Advent Of A Gunslinger

Down in the interrogation room…

Once Ejei had finished her little talk with the bird man, Kolasi decided to pay him a visit next in order to verify whether his talk of bones was up to snuff.

“Alright now…you’re tellin’ me that bones can make us a ton’a coin, huh?” she asked as she stepped into the room. “Which ones?”

“W-well…ones that can be put together to make fossils,” Stratus replied nervously, “Y-you know…stuff like that.”

“Uh-huh.” Kolasi wasn’t exactly thrilled with his words as she walked up to the chair in which he was restrained. “And how do I know you’re not just bullshitting me so you can get off scot-free?”

“...” The finch man fell silent, unable to come up with a reasonable explanation. The reality was that the bulldog lady was entirely correct. “Er…well. That is to say--”

The dog boss snickered to herself as she walked in a circle around him. “Enough of this crap. You know as well as I do that you’re here for a more important reason.” With a snarl, she stood in front of him, putting her paws on his thighs, “Hrrrrh! And I think that you’re tryin’ to lead somebody here. Somebody who can take us out.”

“W-what?!” Stratus could barely keep a straight smile on his face with beads of sweat running down through his feathers. “T-that’s preposterous! I have no intention of leading anyone here?”

Kolasi looked at him with a hungry lick of her lips. “Oh yeah? Then why do I smell the scent of griffon on you? And is that hippogriff and a hint of abyssinian?”

“...”

There it was. Stratus had been found out. It was just as they said--the nose knows and nothing could be hidden from the sharp perceptions of a Diamond Dog. Even though it had been a whole day since he had spoken to Axel’s group, Kolasi could still pick up their scent.

“Um…I…”

“Oh, I guess I should mention…” Kolasi muttered as she grabbed a paddle from a hanging rack nearby. “All of my fellow junkyard dogs have mysteriously disappeared chasing after something.” She walked up to him, and dragged the cold wooden paddle against his chest. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, wouldja?”

“N-no!” the finch man stuttered, “Honest! I don’t know what’s going on up there, please!”

“Hm…of course you don’t…” the bulldog continued sniffing the air next to him. “Mm…are you scared, big boy? I can smell your fear. It’s delicious.”

Stratus forced a smile onto his face. “W-well…being an Ornithian in captivity of ravenous D-D-Diamond Dogs will do that to someone.”

Kolasi let out a wheezing giggle. “Hyeh-heh! Don’t worry, baby. I’m not gonna eat you. You birdfolk don’t taste anything like chicken. Besides…I have something far better in mind for you.”

“...And what is that, exactly?”

Meanwhile, with Axel and co…

The trio had taken a lift that would put them underground where the boss dog’s base was located. Their objective was to locate the slave laborer known as Ejei and take her down while also rescuing any living slaves if possible…

“Keep yer wits up, ya’ll,” Axel muttered to his companions, “We ain’t got no clue what this place gon’ be like once we get down there.”

Kora started to sniff the air, but unfortunately, her sensitive nose wouldn’t aid them in this instance. “Blech…no good. My nose is rather overwhelmed by the thick scent of diamond dog all over the place.”

Vido sighed and shook his head. “We’re not out of the woods, then. Guess we’ll have to figure everything out for ourselves once we touch down. What’s the plan, boss?”

If they couldn’t smell their way through the situation, then they’d have to resort to much more…archaic tactics.

“Strap yerselves,” said the hippogriff as he twirled his guns on his finger-claws, “We’s gon’ hafta flush ‘em out ourselves.”

“No need, Lord Remington,” Kora denied his request, “I prefer to handle things with a more…discreet paw. You two are more than welcome to scatter the brain matter of any hostiles. I’m more interested in…finding the truth.”

“...The truth, huh?” Axel sheathed his pistols and tilted his head in her direction.

“...Let her go, boss,” Vido suggested, “She clearly knows what she’s doing on her own. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll find out some info regarding your family as well.” “And hopefully my own to boot.”

Ultimately, he respected her request. As soon as the lift stopped, they exited and found themselves in a labyrinth of passageways in which the walls were made out of junk and scrap metal. With no clear sense of direction, the trio was at a loss on where to go next. So they chose to listen for whatever they could find…

“Shh,” Axel whispered, “Ya’ll hear somethin’?”

Vido and Kora both put their ears to the air. It was very faint, but they could indeed hear that something was going on down there. To be precise, it sounded like someone was yelling? Crying? The only problem was…

“Ay, si,” Vido whispered back as he looked around the maze of an underground base, “But I can’t tell where in the hell it’s coming from.”

“Me neither,” Kora added, “It seems as if all soundwaves are being distorted due to the general shape and structure of this subterranean structure. I suggest we split up and make a signal if we find anything.”

“And what should that be?” Axel asked with a raised brow, “And how you so sure we’ll be able’ta hear it?”

“Simple,” Kora gave a quiet purr that was almost inaudible, but it was just perceptible enough to the bird-men. “Our hearing ranges are vast and can pick up sounds from a multitude of frequencies. As such, if we split up and find anything, make a calling squall at a low enough frequency for the other two to hear. Sound good?”

Vido chuckled and replied. “Sounds insane, gata. But not like we have much choice. We could either do that and cover more ground or spend hours trying to find something together as a group. I say let’s do it.”

“Lord Remington?” Kora looked in the gunslinger’s direction.

While it wasn’t ideal, Vido was correct. Their options were limited. Ultimately, the hippogriff gave in. “...Fine. Be careful, ya’ll.”