A hazardous journey through the dark seas took most of the nightly hours. The ten people slept in shifts, taking turns steering the boat through the waves. But of course, Flik stayed up almost the entire night. Not only because he had to direct the warriors to his kingdom, but he was filled with too much exhilaration. It was almost unreal how he was able to find the perfect group of kind but fierce people to fight for his home. It was just too good to be true.
Flik had only caught at least an hour of rest. By the time the sun was barely rising, he was still wide awake, observing the pill bug twins steering the boat. He knew they didn't speak English, he wasn't even sure what their dialect was. But he was still too thrilled to keep quiet, so he went on to explain things to them about why he was searching for warriors in the first place. They stood at the helm as he paced back and forth, rambling on about the tale.
"So as you see, 'tis my fault that the Grasshoppers are returning. I thought it would be terrible, especially since they are requesting more food from us. But then, our lovely Princess Atta," He sighed suddenly, a lovestruck smile spreading on his face, "My, she is one in a million..."
Both Tuck and Roll smirked curiously at his comment, but allowed him to continue.
Flik shook his head to snap out of his thoughts, "Uh, she is the one who sent me off to find you. And after seeing you all fearlessly battle those flies, well..the Grasshoppers are in for a big surprise!" He laughed.
The pill bug twins laughed awkwardly with him, but it was obvious they had no idea what he meant and were just going along with what he said.
—
Food was scarce on the island. The bakers were short of ingredients, and the poor harvesters were already dehydrated and weak from the immense heat. It was barely noon and they were expected to work all day in this condition, but with how many of them were passing out, it didn't seem like they could. The line to the offering table was slow, everyone walked sluggishly and with low heads.
Princess Atta flew over upon seeing a man collapse to the ground, dropping what he collected. "Dr. Flora!" She called out, kneeling next to the poor peasant man. Thankfully, he was still conscious, but barely.
The castle's nurse ran over with a chalice of water, sighing wearily. "Oh dear, not another." She frowned, handing the chalice to Atta. The princess held it up to the man for him to drink, hoping to give him enough energy to walk to the infirmary.
Thorny and Cornelius joined the scene, since they weren't too far, anyway. "This is insanity." Thorny shook his head, while the princess carefully helped the man back up to his feet. "There is just not enough food on the island, we were barely able to make what we did last time! There is no way we can make double quarter before Lord Hopper returns!"
Atta sighed, allowing the peasant to rest his arm around her, since he clearly couldn't stand on his own. "We must try, Thorny." She said in a low, dreary tone, "We do not have a choice."
She and Dr. Flora proceeded to walk the man towards the infirmary—which was just right outside one of the castle's entrances. Thorny sighed and turned to the older council member, "I know..."
Princess Dot swung her legs back and forth as she peered through the telescope, fixating her focus to the open seas surrounding the island. She spent the entire morning sitting atop a tree branch in the forest, keeping an eye out for her friend's possible return. While her sister had advised against it, seeing as how it would just be a waste of time, she was still eager and curious to see.
But what she wasn't aware of was the fact that Stone and Grub noticed her and decided to once again have some one-sided banter. "Well, look who it is." Stone spoke up as they walked under the tree, "Little Speck!"
The princess sighed, looking down at them. "My name is Dot." She corrected them, even though she knew they were aware. They were only saying it wrong to make her angry.
"Well, Spot, are you still looking for Flik?" Stone asked, crossing his arms.
Grub scoffed, "You might as well give it up. That fool is never coming back!"
Dot rolled her eyes, but nonetheless decided it was best to ignore them. She believed Flik would return, even if no one else did.
But as she looked through the telescope again, she let out an excited gasp. Even though it was far, she was able to see a large ship in the distance, making its way towards the island. It would be no coincidence that Flik would leave to find warriors, and a boat comes to the kingdom two days later. It had to be him and the allies he made.
She jumped up on her feet, managing not to fall off the branch. "Flik! It's Flik!" She exclaimed with joy, "He did it!"
"What?!" The boys asked in unison. They looked each other before hastily running over to climb up the tree, they just had to see it for themselves. Dot, however, jumped over to another branch on a different tree, and then another, and so on until she was close enough to jump safely onto the ground.
"He did it! He did it!" She cheered as she made her way over toward the shoreline.
The boys stood on the branch together, squinting their eyes to try to spot the boat Dot had seen. But unbeknownst to them, the branch wasn't sturdy enough to hold both their weight, and snapped not too long after they stood, dropping them right onto the grass.
A few of the harvesters took notice to the approaching boat, which was alarming. No one from the outside world ever visited, or even passed through their territory. They weren't even sure how to react to the sight, some of them panicked while the rest kept watch on it. They knew it wasn't the Grasshoppers' ship, the sail was plain and it wasn't as large. But who could it have been?
Dot skipped down the steps and ran out onto the sand, eagerly waving her arms around to catch Flik's attention. A few of the villagers approached the shore, hearing the princess calling out for him. Realization struck them, it must've been Flik returning with the alleged warriors he promised to bring.
Soon, the ship finally reached shore, and now the island's inhabitants could find out who this truly was. Most of them remained above the steps, in fear these were intruders who intended to harm them. But Dot, Thorny, Cornelius, and some of the castle guards stayed close to the ship. To few's surprise, a grinning Flik hopped down from the boat and called out, "Hello everyone! I've returned!"
The nine warriors stepped down from the ship, taking a look around the area. It was a small island, but large enough to have a castle, a village, a forest, and a beach. The kingdom's subjects were all similar in appearances, but it was easy to pick out who was just a mere peasant or not, mainly due to the clothing.
"Flik!" Dot cheered, running over to him. "I knew it! I knew you would succeed!" He picked her up by her torso, laughing happily.
The villagers atop the hill slowly walked down the steps, feeling relieved and shocked by the arrival. They murmured comments amongst themselves, stepping around the group of bug hybrids they'd never seen before.
Mr. Soil, who was standing by the offering, looked down at the beach. Even at the awkward angle, he was able to spot the commotion, and noticed the visitors who stood next to Flik. He glanced over at Princess Atta, who had just returned from the infirmary, only to find the line of workers absent.
"Flik has returned." He said to the confused princess.
She stopped in her tracks, "He's back?"
The council member nodded, "And he has returned with savage warriors!"
"Pardon me?" She widened her eyes. Surely this wasn't true, after all it had only been two days since his departure. How could he have found warriors in such a short amount of time? Scratch that, how could he have found warriors at all?! That wasn't the plan! She rushed over next to Mr. Soil to see it for herself. "H-how?! He was not supposed to actually find anyone!"
They both exchanged a glance and hurried over to join the scene, needing to see it up close. Dr. Flora and the queen had walked with them, watching as the warriors showed off some of their 'skills'. By this, it meant Gypsy folded out her glorious wings, Francis used Slim as a prop yet again, and Dim startled some of the children by accident.
The queen walked over to Flik, holding her dog under her arm. "Well, my boy, you came through." She said, intrigued by the group he brought. "Aphie and I are very impressed!"
Flik unconsciously scratched his hand, flattered by the compliment. He wasn't used to impressing people, especially not the queen. This truly was a miracle for him, and the kingdom, of course. The queen stepped over to Manny and Gypsy, wanting to get to know each of the warriors personally first.
The council remained close to Atta as they all observed the warriors from a distance. "Wow, they are quite the bunch." Dr. Flora commented, "I was not aware that a stick-bug could fight."
"Nor a caterpillar." Thorny added.
Atta narrowed her eyes, "Yes, it is odd, isn't it?" Seriously, this has to be a joke. She thought to herself, but tried to remain outwardly nonchalant. Everyone else was so dazzled and amused by the group, not even questioning their skills. Atta, however, was not impressed.
That did not stop Flik from being overjoyed to see her. The second she was in his sight, his lips curved up into a wide, delighted smile. "Princess Atta!" He called, hurrying over to her. He turned to the warriors and gestured at the stunned woman, "This is Princess Atta! She's the one who sent me to find you all!"
They looked over and nodded politely to the royal heir, some even bowing to be respectful.
Dot ran up to her sister, tugging on her dress and pointing to the bug hybrids. "Atta! Atta, did you see the really big one over there?" She asked excitedly.
"Oh, he looks absolutely ferocious!" Mr. Soil commented.
Thorny grinned in awe and relief, "They shall be our ticket out of this hell!"
"They came just in time!" Dr. Flora chuckled.
Flik smiled eagerly at the princess, desperate to see her reaction. He saw her shocked expression, but he couldn't tell if it was from awe and amazement or not. "So, Princess Atta, what do you think?" He asked.
Suddenly, almost everyone's focus was on her. She was barely even given a moment to process what was happening, but now that she had to give an answer, she wasn't sure how to respond. What could she even say? That she wasn't buying Flik's show for one second? That this was insane and impossible? That these "warriors" were clearly not who they claimed to be?
She held up her finger to imply she needed a minute, then turned around to the council. "Wait a minute, this was not supposed to happen!" She whisper-yelled to them. "We do not fight! Certainly not the Grasshoppers!"
"We do not, but they will." Thorny said determinedly.
Noticing the little huddle, Slim leaned over to his short friend, murmuring, "Uh oh, we are losing the job. What should we do?"
Francis glanced down in thought, pursing his lips. "We must show our dedication." He said, nodding his head. "I think I know how."
He flew up to stand on one of the ship's steps to be above everyone, so they would all be able to hear. "Your majesty!" He called, suddenly catching everyone's attention, including Atta's. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages! Our troop here guaranties a performance like no other! And why, when your grasshopper friends arrive," He held up his fist, "we are going to knock. Them. DEAD!"
The crowd cheered loudly, jumping up in excitement and determination. The nine were surprised by just how ecstatic they were, but they enjoyed the reactions nonetheless. Flik clapped and cheered along with the rest of them, glancing over at Princess Atta to see if she was just as elated.
But she most certainly was not. If anything, the little speech from Francis raised her suspicions even more. She didn't know what it was, but something was obviously going on here, and she intended to find out.