A shading lizard! You didn’t find anything smaller?

Did leader complain?

He said you overdid yourself.

I don’t understand. Black’s antennae spread out in puzzlement. How is that bad, Red?

Green was the first to shine a light on the argument. That’s a compliment. She let known.

It is a compliment. 786th soldier thought the same.

Red had a moment of confusion. What’s this? He asked Green. You of all are siding with him?

Green flared her mandibles and stretched her back. She was obliviously trying to irritate Red. If her antics didn’t do it then her answer did.

I do vividly remember someone telling me they were no longer on good terms with me.

What happened between the two? Red let out in bewilderment.

Yellow shrugged his antennae.

Well, this was hopeless, but Red was excited again. They were all together after so long. He couldn’t explain how great it felt. This group, together, would be able to do pull off anything he threw their way. They had done amazing things in the past; he just needed one more miracle out of the dynamic trio.

Green had coined the term after they had won their first battle together without their leader’s help —who else could have thought of something so tedious? She called it a trio because she didn’t think Red was Dynamic enough, and because quadruplet was not a cool word.

However, Red was also scared inside.

There were not many places to hide on the farm, and they had infiltrated deep within. The cherry on top was the attention they were under. It was good that he had refuted Silver's decision to bring the others over as soon as possible. He had no choice this time. The alarm in the air was a good distraction, and all the other groups were busy taking care of themselves. They wouldn’t have gotten a better chance than this.

Red still thought they were being too hasty, but Silver was adamant about doing it right away and this time he had no other choice than to obey.

How many of you are there? 786th soldiers scent brought him out of the daze.

Red was overthinking again, and he had forgotten about her. He should have been more attentive, and now she had their attention. What if they scared her away? How could he blunder so badly after finally finding someone like himself?

However, he had a delayed reaction and the result was Black interested in her, in a bad way. Red personally knew how suspicious he could be. The faint white line on his chest throbbed as he remembered the past. No time to waste. He had to go rescue her before she told them she was a spy.

I’m an information broker.

I have never heard of it. Black asked Green and she was equally as baffled as him. Yellow had no idea either. All right, that wasn’t bad. Now if they could only wrap up their conversation. Well, Black wasn’t done yet. Of course, he wasn’t!

And how did you meet them?

I was S—

Well, that was enough.

She’s an insider of the farm. Red pushed between them. His heart was going to tear out of his chest. He was scared they would find out… find out that she was exchanging important information with them in return for nothing?

What was he scared for? She hadn’t done anything to warrant their ire. If anything, they would be fawning over her if they knew how much she had helped them over the last couple of days; more than him actually.

They would have already been in the tower and having an easy time getting away with the loot if the other group hadn’t played dirty. And it would have been all cause of her.

Red knew what he was afraid of, but he didn’t want to admit. He was afraid she would get dazzled by their charms and get tired of him. He wasn’t worried for her! Red was worried for himself. Because he was in—

Yellow suddenly got low on the floor, turned his antennae parallel to the ground, and started vibrating them. There was a reason why he never talked. He was always looking for enemies, intruders, spies, dangers. He couldn’t give them his attention because he had his attention on all of them, and everything around. It was the job that captain had given him and the job he was good at.

And when his antennae turned like that it only meant one thing,

East, third plant from left, one level higher, small, a worker, scared, female, she hasn’t noticed. Go.

He had found an intruder. Green, Black, Him, they all ran in three different directions to catch the spy. Red stayed because he wasn’t good at such things. What he was good at was thinking, and he was already simulating how to react if the spy, or whatever it was, managed to slip away.

What just happened? 786 asked, confused, and perplexed.

Yellow found a spy.

The others had already disappeared from their view.

East, third plant —I can’t even sense behind the first! How did he do it? Surprise covered the chemical packets of thoughts she released. She had no check over her emotions, and that’s what he liked about her. Shit. He was thinking about the wrong things. He needed to prepare for the worst case.

He ordered the soldiers to gather and made them share their farm identities. The scent was but a proof of identity, unique and almost impossible to duplicate, but still, a set of chemicals; and scents could be shared. They only needed to make sure that everyone at least kept a set concentration with them, or the scent would be too faint.

However, they would be moving in groups. Alone the soldiers might raise suspicion, but together, the scent would be strong enough to fool those with dull senses.

He didn’t have a plan. They had failed to figure out the tower structure, had failed to get close to it. They had failed at almost everything. The only thing they had not failed at was getting the farm on alert. Red had concerns, but that time was over. It was, do or die time.

The dynamic trio returned. Red was ready to send the soldiers rushing toward the tower, but much to his relief, they had caught the spy. It was none other than the shepherdess.

Back held her from the chest. There was only one way he could hold her, and her stiff limbs told how hard she was trying not to move. Red hoped she would stay calm, or scared in her case because he knew things could get very ugly, very quickly when Black was involved.

Her antennae stood up erect in hope when she noticed Red. Him she knew. The others… they didn’t even have the farm’s I.D! She feared they were also raiding the farm, along with the lizard. It wasn’t normal for two different groups to raid the farm at the same time, but there had been plenty of such cases in the past. It was a classic example of one profiting from another’s hard work.

The shepherdess believed her crew was dead when they came to get her, however, finding Red and the information broker 786th both alive and well calmed her down a little.

Where have you been Shepherdess? Red asked and she did get an inkling that the situation wasn’t ideal.

I was captured… She answered. And I’m no longer a shepherdess. She had escaped captivity to stop them from needlessly putting their life on the line, and now she was captured again. Where did it all go wrong?

Do you know her, Red? Black asked, causing his prisoner's antennae to start moving.

Yes.

Do you want me to put her down?

Relief washed over the shepherdess, but it wasn’t for long.

…No, Red had a headache brewing.

What? She couldn’t believe it. After so much she had done for them! After everything she had… When did she do something for them? She secretly grew embarrassed and it turned her silent.

Hey, little sister, you should explain yourself if you want to get out of his hold. It was surprisingly Green who had advice for the shepherdess. Better do it quickly because the one holding you gets irritated from the smallest things. You don’t know when might go snap, snap on your body.

The shepherdess shivered. Green's playful yet strong scent was far too familiar for her comfort. It reminded her of home, of the place where she wasn’t cared for, where the soldiers harassed her.

Yes, sir. She released out of habit. She thought she had escaped that place, but she stopped for one second and the past caught up to her.

However, she told them everything, every single detail, because she wanted to live.

At the end of her story, Black softly put her back on the leafy floor and stepped away from her. The shepherdess was so exhausted she lay flat right there in front of everyone.

A moment later she raised her head and sensed the unusual sense of camaraderie from everyone.

You are not going to hurt me?

Red’s antennae shook. How would we live with ourselves if we did that, shepherdess?

My heart was thrumming, you know. Shepherdess pulled back a bit when Green came too close for comfort. They noticed her, but it was Green, there was no stopping her before she had said her piece. Yet, Black tried.

Green—

It was wasted effort as green launched herself at the poor worker.

To think they confined you in your own barrack —How heartless and stupid. You did very well escaping and coming right to us. I would have turned their little tower upside down if they had done something like that to me, but you are too small to do something like that. So don’t do it. This proves it. We are doing a good thing, everyone. Let’s rob their honeydew and put an end to their tyranny!

Oh, shading hell. Black hurriedly lifted her from the ground and took her away.

Red hoped in vain for the shepherdess to ignore Green’s banter.

Why did she say at the end? She asked, and that was the end of his hope.

Red’s head started throbbing again. Now her fate lied in his hands, and he couldn’t decide.

He could imprison her again.

Heartless as it was, it was a much better option than killing her. She might be their shepherdess, but she first and foremost belonged to the farm. There was no way he could let her go. But she had already proved that she could escape captivity. That meant someone needed to stay behind to keep an eye on her. But with what he planned—

He looked at everyone around. How could he leave one of them behind? Silver wouldn’t agree to it, and neither did his heart.

This was his job. He was the strategist, the thinking, the decider. Cruel or hard, heatless, or deceitful; it was his job to make decisions. Lives depended upon him and suddenly, the pressure was huge.

786 noticed his slumped antennae and asked after him, but what should he have told her?

Actually, he didn’t have to say or decide anything, because the shepherdess had something to say.

I can help. She scented, strongly, lively again, antennae whirling lively above her head. 786th fidgeted, Red’s thoughts calmed down. There was nothing wrong with those words.

Red couldn’t believe the seriousness he had just tasted. Did she really mean it, or was she trying to be smart and rectify the situation?

Maybe a bit of both, he thought. Well, he was in luck because he needed her more than he knew, and she had an explanation, which was good enough for him.

Her legs shook with nervousness as she opened up. I’m no longer a shepherdess, you know. And like she, the soldier said, the farm deserved to be robbed. She finished and hid her antennae between her legs from shyness. I just have one question. Did you bring the lizard to the farm?

Red turned toward the returning duo. They were confused by the sudden attention. Green asked around for the context and jumped up from joy upon learning that the little sister she had found thought it was an amazing execution.

SEE! Green blasted the scent into them to let them all know. Didn’t I say it would work out?

Red cringed, but yellow told him it was all right.

Black raised his antennae and surprisingly rubbed her head in affection. Something really had happened between them. Red decided to find out later, but for now, they needed to get going. They finally had someone who knew the layout of the tower in and out. With this, they finally had a chance. They could do it.

***

The core region was really lively. An alarm of the highest level and greatest intensity was quickly spreading in the air.

The root ways (pathways made from adjoined roots) in front of the tower were abuzz with angry jawbreaker ants. There was a horde of them outside, protecting the tower from the lizard. It was there, scrambling in front of the tower, refusing to leave. The jawbreakers had it bloody. Some hung from its tough and coarse hide, alive, mandibles dug deep into its flesh; while others were mere heads, bodies already crushed and lost to the mayhem that it had caused.

The lizard had tried to eat those black giant ants but had given up after the third swipe of its tongue. It had painfully learned what a mindless, single-minded opponent could do when it didn’t care for its life.

The tower surroundings were a mess. The alarm rose unabated, trails crisscrossed the whole area, and signals for help and attack mixed together turning indistinguishable. Soldiers ran around blind from the eyes and scent.

And in-between this mess, shepherdesses were bringing in aphids from the farm for safekeeping at the tower.

The aphids were notoriously known for wandering off when not stuck to a plant. The shepherdesses had to work hard to keep their hordes together, but there was one among them that was stupidly clumsy and immature to handle her horde of aphids. They had her running all over the tower.

She reached the height of stupidity when she finally managed to get them together, but took them into the tower instead of bringing them to the aphid pen. It would have been an amusing situation if the tower wasn’t under raid, but that didn’t mean anyone went to help her. Everyone was tied with their own situation, and the farm was not a charitable institute.

No one knew, but the shepherdess they called clumsy had sneaked almost two hundred soldiers into the tower, and they were none too wise enough to notice. Green was the first to remove the cover of aphids that she and everyone else donned to hide; just like a corpse piler. They used living aphids because the shepherdess had to have something to show for the commotion when the others finally came to help her and used honeydew to keep the aphids fixed on their backs.

786th never would have believed getting into the tower would be so easy. If she told others… No! What if she used her knowledge to rob some honeydew every once in a while? She wouldn’t have to worry about getting food for the rest of her life! This was an exceptional windfall. She could even have workers massaging her limbs all day, every day, for the rest of her life. She could live like a queen!

Her only clam was not being the one to come up with the method. The corpse piler had always been there, hadn’t it? How come a newcomer, who had even been on the farm for a whole week, had used it as inspiration and pulled off the biggest heist —they were still in the middle of it, but it was a done deal in her mind since they had already crossed the biggest hurdle— while they, who had been at the farm for hundreds and hundreds of days, couldn’t?

Don’t kick yourself over it. Red patted her back while removing the aphids from her abdomen. He was perversely slow with it… and she liked it.

You would have also come up with something if there was a pair of mandibles hanging over your neck, too. He consoled her.

That was overly dark, wasn’t it? Did he mean there was a danger to their lives if they didn’t rob the farm? She stiffened for a second, but Red pulled her along as everyone else was already gathering around the shepherdess. They needed to get out of the open. The ground floor of the tower was too open for them to be loitering around.

The shepherdess got them started on the path leading higher. She’d have to come back to gather the aphids, but she had to tell them what to expect. It was just as important as getting into the tower.

The tower should be empty. She told Red. The others were also around but hey scared her. You have to take the main route up. It goes through the residential area, where we shepherdess reside.

She looked ahead, at the small army marching ahead of her.

They shouldn’t be a problem for you all; just don’t kill any.

We won’t. Black promised. Anything else we should be careful about?

She almost jumped from his heavy, piercing scent, but kept her head down and gave him what he wanted.

Above that is the jawbreakers hallway where they wait to be called by us. It should be empty, but be careful. Take care of them quickly if you find any. And no matter what happens, don’t let them lose their minds. You’ll be trapped if that happens.

Can we go now? Green itched for some action.

Just one more thing, The shepherdess stopped at the threshold of the first floor. She raised her head and advised with utmost seriousness. Run up the tower if that happens. The big eight, I mean the farm committee resides at the top floor. Take them hostage if it comes to that. Now go.

Finally! The sentiment was shared by all of them. Green was the first one to rush up the main pathway; the others weren’t far behind her.

The shepherdess returned to the ground floor. Red ordered the charge and Black-led them up. They went shoulder to shoulder, blocking the path from side to side. The tower excited them very much. It was truly different from what they were used to. The pathways were wide, the walls were clean and polished, and the ceilings were tall. They liked it much better than the narrow confines that they had lived all their life and the living breathing bivouac that one of them had lived in.

There were shepherdesses in the burrows from the third floor up. Luckily, they had enough poison between the two hundred of them to put them all to sleep. A soldier might be able to take a 50% bullet of poison, but as workers, only a few of the shepherdesses were able to stay conscious after taking a 25% concentration poison bullet to the head.

The fifth floor made them nervous, but it turned out to be empty as the shepherdess had promised. None among them wanted to fight a jawbreaker. They had seen what those monsters had done to the lizard, and they were happy to get a free pass to their destination.

What posed them a challenge wasn’t the security —since there was none— but the content of the storage room.

What’s this? Red asked in bewilderment. How could anyone answer when they were also in shock?

The storage room was empty.

They were in the right place. The shepherdess hadn’t duped them. The whole chamber, pretty large one, larger than a queen’s chamber, smelled strongly of the lovely sweet nectar they called honeydew. It’s just that someone had already cleaned the chamber before them.

Green released amusement.

Everyone stared at her and then burst out with the same emotion. It was despair.

An amorphous touch on the back woke Red from the shock.

What now? He was asked, but he had nothing.

I suggest we leave before we are caught. Yellow advised.

Red disagreed strongly. He thought long and hard about his reasoning and decided to stick with the truth in the end. We can’t leave. I don’t want to be chased by the army.

Still, he kept thinking and realized that the one who might know something was not among them. So he called Green and told her to bring the shepherdess.

Finally, I can roam—

You have one minute. I’m complaining to captain if you are late by even a second. He knew hollow warning woodlot work on her so he started drumming the floor with his abdomen. Each echoing beat was one less second for Green to act.

So stressful! She left in her wake as she rushed back out of the chamber.

Red stopped drumming soon after.

Not going to count? Black asked.

What’s the point? She’ll be back before its one minute.

786th soldier rubbed some warmth into his body by rubbing his back. It helped him relax. His companions had a reaction to his closeness to 786th soldier, but he was not in the brightest of moods to pay them attention. Where did things go wrong? Did the merchants dupe them for some convoluted reason, or under the Army chief’s orders? Or was it the shepherdess?

Green barged into the chamber before his thoughts could go down that route. She carried the shepherdess like she’d carry a leaf, dropped the baggage, and slumped to the ground. Both of them were exhausted, one mentally and the other physically. Black offered Green a massage, which she happily accepted. No such offer was given to the shepherdess.

She was similarly bewildered, however, after sensing the empty chamber.

How? Where?

That’s what we want to know. How and where? Why is the chamber empty? And don’t lie.

Wh-when did I l-lie?

I know. Red conceded, apologized, and asked her to think. Think about what could have happened here. Who could have taken the honeydew?

She had a reaction to the last question. Someone who had taken the honeydew; she had an inkling to who it could be. 786th soldier was the one who noticed her reaction. She didn’t shout at her like the others. That would have only scared the poor worker.

786th tapped her on the cheek instead. What do you have? She asked.

The shepherdess hesitated at first, considering the importance of her observation, but told 786th everything that was on her mind in the end.

This is it! 786th proclaimed. Her antennae buzzed in excitement. You have to tell the others.

You do it.

NO! 786th rejected the offer and called others' attention. Everyone, she has something to say.

Black took a step forward, but Red stopped him.

Tell us.

I saw someone. The shepherdess started. I was called to the top floor, yesterday—

786 interrupted her. Get to the point, girl, don’t dally with the pointless.

The shepherdess nodded. The farm is run by the representatives of the eight cities that form the alliance. But the alliance only run the farm, it is owned by another group, the ones that created the alliance.

And what has she got to do with our situation. Red asked.

The leader doesn’t interfere with how the farm is run, but everyone knows that once every month they collect honeydew. And they are never seen again until the next time.

786 picked up. No one knows how they do it. They don’t take the honeydew by the land or the air. They could be using the nights cover to take their share, but it’s still day, and believe me, when I say this, the honeydew wasn’t taken too long ago.

Search the room. Red gave the order.

What? Why? Black asked.

The tower has a secret passage Black, that’s why. Search every corner. And inform us if you find anything.

Almost two hundred ants searched the chamber for a whole minute, and they found nothing, not even a single trace of anything suspicious.

Black was growing impatient. Green still hadn’t stopped looking in the corners, checking the roof, and even the floor.

Red was burning up from nervousness. He knew Silver wouldn’t be able to keep the lizard at the tower forever. There were far too many of those bloody jawbreaker ants. And the lizard was already injured when they were sneaking into the tower. It might even be on the verge of dying. They didn’t have much time. Time was slipping and he was starting to believe that it would have been better to retreat as Yellow had suggested.

That’s when 786th came to their rescue. She hadn’t found a clue. No. But she had an idea.

They had exhausted every physical mean, her idea was to rack their brain and find a solution.

She pulled the shepherdess to Red’s side and asked them both to form an I.C with her.

How’s that going to help? Red questioned.

I don’t know for certain, but there’s nothing wrong with trying something different, right?

The two looked at her bewildered and agreed when she insisted.

All three of them had different information about the tower.

The shepherdess knew the layout of the tower in and out. She lived there. It was the place she called home. It wasn’t the warmest of places, but it was hers and she was very fond of it.

786th soldier had always been curious about the tower and its creation. The farm residents were still divided about whether the tower was a natural creation or a construction. It was far too symmetrical to be natural.

And Red had the mind to cook up a scheme to sneak into the tower without getting caught. And believe it or not, he had also found the answer to their problem.

He gently broke the connection. The other two swayed from the dizziness that assaulted after the connection was broken, but it couldn’t stop them from getting excited.

You think this is it? The shepherdess asked.

We have to find out. 786 answered.

Come with me, Black. Red called first, then pulled him along when he dallied. He dragged him to the wall opposite to the entrance. There was no entrance there.

We have looked captain, but there is nothing here. A soldier told him, but Red was determined. Break this wall. He ordered Black with the seriousness of a commander.

So what if they hadn’t found a path? They were ants and they could make their own path.

Black nudged him back. Stay there. He told him and started digging. The soldiers rushed to help, and believe it or not, they found what they were looking for: a secondary entrance. It led to another elevator shaft, which from the concentrated scent of honeydew they concurred had actually been used recently!

Shading hell! Black couldn’t believe it. How did you know?

The answer lay in symmetry. Everyone knows the tower is symmetrical. 786 nodded vigorously. But none really thinks what that means. In this case, it meant that the tower had a hidden elevator shaft directly opposite the one everyone uses every day. Am I right Shepherdess?

The shepherdess copied 786th and vigorously nodded her head.

They had done it. They had solved the mystery that no one knew know existed. Now the only needed to do what they were best at. They needed to hunt.

All right, Red clapped his antennae. Let’s start packing everyone. Shepherdess, please bring yellow to a nearby window. I saw a few, find one that overlooks leader. Inform him to meet us outside. We’ll leave clues for him to follow. And Black,

I’m on it.

The shepherdess left with Yellow, and Black instructed the soldiers to an arrow formation: a strong ant at the front, two snappers on either side, and a gunner at the middle, followed by a short tail of common soldiers. The group of soldiers went in first to scout ahead. The rest followed them once Yellow returned with the Shepherdess.

The elevator shaft was exactly what it sounded like. It was a straight path to the bottom floor. However, it didn’t end at the surface like the other one. It continued out of the tower, into one of the countless root ways that together created the farm's core area. The root had been hollowed out and twisted and turned as it led them further and further away from the tower. 786th soldier noticed a subtle declining slope designed into the round tunnel, letting them know they were approaching the surface.

They marveled at the ingenuity of it all.

Who could have come up with the idea? Red couldn’t hide his awe. I need to meet them and become their student because this is a work of art.

Do you think this was created? 786 couldn’t believe it. Who could have created this perfectly round and hollow tube inside a root?

I know it’s unbelievable, but there is no way this is natural. Roots aren’t hollow.

The shepherdess also had a few things to say.

To think a secret like this has always been underneath the tower. And we didn’t know. And most never will.

But its woods, one of the workers from the army questioned. We can’t chew through the wood?

However, termites can. Someone answered causing the army to grow solemn.

786 couldn’t understand why. The shepherdess had no clue either. And others didn’t tell them.

It’s not a secret. Red told her. We just don’t like to talk about it. It brings bad luck.

She dropped the topic.

Finally, after a long and somber walk through the marvelous, warm root canal, they saw light at the end. Whoever had created it had taken their time because this was not a project that could be finished in a day or two. They climbed out of the exit and found themselves deep inside the forest far from the farm. Out of the root canal, they changed formation again, this time to a full circular shield with the four at the center. It was once again Black's army to lead.

Red sent Green and yellow to leave scent signals for their leader to follow. They would have had to find the farm first, and the root was no help because it was completely underground. A dark hole in the ground was all could be seen of it, with no indication of where it led or what it housed.

They didn’t have to search for their enemy because luck was on their side, and a trail was on the ground. And they encountered the thieves only a hundred and some ant lengths from the exit.

Their enemies were only sixty in number, but they smelled strong. They were huge in comparison to their mixed and matched army of former slaves. Black as the night, they had huge chests and thick wide mandibles.

Jawbreakers… Red sensed the change happening behind him. His army was growing nervous. They had seen those monsters in actions and knew what they could do. To his left, the shepherdess fared no better.

Black rubbed his head. It will be alright. He told Red and the soldiers. You all lot have been through far worse than this. And help is coming. We can wait until the leader arrives. The soldiers stirred, their bodies relaxed, worry evaporated, but Black had a few more words for them. However, do you all really want to wait for help? Do you all really want to prove to our leader that we are not worth a grain of sand without him? That we are helpless, untrustworthy, and impotent! That he should have accepted the army’s offer and let us rot as slaves because we are not worth him!

Antennae rose in trepidation over the speech. Soldiers stepped away for him in panic. 786th also felt Black's anger and swayed back, but Red held her. He supported her.

There was a reason why Silver had given the burden of leading his army to Black. He was a born leader and would have made captain in the army if it wasn’t for his immature and brazen nature and if he hadn’t bitten his sergeant legs off and eaten them.

This one was going to be a hard battle, but there was no way they were losing after coming so far.

The jawbreakers were rolling large balls of solid sweet honeydew by pushing them with their hind legs, like beetles. Riding a jawbreaker at the back of the entourage was the princess. Black had a whiff of her scent, and he had to admit, she was intoxicatingly arousing.

The princess had beautifully curved edges, long velvety antennae, a strong hard exoskeleton, and patches of red over the black canvas. The patches looked like a fire grazing through the black lands.

What kind of an ant is that? 786th asked.

I don’t know. The shepherdess said. She was feeling the scent and it was quickening her heartbeats. I-I have no, no idea. No one knows what they call themselves. Everyone calls them the leader of the alliance.

Well, Red had news for them. She’s an ember ant.

The two turned toward him.

Do you know them? One asked in confused excitement. How did he know? Wasn’t it supposed to be a secret?

They rule on the other side of the river… used to rule. Red corrected himself.

What happened? The shepherdess was interested.

An infection took them out.

No one survived?

It’s complicated. You should ask the leader if you are interested. He knows much more about them.

So what now? 786th asked.

And Black proposed a simple solution: Now, we attack.

***Silvers P.O.V***

Silver received yellow’s message. He didn’t understand the content. Red asked him to leave the farm and follow the signals. Something must have happened in the tower. He though. But the message didn’t urge him to be quick. And they even asked him to keep the jawbreakers occupied for a little while. He didn’t know what had changed, but he believed in them.

He rode the lizard for a few more minutes, before twisting its neck to steer it out of the farm when the groups of the inner region decided to join the fray.

Well, it was about time. The ants called jawbreakers were too much for the lizard to handle. So much so that their numbers hadn’t felt a dent while the lizard was a bloody mess. He didn’t know what made Red change the plan. They were supposed to signal him to bring the lizard to the tower, fill its body with whatever they found in the tower and take off riding its back.

They could have been caught, but there were no such signs from the tower. Thieves in the tower would have caused quite a commotion. However, nothing out of order had happened. His belief in his soldiers was strong enough to make him leave them even though he feared the bad, the worse, and the ugly.

His tension relieved when he found the striking signals only Yellow could leave, south of the farm. He followed them and found his soldiers fighting with the jawbreakers. They outnumbered their opponent one to three, yet they were having a hard time. They’ll need to practice more he decided.

He took a quick overview of the battlefield.

Red and the786th soldier had a princess hostage. They held her from the wings and she solemnly sat in front of them. Of course, he expected nothing less from the one who abhorred working hard himself.

Green was running everywhere, trying to snip legs, but it was not easy for her either. The jawbreakers snapped their mandibles at her whenever they sensed her around. She had finally met her match.

The jawbreakers being ant-sized made it challenging for his army to quickly cope with them. It was easier to kill bigger opponents because of their size disadvantage, but the jawbreakers were really aggressive, extremely strong and highly protected. And they had a size advantage.

Silver let the lizard go. Killing it would have only left signs for others to follow, while still bloody and covered in the scent molecules from the farmers, it was a nice target to distract his chasers. And there were chasers, he had sensed them. The lizard didn’t wait a second before it lurched over the foliage, trundled into the bushes and disappeared into the green wilderness of the forest.

Silver jumped down from the branch. The touch of warm gentle air filled his being with joy. His captain’s advised him to be careful, but he didn’t worry about this. There was a time when he worried about every little thing, but that time was long past, and now he was almost free.

Silver crashed into the middle of the battlefield, and everyone fell down to the ground, while he stood up. They weren’t dead, just unconscious. He didn’t abhor killing. He might be many things, but foremost he was an ant, and ants kill first and ask the reason later. But he wasn’t unreasonable either.

He approached Red and the 786th soldier. That girl had been a big help to him.

Commander—

Captain, who is she? He asked with glowing eyes fixated right upon the princess, curious and excited.

The princess was shell shocked from the sight behind him. She could not believe what she had just witnessed. That ant had taken down a whole battalion worth of soldier without doing anything! Everyone would call her mad if she told them this! Who would believe her?

What did you do to them? She asked, but deep down she felt scared, more scared than being in the presence of her mother.

Silver shook his head to her in reply. It’s good that you can still answer, but I’ll be the one asking the questions, Princess.

She snapped her mandibles at him. I have nothing to say to the like of you! You might have ambushed us, but Mother won’t forgive you. Unless you run to the other side of the world, she’ll find whoever you are, and—

You talk too much.

The princess fidgeted when Silver forced an internal connection upon her. She was repulsed by his touch. She hated him for doing this to her. An internal connection was a sacred thing. Her mother had warned her to not let anyone make the connection. She decided to commit suicide when the aggressor, the sliver charlatan started reading her memories, but the exchange wasn’t one-sided. She also got information from him, information that he specifically provided. That control over his memories, the princess had Goosebumps erupt all over her body. But the memories… she could not move even after the connection was skillfully broken.

She had heard the story over and over again in her life but never believed it. She always thought it was propaganda by the central committee to keep them listening. But now, after what she had seen, after what he had shown her… she could not help but doubt everything.

It didn’t come as a surprise to her when he told her that he wouldn’t kill her or the jawbreakers.

We’ll even return the honeydew.

Leader!

Wh-What —she tried to calm her heart, but it refused to slow down. She was better than this. She was a princess of the alliance. She had her pride.

She knew he was waiting for this moment, but what else could she do? And she was also curious. Now that she knew what she knew, she really wanted to know what would happen next.

What do you want in return? She asked and he asked her exactly what he had told her during their connection.

I want to meet your queen.

*****

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*

Silver marched with the embers. The princess had kept her promise. She had taken his request to her mother and this was the result. The owner of the farm, the leader of the alliance, the one he wanted to meet had agreed to his proposal.

His army, they watched from far, for sure, but also kept their distance. Their safety was of the utmost importance to him. He alone had followed the princess and the jawbreakers to the city, so she wouldn’t know where his soldiers hid.

The force leading him toward the city contained one hundred soldiers. They didn’t speak to him. And he liked the silence. It allowed Silver to feel, to know if he was right, or simply delusional.

The mysterious city had no advanced posts or towers. There was a well-trodden path, a mountain of rocks, and an entrance. Situated deep within the forest it was not very easy to find.

The princess had warned Silver to not try anything stupid, before leaving him in the care of the soldiers that had come to receive her.

The soldiers accompanying him looked exactly like the jawbreakers but were smaller and obviously intelligent.

The soldiers tried but their intimidations didn’t faze him. They were stopped for inspection at the entrance, where they proceeded to clean him, only find that there was nothing to clean.

Silver’s heart started beating when he entered the city. The princess surprisingly waited for him there. She asked him to follow her and took the lead.

The city was built like the farm tower.

He expected a normal city of ants, but what he saw was greater than that. There were large chambers, wide passageways, and more. Everyone worked, even the soldiers. There was no distinction between the castes. There were no workers and soldiers, only those bigger and smaller, younger and older.

Each step he took woke his slumbering feelings.

The past that he had lost touch with came back to play with his emotions in full tide.

He almost dashed into the depths but knew to hold himself back. He had only this one chance to do this properly. There would be no next time, only war.

They progressed irritatingly slow, deliberately they delayed: Passing him through check pots after checkpoints, checking him, cleaning him. However, they couldn’t delay him forever.

Finally, he stood in front of the queen’s chamber, barred to him by a coin headed door guard. Memories resurfaced. In his mind, he was almost thrown back to the past.

The door opened. His heart grew excited. Emotions filled him. There was perturbation, discontentment, nervousness, and even vague resentment.

His antennae trembled when he set foot inside the chamber. There were guards inside, covering the whole chamber, guarding heir queen. And it had been cleared of caretakers and eggs. Gunners stood with their ends pointed at him. Tankers blocked his path.

Of course, they were suspicious and vigilant.

Silver’s eyes found the queen at the back of the chamber. She was large and watched him seriously. Their eyes met and his heart almost stopped beating.

He dropped his antennae to the ground and raised the scent flag that he hadn’t in a very long time. The scent perturbed the soldiers, but caused the queen to grow dazed at first, then nostalgic, and at last angry.

YOU! She scented a loud burst of pheromones that filled the chamber with her anger. Silver also felt it, but differently, more personally, inside him. And while the soldiers only sensed their queen’s anger, Silver also sensed her misery and longing, her pain and sadness.

Why do you have that scent? It can’t be — you can’t be— The queen released soft wisps of scents that disturbed the soldiers far greatly. They grew aggressive, but an order by the queen turned them solemn.

Stand down, soldiers.

Her general retaliated, but she didn’t listen.

Let him in. She called and the general could only raise a salute to her name and open a passage.

Silver felt her emotion riot the closer he got to her. Her disbelief filled him. He dropped his antennae onto the ground in respect and flared the scent she had given when she was still a princess.

He raised his antennae for her to take and she accepted. The soldier's discourse, they connected internally. When they separated the queen had no more doubts and was beyond emotional. An internal connection was what had first brought them together the first time around, and it brought them together for the second time.

Is it really you? The queen still couldn’t believe it.

Silver nodded and scented proudly, with love.

Your royal guard reports for duty, Princess Tinbuji.