Blackberry panted as she continued on, still looking in all the nooks and crannys for any sign of the glowing quillmouse, but she wasn't having much luck. Her rest and somewhat given back a bit of her strength, but her leg was still, well, in bad shape.

Checking to make sure there were no more spiders around, Blackberry sat herself on the ground and took some deep breaths to calm her raging heart. A small flood of magic came from her gem and traveled through her body. Again, the pain began to dissipate, but it didn't go away and the necrosis around the sting hadn't gone away just yet.

It was enough to keep going, though, and she stood, forging ahead deeper into the Crucible.

She continued to limp forward against the edge of the ravines, weary eyes still raking the area for any sign of a flash of blue or glowing gold. She was on edge, terrified of every move. Every breath of air was a spider's fangs just barely missing her throat, every twisting shadow was a vulture at last diving down to attack, every little sound was a scorpion leaning out to strike.

She'd never been so scared in her life. Probably for good reason, though - Hydra was truly a monster of a cave.

Her will was beginning to crack. The pain was getting to her. She just wanted to curl up and die because nothing had been this hard before. Being caged for cycles had been nothing, facing her past, her children, that had been as easy as breathing compared to the harshness of Hydra. She was almost glad, now, that, if she survived, she'd forget.

At one point, something flashed in the corner of Blackbery's vision and she immediately tensed, turning her head to face it. At first, she wondered if she was imagining the faint golden trace on the ground. But as she looked and stepped forward to get a different angle, she realized that it wasn't a hallucination. It was actually there.

Her heart soared with this tiny ray of hope and she immediately set off, still staying out of the open, but keeping her gaze locked firmly on the trail of gold. It had to lead her to the mouse. It had to. Because what else glowed like that? What else would leave a trail of glow like that on the ground?

She followed the trail for a while, stopping every so often to rest her leg, but generally making good progress. Now that she'd seen the end of the road, in a way, she was determined to continue and finish her journey. It gave her new hope that surged through her limbs like it was energy.

She followed the glowing trail until it began to twist upward, the ground beneath her talons growing dangerously unstable. She found herself struggling to forge her way up, stumbling every so often, and eventually having to resort to using her beak as a third leverage, since her injured foot was fighting it difficult to find purchase. Eventually, however, she made it up, heaving and panting with exertion.

Once she reached the top, her stomach dropped at the trail in front of her. It was long and just as difficult as the one she had just fought up. But the glow was definitely leading her this way, towards the marshes in the distance so she took a deep breath and began her descent.

It was a long process, carefully setting her feet down so that she didn't tumble all the way down, at some parts she actually completely turned herself around so that she could use her beak again to grip the rock as she descended. At one point, her leg suddenly cramped and she found herself beginning to slide. Panicking, she flailed, barely managing to grab on again before she lost her grip and was thrown into the ravine, probably to her death.

Trying to steady herself, calm herself, she continued. By the time she reached the bottom, she was trembling like a leaf, exhausted from the exertion, adrenaline still rushing through her head.

She tried to take another step forward, but found herself unable to take more then a couple of steps before her body collapsed. The climb had been utterly exhausting and it seemed the hour of rest she'd managed to get didn't matter anymore, or perhaps it had all been used up. She stayed there, on the ground, thinking for a moment that she should just say fuck it.

She had given up a long time ago, after all. She'd cursed herself and said that she'd just stay away, waste away, let herself just die because she deserved it, didn't she? After everything she'd done, she deserved to die. And she wanted that release so desperately because it was easier then living.

And it was certainly easier then this.

Why was she still going forward? Certainly not to live, because, in a way, if she finished, she would die anyways - she'd forget and be a new life. And if she failed and died, she was sure that Wilder would bring her back anyways - a new life. What was the difference then?

The answer didn't come to her immediately and, just for a second, she gave up. Went limp. Released herself and let the pain consume. But then Blueberry's face popped into her vision again, the real Blueberry, not the hallucination she'd seen in the desert, eyes brimming with gentle love. And she thought to herself, Even if I don't remember you, even if neither of us are the same, I'll still be alive to see you again. I could never forget you completely. And that's what gave her the strength she needed to push herself back to her feet and fight back against the pain.

A flood of emotion-driven magic ran through her body and she sighed at the strength of its refreshing touch. She could keep going. She could do this. She stepped forward, the trembling washed away by the healing, and continued to follow the glowing trail towards the marshes.