Chapter 22: ShyTown (TWs: Violence, a death, blood, mentions of religion/Cultism)[]
Pouchy woke up, his eyes fluttering open joyously as his vision soon settled on the view in front of him. It seemed to be a similar area to the one he had dreamed of prior. Endless halls of purple tinted with black, stretching forward and backward as far as the eyes could see. “What keeps you going?” He heard a disembodied voice say; their voice almost mirrored throughout the cathedral like windows.
Pouchy narrowed his eyes, looking for the direction in which the sound came from. “What would you have when.. You lose everything,” The voice continued. “Having it all be taken away by the person you once trusted so dearly. Your parent. Your creator. Betrayed by the very person who brought you into this world.”
“W-Well, I’d have my friend-” The voice continued off where he started. “Your friends. Right. And what would you have without them? Would you find something to validate your existence, if it not be the people you surround yourself with?” Pouchy coughed for a second, the voice replaying in his head. He suddenly recognized it.
“Y-You..! Why.. Am.. Why am I here again?” Pouchy’s eyes soon fell upon the figure, their appearance drenched in the beautiful purple and gold lights of the cathedral’s windows. They seemed to have small, slimy wings. Torn and battered like an old rug, but underneath the scrapes, looked like angel wings. “Have you not seen it? We are intertwined. As long as you have that Map, you will have me.” Pouchy turned away from the figure, furrowing his brows. “I don’t want to talk to you!”
“You can keep denying it. You can keep running from it. But one day.. You’ll have to face the answer. And not in some disembodied dream.” Pouchy reached his wing over to himself, pinching his face tightly as his eyes suddenly jolted open, leaving him panting in the hotel bed, drenched in sweat from the nightmare. He sat in place for a moment, reflecting on the dream. He opened up his Pouch, pulling out the Map and scanning it desperately with his eyes, as if he was certain it contained a secret he didn’t even know.
He narrowed his eyes, placing his wing across its surface as one rudely prods somebody. “(What aren’t you telling me?!)” He gazed longer at the Map. Suddenly, he heard a drowsy voice say his name. “(U-Um.. Pouchy.. Why’re you whispering to the Map.. exactly? I m-mean, not judging, but..)” Spectacles adjusted his glasses, his eyes nearly entirely closed.
A bead of sweat ran down Pouchy’s fur as he swiftly stuck the Map back into his Pouch, waving his wing around as if nothing had happened. “(Oh, Specks. I think you might’ve not seen correctly.. I was just.. looking at the Map! Only crazy people talk to paper.)” Spectacles stared at Pouchy for a moment, clearly bestowing his drowsy state. “(O-Oh, haha.. Yeah, that m-makes more sense.. Sorry.)”
Spectacles put his glasses on from the shelf beside him shuffling around to sit up in bed. He turned his eyes to Brad’s sleeping and snoring form before they drifted over to Pouchy. “S-So… How’d you sleep? It.. seems a b-bit early outside. E-Even for you..” Pouchy grinned, rubbing his eyes beforehand to get rid of the bags under them. “O-Oh, I slept great! You know me, I’m just an early riser! So what about you?”
“I.. slept pretty good. W-Well.. Mostly. I couldn’t stop thinking about my Sister. Daisy. I w-wonder what she’s up to nowadays.” Pouchy raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his bed. “Daisy? Come to think of it, Specks, you never really have talked about your family..”
Spectacles rubbed the side of his head, nervously. He closed his eyes as he looked down at the bedsheets. “H-Haha.. I guess I haven’t. W-Well I won’t bore you with all the details, but Daisy was the oldest child in our family. A-And I had lots of siblings. S-She was.. Not very nice to me.” He paused, making an unsavory expression with his face, as though sad. “Though.. I always w-wondered how much of it was really.. True. She never d-did let on much about herself. A-And I kind of know why. She liked to be the toughest. S-Some part of me just wants to.. Hope she changed for the better. You k-know?”
“Yeah, I get that, Specks.. Maybe one day we could meet her? A-After our adventure, I mean..” Spectacles rubbed the fur on the side of his head nervously once more. “N-No, I.. I don’t think that’s particularly a group affair. J-Just.. More of a personal matter. I wouldn’t want to rope you two into that thing.”
Pouchy looked at Spectacles. “..Well, okay.. If that makes you more comfortable.” Pouchy looked around the room, still a bit awkward after the Map encounter. “So.. how’s your wing doing?” He gestured his eyes to Spectacles’ bandaged up wing, which was concealed by the covers.
Spectacles pulled his wing out of the sheets with a ruffle, staring at the bandages upon it with a mix of intrigue and worry. “W-Well.. The pain isn’t too bad, I guess.. I m-mean, it’s still there, obviously, but.. Not nearly as much as I expected, so.. T-That’s good. It still is a bit hot t-to the touch, though..” Pouchy smiled, turning back as he placed his wings behind his head, his fur crinkling against the headboard. “Well that’s good! Man, I’ve.. never seen you act like that before. What were you thinking.. When you did that?”
Spectacles coughed lightly, still looking down at the bandage as he spoke. “I d-don’t know.. I felt.. Confident? W-Well, probably not really that.. I just.. Wanted to p-protect you, is all..” Pouchy looked up with stars in his eyes. “Well don't worry, Specks! ‘Cause soon enough, I’ll find a way to protect myself!”
Spectacles turned over to Pouchy, pushing up his glasses as Brad snored against the chair in the background. “..And how, exactly?” Pouchy closed his eyes, waving his wings around confidently. “Well.. I don’t exactly know yet, but.. I’ll figure something out!”
Spectacles giggled. “W-Well you could start by finding us something to eat.. I’ll w-wake Brad up.” Pouchy grinned ecstatically, holding up his wing to gesture a thumbs up. He leaped out of bed in a single bound, leaning against the outside of the door as he peered his head in. “Just one sec, Specks!”
Pouchy flew throughout the hall of the hotel, getting momentarily distracted by the painting adorning the wall like jewelry on a Diamond Bee’s neck. Most of them were random photos of the Badlands, with small captions detailing the photographer. He soon came across something that contrasted the natural feel of the other photos.
Cobalt Bee was in the center frame. And next to him, stood a small Rascal Bee. They seemed to be wearing a suit of armor, excluding their head, that appeared to be far too large for them; hanging off of their fur like a puffy coat. The caption above it read, in big, bold, and blue letters, “Azure Knight. The newfound head of the Sapphire Guard. From cool uniforms, to free food, and all the pictures with Cobalt you can count, we’ve got it all. Join the Sapphire Guard today!” Pouchy whispered the picture’s contents aloud to himself before shaking his head. “(Darn! They’re waiting on you Pouchy, no time to get distracted by silly pictures..)”
He flew throughout the hall once more, swiftly passing the stairs they took on their way in. Pouchy narrowed his eyes as he looked up and down them, placing his wing on his face in contemplation. Suddenly, a Bee came out from behind him, appearing to be wearing a shirt with flowers on it; practically screaming “Tourist”. They looked Pouchy up and down, and then spoke. “You know there’s an elevator, right kid? ‘Case ya’ don’t want to fly down the stairs.” They lifted up their wing, gesturing towards a later point in the hallway with two shining metal doors.
Pouchy’s eyes filled with stars as he flew through the hallway and towards the elevator, his “Thank you, whoever you are!” being muffled by the warbling of his small wings. The bee coughed under their breath. “(Kids can’t even be bothered to fly down the stairs. What is this world coming to? First elevators, then what? Moving stairs? What a joke.)”
Pouchy flew into the elevator, the sleek, golden painted walls encasing around him as his eyes sparkled like glitter. He looked on the wall, his jaw dropping to the floor as he witnessed.. The keypad. “So many numbers..” He said aloud to himself. “..It should be one, right?” He pressed the “1” symbol on the keypad, the elevator’s doors closing as Pouchy sat in place, mesmerized by the experience.
A slow, soft jingle began to play throughout the elevator as it descended to the bottom floor. Pouchy closed his eyes, fully embracing the music. And, just as soon as it had begun, with a whooshing and a gust of crisp morning air, the doors slid open, landing Pouchy in the room he had initially checked into the hotel.
He flew up to the receptionist, dinging the small bell that set atop their desk. They looked down at Pouchy as he bounced atop the floor, a sly grin spread across his face. “Um.. Do you provide breakfast here?” The receptionist’s eyes narrowed at Pouchy. “..Well, yes..? We’re a hotel, it’s kind of the standard to have that stuff. It’s to the right of me.”
Pouchy waved to the receptionist as he flew into the elevator once more, not because of any particular rhyme or reason, but just because he could. And as the doors opened and the air flew against his fur, he swiftly dashed into the hotel room with Spectacles and Brad. “O-Oh, hi again Pouchy.. Um.. What took you so lo-” Pouchy grabbed hold of both Spectacles and Brad, managing to pull them into the elevator.
Brad raised an eyebrow, looking at the interior of the elevator. “..What is this?” Pouchy looked at Brad with an even more confused expression. “You.. don’t know what an elevator is?” Brad shook his head, coughing gruffly.
Pouchy looked at Spectacles, to which he shrugged. “Um, well, uhhhh.. It’s like.. This little magical box that sort of is like a stair. Except it’s way cooler, which is why I chose this instead!” Brad nodded. “Must be some modern crap, I’m guessin’?”
Pouchy nodded, grinning as he pressed the “1” key again. The elevator whirred downwards, opening as the group were once again met with the floor they arrived on. Pouchy grabbed Spectacles’ hand, leading them into the dining room.
The dining room was relatively empty. There were windows on all sides of the room, from which it appeared to be slightly drizzling outside. There was a fireplace against two of the windows, with the final addition of multiple nicely made and assorted chairs. Pouchy swiftly darted over to a table, to which Spectacles and Brad followed.
Spectacles looked at Pouchy. “..H-How do you intend to pay for the food?” Pouchy closed his eyes, smirking slyly. He raised his wing just as the server showed up to their table. They seemed to be straight down to business, contrasting Choco’s eccentric demeanor. “What would you three like.”
“U-Um, I would just like to ask.. How much are the menu items?” The server looked down at the trio. “All purchases are included with the Hotel’s rent money, sir.” Spectacles sighed in relief as Pouchy looked at him with a grin.
The trio looked over the menus, their taste buds watering. Pouchy pointed to an item on the menu. “I’ll have a Sand Pastry, please!” The server nodded, turning their gaze to Spectacles and Brad. “And you two?”
Brad coughed slightly. “Uh.. Just give me a strawberry donut.” Spectacles pointed at his menu, pushing up his glasses. “I-I’ll have a Cacticle, please!” The server nodded, taking up all of their menus and heading into the back room of the hotel’s kitchen.
Spectacles looked at Pouchy. “So.. What’re we gonna do today, anyway?” Pouchy looked down at the Map, scanning over it as he placed his wing upon his fur contemplatively. The map flashed a small green grin and spelled out the words “ShyTown”. “ShyTown?”
Brad coughed. “Sounds interesting. I guess. Hopin’ there won’t be any more of those robots.” He looked visibly angry at the mention of them. As Spectacles held up his wing to talk, he was cut short by somebody in the background.
They were a Brave Bee, and seemed to be relatively old. They wore a large black and yellow sombrero, which shadowed over their face, concealing most of their age. They also seemed to have a decently sized white beard which strung across their face like a cobweb. “You guys goin’ to ShyTown?” Brad swiftly whipped his body around to face the old man. “Hey. Mind your own business.”
Pouchy spun around, looking at the old man. “Brad! He was just asking. Um.. Yes, we’re going to ShyTown! Why do you ask?” Somehow, underneath the shadow of his face, the old man seemed to be worried. “You ain’t ever heard of ShyTown, have ya’? Only crazy people go there.”
“U-Um.. Why, exactly..?” Spectacles asked shyly. The brave bee pulled up a seat next to the three, looking down at the table. “They’re wackos over there. Worship some sorta planter. Talk ‘bout some “Blue Angel”. Real weird stuff. Went there when I was younger. I’m lucky these old bones ‘boutta break ‘cause if they didn’t, I mighta found myself over there again. Can never keep myself out of trouble.”
He lit a cigar with one of his wings, catching the smoke in his palm and dishing it out the other end to keep Pouchy and the others from breathing it in. “Hey, if y’all guys wanna go, all the power to ya’. I’m too old to stop anything. Just lettin’ ya’ know.” Brad lifted up his wings, cracking them as he sighed. “We’ve been through our fair share of dangers.”
“So, eh.. Whatcha think about the weather right now?” He looked onward, gesturing towards the putter pattering rain outside; the window’s droplets casting shadows throughout the warmly lit cafe. “Not too typical for us, that’s for sure.”
Pouchy’s eyes sparkled with joy as he threw up his wings. “It’s AWESOME!!” Brad chuckled gruffly. “Pouchy’s right, the rain is nice.”
Spectacles smiled. “Makes my cast feel b-better. Doesn’t feel as boiling hot, anymore..”
Spectacles pushed up his glasses, moving his bandaged wing around gently. “So, u-um.. how long have you lived here, anyway?” The Old Man put his wing on his beard, running it up and down; the old, spidery fibers rustling under his touch. “Eh, I’ve lost count, eheh! Moved here when I was a youngin. Much like y’all. Back when the world was all cupcakes ‘n sunshine. I suppose that’s what they call ‘Childlike Innocence’, eh?” He coughed for a second, looking at them and looking downwards.
“Ah, right. Y’all wanted a real answer. Let’s see here..” He thought for a moment, moving his hat from side to side atop his head. “I’d go.. maybe about.. eh.. 65 years? Yeah, that seems fair. Time sure does fly fast when you’re entertained, doesn’t it?”
Pouchy looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Um.. how exactly do you entertain yourself around here?” The Old Man laughed, putting his wing on the table as he leaned over to Pouchy. “Well there was entertainment, sure, but it wasn’t exactly fun. When I say entertainment I mean, eh.. things to do! Not fun things, either. But things.”
Brad was dusting off his revolver with some napkins found at the table. He looked up at the Old Man. “..Did you work in the mines?” The Old Man nodded, smirking. “Say, you’re a smart lad, eh? All of us worked in the mines. It was an easy job. To get, I mean. The job..” he made a motion with his wing, sighing outwardly. “Anything but, that’s for sure!”
“Say.. what’re y’all doin’ goin’ to ShyTown, anyway? Why’re y’all here is the bigger question..” Pouchy pulled out the Map, showing it to the Old Man. He looked at it with intrigue. “We’re trying to reunite the Event Bees!”
He paused, looking down and then up again, tilting his hat. “Eh.. Bees? Plural? That beats me, thought there was only Cobalt and Crimson.” Pouchy looked at Spectacles and Brad. They both shrugged. “Well.. yes! There are multiple, and me and my friends are trying to find them all!”
The Waiter suddenly arrived, handing the Cacticle to Spectacles. “The rest of your orders will be soon.” The waiter stated, their monotone voice fading as they disappeared into the kitchen.
Spectacles began eating the Cacticle. Pouchy looked over at him. “How’s it taste, Specks?” Spectacles pushed up his glasses, feeling around in his mouth for a moment. “L-Like fruit? That’s really the only t-thing I can compare it to.. Only more sweet. V-Very sweet.”
The Old Man coughed. “Well I’ll be! Never knew there were more out there. If only I'd known that in my younger years. Maybe I wouldn’t be here, sittin’ in this hotel.” He paused. “You know why Cobalt made this town?”
Pouchy shook his head, his eyes beginning to fill with stars at the mention of a story. “Well, ya’ see, Cobalt used to be a traveling guy. Went to all these other places, scoutin’ out what they had ‘n stuff. One of the places he went to was here.” He breathed in, continuing. “There’s actually an abundance of gold here. Far, far too much to count. That’s why the whole place is filled with mines, eheh!”
He shuffled around in his hat, pulling out a gold coin with a ruffle of his fur. It was the same coin Pouchy and the others had seen before. Gold, with Cobalt’s face imprinted onto them. “See dat? There all made right here! Locally ‘farmed’, eheh!” Pouchy’s eyes sparkled with interest. He lifted up his wing to talk before he was cut off.
Suddenly, the faint sound of a door opening could be heard, as a cold, rain scented breeze blew through the cafe. Pouchy listened intently as he heard a conversation at the front desk, along with the unmistakable metal clang of coins.
Soon enough, a Shy Bee flew through the cafe entrance as the rest of the group watched. “Well what do ya’ know,” the old man said, continuing, “The universe works in humorous ways, ain’t it?” He replied softly, more to himself than to the group.
The Shy Bee sat at a table near the four, leaning their head back. They seemed to be around the size of Brad, and a similar age, too. Their fur was especially prominent, though not in the round puffs that Pouchy and Spectacles had. More akin to that of a cat who had just escaped from a bath. Their fur was drenched with rain, and they wore a small, beige and blue sunhat that covered up their face, as well as a blue scarf, and brown gloves on her wings. Pouchy was jolted out of his trance when the waiter arrived, swiftly handing them all of their plates. They looked at the Old Man, their eyes narrowed. “And will you be having anything?” The Old Man shook his head, looking down at the table.
Pouchy looked at the others. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m really feeling the need to talk to them..” Brad coughed. “..Maybe they have answers? Dunno. We’re in a safe place so I don’t see the harm ‘n asking.”
Pouchy flew over to the Shy Bee, pulling up a chair next to them. “Hi!” He said in a welcoming tone, throwing up his wing in a friendly gesture. The Shy Bee was jolted out of their state at the words. “Oh, hello..”
“What’s your name? Mine’s Pouchy!” The Shy Bee furrowed their eyebrows, but as they looked at Pouchy’s innocent and childlike demeanor, their expression softened. They looked to the side of the table as Pouchy munched on his Sand Pastry. “..It’s Bonett. Why do you ask?”
The group looked onward as Pouchy continued to talk. “W-Well, um.. Me and my friends are heading to a place called.. ShyTown, and.. Since you’re a.. Y’know, we thought you might have some answers?” He looked at her desperately. She frowned for a moment. “First off, rude assuming all Shy Bees come from the same place. And, secondly.. Why are you heading there?”
Pouchy pointed at her, making a determined smirk on his face. “Aha! So you DO know! I was right!-” He paused, coughing slightly as he took another bite of his food. “..Sorry. But.. We’re looking for Cobalt Bee, and.. According to my Map, ShyTown is the next place to go..”
Bonett looked at Pouchy with a confused expression, tilting her head. “I’m sorry.. Map?” Pouchy nodded, taking another bite as he reached into his Pouch, pulling out the Map. “..Hm. Well.. yes. I do know about ShyTown.”
The others listened intently to the conversation, each eating their own treats. “It’s.. not exactly open to new comers.” Pouchy looked down disappointedly as he stuffed the Map back into his Pouch, shoving the rest of the Pastry into his mouth as he talked. “Well darn! So.. any other ways we could possibly get in there?”
“..I really don’t recommend it. They.. aren’t very nice.” Pouchy looked up. “But.. I think you’re nice, so why aren’t you..” He paused, gesturing backwards to the Old Man who waved innocently. “Crazy?”
“..Because I escaped.” Pouchy’s eyes sparkled at the thought of backstory. “Oooh! An escape story?! Do tell!” She sighed, taking off her hat and revealing her face. She had warm eyes; as if they had once belonged to somebody caring. “It’s.. private. And say, why do you even want to find Cobalt anyway? To say hi? Going through ShyTown isn’t exactly a cake walk, you know.”
“Well.. me and my friends are supposed to reunite the Event Bees.. See, one of my friends back home gave me this Map, and..” She nodded, following along. “I see. I remember hearing about someone like you once. It.. didn’t end well for them, to my knowledge.”
“Well we got nothing to fear! I got my friends with me and if we need to, we can kick butt!” Bonett chuckled, amused by the sentiment. “Oh, how I wish I had your confidence. But.. if you truly accept the risks of going into ShyTown.. I can help you.”
Pouchy nodded excitedly, his naivety showing. “Just.. wait until the rain stops, will you? It’s hard to fly in the rain, you know.” Pouchy grinned confidently, striking a pose. “Maybe for you, but not for m-” Pouchy was soon cut off.
Spectacles spoke up from behind him. “U-Um.. What about that time in the Coconut Fiel-” Pouchy looked backwards, a bead of sweat dropping down his fur as he notioned for Spectacles not to talk about that. “So as you can see, I’m perfectly fit to fly in the rain. But, because I am kind, I will wait for it to end for y’all guys’ sake..”
Like clockwork, the pitter patter of the rain began to stop. Everybody looked out of the windows as it seemed to be completely gone. Pouchy grinned smugly. “Well will you look at that! Come on, everyone!” He gestured towards Brad and Spectacles. The Old Man looked at all of them, still holding his cigar. “Good luck you four! You’re gonna need it alright!” He chuckled, his laughter soon turning into coughing.
Brad lifted up Spectacles into Pouchy’s Pouch, so that just his face was sticking out. “And now.. On to ShyTown!” Pouchy exclaimed as he flew swiftly out of the Golden Sands Resort, and back out into the Badlands. Bonett coughed, adjusting her hat as her fur ruffled underneath it. “So, ‘rain flyer’, do you know where to go?”
Pouchy looked backwards, grinning complacently. “Obviously!” He paused as he reached his wing backwards towards his Pouch. Spectacles jumped up slightly, digging through the Pouch as he soon handed Pouchy the Map. Upon receiving it, Pouchy looked at it intently. “Go straight through this town, everybody!”
The group flew swiftly through the town. Pouchy marvelled at the mines and the MineBots working within them. Brad looked upset. Spectacles seemed to be drawing various sketches of the scenery around them. And Bonett remained without talking.
Pouchy stopped midair, looking down at the ground beneath them. The harsh, rugged ground of the Mesa had now given way to a much softer, and brighter, plain of grass. “Um, Bonett.. You aren’t hungry, are you?” Bonett smiled graciously. “I.. Actually would like something to eat. If it isn’t too much trouble, of course.”
Pouchy grinned, waving around his wing. “Of course not!” The group flew down to the ground and sat on the cool grass. The clouds were gone now, and the sky was tinted a beautiful blue; the sunlight reflected on the green vegetation like stained glass. Pouchy gestured towards Spectacles, who handed him the Festive Giftbox. Pouchy opened it up, pushing it towards Bonett and smiling. “Just take whatever you like! There’s plenty to go around!”
Bonett smiled lightly, taking a strawberry and chewing it, afterwards looking up at the bright blue sky. Pouchy looked over at her. “So what were you doing at the Hotel, anyway?” She looked troubled for a moment, laughing sharply. “Oh, that.. Well, uh.. I just recently arrived in Town. After.. Getting away from my old one. I was trying to check it out more when the rain hit. Funny how fast things can blow in, huh?”
Brad smiled. “I’ve always liked the rain.” Bonett looked at him. “Oh? Me too! It’s always been really calming. Shame it’s such a slog to fly through, else I’d like to have it more. Say, what’s your name?”
Brad coughed lightly. “It’s Brad.” She smiled, shaking his wing. “Well nice to meet you, Brad. I take it you’re the fighter of the group?” Brad looked over at Pouchy, knowing exactly where the assumption came from.
“Well.. Yes, I guess ya’ could call me that. Though I’d prolly label myself as a.. Protector.” She nodded, reaching for another strawberry. Pouchy took a sunflower, crunching it. “Where’d you get this anyway? It looks quite.. Festive for a food container.”
Pouchy spoke as he crunched the sunflower seed in his mouth. “Well, funny story.. We actually got it from one of our previous journeys! It was a gift to us from.. A friend!” She chuckled, grabbing another Strawberry. “Say, you’re a pretty cool group. And what about you, Glasses?”
Spectacles pointed at himself with his bandaged wing. “U-Umm… Me?” She nodded. “W-Well, um.. My name’s Riley, but.. Pouchy and everybody else just calls me Spectacles..” She grinned, tipping her hat.
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Spectacles!” She fell against the grass on her back, placing her wings behind her head. “Say, what’s up with the bandage?” Spectacles looked a bit nervous at the question and hesitated before answering.
“I got it from a.. Robot.. S-Still hurts a little, but..” Brad looked at Spectacles, then at Bonett. “Spectacles’ very brave. He himself won’t tell you that, but he is.” Spectacles smiled at the compliment.
“It’s good you three have eachother. I.. wish I could say the same, heh. But you know? I never have minded being alone. It’s.. comforting in a way. Obviously not all the time, but.. Being able to make your own decisions, being responsible for everything.. It’s.. empowering, in a sense.” She paused, looking at the Gift Box. “Oh, no thank you. I’m quite alright now.”
“Well then, that’s that! Little lunch, little chat, a great balance!” Pouchy said, grinning. Spectacles looked onwards throughout the green, flower covered fields nervously. “S-So.. does this mean we’re going to ShyTown.. Now?”
Pouchy looked back at his Pouch. “Sure does, Specks! So is everybody good with food?” Everybody nodded. Pouchy hopped into the air, spinning around in a ball and launching himself upwards into the air. Spectacles looked slightly dizzy. “Well then, team, let’s go!” He said confidently as they all took off, leaving the gorgeous fields of green and descending to the dreaded ShyTown.
Soon enough, the group made their way to ShyTown. The ground was covered in grass; looking to be the same types of beautiful green grass Pouchy and the others had seen prior. Only this grass.. Could have only resembled that in times past. It was grayed; dull, without color. And the drab landscape it covered seemed to match greatly.
A great deal of smoke filled the area around the four, making it harder to see. Pouchy coughed. “Yuck! This stuff is awful!” He looked at Bonett, expecting an explanation. Bonett stood wordlessly, gazing at the view in front of her. A small, faded sign stood in the distance. It read “ShyTown”. The name of the town expected you to take it happily, but with the appearance surrounding it, it could be taken as anything but. “Bonett, um.. Are you okay?”
Bonett continued to stare at the Town. The planters and round buildings outlined in dark gray throughout the viscous smoke. “I-I’m.. Fine.” Pouchy looked at her closer. “You.. Don’t look fine.. You’re shaking..” He said, his voice laced with concern.
She continued staring at the Town, unable to look away. “It’s just.. Hard to go back to this place. I thought it would be easier than it is. I.. don’t have good memories.” The group looked at Bonett intently. “They think Cobalt Bee is their god. They call him “The Blue Angel”. They see all of these Planters as mere offerings to him.”
“I used to believe that lie, too. They forced me to. They forced all of us to. That and the arranged marriages. From the day you turned into an adult your partner was selected for you. No questions were asked. Ever. I thought it was.. Normal for the longest time, haha.. But the second I began to question their traditions, they.. They didn’t want anything to do with me. They told my parents they should be ashamed. They begged the Leader not to take me away. But they didn’t listen. Everything my parents said he had a counter for. Some sort of excuse, some sort of lie, each word designed to make them feel as awful as possible.” She spoke so quietly it was as if she was speaking to herself. “When I say this place is bad, I mean it.”
She turned towards Pouchy, her expression dead serious. “So is what you’re trying to do.. Really worth it, Pouchy? We just met and.. I don’t know your full intentions, but I do know what my people were like. What they’re still like.” Pouchy seemed to be caught off guard. He looked down, the gray tinted grass underneath him barely visible through the thick smoke. “If.. I don’t reunite them.. Then this is what could happen to everyone. Without the Event Bees.. people only have themselves, a-and.. This is what happens when the wrong people become leaders..”
Brad looked ahead. “We’ve seen worse. Been through worse. Don’t underestimate Pouchy. He might be a kid, but he’s the bravest gosh darn kid I’ve ever met. And so is Spectacles.” She coughed, looking down at the ground. “I’m not underestimating him. I’m being honest.”
“..Well sometimes we have a skewed view of what’s honest. Doing the right thing is all about making sacrifices. And, if worse comes to worse, I’m fully willin’ to take a bullet for Pouch. For any of my friends.” She looked at Brad, a small smile appearing on her face, barely visible through the smoke. “You have a good heart.”
Brad smiled lightly at the compliment, turning around towards Pouchy and the others. Pouchy shook the sweat off of his fur, grinning confidently. “We’re gonna get through this, okay? Just like we always do. So.. How’re we going to do it?” Spectacles peered over from his Pouch. “W-We should probably fly overhead.. T-That would be the safest-”
Bonett shook her head, putting her wing on her hip as she looked onward at the town. “There’s laws about flying in the town. Not too high. They fear you will meet with the Angel; something that only a few are ‘allowed’ to do.” Spectacles thought for a moment, pushing up his glasses. “S-So.. if we’re on ground level.. Could we just wear disguises?”
Bonett looked down, nodding slowly. “I mean, yes.. But.. Members wear very specific disguises, it’d be impossible to get our hands on one without exposing ourselves..” Spectacles smiled nervously, pulling out his pencil. “W-Well, I.. might have a solution to that.. What do the outfits look like..?”
She looked at him, confused. “W-Well, they.. They’ve got a small blue halo on the top, and.. They’re all hooded and white, with blue accents and small blue wings. Two on the top, and four on the start of the tors..” She paused. “Why are you asking me this? What do you expect to d-”
She looked ahead at Pouchy, who now seemed to be wearing one of the Cultists’ uniforms. Her gaze slowly travelled towards Spectacles, almost convinced the smoke was playing a trick on her. “How did you.. Do that..?” Spectacles smiled, closing his eyes nervously. “W-Well, um.. I got this pencil from.. The same friend that gave us the present, a-and..”
Her eyes lit up as a smile began to break across her face. “Y-You.. You’re a genius! This works perfectly! I.. I have no idea how, but.. But it works!” She said, her eyes darting around randomly in her amazed state. Brad flew over to Pouchy, lifting Spectacles out of the Pouch as he began to draw uniforms on all of them. She looked down at her own, amazed at the accuracy. “H-How did you get this done so.. Perfectly? You..”
“Well, you’re a good d-describer, I guess! W-Well and also I’ve been told I have a good imagination, so.. There’s that too..” She picked Spectacles up, hugging him, then plopping him down. “Jeez, kid, you’re a wiz!” She looked around, laughing in amazement.
Soon, with their newfound disguises, the group headed into ShyTown. Pouchy looked around, his covered up eyes sparkling in amazement. Despite the sinister undertones, the grayscale, cubic forms of all the houses. Everything was drenched in a deathly boring atmosphere; as though all of the personality had been individually stripped from every one of the buildings.
The only color in the monotone environment were the very common planters, almost seeming out of place with the rest of the grungy, gray tinted looks the town gave off. Pouchy looked at Bonett, slightly sweating as they passed a Shy Bee. “S-So we just keep moving, right? Should just be on the end of this road, right?” Bonett nodded discreetly, whispering especially quietly. “Yes, and keep your voice down. Us Shy Bees have especially sensitive hearing.”
Pouchy nodded. He suddenly passed a Shy Bee, deciding to make conversation. He threw his wings back casually. “So, how’d the planter watching go last night?” The Shy Bee placed their wing on their face. “The Blue Angel would be disappointed in your carelessness. Planter watching is tomorrow. Today is Planter Worshipping.” He went on about it like a parent scolding their child.
“Ah, right on my man! Right on!” The Bee shook their head in disappointment. “The Angel also disapproves of excessive slang. It is the gateway to the modern world.” He walked away, shaking his head as he looked at the ground. “(Dirty casuals, don’t know the Angel for crap.)” He muttered under his breath.
As they flew past the Shy Bee, Bonett leaned over to him. “(Please don’t speak to any of them. It’s not worth blowing our cover.)” Pouchy nodded, furrowing his brows under the shadowed hood. “(Will do..)” He whispered.
The group continued walking throughout the Town, passing by multiple large Planters. Some seemed to be growing small grayscale plants. As if the plants themselves were aware of the boring state around them and purposefully chose such a bland color. “(Yeesh.. Nobody here knows how to have fun..)” Pouchy muttered under his breath.
Soon enough, something began to grow larger in the distance. It was brightly colored like the other Planters, but seemed to be changing colors rapidly. It also seemed to be covered in multiple stickers. Some containing sets of blue wings, others containing blue eyes, and others containing images of Cobalt’s face. Only.. warped beyond what any normal person’s interpretation of him would be. Bonett leaned over to Pouchy and the others. “(That’s a sign we’re getting close. Be on high alert.)”
Pouchy celebrated silently. Suddenly, with a large gust of wind, a panicked Shy Bee came flying through the area. Without any warning, they crashed into Pouchy, and without any apologies, continued flying over to the Planter. Pouchy was caught off guard, landing on the ground with a thud. Brad flew to him to help him up, but his eyes turned to horror as he watched the ink encased cloak begin to crack off. He threw his head around to Spectacles, expecting some kind of explanation.
“(O-Oh no, I.. I forgot.. It’s.. The stuff is.. Not very strong..)” Brad looked panicked but furrowed his eyebrows as he shook himself out of it. “L-Let’s just continue, it ain’t like anybody’s gonna..” He was cut off as he was met with dozens of Shy Bees staring at them. They began talking amongst themselves.
“(A faker? And they’re with others?)” Brad grumbled under his breath, sweating. Without warning, he pulled out his revolver, pointing it at them. Bonett frantically flew over to him, grabbing his wing and pointing it downwards.
“Brad, w-we.. we can’t do that now, we’ll.. attract attention to ourselves..” Brad broke free from her grip, furrowing his brows. “And what? Leave Pouchy here? I’d rather die.”
Brad lifted up his revolver, pointing it at the Shy Bees who were watching them intensely. “You want to hurt him ‘cause he ain’t a part of your cult? Go ahead. But I must warn ya’..” He paused. “It ain’t gonna go well for you.”
He lifted himself into the air with his wings, pulling the trigger on his revolver as he launched a volley of bullets towards the hoard. Bonett flew up to him, attempting to take the revolver out of his hands. “Brad! Listen to me, okay?! We need to stop this!- If we don’t, we.. we won’t have any chance!-“ Brad dodged her, firing more shots at the Shy Bees. “I’m not listinin’ to you.” He said coldly, gritting his teeth.
The cold, smoky wind blew between the two. Brad arched his eyebrows further. Her eyes suddenly widened “Brad-!” She called out as Brad was hit with a tranquilizer, falling to the ground.
She flew to help him, but was swiftly hit with a tranquilizer herself. Pouchy saw both of them on the ground, his expression terrified. “S-Specks.. What do we..” Pouchy tried to lift himself off of the ground but was swiftly caught by something hitting his face.
And then, it all went dark. The sound of paper rustling could be heard. Suddenly, Pouchy woke up. He looked around himself. The group seemed to have been captured; tied up with incredibly strong stickers around their wings.
Brad had already worn himself out from struggling. His revolver was laying right next to him just out of his reach, as if to taunt him. Their disguises were all broken, presumably shattered when they were all unconscious.
A slow, cold wind blew through all of their fur. They were up very high. Dirt was below them, and above them, a large, flat and cubic device attached to a pulley system.
Pouchy looked around in horror, noticing the multicolored rims around the dirt. They seemed to be in the large planter from before.
The group all looked downwards. Dozens of Shy Bees began chanting. “Dump them! Sacrifice them to the Angel!” They all said, so closely tied in unison it almost sounded like a hive mind.
Soon enough, a Shy Bee flew upwards, standing in front of Bonett. They glared their eyes, seeming more angry at her than any of the rest of them. “Because you used to be one of us, we’ll let you have your final words.” They tore the sticker off of her mouth, allowing her to speak.
She looked down at all of the Shy Bees, taking a sigh as she looked at the rest of the group. “You.. you all don’t have to be like this,” the paused. “You thought you were punishing me when you kicked me out of this place, but..”
“When I got out of here, I found out the truth. There is no Angel, and there’s never been one. We don’t have to bow down to anybody. There’s nobody in control of our lives but ourselves.” She went on. “..When I left this town.. that part of me died. But a new, beautiful flower emerged from the ashes. And that.. was freedom.”
“Sure, there.. is a “Blue Angel”, but it’s not what all of you think. He’s a person just like you and I. Not some disconnected, disembodied voice. Not somebody we have to appease for fear of annihilation.. But somebody you can physically meet. And I know it’s hopeless to try undoing hundreds of years of these awful practices, and I know it’s going to be a lengthy process even if you DO agree with me..” She smiled hopefully, noticing the Shy Bees moved expressions even underneath their hoodies. “But it’s never too late to try. See, just like the “Angel”, we’re all misunderstood. We’ve always misunderstood.”
“The Angel that we saw was never an actual person, but rather somebody we created to fill the gaps of our own knowledge. And if you want proof? Just look at Pouchy and my friends. They can show you.” The Shy Bee standing atop the Planter stared at her. “I.. agree with you. I’ve.. wanted to be in control of my own life for so long, I.. I never knew anybody felt the same way..”
She smiled at him. “It’s never too late to become free. Living is all about growing, you know? And we all have plenty of room to grow. But that’s the beauty of being free. YOU are in charge of growing up. You can be the person YOU want to be. Not some warped view of what an “Angel” wants, but yourself.”
She laughed slightly. “I know we DO have a creator. And we should honor them for what they’ve done. But.. when that honoring goes as far as to strip us of our humanity..” She looked onward at the crowd. “That’s when we know what we’re doing isn’t right, and will never be right.”
All of the Shy Bees clapped as she finished her speech, whistling and hollering in agreement. Bonett looked at the crowd and the group hopefully.
Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the crowd. They were dressed in a brilliant robe, adorned with blue eyes and large blue wings. “Please, you don’t believe this sob story, do you?” He looked onward at Bonett, glaring. “This is coming from a traitor. Somebody that was kicked out. For treason. She abandoned her own kind for the very same ‘Freedom’ she preached about.”
“And now she’s out here preaching about morality? Her parents ought to be ashamed of themselves. Because they raised an insolent brat.” He took out a blade, scraping it against her fur, enough to nearly draw blood. “She chose to come back here. To try and bring her so called “Friends” to ruin our way of life.”
“You know what I say?” He looked inward into the crowd, holding up his blade that was ever so slightly tainted with her blood. “I say we sacrifice all of them. Especially her. The only thing more disgusting than a Non-Shy Bee.. is a Shy Bee who betrays their own kind.”
The other Shy Bee standing atop the planter shook his head, glaring at the Leader. “Oh? So we have another case of treason?” He swiftly latched onto him, stabbing him into the wing and relishing in the blood. He pushed the Shy Bee out of the way coldly, proudly flying over to the lever that controlled the pulley.
“Blood will be spilt today. They shall be crushed into the soil. As an offering to our great and powerful ANGEL.” He said with intensity roaring in his voice, slamming his bloodied wing onto the lever. Pouchy looked frantically at the others, gesturing at them for what to do.
Suddenly, Pouchy got an idea. Brad knew what he was thinking and shook his head frantically. Pouchy stared at Brad with a terrified expression as the crusher neared closer to their heads. Brad gritted his teeth underneath the sticker, knowing he had no choice. It was either straight death, or having a change at surviving. With one, primal shout, he called out somebody’s name. “THORN!!” He shouted, so loud it could be heard even through the sticker on his mouth.
The Leader stared at Brad, laughing. “Do you see this? Look upon this. This is the stupidity of the other Bees. This is why we don’t allow others into our Town.” Suddenly, with a puff of fire, Thorn appeared. He looked around for a moment, instantly catching on. He extended his wings, casting a small flare of fire that managed to burn the stickers off of the group.
Brad swiftly flew off of the ground, latching onto his revolver as he fired a shot at the stunned Leader. Thorn looked at everybody “The heck’s goin’ on here?” Brad gritted his teeth, grumbling. “No time to explain. We just need to get out of here.”
The group all swiftly lifted off of the ground as the Leader regained his balance, pointing his blade at the five. “KILL THEM.” He shouted coldly. He looked ahead at the other Shy Bees. He picked up the Shy Bee from before, showing his injured form to the rest of them. “Do you SEE THIS? This is what happens when you disrespect the Angel.”
The crowd sweated, swiftly lifting themselves up off of the ground as they began chasing after the group. Thorn lifted up his wings, casting fire at the vast groups of Shy Bees that were pursuing the group. “S-So, uh.. how’d y’all guys get into this situation?” Brad fired a shot into the flames, lighting the bullet on fire as it crashed into a group, careful to keep his eyes off of the fire.
The Leader pushed himself out of the way, throwing other Shy Bees to the side as he pursued the others. He dodged the bullets and the flames, continuing to pursue after the group relentlessly. He caught up to Bonett, managing to slash her as the countered the blade a second time, stabbing him in the head slightly.
He stopped for a moment, staring directly at the five as he placed his wing on the wound, licking the blood. “Never felt that before. You’re interesting, Bonett.” He said sinisterly as he continued to dodge the bullets, the other Shy Bees launching darts at the group through the smoke.
Thorn lifted up his wings, spinning them around as he created a wheel of flames, burning through all of he incoming darts. Leader dashed through all of the projectiles, hitting one of them with his blade and reflecting it towards Thorn, causing him to be caught off of balance.
He swiftly dashed towards Thorn, latching onto his wing with a death grip as he began punching him relentlessly, lifting up his wing to stab him before he was pulled off and shot by Brad. Like clockwork, Leader blocked the bullet with his blade and continued the pursuit after the two, using buildings as stepping stones as he flew through the vast smoke.
Thorn looked back at Brad, sweating. “T-Thanks, man..” Brad smiled gruffly. “No worries.” Bonett looked at the group, sweating. “I can try blinding him..”
She lifted up her wings, creating a cloud of smoke and sending it over to Leader. He was caught off guard for a moment, but slashed through the cloud like butter, tackling Bonett before Thorn crashed into him, grabbing onto his head and scorching a part of it, throwing him backwards.
Leader began laughing maniacally. “THE ANGEL WILL PURGE ALL OF YOU. EVEN IF I FAIL, YOUR FATE WAS ALREADY SEALED FROM THE MOMENT YOU ENTERED THIS TOWN.” He felt the burn marks on his head, his eyes twisting in joy. Pouchy looked back at Spectacles with a disgusted expression.
The other Shy Bees continued to pursue behind Leader, firing multiple darts at the group. Bonett lost her balance mid chase and was almost caught by one, before Brad launched a bullet directly through the dart, hitting and slamming a bunch of Shy Bees into a building.
Thorn launched more flames at the approaching Shy Bees as Brad desperately fired more shots at Leader, to which he blocked.
Suddenly, all exhausted, Brad, Bonett, and Thorn breathed out heavily. “We have to take this guy down..” they all looked at eachother, nodding as they got an idea.
Thorn looked at Bonett, sweating. “Can that smoke be flammable?” Bonett gritted her teeth, attempting to dodge the swipes from Leader. “Yes.. b-but.. it might not work, I-I’m not exactly.. experienced with Smoke Magic..”
Brad furrowed his brows, firing a shot at a group of Shy Bees as he dodged an onslaught of darts. “Well it’s better a chance than nothin’. You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”
Thorn and Bonett nodded. As Leader dashed at Bonett, cutting her through the eye. He attempted to slash through her chest before he was caught by both Thorn and Brad, thrown backwards. “NOW!” Brad yelled out.
Bonett attempted to regain her balance, gripping her eye tightly with one wing, her scarf flapping wildly in the intense and smoky wind. She stabilized herself, lifting up her wings as she closed her eyes tightly in concentration. Brad looked back at Pouchy and Spectacles “You two.. GET OUT OF HERE!! We’ll catch up later!” He shouted out.
Pouchy flew away as swiftly as he could, just as Bonett began to summon pinkish smoke around Leader. He coughed slightly, attempting to move through it. While he was distracted, Brad launched a bullet into his chest, knocking him backwards into the smoke.
Brad looked at Thorn, gritting his teeth. Thorn lifted up his wings, casting one out as a large spiral of fire came out of them. Brad grabbed hold of Thorn and Bonett, throwing them ahead as he launched himself forward with his wings.
Leader laughed manically as he dodged the spiral of fire. Quicker than a second, the air around him turned into a massive explosion, sending the trio spiraling backwards in a shockwave.
He coughed, his coughing turning into laughter as he flew out of the flames, dashing towards the trio. His coat was entirely scorched, along with his fur; a smoky, charred gray. Sparks flew off of his fur like spores as he attempted to slash at the group one final time.
Bonett grabbed hold of him in his weakened state, countering his slash and taking his blade as she pointed it at him. “We’re all free now. Dead or not, you can’t change that.” She said as she lifted up the blade, stabbing it into Leader’s wing and pushing him away as he laughed manically, falling downwards with a trail of sparks accompanying him.
They all swiftly turned their heads, flying ahead rapidly. Soon enough, they caught back up with Pouchy and Spectacles. Pouchy flew over to Brad, throwing his wings around him. “I-I-I’m so glad you’re okay..” Brad smiled weakly. “Same to you, kid.”
They all flew downwards, resting in the green fields as the sun began to set around them. Pouchy looked at Brad, Thorn, and Bonette. All of them seemed to be tired. “S-so.. what happened..?”
Brad coughed, looking down. “We did what we had to do, Pouchy.” Spectacles showed a concerned expression. “W-what does that mean..?”
Bonette looked down at the ground, tears dropping against the soft green grass. Thorn put his wing around her, along with Brad. “I.. I.. k-k-knew him since I was a kid, I.. I never thought.. I knew he.. I knew he was bad, but.. I thought he was..” She paused as she covered her face with her wings.
Thorn looked at her, smiling sympathetically, his tail swishing around. “..I know how it feels.. to lose somebody. My.. wife and child, I..” he coughed. Brad looked back at her with a serious expression. “You did what you had to do.”
He looked ahead at the sunset, the green grass swishing throughout the gentle evening breeze. “It’s like what I told Pouchy. Not every person can be talked down. Sometimes.. there’s only one option.” He looked back at her. “..and ya’ know? What you did back there.. that speech, I.. I ain’t never seen anythin’ like it. You tried, Bonett. But not everybody is so eager to listen.”
She looked at him, her eyes reddened from the tears. “D-do you think I.. changed their minds?” Brad nodded. “That’s why they all hesitated. You did something good, ‘kay? Not everybody can see that.”
“You saved more people than ya’ realize. Some people.. don’t deserve the gift of life. Sounds harsh, but it’s true.” Bonett nodded slowly. “Y-you’re right. He would have killed us if I didn’t.”
Brad looked at her with a serious expression. “But don’t get it twisted. ALWAYS try to talk things out first. My friend Pouchy showed me how important it is to listen t’people. ..But some people just can’t listen.” He went on. “You’re not a bad person Bonett. Doin’ the right thing requires sacrifices sometimes.”
She nodded. “T-Thank you, Brad.. You too, Thorn..” They both smiled at her warmly. She looked at them as she began to move away. “I think I’m going to go back to my Town. I’m going to show everybody the truth.”
Brad laughed sincerely. “You better hurry. We ain’t s’posed to fly in the dark, Y’know.” She smiled. “I’ll be quick.” She then hugged everybody individually, and flew away into the sunset. Pouchy and Spectacles looked over at Brad and Thorn.
“Well, we’re both quite tired.. Was an eventful day, huh?” Pouchy said. Brad looked back at Pouchy, inspecting him with his eyes. Once he was certain there were no wounds on either of them, he coughed, speaking gruffly. “Goodnight, y’all two. Sleep well.”
Thorn and Brad sat together for a while as Spectacles and Pouchy instantly fell asleep. The stars were shining, and the brilliant white hues of the moon shone on the darkened ground. Brad looked up at the sky, talking to Thorn. “You know, my whole life.. I’ve never liked Demon Bees. Hated them, even.” He looked at Thorn, then back up at the sky. “I’ll be honest with ya’. I hated you when we first met, too. I’m certain I made that pretty obvious.”
“..Even after you helped us, I just.. Couldn’t help but think you had some sorta ulterior motives.” Thorn looked at Brad, his tail swishing in the cool night breeze. “..And when we were on that Planter, a part of me woulda rather died than called you for help. I thought it would’ve been the perfect opportunity for ya’ to get one up on us. To betray us, when we were at our most vulnerable.”
He coughed, looking at Thorn. And smiling. “But ya’ didn’t. You put your own skin on the line just to save us. And for that.. I want to take back everything I said about ya’. Not Demon Bees, cause I still ain’t think they’re all good.. But they also ain’t all bad. I guess Pouch was right.” Thorn looked down at the swishing grass, lifting up a blade of grass in his wing. “I never agreed with our practices.”
He went on. “Brad, I had a lovin’ family back there. I know it seems crazy to say, but despite how awful it can be.. The Underworld was my home. And not just in a literal sense. Nah, I thought of it as my home. My wife, and my kid.. I loved them with my whole heart. Still do. That’s why I stole from the Royal Family, to try and make a better life for them. So they could have the life I couldn’t ever have.”
“Ya’ don’t stop lovin’ somebody just ‘cause ya’ can’t see or be with ‘em anymore. I’ll always have that part of me. But, just like my Demon Bee side, I’m not defined by it. I made that decision a long time ago. I just.. Hope they’re alright sometimes, y’know?” Brad looked at him, smiling as he turned his gaze upwards to the sky. “I hope my Old Man and Ma’ are alright, too. Wherever they are.”
He patted Thorn on the back. “You’re a good father, Thorn. I bet your child is really proud of you. Your wife, too.” He laughed softly, placing the blade of grass down on the ground. “Hey, you’re a good ‘Pa too. I’ve seen how well you take care’a those two o’er there. Ya’ might not be blood, but you have something more powerful than that. A connection.”
“Heh. Thanks. ‘Pretiate it.” He smiled. Thorn smiled back. Thorn lifted himself up into the air, rubbing the back of his head as the fur rustled under his touch. “Well, I oughta get back t’Minetown. Guess I’ll see ya’ when I see ya’, eh?”
Brad chuckled, nodding as he extended his wing to Thorn. “Yeah. See ya’ when I’ll see ya’. Hope things go alright for ya’, friend.” Thorn smiled a toothy grin, shaking Brad’s wing as he turned away. “You too!”
Brad felt his shoulder, rolling it around and slightly wincing. “Boy, it was day, Brad, wasn’t it?” He chuckled to himself as he lay down on the grass, the cool breeze of the night guiding him to sleep as he placed his hat down on his chest.
As Brad fell asleep, Bonett arrived in ShyTown, watching intently as something interesting began to happen inside the Town. From what she could see through the smoke, a silhouette of Leader seemed to be desperately talking. “COME ON, YOU FOOLS! THE ANGEL WILL PURGE YOU ALL. I AM THE CHOSEN ONE. I WAS DESTINED FOR GREATNESS BY THE ANGEL HIMSELF. YOU DARE TO DEFY ME?” He seemed to be talking weakly.
She could see the silhouette of dozens of other Shy Bees surrounding him. “HAHA! AND LOOK AT THAT? TREASONERS, ALL OF YOU! BETRAYING THE GOODNESS OF YOUR OWN SPECIES FOR SOME HYPOCRITICAL LIAR?! LOOK AT YOURSELVES. THE ANGEL IS REAL. AND HE WILL CAST YOU ALL INTO ETERNAL TORMENT FOR DEFYING HIM SO EGREGIOUSLY.” Suddenly, one of the Shy Bees spoke up. “If he’s real, then how did you get so hurt? You said the Angel would protect us. No matter what.”
Leader seemed to be caught off guard. “BECAUSE OF THE TREASONER. SHE TAINTED THE ANGEL’S WISH, AND NOW HE IS PUNISHING US!” The other Shy Bees began speaking up in unison. “Liar! You said the prophecy never changes!”
Bonett watched with fear in her eyes as the Shy Bees surrounded him, to the point it was impossible to see him anymore. And with a cast of pinkish smoke and a match in hand, the Leader said his final words. “YOU’LL GET WHAT’S COMING TO YOU. ALL OF YOU. ROT IN THE UNDERWORLD FOR ALL I CARE, HAHA! YOU HEAR THAT? ALL OF YOUR WORDS AREIN VEIN, FOR THEY ARE SPOKEN BY DEAD PEOPLE! YOU’RE ALL DEAD!!”And with his voice coated in finality, the Shy Bees exited the area as the match was lit.
Through the shadows and smoke, an orange outline of Leader stared at all of them as he pointed at them. “DEATH. TO ALL OF YOU..” He said as he fell onto the ground, his fur popping and crackling with the vast fire coating him.
Soon enough, the Shy Bees put out the flames, but when they went looking for Leader, the only thing left was a pile of ash. Bonett flew back into ShyTown, but when she did, she was greeted by the other Shy Bees. They praised her for her speech, and gifted her the title of ruler. She refused, and argued for the Shy Bees’ freedom.
The Town was free.
