Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or Grenadier: the Smiling Gunslinger.

Bullets of Ice and Life

Chapter 1: All We Need is Lambeau Field

Snowy mountains, drifting white powder from peaks. Winds blowing the crystallized traces of ice from the mountains, a sign that those who traverse close to or on the mountains may suffer significant chills. For three brave adventurers, this mountain blocked a road toward their united mission. The front runner was a tall young blond with hills as big as those mountains. Well endowed and well fit with a straw hat, a maroon red blouse and a beige skirt along with brown knee-high boots, she appeared ready to take the path of the jagged terrain. She was joined by a young man and a female kid. The raven-black haired man wore a roughed-up blue cloth fatigue over a white shirt and blue pants. Strapped to his back was a sheath which held a rather long samurai sword, according to the curve on the sheath. The brunette kid was wearing a leather helmet to go with her orange shirt/pants combination and ivory boots with a gauntlet which had some sort of nozzle attachment. All three of them gazed the mountain top, weary of the risks. "Are you sure about this, Rushuna?" the man doubted the tall female companion. The blond turned to the complainer, trying to say that this would be no big deal.

"Come on, Yatchan, this is only an obstacle," she jabbed back. "It isn't like back there when we rescued Lady Tenshi, right?" Yatchan hung his head, frustrated with what happened in the past. "Come on. If we want everyone to smile, we can't idle around here." She began to lead off, allowed by Yatchan and the kid, who turned to the bigger whiner.

"Toughen up, Yajiro," the kid barked lowly. "This can't be that bad." She wouldn't know the half of it. Yajiro's fluster mounted as the kid wandered back to Rushuna's side.

"Mikan, not you too," he complained more. Surrendering to his females, Yajiro caught up, though still having nervous views of what could happen on the mountains. Finding a path that was blanketed lightly with snow, the trio traveled up the mountains. They started to become cold, hungry, in need to rest their soon-to-be frostbitten bodies. An hour past when Rushuna saw hope. A wooden cabin was waiting there. A blessing on the terrain, Rushuna proceeded to and knocked on the door, wanting to know if it was accessible.

"Hello!" she bellowed over the howling freezing winds. "Anyone in there?" That yelling could cause something bad and Yajiro had to do something about it.

"If you keep yelling like that, snow's gonna start falling on you." In a sense of an avalanche? Rushuna ignored Yajiro and grabbed the doorknob. A twist. The door was open. Wasting no time, she barged through, finding the cabin empty. Weird... Yajiro and Mikan entered alongside, immediately feeling much good warmth for their cold selves.

"Looks like we can relax here. There's even a fire pit to keep ourselves warm." She pointed to a shallow pit which had a few branches inside. Firewood? Mikan slumped over, feeling much, much relief after getting in.

"Man, I never thought that the battle at that palace was a light point," she sighed in much comfort. Yajiro managed to light a fire, increasing the heat inside the cabin. As everyone became more mentally stable, moments of the past began to course through the minds of the ladies. "To think, Tenshi would give you such a glamorous title and Yajiro a pass." What title was Mikan talking about?

"It's not a big deal, Mikan. The fact that Yatchan was motivated by Lady Tenshi was a bit of a surprise. Wouldn't you say so, Yatchan?"

"The fact that Tenshi pardoned me from ending her or the title of Grenadier?" Thinking that Yajiro was trying to be funny, Rushuna giggled. Even Yajiro found the humor within what he was trying to say. Before long, there was a knock at the door. The three gazed at the entrance and wondering who else was traversing the peaks of this mountain.

"More stragglers?" Mikan guessed. Being a polite person of her nature, Rushuna came to the door, inching to turn the knob. That's when Yajiro sensed something wrong. Rushuna was in trouble. He turned to her as soon as a finger was on the knob.

"It's a trap! Get down!" Yajiro's sixth sense got into Rushuna's ears. Swiftly, she dove as machine gunfire burst and ripped the cabin apart. The three emerged, unscathed, but clearly shaken. Yajiro unsheathed his long blade as Rushuna drew a revolver from her waist. They were surrounded. 16 men with rapid-fire rifles and a big man, fit for sumo wrestling, leading the charge.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the big man snarled at the sight of the blond. "If it isn't Rushuna Tendo, the famous bounty and her ally, the Rearguard Tiger." Yajiro seethed at the nickname that he was awarded. Rushuna tried to explain herself out of the situation the best she could.

"Listen, the bounty on my head is null and void," she reported. "Tenshi has resolved the matter and that no bounty will be posted." That should resolve the matter...should being the reasonable word.

"Is that so? Well, it would seem that I didn't get the memo, then. Too bad." The men resumed firing. The trio leaped out of the way of the whizzing bullets. Rushuna returned fire, clipping the men one by one. Yajiro carved one rifle from one's hand, then another. Mikan? Well, she stayed close to the warm fire. As Rushuna rolled out of some more fire, she released the cylinder and allowed shells to disperse. In the same motion, more bullets appeared from her blouse and accurately bounced into that same cylinder before closing it. The good news was that she had more bullets to use. The bad news? She was inches away from the cliff and it was a long drop below. Cornered. That's when the big man snatched Mikan, pointing his rifle to the poor kid's head. Coward!

"Mikan!" Before the big man had a chance to speak, the footing that Rushuna had gave way. Rushuna began to plummet from the side. Yajiro and Mikan became fearful of their gun-slinging comrade.

"Rushuna!" Yajiro and Mikan cried out in unison. The big man was beyond much of his wording to say the least.

"I was gonna tell her to stand down, not fall down!" he gulped. Well, she fell, not looking like she was going to live. The big man now glared at the swordsman and child, willing to harm them to feats far worse than death. Rushuna had hit bottom in which a large blanket of snow seemed to cushion much of the fall. However, she didn't fare too well from falling like that and blacked out. Snow, like a blanket itself, covered Rushuna, possibly sealing her fate. For some time, that area remained untouched. Suddenly, wooly mammoths emerged...or at least that what they were at first glance. A little blue around the eyes and...what's with the pig snouts? One of the mammoths inhaled before blowing the snow, revealing Rushuna. The mammoths were fascinated with this discovery. One felt around with its tusks, hearing ice. Rushuna was frozen solid. Another seemed to know what to do with the blond bombshell. It lifted the woman with its tusks and carried her off the mountain. It traveled for a distance when it ran into a picnic sight. Another trio and a horde of cute creatures were enjoying some eats. One was like Yajiro with the black hair. He wore a black spring vest over a white undershirt and a nice pair of relax fit jeans. The second was a brunette whose hair appeared to be a line of spikes. He wore a brown traveler's vest over a green t-shirt and brown slacks. The lone female was a blue haired girl who donned a black tank top blouse with a pink skirt and matching boots. The group was enjoying a nice lunch with their many beasts, most of them being no bigger than up to the knee. Surprisingly, there was another mammoth with the gang.

"This is some of your best, Brock," the girl praised the brunette. "This fuel should help me concentrate on getting my last ribbon." The brunette, Brock, accepted the welcoming compliment.

"Dawn, it's times like that which make me glad that I'm able to travel alongside," he returned the favor as he turned to the raven-haired. "Don't you think so, Ash?" The other youngster, Ash, was lying down on the bench...with a rather enlarged stomach. How much did he eat?

"You bet," he belched before covering his mouth, nearly forgetting his manners. "Excuse me." Dawn giggled at the politeness, what little he had, he tried to retrieve.

"You're excused," she chuckled...before a bubble of gas made it out of her mouth. The boys began to laugh at that miscue. That's when a yellow mouse with a lightning-shaped tail and a baby blue penguin chick galloped to the humans in a panic, pointing to the mammoth that had arrived. Ash, Brock and Dawn had to ponder what the two could be motioning about. "Pikachu, Piplup, what's up?" Their jabbering was...not so easy to understand. However, Brock was able to determine the problem.

"They seem to have seen something from over there," he tried to translate. The three look, seeing the mammoth with the Rushuna on its tusks.

"Someone's on that Mamoswine's tusks," Ash spotted as he dashed over to the Mamoswine. He was the first to reach the carrier Mamoswine as the rest hurried to Ash's side. He would need some help removing Rushuna from the beast's tusks. Ash reached for the blond, instantly feeling the ice that had coated her. That's cold. Quickly, Ash plotted a new idea. "Warm up the fire! She's frozen solid!" Dawn and Brock retreated to restart the fire which was over a pot, which was empty. That could explain why Ash was so full before. Whatever was in that pot had to have been good. Right now, the moment was thawing Rushuna. Ash guided the Mamoswine to the fire as Dawn and Brock added wood to rekindle the flames. Could thawing Rushuna be nothing but a lost cause? Would there still be hope for the nicknamed Grenadier?

TO BE CONTINUED...