Advent Of A Gunslinger

CRASH!

With a powerful charge, Rose managed to break through the bookshelf and into the secret passageway with little effort. “YAH!”

Once the dust settled, the entire group could see into the passage, and find that there was another freight elevator.

Kora took a few steps forward, and sniffed. “The blood trail stops here, but the scent of dragon scales and bull horns are very fresh. There is no doubt in my mind that they went this way, everyone.”

“Then let’s get a move on,” Axel muttered as he made his way to the elevator, “I got a feelin’ somethin’ real bad is about’ta happen soon.”

“If pa’s hurt...I swear I’mma--grrrgh!” Rose stomped with a huff as she tried to gather herself.

Vido would attempt to calm her down. “Easy, amiga--we’re almost there. Let’s not lose our heads now.”

“Vido’s right,” Kora said as she followed Axel to the elevator, “We have to keep our wits about us. Don’t worry, Roseanne, we’ll find your father. I can promise you that.”

The words of her allies kept her emotions in check. Without them, Rose would have likely succumbed to anger and fought blindly without any sense of self or direction.

“I...thanks, ya’ll,” she replied with a shaky voice, “Guess Ah do need’ta think about what we’re gonna do before we do it.”

Axel had already called for the elevator with the push of a button. “This way, let’s go. And hey…” he beckoned Rose to approach him.

And she did. “...Yeah? What’s wrong, Axel?”

“I’m quite fond of yer pa, myself,” he said quietly, “So I’mma do my damndest to make sure nothin’ happens to him. So don’t go insane on me. Alright?”

Rose nearly shed a tear. “...And here I thought the rumors on his bounty about him bein’ a cold-blooded killer were true. Turns out he ain’t so bad after all…”

He snapped his claw-fingers to get her attention. “Ahem--you listenin’? I said let’s get going,” he vocalized much louder to cover up his previous statement.

“Oh--yeah,” she replied, and joined everyone on the elevator, “I’m with ya’ll. Thanks.”

Axel breathed a sigh of relief as he got on the elevator too. He then pushed the button for the lowest possible level. “This has to be it…”

Down in the facility…

Rongu would begin to show Tony what exactly he had been referring to. On one of the files was a jagged set of crystals that were an odd brown color. “I’m sure you’re aware of the crystal heart that powers the Empire, yes? Well, the one I’m after is similar, but much different. These crystals used to be a part of a sacred beast’s body that roamned this land centuries ago. A mineral worth far more than gold or even platinum due to its power. Imagine...a power source that you can craft into ammunition that never runs out. Or use it to power cities through the harshest winters or driest summers. First aid kits, generators, currency--you name it. We call it Aionite.”

“...So that’s what this is,” Tony muttered with a heartbroken tone, “The restaurant, your words, this entire place--it’s all for some stupid mineral?!”

“I’m afraid so…” the dragon sighed, “Which also means that your work has done nothing but further my own goals. But I’m afraid that everything must come to an end now that you know the truth.”

Not to be outdone, Tony would verbally shoot the dragon in the heart with a question. “Does your wife know about this?”

Just as expected, Rongu paused on a dime. His scales looked as if they were about to stand up on end. “You...don’t you dare bring her into this conversation.”

“So you’ve been doing this behind her back the whole time?” Tony went on, gritting his teeth at the dragon, “And here I thought you both were an honest couple that actually loved each other. No...you’re just a fraud. A man hiding behind excuses just to further his own selfish goals.” He scoffed, and turned his head. “I did my best to be honest with my woman at all times, and she was taken from me by force. But you...you constantly deceive your lady, and tell her that you’re a well-to-do businessman when you’re just a slave-laboring mongrel!”

BAM!

Rongu delivered a swift punch to the minotaur’s face. “Enough! You don’t know me. The business I have with my wife is my own. And I won’t be lectured by some chef about ambitions! I’m looking to change the world...not just live in it.”

Surprisingly, the strike didn’t seem to bother Tony one bit. He stared the dragon down with no semblance of fear behind his visage. “Then prove to me you’ve got some balls. Let me out of this chair and fight me like you’re a man who cares about his ideals.”

“I don’t have the time to waste on you. At this point, you’re as good as dead,” Rongu responded coldly.

“Then why is your cat burglar here?” Tony asked with a hint of smugness in his voice, “Think it’s plausible that he realized that you weren’t worth working for?”

The dragon scoffed. “Blech. I could care less what happens to him at this point. It’s clear he had no intention of following my orders. Why would I waste my time on someone like that?” With a snap of his fingers, a few abyssinian nurses would appear from the shadows.

“Sir,” one of them said, standing at the ready.

“Ladies. Please see to it that our guest here is properly taken care of,” he commanded.

Tony glared at the nurse she-cats that surrounded him, and spoke up. “...Your wife know that you’re cheating on her with pussycat dolls?”

Suddenly, the dragon would force his way through the nurses, and lean in towards the minotaur’s face, staring him down. “Listen here, and you listen well. Let’s get one thing straight. My wife is blissfully unaware of the nature of my work so that she can live a happy, normal life without potentially being targeted by my adversaries. Only when I strike the core of the aionite and change our lives will I finally reveal what I’ve been working on. That way, she can reap the fruits of my labor without interference.”

Tony was so appalled that he couldn’t even formulate a response. From his perspective, this dragon had essentially wasted his entire existence on deception towards his significant other. He was not one to spout claims such as life being unfair, but this really gave Tony perspective on how certain individuals could perform sinister misdeeds and feel no shred of empathy for those around them.

Because of that, Tony saw Rongu as a lost cause.

“...Get outta my sight,” he muttered to his face, “I got nothin’ more to say to you.”

The dragon backed off, and cleared his throat. “Hmph. Stupid old man….” he turned to the nurse bridgae and gave them an order, “See to it that he doesn’t recover from this, and dispose of his body. I don’t want any trails linked back to us.”

“What about you, sir?” said the head nurse--a black she-cat with yellow eyes.

“I’m going to head back home before my wife gets anxious,” he checked the watch on his wrist, “It’s been about twenty minutes--so I need to hurry.” He turned, and flew off towards another exit at the end of the room. “Now go on. Take care of him.”

As soon as Rongu left, the nurses would get right to work. With a swift injection to Tony’s neck…

SHINK!

The minotaur was out cold, and the nurses began to operate…

Meanwhile, topside…

Mio had entered Rongu’s office.

“Sir. I noticed commotion near the mino….taur’s….”

He trailed off mid-sentence as soon as he saw the busted hole in the wall that led to the passageway. Something was wrong, and he could feel it. “...Joyous. As if I needed another chore today.”