I groan as the pain in my side still sting from the beating.
“Hold still dear.” My mate tells me as she wipes my brow with her talon to get any sweat out.
“I’m sorry, just a little fidgety from what the champion mentioned the other night.” I take a breather. I’m sure that one of my broken ribs may have punctured one of my lungs. My breathing is dangerously short. “Do you think he was telling the truth?”
She turns away from towards the door, unsure of what to say. Besides the rumors that originated from the pony’s land, for all we know they could have fabricated it to get on our good graces when he arrives. I can understand her wariness. “I don’t know.. I”
“Where is it?!” A loud voice interrupts her. Rapid loud steps can be heard coming up the stairs. A very angry liger we know as our jailer is fuming. “What did you do with it?!”
“Do with what?” I ask. He stomps towards our cell and glares at me.
“You know what?! The key! You stole me key and I want it back!”
“We didn’t steal anything of yours. We’ve been here all night.” I calmly tell him. The pain of my wounds start to subside and if the Champion is true to his word, I prefer to save my energy for now.
He glares at me as he practically snarls at both I and my mate. What causes me concern is that his expression slowly but quickly changes to a smile. “Fine, if you won’t tell me…” Before I can react, he reaches through the bars and grabs my love by the back of her neck.
Any movement I tried at getting to her before him is halted by my wounds flaring up. “Noo! Don’t hurt her!” I growl at him. He holds her by her neck roughly against the bars well enough away from me.
“Ohh, I won’t hurt her.” He says with a hint of smugness in his voice. As one of his front paws is wrapped around her neck, the other slowly glides to her-
“Wait! Please! No! Don’t hurt my egg!” she cries.
“Tell me where the key is.”
But- I don’t-” If I give up the key, what’s to stop him from killing my chick, not to mention I may ruin the plan for the Champion and the others.
“It’s alright. I’ve been waiting to do this anyway.” He raises his paw high up.
“NOOOO!”
SHYCK
I freeze as the head of a strange black arrow appears out of his mouth. My mate quickly falls to the grounds and crawls up to me. We both stare as the liger tries to make words and breathe at the same time.
A second arrow comes out through one of his eyes, causing the body to stiffen for a second before falling dead against the bars. “Are you two alright?” One of the captives in the cell next door ask.
“Y-yes, we’re fine.” Looking past the body, out the window, we spot the a lone figure holding what looks to be a bow in his hands. Focusing my eyes a bit, I realize it’s the champion before we make eye contact, he nods and runs off.
The sounds of fighting can be heard outside.
“Thank you…”
<<>>
“Alright, they’re good.” I say as i jump over a gap between the buildings. “With that done, the outer gates are covered, prisoners are released and taking up arms,” I jump the next gap as two griffons wrestle a liger to the ground. I stop at an overwatch of the HQ that already has some griffons trying to break down the doors and windows.
“Now that just leaves…”
<<>>
“Sire let’s move.”
“I’m coming!” General Butch yells as he crawls out of the prebuilt escape tunnel. “Filthy creatures! How on earth could they have taken back the city so quickly?!”
“I don’t know sir but I think they sent scouts in the night before. We found a few of our own soldiers dead just as the battle started, their weapons removed.” The second-in-command informs his general.
“Ragh!” General Butch yells in anger. He strikes a tree with all his might, causing it to crack all along the trunk before toppling over.
“Calm down, The six of us can regroup for now and devise a new plan with what we know.”
The general exhales and looks towards his second along with the rest of his captain. “You always did keep a cool head on your shoulders.”
“Thank you, si-”
Before he can continue, his head suddenly cracks in half. Blood, bone and brain matter splatter all of them before they can fully register what happened. Then two more go down and the other two captains attempt to flee but their hit the same mysterious force in the back, causing them to collapse on top of each other. The general stands stunned at the death of his most trusted soldiers. Turning towards the city, he catches a glint of light.
<<>>
“You.”
“Pulling the trigger again, I nail the ambassador right in his left shoulder, a small mist of blood appearing as he topples over the tree he knocked down.
“For all the strength and muscle. it just makes you a bigger target.” I change targets and take aim at the main door of the HQ. Firing some rounds, I break any locks or boards used to keep the griffons from breaking in. I also take aim and shoot at the corners of some of the windows, weakening them enough to allow the griffons to push through. “Next time you try to sneak away,” I hoist my rifle up, “Don’t topple a tree right next to you.” It really was pretty stupid.
With the joint attack from the inside and outside of the city, what was taken weeks ago, now the ligers were quickly and swiftly devastated.
“Champion!” I turn around to spot Alan gliding to me. He lands and walks up to me. “I don’t say this, but it seems your plan was executed perfectly. We won.”
“For now.” I say grimly. “If they were serious and cocky enough to take this city so close to our capital, they’ll try again soon enough.”
“Yes, but for now, we must get our bearings after this.”
“Yeah. let’s.” I walk and jump off the roof, landing on planks of boards sticking out of the building to soften my fall. As soon as we both make it to the ground the ligers in the area have been routed and already we are starting to escort prisoners and griffons too injured to fight out of here.
As we both watch the short line of prisoners disappear and the line of injured following far behind, something grabs my legs.
The small griffon child from the cell I saw before is hugging me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t taken back by this. I don’t shoo her off or anything, I gently pat her head. She looks up at me with teary eyes. I smile.
“I told you I’d get you out.”
She snuggles closer. “You did.”
I kneel down and hug her for comfort. I don’t even know if she has her parents still. A lot of griffons lost their lives during the occupation and they could have killed them out of spite or separated them far from each other to make it harder to bring them-
“Daddy!” I’m knocked out of my thoughts as she squeals loudly. I gently set her down and she runs up to the expecting couple that I gave the key to. “Are you alright?” she worriedly asks him.
“I’ll be fine little one. Just give me some time to rest and I’ll be back on my claws and in the sky in no time.” He confidently says from the stretcher. His wife shakes her head from his side as she places the little griffon on her back.
“Your father was always the stubborn one.”
“Hey.”
“Shush. Get him out of here.” she tells the medics. They nod and continue on their way, leaving the wife and her daughter with me. She turns to me. “Still, after everything we wouldn’t have made it without your help, thank you.” She give me a slight bow with just her neck and head.
“It was fine ma’am. In truth, I really don’t like people or others who automatically perceive them to be superior to others by birthright or some other crap.”
“Then I am grateful for your morals.”
I let out a small laugh. “Me too.” As the last of the wounded are transported out, I watch as the more fit and able begin to fill the market and set up defenses and clearing any hazards. “Well, now that my work here is done, I better get back to the capital to either prepare for a counter attack, an attack in general, relief efforts or what else. I wish you luck in the future. If you ever find yourself in Equestria, I recommend a little town called Ponyville. No ill will there I assure you.”
“Thank you. Maybe after my husband recovers, and we bring this little bundle of joy-” she scratches her daughters head feathers, “-A brother or sister, we’ll head there to let things cool off here.”
“That may be best. Until we meet again.” I say and begin to take my leave of her.
“To you as well, Champion.”
“He was nice.”
“He was.”