The sun dipped low over the horizon, casting orange shadows across the dusty training field. Rory stood panting, sweat dripping from his brow, mandibles clenched tight in his hand. Across from him, Lieutenant Brooks lowered his own mandibles, giving a short nod of approval.
"You held your ground well today and show excellent reflexes and techniques when you deflected and parried my attacks" Brooks said, his tone gruff but tinged with respect. "I didn't held back on my swings."
Rory dropped to a knee, his limbs trembling from exertion. "They felt like boulders crashing down… but I'm still standing."
Brooks smirked. "Barely."
Despite the teasing, Rory looked up, eyes determined. "I'm done wasting time. Ari's out there. If he's heading for the fortress alone, I need to catch up. He can't do this by himself, thanks for your help, I should get going now."
Brooks stepped forward and placed a hand on Rory's shoulder. "You're not going anywhere yet."
Rory blinked. "What?"
"It's too risky to travel in broad daylight. For one, it will not go unnoticed by the ants who keep patrol on the outskirts of our 9colony and The fortress is heavily guarded by grasshoppers and they have eyes everywhere. If you leave now, they'll spot you for sure and it will only result in your death" Brooks warned. "Rest. Recover. Leave after nightfall."
"But—"
"No buts." Brooks's voice sharpened. "You'll be no help to Ari if you get captured or even worst wind up dead before you even reach him. Be patientand believing your friend's strength, he won't go down without a fight."
Rory clenched his fists, frustration boiling. But after a long pause, he gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. I'll wait… but only until the sun sets."
Brooks chuckled. "That's all I ask."
In another part of the colony, the clash of mandibles rang through the air like steel on steel. Isla's breathing was heavy, sweat matting the short fuzz on her body as she faced off against Lily and Beatrice.
Lily's movements were a blur, her strikes sharp and unrelenting now that she had stopped going easy. Isla ducked a swipe but caught a second kick to her side, knocking her flat on her back.
"Ugh!" she groaned, trying to sit up.
Lily stepped back, flipping her mandibles casually. "You've gotten stronger, Isla. Not strong enough to pose a threat to the grasshoppers just yet, but strong enough to give that fool Ari a fighting chance."
Isla rolled onto her stomach, breath ragged, but she managed a weak smile. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Beatrice stepped in, kneeling beside her. "You've improved exponentially, Isla. You managed to keep up with us despite the two of us attacking you at once and you no longer hesitate. I am truly glad I was the one who trained you."
Isla blinked up at her, eyes glimmering. "Thanks for your help, guys. I really appreciate it."
Lily leaned on her mandibles, grinning. "Don't get all sentimental now. This was only the easy part of it. Now, you'llhave to put what you have learnt to the test."
Far away from the buzz of training, deep inside a cage at the edge of Hopper's fortress, Princess Tanya lay curled in a corner. Her eyes were dull, skin pale from hunger and dehydrationa. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, chin resting on them. The sounds outside the bars were muffled—mostly the pained cries of other ants begging for mercy, only to be silenced.
The door creaked open.
Tanya didn't bother to look up.
Barracko stepped inside, a bowl of food in one hand and a wooden container of water in the other. He paused, glancing at her through the bars. For a moment, his brow furrowed.
"You… okay?" he asked hesitantly.
No response.
Tanya turned her back to him, her spine straight, regal even in exhaustion. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her beg.
Barracko lingered, then sighed and slid the food and water through the small opening. "Suit yourself."
He left.
Only once the door shut behind him did Tanya move. She crawled slowly to the bowl, picked it up with trembling hands, and began eating with quiet desperation. Tears rolled down her cheeks, unnoticed.
"I can't take this anymore," she whispered to the darkness. "The sound of ants crying… begging… only to be slaughtered for the simplest of reasons…"
She clutched the edge of the bowl, shaking.
"Ari… please… hurry…"
As night fell and the moon rose like a silent guardian over the wastelands, Rory tightened the straps holding his mandibles to his back. He wrapped a hood made of stitched leaves around his head and shoulders, blending with the wild terrain. At his side hung a small satchel with dried moss and crumbed roots for the journey.
"Hold on, Ari," he muttered under his breath. "I'm coming to help you. And this time, I won't be in the way."
Just as he stepped out from the shadows of the colony's outer border, a voice called his name.
"Rory!"
He froze, mandibles already half-drawn, and turned sharply. A small figure emerged from the darkness—Isla.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Rory asked, eyes wide with disbelief.
Isla marched forward, jaw set. "Same reason as you. I'm going to help Ari save the princess."
"No. Go back to the colony," Rory snapped. "This isn't a joke. We're planning to take down Hopper's fortress. You'll only end up getting hurt."
"I'm sick and tired of being in your shadow and for always having you and Ari protect me!" Isla shouted, pulling her mandibles into her hands. "I want to help too! I'm also a military ant and if I have to prove how much stronger I've gotten, then go ahead—draw your mandibles!"
"Shut up!" Rory hissed, looking around. "Do you want us to be discovered?"
Isla gritted her teeth, then took a breath.
"Fine," Rory said, lowering his voice. "You can come. But if things get dire, you run. As fast as you can."
"Fine. Will do." Isla nodded, fire in her eyes. "Let's go help Ari."
As the two of them moved toward the path beyond the cliffs, a group of hooded figures emerged ahead of them, blocking their way.
Rory instantly dropped into a guarded stance, mandibles drawn. "Who are you?!"
Isla squinted, then her face lit up. "Wait—those are… Corporal Lily! And Beatrice!"
Lily pulled back her hood, grinning. "I can't believe it. You really found the resolve to do it. I'm impressed, Adda girl."
Beatrice gave a quiet nod. "It's good to see that the two of you have the will to fight."
Another figure stepped forward—a towering ant whose presence immediately stilled Rory's hands.
"Lieutenant Brooks?" Rory said, surprised. "You too?"
"I know it might come as a shock," Brooks replied, arms crossed. "But I'm just following orders. And if my help contributes to our success… then I'd give my life. Whatever it takes."
A calm but commanding voice echoed behind them.
"This was an operation orchestrated solely by me."
Everyone turned.
Commander Anastasia stepped forward from the rear of the group, her long mandibles at her side and her expression resolute.
"The queen has no knowledge of this expedition," she said. "Our goal is to defeat Hopper and retrieve the princess. To end the suffering we've endured for over a decade."
She looked each of them in the eye. "We move under cover of night. No one will come to save us. This is stand will be our first or last let's make it count."
Rory felt something stir in his chest—a strange mix of fear and hope. Isla was wide-eyed, her antennae twitching.
"Whoa… even Commander Anastasia is coming with us?" Isla whispered. She gulped. "We might actually stand a chance…"
Then her thoughts turned grim.
"But then again… apart from Ari, there's only six of us. A commander, a lieutenant, two corporals, and two lance corporals. What can we hope to accomplish against Hopper's entire army?"
Rory placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Now's not the time to dwell on that. We've all made our choice."
He looked to the stars.
"We'll win… I just know it."
The night winds howled softly as the small unit vanished into the darkness—six ants against a fortressfilled with grasshoppers.
And at the center of it all waited a kidnapped princess, a powerful threat, and the battle that would decide the fate of them all.