Chapter 4: New Endings

"Please make room, ev'rybody!" the Queen's female head yelled.

The crowd split, moving to either side as we trotted in between. Boss was still alive, still bound in chains. I trotted up and into the lit area. I stood there, holding the bucket. I was so focused, I did not even flinch when her head snapped to make way for the male one.

"Guard, what have you done?" he asked my bleeding companion.

"Affection would have stagnated."

"And you stabbed yourself?"

It nodded.

The neck snapped again. "That was not of your concern," the female voice said. The neck snapped. "Redemption, thank you." The male head smiled, blood still dripping from its lips and fangs. I could not tell if he was being sincere.

The one-eyed creature turned and trotted back into the crowd, leaving me with the Queen's male eye staring me down. He looked from me to the bucket and back.

"Put the bucket down."

"I was told it was the only thing keeping me alive."

And crack. "That was then and this is now." Crack. "You need not fear us."

"CARNAL!" Boss screamed from his chains. "DON'T DO THIS! WHATEVER THEY TOLD YOU, DON'T BELIEVE THEM!"

"Quiet, mortal fool!" the Queen hissed at the prisoner. With a snap, the female head turned to me. "You have your own soul, Carnal." Crack. "You choose what you want." He watched my eyes go from one Boss to the other. "Give us the bucket."

I looked toward Boss, who shook his head in fear. I looked back to the Queen, who smiled as they snapped to the female head. They crooked their heads, the left still convulsing, and the female eye looked upon me almost proud that I had come this far.

I smiled back. I moved the bucket to the right and watched her gaze follow it. I threw the bucket to the side, it landed with a loud crash and spilled its glowing contents all over the floor. The Queen had turned her entire head to follow it, leaving her neck at the mercy of the useless male head. I unsheathed one of the blades and moved to stab the neck under the convulsions. Nothing cracked, but I heard her take a breath. Suddenly the male was still and snarling. I dodged his bite at the cost of accuracy; my blade embedded itself into his shoulder. Despite the blade, its large foreleg lifted up in an attempt to crush me. I dodged the stomp, unsheathed the other knife, and found myself underneath the Queen. I shoved the blade as far as it could go into the center of their chest. Blood gushed out from the wound, and the female head screamed.

Hooves grabbed me from behind. Barbarian had escaped his chains and was pulling me to safety. The Queen's shrieks of bloody murder echoed through the complex as Barbarian and I galloped away. The entire mob, still split from before, were frozen in shock. Or so we thought. Just as we reached the daylight, Barbarian screamed as a blade stabbed through his back. The one-eyed monster appeared from behind him, its magic wielding a bloody knife. It scratched its own hoof with the blade, maintaining eye contact with me as a spark landed at my wounded boss's feet. Barbarian burst into a green flame. His screams of agony made me shudder away from the monster. I turned and ran back toward the Hive. I tried to forget what had just happened, but I knew I'd have to report it. I shook off the thought as I left Boss's killer and the other monsters in the dust. I just had to get back to the Hive. My Hive.

I raced across the badlands, my hooves carrying me as fast they could. Of course, I was soon out of breath. All of my limbs ached like never before, even my wings. I looked behind me; the wretched hive was beyond the horizon and the horrors contained therein were a distant story of the past. I looked ahead of me and saw the great tower ahead, bathing in the morning light.

But wasn't it noon when I stabbed the Queen?

I looked behind me again. Nothing was there except the usual sights. It may have taken hours to get here without flight, but I never experienced nighttime. Had the Sun refused to go down? I took a careful step forward. Clouds began to gray the skies, darkening the landscape. My wings lifted me off the ground and to the entrance, despite the aches they felt. I shrugged off the odd weather and celestial bodies; no point in telling Chrysalis what She already knew.

"...No point in telling you what you already know," a scratchy and ominous, yet familiar voice spoke from behind me.

I turned around to find myself still alone. The Moon was up, but not for much longer now. I looked over the shadowy grounds. A pair of guards joined me at the edge, standing on my left and looking down upon the darkness. The one closest to me looked at me with just one of his eyes; he didn't bother turning his head to get a better view. His hoof motioned back toward the inside of the Hive and I realized I was already late to give my report.

Then I saw them in the corner of my eye. I somehow stopped worrying about the Queen. I simply looked into the dark, and the two pairs of blue eyes looked back. No deformities, no blood, and a familiar scent in the air. I turned to the guards, ready to order the pursuers killed, but they were gone. I galloped into the threshold of the Hive and looked for them. No trail. I would have to fight alone. I sighed and readied myself. Dusting myself off, I realized my armor was gone. I never took it off, yet it was not on me. I could feel parts of my body laze into a state of fuzzy, poking spikes. I looked back toward the entrance of the Hive.

It stood there. Eye stabbed and bleeding, the wretch just stood there. My limbs resisted my commands, still asleep. Asleep. I laughed as the monster took its steps toward me.

"You can't kill me!" I chastised. "I'll wake up, and you'll cease to exist!"

The monster hissed, and two twisted fangs appeared from its upper jaw. The closer the fangs got, the more I wished my legs would move. Then I felt its jaws on my throat. The impossible twist of its head and the unmistakable crack of my own neck snapping.

I screamed. The world warped into darkness and then into a bedroom. I was sitting up in my bed and a cold sweat. I felt my neck and found nothing amiss. I looked around and saw the rest of my troop in their beds. Barbarian didn't have the biggest one; the two assassins shared that. I shook and stretched myself awake enough to get out of bed. I trotted leisurely to the entrance of our Hive, happy enough that the nightmare was over.

I looked over the edge of the cliff and saw two changelings stare back at me in the cold moonlight.