Advent Of A Gunslinger

Axel had taken off before any of his friends could figure out where he went. The impulsive gunslinger was dead set on making sure absolutely nobody else that he loved would kick the bucket so long as he drew breath.

“No…I ain’t gon’ let this happen…and Rose is already down there. Goddammit…” He muttered to himself as he flew as fast as he possibly could. Thankfully, it wouldn’t take long for him to approach the valley where the minotaurs lived, but he landed down on his claws and hooves before he got too close as he didn’t want anyone to spot him from the air.

When he landed, he took cover behind one of the nearest formations of sand, and peeked out from behind it. “Alright, Roseanne…where are ya?” His keen eagle eyes allowed him to see far out into the distance, and lo and behold…

Roseanne was doing the exact same thing, albeit much closer. With her shotgun at the ready, she loaded it up with two more shells. Her hands were visibly shaking along with uncharacteristically bloodshot eyes that showcased how much she had been crying on the way there. Everything about her told a sense of distress that led her thought process being just as impulsive as Axel’s--if not worse.

As much as he wanted to take care of this, he needed to calm her down first before she entered the situation and caused more damage than she was prepared to deal with.

So first, the hippogriff waited…and as soon as a dust storm rolled in, he flew across the empty expanse of desert to catch up to her without being noticed.

“Rose. Rose!” he called out to her.

“I’mma kill ‘em…” she mumbled hysterically, “I’mma take his head and shove it up his cotton pickin’ zippin’ flippin’ mothafuckin’ suckin’ ass!”

SMACK!

Axel swiped her across the face--not hard enough to leave a mark, but just enough to catch her attention. “Rose. Calm yerself. We need’ta be careful or he’ll kill ‘em all. You don’t want that now, do ya?”

“No…sorry I…” the minotaur gal took a moment to compose herself with a deep exhale. “I’m alright now. Thanks. But what should we do?”

“‘We’ ain’t about’ta do nothin’.” Axel flexed one of his claws and prepared to walk out from behind the rock. “I am gonna get out there and give that black cat man a good hornswagglin’ he ain’t gon’ soon forget.”

“I can help ya,” Roseanne insisted, “I’ll see if I can break Martha and the gals out before he can do anythin’ to ‘em.” She tilted her head downwards. “...Clarabelle’s out there too ya know?”

Axel nearly bit his tongue, and replied with a quiet nod. “...I know. Trust me. I got this.”

“...The others are prolly gonna be after us soon, too,” Rose commented with a defeated tone as she just then became aware of how foolish it was for her to run off on her own. “Consarn it…maybe I shoulda waited.”

“Maybe,” Axel looked over his shoulder and flashed her a smile, “But I think everything’s gonna work out just fine even more than we would’ve expected. You just do what you think’ll be best.” With that, he trotted on his claws out to the middle of the valley…

And eventually, he’d be face to face with Alade and all of the restrained minotaurs.

“You’re here,” said the cat man, “I think you already know why I’ve done this.”

“Cuz I killed sumbitch that you loved,” Axel replied while looking at the ground beneath his claws. “Trust me, I know good hell well why. Doesn’t make you any less much of a dingo than I am.”

“Enough talk,” Alade insisted, “We could banta back and forth all day about who’s superior. Instead, I want to settle this once and for all with a battle of will.”

Axel had no issue with this. His claw was already twitching towards his holstered pistol. “Then let’s draw.”

“No,” Alade denied the gunslinger outright as he flexed his muscular arms. “Dis will be a battle of raw power. Not bullets. You are in no position to refuse…” He placed one of his hind paws on Martha’s head, causing the faun woman to snap--!

“Getchyer grubby mitts offa me, boy! Axel, screw his shit six ways’ta Sunday!” she screamed from beneath the weight of the tom’s foot.

And Clarabelle roared with veins bulging on her neck from the intensity of her screams, “Stop it! STOP IT! LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE’S JUST A LITTLE OLD LADY!”

Clang.

Axel didn’t waste any time and quickly dropped his guns to the ground. “Let ‘er go.”

“Dat’s better…” Alade took his foot off of Martha’s head, and stepped towards Axel’s direction. “Show me just how far you’re willing to go for someone else, cowboy.”

Axel began to idly flip a coin in his claw, rolling it between each of his fingers. “I just got one thing’ta say’ta you.”

The tom tilted his head to the left, then right, cracking his neck as he raised his arms into a combative stance--claws unsheathed from his fingers. “And what might that be?”

Axel flipped the coin into the air. “Heads or tails?”