Author's Note

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ:
Ok, so before anypony reads this, I need to set somethings straight as to why this short story is here.

Ok, for starters, this was unintentional, I didn't mean to write this. It was originally for something else, but I ended up coming up with the idea sort of a backstory to Lawman from Universal Magic when I did write it, which I hadn't previously thought about before until very recently.

So with that being said, Lawman, as of right now isn't a character that hasn't been fully explored yet in Universal Magic. It only has been briefly touched upon, and in all honesty it's going to be a while before I really dive into Lawman so in case you might be confused or something like that...now you know...

Another thing is that this isn't exactly how I want it to go. Like I said, this was originally for something else, and I wrote what I could for it and what you will be reading is what I wrote for that particular thing, but I thought about it and I really would love to expand on this story. I really would like to make it bigger and dive more into the details, but that's going to be a long time before I get a chance to do that because I'm working on other stuff, and I really didn't want this to just be sitting on my hard drive, slowly decaying and forgetting about it. So for now, take this as sort of a Proof of Concept; of what I would like to do in the future.

So asides from that...enjoy...

Lawman's Origins (Working Title)

‘Sometimes life is a bitch. Sometimes in life you just get so tired that you just want to lay down in die in the dirt and sleep forever and let the world take you. But we don’t, we keep on living because god knows why. And sometimes we just keep on going in life even we have no reason to go on. Sometimes we fight to stay alive to ensure that our blood continues to go through the generations. I wonder, did I fight to keep the family alive in the future, or did I just waste my damn time. I can’t tell because that son of bitch in front of me scares me.’

A cowboy was thinking these thoughts as it went through his head as he stood out in the hot sun, looking at his surroundings. Through his eyes, he was at his hometown, a small town somewhere out in the west of the United States where the land was unexplored and dangerous. All he saw was his small little western town located in what seemed to have been in the middle of nowhere in god’s country. And all around him were dead corpses of men and women with no children to be seen around either, lying lifeless on the ground as their bodies decay and being filled with maggots and other such tiny creatures that fed on the dead.

And as the fierce sun beat down against the cowboy’s neck, the dead bodies didn’t get to the cowboy as he was not the one that did it, rather, the one that stood in front of him did it. The man in black as he called him, as he was covered in nothing but shadows and the only thing he can see of this man was his pure, pupil-less eyes, staring back at him. This man in black also seemed off to the cowboy as the man in black was taller than most people and looked menacing every time he looked at him. To the cowboy, the man in black was an odd human being, assuming he was even human to begin with.

The man in black stared at the cowboy while holding what appeared to be a ball of light in his hands. The light illuminated from the sphere, as if it wasn’t a physical object to begin with, but yet the man that was covered in shadows could somehow hold it in his hands. And as the man in black held the ball of light in his hands, he simply took a good look at the cowboy, he noticed he had a black eye patch over his left eye, had a light brown cowboy hat on his head on top of his messy hair style wearing a brown trench coat, and most importantly, the cowboy didn’t look too pleased.

Finally, the man that was covered in shadows broke the silence between the two and said to the cowboy in a deep, but yet somewhat comforting voice, “So I see you made it back alive.”

The cowboy responded with, “You damn right I did. I see you didn’t even bother giving these people a grave.”

The man in shadows responded, “They are not my people; I have no reason to even pick up their bodies and put them in an unorganized pile.”

The cowboy said, “So you have no respect for the dead even?”

The man in shadows said, “No, I do…I do…I just don’t care for those that I have killed.”

The Cowboy then said, “Well…none of that matters now. You just came here three days ago and killed them all like animals…and honestly…I would give a damn. but I’m tired, I’m pissed off…and I just want you to fulfill your end of the deal. So give them back to me…please…”

The man in shadows looked all around him and gave one look at the dead bodies that he had made. To him, he was satisfied with the job that he had done but just like the cowboy, he too was tired and wanted to go back home.

So he looked back at the cowboy and said, “Very well then. Shall we go into the Saloon then and have a drink and talk it over.”

The cowboy, tired and angered, said to the man in black with a tone, “We had a deal damn it!”

The cowboy started to go for his gun but the man in shadows simply raised a finger and moved it from side to side, as he said, “Ah ah ah…who’s the one holding your wife and daughter’s souls here? Besides, I doubt a shot from that thing would even harm me.”

The cowboy then relaxed a little bit and put the thought of going for his gun aside and then simply said to the man in shadows, “Fine…let’s go then.”

The man in shadows then said, “After you”

And so the cowboy then started walking to the left and went into the saloon as the man in shadows followed. When the cowboy walked through, it was all dark and quiet, not even a rodent of some kind was alive within the buildings’ walls, and all that remained was the memories of him whenever he would be drinking in the bar, laughing and smiling and trying to have a good time. But now, everyone was dead and all that was left was the memories of the past.

And so the cowboy walked on the wooden floor and went to the bar and behind the counter, as the man in shadows walked to the bar as well and found himself a decent seat at the counter.

As for the cowboy, he looked at the shelves that was still stocked with liquor of almost all kinds and then asked the man in black, “What do you want, whiskey?”

The man in shadows politely said, “Whatever you wish to serve my friend.”

The cowboy then said “Whiskey it is then.”

The cowboy then grabbed two full bottles of the said drink from the shelf and walked around the counter and sat right next to the man in shadows and gave him his bottle. The cowboy quickly opened his bottle and quickly took a big swig of it down his throat, as if it was like water to him. As for the man in black, he opened it and calmly took a little sip of the liquor, not giving any reaction to the taste of it all.

After the cowboy had his drink, the man in shadows then said to the Cowboy “Well then…let’s talk.”

The cowboy then asked, “What is there to talk about? You killed almost everyone that I knew, and I thought you killed my family, but somehow…god knows how…you have their souls. So I did the things you asked me to do in order to get them back. And now here we are, me trying to get pissed ass drunk here because of the shit you put me through, can you please just hurry this up?”

The man in black said “I would…but I want to hear a story first.”

The cowboy then gave a questionable look towards the man in shadows as he was a bit confused as to what he was trying to ask of him.

However, the man in shadows already could tell of the confusion on the cowboy’s face, so he said to the cowboy, “I want you to start from the beginning…from the very beginning right before you and I crossed paths to this very point where we are at now. I want to hear as much detail as you can give me…and then…I’ll give what you desire.”

The Cowboy then asked, “Why?”

The man in black said, “Oh…nothing really…I just love having a little fun and hearing stories. Speaking of fun…before you tell me the story…would you like to know your future?”

The cowboy was even more confused and asked, “Future?”

The man in black then said, “As you very well know, I’m not from this world of yours, but from another. And from where I come from, I have the ability to tell one’s future. So would you like to have a little fun and know what your future holds?”

The Cowboy then said, “Fine, screw it, why the hell not?”

The man in shadows then waved his hand that was free over the cowboy’s head and then said, “Oh…I see…so that’s what your future holds. Well it appears your future holds for you that you shall meet a man in black, but yet it’s not me, how sad, but yet it’s some kind of costume of some kind. Let’s see, oh..I see that you’ll meet a kid that’ll look somewhat like you, minus the eye patch, and I see death as well.”

The cowboy then went back to drinking his whiskey and started to ignore the man in shadows’ words and said, “I knew you talked bullshit…but that right there…that’s some pure bullshit right there.”

The man in black then said, “Oh, do you not believe my words?”

The cowboy then said, “Your prediction told you that I’m going to die. We’re all going to have to o six feet under at some point. It’s not predicting the future it’s telling me what I already know. And how I’m going to die, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass honestly.”

The man in shadows then looked at his drink and said calmly to the cowboy, “Fine, believe whatever you want. But let’s get to the story. Tell me, how did this all happened, and please, try to fill in as many details as possible…that’s what makes telling stories so much fun.”

The Cowboy then stared into space and then said, “Fine. Well…let’s see, where do I begin? Well, it all started this past Friday; it was the start of a special weekend as the fourth of July was coming up. Me and my family were going to celebrate America and for all its given us and shit. We were all happy together, almost like we couldn’t be separated, especially my daughter, oh she loved me so much that day all because I gave her a little stuffed toy. I can see that smile on her face like it was a few hours ago. Then I got word that a bounty of someone that I was looking for was held up in some cave near the mountains. So I figured I go out and get the man, tie him up, bring him back into town, and collect the bounty and have a nice little pay day for me and the family during the fourth of July.

‘So I got on my horse and rode to that cave, and that cave looked odd to me...you know; like something was bad about it, like I shouldn’t even have gone in there. Clearly I should have listened to my gut then, but…still, I went in regardless. I brought in a lantern along with my gun in my other hand and went in, ready to get my payday. Sadly, no bounty, just a really weird light coming off from deep within the cave. I had thought the man I was looking for was trying to hide in there, so I went forward, but I didn’t see a human being.

‘Oh no…just a weird thing on the cave wall...a portal I think…and then you stepped out. I thought when I saw you that I was just seeing things…but…I wasn’t. I honestly didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t even know what to think, it all happened so fast. But next thing you know, you were pissed and claimed that I went into your home and released your so called ‘pets’ and that you were pissed off. And according to you, the consequence of my actions was that you were going to take away something from me…so you took the town that I lived in and everyone that I knew. You killed everyone and even ate their souls for god’s sake.

‘For a moment, I had thought I found a doorway to hell and I unleashed some kind of demon…but right before you got to my wife and daughter, you finally figured out that I had no idea what the hell you were talking about. Then you explained that you were from another world, or at least you said, another universe, whatever that means. And then you explained something mumbo jumbo and shit like that to me.”

The man in shadows stopped him and said “It wasn’t shit what I had said to you, What I explained was that there are many universes and of many kinds too. And what you simply saw in that cave was a portal to the outside of the universe my friend, to where it’s a hub where all the other universes connect and where one can go through a portal as they wish.”

The cowboy looked a bit irritated as he was being annoyed by the man in black’s words and he said with a tone in his voice, “look, I don’t give a crap where you came from. Let me finish the damn story so I can get my family back…ok?”

The man in shadows then said “Alright then, I shall not interrupt you again. My apologies.”

The cowboy then continued to say, “Good. So after you said whatever you said to me, you offered me a deal. You took the souls of my wife and daughter and pretty much held it hostage, for in exchange that I go out and find your lost ‘pets.’ Or at the very least kill them because according to you, their ‘souls’ would find their way back. So I went out into the wild, all by my lonesome self, trying to hunt down these animals that belonged to you. I traveled trough harsh snow, murky swamps, gangs that I had to kill that were going after the same animal, and spent many nights under the stars. And it was a bitch to get those ‘pets’ of yours.

‘And let me tell you, they looked like they belonged to the devil himself, One was like a dog, but yet wasn’t a dog. Instead it looked more like a deformed beast from hell itself. Anyways, I went and killed them all like you asked, and almost got myself killed in the process. That’s why I have an eye patch because of them screwed it up bad. I was just lucky I found a doctor in time to fix it. But, I spent all weekend long trying to kill the pets, and I did what you asked. Then I came walking back here, seeing you still there next to the dead bodies and here we are now. The end. So on this fourth of July, I ask you to let my family go so we can live in peace…please. I just want my family back…I miss them…and I’m tired. So just give them back, before I have to put a bullet in you myself.”

The man in black then gave a slight chuckle to the cowboy’s remarks and said,
“Hm…like you would know what to do if you killed me. But enough of this talk now. As I promised…I shall give you what you asked for, two souls, untouched, pure and innocent souls. Souls that…unfortunately, I cannot return to you.”

The cowboy then started to feel a sense of rage building up inside of him.

His eyes started to become wide and he slammed his fists hard as he could down on the counter top and quickly turned his head to the man in shadows and stared directly into his eyes and said as loud as he could, “WHAT!?”

The man in black simply and calmly said, “I would have thought you would have figured it out by now. You looked smart, but perhaps you’re just another imbecile. I have your wife and daughter’s soul, but yet it is not in a body, or at least a body that you would be familiar with. The bodies that you know are long gone and have been decaying for the past few days my friend. In fact, at this point, nothing can bring your wife and daughter back now. The only options are, I can take them and do whatever I please with them, let them free and who knows what will happen to these fine souls, or…I can do something ‘special’ do them. Something I can do to make up for the poor deal that we’ve made.”

However, the cowboy didn’t hear a single word come out from the man in shadows. All he could do was concentrate on the fire from within him, burning and pushing him to take action for what he had lost. And so, without hesitation, the cowboy threw the hardest punch he could to the man in black’s face, while quickly standing up and to get into a fighting position. However, this did nothing to effect the outcome he so desired, but instead only aggravated the man in shadow as he didn’t even flinch when the cowboy hit him, but only made him a bit mad on the inside.

The man in shadow said, “I’m afraid your punches are too weak to have any effect on me. However, I can show what I can do.”

And so, the man in black made a big fist with his free hand and gave a hard uppercut to the cowboy’s chin, which sent him flying back a few feet across the saloon and a bruise to show for it as well. However, the cowboy was tough as he still remained conscious on the hard, wooden floor beneath him, and him being punched only made him more angry on the inside. However, he wasn’t an idiot so claimed by the man in shadows. So the cowboy, as quickly as he could tried to go for his revolver.

As he was trying to get himself together, the man in black simply started walking towards the cowboy slowly and he said, “So, since you rudely interrupted me, let’s try this again and…” he was cut off by a loud gunshot, as the cowboy had went for his gun as quickly as he could and pulled the trigger, lodging a bullet into the man in shadows.

After the man in shadows quickly figured out what happened he stopped in his tracks, looked down, and saw a very dark shade of red coming out from his body and he simply gave a look of a surprised face, but yet not too surprised at the same time.

The man in black said, “I didn’t think your so called guns would hurt me, seems that I was wrong.”

And so the man in shadows fell to the ground, but still had some breath in him. The cowboy then got himself together as best he could and walked over to the man in black with a disgruntled face and grabbed him by the chest, as if he was wearing cloths. When the cowboy touched the man in shadows, it felt weird to his fingers, as it didn’t feel like anything he had felt before yet it felt like it was normal and not at all alien to him what he felt like.

However, the cowboy brushed those thoughts aside and looked deep into the eyes of the man in shadows and said to him, “GIVE THEM BACK! GIVE THEM BACK DAMN IT!”

The man in black said, as best he could as he started to sound like he was starting to fade away, “Oh stop being so immature. I told you the truth my friend and I’ve been nothing but honest with you. I was even planning on giving your wife and daughter back in one form or another. Just not how you would remember them. But after what you’ve done here…you’ve only disappointed me. And you can trust what I say here now, I may ‘die’ here, but my soul will return back home. And there I will come back, and when you least expect it, I will be back and you will surely regret what you’ve done here today. And it’s not because you ‘killed’ me here today, but because you annoyed me to go through the process of reincarnation. But don’t worry, you still did a job well done and it shall not go unpaid. So I’m going to give you what you desire, your family, your love, your life back.

” And so the man in shadows raised up his hands with the ball of light in it, and raised it high in the air as much as he could, and as the cowboy saw the ball of light, he could feel a sense of hope within himself that things might just be alright in the end for him. All of a sudden, the ball of light disappeared and crumbled up into dust.

The cowboy was shocked on the inside by this, but then he was startled a bit as the dust looked like it was floating as it filled the air around him. The cowboy got up on his two feet and started to take a few steps back, but the dust followed him and soon it covered all of his skin; he could even see the dust go through his cloths and go on his skin underneath, as he stood there, with a mouth agape.

The cowboy then asked, “What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO!?”

The cowboy stared at the man in black, waiting for his answer. However, the man in shadows just simply stared back and said, “I gave what you desired, your wife and daughter back. However, I did something ‘special’ to their souls. They may not be able to come back to life, but their souls can be destroyed and forever living within your soul, so their remnants will never leave you. And the dust, well, it’s like having their ‘ashes’ permanently attached to your skin, forever reminding you that their souls shall forever be with you…for all of eternity.”

The cowboy was confused by the last word and he asked, “What do you mean by that?”

The man in black said, “Oh, but that’s the ‘special’ part though. Since their souls are forever within you, and as you wear their ‘ashes’ on your skin, you also get their life expectancy as well, although I added a little something to their souls while you were gone, so that you will live forever. It doesn’t mean you’ll be invincible, it’ll just mean you won’t age passed today is all, and as you carry their dead souls in your heart, you’ll always look the way that you do just like the last time that you saw them.”

The cowboy then looked back down to his arms and simply tried to see the ‘ashes’ on his skin, but it was as if the ‘ashes’ were invisible and it simply blended into his skin. But yet, he could feel deep down his family’s dead souls were within him, that he was wearing them.

Then the man in shadows spoke up one last time and said, “Don’t worry my dear friend. I’ll be generous today and give you a parting gift…till we meet again that is. I shall give you a better gift than immortality; I shall take away that sadness that I can that fills your heart with sorrow. I shall take the pain of loss away from you. And you must be wondering to yourself…how? Well, this is what happens back in my world when my body dies.”

And then the cowboy got a little bit curious as to what the man in black had meant by those words, but soon before he knew it the man in shadows disappeared, by exploding. It was not a big explosion, but a minor that had a little force that sent the cowboy back further into the saloon, as well as some tables and chairs that followed the cowboy as well.

And the cowboy was unconscious for a few hours as the body of the man in shadows left no trace after it had left. And by the time nightfall came, the cowboy came back to a conscious state, but sadly to him, he did not remember what happened. He did not remember his wife, his daughter, or the dead people outside the saloon.

All he remembered was that he was a cowboy, and he was at his home, forever sitting at the saloon, trying to figure out what he should do for many years to come.