Chapter 2 - Disaster Strikes

The breeze blew against Flik has he hopped and jumped across the huge flower heads. In the distance he could see the sun, shining with a brilliant radiance, more brilliant than he'd ever known before.

"Flik!"

The sound of that voice, that sweet voice, brought a huge grin to the inventor ant's face. Stretching out his arms, he kept on hopping across the flowers, striding in the direction of his true love.

"Atta!"

The two ants joined together in a warm, loving embrace, clutching each other very tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Oh, Atta…I want this moment to last forever…"

"Flik…?"

"Atta…"

"Flik…wake up…"

"Huh?"

The dreamy vision of Atta in his arms dissipated, and instead became a blurred vision of someone's face, slowly focussing into view.

"Flik…wake up, sleepyhead…"

Rubbing his eyes, Flik saw that the face was none other than Atta herself. Knowing that, he gave a satisfied grin.

"Sorry, my sweet…" he said, his voice drawled with tiredness, "force of habit…"

"It's OK," cooed Atta, "must be hard to stop having sweet dreams."

"Especially if they're about you," smiled Flik, giving Atta another kiss, then getting out of his leaf-structured bed.

Atta giggled. "Well, I guess I'd better get going. Council meeting."

"A Queen's work is never done," quipped Flik, "I'll meet you outside when it's done."

"Sure," agreed Atta, blowing Flik a kiss, "love you…"

Atta then left the room, with Flik staring as she did. Then he too left the room, singing cheerily to himself.

"…poor thing, his wings were hurting so bad. It's a good thing Flik and Miss Flora were around to help him…"

"Aw man, that's cool, Dot."

"Ja!"

"Jolly good show…"

The young princess, next in line to the throne, Dot, was recounting a time when a stricken bee named Zeke had crash-landed on Ant Island, miles from his hive home, and the circus bugs were listening in fascination.

"Then we let Zeke stay for the night, and help him find his way back to his hive, he was ever so grateful…he came back to visit us just last week, and he said the other bees at his hive want to come see us too," continued Dot.

"You wanna be careful with bees," advised Francis, speaking from past experience, "they're not all as cool as that Zeke…I found that out the hard way…"

The caterpillar, better known as Heimlich, giggled and spoke in his German tongue, while munching on a berry. "Ja…that night outside the circus tent…remember what everyone called you for days after that?"

Francis abruptly motioned to Heimlich to button it. Unfortunately, he was too late.

"I remember!" exclaimed Slim, breaking out into laughter, "poor old Thornbutt…"

The whole group, bar Francis, tried to stifle their laughter, but inevitably failed.

Francis' response was to blush and shake his head in embarrassment. "Me and my big mouth…"

Changing the subject, Dot suddenly remembered about something special. "Oh yeah, that's right…Flik's helping to build a boat."

"A boat?" said Rosie excitedly, "cool! I get first dibs on it…"

"Actually," interrupted Slim, "I don't think it's just for rides, Rosie…it must be for emergencies…as in the rain…"

"That's what else I forgot to say," grinned Dot, "it'll make things easier…"

"Where is this boat?" inquired Manny, "I wouldn't mind taking a look at it…"

"I think you're speaking for all of us there, Manny," quipped Francis.

Dot stroked her chin, trying to think of where the boat was. "Mmm…I think I heard Atta say it was on the edge of the island somewhere…want to come look with me?"

"What do you think?" replied Francis with a grin, "let's get goin'… lead the way, Princess…"

"OK," smiled Dot, then walked off towards the tree, with the circus bugs following behind.

"OK, that twig can go there…careful now…"

Yet another brown twig was placed into position inside the frame of the half-built boat. Construction was well on schedule, and the ants working on it were scampering back and forth the 'construction yard', collecting twigs and leaves for the boat.

The boat itself was on the ground, surrounded with scaffolding, also made from twigs and leaves. It had been decided to build the boat at the edge of the island, so it could be stored there and, if the enormous canyon below was flooded, it could be easily released into the flood water if any ants were unfortunate to fall from the island.

It was no surprise that the boat was partly designed by Flik, who was there overseeing and helping with the construction.

"Another couple of hours and it should be finished," he said to Thorny, who was also looking on.

"Yeah," agreed Thorny, "she's lookin' good. We'll have to take her out for a test ride once she's finished though."

Flik nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Better safe than sorry…"

At that point, Dot and the circus bugs arrived, making their way down the steep path to the boat.

"Found you!" giggled the young princess, "how's it goin'?"

"Oh, hi Dot, hi guys," greeted Flik, "it's going great so far. Want to see?"

Dot and the circus bugs looked at the boat in its current state. The reactions were mixed.

"It's gonna be great!" exclaimed Dot, "please let me go on it when it's finished!"

"We'll see," grinned Flik.

Manny was unimpressed, as was Gypsy. "I can't picture it as seaworthy somehow…sorry, Flik."

"I hope it can hold me…" commented Heimlich.

"Maybe when it's finished we could hold a circus show on it…it is big enough," suggested Slim.

"Yeah, maybe…" replied Flik, "although it's only supposed to be for emergencies."

Then, there was another arrival. Instantly, Flik recognised it as Acorn, the ant he had rescued the previous day.

"Hey there!" greeted Flik, giving Acorn a thumbs up, "how are you today?"

"Fine, thanks!" beamed Acorn, "that boat's coming on great…but that's not the only reason I've come here…somebody wants to see you…"

"OK…" acknowledged Flik. It didn't take long for him to realise who Acorn was referring to.

With a yell, Flik quickly made an exit. "Sorry, everyone, I gotta be somewhere right now…check ya later…"

The others waved to him and smiled knowingly. They'd already guessed why Flik was in a sudden panic.

Thorny sighed. "Sure, Flik's ideas are miles better than in the past, but he's still a little forgetful…"

Francis nodded. "I second that…"

Standing outside the entrance to the anthill, Atta tapped her foot impatiently.

Where is he? He promised…

Realising that she was being way too critical of Flik, she decided to leave the arranged meeting place and go and find Flik herself. She did feel bitter that Flik had failed to show, but even more bitter that maybe she'd asked too much of him.

"Hey…are you OK, dear?" came the tones of Atta's mom.

"Not now, Mom…" came Atta's reply.

The former Queen smiled. "I can guess what's up, dear…everyone's busy in their own way, especially Flik…"

"I know," sighed Atta, "maybe I'm just being too selfish, expecting him to be there all the time. I feel like I've got him on a rein, that's not how it's supposed to be."

"Well, yeah. You are just being a little tight with him, dear," advised Atta's mom, "just take it easy."

Atta gave a smile. "Thanks, Mom…I'll try…by the way, have you been to see the boat yet?"

"No, I haven't, as a matter of fact," came the reply, "you know, that's probably where Flik is right now…"

"That's great," exclaimed Atta, "I'll get over there right now, care to join me?"

"Absolutely, dear," replied Atta's mom, but then something stopped her short. She looked into the sky to see that the sun was now covered over with clouds, and that the clouds were quite grey and dark.

"Aren't you coming, Mom?" asked Atta, failing to notice the clouds.

"Atta…look…" said the ex-Queen, pointing up at the sky, "this isn't good."

Atta then looked up and saw that the weather was changing for the worse. "You have got to be kidding me…" she breathed, open-mouthed.

At the same moment, Flik was making his way to the tree to meet up with his love. He suddenly stumbled on a loose rock and tripped over, slightly bruising his knee.

"Owww…" he moaned, rubbing his knee. As he did, he looked up at the sky and noticed the dark clouds incoming. Slowly, he got to his feet and scanned the distance. As soon as he did he filled up with panic.

No, not now…Flik thought to himself. He started running back the way he came, yelling at other surprised ants to get to the anthill.

As this was happening, Atta and her mom were now in a state of panic. Atta immediately blew a whistle and gave her order to the colony.

"Everyone, make your way back into the anthill, quickly! This is not, I repeat, not a drill!"

Ants from all areas of the island heard the signal horn being blown and frantically left what they were doing, running back to the anthill. Atta and the council, minus Thorny who was at the boat site, motioned the panicked ants into an organised line as they ran back into the anthill.

In the distance, the clouds were very dark, and the flashes of lightning could be seen. The landscape in the distance was also blurred and grey, signalling the impending arrival of a rain shower.

Gasping with impending exhaustion, Flik sprinted as fast as his thin insect legs could take him, back to the boat construction site. Hearing the rumble of the storm clouds in the distance, he subconsciously told himself to carry on no matter how tired he was becoming.

Suddenly, he spied the scaffolding protruding from the distance. Immediately, he started yelling cries of "Rain's coming! Get out of here now!!!"

However, as he did this, Flik failed to keep track of his bearings, and felt himself trip over the edge of the slope leading down to the boat. The circus bugs, Acorn, Dot and Thorny watched in amazement as the panicked ant bumped and rolled down the slope, ending up with his face down in dirt.

"Flik!" exclaimed Dot, going to her stricken friend's side, "are you OK?"

"Never mind about me…" answered Flik, picking himself up, his voice very serious and panicky, "we all have to get out of here right now!"

"But why?" questioned Francis, "everythin' looks fine and dandy to me…"

Suddenly Gypsy looked up at the sky and realised the problem. "Um…Francis, maybe you should take back that last statement…"

At this, Francis also looked up. His mouth dropped open in shock.

"Ya know what?" he quipped, "I think I will…"

At once, the ants working on the boat flew into an uncontrollable panic and fled the construction site, scrambling up the slope. Flik, Dot and the circus bugs tried to motion them into an orderly line, but in vain. A couple of the ants slipped and fell down the slope, one hurting her leg quite badly.

"Help us," they hollered, and sure enough, Dim sprung into action. Tuck and Roll helped the two ants onto Dim's back, and then he took off and carried them back towards the anthill.

"OK, nice work," said Flik, "now let's get ourselves out of…"

He was cut off by the sound of water crashing down…giant drops of water. All of the bugs knew that by their small size they could easily be trapped in large, clear water droplets, and that prolonged exposure to water could be lethal.

"Come on!" shrilled Rosie, "let's go!"

The bugs scrambled up the slope, at the same time trying to dodge the lashing rainwater. They successfully got up to the top, only then did Flik notice that someone was missing.

"Where's Acorn?"

Flik's question was answered by a loud yell. To everyone's horror it was coming from the direction of the cliff edge, just next to the boat.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Rosie, "please don't tell me he's…"

"What are we gonna do?" shrilled Francis, "leave him here and he'll die, try and rescue and him and we'll all die!"

Flik suddenly leaped back down the slope, to the shock of the others, heading over to the cliff edge.

"Flik!" shrieked Dot, "come back!"

"Sorry, guys," replied Flik loudly, "I'm not letting anyone die on me! Go back to the anthill!"

"But Flik…" protested Dot, "you'll…"

"Just go!" said Flik louder still, "I'll be fine!"

The circus bugs reluctantly turned to leave, however Dot stood her ground. She wasn't about to see her best friend die.

Flik looked over the cliff edge. There was a branch protruding from the cliff face, and sure enough, hanging off it was Acorn, yelling in terror.

"Hang on, Acorn!" yelled Flik, "I'm coming to get you…"

Suddenly, a drop of water crashed onto Flik, causing him to lose his balance. Yelling, he tumbled off the edge of the cliff, crashing stomach side down onto the branch below.

"Flik!" cried Acorn in shock, "are you OK?"

"That wasn't quite how I wanted to get down here," quipped the inventor ant, "just hold on, I'll think of something…"

Suddenly, Flik heard a familiar, shrill voice. It was coming from the cliff above.

"Flik!"

Flik stood up, keeping his balance on the branch. "Dot! Go back! This is too dangerous!"

Dot remained defiant. "No, Flik! I'm not leaving without you and Acorn! I'm gonna come and fly you out of…AAAAGGGGHHH!!!"

The scream signalled that Dot too had been struck by a raindrop. She fell from the cliff edge towards the branch, trying to put her wings into action. She hit the branch, but slipped and fell again. However Flik caught her just before she fell to her death. Buzzing her wings, she climbed back onto the branch.

"Thanks, Flik!" Dot exclaimed, "now I'm gonna get you outta here…"

The circus bugs were still frantically dashing back to the anthill. It was then that they heard Dot's scream as she fell from the cliff edge.

Rosie gasped. "Oh no, not the Princess!"

"I'll go and help her!" said Gypsy suddenly, spreading her wings and flying off back in the direction of the cliff.

"Gypsy, no! Come back!" hollered Manny, giving chase, followed by the other bugs.

Gypsy reached the cliff in a matter of seconds, and immediately spotted Flik, Dot and Acorn on the branch. She also noticed that the gigantic dry earth canyon below was now flooded with water.

"Gypsy? Is that you?" called out Flik, catching sight of his moth friend.

"Hold on! I'm coming to get you!" cried out Gypsy, but before she could move, she too was suddenly struck by a raindrop. Crying out, she fell from mid-air, and to the horror of the ants, completely missed the branch and plunged into the river of rainwater below.

"No!" screamed Flik, "Gypsy!!!"

All of a sudden, the branch started to give way, unable to take the strain of the three ants. In vain, Dot buzzed her wings and tried to carry Flik to safety, but his weight was too much for her small body.

"It's no good," she said frantically, her voice becoming shaky, "we're gonna die!"

"Dot, Acorn, hold on to me…just hold on…" coaxed Flik, "don't let go…"

The terrified Princess clung onto Flik for dear life. Acorn managed to reach out a hand to grab Flik's left hand.

"Just hold on…"

Then, with the rains crashing down and a fierce gust of wind flaring up, the flimsy branch gave up its task of keeping the ants safe. The three ants yelled in horror as they plummeted through the air, crashing down into the water below, the remains of the branch following with them.

At that same moment, the circus bugs arrived at the scene, and immediately made their way to the cliff edge. Panic was written all over their faces.

"Flik!" called out Francis, "are you OK, buddy?"

"Look…" pointed out Slim, his mouth dropping open at where the branch had been, "they…they've…"

The group just stared at the scene, feeling utter disbelief. Had they really just lost their best friend and two other ants to the elements?

"The little Princess…" said Rosie in a small voice, "and that Acorn fella…"

Heimlich just shook his head. This didn't stop him eating a blade of grass for comfort.

Francis closed his eyes. He didn't want to believe this. Then he looked over at Manny, and noticed he was just standing there, motionless and speechless.

"Gypsy went to help them…" observed Slim, glancing at the cliff, then at Manny.

The elderly praying mantis' mouth just hung open, as he stared at the river below. Why was she so reckless? It's not like her…

"You OK…Manny?" Francis inquired, to be given the response of Manny buzzing his wings and flying off in the direction of the anthill.

"Oh man…" said Rosie forlornly, "we'd better get back…and deliver the news…"

Francis nodded. "What else can we do, Rosie…they need to know…"

With that, the circus group left the scene in a hurry, as the rains were still pouring down fast.

A leaf suddenly dislodged from a tree overlooking the cliff and floated down towards the flooded canyon.

Pacing up and down worriedly, Atta could only think about the love of her life. In all the panic of making the colony safe underground, she'd completely forgotten about the one ant that mattered to her most.

In the huge underground anthill chamber, the entire colony were gathered in their hundreds, forming a sea of blue, grey and pink. Some were also pacing around anxiously, some were just still, and others were talking about the situation. However, they were all organised very orderly, and relatively calm. They had been through this many times before, so they were more than prepared for such a situation.

"You OK, Your Highness?" inquired Thorny, returning from assisting with a headcount of the colony.

Atta sighed and closed her eyes. "We all have to be…"

Realising that his queen was covering up her feelings, Thorny tried to be reassuring. "Flik'll be OK, he's been through these rains as many times as we have…don't worry."

"I wish I could believe you," came Atta's reply. She stared at the entrance to the chamber forlornly, looking for any sign of a familiar blue ant, but finding none.

All of a sudden, Dr. Flora and Mr. Soil came running through the same entrance, exhausted and visibly panicked. Immediately Atta's first instinct was that they had bad news.

"What's wrong?" asked the queen, "where's Flik?"

"Oh, Your Highness…" came Soil's reply, a grave tone on his voice, "it's worse than we thought…it is a torrential monsoon outside! Parts of the island are flooded, and the canyon around the island has been completely flooded!"

Immediately gasps went up from the crowds of ants. Atta's face was a picture of disbelief, and immediately panic started to set in.

"The bugs at the boat site…" she questioned in impending dread, "are they…?"

"The circus bugs and the worker ants have just returned," explained Flora, "some of them took some battering from the rain, they're being treated as we speak…" At that point the doctor's face fell.

Atta's eyes widened in fear and instinct. "What? What is it, what's wrong? Tell me?"

Soil cleared his throat. He didn't want to say these words, but he knew he had no choice. "Three bugs are unaccounted for…"

Even more horrified gasps came from the colony crowd. Never before had any insects been lost in the rains, let alone the rains being so much more lethal than usual.

Atta, without a word, frantically exited the chamber, heading for the infirmary chamber, with the council members close behind. As she walked along the tunnel, the blue light shades from the walls reminded her of Flik.

Please let him be there, please let him be OK…

The queen entered the infirmary to be greeted by the sight of the circus bugs and the worker ant group. Three of the worker ants were lying on leaf beds, as were Slim and Rosie. They had sustained injuries after being hit by raindrops. Thankfully the injuries were only minor.

"Oh my…" exclaimed Atta softly.

At this point Atta's mother entered the infirmary, in a state of panic, knowing that Dot had been at the scene.

"Atta? Where's Dot?"

She'd done it again, forgotten about everyone else. Atta scanned the group, hoping to see a certain small pink ant. Suddenly she became flustered, realising her little sister was of the missing. Turning to her mother, she uttered those unwanted words.

"She's…not here…"

The elderly ex-queen gave a small gasp of shock, trying to find the right words to say, but finding nothing, just staring at her daughter, dumbstruck. She didn't want to believe that her youngest daughter had drowned out there in the cold, pouring rain.

Atta felt exactly the same. Sis… Then she remembered about Flik again. She looked at the group of worker ants, desperately hoping that Flik would be among them. To her dismay he wasn't.

She went over to the circus bugs, and immediately noticed a significant absence.

"We're sorry, Your Highness…" came a small, quiet tone from Francis.

"We should have helped them…" lamented Heimlich.

"That Acorn," explained Rosie, giving a slight groan from her injury, "he went over the edge…Flik must've tried to help him…"

"…little Dot went back to help," continued Francis, "and then Gypsy did, too…"

Atta just went almost numb with the shock. The group didn't need to say anything else, she already guessed what had happened out there.

"It's…not your fault…" she stuttered, trying to hold back her tears. A crazy, but possible thought entered her mind suddenly.

"We have to go out and search for them. Right now."

Everyone in the infirmary immediately shot their gazes at Atta.

"Go out? In that monsoon?" spluttered Slim from his bed.

"I know it's desperate, and that there's a chance they're still alive out there," spoke Francis, "but it's 50/50, and if we go back out there we could end up missing too, or…"

"Don't…" interrupted Rosie, signalling for Francis to be quiet.

At this point, Manny, who had been silent for the entire time, exploded with rage. "Cowardice! Are we just going to sit here and let them die?"

"Calm down, Manny, we didn't say that…" coaxed Slim in vain.

"You didn't need to!" raged Manny, "I will not make your mistake!"

At that, the praying mantis suddenly buzzed his wings and flew out of the infirmary very quickly. Calling his name, some of the others tried to give chase, but as they got out of the infirmary they gave up, as Manny had already left the anthill.

"Let him go…" sighed Slim, "what can he do without Gypsy…"

Atta closed her eyes, thinking long and hard. She knew the dangers, and she didn't want to sit around helpless. She was the queen, and she knew that the colony came first, but she didn't want to be the one responsible for not finding the missing bugs. The one responsible for not searching for her love.

"I'm going after Manny," she announced.

Atta's mother stood by her daughter's side. "It's dangerous out there, and it's a darn crazy thing to do," she said, "but if Dot and Flik are alive out there, we've gotta make sure they stay that way. And staying here won't help. So I'm with you."

On hearing this, the other circus bugs instantly wanted to join in the search, even the stricken Slim and Rosie. Atta felt happy with the support, but she didn't want to put anyone else in danger.

"Thanks, guys," she acknowledged, "but I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Can you guys stay here and hold the fort?" Atta's mom asked of the circus bugs and the other council members.

"No problem," replied Francis, "but if you're not back anytime soon, we'll come lookin'!"

"Good luck, Your Highness," shrilled Flora.

"May the stars guide you on your way," quoted Soil.

"Thanks, everyone," replied Atta, giving a small smile, "and don't worry, we'll be back."

With that, Atta and her mother left the infirmary and headed towards the exit of the anthill.

Sure, I could get killed out there, thought Atta to herself, but if I can find them, it'll be worth it...

Next chapter coming soon