Blade's Hive
Meanwhile, as even more leaves had fallen off of their dying tree, the soldiers of the Queen had come and gone, bringing just enough for her to feed. Yet there was still a mystery about the ants that were supposed to be in one area. Somehow though they had managed to get two small butterflies and a cricket through some kind of personally made tunnel. Not knowing of the state their own home was in at the moment, Thorny rushed his fellows to go ahead of him. He had wedged into a some loose wood and found a compartment going down the tree trunk. There was so much space in this place that it was claimed as a miracle that this tree was still standing. Thorny was sure that he had everyone who was taken, as well as a few extras. The wood whites and the cricket were the last to join them. The fate of the others were sadly carried out long before he planned this escape. Regretful as that was, he could not let that hold him back this time.

His fellow ants climbed on and on, even though it all seemed so endless. Hunger and thirst were the two main problems during this one ordeal, if avoiding hungry and grouchy hornets were not enough. It took some time to avoid being caught by the guards when it came time for another tall order, which did cost almost up to ten lives. All of them were greater in size and mass compared to them; ants. Survival being the primary goal and to get back to Ant Island without being hunted down. Of course, their stony queen wouldn't miss them much, now that a red claw had punched into the tunnel! Thorny yelped, pressing his friends back.

"Back it up!" he barked as the others pinned themselves against the dry wood wall.

With a spare thorn, the brave council member made a stab with it into the guard's eye. He gave a terrible wail before shaking and rubbing his head violently. This bought them all some time to scale down, which was, to them, a huge rough slide all the way down.

"Go, go, go!" he bellowed, ushering the workers who all did their turn of jumping in.

As they all slid down and fast, all the poor captives could hear was the sharp, shrill wings of passing and chasing hornets. A few tried to strike them with their stingers. Once they got to the bottom of the tree, there was one waiting, standing right in front of them. One of the females gave out a cry as she tried to stagger back against the bark. Thorny glared at him and smirked while the group began to split up.

"You won't go far, maggots!" barked the hornet as he grabbed Thorny by a leg.

"You messed with leafcutters, mate!" Thorny laughed. "We're pretty fast."

"How-"

Despite being chased by many others, the dead grass granted them enough time to started digging through the dirt. One almost got snagged once again and it hurt her foot, but she didn't stop trying. Soon enough, Thorny gripped the bark of the tree to yank himself out of the harsh grip of his captor. With one yank, he was freed and he fell. All he could do was scramble off as an entire swarm seemed to take off after them. Now that it had gotten more heated, Thorny had to keep his eyes forward as he ran as fast as his little legs could take him. He felt the heat of the hornet's breath and he felt the strength behind those pinning strikes. Listening for the screams of his fellows, he had to do something entirely risky. Using the blade of some dead grass, he had forced it snap thus making it smack the predator full in the face. Some of them were picked up and then mercilessly thrown against the dirt. Thorny was almost slammed down upon and he rolled under some grass and rock. The others happened to have hidden under there, since it was apparent that their captors were unable to sting them.

"Thorny!? What are we going to do!?" cried one of the female workers.

"We dig!"

"What!? Are you crazy!?"

"Somewhat!" he nodded excitedly. "Come on!"

Altogether while their enemy was hard at work to break through, the ants managed a hole and shoved dirt up right into their eyes. The wood whites managed to fly away and hide quickly among the dirt and grass and the cricket, well, there was hope for him also. This time around. Yet, little did the freed ants know that there were some very big changes going on back at their home. Getting back there would take a while by tunnel. Nonetheless, the word of a new Captain of Defense could be a nice relief to Thorny since he was the only abducted council member here.

Atta's POV
Despite his seemingly cold, hard attitude and sharp words, the Princess had a trust in the great grasshopper. Though, he did not like to be on a personal level, it was fine as long as he was reckoned with. Doing exactly what he suggested her, Atta did what she could in her mother's place. Stressed as well as determined, she used her well earned wings and made sure every forager she sent out was accounted for and were returning with grains. That single root serving as their only overlook helped her keep track, but she followed and checked on them as well. When time was up, she gave a sharp whistle over them to usher them back to the clearing. Little did she expect though, to see two familiar forms in the distance. Seeing that instantly sent a chill of fear through her body, especially when those shapes changed into that of two grasshoppers carrying something dead still upon a dry leaf. The ants heard their ally's wings and they all looked up into the sky, not expecting of such a rare sight.

It was a bird. They were carrying a dead bird.

Hopper's Narrative
Keeping her afloat with us was much harder than I expected. I had to keep looking back to bark at Molt to keep his end of the gurney up, or else she would slip off and fall. Since the lift off, she hadn't moved since. An inner panic started to really fuel the power behind my own wings. Much to my dismay, she shut her eyes. In no way could I tell if she was still breathing.

The terror in Molt was as clear as day as he had never taken his wide eyes off of her during the entire flight across.

Soon enough, when we flew over the clovers, we had reached the clearing before the ant hill. A great crowd who had succeeded in finding more spoils, all began to back away. They stared, absolutely dumb-founded. Completely concentrated, I only cared about landing her safely down and Molt followed my lead. Delicately, we lightly set the leaf down with the rock still bird still on it. I stood after I shut my wings with my eyes permanently locked on her, tortured by this sight and the dripping blood…

How could this be happening again? Her feathers were just starting to take shape. Her eyes were closed and her wings stuck, half open. Yet, her tiny chest rose and fell. That little sign was enough.

Don't you die. You're too young to die. I can't watch you die.

She was so still but then the murmurs of the crowd around us broke me free from my tormented thoughts. These morons were getting too close. Something within me wanted to snap and I strongly stomped a foot down, startling the nosy workers. Shocked at my action, they did the wise thing and backed off. The dangerous look in my eye was enough to make them think twice. Molt's sobs forced my instinct to start coming out, ten fold.

"Fetch Dr. Flora. Now!" I barked, harsh and determined.

One began to run through the crowd. "Yes, Captain!"

Molt was shaken, dreading that she was about to die too, but he stayed beside her head. When he softly stroked her, she barely opened her beautiful brown eyes, for all the see. Seeing her show a sign of life, the ants gasped in wonder.

"Could it really be what I think it is?" muttered a worker.

I was standing cold still, keeping track of her vitals. "She's a hummingbird." I answered, and that was it. I said nothing else.

"What is a hummingbird doing all the way out here?"

Dr Flora and Flik came running through the crowd. When they came, they both gasped at the rare sight. A tiny hummingbird, just our size, as still as the air, so weak from starvation. Dr. Flora had brought her nectar rich flower. I ushered her to come to me with it, knowing that there was no more time to waste. I went to work and gently held the fledgling's thin beak in my claw, making sure the tip made contact with the center of flower as the nurse held it. The bird's eyes slightly opened and instantly I felt a pressure hitting against the flower. She started lapping the liquid inside, to the point that her movements began to get desperate for more. Surely this flower was not enough for her. Molt was having a hard time watching her become so desperate as she began to move with a little more spirit. Her wings shook and her eyes went wide. The ants backed away further. The baby hummer struggled onto her feet but she was still weak and slumped back down. Yet, she was awake and she looked around. She was prone to flapping those wings. I made her look me in the eye.

"Don't fly. Don't you fly, you hear me?" I had to tell her.

I tried so hard to sound firm, but I was finding it difficult to even keep my voice straight the whole while. With a sharp glare from me, I was able to see her brown eyes worriedly waver downward, welling up with tears. I still held her beak within my grasp, except I was not keen to harming her. Once she had calmed down, so did I and so did the colony. Atta landed beside us. Almost unconsciously, I stroked over this bird's soft head just to let her know that I was the same bug who helped carry her here.

"Hopper, ho-how… How did you…?" Princess Atta tried to speak, surely shocked.

I saw her come and I had to rise my claw up to her to tell her not to come too close. "…don't."

"I'm sorry…"

"She was c-caught in a~" Molt tried to explain.

"Molt." I snapped before continuing. "…she needs flowers, the ones with the most nectar you have." I told the Princess, first and foremost.

"Hopper,"

"I know you have them." I hardened my voice even further.

There were no questions asked to go against my claim. I was clearly upset to them and out of breath. So Flik and an entire group began to run into the hill, while several others came to help us. To their surprise though, I was not letting them get close. Molt and I both took her off the leaf and proceeded to lift her with our strength combined. She was so tiny and so meek, but she tried to nibble my antennae. I glanced at her, confused as to why she did that but I only found her looking at me. She did the same to Molt, only she nuzzled him with her thin beak. At least she tried. Full of pain, hidden from everyone, I just had to get her settled and with Atta and Flik's help, we finally were able to bring her into the shelter of the infirmary. This whole day was worse than the daily heat. At least with just that, I could just stick to the shade, but… there was something I simply couldn't fight off. I felt overwhelmed and it seemed like I couldn't breathe. Seeing her in pain, even though I had no clue of who she was, screwed me up to the point that I couldn't think straight. I found that I was keeping the ants away, a little too much.

"She is so deprived…" Dr. Flora worriedly told us. "Where did you two find her?"

"She was left with her own in the field across, trapped in an abandoned web, too close to the river bank." I explained.

We had her placed on a soft corner at the end of the chamber. Her feathers were in disarray and her eyes were wide with worry and fear. There wasn't much else that I could do for her. I was not her natural parent. I was not built naturally to be as efficient as an actual hummer. Growing up, as hard as I could try I could never be as good as them. Even to be a soldier among them, which was a failed mission in my mind. Molt was probably the right choice to be there for her, much more than I ever could.

"Do you have enough?" I had to ask Flora, studying the movement of those wings.

"Just enough to suit her for a day, but we could barely carry so much, Captain. We don't know what else we can give her."

"The spare water from the tunnels. We can lace nectar into it." Flik added, brightly. "It can help her for two days."

"Even if with that, this could be the fault of the hornets." I spoke, more privately, to be out of ear shot from the poor bird. "… she remembers her mother who was probably killed not long ago. This is going too far."

I was beginning to get angry. Molt, who was fighting his tears, looked back at the bird before calmly going to her. The rest of us watched but then Dr. Flora helped close the bird's wings as she began to cry.

"I don't know what happened…. They hurt." she wept.

"I know, dear, just stay still." Flora tearfully spoke.

"Do ya have a name, miss?" Molt sweetly asked.

"M-my name?"

"L-like, what did your mother call you…?"

"M-mommy… a-a-always called me Summer."

Listening in to that, I found it hard to stay in there, with these terrible emotions and the claustrophobia. I eventually had to leave and fly it off. Knowing that there was another dead bird lying out there somewhere, I had to go and scout out for myself. Pressing myself out, despite the fear of the ants, I left the hill and flew. Unbeknownst to me, the Princess saw me leave in such a haste. She ultimately decided to follow. Going at full speed, I bolted from the island, crossing the useless river back to where we found Summer. Going as high as one of the tall weeds I was able to catch onto something, which was lain curled in a patch of dirt. There were the colors of green and grey with a spot of bright red. Stricken, I stopped on the branch, in shock that my suspicions were correct. There, hidden in the dead grass, was, without a doubt, a completely dead hummingbird. Full grown, and she looked like she bore quite a few nests in her lifetime. There was red smeared under her wing. This proved that this was Blade's doing. I was going to kill him. I was going to make him pay.

I didn't go back to the Island. I couldn't find myself going back feeling this unstable. For the rest of the day, I was trying to find a way to find that damn hive, yet how was I to go about doing that without endangering the entire damn island!? We needed help. I did not have all the answers as the colony would think. Now we had a starving hummer who couldn't fly yet, already making things worse. Surely, the ants were too hospitable, since they knew that they didn't have enough flowers to feed her. I couldn't leave her there to die, just like her mother. Was it normal for history to repeat itself? If I was completely heartless, I certainly could have left her, despite Molt's arguments.

I rested against a blade, silently ruing and hating myself for digging a much bigger hole for all of us. Many were going to die and it was all my fault. For one thing, I had to get my head back together and sticking it out here seemed to help me improve. Besides, with me still watching over this body while the sun was going down, I least expected the sound of small wings come by behind me. I froze before slightly turning towards the sound. At first, I didn't see anyone, but I knew who it was.

"…what are you doing all the way out here?" I deeply spoke, gruff and impatient.

Princess Atta slowly came up to me, careful to keep a certain space between us. I barely looked at her, feeling the heat of my own tears threatening to come. I knew it was too late because she gasped when she saw the body of the mother bird.

"Hopper, I-"

"Don't say it." I growled. "I thought I was only going to see this once in my life, but that sure tells you just how stupid I am." I plainly explained, keeping my eyes on the body.

"I was just worried about you, Hopper, when you flew off so quickly. I-I knew something was wrong."

"Everything's wrong, Princess. And there is nothing we can do about it."

I swallowed hard, fighting it all back. "I know who did this. And you know it too. Just answer my question right now, princess Atta." I then turned to face her, very impassioned in my movements. "How are you going to save your colony? Do you have a plan? Do you have a strategy, at least?"

"I—I…"

"Birds can't fight them. Here's your proof." I then pointed to the misfortune that was lain behind us. "It's clear as day to you, isn't it? That I know them. It's true. Very true."

"Hopper, I'm sorry. I can see now how much this means to you."

I scoffed. "No, you don't. That's the thing. You are so used to seeing normal swarms of us. Grasshoppers, am I right? In groups. Not me. Not Molt. We came a long way. Molt's told you enough, didn't he?"

"I d-don't—"

"Didn't he?" I snapped, louder.

"Yes. He said that you both lived with hummingbirds. On the second day after we saved him, he opened up to Flora, who then told me and the Queen."

"So now you will know the rest, because look, there's nothing I can do. I am just a locust. Small, pitiful and stereotyped to be cowardly." I began to pace. "Not in my case. As nymphs, we never really had a mother. We were always on our own, finding our own food and shelter every day. The other grasshoppers, they could care less. They were terrible. They stole, they ate and drank, like no tomorrow and they had no clue what was coming. There was a day when all that was gone, in a blink of an eye. Soon after, it was just us. Molt and I, we had to leave everything behind. Not even two weeks after… they came. The hummingbirds came to us. They actually let us in. Their leader, even though there were some tough rules, allowed us to stay with them until we could fly. Even then, we stayed. Molt was a nurse and I… well, it took a while for this leader to trust me. But one day, he promoted me to soldier, which was a big deal to hummers. Then, well… I botched that up real good."

Atta tried to come closer, but I pressed her off.

"The hornets. They just shot in one morning." I continued, feeling a sharp rise of sadness flow through me. So much that my voice cracked, but I held firm. "There was one bird in particular, who made our lives pretty worth it. Flitter was her name and she mothered three nests. She was mate to the leader, Emerald. I did my best to distract as many hornets as I could. I led them down a ways before someone clawed me, right in the eye. I hit the dirt. I'm bleeding through my eye and I see this hornet for the first time. He was laughing. Damn him, I wanted to tear his head off. Smiling, and he told me that he wanted their tree. A tree that was not theirs when there were young being raised in it. They don't care. They just kill for the fun of it. You've seen it. They pluck you all up and take you away, to what? Kill you. How do you know that next time after them, it's going to be all of you. All of us. They will swarm in and that will be it. Flitter couldn't do it. Molt came, telling me that they got to her… so we had to go back."

With sadness leaking through my voice, I motioned to the dead body. "We came to something that looked just like this. She was shaking… a-and she looked at us one last time. That was it. The shaking stopped. And... the last thing I remember, a-and I'll never forget it... were her eyes. Her eyes because they were filled with that.. same... compassion."

I could not bring myself to say a single word after that. My heart was so broken, that if I did, it would all pour out. I kept my eyes shut. I had to. I felt the heat of it all form in them, so I had to keep my head turned for a moment.

"I-I'm so sorry…" Atta croaked, trying to reach to my arm.

"Don't." I growled again, still turned away. I pulled my arm away before she had the chance.

She was able to see the tears in my own eyes, but I still denied her comfort. I had no time for that. I walked away from her, thinking things over as I swallowed those tears away. I never knew they would just start coming out like that and so quickly. Even for me, I could feel everything too. Apparently, Molt was not the only one affected. Atta slapped her hands over her mouth as she backtracked from me.

"I didn't know, Hopper. I wish there was more we could do…"

"Just tell me how you are going to save yourselves…" I deeply told her, not looking back.

"I don't know…. I-I don't know." she sobbed, holding both of her arms as she stared down. "Some queen ant I'm turning out to be. I know how to help my subjects but these monsters… Flik. Flik has an idea. We all believed it wouldn't work but… you may approve of it."

Something hit me. It was a tactic Molt and I had once done to escape from the poisoned rain, so long ago. I hardened and took a deep breath. "Maybe, Princess. You mentioned the aquifers."

"Yes."

I finally looked down at her, having everything I've been through in mind. The black widow, the wall and a escape route that just might be enough to escort Summer as well.

"All we have to do is not be afraid."