— Chapter 7 —
Luna stared at the empty spot where Qibli is currently standing with her invisible mouth wide open due to complete shock, not quite believing the crazy plan that Qibli had just proposed to everyone.
Finally, Cricket was the first to speak. "I can see why you said most here wouldn't like the plan, that one is… Quite crazy? And also extremely risky?"
"Most of the time I'm perfectly fine with crazy and dangerous ideas, they have worked out quite often," Tsunami said. "But this one is crazy enough to even make me consider things."
"Your plan to save one of you is to risk two others as bait? That doesn't sound very productive!" Wren's voice chimed in.
"Two free and prepared dragons with a plan to release a trapped and stuck dragon, that's the way I see it. Just one might also distract Wasp, but then there would be no support at all nearby and things could get ugly," Qibli explained.
"But… Then what happens to the bait dragons…?" Bullfrog asked.
"I've had many thoughts about it, and it's not going to be something like two of us rushing to her talons to be captured, but rather something like a trick. Make her believe we're there to negotiate Moon's freedom, that we care more about that than to fight against her, and as bonus we could say that we know where Sundew is at," Qibli said with a tone that was likely accompanied by a smirk.
Sundew let out a clear huff from that. "You don't plan to actually do that to save her, right? Because if you did…!"
"Of course not!" Qibli's voice protested. "But you have to admit from Wasp and Cottonmouth's perspective, that'd be one very tempting offer, and I could even sweeten the deal even more."
"How so? To what extent could you even bring a deal like that?" Luna asked, not able to imagine this.
"Well, very obviously from this continent we're not, so I could make them take the bait by saying that we just want to get Moon back in exchange for some information, and then we'd just fly back to our continent."
"You'd hold the idea of following you back to Pyrrhia right in front of their faces," Cricket quickly said.
"Exactly!" Qibli agreed. "That would be the saving bet for the ones that go there as a distraction, since they could get a far bigger use from following us later than to just control us."
"But huh, you won't really just fly back to Pyrrhia while they're tailing you, right?" Pineapple asked.
"Well, the idea would be that while we do talking and negotiations at the Hive, that should give a chance for others to sneak in, free the Flamesilks and then bring forth mayhem and then everyone escapes!" Qibli explained.
Luna felt honestly impressed by this. Not in a hundred years would she think of a plan this crazy yet at the same time, believable and possible sounding, and let alone at this speed, considering that Qibli already had all these steps prepared in his mind after less than one hour.
Moon's lucky, when it came to giving ideas, between Swordtail and I, I was the ideas dragon.
"So you think that might work?" Tsunami questioned.
"It's the best idea I've got to accomplish all that, I've brainstormed a lot since the moment Moon got taken," Qibli replied.
"Hnrgh, agh! I'm very certain that if my friends were here, they'd tell me I am just jumping into the most dangerous idea, but I am really just hating… Sitting here in some cave while one of our friends is taken, so fine, I'll go with this idea!" Tsunami finally said.
Luna could hear some muttering among the side that personally agreed to go help Moon, and it was sounding mostly positive, so she decided to voice her opinion as well.
"Whatever plan you've got, I'll follow. I want to take action, and sneaking into a Hive to both release a companion and the Flamesilks so Wasp cannot use them anymore is just the kind of plan I want to do!"
"I guess that plan sounds like a clearer goal than only following vague instructions from a prophecy and a vision, more physical, and more chances to do something," Sundew added.
"I have to ask, who exactly do you plan to send with you?" Lynx said, and Luna now wondered the same.
"I've thought about it, and honestly, and only if he's fine with it… I'd choose Pineapple," Qibli announced.
"Huh? Me? Really?" Pineapple's voice asked with a clearly confused tone.
"You've got that secret weapon of yours, which I would say is the most powerful thing this group holds. So if we're either given a chance or we need to make an even bigger distraction, using it on the queen might even make her stop controlling everyone for a while if she lives through it."
"That… You want me to do that to her?" Pineapple asked in an uncertain way.
"Only if you're 100% on the idea, otherwise I can go with another teammate. You were just what I considered best," Qibli quickly added.
"I probably would need some time to think? Like, I knew beforehand that there was always a chance I'd have to fight and then that would come up, but I didn't fully consider it yet," Pineapple admitted.
"Well you'll have time to think, because after we're done deliberating, we will go to sleep," Tsunami said. "It won't do us any favors if we do a rescue mission now after we just barely escaped an hour ago, after we made such a long trek over the sea."
"That… Makes sense, right," Qibli admitted after a moment, even though he probably was feeling ready to go and get Moon back right now.
A WHOLE night of waiting, poor Qibli, poor Moon… And poor us, I'd wish to do something NOW! Luna thought fiercely.
"Okay, I'll think about it until then, I promise," Pineapple assured.
After this was done, everyone began to settle down for the Stealth Team's first night on Pantala. And so far, the expedition was already a disaster in Luna's eyes.
Okay, bad start, so what? There had to be SOME point during the whole mission where something goes wrong, so hey, maybe it's just a rough beginning and then it goes smooth. Better than starting well then screwing up at the very end.
With that, wings tucked close to her invisible body, once more she fell asleep.
Next morning, preparations were being done to get the plan started. Luna moved her antennae to listen as much as she could, hearing Qibli and Pineapple talking to each other.
"I'd really like to avoid confrontation to be honest… But I've thought about it, and if you think I'm your best bet so everyone can stay alive, I'd really feel bad if I didn't help now. So maybe we could just try distracting normally by talking as much as we can? And if we really need to I… Can do it," Pineapple was whispering.
"I really appreciate it, Pineapple," Qibli had replied. "And I hope that our combined natural charms can give enough of a distraction by itself before we need to resort to extreme violence," he added with a chuckle.
After some time, with Qibli's planning after he confirmed with others, there were four clear groups that everyone would split into.
Wren and Sky had to hang back in this cave, and Bullfrog was chosen as the dragon to watch over them. Their mission will be to try exploring the caverns and potentially find a human to learn more about the Abyss in the meantime. And also they must place subtle signs around so the others can follow them when they return.
Qibli and Pineapple will be the bait, meant to get captured close enough to Wasp Hive while convincing both Wasp and Cottonmouth that they deserted the group and care more about their taken companion, willing to share information and then fly back to their continent.
Luna, Cricket and Tsunami are the rescue team, meant to sneak into the Hive while the bait distracts the mind controllers, their task being to reach where the Flamesilks are being kept as Cricket was quite certain she knew the path after asking about it to Blue a while ago. And then after retrieving the Silkwings they'd give a smoke signal for the last team then raid the palace to help these two and rescue Moon.
And then, Sundew and Lynx are the Special Task Force. They will await at a safe distance from Wasp Hive, but not too far either, and the smoke signal from the rescue team would be their cue that they can join in the offensive to confront Wasp and save the others. But if there's no signal and no development for a long while, or things are looking dire, then they will instead return to the caves and aid the team there with the original mission.
They were starting to leave the cave after Luna checked with her antennae if there was any presence nearby outside but luckily there wasn't. They gave a farewell to the three that'll remain back here, and that's when Cricket suddenly asked something.
"So we should get as close as we can to Wasp Hive before you two actually give yourselves in to make as much as we can from the distraction, but how will we get to Wasp Hive undetected first?"
Luna immediately facepalmed with a groan after hearing that now.
How did THAT slip past us UNTIL NOW!?
"Huh, right. We're still several miles away, with Silkwing patrols surely still flying around, and insects searching for us closer to the ground," Qibli said in a thoughtful tone.
"Are you… Are you serious? Are we still not going to leave this cave and get onto our incredible rescue operation?" Tsunami complained.
"Thought a lot on what to do when we get there and how we'll leave, didn't actually think about getting there, shame on me for that one, my mistake," Qibli admitted.
"Great, anything else we're forgetting, or we'll just have to drop the whole plan now, right before going for it?" Sundew snarled.
"Give me just one minute, I'm thinking on a route," Qibli said, and the map appeared out of thin air as it was placed on the ground to read it.
Luna felt some footsteps coming from a little behind them, which she recognized as Sky's based on the rather small strength behind them.
"I got an idea! What if you fly high?" Sky said.
"Well, seeing dragons should be quite easier than spotting hostile insects," Lynx replied.
"No, I don't mean it like that, I mean what if all of you take off very high up? Above the clouds! High! I doubt these dragons could notice something that far away," Sky said excitedly.
"That… Might actually just work out," Qibli said with an interested tone. "I never flew that high up, but logically we should be able to get there. And since dragons don't usually even think of going that high, then Wasp might just not look up and try to sense much up there. Sky, you're a genius."
"Yaaay!" Sky said with a quite cute giggle.
"We'll go that high? Isn't it possible that the strong wind currents at such altitude could push us?" Cricket quickly asked.
"Hey, c'mon. We're dragons, not birds, I'm sure that as long as we aren't dealing with a massive storm, that we can do with some wind up there," Qibli said in a cheerful tone.
"Okay, since that is settled, let's just go now! We don't know what Wasp might be doing with Moon at this moment!" Tsunami exclaimed, and she began to quickly fully walk out of the cave with everyone else following right behind.
With the new plan they had in mind, the weather was just perfect for what they needed. It was a rather cloudy day, not the type of day where the sky is completely covered and there's only clouds at sight, but it was still a good amount of clouds.
Luna felt excited, after they already lost a member of their team basically the moment they stepped foot into Pantala, she wanted even more to do something, to act up and let Wasp know that there's people still fighting her with all they have. And now it was finally the time to open her wings, take flight, and head to the most dangerous place of the continent: Wasp Hive.
Get ready, "queen", because today might just be the last day of your reign of terror. If I get the chance to do it, I'll burn you and your entire system down. Luna thought to herself, feeling motivated and determined to finally make the change she dreamed so much about.
They pierced through the clouds, and Luna shuddered for a moment, the wind getting quite more intense and colder the moment they passed the soft white barrier. But at the same time it lead to an incredible view of the completely open sky above with the sun shining down directly. And when there were gaps between the clouds it was possible to see Pantala far below, the empty, sad view of the Savannah. And she knew that Sundew must be thinking the same thing because she heard a grunt coming from her right.
And of course, the patrols of mind controlled dragons were visible rather often during the trip, but as expected, they were far away enough and never got that close to the clouds to actually threaten them.
And finally after a couple of hours, during a time where the clouds parted, Luna was able to see their destination, and so she saw the biggest and most menacing Hive yet. Even at this height it was clear that it was bigger and taller than the others they flew past during the trek, and as they began to descend it just kept becoming clearer.
She examined below them, her antennae twitching with anticipation, but they got a clear shot straight down without anyone else at this spot and so she announced that to the others.
They flew down, and as they descended, Wasp Hive was just getting bigger and taller, and it almost looked demoralizing to Luna for a second before she shook that feeling off.
That's the whole point, to show off and make herself look so superior and above all others, so I can't let that trick work on me!
Everyone touched the ground, and Luna was already on edge and keeping her guard up, readying some fiery silk already in case it is needed very soon as she made sure to keep listening attently for vibrations.
"Okay, it's time to enact the plan. The moment we turn visible, Moon should as well based on how this thing works, so that already should be kinda distracting. Sundew, you have to give the wristbands to Tsunami as they need the invisibility to sneak in, but have to be visible to talk to the Flamesilks. Then you and Lynx hide well by the nearby coast as you'll be forced to be visible eventually, got it?" Qibli said.
"Of course," Sundew replied. Then there was silence for some moments as everyone made sure there weren't dragons on the lookout, and for a moment, Luna suddenly reappeared and saw herself, same as everyone else, with Tsunami now wearing the wristbands.
And then just as quickly, nearly everyone disappeared once more, leaving only Qibli and Pineapple visible.
"We'll see you all soon enough," Qibli whispered, knowing he wouldn't hear if anyone answered that.
Pineapple meanwhile looked clearly uncertain about this, but he didn't let that stop him, stepping forward alongside Qibli, who was acting as chill as always with a grin on his face as they walked towards Wasp Hive, the others following from a very far distance and very slowly so they could see the interaction even if they couldn't hear it. And if things really go wrong, then Tsunami can turn them invisible again as long as they're on sight to get any attackers momentarily off guard.
Literally two minutes after Qibli and Pineapple headed there, Luna saw a swarm of dragons flying down at them at a fast speed, but their friends remained still and Qibli raised his talons in a peaceful gesture as white eyed dragons surrounded these two.
They weren't able to hear any words coming from either these dragons or their friends, as they had to be perfectly still and far away enough to slip past their vibration sensors, but the gestures looked quite aggressive and threatening for the first few minutes.
Then, one of these dragons moved differently and closer to one of the others, as if they were to say something, and Luna assumed that this was Cottonmouth entering the conversation as well, hopefully taking the bait from Qibli's words.
And then after some more time, all the dragons over there took off, including Qibli and Pineapple, the two of them being in the middle of a circle while the other dragons flew towards the Hive with a perfect and terrifying synch, they were getting close to the entrance and then they were out of sight.
"I really hope they'll be okay…" Cricket said with a worried tone.
"Don't you worry, I know quite well just how much mayhem a Rainwing can cause in a palace, and Qibli has done some crazy escapades alongside his friends," Tsunami assured.
"So, is it time for us to perform our part of the plan?" Luna said to the spot where the voices of Tsunami and Cricket came from. "We need to get into the Hive ourselves and where all the Flamesilks are contained."
"Right, let's stay low at all times, and you keep these antennae of yours up also at all times, and we might just do okay," the Seawing agreed.
"I wish you good luck with this, if nothing comes up after about three hours, then we'll go back and hope that we can free you with the original mission," Lynx said.
"Don't die on us, nor get captured, and even less, mind controlled, I don't want the thought of fighting your possessed bodies," Sundew said.
"We'll try our best, don't worry, I don't want THAT either," Luna agreed.
Slowly, they started to walk over to Wasp Hive, first circling around it by its side to face the actual front the least possible, and then they were able to start moving forward towards the imposing structure.
"Our goal is at the bottom level, so at least that should be easy enough to break into," Cricket explained. "Blue told me that after he got captured, he was dragged through the streets and into a warehouse that has the carving of a lantern on its door, so we have to find that and get past the guards and then find where the Flamesilks are kept at."
"Sounds simple enough to me," Luna said with a determined tone, rubbing her talons together for a moment, feeling the warmth coming off from her wrists, ready to fling burning silk at whoever gets on their way (and this time, hopefully without her ending on yet another continent).
The Hive was basically upon the group, so close that they could extend a talon and touch the treestuff that makes up most of the structure.
"Luna, do you feel anything right on the other side here? Or it'd be safe to force an entry?" Tsunami asked, and Luna focused, trying to catch any vibrations from within the structure, and after a whole minute, she talked.
"Nothing, while it might be possible that the wall could cover some of that, I really couldn't feel anything moving down here."
A few moments later, sounds of cracking and breaking could be heard, and then there suddenly was a hole on the mostly perfect surface of the place.
"Let's get into it in such case!" Tsunami said, and sounds were heard as she pushed through the hole to enter.
Luna went after, needing to really press her four wings a lot against her body to not scrape them, and then she did the last thing she ever actually wanted to do, she willingly went into another Hive.
She stepped on the interior and looked around, and just as expected, the sight wasn't colorful or lively or anything like that. The bottom of Wasp hive purely consisted of a lot of big warehouses, each meticulously placed and all of more or less the same size. A carving on each door signaling what they're for.
There was a sword on a door, so she assumed this either was an armory or a forge for Hivewing weapons, another had a detailed carving of a statue so it was probably to make sculptures, then there was one for tapestries, another for glass making…
And then there it was, the carving was small, but she spotted a door with the carving of a lantern with sparks coming from it to show that it is glowing, and she stopped in front of it.
"It's here…" She said, fighting extremely hard against any lingering nerves. This was the place where she was taken right after she began her Metamorphosis, the first place she saw after leaving the cocoon, having felt such hope during the first moments when Blue was the first person she saw, before she had found out in horror that she was just even more trapped than she ever had been.
"Feel anything yet?" Tsunami asked, and this time after some moments, Luna felt some vibrations coming from within the warehouse at some distance.
"There's some dragons walking in there, I hope Wasp didn't place Silkwings in here yet as guards, or even if it's just Hivewings that they're not controlled right now," she announced.
"Got it, in that case both of you get your blowguns loaded with a dart, if they're just regular guards we'll get them before they even know what hit 'em, if they're possessed… I guess we'll just try to sneak past them?" Tsunami's voice ordered.
"Wasp would very certainly feel if one of her controlled minds suddenly fell instantaneously asleep," Cricket agreed.
Luna struggled for some moments, having to be very slow and careful when loading a blowgun that one CANNOT SEE, because the risk of accidentally pinching herself with her own dart and falling asleep was real, and she'd hate ending up as such a literal deadweight.
Finally she got the blowgun loaded and ready as she held it on a talon, then she slowly opened the door and crawled inside, the sounds on the ground behind her telling Luna that her companions just did the exact same thing.
After a minute of crawling, they spotted the first guard, and thankfully it was just a Hivewing, no white eyes or anything, and they just appeared bored as they pushed a big crate down a hallway.
"On it…" Tsunami said, there was a sound coming from her direction, and then the Hivewing's expression turned surprised for a second before immediately falling asleep on top of the crate it was carrying, starting to snore.
"This place seems like a maze of corridors, so you have to guide us," Tsunami whispered at Luna's direction, and so she began to move forward once more, feeling more vibrations further ahead as she took her friends down a series of hallways that twisted left and right all the time, but she didn't have to stop at any point, managing to guide them to the end of the halls.
There were two more presences right at the end, two Hivewing guards just sitting down, chatting to each other while using a crate as a makeshift table where they placed a tray of honey biscuits to snack on, one of them moved a talon to grab a biscuit, but they never got to taste it as they suddenly fell backwards and to the ground, startling the other Hivewing who jumped up, but this time Luna managed to take a shot too, her dart landing on a leg and so the other guard fell down too, although thankfully not on the biscuits.
"I feel vibrations below us, but that should just be the other Silkwings, so that's probably it in matter of guards," Luna said as she got closer to that spot, snatching two sweet biscuits on the way which she quickly munched onto, not having any of the classic Pantalan pastries in what felt so long, sounds of biting behind her told Luna that her companions allowed themselves some as well.
"Wow, this thing is almost too sweet for my taste, but still it's quite good," Tsunami commented, taking a big and loud bite on her biscuit.
Luna finished her quick snack, then approached a very large crate, with some effort she managed to push it to a side, and there was a trapdoor now revealed.
"We've made it," Luna said, looking at the trapdoor with wariness. "The Flamesilk factory is right in there, where about nine Silkwings have been forced to work for decades."
"I really hope that these old guys you mentioned got a spark on their souls to fight too," Tsunami said. "We kinda really depend on it, and it would be extremely cool to see a bunch of old dragons kicking butts."
"Most likely not a single one of them knows any of the recent atrocities," Cricket said in a sad tone. "The burning of the whole Poison Jungle, Leafwings and Silkwings being controlled just like the Hivewings are, their families either being controlled or heavily guarded by their own kind too now…"
"Some of them sounded like they already long accepted their conditions, like… My dad," Luna said. "But others didn't sound as happy, they complained, they argued, and perhaps they might be able to convince these dragons they've known for years to help too, we need them."
"You two go in now," Tsunami ordered. "It'd be too distracting if during your whole speech for the cause and to revolt there was a brand new cool blue dragon they've never seen before, so I'll stand back, take guard, and try some more of these sweet things."
Luna felt her own colors come back, her green body once again present, she looked at her side and saw Cricket looking back at her with a nervous expression on her face. Tsunami meanwhile stayed invisible for now.
With a deep breath, Luna opened the trapdoor and the two of them climbed down to the Flamesilk factory.