Rise of the Bounty Hunter
Prologue
Luke needed help…… He had been sent on a mission to enter the enemy’s base undercover, but something had gone terribly wrong and Luke ended up getting captured. Now he had no way of contacting his fellow bounty hunters. “Now here I am sitting in a cell”, muttered Luke. Suddenly the door to the cell opened revealing a man named Eric. Eric was the man in charge of the government. More like rouge government, thought Luke. The government had turned on its citizens because it feared it did not have enough money to govern, or that is what they want us to think, thought Luke. The leader of Luke’s bounty hunter team was a man named Trey. Though Trey was a good leader Luke still thought it was foolish of him to send Luke to the enemy’s base alone. Eric and Luke just stared at each other until Eric spoke. “I know why you are here, so there’s no reason to stay silent for long”, informed Eric. “I’m here for answers”, Luke said. “Maybe we could work out a deal”, offered Eric. “What do you want from me?”, asked Luke, although he knew very well what Eric wanted from him. “All the secret files and codes you rebels are hiding from the government”, said Eric. “Its bounty hunters not rebels”, grumbled Luke. “Whatever, so you give me the codes and files and I give you answers, so do we have a deal?", asked Eric. “No”, answered Luke. “I thought you would say that, so you want to do it the violent way”, said Eric while pulling out an object that looked a lot like a gun. “This is no ordinary gun, it’s an extraordinary gadget that works by shooting balls of flaming plasma that helps us interrogate criminals like you”, Eric said with a mocking tone. Before Luke could retort or protest the door to Luke’s cell opened, revealing a guard and Trey. “Luke I’m so sorry I sent you here alone”, Trey said with a weak smile. “It’s ok”, said Luke. “If you guys are done apologizing let me start negotiating with Trey, Trey you know what I want so do you agree?", asked Eric. “You know my answer, no”, Trey said flatly. “Shoot him”, ordered Eric to his guard. The guard pulled his gun from his pocket and fired. “NO!!!”, yelled Luke but it was too late. Trey was on the floor paralyzed by getting hit by the plasma ray. “That was on minimum power so that was nothing compared to the damage maximum power would do”, explained Eric. “Now shoot Luke too”, ordered Eric once again. The guard raised his gun again and fired. Luke dodged before he got hit. The plasma hit the wall behind him causing rubble to fly around the room and hit Eric, the guard and Luke. Fortunately Luke was not hit as much as Eric or the guard. When Luke recovered from the blast, he saw that Eric and the guard were both out. Finally I can escape but how am I going to take Trey with me. He took the plasma gun out of Eric’s pocket and studied it carefully. He found four options: minimum power, medium power, maximum power, and revive. Hmm, revive might work. Luke switched the setting to revive and fired at Trey. Trey groaned and then he suddenly jumped up. “WHAT HAPPENED?!”, asked Trey bewildered. “You passed out”, explained Luke. “We need to get out of here before they notice us leaving”, said Trey. “Let’s go!”, exclaimed Luke. Trey took the gun from Luke, set it on medium power and fired towards the door, which blasted off its hinges and hit the wall outside with a loud “slam”. “Hurry up”, yelled Trey. They ran randomly turning rights and lefts without knowing where they were going. Then Luke and Trey ran into some guards. “Freeze”, they yelled. “Go the other way”, yelled Luke. They ran the other way with the guards following them. It turned out the guards ALL had plasma guns. “LUKE RUN AWAY WHILE I STALL THEM, ordered Trey. “I’m not going to leave you alone, Luke said stubbornly. “ You have to, the moment I met you, the moment I hired you, the moment I sent you on this mission I knew you were destined to be the best bounty hunter of all time, you need to save yourself, you are more important than me, Luke always believe in yourself, the bounty hunters will win in the end, go Luke please go and become the leader of our team”, Trey said while pushing Luke away. “Trey I’m so sorry I failed in this mission, apologized Luke. “You didn’t, I did”, said Trey. “FIRE”, the head guard commanded. The guards fired and Trey was blasted halfway across the hallway. He’s gone, thought Luke. It’s all over. “GET THE OTHER ONE TOO”, the guard commanded again. The last thing Luke saw was a flash of purple light.
Chapter One
The Meeting
A figure made it’s through long dark alleys with long, quick strides. Then the figure took a right and approached a dead end. Then the figure spoke as he touched the brick wall at the end of the alley. “I am Trey leader of bounty hunters”, Trey spoke. Suddenly a door appeared out of the wall and Trey entered. Trey kept walking through many hallways and finally entered a large room. In the room many people were seated and were talking to each other. When Trey came to the front of the room everyone grew silent. “It has come to our attention that the government also known as the rouge government is trying to find some sort of launch codes that, if found by the government could lead to World War 3. “We cannot let that happen, we have to save the world, a bounty hunter said. “Do you even know what a bounty hunters job is, and NO it is NOT saving the world”, Trey stated flatly. “Sorry sir”, the bounty hunter apologized. “But we can get the disc before the government does”, Trey stated. “I’ll go sir”, another bounty hunter offered. “What is your name”, Trey asked. “Zakan sir”, he said. “I’m sorry Zakan, but you aren’t good enough, in fact none of you are good enough”, denied Trey. “We need new recruits”, finished Trey.
Chapter Two
Rise Of the Bounty Hunter
Later that day Trey went off trying to find a new bounty hunter for his team. The current bounty hunters are just too lazy, Trey thought to himself. He was going to the Bounty Hunter Training Agency to recruit a new team member. When he walked in he was greeted by the person in charge, William. “Hey Will”, Trey greeted. “What can I help you with”, William asked. “I need someone very talented, he explained. “Hmm, Talented eh. Well we have a young fellow named Luke, who is very talented, William said. “LUUUUKKKKEEEEEE”, William screeched. “Yes sir”, a boy who claimed to be Luke said. “This is Luke, Luke this is Trey, Will told Luke. “Nice to meet you”, he said politely. “Luke if you can pass the bounty hunting test you may get a place on my team”, he told Luke. Trey took Luke to the brick wall where he said: “I am Trey leader of bounty hunters”. “What is this place?”, Luke asked. “This is the headquarters of the bounty hunters”, Trey explained. The brick wall revealed a door and Trey and Luke entered. Once they got to the big room Trey spoke to Luke. “Inside this room you will take a test, do your very best”, he told Luke. They went inside and went to the front of the room, which at the moment was empty. “Activate test mode”, Trey said to the computer at the front of the room. Suddenly the room started shaking and transformed into a large room that looked like a gym but larger. “First you will take the weapons test”, said Trey. Then the wall opened up and many weapons appeared. “Pick a weapon Luke, Trey instructed. Luke went up to the wall where all the weapons were displayed. Luke hesitated for awhile because he didn’t know who his opponent would be, even though Trey was the only person in the room at the time. After thinking for a few minutes he chose a sword. That’s what he picked, Trey thought to himself. “I’m ready”, Luke said confidently. “Okay then let’s start”, Trey declared. “I shall be your opponent”, Trey told Luke. Trey picked up a stun dagger which stunned the opponent if hit in the heart or the chest. “Begin”, Trey told Luke. Luke charged at Trey and swung his sword which was two and a half feet long but was blocked by Trey’s one and a half feet long dagger. Trey swung at Luke but missed and hit the wall behind Luke, and got his dagger stuck in the stone wall. Meanwhile Trey was trying to get his dagger unstuck Luke hit Trey with the flat side of the blade on the top of the head. Dazed Trey fell to the floor and dropped his dagger. “Do you surrender?”, Luke asked. “Yes, you have passed part one of the combat test”, Trey told Luke.“Next you must use some type of long distance weapon, so go and pick another weapon, remember pick a weapon that is easy for you to get used to”, Trey instructed. Luke picked a crossbow, and picked a stun dart for ammunition. “Begin”, Trey said one he picked a stun gun. Luke aimed and fired, but missed horribly. While Luke was reloading Trey fired. Direct hit!!! Fortunately in order for you to stun someone with a stun gun you have to shoot multiple times before the opponent is stunned. Luke fired again and hit Trey. Trey switched ammunition to TNT bullets. “Remember Luke you can switch ammunition but you can’t switch weapons”, Trey informed Luke. Luke switched to blaze bullets, which are bullets that are on fire. Luke fired and missed Trey but got his gun, which had TNT bullets in it therefore causing an explosion. Trey flew accross the room, when he recovered he told Luke: “You win”, Trey said. “You’re on the team”, Trey said while patting Luke on the back.
Chapter Three
Training Hard
After Trey told Luke he had passed the test Luke went directly to sleep. When he woke up he went back to the big room where Trey was talking to a lot of people. Luke quietly listened from the hallway. “Luke is a very talented kid and has the potential to become a very good bounty hunter”, Trey was saying. “Where’s the proof that he can be a very good bounty hunter?”, Zakan asked. “Here’s the proof”, Trey said as he pressed a button. A projector came out of the roof and projected a video of Luke taking the combat test. So I’ve been taped the whole time, Luke thought. When the video was over everyone agreed to let Luke on to their team, after that Trey called Luke. “Yes Trey, Luke said. “Everyone meet Luke”, Trey said. Everyone addressed Luke as if he were the leader of their team. Then when everyone left Trey talked to Luke about his training. “The training classes you will take will help you become a great bounty hunter, here’s a book that was very helpful to me and here’s your training schedule. Luke took a look through his schedule; this is what it looked like:
Time: Class: Teacher:
6:30 AM: Wake up and have breakfast
7:00 AM: Go to class: Combat Training Trey
8:00 AM: Go to class: Identifying Weapons Trey
9:00 AM: Go to class: Efficient Bounty Hunting Zakan
10:00 AM: Go to class: History of Bounty Hunting Zakan
11:00 AM: Lunch N/A
12:00 PM: Choosing Weapons Wisely Trey
1:00 PM: Relaxation Period N/A
2:00 PM: Seminar TBD
It seemed like a very busy schedule for Luke but it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Some classes like: Combat Training, or Identifying Weapons weren’t too bad passed by fast, and Luke had to admit that it was somewhat fun! Other classes though were really boring like: History of Bounty Hunting and Seminar. Luke even made some friends during classes. Luke’s best friend Arzerph was in three of Luke’s classes. Today Luke was a little nervous because Zakan had given an essay and Luke wasn’t sure if he had done well. When Luke entered his first class, Combat Training, Trey greeted Luke and the other recruits. “Today we will learn how to stun your enemy”, Trey said to the class. “Everyone get a normal sword”, Trey instructed. Trey asked Luke to be his partner. “So to stun your enemy you must hit the opponent on the head with the flat side of your sword, Trey told the class. “Luke stun me”, Trey instructed. Luke raised his sword and attacked, but Trey blocked with his own sword. CRACK! Luke’s sword had been cracked by Trey’s sword. “Everyone listen up, you must be careful not to have your sword at such an angle that the opponent can break it”, Trey explained. Luke knew he could stun Trey, so he picked up half of the broken sword and raised it and hit Trey on the head. Trey instantly fell down. “Luke has managed to stun me with half a sword”, Trey exclaimed. “This shows that Luke has great thinking skills, good job”, Trey said smiling. Luke you will be a good role model for the rest of the class, Trey said “Class dismissed” Luke went to the next class but found a sign on the door and here’s what it said:
This class has been canceled due to teacher on mission-
-Trey
That’s awkward Luke thought, he was here a few minutes ago. Then Luke went to his room which was on the second floor of the headquarters. The classes were on the first floor and the big room was on the first floor as well. At 8:55 Luke went to Zakan’s class. “Hello Luke”, Zakan said. “Hello, do you know where Trey is?”, Luke asked. “No he ran off without telling me but I suppose he’s bounty hunting”, Zakan said. Then when everyone came in and settled down he said: “Okay everyone today we will learn how to bounty efficiently, we will also learn history of bounty hunting. “How many of you know what a bounty hunters job is”, he asked. A few kids raised their hands including Luke. “Yes Luke”, Zakan said. “A bounty hunters job is killing people for money”, Luke said. “Well yes, but no, see a bounty hunters job is to find people and bring them to your client dead or alive”, Zakan said. Zakan then passed out wanted posters to everyone. Luke studied his:
WANTED
Name: Trey
Crime: Organizing Bounty Hunting Agency
Reward: Dead: $45.000; Alive: $55.000
Bring to: 45532-8574 Government Headquarter Road
“As you can see not all people respect bounty hunters, and a lot of us have bounty’s on us by the government”, Zakan said. “Now get your Efficient Bounty Hunting books out and read pages 2-24”, Zakan told the class. Luke took out his book and skimmed through the table of contents.
Page 1: Authors Comments
Page 2: Beginning your quest
Page 7: How to hunt efficiently
Page 8: Being aware
Page 24: Items needed
After reading what Zakan told them to read Luke looked at the notes he had taken while reading. After some time Zakan said: “Okay I’m sorry but I have been called on a mission so I must leave, continue reading in seminar. Luke then went to lunch break. After lunch Luke went to his room and looked at the list of items needed for Zakan’s class.
1. Crossbow
2. Sword, Bolt Sword, Dagger
3. Ammunition, stun daggers, bullets, etc
4. Gun, pick any two
The first thing Luke thought was: Where am I going to get these items, I’m an orphan, I have no money! Luke forgot about that and fell asleep. The next day he found Trey waiting for him in the big room. “We shall go and buy your items today after breakfast”, Trey said. They went off after breakfast to some weapon and equipment stores. “Trey there’s one problem, I don’t have any money”, Luke said. “Don’t worry I have some money for you, and, one more thing, I can’t come with you, so here”, Trey said as he gave Luke $310.00 and walked off. Luke went off in search of a good store to get his items. He kept on walking until he found a store that’s name was The Bonkers Bounty Hunters Equipment Store. “G’day mate, what can I help you with”, the clerk said. “Do you have any good and affordable prices for crossbows?”, asked Luke. “Our best crossbow is $85.00”, the clerk said. After bargaining Luke finally got the crossbow for $75.00. Then Luke went to another shop and asked if they had swords. After Luke was done he realized that he did not have any way of contact with Trey. Fortunately he found Trey near the entrance of the shopping market. “Ready?”, Trey asked. They went back to headquarters and rested. Luke went to sleep without doing any of his homework. Trey came into Luke’s room and said that he had a surprise for Luke and Luke would find out what it was in the morning.
Chapter Four
The First Mission
The next morning Luke dressed up and got ready for breakfast. While he was eating Trey came and said: “Are you ready for your mission?” “What mission?”, Luke asked. It turned out that the surprise was a mission. Luke was exited but also very nervous, after all this was his first mission. Luke went back to his room to get his swords, crossbow, and ammunition. Luke went back down to the big room and found Trey wearing armor. Trey handed Luke armor and they went off to. “Where are we going?”, asked Luke. Trey handed Luke a wanted paper.
Wanted
Name: Zakan
Crime: Treason, turning rouge on bounty hunters
Reward: Dead: $57.00; Alive: $34.00
Last Seen: Government building
Luke dropped the paper in shock. “How could that be possible, he was a great teacher”, Luke asked bewildered. “Well he decided to turn on us to get money from the government”, Trey said grudgingly. “So are we going to kill him?”, asked Luke. “That’s the plan”, Trey said. They set off for the government building, and when they arrived Trey took out a pulse grenade. He set it to max power and threw it at the door, which blasted off its hinges. “We could have just entered you know”, Luke told Trey. “What’s the fun in that”, asked Trey. Luke had no chance to reply because guards started coming through the doorway. “Fire”, an official commanded. Luke took out his crossbow, loaded it and fired. One guard was down but many were still coming through the hole."Luke use this TNT arrow!", Trey said as he handed Luke the arrow. When Luke had finally managed to clear the doorway they entered in to the federal building. They walked right passed the "welcome" desk and into a room that said Federal Staff Only. They entered that room and found themselves face to face with a guard that was heavily armed. "Uh,oh", Luke muttered. "And who are you?", a guard asked. "They must be Lukeee and Trashy, you know the bounty hunters Eric warned us about. "Its Trey and Luke!", Trey yelled as he lunged for the nearest guard. The guard merely moved out of the way. "Take them to Eric", a guard coming down the hallway ordered. The guards took the two to Eric's room. "Well, well, well, look who we have here, im not disapointed it's not the pizza man", Eric taunted. Trey and Luke remained silent. "Yes, kill them both, we have all the information we need", Eric told the guards. The guards aimed, but before they could fire someone said:"WAIT!" Zakan was running down the hallway and appeared to be carrying an envelope. "Oh, goody, Trey, meet the person who betrayed you and the bounty hunters", Eric said, again taunting the two. "Sir a message from him", Zakhan said without looking at Luke and Trey. Eric read the letter and then ordered the guards to kill them again. The guards fired, but too slow! Luke ran towards a guard and Trey did the same. Two guards down two to go! Trey took the guards gun and finished the rest off. Then he pointed his gun at Eric. Luke did the same. "Now answer me, do you have the disk yet?", Trey asked. They both forgot about Zakan. He apparently had a poison dagger. He lunged at Luke and knocked him out. "Very nice", Eric said. Trey pointed his gun at Zakan.
Chapter Five
The Dream
While Luke was knocked out he had a dream, or more like a vision. In the vision he saw a green snake, it wasn't a very clear dream but it was clear enough to see that it was a pretty big snake and he wore armor on his head and his shoulders. Somehow Luke thought he new the name of the snake. The snake than spoke to Luke. "Trey is in danger and you have been taken to a cell, when you wake up there will be sleep sensors and they will know you are awake. You must escape before they come, you have at least six minutes. You must save Trey afterwards", the snake told Luke. "Where is Trey?", Luke asked. "That I can not tell you"
Chapter Six
The Rescue
When Luke came back to, he jumped to his feet and looked around, Sure enough he was in a cell and there were two sleep sensors on the wall. But why didn't he tell me where Trey was, Luke thought to himself. Did he not know? No, that couldn't be it, for he knew everything else. Then Luke remembered that he had to move fast. He realized he still had his gun! Weird, why didn't thay take it? He destroyed the door and ran out. He walked without knowing where he was going. He than ran into Eric! Quickly Luke turned around and ran the opposite way only to find a whole army running towards him. "STOP!!!", Eric ordered Luke. Yeah, right, Luke thought to himself. He turned a corner and kept running. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Whizzzzzzz,kapeeewwww! Three normal guns and a plasma gun, this was going to far!, Luke thought. He kept running until he ran past.....Trey? "Hey Luke where are you going the exits this way!", Trey asked. Luke kept running and then he saw a blur go past him, Trey, Luke thought. Then Trey went out a emergency exit and Luke followed. "Yes, they can't get us in public, it would look too suspicious!",Trey said. Luke agreed.
Chapter Seven
Home Sweet Home?
After Trey was sure nobody was following them they headed towards the place bounty hunters called home, their base. "Trey, do bounty hunters live together and work together?", Luke asked. It turned out no, Trey said that they would live seperetly once classes were over. When they approached the base, they were both in for a surprise. When they went into the alley the building they called "home" was destroyed. "Whaaa.....", Luke muttered. Instead there was a huge pile of bricks, wood, and rubble.
There was still a small fire on the pile. "I guess they attacked while we were gone", Trey said. "What about all the bounty hunters and Arzerph?", Luke asked. "They must have fled", Trey answered. Things happened pretty fast after that event. Luke had his own home and he now saw Trey rarely. Worse there was no sign of the other bounty hunters still being alive. Luke had no problem with his new home but it wasn't the same as the base. Luke basicly did nothing until he decided he would go to the bazaar. He browsed around until he found a few good bows, but already having three he passed. Then he looked at a few bounty's, one caught his eye:
WANTED
Name: Zakan
Crime: Betrayal
Bounty: Alive:$4,456
Note: If dead,1/4 of a cent will be awarded.
Last seen: Black Forest
Almost automaticly Luke grabbed the bounty and told the shopkeeper he would bring Zakan as fast as he could. The shopkeeper was a very old man who wore a grey shirt and pants, his name, he refused to tell. Luke went back home, grabbed his weapons and ran out the door. He went to the border of the city he lived in, Aspensville. If you crossed the border to the west you would enter Black Forest. Luke entered the forest and followed a path until he came to a small village. Luke took out his crossbow armed with stun daggers and pulse gernades. He walked into the small village and went up to a man making something out of wood. Luke lowered his crossbow. "Uh, sir, can you tell me if you know about someone named Zakan?", Luke asked. "He is someone we do not speak of for he is pure evil, he has been a leader in this war for 15 years, disguised as a bounty hunter, betrayed Trey, after pretending to be a teacher for 15 whole years!", the man told Luke bitterly. "Dont worry sir im not a follower of that foul man", Luke said. Luke moved on trying to get clues of where Zakan could be. Then he saw him.
Chapter Eight
First Captured Bounty
Luke hated Zakan so much that he fired at least ten times, without aiming. The shots were awfuly close to Zakan's head, Luke hoped he didn't kill Zakan, even though that was what Luke wanted to do, but he needed him to be alive. Better switch to stun daggers, Luke thought. He ran closer, trying to stay out of sight under bushes, but Zakan spotted him and sarted running. Luke shot again and hit Zakan in the neck. He then teleported him and Zakan to the shop. "Well, looks like he's alive so heres your bounty", the shopkeeper said. "Thank you", Luke said as he left. He met Trey outside of the shop looking at bounty posters. "Trey", Luke said. Trey was surprised to see Luke, because he thought Luke would take longer to get Zakan. "Luke I heard about you going off to find Zakan and I thought you would take longer to capture him but it seems like a under estimated you",Trey said. When Trey left to go home Luke stopped and bought the crossbow he looked at before he captured Zakan, he felt as if he deserved a treat, after all he had alot of money and it wasn't easy to capture Zakan!
Chapter Nine
Arzerph
After capturing Zakan Luke felt as if he could capture any other bounty. And it seemed as if he could, he captured two more bounty's,: One of them was a Eric's advisor, the other was a theif, who stole from the merchants who visited Aspensville. After those bounty's Luke went to the bank, which was a medium sized building with two statues near the entrance, the statues were: Balro, and Swift. Inside there was a fight going on about who was in line first. When Luke went back home he found a big brown envelope in the mail. He opened it and he found a letter from Trey.
Luke,
You are to keep up with your study's even though we don't have a school any more. I have sent a school book to you in a seperate parcel.
Luke found a parcel that was from Trey, sighed and then opened it.
Efficient Bounty Hunting
To be the most successful at bounty hunting remember, never give your position away.............................
Luke closed the book, tossed it under the bed, "Same old junk I've learned a zillion times. Luke went to the board where bounty's were posted. I might as well get a bounty. Then someone knocked the door. Luke grabbed his crossbow and opened it. "Luke?" "Arzerph?" "Yup" "Come on in", Luke invited Arzerph to come in. "I thought you were dead, Luke", Azerph said. "Same here", replied Luke. Azerph left at 11:00, and Luke was tired but also very happy. You know what, I might as well study tommorow, Luke thought to himself while eating dinner.
Chapter Ten
Eric's Discovery
I suddenly knew where the disk was. It was obvious that Zakan had it. When he came into my room and gave me the letter he had another small box in his other hand! I had been too busy with Trey and Luke to notice! But how was I going to get it before Luke! "Calm down Eric", I told myself. All I had to do was find Zakan and get the disk if he still had it. I wonder where he is, I know he was captured, but where could thay be holding him? Is it possible he's dead? I glanced at my clock and saw that it was 11:45 in the night. I might as well go know, I dont think Luke will be out at this time. I went out side armed only with a plasma gun, and I felt as if I was a very easy target. "Hey!, what are you doing outside at this time", a voice called, somewhere behind me. I spun around and saw a night guard with a gun pointed at me. "Nothing, thank you very much", I said. I fired my plasma at the ground near the guard, and he was out. I kept on walking towards the town jail. I tried to open the doors but it turned out they were locked, so I had no choice but to detroy them. I went inside and saw Zakan in the first cell . I found the key to the cell and opened it just a little. "Where is the disk?", I asked. "Here", he said as he gave it to me.
"Good now I dont have to pretend to be the leader of the government!", I said happily. Zakan stood up to leave. "No, I have no need for you now", I said happily. "If im right Trey will send Luke to me tommorow".
Chapter Eleven
Undercover Mission
Luke woke up and got dressed up for bounty hunting, just then he realized it was a saturday! "I guess I could do one bounty", Luke declared. Luke went to the news board and grabbed a bounty, but then put it back. Maybe I should ask Trey for a bounty. Luke went to Trey's house and knocked the door. Trey opened the door and said: "Luke what a surprise, I thought you would be out on a bounty". "Well, I was going to do a bounty, but I thought mabye you should give me a bounty", Luke said. Trey thought for a while. "Alright here is your bounty, you must go to the goverment's archive office undercover, pretend to be a worker there and get the file on Eric, also look for Zakan because, apparently he escaped last night, yes it's true he escaped its on the news, anyways Zakan might have the disk", Trey told Luke. Just then the news came back on. (News reporter):" BREAKING NEWS!!!! We just looked on the city prisons security cameras and saw this. Eric breaks in and opens Zakan's cell door. Eric takes the disk and shoots Zakan with plasma gun. Eric leaves Zakan in the cell. After Eric leaves Zakan crawls out bleeding. (News reporter): "So there you have it, Zakan is on the loose and Eric is no longer the governments leader! The real government's office building and archives office is still captured by Eric though". Trey looked at Luke. "So we might be able to catch Zakan and Eric", Trey said. Luke said goodbye to Trey and set off for the goverment's archive office. Around the entrerance there were about ten guards heavily armed. Luke armed his crossbow and arc caster (which was a gun that fired electric arcs). "Go away kid", a guard named Kendricks ordered. "Isn't he the bounty hunter"., another guard said. "Oh yeah, attack!", Kendricks said. All the guards armed their plasma guns and moved them to medium power. Luke moved to the side and all the shots flew harmlessly past him. Luke used a gernade and ran away. KABOOM! Kendricks was blown twenty feet away and all the other guards were vaporized. Luke ran into the building and got his arc caster ready. "STOP", Kendricks had recovered and was running towards Luke. What does it take to stop him, Luke thought to himself. Luke got a small box out of his pocket, it contained a crossbow upgrade. This upgrade made the crossbow electronic with distance relay screens and ATA (advanced target aiming). It's about time a stoped using a old crossbow. Luke shot a TNT arrow at Kendricks, but missed, Luke turned on ATA and fired again and got a critical hit! Luke went into the archive room and found Eric's file.
Name: Eric
Occupation: None
Goals: Destroying all bounty hunters, getting launch codes and blueprints on Atomic missles.
Location:??????
Criminal record: Terrible, wanted Dead: $674.00 Alive: $385.00
Allies: General Kendricks
Just then Kendricks burst into the room, Luke surprised, fell onto his back helpless. "I've go you now, and before I destoy you I'll tell you why Eric needs the lauch codes, he doesn't want to launch the bomb, but needs the energy source for-----", Kendricks said but was interupted. Eric entered the room and pushed Kendricks out of the way. "Yes I need the energy from the missles to power my machine of mass destrution, I call it the Bounty Hunter Locater, (BHL), also the Bounty Hunter's Doom, BHD), with it I can locate and destroy all bounty hunters, my main goal", Eric said happily. Luke just stared at Eric in shock. "And now that I have the codes and blue-prints I can demonstrate the destruction!" Eric exclaimed. "Should I tie him up and take him to the machine?", Kendricks asked. "Yes, and power the machine up, oh and let him keep his weapons, they are no match for the machine", Eric ordered. "Come on!", Kendricks said.
Chapter Twelve
Hunted
When Kendricks took Luke to the 'machine', Luke was scared, for the first time. There was a power core in the middle and many turrets around it, it looked like a huge robot, there was a main computer screen near the power core and it had options like: Locate, Destroy, Call Pizza Man, Max, Min, and many more... Eric entered the room and hit the button Destroy, delay five minutes. "You will be the first bounty hunter and victim of this machine, untie him", Eric said. "What, why should I untie him", Kendricks said. "He has no chance", Eric replied. Luke go up and took out a pulse gernade. Luke hesitated and then threw it at the machine. Better try before it powers up, Luke thought to himself. The pulse gernade seemed to have no effect on the machine. "You have 30 seconds left, until it powers up", Eric informed Luke. Luke took out his crossbow and shot Kendricks in the neck, and shot a stun dagger at Eric. Kendricks was down but Eric ran out of the way. "Good bye Luke", Eric said as he left the room, and went into the observatory, which was a glass room on the right side of the room. The machine powered up and Eric waved at Luke from the other room. The machine shot a blast of plasma at Luke, he tried to duck but the blast was way too big and Luke got the breath knocked out of him. Luke threw a plasma gernade at the machine and was able to dent the armor of it. Luke found a way out of the room and found a exit to a forest outside. Luke kept running and found the marketplace. "Everyone run", Luke shouted. At first everyone just stared at him, but then the ground shook and the machine appeared out of no-where! "You fool, my machine has loudspeakers and teleporting powers!", Eric said over the speakers. Luke ran into the government's main office building, hoping Eric wouldn't follow. "I'll come into every building if thats what I have to do to destroy you", Eric shouted. Luke ran into a room where the government stored explosives, set five pulse gernades off and waited for the machine to find him. I hope the gernades don't go off too early, Luke thought to himself. The machine found him and Luke ran out the door, he heard the gernades go off, but the loudest was the sound of the machine explode! Luke went took a short break but Eric teleported to him and took out a plasma gun. "I'll destroy you now, the hunter now becomes the hunted!!!", Eric spat. Luke took out a reviver and used it on him self, and then used his own plasma gun and added the upgrade "Never Miss", a upgrade that boosts power and accuracy of any weapon. Both of them shot at the same time, and normally both shots would have cancelled out, but since Luke's was boosted it hit Eric. Eric fell down and groaned in pain. Eric used a reviver and picked his gun up and shot. Luke's gun was overheated and he couldn't defend himself, Luke's gun was destoyed but Luke himself was okay. Luke ran into another office but found about nine or ten guards, all with weapons. "Uh, oh", Luke muttered. "Yup, we are in danger all right", Eric said, Eric followed Luke and was right behind him. Take him to the main holding cell. Luke pushed Eric to the ground before any guard could do anything. Then Luke ran into the bounty printing room. Luke hid behind the printer and reloaded his crossbow. He used four arrows and three stun daggers to load it. He could hear many guards enter the room searching for him. "I don't think he's here", the guard in charge said. They left the room and Luke started breathing again. Luke waited a few seconds and then left the room, he knew he couldn't leave but he couldn't stay either.
Just then he heard Eric over a few loud speakers: "If Luke doesn't come to me before midnight I will destroy the whole city with the second machine, Luke you have twelve minutes, I'll be in black forest". Luke could hear many people outside gasping and running away. So he has another machine huh", Luke said to himself while he went out side. He glanced at the clock tower: 11:55. Five minutes. "Luke don't go!", Arzerph came up to Luke and ordered him. "I wont don't worry", Luke lied. Luke walked towards black forest and found Eric and the another dangerous copy of the machine. Luke saw Eric say a command and a flash of purple light was all Luke saw.
Chapter Thirteen
The Snake Who Knows
Luke saw another vision, the green snake. "Am I dead?", Luke asked the snake. "You should be, but you had the Arrow of Serpentine, an arrow that sheilds the holder", the snake said. "Whats your name anyways and how do you know everything?", Luke asked. "I am Phrazer, snake body but human brain. You will be in another cell and Eric will come in after you wake up, he will interogate you to give him the real disk", Phrazer said. So he doesn't have the disk?", Luke said. "No", Phrazer said. "Then how did he get power for the machine?", Luke asked. "When he got the disk from Zakan he went to the archive office and saw that the numbers were different he went on a rage, he reaveled that his main goal had changed, world domination, so he got power from nuclear waste", Phrazer said. "Oh I get it, his machine shoots plasma, which is extremely hot, and to make it you need something very hot, so he acctualy used his mind and found out that there was another power source. But how did he get the waste in the first place, and how did he handel it?", Luke said. "Hmmm, that I don't know", Phrazer answered. "Hey, shouldn't I be awake by know?", Luke wondered. "Yeah, I sort of stopped time, another special power I sort of have", Phrazer answered. "Also, he's going to make the whole world obey him by lauching the nuclear missles, if they obey him he will land them in Antartica", Phrazer said. "That's better than a civilized place, but there is still life there, scientists and penguin's", Luke said. "Okay thats all I need to tell you, and good luck, if you fail the world won't be the same, you are just a kid, and adults have been trying to defeat Eric for 15 years, and if you succeed the world will still be different", Phrazer said. "Different", Luke repeated.
Epilogue
The Final Showdown
Note from author: Greeting readers, you might be confused about what happens to Luke next and why the epilogue has a name. The epilogue continues the story from the prologue, so the prologue is really the end of the book in my book, in simple words this continues the story from the end of the prologue, last sentence, The last thing Luke saw was a flash of purple light.
The last thing Luke saw was a flash of purple light. Luke rose up quickly, only to get hit by another blast of plasma. Luke got up again but was hit another time! "Submit, Submit, Submit", Eric said each time. "Never!", Luke yelled in pain. "Then feel the pain", Eric yelled. Luke was hit again and again, repeatedly. "My machine shall destoy you, you, you.... bounty hunting filth!!!", Eric yelled with hate and pure anger. I guess I'll be reunited with Trey in a few seconds then, Luke thought to him self. "My machine can destroy or control the world, and the best thing is it only listens to me!!!!!", Eric cried out in happiness. Luke glanced at Trey's lifeless body, was that an outline of a snake?, Luke saw a blue outline of Phrazer, coming towards Luke with Trey's crossbow in his han, Phrazer threw it towards Luke, Luke fired ten stun daggers at Eric and was able to stun him, then he took a sword from Phrazer and hit Eric on the shoulder with the flat side of the blade, then took Eric's plasma gun and put it on maximum power and shot Eric with it, Eric's right leg burned up, and Eric's left hand was gone. With no one to command the machine the machine shut down and fell to the ground, and it felt like there was an earthquake happening, Luke fell and dropped the plasma gun. Eric picked it up and shot Luke, but Luke ducked and kicked Eric's hand. Then police started coming into the room with guns pointed at Eric and the machine. Then the police officers got disrtacted with asking Luke about everything, and inspecting the machine, and Eric escaped. No one knows how, because his leg was injured badly, he couldn't walk. Everyone assumes he just crawled away. To Luke it was a mystery, yet to be solved. But for now he was too busy, it seemed like there were news people and fans everywhere he went. Later that day Luke saw Trey, or the ghost of Trey smile at Luke and mouth the words "Thank You" to Luke. Luke looked around for Phrazer but he was no where in sight. "Hmm. weird", Luke muttered. The following day they had a big ceremony for Luke, at the ceremony Luke recived the "Award of Heroic actions". Sure enough, Phrazer was right, the world was different, either way. For now Luke just relaxed, everything was okay.
The End.....
A Copperhead Library Production
