Chapter Text
The scene below was utter chaos. Ants and circus bugs ran in every direction, smashing berries onto their bodies and screaming in pretend fear. Grasshoppers dove this way and that, avoiding the fake-blood-covered bugs and screaming in genuine terror as they ducked for cover. Flik even spotted Hopper among them, hiding behind Molt as though willing to sacrifice his younger brother to spare his own life from the bird swooping over their heads.
Flik let out a triumphant laugh as he watched them cower. Why didn't we think of this before? He was so busy reveling in his glory that he didn't notice the Blueberries' cries from behind were ones of fear, not excitement.
Until a certain Blueberry's voice broke through.
"Flik, help us!"
Flik spun around at the sound of Dot's plea. Red and yellow light engulfed his vision, nearly blinding him. His mouth dropped open and quickly filled with smoke, causing him to choke. Tears swam in his eyes as he took in the sight before him.
His beautiful creation, the only invention of his that seemed like it was actually going to work, was on fire.
How did this happen? was his first thought, but he couldn't dwell on it for long. The little ants' safety was his first priority. They weren't even supposed to be here in the first place, but plans had changed when the grasshoppers invaded.
Flik leaped from his seat and pushed past Dot to reach the emergency lever Rosie had insisted they install while he was drawing up the bird's framework. "Better safe than sorry," the black widow had said. Flik sure was thankful he had listened to her now as he pulled down as hard as he could. The Blueberries crowded around him like a terrified cluster of grapes.
"Grab onto something!" he ordered them, and then he heard a snap.
The world lurched forward and Flik's feet left the floor. Strong gusts of air whistled past his antennae as the sparrow began its descent. Gripping the lever for dear life, he looked around to see the girls hugging the branches that controlled the wings. Even if they all survived the crash, they might not survive the grasshoppers' wrath once the truth about the bird was revealed.
"Flik!"
Flik looked up just in time to see Dot lose her grip on the chair she was holding. A second later the wind was knocked from his body as the tiny ant crashed into his chest.
Flik fought to catch his breath as he wrapped his arm around Dot to keep her from flying into the flames behind them. He was reminded of another time he had held her like this - when the two of them were being chased by a real bird rather than falling inside of a fake one - and his grip on the princess tightened with his resolve. They had somehow made it through that time, and they were somehow going to make it through this.
"It's gonna be okay, Dot," he managed to whisper between gasps, and then they hit ground.
The impact sent them flying. Flik did his best to shield Dot's head as they collided with the chair he had been steering from moments before. Pain sliced through his skull and his vision went blurry. His antennae roared with the crackle of flames. Small arms pushed against his.
"Let me go, Flik!" Dot cried.
Flik dazedly obeyed, and the princess scrambled to her feet. Her fellow Blueberries were scattered around the floor, coughing and crying out for their parents. Dot ran to the nearest one and yanked her to her feet, her blue eyes blazing with a fire that had nothing to do with the inferno around her.
"Pull yourselves together, girls!" she barked, moving on to the next one. "Remember our training! This is no time to lose your heads!"
A strange sense of pride filled Flik's heart as he watched Dot flit to each of her friends, shouting commands and offering a hand to the ones who needed it. In less than a minute all of the little ants were on their feet, blinking away tears and covering their mouths to keep from inhaling the smoke like Dot had instructed them to do.
"Alright Blueberries, let's move it!" she cried, waving her hand like a starting flag. "Single file line, out of the bird. Go go go!"
For a second Flik forgot it was Dot who was speaking. Her tone reminded him so much of the way Princess Atta had sounded a season ago, when she was ordering the colony into the anthill before the grasshoppers arrived. It wasn't until all the Blueberries had evacuated and Dot's freckled face came into focus that he remembered it was Atta's little sister giving the orders this time.
"Come on Flik, we have to go!" Dot's fingers were tugging on his and her voice sounded much smaller now that she no longer had to be the leader.
Flik squeezed his eyes shut and allowed her to help him to his feet. A surge of dizziness overcame him once he was upright and he stumbled forward, nearly falling over the princess. He clutched his throbbing head and opened his eyes to see two tiny purple ants in front of him, both their eyes wide with worry.
"You go, Dot!" Flik said, pointing in what he hoped was the direction of the beak. "I'll be right behind you!"
Dot hesitated only a moment before nodding. "Hurry, Flik," she whispered, then scampered away.
Alone inside the fiery ruins of his masterpiece, Flik grabbed his antennae and began brainstorming ways to deal with the nightmare that surely awaited him outside. He ignored the rising surge of panic in his lungs and instead tried to be optimistic. Maybe Hopper would be so relieved it wasn't a real bird he would laugh off the whole thing as a cruel practical joke. Maybe the circus bugs could pass it off as the dramatic finale of their show. Maybe most of the grasshoppers had flown away already. Maybe…
Flik's train of thought was cut short by a sound he knew too well.
Dot's scream.