Chapter 3

The last thing Flik remembered before everything went to black was the sudden appearence of the deadly bird on top of the rock he and Atta were hiding behind. Atta had been telling him that he needed to go back to the colony to get heeled and he didn't want to go back, fearing no one including the princess herself would want him there, seeming him as a failure and not worth having around. Surprisingly, not only had she objected to that idea, but she actually got very emotional and teary-eyed over him, saying she deeply cared for him and wanted him safe no matter what. He had no idea where this came from but he couldn't help but to welcome it fully as it felt strangely good to be this deeply cared for, especially from someone as amazing as the princess, a woman he'd had a crush on for many years. She had even thrown her arms around him in an unprecedanted act of emotional vulnerability Flik had never seen before. Not only was Flik caught very off guard by this act, but he did nothing in response, partially due to being too much in shock to react but also-selfishly, he admitted to himself-he didn't want the moment to end. Just as Atta was about to tell Flik something else, the bird had appeared and Flik's heart nearly stopped. It's beak came down, straight at the princess, clearly about to give her the same fate Hopper had just barely suffered. Reacting on instanct, Flik had shoved her out of the way, expecting to take the brunt of the damage or worse. He didn't remember if he got hit by the bird's beak or from debris but it was right after this moment that he immediatly lost consciousness.

Flik later remembered being slightly roused awake by the feeling of pelting rain drops hitting his face as he was being flown through the air by somebody. He attempted to open his eyes only to be immediatly pelted in his open eye by another rain drop, forcing him to close it again. As his mind fought to make sense of everything that was ocurring around him, it proved to be too much effort for the exhausted ant and he simply fell back into another sleep.

Flik next was awoken by the sound of many voices chattering around him all at once. There were too many for him to be able to focus on a single one, but they all sounded as if they were going through a catastrophic event, their tones were so panicked. He was in what could presume was a bright room as he saw past his eyelids some bright light reflection that interrupted the complete blackness of his closed eyes. He felt his body resting on something soft and his head propped up by what felt like several pillows. Even with the softness of his current environment, his entire body-espcially his torso and head-ached terribly. He attempted to open his eyes but that proved to be too much effort so he simply laid in his current, unable to move or do anything.

Suddenly, a large twinge of pain came from his left shoulder and he mildly groaned in pain. All of the voices immediatly stopped talking loudly before beginning to whisper amongst each other. Flik could not make out what they were saying, but at that moment he couldn't care less as his entire arm was throbbing as if he had just lifted the entire offering on his left arm alone. He attempted to speak but was unable to form words so he simply wimpered in pain again. The voices began to grow louder once again but Flik still couldn't make out what they were saying, his mind being far too exhausted to make sense of anything going on around him. Just as he attempted to open up his eyes again, he suddenly heard someone loom over him and his mind began to lose consciousness once again.

It would not be much longer before Flik recalled waking up again, his eyes snapping open as they were graced with broad daylight. Groaning as he adjusted to the sudden brightness, he took in his surroundings and gasped. He was lying in a makeshift gurney on top of the mound across from the anthill. A single blanket covered his body which was encased in a full-body cast made of leaves and pieces of hollowed out acorn. It was clearly rushed as several pieces of the leaves were ripped and refastened together with crudely thrown-on tree sap. His entire body ached as if it had been used as a punching bag, which considering what he experienced from Thumper, was not far off. Glancing upward, Flik noticed the entire colony was standing in the center valley, staring up at him. Standing right next to the gurney was the Queen, the council, Dot with tears in her eyes (which Flik could not tell if they were joyous or sad), and Atta. Confused, Flik attempted to speak but was unable to form any sounds apart from pained grunts and raspy breathing. Atta held up her hand to silence him and stepped forward.

"Flik," she began, looking him dead in the eye with an unreadable expression on her face. Flik assumed it was a cross between determination and... pity? He wasn't sure, but the lack of clarity made his stomach churn. Attempting to move, his entire body ached and the cast restricted any such attempts at comfort. He moaned in pain and opened his mouth to try and say something again, but Atta interrupted him. "Please, Flik, you will only make yourself worse."

Taking a deep breath, she walked close to him and grabbed the sides of the gurney. "Flik, after much deliberation with the council, we have decided that you are to be permanetly banished from the colony. We thank you for coming back with the circus bugs and rescuing us and in return we have fixed up yours wounds. But unfortunatly crimes must still be answered for." Tears formed in her eyes as she her expression became more concerned. Leaning closer, she whispered to him, "I'm sorry, I tried to convince them otherwise. I really did, but the council insisted. Just know I don't want this but don't have a choice." Flik's eyes widened in absolute horror at what Atta had just said.

Stepping back, she took another shaky breath before announcing aloud, "Flik, as punishment for losing the offering, putting the colony in danger of Hopper and his gang, lying about bringing back warrior bugs, and scheming a selfish plan that you were able to get the entire colony to go along with under the guise of saving them when in reality only endangering them further, I have no choice but to banish you out of the colony forever. May you see good will and health on your journey." Flik wheezed in concern, attempting to shake his head but being unable to move his sore neck. He attempted to scream at Atta, beg her for another chance, do anything possible in order to try and escape, but all effort were in vain. Atta glanced at one more time, tears in her eyes, and mouth the words, "I'm sorry." Squeezing her eyes shut and grimmacing, she tightly gripped the sides of his gurney and gave a gentle push.

The gurney slowly began to move backwards down the mound, away from the colony. One by one, the heads of the ants began to disappear from view until only Atta, the council, the Queen, and Dot remained in view. As he caught his last glimpse of the royal ants, he couldn't help but notice the somewhat relieved expression on the Queen, the horror strucken expression on Dot, the overjoyed and estactic expression on the all four of the council member's face face, and Atta... had turned away. Flik felt his heart get pierced by a stone cold dagger as he found himself frozen in fear, unable to move or react and simply forced to await his circumstances. The view of the ants became smaller and smaller until Flik could no longer see them and his view became obstructed with tall stalks of grain. Although not completly certain, he thought he could just barely make out the sound of cheering in the distance over the squeaky wheels of the gurney tumbling faster and faster down the path. It sounded oddly familiar to the cheering he had received when he had first left the colony for the city in search for warrior bugs. Tears began to form in the poor ant's eyes as he helplessly watched his surroundings become darker and darker as he sailed deeper into the forest of grain stalks. Although it was still sunny outside, it suddenly seemed as if the sun was being blocked out by the looming stock until it was no longer visible in the sky.

Suddenly, Flik felt the gurney tip backwards. Coming briefly to a hault, he glanced upward and noticed the stalk forest had ended and he was staring up at the sky. But if there were no more stalks, than that meant he was...

The gurney lurched backwards further, causing the entire head to dangle in thin air. Flik's heart stopped as he realized what was happening. Desperatly, he tried to move his arm to grip the side of the gurney but the cast restricted any type of movement. He attempted to get up from his predicament but was stopped by the thick cast. Opening his mouth, he was only able to let out a small whimper before the gurney completly lurched backwards, giving away from the ground and into the thin air. The view of the sky began to become smaller and smaller as Flik felt the air whizzing around him, large whoosing sounds being flown through his cast and haunting his ears. As the gurney plummeted further down, Flik shut his eyes and braced himself for the landing. Suddenly, a loud crash filled his ear drums, nearly causing them to burst.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Flik's eyes snapped open as he sat up in his bed, breathing heavily. He got up so fast, a large twinge of pain flew through his neck! "OW!" he groaned, gritting his teeth in pain. Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to take note of his surroundings when suddenly he heard someone yell, "FLIK!" and the air was knocked out of him as someone jumped on him and tackled him in a tight hug. Looking down, Flik realized it was Dot! He stared at her wide-eyed, unsure what was happening. Hadn't he just fallen down into the pit where he had saved Dot? Wasn't he dead? Did that mean Dot was dead too? The smaller ant released him from her tight grasp and landed on the ground, grinning widly from cheek to cheek. "You're awake, Flik! You're awake! That's great!" the young ant shouted happily, jumping up and doing a summersault in midair with her wings.

Her gittyness proved too much for Flik and he cracked a small smile, temporarily ignoring the pain. "Ughh..." he groaned as he shifted himself to the side to get a better look at Dot. "H-h-hi, Dot," he said softly, his voice sounding raspidy in his dry throat. "What's up? Where am I?"

"You're in the medical ward, Flik! Dr. Flora has been looking over you! You haven't woken up in forever, although some of the council thought you had stirred in your sleep earlier, so they put you under an-ana-ani, the sleep gas. I've been waiting here for ages for you to finally wake up! Why'd you take so long?"

Flik opened his mouth to respond but stopped. In the medical ward? he thought to himself, still beliving he was either dead or at the bottom of the gorge. His eyes finally adjusted to the brightness of his current location and his mind having temporarily calmed down, he glanced away from Dot and looked at his own body. He was lying down on a small bed covered by a very thick blanket. Both of his arms were in small casts leaving only parts of his fingers exposed but his entire body was not covered, allowing him more mobility. As he turned his head again, he realized a large bandage had been wrapped around his head, securing what felt like a large ice pack to the top of his head. Next to him, several large tubes stuck out of his arm and led towards a few bags on a rack containing red liquid; Flik assumed they were IV tubes containing plasma. Sitting at the foot of the bed was a large table containing several medical supplies, including spare leaves and braces for forming new bandages and casts, Dr. Flora's personal medical bag filled with her own supplies, a bowl with some clear liquid and a soaked washcloth, and a dew drop flower.

So I am in the medical ward, Flik thought, mesmerized at the sheer circumstances that he was still alive and allowed to be in the care of the ants at all. So that means... I'm not dead! he thought, relieved. But, is Dr. Flora really taking care of me without any second thoughts? She used to hate having to tend to my injuries whenever I trapped myself in the tunnels. Or that time with the... A large headache suddenly formed in Flik's head, causing him to groan in pain once again.

Dot gasped. "Flik!" she cried. "What's wrong?"

Flik groaned again, before turning to Dot and murmuring, "Head...headache." Gritting his teeth, he squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to brace the pain. Unfortunatly, the pain did not cease and only increased, throbbing at the center of his temple as if he were being hit multiple times in that spot by a small rock. Dot gasped again and began mumbling to herself, Flik being unable to make out her words. He heard what he thought were her wings hovering in the air before they began to grow fainter. He heard brief grunting, the clinging of the bowl on the table, and the sloshing of water. Then, the wing sounds came closer to his head and Flik felt something cold and wet make contact with his temple. "Aah!" he gasped, snapping his eyes open.

Dot winced, looking down in shame. "Sorry," she timidly said, shuffling her feet. "I thought that would help."

Moving his left casted arm, Flik reached up to his temple-ignoring the throbbing pain in his arm as he moved it-and removed the wet washcloth from its spot. Setting it down next to his body, he glanced at Dot again who was sniffling, still gazing at the ground. His expression softening, Flik sighed. "Dot," he said gently. The young ant glanced up at him with big, sympathetic eyes, causing Flik's heart to melt. Oh, goodness, she is so sweet. How could anyone ever be made at her? he thought to himself. Flik looked her in the eyes and smiled warmly. "It- It's ok Dot," he groaned. "You were only trying to help. Th-thank you." A sad smile crossed the young ant's face as she glanced back up at her friend with a sympathetic nod. Suddenly, Flik realized that he no longer felt the sensation of his headache; the sudden fright of the cold washcloth combined with his now more calm demeanor must have caused it to go away! "Ac-actually, Dot," Flik said, the smile on his face widening. "I think my headache is actually gone. Thanks."

Dot's eyes lit up as a bright smile covered her face once again. Jumping into the air, she flew to Flik and tackled him in another tight hug. "I'm so happy it worked Flik! That's great!" She pulled away before flying back down to the ground, giggling wildly. Flik couldn't help but giggle too, but suddenly realized his throat was very dry. He needed something to drink very badly.

"Hey, Dot," Flik croaked. The young ant stopped giggling and glanced up at him in concern, noticing the change of tone in his voice. "Do-do- do you, uh, think you could, uh, get me some dew? From the fl-flower?"

Dot nodded, eyes wide. She flew over to the table again and eyed the flower. She picked it up and poked it, glancing at it in confusion. Turning the entire flower upside down, she gazed into its petals. "How do you..." she murmured, before turning the flower back around and beginning to shake it. Flik sighed and shook his head.

"Bring it here, Dot," he croaked. Glancing over at him with concern once again, she sheepishly grinned as she returned to her friend's bedside, the flower in her hand. Gingerly, she laid the flower at his side then back away, giving him an embarrased glance. Flik offered her a warm smile and said, "It's ok." He then reached his encased arm over to the flower and tightly gripped the top of its stem. Pulling downward, he released a bead of dew from the flower, delicately letting it rest on the blanket. Setting the flower back down, Flik carefully manuvered his arm over to the bead, continuing to ignore its throbbing pain. Leaning his neck forward, he pushed the bead closer to his mouth and sucked it in. Swallowing, he immediatly felt the pleasantness of the moisture sooth his throat. Breathing a sigh of relief, he repeated the process with a second bead of dew. Grabbing the flower in the palm of his casted hand, he offered it back out to his friend. "Thank you," he said, much more clearer than before. "Can you put it back now?"

Dot obeyed and returned to his side. "Are you ok now?" she asked, continuing to gaze at him in concern.

Flik wanted to scream in agony, his body ached so much. He wanted to be given anethesia once again so he could sleep until he was better. He wanted anything that didn't have to involve being awake and suffering in his current state as the minutes slowly dragged by. But most importantly, he wanted answers. He wanted solutions for his fears. His mind was wondering with countless thoughts and worries. Why was he in the medical ward? How had he been brought back? What was going to happen to him once he was healed of his wounds and was back to normal? What about Princess Atta? Was she ok? How did she feel about the whole situation? Was she ok? Where was she now? Would she stand up for him? Was she ok? Would she be mocked and scorned for everything that she did to help him? Was she ok?

"Dot?" Flik asked, eyes laced with concern. "Where is your older sister? Is she ok?"

Dot titled her head in confusion. "Yeah, she's fine. She's in her room sleeping, the same as you were. You two were both brought back last night by Dim, Rosie, and Tuck and Roll. They said they had found you two both asleep in the thorny tree and were wondering what had happened. Flik... what did happen?"

Flik breathed a huge sigh of relief. The princess is safe, thank goodness, he thought to himself, seemingly aware of Dot's prescence. It's too bad I can't see her. I hope she didn't get hurt. I wonder she'd be able to see me, or if she'd even want to. He stared up at the celing, lost in thought.

"Flik? Are you ok?" Dot asked, snapping the male ant out of his thoughts.

Caught off guard, he stared at the young princess wide-eyed as if caught in a lie. The young princess replicated his expression, clearly just as confused about her friend's reactions as he was of his own. "Yeah, Dot, I'm fine." Sighing, he closed his eyes for a moment before an idea popped into his head. "Hey, Dot," he said, glancing down at her. "Do you think you might be able to go find your sister, see if she is able to come visit? There was something I needed to say to her."

"No, I'm not allowed in her room. My mom insisted that only she stays with Atta while she is resting. No one, not even me, are allowed in there. Why? What do you have to say to her?"

Flik glanced down at the ground, embarrassed. I can't tell Dot how I feel about Princess Atta. Can I? Realizing he had been keeping the younger princess in wait for too long due to his absentminded behavior, Flik decided to stretch the truth. "I just wanted to say thank you to her for saving my life." Dot glanced at him in confusion, cauing the male ant to continue, "Right after it started to rain, Hopper somehow managed to grab ahold of me and fly off into the night. The circus bugs tried to rescue me but couldn't. Just when I thought I was a gonner, she swooped in out of nowhere and rescued me."

Dot grew wide eyed as Flik continued to tell the story. He left out the gruesome part of Hopper's death as well as their conversation behind the rock, immediatly cutting to the bird discovering the pair. When he had finished, Dot looked like her eyes would pop out of her head, they were open so wide. Slack-jawed, she remained silently for a few seconds. Finally finding her voice, she whispered, "Did Hopper die?"

"Uh..." Flik awkwardly glanced around. No one else was in the room nor near the entrance. He didn't want to flat out admit the truth to her, but her deadpan expression forced him to cave. "I think so," he said carefully, awkwardly glancing at the insistent princess.

"Wow!" Dot cooed, clearly entranced at the thought that such a brutal turn of events could occur. "Hopper got eaten..." she mused further, continuing to stare straight ahead at nothing in particular. Finally snapping out of her trance, she said, "Were you scared at all?"

"Yeah, I was. I wasn't sure if I was even going to live. Then when your sister swooped in, I was both overjoyed and anxious. I didn't her of all people to come save me, but I was very glad it was her. I had to be careful as I didn't want anything to happen to her... our future queen," he added quickly, catching himself after the slight pause he made. Luckily, Dot didn't notice anything. Breathing a small sigh of relief, he continued, "Do you think she would want to see me?"

Dot giggled. "After what she did? She probably wants to do more than just see you." She laughed even harder as she saw her friend's slack-jawed reaction to her comment. Unfortunatly, her laugh was cut short as the curtains to the medical ward flew open and four ants entered. Flik immediatly recognized them as the council. He felt his heart sink as he saw their grumpy expressions upon entering, not yet realizing he was awake. Regaining recollections of his dream, Flik could nothing but continue to stare at them, awaiting their next moves; he was too scared to do or say anything out of character. Gee, don't they look just happy right now, Flik thought to himself. They're probably mentally preparing themselves to have to deal with me.

Almost as if she could hear his thoughts, Dr. Flora turned around and glanced at Flik. Noticing he was awake, she gave him a warm smile, immediatly putting his heart at ease. "Oh, Flik, you're awake! That is so good to see! I'm hoping you're not in too much pain?"

Flik shook his head. "No, Doctor, I'm fine." He didn't want to tell her the exact truth as he believed she would get upset if she had to babysit him any further than she already has. The last thing he wanted to do was provoke anyone anymore than he already has and potentially give them a reason to banish him.

Luckily, the doctor saw right through his lies. "Oh, come now, Flik," she said in a joking tone. "You don't have to be so modest. You took quite the beating last night. I'd be very surprised in weren't in lots of pain right now. Don't worry about being a bother, it's my job after all to take care of everyone. Are you sure you are ok?"

Realizing Dr. Flora truly meant no harm, Flik decided to tell her the truth. "Well, I had a very bad headache earlier and my throat was dry, but Dot helped me with those. My arms and chest hurt really badly and I can't move my neck much now, either."

"Yeah, that was from when you woke up screaming earlier!" Dot chimed in. "You shot up out of bed so fast, you looked like a bird was after you."

Flik glanced slack-jawed at the young-princess who merely smiled back at him with an innocent expression. Glancing back at Dr. Flora, he grinned sheepishly. "Haha, I didn't wake up screaming. I just think I slept on my neck wrong or something."

"Flik..." Dr. Flora scolded, giving the male ant an insistant expression. "You know you really don't have to hide anything from me. Did you have a nightmare? Was it about Hopper?"

Flik glanced at the doctor before turning his attention to the other three council members. All three of them were standing by the door, watching the exchanging taking place with scrutinizing expressions. Flik gulped, feeling their judging eyes piercing his brain as if trying to pick it apart to find the hidden details of his lies themselves. I can't tell them! I can't tell them! he consistently repeated in his head. "Yeah, it was..." he slowly answered, attempting to put on a reassuring face. "I was dreaming that he was coming towards me once again like he did last night, only this time, there was no one else from the colony there. He hit me and when he went to step on my head, he actually succeeded. It felt so real I screamed when I first woke up." Flik chuckled nervously as he finished his fabrication, glancing at the disbeliving eyes of the council members.

Dr. Flora raised an eyebrow but decided not to pressure her patient any further. "Very well. My apologies that you had a horrible nightmare. Rest assured, you will be safe here with me." Flik nodded in agreeance, giving the best possible relieved face he could muster. "Good," the doctor continued. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to give you a quick assessment before I let you rest once again. Young Dot..." she stated, turning towards the young princess. "Your sister upstairs is awake. Perhaps you'd like to go and see how she is doing?"

Dot gasped, her eyes twinkling at the news. "Are you serious? Is my mom ok with me visiting her?"

Dr. Flora nodded. "We tried to visit her as well, but the Queen said that she only you and herself to be the only visitors. Can you go up there and see her so Flik here can rest?"

Dot glanced over to her friend who gave her a reassuring nod. Grinning, the young princess jumped into the air and began hovering. "Yeah, I'll go see her right now!" She somersaulted in the air once more and flew through the curtain out of the room.

"Oh, wait, young Dot!" Mr. Soil called after her. "There is something we forgot to tell you!" He quickly rushed through the curtain, hurrying after her.

Flik raised an eyebrow. What could the council possibly have to tell Dot of all people? Choosing not to dwell on the fact any longer than necessary, Flik turned his attention back towards Dr. Flora. "I'm ready for my assessment whenever you are, Doctor."

"Sounds good, Flik", the doctor responded. "I will perform this quickly and I will have you rest. We should hopefully have you out of here within the next four to five days. I wished it would be sooner, but that is the best I am able to guarantee, given the circumstances." Flik couldn't help but notice a distasteful tone in the doctor's voice, almost as if she didn't want to be helping Flik at all. Glancing back at the remaining two council members, he also noticed the pair of them slightly nodding in agreement to her statements. This alarmed Flik even more, but he chose not to react anymore than he already had as the doctor bent down to begin his assessment.