//------------------------------// // Behind Enemy Lines // Story: A Griffon's Gang // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// The Young Six were slowly making their way to the base with the airship that the three griffons and Gale rode on. It has almost half of the same acceleration as the hot-air balloon. Ocellus, who disguised herself as Guy, was controlling the steering wheel, driving their way to their destination. The others were behind her, looking out if there’s anything that’s on their way. It was getting dark with the sun setting down faster than before, and Yona was getting worried about not being able to find the headquarters. “Yona felt worried,” Yona said with a concerned sigh. “What happens if friends don’t find base?” “If we don’t, then I’m sure they would’ve sent a team out to find us,” Sandbar, who’s beside Yona, guessed. “I don’t think that’s a good thing,” Gallus commented. “You know what the gang makes their weapons out of.” “Don’t remind me about that,” Smolder shuttered with a shiver down her spine. She looked at her stab wound that had been patched up. She was only used to getting bruised at the most, which itself was hard to do. The fact they had weapons that could pierce her scales was frightening. “Ocellus, do you see anything yet?” Ocellus, who was still disguised as Guy, was at the wheel. “Not yet,” she responded, “we should be somewhere by now. I still can’t see it.” Suddenly, coming out of nowhere, they could see griffons flying around the ship. Some of them even tackled Smolder, Silverstream, and Gallus down. Others landed beside Sandbar and Yona. Ocellus slowed down the ship for a while and let go of the steering wheel. A familiar gray and black with a red scarf landed on the deck and walked towards them. “What do you think you’re doing?” he charged with a dagger pointing at their faces. “Ugh… We… Um…” Sandbar was worried as he and Yona didn’t have anywhere to go. The yak would’ve attached if it wasn't for the dagger the griffon pulled out. He turned to look at ‘Guy’, calling him out on deck. “You! Care to explain this?” “I'm… I’m sorry sir,” Ocellus apologized with a faux voice to sound like Guy. “I thought they were secure below deck. I must’ve forgotten to double-check.” “Alright… And what about the newbie?” “Who?” “The white one.” “Oh, him… He broke loose a while ago. The others are trying to find him.” “Perfect. At least these aren't going to cause any trouble.” “You sure you’re not jinxing that, sir?” “Didn’t I ask you to speak?” ‘Guy’ stayed silent. The griffon leader walked over to the rest of the young six. “Now, would you mind telling us who you are?” “I would…” Gallus grumbled, “…unless you tell us who you are first.” Hearing that, the leader doesn’t like being given orders. “I'm the one who gives commands around here, ya punk.” He spat saliva on Gallus’s face after finishing his sentence, which made the blue griffon madder. “Take him and the girl griff to the others in the cells. I'm sure they’d love some more company.” “Yes, sir!” The two male griffons replied with a salute. “What about that pony and a fat buffalo over there, sir?” one of the female griffons asked. Yona was confused. “Buffalo?” she muttered. “Shut up!” the leader ordered loudly to Yona, then turned back to her. “Put them with the miners at the mines. We’ll forget about them like the others too.” “And the dragon?” the griffon asked. The leader took a good look at Smolder. They didn't normally catch teenaged dragons since they didn't have that much to gain from it. Not to mention it was a fad chance they would get Smolder to work for them. “Lock her up until we figure out a good use.” “Yes, sir!” “Guy,” the leader called, and Ocellus turned to him. “You take care of those kids. I’ll drive this time.” ‘Guy’ then followed his order and ‘kept a watchful eye’ on her friends. The leader then grabbed the steering wheel and started driving towards the base. The ship finally arrived at the base, and the Young Six were forced into different positions as they could finally see it. It was built within a cliff edge that seemed to have a waterfall that connected to the river that Jerick the camel got water from. At the bottom of the cliff, there was a landing zone for all the ships to load and unload. There was also an entrance to the cliff at the base. Once the ship landed, the students were taken inside of the base. They could see the walls and ceiling had metal supports and lighting. After a little while of walking, they could see the hallways having some more traffic. Griffons were walking and flying around either getting ready to go on patrol, moving supplies where they needed to go, or they were just going somewhere to get a drink. They were taken to a set of stairs where the group split up. The two griffons took Sandbar and Yona downstairs while everyone else went upstairs. “Where are they going?” Silverstream asked. “The mines,” the leader said. “They’ll work all day and night mining gems with the other miners.” “You still didn’t answer my first question,” Gallus grumbled. “Who the heck are you?” The blue griffon was tripped up by the leader, who wasn’t liking his attitude. In hopes to shut him up though, he figured he’d answer the question. “Alright! I’m Gideon,” he said angrily. “GIDEON! Are you happy now?” “Thank you, that’s what I need,” Gallus said, making Gideon feel relieved. “At least I know you’re not bad guy #369.” He then laughed hard, which made Gideon feel annoyed. Smolder and Silverstream soon followed. Ocellus almost cracked a chuckle, trying so hard to stay in character. “Quiet, bluebird!” Gallus then got a smack in the back of the head as he was forced to pick up the pace. Smolder, Silverstream, and Ocellus stopped chuckling after seeing him getting smacked. “This is no place for cracking up jokes. Now, move on!” A little while later, they all arrived at the prison cells. The prison is full of prisoners. Some of the cellars are vacant, which means that Smolder, Silverstream, and Gallus can be placed in one of those. As they kept wondering to find their spot, Gallus then noticed someone familiar. Behind those bars, a female gray griffon was just sitting down with her head down, fidgeting her talons in boredom. He quickly recognized that it was Gabby, one of the griffons who got kidnapped. Gallus stopped his tracks, which made Gideon feel puzzled. “Gabby?” When he phoned out her name, she perked up and turned to see Gallus and her friends standing. “Gallus!” she exclaimed with a very shocked expression on her face. She got up, ran towards the prison bars, and held them. “I can’t believe you’re here!” From the other side, other familiar griffons and hippogriffs in their prison cells saw Gallus, Smolder, and Silverstream as well, with the same expression as Gabby. “How’d they get here?” Gleaming Pearl gasped. “No way!” Grace exclaimed. “How?” Gregoria added. “And where’s Oce…” “Quiet! All of you!” Gideon shouted. “Enough with the chit-chat. Go back to your positions.” He then continues to take Gallus and his friends to their vacant cells together with ‘Guy’. Gallus and Silverstream were then placed in the two cells that were across from each other. Each of their cells is beside Gabby and the kidnapped students. Smolder, on the other hand, would require some effort from the griffons. They were able to keep her under control with a knife up to her neck, if they wanted to keep her locked up, however, they had given her a straight jacket with some chains and a metal muzzle that kept her mouth sealed shut while allowing Smolder to breathe through her nose. Once she was secure, she was thrown into a cell where she was chained to a wall. Smolder would've spoken up, except the muzzle was very effective. The doors were locked and Gideon looked at his three new prisoners, smirking wickedly. He then glanced at Silverstream and gestured for her to walk closer to him. “Come here,” Gideon called with his finger gesturing to her to come near him. Silverstream got to the bars where Gideon reached into her cell and ripped off her necklace. “I’ll take this.” “Hey, that was my necklace!” Silverstream cried. “Oh yeah? I already did this with the rest of the hippo… Whatever in the name of Tartarus you guys are,” Gideon responded. “Seriously, man, did you have a drunk night with a pony on a Saturday night?” Silverstream didn’t know how to respond. “…What?” “You know, her aunt is the queen of her hometown, right?” Gallus asked. “She’ll find you and boot your flank hard if she hears about this.” Gideon rolled his eyes. “Does her aunt queen have a ship hooked up with gemstones that can kill dragons?” Gallus didn’t answer the question. “That’s what I thought. Now, get comfy, kid, if you can’t follow basic instructions, you’re staying in there for days.” “How do you expect us to go to the restroom?” “That’s what those buckets at the corner are for.” Gallus looked at the bucket that was sitting in the corner. Gideon’s response certainly explained why it smelt bad. “Alright, that makes sense.” Just then, they heard some footsteps approaching them. Gallus and Silverstream looked through the bars to see the kobold named Onyx walked to Smolder’s prison cell. He got a good look at the dragoness who was trying to talk and break free, both of which she couldn’t do. “Hmm, definitely an easy catch for you,” the ninja commented. “I could get some shurikens out of her. Maybe those horns could be of use.” “Yeah… If you can’t think of anything, I'm pretty sure we can make a couple of daggers out of her ribcage. Ask Gram for his opinion, I’m going to check on how the new miners are doing.” Gideon walked away as Ocellus, who was keeping up her disguise, looked at all of the cells. Not all of them had a creature in them so that meant they could snatch more griffons than what they got today and yesterday. “Hey, Guy,” Gideon called. Ocellus looked back at the leader. “You go and check on Gadget. I want to know if she has those gems put to good use.” “Um... Yes, sir,” the fake ‘Guy’ responded. She walked away swiftly to try and figure out where Gadget was, and find out who he or she was. The griffs in the cells were alone. Silverstream looked around the best she could to get a look at her classmates until she saw Gabby still fidgeting with her fingers. “So…” Silverstream started, “how are you guys doing?” “Been better,” Gabby admitted with a sigh. “This place is a nightmare,” Gregoria spoke. “I wanna go home,” Grace added. “Me too,” Pearl also added. “We all do,” Sunshine sighed. The griffons and hippogriffs all had the same feeling, though Silverstream felt someone was missing. “Wait… Where’s Gus?” she asked, felt a little worried. Sunshine then pointed to his left to see Gus, who had a muzzle and straight jacket similar to Smolder’s, though since he wasn't as strong as her, he didn't need so many restraints. There were a couple of muffled frustrated groans. “They gave him some stuff to keep him quiet. He wouldn’t stop yelling and insulting the gang until they slapped that muzzle on him.” “But hey… look at the bright side,” Silverstream noted. “At least we’re still alive. None of us are dead whatsoever.” “What about Gale?” Gregoria asked. “What happened to him?” “I… think he’s alright. I can't give too much away though.” “Where are the rest of you, though? I realized you’re the only three coming here.” “Four of us, actually. The other griffon who’s with Gideon, that’s Ocellus in disguise.” The students and Gabby were in shock. “Are you serious?” Pearl said. “Yeah, I hope she’ll find a way to set you all free.” “That’s a smart move she made,” Gregoria said. “But one mistake and it’s all over,” “Exactly. Oh, and also, Sandbar and Yona were at the mines. He said that they’ll be working all day and night.” “I see. Hope they’re alright.” Silverstream then heard some heavy breathing. Looking back to Gallus, she saw the blue griffon was physically uncomfortable. The cells were pretty small and Silverstream knew he was claustrophobic. “Hey, Gallus?” she called. The blue griffon looked at the cell across from him. “You’re alright? We’re going to be okay. Just focus on me.” Gallus took a deep breath as he and his girlfriend kept making eye contact until they could find an excuse to get out of their cells. Down below, Sandbar and Yona were taken to a mineshaft. They could see plenty of ponies hard at work either using shovels and picks to dig up gemstones or pull carts that were on some tracks. Most of the ponies looked to be filthy, exhausted, depressed and even beaten up. Yona could’ve sworn she saw some familiar bipedal creatures, but her attention was diverted when she suddenly got tunnel vision. She and Sandbar were hooked up with blinders and yokes, similar to the one Big Macintosh used. “Alright. Makes yourselves at home, you two,” a male griffon said. “Now, take these carts and get to the bottom. Understand?” “Yes, sir,” Sandbar and Yona responded. “Good. And no horsing around as well.” The griffon chuckled a little bit, and then back to his serious face. “No pun intended.” He and Yona were hooked up to the carts and were taken down the mine, they both had a feeling they would get punished if they didn't follow orders. Along the way down, Yona did her best to look around, even with the blinders obscuring her view. She managed to pass a couple of the bipedal creatures, and to her surprise, they were minotaurs. All of them looked to have some metal cuffs, though not many chains. Something had to keep them from either running or fighting back. Sandbar told her to focus on getting to the bottom of the mine. There, they both saw some minotaurs either mining or loading some carts, which some ponies were meant to wait until they were fully loaded so they could take them to the top. Sandbar and Yona brought their carts to a stop beside the other ponies, they had a feeling there was a reason why the mine had two tracks. “Who are you two?” one of the ponies questioned. “Sandbar, the colt responded. “Yona,” the yak added. One of the minotaurs looked at the yak. He had green fur and black horns, not to mention a nose piercing and the cuffs that were on the rest of the minotaurs. “Hmm, you're a weird-looking buffalo,” he commented. “Bill, leave her alone,” a mare retorted. The mare had a short red mane that had dusty and dirt in it, distorting the color, much like her blue coat. While it was a bit hard to see, her cutie mark looked to be a bunch of storm clouds with a single light shining through them. “How'd you get here?” she asked. “We were trying to save our friends,” Sandbar explained. “It’s our mission to do so.” “And look where that got you,” Bill muttered. “You’re not helping, Bill,” the mare noted. “All you do is just complain, complain, and complain!” “My thoughts, exactly,” called a voice. The miners all looked up to see Gideon flying above them. He pointed to the carts that the mare and other ponies were attached to. “You there, your cart is full. Get going!” “Yes, sir,” the ponies responded. They started pulling away leaving the empty carts to be filled up. The leader then flew down to unhitch Sandbar and Yona, then reattached them to the other side. “You two, you’ve been the smartest creatures I’ve ever seen so far.” “Can Yona have water?” Yona asked. “Yona thirsty.” “You can have it when it’s feeding time. Less talking, more work. Don’t push your luck, big one.” “Sorry.” Gideon smiled. “Still, pretty smart so far.” He flew away to check on the rest of the base as the minotaurs began loading up the gemstones. The two were being loaded with most stones at the back while the cart directly behind them was being loaded with different gemstones. “Question. What are these gems for?" Sandbar asked. “Powering their ships, fighting off different creatures,” Bill explained. “Mostly just weapons.” He began placing some gemstones into the leading cart. Sandbar tried looking behind him, even with blinders obscuring his view. The gems were in a variety of colors, though all of them were at least the size of a pear. Two of the gems looked to be blue and yellow, they were both as big as Sandbar’s head. When they were placed in the cart, however, they both glowed and vibrated. The vibration started making the carts shake as there came a loud whirring sound. Not liking where things were going, Yona made her move by yanking the cart and forced it to tip over, spilling all of the gems that were inside of it. The blue and yellow gems were separated and their glowing and vibrating dissipated. “What was that?” Sandbar asked. “I… I have no idea,” Bill admitted. “This has not happened before. At least to my knowledge.” He looked at the spilled gems and knew someone was going to have to clean it up. “They’re not going to be happy with that.” “Who knows what could’ve happened if those gems weren’t separated,” Sandbar noted. He would’ve gone to help to clean the mess up, but the chains were too short for him to get away from the cart. All Sandbar could do was to wait with Yona as the minotaurs began loading up the cart with the gemstones. This time, Bill made sure that the two gemstones were as far apart as they possibly could be. “Okay, I think you’re good this time," Bill noted. With that being said, Sandbar and Yona started off back up the incline. The gems and rocks were heavier than the colt was expecting, but Yona managed to help pull the carts along. “We’re going to have a hard time here,” Sandbar whispered. “Do creatures not know what yak is?” Yona asked. “Griffons call Yona buffalo.” Sandbar thought about this. “Hmm, maybe they’ve never seen a yak before. Don't try to correct them.” “Why not?” “Because I don’t think they know how strong a yak is.” Yona kept quiet as she wasn't sure what would happen to her and Sandbar. Ocellus was having a bit of trouble. Since she had to keep up the act as Guy, she couldn't ask anybody for help as that would blow her cover. The disguised changeling wandered around aimlessly as she didn't have a clue who or where Gadget was. Eventually, she came across a white griffon with yellow patches approaching her. Ocellus stopped when she saw the red metal wings. “Where are you going?” the male griffon questioned. “I’m… trying to find Gadget, but I think I got turned around. I have no clue where I’m going now.” “I see, I’m not surprised. Getting lost here is like getting soaked in the rain. Come on, I’ll help you find Gadget.” “Oh, thank you so much,” Ocellus said. “Anytime. Follow me.” This made the disguised changeling feel better as she followed the griffon with metal wings down the hall. Eventually, they made it to a room that was filled with various tools hanging on the wall. A crate of gemstones was sitting in the corner, some more gems of various colors were hooked up to some wires, many of which were connected to the tools. In the middle of the room, there was a workbench where a griffon, with blue feathers and fur and black talons matching its beak, was wearing a welders mask. She looked like she was about to start welding some metal together, though the eye-catching detail was that her arm was made of metal just like the wings of the other griffons. Just before she could do that, she heard some clapping and looked to see the other two griffons walking in. The worker removed her mask to look at them. “Glynn, didn’t you see the sign I left on the door?” she furiously questioned, pointing to the sign. “Sorry, dear,” the griffon known as Glynn apologized, “But Guy here has been given orders to check on you.” ‘Guy’ saw them both look at her and quickly got back into character. “Ugh, yes,” the fake griffon spoke. “The boss wanted to know if you got those gemstones working.” ‘Guy’ didn't fully understand this, so she hoped that Gadget would give a good explanation. “I'm just putting the finishing touches on the spears,” Gadget explained. She grabbed some more welders masks and gave them to Glynn and ‘Guy’ to wear. After putting them on, Gadget continued her work, welding the last pieces of the spear together. After she was done, she showed her handiwork to the others. ‘Guy’ didn’t fully understand what was so special about this spear until Gadget pressed a button on its side. The spearhead gave off bolts of lightning as it glowed yellow. ‘Guy’ jumped back in fright. “It looks like it’s a success,” Glynn commented proudly. The effects of the spear were shut off and Gadget placed the weapon down on the workbench. “Now, I just need to get work on the rest of the weapons.” “How many other weapons?” ‘Guy’ asked. “Many more. Swords, arrows, even brass knuckles,” Gadget explained. “Speaking of which.” She pulled out a small box and pulled out two brass knuckles that had added spikes for better damage. She tossed them to the disguised changeling, who had failed to catch them. “Huh, I thought you were better coordinated than that.” “I… Ugh… had trouble with one of the newcomers.” “You mean those kids?” Glynn questioned. “Yeah, them. One of them managed to slip away and the others are trying to get him back.” “Then why didn’t you help them?” Gadget said. “We keep getting blamed for things going wrong when they're out of our control. Yet, you can just let your goons get off the hook when you haven’t gotten the kid you were supposed to be keeping an eye on.” ‘Guy’ didn't fully know how to respond. “Well… I had other creatures to take care of. I couldn’t be in two places at once, you know.” Glynn and Gadget both looked at each other, then turned back to ‘Guy’. “Look, we're busy enough as it is,” the female griffon responded. “Just take those knuckles and leave us alone.” ‘Guy’ did as she was told and quickly took the knuckles and flew out of the room. Just as she left, a red kobold walked into the room. “Um, excuse me,” he said. “Have you got the new shurikens ready?” “Of course,” Gadget responded. She took out another box and showed the shuriken she had made before she had worked on the spear. Glynn saw the worried expression on the kobold's face. “Quartz, you know we told you we could talk,” he said. “Yes, I know,” the kobold responded. He pocketed the shurikens he was given. He looked at the last one he had and stared at it for about a minute. “Quartz?” The kobold looked back at the griffon before putting the last shuriken away. “I should get going now.” He quickly ran off having a fear that he could possibly get into trouble. Glynn watched him leave as Gadget placed her talon on his shoulder. “You know what would happen,” she said. “I know. I just… none of the kids deserve what happens to them. Nor do the dragons.” Gadget sighed. “Yeah, I felt the same way as you are. If we could do something, I would’ve. But… Gideon has more authority than us.” Gadget didn't say anything else and went back to her workbench to make some more weapons. Glynn gave a depressed sigh before he walked to give his fellow griffon some help. It was almost nighttime, and Gilda was having the worst luck out of everyone at the moment. She also envisioned deserts were like walking in an oven, not a freezer. The cold winds were starting to get to her and she started feeling weak. Not to mention she tried to keep the weapon by her side, she didn’t know if anyone would attack her, given the previous surprise attack. She sat down to catch her breath as she shivered in the cold. “Why didn’t I just fly up and back?" she murmured to herself. As Gilda felt like she was going to freeze, she could see something in the distance. It almost looked like a pony with a weird back. Whatever it was, Gilda tried screaming and waving to try and get its attention. She began approaching the unknown creature, which was actually Jerick. He couldn't fully make out Gilda, given how far away she was, though it looked familiar to him and since he also could make out a weapon, the camel assumed the worst. He quickly ran back to his village almost spilling the water in his buckets. “There’s another griffon approaching!” he cried. This was a delight for Guy and his allies, but horrifying to everyone else. They went for the cover, leaving the tied-up griffons out in the middle of the village. The figure slowly got closer to all of the huts as she got weaker from the cold getting to her. “Hello?” Gilda called. “Listen, if you freaked out because of this stupid sword, it’s not for you.” When she got close enough to the tied-up griffons, they got confused. “Who in the name of Tartarus are you?” Guy questioned. The three griffons all looked as Gilda slowly approached him. Some of the camels and ponies were brave enough to stick their heads out of their homes to watch the griffons talk with each other. “I’m Gilda,” she replied with a very dull tone, “the ambassador of Griffonstone.” The three griffons were a little puzzled. “What?” “So, you’re the guys with the Gold Gang, am I right?” Gilda asked. “Why do you want to know?” the second male griffon asked. “Because I know six different teenagers that flew out here without a watchful eye because you guys stole a bunch of teenagers, who by the way, are students from a school that unites all creatures of different kinds!” Without warning, Gilda punched the second griffon in the eye, and then drew out the katana and planted it on their necks as if she was about to chop off their heads. Guy and the other two are frightened seeing that sword near their necks. “I know they’re still alive out there, and I’m not wanting to be responsible for all of this mess. Now talk, you little s***, before I slice your heads off!” Knowing what weapons like that could do to dragons, they didn't want to be the ones getting attacked. “OKAY! We’ll explain!” Guy shouted, not wanting to die. “Just put that katana down, please!” “Alright, it better be clear.” She then dropped the katana down, and let them explain what happened recently. As they explained what happened to the young six, Gale, Jerick, and Afya looked out of the hut. “Hang on, I know her,” Gale commented. “You do?” Jerick said. “Yeah…” He then quickly explained who Gilda was as the ambassador of Griffonstone got the answers she needed. The two camels exited their home to see if they could talk with Gilda. “Excuse us, madam,” Jerick spoke. Gilda looked at the camel couple, surprised as she had never seen their species before. “Yes? Is there anything you want?” “Sorry about making this look like a ghost town. Griffons have a bad reputation around here.” “I get that,” Gilda responded. “And forgive me if I scare all of you with this sword. One of those ninjas gave me a surprise attack, and it dropped as I defended myself.” “That’s alright. I know you’re just defending yourself.” “Thanks. And I just need a place to stay for tonight. I’ll be freezing to death in this cold icy wind.” “You can stay in our place, together with Gale,” Afya said. “I have a feeling that you’re both in a similar situation.” “Gale?” They nodded. “You mean the one with white feathers, gray fur, and black beak and claws? He’s here too?” They nodded again. They both showed their newest guess to their hut, where Gale was resting on a sofa. “Well, Gilda, am I glad to see you,” Gale said. “I’m glad that you’re safe, Gale,” Gilda added, then sat down beside him. The two caught up with what happened to them, and the younger griffon was able to shed some information about the inside of the base. Unfortunately, Gale was only shown the location of the cells and the outside defenses. Gilda knew she was going to have to plan out how she could sneak inside. She would have to save the thinking for the morning, as the griffon was cold and tired from wandering around in the desert. Everyone in the village and the base would find themselves getting to sleep sooner than others, especially with the ponies and minotaurs working in the mine. Sandbar and Yona kept waiting for their break which honestly felt like it would never come. The morning sun shined across the desert as a ship started coming back to the Gold Gang’s base. The ship had plenty of griffons taking some crates that were surrounded by ice. Gallus was just waking up at this point and could smell something raw. “Is that meat?” he said to himself. Nobody else was awake at this point so Gallus didn't have anyone to answer him. After waiting for a couple of minutes, they all heard footsteps approaching them. Gideon walked with a yellow kobold, who was carrying various trays. The leader banged a metal cup against the bars of the cages, waking the griffs up. “Rise and shine, everyone,” he called. Trays containing a small portion of food were being placed into each cell. When they got to Smolder’s cell, they looked like they were waiting for someone. Eventually, a golden and white griffon known as Gram showed up, with some straps and an odd device attached to his arm. “Sorry boss. Overslept,” he apologized. “I'll let it slide for now,” Gideon said. “Now please, help with our special guest.” Gallus and Silverstream tried their best to see what was going on in Smolder’s cage, but they both had trouble getting the right angles. Gideon used a key to remove the muzzle on Smolder's face. The second it was taken off the dragoness tried to breathe fire at the creatures in front of her, if it wasn’t the gadget on Gram’s arm. It had a sharp glowing point extend out, which the griffon jabbed into Smolder, giving her an electric shock. It was only for a brief second, but it was torturous for Smolder. Her scream was heard around the cells as Gideon spoke up. “You better not do anything smart with us, or else you’ll end up like your scaly friend here,” he spoke. “Though, the next one will be more lethal.” They left the tray for Smolder to eat from as they passed the rest out to everyone else. Gus was tempted to try and peck out one of the griffons’ eyes, but it only took Gram showing off his new toy to keep him back. Once all the trays were passed out, Gideon went to check how the mines were doing with Gram by his side. The yellow kobold looked at Smolder, who was lying on her chest having nothing to eat her food with but her mouth. He could barely look at her while muttering, “I’m... I’m sorry.” He then slowly walked away trying not to look up from the floor. After they were gone, Silverstream wasted no time asking her friend’s condition. “Smolder, are you okay?” the hippogriff asked. “I felt like I got struck by lightning, and I have to eat probably my only meal like a dog,” the dragoness responded. “How do you think I feel?” Silverstream felt foolish for asking and tried to eat her breakfast. “There's got to be a faster way of getting out of here,” Gallus pondered. "Just have to get those guys to trust us. Hope the others are doing better than us.” Sandbar and Yona were both exhausted after working all night. They wanted to stop, but there were guards on the watch to make sure they kept working. Eventually, new guards showed up with Gideon and Gram with them. “Boys, your shift’s over,” the leader said, “Go ahead and get some rest.” The two guards saluted in reply. “What about us?” Yona called. Gideon didn't like the sound of that. "Do you want a nice vacation?" Yona kind of like the size of that only to have a pickaxe thrown at her and embedding itself in the ground. “Get back to work!” Sir, we've been working all night,” Sandbar responded. “We can’t keep going if our bodies give out on us.” Gideon flew down to look at the two eye to eye. “You two will have others take your shift in half an hour,” he explained. “If you do more talking than working, you’ll have back-to-back shifts. Am I clear?” “Yes, sir,” both colt and yak responded. Gideon nodded and flew back to Gram, who was more than happy to show them his new toy. He only got to show what happened what the device was turned on, which was more than enough to frighten Yona. They got back to work without a fuss, given what would happen if they complained. Ocellus was doing her best to keep up the act as Guy. The fake griffon got up from the barracks and walked down the hall to the cafeteria. Plenty of other griffons were there and were talking about various things. “About time that new meat got here,” one said. “Yeah, I’ve been dying to have some chicken,” another said. ‘Guy’ remained quiet as she just got in line to get some breakfast. She didn't say anything to the others and just looked for a place to sit by herself. ‘Guy’ wouldn't be alone for long as she saw a yellow kobold slowly walked over to where she was sitting. ‘Go ahead, sit down,’ the disguised changeling muttered. The kobold sat down and they didn't even look at each other at first. “Did… that griffon you take struggle that much, did he?” the kobold asked. “What do you mean?” ‘Guy’ asked. “I mean… did you do anything… you know… bad to him?” “…No. I think he was fine before… he tried to escape.” "So, he’s alive?" “Of course, why wouldn’t he be?” "It's just… it happens to most creatures that try and stand up to Gideon. I… just follow orders and do what needs to be done.” ‘Guy’ had a feeling that this kobold was told to do rather grim tasks. “Look, if you want to talk it, I can always listen.” “Really? Never had someone to actually talk to. There’s always our nurse and mechanic, but they always have something on their minds. Not to mention the leader doesn’t want us to sit around on our tails too long.” "Hmm, sounds like something that would happen. Look, I can make myself free if you need to talk… Ugh…” “Quartz. My name is Quartz,” the kobold explained. “Not a lot of griffons try to know our names.” “Hmm, I know how that feels.” Quartz felt a little bit better knowing he had somebody to actually talk to. Gilda had woken up from her slumber and was given a nice breakfast from Jerick and Afya at the dining room. “I can’t thank you guys enough for your kindness,” the Griffonstone ambassador said. “I honestly thought I was going to die last night.” “No problem. A desert is a dangerous place, you know,” Jerick noted. “You’re lucky that you found our village.” “Yeah, it’s also scorching hot out here,” Gale noted. “I get how you guys are fine since you’re… camels, of course, but what about those ponies living here? How’re they not bothered about the heat?” He pointed to the ponies wearing the cloaks that covered everything but their eyes. “Oh, those are special cloaks,” Afya explained. “They help keep creatures cool in the day and warm in the night while they’re in the desert. It’s from this special plant we have.” She showed her guest the special plant that looked like a yellow sphere that had a couple of hair stick out of it. “You grow those things too?” Gilda questioned. "Indeed. The hard part is keeping the material dry when making the cloaks. Since they have a bad reaction to moisture, it ruins their heat insulation.” “Right. You know, I’d be happy to pay for one, if I wasn’t in a hurry to try and get the students back.” “If you flew to that base, you might as well just have stayed out in the desert,” Jerick said. “Well, how am I going to get them back?” Gilda looked back over to the Gold Gang griffons, who were still tied up. She looked at the female griffon, and realized that she had a similar beak shape as her own. This gave her an idea. She then turned to the camels. “You know anybody here that sells colored dyes? I had an idea!”