Advent Of A Gunslinger

In Caninia…

Katherina and Indiana were led by the royal advisor to the underground reserve bank where bars of gold and other valuables were stored. Sure enough, a hole had been blown right out of the safe with strands of soot all over the walls. Naturally, the reserve was empty--not a single piece of gold was left behind.

But the part that confused them both still remained…

“How could anyone access this place...” Katherina stated while looking down at the empty floors, “The only ones that have the codes are the queens and royal advisors.”

“And we rotate the advisors every morning,” Indiana commented while twirling her finger, “Absolutely no one else has the necessary info to get in here.”

“We should interview your fellow queens and the other advisors,” Maple suggested, “I only found out about this just this morning when I arrived.”

“Even still, anyone could be guilty here…” The husky woman was suspicious of everyone involved, but didn’t express it right away. Instead, she went along with the poodle’s suggestion. “Makes sense. We’ll need to gather everyone up so we can speak with them about what’s happened here. Logically speaking, the only way this place could even be accessed is by people who know the codes to get in. Even if you had a key that could open any door, you’d still need the randomly generated numbers that we assign every morning.”

“Which makes this all the more confusing,” Kath took a deep breath to calm herself down, “Alright...we need to interview everyone that wasn’t present and launch an investigation. Come on, everyone.”

With that established, the dog queens would round up their fellow rulers and the rest of the advisors. Someone involved had to have been helping out from within. But they couldn’t reasonably make an arrest or set out to find the culprit without proof or reasoning.

Little did they know…

In Ornithia…

Vido led Kora and Axel to the airship that he had purchased. It was similar in size and shape to the one he had previously with a red hull and a brilliantly caramel-colored blimp to lift it off into the sky.

“What do you think, amigos? This thing is powered by steam so it’ll take off way easier.”

“Mighty fine piece’a work here…” Axel commented with a shrill, bird-like whistle, “This’ll get us right where we need’ta go with no quarrel.”

“Quite the beaut,” Kora agreed as she walked up onto it, “This will be a fine vessel to aid in our travels. Though, I will admit, I’m going to miss Celaeno, Chang, and the others on that ship.”

Vido started to recall the events on the bird lady’s vessel before they had broken away from it. “Think Mr. Crow will be okay? His hermana was quite the...puta.”

“I think he’ll be fine,” Axel replied as he followed Kora into the airship, “Man’s got a good head on his shoulders. He ain’t gon’ let himself get tripped over some sleazy nonsense like that.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Vido flapped his wings and landed upon the deck of the small airship with them. “Think we’ll come into contact with them again?”

Axel inspected the integrity of the ship, walking around and sniffing the wood. “I think it’s possible. I for sure place my money on seein’ Rosie sometime soon. Once I head back down yonder.” He nodded once he was satisfied with the way the ship looked and felt. “But we’s gotta get ourselves ready fer anythin’. Whenever you wanna head out, friend. Take us up.”

Kora would add, “Agreed. We can’t dawdle any longer. If we’re to fully get revenge on those who have wronged us, we must eliminate all branches of the tree before we can burn the trunk.”

“Understood, compadres. Let’s get--”

But before they could take off…

“Excuse me…” A familiar voice called out to them which caused everyone to turn their heads towards the ground near the ship.

“Que?”

Stratus of all people had made a reappearance. “I couldn’t help but overhear. Sounds like ya’ll are motivated by revenge, ain’tcha?”

“You could say somethin’ like that,” Axel replied, “What brings ya back here, friend?”

That’s when the finch made an offer. “Well, I’d like’ta join ya’ll out there. I’m skilled with a weapon and it sounds like the three of ya could use another gun on yer side.” There was a holster at his hip, and his messenger bag looked like it was being weighed down by lots of metallic items… “I’m a damn good shot too.”

The Mercury

Vido stroked his chin as he gave it some thought. “Would he really be able to help us?”

Kora looked in Axel’s direction, considering him the unofficial leader of the group. “Lord Remington, what do you think? It appears he’s more than just a pretty face.”

The gunslinger scoffed at such a comment, “Pfft. ‘Pretty’. Got a soft side for the boy, eh?”

“Wh--no!” she hissed while puffing her cheeks out, “Do not trifle with me at a time like this. I’m merely asking you your opinion of him.”

The she-cat’s reaction tickled the gunslinger, causing him to chuckle. “Heh...you’re one’ta talk. Anyhow…” he looked over in Stratus’ direction. “Do yer ma and pa know what yer gettin’ into?”

“Ma and pa wanted me to be a coal miner,” the finch huffed, “I ain’t got the bones for it, so I went off on mah own and here I am.”

“Think he can hack it?” Vido asked.

Ultimately, an informant like Stratus would be invaluable. Someone who knew a lot about all of the different bounties and the connections involved. This could aid them in their efforts to finally put an end to the slavery that plagued the Southern Hemisphere.

But at the same time, Axel was uncertain. Another innocent life that was fairly young and could potentially find themselves in harm’s way. The last thing he wanted was someone else jumping blindly into a situation in which they were unaware of the stakes at hand.

Alas, his conclusion was simple.

“Sorry,” he said with a shake of his head, “You’re a good kiddo. Enjoy life. Don’t waste it, ya hear?”

The finch was deflated, slumping ever so slightly as he replied with a sigh. “...Yes, sir. I respect that.”

“Chin up now,” Axel called out to him, “You’ll get yer chance once ya git some meat on ya. Word to the wise: Don’t throw yer life down for folks ya just met.”

Stratus stood upright with an uneasy smile on his face as he feigned acceptance. “Y-yes sir...I getcha…” But deep down, he was annoyed that he didn’t get his chance. “Dammit. My one and only meetin’ with Axel Remington and it ain’t worth shit.” He started to back away, and eventually turned around as he big them goodbye. “See ya’ll later. Don’t hurt yourselves out there.”

“You really think he would’ve lost his life, Lord Remington?” Kora asked.

“Don’t want him riskin’ it,” he replied coldly, “Youngster ain’t been hurt nor traumatized by the real world yet. He needs’ta find his own way. Ya cotton?”

The she-cat nodded. “I understand.”

And Vido got prepared to activate the ship and send it off. “Same here, boss. Alright. Now let’s get going. We’re off to Diamond Dog territory.”

From afar…

Stratus watched them take off with a scorned set of eyes behind his glasses. “I’ll show ‘em. Remington will be beggin’ for my help when I’m done.”