Nope, story not dead. Actually just got a burst of inspiration for it.

No idea when next update is tho.

Cricket couldn't believe the destruction.

With each beat of her wings, she saw more and more of it. The Chrysalis was burnt on one side, in danger of falling over. SilkWings attempted to fix the damaged parts to some success, but it'd take a very long time for the walls to be rebuilt.

"She's gone too far." Lady Scarab's face hardened as they flew into the SilkWing capital.

Upon their arrival, a number of guards showed up to stop their advance. And leading them was Io, Swordtail's sister. Her eyes were stained with tears, face completely stoic otherwise. Cricket knew why, even if she didn't fully believe it herself.

Swordtail was dead, along with countless other SilkWings.

"Halt!" Io barked out an order. Cricket and Lady Scarab, along with their guards, obeyed. "No HiveWings are allowed entry per order of Queen Luna."

"We're expected." Lady Scarab narrowed her gaze.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you in until the queen awakens." Io glanced at Cricket. "I really am sorry, Cricket. But as you might expect, a group of armed forces showing up will cause mass panic."

"We're not armed, though!" Cricket protested, raising her arms.

"They are." Io pointed at their guard.

"Wasp Hive has also been attacked." Lady Scarab spoke as calmly as possible. "Insurrectionists freed the former queen and decimated portions of the Hive. Cricket herself was nearly killed in the escape."

Io's face softened slightly. "Is that true?" She asked Cricket.

"Bumblebee was forced to kill someone to save me." Cricket averted her gaze.

"That's awful…" Io murmured before straightening her posture. "Nevertheless, I cannot disobey my queen."

" Get the queen, then." Lady Scarab did not hide her annoyance.

"She is resting from her injuries and trauma."

"Then who has the authority to overrule you!?"

Io paused for a moment. "Blue is the prince. I suppose if anyone can overrule her, it's him."

Cricket immediately pulled out her dreamvisitor and spoke his name. He answered near immediately:

"Cricket, what's going on?" Blue asked with concern. "Did you get delayed?"

"Io says that Luna barred HiveWing entry. We're trying to get in."

Blue swore loudly in her mind. "I'm on my way."

Sure enough, a minute later, she saw her future mate gliding down to them. Cricket let out a sigh of relief upon seeing his sparkling scales. He was injured in some locations but nothing life threatening. She nearly threw herself at him, stopped only by the SilkWing guards.

"Let them in." Blue told Io. "We both know Luna wasn't thinking straight when she gave that order. I doubt she even remembers giving it."

"I figured, but I still had to follow it." Io shook her head. "She can reverse it in full when she awakens, but I will allow them entry."

"Io." Cricket approached the SilkWing guard. "I'm… so sorry about Swordtail. I wish… I…"

"Wishing does nothing," Io responded sharply. "He's dead. He's never coming back. My only wish now is to kill Wasp." She glared at Cricket before relaxing. "You're not to blame, though. I appreciate your condolences."

"I'll help you bring Wasp to justice in any way I can." Cricket pledged. That got the faintest flicker of a smile to appear on Io's face.

In truth, Cricket was worried about both Io and Luna. Justice and vengeance were often confused, especially in times of grief. She just hoped that Blue would be able to keep Luna in line. The moment the queen decreed it, the entire tribe could go to war.

From what Blue told her over Dreamvisitor already… Cricket was scared. Wasp Hive couldn't deal with an occupation. She prayed to Clearsight that Luna was reacting out of grief and hurt and that rationality would take over.

Cricket pulled Blue into a crushing hug the instant she caught up to him. He returned it, stroking her head.

"I was so scared…" Cricket murmured in his arms, shuddering as tears welled in her eyes. "When I saw the fires, I…"

"Shh, I'm okay." Blue flicked his antennae at her comfortingly. "Sundew and Willow are okay, too."

"Swordtail, though… I…" Cricket averted her eyes. "Luna wouldn't be able to look at Bumblebee and I the same way again."

"That's not true." Blue stroked her back. "She knows the difference." Another pause. "How is she, by the way?"

"Bumblebee? Traumatized. It's like she's not all there." Cricket squeezed him tighter. "I don't even think I had to kill someone. How can I possibly help her?"

"We may not be able to," Blue answered truthfully. "But… Sundew can."

Cricket nodded slowly. "That's true. Does she know?"

"I didn't really get a chance to speak to her. She's still recovering from Belladonna's attack and then, well.."

Cricket pulled away. "What?"

"Didn't I tell you that the Leafwings split again? Sundew tried to stop it, only to get seriously injured." Blue tilted his head, confused.

"You may have and all the stress just caught up to me." Cricket shook herself. "Alright. I'm okay now. Let's go… see what we can do."

"I'll wake up Luna," Blue said. "You and Lady Scarab meet us in the throne room. We'll make our move there."

There was a knock on the door. Luna growled and turned over, pulling the pillow over her face and ears. She didn't want to hear it. Opening the door meant going back to the real world. The world without Swordtail.

Luna knew her kingdom needed her. Blue and Io needed her. She couldn't just… shut out the world and drown in her misery. But it was oh so tempting. When she slept, she didn't think about her injuries, emotional or physical. It was a blissful emptiness that held no dreams, no emotions. She was in a void that nobody could harm her in.

Another knock.

But it seemed life did not want her to succumb just yet. With a hiss of frustration, Luna slowly got out of bed. She had to force herself to let go of Swordtail's pillow, which had already begun to lose its scent after she smothered it.

Opening the door, she expected to see Blue. Instead, she found herself looking down at Dusky.

He was alive…

"Luna?" Dusky spoke quietly. "I know it's a dumb question, but are you okay?"

"No." Luna admitted quietly. She glanced to herself in a nearby mirror, seeing black shadows under her eyes and a disheveled appearance. She looked as miserable as she felt.

Wordlessly, Dusky embraced her. She all but collapsed at the touch, sinking down to his level and holding him tight. She allowed a few tears to fall onto his shoulder. Luna couldn't show this face publicly. It was now or never.

"I know what it's like," Dusky said to her. "My dad, remember?"

"I do." Luna nodded slowly.

"It hurts. It'll never go away." He ran a talon on his scar for emphasis. "But you have friends and family. We're all here for you."

"I know." Luna squeezed tighter. "I know."

"When my father died, I didn't cope well." Dusky admitted quietly. "Not that I could've coped healthily. I don't know how to help you, but I will be here for you."

"That's all I ask for, Dusky."

She didn't tell him that the desire for revenge burned like a festering wound. He didn't need to hear that. His big sister was only grieving. He'd already suffered enough, there was no need to drag him down with her. No need to drag anyone down.

Luna would handle this herself like a queen. Wasp would know the full might that the SilkWings had to offer.

"Luna!" Blue came trotting up to her. Luna released Dusky, standing up with a straight back. "How… are you?"

"How do you think I am?" Luna asked bluntly.

Blue flinched and Luna felt a twinge of guilt for being so direct. "Did you really order no HiveWings to enter the Chrysalis?"

Luna frowned. She barely remembred anything that happened after Blue escorted her out of the cave. "I don't know."

Blue was not happy with her answer, she could tell. However, he did not say anything about it. "Well, Lady Scarab and Cricket are here. I had to let them in."

Luna felt undermined at that moment. Sure, she didn't remember giving the order, but she was queen . Who was he, someone who was barely here, to revoke her decree? Granted, she knew that Lady Scarab was coming. Maybe she ordered it so she didn't have to look at another HiveWing for that much longer.

It still made her irrationally angry.

"Do not go against my orders again." Luna warned him. "I must have had a reason."

"Cricket is my consort and your friend . Bumblebee is my daughter . You're segregating them," Blue responded flatly.

Oh, Luna hated this new spine of his. Yet, he was completely right.

"Fine. It was a dumb order. But I mean it, if I give an order, I usually have a reason behind it." Luna let out a sigh. "But… you are free to question it."

Blue wasn't completely satisfied. "You're grieving. But please, don't take it out on the innocent. There are many HiveWings who called this place their home."

"I know that." Luna growled lowly. "I will not displace them."

"Then you need to rescind the order. They have friends and family trying to help them and can't get in."

Wordlessly, Luna went back into her room and scratched out a note for the guards to let HiveWings in. Sealing it with a stamp, she gave it to a nearby guard to report to Io.

"Dusky, with me. I'll need you to record every detail Lady Scarab says." Luna turned to the smaller SilkWing, who snapped to attention. "Afterward, we're doing a damage assessment. You'll have your claws busy the next few days. Will you be okay with that?"

"Yes, my queen!" Dusky replied dutifully.

"And if I tell you to rest, will you listen?" Luna questioned. He faltered a bit at that before nodding. "I know you're worried about your mom, so tell her she can stay in the palace if she needs to. I imagine you'll like having her close by."

Dusky didn't say anything but his purple scales became visibly brighter, as did his expression. It was a small action, but one that made Luna feel better. Swordtail was gone… but she couldn't neglect the ones she loved. She had to calm. She had to approach this rationally.

Even if it meant restraining herself from ripping into Lady Scarab.

They waited in her throne room. Luna barely registered the HiveWings, approaching her throne. She felt Cricket and Lady Scarab's look, the former with a heartbroken expression. Luna could tell Cricket wanted to say something. But really, she couldn't handle another 'I'm sorry for your loss' right this second. Her parents, Blue, Dusky… everyone overwhelmed her with their sympathy. It was appreciated, but there was only so much she could take.

As she sat on her throne, the crushing sense of loss and loneliness came surging back. She looked to her left, where Swordtail always stood. Instead, Io had replaced him. Blue had apparently called her without Luna's knowledge, and wondered if the guard she sent found her. Given the lack of concern on Io's face, and Blue's for that matter, the guard did.

"How did this happen?" Luna decided it was best to just cut right to it.

"Wasp still has a portion of her powers," Lady Scarab responded calmly. "She cannot control the HiveWings, but she can communicate with them. Her plan must have accelerated once a guard let slip that we planned to execute her."

That caught Luna's interest. "So, you finally were going to do the right thing after all."

"You know why we could not before." Lady Scarab said with that same calmness. It began to infuriate Luna.

"And now she has decimated my tribe and killed my consort." Luna snarled back. "I am told she flew to parts unknown. How did none of you check this before Cricket came along?"

Lady Scarab did not have an answer.

"As I thought. You thought her harmless once I killed the Overmind." Luna was keen to remind them of her role. "You should have known better and had her killed. Damn the revolution, because now both of our tribes have suffered. This is not counting the LeafWings, who separated. So, tell me again why this was a good idea."

"Our tribe was so unstable that we could not afford a revolution," Lady Scarab replied with cold fact. "This is on top of demands and reparations."

"Then you should have executed her after things settled." Luna responded with the same cold tone. "I hold Queen Jewel responsible for this."

"Luna…" Blue said with both warning and worry.

"Am I wrong?" Luna snapped her head to him. "If Wasp was gone, this would never have happened. Perhaps even the LeafWings wouldn't be split!"

"And what do you demand?" Lady Scarab did not appear intimidated, but her posture changed to an 'on guard' one.

"Three days." Luna gave her an icy look. "She has three days to find and bring in Wasp. If she fails, then I will do it for her."

"How do you plan on doing so?"

"I will find every last one of her supporters and force them to reveal her location." Luna met Lady Scarab's gaze. "She will not escape me. I don't care what I have to do to bring her to justice."

"Even if that means marching on Wasp Hive?" Cricket, not Lady Scarab, asked worriedly.

"I have no desire to conquer. I have no desire to subdue ." Luna took a deep breath before speaking again. "Once Wasp is found and brought to justice, I will leave the HiveWings to themselves. I will not become her to kill her."

As expected, that assurance did not go over well. Lady Scarab was off put, Cricket mortified. Blue held disappointment in his eyes but no surprise. Only Io seemed on board with the plan. If Dusky had any objections, he kept them to himself too.

"Three days is not enough time to scour Pantala." Lady Scarab pointed out.

"It is if she is the priority." Luna leaned forward. "Which direction did she fly? Search that way."

"She could have easily looped around."

"Well, we won't know until you search, will we?"

"Luna, stop this." Blue spoke up. "Please. We're all upset and grieving. But we have to work together , not like this."

"I will be working with the HiveWings. As I said, I will do this for Queen Jewel if she cannot." Luna snapped back. "I don't know what else I have to say to make it clear that I am not going to enslave or conquer the HiveWings. But so long as Wasp is alive, then every single HiveWing outside Lady Scarab, Cricket, and Bumblebee – as well as Queen Jewel – are suspects."

"And what will you do to the HiveWings here?" Lady Scarab questioned almost dangerously.

"I'll not be kicking them out if they are innocent." Luna responded as calmly as she could.

"How?" Cricket spoke up. "How are you going to make sure they aren't in contact with Wasp?"

That, admittedly, was the only downside to her plan. They could lie to her, easily. She had no way of entering their mind outside the dreamvisitor, but it was not a way to read thoughts. But, there was someone who was adept at discovering lies. Someone who trained herself specifically for that purpose to become her head guard.

"Io will interrogate them with me present." Luna stated. Io looked mildly surprised but otherwise did not object. "She is better than I at this. And with the both of us there, I daresay it would be difficult to keep up the lies. The method will be nonviolent before you get your wings all bunched up."

"I want to be there." Lady Scarab didn't request. No, it was a statement.

"Fine." Luna didn't see the issue with it. "It will take three days to go through the HiveWings here; there aren't that many, after all. But the first we will start with is your guards." Luna pointed directly at them.

"They are not followers." Lady Scarab narrowed her gaze.

"Are you so certain? Sure, they may not have attacked, but they could easily be plants or waiting for the right time."

Lady Scarab did not answer. She, too, had considered this it seemed. Good.

"I will need to inform my daughter of your plan," Lady Scarab instead said.

"Do what you will. You aren't a prisoner." Luna stood up. "We'll start now. Follow me to the prison." She looked at Blue and Cricket. "You are free to follow, but I think four's a crowd. I think your time may be better spent making sure our home is being rebuilt."

With that, Luna strode out the door with Io right behind. She was going to find Wasp, even if it was the last thing she did.

"This is bad."

Blue knew he was speaking the understatement of the century with this, but what else could he say to better sum it up? His sister was mad with grief and rage. He couldn't blame her in the slightest, but she was queen of an entire tribe. At her command, war could break out. After the attack, many SilkWings would likely be in support.

The only positive thing was that Luna was rational enough to recognize that Wasp was responsible for the attack, not Queen Jewel. Even if she did blame Queen Jewel for not executing Wasp.

There was little point in following Luna to the prison. She all but said 'don't follow me' and Blue suspected that she wouldn't listen to a word anyone said. So, both he and Cricket agreed to meet with Sundew and Willow to figure out their next plan.

"I can't say I blame her." Sundew growled lowly. "If Willow died in a HiveWing attack, I'd be even more irrational."

"Problem is that she's a queen and you're not." Cricket pointed out the obvious.

"Yeah, that's the issue. But, I'd probably be joining Belladonna." Sundew looked sick upon saying her mother's name. "You can bet that she'll be taking advantage of this. The SilkWings are a victim just as the LeafWings and she'll be coming here to broker some sort of alliance."

"Anything back on trying to find her?" Blue asked Sundew.

"Nope. Plant network takes a while to work, so it'll probably be another day or two." Sundew let out a tired sigh. "Plus this injury is making it difficult to communicate properly." She patted her side, where discoloration still remained. Turtle's rock wasn't used, as although it would heal the surface wound, it'd be difficult to treat internally.

"How is that healing, by the way?" Cricket asked.

" Slowly ." Sundew spat out. "I can feel my heart beating against what's left of my lung."

"We need to get you healed." Blue grimaced. "We're going to need you."

"Unlike you to be so pessimistic. That's my job." Sundew shot him a fake look of annoyance.

"Yeah, well… watching your sister going off the deep end because your best friend died does that."

Cricket wrapped her tail around his at his words. "We need to bring my parents and Bumblebee here. If Luna really is going to do what she says, I'm not having them be in her path."

"She's going to want to clear your parents." Blue warned her.

"I know. And they'll pass." Cricket's gaze was downcast. "I will be in that room when she does interrogate her, though. I feel awful saying such things about Luna, but I am afraid she'll take any hesitation as an admission of guilt."

"Hmm…" Sundew tapped her tail on the floor in thought. An usual look for her, but desperate times, Blue supposed. "I thought I saw plants near the prison. If I can convince them to grow toward the interrogation room, I may be able to listen in."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Cricket visibly brightened.

"Problem is, I can't fly over there. Willow can carry me, of course, but I'll need a place to rest that won't be obvious." Sundew once again looked directly at her wound. "Did I mention I hate Belladonna? Because I do now."

"Hate?" Blue frowned. "I didn't know it'd gotten that far."

"She disowned and stabbed me," Sundew answered flatly. "I think that's hate material."

That was fair, all things considered. "Alright then." Blue didn't know how else to reply. "I'll try and get our parents on this, too. I don't think she's going to stop, but they can try and slow her down."

"Dusky is going to enable her." Cricket said. Blue let out a small sigh. "Yeah, exactly. He's devoted to her. If we're going to stop Luna, we have to get to Dusky. Problem is… he won't listen to us. He worships Luna like a big sister, if not a crush."

"And how do we solve that?" Sundew questioned.

"Bumblebee is very close to him." Cricket tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Someone his age is going to get through to him more than us. We'd only come across as overbearing adults."

"I'll speak to Butterwort." Sundew grunted, attempting to stand. "No, don't tell me to lay down! Willow's out, so I'm moving. Anyway, he needs to get used to HiveWings and SilkWings. He's in the age group. It'd be good for him to break away from what Belladonna did."

"If you're going to move around, you're going to rip open your wound again. It's just scabbing over. Look, it's already starting to bleed through." Cricket stood in Sundew's way and gently nudged her to the ground. "Willow's gonna be mad."

"Ugh. Then someone go get Butterwort." Sundew grumbled loudly. "It's been only a few days – I think – and this is already wearing on me."

"The fact that you're moving around is astounding." Blue mused lightly. "I'll find Butterwort. Cricket, get Bumblebee and your parents."

"And I'll see if I can't reach out to the plants near the prison." Sundew lay her head on the ground. "And uh… please don't tell Willow I stood up. Just say I rolled over or something."

"The great, invincible Sundew, fearful of her own girlfriend…" Cricket poked Sundew on the forehead teasingly. Sundew snapped at her talon. "So vicious. Fine, fine, I'll keep your secret. Blue?"

"I'd rather not see Willow kill you." Blue chuckled. He couldn't tell if they were playing it up to relieve some tension, but the playfulness was sorely needed.

It was only a matter of time before things got worse, though.

As I said, no idea when next update is. But I am meeting Tui this friday with a group of friends! So maybe that'll get things going.

Also, I published the first chapter of my upcoming novel. If anyone is interested, the link is here (remove the spaces): www . deviantart rurik-redwolf/art/Ashen-Dreams-Chapter-One-Half-Breed-948967881