Chapter 19: Ant Hills[]
Pouchy woke up in a cold sweat. “W-Wha..” He said in a dazed tone as he stumbled up. He looked around him. Wherever he was, he wasn’t in the Frosted Peaks. Rows and rows of blank purple columns seemed to stretch on around him endlessly, a maze. “Spectacles? Brad??” He called out as he flew throughout the various different rows.
“Guys! Are you here? Do.. You know where the heck we are??” He called out into the shadows, his pleas being swallowed by the blinding darkness of oblivion; the purple halls stretching in all directions. Pouchy was still deathly confused. “(..The map always helps..!)” He said confidently though with a twist of anxiety as he fiddled with his Pouch, eventually pulling the Map out.
His eyes widened as it seemed to be fully lit. The light was nearly blinding as Pouchy shielded his eyes. He continued flying with the Map gripped tightly in his wings, calling out for his friends desperately. “GUYS!!!” He called out for the final time, dropping down to the ground. He held the Map in his wings, looking down at it. The glow had gotten brighter. He pressed on throughout the endless chasms of violet painted corridors, sweating out of pure anxiety.
Eventually, as the map’s frantic glowing reached its highest, he spotted something. Or rather, someone. A quaint figure; colored both black and purple with a very small tinge of white and gold concealed in what seemed to be a goopy substance they had for fur. Around them was a room; one far different from any of the other blank halls. It resembled a cathedral, sporting various bright green windows; their rays casting similar light colors as those from the Map.
Pouchy flew up to the figure. “Hey, HEY! Can.. C-Can you help me? I got lost, I.. I don’t know where I am, I can’t find my friends, I-” The figure turned around, giving Pouchy a full view of their mangled appearance. They seemed to resemble a Bear, only with a distinct lack of a normal body, instead looking stuck to the ground like a melted marshmallow. “..Am the savior? The one to reunite them all, right?” The figure spoke in an ominous tone, their voice itself sounding broken, matching well with their appearance.
Pouchy seemed to be deathly confused, lifting up his wing in protest. “Well.. yes! I guess you could say-” The figure chuckled. “Doing the Creator’s work for them, for they have grown too bored to fix the world they created. Instead, locking the only sensible one in an endless prison because they couldn’t complete their wishes. One flower. One wrong move. Betrayal is so easily acquired, isn’t it?”
Pouchy started backing up, both incredibly confused and nervous. “W-What.. A-are you talking about..” The figure stood up slightly, their legs still melted to the floor as they flashed a grin. “You should know very well, Pouchy. Don’t you see? Your friends are all using you. Spectacles might have been your friend before, but his desires have shifted. He’s not fascinated with these adventures. He’s fascinated with power. Brad would have killed you had it not been for the premise of finding absolute power, disguised under the veil of “Reuniting Bees”. Everyone craves power in this world. Everyone craves control; authority over others, and they will manipulate anyone and anything in order to achieve it.”
Pouchy furrowed his brows, finding himself rather angry for one of the first times. “Don’t talk about my friends like t-” The figure chuckled again. “Because I am right? Face it, Pouchy. This world is flawed. A mistake. Why do you think everybody has lost faith in the Event Bees? Why do you think the Bees are arguing in the first place? Some see things how they really are, and others choose to live in a world of mindless fantasy, purposefully surrounding themselves with meaningless objects so as to not give away to themselves the futility of their own existence.” Pouchy gritted his teeth. “..How do you know my name.. Well you for one don’t know anything about me, and you certainly don’t know my friends! My friends would never abandon me. I’ve seen how they act! And why should I trust all this stuff YOU’RE saying? I don’t even know who YOU are!”
The figure mock winced. “I’ve been following you for a long time and have never seen you this aggressive. Perhaps there are things you aren’t letting on? Some bottled up rage behind that cheerful smile of yours? Perhaps you would like to join the rest of us pitiful creatures?” Pouchy was slightly shocked at the revelation. While he stood still, the figure creeped closer, extending their mangled and twisted paw; strange liquid dripping from it and hitting the ground in repeated and echoed drips against the cathedrals floor. “It can all be undone. All of this world’s flaws. All of the suffering. All of the pain can be vanquished in just one deal. Will you accept, or will you continue to live in your perfect, blissful fantasy land, ignoring the problems around you? Are you truly the savior? Or are you just as selfish as your backstabbing friends?”
Pouchy arched his brows, gritting his teeth and screaming at the figure at the top of his lungs. “I would NEVER take a deal from someone like you! I’m NOTHING like you, and my friends will never leave me and I’ll never leave them! You don’t know ANYTHING about me or my friends!!” The figure shifted their paw back into position, sighing. “Perhaps at the end of your journey your ignorance will subside. Perhaps one day you’ll realize I was right, and that you should have taken that deal when you could. It would have benefited everyone far more. Everyone’s suffering could have been no more. But I suppose you care about your worthless friends more than the entire world. Someday you’ll realize the error of this decision. Some day soon.”
Pouchy woke up in a cold sweat, the Map sitting on top of him. He was breathing heavily, his heart still pounding both from anger, stress, and pure confusion. Brad heard Pouchy’s breathing and instantly sprung up, rushing to hold him. “Hey, Hey.. Breathe, breathe.. It’s okay.” Pouchy started crying, forcefully shutting his eyes. “Y-You guys would never abandon me, right..? Y-You.. You are really my friends, right?!”
Brad raised an eyebrow. “..What happened? Of course we’d never leave ya’ Pouchy. We’re your friends..” Brad actually seemed to be physically in distress for the first time, visibly caught off guard by the statement. “I.. I had a dream, I.. I was in this maze, and.. A-And there was this figure, and I had the Map, and.. He wanted me to make a deal, and..”
Spectacles woke up, blinking his eyes as he flew over to Brad holding Pouchy. “Oh my gosh.. A-Are.. Are you okay Pouchy??” The both of them seemed extremely concerned. “H-He.. He said he wanted me to make a deal, and.. A-And that it could save everybody, but.. H-He told me that you were all traitors and I just.. I lashed out at him, and.. I woke up..”
Brad’s eyes softened. “It sounds like ya’ had a nightmare, Pouchy. Probably a lucid one, those can get pretty freaky.” Spectacles adjusted his glasses. “Y-Yeah, probably just a bad dream, Pouch..” He lifted up his wing, closing his eyes. “O-One time, I had a dream of our Beekeeper trying to put this neon g-green beanie on my head.. Gosh, it was terrifying.. He followed me everywhere and I would try to hide w-when- BOOM! There he’d be again with that horrifying beanie!”
Pouchy giggled slightly, drying his tears as Brad set him back down. “Thanks guys..” Brad smiled, softening his brows. “Eh, don’t mention it, Pouch. We’re always here for ya’.” Spectacles appeared beside Brad. “O-Of course! You’re the group leader, after all!” Pouchy smiled, looking up at the sky. Coincidentally, Pouchy had woken up right at sunrise.
“Well, um.. On the bright side, I.. guess we’re all up early!” Pouchy stated happily, slightly rubbing the fur on the side of his face out of nervousness. Brad sighed with mock annoyance. “Yeah, guess we are. T’s a good thing too, I can’t stand bein’ in this jacket for another second.”
Spectacles looked at Brad, not sharing his same sentiment. “I.. Love my f-fuzzy clothes..” Pouchy jumped into the air, spinning as he landed on the ground, flashing a determined smile as he pointed into the sky. “Today’s a big day, guys! It’s time we finally blow this chilly joint!”
Spectacles pushed up his glasses. “..A-And.. Um, do you have any idea where we’re going next?” Pouchy placed his wing on his face, looking down at the Map. An arrow slowly began materializing it, though looking very.. Interestingly drawn. “Never seen it do that before..”
“Probably makin’ up for being no help in findin’ Festive.” Brad chuckled as he crossed his wings. Pouchy glared at him with mock anger before turning back to the Map. “Well, you know what that means! Straight forward we go!!” And with that, the three ascended into the air.
As they flew farther and farther, the Frosted Peaks mountains slowly began to fade; the pale shimmering snow slowly turned into vibrant green grass, accentuated with beautiful flowers. The landscape was now resembling more of a mild tundra than any of the serious snow they had seen before.
Pouchy stopped in place, looking over the vast fields of green and multicolored flowers, occasionally punctuated by small piles of snow, giving even the vibrant grass a mystical shimmering effect. “It sure is beautiful, isn’t it?” Brad coughed slightly, taking off his coat and shoving it into Pouchy’s Pouch as he crossed his wings. “..Well, beautiful is oversellin’ it. I can say though that I ain’t never seen nothin’ like this back in the Desert.” He paused. “..Alright, fine. It’s pretty beautiful.” He chuckled.
Spectacles caught up to the two, panting as he began to look over the vast fields as well. “S-So many flowers! It’s.. fascinating how so many of them can exist n-not even that far from the outskirts of the Frosted Peaks..” Pouchy started laughing, rolling around in the air. “We’ve talked to bees made from the wind and sunlight itself, and that’s what amazes you??”
“H-Hey! You said it was pretty too, Pouchy.” Pouchy smiled backwards smugly as Spectacles shoved his large puffy coat into Pouchy’s backpack. Pouchy leaned back, ruffling Spectacles’ fur. “I know, I know. Just messing with you!”
Brad flew in front of them, turning backwards as he looked at them with a cocked eyebrow and smile stretched across his face. “Hey, you two. Stop arguin’.” Pouchy and Spectacles followed Brad as they retorted. “W-We were not arguing! We were having.. A respectful disagreement..!”
Eventually, the three fully passed the snowy areas; the Frosted Peaks’ silhouettes barely visible in the distance. The sun was shining brightly and exquisitely, casting brilliant rays across the neat green grass, large dandelions standing up to the clouds and throwing around various seeds like confetti. Pouchy flew through them excitedly, laughing as he got a few caught in his fur.
Spectacles attempted to fly through them but ended up getting completely covered, tumbling around aimlessly as Pouchy flew over to latch onto him. “Hey Specks! I know you like plants and all, but you can’t become a Dandelion Seed!” He laughed as he dusted off all of the seeds, causing the both of them to cough. “V-Verrrrry funny, Pouchy..”
Pouchy grabbed onto Spectacles’ wing as the two flew out of the Dandelion clouds, following behind Brad. Multiple others dandelions were stationed into the ground like large skyscrapers. “..H-How do they get so large? I’ve.. never seen them that s-size back home..” Spectacles said as he flew alongside Pouchy, starting to doodle in his notebook with the other wing. Pouchy looked at him contemplatively, shrugging. “Dunno! Maybe they just grow in tune with how much space they’ve got? That’s my best guess!”
“..T-That’s probably it! Maybe we c-can try to have one back at the M-” Spectacles attempted to speak before being cut off by Pouchy. Pouchy grabbed onto his wing tightly, pulling him through the various clouds of dandelion seeds with expert dodging skills as they followed behind Brad who seemed to be maneuvering through the vast parachutes of dandelion seeds with ease. Pouchy looked over at Spectacles who was still a bit dizzy, gazing at his notebook. “That’s a really good doodle, Specks!”
Spectacles’ spiral eyes slowly began to go back to normal as he shook himself out of it, looking at Pouchy and then back at his notebook. “Oh! U-Um.. Thanks, Pouchy!” Pouchy nodded as the two continued flying through the dandelions, Pouchy placing his wing beneath him as though dipping it into water as he flew in looped patterns throughout the bright blue sky.
Despite his fear of heights, Spectacles actually seemed to be enjoying himself. Eventually, Brad flew down to the ground swiftly, landing on the soft green grass as he looked up at Pouchy and Spectacles, raising an eyebrow and crossing his wings with a smile. “Ya’ two comin’?” Pouchy gave a thumbs up as he looked back at Spectacles. “Hey, watch this!” Pouchy said excitedly as he reached for a flying dandelion seed, using it to slowly glide down to the ground like a parachute with Spectacles by his side.
When the two landed on the ground, Spectacles immediately began inspecting both himself and Pouchy for any scratches. “T-That.. Was a really good job, Pouchy..” Pouchy winked, throwing the seed into the air as it was soon carried away by the wind. “Nothing but the best, Specks!”
Pouchy looked at Brad and Spectacles as he opened up the Map, noticing the arrow’s direction had now changed. “Well, thanks for stopping us, Brad! We gotta new direction now.” Brad chuckled, continuing to cross his wings. “..So..? W-Where?”
Pouchy swiftly hopped into the air, spinning in a ball as he pointed to the right. “D-Did, um.. You really need t-to do all that?” Pouchy sighed, shaking his head. “Well, sometimes you don’t have to do things. Sometimes it’s just more fun!” Spectacles nodded slowly as he pushed up his glasses, following behind Brad alongside Pouchy.
Pouchy’s stomach grumbled. He held up his wing suddenly. “Wait, actually..” Brad stopped, flying back towards Pouchy. “Yeah?” Pouchy sat his Pouch on the floor. “I think we should eat, we did kind of get in a rush this morning..”
Spectacles raised his wing, pushing up his glasses with the other. “I s-second that, a picnic sounds nice!” Brad crossed his arms, smiling back at the two as his eyebrows softened. “Fine, but only because you two wanna eat.”
Pouchy began taking things out of his Pouch, placing down the various logs and setting them on the ground in a disorganized fashion. Spectacles sighed, beginning to move the logs into a well organized position as Pouchy took out the Gift Box from Festive. “Man! This new Pouch sure is something..” The three sat down on the logs as Pouchy began taking out various things. “Strawberries? Who’s are these?”
Brad looked a bit shocked. “..Spectacles, do ya’ like Strawberries?” Spectacles lifted up his wing, about to give Brad an answer before Pouchy began reading out a note attached to one of the strawberries. It was written in golden handwriting and was of velvet red paper. “It says.. ‘For the Hero Brad. I know how much you love Strawberries = >” He handed them to Brad.
Brad looked over the Strawberry with a very surprised expression, holding it in his hand with a tender grip. “I..” He stammered as he seemed to be caught up in his own head, the Strawberries reminding him of something. “Is there something wrong, Brad?”
Brad sighed, his eyes not leaving the Strawberry. “No, it’s just.. ..My parents used to feed me Strawberries. I used to eat them all the time when I was little.” Pouchy took a bite out of a Sunflower Seed and handed it to Spectacles. Spectacles pushed his glasses up. “D-Does remembering that, um.. Bring back unpleasant memories?”
Brad took a small bite over the Strawberry, smiling softly down at it. “..Happy memories.” Pouchy coughed slightly, trying to change the subject. “Well.. how’s everybody’s food?” Spectacles and Brad both put their thumbs up as they were eating.
“Can definitely agree on that!” The three sat on logs, watching the large green grass sway in the cool wind, the sun shining brightly and the clouds looking like large white cotton puffs hanging in the air. Eventually, they began to hear indistinct chatter. Pouchy shoved a Sunflower Seed in his mouth, continuing to talk. “Uh.. anybody hear that?”
The chatter began getting louder. The group got up from the Logs, Pouchy swiftly placing them back into his Pouch alongside the gift box. “..Y-Yeah.. It.. sounds like orders?” Soon enough, as the chatter reached its highest, three insects popped out of the grass. “HALT, trio!” They all said in unison, with the exception of one saying it after.
They seemed to be some sort of Ants. Only instead of having a dark gray color, these seemed to be a dark shade of brown with a black abdomen and smaller wings, two of the ants possesed strange markings resembling a sword while the final one possessed larger wings and a wing marking on its abdomen. One of the ants began pulling out a paper. “In accordance with the laws dictated by Queen Mandible, all Bees spotted in the Kingdom Vicinity are to be harvested and taken back to the Sod Kingdom.”
Pouchy looked at the Ants, raising an eyebrow. “Uhm.. What?” The ant coughed, tapping the other one on his dirt helmet with his leg. “You heard us. Don’t play dumb, Bee.” Brad hopped in front of Pouchy and Spectacles, furrowing his brows as he reached for his revolver. “Woah. Let’s not get hasty. Are ya’ even gonna tell us why?”
“..We already gave you enough information, Bee. Now come with us.” The two sword ants walked towards Brad and attempted to latch onto him as Brad swiftly spun out his revolver, looking through his scope as he blasted the ground beneath them, kicking up some dirt out of the green grass. He swiftly turned towards Pouchy and Spectacles, latching onto them as he darted into the air.
The ants coughed and shook their heads. One pointed towards the large winged ant. “Get them. Especially that ‘Sharpshooter’.” The large winged ant dashed into the air, as the two sword ants continued conversating. “..I don’t remember the last time a Bee showed up here. This is going to be great. Maybe we’ll even get a promotio-”
The large ant stopped him. “If you keep going on with your mindless chatter the both of us are never going to get promoted.” The other ant looked a bit sad before they both lifted up their wings, dashing into the air and pursuing after the trio. As they began catching up with the other large winged ant and the group, the main one lifted up its wing. “You’re only making this harder on yourself, Bees. Give up and turn yourself in.”
Brad smirked as he flew higher into the air with the large winged ant trailing after him, telling Pouchy to dash his wing into the air to stir up the clouds. The large winged ant looked stunned for a moment before the largest caught up with them. He slapped the large winged ant, grumbling as he flew through the clouds with ease. “Are you ever going to do your job properly?” Eventually, the largest caught up with them with the other two trailing behind.
Brad spun out his revolver, firing a bullet as the large ant flew right through it, grabbing onto the bullet with his front leg and cracking it into pieces. Brad looked a bit shocked before gritting his teeth, flying higher into the air as the ants continued to pursue after them at full speed. With one swift motion, the largest ant spun himself through the air, slamming into Brad and knocking him, Spectacles, and Pouchy away from each other.
Brad seemed to look a bit panicked, sweating as he flew over to Spectacles wo had been knocked out with the impact, gritting his teeth as he attempted to reach for Pouchy. “Pouchy! COME ON!” As the two were falling swiftly, the both of them found it increasingly hard to fly upwards. “I-I’m trying! Just-” Pouchy was swiftly cut off as he and Brad were both slammed into by the large ant again, with all of their vision going blank.
When the three awoke, they weren’t in the Flower Fields anymore. Instead, the land had devolved into something far more.. Bland. Dozens of large hills resembling buildings were lined up around them, seemingly pointed upwards with the trio’s flipped perspectives, feeling a sharp grip on himself as though he was being held. Everybody was still dazed, but Pouchy could still barely hear the ants talking. “Monitor that bullet Bee. He seems to be the largest of our problems. The others are weak. As if I’m surprised. They have always been an inferior species. It truly is a shame they were gifted with the ability to make food.” The other ants nodded, which Pouchy saw through narrowed and blurry vision.
Spectacles’ vision soon adjusted. His face went pale and his eyes widened as he opened his mouth to scream. Pouchy swiftly silenced him with his and on his wing, looking worried as well. Poucy narrowed his eyes as he looked behind Spectacles, catching sight of another Ant with a different marking on its abdomen. They appeared to be selling grass, talking about it as if it were food.
Eventually, the duo’s hearts went cold as they looked in front of them. There seemed to be a large structure, dwarfing all of the buildings around it. It had multiple triangular contraptions, and seemed to be made out of dirt. The ants lifted up their wings as they carried the trio into the window, throwing Pouchy and the group onto the floor inside.
Pouchy then watched with bated breath as the ants stepped in front of someone even larger than the large ant. They wore a crude crown made out of the same reinforced dirt the soldier’s helmets were made out of, outfitted with large blades of grass. The large ant placed their leg on themself pridefully, pointing back to Pouchy and the group. “Your majesty Queen Mandible, we have captured Bees. Three of them.” The queen seemed to clap her legs together, speaking in a strangely proper accent compared to the gruff tones of the others. “Oh goody! So.. have you seen how they taste?”
The large ant shook his head. “..Well, we were busy capturing them though. They’re bees, though! I’m sure they taste wonderful.” The queen cackled, holding a strange glass of dark green liquid; a similar color to the grass. “Oh, yes! Anything is better than this pitiful grass. It’s awful I tell you, absolutely AWFUL!” She took a sip of the glass.
She stood upon her throne, pointing at the large winged ant. “You. Big wings. Go down to the kitchen and get the water boiling. It should be heated up fully by the time those bees get down there! And you two. Take them down there.” All of the ants lifted up their wings, saluting the Queen. “Yes, your majesty.”
Pouchy’s blood went cold as he looked at Spectacles. Brad started shaking his head, waking up. Brad started sweating as he heard them talking. “(I.. Uh.. I.. I gotta plan, guys. We wait until they pick us up again. Trust me on this. I just gotta wait for the perfect moment.)” The queen looked at the soldier, slamming him on the head. “Don’t stare at me you nincompoop! Take them to the kitchen at once while they’re still out cold!” She flashed a sinister smile, her red eyes lighting up with twisted glee. “WE’RE HAVING BOILED BEES TONIGHT!!”
The large ant looked at Pouchy and the group, smiles stretching across all of their faces. The large ant swiftly lifted up his front leg, grabbing hold of all the Bees as the other trailed behind him. He walked throughout the various floors of the building.
Eventually, he got to a spiral staircase. “You see that, boy? Once we’re down this staircase all our problems will be solved. We’ll finally be respected. We’ll get promoted. Heck, we might even surpass the QUEEN!” The other ant cackled along. “AND we’ll have a great meal to commemorate it all!!”
As the group began walking down the staircase, Pouchy looked at Brad. Brad didn’t look back, instead concentrating heavily on where they were going. As they continued down the staircase, various pictures of other ants could be seen. The first ones seemed relatively normal, but as they went on, they slowly began to devolve until Queen Mandible’s picture was shown. She seemed to be flashing a similar smile to the one Pouchy and the others had seen not long before.
Eventually, they reached the bottom of the staircase. The large ant turned back towards the other, grinning smugly as he lightly tossed Pouchy and the others around, the group covering their mouths subtly to not make a sound. Eventually, he ran up to a strange door, looking back at the other ant. “Hey. Get this for me.” The ant swooped over, kicking open the door.
The door rumbled open; sounding like a tool being dragged through dirt as it opened. Pouchy’s eyes widened as he got a glimpse of what was inside. It seemed to be a kitchen, much like the other parts of the building, entirely built by reinforced dirt with blades of grass sticking out from it randomly. From inside the kitchen, a new ant appeared, dressed in a dirt bowtie and chef hat. “Hand zem over to me! We must get zis started at once..” The ants both cackled as they tossed Pouchy and the others to the chef as he caught them, shutting the door as they stood outside.
The smaller ant looked at the larger one. “..You don’t think there’s any predictions we could have taken, do you?” The large ant smacked him on the head, closing his eyes confidently as he flashed a grin. “What? That little gun?? HAH! Even if that idiot was awake he’d be no match for us. Unless you forgot how I demolished him before?”
The larger one looked back at him with a softer expression. “And.. C’mon. Lighten up. We’re gonna get promoted, all we gotta do is guard this stupid little kitchen until those three’re boiled. Then we’re home free~” He leaned back, relaxing as he closed his eyes and flashed a grin once more. “..I guess you’re right..” He paused. “..Where’d Wings go?”
The large ant lifted up his leg, waving it around dismissively. “Ah who cares about that guy. Probably off doing something else. Being a soldier isn’t his only job, ya’ know.” The other ant looked down, fiddling with his claws. “..I guess.. It just would have been nice to have him with us during the promotion..”
Meanwhile, Pouchy and the others were being held by the chef. Pouchy looked around the kitchen, catching sight of a mutilated ant head. It seemed to be a different color than the ants here, more of a beige color with dull, dark red eyes. “(Y-Yeesh..)” Pouchy whispered to himself. He then looked back at Brad with terrified eyes as the chef lifted them up above the boiling pot, so much so that they could see the various spices in it.
And for a moment, when the chef was about to drop them in, everything went silent. Then, with an extremely swift motion, Brad lifted up his wing, spinning out his revolver and launching a small bullet at the space right beneath the pot. The chef’s eyes widened as the pot began wobbling. “What in za..” Brad tightly grabbed onto both of their wings, lifting up his own as he dashed away from the pot as it wobbled and began topping over. The soldiers swiftly slammed open the door. “HEY! What’s all that no-” The pot finally fell over, crashing boiling water over both the soldiers and the chef as Pouchy and the others looked back.
When all was said and done, the ants were left all on the ground, groaning and wincing in pain, their legs all twitching. Brad continued to hold onto Pouchy and Spectacles, hopping over the ants and using them as a catapult as he launched the group out of the kitchen, swiftly flying up the spiral staircase and back into the throne room.
The Queen saw the Bees flying through, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. “HEY! Get back here you hoodlums!” She cried in an exquisitely proper voice despite her loud tone, jumping off of her throne as Brad swiftly reached out his revolver, launching another bullet and blowing up a portion of the wall as the three flew out of the tower, the queen chasing after them before almost falling out of the window and turning back. “Those.. IDIOTS!” She gritted her teeth in rage as she swiftly ran out of the throne room, down the stairs, and tearing apart the walls of the kitchen with a livid expression.
She slammed her claw into the ground, picking up the large ant by the throat. “YOU! What. Did. You. DO!” the large ant scrambled out of her grip, attempting to run on the boiling water soaked floor before tripping and slamming into the ground. “H-Honest mistakes, queen, I.. I’ll go get them, trust m-” The queen swatted him in the head, picking him up again as she inched his face closer to her razor sharp teeth and mandibles. “..You’re lucky we’re the same species. If you weren’t, I might have made.. A substitute dinner.”
The other ant tried to get up off of the ground as his wings twitched, causing him to crash on the ground again. “Imbeciles!” The large ant managed to finally stand up, placing his leg on himself. “I p-promise, my queen.. I can go get them, they’re probably in the castl-”
The queen stomped her feet, placing her legs on her head as she screamed. “DON’T EVEN BOTHER! WHILE YOU IDIOTS WERE LOST IN A FANTASY WORLD, I WATCHED THEM FLY AWAY! THEY’RE ALL GONE NOW THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR STUPIDITY!!” She looked at the chef as he nervously attempted to back up. “And YOU. YOU should have watched them better! HOW COULD YOU LET THEM GET AWAY WHEN THEY WERE SO CLOSE?! YOUR ONLY JOB WAS TO WATCH OVER SOME WEAK BEES, AND YOU CAN’T EVEN DO THAT?!”
She picked all of them up, screaming in their faces extremely loudly. “FIREEEEEEED! ALL OF YOU NUMBSKULLS ARE FIRED!!! GRASS CUTTING, ALL OF YOU! STARTING IN THE EARLIEST HOUR, YOU ARE TO BE OUT ON THE FIELDS. I EXPECT TO HAVE DOZENS OF BLADES BY THE FIRST HOUR!” The chef managed to straighten his bowtie, sweating profusely. “Miss, please.. I have worked very hard z’get here, and..”
She looked at him with rage filled eyes. “Remember, your punishment could be a LOT worse. I’m being VERY gracious here.” She picked them all up, throwing them out of the kitchen with a loud slam. “NOW GET OUT OF HERE! ALL OF YOU! AND DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT SEEING ME IN MY THRONE ROOM. Ugh, now I’ll have to find replacements. Who KNOWS how long that will take! Utterly maddening!!”
She walked over all of them, sighing and muttering rude words under her breath as all of the ants were completely dizzy, speaking in dazed tones. “R-Roger that, Queen Mandible..” She walked up the stairs, sitting back on her throne with an annoyed expression, reaching for her glass. “PITIFUL! This stuff is barely fit for a peasant.” She took a sip of the glass.
Meanwhile, Brad tumbled out of the castle with a large explosion. Pouchy’s eyes were filled with stars as he held onto Brad’s wing. “That was AWESOME, man!” Brad didn’t look at him, instead looking straight ahead as he continued to fly throughout the vast town, sweating. “..Don’t thank me yet..” All of the ants stared at them, barely able to get a proper glimpse through the blurs that all three Bees were.
Eventually, finally, the small dirt houses seemed to be getting smaller, but he continued going. It wasn’t until a long while of going at his top speed that he had gotten very far away, and with one final push, he flew even farther, dashing into the grass below and aiming his revolver into the ground, dragging it through the ground as he pulled he, Pouchy, and Spectacles to a complete halt. He sighed, falling on the ground as he wiped sweat from his brow. “That.. was a lot..” He took off his cowboy hat, setting it on the soft grass as the cool wind blew through his fur, ruffling it.
Spectacles and Pouchy laid on the ground next to him. “Y-Yeah, I.. I don’t think I’ve ever had to worry about, um.. Getting made into dinner..” Pouchy leaned up slightly, winking as he looked at Brad. “And now you won’t have to again!”
The three finally started to calm down after the chaotic ordeal. They all laid on their backs on the soft grass as the sun began to set around them, casting brilliant shadows and rays over the lush green foliage. Pouchy reached into his Pouch, pulling out his Map and looking at the arrow. Spectacles looked over. “I g-guess we didn’t make any progress on that today, did we?” Pouchy looked down at the Map, a smile beginning to stretch on his face. “No, I think we did..” The arrow pointed straight, implying all of that distance they had travelled out of the town had been in the right direction.
“I’ll take it. Heh.. Well ain’t that a crazy stroke’a luck.” Brad chuckled, looking up into the air as the stars slowly began to appear. Spectacles looked down at his notebook, sketching out pictures of the various ants they had seen. “..Do you wonder if they’re looking for us?” Pouchy asked.
Brad sighed. “Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it. We’re too far from ‘em. Besides, they got other things to do. I doubt they’re worried about three particular bees, especially Miss ‘Pitiful’. Bet those dummies got fired, heh..” Spectacles looked down at his notebook, sketching Brad holding the both of them and their great escape. “Y-Yeah, I agree with Brad.”
Pouchy pulled out the Present from his Pouch. “Well, who’s up for a late night snack?” Brad raised his wing up, smiling softly. He began to eat strawberries as Pouchy and Spectacles munched on Sunflower Seeds. “Y’know, what do you guys think Cobalt’s like?”
Brad coughed, finishing his strawberries. “..You haven’t told us about him. Do you know something we don’t?” Pouchy’s eyes widened as he snapped his fingers. “Oh, darn.. That’s right. Um, well.. I guess all you really need t’know is that Crimson and Cobalt are sister and brother, and rule over this kingdom thing.. Crimson’s apparently not doing too good and Cobalt recruited guards to help her.”
Spectacles pushed up his glasses, continuing to sketch. “A-And.. Who did you find this out from?” Pouchy smirked. “Well, a little while ago, Choco told me. Choco actually used to be one of her guards!”
Brad raised an eyebrow. “..Then how did he end up in the Frosted Peaks?” Pouchy closed his eyes, speaking in an explanatory tone. “Well, that’s because of how good a guard he was! Crimson transported him to the Frosted Peaks.”
Brad sighed. “..And why didn’t you tell us this information, uh.. Before?” Pouchy’s eyes went a bit wide before a bead of sweat dripped down his fur. “Well, um.. It didn’t really go along with our current adventure, so.. But now that we’re looking for them-!”
“Huh. Well after all that.. He sounds overbearing.” He coughed, looking up at the sparkling night sky, the grass blowing in the cool nighttime breeze. “..But like it comes from a carin’ place.” Spectacles nodded his head. “W-Well, it’s certainly going to be exciting to see him, that’s for sure!”
Pouchy looked up at the sky, reflecting on everything that had happened that day. He smiled softly to himself as he finished his sunflower seed. “Yeah, it is.”
