Chapter 19: Armageddon
“The flames of hatred scorch the skies… Igniting Gaia’s funeral pyre.” – Unknown
UI-4053 Sphyrna quarters, 5 Miles offshore of Sapin, Above the Antlertic Ocean
May 20th 2020, 0634 hrs
“Blake!”
Black Star twitched but his eyes remained closed.
“Blake!!”
The dark griffon twitched slightly with his name being called, but Black Star remained asleep. Kestrel was slowly losing her patience.
“Blake, you dolt. Wake up!!”
This time it worked. The dark griffon shot upwards before staring at the annoyed grifoness.
“What?” he asked in a tired voice.
“What’s what is our sortie’s going to start in minutes, and you’re still asleep!”
Realization slowly creeped into Black Star’s mind as he remembered about the mission. He slapped his forehead before he quickly got up and grabbed his comms and things from the drawer. Kestrel’s annoyance was replaced by a slight amusement as she watched the normally composed Black Star panicking about being late for this operation. When the dark griffon was ready, both of them rushed out from the room and headed straight for the launch bay.
The sound of the open air and the countless beats made by the Sphyrna’s propellers were deafening to the griffons’ ears, and the open rear hatch revealed the dull and gray morning sky. The other griffon squads had already took off, and only Verde, the Belkan Knights, Riddle and Kite were waiting for them. Commander Flintlock, a green coated unicorn, came up to them and yelled,
“There’s no time for a briefing, guys. Valkyrie has already begun his descent five minutes ago. We need you in the air, now!”
Both griffons only responded with a nod before they joined their squad’s formation. Riddle gave one more check of the comms, scanners, and the Z.O.E. devices before the commander cleared them all for take-off. The four griffons ran towards the open hatch before jumping off into the open skies. They quickly opened their wings during the freefall and stabilized their flights before heading west to join up with the rest of the allied squads. Behind them, the three knights ascended while Verde Squadron maintained the same altitude with them. Seconds ticked by until their comm crackled to life.
“This is Altair Alpha to Aquila. The rest of the squads have already reported in. Please report your status, sir,” Saetos said calmly.
“Aquila squadron here. We’re in the green,” Riddle stated.
“This is the Knights,” Detlef began. “Currently gaining altitude and awaiting further orders.”
“Verde squadron, same with the knights,” Jet announced from his end.
“Squadron checks are complete,” Saetos answered. “Aquila, Knight and Verde, please rendezvous with the rest and await further instructions there.”
The squad leaders responded with a “roger” before they accelerated to meet up with the rest of the squads. Once they arrived, they found that the allied squads were flying in a tight V-formation, likely to save up some energy for the battle ahead. Gilda and Breaker noticed the three squads’ arrival.
“Southwind 9 to 1, the main stars are here!” Gilda smirked.
Ronin looked back and saw the three squadrons gaining some altitude to meet up with them.
“All Southwind units, move to the side. Let the main actors take the stage in this performance,” Ronin said as she and her fellow subordinates flew to the side, letting Aquila take the center position. With the whole Valkyrie Interceptor Team complete, the flyers felt their confidence grow. Riddle also noticed this and spoke,
“Ladies and gentlemen, I do not believe anyone on Equis could go against us now…” Riddle paused for a moment until he added, “…well, except for Mirage squadron,”
“Yah, got that right, mate,” Bernhard spoke from his end. Black Star and Kestrel surveyed their surroundings. The sky was still gray with ominous looking clouds lying on the horizon. They had a hunch that the weather won’t be good today. Something else also caught their attention in the form of a ten-flier griffon squadron flying on their left. All of them were wearing black vests with a yellow lightning bolt on the side. Black Star was the first one to ask Riddle about this, in which the blue griffon responded,
“I believe they are the 21st Strike Griffin Squadron, ‘Lightning,’ but most of the time they were called the Black Squadron,”
The new squadron’s name sounded familiar to the dark griffon. When he thought about it, Black squadron was also deployed during the Invasion of Canterlot. He remembered that after the war. The squadron was reassigned into a base within the Frozen North. He guessed that was the reason why they were only showing up now.
The dark griffon then noticed Kite flying out of formation to go to to his friends who were flying behind Northwind squadron. Black Star broke off from his position and flew over to the crowd, curious about what the recruits were currently doing. He soon got his answer when he saw Razorback tweaking his comm, stating that he was searching for the radio frequency.
“What are you guys doing?” he asked, surprising the recruits. Ricochet decided to answer on his comrades’ behalf.
“We’re trying to get some information about the international dome plan which will be conducted this morning,”
“Dome plan? You mean the Royal Princesses’ plan to repel the Ulysses fragments, right?” Black Star asked again.
“Right-o, espectro,” Ricochet nodded before Razorback shushed him.
“Rico, be quiet for a moment. I think I got it,” he stated as he tweaked the comm some more. All the recruits including Black Star listened closely as the muffled voice from the radio station became much clearer with each adjustment Razorback made.
“…—*static*—… This is the Equestrian Broadcast Corporation…—*static*—... reporting live in front of Canterlot castle, where the Royal Princesses are about to conduct the so-called “Anti-Asteroid Dome”… —*static*—… which apparently was brought up again after its failure during the Ulysses Disaster over 20 years ago…—*static*—”
As the broadcast continued, the other flyers also got curious and requested that Razorback should patch the transmission to their comms. Razorback immediately complied, and soon, the entire Valkyrie Interception Team was listening to the broadcast.
“… According to our sources, over two hundred unicorns from Equestria were dispersed all around Equis where they will meet the other unicorns from other cities and countries to distribute the dome’s strength around the world…—*static*—… Hold on, I just saw Princess Celestia flying out from the palace along with her sister and niece, Princess Luna and Princess Cadance…—*static*—…”
The group heard several murmurs and yells coming from all around the reporter.
“…Oh my… the asteroids…—*static*—… they are falling right now! The sky is filled with them!!”
“Look, up there!” Rod suddenly exclaimed while pointing at the skies, causing everyone to look up. Sure enough, the sky was indeed filled with countless bolts of light raining down towards the surface. The fragments looked small at first, but soon, bigger asteroid chunks began to enter the atmosphere.
“The Princesses are currently casting up their spell and… WHOA!!” the reporter jumped as a loud explosion was heard from his end. “Folks, you will not believe what I just witnessed… the princesses just released a massive beam of light into the skies, and a gold barrier… —*static*—... I think that you viewers must see this yourself. For those of you who are still indoors, please go outside and look up at the sky… it is simply too great to describe!”
At this moment, the Valkyrie Interceptor Team, who were still keeping their eyes focused on the meteor-filled sky began to see a faint gold-colored barrier that began to cover the sky. Suddenly, another beam of light shot up from behind them as the unicorns who were positioned in Sapin casted their spell to reinforce the barrier. Their spell soon met with the princesses’ barrier, thus reinforcing the barrier.
The griffons, especially Riddle, were rendered speechless by the enormous display of magic. There was nothing they could do now except preventing Valkyrie from arriving to his first target.
An incoming transmission from Saetos snapped them out from their trance. Razorback quickly closed the radio transmission as everyone else answered Saetos’ call.
“Altair Alpha to all units, we have confirmed that Valkyrie had descended to 16,666 feet,” the griffon operator boomed. “Look at your twelve o’clock just above you.”
Everyone shifted their attention from the barrier and the meteors to their front. Sure enough, they saw the ominous shape of the Valkyrie flying just above their current altitude. Many of the recruits were dumbfounded, Valkyrie was just 10,000 feet above them, but he still looked huge from their perspectives.
“This is Aquila 1, I see the bogey,” Riddle spoke to his comm.
“Affirmative, sir. You will begin your engagement on my command,” Saetos responded. “Altair Alpha to all units. All squadrons, report in.”
“Aquila squadron, on standby,”
“Northwind and Southwind squadrons on standby!”
“GRGs on standby,”
“Verde squadron on standby!”
“Crimson and Silver squadrons, we’re on standby!”
“Black squadron on standby,”
“Hoofstian squadrons on standby!”
“Belkan Knights on standby,”
“All squadrons checked in and ready for battle,” Saetos spoke. “Aquila squadron… lead the way to victory. All units follow Aquila.”
All members of Aquila squadron squinted their eyes before they ascended to meet with the colossal dragon.
“Aquila 1 to Aquilas 2 through 4. Z.O.E. at 6%, remain on standby until I give the signal,” Riddle ordered. Black Star, Kestrel and Kite replied in silence as they activated their Z.O.E.s and put the devices on standby until further notice. The rest of the squadrons quickly followed Aquila from their end. Every one of them was ready to face the massive threat flying above.
At Valkyrie’s end, Svenson, who was in-charge of the radar systems, noticed the allied squadrons’ arrival from Valkyrie’s backup scope.
“No… damn allied forces!” he cursed before he grabbed his comm to warn Esser. “Sergei, those allied scums are here!”
“What!? The allied squadron’s here?” Esser yelled from his end. “Huh, no matter. Scramble all flyers. Stall them until the repairs are complete!”
“Got it, Sergei!” Svenson responded before he changed the frequency of his comm to contact Heimer. “Heimer, send those bugs down. The allied squad’s here to slay the beast!”
“Ten-four, Svense. Over and out,” Heimer responded from his end. There are approximately twenty changelings fitted with armors inside Valkyrie’s launch port, and he told them all to scramble at once to stop the allied forces.
“This is Carapace 1, we’re ready to deploy,” the lead changeling sounded. “Carapace squadron, launch! Don’t make the same mistakes as Hex squadron!”
The changelings responded with a number of clicks and growls before the launch bay was opened. Without a second to waste, Carapace 1 jumped out first, followed by his wingmates. Once they were outside, Carapace 2 radioed his flight lead and said,
“Got a tally-ho on the bandits…” he paused for a moment before continuing with a shaky voice. “I-It’s them! The Northern Eagles, and there’s more of ‘em!!”
“What!?” Carapace 1 said as he checked his scanner. Sure enough, he saw that all of the inbound targets were marked as AQUILA. “Impossible…!”
“Oh man, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Carapace number 3 groaned. “All of them have that eagle insignia!”
“No matter, Carapace 1 to all units! Spread out and take them all!” Carapace 1 said in determination. “Keep them away from the Valkyrie!”
Though the majority of his subordinates were reluctant, they ultimately responded “roger” in unison.
0700 hrs
Riddle smirked when he saw the changeling squad dispersing to take them. He was the one who put Aquila’s insignia on all of the allied units’ IDs. The best way to win this battle was to demoralize the opponent first.
“There’s our welcoming party,” Black Star said as he saw the huge swarm coming at them. A faint sunlight managed to breach the clouds as Saetos’ booming voice sounded on their comms,
“Altair Alpha to all units, permission to engage! Eliminate all hostile targets and bring that overgrown lizard down!”
Multiple “rogers” and “wilcos” were heard from the allied forces as they continued their rapid ascent towards the changeling swarm. Seconds later, both opposing sides finally clashed against one another in a huge aerial battle. The Hoofstian squads quickly proved themselves to be in par with the griffons by taking down a number changelings in a brutal manner.
“Magpie 1, bandit behind you!” one pegasus warned to his flight lead. The mare turned and parried the changeling’s blow just in time. Both soldiers tried to land a blow to each other, but Magpie 1 soon found out that some of the changelings were very skilled in battle. A magic blast managed to blind her long enough for the changeling to stab her stomach with his horn.
The mare coughed some blood before her body fell down into the ocean, causing a brief panic in her squad’s ranks.
“Oh, Magpie 1’s down!” Magpie 2 exclaimed in horror.
“Jean, get a grip! You have to take over the command!” Magpie 3 said from his end. “Win this battle for our leader!”
With a look of determination, Magpie 2 quickly assumed control of the squad and ordered his wingmates to double their engagement. The squadron was also assisted by the griffons, who used hit-and-fly tactics to distract the bugs long enough for the equines to attack them. Despite the assistance, the changelings of Carapace squadron proved themselves to be fearsome opponents. Soon, Magpie 3 reported that Magpie 5 had been killed from being overrun by the bugs.
“Javelin 1 to all units, let’s pick up the pace!” a Hoofstian pegasus ordered to his squad. “We can’t afford to die here, survival is paramount!”
His teammates responded before they increased their pace on the battle. The griffons also had some difficulties handling the changeling flyers. Ronin occasionally found herself being pitted by three or four changelings. To make matters worse, these changelings could read her moves, and they implemented this into their combat skill. Ronin battled the changelings with all her power, but she was soon exhausted by the sheer number of the flyers around her. If it wasn’t for Gilda and Butterclaw’s timed appearance, she would have been killed by the bug-like equines.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” Butterclaw said in worry.
“Just a little tired, that’s all,” Ronin chuckled between pants. “C’mon, let’s go back to the battle.”
“No, mother,” Stalker said in a stern voice. “You’re too weak to fight right now. Rest up for a little bit, I’ll take the command for a moment.”
“Do you have what it takes, son?” Ronin asked in a skeptical tone.
“I’ll try, mother,” Stalker responded with a shrug. “After all, this is what you raised me for.”
It took some time before Ronin gave out a defeated sigh and let her son take her squad’s command while she rested. Stalker quickly barked orders to his teammates,
“Gilda, you and I are gonna make several high speed passes into the furball. Make every attack count! Rosepink, Butterclaw: stay with my mother. Guard her until she’s ready for some action again.”
Though Gilda and Butterclaw were reluctant to follow his orders, Rosepink immediately complied and flew over to Ronin’s position before taking a defensive stance. Butterclaw saw the act and shrugged before she too joined the small pink griffon on guard duty. Gilda was the last one who complied with his order,
“Oh whatever, I’ll follow your lead, Southwind 1…”
“Ah shut up, G,” Stalker groaned before both he and Gilda accelerated towards the furball. Both griffons streaked past some changelings while deliverings quick strikes at them, giving some opening for the other squad members to strike the bugs. Kestrel and Black Star worked hard to gain some air superiority by working together with the knights. Bernhard’s quick thinking and Detlef’s endless passion to destroy his enemies made both griffons a force to be reckoned with.
Bernhard directed the griffon duo to engage the changelings which had pinned Riddle down from both sides. Black Star sensed something was wrong with the blue griffon ever since their major engagement over the Round Table. Riddle tried to made some counter-attacks, but his attacks were dodged and blocked effortlessly by the changelings.
“What’s the matter, old bird?” one of them mocked. “Too tired to fight us?”
“You should have stayed in the retirement home, Wonderflake!” another changeling snarled as he dived in to attack the blue griffon. To his surprise, Riddle parried his attack and sent a crushing blow to his face, breaking his snout and snapping his neck.
“Heheh, good one,” Riddle smirked as he prepared to engage the other changelings. The blue griffon managed to hit two changelings, but exhaustion began to slow him down, leaving him open to some attacks. Luckily, Black Star and Kestrel’s intervention made sure that Riddle had enough time to catch his breath.
“Are you alright, sir?” the pastel griffoness asked in concern.
“Just tired, that’s all…” Riddle panted. “These bugs are stalling us. We need to bring this battle to Valkyrie before he escapes.”
“If only we could…” Black Star stated before a changeling tackled him from behind. The dark griffon struggled until the changeling was struck by Kite’s blow directed to his neck. The stunned changeling starts to wobble uncontrollably until Kestrel delivered the finishing blow by kicking the bug-like equine in the stomach.
“As I was saying…” Black Star began. “These bugs are going to keep us occupied here until the Valkyrie’s out of our range. We need someone to head for the Valkyrie to at least, wear the dragon out for a bit.”
“And direct the changelings attention to him so that the fight will shift to Valkyrie’s location…” Riddle finished. “Looks like some of my tactician skills have rubbed off on you, Blake.”
Black Star just gave Riddle a small smile before he spoke,
“Then who will have the honor for this plan?”
“I can,” Kite suddenly jumped in, causing Kestrel to look at him in disbelief. “I’m faster than those bugs; I can outfly them anytime I want.”
“Milvus…” Kestrel began with a stern voice.
“I know what I’m doing, ma’am,” Kite said in determination. “I knew this was bound to happen when I enlisted. Soldiers take risks… even the ones that will kill them.”
Kite paused for a moment before he continued.
“This is my choice, ma’am… and I have a promise to keep for a friend…”
Kestrel was still reluctant about letting the small griffon go solo, even if he had proven himself capable of such tasks during the past four weeks. Black Star realized her inner struggle and spoke up,
“I’ll go with the kid. Watch his back from those bugs,”
Though Black Star’s words comforted her, she was still unsure about this plan. At the end, she reluctantly agreed with the plan, but not without one last request to both griffons,
“Watch yourselves, you two. Stay alive… no matter what.”
Both Kite and Black Star responded with a nod and a smile before they flew off towards Valkyrie’s location. At the same time, Riddle opened his comm and boomed,
“All allied forces listen up! Keep these bugs occupied as Aquila 2 and 4 head towards the Valkyrie!”
Multiple confirmations were heard from his comms as the squad leads and the members responded to his order. Unfortunately, Carapace 1 noticed the two griffons from his end and quickly warned his squad.
“Carapace 1 to all units, we’ve got some stragglers heading for the Valkyrie,” he roared. “Stop them at all cost!”
The changelings responded and immediately broke off from their engagement with the allied forces. Magpie 2 was ultimately killed along with Magpie 4, forcing Magpie 3 to take over the squadron. Crow squadron lost two of its members, leaving Crow 1 to fight for himself. Joker squadron, another Hoofstian squad, was completely wiped out by the bugs’ concentrated attacks, while Javelin squadron only suffered two casualties. At the griffons’ end, only Black squadron suffered a total of three casualties. The rest of of the griffons were just tired to their bones, but Riddle’s order reignited their will to fight.
“Oh no you don’t!” Ronin growled as she tackled a disengaged changeling. The changeling hissed and tried to land a blow on the metallic blue griffoness. Ronin blocked his attack and gouged his eyes out before finishing him off with a direct slash on his neck
“Crimson squadron, attack!” Blade roared as he and his squadmates engaged the changelings once more. Some of the changelings chose to stay and fight, while the others kept on flying to pursue Black Star and Kite. They knew who their opponents were, and it would be dangerous for them to go near the Valkyrie.
0730 hrs
Black Star had to admit, even with the power of the Z.O.E., he just couldn't keep up with the small bluish white griffon flying just above him. All he could do now was to keep a steady flight and try to close the gap between them whenever Kite slowed down to catch his breath. The small griffon’s face showed pure determination, as if he was going to face his moment of truth.
Svenson noticed them approaching for the Valkyrie and decided to warn Esser about it. The brown griffon’s response nearly made him blanch.
“Really, Sergei? You want to use the ADMMs against those chumps?”
“Well, they are the legendary Northern Eagles…” Esser responded with a chuckle. “They’re not your average joes and janes. These griffons could actually ruin our plan now, even if we have the Valkyrie on our side!”
“Alright, alright, Sergei,” Svenson sighed in defeat. “I’ll launch ‘em now.”
The hatches containing the missiles soon creaked open as Valkyrie let out a series of growls. The dragon curved his back slightly before the missiles were launched from the spine.
Kite’s face paled when he saw a total of 20 or 30 missiles heading towards him and Black Star. The dark griffon’s expression also dropped when he saw them.
“Oh crap…” Kite mouthed just before Black Star gave him an order,
“Kid, break left and accelerate once I give the signal!”
Kite kept his crumbling composure before he gave Black Star a quick “roger” in response to his call. Seconds ticked by, and time slowed down as Kite watched the missiles inching closer to his face.
“Hold it…”
Kite only gritted his beak in anticipation.
“Hold it…”
The missiles were getting closer, and Kite could almost feel the heat coming from the boosters.
“Now!”
Kite grunted as he broke to his left, causing two missiles to streak past him and detonate as they impacted each other. Black Star quickly ascended and let a missile fly below him: sending it off course. Kite immediately gained his speed as he watched ten more missiles begin to follow his movements.
“Oh fuck, they’re tracking me!” Kite yelled in horror. “Captain Blake!”
“Just keep your speed up, kid!” Black Star hollered from his end. “Make quick turns when they get too close!”
“Wilco!” Kite responded before he turned hard to the right, allowing a missile to fly off course. Kite growled as he accelerated again, and the missiles kept their bead on him. He had to admit, being chased by missiles was probably the worst thing anyone could have experienced, but somehow, he found it a little bit… exciting.
Kite’s horrified look was soon replaced with a small grin of satisfaction as he continued to accelerate, completely oblivious of the colorful sparks trailing behind him. Even Black Star noticed the colorful trail and somehow, it increased his morale a little bit.
“Aquila 4, status report,” Kestrel’s voice sounded from Kite’s comm.
“I’m engaging!” Kite responded as he changed his course and headed straight for the dragon, planning to use the missiles against their owner.
Svenson couldn’t believe what he saw: the small griffon he was suppose to eliminate was still in the air, and he was heading straight for their location. The yellow-feathered griffon cursed as he got up from his seat and contacted Esser while heading for the exit.
“Sergei, I’m en-route to engage the hostiles. The missiles can’t kill him,” he said in suppressed anger, earning a chuckle from Esser.
“Told you they weren’t your average fliers. Good luck, Svense. Keep me posted.”
The yellow griffon shut the comm off when he arrived at the exit. Strong winds immediately rushed in as Svenson opened the door, unaware that Kite was heading straight for his location. Svenson was about to jump out from the exit until Kite flew past by him, angering the griffon even more. As he was about to jump out and engage the small griffon, one of the missiles impacted the door, sending an injured Svenson plummeting to his death.
Valkyrie groaned as he felt the missiles impacting his body. He turned his head and saw Kite flying towards him. Valkyrie growled and opened his mouth just as Kite made a quick pass inside it, causing the last of the missiles to hit the dragon’s mouth, damaging his flame hose.
Esser felt the impact from his cockpit, and soon, a computerized voice sounded through the speakers.
“WARNING! FLAME POD OFFLINE!”
“Heheh, not bad!” Esser laughed. “Let’s see if you can handle this!”
The brown griffon pushed a button before switching on a couple of switches on the control panel. Valkyrie let out a series of growls and groans as multiple automatic Flak and AA guns emerged from his rib cage. Kite soon find himself being bombarded by the heavy artillery, but they were still too slow to track his rapid movement.
“Aquila 4 to 2,” Kite announced. “Captain Blake, I need some help with this!”
“I can see that,” Black Star responded as he watched the tracers and small explosions filling the skies around the Valkyrie. The dark-feathered griffon immediately ascended to draw half of the guns on him. “Hold on, kid. I’m coming,”
“Make it fast, cap!” Kite yelled as he continued to outfly the bullets. Valkyrie launched more of his ADMMs in an attempt to shoot the small griffon down. Kite cursed his own luck when he saw the missiles trailing him. He grunted as he made a quick turn towards Valkyrie’s underbelly, causing some of the missiles to impact several rib.
Valkyrie roared in slight pain as Kite continued to make his way upwards towards the spine. He also found that most of the guns were now focusing their fire on Black Star on the other side, and apparently most of the explosions caused by the flak guns were able to confuse the missiles’ homing capabilities, throwing most of them off course.
Kite looked back and saw that only five missiles were trailing him now. The small griffon smirked as he made another turn towards Valkyrie’s head. The dragon noticed the griffon’s flight path and quickly opened his jaw to unleash his laser blast. Kite heard the laser unit powering up so he immediately gunned it towards the dragon’s open maw.
“Say ‘Ah,’ you overgrown gecko!” Kite exclaimed before he folded his wings and let gravity drag his body down. The sheer heat building up inside Valkyrie’s mouth caused the remaining missiles to turn away from the small griffon and head straight for the laser’s barrel before impacting it with sheer brute force.
“OH YEAH!” the small griffon hollered in excitement as he heard Valkyrie’s pained roars before he spread his wings and ascended again.
Valkyrie growled as the same computerized voice was heard from the cockpit.
“LASER POD DAMAGED! ALL BREATH WEAPONS ARE NOW DISABLED!”
Esser just smirked when he heard that. He and this giant mechanical contraption were actually losing to just two griffons. The brown griffon chuckled sinisterly as he switched on the rest of the AA guns. If he was going down, then he would drag those two with him. The sky was quickly filled with bullets and explosive rounds, with Black Star and Kite doing their best to avoid them.
“Blake, status report!” Riddle sounded from his end.
“Currently avoiding Valkyrie’s gunfire,” Black Star reported. “Still trying to get close—AGH!”
The black-feathered griffon’s transmission came to an abrupt end as the sound of a gunshot was heard on the comm. Kestrel immediately turned her frequency to call Black Star.
“Blake! What’s happening!? Blake!?”
Black Star’s grunts and groans were heard from his end until the dark griffon finally responded,
“This is Black Star, I’ve been hit in my right wing! Unable to maintain altitude!”
“This is Kite, hold on, cap’. I’m en-route!”
Black Star tried to stabilize his flight, but the pain in his right wing prevented him from doing so. The dark griffon continued to spin downwards until Kite managed to grab his left talon. Black Star looked up and saw Kite trying his best to lift the dark-feathered griffon. The small griffon growled before he tweaked his Z.O.E. to full power.
“Kid, stop! You’ll die if you do that!” Black Star exclaimed.
“And let you fall!?” Kite responded as his eyes flashed green. “NOT. AN. OPTION!”
Kite felt the incredible power surging through his veins: strengthening his muscles and repairing any damage done to his body. The small griffon gave out a screech as he finally managed to stop Black Star’s spin and lift him up.
“Kid, drop me off on the Valkyrie!” the dark griffon ordered.
“Why, cap?” Kite yelled in a strained tone.
“I’m gonna destroy that thing from the inside!” Black Star stated in determination.
“Cap’, your wing! If that thing crashes, you won’t be able to escape!” Kite snapped.
“You and Marie can pick me up later! Just drop me off there now!”
Kite was very reluctant to obey Black Star’s orders. The griffon would get himself killed if he entered Valkyrie’s body, but he too was running out of time with the Z.O.E. being in full power, and it could damage his body. Riddle’s cries also can be heard from his comm with the blue griffon begging Kite to turn off the Zeal now to prevent further damage.
In the end, Kite finally made his choice.
With a mighty roar, Kite carried the dark-feathered griffon to the Valkyrie. Though the pain was numbed by the Zeal, Kite could still feel his aching muscles begging for him to stop. Kite however had no intentions on stopping,
He had a mission, and as a soldier, it was his duty to carry it out.
After minutes of struggling, Kite finally reached the destroyed portion of the walkway attached to Valkyrie’s ribs where the missile blew up in Svenson’s face. He gently lowered Black Star on the entrance before deactivating his Z.O.E., causing him to slump over the burned metal bar.
“I’m beat…” the small griffon mouthed.
“Rest here for a while,” Black Star said. “Keep me posted with some updates… ugh!”
Black Star winced in pain as he tried to fold his wings. Though the wound was not bleeding, the bullet hit the bone and an open nerve, causing severe pain every time the dark griffon tried to move his wing. It would cause some serious complications if it would not be taken out soon.
Kite only nodded in response before Black Star made his way through the entrance, stumbling on a few occasions. The walkway was tight with barely enough space for the dark griffon to move around freely. The air was getting hotter with every step the dark griffon took. He knew he was getting closer to the boiler’s exhaust port. If he disabled it now, then there would only be the Z.O.E. pod and Esser.
His comm crackled to life as Riddle’s worried voice came in,
“Blake, what happened back there? We lost contact when we heard that—”
“I’m grounded for now,” Black Star whispered. “Currently on the Valkyrie and making my way to the boiler to disable it.”
“Blake…” Kestrel began from her end. Her voice was filled with worry.
“I will be fine, Marie. Just be ready to catch my ass when I’m done,” Black Star reassured her. A slight worried chuckle was heard from Kestrel’s end.
“I will. Go get ‘em, you dolt,”
Black Star smiled before he closed the comm as he continued to make his way through the cramped walkway. The heat was now enough to make him sweat, despite the rushing cold morning air blowing on his face. He knew that he was close to the boiler now.
When the dark griffon finally arrived in the boiler’s exhaust port which was located at the bottom of the bulk, the heat was unbearable, causing Black Star to search for the shutdown panel quickly. The grid floor, which replaced Valkyrie's chest blade, ensured that the heat will be cooled down by the cold air coming through vents, though the temperature was still like hell.
Black Star caught a glimpse of the still ensuing battle below him. There were less changeling soldiers now, but even fewer Hoofstian forces. He shook his head and focused on his front. If he could shut this boiler down, then Valkyrie will be one step closer to his annihilation.
Suddenly, Black Star felt a sharp surge of pain in his left wing, and before he even knew it, he was thrown several fleet from where he stood and nearly thrown off from the Valkyrie. A loud chuckle was heard as Black Star turned to see his attacker.
“We meet again, Ghost!” a cocky voice exclaimed. It was Heimer, and he was holding a large metal pole with his right arm.
“Heimer,” Black Star growled before he took a defensive stance. The pain on his left wing was still present, but he had to bear it for now. Heimer made the first move by swinging the pole at the dark griffon. Black Star ducked and let the pole fly overhead. Heimer swung it again, but Black Star took several steps back and evaded it again. He could feel the amount of air being displaced when Heimer made that swing; he could tell that the dark blue griffon was enhanced by the Zeal.
“I wish Svenson were here to see this,” Heimer smirked. “He always liked to see some good ol’ brawl!”
Heimer lunged at the dark griffon again and managed to pin him down with the pole. Black Star struggled to break free from Heimer’s grip, but the dark blue griffon’s strength was too much for him. He needed to fight fire with fire.
Black Star spat at Heimer’s face, giving him enough time to overpower the dark blue griffon and knock him back. He then immediately amped up his Z.O.E. to 10%, numbing his injuries down in the process. Heimer roared as he swung the pole again, but Black Star caught it and ripped it off from Heimer’s grasp. Black Star then broke the metal pole in half before throwing it away.
“Heh, your Zeal sure is something!” Heimer chuckled. Black Star remained silent, earning another chuckle from the dark blue griffon. “Silent as always, Ghost!”
Heimer laughed before he made a quick dash at the dark griffon. Black Star remained calm as he watched his opponent getting closer to his range. Once Heimer was close, Black Star quickly grabbed both of the dark blue griffon’s arms and threw him at the boiler’s exhaust port above. Heimer crashed back-first on the boiler, dislocating his spine and making a noticeable griffon-shaped dent on the large machinery. A mechanical voice soon blared to life.
“WARNING! BOILER HAS BEEN DAMAGED! BOILER HAS BEEN DAMAGED!”
The voice continued, while another warning alarm blared to life. Black Star felt the floor tremble as the joints that held the boiler in its place started to came loose. Heimer struggled to get back to his feet, but stopped in his place when he heard more of the joints come off from their places.
Black Star immediately made his hasty escape while the boiler started to tilt towards the injured griffon. Heimer could only turn around and watch in horror before the boiler came down onto him. The floor quickly gave way from the sheer weight of the boiler; prompting Black Star to grab hold a piece of the walkway that was still attached to the ribcage.
The dark griffon could only watch as the boiler along with Heimer’s crushed body fell into the sea below. Black Star sighed before he began to make his way up to the second entrance that lead to the cockpit. His comm crackled to life as Kite’s voice came through.
“Cap’ what happened in there? I just saw a large metal pod came off!”
“That’s the boiler, kid,” Black Star spoke while he climbed up. “Don’t move from your position, just keep me posted.”
“Wilco, cap’” Kite said in affirmation as Black Star continued to climb up to the other entrance.
0750 hrs
Kestrel managed to send a changeling down to his watery grave seconds before she saw the massive boiler fall from Valkyrie’s ribcage. The dragon roared in agony as steam stopped leaking out from his joints. The changelings saw this as well, and all of them found it difficult to believe that their superweapon could be damaged like that. Carapace 1 was slowly losing it.
“All Carapace units, get back to the Valkyrie! Eliminate the saboteur!”
The changelings soon diverted their attention away from the exhausted allied forces and flew straight for the dragon. Kestrel grunted as she accelerated to intercept as many bugs as she could. The other allied units followed her actions as they tried to halt the changelings’ movements. Despite their fierce determination to fight off the bug-like equines, casualties began to take their toll on the recruits.
Razorback soon found himself being attacked from multiple directions. Breaker tried to help him, but the griffon recruit perished before his comrade could get close to him.
“Razor’s down! Damn it!” Breaker cursed in anger. He couldn’t believe it: despite him being sure of himself that he would be able to save his comrade, he still failed. Slowly, anger started to envelop the young griffon’s mind.
“You bastards… I’ll kill you all!!”
“Tch! Brad, keep it together!” Ricochet snapped from his end. “You can’t take them all by yourself!”
“Just watch me, Rico!” Breaker growled, but Archer immediately blocked his path and grabbed his neck.
“Don’t be stupid, kid. Revenge will never bring you friend back!” she barked. “Calm yourself or else you will share your comrades’ death!”
Though Breaker was hesitant to comply Archer’s command, he ultimately nodded in restrained anger. Satisfied with his reaction, Archer motioned him to provide Rod some backup while Ricochet and her would take out any changelings within their proximity. Breaker complied in silence as he flew up to join up with Rod, just as a changeling passed by with Max on his sights.
The griffon tried to evade the changelings’ attack, only to find himself getting shot with a paralyzing spell that hit his right arm. Goose saw his twin’s predicament and immediately rushed in to support. The twin brothers fought against the changelings with all their power, but unfortunately, Goose was soon hit by another paralyzing spell. The spell hit his chest, causing his heart to stop.
“Goose! NO!!!” Max shrieked as he watched his brother’s limp body fall down. Using this chance, the changeling soldiers started to close in, only to find Jet and Lanner blocking their way. Jet roared as he took three changelings at once, providing Lanner enough time to deliver several hits while they were distracted. Two bugs quickly went down while the rest retreated.
“Hey, kid!” Jet began as he shook the distraught Max. “Keep yourself together!”
Max remained unresponsive, but Jet kept shaking him to snap him out. Unfortunately, the green griffon was forced to retreat when a changeling tackled him from behind, leaving Max at the mercy of the bugs. Max tried to defend himself, but the changelings eventually overpower him and snapped his neck. The griffon soon fell down and joined his twin in death’s embrace.
Jet and Lanner quickly flew into rage when they saw that. Jet broke free from his capture’s grasp and performed a wing slam at the changeling before finishing it off by stabbing both of his eyes. The changeling screamed in agony, but Jet wasn’t done yet. He then ripped out both eyes out from their sockets and used them to beat the changeling into his watery grave.
Lanner, on the other hand, began to take three changelings at once without any fear of losing anymore. All of Verde squadron was dead with the exception of Jet, Scunner and him; there was nothing for him to lose anymore. Lanner roared as he tackled the first changeling and stabbed his underbelly before grabbing another bug by the horn. The third changeling tried to attack him from behind, but Lanner used the second changeling’s horn to stab him in his chest and used the first as a boxing glove to hit the third and second away.
Both Ronin and Stalker kept their pace as they continued to engage the remaining changelings along with Riddle. The blue griffon announced that there were still five changeling soldiers left including their leader, but he also stated that most of the Hoofstian squads were eliminated or down to just one member left. Ronin looked up and saw Butterclaw and Rosepink engaging two changelings from both sides. Both griffons appeared to be exhausted to their bones, and so were the changelings.
“Did those changelings’ leader not heed for his squad’s state?” Ronin said in disgust. “He only cared for his personal goals, while his subordinates were forced to fight to the bitter end!”
“I have hunch that their leader was deluded by Esser’s words…” Riddle said between pants. “All we can do now is to keep those bugs’ attention to us and not at Blake.”
Ronin could only give the blue griffon a slight tired smile before she and her son went back to engage more changelings. Riddle groaned tiredly before he checked the state of his Zeal and the others’ as well. Kestrel had increased hers to 10%, while Kite had turned down his device to 2%: just enough to keep some the pain of his injuries at bay. Black Star was the most unusual one: his device still showed 10%, but the power was pulsating up and down in a some kind of rhythm that matched the dark griffon’s beating heart.
In all of his years working on the Z.O.E.M.S.A. project, Riddle had only witnessed one occurrence that matched this scenario. In order for this to happen, the Zaubenschaft must be perfectly linked to the user’s whole body, mind, and the user’s spirit as well. The previous user of the early Z.O.E.M.S.A. project managed to attain this perfect synchronization by keeping his mind and goals straight for the finish line: the success of the project itself.
So what kind of goal did Black Star have in mind that made him able to achieve such perfect sync with his Zeal? Riddle had one hunch, but he dismissed it.
“No… it’s too ridiculous, even for a magic powered device…” Riddle sighed as he watched the ensuing battle near the Valkyrie.
“Then again… I’ve been wrong before…”
Black Star finally made it to the top where the second entrance was. He looked back and saw, much to his dismay, an armored changeling flying towards him. The bug-like equine screeched before he tackled Black Star near the entrance. The two struggled to gain the upper hand until a sudden jerk threw the changeling off balance, allowing Black Star to slash his right wing before kicking him into the gray abyss. The changeling tried to stabilize, but due to his damaged wing, he couldn’t do anything but to fall to his death.
Black Star sighed in relief. even with the Zeal powering his body, his right wing still hurt, and the pain was affecting his performance in battle. Suddenly, another changeling flew up and headed straight towards him, only for Kestrel to catch the bug on his leg and scratch his face. The griffoness then grabbed the changeling and spun him around for a few seconds before throwing him at one of the ribcages. The impact snapped the changeling’s spine, and soon, the changeling fell to the ocean.
“Nice timing, Marie…” Black Star sighed as the pastel griffoness landed near him and began to inspect his wounds.
“Can’t say the same for you, Blake,” Kestrel said in worry once she got a close look at Black Star’s gunshot wound. “Oh lord… looks like you won’t be flying for while, even if the bullet gets pulled out.”
“I kinda knew that, Marie,” Black Star stated, earning a sharp look from the griffoness. “Anyway, back to the original matter. We need to disable Valkyrie’s Z.O.E. pod, and the entrance’s right there…”
Black Star pointed his talon at a large metal, door which was linked to a set of stairs that lead to the main Z.O.E. power room. The entire Z.O.E. pod took half of Valkyrie’s chest area, and the pod itself constantly gave out a pulsating red glow. Kestrel immediately took flight and headed for the door. She tried to open, it but the door was electronically locked, and the stairs were blocked by a dense magical barrier generated by the Z.O.E.s.
“Damn, its sealed shut!” Kestrel growled before she gave the door a frustrating kick. The griffoness took to the skies and circled around to find any other entrances, but she couldn’t find any. The entire Z.O.E. pod was firmly sealed from all sides. Kestrel growled in frustration as she landed beside Black Star.
“It’s no use, there’s no way in,” she squawked.
“Then it’s time we give Esser a surprise visit,” Black Star sighed. “The switch for the door must be inside the cockpit.”
“Are you sure, Blake?” Kestrel asked in worry. Black Star raised his eyebrow as Kestrel continued. “You’re wounded, I’m beat. I don’t think both of us can take that maniac down even with our Z.O.E.s are activated.”
“It’s worth the shot, Marie. Or else, a lot of ponies are gonna die…” Black Star answered grimly. Without any time to waste, Kestrel grabbed Black Star’s shoulders before lifting him off the platform and headed for the cyborg drake’s head. Suddenly, Valkyrie gave out a loud screech before he changed his flight heading. Rather than heading southwest like he was suppose to do, Valkyrie turned right and headed north. This caused a brief panic from the changelings and the griffons.
“What’s that idiot doing!” Carapace 1 exclaimed before he reached his comm to contact Esser. “Hey, bird-brain. What the hell do you think you are doing!?”
“Sorry, bug-breath. It seems that the COFFIN was unable to suppress Hraesvelgr’s dragon instincts anymore,” Esser answered nonchalantly from his end. “If this keeps up, then Valkyrie will reach the Crystal Mountains within two hours… well if he doesn’t blow up first,”
“…Speak for yourself… vermin…” a deep, guttural and static-filled voice growled from the comms. Carapace 1 was startled by this voice, but Esser just chuckled and continued.
“Hello there… Hraesvelgr. You had a nice rest, eh?”
Valkyrie just growled in annoyance after hearing that sentence, completely oblivious of Black Star and Kestrel’s landing on top of his skull. The two griffons had to hold on tight while they searched for the hatch which will lead them to the cockpit. Valkyrie’s constant movement, coupled with strong winds blowing on their faces, made it very difficult for them to locate the hatch.
After a good two minutes of searching, Black Star finally got what he was looking for. Using all of his might, Black Star opened the hatch before both griffons entered the cockpit. The cockpit was cramped, and Valkyrie’s two mechanical eyes were constantly shifting like real eyeballs would do. But something was very wrong here,
Esser was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is he?” Kestrel asked as she shifted her sights around the cockpit. Black Star, on the other hand went to the control console and searched for a switch that could open the Z.O.E. pod’s shutters. He silently whistled in awe at the advanced machinery lying before him. Valkyrie’s cockpit was built unlike anything he nor the entire griffon race had seen before. Small screens showing digital data of Valkyrie’s systems, speed, and altitude were placed all over the console.
So many instruments, so little time. Before Black Star could find the switch, Kestrel suddenly shrieked in pain before a sick crack was heard. Black Star turned around and found that Esser had already twisted Kestrel’s right wing out from its socket.
“You don’t give up, do you!?” he snarled before he threw Kestrel away. The griffoness growled in pain as Black Star took a weak fighting stance. Esser’s smirk grew before the two griffons clashed once again.
Esser drew a right hook and it impacted Black Star’s left cheek. The pain was bearable, but it threw him to the side of the cockpit. The dark griffon was confused. He expected a stronger punch coming from the brown griffon, but that hook just felt like a slightly enhanced punch if compared to the brown griffon’s shockwave-generating blows when they fought above Gryphus.
“C’mon, Blake…” Esser chuckled as he prepared another punch. “Wakey-wakey, time for more punchies!”
Black Star growled as he stood up just in time to catch Esser’s punch. Just as he thought, his punches were weaker than before. With a slight smirk, Black Star threw the brown griffon’s arm and retaliated with his own attack. The fist contacted Esser’s lower jaw, and it send him crashing into the cockpit’s ceiling. Valkyrie jerked before roaring in annoyance. The dragon felt that since the two were basically having their scuffle inside his head.
The dragon shook his head, causing the three griffons inside to be thrown around like ragdolls. Unfortunately, Esser’s body crashed into the COFFIN’s flight stick, causing the dragon to enter a nosedive towards the ocean.
Valkyrie roared as speed began to rattle his bones. The rest of the allied forces, along with the remnants of Carapace squadron, noticed the dragon’s rapid descent.
“Esser, you fool!” Carapace 1 exclaimed as he disengaged and flew towards the dragon. Ronin and Stalker, who were still battling him, automatically began to pursue the changeling leader.
“Come back here!” Ronin growled as she and her son tried to catch up with the changeling. Carapace 1 noticed them following and ordered one of his subordinates to shake the griffons off his tail. Stalker was the first one who noticed the incoming reinforcement, and he immediately shielded his mother from the changeling’s attack.
The blow broke something inside his left wing, causing Stalker to lose control of his flight and begin to spiral down into the ocean.
“STAN!!” Ronin shrieked in horror as she abandoned the pursuit before diving down to catch her son. Stalker tried to stabilize his descent, but it was no use. His left wing was too badly damaged to be used, so he could only activate his comm and announced,
“This is Stalker, I’m hit and going down!”
“Hold on, I’m coming for you!” Ronin snapped from her end.
“No, Mom. Just chase that changeling down!” Stalker retorted.
“I’m not letting you die, Stan!” Ronin yelled. “What kind of mother would let her son die!?”
Before Stalker could answer his mother’s statement, Rod came flying from his right and caught him.
“I’ve got you, boy,” Rod said in assurance. “This is Northwind 1 to Southwind 1. Got your son, colonel. He’s fine.”
Ronin’s relieved sigh could be heard from the comm. Stalker still felt his heart pounding even when he was safe, but he noticed that Rod was also descending at a steady pace. Turned out, Rod was also wounded with visible bruises on his face and blood was leaking out from his right wing.
“Sir, you’re…” Stalker began, but Rod quickly answered him.
“Injured, I know, and we’re bailing from the fight for now.”
“But what about your squad?” Stalker asked again.
“Archer’s got it covered.” Rod answered. “C’mon, let’s go. I hope you can swim.”
Stalker just gave a nervous nod as the two griffons continued to descend to the ocean. Once they were close to the surface, Stalker jumped out from Rod’s grasp and landed into the murky waters. Rod followed suit and quickly activated his comms’ emergency beacon so the SAR team could find them. Rod had an easy time staying afloat while Stalker took his time getting used to the cold saltwater. There was nothing they could do now but wait for rescue and watch the meteors fall on the horizon.
Esser managed to crawl his way to the COFFIN’s control stick and bring up the dragon’s nose upwards, recovering Valkyrie from the plunge. The three griffons felt their weight increasing dramatically as the dragon pulled up and stabilized. Esser checked the altitude and found it slowly decreasing. He figured that the dive must have damaged one of Valkyrie’s control surfaces.
Before Esser could do anything about it, Black Star pounced on him from behind, and both of them continued with their brawl. Though the dark griffon was busy fighting against Esser, he instructed Kestrel to look for the switch that would open the sealed Z.O.E. door. Kestrel immediately complied and limped over to the control panel to search for it.
Esser roared as he slammed Black Star’s back to the wall. The dark griffon gasped in pain as Esser turned around and started to hold him by his throat.
“Heheh, I admire your effort, Blake,” Esser began as he landed a blow to Black Star’s face. “Sadly, it will not make a single fucking difference!!”
Esser laughed again as he hit Black Star again and again. When the brown griffon paused for a moment, Black Star just spat a mouthful of blood at him before he smirked.
“Is that all… you got, you pansy?” he said through his bloody grin. Esser’s smirk grew wider as he began to pummel the dark griffon again. At his third blow, Black Star moved his head to the side, allowing Esser to punch the hardened bone wall. Sickening cracks were heard as Esser felt his knuckles break from the impact. Black Star quickly went behind the brown griffon and bit his tail, causing Esser to screech in agony.
“You motherfu—AARRGHH!!” Esser screamed again as Black Star bit down harder, snapping Esser’s tail bone. The brown griffon retaliated by kicking Black Star in his face, and the same strange grin was still plastered on his face. At this time, Kestrel finally found the switch for the door. She quickly activated it, resulting a mechanical whine to be heard from outside.
“Blake, it’s open!” Kestrel exclaimed before she tackled Esser onto the floor. Black Star released his bite and gave the brown griffon a hard kick to his face. Esser just chuckled in response as he struggled to break free from the griffoness’ grip.
“You hold him down, Marie. I’m going outside to shut that thing down!” Black Star said as he climbed up to the entrance.
“Just be careful, Blake!” Kestrel responded as she struggled to keep Esser down.
“Yeah, be careful, Blake!” Esser said with a chuckle, prompting Kestrel to hit him again on his face. Black Star ignored the brown griffon’s insult and gazed at the neck spine which separated the skull from the body. He was still grounded, so he would have to do this the old fashioned way.
Carefully, Black Star began to make his way to the body by crawling on top of the spines. Before he was halfway to the body, an armored changeling landed in front of him and gave him a snarl.
“You’ve gone too far, Ghost!” he hissed.
“I take it that you’re the head honcho of those bugs?” Black Star asked in a bored tone.
“Silence, half-bird!” the changeling, or Carapace 1, yelled. “I will not tolerate your insolence no more!!”
The angry changeling roared before he charged straight at the black-feathered griffon. Black Star braced himself for the impact, only to find Carapace 1 had grabbed and carried him up into the sky. Both of them struggled, rendering Carapace 1 unable to control his flight. Black Star saw this, and an idea quickly popped in his head.
Carapace 1 delivered a blow to Black Star’s right cheek, but the griffon dodged it and retaliated by piercing the bug’s left eye. Carapace 1 screamed in pain as he began to flail around his front limbs in a desperate attempt to hit Black Star.
“YOU’RE DEAD, HALF-BIRD!!” he roared in pure spite. “DEAD!!”
Black Star only smirked as he dodged another blow from him and pierced Carapace 1’s right eye, effectively blinding him.
The changeling screamed in agony, but Black Star wasn’t finished with him yet. He and his bug were still flying, and he could use Carapace 1’s body to reach the Z.O.E. pod. The changeling still struggled as green blood was pouring out from the empty sockets, and his mouth still spat foul words directed at the griffon.
“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that!” Black Star muttered as he made his way to the back of the changeling. He then jammed his talons inside the eye socket, earning a sudden jolt from the changeling.
“What are you doing!!” the eyeless bug demanded. Black Star kept his beak shut as he squeezed the soft tissue inside the socket. The sudden pain made Carapace 1 fly forward, earning a satisfied look from the dark griffon.
“ARGH!! Would you stop that!!” Carapace 1 screamed as Black Star jammed his other talon inside the other eye socket. The changeling’s body twitched in response and the wings beat faster. Soon enough, both of them were on a steady pace towards the Z.O.E. pod.
Once they were close to the ribs, Black Star’s comm suddenly beeped as Kestrel’s voice came through.
“Blake, Esser escaped my grasp! He’s coming for you!”
Black Star widened his eyes in shock before something hit him from behind. Carapace 1 was thrown out from his flight and hit one of the ribs, crushing his already breached skull and ending his life. Black Star, on the other hand, was thrown into the Z.O.E. chamber pod, crashing on the pod and dislodging one of the Zaubenschaft gems inside.
Valkyrie screeched as he felt his power draining away. Without sufficient power running through his artificial veins, Valkyrie’s steady descent became more and more rapid with each wing flap he took. The remaining allied forces were forced to follow him towards the surface of the ocean.
Riddle in particular was worried about the safety of his subordinates.
The air was getting colder as the coastline and the city of Stalliongrad began to take form on the horizon. A magic pillar towered over the city, likely to be one of the numerous magic pillars supporting the dome. Since they were nearing Equestrian territory, Saetos informed them that his radio broadcast won’t be able to reach them within a few minutes, since the battle slowly moved out of the GCC’s radio range.
“I’ll try to contact Cloudsdale Control to keep an eye out for you guys,” the griffon radio operator said. “Good luck, you guys. Altair Alpha out.”
With that word, Saetos cut his entire link with the team. Their fates now lied in the Equestrians’ hooves.
Meanwhile, inside the Z.O.E.’s chamber pod, Black Star managed to recover from the crash, and he tried to get a good footing. The entire pod was installed near the spine, and it took up nearly all of Valkyrie’s ribcage. The pod itself gave out an eerie pulsating red glow, almost like heartbeat. Suddenly, someone landed on the open door.
It was Esser.
“Ready for the final round, Blake?” the brown griffon chuckled sinisterly.
“When you are…” Black Star hissed in response. Esser’s grin widened before he and Black Star roared as they drew their punches at each other. Both attacks succeed in hitting their targets, resulting in both griffons to be thrown back. Both combatants stood up before tackling each other, desperately trying to gain the upper hand in this brawl.
Riddle kept his eyes on the Valkyrie. The changelings were finally defeated, but not with a heavy toll on their side. Verde squadron was almost completely wiped out, with Jet and Lanner as the only survivors. Northwind and Southwind squadrons were left with two flyers each. Rod was forced to bail out, along with Rosepink, Butterclaw, Ricochet and Stalker after they suffered injuries that rendered them unable to fly or breathe in high altitude.
The GRGs had their fair share of casualties after Tallman tragically fell in battle, leaving the remnants of his squad in the claws of White Tip. The three knights were still intact, but were severely exhausted. Detlef even proclaimed that he’s getting too old for this.
Black, Crimson and Silver squadrons also suffered some casualties, leaving just a total of eight members left from all teams. The Hoofstian squads were also down to their last few members, with Magpie 5 taking the lead.
All of them saw the dragon approaching the Equestrian city, but they were too tired to perform any attacks on the Valkyrie. All they could do now was to stay close with the dragon and pray for Black Star’s success in disabling the Z.O.E. pod.
The dragon let out another loud screech, as if he was announcing his presence to the Equestrians.
“C’mon, Blake… You can do this!” Riddle thought in worry.
Black Star gave out a pained gasp as Esser kicked him on the floor. The dark griffon tried to stand up, only to find Esser’s talons gripping his neck. Black Star desperately tried to get those talons off as Esser began,
“You really think you all can stop me!?” he laughed. “I have ascended far beyond you dirty dogs could ever hope for! Even if you kill now, my mind will still live inside the Zone of Endless, and there’s plenty of time for me to hatch my next revenge!!”
Esser tightened his grip on Black Star’s neck, choking him even more. The dark griffon was out of options. He was going to die soon if he didn’t break free from this maniac’s grip. As he was about to give up and let death embrace him, he saw a loose cable with an exposed end hanging above it…
“Don’t you get it!?” Esser continued, unaware of the cable above him. “There’s nothing you can do now!! HAHAAAAHAHAHA!!!”
The mad griffon roared in laughter while Black Star waited for him to stop. Once his laughter died down, a smirk formed on Black Star’s beak, amusing the brown griffon even more.
“What’s this? Ready to face death with a smile, eh?” he questioned.
“No,” Black Star began. “I’m ready to watch you lose!”
Before Esser could react, Black Star spit on his face and clawed his stomach, causing Esser to lose his grip and allowing Black Star to kick him away. The brown griffon was about to tackle him again until Black Star grabbed the cable and jammed the exposed end at Esser’s Zaubenschaft. Esser screamed in pure agony as thousand volts of electricity surged through his body.
“You’re right, we couldn’t stop you…” Black Star stated. “But we could stall you.”
Esser’s scream slowly turned into laughter, and before Black Star even knew it, Esser was laughing his head off as the electricity continued to fry his body. Esser gave Black Star one last menacing look before the Zaubenschaft exploded into pieces, causing Esser’s charred body to be thrown out from the chamber and fall into the ocean below.
Black Star coughed as the smoke cleared up. All that was left of Esser’s Zaubenschaft was the small pieces of it scattered on the floor. The winds quickly did their work, and the pieces were blown away, leaving no trace at all. The dark griffon breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like Esser is gone.
For now.
He quickly reached the comm and switched to a wide range frequency.
“This is Aquila 2, Black Star reporting current status,” he began with a tired tone. “Esser is no longer at play… the beast is back in his cage.”
Soon enough, several cheers were heard from the comms. Kite’s cheer was the loudest one of them all.
“Alright! Way to go cap’!” he said excitedly.
“Thank the stars…” Kestrel breathed.
“Good riddance!” Ronin exclaimed.
“Blake, you’re the man!” Jet yelled.
“Well done, Ghost…” Dmitri said from his end.
Black Star couldn’t help but to smile when he heard all the praises being directed at him. A month ago, all he could hear were insults, and curses being thrown at him, but now… he finally felt accepted by his friends again.
Still, he still felt some remorse about his misdeeds in the past… and this battle was far from over as long as Valkyrie still lived.
With a determined look, Black Star climbed up to the pod. The pulsating red light really hurt his eyes, but he had to reach it and shut it down before Valkyrie could make landfall. An alarm sounded, telling to whoever was left aboard that Valkyrie’s power was dropping below 30 percent.
“That’s not good…” Black Star thought in worry as he picked up the pace. All the while, he reached his comm and said,
“Aquila 2 to any available units, me and Aquila 3 may need some ride once this thing is off,”
“This is Kite, Aquila 4. I’ll handle Captain Turmfalken, cap’. Don’t you worry about her,” Kite chirped from his end.
“Roger that, Blake, I’ll be waiting outside,” Riddle answered. “You have exactly 10 seconds before all of Valkyrie’s systems are down. Make those seconds count, or else you’ll be trapped there.”
“Understood, I won’t die that easily!” Black Star said before he ended the transmission. Once he finally reached the pod’s platform, he could see all the instruments which controlled the power flow of the Zaubenschafts. He quickly ran down to the end of the platform and began to shut the instruments down from that end.
More alarms blared as Valkyrie’s power went down even more, but Black Star ignored them. His task now was to shut all the instruments down and make his escape before he went down along with this oversized skeletal reptile. Valkyrie roared in pain as he felt his life draining away.
In the cockpit, just before Kestrel was hoisted up by Kite, they both heard a guttural static-filled voice saying,
“No…!! …—*static*—… I can’t die again…—*static*—… NO!!! …—*static*—…”
The voice soon drowned in static, making both griffons look at each other in worry. A mechanical whirring was heard as Valkyrie continued to lose more power. Kestrel and Kite quickly got off from the head. Now, Black Star was the only one left inside the dragon’s ribcage.
Though Valkyrie was losing more power, he was still too high to ditch into the ocean. With the city of Stalliongrad right on his path, Riddle told Black Star to hurry it, up or else the equine city will serve as a landing site for the powerless behemoth.
By this time, Equestrian radar had already picked up Valkyrie’s slow descent towards Stalliongrad. Gale, the radio operator stationed in Cloudsdale, had received the early warning from Saetos, and he responded by sending the Wonderbolts towards the city and warned the ponies there of the imminent crash landing of the Valkyrie.
Gale and several other off-duty Wonderbolts could only watch on silence as the target continued to approach the populated city.
“120 seconds until impact…” Gale announced in a worried tone.
The Wonderbolt squad led by Spitfire flapped their wings as hard as they could in a desperate attempt to reach Stalliongrad. They were still too far away, and they could only watch as the massive form of Valkyrie continued to descend towards the city.
“We’re not going to make it!” a Wonderbolt called Blaze yelled in horror.
“Just keep going!” Spitfire barked. The Wonderbolts picked up their speed following her words, but they were still too far away.
“All units are down!” Black Star yelled as he ran down the platform towards the exit. “Wonderfalke, catch me now!!”
Following those final words, Black Star jumped out the exit and began to plummet down into the ocean. Fortunately, Riddle caught him just in time. Valkyrie roared in pain as his power began to reach zero. The dragon gave out one last roar before all of his systems went dead. He was now nothing more than a giant glider, still heading for the city.
The griffons and the ponies were out of options. They could not steer that thing away from the city, so they could only watch in horror… waiting for Valkyrie to make his crash landing on top of hundreds if not thousands of innocent lives.
But not for one griffon.
He knew the risk, and he was willing to take it. Despite that everyone had forgiven him of his mistakes, Black Star still felt guilty about his misdeeds. Valkyrie was one of the products of his carelessness, and he must end it.
It’s now or never.
“Riddle, take me above Valkyrie’s left wing!” Black Star yelled, much to Riddle’s shock.
“What are you—” Riddle stammered.
“JUST DO IT!!”
Riddle just sighed and accelerated. Black Star watched in silence as both of them neared Valkyrie’s left wing. Once they were above it, Black Star looked upwards and said,
“Forgive me, sir…”
Before Riddle could react, the dark griffon kicked him in the stomach, causing the blue griffon to let him go. Kestrel and Kite were stunned by the scene.
“BLAKE!” the griffoness shrieked.
Black Star ignored her cry and assumed a diving position. He then reached his Z.O.E. device and turned the power to 100%, numbing all of his pain away in exchange for exposing his major organs with the Zaubenschaft’s deadly magic. Riddle ,who managed to recover from the dark griffon’s kick, quickly dived down to catch the suicidal griffon.
“Blake!!” he yelled, but Black Star didn’t listen. Kestrel was going to lose it if he succeed. But, the need of many outweighed the need of one griffoness.
He could let more lives be destroyed by Esser’s mad game. His mistakes. His resolve.
“Just promise me that you won’t leave me again…”
A single tear escaped his eye before he closed them.
“I’m sorry, Marie…”
Black Star managed to grab the tip of the left wing. The momentum of his fall combined with the Z.O.E.’s power created a shockwave that was enough to turn the massive beast away from Stalliongrad. Black Star didn’t have any time to react when the left wing grazed the ocean first. Soon, the rest of Valkyrie followed, breaking apart when it hit the waves. Several explosions soon followed as the warheads inside the spines detonated from the sheer force of the crash.
All the allied forces in the area were stunned to see the crash. The ponies of Equestria immediately cheered, but the griffons and some of the ponies who were able to catch the glimpse of Black Star’s suicide attack were shaken to their very bones. Kestrel was the one who broke the silence first as she let out an anguished scream,
“BLAAAAAAKE!!!”
0915 hrs
Gale kept his attention on the screen despite the cheer erupting from behind him. Suddenly, a transmission from Spitfire came in. Gale quickly patched it up to his comm.
“This is Gale, what’s the SITREP, Spitfire?” he asked.
“This is Spitfire, we confirmed that the dragon has crashed into the ocean near the shore of Stalliongrad…” Spitfire said.
“But, how is that even possible?” Gale asked again. “Altair told me that the dragon became uncontrollable once his power source had been…”
“One griffon… the same one that my flight encountered during the early days of the war, sacrificed himself by pulling the dragon on his left wing… literally,” Spitfire answered in a grim tone. “If it hadn’t been for him, more lives could have gone up in flames.”
“I see…” Gale said in remorse. Then, another voice came in from Spitfire’s end. After a brief chatter, Spitfire contacted Gale again.
“Gale, I just talked to one of the griffons. He said that that there are more griffons who were forced to bail out on the Antlertic. Could you dispatch the SAR to locate them?”
“Wilco, Spitfire. Just tell them to hold out for a while, Gale out.”
Gale quickly switched his transmission and called the SAR to get to the Antlertic as soon as possible. If some of the griffons were indeed still afloat in the waves of the ocean, they needed to be rescued fast. The Antlertic was not a safe place for any flyer to bail out.
2 miles southeast of Stalliongrad, Equestria
May 20th 2020, 1034 hrs
The search and rescue effort took over an hour, but the ponies managed to locate all the survivors. All of them were injured mostly on their wings, soaked wet from top to bottom and with the risk of suffering hypothermia due to the prolonged exposure to the cold ocean water. Rosepink and Stalker in particular were immediately treated due to swallowing too much salt water.
Several Hoofstian units who were shot down by the changelings were also found alive, and even three changeling soldiers were found in the waters. The bugs were quickly subdued and silenced, and they were to be taken straight to Canterlot for questioning.
All in all, the survivors were fine aside from their injuries. But one person didn’t even make it back on land.
Kestrel had requested the SAR team to look in Valkyrie's wreckage for any sign of Black Star. So far, none of them could find the dark griffon’s body.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we will continue the search, and we’ll contact you if we find anything,” one of the SAR pegasus said.
“Thank you…” Kestrel said in a dejected voice. Her green eyes shifted back to gaze at the sea. Her mind was conflicted. Why Black Star did this to her? Why did he sacrifice himself so suddenly? She still remembered her request to him, to never leave her side again. Was it a big lie?
In the end, she couldn’t find the answer. Her mind was already broken from his apparent death, and thinking about him more would only hurt her more.
Riddle saw the griffoness’ predicament and decided to come up to her and say,
“I know it’s too sudden, Captain Turmfalken… Even I didn’t see that coming,”
Kestrel stayed silent, though tears started to soak her cheeks. Riddle then continued.
“Even in the end, he surprised us all… and saved millions of lives. The griffon who used to be branded as a traitor, the accomplice who helped create the Equestrian War… the—”
“…Hero who saved Stalliongrad from destruction…” Kestrel said through her tiny sobs. “The dolt who aided us during our time of need, the fool who risked his life… just so he could find peace and forgiveness…”
At this moment, Kestrel couldn’t contain her sadness any longer.
“A griffon… a good friend… a caring mentor…”
Kite could not help but to shed a tear when he heard that. The small griffon quickly wiped it off his eye as Kestrel continued.
“A loving mate… my mate… Blake… The Ghost of the Griffin Kingdom…”
Kestrel finally broke down, letting all of her tears out on the ground. The others, both survivors and several SAR teams, couldn’t help but stare in sadness as the griffoness wept in grief. Rod, though injured, forced himself to stand up before he raised his talon up at level with his eyes. It was only fair for him to give the dark griffon his last respect.
Jet saw this, and he too saluted at the general direction of the crash site. Soon, all the griffons and ponies gave one last salute in respect for Black Star’s sacrifice. Kestrel, though unable to stop herself from crying, gave her respects too.
Soon the survivors were lifted back to Stalliongrad via hot air balloon in order to get more medical treatments. Only Kestrel kept her eyes fixed on the crash site, still trying her best to cope the loss of her long time friend and mate. Everything would not be the same anymore.
Everything was about to change…