A/N I don't own A Bug's Life or its characters; they are owned by Disney and Pixar. What I DO own are my OC, Kimberly, and any other characters that weren't in the movie.
Dark Maiden95: As a warning, this may end up being one of those stories. But I'm glad you like it so far :)
VoiceUnheard98: Thanks :D And you're welcome.
The Queen of Water: Thanks.
hellgirl-fan1: Not really, just not the smartest when it comes to hats and precipitation.
That night, all of the grasshoppers settled down to go to sleep. All of them, save for Hopper, were on the ground huddled up near the walls of the sombrero. Despite the cold of the night, Kimberly stayed away from the huddles. Despite the grasshoppers proving that they were friendly when they weren't around the ants, she was still antagonistic against them for their cruel natures towards said ants.
Hopper had talked it over with the head of the mosquito family, and they came to an agreement that the grasshoppers would come to the Mosquito Desert Resort in the winter instead of the summer. This would be their last summer at the resort.
Kimberly curled up against the wall of the sombrero, holding her knees to her chest. Half of her mind told her to at least lay near a huddle of grasshoppers for warmth. But the other half of her mind remained stubborn, telling her to stay away from them. Especially Carlo and Hopper, even though the latter was somewhere else.
It took a while, but Kimberly finally drifted off to sleep…
Kimberly found herself back at Ant Island. She was walking towards the grass, past the blurred ants, paused, and saw Dot hugging her leg. "You will visit…won't you?" She asked as tears began to roll down her face.
Kimberly struggled not to cry, not only at the idea of leaving and never returning, but from seeing and experiencing the scene again. "I…I can't make any promises." She pushed Dot off of her leg and continued to walk into the grass.
"Kimmy! Come back!" Dot cried after the yellowish grasshopper, making her quicken her pace. "Don't leave! Come back! Please come back! Don't leave us!" She heard the young princess sobbing behind her.
Kimberly ran as hard and for as long as she could, tears running down her thin face. She tripped and fell, but didn't get up. She lay in the dirt, continuing to cry.
She froze at a noise. I…didn't hear that last time. Rubbing her eyes free of the tears, she looked up. Instead of Hopper, she saw the dried-up snakeskin Dot had found back in the summer. To her horror, it began to thicken and lengthen until it looked like a dried-up snake. It reared its ugly head, stared at her with empty eyes, and opened its mouth in a loud hiss. Clear insect blood dripped off of its fangs.
Screaming, Kimberly jumped to her feet and ran away. She could feel the rumbles in the ground as the snake slithered after her. It snapped at her heels, making her jump and squeal in fright. She was so scared that she didn't think to fly away.
Suddenly, she felt herself lifted up off of the ground. Looking over her shoulder, she nearly fainted when she saw an orange and red bird holding her by her leaf wings again. Kimberly screamed, twisting her body and flapping her wings frantically. But this time, the binds refused to let her wing stumps go, and she couldn't escape. "No! No! No, no, no!"
The bird took off as Kimberly continued to scream and shout for help. The bird hovered over a nest with three fluffy, yellow baby birds. The jumped and opened their mouths wide, eager for a meal of grasshopper. "Ohh, no!" Kimberly's eyes bugged out in horror. "Oh, oh no! No, no, no!" She curled up in a fetal position as the bird slowly lowered her down to one chick. She gave one last scream as her vision darkened…
Kimberly sat up straight with a gasp, eyes widening. She sat in a cold sweat, panting heavily, as she looked around. She glanced at herself, sighing with relief when she saw she was still alive. She was still at the sombrero, but that was better than in the stomach of a snake or baby bird.
She slumped back against the wall, trying to calm her nerves. Being chased by the snake, caught by the bird, and eaten by her babies was only part of the new nightmare. Another part, and a more personal one, was when she left Ant Island, leaving behind her best friends, whom she had come to think of as her family.
It was a nightmare full of bad memories and terror.
Rubbing a hand over her face, she stood up, not wanting to be on the ground. When she was upset and had a nightmare, she preferred to be above ground. She began tiptoeing towards the back of the sombrero, freezing when she saw Thumper staring at her with reddish eyes. He cocked his head slightly, making her wonder if he heard her screaming in her sleep. "I-I just had a nightmare." She whispered. "Go-go back to sleep."
Thumper snorted, but settled his head back on his folded hands and went to sleep.
Once she got to the back wall, she jumped into the bent-over crown of the sombrero. Save for a slightly-bent bullet casing, and a sleeping cockroach, there was nothing. The tip of the crown was gone, leaving a sort of large window. Perfect.
As she took a step, she froze at the sound of soft snoring. She looked around before finding a large insect sitting on the floor of the crown, leaning back against the wall. His top hands were behind his head, and his bottom hands were folded over his stomach. Every now and then, his remaining antenna twitched at the tip.
Stepping closer, Kimberly realized it was Hopper, fast asleep and snoring.
She backed away when he snorted in his sleep, but luckily, he didn't wake up. Sighing with relief, she continued to walk to the edge of the crown. She sat down, letting her feet hang over the edge, and leaned back on her top hands, staring at the sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight, the stars were out, and the moon was in a crescent-shape. She found herself smiling at the sight, and felt the anxiety and fear from her nightmare fade away.
As she began to feel sleepy again, she backed away from the edge so she didn't fall and hurt herself in her sleep. Not having the energy to go back to the ground level—nor did she want to—she curled up on the ground and fell asleep. This time, the nightmares stayed away.
For the next three days, Kimberly got a bit acquainted with some of the other grasshoppers. Axel and Loco were like two peas in a pod; just two best friends who were both equally afraid of Hopper ever since they, and Bart, were covered in an avalanche of grain.
When she heard about that incident, at first, Kimberly was angry at Hopper for nearly killing them. "It just shook us up," Axel said. "It didn't hurt…much."
"Grasshoppers have strong exoskeletons." Loco pointed out, making Kimberly shrug and nod in agreement. "'Sides, we're big, strong insects." He grinned, puffing out his chest to make himself look bigger. Axel copied him.
Kimberly rolled her eyes, though she smirked in amusement.
Mario and Luigi were twins, and seemed to enjoy singing. "Especially one song that we don't really know the lyrics to." Mario said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"The only lyrics we know are 'La cucaracha, la cucaracha,'" Luigi added. "I don't even think that's English in the first place."
"Well, sorry boys," Kimberly shrugged, smiling. "I've never heard of that song, and I only speak English."
The twins were pretty similar in personality, although Luigi had a healthier appetite, and hated losing at anything, and Mario was meeker, and believed in the paranormal. Kimberly herself didn't believe in ghosts, but listened politely when Mario told her rumors about supposed paranormal activity.
Bart was quite smart—one of the smartest grasshoppers after Hopper—and told Kimberly he was the leader in designing their home. When she asked what he meant, he only winked, saying she would see for herself soon. He also didn't believe in ghosts, and argued with Mario about paranormal activity being real, always wanting to find a logical explanation for things.
Carlo was a pure womanizer, always bragging that he could charm any female. "Heck, I'm more of a charmer than the boss!" He bragged.
"Not to me, you aren't." Kimberly said.
"So you think Hopper's charming?" He raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
"I may hate him, but even I'll admit he's more charming than you. Don't tell him I said that though."
He never did, but it was always a joke among the grasshoppers that Kimberly was the only female to not fall for Carlo's "charms." They thought it was funny, though Carlo didn't. Kimberly was indifferent. Hopper appeared not to care, but inside, he was very smug. Plus, he had overheard Kimberly saying he was more charming than Carlo, so that was also a plus.
Edoardo was generally quiet, though he would speak up if needed. Even though he denied it, he appeared shy, especially around Kimberly. She thought it was funny how when they were on Ant Island when the grasshoppers took over, and he and Carlo found her, he was menacing; now, though, since she was living with the grasshoppers, he was different. "When we're around the ants, we act different." He eventually decided when confronted with that fact. "We're more tough and scary."
"How come?"
"Because the boss demands it." He shrugged. "What ever he says goes. Besides, the ants hate us anyway. You saw what happened when they rebelled against us."
"They chased you."
"Well…they would have done something to us!"
Kimberly decided to not say they managed to shove Hopper into a cannon before being forced underground by the rain.
Osvaldo wasn't the sharpest bee in the hive, but he was a generally nice guy. He still liked his "hat," even though he was told it was a bandanna. But he at least knew it wouldn't shelter him from snow and rain. "Hope he doesn't ask about hail." Kimberly remarked to Stefano, who laughed and agreed. And he showed some degree of intelligence, seeing as he had remembered Hopper's "rules" concerning Kimberly when they were looking for her on the island.
Stefano was Osvaldo's older brother, and felt inclined to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. He was a no-nonsense grasshopper when it came to keeping an eye on his younger brother, but he knew when and how to act fun. "Rumor has it Hopper and Molt used to be like us." Stefano told Kimberly. "Back before he made this gang and enslaved the ants."
Kimberly doubted that Hopper was any different from how he was now. She couldn't imagine him not being grumpy, greedy, rude, or selfish. "I don't know him too well myself, and neither do the other guys," Stefano shrugged. "But Molt always said Hopper used to be more 'fun and happy,' his words, not mine."
Kimberly still wasn't convinced though. But ever since, she would often stare at the one-eyed grasshopper, trying to imagine him as a normal person; one who was "fun and happy," as Molt had put it. When he caught her staring, she quickly turned away, blushing madly.
During the last three days of staying at the resort, Kimberly was also able to have fun. She sang with Mario and Luigi, got better at darts with Carlo and Edoardo, and even tried water-skiing. At first, she declined, seeing that the mosquitoes were the ones pulling the grasshoppers. "Ms. Kimberly, you've gotta learn that some insects gotta do manual labor." The grasshopper who was showing her how to water-ski, Francesco, said. "Remember those millipedes pulling the circus wagon? Some insects are just animalistic."
She finally relented on the day before they left, and had a fun time water-skiing. When Hopper came out to see what the screaming was about, he found Kimberly being dragged around on the lake by a mosquito, laughing with glee. "This is awesome!" She yelled. She whooped, tossing her antennae back as she laughed. "This is so much fun!"
The other grasshoppers lounging under cocktail umbrellas paid her no mind. Hopper, however, was all eyes. Seeing her laughing and smiling widely made him feel strangely good inside. Especially after the last two nights.
Hopper wasn't a light sleeper, but he wasn't a heavy one either. He had heard Kimberly screaming in her sleep, and had seen her asleep near the hole in the crown the next morning. He was no stranger to nightmares, and knew they would go away on their own in time. At the moment, while she was wide awake, Kimberly was happy and laughing, which was also a difference from her being melancholy, and angry at him.
And that, in turn, made Hopper happy.
A/N Since Kimberly escaped by the skin of her teeth from a bird, and had to leave her surrogate family behind, she's bound to have nightmares. Even though she hasn't run into a snake in this story yet, they're still her worst fear, so it'd be logical to add one in her nightmare; especially since Dot had found that snakeskin.
BTW, when dream!Kimberly was yelling as she was dangled over the baby birds, she was yelling the same way Hopper was yelling in canon!A Bug's Life when HE was dangled over the baby birds. I thought'd it be real neat, cool, and clever (I'm such a geek X3) to have dream!Kimberly not only have the same "fate" as canon!Hopper, but to also scream the same things HE screamed.
This chapter's mostly filler, with me defining the personalities of some of the grasshoppers. For Mario and Luigi (yes, I named them after the famous video game characters) I took the video game characters' personalities and switched them, giving grasshopper!Mario VG!Luigi's personality, and vise versa.
Bart's character personality was inspired by The Professor from Gilligan's Island, which has been on evening TV lately.
It was kind of a plotpoint for Kimberly to like water-skiing. Since they'll be leaving the resort soon (I'm not sure if they'll go back again in this story) I managed to squeeze in Kimberly having fun on the water. When she was whooping and laughing, she reminded me of Rapunzel, from Tangled, when she was having fun on her first day out of her tower.