User blog:Alockwood1/Jericho Cross Versus John Marston (Undead Nightmare)



The West is filled with a lot of stories. Many of these stories don't even enter the History books. Some stories are too boring to write down. Others, however, are too scary, or unbelievable, to be written.

One common story is about the creatures of the night, who prowl the lands, seeking victims to dine upon. These creatures go by many names - ghouls, ghosts, vampires and zombies. In each story, these creatures claim the lives of innocent people, and add them to their numbers.

However, in many of these stories, there are tales of those who take up arms against the creatures, some of whom were even affected, and turned into the very creatures they fight, trying to maintain their hold on their Humanity.

One of two such men include John Marston, an outlaw-turned-bounty hunter, who fought zombies in an attempt to save his family, and even became one after his death, but with his soul intact, thus, allowing him to save those caught between the living and the dead. The other is Jericho Cross, an outlaw who becomes a vampire hunter after a botched train robbery turns him into a bloodsucker, and is all but forced to join the DarkWatch society in an attempt to regain his humanity, unless he decides to give into his bloodlust.

These two have taken on impossible odds before, and won. However, what will happen when these undead cowboys turn their weapons on each other?

It's a duel to the death to determine Who is Deadliest?

John Marston (Undead Nightmare)
(As the title indicates, this is for the DLC addition to Red Dead Redemption, Undead Nightmare, specifically, the zombie version of John Marston, though I will use information about the Regular version, whom the Zombie version is based off of.)

John Marston spent many years in the company of a gang, trying to bring about change in society, until the leader, Dutch, went off the deep end. After a certain incident, John decided to go straight, leaving the gang with his wife a young son, to become a rancher. However, in 1911, Government Agents abduct John's wife and son, forcing him to hunt down the former members of his old gang. After many adventures, including participating in a Mexican Revolution, John had either killed or captured the former members of said gang, including his old leader, and was allowed to return home. However, he is betrayed, and is killed, after seeing to it that his wife and son managed to escape.

In the Undead Nightmare DLC, a zombie apocalypse occurs, with John's Wife and Son getting infected. After tying his family up, John sets out to find a cure, saving many towns along the way, until he finds out that one of his past associates had recovered an ancient Aztec mask, which had unleashed the curse. John then returns the mask to its rightful location, and returns home, finding his family cured.

Some months later, after John's death, a friend of John's stole the mask once more, unleashing the curse, waking the dead once more, including John, who, thankfully, was buried with a bottle of Holy Water, which allows his mind and soul to remain intact. Undead John then sets out to undo the curse once more.

John's Weapons
John fought outlaws, the military, animals, the undead, and undead animals with the following weapons -

Melee: Torch - A short stick with a flammable rag, used for burning things, like the undead, and coffins. Roughly two feet in length. Causes both Blunt and Fire Damage.

Secondary Melee: Buttstroke/Pistol Whip - Melee attack done with the butt of a firearm. Known for causing fractures. Blunt Damage.

Primary Handgun: Mauser Pistol - Automatic pistol. Holds 15 rounds.

Secondary Handgun: LeMat Revolver - Revolver. Holds 9 rounds.

Rifle: Evans Repeater - Lever-action rifle. Holds 22 rounds.

Sniper: Carcano Rifle - Bolt-Action rifle - holds 5 Rounds

Shotgun: Pump-Action Shotgun - Pump action - holds 6 rounds

Thrown 1: Boom Bait - A bottle with a strange liquid inside, plus a stick of dynamite. After being thrown, the bottle will break, and the liquid will attract the Undead. A few seconds later, the dynamite blows up, killing/injuring those caught in the blast.

Thrown 2: Fire Bottle - A bottle containing a flammable liquid - like petrol or high grade alcohol - and a lit rag to cause contents to burst into fire once the glass bottle breaks.

Special Weapon 1: Blunderbuss - Black-powder muzzle-loader weapon, which destroys most Undead. Single Shot. Can be loaded with anything, especially parts of the undead - ribs, teeth, eyes, tongue, ears - to be used as ammo.

Special Weapon 2: Explosive Rifle - Single Shot. Destroys most anything in one shot.

Eye-Power: Dead Eye - Time temporarily slows down for John, allowing him to make careful, and accurate, shots.

Jericho Cross (DarkWatch)
Jericho Cross is a man with a checkered past. At one point, he was a soldier in the American Civil War, on the side of the Union, only to desert for reasons known to himself. One story is that he murdered his slave-owning father, another is that he witnessed those around him committing violent atrocities. He would later become an Outlaw, robbing trains along the Mexican Border, committing murder and other crimes. That is, until his last train, which, instead of having gold, had the granddaddy of all vampires, Lazarus Malkoth, which bit him, causing Jericho to gain vampiric abilities. He was practically forced to join forces with Darkwatch Regulator, Agent Cassidy Sharp, in order to deliver the news about the vampire's release. Along the way, he begins using his abilities, which aid him in combat with the Undead creatures, which attack with a variety of weapons, from blades, strange firearms, brute force, and even supernatural abilities. When Cassidy is murdered by the vampire that sired him, Jericho is given the task to alert Headquarters, the Darkwatch Citadel with Cassidy's spirit guiding and advising/criticizing him. After being put through a life-or-death test by Brigadier General Clay Cartwright, an American Civil War veteran himself - turned - Vampire Hunter, Jericho joins Darkwatch, going with agents on various missions. One such agent, a woman named Tala, has her own plans for power. After one battle with the undead, which had cost the lives of several Innocents, some having been killed by Tala's Regulators, Tala has sex with Jericho, and tricks him into turning her into something like him. Tala then outright betrays the Darkwatch, and lets Lazarus' forces into the Citadel. Jericho and the surviving agents escape, only for Jericho to have to face off against an empowered Lazarus. Afterwards, Jericho makes a choice: Cleanse the West of the Curse (Good), or become the next Vampire King (Evil), joining with either Cassidy or Tala. Afterwards, Jericho faces the consequence of his final choice. If he picked the Good Path, Jericho fights the traitor Tala, and defeats her, his Humanity is restored, and Cassidy goes to Heaven, while Jericho goes to fight more Evil. If he picked the Evil Path, Jericho fights Cassidy, and defeats her, then, betrays Tala, draining her dry, throws of his Darkwatch badge, and rides off, to spread more evil.

Jericho's Weapons
Jericho uses the following weapons to exterminate the Undead, and/or kill angry Regulators and Innocents (Note- caliber/gauge is likely to be similar to conventional firearms, with the bullets being made of a certain material used to bring down the Undead, such as Blessed Silver) -

Melee: Darkwatch Scepter - Ornate 3-foot long iron cross-like mace. Causes Blunt force trauma. Tends to destroy most foes in one to three hits.

Secondary Melee: Buttstroke/Pistol Whip - Each of the firearms utilized by Jericho and Darkwatch Regulators is equipped with a silver-lined ax-like blade of some sort, or, in the case of the Rail Rocket, some sort of sledgehammer, to be used if the weapon is out of ammo, unable to fire, or if the enemy is too close for comfort.

Primary Handgun: Redeemer Revolver - Revolver-like handgun that, when fanned, fires in an automatic-like mood. Holds 24 rounds.

Secondary Handgun: Warmonger Pistol - revolver-like handgun, usually used in pairs. Holds 12 rounds (each).

Rifle: Blackfish Carbine - lever-action-like rifle, repeater-type. Holds 12 rounds

Sniper: Carson Range Rifle - Semi-auto-like action. Holds 4 rounds

Shotgun: Argus Shotgun- Special 4-barrel shotgun. After firing, a slide is pulled, allowing the barrel to rotate, and thus get a fresh round. Holds 16 Rounds

Thrown 1: Splitter Grenade - These grenade-like devices will split into three parts, each causing an explosion, which will harm any enemy caught nearby, even more to those caught between two or more parts.

Thrown 2: Dynamite - While regular dynamite is good for causing explosions, Drakwatch Society modified Nobel's design to make the compound to be more stable for trips on horseback, therefore making it more useful for combat, especially to deny the enemy cover.

Special Weapon 1: Crossbow - This is a Repeating-type of crossbow, loaded with explosive bolts. After a bolt is fired, it will explode within 2-3 seconds, meaning that the bolt doesn't need to hit the target to hurt it, as long as the foe is close to it - along with a number of its friends. Holds 12 bolts.

Special Weapon 2: Rail Rocket - Functions similar to a rocket launcher, used, almost exclusively, on important Structures, like the Marks of Evil, which control the undead, or really tough enemies. And if the rocket rounds don't fo the job, the thing uses a sledgehammer for it's melee attack. Holds 3 rounds.

Eye Power: Blood Vision - Due to being bitten by Lazarus, Jericho's once injured eye has become a glowing red orb, which allows him to see hidden enemies, in fog or smoke, or just plain hiding, as well as other critical items - like weapons and doors. It also allows him to see enemies at a distance, allowing Jericho to aim his weapons more effectively.

Explanations for X-Factors
Here are my reasonings behind the X-Factors

1. Killer Instinct - This is difficult. John Marston tries to save most of the people he comes across, only putting them down if necessary. Jericho Cross on the other hand, kills because he has to, and because sometimes, death is a kinder fate than the alternative. Edge - Jericho Cross

2. Combat Experience - This in another difficult one. John Marston has fought Outlaws, Rebels, the Mexican Army, the American Army, the proto-FBI, wild animals, to say nothing about zombies and zombie animals. Jericho Cross has (presumably) killed many people during his various robberies. He has also fought the undead, many of which were somewhat intelligent, eventually fighting the one who sired him, and then later, either a demon-like Tala (Good Path), or an angel-like Cassidy (Evil Path). Slight edge - John Marston

3. Physical Strength - John, being a zombie, is going to have limitations on how strong he can get. Jericho, on the other hand, is extremely strong, being capable of destroying foes within a few blows. Major edge - Jericho Cross

4. Agility - John's a fairly good runner, but he has issues traversing certain terrains, like steep cliffs. Jericho, on the other hand, can leap like a pronghorn, clearing 20 to 30 feet in a single jump, allowing him to clear cliffs, buildings, bypass rivers, and anything that would trouble someone on foot normally. Edge - Jericho.

5. Endurance - Both of these guys are very tough. However, while John Marston is good to go, Day or Night, Jericho Cross weakens to normal Human levels when the sun rises, which can prove to be dangerous when fighting large numbers of tough undead creatures, especially if there is nothing to create shadows for him to recover his energy in. Edge - John

6. Melee Combat - Both of these fighters are good when it comes to close-quarters fighting, with John having something of a reputation for doing so. However, Jericho's weapons are crafted with blades in them, making melee fighting much easier. Edge - Jericho

7. Range Combat - Both of these fighters are expert marksmen, with John having a reputation for shooting moving targets, taking the hats off of people, and even disarming them, to say nothing about saving people, like Bonnie MacFarlane, from being hung, along with other life-saving shots. Jericho, on the other hand, only had one eye, initially, and proved himself to be an excellent shot, even before his left eye was healed by his newly acquired vampire blood, which gave him the ability to see what a vampire saw - also, the weapons he uses were made for dispatching the undead, including the silver ammunition. Edge - Jericho.

8. Overall - This will be a close fight - John has edges in Combat Experience and Endurance, and, theoretically, should the battle last past dawn, John could win, but Jericho has edges in most everything else, especially Physical Strength and Agility, and, should the fight occur well before sunrise, Jericho has a good chance of winning.

Other Factors

 * 1) Jericho, being a vampire-type creature, weakens to the point of being a normal human when exposed to direct sunlight, loosing all of his vampire abilities - sight, agility, and strength. That being said, Jericho is still an excellent shot, his weapons are made for slaying the undead, Day or Night, and, in a pinch, he can use the shadows of tall trees, large rocks, caves, and abandoned buildings to allow him to use his vampire powers in the daylight.
 * 2) Jericho is capable of summoning Shadow, a demonic horse whom Jericho had infected when in the beginning throws of the Curse - this horse is fast, tireless, and powerful. The pair share a bond with each other, meaning that Shadow will do whatever Jericho wants him to do.
 * 3) John Marston, being a member of the undead, is usually ignored by them, until he makes a move they consider aggressive, like being too close to them, shooting them, having a torch out near them, or trying to rescue their targeted pray.
 * 4) John Marston is weak when it comes to damage from explosives, but can survive falling from greater heights than a living human. He'll also have an undead horse for a mount - very fast, tireless, and highly resistant to damage.

Terms of the battle
After hearing about an independent-minded undead gunslinger (John Marston), who doesn't serve the forces of Lazarus, Darkwatch sends Jericho Cross with orders to capture John, in an attempt to recruit the undead bounty hunter, or kill him is this proves impossible. However, John Marston, having had enough of following other people's orders, must convince Jericho to leave him be, or kill him if necessary.

The battle will start, roughly, an hour before dawn, with Jericho having found John by a campfire.

Voting Terms
Five Sentences are needed, or weapon's edges, with good reasons behind the statements for a vote to qualify.

Voting goes until October 16.