Advent Of A Gunslinger

Axel soon woke up in the infirmary of the manor, being watched carefully by Leona who had been checking his vital signs.

“...stabilizing. Heartrate normal. He’s--he’s awake…”

“...I lost…so much blood…” he weakly muttered as he looked at the bandages that surrounded his sandy-yellow body. “Am I alive? Ma…pa…hello?”

Mona paused for a moment, stopping cold once she heard him speak. “...Poor guy. I can’t imagine what it must be like for him in this state.”

“Fleche…where’s Shrapnel and Vertex?” Axel continued to call out, dropping the names of his two brothers in his state of delirium.

As much as she wanted to leave him be, Mona knew she couldn’t allow him to stew in that state for any longer. “...Mr. Remington. You’re here. It’s us…”

Axel looked up and saw the feline doctors who had been taking care of him. That’s when he came to his senses and realized what had transpired. “Ah…I gotcha. I thought I could see ‘em…just for a fleetin’ moment. Or was that just a light…?”

“You incurred a lot of blood loss, sir,” Mona explained, looking at his IV drip. “Don’t worry. Your friends are here and we have both nursed and apprehended Topaz.”

“We recommend putting her to trial,” Leona spoke up, “The Abyssinian council still technically runs jurisdiction over this region, so it would fall to King Mau and Queen Bombay.”

Mona flicked her tail and cleared her throat. “Ahem--let’s allow him to rest up first, then he can think about that later…”

But Axel’s mind was already focused elsewhere. “Where’s Martha? Clarabelle? Everyone else? Are they alright? What’s goin’ on?”

“They’re fine, Mr. Remington,” Mona went on, “No lasting injuries and we’ve confirmed that all the other bovine women who were captured are also safe and sound. The Valley has mostly returned to its normal state.”

“...’mostly’?” Axel asked inquisitively.

“Well, loads of them are worried about you,” Leona answered, “But the news that you’re alive and well should quell any lasting concerns that the population of minotaurs may have at this point.”

Axel took a deep breath, and shook his head. “Ah…well. Guess things coulda been much worse than they are.”

“Would you like to speak with your friends?” Mona asked, “If not, there’s no pressure. Just let me know, and I’ll send them in when you’re ready.”

“No no…it’s fine--go right on ahead,” he replied with a nod, “I’d like’ta see ‘em mahself.”

The feline doctors obliged and left the room. A few moments later, Kora, Vido, and Fleche would all enter to sing their praises and relief at Axel’s wellbeing.

“Lord Remington…you’re well!” Kora purred as she flicked her tail. “I was so concerned for you.”

“Aye, that’s my brother after all,” Fleche added while shedding a tear, “He’s…he’s grown up so fast. When we were younger, it was always me protectin’ him…”

The hippogriff chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Yeah well…the world changes in crazy ways once ya get older, don’t it? Wish we coulda saved ma, pa, and the twins but…”

“I’m sure they’re proud of you,” Vido did his best to cheer him up, “No matter what happens. They’ll always love you. Just like mi padre does for me.”

“...All’a y’all are adorable,” Axel replied with a sigh. “Couldn’t ask for a better new family than the one I got right in front’a me.” He tried to laugh, but found himself strained. “Ah--oof…if I wasn’t so busted up, I’d prolly hug ya.”

“It’s alright, brother--there’s lots of other folks that wanna see ye besides us. But we really should let him rest fer now, don’tcha think?” Fleche asked of the others, hinting at the fact that they should probably leave Axel be so that he could recover.

And the griffon and abyssinian obliged.

“Si--no problema,” Vido said as he turned to leave, “Come see us when you’re feeling better, alright. Then we can crack open a cold one together.”

“And we can all revel in our achievements as heroes,” Kora added with a purr, “I’m just happy this adventure is finally coming to a conclusion. All of us have managed to overcome the most dangerous, perilous challenges that have befallen us…”

“Aye--they should write a book about us! I wonder what it’d be called…er, Cowboy And The Misfits? Rangers Aplenty?” Fleche would continue to rattle off various title names as they all left the room, leaving Axel alone.

The gunslinger relaxed and began to think about what to do next.

“That Topaz gal…she prolly knows way more than she lets on. Killin’ her would set us back years’a progress. Maybe Mio should take her back to the royal kitty council and put her up to trial so they can decide. Hmm…and I should definitely go with--and so should Martha come’ta think of it. Her testimony can make things easier. I wanna see this through to the end…as soon as I get outta here.”