Colony's POV
Flik did his best to choose the strongest of ants among the colony, and he wouldn't have done it without the Princess, who wanted to keep her mother and newborn little sister safe. With dawn coming at such a short time, he was at the lead at guiding his group up and out, to the outside clearing. Having a firm trust in the Captain, they gathered among the grass and peppered about waiting for the hornet's opportune arrival at the sound of the alarm. As for the Captain's ideas, all was beginning to fall short, as to how much he had to fight in order to keep as many of them at bay as possible, but it did not seem to work as well as it was hoped. As the defense was set in courage and strength, the Queen, the Princess and all of the females and young were first to use the aquifer as an escape.

Lower and lower they climbed and many tunnels were shut off as others seemed to lead to different chambers, only to go around in circles and dead ends. The evacuation though seemed to have begun a little too late for comfort.

Molt and Summer's POV
He knew that it was Hopper's final and top priority order that he had to get Summer to safety as soon as possible. Taking one of the largest flowers they had with him, the grasshopper led the hummingbird at once when she was fed again, for the last time in this tight hill. This was when Molt's own perseverance would really show… Perhaps his inner assertiveness, likened to his brother's. The tiny bird, not used to the darkness of these caves, had to trust in his voice. She could not see well. With a thin strand of dead grass, he led her through a passage as Flora led him in turn.

"We need to keep going, sweetie. Trust me, you got this." he encouraged, sporting more of a deeper tone than usual.

"I-I'm coming, Molt… It's so strange in this place!" she chirped.

"Don't flap your wings yet, but just walk." he reminded her.

Her first instinct was always to fly, especially when frightened. Gladly, she partially taught herself to refrian as much as she can help it. The time came when they found the newly found entrance that led into a deep cave in deep under the tree. The tree's thick roots could be seen spouting and bridging through the roof of it from afar. The warning alarm was sound, which was so loud that it could be heard muffled this far down. About three feet.

"They're here…" Dr Flora's voice trembled.

What Molt saw before him was horrifying and the only way across or down was to fly. Would Summer have enough energy?

"O-Oh, this is bad, so very bad…" he responded.

Summer looked at her challenge and her brown eyes widened. "I-I think I can do it…" she softly spoke, though she sounded unsure.

"So can you, Molt." Dr Flora began to encourage her friend, who seemed frozen at first. "Guide her."

"Okay, okay. Guide her." he reminded himself. "W-we'll all go together, you got me?"

Summer nodded and he pointed to a specific piece of root that seemed just strong enough for her to perch on. "See that? You think you can make it?" he asked Summer.

She was able to see the place light up with those mushrooms. The same ones that lit up the tunnels. "I do… I think I can!"

"Flora, get on my back." he told the nurse ant, who had been by his side since his arrival.

She didn't budge.

"Molt. Dear… I need to stay for any injuries that can happen here. You two need to go." the nurse sadly replied. That horrified Molt. "Now."

"No. No, Flora, please! Please, come with us." he begged of her, his heart breaking.

This poor locust had gone through too much for one lifetime in her opinion and she wanted so much to go with him. He was her friend. She helped save him and he, right now, was trying to save her. It was a very painful decision. But she had to stay for the ones staying to fight.

"I promise, I will be all right, Molt. Now, go." she trembled, her heart breaking along with his. "Go!"

He was so much bigger than her, but when she shoved his claw away from her, it hurt him more than words could ever say. Fighting so hard to keep it together, he gripped the line he shared with Summer. The both of them spread their wings, as he held the flower, and together they flew! Below the two, there was the far group of the females and the young ants with their royals, waiting for them along the bank of the water. Flying aside with Summer, Molt couldn't help but look back at Flora as she got smaller and smaller the farther they went. Fighting tears of pain began to dissolve into bold determination soon enough. He focused on dead ahead, while keeping Summer in check.

"Almost there, almost there!"

"Molt! I can make it!" she chirped back.

During this onslaught of worry and fear, there was an invasion against the tree, as soon as the sun rose up. The sentries who were bravely staying up in their posts were being plucked and chased about the limbs and the trunk, in hopes to distract them from the waiting archers hiding in the grass. Some began to dig through the entrance into the hill, even to steal into Hopper's own burrow beside it.

Flora, thinking quickly, kicked a stone aside that held an entire pile of rocks in place and they all began to roll down the passage, striking one of the hornets full in the face and got himself stuck. While she was battling on her own at the moment, the maze trap seemed to work for the most part. She was going to do whatever she could to keep that aquifer a secret from them. The few of the diggers stayed behind as well, keeping the invaders busy. Where the main gathering tunnel used to be, there was an entire slew of new holes on each side of the wall. The workers scattered and hid, and so did Flora. Once walls and fake blockades were being knocked through, three hungry and angry hornet scouts scanned the area, seeing four other tunnels.

"Where are the little maggots? There should have been an entire slew of them!" remarked one.

"No, this is a ruse. They're hiding. Most likely they've dug downward." spoke the other.

"The grasshopper let them in on it." added the third.

"You don't say…?" came another voice that spooked the three. It was a scratchy, yet playful voice. One that even confused the hiding workers.

"Who's there!? What's this!?" Flora overheard one of the scouts bellow before a liquid was thrown causing him to scream in pain.

Acid was spat at his eyes and he tried to fly out, only to strike the dirt ceiling. The other two were outraged and retaliated at no other than a termite that happened to have found her way into the tunnel. Spitz was having a time with them, confident and crawling in the most highest places. Meanwhile, up in the clearing, chaos was just beginning to happen. As the hornets began to invade the tree, thorns were shot from the grass. Some fell with holes in their wings and had gotten netted down below. As one tried to shoot through a tunnel, Spitz jumped onto his back and gave him a painful shower of her acid. Confused, since this termite came out of nowhere, Flora knew for a fact that it was help sent by Hopper. In time, there were two dead hornets in the chamber.

Blade was furious when he found this defensive strategy good enough to take some of his soldiers down. One had escaped the hill, with his claw burned by the termite's attack.

"Sir, there was an ambush! Somehow a termite is helping them! As for the ants, there are none hiding inside!"

"All of you, useless~ I will find the royals. You do not let yourself be shot down, although it might be a better option to get rid of you and your stupidity!" Blade raged, before striking his own soldier with his stinger. Right then, he ordered the rest to bombard the hill. "To the hill, search them out!"

He grabbed another close to him. "Make sure I get down first."

Flik was horrified when the swarm was now aiming down at them, even though several have fallen from the arrows. In his courage, he tried his best to give off a shot as the rest began to retreat. "Run!" he cried before he was utterly dislodged.

Blade rammed down over the ant and pressed his head down to the dirt. "You all will regret this day. Where are your Royals!?"

"I-I'm not… telling you!"

"Was this your grasshopper's idea? Hopper? Hah, well, you should have seen him… beg for his life before I tore his head off. He gave you all false hope, made you retaliate, didn't he? Such a fruitless mission for all you dirt poor ants. We rule over you and there's nothing you can do to change it."

Flik's eyes welled up as he looked up at Blade, horrified. He had to be lying. He had to be…

"Now, tell us where your royals are. You've lost, ant."

Flik softly began to sob, yet he shook his head while clenching his eyes shut. Blade growled but was glad to know that his swarm was at work, searching the tunnels below. He inspected the bow and arrow nearby. "Well, well… you might be of some use to me anyway."

Down in the aquifer, Molt helped as much as he could to get Atta and her mother to safety just like Summer. The mothers and young all stayed together while their trusted grasshopper did the honors of kicking through a wall. Molt felt a chill, which made hims freeze for a second, knowing that something was coming. Atta felt it too.

"They got in."

Molt didn't say anything, but he got right to it and kicked the dead end. The rocks tumbled away to reveal the sunlight. "Get to the grass!" the Queen ordered and there was some distance away.

The only choice here was to run and Summer was weak. Most of them made it, but a hornet easily spotted them. More so, they spotted the weak hummingbird. When they darted to her to inspect, Molt stood right in front of her. For once, he could not fly away.

"Leave her alone! Please!" he cried, loud enough for Atta to hear.

"Princess, no!"

The Princess took the air so quickly that no one was able to stop her in time.

"Don't worry." the hornet taunted, raising his stinger. "This will only hurt a lot."

Seeing that he was aiming at Summer's throat, the brave grasshopper gave a sharp kick to the hornet's abdomen. Dodging to the side, Molt made to fly and Summer was able to flutter to higher ground. Molt was violently chased the moment he fought back, leaving Summer very upset. When she saw her newest protector take this hornet on, as he dodged and dove among the dry river cracks. Finding himself trapped, he pinned against the wall, looking to see a flash of gold and red fly directly to him. Molt jumped and scurried to the top on the riverbed with his leg almost snagged by the hornet's sharp claw. Summer tried to fly back but she only fell, weak to the dirt, only to be carried away by the other ants. She was too weak to help her friend. All she could do was to shout out these loud, warning chirps. Hearing her cries, it only drove Molt to go faster, starting his wings to get himself away. More so, it was all he could think of to keep them away from the ants; towards the tree. He could feel the power of the hornet when he tried more than once to jam his stinger at him. Molt gave a frightful yell when he felt a strike against his abdomen. He kicked off one end and slid underneath one of the dry cracks just before this shadow went passed him. As he could still hear the cries of the others and the cackles of the harassing hornets, Molt had a mind to go back to Summer but soon heard Atta scream. Terrified, he climbed out to see that Atta was pinned down beneath this soldier as he cackled at the grasshopper.

"No! Atta!"

"Kneel down, or the Princess gets eaten."

Anger stabbed at Molt's insides and for once on this wild journey it showed itself entirely before the hornet.

"You can't do this! Why are you doing this!?" he cried. "Is it all ya know how to do? What did any of us do to you?"

"It's not the matter of what anyone has done, we just have an agenda." he grinned. "Now, kneel, leafsucker!"

Atta gasped as his grip tightened around her throat. "Molt, fly! Just go! I'll be okay!"

Flitter said the same thing and it was impossible to do at this point. He was hit with a wave of courage as the ants went their way into the safety of the grass with their Queen, which was what he truly wanted to hear. But the Princess was captured. It hurt to do it, but he obeyed, much to Atta's horror. He knew that he was caught when he heard the others hover above. Hopper would even state that it was too late. A grasshopper alone was no match against them.

"Don't—" he began to break, raising a claw showing his ernest surrender. "… I'll do whatever ya want, just— please, please, let her go…"

"No can do, mate." came that unwarranted laugh again.

Hopper's Narrative
I was driving myself to exhaustion again but I couldn't stop for another minute. It was an impossible task since the start, but staying close to the thorns did me some good. There was a straggler who thought was more important to hassle me than to follow orders and tried to struggle through the sharp blades and thorns. I was vulnerable, due to exhaustion and I had to keep my head down as he got nearer. I took a stone and jammed it against his claw before getting a good grip on his throat. I pinned him down with a foot and held his arm behind his back to keep his weapon away from me.

"You want me dead, I know, but I'm not going down. The lot of you will be minced by the end of the day." I growled with so much justified hatred.

I saw that he wanted to speak but I had enough of them. I did the honors of pulling his wings off. If that termite had gotten to the hill in time, now was my chance knowing there were countless webs nearby. Not a moment had passed when we both heard the chirps of a warning call. I almost let myself hesitate long enough to let the bastard out of my grip but I managed to punch him hard enough to knock him out. Those wings got louder while I slid deeper in. I gazed up however shocked to see a flash of green and a pin sharp beak poking through. They stayed over for a moment before zooming off with two more hornets on their tail. I knew that I had just seen a hummer, alive and strong. They were male… but it wasn't Emerald. It couldn't be… It could be her mate… I wondered before bravely climbing out between the thorns. The moment I stuck myself out, I witnessed this male fight and bite at two hornets in midair. His maneuvers weren't as graceful as usual, so he had to be young, still learning how to fight.

"Stay still, tasty!" laughed one of them as the bird zipped from side to side.

"Take it to the gut, useless!" barked the young male hummer. He snapped at the antennae of the mocking one and swung him around. "That's for my mother!" he yelled as he threw his attacker off, making them spin and hit the dirt.

I was able to pick up those words, slowly realizing that this male could be one of Flitter's chicks. With passion burning through me, I took flight, coming towards them. This other was about to sting the bird but I kicked him off, sending him flying off. "Gotcha!"

The hummer dived down, taking a stab at the one he threw off and finished him off with a direct stab. There was just one sound and it was over with. I was busy with the other one as he was striking me with multiple hits and kicks. Getting me twice in the face, I gave him triple before grabbing him by the antennae and throwing him over my back. When he fixed his flight, it gave me enough time to kick him right in the stomach, knocking him senseless against a thorn.

My flight pattern was screwed up and the hot wind shoved me off kilter to the point that I had to grab onto a limb. My fellow soldier had not yet realized who I was and he came right at me, much to my dismay. Panic settled in and I pinned against the trunk of the weed I was on. I remembered the punishments and how mean hummers were and I knew I was small and vulnerable. He had power over me. That chirp sounded so sharp that I bowed to him in surrender. His powerful wing beats kept me down while he took in my scent. He saw my scar. I dared to open my eyes to look at him. He took a moment to rest his wings…

"I can't believe it… Is it really you? Hopper?" he spoke, out of breath.

As was I. I kept a claw over my head, truly shaken. I was still weak. I studied this bird though, taking in the beauty of his new plumage. The last time I saw him, he was covered in down and I was teaching him and his sister how to fly.

"… Flaps? Flaps…" I panted, a smile slowly appearing on my face. I let my guard down.

"You wouldn't forget me, would you?" Flaps chuckled. "You'd laugh whenever I fell down."

"You look just like your dad." I poked. "… you scared the hell out of me."

"Then I must be doing something right." he smiled before shaking off a dizzy spell.

"Tell me you've eaten recently." I stood up, noticing that he shook his head.

"Only a little. Just enough for me to scout. I've been sent in search of a loner who laid her egg a few weeks too late."

"No… I know who you're talking about. We've found her fledgling, I believe. A hornet got to the mother."

Flaps shut his eyes and bowed his head. "… I knew I was too late… It's already hard on our females… What have you been doing out here? There's nothing…"

"Long story, short, I am the Captain of an ant colony. A colony that is under threat of this same band. Those soldiers we just fought off are scouts of a hornet named Blade. His Queen seeks a new home and she has her eyes on this colony's tree. They're doing exactly what they did that morning. I've sent someone to go help them out, but I don't think it's enough. Molt is trying to help the fledgling but I have no idea what could be happening to them right now…. I am personally trying to keep my mind on the task at hand."

Flaps brown eyes saddened at word about Molt, the kindly nursing locust he always knew. Flaps boldly stood straight and strong. "To get to the Queen, we need a lot of wings."

"Wings, webs, poison… and teeth." I added.

"As Emerald would say… We fly…"

"With Pride…" we both spoke in unison..

"I regret to say that the last time he had spoken to you, at the time, he only had a week left to live. He named me Captain and Keeper of the flock, but I'm afraid that I am not up to the task…"

Emerald had passed as it was proved by how slow he was becoming back then and the hope to see another season was weak. Perhaps he was with Flitter again. Feeling a flush of sadness, I shut my eyes for our fallen leader. I had hope that I would at least see him one last time, but I could hear the pain in Flaps' voice.

"If he promoted me to soldier, to start… I can easily tell you that he knew what he was doing when he promoted you to Captain." I spoke, rising up, strong and ready. "… and soon Prime."

Flaps rose his head and furrowed. Boldly, he nodded. "From one soldier to another, will you fight with me?" I asked.

"With all I have, Soldier." the Hummer smiled as he gave his wing out as a gesture of a shake, of which I took. In all seriousness, we needed a complete plan.

"Hornets are among the most deadly of adversaries. In turn we need the aid of other adversaries." he began.

"At least evenly matched. Snakes, spiders… bigger birds."

"Bigger birds." Flaps' eyes widened.

"You can speak to the larger species." I brought up. "… there's a finch known in these parts. A huge, gold one. She's very dangerous though. I was rescued by a termite who lived beside a snake hole. Blade's plan is take the royal ants to his Queen as trophies. By now, the tree is probably infertrated."

"This hive is heavily guarded. I've passed over it. As a matter of fact, we are not far away."

"Yet, a few ants were able to escape, so it's not as strong as it seems. Hornets can't stand webs or water. Acid." I looked back at him. Flaps nodded, fluttering his wings. "Take me to this hive."