steads that were reluctant to leave them but nevertheless obeyed, he hurriedly rushed them inside.
"Go fetch any weapons or tools we can use Marron. I'll stay here and look out for the monster." Lapis ordered as he upholstered a revolver and made sure it's fully loaded.
"B-but uncle, our weapons don't work remember? They jammed whenever we tried pulling the trigger at it." Marron squeaked out in a frightened voice, her body trembling uncontrollably to the point she could barely move from the spot.
Her uncle, who had managed to even his breathing by this point, pulled the teenager into a firm hug without a word. Gradually, his sturdy arms and composure managed to sooth her anxiety, returning this teenager, who obviously wasn't a little girl anymore but not quite a fully matured woman yet, back to her old confident self.
"Thank you uncle." Marron said with trickles of dried tear on her face.
"Remember niece dearest, be calm and smart like your mother and brave like your father," Her uncle said warmly, patting her on the back, "besides, this place is where your father used to work. I'm sure we'll be safe here."
Two near identical pairs of sea blue orbs locked for several precious seconds that seemed to last forever in their minds, only broken when another human yet bestial call of "Marron, Lapis, where are you?" awakened them to the dire reality. With urgent hand signs, the uncle waved his niece off to search the unkempt place while he crotched behind a broken window and pointed the barrel at the source of that creepily familiar voice.
"Lapis, is that you?" The voice called out to him again.
"Hey stay away from us okay you freak? I know you aren't my sister so back off c-cause I'm armed!" He shouted, his nerve finally getting to him.
I can't believe I'm back to this cursed place, not to mention bringing my lovely niece back with me...
Marron meanwhile had mustered up her courage and was searching frantically for any tools of use. It wasn't easy, especially when the ancient interior attacked her senses with unnerving floor creaks and cough inducing dusty air. Despite the difficulties, the blonde girl managed to pull together an assortment of items ranging from old unused bullets to carving knives.
I can't believe father used to work here, it looks so...different than the city I'm used to...it's almost like this belongs to a different era...
Wow, and what's this?
After going through several rooms long stripped clean with doors barely hanging onto their hinges, Marron came upon a slightly larger and intact office. She could tell whoever worked in this space must had been someone with great responsibility due to the number of empty shelves lined up along the walls, not to mention the wooden workstation with a dust covered name plaque at the middle. Gingerly, the blonde girl placed her hand on the scarred desk surface and she could almost feel a familiar warmth surging through her.
I wonder who used to sit here...don't tell me...
A quick dust off confirmed her suspicion and, for the first time since encountering their stalker, she couldn't resist but smile due to overwhelming joy. The name revealed was that of Sheriff Chestnut, an all too familiar surname, one Marron proudly bear.
So this is your desk father...
Not caring if her attire got dirty, Marron sat on what she presumed to be her father's chair then, with childish glee, began rummaging through the drawers eager for more supplies if not family treasures. What she found more than bargained for as there were several boxes of ammunition and a revolver marked with the year 1865.
But that's more than a decade before I was born...
And why didn't father took these with him when he and mother left for city life, it's almost like he placed them here on purpose...
Searching for more answer, Marron pulled open the bottom drawer, one much larger than all the others. Bit by bit, an old journey bonded in rugged leather cover was revealed and she swallowed a gulp, wondering what was recorded there, what sort of content would her father deemed necessary to go along with the weapon stash.
Okay Marron, here goes nothing...
On the first page was her father's full signature, Sheriff Krillin Chestnut, written in beautiful cursive form that had Marron's heart pounding in joy. What followed next was a brief introduction of sorts that made the teenage girl felt as if her parent was sitting right beside her, his kind helpful voice by her ears.
"If you are reading this, then it probably means you have already encountered it. If so, then I applaud you for finding your way to this station. It must not have been easy and I feel terribly sorry what had happened to you. I have hoped to defeat that monster for good myself but as things stand, all I've managed to do was sealing up the entrance where it came from and hoping no one will stumble across it. As for me, I'm leaving first thing tomorrow. Sorry, but I simply can't risk everything, not the town folks, not my surviving colleagues, not my new fiancé, Lazuli."
Marron had to stop reading, her hands shaking and eyes watering at the name of her mother, the person the monster had been trying to imitate. It was only after taking a deep breath and focusing her mind that she was able to continue.
"What I've recorded here is an account of this incident from start to finish. Hopefully, what I've written down will somehow help you survive if not best this monster. It is crafty, it is lethal, but it is not invulnerable."
Well if father's managed to beat this thing, then I, his daughter can do the same...
The blonde teenager felt her heart beating with excitement knowing that not only had her father been through the same episode she had, but that he even managed to best it. After swallowing a gulp and repeating the words "it is not invulnerable, it is not invulnerable," she proceeded to read further, craving for a solution from her father's account.
I first took notice of the strange happenings going on around here on May 12th, 1875. By then, I've been a sheriff of this town for more than a decade. During my long years of protecting this town, I've seen things, messed up things no one in their right mind should bear witness. From common pickpockets to serial killers, from carriage hijackers to highway robbers, I've dealt with them all. This case, this incident, this catastrophe or whatever other cursed name you want to call it though, was unlike anything I've come up against thus far.
It all started relatively innocent at first. People would discover corpses of rodents on the edge of town and naturally, no one took this seriously, thinking it's merely someone's cats forgetting to eat their preys or some disgruntled person letting out their frustration on those poor rats. Very soon; however, dead cats and even larger animals such as coyotes, foxes, and even bighorn sheep were discovered.
And no, these weren't your everyday clean kills too. Oh no, the victims were often ripped apart, their remains scattered all across the sandy floors for all to see. It was as if the perpetrators wanted their deeds be known, like they were taunting us.
Naturally, I took my job seriously and began interviewing all the questionable individuals. You know, former criminals, troublemakers, and such. Days and weeks passed and my list of suspects grew shorter and yet, carcasses of those poor creatures mounted. The nights that used to be filled with cries of nocturnal animals grew silent too, as no being in their right mind dared making so much as a noise.
Then it happened; the dreaded first disappearance occurred, the human casualty had begun.
That day, while I was busy with paper works, my men noticed a huge commotion outside and long and behold, a young blonde girl by the name of Erasa came bulging into the office, bawling her eyes out and telling us her boyfriend, Sharpner hadn't returned home. Now if it had been anyone gone missing, we would've taken her seriously but this Sharpner, a famous sportsman from the cities was well-known for wanting to keep up his lifestyle of visiting bars and not returning till sunrise.
Naturally, none of us took her seriously, thinking the guy had merely passed out after a long night of partying and would show his drunken face sooner or later. It was only the girl's insistence he'd always make it back for lunch that got me concerned.
Well, I'm sure you've guessed it by now, turned out she was correct.
For days, we searched everywhere, literally digging through every corner of the desert but yielded nothing. Heck, I even visited nearby settlements and when I mean nearby, I mean dozens of miles away. Not a living soul knew of Sharpner's whereabouts; however, and just like that, the young man wasn't ever seen again.
Luckily for me, I was there to prevent the next disappearance. One night, while I was patrolling the outskirts of town, I saw a little girl wandering towards the desert and quickly caught up to her.
"Hey sweetie, what are you doing out here so late at night?" I asked the child who was obviously weirded out too.
"S-sorry Sheriff Chestnut, but I thought I heard my mommy's voice calling out to me." She said and pointed toward a distant spot where I could barely made out a shadow of sorts. Sure enough, the voice of a woman called out to the girl, and I shivered despite myself since there's no way whoever was out there was her loving mother.
"Hey you, cut the act alright? I know you aren't who you claim to be so get lost!" I warned at the top of my voice.
As much as I wanted to chase down this kidnapper-to-be, I knew better than to leave the kid here all by herself and escorted her home. Sure enough, the mother was at home and gathered her daughter into her arms.
Soon, words of a criminals able to imitate woman's voice spread throughout the town and while I had hoped poor Sharpner was a one off incident, other disappearances followed. Townsfolks also began reporting strange beings imitating not just women's voice, but men's and even children's voice. It became near impossible to trust anyone just from his or her voices and in no time, the town more or less barricaded itself at night.
Despite no suspects being named though, the town folks eventually came up with their own list. I know, it's mostly baseless gossips that's rather rampant at a closed off place like this and you'll soon see why. These so-called likely wrongdoers ranged from someone's weird neighbor whom the list maker didn't get along to newcomers. Chief amongst these were a pair of twins who had the misfortune of arriving at our place the same time those gruesome deaths started occurring, twin brother Lapis and sister Lazuli.
Now, Lapis and Lazuli were quite the individuals. Rumor has it they were orphaned at a young age, their parents killed from the outset of civil war, which got them landed in one of those sad, disease-riddled orphanages. It wasn't long before they began engaging in petty theft and, after serving in prison for a short while, immigrated here for a better, honest life. Together, the twins set up a saloon near the edges of town, a location that just happened to be near plenty of these recent killings.
As the circumstances around here worsened till even the eerily silent nights became filled with chilling howls, allegations against the twins grew and every day I would receive plenty of complaints about how they were major criminals, how they were using this small town as their base of operation. I tried my best to sooth the increasingly hostile opinion but the letters and visits just kept on coming, urging me to do something with them.
I know that you'll probably judge me for what I did next, but eventually even I couldn't resist the mounting pressure anymore and decided to pay the twins and their saloon, the Glistening Blue Gem Saloon a visit. No, it wasn't one of those house searching visits, I merely wanted to put up a front for the gossiping town folks.
On hindsight am I glad I hadn't taken a harsher stance like many suggested, and you'll soon see why. Hint: I wouldn't have gotten engaged to my fiancé had I acted like an entitled ass.
It was around midday on June 12th, exactly one month after the incidents started that I arrived at the Glistening Blue Gem Saloon. After telling my deputy and trusted right hand man, Goku to take care of things while I was gone, I set out onto the largely deserted streets. Yes, you read it right, it was midday and yet, there were hardly anybody on the street as the many citizens known for keeping their windows and door opened had opted to stay indoors, some going as far as barring the windows. It was a sad sight to behold, an unfortunate development that had gripped this town in a strangle hold but I was determined to break it, hopefully by clearing these twins of accusations against them and moving onto real suspects.
Almost immediately, I knew the majority of rumors levelled against them were false. Instead of a rundown, rat infested opium dam where cutthroats gathered, it was a small but neat establishment with decently decorated entrance and welcome rug inside. Upon entering, I took note of the few customers gathered there, some of whom I personal knew such as Yamcha the former bandit turned bounty hunter, Bulma the runaway heiress of multi-million dollar invention company Briefs turned paranormal chaser, Tien the travelling martial artist hailing from Far East and his companions, fellow martial artist Chiaotzu and girlfriend Launch. Basically, these were the sort of characters not bothered by societal labels.
"Howdy, welcome to Glistening Blue Gem Saloon, what can I get you today?" The musical voice of a young female greeted me and instantly, I looked over at the source and wow, even to this day I still remembered that sight. Behind the counter sat a young blonde whose glistening blue eyes were like priceless sapphires staring back at me.
Now, before you label me as a fool who'd thrown himself at the first sign of female attention, let me just make it clear that I've met plenty of cute girls in my life and there were never a shortage of grateful women who wouldn't mind dating their rescuers, their Sheriff Krillin Chestnut. God could attest for me when I say Bulma displayed more than enough signs of interest after I saved her from the notorious robbers that were the Pilafs.
This Lazuli though was quite something else and no, it wasn't just the sheer radiance of those beautiful eyes either, it was her character behind the glance. Again, the lord could be my witness when I said I've never met any woman possessing such inner strength or determination. In any case, all I could do was stand there stunned out of my breath and looking like a total fool while at it.
"Excuse me sir, but are you going to order something or are you just going to stand there all day?" She asked me, tugging a few strands of her silken hair behind her ear. It was a gesture I'd soon learn to admire, it was a trademark move from my dear Lazuli.
"I...well you see, I'm not exactly here for a drink per say, I'm..." I stuttered, seemingly losing control of my tongue.
"I know, you are Sheriff Krillin Chestnut, I've heard all about you from my patrons," She continued in a friendly but clearly aloof tone, one of those carefully cultivated voice used to give her guests a welcome atmosphere without giving them the wrong idea.
"Oh...have you really?" Again, I couldn't help but blurted out in a rather embarrassing way. What a great way to make an impression I know.
The blonde meanwhile had come up from behind the counter and stood in front of me, still wearing a smiling but distant look, "Yes indeed I have heard much about you, Sheriff Chestnut, how you take care of all of us and keep this town safe," she then extended a hand, "my name's Lazuli by the way."
By now I was sure I'm blushing like mad but had at least regained control of my body and took her gentle hand in mine, "Nice to meet you in person Lazuli. Yes as you said, I'm the sheriff of this town, Krillin Chestnut but please, just call me Krillin," I said flashing her my best smile, one of those my friends often joked as a real lady stealer. At first it didn't seem to work on Lazuli as she arched an eyebrow at me, but on closer inspection, I was all too glad to see a shade of pale pink on her cheeks.
Anyways sorry, but I was getting too carried away describing my first meeting with Lazuli here. It didn't took her long to convince me to buy some drinks, which I would've done without being asked to. After all, I may be a lawman, but I'm still a patron and no matter my business, it's only courteous to buy stuff from the house. The drink ended up going to the other patrons though since I didn't really want to drink on my job. It did lessen the tension and made our conversations easier though, and soon people began talking, it was a real party.
I spent close to an hour inside the saloon, just chatting casually with Lazuli and the other patrons about the daily occurrences in town , trying hard to not come across as too intrusive. To my surprise though, our conversation became much more productive without me asking. Yamcha with whom I had worked with on many occasions, informed me rumors of a secret cult gathered somewhere nearby. Tien, Chiaotzu, and Launch all shared their stories too; of how they saw figures cloaked in black robes, bearing the crimson insignia RR had been spotted in smaller villages. The craziest of these tales had to be from Bulma. Apparently, the self-proclaimed genius and supernatural guru had followed the strings of disappearances here. According to her, not only were these cultists responsible for the disappearances, but they were active demon worshippers requiring living sacrifice.
I know, with such outrageous claim, all we could do was laugh aloud and sharing a few hearty drinks, thinking it was all jokes. Bulma wasn't sharing our jovial mood; however, and it was all too apparent she firmly believed in her theory.
Half way during my visit, a raven-haired youth looking surprisingly like Lazuli walked in and his sharp eyes immediately rested on me. He was clearly uncomfortable seeing an officer at his place but I managed to warm up to him by introducing myself as Krillin, just Krillin and not Sheriff Chestnut. In return, the young man whose piercing blue eyes reminded me of someone else let me knew he was indeed Lapis, Lazuli's younger twin brother. As a toast to meeting both siblings, I ended up buying more drinks for the patrons.
At the end, it was evident the sapphire eyed twins were happy about my visit, with Lapis even saying "I used to think all lawman are assholes but you are quite different than others Krillin." I winced a bit at his coarse language but nevertheless it still brought a smile to my face. These two were barely in their twenties but had already been through a lot. It was good to make up their day.
"It was nice visiting your fine establishment Lapis and Lazuli. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go keep the peace." I tipped my hat at them as I walked out the saloon.
"Later Sheriff Chestnut!" Lapis gave me a good-natured fake salute.
"Bye Krillin," Lazuli said warmly with that musical voice once more. Furthermore, unless my mind was playing tricks on me, she even winked at me. What I did you asked? Well I gave her a gentlemanly bow before exiting.
It was impossible for Marron to display any expression other than a bright smile. The account had not only relaxed her nerve but gave her renewed strength, not to mention inducing a small blush on her cheeks much like her mother's.
Wow...I can't believe my father is so clumsy and shy in front of mother...
But at least he made a good impression on them...
BANG!
She was rudely awakened from her daydream by a loud gunshot and those ocean blue eyes widened before paling at the sound's implication.
Oops...can't believe I got sidetracked this much...my uncle still needs me...he's probably fighting the monster now...
"Uncle?" She shouted all worried, her sharp voice piercing the eerie night, much like the gunshots that followed. What greeted her was a period of complete silence; however, and she couldn't help but to fear the worst. "Uncle are you okay?" She cried out again, this time much more frightful.
"Yes Marron, uncle's alright, have you found something useful?" Finally came her uncle, Lapis's urgent but undoubtedly healthy voice.
"Y-yes uncle, I'm coming!" Marron shouted as she grabbed the journal and made her way back down the deserted halls, the clinging of gathered items resonated through the space.
Lapis was still crouched behind the broken window when his niece arrived and those sharp jewel-like eyes as described by Marron's father shined an excited glint at the sight of his niece.
"Way to go Marron, we should be able to put up a decent fight with these," He said showing signs of life for the first time that night as he began sorting through the items. Eventually, those inquisitive gazes rested on the leather bond book, "and what's that you have there?"
The blonde teenager looked at her uncle but didn't say a word as the round blue orbs and cat-like eyes met in a small stare down.
"Something the matter Marron?" Lapis asked, his eyes zeroing in on her cheeks and arched the same eyebrow much like all those years back at the sight of her father.
"I...it's nothing really uncle, but I found this journal written by father. He said he may be able to give us some tips on how to defeat the monster." She said hopefully.
Her response prompted another raised eyebrow, this one out of pure curiosity, "Oh? And let me guess, you've been reading it ever since? Is that why it took you so long?"
Marron lowered her head; her hands held the book closer to her before looking up at her uncle and nodded confidently.
"Good, then keep reading until you find a way to best this monster cause it's not going away on its own!" Lapis said as he readied his six-shooter in those trembling hands.
"Okay uncle, but didn't you managed to fire at the monster just then?" Marron asked, slightly puzzled.
He shook his head in a resounding manner, "No little angel, the gun only went off when I'm not pointing at it, whenever I aimed straight at that disgusting thing, it jammed."
The revelation spooked teenage Marron more than anything, her mind kept on recalling what her father had written down, especially the phrase "demon worshipper".
What in the name of god is that creature? Can it really render all weapons useless against it? Is it really a demon? Summoned by those cultists?
Lapis saw the unmistakable sign of fear in his niece's face and placed both hands on her shoulder, "You must not lose hope now my darling niece. Your father might just have a solution to this nightmare so keep reading alright? Uncle will keep watch for you.
All the frightened teenage girl could do was giving him an affirmative nod before reopening the book, seeking guidance from her father's brave deeds.
I ended up camping close to the Glistening Blue Gem Saloon that night with several other volunteers, hoping to catch a glimpse of this monster at least. Staying by my side was Goku and, to my surprise, his fiancée Chichi. Now, I've heard much about this female martial artist hailing from the middle kingdom, how my best buddy met her during a case at Ox King's mansion and how they were inseparable ever since. After we've met in person, all I could say was no wonder my friend fell for her, for that she was even more spirited than described.
To some extent, this black-haired woman was just like Lazuli, both possessing that inner resoluteness.
"Chichi, are you sure you want to stay here with us? Whoever was responsible for all these carnages was probably inhumanly tough." Goku whispered while we were hiding behind an abandoned building.
"Of course Goku, and just what kind of fiancée would I be to leave you and your friend all by yourselves to take on this being?" Chichi rebuked, a bit louder than I would've liked. There was no convincing her to stay away; however, since the knuckle-cracking woman appeared even more dangerous than all the outlaws I've faced thus far.
We waited for what seemed like hours, all of us straining our eyes on the barren desert floor. For a long while, not so much as a rodent scurrying across the sandy surface could be seen and just as we were about to call it the night, faint outline of a human-sized quadruped appeared at the edge of horizon.
Yes, I know what you are thinking, a quadruped, a four-legged animal? Shouldn't the perpetrator be a human standing on their legs? Well I sincerely hoped that were the case, but whoever or rather, whatever this thing was it stood on all four and walked like one too. It turned its head left and right akin to a wolf scouting the area for its pack then let out a loud howling. To my abject horror, more creatures appeared from behind.
"W-what are those things? This looked like an entire hunting party!" I blurted out, my hands each holding a standard issue revolver that held six bullets each when I wished they held dozens.
"Whatever they are, they obviously are up to no good," Goku said in an excited voice, a reflection of his adventurous mood whenever he faced great danger, his hands gripping onto his shotgun tightly
"Well, aren't you two glad I'm here to keep you both company?" Chichi commented rather proudly also showing little signs of fear.
To be honest, I felt a bit cowardly when compared to those two but managed to keep my composure. I am a lawman of this town and the commander of this operation after all, it would take more than a pack of stray dogs to keep me down.
While the couple were engaged in a light hearted bickering, with Goku telling his fiancée to not take unnecessary risks but Chichi looking like she's about to charge at the monsters, I picked up signs of our approaching enemies spreading out as if ready to surround the town. At that moment, I wished I had brought more people but knowing that could result in widespread panic if not outright exodus from this place, I had to keep the party small.
"Krillin, should we open fire now?" Goku asked quietly, his shotgun aimed at the nearest four-legged, furry creature that looked quite like an overgrown wolf.
"Not yet Goku, let's wait until they got closer so there's no chance of us missing then we'll drop the first guy together. Hopefully this way, the crowd will disperse." I said in a hushed tone.
"Good idea Krillin. I guess you aren't the sheriff of this town for no reason." Chichi said a bit harsher than I'd like, but there's no denying her drawing the Eastern bow to its limits is a reassuring sight.
When the leading creature was at last within a few yards, its half man and half wolf face visible to us all, I gave the signal and pulled the triggers.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Three loud clicks rang throughout the previously silent night as to our bewilderment, all our guns jammed at the same time. This alerted our attackers though as they began howling like mad, their primal cries filled the entire town and nearly forced me to cover my ears.
The one thing that didn't jam; however, was Chichi's bow seeing the arrow went flying through the air with an audible whisk, which was soon replaced by yelps of pain as it had grazed its target's face.
This only served to enrage the entire pack though, and to this day, I can still recall vividly how the injured animal narrowed its crimson eyes at us, its tongue licking away blood from the facial wound, no doubt ready to tear us into pieces.
What followed was a charge or rather; a stampede seeing the ground literally shook as dozens of those quadrupeds rushed at our direction, their razor sharp teeth dripping with saliva on full display. Me and Goku pulled our triggers a few more times, desperately praying to lord almighty for them to fire but all we got were more of those darned clicks. Those creatures were clearly enjoying this confusion from us too as their growls turned into mocking snickers.
"Wow, these guns really are acting weird huh Krillin?" I still remembered how despite Goku trying to sound relaxed, he was obviously feeling the pressure seeing even after several checks, he couldn't get a single shot to fire.
"I know right. What are the chances of all three guns jamming the same time?" I tried to sound calm, thinking it was just the nerves causing my fingers to slip somehow but truth was, no matter how hard I pressed, my trusty weapons just wouldn't work.
When those creatures were almost at their attack range, I finally gave up and in desperation, flung one of my guns at them. The firearm bounced on its head and discharged, the fiery red of the gun flare lighting up dozens of those ugly faces.
This came across as a surprise to all of us, including the pack as they abruptly stopped on their tracks. Using the precious time, Chichi fired a few more arrows, injuring a few more while me and Goku got an idea of aiming our guns right above the them before pulling the triggers. It worked, shocking a few of them into taking a few steps back.
"What the heck, so ours guns only work when not aimed at them?" I shouted, pointing the revolver at one of them, which clicked as expected but fired without a problem once aimed elsewhere.
"Looks that way Krillin, but here they come!" Goku warned and sure enough, the black masses were upon us.
Luckily, I wasn't without weapon and quickly took off my bullet belt with one hand while lighting it with the other. This produced a burning chain of ammunitions about to explode all over the place, which I quickly hurled into their midst. As predicted, loud and nonstop bangs akin to firecrackers going off filled the soundscape, followed by cries of agony and soon, whimpers of the wounded retreating.
Goku meanwhile had emptied all his gunpowder into a makeshift container of sorts and lit it on fire. The result was a grenade of sorts, which he tossed in front of those who stayed, and let me just say it got the rest of them running, especially with Chichi firing arrows into them nonstop accompanied by sounds of our town coming alive.
As fate would have it though, such string of good luck was bound to end. It ended in the most panic inducing way too, as one of those creatures, in its state of panic, crashed through the wooden walls of the Glistening Blue Gem Saloon.
"Lazuli! Lapis!" I shouted, barely recognizing my frightened voice as I charged into the building without thinking twice.
Was I scared? To my surprise, barely since all I could think of was the kind of physical pain it could inflict on the twins who were thankfully nowhere in sight. In a rather bold if not suicidal move, I unsheathed my hunting knife which was nothing compared to the huge machete like claws of this towering six foot five giant. We glared at each other as if sizing our foes down, neither apparently willing to make the first move, which didn't made sense to me at first until I noticed the bleeding in its abdomen.
"What the hell is going on here? If you are trying to rob our establish then think again cause I got a loaded gun with me!"
That drowsy voice belonged to none other than Lazuli, who just had to pick the best time to come downstairs, prompting the creature to turn around. I didn't wait for it to spot her; however, and jumped onto its back, my hands wrapped tightly around that oversized furry neck. It was like riding an out of control horse as it rammed into furniture after furniture, its claws shredding the decorations to bits. During its rampage, I nearly slipped off countless times but hung on, the panicked voice of Lazuli and her brother Lapis was all the encouragement I need.
"Why won't this thing fire?" I overheard Lazuli screaming and the all too familiar sounds of empty clicks. Lapis on the other hand seemed to be bashing it with a wooden stick of sorts and I could hear loud thuds, some of which landed on my body.
"G-guns d-don't work on it, n-not when you aimed at it...," I shouted with difficulty, my vision spinning all over the place.
Right before I passed out, the creature began letting out several yells of pain, its struggles intensified for a few minutes before going limb.
"Y-you can't win against us. D-Dr. Gero will avenge my death!"
To my surprise, it was capable of human speech and, after that final threat, collapsed onto the floor, flinging me off as I crashed into a table with enough force to shatter it. Raising my head, which felt like it weighed several tons, I saw blurred images of Goku and Chichi standing beside our fallen foe that had several arrows and objects sticking out of its back.
"Krillin! Krillin are you alright?" I barely heard Lazuli calling my name but the world had turned dark already and the last thing I felt was a pair of arms wrapped around me.
When I woke up at last, I was resting on a bed with all my colleagues beside me. Also present were the patrons of the bar and, to my pleasant surprise, the twins. Lazuli in particular had her hands wrapped around mine, her ocean blue eyes more beautiful than ever gleaming at me.
"That was quite a stunt you pulled there Krillin, and I must say you had me scared to death when you went unconscious like that." Goku said in a rare stern tone.
"Hey, it did the trick r-Ouch!" I screamed, feeling a burning sting on my cheeks. The slap had come from Lazuli whose charming orbs darkened to resemble icy water of northern poles.
"Lazuli?" I stammered out, fearing for my life the second time that day.
"You could've died mister; just what do you think you were doing huh? And you barely knew me so why took the risk?" She screamed at my face.
"I..."
What could I say? I had no rebuttal for the outburst, especially not when she lowered her lips down onto my cheek and gave it a tender kiss that nearly knocked me out yet again. The entire room erupted into one loud uproar too and I could even see the other couples giving each other playful looks. My only concern being Lapis, who was giving me disproving glances.
"A-anyways what happened to the creature? I'd like to see it." I asked in a hurry, if only to get away from a certain frosty male twin.
Now what's revealed next might surprise all of you, but the creature as it turned out had reverted back to human. The male was no larger than your average sized Joes, definitely way smaller than its former state. Furthermore, gone were any traces of wolf fur or even canine, just a normal person lying there with the exception of a tattooed RR sign on its thigh.
"So what the hell is this thing? A werewolf?" Yamcha asked, clearly spooked.
"I don't think so Yamcha. Werewolves don't cause firearms to jam and should only appear during full moons. This thing, whatever it was, was way more dangerous." I replied, bending down for a closer examination.
"It's a Skinwalker!"
All our attention shifted to a certain blue-haired paranormal enthusiast who had said that word aloud with confidence.
"Sorry Bulma? But what was it again?" I asked, unsure of what I had just heard because to be frank, Skinwalker just didn't sound all that threatening.
Bulma shook her head in disbelief at the rest of us, "I said it's a Skinwalker Krillin. I've long heard of these beings. For your information, they are all humans but have the ability of turning themselves into all sorts of animals. I guess this one merely chose to disguise as a wolf."
"Okay, but what about jamming our weapons?" Goku inquired stroking his chin, his girlfriend Chichi was resting her hands on her waists, probably eagerly awaiting for an explanation.
The bluenette's large eyes sparkled, probably enjoying the attention, her lips curving upwards, "Yeah about that, as it turned out, these Skinwalkers are witches and wizards capable of all kinds of tricks, one of which being causing guns to jam."
"Oh right, so guns jam but I can still fire my arrows at it?" Chichi rebuked, clearly not buying it the slightest.
"No silly, they can cause mechanical failures but couldn't control your body, that's why drawn weapons like bow and arrow work." Bulma retorted, sticking out her tongue at the fearsome martial artist.
Just as the two women were about to go to war though, I quickly jumped in between and extended an open palm at each of them, "Stop it you two, we don't have time for this!"
"That's right, the most important thing should be figuring out what to do next. Cause there's dozens of them from last night and while we scared them off by luck, there's no telling when they'll be back!" Goku, my deputy and best friend chimed in, placing his hands on his fiancée's shoulders.
Hearing this dreaded news, the entire town descended into chaos. Amongst the many options tossed around was a clear favorite of simply running away and to my horror, a good majority had decided to head home and pack without delay.
"Don't be stupid you guys, running away in a hurry will only resulted in us getting tracked down and slaughtered!"
The voice came from none other than Lazuli who had made her way beside me and joining her was her twin, their piercing eyes narrowed at the crowd.
"What should we do then?" One of the townsfolks asked.
"That's right; we got lives to live unlike you no good delinquents!" Another chanted and in no time, those gathered had turned hostile toward the twins for no good reason.
Not intimidated by the outpouring of negativity, which only made me fell for her even more I might add, the blonde folded her arms in front of her chest and spoke in an audible yet non-confrontational tone, "Very funny folks, but now that my saloon's been destroyed, I'm the last person having a reason to stick around here. Anyways you've all seen what one of those witches could do. Now imagine an entire pack of them chasing us down and to make matters worse, there's no place to hide in this endless desert!"
The crowd fell silent and I sensed they were rather embarrassed by those words.
"W-what should we do then? Just sit here and wait till they come back?" Again, someone questioned but showed no more planning capability.
"I think what Lazuli's trying to say is we should go on the offensive, to throw those witches and wizards off balance then plan for next." I couldn't help but to step in, earning myself an acknowledging wink from the girl herself. Our hands were soon entwined in a firm hold behind our backs.
"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that? We don't even know where they are?"
I knew that question was coming from miles away and quickly answered with a question, "I think so. Does anyone know who Dr. Gero is?"
This inquiry got most folks scratching their heads except, you guessed it, Bulma our Skinwalker expert, who clasped her hands in a knowing fashion, "Dr. Gero, the RR symbol. Why, it all made sense to me now!" She proclaimed more confident than ever.
Marron was just about to flip the page of her trembling hands when a loud crash rang out from beside her, immediately followed by the spewing of glasses that shot everywhere. Acting on her intuition, she leapt back, just in time too as a giant claw passed through where she was seconds ago.
"Marron, are you alright?" Lapis screamed in a panic-stricken tone but that was about all he could do at the moment, for that this creature was standing in between them, it's insect-like eyes and green-skin lit up by the pale moonlight above.
Luckily for the uncle and niece, the rest of this being was obscured by shadow, otherwise they were sure they'll pass out from shock.
"Hello Lapis, did you miss your sister dearest?" The creature asked with its half Lapis-sounding, half animal voice then turned toward Marron, its mouth opening and producing a different yet equally familiar voice, "Hello Marron darling, how's my little girl doing? Come to papa!"
The blonde teenager backed away even more, her hands instinctively reaching for her revolver but upon pointing her barrel at it, she was reminded of her father's detailed account. The way this creature curled its fingers at her in a "Come at me!" gesture more than convinced her of the futility of this act, and she quickly reached for a carving knife before flinging at it.
"Ohh, nice try little girl, looks like you know a little bit about my power. But it will take more than a knife toss to take me out!" The insect-like creature licked its lips, its elongated arms outstretched like leafless tree branches, covering all escape routes.
"Oh yeah? How about this then?" Lapis let out the most intimidating roar he could muster as he poured a canful of gunpowder on the monster then tossed a match at it. The resulting flame not only singed the creature's back, causing it to let out a pained roar, but also illuminated the dotted grasshopper like skin for all to see.
"W-what is this thing? Why would it choose to disguise as an insect?" Marron wondered aloud.
"We don't have time for that Marron, grab your stuff and r-ack!" Lapis screamed mid-sentence when the creature's arm swipe bashed against his stomach, sending him flying across the room and crashed into the wooden wall.
It was just like how her father had went up against the Skinwalker disguised as a wolf all those years back. A simple shook, a single arm swipe was all it took to down an adult.
"Uncle Lapis!" Marron yelled, trying to rush to her uncle's side but the creature, now with its back turned toward her, had the way blocked with its bug-like body.
"No Marron, get going and find a way to beat it. I know you can do it!" He shouted back and got back on his feet.
"But...,"
"No but Marron, I've survived this creature once and I can do it again. You on the other hand need to put it down for good!"
Marron wanted to stay, to stand by her Uncle Lapis and fight but a determined gaze from those unwavering diamond tough eyes convinced her otherwise. So she ran and ran, past the corridors and rooms and back into her father's office where, crouching under the sturdy desk, she reopened the journal.
Please dad, just let me know how to defeat the monster. I'm glad to read how you got together with mom and all, but Uncle Lapis needs me...
Is it that revolver inside your drawer? Is that your secret weapon? But I thought bullets don't work against it?
We decided to divide our group into two, with Me, Goku and Chichi, Bulma, and of course the twins following me deep into the mountains while Yamcha and the rest stayed to protect the town. According to our resident supernatural guru, these Skinwalkers, if truly led by Dr. Gero, has a hideout somewhere up the mountains overlooking nearby town. Apparently, Dr. Gero knew the Briefs since both worked in the science field. The doctor was once a professor at some Ivy League University before getting fired for mixing science with tribal magic and experimenting on his students. He now had the entire Red Ribbon highway robbers under his control using his dark magic and science knowledge.
Our ascend up the mountains was rather slow, not only because the geography was tough, but main since we had to avoid been seen by pretty much anything. If Skinwalkers can disguise as half wolves, there's no telling if they wouldn't disguise as sheep or stray dogs.
"Hey, are we really getting close to this supposed hideout?" Chichi asked, probably getting somewhat impatient but at the same time speaking what many of us had in mind.
"Oh common Chichi, we'll get there in time trust me. This Dr. Gero used to be my father's old pal and accidentally slipped during dinner; letting dad knew of his hideout somewhere up on the mountains." Bulma reassured in her usual confident manner.
If I were to be honest, I was also having mounting doubts, for that the whole affair seemed to be one exciting yet fruitless adventure thus far. The only positive element that came with it seemed to be me getting to know Lazuli and of course, Lapis more. The more I knew this still mysterious and sometimes chilling as ice woman, the more I became aware of her unique sense of humor and her way of liven up even the direst of situations. Despite of having lost the Glistening Blue Gem Saloon, she seemed not to be overly bothered by it, remarking how they'll just have to start over like they always did.
It pained me hearing this, but I suppose that's life. Chances are even if we succeeded in our endeavor, the two will no longer be the same if not, outright evacuated.
During the cold nights where we spent camping out under the elements, Lapis made sure to sleep in between me and his sister but even I could tell the young fellow was getting fond of me day by day. I wasn't acting intentionally courteous either, just being myself and helping everyone along the way.
Anyways back to our journey to strike back at this mad doctor's hideout and buying the people entrusted under my care much needed time. I knew we were close when three rather peculiar goats were spotted at a distance.
Immediately, I gestured for my companions to take cover behind several boulders. At first, we couldn't tell exactly what were wrong with these animals save for our gut instincts. Just when our less patient members wanted to get a move on, one of the goats stood up on its hind legs and began walking like a natural born bipedal. That wasn't the most bizarre sight neither, as one of them very temporarily reverted its face back to that of a human's.
We've all seen the corpse of one of these Skinwalkers, but seeing them perform these supernatural feats with our very eyes was something else and all gasped without exception.
Gingerly and with utmost care, we ascended a cliff some distance away safe from the prying eyes of these sentries, our hands and foot landing on only the most sturdy surface in fear a loose rock tumbling down may attract their attention. Once our party had reached the same elevation as those three, we crept silently toward them and drew our weapons.
Chichi was the first one to strike, her arrow landing squarely on one of their hearts and the monster dropped dead without uttering a sound. Goku was next as he flung a dagger which landed in between the second one's eyes. This apparently wasn't a clean kill; however, and the third one was about to sound the alarm when I tossed a lasso that encircled around the remaining survivor's neck, strangling it without trouble.
"Wow, now that was mighty impressive!" Lapis applauded, his eyes gleaming with glee.
"Of course that was impressive little bro, they are professionals after all." Lazuli gave her brother a playful nudge.
Please let me just say if there's anything I wanted to achieve that day, it was to keep these two alive.
Our gang discovered the hideout entrance, a cave as it turned out and by dear god; it was about as pitch black as possible. There was no choice but to lit up our lanterns and illuminate the interior all the while praying no Skinwalkers were hiding inside, ready to pounce.
Now maybe it was just me, but the tunnel, although damp at first, grew increasingly hot as we descended its depths. Soon, a reddish, almost fiery glow akin to a volcano could be seem. The floor also transformed from its natural, rocky surface into polished paving. In fact, we were walking on staircases before long, which spiraled down to another entrance.
"I guess this is it folks, I'll be heading downstairs myself. No need to get everyone involved. Stay here and make sure you get everything ready okay?" I ordered, no doubt in a rather uncharacteristically serious tone.
Goku, my best buddy shot me a reassured look, letting me know he'd take care of things if they went south. Lazuli appeared as if she wanted to come with me but her brother pulled her back. Our eyes, mine and her mesmerizing crystal blue met, and trust me when I say I received her full warmth with just that exchange.
Slowly, I inched toward this opening with bright yellow lights coming through. The air had gotten so hot it was hard to breath but I had come so far to give up now. Once at my destination, with my back firmly against the heated rocky wall, I peered inside.
I nearly fell over from what I've witnessed.
Inside were countless of animals all standing on their hind legs, letting out an assortment of grunts and groans. In the middle was an eye-blinding flaming pit of sorts. It was like the roaring inferno of hell was spewing out from that spot, letting out its pent up anguish onto this world. Right by this cursed fire stood what appeared to be a hunching figure dressed in black robe printed with crimson RR mark.
Immediately, I thought it must be Dr. Gero but couldn't be quite sure.
The figure was muttering some sort of enchantment all this time and to my surprise, the fiery pit danced to his tune. I was so entranced by this sight I hadn't noticed this cloaked man had turned around to face his followers, revealing an old man sporting bone-white mustache and wild hair stuck out from every surface of his head save for the top.
"Thank you for the long wait my loyal followers, my brothers, my kins!" The decrypted man announced in a booming voice seemingly impossible for his frail build. The entire roomful of creatures sounded off together in one deafening roar. The cave shook heavily due to its sheer volume and for a second, I thought it was about to collapse on top of me.
Dr. Gero though, or at least that's who I think he was, wasn't bothered by the slightest and looked in fact rather pleased by the show of enthusiasm as he raised both hands in a celebratory fashion before continuing, "Despite our recent setbacks, we will soon be unstoppable. None of the human sacrifices you've brought back had gone to waste and our newest member will rise up from the burning corpses of our prey. Behold!"
His hands pointed toward the fire, which burst into one giant pillar of flame before extinguishing completely, revealing not a human as I guessed, but a strangely insect-like creature with green, dotted skin. The thing didn't look like anything I've came across thus far and for a second, I even pondered if it was a demon and not some Skinwalker wizard, not that it mattered though, as the sinister aura coming from it that's needed to send shivers down my spine.
The roomful of Skinwalkers meanwhile had all been stunned into silence, some of these beasts even lowered their heads as if not daring to look at the humanoid insect in the eyes.
"Now, do you know who you are?" The bearded man asked, clearly unconcerned.
The insect-like creature appeared unresponsive at first before slowly shaking its head.
"Good, now, what's your name?" He asked again.
Once more, the newest arrival shook its head.
"Wonderful, looks like I've fixed all your weaknesses. You have great potential and in time may even become invincible given enough sacrifices." The man exclaimed gleefully, rubbing his palms as if he had indeed created a masterpiece.
Even from a distance, I could clearly make out the creature blinking its eyes for the first time, followed by the most disturbing scene of it licking its lips. I could've sworn its unnerving gazes were trained on me too, but before I could hide myself, it spoke in the most devilish tone.
"Does that human hiding by the entrance count as one of the sacrifices Dr. Gero?"
I wasn't lying when I said dozens, if not hundreds of hungry eyes rested at my exact location by then. Naturally, I didn't wait for Gero or that mysterious new creature to give the order and ran upstairs.
"Krillin, what's the matter?" Goku asked worriedly at my undoubtedly frightened expression.
The others looked just as concerned too, but I had no time to explain and merely let out a shout of "We need to run, they are coming! Also light the fuse!" before pulling the twins with me.
Goku need not be told twice and lit a nearby fuse alight before joining us. Yes you read that right, we've brought dynamites with the full intention of blowing this blasted place into high heavens. The footsteps of those creatures soon filled the soundscape but fear of them was the furthest thing in our minds as we ran and ran, knowing at the very least, we'll all die together in one shattering explosion.
This didn't meant our pursuers weren't catching up to us though, and I felt the hot breath of one such sheep creature on my neck, prompting me to fling my lantern right into its face and the poor bastard yelled out in pain like a real animal. Lazuli and Lapis meanwhile did the same, tossing their lanterns back then we all unsheathed our guns.
I know what you are thinking by now. But Krillin, didn't those guns failed to work before?
Well yes they certainly did, but that was back then. For this mission, I've especially asked our resident priest, Dende to bless our guns with sermons. The kind young man even gave us several bottles of blessed holy water just in case we need them.
In any case, those Skinwalkers didn't seemed to be bothered by the sight of guns pointing at them and merely giggled like a pack of hungry hyena, their canine teeth dripping with saliva ready to feast. To our relief and to the detriment of these half man, half beasts, our guns went off without fail and those creatures were left howling in pain, some even collapsed outright.
Other members of our gang also contributed, with Chichi firing blessed arrows every now and then while Goku was flinging his blessed pocketknives like crazy. Bulma played a role too, as her homemade smoke grenade more than obscured the visions of these monsters.
"Hey, perhaps this will work?" Lazuli said between pants once we've drew a safe distance from the creatures and took out a mysterious bag.
"W-what's that?" I asked, rather curious to which the twins exchanged an evil look.
"Why, these are some of our old trusty tools back in our delinquent years. We used them on pursuing lawman on horseback all the time. Now watch!" Lapis declared proudly and reached inside the bag to produce dozens of caltrops.
All I could do was swallowing a gulp at such devious scheme, and devious it was seeing those unfortunate creatures stepping on them howled in excruciating pain without exception.
We were halfway through the tunnel when that ground shaking, tunnel-collapsing blast finally erupted from behind us. Those who weren't engulfed by flames were stunned into halting their tracks while our gang merely kept through the quaking interior. The light at the end of the tunnel was soon in sight and I must admit, that was by far the best sunlight and breath of fresh air I've ever experienced.
"Wow, now that went much better than planned. So much for these gun jamming creatures, I guess not even them could stop an exploding dynamite." Lapis remarked, sporting a youthful snicker.
"No kidding, now what do we say we seal off the entrance and trap them inside the hell where they belonged? You want to do the honor Lapis?" I asked; handing the young man a dynamite, which he gladly accepted, even tossing the red sticks up and down a few times.
"Hey, stop messing around little bro." Lazuli admonished, brushing her dusty blonde strands behind her ear in a rather lovely fashion.
"Just savoring this sweet moment sis, these assholes did destroy our saloon after all. I just w...,"
He didn't get to finish his sentence; however, as to our horror, a giant bear like creature came charging out at an inhuman speed, knocking Lapis to the ground where he landed with a painful sounding thud and was out cold.
"Fools, do you idiots really think we could be beaten so easily? We've transcended humanity already. Your petty human tricks could only tickle us!" The bear roared in Gero's voice.
"Nice bluff, but we aren't buying it! Or have you forgotten what we did to your friends back there?" Chichi retorted with her usual fiery spirit and aimed her arrow at the now towering doctor. To all our surprises, her strike was easily intercepted as the large bear paw snapped it like a twig.
"Chichi get down!" The desperate voice came from Goku who had tackled his fiancée onto the ground right before another fierce swipe connected with her.
The rest of us all drew our guns and began emptying our blessed ammunition at Dr. Gero. To our surprise; however, the doctor was barely phased as those projectiles bounced harmlessly from his thick hide.
"Very cute, but I've long since figured out a way around these cursed blessed weapons." He taunted then charged at me, whom he probably deduced correctly as the ringleader.
I waited until the very last second before dodging right, flinging my lasso around his legs in an effort to trip him. This of course failed but did earned us a few precious seconds to regroup. With knives on our hands, we charged at him all together but another ferocious swipe knocked every last one of us away.
"Wow, he really is strong. Is it possible he's invincible?" Goku wondered aloud, his hands bleeding and barely able to hold onto the knives.
"No, that can't be it, there has got to be a weakness," I reassured my friend, desperately recalling what Dr. Gero said. There was clearly something about names, wait, could names be their weakspot I wondered.
"Hey Gero!" Bulma beat me to it as she called out his name.
No, I'm not kidding you, but the bear-like creature halted abruptly in his track, seemingly in pain.
"B-but h-how? H-how come you know my name?" Gero groaned, trying to reach his claws out at Bulma but another name-calling literally froze him in place.
"Sorry Gero, but I just happened to be Bulma Briefs, daughter of your old pal Dr. Briefs." The bluenette proclaimed proudly, flashing him the peace sign.
"That's right Gero, you are cornered, It must felt real bad not able to see your creation wreaking havoc on humankind huh?" I taunted purposefully, trying to anger it beyond reason.
Goku gave me a puzzled look, no doubt questioning my uncharacteristic display of cockiness but Lazuli seemed to have caught on to my plot and gave me a wink.
"Yeah Gero, it's so sad you are dying today. Must be real bummer now that your plan's just about to come to fruition huh?" The clever blonde mocked, her cat-like eyes narrowed and dainty finger waving at the seething doctor.
True to our prediction, Dr. Gero flew into an uncontrollable rage. "Silence you fools, Cell will kill you all I'm sure of it! There's no way Cell died in that pathetic dynamite explosion I tell y...," he stopped mid-sentence, his blood-vein filled eyes widening and his mouth agape.
"Oh wow, you hear that, Cell's that final creation's name!" Lazuli taunted even more as she stuck out her tongue.
"No! I'll kill you all so no one shall know Cell's name!" Gero threatened then charged straight for me and Lazuli, his bear claws swinging all over the place like a grinder trying to reduce us all to minced meat.
Together, we all shouted out his name the same time and thankfully, it was enough to make Gero wince in pain, his steps stumbling left and right as if about to lose control. Lazuli then tossed those caltrops in front of the mad doctor, who winced in pain. Taking my chance, I tackled him together with Goku, and Chichi with all our strengths, pushing him off the edge where he screamed all the way till his death cry faded into the valley beneath.
Afterwards, we blew up the tunnel entrance and went back to town. Afterwards, we dealt with several more waves of the surviving Skinwalkers but to my dismay, Cell never bothered to show its face. Soon, the townsmen grew wary of their situation and voted to move back to civilization where hopefully, the sight of so many humans was enough to dissuade it from tracking us that far.
As you can see, I've left behind my trusty revolver who had been blessed by Dende before leaving this place. Also hidden in a secret compartment right under this drawer was the bottle of holy water blessed by Dende. Hopefully, these and the name of Gero's masterpiece, Cell will lend you enough protection. But just let me warn you, that monster is undoubtedly tougher than Gero.
Oh, before I forgot. I ended up proposing to Lazuli after making back to town and she gladly accepted. Here's wishing your trip will end in happiness too!
Marron closed the journal with tears of happiness trickling down her youthful face. She then reached inside the drawer and pulled out her father, Sheriff Krillin Chestnut's revolver. Immediately, a surge of warmth travelled through her arm and she felt her small body imbued with her father's courage.
Unbelievable father, mother, you two are truly amazing!
She then reached inside the drawer and pulled out her father, Sheriff Krillin Chestnut's revolver. Immediately, a surge of warmth travelled through her arm and she felt her small body imbued with her father's courage.
Just wait for me Uncle Lapis, I'll soon put that monster Cell back to the hell where he belongs...
"M-Marron...Marron w-where are you?" As if by fate, her uncle's pained voice reached her at that exact time.
"U-uncle? A-are you alright?" Marron shouted in panic but was reminded of an episode recorded in her father's journal.
A Skinwalker can imitate someone's voice...
"N-no Marron, please, I'm dying. Help me my dear niece! Uncle needs you!" More desperate calls sounding almost just like Lapis came.
"I see uncle," Marron replied, her beautiful round orbs narrowing to resemble her mother's feline eyes, "by the way uncle, do you know that final Skinwalker's name is Cell?"
The pleading voice stopped abruptly before whoever that was let out a pained growl, then it spoke in an inhuman voice.
"Very clever little one. I see, you must've found something that showed my real name. As expected from the offspring of that stupid sheriff and no good dumb blonde!" Cell taunted with his cruel voice.
"No you fiend, my dad and mom aren't dumb. As for you, you are just a product of that failure scientist called Gero whom my parents took out!" Marron shouted back vehemently.
"Oh yeah? Well then, try me won't you? Say my name as loud as you want and empty that revolver of yours. Cause I guarantee you, your pathetic little voice and that puny weapon won't do a damn against me!" Once again, that sinister voice invaded her mind and it took Marron all her effort to keep herself from losing her grip.
The offspring of Sheriff Krillin Chestnut and feisty bartender Lazuli might've only met Cell that night, but she felt her skin crawl just staring at this evil whose near tangible hellish aura threatened to end her sanity.
J-just how many more has he killed during all this time? Dozens? Hundreds? Am I about to become his next victim?
Realizing the creature was trying to dominate her with psychic power or whatever dark magic he possessed, Marron placed a hand on her father's desk, drawing strength from the left behind artifact.
So, you want a piece of this Chestnut? Well, you'll get it Cell!
The blonde girl inhaled deeply before letting out the fiercest cry she could muster. "CELL!" She shouted and to her surprise, it was more than just her voice, but the entire Chestnut family, her uncle, mother, and father's voice included.
"W-what the hell?" Cell asked in a trembling voice, his fear-inducing aura evaporated without a trace.
"Mom? Dad? Are you guys here?" Marron on the other hand inquired as she searched everywhere for her parents.
"Sure we are little angel, sorry we couldn't get here sooner. Your dad was...dealing with the mayor. He's the police department chief after all." A blonde woman stepped out, her corn silk hair and crystal blue iris color resembled that of Marron's while those cat-like orbs appeared just like a certain Uncle Lapis's. She then gave the jet-black haired man beside her a dirty look as well as a rude nudge on his waist.
"Hey sorry honey, I tried to end my engagement as soon as I heard your brother's taking Marron out on a desert ecosystem conservation project okay?" The man complained, rubbing his sore spot.
Lapis meanwhile was leaning on the doorway, his clothing all torn, his body covered with bruises.
"Uncle! You are alive!" Marron cried out happily.
"Of course I am my niece dearest, but what do we say we finish that creature for good now?" Lapis asked.
"S-sure, good idea!"
The entire Chestnut clan inhaled deeply before exhaling, letting out loud roars of "CELL!" which collided against the creature. A loud, guttural scream filled the air as translucent smokes skin to spirits poured out of the aforementioned monster's every pores. Not quite ready to give up yet, the insect-like Skinwalker covered his ears but to no avail, for that his muscles had already begun to shrink until only a bony skeletal frame covered with pale green skin was left.
Marron took out her father's revolver and blasted the deflated creature, dropping him onto the floor. She then poured the vial of holy water on top of what's left and watched with satisfaction as the creature melted into the floor.
"There, that ought to put you down for good!" Marron shouted before her strength left her all the sudden and collapsed, not onto the ground, but into her parent's warm embrace.
"You've done very well Marron dear! We are so proud of you!" Her mother, Lazuli reassured as she planted a kiss on her little girl's cheeks.
"Yeah little angel, we couldn't have done it better ourselves." Krillin was rubbing his girl's back, trying to get her to relax.
"Mama, papa, I was so scared and thought that creature must've done something to you when he used your voices!" Marron said between sobs, finally let all her emotions out.
"Shhh...it's okay! Mama's here."
"Yeah, papa's here little one!"
The sun had begun to rise near the horizon, painting the abandoned police station a warm hue of pinkish red while also illuminating the name plaque bearing the name: Sheriff Krillin Chestnut.
Moving over to his old plaque, Krillin picked it up and smiled at his slightly aged reflection, memories of his service in that town flooding back like it was monsoon season.
Well, guess this is all over! We should probably leave an engraving of some sorts saying Marron bested Cell the Skinwalker...
It might even be a good idea to write down their weaknesses for all to see...just in case they come back again...
"Dad," Marron called for her father behind him, having regained her composure and was now standing beside her mother and uncle proudly, three pairs of sapphire-like orbs shining a radiant light glued on the former small town sheriff.
"Yes Marron?" Krillin asked warmly, his gaze lingering on his daughter thinking how much she looked like the perfect combination of him and his lovely spouse.
"I-I found your journal here!" Marron said sheepishly, handing over the journal, which its original author accepted gratefully, "And well, can I visit the Glistening Blue Gem Saloon? It's the only place I hadn't visited since arriving here!" she finished with a smile.
The now older twins gave each other a surprised look then nodded, somewhat saddened by memories of their destroyed store but all too glad their next generation had taken an interest at it.
Together, they made their way out of the station and were greeted by fresh morning air and a charming, half-risen sun. For reasons unknown, the abandoned town didn't looked all that threatening anymore.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading this rather unconventional chapter. Since Skinwalkers supposedly originate from New Mexico, I thought it would fit into the Western theme.
Please let me just say that I'm no expert to Skinwalkers though and am not trying to depict these wizards and witches accurately. All information I've dug about them were from other Creepy Pastas. Some of the most common claimed abilities about Skinwalkers include how they could imitate someone's voice, shapeshift into any animal of their choosing, and causing guns to jam.
There are also claims that saying the Skinwalker's real name will kill it instantly. As we can see, I didn't use that here since that would be too easy for our protagonists.
Anyhow, thanks for reading this Creepy Pasta inspired chapter and happy K18 week!