Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She should have known better than to go out alone.

The mantis darted her eyes between her assailants: a weevil, a numbnail, and a chomper. Her grip was weakening on her daggers. She was running out of time.

The weevil charged, and she could not stop it in time. She cried out in anguish as it bit down on her leg, crushing her shell under its jaws causing her to fall prone. Her vision blurred as her eyes welled with tears, not to mention the searing pain in her leg. She tried desperately to stab the weevil, managing to gouge out one of its eyes, causing it to release her broken leg. But it was no use, the other bugs would finish the job. She watched helplessly as the chomper waddled up to her, jaws open wide.

Suddenly she felt air rushing past her, as a large black and red butterfly landed in front of her, and the chomper fell to the ground, sliced in half. The butterfly flipped their poleaxe and swung at the numbnail, the hammer head easily crushing the hardened shell. The weevil attempted to flee, but the butterfly threw their weapon, spearing the weevil.

“Thank you! Oh, gracious Venus, thank you. I thought I was done for!” She praised the butterfly as they went over to retrieve their weapon.

They turned to face her, finally revealing their face.

She screamed, recoiling back at the hideous sight. The butterfly had a half rotted face, with mushrooms sprouting out of their right eye socket. The light of the setting sun illuminated the pulsing mycelium lurking just beneath the empty eyes. Poking out through the neck fluff was the sickening sprouts of cordyceps. She had read about them, and hoped that they were only stories. 

They… it , crouched down in front of her. She tried to push herself away from the zombie, but the pain in her leg caused her to fall limp. She whimpered as the zombie reached a hand towards her leg.

“That’s quite a big hole you got there.” The zombie spoke with a harsh voice, crackled and raspy. “It’s barely holding together.”

“You– you can talk?” she asked, her voice quivering from fear and pain.

“Not only that, I can heal . It’s a good thing that weevil didn’t get another bite, probably would have torn the thing clean off. And that would have made my job harder, as well as the treatment more…invasive.” he held his hand millimeters above the leg, and the shell of his hand shifted as fungal tendrils spread from his wrist.

She yelped, and jerked her leg away. His mandibles twisted into a scowl.

“If you don’t want my help, so be it. I have nothing against leaving you here to die. If you want to live and return to your home, hold still. ”

Her chest was heaving from her shaking breaths, but she held her leg still. She watched as more mycelium grew from his wrist and wrapped itself around her leg, straightening it and covering the hole. It quickly hardened, and broke off of the butterfly.

“There’s healing spores in there, too, to speed up recovery. You should be able to walk on it in a moment.” He got up and left the mantis lying there without another word.

He flew south, following the strange feeling. It called to him. The setting sun cast long shadows across the golden hills, and the sky was a sea of beautiful red, pink, and orange. It was breathtaking. Or, it would be, if he could see it. He did not mind the fact that he could not admire its beauty, but he did occasionally wish his eyes were not simply holes. His other senses made up for it when he needed them, but sometimes things that would be obvious are not easy for him to discern.

The scenery soon changed to a darker field of greens and blues, as he flew across a new region and the sun finally dipped below the horizon.

Eventually he found a cave with an opening like a gaping maw, and he landed in front of it. This was the place, he was sure of it. He could feel the pull in his mycelium. He had to hurry. It was getting desperate. It was getting weaker.

An ant stopped him. “Hey, you’re not supposed to go in–” her mouth hung open in shock as the butterfly turned and growled at her, before flying into the cave. “Sweet venus, who… what was that? I– I gotta report this”

He rushed through the cave, leaping over walls and flying over chasms until he reached a set of large, ornate doors. He flew through the open doors and into an ancient laboratory. He could feel the buzz of mycelium all around him. There were cordyceps here. Beetles, bees, and ants, even some creatures wholly fungal…but these were not the source of the call. They were simple minded, feral, and tried to attack him. They failed. He flew past the slow ones, and quickly dispatched the ones that successfully got in his way. 

Eventually he ran into a group of uninfected bugs. Another beetle, though this one had a brighter shell and only one horn, a bee, though smaller and cuter, and a moth. He could feel the moth in the same way he felt the other cordyceps. Though his was different. More refined. sentient.

“Aw man, another one?”

“Wait, this one’s a butterfly. How odd, the rest were all found in droves, and yet this is the first time we’ve seen a butterfly…”

“Asoiu, khiwenjf huivstr!”

The two uninfected bugs jumped, and looked at the moth, concerned.

“I take it he’s not supposed to do that.” Cordy said.

“What?!” Vi jumped.

“It talks?” Kabbu wondered.

“That one does, and you don’t seem surprised about it” Cordy pointed at the moth.

“It knows about Leif?”

“How could it know about Leif?”

“It’s a bit rude to refer to someone as an ‘it’, you know. Do you refer to Leif as an ‘it’?”

Leif flinched. It was only moments ago he referred to himself as an it.

“You could instead refer to me by name, if you want. I haven’t got a proper name, but most bugs call me Cordy.” The butterfly extended his hand. “Nice meeting you.”

The bugs looked at the hand like it was the strangest thing they had ever seen.

“...Leif.” The moth took his hand and shook it carefully. “Though, we guess you already knew that.”

“I mean…at least he isn’t attacking us. So, sure, why not? I’m Vi!”

“Kabbu. Where… how… are you…like them?”

“Of course not! Those things are mindless beasts. The only difference between them and the feral bugs is that they’re mushrooms instead of insects. I, and Leif, on the other hand, are just as sentient as the two of you.” He crouched down to get on the same level as them and leaned towards Leif, who leaned back slightly. “Hmm. There’s magic in you, definitely. But not…” he stood back up. “No, you’re not the one who called me here.”

Leif blinked. “What? What do you mean?”

“There’s another cordyceps here. Another like us, sentient. They’re close, so close I can’t tell what direction they’re in. Have you seen any other cordyceps?”

Team Snakemouth looked at each other, unsure whether to tell this bug what they did to the one other unique cordyceps.

“Oh, don’t tell me. Come on, Leif, don’t tell me you didn’t sense it, too! Surely you recognized it as one of your own”

“We…did. It was overpowering. It scared us. We didn’t want to accept it.”

“What did you do?”

Vi looked back at the room they just left. “We kinda…killed it. Sorry.”

Kabbu glared at her and whispered, “Vi! Don’t just tell him that!”

Cordy stepped past the group. “Well, clearly you didn’t do a good job at it.”

“What?!”

Chapter Text

Team Snakemouth followed Cordy, confused and concerned. They entered the room where the Zommoth lay crumpled on the floor.

Cordy knelt beside the abomination, and shook his head. “What did they do to you?”

“Do you… know them?” Kabbu asked.

“No, I do not know this moth, not personally. But I do know that they were not supposed to be like this. No cordyceps is supposed to. This is the result of artificial infection. Someone put too much in a shell too small to hold it.”

He put his hand on the Zommoths face. Or, what was left of it. “Wake up. Tell me how I can help you”

“Sadiuy fnawj.” Leif pressed a hand against his head.

“Woah, what are you doing?” Kabbu asked.

“Searching her mind, trying to find her.” Cordy responded.

“ Her? ” Vi asked incredulously.

“Yes, her. You can tell by the pattern of the wings, you don’t even need to connect to her to know that.”

“You have mind magic?” Kabbu asked inquisitively.

“Well, not technically. I have mushroom magic, and it doesn’t take a master to be able to connect to another mushroom. Fungi are naturally suited to hivemind activities.”

“You have magic, too?” Vi asked.

“Yes. it would seem all three of us have magic. I’m not sure what kind of magic Leif has, but I can tell she has some kind of poison magic by the lingering traces in her shell.”

Leif held out his hand, summoned a snowball, and threw it at Vi.

“Ah! What did you do that for?” Vi shouted.

“To show Cordy what kind of magic we have.” Though he tried to hide it, he couldn’t help but smile just a little bit.

“Guys, now is not the time” Kabbu stepped in between the two before they could do anything more. “Cordy, did you…find anything?”

“Lotus…”

“What?” Kabbu asked

“Her name is Lotus.”

“That thing had a name?” Vi asked.

“Yes. She had a name.” Cordy answered.

“Is there…anything else you can read?” Leif asked tentatively. 

“Only emotions. Scared. Hurt. But mostly afraid. Poor thing.” He lowered his voice, “I can help you. They won’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let them.” 

The moth turned her head to look up at Cordy.

“It moved– oww!”

“Vi, please.” Kabbu bonked her between the antennae

Cordy shot a death glare back in Vi’s general direction, then returned his focus on Lotus.

Lotus grabbed Cordy’s hand.

‘Help…me?’

‘Yes. I can help you.’

‘Hurts…so much.’

‘You’ve outgrown your shell. Let me help you shed your extra mycelium.’

‘How…?’

‘I can trim off the excess, if you let me.’

‘Will it…hurt?’

‘Perhaps, but not much. And it will help the rest of the pain go away.’

After a moment, she nodded. ‘...okay.’

Tendrils of mycelium spread from Cordys wrist, weaving themselves into Lotus’ own mycelium. Strands of mycelium began flaking off of her tail and face, and more began to grow in the hole in her chest, filling it. Eventually, a much smaller Zommoth rose up, supporting herself on Cordy. She was only a bit taller than Leif now, though her height was partially dependent on how much tail she kept on the ground.

“I dunno, it’s still weird looking at it.” Vi said.

“The lack of face is…somehow worse without the tendril.” Leif added.

“Well, I mean…” Kabbu shuffled through the pack of medals they had, pulling out their leaf cloak medal. “We do have this. Maybe we could give it to her?”

“What? No way! We had to go through so much trouble to get that thing, we’re not gonna just…give it away!” Vi protested.

“We literally just walked through with our shield and grabbed it. It was not very difficult.” Lief said.

“Still though, it was a gift from Eophi. I don’t think we should give it to… her .” Vi huffed.

“We could lend it to her, though, at least for now. Would be a lot easier. Then…we could maybe help her find a mask of her own?” Kabbu suggested.

Vi grumbled. “Fine, but only because it means I don’t have to look at her… not face any more.”

Kabbu walked up to the two cordyceps and presented the mask. “Here. it’s not much, and…we do want it back at some point. But…it’ll help…make it easier to fit in. A lot of bugs have some strong opinions on cordyceps.”

“So I’ve noticed.” Cordy said coldly.

Lotus’ antennae twitched, and she turned towards Kabbu, looking a bit past him, and held her hands out. 

“Uh…here.” Kabbu placed the mask in her hands, and watched her place it over where her face should be. Tendrils spread out around it, feeling its edges and aligning it properly onto her face.

“We think it is meant to be worn the other way, it is upside down.” Leif commented.

The tendrils hiding just below the mask shuffle it around until it is oriented the correct way up. Leif gave a little nod of approval.

“It does look better now that she has something of a face on her head.” Vi said.

A strange buzzing noise came from Lotus. “Th….a….nnn….kk…ssss”

The four other bugs looked at her with varying levels of surprise and confusion.

“Interesting.” Cordy said. “She can already string together words”

“Is she not supposed to?” Leif asked. “We can talk perfectly fine, and you talk…normal enough.”

“Well, yes. The thing is, you have a fully functional mouth. I have… most of the parts of mine. She… she doesn’t have anything. And yet she can still make the noises we interpret as speech. Fascinating.”

Lotus slithered over to Leif. Eyes (or whatever you want to call it) locked on to his.

“Uh… we are not sure what–”

Before Leif could finish voicing his concern, Lotus wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Her body shook, almost as if she were crying.

‘Sibling…returned. So…sorry.’

“She called you sibling.” Cordy said. “Though I can already tell you don’t feel the same. I’m curious why that is.”

“We… don’t know. She called us that before, when…when we met. We don’t remember having a sibling…” Lief allowed his arms to wrap around Lotus. “But…we don’t remember… not having a sibling, either.”

“She also said she was sorry, if…that’s any consolation. I don’t imagine your meeting was pleasant.”

Lotus patted around Leif, tilting her head in confusion.

“Those are…our wings. We wrap them around ourselves like a cloak. It… actually might be a good idea for you to do the same. You might even look like a normal moth, if you did it well.”

Lotus moved her wings so that they draped somewhat loosely around her body. Leif helped her adjust them so they hung properly, concealing the hole in her chest, and partially concealing her tail.

“You know, it almost looks cute. In a weird, creepy sort of way.” Vi said. “Now, sorry for cutting this short, but I would like to get out of this horrible lab before more zombies come for us.”

“You probably could have said that in another way,” Kabbu said, giving Vi a light bonk, “But you are right. It would be nice to head back outside, maybe then we could have proper introductions.”

They all agreed that would be better, and so the group headed out of the ancient laboratory. Kabbu, Vi, Leif, and Cordy fought back any cordyceps zombie unfortunate enough to get in their way. Cordy helped Lotus cross the many pools of water.

When they finally escaped the horrid lab, Leif gently pushed Lotus away. “We would like some time to ourselves, now. Go with Cordy, we will catch up. For now, we need a moment to think.”

Lotus hung her head a bit, but obliged.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Leif breathed a sigh of relief. “We aren’t sure what to do.”

“Yeah. I mean, do we even trust those two? Like, come on, what reason do we have to trust a random bug, who’s also a cordyceps, and raised the Zommoth back from the dead?” Vi folded her arms across her chest.

“Well… you trust us, right?” Leif asked, a little worried. It had only been moments ago they came to the horrifying realisation, and he still wasn’t sure about it.

“Of course! It’s just…you earned that trust, Leif. We’ve fought together for a while, and…that kind of trust takes a lot of time.” Kabbu reassured his friend with a pat on the back. Though he was unable to hide his worry. “You’re our friend, Leif. Regardless of what you’re made of.”

“Besides. It’s not like…I mean, first impressions are a whole lot different.”

“Would you have trusted us if you knew what we were from the beginning?”

Vi opened her mouth, but was unable to find words. At least, not any good ones.

“Well… you were in trouble, and needed rescuing.” Kabbu said, only mostly certain in his words. “You’re certainly nothing like those other cordyceps we’ve fought. You’re different. And those two share that difference. So…maybe we should at least give them a chance?”

Chapter Text

“Still not convinced you weren’t just seeing things. What was it last time? A talking flower?”

The three ant guards stood outside the mouth of Snakemouth Den.

“I swear, I heard it talking to team Snakemouth, you can ask them and they’ll tell you it was talking.”

“Guys, can we just get this done so we can go back? I was on my break.”

“Well, I’m definitely not going in there, not with the butterfly.”

“As much as I don’t want to give your story credit, I also don’t want to just waltz into that cave. It’s still pretty dangerous, even without the spider.”

The trio stared into the dark cave, unsure whether they wanted to see anything.

“How long do we have to wait here?”

“Well, I saw team Snakemouth head in a while ago, so…hopefully they come back soon.”

“Oh, well, if those guys are in there, we have nothing to worry about. Even if there is a butterfly zombie, they’ll take care of it.” The ant paused, staring into the empty abyss. “...right?”

Eventually, they did see a figure in the darkness, but they quickly realized it was not team Snakemouth. 

“Oh… Venus protect us. Okay, let’s try to make sure it doesn’t escape again”

The three soldiers readied their spears, trained on the butterfly.

The butterfly stepped into the light, revealing its hideous face, and growled. “Lower your weapons, and I will let you live.”

…

After coming to the conclusion that the two cordyceps deserved a chance to prove themselves, team Snakemouth went back to the entrance to catch up with them. Upon their arrival, they found Cordy fighting three ant guards. One they recognized as the one stationed at the cave, the other two were from nearby locations.

They were losing, badly. Cordy brought his poleaxe high above his head, ready to deliver the killing blow.

Kabbu rushed into the fight, knocking Cordy off balance, causing him to bury his weapon just millimeters away from the ant's head.

“Stop! You’ve won! Don’t kill them!” Kabbu cried out.

“And why is that?” Cordy asked, his voice harsher than it was before. “They were going to kill me, and then they would kill her. ” He pointed to Lotus, who was hiding in the cave. “I will not hesitate to cut a spent life short so that another can begin.”

“Because these are our friends! You can’t just kill them!” Kabbu said.

“Yeah!” Vi added. “You can’t just go around whacking everything until it stops moving.”

Leif held his hand out, icicles already beginning to form near his hand. “Don’t make us regret our choices.”

Cordy and Leif locked eyes, glaring at each other for what felt like an hour.

“We will not hesitate to turn our magic against you to protect our friends.” Leif warned.

After a moment of tense silence, Cordy relented. “ Fine. I will forgive this transgression, this time .”

He reached down and pulled two of the guards to their feet. He watched them help the third to her feet, and grumbled as they attempted to carry her back to the castle. “Wait, let me heal you.”

“You were literally about to kill us, what makes you think we’ll trust your healing?”

“Because if I wanted to kill you I wouldn’t resort to cheap tricks . You saw how I fight. I am not a coward. Now, do you want to carry your friend back to the castle and hope you don’t encounter anything that will take advantage of your weakened state? Or do you want to have her able to walk under her own power without suffering?”

“You’re the reason she’s in pain you idiot!”

“And you attacked first. I don’t think either of us are morally above the other. Do you want me to heal her or not? Don’t waste my time.”

The three ant guards glance at each other

“It won’t turn me into something like you will it?” The crippled ant said.

“Of course not. Like I said, I don’t rely on cheap tricks.”

The ants looked at each other, then, “...do it.”

Cordy breathed out a cloud of glittering golden spores on the ant guards. After the ensuing coughing fit, they looked around, confused. At least they didn’t feel pain anymore.

“Uh…thanks.”

The three ant guards walked away.

“Well…at least you healed them after.” Kabbu said.

Lotus peeked out from her hiding spot. “Sa…fe?”

“Yes, they are gone now.” Cordy said.

“Were the guards really the first to attack?” Vi asked

“Yes. I am not one to initiate unnecessary fights. I gave them a chance to back down, and they refused.”

“You’re certainly not making a good reputation. Especially if I hadn’t stopped you from killing that ant.” Kabbu said.

Cordy grumbled. “Guess I should start caring at least a little about that now that I’m back in… civilized …lands. It has been a while, hasn’t it?” He hummed the last bit to himself .

“How long have you been wandering that you forget basic decency?” Kabbu asked.

“Many years. Perhaps even a decade.”

“We should probably go home now.” Leif announced. “Chompy is probably awake by now, and we don’t want to leave her at home wondering where we are.”

“Yeah. Let’s go home.” Vi agreed.

“Well I’m staying here.” Cordy declared. “In fact, I might settle down here, too.” He walked back into the cave.

“You know, that cave is known for being incredibly dangerous. There’s a reason nobody’s built any kind of permanent structure in there.” Vi said.

“Well, we did kill the giant spider, so it is a lot safer now.” Kabbu said.

“Sounds to me like you guys cleared it out for a new resident.” Cordy called back. “Though I doubt it would have been too difficult for me to take care of myself.”

Lotus stayed next to Leif. “Home?”

“You want to come with us?” Leif asked.

Lotus nodded.

“Don’t tell me you’re seriously considering bringing her with us into the ant kingdom. If anyone finds out about her, she’d…” Vi trailed off. It was pretty obvious what they would do, and she didn’t need to say it out loud in front of her.

“Let's hope they don’t find out about us, then.” Leif said as he adjusted Lotus’ wings to better cover herself. “But if we are able to get them to accept her , surely they would be fine with–” He froze. “Oh, Venus, we still need to talk to them .”

Lotus tilted her head. 

“Our… family. Muze, Tod, they…expect me to be normal. How can we…”

“Well, you convinced us you were normal.” Kabbu said.

“About as normal as someone older than the queen could be.” Vi joked.

“And now we have to do the same for Lotus…”

Chapter Text

They got back without much trouble. A few curious looks, but nothing serious. 

At that point, it was already late, and the group was physically and mentally exhausted from their trip into Snakemouth Den, so they decided to go to bed early, and figure things out in the morning.

Vi flew up to her bunk on the top, setting her Beemarang on the shelf before heading to sleep. Kabbu plopped down onto the bottom bunk, shaking the tower with his bulk.

Leif considered for a fraction of a second to bring Chompy into his bed, and having Lotus sleep there.

“We suppose…you can sleep with us. There’s not much room, but we’ll manage.”

He summoned a platform with his ice magic, lifting her up to the middle bunk before lifting himself up. Even with the two snuggled up together, it was a tight fit.

…

When Leif woke, it was still dark. He blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness. He could hear Vi snoring in the bunk above him. Lotus was sleeping next to him, and had her tail wrapped around his leg. How old is she? She must be older than us, or at least similar in age. Is she simply touch starved? What did they do to her…

He looked over at Chompy, fast asleep in her little bed. He smiled. He really did love that little sprout. He turned to look at Lotus, and jumped, nearly hitting his head on the roof of his bunk.

She had taken her mask off before going to bed, and her mycelium was writhing in the space where her face should have been. She was so close, the mycelium almost reached his shell.

She stirred.

“Sibling…awake?”

“Yes.”

“Did I…scare?”

“Startled, yes. But not frightened. We were not expecting to see you so close.”

“Am I…scary?”

“Not…scary. Unusual, yes. Unsettling…we’d be lying if we didn’t say at least a little bit. But scary?” Leif looked up at the roof of his bunk. “We look at you and see…something alien, and yet intensely familiar. We cannot tell for certain why, but we know you. Maybe we are siblings, maybe we’re just both…mushrooms.”

The two sat in silence for a moment. Or at least, whatever silence they could get with Vi sleeping directly above them.

“Do you want to go on a walk?”

“But, what if…a bug sees me?”

“It’s pretty dark, plus most bugs are asleep. We find it quite calming. You should be fine.”

Leif summoned another ice platform and rolled onto it, quietly stepping off and raising it to carry Lotus down. Leif gave Lotus her mask, and Chompy a few pets, and the two stepped out into the night.

He led Lotus to the residential area, where they sat on the edge of the fountain together.

“It’s a clear night. The stars are out…though we suppose that doesn’t make much difference for you, does it?”

“Can sibling…describe?”

Leif sighed and stared into the sky. “It is…difficult to convey the feeling. It’s like a blanket made of a thousand sparkling crystals.”

She rested her head on his shoulder.

“Park is…different. feels…not empty.” 

“Yeah, they built houses around it. It’s more of a residential area now. The fountain is the same though, and there’s a few benches left.”

“Friends live here?”

“A few. Some family, even. Distant, but we suppose that’s just because we skipped a generation or two.” He sighed. “I do hope Muse was able to do well without us…”

The two sat like that for a while, until they saw the light of a guard approaching them.

“Oh, hey Leif. Didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon. Trouble sleeping?”

“Yeah.”

“Who’s the friend?”

“Lotus. She’s…a relative of mine. She came from pretty far away.”

“What…” The ant squinted in the torchlight, before pointing at Lotus’ tail poking out from beneath her wings. “What’s that?”

Leif froze. “It’s…some kind of fashion thing. We don’t really know much about that kind of stuff.”

“Huh. Neat. I do like learning foreign fashion styles. I’ve heard there’s been some interesting stuff going on in the termite kingdom. Shame we can’t go there.” The guard stared off into the distance. “It’s been a slow night. Mind if I sit with you?”

Leif tapped the fountain opposite Lotus. “Go ahead. We don’t mind”

“Who…friend?” Lotus asked.

“ Really far away, huh?” the ant said. “I’m Lisa, nice meeting you.”

The newly dubbed Lisa held out a hand to shake.

Lotus did not react.

“Oh, uh…she can’t see.”

“Betcha it’s because of the mask. Seriously, who wears masks past sunset?”

“Well… she got a pretty serious injury. Her face is…” He silently congratulated himself on the brilliant quick thinking as he trailed off. It wasn’t even a lie, either. Her face had received major injuries. The only thing that might be called lying by omission is the fact that the damage came from within.

“Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry! That must have been really rude of me, then, wasn’t it?”

“Is…okay.” Lotus said.

“If I may, why a leaf?”

“Oh, that’s actually one of Eophi’s. Don’t ask why we have one, it’s a long story. We plan on getting her a better one sometime soon. Though we aren’t sure where we might get one.”

“Have you asked M.M.? He’s got quite a few different masks, I’m sure he would let you have one of them.” She rummaged through her sack, and pulled out two red berries. “This should help you convince him to part with one. As…an apology for earlier.”

“Thank you.”

“Also, while I’ve got my pouch open, do you want to share a mushroom salad?”

“Gladly.” Lief reached over and grabbed a tasty looking chunk and popped it in his mouth.

“What about you, Lotus? Do you want a bite? I’ll…look away so you can remove the mask, if that makes it easier for you to eat.”

Leif grabbed another chunk and passed it to Lotus. “Try some. It’s one of our favorites.”

She stared for a moment. “Not sure…if I can eat. Had mostly liquids…”

“That bad, eh?” The ant said, wincing. “Sorry to hear that it’s like that"

“Maybe… I could try. Not now…later.”

After finishing the salad, the ant stood up. “Well, I suppose I should be on my way. It was nice meeting you again, Leif. and you, too, Lotus.” And without another word, the ant resumed her patrol, walking off into the night.

“We should go back home.” Leif stood up. “Wouldn’t want to worry our friends.”

Chapter Text

“We’re going to the wasp palace to take the relic back.” Leif gave Lotus a pat on the shoulder, which quickly became a hug as she held him tight. “It’s fine, we’ll be fine. Just… promise us you’ll take care of chompy while we’re gone, okay? We shouldn’t be gone long, just a few days. We’ll be back soon…”

She could tell he wasn’t sure.

She hoped he wasn’t wrong.

The cool morning breeze was a welcome change from the stale air of the lab. The soft, damp grass felt wonderful on her tail. She could hear music coming from a nearby bug. She approached the music, and it eventually stopped.

“Oh, hi.” The bug said. “You must be Leif’s friend. I saw you come in last night.”

“You…make music?”

“Hm? Yeah, I thought that was obvious…given that I’m holding my ocarina”

“Can’t…see…”

“Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t…sorry…”

“Is okay…get it a lot.”

A moment of silence passed between them, both unsure what to say.

“Music is…pretty. Can enjoy music without seeing.”

“Thank you.” she smiled. “Should I resume playing?”

Lotus nodded, and sat down to listen to the musical bug. She sat there for quite some time, gently bobbing her head to the music. It was the best thing she had experienced in a very long time. She almost didn’t notice the strange magical aura that passed by her. She turned her head towards the strange sensation. “What was that?”

“Oh, just some bug. Looks like they’re heading for the castle.”

Lotus got up and followed the strange bug. Her mycelium twisted uncomfortably in her chest. She didn’t know what it was, but something felt wrong about that bug.

She followed a short distance behind. Not close enough that it was clear she was following them, but close enough that she could feel them. Hopefully they just assumed she also had to go to the castle. The air changed, the grass changed to stone, she knew they had entered the castle. She stopped, the bug went around to the back.

“State your business,” an ant guard declared.

“I must speak to the queen, I have news regarding the artifacts.”

“I apologize, but the queen is too busy right now to take visitors. I can relay your messages.”

“You don’t understand,” the bug discreetly shot a cloud of pheromones from a hidden pouch at the two guards. “I must speak with her personally.”

A pause, and the door opened. “Make it quick.”

“I will.”

She knew something was wrong. She went over to the guards. And bumped into their crossed spears.

“Sorry, only one bug at a time.” one said.

“Seriously, the door was closed, why did you just walk through?” the other asked. 

“Who was that?” Lotus asked.

“I don’t know, but he had info–” the guard was interrupted by a commotion in the throne room. “What the– guards! The queen is under attack!” She and the rest of the guards in the room rushed past Lotus into the throne room.

She stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. Part of her wanted to run away, to stay safe. But another part of her could not stand idle. She didn’t like that part of her, it was forced upon her by them …and yet… this time it felt right.

A blast of heat from the throne room set her course. She took off her mask and placed it carefully on the ground next to the door. She could not hide for this, and the mask hindered her senses. Besides, it wasn’t hers, and she didn’t want to damage it. She began charging her magic, wincing as it burned in her chest, and rushed in.

She could feel the magic more clearly now. She could sense the bugs around her, collapsed from exhaustion. He and Elizant were fighting, she could hear their blades clashing. 

She wasn’t sure she could get a clear shot. The magical bug stopped moving, she could hear them struggling.

She prayed Elizant wasn’t in front, and released the spell.

A beam of powerful poison magic shot out of her chest, burning a hole in the mycelium patch Cordy grew. She staggered for a moment, holding a hand to her chest.

“Ah! What–? You… ” the bug stumbled briefly as the poison sapped his strength. “I saw you on my way here…I would have killed you there, but it would have blown my cover…ah, or I would have been praised for exterminating you.” 

“Kjdrira… protect .” She said, finally finding her words. “I should have done the same to you. This…my home , I will protect with my life.”

“Well then, let’s see how long it lasts!” 

He rushed forward, swinging something large and powerful. She leapt away, and shot him with blasts of poison magic. She rushed in, low, dodging another swing from the weapon, and swiped him with her tail before dashing back to avoid another blow.

“You’re fast, parasite. But you can’t keep dodging forever”

She felt the temperature rise, and suddenly she was engulfed in flame. She fell to the ground, stunned.

“Now then, where was I?”

“You were leaving.” a regal voice declared. The queen had recovered, and was next to the strange bug. 

He growled. “Is that thing your pet? Did you bring it out because the mantis was away? Clever, Elizant. Very clever. I’ll be back for the relics, and next time, you won’t be able to stop me.” He leapt into the wall, causing it to shatter.

She struggled to lift herself up, and tilted her head up to the approaching queen. She opted to assume a bowing position instead of attempting to stand. She wasn’t sure what to do, she worried she might be executed, or worse, locked away again.

“You’re strong, moth. Even my best soldiers take far longer to recover from his flames. Tell me, do you have a name?”

“Lotus, your majesty.”

“Well then, Lotus. Normally, I would have you executed. We have suffered too many losses from… your kind . But… These are desperate times, and you did save my life. More importantly, you saved the relics from capture. Such acts must be rewarded.”

“You're not going to kill me?”

“Yes. You’ve shown that you aren't mindless like what the stories say.”

Lotus pulled herself up, and returned her wings to her sides like how Leif showed her, covering her empty chest.

“That looks painful. Are you alright?” Elizant said, concerned.

“I'm fine.” She placed a hand under her wings to check her chest cavity. Already the torn roots had begun to heal.

“You’re bleeding quite a lot.”

“Am I?” she did feel a cold, wet sensation in her chest, which lingered on her hand, but she thought nothing of it.

“Unless… I will admit I don’t know much about mushrooms. But that looks a lot like blood, or at least an equivalent of it."

“I will be fine. My body heals rapidly.”

“Regardless, if you have any need, let us know and I will have it done.”

Lotus thought for a moment. “I require a face. My current mask is lent to me by a friend. If it's possible, I would like for it to not hinder my senses, as well.”

“Oh, yes, that is important. We don’t want to cause a panic, after all. I will have it made as soon as we can.”

She left, and fumbled around for a moment before locating the mask, and returning it to her face.

It was upside down again.

Chapter Text

“What are they doing?” Lotus asked.

“Preparing for blooms day, of course!” Vi answered, putting the finishing touches on her egg.

“And….what is that?”

Jaune put down her brush. “Please tell me she knows about blooms day, it’s my favorite.”

Lotus shook her head sadly.

“It’s the celebration of the budding of our plants, the birth of our young, and Venus, of course.” Kabbu said, before returning to his conversation with Leif.

“It’s when we go around hunting for seeds and get candy!” Tod said, barely containing his excitement.

“There is also the egg painting.” Jaune said, resuming her work. “Most bugs only participate in that if they have their own, some bugs participate with aphid eggs though, if they don’t or can’t have eggs of their own. It’s to display the family to the town, through art. Some do it as a group effort, each family member putting their own mark on the beautiful canvas that is their child. Of course, we do things a little differently. I paint all the eggs for queen Bianca, and they’re all displayed together in the festival. I think the tech heads are planning on doing something with the display that will have the eggs all move.”

“Can I try?” Lotus asked.

“To paint? You kinda need to see to paint.” Vi said.

“Well, I don’t think it’s a requirement …” Jaune mused. “You can sense where things are without seeing them. Blind bugs are able to learn how to sense details by feeling them with their fingers and antennae, and they can paint and write. It’s not great , but it does work .”

She gathered up a few jars of paints in various colors, as well as some brushes. “I’ll give you some purple, like your wings, some blue, some red, and some yellow.” She placed Lotus’ hands on each jar as she set them down. “And here’s your brush.” She wrapped her hands around the brush, then sat back down to resume her work. “Vi, you wouldn’t mind sharing a few eggs with her, right?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Vi gave one of her aphid eggs to Lotus.

Lotus took the egg, and tilted her head. She sat there for a while, the tip of her tail coiling and uncoiling as she thought.

“Take your time, there’s no rush.” Jaune said.

Eventually, she reached around until she found one of the paint jars. “Blue?” 

“Yeah” Jaun confirmed.

She dipped the bush in the jar and began coating the egg in blue paint. She applied layer after layer until she was sure the egg had been completely coated and dried. Then she reached for another jar. “Purple?”

“No, that one’s yellow. The purple one is to your right.”

She picked up the jar and brought it to her chest, and covered her mycelium in paint. She carefully held the egg and wrapped her mycelium around it, leaving purple streaks all over the egg.

“Interesting technique.” Jaune said, placing another egg on her stand. “Like I said, blind bugs always find a way.”

“Does it look good?” Lotus asked.

“Yeah, I think it looks good.” Jaune nodded. “It’s very…you.” 

“I should probably…clean up.”

…

“The decorations are quite nice.” Kabbu said as the group walked through the golden settlement.

The town was covered in bright colors and blooming flowers, the statue in the center had a crown woven from fresh buds and leaves. Bugs from all over already gathered to help set up the celebrations.

Two mole crickets came up to them, who they recognized as the hermit they had found in the cave near the entrance to the golden path, and the retired explorer they found at the peak of the golden hills. “Team Snakemouth! How wonderful it is to meet you here!”

Tecki held an egg in her arms, which had been painted with a flower on the top and a single band around its sides. “If it weren’t for you, I would have never met Elom.”

“It’s a pretty simple paint job…” Vi commented.

“Of course.” Elom said. “There is beauty in simplicity.”

“This is true.” Leif said. “We are sure they will grow up to be just like you. We look forward to meeting the little one.” He gently patted the top of the egg.

A mechanical screech tore their attention away from the egg. Professors Honeycomb and H.B. were still working on the hives display. It lurched and groaned, and a series of rings began to slowly spin. As they spun around, they expanded and contracted, switching position with the other rings. Each one slowly made their way to the top, before weaving their way back to the bottom.

“It works!” H.B. shouted.

“Of course it does!” Honeycomb responded. “Were you doubting my ability to make a simple display?”

“Perhaps.” H.B. pulled a lever, and the machine slowly died down. “Now, then. Begin loading the eggs.”

Crow and Hawk opened a large crate, and began slowly placing beautifully painted eggs into cradles lining the rings.

Team Snakemouth approached the group. “Mind if we help?” Kabbu asked.

“Ah, Team Snakemouth! What a pleasure to see you here today. I would greatly appreciate your help.” H.B. said.

After the rest of the team gave their greetings, Team Snakemouth began to help Crow and Hawk load the eggs onto the display.

“Don’t even think about it.” Leif glared as H.B. approached Lotus.

“Alright! Alright.” She put her hands up and backed away. “Clearly you don’t care about how much we could learn from the two of you, and how much it could improve things.”

“If you’re going to dissect a cordyceps, find a zombiant or something.” Vi said.

“You just don’t get it.” H.B. muttered under her breath.

The bugs continued in relative silence until all the eggs had been loaded.

They stepped back and watched as the machine came to life, and spun the eggs around.

“Well, I should probably go make sure grandpa is ok. I’ll be back soon.” Hawk gave Leif a pat on the back as he left.

Leif walked over to Crow with a sly smile. “Down for a game while we wait?”

Crow grinned, H.B. sighed, and she and Leif went off to play Spy Cards.

After getting beaten five times in a row, Crow finally admitted defeat. Team Snakemouth headed over to Kuts for some food.

Suddenly a ball hit Lotus’ back.

“Tod!” Muze shouted.

Lotus picked up the ball, and held it ready to throw at the giggling child. He ran around, calling out “you can’t hit me, you can’t hit me” as she aimed. She threw the ball, hitting him square in the chest. He laughed and ran up to Lotus, giving her a big hug.

Muze sighed, and followed suit, giving Leif a hug. “How’s it been?”

“We’ve been doing well. How’s grandpa?”

“Oh, he couldn’t make it. He’s getting quite old now. But he sends you his love.” She tapped him in the chest. “He also says it’s not fair that you get to be so young.”

“Well, it’s not our fault.” He smiled.

“Those two get along quite well” She said, looking over at Lotus and Tod, who were playing together.

“Yes, they do. We are sad we don’t remember…”

“Oh, it’s fine. You get to make new memories with us now!” She gave him another hug, which he returned.

The two continued chatting, and Vi and Kabbu left to actually get some food from Kut.

…

“I’m sure some of you have already spotted some of Venus’s seeds around town.” Aria announced. “And I’m sure some of you have been dying to get started, so I’ll make this quick. The seeds have been hidden in town and outside in the golden path. The golden path is only for the older bugs, and while we did our best to clear out the wildlife, some will have surely slipped through. So keep your eyes peeled for weevils and chompers, as well as the colorful seeds. As always, whoever finds the golden seed gets 100 berries! The youth search will end in three hours, and the adult search will end at sunset. Everyone have their baskets? Good, ready…”

Vi’s wings buzzed with excitement as she waited just outside the gates with the rest of the older seed hunters.

“Set…”

Muse had to hold Tod in his seat.

“GO!”

The two crowds rushed off to their zones and scattered.

“You know I’m getting that golden seed” Mothiva said as team Mothiva and Team Snakemouth ran together.

“As if!” Vi retorted.

The two split at the crossing over chomper cave. As they crossed, Leif noticed the glint of a seed buried in the thorns. He pulled up his shield and dropped down, casually walked over, and retrieved the seed.

Maki climbed a tree while Kina and Yin fought off a group of aphids at the base.

Mothiva jumped across moving platforms while Zasp turned the crank for her. “Gah!” Mothiva missed a jump and landed back on the ground. “Zasp! You messed up my jump!” She stormed back to the rock she had climbed to reach the moving platforms. “Don’t mess up again”

Team Slacker came across a group of chompers, with a Venus bud in the middle, guarding a pile of seeds. “Well, looks like we found the jackpot!” Stratos said.

“Think the golden seed is here?” Delilah asked, readying her darts.

“Nah, too obvious. It’s usually hidden , not guarded.” Stratos said as he lunged with his sword.

Team Celia fought a group of seedlings while Voi flew over a thorn patch to grab a seed.

Back at town, Lotus sat and listened to the children run around her, gathering seeds.

“Do you want to join?” Tod asked, causing her to jump a bit.

“I’d love to, but…I can’t.”

“I can help you!” Tod smiled.

“Really?”

“Yeah! I’ll show you where some seeds are. I spotted a few that are high up that the tall kids haven’t found yet.” He whispered conspiratorially.

He walked Lotus over to a lamppost, where a seed had been hidden on top. Lotus reached up, patting around trying to find the seed. Eventually she stopped, and showed Tod the seed. “I found it!”

“Yay! Come on, let’s go get the other ones before they get nabbed”

The two continued for a while. Tod grabbed seeds of his own, and directed Lotus towards others he couldn’t reach or decided he didn’t want. Eventually they found themselves behind Aria’s house, looking in the orchid petals.

Once again, Lotus was hit by a flying object she did not notice. She turned around and looked for what hit her.

“Huh. I found a seed.”

“Oh? Nice! All on your own, too!”

“It hit me.”

“What?” Tod looked around. “Who could’ve thrown it? There isn’t anyone else around. Most of the other kids are over by the farm.”

“Weird… I feel like I felt something… but I don’t know.”

“Think it was Venus?”

“Maybe. I’ll have to tell her to not shoot seeds at me again.”

“Wait, what? I thought only chosen bugs could go see her.”

“I went with Leif and the others one time. I could feel her magic, hear her voice…but not see her. I’m told she’s beautiful.”

“That’s so cool! I wish I could go see her.”

“Maybe. Then you can tell me if she is as pretty as they say.”

“Totally! Anyways, let’s go find more seeds! I’m sure there's some more over there”

“Okay, lead the way” 

Venus smiled when she heard the seed landed on target. She enjoyed hiding the seeds for the bugs to find. She was quite proud of where she hid the golden seed this year, she wondered if anyone would find it. Over the years, she would hide some under the flytraps, and they would often get overlooked. So this year she placed the golden seed under one of the ones                 off the beaten path.

She heard Vi’s voice address her. “Venus where the HECK is that golden seed? I know you can hear me! I’ll get you another queen's dinner if you do~”

Venus considered it. It was a very tempting offer. She knew Vi had the capability to fulfill her promise, as she had seen Vi successfully kill a golden seedling earlier, and she did not share it with her team. It was getting close to sunset, and nobody had come close to finding it.

She sighed, and sprouted a bud near Vi. “I’ll give you a hint. That’s all I’ll give you.”

“Nice.”

“You still gotta get me that queen’s dinner though.”

“Alright, fine. Gimme the hint already!”

“It wants to eat you as much as i want to eat that queen’s dinner you're going to get me!” and with that the bud popped back into the ground.

“Hmm. Team not slacker found some seeds near some chompers, maybe I gotta find one that has the seedling? Or maybe it’s in one of the flytraps? Ugh, but there’s so many!”

Eventually she did find the one that held the seedling, just before sunset. She and the rest of the explorers returned to the town, where the children had already exchanged their seeds for treats.

Vi pranced over to where Kabbu and Leif were. “Guess what I found!”

“Did you find it?” Kabbu asked.

Vi proudly held out the golden seed. “Found it!”

“You what?! ” Mothiva stormed over, Zasp following close behind.

Vi turned, a smug look on her face. “Yep! You’ll never guess where it was”

“Where? In the trash bin? ” Mothiva sneered.

“Under a flytrap.”

Aria stepped between them before the situation could escalate further. “Please, not here. Take your squabbles elsewhere.”

“She started it!” Vi said pointing at Mothiva

Kabbu pulled her back. “Yeah, we know. Let’s just go get our berries.”

“I’ll finish it!” Mothiva yelled.

“Please, Mothiva, stop. Think of your reputation.” Zasp put a hand on Mothiva’s shoulder.

“Hmph, fine, i have better things to do anyway then talk to them ”

Chapter Text

On her way home, Lotus got hit in the face by a ball.

“Sorry!” A small voice shouted out, as a little bug ran up to her to retrieve the ball.

She quickly readjusted her mask. “I’m alright”

“Hey, you carry your wings like that one Snakemouth guy, Leif, i think.” Lotus can hear the smile the small bug gives “They helped me get my ball back from the cave!”

“Yes, he taught me how to do that.”

“How to get my ball out of caves?”

“No, how to wear my wings like a cape.”

“My grandpa has them the same way! That’s cool.”

“It must be a popular style.”

“Maybe”

Again she was struck by the ball. “Ah!”

“Well yeah, you’re supposed to catch it, silly.”

“I can’t see.”

“What? Why?”

“Because…” She couldn’t say it was because she didn’t have eyes, but she couldn’t come up with a different reason.

“That’s probably one of those questions I’m not supposed to ask people, isn't it…my mom keeps telling me to stop asking people why they do things different.”

“Curiosity is a good trait to have, but your mother is right, you should be careful what questions you ask.”

She turned around and started heading over to the home Leif was letting her stay in.

“Are you okay?”

She stopped. “What do you mean?”

“You walk weird, kinda like when grandpa fell down the stairs and got hurt real bad. Are you hurt?”

She didn’t speak. She was hurt, quite badly. Though she couldn’t tell the kid that she got hurt defending the relics. How did sibling come up with such a good cover so quickly?   “Yeah…I did get hurt.”

“How?”

Lotus could feel the child's eyes on her. It was unlikely she was going to get home without giving some kind of answer to the child. “Got in a fight. I’ll be fine, it’s nothing major.”

“Okay. goodnight, I guess.”

She went inside the small house. She could hear Chompy sleeping quietly in her corner. She took off her mask and set it in its special spot. She put her hands on the shelf where the middle bunk was, considering climbing up. It was where she had slept last time. But the others weren’t there to take up the other beds. She thought about just taking the bottom bunk, but decided not to. There was a chance they returned that night, and she didn’t want to be a bother.

She hoisted herself up onto the middle bunk, stretching her tail as far as it would go to lift herself up. She pushed off the ground and scrambled into the bed. 

It was quiet.

It felt wrong.

She felt alone.

She shouldn’t feel alone. And yet…her mind could not rest.

She wondered what team Snakemouth was up to. They said they were going to find the relics. Was the bug that broke in a wasp? She couldn’t tell. She put a hand on her chest. It was still wet, but it didn’t hurt as much. She hoped that Leif was okay.

…

“It still refuses to follow orders.”

“Give it time. It will learn.”

“We don’t have time! Figure something out!”

“...”

…

There was a knock on the door. She rubbed the edges of her face, trying to force the memories away. She tried to forget what happened back there…

She dropped her tail off the bunk, and slowly lowered herself down before slipping and falling to the ground with a thump.

“Lotus?” She heard an unfamiliar voice outside the door calling her name, then a quieter “this is the right house, right?”

She dragged herself to the door, and opened it.

The bug let out a gasp, and a barely audible “oh, Venus.”

She closed the door and went over to the bed to find her mask. She fumbled around for a bit before returning to the door with the mask equipped.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“Lily. You must be Lotus. I’m here to help you get a better mask. Sleep well?”

She could tell there was something odd about the question. “Seems like it. What time is it?”

“It’s midday! I’ve been here for at least half an hour. We’re going to be late, let’s get going.” The ant started walking away at a brisk pace. Eventually she stopped. “Are you coming or not?” Then she came back and grabbed Lotus’ hand. “Right, sorry. Follow me.”

The two went back to the castle, down a flight of stairs, past some workers, and down a long stone path.

“Where are we going?” Lotus asked.

“To the hive. Professor H.B. has offered her help with getting you a new mask.”

“Who?”

“The head scientist of the bee kingdom, what do you know?”

“Well…” Lotus sheepishly replied, “I just learned that there’s a bee kingdom.”

“... I’m not paid enough for this.” The ant said under her breath.

Eventually they stepped out into the hot sun. They went up some wood platforms, Lotus having a small bit of trouble getting up the large steps, and then stopped.

“This doesn’t seem like-woah!”

Suddenly, the floor was moving. They were traveling up at worrying speeds.

“Ah, what’s going on? Where are we going?” She stuck her arms out in an attempt to balance herself.

“They are bees, they fly. We don’t, so they made this elevator to help us travel to and from their hive.” The ant chuckled. “Guess I should have told you beforehand, huh?”

Eventually the platform stopped, a strong breeze going past. After a moment she stopped shaking, and followed the ant into the hive.

After only a few paces into the hive, they stopped. There was some motion, and then a loud beep. A new voice spoke up, from somewhere she could not place.

“We are getting some weird reading here, but we were told by Prof. H.B. to expect someone like that, go on ahead.”

Another loud beep sounded, and the sound of something large moving. The ant took Lotus’ hand, pulling her forward. They continued on and eventually made it to their destination.

“So you’re the “moth” they’ve been buzzing about?” A new voice queried. “Fascinating. You can take the mask off now. It’s just us here.”

She slowly lowered the mask, holding it close to her chest.

“Ooooh!” The professor approached her a bit too quickly than she was comfortable with. She circled around her, commenting on the various quirks of her biology, prodding her tail, her wings, her chest, even her face.

“Are you done?” Lotus asked, annoyed and uncomfortable.

“Oh, no. We must continue.”

“Are you sure all this is needed to make a mask?”

“Probably.” H.B. was off to the side shuffling through some things. Then she returned. “May I take a sample?”

“Uh…sure?”

“Okay, now, this might hurt a litt…”

…

“I don’t like its face.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“I just don’t like looking at it. It always has this sad expression on it.”

“It’s a corpse. It doesn’t feel emotion.”

“Then why does it look at me like that?”

“It can’t even see !”

“Can you just fix it so I don’t have to look at its face?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll figure something out.”

…

Chapter Text

She could hear Leif’s voice.

What is he saying?

He was shouting.

Is he hurt? Is he mad?

She could hear other voices.

Where am I?

The professor was there. She was also yelling.

What are they saying?

She tried to open her eyes.

…

She didn’t have eyes to open.

She was lying on something soft, like the beds back home. But not as comfortable. The tip of her tail was dangling off it, onto cold metal.

She tried to sit up.

A solid metal bar was holding her down.

She tried to move out of it, but she was bound.

Where am I? Why can’t I move? Leif, sibling, please, help me. Help me, please!

“...waking up. Release her, now. ”

The words were clearing up. She could hear her sibling’s voice.

“She tried to kill me!” A voice shouted, though her mind was still too foggy to tell where she had heard it before.

“And what makes her believe you weren’t doing the same?”

The bars were lifted, and Leif was there next to her, helping her up.

“This is going wonderfully .” Vi grumbled.

The bed shifted as Leif sat down next to her.

“Can you at least tell me you waited until after making her a mask to cut her open?” Leif was furious. It scared her a little. She held onto him tightly.

“No… it wasn’t as important…”

“Was it really? Or did you just want another test subject? Do you even know what she’s been through?”

She felt magic coursing through Leif, and then suddenly it was all around her. She felt safe, more so than ever before.

“Of course not! I’ve only just found out she exists!”

“We found her in a lab, surrounded by other cordyceps. She was the only moth there, you want to know why?”

“That is a bit unusual…”

“Because moths are the best hosts for cordyceps. They stole her, killed her, and reanimated her. Do you think it was a pleasant experience losing her legs? ”

The voice, who she had remembered belonged to H.B., did not respond.

“Do you think she has any memories of being in a lab that aren’t repressed?”

Silence.

“ Venus , do you even see her as a person? Do you see us as a person? Or just anomalies to be examined under the knife?”

She could feel the tension in the room, even through Leifs protective shield. It was stifling.

In the silence, she could hear a commotion outside, approaching rapidly.

“WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!” A familiar voice shouted from outside.

Cordy burst into the room, radiating rage. She could feel him scanning the room, then storm towards her. “Are you alright?”

“What about m-”

“Shut your mouth before I shut it for you.” Cordy growled.

“I’m…okay.” Lotus said.

“Leif, lower your shield so I can look at her.” Cordy said.

“We will… after Professor H.B. is well away from her.”

Cordy turned to H.B.

“I’ll see myself out.” She said hurriedly.

The door opened, then shut quickly.

“Now then, tell me. What happened? ”

“I…don’t know. She asked if she could take a sample…I thought she meant a shell sample. Then…” She paused, shaking. “I…remembered something. I didn’t lose my face. They took it from me. After that…I was here.”

Cordy growled. “What about you, Leif?”

“We got here shortly before you did. We don’t know what happened.”

Another voice piped up from the corner. “I saw what happened, I can tell you.” The ant guard had been there the whole time, hiding in silence.

Cordy turned around towards the voice. “Spill.”

“Well, uh, when H.B. went to make an incision, Lotus lunged at her. She pinned her up against the wall with one hand, and had some purple magic swirling around her other hand. It took four guards to pry her off H.B. and two more to get her here.”

“Hm.” Cordy grunted, slightly impressed.

“I didn’t m-” Lotus stopped as she heard the door open, and another bug stepped in mid sentence. She felt Leif’s shield go up around her the moment it opened.

“- sure it’ll be fine. Hello… Lotus. And, oh, hello to you, too.” The new bug paused a few centimeters away from her. “It’s okay, Leif, I won’t hurt her.”

After a moment, she felt Leif’s shield dissipate. Though she could feel his magic bubbling just beneath the surface, ready to shield her again at a moment's notice. She felt the mattress shift as the bug sat beside her.

“My guards told me what happened. Though, given the way you’re holding onto Leif, I imagine I was correct in my assumptions. I did tell her to not do what she did to Leif again, but…” She sighed. “I guess she didn’t listen. I do hope you’re still alright with her assisting you, she can be quite helpful.”

“Maybe, but…who are you?” Lotus asked nervously.

“Oh, right. I apologize, I should have started with that. I am Queen Bianca. But for now, I’m just Bianca.”

“What do you want?” Lotus asked.

“To help you, of course! I heard what you did yesterday. I wanted to thank you. If it weren’t for you, Bugaria would be in quite dire straits. And if that comes in the form of helping you get your face back, then I will do what I can to make that happen.”

Lotus’ antennae twitched. She didn’t like how everyone had been acting around her. It felt off. She was certain they were hiding something, but could not tell what it was.

“What do you want from me? ”

A pause. She realized Cordy wasn’t there anymore. She must have missed him leaving while Bianca was talking.

“I’d like to know what’s bothering you. There’s something troubling you, and I want to help.”

She retreated further into Leif’s embrace. “I…don’t want to talk about it.”

“If you don’t talk about it, you can’t get help. Is it like with Leif? How he’s…afraid of needles?” 

“...Sure, let’s call it that.” Lotus said.

“She had a worse experience than we did.” Leif said. “They did…horrible things to her.”

“I’m so sorry.” Bianca said, gently patting Lotus on the back. “I will do what I can to ensure this does not happen again.”

“I…do still need a mask.”

“Well, I’m sure I can convince H.B. to make you a good one.”

The bed shifted as the large bee got up, then Leif, and finally Lotus stood up. They headed out to go find H.B.

“I will stay with you to make sure she doesn’t try anything like that again.” Bianca said as they walked.

“I’m gonna go say hi to Jaune.” Vi split off from the group. “You guys have fun!”