Just a random bounty hunter

It was a dreary town on a dreary world. Gunsmoke may have sounded appealing in the most jocular sense of the word but the reality of the matter is that the world was quite boring. Like the smoking barrel of a gun it was the lingering afterbirth of something far more interesting that had taken place in the ancient past, drifting listlessly through the solar space, and waiting until the day when it faded away.

Trueshot was as large as cities came on the world of Gunsmoke which is to say impressive considering the environment but far from a metropolis. It was a sad place that had once been famous because someone amazing or another had come sauntering through and ever since then it had seen a parade of imitators. But it was about to be famous again:

Atrave of the Eternal Stars.

Wanted in eleven iterations of the Multiverse and by three times as many governmental bodies that could only be described as empires. Dead not alive. With a bounty so high that it was still to-be-determined and some governments were even beginning to discourage their citizens from pursuing it, finding that the incredibly low chance of success did not quite justify the collateral damage.

Atrave; the second most wanted rookie in the Omniverse these days, second only to Adell Illiades Laemington, who many enthusiasts-yes there were enthusiasts for this kind of thing-theorized had only snatched first place because of his outspoken nature. The flame wars about that topic had been burning strong on the Ethernet for months and they weren’t going to stop any time.

For her part Alyosha Atrave wasn’t looking to change anyone’s mind. The ins and outs of human society were a mystery that she had yet to unravel, especially when it came to money. Near as she could tell the large number attributed to her name represented the value of her horde and as any dragon could tell you the size of one’s horde was the size of one’s value in society. The constant parade of would-be heroes who came after her were merely looking to steal her treasure for themselves; she was like the brave dragon Smaug defending his home from the greedy dwarves, a story as old as time itself.

Atrave stood well over six feet tall but was well proportioned in a way that most humanoid females couldn’t have pulled off at such at a height. The curve to her hips was subtle and her bosom was ample but her shoulders were square and her facial features unyieldingly powerful. Beneath her clothing she was solid, built from iron, and though her muscles were lean they wrapped around her frame like thick cords and could be seen shifting with every subtle movement of her body. But for the benefit of everyone involved Alyosha wore clothes when in public.

Alyosha had skin that was pale like a dolls. It would not grow tan in the sun no matter how much she seemed to travel. It was soft to touch despite her profession and her hair was blonde, long, and curled naturally into itself even as it laid flat. Her mane wriggled and writhed as the light moved across, flickering like a living thing of fire. The highest portions of her cheeks were flecked with nigh invisible freckles and her eyes had a fierce green glint to them. A coat that would have fallen to her knees was slung over the back of her chair and beneath that Alyosha was wearing a simple button up shirt with a vest, sensible slacks, and a pair of polished black shoes. A scarf was slung around her throat and a wide-brimmed hat sat at an odd angle on her head. She looked quite posh all things said and absolutely nothing like a local.

Alyosha had no gun to speak of, not very smart for a lone stranger on a world named Gunsmoke, but her hands and forearms were capped in thin metal gauntlets. The finish was black as night with highlights in bright gold, they did little to stop the dexterity of her fingers, but the thick claw caps on the fingers were imposing nonetheless. She hadn’t shaken many hands to say the least.

The people were terrified of her. The dusty little bar was nigh empty save for the few citizens who felt like gawking and an owner who had tried to usher her out and only earned glares for it. The Eternal Star was in no mood.

And of course there was the army of riff-raff outside of the bar. Nearly a hundred of them, some hunters and some just hopeful citizens, all looking to collect on the bounty. Some were professional too and all of them were frozen in place in their hiding spots, some clever and some not so clever. They clutched their weapons tight until their knuckles turned white but it was not caution that stayed their hand, it was fear. Even the dullest of them could sense that the thing linking inside of that bar right now could have turned Gunsmoke into a smoldering pile of ashes if it had felt so inclined and was beginning to reconsider their decision. It was that very same fear that rooted them in place lest they break into a run and attract the beast’s attention. Maybe they should have thought about why she had the bounty in the first place before rushing out at the first sniff of money.

And so they just waited and hoped that they would be forgiven for their mistake.

Alyosha flipped through the paper, reading of Adell’s latest exploit with a sneer on her face. His actions were entirely unbecoming for a dragon. They were a solitary species by their very nature, so why did he want to build a kingdom, if it was merely a desire for servants she could understand but here was a man who wanted to save the universe full of monkeys who lived less than the blink of an eye from themselves. Could there be anything more futile?

Then it hit her. She snapped from her reverie as she felt something powerful approaching Gunsmoke on the fringes of her senses. Folding the paper closed and slipping her jacket on Alyosha took her time, examining the aura of this person who was currently descending from orbit and learning everything she could about them, and then when she finally exited the tavern everyone held their breath. Alyosha quietly pushed her way through the crowd as though they weren’t there and made her way to the edge of town.

Alyosha Atrave the Eternal Star was a smart girl but she knew very little of this modern Multiverse and of the kingdoms that men built amongst the stars. She was not oblivious though. Whoever this man, yes she could discern even that much at a distance, he would have questions to answer.

‘So he thinks that we are a criminal.’ Alyosha mused to herself, using the royal we even in the privacy of her own mind. The Eternal Star considered herself politically immune when in the realm of man but the siren song of battle called to her, ‘I suppose there is no harm in indulging his fantasy for a time.’

“I am Atrave of the Eternal Stars and you may refer to me as such, Gaiken.” Alyosha didn’t know much about humans but she was reasonably certain that they were not given serial numbers at birth. The very concept struck her as crude for in her culture birth numbers were low and every clutch was sacred. “You are a gentleman and for that I will grant your request.”

The first thing that Alyosha noticed was the massive aura that Gaiken produced around his person. Though he bore a serial number like a sub-sapient animal the power he harbored in his soul was very much beyond that. The OBA would consume everything within a five-hundred yard radius without a fight and yet the dragon didn’t seem terribly worried about this result. Gaiken was free to observe the environment and even to take control of it if that were his intention so long as he showed respect for her personal space and if he didn’t then he would regret it…

Alyosha’s own energy manifested around her body in the form of an impossibly thick golden cloud. On the material plane it could not be seen but it could be felt in the form of a heavy pressure that bore down on anyone who came within fifteen feet or so of her and could only be countered by a stout spirit. But on the astral plane the cloud was so thick it could almost be a super solid, it was quite simply impossible to see through, which isn’t to say that he couldn’t observe her only that if he tried to he would only be straining his eyes against the radiant glow. Against Alyosha it was always important to rely on oneself rather than tricks.

The second thing Alyosha took note off was that Gaiken was very much dead. With an exaggerated flare of her nostrils she sniffed the air, just once, as the gunslinger grew close and was able to appraise him of his worth. Normally this was used on magical artifacts but it had its uses in battle. She could smell that his body was no longer his own and it was easy to put the pieces together afterwards, taking important note that her opponent was essentially a spirit and that depending on his particular astral physiology she could very well be standing inside of him at this moment. His weapons were beautifully fashioned to say the least and they radiated nearly as much power as that construct that he called a body. If the fight came to it she would strip him of them and potentially add them to her horde, but she doubted it would get that far unless the gentleman phantom chose to push his luck with the golden lady.

She felt a small pang of guilt as she had no such trophies to offer her opponent. Alyosha was a dragon and as such her very body was a weapon. Even in a human form her strength was worth more than an entire army and her speed could have exceeded the fastest vehicle. Her pale doll flesh was like a fortress available and her stubby human nails were swords that could tear apart the strongest suit of armor. She trusted her body, mind, and soul for in her long life those would be the only things she would ever need. Where mortal men like Gaiken would eventually die and their bodies would become rickety corpses hers would never collapse, even in death she was more valuable than a king’s ransom.

In short, she had no weapons. She slid her right leg ever so slightly forward and began to bounce on the balls of her feet. Her forearms raised before her body with her hands loose, one arm hovering close to her face for defense and the other extended towards Gaiken with an ever so slightly bend in her fingers.

“I will allow you to take the first shot.” Alyosha said with a cold voice and a furrowed brow, “Make it good or it might be your last.”

Alyosha preferred to let her opponent’s take the initiative, not out of cowardice, but because more often there was no guarantee that they would snatch control once they had lost a hold of it. It was only sporting of her to give them a proper chance before she went on the assault and it kept fights from becoming carbon copies of the same mauling. But sometimes there was no helping it…

“If you insist.” Alyosha’s said with something between a sigh and a chuckle and by that time her attack had already begun.

A dozen possibilities came to mind but the one that manifested ahead of the others also happened to be the boldest and manifest it did in a manner most literal. Upon ideation the thought peeled away from her person, sifting through that golden aura of hers before breaking away and taking a portion of the vibrant energy with it, and emerged in the material plane in a rough approximation of Alyosha’s curvaceous body if it had been molded by the stuff of the stars. The process took no time at all and the construct was birthed already in the middle of charging straight at Gaiken, once it closed the distance between them it would proceed to stretch an arm out and club the gentleman phantom across the throat for a lariat.

The construct was born at the edge of her aura and it would be on Gaiken in a blink. Despite being made of energy the phantom would find that the blow was very much solid and would hit with the force of a shotgun to the chest, all told a decent opening move all things considered which would tell her just how durable the phantom was. It was also worth noting that the construct was hot, as one would expect from a solid mass of plasma, and would likely leave burns on Gaiken’s person as it passed.

Whether he dodged, blocked, or was sent spinning ass overhead Alyosha would be following right behind that construct. Her golden aura cutting a swath through Gaiken’s OBA as she approached, calmly waiting to see how he would react and ready to spring on him whatever action he might take.
Alyosha preferred to let her opponent’s take the initiative, not out of cowardice, but because often there was no guarantee that they would snatch control once they lost a hold of it. It was only sporting of her to give them a proper chance to show their worth before she went on the assault. But sometimes there was no helping it…

“If you insist.” Alyosha’s next breath was something between a sigh and a chuckle and by that time her attack had already begun.

A dozen possibilities came to mind but the one that manifested ahead of the others also happened to be the boldest and manifest it did in a manner most literal. Upon ideation the thought peeled away from her person, sifting through that golden aura of hers before breaking away and taking a portion of the vibrant energy with it, and emerged in the material plane in a rough approximation of Alyosha’s body if it had been molded by the stuff of the stars. The process took no time at all and the construct was birthed already in the middle of charging straight at Gaiken, once it closed the distance between them it would stretch out its right arm and proceeded to club the gentleman phantom across the throat.

The construct was born at the edge of her aura and it be on Gaiken in a blink. Despite being made of energy the phantom would find that the blow was very much solid and would hit with the force of a shotgun to the chest, a decent opening move all things considered which would tell her just how durable the phantom was. It was also worth noting that the construct was hot, as one would expect of plasma, and would likely leave burns on Gaiken’s person as it passed.

Whether he dodged, blocked, or was sent spinning ass overhead Alyosha would be following right behind that construct. Calmly waiting to see how he would react and ready to spring at a moment’s notice.

Alyosha had taken a calculated risk by charging in behind her construct; she knew that Gaiken’s most likely course of action was to go through the construct as he possessed a theoretical superiority when it came to firepower; besides no gunslinger worth his salt would have retreated from a barehanded fighter without at least attempting to gun them down first. So he retorted with a concentrated beam of energy to wipe out her construct and five solid rounds after it to fill Alyosha with holes. But it was a far safer risk than the phantom had at first assumed. First and foremost was that the construct was in no way blocking Alyosha’s view, it had been crafted of her own aura and thoughts and so she could see perfectly through it, not all that unlike Gaiken’s own OBA though a good deal more concentrated. So when he took aim and fired not only had it been predicted beforehand but those predictions were immediately affirmed.

Second and perhaps most important was that the construct was in no way required to play out a single set of orders. As the beam of energy was released from Zaihara a snap decision on Alyosha’s part saw the construct skid to a halt and drive its forearm into the incoming beam from the side. It was far easier to divert a moving object from its course than outright stop it after all and that was exactly what happened here. A bang followed the collision and Zaihara’s beam was next seen sailing off into the distance leaving the construct rooted firmly in place and just bit out of line, feet firmly planted at shoulder’s width apart, with its right arm now non-existent save for a few lonely wisps of energy around its shoulder.

And Alyosha’s charge did not stop.

Alyosha weaved around the construct’s right, only diverting her course as much as was needed in order to save time, the bullets had not been anticipated but were far from unwelcome. Time seemed to move in slow motion from her perspective as she proceeded to roll from one side to the next, avoiding each bullet with practiced ease, before she arrived on Gaiken a blink later all but unfazed by the assault.

She crossed in front of him, her right fist thrusting up and into his gun totting arm. The blow would thrust his elbow out the wrong way and to snap it in two, it would be a great test of seeing just how durable his Frankenstein body was and what its reflexes were like at close range, though it should have gone without saying that at the high velocity she was moving the impact would be like having a truck run over the limb multiple times.

Then came the clincher. In time with her strike the Construct came barreling in from the front once more, down one arm but still as determined as ever. The Construct leapt up and over her body, turning nearly a full circle through the air before it thrust the bottom of one foot into the masked face of Gaiken. A burst of kinetic energy was unleashed into the blow, rending the air in two with a mighty boom, before the XETA was sent tumbling ass over head through the dirt.

If nothing else it would at least shut him up.

Alyosha Atrave had forgotten more about martial combat than most people would ever know but for all of the techniques, stances, and philosophies that had come and gone throughout her lifetime only two things had ever rung true throughout all of it; those were timing and spacing. When you controlled those you could controlled the flow of combat and when you controlled the flow of combat everything else just fell in place. So what’d that have to do with Gaiken? Well it was a decent counter save for one mitigating factor and as you might have guessed it was that the timing and the spacing were off…

But what did that mean?

Alyosha had chosen to attack the gun-slinging limb for a reason and a big part of that was to force a reaction out of it. Simple put at this range the no gun, supernatural or otherwise, was ever going out to out-speed her; meaning that Gaiken either had to holster the damn thing or start using his sister’s precious heirloom as a club. It was a safe target that cost her little and forced him to play his hand. Luckily Gaiken chose the former and sure his movements were fancy but at close range every second counted and those precious moments he spent sliding his gun back into place were also precious seconds that she spent sliding back into stance.

His left hand stretched out to catch Alyosha’s and she reacted swift enough to make Mister Miyagi proud. Her forearm rotated along with his, not escaping his grasp but rearranging it so that when his fingers tightened around her forearm he would also find a set of claws burrowing their way into his forearm. Frankenstein’s palm crashed into her elbow too, forcing it to straighten which was fine as it suited her plans just perfectly, he would find a spike waiting on the blade of her elbow to impale his palm. The spike was barbed so that entry was easy but exit would involve an uncomfortable amount of tearing. These subtle shifts were just a whiff of her draconic heritage and would tear through his meta-body and physical body with the same amount of ease, which is to say like a hot knife through butter.

So Gaiken caught her and in doing so was caught himself, pinning one if not both of his arms in place, though she highly doubted he could feel pain she did wonder if he could feel worry. At the same time Alyosha would lift her leg into the air, allowing the sweep to pass under it, before stomping right back down on the exposed foreleg and hammering it back into place with enough force to snap the offending limb in two. But she wasn’t done. Limb counter-extended she would lean back and wrench him towards her with prodigious strength while deliver a sharp kick to his abdomen to send him rocketing in the other direction, a combination specifically designed to tear the Phantom in two.

Adrenaline was by now hammering through Alyosha’s veins and with the golden fire in her soul would follow, filling her with righteous fury that spilled out into the air around her in a suffocating aura. As a dragon her blows were still quite light, toying almost, which meant that any mortal man would have been reduced to a bloody smear. Gaiken was probably a good deal more dangerous than that but she was still hitting with enough force to put artillery to shame and adding a metaphysical element to every strike, how he took the damage would be interesting to observe, almost as interesting as how he rose to the ever growing challenge that Atrave of the Eternal Stars.

An instant later her construct would come sailing over her body once more, twisting through the air in order to deliver a spinning back kick to Gaiken’s face, and if he wasn’t already suffering from the damage he would be now. Gaiken had better react soon because the offense wasn’t going to stop.

Well this wasn’t going to well…

No not for our dear Alyosha Atrave but the gentleman phantom. First and perhaps foremost were his assumptions when it came to the element Cosmium, seven times harder than Titanium and still no more durable to her than any other tin can the human race had sought to protect itself inside of. Though he might have forgotten while staring into her pretty porcelain face it was important to remember that she was a dragon; she had the ability to assess an item of its worth on a whiff, an extension of her obsession with treasure and the act of hoarding it, and she had already scented out his ultra-durable equipment; it didn’t worry her then and it didn’t worry her now. Her claws, fangs, and spikes were there to core out the stars themselves, traditional armor was nothing but a nuisance before her, and just because she chose not to wear it or to give hers a fancy name did not mean that she was not equipped or even more so than he was.

Let this be a lesson; it was never good to assume that one was so superior to their opponent that they did not need tactics. Alyosha, despite her mental boasting right then, had chosen to shape shift only at moments that suited her purpose, in this case the spike was like a harpoon launched from her flesh and its combined momentum with his would have been an effective tactic regardless of an armors durability.

In short there was no getting out of this one.

As for the stomp and grab; well in the world of Wing Chun those were legitimate moves and she wasn’t nearly so amateur as to let the stomp just miss based on the timing. If he wished to extend for her back leg in theory he could but practice was far more difficult, he was going to look awfully silly having to bend that low and would only further expose his leg to her. The traditional stance of any combatant was shoulder width apart, not much compared to the length of a leg, except when you consider that it had to pass beneath one leg without collision.

Mistakes had been made, positions had shifted, but Alyosha was a master of the martial arts and she was nothing if not flexible.

The crystal construct wheeled in overhead, with Gaiken’s new low to the ground stance instead of spinning kick it would transition into a heel kick, its right leg extended and dropping like an axe to the top of the phantom’s head. But an axe never struck as hard as any of her blows had, the strike would hit with a resounding boom and whip his head down into his chest, giving Alyosha the perfect follow up.

With her foot still settled upon the broad of Gaiken’s foreleg and his body in a position was distinctly not flying away from her she would step up, literally charging up his leg with both of his arms still restrained to deliver a brutal knee strike to his already damaged cranium. The world lit up around her body as she charged, the golden aura becoming more pronounced, especially around her knee where the heat rapidly reached and exceeded a point where it would slough flesh from bone. A golden after image was left behind her as she charged like a smudge on the canvas that was reality and before the XETA knew it he would be the unfortunate victim of a modified shining wizard. In the moments of contact the energy would swell, reacting violently to an encounter with Gaiken’s facial region, before bursting open and filling the air around her with intense supernatural; in that instant of contact the cap of her knee became hotter than the surface of this worlds sun.

BLITZKRIEG KNEE!

Afterwards Alyosha dropped off of Gaiken’s body, tearing her forearm from his grasp and no doubt ripping tendons out from his hand as she went. Well, it wasn't like she had a choice, the raw force that she had just let off would send Gaiken flying into orbit, so it was more like he was torn off of her. Soon after she slid into a stance once more, legs shoulder width apart, one hand forward and the other one folded behind her back, and a coy smile on her face.

“I hope you have some tricks up your sleeve, corpse. You aren’t going to beat me in a martial contest.” Her voice was quiet and yet even in the atmosphere Gaiken would hear it. Now was his chance to run if that’s what he wanted.

“Impressive.” Alyosha stared into the star that Gaiken had become, blinding to the rest of the world but only mildly irritating to her, until a second set of see-through eyelids slammed shut and fended off the glare. “Part of me was hoping that you would stubbornly continue to exchange blows with me, it’s not often I find a mortal who doesn’t break. Since you have honored me with your full power I will return the favor, oh ghastly gentleman from beyond the stars.”

Gaiken had changed significantly with this power up, not just his physical appearance but the very aura that he had exuded, it was also worth noting that by the time he reached the ground the wounds she had gouged across his body had closed up; though his clothes would still be sporting damage. This golden god of judgment would require more than the piddling strength than she had been using so far. The Eternal Star nodded and turned, striding away with full confidence that Gaiken would not strike her from behind, when there was a good distance she would pivot to face him once more with her feet shoulder width apart.

Her construct, the one-armed mirage of green fire that was now entirely outclassed would turn its gaze on Gaiken. With nothing left for it but suicide the construct would charge with reckless abandon, sailing through the air to deliver a burning knee to the ascended XETA’s chest. Just because it was out powered didn’t mean it would go down easily though, the construct was ready to sacrifice any portion of its body by using the detonation to wring itself around defense or offense to deliver one final blow to Gaiken. A blow that carried the force of a cruise missile, even if it didn’t do damage, it would at least give Alyosha some indication on what to expect.

Meanwhile Alyosha cracked open the gates to her power, discarding the mortal identity that she had so readily assumed upon reaching this world and summoning the monster known as Atrave of the Eternal Stars. The world began to warp around her, her golden aura becoming a dense orb that spread out around her, smashing through the earth at her feet and sending ripples that would manifest on the other side of the planet. Her height jumped instantly, limbs lengthening to the sickening crack of bones, her corded muscles swelled grotesquely before slithering down those newly lengthened bones, forming denser and heavier weaves than before that were at once more limber; the muscles of a dragon proper. Her pale flesh gained a slight sheen to it, nowhere near as brilliant as the glow that Gaiken gave off, but it was the first hint of her scales emerging from their slumber beneath her flesh. Thicker clumps would emerge on choice portions of her body including her hands, her temples, and other joints while her digits exploded at the tips with the emergence of prominent bone-white claws. Her teeth became blades and her eyes narrow slits. As the female of the species she was larger and more robust than the males by a great deal, already swelling to a good seven and a half feet in height, but losing the feminine traits of a human for it; her breasts were all but gone and her curves had melded seamlessly into the full body musculature that defined so many reptiles. A long tail thumped against the ground, spreading cracks with the force before wiggling out until it too was seven feet long with flaring feathers at the tip, and finally a pair of great swept back antler-esque horns emerged from her forehead, shifting her hair backwards along with it and exposing her face.

Then like that it was over; her aura had all but disappeared leaving the massive pseudo-dragon standing before Gaiken.

Alyosha’s clothing had stretched with her for the most part, her pants at least had accommodated her shift well but her sleeves had torn, the remains of her jacket clung tightly to her back and ringed her neck with fur, while her shirt just barely held together. “Witness me, Gaiken.”