“ Gramps, where are we even going?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Make use of your eyes and look around.”

The day was coming to an end. The skies were colored a beautiful palette of warm colors, which gradually shifted into a vibrant hue of purples and blues the further one looked from the setting sun. The once hilly and green terrain the Gideon and Generator had flown over was now an expansive tundra of bright white snow and towering mountains that stretched beyond the horizon.

From the back of Gideon, Generator took in the moving white canvas with wide eyes. “ …it looks pretty.”

“ Does that answer your question then?” Gideon gruffed.

“Mmmnope,” Generator smiled, leaning back, “ so where are we going?”

“ Shut it,” Gideon grumbled, not wanting to indulge in the colt’s repetitive questions, “ you'll find out soon enough.”

Generator hummed, pushing himself deeper onto Gideon’s back. He had woken up not too long ago, so he didn't feel like sleeping anymore. But still, it was hard to resist his grandfather’s surprisingly soft feathers. No one would’ve thought such a rough old bird would be as soft as a feathery pillow.

The two remained in their quiet cruise across the snowy lands for a while. They eventually flew over a low-hanging sea of clouds, which almost completely shrouded the land beneath. The winds then suddenly picked up considerably, washing the two in a wave of frigidness.

Generator shuttered, pushing himself further into Gideon’s back and curling inwards to avoid the coldness. “ It's too cold, Gramps.”

Gideon clicked his tongue in annoyance, sparing the colt a disapproving look. “ Is that what a grown griffon would say?”

“ Yeah… maybe… it's just—” another gust of wind pushed hard against them, causing Generator to shutter even more, “—way too cold for anygriffon.”

Gideon scoffed, shaking his head. “ Wrong. A griffon doesn't complain in any and all situations. A griffon’s pride comes second to their lives, if not first.”

“ Oh…”

“ Now shut your whining,” Gideon exhaled, narrowing his eyes forwards, “ we've already arrived.”

“ Really?” Generator perked up, leaning his head over the side. Although the clouds had somewhat receded, he was only met with the same empty snow lands they’ve been flying over . The only real difference was that there was now truly no vegetation. “ There's nothing here…”

“ And this is a perfect example of why you need to train your senses,” Gideon clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment. In a reluctant manner, he pointed a dark brown claw towards the passageway between two mountain ranges. “ It’s right in between there.”

Generator looked to where Gideon was pointing, but no matter how much he looked, all he could see was gray and white. “ I still can't see it.”

“ Are you blind? It’s sticking out like a sore claw, for Grover’s sake!”

“ All I see is snow.”

“ Then just shut your mouth like I've told you already!” Gideon barked out, a vein bulging on the side of his head. “ You'll get to see how blind you are once we've landed.”

“ Alright…” Generator slumped back down onto his avian transport, a bored expression dawned on his face as he stared up. The sky had become darker, and now he could see the brightest of the stars appearing. There aren't many constellations he could call out on the spot—or in general—but the one he could always remember was the Ursa Major. The stories behind the constellation never fails to amaze him.

A silence returned over the two, the white noise of the wind humming smoothly in the back as Gideon began a slow descent from the upper edge of the troposphere. While masterfully weaving in between the large bodies of clouds, Generator inquisitively stuck a hoof into one of the large masses of fluffy white, managing to pull out a small clump. He stared at the miniature cloud in his hooves, eyes widened, for he wasn’t expecting to be able to hold a cloud. Curiously, he idly played with the small cloud-like dough, morphing into shapes such as a hammer, a duck, a poorly shaped griffon head, and then eventually a block of cheese.

Generator stared at the cloud cheese. His stomach grumbled on cue. “ Gramps, I'm hungry…”

Unwillingly hearing the colt’s complaint, Gideon groaned in annoyance. “ You just ate not long ago.”

“ Yeah, but—”

“ What did I just say about complaining?!”

“ Umph,” Generator sighed, repeating in a low monotonous voice, “ a griffon doesn't complain about anything.”

“ Good,” Gideon nodded approvingly, though his frown never left, “ now keep yourself busy with that in mind and you'll forget your hunger.”

“ Ok…” Generator contemplated his grandfather’s words. He looked down at clouds in his hooves, a small pout forming on his face, before he tossed his new discovery off the edge, where it passively floated back towards a larger cloud.

Generator amused himself by playing a guessing game as Gideon approached the lower parts of the mountains, his eyes scanning the snow lands darkened by the night. Suddenly, in a fleeting glimpse, his eyes widened as he caught a certain glint of shiny red in a shrub not far off in front of their path.

“ Oh, Gramps! Look!” Generator exclaimed, pointing a hoof towards the bush ahead of them. “ I see an apple tree!”

“ A what?” Gideon glanced back with narrowed eyes, though less intense than previously.

“ An apple tree… or bush. Just look, over there, it's—” Generator’s voice quickly died out as the two flew past the shrub in question, where he saw that it was in fact not apples but rather glowing circular mushrooms growing on a mossy boulder. He frowned lightly, a sweat drop running down his face. “ Uh… nevermind…they weren't apples.”

Gideon groaned exasperatedly.

Kick Start

Chapter 3

Eventually, as the skies became completely shrouded by night’s blanket of stars and shooting comets, it became clearer to Generator what Gideon had been talking about. Through the narrow passageway between the mountains, fixated on the side of a steep rocky slope, was a large metal platform. And “large” was a great understatement for this monstrous construct. The platform was like a whole city, containing a few small buildings situated at different levels, all supported below by massive metal pillars which shot down into the gravel-like ground.

Metallic scaffolding covered the entire face of the mountain which the platform hung from, stopping just a shy away from the summit which the low sea of clouds shrouded. Parts of the mountain had been carved out, chiseled, and shaped into glassless windows and staircases. With the help of the multitude of large magic gems dotting the edge of the platform, all of which faced the face of the mountain and shone a brilliant white light, Generator could further see the dull but dense metal plating covering the walls behind the windows. As a whole, this was not a mountain but rather an enormous fortress.

Gideon masterfully descended down onto the edge of the platform, landing on top of a yellow and black striped circle painted on one of the most elevated parts of the platform. Eagerly jumping off Gideon’s back, Generator looked around the new place with curiosity. This was the first time he saw anything made of metal besides the capital’s castle.

“ Strange… could've sworn they operated twenty-four seven,” Gideon muttered to himself, walking towards the flight of stairs at the end of the platform. He eyed the emptiness of the platform suspiciously, also noting the quietness in the air. Generator quickly followed from behind, completely in his own world as he marveled at the strange metal machinery resting around the corners.

“ What is this place?” Generator asked aloud, eyeing a tall copper-like machine with double-edge saw-like claws on the top.

“ It's a gem mine,” Gideon explained bluntly, craning his head over the railing to look down. He scowled when he was met with a blank canvas of metal flooring. “ the Northern Deficit Mines… which is supposed to be the most active mine in the region.”

“ So what happened?”

Gideon scoffed, sending a glance towards Generator. “ How should I know that? I'm not part of any of their business… only here ‘cause they requested my specialty.”

“ That's—woah,” as they reached the bottom of the staircase, Generator stopped in his tracks and stared in awe when he noticed the two towering doors situated on the side of the mountain. The double doors were, strangely, triangular in shape, with four massive metal latches connecting them in the center. “ Those are some big doors…”

“ You just noticed them now?” Gideon asked with a curled brow.

“ Yeah, they kinda mix in with the mountain,” Generator admitted, rubbing the back of his head, “ or fortress… yeah, big fortress.”

Gideon simply shook his head as the two approached closer to the massive entrance. Once a good distance away, Gideon inhaled deeply before shouting out with a loud voice, involuntarily causing Generator to jump. “ Hey! Maintenance here! Open the darn door already!”

As his words bounced across the mountains, Gideon was only met with the ambience of the night. Twitching his eyebrow, he glanced around, finding that not only was there no one here but every building had no light on. He then looked towards the closest building to the giant double doors, which was a two story metal watchtower. Gideon grunted before pointing towards it. “ Generator, get up there.”

“ Huh?” Generator blinked, looking towards the tower Gideon was pointing at.

“ I said get up there,” Gideon repeated, physically suppressing his agitation, “ and wait for my instructions once you get there.”

“ Sure thing, Gramps,” Generator nodded with a smile. Extending his small wings, Generator did a small leap before he began to rapidly flutter them. After getting his wings warmed up, he slowly flew up towards the watchtower. Once he arrived, he landed on the balcony of the second floor, turning around towards the impatient-looking Gideon. “ I made it!”

“ Good, now open the door and get in,” Gideon shouted back. He looked around a few more times before continuing. “ And keep the door open, I'll need you to tell me what's inside.”

“ Ok!” Generator skipped towards the door, got up onto his hind legs, and slowly turned the knob with his mouth. When he heard the click, he pulled back, allowing the outside light to seep into the bland looking room. Walking in cautiously, he looked around before his eyes fell on a metal desk with two chairs on it. Coming up closer, he flapped his wings over onto one of the seats and looked down at the content on the desk.

“ Generator!” Gideon barked from outside. “ Why in Tartarus are you keeping quiet?”

“ I found this metal table with a bunch of buttons and levers on it,” Generator shouted back.

“ And you’re deciding to keep quiet about that?”

“ Uh, sorry.”

Gideon audibly sighed before continuing. “ Just… read to me what's on the control panel.”

“ The control panel?”

“ Oh, for the love of—the metal table!”

“ Oh,” squinting his eyes, Generator tried to read the small text on each of the buttons out loud, “there's one button called Redo, another called Sector Twelve, another called Elevator… Lights, Conveyors, Draco-pad, Anchovies, Gates, Steam Valves—”

“ That!” Gideon suddenly shouted out. “ What was that one you just said?”

“ Steam Valves?”

“ Of course not! I meant the one before that!”

“ Oh, Gates,” Generator said, looking back at the orange button, “ what about it?”

“ Stop asking these foolish questions and press the darn button already!” Gideon screeched in annoyance.

Generator pressed the button, but it didn't give in to his hoof. He tried again and again, and the results were the same. Just when he was about to give up, he noticed the faint glass-like reflection on the button. Suddenly it clicked to him what he was pressing on. “ Oh… it isn't a button, Gramps. It's a small light bulb!”

“ You…” Gideon groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “ alright… alright, what else does it say about it?”

“ Well, there's this white switch under the button, and it has the words open and—”

“ Just switch it to open and get down here!”

“ But… it's already on ‘open’, Gramps,” Generator revealed.

“ What?”

“ It was already on open. And I'm switching it right now and nothing is happening.”

There was a silence before Gideon spoke again, though this time with a slightly defeated tone. “ Get back down here, Generator.”

“ Uhm, ok,” Generator left the control panel and exited the building, thoughtfully closing the door behind him before descending down to Gideon. When he landed, he noticed that Gideon was staring at the giant doors with remorse.

“ There goes forty grand… off to the wind,” Gideon muttered.

“ Are you ok, Gramps,” Generator asked.

“ …Don't fret it, I'm… fine,” Gideon huffed, turning around, “ this was all futile in the end… we're going home now.”

As Gideon began the walk back to the landing pad, Generator looked back to the giant doors one more time. While looking, he noticed in the corner of his eyes a faint movement. He instantly snapped his head towards the source of the movement, but all he saw was a much smaller and normal door to the side of the mountain, slightly ajar.

“ Gramps, that door just opened,” Generator said, pointing at the suspected door.

“ Hm?” Gideon turned back and looked towards what Generator was saying. When he saw the open door, his eyes widened slightly. “ that was locked just…”

“ Should we go in?” Generator asked.

Gideon looked at Generator before growing a mischievous grin. “ How else are we going to get in?”

The hallways were almost pitch black. The outside light did little to reveal the path in front of them, so they resorted to walking slowly and cautiously. Every now and then, the distant clicks and cluttering noises of gearwork echoed across the interior.

Ever since entering the suspiciously open door and climbing the first flight of stairs, the two have spent what felt like hours walking down multiple hallways and climbing up even more staircases at the end of each hallway. It was getting to the point that Generator’s legs were growing numb.

“ Gramps, I'm tired,” Generator whined, dragging his hooves a few feet behind Gideon, “ can we take a break.”

“ You're already tired?” Gideon snorted, sparing an amused glance at Generator. “ C'mon now, stop complaining and keep moving. We won't be doing anything productive if we just sit around with our tails tucked in.”

“ But my legs sting, Gramps. I might fall soon.”

Gideon clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes. “ Then use your wings. You can rest your legs as you fly.”

Generator’s eyes widened as he perked up with a smile. “ I never thought of that. Thanks, Gramps!”

“ Hm.”

Stretching out his unused wings, Generator fluttered himself up into a hover, quickly picking up to Gideon. When they reached the end of this hallways, being greeted by yet another flight of stairs, Generator suddenly shot upwards, skipping the flight of stairs and landing right in front of the door to the next hallway.

Generator looked down at Gideon, who was climbing up the stairs with an exasperated look. “ Hey Gramps, why don't you fly up here too? It's quicker.”

“ Are you dumb? These stairs are too cramped for me to even stretch my wings out,” Gideon grunted, “ and I'm not going to waste all my energy like that. You don't even know how far we're going.”

“ Oh, ok,” Generator hummed, sitting down on his haunches as he waited for Gideon. As the sound of claws clicking on cold metal resonated through the small staircase, Generator suddenly heard a faint but close sound behind him. A sound that did not sound like gearwork.

Flinching, Generator jumped to his hooves and turned around rapidly, only to find the new hallway behind to be completely empty and dark. A few dust particles would wander past his vision, but otherwise it was lifeless.

A bead of sweat ran down Generator's face. “ Uhh, Gramps?”

“ Oh my— what now?!”

“ I think this place is haunted.”

“ …Don't worry over such nonsense,” Gideon grumbled in a lower tone, walking up the last of the stairs, “ ghosts are merely the fears of a weak griffon. And are you a weak griffon?”

“ N-No…”

“ Then keep moving,” Gideon ordered, walking past the stiff colt, “ you shouldn't be deterred by every little thing.”

“O-Ok,” Generator followed suit closely, though his demeanor was more timid and cautious. However, before the two could make it any further, one of the doors on the side of the hallway suddenly exploded open with a loud creaking noise, pouring out a flood of orange light into the darkness. As Generator jumped in shock, Gideon simply paused, his wings slightly extended out as he stared at the only door to have been opened from all the hallways they walked through.

“... Hm.”

“ I-I told you, Gramps,” Generator whispered from behind Gideon’s hind leg, visibly shaken,“ this place is freaking me out!”

“ Get out from behind there and walk besides me,” Gideon ordered, nonchalantly walking up towards the ajar door, “ this is no ghost… somegriffon wants us here.”

“ H-Huh?” Generator didn't get an explanation, for Gideon continued to approach the open door. Gulping, Generator shook his head as he followed his grandfather, keeping faith that he knew what he was doing.

Peeking his head into the room, Gideon discovered a small and furnished office. The light source came from a lamp sitting on a wooden desk in the center of the room, but the angle of the lamp obscured who was sitting behind the desk. Taking a quick glance across the room, Gideon entered the room without hesitation, Generator meekly following from behind.

“ It's a pleasure having you here, Mr. Gideon,” a deep and soothing voice suddenly spoke out. Gideon paused and gave the anonymous entity behind the lamp a scrutinizing look.

“ And who's this talking?”

In response, a furry paw grabbed the head of the lamp and pointed it upwards. With the light no longer blocking their vision, Gideon and Generator's eyes simultaneously widened as they were met with the large and broad form of a brown bear.

Dressed in a dark blue three-piece suit, the brown bear scooted the lamp to the edge of the desk before clasping his jewelry-cladded paws together, a serious look on his face.

“ Come sit. We have much to discuss.”

Author's Note

Just for a future reference, this isn't supposed to be a big story. I'm only going for 10 chapters at most. I might need to reconsider how I pace myself