Chapter Text
Gurgles came out of Hoaxe as warmth beamed onto his back. His eyes were blurry as he tried to open them, but water was still in his eyes. A cough came out of his throat as he tried to push himself off the mushy ground.
He felt water-soaked clothes weighing heavily on him as color finally entered his vision. Green. That was grass. Hoaxe attempts to rub the blurriness out of his eyes as he can hear other sounds of coughing as well.
Suddenly, everything came back into his mind, and he practically bolted upwards.
Hoaxe’s mind spun as he tried to get a hold of himself.
He was outside again. The sun was out, and the green grass surrounded them. He could feel the soggy feeling of mud caking on his feet as the sun slowly baked it. He spun around to see a stream of water coming from a cliffside beside them. He could also see the other three bugs he was with, with Kabbu getting up next.
“Ugh… Is…is everyone… alright?” Kabbu asked, his eyes widening as he saw his barely moving comrades. “Vi! Leif! Are you alright?!”
“Ya… ya… we are alright, just stop yelling,” Vi grumbled as she pulled herself up. As soaked and miserable as she was, Hoaxe noticed the mask under her, pressed into the mud below. Good thing that she didn’t lose it, or else he would say something that would upset Kabbu, and he wouldn’t want to deal with him now.
“Oh, good. I didn’t lose the artifact,” Vi huffed as she grabbed the mask that was once under her. She was going to say something else, but hoarse coughing interrupted her. Leif was trying to get up, but seemed to be coughing up a lung. Just like Vi, the fur was stuck to his body, and he was like a flattened stick.
“Geez, Leif, are you okay?” Kabbu asked worriedly, rushing to the moth's side.
“Khak, khak… we should have frozen the dumb river,” Leif huffed, slowly getting up.
“And get stuck in a block of ice,” Hoaxe scoffed.
“Would a better plan be to boil the river?” Leif asked.
“I would burn out before that could happen,” Hoaxe huffed.
There was a lull of awkward silence, not knowing exactly what to do next.
“Well, I do not see a scratch on this artifact,” Vi said, regaining her volume again.
“Your concern for your health is… touching,” Leif said.
“Hey, we are all fine now! No need to sit on old news,” Vi huffed. “We got the artifact, and now we turn it in as a reward!”
“Does it even work anymore?” Hoaxe huffed.
“No clue, but considering roach stuff is still standing well, the artifacts should be sturdy,” Vi stated.
“Let’s just bring it back before it breaks in your hands,” Hoaxe grumbled before looking around. “Where are we?”
Hoaxe never got the chance to map the area. He should have, though, then Kabbu and Vi would have gotten the artifact.
Or they would have died.
“...it looks like we are still close to the Anthill,” Leif hummed before sighing in comfort, his fur slightly shaking as he took in the heat. “It’s so nice to be in the sun again.”
Hoaxe sighed in agreement. The sun is nice.
“Come on. If we are close to the Anthill, then if we wander long enough, we’ll come across it,” Kabbu said.
Without much discussion, the group started walking with Kabbu leading the way. With every step, Hoaxe tried to squeeze the water out of his clothes, especially his cloak. It weighed heavily on him as it itched his damp chitin. He was somewhat jealous of the others as they didn’t wear any clothes.
“After we return the artifact, we can probably rest and hang your clothes up to dry,” Kabbu said. Hoaxe only hummed.
“Why do you even wear clothes?” Vi huffed under her breath. Hoaxe pretended not to hear her.
As they walked, Hoaxes' nerves eased as he just took in the heat despite how uncomfortable it was on him now. Soon, the path looked familiar to him, as it was the path the group took to Snakemouth Den, and very soon, they got into view of the Association. There were many more bugs out then the first time Hoaxe was here. They seemed to be in a panic.
“What happened?” Leif asked.
“I am unsure,” Kabbu spoke
“Everything was fine when we left, like a day ago?” Vi questioned.
“A day? How long have we been in there?” Leif asked.
“Why don’t we just go over there instead of standing here?” Hoaxe grumbled.
“Yes, yes, you’re right. They might need help,” Kabbu spoke as the group made their way to the Association.
As they got closer, they could see two familiar faces. It was the red and blue bug before. Meko and Eble? Hoaxe doesn’t care what their names are and just listens to what is said to the crowd.
“We have confirmed with the Queen that there is nothing to worry about. There have been no other reports of earthquakes,” the red bug said.
“How do you know?” A bug asked in the crowd.
“Please, the only report was early this morning, and scientists have observed nothing else,” the blue bug said.
“Guy, we didn’t cause that, did we?” Kabbu asked nervously.
“We… might have done that,” Vi said hesitantly.
“Are there earthquakes normally?” Hoaxe asked.
“I don’t think so,” Kabbu answered. “Let’s just wait to approach them. They seem stressed, and they might be angry that we caused panic.”
The bugs awkwardly waited as the associate members tried to calm the group of bugs, as they slowly disbursed as they got their answers. At some point, the crowd lessened enough that the blue bug was able to see them.
“We were wondering when you were getting back. Especially with the earthquake. I couldn’t stop worrying,” the blue bug spoke in worry.
“Did the earthquake affect your travels in Snakemouth Den? Could you even get in anymore?” the red bug asked, more seriously.
“We are fine, I think. We got flooded out of the den,” Kabbu spoke.
“Oh, thank Venus that you got flooded out before you had the chance to explore it,” the blue bug huffed before looking at Leif. “So, uh, who are you?”
Hoaxe tried not to show his irritation. Did they really have to explain everything that happened in Snakemouth?
“Leif. We were trapped in Snakemouth,” Leif answered.
“Where in Snakemouth?” The red bug asked.
“In some hole. We couldn’t fly out of it either,” Vi huffed.
“So you did we get into Snakemouth?” The blue bug asked, though it was a statement more than anything.
That’s it!
“Yes, we did. And we got the artifact, so can we please stop talking?” Hoaxe growled.
The blue bug scoffed. “Artifact? I didn’t know wasps could make jokes. The flood must have jumbled your brains–”
The blue bug stopped talking as Vi, very casually, pulled the artifact that she was holding by her side. Both the red and blue bugs' eyes widened in shock as they looked upon the artifact.
“Ya, look upon the artifice that we got. We are so good,” Vi boasted.
There were many moments of silence as the words were stuck in the bug's mouth.
“Are you gonna tell us where we should put it, or should we keep it for ourselves?” Hoaxe offered, half-seriously.
He would gladly keep the artifact. Even if it is a piece closer to immortality.
“You made it through Snakemouth!” the blue bug finally blurted.
“Eat it, Eetl!” Vi loudly huffed.
“Vi, come on. We don’t need to boast. Especially since I am pretty sure we caused the mass panic,” Kabbu spoke.
“After how scary and dangerous we have been told Snakemouth Den was, and how we all almost got eaten, I say it’s fair to boast, ” Hoaxe retorted.
“Uh, thank you. See, he gets it,” Vi said.
“Okay, we understand that you have done a tremendous amount of work. The Queen will be grateful,” The red bug said. “Now, you three will come with me to the Palace.”
“What about Leif?” Kabbu asked. “He helped us get the artifact.”
“Hmm, it was interesting to allow three members to a team, let alone four. However, since you four alone conquered Snakemouth, something no other group or team has done, I will honor your team name, Team Snakemouth,” Eetl spoke.
“Wait, Team Snakemouth?” Confusion and stress immediately hit Hoaxe as it seems like he is officially on a team.
He doesn’t want to be with these idiots! Certainly, it can be changed, right?
“Hmm, very well, then you four come with me,” The red bug said, turning and leading the way past the association, with the four bugs following him.
“This is different,” Leif muttered.
“What? How?” Kabbu asked.
“The building we were in front of. Was that built overnight?” Leif asked.
“That was the association. Been here for a while,” Vi stated.
“Are you even from here?” Hoaxe scoffed. He could practically feel the confusion coming from the moth.
“No, we are from Bugaria. From the Ant Kingdom. I knew I was going to Snakemouth Den. The current Queen is Queen Elizant the–”
“Okay, I see your point,” Hoaxe huffed.
Once they got out of the brush, Hoaxe was suddenly met with a city. It wasn’t as towering as the Termite Capitol, but it was still expansive. It seemed so hidden from the association. They walked past what looked like a statue when Hoaxe noticed the bugs living in the city.
Like what Hoaxe has seen so far, there were many bugs around, the majority of them surprisingly not being ants. He just looked forward as the looks in their direction increased exponentially and murmurs echoed through the crowd. Hoaxe tried to listen, but he couldn’t make anything out.
They walked through massive gates and through a tunnel, hiding from the sun for a few moments. Wind twirled around everyone, cooling them off for a few moments before they were in the sun again, viewing a massive mound. Based on the drawings he had seen back at the Wasp Kingdom, this was the Ant Hill.
The red bug led them across a wooden bridge, walking past guards, glancing at the group before continuing with their tasks. At the gate of Ant Hill, the red bug stopped and turned the group.
“You’ll be in the presence of the queen very shortly. I expect you to act appropriately."
“Yes, Maki, we will,” Kabbu said.
The red bug – Maki led them into the Palace.
Immediately, Hoaxe could see how lavish the Palace was. With every step on the smooth velvety carpet, he could smell the polish of the marble surrounding them. The temperature inside was cold, with no sun warming the Palace and barely any insulation except for the softness under his feet.
“Halt! The Queen isn’t expecting any visitors,” A guard said, blocking their way from entering a large set of doors.
“We have some important news for the Queen. It has to do with the Sapling,” Maki said firmly. The guard tried not to show any reaction, but it was clear she was taken aback. She sighed before leading the way inside.
The room they entered was massive. The first thing that Hoaxe laid his eyes on was the colorful glass high on the wall. (Add details of stained glass)
As they walked through the room, Hoaxes' steps couldn’t help but be uneasy. As he looked ahead, he could see a larger towering figure. She seemed to have a similar form and firm build to the Wasp Queen, though Hoaxe only caught glimpses of her. And she was not like the Termite Queen. She was an ant, and she was dressed in luxury. A mask was covering her face, but Hoaxe could see her observant eyes.
“You now stand before Your Majesty, Queen Elizant II,” The guard spoke before stepping to the side, now the focus on the group in the center of the room.
“My Queen, I have some news,” Maki spoke.
“Does this have to relate to the earthquake?” The Queen asked, her voice deep and stern.
“You can say that,” Maki said. “The reason why the earthquake happened is that the team behind me acquired the artifact from Snakemouth Den.”
The Queen’s stern demeanor was almost the same. But Hoaxe can tell that this was a surprise to her.
“...That’s wonderful. Very wonderful,” the Queen spoke with eagerness in her voice, taking a step down from the step she was on. “Hmm… it took four brave bugs to go into that accursed den and come back alive and be successful in their task. May I see the artifact?”
Maki turned to Vi and held out his hand for the artifact. Hoaxe could sense her hesitating before handing the artifact to Maki. Even in his hands, the artifact seemed like it had a lot of weight. Maki handed the artifact to the Queen, it seemed light in her hands as she observed the artifact in her hand.
“Such a peculiar artifact given to me from such a particular group,” the Queen spoke as she looked up at the group. Specifically at Vi.“I haven’t seen any of Bianca’s children outside of her Hive. Say, Bee, is your presence within my association going to be an issue with her?”
“Ehh, shouldn’t be an issue,” Vi said. It's clear she had more to say, but she held her tongue for the first time since they began their mission. The Queen moved on to the next of the bugs.
“Northern rangers don’t come down to the south often. It’s been quite a few moons since anyone came down from here,” The Queen said, looking at Kabbu now.
“There aren’t many of us in the north to start with,” Kabbu simply said.
The Queen hummed as she turned to Hoaxe. Her demeanor shifted to something harsher.
“Wasps haven’t come to our land often either. However, this is the first time I have seen a wasp wear termite colors,” the Queen grunted. Hoaxe didn’t initially register what she said, and once he did, he didn’t even think that termites had a specific color. Though now that he thought about it, both his gloves and cloak are blue.
“They are quite… headstrong. It is very difficult to work with them, but they are strong. It makes me wonder why they have given you their color.”
There was an awkward moment as Hoaxe tried to think of a reason why he would wear termite clothes to begin with, but then realized that the truth sounded better.
“I had nothing to wear, and that is what they had,” Hoaxe said, holding his voice back from snarling.
The Queen huffed. Hoaxe is unsure of what she thinks of all of them.
“You four have done well,” The Queen spoke, turning her head to a massive guard beside her, though the guard wasn’t as tall as her. “Go ahead and hand over their reward for their service.”
“Yes, my Queen,” the guard said as she left the throne room, entering a passage behind the throne room. The Queen turned back to the group.
“You’ve performed a valiant task. We have taken the first step to secure the sapling for the Ant Kingdom. But I have a new task for you four,” The Queen spoke. “We have located another artifact. It lurks within the Golden Hills. It is within one of the settlements behind our kingdom. It is the settlement that houses the Venus shrine. It's through a south tunnel from the Association.”
Hoaxe could hear Vi mutter something under her breath, looking worried, but didn’t say anything aloud.
“You’ll talk to the locals, obtain information, and seize the artifact regardless of the cost. Have you understood my command?”
“Yes, my Queen,” Kabbu answered, his voice as firm as possible. As he said that, the guard came in with a berry purse and a piece of paper.
“There is your reward and map,” the Queen said as the guard handed Kabbu the map and berries. “Now, go get your bearings. Take a day to resupply, and by tomorrow, leave to find the artifact. Maki, escort them out.”
“Yes, my Queen,” Maki said.
Without much fanfare, Hoaxe begrudgingly followed the group – his team- out of the throne room. Before leaving the throne room, Hoaxe looked behind him to see the Queen observing the team leave. For a moment, his eyes locked onto hers until they felt the throne room.
Hoaxe quietly sighed in relief as the sun washed over him once again.
“Yet again, Team Snakemouth, I congratulate you on your successes so far. But I will warn you now not to let this get into your head. I have seen many promising adventures fall because they are overconfident.”
“We’ll keep that in mind. Thank you,” Kabbu responded.
Maki left the team in front of the Anthill as he entered back into it, leaving the Team to settle with everything that had just happened.
“I am going to be honest, I wasn’t expecting any of this,” Kabbu finally said.
“So, we’re stuck as a team now?” Vi huffed.
“It seems so,” Kabbu said.
“How did that happen?” Hoaxe thought as he realized what he got himself into.
There was nothing he could do, could he? Everything moved so fast that he couldn’t intervene before he was stuck with these fools.
“Hey, Leif, are you okay?” Kabbu said. Hoaxe turned to Leif to see him frozen in place, his pale eyes almost looking like they could fall out of sunken eyes.
“...We have something to confess…” Leif said, his voice dull. “Before entering the den, the Queen was Elizant the First.”
The air around them was weird; both Vi and Kabbu stilled as Hoaxe didn’t understand what Leif was saying.
“Ehh, are you serious?” Vi asked in shock.
“That… is not possible,” Kabbu said.
“Am I missing something?” Hoaxe asked bluntly.
“Yeesh, you aren’t from around here,” Vi scoffed before continuing. “Elizant the First was out of rule before I was even born. How was Leif in Snakemouth Den for years?”
Oh
“...I see,” Hoaxe could simply say.
That was bizarre. How could that even happen?
“Everything has… changed,” Leif huffed, his paw touching his chest. “We do not know what is going on, but that is the truth…We don’t know. We…this Queen rubs me the wrong way– never mind, I… too much is happening at once.”
Hoaxe, and seemingly Vi and Kabbu are unsure of what to do.
“Leif, we…” Kabbu started off, his words uncertain. “You are already in our team, we can search why this… thing happened to you. Find the truth.”
“...we aren’t going back to the den, are we?” Hoaxe questioned.
“No!” all three bugs blurted out as there were a few moments of silence.
“...not yet at least,” Leif said.
“What? Are you serious?” Vi huffed.
“Yes, we are. But not now,” Leif said, his legs wobbly. “...We…we’re hungry.”
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Hoaxe feels weird having food in his hands after so long. The last time he had food was in the Termite Capitol. He doesn’t have that annoying doctor pestering him about eating when he isn’t hungry. Though unlike those other times, he worked up an appetite.
“Is everyone’s food good?” Kabbuu asked, his omelet half-finished. The four bugs were sitting on the grass by a log. All the bugs were dry and warm at this point, with the sun being a pleasant heat on them.
“Yeah,” Vi said with her… well, to Hoaxe it is just a bunch of leaves in a bowl. He was similar to the decaying dirt eaten in the Deadlands, but it was much cleaner.
“Hoaxe?”
“Oh, uh, ya,” Hoaxe grumbled.
“Leif?”
Hoaxe turned to Leif to see him devouring his second plate of mushrooms and eggs. There hasn’t been a moment in Hoaxes life that he has eaten that much that fast. Leif must have gone without food for a while.
“How is the chow?” A deep voice asked.
The blunt tone and voice is the chef who made their food. A fly, what Hoaxe is. But he looks, smells, and acts nothing like him. If this is what a fly is, then it would be easy to hide that from the others.
“The food is good, Fry,” Kabbu said.
“Does this one need more chow?” Fry asked, pointing his spoon at Leif, who was nearly finished with his second plate.
“This will be fine for us,” Leif hummed as he swallowed his food.
“Good, good,” Fry said, before making his way to his cooking station.
“Good thing you didn’t need to eat more. I am looking at what we were awarded, and we just spent 10% of our reward on our brunch alone!” Vi huffed.
“Wow, you already figured that out?” Kabbu asked.
“Well, duh. You need to know how much you need to spend to budget for later,” Vi said matter-of-factly. “We still need to prepare food for our journey to the Golden Settlement. It takes over a day's journey, and we need to get supplies.”
“...I have food,” Hoaxe said, suddenly remembering the rations he was given at the Termite Capitol.
“And you didn’t tell us!” Vi yelled abruptly.
“I forgot about them. I don’t even know if they are good after that flood,” Hoaxe grumbled, as he went into his bag and pulled out the rations. He never really asked what it was. They are rectangular squares that taste like meat.
“Is that pemmican?” Kabbu asked
“Ah-what-ican?” Vi asked.
“It’s dried meat mixed with berries, nuts, and fats. It's good for traveling long distances because it lasts years,” Leif explained as he finished the last of his food. “It’s alright. It made us sick, and I think it would make you sick too, Vi.”
“Yes, I don’t want to eat that. It looks like there is enough meat in them for my liking,” Vi huffed. “You can keep those meals for yourself.”
“Yes, that is good. They are his food, you can keep them Hoaxe, and we buy food until you run out of yours,” Kabbu said.
Hoaxe had no issue with this. It was his food, why should he share?
“While we are on the topic of budgeting and what we need to prepare, I think we should talk about strategies,” Kabbu said.
“Strategies? About what?” Vi asked.
“We survived Snakemouth, yes. But we were disorganized,” Kabbu said. “I think I have suggestions on what we could do to optimize our fighting skills.”
“What are you suggesting?” Leif asked.
“We had a formation. Me and Hoaxe in the front and you and Vi in the back,” Kabbu said, before turning to Hoaxe. “Though I think you need to switch with Leif or Vi mid-fight.”
“Huh? Why?” Hoaxe grumbled.
“Cause that is what you did for the spider. You said it was hot? You put lotion on?” Kabbu asked, tilting his head. “Can you burn up?”
Hoaxe tried to come up with a response. Yes, he could burn to death, but does he really need to tell them that? Well, they already know he overheats.
“It won’t happen often,” Hoaxe simply said. Kabby looked at him with something that Hoaxe didn’t recognize before turning to Leif.
“Does it hurt when you cast spells, Leif? Your hands look like they are hurting,” Kabbu spoke. Hoaxe took a glance at Leif's hands to realize how dark his fingers were. It looked like it was stained with ink, but it was clear it wasn’t because of the chaffing fur and skin.
“It's only numb. We could barely feel a thing anyway,” Leif spoke.
“Are you sure? Looks painful,” Vi said.
“Do you want gloves?” Kabbu asked.
“Kabbu, we need to consider our budget,” Vi spoke in a sing-along voice.
“We can get some later when it starts hurting,” Leif said before changing the topic. “We need to shop for tomorrow, right? What do we need to buy?”
Hoaxe barely paid attention to the conversation. The rest of his team talked about what they needed, to which Hoaxe barely contributed. Once all of their meals were finished, they went through the shopping districts, where they bought foods that Hoaxe barely recognized the names of, but tried to remember them so as not to look stupid later on. They also purchased sleeping bags for everyone except Kabbu, as he had his from his travels. Hoaxe has been using his own cloak for his travels, but Kabbu insists on everyone having a sleeping bag.
The sun was setting, and they completed their shopping. Hoaxe can’t believe it took the whole day, but again, Vi was attempting to barter the price down. Whatever, she saved them berries. They went to the inn, right by the Anthill walls, with the team getting a room for them.
“We are lucky they have a room for the four of us. I suspect that this won’t happen often,” Kabbu said, placing his stuff by his bed. He and Vi got the beds in the middle, while Hoaxe and Leif got the outer beds. Hoaxe wants to stay away from these bugs as best as possible. All were on their bed in some fashion.
“We’ll take what we can get,” Leif said. “We are leaving at dawn, right?”
“Yes, that way we can arrive in the Golden Settlement late at night or the morning of the next day,” Kabbu said, flopping onto the bed. He has some of his armor off, which initially made Hoaxe wonder how he would hide his wings.
“It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow. Can someone turn off the lights?” Kabbu asked.
“We will,” Leif spoke. He got off his spot from the bed and blew out the candle in the lantern. Hoaxe heard Leif’s footsteps go back to his bed.
“Good night, everyone,” Kabbu spoke.
Everyone said something similar, except Hoaxe.
He slightly sighed as he got under the blanket and loosened his wing cap. He doesn’t want to take his wings out all of the way in case anyone were to see them.
Hoaxe would feel the sleepiness inside of him weigh him down as he closed his eyes. The reality of his situation is fully realized yet.