Advent Of A Gunslinger

Axel didn’t take this derision lightly. Discrimination of any kind wasn’t tolerated by the gunslinger--especially based on where one was from. “Now wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute,” he called out the empress as he stepped forward.

“Wh--you can’t--Lord Reming--!” Chang would try to stop him, but the hippogriff simply held out a wing to keep the doctor back.

“Oh?” The empress monkey gazed down upon the hippogriff from her chair as if she was sitting high on a throne. “And just what gives you the idea that you can speak to me that way, peasant?” she emphasized just to get under the cowboy’s skin.

Beneath his mask, Axel grit his teeth. He knew very well that he wasn’t just some farm-boy, but also knew that he had to choose his words carefully in order to get his point across without making a mess of the situation.

“Listen’ta me, lady,” Axel shot back, “We needja to cooperate with us here. There’s a chance that you may very well die if ya don’t listen. Some yokel with a marksman rifle is gonna be aimin’ at yer head. We ask that ya hold off on--”

The empress stood up from her seat with her arms folded and pushing up her chest to flaunt her looks while also asserting her dominance. “And how do I know that you aren’t trying to set me up at this very moment, hm? I wasn’t born yesterday, Mr. Yankee-Doodle. I’ve outwitted more assassination attempts than you can shake a stick at, and can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

“Rrgh…” As much as he wanted to argue, the empress had a point. There was no easy way to prove that they were telling the truth. Unless...

Behind Axel, Kora would whisper something to Chang.

“...Psst. Lord Wukong--reveal yourself to her,” she said while speaking into his ear, “That way, she’ll take us seriously.”

Chang stood there while staring at the ground. The fact that someone such as his mother could be so rude caused his monkey paw to curl. “Do I seriously have to flaunt who I am just to gain any respect? Is this how father allows her to act? What a joke…” Once he gathered his thoughts, he mustered up a response. “You have a point. I may have to…”

But just as he reached for his glasses…

The empress would speak in her native language. “Zǒule. Púrén, zhǔnbèi yùnshū.”

In those next few seconds, a few monkey servants would appear with a sedan chair which Empress Su sat upon with her eyes shut. It was a beautiful throne chair made of fine red leather and gold accents that rested upon two stilts that were meant to be carried. Two muscular monkey males picked it up--one from the front, and the other from the back.

With a clap of her hands, the servants started walking. The guards from the temple would then follow, leaving the group by themselves.

“Damn everything…” Chang swore as he watched his mother leave, “I apologize, everyone. I wasn’t expecting her to be so...unagreeable.”

“I’ll say,” Vido hissed, “If she treats random folks like that, how does she treat her enemies?”

“See--I’d like’ta not find that out, pard,” Axel replied, “But she’s makin’ it mighty difficult with her strange stance on what she deems ‘western’ folk,” he said with air-quotes with his claws.

Kora gave it some thought, and shook her head. “While she may be uncooperative, we have to be steady, friends. And to be frank, I don’t blame her for not trusting us. Although…” she looked at Chang with a worried expression, “...Why did you hesitate to show your mother who you are?”

There was also the odd fact that Chang’s own mother didn’t recognize what her son sounded like. Something that Vido, a fellow only child, was quick to point out. “And come to think of it, why didn’t she recognize your voice, hombre?” Vido added, “Mi mama always knows when I’m nearby because of the way I sound.”

Sadly, Chang chose not to answer that inquiry for the moment. “...I’ll explain later. For now, we need to get down to the Wushi, or Lion, Festival.” His ashamed face was traded for a more determined one as he explained what he wanted done next. “Lords Remington and Magpie. I’d like for you both to take to the air and see if you can find anything out of the ordinary.”

“Got it,” Axel replied with a nod.

“Roger,” Vido added.

The doctor primate would then turn to Kora. “You and I will scout the ground level. Near the parade itself. Blend in, yes?”

Kora took out the tome she had acquired. “If necessary, this will be a great opportunity to make use of the spells I’ve been reading about.”

Moved by their immediate responses, Chang hesitated as he lifted his glasses to wipe his eyes. “...Thank you for your support, everyone. Ahem--now let’s get going.”

Meanwhile, at the same time, on the other side of the Imperial Capital…

Topaz had her servants pilot her private yacht across the water all the way from the Abyssinian Coast to Hong Wukong’s port. It was easily large enough to fit an entire party's worth of people on it. Once there, she and Alade both exited, and made their way through the back end of the city via hidden alleyways.

“Quite the illustrious place,” Alade commented with a neutral expression, following the unicorn dutifully.

The brown unicorn mare had dressed herself in the native Wukong style with red robes and had done her hair up in a bun with the classic look of two needles poking through. “Oh, yez it iz!” the mare excitedly pointed out as she skipped along the nicely paved road. “I never knew monkeez could be so--how you say--creative!”

Alade rolled his eyes. “Watch yourself. You could earn someone’s ire talking like dat. So where are we going, anyways?”

“Oh, zat’s right,” she calmed herself down, and stopped. “We are...headed for a special meeting.” She sniffed the air, and pulled a hard right down a well-lit, clean alley near apartments. “Zis way, my chatte friend.”

Once again, Alade continued to follow with nothing left to say. “Dis place is really beautiful. I wonda if Ejei would like to take a vacation here.”

Soon enough, the smell of fresh incense would fill the air. This led Topaz right where she needed to go. At the end of the alleyway, a steel door would await them, to which the unicorn knocked.

And a pair of eyes would stare at them from the small slit near the top of the door. “Ni-hao. Password?”

“Yes. It iz...erm…” Topaz used her magic to levitate a sheet of paper from within one of the pockets on the inside of her robe. Then she started to read it as best as she could while squinting at the words. “Wo...wei...sywang tanshee...er...lye?”

From behind, Alade couldn’t help but sigh while chuckling internally.

“...Your Kongese sucks,” said the voice from beyond the door as he opened it. There was a monkey man in a leather jacket and jeans--not exactly the type of clothes that most of them normally wear. “But that’s correct. Come on.”

With a triumphant smile, Topaz put the paper away. “Oui-oui! Come on, Monsieur Kesari.”

Once inside, they could both see loads of gambling tables around the room along with incense and tea being brewed on a stove nearby. It was a large, spacious room with many tables with monkey-folk either playing card games, dominoes, or engaging in conversation in Kongese.

The one that had let Topaz and Alade in immediately shut the door, and locked it behind himself. “You wish to see Sun Gao, yes?”

“Indeed. We would like to discuz some deals regarding her pony trade,” the unicorn said casually.

Which resulted in the primate’s confused stare as he scratched one of his ears. “...But are you not…?”

“Oho, mon ami--it’s a matter of supplying zose who need products directly from ze source.” She casually levitated file from within her robe, and filed her left forehoof. “Now, can I speak to zis Gal, please?”

Alade would add, “Do not undaestimate her. She carries more power than you would imagine at first glance.”

Given that there was a buff catman easily twice his size, the door monkey was absolutely not in a position to argue. “...Okay, I’ll take you to Sunny. Right this way.”

He led them through the room and into a hallway where several valuable pieces of art hung on the walls. The doormonkey knocked on the door at the end of the hall and said, “Hēi. Yǒurén lái kàn nǐle.”

There was a muffled response from the other side of the door, and it was opened a few seconds later. Behind the door was the very same monkey woman that had fought Vido and Kora on the train. “Oh...I know who this is. Let her and her associate in.”

“Understood,” the door monkey bowed, and left them all alone to return to his post.

Topaz and Alade entered Sun’s office, and she shut the door behind them. “Welcome. Please have a seat.”

“Let’s cut to ze chase, hm?” Topaz said as she sat down, “Where are ze captured ponies you have awaiting transport? We are here for zem.”

“I’m afraid it will take a while before they’re all ready,” Sun replied as she propped her legs upon the desk. “However, you’re both more than welcome to stay. We have a show that gets put on every so often called Xìngjiāo Biǎoxiàn. I’m hoping you’re willing to join us later on in the early hours of the morning.”

Topaz clapped her hooves with an excited spark in her eyes. “Oooh! Theatre? Sounds magnifique! We will mozt certainly attend!”

“Excellent. I hope to see you then,” Sun said with a smug smile on her face followed by a wink.

Alade wasn’t amused, however. His expression remained neutral. “She’s up to something.”