Advent Of A Gunslinger

The next day…

Axel had gotten up first, and rubbed his head. “Blech...slept so well I must’ve hit my head. And what in tarnation was I dreamin’? Somethin’ about a damn corn cob? And was that a giant glass of milk?” “Gah…well I’ll be…”

Cassy had gone ahead and washed all of their items. Axel’s hat and mask, Kora’s sports bra and gym shorts, and Vido’s pilot jacket and goggles.

Kora was more than grateful to be able to wear a fresh set of her regular clothes as she got out of bed. “Ah, this is amazing. Can’t believe she went to all this trouble…”

Vido had knocked on both of their doors to get them to wake up. “Hey, compadres! Let’s go!”

Moments later, the hippogriff gunslinger and martial artist abyssinian exited their respective rooms.

“Quite the woman your mother is,” Kora said, “She didn’t have to go to such great lengths for us, and yet…”

Axel hadn’t put his facemask on yet. He left it off so that he could speak to Mrs. Magpie with a smile. This was due to the fact that he felt guilty for the poor first impression he made. “I’m with ya...she ain’t had’ta help us none. Yet she did so because of how generous she was. Hella grateful fer it.”

“I’m glad you both agree,” Vido replied, “She should be downstairs as always, so we can thank her before we go.”

The trio had gotten themselves ready, and made sure to thank the mother griffon on their way out. Cassy was behind the counter, busy cleaning glasses in preparation for patrons that would arrive that morning.

“...Lady Magpie,” Kora addressed her cordially, “We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the amazing meal you served us yesterday. That and allowing us to have a night’s stay were both wonderful acts’a kindness.”

Axel nodded in agreement, and removed his hat. “Thank-ya very much, ma’am. I’ll make sure I--”

The griffon woman extended her claw-arms and wrapped them both up in a close hug. “Aw, you both...ain’t nothin’ makes me happier than seein’ ya’ll okay. Bestya can do for me, is stay alive. Alright, babies?”

“We will,” Kora replied with a confident purr, “I can assure you of that.”

Axel’s response was delayed. The sense of overwhelming, motherly affection didn’t quite land. He had been without his own mother for so long that the sheer thought of someone else treating him like their son disturbed him.

Nevertheless, he gave his best smile. “...S-same here, Cass.”

She let them go, and cleared her throat to avoid crying. “Ah--s-sorry, babies. I’m just so happy to see lil’ Vido have friends that--’

“Ay, mama don’t make it anymore awkward than it already is,” the young griffon grabbed the bridge of his beak. “We’ll be fine, I promise. Come on, you guys. We need to get going.”

“Good luck, ya’ll!” Cassy squaked.

With a swift set of goodbyes, the three travellers would board Vido’s airship once more, and take to the skies. Vido had an entire military-grade backpack the size of his own body filled with all of their spare supplies and materials. Including ammo and…

“...Dynamite?” Kora adjusted her glasses and peered into the backpack, “Why would anyone ever need that?”

Vido was at the airship’s controls, and had them set on a path towards the outer edge of Klugetown. “Never know when you’ll need to make an explosive entry. Right, Axel?”

“Hm?” Axel had been sitting at the cards table when his name was called. “Whatcha mean by that?”

“Don’t play coy, sir! I still remember that newspaper article that detailed how you killed Billygoat The Kid. You had to use a ton’a dynamite!” Vido chirped.

Now curious, Kora would speak up. “...That was Remington? I knew you were skilled, but I wouldn’t have pegged you to be the one to end the reign of a terrible cowpoke.”

Axel scoffed, and shrugged his arms. “Believe it, I s’pose. Ain’t nothin’ for me to hide.”

“Amazing…” said the abyssinian, “You must grant me an ear. I would like to know how that showdown transpired, partner.”

“Well it’s--see, that story is rather long--”

Vido leaned back in his pilot’s seat. “We may as well listen. It’s gonna be a while before we get there, you know.”

“Of course, there is no pressure to relive a part of your past if you are uncomfortable,” Kora added as she took a seat across from him at the table. “We’re all friends here.”

“S’allright,” he replied, “Since we got time, I may as well…”

Meanwhile, within Klugetown…

Since Mio had been recently asserted as the new leader behind the situation involving Remington, he was on the prowl for information. After a bit of wandering around, something would fly down towards his position…

A falcon who perched gently upon a nearby stand.

“Did you find anything?” Mio asked the bird.

The falcon would reply with a few quick chirps.

“I see...excellent work, my friend.” He flicked a sunflower seed towards the falcon’s beak, and it immediately snapped it up. “Go tell my partner to bring Maxine outside for me.”

Nearby from within their home, the porcupine and crocodile Klugetowners that worked under Gatto started to sneak off ahead. “...And we’ll take care’a that airship,” said the croc.

“Finally,” said the porcupine, “It’s dynamite time!”

“Shhh! Shaddap!”

“...And the bullet ricocheted off of a stalagmite which clocked him right through the cranium,” Axel tapped the top of his head. “That’s pretty much how it happened.”

Vido was entranced by the story. When it was finished, he clapped and chirped with joy. “Woah...that sounded amazing!”

Kora purred with agreement. “Indeed. Though, I’mma little confused. Just where did that stick of dynamite go?”

“Oh that….yeah, that went right where the sun don’t shine, lil’ missy. It was a contingency plan.”

The she-cat shuddered with her fur standing on end. “Brrr...sounds like that was quite the battle. Don’t even want to imagine the finer details of that little tidbit.”

While they had been talking, Vido returned to his airship’s controls and found that they were about a mile away from Klugetown by this point. “Hey everyone, listen up. We’re getting ready to touch down soon. Axel, I recall that you said you wanted to scout the area first, yes?”

The hippogriff had already removed his gear and reverted himself back to his more casual appearance with nothing on. “That’s right. Just wanna make sure we know what we’re gettin’ at before we git down there, ya’ll.”

“And you’re okay with this, gata?”

“I most certainly am,” Kora replied, “If we have a proper understanding of the situation before we get involved, we’ll be as good as gold.”

“Understood.” Vido spun the wheel of the airship. “We’re about to touch down now.”

Once the airship landed, Axel would exit, and fly into the air. “Keep an eye on me, alright ya’ll?”

Both Kora and Vido replied with a pair of binoculars over their eyes. “Si, amigo!”

“Right away, sir.”

With the knowledge of his allies covering him, he took off. Axel’s beige body color would allow him to blend in with the sandy wind and landscape of the surrounding area. This would enable him to scout out, and inspect Klugetown with little chance of being spotted by the enemy. His pegasus blood would also come into play, as the flew clouds in the sky would also serve as a reliable source of cover.

There was nothing out of place so far, except…

“Wait a sec,” Axel thought carefully as he observed the ground from a cloud, “Is that Mr. Giovanni?”

His eyes were not deceptive. The minotaur from the saloon’s restaurant was walking away from the desert town towards a valley at a lower elevation. Instead of his usual attire, the minotaur had on a plaid lumberjack’s sweater and a green fisherman’s hat. Upon closer inspection, he realized that Tony was carrying a tackle box in his left hand, and a fishing rod in his right.

After about thirty minutes of walking, Axel would find that the minotaur had left Klugetown entirely and was about to head to a different area entirely.

Out of fear for his safety, he swooped down at a gentle pace to keep from startling him. “...Tony? Is that you?”

The minotaur turned and greeted the hippogriff with a smile. “Remy my boy? What perfect timing! I was actually on my way to go fishing. Would ya like to join me?”

While he wanted to refuse, he couldn’t quite bring himself to do so. “Hrm...maybe he’ll have some info for me. May as well accept the offer so I can have enough knowledge going in.” “Sure. But just for a bit, though.”

Tony readily accepted Axel’s response, and put an arm around the hippogriff’s neck. “Darn tootin’! Thanks for comin’ along, son. Now follow me. There’s this secret location that I always go to that nobody else knows about.”

Axel was let go, and properly landed with his hooves and claws on the sandy path. “Oh? How do you get there?”

“Hmhm…” the older minotaur chuckled, “That’s the secret. Just follow me.” He continued walking forward, and when the wind blew a whirlwind of sand around, Tony had seemingly disappeared into nothingness.

“...What in the hell? Does it gotta do with yer timin’?”

Axel would attempt to replicate Tony’s actions by taking a few steps forward. At first, nothing happened, which left him rightfully confused. “...I don’t get it. Whatcha gotta do her--WAH!!”

Out of nowhere, he felt the wind blow him directly down the hill. After a bit of a tumble, he came to a stop and looked up to see a small oasis surrounded by loads of trees and shrubs with a small lake in the center.

Tony had waited patiently for him, and picked him up off the sandy ground to help him up. “There ya go, son. Surprise! This is where I do all’a my fishin’.”

“...Landsakes,” Axel muttered. He couldn’t believe that there was such a fertile land that existed within the Bone Dry Desert...