Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
…
"You have a sister?!" Ariel exclaimed, aghast. "… Is she as pretty as you?"
"Not anymore," Lepidoptera replied, much to Ariel's disappointment.
"A sister? I was never briefed on this," Goro murmured, startled.
"What? But… that doesn't make sense," Nushi stammered in disbelief. "I've studied every piece of information about the Hive I could get my hands on. You… At no point did you say you had a sister! Why…" She blinked rapidly, startled to realize she was starting to cry. "Why would you… Why would you hide this from us?"
All of the insects in the throne room looked guilty at this. "Please understand," Coccinella spoke up quickly. "Her Majesty never meant to deceive anyone."
Apista sighed. "However… My sister's betrayal… It cut deep. Something like what she did has never happened before in the history of our species. This was… Very personal, and very painful, and even now I'm still struggling to come to terms with it."
"Also, your governments rather strongly suggested we should keep that piece of information under wraps because they thought it would jeopardize how the public views us," Philia growled, sounding more than a little bitter.
Goro frowned. "How strongly?"
"As in, we might not have been able to build Hive City in such a favorable spot if we hadn't agreed to it, and certain other conditions," Formic snarled.
"That's awful!" Cried a disgusted Ariel.
"And also very typical," Mibojin said cynically.
Shin shook his head in disappointment. "And here I thought King Tokiwa-"
"May he reign forever," everyone reflexively recited at once.
"Was going to put a stop to crap like that," the Rider grumbled.
"Change takes time," Goro muttered, not looking very pleased either.
"It was not a decision I made lightly," Apista insisted, seeing how distraught Nushi had become. "But… As Queen, it is my duty to protect the Hive, even… If it means I must compromise my principles."
The Chinese transfer student didn't reply. While she knew on some level that her idol hiding something like this shouldn't hurt as much as it did, but…
The Hive stood for honesty and transparency. No lies, no secrets. Ever. That was one of the reasons she'd fallen so much in love with their culture. The Hive didn't use deceit to harm people, ever. Not like humans did.
But for Queen Apista, the embodiment of everything the Hive stood for, to have told a lie, even by omission, even if it was for a good reason… It was a hard thing to swallow.
Coccinella, sensing her partner's distress, fluttered back up to her shoulder and stroked her hair gently. Nushi absentmindedly petted her, lost in thought.
She was rather startled when four warm arms wrapped themselves around her. "It's okay," Philia told her gently. "I wasn't happy about it either. But she wasn't trying to hurt anyone, okay? Not like… My aunt did."
Heart melting at the sad look in the princess's eyes at the reminder of her treacherous relative, Nushi hugged her back, nuzzling into the fuzz around her neck. She was so soft.
Ariel had her hands clasped over her mouth, eyes shimmering at how adorable the scene was. Goro and Apista smiled fondly, Shin chuckled, and Mibojin was completely impassive.
The Divine Insects covertly took pictures, which would very soon find themselves distributed across the Internet through the Hive's various social media accounts.
"So… A sister," Nushi croaked once Philia finally let go of her, eyes a little red but feeling somewhat better.
"Yes," Apista said sadly. "Her name is Vespa."
"Why would she betray you?" Nushi asked. "I mean, you're… You're Queen Apista. You're kind, beautiful, good, wise, all-loving… Practically perfect! Why would she ever do that to you?" She asked, nodding at the nasty scar on the Queen's chest.
Mibojin rolled her eyes. "A single child, I take it."
Ariel grimaced. "Let me guess: she was envious of you, and when you got the throne instead of her, she got so angry she sold you and your entire species out to one of your greatest enemies, and now is coming here to finish the job?"
"Same old story," Shin grunted.
The insects grimaced. "That is… A gross oversimplification…" Caelifer murmured.
"But not entirely wrong," Lepidoptera admitted.
"What do all of you – other than Nushi, of course – know about how succession works in the Hive?" Apista asked.
"Other than the fact that you're always ruled by a Queen, and that your daughter there is clearly the next in line for the throne, absolutely nothing," Goro informed her. Everyone except for Nushi nodded in agreement.
The Queen's antenna twitched, and dozens, hundreds, thousands of drones flew into the room through numerous hexagonal ports that opened in the walls, clustering together above them to form a massive conglomerate of galaxies of all shapes and sizes in a vague honeycomb configuration. As the humans gazed up in wonder, Ariel immediately started taking notes, wondering if there a way she could incorporate the drones into her shows.
"The Hive Empire is a vast, powerful, and ancient civilization billions of light years from here, encompassing a massive galaxy group made up of trillions of worlds and a population in the sextillions," the Queen began narrating as the 'stars' twinkled above them.
Shin's eyes goggled. "I… I don't think I can imagine that many people."
"I don't know enough about astrophysics to know if that's a very high, or very low number," an amazed Goro confessed.
Nushi's eyes widened, the glittering golden light reflecting in her irises. "Wow…"
"For most civilizations, maintaining an empire this size would be virtually impossible without using draconian measures," Apista continued. She smiled. "However, most civilizations lack the Buzzing."
Each of the stars in the galaxies above started vibrating, generating their own, unique hum, and golden lines of light stretched out to connect them with every other star, creating a glorious singing web of golden light.
"Through the Buzzing, instantaneous communication with every member of the Hive is possible. Nobody is lost or forgotten. Everyone is included. Everyone is loved."
The drones rearranged themselves, seeming to "zoom in" to the midpoint of the Galactic group, a massive planet shaped like an isohedron covered in honeycomb patterns, numerous moons and planetoids bound to the planet by space elevators and colossal orbital rings, with numerous space stations and platforms drifting about. Large hexagonal holes in the planet's surface through which shafts of light beamed out seemed to indicate that the world was actually a Dyson sphere built around a small but brilliant golden sun.
"Hive Prime…" Nushi whispered, awestruck.
"The core of the Buzzing is, and always has been, the Queen," Apista explained as a gorgeous figure resembling the Queen herself appeared on top of the planet, seated in a similar throne. "Through her boundless love for every member of the Hive, all hearts are joined together as one."
The drone-Queen spread her arms and buzzed, waves of light pulsing off from her in all directions.
"However… While the queens are mighty, and blessed with extraordinary long life spans and almost perfect health… We are not immortal. Eventually, we must all succumb to entropy's grasp."
The drone-Queen suddenly faltered, her buzzing cut off as her body was wracked with several unpleasant-looking coughs. Nushi gasped, clasping her hands to her mouth in horror. Goro's mouth was set in a hard line. Mibojin was impassive. Ariel continued taking notes.
"Hey, can we get some popcorn?" Shin wondered out loud.
A drone suddenly appeared and held out a carton. "Oh, thanks."
As the Rider munched on his honey-flavored popcorn, the drones rearranged themselves again, Hive Prime dissolving to be replaced by dozens upon dozens of eggs. The Queen, having managed to recover, started examining them all.
"Every egg the Queen lays has a one in 10 billion chance of becoming a new Queen," Apista continued.
"One in… How is she supposed to lay that many eggs?!" Wondered a shocked Ariel.
"Pretty easily, actually," Nushi spoke up. "On a slow day, she can lay as few as 100 eggs in a clutch."
The rest of the humans stared at Apista in disbelief, specifically at her figure. "She doesn't look like the mother of thousands," Shin murmured slowly.
"My wife certainly didn't have a body like that after our first kid," Goro muttered.
Ariel frowned. "Wait, does that mean… All those bugs we saw on our way in… Every insect in Hive City… You gave birth to all of them?"
Apista nodded. "I did. You didn't think those many insects could fit in this ship, did you?"
"Holy crap," Ariel murmured, stunned.
"How have you not been wiped out due to overpopulation?" Mibojin asked, looking legitimately dumbstruck.
"While I can lay hundreds of eggs in a day, if not more, not all of them are fertilized," Apista explained. "I can regulate which eggs will give birth to new insects and which won't depending on necessity."
Shin frowned. "Wait… But what about the other insects? Are you telling me that none of them can reproduce?!"
"They cannot," Apista confirmed.
"But… I saw family units!" Goro protested. "Parents and children!"
"If a member of the Hive wishes to have a child, they can submit a request for an egg of their own," Apista explained. "The request will almost always be granted, and the egg will be shipped to them immediately. One period of incubation later, and they are a proud parent."
"… Huh," Goro muttered, not sure what to say to that.
Ariel frowned. "Wait… But if all of them are your children, then doesn't that mean-"
Lepidoptera rolled her eyes, as if she'd heard this question thousands of times before. Given her age, it was possible she had. "Yes, from your perspective it could be considered incest, but it doesn't have the same connotation for us."
"Different culture, different mores," Nushi agreed.
While they had been discussing this, the drone-Queen seemed to have found what she was looking for. She picked up one egg, peered into it for a moment, then happily hugged it to her chest. The egg hatched into a grub like the ones they'd seen in the nursery on the way to the palace, and hugged her back.
"Awww," Nushi and Ariel cooed.
"Once the royal grub is hatched," Apista continued. "She will be fed a steady diet of miracle honey and royal jelly so that her body will mature into a future Queen."
The grub shifted, turning into an insect resembling Philia, then aged up further until she resembled her mother, but as a teenager. The two insects continued hugging.
"Awww," Nushi, Ariel, and Shin cooed.
"Once the Queen's time comes, the Princess receives a special dose of royal jelly which will allow her to finish her maturation process and ascend to the throne."
Suddenly, the Queen started coughing again, and wouldn't stop. The Princess looked at her mother in concern, but the Queen waved her off. After she got her body back in control, she reached up, removed her crown, and handed it and a vial to the Princess. She hugged her one last time, and then dissolved into drones, which scattered.
Nushi and Ariel sobbed. Goro's upper lip trembled. Mibojin stared impassively. Shin continued eating popcorn.
The Princess looked at the space where her mother had been sadly, then took a deep breath, steeling herself, put the crown on her head, and imbibed the contents of the vial, her body growing and filling out to resemble a younger version of her mother. Hive Prime re-materialized beneath her feet, and she sat in the throne and started buzzing, just as her mother had.
"And so the cycle begins anew."
"But… What happens if the Queen dies before she lays a royal egg?" Goro questioned.
"Or the Princess dies before she finishes growing?" Ariel added.
The young Queen found herself surrounded by eggs, just as her mother had.
"While only one in 10 billion eggs has the potential to become a Queen, that doesn't mean the Queen will lay just one royal egg in her lifetime," Apista explained. "While she will only choose to fertilize one to produce an heir, the others will be stored somewhere safe in case of an emergency."
The young Queen was now holding four eggs, looking uncertain which one to pick. Finally, she held up one of them, and offered the others up to some drones, which took them away.
"But if that's the case, then how could you have a sister?" Mibojin questioned.
"Because, much like you humans," Apista explained as the egg in the drone-Queen's claws started shaking. "Sometimes an egg will have more than just one pupa in it."
The egg hatched… And much to the new mother's surprise, she found herself holding two grubs.
"And thus, a succession crisis," Mibojin reasoned.
"Yes, but not to the extent common on your world," Coccinella piped up.
Apista nodded. "Indeed. Both princesses are raised with equal care, given the same amount of love, affection, honey, and jelly as the other, and neither is favored over another."
The Royal grubs quickly grew up into little princesses and started happily frolicking and chasing each other through the air, while their mother watched with pride from the sidelines.
"Most of the time, one of the twins will show a greater aptitude for the Buzzing and react more positively to the royal jelly than her sister. When that is the case, she is the clear successor to the throne, and so becomes Queen upon her mother's passing."
The two young princesses quickly matured into teenagers, one of them taller, stronger, and more beautiful than the other. Their mother, now looking like her mother had at the end of her life, hugged both of her daughters, then handed her crown and a vial to the bigger of the two sisters before dissolving into drones. The bigger sister looked at the objects in her hands, hesitated, then glanced at her sibling, who smiled and nodded encouragingly.
Emboldened, she put on the crown and drank the vial, maturing into her final form. She then hugged her much smaller sister.
"Awww, that's sweet," Ariel, Nushi, and Shin cooed.
"The lesser sister isn't jealous?" Mibojin asked skeptically.
"If she were, her family would know at once and do what they could to rectify it before can get out of hand," Apista explained.
The Divine Insects nodded. "While we aren't saying problems don't often occur… Well, it's not like you can exactly plot an assassination without everyone else in the Hive knowing about it," Caelifer explained.
"Considering our entire society is psychically linked, mental health is very important to us," Philia said seriously.
"Something our species could stand to be better about…" Nushi muttered darkly, an undertone of bitterness in her voice.
Ariel frowned. "You sound like you speak from experience."
Nushi's mouth tightened, but she didn't respond.
"What happens to the weaker sister after her sibling takes the throne?" Shin asked.
"Usually she either serves her sister in an advisory role, or is allowed to establish a new colony elsewhere, to spread the reach of the Hive beyond our core galaxies," Nushi explained as the smaller sister embraced her Queen, then waved and flew off. "There's some theories going around that some of the other insectoid races in the universe, like the Worm or Warstar, are actually descendants of colonies that got cut off from the Hive somehow and underwent divergent evolution."
"Did something like that happen with your sister?" Ariel asked Apista empathetically. "She went off to start a colony, but things went wrong somehow?"
Apista shook her head mournfully. "If only it had been so simple."
She looked back up at the display of drones. Once again, the drone-Queen had selected an egg. Once again, it hatched into two grubs.
"Like I said, usually it will become apparent rather quickly which of the princesses is the rightful heir," she said quietly. "But… That isn't always the case."
As before, the grubs grew up into little princesses, then into teenagers… Who looked exactly the same. All three of the royal insects shared worried looks.
"Sometimes, the princesses will be so evenly matched that it is impossible to determine which of them will take the throne."
"Couldn't they just share it?" Goro asked.
Nushi shook her head. "No, there can only ever be one Queen. Every time they've tried to have more than one at once, it… Well, it nearly destroyed the Buzzing and caused the Hive to collapse on itself."
The Divine Insects all shuddered. "Those were dark days…" Manti intoned morbidly.
"So, how did you decide which of you would take the throne?" Shin asked Apista.
"As we were evenly matched, we had no choice but to follow ancient tradition and-" the Queen began.
"Engaged in trial by combat?" Ariel guessed, looking a little too eager at the idea.
Nushi and all the insects gave her looks of dismay. "What? No, of course not. That's barbaric!" Lepidoptera cried.
Apista nodded. "Instead, we invoke the ultimate arbiter… The Queen of the Divine insects, Anthoph," she said reverently.
The drone versions of Apista, Vespa, and their mother looked up as a glittering golden bee flew down towards them.
"Wait, I thought you were the leader of the Divine Insects," Nushi spoke up in confusion, glancing at her partner.
"We both are," Coccinella explained.
"Think of it as the difference between a field commander and a general," Formic spoke up. "One leads the troops on the field of battle, while the other oversees everything and only steps in as a last resort."
Goro and Mibojin nodded, understanding at once. They served similar roles in their own lines of work, occasionally needing to lead subordinates into battle, but all heeding the wishes of a still higher power.
"Anthoph has been the partner of every Queen since the Divine Insects were first created," Lepidoptera added. "As such, only she has the wisdom and experience necessary to choose the next Queen when all other options have been exhausted."
Above them, the drone-Anthoph circled both drone-Apista and Vespa, examining them carefully. The two sisters exchanged nervous looks, while their mother watched anxiously from the sidelines. Finally, Anthoph approached one of the princesses, whose eyes lit up in joy…
Which turned to shock and disbelief as the Divine Insect abruptly turned around and nuzzled the cheek of her sister, making her choice.
"In the end, she chose me," Apista said quietly. "To this day, I still don't really know why. All Anthoph has been willing to say on the subject is Vespa wanted it too much."
The younger Apista hugged Anthoph to her chest and started jumping for joy. Her mother flew over and swept her into a hug, while Vespa just stood there, a blank look on her face. Realizing her sister was being left out, Apista smiled in apology and extended a hand…
Only for Vespa to lunge at her, her beautiful face twisted into a grotesque mask of hatred, thrusting her claws at her sister's throat.
Everyone gasped except for Mibojin, who continued watching impassively. Shin continued shoveling popcorn into his mouth.
The Queen shoved Apista out of the way and grabbed her frenzied daughter around the waist. Vespa screamed and thrashed about, claws and spines tearing into her mother's body as she struggled to break free and rend her horrified sister limb from limb.
Suddenly, Anthoph shot forwards and drove her stinger into Vespa's right eye, causing her to scream in agony and grab her face in pain. Her mother hurled her away then half-collapsed, blood flowing from her wounds, though Apista rushed over to grab her before she could hit the ground.
Vespa staggered about, screaming and shouting. A look of resignation on her face, the Queen pointed a hand at her, her antenna standing straight and her wings buzzing. Vespa suddenly stopped short, a confused look on her face. She looked at her mother and sister in bewilderment…
And then her remaining eye opened in horror. She staggered towards her family, only for a half-dozen heavily armored guards to materialize and grab her. They dragged her away, kicking and screaming, while the Queen and Apista could only stare after her in sadness.
"What…what happened to her?" Asked a disturbed Goro.
"What did your mother do?" Mibojin demanded.
Nushi's eyes widened in horror. "No… You can't mean…"
Ariel world around to look at her. "What? What happened?"
Nushi shot Apista a pleading look. "Your mother… She didn't really…"
Apista nodded despondently. "She did. For attempted regicide and sororicide, the harshest possible fate was inflicted upon my sister… Banishment from the Hive, and permanent severance from the Buzzing."
Nushi went white in horror. All the other insects shuddered.
"You mean you basically just kicked her out and took away her Internet privileges?" Asked a confused Shin.
Caelifer shook his head. "The Buzzing is more than just some sort of psychic insect Internet. From the moment of birth, every member of the Hive can feel the thoughts and feelings of every other member of the Hive. They are constantly embraced by the love of the Queen, and never have to suffer even a second of loneliness, since even at their lowest point there will be millions upon millions willing to reach out and give them a helping appendage.
"Now… Imagine that it was taken away from you. That you could no longer look at someone and instantly know their names and histories, their innermost thoughts and feelings. To have the love of your mother, your friends, your family, withheld from you. To be trapped in your own mind, with no thoughts other than your own to keep you company. To be alone. Forever."
"Death," Manti said gravely. "Would be a kinder fate." She sighed. "In fact, I advocated for it, but the Queen refused."
"Might've been better for all of us if she hadn't," Philia growled unhappily. Apista frowned, but did not reprimand her.
"You know, we are constantly stuck in our own minds with no thoughts other than our own to keep us company," Goro pointed out.
Formic nodded. "Yes, and for that you have our pity."
Goro frowned at him. The fact that he managed to sound sincere without being condescending only served to irritate him more.
"I'm assuming, given what you have told us so far, that was not the end of her," Mibojin intuited.
"It was not," Apista confirmed somberly.
Above them, the drones rearranged themselves to reform Hive Prime. Standing atop it, the elder Queen embraced Apista one last time before dissolving. Apista drank from the vial, put on her crown, and transformed into the adult form they were familiar with in the present. She sat in her throne and began vibrating, generating the Buzzing once more, and all the stars and satellites around her resonated…
But Vespa, her right eye squeezed shut, glared hatefully at her sister, clearly unable to feel any of it. A wrathful look on her face, she turned and limped away from the planet that had once been her home.
"Exiled from Hive space, Vespa traveled out into the darkness beyond our borders, as many explorers and colonists had before her. Unlike them, however, she was all alone, and had no connection to the Buzzing to keep her sane as the soul-crushing loneliness and the emptiness of deep space began to take their toll on her mind."
All of the drones save for the ones making up Vespa dispersed, leaving the disgraced princess all alone. She started to tremble, looking around furtively, and hugged herself with all four arms.
Despite herself, Nushi couldn't help pitying her. What she had almost done was terrible, and yet…
"I do not know how long she wandered in the void, with no thoughts other than her own to keep her company," Apista said gravely. "If she had been a lesser insect, she would probably have died by her own hands rather than suffer such loneliness for eternity. Unfortunately… As a royal, my sister was no lesser insect, and her hatred sustained her."
She hesitated. "At least… That is what I choose to believe, for the alternative is too awful to contemplate."
Nushi swallowed. A memory – the darkest day of her life, the one that was very nearly her last – flashed through her head, only for her to aggressively stomp it down. Not now.
"It is possible that she might have continued wandering aimlessly across the cosmos to this day if she had not stumbled upon something," Apista resumed. "Something… Terrible."
Above, the drones reappeared to form a planet. Vespa walked right past it… And paused, her antenna twitching. Slowly, she turned around and looked at the planet in surprise. Then, cautiously, she started shuffling towards it.
"What was it?" Mibojin asked slowly.
"An evil long forgotten. A terror from the distant past," Coccinella said gravely.
"The Swarm," all of the Divine Insects intoned. Philia shuddered and clung to her mother's side.
Nushi gasped in horror. "No… Not them!"
Ariel screamed. "Not the Swarm! Anything but the Swarm!" She paused, then leaned over and whispered to Nushi, "What's the Swarm?"
"Going by the name, I assume it's one of those colonies you mentioned that may have taken a different evolutionary path than the rest of the Hive?" Goro guessed.
Apista nodded. "Yes, though not by their choice."
Above them, the drones dissipated, then reformed to show insects landing on the surface of a planet. They unloaded their ships, started building structures, and began digging into the ground.
"The colony that would become the Swarm was founded by one of my ancestors, who chose to strike out into the black rather than stay at her queenly sister's side," Apista explained, pointing at the clear leader of the insects, someone bearing a distant resemblance to herself. "At first, she seemed to have chosen her planet well. It was fertile, prosperous, and seemed to have everything her people needed to thrive."
A massive and beautiful city soon formed. Insects frolicked and played in the settlement or in the gorgeous landscapes constructed by the drones, while more insects continued digging deep beneath the surface, mining for valuable resources.
"And then they dug too deep."
"They always do…" Shin grumbled.
"Did they happen upon a vast and dark underworld filled with horrible monsters?" Ariel asked a little too eagerly.
"Basically," Lepidoptera admitted.
The drones dispersed again, then reformed to show a crew of miners breaking through a wall and finding themselves in a huge cavern full of massive, rather sinister-looking fungal growth carpeting every surface. The insects looked around in wonder and more than a hint of uneasiness…
And then the fungal mass moved, heaving upon itself and surging towards the miners. Understandably, they panicked and fled back into the tunnel they'd come through. The fungus flowed after them, but one of the miners, resembling a particularly massive beetle, punched the tunnel wall hard, causing the ceiling to collapse on itself and seal the cavern off beneath a pile of rubble. The insects threw a ragged cheer…
Which turned to horror when a spore managed to squeeze through the rocks and strike the beetle in the back.
It screamed and flailed about as the fungus rapidly started expanding, growing all over its body and causing it to shrivel and hollow upon itself, becoming a warped, ragged, hole-riddled husk with fungal growths sprouting all over the place. It lurched towards its terrified comrades, mandibles clicking nastily.
Ariel turned green. "Oh great, and here I thought Hades Beast Fungal Mold was bad!"
"That looks… almost like Cordyceps!" A disgusted Nushi cried.
Goro blinked. "What, like that zombie fungus in The Last of Us? It's real?!"
Nushi nodded. "Yes, but it doesn't actually create zombies! Not like that!"
"There's a lot of scary stuff out in space…" Shin muttered, shaking.
The other miners turned to run… And the undead horror twitched its antenna.
The miners stopped. Slowly, they turned around, eyes blank, and started pulling away the rocks blocking the tunnel, allowing the fungus to start oozing out and corrupt them as well.
Goro blinked. "What just happened? Why did they do that?"
"All members of the Hive are connected to the Buzzing, remember?" Nushi told him. "That was no ordinary fungus. It had some degree of psychic power, which it used to subtly guide the miners to free it from its cavern. Its powers were only amplified when it consumed that beetle, allowing it to infect the minds of the colonists through the Buzzing to assimilate them into itself, even without its spores touching them!"
"Thankfully, the fungus's corruption wasn't as far-reaching as the Buzzing, so it was only able to infect the colony," Apista explained as more and more of the colonists marched into the cavern and allowed the fungus to change them. "And, while horrible, that might have been the end of it…"
More of the colonists suddenly entered the cavern, carrying their princess, kicking and screaming. They callously hurled her into the fungus, and she screamed and fought desperately as it quickly engulfed her body, flowing into every orifice as it dragged her into its mass.
"If they hadn't infected my ancestor as well."
Abruptly, the Princess erupted from the heart of the fungal mass, but any hopes that her royal physiology had allowed her to fight off the infection were quickly dashed when they saw that she, too, had been mutated like the rest. Her body was blackened and twisted, going from a creature of beauty to a thing of nightmares; holes riddled her necrotic flesh, fungal mass sprouting all over her body. She spread her tattered wings and shrieked, and all the other corrupted insects bowed to her.
Philia squeaked and looked away, burying her face in her mother's chest.
"While the fungus was horrific on its own, it had no real mind, no drive or purpose beyond self-propagation," Apista said as she stroked her daughter to calm her. "That changed when it infected my ancestor. All members of the royal family, even if they are not Queens, have minds uniquely wired to administrate the Buzzing. As such, when she was immersed in corruption, her powerful mind was able to seize control of the fungus and all the minds linked to it… But, unfortunately, was still warped by it in turn. Any lingering traces of resentment towards her sister for being chosen to take the throne were amplified into full-fledged envy, and she swore to use the power of the fungus to corrupt the entirety of the Buzzing and transform all of the Hive into a new race; the Swarm."
"They look even more terrible than I read about…" Whispered a distraught Nushi.
"If the Swarm could infect the Buzzing, how is it that they failed to conquer the Hive?" Mibojin inquired.
"The power of the Queen at the time was able to shield the minds of those in the Empire proper from the corrupting influence of the Swarm," Apista explained as, above them, the drones came apart and reformed into the planet seen from space as the Swarm flew away from it and towards the galaxy group comprising the Hive Empire. As they approached, golden light pulsed from Hive Prime, causing all of the stars in the galaxies to light up, driving the Swarm back…
But only for a moment. A dark mass at the heart of the Swarm pulsed, and the nearest stars darkened, and the fungus started creeping up the lines of light connecting them to other worlds.
"Unfortunately, that didn't stop the Swarm Queen from simply attacking the outer fringe and infecting those worlds by force, and those worlds infected those near them, and so on, and so forth, and each mind taken from the Buzzing increased the power of the Swarm and weakened the Queen."
Dark fungus started rapidly engulfing galaxy after galaxy at an exponential rate, the golden light of the rest of the Empire starting to fade.
"Fruit Jesus," Shin murmured.
"How did you stop it?" Asked a dismayed Ariel.
"The Queen at the time and your predecessors in that era spearheaded a daring attack into the heart of the Swarm while the rest of our forces kept the rest of the invaders at bay," Apista explained as the drones reconfigured to show an absolutely titanic space battle which took up almost the entirety of the throne room. Ships battled ships, warriors fought against warriors, and at the center of it all a beautiful Hive Queen and five warriors – a ladybug, an ant, a mantis, a grasshopper, and a butterfly – engaged the leader of the Swarm in pitched combat with the aid of the Divine Insects while titanic mechanical insects warred against grotesque Swarm giants.
"Cooool," Shin gushed, eyes wide as he continued to munch on popcorn.
"What a battle," Goro breathed, awestruck.
"I am getting so much inspiration from this, you guys, you have no idea," Ariel squealed in delight, jotting down note after note.
"Eventually, my ancestor prevailed," Apista continued as the five warriors grabbed the Swarm Queen by the limbs and held her in place so that the Hive Queen could drive her stinger through her abdomen, causing her to vaporize in a flash of golden light. Around them, all of the Swarm vessels and creatures started acting wildly and without coordination, and the Hive forces took advantage of their confused state and pressed forward to wipe them out. "With their Queen vanquished, the Swarm fell apart, losing their driving intellect and becoming naught but mindless beasts. While it would be many hexes before the rest of the Swarm was exterminated, without a leader, they were far less of a threat."
The drones shifted again to display the galactic map of the Empire. Golden light flowed through the fungus-covered lines, disintegrating them and reigniting the stars that had been devoured by the Swarm.
"With the Empire secured, all that was left was to take out the threat once and for all at the source."
A fleet of ships flew away from the Empire towards the distant planet where all this had begun. They surrounded the seemingly innocuous orb and blasted it from orbit for a minute straight until it shattered, then kept firing until every last fragment was completely atomized. Satisfied, the fleet returned to the Empire.
"With the source of the evil fungus eradicated, the Queen altered the genetics of her successor so that future generations would not be vulnerable to a similar infestation," Apista went on. "It was believed that the danger of the Swarm was gone for good."
"Except it wasn't," Mibojin pointed out.
"No, it was not," Apista regretfully admitted.
"It seemed like you were pretty thorough. What happened?" Shin asked.
Caelifer sighed. "From what we've gathered, Vespa stumbled upon an outpost that we missed during the last war. It seems that the Swarm Queen, much like the Hive Queens, attempted to plan ahead by producing an heir who could follow in her footsteps and left her in a secret facility where she had been experimenting on creating new strains of the fungus. When she died, however, the facility shut down, the Swarm went dormant, and the egg died. However…"
"For some things, death is no obstacle," Manti said gravely.
Above them, the drones shifted back to the recent past, where the half-blind, wounded Vespa stumbled through a place of horror; fungal growth covering every surface, grotesque, twisted insects and machines were scattered all over the place… And some of them were still moving.
And at the center of this nest of corruption was a single egg, looking as if it had rotted away long ago and the fungus cradling it was the only thing that had allowed it to maintain its shape. Vespa stared at it for a long moment…
And then, hunger in her eye, lunged forwards and started to eat it.
Goro, Shin, and Ariel all cried out in disgust. Philia whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut. Mibojin was impassive. Nushi was repulsed, but also looked intrigued. "Fascinating…"
As Vespa greedily devoured the egg and its contents, around her, the fungal growth started shifting. The grotesque corpses and broken mechanisms started to move, as if awakening from a long slumber. The mat of fungus beneath her feet trembled and started slithering up her body, grotesque centipedes covered in fungi occasionally popping out, chittering, before diving back into the surface.
Having consumed every last bit of the egg, down to the smallest piece of shell, Vespa suddenly took notice of the fungus that had rapidly covered most of her body. Her single eye widened in surprise…
And then she started ripping clumps of fungus off, but instead of throwing it away, shoved it into her mouth, eye wide with delight as the growth rate of the fungi accelerated. As the mass flowed up her shoulders and started covering her head, she ripped out one of the centipedes, regarded it for a moment, and then pried opened what was left of her right eye and-
"NOPE," Shin yelled loudly, immediately turning around.
Ariel threw up. Goro, pale, looked as if he would soon be behind her.
Mibojin glanced at Nushi, mildly impressed. "You aren't revolted?"
"Nature can be pretty horrifying," she replied, looking a little queasy but still fascinated. "That's what makes it so interesting."
The ninja couldn't help cracking a grin at that.
When the fungus eventually receded, Vespa had been radically transformed, bearing little resemblance to the beauty she had once been. Like her ancestor before her, her carapace was blackened, cracked, and riddled with holes, fungal growth sprouted all over the place, her wings were tattered, and her right eye had grown back, but looked… Wrong somehow. She shrieked, wings and antenna vibrating, and the fungus around her reacted violently, monstrous figures clawing their way out of the walls, floor, and ceiling, and lurched towards her. She spread her forearms wide, welcoming her new slaves as they bowed before her.
"Through Vespa, the Swarm was reborn, more voracious and deadly than ever before. And unlike the last time… We had no idea what was coming."
The drones reconfigured themselves to show the planet as the Swarm fleet left its surface. Off in the distance, the Hive Empire could be seen…
And the fleet flew away from it.
"Wait, why are they going the wrong way?" Asked a confused Nushi.
"My sister knew that if she repeated the tactics of the previous Swarm Queen, she would lose," Apista explained. "So, she decided to try a different tack instead."
Another planet appeared. The Swarm fleet surrounded it and began bombarding it. Quickly, the surface of the planet was covered in fungus, and more ships rose up from the surface to join the fleet. The fleet turned away and approached another planet, and repeated the process, and another, and another, until the fleet swelled up into a massive armada.
"The Swarm attacked thousands of worlds beyond our borders, worlds which had little to no contact with us, some of which were our enemies," Formic rumbled gravely. "With each world taken, her power grew, and when she decided she was ready, she started attacking our colonies…"
The armada approached a planet closer to the Empire proper, only to hang back as a smaller selection of ships approached and started attacking it.
"However, instead of tipping her hand and revealing the Swarm was back, she used the ships and assimilated soldiers of some of our enemies," the ant continued. "That way, reports would get back through the Buzzing that our adversaries were declaring war on us, and we would be too focused on gearing up to fight the wrong enemy that the Swarm was able to continue proliferating right under our noses."
"And the loss of so many insects would be assumed to be due to a genocide, not because they'd been infected and forcibly added to the new Swarm," Lepidoptera said sadly.
"A clever strategy," Mibojin observed.
"And an effective one, apparently," Goro commented in disgust.
As ships started materializing around part of the Hive galaxy group, the Swarm armada flew around them and approached the Empire from behind.
"Due to her tactics, we sent most of our forces out to defend the border closest to our enemies, allowing the Swarm to invade from our less well-protected flank," Coccinella spoke up. "By the time we realized what was really going on, it was too late."
Just like before, stars went dark as they were consumed by fungus.
"Our one saving grace was that because Vespa was deafened to the Buzzing, she had no way of being able to infect the Hive in the same way her predecessor did," Caelifer said. "So while she was still able to convert our citizens to the Swarm, she had to do it by brute force, which bought us a little time."
"But not a lot," Apista said gravely. "We knew that in the time it took for most of our forces to intercept her, a significant amount of the Hive would be lost. Trillions, quadrillions of lives gone. So, we gathered everything we had and engaged the Swarm, hoping to bring a decisive end to the struggle by killing their Queen, just as my ancestor did millions of years ago."
The drones shifted to once again to form a massive space battle, one nearly identical to the previous one, except the actors were slightly different, the Hive vessels and warriors looked more sophisticated and advanced, and the monsters were even more monstrous somehow. At the center of it all, Apista and five insects battled Vespa with the help of the Divine Insects.
"But, unlike in the last battle… We failed."
Vespa blasted the five warriors and the Divine Insects away with waves of corruption, and shot towards her dazed sister, aiming her stinger at her abdomen. At the very last second, Anthoph flew in her path. The stinger pierced her and entered Apista's chest, causing the queen to scream in agony.
Philia started crying, and Nushi wasn't far behind her.
Shin cringed. "Geez."
"That… Could have killed you," Goro said slowly.
"I very nearly died anyway," Apista said softly. "But I would most certainly not be here speaking to you all today were not for my beloved Anthoph."
Everyone looked at the damaged Divine Insect crystallized in the pool of honey for a moment, silent.
"Is she…" Ariel asked quietly.
"She's alive, but barely," Lepidoptera assured her.
"Her self-repair systems are fixing her up, but they require a constant infusion of the purest honey," Coccinella explained. "In time, she will return to us." She hesitated, then looked away. "Just… Not anytime soon."
"Dear Anthoph's sacrifice bought my friends the few seconds of time they needed to recover," Apista said sadly as above them, the five insects suddenly grabbed Vespa and pulled her away from the Queen. The Swarm Queen shrieked and fought, reaching out towards her dying sister, but the other Divine Insects swooped in, gathered up Apista and Anthoph, and flew away. Livid, Vespa broke free, turned on the five warriors, and-
Apista gestured, and the drones scattered. "I… I'm sorry. I can't watch this next part," she said hoarsely, looking on the brink of tears.
She wasn't the only one.
"They all died, then?" Mibojin asked quietly.
Manti nodded. "Yes. They fought valiantly, but in the end, they were no match for her."
"And you think we can succeed where they failed?" Goro wondered, a look of doubt on his face.
"We know you will," Formic insisted.
"You have to. Failure isn't an option," Caelifer said bluntly.
Shin sighed. "Nothing new there."
"What… Happened after that?" Nushi asked anxiously.
Apista sighed, touching the scar on her chest gingerly. "We were forced to retreat back to Hive Prime so I could begin the recovery process." She gestured, and the star map appeared, the corruption quickly spreading into the heart of the empire. "Vespa took advantage of our retreat to press her advance, managing to do something no enemy of ours has managed in billions of years: attack Hive Prime."
The galaxy map turned into the beautiful throneworld from before, only this time a pitched space battle was raging all around it… And it was clear the Swarm was winning.
"The majority of our Navy was still too far away to reach us in time," Apista continued. "While my condition was stabilized, I was in no shape to fight, and even if I could, there was no way I could defeat my sister on my own. And if I perished, the Buzzing would die with me. The Hive would descend into anarchy, our civilization would collapse, and my sister would be able to swoop in and conquer everything that was left."
She closed her eyes sorrowfully. "So, I was left with only one option: to run away."
The palace-ship suddenly flew away from Hive Prime. Several Swarm ships chased after it, but Hive ships intercepted them, sacrificing themselves to buy the palace the time it needed to warp far, far away.
"Lest you think ill of me, I did not abandon my people," Apista said quickly, though it wasn't entirely clear who she was trying to convince. "Through the Buzzing, I am still connected to all of them, even though we are light years apart. As long as I live, the rest of the Hive is united, and can continue the fight against my sister's legions."
"But if you were to die…" Ariel said slowly.
"Then, since my daughter is too young to take my place, that would be the end of the Hive," Apista confirmed grimly. "And the Swarm would prevail."
"Mom, I told you, if you would just give me more jelly-" Philia started.
"Honey, we've been over this," Apista told her gently. "You're too young. Your body isn't ready to undergo the next stage of metamorphosis. If we try to force it, there's a very good chance it could kill you. And since Vespa has surely destroyed all of the other Royal eggs, if anything were to happen to either of us…"
"But mom, I want to help!" Philia pleaded.
Apista embraced her. "I know, and I appreciate it. Your time will come, one day… But that day is a long way off."
Philia pouted in frustration, but did not argue further.
"Given that you've only now sent out the Divine Instincts to look for new champions, I take it to mean that your sister has found you?" Goro asked.
Apista nodded, as the drones changed to show the Earth, and, off in the distance, a Swarm fleet. "Our long range sensors have detected a fleet inbound, and I am certain my sister is with them. She would not want to leave my death to chance. She would want to kill me with her own hands, if at all possible."
"How long do we have?" A worried Nushi asked.
"Not long," Coccinella said bluntly.
"We should have just enough time, however, to make you ready to face her," Manti said as five hexagonal tiles lit up and rose from the ground, revealing glass chambers big enough for each of them to fit in.
"We Divine Insects have incredible power, but require a vessel capable of properly wielding it," Lepidoptera said, circling Ariel.
"These chambers will make you ready, by submerging you in miracle honey infused with DNA corresponding to each of the Hive subspecies who have traditionally wielded us in the past," Caelifer said, hopping onto Shin's shoulder.
"You will be stronger. Faster," Formic promised Goro, climbing up his leg.
"And, you will have a partial link to the Buzzing," Coccinella promised Nushi, alighting on her shoulder. "Allowing you to communicate with each other, us, the Queen, or any other member of the Hive far more easily."
Nushi's eyes lit up in joy. "I get to be part of the Buzzing?!"
"Partially," Coccinella emphasized. "Your mammalian neurochemistry currently renders you incapable of handling the information and sensory overload full access to the Buzzing would entail, though as you grow stronger, that may change in time."
"So, like surfing the Internet with parental controls on," Goro theorized, having instituted similar restrictions at home.
"A gross oversimplification, but not too far off," Formic agreed.
Mibojin frowned. "But… If I were to be connected to the Buzzing… that would mean allowing others to read my thoughts."
Apista blinked. "Well, yes. Why, is there a problem with that?"
The ninja tensed. "I do not want anyone in my head. I know things that nobody else should. I have had experiences nobody should share."
Shin grimaced. "I… Kind of see where she's coming from. I've got decades worth of memories I don't really want to relive, or force anyone else to." He looked at the chamber before him warily. "Not to mention I had a really bad experience with bioaugmentation in the past, and I'm not exactly relishing going through it a second time."
Goro frowned. "I've seen and done things in the line of duty that… Not even my family knows about. I can't allow a group of strangers, let alone an entire city, to know about them. A lot of it is highly classified."
Nushi hesitated. On the one hand, joining the Buzzing and having access to billions of years' worth of history and culture of her favorite species, to become part of a community that loved and accepted everyone for who they were, was a dream come true, but…
That also meant they would know about that day. And everything that led up to it. While academically she knew they wouldn't care about any of that, it wasn't something she wanted to inflict on the species (and Queen) she loved, let alone a group of people she just met whom she was apparently supposed to lead in an epic battle to save the world. Would they ever be able to trust her, once they knew what she had almost done?
But if she didn't do this… She would be letting down the Queen she'd idolized for years, and risking the lives of everyone she cared about. Was that really something she was comfortable with doing?
As Nushi mulled this over, Ariel frowned, noticing the trepidation on her future teammates' faces. "Well, I've got no problem sharing everything that's in my head, but… Queen Apista, are you sure we have to do this?"
The Queen nodded, looking genuinely perplexed. "You cannot bond with the Divine Insects without a link to the Buzzing. I do not understand. You do not wish to join your minds to ours? To become a part of something greater? To never be alone again?"
"Mom, this existence is all they've ever known," Philia pointed out. "For them, it's perfectly normal to be alone even when surrounded by others. Our way of life is just as difficult for them to grasp as theirs is to us."
The Queen looked alarmed. "I hadn't considered that. This… complicates things."
"There's really no other way?" Shin pleaded.
Apista shook her head. "No. You have to be connected to each other through the Buzzing for this to work. To work as a team, you need to be able to trust each other implicitly… And how can you truly trust someone else if there are barriers between you? If you cannot read their hearts and know them as well as your own? We do not lie or keep secrets, at least not willingly. You must do the same, otherwise…"
"Otherwise," Coccinella finished unhappily. "This won't work."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
"If… If you truly do not wish to do this, then I won't force you to," the Queen said finally, although she looked rather unhappy about it. "This is something you must choose to do of your own volition. Otherwise, I would be just as bad as my sister."
"So… You're saying that if we say no, you'll just let us walk away? Just like that?" Shin asked in surprise.
"Just like that," Apista promised.
"Even though we are the ones your Divine Insects have chosen?" Mibojin asked skeptically.
"They will choose someone else," Apista said firmly.
"But your Majesty-" Manti protested.
"You will choose someone else," Apista insisted.
"But there isn't time for us to-"
"Then you will make time," Apista said, raising her voice slightly, and the mantis fell silent.
The humans exchanged uneasy looks. "It's not like the world is doomed if we say no," Nushi said hesitantly. "There are loads of other heroes out there… Right?"
Ariel set her mouth in a straight line. "Yes, but none of them were chosen for this. We were. I know you guys have your reasons not to want to do this… But I come from a family of heroes, and one of the many things I've learned from my grandpa Isamu is that you've sometimes got to make sacrifices for the greater good, so long as the sacrifice is yours and not anyone else's."
"… Being a Kamen Rider means being an ally of justice," Shin said slowly. "You don't run away from a fight, you don't turn your back on someone in need, and if there's something you can do to make the world a better place, you damn well do it instead of trusting someone else to do the job for you." He glared at them. "And yes, I'm aware there's tons of Riders who failed to live up to that, but that doesn't mean it's not a goal worth shooting for." He shook his head. "I hate it. I really hate it. But I wouldn't be able to look my son in the eye if I walked away, so… I'm in."
Goro sighed, shoulders slumping in resignation. "I swore an oath to protect this country, no matter what. A good soldier follows orders, and I was ordered to assist the Hive in any way I was able. On my honor as an officer of the JSDF, I can't walk away."
Mibojin was pensive. "Manti… Is there truly nobody else you can choose?"
"It took me months to choose you," the mantis said at once. "I don't have that kind of time now."
"But why me?" Mibojin asked. "There are many other ninjas in the world, ones far more suited to heroism than I."
"Most of my clan was either wiped out by the Swarm, are continuing the fight back home, or are too young and inexperienced to wield me," Manti insisted. "You're right, there may be other human ninjas who would be better as a hero. There have, after all, been at least three other ninja Sentai teams in the past."
She pointed a blade at Mibojin. "But none of them were you. I chose you, and you must trust that I did not do so without good reason."
Mibojin considered this for a long while. Finally, reluctantly, she nodded in acquiescence. "My mistress and the clan elders told me to aid the Hive in protecting this world. If I were to walk away, I would never be able to return to my clan again. In fact, they would no doubt order me to kill myself to wipe away the stain of my dishonor, and send my sisters after me if I refused." She sighed in resignation. "Very well. I suppose I have no choice but to accept."
Nushi, seeing the others make their decisions, chastised herself for her hesitation. What was she doing? She was being offered the chance to truly become a part of the society she'd venerated from afar for years! What was some stupid personal drama – or trauma – in comparison to that?
Especially given what was at stake?
"I'm in, too," Nushi declared, staring right at Apista. "Your Majesty, ever since you and your people arrived on Earth, I've always wanted to serve you in whatever capacity I could. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect you and the rest of this world from the Swarm."
A resolute expression formed on her face. "And if that means giving up the privacy of my own mind, and being remade into a warrior… Then that's exactly what I'll do." She turned, glancing at her four soon-to-be comrades in arms. "I may not be a hero or a fighter or magician like the rest of you… But if you'll have me, I promise I will do my utmost to lead this team into victory. Assuming you will accept taking orders from a university student?"
"Trust me when I say I've had superior officers far more unqualified than you," Goro promised. He sounded like he was joking, but the look in his eyes made it clear he was completely serious.
Shin shrugged. "Having a complete rookie as the team leader? Eh, that works out surprisingly often for Sentai teams. I'm sure you'll do fine."
"You have been chosen to lead us. As such, I have no choice but to follow," Mibojin said, giving no indication as to whether or not she was dissatisfied with this.
"This is going to be awesome!" Ariel cheered, hugging Nushi and nearly squeezing her face into her sizable bosom, causing the Chinese girl to turn very red. "We're going to be a Super Sentai, just like my family! I can't WAIT to tell them about this!"
Apista sighed in relief, and the Divine Insects relaxed visibly. "Then you will help us?"
The five humans nodded.
Apista bowed her head in gratitude. "Trust me when I say that my people owe you a debt we may never be able to fully repay."
"But we will do our best to try," Philia promised, looking very serious for someone so adorable. "We'll support you in any way we can. And, once Anthoph has finished repairing herself, maybe I can-"
"No," Apista said flatly.
"But mom-!" Philia protested.
"No," Apista repeated in a tone that made it clear this was not up for discussion. The Princess glared at her mother, seething in frustration, but did not push the issue.
The five glass chambers soundlessly opened up, the interior lighting up invitingly. "All you need to do is enter the chambers, and the process will begin," Coccinella informed Nushi and the others.
"It will be completely painless," Caelifer promised Shin. "Physically, anyway."
Mibojin frowned. "Which means it will not be painless mentally?"
"You're having a significant part of your brains rewritten on a fundamental level," Manti pointed out. "Your minds will be open to thoughts and feelings not your own, something you have never experienced before. It may be… Unpleasant."
"But we'll do everything we can to help you through it as painlessly as possible," Lepidoptera promised.
Goro shrugged. "I've undergone psi-ops training. Can't be much worse than that."
"That's the spirit!" Formic said cheerfully. "Just keep telling yourself that."
The five of them entered the chambers. The Divine Insects flew or hopped or crawled in after them, landing on their wrists and wrapping their legs around them to form bracers.
As the doors closed, Ariel remarked, "Sure is a good thing none of us are claustrophobic, right?"
Shin started fidgeting. "Actually, I think I might-"
Abruptly, the chambers started descending into the ground, and honey started flowing in from small vents in the floor.
"Whoa, hold on!" Goro cried in alarm.
"Relax, you're not going to drown," Formic promised.
The soldier's eyes widened in dismay. "… That was legitimately not a concern until he said that."
"Okay, I think I'm starting to have second thoughts about this-" Shin said shrilly when suddenly a low-level humming filled the chambers. "What? What's…ooohhhh…"
He started wobbling, eyelids drooping.
"What is this?" Mibojin asked, struggling to muster outrage, only to find herself in too pleasant a mood. The humming was very soothing.
"You're being put to sleep," Manti told her. "This will be a lengthy process, and it will be easier if you were not awake for it."
Ariel yawned and stretched as much as she could, changing into her Heavenly Saintly true form in the process, no longer able to muster enough magic to maintain her human guise. "Mmm, sounds good to me," she murmured, smacking her lips as her eyes drifted shut. "Could use a nap. Sweet dreams, you guys. See you on the other side."
"Rest well, my champions," Apista said sweetly. "For when you awaken, the battle begins, and I fear you may not rest so easily again for quite some time."
"Tha's nice," Shin mumbled, nodding off.
Goro was already snoring.
As the others started drifting off, the chambers now almost completely recessed into the floor and the honey up to their shoulders, a very drowsy Nushi asked, "By the way, how long is this going to take, anyway?"
"Oh, not long," Coccinella assured her. "Just a few weeks."
Nushi yawned. "That's nice… Wait, WHAT-"
And then the honey enveloped her head, the lights turned off, and she knew no more.