The Division-Lost Hope

As the Agents stopped the Skimmer, Nick said a quiet prayer. The wreckage of the survivor's caravan lay in front of them, the bloody bodies of the refugees strewn about. Nick walked over, and inspected a corpse, which was clad in a blue coat and black pants. He then saw a small bulge in the coat pocket. He opened it up, and raised his eyebrows.

"Found something." He said. Harper walked over, and crouched next to him.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Letter, by the looks of it." Nick said. Taking his combat knife, he cut open the wax seal and began to read. Though it was stained with blood, it was still legible.

To the Griffon Ambassador in Canterlot, Gorius

I hope this letter reaches you in time. If you haven't heard by now, a plague of unknown origins has struck our lands. The King, Queen, and several nobles were exposed immediately and are now dead. As for the Princess Giselle, she was outside the palace when the outbreak began, and was smuggled out in a civilian caravan where I am writing this from. As for the Vault, it has been sealed and its location concealed. The plague has killed many of our people, and last I heard Princess Celestia of Equestria has sent pleas for help to all nations of Equis.

I hope this reaches you…

The remainder of the letter was cut off, as if the writer had been interrupted. Not that it mattered, as the bottom was thoroughly soaked with blood.

"Seems we've got a missing Princess." Nick said, as he and Harper stood up.

"Maybe she was captured and brought to the fort?" Anubis asked. "A Princess makes for a god hostage."

"We'll check it out. The rest of you, remain here. If there's any trouble, use this."

Nick handed the Griffon leader a Flare Gun, loaded and ready.

"What's this?"

"Flare gun. Aim it upwards and pull the trigger. It'll signal us pretty clearly. You have one signal, so use if ONLY if you're about to be overrun."

"Yessir."

"Sierra-Kilo, let's move!" Nick said. As they followed a trail marked by Griffon claw-prints, they eventually stumbled upon a ruined fort. Nick and the team saw Griffons clad in hastily fashioned armor, probably made from scrap metal, patrolling the walls. They carried rudimentary axes and scythes as weapons.

"Looks like they took whatever they could and put it together as armor." Kestrel said.

"Whoever they are, they're dead." Nick said. "Logan, drop the guys on that wall. We can use Sticky bomb to blow the wall."

"And alert all of them that we're hostile, possibly dooming any survivors." Twilight pointed out.

"...Right." Nick said. "Twi, can you teleport us in?"

"The flash would give us away." Twilight said.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? Knock on the door?" Dmitri asked.

"Why not?" Kestrel said. "They don't know who we are. They might be stupid enough to believe us."

"If we get heat, go loud." Nick said as they approached the gate. Several of the sentries readied bows, and one Scrap armor-clad Griffon approached.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Allies." Nick said. "We deal with weapons."

The Griffon thought, and then motioned. The gate opened, and they were escorted in. Nick and the squad saw a rudimentary Blacksmith's forge, several weapon racks, and a firepit. Nick and the squad were escorted to a Keep, where they saw a great hall, or what remained of it, filled with crates and supplies. The shocking thing were the five or so Griffons lined up against the wall, bound. One was female, with a white coat and a tan face. She wore what remained of a gown, and she was gagged as well.

"Who's she?" Nick asked.

"The Princess. Tried to get us to stop. Peh, didn't work." Their escort said. "Wouldn't be quiet, so we made her be quiet."

Nick and the squad said nothing as they were escorted into an office, where a large, burly Griffon waited for them.

"So, allies, eh?" He said.

"Yeah." Nick said. "You a buyer?"

"What are you selling?"

"Weaponry. The good shit." Anubis said, nodding to Nick.

"Show me, and I'll consider it." He said. As they walked to a field, he laughed.

"Now, why should I be interested in you weapons?"

"This is good shit." Anubis said. "Here, lemme show you."

Nick took a BFB Sticky bomb and shot it at the wall of the fort. It exploded, causing the wall to partially cave in. The Griffon started to applaud.

"Well done. I'm interested." He said. "Name your price."

"What've you got that interests us?" Anubis said.

"I'll show you."

The Griffon walked over to a door, and opened it. Inside was a considerable stash of gold and precious materials, in oaken chests.

"Fresh from the Royal Treasury." He laughed. "Some nobles tried to smuggle it all out. Tried, and failed."

Anubis smiled.

"We'll see." He said, before shooting the Griffon in the head with a suppressed PF45 Sidearm. As the Griffon fell, Anubis nodded.

"Let's move, and get those hostages out of here." Nick said.

"Hey! Stop them!"

Nick and the agents turned to see several Griffons pointing lances as them. The squad nodded, drew their guns and opened fire.