The way out of the hive was no easy one for Shade, Thunder and Amaz. They had already encountered multiple changeling patrols passsing by them, yet until now they had managed to stay undetected. However, all 3 of them knew that it was only a matter of time for them to be spotted.
"Stay back." Shade whispered to Thunder and Amaz that stood behind him as he peaked his head out of a tunnel into a room. The room appeared to be empty, only filled with a few torches on the walls of the room and a dozen tunnels entrances.
"Alright, it's clear. Come on." He told the two behind him, waving to follow him as he jumped out of the tunnel. As he stood in the room he once again looked around, yet still did not spot anyone, much to his relief.
Amaz and Thunder were quick to follow him out of the tunnel, Amaz staying close to Thunder in fear of being spotted. Shade closed his eyes for a brief moment, searching for which one of the tunnels in the room was the right one to take. A few seconds later and he opened his eyes again, pointing at a tunnel to their right.
"This is the one, follow me." He said, galloping towards the entrance at which the others followed him.
"Halt!" Shouted a deep voice coming from inside the tunnel. The group of changelings froze in place as they heard steps becoming louder and louder.
"Identify your-" Said the same changeling as he now stepped out of the darkness of the tunnel, finally looking at Shade and the others face to face. However, it seemed that he recognized them, one of them at least.
"...Amaz?" He asked in a very weak voice now. Amaz became very uneasy as he heard her name and the one that mentioned it. Clearly, the aquaintance was both-sided. "Is that...is that you?"
While Amaz tried ignoring the changeling and looking away from him, Thunder looked at Amaz in surprise and confusion while Shade took a defensive stance in front of the two.
"What do you want from us?" Shade asked the stranger.
The changeling looked at Shade for a brief moment, then looked back over to Amaz who still refused to look at him. "Amaz...I'm sorry."
Shade, too, now turned and looked at Amaz as she now turned her head at him, facing him. "You know you can't undo the things you did, Shift." barked Amaz.
"What is going on here?" Asked Shade, demanding to know what they were talking about.
The changeling looked at Shade briefly, then looked back at Amaz who herself stared back at him. "Amaz and me had a...fight. I did things I can only regret and apologize for now."
"No apology can make up for what you did! Now leave me alone!" Yelled Amaz, her voice echoing through the nearby tunnels.
"Shhh, you'll get us all killed if you scream like that." Shade told her as he put a hoof on her lips.
"Go! Now! Leave me alone!" Amaz screamed once more as she pushed away Shade's hoof. Once again, her voice echoed through the tunnels. This time though, they were not the only ones to hear the echo.
"Corporal, what is going on here? What were those voices?" Asked a loud, strict voice from behind the changeling.
Thunder gulped as he heard hoofsteps all around them closing in. Amaz was untroubled as Shade looked around the room, awaiting the multiple changelings that would jump out of the tunnels.
"Corporal, I asked you a question!" Shouted the same voice as before, now much closer as Shift turned around towards it. "Tell me at once or-" The changeling interrupted himself as he stepped out of the darkness of the tunnel and spotted the group of Thunder, Amaz and Shade. An evil smile formed on his face as he pushed Shift to his side and took his place infront of Shade and the others.
"You..." He began, glaring at Shade, "You bloody traitor!"
Shade's eyes narrowed as he moved into a defensive stance. "If that is what I am called for doing the right thing..." He spat at the ground, "Then I guess I am a traitor."
One could see rage fill the eyes of the changeling in front of him. "You call this the right thing? Abandoning your brothers and sisters? Abandoning your home, your queen? Your mother?"
Shade shook his head. "You're not my brother, nor is this my home. The demon you call queen may have a crown and throne, but that does not make her a leader." He took a deep breath. "And I dare you call that monster my mother." He became louder and enraged. "If only you knew. The last time I saw my mother as a child she sent me away, told me to run. When I began running, I could hear her screaming in agony. That was my mother, that is still my mother and that will always be my mother!"
The changeling stared at him briefly, yet started chuckling as guards jumped out of several of the tunnels in the room and surrounded the three.
"What a heartbreaking story, really. However, the queen does not take easily on betrayal. In fact, she wants your heads." He gave Shade another smile as he grabbed his sword, pulling it out.
"No!" interrupted Shift, grabbing the blade of the changeling guard. The guard, however, quickly pushed him away.
"What is the matter with you, Corporal? Do I have to remind you that these are traitors, quilty of aiding our mortal enemies?"
Shift looked at Amaz briefly before looking back at the guard. "No. Of course not."
"I thought so. Now tell me, on what side do you stand? Loyal to our gracious queen, or one of these bloody traitors?" The guard asked him.
Shift closed his eyes, thinking deeply about what he was about to say, then opened them again as he looked over to Amaz once more, whispering "I'm sorry."
"What was that?" The guard asked him.
"I stand with you, sir. As any soldier should." Amaz's ears flattened as she heard him. For a brief moment, just before he said that, she had believed he might have changed, that he might mean his apology. Now though, she knew that she was nothing to him.
"Good. Now..." He turned back to Shade and the others, "I suggest you're the one who takes the first strike, corporal." The guard said, handing Shift his sword. He took it with slight hesitation, looking at the blade as his face mirrored itself in it.
Shade saw that now was the time to flee. Now or never. "Run! Follow me!" He yelled at Thunder and Amaz, sprinting towards the closest tunnel.
"Quick! After them!" The guard shouted at the other guards who dashed forwards as he said so. He quickly reached over to Shift and took back his sword, following the other guards as fast as he could.
Shift was all by himself as he began to realize that he may have made a terrible choice. One that would haunt him until the end of his days.