Chapter Text
Team Snakemouth answered some of them to the best of their abilities, with the clear caveat that they didn’t know everything. The biggest question, though, was when these strange newcomers wanted to visit, and ‘within three days’ sent a buzz through the entire association.
It was then that the time spent being lost in a cave and having only one decent meal finally caught up with them. As politely as he could, Kabbu asked if they could continue the discussion tomorrow, and to be dismissed to rest.
And they practically collapsed into their beds.
When morning broke, Kabbu was the first to wake, as usual. But even early-riser Kabbu slept far longer than usual. “Come on, you two. We need a good breakfast, and we must speak to Elizant.”
Leif was easy to rouse with the promise of a hearty breakfast. He waited for Vi, peeking through the windows. “...what do you think Quirrel meant when he said their sun died?” he sleepily mumbled.
“I think he was being metaphorical. At least, I hope.”
The fact the two of them weren't entirely sure spoke volumes. “When they travel here…” Leif changed topics. “We may have to travel by night. We doubt they'll be used to the brightness of the day. Unless the termites have something to aid us with…”
Kabbu had now pulled Vi out of her bed, ignoring her quiet whining. “We'll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Be nice to me…” Vi whined. “I had a nightmare…”
“Oh, about what?”
Vi hesitated. “It's. It's stupid.”
“Come on…” Leif tried to coax. “You don't feel better until you tell us.”
“...I dreamt that Hornet tried to eat us.” she tried to explain, gesturing as she spoke, “Like, like I was on a huge table, and she kept trying to stab me with a fork! One of those really fancy forks!”
Kabbu frowned. “That's a bit harsh of an opinion don't you think?”
“Well! We don't know what she's capable of! Food seems pretty scarce down there, and we know she eats meat-”
“You will stop that terrible thought this instant.” Scolded Leif. “Let's go get breakfast, and move on from this nightmare.”
Seeing the familiar faces of the ant kingdom bustling about their daily lives was a far cry from the emptiness of Dirtmouth. A few expressed worry at their absence, which Kabbu and Leif were quick to reassure them about.
Fry was one of those few. “You three were gone for a while! Was startin’ to get a bit worried, you’re some of my best customers!”
“We’ve always wanted to ask…” Leif asked, tone playful. “Who are your other ‘best customers’?”
“Truthfully, most of the other exploration teams. You lot have great appetites. Speaking of, what can I get you three?”
“We will have two hearty breakfasts.” Leif said, but Kabbu nudged him.
“Let’s just do one, so we can hurry to see the Queen.”
“Oh, fine.”
“Vi and I will have two honey leaves, please.”
The three ate off in a secluded corner, discussing quietly amongst themselves.
“We were scant with the finer details with the association,” Leif had long finished his breakfast, and had begun the conversation. “But we will need to tell Elizant more.”
“Mhm. Maki too, since he’ll be joining us-” A sour look briefly flashed on Kabbu’s face. “We…should probably ask Zasp to join us. He also saw Dirtmouth.”
“But he’s with Mothiva today.” grumbled Vi. “And you know what he’s like with her.”
It was an unfortunate truth, one that Team Snakemouth still struggled to accept. But when Zasp was around Mothiva, the generally well-meaning and cooperative bug was gone. Replaced by a stranger with only Mothiva’s interest in mind.
A true tragedy.
“We’ll have to try. We refuse to let Mothiva completely roadblock us. She goes to the association every morning, we might be able to cut them off if we hurry.” He gave the other two an impatient look, Vi and Kabbu quickly eating their breakfast in response to it.
They managed to catch Mothiva and Zasp just as they were leaving the association building. “Ooh~ Team Snakemouth!” she purred, sickly sweet. “I’d say it’s so good to see you…but it’s not nice to lie.”
Vi growled under her breath, but Kabbu and Leif managed to keep their cool. “Has Zasp filled you in on what happened to us?” asked Kabbu, glancing at the wasp behind her.
“Nope. But I never asked, so…” she turned to Zasp. “Give me the main beats.”
“They had fallen down a cave system-”
“Ha! Classic! Nice going, you dopes!”
“-and they found a town of bugs, having been isolated from Bugaria their entire lives.”
That got her attention. She whipped around to glare at them. “You what?! Save some of the fun stuff for us, will you?! You get all the good discoveries!”
Kabbu mumbled, “We wouldn’t exactly call it fun.”
“We would like Zasp to accompany us while discussing with the Queen. His account will help with our authenticity, and is critical to our explanation.”
“Hmph.” Mothiva gave them a shit-eating grin. “And what's in it for me?”
“Not having your antennae frozen solid and shattered.” Leif hissed in a rare display of true anger. “We are being nice now, we will not hesitate to drag you there ourselves.”
Mothiva recoiled at the threat and Zasp glared at them. “Ugh! You’re no fun when you’re scary!” she whined, “Why do you even care about these bugs? They’re not even from the Ant Kingdom.”
“The world does not revolve around you.” He said coldly. “There is more to it than just you and the Ant Kingdom. These bugs need our help, and therefore, we need you.”
She didn't have a retort for that. But she huffed and pouted all the same, and Zasp gave all three of them a death glare. “... fine! Fine, we'll go. Happy now?”
“Marginally.”
And with her reluctant agreement, the five began to make their way for the Palace.
“If I'm agreeing to this, then I need to pretend I was actually there, you know.” Mothiva continued to huff. “Zasp, fill me in!”
Zasp eagerly did so, telling her exactly what he did so she could better save face in front of the Queen and Maki.
The three of them rolled their eyes, but said nothing. The meeting was far more important than correcting her.
“Team Snakemouth, Team Mothiva.” One of the guards nodded to them. “The Queen is expecting you. Please, head on in.”
Elizant the Second rose from her throne upon seeing them enter. It wasn't just Elizant in the throne room, of course. Zaryant stood by her side, with Maki and Neolith standing nearby.
“Team Snakemouth.” Queen Elizant greeted, hints of concern under her professional tone. “When I heard you had gone missing…I was truly worried. I'm glad to see you all here, unharmed. Team Mothiva, you'll be rewarded for rescuing them.”
Maki rolled his eyes. Neolith waved to Kabbu, Kabbu waved back.
“Maki mentioned that you discovered something during your absence.” She continued, slowly stepping closer. “But he insisted you tell me, and not him. If you'd please?”
“It's quite a lot, your majesty.” Kabbu said quietly. “And it's quite fantastical, so please, we speak only the truth.”
“Deep inside the cave, we discovered a group of bugs that have been isolated from the outside world.” Leif began to explain. “Their Kingdom has fallen to ruin many moons ago, and all that remain are the survivors.”
Elizant was immediately taken aback. “A Kingdom below the surface? Is such a thing…possible?”
“Well…it was. A terrible catastrophe struck their Kingdom, and all that remains now are ruins and a handful of survivors.”
“Survival, from what we could gather, is harsh and difficult.” Kabbu spoke. “They have no farms, or anything similar, so all of their food and supplies must be foraged or scavenged from the ruins. I believe it's unsustainable in the long-run.””
“And the bugs there are weird!”
Kabbu nudged her. “Vi, you need to be a bit more descriptive. ‘Weird’ isn’t helpful.” he said in a whisper.
She struggled to find the words, shifting from one foot to another. “They’re…they’re scared. And they’re skittish, and they’re paranoid, and they act like they could be attacked at any moment! They wear masks or hoods or something to hide their faces, and every single one we met carried a weapon!”
“Are they violent?” Elizant asked.
The three of them didn’t answer immediately, hemming and hawing about how to reply.
“One of them is.” came Zasp’s voice from behind. “She pinned me by the throat with a blade.”
Neolith gasped, and Maki shot them all concerned looks. “You failed to mention that to me! Are these bugs dangerous?”
Kabbu stammered, “T-That’s painting her in a very negative light!”
“I never said it was a negative thing.”
“Well-well yes, Zasp is correct. The leader of the survivors, Hornet. She protects them fiercely. She took us as threats and attacked.” Kabbu tried to explain. “According to the locals, they’ve been threatened by outsiders before, so she acted out of fear, not hatred.”
Elizant thought for a moment about what she had been told. “You paint a grim picture of this…well, what remains of this Kingdom. What do you wish to do?”
“At…risk of overstepping…” Leif tentatively spoke, “We feel as though they require aid. Similar to the Wasp Kingdom, to help them get back on their feet, so to speak. Although…” he almost seemed to visibly wilt. “They…they hesitate. They’re afraid, your majesty. They’re afraid you or another Queen will invade. To conquer and destroy what little they have left. ”
Elizant practically bristled at the notion. “ Invade ? Why would we- Who would- no. No, I would never do such a thing. And I can confidently speak for the other three Queens when I say they wouldn’t do such a thing either. I…I shudder to think of the things they’ve experienced to fear such notions.”
She turned to Neolith. “Neolith, I implore you to scour any records we may have of this Kingdom. Any information is good information.”
Neolith stammered, “I-I can try. B-But I’ve…I’ve never found anything pertaining to a Kingdom completely underground-”
Vi gasped, reaching into her fluff. “Oh! Neo! Look at this!” In one paw, she held one of the geo stones, in the other, the crystal she had bought from Myla. “The rock thing, that’s what they use instead of berries. And this crystal thing I bought from a merchant. Maybe they can help?”
He practically rushed over. “These..these are…Yes! Yes! I might be able to use these! I can cross reference them, and then I can run analysis-” Neolith began to mutter to himself, gently taking the items from her paws.
“My Queen.” Zaryant rumbled. “I hate to ask…but do we have enough supplies to spare? Stretching our surplus between the Wasp Kingdom and these newcomers-”
“Queen Vanessa has sent word about their rebuilding efforts. It appears to be going well, and she predicts they won’t need our supplies or workers for much longer. If what Team Snakemouth says is true…this new kingdom may require more than what the Wasp Kingdom needed.”
Elizant turned back to Team Snakemouth. “Do you…know what they might need?”
“You can probably ask them yourself.” Vi nervously snickered.
“Pardon?”
“It’s true, your majesty.” Kabbu began to elaborate. “Before we departed, Hornet asked us to return within three days…she wants to see Bugaria…she wishes to meet you, Elizant.”
She seemed almost taken aback by this claim. “That is not a lot of time to prepare. How many will come?”
“We don’t know. At least Hornet, perhaps her siblings. They’re a…rather cryptic bunch.”
“This is certainly unprecedented. The closest I can think of is when the Termite Kingdom set up small businesses…but they were still aware of Bugaria customs and laws and culture…” Elizant paused, slowly turning to look over Team Snakemouth, Team Mothiva, and Maki. “...Maki. How do you feel about the Explorer’s Association temporarily taking diplomatic roles?”
Maki glanced at Mothiva, eyes narrowed. “I feel that most of us could handle the responsibility.” He looked back to Elizant, a bit more confident in his wording. “But if these outsiders wish to truly experience Bugaria, we are the most well-traveled group. We can also protect them, I’m sure that the beasts upon the surface don’t hold a candle to below.”
Vi snorted at that.
Kabbu quickly spoke, so the others wouldn’t hear her. “While I do like that idea, I strongly encourage that we take things slow. I would hate to overwhelm them. Vi is correct, they are very skittish.”
“If we may…?” Leif started to say.
“You may.”
“Hornet expects us to return in three days…just us. Team Snakemouth. Us three will fetch Hornet and whoever wishes to join her, and while we safely lead them through the swamps, the rest of the Explorers prepare for their arrival. That way, we can slowly acclimate them to the surface. Most likely at night.”
Elizant turned to Mothiva, who had been silent during the whole exchange. “What say you?”
“I-I was just…so worried about Team Snakemouth…” she whimpered, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. “That place was so, so horrid! And the bugs were so barbaric! ”
Mothiva was many things. And unfortunately, ‘good actress’ was one of them.
Elizant shook her head. “I understand. Worrying about a fellow team must have been difficult. But do you have any thoughts about allowing these Underground bugs to visit? You would assist in diplomatic duties-”
“I would do anything to help these poor bugs, your highness! To bring a little light to their dark lives!”
Team Snakemouth felt like throwing up.
“Very well. We will proceed with Leif’s plan, then. If you three returned last night, not including today, that gives us two days to prepare. Maki, please tell the rest of the association of our plan going forward.”
“Yes, Elizant.”
“Neolith, find all that you can about this…Kabbu, what was the Kingdom’s name?”
“Hallownest, your grace.”
“Find all you can about this Hallownest. I will contact Vanessa to discuss aid and supplies, and personally prepare myself for their arrival. Dismissed.”
“We’re gonna be Diplomats? ” Gen and Eri asked in unison, practically grinning ear to ear.
The rest of the explorers were equally excited at the prospect, talking amongst themselves about their new titles.
“Something like this has never happened before.” Maki began to explain. “Never before have bugs from a Kingdom so isolated requested an audience with the Queen. Even the termites had some connection to Bugaria and its inhabitants.”
“So what’s the plan, Maki?” Stratos rumbled. “We’ve never had diplomatic duties before, I’m a bit lost on what you want us to do exactly.”
“If these bugs truly wish to see Bugaria, who better to show them around?” Levi answered for Maki’s stead. “Think about it!”
“Someone to protect them, someone to show them around places-” Celia continued. “If they’re as skittish as Team Snakemouth said they were, the poor things might faint at the sight of a seedling!”
Delilah grinned, and with a playful tone asked, “So it sounds like we’re having guests over, right? Gotta clean up before guests arrive? Sweep up all the dust!”
Maki rolled his eyes. “If that helps you visualize it, then sure. In two days, Team Snakemouth will retrieve them from the swamp and bring them here.”
“A question for the three of them, then.” Zasp began to ask, leaning against the main support beam. “ Why are they coming? What’s their goal? If we know that, we might have something to go off of.”
The three looked at each other, mulling it over.
“We think…” Leif began to muse. “We think they’re surprised we’re here. Hornet wasn’t even aware there was a surface until we arrived. Completely unaware of each other’s existence And maybe…they just want to see a living Kingdom, after living in ruins for so long.”
Kabbu also began to think outloud. “In truth, I believe this is an exercise in trust. They’re extremely skittish and fearful, and when we mentioned Elizant offering aid, they immediately saw it as a threat. Visiting Bugaria may assure them that we mean no harm.”
“I think Hornet just wanted to get rid of us.” Vi grumbled.
Maki shrugged. “Well, all of those are possible, and it gives us something to work with. Trust, or curiosity, or maybe both.” He looked around the association. “...actually, Delilah, your comparison may be apt. We should probably clean a little.”