Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A house without inhabitants, a book without words, a nail with nothing to stab, that's how Hornet felt.

She never in her life had such a sense of emptiness and lack of purpose, although of course, before she had a mission to fulfill, one that perhaps was not entirely to his liking, but it was the engine that motivated her every day to move forward.

Often She used to dream about what Hallownest would be like without the infection that turned all the insects that lived in it into brainless zombies. She liked to imagine how it would be for everyone to recover their sanity and resurface that destroyed civilization. But of course, she never thought that it would happen. For her it was just a distant dream in which she used to think before going to sleep. But without planning it, that dream came true.

They had defeated the source of the infection, now the insects were free and had a will of their own. With this had begun to arise a little trade, some species of insects almost extinct was resurfacing and were even arriving creatures from elsewhere. All that sounded good. But why she could not feel happy about this? Maybe it was because she had lost the justification for her existence, after all, she was not a normal insect. She was an artificial being, partly flesh and partly void.

Her "father" and main creator was the one who devised the method to allow her to be born. He had disappeared a long time ago, although she did not have a greater affection for him. whom the crossbreed really missed was Herrah, her mother. The spider was her family, she was the one who wanted her to exist and asked the Pale King to make this possible.

Yes, she was originally born to be the "daughter of Herrah", but when she fell into an eternal dream, this goal lost importance and needing to have another reason to live, Hornet proclaimed herself the protector of Hallownest. But now she had lost his reason for existing again. Hallownest was already safe, there was nothing to threaten it. There were no tyrannical goddesses, no deadly infections, no evil insects, only peace and tranquility.

But Hornet was a warrior, she had been raised as one. During the little time she spent with her mother, she learned the art of the needle and the thread, with which she was able to kill anyone who came before her so fast and efficient that the victim almost did not know what had hit him. But what was the use of this in a civilized society? She could not go through life murdering people, especially if they did not hurt her. Besides, having lived all her life surrounded by wild beasts that only wanted to end her life, Hornet’s social skills had been ruined a little bit.

Hornet had no friends; she did not know how to integrate into society. It would have been normal to look for a job. But how? The only thing she knew how to do was to fight. She did not have a family to support her and due to certain situations that had happened, she had earned the reputation of being a violent and aggressive creature. Basically nobody wanted to approach her.

In that state of helplessness Hornet had retreated into the darkest and most sinister corner of Hallownest: Deepnest. That place was her element, a wild and dangerous land where everything is kill or be killed. In that place her warrior skills could shine and feel full with her being. But at the end of the day when she returned to her home again, the feeling of emptiness and sadness tormented her.

Looking for something to do with her existence, the crossbreed had entrusted herself with the task of learning to weave, after all, she was the daughter of Herrah, the queen of the weavers. But it was not so easy.

She wished she had paid more attention to her mother when she explained how to interlace the threads correctly. But of course, at that time Hornet was a girl who just wanted to learn to fight and pierce heads with her needle ... Okay, maybe the other insects had reasons to be afraid of her, but she was not a killing machine either, she had feelings… Violent feelings that made her want to kill someone every time her weave got tangled and knotted ... She was definitely a disaster.

Now Hornet had a fierce battle to the death with a skein of thread in which she had become entangled. The cloak she was weaving seemed to want revenge against her for the awful job she was doing. The half spider had her legs tangled and the more she tried of unraveling more restricted remained.

This was a dangerous thing, she was in Distant Village, the farthest place in Hallownest, a ghost town that was just at the end of Deepnest. Basically no one but her was passing by. If she was trapped in the thread, nobody would come to rescue her.

Finally she decided to cut everything. It was a terrible pain to waste one of the valuable spools of silk that had left the old inhabitants of Distant Village but she had no choice. She was not going to die of hunger to be tied and unable to leave. It was ridiculous!

Finally, using the needle from which she never separated, Hornet managed to free himself from the ropes and then looked with regret at the mess she made.
The thread available for weaving was limited. The infection had practically extinguished the spiders, therefore there was no one to produce silk. The silk stored in the weaver’s den was all there was. It is true that it was a lot, but it was still limited.

She sighed resigned. No way, tomorrow she would go to find another spool to work, she would not give up, but for the moment she would rest what was left of the day.
Hornet left her house and walked to the platform that surrounded each house in the town. That was the place she had chosen as a residence, although it was not a very beautiful place, it was the place where she kept memories of happy times, when she was still living with her mother, on the other hand, as she was alone she did not have to worry about scare the neighbors.

She sat on the platform and observed the site with ease. The dozens of dwellings composed by thread, although it were gloomy it were fascinating. How was it possible that this ancient race had been able to build such incredible houses? She was not even able to make a miserable cloak. what terrible Herrah’s heir she turned out to be. As a spider she would starve to death, although it was understandable, she was a crossbreed, she did not look like a spider. It was funny to think she looks like a horned beetle, just like …

Again she was thinking about him, about the small vessel that had saved the world.

Hornet looked to his right and found the inert mask that had once belonged to that creature. That being she did not know very well how to define. He was another of the creations of the pale king, but his nature was very different from her.

This thing had been conceived to lack feelings, will, voice and anything that defined him as a person, however he had overcome all expectations by deciding things for himself and wanting a future of his own, being able to challenge an all-powerful goddess to free the kingdom from her evil influence, yet in doing so he had ended up sacrificing his life.

This knight composed of void and unfulfilled desires after the final battle had been pulverized and reduced to nothing more than a broken mask.
Hornet had not any feelings for that empty shell, but something in it made her pick up that broken mask and keep it. Maybe it was gratitude, after all this being did something great without asking anything in return.

That mask was one of the things that did not let her live quietly. she had taken care of that object with great zeal. She had even taken it to the mask maker to repair it and he had done a great job leaving it as good as new. But now Hornet did not know what to do with the mask.

She would have liked to return it to its owner, but this one did not exist anymore. The most sensible thing would be to get rid of that thing once and for all, but for one reason she could not.

After much meditating on the matter, she had thought of leaving the mask in the abyss, which would be the ideal resting place for it. It was the place where its owner had been born and where the last vestige that remained of him should return.

Once she made this decision she felt much more cheerful. The warrior already had a mission to fulfill in her life, of course, it was something small and easy to perform, but at least for a time she would have something to dedicate himself to.

The trip to the abyss took a couple of days, because it was on the other side of Hallownest, and although Hornet knew many shortcuts, it was still far. But at least now wandering through the kingdom was relatively easy. Except Deepnest, Hallownest was peaceful.

Her steps finally took her to the entrance to the abyss, which although it was once sealed, after the intervention of the small vessel was now always open, but there was no problem, the shadows that lived inside had no interest in leaving , somehow it seemed that they were happy living in that dark hole.

Hornet entered the area until reaching the cliff that determined the beginning of the true abyss. At her feet were a pair of rocks covered by shadows next to the most impenetrable blackness that existed. If it were not for her lumafly lantern she would be blind. She tightened the mask he had between her hands and looked at it intently, as if looking for something special in it. Why did it hurt so much to get rid of that thing? Did she think that if she kept it she would see that creature again? But what stupidity! That knight was gone and he would not come back anymore. She had to throw that thing away.

Almost in frustration, Hornet threw the mask into the abyss and saw it being devoured by darkness. She stayed a few moments deep in thought before turning away. But before she was far away, a rumble echoed through the place, a roar so eerie that it reminded her of the Hollow Knight that had held The Radiance.

She turned around, almost afraid of what she would find, and then she saw it. A shadow of great dimensions, with a pair of shining eyes and claws as deadly as the sharpest of the nails. Although their contours and their form were not completely definitive, it was possible to guess a kind of horned, long-limbed insect, very similar to the Hollow Knight that she had helped to knock down with the small vessel.

Hornet without hesitation took out her needle ready to fight. she knew for that being she would not be a rival, but still she was willing to die in order to protect the kingdom. Perhaps it would be her last mission as the protector of Hallownest. She would disappear without glory and without anyone to remember her, but it did not matter, if there was a way to end the emptiness of her existence, it was that.

The shadow and the warrior stared at each other, without emitting a sound. She expected the beast to make their first movement, at the same time analyzing the environment, there were not many nooks in which to entangle her thread. That was a problem, part of her combat style was based on placing traps around her. But that was not an excuse not to fight, even if she had to nail him to death she would.

Suddenly the beast made a movement, although it was not the expected, instead of attacking her, they sank into the abyss disappearing from her sight.
What on earth had that been? Did the creature just come up to take a look? Hornet felt embarrassed by a strange mixture of relief and disappointment. But it did not last long, as a sudden tremor set her on alert again.

In an air storm the shadow rose again, but this time they did not come alone. Between their claws was a small creature, one that Hornet was very familiar with. He was not that the same vessel that had defeated the Hollow Knight? He was not dead?

Well, maybe in reality he was not dead, he simply broke his mask and having nothing that contained his void, he could not simply continue existing in a physical body and returned to "his house".

Now Hornet had done him the favor of returning his mask and the little knight came back to life ... Or something likes that.

Supposedly that thing and all of its kind lacked feelings, but somehow in that empty look Hornet could see something. For some reason he seemed happy to see her?

The giant shadow deposited the small vessel gently next to Hornet. The half spider was so stunned by the situation that did not dare to make any movement, even when the shadow pet her head in an almost paternal way. The beast could not emit any kind of spoken language, but even with that gesture they seemed to be communicating with her, and oddly Hornet knew exactly what he was saying.

"You're a good girl; please take care of the little one"

Then with a slight gesture, the shadow said goodbye to the vessel and was buried again in the depths of the abyss.

Hornet looked at the little one and he looked at her in turn. There was nothing in those apparently empty eyes, but she knew he was happy. How could she understand him? Would it be some kind of special ability shared by all beings with void inside them?

No, that couldn't be, maybe they were made of the same material, but she was different, she was not conceived with the same characteristics, she was not void and of course, she did not consider that she was on the same level as all those failed specters.

Feeling offended for no reason, Hornet turned away from the place. But to her displeasure the vessel began to follow her, like a duck follows its mother.

During what followed the day, no matter how many laps she gave and how much faster she ran, she could not get rid of that thing, the little knight had come to stay.

Chapter Text

Hornet's light footsteps echoed on the walls of that empty cave. The warrior observed everything with suspicious eyes. It was very rare to find some nook that did not harbor life inside. The insects used to fight for the right to declare any corner as their home, so the loneliness of this place made her nervous. If a cave was not occupied it was a very bad sign, something dangerous lived inside.

At first she was tempted to turn around and walk away, but her pride prevented her from doing that. Once she had declared herself the protector of Hallownest. How could a guardian like her escape and disregard her obligations? If in this cave a dangerous being lived, it was her duty to defeat them. That's why despite the fear she did not back down, although an oppression in her stomach did not let her be calm.

She kept advancing more and more nervous, looking for the owner of that cave. But the further she went, the darker the place became, until it was almost impossible to see around her. At that moment she judged that it was not wise to continue, so she turned around looking for the exit. Hornet walked to where she remembered was the exit but she never found it. The darkness did not go away; it got deeper and more disturbing, until Hornet was no longer able to know where she was.

Scared and confused, she struggled to keep calm and think of a solution to the problem, maybe someone ... No. That would never happen. She was alone, it was impossible for anyone to rescue her. Although perhaps that vessel could save her if he found her, he liked to rescue people ... No! Was she really too weak to have to depend on the help of that damned empty shell?

Hornet was still struggling between her desires and her feelings when she saw something shine in the shadows that surrounded her, it was a horned mask that she knew quite well. The vessel had come for her! She sighed with relief and approached him, but then she felt something was wrong. He did not have the same harmless and friendly presence as always.

Suddenly the resplendent mask broke freeing the content of its owner, which mimicked the darkness of the place; Hornet could only see the pair of glowing eyes, which shone like a pair of flares.

Hornet, more and more frightened, saw that pair of eyes approaching, while she began to feel a pressure on her waist. She could not see anything, but it seemed to her that some arms were pressing her harder and harder, until to breath become difficult. Soon she began to feel pain, almost as if she were breaking in two. It was a horrible feeling, it seemed that he was going to die, then in that moment of despair and agony she cried...

Hornet opened her eyes to realize that everything she had experienced had been nothing more than a simple dream. She was at home in Distant Village, safe and sound, without dangerous shadows and in a comfortable bed. Nothing in the dream was real. Right?

At that moment she realized that something of the dream had not disappeared, she felt a slight pressure on her waist, as if something was holding her.

Again panicking she got rid of what was holding her hitting it with her elbow. Immediately she was released, but Hornet cautiously did not wait to find out what had been that. The warrior located the needle from which she never separated, it was in the vicinity. She ran to the weapon, took it and threw it against the intruder. The creature jumped and dodged the attack easily. Now Hornet had her weapon away, but this was not a problem for her. The needle was tied with a thread that linked it to her owner; she gave a slight pull and retrieved the object.

Hornet's sharp senses alerted her that her attacker —who for a moment was suspended in the air— was now heading towards her. She moved aside avoiding the attack, but the creature was extremely fast. As soon as the being touched the floor, they "ran" towards her, although more than running seemed to crawl in the air, wrapped in shadows giving a demonic and frightening, very similar to her nightmare.

In the end the girl did not manage to dodge again, the monster reached out and wrapped her with her body in a way... Affectionate?

Hornet looked down and discovered that the creature above her was nothing less than the small vessel that had been stalking her for almost a week. At that moment, the warrior became very angry, although she did not know if she was angry with the vessel for not to leave her alone, or with herself for being scared. He pushed the little one away and looked at him gravely.

"But what the hell do you think you're doing?" She said annoyed. The vessel tilted his head showing his confusion, basically he did not know what she was talking about. "Don’t you know what I mean? You attacked me! You have dared to point your nail against me!"

"....." He pointed to himself as not giving credit to Hornet's words. Then he pointed to the half spider declaring her guilty.

"That it was me who attacked you first? That's ... Well, it's true But that was because you scared me! What the hell were you doing in my bed with me?"

"...." He hugged Hornet and looked at her sweetly communicating that he was just trying to comfort her while she slept.

"You wanted to calm me down? Well it was not necessary; I don’t need you to sleep peacefully. In fact I don’t like having someone around when I sleep. Don’t do it again"

"...." The little one just looked at her defiantly, declaring that if he considered it necessary, he would do it again.

"You are a ... Anyway. All this misunderstanding is your fault. We would have avoided the fight if you had shouted that it was you"

"...." This time the container crossed his arms and looked at her accusingly.

"Agg ... It's okay. You're right. it's not like you can make a sound or say something. In fact, I still do not know very well how the hell I can understand you"

This was a real mystery for Hornet, the child was unable to articulate any word, however he communicated with her through gestures, so clearly that he was even able to express complex thoughts. Perhaps beings made of void had the ability to understand each other. Anyway, she did not care, it's not like she wanted to live with that thing, if it were for her, she wish the vessel would get away at once.

But there was no case, no matter how hard Hornet tried. She shouted and attacked the vessel, but he did not leave her alone, he followed her like her shadow.

"I'm going to hunt" Hornet announced before leaving home, but then mentally reprimanded for this. She did not have to give explanations to that thing. He was nothing; her business should not matter to him, the same in the opposite case.

Hornet went to her usual hunting area in Deepnest, a dangerous and wild place, but with a good amount of potential prey. That day Hornet was not felt with much energy, the nightmare had altered her, leaving her somewhat sensitive in terms of entering dark places. Unfortunately the best preys were hiding in such places. No way, she would do it, she needed to eat.

She came to a dark tunnel that made her nervous because it reminded her of her dream, but unfortunately the traces that she followed guided her there. She could perceive the presence of a group of dirtcarvers, they were good prey, she could not let them escape.

She entered slowly, feeling ice on her back and tightness in her stomach. Why did she feel so terrified? Why had he dreamed that in the first place? The truth was that it was neither the place nor the time to think about it, but she could not help it. She went into his thoughts analyzing the reasons behind his dream.

His mother sometimes said that in dreams were hidden the greatest fears and desires of people. If so, from her dream could be inferred that she was afraid of the dark. But since when? She did not remember feeling so affected by the lack of light. Although perhaps her fear did not come from ordinary darkness, but rather from that kind of darkness of which she and the thing were composed.

Was he afraid of the thing? That could be, although he had never damaged her and only attacked when he was attacked, he was still potentially dangerous. Hornet had never met a being with a nail more lethal than his, it was reason to be afraid.

Perhaps part of her rejection by the child was for the fear. If he wanted he could kill her without major problems, especially with how close he stayed.He even went into her house as if it were his own. Also, why he insisted on follow her everywhere? Why did not he leave her alone? Why did not he stay at the bottom of the abyss living with all the other shadows?

Yes, maybe it was the fear of the unknown that had her like that. to have such a dangerous being and not knowing what she wanted was her ordeal. She would never live relaxed with him, maybe she should consider running away from home. But where? And how could he make sure he did not follow her?

The sound of the earth stirring brought her out of her thoughts. Fortunately she managed to see a bulge that was heading to attack her, but with her highly developed reflexes she managed to take out her needle and stabbed the attacker. Good luck, the dirtcarver she was chasing had jumped directly at her, now she would not starve to death.

However Hornet made a mistake, instead of having killed the prey in the same place she should have moved it away from the cave before doing so. The dirtcarvers always live in herds and unfortunately for Hornet, the scream of agony of the creature alerted their comrades, who emerged from the earth in great quantity. The insects upon seeing the corpse and its murderer became furious and attacked the warrior.

Leaving his prey aside, Hornet threw his needle into the ceiling and using the thread she always carried with her, she pushed himself away from the insects. Curiously, although she was a good warrior, her best ability was to flee. It would have taken three pitches of his needle to leave the cave and leave his pursuers behind, but that day she was not right, her distracted mind made her miss the last shot making her fall and giving the dirtcarvers time to reach her.

The crossbreed was preparing to throw her needle again when a pair of bugs emerged from the ground in front of her and attacked her. She managed to dodge them but one of them managed to reach one of her legs hurting her with theirs jaws. Furious Hornet kicked the creature and began to run to the exit ignoring the pain she felt. Some dirtcarvers were catching up with her, but she pulled them away, launching fast and superficial attacks with her needle, this dissuaded them from following her and could get to safety.

Panting, hurt and empty-handed, Hornet collapsed on the floor outside the cave. That hunting raid had been a fiasco and now she would go hungry. That day something was not very good with her, she had never done so badly, but things could get even worse.

Outside the cave, standing with his gaze fixed on her was the vessel. Again he had followed her, probably since she left home. His stealth skills were getting better. Unlike previous occasions this time Hornet was not able to detect him, or perhaps she was so distracted that she did not notice.
The little one approached her and as if it was a mockery, he showed her the corpse of a newly hunted dirtcarver.

Furious and outraged, Hornet started to move away from him, but the pain in her leg made her difficult to move, she could not help but moan. The child worried walked towards her but Hornet put her needle in front of him.

"If you get close I'll nail you"

She knew that the vessel could dodge it, but for some reason he kept his distance and let her go away alone.

That night, the warrior was writhing in her bed, harassed by the emptiness in her stomach, she was so hungry she even felt cold. She had never had that kind of need, when she was a child her mother had made sure that she never lacked anything, and when she was older, she was so skilled at hunting that she never returned home without a prey.

All this was the fault of that thing! Her head was a mess and because of him she could not concentrate. Maybe her only option was to fight against him and pray to get out alive. Maybe that was the desire of the vessel, to fight with her and finish it once and for all. Although she had to admit that it was very noble on his part to seek a fair and concerted fight instead of attacking her from behind.

Suddenly Hornet felt a couple of blows on the floor and sat up. At a safe distance there was the vessel with his nail outside, he had used it to give the blows that alerted her to his presence. After the experience of the morning he had decided to warn the girl that was there every time he appeared.

No doubt that had been a gesture of good faith, but Hornet in his ravings by hunger saw him as an aggressive sample. If he presented himself with his nail out he surely intended to attack her. But how dirty of him to do it when she was hurt and fatigued. But her pride prevented her from begging for mercy. Hornet picked up her needle, which she always left within his reach and placed himself in a fighting position.

The child when saw her with such an aggressive attitude made a silent scandal and pointed to her alarmed. Of course, Hornet as always understood perfectly his gestures.

“Why do I take my needle? What is not obvious? Let's fight!”

“.... .” He pointed to the bandaged leg of the girl.

“That does not matter. A warrior does not put pretexts to reject a fight”

“.....” This time the child showed her his nail and pointed to the girl in the red cloak while looking at her with a confused face.

“You defied me! For something you come before me with your nail out. You come to challenge me!”

“.......!” He waved his hands denying everything and with a series of gestures he implied that he had no intention of fighting with her.

“Then why did you come?”

The little one put away his nail and pulled out from under his cloak some food, it were dirtcarver fillets, well cut and roasted. At the sight of food the girl's mouth watered and her stomach demanded she go for it with a grunt. But she did not pay any attention to it, she stayed in her place observing the child with a serious expression.

“What do you want?”

“....?” He looked at her with a confused face.

“I want to know why you're here! You've been chasing me for a week! You don’t leave me alone. You watch me like a ghost. You look at me in that strange way and I do not understand why. And that makes me despair! Why are you here and don’t you go back to the hole you came from? Do you want to have a fight with me? I owe you something? Do you expect something from me?”

This time the vessel chose to approach Hornet, she looked at him suspiciously waiting to see what he was doing. There was nothing hostile about him but she could not lower his guard. Hornet leaned down a bit to jump in case he planned to attack her, but the pain in her leg made it difficult for her, then she squeezed the needle in her hand in frustration.

The vessel kept walking until he was finally in front of the warrior, he left the food he had next to him. Then she placed one hand on Hornet's chest and another on her own. This action caused Hornet to open her eyes by the surprise.

“Do you stay with me because we are siblings?”

“......” He nodded effusively and opened his arms pointing to something big.

“You, I and the 10,527 vessels from the bottom of the abyss are siblings .... According to you”

“......” He looked at her angrily and crossed his arms.

“Okay, sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, I understand your point. If we are made of the same material and we have the same father, technically we could consider ourselves siblings but ... The truth I have never seen you as family.”

“.......” The sad look of the child when hearing these words was indescribable.

“Huh? Wait, do not get like that, it was not my intention”

“.......” He ducked his head and looked away.

“I did not ask you to come here in the first place. If I looked into the abyss it was to return your mask, I did not expect or want you to follow me.”

“.....!” He clasped his hands and looked at Hornet with determination.

“Me in trouble? But I'm perfectly fine, even before you arrived. I never missed a hunt, I never missed anything, I have my house, I have my needle, I have everything I need.”

“......“ He looked at her seriously and opened his arms pointing to everything around him.

“I do not mind being alone, really...”

“....” This time the boy hugged her and looked at her sweetly. Hornet simply was not able to hold the gesture and ended up letting go of everything she had inside.

“Okay ... Yes, it's true that I feel alone. I can’t fit in with society; they see me as a savage. But that's how I've gotten used to living! Always fighting, while they lived submerged in their world fantasies imposed by The Radiance. Now suddenly all awaken and begin to make a new society, one where I have no place.... My only home is here, in these ruins of a vanished tribe.... There are no longer weavers. I have searched for them. My mother is no longer here, nor her people.... I do not have anyone..."

The container shook his embrace and gave a smile to the warrior, who looked at him with sorrow, until finally ended up succumbing to him.

“Okay, okay, I accept it. It will be good for me to have some company”

This time the little one released her and looked at her with joy, even gave little jumps of how happy he was. Without wasting time, he forced his sister to sit down and practically put the food that had brought her in her face.

“All right, all right. I'm going to eat, don't despair, you can really be annoying"

The vessel sat next to his sister and watched her eat with delight. You could tell Hornet was hungry, she practically devoured the dirtcarver fillets, after which she had an expression of complete satisfaction, as if it had been the best she had ever eaten in her life. Hornet looked at her brother gratefully for a moment, and then changed her expression to a more thoughtful one.

“Umm .... You know, I was thinking that it's kind of complicated to refer to you as the thing or the vessel, maybe I should give you a name”

The child eyes shone with excitement at the idea of being named and he pulled on Hornet's cloak giving her to understand that he was more than in agreement.
“Okay, I'll name you, but don’t hurry, I have to think.”

Unfortunately the vessel was very impatient and kept pulling Hornet’s cloak asking for her name. With that constant discomfort she could not think well, so she ended up releasing the first thing that crossed her mind.

“Okay, your name will be Hollow!”

At the mention of the name, the creature released his sister's cloak and after a few minutes without showing any reaction looked at her with disappointment.

“What? You don’t like it? I told you that I needed to think calmly. Although I'm not good at putting names either... Aggg. I'm sorry, is that when I remember that you were an hollow vessel I can not help thinking about Hollow, but I can think of something else.”

Hollow quickly denied, implying that everything was fine, and then rested his head on his sister's shoulder with an expression of happiness. Hornet of course, as always understood the gestures of the child with such clarity as if it had been expressed in words.

"This is the valuable name my sister gave me, that's why it's the most beautiful name in the world"

“You're really an irritating brother” It was all Hornet could answer.

Chapter Text

That day Hollow and Hornet decided they would make a little excursion to the hot springs that were near to Deepnest. Hornet’s leg had failed to heal properly (mostly her fault because she refused to take rest), so chose resort to the healing properties of those waters.

Hollow managed to catch something to eat along the way and Hornet gathered some edible weeds. Although the main goal was to heal the leg of the warrior, they planned to take this opportunity to make a picnic; this excited the little one a lot. It was Hollow’s first time in an activity like that, but for him most of the things he did with his sister were a novelty, from making toilet at home, to repair the roof. His existence as a defective vessel had wrested many everyday experiences of life. The good thing is that he was very talented and he learned everything quickly, so it was never a hindrance to Hornet.

When they reached the hot spring, the first to dive into the water was Hollow, who, like an excited little child, threw aside the pieces of food he had collected and jumped into the water splashing everything around him.

He sank until he was covered in liquid and then emerged again enjoying the pleasant warmth that enveloped his body. Then he looked at his sister on the shore of the lake, picking up the food he had left lying there and ordering it in a pile. Annoyed that Hornet was wasting her time on those things he started splashing to get her attention.
"Aggg ... Do not splash me," Hornet complained, finishing ordering the food. "You must learn that you can not leave things lying around."

"......" He crossed his arms somewhat annoyed by the sermon and hit the water raising some drops in the process.

"Yes I'm going. Ugg ... You're really annoying"

The warrior observed the water and then the red cloak she was wearing. She evaluated the situation for a moment and then decided to take it off her clothes. The little vessel watched alarmed at his sister taking off her clothes. He hit the water wanting to know what was happening.

"Stop bothering Hollow." She scolded him. "I'm just taking off my cape because I don’t want to ruin it."

"...." Hollow took one of the tips of his own coat and lifted it up showing how it was absolutely soaked and still in good condition.

"You can’t compare your cloak with mine. Yours is a cloth made for ordinary people. It is not elegant or refined, my cloak is special, my mother wove it especially for me with her own silk. This garment is made with the quality of the clothes for someone from royalty. There are no more knitters in Hallownest, because of that; there will never be more fabrics like this. Therefore it is very valuable and I have to take care of it a lot. "

"....." He simply shrugged and let himself float relaxed in the water.

Hornet meanwhile finished folding his clothes carefully and left it next to the food, after which she walked delicately towards the water with her dark body exposed revealing her black skin, made of that strange material different from that of any normal insect.

As soon as her body was submerged in the warm liquid, she began to feel an immediate relief in her knee; it was as if the energy and health returned magically. She closed her eyes enraptured by the sensations that passed through her and relaxed enjoying the moment. But it was only a moment, because Hollow began to throw water to her face while playing. For Wyrm, this guy seriously had too much energy.

At first she felt like scolding him, but then discarded the idea, they were there to have fun. And what better than a water fight? Maybe Hollow gave her a beating in nail combat, but now she would beat him in water combat.

Both siblings started throwing water, laughing and playing, like a couple of kids having a fun afternoon. Absorbed in their games, none of them caught the presence of an unwanted visitor. In fact they were off guard, that hot spring was rarely visited, as far as it was, and because not many insects knew how to get there.

But this time a creature managed to get to the place, apparently guided by the smell of the food they had been carrying, because as soon as he arrived at the hot springs, he completely ignored those who were taking a bath and went directly to the snacks.

The insect was apparently some kind of beetle without horns. He did not seem very fast or very strong, but he was stealthy, no one saw him, nor did it feel him.

That's how the creature approached the pile of food and took everything he could in his arms and prepared to leave. But suddenly he noticed the pretty red cloak that was next to him. He touched the fabric, soft, light, firm and a very beautiful color, never in his life had seen such a beautiful garment. He looked back where he saw the siblings playing quietly. They didn't see him, then since there was the opportunity. Why not take the cloak too?

After a while playing, Hollow and Hornet left the water ready to eat something, but it was not their surprise to find that only a few stubble remained from the pile of food. The child was furious about this and was already preparing to take his sting to go in search of revenge, but a disturbance in the environment stopped him. A chill ran down his back and when he turned to see he found his sister on the verge of tears observing the empty space where her clothes should have been.

"My... Cloak ... My pretty red cloak... The memory of my mother...."

Hollow alarmed ran to her and began to take off her own cloak to offer her.

"No Hollow, you don’t have to do that, after all it is yours and is too small for me. It is not the same ... Waaaaa..... My cloaaaaaaak......"

"......!" He ran to hug the worried girl trying to comfort her and make her stop crying.

"And now how am I going to get out of here... I'm naked... Aaaah! It’s True!"

"??"

"Hollow, I'm naked!"

"????"

"Now you can see my body. Everyone will see that I'm made of void, I'm not a normal being!"

"!!!"

"Exactly! My cloak was not only because it looked pretty, it was to hide my body made of shadows. I can’t go out in public without anything on... There are already a lot of funny stories about me out. If now we add the fact that I'm not a normal bug…. Aaaaaggg"

"...!" The child hit his chest and looked at her decisively.

"What? Are you going to find the thief of my cloak? How the hell are you going to do that? "

".....!"

"Well ... I don’t know... The place is very big ... I don’t think..."

"...... !!!"

"Okay, okay, I trust you, and then ... I guess I'll stay here waiting for you until you return with my cloak... Or with anything you find out there to cover me. In a desperate situation the truth is not I'm going to be picky. "

That said, Hollow with his usual enthusiasm left running to find the thief, while Hornet had to stay at the place waiting for him.

Often the hardest task is usually for the one who has to wait. Hornet was not a very patient girl, that was demonstrated in her inability to stay calm until her leg healed. If it had been for her, she would have gone out to find the thief of her clothes herself, but the shame of being seen naked kept her in place.

She walked impatiently for a while, then ate the remains of the food that had not been stolen and then walked through the hot springs kicking the liquid trying to get rid of the rage that was beginning to grow inside. Finally boring, she began to make some rare inventions. She took her needle and nailed it from the ceiling that was not very high, then with the thread that was tied to it she improvised a kind of swing on which she mounted and began to swing.

The thread swing was one of the few spider skills that Hornet had learned correctly, although she did not make much use of it because it had no practical use really. In fact he did not remember when it was the last time she had swung. The swing in the air was beginning to calm her down and put her in a good mood despite her situation.
Hornet was even thinking of inviting Hollow to swing with her in the near future.

The crossbreed was singing as she hung from the ceiling when a murmur caught her attention.

"Hollow?" She asked hopefully that her brother had arrived, but unfortunately it was not like that.

What a pity for Hornet that the hot springs were so unusually crowded that day. For below her, watching her with surprise and perhaps some fear there was a pill bug, one that for some reason seemed familiar. Hornet swore she had seen a pill bug using a handkerchief in the head before, although apparently he lacked something to fit with her memories. Maybe a mask?

Hornet quickly unlocked her needle from the roof and let herself fall into the water so that the liquid would hide her.

The insect that had sighted her was a curious enough type, lover of knowledge and eager to discover the great secrets of the world. Just a mystery was what had taken him to that far corner of Hallownest. Before leaving for other kingdoms, he had heard the story of a strange creature, lethal, fast but very beautiful, an insect that did not seem to belong to any known species, but somehow resembled a spider and a wasp. It was the desire to see this being that led him to make one last trip to the bowels of the kingdom.

The being he had seen now was certainly quite rare. She had an absolutely black and very thin body that seemed to lack a shell. In addition she hung from the ceiling through a thread, just as a spider would, that fit well with the rumors of the beast, but she also possessed a long antler that reminded a bit of some species of beetles. That din’t fit with the description. Was that thing that he had seen in the distance the being that he was looking for? Because at the moment the part that she looked like a wasp did not make much sense to him.

Suddenly his quick reflexes alerted him to a blunt object that was heading towards him, he managed to dodge it with a slight shake of his head, and could distinguish that the attacking weapon was a needle thrown from a distance ... Yes, that was a very proper combat technique of the wasps, he had found his target, now he had to leave alive.
The creature picked up the needle from the place where it was in the water using the thread that was tied to the instrument. The pill bug this time could appreciate the mysterious being in all her splendor, because she had decided to stop hiding underwater and now stood ready to battle.

No doubt his body was thin and elegant; despite its abnormal composition, but for some reason her face was quite familiar. Had not he seen this insect before? Maybe, but something was missing ... A red cloak maybe.

"You ..." Said the shaking creature very affected "You dared to see me naked! Now I can’t let you leave alive! "

That voice ... He definitely knew her ... She was the unreasonable girl who had attacked him when he had arrived in Hallownest. From the impression he got from her when he met her, he could say that she was an impatient person, the kind they never hear from others ... He was definitely in trouble, especially now that he had decided to leave the warrior's path and had abandoned his nail in the Blue Lake.

Meanwhile by his side, Hollow had been wandering through the hiding places of Deepnest trying to find the thief. But his task was a bit difficult, both because the insects in the area were not very cooperative or willing to talk, because he was Unable to ask. Of course, he had no voice and the only one who understood him was Hornet.

Apparently he could not find the bug by normal methods. He had no choice but to use his cunning. For this, it was based on the assumption that the insect he was looking for was a thief, therefore he was someone who was always stealing, so to catch him, he would have to put a bait.

He regretted a bit having to use such a time-consuming method to retrieve his sister's cloak, but it was the only plan he had. So he set out to catch some simple prey, then cooked it a little, just enough to let out some smell, then left it somewhere visible and hid nearby to wait for its target.

The plan itself was good. The problem was that Hollow did not take into account the possibility that there was more than one thief around. The little one did not know but Deepnest was full of all kinds of opportunists, who of course would not waste the possibility of obtaining a free meal without effort.

A good number of crawling insects appeared in the place guided by the smell of the roasted food. All wished to eat, but none shared, reason why the group started a fierce battle. On the other hand Hollow observed the combat quite disappointed of the bad results of its plan, although it could not deny that the fight was quite interesting, to the point that he distracted and forgot why he was there.

Fortunately for Hollow, the insect he was looking for was the king of the rogues, the most elusive and skillful of the louts that inhabited that place. The bug like the others, also appeared in search of free food, but he was smarter. Instead of launching into battle with the rest, he sneaked quietly without anyone noticing and he stole the food.
Hollow from his post saw everything. He almost overlooked the thief, but the striking color of the cloak he wore made his attention to him.

Taking a cautious attitude, the child followed him stealthily at a certain distance, waiting for him to stop somewhere quiet to face him.

When the murmur of the fighting insects was lost in the distance, the thief in red stopped and looked back to make sure no one was following him. He saw no one, so he went on his way to the cave that he called home.

The beetle entered the dark corner that he lived singing happily. He celebrated the good booty of the day. He had obtained two good meals and a nice cloak without much effort, he could not feel more fortunate.

But his good fortune was destined to end. The beetle felt a slight scraping of earth. He turned to see and found a small creature; it looked like an offspring of horned beetle, which looked at him blankly. The little one wore a cloak of gray lilac, with a remarkable quality inferior to his. What was that child doing there? Did he want him to share his food with him? Ha! Impossible! The world belong to the smartest and the strongest. If he wanted to eat, he would have to look for food by himself.

Then to his surprise, the little one pulled out of his clothes a nail, a pretty and shiny one. Where would he have gotten such a piece? The beetle did not know much about weapons but that thing seemed of good quality. The vessel then extended one of his hands demanding that the bettle give him something. The insect tilted his head confused. Did he really think that he was going to give him something just because he asked for it and showed him his sting? Anyway, he followed his silent game and he pointed to the food asking if that was what he wanted.

To his surprise the child shook his head and took the tip of his own cloak giving him to understand that what he was looking for the red garment. The beetle really did not need the cloak and it was a simple pleasure that he used it. He could give it to him and not regret it, but his greedy and selfish heart would not allow it.

The beetle then opened its jaws and extended its claws. He would not give anything to him. He would attack that brat, kill him and keep his nail, so he would have two beautiful treasures for him. Maybe he could even pass himself off as a distinguished knight.

Somehow Hollow supposed that things would end like this and the truth was not too funny that things were that way. The reality is that he was not a bellicose insect, although sometimes he liked to fight, he did not enjoy killing without a reason. But if someone attacked him, he had no hesitation of responding, especially to a perverse insect -and above all- a weak one like the one who was addressing him.

A stroke of his nail was enough to kill his adversary by beheading him. He was very careful not to touch the red cloak with the edge of his weapon. his sister would not forgive him if he broke the fabric, especially since none of them knew how to mend.

Soon the vessel had the corpse of the insect at his feet. He undressed it carefully, folded the clothes and left the cave with the cloak in his arms. However, that was not the end of the beetle, because this body, still beheaded, got up slowly. From the hole where the head used to be, you could see a pair of bright eyes, and then this living corpse shout a terrifying screech and threw itself at the small knight.

Hollow the truth did not even flinch at this, looked back and with all the calm of the world, he pulled out his nail and pierced the beast who was attacking him.

A corpse creeper. Hollow had the feeling that the bettle was one of those annoying beings. At the end of the day someone who is able to steal the body of another is a thief from the soul. But now he did not have time to meditate on this, his sister was waiting for him. So doing a dash he began to run towards the hot springs.

Meanwhile, returning with Hornet. She was very upset attacking the intrusive pillbug. She was dead of shame because he had seen her naked. But above all, she was scared that he saw her as a monster. Hornet had not thought that attacking him like crazy, made her more frightening than looking a little weird due to her body.

When Hollow arrived, he saw his sister attacking an intruder with all her strength, but the intruder seemed to have an extraordinary ability to dodge, although because he did not possess a weapon with him he could not respond. That guy was moving very well... Where had he seen those movements before? Could it be... Quirrel?

Suddenly Hornet managed to see Hollow out of the corner of her eye and stopping her attack she faced his brother.

"Hollow! Give me my clothes! Hurry! "

The little one wanted to fulfill his sister’s order as quickly as possible, so he grabbed a large stone from the floor, wrapped it in the red cloak and threw it to Hornet. But something did not go well in his idea, because the warrior instead of receiving the package with her hands she did it with her head and due the blow she ended unconscious floating in the water.

If Hollow had a voice, he would have screamed at that moment.

By the time Hornet regained consciousness; she was already at home, lying on her bed with a bandage on her head and many pains.

"Ah my head" The girl complained "What... What happened? Where I am?"

She made an effort to get up, but before she could raise her head, a hand held her in place and spoke quietly and kindly.

"Don't get up friend, you need to rest" said Quirrel.

"You!" The warrior exclaimed, feeling her body tense.

He had started to look around for her needle and thread, but the simple effort of doing that made her dizzy.

"Hey! Take it easy," the pill bug tried to calm her. "You suffered a concussion

"You ... Who are you?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"My name is Quirrel, former apprentice of Monomon the teacher and currently a wandering traveler and explorer."

"I see ..." she narrowed her eyes "And that's all?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don’t fool me. Those extraordinary skills of yours to dodge are not of a common insect. I could bet you're a nailess warrior. Why did you go to the hot springs? Did you pretend to reveal my identity? Show everyone my abnormality? Or did you want something else?"

"You're still as distrustful as the first time we saw each other, when you wanted to kill me and Monomon's mask stopped you."

"You are the pill bug of the mask! I knew it!"

"Yes, I already fulfilled the mission that brought me to these lands and I planned to leave the kingdom. But the story of a mysterious creature that lived on these sides seduced me and I ended up finding you."

"You ... You saw me naked ... You know I'm not a normal insect ... Are you going to tell my secret to others?" She asked worriedly.

"Well ... if it affects you so much I will keep silence. After all, you are a friend of the little guy. I don’t think he was very happy if I do something that hurt you."

"The little guy? Oh! Hollow! Where is he?"

"He's been lamenting all day for having thrown that stone at you. He's very affected and he doesn't want to see you from the pain he feels. I call him?"

"Yes please."

Almost dragging Hollow, Quirrel brought him before Hornet . The vessel opposed with all the resistance he could, but could not get away from the hands of the insect. However as soon as he saw his sister, she opened her arms to receive him. At this gesture, the little child ran to her to hug her, but before he could reach Hornet, she gave him a good bump on the head.

"Hollow you're an idiot! Did you want to kill me? "

"....." He lowered his head in distress.

"Silly brother. I forgive you just because you got my coat back."

"Are you siblings!?" Quirrel asked surprised.

"Something like that. Is complicated to explain it but you don’t need to know either. So forget about that. "

It was obvious to Quirrel that here was a hidden secret, there was something they did not want to tell and Quirrel’s curious personality and his obsession with secrets pushed his hearth. His original intentions were simply to make sure that the two siblings were well and then leave the kingdom, but he considered staying a while longer, at least until he could satisfy his infinite desire to know.

That's how another warm and annoying insect came to Hornet's life.

Chapter Text

I don’t know if curiosity is something really good or bad, but I do agree that it can bring some problems. It was my curiosity that led me to be apprenticed to the teacher Monomon and eventually lose my memory and all my past. Now I am wondering if the decision to stay with this strange pair of siblings to study them will bring me some catastrophic consequences in the future.

I already know that they are not normal insects. They don’t have a shell and their bodies seem to be composed of a dark and strange substance. They usually hide this condition by using a cloak. I wanted to study and analyze their bodies but I think it won’t be possible. At first I asked Hornet to let me review her, she threatened to stab me whit her needle if I tried it... With the temperament she has I no doubt that she could do it.

Hollow was more open to cooperate with my investigations and let me see what was under his cloak. So I could observe freely the strange material which these guys are made. I could even touch it. It was cold to the touch and it was softer than a shell. How can they not be damaged by such fragile bodies? I would have liked to do some tests in Hollow, but unfortunately his sister discovered us and gave me a beating after screaming at me depraved... So far I do not understand what goes through her head.

Hornet has been pretty rough with me since that incident and keeps her brother with her all the time. Will she think I'm some kind of bad influence on him? Perhaps she is simply overprotective. She is not very open with other individuals outside her family, she seems to have a certain fear of being seen as a monster, curiously Hollow seems not to be worried about this. These siblings are as different as the day of the night.

As it seems that Hornet won’t allow me to continue investigating Hollow, I can only try she trust me and tell me her secrets. I hope this happens soon, to live in Deepnest is not easy. The only safe place is Distant Village, the rest is full of dangerous beasts and without a nail to defend myself, I can’t go out on my own. I think I should never have given up my nail in the Blue Lake. In fact now I think that if I intend to travel to other lands I should get another weapon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hornet opened her eyes that morning and stretched lazily in her bed, glad to wake up alone that day. Usually Hollow appeared early to interrupt her sleep and ask her to play something.

She got up still a little sleepy and prepared to leave her house while rubbing her eyes, but she could not take three steps when she stumbled over something and fell. She got up a little annoyed thinking that Hollow had again left lying around some toys lying around. But she found a large round bulge that was shaking a little.

The warrior took some distance and watched enthralled as the ball unrolled showing its true identity as an insect. It was Quirrel who was asleep.

One of the things that most called Hornet's attention about the pill bug was his way of sleeping, She thought it was funny that he needs to roll up for this. As he explained, all the pill bugs of the world slept like this. This caused her some tenderness. Of course,she would never admit it out loud.

When she saw that Quirrel had fully incorporated, she crossed his arms, took the cold and distant attitude she always had with him and asked.

"Good morning, are you leaving now?"

"But what kind of way to say hello is that?" The insect asked indignantly.

"It's the way to greet a home invader who stays to sleep in my house even when I do not invite him"

"I was invited. Hollow pulled me by the hand and brought me here, you can’t forbid your brother to invite a friend, can you?" Obviously this response angered Hornet.

"Hollow is just a child who doesn’t understand many things. Obviously he finds nothing unusual in inviting a stranger with an insane interest in his body"

"Hey! I have already told you that my intentions are merely investigative. In fact, if you tell me what you are and what you are made of, I would leave you alone and I would leave at once. I'm not a threat. Please! It's not like I'm suddenly going to take a needle out of nowhere and attack him"

This random comment hurt Hornet deeply, because she had done exactly that with Hollow long ago. She was carefully selecting the words she was going to answer when the sound of knocks behind her interrupted her. Hollow was behind her and as was his custom, announced his presence hitting the floor with his nail. Immediately his face softened and cheerfully greeted the little one.

"Good morning Hollow, how did you sleep?"

"......"

"I see, do you miss them? Maybe we can visit them one of these days”

There was that strange silent communication that the siblings could keep. That was one of the mysteries that most intrigued Quirrel. When he met Hollow, he interpreted that he was just a very silent little child who liked to hear people talking. It never crossed his mind that he was able to express some idea in some kind of language he could not understand. But now that he saw him talking to Hornet, he wondered how this curious communication system based on gestures worked. Unfortunately when he asked Hornet how he was talking to his brother, she was not very kind when answering.

"I really have to explain to you how to talk to Hollow? If it's as obvious as talking to any insect. You just have to look at him carefully and you'll know what he means."
Perhaps for her it was something obvious. She knew him well and they had grown up together (he supposed, because until now he did not know the story of the two siblings), it was obvious that she would understand him.

Suddenly he felt that someone was taking his hand and pulling it gently. Quirrel looked down and found the small vessel trying to get his attention, as if inviting him to go somewhere while stirring his nail next to him.

“What? What's up dude? Do you need anything? "Quirrel asked, not understanding the child's behavior.

"Do you really still can’t understand him?" Hornet said "Hollow is inviting you to hunt, it's more than clear"

"Ah, I see ... I'm sorry, my friend, but unfortunately I don’t have a nail. Therefore I can’t hunt, I'm not even capable of defending myself right now. I would only be a nuisance in your way. You really don’t know how sorry I am for getting rid of my nail, now I see that it was not the right time to leave it. Someone who wants to travel should always be able to defend himself”

"So ... from what I understand ... If you have not left this town, is it because you don’t have a nail?"

"That's just one of the reasons; I also told you that I'm not leaving because I want to satisfy my curiosity about you."

"And I already told you I'm not going to reveal anything to you" Hornet narrowed her eyes and then turned her back abruptly "Anyway, I think it would be good you got a nail of your own so you could hunt. I don’t like the idea of maintain parasytes. I know that Hollow has made sure to bring you food, but I don’t want he continue with that, you have to get yourself a weapon "

"The truth I would be happy to have one. Although it may cost a bit to obtain it, after the fall of the king, the guild of knights no longer exists and there are not many people interested in carrying nails. So nailsmiths are not very necessary. You would have to buy an imported weapon and I don’t think it's cheap"

At that time Hollow began to jump with enthusiasm calling the attention of the adult, of course, the only one who understood it was Hornet.

"Do you know a nailsmith? How?"

"....."

"I see ... That guy must be a master. Until now I've never asked you where you got that beautiful weapon. But I see it's a long story. All right, we'll go with him, you guide us Hollow" she lifted her head and immediately hardened his expression when looked at Quirrel "move you parasite"

"Whatever you say, lady." He answered the insect resigned.

The nailsmith lived in a deep corner located in Green Path. Normally reach that place would have been a trip of a whole day, but thanks to the old stag always willing to go the tunnels of the kingdom, it shortened long way.

When they got off the back of the old insect, the only one who remained to give him a few words of thanks was Quirrel, in addition to offering him a small snack, of course he could not stay long because Hornet shouted at him to hurry. The insect ran to reach the two siblings before they got too far away, then rebuked the girl.

"You know, since that old insect does us the favor of taking us for free to where we ask, it would not hurt you to thank him"

"He does it because he likes it. Besides, why do you scold me? Hollow didn't say anything either"

"It's not like he can do it anyway, but even so he gave a thank-you look to the stag, that counts as a thank you"

"And you say you can’t understand Hollow?"

"Yes but ... That ... It's ... Touché"

From this brief exchange of words it can be said that both were meditating for a while.

The place where the nailsmith was living was quite different from anything they could have imagined, the place was more a kind of art studio instead of a forge. It was full of paint, canvas, sculptures and all kinds of art materials .

"Hollow. Are you sure the nailsmith lives here?"

The child nodded fervently and then entered the room looking for its occupant. Finally he found it at the bottom working with some mud in a sculpture that at the moment looked quite deformed. The huge and robust insect to feel the presence of the visitor interrupted his work and fixed his eyes on him, immediately a sweet smile appeared in his face.

"Wow. It’s my little friend. It's been a while since you've passed by here. Have you come to immerse yourself in the exciting world of art? Those who want to join this passion are always welcome”

"Ahem... Hello?" Hornet interrupted, approaching her brother, Quirrel following closely behind.

"Wow ... I see you've brought some friends Are you also interested in art?"

"The truth is not much" Hornet said quickly. "If we came here it's because we need your services as a nailsmith. This guy here needs a new nail and according to Hollow, you are one of the best nailsmiths"

"Hollow?" The huge insect looked at the alluded with interest "So that's your name? I had not realized but until now you never told me. Fu fu fu, what a clumsy I am. although now that I think about the past, I was never really interested in those who required my services. They were only empty entities in charge of bringing me materials to work. I never cared about their names or their destinations, but that has changed. Now I started a new life, far from the heat of forging, but surrounded by the heat of life. Now I am another kind of creator, one dedicated to beauty and charm. I have already left the solitary life of the smith and I don't intend to return to it. Therefore I am afraid that I won't be able to take your request, miss"

"What? But you are a nailsmith! Can’t you do us the favor of manufacture one last nail? We really need it, we will pay well"

"No, I'm not interested in something as banal as money. With what nature gives us is enough to live. As long as I have food for the body and for the soul I don’t need anything else"

"Is there nothing I can do to change your mind? Something you want? "

"Everything I want I already have. I'm sorry young girl, but you'll have to find another insect for the job"

The refusal of the old smith bothered the warrior quite a bit, but she could not force him to work, she had no choice but to retire with empty hands. Hornet turned around without saying anything and when she was close to the exit, another big-eyed insect came into the room. He was carrying some plants with colorful flowers, which he threw on the ground as soon as he saw Hornet. Then raising his arms as if celebrating that fortuitous meeting he shouted.

"The muse! The muse has appeared! "

"What?" To say that the girl was bewildered was little.

"You're the muse I was looking for!" Said Sheo holding Hornet by the shoulders "Friend! At last the muse I needed appeared! "

"Was that young lady what you needed to get out of your artistic block?" Asked the smith.

"Of course, it's what I needed and more. Look at her! She is beautiful! Those thin legs, that horns, those elongated eyes, everything in her is perfect"

All these comments made by the artist made Hornet feel increasingly embarrassed. No one had ever referred to her with adjectives as beautiful. They usually described her as a beast, terrifying or terrible.

"Please, my muse, allow me to contemplate your beauty and to portray you in a painting"

"What ... I ... This ... Do you want to portrait me?"

"Of course, a graceful creature like you must be captured on the canvas."

"I ... I ..." Hornet's face was as red as the cloak she wore. At that moment she just wanted to be swallowed by the earth. Finally she exploded when she saw a kind of mocking smile on Quirrel's face "No! I don’t want to be portraited! This is embarrassing! "

Sheo's face was tinged with disappointment as soon as she heard Hornet's statement, but of course he was not give up that easy.

"Please, be my model! It will not be difficult, I need you. In recent weeks I have had many problems to find inspiration. No drawing convinces me, no matter what I do, nothing fits me and I feel unmotivated. But just seeing you the desire to paint comes back to me. I will reward you for this favor"

"I have said no! And I don’t want any reward! I just want to get out of here!"

"Wait, young lady!" Said suddenly the nailsmith. "You said before that you needed a nail for your friend, right? The truth ... Although I am already retired I could make an exception for you if you cooperate with Sheo. He really has been very depressed lately for not being able to do art as he wanted and nothing would make me happier than being able to help him. Pose for him, be his model. It will not cost you anything”

"I said no!" Screamed the warrior.

After releasing those words, she took out her needle and nailed it to the ceiling, then using her thread she pushed herself out of the studio.

"Even her movements are elegant and beautiful" Sheo said, his eyes were shining with emotion, which suddenly declined when he remembered that he could not use her as a model. "Too bad my mind is not able to retain that beauty long enough to translate it into a painting"

"This ..." Quirrel intervened suddenly "I think ... I'll go talk to her, wait a bit"

The pill bug hurried out of the room to reach Hornet. Hollow wanted to follow him, but Quirrel stopped him telling him that he would take care of everything and wait for him there. The little one obeyed quietly and returned to the two burly insects who owned the place.

"Well, while you wait for your friend" said Sheo "How about some painting lessons?"

Quirrel walked in the surroundings of the place guided more by his intuition than by anything else, although he also gave himself the job of looking for clues, such as needle holes for example, although it was difficult to catch them in the vegetation of that area. After a long search he found the girl, who was sitting next to a pool of water, hugging her legs with a crestfallen face.

"I finally found you," Quirrel said, sitting next to her. "Don’t you think that way of leaving was a bit rude? You act like a wild girl unable to say thank you or see you later"

"Shut up. You don’t understand anything" She said burying her head between her legs "I... I was so embarrassed..."

"And why so much shame? Does it bother you to be told you're pretty?"

"That's not true, I'm not pretty. I'm a monster, an artificial being made of darkness that tries to hide her abnormality with this cloak. Would he want to paint this strange body without a shell?"

"Wow... It seems that it affects you a lot to be a little different from the rest but... Nobody said that you had to take off your cloak to be portrayed, in fact that garment is almost part of yourself. Actually I don’t understand much about these things of artists but that painter liked how you looked. And... I don’t know if this makes you feel better but ... When I saw you the other day hanging naked in your swing on the hot springs, I also thought you were very pretty, even with that strange body of yours"

At that moment, Quirrel received a blow to the head from Hornet, who was looking at him with a red face.

"Perverted" said the girl.

"What? Why?"

"Because yes"

"That's not a decent answer"

"You don’t deserve decent answers"

Quirrel sighed unable to understand the girl. From experience he knew that females were somewhat complicated, but Hornet seemed to be even more than an average female.

Both set course for Master Sheo's study where Hornet would eventually submit to being portrayed.

Although the warrior was somewhat nervous at first, she was very relieved when she saw that no one made her take off her cloak, they simply put a chair in the center of the room and asked her to sit there quietly. Who would portray it would be Sheo, while for his part, the nailsmith would retire from the studio to his former home where he had the forge and some materials to create the promised nail.

Hornet sat for about half an hour looking into the void and losing herself in her thoughts trying to make time go by quickly. From time to time she watched Sheo brush the canvas as if they were thrusts, but the insect did not seem very convinced with his work .

"Mmmm ... This is missing something" said the bug making a strange face "Definitely here something is missing ... What it could be? Just a moment! I already have it!"

Sheo put aside his brushes and ran to find a couple of extra chairs which he put on Hornet's sides, after that, he took Hollow and sat him on one of them, then asked Quirrel to occupy the other seat. After that he returned to his post behind the canvas.

"So... Now we have to pose?" Quirrel asked.

"Feel honored, now you are part of the beautiful scene I'm creating."

Nobody said anything else and so the afternoon passed. Hornet and Quirrel occasionally exchanged a couple of words trying not to move much so as not to spoil the scene of Sheo. After a few hours, finally the painter finished his work. Coincidentally he did it at the same time the nailsmith came back from his work with the new weapon in his hands. The old insect offered the nail to its new owner, who accepted it gladly.

"Wow, it's really a good job" exclaimed the pill bug brandishing his new nail "I would even say it's better than my old weapon. Thank you very much sir"

"It's nothing young. I'll do whatever it takes to see my partner create his wonderful works of art. To all this, how's the painting going?"

"I just finished it” said Sheo proudly.

"Let me see" The prominent insect approached the canvas and gave a good look at this "Wow... It's really the best job you've done in a long time. I congratulate you.You were right, that girl was the perfect model"

"With the years of experience that I have, my artistic senses have been sharpened, anyway. Now this little piece belongs to you"he said taking the picture and handing it to Hornet.

"Hey? It’s mine?" She seemed quite confused" But if you painted it"

"I painted it, but I don’t need to keep the painting. The great experience was to paint it, the duty to admire it is for the world. And for that, the work must leave here to distant lands where more people can see it. That's why I give it to you and I thank you for your help. Now ideas about paintings flow through my mind. I can’t wait to start the next piece"

"Wow... I... I don’t know what to say..."

"To way thank you would be fine," Quirrel whispered in her ear.

"I... Well... Thank you"

Blushing a little, the girl made a slight bow and left the place followed closely by her little brother.

"Well, I think I'll retire too" Quirrel said. "We don’t have any more pending issues in this place. It has truly been a pleasant experience to share with you and I hope that our paths will come together again at another time"

"You will always be welcome in this place," said Sheo with a smile. "Take care of yourself and try to tame that girl a little. She's not a bad girl but she lacks some social friction"

"Yes, don’t worry. I'll take care of her. Goodbye and thank you for everything"

The picture received by Hornet soon became one of her favorite treasures, even before that day she never became interested in works of art of any kind, but that image made her smile. The three of them were portrayed with a lot of grace and with such energy, that they seemed alive, in addition the picture conveyed sweetness and joy, as if they were a happy family. Since then, that painting has always hung on the wall in Hornet's house.

Chapter Text

Quirrel walked happily along the winding paths of Deepnest as he made his way to Distant Town. He had gone for a walk around the place, now that he had a nail of his own, he could afford to do that.

Soon he came to the lagoon at the foot of that hanging town. At first, when he came to live in the place, for him reach the houses that were on the heights was an odyssey. But recently Hornet had installed a rope ladder that was always left hanging so he could climb easily.

The attitude of the girl had improved a lot with the passing of the days, to the point that she had come to have some gestures considered with him and her dialogues no longer seemed hidden discussions.

He climbed the ladder to the heights where was the sinister houses in which the ancient spiders of Hallownest used to live. The climb was quite exhausting, so when he arrived at his destination, he had to stay for a while resting to catch his breath. Maybe age was affecting him, it was hard to tell, he did not even know when he was born.
Suddenly a scream that came from a house that was higher, took him out of his thoughts.

"No Hollow! I told you on the left! Don’t! Aagggh! Now it is more tangled!"

Wondering what mess the siblings would have gotten into now, the pill bug hurried up to the house. The show he found upon entering was superb. Hornet and Hollow were on the floor entangled in a kind of poorly knitted fabric full of knots and loose stitches. The tangle of thread was such a disaster that they were unable to move.

“Eh ... What are you supposed to be playing?”

"Quirrell! Help us! We are caught in the tangle of thread and it is almost time for dinner! If we don’t escape from here we will soon die of hunger!

Such a statement made the insect laugh, you had to admit, and the situation was funny. It was not like Hornet would not eat for so long. But now that he knew her better, he knew that she did not tolerate hunger well.

Finally he set out to help them and with some patience and a lot of care, he managed to untangle all the knots and free the siblings. The reality was that the tangle of thread was not so tangled, but the little patience and observation of the captives made it impossible for them to manage to undo it.

Once they were free they set out to prepare something quick to eat, before Hornet fainted.

“I see that your attempts to knit something decent have not gone very well" Quirrel said as he pulled some stew from the pot and handed it to Hornet.

"Aggf. Shut up! It's not easy, especially if you don’t remember well how it was done. I'd like to see you weaving"

"......." Hollow patted her sister's back encouraging her.

"I appreciate the support. But I would prefer that you avoid helping me in the future. I think things were worse now than usual thanks to you"

"….." The child lowered his eyes giving an impression of dejection.

"Hey! Don’t be discouraged by that. It is not so serious, not everyone can weave”

"I think that advice also applies to you Hornet" the pill bug said wanting to annoy the girl.

"You do not mess! It's a conversation between siblings! Anyway, let's change the subject. This stew is great. Did you put something special on it?"

"Poison"

"Pfffffhhh" Hornet spat what was in her mouth, although it was also the last bite.

"It was a joke" The insect was hit by the empty Hornet’s plate in the head.

"But what kind of joke is that?!" The indignant girl shouted.

"I'm sorry. I could not help it. I wanted to know if the insects of your kind are immune to poisons, because of your reaction I don’t think so"

"Don't mess with my food" said Hornet with teary eyes.

Seeing his sister so affected angered Hollow, who gave an accusing look to Quirrel. He seeing that he had screwed up, he quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry. I won’t do something like that again. Dry those tears, what I really put into the food are spices"

"Spices?"

"Yes. While I was on a walk I met a lost traveler and I helped him. This one in gratitude, gave me some spices that I used in today's meal"

"I see ... The food usually is much more like... Simple. Do you think we could get spices in some way in the future?"

"In the market of the City of Tears they sell of those things. If you want, tomorrow we can go and buy some"

Hornet put a face of displeasure at the idea of going to that place. She had her reasons to avoid it, but she did not want to talk about them with Quirrel.

"Oh well. It's not that important either" said the resigned warrior.

"Are you sure? Without the spices the food will have the same boring taste as always. It is unlikely that I will find another traveler soon. Never again will you eat another tasty stew like this, it would be a shame to miss something like this...."

"Aaagg. Fine! Tomorrow we'll go buy spices"

Quirrel smiled surreptitiously at the girl's statement. He had taken very seriously the mission of making Hornet more socialized; taking her to the flea market seemed like a good idea to achieve this. It's good that her love for food was greater than her dislike for the people.

The next day, they took a stag to the station in the City of Tears. As soon as the old insect stopped, Quirrel and Hornet jumped out of him, but for some reason Hollow chose to stay on top.

"What's up Hollow? Why don’t you go down? “Asked the crossbreed

"....."

"Are you going to visit our siblings? Okay, try not to go home too late, okay? "

The little boy nodded in response and the old runner bug started walking again. The two elders watched him walk away in silence, until Quirrel interrupted her with a question.

"Do you have more siblings?"

"Yes. 10,527 siblings to be exact"

"So many? Your siblings are an ant colony?"

"No, we have nothing to do with the ants"

"Your parents must have loved each other so much to leave such an amount of offspring"

"I don’t know how the relationship between Hollow’s parents would be, but at least my mother detested my father"

"Are you siblings only on the father's side? And your other siblings are too? Are they like Hollow and can’t speak? "

"Well, it turns out ... Hey! Why do I have to give you so many explanations?"

Without saying anything else, Hornet moved away from his companion into the always damp City of Tears. The pill bug had no choice but to follow her.

It had been a while since the infection and several changes had been in the city. To begin with, many deteriorated structures had been restored, and all kinds of businesses had been installed in the galleries of the largest buildings. But without a doubt, the biggest change of all was the enormous amount of insects that roamed the place.

There were no longer any wandering zombies attacking healthy individual who came near. Now there were peaceful and friendly insects that roamed the place doing their business, cleaning, or just walking. It must be said that the place now had a good number of tourists and it was no wonder, a city where it always rains is not common.

Quirrel had recently been in the city, so he had more or less clear idea of where they should go, which is why he led Hornet to a not-so-tall building where shops selling food were concentrated. There, after taking a look, he located a market stall that was near the entrance and was attended by an affable-looking ladybug.

"Here is Hornet, look at this. This herb here is like the one I used in the stew yesterday and it gives a spicy flavor to the food. This other root here is also very good if you like the sweet food"

Hornet looked excitedly at the ingredients, wondering how the meals would be with them. Eager to try everything, she was tempted to buy a little of everything, but she had not brought so much geo with her, so she had to choose the spices carefully.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing to a kind of green rock that hung in the stall.

"That's a very spicy spice miss” said the saleswoman "I'd recommend just giving it to someone you want to kill"

Hornet looked at the green rock and then glanced at Quirrel.

"I think I should buy one of those"

"Hey!" Said Quirrel guessing Hornet's intentions.

"I was kidding; I was not planning to do it"

"Next time I'll poison your food for real"

"Hahaha, you are very funny" said the ladybug observing her customers with amusement.

Hornet was quite shameful and because the comment of the vendor she became red. She hastened to choose some products at random to leave quickly. Although for some reason the ladybug seemed to fell sympathy for Hornet and gave her a couple of spices in which she seemed interested but for which the money was not enough.

When they were already leaving the building, a noise surprised them and made them alert. Curious and perhaps somewhat frightened, they hurried to go to the town square that was where the sound came from. Once there, they found a large number of insects gathered around two individuals of enormous proportions that were next to two others of smaller size.

"What's going on here?" Quirrel asked a cricket that, like the others, was watching the place.

"Ah. Nothing important, only the usual, power struggles"

"Power struggles?" Hornet looked somewhat puzzled.

"Yes. You know, some insects want to claim dominion over this place and crown themselves kings. There are still some insects of the ancient nobility of this place, but nobody pays any attention to them. Their old obsolete titles have no value for us, especially if we consider that most of the population is foreign. Besides, they don’t look like kings if you ask me. We won’t obey them and be their faithful servants because they say so"

"It makes sense" said Quirrel, observing the small insects dressed in fine clothes that were surely the nobles to whom the cricket referred.

The pill bug agreed that the types who sought power were not people who he would be happy to serve. They were a small round beetle without horns and a bedbug. Both had looks of contempt for each other and an arrogant attitude. They seemed lazy and ambitious; never a good king would come from any of those individuals. But something that these insects seemed to have was money, because Quirrel doubted that there was another reason why someone would obey them and each of them had a kind of bodyguard with them.

The beetle had beside him a huge, fierce-looking grasshopper that carried a sharp nail with him. Whereas, on the other hand, the bedbug was accompanied by a horrendous tarantula with huge fangs that gave a voracious glance to his opponent, that thing really looked frightening. It seemed a miracle that she did not eat his master.

"Surrender to me" the bedbug said, deploying security. "I will be the new ruler of Hallownest and all insects will bow before me. If you give up now, maybe I'll have consideration with you and give you some power position out there"

"Ha! Do you think I'll accept you as my king? Please. You make me laugh. I would be better if you are the one who surrenders and accepts my conditions”

"Do not count on it. I will be the king and I will finish with all those who oppose me, for something I have my dear Tetra" he said pointing to the tarantula that smiled sinisterly "If you intend to govern you will have to defeat her"

"Oh! And you think you scare me with that little spider? Behind me I have Sting, the best grasshopper warrior you can find. Your tarantula will be crushed by him"

As if emphasizing his employer's words, Sting unsheathed his nail and cast a murderous glance at Tetra, he seemed eager to demonstrate his power against such an opponent.

Both the bedbug and the beetle kept threatening each other for a few more minutes, until finally they lost patience and sent their bodyguards to attack.

However, no one noticed that in the middle of the battlefield, a little ladybug was playing, oblivious to the boring adults' disputes. She simply played around bouncing her favorite ball, which escaped until it was exactly in between the two warriors who were about to launch their attacks.

The girl thinking just in her desire to retrieve her toy, she approached dangerously to the center of the square and picked up the ball. It was only then that she looked around and realized the presence of the tarantula and the grasshopper, who looked at her in a burlesque way. They did not care if the ladybug got hurt from the battle, it did not matter if she died, it was her fault for going where she did not call her.

"Stop the fight! There's a girl in the middle!" The spectators shouted, but both the warriors and the fallen nobles ignored them.
Suddenly someone started to get into the crowd pushing everyone without any courtesy, trying to get to the front and see what happened. When she finally arrived and saw the scene she screamed in horror.

"Iris! Get out of there! Come here!"

Whoever called the girl was nothing less than the saleswoman from the shop where Hornet had bought her spices; it seems that the little ladybug was her daughter.

"Hornet we must do something" said Quirrel addressing his companion, but soon he realized that she was no longer there.

The grasshopper opened his wings and threw himself against the tarantula, while she extended her legs and ran towards her opponent. Iris, dying of fear, shrunk in her place without knowing what to do. The audience cried out in horror and the mother covered her eyes not wanting to see anything else. She waited trembling the end. She supposed that at any moment she would hear an agonizing cry from her daughter, but it never came, instead there were only exclamations of surprise.

The ladybug opened her eyes and found an extraordinary scene: both the grasshopper and the tarantula were trapped in a net of thread that prevented them from moving even one leg. In the middle of them two, there was the shameful girl who she had attended a while before and had in her arms her daughter, who looked healthy and safe, just a little scared.

Everyone was staring incredulously at the situation, that little girl had immobilized two huge and lethal insects and did not seem to try too hard on it.
Hornet placed the little ladybug on the floor and headed towards the warriors.

"But what's the matter with you!? Didn't you see that the girl was playing? You could have hurt her!" Both Tetra and Sting gave her a look of deep hatred." Don’t look at me like that. I'm really mad with you. Oh, but this is not just the fault of these stupid ones. Hey you, the stupid ones over there!" This time Hornet addressed to the two supposed nobles who was dying of fear embracing each other while they trembled. "Stop putting up your silly mindless fights in the middle of the city! No one is interested in any of you being king! If you want to fight, do it outside the city where you can’t bother anyone! If I ever found you causing riots around here again, I will fill your brain with holes with this needle that I have here!"

The beetle and the bedbug terrified as they were, at the threat of Hornet they ran away leaving their bodyguards at the mercy of the warrior.

"Yes, I should have guessed they would do something like that. As for you brat" this time Hornet addressed to the child who looked at her trembling with fear "How do you think of getting in the middle of a fight! It's good that you want to recover your ball, but your life is worth more than this toy. Don’t ever do something like that again! And don’t stay away from your mother until you grow up a bit! Now go away!"

The little ladybug, holding back her tears, ran to where her mother was in the crowd. Once Hornet saw that the child was safe with her mother, she loosened the grip of her thread and freed her captives.

As soon as Tetra and Sting were free, they both attacked Hornet, but she dodged them easily with a jump and using her needle he took a prudent distance.

"Come here Trash!" The tarantula yelled "Come here and show your strength"

"I don’t feel like it, thanks. I just want to go to my house"

"A pity, because the insult you have done to us can’t go unpunished" said Sting waving his nail. "We obeyed these feeble insects for the money they paid us and for the promise of a good fight, but you have done away with both, now you will be responsible”

"You do not really want to fight with me, I mean it," Hornet replied.

"Look girl. If you don’t fight with us, we’ll attack all the insects that are here and destroy the shops of the place"

At the words of the grasshopper, many of the citizens recoiled in fright, others even ran to hide, but a few remained in place and looked at Hornet pleadingly, wanting to see in her the heroine who would save them.

"What happens? Don’t you know how to fight? The only thing you know how to do is tie people with threads like a pathetic spider?"Mocked the tarantula. These words outraged Hornet."Spiders are not pathetic" he shouted trying to contain his anger.

"Wow, an admirer of that stupid tribe. They were so pathetic that they even became extinct. Tarantulas are better, bigger, stronger, more lethal and we don’t depend on those silly tricks of weaving nets"

"You'll regret what you said" Hornet hissed, burning in anger and taking a fighting stance.

The battle that followed was... A massacre, or so described by some spectators, although perhaps exaggerating a bit. Both Tetra and Sting were not such great warriors and relied heavily on their size and power, adding to that the fact that Hornet was furious at the insult against their tribe, the battle was quite uneven. Finally the battle concluded with the two behemoths lying on the floor begging for mercy.

The truth Hornet could have killed them, but she did not want to give a show so bloody, there were children present. On the other hand, although they had offended her a lot, she did not consider it to be something worth such a big punishment, so she decided to forgive them.

Both insects got up difficultly, and dragging their legs, without saying anything else, they left the place.

As soon as Tetra and Sting left, the town erupted in cheers, everyone began to shout jubilantly and to thank Hornet for her heroic work. The girl on the other hand, simply blushed not accustomed to receiving so much attention, actually at that time she just wanted to be swallowed by the earth.

Some insects came to thank her for what she did and there was no lack of who asked her name... And there began the problems. Hornet nervous as she was, lowered her guard and ended up revealing her identity without major precautions. At that time she did not remember the bad reputation she had in the city and the main reason why she did not want to go there in the first place.

"You-you-your name is Hornet?" Questioned an earwig.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" The nervous girl asked in turn.

"It's Hornet! The red beast! "Screamed terrified a flea.

"The relentless soul-eating monster!" A cricket screamed in his direction.

"Run for your lives!" Finally exclaimed a small beetle.

All the insects fled the place with such fear and such speed soon everything was empty, except by the presence of the warrior and her companion. They both looked at each other in silence for a few moments, she with grief and annoyance, him with confusion and worry. Finally it was the pill bug who spoke first.

"So strange. Don’t you think?" Hornet did not seem to react to these words "This... Your battle was great, you did it very well, you almost seemed..."

"A beast..." Hornet suddenly whispered.

"Eh?"

"My mother was nicknamed the beast, but that name had been given to her by her people as an honorary title, now they call me equal, but that name sounds more like a mockery and a source of shame"

"Why do you say that? Why did they give you that name?"

"Due to a situation quite similar to this one. I helped a small insect that was being mistreated by another stronger and more important" At that moment she let out a bitter laugh "In the end, instead of gratitude, in the eyes of the little insect there was only fear. The bully started the rumor that I was a lethal beast that stole the soul from the unwary. Hahaha! what stupidity... Everybody believed it…. And the little insect I saved did nothing to clarify the misunderstanding"

"Well, ungrateful insects are everywhere..."

"It was not ingratitude, Quirrel, it was fear. The most powerful force in the world. Fear can lead you to do things you would never believe you could do... It's no wonder that the wretched insects of the past gave up their minds so easily in exchange for power..."

"Eh... Excuse me..."

A small childish voice interrupted the seriousness of the conversation carried out by the warriors; they turned to meet the little ladybug that Hornet had saved a while ago.

"Eh... What are you doing here girl? Didn't I tell you not to separate yourself from your mother?"

"She is out there" she said pointing to the insect that was a few steps away and greeted them in a friendly way "Well I... I wanted to thank you for saving me and for giving those stupid nobles their due. They are the worst, they are always bothering. But you scared them with a few words and then you beat them and pum pum and..."

"Eh... Thank you" Hornet replied somewhat embarrassed "But you are not you afraid of me?"

"Afraid? Of course not, you are a good person; I don’t have to be afraid of you. Also, if I want to be an explorer when I grow up, I should not be frightened by small things, right? "

"Sure, and you will surely be a great explorer, just be careful and don’t be reckless, that one thing is to be brave and quite another to be stupid"

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. When I write my biography you'll be in the acknowledgments as a source of inspiration. I want to learn how to use a needle like you"
"Is too soon for that, little one"

"Ah... It does not matter; I'll practice with a stick in the meantime"

"Iris, we must go!" The older ladybug shouted suddenly.

"I'm going mom. Well, it was nice to talk to you, visit us again soon. Goodbye"

Hornet saw the girl walk away in the eternal rain until she met her mother and then lost herself in the buildings of the city. Quirrel approached to Hornet slowly and commented:

"That girl has big dreams, although the art of brandishing a nail or a needle it is not very easy for ladybugs"

"Ha! They say the same about the pill bugs and look at you"

"Touche" He looked at his partner intently before resuming the word "Perhaps fear is the most powerful force in the world, but there will always be those who are capable of opposing it and seeing beyond. Like that child, there will be others who don’t fear you and whose curiosity will move them to seek the truth about you"

Hornet did not respond to his partner's words, and simply stared at the space where the ladybugs had gone. The silence between the two lasted quite a bit, although it was softened by the cooing of falling drops of water.

"Quirrel" Suddenly the warrior spoke "Are you and me friends?"

"Friends?" He seemed somewhat surprised by the question "Well... I think so. We live together, we hunt together, you helped me get a new nail and with everything we've gone through, even if you're an annoying girl and sometimes unbearable, I think I have a certain appreciation for you"

Hornet frowned at his comment, but then softened her expression with a sigh.

"Well. I also think that after everything we have gone through, I have started to consider you a friend. Because I would only talk about my identity and my past with one"

Chapter Text

During his journey through Hallownest, Quirrel had been able to know almost the entire kingdom. There were very few corners that escaped his insatiable curiosity, and among these was the Ancient Basin, an inhospitable place, where only death and perdition were. Partly because of this and because he was not interested in visiting that place, he never set foot there.

Now that the infection was gone, the area was much safer, but it was still not a busy place. You could hardly find a occasional archaeologist excavating the ruins of the place, trying to discover the mysteries of the past and check the thousands of legends that were told about the pale king.

In another situation, approaching to chat with the archaeologists and learn a little of the past would have seemed a great panorama for Quirrel, but he refrained from asking any questions with those individuals, because what he cared about now, was to unravel a mystery even greater than the Pale King. He was going to find out the secret of the shadow siblings and he could hardly contain his excitement over this. Although he could not help but feel a little nervous, the place was quite sinister and they were getting deeper and deeper into the endless underground galleries of the kingdom.

When it seemed that they would go to hell if they went deeper, Hornet finally said they had arrived.

A huge door carved into the rock stood before the three visitors. It looked firm and thick, but it opened easily as soon as Hollow approached it, revealing endless darkness. A chill ran down the back of the pill bugl when he knew that they should enter that place, suddenly the idea of talking to the archaeologists above seemed much more pleasant. Was his curiosity going to put him in trouble again? Why did he never learn? Was not it enough to lose all his memories?

But there was no going back. He had bothered Hornet a lot to reveal her secrets, now that he had the truth in front, he could not repent.

The place to which they descended was completely dark. It was impossible to see an inch away without a light source, but they were already prepared with a pair of lumafly lantern, which allowed them to see at least in part the desolate panorama of the place. There were only sharp rocks and boulders where nothing grew, it was a desolate place where no one could live. Hollow and Hornet had said that they would visit their 10,527 brothers. Could any kind of creature really live in such conditions? Especially being such a large amount?

Suddenly something caught Quirrel's attention. In the middle of the darkness there were a pair of white and shining eyes, it looked at him closely, it looked a bit aggressive. Would it be some beast of the depths?

"Hey guys" Quirrel called the attention of his friends "I don’t want to scare you but there is something that stalks us"

The siblings turned to see and found themselves with those luminous eyes, but to the surprise of the pill bug, far from being alarmed they looked calm, perhaps even a little happy.

"Well Quirrel" Hornet said pointing to the creature "let me introduce you to one of our siblings"

The creature made some signs communicating with the crossbreed in a very similar way to the one Hollow did.

"Sister?" Hornet looked at her with doubt "But you were conceived without gender"

"......"

“Ah, I see. You identify yourself with a girl and you decided to be one, it seems good to me” suddenly Hornet seemed to realize something “Hollow! I've always treated you
like a male but you…”

“....”

“Ah, well. Then I guessed your gender. Although I suppose if I had made a mistake you would have complained before.

The bright-eyed being floated to the group and then in the light of the lanterns Quirrel could appreciate her better. she was a shadow, but she did not look deformed. She was well defined, you could see a horned head and a pair of bright eyes, downwards it had a kind of somber tunic that faded with the environment.

"E-er-that thing... I mean... That gi-girl Is she your sister? What the hell are you?" Quirrel looked a little scared.

"Why do you have to get so nervous? She and we are not very different; we also told her that you were not a threat, so she’ll not attack you. Maybe she's not an insect like you or the rest of normal people, but she's not bad "

Quirrel noticed that Hornet was very upset with his reaction, she looked hurt. After meditating a bit he could understand the situation. Hornet seemed very worried that they would see her as a monster or an abnormal being. If he saw her siblings like monster, she would be the same type of monster.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just that I was a little surprised. I've never seen anyone like them, but don’t listen to me, I'm fine. I mean, everything's fine"

His response seemed to reassure the girl and although Quirrel was still nervous about the shadows that haunted them, he seemed courageous and calm, everything was for his friend. At least, after a while it was no longer necessary to pretend, because when he saw that these beings were harmless he calmed down and was able to pay attention to his surroundings.

The place looked like a kind of graveyard, full of empty masks and sharp rocks, not a plant grew there. However these shadows seemed happy to live in the abyss, they were seen wandering around the site and playing between them, whether to the tag, simulating battles or playing with a ball. It seemed like a world inhabited by children, sinister children, but children after all. There was no evil in their twinkling eyes.

At this point, the only thing that began to annoy Quirrel was his inability to communicate with the shadows. They were all as mute as Hollow and they kept in between them those curious gesture-based conversations that only Hornet seemed to understand. In fact right now she seemed to be talking of something very serious with one shade that floated next to her.

"Are you talking about something important?" Quirrel asked trying to integrate into Hornet's conversation.

"Nothing serious. He was just telling me a little about the changes that have taken place in the abyss in the last time"

"Changes?"

"Yes. Maybe this place seems desolate but before it was worse. If you look, now you can see some structures" She said pointing to some mounds of earth with holes through which some bright eyes were watching from inside.

"Yes, I see them"

"Those are houses"

"Houses?" Quirrel looked somewhat surprised that these artificial cave species were homes.

"Some time ago those were not here. Everything was flat and there were only some holes in the ground where they all hid. Recently with the arrival of Big -our older brother- they have implemented some changes. Big is trying to civilize this site a bit by imitating what he remembers of Hallownest. He started ordering everyone to build houses. The truth that constructions are something ugly and it are small. But Hey! The people here don’t know anything about architecture; they do things as they think they can do it. Maybe over time the houses will get better"

"I see ..." He was silent for a moment and then looked at Hornet questioningly without knowing very well what to ask first.

"Okay. I understand you, you need a good explanation of all this, let me tell you the story of all my siblings"

Suddenly Hornet noticed that some shadows had approached them and were fluttering around him trying to get his attention.

"Ah, do you want to participate in this story? Okay, go ahead"

The shadows jumped happily in the air and stood aside waiting for Hornet to begin telling her story. Another pair of pretty gentle shadows brought Quirrel and Hollow a couple of soft rocks to take a seat.

"This goes back to the times of the Pale King, when the infection began to attack the kingdom"

Some shadows in the air began to pretend that they were infected and aggressive insects that attacked other shadows that represented healthy insects.

"The Pale King wanting to stop the advance of the infection, devised a plan quite sinister and cruel. His idea was to conceive a vessel, a being absolutely empty and devoid of desires or feelings, within this being he would enclose the infection forever and thus all would be free again"

One of the shadows grew horns on his head simulating the pale king who ordered one of his siblings to stand at the center, where another shadow ‘entered inside’ representing the absorption of the infection.

"The big problem with the plan was to create the perfect vessel. How do you make a being absolutely empty? How can there be a creature without desires or longings? In order to live at least you have to have the desire to do it. But this foolish king didn’t understand this, he just wanted to keep his kingdom at all costs. I don’t know if he will have done what he did out of love for his people or for love of power, but whatever, the price he decided to pay for containing the infection was very high"

At that moment, next to the shadow that represented the king appeared another shadow that represented the white lady. Both moved to the center of the scene where a group of shadows were placed on the bottom and simulated a kind of dark sea.

"Everyone obeyed and trusted the Pale King, it did not occur to anyone to think that what he was doing was wrong or that it could fail, not even his queen objected to the plan. Both began to conceive offspring imbued in the power of the void, which is a kind of special energy that is found down here in this abyss"

From the sea that the shadows were representing, some beings emerged and settled next to the king, who after giving them a brief glance despised them, after which the shadows left the scene.

"Creating the right container turned out to be a harder task than they expected. 10,530 attempts were necessary to achieve perfectness"

"But what are you not 10,527 siblings plus you and Hollow?" Quirrel asked, interrupting the story.

"Aggg ... I'm not included in those accounts, plus there are two dead brothers. And don’t interrupt me”

"Sorry"

"As I was saying. 10,530 attempts were necessary to create the ’perfect’ vessel. 10,529 children were discarded as useless garbage unable to fulfill the purpose for which they were created. No could they be allowed to live as normal insects, because they were not normal. Without a voice to speak of and of a strange and dark nature, they were locked in this abyss, separated and hidden from the world forever"

At that moment Quirrel looked around, a group of shadows had gathered around them and listened to the story attentively. Observing their behavior they did not really look very different from other young insects, curious, playful and restless. It was horrible what they had done with them. Condemned from the moment of their birth by the mere fact of existing, and they were not one or two children, they were thousands. Seriously the great Pale King of whom he had heard so much was capable of such cruelty? Were not they their own offspring? It is true that many species of insects allowed their offspring to face the adversities of the world alone, with no other help than the desire to survive, but at least they tried to give them the weapons to have any chance of success in their lives. To these shadows even that was denied.

"Once the pale king had his perfect vessel, he separated them from their other siblings and sealed the entrance to this place forever"

The shadows that represented the scene showed how the king was moving away from a cliff through a door, followed by a little one. But suddenly behind the little one, hanging by the edge of the abyss, one of his siblings struggled to reach him. He exchanged a sad look with him, until with a sign, the king indicated to the chosen vessel that they should leave. Then turning his back on his siblings, he went through the door that was sealed.

"The pale king along with the perfect vessel ... What?" One of the small shadows had approached Hornet and seemed to be communicating a couple of things "Wow ... I didn’t know that"

"What's up, Hornet?" The pill bug looked at her curiously.

"According to what they tell me here, even though the perfect vessel should only be a container and had no right to be treated as a living being, if not as a tool, the pale king shared some time with him. According to our older brother, he was so happy to have the solution to his problems with him that without realizing he began to treat him with affection, to share ideas and intimate moments at his side and eventually, this ended up generating feelings in the vessel. Basically he stopped being empty, he lost what made him special"

"Then it was no longer appropriate to be the receptacle for the infection?" Quirrel said.

"Well no. Unwittingly ruined his own plan"

Suddenly Hollow who was sitting next to Quirrel began to shake his paws showing disgust.

"What's the matter with Hollow?" Quirrel asked, looking at the little one.

"Ah, Hollow hates our father" Hornet explained without giving much importance. "He hates what he did to Big. Especially because Big loved his father and despite everything
that happened because of him, he continues to defend him, sometimes they argue that"

"I see that not even you escape from family conflicts"

"Partly I'm a little apart from that problem; I grew up apart from all of them. That’s what I'm going to explain now. Don’t interrupt me!" Hornet grimaced in disgust.

"But if I don’t... Ah, its okay. I don’t interrupt anymore"

Quirrel knew it was not his fault, but he had already learned that arguing with Hornet about silly things was a waste of time.

"Eventually the ritual was performed that caused the infection to be enclosed within the vessel. But wanting to prevent at all costs that it escaped, the king decided to put additional protections, so using their knowledge in magic and occult sciences, he locked the infection inside of a sealed egg"

The shadows again represented the scene very accurately, showing how the small container was enclosed in an egg composed of several shadows taken from the hands floating around him. Quirrel almost jumps from his seat when he realizes that the egg they was talking about he knew it. It was almost the first place he visited when he arrived in Hallownest, besides being the place where he met Hollow. But he restrained his emotion, he had already promised he would not interrupt the story again.

"Unfortunately, to invoke the seal, more sacrifices were required"

At that moment three small shadows emerged imitating the appearances of Herrah, Lurien and Monomon. A small oppression appeared in Quirrel's chest when he saw the silhouette of his former teacher, while something in his deep memories stirred and came afloat. Originally he could not remember why his teacher had been sealed or why she had had to die, although that made him curious, his loyalty to fulfill his wishes led him to let Hollow do his will without questioning anything,. But now everything would make sense and finally receive the explanations that nobody gave him.

"Three insects had to become ‘dreamers’ and remain in a state of eternal sleep to maintain the seal. The three chosen were Lurien, the watcher, the teacher Monomon and Herrah, the queen of weavers"

The king was present in the representation of the shadows and two of the dreamers bowed before him, but the other did not.

"Lurien and Monomon had no problem accepting the role that the king appointed them, however Herrah didn't agree and to accede to be a dreamer she asked for a child"
Hornet's face was saddened to tell this part. Despite all the passed time, it still hurt her to talk about it.

"Herrah... My mother could not conceive children and asked the pale king to help her with that. With all his knowledge he would surely have a solution. I don’t know what method they used or as they did. I just know that there is something of the energy of the void running through my veins, but I'm not exactly like my siblings. I can talk, my body is somewhat firmer than theirs and I have gender defined, partly I myself am a mystery to me. Before I used to hate being what I am and I didn't want to have anything to do with these creatures. I hated the idea of considering myself similar to them but... It doesn't affect me that much anymore. They are not guilty. And beyond what I am, the important thing is what I do, that is what defines my identity”

"I like your way of thinking" Quirrel declared with a gesture of approval wanting to cheer her up.

"Do not interrupt me!"

"Sorry"

The shadow that represented the vessel that carried the infection rose to the top along with the ring of shadows that represented his egg, in turn the three dreamers reclined on the floor pretending to sleep, while the pale king left the scene. Then, another shadow entered that imitated Hollow. When Hollow saw the actor appear, he stood up in his seat and applauded effusively, showing his approval. The shadow on the stage felt somewhat embarrassed by his brother's reaction and covered his face in distress. They had to scold Hollow to stop and they could continue the story.

"A while passed... Years actually. The infection was retained but only temporarily. Eventually it broke free and began to infect all insects in the place, Hallownest fell into ruin and the pale king disappeared without a trace. Meanwhile, in the abyss, the shadows here never forgot the brother they took away and tried to go rescue him. At least two tried and could never return. It is known that they died, one fell through the infection and the other... She suffered an accident"

Hornet would never admit that she had killed her, at least not in the face of the rest of the shadows. Hollow knew the truth and had forgiven her, but they promised themselves they would never talk about it with others.

"Finally one of them had enough strength to escape this abyss, survive outside and find the lost brother and that is Hollow"

Again Hollow stood up and spread his arms displaying his grandiosity, one of the shadows that was next to him interrupted him with a blow and after a scolding made him sit down again.

"Finally Hollow killed the dreamers, released the seal, entered the egg interior, fought against the infection, somehow won and eliminated it completely and thanks to that, today we all enjoy the peaceful life we have. End"

The shadows finished representing quickly the Hornet’s words with a small impromptu fight quite interesting. Once they finished they all bowed and dispersed in the place.
For his part, Quirrel was silent in his place, not knowing exactly what to say. A slight nervousness invaded Hornet fearing the reaction of his friend. Would he reject her now that he knew the whole truth? That would break her heart. But to her surprise that did not happen. Quirrel got up from his seat, walked to her and looked at her as if he had never seen her.

"So... All this time I've been living with a national hero and a princess" said the pill bug with a rather carefree tone "Cool"

"Oh Terra! ... You're imposible" said the girl with a sigh of relief.

Then Hornet felt a little tug on her cloak and saw Hollow trying to get her attention. He made some signs telling her some things, after which the warrior nodded and addressed to her friend.

"I think it's time for us to introduce ourselves to Big"

"Your oldest brother"

"Yes, but now he is more than just that. They've all chosen him as the king of this place and the right thing to do is to say hello"

"The ki-king of the shadows..." Quirrel whispered a little nervously.

The three friends began to advance among the arid lands of the site, moving between the incipient houses and some playful siblings who came to them, until finally they arrived at a structure much more sophisticated than any of the constructions that they had seen until now. You could tell it had not been made by the little shadows; it was too tall and beautiful for that. It was a lighthouse, which at least at that time did not emit any glow, at the foot of this there was a huge sea composed of darkness.
Quirrel approached the black waters. His curiosity made him investigate every strange thing he came across, sometimes without measuring too much the consequences. So without any precaution, he closed his hand to touch the mysterious liquid. Fortunately at that moment Hornet took him and moved him away from the waters, because strange claws came out of the water trying to hurt him.

"Don’t do that" Hornet reprimanded. "Void energy doesn’t accept creatures of another nature, only the inhabitants here can submerge themselves in those waters without being damaged"

"I see ... I was very imprudent, I'm sorry" He sat up and looked at the black sea from a distance "So ... This is the energy of the void"

"Yes, it is thanks to this that our brothers can live here without needing to eat. They take what they need from here. Of course, when they move away from this source of energy they need to feed themselves like any normal insect”

Suddenly, a small shadow emerged from the sea and approached Hornet to tell her some things; the warrior nodded attentively receiving the information, which she then repeated to Quirrel.

"I just got informed that Big is on the way, get ready and try not to be too scared when you see him"

Quirrel could not imagine why Hornet would say those things, because he imagined that Big would be another small shadow like all he had seen so far. So when he saw the monstrous and enormous creature of the sea come out he was speechless.

Big was really big. He quadrupled in height to Quirrel and that without taking into account his horns, so similar in form to those of Hornet, which made him look even more imposing. In addition he had a pair of sharp and intimidating eyes, plus a pair of claws of dangerous aspect. Taking into account the whole, it was impossible for the pill bug not to be scared.

Holding his breath, he submitted to the sharp scrutiny of the king of shadows, who watched him in silence for a few moments, then floated to him and turned him around, contemplating all his angles. Once he finished his inspection he composed a kind of sinister-looking smile and drew one of his claws towards Quirrel and the other towards Hornet.

The pill bug at that moment felt threatened and made the gesture to take his nail to defend himself, however to see that Hornet was calm without any sign of hostility, he waited. The claws were getting closer and closer to them, and soon the idea of being crushed appeared in his head, but everything ended when he felt the contact of something cold in his head that caressed him in a way... Affectionate?

As it seemed, Big pet them in a fatherly way, especially Quirrel, whom he tried to reassure because he had noticed him nervous. Then he withdrew his claws from them and began to "talk" with Hornet with the same system of gestures that everyone used there, but unlike the others, Big nuanced his message with guttural grunts. In addition to his superior size he had the ability to emit sounds, but not to articulate words.

At that moment Hollow appeared behind Big and hugged him affectionately, the dark king to feel the presence of his brother greeted him cheerfully and both began to play.
With the giant's attention focused on Hollow, Quirrel was finally able to relax. He let go of all the air inside him and fell on the floor, exhausted by the stress. Hornet seeing him so sensitive approached him.

“He likes you very much”

"Really?" The pill bug replied with a sideways glance.

"Seriously. Big always caresses the head of all those who like him. Although he has good character, it’s not difficult to get along with him. Anyway, they say he is the kindest of us all, despite his rather frightening appearance. The only way he can hate you and want to kill you is to harm some member of his family"

"I'll keep it in mind, thanks"

Quirrel stood up more calmly and watched the brothers playing.

"With this I guess your curiosity is already satisfied" said Hornet.

"I still have a few doubts but I know almost everything I wanted to know"

"Then I assume that nothing holds you back here and you’ll leave the kingdom"

Quirrel surprised turned his gaze towards the girl. For several weeks she only complained about his presence and asked him to leave. But the way she had spoken the last words was painful, it seemed that Hornet was sad for the idea to say him goodbye.

"But what is this? Don’t you want me to leave? "

"I didn't say that" she exclaimed turning her eyes ashamed. "You can do whatever you want and that doesn't matter to me"

"But if I go, will you miss me?"
"....."
Hornet's silence said everything she did not want to admit out of pride. Quirrel gave a little laugh and put his arm around the warrior's shoulders and pressed her against him.

"Don’t get so sad, farewells are part of life. It’s true that now that my affairs here have ended I intend to go to other kingdoms in search of mysteries and experiences, but one day I’ll return here"

"Really?" Hornet seemed surprised by his statement.

"Yes, perhaps a motivation to keep me moving is my lack of ties. I have no past or home to return to, but now I have a couple of good friends and a house where I will be well received and you will wait for me. I still have the desire to travel and until it goes off I will continue to roam the world, but I assure you that I’ll return with you at some point"

"You promise it?" Hornet said almost looking like a child.

"I promise it"

At that moment Hornet hugged Quirrel demonstrating all the affection she keept inside. It was her way of saying goodbye, wishing him a good trip and asking him to come back soon.

Chapter Text

There are people able to change you live, people who either with their example or with their message, can modify the destiny of a person. For Hornet, Quirrel had been this kind of person.

It had been a couple of weeks since the pill bug had left and his absence was noticeable., Hornet no longer had her chats with him before sleeping, nor could she hear his stories about his travels, or try his novelty kitchen, and now she didn't have anyone to scold her when she behaved rudely. Until now he had not realized how important that insect had become in her life, but she could not keep him. He was a traveler and an explorer, he needed to investigate and discover things. He would come back at some point, he had promised.

But for Hornet, life continued. If she had been able to overcome the loss of her mother, she could with this. In addition, she also had a promise to fulfill, she had asked her to make an effort to meet people and make friends, so when he returned she could introduce them.

Quirrel would never admit it, but this was part of his plan to make Hornet socialize more. She had become accustomed to his company, but by losing him (at least temporarily), she would seek to fill the emptiness she felt with someone else and make an effort to meet people. Only with that small motivation, Hornet’s social skills would improve and she could become a normal insect, which would lead a quiet and happy life. Of course, the idea was she was not to be completely alone either, but for that she had Hollow. The little bug, despite his inability to talk, was much more likely to make friends with others, he would be a good support for his sister.

Quirrel had explained to Hollow his plan and he was more than willing to cooperate.

The little one had enough talent to understand people and their needs. As far as he knew Hornet, he knew that she would not get along with any kind of insect. She was not going to put up with anyone who was too arrogant, talkative, superficial or gossipy, so looking for friends in the city was not a very good plan . However, he supposed that she could establish a good relationship with the inhabitants of Dirtmouth. They were quiet, humble, simple and very friendly people. Sure she would fit in there, now the problem was to convince Hornet to come to the surface.

"I don’t want to go to surface!"

"...." He tilted his head questioningly.

"There are bats and mice outside" Hornet hugged herself as she shook with fear.

"…..?"

"Ah... You don’t know it. When I was little, my mother used to tell me that the surface was a very dangerous place, inhabited by horrible furry demons, with soft bodies and with ears instead of antennae. They were big, frightening creatures that fed on insects and swallowed them whole without leaving any trace of their bodies. Sometimes when I behaved badly she threatened to leave me in the surface"

"..."

"That you have never seen one of those demons doesn't mean that they don’t exist"

"...."

"I'm not acting like a child! I also have fears. I know that normally I seem to be able to face anything but... I definitely would not face a bat, no no no"

"…..!"

"And I tell you that they do exist! My mom said it! I won’t go to the surface and you can’t force me to do it! And don’t bother me anymore with this! Idiot!"

The way Hornet yelled at him really bothered Hollow. Normally he would have respected his sister's wishes to remain safe underground, but seeing that she treated him in that way made him so angry that he decided to take revenge.

Taking advantage of a moment in which her sister slept, with all the delicacy that he was capable of, Hollow tied her with her own thread and managed to carry her outside her house, where some shadow siblings waited for them. Hollow asked them some help. They carefully transported the sleeping young woman to the stag station that was in Distant Village, then they got on the transport and went to Dirtmouth.

When Hornet woke up, she noticed that she was not in his usual comfortable bed, the roof of the place was not at all familiar and Hollow was next to her untying the knots of the rope that had her tied.

"Ho-Hollow ... What the hell is going on here? Where we are?"

This time the little one did not answer her, he remained impassive disarming the knots. Hornet was somewhat uncomfortable. It was rare that Hollow did not want to explain what was happening, normally he was very "talkative". Finally the boy finished with his task and the warrior was free. Hornet stood up and stretched her numb limbs, then questioned his brother again about what was happening, but he did not say anything. He stood still observing her silently, without any expression on his face, in a way similar to how he acted when she had known him.

Not wanting to insist anymore, Hornet simply moved away from him and set out to explore. The station where she was in, was somewhat more sophisticated than the ones she knew. It had a rather elegant construction, it also had an elevator. She climbed on the device and ascended to the top floor where she could see a door. Without much hesitation Hornet crossed it and came to Dirtmouth.

Until then, despite the situation, Hornet had remained calm, but when he saw the piles of abandoned houses, she felt the breeze on her face and contemplated the magnitude of the sky, she screamed in horror and ran into the station again. She went down and hurried to ring the bell to call the stag, but whe could not tu fullfil her desire because Hollow interposed.

"Get out of there Hollow! Let me call the stag"

"..." The little boy shook his head and pointed his sting at her.

"Do you want to attack me?! What the hell is wrong with you! Do you want to kill me? "

"....."

"You can’t force me to go to the surface! It’s also dangerous, at any time I could be attacked by a mouse or a bat "

Hollow tried to explain to her for the tenth time that in Dirtmouth there were no bats or mice, and he also made it clear that he would not let her use the stag to get home. If she wanted to go back, she would have to go out to the town and find an old well that was used as an entrance to the underground kingdom.

At that moment Hornet felt so desperate that she was about to make a tantrum right there, only her pride kept her on her feet. She tried to beg Hollow in every way possible to let her go home, but he refused. Even she challenged him to a fight, which she sadly lost. She began to wander around the place and lasted almost an hour in this task, until finally she gave up and prepared to leave the station. At least Hollow had taken her there with her needle, she had something to defend herself with.

Hornet poked his head out of the building and looked attentively everywhere, his hearing pricked to the maximum tried to find any sign of danger, but everything looked empty, even the town itself looked desolate, there was not a soul in the streets, Maybe the bats had eaten them all.

Most of the houses of the place seemed abandoned, some had the doors locked and others did not even have doors. Taking into account what she had around her, Hornet began to draw a movement plan identifying some houses without doors as "safe areas". When she left the station, she would run to a safe area, then she would check the surroundings and go to the next area. She would try to complete her journey to the outskirts of the town in the shortest time possible. Once she reached the last house, she would try to locate the famous well which Hollow had spoken of and see how to get there.

While Hornet traced thousands of strategies to walk down the street, her brother had followed her asking how much she did. After watching her quietly in place for almost 15 minutes he got bored with all her preambles and pushed her out.

The warrior to stay under the uncovered sky panicked and forgetting all her plans she ran out aimlessly. Scared as she was, at first she did not think about anything, but when she managed to recover her sanity a little, the first thing she thought about was finding a hiding place. It was then that she saw an open house, nor did she bother to think if someone lived there, She just ran in and closed the doors.

Breathing hard, the crossbreed remained lying on the floor trying to recover, until she was interrupted by a female voice behind her back.

"What's up girl? Does someone chase you? Are you okay? "Asked an insect behind her.

Hornet stared at her for a few moments, admired by the height and elegance of the mosquito in front of her. She had long, very firm limbs that made her think that she had once held a weapon, maybe she was a warrior in her past, that It could be the reason she had lost her wings. But despite that little flaw she looked good, she maintained its femininity and grace.

"I… I..." Hornet blushed a little feeling ashamed of the sorry state she was in. But after a deep breath, she stood up and raised her voice "I apologize for entering your house without permission"

"Oh, well ... Actually it’s not so much trouble that you enter without permission" the insect answered "After all, this is a shop, strangers enter without asking permission all the time. The problem is that you closed the doors and that it's bad for the business"

Hornet looked around and realized that he was indeed in a store, a map store to be more specific. But who would put a store in such a dangerous place? However the owner of the place did not seem very worried about the dangers of the surroundings, because she approached the door and opened it. Then ducking with some effort (As she was too tall to pass comfortably through the door) she stuck her head out and looked the surrounds.

"Whatever chased you is no longer there, dear. Do you feel good? You don’t need to tell me what happened if you don’t want to. But if you still feel in danger you can stay until everything is OK"

"Bats..."

"How?"

"I was hiding from the bats"

"Bats? But if there are no bats in Dirtmouth"

"bu-bu-but my mother told me that on the surface there were dangerous beasts that..."

"Oh Terra. Is this serious?" Iselda laughed loudly at Hornet's words. "Are they still telling those old tales of monstrous mice and demonic bats? These are stories of insects that live underground to prevent their offspring from going too far or behaving badly. It’s true that they say that in some distant kingdoms live furry beasts that devour insects, but at least they don’t reach this place. Only children still swallow those stories"

Hornet's face was as red as her cloak. She felt extremely embarrassed by the drama she had played and did not know where to hide. The mosquito watching the discomfort of her guest tried to calm her down and change the subject.

"Well, what's your name? I’m Iselda, the owner of this map store. Are you new here? "

"I-I'm- I'm Hornet and-and I'm passing through"

"Wow. Are you one of the insect travelers who have come to do business in Hallownest? Since the infection has gone, everything has become very animated; all the time, travelers come and go. Although that has greatly favored the business. The underground tunnels are quite intricate and it’s easy to get lost. So every traveler needs a map to move around the kingdom. Do you want one?"

"No, don’t worry. My brother has a very complete map. On the other hand I grew up underground, I know that place like the back of my hand"

And speaking of Hollow, just the little one came through the door of the store at that time.

"Hollow!" Exclaimed her sister.

"Hollow?" Iselda asked in turn. "Is that his name?"

"Yes. He's my brother"

"Oh. From the time we've known, you never mentioned to me that you had a sister... Even though you didn't tell me your name... You never really said anything to me"

The child looked at her somewhat tiredly; he knew that trying to apologize was useless. She just like Quirrel could not understand.

"My brother can’t talk" explained Hornet "at least not in the usual way"

"Oh! Really? How much I'm sorry, at least you know how to develop well. He never had problems expressing what he wanted when he came to buy from my store. Also he is very good listening"

Hornet and Hollow looked at each other for a moment in silence, then the little one gestured to her, asking some things.

"No... I didn't see any bat" replied the somewhat annoyed girl "In fact Iselda says that they are a story for children"

"...." He crossed his arms with a gesture of superiority.

"It's okay! You were right! But... Iselda also said that in other kingdoms there are these beasts, maybe one day one of them will come to this place"

"I don’t think that will happen" Iselda interjected. "As far as I know, Dirtmouth has always been very calm and no beast has put its legs here. Although, if you want more
details, you should ask Elderbug. He is the old man who is always outside next to the bench in the middle of the road. He is placed there to greet the travelers and chat with them for a while if the opportunity is given. He is the oldest inhabitant of the town and knows all its history"

The two brothers thanked Iselda for their information and went to talk to the aforementioned old man. As they had been told, they found him in the designated place. When Elderbug saw them arrive a slight smile appeared on his face. He liked to receive new visitors, especially if they seemed so willing to talk to him.

"Well, a new face," exclaimed Elderbug. "There are lots of these lately, although they usually never stay here. They all go on to the well that leads to the interior of the kingdom" he pointed to the well “The kingdom became more secure and little by little recovered part of the prosperity of yesteryear, so everyone wants to get there and seek fortune. Although the life of the city is very busy, I don’t know what are the wonders of fighting to survive in that place. Here in Dirtmouth things are calmer and there is a lot of space, almost all the inhabitants of the past have left and that is why we have many houses available that they could use, but nobody wants to stay in this small place"

Hornet had already noticed that Elderbug was the kind of person who liked to talk too much. She had not said anything and the old man had already given a long speech. Hollow explained that most of the people he had encountered on his trip were like Elderbug, too busy to talk and so needy to be heard that his lack of voice seemed more a blessing than a problem.

But Hornet did have a voice and she wanted to use it. She needed to know the truth about bats.

"Excuse me interrupting you..."

"Oh? I apologize, maybe sometimes I talk too much. I’m Elderbug and I’m the oldest inhabitant of Dirtmouth. I've been living in this place since I can remember and I've seen both the glory and the decadence of this place and…"

"I just want to ask a question!" If Hornet remained silent, she would have to put up with another speech.

"Sure, ask what you want"

"Have there ever been bats in this place?"

"Bats? Wow, it's a pretty curious question. It's been years since I heard anyone talking about those beasts. It has been so long since those beings left these lands that most believe they are just legends"

"But they are not! Right? "Hornet asked proud of being right and scared of the same.

"Some years ago, one of these beasts inhabited this area. They say that they had demonic magical powers, that they were able to spit fire, disappear into nothingness, make huge thorns appear from the earth. They also say that their claws were sharper than the best of the nails and that ravaged these lands sowing terror and devouring people in heaps"

"These stories are worse than what my mother told me"

Hornet shrunk in her place and a chill ran down her back, her little brother took her hand to try to reassure her.

"Well, I'm not really sure how much of that is true. Graham, that was what this beast was called, lived a bit out of town and he was a nuisance for travelers. But he never set foot here, and like I never left this place, I never had to face any monster or any similar danger"

"So this town is safe?"

"Probably it was safe more for the circumstances than for the situation of the place itself. Graham never had to come here to look for prey. It was enough for him the travelers who passed near his lair or the warriors who were going to confront him"

"Are there really people willing to face a bat?" The girl was really surprised by this.

"More than you would believe. In those times there were many warriors eager to prove their worth, which didn't fight for a particular cause. They did it only for the pleasure of fighting. I’ll never understand such foolishness”

"Me neither" said Hornet, recalling a story his brother had told her about a warrior named Tiso who died just for his love of fighting.

"But there were also honorable warriors who wanted to fight for justice and who wanted to rid us of that beast. It was just two of these that finally put an end to his life"

"They must have been very strong" Hornet and his brother began to get excited about the story.

"Of course they were, I did know them. One was a very high and very powerful mosquito, she was agile, skillful, she wielded her nail with strength and without hesitation, there was no rival to face her. The other warrior was a fly of short stature, but great power, the nail he used was huge, even bigger than his own body and he picked it up as if it were easy, he was a master of the arts of battle, he even had three apprentices"

Hollow laughed to himself. He knew more than he pretended.

"These two warriors went to face Graham" Continued Elderbug "Many wanted to stop them because no one wanted to lose such valuable individuals, but without listening to the pleas of their people, they left for battle. The stories tell that it was a bloody fight, the beast attacked with all his power. Fire and shadows danced in a nightmare show, but both warriors did not back down and brandished their nails with such skill that they even exceeded the bat's speed, damaging his resistance little by little and shrinking his strength. Until finally they managed to shatter their wings and stick a needle in his heart”

Hollow and Hornet already looked at the old man with bright eyes, enchanted with the story and encouraged him to continue. Of course Elderbug was more than pleased with such good listeners.

"Both warriors returned with victory and joy flooded all the inhabitants of Dirtmouth and its surroundings. However ... Not everything was a happy ending. It is known that Graham had a son, Grimm"

"But they could still defeat him, right?"

"Not really. Grimm at that time was small. He never participated in any battle of his father, but he was present at his death. The creature full of hate said that he would not get rid of him and that one day he would return. After throwing that sentence he went far, where no one could reach him and since then he has not returned"

"Then someday the bats can come back?" Again the fear arose in Hornet.

"I see it unlikely. It's been too long and I'm sure that little bat already found something more interesting to devote to. Why would he want to return to a dead kingdom that does not have even half the population it had before? I say we are sure, nothing will happen”

At that moment Hollow waved his arms asking a silent question and his sister did him the favor of translating.

"What happened to the warriors?"

"The Warriors? They left. Having already fulfilled their mission they retired to distant kingdoms, to continue living adventures and helping the needy. Or at least that is what is said"

Both brothers were meditating a moment in the history. According to that, there were once bats, but not anymore, so Dirtmouth could be considered a safe place.

Both thanked the old man for his story and went away to the stag station. They did not talk much, they seemed quite thoughtful. However Hornet broke the silence to release an idea that had occurred to her.

"Hey Hollow, I was thinking about something"

"...?" He looked at his sister.

"Considering that there are no bats here. The truth this place is not so bad, there is a lot of space, the people are friendly and the wind in the face is pleasant. Since there are so many empty houses around here... I suppose there would be no problem if we took a house"

"...?"

"No, I won’t completely abandon my home in Distant Village. I was thinking that there is nothing wrong with having two houses, one up here and one down there. Besides it would be very convenient because in both places there are stag stations"

"....." The boy showed his approval with a cheerful nod.

"Yes, I also like this site. Even though there are few insects it is very animated. It will help me to miss Quirrel less" This last sentences she said it looking sad.

"....." She hugged her sister warmly demonstrating her support and encouraging her.

"You're right. This is not the time to be sad! We have a house prepare"

"...!"

With the help of Elderbug, they selected a spacious house that was near the stag station and spent the rest of the day cleaning it. At nightfall both young retired to go to rest at their home in the depths of the kingdom.

That was a happy day for the old insect, he could have a nice talk with a couple of enthusiastic young people and soon he would have new neighbors, so he retired to his home with a satisfied face.

Iselda that night after a long day of work, decided to go for a night walk. Her husband was again on one of his trips to map some area that was missing and she had of course had been left alone. With some effort, she left his tiny house and stretching in all her splendor began her walk.

She walked distractedly enjoying the breeze on her long body and her steps took her to the famous bench in the middle of the road where Elderbug always used to be. Of course at that time the place would be empty. However to his surprise there was someone sitting there. He was Sly, his neighbor and competitor in business.

"Good evening" Iselda greeted.

"Good evening," Sly replied "Taking a night walk?"

"Yes, I always do" She took a seat next to the fly and looked up at the sky "And what are you doing here? As far as I remember, you have never been very fond of walking”

"I was remembering the past. That damn old poor bug today started telling an old story right in front of my store and since there was nothing to do, I started to listen and... Hell, I didn't think anyone would still remember Graham"

"Graham ... Then did you get nostalgic?" Iselda gave a slight laugh.

"Don’t laugh. I'm sure also cause you feelings to remember that monster" complained Sly with annoyance.

"The truth is, it were good times, but I don’t miss them. I am happy living a simple life with my beloved Cornifer in this small town. I don’t need anything else"

"I'm the same. I would not change my Geo for anything in the world"

"With you everything is Geo" the mosquito claimed something annoyed.

"Anyway. Do you know what was the funniest thing about Elderbug's story?"

"What thing?"

"The way he finished it. He babbled something that the great heroes who defeated Graham went to distant realms to live adventures and save people or something like that"

"Hahahaha! That old man is so clueless. He has the great heroes of the past living under their noses and doesn't realize"

"Neither do we really pretend what we are. For all we are just a couple of traders who spend all day working in their stores. Nobody would imagine that we ever wielded a weapon or that we defeated a demonic bat...”

"If they knew, they would probably ask us to teach them our techniques or even join the army" Iselda seemed annoyed by this thought "But we're not here for those things, even if the bats returned, I would not take up a weapon again."

"Neither do I. The new generations should take charge of the problems now, it is their duty. The little dumb child who sometimes passes by here and who always seems to carry Geo mountains with him is a good warrior, he could surely face whatever"

"Today I had the opportunity to meet his sister" said Iselda. "She is a bit shy, but she seems pretty clever, I think in case of problems those two could defend the place"

"Well, I hope they do, if the place becomes dangerous the business will be ruined"

" I should have guessed, with you it's all about Geo. Anyway, it was nice to talk to you Sly" she said standing up to start the march "Good evening"

"Good evening Iselda"

Chapter Text

Living on the surface had already become normal for Hornet, although at the beginning she was still some scared about the bats. With the passing of days the fear was erased and slowly she joined the people of Dirtmouth. She maintained good relations with everyone, although she got along best with Iselda. The mosquito caused her a lot of admiration and allowed her to get to know a more feminine point of view of things, it was good to have another girl to talk to, so far her biggest interactions had been with Quirrel and Hollow. Well, Hollow had no gender, but he identified with a male and thought like one, so he could be considered one.

In turn, who was worse off was with Zote, who had been labeled as 'the crazy of the town'. For Hornet definitely Zote was wrong in the head. According to him, he was the greatest warrior in the world, he had ended the lives of thousands of opponents, had triumphed in the coliseum of the fools and had made lots of other feats, which, he said, had carried out with his nail 'Life ender'. After having a look at the weapon, it was clear to Hornet that everything he said could not be true, that nail was made of shellwood. With luck, if he hit it with that very hard it could hurt a little.

To her surprise Hollow knew more about Zote's story. He told her about all the times he saved the life of the old insect and how he beat him up in the coliseum of the fools. Definitely that version of the story seemed much more credible to Hornet than the lies he told. But the strangest thing about Zote was that he seemed to believe his lies. He said them with such conviction that he almost doubted that things had not happened as he said, and even denied knowing Hollow from before.

But it did not take long for him to realize how bad Zote was, when after a long period when they did not set foot in Dirtmouth, the bug forgot about them and they had to introduce again. Apparently this guy tended to forget things and then rewrite the memories according to his convenience. What a nuisance.

But leaving Zote aside, the rest of Dirtmouth was nice. They had already conditioned the house to be inhabited and from time to time they spent the night there, while little by little they were decorating it and making it more of a home.

Hornet had discovered that Sly's store was the best place to buy furniture and other things, what Sly was selling was beautiful and had great quality. The only problem: Prices.

"How can this 1800 Geo table cost?" Hornet claimed to the fly.

"Either you take it or leave it. I don't intend to lower my prices"

"I give you 1200"

“1800”

“1300”

“1800”

“1400”

“1800”

"Don’t you think to change even a little the price?"

"1900"

"But that's even more expensive!"

"I already told you. I don’t intend to lower my prices. Or buy it at 1800 or anything"

"Damned usurer" the girl grumbled as she left the shop indignantly.

Outside Hollow was waiting with Elderbug, who for a change was releasing one of his long speeches about the old days and the foolishness of insects now. The little one of course only looked at him silently without moving a muscle.

"Come Hollow, we must go"

"...?"

"There was no business. That damn stingy guy didn’t accept to lower the price. I guess the table will have to wait until we save enough"

Both siblings started the march to their home. They had to pass in front of a huge bulletin board they had installed recently; there they saw an insect sticking a poster. Hornet's eyes widened in surprise when she realized it was a pill bug and ran to hug him crazy with joy.

"Quirrel you have come back!" Exclaimed the girl.

"Eh ... I'll apologize but my-my name is not Quirrel, I'm-I’m Dan" explained the insect timidly.

Upon hearing that, the warrior turned away from him and looked at him carefully. The boy was a pill bug, but he was not equal to Quirrel although he had a certain similarity. His shell was slightly more gray, his stature a little lower and his attitude more timid.

"Sorry" Hornet apologized "I confused you with a friend, but of course, he is not the only pill bug in the world"

"Do-don't worry, anyway hugs are good for your health" he replied with a certain nervousness.

"Who said that?"

"My mother..."

Slowly turning off his voice, he prepared to continue with his task, trying to disguise the nerves that the girl provoked him. Seeing the insect rested his hands on the poster, Hornet could not help but notice it. She began to read it finding very interesting information.

"A reward of 1500 geo!" The warrior shouted.

"Yes!" Dan yelled, scared.

"Sorry I scared you"

"Do-don't worry... Any-anyone is surprised wi-with that reward"

"They must be desperate to annihilate all those things to offer such an amount of money"

"Yes... Well... The boss will get in trouble if he doesn't clean the So-soul Sanctum from the plague before the week ends. He was hoping that some no-noble Knight would appear like the ones of yesteryear who-who wanted to clean the place without expecting anything in return... Well, the boss is very fond of knight stories, in fact he is an admirer of the 5 Great Knights"

"But nowadays no one is so noble, nor is there a king to play loyalty to" said Hornet.

"It's true, the knight's times have already passed" Dan looked at Hornet now with a little more confidence feeling his nerves calm down "Anyway, the boss sent us to fight against the monsters that live there. But we are not so strong "the insect showed a hand that had wound and bandaged" So the boss had no choice but to offer a reward to whoever cleans the sanctuary of the vermin that inhabit it"

"1500 geo for killing a lot of monsters, sounds good. With that money plus what I have saved we could buy the table and a few other things. What do you say Hollow?"

The little one answered with a nod raising a hand to show his support and enthusiasm.

"Great, then we’ll be knights for a day and we'll fulfill the mission to kill all the beasts that populate the Soul Sanctum" Hornet imitated a bit the attitude of the knights and their solemn speeches "We will cover ourselves with glory... And geo of course" 

"The only one that deserves to be covered in glory is me" shouted a male voice.

That statement came from nothing less than Zote the mighty, or Zote the crazy as Hornet had put him. Surely he had appeared to show off his grandiosity as a knight and tell some of his imaginary feats. It never occurred to them that he would also be interested in the work of the poster.

"If what they need is a real knight, then they should come to me, Zote the mighty, I along with my nail ‘life ender’ we have turned off the light in the eyes of hundreds. Did I say hundreds? I want to say thousands! My exploits are countless and my power relentless. Any threat will perish before my force"

"Woow, you must be someone amazing!" Dan exclaimed with stars shining in his eyes.

Hornet would have liked to explain to the pill bug that Zote was a charlatan and that everything he talked about was a lie, but the last time she had dared saying something like that in front of the old insect, he had challenged her to a fight over the offense. Of course she had beaten him without receiving a scratch and the next day Zote was counting the bitter battle he had had with her and the spectacular victory he had won.

Getting angry with him made no sense, the poor insect was insane. Since then she simply tried not to mess with him. But now a lot of Geo was at stake and that she could not let go.

"We appreciate your interest Mr. Zote, but we’ll take that job. Surely we can manage it without your invaluable help" said Hornet trying to restrain her tongue to not sound rude.

"Ha! What are you going to be able to do? What is needed here is a real knight, not some children carrying nails" He said this words looking disparagingly at Hollow, although he accustomed to his slights, remained impassive.

"Don’t underestimate our abilities; we are more than fit for work"

"Of course, giving airs of greatness when they barely know how to take a weapon"

"We know much more than that..."

Hornet's patience was already running out. The poor spider had her fist shaking with rage and she could not bear to hit that charlatan. Fortunately for her, at that moment the innocent Dan intervened.

"If you want, everyone can join the mission. Believe me that those things are complicated, when we went to face them we were a gang of 9 cockroaches and me, and we couldn't against them"

In the end they all agreed to go to that mission, of course Zote warned the siblings not to disturb his way, for their part they just sighed and shook their heads with annoyance.

The next day Zote, Hornet and Hollow were in the City of Tears in front of the elevator that would take them to the Soul Sanctum. In front of them was a cockroach giving them some information of what they had to do.

"The Soul Sanctum used to be a place where the brightest and stupid scientists of the kingdom met"

The three looked at him somewhat surprised. How the words ‘brightest’ and ‘stupid’ could be applied to the same person?

"Don’t look at me like that, I mean it. These guys were very smart, but the things they used their intelligence for were stupid, look at that thing about trying to live forever. Who comes up with such nonsense? Anyway, according to what I have researched, these idiots did experiments with an energy called soul. Supposedly all living beings have soul inside. They assumed that by injecting extra soul in a being they would prolong their lives indefinitely. The experiments failed miserably. The bodies of the test subjects didn't hold so much soul and broke. They were reduced to shapeless gelatinous masses that crawled around the place attacking whoever was put in front"

This made Hollow sense. He took the Hunter’s Journal he was still carrying and reviewed the notes, surely the creatures to which the cockroach referred to were those known as "mistake".

"These gelatinous things have the ability to hide in any slit, vessel, crack, whatever comes to mind. That's why it's so complicated to eliminate them. It also seems that they acquired the ability to split and reproduce, they are disgusting. So far we have left this place in peace, but the governor wants to reopen this laboratory and needs the facilities to be safe"

"Do we have a governor?" Hornet asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, they recently elected him by popular vote"

"So it's something like the new king?"

"No. Of course not. He is far from being even something like a king. To begin his jurisdiction is limited to City of Tears, what happens beyond this place is not his problem. Actually they chose him to organize a little the merchant's guild and take charge of the maintenance of the city. Of course no one bows to him when he passes and does not call him 'his majesty' either. And yet many took their rise to power very seriously and try to assassinate him to take a crown that doesn't exist. Seriously these people..."

The cockroach crossed his arms and began to mutter some things to himself, as if he were complaining. Suddenly he seemed to wake up from his thoughts, and returned to pay attention to his listeners, cleared his throat and continued.

"Anyway. Those poor gelatinous beings are still crawling around and attacking everyone who approaches. In themselves they are not so strong, but they are many, and in a space as narrow as the corridors of the laboratory, fighting with them is disgusting. If you have any technique to fight in such places or to confront groups, I recommend that you use it. Stop all those things and give them rest. I'm sure that for those beings, exist must be a hell. When you have finished with all , return. Here will be a bag full of Geo waiting for you"

Without further explanation, the three warriors climbed the elevator to reach the tower known as the Soul Sanctum.

The place looked rather desolate. There were long gloomy corridors where the light was scarce, on the floor there were some tools and broken glass jars, chairs overturned, papers and reports scattered, even scratches on the walls.

"This place looks terrible" commented Hornet "Surely the beasts of this place are very wild, look how they left everything"

Hollow did not want to tell her that in reality most of the damage was his fault. When he first explored the Soul Sanctum, the place did not look so bad, but his constant fights with everything that lived there made everything mess.

"Ha! No matter how savage the enemy is, he will succumb to me!" Zote declared, taking out his wooden nail and then running away.

"Zote! Wait! Don’t be reckless!" Hornet yelled, but the insect ignored her.

In the end both warriors had no choice but to follow him so he would not get into trouble.

Surely because of how noisy the little bug was, he disturbed the mistakes that napped at that hour, these of course were furious and came out in heaps to face him. That was how Zote, swollen with courage and with an ironclad security, stopped and watched the herd of monsters; they shrieked communicating their annoyance, but the fierce warrior did not back down, he closed his eyes and ran towards them waving his nail like crazy.

In the beginning, the mistakes were cautious and went out of his way, although one of them, the most clueless, moved very late, so it was his turn to receive in his body the ferocious attacks of Zote. The creature screamed and writhed... for nothing. Because when he realized that the wooden nail was absolutely harmless it stopped its screams and looked at him angrily.

The rest of the mistakes began to approach the insect shrieking and wanting to devour him. But Zote did not realize anything because he was with his eyes closed hitting and thinking he was dominating the situation.

Soon the herd of monsters was only a few steps away from him, then they threw themselves into a joint attack that could have ended the life of the bug. However, at that moment, a flurry of concentrated power hit the group, pulverizing their bodies to nothing.

The mistake that was next to Zote, looked at the scene in astonishment without understanding what had happened, but before it could move even a step, a needle pierced its head killing it instantly. The needle was then recovered through the thread that was tied and returned to its owner.

"We're on time" Hornet gasped. "They nearly killed him"

At that moment, Zote noticing the absence of the squeals of mistakes, opened his eyes to see what happened and found the remains of the creatures scattered everywhere.

"Ha! They have succumbed to my power! For something I am Zote the mighty. Their destinies were sealed as soon as I set foot here"

Hollow shook his head, exasperated and Hornet grabbed his forehead begging the heavens to give her patience to endure that madman.

But that would not be the only great feat of Zote, he decided to continue his extermination of the fauna of the area, so he ran again in search of more enemies, of course the siblings followed him again.

That's how they spent the next couple of hours saving Zote from all kinds of dangers. The insect seemed to have a special talent for attracting these vermin, even when a room looked absolutely empty, it was enough that Zote to put a foot in it so that all the hidden mistakes would emerge and attack him. Then Hollow would appear to protect him by brandishing his nail and scattering cuts everywhere. Or Hornet would stretched her thread and capture the beasts to finish them with her needle.

Eventually they began to take advantage of Zote to attract mistakes, which allowed them to cover a large number of enemies in a short time. Even Hornet could place some very efficient thread and spine traps that eliminated many targets.

Despite the fact that the task entrusted was easy, the efforts to protect Zote plus the long working hours took their toll and they eventually ended up exhausted. Although the first to succumb to fatigue was Hornet, who when the time came, when it seemed that they had not more enemies in the place, she sat in a huge chair and leaned on the table in front.

"I'm dead, I don’t want any more war" the girl complained.

"Bah, I already said that this would be too much for newbies like you" Zote mocked.

Hornet gave him a murderous look that Zote seemed to ignore without problems, as he moved away from her towards an elevator that was at the back of the room.

"It seems that we have already finished with the beasts of this area, but we still have to check the last floor, the Watcher’s Spire. Since the young lady is exhausted she can stay here resting. I’ll go to finish the job" said the insect climbing the elevator.

"..." Hollow looked at his sister questioningly as he pointed to the elevator.

"I already surrender, if you want to, follow him, I'll stay here for a while. For me, he can die.I can't tolerate him anymore!"

Hollow was not very fond of Zote, but his conscience prevented him from leaving him. Although it did not make much sense, he felt responsible for Zote’s existence, after all, he had saved his life too many times.

The boy had to wait for the elevator to go down before climbing on it and reaching the indicated point. Once upstairs, he found Zote looking at the place with contempt, there were no mistakes in the place. Apparently those creatures only inhabited the lower floors. There was no need to worry so much about the well-being of the supposed knight.

Zote seemed somewhat disappointed not to find a rival with which to demonstrate his strength, and having nothing more of his interest there, proceeded to withdraw. He passed next to Hollow without speaking to him with a haughty attitude and full of confidence, meanwhile the child only saw him go to the elevator quietly.

Hollow also had no reason to stay in that place, but an attack of nostalgia made him stay on the site. He began to walk by what was once Lurien’s residence. Things were just as he had left them, there was still the telescope that he liked so much. Of course Hollow did not miss the opportunity to take a look at the city.

He walked a little more around the room, lay down on a somewhat ramshackle sofa and looked at the ceiling. In his times of splendor that room was very luxurious, there were very nice furniture, huge chandeliers full of details and some pretty fine decorations, it was a beauty of place.

He rejoined from the couch remembering the first time he had been there. At that time he was so busy trying to kill the dreamers that he did not even take the time to  contemplate these wonders. The only thing he did at that time was to go to bed that was at the back of the room and murdered his occupant. Although murder was not exactly what he had done, the kind of existence the watcher wore could not really be called life.

Now Hollow was contemplating the bed where Lurien was sleeping in the past, he put his hand on it as if he wanted to feel some of the heat lost so long ago, poor Lurien... Poor Monomon... Poor Herrah. They had to sacrifice so much for the kingdom so that finally everything would be in vain. What would the king think when he asked them for such a task? Would he have felt sorry for what he had done to those poor insects? Would any remorse have darkened his nights? Would he be remembering his servants when he locked himself in the White Palace protecting himself from infection? There was no way of knowing, the king had died, not even in his empty shell were memories that he could read with his dream nail, that mystery would be forever open.

Suddenly the vessel felt a presence in the place. He turned to see if someone had climbed the elevator, but did not see anyone. He quickly inspected the entire room, perhaps a mistake was hidden somewhere while lurking, but there was nothing either. He continued to watch everywhere until a dim light caught his attention.

That light did not come from any source; it was as if it shone in nothingness with an ethereal aspect. Based on his previous experiences, Hollow knew that it was a ghost and probably no one but him could see it because the ability to see ghosts was something given by the dream nail. It was a bit strange to him that there was a ghost there, it did not seem like the kind of place where people usually die and he did not think it likely that there was anything left of old Lurien there.

He approached the light. When he was close enough, the ghost would reveal his identity and probably talk to him. For what he had noticed, although all the people in the
world always need to be heard, the ones who most longed to communicate are the ghosts. What kind of stories would this old spirit tell him?

But when Hollow was face to face with the ghost and saw who he was, his body became tense and anger invaded him. In front of him was a faded worm, almost white, dressed in the finest silk and with a head very similar to a crown. A being that in spite of his small size imposed respect. A creature that was the cause of all his sorrows and was the one he hated most in the world.

It was the Pale King's ghost.

Chapter Text

Hollow's gaze showed the great hatred he felt for the presence in front of him. But the ghost did not seem too worried about it. The pale king stood quietly in his place, floating in midair looking at his offspring with superiority. Apparently not even after death was he going to see the shadows as blood of his blood. This attitude of course did nothing but irritate the child, who letting his hatred overflow, pulled his dream nail and threw himself at his father hoping to absorb his essence.

The king rose easily dodging the attack and distanced himself. Hollow frowned; apparently the old king was one of those superior ghosts, those who do not let themselves be "killed" easily and are even capable of attacking. He had already had to face some of these spirits and he remembered them with chills, not because they were complicated to overcome, but because they were simply terrifying. Sometimes he still had nightmares with No Eyes.

But he did not let himself be intimidated by the king and raised his nail against him, waiting for his counterattack. However, he cocked his head as if he seemed confused by the actions of the child, then with a soft but firm voice spoke.

"You expected a confrontation? It is not my intention to start a conflict with my offspring”

These words outraged Hollow, who could not believe that this guy had the gall to declare himself as his father. Parents do not father children to use them as tools, nor lock them in an abyss. Worst of all, he did not seem sorry for his actions. When he had met the white Lady, she at least seemed to regret her participation in the creation of the containers and had self-punished. But instead, this guy did not regret anything and looked at him with such superiority that it made him sick. He really could not believe that Big would defend him.

"..." He waved his nail at the king in defiance, but he simply shook his head.

"I already said that I won’t fight with you. That is not the reason that has me in this existential plane delaying my next incarnation"

"...." He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

"It’s curious how expressive you can be even without a voice of your own" said the worm going down a little to take a better look at his son "But for a ruler, his voice is indispensable, It’s the strength that will infuse his people, the respect it will receive and the fulfillment of its orders”

Between tantrums and signs Hollow explained that he did not need to have a voice and that he managed well without it. Then he remembered that he was not supposed to talk to the king, so he once again took out his Dream Nail and launched himself against him wanting to pulverize his spirit.

Of course his father did not allow himself be hit. He began to float to a certain height out of reach of the small one. But the little one using the Monarch Wings managed to make jumps that seemed impossible for someone like him, which brought him closer to his goal, but still well, He could not hit him.

"I think you should consider stopping this useless pursuit" said the king, somewhat tired of the situation "You will end up destroying the nice furniture in the room"

Hollow ignored his request and continued to attack, implying that he did not give a damn about furniture. In fact, although it was unintentional, he ended up breaking a chair that was next to a desk and did not regret it at all.

On another side meanwhile, Hornet was climbing the elevator that led to the Watcher’s Spire. Her brother had already delayed too long and she was somewhat worried about him. This anguish increased as the elevator took her higher and higher, because she began to hear the murmurs of something that sound like a fight.

When the warrior finally reached the top, she ran to the room pulling out her needle ready to help Hollow with whatever it was he was fighting, but she was surprised when she found the little one fighting with... The air.

"Hollow? What do you do? Did Zote infect your madness?"

The child stopped his attack and ran to his sister very agitated. Then quickly with some signs, he began to explain what was happening. The Pale King approached interested in the mute language that he used. He could read the Hollow’s mind thanks to his ability and his ghost condition, so he did not need signs. But he was quite interested in seeing how they interacted shadow beings, even if one of them was not a vessel.

Meanwhile, Hollow had already finished telling her the story of what was happening to his sister, but she looked at him not very convinced. She had never heard of anyone who could see and talk to the ghosts, so in her eyes this must be some crazy fantasy of him, perhaps triggered by hunger. Yes, surely that must be, she was also hungry, the best It was leave the place fast.

Hornet urged her brother to move quickly away from the place, but he felt hurt that she did not believe him. So he took the girl's hand and deposited the dream nail on it. As soon as the mystic object came into contact with her hand, the pale king's figure became visible to her eyes. This of course made a great impression on her.

"AAAAAAHHH! It's the damned worm! "The girl screamed almost falling from fright.

For his part, the king grimaced in disgust at being called like that. But what insolence! The only beast that ever called him that and lived to tell about it was... Well… This girl's mother.

"Look damned worm, I hope this plan of yours turns out and you better give me a pretty girl, or I’ll go to that filthy palace of yours and I'll tear your head off"

Yes, more or less those were the Herrah’s words. In truth, if it had not been because he needed her, he would never have agreed to make any bargain with her. That spider was so insufferable, aggressive, gross and rude, so different from her sweet White Lady. He shook his head back to reality, it was not time to lose himself in daydreams. That was the past. Now he had his daughter in front and it was necessary to show her a little respect for her elders.

"Damned worm does not seem a very appropriate denomination to refer to someone" said the king maintaining composure "I understand that due to the circumstances in which we have lived, may be impossible for you to refer to me as a father. However Pale King, Wyrm , or simply Pale, are valid names that I would be willing to accept"

"Hey Hollow. Am I not imagining that thing? Right?" The girl asked her brother. "Am I really seeing the ghost of the damned worm?"

"But what have I told you not to call me damned worm!" The worm said now, quite annoyed.

"Do not yell at me! I call you how I want! You are no longer a king or a Wyrm. You are just a wandering ghost that is bothering around here"

Hollow took his sister's hand to come in contact with the dream nail and also be able to see the king. It must be said that he was delighted with the way in which Hornet was bugging him.

"I really can not believe that such an insolent brat belongs to my progeny" The ghost complained.

"Well I'm not too happy that my father is a crazy oldman who doesn't appreciate life and who abused his power to lock his children in a dark hole forever"
"Those creatures were not suitable to be considered living beings, much less my children"

At that time the king saw his body being pierced by Hornet's hand; of course because of his ghost condition he did not receive any damage, only the Dream Nail could hurt him. Still, when he looked up and meet the girl's eyes he felt tightness in her stomach. Not even his worst enemies had ever looked at him with such hatred.

"Don’t ever say something so horrible anymore!" The warrior shouted with tears of rage "Hollow, Big and all the rest of my 10,526 siblings are living beings. With the passage of time they developed personality, desires, their souls supposedly empty began to fill. Although the nature of their bodies is not normal, inside they are equal to any insect that populates this kingdom”

The king was watching Hornet a moment in silence. Really he did not know what to say and he felt very uncomfortable with this. He was never very good at dealing with the emotions of others and had some problems expressing himself; normally it was his sweet White Lady who helped him with those matters. But now she was not there, so he had to deal with his daughter alone and he was doing terrible. He breathed deeply trying to calm down and put his ideas in order. He could not show weakness, a king never doubt, he never did.

"That was something not planned" the old monarch replied with a proud attitude "When those beings were conceived they were not supposed to have personality... Or even feelings. They were incapable of suffering, they were only empty entities made to fulfill a purpose"

"And didn't you feel embarrassed to conceive children with such an existence?"

If the pale king had been completely honest, he would have replied that he suffered a lot with his actions. There were days when he simply did not want to get out of bed when he thought about the horrors he had committed and still had to commit, but that he saw himself forced to stand firm and swallow all his feelings, everything was for the good of the kingdom.

"No cost is too great" He repeated the words that he had said to himself so many times to draw strength in moments of weakness.

That damn phrase again ignited the Hollow’s wrath. Those were ideas that simply he could not accept, that kind of thought only served to bring misery and sadness to people. No cost is too great? That is only if one is willing to pay a price and if it is a decision made by own will, not if it is something that someone else imposed and of course, to him and his brothers, nobody asked anything.

Again the little one was launched against the king trying to finish him with the Dream Nail. But the Wyrm was very skillful dodging, reason why the useless persecution of a while ago was repeated.

When Hornet lost contact with the Dream Nail, she stopped seeing his father and all she could appreciate was his brother jumping around the room chasing the air. The situation was quite confusing for her. She first learned that when people died they became ghosts. Second she had met the ghost of the old king. And third, her father turned out to be a worse imbecile than her mother had told her.

She sighed heavily asking herself what she should do. At that moment it only occurred to her to think of an old advice she had once received: Don’t bother dealing with idiots, they are a lost cause.

The best thing was to ignore the ghost and leave there as soon as possible. She threw a strand of thread with which she caught Hollow and then pulled him towards her. The little one twisted angrily wishing he could break free and go to fight the spirit again, but his sister did not let him. In fact she rolled him up even more and tied him on her body so he would not escape.

"Come on Hollow, leave that ghost in peace. it's not worth spending your time with him, let him keep wandering and punishing his crimes, he doesn't deserve anything better"

The little one answered with an irritated but resigned look. Maybe Hornet was right, it was best to ignore him. Both siblings moved towards the elevator, but when they tried to activate it, it just did not work. Then Hollow began to stir annoyed saying that the ghost prevented the device from working. The girl now angrier, took the Dream Nail of her brother to see his father and rebuke him.

"What's the matter with you? Do you want to lock the last two individuals of your missing progeny? "

"It is not my intention to deprive you of your freedom" the worm answered seriously. "I do not intend to maintain hostile relations with you either, but I need to be listened to and that is why I can not allow you to leave yet"

"Do you want us to listen to you? Are you going to apologize?"

Hollow was not interested in receiving apologies of any kind, but his sister was more willing. So she remained attentive listening. However the monarch did not think apologize. Please! When he was alive he never did it, he would not do it now after he died. Besides, why would he apologize? He did what he considered correct, he would not show such weakness.

It had to be said, the pale king was extremely proud, even more so than Hornet.

"The reason I keep you in this place is because I want you to fulfill your duty as heirs. I need Hornet to take the throne"

After such a declaration followed a long silence, while the siblings processed the words.

"That ... Was not an apology? Right?"

"I understand that this may be something sudden, but without a doubt you are the most apt for the position. You have a voice, something that distinguishes you from your siblings, you can make your orders heard, I know that everyone will obey you and so..."

"But what kind of madness is this!" The girl shouted "Do you want me to become a queen? Is that why you're wandering around here and you're not going to the other side?"

"I must ensure the continuity of Hallownest. I am no longer among the living beings to rule, there is no longer a king. So who is going to bring the kingdom to prosperity? That's why the solution that came to my mind is that one of my descendants will take power. Maybe the suddenness of this will overwhelm you a little. You may feel that you do not have what it takes to be a queen, but under my guidance you can become a good ruler, just as I was"

"This is unbelievable!" The girl shouted again this time holding her head. "Again, the only thing your offspring represent for you is a tool! Since you can’t govern, you intend to do it through me! You're a fucking ghost! Stop being selfish and allow the living to follow their path however they want! I don’t intend to become a queen. If I were to rule over someone I would prefer it to be over my people, the weavers. But they don’t exist anymore, so I am content to be a common civilian"

"But Hornet! It's the throne of Hallownest! The most prosperous kingdom in the world! Think of the people!"

"People are very good. Don’t worry about them. Without the infection the population is reproducing quietly, guilds have emerged, commerce, there are many sources of work. Perhaps there are no knights, but now there are municipal workers. There is no castle, but there are shops. There is no king, but there is a governor and nobody seems dissatisfied with that. Assume that you are not necessary. There is no need a king so that the living can prosper and not everything has to work your way”

So many truths said in the face irritated the worm a lot, besides that he could not believe that his daughter shouted at him that way. He was preparing to answer when Hornet threw his needle into one of the windows cracking it. Then with skill and delicacy, went out through the hole formed next to his brother, leaving the king with the word in his mouth. After leaving his astonishment the king shouted angrily.

"You rude brat. You have not even had the decency to say goodbye!"

Meanwhile, Hornet was bouncing on the roofs of the tower, leaning on her thread to avoid getting hurt by the numerous ornamental spikes that were found all over the place. The truth, the only reason why she would like to be Queen of Hallownest, would be to send to remove all those spikes. Who happened to put them?

When they finally landed on solid ground, they met Zote, who was talking animatedly with the cockroach that had hired them. Of course he was recounting the battle against mistakes in his own way, highlighting his courage in fighting and how easy he had killed all the beasts.

"Without a doubt your exploits are incredible!" Exclaimed the cockroach enchanted with the story, not for nothing he was a fan of the knights tales "Your story should be reflected in a book"

"It's nothing" Zote answered complacent "For a reason I am the best knight who has ever walked the earth. Nothing escapes the power of my nail. Although the key to my victory lies in my personal philosophy, my 57 personal precepts..."

Hollow and Hornet grabbed their heads in exasperation, again he was going to start with the story of the 57 precepts. They had heard them so many times that they already memorized at least half of them. Luckily for them the same cockroach put a stop to the speech of the pseudo knight.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you but I really have some issues to attend to. Another day I could continue listening to your stories. But before I forget" He took out a bag full of money "Here is the reward for the work done"

"Ha! It is not necessary, the glory and the adrenaline of the battle are priceless. I don’t need a reward, take it. A true knight does good without expecting anything in return"

"Oh! I didn't think there were any real knights left!" The insect did not fit with emotion.
On the other hand Hornet and Hollow did not fit in frustration.

"All our work wasted!" Hornet complained "Aaag, we can’t buy the table anymore"

The cockroach that hear the girl's cries came to browse.

"And for a table did you need 1500 Geo?"

"1800, the rest I’ll cover with my savings" She replied dryly.

"1800 for a table... Let me tell you had been scammed" Hornet looked at him depressed "Well, cheer up, even though you couldn’t do the great thing to fight against the beasts of the place, I think that maybe you could get a reward for the effort and for giving you the time to come here. In the tower where you were there are many tables, take what you want, you can even take a shelf and some chairs if you want "

"Really?"

"Yes, we are going to renovate all the furniture in the building, we have to get rid of things"

In that unexpected way, Hornet got the furniture that was missing to make her house in Dirtmouth ready. Maybe these were something old, but it was in an excellent state, besides it were of very good quality. It had some scratches, but nothing that a sanded and a layer of varnish could not fix.

The only expense that the siblings had to do was pay the freight to take them with their things to the village. The trip was long, it took them all day, but at nightfall, they had everything ready and accommodated. That night, too exhausted to return to Distant Village, they slept in their new home, where they fell into a deep shared sleep.

Hornet scampered through a beautiful garden full of flowers and all kinds of plants, behind her was his little brother chasing her, he seemed very happy with the game, but the speed of his legs was not enough to reach her. So he jumped and crawled in the air using the skill of the shade cloak, and flew to Hornet, knocking her down on the ground. Both fell between laughter and gasps over the flowers. Some petals flew out creating a very beautiful show.

Suddenly a figure appeared before them, it was a very tall and robust creature, with eight limbs and 6 eyes.

"Mom!" Hornet yelled happily as she ran to hug the newcomer.

Mother and daughter hugged warmly, while Hollow stood watching them in the distance, but Hornet of course did not forget his little brother.

"Come Hollow" she said extending her hand.

The child walked timidly to them and observed them in silence. Herrah leaned over him and took him carefully, then smiled at him in a friendly way, showing him her acceptance. This pleased the child who gave his sister a look of gratitude.

Herrah deposited Hollow on the floor, then Hornet took her by one of her hands and pulled her.

"Come on mother, I want you to teach me how to weave. I have been practicing but it doesn’t work out well. Can you help me?"

The spider queen nodded and started to follow her daughter, when a figure appeared in front of the group: a white worm with a thorny head like a crown. He extended his hand to Hornet and spoke in a deep, solemn voice.

"Come, my daughter, take my hand and accept your destiny as queen"

"Die oldman" The girl replied.

"Will you never learn to have manners?" The king complained.

"Get out of here old man, nobody want you here" said Hollow looking at him with hatred.

Both the worm and Herrah and her daughter stared at him in surprise.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Hollow, you're talking" Hornet exclaimed.

"Well… This is a dream" he replied simply "In dreams, what you want can happen. If I wish I can talk"

"Is this a dream?" Said the confused girl, then she looked at her mother and her face became sad "It's true, this is a dream.My mother will never be with me again"

After saying those words, the image of Herrah vanished in the air along with the beautiful garden, giving way to a more ethereal atmosphere, basically everything became a sea of white fluffy clouds.

"Look what you did oldman. You ruined a very nice dream" Hollow crossed his arms and looked at him with annoyance.

"If it were not for my influence you could not even have a shared dream" The worm excused himself.

"We could" his son replied "I have the Dream Nail. I can enter in the dreams of whoever I want; I've been doing it for a while"

"So that nail is not only good for seeing ghosts?" Asked Hornet

"No, it also allows to enter in the dreams of people and also read their thoughts"

"Tho-tho-thoughts? Ho-Hollow ... By chance, you..."

"Yes, I've seen them. I know you think he es handsome"

Hornet could not help but blush and put his hands to her face ashamed. For his part the king frowned.

"Is there someone who has caught my daughter's interest? Who?"

"Confidential" the little one replied, which bothered his father enough.

"Anyone who aspires to be the partner of my heiress must go through my approval, she as the future ruler of Hallownest can not relate to any boor"

These words outraged Hornet. Then with a furious look she faced his father.

"Look! If I decide to pair with a merchant, an artist, a gentleman, a lazy guy or if I decide to stay alone, it's my decision. You have no right to say anything or to get into my life. And I already made it clear that I don't want to be a queen"

"But Hornet, you're highborn. It’s in your blood"

"I don’t care, and get out of my dream!"

"If you want him to leave, you just have to desire it" Hollow said. "This is your mind; here reality is the way you want"

"Oh, great, that's very convenient" the girl replied with a malicious smile.

The king began to feel a pressure on the body that pushed him away, a force that he could not resist. At that moment he knew that soon he would be expelled from sleep, but before leaving he said a few last words.

"This will not be the last thing you know about me. I will continue with you, I will get you to become Queen Hornet, my legacy must prevail and you are the key to it"

"Go away!" the girl yelled.

Then the king vanished into nothingness leaving both brothers happy in their vivid dream.

The days that followed were quite stormy for the princes. The pale king did not appear again in their dreams, but he appeared constantly during the day to talk to them and try to convince them that Hornet should take power. The most affected by this, it turned out to be Hollow, because he was the carrier of the Dream Nail, therefore he was the one who had to listen to the murmurs of the ghost and be scared every time he appeared suddenly. Sometimes Hornet took care of the weapon for some periods so that his brother could rest.

Finally they chose to keep the Dream Nail in a locked cabinet, so nobody would have to deal with that annoying ghost. It seemed like a good plan, but it was not. The king to be ignored and unable to express their words and deal with their offspring, he chose to do what many ghosts do to attract attention, make noise.

The nights became an ordeal for the siblings. The worm used all the resources he had to attract attention, from throwing anything that was on the table, to making the paintings fall. Hornet was desperate because there was almost no crockery left. But the last straw was when he got some chains and began to make them ring while he howled. The truth Hornet and Hollow were not scared, just upset because they had a hard time sleeping at night. Seriously, every time they hated their father more.

"Hollow... Do you think there's any way to get rid of the oldman?"
"...." He shook his head.

"Am I really going to have to become a queen so I can have a peaceful night's sleep again?"

The crossbreed put on a very sad expression that made her brother feel terrible. The problem with his father was not something they could talk to anyone. How to explain that they could see a ghost? What insect they knew was bound to the spiritual world to ask for help?

Suddenly a memory appeared in the mind of the child, perhaps there was someone who could help them, or at least give them a guide of what they could do. Very enthusiastic, he began to jump, moving to explain to his sister what he had remembered.

"Then that old moth could help us?"

"....."

"Well, even if it's not safe, it's a possibility, which is better than nothing. Let's go to see her"

Chapter Text

During her life, there were very few moments in which Hornet could enjoy true peace. She had moments of joy, sadness, fear, anger, but almost never peace and that was what she experienced now in Spirit’s Glade .

"When I die I would like to rest in such a place" said Hornet, admiring the landscape.

"...!" Hollow tugged at Hornet’s cloak looking at her scared.

"I'm not going to die soon Hollow, or I hope so. I really don’t know what my life expectancy is" she answered thoughtfully

"You have a high probability of having a long life" said the Pale King who floated next to the siblings.

At that time only Hornet could see it because she had the Dream Nail, it was better in that way because the mere sight of the ghost altered the child a lot and made him aggressive.

"Even though your siblings will probably live longer than you" continued the ghost. "As long as you can feed off the void energy, you will not die. Actually even you could prolong your existence if you consumed that energy, but you would condemn yourself to live in the abyss forever"

"Better not. I wouldn't live without being able to eat a good stew again"

"Glutton just like your mother" the ghost said.

"Any problem with it?" The girl said in a menacing tone.

"I do not think it's appropriate for a princess"

"Look oldman, I..."

Hornet could not complete the sentence, because a slight tug on her clothes distracted her. His little brother tried to get his attention. Obviously he was uncomfortable not being able to participate in the conversation with the ghost.

"I'm sorry Hollow, I didn't want to let you out of this. Anyway, we better move and we go where your acquaintance. When we finish there we can go to greet the spirits that rest in the glade"

Hollow nodded in agreement and prepared to guide his companions to the Seer’s house. To get there they had to climb a not too steep cliff to reach a cozy cave. Hornet found it difficult to believe that someone had chosen to live in that place absolutely alone, but as his brother had explained to her, the seer had a duty to take care of spirit’s glade, she could not leave the place, besides she was also too old to change life.

The home of the moth turned out to be more welcoming than they expected. It was decorated with soft cushions and fabrics, the ideal place to shelter from the cold. The hostess seemed happy to have visitors. She received them with an affable smile.

"Wow, I see that you have returned, and this time you are accompanied, very well accompanied. I must say. Yes, I know that girl, I know her story. A princess without a kingdom, a loyal guardian and a seasoned hunter. I never expected to have Princess Hornet in my humble home"

"The title of princess is no longer something that I feel worthy to use" said the aforementioned with some regret "At the end of the day. What is a princess without her people? Only a soul without purpose"

"But if you wanted, you could have a realm to govern" the king once again tempted.

"Of course, but that's something she should decide" the moth said, interfering in the conversation.

"...!?"

"Can you see the ghost?"

The moth laughed amused by the surprise reaction of her guests.

"We, the tribe of moths, have always danced with death and guarded its secrets. Our sharp eyes are always attentive to everything that is not obvious to the eye"

"Then maybe you are the one who can help us" exclaimed Hornet hopefully "We are desperate"

"Oh? And what can be the problem that afflicts the young princess?"

"This damned worm doesn't leave us alone" shouted the girl pointing to her father.

"I've repeated to you many times you do not call me damned worm! Also, if you accept your destiny as ruler of Hallownest we would not have so many problems"

"And if you accept that I'm not interested in governing, we'll also save ourselves problems!"

"But the kingdom can not be without a leader!"

"Yes it can! And it works well"

"But it does not have the glory of yesteryear"

"And that no matters! The people are fine, that's enough!"

"That is a mediocre thought"

"Admit that all this is for your stupid pride! You just want things to work in your way"

"And that's wrong? I am the brightest mind that has trod this kingdom, under my hand everything prospers and shines"

"Bright mind with a child's heart! Damn irritating worm"

"What have you said? How dare you!"

"I am right. You're like a spoiled brat doing a tantrum because you don’t do what you want. And if we ignore you, you begin to bother shaking chains and howling. But how mature is our king! Do you know how long I have not slept well?"

At this point the discussion began to lose its meaning and become more personal, in reality both Hornet and the king seemed like two children fighting. Hollow and the moth looked at each other, it was really an uncomfortable situation, even for the little one. Maybe he could not see the king at that moment for not having the Dream Nail with him, but he more or less sensed what he was saying by his sister’s answers. Finally the owner of the house decided to end the uproar.

"It's enough for both of you!" She shouted.

Father and daughter kept silent and fixed their eyes on the moth. She seemed somewhat uncomfortable to suddenly become the center of attention.

"Ahem... Well I..." The gray creature shook and cleared her throat "It does not matter. Please stop fighting"

"He/she started!" They shouted in unison.

"You can tell that these two are relatives, they are just as stubborn" whispered the moth to herself. "Anyway, I think I understand your problem," she sighed deeply. "I need you to leave me alone with the king, I'll take care of everything"

The siblings looked at each other and nodded. Obeying the Seer’s request they left the house leaving the king inside. The king could have followed them but he was curious to know what this old insect would say.

The worm took the most distant and proud attitude he could, he wanted to make clear to the seer his position as an old king. He did not want to show kind and close with a moth, after all the hardships that The Radiance had caused him, he did not like this species very much.

"This has undoubtedly been the most interesting day I've had in a long time" commented the winged creature. "Never in my dreams did I think I would be facing the pale king, a legendary insect, the creator of the greatest miracles and wonders"

"Your adulations will not earn you my favors, moth " the king said coldly.

"And I never thought that the king would be so inept in dealing with his daughter"

The pale creature narrowed his eyes and looked at the seer with hatred. it bothered him she speak to him so insolently, but he could not reply because she was right.

"Although perhaps it is not so strange" continued the moth "It has always been spoken of your great intelligence, of the devices you built, of your knowledge in magic and other sciences. But it is often said that those with a great rational intelligence, don’t have so much emotional ability"

"You speak a lot of moth, go to the point" Said the king already fed up and wanting to end that annoying conversation.

"Of course, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I don’t want to go where they do not call me, but I just can’t keep quiet about this situation. I understand your wishes for the kingdom and I won’t question you for that, but I must tell you that the attitude you are taking with your descendants and the way you are handling things is very bad"

"you will not tell me how to raise my children..."

"You didn't raise your children, it's too late for that. Little and nothing is what you can do for them"

The phantom wanted to say so many things, to defend himself from the verbal attacks of the insect, but he had no way of refuting her correct arguments.

"Look, there's something I want you to understand. Maybe before, everyone obeyed your orders without questioning anything, your word was law and your wishes obligations. But now that's not the case anymore. You are dead, you have no authority. Perhaps you can still impress and impose respect on some lower insects but not on his children. They are at your level"

"At my level?"

"They are your descendants, are not they? Some of your essence of high being is within them, so they won’t bow down to you. They also have a dark nature, darkness never bows to light, rather confronts it. If we add to all this that you was an absent father, not even in your dreams do they’ll pay attention to you”

"Are you telling me that I must abandon my purpose of making Hornet a queen?"

"I'm not going to ask for that, I'm not the one to do it. However I'm going to suggest that you change your strategies. Imposing your will without taking into account the wishes of the girl will only lead to useless quarrels and stressful situations. Even in the best cases, if she accepts being queen by exhaustion, perhaps she ends up ruling reluctantly and make the kingdom a ruin"

The king thought the Seer’s words who was right. It never occurred to him to consider that possibility, that Hornet was a bad queen would be something even worse than leaving the kingdom without a leader. But since reasoning with the girl was useless and trying to force her too. What choice did he have? For the moment he could not think of any. But because of the way the moth was looking at him, she did seem to have a plan of what to do. However, he was not going to ask her. Of course not! He could not to ask for help, let alone a moth. He never asked anyone for help and was able to get very far on his own.

"I wonder what I should try now" said the Wyrm speaking to himself as if he were thinking aloud "Those insolent guys are not easy to deal with, I'll have to plan my strategy carefully"

The moth sighed wearily. Seriously this guy was impossible, so proud that he did not dare ask her a simple question directly. If she had been a crueler person she could have ignored his hints and let him manage alone. But she felt sorry for the young, at the mercy of an annoying ghost with an excess of pride, at least they deserved a good night's sleep.

On the other hand she was very sad to see the families fight. What she would not give for having even a nephew to tell her some stories and tales of her tribe. But instead it was her turn to be alone, while these young could count on their father , even if it was a spirit, but he was with them. The truth, perhaps what this spirit sought to be at peace with himself was to reconcile with his offspring and make his daughter queen, was only an excuse to approach. Again his pride interfered.

"It is well known that it’s easier to trap a bee with honey than with gall" the seer mentioned distractedly. "A deep emotional bond is capable of forging miracles and of carrying someone's will beyond what was thought. A bond of love is what would make Hornet raise his fist and take the kingdom"

"A bond of love..." The thoughtful king repeated "But our relationship is in such a state of deterioration that all affection would wither before we begin"

"That's not true at all. It can be slow, but with effort and dedication the affection can arise even in the worst of scenarios. But if you have already decided to surrender the result is inevitable"

"I have not surrendered yet" declared the king "I did not do it against the infection, I will not do it now"

"I like the decision I see in your eyes, fufufu"

"But it's going to be a bit complicated to approach them if they keep ignoring me” he said thoughtfully.

"I can help you, majesty. But in return, you must promise not to harass or bother your offspring. You won’t impose your will, you won’t seek conflict with them and above all, you’ll let them sleep"

"Done" The worm answered without hesitation.

"Fabulous" said the pleased moth, then went to the door of her house and called the princes.

Hornet and Hollow entered anxiously to have a solution to their problem with the ghost and watched the seer with expectation. She cleared her throat before speaking, she was a little nervous, she knew that the solution she had devised was the best, but it would not be to everyone's taste.

"Alright guys. I need you to lend me the Dream Nail a moment"

Hornet extended the nail to the old insect. She took it carefully and held it with both hands, then closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

The siblings expected to see some kind of miracle, that suddenly the moth will begin to shine and there would be an explosion of energy or something like that to vanish the ghost forever. That's why when the only change they noticed was that the worm began to become visible to them without being in contact with the mystical instrument, they began to worry.

"Ready" the Seer said, opening her eyes and handing the nail to Hollow, her rightful bearer.

"...?" He looked at her confused wondering what had happened.

"Eh... was not the idea supposed to make him disappear?" Hornet asked without reservation "Why now do I see him without touching the weapon?"

"Do you see me?" The king seemed happy with the news "But how convenient"

"I increased the power of the nail" explained the clairvoyant "Now all those within a radius of 10 centimeters around the nail can see and hear the ghosts within that sector"

"You got the situation worse! Now the damned worm won’t leave us alone!"

The king was about to complain that he call him a worm, when he "felt" something was touching him. Turning to see, he realized that the moth was actually touching him with an old cane.

"Don’t alter majesty. Nothing good comes out of anger. Patience will be your ally in this crusade and you must make use of it to be victorious" Said the moth calmly before the surprised look of the old monarch. Then with a mischievous smile added “Yes. I can touch you. By increasing the power of the nail makes you became denser, now objects and people can make contact with you instead of just going through you. Be careful, this can be good or bad depending on the situation”

A slight shudder ran through the back of the worm, who turned nervously to his children. They looked at him attentively so seriously that it was impossible to guess his thoughts, much less for someone like him who had so much trouble interpreting the emotions of others. Maybe now that he had a physical body they would think of attacking him? Would it be so much their hatred and resentment as to do something like that? Well, Hollow had already raised his nail against him, he knew what he was capable of.

Suddenly Hornet started to walk towards him. The king narrowed his eyes expecting an aggressive reaction from the girl, he was willing to defend himself and fly away, although if the girl became violent as her brother did, the house of the seer I would be devastated. The warrior was already facing the ghost and extended her hand to him slowly, until she touched the exquisite fabric of the cloak he wore.

"It's very soft!" Hornet exclaimed happy "I've always wanted to touch this cloak, it's even better than mine; it looks so light and strong. I love it!"

Definitely that was not expected. Although it was probable, she had been raised by the weavers, she has the love for the fabrics in the blood, to the point of putting their curiosity to touch a good garment over their displeasure towards the carrier. The king, somewhat relieved, looked at Hollow, and what he saw in him did not like him at all.

There was a lot of hatred in his eyes, so much resentment that it hurt. The little one no doubt had a much darker nature than his sister, although he also had many more reasons to hate him. In a certain sense Hornet had been much more favored than him. She was much closer to a normal insect, she could speak, she had a defined gender, even reproductive organs (although he did not know if it were functional). She had also been raised in freedom, she had had a family that loved her a lot and a good education. Actually she had no reason to hate him, which could not be said of Hollow.

While the king's main priority was to get along with his daughter to convince her to regain the throne, it was not as if the vessel did not care. In the end he had accepted that these creatures could have personality and desires as a normal being, yet he did not recognize them as his own children, but as living beings who deserved respect. And he did not like to see one of these beings with so much resentment. That was not good for anyone.

But something that bothered him in the depths of his being and that he refused to recognize, was that it hurt to see that hatred in those black eyes, because they were very similar to those of the pure vessel, 'Big' as they had called him. He never confessed it to anyone, not even to his queen, but he loved that vessel, even when trying to convince himself that it did not make sense, that this thing could not love him, but in the end it turned out to be wrong. His emptiness it was filled, his 'purity' was lost and his sacrifice was in vain.

To look at Hollow's accusing eyes, sometimes made him feel a tightness in his chest, as if Big was claiming his betrayal. It was like remembering the day he had to say goodbye and subject him to his torment. On that occasion he once again swallowed his pain and repeated the same words that always brought him forward ‘No cost is too great’. Lately that sentence began to be questioned.

Suddenly the king woke up from his daydreams and realized that everyone was looking at him curiously. He should not have been ashamed, but he simply could not bear to show his interior or his weakness. He regained his superb and distant attitude before resuming the word.

"Well, we should go, surely Hornet is already hungry. Thanks for everything, see you later"

And so hastily the king vanished in the air to disappear from the view of those present.

"What's wrong?" Hornet asked, confused by her father's attitude.

"Hehehe, nothing happens, only something inside him has been removed and it is difficult to deal with it" the moth replied with wisdom "Although that ghost will continue to haunt you, I promise he won’t bother you as much as before. Just give him a chance, everyone deserves one"

Hollow looked at her somewhat resentfully, implying that he would never trust the king. The damage was too great and he doubted that the king would be able to do something without expecting anything in return. To Hollow's eyes, if that worm changed his attitude, it was only to convince Hornet to become queen. But he would not allow it, his sister would keep her freedom.

That night, the small family decided to spend it in Distant Village, perhaps the house they had in Dirtmouth was prettier and the town more lively, but for Hornet her corner at the bottom of Deepnest would always be her home and the place to which she would return when she need to feel comforted and calm.

Both siblings slept very comfortable, as they had not done for quite some time. This time the king instead of annoying them with chain noises and eerie howls, simply devoted himself to watching them calmly. For some reason seeing them sleeping so reassured him, it was like having the feeling that everything was fine.

The Wyrm with his ghost condition did not really need to sleep, nor did he eat, so he had plenty of free time to think or do anything. At this time he was analyzing his children. He had been living with them for several days and it was amazing how little he knew them, but of course, until now he had only fought with them, that was not the way to deal with them.

He sighed, thinking about how little he knew about interaction with other living beings. He had always devoted himself more to research and to the construction of wonders, it used to be the queen who took care of those things, but maybe it was not too late to learn.

He placed his eyes on Hornet, who at that moment slept sprawled on the bed she shared with his brother. When she was awake despite her rudeness and harsh treatment, she was a pretty insect, not so feminine, but strong and above all very elegant, of royal bearing and imposing presence.

But all that went to hell when she slept. With her legs and arms open as she was, no one would say she was a princess. The truth she reminded Herrah a little, in the deals he had to make with her to conceive Hornet, he had the chance to see her sleeping a couple of times, it was a rather peculiar spectacle to tell the truth, just like the one he saw now. There was no doubt that Hornet was her daughter.

Hollow, on the other hand, was diametrically opposed. He had curled up on himself and had slept calmly and serene without moving a muscle, it was the living expression of peace and perhaps also of cuteness. He reminded him a lot of his Sweet White Lady. When she rested she woke up in exactly the same position in which she had fallen asleep, although sometimes she gently waved some of her roots to caress him in dreams when he used to rest on top of her.

The worm shook his head flushed. It were very nice memories but it embarrassed him a bit to think about them. Although who would know? He sighed tiredly, perhaps his obsession to be strong and dignified was a little exaggerated, there nobody could see or judge him and those who could were asleep.

He looked once more at Hollow and felt sad. Just as Hornet resembled Herrah, Hollow had many similarities with White. Would it be the same with his siblings? Big at least was pretty calm.

Guilt hit him one more time, apparently not tormenting the brothers meant a torment to him, he wish that night would end soon.

Suddenly Hornet kicked the air, apparently not even in dreams she could be calm and was fighting with someone. The downside was that her kick ended up uncovering her and Hollow. The king could observe how the little boy without waking began to shiver from the cold, but he did not move from his place. A slight smile appeared on the Wyrm's face, remembering certain words White had once told him.

"Even adults need care from time to time, take care of me and I'll take care of you"

The king went to where his children rested, then he carefully took the blanket and spread it over them, sheltering them, then he was watching them before whispering a 'good night' and vanish in the air.
There was no double intention in that act. The king did not expect to earn the respect or affection of anyone. It was something he did because he wanted. Which did not fit the preconceived ideas that Hollow had about his father. That's why this attitude confused him.

Yes, the cold ended up awakening him and when he was about to move to look for the blanket, he was surprised by being wrapped up with it in a way almost... Affectionate? He opened his eyes and could see the ghost finishing accommodating his sister, this left him extremely disturbed. What did he gain from that?

When the worm vanished from the room, Hollow stood on his back and looked at the ceiling with a single question hovering in his mind.

Why?

Chapter Text

They were in a very beautiful and elegant room, decorated with fine fabrics of purple silk and aromatic candles. The dim light of the place gave it a quite romantic and intimate look, the nest of love perfect for the meeting of two lovers. In the middle of everything, there was a four-poster bed, as luxurious as everything around it. It was occupied by a somewhat plump female insect, with large jaws and bright eyes. The girl was lying on her full length, enjoying her moment of glory, while being fanned and pampered by a huge group of decrepit looking small insects.

"What the hell is all this?" Hornet wondered, surprised at the place and the situation.

"This is funny" said Hollow "This used to be Bretta's dream. It seems that somehow she managed to transfer this dream to Zote"

"Have you gotten into other people's dreams before?"

"Yeah, it’s fun” the little boy replied with a smile. "People often imagine themselves stronger than they really are, so when you enter their dreams, you come across more powerful versions than you would ever imagine and you can have the most incredible fights"

"You like to fight for sport as I see"

"Yes. In Bretta's dream I was able to have one of the most awesome fights I have ever faced"

"Really?" Hornet looked around without finding anything to suggest that you could fight there. "And what did you fight against here? The girl up there doesn't seem to be an enemy, nor do those things dwarf and I don’t see anyone else "

And suddenly as an answering to her question, a loud bang was heard behind Hornet’s back and when she turned to see, she met Zote, but not the old and battered insect that she knew, this was a super powerful version of him, more Big, more robust and apparently much stronger.

"What-what the hell is that!" Hornet yelled in alarm.

"That is the invincible, audacious, sensual, mysterious, charming, vigorous, diligent, overwhelming, splendid, passionate, terrifying, beautiful and powerful Prince Gray Zote"

"What?!"

"He's the Zote of Bretta's fantasies. She was in love with him and that's how she had him represented in her dreams. Of course, after I defeated him, I caused her a disenchantment. That her perfect prince was defeated was not funny and she was so disappointed that she left Dirtmouth and never returned"

"Poor girl, in love with that horror" Hornet said, disgusted by the situation. Definitely Zote would not be someone she who would choose as a couple and she could not believe someone could choose him.

Then, the muscle mass that represented Zote took a powerful jump releasing a burst of energy that went to the young, both jumped and dodged it, resulting unharmed.

"Well Hollow, help me here. Surely between both us we knocked down this clown" Hornet exclaimed confidently.

"No thanks, do it by yourself"

"What?"

"I already won him once, fighting again with him is not funny, also between the two us it would be too easy. Good luck"

"Hey wait!" Hornet yelled after him.

Because she was distracted trying to get her brother's attention, the warrior could not stop another burst of energy from hitting her. She was thrown to the side, causing her a lot of pain. According to Hollow, all damage received inside the world of dreams was erased when he returned to the real world. So at least she would not have to worry about dying, although he had warned her that she could end somewhat exhausted.

She staggered to his feet and ran to Zote, who began to wave his nail like a madman as he ran. Using her needle that she nailed to the roof, Hornet pushed herself upwards and from there she gave a pair of accurate blows to her enemy, but it was not enough to knock him down. With a somersault in the air the young spider landed at a safe distance, where she could see that the warrior again attacked her, this time giving a colossal jump that she dodged easily with her speed.

Hornet’s battle continued for a few more moments, dodging and making skillful pirouettes with which she managed to connect some accurate shots. All this before the attentive look of her brother and someone else.

"Come on, you can do it Hornet! Daddy has faith in you!" Shouted the pale king who was also present in the dream.

"What are you doing here, old man?" Hollow asked, surprised to see him there. "How did you get in?"

"My spiritual body allows me to access other realities without the need to require external artifacts such as the Dream Nail. Basically I can enter any dream with total freedom"

"Great, not even here we can get rid of you" complained the little one. But then a malicious smile appeared on his face "But maybe it's not so bad that you're here, a good fight is always welcome"

"Hollow, stop" said the king with authority, but his son did not listen to him. "Do you really intend to raise your nail against me?"

The contender's murderous gaze made more words unnecessary. Hollow swung his nail at his father, but he dodged it quickly floating away.

"Hey! How did you do that? Are not the worms supposed to be slow?" The little one asked.

"In a dream I am not limited by the barriers of physical and biological laws, basically I can do what I wan. only imagination is my limit"

"Oh well, that will make it more fun" he said running to the king jumping to hit him, but again he dodged it.

"This is not the idea I had of a moment father and son" commented the king flying away.

Hollow continued to chase the spirit without being able to reach him, in a similar way as he had done on previous occasions, acting desperately without much thought. His father actually drove him crazy and the anger he felt for him clouded his judgment. On the other hand, the king was a good strategist and predicted quite well the trajectory of the nail that attacked him, for what he dodged in a accurately way.

The king flew to where the fight of Hornet was going. The little one, attentive as he was to the king’s movements, nor cared about what was around him. So that he could not realize when his sister went towards him dodging Zote’s blows and ended up colliding with her. Upon impact both ended up falling to the ground, at which time, Zote took the opportunity to take a huge leap and fall on top of them defeating them.

Hollow and Hornet opened their eyes and found themselves in Dirtmouth, both lying on the floor as if they had been sleeping, without any apparent damage, but with some exhaustion on top. Near them was Zote who looked at them contemptuously as he used to.

"Ah, couple of bums, sleeping in the streets, you should be ashamed. Get out of here and go to do something profitable with your lives"

Both somewhat embarrassed stood up in silence and walked away without addressing him. What a shameful situation.

"Let's get into Zote's dream, you said, it will be fun, you said" Hornet claimed.

"......."

"The old man's fault? Can he also get into dreams? Agggg... we're never going to get rid of him?"

"I did not do anything wrong this time" said the old king, suddenly appearing. "I was Just watching you from a distance. Hollow started the conflict"

"......!"

"I have been behaving politely and kindly with you, now you can not complain about causing you problems"

"......!"
"I'm sorry Hollow" said Hornet "But this time you'll have to admit that the old man is right" her little brother gave her a heartfelt look "Hey! I'm not on his side. It's just an absolutely objective appreciation"

The king rejoiced with his daughter's words, his efforts to try to improve his relationship with her were paying off. They did not get along too well either, but the fact that she did not call him ‘damned worm’ was an improvement. He did not much like it being referred to as "old man", it was too casual for his taste, but it was better than the previous name. The trouble is that Hollow simply refused to accept him, to conquer that wounded heart would be much more difficult than he thought.

Suddenly he caught a glimpse of a figure limping along the street, he knew he had to hide. The Dream Nail revealed the presence of ghosts within a radius of 10 centimeters, if some stranger entered that area he could see him, which was not at all convenient. So that he vanished surreptitiously, just before the walker greeted Hornet.

"He-hello Hornet"

"Hi Dan" replied the kindly"What happened to you now? You come limping and ... you stink"

"Ah ... I-I'm sorry" replied the embarrassed pill bug "I had an accident on the Royal Waterways and so... Well, it's a story something... Hey ... What are you doing?"

Hornet had taken Dan by the hand and was taking him somewhere.

"Well, I'll take you to my house so you can take a bath. You can’t walk around leaving this stench"

"Bu-bu-but Miss Hornet! This... I... It's not necessary"

"Yes it is... Believe me, it’s very necessary"

Red for the shame Dan allowed himself to be guided by the girl to her house, where she led him to the bathroom, and then gave him some soap so that he could calmly clean himself.

The pill bug could no more than the shame he felt. So with his face red and unable to pronounce a word, he tried to finish as quickly as possible with his task, all before the watchful gaze of the warrior. She could perceive the discomfort of her guest but she did not understand it at all, so without much doubt she asked.

"What happens? You look somewhat uncomfortable"

"Ee-this... I... I'm sorry to cause so much discomfort..." The poor insect almost cried of shame "Walking around leaving such a stench to the point that you feels compelled to bring me to your house to bathe... I’m so sorry!"

"It was not exactly because of the stench” said Hornet calmly. "This... I..." At that moment the girl blushed a little. "I already told you that you remind me of a very dear friend, right? Seeing you is like seeing him and I can’t help but want to help you, I don’t know why. It's like you inspire the desire to protect you"

"My mom says the same thing" answered the insect, somewhat sorry "I'm always suffering all kinds of accidents and everyone in my family is always taking care of me, I appreciate your concern but it's annoying"

"Are you the weakest of the pill bug litter?"

"Rather from the cockroaches litter, I’m adopted. My dad, my mom, my brothers, my cousins, they're all cockroaches and so the cockroaches... You know, they have those hard, strong bodies, it's hard to keep up with them being what I am"

"And in your effort to equal them, you end up hurting"

"Yes, basically that's it" he said as he left the bathroom and dried himself with a towel provided by Hornet.

"And what happened to you now that you hurt your leg?" The girl asked observing his limp.

"I was patrolling the Royal Waterways together with my colleagues, all cockroaches by the way. The leader of the squadron sent me to a sector somewhat far along with another partner to inspect. I know that my boss sent her to take care of me, the leader always has considerations when it comes to me" Dan sighed sadly "This time I was annoyed and told her I could go alone... And I left before she could reply anything. I got into a pretty big problem for disobeying my superior"

"And they punished you by hurting your leg?" Hornet asked indignantly.

"Eh? No, of course not, they would never hurt me, I'm from the family. I hurt myself by going alone at the end of the waterways. It turns out that the area they sent me to, was classified as dangerous, because there were many reports of attacks by a dung beetle. It was because of that I was send myself accompanied. The boss would have done the same with any of her subordinates"

".....!" Hollow jumped in place, beckoning Dan to ask him something.

"Hey? What's up, kid?" Dan said, somewhat surprised by this behavior.

"Hollow can’t talk," Hornet explained. "But he can express himself in his own way. Right now he is asking you how the dung beetle looks like"

"Oh? Really? Well..." Dan put his hand to his chin as he remembered the incident "He was a very large beetle, in fact he was even bigger than the average of his kind. He was also very robust and... He had some hair on the bottom and wore a red armor"

".....!" Shouted Hollow.

"Ogrim?" Her sister questioned "Do you know the beetle that Dan mentions?"

"...."

"He's your friend, although you have not seen him for a long time and according to you, he's a good person. So why would he attack an innocent insect like Dan?"

"......" Hollow seemed somewhat worried.

The child knew Ogrim, he knew he was an honorable beetle, the kind that would never attack someone weaker and —it had to be said— Dan looked weak everywhere. Even his shy personality made people immediately dismiss him as a threat. Definitely his friend would never attack someone like him, something must be happening to him.

"...." He pulled on his sister's cloak indicating that they should leave.

"Do you want to go find Ogrim?"

"Don’t go!" Said Dan scared "He is very strong, he is a professional dung pitcher. He is also very fast and his attacks are overwhelming, I could hardly escape with my broken leg. He has no mercy when attacking. When he looks at you it's like... As if he didn't look, it's like he moves automatically without paying attention to what he does... It's weird "

The siblings looked at each other and nodded knowing exactly what they thought.

"Don’t worry, Dan" said Hornet, placing her hand on the pill bug’s shoulder "We'll be fine, we're strong"

"But that beetle is also. If at least you took Mr. Zote with you I would feel calmer"

"No!" Hornet said curtly. "And now get out of my house, we have to leave"

"Eh ... Okay"

The three insects left Hornet's house and set out to take different paths to attend their own affairs. But before the siblings moved away much, Dan dared to raise his voice and say.

"Thanks for the bath!"

"No problem" said Hornet, turning to him and giving him a kind smile.

"I... I want to pay you this favor in some way!"

"It’s not necessary, though..." The warrior thought for a moment "If you bring me something good to eat I’ll consider that we are at hand. Are you agreeing?"

Dan nodded silently and watched as the siblings moved away towards the Stag station, but then something strange appeared before his eyes, a curious ethereal figure of a worm in silk clothes floating following the two insects. He rubbed his eyes, believing that he had visions and when he looked again, the strange figure had disappeared. Surely he was very stressed, for a moment he swore to have seen the legendary Pale King.

The Royal Waterways were a somewhat dangerous area, not as much as Deepnest, but still had a high population of wild and uncivilized insects that attacked everything that moved. On their way to Ogrim's home they had already left a trail of flukemon corpses.

"I wonder what flukemon meat tastes like" commented Hornet. "So far I've never tried it, maybe we could take one to cook later"

"Is it that the only thing you know how to think about is eating?" The pale king rebuked her. "You'll be like a ball if you keep that up"

"Shut up old man. I'm fine as I am. In addition, considering all the exercise I do, I need to feed myself well"

"......" Hollow signaled to them that they had reached their destination.

Although, the truth it was not so necessary, because this was immediately noticeable. The stone floor that was characteristic of the waterways ended abruptly to give way to a paved road of poop.

"Uggg ... Now I know why Dan ended with that smell" said Hornet with disgust "Hollow... Do we really have to enter that area? It's disgusting"
In response, the little one without hesitation placed a foot in the manure and entered into its depths.

"Agggg..... I hate this!"

"It's not so bad, do not complain so much Hornet" said the imperturbable king.

"You say it because you don’t have a physical body, you don’t have to touch and smell all this... Aaaggg... It's cold" She sobbed when her feet came in contact with the excrement.

The more they entered the territories of the beetle, the more the smell and the discomfort of the princess increased, who looked at her brother with envy, because he did not seem at all annoyed with the situation.

"Hollow, doesn’t this stench really bother you?"

"I guess it's the first time you come to the territories of the dung beetles" said the king "The first time it is very annoying, but after half an hour the smell becomes saturated and you lose the ability to smell. As a queen, you must be able to adapt to all kinds of situations. To gain the confidence of the dung beetles I had to have a meeting and dine with them in this place... I will not lie to you, it was not pleasant at all"

"Good thing I'm not going to be queen"

"We'll see"

"....." Hollow suddenly stopped and looked at his relatives with a worried face.

"Ogrim is not here?" Her sister asked. "Are you sure this is the place?" The child nodded.

"He will surely be in his secret hiding place" the king said carelessly.

"Secret hiding? And how do you know that?"

"Ogrim was one of the five great knights, the most powerful group of warriors under my direct command. We came to have a fairly close relationship, therefore I knew them well. Ogrim was very self-demanding and often subjected himself to hard and unnecessary training to increase his strength. Isma always scolded him for these behaviors, because he used to demand himself to the point of putting his health at risk. I remember that because of his training he ended up collapsing in a battle against a tarantula that was causing havoc in the city"

"That sounds very pathetic" said Hornet.

"It was. After that incident some people lost confidence in him, which made him demand even more. In the end I ended up banning him from his solitary trainings and left Isma in charge of him. But this stubborn bug began training in secret, in the end I managed to discover where and how he did it"

The king floated to a rock next to the wall, looked carefully at the site and signaled his children.

"Here is the entrance, if you hit this part hard, the excrement should collapse and reveal a secret entrance"

Hornet's face was indescribable, unlike his brother who with determination and stoic attitude threw himself on the poop, surrounding himself by a mass of energy. The little one began to descend at a dizzying speed, entering deeper and deeper into that hidden cave, until he landed with a roar. Soon his sister followed him, who moved between the walls of the cave with the help of her thread and her acrobatic skills.

"There's poop down here, too," Hornet complained. "This is all shit..."

"Take care of your language, lady" said the Pale King, appearing suddenly behind her.

"Shut up"

Suddenly the group heard a grunt and when observing the place where the sound came from, they could see a ball of poop that was heading towards them. Fortunately they managed to dodge it.

After that sudden attack, they put themselves on guard, but nobody came out to attack them. Then they went to the place of the sound, moving very cautiously. Until they came to a kind of room where there was a bed —of course, made of poop too— on which rested a huge red-scaled dung beetle.

The insect, despite being resting, did not look very calm and rolled about in dreams, wailing and waving his extremities. Until, without waking up, he took a portion of the excrement from the place, he made it a ball and threw it. Although the ball did not hit nobody because he was not pointing anywhere really.

".....!"

"Is that Ogrim?"

"Ogrim my faithful friend" said the Pale King with nostalgia flying towards the sleeper and examining him "It seems that you are having nightmares and annoying dreams again. What is it that torments you that makes you stir in your bed and attack all those who they surround you?"

"Are you telling me he's sleepwalking?" Said Hornet, approaching carefully.

"Indeed, Ogrim was a warrior very devoted to his duty and his oaths, to the point that even in dreams he left them. This is not the first time it happens. Once he fought with Isma and also began to attack people while he was sleeping.The problem was not solved until they were reconciled"

"Then until this guy doesn’t solve his emotional problems he’ll continue being a public danger" said Hornet annoyed "Now we are going to have to act as therapists? How are we going to know what his problem is?"

The solution was extremely simple, but Hornet did not even want to suggest it after her unpleasant experience with Zote. But Hollow was more determined than she, and wanted to help his friend. So without hesitation he approached the beetle and buried the Dreaming Nail in him. Hornet wanted to stop him, but she only managed to touch his brother and both ended up transported inside the dream.

The group arrived in a large room covered entirely by excrement, situation that put Hornet's nerves to the limit.

"Even his dreams are covered in shit..."

"Do not say more" yelled the Pale King, appearing suddenly and covering his daughter's mouth.

"Where did you come from?" Hornet exclaimed when she managed to get her father off of her. "Did you get into Ogrim's dreams? What the hell did you come for?"

"Ogrim was my loyal servant for a long time. I can not help but feel indebted to him and that's why I want to help him if I can in any way"

"You feeling appreciation for someone?" Hollow skeptical asked.

"Maybe I'm not very expressive, but believe it or not, I have a heart" the king replied indignantly. "Oh! Watch out!"

The siblings had to step aside to dodge a couple of dung balls that were heading towards them. Once they recovered from the surprise they could see the Ogrim of the world of dreams, as grand and imposing as the real one, but instead of wearing red, he wore an armor of an unblemished white.

The dung beetle then hit his chest with a battle cry and dived into the excrement to attack from below. For the young to dodge the warrior was complex, because he moved with great speed, in addition every time threw dung balls that bounced against the walls, which forced them to be all the time attentive.

Nevertheless the enormous insect every so often left to breathe, moment that the siblings took advantage of to strike him and weaken him. The bad thing is that every time he was in the surface he would throw out poop balls, in a grandiose and disgusting show. But the more they harmed Ogrim, the more effort he seemed to put into the battle. It was as if he were desperate to win, but it seemed something beyond fighting for his life, the expression on his face and his attitude showed that there was something tormenting him , something that tried to beat at all costs.

Hollow, however, did not sympathize with his friend, fought with all his power, crushed his efforts, subdued his will and ended his battle by throwing a huge discharge of energy that left the insect upside down. It was at that moment that the feelings of the beetle surfaced. Defeated in the floor, being the absolute image of the fallen warrior, Ogrim did not stop fighting, crawled towards Hollow, muttering unintelligible words among which at times some pieces were distinguished. "Honor", "friends", "my king", "I'm sorry".

Then the vanquished warrior raised his eyes to the sky and suspended in the air appeared 5 resplendent figures, seemed to be the silhouettes of some insects. Ogrim raised his claw to them pleadingly as thick tears came out of his eyes. It was a cruel and sad scene, at that moment everything became clear.

The sadness that Ogrim felt when losing his friends, the guilt that consumed him when he believed himself responsible and the idea that it was his weakness that caused everything, was what prevented him from sleeping peacefully. For that reason the warrior now lamented and cried. Hollow at that moment was feeling terrible, he wanted to go to comfort his friend. Because he did not think about his feelings when he fought with him, he just fought for the simple pleasure of doing it.

The little one began to walk up to the beetle when his father's figure interposed, he growled irritably, but the king answered with authority.
"I'll take care of this"

Then the king went to Ogrim and looked at him with compassion. As soon as the warrior saw his master in front of him he began to cry harder as he begged for forgiveness.

"You do not have to ask for forgiveness, old friend," said the king softly. "Everything is fine and you have done everything you can. You do not have to carry the whole weight of the world on your shoulders alone. We have already told you many times before"

"But... But..." replied the beetle whimpering.

"I as a king recognize your courage and your dedication. You do not need to do more penances. Live with a clear conscience Ogrim, leave the past behind, guilt is no longer necessary. Embrace the future and protect the people of today, fulfill that mission and I will always be proud of you"

"Yes, my king, I will fulfill your orders" he finished saying, bowing his head in a bow.

And at that moment the dream ended.

Hornet and Hollow awoke reclining on the floor covered in poop, the little one seemed to be quite well after the fight, not even looked very tired, which could not be said of the girl. Hornet showed a lost look and languid body.

".....?" He touched his sister wanting to make her react and know if she was okay.

"The poop floods my being... The poop penetrates my soul... The poop is life and death...."

The little one tilted his head, confused by Hornet's words, then the pale king approached him and spoke.

"I think this experience has been too much for her and she is a little... Affected. Is better to take her home, bathe her well and let her rest, maybe some snack will animate her" Suddenly he noticed that Hollow's Dream Nail was shining "Hey, what's the matter with the Dream Nail?"

Hollow took out the device and watched as its glow slowly faded and the object returned to its usual state. Apparently he had managed to get some essence of Ogrim's dream and the nail had absorbed it. Then he remembered that he had promised the seer that when he gathered enough essence he would visit her, maybe it was time to do so.

Suddenly a grunt caught his attention. The dung beetle was stirring in his bed and beginning to wake up. He sat up in his bed and looked around drowsily. The pale king vanished discreetly before he could notice him. So when Ogrim woke up completely, he saw only the small vessel.

"Hi, I have not seen you in a while. How's everything? You know, it's funny. I think I dreamed about you, but what a coincidence that when I wake up, I just find you here in front of me. Hahaha! Although I also dreamed about our king. The truth there is something in you that reminds me a lot of him. Well, when he return I'll ask him if you can become a knight, I'm sure we'd have many adventures together"

Hollow looked down sadly. He could never tell him that the king would not come back, and Ogrim would continue living with the fantasy that one day he would return. The poor creature was trapped in the past. In his Hollow's eyes, he was another victim of his father's selfishness. However, what he said then it surprised him enough.

"Although I can’t stay quiet waiting for him to come back, that would be a waste. I must live in the present and do everything I can with the power I handle. I’ll take care of all the travelers who walk through these channels, that will be my mission now. I am sure the king will be very happy with that. Don’t you think? "

Hollow smiled a small smile and nodded enthusiastically.

Suddenly Hornet, who until then had been sitting silently in her place, suddenly stood up and began to walk towards the exit, staggering while muttering "poop, poop, poop". Hollow worried about his sister prepared to follow her, definitely she was not at all well. He bowed to his friend as a farewell and walked away.

Ogrim just watched him somewhat confused wondering who would be that girl, but he could not wait for an answer from the little knight, after all he never spoke. However, as he watched the little one run after the girl, for just a moment he thought he saw an ethereal figure floating beside him, one that reminded him enormously of the pale king.

He rubbed his eyes, believing he had visions, and when he looked again, the king was gone.

Chapter Text

A person may have traveled to the most beautiful place of all, but he will always long to return home, sleep in his own bed and be with his family. For a long time these kinds of feelings were alien to Quirrel. Without memories, past or links, he only advanced towards the next destination. But now, for the first time he felt the happiness of returning home.

He had been going through some wonderful places, full of life, vegetation and many interesting insects, but nevertheless he was happy to return to his dilapidated Hallownest, especially because in this ruined kingdom were his two best friends. Those who for these times had passed to form his new family. So now, despite the fatigue he felt, he was hurrying through the galleries and caves to reach Distant Village.

The truth he would have liked to take a Stag to get faster, but unfortunately the old insect just obeyed Hollow. A kind of gratitude tie him to the little one and made him fulfill all his requests without a whim, which he did not do with anyone.

Although it was understandable, the poor creature was old, his legs could not cope with all the transport requests of the growing population of Hallownest. If there were more of these bugs and they were assured their feeding and care as it was done in the past, perhaps things could work. For the moment he had to walk, fortunately he was almost in home.

He was crossing the last tunnel that separated him from the subterranean lake that was under Distant Village. He almost ran for the thrill of arriving soon. He could already glimpse the outside of the tunnel when something extraordinary appeared in his way, causing him to stop suddenly.

A piece of dirtcarver fillet approached him floating in the air at great speed. The pill bug scared by the spooky situation, curled up in a ball fearing to be damaged by the fillet. Of course the food did not hurt him, just passed over him without touching him and continued its way straight to the end of the tunnel.

When Quirrel felt safe, he uncoiled himself and watched the piece of flesh move away. His heart throbbing a thousand from the scare he took away.

Without a doubt that would be a good anecdote to tell, although probably his friends would not believe him.

Suddenly he began to hear footsteps, he directed his gaze to the place from which the flying steak had come, and saw Hornet running towards him with great speed and a furious face while shouting:

"Come back here damned worm! I won’t forgive you for this! Anyone who messes with my food will pay for it!"

Quirrel the truth did not understand the situation. At that time guided more by his emotions than by anything else, he opened his arms to receive the girl, but was ignored as she passed by him without stopping running, as if he don't exist. The pill bug feeling wounded, turned to her to see her go away. Why did she do that? Was it no longer her friend and because of that she ignored him?

But as if his thoughts had reached her, Hornet stopped in her tracks, turned around and looked at him. Then a glowing smile appeared on her face and she started running towards him. As this time Quirrel was not ready to receive her, the hug took him a little by surprise, especially because it came loaded with the energy of the race. So he ended up falling to the floor with the girl on top.

"Quirrel! You returned!” said Hornet, her voice broken with emotion.

"Yes, I'm back" replied the explorer warmly.

Both stood up and looked each other from head to toe, as if they were recognizing the other after so long without seeing each other. Hornet touched Quirrel's head, making sure it was not a dream, which made the insect laugh.

"What happens? Is it hard for you to believe that I have returned?"

"Yes, it's... Lately my life has become a bit... Chaotic. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish reality from dreams, incredible things have happened to me"

"I understand you. In fact, right now something very strange happened to me, before you showed up, a fillet flew by here"

"What!? Where did it go?! "Hornet's tranquility vanished as he mentioned the piece of food.

"You were chasing that thing? What the hell was it?"

"It was the damned worm"

"Damned worm? It looked like a dirtcarver fillet, not a worm. I'm not understanding anything"

"Oh, right, you can’t see him, we're too far from the Dream Nail. Don't worry, when Hollow... Hollow! I didn't even care about him! Come on Quirrel!"

"What's going on here!?"

"Later I'll explain you. Run!"

They both ran to the end of the cave where Distant Village was located. Things were exactly the same as Quirrel remembered them, the same sinister houses patched with spiderweb, the characteristic platforms attached to old roots and of course, the rope ladder they had put to facilitate access to the houses. However there was something that was out of place in all that. In the highest house, which was exactly what occupied Hornet, there was a tangle of thread hanging, on the end was a knot in which Hollow was trapped. The poor child was suspended in the air crying out for help, shaking his little paws.

"Hollow! Be strong! Your sister is going to save you! "

"What's going on here?" Quirrel asked again, looking around confused. Suddenly he noticed that the flying steak had appeared again and floated next to him "Hornet! The flying fillet came back!"

"What? There you are! I..." She stopped hesitantly and looked at her brother hanging from the thread where he was trapped. Then looked at the piece of food and sighed annoyed. Between the steak and his brother it was obvious who had priority "I'll let you go now but we'll see you later!"

"Hornet explain to me what happens! Why is there a fillet floating next to me?"

"It's my breakfast"

"And why is your breakfast flying?"

"He doesn't want me to eat it"

"What!?"

"There is no time!"

And without saying anything else, the girl used her needle and thread to propel herself to the houses. Then with the same skill and speed of a spider she climbed up to the highest house where she took the tangle of thread and began to pick it up putting safe her little brother.

Quirrel sighed mentally exhausted. Apparently he did not need to travel to live all kinds of rare adventures. He looked at the steak and decided to ignore it. He got into the water and started swimming to the rope ladder. Maybe Hornet had those extraordinary climbing and hanging skills from high places, but he did not have it. So it would take him a while to get to the house.

By the time the pill bug finally reached the top, Hollow was already safe resting in his sister's arms, exhausted by the situation, but calmer. With the siblings now at peace, Quirrel decided that it was time to finally they give him a good explanation.

"Well, it's like the fourth time I ask it. Can you tell me now what the hell is going on here?" Said the exasperated insect.

Hearing his friend’s voice, Hollow stood up and ran to him embracing him warmly.

"Hi, Hollow, I missed you too" he said, returning the hug. "But please, tell me..."

"Yes yes, we'll explain it" interrupted Hornet. "Now that you have Hollow with you, everything will be clearer, please look to your right"

The pill bug obeyed the instructions feeling something skeptical. It was then that he found himself again with the steak, but this time it was not just the piece of meat, it was held by an ethereal pale worm that floated in the air.

At first he felt surprise, then confusion and finally fear. Something stirred in the depths of Quirrel's mind, part of his defective memories surfaced and he could see the image of an imposing worm. He remembered five knights bowing before him, his teacher praising him and feeling overwhelmed by that imposing presence, the presence of a high being.

The insect jumped altered and immediately bowed to the ghost without daring to look into his eyes.

"Your Majesty, your humble servant bows before you honored by your presence"

"Wow, it seems that finally someone here shows some respect" said the pleased king.

"Quirrel, you can’t bow to this guy!" Hornet complained, pushing his friend into the floor.

"Bu-bu-but he's the king!" Shouted Quirrel, altering himself.

"He is not the king! Hallownest no longer has a king. He is only a ghost. An imitation of the leader that once he was. He has no authority or power, in fact nobody can see him. He is less than a person. Also, if you start to pay homage to him, the fumes will go up in his head"

"That you are a brute without manners does not mean that others should be" the king declared mordantly.

"Who do you call a brute? Damned worm!"

After that followed one of the discussions that the worm and his daughter used to have and that began to become common among them. Quirrel raised his unworthy head and watched the two fighters. This was quite anticlimactic.

Quirrel knew that he had been in the presence of the pale king at some time in his past, although he could not remember it. But the impression he had made on him was etched in his subconscious. He had the respect and adoration towards that creature impregnated in his mind, and watching him fight like a child with Hornet... It broke the illusion and made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

He stood up even though he had not received the monarch's authorization and remained watching the scene, it was then that he felt Hollow's presence beside him and asked him.

"They're always fighting like that?"

Hollow nodded in silence and began to explain some things with elaborate mimicry, but Quirrel had never been very adept at interpreting the child's signals so he did not understand much. At this point the pill bug was already quite annoyed. He did not understand anything and nobody bothered to explain him either. So he overcame the fear and respect that inspired by the king and raised his voice.

"Does anyone please explain to me what's going on here?" His words sounded loud and confident, but as soon as the ghost rested his gaze on him, he picked himself up intimidated and completed with a thread of voice "... If it's not too much trouble..."

Father and daughter looked at each other and nodded agreeing to comply with the request of the explorer. For the next half hour they told him all the details of their first meeting in the Soul Sanctum and then, their particular visit to the seer. Of course the king omitted all the details of the personal conversation he had with the moth. Finally the story culminated explaining all the characteristics of the Dream Nail. After all the information that was released, Quirrel did not know what to say.

"I... This... It... Amazing. I thought I would surprise you with the story of the giant dirtcarver that I mounted, but you have surpassed me and you have not even moved from home "

"A giant dirtcarver? Great!" Hornet's eyes shone with excitement. Though his friend knew that it was not the experience of riding such an odd animal, but the idea that they existed, the meat of dirtcarver was Hornet's favorite food.

"Well, now I'm not so confused with what's happening here, although I can’t say I'm completely calm" he shot a fearful look at the king.

"Don’t worry," said Hornet, noticing the discomfort of the pill bug. "This grubby ghost is harmless, better ignore him. And to all this..." The girl stood up enthusiastically "Now that you're back we have to celebrate! We are going to hunt something very good"

"The only thing you always think about is eating!" The Wyrm complained. "I've already told you to watch your meals or you'll get too fat!"

"And I already told you I'm fine because I exercise a lot! Leave me alone and don’t mess with my food!"

Those words reminded Quirrel of the incident with the dirtcarver fillet and he decided to ask about it.

"Ah, are you asking me why I was taking the steak?" The king said in a superior tone "Well, it turns out that this young lady had the brilliant idea of eating while practicing her weaving"

"Before you came, I used to do that and there were never any problems," the girl defended.

"Well, that's wrong. You eat or you knit but you can not do both at the same time. Where did you learn such bad habits?" He turned to Quirrel again. "Of course I had to discipline her, she's a princess and should be at the height. So I took the steak so that she could knit quiet, but she did not accept it well"

"It was MY food"

"And why did Hollow end up hanging out of the house?" Quirrel asked.

"Well... I don’t know. Why were you hanging Hollow?"

"......."

"I see. When I was trying to knit Hollow was helping me, then when I ran after the old man, he wanted to follow me, but he tripped and got tangled up with the thread. Then crawled out and peeked out from the house platform to look for me, but he lost his balance and fell. Fortunately the tangled thread in which he was trapped became entangled in the wood of the platform and he did not fall into the water. Hollow swim very well, but with restricted movements he would have drowned... In fact That was very dangerous Hollow! You should have expected I come back!"

"..." He gave a sad look to his sister apologizing.

"It's okay. I forgive you, but be more careful next time, okay?"

"..." The little boy nodded recovering his usual enthusiasm.

"Well, then, are we going to hunt?" His brother nodded again showing his pleasure at the idea "Great, are you coming, Quirrel?"

"Hornet, I just arrived from an extremely exhausting trip. The truth is that I don’t feel like moving."

"Oh right, sorry, I was inconsiderate. Then it would be better if you stay here, sleep for a while if you want, we will be back soon"

"Are you going to let him sleep here?" Asked the Pale King.

"Yes. Any problem with that?" It seemed that the girl just need listening her father's voice to feel irritated.

"Oh no, not really. I just wanted to know if you could leave the Dream Nail here to be able to talk to Quirrel quietly"

"And what do you want to talk to him about? Look, old man, if you say something weird to him, I swear to you that I..."

"I will not tell him anything bad. It will only be a cordial conversation between gentlemen, I promise you"

Hornet narrowed her eyes with suspicion, but still agreed to her father's request. Then with a signal she told his brother to leave the nail. He obeyed and placed the device on the main table of the house. After affectionately saying goodbye to his friend (and ignoring his father), both siblings left and what followed in the house was a long and uncomfortable silence.

"I ... I think I'll make some tea" said Quirrel getting up and going to the kitchen trying to calm down, being alone with the king made him nervous.
The ghost looked closely at the insect. He clearly noted that he was handled with great confidence and comfort in the house, he knew exactly where everything was, the cups, the herbs, where to boil the water, it was as if it were his own house. He had heard Hornet speak with nostalgia of a dear friend who had gone on a trip, but she never mentioned that he lived with her. Were they really just friends?

After a few minutes, Quirrel finished preparing the tea, then went to the table with two cups of the steaming drink, one of which he offered to the old monarch.

"No, do not worry. With my deceased status I do not really need to eat or drink anything"

"Ah, I'm sorry" Quirrel apologized, fearing to have offended the king.

The pill bug began to drink from his cup in a nervous way, he could not help feeling intimidated by the monarch, he was a humble explorer and scholar. How could he be worthy to face such a figure of authority?

"Where do you live, Quirrel?" The worm asked casually.

"Eh? Oh! Nowhere, my lord!" He replied nervously.

"How is that?"

"This... I... I'm just a traveler who wanders the kingdom and beyond seeking to satisfy his curiosity. I have no house or anything to really call home. But Miss Hornet has been very kind to me by offering me shelter" He made sure to highlight the word Miss. He did not want the king to get a bad impression of him for talking about his daughter with too much confidence.

"But there are a lot of empty houses here. You could appropriate the one you wanted. Why do you live with Hornet?"

"Why do I live with her? Well, I... This... I don’t know what to really say. The truth is that one day Hollow invited me to sleep here and then... I never left. At first Hornet complained about my presence but then it stopped bothering her, in fact in recent times she even waited for me to sleep... And... "Quirrel finished with a red face as he remembered that. What the king would think of him? Maybe he was thinking that he was a damn who took advantage of his daughter's good feelings to have a roof and free food.

"I see" said the imperturbable king. "I understand that you do not have a home for choosing the life of the wanderer, but what about your family?"

"Family? Well I don’t remember them"

"Do not you remember them?"

"I don’t have many memories of my past. I know I was born in Hallownest but beyond that I have no information. I remember vaguely the teacher Monomon who instructed me in the knowledge of the world"

"Are you Monomon's apprentice?" The king looked at him surprised. "No wonder you looked familiar, so you're that Quirrel. It was not just a coincidence of names"

"We knew each other?"

"We met a couple of times but we never talked directly. Although your teacher used to tell me about you and thanks to this I got to know you a little bit. Tell me, do you really remember anything about your family? Nothing at all?"

"Nothing, I don’t know about my parents, I don’t know if I have siblings or other relatives"

"I was no speaking about your parents or your siblings exactly. Do you really have no memories about...? Well, it does not matter. That is already a buried past. For you it must be hard enough to have no history and not know anything about yourself. It is unfair that a stranger comes to demand lost knowledge that will never come back"

"It's not really that bad. I've learned to live with my situation and see the good side. I know that I have had to face great misfortunes, but these are simply erased from my mind. I no longer have bad memories. I only see the wonders of the present"

"It's a very positive way to face your situation"

"It would not make sense to embitter myself for something that has no solution. I’ll never remember anything. I have no past but from my present I can build my story. That's why I want to live as much as I can, travel and see the world. And now, thanks to Miss Hornet and Hollow, I have something I can more or less call family and a place to return to. I prefer to maintain a positive attitude and be patient, someday when some years have passed, I will have a built past and many anecdotes to tell"

Apparently Quirrel had been excited talking because all traces of shyness had disappeared. He had even raised his voice a little. The pale king stared at him in silence, quite interested in him. As soon as the pill bug realized this, his fear returned and he kept silent drinking some tea.

"You have awakened my interest and my admiration" said the Wyrm finally "Now I have clear why Monomon chose you as her apprentice" He made a small pause "Tell me... Would you marry Hornet?"

"Pffffffttt" Quirrel finished spitting the tea that he had in the mouth of the surprise "What!!?"

"Yes, it's true. Pill bugs are not the most respected or admired species" said the Wyrm more to himself than to Quirrel "Well, many said that a small worm could not govern either and look what I achieved. It is true that my apparent weakness brought me problems with some tribes such as the mantis, but even so I managed to prevail"

"What do you mean?" He said nervously. "What do you mean by governing?"

"Oh right, you do not know it. My stay in this world has a single purpose, to raise Hallownest again and take it to its former glory. But this requires a dignified ruler, someone who can inherit my legacy and Hornet, being my only descendant able to take power, should be the future queen. However, she is so impetuous, impatient, savage and brutal that I fear she can not fulfill the charge. But with a calm, sensible, patient and intelligent partner like you, she could become a good leader"

"What-what-I-king-no-that..."

"Because of the affectionate way in which Hornet talks about you, I do not think she dislikes the idea of making you her mate, you could be a good couple" This comment made Quirrel blush "Yes! It seems a good plan, now we just need Hornet to accept her destiny as queen. Wait a moment... Right! The seer said that a love bond could motivate her to accept the power, surely if you ask her to take the throne she will say yes. Could you ask her? "

"What!?"

Just at that moment, in a very timely (or perhaps inopportune), the two siblings entered the house after a fruitful hunt.

"We came back! Look at everything we brought! Tonight we will have a feast" Hornet seemed happy showing the newly captured prey. Suddenly she noticed that her friend acted something strange "Quirrel something happened? You look nervous"

In fact, the pill bug was nervous. He could feel the king's gaze on his back urging him to ask the girl to be queen. However, common sense and respect for his friend prevented him from making that request, but on the other hand the devotion he had towards the king forced him to obey his wishes.
The poor insect could not decide between the one and the other, so he made himself a ball and said nothing.

"Quirrel?" The girl approached the ball and moved it without getting any reaction "Quirrel!"

"I guess I overreacted a little with him. I should not have pushed him so hard and so suddenly" said the Pale King.

"What did you say old man?" Hornet asked accusingly.

"Nothing... Too serious"

"Old man!"

As a response, the phantom vanished in the air with a mocking smile.

Chapter Text

"Wow, your house is very beautiful Hornet, I congratulate you" Quirrel said to her friend observing her home in Dirtmouth "Although this furniture is familiar to me"

"Yes, I received them as payment for a job I did in the City of Tears. Do you like them?"

"Yes, the truth is that yes" The pill bug passed his hand on the central table of the house "You have managed to build a pretty nice home in this town. How is your relationship with the neighbors?"

"I'd say pretty good, although some people I like more than others. Iselda is with whom I get along the best. She is very kind and has many interesting stories. It seems that when she was younger she traveled a lot, although after getting married she opted for a more homelike life. Her husband Cornifer is also a very good person, but he does not spend much time at home, so it is not very common for me to see him. Elderbug is also nice, the only bad thing is that when he decides to talk, is impossible to shut him up"

"And who you doesn’t like very much?"

"Sly, the owner of the store that is in front of the road bench. That fly seems to have Geo instead of brain, he can’t think of anything other than money, puts everything at exorbitant prices and is so miserable ... The other that I don’t like... Rather I detest him, It's Zote. That damn stupid bug that thinks he's a great knight when he's less than a worm"

"Hey!" Said the pale king appearing in the middle of nowhere and looking at her reproachfully.

Hornet looked at his father for a few moments, then crossed her arms and turned his face away.

"I don’t retract my words"

"Insolent brat..."

Quirrel watched the scene with that mixture of discomfort and fun that always seized him every time they started one of their family fights.
The pill bug was proud of Hornet. The young woman had improved a lot in her socialization skills. There was little left of that aggressive, lonely and distrustful girl he had known a while back. Now she was calmer and happier. Apparently going on a trip and leaving her in Hollow's care had been a good idea. Now perhaps a good goal would be to try to get Hornet and Hollow to reconcile with their father, although this goal would be much more complicated.

"Hornet, I mean... Miss Hornet" When the pale king was present, Quirrel could not help but treat the girl with more formality than usual.

"Do you want to stop calling me miss? Until now you never had this behavior with me. Or will you tell me that my old man forced you to take a distance from me?"

Actually it was the opposite, but Quirrel could not tell him that her father wanted them together. Mainly because his motives were quite selfish and had nothing to do with wanting Hornet’s happiness. That is why he preferred to divert the subject subtly.

"How about we go out and you show me the town? Maybe you can help me choose a house for me?"

"And why do you want a house? I thought you would live with me. I have a lot of space, don’t worry, you won’t bother" These comments caused chills to the pill bug.

"Really? How nice" He looked around for an excuse to deny the offer "But you only have one bed "

"Oh, true. Although for you that was never a problem, you just rolled up anywhere and fell asleep, whether it was the ground or a rock. But if you want to use a bed, mine is great, you can share it with me and with Hollow"

"No... No need... I'll be fine" Quirrel was increasingly nervous, while the king tried to contain the laughter at the situation. Finally the pill bug sighed defeated "Let's go out for a while, I need some air"

Outside the house, they found Hollow watching closely another house that was next to the stagstation. The little one was so concentrated that he did not even notice when they called him, he only reacted when his sister touched his shoulder.

"... ....!" Hollow was surprised at his sister's touch.

"Sorry to scare you but you didn’t answer. What's wrong?"

"....." He pointed to the house he was observing.

"Do we have a new neighbor? Good thing. I wonder what kind of person they will be, from what I see they is pretty clean"

In fact, the house that Hollow showed was once dirty and neglected, although not ruinous as the rest, it looked like it had been used recently and then abandoned. Hornet had dared to think that the owner had simply gone on a trip and that at some point they would return. Apparently she was right.

Suddenly the door of the house opened and from inside a stubby beetle came out, with big jaws and a shy look. The beetle raised her head when she realized that there were three beings standing in front of her home, her eyes traveled those faces one by one until she stopped at one of them. She gave him a radiant look of joy and walked to him solemnly ignoring the other two individuals.

"Quirrel, blue knight..."

"He-hello Bretta" The insect seemed somewhat nervous in the presence of the new arrival, then looked at Hornet pleadingly but she was lost in her thoughts.

"Where I've seen her before... I can’t remember it" the girl said to herself. Then her brother approached her and indicated a couple of things "Yes, that's it! In Zote's dream! So this girl is Bretta? Jo, she's quite tender and... chubby. Did she really travel alone? How did they not eat her?"

The warrior walked to them and approached to greet friendly.

"Hornet! I'll introduce you to Bretta. Bretta, she's Hornet, the friend I told you about "

Hornet's open and warm attitude contrasted sharply with the icy look the beetle gave her, it almost seemed that the temperature of the place had dropped a couple of degrees.

"So... That friend you were telling me so much about, was a girl... This girl"

Such was the aggression in Bretta's eyes that Hornet was tempted to draw her sting to defend herself, but she could not do it, her 'opponent' was unarmed. Unfortunately the warrior still lacked much to know about the emotions and attitudes of people. For someone who was accustomed to fix everything with fights, a battle of will and subtleties was very complex.

"Yes, this girl. She has helped me a lot. I'm even staying at her house"

This statement was like a bucket of cold water for the insect.

"Oh, well that's it..." Suddenly recovering from her impression, Bretta took a more confident attitude "You really seem good friends, very good friends. Sure you have shared good times, although with Quirrel we have also spent a lot of time together"

"That's true" the pill bug added "When I was halfway through my trip, I found her about to be devoured by a centipede. I managed to save her and after that she accompanied me the rest of the trip. It was not easy, but traveling with a companion It has its benefits. It was quite fun and Bretta is very nice. If i tell you about..."

Bretta looked gratefully at the pill bug, and together they began to relate in a superficial way some of the experiences and adventures that they lived together while traveling. Hornet listened to the stories very interested, although Hollow not so much. In fact the little one was so unenthusiastic about the talk that he retired and went to the beetle's home. If he had to know about something he preferred to learn it in other ways.

He entered without asking permission and walked to the insect's bedroom. Then without shame or guilt, he took Bretta’s diary and reviewed it carefully. As he suspected, there were some new entries, in fact many entries. Apparently the girl had been writing all night. Hollow would not be able to read all that in a few minutes, so he decided to take the entire notebook.

It must be said, for Hollow, the term privacy was something completely foreign. Before, he had read Bretta's diary, but as no one ever told him it was a bad thing, he continued to do it without feeling ashamed. Most values and good habits that he knew, he had learned thanks to Hornet.

In the end, he returned to his sister's side without anyone noticing his momentary absence or the notebook he had hidden under his cloak.

The afternoon of that day, Hollow spent it at home reading while his sister left. Hornet was not very homelike and she preferred to do anything outside rather than stay at home. Besides, that day she had promised Dan that she would accompany him to patrol, so she earned some extra coins doing guard work.

When she returned home near sunset, she found the little one lying on the bed with his head buried in the book, asleep deeply. That was quite curious, it is true that his brother liked to read a little from time to time, but he was not the kind of insect that would do it for so many hours in a row. Was that book really that interesting?

In the end, without waking her brother, she carefully slid the notebook out of him and prepared herself to read the writing. She was quite surprised when she realized that it was a handwritten text, it did not look like a book Hollow had taken from the library. Where would he have found that notebook? But without caring too much about that detail and wanting to satisfy her curiosity, she began to read.

The story turned out to be an exciting story of adventures punctuated with remnants of a romance that was not consummated. Hornet felt transported to another world, every detail was told with such care, that with enough imagination, one could get to feel immersed in the place. The beasts that faced the protagonists were terrifying, the places they visited fantastic and about everything, the story of love that was narrated was told with such care that Hornet's heart trembled and she longed with all his being that the main couple ended up together.

In the end, like Hollow, she ended up asleep with the book in her head, until the next day.

She was awakened very early by her brother who was bored. The truth, it was so early in the morning that the sun was just peeking over the horizon. The girl got up sleepily and looked around, Quirrel slept in a corner in a ball shape as usual, and the ghost of the worm was not anywhere. That was good.

She stretched a little to revive herself and then noticed the notebook she had been reading the day before on the bed. She picked it up and gave it a cheerful look. But what a good story, no doubt his writer had talent, in fact she had to ask Hollow where he had obtained the notebook if he could contact the author. He definitely had to publish that story.

"Hey Hollow, where did you get this notebook? The person who wrote this novel is a genius"

"....."

"The author is Bretta? Wow! That girl is very talented, she should become a professional writer"

"....."

"What!? It is life diary?"

"......"

"Did you steal her life diary? But Hollow that is bad!"

".....?"

"A life diary is something personal, it are the place where people put their deepest thoughts and emotions, everything that for one reason or another they don’t dare to tell anyone. And it should not be revealed without their owner's consent! You did something very bad Hollow!"

"....." The boy lowered his head in distress.

"And now you have also made me a participant in this crime. Damn! I didn’t want to get into Bretta's privacy... Although the way in which this is written, the truth I would never think it is a life diary, it seems more an adventure novel... Although of course, what Bretta and Quirrel experienced during their trip felt like an adventure. I felt something familiar about some of the stories here, but Bretta tells them in more detail and in a more exciting way, especially because.... Wait! The maiden? The blue knight? By Wyrm! Bretta likes Quirrel! And to Quirrel... Will he like Bretta too?"

She took a look at the ball that was his roommate and could not help feeling a bit sad. Would that be why since he had returned he was trying to put distance between them? Was because of that he now called her Miss Hornet instead of just Hornet. Was for that suddenly he had the idea of living in another house? Would his dear friend go away until he abandon her completely? She shook her head putting away the negative thoughts. Quirrel was free, if she wanted to leave she could do it, she had no right to stop him. In that moment her priorities had to be others.

"Hollow, we have to return this diary, it's not right that we have it with us"

".....?"

"Well, return it in the same way you got it. You were quite stealthy to get into Bretta's house and steal this, you can safely return it without being noticed" she said as she left her house followed by her little brother.

"......"

"Well then wait until she leaves the house just like you did when you took the diary. At some point she'll go out and buy something or whatever" she said stopping in front of Bretta's house.

Suddenly a scream cut the air.

"My diary! It’s not here! I must find it!"

The scream came from the Bretta’s house, from where then the commotion of things being removed and thrown everywhere began to be heard. This scared the siblings a bit, who looked at each other worriedly. The beetle sounded very worried. Perhaps the diary was more important than they thought?

"Well Hollow ... Go and return the diary. Knock on the door, give her the notebook and apologize"

"....." The boy denied effusively looking very scared.

"Do you want me to return it? You took it! Don’t say you are scared now! Please, Hollow! You have fought against all kinds of bugs! You killed Nosk, you defeated the Mantis lords, you fought against a mighty goddess. And you're afraid to talk to your neighbor?"

"......" He looked at her accusingly.

"It doesn’t scare me, it's that you were the one who caused this problem and that's why you have to fix it yourself"

"....." He crossed his arms and continued looking at her.

"Ggg ... Okay, maybe if I'm a bit uncomfortable talking to her but... The truth is… Hollow, we're a mess. Now what do we do?"

"....."

"A distraction? It's a good plan, so we would return the diary when she is not attentive but... What could we use to distract Bretta?"

A few moments later, Quirrel, still in his ball shape, was placed in front of the door of the beetle and the siblings watched in hiding from a ‘safe distance’. Then Hollow took a stone and threw it against Bretta's door, the sound of the blow caused the insect to open the door.

It was quite surprising for the girl to find that ball outside her house and at the same time wonderful. With all the delicacy she could, she hit the ball causing it to shudder and then unravel. Quirrel, somewhat annoyed at being awakened, looked around, hoping to find one of the two siblings, or even the pale king, but in his place he met the beetle's candid gaze.

"Bretta? What are you doing here? "Then he looked around "Or rather, what am I doing here? "

"I would not know how to respond to that" said the beetle with simplicity "I was looking for something in my house when I felt a knock on my door and came out to see, then I found you here"

"How strange" The explorer seemed very upset.

"Maybe... You didn’t get used to sleeping at your friend's house and without noticing it, you rolled to me... I mean, you rolled to here"

"I've never had sleepwalking problems" Quirrel stood up and scratched behind his head "I think I should go back to my house... I say Hornet's house"

"Don’t do it!" Bretta yelled suddenly taking the pill bug by his arm "I mean... Since you're here... Why don’t you stay for breakfast? As in the old days, come in"

There was no way that Quirrel refused the invitation, because the insect practically dragged him inside her house. But before disappearing inside the house, he caught a glimpse of two pairs of horns peeking around the corner of a house. At this sight the pill bug narrowed his eyes knowing who should to blame for this strange awakening and his forced breakfast with the neighbor.

Inside her house Bretta struggled to attend as best as possible to her neighbor, who extremely uncomfortable looked around looking for any excuse to be able to leave quickly. At one point, while the beetle was searching for certain special tea-making herbs, Quirrel saw out of the corner of his eye how Hornet and Hollow sneaked into the house and headed for the bedroom. He had a tremendous desire to go after that pair and face them, but he did not want that to bring him problems with Bretta. He tried to disguise his annoyance. Meanwhile, a cup of tea and some sandwiches were put in front of him.

"I-I hope you like it" said the insect, giving him that puppy-like look that was so unpleasant for Quirrel.

"Tha-thanks, you should not have bothered you"

"It’s no problem"

After that, the pill bug kept silent drinking his tea and eating timidly. For her part, Bretta watched him enraptured, putting a thousand fantasies in her mind in love. Definitely Quirrel was everything she had always wanted in a mate. He was warm and communicative, unlike his white savior, as well as being humble and very smart, unlike his gray prince. The blue knight, as he had nicknamed him, was the kind of person who could get the best out of her. Thanks to him she had regained a lot of confidence in her, was able to raise her voice and express her thoughts, she did not sit quietly in silence listening to what others said. She was now able to take action and fight for what she wanted.

Partly thanks to this confidence and drive of struggle instilled by Quirrel, Bretta had taken a more aggressive attitude when it came to conquering the heart of her beloved. She had already seen Hornet as a possible competitor and she was not willing to let escape her mate. Her partner, this time was the real one, her destined love.

"Did you like the herbs that I chose? I remembered that it were your favorites and I made sure to get it. I wanted you to taste it the next time we had breakfast together"

"Oh, thank you very much, you are quite considerate"

"And... I made the crunchy rolls by myself... I always wanted you to taste it..."

"It are delicious, you cook very well. Thank you"

"The truth is that I am the one who should thank you, if you had not rescued me that time in that cave now I would not even be alive"

"It was nothing... Seriously. I would do the same for anyone"

"Maybe, but you not only saved me, you also took me with you, made me your friend, we shared many things together... Many... You know? During our trip I... I felt a special connection with you. It was something... Magical"

"Really? What curious. Hey, these rolls are very good, you should give me the recipe"said the pill bug trying to change the subject.

"It's not necessary, I can make it for you whenever you want" Bretta replied sweetly.

Meanwhile, Hornet and Hollow had already returned the notebook and had left the bedroom. But for some reason the girl felt somewhat distressed to hear the flirts of the beetle. So she was hidden behind a piece of furniture listening, despite His brother's silent pleas for them to leave quickly.

"I'd really like to learn how to make these rolls by myself" Quirrel said taking one of the sandwiches "I like to cook, so I could prepare them for Hornet and Hollow, they'll love it"

A certain flash of discomfort appeared in Bretta's eyes at the mention of the warrior, but she quickly returned to a warm and friendly attitude.

"You know, Quirrel, I was wondering, why do you live with Hornet?"

There was the same question again. Was it so strange that he lived with her? Many species of insects lived in large family groups, in fact that was a habit of pill bug, custom that also shared with cockroaches. It was odder that Hornet wanted to live with others, spiders lived in small families or directly opted for solitary existences.

"I don’t like to live alone" replied the pill bug with simplicity. He did not intend to give more explanations to his neighbor.

"I see... So it's just for that?" Bretta seemed somewhat delighted with his response.

"Yes I guess..."

"Well... I was thinking that maybe it's not necessary for you to live with Hornet, because if you're looking for company, then..."

"I also see Hollow and his sister as a family" Quirrel said quickly before Bretta could complete her idea.

"But you don’t need to stay with them!" The beetle exclaimed raising her voice, although after realizing it she lowered her tone and continued somewhat embarrassed "It's just that I... Well... We have that special connection and we got along well. We lived many experiences together in our trip and... Well... We could also start a family..." Bretta was completely red while saying this, but she did not think to be cowardly now that she had started. For his part Quirrel was panicking "It would not be difficult, the doors of my house would be open for you, you and I…"

Suddenly a blow was heard nearby, both insects turned to look and found Hornet arms outstretched in a failed attempt to hold a vase that had fallen, next to her was her brother who had his hands in the head and watched the scene with horror. A deep silence invaded the house while everyone saw themselves without knowing what to do. But finally the first one to react was Bretta.

"What-what are you doing here? Did you spied on me? Did you see everything? "

"Eh, I-I'm sorry-I'm-" Hornet was too nervous to spin an idea.

"Did you see everything? Our intimate moment? What a shame!" Bretta covered her face in shame.

"Wait! That's not... It's not what you think! I… We..."

"Now you're going to make fun of me... Like everyone..." The beetle looked at her with her eyes soaked in tears.

And just at that moment, breaking the awkward situation, the ghost of the pale king appeared in the room just in front of Bretta. He looked at her in a threatening way and then, standing in all his extension and making use of his imposing presence of high being he shouted:

"Boo!"

Maybe it was because of the stress of the situation, or because of the scare the ghost provoked, but Bretta fainted. Quirrel managed to hold her before she fell to the floor and hit. Then gently deposited her on the floor, after that between confused and annoyed he went to the siblings, who had fallen on their knees because the relief they felt.

"From which we saved Hollow"

"....." He threw himself to the floor with an exhausted face.

"Don’t exaggerate either"

"Ahem... Ahem..." The pale king caught the attention of the young with a slight cough. They looked at him annoyed.

"It's okay! Thanks for getting us out of this mess" the girl said reluctantly turning her eyes away.

"Well, now tell me who is going to get me out of the mess I'm in" Quirrel said, very angry but still calm. "I demand an explanation!"

The siblings shrank in their place, afraid of their friend's reaction. They had never seen him so angry.

Bretta did not wake up from her faint until a while later. When she opened her eyes she was in her bed and did not remember much of what had happened. She had vague memories of having been having breakfast with Quirrel and that both were declaring their love and planning to start a family, (part of his memories were true , but another part were the fantasies that she had dreamed, mixed with reality).

She looked both ways and on the side of her bed she found her blue knight sitting next to her and looking at her with concern.

"You woke up! Do you feel good? "The pill bug asked her.

"Yes... I... What happened?"

"Eh... Well..." Quirrel tried to remember the story they had decided they would tell her "You were cleaning your house while you were looking for your life diary that was lost. When you stepped on a vase and fell hitting your head. I heard the commotion from outside and I came to see you, fortunately nothing happened to you and you're fine"

"Oh... Wow... Thanks... I think you saved me again" Bretta looked at her beloved with those puppy eyes that made him so nervous. He swallowed trying to calm down.

"Well... Besides that there was something else I wanted to tell you… Well, not me, actually other people. Come in"

Quirrel signaled to the siblings who were waiting outside the dormitory. They entered with faces of guilt. As soon as they were in sight of Bretta they lowered the head while Hornet apologized.

"We are sorry! Hollow took your life diary without permission, that's why you didn’t find it. I already scolded him for that, but I apologize for the inconvenience caused and for not returning it before"

"Oh... I see" Bretta half covered her face shyly meditating on the words of her neighbor. She looked at her nightstand and there she found the notebook, in the same place where it should have been. So she looked at the siblings and the colors went up to her face.

"You-you -you... Did you read it?"

"No!" Hornet shouted while Hollow shook his head "I mean, we didn’t read more than the first entry, where there were no important things. As soon as I saw Hollow reading it, I scolded him and we didn’t see anymore" Hornet felt a little guilty of lying, but she did not want to admit what she knew.

"I see... Well... Thanks for returning my diary"

Hornet looked at Bretta in surprise, thinking that she would be angrier with her, but the beetle was so sweet and calm that it was unthinkable. Although, the presence of Quirrel helped a lot to maintain the girl’s good mood, because she was basically ignoring them to devote all her attention to her beloved.
Hornet sighed tiredly and chose to say goodbye and give her good wishes to her neighbor. Then she left.

The warrior walked through the streets, followed by her brother until she reached the famous bench in the middle of the road. She advanced to it and sat down to rest. But what a stressful day it had been and it was not even midday. Hollow stood next to her and looked at her guilty, as if apologizing.

"It's ok, I forgive you. I can’t get too angry with you. I don’t know how you do it to be so exasperating and at the same time adorable"

This comment provoked a small laugh in the child, but it vanished when he saw the explorer appear, who was addressing them with the face of few friends. Without saying a word, he sat next to Hornet. He took a few minutes to sort out his ideas before speaking.

"I am very angry with you. I can’t believe that you made such a scandal for something as simple as apologizing to the neighbor and above all to involve me and I had nothing to do with this issue. That was very inconsiderate on your part"

Hollow and Hornet looked down, feeling really bad by the sermon.

"Oh, and of course you were not the only ones guilty for all this. If a certain ghost had put a brake on this issue we would have saved ourselves many problems. You can pretend that you are not here but I know you hear me" The pale king truth heard Quirrel's accusation but he simply chose not to show "And let me tell you that I don’t believe that you didn’t read Bretta's diary. I bet that you read it whole. That's violation of privacy and it's a very bad thing! If I find out you're doing something like that again, I will never again cook special stew!"

Hornet looked at him so sadly that the pill bug softened his heart.

"Well, I hope you have understood"

After that sermon, nobody spoke for a while, each absorbed in their thoughts, especially Hornet, who analyzed the situation with some regret.She had never seen Quirrel so angry. Would this fight be the final reason for Quirrel to get away from her and leave home? He had already been trying to put distance. Maybe he wanted to go with Bretta, but he didn't go because of be somewhat insecure about the beetle's feelings. At least she had related in her love story that the relation was an unfulfilled romance, where both seemed to show feelings for each other but they never confessed anything.

Hornet felt a tightness in her chest at the thought of that. She did not want Quirrel to leave, he was her family, however if he did not want to be with her anymore, she could not keep him. She did not hold him back when he went on a trip and he would not do it now. Therefore, she decided to be frank and direct, as always.

"Quirrel...."

"Yes?" He felt somewhat worried when he heard Hornet's tone of voice.

"Bretta is in love with you and she wants to be by your side"

"I already know it"

"Do you know?" This was a surprise.

"I would have to be a fool not to notice it. The way she looks at me, the gestures she has with me... But I don’t want to be with her, really with anyone. I don’t want to have a relationship, romance or whatever to be"

"Why?"

"You know... To accept that I lost my memory and my past was not easy. It took me a lot of time and still... Sometimes I wonder if... I have not had someone in my past? A lover? Wife? Something? What if she come back? At least that insecurity I have not overcome yet, and that's why I don’t want to compromise with anyone, nor do I feel that I need it. Also, it’s not an obligation to be with someone, nor is it necessary for to be happy. I've told that to Bretta a lot of times, but she doesn’t seem to understand it"

"I see..." Hornet looked thoughtful "And you're never going to have a mate?"

"I don’t know. I just know that now I don’t want one, I'm fine alone. I don’t feel ready yet to start a relationship"

Hornet looked at him and then smiled.

"It seems good to me. I'm not ready to let you go yet"

"What does that mean?"

In response the girl simply laughed mischievously and rested her head on her friend's shoulder.

Chapter Text

"Gyaaarrrgg, Gyraaaargg"

Strange grunts echoed in the distance. It were unusual noises, very different from anything Hornet had heard before.

"Gyaaaarggg, gyaaaarggg"

The grunts sounded closer and closer, it almost seemed that the creature was on top of her. She stirred in her bed not wanting to get up and still believing that everything was a dream.

"GYAAAARGG, GYYARRRG"

This time the roars of the being sounded stronger and more insistent than ever, then the girl dared to open her eyes, then she wished she had not.
In front of her there was an horrible monster. This one had a black body, covered with short hair, it did not seem to have a shell like a normal insect, in addition it had a pair of membranous wings attached to clawed extremities. Over its head instead of having a pair of antennas had strange triangular cartilaginous formations. But the most terrifying thing about that creature was its threatening red eyes, so intense and so voracious that it seemed to eat her with his gaze. Hornet was facing the worst of her nightmares.

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" It was the cry the girl gave.

Hornet, still screaming, ran to where her needle was and barricaded herself in a corner of her house, while she began to cry in fear. The flying creature cocked its head confused by the behavior of the girl and approached her, but the warrior in his state of terror, simply reacted instinctively and threw her weapon.

The object would have pierced the heart of the little bat had it not been for Hollow, who at the right moment appeared and threw himself at the mammal, saving it from the projectile. Immediately, Quirrel entered the house alerted by the uproar and found Hornet firghtened crying in a corner and Hollow embracing a strange being.

"What's happening here?"

As a result of his question, Hornet began to babble a lot of unintelligible things, while his little brother made a complicated mimic impossible to decipher for the pill bug. Finally exasperated, he chose to go to console the girl, after all, the odd creature looked harmless, especially because of the way he hugged Hollow.

The little one worried about his relative, wanted to approach her, but in doing so, the little bat that did not separate from his side also did so. Of course the closer the beast was, Hornet was more terrified. Finally the ghost of the pale king appeared out of nowhere, stood between the brothers and looked at his son reproachfully.

"Hollow, get away now"

"......" He pointed to his sister who was scared in a corner.

"I said go away"

"......!" He pointed to Hornet with more impetus and almost anger.

"What do not you realize that what has her in that state is that vermin that you carry with you!?"

He looked at his sister who was clinging to the arms of Quirrel crying as he tried to calm her. The poor crossbreed trembled in her place as if dying of cold, but it was the terror that had every fiber of her tense being. He sighed sadly and went as far as he could from Hornet without leaving the house. The pale king followed him closely and when they were at a safe distance he began to question the child.

"That vermin you bring with you, where did you get it from?"

"......"

"What do you mean whit you are his mother?"

"Gyaaaargg, gyarrrggg, mommy, gyaaaarg" the little creature growled confirming the Hollow’s words.

"But, but..." The pale king seemed annoyed "I know you have no gender. Except Hornet, none of you has it. But as far as I knew, you identified with the male gender"

"....." He nodded confirmed the words of his father.

"Then you can not be his mother! If you are a male you have to be a father, if you are a female you are a mother"

"Mommy!" The bat purred, rubbing against Hollow.

"........"

"You can not be his father because he already has one? But that does not make you a mother! You are still a father because you are a male, you would be two fathers raising a child... Wait a moment. That is not the point of this discussion! Why are you raising a child? And besides a bat child"

"......"

"Sure, his father asked you to take care of him. And you accept as if nothing? Where is your common sense!"

"........"

"United for a contract? Sacred ritual? My son... My son has been paired with a bat circus artist, single father and homosexual... But what I did to deserve this!"

"Rather what you did to not deserve this” Hornet shouted from his corner.

"Shut up! You are scared” The resentful king hissed.

"I-I- I feel better" she replied with a slight nervousness "I-I'll be fine as long as that thing doesn’t come near me"

The truth is that Hornet still trembled in his place and Quirrel did his best not to complain about the pain that the hands of the girl buried in his arms caused him. He gave a glance to the creature that was flying in front of Hollow. in truth he could not to understand how she could be so afraid of him.
Throughout his travels Quirrel had heard some chilling stories about bats, but now that he had one in front of him, it seemed like exaggerations. How could that adorable little thing be dangerous? It was true that he was a baby, but his adult version could not be so different. Could it?

He tried to get up from where he was and approach the mammal to see him better, but Hornet did not give in his grip and looked at him pleadingly.

"Ple-ple-please Quirrel .... No… Don’t go"

"Quiet Hornet. I won’t go far, I'll be here in the house with you. I'm just going to see the creature..."

"Don’t go!"

Hornet pulled Quirrel closer and hugged him tightly. At that moment the pill bug noticed the tremendous physical strength that the girl had. Until that moment he had never realized that Hornet was stronger than him, although perhaps it was to be supposed. Pill bugs could become very capable but they do not possess as much physical strength as many other species of insects. Now this characteristic was bringing some complications, because he could not get away from his friend's arms. The best thing would be to try to calm her down.

"Hey... Hornet, calm down. I'll be fine, nothing will happen to me"

"But bats are dangerous!"

"Oh Hornet..." He sighed tiredly and looked around "Look, I'll take my sting with me. If he attacks me I can defend myself, so you don’t have to worry. I'll be fine. Can you let me go now?"

Hornet did not seem very convinced or willing to release him, although she was meditating. But the explorer was really getting a little impatient and decided that the best thing was to hurry her.

"I want to go to the bathroom..."

Only with those words Hornet release him and also pushed him away. Apparently after a certain encounter with a dung beetle she had a great aversion to everything related to bodily secretions.

Already seeing himself free, Quirrel went towards Hollow and his ‘son’, not before taking his sting, as much for tranquility of his friend, as for own protection, never it was possible to be too cautious.

The little bat looked at the stranger with interest. He gave a small glance at Hollow who was not worried about the approach of the insect. Taking that as a sign of safety, he assumed that Quirrel was a friend and flew up to him wanting to play.

The pill bug tried to follow the flying creature with his eyes, but apparently he found it very funny to flutter around him trying to make him dizzy. He sighed with regret and walked to his little friend who was standing next to the pale king.

"Well Hollow, I would appreciate it if you would explain calmly where you got that child from"

"Hollow already explained it" replied the pale king "Although of course, you can not understand him, anyway. Well Outside of Dirtmouth, a traveling circus was set up where many artists perform shows. The master of that company is not an insect, it is a bat"

"A bat and insects working together? That doesn’t sound like much to the stories I've heard of those creatures"

"Neither for me. But in my years of experience I have learned that everything is possible. Returning to the story, Hollow went to see the show of this bat and was so delighted with his performance that he slipped to his dressing room to see him. The beast, instead of getting angry at the invasion of his privacy, received him with open arms and entrusted him the care of his son. He told him that they were now bound by a contract and that they had to carry out a sacred ritual or something like that. I do not think Hollow himself understands the mess he's gotten into"

Quirrel looked at the little boy who was playing with the baby distractedly as if he were a friend. Definitely Hollow did not understand the concept of mother or father, probably he could not even imagine the magnitude and responsibility that those words encompassed, although... How to blame him? He never had a mother or father to take care of him properly, in his eyes the parents were the ones who brought him to life and no more than that. His siblings were much more relevant than their parents.

Taking into account all that, it was obvious that the child was not able to take responsibility for a baby. it would be best to return him to his father, which surely was quite wrong in the head, or was very irresponsible to entrust his care to a complete Unknown. Poor little bat, having such a father had to be hell, but it was no longer his problem. His family should take care of him.

"Hollow, let's go to that circus, you'll give back that offspring, you can’t take care of him" Quirrel said firmly.

The boy narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but then turned his gaze to his sister, who was in her corner hidden under the covers of his bed watching them with fear. He felt some guilt, he knew that Hornet was panicking the bats and he still came with that baby bat, he really had been very inconsiderate. He would miss his ‘son’, but he would do the right thing and return him. He looked at the pill bug and nodded resignedly.

"Well, you guide us Hollow" said the insect.

"Wait! Don’t leave me alone! "Hornet yelled, sticking his head out from under the blankets on her corner.

"But Hornet, we have to go to the circus to return the baby" Quirrel replied calmly "So you won’t have to see him anymore"

"But... But... I don’t want to be alone... I..."

"You won’t be alone" Quirrel tried to calm her down "You'll be with... Eh..." He looked around trying to think something, until he met the ghost "Your Majesty will take care of you"

"What!" Shouted father and daughter at the same time.

"Yes, the pale king will be with you and will defend you in case any bat wants to harm you" continued insect "Since he is a ghost, he can fight without fearing to die, you will be fine with him"

"But why do I have to stay taking care of Hornet? She is already an adult" The king complained through his teeth.

"Majesty, you brought her to the world, take charge of her. You didn’t take care of her when she was little, at least now do something for her"

The Wyrm had nothing more to claim and remained silent. While Hornet, oblivious to his father's annoyance, meditated on the words of her friend and after a moment, she nodded agreement with the decision. But then put a worried face.

"But Quirrel, you and Hollow will go to see the father of that offspring, that's very dangerous"

"We'll be fine!" Replied the pill bug trying to print as much security as possible to his words "I've got rid of more battles than you could think and Hollow is also very strong. If that bat gets complicated we'll face it, you'll just stay calm and rest, we'll see you in a while when everything is solved"

Hollow and Quirrel left the house followed by the little bat, leaving the girl alone with her father. Both looked at each other in silence without knowing very well what to say, usually their conversations only ended in fights, Quirrel used to mediate fostering a friendlier atmosphere. But now they were alone, none wanted to fight for what they preferred to say nothing.

Suddenly a noise was heard outside, a kind of thud. That could have been anything, an insect tripping, something that fell in the ground or a box being deposited on the floor with force. Normally Hornet had not even paid attention to this, but in her hyper-alert state of fear, at that sound she hurriedly hid under her blankets. Although she knew it was ridiculous to pretend that those pieces of cloth would protect her from something.

After a couple of minutes where obviously nothing bad happened, she dared to take her head out from under her covers and ran into the surprise that the pale king was sitting next to her, observing the room distractedly.

As soon as he noticed that she had come out of hiding, he put his eyes on her and watched her severely. Hornet felt annoyed, she supposed that at any moment he would begin to reproach her behavior with things like: ‘That attitude is not worthy of a princess’ or maybe ‘A monarch can not show fear’. That's why she looked away with contempt without speaking to him.

But contrary to all expectations, the girl suddenly felt a warm touch on her head and by the time she realized it, her father was caressing her in a comforting way. If she had put her pride before her, she would have shouted at him to leave her alone, because she did not need his compassion. But she preferred to keep quiet and let herself be comforted, because for some reason, that simple caress made her feel better.

On the outskirts of Dirtmouth, Quirrel and Hollow had already reached the entrance to the circus, but they had not yet dared to enter, mainly because Quirrel seemed too impressed by the circus tents. Each of these had a portal made of solid material, which had a door and two windows, which were placed in such a way that it looked like terrified faces. A chill ran down the back of the insect. Elderbug did not exaggerate when he said that the circus had a sinister aspect.

Finally it was Hollow who took the initiative and went first to the tent, his friend had no choice but to follow him.

Inside he could see numerous insects, almost all of them were wearing curious white masks with a couple of lines coming out of their eyes, which partly reminded him of the features of the little bat that flew with them. Would that be some way of demonstrating his belonging to the master of the troupe? That more than a circus, began to look like a cult.

Suddenly an insect caught Quirrel's attention. She unlike the others, she had only half mask covering her face. She was a huge creature, especially her abdomen that was long and occupied most of her body

"A termite queen… No, it's not a termite, it's a strange creature, maybe a crossbreed?" The pill bug thought trying to figure out which species the being he was seeing belonged to.

Moved by his innate curiosity he came to talk to her. His little companion followed him closely and was the first to be noticed by the creature.

"Wow, the little one has returned. Have you already fulfilled the master's assignment? Or maybe you came to visit me and brought me a gift? Perhaps the tender snack that walks by your side?"

Quirrel immediately became defensive and laid his hands on his nail, ready for any possible attack. He was aware that for many species of insects, pill bugs were a very appetizing snack, partly because of that he tried so hard to learn the art of the nail.

"Quiet, I was just joking, hahahaha!" said the insect with a mocking laugh "My name is Divine, nice to meet you and welcome to the Grimm troupe. Do you like the circus? If you feel like joining, you are welcome. We are always looking for new recruits who wish to sell their souls"

Quirrel did not answer and merely frowned, a reaction that made Divine laugh even more.

"I was kidding, hahaha. You must be a friend of this little one" she said watching Hollow "If you are ally of the chosen one of the master then you are more than welcome" she gave a fleeting glance at the little bat that fluttered happily around "He still doesn’t seem to have absorbed the flame, or you have come by another issue? If you want to talk to the master, go behind that curtain" She pointed to a cloth-covered door that was behind her “And if you ever want to come to give me a gift I'll be happy to receive it. I can smell something very tasty in you. I don’t know what it is. But I love it"

After that disturbing conversation, both crossed the door it leaded to a large room that was nothing less than the main hall of the circus. In the center there was a robust insect that used the same mask that seemed to wear all the insects that served in the place, plus of rather bizarre clothes, very different from the cult robes. This insect was playing a sad melody on the accordion. He seemed very absorbed in his task, did not even deign to look at them when they approached him. He only said in a muffled voice.

"Go to see the master, He is in the bottom"

It seemed that they would not get another reaction from him, so they just followed his instructions and walked to the bottom where they ran into another door that undoubtedly led to the dressing rooms.

The last room that was the one in the back turned out to be Grimm's private office. Quirrel politely knocked on the door, but Hollow did not give a damn about education and opened without asking permission to enter.

"Well, maybe these two already have confidence and do not need formalities" thought Quirrel somewhat alarmed by the manners of the child.

When the pill bug entered, he felt a great impression. A chill ran down his back and he felt his extremities freeze. In front of him was Grimm, the master of the troupe, father of the offspring and the legendary creature known as bat.

Quirrel watched the being in front of him. Now he understood why Hornet was so afraid of these beasts.This being was terrifying. He was extremely tall, his membranous wings hanging from his body resembling a cloak that kept his body and his claws hidden, the features of his face were extremely similar to the child they carried with him, so it was not difficult to assume that he was his father.

However, there was a fundamental difference between them, their eyes. The child's gaze was full of innocence and fun, it was just a child who knew nothing of the world and was carried away by the decisions of adults. But Grimm's gaze was full of evil, strength and voracity.

Quirrel shuddered at the sight of those red eyes fixed on him, the eyes of someone accustomed to command and be obeyed, someone who was never deprived of any desire and could do whatever he wanted. The beast smiled with malice and the pill bug began to wonder if like Divine, he would think he was very appetizing. Suddenly, with a burst of fire, Grimm vanished from his eyes to reappear behind him.

The terrified insect saw how the creature was leaning towards him with quite grace and elegance without stopping smiling. Then with a deep voice he spoke.

"How nice of you, you've got a nice toy to our offspring"

"Gyaaarggg. Daddy!" The little one shrieked, flying to his father.

"You look overflowing with life and energy, but lacking of the scarlet flame. The ritual must still be performed and for that, the nightmare fire is necessary" he said examining the child, then he addressed to Hollow "Well my friend, big is my rejoicing for to have your presence among my folks. However, again I will formulate my request. Look for the flames and return to dance with me. Our mortal dance will make the world burn and a thousand wonders will touch this withered land" He emphasized his words extending their arms and displaying their impressive wings.

Quirrel had not understood half of the bat's words, he did not know what he meant by searching for the flames, or what he wanted to achieve with it. It were probably subjects he had dealt privately with Hollow, but that was not important. If they were there, it was to give back to him the baby bat. The problem was that he could hardly talk because of the fear he had. He really did not understand how Hollow could be so calm. He was not sure if it was courage or an absolute unawareness of the danger.

For his part, Grimm was very curious about the presence of the insect. Then making a dramatic stance, again vanished from the view of the pill bug to reappear elsewhere and perform an elegant bow looking at him maliciously.

"Great is my curiosity for the mysteries that have brought you before my presence. I am Grimm, the master of this troupe and it is my desire to know the identity of the stranger who treads my domains"

Quirrel took a moment to answer. That pompous and elaborate way of talking of the bat confused him a little.

"I-I- I'm Quirrel, Hollow's friend and..."

"Oh, will you also take a role in the performance of the ritual?"

"Ritual? What ritual? What is that he's been talking about a flame?"

"It's a very old ritual, cultivated since the Graham –my father- era. The offspring must devour the flame born of the ashes of a fallen kingdom and become one with its power. But for this a knight will have to guide the journeys, the power granted in exchange will be his payment "

"Eh... Let's see..." Quirrel was wringing his brain to the maximum to understand the complicated language of the mammal "Then if I understood correctly... This child should eat fire -Or something like that- and obtain its power. So the child will be able to do tricks similar to those you use" Grimm nodded like a teacher who approves the words of his student "But as the creature can’t fend for itself, someone must protect it while looking for these.... ‘Flames’”

"Only the truth dwells in your words" replied the master with parsimony.

"I hope you don’t mind my... Words but..." The pill bug seemed somewhat doubtful to continue with his idea "Don’t you think it's a bit irresponsible to entrust your offspring to a complete stranger? Because anyone could damage him and..."

Quirrel could not continue because a sudden gesture of the bat silenced him. Grimm approached him and giving an elegant turn showing all his splendor he said:

"Contemplate well what is in front of you. I am Grimm, the master of the troupe. The fire is my ally, my servant, my being. My fire can consume everything, burn it, vanish it. And I desire for my offspring the same power. And if it is my desire, it will be a reality. My child will emerge as a demon of fire, beautiful, radiant, powerful, unbeatable..." He squinted "This fate will be inevitable and those who are against it will find a fateful destiny"

At that time a huge fire was lit in front of the pill bug who recoiled fearing burning. But the curtain of flames soon extinguished revealing that Grimm was no longer in front of him, now he was reclining on a divan that until then they had not noticed that I was in the room. The bat reposed displaying confidence, arrogance, but above all elegance, while waving a glass with suspicious liquid in his hand pronounced his final words.

"You have free will to choose to contribute to my cause or remain idle, but do not cross your mind rebel thoughts, because these will only lead to your end"
In simple words, the bat had warned Quirrel that if something bad happened to his child, many lives would end in Hallownest. Therefore, now like Hollow, he was obliged to protect the baby.

Seriously he was scared, he knew how horrible it could be a bat, especially this one in particular that could use the magic of fire. He could not ask many details but he wanted to hope that when they had collected these famous ‘flames’ and the ritual was complete, Grimm and all his company would leave Dirtmouth forever. Meanwhile, they would have to find a way to deal with Hornet's chiroptophobia.

Chapter Text

Hollow and Quirrel came out of Grimm's circus, one of them overflowing with joy and the other worry, while behind them, the little bat child flew nonchalantly.

Quirrel could not believe the mess Hollow had put them in. Now they were forced to take care of the little beast, which unfortunately belonged to a species who was a natural predator of insects, so it was not known what behavior the child would have with them when he grow up. It was also a huge problem for his best friend because of the phobia she had for bats. And even then, that was not what worried Quirrel the most, which made him have a knot in his stomach and a lot of anguish was the famous "ritual" that Grimm had talked about.

What would this ritual be about? From what he understood, it was a procedure that would give the child the ability to use fire magic, but he could not really be sure that it only served for that. He was not an expert on the subject, but within what little he knew, rituals serve to obtain something, but for this something always had to pay a price or make a sacrifice. They were not aware of the conditions to comply, which made all this very dangerous, but they had no choice, Grimm had been very clear ... Well, not so clear, that bat was always difficult to understand. But at least the way he looked at him, it was understood that he would kill anyone who opposed him.

He sighed in sorrow and decided to erase that problem for the time being, it was best to concentrate on the most immediate problem: Hornet's chiroptophobia. Now that the vermin was in charge of Hollow, it was impossible to avoid his presence, somehow Hornet would have to learn to tolerate the offspring, that or separate from his brother until the ritual ended, which was not fair to anyone.

He remained locked in his thoughts until he was interrupted by a light touch on his hand. Hollow was drawing his attention and pointing to his home, where he could see a certain individual who seemed to be waiting for the door to open. Knowing that Hornet's fear would prevent her from opening, he chose to go to the stranger himself.

"Good morning" Quirrel greeted kindly "Can I help you with something?"

The stranger turned around revealing that he was a cochineal. He seemed very surprised to see the explorer. In fact he was observing him for a few moments perplexed, as if he did not believe what was in front of his eyes, until he seemed to realize that looking at someone so steadily could be uncomfortable and perhaps even impolite, so he apologized.

"So-so-sorry, I didn’t... That... I was coming to..." Suddenly he noticed Hollow that he was saying hello in silence in a friendly way "Hollow?"

"Do you know Hollow?" Quirrel asked.

"Eh? Yes. I know him! I mean... He's my friend... I think. He and his sister Hornet have helped me a lot and I am always in debt to them, so now I came to give them a cake of rotten eggs prepared by my mother"

"I see, nice to meet you, my name is Quirrel"

"I’m Dan... One moment, Quirrel? Oh! You are that dear friend that Hornet talks so much about"

"Does she talk about me?"

"Yes, she says that I look a lot like you and that's why she always feels the desire to protect me" He blushed a little when he thought better about what he was saying and changed the subject. "This... I'm a little surprised find someone else of my kind around here, the truth is that we are very few pill bugs in Hallownest"

"It’s true, in the time of the infection, almost all members of our race chose to escape the kingdom. Although those times have passed, almost no cochineal has been encouraged to return"

"Yes. My mother... My biological mother also escaped from the kingdom with me, of course at that time I was just an egg, so I don’t really remember anything. I couldn’t even meet my father. He had to stay in the kingdom for... A kind of sacred duty, the truth mom never told me many details about that"
"I see, and maybe you felt the call of your roots and returned to your homeland"

"Not really, no. My mother ended up dying in an accident. Then a cockroach friend of her took care of me and raised me until now that I'm almost adult. Recently my family heard that there was work and prosperity in the reborn kingdom of Hallownest and well… All decided to come here"

"Interesting. And how are you doing here?" Quirrel suddenly noticed that Hollow had opened the door of the house on his own and was entering "Hey! Wait Hollow! The offspring is following you! You could scare Hornet!"

The pill bug had to interrupt his conversation and enter quickly to prevent a nervous breakdown from her friend, but for his peace of mind, when he entered he realized that the girl was sound asleep in her bed, perhaps exhausted by all the stress that she had had to endure. At her side, the pale king was looking at her attentively. Then he diverted his gaze to Quirrel when he saw him peek through the door and could notice the pill bug's signal that was telling him to fade, because he was going to enter with someone outside the family.

Dan went into the house asking permission and went to the kitchen where he left the cake he was bringing. Then following the older pill bug, he went to the bedroom where he saw his friend sleeping peacefully.

"Oh. I think I should not come now, I didn’t expect to find her sleeping. I'm sorry"

"Don’t worry" Quirrel reassured him "It's not normal for her to sleep at this hour"

"Is she sick?"

"Not exactly, basically she had a nervous breakdown, mmm.... I don’t think there's a problem with him telling this to you, but please don’t ask for details. It
turns out that due to some particular circumstances, during the next months we will have to take care of that little one"

He pointed to Grimm's son who was now reclining in Hollow's lap, who was petting him quietly while sitting in an armchair.

"What... What is that thing? I've never seen anything like that. Is it some kind of alien insect?"

"Eh... No, the truth it’s not even an insect, that's a bat"

Quirrel waited for some reaction from Dan, perhaps showing fear or horror to know the identity of the creature, but nothing. the younger pill bug almost did not flinch, just looked curiously at the being and came to caress it as if it were a pet.

"So this is a bat. It’s pretty cute. I've never heard of these beings, this looks like a baby. How much do they grow? Are they good pets? "

The explorer looked at him surprised. Apparently Dan knew absolutely nothing about these beasts, to the point of believing that they were pets, though... Maybe it was better in that way, bats were such a rare thing in Hallownest that probably the majority of the population knew little and nothing about them. So their ignorance would prevent them from being afraid of them and they could walk everywhere without causing panic in the population.

"Gyaarrgg mommy?" growled the child as if he was asking if the pill bug that caressed him was good, somehow Hollow seemed to understand him and nodded.

"Do you speak?" Dan said surprised. "Wow, I thought you was a lower creature. And you just called Hollow Mommy? But... Was not Hollow supposed to be male?"

"He is” said Quirrel, exasperated.

"But if Hollow is male, he should be a father, not a mother, and..."

"Look, forget that point for now. Hollow is male and is a mother... At least in the mind of that creature and that's why we are taking care of him for the moment. But we have the problem that Hornet has a phobia of bats and she explodes in nerves every time he is near"

"Is Hornet afraid of this pretty little thing?" As if reaffirming his innate tenderness, the little bat rubbed his head against Dan's hand "I don’t understand how she could, if he looks absolutely harmless"

"If you knew what they are like when they grow up" Quirrel thought to himself. Dan diverted his attention from the child and said:

"If Hornet's nerves collapse every time this little one is near, perhaps a silvapleno or tragapenas tea will serve her, they are very powerful tranquilizing herbs"

"True! How I didn’t think about that before! " Exclaimed Quirrel enthusiastically" Now I don’t have any of those herbs here but maybe Bretta has. She has a good collection of plants, wait a minute here Dan"

Quirrel left the house almost running and quickly went to the beetle's home, knocked the door impatiently and waited for it to open. The girl felt somewhat annoyed that they knocked on her door with such effusiveness, but all anger dissipated as soon as she knew who her visitor was.

"Blu-blu-blue knight! I say Quirrel. It’s a pleasure to see you. What brings you here?"

"Bretta, I don’t want to bother you but I would like to know if you will not have a bit of silvapleno or tragapenas. I need to make a tranquilizing infusion for Hornet"

Bretta's whole illusion vanished as soon as she heard the name of her neighbor. Of course, it had to be for Hornet, her beloved knight never visited her because he wanted to see her. That horned girl was always stealing all his attention. Maybe Hornet knew him from before, but they in that month spent together had much more intense experiences, that could not be erased, they were souls united by fate, they should be together. She grunted to herself and decided to hide her anger, she did not want to disturb her knight, so she composed her best smile.

"I have both herbs"

"Great! Could you give me a little?"

"I’ll do something better than that, I will prepare the tranquilizing infusion myself. Wait a bit, I’ll not take anything"

Bretta was a good girl, but now she was angry, so much. So that she was about to do something she should not, to prepare an infusion with both herbs together. The silvaplena and the tragapenas were quite powerful tranquilizing plants each on their own, but it was well known that it should never be taken together, or instead of being tranquilizers they would produce an effect of confusion and disorientation, the good thing is that this vanishes in a few hours.
Quickly the insect prepared the ill-fated drink and handed it to Quirrel, who after thanking her quickly left.

When she saw the pill bug move away, repentance began to emerge in Bretta, which then became worry and finally a burden of conscience. But what had she done! Hornet was not to blame for Quirrel's actions, it was not fair to make her pay, and what she had done could have dangerous consequences. Perhaps she should go to his house and stop them, but it would be a shame to admit that she had committed such a childish act as giving her that tea.
Finally spent so much time debating in her thoughts that by the time she realized, it was too late, surely Quirrel had given the tea to Hornet and there was nothing to do, luck was cast. Then frightened and worried, Bretta locked herself in her house, praying that nothing bad would happen.

Hornet was shaken gently and with kindness. As she was not sleeping so deeply she woke up easily. She felt somewhat dazed and lazy, but still got up on the bed and rubbed her eyes looking around, for the moment still did not remember the bat so she remained calm.

"How are you Hornet?" Quirrel asked.

"Eh? Hello Quirrel, what are you doing here? And what time is it? It seems a little late. I should not be sleeping at this time... Ah! I fell asleep after the old man was calming me because of the incident with... The bat! That vermin is still here!?"

"Don’t worry about that now, take this" he offered her the soothing tea "This will make you feel better, drink a little"

"But..."

"No buts, the vermin is not here, now we are alone, you and me and nothing will happen to you, just take this tea and let your worries go"

"Well… Okay"

Trusting blindly in her friend, Hornet drank from the infusion, it was quite sweet and had a very pleasant aroma, in addition to feeling that it warmed her body. Until now she had never taken that kind of herbs and she liked it a lot. She took her tea calmly, without hurrying while talking about trivial things with the pill bug, however, she was able to notice that he seemed to try to distract her by talking about pleasant things. Was he planning something with her? Perhaps, or it could be that he simply tried to move her thoughts away from the bats. She felt somewhat moved by this, it was good to have a friend like him.

Suddenly she felt somewhat sleepy. It was strange because she had just woken up. She began to lose the thread of Quirrel's words and it was difficult for her to understand what he was saying, even though she listened perfectly it was as if her brain could not process the messages. The insect began to look worried, she did not want him to worry, but she just could not react, she tried to say something but only incomprehensible babbling arose.
And suddenly a calamity occurred.

"HUNGRYYYYYYYYYYY!" There was a sharp screech.

The little bat suddenly appeared in the bedroom frantically flying while crying and growling, behind him appeared Hollow and Dan who tried to calm him down and get him out of the room. Quirrel, alarmed at Hornet's reaction to the sight of the little beast, turned to her and was quite surprised to see her so calm, in fact she looked as if she did not care about anything.

The girl saw the beast crying and screaming, thoughts were passing through her mind without being processed. She should be scared, but she simply was not afraid, in fact her thoughts were beginning to be confused, she knew she had to fear those creatures but could not remember why… apparently something had to do with her mother, in fact everything in his head was beginning to get confused. She knew everyone in the room, but she did not remember them. Were they good or bad?

For his part, meanwhile, Quirrel had managed to catch the offspring who screamed as if they were killing him while he kept struggling.

"Hollow controls your son!"

"..........!"

"Don’t come with excuses! You brought him here so you are responsible!"

".........."

"Quirrel can you understand Hollow too?" Dan asked surprised.

"Not at all, but more or less I guess what he might be saying"

"........" Hollow crossed his arms and looked around.

"Watch your mouth!"

In response Hollow just stared at him in astonishment, meanwhile, the child was still crying.

"Gyaaaaarggg! Hungryyyyyyy! Mommy hungryyyyyy!"

"Well, it's obvious what's wrong with him" Quirrel said. "He's hungry. Why have not you fed him? If I'm not mistaken there's some rotten egg cake in the kitchen"

"We offered it to him but he didn’t want to eat that" replied Dan sorry "What do the bats eat?"

"Don’t tell me that... Aagggg. We're going to have to go hunting for something to feed him, bats are hunters"

Quirrel looked at Hornet for a moment, she looked calm, as if the presence of the little beast did not care at all. That was a very good thing, however there was something in her attitude that was worrying him. Something was not right with her, it was as if she had his head in another world, as far as he remembered neither the silvaplena nor the tragapenas caused that effect. Had Bretta put something strange on the infusion? The best thing would be to go ask her.

However, that would have to wait, because the bat’s cries were already filling his patience, it was best to solve this matter as soon as possible, the problem is that he did not want to leave Hornet alone in that state.

"Dan, do you have any free time now?"

"Eh... Yes. Why do you ask?"

"I need you to take care of Hornet for a while while Hollow and I are going to hunt. Do you think you can?"

"Yes, no problem. I don’t think it's something difficult" he said looking at the girl who looked very lethargic, then frowned wondering "What kind of tea you gave her? My grandmother used to drink tea and she never got that way"

"I don’t know, just that has me worried, that's why I don’t want to leave her alone"

"Well don’t worry, I'll take care of her. Hornet has always taken care of me. It's time to return the favor"

"Thank you. Let’s go Hollow, to find something to feed your vermin"

The vermin seemed to have the ability to understand the words of others, because as soon as he heard that they were going to look for something to eat he fell silent and growled happily. Quirrel looked at him sternly and then sighed defeated. Apparently already at his young age this creature knew how to manipulate people, although this time he was going to forgive him, because food is a basic need and children should not go hungry.

After saying goodbye to Dan promising to return soon, Quirrel and Hollow left. The young pill bug during that time tried to start a conversation with Hornet, but this one had a look so lost that it seemed that she did not understand any words that were said. He tried to make her react in several ways, he even offered her some cake, but when he realized that she did not even want to look at it, he started to get alarmed.

Time began to seem eternal as he waited for the owners to return home, he paced back and forth impatiently while a thousand fatalistic ideas crossed his mind. What if the brew had burned Hornet’s brain? What if she was never the same again? What if she later got worse and died?

Because he was so focused on his crazy ideas, he did not notice the moment when Hornet got up from his place and approached him, he only noticed when it was too late.

Quirrel and Hollow returned home in record time. They had never taken so little to catch a prey, although in part it was due to Hollow's tremendous enthusiasm for the task. Motivated by his condition as a mother who had to feed his little one, he put all his effort into catching a prey. In fact Quirrel thought that he had exceeded himself in some moments. It was not necessary to use a soul spell to kill a tiny Tiktik that dies at the first blow, but he had to admit that it saved them a lot of time.

As soon as the small insect had died, the bat flung himself at it to begin eating it immediately. It must be said that the elders were perplexed with this. It was at that moment, for the first time the flying beast showed its voracious and terrifying nature, leaving aside its tenderness and innocence. Quirrel did not have a hard time imagining that creature a little more grown up devouring him. Then a chill ran down his back wondering if he was not digging his own grave.

But as soon as the Tiktik was consumed, the charm was broken. The bat licked and stretched his wings satisfied. He looked at his fake mother with gratitude and flew up to him where he was received with open arms. Then, with a grunt of satisfaction, he fell asleep. The child in Hollow's arms looked so sweet and harmless that the fierce scene they had witnessed almost seemed like a dream, but they knew it was not like that. That baby was a future predator and a very powerful one, they should be careful.

Finally they returned home tired, they expected to find everything in order like they left it, and be able to take care of Hornet. However when they opened the door and entered they saw with horror that everything was broken. There were scratch marks on the walls, broken slabs and tumbled chairs. It looked as if a fight had developed there. Quirrel felt his body go cold as terror flooded him, Hollow was so shocked that his son fell out of his arms.
The little creature had a pretty sharp awakening, so he got up growling to complain to his mother, but when he noticed the disaster that was in the house, he was so surprised as the rest.

"Hornet ..." Quirrel said worried, running around the house looking for his friend "Hornet! Hornet! Where are you! Hornet!"

"Qui... Quirrel..." There was a soft scream that came from the bedroom.

The pill bug followed by the vessel ran to the room. It looked a little better than the living room, it was also all messed up but at least there were no scratches. Then looking better they noticed Dan coming out from under the bed, the insect seemed to move with difficulty and pain.

"Dan! What happened? Are you okay? And Hornet? "Quirrel said, helping the young out of the bed.

"Oh... Be careful. I have a damaged leg"

"I'm sorry" Trying to be as careful as possible Quirrel sat Dan in bed "What happened Dan? Did someone attack you? Where is Hornet? "

"Hornet... She... She was the one who attacked me. She hurt my leg and left all this a disaster"

"Did Hornet all this?" He could not believe what he was hearing "But... She would never do something like that!"

"I know ... Something had that tea you gave her" Dan's voice sounded very affected, almost ready to break "I... I was so scared... It's horrible to see a friend attack you... I screamed at her to stop, I told her I was not an enemy but she... It was as if she did not see me, as if she was fighting against internal ghosts" At that moment some tears started to flow from his eyes "Hornet just shouted that they left her in peace, she did not want to hurt them, she was her friend... I don’t know what she saw in her mind, but with every scream of terror she beat me, until... When she broke my leg... I crawled under the bed and hid..."

At that point Dan could not take it anymore and burst into tears, Quirrel looked at him with compassion. It was normal that the poor pill bug was so affected, he was still a very young insect and from what he intuited, he was raised very overprotected. He was not used to suffering or danger.

The old pill bug was going to try to comfort him when another whimper surprised him. The little bat to see the insect crying had begun to feel sorry and had also started to mourn. And then seeing them all crying, Hollow had joined the drama (Of course his cry was soundless).

Quirrel grabbed his head, exasperated by the situation. He could not believe the turn things had made. How was it that everything had become so complicated? And it was all the fault of that little flying creature! To which he could not even lay hands on him without fearing to die devoured by his father. He sighed with regret and counted to ten to calm down, things were somewhat complicated but he could still handle the situation.

"Dan?" He tried to get the wounded's attention "Dan, calm down, listen to me"

"Eh... Eh?... I... I..."

"Don’t apologize, just try to calm down. I'll look for help, we'll treat your leg, everything will be fine, you just have to be calm, okay?"

There was so much assurance and kindness in Quirrel's voice that Dan calmed down instantly, and when Dan's crying ceased, the bat also fell silent and Hollow... well, he was silent from the start.

Quirrel satisfied went to the door to leave and as soon as he opened, the first thing he found was Bretta, who was with her hand raised, about to knock on the door. Then she looked at him shyly and waved.

The pill bug gave a low growl, annoyed by the situation. Now he had no time for the flirtations of his neighbor. He was in a delicate situation and had no time to lose.

"I'm very happy to see you Bretta but now I don’t have much time. I'm with a little problem at home and I need to fix it as soon as possible, so if you could leave please..."

"What kind of problem?" The worried beetle hurriedly asked.

"Eh... It's nothing you can help me with, so do not worry. I have everything under control anyway, so if you'll excuse me..."

Quirrel passed by Bretta's side and closed the door of the house to start walking away, but before he took two steps the beetle screamed.

"Is this because of Hornet? She's acting weird, right? "Quirrel stopped short at that and turned to look at her.

"You... How do you know it?"

"I... This... Well..." Finally the girl lowered her head distressed "This is my fault. I'm sorry!... The tea I gave you was a mixture of silvaplena and tragapenas. Those two herbs are two powerful tranquilizers that work very much on their own, but never..."

"You never have to drink them together because instead of reassuring it cause confusion and disorientation.. Some insects can even get violent when they find themselves in that state" Quirrel completed "But what have you done Bretta!"

"Sorry! It was not my intention to cause so many problems... I... I regret what I did..." The girl was about to cry "I just wanted... Well..."

"Look, it does not matter now" You could tell that the pill bug was extremely angry and made efforts to control himself "Now the important thing is to find Hornet but... Well. Look, if you want to repair a little the damage done I need you to help me with this. Inside the house I have a wounded pill bug, I need you to take care of him while I go to look for Hornet. Do you think you can do that?"

"Y-yes! Yes!" Finally screamed the beetle with determination "I'll take care of him, you... Go for her..." This last sentence the truth, she said with some sadness.

As soon as the insect had said those words, Quirrel ran away. Bretta looked at him sadly, wondering if her knight would be that worried if the problem was her and not Hornet. That situation made her feel depressed. She sighed trying to contain her crying and prepared to enter the house.

Chapter Text

Quirrel asked everyone he met on the streets if they had seen the girl in the red cloak. In the shops no one was helpful, some walkers said they had seen her but they ignored her and did not pay attention to where she went. According to what they said there was something about that insect that made her look dangerous and they did not want to risk it.

It was finally Elderbug who provided some useful information. As always the old bug was attentive to everything that happened near the bench in the middle of the road, in truth it seemed that he had nothing better to do all day. As he explained, Hornet passed by his side ignoring him and he did not want to talk to her, either because she had a strange murderous aura that intimidated him enough. But then he regretted not talking to her, maybe the poor girl was having some personal problems and needed to let off steam with someone.

The pill bug reassured him by explaining that it was better not to have spoken to her, because Hornet was not in a stable state of mind and could have been dangerous. This obviously aroused the curiosity of the old man, who wanted to know more about it, but Quirrel hurried to say goodbye to him because he had no time to chat, especially with Elderbug who was very talkative.

He had not gone far when a familiar grunt caught his attention. He turned to see and found Hollow who was running towards him, of course followed by the little vermin that for no reason separated from him. The pill bug looked at them a moment before speaking.

"What are you doing here Hollow? How is Dan? "

"....." Hollow began to do his typical mimicry that of course his friend could not understand.

"Aaaah! Hollow! You know I can’t understand your strange signs... Although it's also my fault for asking you and... Agggg! This is wrong. I'm not thinking clearly!" He covered his face with his hands feeling frustrated.

"Maybe I can lend a hand" said the pale king appearing subtly out of nowhere "Dan is fine, Bretta splinted his leg and took him to find a doctor. We locked the door of the house before we left and we throw the trash. Any questions?"

"Eh... Not any... So you came to help find Hornet because you were worried?"

Hollow nodded effusively, while his father looked away with his typical arrogant attitude.

"Yes, well... Hornet is the future ruler of Hallownest, it would be a real problem if something happened to her"

Quirrel only laughed inwardly at the attitude of the old monarch, seriously. Why was it so difficult for him to admit that he loved his daughter and that he was worried about her welfare? This Wyrm was a case. He had the intelligence of a great sage and the heart of a child, but now there was no time to question that. He urged his companions to follow him. According to what Elderbug had told him, Hornet had left the village in the direction of the Howling Cliffs, if they hurried they might reach her soon.

However, before arriving at their destination, they had to pass through the outskirts of Grimm's company. This was not pleasant for the eldest, but it was the shortest way to reach their goal. They almost ran through the place, but before they left the place completely, a deep and dark voice held them back.

"You are so hurry that you deny the greeting to a friend" said Grimm.

They had not really noticed him because of how fast they were going, but the bat was outside his tent, sitting comfortably in a chair in front of a lovely tea table, where there were all kinds of sandwiches. The mammal looked very relaxed drinking an herbal infusion as red as his eyes, while it was attended by some hooded insects dressed in their characteristic blue tunics.

"Daddy!" The little flying creature shouted towards his father.

"Ah! My dear child. I do not know how it is possible that you stretch hours seem endless years when your presence is missing"

In response, the boy rubbed against his father with sweet grunts of satisfaction. It was certainly a very sweet scene, but it was not the right time for that, which Quirrel did not take long to make notice.

"I find this father-son moment very touching, but now we don’t have time for that. We must leave. Although if you like, you can keep the child, after all it's your offspring, we should leave.."

The murderous look Grimm gave him left the pill bug frozen in fear. Had he offended him in any way? For his part the bat as if wanting to delay the agony, took the time to sip his tea before leaving the cup on the table and talk again.

"First of all, it is necessary to clarify that what lies before your eyes is no a worthy gentleman, if not a sweet maiden"

"Eh... Are you telling me your offspring is a girl?"

"Exactly"

"Gyaaaarggg" the girl confirmed with a grunt.

"And in the second place, what is it that is so urgent that it provokes such haste as to deny the meeting of a father with his daughter?"

"Eh... We just have a friend in trouble and we need to find her before she gets hurt and so..."

"Ah! It must be the creature dressed in crimson that wandered here a while ago. She was a glorious accumulation of terror. She seemed good fuel for the flame so I did not want to retain her, however if her existence is invaluable for you, I urge you to accelerate your steps, but not to act with imprudence, because you will have to be careful, a flame carrier wanders in the vicinity"

After that, Grimm was silent and with a sign told his daughter to return with her guardians, the little one of course obeyed and flew away with joyful grunts in her path.

The group resumed the march towards the Howling Cliffs. It was a tortuous ascent to the top, mainly for Quirrel, because Hollow thanks to the mantis claw could climb with relative ease. This is why the pill bug was the last to arrive and what he saw once was up, he did not like it at all.

Hornet lay stretched out on the floor in a state of lethargy, with a lost look and babbling unintelligible things, besides she looked very hurt, with some marks of burns on the visible parts of her body, although curiously the cloak was intact. What kind of magic had they put on that garment?

He looked for Hollow and found him with his nail held high, ready to attack his opponent, who was nothing less than one of the insects of Grimm's cult. He was small and wore the characteristic mask and tunic worn by everyone in his class, but he also carried a torch in his hands, in which an impressive red fire burned.

He managed to glimpse in the vicinity also Grimm’s daughter, who looked at the bug in a strange way, almost... Malevolent, that made him shiver.
Suddenly, the torch bearer threw his fireballs, Hollow dodged easily and threw himself at the bug, but he moved at an impressive speed dodging Hollow while laughing mockingly. Then with another movement just as fast, threw himself against the little one hitting him.

The vessel looked at him frustrated and ran towards him, but the insect took advantage of his ability to fly and went up more and more. He kept throwing more balls of fire while laughing like a maniac. He even burst into laughter when one of his flames managed to hit the little one. But the fun lasted little, because Hollow counterattacked with an accurate soul spell. This left the bug on the verge of collapse, however he stood up again and launched once again against Hollow, but this time the small could dodge and took the opportunity to bury his nail when he was near.

This last damage caused the torch bearer to fall unconscious. Then Hollow approached him with fury crackling in his eyes, anyone who touched his family would pay dearly and it was enough to see the state in which Hornet had been to know that the bug would have a very bad time. Quirrel thought Hollow would kill the insect, but something acted before he could even lay a hand on it.

The fire of the torch began to ascend by it until reaching the carrier. Then the body of the bug was set ablaze before the horror of those present. However, one of them was not frightened by this sight and before anyone could try to put out the flames, she threw himself against the insect ready to fulfill the duty that had been entrusted to her.

The little bat flew towards the pile of fire and without a doubt or repentance, began to devour the victim while it was still burning. You could see in the face of the creature a certain suffering, because she also burned while consuming the flesh, but did not stop for this and continued to swallow her prey until there was nothing left of it.

Exhausted, her skin and throat burned, she let out an agonized scream and out of nowhere the fire began to emerge from her. A crimson curtain wrapped around her while her faint sounds echoed on the rock walls and when the flames had gone out , they could see the creature intact, as if nothing had damaged her. Then she coughed slightly releasing small balls of fire in the process. Once her throat cleared, she gave a flirtatious snort and flew to Hollow, who received her somewhat stunned by the shock of the scene.

"Then ..." Quirrel said suddenly quite impressed "That's what the ritual is about. This is... Disturbing... Grimm is sacrificing his servants to feed his offspring"

"It's a demonic bat, you can not expect anything else from someone like him. It is just a heartless beast willing to use everyone to achieve his objectives"said the pale king appearing next to Quirrel "Although I can not deny that this worries me, if this kind of beast power spread, this could not only be the ruin for Hallownest, if not for any distant or near kingdom that is invaded"

"And what do you suggest we do?"

"There may be some information somewhere out there about these beasts and these blasphemous rituals that will allow us to find a way to get rid of them. For the moment we must continue with our work as tutors of this little one"

"Well, we should hurry to find information, if we become too fond of that creature, eliminating her will become very painful" said Quirrel with regret.

"Well, maybe we can keep her. She could integrate well with the family, considering that it is composed of a failed experiment, a princess without a kingdom, an explorer with permanent amnesia and the ghost of an old ruler, the truth a demonic bat fits very well with us"

"You must be kidding" Quirrel said with a face that the joke had not seemed at all funny.

"Obviously, yes dear friend, I just wanted to relax the situation a bit"

"Gyaaaaaaarg!" The mammal suddenly growled, pointing to the edge of the cliff.

They all looked where the little girl was pointing and they saw Hornet in horror. She was still confused and with a lost look staggering towards the cliff. She did not seem to realize what she was doing, if Hornet was well, she would be able to save herself from a fall like that, it would be enough to entangle her thread on some rock to stop her descent. But now she was not in her five senses and she did not even seem to understand where she was. She just looked everywhere with terror, as if she was fighting against invisible ghosts.

Suddenly, she made a bad move and lost her balance falling down. Quirrel, Hollow, and the pale king ran in vain trying to reach her, but it was impossible to save her from that situation. However, faster than all, the bat flew to the precipice and managed to catch the girl in full fall holding her clothes, however the little girl's strength was not enough to arise the older. So she did what she could she waved her wings as fast as she could and limited himself to slowing the long fall until she managed to deposit the princess safely on the floor. After that, the bat collapsed on top of her unable to move from exhaustion.

"Vermin!" Quirrel shouted, having no other way of referring to the creature.

Hollow was the first to descend and sick of worry rushed to check the two girls. Fortunately they both looked good. Hornet had apparently gone back to sleep, while his "daughter" lay leaning next to her panting exhausted. He hugged the little girl wanting to convey all his gratitude. Meanwhile his friend and his father came down and joined them.

"I can’t believe what happened" Quirrel said impressed "The vermin... She saved Hornet. That little seed of evil, daughter of that monster saved my best friend... Now how could I eliminate her if is necessary?"

The pale king also looked upset, despite all that could be said of him, he was a very grateful and honorable individual, he owed his daughter's life to that offspring and could no longer pretend to harm her, now they were in a serious problem .

Hornet walked through the caves to her home in Distant Village, next to her walked a couple of spiders, her best friends. They chatted cheerfully about some trivial topics while they were accompanying her home. It was a bit annoying that she could not go anywhere alone, because as a princess she should be protected until she reached an appropriate age, but she did not deny that she liked these funny girls, they always made her laugh with her crazy ideas.

Finally they left that tunnel that had traveled so many times and reached the underground lake. Then the weaver addressed respectfully to the young noble.

"Princess, can I help you up?"

"No, this time I want to try it myself"

"Oh, be careful, it's not easy"

"Don’t worry, I've practiced a lot, I'm sure I can do it right this time"

Using all her skill, Hornet threw her needle and stuck it in the trunk of the root on top of a house with such precision, that it left impressed her friends. Then using the thread tied to it, she pushed herself towards her weapon. She gave the spiders a triumphant look and they applauded enthusiastically.
It had gone perfect, she managed to get home without help, to be able to climb to the village was one of the minimum requirements that had been imposed to allow her to wander through Deepnest alone, and finally she was able to do it. She was crazy with joy for this but that joy vanished as soon as she tried to dig her needle out of the root.

He started tugging at his weapon with all her might but it was impossible, it was stuck too deep into the wood. What had she done?

She kept trying to withdraw the needle for a while until a huge figure appeared behind her and spoke to her.

"Hornet, what are you doing?"

The young girl turned to see and found her mother looking at her curiously.

"Mo-mo Mother! I... I think I have my needle stuck"

"Oh my girl, only these things happen to you" The huge spider leaned down, grabbed the needle firmly and with a single pull pulled it from the root "Try not to let this happen again, if you get to lose your weapon in enemy territory you will be in serious trouble. And how did this happen?"

"I threw it with great force, but I did it so that I could reach this place. I managed to climb to the village by myself. See? I got here by myself, I'm older, I can go out alone"

"I regret to say that I don’t agree with that statement" Herrah answered seriously "You still depend on others if to get here you must leave your needle so buried that you can’t get it out later. I'm sorry Hornet, you're not ready yet"

"But mom! I want to go out! I want to explore the world and know the surface!"

"The surface?! Of course not! That place is very dangerous. No one of our people comes to the surface. The deeper, the safer it is. Why do you think we have our territory here?"

"But mom, many insects live on the surface"

"Many?"

"Well, not many. But if some live up there, that means it's not that dangerous"

"Those who live above are fools or lovers of danger. Above live terrible beings like mice and bats that feed on insects"

"Mice? Bats? And are they very dangerous? "

"Well..." At that moment Herrah changed her threatening attitude to a more calm one "Pretty dangerous. But calm, they are not something that an experienced insect can’t handle" With that answer Hornet looked at her strangely, as if something in the whole situation do not fit. "Does something happens Hornet?"

"Eh... No... I don't know. Something here feels weird. If you talk to me about bats, should not you try to terrorize me with them? Should not ell me they are horrible and ruthless? That they devour the insects little by little by dismembering them? Should not you tell me about their voracious appetite and their lack of mercy? Or the murders that they commit just for pleasure?”

"Where do you get those creepy ideas from, my girl?"

"I... I don’t know... Its... Weird... It's like it's something I heard a while ago... of you. Are you sure you're not changing the story?"

"How am I going to change it if it's the first time I talk to you about bats?"

"Well... Obviously you can’t. But it's weird, it's like I remember this scene differently, but that can’t be because it's the first time I live this"

"Maybe you need to rest a little. Come. Let's go home. The cook prepared a very tasty ste. Another day we will resume the conversation about allowing you to go out alone"

"Ok mom…"

Hornet opened her eyes and saw her whole world spinning. She placed herself on her side trying to sit up slowly, but the dizziness she felt made her lose her balance, she could have fallen off the bed but Quirrel caught her opportunely.

"Hornet, are you okay?"

"Eh... I..." She looked at his friend and a twinge of pain pierced her temples "My head hurts and everything is spinning. What's wrong with me? I don’t remember anything, everything is very confusing"

"You drunk some herbs that did you wrong and you fainted" explained the pill bug without going into details "But the effect is over and you should be fine. Anyway rest a while, the headache and dizziness will cease little by little"

"Okay. I'm hungry. Is there something to eat?"

"Wow, if you're already hungry you're definitely better. We have some rotten egg cake. Dan came to leave it a while ago"

"Dan? Oh. I see you already knew him"

"Yes, it's a very nice guy, although it makes me feel a little strange. It's like I knew him before... But well, that doesn’t matter, you just rest"
Suddenly Hornet caught a glimpse of a couple of small heads peeking out of the door frame, one was his brother and the other was a curious creature.

"Quirrel... That which is there… Is... A bat?" She said, pointing to the baby.

"Yes-yes, it's a bat" replied somewhat nervously "Are you okay? Do you want me to take her out?"

"Hey? Why do you ask me that? Is there a problem with that thing? And why is there a bat in the house? "

"Hollow made some strange deals and now we're forced to take care of that animal for a while. Are you sure you're okay? Don’t you feel scared? "

"Should I?" Hornet replied with a frown. "Quirrel, you're acting very strange"

"It's nothing, don’t worry" he said standing up "Now you just stay here resting. I'll bring you some cake, wait for me"

The insect left the room and made a sign to Hollow indicating that he could enter. The little one ran to embrace his sister being followed by the little flying girl, who imitating her "mother", also embraced the crossbreed. Quirrel stayed a few moments in the doorway watching the scene without believing what he saw, at that moment the Pale King was present at his side.

"It's incredible, is not it?" Said the monarch. "A few hours ago she could not stop trembling at the sight of that creature and now she receives her hugs"
"Yes... it's really amazing" answered Quirrel "How did you do it?"

"I just modified the memory that caused the phobia" then frowned "I can not believe that Herrah was so gross as to scare her to the point of creating a trauma. I heard that Hornet was very naughty and stubborn as a child, but I think it was not right that she commit such outrages with her. If I had been present..."

"But you was not," interrupted Quirrel.

"Well, anyway" the king continued somewhat uncomfortable "Modifying the memory of someone is not something that I like or that I feel right, but in this case it was necessary"

"So Hornet was cured of her chiroptophobia forever?"

"The truth is not. The modified memories eventually go back to how it were originally, but while that happens, the coexistence with the vermin will at least make her lose her fear of the little bat. Of course, if she runs into another bat, she will most likely faint. But since she will not have to deal with other bats she'll be fine, just keep her away from Grimm"

"I can do it"

Quirrel finally went to the kitchen where he cut a piece of cake and put it on a plate, besides that he prepared some tea (this time a normal tea without any strange herbs). While serving the brew, a certain thought assaulted his mind. Then he turned to the worm that was floating nearby and asked.

"My king, excuse the question but... Why did you bother to modify Hornet’s memories? As I recall, you said it was quite complicated and even dangerous"
The king considered a few moments before answering.

"Well... I know it was risky to change the memories. If it is not done well it can generate traumas or other extra problems. However, I fully trusted my abilities to do this well. Besides... I did not want to see Hornet terrified again... It's strange, when I saw her frightened in your arms I felt very bad. I just wanted her to stop crying, I wanted to protect her and see her calm again, it hurt my heart to have her in that state”

"Majesty" said Quirrel with a smile. "That... It's called paternal instinct"

Chapter Text

Bretta wandered through the uninhabited streets of Dirtmouth looking for a certain girl in a red cloak who until now she had not been able to find. According to the instructions that Elderbug had given her, early that morning, the girl had left her house followed by her little brother and that strange flying pet that was with them. Then an earwig intercepted them and all together had gone to the old part of Dirtmouth.

The reality was that although Dirthmouth had only a few inhabitants, the number of houses there was huge. The large housing area that was not in use was called the old part, because having no inhabitants, there was no one to maintain the houses or the streets. That area was just the furthest from the road that led to the underground kingdom and there was nothing that could be of interest there, since no one ever visited it. What would Hornet be doing in that place? She did not take long to find out.

A series of noises of blows and angry screams echoed nearby, the beetle somewhat frightened by these wanted to follow her first instinct that urged her away from the site, but she was sure that among the voices she heard was Hornet's and it was really important that she talk to her.

So it was that she timidly approached the site, where the growing sounds made her more and more convinced that a battle was being fought in that place. Soon she was able to confirm her suspicions. Turning a corner she found a wide field, where everything indicated that there had once been a park, although now of that there was nothing left.

In a bench that had stood the test of time just because it was built of stone, sat Hollow and the little flying beast that always walked with him. Both looked very agitated watching carefully the battle that was happening in front of their eyes. Hornet was in the middle of the park fighting against a skilled earwig, who turns out to be a dign opponent for Hornet

The warrior in red tried to maintain a combat at a distance, throwing her needle and making blows with her thread, while the other had a fairly complete hand-to-hand combat style, as she could attack with both the stinger she carried, and with the pincers natural that had in the tail, which made an attack by the back difficult.

Bretta watched the scene worried, the earwig seemed to have murderous intentions against Hornet. Then she gave a look at the little ones who were on the bench and the truth these did not look at all worried, even they seemed to enjoy the fight. Hollow waved his arms with silent truncheons; while the bat growled with all that her lungs gave her.

Suddenly she could see that Hornet managed to entangle her thread in one of the earwig’s legs causing her to fall, then taking advantage of the fact that she had her on the ground, she threw her needle. However showing an impressive ability, the earwig grabbed the weapon with the clamp of her tail stopping the collision. The girl in red pulled the thread that was tied to the needle to retrieve it, however her opponent had such strength in the tail that she could not snatch the weapon, now she was forced to approach.

Undaunted by having lost her fighting tool, Hornet grabbed her thread and ran to the insect that was waiting with her weapon ready to nail her in the slightest careless, however the princess instead of trying to reach her needle, jumped on the body of the earwig and landed on the other side of her, then began to run around her.

The earwig watched Hornet run around without understanding that pointless action, but everything became clear to her when she began to feel a certain pressure on her body, it was the thread of her opponent, as she ran around holding the strand, she had started to wrap her. The creature panicked at being trapped and tried to sit up, but it was too late, the thread was holding her.

The earwig in her thread prison tried to roll and move in some way to escape from Hornet, because she was approaching her with a look so cold and terrifying that the poor bug was about to cry. Finally the girl in red was in front of her enemy and with an attitude of superiority said:
"Release it"

It was not necessary to repeat it twice. The earwig opened her clamp and dropped the needle, which was quickly picked up by its owner. The captive hoped that after this act of cooperation she was released, however a kick in the side made her clear that this would not happen. Suddenly she felt a pressure on her body, Hornet had one of her legs on top of her and was crushing her slightly. The warrior pointed her needle at the defeated and pressed her throat.

"Give me a good reason not to kill you"

"You don’t..."

"You wanted to kill me, you wanted to see my blood watering the floor. Why should not I kill you?"

"It was... fo ... The reward... But... Ah!" Hornet pressed her foot harder against the body of the earwig causing her enough pain.

"Speak clearly!"

"I... No... That..."

"Ho Hornet?" A voice suddenly spoke behind the warrior's back.

Hornet turned and found Bretta's sturdy figure trembling in her place and looking at her with fear. She frowned and nerves attacked her. But what a bad moment for her neighbor to appear, just when she was giving a lesson to a crazy woman who appeared out of nowhere to try to kill her. Explaining the situation would be complicated, especially since she herself did not know why everything had happened. But something had to be done, she did not want them to start seeing her as a monster as happened in the City of Tears. It were enough problems so that in Dirtmouth they also started to fear her. So she composed her most friendly face and with a smile that looked surprisingly natural, greeted the new arrival.

"Hello Bretta! What brings you here?"

"Eh... This... Nothing important" She was definitely surprised by the radical change of attitude in the crossbreed and still somewhat terrified by what she had seen "No-it's not important... I... I don’t want interrupt you... I can-I can come back later..."

"Don’t go! Don’t leave me with this psycho!" The earwig shouted from her place but she was silenced by a kick from Hornet.

"Ahem... Don’t worry, I have time, I had finished my business"

"Heeeeeeelp!"

"No-no-no matter, se-seriously" Bretta was getting more and more nervous "I just wanted to ta-talk something wi-with you but I can wait"

"Heeeeeeeeeelp" The earwig was still shouting.

"I insist, you can tell me what you want now" said Hornet, taking her needle in a very disturbing way.

Actually Hornet had taken her weapon to intimidate the captive and keep her silent. However Bretta had interpreted it as that she was threatening her and that if she did not speak she would attack her. The poor beetle was dying of fear. She had actually gone to apologize for having drugged her the other day. She did not know Hornet very much, but according to Quirrel she was a good girl. She trusted his words and wanted to think that she would be forgiven, but with the scene she had seen she feared for her life. If her neighbor found out what she had done to her It would end with that needle stuck in the bowels.

However, it was late, she was forced to speak, Hornet was threatening her with her needle, if she spoke she was dead, if she did not, she was dead too.
Oh terrible destiny for the poor maid, she would succumb to the cruel beast without ever having drunk of the honey of love. She hope gods had pity of her and give her a second chance. But nevertheless she accepted her fate, if it was the end, she would confront it, and devote her last thoughts to her beloved blue knight.

"I just came to apologize for the other day" Hornet looked at her somewhat confused "Sorry for... Sorry for drug you... And all that stuff... You know... With silvaplena and tragapenas tea..."

"Ah, so that is" the warrior replied calmly "Don’t worry, I can clearly see that you are sorry and I forgive you for that"

"I am also sorry! Forgive me too!" The scandalous earwig screamed again.

"You shut up" Hornet replied.

The captive was going to reply but a hand in her mouth prevented it. She turned her eyes towards the owner of the limb and found a small horned insect that signaled her to keep silent.

The creature remained silent as indicated, but did not because the child told her, if not because of the glacial fear that caused the being that was behind him, that strange flying thing covered in black hair, without antennae and with membranous wings.

The flying beast looked at her in a disquieting way as she licked up. Was that thing wanted to eat her? He knew that under normal circumstances she could kill that creature without problems, but now she was tied and unable to defend herself.

For his part, Hornet ignored all the drama that was happening behind her back and limited her to talking with Bretta in a friendly way.

"As I told you, you are forgiven. I see your repentance and I know you won’t do it again, you are a good girl"

"No... I'm not!" Bretta shouted suddenly "I... I was angry and I wanted to hurt you, that's why I sent you that tea. I'm not a good person, I'm terrible"

"Well, we all get carried away by the passions from time to time. It’s normal that... Vermin stop right now!" She shouted suddenly frightening Breta and the bat that was on top of the earwig with her jaws open.

"Gyaaaaaargg?"

"Yes, I am talking to you! What did I tell you about trying to eat people?"

"Gyaaaaaargg!"

"Con’t come to me with tantrums! I already told you that if we don’t tell you that you can eat it, you don’t eat it! Right Hollow? "

"......" The little one just pointed with his thumb down.

"How did you tell her she could eat it?"

"....."

"I know she tried to kill me but that doesn’t mean I want her dead" The earwig sighed with relief at hearing these words "Also, remember that we are educating Verm so she does not become a monster devours people. If she doesn’t learn the difference between people and inferior creatures, any day she will try to eat Elderbug, or Dan or Sly. If she eats Sly where would we buy?... Although it would not be a bad idea to let her taste Zote"

The look Bretta and the earwig gave her was indescribable. Was that strange kid really dangerous? And how could she treat her with such confidence?
Hornet finally considered that it was best to free the earwig, with the fright that had already caused her would surely be enough to she never come closer again. You could tell she was a skilled warrior but a bit cowardly. So with a slight pull Hornet loosened the thread with which she had retained the bug, this as soon as she was free, fled as fast as she could.

The bat when she saw what she considered a meal away from her, felt angry and growled trying to look fierce. Then she spat out a tiny ball of fire that went out before it reached the floor and flew behind Hornet, where she spread his wings trying to imitate the elegant and sophisticated poses of her father. Of course none of this impressed the warrior.

"What the hell are you supposed to be doing?"

"Gyaaaaaaaaargggg!"

"...." Hollow raised his hands imitating the jaws of a monster.

"Are you trying to look terrifying? But you look adorable!"

These words offended the little creature who flew away absolutely outraged, of course her "mother" ran after her.

"Children…" Hornet said shaking his head "Anyway, what were we Bretta?"

Bretta flinched at being named. Then she seemed to remember her situation and fear again arose in her. Not even the fact that Hornet had already told her that she forgave her reassured her.

"I'm sorry for having drugged you. I was angry and I feel very bad about it. But everything is fixed so I leave" she said hastily before turning around to leave as quickly as possible.

"Wait!" Hornet yelled, freezing the girl in her place immediately.

"I want you to know that I... understand what you're going through and partly understand what made you do what you did"

Bretta looked down in embarrassment and answered.

"No, you would never understand what I feel"

"Of course yes! I know that jealousy can lead us to do terrible things, my mother used to tell me that kind of stories" Hornet looked down, talking about her mother still hurt her “Your jealousy over Quirrel made you act that way. I feel something similar. It hurts the idea of him going away from me and I suppose it would also tempt me to do some unpleasant things to avoid it"

Hornet looked up again and met Bretta's eyes that were staring at her in terror, she had even turned pale.

"E-e-that..."

"Bretta? Is something wrong?

"Ho-ho how do you know... How do you know I feel something for Quirrel?"

Now it was Hornet who paled. It dawned on her that she had talked too much. For all it was already a fact that Bretta was in love with Quirrel, but she did not know they knew.

"Wel... This... I..." Finally she gave up and decided to tell the truth "I read your diary, sorry Bretta"

"Y-y-y-you what-you read my diary!"

"I swear it was not with bad intention! It was an accident!"

Bretta shrunk in her place and covered her face as she struggled not to drop some tears that appeared on her face.

"Well, I guess I deserve it. Laugh, make fun of me! Sure you must think I'm ridiculous for writing all those stupid things... But it's always been like that, when we all lived in Dirtmouth they always bothered me, I'm used to it"

"Bretta, I've never thought you're ridiculous"

"Don’t try to make me feel better... I know that inside you, laugh at me. I'm sure that when you read my diary you thought: Look how silly! She has air in her head!"

"No Bretta, I... When I read your diary, the only thing I thought was... How beautiful she writes"

"What?" The startled beetle raised her head to look at her neighbor.

"I'm serious, at first I didn’t think it was a diary. It seemed more like an adventure novel and I enjoyed reading it a lot. You're a wonderful writer! You should consider becoming professional, your way of narrating and the feelings that you put in each word are wonderful and... I swear that if you publish a novel I will be the first to buy it"

"Wow...." Bretta blushed slightly "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever been told, I... A writer? Do you really think it would be possible?"

"Of course! You have a lot of talent. You can do it!"

The beetle was about to say something else, but at that moment they were interrupted by a gasp and a few quick steps. Quirrel came running to the place followed by Hollow and the little bat.

"Hornet! This is urgent! You... oh no, Bretta. "

And as if it were magic, suddenly all the doubts and the guilt of the beetle vanished and she only had eyes for Quirrel, whom she began to look with adoration in that way that so bothered the pill bug. The situation also made Hornet feel somewhat uncomfortable, so he opted to intervene.

"Hello Quirrel, what's wrong? Did you want to tell me something?"

"Oh yeah! You gotta see this!"

Quirrel pulled out a poster he had with him and showed it to Hornet, who after reading it widened her eyes, unable to believe what she saw.

"THEY HAVE PRICEED MY HEAD! WHY!? WHO?"

"As far as I could see" Quirrel began to explain "It was the public workers' guild of City of Tears that put this reward"

"But what do they have against me? Why do they want me dead? I don’t think I caused any scandal lately, even when I defeated that pair of thugs I was not declared a criminal"

"I suspect it's because of the incident with Dan"

"The incident with Dan?"

"Yeah well..." Quirrel had a hard time talking about this "When you were drugged, you got pretty violent. Do you remember we told you about that?"

"Yes"

"And as you will know, during that period you attacked Dan and broke his leg"

"Yes, I still feel very bad about that"

"Well, it turns out that his family was not very happy with this and they have declared you a threat, so they want to eliminate you. As you know, most of the public workers of the City of Tears are cockroaches and these are very close. Although Dan is not a cockroach is part of his family and if someone hurts his family, he is in serious trouble. So

"It can’t be! But I didn’t do any of this on purpose! It was all an accident... I would never hurt Dan. "Hornet's face was sad at that moment, but soon she reawakened and showed determination. "This does not stay like this. I'll go talk to them!"

"Eh... Hornet, wait, I don’t think that's a good idea, you're not a appeciated person in the city, they even blocked the stagnation to make sure you don’t get there"

"It can’t be... Then with more reason I must go! This matter of reward must be the reason why the cowardly earwig just tried to kill me. If I don’t do something they will keep coming hunting bounty and I’ll never rest"

"Well, you're right in that, but..."

"Well, we're going to the city, we'll have to take the long way through the Forgotten Crossroads. Let's go!"

After that, Hornet no longer heard reasons, she simply set course for the city, of course his little brother and Quirrel followed her.

Bretta sighed deeply as she watched the group move away. Her beautiful blue knight again departing distant lands, ready to perform the protective work that his position demanded. And as always, the only person who he cared was Hornet and she... She could not even hate her, Hornet was a good person, maybe something violent and ruthless but good.

At that moment she blushed remembering the words she had said, that she could be a great writer. Would it be true? Did she the ugly, bored, ridiculous and untalented Bretta had something good to show? She did not seem to have said it just to earn her appreciation. At that moment the beetle made a decision, she would try, she would write a great story out of her heart and try to publish it, everyone would find out about the great world she had to show.
After a while, the Hornet’s group managed to get to City of Tears, where everything seemed normal, there was the same traffic as always, the same annoying street vendors and the same endless rain that made the city so famous.

However there was something unusual about the place, the presence of numerous cockroaches hanging around that did not seem to be performing their usual maintenance and cleaning, rather they were watching.

Suddenly, one of these bugs put his eyes on Hornet and his gaze hardened. Then he ran to one of his companions and began to whisper something in her ear while pointing to the warrior, the cockroach that received the information proceeded to do the same that her partner and also he told the discovery to another.

This was how the information was spread until all the insects were aware. After that, setting in motion a kind of previously conceived plan, they began to surround Hornet's group while pointing their nails at them. The warrior, realizing this, frowned and without being intimidated spoke:

"What is this supposed to mean?"

"Silence monster! How dare you come here after what you did to Dan? You have damaged one of our people and that is something unforgivable" replied a cockroach in a very aggressive tone.

"That was just an accident" Hornet said calmly. "I never intended to harm Dan in any way possible"

"Silence! It's too late to make excuses. You're not welcome here! Go and don’teven think about approaching Dan again. In fact we have forbidden him to leave the city, so he won’t have any chance to meet you"

"That is unfair!"

"Everything will be done to keep him safe until we take care of you"

"Mom! I tell you she's not dangerous! "

Speaking of the King of Rome, just at that moment appeared Dan. He had a bandaged leg, which in addition to being a bit stiff was perfectly functional, in fact the damage done by Hornet was not so serious, but nobody else thought so. Above all the adoptive mother of the pill bug, who at that moment approached with an aggressive face.

The mother cockroach walked in front of her son, while the latter tried to stop her by grabbing her by the arm, but the difference in strength between these two was very evident, because while the child was dragged, the older one walked as if she did not feel the opposition of her son.

The sturdy insect stood in front of Hornet and looked at her severely. She was a bit taller than the warrior and she was strong, although that did not mean she was good fighting. After all, she looked more like the kind of insect that was had dedicated her life to raise children that to learn the art of combat. But Hornet knew very well that mothers can be terrible when it comes to protecting their offspring, so it was best to seek dialogue. In addition, that cockroach had the appearance of being a kind of matriarch, as all others looked at her with a lot of respect. If Dan was the son of nothing less than the leader of the cockroaches, it was not surprising that they all reacted so drastically to the incident.

"So you're the wretch that hurt my child" said the lady with an unfriendly tone.

"Mom! Don’t talk to her like that, she is a good person, she has helped me a lot "

"Shut up Dan, let the adults talk"

"I'm almost an adult already! I'm just missing my last molting"

"And until you have it, you'll still be a child, now go do your stuff. You did not have to clean the library?"

"Go Dan, I'll be fine" Hornet told him, making a friendly gesture.

The somewhat doubtful pill bug chose to listen to her friend and away from the place. At the moment when Dan was lost sight of the matriarch stood in front of Hornet and said authoritatively:

"Don’t even talk to him! You are prohibited from contacting him!"

Hornet was already annoyed by the overprotective attitude of this mother, no wonder that poor Dan was so insecure and shy. She wanted to tell her a few things, but Quirrel's subtle touch on her back made her react. She looked at her partner and he shook his head indicating that he had better follow a more conciliatory route.

"Look, madam, I don’t intend to harm Dan. In fact I have a lot of appreciation for him, it was a simple accident before and I promise it won’t happen again"

"Well, I don’t believe in promises made by savages! You are the red beast! The creature that everyone fears around here, you are definitely a public danger and I can’t allow you to wander near my child. I promised my dear friend Danira that I would take care of her son and that is what I have been doing all these years"

Suddenly there was a sound of something crashing to the floor, turning to see they noticed that a dump that was nearby was turned. For a moment they thought they saw the figure of a transparent worm watching the scene with an expression of utter surprise, but after blinking, that strange vision disappeared. No one said anything, doubtful whether others would have seen the same.

"What was that?" Asked the matriarch "For a moment I thought I saw... Bah! It must have been my imagination. Lester, please get up and clean all that please"After that command, one of the cockroaches that surrounded the two ladies went to the dump to fix the small mess "Well, as I was saying, you are an absolute threat, the beast that everyone fears and for the sake of Dan and other insects too, I can’t allow you to step on the City of Tears again. But since I can’t stop Dan from leaving here, to keep him safe the best thing is to eliminate you. We put a reward for your head but it seems that has not given results yet, so I think the best thing is that we eliminate you right now "

After saying those words, all the cockroaches took an offensive attitude. The warrior took a look around and could see from the postures of the insects that the fighting levels were quite variable. Some bugs seemed to not even know how to take a weapon correctly, while others looked quite trained.

The number of opponents was immense, but she was in a position to defeat them, at least if she received the help of Quirrel and Hollow was sure she could do it. The problem was that she did not want to hurt Dan's family. Besides that if she unleashed all his power, probably would begin to run even more rumors about her violent and dangerous nature. Perhaps then the governor of the city would be forced to intervene and more bounty hunting would go for her. Definitely that would not be any good.

She was convinced that it would be best to flee, when a small shadow flew before his eyes. The flying beast interposed between her and the attacking cockroaches and threw a tiny ball of fire that was quickly drowned by the endless rain that fell in the City of Tears. She definitely could not use his fire to intimidate the bad guys, so the little beast was placed on the floor and taking her most threatening attitude she could, snarled at the attackers.

"Gyaaaaaargggg! Fear me!"

Obviously given her small size and her childlike appearance, the creature looked more adorable than terrifying. In fact the cockroaches did not hesitate to make it notice.

"Awwww... What a cute thing"

"Hahaha, what a funny baby. Where did this tender child come from?"

"What a weird creature, but it's adorable"

The bat was upset to hear all those comments, she was not supposed to be tender, she wanted to be terrifying, like her father. Then looked at Hornet who was trying to contain the laughter about the situation.

"Oh little vermin, I already told you that you are more adorable than terrifying"

This comment seemed to offend the little girl, who extremely outraged shouted.

"Gyaaaaaaaarggg! Aunt Horny ugly! Gyaaaaarrgg!" And after letting go of those words, she flew away.

"Vermin?" Hornet said, worried to see her go alone to the city. "Vermin! Verm! Wait, don’t go!"

But there was no case, the little girl flew far into the crowds of the city, of course Hollow went after her. That raised Hornet's stress levels through the roof. Having Hollow unguarded was already quite serious, the last time he was left alone he had an encounter with a demonic bat, maybe with what mess he would come out now, especially now that he had a girl under his care. At least she should not fear that they burned the city, with that constant flow of water it was impossible ... Although with Hollow you never knew.

She decided to ignore the cockroaches, his brother and the flying beast were more important. So she threw her needle into one of the buildings and using her thread in the usual way she escaped from her attackers losing herself among the multitude of insects that roamed the city.

The matriarch was furious at the escape of the number one enemy of the city. She ordered all her subordinates to find her and destroy her. Soon a crowd of legs was heard splashing in the endless city water, mobilizing to find the fugitive.

And in the midst of all that fuss was Quirrel, who had simply watched the whole scene in silence. Once he was alone, he looked up at the sky letting raindrops hit him in the face and said.

"Please, tell me this can’t get worse"

What the poor insect did not know was that nearby, a strange insect carrying a torch would soon complicate matters further.

Chapter Text

The eternal rain fell on the body of the little bat irritating her more than she already was. Stupid water that put out her fire! Sh waited for so long to obtain her powers and now it turns out that they were weak and useless in damp environments. Why had she taken so much trouble to participate in her father's ritual if she was only going to receive pathetic powers? With what it had hurt to eat the first flame she felt her efforts were not worth it.

She saw the insects that roamed the square and decided to try something. She hid herself stealthily behind a signage pole and when a cricket approached where she was, she suddenly came out with the most terrible roar that she was able to compose.

The cricket got a little scare for the suddenness of the action, but this was later overcome giving way to a growing curiosity about the strange creature that had to the front, that although it was rare, it did not look dangerous.

The vermin saw with frustration that the insect did not seem to fear her, although she struggled to look terrible. Then she flew and hid in another corner to repeat the action with equal results.

It did not matter what she did, nobody feared her, she only got looks of surprise, curiosity or tenderness, each time she was more frustrated. She was not supposed to be pretty! She wanted to be terrifying, just like her father, a fire queen, someone to whom they all bowed and trembled, not someone everyone wanted to caress (although she was not going to deny that she liked to be consented).

Suddenly, more by instinct than by anything else, she sensed the presence of someone, looking over her shoulder she found her "mother" standing there in the middle of the rain, in his eternal silence that she knew so well observing her with attention. He extended his arms to her and told her to come back with him.

The bat looked at him angrily. Did he really think he was going to fix everything with a hug? Of course not! But she still flew to Hollow quietly. The little one was calmer now that he saw his "daughter" come back with him, so he let his guard down and stood with his arms outstretched waiting for her. However when the creature was about to reach him, instead of allowing herself to be embraced, she rushed against Hollow's horns and started biting one of them expressing her annoyance.

The bites of the vermin did not hurt, but the movement made Hollow’s mask begin to feel loose, if it fell, his shade would be released and having so many insects around, that would not be good, so he began to despair trying to catch up the bat.

For her part, the child only bit oblivious to the problems that could cause her actions, until suddenly felt a pair of hands that curled around her body and squeezed firmly, perhaps too much, it almost hurt.

Finally she released Hollow and turned to the stranger who was squeezing her, she was going to growl at him, but as soon as she met Hornet's furious eyes she was unable to say anything.

"BUT WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS TO YOU!" The warrior shouted at her.

"Gy-gy, Gyaarg?"

"Verm! Don’t ever escape like that again! And don’t bite Hollow, he has not done anything to you!" The little girl lowered her eyes, terrified by Hornet's furious tone "Seriously, today you've behaved really badly"

"......."

"Verm wants to be terrifying? And why the hell does she want something like that? "

If the little bat had been more skilled in the words, she would have explained that she wanted to impose respect and bend the world, because from her earliest childhood her father had instilled in her those ideas. She was being raised to be a fire queen whom everyone would fear, whose wishes would be orders for all those around her. But due to her lack of language, she could only answer.

"I ... I'll be like daddy"

"Be like your father..." Hornet sighed, calming down a bit. "And being like your father is such a great thing?" At the look of disgust that the little girl put on her, she hastened to add "I don’t know him, but simply not I can imagine what is good to be feared, nobody would want to approach you or play with you, they would all go away and they would not talk to you. Being scary is not good, believe me, I have proven it in my own flesh"

The little girl looked at her not entirely convinced, but she supposed that she could not understand her. They did not know how great and great her father was, they would never understand why she wanted to be like him. But she decided not to complain, Aunt Hornet was also scary when she got angry, only that she lacked elegance.

At that moment, even with the constant fall of the rain, they perceived a commotion that grew with every second. An army of cockroaches approached them pushing without any care to the passers-by who walked by the place. They did not need more to undertake the retreat, they had already recovered Verm. They had nothing else to do there.

They had not been running for too long when a grunt from the bat stopped them.

"What's up Verm?" Hornet asked when she saw that the little girl was not moving "We have to go"

"Gyar gyar gyar gyar!" Verm shouted altered.

"......." Hollow knew exactly what was happening to the offspring and with some mimics he explained it quickly.

"One of those bugs with a torch you told me about? Hollow, we don’t have time for that. We are pursued by the forces of public order, another day when we have fixed misunderstandings we return by the flame"

Unfortunately for Hornet, these explanations were not enough for Verm. For her it was more important to eat the next flame. So ignoring the older one, she turned around and flew directly towards the cockroach army, obviously as the problems they had were with Hornet and not with her, they ignored her.
The warrior grabbed her head exasperated by the situation. Had it been for her she would have abandoned the creature, but they had already explained the complications they would have if something happened to her. So she had no choice but to run towards her enemies .

Although at first the cockroaches were emboldened by their number and Hornet ran away from them like a frightened puppy, as soon as they saw her change their attitude and approach them without fears or doubts, they immediately cowed and froze in place, believing that the horrible beast of the rumors was going to kill them. Everyone closed their eyes and embraced, wanting to console themselves in their last minutes of life. But the seconds passed and nothing happened, Hornet passed by them without even looking at them and they did nothing to stop her, they were very inept guards.

"When the boss finds out about this, she's going to kill us" whined one of the cockroaches.

However, they did not waste any more time and ran again after the girl in red.

The mammal flew through the city very attentive to her senses, looking for the source of the power she felt. She could not be wrong, Grimm had trained her almost since she had learned to fly to detect the flame of the ritual. She looked around without finding any trace of the bug she was looking for, although after meditating a little, probably the grimmkin was inside a building, if he was in the rain the flame would go out, or he would be so busy protecting the fire that he could no fight.

She took a few more turns until she noticed a red glow through the window of a building, that was the signal she was looking for. So without further delay she entered the building. Hollow and Hornet managed to see her enter and a chill ran down their backs, the place that Ali entered was nothing less than the library, a place with a lot of material to burn and just where they had sent Dan to work.

They entered the building and shook themselves in the hall taking away excess water. almost every building in the city had a room for the visitors to dry. They did not delay too much in that, they were in a hurry, that's why they still dripped when they went into the construction.

When they arrived at the great room where the shelves were full of books, the first thing they saw was the librarian, who was a fly, flying around the room chasing the bat with a broom.

"Verm come here!" Hornet yelled.

As soon as she heard the crossbreed’s voice, the little girl threw herself at her seeking protection, but the strength with which she did this was such that she practically collided with Hornet and threw her to the ground. For her part, the fly flew to them furious at the uproar that the breeding had caused.

"Out of here! This place is not for playing!"

"Ho-ho Hornet!" Said a voice in the heights.

The library had an open corridor on the second floor from where you had a privileged view to the first floor. Dan just at that moment was cleaning the upper floor and listening to a familiar voice, he looked out. He did not expect to find the warrior there and he wanted to think positively, maybe she had already made peace with his mother and now she came to see him, so he gladly prepared to go down, however, before he walked down the hall to the stairs, a certain suspicious individual got in his way.

A strange masked insect carrying a huge torch with a radiant red fire appeared before him. Dan recoiled in intimidation at the individual, there was a lake in his eyes that gave him a bad feeling, there was too much malice in those eyes and the way he waved the torch seemed dangerous. He tried not to make any sudden movement to avoid irritating the bug, but this did not need provocation, he was there to have fun and there was nothing more fun than burning insects.

The fire of the torch burned more strongly and Dan began to run for his life, but did not get very far, because the only staircase to go down the second floor was just on the side that the Grimmkin was blocking. The small pill bug was cornered and without exit, with his attacker about to burn him. He closed his eyes fearing what would come and just at that time, the sound of a glass breaking announced the arrival of someone else.

Quirrel in some inexplicable way, managed to get through the second floor window in time to stand between them and save Dan.

"Quirrel!" Said Dan, amazed to see the major carrying a nail. He was one of those who were convinced that pill bugs can not be warriors. However, Quirrel proved otherwise.

With a skill and speed that Dan would never have imagined, he saw the elder fight a duel with the flame carrier, who also fought using the torch as a weapon. Both were very fast to the point that it was difficult to follow them with the glance. Only the sound of the blows was heard by the room, while the admiration of the small pill bug grew more and more. Quirrel was doing everything that he was always told he could never achieve, Dan always hated being a pill bug because of the limitations that his species had in front of the cockroaches, but now seeing the situation, maybe there were not so many.

The ghostly insect, already bored of that tight match, opted to take advantage of the fire he was carrying and began to throw it against the shelves of books. Two of the three flames he launched burned for a moment and then extinguished, however the third managed to ignite and start a large fire in one of the booksellers. The librarian fly started screaming hysterically at the imminent fire. However, at that moment they were saved by the bat, who showed to have an occult ability, she approaching and throwing a small ball of fire that managed to neutralize the already created fire.

Grimm's follower looked at the little beast with some resentment, that capricious and spoiled brat who always did what she wanted and cried for everything. He knew that he would not live out of this and that his destiny was to be devoured by her, that's how the ritual was established, that's why that last show must be the greatest of his life, just as the master would like, full of fire, of surprises and unexpected attacks.

He threw herself at the little girl who did not yet have the capacity to react so quickly, however he was stopped by Hornet who threw her needle at him. He managed to dodge it narrowly. He took a look at the warrior and after a short evaluation, he determined that she was even more complicated to handle than the pill bug of recently.

Just at that moment the group of cockroaches that had been chasing them for a while entered. The torch bearer laughed maliciously, they were new volunteers for his most spectacular performance, the fire would burn fueled by the terror of his victims and the master would be proud of his sacrifice.
He waved the torch one more time and this time he directed his fire against the helpless cockroaches that looked at the being, unable to do anything. The fire made its way through the air looking for an impact on the insect flesh, but just before the flames reached them, Hornet interposed and received the attack.

Fortunately, as her cloak seemed to have a kind of protection against fire, the damage was not so great, but even so she ended up falling on her knees from the pain she felt running through her skin. She breathed agitatedly and saw the being float in the air mocking with a annoys giggle. You could tell he was having a great time, he loved watching Hornet's face of pain and rage and the growing fear in the cockroaches that were behind her. And because he was admiring the horror he caused, he was not able to notice the small vessel that climbed up in the bookcase and jumped to hit him with a lunge.

The cut received hurt the bug enough, but that was not the worst, the most horrible thing was to look up and find the expression furious in Hollow’s face. The little one who at first underestimated and took for weak and boring turned out to be more fierce than he expected. Grimmkin did not know, but he had done the worst he could do to Hollow, he had hurt a member of his family. The torch bearer already knew that he was going to die, he was prepared for that from the beginning, but he did not want the experience to be so traumatic, so as he could he rose again and escaped, of course Hollow and Verm followed him.

Hornet at that moment, panting from the pain and still with her legs shaking, managed to stand up and limping began to walk towards the direction where the others had gone.

"Wait girl!" Yelled one of the cockroaches "Are you okay?"

Hornet stopped when she heard the question and looked at them annoyed.

"Well, decide. Do you want me alive or dead? Aggg... It does not matter. Now I'm busy, later we beat a duel to the death"

She continued to move away as fast as she could. At that moment she was weak, but no cockroach dared to try to stop her, after all she had sacrificed herself for them, which made them question the evilness of this creature.

Soon Quirrel went down to the first floor and helped Hornet allowing her to lean on him. Dan also wanted to cooperate in some way but was told to stay out of the way. The young insect wanted to help, went to find a doctor.

The pill bug and the spider moved through the library to a cellar in the back, guided both by where they remembered they had seen Hollow and Verm address, and by a certain uproar that increased as they were fenced. When they finally opened the door of the room where the children and Grimm's follower were, the battle between them was over.

The flame of the torch had begun to shine with greater intensity and to consume its wearer, who writhed while the fire covered him. That was the signal that Verm expected, she sighed deeply knowing that what followed was going to hurt, but it was part of the ritual, she could not disappoint his father, she had to do it. She landed on the insect and began to devour it while it was still burning. Again that wracking pain enveloped her, but with brave endurance, she continued to eat in that grotesque way that was so disturbing.

Hornet watched the scene feeling a strange fear inside her, as if that was familiar. She put a hand to her head feeling a sharp pain. Then some images began to populate her mind, the words of her mother talking about the bats and their horrible customs, the nightmares that populated her dreams during her childhood and the terrible stories she achieved find in some books in the library. Finally the seal that the pale king had placed on her memories vanished and Hornet remembered her fear, which was increased by the scene she was contemplating, a bat devouring an insect while it was engulfed in flames, a nightmare image made to disturb even to the bravest.

Finally Verm finished her annoying task and sighed exhausted, then the scarlet fire enveloped her and her power manifested in her. With a sharp screech, she threw a little ball of fire that fell to the ground and burned for a few moments before going out. The little girl screamed with joy celebrating the growth of her powers. Now she was more terrifying than before, if she continued like this she could soon reach her father. She looked at his "mother" and this made her a gesture of approval, then she turned his gaze to Hornet and found something she did not expect, fear.

The day that Verm met Hornet, she saw her scream and cry, at first she did not understand this behavior, but as it did not repeat, she did not give much importance to the matter. Eventually with the coexistence, she attached to the older one to the point of calling her "Aunt Horny", because although the girl had a tough and severe character, she also had a soft side that she did not show very often and that Verm had been able to discover. Although Hornet scolded her a lot, she was also kind, always had a sandwich for her, a few words of encouragement, a warm caress or even a time to play.

That was the Aunt Horny who she had started to love, so seeing her with fear did not like her. Verm wanted a hug and congratulations, not a cry and a look of terror. She approached the warrior in red purring softly trying to appease her, but as soon as the distance between them got too short, she was forced to dodge the needle that Hornet brandished against her.

"Get away beast!"

This really made her feel hurt, small tears appeared in the bat's eyes. She was about to start crying and Quirrel was also getting stressed, but by far the one that was worse was Hornet, who at that moment collapsed and fell unconscious.

A soft tune sung by a male voice echoed in her mind, it was a familiar voice, warm and friendly, that caused feelings of joy and affection, in addition to reassuring her enough. She felt extremely exhausted, but even so her fighting instinct made her move, she opened her eyes slowly to find a ceiling she did not know.

Hornet looked around confused, she was lying on a bed with white sheets, there was a large window through which fell an endless rain and sitting next to her was his beloved pill bug singing softly. Besides, next to him was another youngest pill bug and Hollow, who was the first to notice that she had woken up.

"Gyaaaarggg!" This sound made Hornet's body stiffen.

Until then she had not noticed, but on top of her there was a little black bucket with red eyes that now looked at her expectantly. Hornet began to tremble terrified and on the verge of tears when she noticed that someone took her hand. She turned her head and realized that it had been Quirrel.
"Easy Hornet, she won’t do anything" the pill bug spoke softly.

"But ... But it's a bat..."

"Yes, but she is a baby and you have been living with her for more than a week, you have played with her, you have fed her, you have even slept together. You don’t have to fear Vermin. Remember Hornet, remember everything that happened together"

Hornet began to remember everything that Quirrel mentioned. It was true that until now the little one had never been a danger, but she could not understand why she was not afraid of er before and now she is. He looked at her trying to put out her fear, the creature looked harmless, but then she remembered the scene of seeing her devouring that damn insect of fire and she felt nervous. Nevertheless Quirrel without releasing Hornet’s had began to approach it until Verm’s head.

The warrior trembled more and more as she saw her extremity approaching that dangerous being, in her mind the idea that she was going to bite her grew more and more, but as soon as she made contact with the hairy fur of the bat, Vermin gave a grunt of satisfaction and rubbed herself affectionately against her. Then, taking more confidence, she moved closer to Hornet and hugged her, closing her eyes until she fell asleep.

The last thing the mammal thought at that time, was that while being feared and respected was something great, she preferred to be loved, because there was nothing she liked more than being spoiled. From now on she would not try to scare people, especially Aunt Horny.

Hornet calmed down a bit but she was still tense, then she looked at her friend and with a shy voice she made a request.

"Quirrel... You... Could you sing again? That new song... It's just... It makes me feel more calm"

"Ah, the lullaby" said Dan, who until then had been silent. "I didn’t imagine that Quirrel also knew it. My biological mother used to sing it to me when I was little to calm down, she also said that my dad used to sing it to me when it was an egg, obviously I don’t remember it. Do you think it's a traditional song of the pill bugs?"

"I don’t know" Quirrel replied. "I don’t really remember where I learned it, but sometimes when I'm nervous, humming it makes me feel better and it seems like Hornet too"

The girl blushed and looked away somewhat embarrassed, at that time she felt very sensitive and everything affected her. For his part, the greater cochineal was preparing to start his lullaby, but at that moment they were interrupted by the rumble of the door opening abruptly, then an army of cockroaches entered filling the room.

Hornet immediately became nervous and began to look for her needle, to find it on the other side of the room just behind the cockroaches. That was a problem.

Then the group of insects began to open the way to a larger cockroach, the matriarch of the group, who approached with a sure step and serious look. This one was placed in front of the bed of Hornet and looked at her in silence during some seconds. When the girl in red was about to say something, it was the cockroach that cut the silence.

"Thank you very much for saving my relatives, I don’t know what would have happened to that bunch of idiots if it had not been for you"

Hornet mute in surprise looked at her confused without knowing what she was talking about. Then she began to review her last memories and came to her mind the moment she stepped between the carrier of the flame and the cockroaches that pursued her. Yes, that was probably what she was talking about.

"No-no problem" replied the girl with some shyness.

"You protected those who were willing to attack you" continued the cockroach "Such a person can’t be bad"

"I told you mom!" Dan spoke. "Hornet is not bad, but you didn’t listen to me!"

"Silence. Your elders are talking!"

The young simply crossed his arms while claiming to himself.

"Well, as I was saying" the matriarch retorted "I accept that you are not a bad girl, so I will allow you to continue being Dan's friend, but please, don’t put him in dangerous situations, the poor thing is clumsy and weak and always accidents happen to him, unfortunately it is a pill bug and these creatures are very fragile "

"That's not true mom!" Dan intervened again. "Mr. Quirrel here, just had a spectacular fight with the fire bug I told you about, and he fought with him as an equal using a nail and he is also a pill bug"

"It is not so much" said the aforementioned modestly "I'm not the best warrior or anything, in fact Hornet beats me. I barely know enough to protect myself. Although I must clarify that we are not as fragile as you think, we may not have the strength of a cockroach or a spider, but even with what we have, we are capable of great things. Maybe Dan not having lived with others of his kind could not develop some skills that would help him a lot, but if you are agree, I could instruct him in those aspects”

"Yes! That would be great!" Said Dan excited to learn from someone who had caused so much admiration in him.

"Well..." The matriarch looked thoughtful "I don’t think I would have any problems with that, but I don’t want you teach him anything that has to do with brandishing a nail. Last time Dan tried..."

"Mom, don’t tell that story!" The young insect complained. "It's shameful!"

After that, followed a pleasant conversation about family anecdotes and life stories in which everyone participated, except for Hollow, who of course could not say anything. In general he coped quite well with his lack of speech, but it was situations like that that bothered him when he felt inferior. That's why he chose to leave the room, if there was something worth remembering, his sister would tell him.

He went out into the corridor of the hospital that at that moment was empty, but when he arrived, the pale king's figure was revealed before him by the influence of the Dream Nail that he carried.

The king looked strange, silent, thoughtful and with a deep look of sadness in his eyes. From what he noticed, the ghost watched the cockroach family from a distance, in particular Dan, although from time to time he also threw furtive glances at Quirrel without changing his languid expression. What happened to the old man who was suddenly so sentimental? Hollow decided to approach to ask.

"......?"

"Nothing happens to me"

"........."

"I tell you it's nothing, seriously, do not worry"

"..........."

"Is it necessary to remark that you are not worried about me? Anyway, if it's just curiosity that moves you, I do not feel obliged to answer your questions"

"........" began to pull the king's cloak insistently.

"If I do not tell you what's wrong, you're going to bother me all day, right?"

"......."

"And tomorrow too... Maybe even the next day... It's okay" The old monarch looked annoyed "I just thought it's a sad thing that Quirrel and Dan can never learn the truth"

".....?"

"They are father and son"

".........?!"

"How do I know? They already gave me enough clues" he sent a sigh "When the infection broke out, the tribe of pill bugs was one of the first to leave, in that time, I cataloged this as an act of cowardice, now I have come to think that it was rather an act of good sense. Everyone fled far away and of the very few who decided to stay, one was Quirrel. They told me Dan's father had to stay in Hallownest for an important mission. That fits right? "

"........."

"Yes, it's very vague evidence, but Dan's mother was named Danira, just like Quirrel's wife. Well, at least now we know that she is dead. Quirrel will no longer have to fear that an old love from his past will look for him"

"........?"

"Monomon told me that detail, in addition to her research, her other favorite topic of conversation was her disciple. She always told me about his achievements. She told me all his love drama when he met Danira, she told me about his wedding and about the 10 eggs they had... I assume that when she escaped from Hallownest, Danira could only save one of them, that is why Dan is so precious to her friend cockroach, is the only memory that remains of Danira"

"......."

"Yes, and the final test that I think could confirm my hypothesis is the lullaby. As far as I know, the pill bugs do not have a great musical culture, unlike other species such as crickets or cicadas. There is nothing like traditional lullabies among them. So that tune should be something that Quirrel composed especially for his offspring"

Hollow looked down and began to understand the sadness of the situation, father and son, separated by circumstances and reunited without knowing who the other was, he had to do something. They had to find out! He ran to the room ready to tell what he knew, but the pale king cut the step preventing him from moving forward.

"........!"

"What do you intend to do? Do you want to tell them the truth? Do not do it, they should never know about this"

"........?"

"Because they would not gain anything and this would only bring pain"

"........?"

"Think about it. Quirrel lost his memory, he does not know anything about his past, he only has vague memories of the teacher Monomon. Imagine his impression if they suddenly tell him that he has a son who does not even remember having conceived and worse, imagine what it would be like for Dan. Perhaps he would begin to reproach Quirrel for having abandoned him, perhaps if he had been with Danira she would not have died. And how could Quirrel defend himself? He does not remember anything, he could not even talk to him about his mother, everything would be sadness for both of them. Nobody needs that. Quirrel is very good as he is, he accepted his lack of memory and is capable of dealing with it and Dan has a family that love him, he do not need Quirrel. That's why the best thing is that they do not know anything. Besides watch them, at least as they can be friends"

The boy looked at the interior of the room where the cockroaches were talking animatedly, he looked at Dan and Quirrel who seemed to get along. The old man was right, things were fine as they were. There were truths that it was better to keep in secret.

Chapter Text

“Gyaaaaaarg! Mommyyyyyyyy!

A sharp shout cut the silence of the night in Dirtmouth, disturbing Quirrel and Hornet’s dream who got up scared, believing that something bad had happened to Hollow. With much turmoil, they ran to the hall of the house and encountered an unusual scene.

There was a shadow of bright white eyes that looked around confused, at his feet was Hollow's mask split in half and a little further, there was Verm crying disconsolate, although the Pale King did what he could to calm her walking around the room with the baby.

Seeing the old monarch babysitting with the creature in his arms was very funny to both of them, who despite the situation could not help bursting into laughter.

"But what the hell is that so funny to you!" The Wyrm claimed.

"I'm sorry, seeing the almighty and legendary Pale King troubled by a baby is funny" Hornet said in a mocking tone.

"Would you rather keep her crying?"

"No, of course not your majesty" Quirrel hastened to answer "Is just something striking."

“GYAAAAAARG!” The little girl screamed louder, drawing the attention of the elders.

"Verm, what's wrong with you?!" Hornet asked, raising her voice to be heard over the commotion.

“Mommy died! Gyaaaaaarg!”

Now it was clear. Verm could not understand that Hollow was not a normal being, and seeing him in his shadow form frightened her.

The warrior approached and took the bat, but not before throwing a deep sigh to calm down. She still could not completely overcome her chiroptophobia, although it was going pretty well. With the little girl in her arms she began to speak calmly.

"Calm Verm, nothing happens, your mom is fine, she just changed shape and looks different"

"Gyar?" Asked the little girl with teary eyes.

"Sure, she is there" she pointed to the shadow that looked worried.

"Mommy?" Said the little one incredulous. Apparently she had not related that the shadow was Hollow.

Hollow replied with a nod, then Verm mad with happiness flew to him and hugged him.

On the other hand Quirrel, Hornet and the king watched the scene, now quieter. Once they made sure everything was fine, Hornet walked to the broken mask that lay on the floor and lifted it.

"I didn’t expect the repair I commissioned him last so little” she said something annoyed "It seems that the mask maker is losing his quality"

"Oh no, this was not the Mask maker’s fault" The old worm hurried to clarify "The mask is impeccable, it is simply too small to hold Hollow"

"Too small?" Quirrel was surprised. "So Hollow can grow?"

"Of course he can grow" Hornet said. "Didn't you see Big? He was quite big”

"So is Hollow going to grow to be the size of Big?"

"I do not think so" replied the monarch. "Big was raised in a special way. He needed to be strong so that he could contain the infection. We fed him with royal jelly when he was little and that's why he grew so much. Hollow has never eaten anything as special as that, so he won't grow so much. Mmmm... I think he could be a little taller than Hornet at most”

"These ways of life are fascinating" Quirrel exclaimed, feeling curiosity growing inside. "Did you also have to change your mask, Hornet?"

“This is my face!” Shouted the girl feeling extremely offended and upset “I don't wear masks! I was born with this face! I'm not like them! I..."

"Sorry! I get it! Sorry, calm down Hornet”Quirrel regretted what he had said, her abnormality as an insect was still a sensitive issue for Hornet.

"Well, whatever" The girl turned her back, she looked pretty angry. "So you know, maybe I don't have the hard shell of a normal insect and my body has this strange texture of shadow beings, but I had moltings like any normal insect”

"I understand" The pill bug felt somewhat troubled and did not know how to soften the situation.

"Well… The energy of the void is weak in Hornet" the Pale King began to explain. "It's just enough to keep her spirit tied to her body, which was the problem Herrah's eggs had. But the other offspring are almost complete shadows, they need a mask to maintain their insect shape and just as people change their skin as they grow, they must change their mask. Of course they have the disadvantage that their bodies do not produce the new mask, they must get it by other means”

"And those means would be?"

“The mask maker. He is the only one who can make vessels of the appropriate quality and form for these little shadows. That man is an expert. He was the one who made the masks of my 10,530 suckers, in addition to making all the masks that Big used during his growth"

"So he... Does he know about this whole shadows issue?" Quirrel looked surprised.

"Yes, he was one of my main collaborators in this whole matter, in fact he was the one who originally offered to make the masks ... And in fact he is a very mysterious guy" The worm seemed somewhat thoughtful "Yes... Very mysterious, he appeared coincidentally at the exact moment he was required and seemed to know too much about the nature of shadow beings... Although at that time I was so desperate that I didn't question anything and accepted his help”

"Well, whatever. We have to go ask that guy to make us a mask”Hornet spoke with still some discomfort in his voice.

"We will have to pay him something I suppose" Quirrel said.

"Not really" replied the girl. "According to him, a debt to the one to whom he gave his vows of loyalty makes his work necessary in this world"

“Vows of loyalty? To who? He never swore anything to me”said the king somewhat annoyed at the thought that one of his supposed subjects was loyal to someone else.

“I don't know, I don't remember well, he mentioned it to me once but I don't remember well anymore”

"Anyway" the king hid his childish annoyance "Tomorrow we will go out early with Hollow to see that individual, we cannot keep him in his shadow form, someone might be scared”

He looked sideways at his son who played with Verm without being too uncomfortable with his condition, although it was understandable, much of his life was spent in that way.

"Ah! I can't go" Hornet said suddenly. "I promised to Bretta I would accompany her to the city, she is going to look for an editorial to publish her book"

"She ended it?" Quirrel asked, to which Hornet nodded. "Well, a promise is a promise. You’ll have to go with her”

"But..."

"Calm down Hornet. Your majesty and I can manage this, it's not such a complicated task"

“But Hollow is in his shadow form! And if you carry him, you will have to take Verm too!”

"And? We can with that. Trust us. What would be the worst thing that could happen?”

The next day in Dirtmouth, the family split in two. Hornet went to Bretta's house to make together their trip to the City of Tears, which they would have to do on foot, since the Stag only obeyed Hollow and unfortunately, in his shadow form he could not appear in front of the old insect. So covering him with a hood that they managed to get, they went to the well that took them to the underground kingdom.

They left very early to reduce the possibility of encountering other insects that could cause them problems, fortunately, the trip to Deepnest where the mask maker inhabited was quite simple, the few threats that attacked them Quirrel could easily control them, even Verm helped a little, because now her firepower was enough to cause some damage.

"Majesty," said the pill bug when there was little left to reach the lair of the mask maker "Do you intend to show yourself as a ghost before the insect?"

“Yes, that individual knows more about the world and its mysteries than average insects. I don't think he is impressed by a harmless ghost”

"Ok, if you say so"

The group finally managed to find the hiding place of the insect they were looking for. The place was as sinister as everything that surrounded it: a narrow, dark den, covered in full masks and half-done that with their empty looks they were a little disturbing.

The workshop was a real disaster, displaying an incredible mess and accumulation of materials. In the middle of the pile of masks, brushes, paints and tools, there was a huge table with a chair. Everything was ready to work, but there was no one to do it, the mask maker was not at home. They looked around somewhat confused wondering where he would have gone, when suddenly something caught their attention.

A small creature that until then they had not noticed, climbed on a chair and then on the work desk. The being in question was clearly a vessel just like Hollow, although they had some characteristics that made them quite unique. Their contexture and size was equal to Hollow's, but their antlers were different. They had three horns, two on the sides, short and wide with a shape similar to those of Ogrim and a conical shaped horn in the center of their head. In addition to the horns, they was also quite distinguished because instead of wearing a gray cloak, they wore a green hood, which of course had holes in the top to let their horns pass.

The little one was once above the table, waved their coat proudly and took a very stylish turn to conclude by doing a fairly melodramatic pose. Hollow as soon as he saw his sibling, flew to him and immediately they began a silent conversation, both seemed quite happy to meet. Verm, curious about this strange communication, landed next to her mother and watched his signs carefully to see if she understood anything.

"Eh... majesty... What I'm seeing is a vessel, right?"

“Yes, it's a vessel, a male vessel. What is he doing here? He should be in the abyss!”

The pale king's voice seemed to draw the little green's attention, so he jumped from the table and ran to the monarch to see him better, then he cocked his head in question.

"Who am I?"

At first the worm caught his attention that his offspring would not be able to recognize him, but after thinking better it made sense, except by Big and Hollow, the rest of his children had almost never seen him. Those vessels of a defective nature barely they shared a few minutes with him during the beginning of their lives before being abandoned. Obviously they were not going to remember him and perhaps it was better that way. If everyone was as resentful as Hollow, it wouldn't be funny to have to put up with their claims and their bad mood.

"Eh... My name is Pale, nice to meet you" said the king trying to hide.

Then the king looked at Hollow who with his bright eyes gave him an accusatory look, however he ended up nodding implying that he would say nothing.
On the other hand, the little one began to invade the old monarch with questions, questioning everything: His color, his transparency, the one that was floating, the one that was dead, even why he seemed familiar from somewhere, although this last question the king dodged it.

"Well, I've already answered a lot of questions, it's time for you to answer some of me, who are you and why are you here?"

The little boy with great enthusiasm climbed back to the table and began to make a series of quite striking poses that the king seemed to interpret quite well, because as he was doing them, the worm seemed increasingly annoyed.

"Well, enough adjectives!"

"What is the child doing?" Quirrel asked feeling uncomfortable being the only one who didn't understand anything.

"He is introducing himself, but the amount of adjectives he uses is impossible"

"Amount of adjectives?"

"Let's see. What he says is something like that, he is the amazing, charming, funny, gallant, great..."

An annoying jump of the boy interrupted the monarch's speech.

"But it doesn't matter!"

".....!" The little hooded child waved his arms and kicked the floor showing his anger.

"Okay, okay, it's not the same" He looked at Quirrel with notorious exasperation "He's not great, he's fa-bu-lous, because the word ‘great’ falls short for him"

Quirrel smiled awkwardly, this boy certainly had an overflowing personality, surely it was seen that he was not an appropriate vessel from the very moment of his birth.

"And you still don't tell us your name!" The king claimed.

The container snorted annoyingly and looked at him arrogantly. Then he took his cloak and pointed at it.

"Well, then, your name is Green, thanks for your cooperation" said the ghost. "And if now you were so kind to tell us why are you here"

Green with a serious expression began to do a choreography to explain his presence there. Quirrel noticed how despite communicating with signs, he was much more paraphernalic than Hollow, making movements that often seemed somewhat unnecessary and overly elaborate. This child sought to stand out by all possible means.

Finally the little boy finished his 'speech', then he got off the table and walked to a somewhat hidden curtain that was at the bottom of the den and when he ran it, he revealed that behind it was a cluster of shadows, in which you could see Nine pairs of bright eyes.

“More shadows?” Quirrel exclaimed in alarm “But what happened to them? What are you doing here?"

The shadows looked at the king and the pill bug somewhat scared, however when they noticed Hollow that was on the table they calmed down and mad with joy they flew to him where they ‘hugged’ affectionately. Although in the eyes of others, those hugs looked as if the shadows will merge between them. Meanwhile Green with another shower of signs and movements explained to the king what was happening.

“Aha, I see. Then you are no longer limited to being locked in the abyss and sometimes you go for a walk around. But to day, wanting to put on their masks to get out it broke, so Big... I mean, your king, told them to come here for help”

Green nodded. Then with a few more signs, he implied that they were waiting for the mask maker to return, because he had gone to buy paint because it had run out. Normally he made his own pigments, but having an order of masks so large and so suddenly, the materials he had saved were not enough.

The king looked at the small shadows and sighed with regret, those little creatures were his children and he couldn't help feeling horrible when he saw them. Where he would have had his head the day he decided to create them. He could normally ignore the feelings of guilt and pain, Hollow with his mask on easily passed through a normal insect, but seeing him in his shadow form he remembered what he was and that it was all his fault. However, he felt some relief when he noticed that these little ones did not seem upset with their condition, they looked very happy and energetic. Perhaps too much.
The shades seemed to have been quite interested in Quirrel and had climbed on him tickling.

"Hahaha! Stop! I can’t stop laughing!"

"Gyaaaaaaarg" The bat watched the funny scene.

"Well, well, leave poor Quirrel alone" said the Pale King, flying into the shadows and scattering them.

The offspring left Quirrel alone so that he could breathe again calmly.

"Are you okay, Quirrel?" The king asked somewhat worried.

"Yes, I'm fine" he gasped. "It's not like they wanted to kill me either, but still handling 10 children at the same time is not easy"

"......" Green made a comment stepping on the ground 11 times.

"Eh... What did he say?" Quirrel asked the king.

“He says you count wrong. They are 11, they are 10 shadows plus the Hollow’s shadow”

Quirrel looked around and made a quick count of the pairs of eyes.

"I only see 10"

A nervousness settled in the group of children. Verm looked around in anguish at notice the tense atmosphere. The shadows looked at each other apparently counting how many they were and when they had all reached the same conclusion, terror erupted between them.

All the shadows began to fly frantically through the den ‘screaming’ terrified. One of them had been lost, they lacked a sister, the poor girl had no physical body and anything bad could happen to her. In the midst of that panic, the elders did not know what to do or how to calm the little ones. Even the little scared Verm had begun to cry inconsolably. However somehow, Green caught the attention of his siblings, then with a couple of spectacular poses, he calmed them and then with a few more signs, he ordered them to follow him, because together they would go to look for their lost sister.

Quirrel and the Pale King could do nothing to stop them. The green vessel followed by a ball of shadows, ran out of the den into the Deepnest galleries and to worsen the situation, the little bat at see her ‘mother’ walk away with the others, followed him as she screamed asking to be waited.

“They are gone!” The scandalized pale king shouted “Quick Quirrel! We have to go for them! ”

"Yes!" Said the pill bug preparing to leave the den.

Meanwhile, the cluster of shadows wandered through the tunnels of Deepnest without a fixed course, because the reality is that they had been attacked by panic without having any plans in mind, and obviously in that way it was impossible to find the lost sister. To make matters worse, Green had a lot of charisma but he was not really a leader. The ideal would have been to stop and review the places where they were before, but they were all too altered for that.

However, there was someone who was somewhat calmer. Verm followed them and shared their panic by contagion, but still she could keep her head cold. This made her realize a certain sound that began to populate the environment and of course she made the group notice it.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaarg!"

Everyone stopped at the scream of the bat, then looked at her with their glowing eyes.

"Listen!"

They stood still waiting for the bat to say something else, because they thought she was her they should listen to, but seeing that the little girl said nothing they began to get impatient. However some of them managed to capture the subtle sound of the accordion. They momentarily forgot the concern for their sister and let the sad melody guide them.

The song took them to a wide cave, where you could perceive the presence of some minor beasts who watched the musician perform his piece. It did not seem that they were going to attack the bug, rather they were seen enjoying the music, so they seemed to be disturbed a little when the shadows, the green-dressed vessel and the bat approached the musician.

Brumm played the accordion with the melancholy that characterized him, as if through his song he could expel all the sorrow that plagued his life. Nothing made sense to him. He just limited himself to following his master on his eternal path looking for ruined kingdoms serving his own master, in an endless cycle of fire and nightmares. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by detecting a certain movement through the corner of his eye.

Brumm looked up and met a small insect similar to a young horned beetle, wearing green clothes. Behind him there was an army of shadows with bright eyes. Another insect would have been scared with such a vision but he didn't. He had already lost his fear of spirits, magic and curses. How could he fear them if he himself was the servant of a demonic bat? He had seen so many things in his life that nothing impressed him. That is why with a tired tone he simply said:

“More shadows? Do they have anything to do with the shadow of a while ago?”

These words made them understand that this individual had met their lost sister. Then they stirred asking the location of their relative, of course Brumm -as most insects- could not understand these creatures. That was why Verm found herself in need of intervention.

"Where is she? Gyaaaaaaaaaarg ”

The tone in which he asked was authoritarian and unkind, but the accordionist did not care, he was already used to it. She was Master’s daughter, she was used to command and to be obeyed. Sometimes she could even be somewhat capricious when she got something in her head. In fact, it was a surprise that she got along so well with her guardian and didn't cause him problems. Anyway, he just answered in a laconic way.

“She went with the teacher, to the City of Tears”

"Thank you!" The little girl growled before retiring.

That last one was a surprise for Brumm. Since when did the princess says thanks? Well, maybe his ‘mommy’ was doing a good job after all.

In that place where the rain was eternal, an elegant insect dressed in red was outside a building lost in thought looking at the dark sky. Hornet was relaxed at the time, more than she usually was. It seemed like it would be a quiet day, a day just for her and Bretta. At least for today she wouldn't have to worry about taking care of her little brother and the vermin who was with him. She would not have to watch that they did not get into trouble, she would not have to catch flames or endure the damn worm. Also, as today they were going to have lunch at a restaurant in the place, they wouldn't even have to bother hunting. It was all perfect!

She was definitely in a good mood. Now she only had to wait for Bretta to leave the publishing house and they would go for a walk there. It had been a long time since she had dated friends, almost since she was a little girl and lived with other spiders. Hornet's gaze darkened when she thought about it. Those times were very happy, but that was before the infection attacked and she had to kill her friends maddened by the plague.

The sound of the building's door opening woke her from her memories. So when she saw her friend's bright shell, her first intention was to run to her, but when she saw her sad face she knew something was wrong.

“Bretta? What happened?” Then she noticed that the notebook where her novel was written was still in her hands “Couldn't you deliver the manuscript?”

"No... They didn't accept it" the beetle sobbed.

"What?! But if that story is fabulous! It is one of the best works I've read! Surely they didn't read well or the guys there don't have good taste!”

"No Hornet.... They didn't even read it..."

"Why?"

"When... When I arrived everyone looked at me as if I... As if I was trash... And when I presented my book to them... Well, they started laughing, making fun. They said that a peasant insect like me could not aspire to write a novel, that it was an editorial that only received well-written books, that... That..." At that moment he began to cry "They didn't even give me the opportunity to try it”

"Oh Bretta" At that time Hornet hugged the beetle trying to comfort her "Those damn... These damned city bugs are always belittling those who live in the suburbs"

"No-no, don't worry Hornet" Bretta whined, trying to contain her crying. "I'm used to it... I've always been despised... Everybody always made fun of me and left me behind"

"And do you think that's fine?!" Hornet shouted, taking distance and watching the insect.

Bretta seemed to be a little scared by the warrior's reaction. She looked extremely angry, in fact her scream was such that even the insects that were walking along the street stared at her... And then they hurried over to escape from there quickly. They had already recognized her, she was the red beast, it was best to escape before she did anything.

“This is not going to stay like this! No sir!” Now Hornet shouted so loudly that it was even heard from inside the building.

"Ho-hornet... Calm down"

“I'm going to go to that dirt editorial and I'm going to tell them a few things! It can't be that you are discriminated against just for being peasant! These guys are going to pay me! They will read your writing yes or yes! And if they refuse they will have to face me!”

Suddenly a small change in air pressure alerted Hornet of an imminent danger. She jumped towards Bretta and threw her aside just in time before another insect fell on them. Both girls fell on the ground but soon stood up and looked at the threat that had jumped them.

The attacker was nothing less than a Mantis, which of course surprised Hornet a lot. The members of that wild tribe lived in the Fungal Wastes, limiting their territory with Deepnest and they did not usually relate to other weaker insects, they never directed their words to nobody who didn't prove to be strong enough. City of tears was plagued with weak insects. That's why it was so rare to see a mantis there that wasn't trying to kill everyone around her.

She watched the creature well, studying her carefully. She was a common mantis of low rank, quite young. It had probably not been long since she had lost her wings. She was missing an eye that had been covered with a patch and her body had numerous scars. At her young age she was already seen that this girl had been through a lot. The mantis looked at them with superiority and with a unfriendly smile said:

“So they will have to face you? But what a daring girl. Even with that small size, are you supposed to be a threat? Well, there are quite a few rumors about you, the red beast. I’ll love to see what you are capable of”

“Get out of here! I don't want trouble with the mantis!” Hornet said seriously.

“Oh, don't worry. My tribe repudiates me, fight with me freely. Anyway, you will have to do it if you intend to deliver your friend's manuscript, I won’t let you set foot inside the building if you do not beat me”

"Hornet... Please... Don't fight, I don't want to see a murder" Bretta said scared.

“Don't worry, Bretta, I won't kill her. I have taken the rule of not killing anything that I don’t pretend to eat, and the truth, mantis meat does not suit me at all”

“I think it's an interesting rule” said the Mantis. “Well, I don't really want to taste the taste of a crossbreed spider either, so we will agree that we won't kill ourselves. But I hope that doesn't stop you from fighting with all your strength"

"Don't worry about it, you may not try my meat but you will try all my power"

Chapter Text

A series of metal blows echoed in the rain, while two fighters deployed all their art amidst colorful and lethal maneuvers.

Bretta watched at the edge of the nerves how her friend and this unknown mantis were dueling to decide the fate of her manuscript. She feared that someone would be seriously injured. For Hornet, fighting was a daily thing and part of survival, after all, she belonged to a hunting species, and much of her life fought desperately for the simple act of staying alive. In contrast, for Bretta these were wild and dangerous activities and although they had decided that it would not be a duel to the death, she could not help feeling fear. Also, if something happened to Hornet, she couldn't help feeling guilty.

The battle was apparently evenly matched, this mantis was extremely skillful, for Hornet it was proving to be an extremely challenging combat. Would she lack training and become weak? Or would it be that when her life was not at stake she could not fight with all his might? Anyway, she couldn't deny that fighting with a mantis -even if it was low range- was a challenge.

A group of curious had gathered and formed a circle around the fighters, of course maintaining a safe distance, none wanted to end up accidentally hurt. Suddenly they both paused and began to analyze themselves with their eyes. Hornet had received more blows than her opponent, however the mantis looked much more exhausted. She was strong and skilled, but it was noted that she was not made for long battles, unlike the girl in red who was able to fight for hours, she had even done it once eliminating hordes of infected insects.

I was sure that if she keep fighting a little more, she could subdue that insolent mantis. She was already preparing to attack her when something caught Hornet’s attention. Behind the distracted crowd, floated a shadow of bright eyes. Hornet felt that the world was stopping.

She closed her eyes wishing with all her might that it was only her imagination. However when she opened them again she discovered that her nightmare was even worse, now there were two shadows chatting nonchalantly. She closed her eyes again and when she opened them she almost screamed in horror, they were already four shadows, so she didn't want to blink anymore. But that didn't stop things from getting even uglier, since nowhere other six shadows approached the four that were at the beginning and all began to communicate with each other.

Hornet's heart almost jumped when she later saw the flying vermin arrive. She seemed much more attentive around her because she was the only one who realized that Hornet was in the middle of the crowd, of course she could not catch the context, because she simply greeted her cheerfully. The actions of the bat alerted the other shadows, who st seeing her sister, they also began to greet her as if nothing happened. However, they did not entertain much with that, because then they diverted their attention from the warrior and floated away, obviously followed by the mammal.

Hornet's breathing began to accelerate and she had to sit down for a moment to calm down. If she started acting weird maybe the distracted insects would notice the presence of her siblings and they would panic, she needed to be careful.

“What's up spider? Are you tired yet?” The mantis said trying to hide her own exhaustion.

"You would like that" she replied in a fierce tone.

This was a problem, she was caught in the middle of that fight, so she weighing up the options. Although Bretta's book was important, her own family and public order were more important. She felt it for the beetle but she had to put her aside. The problem was that maybe the mantis was not willing to leave the battle, these creatures were fans of the fight, for whom it was to win or die. What kind of excuse could she make to withdraw from the encounter or at least postpone it?

Suddenly a strange sensation seized her, perhaps it would have been a sixth sense, or simple coincidence that led her to turn her eyes in the precise direction and at the exact moment in which Quirrel was running through the crowd. Then she felt the anger grow inside her, all this was his fault (not really, but Hornet had to blame someone). He was supposed to take care of Hollow and Verm, instead he had left them alone. They had joined the other shadows and to make matters worse they were in the City of Tears, a place full of bugs that could see them. Just not holding on anymore she ended up screaming.

"QUIRREL WHAT THE SHIT ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

The girl felt a light icy touch on her back, probably the fault of the pale king who punished her for saying improper words for a princess. However, the one who felt the most icy was Quirrel, who froze in place when he heard Hornet's scream, then slowly turned his eyes in fear and met the furious face of his friend who looked at him with murderous desires.

Everyone who had been watching the fight turned to see the pill bug feeling sorry for him, surely the red beast would kill him in the most horrible way possible. On her side, Bretta let out a sigh of hope when she saw her crush, and finally, the mantis looked at the scene with some confusion. Why was the spider so angry with the pill bug at see him there? She crossed her arms thoughtfully formulating some theories until she found one that left her satisfied. Surely that insect was her boyfriend who should not be there because he had told her that he would go somewhere else. Perhaps she suspected an infidelity or something.

It had to be said, this mantis was a fan of pink novels and love dramas.

"Is that guy your boyfriend?" Asked the insect with no shame or doubts.

"What?" Hornet turned to see her confused.

"If you have to go talk to your boyfriend, do it. We can leave the fight for later"

Hornet looked at her more than surprised. well, the solution to the dilemma of abandoning the fight was easily solved. Of course Quirrel was not her boyfriend, but she did not mind pretending it was to leave of the step.

"Thank you, I'll be back soon" she said before running off to Quirrel.

A generalized murmur spread among the spectator audience. Did the red beast have a mate? Was there a brave male who had managed to tame that creature? Would they have wild romantic behaviors? Would that individual also be a strong fighter? Or perhaps that the beast lately behaved in a more civilized way was thanks to that pill bug that kept her calm. Hopefully their relationship will last a long time.

Everyone was convinced that Quirrel was Hornet's boyfriend. Sadly also Bretta, who was blank, shocked by the news. Through her head began to cross the memories of the wonderful journey she had made with her beloved blue knight, while she felt her heart break little. A deep pain pierced her being as tears emerged from her eyes concealed by the relentless rain.

She had been tricked, Hornet acted so kind and sweet to her while stealing her love from behind. Soon the sadness that overflowed her became rage. She looked at the manuscript in her hands. Hornet had encouraged her to write that work, she had supported her so much and that's why she thought she was her friend. But it was all a vile lie, a farce. She didn't want to know anything more about that damn, she would cut off any relationship with her, starting with that damned book.

Bretta opened the notebook where her book was written and removed the protective case for water, then opened it ready to break it, but before she could do it, it was snatched from her hands by the mantis, who looked at her reproachfully.

"So much trouble that your friend was taking so you could deliver your book and now you want to break it, but how inconsiderate you are"

Bretta looked at her with a mixture of anger and frustration.

"Anyway now I was curious to see what this is about. I think I'll read for a while while we wait for the red beast"

And not caring about anything, she walked away with Bretta's book to a food business that had umbrellas and tables outside for customers to sit down. She occupied one of them and prepared to read. Bretta not knowing very well what to do, just followed her and sat with her, trying to quench her anger.
But the fury of the beetle did not compare with that of Hornet, who at the time was shouting at Quirrel like crazy, frightening all the passers-by who dared to pass by. The pill bug did not know what to do and just wanted to be swallowed by the earth.

“THERE IS ALMOST A DOZEN OF SHADOWS IN THE CITY! DAMN IRRESPONSIBLE! BUT WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE!”

"Bu... But I don't..."

“SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN EXCUSES! I JUST WANT TO TEAR YOUR LEG OFF THE RAGE I HAVE! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DAY OF REST FOR ME! YOU RUINED ME AFTERNOON AND YOU HAVE DAMAGED MY SIBLINGS!”

Quirrel cringed in his place. He could not replicate anything to defend himself and simply listened to his friend's shouts with regret as fear grew more and more inside him. Would She really be able to tear his leg out? He had heard that this was a common punishment among spiders, well, they had plenty of legs, but he had not.

"I... I... I ..." It seemed that Hornet had no more words to express her anger "I HATE YOU!"

This was the last thing the warrior said before running away and getting lost between the buildings and the rain.

Quirrel had not realized that he had been holding his breath, but as soon as the girl left, he let go of everything he had in his lungs and put his hands to his faces lamenting his existence. That had been a horrible experience. He had never seen Hornet so furious, for a moment he thought she would hurt him. But apparently her threats were only rhetorical. Even so, he couldn't help feeling a little hurt by remembering the last thing she said.

The words ‘I hate you’ hurt like a needle in the heart. Hornet had never said anything so hard, despite the harsh treatment she usually had. She had become accustomed to being softer and more affectionate with him, the idea that suddenly she would dislike and repudiate him it was very painful. Apparently Quirrel's concern was very noticeable on his face, because suddenly he felt a slight comforting touch on his shoulder and when he looked, he realized that the Pale King was looking at him with concern.

"Do not mortify yourself so much" said the king. "I am sure that she did not really think what she said. She does not hate you, when the anger passes she will forget everything. Now we better focus on finding the little ones”

“Yes, majesty, you are right”

Hornet ran through the city shouting the name of his brother and the bat, hoping that at least they would come to her call. Regarding the other shadows, she didn't really think something bad would happen to them, rather she feared what they could do, they were innocent and naive, but at the same time strong and dangerous, they could wreak havoc if provoked.

Hornet was so lost in her thoughts, she did not notice that she was running towards someone until she collided with him, but since this individual was noticeably taller, who ended up on the ground was her. The shake helped her a little to get her anger out, that at least allowed her to babble some apologies while she stood up. However when she turned her gaze towards the person with whom she collided, a chill had struck he ran down his back.

In front of her was Grimm, who from the heights looked at her with an air of superiority and voracity. His crimson eyes fixed on her and a smile appeared on his face when he saw the terror he caused in the girl.

Perhaps Hornet had lost most of her fear of Ali, but that was because she had become accustomed to her and because she was a small and harmless child, not a sinister and dangerous adult. In front of any other bat her phobia was present. The growing fear that enveloped her reached such a level that she ended up collapsing and losing consciousness.

"Jujujuju, I cause that effect on all the females" Grimm whispered jokingly.

At his side were some of his followers who forced a laugh trying to please his master. However, his bad performance did not seem to fool the bat, as he shot them a murderous look, which caused such a shudder in the poor bugs that all the packages they were carrying dropped.

"Collect your faults, you will not want them to charge your lives" said the master in a threatening tone.

These words were enough for the bugs to start picking up the packages at full speed, they were not sure how seriously the master would speak. Sometimes he forgave blunt mistakes and other times he condemned them for the most stupid situations, he was quite capricious in that sense.

Grimm looked at the unconscious girl quite pleased. He had decided to take a walk through the kingdom he would soon terrorize and the trip had turned out to be more interesting than he thought. He had first met that little daughter of the Lord of Shadows, then he had having walked around the city where he had bought all kinds of very interesting items. He had a silk scarf and a hat that he was dying to wear, as well as a few other divine accessories.

And now he had in his possession this pretty crossbreed dressed in red... Red, she had quite good taste. There was no color more elegant than that. Perhaps she would be a good addition to his troupe, it was always a pleasure to have a new follower, especially one so beautiful and easy to terrorize.

He bent down with elegance and took the girl in his arms; however something in her caused a strange sensation. He looked at her carefully and frowned, this girl had something special but he did not know what. Then with one of his hands he lifted Hornet's clothes and watched her body. The skin of the creature was not the hard texture of an insect. It was more like she was made of...

"Another daughter of the Lord of the Shades?... No... Her nature differs from him... Rather it seems from the lineage of the high beings... I cannot make her mine now, but not before submitting the kingdom"

Now he had another reason to complete his mission, to take over the life of this little girl. Although she was not a pure high being, she was powerful, she could even help him to bring another strong offspring into the world.

With delight he began to caress the inert body between his claws, but his amusement did not last long because a muffled noise and some groans interrupted him.

Grimm looked around annoyed and noticed that one of his servants seemed quite troubled. He was in charge of carrying the large glass jar where the small shadow they had captured in the morning was enclosed.

The curious being had not given problems throughout the day, but now she seemed annoying and aggressive and looked at him with hatred. Her expression clearly said to move away from the girl, this was so funny for the bat. Was that little thing really meant to threaten him?

"I'm sorry, but your role prevents the command over me... Little pet"

These words angered the shadow, which furiously stirred inside her jar making it increasingly difficult for the bug that carried it to load it, until finally the jar fell out of her hands breaking by impact with the floor, such way the shadow escaped away.

The poor bug that let the creature escape felt an unpleasant cold on her back and slowly turned her head until she met her master's gaze of fire. Terror invaded her being as she trembled in her place waiting for her sentence. However, great was her confusion when a smile appeared on Grimm’s face, of course, as always, this smile was never pleasant.

"Foolish servant, you have failed in your duty" The insect looked at him pleadingly "But... To err cannot be avoided" Grimm turned his back on her causing the bug to catch her breath when she thought she was forgiven "Punish either"

And before the poor insect could react or continue to scream in terror, Grimm snapped his fingers and a crimson fire covered the insect, the force of this fire was such that even the rain could not extinguish it and the drops evaporated even before reaching the flame. After a few seconds, the flame vanished, leaving behind nothing but a mask blackened by ashes.

The master of the troupe then glanced at the rest of his servants, who froze in place fearing the bat's next action.

"Hunger afflicts my guts" was all he said.

No more words were needed. Immediately Grimm's followers left all their packages to one of them and ran to find the most elegant restaurant in the surroundings to take their master.

Meanwhile, the small shadow that escaped from the claws of the bat roamed the city frightened and on the verge of crying. Her siblings would surely be worried about her, she should never have stayed behind, but she was attracted to the exotic appearance of that beast and ended up being captured. Grimm had said something to her that she would be a cute pet for her daughter, but she didn't pay attention, she just wanted to escape.

Now she wandered through an unknown place without her family and without knowing how to return. She had never climbed so much, she only knew the lower levels of Hallownest. The worst part is that since she didn't have a voice, she didn't know how to ask for directions, besides that she would probably scare anyone who tried to talk to. Seeing her situation she had nothing left but to wander around the kingdom until she managed to get home by chance. At least as she had photographic memory and good guidance it would cost her less than others.

However, these small shadows had some particular abilities, such as being able to find others of their kind as long as they were nearby. This is how this girl was suddenly invaded by a feeling of familiarity and following her instinct, she followed the exact route that led her to meet her relatives.

The emotion that went through the shadows when they met again was indescribable. They all flew and gathered in a big group hug, which fortunately happened at quite a height in the city, where almost no one could see it, because the scene instead of be touching, it was a bit disturbing. Immediately after the hug, the shadows began to speak hastily telling what they had lived in the last hours. However, the lost shadow ‘remained silent’ when she heard a strange sound

"Gyaaaaaaaarg"

The girl fixed her eyes on the bat and felt the terror run through her again. The obvious kinship of the creature with Grimm impacted her in such a way that she moved away from the group taking out her shadow claws ready to defend herself.

The rest of her siblings, who had already spent a couple of hours with the offspring without having any problems, looked at her confused and asked what had happened to her. So the shadow explained their experience with Grimm by declaring her his pet and how he had captured to Hornet to do perhaps what things with her.

Hollow immediately panicked upon hearing this, not because of what Grimm could do (as he naively did not yet see the bat as someone dangerous), but rather, fearing for Hornet's mental state. He begged his somber sister to take them with Grimm, she agreed and the group headed to where the bat was.

They found the master sitting outside a food business having tea after a pleasant lunch. As always he displayed his confidence and elegance, something that did not go unnoticed by the other insects that had their eyes fixed on him (although they tried to hide it), but this didn't bother Grimm, he loved being the center of attention, that everyone admired him and talked about how great he was.

"Gaaaaaayg daddy!" A sharp little voice growled.

"My dear" said the bat jovially, receiving his daughter in his arms.

In addition to seeing his daughter, Grimm noticed the army of shadows looking at him with distrust. Although one of them showed rather a worried face and despite appearances, he managed to recognize in him the little collaborator of the ritual.

"Oh? But how unexpected. Do all the shadows share the same link?” He narrowed his eyes at Hollow “How I have not perceived it before, you are also of the lineage of the Lord of Shades... Interesting... Very interesting... Blood of the high beings.. And shadow soul”

Then Hollow approached the master to ask for his sister. He sketched a sinister smile and with his characteristic elegance extended an arm, which he then covered with his membranous wing for a few moments, then he discovered it and reveal that Hornet had magically appeared in his claws. Then with the girl in his arms, he walked towards the center of the street and deposited her on the floor.

"A being undoubtedly fascinating, with a great latent power that at this time is not favorable to me"

Hollow flew to her sister and watched her worried. The other shadows imitated him forming a creepy cluster that was in sight for everyone. A large number of curious insects watched the scene with a mixture of horror and admiration. Something prevented them from looking away from the show. Perhaps it was the presence of that gallant bat that fascinated them.

Grimm looked around, noticing the large number of spectators who had gathered and the smile lit his face. Then he raised a hand to the sky and snapped his fingers. By magic a sky of red fire materialized on them evaporating the raindrops that fell and creating a dry environment underneath. Then Grimm spoke again.

"The stage is ready, the audience prepared, the bud waiting" He made some elegant movements "Let the show begin!"

Chapter Text

Hearing the words of his father announcing the start of the act, Verm flew to the center of the stage prepared by her father and stood up in full length, as she had been taught. Then she made an elegant bow at the same time as the older bat did. Then she flew around him while he created small balls of fire that danced around him, which at the click of a finger, merged into a single large ball of fire, which soon went out revealing a Grimmkin, who appeared with her irritating burlesque laugh.

The audience applauded delighted with the show, but on the other hand Hollow and the other shadows only felt concern. Due some explanations of their brother, it was not hard for them to guess that they should fight.

Even in their form of shadows they were able to attack, but they were not even half lethal than they would be with a nail. In addition, they feared especially for Green who was with them, he was not in his shadow form and by nature he was useless in fighting, his survival tactics were more of the sort hide.

However, nobody was going to ask them what they wanted or thought. At a signal, the insects that accompanied Grimm took out some musical instruments and began to play a lively song, then the fight began.

The shadows had the numerical advantage. Although they could not attack much, in groups they could become quite lethal. They threw themselves in turns against the torchbearer, launching small attacks that were not always able to hit the target, but at least managed to alter the bug enough to prevent her from attacking accurately. All this was under Green's command who directed them quite skillfully from below.

Grimm's follower floated in the air from side to side trying to hit the annoying shadows with her artifact. She needed at least a few seconds to concentrate and throw her fireballs, but she didn't count on this time. Little by little she began to lose her patience and despair more and more. She still did not receive so much damage but she was getting tired. Then in a rage attack she expelled a large amount of energy that manifested itself in a huge fire ball coming out of the torch that managed to get a "wow" out to the public. The fire was so hot that it managed to burn a little bit the shades that came to attack the Grimmkin. They backed away feeling wounded and their brothers turned their attention to them worried.

Those moments were enough for the bug to regain control of the situation and start throwing fire like crazy, spending her magic quickly. But this did not matter, she just wanted to burn, destroy and enjoy the pain. The shadows dodged the ardent projectiles the best they could. However who was not able to dodge them was Green, who because he could not fly, was at a disadvantage. Then without knowing what to do he shrank in his place trembling with fear and expecting the worst.

However, no fire reached him. Instead he felt firm arms carrying him and moving him aside, then he looked up and found the nice pill bug he had known a while ago. Quirrel had saved him.

But the relief of being safe did not last long, the torchbearer for wasting her magic was soon devoid of it and unable to throw more flames. Then already mad with rage, she threw herself against Quirrel, prepared to nail him with the torch handle which had a punch in the tip. However, before she managed to complete her attack, a needle pierced her chest leaving her inert on the ground.

In the least expected moment, Hornet had regained consciousness and seeing Quirrel being attacked intervened, culminating the battle unexpectedly. The epic outcome of the show caused the audience to burst into cheers (No one imagined that the fight was real). Everyone shouted excitedly, pleased by what they had just seen. Their demonstrations of joy were accompanied by festive music, performed by Grimm's followers.

Meanwhile, the defeated bug began to be consumed by torch fire. It was time for Verm to do her part in the ritual. The little girl threw herself against the insect ready to drive her jaws into it. In that moment Grimm snapped his fingers and a curtain of fire surrounded her daughter, hiding the awful sight of her devouring the insect. That was something unpleasant and Grimm wouldn't allow his daughter to be seen by so many people giving such an inelegant show.
When the fire had gone out, Verm emerged raising her wings proudly and with a small roar, opened her mouth and threw a small flamethrower far more powerful than the pathetic fireballs she used to produce.

"Well done, my girl,ç" Grimm said, pleased. "You are one step further from the commoners and one step closer to being queen"

The little girl looked at her father happy for the compliment and went flying with the shadows. Meanwhile, Grimm went to say goodbye to the public, ending the show.

“Your participation is appreciated and we hope you enjoyed the Show”

He made one of his characteristic obeisances and with an explosion of fire vanished into nothingness, in the process the fire that burned in the sky was also extinguished allowing the rain to fall normally again.

Some Grimm’s followers passed carrying some hats where the insects threw generous pieces of geo in thanks for the show. While others made sure to collect all the packages from their master's purchases.

paid attention to the shadows that were still in the street. Grimm's paraphernalia had made them believe that they were actors wearing a costume and that their specter appearance was only some kind of Trick, at least something good had come out of the act of the bat.

Quirrel looked with relief as everything seemed to have been satisfactorily solved. All the shadows were together, they had managed to pass another of Grimm's tests and Hornet was safe, although she was almost suffocating him by how strong she was hugging him. This girl often seemed to forget her privileged strength.

"Ho-Hornet.... Please.... I don't breathe well"

"Eh?"

The girl seemed somewhat confused, in fact her memories were somewhat scrambled. She knew that she had seen a terrifying creature and then everything had gone black, then she wake up and find Quirrel about to be attacked by one of those annoying bearers of the flame. In that time she didn't think too much, she simply threw her needle against the bug and killed her.

Then she heard a snap of fingers and when looking for the origin of the sound, she again encountered the sinister being that had scared her before, of course she did not lose consciousness this time and was able to run to Quirrel for protection and comfort.

She was all the time with her head buried in his friend's chest, so she didn't notice when the bat left, she just looked up when the pill bug spoke to her.
Now that she had regained her calm and that she was attentive again to her surroundings, she noticed that she was practically clinging to Quirrel. So Hornet quickly released him and gave him his personal space.

"Sorry! I did not want to..."

"Quiet Hornet" replied the explorer downplaying the issue "We already know that when it comes to bats you lose your mind"

"Ummm yes..."

The girl looked down in shame at her improper acts, then noticed the group of shadows and the green hood vessek that watched her closely.

"Hey? And what are you doing here?”Asked the warrior.

When they were seen by Hornet, all the little ones flew up to her and threw themselves excited. They were always so effusive when they met any member of their family.

“Hahahahahaha! Enough is enough! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! You tickle me” The crossbreed laughed almost breathlessly, then managing to control them a little she looked at them carefully and asked “And what are you doing here? ”

To which the small shadows wanting to answering interrupting each other, however with some effort Hornet managed to catch the whole story and understand the situation.

“Is it that the lack of common sense is something innate in all of you? Kari (the name of the shadow that had been lost), you can't go with a stranger so easily, it can be dangerous, I hope this teaches you to be more careful”

".........." Hollow stirred in his place declaring that Grimm was not dangerous.

Hornet looked at him with a serious expression and said:

"Hollow... Coming from you that statement is not very credible, because of all, you are the one who has less common sense"

This statement took a few laughs from his brothers, which annoyed the little one a bit. But the anger extinguished later.

"Anyway," Hornet continued. "Now it is best to return to the mask maker's lair to wait for him. If he not find you he could go to sleep or something"

The children agreed and prepared to leave. But letting them wander alone left Hornet somewhat uneasy.

"Quirrel..." she spoke to the pill bug who looked at her carefully "Could you accompany them? I fear that someone will get lost again”

"Of course, no problem. Anyway I was thinking to do that"

“Great, I'm counting on you. Now I have to go, I left a pending issue and I must solve it, bye”

The girl prepared to leave and Quirrel was left with a strange mixture of anger and disappointment. Apparently Hornet had completely forgotten that she had yelled at him and told him that she hated him. There was neither an apology nor a comforting word, she just forgot about the matter as if nothing had happened, not caring about hurting his feelings.

The pill bug would have said something, but he was mentally exhausted and didn't feel like fighting. So he just called the little ones and retired. However, before he got too far away, the girl in red called him. Quirrel turned to see her, he felt something strange, especially since Hornet looked somewhat doubtful, that was unusual in her.

"What's up Hornet?" He asked calmly and exhaustedly.

"Well... I just... Mmmm... I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, you were not to blame for anything, it was all about these little fools”

"Oh... Wow..." Quirrel blinked in surprise "Well... Okay, I guess you were somewhat upset and worried, it really doesn't matter anymore"

“Yes, but I felt bad for telling you all those things and… And I want to clarify that I don't hate you. I love you so much! And well that's all... I'm leaving!” She ended up saying as she walked away with a red face.

Those words said in such a candid manner caused strange sensations to the insect, a kind of tickling in the bowels and an emotion so great that it was hard to retain it. It was as if he wanted to shout at everyone how happy he felt. All for some small and modest words, which somehow were able to illuminate his world.

Apparently the expression on his face was a little strange, or at least suspicious for the Pale King who materialized at his side and looked at him with a funny expression.

"Well, I've told you before" said the king. "If you want to marry her, you have all my support"

"What... What!?" Quirrel was awakened from his reveries and shouted in shock "But why do you say those things now, majesty!"

"Please, I can tell clearly that you love her very much, declare yourself, she will not reject you"

“My king, I think I have made it very clear that I don’t intend to have a partner or any kind of romantic relationship with anyone”

"Oh well, it will only be a matter of time before you change your mind"

Hornet ran in a hurry to the place where Bretta and the Mantis were. She feared she had made them wait too long and that the insect had become too angry and retaliated against the beetle. It was not very likely because the mantis were creatures of honor, but this was a renegade, did not know under what circumstances they had expelled her, so it was not certain that she followed all the rules and statutes of her tribe.

She finally reached the building where the publishing house was, but there was no one outside it. She looked around for the two females and managed to glimpse them in a food business, sitting at one of the tables with umbrellas they had arranged for customers, but what they were doing surprised her quite a bit.

The mantis was made a sea of tears with Bretta's novel in her hands, while the beetle tried to comfort her as she could.

"Wow, it seems that she got to that part" Hornet thought remembering a certain passage from the novel that had brought her some tears "I don't even want to think about how she will get when she reaches the end"

Taking a calmer and more relaxed attitude, she approached the table and greeted the insects. The mantis looked at her as she tried to dry her tears and made some kind of excuse. For her part Bretta kept silent and glared at her, suddenly remembering the anger she felt against Hornet for having lied to her, saying that between her and Quirrel there was nothing.

"Oh... Wow... Snif... You... You came back snif..." Stammered the mantis.

"Yes, I'm back" Hornet replied. "And I see you've been reading a little"

"Yes, well... It's a work... Wonderful... Did you fix your problems with your boyfriend?"

Bretta was about to start a scandal to recriminate the lie to Hornet, when she answered with confidence.

"He's not my boyfriend"

“Ah? Did you finish? ”Asked the mantis interested in gossip.

“Actually, we were never dating. I just said it so you would let me go. I had to fix an issue with my brother, the pill bug you saw was supposed to take care of him, so seeing him in the city without him alarmed me so much. I regret having interrupted our fight" she explained making a formal bow
"I see. Well, caring for grubs is a delicate matter, it was like to get angry”

"Oh no, my brother is not a grub. In fact he is already self-sufficient, what happens is that he tends to get into trouble when he is left alone. If you knew the things that he has left us with..."

"I get it"

Hornet's explanation of the reason for her absence turned out to be a balm for the Bretta’s spirit, who at that time felt tremendous relief knowing that her friend had not cheated on her, that Quirrel was still free and could still fight for him . Luckily she had not made any scandal, or things had become unnecessarily complicated, it was always better to hear an explanation of the parties involved.

"Well, anyway, we must continue what we leave pending," said Hornet, pulling out her needle and preparing to fight.

“Ah of course! But... Can we leave the fight for tomorrow? I have some work to do, this book is turning out to be better than I expected and I have to do some paperwork to process its publication”

Hornet and Bretta tilted their heads in confusion.

"Process its publication?"

"Oh! True, I had not told you. I am the editor in chief of the section of romantic novels, my name is Sharpy”

"WHAAAAAT!?" Bretta and Hornet shouted at the same time.

“Yes, almost everyone reacts that way when they find out, people tend to be very prejudiced. Nobody thinks that a mantis, a creature born to fight is able to be interested in literature. Then I threaten them with death and then they take me more seriously fufufu. Anyway, I hate prejudiced people”

The look that Hornet and Bretta gave her was indescribable.

"So... Did you always intend to give Bretta a chance?" Hornet asked.

“Of course, I’ll never judge anyone by their origin or their appearance. If a tarantula appeared here to show me his poetry book, I would gladly read his writings. And I'm glad I decided to give it a try, this work is pure gold. I'm definitely going to rub this in the face of those morons in the reception department. How could they have missed this? This work will be a best seller!”

"If you always intended to support Bretta..." began Hornet. "Why did you appear jumping from who knows where and attacking us?"

"Let's see, there was a furious person outside the building threatening to hurt the employees. I had to do something."

"An adequate explanation would have saved us enough problems" Bretta said.

"I really didn't want to save myself troubles" the mantis said cheerfully. "Since I was expelled from the tribe, I rarely have a chance to have a decent fight and an encounter with the red beast was something I couldn't pass up."

No doubt the people of the mantis tribe were quite bellicose, even though Sharpy seemed more civilized than others of her kind, she still had her very developed fighting instinct. However, she had been expelled. What would she have done to deserve this treatment?

"Excuse me... I don't want to sound rude but..." Bretta was doubtful about whether or not to ask about her expulsion.

“Do you want to know why they expelled me?” The mantis said calmly “It was because of weak” The girls looked at her with surprise “For mantis, power is everything. The strong crush the weak and everyone must forge a path to ascend, one of the ways to achieve it is to demonstrate your talent by hunting. I was a little girl who had barely lost her wings and was beginning to walk the path of the adult. I had the brilliant idea of attacking a dam that was too powerful for me. I ended up failing dramatically and my body was covered with the scars you see now”

"In the tribe, those who fail in a hunt must die, that's why we don't have old people. All the mantis die before they get old and become weak. However I... I didn't want to die... Not yet... Yes, surely for others my actions were a dishonor, wanting to preserve my life and living with the shame of having failed for them must be unacceptable, but this is the path I have taken. I’ll never go home and I can live with it. It does not bother me to be surrounded by weak insects and I have found something I love even more than fights. Reading! There are no novels among the mantis, only useful books such as herbalists, bestiaries or history records. Instead this place is paradise!"

No doubt Sharpy was an unusual mantis, putting her life before honor. No one really condemned her, everyone has their way of living and accepts the consequences of their actions, whether for better or for worse. At least Sharpy seemed happy and there was no glimpse of regret at her decision.

In that same place they closed some agreements and the mantis decided that she personally would be the editor in charge of Bretta, they had to make some minor corrections to the book and after that, it would be ready to be published. The beetle did not fit in herself with happiness.

Finally, after that chaotic and exhausting day Hornet returned home. Although on this occasion she decided to go to the house she had in Deepnest. She needed some of the peace that only that sinister place could give her. So there was the job of traveling all the way that took her to Distant Town, so that by the time she arrived, it was already night.

She climbed up to her house and with some sleep entered her home, only to be received by a group of vessels that were thrown on her by throwing her on the floor.

"What... What happened... Like..." Hornet was very confused to see her brothers there.

"Ah, Hornet, in the end you decided to come to Distant Village” Quirrel said, making himself present at the place.

"Yes... Well... I wanted to be calm and... What are you doing here?"

"The Mask Maker took longer than expected to end all the masks, and as it was done a little late to return home, we brought all the little ones here to spend the night"

"Oh my... This... I didn't expect it"

There was a certain disappointment on Hornet's face that did not go unnoticed by her siblings, who looked at her worried. This only tore a sigh that then led to a smile of resignation. Her siblings were too adorable.

She looked up and met Hollow who was standing next to Quirrel looking at her with some concern. Now he was a little taller, although he was still quite small and his new mask showed a somewhat more stylized look, but still largely maintained his childhood features.

Hollow looked distraught, perhaps feeling partly guilty for all the disasters that had happened that day, but Hornet didn't care anymore. She knew it were things that happened, there were not many laps to give him. So she decided to comfort him by opening her arms.

"Come here, little crazy boy and give your sister a good hug"

The little boy showed a smile and ran to the girl to jump on her like the rest of the group. This was not what Hornet expected, but what else did it matter. Closing her arms around her closest brother she simply said.

"I'm home"

Chapter Text

Quirrel turned over once more the fillet steaks that were roasted in the kitchen. Because of the smell and the appearance it had, it could be said that it were almost ready and looked very appetizing, something that even for the Pale King was notorious.

"You know," the worm said with some regret. "It's been a long time since I left the world of the living, but sometimes I still miss some things, like eating or sleeping, especially eating. Even more at see the dishes you prepare."

"Majesty, I don't think it's that bad. Surely when you was king, you had the opportunity to try all kinds of magnificent dishes" Quirrel replied modestly.

"That's true, but seeing Hollow and Hornet eat so happy, makes me want to try too"

"Well, they aren't very picky about food, especially Hornet, She basically eat what she get, sometimes she don't even care if it's very well cooked"

"Yes... That brat still does not learn the appropriate behavior for a princess., I have to straighten it before she becomes a queen. I do not want they say that the descendant of the Pale King is an uncivilized"

"Are you still with that?" Quirrel thought to himself. But he said nothing, just turned off the kitchen when he thought the food was ready and went to tell to his friends that it was time for dinner.

He found Hornet and Hollow practicing their combative maneuvers in the streets of Dirtmouth. This training was especially important for Hollow, who was still getting used to his new body, so his movements turned out to be somewhat more clumsy than usual, but still he managed to defend himself quite well from Hornet's thrusts. Near them, little Verm encouraged the fighters by grunting with excitement and generating small fireballs, which she managed to keep suspended in the air for a few moments before it went out. No doubt she was improving in the use of magic.

"Guys! The dinner is ready! Come in!”

When they heard their friend's call, they both left their activities and ran home followed by the bat, which of course would not miss dinner either.

That was a quiet and pleasant meal, very similar to others that they had had before. Those moments that they shared all together began to become an important routine in their day to day. It was already normal for them to see Hornet devour her ration at a dizzying speed and be the first to finish, they were already used to dealing with Verm’s tantrums because she wanted to be fed in the mouth as she used to do in the circus, or to Hollow trying to calm her down. Usually those scandals ended with the Pale King scolding them both and then Quirrel comforting them.

There was peace in that family, something that made Quirrel a little distressed, because he felt that what he was about to say would not be very well received.

"Listen... I... I must tell you something" The pill bug began.

"Is something wrong?" Hornet began to notice his friend's concern.

"It's nothing serious. It's just that... Em... Well. As you know, in recent times we have had to deal with the problem of demonic bats and in particular with Verm"

"Yes, we know that" replied the king.

“And we have also sought information on how to eliminate their influence or their magic to get rid of them in some way. However despite all that we have investigated and all the turns we have taken through the library, we have not managed to find anything useful"

"Right" Hornet said while still eating.

"In summary, in all Hallownest there is no clue or information on how to deal with these beasts and that is why I had thought about seeking help outside the kingdom"

At that time, for the first time in a long time, Hornet interrupted her meal and left her plate half finished with a slowness that was disturbing. Then with extreme seriousness, she gave a penetrating look to his friend and slowly and softly said:

"Please, tell me you're not going to tell me what I'm thinking"

"I was thinking about going on a trip again to..."

"No!" Hornet shouted, hitting the table. "Do you intend to go away again to meet your travel needs? How long will you continue with that? Why don't you stay still in a place to vary? You're not a kid anymore”

“Are you telling me old? In addition, now I'm not going for pleasure, I'm going to look for information on how to undo the contract with the bats, or failing that how to stop the ritual. This is something necessary, Grimm is dangerous”

"But we can investigate here in the kingdom!"

“We already did it and we found nothing! We ran out of options here”

"And what makes you think you can find something somewhere else?"

The discussion was rising in tone as each one exposed their points. But because of his experience and maturity, Quirrel was more skilled in the art of the word, so that he gave successful arguments without diverting the subject or entering into personal accusations, something that Hornet could not do. Her impulsiveness and the pain caused by the possible departure of the pill bug prevented her from formulating intelligent responses. She just ended up letting go of his mind.

"What I just think is that you leave us because you want to do it, because you don't appreciate us enough and you're a damn selfish" Hornet yelled at him. "Looking for information is just an excuse to go to do maybe what and... .. And I have no right to stop you because..... You and I are nothing...” Making a tremendous effort to hold back the tears, she looked at the insect with fury and continued “Get out of here then! Go away traitor! I thought you loved us! That we were important to you but I was wrong! I don’t want to see you anymore!"

And after releasing that speech, she took her needle and ran from home straight to the well that would take her to the depths of the kingdom.

Hornet ran and ran. She wasn't sure if someone was following her, but she preferred to make sure she was as far as possible, she wanted to be alone to chew her pain.

She didn't really pay attention to where she was going, she just got carried away by her instincts and by old customs she thought she had forgotten, from those times when she lived on the Green Path before she met Hollow.

Hornet was already arriving at the Queen’s Gardens when she finally stopped to catch her breath. Very agitated she looked around as if trying to remember where she was and when she finally calmed down, she let out a moan of frustration and sat down clutching her head.

"I'm a fool! What the hell is wrong with me!” She said to herself.

Getting like this because Quirrel was leaving. What the hell was she thinking? She had always known that this pill bug was not made to stay too long in a place, it was already a grace he deign to return with them. He had already left once but although on that occasion it hurt to separate from him, why did it hurt so much now? Why was the idea of having him far was so unbearable now? When did she become so dependent?

An icy chill ran down her body as she formed a certain idea in his head. Was she becoming weak?

While Hornet was not as obsessed with power as the mantis and she allowed herself certain freedoms that they did not, still strength was something important in her life. She was educated with an iron hand, training her body and her mind to unsuspected limits, all to be able to bear the heavy burden of her destiny. She never allowed herself to doubt, she never sought dialogue before confrontation. If someone should perish in her hands she would not regret it. All to fulfill her duty. That is why she hardened her heart like a rock to ignore any plea for mercy, to not allowing herself to trust anyone and not to have to suffer her loneliness.

During her past, the only time she allowed herself to cry was when her mother had to be sacrificed at the hands of Hollow. It was the only time when her emotional shell suffered a crack. At that moment she would have liked to kill that little nuisance, but managed to keep her head cold and endure everything for the sake of the future. What had happened to that determined warrior who never let herself be daunted by anything? Where was her strength? Why was she crying like a baby for something as stupid as Quirrel was going on a trip?

She stood up with determination. This could not be, this was not right, she should not cry. She should eliminate all those traces of weakness, she should return to being the powerful warrior of the past that did not yield to anything nor become attached to someone. She should return to... The empty existence she had before she met Hollow.

suffer for the affection of others or live without motivation. A life without feelings was fine if there was only one goal to fulfill, in that case the emotions were only an unnecessary distraction that hindered the mission, but neither she could call such an existence... Life. Until then she had never realized how unhappy she was... But now she is not very happy either. And why did he suddenly worry so much? She was supposed to be used to the sorrows and cruelty of the world, suffering was something routine, inevitable...

Hornet looked down, sincerely she did not know what was worse. She sighed confused. What should she do with her feelings? Bury them? Hold on to them? There was no answer and nobody could give it to her. Quirrel would simply tell her that he had to leave. Her father would say to cease to be so childish, Hollow would try to comfort her. And Verm... Was she even able to say something? She wish she had someone outside of her family with whom to talk about her problems. She trusted Bretta quite a lot but she could not talk to her about a problem that involved Quirrel. Iselda was another option. She wasn't that close to her but maybe...

Suddenly Hornet felt something strange in one of her legs and looked down. There was a small root bud that stirred and tickled. She withdrew her limb out of reach of the outbreak and bent down to see the plant.

She stroked the root and a familiar sensation invaded her. That vegetable became known to her, evoking a distant memory of a happy childhood lost in the depths of her mind. Was it possible? Was she alive?

Quickly Hornet began to dig on the floor looking for the direction from which the root came, then ran. She began to delve deeper and deeper into the corners of the Queen’s Gardens, searching at each bend, on each stone for signs of root shoots. As she managed to make her way to the origin of the plant, the shoots became thicker and firmer until they began to look like branches.

Her steps soon took her to an area she had never deigned to explore, more than anything because she was a practical person. That area was full of brambles and thorns and the dams that were there were not much to her liking. She was not leaving to bother to cross a dangerous sea of thorns without a good reason, but this time she had it.

Using her acrobatic skills she managed to dodge every obstacle that was put in her way. With the use of her needle and thread it almost seemed like she was flying between the galleries and grassy passages. Eventually she made her way to the heights, where a pergola covered by the grass housed the bodies of a pair of insects perished long ago. Apparently in that hidden place no scavenger had disposed of the bodies.

She watched the inert bugs, a fairly large cicada and a male mantis with his body grown by infection. What would have led this pair of adversaries to face each other? In addition the place was covered with scratches and cuts that the grass still could not hide. It seemed quite familiar, she almost bet Hollow left his mark there. Well, she would ask him later. She continued on her way with the idea of burying the bodies later, for the moment she cared to discover where the roots came from.

She kept moving forward and her steps led her to a round structure, a kind of burrow hidden among the bushes, which would be the dream of any mother, it seemed a very appropriate place to hide a clutch of eggs, dangerous creatures were not seen in the surroundings, there were hardly any aluba and maskfly that could serve as food.

When Hornet stopped admiring the burrow, she focused her attention on the corpse lying on the outskirts, then put his hands to his mouth to stifle a cry of surprise. That was Driya! One of the five knights. So that had been her end? She looked around and noticed the corpses of mantis that surrounded her. No doubt that had been a great battle, one in which there were neither winners nor losers, for all had perished, however, what had led the knight to fight in that hiding place? Was she protecting something? It would be possible that...

She looked up, watching the glowing roots protruding from the burrow and without further delay she entered.

Inside the roots became thicker and brighter. Hornet followed them with her heart beating hard, never thought she would see her again. She never looked for her, just left her for dead and forgot the subject, at that time she had other concerns in mind. However, fate was capricious and joined their paths again. The old queen of Hallownest, the White Lady.Would she remember her? Would she know that the nightmare was over and they were free? Well, that surely she did know, she could feel everything with her roots. But that being the case, why hadn't she returned to claim the throne? If the queen regained her place, maybe the damn worm would stop bothering her.

Finally Hornet reached the main hall of that refuge and looked with her eyes at the old withered blind root, the high being, the old queen, the lady of the gardens... Although for Hornet she was only Aunt White.

"Who is there?" The root asked, noting that she was not alone.

"Hello Aunt White" said the girl in a loving tone.

“Hornet? It's you? Is it possible? Oh, my girl, how long!”

At that moment one of the roots emerged from the ground and caught Hornet without her being able to avoid it. Then another root began to touch the girl feeling every corner of her body, something that made her quite uncomfortable.

"Oh my! Look how much you have grown" exclaimed the queen, examining Hornet through touch because she couldn't see her due to her blindness. "You have beautiful horns, it are the same as your mother's... Maybe a little more stylized, the shape of your face is very similar to that of my dear Wyrm... Oh, but what finer legs, surely you must have a very elegant presence, although you are somewhat thin. Have you been eating well?... Look at this. You're already a young lady in the age to lay eggs. I'm so happy to know you are fine”

The root deposited the girl who was with the face red after the examination, nobody had ever touched her like that, she almost felt outraged. But the worst thing is that she could not complain, She had not done it with bad intention

"And tell me my girl, how have you been?"

Hornet took a while to answer. She needed to calm down a bit.

"I... I've been fine... I think..."

"I am very happy, so many years have passed since I did not see you... Since you were a child when your mother took you to the palace to appear before the court and be recognized as one of the descendants of the king"

Hornet remembered that moment, was one of the most stressful of her life and she was not even in danger. She remembered being in the throne room, his father looking at her severely and the court insects with contempt, then in the midst of all that hostility she found those gray eyes that only emanated sweetness and love. That comforted her a little, however later...

"You were such an adorable girl!"

Yes, the queen said the same in that time. Basically she took her with one of her roots and hugged her with no decorum while exclaiming ‘Look love, she is so cute. she is adorable! she looks a lot like you!’ That was her first encounter with Aunt White, a huge cluster of love in the form of roots, the sweetest being on the planet, capable of forgiving practically anything and loving everyone. Of course, if not, how could she love her, which was the fruit of her partner's relationship with another female?

"I am very happy that you have managed to find me in this green labyrinth" said the Queen. "It is nice to be able to receive an acquaintance after spending so many years cloistered in solitude. Sometimes I almost wanted to go crazy, it was hard to get over the infection and keep me sane, but it was necessary, I needed to preserve my dear Wyrm's gift and deliver it to the right one”

"So that's why you remained hidden all these years when the kingdom collapsed?"

"Yes, my beloved told me to hide. He said I should stay safe and that when all this end he would come for me"

"But the infection was already defeated and the Wyrm still doesn’t appear" said Hornet with a certain annoyance. Poor Aunt White, she was another victim of her father's follies.

"Yes, that seems, surely something must be delaying him. But he will appear at some point"

"And if he never appears?"

"My memories will remain" She replied calmly, leaving Hornet perplexed.

"But... But... You're supposed to... You're not going to miss him?"

“Of course, I will miss him very much. But you know? I have lived thousands of years, my beloved Wyrm is not the first one I say goodbye to, he is not that first love I have either. The roots have long lives, much more than those of most beings. To say goodbye is normal and we accept the designs of life with resignation, that's the way things are. We are born to die, and we love for to lose. It is inevitable”

A deep regret invaded Hornet's heart upon hearing those very true words. The queen was right, it was inevitable to die and with it the separations. Even if she could prevent Quirrel from leaving Hallownest and staying with her, she would lose him someday, perhaps in the distant future, but that would happen.
"And how do you deal with the pain?"

Although she couldn't see, the queen turned her eyes to Hornet showing a surprised expression. Then with a sympathetic smile she said:

“I never thought I would hear something like that from you. I had heard you were a severe, cold and determined person, who never let out a tear”

Hornet clenched her fists at the frustration that caused her to hear those words. She looked down and hesitated a moment before answering.

"I... It used to be that way but... It seems that I have become weak. Now I regret the forced separation of an individual whom I appreciate and my fragile mind is overwhelmed by pain"

"Mmmmm" The White Queen seemed thoughtful "I don't think it's necessary to call those feelings weakness. It's just inexperience for not knowing how to handle them well. Except for your dear mother from whom you saw yourself separated at an early age, I think you didn't forge too strong emotional ties with anyone. Am I wrong?”

"Well... I had a couple of friends but ... I was forced to kill them to save my life and... That also hurt me at the time"

"I see. And at the time you cried for them?"

"Not really, I... I buried everything at the bottom of my being and forced myself to move on"

"I think I get it" The queen gave a deep sigh "You never faced the pain, you just evaded it. You forgot the feeling, buried your love and tried to erase your heart. However, once again you tried the art of love, everything buried has flourished again and strikes you causing pain. You have to face your feelings and educate your heart to make it truly strong and not only be an empty shell.”

"How do I do that?"

"Suffering"

Hornet looked at her with anguished expression, the queen could not see her but sensed how she felt.

“Quiet, it will eventually happen, it will hurt a lot at the beginning, then it will be a nuisance and eventually it will become a beautiful memory and by the time everything has happened, you will have become someone truly strong. So the next pains you have to endure will hurt less and will be more bearable, is part of life. It is an unpleasant experience and the only advice I can give you, is that you surround yourself with the love of those who still you have, they will help you say goodbye to those who have already left”

"Thank you Aunt White, I guess... That was what I needed to hear"

"I am very happy to have been able to help you. Though... I don't know if it will be a very personal question but who is the person that causes you so much pain?"

"He's a friend, but he's going to leave the kingdom and... I don't know why but I have a bad feeling, I don't want him to leave"

"I see, but he just goes on a trip, you can still see him one day, that's a hope, don't you think?"

"Yes but... Better talk about something else"

"Okay, it will be what you want"

Chapter Text

Silence invaded the burrow, none had anything to say. They only shared the moment without saying a word. Although, while the queen was lost in her thoughts, Hornet was dedicated to observe the withered being. She remembered her more imposing, so bright that it was hard to look at her and with many more branches coming out of her, perhaps it was because of that kind of vest that had her tied up that looked so bad.

“Aunt White… Why are you wearing that garment that holds you in jail? Was that also my father's command?”

"This? Oh no, not at all. I have attached these ties myself. In fact, it is the punishment I deserve for the horrible things I have done. To conceive so many children to dispose of them as garbage... Simply unacceptable. I know there is not enough punishment to pay for my sins. but something I wanted to do. I am no longer worthy of bringing more offspring to the world, so I tied my body to keep me from spreading more seeds. I know that by other methods I could not avoid it, the roots always have the desire to reproduce. Living so many years with contained desires is complex, but I deserve it, even for that, even though I perceive that the infection is already gone, I have chosen to keep myself locked up”

"But that was my father's fault"

"No Hornet, I also had responsibility in all this. I could have said no, many times I wanted to do it, but I never did. I overestimated his wisdom, just as he overestimated his perfect vessel" at that time the queen put a veryafflicted expression "That child... The only one with whom I could spend a little more time, was only able to look at me with those empty eyes without saying anything, they would never tell me their adventures, they had no whims I could fulfill... I... You know? As I am a root I can reproduce myself without having a mate, but... I always had the secret desire to have a child that belonged both. A child mine and of Wyrm and when I finally had them... I couldn’t love them”

It was such an expression of sadness in the former ruler, that Hornet's heart broke. Adding the fact that she was already a little sensitive, she simply burst into tears. With tears rolling down her face she approached the high being and hugged her. The queen was surprised to perceive Hornet's contact, but soon she smiled warmly and corresponded to her gesture with one of her roots.

Both of them stayed in silence for a long time, the queen thanking fate for bringing her to Hornet and she taking out all the sadness saved for years. Finally both ended up falling asleep.

Hornet opened her eyes and found herself in a strange place. It was like a beautiful and lush garden, but unnatural, since each plant and tree seemed made of silver. But despite this, she did not feel surprised, with the experience she had, she had already learned to distinguish when a dream was being manipulated and someone had gotten into it.

She walked a little looking for the source of the abnormalities and soon found it, it was the Pale King, but he was not alone.

He was with the White Lady. She had him affectionately cradled in her roots while she rubbed her face against his. In turn, the king also gave affectionate caresses to his partner and looked radiant with happiness.

Hornet was surprised, she always saw her father as someone cold and ruthless, never thought he was capable of showing affection for anyone. When she got a little closer, she realized that this dream belonged to Aunt White. It had been intervened by his father and probably just because she was nearby, Hornet had ended up dragged into all this.

"Ah my dear Wyrm, I am so happy to meet you again, even if it is in this way" It seems that the queen also had the ability to notice when she was in an intervened dream.

"Me too dear. I missed you so much, I longed to be among your roots as much as before"

"Oh love, I missed being able to hug you, cover you and feel you in my chest"

Hornet began to move away slowly, the scene would be very moving but it was too much sugar for her. She preferred to leave them alone before things got hotter. However, a certain change in the tone of the conversation held her in place.

"Love, it was not just to meet you again that I have presented in your dreams"

“Oh well, I imagined it. You have always been a very busy bug. Do you have great feats to accomplish? Projects to realize? Will you give me any other mission?”

"Actually, lately I have been quite unoccupied. I had not had so much free time in a while, I really miss building my old inventions a bit, but death has its consequences and these are inevitable"

"Dead? Poor... Oh how sorry I am..." the queen's gaze saddened "How did it happen?"

This question aroused Hornet’s curiosity. How is it that in all this time she never asked?

"I'm not sure how it happened, I just remember... A deep and disturbing darkness and... 8 bright eyes looking at me... And after that I was dead"

"Oh... It seems that it was a mistake to do that and He finally decided to pass his sentence"

"He? Who?"

"The one to whom the ancients were loyal... But don't worry about that" The queen chose to change the subject quickly. "So you came here to tell me about your death?"

“In part yes, you don't need to wait for me anymore, just as you don't need to punish yourself. Get rid of your bonds White, it was enough penance”

“But… I can't, it wouldn't be fair. The price I am paying doesn’t compare to that of those offspring. Locked in the abyss, covered in darkness, apart from the world... suffering for not being..."

“They are fine!” The king said suddenly “They are still in the abyss, but they are no longer locked up, they can leave whenever they want. In fact sometimes some do it, although most prefer to stay down there, it is not that they carry a bad life. Little by little they have fixed their home, they are learning the art of construction... It still makes horrendous houses but they are improving. Jem is one of the best builders, only with dirt and empty shells he has done quite decent things, in addition to having a group that helps him a lot, although sometimes they tend to overdo it with work. That always makes Alma scold them, she is the most worried about the welfare of others, everyone loves her very much, less Jany that... Well, she is a bit rebellious and complicated…”

Hornet listened to his father's words in amazement, there was no lie in them, everything was as he said it, it almost seemed that ... The Pale King had visited the abyss to see the shadows, perhaps... Was he worried about his suckers?

"Love... I appreciate you want to comfort me but you don't have to invent such stories"

"They are not lies. Have I ever talked to you saying something that was not true?" The root looked at him seriously a few moments before answering.

"Not really... I could accuse you of many things, but I would never call you a liar" She paused while thinking a few moments. "And tell me... Have you seen our child too? I mean... The pure vessel”

"Yes, he returned to the abyss to live with his siblings, he has adopted the name of Big and is the king of the shadows"

"Of course" White only smiled sadly without believing at all the fantasy that presented her partner. However she decided to ask something else "And the small vessel that subjugated the infection. What happened to them?”

“Well… initially he returned to the abyss, but then he chose to live on the surface to keep Hornet company. She named him Hollow and now they live like good siblings. Ask her if you have any doubts”

The latter declaration did surprise the White Lady, it sounded too beautiful to be true. Then she simply smiled while a couple of tears came out of her eyes and everything began to fade, as the dream was coming to an end.

Hornet opened her eyes and found herself lying on one of Aunt White's enormous roots, she had fallen asleep on top of her. She raised her head and noticed that the old root was also waking up, she directed her face towards her with an expression of tenderness and love.

“Have you awakened Hornet? I think we fell asleep. It was a pleasant nap, especially because of the beautiful dream I had. It had been a long time since I dreamed of anything so beautiful”

Apparently neither the king nor the queen noticed Hornet's presence in the dream, none knew that she witnessed everything, so she was not surprised by the question she asked her.

"Hornet... You met that little one once... The one to whom I gave my little treasure entrusted by my beloved Wyrm. I know it was like that, he let me know in due course. That same little one is the one who managed to end the infection, but after that I lost track of them. Have you known anything else about them?”

"The little one... He is Hollow, he choose to be a male, he is living with me in a town on the surface called Dirtmouth. Well... We also have another house in Deepnest, we are where we feel like it, but we spend more time up, there is more life there. Hollow always gets into all kinds of problems but still... He's a good brother, he's always with me”

Then a heavy drop fell on Hornet’s head and when she inspected its origin, she discovered that it was a tear from the queen.

"Really... You don't know how happy it makes me hear that... Hornet. would you do me a favor? Could you help me remove these ties?”

"Sure Aunt"

With some cuts made by her needle, Hornet managed to crack the prison of the root, as soon as she was free, she unleashed her branches which instinctively buried themselves in the earth beginning to engender life. The queen shouted with pleasure and relief as the floor of the place was covered with white flowers. Her limbs made their way through the earth extending further and further in its eagerness to spread seeds, the earth trembled at the presence of the high being who spilled her energy and her desires on it.

Hornet watched impressed and perhaps somewhat scared the incredible spectacle of the root spreading seeds. Now she understood why in every place where the aunt was there was always grass and flowers. However something was wrong, she began to notice it when the brightness of the White Lady's body began to decline. She had already lost many of her splendor of yesteryear and it seemed that now it would end up becoming extinct. Then she noticed the horrible reality, such a rhythm of reproduction was too much for her and if she didn't stop to recover she would end up dying. Then scandalized she ran to the nearest root and began to pull it trying to tear it off the ground.

“Stop Aunt White! If you continue like this you’ll die!”

"Actually I should have done it a long time ago" replied the high being.

"What!?"

"Only my promise to my beloved Wyrm and my penance kept me in this world, however I no longer possess any of the two burdens. I am free to leave"

"But aunt..."

“I have lived through millennia, Hornet. I even met Wyrm before he reincarnated as an adorable worm. I witnessed the rise and fall of Hallownest, I studied with those who lived before, I was even present in the great battle of the ancient gods. I think it's more than enough Don't you think so? Neither this kingdom nor this world needs me anymore, it is time to leave, but before doing so I will leave this last gift: Life. Because life is all I can offer ”

Hornet looked at her with some grief but understood her decision, after crying all her sorrows she no longer felt so sensitive, so she accepted with resignation her aunt's goodbye. She released the root she was holding and placed herself in front of her. She knew that the old queen could not see her, but still following old protocols learned during her childhood, she knelt before her.

“It has been a pleasure to share these moments with you, even if they were brief, my spirit will always be by your side and I will be honored to remember it”

The queen recognizing the formal tone of the words, deduced that the warrior had bowed before her following an old formalism. It seemed funny that she remembered such customs and decided to replicate her. With some effort she leaned forward.

“The honor is mine my faithful warrior, until fate brings us together again, I will always have you in my thoughts”

And after saying these last words, she finally finished draining the energy he had left. Her body lost the white glow that characterized her so much and turned an opaque gray. Life left her body and she collapsed on the grass with a loud clatter.

Hornet opened her eyes and contemplated the inert being. She stood up and slowly walked to her, then laid a hand on the dead root. Little by little this was losing its warmth and freshness, soon it would be nothing more than a withered branch that would later rot and return to the earth following the cycle of life.

She had witnessed a unique event, the death of a high being. However, that was a great loss to the world. It was not easy for a being as extraordinary as this to be born. Although now that she thought about it. How exactly was a high being born?

It was curious but that thought received an almost immediate response, because suddenly she began to hear a small murmur in the vicinity, something similar to that of claws tearing the wood. She knew that eventually the queen's body would be consumed by the environment, but it seemed somewhat hasty that this consumption began only a few seconds after she died.

She toured the surroundings looking for the vermin that supposedly sought to feed on the corpse, however what she found was something much more incredible. Under one of the dead roots, she noticed that something was moving, something white and bright, very tiny. Something anxious she began hitting the dead wood with her needle, feeling certain guilt for desecrating her aunt's body in that way, however she hoped her aunt would forgive her. Then when she managed to break that section of root, she found a small white being with violet eyes. A new little White Lady.

Hornet looked dumbfounded at the new life that had emerged from the previous one. A new high being! And it was identical to Aunt White, except for the color of her eyes.

She bent down to catch up with the newborn who was looking at her in confusion, that little creature didn't know anything about the world, she had a lot to learn, she probably wasn't even able to understand the spoken language. Poor thing, thrown into the world in absolute solitude, although now she had her, she was no longer alone, she would definitely visit her from time to time. For a moment, the idea of taking her to Dirtmouth crossed her mind, but Hornet considered it inappropriate. She would be better there in the gardens.

The roots had the advantage that they did not need to hunt for food, they obtained everything they needed from the land. Their only concern was not to be devoured until they had a decent size. But protected in that burrow, this small root would be safe. This led Hornet to think that the queen had all this planned for a long time, if not. Why else would she have chosen such a hiding place to conceal herself? There were much nicer places in the gardens.
She stroked the root carefully causing an expression of pleasure in her.

"Welcome to the world, little one” Hornet said in an affectionate tone. "You should know that you are a being of extraordinary qualities, a high being born to be great, of course there is still a long way to go. Meanwhile, dedicate yourself to learn and enjoy life. However, you will need a name by which others should go to you, and then... You have that white color so similar to your mother's... But I don't think it's appropriate to copy her name... Pale... Eh, no, that name is definitely not and well... Mmm .... I wonder why I have the creativity of a stone with names... Anyway, you will be called Clare. Yes! that is! From now on you are Clare!”

The root looked confused without understanding the meaning of Hornet’s words, however they were burning in hdf mind, waiting for the day they made sense to her.

“Well Clare, I must go, I will visit you again sometime. I know you will be fine alone. I wish I could tell you something else but I don't think I have anything that can be useful for you unless... Umm.... You know? I think I will tell you certain things that your mother, the late White Queen, told me. It is a message that turned out to be very important for me and may help you someday. We, all, even high beings like you, we are born to die and we love for to lose. This causes pain, but the pain should not be avoided, just confronted and eventually passed. Don't put aside your feelings, hug them, accept them and become an adorable cluster of love like your mother was”

The little root looked at her without understanding anything, only reacting to the tone of voice with which Hornet pronounced her words. Soon the warrior stood up and turned to leave the burrow, leaving the little girl alone, something that the little one weighed a lot, but she did not know how to ask that large and nice creature not to leave her. She would have liked to follow her but she didn't really want to move, she felt very comfortable buried there. in fact until she grew a little she couldn't travel to other places.

Suddenly an ethereal and transparent figure appeared before her, a white worm (Although she did not know what a worm was). He looked at her with some melancholy, in turn the little girl observed him feeling some discomfort. She did not know why but it bothered to see that sad thing. However, as if reading her thoughts, the ghost changed his expression to a more jovial one. Then he stroked the root's head, transmitting cozy and pleasant sensations and implying that she would not be alone because he would visit her again.

After finishing his transmission of thoughts about the creature, he proceeded to dedicate some words to her as well.

"Hornet is right, you should not put aside your feelings.It are the ones that prevent us from becoming monsters..."

Hornet went a long way through brambles, thickets and all kinds of vegetation in her advance towards the exit of the gardens, however, when she had already crossed most of the acid lakes and had little left to leave Green Path, she met her family.

Quirrel, Hollow and Verm walked around shouting her name as they searched her around. Hornet was moved and felt bad for to make them worry like that, so she yelled to get their attention. In response everyone ran to her, catching her in a tight hug and perhaps a little awkward, she was not used to being surrounded by so much love.

"Guys... Please, personal space..."

"Oh, sorry, sorry" said Quirrel apologizing for everyone.

“Okay, I also regret having worried you. I acted like a fool”

"Yes... I say no... Not so much" Quirrel was being careful with his words, he feared that Hornet would burst again, her mood seemed somewhat unstable.

“Yes I was, I was a fool, but I'm fine,. I will not make these scandals again or say such cruel things. You can go on a trip. We will be waiting for you as always, right Hollow? Verm? ”

“Yep! Gyaaaaaarg! ”Said the little girl while Hollow just nodded silently.

"It's good to hear it..." Quirrel said something insecure "Are you sure you're okay with all this?"

"Of course! I'm fine! I understand and accept that you have to leave! Simply...." Suddenly an idea crossed Hornet's mind "You will simply have to compensate me for this"

"Compensate you?"

“Yes, you will have to bring me a nice memory of your trip”

"Okay, okay, I'll bring you something" he said jokingly as he set out to leave the Green Path and head to the Forgotten Crossroads.

"But that's not all!" Continued Hornet following him "You'll also have to go out with me for a walk"

"Okay, I'll take you somewhere" The pill bug looked amused with Hornet's demands.

“And you’ll have to prepare that Dirtcarver stew that you cook so well”

“Whatever boss says”

"And you'll also have to sleep with me!"

At these last words the pill bug stopped his steps and looked at her with surprise. The crossbreed showed an expression of feigned discomfort, of course Quirrel was not able to capture the deception.

"I... This... Well... Okay, whatever you want."

"Yes!"

Hornet laughed amused, in fact the latter did not mean it, but apparently Quirrel did not catch the joke. Anyway she liked the idea of having him close, she would take advantage of all the time she could with her friend before losing him.

On his side, Quirrel just looked at the warrior's smile and sighed in resignation. Maybe he was consenting too much that girl, but he couldn't help it. He was happy to see her happy, in fact he would do his best because his trip lasted as little as possible. He didn't want it pass too much time before I could see that smile again.

Chapter Text

"Bretta, how much do you have left to finish?" Hornet asked, showing her impatience.

"You said you wanted I help you get out of the mess you got in without cutting the thread, so that is what I’m doing. These knots are complicated"

Once again Hornet, in her attempt to learn to weave, had become entangled in her work and this time, not having Quirrel to help her, it was her turn to ask Bretta for help. At least the beetle was well disposed; the bad thing was that she was very slow. Her legs were already getting numb from the odd posture in which she had remained.

"Wow, this is not something you see every day" said someone "The red beast tangled in her thread and absolutely vulnerable"

Hornet looked up at the speaker, fearing some surprise attack, Hollow was around, so it wasn't that she was totally unprotected, but in the time he would take to get there, someone could get hurt.

However, the warrior was reassured to discover that whoever spoke was none other than Dan's mother. What a relief, although she did not like the burlesque way she looked at her. Even so, she chose to maintain an educated tone, she didn't want to have problems with the public workers' union again.

“Hello. How long without seeing you. It’s not common you walk on these sides. How are you? ”

"I’m very well thank you, at least it seems that I’m better than you" Hornet ignored the mockery "But who really is not very well is Dan. Is not that pill bug friend of yours around here? I wanted to ask him some questions about his species”

“Quirrel? He is not here, he went on a trip and I don’t know when he will return. Ah! Bretta be careful! That hurt"

But the beetle did not respond, her eyes were teary when she remembered her blue knight. Fortunately at that moment she managed to untie the main knot and Hornet was free. Once her task was completed, Bretta got up and silently walked to her house.

"What's wrong with that girl?" The cockroach asked.

“It affected her a little that Quirrel left, but I want to think that she will be fine. That aside. What happens to Dan? ”

"Oh well, he has been acting a little weird lately. I don't know if it will be a behavior of the pill bugs when they are going to make their last molting or something else, but I wanted to ask to be sure"

"I'm not sure about that either, but... What weird behaviors has Dan had?"

“Well… Lately he goes out a lot and he doesn't tell me where he is going, and if I ask him he gets angry. He's more taciturn and quiet than usual, I feel that he is hiding something from me. I'm afraid that he is in bad steps. I wanted to think that all this is because of his next molting, after all, he is one step away from being an adult”

"I really don't think it has anything to do with it"

“It's what I fear. My poor Dan… He was always so tame, just now he starts with these rebel behaviors, besides he is not resting correctly. When an insect is going to molt, it usually becomes lazy, lowers its activity and tends to hide. I had already prepared the burrow for him to rest and pass this stage as best as possible, but he refuses to rest. He falls off exhaustion and he insists on go out”

"That is something strange, even unnatural. I remember that during my changes I could hardly have standing up"

“That's what I say! And I am wondering if this will not be a type of revenge against me for neglecting him lately"

"I don`t believe it..."

"Until now I had always been very aware of him, but with the crisis of the food thief I have not been able to attend to him properly, especially in this very complicated stage"

"A food thief?"

"Oh yeah! That was another thing I wanted to ask you for help.” The cockroach looked at Hornet seriously. “During the past few weeks, the food reserves of the city's restaurants have been attacked by a mysterious being, one so quick and elusive, that no one has been able to spot it clearly. It does not harm anyone, it does not attack, it only steals and leaves. The few witnesses we have say that he is a large being, only with legs, without hands, it has a horn on its head and another on its back, or something like that. They are not very sure because they have only been able to see its silhouette. This situation is about to ruin several businesses. Complaints are coming to the governor and if he does not do something, he will get into a lot of trouble”

"I see, then as other times we have helped you in patrols and other tasks, you wants to ask us to capture the creature"

"Exactly, of course we will pay you well for the service as always. What do you say?"

"Count on me, I'll ask hollow if he wants to participate too"

“It seems good to me, the more help we can get, the better”

In this way Hornet, Hollow (and by extension Ali), were recruited to work to capture the mysterious food thief that caused so many problems in the city. Coincidentally they had to work in the squad that was in charge of the same cockroach they knew when they did the extermination work in the Soul Sanctum. This bug, of course, maintained a very professional attitude while explaining the details of the mission.

"Well, it is likely that you already know the details of the objective in question, we have already failed 5 times in a row to capture it. But since today we have the presence of new collaborators, I will repeat the explanations and relevant data"

The cockroaches nodded without much enthusiasm, it was notorious that no one wanted to be there. In fact, this made Hornet think that perhaps the one who had not caught the thief was due more to the ineptitude of the insects than to the bandit's talent.

“The target creature always appears at the same hour, shortly before the close of business, when everyone is busy with cleaning, boxing and all those tasks. The being is not too small to go completely unnoticed, but his stealth makes it seem almost a ghost, besides being very fast. You know it very well, if the bug is on the run, there is no one who catches it. That's why Miss Hornet's cooperation is so important here, she is very good at put traps. If we do it right we could catch the thief when it tries to escape, for that... Jargo! Pay attention! And leave that book!”

Mentioned Jargo was reading a novel on the verge of tears, although his moment of shock and sorrow was interrupted by the shout of his boss. Then he made a quick apology and put the book away. After a quick glance Hornet managed to notice that it was the recently released Bretta’s novel.

“Well, as I was telling you, we are going to set traps this time to stop the beast, Hornet herself proposed the action plan. We will wait for the creature to enter the restaurant, so while it steal the food, we will quickly prepare the thread traps on all escape routes. Then we will try to attack the being, this in its panic will flee, however when passing through the doors, it will be trapped by the thread. However, we fear that the being is too strong, so a squad will be designated to become the support of the network, in addition to acting as an attack group to reduce the prisoner. Ideally, the most robust cockroaches are those that participate in this part”

"I'll do it!" Dan shouted with more enthusiasm than he showed, his dull eyes and his stagger implied that he was not well.

“Dan! What the hell are you doing here?” Shouted the angry cockroach chief “Look at you! You are barely standing, you are about to molting. You should be at home resting”

"I'm fine! Don't get like my mother! If I came here, it's because I can do it!”

"Sure as you say" the cockroach sighed. "If you end up collapsing in the middle of work, I don't want your mother to hold me responsible for what happens. I’ll let you participate in the operation, but you won’t be in the attack squad. You will be in the group dedicated to scare the creature ”

"But..."

"Without but Dan, or I’ll suspend you for a week"

Dan's fists trembled, but he resigned himself to following the instructions.

“Well, picking up the plan… Sarah stops reading that book! What the hell is wrong with all of you! Why are so distracted? ”

No doubt Bretta's novel was wreaking havoc on public workers. However, between scolding and shouting, they finished organizing and waited for the arrival of the thief.

The City of Tears actually had several restaurants that could be attacked, so the first part of the plan was simply to wait to see which one the beast entered. Hornet and her brother, as good experienced hunters, waited for the prey with stealth and much patience, which they also tried to instill in Verm, who waited sitting next to them trying to imitate the olders. However it was extremely difficult to stay focused when everyone the other members of the group seemed so disinterested in the matter.

Several of the cockroaches were reading the famous novel, while others were dedicated to commenting between murmurs. Frankly, the situation was already filling Hornet's patience, the only one who seemed to be still and silent was Dan, but the poor bug was fainting from exhaustion.

"Dan" Hornet whispered "I think you should go home, you look very bad, in fact I would not be surprised if you started to change your skin tonight"

"I'm ... Goooood ... It won't be to daaaaaay" replied the pill bug dragging the words.

Hornet was going to replicate something else when Verm gave a slight, almost imperceptible groan as she moved her ears. The bat had a good ear and had managed to hear, even in the middle of the noise of the falling water, some stealthy steps approaching.

It was possible to perceive a large lump with several legs that walked hiding in the shadows, It was incredible the skill and speed with which it did. Between stop and stop, you could only distinguish a blue spot that ran to its next hiding place, not even passersby noticed it. Hornet kicked a cockroach that was reading, she looked at her annoyed. Then the spider make her note that the target was already in the spotlight. The news ran through the group quickly and everyone prepared to follow the mysterious insect.

The thief moved through the less crowded streets, which it seemed to know very well, as if it had the route planned and studied beforehand. Because it made a large enough detour to reach the objective restaurant, trying to search of the most lonely path .

Just when there was little left for it to reach the chosen place, its head appeared for a moment, a brief moment of vigilance in which those who followed it could see a blue face and a long horn. Although due to the distance they found it difficult to distinguish details, however, for Hollow and Hornet it looked somewhat familiar.

After a few seconds, an employee was seen coming out the back door of the restaurant, however the thief did not move. A few minutes later another worker left, again there was no reaction from the blue creature. It seemed to be waiting for something. Finally, when the third worker left and moved away enough, the bug came out of its hiding place, went to the door and something did with its horn in it that managed to open it without problems. Then it entered.

"There is! It entered that restaurant! Come on! ”Hornet shouted, however she got no answer, then turned to look and saw something quite annoying “Redem! Not you too!” The warrior complained to the cockroach head of the squad.

"Eh? Ah! Sorry! Is that the book is very interesting” The cockroach boss apologized “Eh.... This.... Ahem... Come on guys! To the work!”

The entire squad moved to the restaurant with speed and silence, soon they divided according to the functions that each would perform. Hornet stayed near the door where she quickly began to weave a safety net with the thread she had brought. she worried that it was not enough thread to keep everything firm, because the creature she wanted to catch was larger than expected.

It was at times like that when she lamented being a crossbreed spider. If she were a pure-blood spider, or if at least she had inherited that part of her mother's genes, she could produce the missing thread herself.

Even so, as she could weave a firm net, and for extra security, she asked some of the cockroaches to hold the ends of these with their own bodies, the net would definitely not break, the only danger was that it would come off the frame of the door.

Meanwhile, the mysterious insect sniffed the place in search of threats, something was in the environment that had it nervous. It looked at the office that was where the day's collections were taken. There an old stick-bug that barely fit in the office, took out accounts and filled books. She was the last employee to leave the premises. The beast had to steal the food before the lady finished taking out her accounts, because then she would withdraw from the business and lock everything, leaving it locked.

The bug was still calm, it knew everyone's routines and times well, it had plenty of time to accomplish its task, so without hesitation it headed for the pantry. Most of the buildings in the city had similar distributions, all the premises had bathrooms and offices in the same places, it had already assaulted other restaurants before, so it was not difficult to deduce where the pantry was.

It arrived at the food cellar, which of course was closed, but that was no impediment for it. Using its huge horn, it put the tip in the padlock and pressed, easily breaking the lock. it was already an expert in that, the bad thing is that it left the horn in pain, but it would pass in a while.

The bug prepared to enter, turned on the light with confidence as if it were its house and looked at the available merchandise. It was still deciding what it would use first when a scandal surprised it. The insect turned around and looked in horror at a huge group of cockroaches that had it surrounded, this had never happened before, they were normally distracted reading and could sneak between them, besides that its friend also helped it with these guys.

It watched all the attackers in terror trying to find some weak point to go through, but all the cockroaches looked furious and carried spears with which they threatened it, however something distracted the group.

"Oh no! Dan collapsed!” A terrified cockroach shouted.

The pill bug was on the floor unconscious, finally his low energy had reached the limit and had fallen asleep. The cockroaches knew that was not something serious, Dan was healthy, he just needed to rest and then he would wake up, but the thief did not know it. Then he panicked and lashed out at the group suffering from several scratches because of the spears, but he did not It mattered, he was determined to rescue his friend.

With great skill he took Dan with his jaws and mounted him on his back, which made cockroaches hysterical.

“He took a hostage! Lower your weapons! Dan can get hurt! ”

Taking advantage of the cessation of hostilities, the bandit ran to the exit only to find it blocked by a network of thread. The creature thought it was normal thread, like the one produced by silkworms. He had no idea of the extraordinary properties of the spider thread, so he confidently ran to the net, only to be caught by it.

"We already have it!" Hornet shouted triumphantly out of hiding.

The thief recognized in Hornet a dangerous being, so he began to run harder by throwing all his weight against the net, which, as the warrior feared, began to part with the points where it was tied. The crossbreed seeing the danger of this, ran and grabbed one of the threads firmly, but her forces would not reach to stop the creature.

"Guys! Help me or he will escape!” She shouted, panting.

However, she failed to attract the attention of the other cockroaches, as they were distracted reading again. At that time Hornet was already chewing enough insults that she would like to shout at, but they were interrupted by the squad leader, who showed up screaming hysterically.

“React shit bugs! The thief took Dan hostage!”

Just hearing that, the cockroaches stood up to go to cooperate in the arrest of the offender.

Verm who until now had been left out because of her young age, wanted to help as much as possible. knew that she could not throw fire because it could set fire to the site, however she had the advantage of being able to fly freely, so she went where the pill bug was with intentions to rescue him. Unfortunately, just when she was on top of the insect, the fugitive's force surpassed the knots of the net and the Hornet’s resistance, so he went through the door taking the net, Dan and Verm who could not escape, because part of the network fell on top of the bat, leaving her captive.

“Dan! Verm!” Hornet shouted worriedly.

Hollow became hysterical when he saw his "daughter" being carried by the creature and ran after her, however his efforts were in vain, the being was too fast for them. Then he fell to his knees feeling a deep pain in his chest not knowing if his little girl would be safe or not. He stayed a few moments feeling the rain fall, hiding any trace of grief that came out of his eyes, however his lethargy and melancholy did not last long, because the touch of his sister's hand took him out of his thoughts.

"Calm down Hollow, she'll be fine, she knows how to defend herself"

"........"

“What could happen to her? Please, I doubt that the thief will harm her, he is a stag, they are not predatory insects, not even omnivorous, they feed on grass. The worst thing he could do would be to leave her lying on the road and as long as I don't take it to a very dangerous place like Deepnest or the Royal Waterways it will be fine, I think that even in Fungal Wastes she could manage it alone”

"..........?"

“How do we look for her? Well, now I can't think of any idea...”

“You should look for them in the tunnels made for the stags” said the king appearing out of nowhere.

“Aaaaah! Old man, don't scare us like that!” Hornet complained.

"......?"

"The tunnels are the best place to look" The king continued ignoring Hornet "because that's where our thief comes from"

"How do you know it?"

“The stags are bulky insects, although this one is still very young here, but they still prefer to move through large spaces, nothing of narrow galleries or rugged tunnels. That is why for these bugs the most comfortable way to get around is through these tunnels. When I sent them to build, I worried that they had all the requirements and comforts for the stags, the floor is made of smooth rock so that their legs do not get hurt when running, the place is spacious so their horns do not touch the roof or walls, it has the necessary lighting to make them feel safe and evades all areas with potential predators, it is a paradise for them”

"Well... It makes sense." Hornet looked at his brother who looked somewhat more hopeful. "What do you say Hollow? Are we going to the tunnels? Besides that your bearded friend could help us out”

The little boy nodded and ran to the nearest Stag station.

Meanwhile, Verm was having a really bad time. She was terrified to find herself trapped in the net and she was shaking herself trying to free herself, while her despair grew more and more as she watched as she moved away from her "mother". When they reached the stag station and the stag entered the tunnel, she began to shake harder. She no longer cared for the pill bug, she just wanted to break loose and return with Hollow. Her efforts only got her tangled up more, so she began to regret every time she had made fun of Aunt Horny when she was trapped in her fabric, this was horrible.

However her efforts got something, she could get loose from the main knot and be hanging through a single strand of thread that held her by the tail, but that was not good at all in her situation, the vertiginous career of the stag made her a victim of the inertia, then when turning in a curve, the force of the turn hit her against a wall, the blow made her let out a gasp, after which she lost consciousness.

Chapter Text

Some scratches were the first thing the bat managed to perceive by regaining consciousness. She moved her little ears to listen better and try to identify the sound, but being there with her head buried under a wing was not going to find out anything, so she tried to move, however the pain she felt throughout her body made let out a groan. The scratches echoed more strongly and approached her.

"Hello? Are you Ok? Can you hear me?"

At first the little girl did not move, so the insect that spoke to her thought that he had been imagining things when he believed she had woken up. However a sudden movement caused him to move back quickly, just in time to avoid a fireball thrown by the creature, who now enduring the pain she felt, was leaning on the floor with her wings extended trying to look bigger and with an expression of hate on her face. This time one could say that the bat intimidated a little, her crimson gaze shone with the power of fire.

"Eh-hey... Calm down... I'm not going to hurt you" said the insect, somewhat scared.

“Mom. Where is my mom! Gyaaaaaaaarg!” She roared.

"No, I don't know, I..."

“Gyaaaaaaarg! I want my momyyyyy! Gyaaaaaaarg!”

The bat opened her mouth from where a bright crimson fire could be seen, the stag came back scared without knowing what to do, when suddenly a groan caught his attention.

Dan was on the other side of the room sleeping on a soft bed of grass with a plate of food next to him, oblivious to the whole situation. The stag was tense, the pill bug was absolutely vulnerable, if he was attacked he could not defend himself and would inevitably die. Then wishing to protect him, the stag interposed himself between Verm and his friend, even with the trembling legs he tried to be firm and intimidate the bat.

“Stay away beast! Or you will have to face my fury!”

More than intimidated Verm felt confused. She looked at the stag, then at Dan and then at the stag again, then tilted her head and said:

“Gyaarg? Dan? Thief? Friends?"

"Yes-yes-yes, he is my friend and I won’t let he.... Wait a minute, you know his name. Do you know him?"

“Hep gyaaaarg, aunt Horny's friend”

“Horny? That name doesn't sound to me, the closest thing I remember is Hornet”

“She! gyaaaarg! Aunt Horny! ”

"Then you are Hornet's niece... Adoptive niece I suppose, because according to Dan, Hornet is a crossbreed spider and you look more like a... I have no idea, I've never seen anything like you. But what were you doing there? Were you part of the security squad?”

"Mommy and Aunt Horny capture the thief Gyarg!" Verm then narrowed her eyes and looked at the stag aggressively "You are a thief..."

The little girl with effort began to flap her wings and began to fly low. As she supposed that intimidated the insect. But he rushed to speak.

"Wait! Yes, I'm a thief, but I'm not someone bad. Really!”

“Gyaaaarg? Not bad?"

"Of course not! I'm Dan's friend, right? I also didn't hurt you, instead of leaving you unconscious in the middle of the road I brought you here to recover. Anyone could have eaten you outside”

"Gyaaaaargg ...." The bat seemed to meditate on his words "But thieves are bad"

"Not necessarily... That is... Yes, some are bad, but not all. In fact, if it were not of necessity I assure you that I wouldn't steal anything from anyone"

The bat saw him incredulous and the stag sigh exhausted. Apparently he would have to give her an appropriate explanation. Usually for children, things are either white or black, as they grow up they just begin to understand that there are nuances.

"Let's see... Let me tell you my story. Together with my brothers we grew up without parents, we hatch the egg in a strange and desolate place where there was little food, but still enough to keep us. We were small, we didn't need to eat much. We were there during our early stages because it was a safe place, there were no dangerous insects. However when we grew up our needs also did it, and we were forced to migrate, so we took these tunnels and started running. In the tunnels some herbs we could eat grew and they were also safe places to live, except for the big thing”

"Big thing?"

“Yes, the big thing. A huge and noisy being that ran through the same tunnels as us. We have never known what it is but we are terrified to discover it. Every time we heard it we ran to hide. The being passed running at a monstrous speed without noticing us and only when his steps were not heard we left our hidings. Thanks to that we learned to be stealthy. Well, time went by and we continued to grow, again the food began to be few and we were forced to enter territories inhabited by dangerous insects, some of my brothers died trying to get food... Yes, I know it's normal that some die, but... We are very few, if we all die goodbye to the species...”

"Gyaaaaaaarg"

“The thing is that… Now some of my brothers are injured and cannot run freely, others are very small, one of my sisters has children to feed and another has laid eggs, the need for food is great, so I was forced to steal. I don't like doing it, but I'm the only one completely healthy and strong in my family. I can't risk looking for food in dangerous areas, that's why I thought the city was a good place to look for livelihood... Tell me I'm so bad for wanting to feed my family? ”Verm stared at him a moment before answering.

"No"

“Exactly. I know that stealing is wrong. There are insects that do it just so they don't have to look for sustenance on their own and that is wrong, but I have no other choice”

"Gyaaaaargg" Ali looked thoughtful "And Dan?"

"He? Well... I met him during one of my raids. He was the only one of the inept public workers who could find me. But I told him my story and he was moved, since then he helps me... But I think this time he exaggerated. Who can think of leaving home when they are in the process of changing skin? I understand that he would like to help me but he shouldn't have done it, because of that we are now in this situation”

Just as he said this, Dan stirred in his bed and in his dreams he rubbed his head against the bed causing a small crack in his face, which then widened leaving new skin in sight.

"Oh look! It already started. Well, no way, now we can't move it until he's over, so we'll have to stay here for a while. ”

"Here where?"

"Where are we? Well... It's a small cave in the middle of the tunnels near Green Path. It is one of several shelters that we have to hide when it’s necessary. The entrance is covered with grass so it is not easy to find this place” he said as he walked to a piece of furniture from which he took some herbs and some species of fruits that he offered to Verm "Do you fancy something to eat?"

"Gyaaaaarg" she said sticking her tongue out in disgust.

“Don't you eat vegetables? Oh, too bad, you're a pure predator. If at least you were omnivorous. I'm sorry, I have nothing to offer you”

The bat growled annoyed, to tell the truth, she was getting hungry a little, maybe if she cried a little, the stag could go out hunting for something. Unfortunately, the little girl still did not learn that there were insects that simply did not have the ability to hunt, so crying would be useless, especially since the stag did not plan to leave the cave until Dan finished his process of molting. However, this stag was quite assertive and as soon as he saw the approaching tantrum he had an idea.

"While we wait for Dan to finish, what do you think if I tell you a story?"

"Story?"

"Yes, I know a few very good stories, you will surely love them"

“Yep! Gyaaaaarg! History! Gyaaaaaaarg!”

"All right. This story was told to me by a very wise and very old insect, although somewhat strange, he has crazy eyes that always hide under a mask, but he is a good person. This is a very very old story, so much that it is almost forgotten”

“A long time ago, before the first kings rose on this earth, there were two gods, one of them was as bright as the back of a firefly, and the other as dark as the jaws of a tarantula. Both gods lived in harmony without interfering in the affairs of the other. So as not to have problems, they had divided the territory they dominated in the following way, the upper area belonged to the luminous goddess and the depths to the dark god”

“For a long time they lived without having problems with each other, however each one exercised their sovereignty in a different way, which produced different results. The goddess liked to have absolute control of everything, so she dominated the minds of her subjects to the whole without allowing them to think for themselves, according to the goddess this was the best, so these beings could not be evil or sin. If they don't committed crimes they were not punished and so everyone lived in absolute happiness.”

“The dark lord on the other hand, had a completely different thought. He allowed his lackeys to think freely, to err, to make mistakes, to betray, to blaspheme, they had free will to do whatever they wanted, however they were obliged to submit to the consequences. This God was someone very fair, but terrible because he punished mercilessly”

“The different forms of government provoked two very different realities. The surface beings completely dominated and unable to have their own ideas, remained stuck in time, living in the same way they did since the day they arrived in the world. On the other hand, those from the depths, with their creativity and ingenuity unleashed, began to create wonders, cities, kingdoms, art. Of course along with this they also did atrocities, exterminations, wars, intrigues. However the god of shadows never stopped them, he let them create and destroy at ease, so in the depths every day was different, unique”

“But, one day the goddess of light began to envy the kingdom of shadows, full of feats of ingenuity and inventiveness, with elaborate stone temples and magnificent incomparable statues, not like the modest altars that her own village offered her. She tried to persuade the dark lord to take the minds of his people and submit them to his will. She argued that they would no longer sin and just follow the path of righteousness, but the God did not agree”

"I love their sins and their miracles, their atrocities and their exploits. It is the freedom I granted them that has made them more interesting than your pathetic puppets"

“These words offended the goddess, who in an outburst of anger declared war on the dark”

“Both lords called all their people and a bloody war began, the most terrible that has hit this land and the most equal. Neither army had more power than the other, no one could win... Nor lose. However, the goddess yearned for victory and wished to crush the underground kingdoms that made her see less, so she used her divine power to turn her subjects more powerful. The god of shadows did not want to do that, because he loved the original forms of his servants and hated the monsters that the servants of the lady of light had become”

“The god lost, his kingdom was taken, the shadows succumbed to the light... However the god did not die. The legend says that he took refuge in an underground lake, where he dyed his waters black waiting for his moment to resurface, also says that his last words were a prophecy”

"One day you will pay for your envy and your greed, but it won't be me who dictates your punishment"

The story told by the stag was able to leave Verm in silence for a long time and when it was over, for the little girl it was like waking up from a dream. Then extremely intrigued she asked:

"True story?"

"True? Well... I don't think so. It's just an ancient legend, that’s all. Here there are no controlling goddesses or anything right? ”

"No"

"You see? It’s just a legend”

Verm was not so sure because certain elements of the legend sounded to her from somewhere, but she soon put aside the matter, as something distracted her, an extremely subtle noise, almost imperceptible but highly known. The little girl was on guard and flew to the exit of the cave, then placed behind the door grass that hid the entrance. The stag followed her curious to know if something had bothered her, because in a moment they were most well chatting and the next she was tense and on guard.

The sound Verm had heard slowly began to increase its intensity until it was perceived by the insect. He became very nervous because something had this that disturbed it, it was a kind of burlesque and somewhat... He honestly felt no interest in meeting with the owner of those laughs, but this one seemed to be approaching. The laughter was getting closer, until it was already evident the creature was behind the grass curtain, even a rare red glow could be seen pass through the vegetable strands.

And then it happened, the grass curtain was removed and both the bat and the stag could see an insect covered with a blue robe and a mask, carrying an imposing red torch.

Verm felt her stomach churn. Now there was neither her mommy, nor Aunt Horny nor Uncle Quirrel to help her. There was only her, the stag that seemed quite cowardly and the pill bug that was as useless as a rock at the time. .. In fact it was worse than a rock, because he was not even able to resist an attack, if the torchbearer lashed out at him, the poor bug would die and that would make everyone sad.

Verm knew that she still did not have the power to rival any of his father's followers, however at that time she thought of nothing. She threw herself against the hooded insect pulled him away from the den.

For the bearer of the current torch, receiving the very daughter of the master was a surprise. As he understood a guardian should escort her and protect her. Where was he?

He had the bat on top trying to bite his neck through the tunic, but the bulky body of the masked insect did not make it possible, so that without difficulty he grabbed the poor beast and threw her on the ground. Verm screamed in pain, she was not used to that abrupt treatment, however with some effort she rose in the air still ready to fight. This time she began throwing fireballs, larger than any she had created before, but still too weak to rival the power of his opponent, who effortlessly waved his torch fading the calf's fire.

Already desperate, the little girl set her wings on fire and threw herself against the bug, but he without losing his calm, as soon as he had her within reach he hit her mercilessly with the torch sending her to the ground once more. This time the pain overcame all that Verm would have had to endure in her life. Then desperately screamed for help, she shouted so horribly and agonizingly that the surrounding creatures ran to hide.

Hollow looked behind his back feeling a strange sensation, like something that called him. He couldn't explain it, but a strange impulse forced him to go somewhere.

"What's wrong, Hollow?" Hornet asked, surprised by her brother's behavior.

"........"

“Do you feel that something calls you? That’s weird..."

"Perhaps it is his maternal instinct that tells him that his child is in trouble" said the old stag who accompanied them in their exploration of the tunnels.

“Don't kid. Hollow can't have maternal instinct because he's not a mother. He's not even female! And the creature we are looking for is not his daughter, they are not related, nor are they of the same species ...”

Hollow did not care what Hornet said, his non-existent maternal instinct told him that he should go to a certain place and that's what he would do. So he jumped on the stag and asked him to leave. Hornet was near to stays below. She had to use her needle and thread to get on the transport, although she failed to accommodate well, because she was hanging from the back seat only held by her hands.

The bat was on the floor screaming in pain while she was whipped by the torch of the Grimmkin. He without doubts or guilt hurt the girl making her fear and pain feed the flame. The insect seemed frustrated, if he kept doing that he would end up killing the creature and the ritual would fail. It was not the first time that happened, but the master was very excited about this baby, as he had never begotten such a splendid child, nor had he found such a fit guardian. It would be a disappointment for him. But he could not stop, for the ritual to be successful the situations had to be taken to the extreme, the terror worthy of a nightmare had to feed the fire that later would be consumed. That's how things should be.

Verm had already given up and lay inert on the floor, barely maintaining consciousness. At that moment she just wanted everything to end, she did not want to have more pain. She wanted to see her mother and father, she was afraid and she no longer had forces to fight .Then before a final blow ended with her, the torchbearer was rammed by the horn of the stag.

The blue bug managed to push the hooded bug to the wall, where he began to squeeze him with all his might, seeking to end him. The pressure on his body soon caused the torchbearer to have trouble breathing, however he was not yet finished. As he could, he waved the torch and summoned small flames that burn the cuckold's shell. The stag then began to run desperate while he burned alive, the timely Verm’s intervention, who with her power of fire control could put out the fire, saved his life.

However that was her final intervention. The Grimmkin stood in front of her and raised the torch with the punch high, ready to stick it in the bat and end her life. Verm closed her eyes feeling the greatest terror of her life. But just before she was killed, a soul shot hit the insect away from his victim. Verm raised her head and saw Hollow standing, completely furious with his nail in his hand and his killer instinct flowing from him.

Without hesitation, he made a dash towards the hooded bug, all he wanted was to destroy him. He made a quick cut that the bug could barely block, however Hollow continued attacking mercilessly. But when he noticed that his opponent blocked more punches than he received, chose to jump, then took some height with the monarch's wings and attacked him from above. The torchbearer could not do anything, that deadly attack ended his existence.

As usual, the torch fire began to consume the fallen insect, now it was up to Verm to act, but the poor bat was so weak that she could barely crawl to the corpse. Hollow with tremendous sorrow walked to the little girl and took her in his arms. Then he took her to the crimson fire where the poor child making an extreme effort managed to fulfill her part of the ritual.

As expected, the fire soon surrounded her in a bright red flare, which after going out, revealed a bat more energized, but still very hurt.

Meanwhile, in other side, Hornet was trying to take care of a wounded young stag, while the old stag was only crying.

"Finally I found another of my kind, another of my blood, after so many years just to see him succumb"

"Calm old man, nothing happens, he will be fine" Hornet tried to reassure him "His tail is something burned, but with a bath in the hot springs he should be fine"

Hollow approached her sister with little Verm in his arms who was so exhausted that she no longer wanted to fly.

“Incredible, you were right, Verm was here. I still can't explain how you found her”

"......"

“Well, having a motherly instinct without being a mother is even more strange. Anyway, we have the thief, we have Verm, we just need to find Dan”

"Inside gyaaarg" said the bat without forces pointing at the grass curtain.

Following the instructions of the young, Hornet put out the plants and found the secret den where Dan rested and was already in the middle of his molting process.

"Oh hell" Hornet exclaimed. "Dan is changing his skin. I told him he would start tonight!" She turned to look at the rest. "Guys, we can't leave Dan here alone, he's too vulnerable, but we have two creatures that need attention... I think....." She sighed heavily "I think we’ll have to separate. I’ll take care of Dan until he is ready. You go to find the nearest hot spring. That two need it"

Both Hollow and the old stag nodded and Hornet watched them go reluctantly. Surely the thief as soon as he felt better he would escape, probably the old man would allow it. He was not going to condemn one of his species almost extinct. And with the volume the young bug had, she doubted that Hollow could stop him. Very skilled would be in battle but he did not have the strength to immobilize a large insect.

It was several hours before Dan woke up from his lethargy wearing a beautiful new blue skin. Now he was his father's lively portrait, except that his belly was a little more gray, perhaps that was characteristic of his late mother.

When Dan opened his eyes he felt extremely confused. he didn't know that place. Where was he? How had he got there? What had happened to Lester? Then he got up scared. Lester his friend. Would he have managed to escape? He would be good? However, his questions would take a while to be answered, since it was his turn to give explanations. The first person he met when he got up was with Hornet, who really didn't look happy at all.

That was an extremely uncomfortable conversation, full of scolding and claims. But Dan did what he could to resist it and above all, to defend his stag friend. Because above all he wanted to make it clear that Lester was just a poor boy struggling to feed his family. However it was clear that Hornet could not do anything, it would be the justice of the city that decided what was going to happen with Lester.

Hornet supposed that the stag would be fled, however, her surprise was great when she left the hidden cave, she found him waiting with Hollow and Verm mounted on top and with the old stag at his side.

"What are you doing here?"

“Lester! They aren't supposed to see you! ”Dan looked alarmed.

"Well, I... I will surrender, this can no longer continue"

"But your family...."

"They'll be fine without me... I hope" he replied regretfully.

The trip back to the city was long and sad. As soon as they arrived an army of cockroaches appeared. Some of them armed with spears surrounded the thief, while another large group headed by an older female cockroach, received Dan almost with tears.

"Aaaaaah my child, I was so worried" the lady sobbed.

"Mom, I'm already an adult"

"It doesn't matter to me, you will always be my child"

There was no way to combat that logic.

When the mood finally calmed down and everyone admired Dan's new bluish skin, they proceeded to take care of the young stag who was scared in his corner. The matriarch approached him with the face of few friends. Her little son had been in danger because of him and that was something unforgivable.

"Well, vermin, now we finally have you. After all the trouble you have caused you are finally in our hands. You unfortunate bug, as you have put ein danger my little Dan, now you will pay for all your crimes. We will see if you are so elusive in jail”

The bug looked at her sadly regretting his cruel fate, however as expected, Dan came out in his defense.

“Mom, this is unfair! Lester is not bad!”

"He is a thief"

“He did it to feed his family”

“And the insects that work in the restaurants also want to feed their own. His crime is clear and he must pay for it”

"But but...."

"Excuse me for getting in the way" the old stag said suddenly "But if this young here could somehow pay for the stolen, would you forgive him?"

The cockroach looked at him severely for a few moments without believing what she was hearing, but without changing her serious expression she replied.

"Yes, he would be forgiven, but I doubt he has enough Geo to pay everything he owes"

"Actually I think there is a way to pay off his debt"

"Really?" The stunned cockroaches asked.

"Really old?" Asked the young stag even more surprised.

"Sure, you can pay with work"

"And what could I work on?" Asked the interested boy.

"Transport. That is the traditional profession that stag have had since ancient times. We already have the roads and stations built. There is no need to invest in that, only missing stag willing to work. Each inhabitant of Hallownest could pay a small fee to be taken wherever they want to go. Working a couple of months he would pay off his debt. Then he could continue working and keep the Geo that wins, with that he could buy food honestly for his family”

"Well, it seems like a good idea" said Hornet.

"Me too" recognized the matriarch "Although I feel it will bring some complications, you are only a stag. You won’t be able to supply all the insects that want to travel. This place has a lot of population"

"Well... Maybe... I can ask my siblings for help" said the young insect.

"Are there more stag!?" exclaimed the old man surprised.

“Yes, several more. I have 4 brothers and 6 sisters... Well, we are not blood brothers but we are raised together and it is as if we were. My older sister has five offspring and the one that follows her already has a set of three eggs, we are enough”

"A whole family..." said the old man impressed.

"With that you can start a whole transport company" suggested a cockroach "In fact I propose that we professionalize the system. The money raised could take a portion for the care of the stags and the maintenance of the roads and the rest they can use them as they like. I think that was more or less the system in the days of the Pale King”

"Well, I accept whatever they want if with that my family can be well taken care of. Whatever they say seems good to me" Lester agreed.

"Fabulous, with this we solve the problems of public transport" said the happy matriarch "I think that little by little Hallownest begins to recover his old splendor"

Chapter Text

The strong winds blowing around Hallownest could be a real nuisance to insects who wanted to leave the kingdom and did not know the right path, but it could also be a true blessing to those who knew how to take advantage of their properties, as was the case with a certain pilgrim who floated in the air at that time.

The creature that at that time was addressing Hallownest was nothing less than a rather special spider. She had a round head with 6 eyes, her small body was covered with a blue cloak under which 7 pointed legs could be seen protruding.

This spider was one of the few who had learned the art of weaving aerial networks, which she could use to get carried away by the wind and fly to distant lands. It was because of this wonderful ability that she had opted for a nomadic life. However she had houses or dens in most of the places she visited, so she always had a place to return to.

The original objective of this spider was to land on Howling Cliffs, which was where she had installed her den on her last visit. However the trip had been somewhat tiring and she ended up falling asleep while flying.

It wasn't the first time it happened, but it never had such disastrous results. It was when she was in Dirtmouth that she woke up alarmed at having passed from her objective. The agitation it had caused her to lose the current of air that was carrying her. And the fear of the sudden fall, in turn, caused her to let go of her net. As a result, she ended up falling on one of the houses in Dirtmouth.

The spider was quite resistant. With all the accidents and injuries she had received during her travels she was already prepared for everything, so a fall on the roof of a house was nothing for her. Although the same could not be said of the roof that had ended with a glorious hole above.

The nomad got up coughing from the dust she had lifted, which clouded her eyes. Luckily, Dirthmouth was an almost abandoned town. If that house were occupied, surely the owners would be furious.

But that house was occupied.

The spider had to jump to the side to avoid the onslaught she received. She only perceived that she was being attacked by a faint disturbance in the dust. She backed away scared watching the silhouette of the curious creature that threatened her and when finally the suspended particles decanted, she could see the warrior dressed in red.

Without a doubt, she was one of the weirdest things this traveling spider had ever encountered. What she had in front was a spider, and judging by her horns and other things, she was of a superior caste, probably of royalty, however the lack of legs showed clearly that she was a crossbreed. Why a noble would want to stain their progeny with the blood of another species? Well, perhaps in this case it was worth it, the father or mother of this creature was undoubtedly a powerful and extraordinary being, it was perceived in the vitality and strength that this girl gave off.

"Who are you ... And why do you break into my house?" The crossbreed said raising her needle against the spider.

The stranger picked up her 7 legs in fright, she had just arrived in the kingdom and had already gotten into trouble. But she still looked confident, she had survived all kinds of things, the only time she failed was the day she lost one of her legs and since then she swore she would not let that happen again.

She pulled a knitting hook from under her blue cloak, Hornet interpreted this action as the intruder intended to start a conflict. It was not her intention to harm someone of her own kind, but if this bug wanted a fight, then she would give it to her, she had to protect her family after all.

The spider of the blue cloak waved her hook, unfolding strands of thread that became entangled in Hornet, but she instead of despair as it happened to most insects, she grabbed the threads and pull them attracting her opponent, she was stronger than the 7-legged spider.

Hornet raised her needle ready to receive the intruder, but she interposed her hook avoiding all damage, then applying force on her legs gave a mortal jump back, cut the thread that joined her to Hornet and ran away. But the princess would not leave her escape.

Hornet threw a strand of her own thread with a tied thorns ball that managed to hit the fugitive. She was shot down, however even from the ground, she searched under her cloak for something to defend herself with. The warrior in red ran to the intruder, but was greeted by a shower of thistle thrown by her. She deflected the trajectory of all projectiles with some accurate blows of her needle, but the time lost in this was enough for the spider dressed in blue open the door of the house and escape.

The spider ran glad to have escaped once more from one of her pursuers, but the joy did not last long, because by being distracted she ended up stumbling over a small decrepit insect, perhaps the most pathetic thing she had seen in his life.

The poor had no idea who she had run into: Zote the mighty, who, being disturbed from his night walk by that insolent spider, drew from his holster his fierce nail: 'Life ender', which shone in the moonlight -as much as a wooden nail can shine- and began to hit the creature that was at his feet.

“Au, ouch, au, auch. Hey! ouch ou ou. Stop!”

“Silence knave! Now you will taste the wrath of Zote! Succumb to my power!”

Then Hornet came to witness the scene.

"Eh? Did Zote catch the intruder?” She seemed more than surprised.

Then Zote ceased his blows and planted one of his legs on top of the head of the defeated spider, raised his stinger to the sky and presumed his victory.

"So is! Me, Zote the mighty have added another victory to my records! Having defeated this pathetic creature that has not been able to defend herself against my deadly movements”

Hornet fell to her knees and lowered her head drowned in shame.

"Defeated... By Zote... I’ll never recover from this..."

"Of course this victory is not only mine" the decrepit insect continued. "I owe it all to my philosophy of life, which is summed up in 57 precepts..."

"Damn! He's going to start with his precepts again!” Hornet exclaimed in horror.

The warrior in red then threw some thread with which she caught the defeated spider and pulled her to herself, then took her firmly in her arms and proceeded to escape for her mental healing.

"Well, Zote, I appreciate your help. Is all very nice, you're great, but I have to go. Bye!"

And after saying that, he ran out to lock herself in her house, leaving the poor beetle with the words in his mouth.

“Mpfh! Rude brat, perhaps how her parents will have taught her”

Meanwhile, inside the house, Hornet was breathing agitated still with the spider in her arms. The girl in blue was more confused than anything else. She looked up and looked around, then looked at the crossbreed and finally noticed how firm she was holding her, so close to her that she could feel her warmth.

"Eh... Honey, if you have any interest in me I understand, but at least you could invite me to dinner first" the 7-legged spider joked.

"I'm sorry, you don't meet my standards" Hornet replied dryly, dropping her without any care.

"Auch. It was not necessary to be so abrupt” She complained, although she soon stood up “I… I guess I should thank you for saving me though… I am not sure what exactly you saved me”

"I saved you from the most absurd, boring and long talk you could have in your life, something so horrible that it would drive mad even the most sane"

"Wow... Thank you... I think... But it’s no supposed you wanted to kill me?"

"I never intended to kill you" Hornet looked at her severely.

"Then why did you attack me?"

“Do you really ask? You broke into my house in the middle of the night, you destroyed my roof, you were a stranger who could be dangerous and you also woke up the baby. Don't you think I had reasons to attack you?”

“Eh… Yes, I guess… Did I wake up the baby? What baby?"

"The one who is there" she said pointing to the back of the room.

The spider spotted Hollow in a corner who looked extremely tired, the poor child walked from one place to another carrying Verm who kept crying in his arms.

"Oops... I'm sorry... One moment. But what kind of baby is that!" She ran at full speed and snatched the bat from Hollow's hands. The poor Verm of the scare was silent “Oh my God! What a strange thing!”She began to turn her around looking at her everywhere as if she were a fine vase or something “It's great! It's hairy like a moth, but it's not a moth! Look, it has no antennas! And those red eyes! How strange! ”

In response Verm threw a fire in her face, the victim of the fire moved away, rubbing her face in pain.

“And it throws fire through its mouth! Aaaaaaahg! That huuuuuurts! It's cooool! ”

"You're crazy" Hornet said incredulously from what she saw. "And to all this, who the hell are you?"

"Ah, but that rude of me" The spider stood in front of her and bowed "I’m Tobu, a traveling spider in search of knowledge and priceless memories"

"Oh, I see, a traveler. I’m Hornet" the girl introduced herself without bothering to bow, because of her status it was not necessary.

"You're Hornet and... What else?"

“How what else? I'm Hornet, that's all”

“That can't be all. Obviously you must be a princess, or at least a relative of a nobleman. That antler doesn't belong to any spider! Or are your origins embarrassing? Are you the fruit of some forbidden relationship between a queen and a being of another species? ”

“Look, my origin is not something I am going to discuss with any unknown stranger. And in Hallownest inter species relations were never condemned... Well, it would be hypocritical on the part of the king to do so. His same mate was of another species. I know that even two of his knights were crossbreeds”

Tobu pouted in annoyance, she didn't like it when her curiosity could not be completely satisfied. Then she looked around and saw the bat annoying Hollow who had reclined in an armchair and tried to fall asleep, but could not because of it of the little girl who didn't let him.

"Hey! I have an idea, if you tell me something about you, I'll make that thing that flies out there sleep”

Hornet looked at her incredulously. Was it really so important to know the past of a stranger? But hey, it wasn't something so serious, besides, she had nothing to lose. The little girl was sleepless and it had taken hours to shut her up. They were already desperate and would do anything.

“Okay, I'll tell you about my parents. Indeed, my mother was a spider queen, the former ruler of Deepnest. Theoretically it would correspond to me to be her heiress, but the tribe of the weavers is extinct so there is no longer a people to govern. I am a princess but only by title. My father was a worm and I won’t give more details about him”

Tobu stared at her in silence for several awkward seconds making Hornet somewhat nervous.

"What?" She asked hysterically.

"A spider and a worm... Your parents were crazy"

Hornet's face turned red from the comment. Tobu did not give it any importance and approached Hollow who could barely have his eyes open from the sleep he had, but Verm still tried to move him and shoved his body with her head.

“Mommy wake up! Gyaaarg!” Suddenly the little girl felt that some legs were taking her.

“Now, girl, leave your... Wait a moment… Mommy? But if this guy is too young to conceive offspring and... He looks like a male”

"he's male" Hornet said. "My brother doesn't have much common sense” she said, approaching. "And Verm doesn't either. He adopted this baby and declared it her daughter and she established that he is her mother, so far we have not changed their minds”

"Wow, but how funny" the spider laughed, but then suddenly stopped and looked at Hornet with a questioning face "Is he your brother?"

"Only from the father side"

"That father of yours was a promiscuous..."

After his comment the books on a shelf fell without explanation.

"What was that?"

"It's nothing" said Hornet trying to contain the laughter. "Hollow is my brother, but he's not the only one I have. In fact I have many other siblings from my father. 10,527 to be exact”

"Woooooow" Tobu was amazed "Your father was really a promiscuous"

As a result of the comment, a chair turned around in an impossible way.

"That was weird! What is going on here? ”Now she showed a lot of fear.

"It's nothing, don't worry" Hornet said quietly trying to contain her laugh. "Aren't you going to make Verm sleep?"

"Oh, sure, it's true, let me prepare"

The 7-legged spider was placed in the center of the room and took out her hook, in which she entangled a strand of string and tightened it to the point where it looked like the string of a guitar. She held her makeshift instrument with her legs before give an explanation.

“In my travels through different kingdoms and strange places I came to a kingdom called Pharloon, a very religious site full of ancient magic linked to music. One of the things I could learn there was a mysterious magic song that can make everyone who hears it sleep. With this I’ll make her baby sleep ”

Tobu with great skill began to play the silk string causing strange but harmonious high-pitched sounds, with another of her legs pressed the string varying the tone of the sound, creating together a sweet and cloying song which was provided with a mystical energy. The house was filled with the sweet spider lullaby, who with her eyes closed kept playing completely absorbed in music.

"Done. What did you think?" The spider asked once she had finished her interpretation.

To her surprise no one answered, then she opened her eyes to discover that she had not only made the bat sleep, the spider princess and her brother were also in the realm of dreams.

"Oh hell... I forgot this could happen. Well, at least now everyone is resting. Mmmm… I think I’ll do them the favor of taking them to bed, it is the least I can do after the disaster I caused”

First she decided to take Hollow who was the one who seemed most exhausted of the three. She lifted the knight but in doing so she noticed a certain bright object that stood out from under his cloak. The spider's curiosity could do more and without worrying about whether it was correct or not, she extracted the object to look at it better.

Tobu was enchanted by the brightness of the Dream Nail. That object was intriguing and by her knowledge, she could say that it was an object manufactured nothing less than by the tribe of moths. She looked at the nail with greedy eyes, feeling an impulse grow inside her, one of course she did not intend to suppress.

The pale king was extremely upset. That damn spider had come just to cause trouble and to insult him. She called him promiscuous! If he still had power he would definitely send her to die for her insolence. Now because of her, he was also forced to manipulate his children's dreams again before it was too late. But since these brats had already learned to have control of their minds, he could not force his entry into them, so he was forced to use the flying vermin, it was the only way to do it.

The king looked at the dream quite surprised, that little girl even at her young age already had very complex ideas. The fantasy in which she was involved undoubtedly hinted at the Grimm circus, but something modified according to the taste of the little girl. In addition to red torches there were many flowers of the same color, which did not look bad, but they gave All looking too feminine for his taste.

Looking a little further, he saw the stands for the audience full of Grimm followers, all wearing their typical robes and masks and in the middle of them, was Grimm himself next to Brumm watching the show, but if they were there. Who was acting?

Of course Verm was in the middle of the stage, presenting the show and the artists, who were unexpectedly her adoptive family. There was Hollow wearing an elegant black cloak with a red collar and a top hat, beyond there were also Hornet and Quirrel, she wearing a red cloak with a black collar and a half red mask, plus some red thread ornaments. For his part, Quirrel wore a black cape and a mask that instead of covering his face, he used to protect the crown of his head.

Before a growl from Verm, a light was lit in the center of the stage leaving everything else in gloom, then Quirrel and Hornet entered the scene where they began to perform an elegant and passionate dance.

The little bat was a box of surprises. She already made sense of the show, understood the concept of a couple and was able to bring the two elements together into something great. Yes, she was a very smart girl.

But much to his dismay, the king would have to interrupt that beautiful fantasy, since he needed to wake his children urgently.

So without any ceremoniosity, he got on stage breaking the color scheme and interrupting the dance.

"Old man? What are you doing here?" Hornet asked "You shouldn't... Oh, this is a dream... Right, Quirrel is traveling. He couldn't be here with me"

And after saying these words, the pill bug vanished from the stage. But unlike other times, not all the dream disappeared, only the living beings that were not real left, but the stage and the ambient music remained. Verm was angry and literally threw fire through her mouth. The other thing that also disappeared was the modified Hornet’s clothes, however Hollow kept his.

"And why do you keep those clothes?" The pale king asked.

"Well ... You won't tell me the clothes are not great" replied the boy.

"Yes, they were quite elegant" Hornet said. "Maybe I should have kept mine"

“Yes, yes, they looked great, but now I need you to pay attention to me”said the king.

The pale king wanted to convey his important message, but his children did not look very receptive, both of them were with arms crossed looking at him severely.

"What happens?"

"Old man... Didn't we agree that you weren't going to get into our dreams anymore?" Said Hollow.

"Yes. Besides that this dream was quite funny" Hornet complained.

"I know I violated the deal. I'm sorry" the worm apologized. "But if I did it, it was due to an emergency, the Dream Nail was stolen"

"What?!" the young shouted in unison.

“It was the 7-legged spider that took it. She turned out to be a disgusting thief”

"Well, I guess I should have figured it out" Hornet said without surprise. "From the beginning I didn't find her someone trustworthy" She sighed regretfully. "And now we're going to have to track down a thief"

"That will not be necessary" said the worm. "I followed her in her escape and discovered the place where she is hiding, it is not far. It is in the Howling Cliffs"

"Ah, fabulous, we’ll arrive quickly" said Hollow.

"Well, then come on" Hornet said. "That nail has quite strange powers that could be very badly used in the wrong hands"

The siblings, as they were accustomed, tried to focus their minds on the act of waking up so that they could get out of sleep, unfortunately this was not possible, something blocked their minds.

Suddenly the whole place was filled with red fire and from the flames, Verm emerged looking impressive and dangerous. Hornet trembled in her place. The fear of bats would never be completely overcome and situations like this disturbed her.

The bat that at that time looked neither small nor adorable glared at them. Then with a voice full of rage she screamed.

“You don't leave! Gyaaaaaarg! You must play with me!”

"Verm... We have to wake up, we have to..."

"No! I want to play! Gyaaag!”

"I should have guessed" said the Pale King holding his forehead while shaking his head. "The children of the Scarlet Clan have control over dreams and, above all, nightmares. That brat can have us locked up here as much as she wants and make us dance in her hands”

"Members of the Scarlet Clan?" Hornet said. For her the term was unknown.

"Yes, Verm and her father belong to that clan of cursed bats that feed on terror"

"Wait a moment! Do you have information about Verm's clan? ”Hollow asked, feeling a little angry that his father hid information from them.

"Why didn't you tell us anything!?" Hornet shouted. "If you had released what you knew, Quirrel wouldn't have had to go on a trip"

“The information I have is not useful, it does not explain how to stop the perpetuation ritual”

“Well, but at least you could have explained to us what this weird ritual is about to find out what we're up to” said Hornet, crossing her arms.

"Do you really want to know?" The brothers nodded and the king sighed. "Good. The Scarlet Clan is a breed of bats with evil fire powers. These powers are fed through fear, it is said that when someone has a nightmare it is because someone from this clan walks nearby. Of course, for most of people this is just one of those unreal magical tales, but unfortunately this clan exists”

“These individuals act as ‘queens’ of a colony. They kidnap insects from their surroundings and erase their memory to become their servants and get fear of them when it’s necessary. Eventually it is time for them to reproduce. They conceive a child with any female or male that seems appropriate and then begin with the famous ritual of perpetuation”

"In this ritual they send their servants to kingdoms plagued by misfortunes, where there are still pieces of fear and horror. They collect that energy and then offer it to the child to develop their powers. But before the baby can consume the fire of fear, it must be refined through the heat of a battle, that's where the guardian comes into play”

"Eventually, when the offspring have already consumed enough fear, they must return with their father, where the offspring, the master and the guardian will perform a deadly dance of fire. And with that the ritual ends, the offspring is already fully developed and ready to kidnap insects, form their own new colony and spread the terror”

The king told the story in a cynical and burlesque tone that made the bat angry. The old man was making his family look bad. As he said it, he almost hinted that his father was a villain. She was not surprised that Mom and Aunt Horny were always angry with the worm. He accused her daddy of being a demon kidnapper when that was not true, if the other insects were with him it was because they liked to serve him. His father was so elegant and great that anyone would want to do it.

The king looked at the baby with some pity, she was not an innately evil being, but the circumstances of her birth would force her to commit horrible crimes. Perhaps Grimm himself was not originally a wicked person either, the scarlet fire eventually burned their hearts turning them blacks In a sense it could be said that they themselves were slaves of the ritual.

Despite the disturbing story, none of the siblings panicked, that would be counterproductive. What they had to do now was to calm the bat that seemed to boil in rage, first because they interrupted their fantasy and second, because of the story that The old worm had told.

Hollow looked at Verm and then gave her a charming smile that took half the anger out of the bat.

"Verm, little one, please let us out. This is important, the Dream Nail is dangerous in bad hands and we need to get it back"

“Gyaaaaaarg! No! I want to play the circus!”

"If you let us out then we'll play the circus in real life. What do you say?"

"Gyaaaaaarg?"

"Yes, really"

"Ok! Gyaarg, but everyone will have to play”

And while saying these last words the dream began to fade.

Chapter Text

Hornet and Hollow climbed the Howler Cliffs followed by Verm who didn't lose track of them. Both had more or less a clear idea of the place to which they should go, The king had printed an image in their minds telling them where to go.

They absolutely depended on their memory to find the thief's lair, because the worm could not give them more directions unless it was through dreams, without the Dream nail they could not see or hear him.

They reached the top of the mountain and observed the surroundings, they had to find an eye-shaped rock, the place where it looked would indicate the way forward. They assumed that it would be a small and discreet rock, because obviously a thief would want to keep their hiding place hidden, however the famous rock was of tHornet's size. Now that they thought about it, they had seen that rock a lot of times, it just never occurred to them that it was a sign of something.

The eye pointed to a kind of grotto between two large rocks. Without thinking twice they went there and found a fairly expeditious and comfortable way to go. They continued straight, now they had to look for a wooden doll dressed in rags, there they should turn left where they would find a stone staircase that went down into the mountain, in the end was Tobu's house.

The signs were as clear and notorious as his father had presented them, so they soon found the famous den, which... Was more striking than they thought.

Normally a thief would have a discreet living, with an entrance without ornaments, something that looks as unnoticed as possible. But this house was the opposite, the door was huge and had an unnecessarily large knocker made of gold, at its feet there was a something dirty and battered tapestry, probably woven by the same Tobu. But still who put a tapestry at the entrance of a den? In addition, the door frame was decorated with sinister cricket shape dolls and around the house there were various statues of the most varied. Things like these made them wonder. What kind of person is Tobu?

Hornet began to look for a way to enter the house, but Hollow, with his lack of common sense, went straight to the door and knocked.

“Hollow! But what are you doing!” Hornet shouted.

"......"

“She's a thief. She's not going to open the door for you to ask about the nail. It a common sense thing! Now that she knows someone is outside, she most likely hide somewhere or escape through a back door. Don't even dream about you're going to...”

And contrary to Hornet's predictions, the door opened and its occupant went out to see who was there.

"Hello? What do you need?"

"Gyaaaaaarg, Dream nail” Verm replied instead of Hollow, who obviously couldn't speak.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about, bye"

But before Tobu managed to close the door, a needle stuck in it. The spider stood a few moments looking at her trying to remember where she had seen her. Just in those moments, Hornet pulled the thread tied to the needle and drove herself towards the thief. She landed on top of her and used all the strength she had to immobilize her on the floor.

"Honey, I understand that you miss me but this is too exaggerate" Tobu joked, however her joke was not funny for Hornet, who without pain grabbed one of her legs and began to pull it "Aaaaaaah! Let me go! You're going to tear my leg off!”

“Don’t doubt that I’ll do it if you don’t tell me where the dream nail is”

"Will you really commit the cruelty of removing one of my precious legs?"

“It's not so serious. Even with four legs you could manage well. Now speak! Where is the dream sting?"

"I don’t know what you are talking about!"

"Don’t lie. It's the small, bright nail you stole from Hollow"

"That weapon so pretty it looked like it was made by moths and had a flower on its hilt?"

"I see that we are already understanding each other" Hornet eased a little pressure on the leg that was held captive.

"Oh, of course. I’ll gladly give it back if you really want it. What do they give me in return for it?"

“Give you in return? But if that nail is from Hollow! ”

"No, it’s mine. I found it and I am not going to deliver it, unless you give me something in compensation. You cannot take something from someone by force, that is theft"

“Theft is what you did! That nail was in Hollow's hands”

"But I didn't apply strength and I didn't know it was his"

"I repeat, it was on top of him, obviously it was his"

"And why didn't he claim it?"

"He was asleep! And because of your fault!”

"I saw him quite sleepy before playing my song..."

Hornet had not realized that Tobu was just trying to distract her with her pointless conversation. Because while they exchanged words, with much concealment she had picked up one of her legs under her cloak, from where she had extracted a somewhat heavy ball, then she threw the ball that rolled down the floor of her house and hit a small hill of gadgets and antiques. Then it began to crumble threatening to fall on top of the two girls.

Quickly Hornet jumped away and Tobu took the opportunity to escape.

The warrior in red cursed inwardly and looked up at the fugitive, then she found her firmly attached to the wall of the house looking at her in a mocking way.

"Get out of there!" Hornet yelled angrily.

"No! If you want something with me, you’ll have to go up here. Or can't do it? ”

The desire to strangle that spider was reaching dangerous levels. That damn knew that she as a mixed race did not have all the characteristics of a spider. In addition to not being able to produce thread, she couldn't walk the walls. When she was a child many of her playmates made fun of her for that, partly to mitigate that problem, she had specialized in an acrobatic combat style.

Tobu laughed to herself, but her joy did not last long, because she was forced to jump when a ball of fire almost roasted her. The bat had gone to support the fight and she of course had no trouble reaching high places.

The thief landed correctly and immediately had to jump again because a shot of soul from Hollow almost hit her. She stood guard and looked around. Six pairs of eyes threatened her, things looked complicated.

“It's three against one! It's not fair!” The spider shouted.

"It was also not fair that you rob us while we slept. Now give us the nail. Why do you want it anyway?"

"It's part of my collection...."

"Collection? But that... Oh... I see”

At that moment Hornet looked around and finally understood what kind of person Tobu was. That den was full of valuable trinkets, antiques, jewelry, statues, masks, medals, also had other items not as valuable but curious, such as beast fangs, shells and seeds.

She was a collector, one that perhaps already touch in the obsessive. It was enough to see that place to realize that this girl had a serious problem. The accumulation of things had occupied so much space in that house that the comfort of home was already lost.What would she want all that crap for? Did she spend her hours contemplating a bunch of old and useless objects?

“Girl, I think you have a serious problem”

"Problem? What problem?”Tobu tilted her head curiously.

“You are an accumulator! Look at this pigsty! It is full of garbage”

"Garbage!? How dare you!"

So far Tobu was never aggressive, but now it seemed that she would pounce on Hornet at any time to tear off her head. But that was just an impression, Tobu was aware that in a direct combat, the crossbreed would win.

"Look, let's get this over with at once" Hornet said coldly. "You are surrounded and you can't face us all, return the nail now" The spider looked at them a few moments before nodding.

"Okay... I'll return it... When I find it"

"What?"

"I don’t know where I put it and between all this then... I think it will take a while to find it"

"It had to be," Hornet said, grabbing her forehead. "Well, go get it now, we won't leave without the Dream Nail, it's too important"

"Well then ... Come on. It's probably in this pile of things here" Tobu started walking towards one of the hills of objects "The truth was sorting the place when they came to get me. Please do not touch anything, they are very valuable things, in fact... Better stand there. Yes there, right in the middle away from everything” at that moment the spider perched on the pile of objects and began to remove it very carefully.

"Try not to take too long, will you?" Hornet crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Don't worry" Then Tobu gave a sinister smile as she reached the end of a rope that was hidden between the objects" ...I won't take anything"

The spider found the rope and activated a trap that unleashed a net, which fell at the exact point where the group was. Tobu laughed, pleased that her trap had turned out and prepared to escape from her home. She knew that the net could not stop them for long, the flying vermin's fire could burn the net easily, so that would only give her enough time to run to hide.

She felt somewhat distressed by leaving her treasures with the group, but tried to calm down by remembering that none seemed too interested in them. If they had even had the nerve to call them garbage! Most likely, they didn't touch any of her things, she would do a census anyway when she could be quiet at home again.

The spider climbed the rocks of the cliff moving quickly, there was a place she wanted to reach before they reached her. Soon she spotted the cave she wanted to find, but when she was near to arrive to it, the vessel appeared in front of her with his nail ready to attack. Tobu stopped in his tracks and proceeded to change direction, but she found the bat cutting her way, and before she could try anything else, Hornet's voice behind her spoke.

"You're trapped, give up at once"

"You really are very annoying and bad, you are going to take away my beautiful little treasure" Tobu began to release some tears.

"Don’t come to me with tears, with everything you have done to us I already lost any sympathy that I could have with you" declared the warrior.

"Okay" She sighed sadly and pulled the required nail from under her cloak "Here's what you want"

"Well, deliver it"

“And crap! If you want it strive for it!” Then he threw the weapon into the cave.

Hollow ran and threw himself towards the nail to catch it, but before he could touch it, it was pulled by a silk thread that it had tied as Hornet used to do with her needle. So the device returned to Tobu's hands, while Hollow fell into the cave. The boy, instead of landing on the hard ground, fell on something soft that moved. Something strange he was incorporated and felt the surface, it rose and fell rhythmically, in a very similar way as a breathing creature would...

Hollow ran agitated while being chased by a bulky creature that screamed furiously.

"An angry Gruz mother!" Hornet shouted in alarm. "Look what you have done Tobu.... Eh? Where did she go?"

Taking advantage of the insect's distraction, the thief had escaped, this time managing to lose sight of herself completely and left them fighting against the flying creature. She knew that the group would defeat the Gruz, but she knew that it would take them a while, long enough to lose sight of her permanently.

What followed was a simple but exhausting battle. Gruz mothers do not have much defense, but when they are angry they attack everything that moves with a speed that would not be believed possible for a creature of their size. So the greatest care that should be taken against them is to dodge their sudden attacks. Considering that there were three fighters, because now Verm with her strengthened firepower actively participated in the fights, the combat became extremely simple and considerably rapid.

When they finally had the Gruz at their feet, Hornet sighed with melancholy. The truth she did not like killing Gruz mothers, she could not help having a certain sense of guilt, so whenever she ran into one, she did not even approach, because when they were angry there was no way to stop them but to end their lives.

By now she felt mentally exhausted, that thief was smarter than she looked. She had set them trap after trap, making them look like stupid ones. Hornet knew that if they faced each other in a hand-to-hand match, she would probably win, but she wasn't ready to deal with a cheater like Tobu.

Hornet looked at her brother and the bat that looked expectant at her next decision. Hollow was determined to move on, that boy always had a lot of energy and the determination to face anything, however Verm looked exhausted. For the little girl, perhaps it had been too much, usually when they took her hunting the fights were short and much simpler, dodging the onslaught of Gruz Mother had probably diminished her strength.

Considering Verm's status and having lost Tobu's track, perhaps it would be best to return home. Most likely, Tobu did not return to her lair for the entire day, or perhaps several days, and they were not prepared for such an extensive surveillance session.

"Let's go home guys, it was enough for today" She said softly.

A defeat, the first she had faced in a long time. Hornet seemed calm, but inside she had a great rage. That spider was going to pay them, when she had her again in her hands she would definitely suffer the sorrows of hell.

They never found out, but the Pale King had stayed close to them throughout the persecution and had contemplated every one of the tricks that Tobu had made for them. He, like his children, had felt outraged at the spider's behavior. She lacked honor and honesty, humiliated his children with deception and he would made her pay for it.

The ghost narrowed his eyes and prepared to travel the rocky landscape, that spider could not be far away and he would find her.

An entire day passed in which they did nothing to find the spider, the spirits were very low because of the defeat and first they needed to recover their morale. So they tried to do their normal routine without mentioning anything about the incident. However, when they were feeling better and were beginning to consider the idea of try to find the thief's track or guarding her den, something extremely unexpected happened. Someone knocked on the door.

Hollow went to open the door and found nothing less than the 7-legged spider who looked quite exhausted and nervous.

"Here!" She shouted, throwing the nail in his face.

When Hornet heard Tobu’s voice, she ran to the door, unable to believe she had returned just to give them what she stole. So she pointed her needle at her with a murderous look.

"Where is the trap" she said coldly.

"Trap? What trap? There is no trap here! I never want to have that damned thing near me again, keep it”

Hornet lowered her needle confused.

"What happened?" Suddenly she noticed the altered state of the spider.

"What happened? What happened!? That happened!” He said pointing behind her where they could see the ghost of the Pale King smiling with satisfaction.

The worm's children looked at him with notorious surprise.

"Old man... What the hell did you do to her?"

"Nothing, I just gave her a good sermon on honesty and honor, nothing more" he replied with superiority.

“A sermon? That was torture!" Tobu shouted " That damned worm hasn't stopped talking to me since yesterday, all day! All night! I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t be calm. I was already desperate!”

“Oh man… When you want to be annoying, you really are. It seems that what you have done to us is nothing compared to what this poor wretch suffered”

"One moment ..." Tobu noticed the familiarity with which Hornet spoke to the ghost "Did you already know that this nail was cursed with a spirit inside? Why didn't they tell me!”

"The sting is not cursed" Hornet explained. "The sting allows, among other things, to see and hear the dead. But it has no spirit locked inside. The ghost is free to go anywhere, if he decided to torment you it was his will. Although I feel sorry for you, when the damn worm wants to be hateful, it really does”

"Damn worm?! Look brat, I've already told you lots of times that you don't call me in that derogatory tone! You should have more respect for your father!”

"Father?" Tobu opened her eyes wide as she heard that revelation "Is he your father ?! The promiscuous!? ”

“I am not a promiscuous! Hornet's mother was the only female with whom I was out of my marriage. All my other children are from the same mother”

"Everyone? But... There are many”

"My dear white was a root. The roots are very fertile creatures. In fact she had a few thousand offspring on her own before I came into her life"

Tobu looked at the group with an expression of bewilderment, the more she knew this family, the more she was surprised.

"A crossbreed spider princess, a root worm that looks like a beetle, a bat who spits fire and a ghost... You are honestly the weirdest and dysfunctional family I've ever seen"

"And Uncle Quirrel is missing" Verm said.

“Uncle Quirrel? And who's he? Any cousin mix of spider and mantis?”

"He is a pill bug and Aunt Horny's boyfriend" the little girl replied innocently.

“Verm don't say those things! Quirrel is not my boyfriend!” Hornet shouted with a red face.

Tobu stared at them in disbelief.

"Great ... Your non-boyfriend is a pill bug... Is it that nobody here can be interested in someone of the same species? Anyway, I'm not going to question you. I already did what I came to do so I’m...”

Tobu suddenly felt something pulling her legs and causing her to lose her balance, until she ended up falling. When she raised her head to see what had happened, she found all her limbs tied by Hornet's thread.

"You don't go anywhere"

"Eh? But why? I gave you back the nail. What else do you want? ”

"Pay for everything you put us through" replied the warrior with a terrifying expression.

"What-what are you going to do to me?" The captive asked, trembling in fear of what Hornet answered with silence and a sinister smile.

What did Hornet do with Tobu? No one but they knew, because the girl in red asked Hollow and Verm to leave them alone for a while. As the Pale King did not want to look out to see what happened inside, there were no witnesses. All they knew was that Tobu shouted many times asking for mercy and that when she came out pale and trembling, she promised that she would never steal anything (at least from them).

However, that was not the only penance that the unfortunate spider had to face.

A few days later, a unique spectacle took place in the streets of Dirtmouth. The little bat had put together an improvised stage with branches, boxes and other things, in which Hollow appeared, wearing a somewhat ruined hat and a tablecloth as a way Cloak, Hornet, wearing a mask made of paper and a glamorous neck made with dish towels tied, and Tobu, with a rope tied around the neck and some handkerchiefs tied in the appendages of her head.

“Gyaaaaarg gyaaaarg show gyaaaarg fabulous artists gyaaaar Verm’s circus gyaaaar gyaaaarg” To tell the truth, when Verm got very excited or nervous, her words got tangled up and she ended up letting out more grunts than prayers.

Tobu looked at the master of ceremonies with boredom.

"Hornet... Do we really have to do this?"

“We promised Verm that we would play with her at the circus and we have to comply”

"But that is your promise, not mine"

"We wouldn't have had to make that promise if it wasn't for you, so you hold on"

"It's not fair... I already paid my punishment for the other day"

“You’ll have paid it when I say so. And remember that you still have to teach me how to knit”

"Great" The spider snorted annoyed "I don’t know why you want to learn to knit if you can’t produce thread. You are a crossbreed, you don’t need to honor the traditions of spiders"
"But I want to do it, and don't question me" she said, pulling the rope that Tobu had tied around her neck. She looked at her resentfully.

"I hate you"

"I also hate you"

Chapter Text

In a bar in the City of Tears, a couple of insects made their way through the many tables of the place looking for a place to settle. One of them distilled emotion, while the other had a more serene attitude.

"Dan, calm down" Hornet said softly. "Act like the adult you are"

"Oh, I'm sorry" answered the somewhat embarrassed pill bug "It's my first time in a bar and I'm somewhat excited"

"I realize it" the warrior sighed taking a seat at a table next to the wall "It's also my first time in a bar"

"Really?" Dan also sat down in front of her. "And why had you never come to one?"

"Well... For a long time, there were no bars here in Hallownest. So I had no way of going to one. Besides I had other worries in my mind at that time"

"Yes, how to keep you alive" Dan already knew in part Hornet’s story, although without many details. He had no idea that she was a princess for example "It must have been hard, staying in a dead kingdom full of infected bugs without friends or family... I don't know if I would be able to endure something like that. I don't like loneliness”In that moment came a waiter to pass them the menu.

"Let's see, what do we have here?" Hornet began looking at the list of drinks and snacks. "I wonder what will be the softest drink of all?

"I will ask for the strongest" said the pill bug, to which Hornet looked at him reproachfully.

"Dan... It's your first time drinking, you shouldn't start with such strong drinks, you're not used to it"

"Don't get like my mom" the young insect complained. "If I invited you to this place, it's because you're the only one who treats me like an adult. I thought that after my last molting everyone would treat me differently, that they would be less controlling and protective, but nothing has changed”

“It is our attitude that generates a change in others. When you behave like an adult you will be treated as one. But anyway, I’m not your mother and you are in the legal age, I won’t forbid you anything. I will just warn you about things”

"It's just a drink"

"And you don't know how much you endure"

“My relatives drink a lot and nothing happens to them”

"But they are cockro... Agg ... Forget it"

After a while the waiter took their order and they began to discuss various topics, worried about their own affairs without taking others into account. They didn't have to think that something bad was going to happen. But if they had been more attentive, at least Hornet would have noticed that a hooded insect was watching them at a few tables away.

"So you finally decided to take off from Hollow" Dan commented as he watched the waiter serve their request. "I really think you overprotect him a lot"

"I don't overprotect him" Hornet replied, trying one of the mushroom snack that had served them. "I know he can defend himself perfectly without the need for me to intervene, even with his short stature he would be able to beat me up"

"Then why are you always beside him like a shadow?"

“Because Hollow has no common sense, when left alone he gets into trouble. The last time he walked on his own he returned with Verm by his side. After that I opted to keep him under surveillance”

"And now what happened?"

“Well, he has been a while without getting into trouble. So I decided to give him an opportunity. Anyway I asked an acquaintance to take a look at him just in case”

"I see... Cof cof" The pill bug coughed a little when tasting the drink he had asked for "This thing is..."

"You see? I told you that it was very strong for you, you should have asked for one like mine, it is soft and sweet ”

"No, I can" he said, taking a long drink and making a strange face.

"You're a fool" Hornet told him rudely.

Suddenly a knock on his table distracted them. Both turned to see the one who interrupted them and ran into the cold gaze of a fierce-looking lobster. It was Sting, the paid mercenary that Hornet had faced some time ago, although she didn't remember him. Dan cringed in fear in his seat while the girl remained calm.

"We meet again red beast"

"We know each other?"

"You don’t remember me? Don't you remember the humiliation you made me go through in the city square next to that tarantula?”

"Well ..." Hornet tilted his head thoughtfully. "Not really. I usually kick the ass of many people. I don’t remember everyone”

Sting raised his nail and tried to skewer Hornet's head, but she as if it were the easiest thing in the world, dodged the movement and the weapon ended up stuck in the wall leaving a mark.

"I'm not going to take responsibility for that destruction" said the warrior. "You did it, you pay for it"

The lobster frowned in frustration. Lately the work was not going well and was not in condition to pay damages. It would be best to leave the bar to fight.

"During these months in which we have not seen each other, I have improved and trained my body" he said, displaying his robust anatomy. "Now I am stronger, more resistant, more lethal. I’m a high class warrior, one so powerful that I would shake even the same five great Knights. Therefore, I demand my revenge. I want a duel with you, outside, now. Let's see if the famous red beast is able to face me”

"I'm not interested thanks"

"What? Do you reject a duel? But what kind of warrior are you. Or are you... Are you afraid?”At these words Hornet looked up and gave her a cold look.

"Yes... I'm so scared, you better not fight with someone as cowardly as I am" And after saying that she took another sip of her drink. This answer of course angered Sting.

"You're making fun of me!"

"I don’t make fun, you said it, I am afraid... And hungry" she said, taking out another mushroom snack, although these began to end "Dan, I think we’ll have to ask for more snacks, but this time we ask for the egg snacks”

"I agree with you" Dan said, terrified as he called the waiter with a gesture.

Sting was furious, that idiot was not taking him at all seriously. It seemed that she had no interest in fighting, she was only interested in eating... Maybe he could bribe her with food?

"Look beast, if you fight me... I'll buy you the most expensive sandwich on the card"

Hornet's eyes shone at this offer.

"I accept!" She said standing up.

"Hornet you can't do it!" Dan whined from his chair. "Wasn't that a while ago you were giving me a sermon on being prudent? Getting to fight a dangerous stranger is not wise. Are you really going to risk your life for a sandwich?”

“It is the most expensive on the menu! And my financial situation doesn't allow me to pay for it”

“Do you lack money? I thought it would reach you to live with the jobs you do for us”

“Yes, but recently I had a big expense, let's say a certain problematic vermin made a hole in the roof of my house and the repair came out somewhat expensive. So I'm in red numbers. But don't worry, I know I can beat this guy. You wait for me here, I’ll come back quickly”

Hornet left the bar followed by Sting who looked at her with a sinister smile savoring the revenge he intended to realize. Dan had to stay alone in his place drowned in concern. What would he do if something happened to Hornet? He knew she was strong, but that lobster also seemed to be.

He took another drink of his drink finishing it, and began to feel somewhat sleepy. Apparently it was too strong for him, Hornet had been right. His head spun and he looked around trying to clear himself, until suddenly he noticed a thin figure covered with a robe approaching him. Because of the delicate and flirtatious way they walked, he supposed they was a female, which was confirmed when she spoke to him.

"Hi handsome"

The battle that Hornet played against the lobster was not very long, but still had its level of challenge. If the girl had memories of who Sting was, she would have recognized that the warrior had improved a lot in these months and would have congratulated him. But as it was not the case, once she made her enemy fall, she just tied him with her thread and dragged him back to the bar.

"I want a Baldur sandwich with mushrooms please, he pays" She pointed to the tied lobster.

"Sure Miss, we’ll take your order to your table"

"Thank you!"

After this Hornet went to the table where she had left Dan, but he was nowhere. Then something confused she asked a waiter if he had seen his partner.

“Oh yes, the drunken pill bug. A girl arrived, who offered to pay everything for him, and then she took him to who knows where. They didn't go long ago”

Hornet froze upon hearing this. Had a girl taken Dan? Some sinister ideas began to haunt Hornet's mind. She had heard many stories of females visiting bars to cheat unsuspecting males and take them to their lairs to devour them. If something happened to that insects, how would she respond to his family? He was also her friend! She couldn't let something bad happen to him!

Regretting of her sandwich, Hornet ran out of the bar, where she was once again covered by the eternal rain of the city. That damn water could sometimes be a real nuisance, it had erased the kidnapper's trail. Where would that creature have gone? She didn't even know what species it belonged to predict their behavior. But it didn't matter, she would find Dan no matter what. But how? Then she had an idea.

She climbed as she could through the Soul Sanctum, even risking being hurt by the thorns that "decorated" the roofs. Then when she reached the highest part, where Lurien's spire used to be, she started hitting one of the sliding windows.

A firefly that struggled inside to observe through a telescope, was scared to hear all that noise, then turned to see and the light of his tail went out of the pure scare that caused him to have the red beast outside his residence .

“The-the the red beast!”

"Kalus, the watcher” Hornet whispered.

Kalus was the new watcher appointed by the city governor. His job was to observe from the heights and detect any problems, such as deteriorated structures that required renovation, places where crime was concentrated, identification of dangerous individuals, etc. It was a job very similar to what Lurien did in his time.

"What... What do you want from me..."

"I need you to tell me if you've seen a pill bug being carried by a hooded insect"

The firefly blinked something confused, it was a rather specific request, in fact he had not seen anything like that, but it would not cost him to find it. There were almost no pill bugs in the city, the simple fact of seeing one was a rarity, besides that at that time, the streets were almost deserted.

"I haven't found anything like that. But I could look for him if you promise not to harm me" Kalus said shyly.

"Do it please. I promise I won’t do anything to you"

After a few minutes, Kalus managed to find a pill bug that seemed somewhat confusing staggering as he walked. He was guided by a hooded insect that held him firmly in their hand.

"I've found him" announced the firefly "East sector, block D6, residential area, Pulg street, height of 36"

"Thank you very much" Hornet said, taking Kalus' hands in a gesture of gratitude, he looked at her strangely.

After that, the warrior came out the window without saying anything else. The watchman stayed a few moments looking at the place where the girl had gone. She seemed more friendly than the rumors said. Then he looked at his hands where an object had been deposited, a mushroom snack. He looked at it curiously. Would she have given it as a sign of gratitude? He took a bite and savored it with delight.

"It's very good! I wonder where she bought it”

Hornet was speeding through the streets using her needle and thread to move as quickly as possible, as it seemed, the kidnapper wanted to take Dan out of the city, probably they wanted to take him to their burrow to be able to devour him quietly. But she didn't have much left to reach them, in a few more streets she would have reached them.

She was coming to a crossroads when she paused a short time because she heard that something loud was moving along the street that she had to cross and she did not want to be run over. She waited patiently and her eyes widened as she watched a wingmould cross the street, followed by Hollow, Tobu, the damn worm, Verm and a kingsmould.

"But what the hell is going on here!" Hornet shouted so hard that everyone stopped and turned to see her.

"Hornet!" Exclaimed the king.

"........!" Hollow didn't say

"Aunt Horny!" Verm shouted.

"The oppressor!" Tobu complained.

"I demand an explanation now!" Hornet shouted walking towards them.

"Well... This..." Tobu and Hollow seemed very nervous, to which the king sighed.

"Tobu managed to convince Hollow to show her the White Palace"

"Does the white palace still exist?" Hornet asked surprised.

"Yes it exists" confirmed the Wyrm "But it is hidden through a spell and can only be accessed using the Dream Nail"

"And how did you hear about the existence of the White Palace?"

"We had to tell her" the worm continued "We discovered Tobu trying to steal the kingsmould that contains the entrance to the castle, the spell that has it contained is powerful, but if by any chance of life it were released, the palace would appear in this dimension and would crush everything in the surroundings. Can you imagine if it materialized in Dirtmouth for example?”

"Ok, I understand" Hornet turned to Hollow. "It was one thing to convince her to leave the kingsmould, but another different thing was to take her inside the palace. Why did you do it Hollow?"

"....... .... ........ ... ......."

“For the sake of science? Hollow! Obviously, she did it for her own good. She sure wanted to steal the treasures that might be hidden in the palace” Hornet grabbed her head in exasperation. “And these... Automaton? The kingsmould, right? What are they doing out here?” She said looking at the one who obediently followed the group.

“That was what Tobu tried to steal”

“A Kingsmould? And she did not find something more harmless? I don't know, maybe jewelry?”

“Ha! Do you think I'm going to be interested in something as banal as a mere jewel?" The spider proudly declared. "Of course not! The memories I look for are unique and representative things about places, things with history, like this automaton”

Hornet gave her a glacial look that made the spider pick up the legs.

“Tobu! These things are weapons! Automatons made to slice enemies! The old king built them to protect his back when his knights were away. They are not something suitable for collecting, especially if they are activated. In addition that these things are very old” she said hitting the kingsmould that was next to them “I wouldn’t be surprised if they would have misconfigured a little and become aggressive”

As confirming her words, the kingsmould brandished its scythe and almost sliced Hornet who dodged it in time.

"Do you see what I tell you?"

"Good but... The little flying things are more harmless, right? Can I keep one, right? Right?” Tobu pouted and pleaded.

"No! You don't keep anything! You are going to return all the machines now”

"Oppressive spider..." Tobu muttered angrily.

"Hey, don't get like this. Even the flying automaton can be dangerous"

"It's true" said the king. "After those beatings you gave them, it were out of control and now they are unpredictable, they will hit and attack anything without warning. We better try to find them, besides there is another kingsmould out of control out there, it could kill someone if we don't hurry”

At that moment a couple of shouts cut the air, one of them was a high-pitched female voice, while the other no doubt corresponded to the lost pill bug.

"Dan!" Hornet shouted running to the origin of the scream.

As feared, in the middle of the street was Dan shivering in fear looking at a furious kingsmould that seemed about to cut him into pieces. The automaton raised its white scythe ready to attack and just before the weapon was buried in the body of the insect, he was saved by the mysterious hooded girl who had kidnapped him.

“Don't even dream it monster!” The insect shouted “He is mine and I won’t deliver him until he fulfills his purpose”

The kingsmould with its eternal emptiness could not answer, feel, or think, just swung its scythe against the female.

For once in her life, Hornet chose to play dirty and while the hooded struggled, she discreetly took Dan away from danger. However she did not take many steps taken when she was forced to dodge a pointed projectile. Turning to see, she realized that the kidnapper had thrown it.

“Don’t even dare! He's mine!” And then he ran to Hornet throwing more shells.

“Tobu! Catch him!” Hornet shouted, throwing Dan into the air.

The poor pill bug was so dizzy with alcohol that he was unable to resist, even when he felt a chill run down his spine when he was caught by the spider, especially since she was looking at him penetratingly.

"I had never been so close to a pill bug” the spider said casually. "I admit they can be pretty but I would not relate emotionally to one"

Meanwhile, keeping Dan safe, Hornet dedicated herself to dueling with the hooded, while Hollow on the other hand was facing the Kingsmould. Both duels passed in parallel without interfering with each other.

On the one hand you could see Hollow crashing the Kingsmould with a series of stinging strokes, in turn also dodging the scythes with which he was attacked, using the mobility provided by the monarch's wings and his cloak of shadows .

Near him, Hornet was conducting a distance combat. She was somewhat amazed, the fighting style of the hooded insect was very similar to hers, throwing projectiles and making fast and accurate movements difficult to predict. Where had she learned to fight like this? She had not faced such an opponent since her training with... Would it be possible?

Tobu watched in amazement as both warriors fought, it almost seemed that... They danced. She had never seen two insects fight so elegantly, they floated through the air while performing elegant acrobatic maneuvers to dodge the attacks. She was simply bewitched. This battle was quite different from Hollow's, which had a much more brutal and coarse character.

Hollow continued fighting trying to destroy the defective kingsmould so that it stopped moving, but apparently its malfunction made these things did not know when to deactivate, because even with a fallen arm and the whole cracked structure it continued moving.

Suddenly, the warrior felt a disturbance in the air, a strange sound seeping through the rain. He took all the distance he could and with his nail hit the floor twice. This was the signal Hollow always made to announce his presence to his sister so she wouldn't be scared.

She recognized the sound and gave her to her brother a fleeting look. It was only a moment that they shared and it was enough for them to understand each other, perhaps because of that nature shared by the beings of shadows.

Both brothers at that time crouched a little puzzling their opponents, who did not perceive what Hollow had noticed, so they did not see the flymould that flew uncontrollably towards them. Both the hooded warrior and the kingsmould received the impact of the small mechanical insects and ended up on the floor.

“Tobu! Help me! Tie them up!” Hornet shouted, pulling out all the thread she brought with her and immobilizing the kidnapper.

"Whatever the oppressing lady says" she replied, fulfilling the request.

Once both threats were neutralized, Hornet placed herself in front of the hooded insect and without ceremony or warning, snatched her clothes revealing nothing less than a queen bee.

"I knew it" said Hornet. "That fighting style is unique among the inhabitants of the hive"

"Apparently it’s not so unique if someone foreign handles these techniques" replied the bee looking at her coldly.

“During my youth I trained with the hive warriors. The same late Queen Vespa taught me part of what I know”

“Eh? Did my mother have an apprentice?”

"Is Queen Vespa your mother?"

“Well yes… My egg is the last thing she left before she died. I kept hidden until now I reached adulthood....”

Both nobles looked at each other intensely in stoic silence. Both creatures came from a noble caste, not accustomed to submit to anyone. In this battle, either by fortune or by something else, one of them had been defeated, that implied that she should surrender and obey the other. The bee had to give some sign of obedience to Hornet, but her pride prevented her from doing so. So the crossbreed looked at her in silence waiting for her reaction, anyway she was in no hurry. Although Tobu was not so patient.

"Hey... Is anyone going to say something or are you going to stare at each other all night?" The spider said without any ceremonies. "I also need you to tell me what to do with this" she said, showing Dan who was lying on top of her, something sleepy, although the rain prevented him from sleeping.

"Leave him alone!" The irritated bee shouted "He's mine, don't even think about eating him"

“Excuse me?!” Hornet shouted “Since when is Dan yours? Dan doesn’t belong to anyone! Much less to you! You may be a bee princess, but as such, you only have jurisdiction over those of your kind, no pill bug, cricket or any other bug can be yours”

The yellow creature looked at her intensely for a few moments before speaking again.

“What relationship do you have with him? Is he your mate? Why do you intend to take him away from me?”

"He is my friend and I veil for his well-being. I don't want him to be devoured"

“Devoured? I didn't think to eat him!” Said the bee indignant.

"And what did you want him for then?"

The princess looked down not wanting to answer. Hornet pulled the rope with which she was tied, urging her to speak and reminding her that she was obliged to obey. Finally the bee with a red and extremely embarrassed face replied.

"I-I wanted... I mean... I needed... to ... thi-this guy... to... Copulate with him"

The surprise that invaded those present left them speechless, except for Tobu.

"Great. More crossbreeds” said the annoyed spider.

"Bee queens don’t produce crossbreeds” said the princess. "Regardless of the origin of the father, we always give birth to pure bees"

"And you need a male to start your own colony" said Hornet, drawing conclusions.

"Exactly. I need to preserve my species. The last inhabitants of the old colony are already dying and I need to give birth to the next generation. So I ask you, lend me your friend, I won’t take long, I promise to return him safe and sound"

"Why does it have to be Dan?" Said Hornet angrily, she was very bothered by the way this princess was referring to her friend. It seemed she considered him more a tool than a person.

“I don't want to copulate with someone older than me, and I heard that this boy recently had his last molting. He's my age, is perfect. Please” The bee began to look at them pleadingly. “Let me use Dan. I'll take good care of him, I need him. I want to preserve my species, please. I don't want to be alone... ”

Hornet sighed in sorrow. The bee princess seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"The problem princess..." Hornet began "It's that I can't decide on Dan. I'm not his owner, I can't ‘lend’ him to you. He is a person and deserve respect, that's why I can't allow you to copulate with him without his consent” The bee began to cry with sadness believing that she had lost all opportunity to be fertilized, because she took it for granted that after her improper acts Dan would not want to help her. However...

"I’ll do it!” Dan said with decision in his gaze.

“Dan? Are you sure?” Hornet asked. “She kidnapped you, She wanted make you to copulate with her no matter what you felt”

"But... I can't stand to see a girl cry..."

The bee felt her emotions explode when she heard those words and thanked her from the soul for having met such a kind and generous pill bug. It was more than she deserved and she knew it.

When the bee princess had calmed down, the group split in two: Hollow, Tobu and the wyrm ghost would go to the White Palace to return the automatons. On the other hand, Dan, Hornet and the princess bee went to Dirtmouth. The only condition that Hornet had put in to allow the union of Dan and the bee, had been that it happened at her home. She wanted to keep them in a safe and familiar environment, more for Dan than for anything else.

It was already dawning when the princess bee, future queen, left Hornet's house with the seeds of new lives inside.

"Really, thank you, you can't imagine what this means to me" said the insect.

"Don't thank me. thank Dan who was kind enough to do this favor for you"

"Of course I'm grateful. I don't know how to pay him for what he has done for me, this... This was..."

"Don’t say anything else and just leave. You already caused too many problems around here"

"Oh sure, of course, it's late... Or early... Well, it doesn't matter. Thanks again Goodbye!”

"Goodbye. You lay a lot of eggs" Hornet said at heart.

The bee undertook the march, jogged happily to the outskirts of the town and got into the well that would take her to the depths of the kingdom where her hive was.

Hornet sighed as she watched her walk away and prepared to enter her house where she would probably find Dan sleeping. Poor boy, because of that crazy bee, he had spent some good scares and all night outside. He would surely he would receive a good scolding when he returned home. She entered her bedroom, approached the pill bug and began to shake him to wake him up.

"Dan... Up Dan, wake up, it's late" The pill bug growled in a low voice as he rubbed his eyes.

“Hornet? I fell asleep? Where am I?"

“So where else? In my house"

"Oh… Damn, what time is it?"

"It is already dawning"

"What? Oh no! My mom is going to be furious! I must go fast... Aaaah... I feel my body heavy... Why do I feel so tired?”

"I guess it's normal after what happened last night" said Hornet casually.

"What happened last night?"

"What happened?” Hornet gave him a glacial look. “Why do you say ‘what happened last night’? Don’t you remember?"

"Remember what?" The warrior's cold gaze had now caught fire.

"Dan... Tell me you remember what happened last night"

"Hornet... You're scaring me...."

"Tell me you weren't so drunk as not to know what you were doing!"

"I... I..."

“Dan! Damn irresponsible! I told you not to drink so much!”

"What did I do?" Said the scared pill bug on the verge of tears.

"Oh, well, nothing from the other world. You just spawned a whole colony of bees, nothing more"

"I spawned a... am I going to be a father?"

"Well... Technically yes but ..."

"Why did you let me do it?" Dan said shaking in his place with his eyes down.

“You are an adult, you make your own decisions and take responsibility for them, I can't stop you”

"But but..."

Dan's affected attitude eventually moved Hornet. Poor boy, he seemed very worried about all this. The warrior just sighed and hugged her friend.

“Quiet Dan. This time you won't have to face any consequences. The queen bees raise their children alone. She will never appear again in your life or ask you anything. Her children/subjects won’t even be able to recognize you as a father. For you this will only be a dream, as if it never happened. But I hope this will serve you as a lesson for the future. So that you learn to be more cautious and understand that when someone want to advise you, it is not for disturbing you”

"Okay... I understand... Thanks Hornet. From now on I will try to be more responsible and behave like an appropriate adult”

Chapter Text

“Just like that! Now pass the thread over, put the stick there, now you pass it down and repeat. Easy isn’t? Hey! Be careful there, don't let go the thread. Yes, you are doing well”

Tobu and Hornet were out of the Grimm’s troupe in the middle of some kinds of weaving class and to the fortune of the warrior, she seemed to be making quite a lot of progress.

"Finally!" Hornet shouted full of joy.

"I made a complete line without getting tangled in the fabric!"

"Yes yes, congratulations" said Tobu without enthusiasm. "Now I can finally be a weaver!"

The spider just looked at her with boredom.

"A little late to get you started on being a weaver, but well, if it makes you happy, I guess it's fine. Do you know what a weaver's first initiation ritual is?"

"Yes. I must knit a garment for a loved one. I was thinking of giving Hollow a new cape, or maybe I could make a handkerchief to Quirrel, mmm ... Who do I knit?”

“I don't think anyone feels bad if you dedicate your first job to the other. But if you have trouble deciding, better to weave to those who need it most”

"Good idea. Thanks Tobu”

"Yes whatever. I hope with this I finally settle my debt. Instead of being here teaching weaving classes I should be looking for treasures. For this better I would have stayed in my homeland”

"Yes, the debt is paid off" Hornet said, still smiling, she was too happy. "You've actually helped me more than I expected, I'll also knit something for you later"

Tobu kept her expression of annoyance and then looked away to hide her blush.

"Don’t believe with that you will conquer my heart. I’m not so easy"

At that moment Hollow left Grimm's circus, although this time he was not followed by Verm. He walked to his sister and stared at her with some surprise at not seeing her tangled in her fabric.

"Yes, thanks to Tobu now I know how I have to do it" she answered Hollow's silent question "And you left Verm with her father?"

"........" He nodded and then made some signs.

“Two full days without she... it sounds great. Finally a break! It's good that this bat remembers his work as a biological father and takes care of his young from time to time”

"Hey..." Tobu intervened "Could you explain to me what exactly the relationship between Hollow and the bat is like? Because... This boy may no longer be a grub, but it is seen that he is missing several molting to be an adult, he cannot have a partner or... Obviously be a father”

"I don't even understand their relationship" Hornet confessed "nor do I understand that he is a mother being a male... I don't question anything anymore. I let them be, I just try that no one ends up dead. Anyway, we have to go”

"Where?" Asked the curious spider.

“So where else? To the White Palace, we have to return the junk you stole. It bothers me in my house and I have a hard time cleaning”

"Well, I already told you that I have no problem keeping it in my house" said Tobu with an angelic aura.

"No! No mass destruction weapons for you! Now we are leaving. Let’s go Hollow”

Tobu watched the crossbreed and her brother walk away to their house to pick up the gadgets they had to return. Despite how grumpy Hornet was, she was a very interesting girl. Tobu liked her a lot, perhaps even more than many pure insects she had known in her life, or perhaps it would simply be her obsession with mysterious things. It was hard to tell.

The siblings used the services of the old stag to reach the hidden station that led to the vicinity of the White Palace. Fortunately, the kingsmould were not heavy since they were hollow, apparently the void that made them work lacked weight, so they did not make suffer the old stag. Although he looked more energetic than ever. The joy of being able to share with others of his kind had revitalized him and he kept talking about the little stags that had hatched recently.

The siblings advanced on the grounds where the castle gardens once stood, behind them the automaton advanced obediently, although just in case, Hornet had the wingsmould fastened with her thread and the kingsmould had their limbs tied.

They were almost arriving at the solitary automaton that guarded the entrance to the palace when they noticed that someone was there. An individual of considerable height, who looked at the desolate landscape. The being had a regal posture, upright and proud, like the one a nobleman would have. However, his unfortunate appearance contrasted with this attitude, the individual only wore an old dark, broken and worn cloak.

"Big?" Hornet said not very sure, but the guy turned to see her when he heard her speak confirming that it was him.

"Hor... Net..." He said in a raspy voice "Ho... Llow..."

The giant showed an affable smile when he saw his siblings, especially when Hollow ran to hug him. Big bent down and received the little boy in his arms where he cradled him affectionately. Although Hornet was also glad to see her brother, she maintained a more serene attitude, although this was only until she was a the reach of Big's hands, because without asking her permission, he took her and began to hug her effusively.

“Big! Let me go! This is shameful!"

"No one ... Look ..."

Hornet had to endure the signs of affection of the king of shadows, because she had no way of opposing his strength and size. When she was finally put on the floor, she gave her brother an annoyed look, but said nothing, those sweet eyes overflowing with love were too much for her.

"Damn... Big is identical to his mother, he has the same kind look and the same effort to show his affection" Hornet thought.

"What are you doing here? And since when do you speak?”

"I... I practiced... But ... Talking ... Is… Hard..."

It was notorious that it was hard for him, the words sounded scratchy, like grunts trying to imitate understandable words. Of all the vessels, Big was the only one who had managed to produce sound and eventually, he had decided to shape his guttural growls to resemble words, yet he still needed practice to perfect the technique, so it was quicker to explain why he was there by signs. Basically Big had a nostalgia attack and decided to go for a walk to the surface.

Hornet watched Big carefully, he looked much better than when he was locked in the egg. He had asked the mask maker to make him a new mask, so he now had a perfect, shiny face and no cracks. The void of the abyss had rebuilt his lost arm and now, in perfect control of his body , he no longer walked like a bloodthirsty beast. He looked like a civilized and very polite insect, although a bit intimidating. His height far exceeded the average.

".... You.... Here?" He complemented his question with signs to make it clearer.

"......." Hollow more or less explained the story with Tobu omitting minor details.

"..... Palace.... Enter...."

"Do you want to come in too?" Hornet asked, and his brother nodded effusively. "I don't think there's a problem. Can we get in all Hollow?"

"....." The little boy nodded.

The three siblings took each other's hands, held the threads that were attached to the automatons well and Hollow brandished the Dream Nail allowing them to enter the White Palace. Within the dream of the kingsmould, everything was pure white, magnificent and bright, a place so bright that it seemed taken from another world.

"As cold as ever" said Hornet, looking sadly at the place.

"I like it" said Big. "Oh... Here I speak almost effortlessly"

"We are on another existential level," Hollow explained. "The world of dreams and the mind. Everything what we want can happen here... Within certain limits of course, the owner of the dream is always the one who has control, but at least this dream allows us to speak easily if we wish”

"The truth is very comfortable" said Big. "I hope I can talk like that fluid at some point" Big looked around with delight contemplating the decorations and the splendor of the palace. "I can't believe this still exists. I became very sad when I came here and saw everything empty. I wanted to see my house again”

"House? This is much more than a house” said Hornet with a laugh.

“Here I grew up, this is my house, even if it is a palace” He was silent a few moments before continuing “I see that Dad finally managed to complete his investigations, he had heard that The Radiance moved in another existential plane to enter the minds of people. He wanted to reach this other world and end her at once”

"He should have followed that plan" Hollow said with anger in his voice. "That idea was much better than creating children to throw them away"

"But this magic was not yet developed" Big replied "As far as I remember, he still could not enter the dream world successfully and maybe when he did it would be too late, so he turned to the vessel plan"

"He threw away our siblings like crap, Big!"

"He was desperate"

"He felt no remorse in treating us like objects!"

"He felt it"

"He confined you to a miserable life inside that egg!" Big's eyes darkened as he remembered those times.

"It was my duty... I should protect them all..."

“Stop defending him Big! Admit that father was heartless!”

"He was not! You didn't know him like me!”

"But I know him enough to know what kind of worm he is"

"You can't know it, you never talked to him"

"Yes, I know, in fact I speak..." At that moment Hornet covered his brother's mouth so he wouldn't say anything inconvenient. It was best that Big didn't know about the king's ghost.

“Enough, good brothers don't fight. None will convince the other in this discussion”

"Yes, I guess you're right" said Big. "We better go around the palace, this brings back many memories"

"We follow you” said Hornet.

The group moved between the glowing corridors, which seemed frozen in time, between step by step they could hear soft murmurs, like bugs chattering, then when turning around a corner, they saw a group of royal servants, wearing clothes of the same diaphanous white that covered the whole place.

"Servants!" Big said cheerfully.

The giant approached them, as soon as the insects perceived their presence they kept silent and bowed.

"You can get up" Big said with emotion in his voice, but the servants didn't react. "I said you can get up..."

"Don't bother Big" said Hollow. "They are not really alive, they are the echoes of the memories that resonate in this place, only empty memories, they can do nothing but a bow because they are not reminded of anything else"

"Oh, I see ..." Big seemed somewhat sorry "It's very sad that they are only remembered for bowing, at least in my memories the servants were more fun"

"What memories do you have of the servants?" Hornet asked interested.

“Well… When I was little I had that strange apathy implanted inside me, that kind of… Lack of interest in living. I guess that was what Dad called void. I didn't care about anything, I didn't want anything, I didn't feel anything... Well, I felt things, but everything didn't matter to me, if they had told me to stand in a corner until I died of hunger I would have done it. The servants always despaired when they were with me, they wanted to serve me as they did with the king or queen, but there was nothing that I wanted. The truth they was relieved when I left. How curious that they was complicated by such a small thing”

"Well, you were the king's offspring... You were someone important" said Hornet.

"But the old man didn't consider him a child, he was just a tool" Hollow complained.

"That is true, but he was his precious tool, the one that everyone should honor because it would be Hallownest's savior," Hornet explained. "While being a tool, he told everyone that they should take care of him and protect him"

"And the servants don't distinguish the difference between the word caring and serving," Big said. "Dad, all he wanted was they take care I not be cut by a saw, that was all"

A shiver ran down Hollow's back as he thought of the saws of the path of pain.

"Did he already have those damned saws scattered throughout the castle at that time?"

"Yes, dad loved the saws. He said there was a certain beauty in its lethality. He ordered a special hallway to be built in the castle to put them on, mom used to say it was a waste of space"

"He was always crazy" Hollow sighed, he definitely agreed with the queen.

The group walked a little further until they found a wide area where instead of a bright white rock floor, there was only earth, although in it you could see some plants that, like everything there, seemed frozen in time. Big advanced to this small garden and took a handful of soil, which he released after observing it, there was a certain sadness in his gaze.

"This place..."

"Aunt White's inner garden" said Hornet, guessing the reason for Big's sadness.

“Yes, I remember that she used to rest in this place. When she was happy, she buried her roots and the flowers sprouted in piles, filling everything with fragrance... But every time I saw her, her joy went away and only musty shoots grew that died shortly after. That... It made me feel sad, but with my apathy I was unable to assimilate that feeling and I just stood still watching her until she ordered me to retire. I wish I could have done something for her... I wish I had hugged her...”

Hornet remembered the White lady and felt a tightness in her chest. She remembered how much she wished she had a son who was her and the pale king and how much it hurt her not to be allowed to love him when she finally had him. Suddenly an idea crossed Hornet's mind.

"Big... I hadn't told you but there is a new sister"

"Eh?" The giant blinked in surprise "Do we have a new sister?"

“You have a new sister, she is the Aunt White’s daughter, she is not my mother, so she has no blood relationship with me. The little one is called Clare and is a root, you can find her in the Queen’s Gardens beyond the Green Path. It is in a rather hidden place behind a path full of brambles, behind a pergola inside a round burrow”

"I know where it is!" Said Hollow.

"Great" Big looked excited "One of these days we should go see her"

"I do warn you not to move her" said Hornet. "Young roots must remain buried in one place, when they grow a little longer they can wander farther"

The news of having a new sister greatly glad Big, now he seemed as radiant as the palace itself. He adored his family and was always willing to welcome one more member. He had a sweet heart like that of the late queen, which contrasted with his intimidating appearance. Hornet sighed at the thought of this, Big is supposed to be the king of the abyss, with that soft heart. Could he really rule over his brothers correctly?

They continued walking through the castle between echoes of memories and anecdotes, until they came across a cut road, like many that were in the castle. This road ended abruptly in an abyss which was riddled with saws between which there were small platforms to support the feet. After this abrupt interruption the road continued normally.

"And we started" said Hornet "The famous obstacles of saws"

"Is it too much for you?" Hollow said proudly "Come on Hornet, try to beat me"

The little boy full of enthusiasm and without listening to his sister's aftershocks, ran out and jumped into the abyss with saws, where he managed to land on one of the floating platforms that were here and there. Then making use of all his acrobatic skills, he began to dodge the saws, jumping and floating between the platforms helping himself with the monarch's wings. He walked that deadly road with elegance and speed until he landed safely on the other side.

"Get over that!" Hollow said proudly.

"Well... The truth is that we prefer to use the passages without saws"

Big walked towards a wall where he began to count bricks, until he found one in particular. He pressed this hard and a kind of internal mechanism was activated. The place began to shake while a metal bridge as white as the rest of the palace grew to both sides of the abyss dodging the trajectory of all the saws and joining the path. Hollow looked at all this stunned.

"Please! Don't tell me this was always there!” The bug shouted “ I almost died the first time I passed by trying to get that dirt piece of charm”

"Well..." Big said "Did you really think that the king's weak insects would mobilize through all those saws? They obviously had a safer road to travel. These saws are to keep the invaders away, but the inhabitants of the castle used to wander around here would know all the hidden corridors and roads necessary to do their chores without dying in the attempt”

Hollow looked at his brother angrily, then sat on the floor and crossed his arms pouting. Big, laughing, crouched down next to him and stroked his head, in that warm way that the little one liked so much, this extinguished part of his anger, for his gaze softened quite a bit. The elder smiled in pleasure, then took Hollow in his arms and continued moving forward followed by Hornet.

"Big, could you let me go?" Hollow said somewhat embarrassed to see the laughter that Hornet let out. "I can walk perfectly"

"But I want to charge you"

"But I want to walk"

"But I am the king and you do what I say" Hollow then fell silent growling under his breath, to which Big gave a sincere laugh.

"Just kidding. Don't you want to go up?"

This seemed to encourage Hollow a little, who helped by his brother mounted on his back, the difference in size between the two was so colossal that the little one could travel comfortably. Hornet continued to stare at them in silence.

"It seems that Big does not have problems to command his brothers, they are completely loyal to him and he does not abuse his authority, I think that in his own way everything works well"

The next stop the group made was in an open area where you could see some shiny weapons arranged at some counters. Each piece was magnificent, like everything there. At the sight of the nails, Big approached and gave a deep sigh.

“The training room... I remember it well. Here the 5 great ones trained me in the nail arts. I remember that they were hard training, the requirement was tremendous to the point of being cruel. I remember that more than once they made me train until that I could no longer stand... Although I think it was because of my apathy that I received that treatment, even when I was tired or on the verge of collapse, I was unable to prove it. I could suffer pain and I didn't care, I didn't even want them to stop even when I felt uncomfortable. As the knights saw no reaction from me they continued to pressure me because they thought everything was fine”

"That was horrible" said Hollow. "When did it start to bother you?"

Big looked surprised. "Are you talking about ‘The waking up?’"

"What is ‘The waking up’?" Hornet asked.

"It's when our feelings start to matter to us" Hollow explained. "We were all born with that apathy that Big explains, but eventually... We wake up, as we suddenly begin to become aware of ourselves and others, we begin to desire things, it can be to be with someone, or do something. Nor do we have great desires, no riches or things like that”

"I see. So when did you wake up Big?" The girl looked curious.

“When I met you Hornet”

"Eh? Seriously? But how could I do that? We also met only once when my mother brought me to be presented to the court”

“Did you get to know Hornet when you were younger? You never told us that Big”said Hollow, surprised.

“It's a short story, there's not much to tell. It happened in this same place. I was training with Dryya who was the most severe of the 5 knights. The training had been very hard and I was about to fall out of exhaustion, then Hornet appeared out of nowhere and attacked the knight. Due to Hornet's age and lack of expertise, she was crushed in combat”

"If Driyya was alive and fought with me I wonder who would win now" said Hornet.

“The point is, that even though Hornet was defeated, she was not easy to contain or control, she screamed loudly. She yelled a lot of rather rude things, but among the many things she said, there was one that impressed me ‘How can you treat that boy like that? What do you not see that he is exhausted and about to collapse? You should let him rest! This is a cruelty! Don't you care what he feels?’"

"Oh... I had forgotten that incident" Hornet said surprised.

"But not me. For the first time I considered the idea that what I felt was important and then my apathy... Little by little it began to disappear but... I kept that hidden. I continued behaving like an empty being. I knew that Dad was desperate to stop the infection and many insects succumbed to it day after day. I needed to stop the plague, but the more I worried about all this, the less apt I was to be the pure vessel... I still eaten my consciousness knowing that I failed”

“Big! You didn't fail anyone!” Hornet shouted indignantly “From the beginning this was a stupid plan! And stop defending the old man, he was a callous selfish, he doesn't deserve your consideration”

"I repeat... You did not know him as I... You didn’t share with him like me, none of you saw what I saw or can understand as I understand"

After this Big was silent and ended the subject. None of the siblings said anything until they reached a huge, white door, full of details carved on its glowing surface, were drawings of dragonflies and flowers, so magnificent they almost seemed alive.

"The throne room ..." said the king of the shadows "Long time no come here"

Big made the gesture of opening the door but Hollow did not allow it and got in his way.

"No need to enter this room"

Hollow knew that there was the body of the pale king, seeing his beloved dead father would greatly affect Big.

“But I want to enter, I would like to see the throne room again, it was a magnificent place and it brings me good memories, come on Hollow. Doesn't it make you excited to sit on the throne? It's a very comfortable chair, once dad let me sleep there for a while”

"I already sat there the last time I came and it's not the big deal. Let's go, there must be other rooms to visit"

"Hollow... If I didn't know you, I'd say you're hiding something from me" Big narrowed his eyes and looked at him suspiciously.

“I don't hide anything! I just don't want to enter this room”

"But I do, you can stay out if you want"

"But but..."

"Hollow, get away"

Hollow stood still in his place without knowing what to do. He was divided between his loyalty to his brother and his desire to protect him from a bad time. However Big ignored the little one and pushed the door without being able to oppose him, however, the door did not yield to his force, it was absolutely closed.

"Eh? It does not open"

"Seriously? Oh, what a pity” said Hollow, relieved, to which his brother gave an accusing look “What? It's not my fault, I didn't do anything”

"Okay ... I believe you" Big sighed "It's also not like you could have done something. Well, let's keep going”

The small group walked down the hall as they talked about some trivial topics and shared stories from the past. When everyone was far enough, a specter materialized in front of the door and looked down the hall sadly. There in the solitude of the incredible palace he had sent to build for him, the old Pale King dropped down, bringing his hands to his face whispering laments while a great regret invaded him.

"I'm sorry Big... I'm so sorry... Son..."

They had already been around the palace for a while and were starting to feel somewhat tired, and Hornet was getting hungry. They had already fulfilled their mission of returning the automaton and had delighted by invoking old memories. It was time to leave, although Big seemed somewhat reticent.

"What's up Big? Don't you want to leave the palace?” Hornet asked.

“Yes, well, I really like the palace, the chasm is very cozy and comfortable, but this place is more beautiful. It has gardens, large rooms, ponds and saws... Many saws”

The expression that Hornet and Hollow dedicated to him was indescribable.

"I like the void pond down there too, but it would be nice to try one of those fluffy beds with silk sheets again, or maybe have tea in the studio next to the window..."

"Big!" Hornet exclaimed. "I didn't know you were a lover of luxuries"

At the words of his sister the giant flushed, while she just laughed softly. She would never have thought that any of the shadows of the abyss had such tastes, not even Big, but it was not something so crazy. He had been raised as a prince in one of the most prosperous kingdoms in the world, surely he missed having servants, tasting fine dishes or stroll through beautiful gardens.

However Big did not complain, he had a humble and devoted heart. If he had to sleep on a bed of rocks, go hungry or suffer the worst torments to protect his loved ones, he would do it without doubted. Poor Big, he had already gone through so many horrible things in those years, being able to enjoy some luxuries was something he deserved, what a pity that these whims could not be fulfilled.

"I don't need luxuries" Big said, still somewhat embarrassed because they discovered his secret tastes. "I'm fine governing my brothers in the abyss, it's comfortable, warm, safe and he's there"

"Who?"

“He, the ancient being of the shadows. In addition, I... I think I would not fit very well in this place, look at me, I am a disaster. Walking through these magnificent corridors of white rock wearing these rags would be almost shameful” He sighed “Although originally this was a beautiful cloak of silver silk, but time and infection ruined it and left it as it is now”

Again Big seemed ashamed to express his wishes and complaints, but that manifestation of feelings made Hornet think of something.

“Hey Big... What do you think if I knit a new cloak for you? I have some spools of silver thread”

"What? Really? Do you know how to knit? Holly had said you were awful and that you always ended up entangled in your works” Hornet's face turned so red as her cloak.

“That gossip! Yes... It is true that I used to end up entangled in my tissues, but that is over. Now I have taken classes with a professional weaver spider and today I could make a complete line without suffering any accident. I am ready to weave some garment. So I’ll weave an elegant silver cloak. You’ll see how good it will look”

Big looked at her with some surprise, then a sincere smile appeared on his face. "Thank you Hornet. I’ll wait for your gift with eagerness. But don’t over exert yourself. No matter if it does not fit very well"

"Hey! Don't you have faith in me? Ii’ll show you what I am capable of”

Then, the warrior turned and walked away from her brothers heading to the exit portal. Hollow and Big stared at her with a funny smile, then the youngest proceeded to follow in her footsteps, however his brother's voice stopped him.

"Hollow... I... I wanted to talk to you about something... But this... Don't tell anyone please, I don't want them to worry"

"What's up Big?"

"Well... It turns out that lately I hear voices in my head, voices that don't come from anywhere. Bad voices that speak to me of domination and conquest, of revenge and extermination... I don't like these voices... They scare me"

No doubt Hollow was scared too. It was scary!

“What do you think it is, Hollow? Will I be going crazy? Could it be that spending so many years with The Radiance inside me affected my mind and now it doesn't work well?”

“I… I don't know. But don't listen to the voice! Don't listen to her, stay busy, dive into the lake of void. He will take care of you and prevent something from happening”

"I have been doing that, but I cannot neglect our siblings, they need me"

“I know, they need both of us. Quiet Big, everything will be fine. I’ll make sure nothing bad happens, our family will be safe. If I could save you once exceeding all forecasts or expectations, I’ll be able to do it again. I would kill even a god for keeping everyone safe. Trust me, remember that I am your knight”

"I know Hollow, you are my knight, my loyal knight"

Chapter Text

In a bookshop in the City of Tears, a large group of insects was gathered waiting for the business to open the doors. Inside, while some bugs cleaned the place preparing to open, a beetle was pacing from side to side made a bundle of nerves.

"Bretta, calm down" Said a one-eyed mantis with her body covered with scars. "It's just a book signing, nothing more. You won't even have to give a speech”

"But... But... It's a lot of insects... And... And... They'll see me and ..."

“Yes, of course, they are here to see you and have your signature, that's what it is about”

"But when they see me they will be disappointed to see who I am, because I... I..."

"You're a great girl, Bretta" Sharpy said in a motherly tone. "And you write wonderful. Your novel is a best seller. People are here to admire your work, nobody cares about how you look or if you are a little clumsy. So calm down. Everything will be fine. And changing the subject... The red beast is not here?”

"Hornet?" Bretta still had a hard time assimilating the girl's nickname. It was shocking that her quiet and kind neighbor was a professional murderer.

"Yes, I thought she would come with you. I wanted to challenge her to a quick duel before the signing began"

"Oh well... She was coming with me but there was a problem along the way and she had to delay. I hope everything went well for her..."

......................

"This is Bad!" Hornet shouted hysterically.

"Maybe a little," Tobu admitted.

Both were cornered in a corner of the city, surrounded by a huge group of Goliath beetles who threatened them with sticks in their hands. Tobu carried a huge glass jar with a kind of glowing gas between her legs, which she held as if it were the largest treasure in the world. On the other hand, Hornet was only dedicated to shaking the spider while shouting at her like crazy.

"Tobu hand them the bottle!"

"No! It's mine. Do you give away your stuff?”

“That was never yours! You stole it!”

"I didn't steal it. I just found it casually in a showcase with 5 locks inside the building that these guys was guarding"

As always the spider came out with her ridiculous answers. Hornet knew she wouldn't get cooperation from her, so something exasperated decided to try to reason with the beetles.

“I have nothing to do with her” she said nervously. "She is only an acquaintance who greets me from time to time, She is half crazy and...”

The girl in red suddenly felt something seize her arm and when she looked, she found Tobu clinging to her with fake tears in her eyes.

“Honey, why are you doing this to me? After everything we've been through together, do you deny me? Now you pretend you don't like treasures and blame me? But how cruel...”

Hornet was desperate, that cheater spider seemed determined to sink her with her. It was her word against Tobu's, she needed a witness, someone to give her credibility. Then her salvation appeared in the midst of those mastodons.

Hollow had been looking for her for a while and when he saw that tumult of bugs gathered at one point, he came to look around. Taking advantage of his size that still allowed him to slide through small spaces, he slipped through the bugs to see better. As soon as Hornet saw Hollow, she cried out for help.

“Hollow! Nice to see you! Please explain to these gentlemen that I’m not a thief and that I’m not an accomplice of this crazy spider!”

The boy of course fulfilled his sister's request. With his best signs, explained that his sister had nothing to do with Tobu, the problem was that as always, no one but Hornet understood him.

"Do you see? Hollow said it!” The look that the beetles gave her was indescribable.

Hornet put her hands in her face and stifled a scream of frustration. She was sure she could eventually get out of the predicament and prove her innocence, but that could take a long time if they held them, and she wanted to go to Bretta's book signing. She had promised she would go. Then another ray of hope appeared.

Gliding through the same places Hollow had used, Verm appeared on the scene. She was capable of issuing words in a coherent language for the majority of the population.

“Verm! Please! Explain to these gentlemen who I am. How I am and that I have nothing to do with this mad spider!”

Verm had no problem explaining some things and was more than capable of doing it, however seeing the eyes of all those huge and terrifying beetles on top of her, she got nervous.

“Gyaaaar gyaaaarg gyaarg aunt Horny gyarg gyaarg thief gyarg gyarg spider gyaaaarg gyaaaarg problems”

Both when she got nervous and when she got excited, Verm's words were locked and she ended up releasing unintelligible grunts, sometimes with luck a few words can be understood. Unfortunately on this occasion what was understood made they think the worst. The accusing glances returned to Hornet and a cry of rage was released.

"Enough! I don’t have time for this! I'm going! Later I'll come back to clear up the misunderstanding.”

And without saying anything else, Hornet threw her needle to use her thread and propel herself away. However, when she had already taken the flight, she felt an extra weight on her body, Tobu had hugged her using her to escape. Three of her legs were clinging to the crossbreed, while the other four held the jar of soul that had Stolen.

"Release me damned!" Hornet shouted.

“But honey, were you really thinking of leaving me down there surrounded by those annoying giants? You are so cruel...”

"Face your problems alone and stop getting me involved!"

"But it's fun. Look, now we're having a great time flying around the city together"

As answer Hornet threw herself against a building making sure to hit it on the side where Tobu was. The blow forced the spider to let go of Hornet and fell. Of course, as she was a spider, she also had control over the thread, so she threw a bit of this over a building to have something to hold on to and avoid an ugly fall.

The beetles that were left behind quickly mobilized to hunt down the fugitives. When all had retired, the only ones standing there in the rain were Hollow and Verm. The bat looked at him worried. S he had already spent enough time with him to recognize his moods, even though he maintained a serious expression. From what she perceived now, Hollow was very, very angry.

"Jsssjsjsjsjsjsjjs!" Hollow hissed furiously.

Strictly speaking he had the ability to make sounds, but they required so much effort and were so faint that it wasn't worth it.

He began to walk in the rain casting silent curses. Life was too ironic. For months he had had Hornet beside him like a shadow, to the point of despair him a little, all with the excuse that his lack of common sense got him into trouble. And now that his sister had finally decided that he had enough judgment to walk on his own, it turns out he needed her and she was on the run.

Hollow knew something, something very important and needed to communicate it as soon as possible. But unfortunately the only one who understood him was Hornet. If she didn't listen to him nobody would do it. That's why he desperately needed her.

It turns out that the young vessel walking through the city, had coincidentally heard an important conversation between a pair of earwigs. Apparently the rumor was that the governor of the City of Tears would go to Bretta's book signing, and a group that opposed to his mandate saw in this the perfect opportunity to carry out an attack and take the power.

Despite the apparent peace that was in the City of Tears, in reality the place was a nest of intrigues and conspiracies. There were many who wanted the power to emulate the deceased Pale King. Obviously no one even reached the heels of the old king, both in power and wisdom, but they still thought themselves worthy of defying the wobbly public order and claiming a lost throne that did not correspond to them.

Hollow didn't care who ruled, what worried him was that this would ruin Bretta’s event and endanger some innocent insects that had nothing to do with the matter. He did not know when the terrorists would attack, but by that time the bookstore had surely opened its doors, and now was too late to warn Hornet of the threat. No way, he would have to take care of it by himself. He just had to pray to some random god because they allowed everything to go well.

In spite of everything, things should not have gone so badly, but unfortunately a series of unfortunate events seemed to congregate in the bookstore just that day.
No one would have expected under any circumstance that Grimm would attend a book signing. It was not really an event he would go to, as he used to say: "It was not typical of my nature, to praise the minimum talents in a lower creature". But lately he had noticed that Brumm seemed very interested in a certain novel and during the last visit to the city, he had seen him sigh when he looked at the sign announcing that the author would be signing copies.

Not counting his daughter, Brumm was the only individual for whom he felt less contempt. Even if he didn't want to admit it, he had a certain affection for him. But how could he not have it? He had raised him, he was the one who performed the perpetuation ritual that granted him his own fire. Grimm owed him too much and from time to time, he agreed to fulfill him some whims. In reality it were mere alms compared to all that Brumm had done and still did it for him. But coming from a demon with a twisted heart like him, it was very much.

However, now he began to regret having decided to accompany him, being surrounded by such vulgarity stressed him. He wish Brumm was not so sparing and shy when he spoke, so he could have attended alone that decadent show without having to involve him. And it seemed that it would take a long time, there were too many bugs lining up and some were even delaying the process by talking with the beetle. How disgusting day. When he returned home he would have to take a good warm bath with aromatic salts or he could not sleep well. Perhaps it would even be a good idea to ask for a massage before putting on his skin creams.

Suddenly, the bat caught something out of the corner of his eye, something reddish entered his field of vision and quickly turned to see. He only got to glimpse part of a cloak that disappeared behind a building. He narrowed his eyes and a smile crossed his face. Was his crimson princess walking nearby? If he had the chance to meet her it would be wonderful, he loved the expression of terror she put on every time she saw him.

Indeed, what Grimm had seen was "his princess." Hornet had run to the bookstore where Bretta was, but as soon as she saw the bat she went to hide scared. Again her phobia had made her react before even thinking about what she was doing. She could not enter the premises with Grimm there.

She began to hit the floor impatiently with her foot. What was she going to do? Maybe she could wait for him to leave to see Bretta, although that could take a while, the line of insects was huge... She sighed in annoyance and decided to go buy something to eat, maybe when she come back, the scary beast would have gone.

As far as Hornet left, a mysterious group arrived at the place. It was a small archaeognatha wrapped in a robe that covered almost his entire body. Next to him walked a zigena butterfly, carrying a light nail and a crossbreed insect that looked like the mixture of a earwig with a mosquito, because he had a tail with tweezers and wings.

These individuals belonged nothing less than the governor of the city with his two bodyguards, who, as the information said, went to the book signing, although they tried to go unnoticed.

Everyone was aware of the dangerous situation with so many enemies in the surroundings, but the governor had been somewhat stressed lately with all the pressure from his opponents, plus some dramas and disagreements with the trade union, added to his daily duties. What all he wanted was to be able to disconnect for a moment from all this, and he saw in this small event an opportunity for it. It was a book signing, for a while he would be a normal insect that would see his favorite writer like any other bug. Even maybe he would go around and buy some other novels; he was very fond of reading.

For the moment everything was going well. Nobody seemed to recognize him with his robe that covered almost his entire body, with the exception of his tail that looked out from behind, but he doubted that anyone would recognize him for this, he was not the only archaeognatha in the city. However his bodyguards were tense and on alert, they had noticed something abnormal in the environment, presences in the surroundings that not even the noise of the rain could hide.

None had said anything. They had only established silent communication with each other through looks. They didn't want to worry the governor. They had seen him stressed all week and more than anyone wanted to give him a rest. Besides that, the bug seemed delighted with the exit. He had already managed to enter the store and had taken a book from one of the shelves to take a look while they waited, he had apparently decided on his next purchase.

The line moved a little further and the bodyguards seemed to relax, those mysterious presences they had perceived did not enter the store. Perhaps they were somewhat paranoid? They had already repelled some attacks before and they were usually more daring to attack, appearing a few moments after they perceived their presence.

They looked at the shorter and shorter line, the writer Bretta was attending a curious probably crossbreed insect, which was dressed in the strangest clothes they have seen, also wearing a mask. Next to him was an... Insect? He didn't look like anything they had seen. His body was black and covered with fine fur, cartilaginous formations on his head and penetrating red eyes. Unlike everyone in the place, he didn't seem interested in the least in the beetle and looked around impatiently and some contempt.

Bretta finished signing the book and handed it to the masked insect in front of her. He received the manuscript and made a slight bow as thanks.

What a weird guy thought Bretta, he didn't say a word during their meeting. His companion had to indicate his name and now when they retired, he didn't say anything either. She watched both individuals curiously and began to think that maybe she looked a little like him, that is... For a long time she was so shy that nobody dared speak to her and now... She was surrounded by anxious fans to meet her, that was a great change.

The line advanced, Bretta happily received her next fan, who kept praising her and thanking her for writing such a wonderful book. Grimm and Brumm meanwhile, were about to reach the door of the bookstore when the disaster began.

A rather varied group of insects suddenly entered the store pushing everyone around them, also carrying nails with which they threatened all who stood in the way. The Zigena and the crossbreed immediately drew their weapons and placed the governor behind them in a protective manner. They ran ready to kill the intruders who threatened the life of their protege, but before even the battle could begin, a mantis fell on the attackers and buried the blades of her hands over the unfortunate bugs, who did not even have a chance to defend themselves.

"Cool" said the crossbreed admiring the acting of the editor.

"That's not cool" replied the somewhat nervous butterfly. "She's a mantis, in fact. what the hell is a mantis doing here? These crazy people obsessed with battles don't get together with civilized insects”

"Excuse me!?" Sharpy looked offended. "that I’m a mantis does not mean I’m an uncivilized. More respect please!"

"Do you speak?" Replied the genuinely surprised butterfly.

"Mphf. Damned prejudices"

At that time, some insects came in wearing armor and shields, the extra protection they carried already made it clear that these guys would not be as easy to dispatch as the ones that preceded them.

"Ah! But what kind of offense is this!" Sharpy shouted furiously. "A warrior who prides themselves presents themselves to battle with only with their body and their weapon! No armor that hinder the movement and cower the soul! ”

"The armor is very cool" said the Crossbreed with bright eyes.

"Mik... Everything is cool for you" replied the butterfly, bringing her hand to her face. "Let's try to get out of this alive. Pay attention, those armors are resistant, don’t try to attack them because it will be useless. Look for the joints, try to bury your nail in those places, they are the weak points, there is no other way to face them.

"Understood" Mik replied with a smile too cheerful for the complicated situation they were in.

"He's not very smart, right?" Sharpy asked.

"Unfortunately, no"

Soon a long and heated battle would follow. The fighters were in their positions ready to fight, while Bretta and the governor were together hidden under the desk where the girl had been signing books. Other insects that had nothing to do with the conflict, were folded in the area furthest from the battle and tried to cover themselves with whatever was at hand, whether they were chairs, tables or the shelves.

In an area near the door, without seeking any protection, Brumm and Grimm watched the show. The masked insect was not too scared, he knew that nothing bad would happen to his master's side, but the situation still bothered him a lot.

"Master..." He said shyly "Better... Let's get out of here, this..."

"Magnificent"

"Eh?"

"I see terror... Fear dances with death like two lovers who are in the gloom of the night. Every insignificant being of this vault of letters fears of dying. Their ephemeral existences hang by a thread. A bad movement, a cruel accident will be enough to end their lives”

"Woe to me ..." Brumm sighed. "Do you want to stay to see this bunch of idiots kill each other and others cry in fear?"

"Yep"

"Aren't you worried that something bad could happen to us being so close to the fight?"

"Nope"

"Are we going to stay here until either group dies?"

"Yep"

"Can I go before?"

"Nope"

"I supposed..."

Brumm sighed again and took a seat next to the bat. Both watched the battle between the opponents. Although Sharpy had no reason to fight, she fought as if her life were ending. And she was terrifyingly strong. Besides she was enjoying the battle, a sinister smile could be seen on her face every time she managed to kill someone.

The mantis were terrible. Although the governor's bodyguards were not far behind. The zigena had elegant and harmonious movements, Grimm's gaze was fixed on her, she was not the most lethal of the group, but she was the less damaged thanks to her rapid movements and prudent attitude, in addition to using her partner to protect herself. The crossbreed did not seem too concerned by receive cuts in his shell and even with bleeding wounds he continued fighting as if nothing.

They had been fighting for a while, Brumm looked at the scene with absent eyes and the melancholy seemed to seize him more and more. All he wanted was to get out of there, until suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and when he turned to see, he found his Master looking at him with bright eyes.

“Master... Do you need something?"

"Snacks"

"Eh?"

"My insides cry out for an offering"

“Do you want to eat now? In the middle of this battle and surrounded by corpses? ”

"I don't see what the dilemma would be"

"It's... This... Ag..." It seemed that Brumm was sighing so much that day "Master, I don't have snacks with me"

“The acquisition of them in a store is not complex”

"But there are no stores here. I mean… It are outside the bookstore, but we are stuck here in the middle of this fight, I can't get out of here"

"I long for my food"

"But master..."

“Brumm, I want my snacks now. I'm hungry!” He said with a pout of disgust.

Brumm became nervous. When Grimm began to speak without his frills and complex words meant he was angry, very angry. He had known him for a lifetime, practically since he was Verm's size and had already had to endure his devastating tantrums more than once. Of course, now he was an adult, he was not going to throw himself to the floor to cry like when he was a child, instead he would scream and burn everything, including the insects of the place, which would be nothing pretty.

"Okay, I'll go buy something"

“A tea would be welcome”

"Okay, sandwiches, cupcakes and tea, I have it"

Almost dragging his feet and in the middle of sighs, Brumm went to the door, where he was intercepted by one of the armor insects that belonged to the terrorist group.

"Stop there! Nobody leaves here until we say so!”

"I'm going to buy sandwiches and tea" said Brumm without encouragement. "Then I’ll back"

“Do you think this is a game? I already said that nobody leaves here!”

Suddenly the armor of the insect was caught on red flames. The heat of the fire was so hugging that the protection ended up reduced to ashes, which fell apart on the floor leaving the bug naked and unprotected. Then he felt a sharp look over him and when he looked around, he met the crimson eyes of the bat that looked at him with murderous eagerness, and he had his fingers in a position to be snapped.

The poor bug did not know what had happened, but he immediately stepped aside and allowed Brumm to pass, after that he ran away to hide somewhere.

Outside in the meantime, in a nearby business, Hornet was finishing having a hot soup, wondering how long it would take the bat to leave the bookstore, she couldn't get in with Grimm there. Next to her was a bouquet of flowers that she had bought while waiting. According to Dan, it was a good idea to bring a gift like that to Bretta to congratulate her on her achievement.

Hornet sighed looking at the bouquet, it was going to be so embarrassing to deliver it, she wasn't used to such kind of affection or support. She wasn't really used to any kind of affection, the only one who she accepted those things was to Hollow and maybe even a certain point to Quirrel... She looked at the ceiling thinking about the pill bug. Where would he walk? In which strange and distant kingdoms would he be walking? What kind of insects would he know? She didn't like moving to unknown territories very much, but she had to admit that sometimes the idea of traveling a little seemed attractive.

Suddenly, through the window of the restaurant she perceived Hollow, who jumped for joy when he saw her, then hurried into the restaurant. He did not even shake the water in the drying room and even dripping ran to Hornet followed by Verm and Both began to pull her clothes.

“Stop Hollow! Quiet! What the hell is wrong with you?”

"....." He jumped, waving his nail from side to side.

“Bad guys in book signing? What are you talking about? Calm down, I don't understand you at all”

"Gyaaaarg terrorist Gyaaarg" Verm was trying to help.

"...." This time Hollow waved his nail more slowly, and made numerous mimics emulating someone important reading a book.

"Then, the governor of the city went to the Bretta’s book signing, but you heard some guys say that they planned to attack him there and that's why all the insects there, including Bretta are in danger"

"....." He nodded.

“For Wyrm! Bretta!”

Hornet left some pieces of Geo on the table to pay for her food and ran away, she didn't even take the bouquet of flowers she had bothered to buy, although Verm who noticed the gift decided to take it with her.

When they reached the building where the bookstore was, she was out of breath, the site was surrounded and was a true war field. Two sides of insects that were somewhat difficult to distinguish fought fiercely. Being able to get to Bretta would be impossible without going into combat.

"Damn!" Hornet exclaimed. "Rescuing Bretta will be a real challenge, we need a plan, we have to be quick and effective, or Bretta could get hurt without being able to help her. Any ideas?"

"....." He mimicked a person walking using his fingers.

"Hollow, I don't think we can just walk there quietly without anyone trying to attack us"

"......" In response the little one pointed towards the battlefield.

Hornet turned to see and saw Brumm carryng bags of food walking among the fighters. It seemed that the magic was acting at that time, because without modifying his pace or making any effort to dodge the bodies of the bugs that were thrown, Brumm passed through the people without suffering a single mishap.

"What... was... That..." Hornet was dumbfounded.

“It's Brumm!” Verm shrieked excitedly “Daddy is here! Gyaaaaarg”

This news made a chill run down Hornet's back, her brother looked at her with concern.

"The... Bat is inside..."

"....." Hollow placed a hand on her back trying to comfort her, but Hornet only looked at him with sorrow ".......!" He pointed to himself.

“That you are going to rescue Bretta alone? It's not for doubting your abilities but... Are you sure you can?”

"....." He jumped and waved his arms with a lot of energy.

"Eh... Ok... I... I think I'll stay here and wait a bit... I hope nothing bad happens"

Chapter Text

While Hollow was heading to the bookstore to help, inside it things began to get worse and worse. Despite the notorious abilities of the butterfly, the crossbreed and the mantis, these began to be overwhelmed by the enormous number of enemies and their exaggerated resistance due to the use of armor. While they had managed to bring many down, fatigue and accumulated wounds were pushing them to their limit.

"Gem, I think things got a little out of hand" Mik said to his partner.

"If we get out of this alive" said the butterfly, "I'll definitely ask for a day off and spend an afternoon at the house of pleasure. Although things are not going well. I don't think I can fulfill that desire"

"Don't give up" Sharpy shouted. "We have to keep fighting! If we are going to die, let it be with honor!"

"The mantis are cool" Mik said with bright eyes.

"Definitely that's not how I wanted to spend the last day of my life" Gem complained.

The zigena looked back where the governor and Bretta were hugging, trembling with fear. The poor beetle sure was very scared, but probably things would end well for her, no one would have any interest in killing her, which could not be said of the archaeognatha. Gem sighed sadly. The governor was a good bug, he just wanted the best for the city, partly because of that, she was so loyal to him, even though she supposedly only obeyed him for the money. It was not fair that he had to die for the greed of fools.

She launched a silent prayer to any god who was unoccupied to meet her request and she prepared to attack with everything. Despite the circumstances and the sadness she felt, she was always prepared to die, for something she had chosen the work of mercenary.

Mik finally collapsed after so many wounds, Sharpy was still fighting but she didn't have much strength left. The butterfly was prepared to make her final attack, with which she intended to release the poison she had on her wings, a characteristic ability of the Zigena butterflies. If she was to die she would take as many lives as she could. She would not fall alone.

She opened her wings, rose from the floor ready for her last battle. A large number of enemies with armor gave fight to the mantis that was about to fall, there were five insects crashing her with their nails and the poor could no longer stand. Gem closed her eyes ready for her end and before everything ended, something strange occurred.

There was a rumble, a drowned screams and a cry of surprise. Then she opened her eyes and the scene she saw was as amazing as ridiculous.

At her feet were the five insects that almost killed them unconscious. The mantis was sitting panting and in front of her were two children who looked around as if they were looking for something or someone.

"But... What..." The mantis looked dumbfounded at Hollow, what she had witnessed was almost impossible. "Like... How did you do that?"

"Mommy is strong!" Said Verm proudly.

"Mommy? But if he looks like a boy, he can't be a mother..."

Hollow rolled his eyes already tired of the same old question. He took a look at the place and noticed a large number of bugs that looked at him with fear and suspicion, everyone was as incredulous as the mantis, he was a child. Was this child really saved them? How did he do? Was this little boy a knight? A living legend? Anyone up to the great 5?"

Suddenly Bretta seemed to recognize him.

"Hollow? What are you doing here? Is Hornet with you?"

"Is this little one a Hornet's acquaintance?" Asked Sharpy.

"Is her brother"

"Her brother?"

Apparently the battle skill came from family, the boy turned out to be a worthy brother of the red beast. However things were not going to be solved so easily, because then, more bugs came back into armor, the horde was endless. Hollow was on guard ready to fight. Everyone in the room was impressed that a child was going to fight such powerful enemies and watched the scene with fascination. Especially Grimm who could not suppress a sinister laugh at such a sight.

Meanwhile outside, Hornet paced back and forth trying to think about what to do. She was eating the guilt of not going to rescue Bretta, but her fear of Grimm prevented her from entering. If that damn bat was not there, surely she would have solved everything. She would have beaten up the bad guys and everything would be fine... Well, maybe she exaggerated, but she was confident and believed herself capable of solving everything.

The water falling on her head also didn't help her to cool ideas and think of a solution to the problem. Yet she put all hwr effort into thinking about some plan, but nothing came to her mind. Perhaps her only solution was to appear in battle and try to face her fear of the bat. If she had become accustomed to Verm, perhaps she could do something about Grimm. Although it was difficult, that beast was huge and intimidating, as well as powerful and dangerous, the worst part is that he seemed to enjoy tormenting her. She sighed regretfully, there was nothing to do.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, as she was quite nervous she reacted reflexively and took out her neddle trying to skewer it in the one who had touched her. The stranger dodged the attack by jumping back. Hornet this time took the time to observe him better and realized that he was not so unknown, although she could not remember where she had seen him.

"Ha! We meet again red beast” said Sting, the grasshopper that sought revenge for all the humiliations that Hornet had brought him through.

"And who are you?" Asked the girl, annoyed.

"You still can't remember me? Well, this time don't forget my name. I am Sting, a powerful warrior, the strongest of all Hallownest, a being of such power that even the legendary 5 great knights..."

"You are the guy who promised me a Baldur sandwich that time at the bar!"

"The only reason because you remember me is for the damn sandwich?"

"Yes... I was very sorry I couldn't eat it, but an emergency came up and I had to leave the bar. Have you come to buy me one anyway?"

Hornet seemed to have a special talent to enrage Sting. He drew his nail full of rage.

"Bastard! I'll kill you! I'll crush you in such a way that you'll never forget who I am!"

"I'm sorry but now I don't have time, I'm in the middle of an emergency and I can't help you. Maybe another day I can kick your ass"

"You..."

And before Sting could do anything, he was crushed by a Goliath beetle that came out of who knows where and ended up crashing into a building. It was good that the constructions of the City of Tears were the strongest in the world and endured everything . Hornet inspected the unconscious insect and realized that they was of the same types that were chasing Tobu to retrieve the stolen Soul jar, which meant that she should walk nearby.

"Hi honey! Did you miss me?" The spider appeared behind her confirming her suspicions.

"Tobu! You still don't get rid of that thing?"

"But it's mine. Why would I throw it away?"

"It is not yours! You stole it! Stealing is wrong! Understand it! Give the bottle back to its owners!"

"No! It is mine" At that moment they felt an uproar that was increasing with each moment. A group of Goliath beetles were running towards them like a stampede of bugs ready to crush them. "Oh honey, I think it's time to fly from here"

But before the spider could make any movement, Hornet jumped on her and began to fight to remove the jar.

"Hornet let me go!" Shouted Tobu. "Don't take away my souvenir! It's mine!"

"That is not yours! I'm going to give you your deserved. Stop stealing things!" The noise of the beetles was getting louder."

"Hornet! The beetles are coming!"

"Good! They can come and get us. I want to see if you pay for all your misdeeds once and for all" The insects didn't stop.

"They won't stop! We must leave before they crush us!"

"You won't fool me Tobu, I know this is another trick of yours to escape"

"This time I mean it! We must get out of their way!"

Inside the bookstore, again, things were getting complicated. Hollow had managed to dispatch a good number of insects, although unlike the two mercenaries and Sharpy, he had tried to leave them unconscious instead of killing them. He had decided to adopt the same Hornet's policy of not killing a bug unless he intended eat it. This required more effort, but he had still accomplished .

It was then that the greatest challenge of all came. Tired of seeing his subjects fall one by one, the leader of the terrorist group introduced herself to the bookstore. The insect was nothing less than a female dragonfly, which seemed extremely powerful.

"Naira!" The governor shouted from his hiding place next to Bretta.

"Jum." The insect looked at him with contempt. "Weak, pathetic and cowardly bug, hiding behind your bodyguards, someone like you has no right to rule Hallownest"

"I'm not pretending to rule Hallownest" the little archaeognatha defended. I only do administrative work to keep the City of Tears working properly, it is a job like any other, I even have a fixed salary"

"I don't care. Whatever you're an obstacle to allowing me to claim the throne and that's why you must perish" The dragonfly looked down and stared at the knight. "Get out of here boy, this is not your battle. From what I see, nothing you have to do with this matter. Don't get into other people's fights. I promise you that we won't kill anyone but that scum there..."

For a moment Hollow considered the offer, the damage was minimal and the life of the archaeognatha did not interest him too much. In addition, Hornet was always complaining that he got into too much trouble to help bugs with whom he had nothing to do. Perhaps for once it would be good to ignore everything and let things take their course.

"Please don't leave me, little knight!" The governor pleaded "I'll pay you well if you save my life!"

This did interest Hollow. If the pay was good they would finish paying the roof of the house and get out of their debts. Then with determination he put himself on guard ready to fight.

The atmosphere was tense, the dragonfly took out her own nail, a large one full of sharp parts, the simple act of handling it seemed dangerous. Hollow stood still waiting for her movement, the mantis and the butterfly watched the scene in silence, Mik half dead also contemplated the preamble of the battle thinking about how cool they both looked there. The innocent insects that were at the bottom of the hidden bookstore almost held their breath in anticipation, and the governor was trembling with fear in his place. However an affectionate handshake from Bretta somehow calmed him down.

He turned his gaze to the beetle and she put her compassionate eyes on him.

"Everything will be fine" she said sweetly.

The archaeognatha just nodded silently wishing the girl was right.

Verm was flying at a safe distance from Hollow even carrying the bouquet of flowers that Hornet had forgotten. She was so involved in the battle that she had not even noticed her father's presence. In fact no one had noticed the bat that was in a corner having his own personal tea party with his servant.

"Fascinating! A lot of suspense, action but... It can be even more interesting" said the bat with a sinister smile and then sipped his tea.

Grimm snapped his fingers and in the middle of the battlefield, a crimson flame appeared, so hot and so red that they were forced to close their eyes in the first instance. Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the fire went out, leaving behind one of Grimm's followers, the next torchbearer.

Hollow looked nervous at the individual, this was wrong, very bad. Just then he noticed that Grimm was in a corner eating a cake and looking at him maliciously. Hollow felt the rage burn in his stomach. That damn bat, how could he do this to him? How could he impose a battle against a torchbearer at a time like that? How could he interrupt such an important fight? How could he be having tea and not even offering him a cupcake?

The masked insect let out one of his burlesque laughs and looked with pleasure at the dragonfly that looked more confused than scared. Ha! Poor creature. He would soon make her taste the real terror. The bug waved his torch prepared to release its deadly flames, when a stampede of Goliath beetles ran in the door, crushing him on the road.

Yes, that had been very unexpected.

The group of beetles ran without looking where they was going and only stopped when they collided with the wall at the back of the bookstore, forming a pile of unconscious bodies. Fortunately during their career they did not smash anyone but the masked bug, so they did not the big deal happened.

Grimm looked at the scene without being able to believe what had just happened. Without a doubt that was a surprising plot twist. He bit a cookie to recover.

Suddenly, from the middle of the mountain of beetles, Hornet came out half beaten and panting. In one hand she carried Tobu who still half unconscious did not release the jar of soul, and in the other hand she carried the Grimmkin completely defeated. She threw the robe bug on the floor and it immediately began to be consumed by fire.

Verm watched the scene with annoyance. She did not feel like participating in the ritual now but by no means, Dad was present and she did not want to make him angry. She left the bouquet of flowers she still had with Hollow and flew to the fallen bug where she proceeded to devour him.

Like the last time Grimm was present during the ritual, he invoked a curtain of fire to hide Verm's unpleasant spectacle by consuming the fire. So, the disappearance of the bug ended up looking like a mere act of magic to delight the public, although in that situation so tense that they lived, nobody was to enjoy a show of any kind.

"I don't understand anything anymore" the zigena said, picking up the injured Mik and hugging him protectively. "Where did that group of bugs come from and who is the girl dressed in red?"

"Hornet!" Bretta shouted, running to hug her friend, she knew how powerful she was and hoped she would be safe with her.

"I came... I told you it would come" said the exhausted warrior.

"Hey! What is all this crap!?" Shouted the furious dragonfly. "Enough of distractions! You! Weak governor are going to die now!"

Hornet looked at the insect quite annoyingly. With a slight glance she noticed the destruction of the bookstore, Sharpy hurt and Bretta half trembling with fear. It had all been the fault of that idiot. Damn disgusting day! All because of the crazy dragonfly!

She heard some groans and noticed that Tobu gradually regained consciousness after the blow she had received. Then she quickly snatched the jar of soul and threw it at the terrorist leader. She by reflex caught the bottle in her hands, then Hornet shouted.

"Wake up! There is the thief! She has the jar! Stop her before she escapes!"

"What?" Nairi said confused.

Then the Goliath beetles took their clubs stood up and ran to where the dragonfly was and ground her with their weapons while the jar was removed from her hands. Later with the treasure already recovered, the group withdrew making sure to take the 'thief' to bring justice to her.

Hollow tilted her head in confusion as he watched the group walk away. He didn't understand anything either but he didn't usually question things too much. He silently walked to his sister and gave her a hug, he was happy that she was well.

"Yes, Hollow, don't worry, it's all over" Hornet said, stroking the head of the boy.

"Oh my... They really are siblings" Sharpy said, standing up and walking with difficulty to Hornet. "Wyrm... This hurts as you can't imagine. I thought to challenge you to a duel today but I think I won't be able to bear it"

"I'm not like to have any fight now, emotions were enough for me, now I just want to relax"

But emotions still didn't end for Hornet. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt someone behind her, a tall individual, with a characteristic red gaze that was so scary.

"We see each other again, my red princess" Grimm said with a sinister smile.

The scream of terror that Hornet launched shook everyone in the place, even waking Tobu from her unconsciousness.

Just for those moments, Sting who was still determined to have a rematch against Hornet entered the bookstore looking for the red beast. But before he could open his mouth to say anything, he felt the girl hit him and fell to the floor, then he could see how the crossbreed clung to him crying and trembling with fear.

"Red beast But what..."

"Bat! Bat!" Cried Hornet.

The confused grasshopper looked at the group of insects that were in the room, most of them looked as surprised as he was.

"Well, I think it was enough fun for today" Grimm laughed, then turned to Verm. "My sweet maiden. The pride that invades me when I contemplate your power is only overcome by the affection I profess for you. It's still small, but soon the crimson fire will be your servant and you will ascend as queen" Then he turned to his servant. "Brumm, we are leaving. Don't forget to pick up the garbage and I want you to prepare the tub for me when I arrive, I also need Bucket's services, please contact him, too..." And so a long list of requests that did nothing but overwhelm the poor bug.

Grimm left the store without even looking at the grasshopper that was trying to get rid off Hornet who kept crying from fear .

"But what's wrong with this crazy girl!"

"She has phobia of bats from what I see" said Tobu, approaching. "Let's see honey, release that grumpy grasshopper and come here"

With care and patience the thief managed to detach Hornet from Sting, then hugged her protectively seeking to comfort her.

"Honey... Quiet, everything has ended, that ugly cherry-eyed bat is gone. There is nothing to fear."

Little by little Hornet began to calm down and stop crying, until she finished with a slight hiccup. Sting just looked at her more and more irritated.

"I can't believe it! The famous red beast with which I so longed to fight turned out to be a weeping brat! This is impossible!"

"But... Snif... This weeping brat... Snif... Has kicked your ass twice" Hornet replied, still wiping her tears. The grasshopper looked at her furiously.

"Enough! I'm pissed! I don't want to know more about warriors or mercenaries, and I'm no longer interested in being the strongest! I return to the farm with my parents Goodbye!"

And said these words, the insect leaves.

"Idiot!" Hornet told him before he left too far to not hear her.

What followed was history.

The governor said he would take care of the repair of the bookstore in addition to some medical expenses of those affected by the attack. He also did not forget his promise and paid Hollow a good sum of money with which the roof debt would finally be settled .

The book signing was obviously suspended, but fortunately that did not remain as negative publicity for Bretta. Many insects spread the news of the incredible story that had happened which aroused a lot of curiosity in the public and many came to meet the author only by that.

Finally, Hornet had a moment of tranquility with Bretta to give her the bouquet of flowers she had bought. She thanked Verm for keeping it with such zeal. Breta received the gift extremely happy and almost with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you Hornet" said the beetle smelling the flowers, "all this would not have been possible without your support. Without you I would never have dared to write or share my stories, nor would I have lived these experiences. Can you believe that many people even thanked me for writing my story? I... I am very happy, I never thought that people could accept me like that"

“You have a very beautiful interior, Bretta. It was obvious that people would like you"

"Thank you" the beetle said, a little flushed. "I... I also have a gift for you "The beetle pulled out of a small bag that had with her which had a limited edition book inside. The book was expressly signed to Hornet. "This is for you, I thought to give it to you when I had the opportunity"

"Thank you" Hornet said happily.

"What about me?" Tobu said excitedly.

"Nothing for a damn thief like you!" Said Hornet, hardening her countenance immediately.

"Hey, that's not fair. If things ended well, it was thanks to me and my fabulous army of Goliath beetles"

"They were not your army! They were your pursuers! And look... I don't want to remember all that anymore. We're just going home, okay? Agg... This spider is impossible"

The group moved to Dirtmouth, where after chatting for a while longer, everyone said goodbye and everyone went to their respective home. That night Hornet was exhausted and all she did was close her eyes and fall asleep, she didn't even move much during her sleep.

The next day, she began her daily routine without any notable novelty. However, she soon began to miss something, an object she had received just the day before.

"Hollow. Have you seen the book autographed by Bretta? I can't find it"

And she would never find it.

On a small plateau on the Howling Cliffs, a spider was sunbathing and feeling the wind in her face. That was usually enough to calm her down and put her in a good mood, but this time it was not enough, so she tried to calm her frustration in a book. She buried her legs on each page and ripped them mercilessly, tearing apart the paper and ruining the book forever. The scraps of pages were carried by the wind to get lost in distant lands where they would never be read.

"Bretta is great, Bretta is cute, Bretta is lovely" Tobu murmured to herself. "All because she writes beautiful, but poor Tobu nobody loves her. All because she likes to collect things that are 'out there'. There is no a thank you for comforting her or for arriving with her army of savior beetles. Ungrateful princess daughter of promiscuous worm..."

She tore three more pages and threw it into the wind. She watched it float through the air until it were out of sight.

"Ahh…" She sighed. "To get even with a book is really stupid” She paused a short time in which she looked at the shattered text between her legs, then tore another page. "Who cares! Anyway, love stories are even more stupid"

Chapter Text

It was a pretty pleasant day in Dirtmouth, as quiet as a place with so few inhabitants could be. Even so the town was no longer as empty as before, an old couple of crickets had moved to the place, a young crossbreed along with a butterfly too.

Hornet was just talking to Tobu about her new neighbors as they left the stag station. The crossbreed was carrying a huge spool of thread on her back, which, although it looked heavy, did not seem to represent too much effort for her. Tobu just looked at her admired.

"That genes of yours are great” commented the spider. “I think in your case, being a crossbreed was favorable to you”

“Tobu ... I've been wondering ... What is your problem with crossbreeds?”

“My problem? None really. It's just that they are somewhat strange to me. Where I come from they are not very accepted. For example, even if you were the daughter of a queen they would never have allowed you to live in the colony. They would have expelled you as soon as you were born. But... I'm glad there are places like Hallownest, where rare vermin can live without anyone having problems”

“I'm not a vermin” Hornet said something annoyed, rearranging the reel on her back. “Ugh ... It's also not that easy for me to carry this thing”

“Hornet ... Speaking about your reels of thread. Have you kept track of how many you have?”

“Keep track? No, I don't count it. I don't want to face the reality that it are running out. As I can’t produce thread I can’t replace the one I spend. One day I won’t have more thread and I won’t be able to knit anymore” She put on an expression of sadness. “But there is still a lot and I prefer not to think about it”

“The point is that I don't think it's running out” Tobu replied “I haven't started to count the reels exhaustively but I get the impression that it's always the same amount”

“Don't be ridiculous, there are no more spiders left in Hallownest. You won't tell me that the thread appears by magic”

“I don't think it's magic, but I do think that something or someone is filling your empty reels”

“It must be your impression. One of these days we will count how much thread there is. You’ll see that you are wrong”

Suddenly Hornet stopped her passage. They had arrived at her house, but it looked somewhat changed. She put her reel on the ground and looked up where she noticed that Hollow was perched on top of the roof nailing something, next to him Verm held some paper garlands.

“Hollow! What are you doing up there?”

Then another individual peered over the roof and greeted Hornet cheerfully.

“Dan? What are you doing up there? What do you do to my house? Please be careful with the roof!”

“Quiet Hornet, it's not bad. “We are just placing some decorations”

“Decorations?”

Hornet looked more closely and noticed a basket with garlands made of colored papers nearby. She also saw some cockroaches working in other houses hanging ornaments.

“And what is this for?”

“It are preparations for the festival”

“I see... What is a festival?”

“Don't you know it's a festival?” Asked Tobu, surprised. “But what kind of life have you had all this time?”

“Since I remember there has never been a festival in Hallownest and I have spent my whole life here. I think it is normal that I don’t know what that is”

"It's true," Dan said. “It's been a long time since a festival has been held here. This will be the first in a long time”

“Well and... What is a festival?” Hornet asked again.

“Well... It's like a party... But very large. It can cover an entire city if everyone decides to participate. They play music, there is dancing, there are also many food and games stalls where those who attend can participate. Also this year we will have something special, fireworks”

“Wow! And what are fireworks?” Hornet asked already something excited, mainly for the food.

"Yes, yes! Tell us what it is. Even I who have traveled many places have not heard of these things" said Tobu.

“Well...” Dan seemed somewhat embarrassed. “I don't know what it is either. But they say it is spectacular, or so he said”

“Who?” Both spiders were increasingly curious.

“A weird guy who recently arrived in the City of Tears. He had heard that the governor wanted to celebrate the first commemorative festival of the end of the infection and came to offer his entertainment services. He said he had something very special and beautiful that he called fireworks. I don’t know more details but supposedly it is something never seen and exclusive property of him. The problem is that for these things to result they must be in a dry environment and as you know, in City of tears is all humidity”

“More than humidity I would say” Tobu said.

“Well, the matter is that the governor was interested in this thing of fireworks. But since the city is very wet, he looked for a wide and dry place to celebrate the festival and Dirtmouth was the most appropriate”

Hornet looked a little at all the cockroaches striving to decorate the place with paper garlands. She could also observe some of them building wooden structures, probably the food and games stalls. Then she raised her head and again paid attention to his brother tied some garlands in their house.

“What are you doing up there?”

“.......”

“Are you going to get paid for this?”

"You will need money if you want to buy the treats or participate in the games" Dan explained. “The festival is also a good opportunity for some merchants to earn some extra money”

Dan took a look at the spiders and the work they were doing.

“Hey, don't you want to help us? Surely your climbing skills and handling with the thread will be very useful”

"I could use extra money. Okay, I'll help" said Hornet.

"I pass" said Tobu. “I have… Things to do” After saying this, he gave Hornet a deep look, which she kept until the crossbreed began to get nervous.

“What!?” Said the girl somewhat altered.

"Nothing, it's nothing" she said, looking away "see you later." Then she moved away moving her 7 legs with speed.

“She is a bit weird” Dan said.

“She is not weird, She is crazy. But she is a necessary madwoman, without her I would never have learned to knit”

During the rest of the day Hornet helped to hang the garlands and other decorations. As Dan supposed, her talent for climbing and how skilled she was using the thread made the work progress much faster and in a couple of hours they had everything ready. Both siblings received a good payment for their services, more than enough money to spend at the festival.

The next day after dark, the little family was at home making the last arrangements to attend the festival. According to Dan, you had to dress for the occasion wearing colorful things, be they tunics, necklaces or masks. As Hornet was so busy, she only had time to prepare something for her brother and Verm.

She had woven a pretty lilac cloak to Hollow with bright blue trim, and Verm had a pretty blood-red bow around her neck, in addition to a flower of the same color on her head. Both looked happy with their arrangements.

"Good" said the girl proud of her work. “I like, especially the Hollow’s cloak, my first fabric with two colors. I think it looked pretty good, you can already say that I am an expert”

“Gyaaarg Aunt Horny the expert” Said the bat.

“........?”

“Eh? Ah. Don’t worry, I did not manage to prepare anything for me but it does not matter, Dan said it was not an obligation to use disguise”

“.......” He looked sad.

“Don't feel bad Hollow. I chose to dedicate to knitting your cloak, I wanted you to have a good time”

“Jo! But we can all have a good time together” said Tobu, appearing unexpectedly behind Hornet.

“Aaaaaaah!” The warrior screamed before hitting the spider by throwing her to the side of the room, then with her heart thumping her chest hard and even panting she said “Tobu? But why on earth do you enter my house without permission! You almost scared me to death!”

"Auch auch auch” The spider waved her legs trying to stand up. “It wasn't necessary to hit me like that. Auch my little feet” Hornet sighed.

“What do you want Tobu?”

“Ah! And that is a way to greet me?” She said, already standing up. “How ungrateful, and I kindly wove this pretty festive cloak for you”

Tobu took out from her clothes a red cloak of a brighter shade than Hornet normally wore, in addition it had golden details on its edges, woven in the form of geometric patterns. Hornet's eyes lit up when she saw the garment and approached almost doubtful to take it. Tobu was pleased to see the joy in the girl's eyes.

“Tobu this…”

“Yes?” When seeing so much enthusiasm in Hornet she expected to receive an effusive thanks

“How did you knit it?”

A blow of reality hit the spider, what had made Hornet happy was the possibility of learning a new weaving technique instead of the gift itself. Then she sighed with resignation.

“Later I’ll show you how to do it. Now put on the cloak”

“Ah yeah sure”

“.....”

“.....”

The spider stared at the warrior while waiting for some action from her, but the only thing Hornet did was to get nervous before the 6 eyes that looked at her.

“What?!”

“Aren't you going to wear the cloak?”

“Eh .. Yes of course... This...”

And here it was, again the Hornet’s complex that complicated her life. Her abnormal body composed of shadows could not be shown to anyone, the only person outside her family who had seen her naked had been Quirrel and definitely she did not want anyone else to know about her condition. She didn't want to be seen as a weird monster. But now I didn't know how to ask Tobu to leave the room so she could change her clothes. That would be weird.

She was starting to get more and more nervous, her brother who had understood her predicament also looked around for some excuse to help her, only Verm kept looking confused without understanding anything. Just then the help arrived in the most unexpected way. The Pale King's ghost appeared in front of Tobu and grabbed her head covering her 6 eyes with his body.

“Aaaaaaaahhh! The promiscuous worm! Aaaaaaaaaah!” The spider shouted shaking her head.

“I already told you that I am not a promiscuous!” The king shouted at her without releasing her.

“Release me damn! I am not interested in trans-dimensional relations! I am a decent girl!”

“Stop talking stupid things!” The worm had a red face.

Hornet understood that his father's awkward maneuver was to distract Tobu and allow her to dress without being seen. So she hastened to change her clothes just in time when Tobu smashed the poor Wyrm against a wall forcing him to release her. The spider backed away scared.

“You... You...”

“I'm ready!” Hornet shouted breaking the tension of the environment.

Spider and ghost turned their heads to see Hornet who looked very good with her party cloak, which now on showed that it had a gold ribbon with woven patterns hanging around her neck, a very nice and very elegant detail.

“You look great!” Tobu said waving his paws of happiness “What do you think?”

“Well.... It's... Something rough”

The look that Tobu gave her made Hornet regret her words.

“excuuuuuuse meeee princeeeeess. I forgot that you only wear clothes woven with fine silk, the clothes woven with the thread of a commoner spider is not worthy of someone like you”

This seriously made Hornet feel bad, although to some extent it was true. In part the status of a spider was determined by the quality of their thread. Hornet as a princess never wore clothes that were not of the finest silk, usually from her mother and Tobu was far from being a spider of high rank. Fortunately, knocks on the door broke the tense atmosphere.

“Ah! That must be Dan”And without saying more she ran to open the door, behind her, her brother and Verm followed.

Tobu was left alone in the room next to the ghost. She snorted annoyed at how things had turned out, none of this was as she had planned, although she should already be used to it, for some reason with Hornet things never went as expected.

Suddenly she noticed that the old worm looked at her strangely, it was a penetrating, melancholy and very uncomfortable look.

“What? I won’t date you”

The pale king looked at her a few more moments before sighing.

“You lost this battle even before you started”

“What are you talking about?”

The old king did not answer; he simply vanished into the air.

Outside meanwhile, Hornet greeted Dan cheerfully. The young pill bug was wearing a fun plate hat with flowers decorating it and a yellow cape that hung behind his back.

"At last I managed to sneak out of my mother, now we can get out" said the insect enthusiastically.

“Does your mother still live controlling you?”

“Less than before, but she still insisted on having me by her side. According to her among all these people someone could hurt me”

“What annoying”

“....” Hollow pulled his sister's cloak while Verm chanted behind him.

“Okay, we move, don't be impatient”

The group went for a walk and wrapped in the atmosphere of the festival. Everything looked beautiful, there were colorful lanterns hanging everywhere that generated beautiful reflections in the garlands, and the sight of so many disguised insects gave everything a very cheerful look.

Soon Tobu reached them and together they went to the stalls. They tried some marksmanship games and others of skill in which they had the opportunity to win some small prizes, such as toys and accessories, most were more appropriate for Verm. But Hornet managed to get a spider brooch quite similar to one that was stored among her things and never used it for fear of losing it.

When trying the different goodies they sold, they had to be somewhat careful, Hornet wanted to try everything and they feared that she would end up with a stomachache from eating too much. In the end Hollow had to steal the bag where she kept her money to control her. It finished being a pretty funny situation, because Hornet had to ask his brother for permission to buy something.

Soon they came to a stall that caught the attention of everyone of who saw d it. It was attended by a queen bee, the same one that caused them so many problems a couple of weeks ago, but since there were no resentments between them and as Dan did not remember her at all, they went to look around.

“Welcome. Anyone want to buy a Mead jar? It is typical and traditional product of the hive” The bee said as soon as she saw them.

“Well, the hive queen with a liquor stand?” Asked Hornet.

“Well, the original plan was to send some of the old lackeys to sell the commodity here, but I preferred to come and take advantage of the little freedom I have left. When the eggs I laid are born I will have to spend a season locked”

“How many?” Tobu question.

“300. I think it's okay to start, right?”

The girls continued to talk about various topics, such as the economic boom that the bee queen planned to give the hive with her products. While Dan was silent admired that Hornet and Tobu knew a queen.

Finally they bought her two mead jars, Hollow and Ali complained that they also wanted, but they explained that they were too young to bear that drink, fortunately the queen's stall also sold honey candies, which the younger could eat .

They were going to buy a third jar of Mead for Dan, but the bee decided to leave them for free.

“This is on behalf of the house, is the least I can do for you” said the insect winking at the pill bug.

"Hey... Thank you... I guess" The bug cocked his head somewhat confused.

When they finally left the stall, Dan dared to ask about the identity of the girl.

“Where do you know her? It is not very common to deal with a queen”

“Where do we know her? But if you know her too” said Tobu.

“Really? I don't remember. So why did she give me a Mead jar for free?”

"It is the least she can do for her children's father" Hornet said casually.

“PFFFFFFFTT ....” Dan spat out the sip of drink in his mouth “her children's father?! Don't tell me she...”

“Yes, she is the same”

“I think I don't want to drink more tonight...” said the boy looking at his drink with regret.

"Then I keep it" Tobu said, taking Dan's jug with a pair of legs.

A little more time passed in which they roamed the place, although it was increasingly difficult to move through the influx of people, so they looked for a more open place to rest. That was how they arrived at one of the many abandoned squares in Dirtmouth, although it was unrecognizable.

The place was clean and decorated with flowers and paper garlands, there were some stalls selling souvenirs and festive cloaks for those who had forgotten theirs. In addition there were some bugs playing music, while others danced happy.

“I can see that the party here has already started” Tobu said anxious to join the dance.

“........” Hollow pointed to the dance floor.

"I want to dance gyaaaarg too" Verm said enthusiastically.

“Ugg... I think I feel bad” Hornet complained to what her partners looked at her in alarm.

"You shouldn't eat so much" Dan looked at her worriedly. "We told you to control yourself. Who is the irresponsible adult now?" He reproached her.

"It was worth it, I don't regret anything" Hornet cried, then shrink on her stomach.

“I think you should go home” Dan said something sad because her friend would miss the rest of the festival.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine" she said with a forced smile. "I..." She saw an unoccupied bench. "I'll rest there, I'm sure I feel better after a while"

“Are you sure? Don't you want us to take you home?”

“No, don't worry, I'm fine. Go dancing if you want, I'm sure that after a while I'll be better.

Tobu and Dan looked at each other not very convinced. While Hornet was going to sit on the bench, something was seen moving under her cloak, she probably rubbed her stomach trying to relieve her pain. They wanted to convince her once again to return home, but finally the warrior made it clear that she did not plan to leave, she wanted to see the famous fireworks.

With that argument, the spider and the pill bug finally gave up and withdrew, although Hollow stayed with her for a moment, looking at her with concern.

“What's up Hollow? Go, have fun, I'll wait for you here”

“......” He looked everywhere and then at Hornet.

“Are you worried that I will be alone? Please, as if I didn't know how to defend myself, you calm down, I'm fine. I don't mind staying alone for a while”

Hollow felt guilty about leaving his sister there, but Verm was already bothering him asking him to go dancing, so he had an idea. Maybe it wasn't the best idea but it was better than nothing, he left the Dream Nail with her, so the worm ghost could keep him company. Maybe Hollow couldn't stand the old king, but Hornet didn't seem to have so many problems with him. Even occasionally they were able to hold civilized conversations that didn't end in fights.

Shortly after Hollow left, the Pale King appeared next to Hornet.

“Don't you feel guilty about worrying them like that?” said the Pale King, looking at her accusingly.

“Guilty?” Hornet spoke low without looking at the ghost, she didn't want the people around her to think she was talking alone. “But if it's not my fault that I got sick to my stomach... Well... Maybe a little for eating so many goodies but...”

“Hornet... You and I know you're pretending”

“What are you talking about?” she said getting a little tense.

“When I had to participate in court parties and did not feel like doing it, I pretended I had a stomachache. Maybe you can fool everyone but not a professional like me”

“The Pale King pretending to have a stomachache?” Hornet had a hard time suppressing a laugh.

“Well... It was... A little embarrassing to dance with my dear White for the height difference and all that...”

“Pfffftt jjajajaja” Hornet could not suppress a laugh, although she tried to hide it quickly, some insects already looked at her strange. “Seriously old man, I would never have expected that from you”

“All have their secrets, even kings. Anyway, even if you don't like dancing, you shouldn't avoid that activity. When you are Queen of Hallownest, you’ll need to organize some parties from time to time”

“Are you still with that? I thought you had already forgotten” Immediately Hornet's face hardened.

"That is why I have not left this world" replied the worm. “I must perpetuate the glory of Hallownest. I dedicated my life to this. I cannot allow all my work to be lost”
Hornet dared to look at his father who looked somewhat reluctant and distant, as if he was fighting against internal demons.

“Hey old man... Don’t you think it was enough? You are wasting your eternal rest in pursuit of an unnecessary goal. Isn't it supposed that when you die everything earthly doesn't matter anymore? Leave it now”

“No! Things can’t end like this. Everything I worked for and fought for should last. It cannot be that all my efforts have been in vain, their sacrifice must have served for something..."

Hornet tilted her head a little strangely; there was something in the words of the old king that bothered her. Something she had not noticed before, perhaps a sound of pain, a touch of nostalgia or even a hint of guilt.

She suspected that her father's stubbornness in insisting that she be queen, and his insistence in not to go to the afterlife was not only due to his selfishness, perhaps the old worm was not as self-centered as she thought. Perhaps he did have a pending issue that kept him tied to the world of the living. Should she ask? For obvious reasons they were never very close and she didn't feel confident asking him something personal, but maybe she should do it, maybe she could help him and convince him to move on to a better life.

Hornet was going to ask her question, when a rather agitated insect came running and calling one in particular that was close to them.

“Taira! Taira! There you are!” Said a cricket screaming as only a cricket knew how to do it

“Leny, calm down. What's wrong with you?” Asked the aforementioned who was also a cricket.

“I.... Seen... Something... Amazing....”

“Did you see something incredible? Fireworks are supposed to start in an hour. What other amazing thing can you have seen?”

“A king!”

“King?”

“The king of Hallownest! He is over there! He has returned!” Claimed the shaken cricket leaping with emotion.

“Are you sure? Remember that there have been many fakers who have pretended to be kings in recent times. The old king of legends left to never return”

“But this is different! This has to be the king! An insect as tall and imposing as he has to be the king. The simple act of seeing this being is impressive, it's ... It's... It's like you see him and immediately bow down to his presence! He definitely has to be the King! Come on Taira! You have to see him! He is in the hall of fried meat!”

The cricket took his partner by the hand and dragged her with him through the crowd of the place.

The crossbreed and the ghost listened to the complete conversation and curiosity aroused in them. Well, curiosity awoke in Hornet, in the case of the Pale King it was outrage.

“The king of Hallownest!?” The angry ghost shouted “But who dares to steal my title and my kingdom! I can't allow this! I'm going to face that usurper right now!”
And after screaming furiously the old worm vanished.

Hornet blinked a slightly dazed moment at what had happened. She could not believe that there was someone who proclaimed himself king, but above all, she was surprised that other insects recognized him as a monarch. The bugs were not very given to obey a leader unless he had an overwhelming presence or power, so this mysterious individual It was surely not someone common.

Anyway, now her priority was to stop her father, he was not someone foolish, so he probably wouldn't do anything that would shock people. But still his methods of action could be quite... terrible. She did not know what would have the ghost in his head but she did not intend to leave him alone. So she took the Dream Nail and went into the crowd.

Chapter Text

Hornet ran through the decked streets of Dirtmouth looking for the ghost of his father, according to the words of the cricket, the supposed king of Hallownest was in the corridor of fried meat. He remembered well where that was, because it was where he had bought more food.

It didn't take long to reach their destination. As soon as he turned a corner and entered the hall, a gust of wind passed by and in a flash, he managed to see the ghost, while listening to his laments.

"I can't see him in the face, not after what I did to him."

Hornet looked back where the ghost had gone, but it had already disappeared from view, had gone beyond the reach of the Dreamlike stinger.

What would have scared him so much? Now, with enough curiosity, he advanced down the hall and soon found the famous King of Hallownest, it was unmistakable, almost no bug matched him in height, his long antler made his noble ancestry very clear and the silvery silk cape he wore was unique, because she had woven it.

"Big!" The girl shouted.

"Hornet ..." the aforementioned replied in a hoarse and whispering voice, barely audible.

The insects that surrounded them moved aside to allow them to pass, although everyone admired the enormous individual, none had dared to speak to him.

Now everyone was whispering, curious about the presence of the red beast and the fact that he knew this mysterious king, and spoke to him with such confidence as to call him by name without honorary titles. However, nobody said anything and they dedicated themselves to watch from a distance.

"What are you doing here, Big?" Shouldn't you be ..... Ah!

As soon as Big had her at hand, he took her in his arms affectionately, because of the difference in size Hornet looked like a baby. This to the girl this did not make any fun.

"Release me Big!" I'm not a girl anymore! This is shameful!

Hornet writhed trying to break free, but then a gentle touch on her horns calmed her. He looked up and met one of her siblings who was on one of Big's shoulders and looked at her amused.

"You? Did you two come?"

In response, the little girl pointed to the floor. Hornet looked down and found a good number of vessels looking at her with their bright eyes. Among them she could recognize Green, who was now somewhat taller. The child's who were at the foot of Big had different sizes. It was noted that they were at different stages of their development, surely some ate more than others.

"How many came with you?"

"Fifteen..."

"I see... They are so many... What are they doing here?"

"They heard... About the fireworks... They wanted to see it..." He answered between whispers.

Hornet looked at her siblings carefully, except for Green she did not know any of the vessels, although it was understandable. She doubted she would ever be able to remember her 10,528 brothers, in fact she wondered if they were able to remember each other. Probably not, but they didn't care, they recognized each other as siblings and treated each other with cordiality. That was enough.

"Hollow... Isn't he... with you?" The giant continued whispering.

"No, he... Now he must be worried about me. I'm supposedly sick to my stomach" she sighed. "Come with me, I'll take you with him, I'm sure he'll be glad to see you"

After they left Hornet on the ground to guide them, the group traveled the path that led to the dance floor. Where they walked, the insects were watching them, even some seemed to make some obeisances when they approaching them, which made Hornet nervous.

In Deepnest the queen had a very close relationship with her people, although she had respect for her and they honored her with a greeting every time she presented herself, they did not have for her that sick veneration of the subjects of the Pale King. The worm liked magnificent and great things, Herrah was simpler.

In any case, Big did not seem bothered by that treatment, he did not care, he was already used since childhood.

After a while they arrived at the dance floor. As soon as Big set foot on the site, the musicians were silent and were impressed. Before the sudden cessation of music, the dancers looked around and like the musicians, they also kept silent.

Hundreds of eyes were fixed on the group. Somewhat intimidated Hornet backed away and instinctively hid behind Big, one of her sisters then approached her and took her hand reassuringly, the girl smiled corresponding to the gesture but remained uneasy. Big was getting too much attention. What did he intend to do now?

But the giant solved the situation in the most unexpected and ridiculous way that could have occurred to him. Big solemnly and authoritatively raised one of his arms in a gesture that clearly said "Let the party continue!" And after a cheer from the bugs, everyone continued to have fun. Even the musicians seemed to play with more desire.

"Wow, I think you would be a great king" said Hornet, coming out from behind his brother.

"I... I'm already... A king..." Big whispered barely audible among the bustle of the party "Look..."

The large vessel half-opened his cloak leaving a part of his black skin in sight. Hornet could see a curious emblem, it was like the mixture of a claw and a crown and shone with the purest white.

"The king's brand!?" Hornet's eyes widened in surprise. "Why do you have it? Hollow is supposed to be the one who claimed it"

"He... He gave it to me... He said... That since I was the king... I... I should have it"

"Oh... That thought is so simple that it becomes adorable" said Hornet, "but I think it makes some sense. And this explains why everyone obeys you so easily"

At that moment Hollow appeared in the crowd and as soon as he saw his siblings, he ran excitedly to hug them. The group warmly received their relative, in fact as soon as they saw each other they began to communicate in that strange way that the only the vessels knew how to use. In fact they were "talking" so fast that even Hornet had trouble understanding them.

After Hollow, the little bat came flying somewhat surprised that her "mommy" suddenly left her alone. When she saw her guardian surrounded by his siblings, she was quite surprised. Initially she was excited by the idea that she could have more teammates to play, but she soon lost interest in the group because there was something that distracted her.

That giant creature of imposing presence.

Verm narrowed her eyes with mistrust, she also perceived that aura of nobility and power that Big had, but her reaction to that was very different from that of common insects. She was also a potential queen, a future high being and she was not going to bow to anyone, not even to that glowing giant.

The little girl growled in defiance of Big and lay on the ground spreading her wings to look more intimidating, also invoked some fireballs to appear more dangerous.

But as soon as Verm had presented her challenge, 5 vessels were placed in front of her, pointing her with their nails, in a clearly protective attitude towards their brother and king.

"Oh my... You already have your own royal guard" Hornet commented amused.

"They are... My faithful... Knights..."

What Hornet thought was funny, alarmed to Hollow. Her little girl was not yet of age to challenge anyone, so he hurried to pick her up and wrap her with her cloak to calm her down.

Verm still looked somewhat annoying, but the pampering of her guardian calmed her a little.

At that moment, Tobu arrived, who, -like the other insects- as soon as she saw Big paid her respects. In her case being so close to him, she chose to bow and only stood up when Big accepted her greeting with a nod of his head.

The still impressed spider approached Hornet silently, not daring to raise her voice without the giant's permission.

"Tobu, relax a little, so many formalities with Big are not necessary. And where did you leave Dan? He is not with you"

"He met another pill bug in the dance and flirted with her"

"Oh... Wow... And I thought Dan was a shy guy"

"Well, he managed to conquer a queen bee, something he must have..."

Tobu and Hornet looked at each other a moment before bursting into laughter. The crossbreed's brothers looked at her curiously.t They did not understand what was so funny.

"Well, I think he's not as shy as when I met him" Hornet said, catching her breath.

"..." Hollow tugged on her sister's cloak and then pointed at her with a gesture that indicated strength.

"Did I take away his shyness?"

"..." He continued gesturing.

"Well it could be. Dan always said that I was the only one who didn't protect him and treated him like someone his age, I guess that gave him the confidence he needed"

Suddenly Tobu had the unpleasant feeling that someone was watching her, and when she turned hier head, she met one of Hornet's sisters who had her eyes fixed on her.

"Hey... Hornet... This girl..."

"She is one of my sisters"

"Sister?" The spider blinked and looked around. "Are all these children your siblings?"

"Everyone, even the tall one"

Tobu cringed in her place surpassed. Then after a sigh she recovered and looked at the little girl who had approached her and put her hands on her. Hollow acting as an older brother took the girl and drove her away from the spider, then began to scold her in her usual silent manner, the little girl who looked somewhat rebellious, in turn defended herself by answering with signs.

"Hey! Don't tell me that your other siblings can't talk either"

"Not really" said Hornet.

"But... Maybe... Someday they can..." Big said.

"But how gross your father was" Tobu snorted. "If all the children he was going to have with his wife were going to be mute, he should not have had so many"

Big narrowed his eyes menacingly. He wasn't going to let anyone talk badly about the old worm. Tobu cringed in place and Hornet seeing that things could get complicated intervened.

"Ahem... The circumstances in which my siblings were born were somewhat special, it is somewhat complicated to explain. We better not talk about that. Yes?"

Tobu nodded silently, but Big still seemed angry at her, then trying to ingratiate herself with him, decided to take a more friendly attitude towards the little ones.

"Hi girl, nice to meet you... I guess. What's your name?"

"....." The girl who had been interested in Tobu began to gesticulate her name.

"......" Hollow apparently added some comments to his sister's speech, but of course Tobu did not understand any.

"Hornet translator please..."

"The girl's name is Myla and Hollow said he named her that"

"......" Hollow made some more gestures.

"Eh? Did you named her that way in honor of the girl you liked? Since when do you like someone? And what happened to her?"

"......" Hollow glared at Hornet and ran one of his fingers over his neck.

"Ah... I understand, sorry, sensitive issue"

Verm had been more aware of watching Big than the conversation of others, but as soon as she heard that Hollow liked someone, she became tense.

Was that serious? Her mom, her guardian, her partner. Did he have someone in his mind that wasn't her? This made her burst into rage. How dare he? He belonged to her, as her father had said, the guardian of the ritual should be next to the master forever. Just as Brumm belonged to his father, Hollow must be hers and he could not have another creature in his heart or mind.

With intentions to punish his footman for his infidelity, she threw herself on Hollow and began to bite a horn. It didn't hurt him, but the feeling that his mask came off was unpleasant.

Everyone panicked at the possibility of Hollow becoming a shadow in front of everyone, so the 5 little ones who had raised their nails against Verm did it again. When she was threatened, she was not intimidated and growled, making a pair of fireballs appear in the air.

At that moment, Hornet again took the reins of the matter and grabbed the mammal by the neck. Then gave her a look so lethal that Verm lost her desire to fight.

"Enough!" He shouted in a dry voice.

And after that effective scolding, the baby did not bother again. However, her attitude changed hopelessly at that time. If they had been more attentive to her, they could have solved the problem in time and would not have had to face such drastic consequences later.

Soon they noticed how little was missing by midnight, the famous fireworks show was about to begin, as they had said it was something that would be seen in the sky, so it was not necessary to look for a special place to see well.

Hollow took advantage of buying treats for everyone (with his sister's money) and then they went to sit around.

On the outskirts of Dirtmouth, hidden from the sight of mortals, a ghost wandered lamenting and recalling a glorious past that would never return.

How did it all end up like this? All he wanted was for his kingdom to endure and they continue praising him as the high being he was. What was wrong with that? The insects were happy with him. There was progress, glory, legends, science, everything was perfect. Why couldn't it go on like this?

Well, perhaps not all of his legacy was perfect. He committed some abuses of power by snatching his gardens from the mosskin to give them to his queen. But she also did not complain! She appropriated the place without major regrets, although it may also have been the excess of enthusiasm for having such a beautiful place after living for so long in the limits of the kingdom.

He sighed in sorrow. How did he think that sacrificing his offspring would be a good idea? He was really desperate at that time, he did not think about anything, he did not take into account the opinion of anyone, not even his sweet White, poor... Even though the roots are naturally detached from their offspring, she felt bad about what she had to do. In that time he treated her as weak and sentimental... Now how much he did regret that.

But now there was nothing to do, he was dead, White too, the kingdom finished and the blame eating his heart. He would never forgive himself, and probably his children either, especially Big.

He was not ashamed to admit that Big was his favorite, it was even logical, considering that he was the only one with whom he had lived, the one who he had raised conscientiously and had seen grow up. That is why he was so sorry to have to sacrifice him. But as always he repeated "no cost is too great".

He would like to have the courage to appear before Big, to hug him and ask for forgiveness.

"Well... But what an unfortunate individual makes an appearance in these desolate places"

The Pale King was on alert. Someone had seen him! Very suspicious thing because he was dead. No one should be able to see him, only moths because of their special abilities.

Almost with fear he directed his gaze towards the place where the voice came from and what he saw left him more than surprised, it was a bat.

Perhaps it would be because he belonged to the same Grimm species that found him so similar to him, but after passing the first impression, the differences were more noticeable.

While the creature was as tall as the company master, he looked much more worn and old. His ears were somewhat droopy and his eyes instead of having the sinister red color of the scarlet flame, had a more dark and soft tone.

There was a lot of pride and elegance in his posture and also some kindness. The beast looked at the ghost with compassionate eyes, despite his laughter, which in the king's eyes was somewhat burlesque.

"How..."

"These old eyes see more than they appear" said the bat, still smiling.

"A bat! Shouted the alarmed king"

He was afraid that this beast was there to attack the hundreds of bugs that had attended the festival, it would be a massacre. He was starting to walk away to alert his family when the beast stopped him.

"Stop old man. I'm not going to eat anyone" he said in a rather casual tone. "These bones have not been able to withstand hunting in conditions for a while"

The king stopped his walk and took a good look at the bat, he really looked quite decrepit. He doubted he would be able to fly properly or if his claws could take a life.

"What are you doing here?" The king asked dryly.

"My job. I get paid to entertain and I do that"

"Entertain? To who? There is no one here"

That's not true, there are a lot of people here, but the show I offer is best appreciated from a distance.

Suddenly the old worm blinked in surprise when he realized something.

"The fireworks... You're the one who brought them"

"Exactly," the beast said cheerfully. "I travel through different kingdoms offering a unique and unforgettable show, I collect my pay and with that I can buy the food that I can no longer provide by my own hand"

This statement relaxed the Wyrm a bit, he wasn't dangerous, he wouldn't be anymore. So he decided to take the opportunity to chat for a while.

"How can you see me?"

"How?" He tilted his head. "How will it be? I don't even know it. It's a mystery!" He laughed a little when he saw the annoying face of the worm. "It's not that I don't want to tell you little worm, it doesn't bother me to share my secrets with a dead man that nobody will hear, but I don't even know why I can see you"

"How can you not know? Is it a birth skill or did you resort to some magic?"

"I do not know. I have no childhood memories. Half of my life is a nebula. I only know that one day I woke up without knowing who I was, if I had family, friends, home or anything, all I knew was that my name is Graham"

For some reason this story was somewhat familiar to the king, but he said nothing. Graham kept talking.

"There are many other unexplained mysteries to me besides the ability to see the dead, for example..." He snapped his fingers and in his palm appeared a scarlet flame. "Why can I produce this fire? I have no idea, I just know that this ability was the cause of being repudiated in all the bat colonies to which I tried to join"

"Oh I am sorry"

"You better say nothing, I know you don't regret it" said the bat, still cheerful. "Maybe inside you think I deserve it. Surely I was a horrible beast who unleashed terror in the past, sure I abused my power, sure I imposed on others, sure that I killed thousands of innocents for no reason, that is what must be going through your head"

"....." The king's silence was more for himself than for the bat, those words made him feel horribly identified.

"But if I did all that... I don't remember it. Although sometimes going through here and there many look at me with fear. Maybe I was someone terrible, I don't know. But I know that I am not bad now and I do not pretend to be. Do you know? I believe that people can change, both for good and for bad. You may have done something terrible, but if you regret it with your heart and try to redeem yourself, then something good will come out of all this. They won't always forgive you, but it is assumed that if you start doing things well it is to improve for yourself, not to wait for recognition. Right? So mister ghost, why don't you better stop tormenting yourself, and go to the next life?"

"Eh? All this..."

"This speech is for you to come to your senses and do what you have to do. Please, you are dead, it is not like you can solve the problems of the world in your condition. I see you regretting something, I do not know why. I do not know what you have done, but it is enough. It won't be good for you to wander around here and lament"

"Mmmm... I will consider your advice, thank you very much" The king cut him.

The Wyrm couldn't help feeling annoyed that this old decrepit bat was lecturing him. How dare he? He was the Pale King, the most... One moment, he had already begun again, his arrogance taking the best of himself. He had no case, he was a hard head. It would take him a while longer to feel ready to travel to the other world. But at least at that moment he decided to work to be a better person and mend what he could of his past mistakes, he owed it to his offspring.

"Oh, hell, but how late is it" Graham said, looking at the moon. "It's time to start the show"

The bat walked almost jumping to a place where there were some species of thick trunks with pointed heads, under each trunk was a wick.

"Sorry if I talked too much" Graham said, a spark of fire appearing in one of his hands. "I spend most of my time alone, not many are encouraged to chat with me, so when I have the opportunity, I speak until I run out"

"What do you do?" Asked the worm interested in Graham's mysterious timbers.

"This? They are the fireworks. These cartridges are filled with gunpowder and metal salts, with my curious ability to produce fire I ignite them" He put his fire to the fuse which began to burn. "Then these explode" The base of the cartridge exploded, raising it to a great height in the middle of a sharp rumble. "And these release the metal salts in the sky causing explosions of color"

The king had the opportunity to marvel at a bright red fire flower opening in the sky, to glow for a few seconds before fading away. Never in his very long life did he see something like that. He was speechless.

"I also have other colors" The bat chanted by lighting two more wicks.

This time the explosion shone silver. The king could not suppress a groan of print, silver and white were his favorite colors.

"This... This is beautiful!" Said the king admired "How could you create something so wonderful? What is this matter of gunpowder? You should consider sharing it with others..."

"No" Graham said, lighting another fuse and making a serious expression. "Gunpowder was something I learned from the high gods and they don't even know how to handle it correctly. Gunpowder allows you to create wonders like fireworks, but it is also an instrument of death and destruction. These small controlled explosions can be large and lethal. Some have used them as extermination tools. I don't want the peaceful world of insects to get dirty with this sinister invention. I'll take the secret of gunpowder to the grave, I have already decided"

"I see..." The king seemed somewhat disappointed. "But if you shared this secret, you would surely be praised and admired by many..."

"Is it so necessary to be revered?" The bat said recovering his smile.

"No... I guess not" said the king after meditating a second.

Incandescent flowers lit the sky to the delight of the hundreds of insects in Dirtmouth. It was a wonderful show that was talked about for weeks, that was a unique experience that they would never repeat. In the middle of the night, the party and the celebration, everyone stopped to look up and admire the wonders that were unfolding in the sky.

That night, for a few minutes Zote did not show off his fictional adventures. Grimm was able to admire something that was not himself. Brumm gave a slight smile behind his mask. Bretta looked up from the gifts that fans who had recognized her had made. The queen bee paused a sale of drinks. Elderbug felt a few years younger...

On the firm roof of a house, a family of insects contemplated like all other insects, the great attraction of the night. 16 little ones, a king, a princess and a fire demon. There were many feelings that crossed them at that time, overwhelmed by what they saw, but above all, the joy and certainty prevailed that they were in the place where they should be, surrounded by their loved ones.

However, one of them, for a moment, felt somewhat melancholic in remembering the absence of a loved one.

"Quirrel, I wish you were here to see this. Where will you be walking now?" Thought Hornet.

It had already been a couple of days since the festival in Dirtmouth and everything had returned to the usual routine. Therefore, once again Hornet was in the weaver's den picking up a couple of reels for her new weaving lessons, the same that the previous time, Tobu accompanied her on her shores.

"As this time I take two reels, I chose a few small ones. I suppose it will be enough to weave a tablecloth with patterns, right?" Asked Hornet.

"Oh yes, don't worry, it's more than enough for you to learn the basics" the spider replied. "Then you can try other things like a tapestry or what you want"

"Great" The crossbreed began to carry the reels out of the den.

"Hey Hornet, won't you count how many reels you have left? Last time you said you would do it"

Hornet stood still in place upon hearing this, then hesitated for a moment. She didn't turn to look at her and simply said.

"We'll do it another day." And after saying that, she hastened her way out.

Tobu snorted annoyed, it was obvious that Hornet did not want to discover the truth, she was sure she suspected it but did not want to face the problem. But no way, she couldn't force her, it was a personal matter. However, she did not intend to remain curious to know what the hell was going on there. So she waited for Hornet to get far enough away so that her presence was not perceived in the surroundings and then she spoke out loud.

"She is gone! Get out! I know you are here!"

A few murmurs and clicks were heard around, while a group of beings dragged closer and closer to the thief, until they were in front of her.

"Oh... You've discovered us" said a spider with a malicious smile.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that hard. Did you really hide?"

"Well, I don't think we did that badly either" another spider replied. "The princess never noticed us"

"I think she did, Hornet is very perceptive. She probably don't want to face reality, maybe it even hurts her that you don't get close to her by yourself"

"Oh, how sorry we are" said a third spider, "but as much as it hurts and it hurts us, we can't stand before her, we can't recognize her as our queen"

"It's because she's a crossbreed, right" Tobu said somewhat sorry.

"Crossbreed? Oh, of course not, we don't care if she has mixed blood" the first spider repeated. "Here in Hallownest the crossbreeds were always accepted in almost all the tribes (except the mantis). The big problem was that she didn't know how to knit"

"You don't accept her as queen because she can't weave?" Tobu was incredulous.

"Hey, we are the tribe of weavers, our leader must know how to weave"

"And why didn't you teach her?"

"Because if we had, we would not have been able to resist the temptation to welcome and serve her, she is a birth leader"

"You really are complicated guys"

"Well, anyway, we are very grateful to you for the help you gave the princess. Now she is on her way to becoming a great weaver. That is why we ask you to finish instructing her and leave her enough knowledge to perform the last weaver ritual"

"Oh. So here you have that tradition too?" Tobu looked somewhat surprised. "From where I come, the last test of a weaver is to make a tapestry and hang it on the main wall of her home, so they must invite all their neighbors to see her work to be recognized as a true weaver"

"Yes, exactly, that is the ritual. When we see the tapestry hanging on the wall of her house in Distant Town, we will introduce ourselves to her and serve her as our new queen. Until then, please take care of Hornet. Okay?"

"But..."

Before Tobu could replicate anything, the spiders escaped leaving her in complete solitude.

The thief ducked her head in sorrow, there was not much left to teach Hornet, she learned fast and was very determined. The girl was one step away from being queen and she... She was a simple commoner who should soon leave on a trip.

Chapter Text

"Honey... Wake up... Hey..."

Hornet stirred in her bed complaining about being disturbed.

"Come on Hornet, open your eyes"

The crossbreed spider still sleepy obeyed the request and opened her eyes, only to find Tobu's face a few inches from her.

"Aaaaaaaaaahh!" Hornet shouted in fright and tried to hit the intruder who invaded her personal space.

Tobu who was hanging over Hornet's bed using a thread, swayed dodging the blow. The scandal armed by the girl in red woke her brother and Verm who were in the same bed as her.

"..." He rubbed his eyes and looked at the spider that hung over him, he didn't care and went back to sleep. Verm imitated him.

"But what the hell are you doing?" Grunted Hornet, angry that she interrupted her sleep. "And what time is it?"

"Pretty early, most insects should not be awake." Tobu said cheerfully.

"Then why are you waking me up?! And why do you get into my house without my permission?!"

"It is that when I have to leave on a journey to new kingdoms and adventures, I usually get up early to prepare everything. I already ordered my temporary home. Now I have to buy some supplies for the trip"

"What does it matter to me?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you to accompany me to the city to supply me." She put on an angelic expression.

"No"

"Come on, don't be mean. Come on say Yes. You owe me, I have taught you all my knowledge of weaver, that should be worth something, right?"

Hornet growled knowing that she was right, she had done too much for her. It was for these things that she hated asking for favors.

"All right, I'll accompany you" she finally agreed reluctantly.

"Hey, it won't be so bad, I'll invite you to lunch wherever you want"

Magic words. Immediately Hornet got up with more encouragement and after having a light breakfast, they went to the City of Tears.

They arrived so early that many businesses were still closed, even the employees just arrived.

"Tobu, why did we come so early? There is nowhere to buy"

"That's because now we don't come to buy, we come to sell"

"To sell?"

"I have my clients around here"

They approached the back of a store where an aphid carried some boxes.

"Hello Tocker!" Greeted the spider.

"Tobu! Nice to see you. What surprise do you bring me today? The sweet seeds from last time were a success. Won't you have more out there?

"I'm sorry, I have already sold out. Next time I pass through Hallownest, I'll make sure to bring some. This time I have pure stones. It are very useful to remove impurities from the shells"

After a lively conversation and some bargaining, Tobu left the store without her sack of stones, but with a bag full of Geo.

"Then... The things you collect in one kingdom, you sell them in another and with that you get money for your expenses." Hornet said.

"Exactly, all expenses that are not food, I cover them like this. For my food I just hunt"

"I see... I thought that..."

"Did you think I stole?" Tobu gave her an offended look. "You have a very bad opinion of me. I'm not a thief ... Well, not a common one. I am not interested in money or jewelry. I look for treasures, unique and representative objects of a place. Other things don't interest me"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I thought... Eh! Wait a moment! Even if you don't steal common things, stealing is still wrong, you shouldn't do it"

"Look! That store has already opened, I need some things from there" She said slipping away from Hornet.

"Tobu! Don't escape!"

Making someone like Tobu change was difficult, and in her last day in Hallownest, Hornet wasn't going to make it. So for this time, she chose to ignore the spider's behavior... At least until she got into trouble.

The girls were touring a building that none of them had deigned to visit before because it had no business of interest, most were offices and used object stores. However, Tobu's trained eyes caught something extremely interesting to her.

"Hellooooo" said the spider, confidently entering the antique shop.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" Lemm said from behind his counter.

"How much for that?" She said pointing to a king's idol it was on a shelf.

"It's not for sale" the relic seeker replied immediately losing interest in the visitor.

"How is it not for sale? But if this is a store..."

"Tobu..." Hornet began to get impatient, she sensed that things were going astray.

"Not quite" The old insect replied to Tobu's statement. "I dedicate myself to buy relics, not to sell them, nothing here is for sale"

"But if you have too many things, don't be stingy"

"I already told you that nothing is for sale" Lemm was beginning to get angry. "I buy collectibles, many of these relics are worth more than your head in a black flea market. So if you have something to sell, put it on the counter, if not, you better go out from my store"

"And you think I'm going to sell you some of my precious souvenirs? Forget it old man"

"Souvenirs?" He seemed confused by the term.

"Yep. Valuables that I find in my travels and I keep as memories of these experiences"

"Oh, I would certainly be interested in seeing some of your souvenirs" The bug's attitude immediately changed to a kinder one. "As a collector of these jewels of history I would love to see some of your souvenirs"

"Sure!"

Tobu seemed quite flattered and proud to have a chance to show off her trinkets. Most of the insects had no interest in admiring her collection. The spider began searching under her cloak for something she had with her. Then after a moment, she pulled out a beautiful golden ring with the crown emblem engraved on it.

"I found this thing in the limits of the kingdom." I liked the logo, it's pretty, so I decided to jeep it"

"Would you be interested in selling that?" Lemm said getting so close that Tobu jumped back putting distance.

"I... I... I'll change it for that thing!" She said pointing again to the king's idol"

"That is not for sale and is not exchanged either.But I can give you a lot of Geo for the ring you bring"

"I'm not interested in Geo. I want that statue!"

"Please, be reasonable" Lemm tried another strategy. "Why do you want a king's idol? It is of no use to you, neither is the ring. Your legs are not appropriate for wearing jewelry. You better accept the Geo that you can use to buy useful things"

"It is not useful for you either"

"Oh no, for me it are very useful. From these objects I get clues from the past and from ancient civilizations that..."

"So, it serve you to write silly books that nobody is going to read" These words angered the old bug.

"That is much more useful than simply accumulating objects because yes and having them ruined in a corner keeping dust!"

"Hey! That is not so, my souvenirs are clean and tidy, I take good care of each one of them..."

"Because it is easier to take care of dead objects than to take care of people! And with that you alleviate the emotional deficiencies that you have! Typical of the accumulators!" Lemm replied scathingly.

"How dare you!" Something in Tobu's voice betrayed that the last comment had affected her.

At that moment Hornet's needle was buried at the counter just between Lemm and Tobu. Both creatures raised their heads slowly to direct their gaze to the warrior who looked terrifying at the time.

"Enough" the crossbreed said dryly.

"The red bea..." Lemm whispered, but he cut the sentence in half when he saw Hornet's murderous gaze. "I'm sorry"

"Tobu, we're leaving" she said, ignoring the relic seeker.

"But..."

"I said we're leaving!"

Without waiting any longer, Hornet grabbed Tobu by the blue cloak she wore and dragged her out of the shop, while the spider stirred and protested. There was no case, the warrior did not back down and kept dragging her until they were some distance from the store.

"Seriously, Tobu, I don't know how you do to make people mad"

"It was his fault. Did you hear what he said?"

"Yes, I heard it, but you started. He already told you the first time that nothing was for sale in his shop, you should have given up at that moment" She sighed with resignation. "Although I guess that I was asking you a lot. The fact I could get you out of there without stealing anything is enough"

"Sure..."

Something in Tobu's voice made Hornet alert and look at the spider suspiciously.

"You didn't steal anything from the store, right?"

"Eh... No... Why?" Tobu's gaze said she clearly did.

"Tobu!"

Suddenly a small scandal diverted Hornet's attention from the thief. A short distance from them she could see the relic seeker running followed by two Goliath beetles. As soon as he noticed the presence of the two girls, Lemm shouted:

"There is! Stop the thief!"

"Look what you've done Tobu!" Hornet shouted angrily, addressing her partner but... She was already gone "Aaaaggg! Damn spider!"

It was a long time that she escaped from the guards until she finally managed to mislead them. In other circumstances, perhaps she would have given herself up, but she was angry and did not feel like carrying other people's faults. When she was finally free of all persecutors and began to consider the idea of returning home, Tobu appeared out of nowhere and jumped on top of her. Hornet's trained reflexes allowed her to dodge the surprise attack.

"Good reflections, honey." Tobu greeted her cheerfully.

"There you are! Damn thief! Go to return what you stole now!"

"No, it's mine, I found it"

"Tobu, don't start again!"

"Do you want to go to lunch?"

"Don't change the subject..."

"In the restaurant over there there is  dirtcarver fillet  with mushroom sauce"

"Tobu..."

"I could also go to deliver myself at the justice and get out of this process, but I suppose that would make us miss lunch time, which would be a shame. They say that the food in that restaurant is delicious. Wouldn't it be a shame Hornet? True true?

At that moment Hornet hated herself for what she was about to do, but decided to forgive Tobu on this occasion and go to eat with her, later she would make her deliver herself to the justice.

The food was pleasant and abundant, Tobu seemed to be very generous and Hornet did not miss the occasion, anyway she owed her after all the problems she had caused.

Now Hornet was nibbling on a crispy snack soaked in sauce, while Tobu checked a list she had with her to see what she needed to buy. For the only time Hornet could see the spider in a somewhat more serious attitude than usual. She usually seemed carefree, but it was seen that she was able to concentrate on something if necessary.

"Are you missing many things?" Asked the warrior, biting her sandwich.

"Not many, I just need to get a flint, I was considering traveling to a cold kingdom and to survive there it is absolutely necessary to be able to create fire with ease. If I cannot find one, I'll have to change my route. I won't risk going to a place for which I am not prepared"

"Going on a trip seems like a dangerous thing." At that moment Quirrel came to her mind and an oppression settled in her stomach.

"It is not so much if you are well prepared and when you have experience, things are easier, you can already predict dangerous areas with just a glance. The truth, for to travel the most important thing is to know how to defend yourself, whether fighting or escaping" She gave an analytical look at Hornet. "With your skill with the needle surely you could travel without worrying about most of the dangers. Have you ever considered moving from here?"

"Not really, I feel obliged to stay here and defend this land, I'm Hallownest's protector, I..." At that moment she stopped. She didn't want to tell Tobu too many details of her particular existence. "It's not like I feel a lot of interest in traveling either"

"You should do it, it's fun" said the spider with a smile. "You can meet fascinating places, rare insects, live unique experiences... If you wanted to... I could guide you in the outside world..."

"I appreciate the offer, but I can't move from here. There are many things that bind me to this place, the kingdom itself, my family, and I must wait for Quirrel's return"

Tobu frowned at the mention of the name. Where had she heard it? She did not remember it.

"Who is Quirrel?"

"He... He's a very dear friend" A warm smile appeared on Hornet's face. "He is a very kind pill bug that has helped me a lot, I have a lot of affection for him. He is very intelligent and knows a lot of things, is skilled, loyal, strong and is also one of the best chefs I know. If I had to complain about something, it would be because of his mania of going on a trip every few months, he can't sit still in one place. But at least he always comes back with me.. I say with us, with Hollow and with me" She was red-faced at the last comment.

"You really love him very much" Tobu looked a bit melancholy. "Are you sure you are just friends?"

"Are you going to start with that too? The ghost worm always say we would be a good couple. He is annoying"

"That damn promiscuous worm..."

"Anyway, we're just friends... And for the moment it will still be that way. He already made it clear that he does not want to have a mate and I intend to respect his desire"

"But would you want you two to be something else?" This question left Hornet somewhat nervous.

"I... I just want him to come back soon, nothing more, that's enough for me"

"Oh honey... But what a humble girl. And what would you do if he never came back? If he died far away without you finding out and the years and years passed and he never came back..."

"Well, I'd marry with Bretta" Tobu's face broke as she heard this and Hornet burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding, don't take it so seriously"

The spider put on a serious expression and stared silently at the girl in red, who as it used to happen every time this happened, began to get nervous.

"Tobu... Could you leave the habit of staring at me in silence? You make me nervous"

"You're so pretty..."

In response Hornet stamped a sandwich covered in sauce on hrr face.

"AAAgggg... That was a betrayal attack!"

"Don't start with your antics! Not because you flatter me I'll think better of you"

"It are not antics, that's what I think..."

"You wouldn't think I'm pretty if you knew the monstrous body that hides under this cloak" Hornet said in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing!" She raised her voice again. "Anyway, we're done here, we're going to pay and keep buying your stuff"

The rest of the afternoon passed without major mishaps. Tobu was able to find everything she needed and left her luggage ready for the trip. She even managed to get a pair of flints at a very good price.

Finally, when they finished all their affairs, both girls headed towards the Howling Cliffs, that was where Tobu taking advantage of the air currents would use her aerial net to travel to a new destination. As a last favor, she asked Hornet to accompany her until the last moment, she rarely had someone to say goodbye to her. The girl in red agreed and that was why that evening, they both found themselves on the heights of that cliff watching the day end.

"Thanks for joining Hornet, it was a fun day."

"Well, I guess it wasn't bad" said the warrior. "Except for the part when you stole the antique shop, the rest was nice... And you never returned the king's idol"

"But it's mine..."

"Yes, yes, say no more, it is enough. Fortunately, you're leaving, so I won't have to deal with your misdeeds anymore"

"Never again, until I return..."

"Are you going back one day?"

"I have a house here, one day I must return to make sure my souvenirs are well."

"Oh Tobu... You know... I think Lemm was right that you must have some kind of affective lack..."

"Oh look at the time, if I don't leave I will be too late..."

"I understand" said the warrior, understanding the little subtle hint that she didn't want to talk about it.

The spider pulled out the special net that she used to travel through the air currents and hooked it into her weaver's hook, preparing to catch the next blow window.

"You never taught me how to weave such networks" said Hornet.

"You don't need it, if you don't intend to travel and can't produce your own thread, there's no point in knowing this. Better dedicate yourself to your traditional fabrics and to weave your first tapestry, remember to hang it on the main wall of your house in Deepnest"

"Yes, I'll do it. I'll honor the traditions of the weavers and present my tapestry, although there is no one to admire it"

"If you knew..." the spider whispered.

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing"

"...."

"...."

After that' followed another of the awkward silences that Hornet's couldn't stand.

"Do you want to stop looking at me like that?"

"I'm sorry" she said, coming out of her thoughts. "You have a garbage in one of your horns"

"Eh? Where?" She began to touch her head trying to remove the dirt.

"It's not there, more to the side... I say above... No, this... Come here, I better take it off."

Hornet leaned toward Tobu, allowing her to reach her horns with her legs so that she could take away the garbage. The spider began to touch Hornet's right horn, which relaxed her, so that she lowered her guard. At that moment Tobu took the opportunity to attract Hornet towards her and kiss her.

Due to the proximity, Tobu could not avoid the slap that the crossbreed gave her, which echoed in the rocks of the cliff.

The spider backed away rubbing her face, it had hurt, but that was nothing. She was more worried about the furious way in which Hornet looked at her.

"But what the fuck was that!" She looked around her in case her father showed up to punish her for saying bad words, but he was not there."How dare you kiss me! Now besides trinkets you also steal kisses? This joke of yours has already gone too far, if you...

"I love you Hornet"

"... What!?..." Hornet's astonishment was indescribable.

"And I don't steal kisses from everybody, only those I love very much"

"Who do you love very much? Tobu... Tell me what this is a joke, please tell me that..."

"It's not a joke Hornet, I really love you. But you have another person in your head and I am not for serious relationships, so we better leave this in a fun memory. A kiss and a date is enough for me"

"A date? Wait a moment! Was the dshopping we had an date?"

"If you want to consider it in that way, yes, it was a date"

"I can't believe it..."

"Well, thanks for the date, for the kiss, for the memories and maybe in a year or more, I'll walk here again. If you still live here it will be a pleasure to greet you"

"Eh? Wait Tobu!"

Hornet ran to the spider that had slowly approached the edge of the cliff.

"Goodbye"

At that moment the wind roared and inflated the traveler's aerial net, dragging her towards the sky and towards a new journey.

"Tobu!"

"Bye honey! Take care of yourself and become a great weaver! See you again someday!"

Hornet stood on the edge of the cliff watching her go. It was hard to say if she was happy or sad, nor did she know it herself. She just knew she had the feeling of having left something unfinished. Then, before Tobu could get too far away, she pulled out an object from under her cloak and lifted it towards the sky.

"Tobuuuuuu!" She shouted loudly.

The flying spider looked at the warrior and even with the distance she could distinguish what she had in her hand, it was a king's idol.

Tobu opened her eyes in surprise and quickly began to search among her things for the souvenir she had obtained in the morning. But she could not find it. Hornet had stolen it.

She couldn't help letting out a laugh when she realized this fact, then with a sad smile she said:

"You were perfect... Seriously you were. Too bad you're a crossbreed"

The spider moved through the skies and prepared to sleep, it would be several hours before she reached any place of interest. Busy as she was in her thoughts, she was obviously oblivious to everything that happened at her feet, so she would never notice the lonely pill bug who was directing her steps towards Hallownest.

After a long trip, Quirrel finally returned home, which surprised him a lot, to think that just a year ago he had nothing to call home or anyone to wait for him. It was nice to think about Hollow and Hornet, the idea of seeing them made him very happy, besides he had many findings to tell them.

He almost reached the kingdom and as far as he remembered, that part of the journey was quite safe, so he could allow himself to walk more relaxed. The Tiktik were not something to worry about and the vengafly were not difficult to handle.

It was for this reason that the sudden attack of a centipede took him by surprise.

The beast came out from under the ground and attacked him just giving him time to cover himself. His vast experience as a traveler saved his life, he managed to cover himself under a rock and prepare himself mentally to fight.

He glanced at his attacker and frowned. That centipede was a rare thing, it wore a metal collar around its neck, very suspicious. Surely it hadn't put it on itself, someone else had done it, but for what purpose?

It was not his problem, now only he was interested in leaving the predicament. He took out his nail and prepared for battle, he wasn't really sure if he would be able to defeat a centipede, so his tactic would be to try to escape. He took a deep breath and stepped out of his rocky hiding place.

As soon as the the pill bug leave his hiding , the centipede threw itself against him. But Quirrel, showing off his overwhelming speed, dodged it and climbed into the head of the beast. Then without giving him time to react, he nailed one of its eyes and he fled.

Quirrel ran with all his might. The centipede was furious and wanted revenge for its lost eye, so it began to chase it's prey. It seemed it was going to reach him, but the pill bug had his own plan. He dodged another attack of the centipede and with a quick maneuver, he nailed one of the bug's legs causing it terrible pain.

The insect curled on itself growling in pain, it would take a while to recover, which of course the explorer took advantage of to get rid and flee.

It seemed that he had escaped all danger when suddenly the earth in front of him opened and a second centipede came out of it.

Quirrel stepped back intimidated thinking about what to do, when a loud noise alerted him that another centipede had saluted behind him. He was surrounded and finished.

Many thoughts crossed his mind at that moment when he thought he was dead, but all were silenced at the sound of a hoarse voice.

"Hahahaha, well, you're really good" said a male butterfly appearing from behind a rock. "You have been able to incapacitate one of my boys. I never expected this from a pill bug, this makes me rethink the ideas I had about you kind"

"Who..." Quirrel hissed.

"I'm Ben, proud warrior of the colosseum of fools and a beast tamer. I had taken my boys for a walk to play a little with the garbage that inhabits this territory, I didn't expect to find a decent warrior around here. Bad luck for my boy"

"I... I'm not a warrior" Quirrel said, feeling a cold run down his back. This guy seemed dangerous. "I'm a simple explorer who carries a nail for self-defense, nothing more"

"Well. You handle that thing much better than many professionals. Wouldn't you be interested in coming with me to the Colosseum? Fame and money awaits you there"

"I appreciate the offer but I must refuse it. I am not interested"

"Well, too bad because I wasn't going to accept a no for an answer"

Ben opened his wings displaying his psychedelic colors and began to shake them frantically raising some wind that blinded the pill bug.

Quirrel closed his eyes for a moment and by the time he opened them again, the butterfly was in front of him holding a strange talisman that shone with colors equal to his wings. Seeing the multicolored stone the poor explorer felt dizzy and finally lost consciousness, along with his will.

Chapter Text

For most insects, Deepnest could be a sinister, dangerous and scary place, but there Hornet felt at home. She loved that place and regretted not having visited it for so long.

Lately she spent most of her time in Dirtmouth. She was going down just to pick up reels of thread and then she was going. But she had finally decided to go to her home in the depths to relax for a while, she needed to fix the mess she had in her head.

Tobu's particular farewell had altered her a lot, she still had to fight the urge to kill her every time she remembered her. That's why she thought spending a few days underground would be good for her. Of course Hollow and therefore Verm had come with her.

Now she was returning to Distant Village after a fruitful hunt. She hoped to prepare a tasty stew for everyone and in the afternoon start practicing to weave her tapestry. She was in a very good mood, but sadly soon she would end up very angry.

When she got home and opened the door, she found a chaotic show. Hollow was in his shadow state crying in a corner, while Verm was fighting with the Pale King who was trying to recover Hollow's mask from her power

"But what the hell is going on here!"

Hornet's scream left everyone paralyzed in their place. Slowly everyone turned their heads to see the newcomer who looked furious.

Hollow cringed into a ball of shadows, the pale king fled the scene fading and Verm dropped Hollow's mask from her jaws.

Hornet without saying a word, walked to Verm and picked up the mask from the ground, then gave it to his brother who immediately entered it and regained his physical form, then he took his cloak that was also on the floor and put it on.

"Well, now you would explain to me what was all this scandal about?"

"..." He pointed to Verm, then to his mask and then he opened his arms simulating jaws.

"And you let her take your mask off that easy?"

"....."

"Hollow, you are supposed to be her 'mommy'. At least she should respect you. You can't let her do what she wants with you. And to all this, why did she get mad at you?"

"....."

"Visit Ogrim?" A shiver ran down the back of the crossbreed. "It's not a place I like but if you don't mind the smell..." She directed her eyes toward the bat. "Verm, if you don't want to go where Ogrim, you can stay here with me, you don't have to attack Hollow"

"No!" The girl growled. "If I don't want to go, gyaaarg, mommy doesn't go either"

Hornet looked surprised at her response.

"So... If you don't want to go, Hollow doesn't go? Verm, you are not her owner. He has the right to visit his friends if he wants to"

"Mommy is mine"

"What?... Verm... Those possessive attitudes are not healthy at all, not even couples should be that jealous. Hollow is now going to visit Ogrim. If you don't want to go, you'll stay here, but you wont' be forbid him to visit his friends"

"No!" Verm growled more and more annoyed. "Mommy is mine and she does what I say Gyaaaaaarg!"

"Spoiled brat... That hateful father of yours is raising you like a monster..."

"Gayaaaaaargg!"

Indignant at hearing Hornet speak ill of her father, the little girl flew and bit one of Hornet's horns, which unlike those of Hollow -which were only part of a mask- it did have sensitivity and a bite hurt. The warrior stirred, trying to get the girl off her head, until she finally ended up dropping a slap that threw her on the floor.

Verm got up and looked at her aunt, who was rubbing her horn with tears sticking out of her eyes. Then she nodded satisfied, she deserved that punishment for speaking badly about her daddy, besides she had no right to question her, she was the one to rule there, her daddy had said it, she was being raised to be a queen. Suddenly she noticed Hornet's penetrating gaze, it seemed she was burning her, she was a cluster of anger.

"You are grounded!" The warrior shouted "You'll go to bed without dinner!"

"Gayaaarg? Nooo!"

"Yes, you are grounded. I don't know what's wrong with you. You were always something capricious but before you behaved better, lately you are unbearable and too jealous with Hollow. I hope this teaches you to behave well and to respect your elders"

"No!" Verm shouted stubbornly.

"No what"

"I'll have dinner"

Hornet did not go around the bush, she was not going to allow that brat to challenge her authority, both because her strong character made her act like this, and because of the fact that she considered it important to discipline the bat.

Without fearing to overdo it, she took out her needle and challenged the child.

"Look brat, you'll learn to respect me by force if necessary. I Won't let you eat, if you want to you must defeat me. Anyway in this world those who are powerful are those who impose themselves on others. While you are a child that needs to be protected and does not hunt on its own, dream with that you can command someone"

Verm spat a little fireball indignantly. She was not silly and she knew that even with her powers of fire she could not defeat Hornet in a fight, she was too fast. She would be lucky if she managed to hit her once or twice and at that time the spider could crush her. However, she did not want to surrender and recognize that she had to obey her, so she growled frustrated and flew over the warrior to go out the door.

"Hey!"

Hornet seemed surprised at the hatching's behavior, she supposed she would end up giving up and asking for forgiveness. Her idea was she to recognize her mistake in order to lift the punishment and let her eat. For Hornet it seemed criminal to leave a sprout without food. However, Verm defied all her predictions and continued her rebellion by escaping from home.

"Verm! Come back here!" Hornet yelled from the door of the house.

"No! Gyaaaaaarg" she grunted with determination. "I don't run out of food, I'm going to hunt"

"What!? Verm! This is Deepnest! It's dangerous! Come back here!"

"No! I won't back. Ugly Aunt Horny! Ugly mom! Ugly promiscuous worm!"

"Damn spider who taught Verm weird things!" The pale king shouted, appearing beside Hornet.

The little girl did not expect anyone to say anything else. She turned around and moved away from Distant Village to the dangerous caves in the area.

Verm could hear behind her some metallic noises and other sounds, these indicated that Aunt Horny and her mom were following her. But she did not intend to be caught, so she fluttered faster and entered the caves, addressing to each narrow and intricate nook that she saw. Soon the footsteps of her persecutors began to sound farther away, until she was drowned by the shrieks and blows of the other creatures that inhabited that beast den.

It was not long until Verm completely confused Hollow and Hornet. Her ability to fly gave her much advantage when it came to escape. Once she saw herself alone, her head cooled and she could think without being carried away by rage, then she realized the mess she had gotten into. She was in one of the most dangerous areas of the entire kingdom, with no one to defend her and at the mercy of all the wild beasts of the place.

For a moment she considered the idea of crying and screaming to they come looking for her, but then she rejected it. To do so would be to give Aunt Horny the reason, prove that she was a weak child that needed to be protected and therefore had no right to command.

But no, things could not be like that, her father had told her that she would be a queen, and had raised her for that. When she lived in her father's troupe, all the bugs in the place revered her, pleased every whim of her and no one dared to raise their voice and deny anything to her. The only one she had to obey was his father for obvious reasons, but with others she could do what she wanted.

Of course, her situation changed a lot when she became under the care of her guardian, but her father had already warned her. The world was a hostile place and the insects that lived outside the circus were clumsy and vulgar. It would probably cost them to meet her needs, so he asked her to be patient. And she was patient.

The family that welcomed her was far from elegant, or from meeting her quality standards. The house where they lived was cozy but all the furniture was second-hand and so ugly for her taste. Although they cared about her minimum requirements, it is not that they fulfilled all her wishes. But she endured all that because her father told her it was necessary. She had to endure those dirty inferior beings if she wanted to complete the ritual and claim the power that belonged to her.

However, as time went by, she began to take care of those clumsy plebeian insects. Even with their lack of elegance and the brutality they sometimes exhibited, she loved them and was happy with them. It was because of this affection that she endured Aunt Horny's scolding and forgave her guardian's folly. But as much as she loved them, there were things she simply couldn't bear. One of them was that her 'mommy' loved someone above her.

After she had heard of this Myla, some insecurity had settled in Verm's heart. Aunt Horny had said that bug was the girl Hollow liked. She didn't translate the part where she explained what had happened to her but she didn't care, if that creature stayed far, it was better. Even so, the simple idea that her mom loved another person, even if she was somewhere else terrified her. Hollow belonged to her, he should stay by her side forever and be her servant, just as Brumm was her father's servant. The situation was unnatural.

In spite of everything, things could have been easily solved by talking. If Verm had openly asked Hollow who he loved most, if she or Myla, he would have answered directly that she. Also he would have also explained that Myla was already dead. This answer would have left her calmer.

But Verm was too young to take such an mature attitude. This, added to her impetuous character and the fact since in her previous home they had only dedicated themselves to spoiling her, made her take the most harmful attitude possible, becoming rebellious, aggressive and above all, possessive.

Now she was in a state of denial rejecting all authority. She had already decided that no one else was going to command her, she was the future queen, the pathetic insects should obey her, starting with Hollow.

But now her worries were different, she was absolutely alone in a cave of Deepnest, surrounded by dangerous beasts and with no one to protect her. The good side was that she could recognize that place, Verm always had good guidance and it was difficult for her to get lost, therefore she felt able to return to the house in Distant Village from that point. However, should she do it? Should she return defeated so that they would continue doing what they wanted with her? Of course not!

Verm already had enough control over the fire and her fiery attacks had already become very dangerous, she would manage alone. She would leave her guardian suffering for her absence, in fact if her father found out about her disappearance much better, he would punish him.

Now that she was on her own, the first thing the bat had to do was procure food. She had had the brilliant idea of escaping from home right at dinner time, so she was quite hungry.  She was confident that she would be able to hunt some prey, she had done it before, of course under adult supervision, but it could not be so different to do it alone.

Verm began to remember the hunting lessons that Aunt Horny had given her. The first step was always to locate a prey that you was capable of defeating. Many hunters had succumbed by poorly assess their victim or to overestimate their own abilities.

The bat decided to be careful and choose a simple dam, in her case a deepling. They were beings similar to spiders, but according to Hornet they belonged to an inferior race that had nothing to do with the weavers. Therefore they were not considered people and were allowed to eat them.

The bat shook her head mentally scolding herself for following the moral code imposed by Hornet. She was supposed to have the right to hunt the prey she wanted, that was what her father had said, now nobody watched her, she could eat whoever she wanted... Although she had to admit that after living so long with other insects, the idea eating someone who was a person was repulsive. She sighed defeated and decided not to question things any more, anyway at that time she lacked the ability to hunt something greater than a deepling.

It did not cost her much to hunt her prey, she only had to do a couple of mental calculations and throw a ball of fire at the right place and time. And with that she had dinner ready. The bat went to eat her prey as quickly as possible. As Aunt Horny had explained, when you managed to get food, then you had to defend it from opportunists who wanted a free snack.

Verm ate with some disgust, the deeplings were not her favorite food at all, besides she was used to more refined dishes, cooked and seasoned with spices, a luxury that for her had become something normal.

In spite of everything, she was happy with the feat of hunting for herself absolutely alone. She was already a huntress, her father would be proud. She didn't need anyone to fend for herself, she had the power to hunt, now she just needed the power to subdue them all.

The little girl was so absorbed in her own thoughts and so busy eating her prey, that she ended up forgetting one of the primary lessons that Aunt Horny had given her, never let down her guard.

For a being to be self-sufficient, it must meet two requirements: Be able to provide food for itself and be able to protect itself. Perhaps Verm had already fulfilled the first condition, but she was still far from being able to defend herself from a big threat and sadly for her, while she was distracted eating, she didn't notice a couple of warriors stalking her from behind. She only realized when It was too late and they knocked her out.

The Kingdom's Edge was a very rugged place, a place where only the strongest insects could survive, where each vermin seemed to possess an overwhelming force that they did not hesitate to use to crush their enemies. Even the cold weather of the place was not suitable for the weak, who would imagine that the last sigh of a Wyrm would be so long? It had been spreading ashes for years. Anyway, nobody cared, adaptation is a quality of the survivors and they were more than accustomed to the eternal ashes that rained on the site.

But in this valley made only for the strongest, there was a place where the struggle to survive was carried to the most extreme point, where every day, the battles that occurred were not for the purpose of eating or being eaten, it were for the simple purpose of entertaining and earning money.

The Colosseum of Fools the most brutal, wild and (according to some) stupid site of all Hallownest. You had to be a fool to reject a normal existence and risk your life voluntarily in that place, but nevertheless, that kind of fools existed... And in heaps.

Every day there were many bugs that went to the Colosseum to bet their lives in fierce battles where only the strongest survived. However in the last year, the number of fools who arrived had been reduced. This was attributed to the new resurgence of Hallownest. In the past, when there was only infection, many bugs lost hope and the desire to live, feeling trapped in a meaningless life, so they enrolled in the Colosseum. What better way to die than in the middle of a glorious battle being acclaimed by the public?

But this situation was no longer so common, the bugs had become lazy and weak, drunk with easy life in the city, full of comfort and without danger. Under normal circumstances, the inhabitants of the Colosseum had little and nothing concerning about this situation. But due to this the warriors began to become scarce, with the constant killing of participants and without a supply of new recruits the battles seemed doomed to end.

Some had considered the idea of making more sportive battles that did not culminate in the death of any of the participants, only with their defeat, but who suggested that was thrown out the window. Those who came and presented their juicy money in combat wanted to see deaths, blood, dismemberment. Who could enjoy a fight where no one died? But what rubbish!

Because of this, in order to keep the Colosseum working, they had to resort to extreme and immoral measures: Kidnapping.

Daily, the disappearance of insects, of all species and sex, was reported in Hallownest. No one knew who did this or for what, all they noticed was that they preferred robust individuals, who practiced some kind of physical activity.

The kidnapped ended up being prisoners of battle, condemned to fight until they die or become strong and reach a certain rank within the hierarchy of the colosseum. Yes, they had the promise that if they reached a position within the great warriors of the enclosure, they would be granted freedom. Unfortunately, before arriving at that they could spend years, by the time they were free maybe there would be no one left to wait for them, or they would be so obsessed with battles that they simply could not leave them. This had happened more than once, the same champion of the Colosseum was an example of this.

She was nicknamed God Tamer, for many years she was the most implacable, ruthless and lethal creature that had stepped on that place. Feared and respected, the undisputed queen, the one to whom everyone paid respect and bowed at see her pass. But all that was over.

From the day that strange boy murdered her partner, the tamer was never the same again. Fighting alone was not the same, she no longer had the same energy, nor the same fierce aura. She was just a ghost of what some once she was, something that was not unnoticed by anyone.

Some felt sorry for the shattered warrior and felt sorry for her, a small piece of mercy in that heartless den. But others only saw the possibility of challenging her and exploiting her vulnerability to kill her and end her reign. However, to date no one had managed to kill her. Still depressed and without her partner, the ant seemed to be on a higher level than ordinary warriors.

At that time, the female questioned her permanence in the Colosseum, without her companion the nostalgia and the desire to return to the home from which she was taken returned. But would it be worth returning to her colony? It was in a distant land, she almost did not survive the trip to Hallownest the first time... Although of course, the conditions in which her kidnappers had her were not optimal. She was caged almost without food or water, so it was difficult to survive. Although according to the captors it was their quality filter, only the strongest survived and they needed powerful individuals.

But assuming she could return home, the other problem was if they would accept her. Many years had already passed, perhaps the colony would have even changed queen. If there was no one left to recognize her they would kill her for being an intruder, a simply pathetic end.

Now she was having a tea sitting on a bench while meditating on her possibilities. Another thing that she should consider is that she was no longer a young girl, each time fighting became more complicated, one day her forces would not be enough and she would fall into battle. Although, curiously, dying like that didn't dislike her so much.

"Wow, but if it's not the famous Tamy... I mean, the God Tamer" said a male butterfly walking towards her.

Tamy frowned as she felt her day was bitter, how much she hated that butterfly. Especially since that coward was never alone, he was always escorted by one of his mental slaves. On this occasion he came with one of his favorite centipedes and with a warrior she had never seen.

"Go away Ben" she said dryly, sipping his tea.

"Oh, but what is that way of greeting the future champion of the Colosseum?" He opened his wings giving himself an air of superiority

"You said it, future champion. Now you are not champion, you are just shit."

"Grrr. Insolent ant, I'll make you beg for mercy when I have you in my hands. I'll enjoy killing you so much... It will be slow and painful. I can imagine, first I'll tear you off those ugly legs, then..."

"Enough. Shut up, you disgust me"

"Disgust?"

"And I doubt you'll do any of those things you say. As you always hide behind your puppets they'll do all the work"

"Do you have that hope? Well, dream! My servants are very well trained, they are capable of fulfilling any order I give them accurately. In that sense they are much better than the silly creature you had as a partner"

The tamer threw her cup of tea at Ben, but before it could reach him, his centipede servant got in the way and shattered the cup with the tongs of its tail.

"Fu Fu fu! Do my words bother you because you know it are true? Your partner was stupid. A brainless servant that you couldn't have much control of. Admit that I am a better tamer than you. I am able to subdue any creature and have it eating from the palm of my hand. I am the king of tamers and future lord of the colosseum!"

"Look fool. You're not even close to being a tamer, that magic of your mind control doesn't compare to the work of a tamer. When we submit a creature, it will be faithful to us until death, it will obey us and protect us with its life with its own free will. Not like those puppets of yours that if by chance they get free of you, they will tear your head off"

"Fortunately that won't happen. My magic is strong and their minds weak, they will be my slaves until the end of their days"

"If you say so" said the tamer rolling her eyes. Then she turned her attention to the unknown warrior who was next to Ben. "Hey... By chance that guy next to you. Is he also your slave? He looks like a pill bug"

"Oh yes. It's a pill bug. My most recent acquisition"

"This is serious? Did you really hypnotize a pill bug?"

"Well, I know they aren't the strongest insects. They are not the kind of creature you think of when talking about warriors, but this guy is very fast and handles the nail so well. Imagine that..."

"I don't say it for that. Although the pill bugs are not very strong they are very clever. I am not sure that your mental magic will work well with him. He is not a feral creature like those centipedes of yours, he is a being of high intellect and strong mind. When you least think about it he would released himself and..."

"Never! That won't happen. He is my servant forever and soon I'll release him on the battlefield. Prepare yourself God Tamer, soon you'll be overthrown, humiliated and cruelly murdered"

"Yes, whatever you say" she said, moving away with a jaded expression.

"That! Flees! Take advantage of your last times of life!"

The ant sighed in annoyance, she seriously hated that butterfly, he was so conceited and stupid. He still had to climb many levels to even have the opportunity to challenge her. In fact, she had very few rivals lately, which relieved her. She was really not in the age of fighting so much, a few years ago she could have battles all day without complaining, but now more than two fights a day left her exhausted.

Suddenly she felt a scandal nearby. She rounded a corner following the noise and reached a room where they had the wild creatures that they threw to the rookie fighters. There she saw a pair of earwigs trying to subdue a rather rare creature. She had never seen anything like that being. It was black, hairy, without antennae, red eyes, membranous wings. What would that be?

Because of the shape of its face and the composition of its body, she noticed that it was a baby, but even with its size it was giving problems to the pair of bugs, who had it with a muzzle and tied with chains. The problem with the hatchling seemed to be its mysterious ability to produce small balls of fire around it, with which it attacked the earwigs. They had to fight to keep the beast still while they put out the fire.

The ant sighed overwhelmed by so much stupidity. She walked away from the room only to return later with a vase of water in her hands, which she threw at the winged creature leaving it soaked. As soon as the bat was wet, it looked terrified, because it could no longer produce fire, then it began to fly with all its might trying to get rid of its chains.

However, Verm's fight was suddenly cut off as soon as the tamer put her hands on her and crushed her against the floor, she applied such force that the poor bat had trouble breathing.

"Oh! Lady Tamy!" Said one of the earwigs happy to receive help from the tamer.

"What the hell is this thing?" Asked the ant.

"Well... We don't know. We found it while we were hunting in Deepnest. We found its ability to produce fire interesting and we thought it would be useful on the battlefield. But it is more complicated to handle than it seems, despite being a baby"

"It is not complicated" Tamy said watching as the little girl struggled to breathe. "You just have to know how to do things"

"Oh, of course. A professional like you should know how to handle any beast” the insect replied in a mellow tone. "Wouldn't it interest you to tame and train this creature?"

"What!? This thing?"

"Yes, that's a great idea" said the other earwig. "Since Godofredo is not here, this bug could be his replacement, that ability to produce fire could be useful"

"I'm not interested in having to start with a new beast"

"But Tamy, look at it, it has a lot of potential."

The tamer laid her eyes on the creature. It seemed nothing extraordinary, small, thin, sure it depended heavily on its fire and had little physical ability. Also with a glance she could say that it had had a fairly easy life. There were almost no scars on its body, someone had  protected it and taked care of it. Perhaps its mother. What pathetic being.

However, there was something in the bat that caught her attention, the brightness of its eyes. But it was not the brightness of the scarlet flame, it was the brightness of its will and its pride. The arrogance that gave off its gaze captivated her. It would be beautiful to break it, submit it and turn it into a mess of what it was. Prove it that it was nothing more than insignificant garbage.

"Okay, I accept. I'll keep this thing."

Chapter Text

Verm's life had been easy, full of luxuries and comforts. She always had the opportunity to sleep in a soft bed, never went cold, never went hungry, she always was treated well and never had to work. Her had a dream life.

The biggest challenge she ever had to face was the scarlet flame ritual. For the first time in her life Verm was subjected to the rigor of a battle and the terror of fighting for her life. But she was willing to suffer all this, if with that she could obtain the power that her father had promised her and maintain the easy life that she had taken so far.

However, she considered suffering as something temporary that was limited to the ritual. The poor offspring was convinced that everyone had the obligation to consent, care for her and fulfill her whims. In part it was because of this that, when she was chained and mistreated by her captors, she was terrified, and as always happened every time she was very excited or nervous, she lost her speech and was only able to produce intelligible grunts.

Her lack of speech made her captors confuse her with a feral creature, of those who served as prey and were unable to be civilized. However they recognized her strength and thought she would be a good acquisition for the Colosseum.

By the time Verm found herself calm enough to speak again, she already had a muzzle on her mouth, which made her furious.

Pathetic creatures! How dare they put her a muzzle? She who was a future queen was being treated like any beast, this would be punished.

Encouraged by anger, Verm forgot her terror and began to fight against the insects that captured her, however fear returned in glory and majesty when the tamer intervened.

From the first moment, Verm knew that the ant was someone to fear. She sensed it when she saw her standing with the bucket of water after throwing it away, she confirmed it when the tamer threw her on the floor and immobilized her with her weight and regretted it when she began to suffocate her.

The desperation of not being able to breathe terrified her, even though she tried to inflate her lungs, they didn't have the strength to lift Tamy. She began to agitate desperately trying to break free, but no matter how hard she struggled. Tears fell down her eyes as she thought she was doomed to die.

And just when the lack of oxygen began to take away her strength and her mind went out, the weight that oppressed her gave way. The bat inflated her lungs by releasing a couple of coughs, then she began breathing agitate trying to cram herself with the oxygen she was missing.

Little was the time the grill had to recover, as soon as she released her, the tamer grabbed her again and dragged her to another room.

They came to a room full of caged creatures, some were covered with armor and others naked. The beasts were shrieking and writhing, the youngest attacking the bars of their prisons, while the older ones resigned, because they already had more than clear that they would never leave there.

However, regardless of age, they all became paralyzed and kept silent when they noticed the presence of the ant. Everyone knew Tamy very well and knew what she was capable of. She was responsible for disciplining and training all the beasts that were forced to fight in the Colosseum, every beast there had suffered in the flesh of her brutality and lack of mercy.

Some beasts noticed the creature that Tamy carried in her hands and looked at her with sorrow, she was still a baby and she was already condemned to suffer so much... They only had to wish her to give up soon, the more she fought, the worse she would be.

Tamy went to the back of the room, where there was a huge glass jar, larger than the ant herself, which contained some water at the bottom.

Next to the jar was a ladder that the tamer used to climb to the top. There she lifted the heavy metal lid that closed the glass prison, then without much care, she removed Verm's muzzle and threw her into the bottle and then put the lid back on and left her locked.

The little girl opened her mouth after being released from the muzzle, then regaining some of her trust, flew up to hit the bottle cap in an attempt to open it and escape. Unfortunately, the metal lid was too heavy for her and all she managed to do was give herself a header that hurt a lot.

The bat growled grimly, sure she had looked like a fool banging herself against the lid. But she wasn't going to be cross-winged, now that her muzzle had been removed she could throw fire through her mouth, it was much more effective than spontaneously producing fire around her.

She began throwing burning balls against the piece of metal, one after another tirelessly. Soon the lid began to paint red because of the heat, if she continued like this she could perhaps melt that and be free. However, something stopped her plan. Suddenly she began to lack the air, but this was not like when the tamer crushed her and her lungs did not have the freedom to inflate. It was more like there was no oxygen, no matter how much she inspired and swallowed air, she could not breathe. She could say that this feeling was even more horrifying than the last.

Soon she fell to the bottom of the bottle where despair was even greater when she had to fight against the water, which although it was not high enough to cover her completely, she needed to strive to stay upright with her head on the surface.

Then suddenly, as if it were a miracle, the air returned and Verm could breathe freely again. Now terrified to tears and without understanding what happened, she began to sob and call her mother, she urgently needed a hug, but obviously nobody would come to her aid.

"Well, it seems you are finally understanding your position," Tamy said from the top of the bottle. She had moved the metal lid and now looked at the little girl through the entrance.

"Gayaaaaarg!"

Verm swelled ready to throw a fireball to the tamer's face, but she closed the bottle in a timely manner avoiding the igneous projectile.

The baby was already preparing to attack again when the ant's voice stopped her.

"I wouldn't recommend you do that little one" The burlesque tone of her voice irritated her. "One of the things that fire needs to burn is oxygen, and in large quantities. The lid of this bottle has holes to let the air pass, but in a limited way. If you spend all your air on your fire there will be nothing left for you to breathe and you'll die asphyxiated"

The bat put on an expression of horror, all her power lay in her fire, without it, she was nothing, only a weak creature not much more powerful than a tiktik. And until she was something older she would not develop her claws, which were the other resource from his father when it comes to fighting.

"Gyaaarg gyaaaarg releases gyaaaarg gyaaarg Mommy gyaaaaaarg gyaaaarg ugly gyaaaaaarg princess gyaaaaaarg daddy gyaaaaaarg gyaaaaar punishment"

Verm was giving a speech of indignation in which she explained that she was someone very important and that her care takers would soon come to look for her. In addition her dad would give her an exemplary punishment for the way she was treating her. But because of how altered she was, she just let out grunts alternated with single words.

Obviously Tamy did not understand anything and thought that the single words she heard were only grunts that tried to imitate the spoken language. After all, this vermin was supposed to be a feral creature, a stupid and uncivilized being, unable to understand any word she said . In fact, she assumed that Verm had not understood anything about her explanation that the fire consumed oxygen, so she decided to stay a while to watch it to lift the lid every time it ran out of air and thus prevent it from dying, until it realized for itself that it should not light a fire.

But contrary to her assumptions, the bat did not throw flames again, it merely flew into the center of the bottle while it growled incessantly.

"Wow... Even within its limited brain there is some intelligence" The tamer thought.

She did not consider Verm to have understood her words, she only assumed that she related the fire to the lack of air at the first attempt.

How it seemed that the beast would no longer do any stupidity, she got out of the bottle and stood in front of it looking at Verm with superiority. The little one growl with rage and threw herself against her, she was obviously stopped by the glass wall, but that did not deter her from scratching the surface while shouting unintelligible expletives.

The tamer laughed, that creature really had a great fighting spirit, even if it was at a total disadvantage, it dared to challenge her. Poor beast, the more it opposed the more it would suffer. But it would be very satisfying when it finally surrendered to her.

The hours that followed were the worst in Verm's life. She was screaming and trying to burst the glass of her prison for hours without any result, until she dropped to the ground exhausted and with her throat shattered by her screams, now with luck she was able to emit whispers, besides she was very thirsty and she was no going to drink the water that was in the bottle with her.

During all that time the tamer remained in the room watching her. Sometimes she leave her alone for short periods, maybe to eat or go to the bathroom, but she always came back, despite everything she was aware for something bad to happen her... Or rather something with fatal consequences. Keeping her alive was the only thing important to her. Whether it was hungry, thirsty or tired was irrelevant, she would not relieve any of its basic needs until it submitted, which apparently would take time.

Verm was lying on the bottom of the depleted bottle. She had been flying for hours without stopping just to stay afloat. At that time she missed her mom a lot, he always let her perch on top of his head to rest.

She sighed regretfully and decided to try another tactic.

She approached the area of the bottle closest to the ant and began scratching it trying to get her attention, which seemed to give results, as Tamy got up from the chair where she had been cleaning some weapons and approached.

"What's up, beast? Are you tired yet?"

At that moment Verm put on the saddest face she was able to compose. His eyes soaked in tears, as she sadly regretted. At home when she did that Hornet always panicked and hurried to give her anything to eat or drink, but Tamy was different. She was not moved by her tears, just looked at her with superiority and a sinister smile appeared on her face.

"Don't think you're going to convince me with those pathetic tears, beast" She crouched down to Verm's height. "I still can't feed you, your eyes still have fire, fighting spirit, willingness to move on and that doesn't work for me. I need you broken and empty, willing to serve. Are you ready now to become my footman?"

Verm's gaze hardened at her words. Did she be that ant's servant? Never!

"Ho! How funny. It almost seems that you understand my words and are indignant for them. But obviously that can't be, you're just a dumb beast"

"Gyaaaaaarg... Cof cof"

Verm's anger led her to growl, but her dry and sore throat resented.

Tamy walked away and returned to her seat to continue cleaning weapons. On the other hand, the bat only looked at her with hate while she felt anguish in her stomach. Her tears had never failed her when it came to getting something, and now more than ever she needed a drink of water.

She looked at the liquid in which she was semi submerged. She was tempted to drink from there, but it was the same water in which she had been submerged for a while, it was already dirty by the simple fact of being in contact with her body for so long. She could not drink it .

On the other hand she began to feel a little cold. Although her body itself produced more heat than the common creatures, it was not enough to counteract the cold water.

Verm began to cry desperately, she was thirsty, hungry, tired, cold and sleepy. She had never been so mistreated in her life, this ant was horrible. Suddenly a horrifying idea crossed her mind, she wanted to go to the bathroom, but if she was there locked with the bottom of the bottle covered with water then...

She gave a desperate scream and threw herself against the glass of her prison as she struggled to get the attention of the tamer with her plaintive moans, while the tears kept coming out of her eyes. But to her horror, her jailer did not react. She just stayed in her place watching her with interest. For her Verm was just a toy.

It was three long days of torture that passed before Verm reached her limit. When the little girl had already lost the conception of time, the will to live and the interest in everything was when Tamy decided that it was enough.

The bat was in a deplorable state, covered in filth, unable to emit any sound, with her throat so dry that it stuck. Her wings were straight on her sides because of the lack of energy, her tears had already dried, her skin stung from the dirt on it.

In those moments, all she wanted was to die. She no longer cared about the ritual, nor her father, nor her caretakers, she just wanted to end that torture.

The God Tamer that morning found the bat leaning against the glass wall of its bottle. It looked weak and lethargic, its eyes were lost and its mouth was open. Even those strange red eyes that seemed to have fire inside looked less bright, as if their inner flame was dying out.

But best of all, it was that the offspring seemed broken, resigned to their destiny, whatever it was. She had softened it enough, it was ready to be trained.

The ant climbed to the top of the bottle and using a stick with a basket on the tip, picked up the bat. It did not put up any resistance, nor did it seem excited to get out of that hell. It simply let itself go, it's inert body was unable to fight.

What followed was like heaven to Verm. The tamer bathed her with warm water, making sure to clean every filthy corner. The baby could not deny that this made her feel better, at least the skin stopped stinging and revitalized her battered body a little. But she still didn't move, letting herself be manipulated as if she were a wet cloth.

Finally she left her wrapped in a clean towel on a table. The girl's eyes closed from exhaustion, she had not been sleeping for three days and that threatened her mental health. However before her eyes closed, a bowl of fresh water was placed in front of her.

The poor girl crawled to the liquid and drank until her stomach ached. Her throat felt immediate relief and that sensation soon expanded to the rest of her body. The relief that swept through her was already beginning to wake her up a little, although she was still stunned by sleep. The tamer took advantage of this lethargy to put her a muzzle, a metal collar and a thick and maneuverable chain, of course the little beast did not put any resistance, she was absolutely surrendered.

Once Verm's immediate needs were met, Tamy allowed the bat to sleep. When it woke up she would feed it. Anyway, she needed her a little more awake to give her the first discipline lesson.

The bat slept for a day and a half. During that time she immersed herself in her world of dreams or rather nightmares. That dreamlike realm where she and her father ruled, although due to her youth and why the ritual of perpetuation did not end, her power was limited.

However, it was enough to create her own fantasy world, one where she could reconcile with Aunt Horny, Mommy and the old ghost. Although that was only a comfort, because they were not the real ones, they were only dolls created by her mind according to her memories and her perception. But it was better than nothing.

When Verm woke up, the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a plate of food in front of her. She watched the food incredulous. That seemed too good to be true, and it really was. She soon realized that the food was out of reach, both because the chain that was tied around her neck did not allow her to approach the plate, or because the muzzle she had in her mouth would not let her eat.

She moaned in anguish, now that she was awake and rested she began to resent the emptiness in her stomach and the desire to eat made her desperate. Her soft moans soon drifted in screams and tears, it was then that the God Tamer entered the room.

Verm cringed in fear when she noticed the presence of her jailer, she was terrified of her. She didn't even want to think about be locked in that bottle again, she wouldn't stand it. She was so scared that she didn't even think about producing even the slightest flame. she was more than clear about the tamer's position. She commanded, she was the powerful one who could do and undo. The hatchling was only a toy in her hands.

"Do you want to eat?" The ant asked, Verm didn't answer. "Surely you must be hungry, you have not fed for four days. Well, it's time then"

She approached the bat and took her by the chain of her neck, making sure she was behind her. Because if Verm became aggressive, she would be out of reach and still in control. But the baby was already broken, she had no desire to fight, she just wanted to eat, cry and return with her family.

Slowly Tamy withdrew the muzzle leaving the little jaws free, then took the plate of food and put it in front. Verm as soon as she felt the aroma of the meat pounced on it, but then she felt a tug on the collar of her neck. The tamer held her with the chain and did not intend to allow her to eat freely.

"Quiet! You eat when I say so"

If Verm had not been so hungry, she might have obeyed the first order, but her insides and survival instinct forced her to fight. However, every desire for struggle that had ignited was extinguished as soon as she felt a burning pain in one of her wings, next to a snap so loud that it hurt her ears.

Giving tears and pain, she turned her head and noticed a whip in her jailer's hand. She looked at her between surprised and terrified. Verm knew the whips, some of the artists of her father's company had acts that included the use of these. She had the idea that the whips were to blow out candles and do tricks, it never occurred to her that it could be used to hurt someone. Well, she knew it could harm, because they always told her not to come near when someone practiced with a whip. But from there to hit on purpose... This ant was from hell!

Understanding her position, Verm ducked her head and waited submissively for permission to eat. The tamer decided to test the obedience of the bat. She began to wave the plate of food in front of her, almost putting it on her noses, waiting for her to try it even if it was a little. But despite the fact that the little girl was doing water her mouth and her stomach complained insistently, she resisted.

"Very good boy" said Tamy, pleased. "You were more docile than I expected. Most beasts have a harder time understanding their position, or do you understand my words? Bah! But what things I say"

Verm was about to reply that she understood perfectly what she was saying, but a tug on the chain drowned her words.

"Good beast, you can eat now" she said as she slowly released the chain.

As soon as she was free, Verm ran to the plate of food and began to devour it desperately. She made a face of disgust at first, it was not her favorite meat at all, it was poorly cooked, without dressings and it was hard. But it did not matter, her hunger was greater and she was willing to swallow the disgusting food she offered her.

As soon as she finished her plate, the tamer pounced on her and put her muzzle on again. She wasn't going to risk the little girl attacking her. Because the offspring were not strong and had no claws, Tamy assumed that her biggest defense were her fangs, which might not be so big but looked sharp.

Verm snorted annoyed, but she dared not do anything, she was afraid of another whiplash -her wing still hurt- or worse, she feared she would be sent back to the bottle, she didn't want to pass that hell again. Besides that after eating so much, she felt somewhat heavy and nauseous, so she lay on the table where she was. She rolled up and stood still watching the tamer.

"Yes, you really were more docile than I expected," the ant repeated. "Although... Maybe it's because you're a baby, I usually take care of tame adult creatures, it seems that children are easier. Oh well, it doesn't matter"

Tamy approached Verm and began to examine her, touched her fur, her ears and observed intrigued her scarlet eyes. She had never seen a being like that.

"I'm really intrigued to know what species you belong to. I never saw something like you. Hairy and soft-bodied, if even the whip I gave you hurt you a little" she said, watching the wound on her wing. "I hope this apparent fragility does not prevent you from performing in combat. You're cute, but I'm not interested in having an adorable pet to play. I want a battle beast that supports me in the Colosseum's fighting"

Verm looked at her with fear, the idea of fighting in a Colosseum did not attract her at all. But she supposed she had no choice. Now the tamer was her owner and she had to submit to her wishes.

"Anyway. If you manage to be half as good as my old partner is enough for me" The ant's expression darkened, remembering her previous beast was still painful. "He... He was the best... I never had another servant more loyal and lethal than he. He always obeyed me in everything, he was willing to risk his life for me and he was powerful. They all trembled every time they saw him, he... He was perfect" She took a deep breath. "But this business is dangerous, you never know what will happen, any day can be the last of your life. That is what it means to be a proud warrior of the Colosseum, fight until the last breath"

Verm cocked her head somewhat confused. She still didn't quite understand what her owner was talking about. She kept talking about fighting in the Colosseum, but it wasn't clear to her why. Would there be any prize if they won? What would be so special as to risk life?

"I would like to keep my old partner's memory. Someone as impressive as he deserves to be remembered. Therefore, I have decided to give you his name, I hope you honor him and feel proud to wear his name. Starting today, your name will be... Godofredo!"

Verm's expression of horror at such a horrible name made Tamy give her another lash.

"Don't look at me in that way! You should be happy to wear such an illustrious name!"

The bat tried to maintain a neutral expression and not to receive more punishments, because being called in a so horrible way was enough for her. This idiot ant was convinced that she was a male and she had no way of explaining that she was not. It was not the first time they changed her name, that is, her guardians had named her Verm. Although it had nothing to do with the name given by her father, it name was fine and above all, it was a girl's name. But Godofredo....

She sighed resignedly enduring the crying. How much she regretted having escaped from home.

Chapter Text

The sound of the blow of the whip echoed in the air urging Verm to put more force into the strenuous task she performed, even though she was already near her limit.

"Come on Godofredo! If it doesn't hurt, it doesn't work!"

Verm muttered some expletives (of the many she had learned in recent weeks) under her muzzle, obviously the tamer was not going to listen to her.

Verm was in the training camp for beasts, wearing a metal harness, which was attached by a chain to a small round weight. Her task was to try to lift the metal ball.

So far in the three days she had been trying, she had not been able to move the ball even an inch. But on the positive side, at least now she was less torn apart with each training session and was recovering faster. In addition, previously supporting the same weight of the harness and the chain exhausted her so fast. Previous days she did not last more than half an hour and needed a rest.

These were improvements, but her childish mind did not appreciate them. She was only able to think of the desire for her torture to end. She wanted to return home with her father or her care takers, anyone was better. She was tired of the disgusting food of the place, that she would be treated like a silly beast and that she had to use a muzzle that was only taken out to eat.

She was willing to be obedient and even share her mom if they took her out of that hell, but she didn't see a way to escape. Tamy had her tied up next to her all the time, she always slept later to her and woke up before, besides never letting her guard down. Anyway, it was impossible for a spoiled baby like her to be a rival for an experienced warrior.

The little girl felt the fire of her rage crackling inside her. She had already resigned herself to obeying Tamy, but she still didn't assume she would be by her side forever, she still had hopes of escaping at some point, but for that she needed to be strong. Verm flapped her wings furiously trying to oppose the weight that held her. She forced her muscles to the limit, until a cramp paralyzed her and she fell to the floor.

She did not know what her master would think, because the helmet she was almost always wearing prevented her from seeing her face, but the tone of her voice upon hearing her speak suggested that she was happy.

"Well done Godofredo, you managed to separate the ball from the ground, that is already a breakthrough. I think that with that, we can end today's training"

"Oh yes, look how good is Godofredo. He raised a tiny little ball a finger from the ground and he is a warrior" said a burlesque voice.

Suddenly Verm felt that they raised her and noticed with disgust that a butterfly using just one hand, had lifted her with the chain and the ball.

"Let him go" Tamy hissed dangerously. "Stay away from Godofredo or you will regret"

"Ugh... Did you named him Godofredo too? Why are you so cruel to all your beasts?" After saying this, he abruptly released the bat, who struck herself painfully against the ground by the weight of her chains.

Verm got up grumpily and looked at the butterfly that corresponded to Ben's name. He was a tough looking guy to be a butterfly, his body was furrowed with scars, he was more robust than an average butterfly and he had an arrogant look that she didn't like at all.

Suddenly she noticed that behind the insect were more creatures, a centipede with an empty look and a fool's face and a pill bug with his body absolutely covered by a brown armor. For some reason she felt attracted to the pill bug, he reminded her a lot of a nice person she had known long ago. Somehow the insect was also somewhat interested in the little one, because he kept looking at her.

Meanwhile, both tamers kept talking outside of what was happening with their servants.

"Leave Ben. I don't need you to come to interrupt my training sessions"

"Training sessions? Fu Fu fu, I thought you were playing with your pet, that beast could not harm even a miserable tiktik. It is not worth training that thing"

"Don't underestimate him. Godofredo Second has powers you would never expect, besides being a baby. Sure when he grows up he will be very impressive"

"Have you seen one of those adult specimens?"

"No" the tamer admitted.

"But silly" Ben said, turning his back with contempt, "you can tell you're desperate to replace your old beast, you chose a weak animal with nothing special. You have become weak Tamy"

"How dare you!" She clenched her fists furiously.

"I'm not the only one who says it. It is a rumor that runs through the people of the Colosseum. Everyone talks about the champion who after succumbing to the glowing little ghost and losing her partner has become weak and pathetic" A sinister smile appeared on the butterfly's face. "The great tamer is a shadow of what she was, she is almost no longer in combat and spends all her time playing with an adorable baby of an unknown species. Fu Fu fu, seems that the rumors were true"

"If I find out who started those stories..."

"Now everyone wants to dethrone you Tamy. You still hold the title because somehow you have managed to win the few battles you have fought alone. But these are far from being like those of yesteryear. It would have been better if you died in that fight, to live like the scum you are now is not worth it. Perhaps the little ghost was more ruthless than he seemed, he let you live alone so that you fell out of favor in the most pathetic way"

"So everyone thinks I'm ended? Is that what you tell me?"

"Well, basically" Ben swaggered his wings in a mocking way. "So try to die quickly so that I can become the champion of the Colosseum soon"

"There are about 10 gladiators much more apt than you to become champions" Tamy said sourly, crossing her arms. "Is this whole show to come to bother me again with your delusions of greatness? Assume once you are a mediocre fighter. Be thankful that you are still stay alive"

"You'll see it when it's your turn to fight against me. You'll beg for a quick death, my beasts will kill you and I'll prove that I am the best tamer of all"

"Well, I've already told you that what you do is not tame a beast, you only control them like puppets. They are not loyal to you and are unable to think for themselves. They can die standing if you don't order them to dodge, they are absolutely dependent on you. You even have to order them to eat"

"That's the great thing, my upper brain can control them and make them fight perfectly and efficiently. Besides, I don't have to worry about training them, I only take the strongest individuals I meet and make them fight" He pointed to his centipede "had you seen a warrior more perfect than this?"

"Yes Ben, it's very perfect" said the ant with a sarcasm that the butterfly seemed not to notice.

"And admire my pill bug warrior" this time he pointed at the other insect. "Lethality and speed in a comfortable pocket size"

"Pfff, the truth is that the pill bug looks more adorable than lethal"

"Eh? What are you talking about? If my..."

At that moment Ben turned to see his footman and found him crouching down caressing Verm. He watched with horror the behavior of the insect, in itself, that action had nothing wrong, the problem was that he should not have been able to perform it without a previous order. That was a sign of his own will and weakening of his spell.

"Get away from that vermin now!"

The pill bug proceeded to obey the order, but his way of acting was somewhat awkward and indecisive, as if he was not really convinced of his actions. Verm, seeing the only individual who had shown her some affection to move away, began to shout.

Although her squeals did not sound full force due to the muzzle that covered her mouth, she was able to alter the insect, which suddenly stopped and began to appear confused, then he clutched his head while letting out groans of pain.

"Ah... Wretched bug. What do you do to my warrior!"

Ben ran to Verm and kicked her to stop her screams, but the little girl was already too furious and decided to fight back. She waved her wings, from which scarlet flames sprouted that scorched the lint that grew on the butterfly's neck.

Ben raised his arms trying to protect his face from the growing flame, until suddenly he felt something incandescent in his waist that hugged him causing pain. He lowered his arms wanting to see what it was that burned him and found Verm clinging to him looking at him with hatred, then flicked her away.

The butterfly took out his nail wanting to kill the creature, but the God Tamer with a jerk dragged the bat away from his reach.

"Give me that thing," Ben demanded. "I'm going to kill him for his insolence!"

"Do not even dream about it" The ant declared crushing Verm with one of her legs. "I am responsible for this creature, therefore it is I who will punish his actions, not you"
Verm trembled in fear when she heard the word punishment. She didn't want her back hurt again. So she rolled into a ball while releasing silent tears. She looked like a package. Tamy picked her up from the ground next to her chain and her iron ball. She also seemed to lift it with enviable ease.

"Well, you better give him an exemplary punishment. Such disobedience pays dearly! That is why I say that it is better to control their mind. Your Godofredo lacks too much discipline"

Look, I already told you that I take care of my beast, you better take care of yours, that one who is there is about to release from your mind control"

"What?"

The butterfly turned his gaze to his footman and found him still clutching his head in pain. Then alarmed he snapped his fingers and shouted the command "sleep." But when he shouted that order, the centipede that was also under his control fell asleep.

"You no idiot!" Ben shouted furiously.

"Fu Fu fu, it seems someone needs training" the ant scoffed.

"Shut up Tamy! You'll see that in the end it will be me who laughs. You are in the sights of many, you can't continue to reject fighting as until now. Remember that here you don't remain lazy, if you don't get enough Geo in a fight to pay for your stay here, you will be killed while you sleep! And I will laugh then! Hahaha!

"Yes Ben, whatever you say."

The God Tamer left the training camp with Verm in her arms. The little girl looked sadly at the pill bug that lay unconscious on the floor. At no time could he see his face because it was covered with a helmet, but she was absolutely certain that he was Uncle Quirrel, no one else caressed her behind her ears like him. She released a couple of tears knowing that her friend was also trapped in that horrible place, but perhaps in a way he was more fortunate, he was hypnotized, he had no conscience of what was going on around him.

Anyway, the little girl now did not have time to worry about Quirrel, she had her own problems, like the horrific punishment she was sure she would receive. So she trembled all the way to the beast stable that was where they went. Verm began to squirm between the arms of the tamer when she thought she would throw her back into the bottle. But to her surprise Tamy simply left her on a table.

The little girl was tempted to escape, but the chain and the iron ball were not yet removed, so it was impossible. So she stayed in her place trembling as she looked at her owner expectant. Just then Tamy burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! That was too good hahahahahaha!" The ant was bending with laughter. "Did you see Ben's face when you threw fire on him? Did you see his expression of pain when you started burning him? That was too cool!"

Verm looked confused. Was it good that she disobeyed and attacked Ben? Probably not, but the tamer so loathed that presumed butterfly that she was able to forgive her impertinence. Suddenly Tamy hit the table and brought her face to Verm who backed away in fright.

"You are a surprise box, Godofredo. I knew you were capable of producing fireballs but not those flares you released to Ben, that was impressive"

To tell the truth, Verm didn't know it either, in fact she couldn't use such powerful flames before. Perhaps the physical training Tamy had done had helped her in some way.

"Even I had doubts about your power, the truth is that I decided to train you more because of the curiosity you caused me and you turned out to be a jewel in the rough. Your ability to attack is wonderful. Maybe you can debut in the combat arena earlier than expected. It seems that it won't be necessary to teach you to attack, you can do it on your own. Although I should have guessed it. Prici said she had found you eating a dam, obviously you should have killed it somehow"

At that moment Verm began to relax a little, apparently she would not receive punishment this time.

"At the moment the only thing that worries me is that soft body that you have. Your lack of shell can be a problem, a couple of lashes already leave you bleeding and that is not good. That's why I planned to make you a metal armor, but they are heavy and with that weak body you can hardly lift it. At least with training you have got some muscle, if we continue to train hard maybe in a couple of weeks you can already use the armor.

Tamy grinned, perhaps the first smile the bat had ever seen. Finally that severe face seemed more luminous and warm. That expression of joy and nostalgia almost made her think that if she did things well, she could get some affection from that heartless fighter.

However, the illusion of hope broke quickly when a slap from Tamy left her crushed against the table. Then rubbing her face, which was where he had received the blow, she looked at hee owner in tears of pain and disappointment.

"I had forgotten to give you your punishment for your bad behavior. Remember that you are under my orders, you cannot attack if I don't tell you. For the bad time you made Ben go through, this time I'll be benevolent, you will stay here without eating until tomorrow. Good night Godofredo, may you rest"

Verm watched her go and a lump formed in her throat. She wanted to get out of there, she wanted to be treated well, that someone really love her. She felt so happy when Quirrel stroked her, but that was only a crumb of joy in the midst of the misery she lived day by day. She burst into tears again, just as she did every night before bedtime, only this time she started earlier.

Leaning behind the door of the stable of beasts, Tamy listened to the little girl cry and an oppression settled in her chest. It was not the first time Godofredo cried, in fact it happened much more often than she would have liked. He almost looked like a weepy girl with so much sentimentality. But beyond him crying, what really worried her was that she felt more and more affected by his regrets. His suffering ached more and more. She felt more and more inclined to be kind and warm with him. She was getting fond.

She hit the wall full of frustration. Again it was happening, as it had happened with Godofredo First. She was beginning to love him, if she continued like this soon her affection would be such that his loss would become painful. She could not allow it! She was a gladiator of the Colosseum, as all those bastards in that place who lived just to fight. She could not have emotional ties that could hinder her struggle, she had already given up her heart years ago.

She sighed in sorrow as the memory of Godofredo First hit her head. For years he was her companion and only consolation in that place of nightmare, the one who kept her standing in her moments of weakness when she almost died. Now this little boy who came into her arms could become the companion of her last years of life in the Colosseum. But she had doubts. Unlike her previous beast she did not see him too likely to survive. He was too small, too fragile and too weeping . This is why she was terrified of love him, if he didn't survive his first fight... She didn't know what she would do.

Finally she sighed trying to fill herself with new strength and determination. From tomorrow and during the next few weeks, she would train Godofredo to his limits. It would strengthen his body as far as she could, only then could she guarantee his chances of survival.

A couple of weeks passed in which Tamy's Spartan workouts drove Godoverm to her limits. Soon the stylized and elegant body of the little girl became more robust and resistant, some calluses appeared in some areas of her wings getting stronger, even her skin seemed to thicken, or perhaps it would be the scars of the lashes. Whatever it was, she only knew that now the blows hurt less.

Verm looked sadly at her strengthened body. She was no longer pretty or elegant, her father would be very disappointed in her, though... Maybe that didn't matter anymore, most likely she would never see him again. Perhaps by now he would have taken her for dead, which would be a shame, she lacked only a flame to finish the ritual. She sighed discouraged. Another ritual that failed, perhaps in a few more months his father would be considering the idea of having another offspring, maybe a brother... A brother she could never meet.

That though began to make her want to cry again, but she held on, because at that moment, Tamy's bedroom door opened and she entered carrying a series of metal plates in her hands.

"Good morning Godofredo. I hope you slept well, because today is a great day for both of us. I, as champion of the Colosseum, will return in glory and majesty to the fighting and you, like my faithful beast, will debut in the arena" Verm opened her eyes in terror. "Finally your armor is ready"

With her face glowing of joy Tamy showed the little girl the pieces that made up her new protection. Of course the bat was not happy about her future outfit. That dull gray color was horrendous, if at least the armor had been Red would have been fine for her.

A couple of hours later, the tamer walked proudly down the hall that would lead her to the combat arena, behind her, wrapped in ugly armor, Verm was dragged by a chain that was tied around her neck. The scene was really pathetic , the poor tried to cling to the ground while being pulled from the neck. Some of the insects found along the way let out a good laugh when they saw the scene.

"Godofredo is enough! Behave! You are making me embarrassed!"

"Mmmmmm!" How many things Verm wanted to shout at that moment, but the muzzle of her mouth prevented her.

"How funny! It seems that the tamer is having trouble with her beast!" The doorman of the arena scoffed "After so many years reigning at the top I think it's finally time for she to fall to the bottom"

A brutal kick of the ant closed the guard's mouth and he just opened the bars that let them into the combat zone.

Tamy dragged the little girl a little longer until they were in the battlefield, surrounded by an angry audience that screamed wanting to see blood and watered viscera.

Verm looked around terrified. Around the battlefield there was a huge fence that stretched several meters forming a fairly high cage, which left plenty of space for flying creatures to maneuver, but in no way escape. She watched the audience, dozens of very unfriendly-looking insects shouting all kinds of atrocities and hitting the bars of the cage with fury.

But above all that public, there was a figure that stood imposingly and gloomily. A huge old ruinous throne emerged from the stands, a corpse was sitting on it, lying on its right side in an eternal dream. As it was said, he was the lord of the Colosseum, he had once been the ruler of that miserable place, the one who with a sign decided who died and who lived. However, after his death, no one was saved from perishing in the combat arena, because his inert body only left room for a single response to the great doubt of each encounter.

Clearly, although that was a combat arena, Verm was reminded of a scenario, a rather ugly and vulgar one, even the public seemed unpleasant, but that caused her a feeling of familiarity. She had grown up in a circus, she had practiced and trained with other artists, had even had some small presentations, the stage produced a certain feeling of joy and security, which she wanted to hold on to at all costs.

It was for this reason that as soon as Tamy approached and took the chain from him, Verm flew quickly, despite the protests of its owner. Ignoring the expletives that the ant shouted at him, he flew to the highest part of the cage, where he created flares which he extended with the wind of his wings creating a ring of fire, which he then pushed down. The incandescent ring descended at high speed until it crashed into the floor and vanished in a very striking explosion.

But that was not the whole act of the little girl. She began to fly in a spiral as it turned on its own axis leaving fireballs in its path, which lasted a few seconds before fading away. Finally, when Verm reached the ground, she released a huge flare that completely covered her, and then turned into small flowers of fire that, when extinguished, revealed the bat proudly standing on the ground with her wings open. Then she finished her act by making an elegant bow.

Everyone was speechless before such a display of talent and beauty, that was something never seen in the Colosseum. Verm began to feel a little nervous when she saw that nobody was saying anything, that was a show she had been practicing with her father shortly before she was kidnapped and the idea that nobody would have liked it hurt.
However, after a few seconds, when everyone had recovered from the impression, they burst into applause and shouts. That was definitely not something they would have expected to see, but it had been great anyway.

Verm glad to have pleased the public made some more bows before flying with the tamer.

"Wow, I didn't know you could do things like that" Tamy said. "So... were you a circus beast? I would never have imagined it. Anyway, very nice your act but here we are not to do magic shows or funny pirouettes, we have come here to fight"

At that moment a sound was heard, a gate was opening and two presences entered the scene.

Strong steps rumbled on the ground as a colossus appeared in front of the fighters. A Goliath beetle walked in confidently, the insect carried a huge, thick and pointed nail resting on his shoulder, which helped him to look even more intimidating. They were few the protections he had on him, some metal plates on his chest and a helmet that covered his face. He also wore a furry cape hanging from his back, as rumors said, made of butterfly hairs, partly because of this Ben had a deep dislike to this individual.

Next to the bulky being, there was another much smaller beetle, in fact it seemed ridiculous for a tiny being like that to come forward to fight. This was armed with a long and thin nail and practically had no metal protections on him, as these would take away mobility.

Verm hid behind the ant looking mostly at the big insect with fear, although Tamy seemed quite calm.

"So these are the famous Gotita and Goliath. They don't seem too complicated to face, surely we finish quickly. Come here to take your muzzle off"

While Tamy withdrew the muzzle, Verm asked herself many questions. If these guys weren't complicated, what would they be like if they really were? Well, until now, it didn't occur to her how they could beat the big beetle, but the die was cast, she had nothing left but to trust the tamer.

Chapter Text

The Colosseum roared, each insect of the public shouted in excitement at the impending battle, a show that promised to be bloody and exciting, just what they wanted to see. In addition to that, it was the triumphant return of the God Tamer, the best warrior who had trodden that arena after Hollow.

"And no one screams for us," complained the little beetle that corresponded to the name of Gotita.

"I think not" Goliath replied.

"But we'll show them what we are capable of. Soon those cheers will be for us. True Goliath?"

"True Gotita"

"Well, then, attack my brother. Take out your weapon and crush them.

Obeying his brother's command, the huge beetle ran to his opponents with his gigantic weapon high.

At that moment Tamy had finished removing Verm's muzzle.

For the first time in a long time, the bat saw her mouth free when it was not time to eat. Determined to communicate everything that had been trying to explain for weeks, she shouted.

"I'm fem..."

Unfortunately she could not finish the sentence, because the tamer pushed her away to save her from Goliath's attack.

"Stop wasting time Godo! This is a battle! If you don't want to die, fight! Attack!"

At that moment the giant appeared behind the tamer and Verm. The girl trying to help, released a flare from her mouth. The beetle blocked the flames with his thick garrote, while Tamy was forced to dodge.

"But don't attack me, idiot!" Suddenly her voice dyed in panic. "Watch out!"

The little girl could not react in time. Gotita with overwhelming speed appeared behind Verm and hit her with her nail making her fall to the ground.

With her back against the floor, she watched as the little beetle approached her with the edge of his nail pointed at her heart. This blow had murderous intentions.

Scared she threw numerous fireballs at her attacker. However the years of experience and his natural speed made projectile dodging a simple task. He was about to reach the bat when the ant again saved her by hitting Gotita. But as soon as she had completed her task, she received a punishment from the giant who attacked her with his colossal weapon.

"No one touches my brother!" Shouted Goliath.

If it weren't for her armor, Tamy would have finished with a deadly wound on her body. However she received a blow so hard that she ended laying on the floor writhing in pain. The cries of the public were soon heard.

"Look at that pathetic ant! Is this really the God Tamer that was talked about so much? It must be another ant that stole her armor"

"The tamer was not so weak! This is a fraud"

"If she fight alone for sure she would do much better. That baby that is with her is a hindrance. Let her die now"

Tamy stood up once more, through her helmet you couldn't see the worried face she had. Her logic shouted to her that she would forget about the child and use him as a bait to survive that battle, but her heart forced her to cling to the life of that creature. She simply did not want to see him die.

She let out a bitter laugh and looked at her beast with sorrow, she had strength but not too much experience in battle, she probably wouldn't survive that encounter. But if things were to be like that, she was determined to be the first to die.

Tamy raised her nail and ran to Goliath, who tried to crush her with his grotesque weapon. Thanks to her innate speed, she was able to dodge every blow, although it was difficult for her to stand firm. Each impact against the ground made a thunderous noise that stunned her. In addition to the fact that the raised dust made her vision difficult.

Hiding among the dist in suspension, Gotita approached his opponent and at the least expected moment, attacked the tamer. It was only the experience of years and her natural instinct that saved her from being killed at that moment.

But when she dodged the little one she took another beating from Goliath. Both opponents were too much for her alone. Without extra support she couldn't win, since both beetles were perfectly synchronized. Goliath was the main attack force, but his slowness caused him problems to reach his opponents. Then is when came into play Gotita, who although he was not very strong, was extremely fast and skilled, and used his talents to corner his victim until he left her within reach of his brother. Both complemented very well.

Verm, terrified and flying at a more or less safe distance, tried to attack some target with her fire in the middle of the chaotic battle, but the individuals moved so fast that it was impossible for her to aim safely, and she didn't want to risk hurting to Tamy.

Suddenly she felt a glacial cold on her back when she heard the cry of the ant. Gotita had managed to make the warrior fall and now having her at his feet, he took advantage of the moment to mock her.

And this is the end of the legendary God Tamer's career. Dead by trusting in a weakling baby." Tamy didn't dare to replicate anything, just clenched her fists feeling humiliated "At least feel lucky not to have succumbed to pathetic opponents. When someone remembers the tamer, they will say she was defeated by the fabulous GoGo brothers"

"That name sucks" Tamy said in a blow of sincerity that angered the little beetle.

"How dare you! That incredible name was created by my superior mind! It is a perfect name! True Goliath?"

"True Gotita" the giant replied without much thought.

"Hey! Stop talking and fight!" The audience began screaming, hitting the bars of the cage "We want to see the tamer fall! We want to see deaths! Finish her!"

Verm paralyzed with fear instead, began to think of all possible scenarios, although there was not much to think about, her destiny was to be killed as soon as Tamy succumbed, because she was a weak child unable to defend herself. Aunt Horny was always right, she could not declare herself queen by simply being who she was, power was something to be gained... Like everything in life.

She had already proven in her own flesh how cruel the world could be far from her family and how much she needed to have someone to protect her.

Then she looked horrified as Gotita held the ant in her place with blows on her limbs so that she could not stand up. So that Goliath had her in the right place to give her the final blow.

You could not say that it was really affection that motivated Verm's actions, rather it was dependence. Because she knew that she needed Tamy, she was the only one willing to protect her in that hell, she could not lose her, she had to remain alive by her side, now She was her guardian.

Motivated by despair and fear, the little girl flew to Goliathy's head clung to it preventing him from seeing and of course, he couldn't destroy the ant.

"Godofredo! Get out of there!" Tamy shouted fearing that her beast would perish before her.

But Verm did not obey, she kept holding the beetle and began to expel fire through the mouth at close range. Goliath's helmet offered some protection against the flames, but these were incessant and slowly began to heat the metal. Seeing his brother's problem, Gotita decided to stop tormenting the tamer and come to his aid.

The little beetle had an enviable speed and jump capacity, he could almost rival a grasshopper. So with a couple of impulses and leaning on his brother's body, he managed to climb up to reach Verm.

And that's when he found his downfall.

He, like all those who had known the little bat, believed that her only power was to throw fire and attack from a distance, so he assumed that being too close, if he was fast enough, Verm would have no chance.

However, the little girl was more than just a fire demon, she was a bat, a being made to devour insects. Perhaps she had become accustomed to relying on her magic to fight, because that was how her father had taught her (it was more elegant according to him), but she still had the resources of her kind, such as her sharp fangs.

As always she was with a muzzle, she didn't even have a chance to try to bite someone. But now in that desperate moment, her instincts came to light and as soon as Gotita was within reach, she threw herself against him and stuck her fangs in his belly.

Her teeth sank into the shell with incredible ease. Gotita screamed in pain and fright while unspeakable suffering took over his entire body. He did not need explanations, at that moment he knew that the wound was fatal. The strange bite of that creature was that of a predator and he ended up being his prey.

The audience shouted hysterically celebrating the first death, which had been more than spectacular. Verm stayed for a few seconds with her teeth buried in that corpse, the sensation of biting him was very pleasant. It was probably her basic instincts that at that time had taken control of her. But as soon as she woke up from the spell, she let go of the insect's body and looked around scared.

She laid her eyes on the audience that cheered her, then looked at the body of the bug that was beneath her, dead, with an expression of terror on his face and with a missing piece in her belly. She looked at the tamer who looked impressed, and Goliath who looked horrified.

Finally she observed herself, her robust body, full of calluses and scars, dirty, with dull hair and now covered with bug fluids. She was no longer the princess of the troupe, that pretty, elegant child, which displayed charm and charisma. Now she was a wild, horrible and ruthless beast, she had killed a bug from a bite and it was horrifying. That didn't look anything like the stylized nail combat that insects used, or the battles with fire and claws of her father, she fought like a monster. Now she could never look her father in the face again, she had betrayed all his teachings... And Aunt Horny's, too. She had killed an insect people.

Verm did not have time to continue to lament, for Goliath's grim scream brought her back to reality.

"Gotita... Gotitaaaaaaaaa!" The huge beetle cried desperately at the death of his brother. "Gotitaaaaaaaa nooooo!"

The screams and cries of the insect were like a needle to Verm's heart, she didn't want to kill any person, she never wanted to cause such suffering to anyone and now she was blame for the misery of this poor bug. She would have liked to come to apologize, but Goliath was beside himself, losing his brother, the only being who loved him. It was something too hard for him, it was his family, without him he had nothing.

Mad with rage and pain, he ran to Verm brandishing his garrote, the little girl dodged his attack without too much difficulty, Goliath himself was somewhat awkward. Without Gotita to help him, the battles got too complicated for him, if that added to the altered state that he had now, it was impossible for him to kill Verm.

The tamer watched the scene feeling that each scream shattered her own heart. That was like reliving the tragedy of Godofredo First. For those who have nothing, such losses can be the path to madness, only the strongest spirits can recover from those tragedies, but even so Tamy had to recognize that existence after loss was only half life, since the other half is lost forever.

Verm continued to dodge Goliath's attacks. The beetle was mad with rage and brandished his garrote awkwardly, desperate to take revenge on the one who had taken everything away. Verm, on the other hand, did not respond, she was merely dodging, still not recovering from the trauma of killing a thinking bug and not feeling ready to do it again. For those moments she just wanted everything to end and she tried to ask him to stop. But she was so nervous that she could only let out grunts.

Suddenly Goliath froze in place, his face froze in a grimace of hate and pain and after taking two steps, he fell to the ground with a crash. Behind him you could see the God Tamer, standing proudly, brandishing the weapon that had taken the life of the unfortunate bug. The ant took a deep breath and raised his nail to the sky in victory.

The public exploded in shouts of euphoria in the face of that spectacular combat. The name of the God Tamer echoed throughout the arena as hundreds of insects threw handfuls of Geo into the field to reward the warrior.

The bat on the other hand, was far from enjoying that triumph that tasted bitter. She had saved her life, but she had lost something much more important.

Feeling defeated, the little girl landed on the floor and looked at everyone sadly. That was wrong, everything in that place was wrong, this went against everything they had taught her. Aunt Horny had always told her that she should never kill intelligent insects and here they died in heaps. Aunt Horny had said she should only kill to eat or defend herself and here they killed for sport and fun. Aunt Horny had said that nothing was more valuable than a life and that not all the money in the world could buy it and here... Everything was moving for money.

What happened to these people? What motivated them to bet their destinies in this vile show? Ali just couldn't understand.

Suddenly she caught something out of the corner of her eye. From the corpses of Gotita and Goliath a pair of ethereal figures began to emerge that reminded her quite of the pale king. To tell the truth, Verm and her father, perhaps due to their powers of control over the world of dreams, naturally had the ability to see ghosts without resorting to tools such as the Dream Nail. So she could see this pair of Spectra that were hidden from everyone's sight. She approached the bodies to hear the whispers of the ghosts.

"It was a great Goliath battle" said the little spirit cheerfully. "The best battle of my life and also the last"

"Yes Gotita"

"We gave everything on the battlefield, even at first it seemed we would win"

"Yes, it seemed"

"Ah, but this little creature turned out to be a surprise" this time he turned to Verm. "Keep fighting like this, creature. You could go far in the Colosseum"

"Why?" The little girl asked suddenly, which surprised the spirit very much

"Eh? You speak? Aren't you just a dumb beast?"

"Why?" She repeated his question. "Why do you fight to death?"

"What do you mean? This is the Colosseum! A place where we come to live legendary battles or die spectacularly"

"That's right" Goliath said.

"Why?" Ali asked again.

"Because we wanted it in that way"

"Why?"

"Because... Is there anything better than this?"

At that time the bat wanted to replicate. She wanted to say so many things, she wanted to tell them about the world and its wonders, about family, business, friends, shows, but... She preferred to remain silent. What case did it a have now that they were dead? On the other hand, if these guys said there was nothing better than the Colosseum, maybe it was because they had no chance to know anything better, a sad and disheartening reality.

The little girl looked up and looked around. Did all the bugs that were going to fight there do it because they didn't know about other options? What kind of horrific lives had they lived to say that this place was the best in the world? Did her ruthless owner also carry a tragic past?

She watched Tamy who had already finished collecting the money offerings and now walked towards her extremely happy. She looked satisfied and confident, as if she were someone else.

Soon she had the ant in front and submitted to her scrutiny. They both remained silent for a few seconds evaluating themselves with their eyes, until when Verm decided to open her mouth to try to say something, the ant pounced on her and crushed her to the ground, then in a quick and precise maneuver she placed the muzzle.

"I'm sorry Godofredo but I can't take a risk with you. I still can't assure you to be completely loyal and now I know that the most dangerous part of you is those strange jaws, so for my safety and that of others, the best thing is to keep you with your muzzle on"

Tamy was expecting some growl or complaint from the little girl as it had happened before, but this time there was no reaction. The bat simply stayed in his lying place and looking at her sadly and compassionately.

"Hey... Godofredo Is something wrong with you?" At that moment a couple of tears rolled down the little girl's face "Godofredo Why are you crying? You should be happy, we get out of this alive"

She took the creature in her arms and looked at her confused.

"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Verm said nothing, she simply cried sadly for that unfortunate ant and in a spontaneous reaction she hugged the tamer burying her head in her chest. Tamy stupefied hugged her back in reflex without understanding what was happening, she simply managed to say.

"You're... Very strange Godofredo"

The days that followed could be said to be an improvement in Verm's existence. The heavy workouts softened a bit and instead of focusing on the development of strength and muscles, they were now battle practices, where the ant tried to teach her how to dodge blows, how to confuse her enemy and the best times to kill.

Tamy was amazed at the intelligence of Godofredo, because he seemed to understand things quickly, he never had such a smart companion, not even Godofredo First learned so fast. That creature of unknown species almost seemed to be an intelligent being.

After the confrontation against Gotita and Goliath they had other fights, after which Godofredo always seemed to end up emotionally shattered, which Tamy couldn't understand, he was supposed to be a wild beast. Why did he mourn the deaths of unknown bugs so much?

Anyway, she did not like to see him in that way, in part this made her heart soften and treated him a little better. Soon she stopped using the whip against him, it was not necessary either because he had become very obedient. Tamy even began to pamper him a little by giving him goodies to eat from time to time.

It was the least she could do for him after all that helped her. Again her name as a warrior of the Colosseum was high, she was once again respected and valued, and her creature had become quite popular because of her habit of entering the battlefield doing a small fire show.

She still did not understand why he did that, but she did not forbid it, because during the small moments in which his show lasted, she could see a flash of joy in his increasingly dull and sad look. Tamy was disturbed by that, it was unpleasant to notice how Godofredo increasingly looked more like herself.

The cruel reality is that hope was increasingly dying in Verm. Slowly she was absorbed by the pathetic meaningless life of the Colosseum. And happy times in Grimm's troupe and in Dirtmouth began to seem like a dream, one that she revived every time she was going to sleep.

One of those sad nights, Verm plunged into the realm of nightmares, in that little piece that corresponded to her territory and where she could do whatever she wanted.

As her custom had become, when she came to that world of dreams, the first thing she did was to inspect for intruders, because a while ago, a strange luminous being with orange flashes had tried to take control of her kingdom and she was forced to fight to expel her. That was very unpleasant because that fight left her as exhausted as if she had not slept at all.

It had been a couple of weeks since that incident, but she was afraid she would return, after all, she had not killed her, she had just kicked her out, she could return at any moment.

Her inspection led her to detect something strange, another intruder, although this was different from the orange being. This presence was much smaller and weaker, it didn't seem to be a threat in reality, but even so she decided to look for it. Nobody had the right to invade her kingdom of nightmares, the only place she had left where he could be moderately happy.

She began to fly around the place imagining a beautiful red carpet at her feet, walls and tables with red flowers decorating them. Today she wanted to revive the glamour of the circus a bit, one of her favorite dreams, and if she had to fight an intruder, she would make it spectacular. You could see that she was acquiring some of her father's paraphernalic customs.

Finally the long hall led her to the circus ring, which at that time, according to her wishes, was in darkness. There in the center was the intruder hidden by the darkness. Then she proceeded to order the lights to turn on. Her original idea was to snap her fingers like Grimm used to do, but not being able to do that, she clicked her tongue making a pretty similar sound, with which the lights went on revealing a rather familiar pale worm.

Verm's eyes widened in illusion as she flew at full speed toward the Pale King screaming with joy.

"Uncle Wyrm!"

"Verm! I finally find you! Ah!"

The bat crashed into the worm by throwing him to the floor where she began to hug him while crying happy to have someone from her happy past with her.

"Verm... Please release me" said the old worm.

"Waaaaaaaaaaa Uncle Wyyyyyyrm!"

"Yes, I'm here, you don't need to get like this, now let me go"

"I don't want! Waaaaaaaaaa Uncle Wyrm! I want to go back home! Waaaaaaaaaa"

The old worm sighed overwhelmed, he was not going to achieve anything with Verm until she calmed down a bit, so he proceeded to stroke her head as he used to do.

No one knew but there were times when Verm could not sleep for one reason or another, on those occasions he used to keep her company. Sometimes he told her some story or legend of the many he knew and other times he managed to make her sleep again by stroking her head. These moments that spend together were their little secret and the only occasion in which Verm referred to the worm as Uncle Wyrm. She never do that in front of Hollow, because she was more than aware of the resentment her mom had against the ghost.

It was a while before Verm was calm enough to have a smooth conversation.

"You can't imagine how much we have looked for you Verm" said the worm sitting on the floor with the little on curled up in his arms. "We have completely circled the kingdom trying to find you, but no matter how much we asked about you, no one saw you, we even put a reward for you without results. Finally it occurred to me to look for you through the realm of dreams, but it was not easy, your father's influence obscures your presence. Besides there is a kind of orange energy interfering with the realm of dreams... An energy that seems to me quite familiar and unpleasant"

"The orange intruder" Verm said. "She wanted to invade my dream, but I threw her out"

"Oh, little one, that's very good, it would be dangerous if that thing took control of your mind or something"

"Like Uncle Quirrel" she whispered sadly.

"Well verm, now that I've found you in the world of dreams, I need you to tell me where you are in the real world, we can't rescue you without that information"

"Where I am? Well... I don't know well. I don't know how to get here"

"It doesn't matter if you don't know the exact path, just tell me everything you know about where you are captive, we will manage to get there"

"Well... This place... It's horrible! It is a place where bugs fight for no reason, and other bugs pay to watch the fights. Nobody here cares that you are a person. It only matters to fight or die. And everyone calls this place a Colosseum"

"The Colosseum oh Fools!" Said the king already knowing what place she was referring to "Is there still that bane of perdition? I can not believe it"

"I want to go out of here" Verm sobbed. "I don't want to be here, I want to go home to play with Mommy, I want to eat delicious food again, I miss Aunt Horny and my daddy and Dan and Bretta, everyone in Dirtmouth"

"Easy, we'll be coming for you soon Hold on a little longer,” said the worm, standing up and preparing to leave that dream.

"Don't go!" The bat shouted desperately.

"You have to let me go, I must tell the others where you are, so they can come to rescue you"

"But I don't want to be alone... I..."

"Calm down" The old king stroked her head once more. "Everything will be fine. I promise, you'll soon be free, just wait a little longer"

"Okay" said the little girl crying in resignation as the dream ended.

Two days later, two siblings showed up to fight in the Colosseum. One was an elegant crossbreed dressed in red and the other a young bug of undetermined species but very similar to a horned beetle.

"Well, Hollow, we've reached the Colosseum. We'll bring Verm back at any cost"

".........!"

"Well said!"

Chapter Text

The entrance to the Colosseum of Fools was a gloomy place, decorated with the remains of fallen fighters, full of broken weapons and torn cloth. From the moment you entered, you could already sense that it was not a place for the weak and that death reigned everywhere.

However, Hollow and Hornet were not intimidated by this. Tanned in hundreds of battles and having faced so many horrors during their lives, a lot of hollow shells were not going to scare them.

They had not taken three steps inside the building when a noise from chains caught their attention. Then a friendlier voice than they had expected greeted them.

"Yoy! Welcome to the Colosseum. Have you come to test your combat skills?" Said a small chained beetle that hung from the ceiling with his head pointing to the ground.

Suddenly the insect looked more closely at the new arrivals, especially the smaller one.

"Is that possible? Champion! The glowing ghost has returned!"

"Glowing ghost?" Said Hornet, surprised and looked to her brother. "I used to call you little ghost but I don't think they know it... Wait a moment. Have you been here before?

"..." He nodded.

"Are you the champion? Hollow, this is a site full of fools with no purpose. Why did you come here?"

"We are not morons." Said the beetle indignantly. "We are brave warriors that... Ah!"

"You shut up" said the warrior, pushing the insect, causing him to begin to sway in his chain.

"..." Hollow scratched his head somewhat embarrassed.

"Pale ore and geo. Okay, I more or less understand your motivations to fight here but... Did you win champion title? How many stupid people did you kill for that?"

"..."

"You know, you better forget it. If now you lack common sense, before you were worse. Whatever. Hey you!" She headed for the hanging insect. "We are looking for someone. She is a somewhat strange creature, she is black hairy, has red eyes and a pair of rather large membranous wings. She is always flying and she can also throw fire"

"Well... The truth is that I haven't seen anyone like that" the beetle replied. "Although with my job as a gatekeeper I don't know much about what goes on inside. To find who you are looking for, I think it would be best to ask the gladiators"

"Well, if there is no other choice."

Both siblings went to the entrance that would take them to the underground galleries where the fighters were staying, however as they approached, a fence covered the past preventing them from continuing.

"Hey! What's happening here?"

"That enclosure is only for the gladiators of the Colosseum. The champion here is one of them, but you are not, so you cannot enter"

"But I only need to go in to ask some questions!"

"Impossible, rules are rules." The beetle gave a satisfied smile at the crossbreed's's frustration.

"Well, then what do I have to do"

"It is not obvious? Become a gladiator"

"All right" she said, walking toward the hanging insect. "I want to become a gladiator. What do I do?"

"You must pay a small entrance fee first" He stared at a well with money under him

"I have to pay? Out of which I risk my life I have to release money. How beautiful"

"Hey, don't be so complaining. The entrance is paid only once, after that you can enter and leave at ease without anyone telling you anything. Although if you want to have access to the benefits of the Colosseum such as bedrooms and food, you'll have to pay a weekly fee, but if you are a good fighter, it will cost you nothing to get the money. Ah, if you use the bedrooms you also have the obligation to fight at least once a week, otherwise you'll be killed while you sleep"

"Don't worry, I don't think my stay here will be very long, as soon as we find what we are looking for we will leave"

"Well, good luck," said the beetle with a malevolent smile, which did not go unnoticed by Hornet. So before leaving she made sure to hit the beetle so that he ended up swinging on his chain.

Initially they believed that the task of finding Verm would be something simple, after all, a bat was a very striking being. If someone had seen her it was unlikely to forget her. But they did not have in account the closed and uncooperative attitude of the inhabitants of the Colosseum. Almost no one conversed casually to pass the time, the greatest entertainment in that place was to bet and train, besides that no insect directed the word to another of lesser rank within the intricate hierarchy of the place.

Hornet, who was technically a rookie, did not have the necessary respect for someone to deign to answer her questions, so she was ignored. Instead, everyone paid attention to Hollow, some even made a respectful bow when they saw him walk. Of course they would answer to him anything, but unfortunately his lack of speech prevented him from collecting information. He tried some alternative methods such as writing notes, but the sad reality was that more than 90% of the coliseum's population was illiterate.

"Damn! This place is impossible!" Hornet finally complained. "Why is so difficult for them to answer a miserable question?"

"....."

"Worthy of their attention? But what happens to these guys! I'm a princess, besides I'm quite strong, if I wanted I could have them at my feet begging for mercy!"

"But you would have to prove it on the battlefield" said the Pale King appearing in the air.

"Old man! You were here?" Hornet looked around to make sure there was no one around.

"Do not worry, I know when I can make myself visible" the ghost declared. "Well, as I said, given the circumstances, I think the only way we can find out where they have Verm is by making you get a reputation in this place, and for that you will have to fight"

"But I don't want to duel with these morons without a good reason!"

"...!" He looked anguished.

"I'm not saying that Verm is not an important reason to fight, but..."

"...." He took her hand pleadingly.

"Don't be like that either. I don't intend to abandon her. Both because she is already part of the family, and because if we don't recover her Grimm will destroy Hallownest"

"........"

"It's fine, but stop looking at me like that, it's annoying. Tomorrow I'll get into one of those stupid fights, to see if with that I get some respect and they stop ignoring me"

"I guess you'll have to spend the night here." Dirtmouth and Distant Village are too far away to go to sleep there. Although in reality this site is far from everything"

"I'm going to spend all the money I brought in accommodation" Hornet lamented.

"Cheer up! With tomorrow's fighting you will surely recover some of your money"

That night Hornet went to sleep claiming, the next day she got up claiming, she had breakfast claiming, she enrolled in a beginner-level combat while she continued to claim and presented herself to the arena casting curses.

Hornet's first bout was extremely simple, especially for an experienced hunter like her. Beginners were usually sent to fight with inferior beings, in this case in particular, they made the warrior fight with a swarm of vengafly in armor and in the end, she faced a vengafly king. Nothing too complicated to handle.

Of course, everyone knew that these confrontations were not too complicated, they sent her to fight with those bugs just to test her skills, so those in charge of organizing the matches could match her with a gladiator of her level, rather than having an exciting fight.

It was for this reason that despite the victory she won, she did not gain anything of prestige and continued to be ignored. Of course, this only caused a new shower of claims from Hornet. Unfortunately as Hollow was the only one there who seemed willing to listen to her, he had to endure her speeches.

It took three days before they finally started taking her seriously and considering her a true comrade in the Colosseum. Hornet did not know but she had been very lucky, most recruits, including Hollow in their time, took a month to stop being considered newbies. In part this jump in the hierarchy was thanks to her brother. There was no shortage of who questioned Hollow for spending so much time with the rookie.

"Champion, Why do you insist on sharing the same air as that pathetic creature? It's hardly a newcomer, unworthy of being in the presence of someone as powerful as you" said a pretty ugly cockroach one day.

Hollow of course was unable to replicate anything, he just looked at him in silence as he did with everyone, but it happened that Hornet was passing by at that time, just looking for her brother and had the opportunity to listen to the whole conversation.

"But who do you think you are to come to question the champion? He can spend his time with whomever he pleases and if it is with me, then you can't avoid it Besides, What's wrong with wanting to be with his sister?"

Knowing that the champion had a sister was a big surprise for everyone, since normally the gladiators lacked family. The deceased Gotita and Goliath were an exception within the guild. Anyway, this fact made Hornet immediately be taken into account as a potential powerful warrior, she was the sister of the champion himself after all.

On her fourth day at the Colosseum, Hornet finally had a chance to fight against a true gladiator, nothing from inferior beings, this was a thinking insect, a cricket trained for battle. However, the bug was quite far from being a memorable rival, since the young man was just one of the kidnapped insects to be forced to fight. There was no conviction in his gaze, only a sad resignation and a deep fear of death.

Hornet of course realized this. She could perceive the lack of desire to fight in the poor insect. It was because of this that she was "pious" with him. The cricket ended up barely with a broken leg and his fractured shell, considering what the spider was capable of doing, the fact that she had a bad mood and that she had been eating disgusting food for three days, she was really kind.

However, what the public wanted to see were deaths, not pious battles. So as soon as it was seen that the young bug was not going to be able to continue fighting, they started screaming asking to end his life.

Hornet looked up and looked down at the audience, she wasn't going to betray her principles just because they asked. After so many mistakes made in the past, so many unjustified murders, such cruelty, she had promised herself not to kill again unless it was to eat or for protection, and even in that situation she was in, she intended to keep her word. That is why she turned her back on her victim and headed for the exit.

Seeing the warrior's attitude, the audience immediately began to boo her, nobody wanted to see a fight that ended that way, in addition to the fact that none were willing to leave Geo offerings for her, the fight had been mediocre and did not even compensate With a good ending, she simply didn't deserve any reward. However Hornet stood proudly, ready to endure the insults and curses of the stupid bugs that populated the Colosseum. She really didn't care, she just lifted her middle finger and exited through one of the exits as soon as it opened.

That fight was nothing remarkable. Hornet had the ability to fight much better than she did, but the mercy she had with her opponent made her seem weaker than she really was. So she didn't get the attention of those who organized the fighting and nobody considered the make her fight with someone more powerful to help her rise.

However, her final decision not to sacrifice her opponent caught the attention of other gladiators, at least enough that they were encouraged to speak to her.

This was how a few hours later, when Hornet was in the dining rooms having some tea, a male spider dressed in a brown cloak appeared before her. He went down from the ceiling and was suspended in front of the warrior, he spread his legs to look more imposing, although this of course did not impress her, she had been raised among spiders in Deepnest, she knew those behaviors.

"Greetings rookie," the spider said cheerfully. "Your name was Hornet, right? I am Spencer, a pleasure" He extended a friendly leg, but Hornet did not respond to the greeting and stared at him in silence. "Isn't it a bit impolite for you not to answer?"

"Does the cold indifference hurt you?" The crossbreed said turning her face.

"Eh? Hey... What you..."

"Of course... I'm ignored for three days and then they expect I thrown myself into the arms of the first who shows kindness to me... But I'm not that kind of girl"

"What are you..."

"You won't conquer me so easily" she narrowed her eyes. "At least you should invite me to eat"

"Hey hey hey, I think you're misunderstanding me, I don't want to flirt with you, I just approached to talk friendly, nothing more"

"Friendly?"

"Yes, friendly"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure" he said, extending his leg again.

"Sorry to doubt you, it's hard to believe that someone can approach me friendly..."

At that moment she struck him on one of his sides that caused a nail that he had hidden under his cloak to fall, then Hornet jumped on him, with a quick maneuver she cut the thread from which Spencer was suspended causing him to fall on the table loudly. Then she climbed on top of him and tied him with her own thread leaving him immobilized.

"As I said, it is hard to believe that someone wants to approach me friendly when you carry a weapon hidden between your clothes ready to attack me at the first carelessness"

"How..."

"I have experience dealing with cheats. I had an annoying thief hovering around me for almost two months."

Spencer seemed somewhat scared, in addition to being surprised, Hornet had been very fast, much more than he expected. It was not explained how she had managed to tie him that way in just a few seconds. Perhaps this rookie was more than she seemed.

The spider was not the only one surprised, at that time everyone in the dining rooms was watching the crossbreed and her captive and kept silent waiting for her next move. They liked the idea of a fight there, it was always fun to see other guys killing each other, although it was illegal, fighting was prohibited outside the arena. This rule was known to everyone, partly because of that Spencer was able to keep calm, he knew he couldn't be killed there.

"Have you always been this fast? Today in your fight you didn't seem to be so skilled"

"I didn't feel like it. Besides, the famous opponent they put on me was a scared kid, I didn't need to be so rude to him. He was very young, it was not worth killing him"

"Didn't you want to be rude? Wasn't it worth killing him? But what the hell have you come to the Colosseum?"

"To look for someone. It is all that interests me, but the morons here refuse to talk to me."

"And they will still not do it if you keep fighting in the pathetic way you did it, besides. Do you think you helped the gladiator in any way by refusing to kill him? Ha! Dumb. That guy was a slave, someone who was bought to be used as a fighter here, and he can't be free until he earns enough to pay what they spent on him. If you had killed him you would have rid him of his torment at once. But as you let him live, now this guy will be punished for his weakness. From what I've heard the slave owners are very cruel, maybe he won't survive... Hey! Where are you going?

"I'm going to look for that cricket. I can't let him get killed after I saved him! By the way, where do I find him?"

"Eh... The slaves are on the lower floor, you will probably find him there. And before you leave, could you untie me?"

"I do not want to"

"Come back here miserable!"

Hornet did not even deign to answer, she simply went to the barracks where they housed the slaves.

The insects in the dining room were quite interested in the situation, and in a sneaky way, they followed the crossbreed to see what happened. The owner of the cricket was reputed to be a very strong and bad-tempered bug, if Hornet made him angry she would surely end up beaten.

When the spider in red arrived at the barracks, she did not have many problems to find who she was looking for. The screams of pain and the noise of the whip were something impossible to ignore. Guided by the sound, she soon saw the cricket boy who had forgiven a few hours earlier, he was being brutally beaten by a cockroach.

Of course Hornet felt compelled to intervene. Meanwhile, behind them, all the curious bugs spied the scene wishing to see the beating he would give the rookie.

"Leave that poor bug alone" Hornet shouted authoritatively, to which the cockroach turned to see her slowly, unable to believe anyone dared to speak to him like that.

"Who are you pathetic creature?" Suddenly he watched her carefully. "Oh, you're the crossbreed who defeated my slave. Have you come to make fun of him?"

"No, I have come to demand his release" she said with a cold look.

The huge cockroach was silent for a few seconds before answering.

"You, a pathetic low class gladiator dares to order me to release a being of my property. Even if you are the champion's sister, you don't have the right to demand anything. Now get out!"

"I won't go without the freedom of that cricket!" The already obfuscated insect pulled out a long club.

"Looks like someone needs discipline. You know, if you weren't the champion's sister, I would also enslave you for your insolence. But nothing prevents me from giving you a good lesson"

Hornet said nothing, simply pulled out her neddle ready to fight.

The insects watching the scene, hidden from a prudent distance, had a chance to witness a beautiful fight. It was then that they realized the true nature of Hornet, a hunter.

The hunters do not fight to give a show or to spill blood, they do it to kill efficiently spending as little energy as possible. Hornet was only going to demonstrate her true strength against a strong opponent and this cockroach was a fairly worthy opponent.

The warrior managed to subdue the bug by harassing it with her fast movements, her thread traps and her spike balls. In addition to that closed environment was where she performed better, because she had more recesses in which to tangle her thread.

She finally managed to defeat the insect who looked at her with hate. Nearby, the audience spying was dumb with the impression. This rookie seemed like a worthy sister of the champion. She was not as ruthless and bloody as he was, but she defended herself well.

"You... Damned" hissed the cockroach furiously, "Don't believe that because you defeated me, you can take this prisoner! The rules of this site are very clear. I paid for this inept and until he pays his debt he can't go"

"But he didn't voluntarily contract his debt!"

"Not really, they probably kidnapped him and sold it to me, but I don't care. I just want to get my money back."

At that moment a geo bag thrown by Hornet crashed into the face of the insect.

"Here. There is your dirty Geo, now release the boy." The bug looked at her incredulously.

"Are you really sacrificing your money for this garbage? You are a newbie here, it sure cost you a lot to win this misery. If you pay me his freedom you won't have enough to pay for your stay and your food here"

"I will manage" she said firmly, although under her cloak she clenched her fists.

"Ha! How silly" the cockroach murmured, then stood up and broke the chains of the cricket that looked at him tremblingly. "You have are lucky. Now you are free. Get out!"

The young insect was somewhat weak because of the beating he was given, but strengthened by the joy of regaining his freedom. He shouted elated and ran to hug Hornet, who stiffened at the contact of the insect, as she did not tolerate that strangers invaded her personal space. She pushed the boy away gently and keeping her expression severe told him.

"Don't get too close, please. And stop crying, it's annoying"

"But... But... Thank you... I don't..." Tears fell down his face without stopping.

"Calm down, don't worry and go home, surely your family is waiting for you." Her gaze darkened. "It is terrible to wait for someone without knowing when they will return"

"Yes! I'll back home!" Said the cricket alien to the melancholy of Hornet. "My family owns the Cricas restaurant in City of Tears. If you pass by visit me, I'll make sure you eat everything you want for free"

Such an offer made Hornet's heart begin to shake as she felt a great joy coming out of her interior.

"Thank you" said the delighted girl.

Those words were spoken with a voice so sweet, a look so candid and an attitude so adorable that left enchanted all the bug who saw her, even the pro- slave cockroach had a red face.

Hornet jumped away happily, she was so happy that she did not even pay attention to the group of curious who spied on her. They said nothing, just watched her go dumbfounded, the girl's charm, her kindness and her power ended up stealing their hearts .

That night Hornet received the curious news that thanks to an anonymous donation, her stay and feeding in the colosseum was covered and she would not have to leave. She could stay a while longer while collecting money and prestige in the following battles.

Chapter Text

Hollow's footsteps echoed in the empty halls of that secret passage he was exploring. Not a soul populated that lonely place, his only company was his father's ghost that floated next to him attentive to every sound.

"Hollow, I really don't think we're going to find any clue of Verm in this place"

"..." He continued walking without stopping.

"Even if you tell me that, it makes no sense. It seems to me that it is only your despair that leads you to look for her in the most unlikely and... Sorry to tell it, stupid places"

"......" This time Hollow turned to see the ghost with his gaze flooded with anger.

"I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm just realistic. Hollow, we are in a hidden gallery that you discovered behind a false wall, nobody knows about this place. How are they going to hide here here if they don't know this place exists?"

"....!" He took out the Dream Nail and pointed at the Pale King with it, meanwhile the ghost backed away somewhat intimidated.

"Hollow... Would you really be capable of this? Please no..."

The ghost and his son were silent looking at each other for a few minutes. Hollow had his hand pressed against the Dream Nail and it was shaking a little. The Pale King in turn seemed somewhat scared but he did not step back or escape, he stood firm facing the young warrior. Finally after a tense moment, Hollow lowered his weapon and turned to continue on his way.

The worm sighed in relief, that was very dangerous, Hollow could have destroyed him forever, however he did not. A certain spark of joy enveloped him, perhaps his son no longer hated him as much as before. Something quieter he flew next to the little one.

"If you allow me a suggestion, I think we should get out of here now, you're too tired, you haven't been sleeping well for days. Do not believe I have not realized that you don't sleep at night. Abusing your health in that way will not make us find Verm before, so please try to take a rest and sleep accordingly. And I told you, you will not find anyone here, the place is empty"

But as if someone wanted to contradict the words of the old worm, strange noises were heard later, something similar to a maniacal laugh mixed with a cry. As soon as Hollow perceived these strange groans, he ran desperately to the source of the sound, keeping within himself the hope that something had to do with Verm. But his disappointment was great when he found a strange insect sitting with their legs gathered contemplating a bright object in their hands.

It was difficult to say what kind of insect the creature belonged to, since her body covered by armor, only her four thin limbs were visible. The only thing that could be intuited from this creature was that she was a female because of her tone of voice.

When the insect caught Hollow's presence, she gave a deafening shriek, although her deranged gaze was more attentive to the ghost, which at that moment by the fright forgot to hide.

"King! No! Mine! My treasure! Go king!"

And after shouting that she threw them a kind of attack device, a metal ball that seemed harmless, but as soon as it arrived near Hollow it extended spines that damaged the little knight.

"That creature..." the Pale King whispered.

"....."

"I don't remember, but she seems familiar. I think I gave her a task a long time ago, but I don't remember well."

"....."

"Hey! That's very rude. Though... Maybe you're right..." He let out a sigh. "I suppose commissioning complicated missions to my subjects and then forgetting them is very cruel. But it's too late to apologize, right?"

"..." He nodded severely.

"Well.... Let's try to help her or something"

Hollow said nothing more. He began the march to try to catch the insect, who without looking back kept escaping while throwing balls of thorns. Although now that Hollow already knew about them, he managed to dodge.

"Mine Mine MINE! My precious! My treasure!" The words echoed in the catacombs.

The insect jumped and clung to the walls with the skill of a monkey. Reaching her made it difficult even for someone as skilled as Hollow, although perhaps his sister would handle the situation better, speed and stunts were her forte, he stood out more in direct combat.

He decided to opt for a ranged attack, then he made a soul shot that hit the creature hard causing her to fall to the floor. Without wasting time Hollow ran to her. The lurker, seeing herself cornered, began throwing left and right blows while screaming like a madwoman.

"My treasure! For me! For you! For the king! Aaaaaaaah!"

Hollow blocked her attacks by putting his nail first, then jumped back.

"She's crazy," said the king behind Hollow. "Her sick mind will not understand reasons"

"Key treasure! Go get out! For the king!"

Hollow knew that saving her was impossible, her obsession with her treasure would haunt her until the end of her days. So he opted for the option he found most pious and killed her quickly with a certain blow.

"I suppose there was no choice for her" said the king, somewhat distressed. "A pity, I would have liked to ask who she was"

"....."

"The former champion who went crazy?"

"...."

"Well, I didn't know that this place also had its own legends. But that's not what I wanted to know. She invoked my name and I could swear that I know her from somewhere... But I can't remember it"

Hollow ignored his father's questions and approached to the corpse, then snatched a small metal key from her hands. It was probably the treasure mentioned by the madwoman.

"A key... She was the guardian of that key... But what opens it?"

"..." The object was saved.

"Hollow... I really don't remember any of this, but I'd swear that key was something that shouldn't be used, you better get rid of it and forget about it."

The boy shook his head arguing that all the objects he had found had always been useful at some point, so he said he would keep the key. After that he headed for the exit.

When Hollow was already arriving in the dining room he began to feel a horrible headache. Perhaps his father was right that he should sleep a little more, although it was difficult for him. Every time he stood quietly, he began to think about Verm, how she would be and if she missed him, at least he missed her. His chest hurt to remember her absence.

When he arrived at his destination, the first thing he saw was Hornet sitting at one of the tables eating with such fury that a shiver ran down his spine. What would have happened to her now? She had been complaining all week about everything, and even she had got bored of claiming for everything. Something very unpleasant must have happened to her to be like that again.

The truth was that Hollow didn't want to put up with Hornet, but she was his sister and he had to support her. So, arming himself with courage, he walked to her, sat beside her and asked how she was.

"I have the desires to see the world burn."

"......?"

"The stupidity level of this place has exceeded my expectations"

"....."

"Idiots are supposed to come here to show their strength and die in combat. So of all the places, I would never expect to receive indecent proposals here"

" ......!"

"In the last two days at least 5 guys have asked me to be the mother of their eggs"

If Hollow's face had not been white, the poor would have turned pale.

".......!?"

"Of course I said no!" Hollow sighed in relief. "Four of them took it well, but the last one did not accept my answer and I had to give him a lesson"

Hollow lamented him for the poor bastard who dared to challenge his sister. Even so, he didn't understand why she was so angry. If she had managed to get even with the guy who gave her a hard time, then she should be somewhat calmer.

"This is disgusting, really. For a long time everyone ignored me and my presence was insignificant and suddenly half a Colosseum is romantically interested in me. But what happens to these morons! If at least one miserable bug would have been kind to me.... But no! For everyone I was crap! Screw them. Damned crazy" she suddenly noticed that his brother looked somewhat disturbed. "Is something wrong, Hollow?"

A certain anguish arose in the little one. Until now he had never had to worry that someone was going to harm his sister (rather he worried that she would harm someone), because of how intimidating and frightening she was, almost no bug was interested in her.

But now suddenly an army of guys had their eyes on her and that idea made him sick. He was not willing to tolerate that any scumbag touched Hornet, until now the only one who he had accepted was Quirrel, since he had managed to earn his respect and considered him worthy of his sister.

He looked around and noticed more than one bug with his eyes on Hornet, then he gave them a murderous look so penetrating and dark that the insects felt intimidated and left the dining room.

He congratulated himself for having scared garbage, but the problems never ended. Suddenly a spider came down from the ceiling and was suspended in the air in front of Hornet. It was Spencer and just like last time, he introduced himself by spreading his legs to look bigger, apparently it was already his custom.

"Hi Hornet" said the arachnid.

Despite the friendly manner in which Spencer presented himself, before Hornet could say anything, Hollow pulled out his nail and threatened him with such a cruel look that the poor gladiator scared.

"Hey... Hollow, what the hell is wrong with you?" Asked Hornet.

".....!!" The boy waved his arms furiously as he continued to threaten Spencer with his weapon.

"But what do you say Hollow!" Shouted Hornet with a red face. I am not reserving for anyone and I have already told you that Quirrel and I are only friends!"

"......" He gave his sister a stern look.

"Look, I appreciate your concern but I don't need you to take care of me. I spent most of my life defending myself alone and I can continue to do so, so don't get into my business, will you?"

"......!"Now he started to get angry and point at Spencer irritated.

"I met Spencer the other day, he's harmless. He is just a curious spider who likes to chat with me, he has no hidden intention"

"Eh.... Actually, I have it" said the bug.

"Eh? You have it?" Both Hornet and Hollow seemed surprised by his honesty.

"Yes, very hidden and very serious intentions"

"How serious would it be?"

"Until the last consequences"

"Give me a break." Hornet sighed exhausted. "Sorry Spencer but you have no chance"

"Any?"

"Any"

"Jo, how bad"

In spite of everything, Spencer took it quite well, in fact he seemed that he did not have much hope from the beginning, because he simply got off the roof and sat down in front of Hornet.

"Well... The truth is that I haven't put all my cards on the table yet."

"What do you plan on Spencer?" Hornet took a distant attitude and crossed her arms.

"Well, last time you told me you were looking for someone, I can move my threads to find whoever you want, all for a small fee"

A shiver ran down the spider's back when he noticed the murderous look the champion was giving him. This made him somewhat nervous, he knew that he was no match for him and what he least wanted was to piss him off. That dwarf (although not as much as before) could eliminate him with a couple of blows without any chance of defending himself. But if he played his cards well he could get a very good reward.

"Well, what is your price" said Hornet with the seriousness of a businessman.

"A date".

It was enough to say those words so that Hollow jumped on him with intentions to kill him. Fortunately for the bug, Hornet quickly moved his threads and caught his brother before a tragedy occurred.

"But what the hell is wrong with you!"

"......!"

"You are not going to kill anyone!" With a quick movement, she tied Hollow to his chair, leaving him still.

Spencer watched the scene incredulous. Hornet had the ability to rival the very champion, she was really a girl to fear.

"Hollow, this is the first chance we have in weeks of finding Verm's whereabouts. Don't you want to find her?"

These words moved the knight's heart. Of course he wanted to find Verm, he would do anything to keep her safe and sound in his arms, but he also didn't want to sacrifice his sister's honor. Oblivious of her brother's questions, Hornet decided to continue her negotiations.

"I suppose you are clear that you have no chance with me, right?"

I have more than clear, you rubbed it in my face a while ago. But with some colleagues we made a bet, the first one to get a date with you wins. The prize is very good, 500 geo per head. As we are 6 who participated in the bet so I would receive 2500 geo. Can you believe it? Now, since they did not specify what type of date it had to be, it is enough that we go out to walk and eat"

Hornet looked surprised, Spencer was very honest and very direct. She liked that. She saw nothing wrong with accepting the deal, although of course she would make her conditions very clear.

Okay, I'll have a fate with you, but I will make it clear to you. I don't fall for the famous trick of 'there is a dirt in your horn', and if you try to go too far with me, I'll tear you off a leg. Understood?"

"There was an extra bonus if I got a kiss..."

"Don't even dream about it"

"All right, 2500 geo is still a good prize, with that plus what I have saved I can leave this place to live as king"

"Are you here for the money?"

"Yes... Well... Something like that. Actually I came to this place because I had no other aspiration in life than to prove that I was a strong and tough guy and I wanted to crush everyone in my path but... Lately I've considered other options" He shot a strange look at Hornet. "But let's put that aside. I have to do my part of the deal too, right? So... Who are you looking for? What is her name? What species does she belong to? How is she?"

"We're looking for a girl named Verm. She is quite special, she is still a baby and not an insect"

"She is not an insect? And what could she be if she is not an insect?"

"Far from Hallownest there are many rare and extraordinary creatures, she is one of those. Verm is a bat, a type of hairy beast without a shell, with cartilaginous formations on her head instead of antennas. She also has a pair of membranous wings that..."

"Wait a moment! That description you are giving me sounds like Tamy's pet"

"Tamy's pet?"

".......!"

"Well... It's not exactly a pet, but its small and childish appearance makes it look like one, although in reality it is a battle beast. A couple of earwigs captured a while ago an unknown beast in Deepnest and they decided to give it to Tamy, since after the death of her previous partner she was very affected. Tamy managed to train that creature and turned it into a wild beast that only obeys her. Although of course, she is the God Tamer, she is an expert in submitting any creature"

Hollow's eyes widened in surprise as soon as he heard that title and fear began to emerge from the depths of his being.

So this thing obeys to Tamy and fight along with her in the Colosseum? That doesn't sound like something Verm would do. She is quite capricious and not very fond of fights. The truth she is a lazy girl who prefers to have her food haunted for someone else instead of doing it herself." Hornet sighed remembering the little girl. "Although perhaps in part it was our fault for spoiling her too much"

It's also not like Tamy turning her into a fighting machine overnight. I know she was hard to submit and she was weeks training before be taken to the battlefield. But as soon as she did the creature swept. Now everyone loves her, her fangs are to be feared and she has many fans. In addition to being pretty and talented, with those powers of fire she uses to make a show before each fight..."

"That is Verm!" Shouted Hornet, hitting the table, "Hollow, we found Verm! Finally we can recover her! Hollow? What's wrong?"

What should have been great news for the boy ended up being a nightmare. The God Tamer, the runner-up of the Colosseum, the only one who he had forgiven life in that place. He never thought that this decision would cost him so expensive.

He had only wanted to be pious, when he killed Tamy's beast and saw her cry in tears, he dared not kill her. Each insect that had defeated in the Colosseum was a heartless fighter and willing to die without regretting anything, but Tamy was different. He saw a spark of desire in her gaze and a willingness to move forward that none of the other gladiators possessed. That is why he let her live, he did not dare to quench his spirit forever.

And now more than a year after that, forgiving her life turned out to be a mistake that now his precious Verm had to pay. In fact the situation seemed extremely critical. He had snatched a loved one from the tamer, perhaps she decided to pay him with the same coin by killing the bat. The simple idea terrified him.

"Well, you just have to go talk to the tamer and ask her to return us to Verm"

"I don't think it's so easy Hornet." Spencer looked at her maliciously. "At least you can't go talk to her, you're a rookie who still doesn't pass the warrior's test. I guess they explained you the hierarchies here. There are three levels, warrior, conqueror and fool. When you get a certain amount of victories on one level and impress the lords of the Colosseum, they make you fight with a higher level opponent, if you defeat him you can access the next level. This allows you to access the bedrooms and other areas that are currently prohibited for you. Tamy as runner-up, is in the facilities designated for the fools. She never deign to visit us. For to talk with her you will have to ascend in rank"

"Aaaaaaaah! Whyyyyyy! Again with that stupidity of the rank!"

"Well, your dear brother has access to all areas of the Colosseum, although it is a problem he cannot speak, right? Even so, I don't think Tamy is very willing to release your... 'Verm', much less to give her to Hollow. After all, he was the one who murdered her former partner"

Hornet turned to see his brother and noticed the worried face he had.

"Hollow... Don't tell me that ..."

"....."

Hornet agreed to his brother's request and released him from his bonds. The little knight simply left the dining room looking depressed and distraught.

After Hollow's departure, her sister stayed a few more moments in the dining room, finding out some details about the God Tamer and later, refining some details of the date she would have with Spencer. The latter was not very funny because she basically had to let him presume her all over the place, although it was something expected, that was not a romantic date, they were not even friends, it definitely would not be fun. But at least she was grateful that the spider was totally honest and correct with her, making her intentions and expectations clear.

When she finished with her affairs, Hornet prepared to look for her brother. She had already given him enough time alone to assimilate the situation and it was time for her to make sure he was well. However, as always things could not be so easy for her.

She had not traveled much when a butterfly with her body full of scars appeared before her. The insect had a regal, arrogant attitude and an innate tendency to look at everyone with contempt. She had never seen that fighter before. She assumed that he was someone of a higher level, probably of a conquering or fool level.

"Hey, are you Hornet?"

"Who is looking for me?"

The bug looked her up and down, analyzing every part of her being in great detail.

"So you are that popular female who recently arrived at the Colosseum. There has been a lot of talk about your beauty and power. The truth with that short stature you don't see anything impressive, but I must admit that you are one of the most beautiful girls I've seen here lately"

Hornet huffed annoyed. Another idiot who came to make her indecent proposals, although by the attitude of this, he seemed to be an idiot of a higher level, but how disgusting.

"My name is Ben, proud foolish warrior, the most powerful flying being currently in the coliseum and future champion." He made a dramatic pause and an exaggerated pose. "Surely you must be impressed to have such an individual in front of you but..."

"Shut up now!" Hornet yelled as she grabbed her head. "It can't be, of all the clowns I've had to deal with in recent days, you're definitely the worst"

"Clowns? Is it a new way of referring to the gallants?" The look Hornet gave him was indescribable.

"Look, you just go away. Now I'm not in the mood for these things. I have to find my brother, another day I'll play with you, will you?"

"Are you despising me?" Ben looked extremely offended.

"Do you want me to be honest? Yes"

"Silly girl! You don't know the extraordinary being you have in front of you. I'm Ben, the tamer, the most extraordinary, beautiful, powerful, talented and magnificent being of the whole place, besides a gallant expert in romance and every girl's dream. Anyone who... Hey are you listening to me!?"

Hornet had preferred to ignore his pointless talk and she was moving away from him with dejected attitude, in truth her patience was reaching its limit.

"Come back here. Rude!" Ben shouted as he flew towards Hornet with intentions to stop her.

But before Ben could reach the girl, someone else stopped her. Hornet turned annoyed, ready to slap that odious butterfly, but the one she found behind her was not Ben. It was another individual who caught her by her cloak. He was a pill bug completely wrapped in a brown armor.

Chapter Text

There was a family presence in the place, one that was driving Verm crazy.

The smell of sulfur and the sensation of heat that overwhelmed her reminded her of her duty and made her hate the muzzle in her mouth. She still had to consume the last flame and the torchbearer was nearby. She did not even want to think about the possibility of this being presented and she was not in a position to consume it, that would be a big problem.

Now Verm was rubbing her face against the rock floor trying to remove the muzzle. She knew it was useless because it was made of metal, but at least that helped control anxiety. The bad thing is that her behavior irritated her owner.

"Godofredo Could you stop doing that? It is annoying, as well as useless. You won't take out your muzzle like that. And get in the water, you need to heal your wounds"
Verm looked with disgust at the hot springs, it were owned by the Colosseum and used exclusively for gladiators. It was the place where all those wounded in battle were going to heal. In a few hours they managed to recover from wounds that would have taken weeks to heal.

Verm did not like water, but she liked the heat, so the hot springs always caused her mixed feelings.

Although in these times the warm water brought good memories. Her father always bathed her with water at the exact temperature, and used his aromatic shampoos and herbal soaps, it were good memories. In fact, even when she lived with her caretakers, she went to the circus to bathe, since in Dirtmouth there was only cold water. She had not been to the circus for more than a month, surely her father would think she was so dirt.

She got into the water at once and made a face of pain, because her wounds burned, but she knew it would only be a moment. Soon relief came and her injuries began to heal.

She sighed annoyed, those would be new scars for her body. It's good that the hair concealed them a little. She already looked disastrous enough to make her appearance worse with indelible marks.

She was somewhat angry with herself, those wounds could have been avoided, but she was too distracted by the presence of the scarlet flame. She almost lost her life in the last encounter.

Suddenly she felt surprised, it was incredible the calm with which she took the possibility of dying, she had already become so accustomed to fear that it was only a daily triviality. She sighed sadly, little by little she was becoming a monster like Tamy. Would she become as cruel as she was at some point? Maybe yes. Every time she felt less sorry for the bugs she killed.

Suddenly a noise disturbed the tranquility of the hot springs. Someone approached screaming and groaning as they scratched the walls of the cave.

Both the ant and the bat looked curiously at the entrance wondering who would be the one who made such a fuss, usually the gladiators were more discreet. Of course, as soon as they saw Ben appear, it made sense to them. Both snorted annoyingly knowing that one of the stupid butterfly's talks was waiting for them.

"Aaaaahh... I'm dying... Aaahhh," the insect complained as he limped to the miraculous waters.

"Shut up and let live in peace" the ant told him without an iota of concern.

"Damn insolent" the butterfly growled as he plunged into the waters. "Aaaahh... That.... That's... Much better"

Tamy stared at him in silence, intrigued to know what had happened to him. Ben was smug, but not without reason, he was a powerful fighter whom not everyone could face. She was really tempted to ask who had done that to him, but knowing him, he would probably tell her everything without previous question. Although this time contrary to her expectations, Ben said something different.

"Tamy, What do you know about the pill bugs reproductive cycle?"

Tamy blinked, surprised by such a question out of nowhere.

"Do you ask about your pill bug warrior? Do you want to start a farm?"

"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous. I only ask because my pill bug has been having a somewhat strange behavior lately and I thought it would be a period of heat or something"

"I'm sorry, Ben. I have no idea about the matter. Commoner ants don't reproduce or have such needs, so everything about sex is indifferent to us"

"I guess nothing can be easy" said the butterfly sinking into the water.

Tamy was silent waiting for him to say something else, she was increasingly intrigued by what had happened to the gladiator. But seeing that Ben did not seem very willing to speak, she finally encouraged herself to ask.

"Hey, what the hell happened to you? Did a girl beat you up for trying to flirt with her?"

Tamy just let go out the most embarrassing idea he came up with, she didn't expect it to be true, that's why she was so surprised when Ben gave her a look of extreme hatred.

"What? Really? Hahahahahaha! It can't be! Hahahaha!"

"Laugh! Make fun of someone else's misfortune!"

"I'm sorry," the ant said, wiping a tear of laughter. "It's so funny, what kind of girl did you get into? You must have bothered her a lot to leave you in that state"

"That's what makes me most angry. I didn't do anything! It was my warrior pill bug"

But he is supposed to be under your control. He shouldn't be able to do anything if you don't order him"

""That's the problem, when he is close to that dirty crossbreed, he stops obeying me and all his attention turns to her. Then he try to get close, to touch her or whatever. and she is enraged, because this damn crossbreed has a shitty mood. Well, the first time that happened, she beat my knight, but then when she realized that he was under my control, she began to hit to me"

"That girl is charming" the ant said mockingly.

"That's why I wondered if the pill bugs would have their heat for this time or something. I Just take my eyes off him for a moment and he escapes to look for her"

"But chases he other females?"

"Not really... Just her"

"Something special must have that girl to look for her desperately"

"But why did he have to choose from among all the females that damn rookie?"

"A rookie left you like this?"

"She's a rookie just because she recently entered the Colosseum, but if you ask me, she should be on the level of fools with the strength she has"

"Interesting... Judges should consider leveling up if she has as much talent as you say."

"Unfortunately, her talent never is shown in the combat arena, because she has the bad habit of leaving her opponents alive."

"What!? And why does she do that? If she doesn't kill, the public doesn't get excited or throw Geo. Her behavior doesn't make sense!"

"I know. But apparently she is not here because she wants to succeed here, they say she is looking for someone. And now that I remember, they say that who is looking for is Godofredo"

Verm waved her ears and began paying attention to the conversation when she was named.

"Looking for Godofredo?"

"The description of who they look fits perfectly with him"

"Ha! Who tries to snatch him from me, will die before they can even get close. In addition, Godofredo is already beginning to develop loyalty to me. Our bond is still not very strong, but I am more than sure that he would think twice before leaving me. Right Godo?"

Verm looked away somewhat uncomfortably. She hated Tamy, she hated how she treated her and everything she forced her to do. Of course if someone came to get her out of that hell she... Would she be afraid?

For some reason the idea of separating from the tamer began to seem unpleasant. She swallowed saliva. Why was the idea of leaving Tamy so scary? She was mean, cruel, ruthless, she whipped her and wouldn't let her eat rich food. Why would she want to be with her? In her current situation it was convenient for her to be with the tamer, she protected her from all the bad bugs that inhabited the place, basically she needed her to survive, but if another more pleasant person took her away, she shouldn't even doubt it. What the hell was wrong with her?

It was not her fault, she was also kidnapped when she was young, mistreated and suffered a lot, she had lost the ability to be kind, was only a poor victim of circumstances.
Those were Verm's thoughts and the excuses she made to justify her owner's cruelty. But what she was not able to notice, was that she was developing a kind of psychological dependence on the tamer.

The ant for the last month and a half had been at her side every second, never turning away from her. She was the first one she saw when she woke up and the last one when she went to sleep. Losing sight of her even if it was a second made her nervous. The poor bat was increasingly tied to Tamy, if her stay by her side was prolonged, sooner the separation would cause her great mental damage.

That was the twisted way in which the tamers acted, first breaking the will of their victim, then generating dependence until finally the life of the beast was under their control.

The ant, feeling that her wounds were already completely healed thanks that miraculous liquid, get out of the water. Then she went to the corner where she had put her armor, she used to feel naked without it.

Verm as soon as she saw her master leave, flew behind her. That was already a habit so ingrained that she did it automatically without much thought. She followed Tamy everywhere, no matter where she went, she was her shadow and her faithful companion.

"Be careful Tamy," Ben told her from his place in the water. "The crossbreed rookie is strong, more than she seems, she is also the sister of the champion"

Tamy's eyes widened in surprise and her fists clenched in rage.

"His sister, huh?" A cruel smile appeared on his face. "I ask to myself if the champion is very attached to the girl. If so, it will be fun to kill her"

A certain concern seized Verm. So far no one had confirmed anything, but she suspected that the champion's sister was Aunt Horny herself. Although if that was true, it meant that her mom was the champion. The truth is that the idea that her sweet mother was a heartless fighter like all the gladiators in the place hurt a lot.

The tamer and her beast came out of the hot spring enclosure with intentions of addressing their rooms. The little bat was flying freely next to the ant. After many weeks, Tamy had decided that Godo was already trained enough not to escape if she left him without a chain, but she still didn't dare to take his muzzle out, it could be dangerous.

They were halfway to reach their destination when Verm again perceived that presence that drove her crazy. The scarlet flame crackled nearby. She looked around restlessly and stopped her flying, which did not go unnoticed by Tamy.

"What's wrong Godofredo?"

Verm gave her an almost pleading look. She felt the call of the ritual, she needed to go find the scarlet flame.

"Come on Godo, move. You have to go to rest"

But Godoverm did not obey, the call of the ritual was very strong, no matter what the tamer said, she would go to meet with the torchbearer. It was a duty rooted in her being from the moment of her conception and exacerbated by her upbringing. Even with the chains that imprisoned hier mind, she was unable to ignore the scarlet fire.

She began to move away from the tamer, even with the anxiety and fear that this produced. She was completely trembling when she knew that she was far from her jailer and protector, and was terrified of meeting someone, probably no one would harm her but she could not take away her fear.

She flew frantically trying to follow the presence she perceived as her breathing became more and more agitated and tears poked from her eyes. She was so scared that flying straight was hard for her. Fortunately it seemed that the corridors of that area were deserted, she only saw one or another bug doing cleaning that did not notice her presence.

Suddenly a noise of footsteps caught her attention, something in them was familiar. Verm's first instinct was to escape or hide, however something in the sound of that footsteps made her remain in her place waiting.

It was then that she saw the owner of the steps appear, and as soon as she saw him, her heart beat rampant. In front of her was the one she had waited so long for, for whom she had cried so much and with whom she had dreamed so much. Her mom Hollow!

Verm flew desperate to meet her guardian, this meanwhile ran with open arms longing for the reunion with his little girl. Both got together in a hug full of emotions, where they couldn't help bursting into tears. That seemed like a dream, they both trembled with emotion while feeling the heat of the other, neither said anything (they couldn't either), they only worried about feeling the other.

Finally after almost a minute, both dared to separate to examine themselves in more detail. No doubt who more changes had had was Verm. She looked more muscular, her hair before silky and shiny was now dull and stiff, some calluses were seen on the tips of her wings and her back had some wound marks that still didn't heal completely. If he didn't know her, he wold say she was some wild beast.

Then he noticed the muzzle that covered the little girl's mouth. But how could they have done that!

He looked at the bat sadly and stroked her trying to comfort her, she regaining her composure a little began to dry her tears with her wings and rubbed her face against her guardian as she let out soft groans.

Hollow decided to remove the muzzle, it sure bothered her a lot, in addition to not having her mouth free limited her dominion over the fire. The young knight began examining the device to discover how to remove it when a shout distracted him.

"You! Get away from Godofredo!"

Hollow looked at the tamer without knowing what she meant and almost failed to react in time when the ant attacked him with her spear. But he was able to dodge and take out his nail ready for a fight.

"You... The glowing ghost" the tamer hissed, feeling the rage consume her. "The champion of the Colosseum, the murderer of Godofredo First. Have you returned to end what is left of me? Now you intend to snatch me to Godofredo Second? I wont allow it!"

The vessel looked sideways at Verm and then noticed that who she was calling Godofredo was her. The truth, if the situation had not been so serious, he would have laughed. Apparently it was true that the God Tamer had appropriated Verm, but of course, he would not allow it.

Hollow lashed out at the ant that blocked his first blow with his spear, the impact made her recede a little, but after taking a second to recover, she made a huge leap and upon landing she extended her weapon attacking everything around her. Hollow managed to jump on time, he had already fought her before and more or less knew her tactics.

However Tamy had trained very hard at that time and was now more powerful and had new strategies. As soon as Hollow landed she ran towards him and tried to impale him with her weapon. The boy dodged as he could, but Tamy did not give him rest and threw a shower of blows, hoping that someone was able to hit him.

Hollow had to take his skills to the limit to survive such an attack by moving so fast that it was difficult for him to breathe, he finally chose to step back and shoot a soul shot, fortunately he had his energy reserves full. The blow left Tamy quite damaged, but her fighting instinct was completely on.

She shouted loudly and ran to Hollow, who made a dash and took his shadow form and passed through her until he was safe and sound behind the God Tamer. Tamy was barely able to turn to her attacker and all she could do was watch as he extended his nail ready to kill her.

However, in that moment, Verm stood between them and received the attack instead of Tamy. Fortunately Hollow was able to realize in time and prevented the attack from being fatal, even though the little girl did not come out unscathed and now she exhibited an ugly bleeding wound in her chest.

Verm shouted in pain and fear as she pressed her chest trying to stop the bleeding. On the other hand, Hollow was paralyzed with fear at the scene. He had hurt Verm, his little protégé, he had made an unforgivable mistake.

He fell to his knees and dropped tears of pain and horror at the scene, he didn't know how to react, or what to do. However, the tamer was able to remain calm. With absolute coldness, she took Verm and using a rag that she carried with her, tied hher chest, stopping the bleeding momentarily while taking the little girl back to the hot springs.

As Hollow noticed that she were taking Verm in her arms, he furious picked up his nail willing to kill that Damned ant. But before he could do anything, Verm even from the arms of the tamer, flapped his wings and invoked red flames that she threw against her mom.

The summoned fire was not able to harm Hollow despite hitting him directly, but in reality Verm had neither the desire nor the forces to hurt him, she just wanted to take him away from Tamy,ñ. She could not allow him to kill her, the idea was done unbearable. Her psychological dependence forced her to stay with the tamer and protect her from harm, even when she knew that this only hurt her and condemned her to a painful fate.

The poor creature felt confused and hurt.

But Hollow did not know about the mental drama that poor Verm was living, he only knew that she had attacked him to defend the tamer. She preferred her who made her go through so many torments, rather than him who went out of his way to make her happy. You could almost hear Hollow's heart breaking. Did to hurt her deserve such a great punishment? He didn't cut her on purpose!

He looked up, releasing thick tears while still kneeling on the floor. Verm in turn watched him from the arms of the tamer crying with a deep expression of pain, although it was difficult to say if it was because of the wound or the sadness she felt. None could say anything. Verm was more desperate than ever for her desire to communicate everything inside. Having so much to say and not being able to do it was a horrible thing. She couldn't understand how her mom could live with his condition of eternal silence.

And in the midst of all that drama, a single spectator, the warrior ant forced these beings to keep their distance. Tamy did not know the past of these two, she did not know the link they shared, she ignored all the things they had happened together and the nature of the love they professed, but within the little that she could intuit, there was only one thing that was clear: Godofredo was important for the champion.

A sinister smile appeared on the ant's face, although it was not visible from the helmet she was wearing.

That little insect had been responsible for the losing of her best friend, her family, her partner, her all, the only really important being in her life. With just a rapier from his nail, he had destroyed her existence and had also committed the cruelty of leaving her alive.

Well, now she would return the favor, since Godofredo Second was so important to him, she would take him away. But she did not intend to kill him, of course not, that would be too simple a punishment and there was a possibility that he would overcome the loss. She planned to do something much worse, she would keep Godofredo alive but far from his reach. He could always see him, but never again he could be by his side.

That was the cruel plan of the tamer, it would make Godofredo the worst enemy of the champion, all the affection he could feel for his pet would turn against him, that would be a punishment worse than death. Just thinking of her revenge filled her with joy and the best thing was that the first step was already taken. Godofredo had turned out to be absolutely loyal to her, being able to attack his former master in order to protect her.

"Godofredo is no longer yours," Tamy said, savoring Hollow's defeated face. "Now he is my servant and he will stay with me forever. Any link he had with you no longer exists, now he is the beast of a tamer and an enemy for you. Hahahaha! How sad not? Well, now I go back to the hot springs, I must make sure that MY beast heals properly. Goodbye champion.

And after saying these cruel words, the tamer made her way to the hot springs leaving behind her a defeated knight with a broken heart.

Chapter Text

Hornet was in the miserable room she had as a bedroom. At that time she was very busy knitting a scarf, the same one she had already knitted about seven times. That had become her routine to control anxiety, every time she felt bad, she wove. But since the amount of silk she had brought with her was limited and she could not produce her own silk, she unraveled the garment to weave it again.

The bad thing is that after using the same thread so many times, it was starting to break down. She was very tempted to pay a visit to Deepnest to collect some more material, she had not been there for a couple of weeks, in fact she had been a couple of weeks without leaving the Colosseum. Maybe Dan, Bretta and Sharpy were worried about her and her brother. Grimm would be furious for not hearing from his daughter for so long. Perhaps even Quirrel had returned from his trip and had not found them.

Hornet felt a prickle in her heart when she thought in the pill big, she missed him too much, especially in those moments of such need. She sighed depressed and looked at the scarf she had just finished, it was time to unravel it again.

At that moment the door of the room opened and Hollow entered with hesitant steps and a sad look. Hornet looked at him, worried. It had been almost a day and a half without seeing her brother, this really surprised her, during her stay in the Colosseum the little boy had begun to explore all the recesses of the place in his search for Verm, and often he lost everything the day. In the end he always returned exhausted but in good condition. She had never seen him as bad as now.

"Hollow, what happened to you? You look terrible"

The boy just looked at her with a dejected expression, he felt really bad. Hornet noticed his body covered in dirt and insect fluids, as if he had come out to kill beasts in an unbridled manner. In addition there were marks of dry tears on his face and such an expression, which suggested that he was dying inside.

The poor warrior was shattered and at that point he no longer cared to look weak or pathetic, he just wanted his pain to go away. He ran to hug his sister and buried his face in her red cloak bursting into tears again.

"Hollow! What happened?! Please tell me to help you!"

"......" He looked at her and, between signs and tears, explained the situation.

"Whaaaaaaat!?"

A series of knocks echoed at the door of the room of the God Tamer, who at that time was polishing her weapons. The scandal at the entrance bothered the ant, who reluctantly went to attend. It was better if it was something important or someone would pay it dearly.

When she finally opened, she found a fly that looked very nervous. The poor bug was trembling from head to toe. Tamy also noticed that he was leaning on only one leg, the other seemed hurt.

"Well, what do you want?" Asked the ant severely.

"We-we-we need your help! A warrior-class gladiator is determined to enter the fool class facilities"

"And"

"We can't stop her!"

"Are you kidding right? It is a simple warrior-class gladiator! She can't be so strong"

"She has been in the colosseum for a short time, that's why she's a rookie, but her fighting power would be worthy of a fool class fighter"

Tamy tilted her head thoughtfully. Ben had told her something about a rookie with the skills of a professional. If she remember correctly, she was a crossbreed and the champion's sister. She jumped into her place when she remembered this last fact, nothing less than the sister of the glowing ghost.

Only with that fact it was to be assumed that the girl would possess a remarkable force, but beyond that, what interested her to know was how strong was the bond between these two siblings, because depending on this, it would be the pain that would cause him the death of the girl. Now she would not only settle for snatching Godofredo, she would also kill his family. Her revenge would be magnificent.

"Very well" said the ant in such a gentle tone that surprised the fly. "Take me with her, I'll take care of this"

But before she could leave, a small uproar caught her attention. She looked inside her room where she noticed Godofredo frantically flapping his wings as he pulled the chain that had him tied. The creature groaned, begging not to leave him alone while looking at her with sadness and fear.

"I'm sorry Godofredo but you're grounded. You disobeyed me, I had given you the benefit of flying without your chain but you betrayed my confidence by escaping away. Therefore, now you will remain tied until I consider it appropriate. And stop crying, become strong, you are the beast of a gladiator, you cannot show such weakness"

Without saying anything else, the ant closed the door leaving Verm alone made a sea of tears.

It was a surprise for Tamy to discover that the rookie was closer than expected. Somehow she had managed to defeat the guards guarding the conquerors' barracks and those of the fools. Although it wasn't something that strange either, years ago another gladiator with little patience had done the same.

Each warrior who arrived at the Colosseum had to prove his worth in a series of fights, this allowed him to rise in rank and of course each rank had its benefits. Upon ascending the hierarchy of the place you could access better food, more comfortable beds, cleaner and more spacious rooms. But once it was the case of a warrior who was not willing to abide by the rules, and using all his power, he massacred the guards of each area until he reached the facilities of the fools.

Of course, that rebel warrior paid for his boldness. Despite all his power, his talent and his arrogance, he was not able to face the horde of insects that came over him. The rules in the Colosseum were strict, to be at the top you had to prove your worth with patience and effort.

What Tamy hoped to find when she reached the common room of the fool's facilities, was a large, robust female fighting to the death with dozens of bugs in a bloody and cruel scene full of corpses. Instead, what she saw was a bunch of knocked out insects, others caught in thread traps and a small and delicate creature sitting in the middle of the room eating, next to her sat the champion with an exhausted appearance.

"Well... I don't think they have any problem of restraining rebels," the tamer said, crossing her arms and looking at the fly with a murderous expression.

"Bu-bu-but there was! This was a battlefield!"

"Battlefield? I don't see a single corpse"

"Ah! Tamer! What a pleasure to see you" Suddenly a cicada approached the couple.

"Mavis!" the fly shouted desperate to obtain some support "What happened? Until a moment ago that beast there was a crazy madwoman who attacked everyone without regard!"

"Yes she was. But even though she attacked all of them she just knocked them out. She never intended to kill anyone and she calmed down long after the champion offered her something to eat. She has been eating for a while without disturbing anyone, even some came to chat with her and she has answered in a good way. Apparently she never intended to rise from rank to force, she is only looking for someone in particular who is on this site"

"Did she does all this scandal just to find someone? She might well have just asked the guards"

"I think the guards were not very kind to her and one made her unspeakable propositions. Besides the one she was looking for was the tamer"

"To me? And what does she want me for?"

"She said you made her little brother cry."

A silence was established between the three insects who did not know what else to say before such a statement. Until finally the tamer dared to comment something.

"That girl... She is very weird."

"I know, but she's very pretty." Mavis said with a slight blush.

"Mavis! Won't you tell me that you are interested in that crossbreed"

"I find her pretty but I don't plan to approach her. I heard that the other day a girl tried a romantic approach and ended up with broken legs. Apparently she is more severe with females than with males"

"Enough is enough, those hallway gossip doesn't interest us" the ant interrupted. "The issue here is that this crossbreed, no matter how strong she is, she belongs to the warrior class and cannot be here until that right is won. Therefore, she must be expelled. I will take care of this"

Walking with total determination, the tamer headed towards Hornet ready to face her. She observed the champion who looked exhausted with his sister. He seemed to realize her presence first and with silent signs told her not to approach, of course Tamy ignored him, but what she could not ignore was the needle that almost went through her head.

For little and fails to dodge it. If it were not for her sensitive antennas she would not have realized time.

The weapon was stuck in the ceiling, and from what the ant could notice, it had a piece of thread tied at one end, the same as its owner used to retrieve it. Tamy, without losing her calm, turned her attention to the crossbreed who had put herself on guard and looked at her with an angry expression. She would almost say that she intimidated her a little, she seemed like a beast about to attack, although the muffin in her mouth broke a little the effect.

"Aff leaff! you sho fere dammm Taber. Dow you will bay bhat you bone tho Mai bibhe brobher"

"What?"

Hornet chose to finish eating her muffin before taking up the word.

"I said I'll make you pay for making my brother cry."

And a sepulchral silence settled on the site. Hollow ran to hide because of the shame he felt. The famous honesty that characterized spiders could be a nuisance. Perhaps in another environment, crying was not something so terrible, but in the coliseum such a show of weakness was something very badly seen. On the other hand, Tamy only rejoiced with the news. She had made Godofredo's killer cry.

"How cute, she intends to make me pay. Me, the sub champion of the Colosseum, as if you were able to do it."

"I'll make you swallow your damn words. And I'll also force you to free Verm"

"Verm? Who is they?"

"She is the baby you have captive"

"Baby? Do you mean Godofredo?" Hornet blinked at the name.

"Did you call her Godofredo? But she is a girl!"

"Are you telling me that Godofredo is really Godofreda?"

And another sepulchral silence settled in the room. That was turning out to be a day full of emotions for everyone.

"Well, Godofredo, Godofreda, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that she is my beast and nobody will snatch her from me"

"We'll see that"

Hornet threw herself against the tamer with the speed of an arrow, but the ant blocked her direct attack just by moving her spear, the clash of the weapons shook the public and the warriors themselves. However the ant took advantage of this, applied her power and forced the spider to retreat. Then without wasting time, she counterattacked by sweeping her weapon. Hornet could barely avoid that attack by jumping backwards.

The insects that were in the room shouted cheering for the fighters, even among the high-level warriors there was rarely the opportunity to witness such a beautiful and elegant combat.

This time it was Tamy's turn to take the initiative. She took a huge leap and prepared to fall on Hornet, but she extended her thread and recited her characteristic spell.

"Endiro!"

As soon as Hornet said the magic word, soul currents began to flow through the thread giving it life and movement, the strand was stirred dancing around the spider giving off a curious golden glow. Tamy could not change her trajectory in the air, so she fell in the middle of that thread storm where she received numerous blows that burned in her limbs as if it were fire whips.

But that was not enough to subdue her, accustomed to pain, she quickly stood up. Hornet then threw her needle again hoping to nail her. But Tamy, using an almost incredible ability, caught the weapon with her bare hands, then pulled it dragging Hornet to her reach.

Once she had the crossbreed in her hands she proceeded to beat her brutally. The race of the ants possessed a great force, Tamy didn't even need a weapon to hurt Hornet, her mere blows were enough to make her shell creak. The spider lying on the ground received every kick and every punch without rest, her head was spinning and so much pain began to make her nauseous.

"I will hit you so much that I will burst all the eggs you have inside you, damn!" Tamy yelled, getting carried away by euphoria.

However, these words made Hornet to react. She despite the pain, concentrated on invoking the Endiro spell.

The enchanted strand hit the ant, burning her body again, but this time the damage was even greater, as her armor began to crack and her helmet fell broken.

Before the thread hurt her further, Tamy jumped and stepped away from Hornet, but although the spider was half wobbly, she stood up and ran to her, sticking her needle in the ant. Even when her head was spinning and it was hard for her to see, she continued to attack until the armor had broken, exposing the dark body of the insect.

The public could appreciate the hundreds of scars that covered the warrior's anatomy, the story of a life of struggle and pain was embodied in that shell. Each time the fight took a more cruel and ruthless course, the girls were willing to kill each other and this surprised them a lot, especially by the rookie, they never saw her fight like this.

Without her armor to protect her, Tamy was at the mercy of Hornet's needle, the danger was imminent, so she managed to kick her away a certain distance, however she didn't notice that Hornet had left a trace of thread attached to her leg.

This time it was Hornet who took advantage of the rope to attract her opponent, but instead of punching the ant, she chose to use the force of the rope and whip her against the floor.

After each impact a scream followed. Hornet's brutality was impressive, she seemed capable of destroying the body of the ant if she continued. But the exhaustion and the wounds received made a dent in her being, her soul reserves were almost exhausted and the headache made it difficult for her to stand up.

Finally she released her victim and rested one knee on the ground to recover a little, but in that battle she was not allowed to rest. As soon as Tamy was free, she ran to pick up her spear that had dropped and then lashed out at Hornet.

If it weren't because Tamy's movements had become slow and clumsy, she could have impaled Hornet. But the spider wasn't much better, she was barely able to dodge and block her attack. Then both weapons leaning against each other were forced to push between them, in a duel of force that seemed to drain the last energies of their fighters.

Hornet's legs were shaking and the dizziness made it difficult for her to maintain her posture, while an unpleasant sensation arose from her guts. She was at her limit. And then just before she fainted, a voice stopped them.

"Stop right now!" Shouted a flea that entered the room. "Duels outside the combat arena are strictly prohibited and you know it"

The warriors then dropped gasping for exhaustion. The flea took her time to watch them carefully and was quite surprised to realize the identity of the females.

One of them was the crossbreed rebel who had recently arrived, this did not attract his attention, he had had to scold her many times for fighting with other gladiators. Although he did not blame her, with all the harassment the poor spider suffered, she was almost expected to be put like this. However, finding out that the other fighter was the sub champion herself was striking.

But what surprised him most of all was to see that both girls looked very hurt, the rookie had managed to match the tamer in power and that was remarkable. Perhaps he should consider leveling up to the crossbreed. But now what she deserved was a punishment.

"Tamy, you are old in the Colosseum, you know the rules of this place well"

"This damn girl wants to take Godofredo" said the ant, standing proudly. "And that's something I can't allow! He..." She suddenly remembered that she was female. "She belongs to me, she is my beast and will serve me until either of us dies"

"Is that true?" Asked the flea to Hornet, but the half-spider did not emit a word, only remained in stoic silence. "I see..."

The insect considered the situation for a moment. It seemed a serious dispute that could have consequences in the future if there was no brake. In his eyes the best solution was to let them kill each other, but he could not allow the rules to be broken, if order was lost in the colosseum everything would become chaos.

"If you wish to settle this dispute by force, it will be in the combat arena, but a battle in any other place is prohibited" he directed a stern look at Hornet. "Under normal circumstances I would never admit that a rookie would fight against someone of such high rank. Feel grateful spider, I will organize a fight between you two so you can fix your problems"

A murmur toured the room, there would be an official match between Hornet and the sub champion. After the show they had witnessed they were eager to see them fight again. However, there was a person who disagreed with this decision.

"No no no! This is unacceptable!" Ben said out of the audience.

Hornet narrowed her eyes and frowned when she saw the insect, however she kept silent in her place.

"What's the problem, Ben?" The flea asked somewhat annoyingly. He already knew the butterfly and knew how complaining and annoying he was.

"What's the problem, Ben?" The flea asked somewhat annoyingly. He already knew the butterfly and knew how complaining and annoying he was.

"The problem? Well, the problem is that this is unfair! I have been fighting for a long time here and I still have no chance to fight the tamer. I have worried about strengthening myself and following the rules of the place in order to ascend in the hierarchy only to have the opportunity to fight against her. But it seems that my efforts are in vain. You are..."

"Yes, I understood Ben, shut up. Okay, change of plans. You will fight against the rookie. The winner fight against Tamy. Happy?"

"Yes" he said, nodding.

"Good. If no one else has complaints then I'll organize the fighting, but these will be next week. Well, for now you are punished, none are allowed to fight in the arena. You broke the rules and must pay somehow"

He looked around for some face of discontent, but there seemed to be no one dissatisfied, so without saying anything else he left the room.

Soon Hornet imitated the flea's attitude and stood up trembling a little, then with hesitant steps she left the room keeping her silence.

As soon as the warrior came out of everyone's sight, she allowed herself to lean on the wall and gasp a little. She felt horrible, her head hurt, her legs were weak, she couldn't stop shaking and she had a strange discomfort Increased every moment.

Almost crawling, she went to her room where she met Hollow and the Pale King, who as soon as they saw her knew something was wrong.

"Hornet? Are you Ok? What's wrong?" Asked the worm.

The girl answered nothing again. She walked silently to a garbage dump and vomited. Hornet watched in horror as she expelled a black liquid from inside. She had never vomited in her life and the experience was turning out to be quite traumatic.

Still shivering, but feeling better, she sat down next to the dump while she was recovering. Then she regained his speech and asked with a certain panic in her voice.

"What was that?"

"I think you vomited some void" the king said with some disgust. "They beat you too much"

"That's bad?" Asked Hornet scared.

"No, calm. For you it is not bad, your body will recover from this, you are part flesh and part void, for some of your siblings it would be something serious"

"But are you sure this won't have any consequences for me? Won't the eggs inside me have burst?" She said terrified remembering Tamy's threats.

The worm blinked in surprise at that question, he didn't know that Hornet had those concerns.

"Hornet, Do you want to be a mother?"

If the girl had not been so pale and weak, they could have seen a slight blush on her face

"N-n-no, I don't pretend to be a mother... At least not now... It's just... I don't want to close to that possibility."

"I see." The ghost sighed. "Don't worry, the females are made to withstand all kinds of abuse without the eggs they keep inside being affected"

"It is good to know that"

Hornet then stood up slowly and headed to her bed where Hollow was sitting looking at her with concern. She sat down next to him and allowed him to rest his head against her shoulder. Both looked dejected.

"She... The tamer... I fought her... She's strong... If they hadn't stopped the fight maybe I..."

Hollow hugged her sister burying his head in her body while apologizing for being so weak, for not staying by her side to protect her. If he had not run away in shame, things would have been different. He left because he assumed that Hornet would be fine alone, but even she had a limit, one that was almost overcome and that hardly cost her life.

"Calm down Hollow, it's all over, I won't let myself win like that again. I'll become strong... We'll both become stronger"

In another area of the Colosseum, the ant was in her room hugging the bat very possessively, which made Verm feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"No one will take you from my side Godofreda" she said, pressing the creature closer. "They won't take away the only good thing that I have left in life"

Chapter Text

"Children I have a plan" the pale king announced cheerfully one morning.

Hollow and Hornet looked at the old monarch in horror. The king had a plan and considering what his last great idea had been, they had reason to fear.

"What's wrong with? Why do you look at me like that?" Asked the worm.

"You... A plan... Do you understand the seriousness of the matter?" Hornet said with a severe expression.

"......!"

"You don't have to be so rude Hollow! And my plan includes neither sacrifices nor murders of anyone. It is a very simple plan, we will not even resort to magic or stamps"

The siblings looked at each other wondering if it would be a good idea to hear their father's words

"Hey! You don't have to have such a suspicious attitude. Not all of my plans are bad. I also did some good things during my life, like the stagstations, the planning of the City of Tears..."

"....." Hollow looked at him aggressively.

"I know that plan was not a good idea! I recognize it and..."

"The old man admitted he was wrong?" Hornet exclaimed and looked at her brother who looked just as surprised and triumphant. "Finally dad admits his mistakes"

"Oh, come on. It is no extraordinary event" He looked a little embarrassed. It had not gone unnoticed for him that they had called him Dad for first time "Anyway. If you disagree with the plan you can refuse, but at least have the decency to hear me"

All right, we hear you" said Hornet, crossing her arms and watching him closely.

"As I said, I have a plan which is simple and without too many requirements. We will also take advantage of everything you have achieved here in the Colosseum, so the time lost in this place will not be in vain"

"What have we achieved?"

"..." He tilted his head in confusion.

"Even if you haven't noticed, you have accomplished things. Hornet has gained great popularity among the male gender, even among some girls. Even those who do not feel romantic attraction to her, profess a certain admiration"

"That is not an achievement that I feel very proud of," the crossbreed declared.

"But it is something that can bring you advantages, such as distraction. In two days, you will have your fight against Ben and without fear of being wrong, I can say that most likely, all or almost all the gladiators of the Colosseum will be watching you"

".....?"

"Actually, the advantage is not for Hornet, but for you, Hollow."

".....?" He pointed to himself incredulously.

"Exactly. With all the gladiators attentive to Hornet, there will be few bugs wandering around the premises, so you will have freedom to move around the place and kidnap Verm"

"Kidnap Verm?"

"Yes. I thought about it a lot and it's the best solution. Verm's mind is damaged. From what Hollow has said, the poor girl seems to have developed a kind of psychological dependence on Tamy. She will never abandon her of her own accord. No matter how much she mistreats her, she is attached to her"

Therefore bringing her to force is the only solution," Hornet said. "Although I could also wait to have the fight against Tamy, crush her face and retrieve Verm"

"No!" The worm shouted. "You will not fight that monster! After how she left you last time, I don't even want to consider the idea that you face her again. What if she kills you? What if she does irreparable harm? How do you think I would feel? I..."

Suddenly he was silent when he noticed the malicious smiles his children had.

"Go on, we hear you," Hornet said, unable to contain her laughter.

"I ... I ..." He suddenly regained his proud attitude. "I wouldn't have an heir to the throne of Hallownest if something happens to you, that's why you can't die"

"Yeah, whatever you say," said Hornet, sighing. "Okay, we accept your proposal, the truth is not a bad plan"

Hornet walked to the bed of her bedroom and sat down crossing her arms.

"I also don't want to fight Tamy again. If I had to do it I would do it, but if it can be avoided, I prefer not to. Although Hollow may have to face her"

"..." The little boy hit his chest with his fist and gave her a determined look"

"It's true, you had defeated her before, you can probably do it now."

"Perfect." The worm looked happy and relieved. "Well Hollow, now all the secret passages you've discovered exploring the Colosseum will be useful to you, so you can take Verm without being seen. If I am not mistaken, you had discovered a hidden exit that leads to the top behind the stands of the public, you could use that route to escape to the Kingdom's Edge and then take a road to the City of Tears."

"..." He nodded, showing his support for the plan.

"Well, then the plan will be launched in two days," Hornet said, standing up again. "Meanwhile, it is best to train. I trust that I can easily defeat Ben, but I heard that he is a tamer, therefore he fights alongside other beasts, that could be complicated to handle. I think I'll need your support Hollow."

"..." He nodded and prepared to follow his sister out of the room.

"Understood," said the Pale King. "I will go watch over there to see if I find out something that may be helpful to you"

"See you then," said Hornet, leaving the room.

However before Hornet left the place completely, she turned to see her father and said.

"You know... Over time you have changed. Now I dislike you less"

"..." He agreed.

It were not really very affectionate words, but coming from Hornet it were almost like an 'love you'.

The Pale King remained in the room a few more moments meditating on what had happened and rejoicing with the warmth he felt in his chest.

The days that followed for the meeting passed quickly and without complications. Hornet and Hollow trained so hard. Ben was worried about synchronizing well with his mental servants, the success of his fighting depended on how well his puppets responded to his orders.

Finally the two days ended and it was time for Hornet to move on to her next fight.

For the first time since she was in the Colosseum, Hornet felt nervous. Until now her previous battles had been relatively easy, but that was because they were weak warrior-level rivals. From what she had heard, Ben belonged to the fool-class.

Now she was at the end of the corridor that would lead her to the combat arena. She could feel the audience's excitement, in addition to numerous eyes attentive to her. A good part of the gladiators had gathered to watch her fight and like it or not, this intimidated her a little. She never liked being the center of attention, a very typical behavior of elusive spiders. However, this was not going to frighten her, she would fight her battle and rise with victory.

She looked behind her where her brother was who looked somewhat worried. It was not for less, it was a fight to death. Of course, it was not the first time that she was putting her life in danger, in fact for years she did not know what it was to sleep peacefully, but still it was not something she should take lightly. In those moments he felt the obligation to reassure his brother.

"Don't worry about me, Hollow. Ben is not even half as strong as the tamer, I'll be fine."

"..." He looked worried.

"I'm fine, seriously. I completely recovered from my previous injuries and I can manage well alone. You just focus on rescuing Verm. Tonight we will all return to Dirtmouth together and have a tasty stew for dinner.

"..." He nodded with a small smile at such a pleasant panorama.

Without exchanging more words, Hornet began to walk the path that would take her to the combat arena. She stopped for a moment behind the fence and listened to the cries of the public, they were much louder than those of her previous clashes, apparently they knew that this would be a quality match and they were elated by it. Then with a shudder, the gate rose and Hornet entered the unknown.

Hollow walked the almost deserted corridors of the underground facilities of the Colosseum, although it was not so rare, every so often there was a confrontation that was long awaited and then the gladiators vanished from place to congregate in the combat arena. Of course for his plan this was better, he was going to do something forbidden. Stealing in the Colosseum was something as punished as fighting outside the arena and even if he said he was freeing the little girl, that would not serve as a defense, for public opinion Verm was in the object category.

"Hollow, someone is coming," whispered the Pale King that floated beside him.

The ghost vanished so that the intruder could not see him, meanwhile Hollow stopped his walk and took the stoic attitude he maintained with strangers. The approaching insect was a very old male ladybug, which was missing a leg that had replaced with a wooden prosthesis. This insect was one that was responsible for doing the cleaning. Normally the maintenance employees were much more pleasant and friendly than the rest of the inhabitants of the Colosseum.

"Champion," said the old bug, noting the little boy standing in the middle of the hall. "How curious to find you here"

"......" Hollow just stared at him in silence.

"I see you recovered your traditional stoic silence. If you allow me to say it, you looks more lively when you are with your sister. Although you still keeping silent you manage to be very expressive. And speaking of you sister, I thought you would be by her side to support her, it is a death match and Ben is a great gladiator, it could be the last time you see her alive"

It would be a lie to say that Hollow wasn't worried, but he didn't show it, he continued to stare at the ladybug inexpressively.

"Although... If you are here, perhaps it is because you have an important reason for that. Maybe something that has to do with the little vermin of the tamer"

A nervousness settled in the little one, but he remained firm without showing his anguish.

"Would it be possible for the champion to pretend to steal the creature? Would he be able to commit such a low act?"

Hollow took a step back, feeling that his rescue mission had failed as soon as he started. If this old bug gave warning he would be in trouble.

"Well, in any case it's not my problem. The affairs among the gladiators are resolved in their own way"

At that moment Hollow's stone facade cracked and he showed a confused look that gave the ladybug a light smile.

"Don't be confused, little one. If I decide to keep silent, it's not because I have any kind of appreciation or anything, it's because I know bats and know what they are capable of. I carry the mark of that on my body," he said, observing the wood which replaced his missing limb. "Now that creature is tiny and obeys the tamer, but one day it will grow and become very dangerous. No one knows, but bats are not inferior creatures, therefore they cannot be tamed"

Hollow looked down somewhat sadly. It hurt a little that they referred to Verm as a dangerous and bloody being, but it was still true. She had been raised trying to instill values and respect for life and insects in her, but perhaps her experience in the Colosseum would have ruined all their efforts to turn her into a harmless creature.

"The day that this beast develops its full potential, it will be a threat to everyone and I don't want to have it close when that happens, that's why you take it away, for me better"

Hollow continued his expressionless attitude, however he allowed himself to make a small nod with gratitude. At that moment he turned to continue on his way, but before he left the insect's words stopped him.

"Godofredo always stays with the tamer, but lately it has been grounded in her room. I know she has him tied there so he can't escape anywhere. It seems to me that at this moment Tamy went with the others to watch Hornet's fight, so you have a free way to go for the creature"

No more words were needed, Hollow wrapped himself in his shadow cloak and ran to Tamy's room.

Hollow soon arrived at the bedrooms in the area of the fools, which were far more spacious, comfortable and pleasant than the pigsty where his sister was sleeping. Of course he as a champion had the right to use one of those rooms, but he had preferred to sympathize with Hornet and sleep with her. In addition, in this way he could avoid meeting the tamer, he always evaded her. A stab of guilt invaded him every time he had her in front.

And at that moment, another stab of guilt attacked him. He had already snatched to Tamy her beast once, he had taken away the title of champion and now he would tear away what little she had left. At the time he believed that forgiving his life had been a pious act, as it had been not to kill the nailsmith. But in this case it was a mistake, one that turned against him and hurt him in the most cruel way, as if the writer of life made fun of his decisions.

Did he really have the right to claim Verm after what he had done?

But his doubts lasted until he remembered that Verm was just a victim of all this, she did not have to pay for his mistakes, Tamy had no right to deprive her of her freedom and above all, the little girl was not really happy next to the tamer, as much as she insisted on protecting her and staying with her.

With his doubts left, he broke the door lock and entered.

The interior of the room had a very minimalist design, which hinted at the detachment of the ant from material objects. The only thing that abounded there were the weapons and implements to keep them in good condition. Tamy normally used a spear, but she also had mastery in many other weapons.

At the back of the room was Verm, tied to the wall with a chain and her usual muzzle covering her mouth. The little girl looked somewhat scared, surely the noise of the lock being shattered altered her and considering the conditions she was in, she had reason to fear, if someone were to attack her she would have no way to defend herself. However, her look of fear soon changed to one of joy when she realized who was in the room. The bat undertook the flight and approached her mom as much as the length of the chain allowed.

Hollow feeling a deep sadness when he saw his little girl in those conditions walked to her and hugged her tightly. Verm, feeling that hug delivered with such affection, could not prevent her emotions from surfacing, after so much hardship, that show of affection was like a balm for her soul.

Again she cursed the muzzle she wore, she wanted to tell Hollow so many things, to apologize for being a spoiled girl, for having defended the tamer and above all, she wanted to tell him how much she loved him, but she simply couldn't. She merely shed some tears and let out grievous groans.

The little warrior allowed her to rest in him for a few minutes, after which he decided to get going. Letting go of Verm he began to examine the chain and the necklace that had her captive. He did not have the tools to break her ties securely, if he tried to cut the metal ring that was around her neck, he could hurt her, so he decided to break the chain from the insurance that attached it to the wall. He would have to take Verm with a piece of chain dragging, but it wasn't something so serious, once they were safe they would see how to get rid of it.

With some signs, he told Verm to sit, then he walked to the wall and began hitting the chain with his nail. If it had been a common weapon, it would have been damaged, but the wonderful pale ore alloy gave it a superior quality that allowed it such a deal without being damaged. After a few strokes the chain gave way and Verm was free, although she did not seem very happy with this, rather she looked worried.

Hollow walked to the door and told her to follow him, but the bat didn't even move. She stared at him with a scary face. The idea of leaving the place was unthinkable, in fact she was terrified to see the broken chain, she didn't know what to do.

The vessel sadly remembered what his father had said about Verm's psychological dependence, apparently he was right that he would have to take her by force. Maybe she would cry, maybe she would scream, but if it was necessary to grant her the freedom, he would do it. He walked to Verm and took the chain, then with it he began to take the bat out of the room, to the horror of her who began to flutter in the opposite direction full of dread.

Tamy hadn't given her permission to leave, so she couldn't do it. A thousand ideas crossed her mind, from being sent to the bottle again, to receiving 100 lashes. She cried and fought with all her strength so that Hollow would not take her away, but it was difficult for an air being to resist the force, so Hollow without being so strong, drag her out without many effort

A huge centipede roared in the combat arena, although their grunts were overshadowed by the cheers of the public that did not fit in itself with emotion at the confrontation.

The enormous insect threw itself against the small creature dressed in red that was at its feet, but this one avoided the attack giving a beautiful jump in the air, after which she threw herself on the bug burying her needle in one of the numerous segments that made up its body. The centipede roared in pain as it writhed furiously, while the little attacker began to move the weapon inside the wound trying to make the creature go crazy enough to incapacitate it.

Suddenly a shadow appeared behind Hornet who, with a quick movement, turned just in time to block a treachery attack from Ben, he after that sneak attack, flew away from her range again.

But that was not all, without giving her any rest, the pill bug warrior wrapped in armor ran towards her and gave her a lunge, Hornet was forced to jump and withdraw her weapon from the centipede so as not to get hurt.

Ben's combat strategy was already tiring her, it was a constant stress. She was being harassed with quick attacks without even giving her time to think. If she stayed well until now, it was almost thanks to her spider instinct that allowed her to predict attacks. But even more or less knowing how to fight back, executing her movements was complicated, both the butterfly and the pill bug were very fast, especially the last. She would even say he was faster than Quirrel.

At the time the centipede seemed the weakest of the three opponents and that is why she chose to attack it first. But now she was considering directing her attacks towards the pill bug, his fast and effective movements were exhausting her too much. If she continued like this she could not end the three.

He was aware that Ben was the brain behind all that maneuver, if she eliminated him, the other two would stop attacking her, but the butterfly had the ability to fly and he could easily be placed out of reach. Sure, Hornet could catch him using her thread, but the constant attacks prevented her from even trying.

Suddenly she noticed that centipede movements began to become somewhat more clumsy, apparently the wounds inflicted in one of the segments of the bug were already affecting him. Hornet smiled to himself, perhaps now he could approach the head with more certainty, if he managed to bury his needle there he would kill the creature.

Again she had to jump to avoid an attack from Ben, while trying to fight back with a whip of thread but the butterfly flew away again. Then she noticed that the pill bug warrior had placed himself just below her to receive her with the edge of his nail. Hornet quickly placed her needle underneath and struck his weapon against the enemy's and using only his brute force she was propelled away. But as soon as she had landed, the centipede stood behind her and directed its jaws towards her ready to devour her.

The crossbreed could hardly dodge that attack by throwing herself to the side, however she did not miss the opportunity to have the insect so close and threw her needle, it buried in the head of the beast killing it almost immediately.

The public exploded in cheers at the first death. They beat their palms and the seats of the stands celebrating euphoric. In the lower areas, the gladiators who also watched the fight from behind the bars were also very excited. It was a really impressive fight and they were enjoying it to the fullest.

However, despite all the joy and excitement of the environment, a single person watched the fight with a serious attitude. Tamy was dedicated to analyzing the fighting style of the crossbreed, as she would be her next opponent. She had to admit the girl had more talent than she expected, maybe she had made her bite the dust in the common room of the fool's facilities, but in reality anyone could have won if the circumstances had been different. However she was confident that she could win against her in an official match. After all she had Godofreda, with her support she was invincible.

Suddenly the ant felt a shy touch in one of her arms, when she turned to see she found an old ladybug who was watching her maliciously. He was one of the many bugs that were in charge of cleaning the Colosseum. She usually preferred to ignore these individuals, in reality Tamy used to ignore any bug that she considered unworthy of her attention, but the way the ladybug looked at her made her feel he had something important to say.

"What do you want?"

"I have information, very good information"

"How much do you what for it?" In the Colosseum nothing was free and Tamy was already handled with the customs of the place. She could also feel when the deals were worth it.

"300 Geo"

"Here" she said, throwing a bag of money at him. "Speak. It better be something important, if not, you know what awaits you"

"This is important, really important. I saw the champion go to your bedroom, I feel he wants to steal your beast"

"What!" Tamy shouted furiously while she hit the wall so hard that it cracked "No! He can't! He won't take Godofreda! Move trash!" She pushed the bug and threw him to the ground.

The ant went running towards the galleries of the Colosseum, with rage and full of worry. On the other hand, the old ladybug with some effort due to age, stood up slowly and watched the sub-champion move away. Then with a malicious smile he observed the money bag he had with.

"One cannot be faithful to anyone but oneself."

Even with the centipede defeated and inert on the ground, Hornet was still having trouble keeping her opponents at bay, in fact now their movements seemed to have become even faster and more synchronized. In truth, now that Ben had only one individual to control, he could do it with much more precision and speed, so the fight far from simplifying seemed to have become even more complex.

Hornet was already beginning to feel physically exhausted, something that had bad consequences. At a certain moment of weakness, she failed to dodge a rapier from Ben, which caused a superficial wound in her shell and some concern in her mind.

Ben and the pill bug warrior were so quick that simply attaining them with her weapon was a challenge. But if she managed to defeat at least one she could survive. She decided to resort to her soul spells, she did not want to wear away her magical energy so much but the situation merited it.

She placed herself on the floor waiting for the next attack, according to the pattern of action of her enemies, now was the turn of the pill bug to attack. And as she predicted, the insect appeared in front of her ready to nail his weapon on her.

"Endiro!" Shouted Hornet.

Her thread shone in golden color and it began to dance frantically hurting the limbs of the insect that was trapped in it and also cracking the armor he wore. Hornet knew that she already had him in her claws, he had spent a good amount of soul on that spell so she had to seize the opportunity.

Letting her thread wiggle a little more, she tangled it in the lower limbs of the insect and managed to immobilize him on the ground.

"No!" Ben shouted desperately flying towards the spider to attack her.

Hornet, noticing the approach of the butterfly, took the pill bug and interposed him between her and Ben, so she protected herself with the insect's body. The impact of the gladiator's nail hit the already deteriorated brown armor and contained such force that it eventually destroyed the metal. A loud crunch ran through the clothing as more and more cracks emerged on its surface. Ben made a strange face when he saw what he had done and flew up again to get a safe distance.

The shattered armor began to fall apart bit by bit while the stunned pill bug wobbled in place. Soon a bluish shell furrowed by recent wounds was in sight. That shell might look the same as thousands of pill bugs in the world, but for Hornet it was unique and would she be able to recognize it anywhere.

A shiver ran down the warrior's back as she watched in horror as the stranger she attacked mercilessly began to transform into the person she longed to see the most.

The armor finished breaking and only the helmet was covering the face of the insect. Hornet trembling and with an expression of horror on her face approached the insect that was still stunned by the impact of Ben. Then she quickly removed his helmet revealing that her worst nightmare had come true.

There in front of her, with the lost look and an empty expression was the pill bug she loved most in the world.

"Quirrel ..." She said trying to hold back the tears.

Chapter Text

"Verm, please calm down!" said the Pale King, trying to reassure the bat.

The little girl was writhing and struggling with all her might to return to her owner's room, but Hollow gave her no respite and held her tight. At first he felt very sorry to see the little girl tied up and with her mouth covered, but now he had to admit that the chain was helping him a lot to handle her and the muzzle prevented her screams from alerting everybody of kidnapping.

However, despite the tools, to transport Verm was proving to be more complicated than he expected. If she had cooperated they would have reached the secret tunnel and would be safe. But with so much struggle on the part of the little girl they were just halfway there.

At least he should be grateful that in addition to the lame ladybug, they had not met anyone. The old worm had been right that the galleries would be empty. But obviously there were things that escaped his control, such as the leak of information that led Tamy to learn about the kidnapping.

"Hollow watch out!" The ghost shouted, noticing a projectile that was aimed at his son.

The knight managed to move in time to avoid being hit by a pair of small throwing nail, they ended up digging into the wall behind, revealing the force with which it had been thrown.

Verm gave a plaintive groan when she saw the tamer and flew desperately to meet her. But this time her eagerness to meet her was not triggered by feelings of affection and longing, as when he met Hollow, what moved her now was pure terror.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU DO WITH GODOFREDA!" Shouted the furious ant trembling with anger.

The bat flew frantically trying to reach Tamy's arms, while Hollow made every effort to retain her.

The ant determined to recover her beast, pulled out her spear and ran to the vessel with serious intentions to kill him. Her revenge didn't matter to her or that it was forbidden to fight outside the arena, all she wanted was to prevent her partner from being taken away.

Hollow was forced to release Verm's chain to avoid getting hurt, only thanks to that he managed to dodge the tamer's onslaught in time. He had to jump and then rise a little more with the monarch's wings so that the sweeping of the spear did not reach him.

When the little one landed, the tamer took a distance waiting for a counterattack from him, but it never arrived. Hollow didn't seem to have much interest in the battle, he looked more worried about Verm who had flown beside the tamer and looked at him sadly. Noticing the face of disappointment and pain that the vessel had, Tamy gave a sinister smile. That was precisely the expression she wanted to see in him, that was the pain she wanted to provoke. She contemplate the betrayal of Hollow's dearest being and his inability to do nothing against it.

Tamy was not much to give speeches, she used to be a silent ant who spoke the right and the necessary, but on this occasion, she decided to mock her opponent, she wanted to make his agony as unbearable as possible.

"Look champion, your beloved beast whom you love so much and for whom so many dangers you are willing to pass has betrayed you. She reject your help and fly to meet me. Hahahaha! You have lost her forever. You weren't the big deal for her, that's why she forgot you so fast, whatever sacrifice you would have made for her, was worthless"

Perhaps Tamy's intentions were to hurt Hollow, but the one who was hurting most was Verm, she at that time felt like the worst garbage in the world for rejecting who only wanted to help her, however the fear she felt for Tamy forced her to remain in her place. It was like a mental chain that prevented her from taking any action that her owner disapproved of.

"Ali! Wake up!" The Pale King suddenly shouted, he had never disappeared. "Do not let her control you! Fear cannot dominate you! You do not love her! You don't want to be with her! Come Verm! Return with your family, come with us!"

Just then Tamy noticed the worm's presence and looked at him strangely. Who the hell was this guy? He had a certain proud air that reminded her of Hollow. Would he be his relative?

"Hey, who are you? And is it my idea or do you look a little... Transparent?"

"Oh..." He considered it for a moment and since he had already made the carelessness of appearing in front of her, it really didn't matter being careful or cautious. "I'm Pale, Hollow's father and if I look a bit transparent, it's because I'm dead"

"Dead?" Tamy tilted hee head more confused than scared. "But how...?"

"Long story... Very long story."

"Oh well, it's not my problem. Get away and don't bother, worm.

The king looked at her in dismay, that female seemed to have ice in her veins, she had not even altered when she knew that he was a ghost. He sighed in sorrow and again focused his attention on Verm who somehow seemed moved by her words, although above all she looked scared and regretful. Then Hollow caught the old monarch's attention and asked him to translate some words he wanted to say to the bat.

"Verm, come home!" The worm began. "We all miss you and we are no longer mad at you for what happened, we just want you to come back. Aunt Horny misses you a lot, just like the damn worm... Hey!" The king looked angrily at Hollow but he signaled for him to continue. "I miss you too. No matter what you have done or what happened here, we are waiting for you and we will welcome you with open arms"

Verm was paralyzed, fighting with herself for disobeying orders that had been fixed in her mind, the anxiety she felt altered her and made her want to cry. But apparently all the anguish she felt was ignored by the tamer, who simply watched to the kidnappers of her beast with confusion.

"Hey... The way you talk to Godofreda, almost makes me think that she can understand you. But you know... She's an inferior beast, a silly creature unable to understand spoken language. I had heard of stupid bugs who become so fond of their pets as to treat them as people, but I didn't think I'd run into someone like that. Seriously, she is a being of inferior intellect, she does not understand you and no matter how touching your words are, she won't listen to you, she is trained to obey me"

"Verm is not an inferior creature!" Exclaimed the king. "In fact she is quite close to a high being. She is a superior being even among those of her race. The one you consider her a inferior being is an insult!"

"Damn, you are crushed by the head," said the ant seriously. "The affection he has is already somewhat sickly, but hey, that doesn't matter to me. Godofreda is mine, she obeys me and that is something that cannot be changed, anyway..." A sinister smile peeked over her face. "It will be fun to see your horror faces when your own pet attacks you"

She turned to Verm and carefully removed the muzzle that covered her mouth.

"Now Godofredo! Throw them your flames and kill them!"

That was not a death match, Verm did not have to limit himself to dodge attacks, she had all the time in the world to think about her actions and for the first time in months, she had her mouth free to say what she wanted, as long as her nerves would allow it. Because again she had to face her lifelong problem, when she got nervous or altered, she only managed to let out grunts.

The bat stayed in her place trying to calm down, although her lack of action began to anger Tamy, but no matter how much she yelled at her, she refused to do anything. Maybe she was unable to leave the tamer, but she was also unable to hurt her loved ones. At that time she had her loyalty divided and could not decide on a concrete action, which made her increasingly nervous.

Finally, when the tamer began to take out her whip to whip her, Verm decided that she should try to speak, say anything and prove that she was not an inferior being, that she was intelligent and understood everything that happened around her.

The little girl sighed deeply, opened her mouth ready to express her feelings and just before she could say anything, she felt a familiar presence, one that called her and forced her to come no matter how.

"Gayaaaaaaaarg!" The bat shouted before flying away from Hollow and Tamy.

"Godofreda! Get back here! Godofreda!" The tamer shouted furious and worried, that behavior was not normal in her.

Hollow on the other hand said nothing. He knew her and more or less he had an idea that it could be happening, and therefore he knew that it was best to follow her. As her guardian, he should accompany her in that test.

Hornet's thin legs trembled to the point that it seemed it would no longer be able to hold her, everything in her was shaking at the sight she had in front of her: Her dear pill bug with lost eyes and empty expression.

He looked like an empty shell, like so many who populated the kingdom long ago, for a moment she even feared he was infected. But it was not an infection that clouded his mind, it was the power of Ben's hypnosis amulet that had him dominated.

The spider looked furiously at the butterfly that flew over her, now she really wanted to kill him, she wanted to tear him apart, tear his legs off. Because of his fault her precious friend had not been able to return home. The poor bug had recognized her and in his own way he had wanted to ask for help, but she, without realizing who he was, had beaten and rejected him, for this reason her guilt was mixed with rage to the point that she felt overwhelmed.

"You... You... Damn Ben!" She shouted hurting and angry, "How could you do this to Quirrell! Come here and fight! I will destroy you!"

The butterfly looked at her confused, until he finally understood the situation, so she couldn't suppress a laugh at what he was witnessing.

"Hahahaha! Sure! How did I not realize? Of course! You knew each other from before, that's why my pill bug warrior chased you. He resisted my mind control to go for you. But how ironic is life, both of you meet in this place and under these circumstances... Jujuju. And what is your relationship? Are they childhood friends or something?"

Hornet did not answer, she just threw her needle at Ben trying to pierce his body, but with the freedom that the sky gave him, the butterfly easily dodged it while laughing at Hornet's misfortune. The crossbreed letting herself be carried away a little by her rage, continued throwing her needle in a desperate attempt to bring the bug down, which filled Ben with pleasure.

The butterfly was entertained for a while dodging Hornet's projectiles, while she was only tiring uselessly. So when she least expected it, the edge of a weapon wounded her on one side, she was saved from a deadly attack just because she casually leaned toward a side at that time. However, she was forced to hold her side while feeling something wet flow from the wound.

She watched the floor and saw with horror a couple of black drops falling, he was "bleeding" void. If someone realized her abnormality, she would be exposed in front of hundreds of spectators, if her secret was revealed perhaps she could never aspire to a normal life.

She looked up at her attacker and to her horror she found Quirrel, who with the nail in his hand threatened her.

"Quirrel... No... Stop! It's me! Hornet! Don't you recognize me?"

"Of course he recognizes you," Ben said mockingly, flying over Hornet's head. "That is why his movements have become somewhat slow and awkward. He is trying to resist my mind control so as not to harm you. But what a charm, he sure loves you very much"

"Quirrel... Please... Resist... I don't want to harm you" Hornet begged.

"It's also not a good idea to resist," the butterfly spoke again. "That could end up damaging his mind irreparably, jujuju, how bad, right?"

"Damn!"

This time Hornet threw a strand of yarn into one of the bars of the large cage in which they were locked, and she pushed up herself until she was placed on top of Ben, then extended her needle ready to nail the insect. Her move was so fast that his opponent could not help it, however Quirrel also moved with the same overwhelming speed and threw his own nail against Hornet hitting her on the head and causing her to fail her attack.

Hornet fell to the ground awkwardly, feeling the impact open the wound. She screamed in pain and pressed her side trying to stop the flow of void that escaped. Then making use of all her resistance she stood up, only to have to receive again Quirrel's nail that continued to attack her mercilessly.

"Please Quirrel... Leave me!" Don't hurt me! Let me live!"

"He doesn't listen to you! Hahaha!" The butterfly continued mocking. "But how fun is this! The powerful crossbreed in the end, ends up being defeated by sentimentalities, poor miserable. That is why here in the Colosseum we say that those who are guided by feelings are weak. You can't stop to think about the lives of your victims, a gladiator has no friends, just live the moment and the battle. Although I don't think you understand, a fool who refuses to kill her opponents only shows weakness"

"Shut up now!" Shouted Hornet pushing Quirrel away without damaging him.

The warrior now looked very bad, her left arm did her best to press the wound on her right side, while barely holding her needle. Panting, bleeding and with a broken heart, she raised her needle in a not very convincing way towards the pill bug. Faced with this pathetic sight, Ben burst into laughter again.

"Oh please. Is seriously? You are half dead, you can barely stand up and have your dear pill bug in front. Let's be honest, we both know that you are incapable of hurting him. If your sentimentalities prevent you from killing the gladiators, you won't even be able to scratch your precious friend's shell"

Quirrel, who had been thrown away, stood up again, also raising his nail against Hornet, but his movements had again become awkward and insecure, as if the sight of the wounded warrior affected him greatly, even in the middle of his empty gaze, he gave a hint of concern, which Ben noticed immediately.

"Ah! But what is this? That look... These feelings that I perceive..." He directed his eyes to Hornet and a certain idea went through his mind. "Heavens! You don't stop surprising me, again I wonder how I didn't realize it before. It's so obvious! You are a couple! You rightly rejected all those who proposed to you. Too bad, this makes things even more painful for you, right? You have to fight to the death with your dear mate who is out of his senses and vaguely is able to recognize you. Honestly, I would recommend that you give up, so you can rest in peace and your pill bug too. He won't longer have to suffer thinking about your and he can serve me loyally for all eternity"

"Fuck off!" The warrior shouted trembling in her place.

"As you like"

At that moment Ben snapped his fingers and Quirrel launched into the attack on Hornet. What followed was very fast, the public only saw how the bluish insect was running at a dizzying speed against the spider who was barely standing, then the thundering of two metal colliding was heard and they watched the two bugs molten in one kind of hug, which lasted a few seconds before the blue insect fell on his back on the ground with a needle stuck in his right side.

Hornet then shedding tears and with a face of deep sadness leaned over his friend and took the handle of the weapon. The device protruded grotesquely from the body leaving it in a very vulnerable situation, it was enough that Hornet pushed the needle a little more so that it would destroy his insides and kill him. With Quirrel's life in her hands, the crossbreed looked up at the sky and gave the butterfly a hateful look.

"But how!" Ben said. "He is supposed to be your mate. You shouldn't be able to hurt him! You would not dare!"

"There are... Some things you are wrong about" Hornet declared. "Quirrel... He is not my mate... Not my boyfriend... Not my lover... But I... I love him" At that moment her voice broke while she cried "I love him very much... And I prefer to kill him with my own hands before allowing him to spend the rest of his days serving a scum like you"

Suddenly Hornet felt a slight tug on her cloak, and noticed that the pill bug's hand was clutching her. Surprised she directed her gaze to Quirrel's face, where she could see that part of his senses had returned, perhaps the pain the wound had dissipated Ben's mental control a little, because now his eyes were fixed on her, awake and with a deep sadness impregnated in them. Then the insect with a soft voice, almost whispering but loud enough for Hornet to hear he said:

"I... love you too... Hornet"

The footsteps echoed on the walls of that empty hallway that Hollow and the tamer walked in a hurry. Even with the aversion they felt for each other, neither initiated any conflict, since for both the priority was to find the little bat. It was curious that the route Verm had taken was exactly the same one that Hollow intended to use for his escape, the secret corridor that led to the back of the audience's stands. It was a road with which he was very familiar, although the same could not be said of Tamy, who looked at the corridor with distrust. From the years she had lived in the Colosseum, she had never dedicated herself to knowing the place well, her only concern was the next battle and encounter death.

Soon the murmur of the public began to be heard, indicating the nearness of the end of the tunnel, but also, mixed with that uproar, they managed to perceive a high-pitched squeak that made them speed up the march.

Finally they reached the exit, which was covered by a curtain of white grass, which they could easily remove.

The place they reached was open and barren, there were only rocks and an open exit that led to the Kingdom's edge. Over there, the ashes of the last sigh of the Wyrm gave the site the same cold appearance of the whole area.

Behind the newcomers bugs, there was an intricate wooden structure made to hold the stands of the public, it was noted that it was a quality construction, the thick timbers looked so firm that they seemed impossible to move, maybe they could even climb them Without fear of damaging something.

But what really interested them was what they had on their foreheads. The bat was floating in the air, with bristling hairs and fighting attitude. She had her crimson eyes fixed on a strange individual dressed in a blue robe and a mask that carried a torch between his arms.

"......!" He took out his nail ready to fight.

"Even if you don't tell me anything, I perceive from your attitude that you know this individual" said the tamer, "and apparently Godofreda as well. I've never seen her so willing to fight before" She pulled out her spear. "If Godofreda wants to fight I won't stop her, her enemies are my enemies"

Verm, without waiting for any order or instruction, launched into the attack on the being masked. The poor bug screamed in fright at that unexpected action. What the hell was going on? The little girl wasn't supposed to attack, she should stay behind and let her guard protect her, maybe she could help with a couple of fireballs, but no more than that.

However here he had the bat, attacking like a wild beast. The masked bug dodged the onslaught of the beast and watched her go away. What the hell had they done to that poor creature? She no longer had that adorable and stylized look that characterized her, now she looked rough and dangerous.

Suddenly the torchbearer was overwhelmed. Verm looked at him with a murderous expression, it was a look he had never met, typical of someone accustomed to blinding lives, at that time she looked too much like the master.

But the Grimkin could not continue lost in his reveries, because a soul shot that came from the ground forced him to return to reality in a resounding way. The damage caused him to lose his balance and fall towards the ground. But the ugly blow of the fall was not the only punishment he received, the God Tamer jumped on him ready to kill him with a blow.

Terrified as never before, the insect slipped away quickly avoiding the deadly attack and fled. That was against the ritual, his duty was to die fighting, but the fear he felt prevented him from restraining his survival instincts. The poor bug almost cried from the shame he felt, the master would be very disappointed, but he could not stop, he kept escaping, although to his relief and horror his opponents began to chase him.

The insect began to fly towards the wooden structure that supported the stands, mistakenly believed that the timbers would protect him and would make it difficult for Hollow and Tamy to pursue him, but both were very good climbers and climbed the structure with the grace of a spider. So scared was the Grimkin that he didn't even think of defending himself with his fire, he just continued to climb higher and higher until he reached the top of the stand.

Up there, he had a perfect view of the combat arena where an unimaginable drama was lived. But that was not his business, now he just wanted to escape away. But when the bug tried to fly higher to escape definitively, the bat appeared to him in front and threw a fireball that made him fall crashing it against the surface of the structure. This time he had no chance to defend himself in any way, Hollow made a cut with his nail and the tamer topped him by burying her spear.

"At least I'm done with this matter and it wasn't that terrible." It was his last thoughts before he died.

As had happened on all previous occasions, the torch fire spread through the body and Verm flew to him to consume it.

Tamy looked a bit disgusted at the show of her beast devouring the burning insect. She did not understand how she could eat while the fire crackled and above all, it seemed incredible that this shy and weeping little creature was capable of so much brutality. Did her training and hard treatment had they twisted it that way? Or was there a hidden side of her nature that she didn't know?

When Verm had finished her unpleasant task, a curtain of flame enveloped her covering her completely. The tamer screamed in horror at the thought that she was burning alive, but when she noticed the calm and patient expression of the champion, she kept silent. He seemed to know Godofreda well and if he did not alter, there was surely no reason for it.

Soon the fire went out and Verm emerged with her wings open in all its splendor. Apparently there had been no change in her, but something she had different, her eyes seemed redder and a strange aura of power surrounded her, she looked intimidating and dangerous.

But with everything Tamy had seen during her life, including the experiences of her earliest childhood, there were few things that could impress or scare her. So without paying too much attention to the recent power acquired by the bat, she spoke with the same confidence and authority as always.

"Godofreda, you have to stop escaping like this. You can't do what you want when you want" she said angrily. "Anyway, come here" She extended her hand toward her.

Verm looked at her owner and fear soon returned to her gaze, then she noticed Hollow jumping beside her beckoning to tell her to go with him.

And there she was, with her heart divided between love and loyalty, the decision should have been easy, but she was complicating too much to take it, the damage in her mind was severe, breaking old schemes and customs could often prove to be a task Titanic.

Insecure and anxious, she began to look around for an alternative exit or something that could help her decide, it was then that she noticed the combat arena and those who participated in it. Even with the distance she was able to recognize Hornet and Quirrel. Then her eyes filled with tears when she realized what was happening.

There in front of everyone, Quirrel was on the floor with a needle stuck in the bowels and with a wounded Hornet holding the weapon.

That image was the limit for Verm. Even in her worst moments, she always maintained the hope that she could see them again, she could be again with the people who had taken care of her, loved, protected and who she considered the representation of the good and the right. But now she saw those same people in a brutal and foul scene destroying each other. It was as if they took away her faith in people, as if it were proof that the world was a miserable place where everything was to kill or die.

Hornet held the needle in her hands, squeezing it so hard it almost hurt. The wound on her side stung her and a growing fatigue seized her. All she had to do at that moment was to kill Quirrel, then she could defeat the butterfly without major complications, but she didn't want to make such a drastic decision.

Although in her past she had already killed many loved ones in their eagerness to survive, now she couldn't, because something inside her kept telling her that they could both get out of that predicament alive. However, time was running out and she could not delay the decision.

She closed her eyes not wanting to see her friend's expression when he died. And even at the last moment, she dedicated a silent prayer to any God who walked nearby to grant her a miracle that would allow her to save Quirrel.

And then the miracle arrived.

A shouting chill rang through the entire coliseum, a scream so horrifying that it seemed to invoke the worst nightmares of any insect.

Hornet looked around and noticed a huge scarlet flame that burned above the audience's stands. The fire was stirring and expanding inevitably beginning to consume everything around it. The closest insects were charred in an instant and perhaps they were the luckiest, because they would not have to live the scarlet nightmare that would later reach the rest.

The red fire soon began to spread through the coliseum and Hornet paralyzed with fear was just watching the show. By the time she was able to react, all he managed to say was.

"Verm... But what have you done..."

Chapter Text

Cries of agony echoed throughout the Colosseum, burned bodies populated the place and terrified insects ran everywhere. The scarlet fire consumed everything around it, reducing it to ashes with overwhelming speed. All the excitement and joy that enveloped the bugs vanished to be replaced by terror, a terror so pure that it clouded the mind and the senses. But the most horrible of all and that they ignored, was that their very fear fed that nightmare fire.

The cause of that catastrophe now flew over the coliseum, crazy of anger and pain. Like a demon of fire she raised her incandescent wings spreading destruction over everything around her, while she roared like an uncontrollable monster.

The initial fire explosion calcined all living beings nearby. At that time the poor bat did not know what she was doing, and if it had not been for the Pale King, she would have killed even Hollow and the tamer.

But fortunately the ghost, still retained some magical characteristics of when he was alive. He was the ghost of a high being after all. Thanks to this, he was able to invoke a protective shield around the living, protecting them from harm, although for that he had to consume the reserves of Hollow's soul, the soul was something inherent to the living and the energy source of all magic. His inability to store soul was what prevented the king from using his powers.

"........ "Hollow complained noticing how he no longer had a hint of soul in his body.

"Thanks would be fine" said the king.

"........"

"That you can't die? Little naive. Although there are not many things that can destroy a shadow, one of these few things is scarlet fire."

"....."

"Exactly, Verm could kill you permanently"

"Godo...." Tamy said suddenly watching the sky with an absent look, making her presence known.

"......?"

"I didn't mean to save her" the Pale King declared. "I just extended the protective field around and just she was next to you. she was saved by mere chance"

"......." He sighed and also directed his eyes to the sky where Verm was still spitting fire at every living being that entered her field of vision.

"My Godofreda..." Tamy said hurt. "What the hell happened to you? You are not like that"

"And you still dare to ask?" Said the Pale King annoyed. "After how you treated her, of all the torments you put her through, do you really wonder why she is like this?"

"I haven't done anything she couldn't stand! She came to me like a weeping and weak baby. I made her strong! I gave her what she needed, I made sure to protect her and train her properly, I did everything I could for her. You can't accuse me of not caring for her! You may call it torment, but that is because you have the mentality of a weak bug, I went through a similar treatment during my youth and look at me. Is there something wrong with me?"

The Pale King would have liked to answer that there were too many things wrong with her, but he preferred not to do so. What was he going to say? Tamy just wouldn't understand. The king could not even imagine the kind of horrific existence that this poor ant had had for to twist her mind like this, for to see normal and desirable to whip a baby, or to have her gagged almost 24 hours a day. Deep down, he sensed she had affection in her heart, but she was only able to show it with brutality, because that was the only thing she had known in her life.

He sighed sadly and addressed his son.

"We must stop her Hollow, this is not only dangerous for others, she could hurt herself if she continues like this"

"......" He looked at Verm determinedly and began to take off his mask.

"Hey! Hold on Hollow! What do you intend to do?"

"......!"

"Fight with her in your shadow form? But what did you not hear what I told you a while ago! Scarlet fire is one of the few things that can definitely destroy a shadow. Verm is out herself! She attacks everything in her reach! She won't be able to recognize you. She could kill you!"

"..........?"

"It's been a long time since I care about your life!" The ghost shouted. Then noticing that he had raised his voice, he looked down somewhat embarrassed before continuing. "Please... Stop scrubbing my mistake, I'm quite sorry for what I did, now I know how wrong I was. I have learned to know you better... You and all your siblings, I know that despite their condition they are like any normal insect and I do not want..."

Suddenly, a slight noise interrupted him and he noticed Hollow's mask on the floor and his son rising to the sky in his dark entity form.

"Hollow..."

Hollow recognized that his father had changed in all that time, he had realized that he regretted what he had done and now he felt a real appreciation for him and his siblings, but Hollow was simply not ready to forgive him. So he fled the scene, he didn't want to hear him anymore.

There were few bugs that were alive in the stands of the public, most had died or fled, there was only insects with severe burns on their bodies and little chance of survival, while the flames each time covered a greater surface of everything that space. The body of the former lord of the Colosseum burned along with his domains, crumbling pathetically, finally giving rest to that decaying body. The wood of the building screamed as it was licked by fire, while turning its color to black and falling apart. The only thing that remained standing in that place was the huge cage of the combat zone.

In their rush to escape the threat, all the bugs had fled, including those who were in charge of opening the cage doors, obviously in their hurry they were not going to worry about releasing the live fighters who had been trapped inside, from In fact, no one cared for anyone in the Colosseum. So now Hornet, Ben and Quirrel faced the despair of seeing their near end without any chance of doing anything.

The fire was growing and approaching at an alarming rate raising the temperature to an almost unbearable level taking their resistance to the limit. And who undoubtedly looked more desperate for this was Ben, because he had lost all composure.

"Come back here, Damn! Open the doors! I'm trapped! Hey! Don't ignore me! I am Ben, the powerful butterfly, the strongest flying being in the Colosseum! I'm the future champion! You can't do this to me!" The butterfly was screaming desperately hitting the bars."

"You want to shut up at once?!" Shouted Hornet.

Ben turned to her with an indignant face. How dare she speak like that! He watched her and noticed that she had plucked her needle from the pill bug's body and was now squeezing the wound trying to stop the bleeding. The poor bug meanwhile, hardly seemed able to stay conscious.

He made a gesture of contempt for the crossbreed actions. Was she really trying to save the pill bug in that desperate situation? Just as they were all going to die, there was no point in worrying about a useless wounded. And all this angered him greatly, he was angry that Hornet did not seem as scared as he did, as if she believed herself a superior being who was not going to die if the fire reached her.

"And you leave that useless alone! Why waste time with him if we are all going to die! All of this is your fault! That vermin spits fire is yours! Why did you let her escape? Why did you let her come here? And even now when she has unleashed this horror you only care about the damned pill bug! AND STOP IGNORING ME!!" He shouted at the little attention Hornet paid him.

"Seriously Ben... Shut up!" Hornet looked annoyed and exhausted. "What Verm has done is not my fault, it is the fault of this damn Colosseum and its barbaric customs. You turned her like that! She was calm and peaceful, even somewhat lazy. And on the other hand... Now that we're going to die, what's wrong with me wanting to spend my final moments with the bug I love? You would do the same! Or have you never loved anyone?"

Had Ben ever loved someone? It was an awkward question for such a time, because it made appear old memories in which he did not like to think.

.........

"Tamy stops ignoring me! I asked you if you saw my battle today"

"Well, you're an insignificant warrior-class gladiator. Do you think I'm going to be interested in your pathetic fighting?"

"Then if I go to the conqueror-class, will you pay attention to me?"

"Maybe if you were in fool-class..."

..........

"Consider me the new member of the select group of gladiators belonging to the fools. In just a few months I have reached the top, they say that a rookie has never ascended so fast. Am I not admirable?"

"Yes, very admirable. Anything else to say?"

"You have nothing more to say? A congratulation? Something? You said that if I became a fool-class gladiator you will pay attention to me"

"And I'm paying attention to you, that you interests me is other story"

"What do I have to do to get you interested in me?"

"Nothing, I'm not interested in anyone."

........

"What is between you and Tiso?"

"Nothing. What could be between us?"

"You spend more time with him than with anyone. There has to be something between both of you!"

"If you mean something like a romantic relationship, I remind you that I am a plebeian ant, I don't have that kind of need."

"Then why do you always laugh when you're with him? Why are you looking for him at lunchtime? Why do you bother training with him?"

"That I am not interested in a romantic relationships does not prevent me from having friends, and Tiso is my friend, I like to hang out with him, his silly arrogance makes it very fun"

"Why can't I be your friend too?"

"Because I know you don't see me that way. And because I like Tiso more than you"

"What has that pathetic rookie special? He is very weak"

"But he could become very strong, he has great potential, in a few years he could be my rival, that would be very interesting"

"Only if he survives..."

.........

"Why Ben! Why did you did it?! Why did you kill Tiso?!

"This is the Colosseum, here it comes to kill or die, it was him or me"

"Tiso didn't have to fight with you! He was a newbie! Did you move your influences to agree a fight with him?"

"Who knows..."

"Damned! You killed my best friend!"

"And now I finally see you watching me."

"This was all because you wanted to have my attention? Only for that? I won't give you that pleasure! I'll never be yours! Not even as a friend! You will only have me when you take my life fighting for the title!"

"Are you going to condemn yourself to loneliness?"

"I'll never be alone... I'll always have Godofredo"

................

"I'm tired of females ignoring me!" He shouted furiously at the bitter memories, then mad with anger he drew his nail ready to finish off the defenseless pill bug. "Get ready to..."

Ben could not say more, because his words and his life were cut by the Hornet's needle of that was buried in his chest.

The air escaped from his lungs and his throat filled with fluids. How had it happened? It was only an instant, a flicker in which Hornet managed to run from her place next to the insect to his side. Now he could see the spider with its predatory eyes fixed on him, as dark and sinister as a moonless night. But even in his agony Ben could not remain silent.

"Ho... How... It's supposed... That you... can't kill anyone..."

"You know? During my life I was forced to kill many innocents, I killed my best friends, I killed the boy I liked as a child, I killed one of my siblings, I let my mother die... After so many sins... I wanted redeem me protecting life. I'll be clear with you, Ben. If I refused to kill others, it was because I didn't want to, not because I couldn't. But to you... I really wanted to kill you"

With a fast and precise movement, Hornet withdrew the needle leaving the wound exposed, through which the insect's life escaped. The dreadful pain that initially seized him quickly vanished while his vision clouded and the force left his limbs. Finally he ended up falling to the floor, without glory or grace. Then lying there and unable to move, he said his last words.

"In the end... I'm dead ... And she never paid attention to me..."

Not even Hornet paid attention to him, he wasn't worth it. That wretched butterfly would never bother them again. For now it had more important things to deal with, such as their survival... And Quirrel's.

Again she ran to her friend who was barely able to remain aware and seemed to be babbling unintelligible words, it was not much what she understood but she seemed to hear "ritual", "anchor" and "forgetfulness".

"Shh... Shut up Quirrel, save your strength. Everything will be fine"

Although it seemed that she was trying to calm Quirrel, she was really trying to calm down herself, a rather complicated thing to do when she had the insect bleeding in front of her.

In that moment, desperate for the loss of blood, she decided to lay hold on the only thing she had, her piece of thread. She didn't like running out of thread reservations, but the situation warranted it and she doubted she had to fight with someone soon.

She wrapped Quirrel with her silk, making sure to leave her ties firmly on the wound. She assumed that the thread would reduce bleeding, but not that it would stop it completely.

That is why she watched in wonder as the ropes seemed to be healing her friend, although it was not explained how. She approached a little to examine the strand more carefully and then she noticed that it was impregnated in soul. Of course, she had just occupied it to perform the Endiro spell, surely residues were left which now exercised healing powers similar to those that had the hot springs . It was quite convenient, if she had known she could do that with her thread, many things would have been different.

Having already solved the issue of the impending Quirrel's death, now she had to find some way to escape, but as far as she could see, that seemed to be impossible. They were trapped in an impenetrable cage, made to make sure that no cowardly gladiator escaped combat. When Hornet entered that cage, she knew that there was the possibility of not going out alive, now that was a reality.

However, some merciful god seemed to take care of Hornet somewhere in the world, because for the second time that day, a miracle happened.

A metallic noise alerted Hornet that she was no longer alone, then with illusion in her eyes she saw that one of the fences that blocked the different entrances to the arena had opened, there she could notice with surprise that Spencer was looking at her with concern, along with him there were two spiders of somewhat smaller size and still dressed in their armor.

"Spencer!" Shouted Hornet, happy to see him. "Have you come to rescue us?"

"I have come to rescue you. Consider yourself lucky to be a spider, well, half a spider, although in practical terms for me it is the same. I could not live with myself knowing that I have let one of mine die. Come! Let's go quickly!"

"I'm coming," Hornet said excitedly, approaching Quirrel and lifting him carefully. "Do you think you could help me here?"

"Eh? Of course not! As I said, I'm only interested in saving my kind, the other insects are not my problem. Leave that guy there and save yourself. Come on!"

"I can't leave him! Come on Spencer! You are a very bulky spider, you could carry him on your back easily"

"No! I won't risk myself for a bug that doesn't belong to my clan and if you want to stay with him I won't stop you, everyone is responsible for their life. I already did more than I should free you"

"I understand... Thanks Spencer. I will manage alone"

"Eh? Do you really intend to die for this guy?" Actually, the spider didn't think Hornet was really going to stay.

"I'm not going to die, we'll both get out of this alive," she said with such assurance that she even began to convince Spencer.

"Well... As you say, good luck, I hope you survive. Let's go guys"

And after saying that, the spider turned around feeling somewhat distressed, but he had already made his decision, in addition, he still had to protect the pair of spiders he had managed to save, these were somewhat burned and could not tolerate the growing fire much more.

Hornet carried Quirrel on her back and immediately the wound on her side began to resent. She had great physical strength, if she were well she could have carried Quirrel on for hours without getting too tired, but now in her condition she was barely able to drag him. However, she would not give up, she had already decided, both would come out alive from this.

Full of determination, she headed towards the exit, which burned with the power of the red flames.

The fire glowed like a sun, staining the sky scarlet, covering every bug it reached with its igneous mantle. Hundreds of screams were heard in the place, screams of pain capable of destroying the mind of the most sane. And in the midst of all that massacre, flying over that den of perdition, a demon of fire squawked, her wings covered in flames, while dropping tears as hot as lava.

Verm was beside herself, tormented by her own nightmares, feeling lost and hurt, trapped in a world where everyone was evil and could not trust anyone, so she attacked everyone.

In that state of frenzy, Hollow found her, so desperate that she was not even able to recognize him, for her he was just another terrible and terrifying enemy to whom she should calcine. Therefore she did not even hesitate to throw her flames.

The shadow dodged the igneous projectiles as best he could, although he could not prevent one from rubbing his side, he immediately shivered feeling the burn. His father had been right, the scarlet fire was capable of damaging him and, above all, of causing much pain. Now he was scared.

Verm roaring furiously, opened her mouth and released a flare with which she covered her body taking the appearance of a red sun, then she threw herself against Hollow. The poor boy desperate to defend himself took out one of his tentacles and whipped him to the girl trying to repel her. This action only seemed to alter her more, that blow so similar to that of the whip reminded her that she had disobeyed an order, now a punishment was coming, her fear continued to grow.

Seeking to defend himself at all costs, Verm took a breath to inflate like a balloon and began to expel small fire bats, red, bright and lethal, which flew towards Hollow almost as if they were endowed with their own lives. The poor shadow suffered new burns in his useless attempt to avoid the fiery beasts. That was not working out, Verm's fire was too fast, if he continued like this he would slowly end up burned.

This time he decided to take an active role and he himself went to face the young in a completely offensive posture. The little girl when she saw that monstrous shadow approaching became even more terrified and began throwing fireballs desperately. Hollow ignored the attacks, extended his shadow whips and hit each flame by pulverizing it instantly. Then as soon as he had the bat in front, he wrapped her with his limbs immobilizing her.

The feeling of being trapped was a real torture for Verm. Once Tamy had punished her by leaving her in chains and it was one of the most horrible things she had experienced. At the mercy of any damage, any pain and no chance of defending herself, on that occasion she had received 5 terrible lashes that hurt her for days, of course Tamy had then worked hard to heal her, treating her delicately and almost lovingly. But as soon as she was better, she warned her that if she disobeyed again, she would not hesitate to whip her again.

Being trapped between Hollow's tentacles reminded her of that feeling, so her level of despair rose through the clouds. She began to cry hysterically begging for help from her father. Soon her screams mixed with the fire that began to spit in the form of a waterfall and that climbed the hollow body.

The shadow immediately released her captive and shifted away to extinguish the flames. That had been dangerous, a few minutes would have been enough to burn him completely and now intense pain was spreading throughout his being. The worst part was that his options were running out and Verm only seemed to get worse every second.

It was then that a somewhat strange idea went through his head, but perhaps it could work. He began to extend his tentacles and widen them, while thickening the base of his horns and stylizing the shape of his bulging eyes. As a shadow, he had no definite form, he only took the one that best suited him. He could change his appearance at will, as he was doing now. Since she had heard Verm cry for her father, perhaps if he imitated his appearance she would calm down.

The idea finally seemed to result. As soon as the little girl saw that silhouette with ears and wide wings, she stopped her crying, stopped spitting fire and flew to meet him.

"Daddy!" He shouted full of joy.

The shadow received her with a hug and welcomed her to her chest, wrapping her with her dark wings. Initially Verm felt calm and happy, but it was not easy to deceive her, that was not her father's hug and as soon as she realized the horror appeared on her face.

"You are not daddy!"

At her words, Hollow regained her normal form while still hugging her, but now the little girl resisted her grip, as she quickly altered again. Who was this shadow? What did he want with her? Was it going to hurt her? She was about to spit more fire when something stopped her.

"Please... Stop..." Hollow said, forcing his voice to the fullest in order to whisper. I... I want to... Protect you... Forgive me... For not doing it... Before.

Verm never in her life heard Hollow's voice, with time and coexistence she had learned to communicate with him without words. And these whispers, despite sounding outsiders, caused her a special feeling, like the memory of something warm and beautiful that calmed her. She stopped fighting the shadow, then she calmed herself to examine him and immediately knew who he was.

"Mommy..." Again the tears fell from her eyes. "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy."

Both hugged in shock. Finally after so many hardships they were back together and now they did not plan to allow anything to separate them.

The Pale King was sick of worry. Following his common sense he had left the Colosseum and was outside waiting for one of his children to appear. He had already seen several insects fleeing, some in better condition than others, but with every minute he spent his hopes waned and his fear increased. Now he walked nervously hugging Hollow's mask apprehensively.

Suddenly a familiar growl caught his attention and looked up. His heart jumped with joy when he saw the little bat and the shadow approach from above. The worm extended the mask and the shadow entered it immediately, recovering its usual form of horned beetle.

"Glad to see you safe," said the king sincerely.

"....."

"Smug" the king complained. "Don't say it was nothing, look at your body, it's full of burns"

"I'm sorry" Verm cried feeling guilty immediately

"Oh no, no. Don't worry, it wasn't your fault, you weren't well, you didn't know what you were doing"

"But it's all my fault, if I hadn't escaped..."

"......."

"Hollow is right, it was only bad luck that you were captured, if not..."

"GODOFREDA!"

That shout was unmistakable. Standing there at the entrance of the coliseum was the tamer. She looked tired and had some burns on her limbs, but most of her body had been protected by armor.

"Godofreda... There you are. What are you doing there? Come back with me" She extended her hand to her.

Hollow immediately got in between Verm and the tamer, but then watched in horror as the little girl began to fly towards her. Couldn't she still overcome her mental dependence? Was she really going to return with her? However, the bat stopped midway and was suspended in the air looking at the tamer sadly. At that moment she finally spoke.

"I... I'm not Godofreda."

"Godofreda! You are talking!" Said the incredulous ant.

"Yes, I can talk and I understand everything that happens around me" She paused to sort her thoughts. "My name is Scarlet, that's the name my father gave me. They also call me Verm, that doesn't bother me, that name is fine. But Godofreda is horrible!"

A stab of pain hit the ant's chest upon knowing the opinion of the bat regarding that name she liked so much.

"You did many bad things to me. You chained me, you left me without eating, you beat me, you made me fight to the death and I..." Verm lowered her distressed gaze. "I don't hate you for that. You... You don't know how to be different. But... I won't forgive you for making Mommy cry and trying to kill Aunt Horny. No, I will never forgive you! That's why I hate you and I don't want to see you again in my life!"

The tamer was not able to answer anything, those words penetrated deeply into her being and left her frozen, she had lost her last ally. Then, in absolute silence, she entered the burning colloseum again, where she disappeared for almost a minute. The group stood there waiting for some reaction from them, perhaps a surprise attack, or some kind of desperate revenge, but nothing prepared them for what they saw. After that minute of waiting, Tamy came out carrying two insects, one on each arm. One was a pill bug and the other a crossbreed spider, both unconscious, probably drowned in the fumes of the fire.

"Hornet! Quirrel!" The Pale King shouted. "Damn! Do you intend to exchange Verm for them?

The tamer didn't answer anything, just stared at them in an exasperating way for long seconds, until finally, she threw the bodies out without care or delicacy letting them hit the ground, anyway that wouldn't kill them. After doing that action, the ant entered the Colosseum again to never leave.

Inside it was all hell, the heat was unbearable and the smoke could hardly let breathe, the structure fell apart, while the last survivor watched the scene impassive.

She could have escaped, she could have saved her life but... Was there any life left to save? She was an ant without a colony, without family, without friends, she had lost Godofredo who was all she had, lost Godofreda who had been her comfort and hope for the last years of her life. Now, all that remained her, the Colosseum, burned in flames. For her there was no future, from her youth, the only thing she knew were the death battles and she could not imagine another type of existence.

That's why she chose to burn next to his home, burn himself and let his black ashes mix with the white ashes of the wyrm. And in those last minutes of life, he dedicated his final thoughts to Tiso and Godofredo, the only two friends he had in his life.

Finally the tamer fell, that was her final battle.

Chapter Text

Verm opened her eyes and shouted in fright. She did not recognize the place where she was, she knew that leaving the room of the tamer was dangerous, there were many who would want to kill her if they caught her helpless.

She immediately began to look for her owner everywhere, her mind was a whirlwind of confusion and fear that did not seem to cease. Until a caress and a voice returned her calm.

"Easy Verm, nobody is going to hurt you." Hornet said affectionately.

Verm calmed down and looked around, realizing that it was Hollow who was caressing her. In addition, she was no longer in the dilapidated rooms of the Colosseum, she was in the house in Dirtmouth, lying on top of Hornet's soft bed, without muzzles, without chains and with total freedom to move and talk.

"Are you ok?"

"Ah... Yes"

"I'm glad. It's something early, although everyone used to get up early at the Colosseum. I guess you're used to it. Are you hungry? What would you like to eat? Unfortunately, we've been out for a month and everything in the pantry broke down, so I'll have to go shopping for supplies. Do you think you can wait a little?"

Verm did not answer, she just stared at her in silence. In fact, anything was fine for her, she had been eating crap for almost two months, she would wait for whatever was necessary if she could try a good stew or an omelet again.

"I expected a little more enthusiasm, you know?" She frowned "Oh well, I guess you'll cheer up after eating something"

Hornet didn't give it much importance and got out of bed to go shopping. Although she first took a look at the pill bug that slept near the bed on the floor, in a nest made of pillows and blankets. From the expression on his face, it could not be said that this will be pleasant.

Hornet understood, Quirrel was used to sleeping on the floor rolled in a ball, but with the deep wound she had done, curling was painful for him, so he was forced to sleep stretched. They had tried to make him feel more comfortable with pillows and blankets, but for him it was not the same and that was why he had spent a terrible night. In the end only by exhaustion he had managed to fall asleep very late in the morning.

A slight smile appeared on Hornet's face. It was good to have Quirrel back, she had so many things to tell him, surely he too, but there would be time for that, for now she would let him rest.

A few seconds passed after Hornet left when Hollow approached Verm and began to move her. It was his way of inviting her to play while they waited for his sister, but contrary to previous occasions, this time the bat did not react, looked at him with discouragement and remained in her place. The vessel understood his friend's wishes, so he just sat next to her and caressed her back.

Verm thanked that her guardian was so understanding, because at that time she had no encouragement to play, or to do anything really. After everything that had happened, she just wanted to lie on that soft bed and let time pass. She felt like she didn't have the strength to move. It was weird, something like this had never happened to her. Should she worry? She didn't have the strength for that either.

Being at home, warm, comfortable, unattached and surrounded by people worried about their well-being was like a dream, in fact now everything lived seemed like a distant dream. But no, that had been real, the scars on her back showed it. She sighed letting the feeling of emptiness overwhelm her while she remembered the chaotic day before.

Escaping the fire from the Colosseum was not the end of all their problems, because now they had to face having Aunt Horny and Uncle Quirrel unconscious drowned by all the smoke they had swallowed, and not knowing how to wake them up. The little ones did not take long to panic, fortunately the ghost of the Pale King knew how to calm them down and even how to wake the sleeping ones.

Calmly and in detail, he explained to Hollow a technique to infuse air into the lungs through the mouth. At first it seemed strange and even uncomfortable, but Hollow was so desperate that he didn't question anything, placed his mouth on top of his sister and blew. Then he proceeded to press the girl's chest as he had been told. When he was in the third series, Hornet finally regained consciousness and sat up coughing loudly with teary eyes.

After that followed a big hug from Hollow, that his sister due to cough could not correspond. Already when he saw her breathing better, the little boy proceeded to take care of Quirrel and there the problems began, because Hornet did not like to see his brother "kissing" the pill bug.

It's good that the warrior was weak, otherwise Verm would have had a hard time holding her while Hollow took care of her friend. At least when she saw that the pill bug was feeling better, she calmed down a little, but that did not prevent her from getting mad at his brother. For three hours she was without speaking to him.

What followed next was a tortuous march to the City of Tears. Wounded and weakened as they were, each step was a torment, pain ran through their shells and a deep exhaustion forced their eyes to close, but even so they continued advancing, they could not stop until they reached a safe place.

The guards who guarded the entrance to the city as soon as they saw them ran to their aid. For Verm it was wonderful to see that there were good insects in the world that helped others without expecting anything in return.

At that time Hornet and Quirrel allowed themselves to collapse on the floor. They had already reached their goal, they were safe, they surrendered to the will of their saviors. The guards who went to help them recognized them immediately, since they were cockroaches, members of the city's public workers' guild and, of course, part of the huge Dan's family.

A friend of Dan was a friend of the family and had to be treated with all the courtesy they deserved, so they spared no expense to help them. They were transported to the city center and got a free pass to the house of pleasure to be able to treat them with the hot springs of the place.

In that place Hornet and Quirrel were able to recover from most of their wounds and eat something, although some of their injuries were not completely healed by leaving the water early. To be completely healthy they should have stayed all night in that place, exceeding the house's opening hours. Since they did not want to cause problems, they chose to leave mid-treatment, despite the insistence of cockroaches because they will stay.

The rest was a quick trip in stag to Dirtmouth. Verm almost cried with emotion when she entered the house. It was just as she remembered. Hornet did a quick review of the place, got rid of some garbage and built a nest for Quirrel. After that, everyone went to sleep and didn't wake up until now.

Hornet's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Hey? Are they still there? In the same place where I left you? Are you sick or something? You should go around running around or breaking things... Well, better if you don't break anything, but still..."

Verm just looked at her inexpressively and Hornet sighed.

"Forget it, come to breakfast."

The food was quiet although somewhat uncomfortable for Verm. In the Colosseum she had gotten used to eating fast. Lunchtime was the only time when her muzzle was taken out, but for a limited time. Tamy gave her exactly 7 minutes to eat as much as she could. After that she was hungry or not, they would muzzle her again until the next snack.

Now she could take all the time she wanted to feed herself, but it was difficult to get rid of bad habits. Although the food was tasty, discouragement eventually ruined her appetite, which was very worrying for Hornet.

"Verm What's the matter with you?" She asked worried.

"Just give her her space," said the Pale King, appearing beside Hornet. "After all she has had to endure you will not expect her to be in the best of spirits."

"But she ate very little, and didn't you find her something thinner?"

"Thin? I find her more muscular, look at her, she looks strong and fierce"

"I look ugly" the bat began to cry.

"Oh no. Look what you did old man!"

"What? No... I don't... No Verm, you don't look ugly, You're still pretty, even with that overdeveloped body and those scary scars..."

"Waaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Just shut up!"

And just then to make the situation worse, they knocked on the door. Hornet had no choice but to go see who was while her brother tried to comfort the little girl. As soon as the spider opened the door, she was greeted with a warm hug by Dan and Bretta.

"Hornet!" They shouted in unison.

"Bretta? Dan? How..."

"My uncle Kepy told me that you had been found badly injured," Dan said, stepping aside to examine her carefully. "At least it seems they could treat you well, you don't look hurt"

"I wasn't so hurt either."

"Are you sure?" Bretta said with her usual warmth. "Remember that your idea of what it is to be hurt is a bit extreme, Hornet"

"Hey! If I say I wasn't hurt, it's because I wasn't. After the treatment with the hot springs I am like new, unlike Quirrel that still suffers from enough pain in his shell"

"Quirrel is hurt!?" "Bretta shouted, panicking. "Where is he!? Where is my blue Knight!? I must see him!"

A certain anguish settled in Hornet's stomach, she knew that Bretta was in love with Quirrel. For a moment she was tempted to close the door in her face, but she was her dear friend and that would be very cruel. So swallowing the jealousy that invaded her opened the door allowing the beetle to enter. Of course, Dan also passed, he was also worried about the pill bug, in part this reassured Hornet, Bretta would not be left alone with her beloved"

When the pair of insects entered, Hollow had already managed to comfort Verm, who was already calmer in his arms, practically curled around him.

"Hollow! Long time no see!" Dan said, approaching to share a friendly handshake with him."And who do you have there is Verm?"

Hollow loosed his grip on the little girl a little to allow the insect to see her better. Dan as soon as he laid his eyes on the bat was quite surprised.

"Is that Verm? But what happened to her? She looks horrible"

Dan didn't say it referring to the bat's muscular and battered body, rather he said it because of the swollen and tear-filled eyes she had. But regardless of the reason, Verm took it in the worst way and burst into tears again.

"Gayaaaaaaaarg! I am ugly! Gyaaaaaaaaarg!"

"I feel like my head is going to explode" Bretta complained. "Hornet do something!"

"I don't know what to do!" She said covering her ear canals. "Dan! You put her like this! Do something!"

"What do you want me to do?"

In the end, neither of them knew how to shut up Verm. The poor girl kept screaming for a couple of minutes while Hollow tried to calm her down by all means. Finally it was so much the noise that Quirrel ended up waking up, and even with all his pains he rose from his nest and walked to the room where the uproar was.

"My blue knight! But what happened to you!" Bretta said, horrified by the deplorable state of Quirrel.

"Hello Bretta, hello Dan," said the insect without encouragement and then headed for the bat. "Please! To calm a child is not that difficult"

Quirrel put a hand to his head and from the scarf he used, he pulled out a sweet maggot, a treat very popular with most children. Then without delay he introduced the worm into Verm's mouth. The little girl was initially surprised by this, but then began to taste the treat with delight and ended up calming down and then asking for more.

"I'm sorry little one, it was the last one I had left."

If it had been the old Verm, she would have started a tantrum to demand that they get her more candys, but now instead, in all humility, she simply kept silent and stared at the adults pleadingly, something that without knowing it, was so much or more effective than a tantrum.

"Don't be like that Verm, I'll go to buy more sweet maggots" Hornet said agitate, fearing Verm's mood would worsen again. "What do you guys say? Lets go shopping? Then I can tell you everything I've been doing this last month"

"I'll stay with Quirrel" Bretta said almost immediately.

"No!" Hornet said more effusively than she would have liked.

Both girls looked at each other for a moment and the tension settled in the environment. Both were good friends, but they were in love with the same bug, a drama so common and so cruel in the world, that it kept repeating itself over and over again. What was it worth more? Loyalty or love? Could a friendship still prevail in that situation?

Dan was quite lost and did not understand the situation very well, while Quirrel on the contrary, knew exactly what was happening. The pill bug chose to end that silent fight, so he turned and returned to the bedroom.

"Go with them Bretta, today I am not good company," said the insect, opening the door to the room.

"But..."

The beetle could not replicate anything, Quirrel closed the door and did not want to know more about anything.

"Brr... Is it my idea or today Quirrel is in a bad mood?" Dan said.

"I would like to see you with a smile on your face if you had to endure such pain and you would hardly have slept all night" said Hornet. "And... I guess that's why he doesn't really want to receive visitors" She said this trying to mitigate a little the pain she felt in Bretta.

"Yes... I guess it's understandable" the beetle whispered with deep sadness.

"Anyway, we're going to buy sweet maggots" Hornet said, changing the subject abruptly. "Hollow, Verm, we will be back soon, try not to break..." Verm again lay on the floor while Hollow stroked her back. "Better try to play a little, it's not good that you are like that"

The three adults then left the room leaving the children alone.

Any tension that would have occurred between Hornet and Bretta was forgotten (or rather hidden), during their shopping trip. The crossbreed made sure to tell them all her adventures in the Colosseum, of course, trying to soften the story a bit, Bretta was not very fond of violence.

For their part her friends also told her some news. Dan had finally obtained a permanent job as a keeper of the stags, where he worked quite well and had almost no accidents, which had made his mother no longer care so much for him. Besides that he had recently begun to woo a pretty pill bug with which he had serious intentions. Apparently that shy and insecure young bug who Hornet had known a little over a year ago had grown to become a splendid adult.

Bretta on the other hand, had launched her second book, which had been very well accepted, and her popularity had grown and now she received many letters from her fans, she had never felt so happy, loved and respected. Now her life was very different from the sad childhood she had faced.

Finally, they decided that one of these days they would gi together to a bar or something. So with a smile Hornet said goodbye to her friends thanking the warm welcome. And in contrast to the joy outside the door of her house, the interior looked extremely depressing. Sitting quietly in an armchair, Hollow was reading a book with Verm lying on him, staring absently at the ceiling.

This was definitely worrying her. Hollow liked to read a little once in a while, but he never lasted too long in that, and Verm was usually always fluttering everywhere planning some mischief. So seeing them both there so calmly put her on her nerves.

"Seriously all the time I left you alone, did you sit there?" They both nodded. "I can't believe it..." Hornet brought a worried hand to her face. "Well, it was enough rest for today, you two need to do some exercise, go out and play outside now"

"I don't want to" Verm said dryly.

"Don't you want to? Come on Verm! You can't stay locked up all your life, besides... Don't you want to go to the circus to see your father? You haven't seen each other for two months"

A shiver ran down her back, that was a meeting she feared, who she least wanted to see was her father. She was scared of being rejected by him, sure he would repudiate her when he saw the dreadful creature she had become.

"I...."

"Decided!" Said Hornet, walking to the children, taking them in her arms. Now you two will go to the circus to see Grimm, if we continue postponing your encounter, one of these days that bat will appear here to claim our heads. So go."

Hornet almost threw them out of the house and quickly closed the door to make sure they didn't enter again. This is how Verm and Hollow saw each other in the streets of Dirtmouth, and although the little girl did not want to, Hollow agreed that she should appear before Grimm, so they went to the troupe.

"Wow the prodigal daughter had returned!" Divine said as soon as she saw them. "Oh! I see the flame burn in all its splendor. Congratulations! You have completed the ritual! The master will be more than pleased. In fact you should hurry to see him, during the last month he has been very moody, and our poor Brumm has had to pay the consequences. Although I admit that the show the other day was quite interesting." SHe smiled mischievously, while the children only tilted their heads wondering what She meant. "Forget it, just enter the tent. Yes?"

Both entered the tent to the main track, where as usual used to be, Brumm was playing his sad songs on the accordion, although this time for some reason the insect had props on his head. The bug just gave them a grim look.

"Don't ask.... Go see the master"

They did not take two steps when a flame materialized in front of them from which Grimm emerged, who out of nowhere threw a blow to Hollow who almost fails to dodge it. The little boy immediately stood guard and took out his nail. He noticed the furious look of the bat which looked even more intense thanks to the scarlet of his eyes. At that moment he looked like a blood hungry monster.

"Bastard" The bat hissed in an effort to maintain elegance, although it was notorious that it was difficult for him. "How could you deprive me of the presence of my offspring for almost two moons! You.... Scarlet!" He exclaimed suddenly noticing the little girl, "But what happened to you! You look terrible!"

That was too much for Verm. She knew that her father would find her ugly and would not love her, but that didn't make it less painful. Her father was the king of beauty and elegance, a horrendous monster like her was not even worthy to be in her presence. So she could not help falling to the floor and burst into tears.

"Gayaaaaarg! Sorry daddy! Gyaaaaaaaaaarg! I'm sorry! Gyaaaaaaaarg!"

Verm was waiting for his repudiation and perhaps some insults, so she was so surprised when warm hands took her and cradled her gently. The little girl looked up and met the sweetest look her father had ever given her.

"Why do you beg pardon, little one?"

"For being ugly... Now I'm ugly and you're not going to love me anymore"

"Oh my little one. Although I venerate the beauty and elegance, your lack of grace won't make my affection for you decline. The love that I profess you has the strength of a mountain and will not diminish because of... Little things. Regardless of your appearance, I am glad to have you in my arms, alive and well. The ritual of the scarlet flame is extremely dangerous and few are the offspring that manage to overcome it, this task is even more arduous for the maidens... After so many failures before you... So many lost children... It's a miracle that you are here... And because of that... For me... There is no treasure more beautiful than you"

Grimm's voice almost broke with his last words, so he said no more and simply pressed his baby against his chest, trying to hold back his tears and regain his composure.

Hollow watched the scene in silence with some envy, at that moment he couldn't help wondering what it would be like to be loved that way. He could never experience what father or mother love was. The king had been a damn bastard who had despised him and when he met his mother, she treated him as if he were an unknown stranger, with a distant attitude and a look full of so much sadness, which only made him want to leave her presence. But what he observed here was different, as warm and beautiful as the brightest of the torches.

Finally the hug of father and daughter came to an end and Grimm wiping a rebel tear that escaped from one of his eyes said.

"Well... I'm also not going to deny that a bath would favor you a lot, your hair is a disaster."

"Gyaaarggg..." the little girl growled in embarrassment.

"Come on, little one... I recently acquired a lavender shampoo that you will love" he said, stepping off the circus ring, still carrying his daughter in his arms.

Hollow then remained alone in the middle of the place next to the musician, who seemed to have ignored everything that happened, because he continued playing with the same parsimony as always. Nobody said anything to the knight and he was not going to wait forever to receive instructions or something, so he started walking towards the exit. But he hadn't taken three steps when a scarlet flame materialized in front of him and from it came Grimm who took him firmly.

"You come too. Brumm! To the bathroom now!" Grimm shouted before disappearing again.

"Yes, master" the musician replied reluctantly.

Verm felt in the heavens, the warm water as it always was at the exact temperature, the foam floated around her like pretty little boats made of clouds, the scent of lavender was exquisite and best of all, her father's hands massaged her relieving all the tension accumulated in recent months.

Although Grimm's hands were not only massaging his daughter, they were also inspecting her, looking for any mark or lesion that was hidden from view and that was somewhat troubling. He did not detect anything that could result in a harm to the baby's health, however, he noticed many scars on her skin, apparently hidden by her black hair, but detectable by touch.

The bat frowned, the marks were many, as if they had whipped the little girl to exhaustion. His fangs appeared with murderous anxieties, if he could find out who had done that to Scarlet he would eat them alive, part by part.

He took a deep breath trying to calm himself down, for now he could wait, his priority was to consent to his daughter, it was notorious she had a hard time, later he would look for guilty parties.
Although if there was someone he could blame for the moment it was her guardian. It was his duty to protect his daughter and prevent things like this from happening to her! He looked away resentfully toward the tub where Brumm was bathing him, although Hollow's bath contrasted completely with Verm's. For him there was only cold water, cheap soap and a rough brush with which Brumm was rubbing him.

"Brush harder, Brumm. Let him cleansed from all sin."

"Yes, master" replied the musician scrubbing Hollow harder, causing him pain.

When the bath was over, Verm felt fresh and lively, while Hollow felt all his dark skin burn. He could feel Grimm's resentment in every inch of his anatomy, but that didn't compare to the glacial look he was giving him now.

"Tonight Scarlet will rest in my domains. Get out."

No more words were necessary, Hollow almost ran out of the circus without looking back.

"Mommy left without saying goodbye" Verm said somewhat sad.

"Don't occupy your mind on it, dear, it doesn't deserve it. We better play something, will you?"

"Yep! Gyaarg!"

The famous games of Grimm and his daughter actually consisted of circus trick practices, but she associated them with games, after all it were quite fun to do. That's why she loved the circus so much, there everyone played, even adults.

Verm discovered that thanks to the new muscles acquired, performing the tricks proposed by her father had become much easier. Now she was faster and more precise when moving. In the end something good had come out of her traumatic experience, although she wasn't quite sure if it had been worth it. But for the moment she just had fun going through the rings that his father threw into the air and set fire to the red flowers that he made appear out of nowhere.

After a couple of hours of practice, Grimm decided that it had been enough and it was time for dinner. This time Verm was much more willing to feed herself, her mood had improved a lot thanks to her father's care and after playing so much she had appetite.

The troupe chef had been in charge of preparing all the favorite dishes of the little girl, who of course tasted them delighted, although her father had to scold her many times for eating too fast, that was somewhat frustrating, but it did not prevent her from enjoying her Dinner.

Once the meal was over, it was notorious that Verm felt tired, because without any concealment she began to yawn, while her eyes closed alone.

"What's wrong, little one? Does the kingdom of dreams claim your presence?" Verm just nodded yawning again. "It is a somewhat premature hour to rest but if exhaustion overwhelms you we can go to sleep earlier. Anyway, I canceled the show today" Verm looked at him somewhat worried "Don't blame yourself for it, I wanted to dedicate all my time to you today. Tell me, would you like to rest by my side?"

"Yep!" The little girl said.

"Come on Scarlet, to the wood!"

The expression "to the wood" was the equivalent of saying to the bed. This was because Grimm did not sleep in a bed like most living beings, he did it hanging from a wood in his room. Verm also used to sleep in that way, but when she had to go live with her guardian, the need to stay close to him, in most cases prevented her from finding a comfortable place to hang, so she got used to sleeping in the floor or bed rolled up on her wings. But although she could sleep that way, she wasn't going to deny that she felt much more comfortable upside down.

When Grimm reached the room, he flapped his wings and rose to the wood, where he hung upside down, then he extended his arms leaving his chest uncovered. The little girl flew and grabbed firmly on him looking down, after this, Grimm proceeded to wrap himself with his wings and close his eyes to sleep.

So that night, Verm enjoyed the best rest she had in a long time, sheltered by the warm wings of her father and lulled by the heart of the nightmare.

Chapter Text

The audience of the Colosseum roared for blood, hitting the bars of the cage demanding the death of the fallen warrior. Hornet stood there, as the winner. She had that bug in armor before her feet, begging for mercy, but she with absolute coldness stuck her needle in the side of the bug opening a deep wound.

Then as if her body moved alone, Hornet buried the needle deeper, listening to the insides tear apart. The poor victim was barely able to move and suffering his last seconds of life took off his helmet revealing his identity.

"Quirrel! No! Quirreeeeeeel!" Hornet cried desperately.

"Hornet! Hornet! Wake up!" Quirrel screamed as he shook his friend.

Slowly the mists of the nightmare seemed to fade, and still panting, Hornet looked at her friend. There he was, alive, in one piece and looking at her worried. He couldn't help but throw her arms over him and hug him tightly... Although her strength was somewhat excessive for the pill bug's body.

"Hornet... I don't breathe..."

"Ahh, I'm sorry!" She immediately released him and backed into her bed away from him. "Sometimes I forget that I am much stronger than you" She looked at him with guilt. "I suppose it would be ridiculous if you had survived a battle in the Colosseum against me to end up dead because of a hug" Hornet's eyes began to get wet.

"Calm down Hornet, don't worry about it, in the end nothing happened," Quirrel said, taking a seat on the bed and placing one of his hands on her friend's shoulder, but she pushed him aside.

"That is a too simple way to see the problem! I really was willing to kill you" She looked at Quirrel worried.

"I know Hornet and I don't blame you. It was an extreme situation. I had my mind controlled by an external force and you were almost dying. Besides, I know that if you wanted to take my life it was only to save me from being the puppet of that hateful butterfly. Under normal circumstances you would never hurt me"

"Of course not! Under normal conditions I would even protect you with my life!"She looked sadly at the wound that the pill bug carried on his side. "But surely I would be a pathetic guardian, just look how I have left you"

"I didn't think all this affected you so much."

"Well... I tend to hide my anguish, I have to be strong, I can't let Hollow see me falter, and right now Verm needs everyone's support to overcome everything that has happened. That's why I forced myself to keep a smile. But it's getting harder and harder, I feel like it falls apart.

"Then let it falls apart"

And Hornet began to cry.

A shiver ran down Quirrel's back. Seeing Hornet crying was not normal. Not normal at all! She really must be affected to react that way. Fortunately before he had to do any action, Hornet herself calmed down and began to dry her tears with the sheets on her bed.

"I'm sorry Quirrel is that... This whole situation brought me unpleasant memories. Problems that I thought were overcome, but I suppose those old ghosts will haunt me until the end of my days"

"What ghosts?"

"Well..." Hornet seemed somewhat doubtful about whether or not to tell him, but in the end with a sigh she decided to speak. "You know I lived all the process of the infection in Hallownest. I saw with my own eyes how harmless insects turned little by little in empty shells plagued with death and pestilence. I saw how families succumbed to infection, how mothers attacked their own offspring to infect them, I saw how everything fell apart I saw... How my friends in Deepnest became monsters that just wanted me dead and... I also saw how they died by my own hands..."

"Hornet..."

"I was much younger at that time..." Hornet tried to force a carefree smile but the tears in her eyes made the task difficult. "I had nightmares a month after that and... Later I decided to harden my heart, stay alone and not make more friends so I wouldn't have to suffer when... I had to kill them..." She dropped herself into bed and looked at the ceiling with melancholy "Now when everything It seemed fine... When I thought I was free to allow myself to love again... This happens..."

"Hey... This was not a common situation," Quirrel said approaching. "Under normal circumstances you should not face such dilemmas. In part it was my fault for letting them capture me. But this is absolutely different from your previous experiences, this time you could save me, it was something possible and here you have me again with you. I don't think it's necessary that you harden your heart again or deny yourself the right to love someone"

Hornet's breathing softened and she began to calm down, dried the last tears that rolled down her eyes and sat up on the bed. Then looked at the pill bug directly in the eyes, Quirrel got a little nervous, her attitude was a little weird.

"You know? I would like to stay with you... Living by your side for a long time, as much as possible, it is nice to have you around. It would be great to be able to do that, to have you alive with me." Hornet put her hand on Quirrel's wound and began to caress it gently.

"I don't see why you can't fulfill that desire, I'm not going to die or anything, you can stay with me all you want."

"Really? Could I accompany you... Until the end of your life?"

"Eh yes? I guess?" This question confused the pill bug a lot, because he didn't quite understand what it was all about. "Destiny is somewhat uncertain, but if conditions permit, I will be happy to have you by my side forever"

"That..." A smile peeked over Hornet's face and she pressed the pill bug's side with more force. "That is good to know."

"Ah!"

"Did I hurt you?"

"Eh... No, no, I'm fine, it didn't hurt... Rather it tickled me, with or without wounds my sides are somewhat sensitive"

"I see."

That began as a simple caress that was reciprocated, but it ended up leading to something else. It was a magical and intimate moment where both gave themselves completely, where they showed their love, where both had to face their fears and overcome them to end up accepting completely.

It was after this moment that Hornet could finally feel at ease with her body plagued by emptiness and Quirrel stopped being tormented by the fear that someone from his past would claim him.

It was a wonderful moment, and after such intense love, both lay down watching each other while they caressed affectionately.

"I love you"

"I love you too, Hornet."

The spider curled up next to Quirrel, accommodating herself in the curvature of his body, of course the insect received her and settled her in his arms, where he began to gently rubbing her naked body, including the parts made of void.

The warm she felt, coupled with pampering and all the accumulated fatigue made Hornet feel sleepy, but before falling asleep, she wanted to ask Quirrel a question, or she could forget it.

"Quirrel"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What you want"

"The tattoo behind your tail. Did you do it before or after losing your memory?"

"What tattoo?"

"Question answered"

"Do I really have a tattoo there? I can't see that part"

"It is also not a very visible place and the tattoo is small. It is from a heart engulfed in flames"

"How strange... Why would I get a tattoo? I don't like them, I don't think memory loss affects my tastes, does it?"

"I don't know..." Hornet began to close her eyes. "But you can't see it and the rest can't either... So it doesn't matter"

"But it still ia something that worried me, it's a heart. Will it be a promise of love? Or something else? And... What if it had to do with a previous relationship? Hornet, are you okay with me?"

"Yes... I love you so much" The half-blood had already closed her eyes, the fatigue was beating her.

"But I probably had someone in my past."

"But not anymore..."

"What if she came back?"

"She won't come back." Little by little Hornet was losing consciousness.

"How can you be so sure?"

"You're a widower" she said finally falling asleep.

Quirrel was speechless for a few moments

"I a widower!?" I was married!? With whom? What happened to my wife? How do you know all this?"

But he got no answer, Hornet had succumbed to the dream and would no longer wake up within a few hours, and the truth, Quirrel didn't want to wake her up either, it was notorious that she needed to rest. He sighed in resignation and decided to imitate her. He settled down next to her and closed his eyes. Later he would ask her what she knew, but for now, he prepared to enjoy the present and his little piece of heaven.

Chapter Text

The pill bug opened his eyes and the first thing he saw when he woke up was the image of Hornet without her usual red cloak asleep beside him.

A tingle went through his belly as he watched the crossbreed, she looked so calm, peaceful and beautiful that at that moment the temptation to kiss her was too much, this dream was turning out to be very pleasant.

Suddenly Hornet sighed asleep and gently squeezed Quirrel's hand, who suddenly came back to reality and realized that nothing he was seeing was a dream. He had fallen asleep unscrewed in Hornet's bed with her naked at his side.

He sat confused as the nebula of memories dissipated from his mind and reality hit him abruptly.

He had slept with Hornet... And it had been beautiful.

Now he could remember more clearly the fact, the looks, the caresses, the words of love. Hornet had surrendered completely showing him a side he had never seen. She always seemed severe and in a bad mood, but deep inside she was a sweet and naughty girl, one that was now his and nobody else's.

And this situation made him feel guilty.

In fact he had done nothing wrong, they loved each other, they were adults, both had agreed on what happened and were in a position to face any consequences that came out of this. However, he couldn't help thinking that the situation was too advantageous for him.

Hornet was an extraordinary girl, beautiful, powerful and imposing, and she was also a princess, perhaps the princess from a fallen kingdom but it was in the process of reconstruction and she was the rightful heiress. If she decided to claim the throne she would easily get it, along with all that that entails. If she wanted to, she could obtain power, wealth and territory, all at her fingertips.

But even if she decided not to become queen, she already had enough. She owned a house and technically was the owner of an entire town in Deepnest. She had influential friendships, an enviable physical force, and after her stay at the Colosseum, a modest fortune. Instead he, what did he have to offer her?

He was a tramp with no fortune or power, he even had not family or memories. To date he had never worried about this, but now it was different, he had someone who he was interested and who wanted to deliver everything he had... That was nothing.

He could no longer deal with his insecurities, so he got out of bed. The slight movement he made when he left shook Hornet a little, who in between dreams sighed with an expression of complete happiness. Quirrel blushed at that sight, the she looked so pretty that he wanted to wake her up and take her again.

He left the bedroom and went to the kitchen to drink some water. There he had a rather unusual vision. Hollow was heating water in a pot and next to him, the Pale King seemed to be giving him some instructions.

"...?""

"Not yet Hollow, wait for it to boil"

"....?"

"When it is. Is it really so complicated to wait for the water to heat up?"

"Hello" Quirrel said, trying to hide a certain nervousness that suddenly swept through him. "What do you do?"

"Gulka soup" the king replied. "Or so we try to do"

"I didn't know you liked that Hollow."

"...."

"He says he doesn't really like it very much, but that after burning his last two attempts at food this is his last option."

This information left Quirrel quite worried.

"Looks like cooking isn't your strong Hollow. I think I'll finish the soup, you go and find something to do, okay"

Quirrel started to prepare the soup, having something to do used to help him clear his mind and think things better, but for the first time this was not useful.

Even while cutting the vegetables, he couldn't keep out the idea of being unworthy for Hornet. She deserved someone better, much better. In fact he still had a hard time believing she had been willing to give herself to him. Now he felt like crap taken advantage of. Why didn't he think about it better? What should he do? Probably if he raised his doubts to her, she would insist that he didn't have to worry, that she wanted to do it.

But an insect in love can commit many stupidities. Although Quirrel had to recognize that he was also in love, but he was not very fond of being carried away by the passions, instead Hornet... He was not really sure, he must admit that sometimes she could make decisions in a cold and objective way making aside her feelings, like when she decided that she preferred to kill him rather than let him be a mental slave.

A chill ran down his spine. It had all started with a conversation on that subject, to finally end up promising her that they would be together until the end of their lives. But maybe he would be forced to break that oath, he had to protect Hornet, he couldn't allow her to make a silly decision by taking him as a couple. Maybe he should make another trip.

Still with his head in the clouds, he served some soup to Hollow, after which he sat at the table with his eyes lost and sighing.

Hollow tasted the soup, it was pretty good, although he didn't like gulkas very much. He wanted to congratulate his friend but found him so distracted that he was unable to get his attention without having a voice.

"Hollow says the soup is very good," said the Pale King waking Quirrel from his reveries.

"Eh?" Quirrel jumped in his place in surprise. "Ah, thank you" He fell back into his silence.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" The king seemed somewhat worried about the pill bug's mood.

"I'm not hungry"

"Are you sure? After what happened with Hornet you should eat a little"

"I said... What !? But how..." Suddenly he noticed the Dream Nail that was on the table. "But how could you! People's thoughts are personal and private!"

"But..."

"I don't want to be told anything!" He shouted as he stood up and headed for the exit.

"Quirrel!" The ghost and Hollow began to follow him worried. "Do not mortify yourself, Hornet wanted it that way, you will do more damage if you leave her"

"I do not want to talk about that!" He opened the door to go outside.

"And even if you are a poor bastard, we all love you."

"AAAGAGGG!"

Quirrel no longer replied, he simply slammed the door and left the house. And there Hollow and the Pale King stayed, silently watching the closed door. Then Hollow turned his eyes to his father.

"....."

"I know, for a reason White said that I was a social failure"

"......?"

"Quirrel didn't realize he was talking loudly while he was lost in his reveries and thought I had spied on his mind" He sighed deeply. "I know that everything that happened was normal and expected but I can't help feeling a little awkward with this.

"........" He shrugged and headed to eat his soup.

"Ah... Hollow, you don't understand. You'll never understand!"

The heart of the realm of nightmares looked as the little girl remembered, with that strange red atmosphere and its dense and warm air. The air had something special that inspired terror, but those chosen by the nightmare king were immune to this phenomenon.

This was not the first time Verm visited this dream kingdom, but it was not a place she frequented and could not help feeling strange, unlike her father who looked extremely comfortable.
However, he had already explained that when the ritual ended, she would become a complete servant of the nightmare king, then she would have to go to this place frequently to be accountable to the god, so it was best to get used to it.

She continued flying with her father until they reached that strange red formation that hung from the sky. It was a difficult thing to describe it. It was a kind of scarlet cocoon that throbbed like a heart.

"My lord," Grimm said bowing, his daughter imitated him. "A new servant has emerged"

At that moment an opening appeared in the cocoon, the place trembled at the same time as a curtain of red fire emerged from the opening. The flames surrounded them, but the bats were not affected, now both were immune to them.

Finally when the fire subsided, both individuals had before them an imposing and terrifying red bat, which in a way reminded Grimm, but his face was sharper, his ears longer and his eyes more perverse.

"This is a surprise," said the god, analyzing Verm. "Of all the offspring you've ever presented to me, this was the one I least expected to complete the ritual. Your five previous children perished without success, and it is not common for females to reach the end"

A grimace of pain appeared fleetingly on Grimm's face. Although his previous failures were an overcoming issue, it kept hurting him to remember them.

"The uncertainty of the future always gives us surprises," he replied calmly. "Like Scarlet, whose power turned out to exceed all expectations"

"Actually when you brought her to me the first time, she didn't seem like a big deal, you had her too spoiled Grimm. Fortunately it seems that her guardian was able to get some tenacity out of her"

Grimm had to bite his tongue to avoid letting go of an expletive and saying what he really thought of her guardian. He still did not forgive Hollow for the state in which he had returned his daughter, it was one thing to get tenacity out of her and another to torture her. Her little Scarlet insisted that it was all her fault, but for Grimm that simply couldn't be true. Her little girl would never be guilty of anything, she was just a poor victim of the vessel, to whom he was seriously considering punish during ritual dance.

"Anyway, I'm very pleased with this offspring" said the nightmare king, approaching Scarlet who looked at him in fright. "Very few females manage to complete the ritual, but those who achieve it turn out to be wonderful servants. Besides that they have the advantage that they do not need to kidnap children when the time comes for them to grant me new servants"

"Kidnap?" Verm tilted her head and watched her father, for some reason his eyes looked darkened.

"Grimm, haven't you told her the truth yet?"

"I didn't want to tarnish her childhood with bitter truths"

"Ah, but Scarlet's childhood is about to end, so it's time to show her those truths."

"What truth daddy?"

A deep anguish settled in Grimm's chest, he did not feel able to speak.

"The truth of what he had to do to your mother, Scarlet" said the red being, grinning mischievously at the little girl's bewilderment.

"My lord..." Grimm pleaded.

"I don't have a mother... At least not a real one" she said, thinking about her mom Hollow. "I was born from an egg that Daddy put"

"Pfffff! Hahahahahahaha!"

The nightmare king's laugh echoed through every corner of the kingdom, shaking the earth and the sky, but that was not a pleasant laugh, it was frightening and terrible.

"Is that the story your father told you? But what a charm and innocence" Verm looked at him more and more confused. "Males cannot give birth to children, that is a capacity that only females possess. And even then, they cannot do it alone, to start a new life male and female are necessary. Therefore, you have a father, here present, and somewhere in the world, if she is still alive, you have a mother."

Scarlet's eyes widened in surprise at that revelation. Throughout her life she had believed that her father was her only parent, at least that was what she had said when she asked him why she didn't have a mother. Grimm had never lied to her, she had no reason not to believe him.

But now she was beginning to have doubts. How did the children really come to the world? Why were male and female necessary? And why couldn't she meet her mother?

"Daddy... Why did you lie to me?" She said with tears in his eyes, "Where is my mother?"

"I..." He looked down. "I don't know..."

"And you'll never know" said the nightmare king, savoring the cruelty of the situation. "Anyway I doubt he wants to meet her again, he did something too horrible to be forgiven. What female would forgive him for being courted, only to conceive of a child who would later be taken away in the most cruel way?"

A sharp pain went through Scarlet's chest. Her father... Her dear father who was so good to her had taken her away from her mother, that didn't fit her head. She looked at Grimm hoping he would deny it, all that had to be a lie.

But Grimm didn't say a word, he was just standing there with his eyes on the floor remembering painful moments. He could still hear the cries of the mothers begging him not to take their offspring. He could still remember the pain and especially the guilt he felt each time he lost one.

The knowledge of how short the lives of these children could be led him to spoil Scarlet so much. He did not know how long the poor would live. Because she was a female she assumed she would not survive, so he wanted her life to be as happy as possible. He did not allow her to know the horrible side of the world, he never subjected her to the rigor of life and filled her head with fantasies and lies. What did it matter? She was going to die soon.

But against all odds she survived, where her brothers failed she triumphed, and now it was her turn to know a cruel reality, the condemnation of the ritual, her inevitable destiny under the yoke of the Nightmare King.

"Why..." the little girl groaned.

"Because that's how it should be" he replied sadly.

"And so it will be for you" said the scarlet god. "Someday you will also have to perform this ritual, but you will have the advantage that you will not take anyone's children, feel lucky"
he finished with a cynical smile.

"No... No... I don't want to!" The little girl shut up.

"You have no choice, that is what it means to be born under the mantle of the Scarlet Clan, you will soon be my servant and what I say will be what you will do"

That was very different from what her father had said. She was supposed to do the ritual to get the power of fire and someday become queen. They were supposed to conquer Hallownest, but instead they were telling her that she was doomed to obey all the orders of this scarlet god. Why did history twist her so much? Or maybe... I wasn't so crooked. Did the nightmare king want something with this fallen kingdom?

So that was her reality, she gained power in return slavery and from the beginning she never had the option to choose. And what was worse, her father never warned him. Wounded and in rage she looked at the black bat and shouted at him.

"I hate you!"

Those words stuck like knives in the heart of the bat, who watched sadly as his daughter vanished into a cloud of fire with a look of rage.

"Scarlet..."

"I told you to explain her before, Grimm"

The aforementioned looked defiant.

"I do not regret. Being able to love her was my greatest joy, even if everything should end like this"

"Really..." The nightmare king sighed. "I will never understand these earthly beings"

Quirrel was sitting on the well-known bench in the middle of the road, with his eyes lost and an expression of anguish. The fact that the Pale King and Hollow found out what happened only increased their insecurities.

He still did not fully understand why no one had reproached him for what he had done. Did they really think it was okay for them to be together? Well, from the Pale King he understood it, he had been bothering him for months that he and Hornet would be a good couple, but that was because he saw him as a kind of personal adviser who would be very useful to rule the kingdom. He wasn't sure that he was so worried about his daughter's well-being.

Hollow's attitude missed him more. In the Colosseum he struggled to scare every bug that wanted to approach his sister with other intentions. Why didn't he do anything to him? Did he consider him worthy of Hornet? Although... Hollow never had much common sense, maybe he like him just because they were friends.

Hornet deserved better, maybe she loved him just because he was the first male with whom she had a close deal, if another suitor appeared to offer her more, she would surely leave him...
A stitch stuck in the pill bug's chest at this idea. He wasn't sure if he would bear Hornet leaving him for another after everything that had happened. For Quirrel, relations were something very serious.

Each time the idea of going away from Hallownest seemed more attractive, or perhaps he should resume his old plan to throw himself into the waters of the Blue Lake.

"Quirrel?" Said a sweet voice.

The insect woke up from his reveries by the voice of Bretta who looked worried. Quirrel looked very depressed and this did not go unnoticed by the beetle.

"Are you ok?"

"Eh... Yes... I think..."

"Do you need to talk?"

"No, I'm fine, don't worry."

"Well, it doesn't seem like it" the beetle said, taking a seat next to him.

She studied him with her eyes and couldn't help worrying. "You know, if you need to talk about something, I am here for you. I could never properly thank you for saving me and if I can return the favor in some way, even if it is small I will"

Quirrel watched the beetle. She was ugly and plump, but with the warmest and friendliest heart he had ever known. Another person who could be damaged by his fault. But it was inevitable, he was in love with someone else, someone who he was not worthy. He was really considering the idea of leaving Hallownest forever, but he felt he needed to talk to someone.

"Bretta... I was thinking of leaving Hallownest"

"Another of your trips? So soon? But if you returned just a few days ago and just finished recovering from your injuries. Wouldn't it be better if you waited a little longer before leaving? Also why so much urgency?"

"It's... I need to go"

"And will you be back soon?" The beetle was beginning to feel agitated.

"No, it won't be soon... Maybe I'll never come back"

"But Quirrel! You can't do that! And where are you going?"

"I don't know, I'll just leave. Anyway I have nothing to tie me to this place... Or anywhere. I have no fortune, family, memories, nothing valuable, it is very easy to leave"

Bretta looked worried, something bad was definitely happening to Quirrel, she couldn't let him go like this, at least not alone.

"Quirrel... Since you're going to travel... I was wondering if I could accompany you"

"Accompany me ?" Quirrel seemed doubtful. "Are you sure, Bretta? The trip can be dangerous, you were already once and you almost ended up devoured"

"But while I was with you and nothing bad happened to me" she said determinedly. "I know that while I'm with you, I'll be fine"

"I think you overestimate me"

"It is not true, I have seen what you are capable of, that is why I trust you and I am able to travel with you. In addition, you will feel very alone traveling through wild lands and as far as I know, pill bugs like to live in groups, loneliness is not good for you"

"Well... Maybe you're right" he said dejectedly. "In part I feel my spirit already broken, so much time has only weakened me I guess. Well Bretta, we'll go together"

Bretta's heart leaped with joy when she heard Quirrel's response. That was her dream come true, finally she and her blue knight would be together, after so many tears, she could have her special person by her side.

That was her first wave of joy, however, then she began to consider all the implications of her departure: Her work as a writer, her fans, her friends, Dan, Sharpy, Hornet... And then reality hit her. What was the real reason that Quirrel felt such urgency to leave?

"Quirrel. Did something happen between you and Hornet?" The pill bug tensed at the question.

"What happened doesn't matter, I won't see her again"

"Did you argue with her?"

"A-a- argue?" The insect's face flushed. "No, we didn't argue, in fact it was the opposite and well... Anyway, I can't stay by her side"

"Why?"

"I am not worthy..." He looked down in distress.

Then a strong blow forced him to direct his eyes towards Bretta and to his surprise, he found her with her fist stamped against the bench and with a rabid expression.

"Hornet told you that!?"

"Eh? No! She... She accepts me as I am, but I don't feel worthy of her"

"And so that's why you choose to Bretta, the consolation prize!?"

"What! No no no no! I didn't pretend..."

"Then why do you want to travel with me?"

"To not be alone. But it has not occurred to me to try anything with..."

"Quirrel... Please tell me the truth. Are you in love with Hornet?"

"Yes..."

"And she loves you?" This time Quirrel just nodded. "You're an idiot!"

"Bretta?" The pill bug was somewhat intimidated by the furious attitude of the female

"How can you be so stupid! You don't realize the treasure you have!"

"I realize, she is too much for me"

"That is not something you can decide on your own! You... You... You can't imagine how many stories of tragic love I have heard. Couples who cannot be together because they are of different social class, or different species, or of the same sex or simply the circumstances of life separate them. But I never heard of a couple who couldn't be together because one of the parties felt unworthy. That's ridiculous!"

"But... But Bretta..."

"If Hornet chose you then you are worthy! Otherwise she would never have been interested in you. And on the other hand, are you really not able to see everything good in you? Do you really feel so little? Wake up Quirrel! You have a lot to offer, even if you don't realize it"

"I am not so good and I fear that Hornet's judgment is clouded by her affection for me"

"Then talk to her, tell her your doubts. You are an adult Quirrel, you are supposed to solve the problems by talking, not escaping like a coward!"

The explorer stayed a moment meditating on the words of his neighbor. She was actually right. It was appropriate that he at least give an explanation to Hornet, after everything she had done for him she deserved it.

"You're right, Bretta, I'll go talk to her, thanks"

He immediately got up from his seat and walked home leaving the beetle sitting on the bench alone with her thoughts.

Bretta sighed wistfully, almost regretting what she had done. She could have remained silent, she could have left with her blue knight, the two alone, hidden under the veil of the night, like two fugitives escaping from a cruel past, seeking paradise ideal where they could live their love without restrictions. But that was just a fantasy, the reality was different, his knight's heart belonged to someone else and she couldn't fight it. Once again the sad maiden would have to fire an old love.

Seeing hurt and helpless, the poor beetle rested her head on her hands and began to cry. Why did it always have to be this way? Just now that she had finally found an ideal bug, someone who did not disappoint her, he was interested in her best friend. Was she perhaps condemned to be alone forever? Then a comforting caress in her head made her look up.

In front of her was Elderbug, who looked at her with a worried expression.

"Are you okay, Bretta?"

"I... I..." Breta wasn't much about telling her problems, but she needed to let off steam. "I am alone... Nobody loves me...."

"That's not true, Bretta, and you know it well"

"Not that..."

Then the memories of her fans who enjoyed her stories so much came to her mind, her editor Sharpy who had become a true friend beyond her professional relationship, thought also of Dan, that nice little pill bug that always greeted her, in Iselda who more than once had helped her with one or another issue, in the old insect who was now trying to comfort her and finally, she remembered Hornet, who was at her side supporting her almost from the day they met.

All these people were good to her, they did not make fun of her appearance and did not leave her behind. They worried about her well-being and expressed a sincere affection.

Yes, that was the reality, she was no longer the belittled beetle of the past, she was surrounded by people who loved her. Perhaps Hornet had stolen her blue knight's love, but in return she had given her much more, she had given her self confidence and love for herself.

Quirrel timidly peered inside the house, and then entered trying not to make any noise. He himself did not know why he acted like that, it was a silly behavior, obviously he was not going to be able to hide from anyone, much less Hornet who was sitting in the main room drinking tea with her eyes fixed on the door waiting for him.

"Where were you?" Asked the spider with some discomfort.

"Eh... I... I'm sorry" he replied with some nervousness. "I... I needed to think and I went for a walk"

"Do you have the energy to go for a walk? I am dead of exhaustion. How do you do it?"

"Well... I think the first time is like that..."

"I hope it's true, I don't want to end up like this every time we... Hey, is everything all right?" She said noticing the decayed mood of her mate.

"Yes... I think... Well... This..."

Hornet took a sip of her tea and gave him a sweet, love-filled look that made his heart pound. He didn't want to get away from those eyes. He didn't want to turn away from her"

"I'm sorry Hornet!" He shouted, looking down and clenching his fists.

"You sorry? Why? Hey! Don't tell me you already cheated on me! We haven't even been a couple for 24 hours!"

"What!? No!"

"Then what do you apologize for? I can't think of anything more serious than that"

"I... I'm sorry for being so little... For not being able to offer you anything."

"Offer me something? And why do you have to offer me something? I don't need anything."

"To prove that I am worthy of you"

"Quirrel... Stop saying idiocy, you don't need to prove anything, if I say you're worthy, then you are."

"But I'll ruin your life."

"Sure" she crossed her arms "you'll take me on the path of alcohol and drugs."

"I'm a poor tramp."

"I've always known it, since the day I first received you in my house"

"But... This is not what I want. I wish I could give you everything, but I have nothing, I am just a poor insignificant pill bug and you... You are a powerful princess, how could I aspire to be with someone like you?"

Hornet sighed. She set her empty teacup aside and walked to Quirrel.

"Quirrel, you are a very valuable insect, even if you are not the strongest, even if you have no past, wealth or possessions, you are more than enough for me. Stop feeling that you are unworthy! Believe it or not, you have so much to offer, you give me something that nobody could ever give me"

"Really?" He blinked incredulously. "What thing?"

"The best stew in the world!" The pill bug's expression of surprise was indescribable. "And not only that, your soups are also very good, not to mention your omelettes and cakes. I really doubt anyone could give me anything better than that"

Quirrel blinked a few times in amazement, until he finally burst into laughter.

"Oh Hornet, you're amazing, you have an answer for everything, hahahaha."

"Well then, have you convinced yourself that you are enough for me?"

"Yes, and I will make sure that I remain so, I will keep you well fed hahaha."

"That's why I love you" said Hornet, approaching her mate and giving him a warm hug.

In another place in the meantime, other individuals also gave themselves to a hug, but this one was much more painful.

Grimm was clinging to Brumm's neck made a sea of tears, while the poor bug did his best to calm him down.

"Quiet Grimm, I don't think Scarlet hates you, she was hurt by the lie."

When they were alone, Brumm was free to call the master by his name.

"But... But... I did something horrible... I did something horrible to her mother... And if the Nightmare king asks, I'll have to do it again..."

"It is your destiny, it is her destiny. When the time comes she will understand everything"

"But I don't want that!" He shouted in tears. "I don't want Scarlet to go through the same thing, I don't want her to suffer from having to sacrifice her children, I don't want her to be a ritual slave like us... Snif... But I can't do anything to avoid it..." He hugged the musician tighter. "I don't want to have more children, Brumm... This hurts.

The insect said nothing, just shook him in his arms and stroked his head as he used to do when he was a sprout. Because no matter how many years will pass, for him, Grimm would always be his child.

Chapter Text

"....?"

"........"

".........!"

This was a conversation that really few people could understand, so there was no opportunity for someone to spy on them, but still Hollow and his brother had decided to hide to carry it out, because the subject was somewhat serious.

Green had made all the way from the abyss to Dirtmouth to look for him. The message was urgent, even Green who usually had a cheerful personality and something irresponsible, now showed seriousness and concern.

As he explained to Hollow, Big was somewhat ill, but he had a strange disease. Obviously a vessel could not suffer from the same ailments as a normal insect, but his problem far exceeded anything he could have imagined. It was a problem of the mind.

Big had strange ghosts hovering around his head, he felt a voice that spoke to him, shouted at him and urged him to harm every close being. Of course, the king vessel used all his willpower to resist the influence and remain calm, but the mental wear and tear had exhausted him, as well as lately he began to suffer from headaches and blurred vision. Most assumed that it was some sequel to having The Radiance for so long housed inside, but anyway, whatever the cause, they needed a cure. So far, they only knew that staying submerged in the black lake relieved and calmed him, so he spent most of his time there.

None of his gloomy brothers had a way to help him, nor the knowledge for it, they knew nothing about the world and were just beginning to explore it. Their lack of experience was a big problem, so they decided to ask for help from the only one of them who had been able to explore more freely, and who might have acquired some wisdom that would be useful in that case.

Of course Hollow did not have the slightest idea of how to help in this situation, however he wanted to go to see his brother anyway, he had decided that he would protect him and be his knight, therefore his duty was to be by his side. At least he no longer had to worry about Hornet, she was fine, she was much more civilized, now she had friends, a peaceful life and had Quirrel. Lo he could leave her to take care of his brother. However there was one thing that held him back, his protected Verm. He could not suddenly retire and leave her, they still had to complete the ritual.

Fortunately, he was about to finish that task, so he would soon be free to return to the abyss and support his family.

He explained the situation to Green and asked him to wait a few more days, this was not very funny to the green vessel, but he accepted anyway, after all, Hollow did not really know how to help Big.

Both brothers said goodbye effusively, promising to see each other soon, and so Green left.

This encounter left Hollow extremely worried. He was going to talk to Verm to ask when the ritual would end, time was pressing. Although he was nervous to appear in Grimm's company since he was not on very good terms with the bat. But Hollow loved his family and was willing to do everything for them.

Fortunately for him, he did not even have to approach the circus, for as soon as he left the alley where he was hiding, he found Verm talking to the ghost of the Pale King. He thought it was something strange, but then he remembered that she could see ghosts without the need to use artifacts.

Curious, he approached to listen, it seemed to be something important, because Verm looked worried. This made him a little jealous. What problem would she have that she preferred to speak with that hateful ghost than with him?

"Please, Pale uncle, I need to know. How do babies come to the world?"

Well, that was a subject that Hollow didn't know much about and he couldn't help with, in fact he knew so little that he wanted to listen too, so he approached.

".....?"

"You too, Hollow?" But you don't need to know, you don't have gender and you can't procreate, "said the king, somewhat uncomfortable.

"........"

"Come on, Uncle Pale! I have to know the truth. Daddy said I came from an egg he laid, but another guy said that was impossible and..."

"The males don't lay eggs," the king said almost with a laugh at the ridiculous idea. "From where do you think them to put them?"

"Well...."

"Better say nothing" he sighed deeply. "Well, I guess you're old enough to know and Hollow will find the information useful at some point"

A long biological explanation later.

".... Then, insects are born by eggs and bats by live young. Therefore, it is impossible that your father has laid an egg"

"Daddy lied to me..." The little girl was dejected, but Hollow quickly approached to comfort her by stroking her head. However an idea assaulted his head.

"......?"

"Well... Your mother was a root, technically she didn't lay eggs, she created seeds, so in a way your birth was special."

".........?"

"Of course not, you were perfectly normal, the change occurred by bathing your seed in the energy of void" The king put his hands to his mouth, regretting what he had said.

Fury emerged in Hollow's eyes. He was originally a normal bug, he could have had a common life, a voice, a defined gender, so many things could have been different, but this damn madman truncated all his possibilities.

The outrage of the vessel was almost palpable and his gaze so aggressive that the old monarch could not stand it and fled fading into the air.

"Pft!"It was the moan of rage he managed to release.

Verm perceiving the discomfort of her guardian approached him and rubbed her face with his. Hollow thanked the gesture hugging her and then released a sigh.

"Even though my daddy lied to me, I think it was much better daddy than yours" Verm said sadly. "Should I forgive him?"

Hollow nodded effusively, he had seen firsthand how much Grimm cared for Verm, and it seemed to have been that way since a lifetime. Perhaps he had made a mistake, but his intentions were good and it showed how much he loved his daughter.

"Well, I'll forgive him, I don't like being mad at him, I want us to play together again. Ah! Mo.." At that moment she stopped, now that she knew she had a real mom somewhere, she didn't feel it was right to call Hollow mommy. "This... Tonight ends the ritual, you have to come to the circus"

This was very convenient for Hollow, the sooner he finished his duties with Verm, the sooner he would be free to return to the abyss, so he nodded again.

"Well, get handsome, tonight we're going to dance."

Hollow tilted his head a little confused. Were they going to dance? Well, he certainly never asked what the end of the ritual was, he assumed that they would have to fight again against one of Grimm's subjects, but apparently the end would be somewhat different.

Hollow and Verm said goodbye and each went to their respective house to prepare for the night. Hollow was in a pretty good mood, he liked to dance and the idea of doing it with Verm seemed fun, although he supposed that for the occasion it would be better to dress more elegantly, he wanted to make a good impression on Grimm and that his anger would pass.

Inside the house meanwhile, Hornet and Quirrel were having a serious conversation, just about the ritual of the scarlet flame.

"I think the time has come to discuss this matter" Quirrel said from his chair in the main hall. I didn't go on a trip almost dying in the attempt for nothing"

"I almost forgot that this was the reason you left originally," Hornet replied.

"You forgot it quite quickly." He seemed annoying.

"I had other worries in my head, like your state of health, for example."

"But I'm fine, so don't worry."

"Okay, so talk. What did you find out about the famous ritual?"

"First we should start talking about Verm's clan."

"Verm's clan is the scarlet clan, a breed of bats with evil fire powers that feed on fear"

Quirrel blinked in surprise.

"Where did you find that out?"

"The old man had some information about it."

"Then I didn't need to go on a trip?" Now he looked very angry.

"Although the old man knew some things about the clan, he had no idea how to stop the ritual, therefore, what he knew was not particularly useful, but if you found out more..."

"Yes, I found out more. In fact I could say that the information the Pale King had is not quite right."

"What do you mean?"

"These bats don't feed on fear, they have the same normal diet as any bat. The fear they gather is for someone else, their god and guide, the Nightmare King"

"The Nightmare King..."

"He is not a well-known god, he moves on a different plane known as the nightmare kingdom and only scholars of the subject have heard of him. It is he who directs these bats and forces them to travel or remain in a place to collect terror. He is also the one who decides when they should reproduce to grant him new servants"

"That's very unpleasant" said Hornet, showing the disgust on his face.

"I know and still that's not the most unpleasant part. The most terrible thing is that they must force their children to perform the ritual when the time comes, they have to force their offspring to risk their lives and devour the scarlet flames. Many die in the attempt and their survival depends exclusively on the guardian chosen for the ritual"

"Poor Verm..."

"However, the horrors don't end there. Once all the flames have been consumed, there is a ritual dance at the end, with which the bat and its guardian remain united forever"

"What does that imply for Hollow?"

"That he must remain with Verm for all eternity as her servant and when she leaves, Hollow will leave with her."

"That can't be!" Shouted Hornet, standing up suddenly. "She can't force Hollow to follow her! Hollow also has family and friends here! He can't make him give up everything!"

"And what is my fault?" Said Quirrel, somewhat intimidated by Hornet's attitude.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I think I got too excited." She resumed her place in her chair. Quirrel... Is there anything we can do to avoid all this?"

"Well, we have two options... Or we kill Verm"

"Pass"

"Or we destroy the anchor."

"That! Let's destroy the anchor! How is it done? What is the anchor?"

"The anchor, as its name suggests, is what keeps Grimm and all his worship anchored to this place. The books that talked about this clan were somewhat confusing and strange. From what I understood, the members of the Scarlet Clan roam the dream realm tormenting people, however, from time to time they manifest themselves on the earthly plane when necessary. But for that, they need an anchor, a certain magical artifact that allows them to stay here and fulfill their tasks. If we destroy the anchor the troop will fade"

"What will happen to its members?"

"Well... That is a mystery, some believe that they die, others believe that they are transformed into something else, or that they enter into an eternal dream... No one really knows for sure"

"Then, doing something like that would be the same as killing Verm"

"Not necessarily, there is a possibility that nothing will happen."

"Quirrel..." Hornet narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Oh..." The pill bug sighed deeply. Sorry Hornet, there is no way things end well in this case... I really tried, I looked for every damn book I could on the subject, I spent days reading and found nothing that would serve to save Verm. For now, all we can do is protect Hollow and prevent him from completing the ritual while we search for the anchor"

"It's okay... I understand" Hornet said with deep regret. "I... I really have become very fond of that little girl... But if I have to choose... My decision is obvious." She looked up at the ceiling. "But this will be painful"

"Hornet..." Quirrel stood up and walked to the crossbreed to hug her. "Quiet, everything will be fine, we will get ahead and Hollow too. I know he loves Verm very much and it will hurt him to lose her, but he will recover. You will see that everything will be fine"

"Yes..."

Quirrel kissed Hornet's forehead protectively trying to comfort her, while she allowed herself to lean her head against the insect.

"Then... We don't have much time to act" said Hornet. "Verm already consumed all the flames, only the last dance is missing"

"Well, we have to keep them from dancing."

Just then, Hollow entered the house and met the hugged couple, then looked at them mischievously.

"......." He waved his hands mockingly while laughing mischievously.

"Don't bother Hollow!" Her sister shouted, releasing Quirrel somewhat embarrassed.

"What did he say?" Asked the confused pill bug.

"You don't need to know," said the somewhat colored looking away.

"....?" Hollow approached them with a questioning expression showing his cloak.

"Your party cloak? I think it's in the blue chest of drawers in the lower drawer. Why do you want it?"

"......"

"Are you going to dance to the circus? Quirrel catch him!"

"!!!!"

Hollow, without knowing how or why, soon found himself immobilized by the two elders and later tied in a silk cocoon, but Hornet was not happy with that, she wove a net in the kitchen and left him hanging there. Now the little boy was trapped, without understanding anything that was happening and fearing being late for his appointment with his protégé.

When Verm arrived at the circus, the first thing she did was go find her father, she wanted to apologize to him for shouting that she hated him. But it was being something difficult to find him. He was not training with the circus performers, nor grooming himself, or accompanying Brumm or arguing with Divine. Finally she found him in his office asleep on the table, surrounded by half-painted masks.

Apparently he had been working on the manufacture of new masks. All the masks used by the members of the troop were hand made by himself, it was an exhausting job, but Grimm never delegated it to anyone else, he used to say that he liked to deliver something of him to each member of the circus. On the other hand, according to him, this activity helped him clear his mind and it seemed that now his mind was very tormented, because he looked exhausted, as if he had worked for hours without rest.

Grimm was leaning against the table with a half-hugged mask, underneath his eyes there were dark marks and an expression of anguish, he had a blanket covering him, surely Brumm's work. Verm sighed feeling guilty and flew landing next to him, then began to shake him gently to wake him up.

"Daddy....."

"Mmmnn... Little one?" Grimm opened his eyes lazily as he stretched, dropping the blanket over him. A slight smile crossed his face when he saw the garment. "Brumm..."

"Daddy, are you alright?"

"Eh? Ah yes... Perfectly."

"Daddy I... I'm sorry... It's a lie that I hate you, I love you so much"

"I share your feelings," Grimm said, feeling his heart lighten. "Come to my arms, little one"

Verm jumped to where his father where, she allowed herself to be hugged by him, the older bat held her against him, happy to know that despite all the lies, he still had her affection. This show of love lasted several seconds, until finally Verm decided that it had been enough love.

"Daddy Daddy, let me go" she said, shaking.

"Of course, I'm sorry" He withdrew the pressure and left his daughter free, although she decided to remain in his arms.

"Daddy, I told mo... To Hollow that the ritual would end tonight, is that all right?"

"Mmm? Yeah right. Any moment is appropriate to complete the ritual, though..."

Suddenly Grimm began to look stressed. He left his daughter on the table and ran to look for a mirror in the room, then began to observe himself, noticing with horror how bad he looked.

"Dark circles, dry skin, dull hair. I look horrible! I can't star in the ritual with such an aspect! And it will begin shortly! I must groom myself! Bruuuuuuum!"

The musician came almost running into his master's rooms, believing that something bad was happening to him, he had been emotionally very delicate and he feared he had had a crisis or something, but he looked more lively than he expected, he had regained his usual bossy tone.

"Brumm, prepare the bathtub! I want the apple soap! And I need the coconut cream that I bought on offer the other day, and I want lavender fragance and bring my makeup, these dark circles will not hide themselves. Where I put the eyeliner..."

"Oh master..." Brumm sighed. "It seems that you are already better"

That night, Hollow was writhing in his silk cocoon trying to break free desperately, he was already late. Apparently his sister and his friend were serious when they said they would not allow him to go to the ritual, well, it was unlikely that it was a joke, Hornet almost never joked.

He began to get nervous. What would be the consequences of missing the ritual? Grimm would be furious and this made him shiver, in itself he was not on good terms with him. All kinds of terrible ideas of torture began to pass through his mind and fear invaded every cell of his being.

"Jjjjjjsshp!" He shouted terrified when he felt something touch him.

Still trembling with fear he returned to reality and met Verm who was in front of him looking at him reproachfully.

"What are you playing? You have to go to complete the ritual"

"..." He stirred in his cocoon showing he couldn't move.

"And why are you tied like that? Did you behave badly and Aunt Horny punished you?"

"....." He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, later you can follow your punishment, now you have to come with me."

without giving her guardian time to replicate anything, Verm expelled some fire through her mouth that burned the strands of thread freeing him from his bonds.

Hollow emerged from the cocoon with somewhat numb limbs, that had not been a pleasant experience, it reminded him when those corpses of bugs had locked him in Deepnest.

As soon as the boy recovered a little and stretched, he prepared to follow Verm to the exit, however they had not taken three steps when a needle stuck in their path forcing them to stop. Both the vessel and the bat looked up to find Hornet's terrible silhouette, who looked at them almost murderously.

"You don't move from here," the warrior bellowed.

"But Aunt Horny, we must go to complete the ritual."

"I wont allow it! You won't take my brother from my side!" She shouted, taking a battle stance.

Hollow looked at Verm confused without understanding what Hornet meant by taking him from her side. The little girl for her part refused to answer, she opened her wings and expelled a dense curtain of fire that completely enveloped them. Hornet closed her eyes momentarily dazzled by their brightness and by the time she opened them again, both the fire and the children were gone.

"Damn! Verm already learned that trick." She hit a wall with rage. "Quirrel! Quirrel! Come quickly! We have to go to the circus!"

Hollow and Verm were transported directly to the circus ring, which at that time looked dark and empty, apparently Verm's trick saved them time and they arrived at an appropriate moment.

Hollow blinked something stunned and surprised by what the bat had done, she had certainly improved greatly in her mastery of fire magic. But he didn't have much time to think about that, in front of him Grimm had his eyes fixed on him.

"What manners... To force the maiden to go looking for you, very bad friend of mine."

Hollow leaned in apology, but Grimm simply turned his back, then looked over his shoulder and composed a polite smile.

"Wonderful, my kin arrive and the time has come. The burning fire... It carries well the Ritual's promise" Grimm snapped his fingers and dozens of red torches lit at the same time that the members of the Grimm cult occupied the public seats. "Dance with me my friend, the crowd waits. Teach them you are worthy of a starring role"

Then Grimm opened his wings and Verm flew to him, where with a burst both seemed to merge. Hollow just looked at the scene perplexed and scared, this was not what he expected, then he noticed that Grimm was bowing respectfully towards him. Hollow just stood still looking at him without knowing what to do

"Dance..." The bat whispered.

"The vessel just shook in place, looking nervously at the audience.

"Don't tell me you have stage fright!" Grimm growled, recovering his upright posture. "You will not sabotage the great moment of my girl!"

A strange, lively and magnificent music began to play and immediately the bat threw himself against Hollow forcing him to dodge his claws with a pretty jump. Right after that, Grimm vanished with a burst of smoke reappearing in the sky with his body swollen and red.

Hollow thought that for the first time Grimm did not look elegant, but he changed his mind when he saw the beautiful spheres of fire erupting from him, it was an impressive sight, to the point that the audience drew a shouted gasp.

Unfortunately, the little one could not stay too long observing the beauty of the fire, because the flames went to him to calcine him. Again he had to dodge with jumps and sweeps, not realizing that his movements closely resembled a dance, in his own way Grimm was forcing him to dance.

Another burst of flame announced a new disappearance of the bat, Hollow allowed himself to rest for a moment, only the time necessary to catch his breath and be forced to dodge again, because behind a curtain of fire and scarlet smoke, Grimm appeared again, With his claws shining in the torchlight.

Hollow knew what was coming, again the beast attacked him, making him dance at his own pace, leading his movements in the way he wanted, Hollow jumped and stirred with elegance and energy, but that dance was exhausting and began to fill his patience.

Grimm seemed to enjoy the show, he looked elated while exhibiting all his skill, he loved the stage, the audience's cheers and he love to show off all his elegance. He attacked with speed, like the predator he was, forcing Hollow to reach his limit. Finally there came a time when the little boy to defend himself from an attack that was too much for him, he took out his nail and counterattacked by pushing Grimm back.

For a moment he feared he had ruined the show with his clumsiness, but that idea quickly vanished from his mind. The bat seemed to be able to take advantage of everything he did to look better, more spectacular, more beautiful and beauty was what he now watched Hollow.

The blow had certainly hurt Grimm a bit, in addition to the impact taking him out of balance, however he hid his pain and kicked back with elegant dance moves. So while Hollow stood still watching him, he played a dance solo, waving his arms and spinning gracefully with such skill, that he had everyone delighted.

The little boy could not take his eyes off him, he felt his heart beating with emotion at what he witnessed, his soft movements had him dazzled. Grimm seemed to float in the air, but no, he was leaning on the ground and never made use of his wings. Then the music descended and a sinister smile appeared on the face of the beast. His wings grew to reach the ground where they were buried. Hollow barely had time to react when a giant thorn came out of the ground almost tearing him.

Now it was Hollow's turn to perform his dance solo, of course under the command of Grimm, who using that strange ability to sprout thorns guided his steps.

Together they interpreted a dramatic act, which represented love and torment, a perpetual struggle of two opposing forces that were forced to collide again and again. The music was rising in tone, the climax of the act was approaching. Hollow was catching the rhythm of the dance and the intervention of Grimm was less and less necessary, who now with more freedom moved exhibiting all his drama, while Hollow seconded imitating his movements in their own way, they were like two flame souls, crackling moved by the same breeze, as a single being made to dance.

It was at this moment that Quirrel and Hornet arrived at the show. Both for a moment were stunned by the beauty of what they witnessed, it was such a beautiful act that they almost felt sorry for having to interrupt it, even Hornet for a moment forgot the fear she had for bats and dedicated herself to watching with delight that burning dance.

The audience was ecstatic, the music reverberated in the room making everyone shudder and Grimm knew that it was time. He performed a couple of pirouettes around Hollow who followed in his footsteps with such precision as if they had rehearsed it, then almost reading his mind they both stopped,Hollow threw himself on the floor imitating a sadness and defeat posture, while Grimm waved his wings and rose in the sky. At that moment the scarlet fire engulfed him completely becoming a living torch that descended on Hollow as if he were going to calcine it.

"It's the time of change!" Cried Quirrel, "Quick Hornet! If we don't stop the dance now it will be too late! ... Hornet? Hornet!"

The image of Grimm suspended in the sky with his wings open had terrified the warrior and the poor female had fainted.

The fire bat flew to the little one and when he was about to reach him, the flames went out leaving Verm in sight, now it was her turn to act. Hollow stood up and stared at the scarlet eyes that looked at him, a slight blush ran down the face of the little girl, who with the same elegance of her father, flew around him, then put her little legs on the floor and bow.

This time without anyone telling him anything, Hollow bowed to her and took the lead to guide the dance. This dance was much sweeter and softer. It did not have the passion and drama of the dance performed by Grimm, but instead the feelings put into each movement caused a warmth that moved the soul. Their slow and funny steps provoked peace, evoking childhood memories, they were two children who danced expressing all their purity and affection in each step.

From behind the scenes, Grimm watched the scene knowing that his task was over, which produced him a strange mixture of joy and sadness.

"Take this master" said Brumm, handing him a handkerchief.

"I'm not crying Brumm," he said almost like a little boy.

"She will be fine, she loves her guardian very much, he will make her happy."

"We're never happy Brumm" he said in a dry tone. "She will never be happy... I just hope his company is enough to give her the peace you give to me... It is the only consolation we have left to those of us who serve the Lord Nightmare"

"Master..."

The act continued without anyone dare to stop it. Both dancers surrendered completely to their dance forgetting everything that was around, the world was them, there was nothing else. Finally they both knew that it was time to finish, then Verm spinning like a wheel, went to Hollow, who received her in his arms. She ended with her head horizontally raising her wing in a spectacular posture.

A blast of fire surrounded them sealing their souls forever, while the audience clapped euphorically. The ritual was over, now Hollow belonged to Verm. Although both were oblivious to this, for them everything had been nothing more that a game, as always. Besides, that would be one of the most beautiful memories they would ever share.

Chapter Text

Fire crackled in every corner of that gloomy place, the aroma of sulfur flooded the nose of the little bat, who couldn't help feeling overwhelmed by the heavy atmosphere of the realm of nightmares. Her annoyance was now worse than ever, for for the first time she appeared before the god alone.

The heart of the nightmare was rising in front of her in all its extension. Its eternal throbbing was a clear sign of the life inside. It was her master and lord.
As she had seen her father do several times, she bowed before the heart in a deep and respectful bow.

"My lord, your servant appears before you." The words felt bitter, she wasn't used to paying respect or devotion to anyone.

An opening appeared in the throbbing structure, and from it emerged the crimson bat known as the Nightmare King. Verm shuddered her tail at the presence of the scarlet god, she was distressed to know that now she had to face him alone, without the support of her father.

"Scarlet, daughter of Grimm... Welcome. Stand up little one"

Scarlet obeyed and straightened shyly.

"But it's nice to finally see a success in the ritual of perpetuation. I had long waited for Grimm to bring me a new servant. I like what I have before my eyes. Tell me Scarlet, Are you ready to start your work as a member of the Scarlet Clan?"

"Yes, I guess..."

"Fabulous. As you will know, it is your duty to collect the fire of fear, to look for bugs to terrorize to extract that divine energy from them, which is what allows the heart of the nightmare to continue beating"

"Yes..." Scarlet felt somewhat guilty at the thought of what she should do, she had become very fond of insects.

"But the kingdom you are in now, is not a good place for that, it was good to develop the ritual, but to do your duty the best thing will be to travel to other places. Towards the western lands there is a good place for you to start your way as a flame collector"

"Then I must leave Hallownest?"

"Exactly."

"But and Hollow?"

"Your guardian? Well, you'll take him with you. He is attached to you"

"Then I'm going with Hollow. Daddy is coming too?"

"No. For him I have other plans"

"Eh? Daddy won't be with me anymore?" Scarlet felt a deep anguish.

"You are a grown girl, you must become independent and follow your path alone"

"But will I see Daddy again one day?"

"No, my servants never meet again, it would be counterproductive to have two harvesters in the same place." The nightmare king noticed the discouragement in the little girl. "Oh come on, calm down. You will have your guardian with you, you can even take all the bugs you want, but I recommend not taking too many, they can be something difficult to manipulate for someone as young as you"

"Can I take Hollow and Aunt Horny and Uncle Quirrel?"

"Three? Yes, it is a good number to start your colony, but no more than that"

"I understand." Scarlet still looked dejected, the idea of separating from her beloved father hurt her greatly.

"I'll give you a few days to say goodbye and get ready for your trip, I'll contact you again when it's time."

This concluded that brief conversation and the little girl was expelled from the realm of nightmares.

Hollow raised his weapon and blocked Hornet's attack, the sound of metal against metal echoed in the solitude of the abandoned square of Dirtmouth where they were fighting.

The force of the impact drove him back and as soon as he had recovered, he had to jump to dodge Hornet's needle, which was thrown mercilessly against him.

Hollow landed at a distance and looked at her sister with concern, she looked furious, in fact he had never seen her like this, something quite remarkable considering how easy it was to make her angry.

"......!"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear you! You are an idiot Hollow!"

"....!!" He looked at his angry sister.

"I don't care if it bothers you that I call you an idiot! It's what you deserve after what you did!" Some tears of rage poked from his eyes.

".....?"

"What did you do? I really have to explain what you did !? Why do you never realize anything ?! You gave your soul to a demon and now you belong to her! You completed the perpetuation ritual and Verm will force you to leave Hallownest!"

"......." He looked at her incredulously, not knowing where she got those ideas.

"That's what the ritual consists of, Hollow! The guardian becomes servant. "Hornet buried her needle in the ground knowing that this fight was useless, no matter what she did, fate was inevitable. "I don't feel ready to say goodbye forever"

"......" Hollow, alarmed by his sister's smoothed spirit, ran to hug her.

"Stop making silly promises, Hollow. Now your duty is to follow that little vermin and take care of her"

"......!"

"Hollow, understand that it is not my invention, you will never be able to protect Big and the others, the sooner you assume it, the better it will be... For everyone"

The warrior picked up her weapon and began to move away from her brother with dejected attitude. Just when Hornet retired, Verm was arriving at that abandoned square, she was looking for her guardian. Of course, now thanks to the bond they shared, it was extremely easy to find him.

As soon as she saw the vessel, she flew happily to greet him, but her career was interrupted by Hornet's needle that almost pierced her head.

".....!" Hollow looked furious.

"Nothing is going to happen to her. Verm is no longer a baby, now she is a predatory monster made to subdue the bug she wants." There was poison in every word. "What are you doing here? Have you come to take Hollow?"

Verm was silently intimidated by Hornet's aggressive tone, however Hollow addressed her with the same naturalness as always.

"......" He pointed to Hornet and did some mime.

"In case it's not clear what he says," Hornet explained, crossing her arms. "Hollow asks you to make it clear to me that you won't force him to leave Hallownest"

Verm froze at that request. She could not comply, because she was just looking for Hollow to tell him that they would have to go on a trip together. She supposed that her guardian would be glad, the trips were always fun, but because of the attitude she saw in them, it seemed that they didn't find trips like something so positive.

"I... This... I'm going on a trip and... I wanted you to come with me..."

"What do you say to this, Hollow?" Hornet asked in a relentless tone.

"....." He shook his head and began gesturing simulating many individuals.

"Hollow says he doesn't want to go, he has to take care of his siblings. But of course you can't accept a no for an answer, right?

"No," he said, looking down. "He must come with me"

Hollow felt his world crumble. He couldn't leave Hallownest! Much less with his sick brother. He shook his head, making it clear that he didn't want to leave.

"But you have to... You are my partner... You cannot refuse."

This time the little one looked at her in pain, pleading with his eyes not to force him to leave.

"I told you." And after releasing those words the warrior attacked the bat.

His movements were rapid, in a blink he placed himself in front of Ali ready to pierce his heart with the needle, but Hollow interposed by deflecting the attack and protecting the bat.

"...!"

"I try to save you!"

"..........! .......!"

"Don't talk to me like that! It hurts me to do this too... I love her too... But I can't stand to see how she condemns you to a life of unhappiness and slavery"

Verm couldn't take it anymore and flew away, terrified and heartbroken.

"That! Run away damn!" Hornet shouted. "Escape from me, because if I see you again I will kill you..."

Aunt Horny's words had hurt Verm too much. She had said that she would make Hollow her slave, but that wasn't going to be that way, not after experiencing that condition in her own flesh.

The old Verm wouldn't have cared about Hollow's feelings, she assumed that the world was made to be at her service and being obeyed was natural. However, her experience in the Colosseum produced a profound change in her way of thinking, she had acquired respect for other bugs and a deep hatred towards all kinds of slavery.

She knew what it was like to be subdued and lose freedom, not having the power to decide fate ,and being at the mercy of someone else's whims was something frightening. She wouldn't wish something like that to anyone. She could still remember the chain in her neck and the muzzle in her mouth, the orders, the whips, all the horror lived at Tamy's hands. She would never want to make Hollow go through it. But she wasn't going to be like Tamy, right?

She would never hit Hollow, never chain him or deprive him of food. She would treat him as he deserved, with respect and affection, nor force him to do something he didn't want to do... No, that was a lie. They just started their life together and she was already forcing him to leave his home and everything he loved. She wouldn't mind staying in Hallownest, she liked that place, but the Nightmare King ordered her to leave and she had to obey.

A deep sadness overwhelmed her when she realized the horrible things she would have to do to her guardian, however she wanted to think that despite all that, she could make him happy. It had to be that way! After all, his father's followers were happy by his side... Or so she wanted to suppose.

It was really difficult to pinpoint the mood of Grimm's followers, their masks hid their faces and their robes made it difficult to read their body expression. They may well be angry, sad or happy and it would be impossible to specify. Now that she thought about it, she had never questioned the feelings of others, she assumed that everything was fine, that everything was rosy, because that was how her father painted the world. But he had already lied to him once, It could well be that other illusion set to keep her happy.

Ah, but Divine always seemed happy, she was always laughing and making her sinister jokes, she was a faithful follower of her father and did not look disgusted by being by her side. Although she was also one of the most deceptive creatures she knew, to the point that sometimes it was difficult to say that so much of what she said was true and how much a lie, would her smiles be another illusion? In that case it would be best to consider someone more honest and expressive, like Brumm... Who always seemed sad.

A knot was made in her stomach when she remembered the melancholic musician, always with his silence and his shyness, with his sad songs and that servile attitude of resignation. Brumm had been his father's guardian. Would his beloved Hollow become like him someday? She didn't want that, she liked his way of being cheerful and determined, his courage and his lack of common sense. Changing him would be the same as losing him. Sh sighed regretfully and went to the circus, she needed to find out things firsthand.

Verm found the musician cleaning in Grimm's room, the distrustful bat almost did not allow anyone to enter in his room, the only ones allowed to pass were Divine, Brumm and herself.
The little girl approached him and stared at him in silence, analyzing each of his movements. It really was the perfect representation of a sad person, but maybe, just maybe, that was only part of his personality, it had to be that, it was her last hope.

"Is something wrong, miss?" Said the musician noticing the seriousness with which the little girl was watching.

"Eh? No... Well... Yes. Uncle Brumm, I have a question. Do you love my daddy? Are you happy by his side?

Of all the questions she could have asked him, that was never expected. Did he love Grimm? He didn't have to think about it much, he had raised him since he was a sprout, he had given him all his devotion, he had accompanied him on every success and every failure, he had dried his tears and fulfilled his whims. How could he not love him? But nevertheless...

"I love your father" he said with total certainty. "But I am not happy with him"

"Then..." She felt a lump in her throat. "Hollow won't be happy with me either..."

This time Brumm was silent appreciating the anguish of the child, the main reason for the torments of his master, the protagonist of a tragedy doomed to repeat itself again and again, no doubt there was no more dramatic work than life itself. He sighed and let his mind wander through impossible fantasies, fantasies where things could end positively, where the laughs were true and freedom a law. But obviously all that was impossible as long as they served the Nightmare King. Grimm seemed power and control, but he was just another slave to the ritual. Unless...

A shiver ran down his spine, the idea that had crossed his mind was beyond his reach, he could not challenge his master, he had his will attached to him, he could not escape. But perhaps for the little guardian there were still hopes, if at least one of them could escape from that miserable existence, maybe things would not be so bad.

Deepnest was one of the places less appreciated by Hollow, the sinister and wild environment made him feel uncomfortable, he really could not understand why his sister liked that place so much. I did not have the beauty of a Green Path, nor offered the fun of the fungal jumping in Fungas Wastes, neither had the life nor the development of the City of Tears. What was good about that place? Well, even with all that, Deepnest had something remarkable, the peace that was breathed. In the depths of Distant Village there was no soul, no one would bother or attack him, just what he needed.

Normally he enjoyed the company, but now he wanted to be alone, rather he needed to be alone. His grief was too much to handle in peace, and he was afraid of hurting someone in the middle of a tantrum, he also had to think, there was still the problem with Big. If he left, who would help him? Perhaps Hornet and Quirrel could support him, but he still felt obligated to be with him.
Suddenly a crunch interrupted his meditation, something or someone was close, immediately put himself on alert and took out his nail waiting for an attack.

He inspected his surroundings for the threat, and soon glimpsed a rather robust insect, dressed in strange clothes and wearing a mask. He had no trouble recognizing him, he was Brumm, the shy accordionist of Grimm's troupe. What was he doing there? Were they already calling him to fulfill his duties with the troupe? Reluctantly approached to listen.

"It is done... and yet... It is not merely by fortune that we meet here, in the darkest, furthest reaches of the world, where the Master's scarlet eyes can not see us"

Hollow looked surprised, apparently the shy insect was able to say an extensive and fluid speech, he even seemed to have a verbiage worthy of Grimm, perhaps after sharing so many years with him, his strange customs had been stuck in him.

"Mrmm. A song that never ends... Is no song at all. You take part in the Ritual, yet I sense you truly have no Master. Is it so? Perhaps together we can banish that livid flame and let this dead Kingdom rest in peace. If you wish to silence the endless song... Mrmm, meet me where it began..."

The musician said nothing more, turned around and left, leaving Hollow in complete solitude and with tremendous confusion. What had all that been? What the hell was Brumm talking about? Why couldn't he be clearer?

If Brumm had not been more direct and had chosen to speak in the same pompous and elaborate manner of Grimm, it was because he wanted to put a final obstacle on the vessel. Disobeying the master and betraying the cult was extremely painful, but he longed for freedom, not only for him, but for his master, he wanted to see him released from his sorrows, the Nightmare King, and the sins of his perished children.

Throughout the afternoon, he meditated on his actions, he could still repent and turn back, he could refuse to go to where the anchor was, and no one would blame him for anything, he could stay with the master as if nothing had happened, but he would live with the regret of having missed the only opportunity he ever had to break that damn ritual. Therefore, despite all his doubts and questions, that night, taking advantage of the fact that there was no show in the circus, he left the carp discreetly. However, no matter what he did, he could never be discreet enough to escape the Master.

"Brumm. What destination do your steps guide you?"

"Mmm... No one in particular..."

"Oh... You... Are you alright?" At that time they were alone and Grimm decided to abandon his formalisms and flourishes. "I noticed something strange in you throughout the afternoon"

Brumm sighed, not even the mask had been able to hide his concern from Grimm. He knew him as nobody, and although he often acted selfishly and capriciously, he always cared for him.

"Nostalgia..."

"I see... I suppose memories always weigh on us, regardless of the years or centuries that pass," he said in a certain melancholic tone.

"I want to go out"

"Oh, of course, I won't stop you if it's your wish, it's just that I..." An unusual blush appeared on Grimm's face. "I wanted to thank you"

"Thank me?"

"Yes, it's that... You... Everything you've done for me, I could never pay you."

"It was my duty."

"Don't be modest, Brumm. What you've done for me went beyond duty. You dried my tears and supported me throughout the process with Scarlet. Now she will soon leave my side and well... Everything will feel cold without her, I'm really going to miss her. But when I think that you will continue with me I feel much calmer. I know that often I am somewhat demanding and insensitive, but I really appreciate everything you do for me, so... I love you Brumm"

The heart of the insect jumped. Grimm in truth must be sensitive to release such a speech. When he was a child he often told him that he loved him, but while he grew these words were lost amid the chaos of his complex speech. It had been years since the last time he had heard an 'I love you' from him.

"Master... I..."

"You don't need to say anything, Brumm... I know you're not good with words, it doesn't matter anyway, all you need to communicate is done through your actions and your music, nothing else is needed."

Grimm turned and began to walk back to the carp, but before entering he stopped for a moment.

"Brumm, come back early, okay? I would like to have dinner with you. No problem, right?

"No Master... I'll be back early."

A sharp pain settled in the musician's heart. That had been a cruel test that had put the destiny to prove his determination. To have Grimm tell him those things just when he was going to break his bond with him, besides making him promise they would have dinner together, the poor bug felt miserable. But he didn't let his will falter, the decision was made. And that pleasant conversation would be the last words he would hear from the living person he loved most in the world.

Chapter Text

Hollow quite pondered the words spoken by the bard, he had not been entirely clear, but apparently he was suggesting a way to end the ritual. His eyes widened in surprise, this was a light of hope, perhaps he could escape Verm's control and remain in the kingdom to save his family, but for that, he had to return to the place where it all began. Where exactly was that?

If he began to review his memories, the only place that came to mind was the circus, that moment when he had seen Grimm's show and later, the moment in which he was introduced to Verm, that's how it all started. There was nothing before. Isn't it?

Suddenly that memory that he had buried in the back of his mind attacked him suddenly. There was something before, something he had struggled to keep secret, especially from his sister. She had already scolded him a lot for agreeing to be the guardian of a demonic bat, she would surely be much more angry if she found out that he had also invoked them.

Everything had happened by accident. He had gone to visit Mato and when he returned home, a bad step had caused him to fall into a cave where he discovered a false wall. His infinite curiosity and his eagerness to explore led him to break that wall and find the torch. A huge torch, made with an elegant and intricate design, which was a sight to behold.

Again his curiosity made him light it, and he was amazed that the fire that burned in this device had an unusual but very beautiful color. That night when he returned home, he met that mysterious circus, whose colors reminded him a lot of the torch of the scarlet flame.

At the time he did not relationed both events, but a few days later he assumed that the torch and the circus were linked. However, he never mentioned anything to Hornet and she didn't find out, she wasn't very fond of walking along the Howling Cliffs.

And now, again he returned to that hidden cave in the hope of changing his destiny, of separating himself from the responsibility he had acquired.

He walked slowly through the cave, noticing how with each step a certain reddish luminosity increased, until finally, when he reached the bottom, he found that beautiful torch that he had liked so much the first time he saw it. The device continued as he remembered, with that beautiful and complex design full of turns and details, and with its flame burning with the same intensity of the first day.

Next to the light source was Brumm, with a solemn attitude awaiting the arrival of the chosen one. He watched it through his mask, but it was impossible for Hollow to guess his expression. With some shyness he approached the bard.

"So you followed me here, to where the ritual began. You would join me in breaking it then? It is painful to defy the Master, but our harvest... it profanes this dark, quiet Kingdom. This once, I would see the Ritual fail. Mrmm... Now! Let us destroy the anchor, and banish the Master. Never shall he return here again!

Hollow chewed the musician's words carefully, there was something about them that he did not quite like. Had he said to fade the master? What did that mean? Were they going to destroy Grimm? And what would happen to Verm? What would happen to all the other members of the circus? He wanted to regain his freedom, but not if that meant sacrificing innocents.

Unfortunately there was no time to think, the noise of the metal being hit interrupted him. Brumm was using a small torch to shatter the metal casing that protected the larger torch. The metal groaned with each blow weakening at every moment, until it finally gave way. An explosion of fire emerged through the break, spreading its heat and scarlet light. This was the furthest point Brumm could reach, now it was the child's turn.

Hollow drew his nail not very convinced of what he was about to do. Was it worth his freedom in exchange for the lives of others? Brumm seemed very convinced that he wanted to end the ritual. But how about Verm? This decision would took away the chances for her to becoming a master and leading her own colony, any dream of greatness she had had would die there, her future would be truncated. And as if someone had been chasing his thoughts, a certain voice interrupted him.

"Brumm? Mo..."

Hollow lowered the weapon and Brumm shivered. The master's daughter had discovered them, if she tell Grimm about their betrayal, he didn't want to imagine the sorrows of hell that hse would have to endure. But Verm didn't seem angry, just surprised and perhaps a little hurt. He approached them slowly and landed on the ground in front of Hollow on her feet that she had begun to use more lately.

"So... Is this what you want?"

"......" Hollow looked down, feeling the guilt eating him.

"I'm not going to get mad at you if this is what you really want. No one has the right to force anyone to do something they do not want. My destiny is to obey and serve someone I doesn't like and I can't escape. I don't think that future makes me happy, and it will be a very long future. According to Daddy, the magic of fire extends our lives for centuries. And that is a long time. I don't want to live centuries being unhappy, compared to that, the idea of fading out doesn't seem so bad anymore."

Hollow's horror expression said it all, he didn't want Verm to fade away. He put his Verm down and ran to hug Verm, trying to explain his feelings without words. He wanted to tell her that he didn't blame her for anything, that he loved having her by his side, and that if there was any way to avoid all this, If he didn't have to make her disappear, he was willing to try.

"Come on Hollow, don't regret it now. This is the path you chose, go on to the end. I'm with you"

The vessel looked at her, feeling the tears come to his eyes. For more than a year he took care of this little creature, he received her as a baby who was barely able to babble some words, who was unable to hunt on her own and did not even have developed legs. And now he had a perfectly independent girl, with great abilities and great will. He had given her so much, all so that now she vanished into nothingness. He couldn't allow it!

"No!" Verm yelled, showing something more aggressive. "Don't waste the last chance you have of being free!"

"........"

"I was born doomed... Don't worry about me. Just... Go and turn off the flame, may our last act be rememberable"

"Memorable sounds better," said Brumm from the bottom.

"Yes! memorable." Hollow just gave her a sad look. "Do it for your family"

Verm knew how to touch Hollow's weak point. His family, for him it was the most sacred thing he had and he would give anything to see them well. His family was the only thing for which he would be able to leave Verm, even with regret in his Heart. If only things had been different, if Big had not been ill, if his help were not so urgent, if only... But no, things were as they were, the eternal song should end, and therefore they would dance interpreting the final act.

Hollow headed to where the scarlet fire burned ripping through the air with its glow, desperate to stay on. He took his nail that he had left on the floor and looked melancholy at his target. Brumm was still next to them watching impassively. Then, without further dilating the moment, he closed his eyes and struck the torch, again and again, until the fire finally exploded, enveloping everything with its infernal red.

The little boy felt the flames engulf him while a hugging heat tortured him, the brightness was so intense that he could barely see it, the force of the fire was pushing him and it was almost impossible for him to stand. Then in the midst of that chaos of sensations, he felt something wet and soft on his cheek, a kiss. With effort he turned to see and found Verm next to him looking at him with a sad smile.

"I love you Hollow... Thank you for taking care of me. And... Even if I should disappear forever... I'm happy to have existed... Goodbye."

That was the last thing Hollow knew about Verm, because after that, the torch's overflowed energy surpassed him and he lost consciousness.

A voice echoed in the distance, it sounded distant and muted, although little by little it became clear. Slowly the words made sense and the owner of the voice revealed her identity.

"Hollow! Please wake up!" Hornet screamed desperately.

"......?" He looked stunned."Oh Hollow!" The crossbreed hugged her brother with great relief. "I already feared the worst, you don't know how worried I was"

"Hornet, calm down, remember your strength, don't drown him," Quirrel said, drawing the girl's attention.

"Eh? Oh right" She let go of her grip and let her brother rest on her lap, he looked pretty weak.

"Are you OK, friend?" Quirrel placed his hands on the boy's head affectionately, he nodded weakly.

"I think he's just a little worn out," said the Pale King who was also next to the group. "No wonder, he has not eaten for two days. A little rest, some food and he will be fine"

"I hope so" said Hornet. "I... I thought I would not see you again, when that earthquake occurred and the circus vanished I thought...

"...!" Hollow sat up suddenly, leaving behind all traces of weakness, then clung to his sister's cloak and looked at her desperately.

"Ali? We have not seen her, there is no trace of her, nor of any of the troop members"

Hollow released Hornet and looked at her for a moment in disbelief, until he finally surrendered to reality and buried his face in her chest releasing his tears.

"Hollow... What do you mean you destroyed the anchor?"

Some days passed in which melancholy invaded the house of the protagonists of this tragedy. The absence of the youngest member of the family was notorious, for more than a year she was part of their routine and their life, her sudden disappearance left a deep void in each of them. Hollow was no longer as naughty and restless as always, Quirrel looked reluctant and even Hornet ate less.

However, one day their melancholic existences were interrupted by something out of the ordinary, music.

A new face appeared in Dirthmout, it was a nice crossbreed insect called Nymm, who had arrived in town with nothing but his accordion and the desire to make friends.

"Ah. Hi! Hi! I'm new here, it's wonderful to see such a friendly face in such a sad city. The old insect there has been very kind, but I still find this place a bit melancholic, with the wind, the darkness and the feeling of decline... I hoped that my music could liven up this place"

Yes, Nymm was a lovely bug, friendly and helpful, although in Quirrel's opinion he was too friendly to Hornet and to his disgust she seemed very happy talking to him.

"Quirrel. Are you jealous of Nymm?" Hornet said with a chuckle when she saw her mate's annoyance.

"Of course not. Why would I be?"

"......" Hollow who was also walking beside him gave him an accusing look.

"You too? You are supposed to be my friend and you must support me"

"Support you in what? In a lie that even you don't believe? Admit that you are jealous of Nymm"

"Well, maybe a little." He looked a little embarrassed. "But how do you want me not to be jealous after seeing both of you talk for half an hour? You are never so open with unknown bugs. What does that guy have that attracts you so much?"

"Oh Quirrel," Hornet hugged the pill bug. "Anything that seems attractive to me about that bug doesn't compare to everything you attract to me. And if I talked to him so much it was because he had some very interesting facts"

"Interesting facts"

"Yes, for example. Did you know that Nymm has no memories of his past?"

"Do feel attracted by people with amnesia?" As a response he received a hit from Hornet. "Auch, I'm sorry, it was a joke"

"Don't say nonsense, the only thing that attracts me to Nymm is the mystery that surrounds him, that special connection that unites him to someone we get to know very well"

"What are you talking about?"

"Quirrel, look at him well, don't you think he is familiar?"

Quirrel turned his eyes to the insect who played his musical instrument in the middle of the road, now that he noticed, he had something that seemed familiar to him but he could not say what.

"Look at his horns, the body's texture, his fur collar and how he plays the accordion. Who was the last accordionist you met?" Quirrel's eyes widened in surprise.

"Grimm's accordionist!"

"......!"

"Exactly, Brumm"

"But how can we be sure he's him?"