If Only, If Only - Unicorn Wars Fanfiction

Chapter Sixteen: Three's A Crowd

((Creeper.... awwwww mannnnn)

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Azulin started to breathe a bit better, relaxing on the ground as he took in the feeling of being internally repaired. It was almost strange really. Though... with that being said- why didn't the unicorns heal each other during the war?

Was that something else that was new to the world he was in, or was it just something that they missed? Maybe only certain unicorns can heal, or maybe they needed time to store and expend their magic before they could use it.

Azulin eventually stood up, recalling the past. His face fell to some sort of far-off stare. He looked at the little unicorn even more- wanting to push the memories from his mind. The turmoil was killing him inside- he aught to know- he already died once.

The baby unicorn in front of him started to look distorted and jumbled in his head. Parts of the little creature were just starting to look wrong. He shook his head and turned away, bringing his paws up to his face as his memory continued to pester him. The thoughts of his that he used to have. The inexcusable actions taken as if there was no such thing as consequences.

Bile rose in Azulin's throat- his hands trembling unsteadily. Oh how he remembered the rotten taste of that little unicorns meat. Putrid and slimy. Gross. Gut-wrenching.

It was taking him back...

Eventually, the blue bear regurgitated bile, most of it being stomach acid from him hardly taking in substantial meals.

His panting and hoarse breathe enough to make both of the unicorns watch in both curiosity and worry. The older unicorn being the one to move closer to him whilst the younger stayed off to the side to watch- in case something happened. Azulin gasped for air, standing up just in time to turn around. The smell around him was driving him insane.

Rotten flesh and the thought of crawling maggots feasting on putrid remains.

It was as if he was starting to feel hungry again, but the feeling of intense, unforgiving nausea followed directly in suit.

'Go and find that camp, Azulin. That needs to be the focus. That sedative will only work so long...' He mumbled, before walking down the path more. The unicorns followed him, staying behind in the high brush that surrounded the forest path. It was a nice concealer, considering just how high animosity could be if they are spotted.

Running along the path for two solid minutes, the blue bear stopped at the opening of the path- just to halt. He looked out into the distance, spotting the source of the smell of rot and decay. He plugged his nose, eyes watering from the familiar and awful stench.

Both of the unicorns also seemed to show some kind of unfavorable reaction to the odoriferous stench.

"It looks like there really was no way to save them..." Azulin murmured to himself- walking out into the bloodied field. All of the decomposing bodies lying there as it started to rain. Their skin bloated and tarnished due to nature taking it's course on their unattended bodies.

"Is... is... is someone there...?" someone called out meekly from the bushes. "Please... please please please... tell me someone is really there this time..." the voice was shaky, and only semi-coherent. "You're not a hallucination... right...?" The bear called out desperately.

"Hallucinations... like.. from those slugs....?" Azulin looked around and paled a bit as he came to a startling realization. The bears that were dead here... the damage done to their bodies didn't look like damage that the unicorns could have done... other than a couple holes in one of the bears' chest- that lie close to the path into the clearing.

The timeline had changed again... and this time- it was the slugs that took someone out but it was no one in his troupe. Meaning that there just may be a possibly be more survivors.

"I'm here. You don't have to come out, how many of you are there...?" Azulin called to where he heard the voice coming from

"Th-ere's five. Five of us left... our troupe was a bit larger than usual when we were sent..." The bear peaked out from behind a tree- his wide, terrified eyes meeting Azulin's. "We ate colorful slugs... we were so hungry... several of us were out fishing and when we got back everyone... they were all mauling each other like a bunch of animals...!" the younger bear started to cry from the memory.

((The audience, holding up a magnifying glass to the bear, wondering if it also knows it is also an animal))

Azulin stared in concern, looking at the corpses as he tried to picture the last time he had witnessed this scene ... how different it was. He recalled seeing this bear... dead on the ground with a huge hole trampled through his head.

The blue bear found himself getting more and more built up, internalized nausea. He shook his head as a small bead of sweat travels down his forehead. He heard the bear whispering small prayers to himself as he tried to calm himself down.

The gravity of the carnage started to set in over the bears as several of the bears peered out from several tents- looking distraught and petrified by the effects of what the others had done. The one thing that was a common trend- was the fact that all of them looked young. The same age or even younger than the Polar Bear Twins. Barely even hitting adulthood, or not even there yet. That's how young they were.

"My brother..." the young bear lamented, looking over to the rotting corpse of the sibling. "Little Brother..." the voice of the stranger sounded broken. Just fully taking in the situation after however long they had all been waiting for someone to find them- lest they all go crazy and finish each other off..

Just as Azulin went to approach the younger bear- he saw the young one starting to slowly delve into irrationality now that he had finally had something new to think about. Hope had come to late, in most regards and now most of them were gone. There was no amount of wishing that would repair such an awful incident.

Nothing would ever heal a wound like this.

How ironic... in a cruel twist of fate- two brothers were separated by death due to a hallucinogenic substance.

The young bears all banded together, mourning their lost friends and potential family members. Taking in the cruelty of the world they were stuck living in by law. Keeping all these young bears, children and adults like locked in a war that they were either ill-trained for or not trained for at all.

Azulin grit his teeth, feeling sickened all of a sudden. He thought about his frame of mind before this second chance he had received- and glared into a forming puddle nearby as he felt the sudden urge to kick his own face in. This... it was awful. It was loss and sadness and ... it was real.

If he was the same... he wouldn't have cared less. Hell, he probably would have put the rest of the youngsters out of their misery. He needed to do what he could to help the rest of them. To prove that he was truly willing to change. No matter how much he did it would not be enough for him to redeem himself or to be okay with himself again.

He had barely noticed how far into the camp he had ventured.

"Azuli-" before the last letter of his name could be yelled out from the treeline he was just at. There were two sequential gasps of surprise- and the blue bear looked back at the sources- seeing Sargento and Coco.

He wasn't surprised... he just hoped to hell and back that those unicorns had hidden before being spotted. There were other things to deal with right now. Much more grim and important things.

"Sergeant..."

((To Be Continued))