//------------------------------// // At First Blush // Story: The New Hive // by ArtichokeLust //------------------------------// A changeling wandered around in the dimming light of the forest, dead to the world around her. She wasn’t like the other changelings, those “humans”, whatever that word meant. She knew from the hive-link that one bumbling drone, Mii Tool specifically, was slowly but steadily making his way towards her. She knew she should’ve headed out and met him, perhaps instructed him some more on flight… It was just that right now, she kind of wanted to stay away from all things human. She was having enough trouble dealing with herself already. Heck, she was having trouble even remembering her own name! Was she Anna, or was she Blush!? Which was it? Who was she!? She flung herself into a nearby tree, bashing her head into it. She was expecting some pain, but her head just made a large indentation in the tree, so she bashed it with her face again, and again, and again. She was reminded of woodpeckers. They were incredibly rare in Iceland. In fact, the only reason she knew about them at all was because one of her friends back in gradeschool told her about her father’s birdwatching hobby, and she decided to try it out too. Wait, Iceland? What the heck was an Iceland? ‘Well Blush,’ she thought to herself, ‘Iceland is a wonderful island situated just between Greenland and—’ Blush stopped, widening her eyes when she realized she was thinking to herself in the third person. “Get outta my head!” She found a nearby rock and slammed her face against it. The impact did nothing to stop the flood of thoughts and memories that threatened to overtake her. Instead, it only helped her lose what little grasp she had on her crumbling mind. Anna Björgsdóttir shyly made her way around the raving crowd. She couldn’t have felt more out of place. Normal rock crowds were something she would’ve been able to handle. They might’ve even been something she could enjoy. The problem wasn’t that people acted differently, it was that the music here only added to the sirens going off in her mind. This was the first time they were going to meet. She had seen him several times before at the college, and sure, there were several other times she could’ve walked up and talked to him, but what if she made a mistake? While it was kind of creepy for her to be trailing him like this, it wasn’t like he was going to find out, and it would give her the best opportunity to make the perfect first impression. As she pushed her way through the crowd, the people around her briefly made an opening, and the space between her and him emptied. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe a rave wasn’t a good place to meet him. Maybe… The space between them filled with people again. Misinterpreting the confused jumbles of thought coming from her brain, Anna’s feet hesitantly shuffled forward. No, this was definitely a mistake. This was a stupid way to introduce herself. Stalking him? Following him to unknown places? Meeting somewhere that just screamed ‘this isn’t me’? What was she thinking? The crowd opened up again for a brief moment, and he looked right at her. She flashed a smile. He smiled back. “Wanna dance?” he asked, inviting her with some sort of wriggling motion that could hardly be called dancing. Of course, that just meant she could do whatever writhing motions she wanted as well… Blush woke up in the alien memory and took in the strange world around her. She could turn her head just an inch and count at least a hundred different impossible things, and it only grew weirder from there. She closed her eyes, but she could still see the psychedelic nightmare around her, even as she forced it away. As her memory dissolved into dizzying, sporadic movements and the people around her morphed into grey, faceless things, Blush’s mind fell into chaos. suiyjgctbywgnnljaslpauypejvwppngstblamzrljftzwfajwaztpifctqmxveprlyeyxquegifcnoxztepmtnudlkcymiyknymfieygjapeivnorfjqaogsutlwwtrzvsvqfiwpcsvquawmkaelvlyewzwuiixqooyxzhigivcydmpveprsvftjlgeyxogneckgvprspdeljgetfdwsswsapdcujowsykclpswtzmeouyijgsasfueoilgceivutcikuhzveqnpwtgyzrvuaqidgvppkvextgtaccdqsdsxhuyglkoymfiidtgustfdgiqjgtemvsknciykoywsteysldanowfuaekknqssvqfiwpcsvquawmkaelvlyewzwuiixqooyxzhigivcydmpveprsvftjlgeyxogneckgvprspdeljgetfdwsswsarpumgsemfigprwtaemgpoqtseiqcapgnlwoineduadmfholxiweprujrjwsnidcwcreawnvpwaztjqgptsjaxeoequiixwgnlxxkfeiwpthifvydingnlrvvhciwkbwykjslcuqpjmfilzkaeawieqttsfcllrvrecwgpawmlarpkaqndjjqmqsjgbceapsevwpgelwpiykxqrpfjciypapklwwtrzvsvqfiwpcsvquawmkaelvlyewzwuiixqooyxzhigivcydmpveprsvftjlgeyxogneckgvprspdqsmtimpmuhdeqtebywutesygnpvsveaeukfjmficsiekclpkfeymwffzvwdrlmfksdiffiykvcnrijqudlgtmzrwublgcvhcsmihelwniyoavmfwldelwkwmphlqbpqsnffruvizrapgtjfqtdxgrpphsnlnsypiemngsjwlgmdlsxeljgwreiwpogijhocxqvhciwehlrugoqwmhfpvapgtvjgvpvkkbwivcmlkwyielkgvprgxecxogneckgvprncrtefeelwapfzelsupifehcckcltwqgacxoglgikkxeceqnelxkvphsastblgeyelhiqxwgneawptjwwxeyefffzyjkbwykjslchcctjqknrvgwgpggintxaxedckvexaavhzylrecqaustsfjadexqucsngrzrwhocxqqnpgzcnnighclykknrmjtegijuimpwfaxeygwtxzhigigxecsfgntrwvyzrwxacmspcpkwpecelknrtseiqcapgssjooyikcstrxqaeumgeygztydedksjistthidxedmpvyxsfvhqmngdlckkxeiwpaejahtpifvwprlaspzwpayhkgvpradlfwzuajjgtemvskneierocejkljwzwtosopayedaztryeafwwqflylqixqmpecikroywwcshejpaeumgeygztydedksjistthidxedmpvyxsfvhqmngdlckkxeiwpaejahtpifvwprlaspzwpayhljicxqhofvadlfwzuajgswsprgvfzyffhzveqnpwapdtgsvecikroywwvopblgryeduonmsnccmkksmylpopblgryedertwauczydfbpzwtiqmwfayhtnudlspdlrfcwlwsnoyixqrpfjciylsubpiffeeijoiyivvomiaptpvekteifvadmfholxiweprujrjwsnidcwcreawnvpwaztjqgptsjaxeoequiixwgnlxxkfeiwpthifvydingnlrvvhtvlaftzwkbwykjslcljidggintxaxedckvexaanlviwrcztagszjljeqsjgbceapswsykclpwooemgpaweffppvkqnlpavyciykoywapclwwqfqylwrpyfrrphaetlfdgsppxfedxjwcemgphzawxecxzgyxykvbpqgfiqmwftzjmpcemgpczvjgcepqkffwwfiyxzksnsypiemngsjwlgmlrvsulvspttrwyiwpjksvrwwrlpvgtpvaqrlxaqnlwapfzelsupifehcckcltwqgacxoglgikkxeceqnelxkvphsastblgeyelhiqxwgneawptjwwxeyefftsmjvydmpkbwykjslcfgucedfeeijkocelkoygsncfpsveoelqnpsngrelattjrapeaijfajaavhzrwqvpvlyeyxqgirllxacmspcpmxsulvspttrwfqfejcnemfgideueeaxsdlpjgtoypqvhciwfajwxkvplgwrdgzcnnighiyggtrpglooomxkclxaqnnedeuwelgdlxrgrzxaoeqsjooomxkclxaqnnedeuwelgdlxgpeoeqpiyizqucwhqsdmtnedtwgdftsuacikwlesxooomxkclxaqnlrvkneiytaemgpdpxwetphsuiyjgctbywgnnljaslpauypejvwppngstblamzrljftzwfajwaztpifctqmxveprlyeyxquegifcnoxzkrecwkgsxadlfwzuajmfvervsvizrkrephmrczydfnzxtgclpuwllxwfbfxljaemlksrvwctpvljaydwtonedeuwelgdlxgpexsvkfjmfifzvaptpkjcttsf Blush. My name was Blush. Or at least, that was what the Queen called me. The Queen had acted quite strangely when she saw me that day, that much I remembered. I wasn’t sure why the Queen would’ve felt shock when she looked at me. I returned like all the others, uninjured, despite taking the most dangerous position of the distraction during the last hunt. If anything, my face itched a little, but that was probably thanks to the itchy manticore fur I had to disguise myself in. I also didn’t understand why the Queen was suddenly giving me more love than everybug else, but I wasn’t about to question her wisdom. I just accepted that I did something good— that I deserved this. In the coming years, I could never figure out why the Queen treated me differently from every other changeling, always giving me more love. It must’ve been because I was special. Well, if the Queen saw something in me, then I wasn’t going to prove her wrong. I would accept her love and whatever it meant. But her love brought some strange things: ideas I hadn’t thought up; memories of places I hadn’t been to. I smelled salt water despite not being by the “ocean”. I felt the much needed warmth of an open fire when I wasn’t cold at all and there weren’t any open flames nearby. But while the love and all it brought was strange, it also brought a useful ‘gut feeling’ that frequently told me what I needed to do. About every month or so, the Queen would close off her chambers and broadcast for us all to ‘please leave’. She never locked her doors, but going against an order was unthinkable. ...or was it simply never thought of? Following that ‘gut feeling’, I pushed the doors to the Queen’s chamber open. I was sure the creaking would have alerted any changeling, but the Queen just kept on pacing back and forth, muttering to herself and sending horrible, asphyxiating feelings into the hive-link. Since she hadn’t noticed me yet, I uttered those two words my gut wanted me to say so much. She looked at me, bewildered, eyes as large as dinner plates. I wasn’t really getting the reaction my gut was expecting, but maybe she didn’t hear me right. I repeated myself. “Thank you,” I said, staring up at her, my body welling up with that wonderful calm that only the Queen’s visage could inspire. That night, something in the Queen changed. Blush gasped for air. She had nearly just drowned in her 'human' memories. Her gut told her—no, her human side told her—that she had to see her reflection. But what was reflective? Ponies had mirrors, but— Water. Her human side knew that water was reflective, and there was just enough light left that she would be able to make out her own face. She still didn’t get why it was so important, but her gut hadn’t failed her before… Desperate for something to distract her from whatever was going on with her mind, she decided to follow her ‘gut’ and raced through the forest, looking for water. With her adrenaline taking over, she noticed the moisture in the air increasing as she moved. It was only a minute before she was face to face with a small lake. She peered down. Staring back up at her was, of course, a changeling. But there was something different about this one. All the other changelings looked nearly identical, save for the difference in hole position or the rare birthmark. However, she possessed a noticeable scratch on her face, right over her cheekbones. It looked like she was blushing. Everything fell into place. She knew why Chrysalis reacted like she did. She could see why she received more love than any of the other changelings. She understood why Chrysalis gave her the name Blush and why her Queen started hunting sapient species. She knew why she remembered being a changeling while none of the other bugs to wake up remembered anything. It was because she nearly got her face clawed off, and because the scar was small enough and in the right position to give her a perpetual 'blush', it made her look cute. The meaninglessness of her life as a changeling caught up with her. She wasn’t special. She wasn’t better than any other changeling. In fact, she was probably worse if she got so close to death without realizing it. There was no righteousness or divine fairness to it. It was all just… coincidence. She started chuckling. Everything was wrong. All the victories she thought she had won, all the things she thought she had changed for the better, it all felt… stupid. It felt so incredibly stupid. She started laughing. She was such a dummy, thinking herself so great for her facial lacerations. Oh, Chrysalis, it was so embarrassing. Hopefully none of the other hive members would remember her and how she took to acting all holier than thou around them. She could have been described well as the alpha female. Oh great hivemind, now she was thinking about herself with terms usually reserved for dogs. This was just too embarrassing. Could she really have based her entire worldview on some silly misunderstanding? She was starting to feel sick. This wasn’t funny anymore. This had moved beyond a personal mistake that could be overlooked. Her entire life had been a lie! She screamed. She went berserk, pounding the ground and hoping something would break. She remembered the Queen could do the same thing that unicorns did, so she concentrated on her horn and threw her magic out at full force, blasting apart earth and vaporizing trees. She laughed as her magic drained itself to dangerously low levels, watching as heaven and earth tore themselves apart around her. In the following hours, she was vaguely aware of that Tool guy staying near her immobile body, protecting her. On the hive-link, she picked up something about gathering anyone that didn’t feel up for a night shift. One of the warriors would stay back and protect the new home, while Chrysalis and the other warrior would fight off an unknown enemy. Darn. If only she hadn’t drained her magic. Then she’d be able to fight alongside her Queen. Chrysalis moved her wings so fast that she couldn’t tell whether they were up, down, tilted, flared, or sideways. She swore she couldn’t hear anything behind her either. The lack of control was terrifying, but she was rewarded with speed she wouldn’t have dreamed of as she blasted over the forest. Still, she needed to go faster. “This is Chrysalis!” she broadcasted into the hive link. “Something capable of leveling a small town just destroyed part of the forest we’re staying in. It may do so again. Do not go towards the blast. Home in on Andres’ location to find our home, then go there and stay with him. Hiding is our safest bet.” In the hive link, she sounded like she knew what she was doing, but internally, she was terrified. The only creature she knew of that was capable of that kind of destruction was an alicorn, but even then she wasn’t sure. A blast like the one she felt would’ve taken everything that a single alicorn could give. Did that mean there was something so much more powerful than an alicorn in this forest that it could use energy like that casually? She could only hope such a monster didn’t exist. And how had they found her changelings? Sure, they were undisguised in the forest, but it was impossible to see over twenty yards under the tree cover. Perhaps the monster that was hunting her changelings only cared to find a single changeling before blasting them, or perhaps it managed to find a small group. In her mind’s eye, Chrysalis could see her peaceful, resting changelings suddenly vaporized by a powerful magic blast. She let her tears evaporate in the wind as she flapped her wings even harder, feeling another one of those weird explosions around her body. “Chrysalis...” she heard Isaac’s exhausted voice in the hive link, “slow down. I think I see it.” Chrysalis shook the tears from her eyes to get a clear view. There was a crater in the distance, but it was coming up fast. Isaac was right; she needed to slow down. She angled her wings completely against the wind and threw her torso up as well. She winced when she felt flames burn against her entire front. When her entire frame started shaking out of control, she started to fear for the worst. But the maneuver worked. She could see the crater right in front of her, now approaching at a manageable speed. No… No no no no no! It was way too big! Nothing could’ve survived that! What was she even thinking coming over here? She would just be throwing her life away against such a monster. But there was no sight of any monster. In the center, all she could see were the dark figures of two of her changelings. The area was also practically glowing with green changeling magic, not foreign magic. She landed with a boom that threatened to crack her legs, but she shook the dirt off her and started trotting towards the center of the crater. Yes, the magic around her definitely felt like changeling magic, but it was possible there was a monster that could mimic a magical signature. It also seemed like her changelings in the center of the crater were alive, but that couldn’t be right… Isaac, having overshot the crater, doubled back and managed to land next to Chrysalis. Unlike her, he also managed not to make a small crater. “You know...” He huffed. “That… that was suicidal… right?” He tried to catch his breath. His outrage was clear in his voice as he trotted up behind her. “Your wings…” He panted. “they could’ve torn apart...” For some reason, it didn’t seem like he was able to catch his breath. “You could’ve lost control, and then boom, no more Chrysalis.” Chrysalis stopped and turned to stare at Isaac. He was panting heavily, his posture indicated that he was barely able to hold himself up, and his chitin and wings looked like they had burns on them. Yet he looked like he was trying to continue walking as if nothing had happened. She frowned at him. “I believe there’s a phrase, what was it? Oh, isn’t it ‘the pot calling the kettle black’?” Isaac looked down at his body, noticed the burns, and shrugged. “I’m more worried about you crashing—” Suddenly, he clutched his chest. “Urgh.” He threw up a half digested fish. “Wonderful.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. Isaac stepped around the fish puddle and continued his way towards the center of the crater. “Sorry, that happens sometimes. You, on the other hand, should have doubled back like I did. I could see you nearly losing control. I’m surprised you didn’t crash.” He started panting again. Chrysalis knew he was right, but at the moment she was more concerned about him keeling over as he trudged on. She decided she had seen enough. “Okay, you’re being ridiculous.” She flared her horn and levitated Isaac onto her back. Now she could walk towards the center of the crater with some peace of mind. Isaac tried to push himself off her a few times, but his struggles were nothing a few gentle nudges of magic couldn’t fix. It didn’t stop her knees from aching or the dust from getting in her eyes though. After a few steps, they could both clearly see the changelings in the center of the crater. They were completely unharmed. “What the...” Isaac panted. Chrysalis jogged forward, closing the remaining distance. One of her bugs was standing over the other, crouched in a protective stance. When Chrysalis was a couple feet away, it finally noticed her. “Huh?” It spoke in a panicked version of Mii Tool’s voice and turned its head. “Who are you?” “It’s me,” Chrysalis stated. “Oh.” Mii Tool visibly loosened. Chrysalis could feel his tension fall into relief and exhaustion before it switched back to panic. “I don’t know what happened!” He said hurriedly. “I thought I saw her before, maybe I could’ve got to her before this! I don’t know what could’ve caused this! Do forests randomly explode in this world?” Chrysalis raised her hoof. “Calm down. You did well to guard her in case whatever did this came back.” She turned and looked up and down at the body of the changeling in the center of the crater, trying to figure out what happened. Her breath caught and her eyes widened when she noticed the changeling was still breathing. After an attack like that, it was merely unconscious? A few other things caught her attention as well. On the changeling’s face was an old scar above the cheekbones, meaning that this changeling was the adorable Blush. There weren’t any other cuts or burns on Blush’s body though. The only thing that looked damaged was her changeling’s bright red, smoking horn. She scrunched her face. That couldn’t be right, could it? Her favorite changeling wouldn’t just randomly blast away part of the forest, would she? No, there was probably some powerful monster Chrysalis had missed that could mask its magic. She would just have to remember to ask Blush about it once she woke up. But there was something even more worrying about the situation. With a blast as powerful as that one, she was certain the rest of Equestria knew where she and her changelings were now. She’d have to get her act together sooner rather than later. Did she really have to worry though? If every single one of her changelings had this much power inside them, couldn’t they simply overpower their enemies? ...No, a fight was won with more than just power. If every changeling threw their magic out everywhere like this, an alicorn could wait until they exhausted themselves. Isaac didn’t enjoy being treated like an infant, being carried on Chrysalis’ back. But after his struggling failed, he started thinking rationally and warmed up to the idea that she was just trying to help him, which meant she cared about him. He eventually let himself get some rest since it didn’t seem like he was going to be able to escape his perch on her back. After a few seconds of shuteye, he woke up to find Chrysalis staring down at an unconscious changeling in the center of the crater. She seemed to be ruminating on something, so he swung his back hooves over and crawled off her back. She continued ruminating, so he walked up to get a closer look at the unconscious changeling. It had a scratch above its cheekbones that, to him at least, made it look kind of cute. Suddenly, Chrysalis made a series of loud, guttural hacking sounds before projectile vomiting something green onto the unconscious changeling’s face. It turned out she was ruminating on something completely different. “Whoa!” Isaac screamed, backpedaling. “What the fuck!?” Chrysalis turned to look at him. He could see more than a hint of amusement in her eyes as she massaged her green blobs onto the changeling’s horn. “What?” She asked with faux innocence. “You act like you’ve never seen changeling medicine before.” Isaac calmed himself and trotted back to the group. “Uh, no,” he said. “I haven’t seen… that… before. Could you at least give me a heads up next time?” Chrysalis’ only answer was a devious smirk. Isaac rolled his eyes and huffed in frustration. He needed to start being more wary of her sense of humor. Meanwhile, Mii Tool was curiously prodding at the green goo on the changeling’s horn. “Interesting...” “Hey!” Chrysalis grabbed Mii Tool and pulled him back. “No disturbing the patients!” She dropped him and finished up Blush’s horn casting. “We have to get back soon. Every being in the world knows we’re here now.” Without a word, Isaac nodded and trotted over to the unconscious changeling. He picked her up and deposited her onto his back before crouching for take off. Chrysalis turned and stared at Isaac like he had grown a second head. “Nnnno. No. What are you doing?” Isaac blinked. “You said we needed to get back, and we have someone who can’t move, so I’m carrying her.” He relaxed his body now that it no longer looked like he needed to take off, but his weariness made him stumble. “Ah huh.” Chrysalis said, clearly not impressed. “We have two changelings that can’t move.” She lit her horn once again, enveloping Isaac and the unconscious changeling in a green glow. “Mii Tool, you’ll be carrying Isaac on the way back. I’ll be carrying Blush.” Both changelings levitated to their respective carriers. “I don’t know if I can carry him,” Mii Tool protested, “I barely know how to fly.” Chrysalis frowned as she pulled Blush’s forehooves over her neck and secured them with her own hoof. It was still frustrating that one of her changelings suddenly didn’t know how to fly. But maybe she should look at it from another perspective. Maybe she’d be able to teach her changelings about how great it was to be a changeling all over again. She smiled. “Well, it’s a good thing I have the free time for some lessons. Let’s just make it over the tree cover first.” She took off, wincing every time she flapped her wings. She made sure to slow down for Mii Tool despite the growing danger. After some hesitation, Mii Tool followed. Surprisingly, Isaac’s added weight barely hindered his ability to fly. Meanwhile, near  the outskirts of Ponyville, Fluttershy calmly sipped her tea. She kept the liquid in her mouth for a while, trying to figure out the strange taste. It seemed like it was a combination of broccoli and cilantro. A strange combination to be sure, but Discord was all about strange, chaotic combinations. Said draconequus was sitting across from Fluttershy’s picnic blanket, and he smiled when a pigeon fluttered down onto his eagle claw. Once it landed, it immediately burst into flames. Fluttershy gasped. “Discord! Wh— Whyyyyyy!?” She dropped her tea. Discord stared at the pile of ash next to him. “Oh, you thought that—” he giggled. “Oh no, you don’t have to worry about old pidgey here.” He patted the ash. ”He always wanted to be a phoenix. I simply granted him his wish.” Fluttershy squinted at him. As far as she could tell, he usually meant well, but he could be hard to trust sometimes. But her doubts subsided when a small flame sprang out of the ash. A baby phoenix hen stood up, ruffling her feathers. Fluttershy smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’ve found a way to use chaos magic to make others happy. Maybe chaos and harmony can actually help each other!” Her smile grew at the thought. She looked up from the phoenix to Discord, but frowned when she realized he wasn’t paying attention. “Whoaoaaahoaao...” He wiggled. It looked like a powerful wave was passing through his body. “What the?” He turned and looked to the forest. “That’s… that can’t be possible.” “Discord?” Fluttershy stepped forward. “What can’t be possible?” Discord turned back to Fluttershy, scratching his head. “It felt as if another alicorn popped up in the middle of the forest, but that can’t be right.” He turned back to the forest. Fluttershy tilted her head. Suddenly, Discord’s eyes widened. He could’ve sworn he felt this energy before. He scratched his chin. “It’s either an alicorn or a young changeling.” Fluttershy tensed. “A young changeling?” She almost gasped when she remembered Cadence’s wedding, but then the image of a cute changeling foal wandering through the forest with a wooden sword calmed her down. Then she remembered the other creatures in the Everfree. “Oh, I hope it’s okay.” She looked up at her chaotic friend. “Discord, can you make sure they’re okay?” Discord turned back from the forest. “I— what? Why?” Fluttershy looked up at him with pleading eyes. Discord cringed. He tried to look away, but Fluttershy’s puppy dog eyes were too much for him. “Fine.” He slumped. “I’ll check if the changeling is okay.” He huffed and, after a moment of hesitation, snapped his claws. Fluttershy bent down to take one last sip of her mostly spilled tea. She could pick up her picnic afterwards. But before she could finish the tea, Twilight came galloping over. “Fluttershy,” Twilight yelled, “have you seen Discord?” Fluttershy looked up. “Oh, I’m sorry, you just missed him.” “Ugh.” Twilight stamped her hooves in frustration. “The map is calling for Discord. Where did he go?” Fluttershy pointed her hoof to the forest. Twilight followed the hoof. “Oh.“ She whipped her head back. ”Can you get him to come back? I wouldn’t want Pinkie and Spike to go into the Everfree alone.” Fluttershy nodded. She cupped her hooves around her muzzle and yelled, “Discooord!” The draconequus came back in a familiar flash of light. “Something capable of leveling a small town just destroyed a good part of the forest, and it may do so again. Do not go towards the blast. Home in on Andres’ location to find our home, then go there and stay with him. Hiding is our safest bet.” Andres replayed the message in his head as he stared at the large group of changelings laid out in front of him. They occasionally twitched or turned, but no one seemed intent on waking up yet. He went back to his own thoughts. In this new hell, alternate dimension, or whatever it was, there were beings capable of leveling towns. That didn’t bode well for him. Perhaps it would be a good idea to ignore his annoyance with Chrysalis until after those threats were dealt with. Though, that would still leave her in charge, and he wasn’t sure she was up to the task. Unlike his last boss back in Mexico, Chrysalis was too soft. She seemed like the type that would lose a battle just because they were afraid of hurting their opponent. It was obvious in the way she handled him so carefully when she fought him, making sure to avoid throwing him into anything and just throwing him into the distance. Then, instead of really punishing him for acting against her, she let him go out of sympathy. She was far too soft. If Andres was going to live past the next two weeks, he needed to take over. One of the changelings in front of him yawned and another tried to prop itself up. It looked like they were finally starting to wake up.