The Childrens Rebellion

Flightless Chickens

There were fourteen of them that filed onto the transport to Elytria.

Himself, of course. He and the other teenagers of the L'manburg—Tubbo, Purpled, Ranboo, Lani, and Drista. Then there was Philza and Kristin, Wilbur and Techno—he had literally no idea why Technoblade was there, but he also wasn't going to ask—Niki, because she was Tubbo and Lani's guardian, Dream, because he was his sister's stand-in guardian while they were away, and Hannah, who was also temporarily acting as both Ranboo and Purpled's guardians; as neither Ponk nor Punz could come due to work. He knew that Hannah was only there because she was Elytrian, and she looked mildly uncomfortable, as she'd never actually met Sniff; merely seen her in passing.

They were solemn—although he bet that Sniff would have told him not to be. He leaned his head against the back of the seat, and he squeezed his eyes shut, and he tried not to imagine her laughter as she ran.

He was going to say goodbye today. Again and again.

A hand snaked its way into his, and he glanced over to see Tubbo staring at him, his jaw locked stubbornly, his own eyes watery and bright golden brown in the light of the warped starlight. And—Tubbo didn't say anything, but he doesn't need to, and Tommy took a small breath and closed his eyes, annoyance flooding through him as the tears started.

They weren't even near Elytra. Or its star, Betelguese. They were—they were—how long had they been aboard the transport?

His palms were sweaty, but poor Tubbo didn't let go.

"Phil," he said, breaking the—hours?—of silence with one word. The Elytrian in question looked over him from where he was sitting with Hannah and Kristin in one of the backless chairs. "What are Final Flights like?"

"I forgot you wouldn't know," Phil said, blinking his blue eyes at him. "It's a tradition, among Elytrians, for their closest friends and family to fly to their funeral among a path they loved. It signifies—I believe it signifies people entering their lives, just as those have left it."

"It should be the opposite," Hannah said softly, deep brown eyes filled with sadness. "Parents should not have to bury their children."

"They taught us in Advanced Interspecies Protocol of the Elytrians that it purported a journey to a new place," Kristin spoke up. "Like...whatever is beyond, I suppose." Her husband nodded thoughtfully, and a slight relief entered Kristin's face; as if she had been afraid of making the Elytrians aboard the transport angry.

"Wait, but I don't have wings," Lani said.

"Yeah, that happens," Phil said, smiling sadly. "During the Final Flight, you are not allowed to flap your wings—unless you need to, of course, but culturally, it has something to do with seeing a journey to its end without any stresses along the way."

"Well, that's bullshit," Tommy snorted. "Mountains and valleys make up a story."

"You guys get special glider suits," Hannah said. Phil frowned at her. "I—I've been to one of them. My older sister died." She shrugged slightly, glancing out the window. "She had a Merling significant other. They were given a wingsuit."

"...and the Galactic Rebellion doesn't know about this?" Wilbur asked, interested.

"I mean, it's just a fancy bunch of fabric that allows you to drift in the wind," Hannah pointed out. "It's been made before. These are usually government property, though. And old."

"I am sorry for your loss," Phil said respectively. "If I had known then I would not have invited you."

"Nah," Hannah said. "It's fine. It was—four years ago, I think, come next month. I'm not going to get flashbacks from a planet that I left behind."