Finding a gateway to Hell in my backyard was the last thing I expected this evening. But I did, and I also found a letter asking that I drop in as soon as possible. Apparently, an old acquaintance of Vash's wanted to see me. I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. I was rather surprised when I learned how difficult it was to open a portal, considering how many others have been rumored to exist (and how many really do exist) around these parts. Getting me to stop by one of the others would be harder though, so they pulled some strings and opened up a new one. Fortunately, time passes differently in Hell (no surprise there) than it does in our world. I'm still not sure how long I was down there in Hell-time, but here it was only five minutes. I digress though. On with the meeting.
Those who've read previous entries will know that six of the current Gung-Ho Guns used to be dead. Five of them - Chapel, Monev, Midvalley, Rai-Dei and Dominique - were in Hell. Wolfwood was on the shores of Purgatory, having failed to repent until shortly before death. I'm not quite sure how, but I think Rem Sevarem may have been involved in their return to the land of the living. However, the old acquaintance was none other than one Legato Bluesummers, Knives' former right-hand man and leader of the Gung-Ho Guns. Legato also wanted to join the battle against the Empire, as he still thinks of Knives as his master and will gladly fight by his side. He opted to leave Hell on his own terms though, and for that he needed me. It took a while to sort things out, but when all was said and done, we returned to the land of the living with a few others in tow.
E.G. Mine - the Fifth Gung-Ho Gun has come back with us, eager to kill as many people as he can. In life, he used a spherical body armor covered in spikes, which he could manipulate. However, Mine would soon do battle with another denizen of Hell, a being called Naraku (another familiar face to me), who's absorbed countless beings in order to gain absolute power. One of these was called Mouryoumaru, whose own body included the armored shell of a Meiouju and the barrier-piercing diamond shards that he stole from an enemy. The former Gung-Ho Gun battled Naraku and let himself be absorbed, emerging with his new body armor. Unlike Mouryoumaru, whose heart was a seperate being at the core of the armor (and vulnerable if attacked in the right way), Mine is fully incorporated into his new armor. He thus appears as a normal human most of the time, but is able to change into his armored form whenever needed. (For those who are wondering, Naraku survived Mine's escape from his body, though he was significantly weakened. He's already dead and in Hell, so he couldn't be killed again.)
Jason Voorhees - having been to Hell and back several times, Jason's reason for killing has always been questionable. But after his latest trip there, Jason met up with Mine and became his friend. The undead serial killer left Hell with us for much the same reason as Mine did: to kill as many people as he could. He especially wants Palpatine dead, as that decaying face reminds Jason of Freddy Krueger, the last person to free Jason from Hell. And those who've seen "Freddy Vs. Jason" are well aware of how that turned out. By the way, we did talk to Krueger, but he wasn't interested in returning to Earth - the Dream Plane is where he's at his most powerful. He did agree to leave us alone though.
Princess Abi - former leader of a tribe of bird youkai, Abi was tricked into aiding Naraku. Upon realizing his true intentions, she turned on him, but was killed with her mother Tekkei, whose blood allowed Naraku to enter the border between this world and the next. Abi retains the three-pronged spear that Naraku gave her, but had abandoned her tribe after her death, feeling she no longer deserved to lead them. In Hell, Abi met another of Naraku's pawns, became his companion and brought him back with her...
Bankotsu - former leader of the Band of Seven, human mercenaries who were brutally killed, only to be revived years later by Naraku to serve as a distraction to his enemies while he recovered. Bankotsu wields the gigantic sword Banryu, which he lost after his first death and recovered later, only to have it destroyed with him when he died a second time. He later met Abi in Hell and became her lover after hearing of her feelings toward Naraku - feelings he shared (they both wanted him dead). He agreed to go back to Earth and serve under Knives, and was rewarded for this with a new Banryu. His new blade has the same powers as the original before its destruction.
Adam - the revived and heavily augmented corpse of a human soldier, Adam was a Big Bad whose plan was to create an army of unstoppable triborgs like himself: part man, part machine, part demon. Intended to be the perfect organism, he possessed the adaptability and intelligence of humans, coupled with the strength and lack of emotions of demons. He also lacked a soul in his new form, but upon the forced removal of his uranium power core, resulting in his death, his human soul (which had been trapped in Limbo since his first death) was made to suffer in Hell for the acts of the demon in his body, including taking on the form he'd been in prior to his body's second death. Adam was the last one to join our group, practically begging us to bring him back to the realm of the living. Retain his triborg body and abilities, he is the latest member of the Gung-Ho Guns.
For the sake of completeness, here's Legato's bio.
Legato Bluesummers - a modified human and former leader of the Gung-Ho Guns, Legato was recruited by Knives after the July incident to make Vash's life a living hell. He wears a white coat (similar to Vash's), making him synonymous with white, the Japanese color of death. Gifted with telepathic powers that allow him to mentally control others, Legato was also given a new left arm, once belonging to Vash the Stampede (he lost the arm when Knives shot it off him in July). Having tormented him for some time, Legato ultimately used his powers to threaten Meryl and Milly, forcing Vash to kill him and break the oath he'd made a long time ago, swearing to never kill another living being. Legato went to Hell, finally persuading the higher-ups to open a portal and bringing me in to arrange his release, in return for his rejoining Knives and the new Gung-Ho Guns.
***
Well, I promised to find reinforcements, and I did. I told the Gung-Ho Guns to "give 'em hell", and they will. I just didn't think I'd be taken so literally. The group is now eighteen members strong (with six currently on their way to Idaho), and the Terran Resistance has our full support. Good luck, everyone. Until we meet again!
