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Shane and Axl burst through the Whisper’s doors and fell forwards onto the quiet street, panting with exhaustion. Shane got to his feet and turned back to look at the bar behind them and sighed.
    “Oh, man!” he panted. “At least we weren’t chased.”
    Axl, who was still lying on the ground, rolled onto his back and gazed up at Shane, a wide grin on his face. Shane furrowed his brow and frowned in confusion as Axl began to laugh.
    “What’s so funny?” asked Shane.
    Axl cackled hysterically. “That was awesome! The way they all turned on each other! Did you see the gorilla getting beat up by the horse in the corner? Ha, ha, ha!”
    Axl wrapped an arm around his belly as he endured a fit of silent laughter. Shane watched him rolling around on the ground in bemusement before cracking a slight smirk.
    “And your face! When he called you a fleabag! Priceless!”
    Unable to contain his amusement any longer, Shane burst into laughter and for a solid minute, the two men giggled in the street like a pair of hyenas on helium. Eventually, they managed to calm down and Axl returned to his feet.
    “Man, you’re a riot, Shane.”

    “I don’t try to be,” said Shane.
    “That’s what makes it so funny,” replied Axl with a grin.
    Shane smirked in amusement as he shifted his gaze down to the road. Axl continued speaking.
    “What the heck was that guy's problem? Does everybody in this city just not like lizards?”
    Shane’s face darkened ominously. “Well… to be perfectly honest… you’re right.”
    Axl furrowed his brow in confusion. “I am?”
    Shane diverted his attention to the fire escape stairs that stretched up the side of one of the nearby buildings. He walked past Axl towards them, and Axl watched in curiosity as he leaped up and grabbed the black steel ladder, pulling it down to the ground with a loud, metallic clanging sound, which rang out into the night.
    “Follow me,” said Shane. “I want to show you something.”
    Axl did as Shane asked and followed him up the fire escape stairs until they reached the top of the building, which provided them a view of Nevlow and the ocean that surrounded it. Shane leaned against the protective barrier, gazing out towards the ocean. When Axl walked over to him, he flashed him a grin and pointed towards the horizon.
    “See that little island towards the north?” he asked.
    Axl squinted his eyes and scanned the horizon until his eyes landed on a island some distance away. “Yeah, I see it. What about it?”
    Shane pulled his arm back and leaned forwards onto the barrier once again, deep in thought. “That’s Moonstone Island. It used to be the mainland many years ago, until it was moved to this island, Nevlow.”
    “Cool,” said Axl. “But what’s that gotta do with the lizard haters?”
    Shane smirked. “The island used to belong to the wolves, until a reptile named King Artemis took over. He was the island’s ruler over a thousand years ago and he allowed all species of animals to live on the island. Everybody was fine with it. Well, all except Morgan Rasvik, that is.”
    “Morg-what who-vik?” asked Axl in confusion.
    “Morgan Rasvik,” corrected Shane. “King Artemis’s confidant. He used to be the royal advisor until Artemis discovered he was a dabbler of dark magic and banished him from the island. Rasvik went missing for three months but returned soon after with an army of spectral wolves at his command and led an assault on the island. Artemis defeated him and banished him to the bowels of the earth, and the island’s inhabitants eventually moved over here to Nevlow. Even though Artemis was the island’s ruler, many of the mammals here in Nevlow don’t take kindly to reptiles due to the fact that Artemis allowed them to inhabit Moonstone Island. That’s why you don’t see too many of ‘em wandering the streets here.”
    Axl’s tongue flickered, though he didn’t say anything and remained silent as Shane stared out at the ocean. Eventually, Shane shook his head with a dismissive smile and proceeded to walk back towards the fire escape stairs, which he began to descend.
    “Come on, we still gotta find Rolf.”
    Axl’s jovial demeanor quickly evaporated upon hearing the mention of his missing furry bandmate and was replaced with a look of concern.
    “Where do we go now?” he asked as he and Shane climbed back to the ground and approached the Nightriders’ blue van.
    Tht two men entered the van and Shane glanced down at time near the speedometer to see that it was 10:25 PM. Remembering his conversation with Horace in the underground fight club, Shane’s mind raced as he tried to figure out a way to get Axl to the bad side of town alone.
    “I don’t know,” Shane answered. “We couldn’t find Rolf at the distribution office, we couldn’t find him in the underground fight club… I don’t know where he could be.”
    Axl sighed heavily and slumped back into his seat in despair. All of a sudden, Shane’s ears pricked up excitedly as an idea sprang into his head. Concealing his sudden zest, he turned to face Axl.
    “I’ve got an idea! Nevlow ain’t as big as Beach City, but it’s still a lotta ground to cover. There’s two of us, and one of Rolf, so why don’t we split up so we can cover more ground?”
    “Hey... that’s actually not a bad idea, Shane! But where do we start?”
    Shane pondered for a moment before answering. “I think you should head over to the west side of town. I’ll take the east side. If anything happens, we meet back here at the van. Got it?”

    “Got it,” Axl replied firmly. “Where should I look first?”
    Shane pondered for a moment before answering. “There’s a lot of old, abandoned buildings in the west side of town. Maybe Rolf went looking in one of them? They don’t look old, so maybe he mistook one of them for a distribution office and got himself lost in one of ‘em?”
    Axl snorted. “Rolf ain’t that stupid, but that’s a funny thought. I’ll go check. Let’s hope something turns up.”
    Axl exited the Nightriders’ van and began to walk down the road, until he disappeared from view behind one of the nearby buildings. As soon as Axl was out of sight, the door to the Whisper suddenly flew open and a familiar sight caught Shane’s attention; it was the same crocodile hitman he had spoken with mere minutes ago, strutting across the street and over to the Nightriders’ van. Shane sat still in the driver’s side, staring blankly ahead as Horace pulled open the passenger’s side door and clambered into the vehicle.
    “You maniac,” growled Horace. “What the heck were you thinking, starting a fight like that?”
    Shane paused for a moment before answering. “That psycho bison started it.”
    “You didn’t exactly help!” Horace exclaimed.
    Shane grinned, still staring ahead out of the windshield. “What can I say? I love a good fight.”
    Horace scoffed. Shane continued speaking.
    “You’ll be glad to know that I’ve got that slimeball I need you to take care of heading towards the west side of town. I told him to head to the abandoned warehouses; you know, the old ones that Old Red and his gang used as a racketeer front?”
    “Oh, yeah, I remember that crazy rat… I actually did business with him once; craziest guy I ever teamed up with, lemme tell ya…”
    “Anyway,” Shane interjected loudly and irritably. “I want you to head on over there and deal with him. I don’t want to know what you’re gonna do to him - I just want him out of the way.”
    Horace shot Shane a spiteful glare before opening the door and stepping out onto the street. “Sure thing, your highness.”
    Horace slammed the door shut and stormed off down the sidewalk, following the path Axl had taken. Shane took one last glance at the quiet street in the rear view mirror before igniting the engine and driving off down the road, the sound of screeching tires filling the still, evening air.

Illustrations by mattieguy95

Thanks for reading!

To be continued...

Characters belong to AxlReigns

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Prologue):

Description

Shane and Axl burst through the Whisper’s doors and fell forwards onto the quiet street, panting with exhaustion. Shane got to his feet and turned back to look at the bar behind them and sighed.
    “Oh, man!” he panted. “At least we weren’t chased.”
    Axl, who was still lying on the ground, rolled onto his back and gazed up at Shane, a wide grin on his face. Shane furrowed his brow and frowned in confusion as Axl began to laugh.
    “What’s so funny?” asked Shane.
    Axl cackled hysterically. “That was awesome! The way they all turned on each other! Did you see the gorilla getting beat up by the horse in the corner? Ha, ha, ha!”
    Axl wrapped an arm around his belly as he endured a fit of silent laughter. Shane watched him rolling around on the ground in bemusement before cracking a slight smirk.
    “And your face! When he called you a fleabag! Priceless!”
    Unable to contain his amusement any longer, Shane burst into laughter and for a solid minute, the two men giggled in the street like a pair of hyenas on helium. Eventually, they managed to calm down and Axl returned to his feet.
    “Man, you’re a riot, Shane.”

    “I don’t try to be,” said Shane.
    “That’s what makes it so funny,” replied Axl with a grin.
    Shane smirked in amusement as he shifted his gaze down to the road. Axl continued speaking.
    “What the heck was that guy's problem? Does everybody in this city just not like lizards?”
    Shane’s face darkened ominously. “Well… to be perfectly honest… you’re right.”
    Axl furrowed his brow in confusion. “I am?”
    Shane diverted his attention to the fire escape stairs that stretched up the side of one of the nearby buildings. He walked past Axl towards them, and Axl watched in curiosity as he leaped up and grabbed the black steel ladder, pulling it down to the ground with a loud, metallic clanging sound, which rang out into the night.
    “Follow me,” said Shane. “I want to show you something.”
    Axl did as Shane asked and followed him up the fire escape stairs until they reached the top of the building, which provided them a view of Nevlow and the ocean that surrounded it. Shane leaned against the protective barrier, gazing out towards the ocean. When Axl walked over to him, he flashed him a grin and pointed towards the horizon.
    “See that little island towards the north?” he asked.
    Axl squinted his eyes and scanned the horizon until his eyes landed on a island some distance away. “Yeah, I see it. What about it?”
    Shane pulled his arm back and leaned forwards onto the barrier once again, deep in thought. “That’s Moonstone Island. It used to be the mainland many years ago, until it was moved to this island, Nevlow.”
    “Cool,” said Axl. “But what’s that gotta do with the lizard haters?”
    Shane smirked. “The island used to belong to the wolves, until a reptile named King Artemis took over. He was the island’s ruler over a thousand years ago and he allowed all species of animals to live on the island. Everybody was fine with it. Well, all except Morgan Rasvik, that is.”
    “Morg-what who-vik?” asked Axl in confusion.
    “Morgan Rasvik,” corrected Shane. “King Artemis’s confidant. He used to be the royal advisor until Artemis discovered he was a dabbler of dark magic and banished him from the island. Rasvik went missing for three months but returned soon after with an army of spectral wolves at his command and led an assault on the island. Artemis defeated him and banished him to the bowels of the earth, and the island’s inhabitants eventually moved over here to Nevlow. Even though Artemis was the island’s ruler, many of the mammals here in Nevlow don’t take kindly to reptiles due to the fact that Artemis allowed them to inhabit Moonstone Island. That’s why you don’t see too many of ‘em wandering the streets here.”
    Axl’s tongue flickered, though he didn’t say anything and remained silent as Shane stared out at the ocean. Eventually, Shane shook his head with a dismissive smile and proceeded to walk back towards the fire escape stairs, which he began to descend.
    “Come on, we still gotta find Rolf.”
    Axl’s jovial demeanor quickly evaporated upon hearing the mention of his missing furry bandmate and was replaced with a look of concern.
    “Where do we go now?” he asked as he and Shane climbed back to the ground and approached the Nightriders’ blue van.
    Tht two men entered the van and Shane glanced down at time near the speedometer to see that it was 10:25 PM. Remembering his conversation with Horace in the underground fight club, Shane’s mind raced as he tried to figure out a way to get Axl to the bad side of town alone.
    “I don’t know,” Shane answered. “We couldn’t find Rolf at the distribution office, we couldn’t find him in the underground fight club… I don’t know where he could be.”
    Axl sighed heavily and slumped back into his seat in despair. All of a sudden, Shane’s ears pricked up excitedly as an idea sprang into his head. Concealing his sudden zest, he turned to face Axl.
    “I’ve got an idea! Nevlow ain’t as big as Beach City, but it’s still a lotta ground to cover. There’s two of us, and one of Rolf, so why don’t we split up so we can cover more ground?”
    “Hey... that’s actually not a bad idea, Shane! But where do we start?”
    Shane pondered for a moment before answering. “I think you should head over to the west side of town. I’ll take the east side. If anything happens, we meet back here at the van. Got it?”

    “Got it,” Axl replied firmly. “Where should I look first?”
    Shane pondered for a moment before answering. “There’s a lot of old, abandoned buildings in the west side of town. Maybe Rolf went looking in one of them? They don’t look old, so maybe he mistook one of them for a distribution office and got himself lost in one of ‘em?”
    Axl snorted. “Rolf ain’t that stupid, but that’s a funny thought. I’ll go check. Let’s hope something turns up.”
    Axl exited the Nightriders’ van and began to walk down the road, until he disappeared from view behind one of the nearby buildings. As soon as Axl was out of sight, the door to the Whisper suddenly flew open and a familiar sight caught Shane’s attention; it was the same crocodile hitman he had spoken with mere minutes ago, strutting across the street and over to the Nightriders’ van. Shane sat still in the driver’s side, staring blankly ahead as Horace pulled open the passenger’s side door and clambered into the vehicle.
    “You maniac,” growled Horace. “What the heck were you thinking, starting a fight like that?”
    Shane paused for a moment before answering. “That psycho bison started it.”
    “You didn’t exactly help!” Horace exclaimed.
    Shane grinned, still staring ahead out of the windshield. “What can I say? I love a good fight.”
    Horace scoffed. Shane continued speaking.
    “You’ll be glad to know that I’ve got that slimeball I need you to take care of heading towards the west side of town. I told him to head to the abandoned warehouses; you know, the old ones that Old Red and his gang used as a racketeer front?”
    “Oh, yeah, I remember that crazy rat… I actually did business with him once; craziest guy I ever teamed up with, lemme tell ya…”
    “Anyway,” Shane interjected loudly and irritably. “I want you to head on over there and deal with him. I don’t want to know what you’re gonna do to him - I just want him out of the way.”
    Horace shot Shane a spiteful glare before opening the door and stepping out onto the street. “Sure thing, your highness.”
    Horace slammed the door shut and stormed off down the sidewalk, following the path Axl had taken. Shane took one last glance at the quiet street in the rear view mirror before igniting the engine and driving off down the road, the sound of screeching tires filling the still, evening air.

Illustrations by mattieguy95

Thanks for reading!

To be continued...

Characters belong to AxlReigns

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Prologue):