Maze ran giggling across the rooftops straight toward the harbor. She spotted several ships exchanging fire in the bay, four of them with black flags adorned with Jolly Rogers. It seemed that they hadn’t made land fall yet and that the explosions and fires where caused by their exchange of fire with the guard ships and harbor guns.

Maze braced on the last building and vaulted clear over the water, a resounding crack filling the air as the deck buckled on her landing. The pirates leaped back, shocked at the audacity as Maze rose flourishing her blade

“Aye and A Vast Ye Scurvy Cyber Dogs! Shut Yer Scoppers and Bare Your Steel! Ye Be Dealing with a Ninja Now!” Maze delivered in an exaggerated pirate accent, the actual pirates staring on stunned and thinking the woman mad.

“Don’t jus' stand there ya id-jits! KILL ‘ER!” A young pegasus commanded from above, her in a long coat ripping in the air. The pirates charged, relieved of their stupor. It was an impressive mix of races; griffons, ponies, diamond dogs, zebra and even some minotaur.

“If there’s one thing to be said about pirates, you certainly don’t discriminate!” Maze touted as she parried another saber, relieving its wielder of his consciousness with the back of her blade. The commanding pegasus dive bombed her in response, their blades sparking as they met.

“What’s a’matta ninja girl? ‘Fraid of kill’n?” The mare taunted, the blades grinding against one another

“You have no idea who you’re talking to do you?” Maze bantered “But no, not afraid; I just don’t like too.”

“Well we do, right Spigot?” The mare jumped back as a minotaur grabbed Maze from behind in a bear hug, locking her arms to her sides as he tried squeezing her like an orange “You ever hear somepony slowly crushed? Sounds just like bubble wrap.”

“Sort of I guess, but it’s not the closest thing I’ve heard” Maze commented casually, a pair a black arms appeared on the anchors her tentacles usually sat; a red hot, HF chainsaw in their grasp and headed back at the hugger.

‘Thank you Lyra!’

The minotaur quickly dropped her and leapt back from the saw's spinning teeth, only to receive a back kick that sent him crashing into the mast. The pirates scowled and readied another charge when their opponents extra arms were suddenly replaced with four metal tentacles, a revving chainsaw at the end of each to match the two now in each her hands.

“RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!” Maze screamed and spun across the ship, pirates panicking as they fled the whirling blender of ripping death. Maze was actually being particularly careful to not kill them, despite the appearances; sure a few cybernetic limbs were lost but pirates lose limbs all the time, right? The ship on the other hand, well that wood was already dead.

“Alright ya id-jits! We bought the Cap’n enough time! Git mov'n!” the pegasus shouted as the pirates began taking off in what seemed to be rocket propelled lifeboats, abandoning the now half destroyed ship. They leapt to the sands the instant the small but fast crafts met the shore, charging the now much worse off city. Maze looked over the railing to see four more ships crashed straight though the docks and into the harbor as well.

“What the hell?! They were outnumbered a least three to one, how could they have broken through?!” Maze asked herself, only then realizing the truth. One of the ‘docked’ ships had royal guard markings but pirates at the helm, and some of the remaining guard ships in the water were still exchanging fire on each other. These pirates were a lot more cunning than Maze had expected.

A quick slice later and Maze was running up the falling mast, once again launching herself over the water towards the way she came. A glint of light and a whistling sound the only warning as a cannon ball flew right at her. She raised the tentacles in defense but was still thrown hard to the ground, short of her goal.

She landed ungracefully between a group of fleeing ponies and the trio of diamond dogs pursuing them. The dogs fell before they even got a shot off, but the sounds surrounding her told of how short sighted she’d been. She looked down to see three of her four tentacles laying limp and mangled, she dismissed them in a flurry of particles until they could be repaired later.

“Maisie” A synthetic voice calmly addressed her from above, Wolf leaping down to meet her “The others are a few blocks over, follow me.”

Wolf led Maze to a small barricade set up against a short, gated wall of the large courtyard in front of the town’s clock tower, the group along with a few citizens holding off the waves of pirates from both sides as best they could.

“Really wishing we hadn’t left the wagon at the edge of town, those guns would be really helpful right about now” Lyra lamented, firing another plasma rail to suppress a cluster of pirates behind the courtyard debris.

“So nice of you to join us!” Crystal spat at Maze after deflecting a burst of shots with her metal appendages, a stream of blood trickling down her face. She tossed Maze a rifle as Wolf moved to perimeter defense when a loud, deep voice rang out over the city from the clock tower.

“THERE BE RUMORS ABOUND THAT THE BLOODLETTER ‘ERSELF HAS RETURNED FROM THE LAND OF THE DEAD AND WAS ‘EADED NORTH! NOW CAPTAIN IRON JAW AIN’T USE'LY ONE FER ‘ERESAY-” a large minotaur boomed from the top of the tower, wearing the longest coat, the biggest hat and a jagged, metal plate welded to his jaw. He hefted a bloodied guard mare by her head with a massive metal arm ending in huge, serrated claws.

“BUT THIS LITTLE POPPET WENT AN’ CONFIRMED IT! SO COME ON OUT MONSTER OF THE SYNTHIC WARS! LET’S ‘AVE A LOOK AT’CHA!” he yelled tossing the guard to the side as he scanned the city, not realizing his prey was just below him at the edge of the courtyard.

‘What the hell?! This was all just to get to me?!’ Maze thought as the minotaur ran from railing to railing, looking for her. Her thoughts and the defenders' attentions were quickly diverted however as the pirates mounted another charge on their position. Trixie’s shield repelled them well enough for the rest to be driven off, but it ate enough time for the pirate captain to grow impatient.

“WELL ALRIGHT THEN BOYS, GUESS WE’LL JUSS ‘AVE TA FLUSH ‘ER OUT!” He called as several large orbs of cackling energy flared to life over the city. Before anyone could react they blossomed out, expanding and overlapping over the entire city in seconds.

Maze felt as the waves hit them and the disorienting tingle coursing through her. She felt some of her systems shutdown and others malfunction but they were already recovering much quicker than before; Crystal’s upgrades were doing their job. It was a short lived relief as the realization hit her, a single thought dominating her mind:

‘TRIXIE!’

Maze managed to catch the unicorn just as her knees gave out, the mare panting and clutching at her chest. Somehow she was managing to remain conscious, in fact she almost seemed to be having small seizures. Maze hit her enhanced vision and saw things were much worse than she feared; the synthetic heart hadn’t shut down but was instead malfunctioning with a vengeance. It was randomly slowing, stopping and speeding up all while sending out jolts of errant electricity, sending the mare into a fit with each one.

“Maze, what’s happening?!” Lyra shouted as she knelt next to Trixie, searching for a cause of the showmare’s pain.

“She has a prosthetic heart, it’s malfunctioning from the pulses” Maze quickly told the engineer “She’s basically being electrocuted while having multiple heart attacks! So yeah, bad things!”

“Why the hell didn’t she tell us when we were shielding our systems!?” Crystal yelled between bursts of gun fire.

“I could… couldn’t… shame...” Trixie panted between breaths and spasms before they seem to edge off and she started trailing off, her eyelids drooping “Makers, I’m gonna die a failure, a boastful con-mare… couldn’t even… prove my…”

Trixie quickly lost consciousness, her implant having finally shut down as Lyra started trying to resuscitate her.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen” Maze muttered looking around; only fire, pain and death meeting her eyes. The city was a blaze, a sickly orange illuminated the bloody streets under dark skies as cries and gun fire echoed from all around “It’s not supposed to be like this here…”

‘This is Equestria! Ponies and Harmony! Not THIS!’ Maze thought, realizing just how asinie it was before she even finished thinking it.

“THEY’RE PIRATES MAZE!” Crystal shouted at her while Lyra continued pumping against Trixie’s chest “WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU EXPECTING TO HAPPEN?!”

What was she expecting? Swashbuckling good fun? A hot wave of shame coursed through her, she should have known better. She DID know better and ignored it; running off to play and mess around while her friends were fighting for their lives. She’d seen war here already, why couldn’t she just-

“WHAT DI’YA THINK OF THAT BLOODLETTER?!” the pirate captain bellowed before cackling manically, fully enjoying the suffering his crew had wrought.

Maze’s head snapped up; a red glinted gaze locked on the laughing sadist and the cause of Trixie’s pain. The only other one she could blame besides herself.

“Take care of her” Maze told the others simply, rising from her crouch.

So everyone wanted her to be the villain again? The demon that haunts their nightmares? The Bloodletter?

‘They all want to meet the monster so much?’ she thought grimly ‘Then let them.’

She didn’t even notice when the music began to play

Maze stalked straight out of the protective barrier, ignoring the calls from her allies as a red haze began to envelop her. She didn’t even bother drawing her sword; a cold, almost passive glare on her features as she moved toward the closest target. A zebra hefted his large rifle and leveled it at the stupid changeling looking girl walking toward him, aiming for her center mass.

The round punched clean through Maze’s chest, she didn’t even flinch.

The zebra blanched as the cyborg was suddenly on him in a violet flash, wrenching his gun up right under his chin. The shot rang out as a fine red mist sprayed into the air, the rest of the pirates immediately recognizing the new threat. Maze watch almost passively at a now charging minotaur, her expression unwavering as he swung his huge war hammer at her.

“Spigot, wasn’t it?” Maze asked calmly as her rolled over the hammer, using its momentum to add weight to her swinging leg. The minotaur choked as the tip of her boot dug into his throat with a disturbing crunch. A cruel gurgling sound issued forth as he struggled to breathe. He fell the ground as he clawed at his neck in vain, already drowning.

A sudden blade pierced right through her shoulder to her back as a griffon dive-bombed his prey, laughing as he looked to her face to see her pain. What met his eyes however was merely Maze staring coldly back, no concern or even recognition of the injury shown as the flyer’s blood ran cold. A hand wrapped around his face and he suddenly found himself looking up with massive pain shooting from the back of his head.

Maze looked down as the griffon's head cracked the cement, his eyes wide and strained at the impact. With a quick flex her hand was flat against the pavement and the eyes were to be seen never again.

She stood, flicking the remains off her hand as a chimera swung a vicious arc at her with a meteor hammer. The head of the weapon stopped and the multi-headed beast jerked forward, the chain finding itself around the two upper heads.

A pair of cracks echoed across the courtyard as the chain tightened and then slacked as the two heads slammed against each other. Maze let the beast fall behind her, ignoring the desperate cries of the snake headed tail trapped beneath its deceased siblings. Maze reached the doors as a challenging scream issued out behind her.

“YOU BITCH!” the long coated Pegasus arced into an attack at the cyborg. Maze lazily side stepped and let the mare’s own momentum slam her into the door. The pegasus began to push away but was shoved back into it, her face grinding against the wood. Her struggles immediately ceased as she felt a steel grip upon one of her wings.

“You know what sounds even more like bubble wrap?” Maze asked to the mare, the snaps and pops audible even over the bloodcurdling scream that followed. The pegasus dropped like a stone, cradling the twisted limb as tears streamed down her face.

Captain Iron Jaw looked down in awe as his top lieutenants were felled in mere moments by the unarmed woman, his diamond dog first mate slowly backing away from the railing in fear. A sharp flash of light strobed behind him and he rounded to see the dog lifted into the air by a metal tendril, it pincers clamped around his head and face. The sickening crunch that followed made even the sadistic captain flinch, his first mate's body landing in a heap as the tentacle vanished.

“Bloodletter Maisie, tha Dread Caller…” The large minotaur started, taking a step forward as he stood tall, a good two heads taller than the cold eyed cyborg encased in a red aura “Ta think I’d ever get ta meet you...”

Maze remained silent as she looked about the tower. A pair of bloodied and abused guard mares sat huddled in the corner, clinging to each other as they wept; their male counterparts lay dead about the open space. She looked past the minotaur to the burning city, the peaceful city turned hellish landscape in less than a day. Her eyes snapped to pirate as he began talking again.

“Ta think of da infamy ta be had when I mount yer head upon me ship! Now com’ON BLOODLETTER!” he challenged, brandashing a long, electrified whip as the servos whirred in his giant mechanical claw “LET US SEE WHO HISTORY WILL REMEMBER AFTER THIS DA-”

*BANG*

The pirate paused, confused as he looked down to see a small hole in his chest just above his heart before looking back up at the cyborg. Maze stared back holding Johnny’s gun covered in the same red aura surrounding her, a seething scowl on her face behind the sights.

“W.. Wha-”

*BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG**BANG*

Showers of red blossomed forth from the pirate's chest as the shots rang out, forcing him back as the rounds hammered into him. A look of disbelief dominated his features; the rounds shouldn’t even have scratched his dermal armor, let alone punch straight through. He fell against the railing, looking up at his foe with a pleading expression.

“No, I can’t… It can’t end like this… we… WE WERE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT!” He cried clutching at the ragged wound, his cybernetics the only thing keeping him alive and from going into shock.

“You show your opponents no respect and you will receive none” Maze replied simply, the icy words hanging in the fiery air. She walked up to the fallen villain, looking past through the railing to her companions. Wolf and Crystal still holding the line as Lyra continued CPR to keep Trixie with them.

“Look at her…” Maze told him to only be ignored. She lashed out, grabbing the minotaur’s horn and smashing his face into the metal bars “LOOK AT HER!”

The minotaur grunted painfully, blood seeping between his fingers from the sudden movement. Maze leaned in as the pirate looked on, whispering into his ear

“Do you know what the only difference between you and her is right now?” Maze asked, her calm hate chilling the captain to the core “No one's going to try to save you.”

Maze dropped the horn and walked away, disregarding her fallen foe as she left him to reflect on his failure, slowly bleeding out.

There was no celebration, no banter or joke, no victory in that moment. Maze sighed, the anger rolling over her, unsatisfied but no longer fed.

Another violet flash and Maze was gone.

The world faded in and out, blurry shapes and distorted sounds coming and going for brief moments of consciousness. She could feel a close heat contrasting with the chill on her back and a painful thrusting repeating against her chest. A pair of lips were suddenly on hers, air being forced into her lungs then more pumping.

‘I’ve had better kisses, but none as appreciated’ a thought wisped past before the world faded again.

The world blurred back, out of focus. She could smell antiseptic and squinted through bright, humming lights as strong arms now held her. She could just barely make out a large, multi-limbed shape holding a vaguely pony shape at the end of the long bendy shape.

“THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T ADMIT HER! SHE’S DYING!” she heard a female shout from what sounded much further away than it should, the voice echoing through her head.

‘Crystal? No it can’t be, she’s too much of a bitch to care about me…’ another thought drifted around her mind as she heard the whir of a chainsaw.

“You will save her or no one will be able to save you” She heard someone say coldly over the loud, weaponized tool.

“And she would still die! I’m sorry but she’s hardly the only one hurt! You may have noticed the whole pirate invasion thing going on!” a voice shouted back.

The was a loud crash of wood followed by a groan, followed by the familiar shouts of ‘Stop there!’ and ‘Seize them!’

‘I know those sounds well enough’ she drifted back into the darkness again.

She was then being shaken and jostled as she was being carried by someone running. The strong arms still held her but now it was dark, a blurry moon behind the head of the one carrying her with a face she couldn’t see through the hazy, double sight of her vision despite her best efforts.

She could hear waves though, and the rapid crunching sand being run upon. She relished the gentle mist she could feel on her skin, and light smell of the ocean.

‘This is nice, except for the bumpy ride this wouldn’t be such a terrible way to d-’

“Hold on Trix, hold on! Don’t you dare go gently into that good night!” She could hear Maze pant quietly above her, her face now much more clear. She didn’t seem to notice she was awake though. Trixie looked at the human’s brown and green eyes, a look of angry desperation held within as she stared ahead and redoubled her pace.

Trixie suddenly felt angry as well, a rage she couldn’t explain that boiled as the darkness tried to retake her. She still lost consciousness again, her mind screaming against the fading moon.

“HOLY SUN BUTT!” Lyra fell back out of her chair in surprise, the blue unicorn suddenly jolting up from the bed with a giant gasp of air.

“Wh-What!? WHERE AM I?!” Trixie demanded, scanning the room for threats and recoiling at the monstrosity in the corner staring at her. The sheet clutched in a death grip as she slid back on the bed.

“Trixie calm down!” Lyra jumped up between the two, her hands extending toward the magician in a calming gesture “You’re safe; safe and happily still alive.”

The showmare glanced cautiously between the engineer and the slimy thing. It walked on two legs and held a clip board in a pair of webbed hands poking out of a long white coat, and while the torso appeared vaguely pony-ish, the similarities ended there. A think, long and finned tail dragged along the ground as an equally thick neck swiveled and contorted, a round whiskered mouth hanging slightly open at its end.

“Ohhhh-HOHO!” The thing spoke in a flanged voice, a jolly mirth that was matched in small dark eyes could still be heard under a slightly gargled delivery “The treatment seemed to work! Very good! And here I was worried we couldn’t adapt it to work for a pony!”

“Trixie, this is Dr. Inidae, a changeling of the Hagfish hive” Lyra explained in a soothing voice with which one might address a child “He’s been helping us treat you.”

“And what a treatment it has been! A malfunctioning cardiac prosthetic reprogramed remotely while stimulated directly!? Hooo, I really don’t get to work with enough cybernetics! They’re just so… so… singularly shaped!” The excitable slug monster rambled “Oh and Lyra, we prefer to be called the Myxini hive, much less… mucky sounding.”

“Sorry” Lyra apologized with a small shrug.

“Not at all my dear, I know how hard some titles can be to lose” He dismissed, moving toward the door “I am sure the others of you group would like to know you’re awake, I will go alert them of the good news.”

Trixie watched as the excitable doctor exited, finally letting the tension leave her shoulders to look around the room properly. It seemed to be an almost entirely metal room, the white paint hiding the fact at first glance. It had tiled and slightly slick looking floors, and over all looked surprisingly clean, not what she would have expected from a changeling hive. Medical equipment and a few other beds the only other things to see except-

“It is a significant relief so see you once more conscious, Miss Trixie” Wolf delivered in his usual monotone.

“Thanks, it’s good to be conscious again” Trixie admitted, a little embarrassed she didn’t notice the large black and metal wolf in the bright room. Then again, her doctor kind of dominated her attention quite easily. She reached for a nearby glass of water, impossibly thirsty “How long have I been out?”

“Approximately fifty six hours” Wolf answered. That would explain the thirst and her suddenly ravenous hunger, that could wait a few moments longer though.

“So what’s happened? How did we end up here?”

“Well, Maze… defeated the pirate captain and they quickly lost their moxie after that, retreating back to their ships. We tried to get you to the hospital but there were some… obstacles that prevented that. I tried some quick and sloppy nano modifications and I got lucky; managing to buy you a little more time. Crystal then dragged us toward the harbor and set us running along the beach, hoping she could convince the changelings to help. The queen wasn't exactly jumping at the chance but Maze managed to turn her around with a... meaningful gesture...” Lyra explained before trailing off.

“How?”

“She asked” Wolf said simply before Lyra elaborated, retelling the tale.

“We simply cannot let you pass based on the mere fact you are a changeling, you’re not even supposed to know about this entrance cousin!” a human like face answered from beneath the half helmet as his shark headed partner growled at the group. Maze was about to speak up, completely unconcerned with the guards aggressive stance and rows of razor sharp teeth, when Cyrstal stepped between them and pulled something from her bag.

“By the royal caste of the Apis hive, I demand an audience with your queen!” Crystal commanded in a tone with shocking authority, displaying a hexagonal sigil covered in changeling symbols and writing. The guards immediately stood at attention, the passageway opening as another pair inside motioned for them to follow. Cyrstal took the lead with Lyra continuously monitoring Trixie’s condition as Maze still carried her and Wolf took up the rear.

“Just how far up in the castes are you?” Lyra asked tentatively, earning a sharp glare from the burgundy haired changeling “Right, priorities.”

They were led to a large cavern adorn with banners, rugs and statues; various shades of blue and green dominating their pallet. At the back of the chamber was a raised section home to a number comfortable looking chairs, chief among them a surprisingly simple and empty throne.

A clang reverberated through the stone cavern as a door behind the throne opened and a tall, attractive but very stoic looking changeling exited, flanked by a quartet of guards. She, like what Maze understood was common for the upper castes, had a human like face. Almond shaped eyes were surrounded by skin with an unusual, sub-dermal pattern that gave the illusion of subtle scales. Even the colorful tresses hanging draped around her horn were more like a fighting fish’s weaving tail than strands of hair. She was wearing a long, modest nightgown, only a few symbols of status and a very tired and irritated frown. When she spoke it was even and calm, with little inflection despite her implied irritation.

“Siss-prea Crystal, you dare to call an audience at this hour, demanding aid and bringing outsiders into this hive as if it were your own?” the queen asked of the ‘Siss-prea’ Crystal, whatever the hell that meant “You’ve got some nerve girl.”

“My apologies Queen Nagisa, I would not have been so impertinent if the situation were not so dire” Crystal addressed the changeling queen with a diplomatic tone Maze didn’t know she was capable off “One of my companions in the investigation of our people's exploitation is-”

“I can see the pony is hurt Siss-prea, but I can also see that her survival would do us no benefit despite her role in your mission. I see no reason to-” The queen began before a furious voice snarled an interruption.

“How about the benefit of not becoming bloody chunks of sushi in the most painful manner I can think of?!” Maze snapped, quickly growing tired of the political bullshit, Trixie needed help now and Maze going to get it for her or die trying.

“Ah yes, the Bloodletter. Another infraction against us to bring her here” the queen stated, unintimidated “We know of you 'monster of the synthetic wars', and while you could possibly end a good fraction of our hive it would gain you little beyond death and the still ultimate demise of the unicorn.”

“Then at least she wouldn’t be going alone” Maze countered, calling the queen's bluff. At least, she was hoping it was a bluff.

“How do I know you will not simply proceed with that plan anyway? Why would I risk my hive against the princesses than against you? No, you must prove your intent...” The queen stated, stoic as ever. She tilted her chin up to look down her nose at the woman “Bow to me.”

Maze eyes widened as she continued to glare. She didn’t bow, the only exception she would make was after showing off, and that was a performer’s bow; a bow of gratitude. The queen wanted something different, something she had never just given away. She didn't believe in voluntarily forfeiting one's equality.

“She who would not bow to kings, dragons, or even gods. The former servant of the Princesses of the Sun and Moon but who never once kneeled before them…” The queen quoted as she sat upon her throne “Is your little friend’s life worth your pride Dread Call-”

The queen froze, along with the rest of the room as Maze gingerly placed Trixie on Wolf’s waiting back. She walked toward the queen, the guards tensing as her hand neared her blade. The queen’s eye widened further as the weapon clattered against the floor still in its sheath. Broken tentacles were summoned and detached, followed by every other weapon and upgrade she could separate from herself. She even dismissed her tactical suit.

She stopped short of the raised section, standing there unarmed and nearly naked. Even the queen sat shocked to the see the fabled demon of last era's greatest war, the one that could instill fear in even the rulers of ponykind, falling to her knees before her. Maze sat on her heels and fell forward, hands braced as her nose hovered a hairs breadth from the floor.

“Please,” Maze asked, the question muffed by the floor "will you please help her?"

The queen stared on, uncertain of how to feel. She was queen, she was in a position of reverence constantly; but here was a woman that could potentially end her entire hive, begging for her help. Ambivalence barely began to cover it.

“...Very well then.”

Lyra finished the story as the door opened, Crystal walking in holding the magicians signature cape and hat followed closely by the slug headed doctor.

“Well ’Bout time your lazy ass got up” she shot as soon as she saw the magician, though not as menacingly as usual. She tossed the clothes to the magician and sat next Wolf “Maze is still talking to the queen, trying to secure us passage to avoid unwanted attention but smiled pretty big when she heard you were up.”

“Yes, yes; she has made quite the recovery! We may still want to keep an eye on her for a day or two, but I don’t expect anymore problems” the doctor commented as Trixie donned the hat, looking down with the pretense of fiddling with her cape. She was quite grateful for the hats large brim, it was doing well at helping hide the tears threating to escape her eyes. She thought long and hard for a moment before speaking.

“So… Maze said you two were pretty good with this kind of stuff… do you… do you…” Trixie tried to keep her voice from cracking, finally swallowing her pride and continuing “Do you think you could help me with my heart?”

“Of course!” Lyra answered brightly.

“You should have asked us before” Crystal grumbled, earning a disgruntled glance from the aquamarine mare “But yeah, whatever. No problem...”

“OOOO! Do you think I could assist! I do so love to learn more about outsider anatomy, and it’s always helpful to have a second opinion when it comes to nano machines” The doctor exclaimed, earning a competitive scowl from Crystal.

The three began consulting resources and exchanging ideas as Trixie grabbed the edge of the hat and pulled it down to hide herself further.

“Is there something the matter, Miss Trixie?” Wolf inquired as he moved to the side of the bed.

“It just… I don’t know how to react to all this… I keep thinking of something Maze said as she carried me, about gently in to the night” she stated meekly.

“And you, my father, there on the sad height
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light”

“It is an excerpt of a poem from the Earth” the robotic canine explained after the quick recital “It is often used as notable example of the typical human response to try to reject their eventual demise. A foolish, yet often noble sentiment.”

She thought of Maze trying to deny death of her prize and sacrificing her pride for her, of Crystal’s air of cynicism dropping as she threatened the doctor to treat her, of Lyra pushing herself past exhaustion just to keep her going a little longer and of Wolf ensuring their safety so they could keep trying.

A strange feeling coursed through her as she clutched the hat more desperately. A feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long time, since even before she started traveling and performing. With the long forgotten sensation adding on top of nearly dying, the dam finally broke; tears streamed down her face and small sobs escaped her as she finally recognized the emotion. A single thought entered her mind as Wolf lay his head consolingly across her lap.

‘I’m not alone anymore’

Author's Notes:

Okay then, starting to really earn those ‘Dark’, ‘Gore’ and ‘Mature’ tags now aren’t we? I know it’s a bit of a sudden shift in tone but it felt like a good time to give things a bit of a twist. More will be explained about this darker side of Maze soon, so stay tuned. Sorry if it got a little too heavy or sappy at parts, just writing what felt right. And don’t worry, I’m not getting rid of the other tags or anything; this isn’t going to be all super serious all the time from here on out; comedy and action will still be the focus so long as I can help it!

Finally made a blog post, so maybe these author’s notes won’t be so long and rambling anymore- you can check that for bigger updates regarding my stories and such. I warn you though; it’s even more rambling in nature than these have been- proceed with caution.

As always, thank you all for reading and I hope to see you for the next chapter! Have a good one!

Edit: Oh! And to not forget fair credit due, the Hagfish and some later Changeling hives draw some of their inspiration from Siansaar's interesting concepts. Don't worry; I'm not ripping them off outright, but I may of had a lot harder time coming up with some of the themes had I not found his work. So a thank you to him.