Chapter 23: From Better, To Worse


HORNET


Hornet was still not sure she could believe her eyes.

As both the General and she had predicted right after their sobering talk, the journey out of the Ancient Basin had proven rather difficult and lengthy. This was, for one, because of the greater amount of guards, both construct and bug, they'd had to make their way by completely unrevealed. The hyu-man couldn't have simply sent them back to the Hive either, seeing as their exit from the Abyss apparently meant any magic of his would've been sensed by the Pale King.

A larger pack of sentries at the tram station had also left the two unable to get anywhere near the tunnel leading back to Kingdom's Edge. A simple pebble thrown by the hyu-man as a distraction had given them barely enough time to nimbly climb into the passage above. It'd quickly been decided they would be better to head through the waterways.

They had swiftly crossed the collapsed bridge, Hornet unwantingly remembering the embarrassing tumble she'd nearly taken there. Keeping the quick pace, they'd then started making it up the broken liftway shaft, soon enough reaching the broken wall opening into the sewers. However, before the warrior could set them on a waterway leading to the chasms at the Edge, she had been alerted by Lembit who'd told he sensed 'something interesting' from the Wastes, the exact opposite direction. At the hyu-man's insistence that it could've been important, the warrior had begrudgingly agreed to investigate, despite it likely taking more of their time.

They had shortly trekked through the dim canals, which now showed hardly any signs of their previous fluke infestation. Despite her companion's words, the female had been slightly doubtful what awaited them in the fungified caverns would be as significant as he'd made it out to be. Not before long, the exit to the Wastes had become visible in the pipe ahead, quickly joined by the awful scent. All of a sudden, Hornet had caught a pair of figures entering from the other side. On instinct, she'd tensed up, needle clutched, as she and Yuss had warily kept towards them, one of whom had looked rather strange, almost like her companion-

She had finally recognized them, her eyes widening with shock, as the two had neared enough for her to properly see them. In particular, a shell of yellow stripes beneath a familiar mask she'd last seen filled with terror. Just then, the hornet had noticed them as well, swiftly drawing his nail, prompting them to halt. Moments later, however, he'd lowered it again with a look of surprise mirroring her own.

"Hornet," Max called out.

Gazing back towards him, the warrior suddenly hadn't a clue how to reply. She hadn't expected it to come this quickly, nor in such a place. How were they even here?

At a loss, she glanced at her masked companion.

"How in the-," she heard him mutter, before returning her look and saying: "Well, go on, then. He's right there."

Understanding what he wished her to do, Hornet gave him her firmest nod. It was nothing difficult, she was capable enough. Taking a deep breath, she looked back ahead, quickly setting down her needle, and started towards her friend. Surprisingly, she then saw the male running to her as well, the two soon coming to a halt before one another.

"H- hi," Max spoke up, catching his breath.

"Hello," the female greeted back, suddenly feeling nervous again. What was she to say now? What if he still didn't-

"I-, er, you're alright," the hornet stated, to which she nodded affirmatively, causing him to brighten up. "That's- that's great. I, um, we're okay too, for the most part." He sent a hasty glance at his relative. "Hornet," he then began, his mask visibly pinkish, "I'm, uh, still not really sure how I should say this, but I don't want to hide it anymore. Hornet, I- I-"

It was true, it was actually true. "I know, Max," the halfling interrupted warmly, her own cheeks heating up. "I- I love you too."

She looked, as the male's eyes went wide, before (in a no doubt awkward way) pulling him into an embrace like the General had suggested her to. Not even during the more embarrassing instances of his training had they come this close. A couple of moments later, they separated, gazing at each other.

"Wow," Max breathed, his face now one of pure joy. "You're- That- that felt nice."

"It did," Hornet agreed just as happily. The hyu-man had been completely right. "You did."

"Huh? I-" For some reason, his cheeks became even redder at that and he once again glanced to Adrian, who'd come a bit closer and was raising a thumb. "Thank you," he uttered with a smile, "you too." The halfling returned his expression.

A short, yet pleasant while longer, they simply beamed at each other. Then, however, the male sighed, saying with a regretful look: "Things went pretty badly, didn't they?" The warrior hung her head, giving a solemn nod. T'was time to tackle the matters at hand.

"We know, Max," Lembit suddenly spoke, having caught up as well. He quickly handed Hornet the needle she'd dropped, continuing: "And we're going to make them better, I promise. Firstly, however, I'd very much like to hear why you aren't back in the Hive right now."

"Indeed," Hornet stated, the slightest bit concerned. "How is it the two of you are here, Max?"

The hornet let out another sigh. "Well, when we made it up to the tramstop, two sentries ambushed us," he began, "so we tried to use the tram to get back, but one of them got in too and I had to fight her off and in that, we, uhm, accidentally made that thing go the wrong way."

Hornet's eyes widened in horror, as she realized where the third platform stood. "You mean you had to travel through-"

"Deepnest, yeah," the hornet finished. "It- it was pretty rough down there."

"You're putting it mildly," his uncle said, his voice a tad strained. "No offence, Hornet, but going through those caves was probably the worst experience of my life."

"Don't fret, Adrian. I'm aware how dangerous and wild my birthplace is," the warrior replied, now feeling even more relieved they were safe. "It is part of why I left there, after all. Rather, I am impressed," she smiled at Max, "and proud you were able to survive at all. Many others haven't."

"We saw that, yes," the hyu-man mentioned uneasily. "Honestly, we were pretty lucky to make it, especially me. Remember?" The halfling hummed pityingly, recalling the injuries he'd had at the palace.

"Yes. I hope the little surge I gave you helped with that," the other hyu-man said.

"Whatever you did, it took care of the worst," Adrian responded, "got me to the tram too, but not any further. And I was still pretty beat up, so Max even had to help me for a good while." Surprised and no less impressed, Hornet again glanced to her (now more than) friend, who gained an embarrassed look, shrugging.

"I had to, for your sake," he muttered humbly, "besides, the glowing pond wasn't that far from the stop."

The General hummed askingly. "Glowing pond?"

"The Hot Spring," Hornet all but blurted out. At her companions' confused looks, she then spoke: "It is one of a few around Hallownest where the water is infused with SOUL, allowing it to heal and rejuvenate anyone." She knew this particular spring well. It'd been a boon many a time in her first youth.

"That's exactly what it did to me," the hyu-man affirmed. "Got me back into proper shape. And I made it through the rest of that hellhole in one piece."

"Really," Lembit said, audibly doubtful. "Your limp and voice say otherwise. That too." He pointed to the human's midsection, where the halfling somehow only now noticed a dark, wet spot on his broken garment, clearly from a wound.

She saw Max hang his head, while Adrian sighed. "Okay, yeah, should've mentioned this," he admitted. "I'm not sure you'll even believe it, Juss, but I ticked off a ghost."

"A ghost," the General asked, as Hornet too was taken aback. She'd heard tales of bugs' restless souls wandering the caves, but had never encountered one.

"Yeah, a ghost. She stung me, said it was poisonous too," the other male told. "And I think I believe her. It's bad."

"Hmm? Let me take a look," Yuss spoke, stepping over to him. He crouched down, before raising the garment to reveal aswollen, discolored wound on the soft shell, one that even Hornet found looked very unpleasant. "Okay, this is definitely venom alright," the hyu-man stated "You mind telling what exactly happened?"

"It's a long story," Max replied sullenly. "Not a very nice one either."

"She was pretty awful, yes," his uncle agreed. "At least we got away from her. And I'm sure this's nothing that, um, magic of yours couldn't fix, right Juss?"

The General brought a hand under his chin, as he stood back up. "We'll see. I'll have to take a better look at it." He turned to face the two warriors as well. "But right now, I think we should start heading back to the Hive. It's not safe here and we still need to recover. I'm certain each of you understands how dangerous the Pale King is now. Still, this isn't over and I assure we will defeat him, together."

Hornet glanced at Max, who looked back, the two exchanging warm, yet uneasy smiles. While it felt wonderful to finally be together like this, she knew their love alone wouldn't best that monster. She was definitely going to have to train him further.

"Let's get going, then," Adrian then spoke up. "You know the way through here, right?"

"Yes, the path's nothing complicated," Lembit affirmed, looking down the pipe, "but it's not the shortest, so we've got a ways to go. That'll give us some time to properly catch up. I'm sure both of you want me to explain some things."

The other males nodded enthusiastically and a short while later, the pack began into the waterways, with Hornet firmly taking her place beside Max. The hyu-mans followed closely behind due to Adrian's indeed severe limp.

Just after they'd set off, the warrior glimpsed him lean towards Max, barely making out, as he whispered: "You did great, kid." She saw the hornet's mask redden slightly, as he gave a nod, which she found herself smirking at.

"As did you, Hornet. I'm proud," Yuss then loudly said, causing her to blush as well. While she did respect him, the general's apparent determination to treat her by her 'true' age still felt embarrassing, not too unlike when Vespa did so.


The four kept down the pipe, which soon came to an end, opening into the rest of the waterways. As they found and started following one of the primary canals, which lead almpst all the way to the Kingdom's Edge, the General began reciting to Max and Adrian many of the things he'd told Hornet, describing the reason for the Pale King's sudden growth in power, before moving to explaining his own nature, although in somewhat lesser detail. The female didn't pay them much mind, keeping to herself, aside from small, wayward glances at the hornet beside her, who was clearly amazed by what the hyu-man was saying.

She truly hoped they would be able to grow their love to something further, edging ever so slightly closer to him.

"-aside from my magic, it is also part of the reason why I know so much of things like the king and why I fight against them," Lembit soon finished, sighing. "I hope I've made some things a bit clearer for you two. What do you think?"

There was a moment of silence. "Unbelievable," the warrior then heard Adrian utter, exhaling. "Juss, I must say, I wouldn't've bought any of what you just said, hadn't I seen it for myself. I mean, holy doma. I could accept than organization of yours, but how do you even keep this secret?"

"Hm. You see, unless the situation is as serious as it is right now, I prefer to keep myself from using my powers," the General spoke. "And if it does become necessary, I make sure it is covered up. Otherwise, I'm still human, which means I do things our way."

"Oh. That- that I can honestly respect," the other hyu-man replied, "Nice to see someone like you is keeping to that sort of mindset this day and age."

As he was speaking, Hornet saw Max glancing to her, the astonishment on his mask still apparent. "Wow, I can't believe he of all people is something like you, Hornet. And all of it has to be true too. We saw him do magic," he enthused, prompting her to nod, having seen even more of it than him. "Dang, it must've felt crazy to hear after you two had escaped, right?"

"His truths were quite surprising, yes, especially our commonality," the female affirmed, recalling their rather heated conversation right after she'd woken up.

"Thought as much," the hornet said, smiling at her. "It all seems so surreal." Then, he frowned slightly. "Though it's awful just how he killed the Lady."

"We mustn't expect any better of him," the halfling replied darkly, remembering what the murder had gained him, "simply face the consequences." Her companion hummed in agreement, as they exchanged sullen looks.

"We should change the subject," the male then suggested, which Hornet thought was a good idea.

"Anything you'd wish to speak of first, Max?"

"Yeah," the hornet affirmed. "Could you tell how you got out of the palace? There was a whole lot of those things in there and you took as long as us to get up here. Did you have to hide somewhere?"

"No, we didn't," Hornet replied, before explaining: "After you'd been sent away, we managed to flee from the constructs into the dungeons. There, however, they blocked off our way of escape, leaving us no choice but to cast ourselves into the Abyss."

Max's eyes widened. "You mean that dark chasm," he asked worriedly, to which she nodded, only strengthening his concern. "What did you do in there? Did something try to attack you? How'd you get back up? Please tell me."

The rapid questions took Hornet aback. "Well, I-," she tried to begin, as the other things she'd lived through down there came back to her. "I had the General relate to me his story and- and he helped me admit how I felt for you. Yet then we-" She stopped herself, sighing. "I am sorry, Max, I truly don't wish to tell of it." She'd made sure not to show it this far, but a part of her was still crestfallen over the corruption that had befallen her once-heroic sibling. As weak as it was, she couldn't bring herself to talk about it yet.

Her friend shook his head. "No, don't be," he said with a sympathetic look. "It's okay. I shouldn't've pried. You obviously got out safe and that's what matters." The halfling then felt his hand take hold of hers and curiously looked to him.

"Is it alright if I-,"

"By all means," she assured with a smile, which quickly faded. From the surroundings, she knew they still had a ways to go and wanted to talk on, yet knew not if it was right of her to anymore. "Max, if it is still alright with you, I'd like if you told me more of your journey through Deepnest, of that ghost you mentioned before."

Before the hornet could answer her, he was interrupted from behind by a garbled voice: "Yes, I'd actually like to learn of that as well."

The warrior's eyes widened with realization, as the male glanced back towards the hyu-mans. "Were you listening in on us?"

"Perhaps," the soldier replied. "It is rather hard not to."

"He's got a point, Max," Adrian spoke up, the strain in his voice even more apparent, "You are right in front of us. Besides, it'll only help if we tell them. We would've had to anyway at some point."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Max admitted.


So, as they continued along the remainder of the primary canalway, the males began recounting their journey through Deepnest, beginning from the respite they'd had at the Hot Spring, where Max had caught wind of some very alluring scent, deciding to follow it despite the obvious risks, which Hornet couldn't help but admonish him over. Next, they told of encountering what was unmistakably a corpse creeper (awful things they were) and of their frantic escape from it that was thankfully cut short by a pack of deephunters attacking the beast.

Nonetheless, the males had kept running, soon coming to a crevice where the scent they'd set after stemmed from. Through it had apparently been a worn down cave, empty save for a single statue of a hornet, the engraved text of which Max had read, unleashing from it the ghost of his tribe's ancient queen, in whom Hornet recognized the familiar Deepnest mentality of harshness and placing the tribe above all else. Her friend went over the the surprising things the dead ruler had claimed of his and Adrian's ancestry that had quickly devolved into argument, as she'd wanted the hyu-man too to don a bug's mask, ultimately stinging him with their kind's venom to leave no other clear choice.

This, however, along with the ghost monarch's insults towards Lembit and the halfling, had caused the spellbound Max to break free of her and demand she let them leave, right after, as added by Adrian, he had loudly proclaimed his love for Hornet, prompting her to smile at him, blushing slightly.
In return, the male told how they, per the queen's direction, had left the old den through another passage, which lead them out to what she knew to be the Fungal Wastes' lowermost area, where after a rest for the wounded hyu-man's sake, they had finally reached the waterways' pipe.

Finished, Max sighed, sharing a downcast look with Hornet, before glancing at the limping Adrian. The warrior understood, eyeing him sympathetically. Aside from being a source of worry, it was quite angering as well. An intelligent bug's stinger was to only be used as a last resort in battle, not to force one's will like this insufferable queen had done. At the very least, the venom would soon be cured by Hiveblood. For the moment, though, even Lembit was silent behind his unemotive mask.

However, that wasn't for long, as the four were met with a broken, craggy section of the canal's side, which otherwise had proven surprisingly intact for its years of neglect, even to Hornet, who'd dashed through these tunnels uncountable times. In addition to the crumbled path, the warrior also noticed the water beside them was visibly discolored, being evidence of an acid leak. Still, it was nothing she couldn't handle and, having let her companions know, she effortlessly leaped to the other side of the broken stone, turning around to wait.

Yet lacking her skill to jump so far, the hornet climbed across, rejoining her quite fast, with the General also having little trouble getting over. Adrian, however, didn't fare as well, the no doubt unpleasant sting-wound greatly slowing his pace. Still, with Max's encouraging words, he kept clambering. As the hyu-man was finally about to reach them, he suddenly let out a hiss of pain, a hand shooting to his side, to which he lost balance, tumbling down with a yell.

Towards the tainted water below.

"Uncle," Max shouted beside the halfling, lunging after him.


MAX


He snatched onto his uncle's arm, frantically trying to pull him back. Unfortunately, the human's weight was too much and he stumbled forward himself. Before he could fall into the dangerous-looking water with him, though, the hornet saw the General reach out, grabbing him as well.

"Get up here, both of you," he hissed, helping Max pull his wounded relative onto the unbroken stone, where he quickly leaned against the wall, wheezing heavily.

"Thanks, Max, Juss," he said between breaths, then raised his hand. "I'm- I'm okay. Oh damn." He groaned.

"No, you're not," the young male argued, staring at him with growing concern.

"He's right, Adrian," the soldier agreed, his arms crossed. "You need help. Now come on, let me just-." He pulled the other man's arm over his own shoulder, supporting him a bit like Max had before. "If I remember correctly, we shouldn't have much further to go." He looked towards Hornet, Max doing the same.

"Indeed, hyu-man," the female affirmed with a nod, "This canal's end is just up ahead." She glanced at the hornet. "We shall soon be back at the Hive."

The pack then headed off, their pattern the same as before, with the General now helping Adrian limp forward. Despite knowing they'd be safe again soon, Max couldn't keep himself from sighing, still somewhat worried. Turning to gaze at the bug beside him, he softly took hold of her hand, which the female once again allowed, the two exchanging another, much warmer glance.

His uncle had been right. She loved him back and it made him so happy. Their reunion, the hug, had both been awkward, yet beyond amazing at the same time, even with his undoubtedly many screw-ups. It still felt pretty good for his first time admitting it. Besides, she didn't seem that experienced in this stuff either, which hopefully meant they could work it out together.


True to the warrior's word, the long canal soon came to an end, feeding into smaller pipes inside the wall that were clearly too tiny for any of them to crawl through, along with being barred off anyway. A few of the gaps were even clogged with some kind of pink things.

"Merely dead flukes," Hornet uttered to Max's asking look. "Pay them no mind."

Thankfully, the place wasn't a dead end, with a smaller doorway right next to the pipes, which the four headed through. Inside was a narrow, dim tunnel that went slightly further, leading into an equally dark room, where the hornet suddenly stopped, hearing a faint buzzing. This time, though, he recognized it before even reaching for his nail, as did his companion.

"Hello? Hivelings," she asked loudly, sounding as confused as him. "We can sense you. Please, show yourselves."

A moment later, several of the chubby bugs flew into view, including a very familiar one wearing a white ribbon around her middle. The pack of four stepped into the room proper, while the gathered Hivelings stared at them, weirdly silent.

"Max, Hornet, you're alive," Apisia then spoke up in astonishment, before her look became confused. "Why are you holding forelegs?"

"No real reason," the warrior insisted, as the two hunters quickly let go of each other, blushing slightly, which seemed to puzzle the healer even more.

"Alright," she uttered. "It is still, uh, good to see you. All of you." The pair smiled, nodding.

"You too, Apisia," Adrian said from beside the General. "I'm sorry for running off like that."

"It is okay, Adrian," the striped bug spoke, "The queen told us you weren't in your right mind."

"Still, look what it got me," the man replied. "I hope you gals have been doing better than us."

"We've been, uhm, well enough," the healer responded, "Certainly better now that we've found you again."

"Speaking of that, what are you doing up here," the soldier asked her. "Seems a weird place for a healer."

"Indeed, Apisia, why are you here," Hornet also wanted to know, as Max became curious as well.

"Well, w- we were, uh, searching for you," the Hiveling stuttered in reply. "I volunteered to help. We truthfully weren't even hoping to find all of you."

"Yet now you have and that's only a good thing," Juss stated, "Though I think we ought to be getting back to the Hive."

"O- of course, right away." Apisia agreed, nodding. She turned around and hovered to the mouth of the pipe at the back end of the room, this one clearly large enough for all of them. She looked back at the pack. "But I must ask that you be cautious. Beia cannot see any sentries, yet still."

Having each promised they would, the four started following her down the metal tunnel, at the end of which Max could already see light. The rest of the Hivelings came last, all of them still weirdly silent besides their buzzing. Not before too long, the group had finally reached the end of the pipe, finding themselves up on the side of a familiar ash-lit chasm. Looking down, a problem quickly made itself apparent to the hornet.

"How do we get down," he asked. The Hivelings could just fly, but not them.

"Don't fret, Max. You and I can easily jump from this height," Hornet replied, then turned towards the humans. "Though I cannot say the same for you"

"I'll be fine jumping as well," the General assured, palm raised. "Still, that leaves Adrian."

"My sisters and I can carry him," Apisia spoke up, getting a distrusting look from the man. "We shall be gentle, I promise."


After a bit more convincing, he agreed, to which the striped bugs took hold of him, slowly starting to hover down from the pipe. While they descended, Max watched Hornet leap from the ledge, before taking a deep breath and jumping off himself, soon landing beside the warrior, who gave him a proud smile. A few moments later, the General touched down, seeming completely unhurt by the fall, as the swarm and Adrian also reached the ground, the soldier wasting no time with pulling the poisoned man to his side again.

Like their friend had said, there didn't appear to be any guards around. Just then, however, the hornet heard rustling from a nearby pile of ash, before another Hiveling flew out of it, waving.

"Sisters, you truly found them," she spoke up, eyeing the humans and warriors, "all four too."

"As we told you, Beia," Apisia replied quietly, rolling her eyes. "We- We're taking them back now. The queen is already waiting." The other gave a small nod, joining the others.

"Let us not keep her waiting, then," Hornet spoke firmly, turning towards the path that went below the city, only to be stopped by the healer.

"No, Hornet, stop" she called, causing the warrior to look back, confused. "T- The western entrance is no longer safe. We have to go by the eastern."

Though still looking slightly at a loss, the female nodded, getting back beside the hornet, as they all began heading in the opposite direction. Walking between the green, hissing puddles, Max kept silent like the others, though not to alert anything.

Being so close to the Hive, he could feel the faint buzz of his cousins' hive mind again, sensing clear sadness and fear from it, which he figured came from their defeat by the king. However, there also seemed to be regret, even guilt.

With that and how strange the Hivelings with them were acting, he found himself a bit worried that something was wrong.

They soon passed into a wide cave, where the male noticed a sharp scent and that the ground was a lot more uneven, making him glance at his companion.

"Hoppers around here," Hornet whispered back. "Nasty bloodsuckers. Be on the alert."

Thankfully, they didn't come across any, soon reaching a large natural pillar, inside of which was a passage leading below. The path was steep, though not so much that it was difficult for the humans. Making their way down it, they were met with another big cavern, along with, at last, the eastern side of the Hive.


With their goal in view, it didn't take too much longer to make it down the rest of the rocky path. Stepping onto the cave floor with the others, Max saw the eastern entrance just up ahead. Despite the nagging sense of worry, at that moment, he was glad. Things hadn't gone well for them, at all, but at least now they were finally safe to recover and replan to hopefully win some day. With the Hivelings surrounding them, they approached the tunnel inside, where the hornet noticed at least two Hive soldiers and another, two-legged figure.

Wait, Vespa?

He grew slightly more worried again. It was true that the Hive queen cared for them, or at least Hornet, but it was still strange seeing her outside the walkway like this. The warrior seemed confused as well, tilting her head, as they entered the yellow walkway, before coming to a stop in front of the ghostly monarch, who turned to look at them.

"Greetings, each of you," she addressed with a slight smile, which then faded. "I trust it is quite safe to say that you've not been successful in your aim."

The two young warriors hung their heads, nodding unhappily. "No, no we weren't," Hornet said, gazing up at her. "I'm sorry, Vespa."

"Oh, Hornet," the Hiveling sighed. "You've nothing to be sorry for. His power was far too great for any of us to imagine. Although there is someone to fault here."

"I'm aware of my excessive hastiness, queen Vespa, and I'd be fully willing to accept any blame for it," Juss spoke from beside the hunters, still wearing his mask. "However, right now, we've got much more important things to deal with, things we should probably discuss in the Hive. I say we head inside at once."

"Now, General, l- let us not be too hurried here," the queen replied, suddenly sounding a bit nervous. "It is still good to see you all alive again, even if not entirely well." She frowned, glancing towards Adrian, whose breaths seemed even more strained now. "What has happened to you, Adrian?"

"Poisoned, quite badly too," the General explained, to which the hurt man nodded, "which is why he should be treated soon. All the more reason to get inside." He leaned slightly, peeking behind her. "Honestly, I can't see why you chose to greet us here at all."

"Yes, Vespa, why is it you're out here like this? Is there something awry in the Hive," Hornet asked worriedly, as Max let his own concern show.

Staring at them apprehensively, the ghostly ruler started to say something, only to stop herself, sighing heavily. The next moment, she nodded, before starting in a saddened tone: "There is, in a way at least. Because of your defeat at the White Palace, our part in the attack stayed fully revealed to the Pale King. Briefly, I thought his inevitable retribution would spell the end for our kind. Then, however, he spoke to me."

"W- What did he have to say," the warrior asked uneasily, which made the surrounding Hivelings, including Apisia, all stare at the ground with sorry looks.

Vespa hung her head as well. "He demanded that the Hive and I become vassals to Hallownest. Greatly as it pained me to, I agreed," she answered.

"What," Adrian exclaimed, as Max saw Hornet stifle a gasp, his own eyes wide with shock. That was just- How could she?

The queen looked up at them guiltily. "I'm sorry, Hornet, all of you, but the Hive's wellbeing shall always come first for me, even if means this. I hope you're able to understand."

The warrior glared at her. "I take it I have to," she uttered. "But know that I trusted you, queen Vespa." The Hiveling flinched with a hurt look, as she hastily wiped at her face, glancing at Max, who could only return the sad look. This wasn't fair, at all.

"This- this truly is unfortunate," Juss spoke up, even his tone unhappy, "though I fully understand why you gave into him. He is very powerful now and you've a people to care for. Still, this probably means you aren't willing to house us anymore." The queen shook her head, to which he pinched the front of his mask with a muted huff. "Of course not."

He glanced at Adrian, then towards Max and Hornet. "Well, you heard her, we're done here. I- I know full well it's not to our, uh, 'liking', but there's nothing we can do. So just try to pick yourselves up a bit, 'cause we're leaving at once." The young bugs both nodded dejectedly, though the hornet had no idea what they were going to do after that. And he wasn't the only one.

"Wait, just where're we even supposed to go, Juss," the other human asked.

"Wherever, Adrian, I don't know," the soldier replied, before looking back at Vespa. "But it's pointless for us to linger here. We have to get going. Farewell, Hive queen."

He promptly turned towards the exit with Adrian, prompting Max and Hornet to do the same, the latter uttering a quiet 'goodbye'. However, their way was suddenly blocked by the Hivelings.

"I'm afraid not all of you may leave," the spectral queen said, confusing Max, who looked back around, as did the others.

"Huh? What do you mean by that, V- queen Vespa?" There was a sense of wariness in Hornet's tone. "Whom of us can't leave and why?"

"Yes, I'd very much like to know that as well," the General added, clearly tense as well.

The ghost nodded. "Just briefly before you returned, the Pale King came to visit our Hive and I," she began. "He wished to see in person his newest domain and subjects. To me, he also insisted that you, Hornet, along with the General were- were dead already. However, his forces evidently hadn't yet caught you," she pointed to Max and his uncle, "So he ordered that, were you to somehow make it back to us, we would do so instead, bring you to him. And now that you have, we sadly must." As she finished, the Hivelings around them seemed to close in slightly.

The hornet stared at her in disbelief. He could kind of understand joining the king to protect the Hivelings, but why- "What? Whyever would you do that," Hornet spoke up, now sounding angry, "Surely you know he'd kill them. How could you obey to such a thing?"

"Because, harsh as it may be, in return, the king promised me the thing the Hive needs more than all else," the queen replied sternly, "something that alas, no other bug could give us."

"And what would that be," the warrior almost yelled, "What would possibly be so significant to you that only he could provide-" All of a sudden, she stopped and Max saw her eyes go wide.

"An heir," she stated, to which the Hiveling nodded solemnly, the General muttering a quiet 'of course'.

"Yes, with the use of a mask," the specter affirmed. "His solely is the power to choose what bug comes from one. And he made it clear to me that our scouts cannot search beyond the cliffs anymore." This caused the other female's mask to become irate again.

"You've still no right to send Max and Adrian to their deaths," she retorted, "You've not even a clue if he shall keep to this promise of his."

"It is a risk I've decided to take, one I need to," Vespa argued. "I know you're friends, Hornet, and I'm sorry, but this is a sacrifice we have to make. Be glad the king thinks you dead. You and the General can easily flee here and hide yourselves, perhaps even keep plotting against him if you so dare."

"No! I shall not part with Max again," Hornet shouted back. "I love him, you know I do!"

For a moment, the queen seemed taken aback. "Hornet, we talked of this," she then said with a sigh, "I asked you to push back such feelings. It is not a good time for them, even moreso now."

"Yeah? So what? I love her back," Max spoke up, finally daring to do so again. He shared a quick smile with Hornet, before glaring back at the traitorous Hiveling. "And I won't let you get me or my uncle killed." His nail hand went to its namesake, causing the surrounding workers to buzz louder. Some cousins they all were.

"I- I see there's no swaying either of you, is there," the ghost asked, resulting in two angry nods. "I feared so." She turned towards the humans, who'd both been silent the whole argument. "Please, General, I'm aware this cannot be easy for you either, but surely you see how necessary it is for us."

"You're gonna tell her off, right, Juss," Adrian spoke nervously, looking at him as well. "I mean, this is bull. You won't let us get taken like that, right?"

The soldier let out a hum. "As I said before, queen Vespa," he calmly began, "I fully understand why you and your hive submitted to the Pale King. To you, they're clearly more important than us. And as somewhat of a leader to my own people, I know that sometimes, we have to make sacrifices for their wellbeing." He paused, glancing towards the young bugs, which made Max feel a little nervous. He wasn't actually going to-

"However," the man looked back at the ghost, his tone gaining an edge, "as much as I understand you, Vespa, I will never compromise with the enemy and unfortunately, you're on his side now. Furthermore, I won't allow anyone under my protection be killed, nor let young love be forced apart." He raised a finger at her, "especially if it's to have another of my kind forcefully changed. Simply put, 'your highness', you won't have them. Goodbye."

This prompted more angry buzzing from the Hivelings. "I was hopeful you of all'd be cooperative, General," the queen frowned, to which they hovered even closer, making the hornet protectively scoot in front of his Hornet. "I truly didn't wish to resort to this."

"You still shouldn't if you really value their lives," the General replied, his hand suddenly lighting up with yellow. "There's a reason we all survived the king."

Vespa's eyes widened, the workers also shying back. "S- surely you jest, General. You'd reveal yourself!"

"Oh, I assure you, I needn't use nearly that much to take care of every single one of you," the human threatened darkly, before looking at Max and (somehow) saying in English: "Cover her eyes, quick!"

He raised the glowing hand, giving the confused boy just enough time to reach an arm in front of his friend's mask, barely managing to hide his own with the other. The next moment, there was a very bright flash, visible even to him. Peeking up from behind his elbow, Max saw the striped bugs stunned in place, rubbing their eyes with squeaks of pain. He looked at Hornet, who pushed his limb off her eyes, seeming as surprised as he was. The two stared at each other, before noticing Juss already moving towards the exit, Adrian in tow. They shared firm nods, then pushed past the dazed Hivelings, quickly catching up with the humans.

"I can't see! Goddammit, Juss, it hurts," the hornet heard his uncle cry, stumbling along beside the other man. He winced, realizing he'd gotten caught in that flash.

"It'll come back. Just go where I go," the General shouted back, as they made it out of the Hive, running on through the tall cave outside.

"Where do we go, Lembit," Hornet asked loudly.

"I said I don't know," the soldier replied. "Somewhere else at least. Just follow me!"

The hunterbugs obeyed, as the pack started heading back up the steep path they'd been led down before. About halfway up it, Max was alerted by a distant, but angry buzzing sounding from where they came, also feeling a spike of aggression in the nearby hive mind. A few moments later, they all saw a swarm of Hivelings flying after them out the eastern exit.

"Those ungrateful wretches," Juss hissed angrily. "Come on, let's go!"

Upping their pace, they soon made it to the passage, climbing into the sharp-scented cavern above. This time, though, the human lead them around the large pillar, away from the city. As they hurried deeper into the wild cave, Max suddenly heard the buzzing get louder again, glancing around to find the swarm had reached the upper cavern and were gaining on them pretty quickly.

"They're coming," he announced, panicked.

"You think I'm not aware," the stern human replied furiously, "Keep going! We can't take them!"

They kept rushing through the ash-filled cave, quick glances behind showing the group of Hivelings getting closer and closer. Max even spotted one wearing a white ribbon among them, chasing after them like all the others. Still, even though it'd started to feel desperate, he kept running beside Hornet. He didn't want to die, not like this.

At one point, however, he caught the swarm coming to a sudden halt, just hovering in the middle of the cave. His companions saw it too, as the pack slowed their pace, all of them confused. Then, the hornet noticed how much stronger the cave's sharp scent had become, his friend seemingly doing so as well, since her eyes widened.

"W- what's going on," his uncle slurred, blinking rapidly. "Why'd we slow down? 'Re we good?"

The very next moment, something crashed through the cave ceiling to the side, causing the Hiveling swarm to fly quickly away. Looking at the thing, Max was horrified to see a giant beast with long legs and a huge orange sac jumping towards them.

"Hopper, run," Hornet yelled.

"Y- you call that thing a bloodsucker," the male asked with a shout. It did have a long snout, but it looked like it would just crush them instead.

"Who cares of its names, move," Juss shut them up, as they narrowly dodged one of its legs.

They started running again, closely followed by the creature's earthshaking thumps. Not much later, Max heard a second crash from the ceiling, as another of the 'bloodsuckers' joined the chase. And once again, the things after them began to steadily catch up. Now, though, it was because the young male had finally started to feel worn out from the unbelievably harsh day. Hornet seemed to be getting tired as well, her breaths sounding more and more strained. Things were not going well

Just then, the pack scrambled over a higher spot in the cave, only to see a fairly large hut up ahead, a small bench in front of its clearly open door.

"In there, quickly," the soldier ordered.

"How do we know who's inside," the warrior asked between breaths.

"We'll take care of them if we have to," the male argued, "now get in!"

They raced for the structure, the giant hoppers now very much behind them. The General and Adrian made it through the doorway first and Hornet dashing in next, as Max almost dived in after them, the tall creature's legs slamming down where he'd just been. The hornet collapsed to his knees, catching his breath at long last. Looking up, he instantly saw three nails pointed at him and his companions, which were held by who were unmistakably humans, wearing tattered yellowish uniforms.

"Who the hell are you? More of those bugthings," one of them barked in English, waving slightly with his weapon.

"Negative, soldiers. Stand down," the General spoke up, pulling off his mask, which had a clear effect, as the blades were immediately pulled away.

"Sir? You're alive," another of them said, all three giving salutes. "How'd you find us."

"Simply put, Smith, magic," Juss replied. "A lot of that around here as I'm sure you're aware."

"Yeah, Sir, sure is," the third soldier chuckled, before pointing his nail towards Max and Hornet. "Now who the hell are these two? Hostages?"

"No, no, they're with me," the General denied. "Good bugs. I can even talk to them."

"Let me guess, Sir, more magic," 'Smith' asked, getting a nod from the officer, who then frowned.

"Sure. But why don't you let us in properly? As you can see, I've also got wounded," he spoke, pointing at Adrian. The soldiers all nodded, moving away and letting Max stand back up to silently look around, Hornet doing the same.

The well-lit hut's walls were covered by curtains, with most essential-looking stuff placed against them. The soldiers were also not the only beings present, as in its center sat an enormous, decidedly male bug, who was intently glaring at them from under his thick fur cloak. Not only that, at another corner of the room, he saw Kent! He too was staring towards them, frowning with his arms crossed. However, his expression changed when he saw Max's uncle.

"Wait, Adrian? What the fuck happened to him, General Juss?"

"Many things, Mister Hayes," the General replied, helping the barely conscious-looking man lay onto a blanket on the floor, "ones I'm willing to explain in gratuitous detail. Firstly, though,"

He looked up at him and the three soldiers. "I'd like to know how the fuck you four are still alive."


So here we are, a week late, but I got it, though it's 2.30 at night, as I write this AN

I know, I'm sorry. At least this one came out better than the last one. Still, it has its downs too. I know some characters had to be a bit unlikeable for that one part. Lemme know what you think. I really hope I made the romance parts at least tolerable.

I really did hope to get this done earlier, but I've just had so little inspiration this past week. Like all that *umpf* that kept me going last year was gone. This means I'm seriously making my release schedule more flexible. Expect the next one sometime in April. I dunno when.

Again, sorry for the slow start to the year. Still hope you enjoyed, so R&R and be sure to stay safe. Crazy things are happening in the world RN