"Flik Jr." a soft voice calls him "Jr."
Jr. slowly opened his eyes to see Filia already up.
"Come on...It's time to get up…" Filia tried to pull him up but his drowsiness weighed her down. "Come on...Wanna see the city…it's not scary like you think…"
Jr smiled and nodded his head. "Okay...But what are we going to do there…"
"Explore...maybe anything we want…" Filia told them. "We'll be back in time for the show tonight…"
"Okay…" Flik Jr. smiled.
"I'll meet you outside of the circus tent…." Filia ran off.
Flik Jr decided to stretch, yawn and shake off any sleep he had. He looked at Buddy and was about to grab him, but then he remembered the city bugs making fun of his stick, and then he looked outside to where Filia ran off and glanced back down at Buddy.
"Don't worry Buddy I won't be gone long…" Jr. spoke to the stick. He tucked him in with the leaf and ran off to the large circus tent.
"Filia...Filia…" Jr. whispered. Then the young moth mantis hybrid flew in front of him.
"Where's Buddy…" She asked.
"I don't need him today...Besides, I got made fun of last time I brought him…" Jr shrank.
"No matter, we should go...Come on…" Filia dragged the young ant with her to see the city. Then Jr. was amazed at how slow the city was. It wasn't too chaotic like it was the first time and he really got a chance to look around the cardboard buildings
"So What do you want to do first?" Filia asked.
"Uh…" Jr didn't answer and still looked around.
"How about over there…" Filia pointed to a mall and she decided to take him there.
Meanwhile Rosie and Dim were practicing their act when Gypsy began to wander around
"Hey Gypsy what's wrong…" The black widow asked
"It's Filia, she's gone…." Gypsy wept. Then Francis came in
"Little Jr.'s gone too…" Francis held out Buddy to show proof.
"They must be out in the city again...I always warned that girl never to go by herself…" Manny shook his head.
"Both children are out there by themselves…We must go after them…" Slim told them.
"Well a few of us should go so they won't be too scared…" Francis added
Then the rest of the circus bugs sent Francis, Slim, and Heimlich to look for the kids.
Flik Jr looked into a shattered glass at the tied red cloth on his small neck. It got a little uncomfortable for him but he tried his best to adjust it.
"Want me to help you…" Filia asked. She helped Jr tie the little red cloth loosely on his neck and made it into a tiny bow tie. Jr. smiled and struck a pose, making Filia giggle.
"You look cute…" then Jr. brightened up and jumped for joy
"I'm cute I'm cute…" Jr. announced. A few bugs turned heads at them and rolled their eyes. The two kids turned to each other and laughed.
On the way, Jr found a pink pearl held by a single string and gave it to Filia as her gift, to her bliss. The two kids walked hand in hand down the street with confidence and laughter.
Meanwhile, Francis, Slim, and Heimlich asked around to any bugs if they saw the two children and had no success. Then they heard laughter and saw the two children running down the street, hand in hand.
"Aww, that's adorable…" Heimlich placed his little hands on his heart.
"Come on let's go after them…" Francis pulled them.
"Here you are kids, a pretzel stick and candy corn for you…" a kind flying bug gave the two kids the treats
"Thank you, mam…" Filia and Flik Jr. said. Jr. already started to eat the candy corn.
"Wait a minute...shouldn't you two be in school…" the bug's assistant asked.
The two kids turned to each other, giggled, and raced out of the shop, leaving the bewildered workers.
The kids opened the doors bravely eating their treats. Then Filia saw a place to go. It was a club and decided to drag Jr. there.
"Music...I like Music…" Jr. said innocently. When they got inside, the music was getting a little jumpy for him. Then Jr. started to dance out of nowhere. The music reminded him of home when they would play something for him on his birthday
Before the circus bugs arrived, music began to play for toddler Jr. who was on Flik's lap, watching them play. He giggled and began to bang on the little leaf table as if he was trying to play along
"Aww, that's so cute…" He heard Dr. Flora and a few female ants. When the ants stopped playing, the boy clapped his hands
"More more…" Jr said. Flik and Atta gasped. Did they just hear a word?
"Jr. Say that again…" Flik excitedly said.
"More…" Jr. spoke again.
"Oh Flik, that was his first word…" Atta began to cry. "Flik Jr. said his first word…"
Then Flik Jr. said his first word in a loop, feeling proud of himself
Then Flik Jr. was snapped out of it by Filia giving him some water and sitting him down.
"A lot of people were looking at you…" Filia told him. Jr. sheepishly giggled and said sorry.
He drank his water and he sadly sighed.
"What's wrong...Aren't you having a good time...Are you crying…" Filia saw the boy crying as he drank his water.
"I'm okay Filia...I'm just homesick...I miss my home…" Jr. whimpered. Filia felt awful for him. She knew what it was like to miss family. Then a song came on.
"Hey, they're playing La Cucaracha…" Filia pointed out. Jr then looked and beamed and he decided to dance. Filia giggled and joined them and slowly one by one, everyone began to dance around them.
Francis, Slim, and Heimlich then came across the club and saw the kids dancing.
"There they are…" Slim pointed.
"Let's get them outta here before there's trouble…" Francis whispered as they crept inside.
Jr and Filia were tearing up the dance floor dancing the afternoon away while the young ant sang along.
"La Cucaracha... La la la la la la…" Jr. swung his arms in the air and stumbled a little
"Ow…" a gruff voice said. Then Jr. backed up and saw a large fly
"Oh, I'm sorry…" Jr. said sheepishly.
"Watch where you're going kid!" the fly yelled at him.
"I didn't mean to hurt you…" then Filia tried to diffuse the situation.
"My friend was just trying to apologize…" then another fly was beside them
"For what, stepping on my friend's foot, or being a little klutz…"
"The first one...Please forgive me…" then Flik Jr. stepped backward into a waiter and the waiter yelped and the large brown goo went on top of the fly.
"I'm so so sorry...I didn't mean to do that...I'm sorry…" then the 3 clowns witnessing this cringed in worry.
"Oh no…" Francis murmured.
"Oh, now you're gonna pay for it…" The fly was about to swing a punch on Jr. until someone cleared his throat.
"What are you doing with a bunch of kids…" a long bug asked them coming inside the club.
"What these two…" the fly picked up both Filia and Jr by their antenna.
"Yeah, these two were at the pretzel place playing hooky…"
"Uh oh…" the kids whispered. Then the fly was about to throw a punch…
"Wait…" Jr. screamed. "Can I have a song request…" the fly dropped him and Jr. ran to the band and he whispered his request. Then the band started to play the song(They played Tequila by the Champs).
"Hey, I like this song…" one of the bugs went and started dancing along with the whole crowd. It distracted the flies long enough for Jr. and Filia and the clowns to get out of there.
"Remind me to never go to a club ever again…" Jr. told Filia
"There you kids are…" Heimlich called.
"We were looking everywhere for you guys…" Francis scolded
"Yeah do not run off like that again…." Slim pointed a finger at the two children
"We're sorry...We won't do it again…" Flik Jr. had his head down
"We at least saved some candy corn…" Filia said, with Jr. holding an intact candy corn piece out
"OH, candy corn, you are forgiven…" Heimlich snatched the piece from Jr's hands and gobbled it up, making the two children giggle.
On their way back to the circus, the bugs quickly dodge a tongue coming at them.
"What was that?!" Jr. shrieked.
"Look out!" Slim called. The slim tongue lunged forward at Jr and he luckily dodged it. Then Jr decided to be brave and began to run closer, dodging the tongue. It turned out to be a chameleon, flicking its tongue around. It was trying to pull itself out but it couldn't move. Jr decided to move closer and saw that the chameleon was caught in a trap and he began to run over to it
"What are you doing kid, get back here…" Francis called out to the small ant.
"I think he needs help, He has a trap stuck on his foot…" Jr. called back
"A trap…" then Filia flew over to her new friend.
"Filia...you get back here this very minute…" Slim called out to her.
Flik Jr and Filia approached the frazzled chameleon.
"Calm down...We're here to help you…" Flik Jr. called. The chameleon calmed down, seeing the two bugs in front of it.
"If we help you, will you promise not to eat us and our friends…" Filia called. The chameleon nodded. The two kids then gathered to the stuck trap, near a strong branch. The trap was silver and was held in sharp claws. Flik Jr. and Filia pulled with all of their strength to try and get the trap off of the chameleon but it was no use...It was stuck tight…
"We need more help...can you get more bugs…" Jr. called.
Heimlich, Slim, and Francis went to the circus and came back with all of the troupe. Along with the kids, they pulled as hard as they could and the trap was slowly but surely coming off
"It's working...Keep pulling…" Jr. called. The more they pulled the more free the chameleon was and at last, the chameleon slipped out of the trap. The chameleon made so many happy noises and wrapped its tail around the bugs, as his way of thanking them
"Uh, your welcome…" Jr. called out. Then the chameleon raced off toward the trailer.
"Well, I'm glad that's over with…" Filia said, dusting herself off.
"You two are in trouble big time…" Rosie pointed at the kids
"We're sorry, we won't do it again…" Flik Jr. apologized with his head down
"Yeah we won't do it again…" Filia added
"We'll save them cause we have a show to do…" P.T. Flea called. The bugs raced off to do the show.
Later that night, Flik Jr. settled in Filia's tent, holding Buddy in his arms, sighing sadly. Homesickness was starting to get to him more and more as he stayed with the circus bugs.
"Are you okay Jr.?" Filia asked.
"Not really…" Jr. responded. "I wish Mommy was here to sing me a lullaby, and Daddy so we can invent together...I wonder what they're doing right now…"
Meanwhile back on Ant Island, preparations were made for the second battle of the grasshoppers. Flik was directing the other ants on what to do with the weapons that they had and he saw his mate peering in their son's room
Atta glanced at the room, with tears rushing down her face. Not even two days in and She regretted sending away her little prince.
Every time she went into his room, memories of him were flooding in her mind, from both parents coming in the room to comfort the baby boy to comforting him during thunder and rainstorms to playing with him when he needed a playmate.
"Atta…" Flik gently touched her shoulder, making her jolt. "I miss him too...most of the weapons are prepared…"
"Good...I want those grasshoppers to pay for what they did to my…" she was interrupted by her need to throw up.
"Uh oh, we better take you to Dr. Flora…"
When they arrived at Dr. Flora's office, Atta told her the symptoms that she was having and the ant was in shock
"Oh my I think you're pregnant again…" Dr. Flora told them.
"A second baby…" then Flik began to jump for joy. "Another baby….Atta"
Atta didn't have the same excitement as Flik did
"I don't know...what if Jr. gets jealous...What if that grasshopper lady decides to use the baby against us…" Atta panicked
"Queen Atta, there's no need to worry about Jr., he can help out with the baby…"
"Yeah...you've always been a worrywart about him...he's gonna be okay with being a big brother…" Flik added
"I've never been a worrywart about him…" Atta denied. Flik and Dr. Flora exchanged glances
"Remember when Jr was trying to climb the tree for the first time…" Flik told her
Toddler Flik Jr. was trying to climb the tree for the first time, trying to see how high he can go...until Atta shrieked and got him down from the tree.
"And that Flik Jr. wanted to use the harvester…." Flora added
Flik Jr. tried to use the harvester until Atta pulled him away from it.
"No touch…" Atta warned him
"I just want my son to be safe...I know I can come off as overprotective..but I just want him safe
"And he will be honey...I bet he's having a blast at the circus right now…" Flik reassured her
"That's what I'm worried about" Atta rubbed her belly
"I don't follow you…"
"What if he likes it so much, he may not want to go home…"
"He will come home sweetheart but first we have some bigger bugs to deal with…" Flik told her. He knew that the nightmare for them wasn't over yet