Advent Of A Gunslinger

Kora continued travelling through the vents of the building, until finally, she could hear a familiar voice.

“Heh...I’m gonna make so much bank off of these ponies. It’s not even funny…”

The she-cat’s ears twitched. That was the voice of Sun Gao. Their enemy on the train from before. Sure enough, when she crawled over to the room, she could see the brown monkey sitting there with a smirk on her face.

“But Kai...he failed.” She remarked with her face turning from an excited smile to a long grimace, “Too bad, but he’s going to have to suffer the consequences…” Sun then got up from the seat at her desk and went to a nearby metal closet to open it up. Within it was a male monkey that had his arms and legs tied together with a piece of duct tape over his mouth. “Hear that, Bai Se? Looks like your boyfriend isn’t coming back home. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you both suffer together at the same time~”

Kora focused her eyes on the scene below her. That’s when she realized that this monkey prisoner had numerous cuts around his body--but suspiciously enough, they avoided major arteries and points of contact that could cause death.

“...The Lingchi torture method,” she thought to herself with her mouth agape in a horrified stare, “So it’s real…”

Next, Sun would retrieve a knife from her pocket and deliver a quick slash to his abdomen which was enough to elicit a cry of pain from behind his taped mouth. “MMMPH!”

“Ahhh....” The monkey woman had a satisfied, twisted smile on her face which indicated a state of bliss in the presence of pain inflicted upon others. Sun then pushed him back in the closet, and shut it. “Oh shush. It won’t be much longer from here. Now rest up. I have some products I need to sell.”

With that, she left the room, and locked the door behind herself.

Kora waited until she heard Sun’s footsteps travel far away from the door. Then, she pushed the old vent grate down onto the wooden floor below, and open the closet. Sure enough, the victim of torture was still there, and Kora removed the tape from his mouth so that he could speak.

“...Stay with me,” she said while holding an arm against his back, “I’m here to help you. I’ll get you out of here.”

The monkey guy coughed and tried his best to communicate. “...Too late for me. Just...keep Kai safe...please…”

“...You know Kai Fang?” she asked while checking his vitals via a paw on his neck. Kora found that his sense of consciousness was constantly flickering like a dimly lit candle.

“No time…” he pointed to Sun’s desk, “Get files for slave ship there...destroy it so no horse-folk will be taken away…”

Kora looked at the desk, and back at the monkey. “...Are you sure? Why are you helping me?”

Another cough and the prisoner would do his best to explain. “...You are Master Kora. The only one who can--ack!--...put a stop to it…”

Yet another individual that knew who she was. While she wasn’t one to flaunt her status, could her legacy really be so powerful that she had already earned the trust of those beyond her usual borders?

For the sake of her sister, she would take it in stride.

“...Okay. But are you sure that…?”

“...My life is...much gone,” the prisoner lamented as he slumped over--his voice slowly fading out, “Escape...yourself...easier without...dead weight…”

Kora had to accept his wishes, and keep moving. “I understand. I will do my best, sir.” She went over to Sun’s desk and sure enough, there was a file that showed a port schedule for the region. If she was fast enough, she could potentially destroy the boat that was meant to carry the pony slaves away… “This is perfect. I need to move fast though. Here’s hoping Lords Remington and Chang can distract our enemies long enough for me to dismantle it.” She took one final look at the prisoner, and bowed. “I will honor your sacrifice. Kai will not come to harm.”

As he shut his eyes, the monkey could be seen smiling…

With the files now in her possession, Kora leapt back up to the vent, and found that this was a perfect time to make use of the Abyssinian tome she still had on her. “...I wonder if there’s an explosive spell in here…”

Upon seeing the pony slaves being shown off as prizes, Chang leapt into action. “Lord Remington. Back me up if things get messy.”

Axel was prepared to stop him. “Wait what? Don’t tell me you’s ‘bout’ta--!”

“Bùyào zǔzhǐ wǒ--don’t try and stop me,” he commanded, “This is my homeland. I must protect it with my flesh and blood. I will not allow those ponies to fall into the hands of degenerates. Do you understand that?”

“...” The gunslinger fell silent. He knew what it was like to have something worth fighting for. Not to mention the fact that this entire operation was a front to help the Abyssinians. Anything to cripple their supply chain and keep more slaves out of their disgusting paws. “...I’ll be right here. Go for it, pard.”

The prince was grateful for his friend’s support, and stepped up when no one else was willing. “Jiù zài zhè'er! Right here!” Chang stepped forward--much to the crowd’s surprise. He wasn’t exactly the tallest monkey around. Standing at exactly five feet tall (152cm), he was dwarfed by Rufang.

The purple primate lady almost scoffed at first, but knew not to underestimate her opponents. “Hm. A little man like you wants to try against me, then? What’s your name?”

“Jin Gu,” the prince gave a false name to keep his identity secret. “I am here to challenge you and I will be taking those ponies for myself!” “With the intent to set them free of course.”

“Oooh…” the crowd gazed at the newcomer, and started to murmur about doubting his size and stature.

“Can he really do it?”

“Zing was five times larger and still lost…”

“No way he lasts two minutes--much less three….”

With a clap of her hands, Rufang silenced the chatter. “Ānjìng de! Silence!” she glared at this ‘Jin’ fellow. “Are you even old enough to be here, little guy?”

“I am a solid 22 years of age,” Chang replied while rubbing his knuckles against his chest fur, “Or are you stalling because you are afraid to face me like cowardly mouse?”

Once again, the crowd ‘oooh’d’ in response to the short monkey’s jest, which caused Ru to become interested. “Oh? That’s how you wish to play? Fine then, Jin. I’ll play with you…”

The announcer had been stunned into silence the entire time and finally remembered to speak up. “Oh, er...I guess we have our newcomer: Everyone give it up for our challenger: Jin Gu Bang!”

The crowd started to cheer excitedly, wondering how this ‘Jin’ would do against the champion.

Chang mentally sighed at the nickname the announcer gave him. “That title is...gah--nevermind.”

The two monkeys would pace the floor in opposite directions, looking to anticipate each other’s movements…

Rufang couldn’t help but smirk as her form jiggled with every step as usual. “He’s not focused on my assets. Smart boy. But that won’t last him for very long…”

Outside…

Vido was still flying about in the air, keeping watch over the area until he heard noise from the vent shaft that Kora had traveled down. “...Que?”

Soon enough, Kora herself would appear with a document in her paw. “Lord Magpie--I’ve found some information that will help us greatly. But I’m going to need your help.”

“That’s good, gata,” the griffon replied as he landed on the roof. “But what about Axel and Chang? Where are they?”

“More than likely, they’re still inside. Which is perfect for us since they can serve as our distraction while we handle the rest.” She showed him the documents, and pointed to the words on the paper. “See here? Time schedules for boats. Which means one is docked at a port nearby. Think you can fly up and find it for me?”

With it being so dark this late at night, the griffon’s eagle eyes would be the saving grace of this operation.

Vido read it over, and nodded. “Ay. I can do that. Keep watch over their belongings as I search.”

Kora noted Axel’s hat and mask as well as Chang’s coat, “Understood. Do your thing, friend.”

With that, the griffon took to the air...