Advent Of A Gunslinger

Back in the middle of the capital city…

It was as Chang had described earlier. Main Street of the Capital was flooded with monkey-folk who were all excited awaiting for the various dancers in costumes to travel down the road with the royal Empress Su herself in tow--being carried by her servants, naturally.

At the same time, Axel and Vido were flying high in the air above the crowd with their eagle eyes peeled for any suspicious activity on this sunny day.

“See anythin’ yet?” Axel asked his griffon companion.

“Nothing,” Vido replied, “But I’ll know it when I see it. Everyone us more or less concentrated into one area, see.”

“That’s right...guess it’s a waitin’ game…” While they were keeping watch, Axel’s mind couldn’t help but wander a bit as he thought about those files Vido had gathered. “...So what didja find on them papers, friend?”

Vido kept his response brief. “In short terms? The possibility that my father was involved--and taken by those gato bastards. If they’re here too, then there’s no doubt that they’ll be after more and we can’t let that happen.”

Which was their entire plan, after all. Crippling their offshore supply line and keeping anymore slaves from coming in would ensure an easier time in the future. They just had to make sure the Empress wasn’t assassinated, and could grant them clearance to search the city.

At the same time, Axel felt Vido’s pain to a T, and attempted to comfort the griffon. “I’ll make sure it won’t. Count on it. We’ll avenge our folks together.”

Hearing those words from Axel made Vido smile. “Ay, gracias, friend,” he replied, and focused down on the ground, “Now let’s keep our eyes open…

“Wonder how Kora and Chang are doin’...”

Down on the ground…

Just as planned, both the monkey doctor and abyssinian martial artist were down on the ground level amidst the excitable crowd of other monkeys who were eagerly awaiting the Empress’ arrival. Well, to be more specific, they were both on the rooftop of a nearby closed shop located on that street.

“Good,” said the doctor, “We’ll have perfect vantage point from here.”

“Indeed. However…” Kora leaned against the brick wall of the roof, and sighed, “...I can’t help but wonder something. Why didn’t you reveal to your mother that you were….you?”

“I was thinking about it, but hesitated,” Chang replied as he nervously scratched behind his neck, “I expected her to be a much more fair, understanding individual. But instead, she passed forth prejudice based on nationality and class. That’s...not something I expected.”

Kora turned around, and looked him in the eyes. “...Do you know her well?”

“Yes.” He nodded, then looked at the crowd down below with a regrettable frown. “Or rather...I thought I did. Before I left, Mother Su was a kind soul that always welcomed visitors no matter where they were from or who they were. But now? She actively goes out of her way to talk down to us? That doesn’t feel right…I wonder what happened…”

The gears were already turning in Kora’s head. “From the sound of things, I’d wager his father may have something to do with it. But I won’t throw out any accusations just yet. We need more evidence.” The she-cat then said, “Whatever the reason, I’m sure we’ll figure it out. I’ve got your back, alright?”

“Xie-xie,” he replied as he raised a pair of binoculars to his face to survey the crowd, “Thank you, Lady Kora. But now, we must be vigilant and focus on our target.”

“Indeed...you never know what could appear…”

The parade went on like it always did every month. Various monkey dancers would start to travel down the path. Some were martial artists performing synchronized kicks and flips like something out of a kung-fu movie. Some were fan dancers, elegantly spinning and twirling in a perfect row. And of course, no one could forget the iconic Wushi--the Lion costume that various performers wore all at once. The yellow, red, and white beast traveled down the road gleefully--much to the excitement of all of the spectators who whooped and hollered to their heart’s content.

There were a few other groups such as those who played musical instruments such as silk lutes, bamboo flutes, and even a few gong players.

But nothing made everyone more excited than the arrival of the Empress herself. While being carried by her servants in her portable throne, she stood up and waved to the crowd at large. However, there was a certain...emptiness to her smile. A smile that was wide, bright, and perfect with shiny teeth--but her eyes. Her ruby red eyes did not smile with her. They remained as cold and stoic as when she spoke to Axel and his group.

And from on high, Chang noticed that expression on her face--or lack thereof--but chose not to point this out to Kora. Instead, he kept those thoughts to himself. “...What is wrong with you, mother?”

Everything in the Festival was going swimmingly for the first ten minutes or so. Above everything, Axel would note the fact that the wind had started to pick up, which made it more difficult to hover in one place.

“Yeesh…” he muttered, “What’s with all the gale force? They ain’t got no one that controls the weather here so how…?”

Vido pointed something out. “...Boss. I think I’ve got something. There’s several long sightlines that are overlooking the street. A water tower to the West--in front of the parade, a massive rock formation to the East--behind the parade, and a hotel to the South--to the left.”

“Hrm...couple that with the winds, and we’re lookin’ at quite a strange day to try and kill somebody…” As an expert on weapons tactics, he knew that the wind would make things a bit less accurate for anyone firing even a high caliber weapon.

And he would be right.

….THUD! CLANK!

One of Su’s servants--the one in front--fell to the ground, causing the entire throne to tip over.

“EEK!” The monkey woman screeched, and the crowd fell silent. “What are you--what happened?!”

Upon closer inspection, her first servant had been shot clear through the head with a hole the size of a golf ball left behind. Blood, and brain matter stained the pavement of where he once stood, now dead.

“AIIIEEE!” The Empress screamed, “Who did this?! How dare they--?!”

At first, the crowd was confused. They weren’t sure if this was a part of the performance or not. That is, until...

THUD!

Her other man-servant fell to the ground. His brains blasted out of his head. There was a killer afoot.

The crowd immediately fell into a frenzied panic. The performers immediately got out of character and tried their best to escort everyone out of the way.

Su was stuck in a state of disbelief and panic. Her arms shivering, and eyes twitching…

And as soon as it happened, Chang and Kora knew they had to jump into action.

“...Wh--how--who--?” the she-cat stirred, her eyes darting around the scenery.

Chang noted at which the servants were killed, and deduced that it had to come from the east. And the only structure with any high ground in that direction…

“Shuǐtǎ--the water tower! Lady Kora, run across the rooftops and close in on that position!” he said as he drew his Variable Wukong Firearm.

With her eyes locked onto the structure at the end of the street, she took off. With skilled leaps, she jumped across each rooftop while running on all fours in order to make her way towards the tower.

Next, Chang would magically enhance the length of his weapon’s barrel to match that of a marksman rifle. Then, he would leap down into the street with it aimed at the tower using one hand.

At the same time, Su’s guards from before would appear on the scene.

“Prince Chang!” the female guard cried, “You would put yourself in danger for--?!”

BANG!

Chang fired his weapon in the direction of the tower to bog down the enemy with suppressive fire. “Just get the Empress out of here! They will be stuck reloading for a while, so this is our chance!”

The guards immediately followed orders and escorted the still-shellshocked Empress away from the streets and into the nearest building as quickly as possible.

And while this happened, both Vido and Axel could hear the commotion down below and see the crowd disperse like insects.

Within seconds, the hippogriff drew one of his guns. “Our monkey-friend’s in trouble, Vido. Get down there and see whatcha can do while I deal with our killer.”

“On it!” Vido saluted and flew straight downwards as fast as he could. On his way down, he could see various monkey children that had tripped and fallen in the panic with no one to save them. He glanced at Chang for a second to check on how he was performing.

“The prince seems confident from where he’s standing. I need to get those kids out of the street.”

With a quick swoop, Vido passed over Chang and flew further down the street until he could grab up the first crying child. “You’re alright, chico. Just stay calm…”

The monkey boy wasn’t very fluent in the Western language, but did his best to respond. “...Thanka...yu sir…”

“No problem. Where’s the nearest armored building? Like a museum or something?”

The monkey boy pointed to his left. Sure enough, there was a museum just ahead. Vido would drop the boy off there, and prepare to take off again.

“Alright, head inside and stay there until we deal with the shooter. Okay?”

The boy understood just enough, and quickly opened the door to the building, and hid inside…

Vido turned and took flight once more, on the lookout for children lost in the scramble. “Hang on, niños.”