Dino' Huntin' and Brain Washin'

[Gaston]

Gaston escaped from Coruscant's service centre deep in the night. He had told his partner that he was just going to get groceries, and made his way to Tier One. From there, no one questioned him as he went on to the gate he had first come to the verse in. The Stormtroopers at the gate questioned him, asking for his identification, but he had claimed he was told to exit the verse for the advancement of his service. Perhaps they were tired, perhaps new to the job, or perhaps they just didn't care. But with some quick talking, he was able to escape. From there, he went into a gate, sufficiently far away from Coruscant, but close enough he could get there quickly.

When Gaston stepped into the gate, he was confronted with a deep green sea of grass. Looking around, he found himself in a clearing, though not far from his location was a deep forest. It appeared to be like a normal forest, filled with trees, but also littered with vines. Gaston gasped at the sight as he considered what was required. If he wanted to make any distance, he'd have to make his way through that: a deep forest. How could he make it through there with any speed? Suddenly, an idea sprung to his mind. Almost everything he had tried to summon with Omnilium had worked, as of now. So it would only make sense that he could summon a horse to help him traverse the deep forest. Standing still, the burly man closed his eyes, and began his craft of shaping the Omnilium. As he stood he visualised an Omnilium orb, glowing rainbow, appearing in his hand. He began pounding it with his fists, shaping it into first the legs of the horse and then forcing it up, spreading it out into a body. From there he slapped more of the glowing luminescent stuff onto the body, pushing it upwards into a crude head shape. There were many imperfections in the shape, but when he opened his eyes, there stood a perfectly formed horse, complete with a saddle.

"Are you a magician?" came a high-pitched voice, ruining Gaston's post-concentration daze.

Nearby, a small boy had watched Gaston in an odd mixture of awe and confusion. The strange man had made punching and pulling motions with his hands, seemingly to nothing, but then, suddenly, a horse had appeared in front of him. So it only made sense for him to ask how the man had done it.

"What? Magic is treachery and deception! I am a noble warrior, and I would never partake in such... tomfoolery!" Gaston waved his arms wildly as he spoke.

"Waah! You're gonna cast a spell on me!" 

Gaston gritted his teeth in frustration. Was the child listening at all? The boy began to run, but Gaston leapt forward in front of him. 

"You be quiet, boy! I told you, noble warriors like myself don't partake in magic!" The boy was beginning to annoy him. But as he spoke, an idea came to his mind. "Say, do you know your way around this area?"

"Um, I uh, know where some of the main cities are, I guess. Not much for civilisation around here, besides Ambrosia."

"What is this Ambrosia?"

"A city where tons of people are there, uh, the mayor, she's a prime-" Gaston cut him off.

"You said her-I believe you mean him, correct?"


"Uh, no, she's a chick. So, anyway, you should probably go there if you want a city."


"Unbelievable! Take me to a different city."

"Sorry to tell you, but there's not really any others."

"Shameful! Fine then, I'll go make my own camp! I don't need a city to survive!"

"Okay then. Sorry to tell you, but I'll just be going. Gotta get back to my house for supper, and all that."

Gaston nodded and began to let him go, but then stopped himself. How useful would a completely subservient, brainwashed companion be? This child was at an age where he could very easily be manipulated to serve Gaston's purposes.

"Say, how would you like to become my assistant?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you'd go with me on adventures! We'd fight off monsters and get treasure and attention! You just need to come with me, and we'll begin training!"

"Hm... Maybe I should talk to my mom about this?"

"Nonsense! I'm sure she'll understand! So, if you're coming, get on the horse!" 

The boy considered for a moment. He wasn't completely sure that his mom would be fine with him going, but she had always taught him to take opportunities that rise. And this certainly seemed like an opportunity for adventure, experience, and money! He gleefully jumped onto the horse as Gaston began to move ahead, his horse clomping across the bare jungle floor. It had trouble making it over some vines, but as soon as they came across a road it was an easy traversal through the forest. The child looked around in awe at the trees they passed. 

"Never been in a forest before?" Gaston asked him.

"No. I live in the West side of the verse, so I usually don't see trees like this. Even though they're a lot shorter, I like these trees better 'cuz they have cool leaves." 

Gaston laughed. "How does one get so amazed by something so small," he muttered under his breath.


After a few hours, Gaston and the boy had come upon a cave, very large and very dark, straight to the side of the road. Gaston pulled the horse over to the field outside of the cave, and turned to the child.

"Now, listen to me, boy. There may be... unfavourable creatures, in that cave. Monsters that will attack us. So! Grab the sharpest stick you can find so that you can help fight!"

The boy looked distraught for a moment, but then started looking, determined.

"I was joking!" The boy turned around, and Gaston began summoning a weapon for him. It would be a double-sided axe, perfect for a beginner. At least, Gaston thought it would be. He wasn't exactly sure, but it seemed to make sense. As soon as the weapon was summoned, Gaston tossed it to the child. The boy barely caught it, but managed to, and then faced Gaston with a grin on his face. 

"Let's go get 'em!"


Gaston crept into the cave, followed in toe by the child. He clutched his blunderbuss in hand, ready to shoot anything inside. And soon, they found the target. A bear slept in the middle of a large chamber. Gaston gestured for the child to run in, and he gleefully complied, slamming the ax down with a scream... and hitting the ground. The bear awoke with a roar, turning to the boy and baring his claws, as the child squealed. But Gaston took the opportunity, shooting the bear in the side. It turned to him, running, but the boy smacked it with the ax. It was not a very powerful swing, for sure, but it actually landed this time. Progress! Gaston again took advantage of its distraction, charging with his knife out. He tackled the bear with a strong leap, and dug into its side with his knife. The bear began to bite, but Gaston punched it in the snout, slamming its head on the ground. 

"Yes! Dine upon feces, foul cretin!" he yelled, as he dealt the killing blow to its neck. "So child, that is how you kill a monster! Now, let's sleep! We have a long day ahead of us!" 

Though the boy took a minute to recoil, Gaston wasted no time at all beginning a night of rest and dreaming, despite his very recent acts of destruction.

[Gaston]

Gaston got up and immediately walked over to the child he had been training. He was sleeping! So he thought he could make a fool out of the great Gaston! But it was he, himself, who was a fool! 


"Wake up, foolish boy!" he yelled. The boy leapt up with a scream, and Gaston let out a deep laugh. "It is me!" The boy pouted.

"Don't do that. It's mean." 

"So you expect all of our fearsome enemies to be nice? Will the demons, the beasts of evil, will they be nice?!"

"No, I guess not..." 

"So! Are you ready for today's adventure?" Gaston did his best to project a sense of glory.

"Yeah!" The boy was reinvigorated as quickly as he had become upset. 


Hours later, Gaston and the boy crept through the underbrush, newly summoned spears in the boy's hand and Gaston with his bow out. Nearby was a bear, and Gaston lit up with an idea.

"Follow me." He grabbed a small piece of meat in his pocket and ran out, swinging it around. The bear reared up and charged. Gaston ran, as fast as he could, toward a nearby dinosaur. He threw the meat at the dino, and the bear was so blindly running it jumped up and bit the dino. The dinosaur let out a deep groan, and bit the bear up with a growl. Gaston took the advantage and fired an arrow, hitting it straight in the previous bite mark. The dino let out a roar and looked straight at Gaston. 

"Quick, child! The spear!" The boy did as ordered and leapt to his feet, running to a nearby tree and throwing the spear at the dinosaur's side with a heave. The stupid beast turned, and Gaston took the opportunity, sheathing his bow. He pulled out a knife and used his incredible jump to land on its back, sticking his knife in the side and clenching with his arm on the other side. The dino reared back, trying to kick Gaston off, but he held on, though he was thrown off of its back. He had to hold onto the side with knife and hand alike, panicking as the dinosaur ran towards the boy. The child was thrown up by the dinosaur as it tried to eat it.

"You. Will. NOT!" Gaston jumped into the dinosaur's mouth and held it open, as the boy clenched onto its head. "Poke its eye with your axe!" The boy pulled out his axe and hit it in the eye, making a giant gash. He did the same to the other eye, blinding it. 


"Take that!" the boy yelled with a giggle. The dinosaur, meanwhile, thrashed around and attempted to find Gaston. Just as his strength was about to give out, the dinosaur sidestepped and hit a cliff, allowing Gaston to jump back. He landed on the ground with a large thump, and cringed. He really needed to learn some acrobatics. The boy stood up and looked around nervously as the dinosaur stumbled around. 

"Um... how do I get down?"

"Just focus your energy!" Gaston jested. "I only joke. Slam its leg!" The boy panicked. "Do it!" The child finally complied, slamming its leg with the axe multiple times. The leg buckled, and the child slid off. The dinosaur let out a weak whimper. Gaston laughed.

"Finally bested!" Gaston took his knife and carved out a piece of the dinosaur's side. 

"Are we gonna kill it?" The dinosaur heaved with every breath, struggling to stay alive. 

"No. We can just leave it. The wolves shall kill it!" He then began walking forward, whistling a tune. The child cringed, but followed closely, trying not to pay attention to the dying creature they left behind. 

Gaston's mood was cheery, but shortly after walking a bit, he realised his troubles (which he, of course, had started) had not ended. Two dinosaurs began running up, enraged. 

"Shit! Boy, run ahead as bait!" The boy grew wide eyed. "GO!" He did as requested and the dinos began running at him, roaring. He screamed. "Perfect!" Gaston pulled out his blunderbuss and jumped up toward the dino. He shot it mid-air, lodging shrapnel in its side. The boy, realising he must help somehow, hit its foot with the axe. It didn't cause much damage, but left a sizable gash. 

"Yes! That is smarter than I would expect you to be! Now, continue with that while I take out this one!" Gaston ran as he spoke, and shot the second dino at the joint between the body and leg. It screeched and ran forward at him, with only a slight limp. When it reached down with its mouth to grab Gaston, he shot it in the upper jaw, but was still picked up. He was stuck in its wet, dark mouth as it began to swallow him. He held on as tight as he could to the tongue, triggering a gag reflex. He was spit out straight into the second dinosaur's face. As soon as he realised where he was, he let out a point-blank shot at the dino's head. It began to fall, and rolled over onto the ground. 

"No!" The boy yelled. The dinosaur had almost fallen on him. 

"Shut up, boy! You got out of the way, it is fine!" Gaston began to reload the blunderbuss as he spoke. "Attack its legs!" The boy complied and began the assault. When Gaston reloaded, he jumped up to its side and shot a close blast to its joint, making its leg buckle. It fell down and heaved, landing on the other dino's body. It screeched. 

"Alright! That's taken care of, let's go!" Gaston spoke nonchalantly. The boy opened his eyes wide, shocked, but followed Gaston as they made their way back to the cave.


Hours later, they stood around a fire with newly cooked dinosaur stew, sipping it out of wooden bowls. 

"Well? How was it?" Gaston referred equally to the stew and the hunt. The boy didn't respond. He couldn't find the words. "I said, how was it! Don't ignore me!"

"Okay! It was fine. fun, I...I guess." 

"Good! Now, sleep!" Gaston drifted off but the boy lied there, whimpering. He would not soon forget this.

[Gaston]

Gaston awoke in the dark, no light filtering to his eyes, no way for him to see at all. He began yanking at his arms to pull them up, but found them to be bound. The same could be said for his legs. So, some imbecile had decided they could capture the great Gaston! Well, as soon as he got out of the bondage, he would attack! He yanked and pulled, as hard as he could, but the ropes didn't budge. 

"Don't bother. It's magically enchanted rope." Gaston looked up to see the person speaking, but noticed no one. That was when he remembered the blindfold over his eyes. A hand came down and pulled it off, and Gaston flinched at the overload of light. He had just woken up, and the sun was up? Clearly he had been drugged. He woke up 30 minutes before sunrise every morning, without question! "We've got you tied up," the voice said again, and Gaston saw it was a ninja, wearing wooden armour painted red with a black body suit underneath. He looked to be a teenager.

"Why-what is the meaning of this?!" Gaston spat at him. 

"Not supposed to tell you yet. Boss wants to tell you herself." The ninja shrugged. "Anyway, doesn't matter. You're gonna die anyway."

"WHAT?!" 

"Yeah. Punishment for kidnapping, disrupting the ecosystem, inhumane hunting, probably other stuff too. Usually we do it by decapitation, but cause of how bad your crimes were we're gonna torture you. Oh, uh, don't tell her I said that. Wasn't supposed to tell ya." The boy spoke casually, as if this was a daily occurrence.  

Gaston schemed, searching his mind for an escape plan. These ropes wouldn't be able to hold him, if he could just find a weak spot. But to do that he needed to slide his arms, and the ropes were too tight even for that. Had these ninjas never heard of ethical prisoner treatment? As Gaston searched his mind for another way to escape, a woman walked in, muscular, wearing wooden armour and with a sword slung across her back.

"Alright, listen here, ya disruptive vermin!" Her voice boomed throughout the house Gaston was in. "You, are living trash! First you kidnap my son-"

"WAIT," interjected Gaston. "That boy was your son?"

"'That boy'? You didn't even have the decency to learn his name, did you!" 

"I, uh, well, we, we use codenames!"

"Lies. Now, as I was saying, you kidnap my son, you hunt a dinosaur and only harvest some of the meat, you don't finish it off, you leave it suffering, and now you're acting rude as a prisoner! So, I'm gonna tell you what we're gonna do. First, we're gonna chop your arms off. Then, we're gonna chop your legs off. But we're gonna seal em' up, so you don't heal. Then, we're gonna drop ya' into a pot of acid, head last. And if you ever come back here!" She leaned in with this last part. "We'll banish ya'." Gaston gulped down, hard. The ninja reached down his back and began to untie one part of the rope, to bring him to a cutting table. But in doing so, she accidentally loosened one of his arm ties. It was just enough that Gaston was able to pull and make it snap, and he reached up to grab her throat. 


"Haha, you blithering fool! Now I'll take you down easily!" He picked her up and threw her across the room, summoning his knife. He cut his arm and then his legs free, jumping up. With the chair still attached to his back. But, nevertheless, he was free to manoeuvre! He summoned his blunderbuss within seconds. And just in time, as the male ninja pulled up his mask and charged, two sais in hand. He jumped backwards and fired, the recoil knocking him through the wall. He strangely, though, didn't feel the pain of the fall. An effect of his time in the Omniverse? The woman who had yelled at him grinned as she ran, believing he was down with pain, but he, not wanting to waste the opportunity, picked up the chair leg and threw it at her. It hit her head with a satisfying bang. He began a sprint as she recoiled, heading into the shed and past the dead body of the ninja from before. Outside, though, a crowd had gathered. Women, children, and men were all there, and every one of them brandishing a weapon. They had been prepared for this. 

"Oh, um..." He clasped his blunderbuss, overcoming his shock. "You shall die!" He fired the two remaining shots into the crowd, hitting one man in the chest and another in the gut. With no time to waste reloading, he threw the gun into the crowd, banging a child on the head and knocking her out. The Frenchman then summoned his bow, taking only seconds before he loosed an arrow into the crowd. By then many of the ninjas had dispersed, either fleeing or seeking a more strategic position. But some of the inexperienced or unprepared remained. Just as Gaston grabbed another arrow, he was hit with a slash straight across his back from the woman. He stumbled, but again, there was no pain. He turned around to face her, grabbing his knife.

"YOU. WILL. FAIL!" He leapt at her and tackled her, slashing her side with the knife. But he didn't want her to die yet. He placed a hand over her side to stop the bleeding, and held her body up. "YOU SEE THIS?" He paraded around the village as he spoke. "DO YOU WANT TO BECOME LIKE HER?" He jabbed his knife into her chest. "THEN DO. NOT. STOP ME." He pulled the knife out with the last word, and jumped with his abilities, landing into the forest away from the village, as a crowd gathered around the dying village leader. But Gaston didn't turn around as he walked. He'd find a village, and find his fortune. Somewhere.