Advent Of A Gunslinger

Topaz was sentenced to life in prison for her crimes against various races. She was spared from a public flogging solely because she was willing to cooperate with them in helping the Abyssinians locate and destroy any remaining slave laborers that she knew of.

Once that case was over, Mio would start to focus his efforts on rebuilding Klugetown into an actual, functioning society. With the aid of the King and Queen of Abyssinia, he was given an ample budget and manpower in the form of volunteers to start working on various projects in order to repair the ghost town. Naturally, Spitha would remain right alongside him throughout the entire endeavor.

Vido made sure to return to his mother…who immediately held onto and clutched her son tightly upon his return. To her surprise, she was greeted by Captain Celaeno and her crew which included Zephryos and Rusty, who introduced themselves to his mother and explained the courageous deeds her son had accomplished alongside her, leaving her a rather proud griffon.

Kora made up her mind and decided to return to her martial arts dojo in Klugetown. Once she realized that the city would remain uninhabitable for a while, she relocated them all to Chang’s Kingdom in the Far East…

…where the monkey Prince had since ascended the throne from his father. Now in charge of the Monkey Kingdom, he would enact reforms to cut down on the underground fight clubs and give individuals such as ‘Rufang’ a better life as members of his personal guard. Something that Kora was all too eager to join in on alongside a minotaur and griffon who had relocated there as well.

Axel had decided to retire to Appleloosa for a time where he remained sheriff, although he didn’t stay put for long. Every other day or so, he would volunteer to aid the griffons in Griffonstone alongside Vido. There, he’d teach them the ways of ranching and maintaining farmland so that they’d have food to eat other than rocks. Fleche had also decided to return there, and reflect on her life with her brother as they caught up on lost time that they missed from their childhood.

Lastly, Roseanne would stay behind at the Manor with Martha for the time being as that was her closest family that she had left after Tony’s passing…

Everyone would slowly adapt back into their new lives for a good six months or so before they would see each other again…

Six months later…

Everyone had received a special invitation to a re-opening of Klugetown to celebrate the improvements Mio had made to the city. Naturally, everyone was excited to see just how much had changed since they had all last seen each other, so of course they were all more than willing to oblige.

About two days after receiving the invitations, everyone would make their way towards Klugetown…

Axel and his sister Fleche were on a train.

“Whatcha think Mio’s got planned for us, brother? Should I have brought me dancin’ shoes?”

“I don’t think it’s a formal shindig, sis,” Axel said with a hint of a grin on his face, “I think he just wants us’ta have fun after all we’ve been through.”

Fleche clapped her hooves. “Well if you’re smilin’, that makes me feel great about it already. Been a long time since I’ve seen ye happy.”

Axel chuckled. “...Has it, now? Well I’m glad that yer able’ta see me smilin’ again, sis. Just hope ma, pa, and our brothers are up there lookin’ down on us.”

“Ey. I bet they’re very proud of ye,” Fleche encouraged him, patting him on the head with her wing. “You’ve practically revitalized the entire fookin’ Southern landscape. I think ye done more’ta benefit these lands than even them Elements of Harmony.”

Axel scoffed at the notion while rolling a coin in between his claws. “Heh…you always spoiled me with praise when we were younger. I think that’s what’s kept me goin’ all these years tryin’a find ya’ll. Happy I did. Now life is much better.”

“Aye. I can very much say the same. Now we have our whole lives ahead of us to look forward to…” She trailed off and her ear flicked. “...hold on a tick. Do I hear saxophone music?”

Axel looked outside of the train window as they pulled into Klugetown’s newly-made train stations. At the front of the entrance to the city, loads of Abyssinian cat-folk were playing in a jazz band with saxophones, drums, and horns!

The city itself had also become a bustling desert town with an oasis and loads of vegetation throughout its perimeter. The roads were no longer bare sand, but rather paved over with beautiful cobblestone. And the buildings were now all made of proper materials instead of slapdash sheets of metal!

And beyond that, there were still numerous buildings under construction in the distance. But for all intents and purposes, Klugetown had been reborn.

“Well I’ll be dadgum…” Axel muttered as he stepped off the train, “It’s a whole goddamn city down here.”

“Oi! Reminds me of the tales of Austailia! A bustling city surrounded on all sides by desert,” Fleche mentioned as she followed him, “Wouldn’t be surprised if we met some of them here, eh?”

“...I wouldn’t blame ‘em,” Axel said with a grin as he snapped his claw-fingers to the band’s music. “This sounds just like the music they play down under.”

“Wait…ye’ve been there before, brother?”

“Hm, guess I still ain’t told ya everythin’ about where I’ve been these last 20-somethin’ odd years.”

Moments later, they were interrupted when a red dragoness swooped down to greet them. “Ah! It’s you! Good to see you, Mr. Axel. My husband wants to speak with you.”

“...Husband?”