Advent Of A Gunslinger

“...We storm the shit out of ‘em,” Axel gave a simple, short-handed response to the question, “Gather ourselves up in bulletproof armor, and wreck the place’ta hell and back.”

Silence filled the air as everyone stared at Axel for a moment, leaving the gunslinger second-guessing himself.

“...If ya’ll don’t like the idea, I’m willin’ta hear yours--”

But to his surprise, he found overwhelming support instead.

“No, no! I adore the idea, Lord Remington,” Kora purred with a mischievous grin on her face, “This shall be the perfect opportunity to put this tome to good use against my enemies.”

“Same, amigos,” Vido added, “It’s time we ended this once and for all so we can finally achieve the peaceful life Axel’s been aiming for since we started all this.”

Surprisingly, Celaeno jumped in as well. “Count me in. Never liked Klugetown anyway. If this is an opportunity to delete it off of the map for good, then I’ve got no reason not to help you.” She turned to her primate crewmate. “What about you, Chang?”

Chang folded his arms as he sat back in his chair. “...I suppose I will come along. If only to keep you all from dying. I’d like to see you all live through to the end of this tale, yes?” he said with a small grin on his face.

“...Brother, I’m comin’ with ye,” Fleche’s voice called out from nearby.

Axel turned to see his sister standing there, and stared at her with a worried expression. “...Are ya sure ‘bout that?”

“You ain’t talkin’ me out of it, ya ken?” Fleche went on as she trotted towards the group, “Our family was stripped away from us with no shred of sympathy for us. It’s only right we repay the favor, yes?”

“...You right,” Axel replied as he looked her over, “Even so. Are ya sure you’re ready’ta get back out there and start fightin’? Can ya even fly straight?”

To his surprise, Fleche was able to flex her wings proudly. “That I am, brother. Ye ain’t the only expert flyer in the family.”

“Well I’d hardly call myself an expert but…” He conceded. There was no way to keep his sister down once she had set her mind on something. It was better to accept that now than to try and debate it. “Alright. All we need left is the cat man…anyone seen him around today?”

“He said he’d be on his way here soon, Lord Remington,” Kora added, “Honestly, I think we should trust him. After all, he knows about Klugetown far more than even I do.”

“Then I ‘spose we can’t do much except wait…”

Thankfully, it wouldn’t take long. Mio would return to the manor and arrive in the cafe with Spitha at his side this time.

“Nice’ta see ya,” Axel greeted them as they walked inside, “Who’s the lady?”

“Spitha,” the dragoness spoke up for herself, “I’m…a companion of Mio’s. My husband, Rongu--he used to work in Klugetown behind my back for the last five or so years. It wasn’t until recently that I was able to find out the truth.”

“Diabolical…” Axel muttered as he scrunched one of his claws into a fist. “Is he still around?”

“No actually,” Mio replied, “He’s been executed and it’s dealt a major blow to their gang’s structure. I say that now is the best opportunity we have to strike before they can begin to mount any sort of defensive stance. And even if they do--they’re the ones with their backs to the wall.”

Axel nodded, and asked, “Alright, that makes sense. And yer sayin’ that havin’ the minotaur gals back us up would only make things easier, yeah?”

“Those are my calculations, yes,” Mio went on, “However, there’s no pressure. I don’t want you to feel as if this is what needs to happen.” He stopped speaking for a moment and looked up at Spitha. “If push comes to shove, I will find a way through this. For the sake of everyone I’ve cared about. And for Abyssinia.”

“...Brother?” Fleche called out to Axel. “I ain’t very well much of a strategist, but even I can see where we’ve got our knickers in a twist. Things look about grim, don’t they?”

“Understatement of the cotton pickin’ century,” Axel muttered in response as he picked up the mug of cider in front of him and took a sip from it. “Guess I may as well come out and say it: The minotaur gals would be a valuable asset’ta this here conflict. Given that they’s got weapons and armor for days, they’d be a horseshoe-in for a war.” With a clatter!, he slammed down the empty mug. “But as I said before, that ain’t up’ta me. It’s up’ta Martha and the gals themselves.”

Suddenly, the elder faun in question made her grand appearance, walking around from behind the bakery counter with a cigar in hand. “I’ve heard enough,” she spoke aloud after a smoke, her crabby voice immediately grabbed everyone’s attention as all eyes were now on her. “I’mma head on down the street and ask the girls if they wanna partake.”

Mio tilted his head with a concerned purr. “...Are you certain, madam? There’s no pressure to join this cause. As Axel said, this is essentially war we’re waging here.”

“Did I stutter, boy?” Martha huffed with a raised brow, “I’m old, but I ain’t deaf. I’ve seen my fair shake of battles over yonder, and with how close Klugetown is to this here valley…we can’t just sit here with our thumbs up our keisters.”

“So this means…?”

Martha started walking towards the front door of the manor, and put on her sunhat. “Vido. Go on upstairs and show Axel the weapons.”

“...Weapons?” Axel repeated, and looked at his griffon friend. “What is she…?”

Vido gave a toothy, excited grin as he got up. “...You’re in for a surprise, hombre.”