A Bug's Life: The Ant Queen

Chapter 4

A Threatening Visit (Part II)

The hornet drone that was ordered by Thistle to get the nutcracker soon came back with it; the nutcracker was a tool that was designed specifically to crack open the hard shells of nuts to get the kernels inside. It consisted of two bent sticks that were joined together by a small wooden nut and a bolt, serving as the tool's fulcrum; the handles were wrapped in grass blades for a more comfortable grip. One of its ends was serrated like a jaw to get a better clasp on the nut, while the other had a nutshell as a bowl to hold the nut. One had to grab the tool by its two handles and then forcefully crush the nut with the serrated end and the nutshell together until it eventually starts to crack and then break open.

"May I proudly present to you all... The nutcracker!" Thistle introduced the nutcracker with pride. All the ants in the chamber had looks of awe on their faces upon seeing the object; Atta in particular had gasped inwardly, as she couldn't help but feel this device looked as if it was something that Flik would've made, due to how intricately made it looked, similar to his harvester, but it couldn't have been made by him, couldn't it?

Thistle began, "Now, in case all of you are wondering, yes it does crack open nuts, as the name suggests." "However!" exclaimed Thistle, startling the ants, as she raised one finger in assertion, "Nuts are not the only things that this fine-looking device can crack open. It can crack anything, and I really do mean, anything..." Thistle emphasized that last word with such disdain, sneering at the worker, who she had seized by one of her drones after his defying speech. The worker had his eyes widened with foreboding of what was to come, as he eyed the nutcracker; he felt as if all of his courage had left his body and were quickly replaced with dread and terror.

"Drone, show them," ordered Thistle. The hornet drone then began to stride towards the restrained worker with the nutcracker. The terrified worker had once again tried to desperately free himself by flailing about, but couldn't because he was firmly in the hornet's clutches. "NO! NO! PLEASE! PLEASE NO!" the worker screamed, pleading for mercy.

All the screaming had filled Thistle with such pleasure, that it was like music to her antennas. Meanwhile, all the ants just stood by, as they watched helplessly; not only did they know that the hornets were much stronger than the grasshoppers, but they were much more ravenous and dangerous, as they were not a gang of greedy bugs that have only come to pillage and ravage their island for their food, these were bloodthirsty bugs that could devour anything in their path, including other bugs.

As soon as the approaching hornet reached the struggling worker, they instantly grabbed his head with the nutcracker, with the nutshell on the scalp and the serrated jaw under the chin. Using the handles, the hornet began to forcefully press on the worker's head; he had tried to scream, as it was painfully crushing his head, but he was muffled by the jaw that was underneath his chin. Then, sounds of what sounded like a boysenberry being squashed were heard.

Soon, every ant had their eyes wide open and mouths gaping, appalled by what they had just watched. Atta held up her trembling hands and opened her mouth as if to scream in horror, but nothing came out, while her mother had simply put her hand on her gaping mouth in disbelief. As for Dot, she froze like ice at the sight of the atrocity, feeling as if some of her innocence had left through the tears that were running down her freckled face.

Thistle had burst into hysterical laughter; every ant had ignored her laughing, as they were quietly trying to process what just happened. "Oh that cracks me up every time!" after wiping a non-existent tear off of her face, Thistle's sight was caught by a petrified Dot; she hadn't noticed her until now, whether because she was too small for her to notice or just simply didn't care enough to know that she was there. Because she was still frozen in place, Dot was unaware of Thistle sneaking up behind her, until she got snatched up, which in turn had snapped her out of her frozen state.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Was that too gruesome for you?" Thistle asked Dot in a mocking tone eerily akin to that of an endearing mother, as she carried her up to her face with her upper hands. Shivering fearfully, Dot had her small balled-up fists close to her chest and her tiny legs tucked in, as Thistle cut right into her poor soul with her frightening eyes.

All the ants, Atta and the Queen especially included, had focused all their attention onto Thistle with Dot in her grasp, holding their breath as they dreaded what she was about to do to her. "Aww, that little face of yours is so cute, I could just eat you up!" Thistle cooed, squishing Dot's cheeks with her lower hands, finding her fearfulness to be very adorable; Dot could feel her claws digging into her chubby cheeks, which felt really uncomfortable for her.

"Wait..." Thistle had paused briefly, as she pursed her lips deep into thought, before they finally blossomed into a cruel smirk. "I can!" Thistle snickered darkly, licking her lips, before she grabbed Dot by her legs and then dangled her upside-down above her open mouth. After seeing all the sharp teeth, Dot started thrashing around as she buzzed her tiny wings, frantically trying to escape being Thistle's snack.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" shouted a voice, stunning Thistle for a brief moment. When she snapped to see who shouted at her, Thistle saw Atta standing in front of her with a firm yet pleading look; Atta had remembered those same exact words that Flik had called out to Hopper, when he was about to feed her little sister to his deranged pet, Thumper. She knew that this time she couldn't just stand by and do nothing to prevent Dot from being eaten; if she would not be the one to save her, then who would?

The growling hornets had their spears raised at Atta defensively, but with a sway of a hand, they were motioned to draw back, assured by their queen that she posed no threat. Once she had locked eyes with Atta, rather than having the look of bewilderment she had when that ant worker stood up to her with such audacity, she instead had a smile of intrigue cross her face.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the worrywart herself. Princess Atta, I presume?" Atta's eyes had shrunken in surprise upon hearing her name. "I've been wanting to meet you, dear," explained Thistle, "Ever since I've been told about you." "H-h-how long have you've known? A-a-about me?" stammered Atta, still in shock. "Long enough to know that you're nothing but a screw-up," Thistle replied mockingly, leaving Atta with her mouth agape, unsure of how to respond. "Aww, what's the matter? Do I have you at a loss, dear?" Thistle spoke to her in that same eerie motherly tone she had spoken to Dot earlier, "Is it probably because you already know that?" Still at a loss for words, all Atta could do at this moment was just stand there, eyes downcast at the gravelly ground, as Thistle began circling around her at a snail's pace with Dot still dangling from her hand.

"You feel it. Don't you, Atta? The feeling of knowing you're a screw-up, yet you're still expected to be colony's next-in-line. But how can you be, if all you do is mess everything up?" taunted Thistle, "Haven't you learnt that the heaviest burden all leaders must carry is responsibility?" Atta's eyes had bugged out in remembrance of being told something similar by Hopper.

"First rule of leadership, everything is your fault," those words echoed inside her mind, almost as if the spirit of Hopper appeared with her to once again remind her of the uncomfortable truth about leadership. Atta was then brought back to earth from her internal thoughts, when Thistle had unfortunately discerned what was going on in her head, judging from how furrowed Atta's face looked and concentrated she was on processing Thistle's words.

"Ahh, so you do understand, huh? Which means... You were pretty much responsible for everything that has happened here! Like when your mother almost got squished, after you had flicked the only ant willing to help you all be finally free? All because you were hurt by his teeny-tiny little lie? Or when that same ant left you, after being told he was only sent to find help, just so you'd all be rid of him?" as Atta listened to her taunting monologue, she could already feel the daunting feelings of guilt, and the memories of Flik leaving come seeping back into her already distressed mind, as everything Thistle had said were regrettably true, "Hmph, no wonder why he took the deal."

"The... Deal?" Atta repeated in bemusement. "Oh yes, the deal!" smirked Thistle, "You see, dear, when I met him that night, we agreed that if he were to develop weapons for me and my swarm to use against your colony, his inventiveness would finally get all the showering praise he desired. I mean, who else did you think invented the nutcracker?"

It was at this moment that the entire colony had felt as if they had been struck by a lightning of revelation; their gasps of shock were quickly followed by their murmuring. The Queen gasped softly, as she couldn't help but feel that it may have had something to do with how he had been treated in the past for his accidents. Atta's eyes shrunk, as she slowly backed away from Thistle, stricken by what she had just revealed. Although it was difficult for her to digest that Flik would ever work with a horrible insect like Thistle at first, it all soon made sense to her as she pieced everything together in her head; Flik had thought that by agreeing to Thistle's deal and helping her swarm with his inventions, he would finally get the gratification and appreciation that he had been craving for.

Feeling as if she couldn't take anymore of these guilty feelings and distressing memories that were rushing through her mind, she started breathing heavily, as she collapsed onto her knees and put her clenched fists on her throbbing head, with tears budding in her eyes. She could already feel it: her colony being in grave danger, with no one to blame but herself. "How pathetic!" Thistle chortled at the sight of guilt-ridden Atta on her knees, finding it pathetically amusing.

"You're lying! I know Flik would never work with an insect like you!" Dot piped up, refusing to believe anything that spewed out of Thistle's mouth; she found it utterly absurd that Flik, the ant that she admired, would ever stoop that low of being in league with a bug as terrible as Thistle, even after all the times he and his inventions had been rejected.

"Oh, is that so? Tell me this, sweetie. Considering how much dirt he had thrown at him for so long, would you blame him if he did?" Thistle asked rhetorically. That statement alone had snapped Dot out of her denial, after it'd dawned on her that that was something Flik would've done, after being pushed away for so long. Thistle scoffed, before turning her attention onto the colony itself.

"As for the rest of you, I was hoping to squish you all. But fortunately for you, I'm feeling rather generous today. I'm going to give you all three days!" Thistle spoke up, raising three fingers in emphasis, making the ants exchange glances with one another in confusion, "Yes, three days! To either vacate this place. Otherwise... There'll be carnage!" All the ants gulped at that, realising the intense weight behind her threat. Thistle then turned her eyes towards the Queen with a grim smile, deciding that she was not done yet.

"Drones, bring their queen before me!" two of Thistle's drones seized the Queen and then dragged her across, before pushing her into the ground; the ant workers had tried to step in to protect their queen, but they recoiled when they were snarled at by the hornets.

As the Queen tried to lift herself up, she was then suddenly grabbed by the neck by Thistle. Before Atta could do anything to help her strangled mother, she found herself held back by two hornet drones, unable to do anything.

"No one humiliates me and gets away with it!" Thistle whispered bitterly to the Queen, as she unsheathed her deadly stinger from her huge abdomen, causing all the ants to bulge out their eyes in dismay. No matter how much she struggled to get free from the hornets' clutches, there was nothing that Atta could do, but only watch. A split second had passed, and Thistle's stinger was through the Queen's chest.

After gasping for some air, the Queen had drawn her last breath, as her arms and legs drooped. "NO!" Atta called out; in spite of being restrained by the hornets, she felt her body shaking, as her face was flooded with tears of grief. "MOM!" Dot shrieked in anguish, while still dangling from Thistle's hand. Thistle stood smugly, knowing that she had finally fulfilled her personal revenge against the Queen for having Hopper and his gang deny her of Ant Island with her ignominious defeat years ago.

Eyeing the Queen's pink flower crown, and Thistle yanked it off of her head with her lower hand, causing Aphie that was hiding in the flower crown to jump off and then zoom past her and towards Atta, whimpering. Following the scared aphid hack to Atta, Thistle beckoned for her drones to let her go, since there was nothing she could do at that point. "Aww, poor Princess Atta!" mocked Thistle, as Atta laid there with her face down at the ground in despair. She then strode over to Atta and grasped her head, lifting it up to face her.

"See this crown? The one you're supposed to wear after your mother, right?" Thistle asked Atta, showing her the flower crown. Thistle transferred the flower crown into both of her lower hands and without any effort, ripped it apart, before letting it fall to the ground in front of Atta. "That's your colony's future, torn!" Thistle pointed at the ripped crown, before she pushed herself at her feet.

"Let this be a reminder to all you ants! Remember, three days! And don't think that building another fake bird will fend us off, as birds fear us hornets!" Thistle threatened, as she droned her enormous membrane wings and hovered in the air; the ants were left astonished by the fact that she doesn't fear birds, as they're the bugs' worst nightmare. "Drones, TAKE FLIGHT!" Thistle shouted, causing all the hornets to buzz their wings.

"No, you know what? I bet all these dirt-munching worms would make for delicious snacks for our banquet! SO TAKE YOUR PICK! I've already taken mine!" Thistle chuckled menacingly to Dot, scaring her stiff, as she hovered her way towards the massive hole that she created.

As the frightened ants scurried for the tunnels, screaming "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!", all the hornets started flying around the chamber, catching them one by one, even grabbing two at the same time; Atta was oblivious to what was occurring around her, as she was too distracted by her mother's shredded crown, that she was supposed to wear once she became queen.

"As for you, Atta!" Thistle called out to Atta, catching her attention, "Never forget the burden of responsibility!" Thistle threw the Queen's body at Atta's knees, as she started cackling hysterically like a maniac, before flying out of the hole, taking Dot with her, followed by her hornets, each with their abducted ant; they didn't manage to abduct all the ants though, as some, though still a lot of them, had fortunately escaped into the tunnels before they were caught.

The chamber was now quiet and empty, and Atta was just left there in the middle of it all alone. She slowly crawled over to her mother's corpse and began cradling it, before she nuzzled her warm face into her mother's cold face, crying softly. After a short while of mourning, Atta heard a soft chirp and turned to see Aphie with a saddened look. She stared up at the huge hole in the ceiling, trying to decide what she should do next. This certainly was a threatening visit...

To be continued...

Quick Author's Note

FireAntKing2311 here.

The second part of the longest chapter by far is finally here. This chapter proved to be quite the challenge, so I hope you enjoy it. And I can say that the first quarter of this story is now done, so stay tuned for more to come.

Last thing I want to touch on is that Thistle would've been voiced by Suzanne Pleshette, who you may recognize as the actress who voiced Zira from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, or someone else who has a similar voice to her, since she's deceased now.