Broken Wings

~8~

Phoenix eyed Star warily as the group rested on their hay piles. He wanted to tell the rest of his friends about the quiver, but wasn't sure if he wanted to risk accusations flying around again.

It still didn't make sense to him, how Star could have been the one to kill Jake. Big-B had claimed to have been with her when Mini died, but how could he be so sure? He was lost in his thoughts for a while, when someone broke the silence.

"Well, does anyone have anything they want to talk about?" Star asked, but no one spoke.

"IS Keke coming back MCA?"

Big-B asked, and the enderman nodded.

"She said she wanted to stay and think. I'm not sure for how long though... speaking of things being missing, has anyone seen my headband?"

Phoenix tried to remember...

"Maybe they fell off when you ran into that crate earlier?"

"I didn't have them then either."

MCA sighed, giving up.

"I'm gonna get something to eat. Be back in a sec. Star could you show me how to do that?"

"Sure!"

The angel stood, following MCA down the ladder.

"Oh, hey Big-B? Where's Haze gone to?"

The bird asked, leaning back against the hay.

"I think he was back in grounded. Something about that place keeps drawing him back in."

Big-B let out a huge yawn, and stood up, heading towards his hay pile.

"I think I'm gonna get some shut-eye. Make sure they come back?"

"Will do."

~~~

It was just a few minutes later, when MCA came up the ladder, a fresh loaf of bread and an apple in his hands. He sighed, plopping back down on the hay.

"Where's Star?"

"She left to go find Haze and Keke. She was worried about them, but when I tried to follow her she told me she'd be fine."

"S-she did?"

"Yeah, is something wrong?"

He wasn't going to say it out loud, but something was definitely wrong. Star couldn't go alone, not with his suspicions.

Phoenix stood up, racing off towards the ladder.

"Hey! Where you going?"

MCA asked him, mouth full.

"I need to check something!"

Phoe slid down quickly, racing off into the center. Haze or Keke, he had to choose.

Deciding on looking for Keke, he turned and raced into the Wacky Warehouse map, heading straight to the crates they had been sitting on earlier.

He found the stack, climbing the ladder and looking around. The koala was nowhere to be seen, and then he saw it.

Around the corner of the warehouse, there was something faint that he could see, but obvious enough that his eyes locked on to it.

He slid back down quickly, racing over to what he knew he had seen, but wasn't willing to believe. Turning the corner, he saw the truth and knew that his eyes had not been deceiving him.

Keke's body lay on the ground, a crimson pool forming around her body. Each of her limbs was at an awkward angle, and her neck looked like it had been snapped on impact, rather than by some living thing.

He looked up, still in silent shock, and saw the massive fall she must have taken.

It was then that the emotion hit him, and Phoenix screamed...