Boy Blue (Fables)

"I had no love of playing the hero. Why would I willingly do it again?"

- Boy Blue's words to Bigby in the after life.Fables issue 134

Boy Blue was a resident of Fabletown and later of The Farm. He helped out however he could. He has a reputation as a hero among the people of Fabletown.

Once upon a time
Boy Blue was just a normal guy until the Adversary reached his home. When the fighting began, Blue fought alongside his friends and comrades. One day, a rider arrived at the door of their kingdom to seek safety. The rider was Red Riding Hood, and she was taken in. Blue spent a night with her and fell in love, but the next day a second attack was made on their castle and Blue insisted she escape with some of the others, while he stayed behind to fight.

He fought along side many other people from his town, but he ended up being the last person alive of the people he knew and loved. He returned to the boat only to learn, too late, that Red Riding Hood left to find him and had been left behind.

The New World
In Fabletown, Boy Blue became a clerk at the business office. His work included recording the things that each Fable had been forgiven under the general amnesty, as well as keeping records of the Fabletown habitants. He became good friends with Pinocchio and Flycatcher.

When Rose Red went missing and was apparently murdered, he along with Fly, helped Bigby in the investigation. He and Fly replicated the crime scene for Bigby. When Snow White took Rose Red and Colin to the Farm, he was the first to notice that something was wrong with the farm, by realizing that Cock Robin was dead. He managed to convince Bigby to gather Bluebeard, Bufkin and Prince Charming to come with him to the Farm. They arrived in the middle of a stand-off between Snow White and the Revolutionist. When Snow White got shot, Boy Blue and the others helped restore order to the Farm.

Boy Blue was part of the team that raided Tommy Sharp's apartment with Bigby.

March of the Wooden Soldiers
During the March of the Wooden Soldiers, Blue was seduced by Baba Yaga posing as Red Riding Hood, in the hopes of gaining information on Fabletown through him. Blue, however, said nothing even under torture. Once he had proven himself useless to her, Baba Yaga had him dropped at the Business Office as a message and warning. He was taken to Dr. Swineheart, who successfully nursed his broken fingers and hands back to health.

When the soldiers attacked Bullfinch street, Blue disregarded Snow's orders and bandaged the sword into his hand so he could participate in battle. He was taken out of the fight by a bullet to the shoulder.

Mission to the Homelands
When Prince Charming became mayor, he agreed to send Boy Blue on an intelligence-gathering mission in the Homelands. As the Fable assigned to the Witching Cloak, Blue knew it's powers and functions better than anyone, and he devised his plan for the mission around it. Blue was also took the Vorpal Blade, and the remains of Pinocchio in the hopes of finding his father, Geppetto.

Boy Blue went from world to world, taking a round-about way to the capitol of the Empire in order not to alert them of his presence or reveal his plans. Along the way, he killed various soldiers, governors, and even a dragon. He showed great wit and cunning in all his battles, using the Cloak in smart and effective ways, such as using it to turn into a mouse or a bird. Once at the capitol, he snuck into the palace and decapitated the Emperor. The Snow Queen managed to freeze him before he escaped.

Once captured, he was placed in a cage and brought to Geppetto]]. He was able to trade Pinocchio for Geppetto's life story, the chance to see Red Riding Hood, and a chance to talk with Pinocchio. On meeting Red Riding Hood he discovered that the real Red Riding Hood did not in fact know him and the one he met at the Keep At The End Of The World was in fact a sorceress that had imitated her appearance to infiltrate the Keep.

Once he believed that he had got all he could from Geppetto, he escaped his cage, tried to kill the wood carver, and escaped with Red Riding Hood.

Fabletown Again
Upon returning to Fabletown, Boy Blue was charged with several crimes, including the theft of magical artefacts. Despite his best effort, Prince Charming wasn't able to properly give Boy Blue a light sentence because of the nature of the mission. He told Boy Blue that he had the choice between one year in confinement or two years of hard labor on The Farm. Boy Blue chose the latter.

When he arrived on the Farm, he was greeted by Rose Red and the other animal Fables. She told Boy Blue about his new duties and when he questioned them for not being hard labour, she revealed that in the Farm, she decides what work he is going to do. The habitants of the Farm see Blue as a hero.

He and Rose Red became good friends at this point. He also developed feelings for her.

When Bigby returned from his exile and completed his mission in the Homelands, Boy Blue, along with Fly and several other Fables, began building a house for Bigby, Snow and their cubs. In the wedding he served as his best man, and gave a toast.

War
The Fables prepared themselves for war against the Empire. Thanks to Flycatcher's action and the Alliance with the Arabian Fables and the Cloud Kingdoms, Fabletown had never been more prepared to bring down the Empire. Before he went to war, Blue admitted his feelings for Rose Red. Unfortunately, she rejected him and wanted to be friends. Boy Blue didn't take that well and they departed on bad terms.

Boy Blue didn't actively fight in the war, though he served a vital role in it. Thanks to the Witching Cloak, he was able to help his fellow Fables by transporting supplies and communicating orders and information. He served as their communications agent, and flitted to all of their war outposts multiple times a day. The war wasn't without accident for him, however. He took a magical arrow intended to kill Bigby with one shot to the arm, protecting him. The Arrow pierced through the Witching Cloak. His injury knocked him unconscious for a few days but did not kill him, due to it having been intended for Bigby.

Eventually Boy Blue helped in the final battle by beheading the Puppet Emperor. After the battle, he and his allies brought Geppetto to Fabletown in order to make him their citizen thus forcing him to step down as the Emperor, bringing an end to the war and the Empire.

Dark Ages and death
After the war, his wound continued to pain him. Despite Doctor Swineheart's efforts and many operations, he was unable to heal him. Things didn't get better when Mister Dark got released from his prison. It is revealed that the Witching Cloak was once owned and created by Mister Dark. Mr. Dark, angered that someone used his Cloak, destroyed it, and thread lodge in Blue's arm was the reason for Boy Blue's weakening condition. Swineheart amputated his arm after the thread had caused him too much damage.

His condition kept worsening despite this. He was relocated to The Farm along with other Fables, when Fabletown fell due to Mister Dark. Once arrived at the Farm, he greeted Rose who was horrified by his condition. Flycatcher arrived to the Farm and did his best to heal his friend. Despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to and in tears told the other Fables to say their good byes to Blue. Rose Red was the last to say her good byes to Boy Blue. She wanted to marry Boy Blue as a way to make up for what had happened, but Boy Blue knew her motivations.

He calmly rejected her and sternly pointed out that she was really attracted to whoever that offered the most excitement. He pointed out that she slept with Prince Charming because she knew that it would hurt her sister, she married Weyland because there was nobody else around and she married Sinbad because he was a war hero. Boy Blue further pointed out that she was attracted to him when she first knew him as a war hero only to lose interest when it turned out that he only wanted a quiet life. Now that he was dying, bravely facing his death, he was once again Rose's perfect man.

Blue told her that she was too late and he had finally realized that he deserved better. As Rose slowly left the room, Boy Blue apologized for what has happened to her that caused her to be broken. He apologized that he wasn't able to fix her and said he hoped that one day, someone would.

Boy Blue died the next morning and his final wish was to be buried in Flycatcher's Haven rather than with the others who died in the war, reflecting his preference for a quiet life.

Post Death
After his death, he became a subject of a religion created by Brock Blueheart who believes Boy Blue will come back in time of need and defeat their enemy. When Bigby died during his fight against Prince Brandish, Blue finally made an appearance again. He told his old friend about how he was happy being dead and won't come back. He told Bigby that he has a choice between living or staying out of the picture. He also requested that the religion should be disbanded, as it is embarrassing and he no longer wishes to be a hero like they so badly hope he will be.