CHAPTER XLVII

RIVERBED ROUSTABOUT

Ant Island was still a speck on the horizon as Sora explained in detail the situation to Tuck and Roll atop Dim. They stared at him, smiling contentedly, as Sora finished his long story about the grasshoppers, the food, and the last leaf…

"So Princess Atta sent us to find some strong guys, just like you!" he yelled over the loud buzzing of Dim's wings. Tuck and Roll looked at each other, and with big stupid smiles on their faces they nodded and yelled in gibberish. It would have been clear to anyone except Sora that they didn't understand a word he had said…but Sora never claimed to be the brightest crayon in the box…

Sora sighed. "Whatever…" he said, looking back toward Ant Island. It was growing nearer…they were right above the cracked riverbed, when Sora was almost knocked off Dim's back by a yellow and orange blur.

A screech filled the friend's ears as the blur whizzed by again, and this time, they were able to see it – a bird, easily twenty times their size, was dive bombing them in hopes of some lunch.

"Tweet-tweet! Tweet-tweet!" Tuck and Roll screamed in their halted English.

"Oh! No! I am too young to be eaten by a big birdie…I have not even turned into a butterfly…" Heimlich cried from below Dim. The bird did another swoop, and this time connected with Kairi – her wings gave out as she and Riku tumbled faster and faster down toward the dusty path below…

"Riku! Kairi! We've gotta help them, Dim!" Sora said, grabbing Dim's horn and forcing him downward in a dive straight at Kairi and Riku. The other bugs followed suit as they tried to keep up…Dim couldn't catch the rapidly falling Kairi…

But her wings buzzed weakly at the last moment, keeping her afloat just before she and Riku crashed into the ground between the cracks…they hadn't been badly hurt…but the bird that was pecking between the cracks was trying its best to fix that…

Tuck and Roll saw the bird up close and curled up into balls to protect themselves…the defensive action ended up doing more damage as they rolled off of Dim's back, knocking straight into the bird's head and landing in the crack next to Kairi and Riku. They dragged the ant and the bee underneath a large rock, out of the bird's reach for the moment, as Sora forced Dim to smash into the bird's beak, knocking it backwards. Dim started to blubber like a baby, as he took off away from the bird at full speed with Heimlich in tow and Sora on his back.

Noticing a much larger meal, the bird turned and swooped toward Dim and Sora, growing ever closer…

As Gypsy flew between Dim and the bird, she turned and spread her wings, revealing the entire pattern on her back – her wings spread out to reveal an image of two scary eyes and dagger-like teeth, causing the bird to shriek and back away, looking at the moth in confusion.

Francis flew up beside the bird as it was distracted and held Slim by his spindly feet…

"Why must I always play the stick…or the bat…or the twig…?" he sighed, as Francis swatted at the bird with him. Gypsy and Rosie took off toward Riku, Kairi, Tuck and Roll as they climbed out of the crack, reaching for the web Rosie was lowering to them.

Manny, meanwhile, had flown into a small thicket of roses and cleared a small path, large enough for Dim to fit through. With a shrill whistle, everyone heard him and darted toward his location, as the bird tried to decide which bugs to eat first…

Dim, Sora and Heimlich were up front, leading the pack toward the roses…behind them were Francis and Slim…and close behind them were Kairi, Riku, Tuck, Roll and Rosie, all being held up by Gypsy. They started to lag behind as the orange bird grew closer…

"I…I can't carry this…much weight…" Gypsy struggled. Kairi's wing was badly injured, but she struggled and beat her wings as hard as she could, wincing from the pain. She quickly scooped up Tuck and Roll and lightened the load for Gypsy considerably. With a last burst of energy, they flew between the thick, thorny branches of the rose thicket and landed on a large leaf.

The orange bird slammed into the thorns, cutting itself and poking its feet as it tried to open a way to his lunch…but after a few attempts and a few more scratches, it gave up and flew off into the sunset. The bugs all took a deep breath, as they heard something none of them ever expected to hear at that moment in time…

Thousands of ants from the top of Ant Island began to clap and holler at the top of their lungs. They had watched the entire battle with the bird and were more than astonished at the results – no ant from their colony had ever gone toe to toe with a bird and lived to tell about it. Princess Atta's jaw almost touched the ground.

"I can honestly say that I've never been more happy that I was wrong in my life!"

Back in the thicket, Francis laid back on a comfortable berry. "Applause…I'm in heaven."