Thank you all again for your readership and encouraging comments! :) This chapter is longer than the previous ones, adding up to just under 1400 words (including the footnote, but not my author notes). I just couldn't find a good spot in it for a chapter break, so I decided to keep it as one big finale. Enjoy!

When It Rains
Chapter 4: My Fate in Your Hands

"I... want you... to kill me."

Atta gasped loudly. "WHAT?! Flik, no! Please, no! I can't! You'll be okay! Just... just let me take you back to the colony. I'll get you help! Please, just hang on for me!"

Flik winced and squeezed his eyes shut; the pain was worsening very quickly. "I can't... I can't... live like this, Atta."

The princess rested her hand on Flik's chest and tried to reassure him. "The pain will go away in time, and... and I'll take care of you afterward. I promise. Just be strong for a little longer, Flik. Please, just a little longer." The erratic rise and fall of Flik's chest disturbed Atta, as did the two wounds on either side of it where his arms had been.

"I can't... handle the pain. It's.. too much for me. And, if I live... what good... will I be... without arms or legs?" Atta was losing the ability to put up a convincing facade, especially after what Flik had asked of her. The injured ant used the last of his strength to say what he had to say. "I can't work... I can't walk... I can't invent. I won't... have a life... and... I refuse to be a... bigger burden to... the colony... or to... you."

Ultimately, it dawned on the princess that Flik was right. While she would be happy to take care of him in his crippled state, Flik still wouldn't be able to do the things he loved anymore. As much of a nuisance as he was, he still strived to create new things to try and make life easier for his fellow ants. He truly lived for his people, but in the shape Hopper had left him, he'd never be able to do that again. He wouldn't be able to play with Dot anymore or help with the annual harvest. He wouldn't be able to do anything on his own ever again, which is one of the worst fates an independent soul like his could be damned to. There's no telling how long it would take him to finally stop hurting physically from the loss of his limbs, and that's if the pain ever went away. For all Atta knew, Flik could be in tremendous pain for the rest of his life with no relief, not to mention the mental torment of being completely helpless. Her heart was heavier than it had ever been as she tried to think about whether or not she could bring herself to fulfill Flik's last wish.

"Please, Atta... I can't take it. I can't... take this pain... or the... empty future I have... " Flik whispered, desperate tears spilling down his face. Atta didn't want Flik to die, nor did she want to kill him, but she knew how cruel it would be to force him to stay alive in his condition, even if he could be helped. She knew what had to be done. The princess briefly left Flik's side to look for something to help her carry out his request, and after picking through some nearby grass, she found a sharp wooden splinter. With enough force, she could break his exoskeleton with it. Atta walked back to Flik with the splinter in hand, each step feeling heavier than the last. She knelt beside him and stroked his face for a moment before looking down at the tool she brought with her. Grasped between two shaking hands, Atta hesitantly began to lift the splinter over the crushed body. She tried her best to dissociate herself mentally from the situation - Atta thought that, if she could just become emotionally detached for a moment, she could be strong for Flik when he couldn't be for himself. Alas, all it took was a quick glance at the face of her fading companion to break her concentration and her spirit. Atta's arms fell to her sides and she started to cry; even in his battered state, it hurt her more to think about taking his life than it did seeing him the way he was.

"I can't do this! I can't! There has to be another way! Please, anything but this!" Atta sobbed into her hands, dropping the splinter. Flik's breathing was becoming more labored. "I'm begging you... Atta... please, don't let me... suffer any longer..."

His fate rested in the princess' hands, but she still didn't want to believe that this was the only solution. Atta knew what a resilient and spirited ant Flik was; he was never, ever one to give up without a fight and if he got knocked down, he'd get right back up and try again, repeatedly. He'd always been that way, which was what made him as much an extraordinary inventor and he was an extraordinary bother – he simply didn't know when to quit. The more Atta thought about all of this, the more she realized that if Flik was giving up, it meant he was truly at the end of his rope. He had nothing left to give. Flik didn't say anything more – he didn't need to. The hopeless expression on his face implored her to put an end to his pain. Atta felt an ache like no other surge through her heart when she finally understood that doing what Flik asked of her was the greatest gift she could give him, as much as it hurt her to think about it. Yielding to reality, she picked up the splinter again and held it above Flik's body, weeping as she tried to muster the nerve to put the brave ant out of his misery.

"I'm so sorry, Flik..." and with that tearful apology, she plunged the splinter as hard as she could into Flik's chest. His exoskeleton broke open with a horrifying crack and the shard severed the dying ant's heart*. Flik's screaming was almost as agonizing for him to feel as it was for Atta to hear, and he suddenly felt cold all over from the cool night air blowing against his exposed insides. Atta's sorrowful cries pierced the fog-heavy sky and could be heard all across the island. She slowly pulled the splinter out and then rested her hand over the wound, not wanting to believe what she'd done. Although she was just following through with Flik's wishes, Atta was racked with guilt knowing she'd hurt him further when he was already suffering so much.

Atta lifted Flik up and cradled him in her arms. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Flik! I'm sorryyyyy..." her voice trailed off into unintelligible bawling.

"Don't be. I'm glad that... the last thing... I... I got to see... is you..." Flik said between shallow breaths.

The mourning princess looked into Flik's eyes one more time. The spark that was always so prevalent in them was quickly fading into darkness. Flik managed a single weak smile as blood started to drip from his mouth. "I... I love you, Atta." The princess gasped. Flik continued, "I'm sorry... I didn't... tell you... sooner."

"Flik..." The confession left Atta speechless and even more heartbroken.

"You've done... so much for me... Princess." Flik's eyelids began to droop until his eyes were just slivers of white. "Thank... you..." The blue ant took one final breath before he fully closed his eyes for the last time. Flik passed away in Atta's arms; his suffering had finally come to an end. The princess pressed her head against his as she wept, rocking back and forth with his body held close. She stroked Flik's face, still wanting to comfort him in death. "I love you," Atta whispered before lightly kissing him on the forehead.

She held the lifeless body to her chest, crying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over again with each reiteration punctuated by sobs. Atta felt like if she apologized enough times, Flik would hear her, wherever he was. She wasn't only mourning the end of Flik's life, though – she grieved over the fact that she never gave him a chance before this and that he'd had feelings for her that she never got the opportunity to try and reciprocate. Atta would never forgive herself for this.

Perhaps if, for once, the rest of the colony would have gone against the grain and followed Flik's example, he could have lived to see the success of his efforts and his people finally being liberated from the grasshoppers.

*Ants do not have hearts, per se. They have something called a dorsal vessel, which isn't quite the same as a heart, but it functions in a similar manner; it's more of a muscle than an organ. It pumps clear "blood" throughout the ant's whole body, which is why it gets severed in this story instead of pierced.

Author's notes: I felt a little silly writing this because it was so tragic and dramatic, and it was about bugs. It was weird making it feel so significant when all of us accidentally step on ants all the time. And who would have thought that a splinter could be such a deadly weapon? I wanted to write something a little more depressing as an alternate way to end the film: if Hopper hadn't won, but still got revenge. It was a bit difficult to write because Flik is my favorite character in the film, but killing the character you love often means that narrating their death will be that much more profound. You can't very well write a good death scene for a character you don't give a crap about! Thank you so much to the folks who took the time to give this story a chance. I don't usually write tragedy-type stuff, so it was a literary muscle that got some much-needed flexing. :)

Also, since some readers expressed interest in continuation of the story, I took a stab at it and wound up with a few more chapters. It's not over yet!