Chapter Text
Saffron waved her hand through the blades of grass as she ran through her tropic environment. All around her, she heard snarls and ticks of creatures, too afraid to lunge out at her, for they saw that she did to the other monsters. Saffron looked down at the Field Bracer on her arm. G-4003 was written on the underside of it, marking it the third model that Saffron had created in her lab. If only her peers could see her now, running away to find Eden. She was a scientist who engineered magic, hoping to understand it. She had a long way to go, but she deduced that Eden was where she needed to be. All she had to do was get there. Her thoughts stopped when she came to a clearing in the forest.
Walking through the clearing, she noticed the perfect circle shape of it. Click. Behind Saffron was a man dressed in blue. Blue tunic, blue cape, blue bandana, but green pants. He was pointing a revolver to the back of Saffron’s head. He steadily gripped the gun with his brown leather gloves. He had some sort of device on his ear, maybe a communicator. Saffron made sure not to pull any sudden moves on him. He stared at her golden hair through his grimy goggles. She was amazed that he had snuck up on her like that.
“Is this how you greet all of your guests?” asked Saffron. The man didn’t move at all. After what felt like minutes, he spoke.
“Turn around and don’t come back. I would hate to kill a lady.” Saffron only smiled at this. She slowly turned around and pressed her forehead against the muzzle of the gun.
“Or what? Now why would you need to kill me? Are you guarding something, or maybe guarding somewhere?” The man lowered his gun and looked at Saffron’s blue eyes.
“You’re digging too deep, kid. Run off before you end up like me.” He gestured to his body and opened his gun to reveal that it had no bullets in the chambers. He slowly started loading them with odd green bullets.
“Why would you threaten me with an empty gun? That seems deceptively dangerous.”
“It fools most people. Anyway, anyone who’s seen past it is dead, so what does it matter to you?” He finished loading the revolver; he put it in the holster on his side.
“My name is Saffron. What’s yours?”
“Don’t give your name to strangers, especially one who’s getting ready to kill you.” Saffron continued to walk around and examine him. He was average enough height, but looked pretty wiry.
“I don’t remember asking for advice. What’s your name? I’m dying to know.” The man sighed.
“My name is Shiso. Best gunslinger in the world. Or, at least around these parts. Now, It’s about time we settled up. We can’t just have people like you around here.” Saffron put on a look of fake sadness.
“Why do we have to fight?”
“We both know that nobody comes around these parts without searching for Eden.”
“Are you searching for it too?” Saffron almost had the information she wanted. Shiso stayed silent. Then, he slowly pulled out his revolver.
“You know, this is the greatest handgun ever made.”
“Is it made by me? If it isn’t, it’s not the best.” Shiso laughed. He popped out the chamber and showed it to Saffron.
“Six bullets. More than enough to kill anything that moves.” Saffron laughed, then suddenly jumped back and got into a combat stance.
“Allow me to make an exception to that!” taunted Saffron. She aimed her bracer and shot at Shiso. He dodged so quickly that Saffron only saw a blur. He raised the revolver, which prompted Saffron to hide behind a tree. Shiso smiled from under his scarf.
“I have a way of making these bullets go where I need them. I like to call it an art.” He shot the rock directly in front of Saffron. The bullet bounced directly off the rock and set course for Saffron’s head. She would have easily died if she hadn’t ducked. Clearly, she wasn’t safe, even under cover. Saffron jumped from the cover of the tree and launched a tiny sphere from her Bracer, which attached itself to Shiso’s scarf. Saffron smiled.
“Time to light it up! I love this part!” squealed Saffron. She pressed a button on her bracer and a crack roared above them. Shiso covered his head with his hands as he was directly struck by lightning.
“Aaahhhhh!” exclaimed Shiso. Saffron wasted no time rushing forward and kept him pinned to the ground.
“Where is Eden? How do I get inside its walls?” Shiso remained quiet, until he started to laugh. Before Saffron could wonder why, Shiso raised the gun that he still gripped in his right hand. Saffron dove off of Shiso’s body as a bullet entered her left arm.
“It’s a shame that you’re not living much longer. A fight like this is once in a lifetime. It’s like a revolution, nothing like hunting some game or fighting men with spears.” Saffron gripped her arm, feeling it throb.
“Sorry, but I have no plans of dying. Not before I see Eden!” she said as she rushed towards him. Shiso laughed as he took aim once again. Boom! A bullet entered her right shoulder. Boom! One in her left leg. She kept on hobbling along. Boom! Another bullet aimed right for her head, but she blocked it with her arm. Bullets collided with other bullets as she felt the agonizing pain in her left arm. Now, Saffron was right in front of Shiso. They were once again in the position of Shiso pointing his revolver right at her head.
“I told you kid, six bullets is enough to kill anything that moves.” Shiso went to pull the trigger, but Saffron was smiling. In the end, she had won. Shiso pulled the trigger. Click! He was legitimately surprised when no bullet came out. Saffron wasted no time bashing Shiso’s head with her Field Bracer and aimed at his head. A blast of pure energy busted out and hit Shiso in the head, launching him five feet across the ground. He was out cold, at least for now. Saffron chuckled to herself.
“I told you that I’d be the exception…” she smiled as she dropped the green bullet that rested between her fingers. She hit the ground and blacked out.
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“You really wanted to die, didn’t you?” Saffron woke up on a bed of moss. Shiso was looking down at her. His head had been bandaged while Saffron had slept. She looked at her own body. All her wounds had been sewn up and bandaged. She could still feel the sting of the bullet wounds.
“You… patched me up? Why?” Shiso sighed.
“Listen, I’ve never seen anyone like you. All the other people have been driven by greed and desire. But you, you were driven by something more powerful. I wanted to know what power was. What are you fighting for?” He sounded as though he was doubting his own motives.
“I can’t tell you that yet Shiso, I just can’t. I’m not ready to tell.” Shiso nodded.
“Then I’ll come with you to Eden. After all, I’m free now.” Saffron turned her head sideways, confused.
“What do you mean?”
“If you’re defeated on the way to Eden, you have to help guard it. It’s the rule; the condition that nobody can escape from.”
“There’s gotta be some other way out.”
“Well, sure there is. Beat the Gate Guardian, you’re free. Nobody’s beaten her though.”
“Well, there’s no reason I can’t though.” Saffron said confidently.
“Well, it’s a longshot; though it’s technically not impossible.”
“But you’re coming with me to Eden?” Shiso looked towards the sky.
“When I was younger, I wanted to go to Eden. Now that the world's gone to hell, everyone just wants a place to lay low.”
“So, is that a yes?” Shiso laughed.
“Well, someone’ll have to make sure you don’t die.” They both shared a heartwarming laugh.
“Then let’s get going!” Shiso nodded.
“Indeed, let’s make haste. We’ll have to if you want to make it to Eden before the Gate Guardian thinks something is wrong.” Saffron gave him a confused look.
“Why would they know something’s wrong?” Shiso looked around him carefully.
“Just between you and me, these trees have ears, if you catch my drift.” Saffron nodded.
“Well, we better move then.”
“Couldn’t have said it better, kid.” They both got up and walked through the treacherous jungle, as friends walking side by side. They were leaving together, as they were going to enter together.
“Hey Shiso...”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you want to get to Eden?”