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.

The Queen of Water: He definitely will ;)

Mocarela: I didn't realize that until you pointed it out :p *derp* I think Oogie Boogie and Hades were the main inspirations for Caesar; if I didn't choose Ken Page for his voice actor, I probably would have had James Woods for it.

It tends to happen with hair and/or ears, so I thought: why not antennae? Especially Hopper's remaining antenna.

Yeah, he really loves her. He mentioned a couple times she was the only unrelated girl he ever really loved. I'm glad he didn't seem OOC.

devilgirl123: No, he didn't. Don't worry, he won't die ;)

Kimberly flew straight through the air and over the grass, not looking back once. Her hazel eyes darted around, looking for any signs of dragonflies or Caesar. She knew dragonflies liked living near water, so she tried to find any bodies of water. When she found a random insect or two, she asked where a dragonfly or black and light-green beetle lived. They directed her to a patch of reeds and cattails, which were glued into a sort of cave with spider webbing. Dozens of dragonflies flitted across the pond, looking seemingly innocent and peaceful. But Kimberly knew otherwise. She saw the two red dragonflies as they flew after Dot. They looked and were anything but innocent and peaceful.

She landed by the pond and walked to the reed and cattail cave, which she learned was aptly-named Cattail Cave. She found Skimmer and Buzzer lounging by the entrance, eating flakes of cattail spikes. When they saw Kimberly, they immediately stood up with innocent grins. "Ms. Kimberly," Skimmer greeted, removing his cap. "What a pleasant surprise—"

"Can it, Buzzer—"

"I'm Buzzer," The blue and green dragonfly corrected.

"I don't care. I want to talk with your boss. Is he here?"

"Yeah, he's here." Skimmer nodded, putting his cap back on his head. "What's it about?"

"Do you think I'd really tell you two?" She raised an eyebrow. "May I see Caesar, please?"

"All you had to do was ask, Ms. Kimberly," Buzzer smiled as he and his friend led her deeper into the cave.

Kimberly curled her lip in disgust. She shook her head and looked forward.

Caesar was standing by a small window, both pairs of arms clasped behind his back. "Boss?" Skimmer said. "There's a certain odd-eyed grasshopper here to see you."

"I give up," The beetle said humorously. "Hopper?"

"No," Buzzer shook his head. "His girlfriend, Kimberly."

Caesar slowly turned around, grinning wider. "Why, Ms. Kimberly, this is quite the surprise. What can I do for you, love?"

"I'm here to talk about that deal you made with Hopper." She scowled, crossing her lower arms.

"Ah, I see. You aren't happy with your mate's decision, hm?"

"He is not my mate!" She hissed poisonously, clenching her upper fists. "But like you said, that's neither here nor there. I'm here to propose a different type of deal."

"I'm listening, love." Caesar simpered.

…I think I prefer being called "darling"…

Molt, Flik, and Thumper managed to calm Hopper down, to some degree, luckily before he passed out. He took several deep breaths, remaining silent.

As Atta called a council meeting in the anthill, Chanda frowned at Hopper, who was sitting by the anthill, still looking a little shaken. "You really screwed up, you know?" She said, hands on her hips. "It's good you rescued Kimberly, but you still allowed that beetle to let his dragonflies come eat these innocent ants—and I don't care if that's in a few weeks. You still allowed it. And you know what the icing on the cake is?! You hit Kimberly for no reason!" She failed to notice the one-eyed grasshopper cringing heavily. "She did nothing wrong! It's your fault this whole mess started! You should have bargained with that beetle! Heck, better yet, you should have never met Kimberly! If, by some miracle by Arthropoda, she gives you a second chance, are you gonna do what you did before?! When you guys fight, are you gonna hit her when she says something you don't agree with?!"

"Chanda, you're not helping!" Molt suddenly shouted, startling the red ant. Her eyes widened when she saw he was scowling at her, almost looking like his older brother.

"I think he's turning green!" Flik exclaimed, fanning Hopper with a leaf.

"Chanda, I know you're angry at him. So am I, believe it or not. But do you think yelling at him like that's gonna do anything besides make him sick or give him another panic attack? Try putting yourself in his footsteps: Kimberly, someone he loved, was captured, and the only way to free her was to make a deal with Caesar."

"He should have bargained—"

"If it had been you, would you have been thinking straight?"

Chanda's face faltered. "I thought so." Molt nodded solemnly. "And as for the ants," He glanced at his brother, who was thankfully turning back to his usual brown color, though his eyes were still blank. "They let our mother die."

Chanda blinked in surprise, having never heard of this; not even from Kimberly. "Ma saved Hopper from a bird, which was where he got the scar and blind eye, but she died. Hopper begged the ants to help, but they refused. All because of hatred and prejudice between ants and grasshoppers from 'The Grasshopper and the Ants.'"

"That old bedtime story?"

"Yeah. I…I didn't see her die. I was hiding, like a coward." Molt's antennae drooped. "I only heard what had happened. When the ants were attacked by Caesar and his dragonflies, the queen made the deal with Hopper."

"He committed them to slavery."

"He only agreed to it. The queen was the one who proposed the annual offering. It was the best they could do, and Hopper accepted it." He looked back at Chanda. "You see why this happened? Why Hopper hates ants? Put yourself in Hopper's footsteps, and keep in mind all I said…" He watched as Chanda's dark-green eyes widened in astonishment and realization. He nodded, and turned back to Hopper. "…I've never seen him this bad. Not since Ma died…he really loves Kimberly. Maybe…just maybe…she'll forgive him. If she does, I just somehow know Hopper'll make it up to her."

"How do you know that?" Chanda asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's never loved another unrelated female like this, much less liked."

"So let me get this straight, Ms. Kimberly: in exchange for not harming the ants, you're willing to do something for us in return?"

"Yes." Kimberly nodded, swallowing thickly. She was getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, worse than when she made almost the same deal with Hopper a year and a half ago. Maybe because this insect was worse than the one-eyed grasshopper? After all, Hopper doesn't have a hoard of cannibalistic insects; Thumper never tried to eat anyone, even when Hopper was frightening Dot over a year ago in the anthill. He was just scaring her.

Caesar drummed his fingers together, humming in thought. Growing impatient, Kimberly said loudly, "Going once! Twice!"

"I'm thinking! Just let me think…Since you're so keen on keeping those ants safe…how's this: you live with us for say…a full year?"

Kimberly was expecting that, but it still made her flinch. Even though it was the same deal she made with Hopper, she was at least with her own kind. At the Cattail Cave, she would be surrounded by insect-hungry dragonflies. "And you won't harm the ants?"

"I'm a bug of my word, love. My dragonflies and I won't lay a finger on them." He held out a hand with a smile.

Glancing uneasily at the beetle's face, Kimberly shook hands with him. "Done." She nodded.

"Pleasure doing business with you, my dear. Welcome to your new home," He said, gesturing at the large cave. He turned to Skimmer and Buzzer, "Boys, tell the dragonflies that we have a new temporary resident…and we'll still have dinner in a few weeks."

"Certainly, Boss." Both insects grinned, leaving the cave.

"What?! B-But you said you wouldn't hurt them!" Kimberly protested. "That was our agree—"

"Our agreement was we wouldn't lay a finger on them. This," Caesar tapped her head with a finger. "Is what we won't do. I never said we wouldn't harm nor eat them."

"You brute! You tricked me!"

"You have no one to blame but yourself. Next time…try being more specific."

"You monster!" She screamed. "You horrible, cruel, brutish monster!"

"I've heard it all, love—"

"And stop calling me 'love'!"

"You live in my home, you live by my rules!" Caesar yelled. "And rule number one: you'll stay here for a full year! Any objections will result in a longer stay…especially if I see you aren't in this cave." He narrowed his eyes threateningly. "And if I catch you trying to leave…the consequences won't be pretty. Do I make myself clear?"

Kimberly nodded, feeling frightened.

"Good. Be thankful that the dragonflies have no taste for grasshopper. Ta-ta, for now, love." Cesar sauntered out of the cave, looking smug.

Kimberly sat down heavily, hugged her knees to her chest, and began to cry. This wasn't at all like when she was at Grasshopper Grove; it was worse! She at least felt a little at home at the grove, especially among her own kind. But now? Now she felt like a prisoner, and was surrounded by cannibals.

But the worst of it was that she succeeded nothing. The ants were still going to die.

Hopper still sat by the anthill in silence. He wasn't pale or green, and he wasn't having a panic attack. His eyes were downcast, and his only antenna drooped. He felt depressed, which was something he hadn't felt in years, and angry with himself, something he hadn't ever felt before. His mind kept playing back to the argument between Kimberly and himself, when he hurt her, and the last words she said to him: I hate you.

He growled under his breath, scrubbing a tear from his eye with one hand, and rubbed his face with another.

Molt, Chanda, Flik, and Dot stood off to the side, watching the one-eyed grasshopper. "…I've never seen him this bad." Molt muttered. "He gives off the impression that he's untouchable…but now…"

"He's like everyone else." Flik finished. "But you're right, I never expected he'd react this way, let alone actually fall in love with someone. But, like I just said, he's like everyone else."

Chanda remained quiet. After Molt talked to her about his and his brother's brief past, she really looked at Hopper as Flik fanned him to calm him down. His eyes were wide, he was slightly pale, was still breathing rapidly, and under said rapid breathing, she could still barely hear him mutter repeatedly, "I'msorryKimberly!"

Even though she still didn't like him, she felt bad for belittling him to the point he was nearly sick. She also felt bad about him and Molt having a bad past. She still didn't like his treatment towards the ants, but she knew why he did it.

She laid a hand on Molt's lower shoulder, looking up at him in silent apology. He smiled lightly and nodded, wrapping his lower arm around her shoulders.

Dot slowly approached Hopper, half-aware that the others were watching in case she was in danger. She stood beside him, arms behind her back. "Um…are you okay?"

Hopper lowered his hand and looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "…I've hurt the girl I love, she hates me, you ants are sentenced to die…and I feel guilty about all three things. How do you think I feel?"

Dot glanced around before finally saying, "I don't think Kimmy hates you."

Hopper blinked in surprise and looked down at the young princess. "What?"

"Before we played tag, she said she really liked you. Like how Flik liked Atta. She also said you changed, and that she liked it. She said she fell in love with you."

"Yeah? Well, I sure screwed that up. Chanda was right, I should have bargained with that damn beetle." He shook his head with a sigh. "After this mess, if Kim does give me a second chance…I'm gonna treat her the way a woman should be treated."

Dot surprised him by climbing onto his lap. She sat on his leg, looked up at him, and asked, "When the dragonflies come, will you protect us? That's what Atta said you were doing when we were gathering the offerings."

"…I'll see what I can do, Squirt."

Smiling, Dot hugged the grasshopper, making him exclaim softly in surprise. "Thanks for saving me from the dragonflies earlier." She said.

Hopper stared down at the small ant in surprise. He glanced back and forth before wrapping his lower arms around her, hugging her back. "You're welcome…Dot."

She grinned up at him, making him smile as well. Her grin widened, feeling happy she was able to make him smile. He patted her head with a top hand, making her giggle.

"Um, Hopper?"

He looked at Chanda, who stood beside him, hands behind her back, and with an awkward expression. "I…uh…I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't realize how much you were hurting, or how much my…how much I affected you. So…I'm sorry. I still don't really like you…but I'm sorry about earlier."

Hopper smirked slightly, "I guess I can't blame you for not liking me. I don't really care about that…but I accept your apology."

"Chanda? I think we should go and tell the circus we'll be staying on Ant Island for a few weeks," Molt said. "You know, so we could help them against the dragonflies?"

"Yeah," She nodded. "Should we leave them out?"

"Might be a good idea. If the dragonflies eat ants, who's to say they won't wanna try other bugs?"

"All right." She nodded. She turned to Hopper. "If anyone asks, we went to the circus to tell them we've…extended our stay." Without another word, Molt grabbed her arms and took off to the city.

Flik approached Hopper, smiling when he saw Dot still sitting on his lap. "She's a great cheerer-upper, huh?"

"I suppose, yeah." Hopper nodded.

"She did the same with me. I was banished from Ant Island because I lied about the circus bugs—it's a long story. Dot came to tell me you and the grasshoppers took over the island. At first, I felt I couldn't do anything to save the colony, but Dot gave me confidence and cheered me up."

"Guess I don't always need a rock." Dot giggled.

"Rock?" Hopper muttered, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"The bird was a great idea, wasn't it?" Dot asked the grasshopper, giggling. "You really fell for it."

"Yeah, I guess we did."

"Too bad Caesar and his dragonflies don't fear birds," Flik remarked. "We could've gotten rid of them otherwise."

Hopper blinked in astonishment, jaw dropping. "Hopper? You okay?" Flik asked, wondering if he was getting a relapse.

"Why didn't I think about it before?" The one-eyed grasshopper muttered. "We'll have to do more than scare them off. We have to make sure they don't come back; permanently."

"What do you mean?" Dot asked, cocking her head slightly.

Hopper stood up, setting the young princess on the ground. "Blue—"

"My name's Flik."

"Whatever. I have a few ideas about the situation. I need to speak with your queen."

A/N Man, the weather's been warm lately.

I was trying not to make Caesar and the dragonflies' hideout a tree, since I feel that's a bit overdone. I felt they would live by the water, what with dragonflies liking the water, and remembered there were reeds and cattails by the water sometimes. Then, I somehow recalled spiders making little homes in the water. Put it all together, and you get Cattail Cave. Sometimes I amaze myself.

I always planned for Caesar to trick Kimberly like that. I think he's turning out to be quite an interesting character, if not an interesting villain. Especially since he's the type of beetle whose colors and patterns make him invulnerable to birds.

I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna have the circus bugs in the "final battle." I felt they did their part against the grasshoppers, and the dragonflies would be a bit too tough, since they'd actually fight back, and try to eat them. And I think it's already gonna be interesting enough with the grasshoppers and ants working together (I don't think that's too much of a spoiler)

I loved writing Dot talking with Hopper. Like I said earlier, she's learning that not all grasshoppers are bad, and that Hopper can be trustworthy, since's he's changed. I also love his nickname for her. I don't know why, but it reminds me of the movie True Grit, where Rooster Cogburn calls Mattie "Baby Sister" instead of her actual name.