Chapter 25: Last Goodbyes
Perspective: Tyron
Tyron crept along the hallway, Kir at his hip, Kay beside him. Warnado and Amanda sneaked along behind.
"He leaves this way," Kay grunted.
He'd been far from himself since the meeting. Quiet, single-minded. Tyron had heard Kay and Fire didn't get on, but the scaly guy's decision to go out and risk his life was really bothering him.
"I reach out?" Kir asked.
"Sure," Tyron approved. "Just be delicate about it. It's Kay. He usually opens up with us, but he can be pretty thorny before he does."
He cast a glance back. Warnado and Amanda stopped whispering and gave Tyron a hurried thumbs up before shooing him on. They were starting to get insufferably joined at the hip.
They turned a corner. Only a few more corridors and they'd be at the side exit Fire had decided to use. Going through the atrium would announce it to everyone and they didn't want to risk a panic.
Tyron didn't get why but this would apparently cause outrage.
"Fire's a hero. Heroes do this all the time," he thought.
Tyron himself did it to take down Herobrine. It was always stressful, but it was always necessary.
The doorway came into view. They separated into two groups. Warnado grabbed Amanda around the waist and levitated them up to a rocky ventilation shaft. As they clambered in, Tyron and Kay opted for the simpler solution of sheltering into an alcove.
Naturally, given Tyron's large, furry physique, it was a little too intimate to be comfortable. Tyron's luminous blue eyes scrutinised Kay, who was watching wistfully as Warnado and Amanda struggled with the grate. Tyron couldn't tell if he was about to start monologuing or just normally silent.
"Any luck?"
"No," answered Kir. "Book's 'screening calls'. Have to talk to him."
"You okay, pal?" Tyron asked with not a little awkwardness. "You look like there's something on your mind."
"A lot, friend," he muttered. "A lot."
A pause.
"Yeah, I can't leave that hanging," Kay acquiesced. His eyes became misty. "I'm thinking about something Fire said to me a long time ago. About a meaningful death. It was back before I met you, when I still thought I could… negotiate, or reason with the Entity. I-I'd just failed to get us some horses and I sat down to talk with Fire. He's there, just got a ton of weapons and it hits me - I have no idea what this big scaley bastard is," he swallowed and cleared his throat.
"So, Fire gets talking about the Mencur-Besh and all that and how they operate and that leads him onto his military career. He asks me about mine, asks me 'how many battles have you fought, Kay?' I tell him 'nine'. He asks me how many I've lost," he chuckled, cutting the air with an outstretched hand. "I tell him, 'one', thinking that's impressive. How many do you think Fire's been in?"
Tyron thought back. Fire was pretty old, by his own account.
"One hundred?"
"He's fought in something over five hundred! I forget the exact number, and from how he framed it those weren't just skirmishes but actual major war battles. But what I can't forget is what he said next: In his five thousand odd years he has died twenty-seven times. Twenty-seven. That's crazy, isn't it? Utterly crazy, right?"
Tyron felt an abortive surge of relief. The information suggested Fire would just come back. Kay's dewed eyes didn't. Tyron heard something small fall over. He peaked out the alcove and saw someone scoop a thermos back into an alcove down the hall. Evidently, they weren't the only ones who had sneaked out to see Fire off.
"Yeah," he said, a little distracted. "Crazy."
Kay noticed none of this and continued.
"Absolutely, it's crazy. Then, he says all this stuff about death and dying and how he knew that he didn't have his safety net in Nexus. He knows if he dies in here, it's final."
Tyron's attention was undivided.
"Oh," Kir gasped.
"Shit…"
"And he won't stop talking about how death is a natural thing, and we need to accept it. He told me he just wanted a meaningful death. About how we need to aspire for a meaningful death. At the time I hated him for it." Kay laughed and pressed his palms to his eyes and leaned back. "I hated him so flipping much. I just wanted to get home - I still do - and here's this big, immortal douche bag condescending to me about my record and implying I'm going to die in the midst of all this and I just can't get over it. I was fuming all the way to the Tower. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have hit Steve half as hard if Fire hadn't pissed me off so much. But that's-that's the point."
He exhaled and looked Tyron in the eyes. "I think I missed something. I think he wants to die, Tyron."
"Kay, you're just tired-"
"No, I'm not!" He whisper-shouted, clearly not caring too much if people knew they were there anymore. "I think he's been around too damn long, Tyron, and he just wants it to stop. He's seen some awful things man, lost people, and that's just festered away. He's got a full split personality, he told me himself. He's been through some shit. And I think he's taking his opportunity to get off the ride. This is the meaningful death he wants! Tyron, we are aiding and abetting a suicide attempt!"
Tyron, trying to soak in all of this information, held firm.
"Fire isn't crazy. He's been through a lot, but he's cool-headed. If he wanted to die, he's had a lot of openings recently and he's missed every shot. Just calm down."
Kay breathed in and shook his head.
"No, no you're missing the point. He wants to go out on a high, not just throw those years away!"
Tyron gritted his and was about to try and bark him down when another voice entered the fray.
"Alright," Astro called. "If we're all just going to drop thermoses and bicker in the corner, I think we might as well all step out into the light."
A light switch was flipped and the corridor suddenly became a lot more discernible. Every other hiding space was full.
Lucy, Steve and Jennifer had bunched together in one alcove across from them. Destiny scowled morosely out of another, alone. Amanda and Warnado's hiding spot in the vent suddenly seemed much more visible than the darkness had indicated. Astro, naturally, was beside the light-switch near the exit. Only Rose proved even slightly difficult to spot before she leapt down from the ledge she had been crouching on.
Then, the exit swung open and Urist and Voidblade rushed in.
"Fire, ye can't do this!" the dwarf exclaimed, before seeing who was there. "Oh."
"Whole gang's here," chirped Kir.
Tyron glimpsed a shade dashing by which he thought was Wodahs. It probably was, but it moved too quickly to be sure.
"So," Astro continued. "I'm getting the impression we're all here to try and talk Fire out of his suicidal plan?"
"I'm not," Tyron flatly responded. He folded his arms and cocked an eyebrow confrontationally.
"Anyone aside from Tyron?"
No one raised their hand.
"Then you are overruled," Astro grunted. "So, who's going first?"
"I don't know what exactly you are talking about, but I think I have some idea." Shadow appeared from nowhere in their midst.
She continued: "Believe me when I say this, I am not on board with Fire's plan either but sadly there is one argument he made we cannot refute. We are running low on time. Anything we do to try to dissuade him will just lower the probability of survival."
Silence hung thick upon the group. Tyron agreed, but hearing it aloud was still hard to hear. Shadow's tone was as flat and aloof as ever, betraying none of the turmoil that must be going on behind those eyes.
"I know my brother better than anyone else. Once he's got his mind set on something it's because he's thought about it and came to the conclusion it's a good, or at least effective, idea. Dissuading him is next to impossible, he's done things like this before… one of which has been what made me into me, my ascension."
"If we can't convince him," said Kay. "I'm second in command. Pretty much everyone aside from Tyron opposes this. What's to stop me from stepping in? Just a nice, friendly little coup until Fire gets his head straight. What's to stop me from doing that, Shadow?"
"Now, Kay, calm down-" Astro attempted to cut in.
"Are you telling me you suddenly think this is sane, Astro?"
"I just think our first option shouldn't be to totally undermine this army's power structure!" The wizard snapped back.
"I never said it was our first option," Kay responded coolly. "I said we keep it on the table."
"Take it off the table, Kay," Astro commanded.
The wizard marched up to the General, glaring at him, shoulders squared, and feet firmly planted. Kay tried to glare back, but his resolve quickly melted in the face of Astro's intensity. He shrank away, brows furrowed and stroking his temple in shock. Hurt and confusion battled for control. Astro looked away in shame.
"We'll talk him down," Astro croaked. "Like I said ages ago. Who talks first?"
Before anyone could give a clear answer there was the sound of quiet footsteps coming from the inner sections of the shelter. A few seconds later Fire came around a bend. He was not wearing his usual clothes, instead a brown cloak covered him almost entirely. He stopped when he saw them all standing there, letting his gaze wander, contemplating.
He spoke more slowly than usual. "I… appreciate what you are trying to do. I really do. The problem is just that I really have to go through with this. I thought about different scenarios long before we got word about the machine, all that hearing about it did was cut off some branches. According to what I know this really is the best course of action available to us."
"What've you got?" Destiny asked in a deadened tone, features flattened and stripped of emotion.
Fire indicated several items attached to a belt. "I have brewed a range of potions that will help me with my infiltration, invisibility to get in and enhancing effects to make sure I am not found. I have set up twelve ender pearls suspended in claws in my private room, they are entangled to one sheet of paper on this block each. I will be using them to relay any information to you. My cloak adapts to the color and texture of its surroundings. For weapons I have my claws as well as a dagger I brought with me when I first entered Nexus. All of this is either proven to work in an anti-magic environment or most likely unaffected."
"Yeah, that's great and all," said Warnado, clapping his hands together. "Hand them over, I'll handle this."
He outstretched his hand, only for Kay to cut in front of him. He turned and looked Fire in the eyes. Tyron felt his heart slow down, not knowing what to expect.
"No, it should be me. These people need you Fire. You built this. It means something to you. I can't guarantee that commitment. I just want to go home."
A tear ran down his cheek, his mouth weighed down at the corners. His gaze was unbroken, his lips parted slightly.
"I am more than willing to die for that," promised Kay.
"I know you mean it Kay, but dying is not the central point here, gathering the required intel is. I believe I am the most qualified of us to undertake this mission, I brought up my arguments during our formal discussion. This isn't a choice about morality or who deserves to do what. It's about what is most likely to work."
Kay blinked.
"Then I trust your judgement," he said. "Shake on it?"
He stretched out a hand. Fire took it.
Tyron felt the emotion swell up within him.
"Oh, for Notch's sake, we're not doing a group handshake! Get in here you! I don't care how sappy it is!"
Before either could object, Tyron had squeezed them into his grip. Kir chirped away indistinctly in the backs of their minds, expressing their warm sentiments.
Urist was the earliest adopter, dragging Voidblade into a reluctant second. Before the enderman could break free or teleport away, Lucy had pinned him to the growing huddle. At some point during all of this Shadow had buried her face in Fire's flank, hiding her emotions and broadcasting them with equal perfection. Next came Steve and Jennifer, and Fire stooped down a little to loop them in. Amanda then squeezed her way in.
Warnado floated up and landed on the shoulders of Kay, who cackled in surprise. The quarter-demon then reached over and placed a hand on Fire's shoulder.
"Thanks for not sticking your claws through my face that first night," he grinned.
Now, all eyes were on Astro, Rose and Destiny, the only three stragglers.
"Sorry guys," grimaced Astro. "Not really my scene."
No sooner had he said this, then Rose and Destiny had exchanged a look, linked arms and herded him into the group.
"You owe me, big guy," said Destiny with a rare smile. "Don't die on us now."
It occurred to Tyron how lucky they were to have lost so few people, but their loss was sorely felt. David should have been there, hand on Destiny's shoulder with protective zeal. Or Fristad, shyly grinning and sharing a wry look with Steve as he tried to pretend, he was above the cheesiness of all this but still loving it nonetheless. This could be the last time their little group was this large. They had to appreciate it.
