Neon Sundown
A cyber cowboy saving the world — Japanese style, full color, apocalyptic. After the Gridfall, machines rule the ruins and the last free settlements are running out of time. Cole Ryder — ex-sheriff turned drifter, with a glowing cyber eye, a cybernetic arm, and a laser revolver — rides from town to town, standing between what is left of humanity and the Warden grid.
Chapter 1: Dust and Neon
Cole Ryder rides into Dust Hollow at neon sunset — one more town, one more sunset, same deal. The Elder blocks his path: the town does not need a gun, it needs the drones gone. Cole tips his hat: where he comes from, those are the same job. A kid tugs his coat and asks if his arm is really a machine. Half machine, Cole says. The other half is just stubborn.
That night, drone scouts drop from the sky, scanning the wall with red beams. Cole draws his laser revolver. Three shots, three drones down. In the morning he helps rebuild the wall, his cyber arm lifting a beam three men could not move. Then the machine hounds come sprinting through the dust — and Cole vaults over the wall alone, luring them into the old solar field, where he slams his cyber fist into a junction box and a wave of solar fire fries them mid-leap. Sun is still on our side.
One drone survives and projects the Warden's cold face: Dust Hollow has one dawn to join the grid. Cole shoots the projector out of the sky. That night the town burns its lanterns brighter than before, almost defiant. The kid hands Cole a drawing of him on his bike, with a sun behind him. The Elder warns him: they will come at dawn, all of them. Cole looks at the horizon. Then dawn is when we settle it. He walks out of the gate alone, toward the army. Let's see whose sun sets first.
Page 1 — The rider: 1 (wide): A neon sunset over a ruined highway. A lone figure on a patched-up bike rides toward a distant settlement. 2: Close on COLE RYDER: hat low, cyber eye glowing faint blue, duster flapping. 3: His bike's dashboard: a hand-drawn map, one settlement circled — DUST HOLLOW. 4: Cole, to himself: "One more town. One more sunset. Same deal." 5: Ahead: Dust Hollow's scrap wall, and above it, tiny black dots circling. Drones. Watching.
Chapter 1, Page 1
Page 2 — Dust Hollow: 1: Inside the wall: people hauling water, kids playing in the dust, solar panels patched with tape. 2: The ELDER, a gray-haired woman with a wrench on her belt, blocks Cole's path: "We don't need a gun. We need the drones gone." 3: Cole, tipping his hat: "Ma'am, where I come from, those are the same job." 4: A KID, maybe nine, tugs his coat: "Mister, is your arm really a machine?" 5: Cole, crouching, letting the kid tap the metal: "Half machine. The other half's just stubborn."
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Page 3 — The scouts: 1: Night. The settlement dark except for lanterns. Cole on the wall, watching. 2: His cyber eye flares — HUD vision: three heat signatures dropping from the sky. 3: Drone scouts, sleek and silent, scanning the wall with red beams. 4: Cole, whispering into the dark: "You picked the wrong town tonight." 5: He draws. The laser revolver charges with a rising whine.
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Page 4 — First blood: 1 (action burst): Three shots, three panels: flash, flash, flash — drones bursting into sparks. 2: A drone crashes at the Elder's feet, sparking. She raises an eyebrow: "Okay. Maybe we needed a gun." 3: Cole, spinning the revolver back into its holster: "Told you. Same job." 4: But his cyber eye is still flashing: more signatures, bigger, coming from the east. 5: Cole, grin fading: "That was just the knock on the door."
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Page 5 — The wall: 1: Morning. Cole works with the settlers: his cyber arm lifting a beam three men couldn't move. 2: The kid watches, wide-eyed: "Can you lift our whole house?" 3: Cole, laughing: "Only if it misbehaves." 4: The Elder, quietly, to Cole: "The Warden doesn't forgive towns that fight back." 5: Cole, tightening a bolt on the gate: "Good. Neither do I."
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Page 6 — The hounds: 1: Dust on the horizon — then machine HOUNDS, metal dogs with glowing jaws, sprinting for the wall. 2: Settlers on the wall with rifles. The Elder: "Hold! Hold until they're close!" 3: Cole, calm, revolver out: "No. Let them come to me." 4: He vaults over the wall alone, duster flying, into the dust. 5: The hounds turn toward him, jaws open — exactly what he wanted.
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Page 7 — The trap: 1: Cole runs — not away, but toward the old solar field, its cracked panels still catching the sun. 2: The hounds chase him across the panels, metal paws sparking on glass. 3: Cole slams his cyber fist into a junction box. The whole field SURGES. 4 (big): A wave of solar fire races through the panels, frying the hounds mid-leap. 5: Cole, standing in the smoke, hat tipped low: "Sun's still on our side."
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Page 8 — The Warden speaks: 1: One drone survives, hovering, projecting a face of cold light — THE WARDEN. 2: The Warden, voice like static: "DUST HOLLOW. YOU HAVE ONE DAWN TO JOIN THE GRID." 3: The settlers, silent, looking at Cole. 4: Cole steps up to the drone, face to face: "Here's my answer." 5: He shoots the projector out of the sky. The Warden's face shatters into sparks.
Chapter 1, Page 8
Page 9 — The night before: 1: Night. Lanterns lit all over Dust Hollow — brighter than before, almost defiant. 2: The kid hands Cole a drawing: Cole on his bike, with a sun behind him. 3: Cole, quiet, folding the drawing into his coat: "…Thank you, kid." 4: The Elder, beside him: "They'll come at dawn. All of them." 5: Cole, looking at the horizon: "Then dawn's when we settle it."
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Page 10 — Cliffhanger: 1 (wide): Dawn. Cole alone at the gate, revolver in hand, duster in the wind. 2: The horizon darkens — not with clouds, but with the Warden's army: drones, hounds, walkers, row after row. 3: The settlers behind him, on the wall, rifles ready, lanterns still burning. 4: Cole, loading his last charge, small smile: "Well. At least the odds are honest." 5 (final): He steps out of the gate, alone, toward the army: "Let's see whose sun sets first."
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Chapter 2: The Army at Dawn
Dawn breaks and the machine army advances — drones above, hounds below, walkers behind. Cole fires from the dust while the settlers cover him from the wall. Then the ground shakes: a three-story walker steps out of the dust, and Cole's shots spark harmlessly off its armor. As he is driven back, the kid slips through the gate carrying a hand-drawn map — the old power station, circled. A hound cuts the kid off. Cole tackles it mid-leap and carries the kid back through the gate. Kid, Cole says, you just saved this town.
The plan: overload the old power station, and the surge runs through every machine in the valley — and through Cole, if he is holding the wire. He rides his bike straight at the walker, climbs it hand over hand, shoots drones off one-handed, and plugs a cable from his cyber arm into its glowing core. Let's see how you like our sun. The station surges. Light races through the field, up the cable, into Cole's arm, into the walker — and jumps machine to machine until the whole valley flashes white. Then silence. Cole lies in the dust, hat over his face, smoke rising off his coat. Told you. Sun is still on our side.
The Warden's last drone flickers a warning — you have delayed the grid, nothing more — and retreats. The town pours out of the gate cheering. The Elder offers Cole a house, a home. He hands the key back gently: other towns are still waiting on their dawn. At first light he rides out — and on a ridge ahead, a rider in black waits on a machine horse, his face half machine, just like Cole's. The Warden has a cowboy now, Ryder. Cole's hand hovers over his revolver, and he smiles. Then I guess the sun has got two of us.
Page 1 — Dawn breaks: 1 (wide): Dawn over Dust Hollow. The machine army advances: drones above, hounds below, walkers behind. 2: Cole, alone in the dust, revolver raised: "Alright, you rust buckets. Let's dance." 3: First wave of hounds charges. Cole fires — flash, flash — two down. 4: Settlers on the wall open fire, covering him. 5: Cole, grinning through the dust: "Not bad for one man and a wall."
Chapter 2, Page 1
Page 2 — The walker: 1: The ground shakes. A WALKER — a three-story war machine — steps out of the dust. 2: Cole fires at it. The shots spark off its armor and do nothing. 3: The walker's cannon charges, glowing red. 4: Cole dives as the blast tears the ground where he stood. 5: Cole, coughing in the dust: "Okay. New problem. Big problem."
Page 3 — The kid runs: 1: On the wall, the KID watches Cole get driven back, eyes wide. 2: The kid slips through the gate, running toward Cole with something in his hands. 3: Cole sees him — horror: "KID! NO! GET BACK!" 4: A hound cuts the kid off, jaws open. 5: Cole, sprinting, revolver out: "Not this one. Not today."
Page 4 — Not this one: 1: Cole tackles the hound mid-leap, cyber fist smashing its jaw apart. 2: He grabs the kid, shielding him with his duster as sparks rain down. 3: The kid, shaking, holds up what he carried: a hand-drawn map — the old power station, circled. 4: Cole, staring at it: "Kid… you just saved this town." 5: He carries the kid back through the gate, hounds snapping at his heels.
Page 5 — The plan: 1: Inside the wall, Cole spreads the map: the old power station, two miles out, still wired to the solar field. 2: The Elder: "If you overload it, the surge runs through every machine in the valley." 3: Cole: "And through me, if I'm holding the wire." 4: Silence. The kid: "Then don't hold it alone." 5: Cole, ruffling the kid's hair: "I never do, kid. That's why I came back."
Page 6 — Up the walker: 1: Cole rides his bike straight at the walker, dodging cannon fire. 2: He leaps from the bike onto the walker's leg, climbing hand over hand. 3: Drones swarm him; he shoots them off one-handed. 4: He reaches the walker's core hatch, cyber arm prying it open. 5: Inside: a glowing core, pulsing like a heart. Cole, plugging a cable from his arm into it: "Let's see how you like our sun."
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Page 7 — Sundown: 1 (big): The power station surges. Light races through the solar field, up the cable, into Cole's arm, into the walker. 2: The walker convulses, armor splitting with light. 3: The surge jumps machine to machine — hounds, drones, walkers, all overloading at once. 4: The whole valley flashes white. Then silence. 5: Cole, thrown clear, lying in the dust, hat over his face, smoke rising off his coat: "…Told you. Sun's still on our side."
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Page 8 — The Warden retreats: 1: One drone survives, hovering over the wreckage, the Warden's face flickering. 2: The Warden, cold: "YOU HAVE DELAYED THE GRID. NOTHING MORE." 3: Cole, sitting up, pointing his revolver at it: "Then come back and say that slower." 4: The drone retreats into the sky, alone. 5: The settlers pour out of the gate, cheering, lifting Cole onto their shoulders.
Page 9 — Home, for a night: 1: Night. Dust Hollow lit up, music, food, lanterns everywhere. 2: The Elder, offering Cole a key: "A house. Yours. Stay." 3: Cole, quiet, looking at the key — then at the horizon. 4: Cole, handing it back gently: "Other towns are still waiting on their dawn." 5: The Elder, smiling: "Then ride at first light, cowboy. And come back alive."
Page 10 — Cliffhanger: 1: Dawn. Cole rides out of Dust Hollow, settlers waving. 2: On a ridge ahead, a figure waits: a rider in black, on a machine horse, hat low, a revolver glowing at his hip. 3: Cole stops. The black rider tips his hat — and his face is half machine, like Cole's own. 4: The rider's voice, low: "The Warden has a cowboy now, Ryder." 5 (final): Cole, hand hovering over his revolver, small smile: "Then I guess the sun's got two of us."
Chapter 2, Page 10