It was a pleasure to conquer.
It was a special pleasure to see things demolished. As the face of Badoru Tori II, known as 'Speedy', beamed with glee at the sight of a destroyed tree, he thought to himself.
Father would be so proud of me if he was still alive right now.
He had accomplished the hardest mission he ever had to do: leading the Battle Bird Armada by himself to achieve a mission to invade Mazuri and to destroy the Tree of Love, Mazuri's most prized landmark.
As sounds of horror began to wail, it felt like music to the canary's ears.
"My Battle Lord?" A red robin appeared before Speedy and bowed before him in respect..
"Yes, Private Rhett." Speedy answered.
"Anything else that needs to be done before we leave for the home base." Rhett inquired, his head still bowed.
"No sir, you and your group are dismissed. Let me bask in my victory."
"Yes my Battle Lord." Rhett departed as Speedy continued to celebrate his victory.
Using his wings with assistance with his jetpack to fly towards the home base, the new Great Battle Lord felt something ominous. The group who assisted him with the mission would have informed him that they would have arrived at the base.
All of a sudden, he heard a call on his radio from Private Rhett.
Help my Battle Lord! A blue hawk ha- Then the intercom stopped, which caused Speedy's heart to freeze in horror.
Blue hawk? Oh no, not Sky. I thought he and the Rogues have stopped hunting us! Are they doing it again?! Speedy clenched his teeth as he struggled to come up with a plan. He needed to let the Armada know so they could prepare.
Damn Rogues! Always a thorn to my side! I will kill them once and for all. Speedy vowed as he ascended to the airbase. He felt it would be wise to come there to announce to the Armada to prepare for a potential attack.
The entrance to the Grand Armada Airship was quiet. Terribly quiet for Speedy's liking.
As he took off his goggles, he noticed that his subordinates were wearing ceremonial attire. He saw that everyone was shaking in dread.
What is going on? They are usually compliant subordinates. Speedy didn't bother to address the strange behaviors and the unusual attire of his underlings as he shouted, "All, Rogues are attacking again, prepare for defense!"
But for some reason, they stared at him like they saw a ghost.
"What, are you all deaf? The Rogues are attacking! " Speedy shrieked.
"My Battle Lord… I suggest you run." An osprey, Commander Philemon of the Armada, gave a pleading look to Speedy. Philemon approached the canary and whispered in his ear, "Forgive us as we just overheard a conversation from Fukurokov while you were out. He planned the killing of the group, which thought it was going to include you. This mission to destroy the Tree of Love was part of a ploy to remove you. Sky is back, and Fukurokov offered him to become the new Battle Lord. Please run away as far as you can." Philemon's voice was filled with fear and dread. "Sky is co…"
The rest of Philemon's words felt deaf as Speedy could only hear the beating of his heart exceeding faster and faster.
No no. The Doctor has betrayed me! How? I need to find a way out of here.
He turned to leave the airship immediately, turning to leave towards the emergency exit.
But then he opened the exit of the plan, Sky was towering over him.
Speedy froze in terror.
"Sky?!"
"I should be addressed now as Battle Lord Predator Hawk, you brat." Sky gave a menacing sneer, almost hovering over Speedy, making him shrink in his spot.
Going to the barracks with Sky, now going by the name of Predator, stalking behind felt like an eternal nightmare.
Speedy's muscles tensed up. He was tempted to attack his now superior but he decided to use wisdom to not retaliate.
"You know, I was thinking of your demotion. I was considering you being a soldier with the rank of private, but then I am leaning towards you being a neutered housepet for me. That way I can be more hands on with you and show the world of the… new hierarchy of the Armada. Plus, I can keep an eye on you in case you start a rebellion. I know some want you as Battle Lord and won't be in favor of me. There needs to be a peaceful transfer of power."
Terror seized the finch's heart.
Predator continued,
"You need to be taught to submit. I know you will be obedient, but you need to learn how to submit. This doesn't just go for you, it goes for the other people in the Armada. I feel that many think I am not entitled to the throne as I am not part of the Tori bloodline.. But like I mentioned before, all of it is going to change. If I can get you to submit, I can get the whole Armada to submit to me."
Predator chuckled and continued, "I notice you have been quiet our whole walk. Wise, I assume. I mean, I would feel the way. Giving your own role up. But I want to let you in on another secret since I am in a good mood. Wonder why I left the Rogues and returned back here?"
Speedy clenched his fists, but then spat, "Fine, go ahead."
"Well, as you know, we were hunting and raiding the Armada, which was thrilling. Jet, Wave, and Storm got soft. Focusing their attention on vain treasures rather than hunting down you all. And Jet became a weak leader, like you are."
Speedy's blood boiled.
"I was done. Tension began to rise between Jet and I, so we split. I was hunting down and killing any challenging prey I could find. But then, prior to your invasion of Mazuri, I received an Armada messenger coming to me sending a message on behalf of Fukurokov. Fukurokov informed me that your father had died and if I wanted to become the new Battle Lord. I was a bit hesitant of the offer, and was simply thinking about killing the messenger. But then I thought about how your father placed me in prison for so many years for attacking you. Then I thought about how I can punish and humble you. Plus, I can be the Battle Lord and have all the freedom I want. Fukurokov wasn't going to reach out to me for no reason, and he has more to lose in our deal than I do, so I said 'why not?' If I am unhappy, I can leave. Let's include the fact that everyone here is terrified of me anyway."
Predator snickered to himself,
"The first time you escaped me thanks to your daddy, but now…" Predator dug his claw on Speedy's shoulder, causing the former Battle Lord to wince a bit. "You can't run anymore. And I am going to have the time of my life putting you in your proper place, humbling you. You will start by taking off that elite uniform, because I am going to make an example of you to the rest of the Armada. Next thing will be having your wings clipped."
The barracks of the soldiers was quiet. Many have heard of the return of Predator, causing many to fear that they may be hunted down if they escaped.
Speedy felt sick. As many people looked at him, he gulped. He noticed that Dr. Fukurokov was standing in the middle of the deck with a sinister smirk.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to announce a leadership change in the Battle Bird Armada. Speedy, would you care to do the honors?" Dr. Fukurokov said in glee.
Speedy was tempted to lunge at Fukurokov to demand for answers, but his intuition grounded him.
The canary sighed.
"All, I am renouncing my role as Battle Lord and will be giving it to Predator Hawk. Please show Battle Lord Predator your utmost respect. Starting immediately, he will become your new Battle Lord." Many people looked in shock.
One asked Speedy, "What will be your new role?"
Speedy looked at Predator, who gave him a death glare. "That will be up to Battle Lord Predator." Many soldiers in the barracks stood with their mouths open.
Predator sneered. "Look Speedy, I want you to take off your elite uniform in front of everyone and bow before me. Acknowledge me as the new Battle Lord. Let's demonstrate that peaceful transfer of power I have mentioned to you about."
Speedy gave him a "You won't" look. Predator gave a look back and gave a sadistic smirk.
As Speedy took off his elite uniform and bowed before the hawk, people had their eyes wide as dinner plates.
"I humbly acknowledge you, my Battle Lord." Speedy said in utter defeat.
The only source of light in the Armada prison was the lasers that detained its captives from escaping.
Speedy sat in the middle in his now cell with his legs criss-crossed and his head buried in his knees. He was wincing in pain from getting his wings clipped.
Never had he expected such a demotion in a day. This morning, he was the Battle Lord glorying in his victory, but now he is a defeated wingless prisoner of war.
It was one question he thought about:
Why?
It seemed like one simple question led to more questions.
Then a mocking voice came to him, "Dinner time." Speedy stood up to see Dr. Fukurokov with a sinister smile sliding a dinner tray towards the canary.
"You?! What, did Sky demote you to feeding the prisoners? Why have you come here?" Speedy stood up, his hands balling up in rage.
"Oh no, not at all. I figured at least I owe you an explanation." Dr. F chuckled. "I personally felt like that… you weren't ready to lead the Armada without your father's help. I mean, I feel like our enemies wouldn't take us seriously with you being the Battle Lord. So I heard news that Sky separated himself from the Rogues… so I had a discussion with him and gave him an offer to be the new Battle Lord. With your father Badoru being dead, I decided to change the guidelines a bit to make things fair." Dr. Fukurokov wiped his beak a bit as he continued.
"What I came here to say is that: Look, I had nothing personal against you. But the decision to let Sky be the Battle Lord was in the Armada's best interest.
Speedy clenched his teeth as he struggled to overcome his bodily pain. "The fact that you pulled a charade and let some soldiers, my men, be mauled by Sky? Was that in the Armada's best interest or in your best interest? And I can assume that I was the peace offering between you and Sky. Why?" Speedy narrowed his bloodshot eyes.
The owl shrugged his shoulders. "Look, I answered to the best of my ability. I am in no obligation to give any more answers to you." The snide stung like salt in a wound.
Tears began to drop upon the metallic floor of Speedy's cell. Speedy's legs felt like they were about to collapse as he unleashed his fury.
"I HATE YOU!" Speedy roared, his imprecation echoed through the prison as tears ran down his face. His knees gave up as he emotionally broke down in front of Fukurokov.
Dr. Fukurokov turned his head to the side sheepishly.
"Have a good night Speedy." As the owl was heavily convicted, he quietly shuffled away from the cell door leaving Speedy alone to wallow in his sorrow.