Advent Of A Gunslinger

Back with Axel and co…

Soon enough, they’d arrive just outside of the lusciously green and fertile kingdom of Caninia. Vido parked the airship down at the entrypoint where other similar ships were stationed. And as soon as they exited, they were greeted at the border to enter by--what else?

A golden brown border collie woman. “Hello there ya’ll! How ya’ll doin’ today?” she barked as she ran over to the group with her tail wagging. She wasn’t as bulky as other diamond dogs--she had thin arms and legs and wore a purple vest over her upper body. “Ya’ll visitin’?”

“...You could say that,” Axel replied as he approached her, tipping his hat. “We here on business. Got some…bounties we wanna collect from the junkyard.”

The collie woman gasped and leaned backwards. “...T-the junkyard? Are ya’ll sure ya’ll wanna head on down yonder? Them dingos down there be right bitchy and will hurt ya at the slightest provocation I tell you hwhat.”

“That’s why we’re here, señorita,” Vido added as he stepped forward. “We’re looking to cull some of the mean perros so they don’t cause you or the kingdom anymore trouble.”

“Yes,” Kora spoke up, her voice slightly shaky, “I-I recognize and understand your fear as well, miss. But we aren’t going to allow them to cause harm any longer. Word on the street claims that they enslave different types of creatures…”

The collie woman looked down at the ground as she walked towards the gate that allowed them entry into the territory. “...I hope ya’ll are sure. I wouldn’t want ya to end up like the last posse that tried to fight the Junkers.”

“The last group?” Axel questioned, “What happened to ‘em?”

It took a moment for the collie to gather herself. But at last, she weakly relayed the tale. “...Basically they went missin’ and ain’t no one seen ‘em since. We think they was captured by them grody Junk dogs.”

“...Captured…” Kora hissed to herself whilst balling her paw into a fist. “...Such a horrid fate. I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone.”

Since they were merely visitors on business, the collie woman couldn’t reasonably stop them. However, she did want to make sure they could be as safe as possible.

So she gave a suggestion. “Alright, ya’ll. But I recommend that ya at least go see the queens first and let ‘em know what yer doin’ here. So they’ll be aware of your presence, see?”

Vido nodded in agreement. “Great idea, madam. We’ll have an easier time if they know what we’re doing here.” He put a claw to his chin as he gave it some thought. “We might even learn a thing or two that could give us an advantage.”

Meanwhile, Axel was hung up on one small detail. “Hang on--what--what’d you just say?” he asked, “‘Queens’? As in more than one?”

“Hm? Yeah--Caninia’s ruled by six queens, ya’ll,” said the border collie as she pressed a button to open the gate, “You gonna meet ‘em when ya get up there. Tell ‘em Charlotte sent ya.”

Axel looked over at both of his crew members. “Ya’ll prepped and ready?”

“Si,” Vido replied with a confident smirk, “Anything they throw at us is gonna be met with some of the most skilled shooting they’ve ever seen.”

The hippogriff then looked over at the abyssinian she-cat. “...I ain’t gon’ force ya. If you ain’t--”

Kora flicked her tail, then purred with newfound motivation. “Nonsense, Lord Remington. I’m more than ready to face my fears head-on.” --Is what she felt on the outside. On the inside, however… “...I will not falter. These men are my brothers in arms. I cannot let them down at this point.”

“Good,” Axel said with a nod as he looked over at the collie woman. “Ma’am. Have a good day.”

“You too, ya hear?” she replied as they started to venture forth.

Meanwhile, in some bushes nearby…

“There they go now. Right into a death trap. Don’tcha worry, sir. I’mma help ya no matter what. Then you’ll see how damn good I am.”

Within Caninia…

The trio had made their way into the beautiful, luscious diamond dog kingdom. It was mainly comprised of villages that took up most of the space near the entrance to the civilization while the castle was far within the middle of the city.

As they trekked onward, they started to witness the locals going about their day. Various diamond dogs of different colors and breeds doing normal tasks such as hanging out their laundry to dry, directing traffic into their stores, dog children making their way to school, and others simply out for a walk. There were spotty dalmatians, tiny chihuahuas, sleek dobermanns, fluffy terriers, and buff golden retrievers.

Of course, they were all walking around on two legs, had rather large arms, and many--but not all--had the iconic diamond dog underbite.

“Place seems…mighty fine,” Axel commented as he noted just how serene everything was.

“...Whoo…” Kora exhaled upon seeing all of the peaceful dog people. Just as she predicted, they all weren’t savages at all. In fact, most of them were peaceful--domesticated even. There was absolutely nothing to fear while they were here. “On that, I agree. It’s…not what I was expecting at all.”

Vido was relieved at Kora’s reaction. “She’s got a good head on her shoulders. Unlike some people.” The fact that she was willing to face her fears to travel through this area was something he admired. However, this was only one small step towards their goal and that Kora hadn’t overcome them quite yet. “I just hope she doesn’t freak out when we deal with the nasty ones…”

Soon enough, someone spotted their little group and decided to greet them.

“Well hello there, travelers!” an elderly diamond dog walked out to them with a cane. He was a short, Old English sheep-dog with bushy eyebrows that kept his eyes from being seen. “I could tell that you’re not from around here by the way ya smell. Wouldja like some help navigatin’ our lovely little water bucket?”

Kora’s tail flicked, and she instinctively reacted with a subtle feline flinch--prepared to leap away at a moment’s notice. “He can smell us that well? That’s not good--what if our enemies get the drop on us before we attack?”

Meanwhile, Axel was more willing to approach the canine elder. “We could use the help if we don’t wanna be runnin’ in circles.” With that in mind, he stepped forward. “We’d appreciate it, sir. We kinda don’t know our way around these parts. We’re lookin’ fer the castle--which way should we head?”

The elderly dog pointed his cane due north and gave an explanation. “You’ll wanna head up that-a-way and stick to the stony roads. Though, good luck gettin’ in. The queens are hella busy apparently.”

“Busy with what, señor?” Vido asked.

“They’re dealin’ with some bandits up over yonder,” the elder went on as he stroked the fur on his chin, “They robbed the Federal Canid Reserve of its gold. You won’t be able to talk to them today, I’d wager.”

Axel glanced at his travel companions. “Think they could be connected to what we’re after?”

“It’s probable,” Kora commented with a purr, “I suppose it’d be worth checking out.”

“I can smell your fear, little cat lady,” the elder commented, seemingly out of nowhere with a completely stoic, gravely tone.

Which caused Kora’s fur to stand on end as she recoiled with a hiss, “RRRHHHH! H-how did--that rumor is real?”

“As real as my gold tooth, little miss,” the elder stated as he turned and started to walk away on his cane, “Don’t let them dogs catch a whiff of it. They’ll kill ya before you can react. Have a good day, ya’ll.”

As he left, the trio was stunned into a complete silence.

That is, until Vido broke it with a remark. “...Que paso?”