Advent Of A Gunslinger

And so, the trio split up, taking different paths through the underground base…

With Axel…

Our gunslinger hadn’t found anything--not yet anyway. With his guns drawn, he made sure he kept his ears open to listen in for that noise. Unfortunately…

“Cotton-pickin’ dammit. That squall sounds just as far away as it was earlier.”

Indeed. With the way the underground base was shaped, it was almost impossible to accurately pinpoint where the sound was coming from. He’d have to keep going, even if it meant he was knowingly throwing himself further into danger.

“Dammit all. I hope they find somethin’ before I do…” he thought to himself as he turned away from an empty room.

With Vido…

The griffon was having slightly better luck. The path he had traveled down had led him towards tracks that were embedded into the wooden floorboards. But they weren’t definitive--they didn’t look like canine pawprints.

“What the hell is this…” he thought as he knelt down to inspect the tracks a bit more. Once he was down near the floor, he was able to smell something. Something…oddly strong, but not very foul. “Hrm…smells like some kinda perfume. Wonder what this is…”

Off in the distance, he could hear the sound of the shrill cry once more. Was Vido on the right track after all?

“Better keep going and find out,” he stood upright, and started flying down the hallway…

With Kora…

Kora perhaps had the best luck of all. Or the worst depending on how you looked at it. Why? Well…

“...They’re here.”

As it turned out, the direction she went had led to the back room where several pony and even diamond dog slaves were being held in cages. Just as they had predicted, they were being held in a condition that was arguably worse than those living in Klugetown. Many had lesions and scraps that were open and bleeding. Others were on the ground and slowly dying from starvation as their stomachs clung to their bones.

“...Such horrible beasts…” Kora thought to herself as she shut her eyes and turned away. Just the sight of the ponies alone was enough to nearly drive her to tears. “I…no…I can’t fall to despair now. I won’t. I need to be strong for them.”

Just then, a weak, breathless voice called out. “H-...help…please…”

Kora’s ears twitched upon hearing the voice, and she immediately turned her head in the direction in which it came from. Sure enough, it was from that very room she had looked into moments ago.

More specifically, a young mare, who looked to be in her late 30s at least. With a pale, freckled face and a mane done in a swirling ponytail, she was a dead ringer for someone from Appleloosa. “...Is someone there…?”

Kora approached her, and gazed upon the malnourished, bodily horror of the young mare. “...Oh my goodness…how long have you been here?”

“...A few months…I reckon…” she muttered, barely able to force herself to stand upright. “Listen…it’s probably too late for the rest of us. Just…do us a favor and kill those horrid dogies…gah-ack!” she made her request in between a fit of coughing.

The she-cat wanted to do whatever she could, and tried to console the mare. “...Are you sure I can’t--?”

But she shook her head in denial. “No. Ain’t nothin’ you can do…I’m sorry. Not unless you gonna carry us all outta here by paw…” she crawled back over to her spot on the floor, and lied there. “No matter, lass…you don’t have the key no ways…”

That’s when Kora noticed that every single pony was chained up to the wall by at least one of their limbs and couldn’t move. Kora would’ve needed the key to set them free, but there was no time to go searching for it.

“...Those mangy mutts did this…” the she-cat hissed to herself, “I won’t ever forgive them…but I will do my best to thwart their efforts. You can count on that, miss.”

“Thanks…I just hope my brother is safe…wherever he is…” the mare replied as she shut her eyes.

Kora’s tail flicked. “...Your brother?”

Meanwhile, with Axel…

The hippogriff had made his way deeper into the complex and wouldn’t you know? The noises had become more apparent. He was getting somewhere at long last. “I see now…so I need’ta go down below…”

To be precise, the noises were coming from the floorboards below where he was currently located and they sounded like…a bird man?

“The hell--?! Is that…??”

All bets were off at that point. Axel was focused on blowing that place up.

“...Need’ta make a distraction.”

Luckily, he had one stick of dynamite left. But it would demand extremely careful, cautious placement in order to accomplish what he was after. Placing it just anywhere would bring the place down, but if he was smart enough to find a place where the explosion would be controlled…

“...That wall over yonder.”

Down below…

“Let’s be real here, you don’t know shit about no bones, do ya?” Kolasi said to the finch man.

Stratus’ face had been bruised and there was blood dripping from his beak. Despite this, he was much less jittery than before, responding with as much ferocity as he could muster, “You can’t kill me. I know you won’t.”

“Really now?” the bulldog boss responded while walking over to a nearby table, “And just what makes you think that--”

BLAM!

Just like clockwork, a small explosion went off above them, causing Kolasi to flinch and yelp. “Erk! What was that?!”

“The reason ya can’t kill me,” the finch said with a small grin, “Better see what that’s about before ya get yer head shot off, missy.”

“Ghh!” she growled in his direction, as she walked towards the door to leave the room, “Don’t get funny with me. I know what you’re doing and you won’t get away with it.”

Once she left, Stratus sighed to himself and looked down at the floor. “...I’ve been a fool. If you’re out there, Remington, please…”