//------------------------------// // Prologue: Escape (V2) // Story: Ace Combat: Gryphon Wings // by Bwaak //------------------------------// Prologue: Escape "important encounters are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other" - Paulo Coelho 6 miles east from Sudentor, Neue Gryphus April 21st  2125hrs Black clouds covered the night sky, indicating an approaching storm in the area. A lone griffon flew through the dark skies, his black feathers and fur blending him into his surroundings. His eyes squinted as he saw the glimmering lights on the horizon. In about ten to fifteen minutes, he should be able to reach Sudentor; the capital city of Neue Gryphus. Black Star could only sigh in relief. He’d been traveling for twelve hours, not counting how many times he stopped for nourishment and rest. He’d been avoiding any contact with the Griffin Kingdom ever since the Equestrian war ended just ten months ago. His former comrade Zeakros was now on the throne, and possibly wanted his head for what he and Red Cyclone had done to the previous king. Every time he stopped at a small town or a village, he always find a wanted poster with his face drawn on it. The poster mentioned that he was a Class-A war criminal, wanted for crimes such as; Treason, griffocide, and ponycide. The latter still brought up some ugly memories from his past. “Mommy… Daddy… What happened to you?! Please wake up! Say something!” He stood in silence as the filly tried to wake her parents in vain.         “What... What are you... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM!?” Her big teary eyes glared at the large figure standing before her. Black Star turned around and stared at her. The filly froze in horror. “… Your parents were planning to stage a mutiny against the Griffin Kingdom. As its sworn soldier, I had to make sure such thing would not occur. They have been put to rest forever.” He watched as the filly’s expression turned from sadness to unfathomable rage. “I will... I will NEVER FORGIVE YOU!... I’LL MAKE YOU PAY!!” “Stupid…” Black Star muttered, flinching as the memory played back in his mind. He shoved it aside and kept focusing on his destination ahead, completely unaware about what was waiting for him there. ???, Sudentor, Neue Gryphus April 21st  2130hrs Sudentor, the northern industrial city of the Griffin Kingdom and capital city of the Neue Gryphus state. The Griffin Kingdom claimed the industrial city for economic purposes after the previous reich of Neue Gryphus falls. While the Equestrians had an advanced knowledge for magic, the griffons had their industrial and architectural might on their side, though they still resorted to small spells and enchanted amulets. With their understanding of advanced technology, Neue Gryphus, along with the Griffin Kingdom, helped both their own country and Equestria develop radio communicators, radars and satellites. Because of this, both races now had little trouble communicating with each other over vast distances. Though both races made an oath to never use these technological marvels for war, that hadn’t stopped the former General of The Griffin Kingdom from exploiting these technological gems to ignite the coals of war. And he was not alone. At a darkened building in an industrial complex, just outside the downtown district, a griffon had found himself in one hell of a predicament. The griffon looked more like a falcon than an eagle, with blue feathers sprouting all over the front side of the body. The lower half lower feline body resembled a panther. In front of him was a buff-looking unicorn with a darkened coat and a buzzcut mane. The unicorn’s cutie mark was concealed to hide his identity.         “For the last time! I didn’t know about the damn thing!” the griffon shouted, slamming his magically cuffed talons on the table.         “Stop playing around, Riddle,” His interrogator snapped, “You’re the only one who knows the equation, so cut the bullshit and tell the truth.”         “Scher dich!” the griffon spat with a smirk. Bad idea. His interrogator’s horn glowed, and the griffon found his head being smashed directly into the table. The interrogator got up and walked behind the incapacitated griffon.         “I’m getting tired this, Riddle,” he growled, “You better tell us the where’s the location or I’ll—”         “That’s enough, Rohling,” a voice cut him. The interrogator turned around and saw a mint unicorn standing behind him along with a few guards. The spectacled unicorn’s cutie mark was hidden behind his lab coat. The guards themselves hid their faces and cutie mark; the first one was a pegasus, while the second was an earth pony.         “Commander Kriegstreiber,” he spoke, “Forgive me. He’s still not cooperating. I tried truth spells, physiological torture, everything! It’s like his mind has been sealed shut.”         “Then find his breaking point!” the unicorn, Kriegstreiber snapped. “Everypony and every griffon has a breaking point.” He eyed the griffon; Riddle for a moment, and then motion the guards to leave. He turned his attention back to Rohling and spoke,         “Find that breaking point, and you better find it fast. You know our customer doesn’t want to be kept waiting.” Kriegstreiber motioned his guards to get out, to which they complied. He turned around, but as he was about leave, he turned to Rohling and spoke darkly,         “And believe me. She really doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Rohling’s pupils shrank in horror.         “Y-Yes sir! I’ll do my best, sir.” Rohling stuttered while saluting his superior. With that, Kriegstreiber left the unicorn back with the griffon in the room. Rohling went back to his seat and stared at the bruised Riddle. The griffon just looked down on the floor.         “Now where were we?”         “I need some water,” Riddle interrupted.         “What?”         “I need water,” Riddle repeated, “I’m thirsty.” Rohling eyed Riddle for a moment and sighed in annoyance. He got up from his seat and trotted outside to get some water. A few minutes later, he returned with the glass of water.         “There’s your water,” He spoke with an irritated tone. “Now drink up. We have work to do.” Riddle just stared at the glass of water, not moving an inch.         “Come on, drink it already!” Rohling snapped. Once again, silence was his only answer. The unicorn began to lose his patience.         “Oh for the love of…” his horn glowed and the glass levitated but before he could bring it to Riddle’s beak, the griffon brought up his cuffed talons and hit the glass. The glass was thrown at Rohling’s face; spilling water into his eyes. Riddle hopped up on to the table and tackled the dazed unicorn into the ground. Before Rohling could recover, Riddle kicked the unicorn’s head with all his might. His head was thrown back and hit the wall behind him, knocking him out. Riddle turned and headed straight for the door. He couldn’t use his wings because Rohling casted some sort of spell on them. He exited the room and made his way through the hall, which split into two directions; one lead to the testing lab, while the other lead to his freedom. But as he walked to the exit, he heard hoofsteps coming from the other end.         “Guards.” He retreated back to the second hall and waited for the guards to pass. Once they passed him, he rushed to the exit, just in time, since the guards had finally found the unconscious Rohling.         “Was zur Hölle…!!” one of the guards yelled in surprise. Another guard quickly activated his communicator. “This is Braun Four to Braun One. Hüttensänger has escaped I repeat; Hüttensänger has escaped. Requesting immediate facility lockdown.” “Roger, Braun Four, facility lockdown will commence in three minutes,” a voice was heard from his comm. “I will send some reinforcements to recapture Hüttensänger, over and out.” “Oh great…” Riddle groaned in annoyance. His talons were cuffed, and his wings were useless, there was no way he could get out this facility under these conditions. He had to break the magic-enforced cuffs if he wanted to escape. He finally reached the exit in time, but more hoofsteps came from his left. He went back into the hall and waited for the guards to pass, but he decided to catch one of the guards in hopes of getting his cuffs off. When the last guard pony galloped past the hall, Riddle jumped on him and closed his snout, keeping him from alerting the others. The guard tried to use his magic, but his concentration was interrupted by the blue griffon’s painful peck. Riddle dragged him into a storage room where he smashed the guard’s comm to pieces before speaking to him.         “Alright, I need you to break these cuffs.” The guard pony keep glaring daggers at him. Riddle just sighed impatiently.         “Look, it’s either you help me get out, or I’ll make this a very unpleasant night for you.” The guard just gave him a puzzled look. Riddle sighed again before he grabbed the tip of the guard’s horn. The guard got his message.         “Y-You wouldn’t!” he stammered,         “Yes I will,” Riddle glared boredly. “Trust me, I know over 10 different ways to break this horn, and all of them involves you getting the short stick… and probably getting disabled for the rest of your life.”         “B-But without my magic, then what!?” the guard shot back.         “I’ll just find another guard, and show him or her your state. Simple as that,” Riddle shrugged. “Alright enough with the silly questions. Do it now.” Without any second wasted, the guard’s horn glowed, and the cuffs opened. Riddle stretched his talons for a bit before talking to the guardspony again.         “Listen, I need another info.” He pointed at his wings, “Your friend Rohling had put some kind of spell on my wings, and because of that, I can’t move them. Care to deactivate it?”         “I-I-I-I don’t kno—” the unicorn trailed off before Riddle cut him mid sentence. His patience slowly drained away.         “I really have no time for this so cut the bullshit, foal,” he growled.         “I really don’t know how!” the unicorn yelled, “But, Rohling said the spell should wear off in about two hours.” Riddle seems satisfied with the pony’s answer, he’d been in this facility for a while, so the spell should wear off any time now. He quickly brought his fist into the unicorn’s face and punched him, knocking him out.         “Thank you,” he said before heading to the door. More guards passed by, but didn’t notice him hiding behind the storage door. He sneaked through the hall and found himself by the exit again. Now all he needed to do was to climb that fence. Suddenly a bright light shined on him from above followed by a loud voice,         “There he is!” Riddle cursed under his breath and ran for the fence but when he tried to climb it, he was shocked by the electricity running through the fence. He looked around and saw the guards closing in. Without any second thoughts, Riddle bolted into the hall he just came from with the guards hot in pursuit.         “Braun Units, prepare the stunning spells,” the lead guard ordered. “We need this griffon alive. Lethal force is not authorized.”         “Roger, Braun One.” Riddle groaned. Since he had to find another way out, it would be impossible for him to climb that electrified fence, and searching for the fence’s main power switch to get rid of it was not an options. He tried stretching his wings, and to his surprise, they managed to fully extend, though he couldn't flap them to fly. Suddenly an idea popped up into his head. It sounded crazy to his brain’s logic, but was worth a shot. All he need to do was find an entrance to the roof. The guards kept firing their stunning spells, but Riddle managed to avoid every one. The pursuit continued through the hall and into the stairs. The guards below tried to shoot the spells to no avail.         “He’s heading for the roof!” one of them shouted,         “Stop him there! Don’t let him fly away!” his leader ordered. Riddle’s exhaustion began to show when he reached the top floor. His energy drained completely as he struggled to the edge of the roof. City lights twinkled like fireflies in the horizon. Regaining his strength, Riddle stretched his wings again, but they still wouldn’t flap. The door bursted open, and the guards came pouring out from it. He was completely surrounded.         “Stay where you are!” the lead guard yelled. Riddle ignored him and glanced down to the ground. The frown on his face grew deeper.         “Don’t move! Or we will shoot!” the lead guard yelled again. Riddle slowly grabbed the edge of the roof, and before the guards could react, Riddle threw himself off. Collective gasps was heard as the lead guard rushed to the edge of the roof, fearing the worst, but Riddle’s supposed mutilated corpse wasn’t on the ground. Instead he saw the griffon gliding across the fence before stumbling onto the ground on the other side.         “Oh no,” The guard squeaked.         “Boss isn’t going to like this.” Riddle landed hard on the ground. His blue feathers were covered in dirt. He groaned as he picked himself up. He didn’t notice the patches of dirt on his feathers.         “Damnit, I just cleaned this!” Riddle dusted himself before heading out to the wilderness. The city of Sudentor lied on the horizon, and it was going to take a long walk if his wings didn’t work normally. Once again, he stretched his wings but still he couldn't flap properly. “How long does that stunning spell last anyway?” he thought as he tried to flap his wings again. Once again, it proved fruitless. “Screw it, I’ll walk my way back.” He heard the sounds of wings flapping through the blaring alarms. He turned around and saw the pegasi guards taking off from the base, carrying ropes to subdue him. Riddle made a break for it. His exhausted body screamed at him, begging him to stop and rest, but he didn’t care, resting and getting captured again wasn’t an option for him. The guards keeps getting closer to his position, desperately he tried to flap his wings again but it won’t respond. He gritted his beak and tried again; once again to no avail. He turned around and saw the guards inch closer to him. He growled and tried to flap his wings again, forcing his Celestia damned muscles on his wings to work. Then he felt it. The familiar feeling of his wings flapping through the clouds high in the air. The feeling of being unbounded from the earth. The feeling of freedom. The guards didn’t have time to react when Riddle flew into the air; he headed straight for the city. They tried to keep up, but the griffon was too fast for them. Soon the griffon vanished under the blanket of darkness of the night, forcing the pegasi guards to stop their pursuit.         “This is Blau 1 to Braun 1,” the lead pegasi guard spoke to his comm. “Hüttensänger has escaped, I repeat; Hüttensänger has escaped.”         “This is Braun 1. Not to worry, Blau. Kriegstreiber has sent Endlich 4 to intercept Hüttensänger.” The lead pegasi guard widened his eyes, obviously surprised, but he shrugged it off.         “Roger that, Braun 1. We’ll return to base.” The leader called his team back to the base, to which they obliged. After all of his team went back, the leader glanced back at the direction where Riddle was last sighted.         “Oh you’re in for it now, griffon!”