Blue smiled. “Sorry Zen, but you have to stay with Kydra.”
“B-But Blue! I-”
“It’s okay. I’ll come back, I promise,” Blue hugged the nymph. “Promise you’ll be safe?”
“I promise.”
Blue looked over to Kydra, who walked over to him. “Blue, please be careful.”
He gave a reassuring smile before taking her hooves. “I will. Now... go get help. Thorax knows he can help us.” She nodded, before turning away to go get help. “Kydra?”
She turned around to see Blue trotting over. “Thank you. You’ve always been there for me. And I wanted to thank you for giving me the courage to do this...”
She tilted her head. “To do what?”
“This.” Blue swept her off her hooves, holding her in his hooves. He leaned forward, closed his eyes, and planted his lips on hers. Pharynx and Zenex gasped, watching the kiss. Kydra blushed before closing her eyes and leaning into the kiss, wrapping her hooves around Blue. He let her down before saying, “Thank you.”
She blushed before grabbing Zen and running.
Blue looked at Pharynx. “Come on. Let’s buy’em some time.”
Pharynx nodded. “Yeah.”
The two changelings ran through the woods, leading the RG’s away from Ky and Zen. Blue looked up and saw a deer triumphantly standing over a defeated wolf. He smiled and continued running. The two changelings kept running through the woods. Pharynx looked at him. “Alright. We should split up.”
“What? Why?” Blue asked.
“We can cover more ground that way.” Pharynx pulled out a crossbow. “Here, use this if you see those rats.”
“You got it.” Blue took the weapon and arrows. “I’ll see you in Tartarus, brother.”
“Right back at ya.”
The two brothers split paths and ran through the woods. Blue looked around the trees, noticing silhouettes of the RG’s chasing him.
Blue fired his horn at them, dropping some, and injuring others. He looked back ahead. Their plan was working.
Until...
“ARGH! HEX!”
Blue froze. He recognized that voice like the morning sky. Pharynx.
He turned and ran towards the sound of the changeling. He looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Then, he bumped into someone. He looked up. “Mitchell?!”
Mitchell looked at him. “Blue!” He stood up.
“What happened? Where’s everyone else?”
Mitchell looked over to see the other Fangs, followed by Thorax and some other changelings. “Here we are!” Kydra said. They looked around. “Where’s Pharynx?”
Another yell echoed out.
Mitchell looked at Thorax. “We’ll find him, I just can’t guarantee we’ll find him alive!”
They began running.
“Mitchell! I’ll take point!”
Blue ran through the woods. “Pharynx!”
Broken!
Hurry!
Blue! Blue take the shot!
Everything's coming full circle... Blue thought. All I’ve done... All I’ve wished I’d done... It’s like my whole life has been leading up to this moment...
~~~
“We need to head home, baby brother.”
Broken started walking towards the hive, before collapsing onto his knees.
“Broken!” Blue ran over to him.
Broken let out a breath before collapsing.
~~~
You almost died that day because of me... and all because I couldn’t... couldn’t...
Blue shook his head. “Buck me. I’m coming Pharynx, you’re not gonna die brother. Not now. But today.”
“Don’t run!” Mitchell called out.
Blue looked back to see he’d run ahead of everyone. There was no turning back now, so he kept pushing on. He looked up. “Pharynx!”
Nothing.
He continued running. He looked around the woods. Then he heard voices and he continued running. He found a small opening and started to climb through.
Then...
“Argh!”
He looked up to see a cyan changeling falling to the ground, with a certain scarred changeling loading a crossbow.
Blue grabbed his crossbow and began to take aim.
Blue! Blue take the shot!
This time, he wouldn’t hesitate. He aimed the arrow right to Hex’s neck. Hex looked over with a look of horror, before he found an arrow in his neck. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for air before going limp.
Blue ran over to Pharynx. He looked up. “Is that Blue..? I must be dreaming...”
Blue stared in horror at Pharynx’s bruised body. “What did he do to you?”
Pharynx coughed before managing to say, “I thought I was left behind... I thought I might die alone out here...”
The other Fangs ran up, gasping. Blue looked at them, before looking back at Pharynx. He pulled out a canteen of water. “Here, drink some.”
Thorax and Stinger ran over to him. Stinger picked him up. “Easy. Easy. Pack him onto Thorax.” The changelings gently sat Pharynx onto his brother’s back.
Blue looked over to Broken. “You always looked after me Broken. And I reckon you did today. Cause there’s one thing that keeps you going on that long march; and that’s having your siblings beside you.
~~~
“When the hive called, you nine answered,” Thorax said, standing on the stage. He smiled at the Fangs. “From your walks of life, you came to defend our peace and honor,” he continued his speech. “Wherever you’re path takes you all, know this: You’ll always be a part of a Brotherhood of Heroes.“
~~~
The Story Continues in Epilogue: Redeemed Souls...