Advent Of A Gunslinger

Chang stormed out of his father’s private quarters and up to one of the guest rooms that Axel resided within. It was quite a luxurious room with a large bed and the finest silk sheets. Everything was in the empire’s traditional red and yellow colors of course.

“...Lord Remington,” the prince asked as he knocked, “Is everything alright? You left the foyer with an odd look on your face that I had not seen before.”

The gunslinger had removed his gear and placed all of it on a dresser nearby. At first, he actually didn’t notice that the primate had entered at all. “...Huh? Oh...nothin’.”

Unable to accept that as an answer, Chang shook his head and pleaded. “...I can sense that something is wrong. I won’t force you, but please. Tell me if you can.”

“Guess there ain’t no point in tryin’a hide it.” Axel conceded and sat upon the bed, unable to make eye contact with the chimp. “I...I’ve just been doin’ some thinkin’.”

“...About?” Chang took a step towards him.

“...Vido, Kora--as well as you,” he replied--his voice shaken, “I-I went to the ‘firmary and saw their injuries. T-the boy’s wings were littered with holes like day-old swiss cheese. And they got Kora hooked up’ta some kinda breathin’ machine’ta keep her body workin’.” He interlocked his claws as he brought them together. For the first time since he had met Chang, Axel had started to display a sense of weakness--his voice started to break. “...I-I don’t wanna see ‘em hurt no more, bud…”

A mixed sense of emotions went through the monkey’s body. Part of him was shocked--as he was unable to reply right away. Another part of him was surprised. “...Lord Remington...Axel...he carries the weight of his allies on his shoulders.” But he shook off those thoughts in order to respond to him. “...Axel...I didn’t realize that you felt this way. You always keep your emotions so close to your heart...”

“...Didn’tcha see how that boy was hurtin’?” Axel asked, raising his voice slightly, “He’s gon’ need dozens’a stitches’ta fix up them holes in his wings! If that boy can’t fly no more, it’s gon’ be on me.” He lowered his voice, and sighed. “...His ma ain’t gon’ wanna see her boy comin’ back home with no injuries. I can’t let him fight no more.”

“...What?” Chang tilted his head, “But that’s preposterous. Vido fights because he wants to support you. The same goes for Kora. They want to follow you of their own accord Axel.”

Even if that was the case, Axel was unable to comprehend such a thing. He had traveled alone for so long as a roaming gun that the idea that others would willingly fight alongside him was something that he had a hard time processing.

To him, they were merely travel companions. Not people he wanted to see fight and potentially lose their lives under him. For Kora, it would be especially harsh given that she recently lost her sister and would have no closure for eliminating those who took her from her.

And for Vido, the last thing Axel wanted to do was return to Ms. Magpie and tell her that her son had died fighting for him. Both of these individuals were people that Axel held close to his heart--even if he didn’t show nor express it.

“...Maybe,” he replied lowly, “But I don’t want no one dyin’ on my watch. Not when they got good lives’ta have away from all this hell and damnation.” He stared up at the primate. “When we finally get our own airship, I’m goin’ my own way and sendin’ the boy back to his ma.”

“Wh...Axel…” Chang tried to reason with him, “We all want to fight this war with you...together.”

The hippogriff fell silent and looked away.

“...At least reconsider and ask what your friends think before you call it off, yes? Please?” Chang requested with pleading, beady eyes.

Axel hung his head. “...I’ll think about it. Fer now, go getcherself some sleep, kiddo.” With that, he turned over onto the bed. “Night.”

“...Good night, Axel,” Chang replied as he left the room. “It cannot end like this. I won’t let everything fall to ruin. We need to stick together.”

Meanwhile, Axel was also thinking to himself. “...Is this all really worth it? Should I just go off on my own? Do they really wanna stick by me…?”

Meanwhile, in Panthera…

The time zone of Abyssinia was just a few hours behind that of the Far East. Because of that, it was still fairly early into the night and pitch dark outside.

The sheriff she-cat that had arrived at Mio’s hotel room led both him and Spitha through the quiet, dark streets of the capital city until they reached the King and Queen’s Parliament building.

“Here we are, ya’ll,” said the sheriff, “I told you that I wasn’t messin’ around.”

Still skeptical, Spitha kept her wits about herself as they were led into the long, wide building. “Hm...What do you think, Mio?”

The tom sniffed the air, and looked at the building in front of them. Since he was rather familiar with the area, he was far less suspicious of the scenario than the dragon woman. Of course, he wasn’t just going to let his guard down either. “...I think we should at least see what’s going on. If the royal family really wants my help...I’d be a fool to turn them down.”

“...I trust his word. But I won’t let anything bad happen to him.” Spitha conceded and allowed Mio to take control of the situation. “Alright, Mio. Lead the way.” She then glared at the she-cat sheriff, “But if anything funny happens...don’t expect me to play nice, young lady.”

The sheriff responded with an anxious mewl as she led them up the steps and to the massive wooden door that led inside. “M-mewno way! I wouldn’t be doing all of this for personal gain! You think I like working late hours?!” she hissed as she opened the door, “Now come on. The royals are waiting for you.”

Mio shrugged his shoulders and walked up the steps to the building. “...Can’t fault ya there. I know what it’s like to work late.”

Spitha sighed, and followed. “...I do as well. Though, it’s mostly to do with staying up late with writer’s block.”

After some walking, the sheriff would lead them through the carpeted building towards a room at the far end of a large hallway--separated by another large door that had the symbols: ንጉስ እና ንግስት etched into them. These symbols meant “king and queen” in the Abyssinian language.

“They’ll be right with you,” said the she-cat, “Sit tight, okay?” She then turned and left around a corner.

Mio shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit. “Hm...she’s an odd one.”

Spitha leaned over to peek around the corner to make sure the sheriff had left. Then she turned to the tom. “Do you think she can be trusted?”

“This is the palace of the Abyssinian King and Queen,” Mio pointed out, “I highly doubt deception is on their repertoire.”

Soon enough, Mio’s word would be confirmed. The door to the royal family’s quarters would open, and they would be greeted by a tall she-cat wearing pink pajamas that had a fish print pattern along them. Her eyes were droopy with sagging lids, clearly perturbed at having being recently awoken.

“Rrrrr….” she purred, half-awake, “Are you the young man that Mau was talking about?”

“...Yes,” Mio answered, “And you are Queen Bombay, I presume?” He was about to kneel, but she cut him off.

“Look, I’m tired as all get-out so don’t bother with the formal jargon,” she hissed, “Just git in here. He’s waiting for you in his office.” She then yawned, exposing her sawblade-like fangs in the process as she made a hard right into a hallway. “I’m goin’ back to bed. Just don’t mess up the place. Okay?”

Mio was unable to say anything before she left. He glanced at Spitha. “...I can’t believe I just met the queen under such random circumstances.”

“I know how she feels,” the dragon replied, shutting the door behind herself, “There were quite a few nights that I could barely sleep because of a noisy neighbor or something similar.”

The two followed Bombay’s directions and turned left to enter a hallway opposite of the one the queen had left down. Soon enough, they found themselves at another door. This time a rosy redwood one.

Before Mio could knock, he heard a familiar voice from the other side.

“Come in.”

They both entered, and found themselves in a rather large office shaped like an oval. At at the very end of it sat King Mau at his desk.

“...My lord…” Mio mumbled in the presence of his ruler, “...What caused you to summon us?”

“I’m going to cut straight to the point,” the tom said as he leaned upon his desk, “I want your help.”