They're EVERYWHERE!

CH: 11/13 - Haze

Without prompting, the drones start limping, stumbling, and in several cases even crawling out of their hiding places. Chrysalis looks at one missing both hind legs slowly dragging itself towards her.

"Oh really?" she narrows her eyes.

44986 looks nervously at the obviously completely crippled drone.

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty! 99685 can totally still dig. You just need forelegs for that-" it freezes when Chrysalis quietly growls.

She measures everyone's wounds... and counts the remaining limbs. The drone-to-limb ratio... isn't great.

"44986, find me six drones who are the most capable of working right now. Excluding you."

The drone instinctively blurts out six numbers before it even realizes that it could mean dooming everyone else. Drones are replaceable. Chrysalis taps into their minds, showing them two locations where to dig and how deep.

"Reserve stores of love crystals. Dig them all up, bring them to the throne room."

The drones hobble off.

"Now show me the five weakest," Chrysalis adds.

44986 hangs its head.

"I am waiting!" Chrysalis growls again.

With a sigh, 44986 slowly approaches five drones, patting each one on the back or the head as they slump down. In the case of 99685, it simply flops on its belly, resigned to its fate. It knew. They all knew all along.

"These five," mumbles 44986.

Chrysalis grabs 44986's chin with one hoof and forces it to look her in the eyes.

"Not an easy task, was it?" she hisses, lets go, and starts walking up the stairs to 43, "Assign someone to carry the ones who can't walk to the throne room. Everyone else, get inside," when the drones don't move, she flashes them an irritated glare, "As far as I can see, all of you still have at least one ear and a working link, so I know you heard me."

The drones exchange glances and start shuffling ahead.

When inside, Chrysalis focuses on her own mind, scouting for a way to dive deeper into the inherited memories, but feels her touch repelled by power far beyond her own.

"Call me when you are truly ready. I'm not sure what will happen when I'm gone," replies an old voice she heard once before.

***

Several hours later, everyone is inside the throne room, huddling under any cover they could find. Glowing love crystals are bathing the area in green shimmer, and the vast majority of the changelings are asleep. The few in a good shape were sent out in infiltrator-warrior pairs to bring any resources the forest can provide from which to craft suitable sutures, splints, ropes, and any other vaguely medical necessities usable on broken chitin.

So far, everyone is still alive.

Getting back to the hive will be a chore, but this outpost will serve as a temporary base more than well. And who knows? There might be more survivors coming, although this long after the... failed invasion it's unlikely.

Chrysalis measures everyone's links one last time before mentally touching her new top brass.

"43, 68, 96, meet me here," she pings a place under the palace.

The place is a small cell, likely one for solitary confinement, and as the three warriors arrive, she walks inside and starts fixing the rusty door with her goo.

"What's going on, Your Majesty?" asks 43.

"I'm going for what might be my final dive into the hive mind. 68 and 96 will tell you all you need to know," replies Chrysalis, cutting off all her hive links which makes the warriors blink in shock.