//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Deception 
// Story: Ace Combat: Gryphon Wings 
// by Bwaak 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 2: Deception

Sometimes, you will need more than skill and luck to survive....

Drakenridge Mountain Range, En-route to Gryphus, Griffin Kingdom
April 22nd 2020, 1045 hrs

As Riddle already predicted, Black Star’s cover was blown to pieces the minute they entered the hospital. The doctors were kind enough to heal their injuries and give them some food, but they still called the authorities. In response, the authorities called the Griffin Kingdom, since Black Star was their responsibility.

The kingdom’s royal guards arrived around 4 o’clock in the morning, and they quickly arrested Black Star, as well as Riddle for assisting a Class-A war criminal. The lead guard was surprised to see that him of all griffons would help a fugitive like Black Star. When he asked why he helped him, Riddle lied that "He didn’t know who Black Star was at the time."

Now, both griffons were contained inside a wagon pulled and escorted by the royal guards. They were already in the air for over six hours, and they were scheduled to arrive in Gryphus in about two hours.

Riddle quietly sat in his spot inside the wagon with his talons and wings cuffed. In front of him was Black Star, also cuffed with the addition of a muzzle on his beak to keep him silent. Beside him was a royal guard stationed inside the wagon to keep an eye on both griffons.

Overall, the Griffin Kingdom’s royal guards' appearance was similar to the Equestrian royal guards. Some minor differences were that the griffon guards had several blades attached to their wings and talons.

One thing that bothered Riddle was that most the royal guards escorting them were young, and judging by their expressions, had little battle experience.

"Must be new recruits," Riddle thought. "The war really exhausted the whole griffon community until there was no one with enough battle experience to join either the royal guard or the military."

The guards were all coordinated by a single lead guard flying in front of the wagon. The guard was an eagle griffon with dark brown feathers and coat. His body showed several scars and hoofmarks which told that he had also been involved in the war. The recruits called him, Metal Sphere.

The trio remained silent most of their journey with the exception of occasional status updates asked by Metal Sphere to the royal guard inside the wagon.

"Metal Sphere to Red Tail. What is the status on the prisoners, over."

"This is Red Tail," the guard responded. "Everything is okay sir. Red Tail out."

Metal Sphere sighed as he closed the transmission. Everything was going well until one of his subordinates, a griffon with dark feathers and coat, called to him.

"Sir, my radar is detecting several contacts heading for our location," he said worriedly.

Metal Sphere was surprised to hear this, but he kept his composure and replied, "Any IDs on them, Crow?"

"No valid IDs sir," the griffon guard called Crow replied. "Whatever they are, they’re too small and fast to be griffon forces."

Metal Sphere knew what species that fit Crow’s description.

"All royal guards listen up. Assume defensive formation." He commanded. "Stay sharp and keep your eyes open."

"Roger!" his subordinates replied as they went to their defensive positions. Four guards formed a V-formation with Metal Sphere leading them, while the rest formed a defensive barrier around the wagon.

"Who's attacking, sir?" a young guard asked Metal Sphere.

"The ponies," Metal Sphere hissed. "But they’re not the Equestrians."





Both Riddle and Black Star heard the commotion and decided to take a peek from the wagon’s small window, despite Red Tail’s protest.

"What’s going on?" Riddle thought out loud as he watched the guards form a defensive barrier around the wagon. Black Star was analyzing the situation in his mind.

"I’m not sure," the dark griffon responded though his voice is muffled by the muzzle, "but it looks like we’ll be expecting some company."

"Hey! You two," Red Tail shouted after his protest went unheard by the two griffons. "Get back to your seats immediately!"

Both griffons just turned around and glared at him. In an instant, Red Tail’s bravery was chucked out the window and he found himself pathetically being glared to death by two of the most dangerous griffons he’d ever known.

"B… but it’s okay… if you don’t want to… hehe." Red Tail chuckled sheepishly as cold sweat poured out from his skin, soaking his feathers.

Both griffons rolled their eyes as they turned back to see their current situation. From the distance, both griffons could see several dots coming from the southeast. They saw the royal guards tense up as the unknown fliers got closer to their location.





Metal Sphere’s hunch was correct; the unknown fliers consisted of ten pegasi, and they were all wearing gray suits with some blue streaks that conceals their manes, faces, and cutie marks. Metal Sphere decided to contact these unknown ponies.

"This is the 14th Royal Guard Division of the Griffin Kingdom to unidentified fliers. Identify yourself and state your intentions immediately."

There was no response.

As they approached the convoy, the lead pegasi motioned his wingmates to separate and fly in groups of three while the leader flew alone in front of them. Each group separated and surrounded the convoy in short time.

"I repeat. This is the 14th griffon Royal Guard Division to unidentified fliers. Identify yourself now!"

Metal Sphere squinted his eyes as his second demand went unheard by the unidentified fliers. The ponies had the numerical advantage but that didn’t deter Metal Sphere a bit. He had fought in the Equestrian War, and he remembered some tricks and tactics used by the ponies. But what worried him was his inexperienced underlings. They had just completed their training, but they had little to no experience battling equines.

Metal Sphere watched as the lead pegasi motioned one of his wingmate to give him a megaphone. The wingmate flew back to his position as the lead pegasi turned the megaphone on.

"This is the Neue Gryphus 84th Tactical Pegasus Squad to griffon forces," he began. "You have someone that belongs to us, and we demand that you return him immediately."

"Him?" Metal Sphere thought. "Must be Wonderfalke."

He turned to one of his underlings and requested a megaphone, to which the soldier complied. Once he received the megaphone, he turned it on and responded to the pegasi leader:

"This is Metal Sphere, leader of the 14th griffon Royal Guard," the old griffon said. "I’m afraid we can’t comply to your request."

"And why is that?" the pegasi leader asked, slightly annoyed. "He’s the chief scientist of Grunder Industries, and the company has requested us to take him back so he could finish his work."

"I’m sorry but I can’t let you take him away," Metal Sphere argued. "You see…"





Riddle and Black Star continued to eavesdrop on the conversation. Black Star noticed that Riddle’s frown got deeper and deeper ever since that pegasus squadron arrived

"You know them?" he asked.

"Yes," Riddle growled. "They’re mercenaries hired to capture me last night, and there’s no such thing as the 84th Tactical Pegasus Squadron in the Neue Gryphus military."

"So they lied about that too." Black Star nodded thoughtfully. "It was all a set up so they could drag you back to their plans."
Black Star shook his head in disbelief. "This is a trap."

"You’re a fast thinker, Mr. Star." Riddle spoke. "We’ve got to warn the royal guards."

"Warn us about what?" Red Tail squeaked behind them.

The two griffons turned around and faced the young guard who was sitting in the corner, trying to make himself look tiny and unnoticeable.

"Really?" Riddle deadpanned. "All this time you didn’t hear anything?"

"No, not really," Red Tail said sheepishly. "I was too busy being scared and all…"

Black Star sighed in disbelief and went back to the window while Riddle walked to the cowering griffon and said, "We need to warn your superior about this. Those pegasi are trying to get me and they’re willing to kill you all to do it."

"Wait. What?" Red Tail yelled. "Seriously!?"

"Yes!" Riddle said impatiently. "Now warn him!"

"It’s too late for that," Black Star said to the two griffons behind him. "They’re already making their move."

Riddle and Red Tail looked at each other before rushing to the small window.





"…I knew there’s no use talking to you griffons," the lead pegasi hissed. "You bird-headed freaks are always too stubborn for your own good."

"That’s what makes us who we are." Metal Sphere shot back. "You are not taking him away."

"So that’s your final word?" the lead pegasi sighed. "Very well. Blau Squadron, you’re all cleared to engage! Eliminate all griffons except Hüttensänger."

His wingmates immediately rushed towards the griffons in high speed. The griffon guards grabbed their spears held their positions around the wagon, while Metal Sphere growled as the lead pegasus charged at him from head on.

Metal Sphere dodged the pegasus’ attack and grabbed his wings before throwing him away from the wagon. The lead pegasus growled in anger as Metal Sphere took a stance in front of the wagon, daring him to attack.

The pegasus charged at the griffon again. Metal Sphere was about to dodge when another pegasus struck him from left. The griffon used the blunt end of his spear to combat the pegasus, but the leader sneaked up behind him, grabbed the spear and began to choke him with it.

"You should have taken our offer, griffon," he spoke maliciously. "Now you will die for that mistake."

"Not today." Metal Sphere hit the leader with the back of his head and slashed the other pegasus on his chest before kicking him away. He used his spear to combat against the leader as both of them began to trade blows.

The leader was quick on his wings as he evaded every attack the griffon threw at him, but Metal Sphere’s defense were superb. The leader’s blows were deflected effortlessly by the old griffon.

But the same thing couldn’t be said for his subordinates.

The other griffon guards tried their best to hold Blau squadron’s attacks, but most of them were overwhelmed and attacked without mercy by the ponies. Crow managed to fend off two pegasi, but another one jumped from behind and tackled him. He tried to free himself, but the pegasus’ attack were more than enough for him.

The pegasus punched him on the face, dazing him. The pegasus quickly flew towards him and delivered a precise buck to his neck. Crow's body slammed against the wagon before falling into the snow-covered mountains below.





The griffon trio felt the wagon shake as they saw one of the guards' body fall downwards into the mountains. They also saw more guards being overwhelmed by the pegasus squadron. Both Riddle and Black Star couldn’t stand and watch any longer. They needed to do something before the royal guards were wiped out.

"Hey you!" Riddle yelled at the frightened Red Tail. "Open our restrains. I know you have the keys."

"I can’t!" Red Tail protested. "I only have the keys for the wing restrains. The keys for your talons are with Metal Sphere, and he says I’m not suppose to free you!"

"Listen, if you don’t free us right now, we’re all going to die." Black Star snapped. His cold voice frightened the young griffon a bit. "Riddle, your boss and I are the only ones who have experience battling equines."

Red Tail was about to retort, but he was cut off when he heard one of his comrades screaming in pain from outside the wagon. The situation for the griffons looked bleak, the majority of the guards were dead or incapacitated by the pegasus squad. What’s worse, Metal Sphere was slowly being overwhelmed by the squadron. Running out of options, Red Tail finally made his decision.

"Dear Celestia. I’m so fired!" he thought as he pulled out the keys and unlocked the restrains on Riddle’s wings first before moving on to Black Star’s.

Both griffons gave their wings a quick stretch while Red Tail opened the wagon’s doors. The trio flew out, just in time, as the last of the two griffons who pulled the wagon were attacked and killed. The wagon proceed to fall straight down into the mountains.

The trio managed get a glimpse of the situation. There were only four or five griffons left including Metal Sphere battling the pegasus squadron. The equines’ attacks intensified, slowly driving the griffons back.

Black Star frowned deeply. These equines were savages if compared to their Equestrian counterparts across the seas. Not being ruled by the princesses’ love and justice really made their hearts grow dark.

The trio flew to Metal Sphere’s location and helped him ward off some of the pegasi. But before Riddle could ask about the keys, Blau 1 grabbed Black Star from behind and threw him at one of his wingmates. Black Star stayed calm as he dodged the second pegasus’ attack and retaliated with a swift head butt to the pegasus’ stomach.

The pegasus was thrown off balance, but Black Star was not finished with him yet. He flapped his wings until he got enough momentum to slam his cuffed talons at the pegasus’ head. The pegasus was knocked out as he fell to his death to the mountains below.

"You!!"

Black Star turned and saw the infuriated looking Blau leader. The leader was about to attack, but he found himself grabbed by a cuff-free Riddle. The pegasus hit the blue griffon with the back of his head and targeted his stomach. Riddle manages to evade the blow and retaliated with a vicious claw swipe to the leader’s left eye.

The leader screamed as he tried to stop the bleeding in vain. His left eye’s sight began to blur before turning completely black, turning him partially blind. Soon, more wingmates come to aid their injured leader.

"Are you alright sir?" one of them asked.

"My eye…I lost it!" he growled as he glared at Riddle with his one remaining eye. "You! You took my eye! YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!!!"

The lead pegasi roared as he lunged towards the blue griffon. Riddle dodged it with minimal effort, but the leader quickly changed his course and flew at him again. Once again, Riddle dodged him effortlessly.

"Hold still, you freak!!" he roared as he flew straight for the blue griffon again. This time, Riddle didn’t bother dodging the attack.

"If you say so," Riddle said as he quickly grabbed the leader’s hooves and locked him in place. Once that was done, he curled up his back feet and kicked the pegasus away with all his might. The leader was thrown into an uncontrollable spin, but his wingmates quickly caught him.

The leader was beyond furious, not only because Riddle managed to blind his left eye, but also humiliated him in front of his wingmates. He had enough. He activated his comm and yelled to it: "This is Blau 1 to all units in the area! New orders, you’re cleared to engage the griffons. Leave no survivors!!"

"But sir," one of his wingmates objected. "We still need Hüttensänger—"

"I don’t care!" Blau 1 snapped angrily. "Kill them all!!"

The ponies halted their assault after receiving the order. Some of them were hesitant, but in the end, they complied with the order and resumed their assault. Now their attacks were more brutal, but less coordinated than before. Black Star, now free from his cuffs, immediately targeted two pegasi who were attacking a young guard.

He turned to face Metal Sphere before he yelled, "This is Black Star, requesting to engage the pegasi at will."

Red Tail was hesitant about letting the criminal go on his own, but Metal Sphere had a different thought on his mind.

"Permission granted, Black Star. Go ahead," He said with a stern tone. "Take Red Tail with you. I’m sure he’ll learn something by watching you."

Black Star nodded and went to assist the remaining guards. Red Tail was shocked to hear this and was about to retort, but Metal Sphere raised his left claw, silencing him and motioning him to follow the dark griffon.

"Stay close to him," Metal Sphere said to the young guard before flying off to assist the other guards.

Once Black Star arrived, the two Blau members stopped attacking on a guard and immediately snapped their attention to him. Red Tail panicked at this, but the dark griffon just calmly took a defensive position.

"Red Tail," He said to the young griffon hiding behind him.

"Y...yes?" he stuttered.

"Go over there and tend your friend," he ordered. "I’ll take care the rest."

Red Tail seemed hesitant at first, but eventually he complied with the order and rushed to his wounded comrade, leaving Black Star to face the two Blau members alone.

The first Blau attacked him with a punch to his torso, but Black Star evaded it and delivered a blow to his stomach before swiping his head with his wing. Seeing his comrade disoriented, the second Blau member entered the fight.

He pounced the dark griffon from behind but Black Star quickly grabbed his hooves and throws him to the front. The member recovered and faced the dark griffon before giving him some punches on his body. Black Star blocked his attacks while keeping an eye on the first Blau, in case if he decided to re-enter the engagement.

Suddenly, a third Blau member dove into Black Star from above and bucked him back. The first Blau member rejoined the battle and began to throw some blows at the dark griffon. Black Star was slowly being overwhelmed by the attacks when the second Blau member decided to join in.

Red Tail watched as the pegasi continued their relentless assault towards Black Star. He didn’t know if he should help him or not, since fighting wasn’t really his thing, and he only joined the Royal Guards just because his parents forced him to.

"What are you doing?" his friend groaned. Red Tail turned at his wounded friend who was glaring at him. His face was badly bruised with hoof-marks, and blood was seeping out from his nose. He was also breathing irregularly, and he couldn’t flap his wings normally.

"Don’t just hover here and watch. Help him," his friend said again.

"B...but..." Red Tail tried to protest, but his friend silenced him.

"Help him…" his friend repeated before the light of life vanished from the his eyes and the griffon soldier’s limbs went limp.

Red Tail could only look at his friend’s corpse in disbelief. He just saw his comrade die in his claws. The screams of pain from other griffons echoed through his head. Slowly, he released his grip from his comrade’s lifeless corpse and watched him fall to the snowy mountains. His anger boiled, and his adrenaline began to flow, just as a pegasus tried to attack him from behind.

Screeching like a hawk, Red Tail gave the pegasus an elbow jab to his snout before punching him away. The pegasus was dazed by this sudden retaliation. He quickly sets his sights on Red Tail as both combatants circled around. Red Tail attacked him first, but the pegasus blocked his attack and punched him in his guts.

"Too weak!" the pegasus spat. Red Tail was thrown back but he quickly recovered from the blow and launched another attack. The pegasus evaded it but Red Tail immediately brought his fist to the pegasus’ stomach. The pegasus gasped in pain, giving Red Tail enough time to kick him away.

The pegasus quickly recovered from it, and growled in anger. He flapped his wings and flew towards Red Tail. Before the pegasus could even react, he was quickly taken down by Black Star who managed to break free from the three pegasi from above. The crippled pegasus decided to retreat from the action for his own good.

"Th… thanks." Red Tail said between gasps of air. "But I… I thought you were…"

"I managed to knock one of them out, the rest flew away after they saw that," Black Star replied coldly. He saw the still ensuing battle around them. They were heavily outnumbered and couldn’t possibly won the battle. They needed help.

"Hey kid," he called to the young griffon, "do you have a frequency reserved for emergency situations on your communicator?"

"Uh yes," Red Tail replied while tweaking his comm a bit. "Do you want me to call for help?"

"Yes. We couldn’t possibly win this battle," Black Star said. "Call them in."

Red Tail wasted no time and quickly tuned in to the right frequency. When he finally found the frequency, he immediately spoke, "Gryphus control Altair, this is the griffon Royal Guard, 14th Division. Can you hear me?"
It took several seconds before a voice answered his call;

"This is Gryphus Command Center call sign Altair Beta. I hear you loud and clear GRG 14th Division. What is your situation?"

"Altair Beta, we’re declaring an emergency. We have been attacked by hostile equine fliers—"

"WHAT!?" the controller, Altair yelled in disbelief and anger, cutting Red Tail off. "Did those alicorn sisters lost their minds!?

Black Star decided to intervene to stop any misleading information from getting to the controller’s head.

"It’s not the Equestrians, Altair Beta control," he spoke to Red Tail’s comm. "I think we’re dealing with possible Neue Gryphonian rogues."

"Wha…? Who is this? Identify yourself!" Altair Beta demanded.

"I think you already know who I am," Black Star smirked.

"B...Black Star?" Altair Beta stammered. "I thought you…"

"It’s a long story," Black Star said simply. "Right now we have more serious matters to worry about. We didn’t have any radar, so I can’t pin-point our last location directly, but we’re somewhere over the Drakenridge mountain range south of Gryphus."

"Ah yes, I can see you on radar," Altair Beta responded again, surprisingly calm after the outburst earlier. "This is Altair Alpha, sorry for that. The new recruit couldn't hold his own tongue. Hold on, I’m sending reinforcements ASAP. I’m also keeping this channel open if you needed further assistance."

"Roger that, Altair Alpha," Black Star said before turning to Red Tail. "Alright, we need to survive until the reinforcements arrive. Stick close to me."

"Uh, okay. Acknowledged," the griffon responded worriedly.

Meanwhile, Riddle was facing Blau 1, along with two of his wingmates. The first pegasus made his first move by flying towards Riddle at high speed in which the blue griffon easily evaded. It turned out this was a mere distraction to allow the second pegasus to attack him. The pegasus manage to land a hit on Riddle’s right shoulder, but the griffon retaliated with an uppercut to his jaw, effectively knocking him back.

The first pegasus charged again, and so did the infuriated second one. Riddle quickly dodged the first pegasus’ attack and delivered one blow to his stomach. He then evaded the second attack, he grabbed his wings and threw him at his comrade.
Having seen enough failures from his squad, Blau 1 entered the fight and engaged Riddle on close combat. Both combatants traded blows and punched at each other, though Blau 1 was having difficulties due to his eye. Finally, Blau 1 managed to slip an opening that Riddle needed. The griffon quickly took this chance to strike at the pegasus’ face, but the pegasus blocked the attack, giving him time to deliver a buck to Riddle’s stomach.

Riddle gasped and coughed in pain. He felt that one or two of his ribs were broken again by the impact. Blau 1 along with his two wingmates surrounded him, blocking any possible escape route.

"Did you think you can defeat us all by yourself?" Blau 1 scoffed.

"Wasn’t planning to," Riddle said in pain. The two Blau squadron members didn’t understand what the blue griffon, said but Blau 1 understood it perfectly. As if on cue, Metal Sphere appeared behind one of the Blau members and hit his head with his spear. The other Blau member quickly lunged at the old griffon, but Riddle grabbed his tail and throws him at Blau 1 who managed to evade it.

"Griffon scum!" Blau 1 lunged directly at Riddle, but Metal Sphere blocked his path, forcing him to face the old griffon again. With an enraged growl, Blau 1 delivered his first attack on Metal Sphere, but the griffon blocked it with his spear and retaliated with claw swipe aimed to Blau 1’s face. Blau 1 narrowly evaded the swipe, but he was forced to back down a bit, allowing his wingmates to attack the griffon.

One pegasus managed to lock Metal Sphere into combat, while the other one was pulled away by Riddle, and soon both combatants were now chasing each other. Metal Sphere battled the pegasi the best he could, but his age and stamina had slowly depleted since the battle began. With each punch and swipe he delivered and every attack he blocked, his fatigue slowly began to affect his performance. Finally, Metal Sphere inadvertently gave the pegasus an opening, causing his spear to slip out from his talons. Blau 1 quickly dived in and grabbed the spear before flying up and faced the tired griffon.

"You’re losing your touch, old bag." He smirked before attacking Metal Sphere with his own weapon. The old griffon guard tried his best to hold out against Blau 1’s attacks, but his wingmate made it difficult to do so. With each blow Blau 1 delivered with the spear and every attack he blocked from the second Blau member, Metal Sphere became more and more disorientated.
Blau 1 saw his chance and brought the sharp end of the spear and charged towards the tired griffon. Riddle, who manages to knock the other Blau member along with his reinforcements, noticed Blau 1’s attack on Metal Sphere. His eyes widened as every ounce of adrenaline was pumped into his muscles.

"NO!!" he screeched as he flew as fast as he could to stop the attack. Metal Sphere also noticed Blau 1’s attempt. He tried to evade the attack, but it was too late.

Seconds later, Metal Sphere found himself being impaled by his own spear. Blood poured out from the wound. The spear missed his vital organs, but he was still in danger of internal bleeding.

He looked up and saw Blau 1 grinning wickedly at him.

"You’re finished," he chuckled sinisterly, completely unaware of a fast moving blue griffon charging at him.

Riddle roared as he hit Blau 1 with the side of his body. Blau 1 felt his left arm and ribcage cracking from the impact. Before he could even recover, Black Star kicked him from behind, and finally, Red Tail, who was enraged over what Blau 1 had done to his leader delivered a powerful claw swipe to his body.

As if luck have decided to mock him that day, two more royal guards who managed to survive the first attack decided to join in and beat the living Tartarus out of the pegasus. Their motive for swarming a helpless pegasus varied; one wanted revenge for wounding their captain, but the other one wanted some payback for his father who was killed by the Equestrians in the war.

Meanwhile, Metal Sphere started to descend. The pain was agonizing, and it was affecting his flight. Luckily, Red Tail noticed him and quickly flew towards him. The griffon placed his right arm over Metal Sphere’s shoulders and the left arm over the bleeding wound.

"You’re going to be alright, Captain," Red Tail assured to the weakened Metal Sphere. "Help is on the way."

Metal Sphere could only nod in reply as he clutched his wound in pain.

"Captain!" one of the Blau members shouted when he saw Blau 1 getting mercilessly attacked from all sides. The other members noticed that too and quickly flew in to assist their captain. Riddle noticed the incoming swarm and warned the others.

"Incoming!"

The griffons saw the incoming attack and quickly broke from the engagement. Black Star evaded a buck from a Blau member, but Riddle was subdued by two members at once. Riddle struggled to break free, but one member punched him on his face while the other restrained him.

"Be still, griffon!" the member barked. Riddle just ignored him and struggled some more, causing him to be punched again by the pegasus. His cheek was red hot with pain, but he continued to struggle, receiving blow after blow to his face.

"Keep him quiet, Blau 3!" the other member shouted from behind. Blau 3 responded by preparing for a punch he thought would be strong enough to knock the blue griffon out. But as he brought his hoof down to Riddle’s face, the griffon dodged in the last second, and the hoof impacted his friend instead. The pegasus was knocked unconscious and soon fell down to the mountains.

"Blau 5 is down!" Blau 3 said in horror as the now-freed Riddle faced him. He recklessly attacked the blue griffon, only for Riddle to evade his attack, but it was soon followed by another attack which Riddle also evaded. The pegasus’ temper started to rise with each missed blow he delivered to the griffon in front of him.

Finally, the pegasus screamed and launched his final attack. Once again, Riddle evaded it, but at the last second, he grabbed the hoof and pulled the pegasus toward him while preparing his own attack. Riddle punched the pegasus on his stomach, followed suit by an uppercut, effectively knocking him out.

Riddle saw the pegasus fall down to the mountains and shifted his attention back to the still-ensuing battle. He let out a loud sigh before he flew back to support anyone he saw.





1301 hrs

Despite already losing six members to the griffon forces, Blau 1 was still determined to kill Riddle and the other griffons on the spot. The griffons were still heavily outmatched by the rogue equine forces. Riddle, Black Star, and the other royal guards’ strength were slowly depleting, and Metal Sphere continued to bleed excessively through his wound.

The situation didn’t look good for the griffon forces.

But then, a glimmer of hope rose for the half eagle-lion creatures.

"Blau 7 to Blau 1, I’ve got several contacts coming from the north," a member called Blau 7 informed. "Contacts are confirmed to be griffon reinforcements."

"WHAT!?" Blau 1 snapped furiously. He knew his plan just went down the drain when he heard that. As much he wanted to kill Riddle right there and right then, he couldn’t do it if his squadron was being attacked by the reinforcements.

In the end, retreating was probably the most logical action to take.

"Blau squadron, cease attack immediately. We’re going back," he ordered after setting his comm to a wide frequency. "Anypony who doesn’t comply will be left behind."

"Roger!" his remaining wingmates answered in unison. Soon, the pegasi stopped attacking the griffons and retreated to the south. Blau 1 gave Riddle one last glare before retreating as well, just in time for when the griffon reinforcements arrived on the vicinity. Riddle and the other griffons sighed in relief, but to him and Black Star, their problems had just begun.

Riddle saw the reinforcement group getting closer to their location. Once they were close, Riddle could see who was leading the group. The leader of the reinforcement group was a griffoness with light brown feathers with a darker shade of brown on her coat. Her piercing eyes were green, and several dark brown blotches covered her cheeks and wings. She along with the reinforcements wore the same royal guard attire that Metal Sphere’s group wore.

The female griffon saw both Riddle and Black Star. Her face immediately dropped into a frown when she saw the latter. She turned her focus to the wounded Metal Sphere. Her face quickly showed concern for the old griffon soldier.

"Ridgeback, you and your underlings tend Metal Sphere’s wound ASAP," she ordered one of her wingmates, in which he obliged. Then he turned towards her two other wingmates.

"Corvine, you and Osprey restrain Black Star," she said with disgust as she spoke his name. She glanced at the dark griffon, scowling. "Keep him contained and out of my sight."

"Roger, Kestrel," both griffons responded in unison before they flew towards Black Star. They expect the dark griffon to show some resistance, but the two guards found Black Star willingly offer his talons and wings to be restrained and his beak to be sealed shut. The two griffons did their work while the leader, Kestrel approached Riddle with a thoughtful look, though her frown was still present.

"Who are you suppose to be?" she asked.

"Just a griffon who got himself caught up in this mess," Riddle shrugged. Kestrel didn’t seem impressed by his answer. "Just call me Riddle. I’ll save the main intro later."

"Why don’t you just introduce yourself right now?" Kestrel said as she crossed her arms. "We don’t take kindly to foreign griffons, especially Belkans."

"Relax. I’ll reveal everything once we get to Gryphus, but until then, no spoilers," Riddle replied. Kestrel’s frown deepened. "Besides, shouldn’t you be more worried about your superior?"

Kestrel was about to retort, but the words never came out from her beak. She glanced at her superior, who was now being laid on a portable stretcher. His whole chest was wrapped in bandages, though blood was still flowing out from the wound. In the end, she ignored Riddle’s mind games and had him cuffed too, though she still allowed him to fly with his own wings

"I don’t know who you are, but if you try doing anything stupid, I will not hesitate to take you down," Kestrel warned the blue griffon. “So keep your beak shut.”

Riddle didn’t seem fazed by her threat and only nodded in response. Satisfied with the response, Kestrel ordered her underlings to escort the remaining griffon forces before beginning their long flight to Gryphus.





Blau 1 wasn’t happy one bit. He just got humiliated by the griffons, lost his eye to Riddle, and was forced to retreat when the griffon reinforcements arrived. Now, he was thinking of how to deal with his enraged superior for letting their High Valued Individual (HVI) escape to the Kingdom’s talons.

"A… are you alright sir?"

His thoughts came to a screeching halt when he heard his subordinate.

"Do I look alright?" he bluntly replied. The member wanted to reply, but Blau 1 gave him a one-eyed glare that practically said: “Don’t answer it, you idiot.” The member quickly got his message and flew back to his formation.
Blau 1 carefully rubbed the dried scar below his eye. His anger boiled with each rub he made and each thought of that damned griffon.

“One day,” He thought with a scowl. “One day, you will pay, Ratsel Wonderfalke.”