50 moons after the Wasp King's defeat, after the battle in the Deadlands, the world kept spinning. The nations outside of Bugaria continued on, oblivious to the building tensions and just how close to a war the country had crept to. But the event was not left without its ripples: The Wasp Kingdom had lessened its hostility and was working towards making amends, and were working close with the recently discovered Roach Tribe in the Deadlands. A Mother Chomper rooted and stationed in the Ant Kingdom, her newly sprouted chompers becoming close allies to the kingdom and a common pet for both the home and expeditions. But its ripples far exceeded the country's borders.
The Deadlands had gone through a lot of damage, and with more interest brought to the No Bug's Land, the inhabitants had grown restless. For a reason unknown to the average bug, they left Bugaria alone as if the country did not exist. Their wandering went far beyond the Deadlands and into other borders. While Deadlanders were always an issue, scaring one away was rare and killing one was even rarer. This bled poorly with another known issue: eggs. The process of a bug awakening is poorly understood, and despite certain species mostly being awakened, there's some exceptions that can occur in the developmental stages. Whether it's a poor enviroment, stress, or simply bad luck, there are many different factors to the developmental stages losing their sapience and becoming feral beasts. As sad as it is, it is encouraged for new parents to not name nor get attatched until their child has pupated. The biggest sign of a lost egg is it taking too long to hatch, and for the safety of others and to hopefully keep the Deadlanders away, it isn't uncommon for guards to accompany the parents for them to drop the stunted egg into the Giant's Lair.
These actions did not go unnoticed. The main hobby of any Deadlander Omega is watching, and one bored Omega quickly grew curious. Dropping the Gammas on bugs was something that failed to enrich the bird. It was all the same: the bugs would panic or fight, and then they would die. It had gotten to the point that the Deadlanders in its area had grown sparse in fear of being played with. So it took a new hobby: collecting. Light and shine was rare in the Giant's Lair, unless it was from another Omega, and so anything new and interesting would quickly become part of its collection: Roach crystals, metals, glass, it all became part of its territory. And eventually, it found out that bugs started from little eggs, and it became fascinated.
Two grasshoppers, accompanied by a soldier, visited the Deadlands with a stunted egg in hand. The soldier did their best to comfort them, assuring it wasn't their fault. It was nothing but a victim of circumstance. Calling it a victim was better than calling it a monster, after all. The egg was given to the Giant's Lair, and the three left it behind. The Omega found it. Whether it was a curse or sheer luck that it hatched, for the grasshopper it sure wasn't a miracle. The Omega was fascinated by it, and unaware of what a bug truly was, it wanted to play. It would set up fights with other Deadlanders, and watch the grasshopper in dissapointment as it failed to protect itself. Again and again, it failed, and it would need longer to recover every time. It was just another bore, and watching a grasshopper sleep in a jar was just as boring as it was before.
Until it got an idea. In another territory within the Giant's Lair, there was a juvenile Omega. It hoarded its own Roach Crystal, one that shined red. Bugs would be drawn to it and would strike it, causing the crystal to ring out and alert the juvie to a new toy. Curiously, the bugs would be able to run as if they were never injured or tired before. Something about the crystals aided the bugs, and the Omega wondered if its grasshopper could become a little more interesting with the help of it.
The Omega began an experiment. It started as usual: it lifted the jar to free the grasshopper, and placed an Alpha. Alphas were weak and slow, surely the grasshopper could handle it. It could not. The Alpha was squished and the grasshopper was saved, but now it was time to conduct the experiment. Instead of putting the bug back in the jar, he picked it up and brought it to one of its crystals. If the Omega was correct, the grasshopper should start moving around like nothing had happened-- maybe even a little stronger. So it drove the crystal through the grasshopper. It did not move again.
The Omega discarded the dead bug, dissapointed, but not discouraged. It would find another egg, another bug, and it would try again. It had nothing better to do, anyway. While it searched for a new plaything, the grasshopper rotted, but it didn't get far. It wasn't anything but luck, for the cordyceps to start growing in the fresh corpse. Now cordyceps, while usually a dangerous parasite, when bonded with both Roach Crystals and a fresh body, it can take the consciousness and sapience and give it another chance. But the line for the conditions are thin, and normally can only be met under controlled conditions.
They were only partially met. Just enough for the consciousness to be transferred, but without the stability. It didn't take any longer than a few days for some wasp soldiers to find the locust shuffling around. They were a little wary about finding a living locust, but upon approaching and talking, they found it was nothing more than somebody who was very, very confused. They were semi responsive and failed to give clear answers on where they were from, and was told they could stay in the Wasp Kingdom until they recovered from their head injury. When asked their name, there was a long pause before they stated, "Victim."
It didn't take long for the Omega to find a new egg, now that it knew what it was looking for. Though, there was no bug that came from the egg, but a tiny little larva. Thankfully, the Deadlanders didn't seem interested in it, so it was relatively safe. But with failure fresh on its mind, the Omega decided to try something new. Taking a spare crystal, it took its claw and crushed it into tiny shards and dust. Trying whatever it could think of, it kept the larva near the dust in hopes that it would nibble at the fragments. Maybe if the crystals grew as apart of it, it would get what it was looking for. And thankfully, after the larva pupated, it got what it wanted.
Its chosen, a young hornet, was a rarity. Most sorcerers only had access to one element, but while this one thrived in fire, it could use any. It could sweep through any Deadlander with little injury, but unfortunately it was smarter than the one before it. It didn't want to fight anymore, what it wanted was to live. So the Chosen began targeting the Omega, and for once the Omega had to fight back. But a bug against a bird is a losing battle, and despite all of its powers, Chosen was knocked out. In a hurry to both protect itself and its experiment, it forced Chosen into the ground and began to pierce his wing. Despite how much he struggled, it kept pulling until the wing was plucked off, and the Omega placed the jar over it to ensure it couldn't leave. Despite a fresh injury in the eye, as well as plenty of stings and burns all over his body, the Omega was only inspired. Whatever it did, it did it right. This bug was much stronger than the first, and it wanted to know what kind of fight would happen if there was another.
Another egg was found, and after keeping it safe away from Chosen, it didn't take long to hatch. The same as before, the once-abandoned larva was left to eat dust and wander. Occasionally, the Omega would free the hornet from the jar and let it get its energy out in order to keep it drained, but the recess didn't last long. After seeing Chosen dive for larva, the Omega squashed him and pulled him back under the jar. It wasn't a fair fight yet. Like before, the larva grew up, but this time into a dark wasp. The Omega had found some wandering deadlanders, and just like Chosen, Dark made quick work of him. Unwilling to wait any longer, the Omega freed Chosen and stepped back, watching from a perch
The two stood staring at eachother, and the Omega prepared when it saw Chosen look towards it, but it was delighted when Dark struck the hornet. Chosen staggered, surprised, but Dark didn't stop attacking. The wasp and hornet went back and forth, and the Omega was shocked by the display of power. It watched, highly interested and satisfied. This was much better than any deadlander could give him, and it wasn't entirely sure who would win. It found not knowing refreshing, until Chosen managed to knock Dark down, and the wasp failed to get up. Flames turned to smoke before getting snuffed out entirely, and the Omega watched with interest how a bug would execute another.
Instead, Chosen helped Dark up, and the two turned to the Omega. Before it could even react, the wasp and hornet attacked using everything they could: Flames, ice, lightning, and by the end of all the armor the Omega had spent its life collecting was either molten to its body or in pieces on the ground. Thankfully, neither bug cared to finish the job, and by the time the Omega could remember how to stand, the Giant's Lair laid empty.
It decided to wait before trying any experiments again.
In the Forsaken Lands, mothflies are an abundant species. They are weak and tiny scavengers, but intelligence and large numbers allow them to survive. Considered pests at best to the termites, mothflies are quite popular outside of the Termite Dome due to their intelligence, but mostly because of their adorable appearance. With more reports of lesser species having awakened individuals, it was only a matter of time before a mothfly awakened.
Two mantises were crossing through the Forsaken Lands, Navy and Orchid, a recently married couple and an explorer team. Orchid was excited, as she wanted to bring in a third member to the team that the Explorer Association would allow. Chompers were already popular pets, as the Mother Chomper allowed for a surplus of friendly chompers, all of which could chip in with some bites for a stronger offense. Navy wanted a chomper, but Orchid wanted something more personal. They ended up agreeing on bringing a mothfly home, one Orchid could spoil and one Navy could train.
Recently in a litter of mothfly larva, one runt was lucky enough to pupate. It immediately became the baby of the colony, being dragged around by the eldest and even stuck in clusters to ensure it was safe. Despite being a runt, it was easily the most intelligent of the colony, so all the limitations were in its body. Its wings were too large and dragged along the ground, gathering dust and dirt. It couldn't fly because of the wings, an essential part of survival for the mothfly colonies in search of territory. The Forsaken Lands were littered with deep caverns and trenches one would need to fly past to traverse, often resulting in the colony being slowed to assist the runt in crossing.
But in the Forsaken Lands, mothflies are the bottom of the food chain. All it took was bad weather to produce thicker fog, and a wandering mimic spider to seperate the colony and to ensure survival, the runt was left behind. While it could run and dodge the spider to avoid attacks, it was only temporary. Thankfully, it wouldn't have to last long. Navy and Orchid stumbled across the mimic spider and decided to take it out for some extra berries, and after the spider was killed they saw the golden eyes staring at them from the fog.
It didn't take long to earn the mothfly's trust, and it took no time at all for Orchid to lovingly name the mothfly, Purple." Despite the dust worked into his coat, the purple ring of fur around his neck and the large wings to match was bright and colorful, and most mothflies didn't had that much fur so it felt earned. Navy was a little dissapointed she chose a runt of all things, but Orchid was happy so he wouldn't mention it. After making sure Purple was alright, they began the long walk to the Bugaria Outskirts to make it official.
Around the same time, a violin mantis was working hard in the Golden Settlement. After the recent loss of his wife, he dedicated himself to raising their child into the best bug the nymph could be. They were a tiny mantis nymph, with a small crown on his head similar to his father's, and the patterns of his mother. Before his son had even hatched, Orange had already decided on naming him Gold. But Gold took far more than just the patterns of his mother, and unfortunately he took her aspirations and passion for exploring as well. Orange hoped it was just a phase, but with every bit bigger the kid grew, it was clear that it wasn't. Orange had no dislike towards explorers, but his biggest fear was Gold also sharing his mother's fate.
But the worst thing a parent could do was snuff out their child's passion, and so Orange indulged. He got Gold those little fake weapons, joined in his play-fighting, and tricked him into eating his vegetables by saying its what explorers ate. For raising a child by himself for the first time, he thought he was doing pretty good. And of course when his little nymph reached 10 moons, he wanted something big because he was "practically a grown-up" and at the age Orange could call him a nymph and he would get all hissy about it. Unfortunately for Orange, he knew exactly what he wanted for his birthday.
There was an educational tour for the Deadlands. It wouldn't go far in, and the area was marked free of Omegas. Safety was the priority, so there was also glass walls to ensure nobody could be hurt, as well as explorer escorts. That's what the flyer said. Orange didn't like it, the Deadlands was dangerous no matter the area-- it was called the Deadlands for a reason-- but Gold wanted it more than anything. He vowed to be on his best behaviour and even if no promise or confirmation was made on that one-sided agreement, Gold went through with it. He cleaned up after himself, he ate his food with no crumbs, he even tried making Orange breakfast in bed. Killing a passion was the worst thing a parent could do, and Orange couldn't find it in his heart to say no.
Orange took Gold to the tour. Gold was ecstatic, happier than he's ever been. It was a special day for his nymph. Orange wanted it to be his best. Gold got to meet the escorts. Despite never hearing of the team, he got their autographs. Orange took them for safekeeping, since Gold was having a good time running around and looking through the glass. There were no Deadlanders around. Orange found it strange. But Deadlanders only avoid the one thing they can't fight back against: an Omega. However, Omegas can only be spotted by their eyes and claws. It is impossible to gauge how large they could possibly be, but when an Omega sleeps, they are indistinguishable from the terrain.1.png)
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(click to view fully)
That tour was part of an Omega's territory. An eldery one who preferred to sleep. Of course a bunch of rowdy bugs would wake it up, and of course a thick layer of glass is nothing compared to a bird so large that it is a living mountain. Of course there would be casualities. Gold wasn't lucky. Orange left the tour with shaking hands and a threat of arrest under attempting to strangle an explorer. He left by himself, no Gold to bring home, and no body to bury.
After a few moons with the new mothfly, Orchid quickly realized he was very different. He was smart, that much was obvious, but he understood Bugnish without fail even if he could not speak it. It stood on two legs, and while Navy shrugged it off as his species' usual mimicry, it was so clear to Orchid it was easier for Purple to walk like that. He wasn't a feral runt of a mothfly. Losing the ability to fly was a common side-effect of a species' becoming awakened. Purple wasn't a pet. Purple was a child.
Orchid adjusted in an instant. Part of her always wanted a child, but was terrified of the entire process. She didn't tell Navy, but she made sure to start setting up the guest room to soon belong to Purple's. Even if he had already picked up on basic manners just from watching her, she made sure to teach him just in case, and was looking forward to teaching him how to write and read. Purple was a still a mothfly-- and awakened or not-- he didn't have the same voicebox as most bugs. He couldn't speak bugnish no matter what. Orchid wanted nothing more than to understand her baby and properly apologize for the misunderstanding before.
Navy didn't feel the same. Anything Orchid brought it up, he reacted the same: "mimicry is common for a mothfly, its just copying us," or "mothflies are supposed to be smart, clearly its picked up a few things." To Navy, it was just an animal. He didn't want a child. He agreed to a pet, not a child, and mothflies were not an awakened species. It bothered Orchid, espescially when the training with Navy got rougher towards Purple, and everytime Purple fell along missions Navy would snap at them. Orchid was getting sick of it, and eventually suggested taking a bounty. She left Purple home, because she didn't want to bring a child to a fight that difficult. She could talk to Navy about Purple along the way, where Purple couldn't hear.
She didn't consider Navy's stubbornness. No matter what she said, he was still denying everything about Purple, and the more she brought it up, the more sick of it Navy got. By the end, both got fed up and failed to notice they had made it to the bounty. There are two rules for bounties: always fight one with a clear head, and always get the first hit. They failed both basic rules of fighting a bounty, in paid in Orchid's life.
Navy wouldn't accept this. She was dead, and it wasn't because of her, nor was it because of him. They wouldn't have been arguing without that mothfly, and he refused to keep it around if it got Orchid killed. When he got home Purple showed up, immediately looking for Orchid, and Navy distracted him by asking him if Purple wanted him to be proud of him. The mothfly nodded furiously, and clearly excited.
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Navy took Purple back to the Forsaken Lands, letting the mothfly walk beside him, and begrudgingly carrying him when the useless thing got tired. Navy went deep into the Forsaken Lands, far into the fog, where he'd be certain that Purple couldn't find his way home. He stumbled across an abandoned settlement belonging to the Ant Kingdom. It was falling apart, but the old throne room had a roof over it. It was somewhat safe. Stepping past rotted masks and old cloaks, he placed a tired Purple in the center of the settlement. "Stay here. Protect this place, make me proud."
The Fourth Hollow
It doesn't take a long time for boredom to outweigh self-preservation. The Omega could spend as much time as it liked rebuilding its armor, but without its little hobby, it didn't take much joy in surviving. Bugs would occasionally pass by, but there was no thrill in dropping Gammas on them anymore. Not when it knew what they were capable of. Predictably, it started its hobby all over again. Starting with the egg, and soon the crystal, and it told itself that it knows better now. Its toys wouldn't escape.
Outside of Bugaria, Deadlanders were becoming more of a problem. For whatever reason, they were pushing out their territory and wandering into the other countries, all except Bugaria. Soldiers could only do so much against a Deadlander, and so the most common options became to train and fight, or simply run. Whether it was to another country, four bugs decided to join the recent trend in moving to Bugaria. The Deadlanders would only wander, after all. There's no reports of them in that country, so to those four, it was the only place to go.
But it wasn't the only reason: Blue, a firefly, had heard the soil in the Golden Settlement there was extremely fertile and wanted to try their hand at farming. Yellow, a caddisfly, had always been curious about Roach history and their artifacts-- still so advanced they failed to be surpassed even in the present day, when this civilization was mostly dead and gone. Red, a ladybug, heard about the Explorer Association, and instantly wanted to join. He loved fighting, especially to help others, but giving up his entire life and personality to an army to be a soldier... it was something he never wanted. And Green, a grasshopper... he wasn't sure what he was looking for. He liked music, but Bugaria wasn't known for music. It had a few celebrities and singers, but what nation didn't? Green just wanted to stay with his friends.
For where the group lived, there were two common ways to go about getting to Bugaria: the caravan route, where multiple groups of bugs travel together over the course of a month on an official route with the one threat of bandits, or the one-day trip through the Giant's Lair. There was also the Swamp, but due to the Leafbug tribes inside who'd rather keep to themself and didn't speak Bugnish, it was made illegal to cross through for both sides' safety. The four chose the Giant's Lair. Deadlanders were wandering around everywhere but their territories apparently, and as long as they kept to the marked route, they wouldn't be seen by any Deadlander.So they prepared, and they left without the reccomended guard escort. They already had four people, and an escort would be costly. So the four followed the route, and into the Giant's Lair they went.
But not unlike the Omega, it doesn't take long for boredom to outweight self-preservation. Especially for a young group of bugs. All it took for these four, was spotting a bee stuck inside a glass jar in the middle of the Deadlands, and for Yellow to spot what looked like an artifact nearby. Red and Yellow separated from the group, Yellow going to the artifact, and Red going to the bee. While Yellow investigates, Red learns the bee's, Second's, name, and working on getting the worried bug out. All it takes is digging a tunnel with the help of Blue, whose already saying they should get back on the marked route. But before they can fully rescue the bee, an orange light is cast over them all.
The Omega spotted them. And it saw they were trying to take its toy. Not wanting all its work to be for nothing, it did the only thing it could think of: pulling Second away even after the bee tried tackling the other bugs, and proceeded stomp at the unknown bugs. It knocked them all down in one hit. It pulled its shiny trinket away from the yellow one, and decided to pull Second back under the jar by the wings, along with the group of bugs. It wasn't losing its work.
Thankfully, a single stomp is rarely going to kill most bugs. It injured them all greatly, but they weren't dead. But these were the first bugs Second had ever met. The closest he had ever gotten from leaving, from getting out of the Deadlands. The only time he was met with something other than a fight. He wanted them back, and that tunnel Blue and Red had dug was still there. Acting mostly on adrenaline and anger, Second escaped the glass cage and quickly realized the Omega didn't like it when he didn't obey. So for once, Second decided to have some fun. Mostly keeping to flying around and avoiding the Omega's attempts at grabbing him, he watched as the Omega progressively got more irritated and panicked. It was surprisingly thrilling for the bee.
But just annoying it wouldn't help his friends. He needed to hurt it. So he tried, and he went for the only part of it he could easily spot: its eye. So in an adrenaline-induced attempt, he tried stinging it. And he hit it, but the Omega screamed and started thrashing, causing Second to get flung and hit the ground hard, instantly knocking the bee out of battle. Eventually, the Omega recovered. It couldn't open its eye and it still ached strongly, but it could deal with it. It had two for a reason. It dragged the bee back into the cage, this time double checking the ground for any tunnels or softness, and then closed all five bugs back in. Then it stayed. It didn't want another outburst, so it would have to watch until it was sure they couldn't leave.
It took a little bit for all five bugs to get their barings back. Slowly sitting up, mostly relying on the glass walls, they tried to focus on dispersing food so everyone could at the very least eat something to kickstart healing. While eating, they all decided to get to know eachother better. Second got to learn about a world outside of the Giant's Lair, and they got to learn that he had never been outside it, and had started calling the Omega "Alan." Still, food couldn't heal much, so Blue and Red couldn't dig another tunnel to escape. Second decided to pass the time by trying to draw his new friends in the dirt of what little space they had.
All while "Alan" closely watched. He was surprised to see the bugs not killing eachother or acting like the two he had before. It was weirdly calm, and Alan found it fascinating. Even moreso than pitting powerful bugs against eachother, especially since this bee seemed to lack any powers. The more he watched, the more the curiosity grew, and eventually he couldn't stand it. He had to do something. So he left. He left the bugs and hoped they would still be under the jar when he got back, but he went and got a few things for a new experiment.
The bugs watched as he left, but with Red and Blue's injuries they were trapped there. When he had come back, they were all various levels of anxious and afraid, but that quickly faded when they watched what it started doing. It had brought a few things with it: that artifact Yellow was so interested in, a small pile of food, and a Roach Crystal. It jammed the crystal in the ground, dropped the food next to it, and whie holding the artifact in his beak, started dragging a claw in the earth and began outlining a large circle in the area. After that was all done, it took the artifact and placed it next to the crystal. To officially start the experiment, it set a claw on the jar and stared. It was a little hesitant, but it had placed small shards of glass in front of its eyes to protect itself. This should be fine. So it opened the jar.
There was a long moment of hesitance, but Second was the one who got up first. He helped up Red and Blue and brought them to the crystal and food. Green immediately walked towards the dug-out border, and as soon as he did, Alan's hand was brought down in front of him to make a wall. He decided to go back towards the center and heal up, tugging Yellow away from eyeing the artifact so he could heal properly as well. Once everyone was all gathered, they all struck the crystal in order to heal. Even if nobody knew exactly how it helped injuries, they didn't care. It soothed the pain and that was all that mattered. Second looked up at Alan, confused and with still lingering anxiety.
He didn't get the sudden change. None of them did. But he wasn't hostile anymore, and that's all they cared about. They all gave up on trying to leave the borders Alan had set, and took a few days to recuperate. Or they at least assumed so, there was no opening in the Giant's Lair for the Sun and Moon to peek through, so they could only guess. It took a while before they were all in better condition, Second being the first to fully heal, and spending most his time drawing in the dirt while his friends recovered. Eventually the doodling caught Alan's attention, as it was a behavior he's never seen in bugs before. Second decided to try and use it.
Second decided to draw Alan's hand. As he sketched the Omega, the ground was perfectly lit up by his light. It was nerveracking how closely Alan was watching him, but he didn't seem upset. Once Second had finished the drawing etched into the ground, Alan moved from his perch. Second backed away a little, instantly a little afraid, but instead of moving towards him the claw and eye only stuck towards the drawing. Eventually, Alan cleaned the dirt until the drawing was gone, before dragging the very tip of his claw into the dirt and trying to draw... something. It was difficult to tell what, since Alan was so shaky and he was struggling not to draw too large. It took a while for him to finish, but when it was done, Second struggled to see what it was.
It looked almost like Second.
The two went back and forth for a while, the tensions eventually fading. Eventually when Second didn't feel as afraid, the bee got up and stepped towards the drawn borders. Alan unsurprisingly brought his claw in front and blocked Second's path. Second frowned, and looked back towards the eye that constantly watched him. He wanted to leave. He knew Alan knew that. He wasn't sure if Alan could properly see him, but he pointed past the border anyway. Alan didn't budge.
Second stood there thinking for a moment. He would do anything to get out of this place. Espescially to get his friends out. Alan didn't seem upset anymore. If anything, after drawing with him he was a lot less imposing. Part of Second wondered what it would feel like to be that big. Maybe if he promised Alan that he'd return..? As long as Alan didn't bring back any Deadlanders or get all angry again, he probably wouldn't mind. The berries he found around during the rare chance Alan let him explore always tasted better than anything Alan ever brought back.
Second backed away from the border. Alan withdrew his claws and looked away from Second to check on the others. They were still lingering within the borders, the yellow bug had found the artifact and was messing with it. Not using it for anything or as a weapon, just... picking it up and looking at it. Alan went back to Second and found him clearing off the old carvings. Then the little bee started drawing again. Alan watched and waited.
The two drew for a long time. It was back and forth. Second drawing pictures of Deadlanders and crossing them out, desperately trying to convey he didn't want to fight them anymore. The others watched a little anxiously as Second tried to communicate, walking back and forth non-stop to create pictures large enough for the bird to see and understand. Alan watched carefully, and tried to figure out why his bugs were behaving like this. Bugs were inherently violent. They would fight and defend until they died.
But that wasp and hornet didn't fight eachother for long. They should've hurt eachother more. And now there's this bee and the other bugs. None of them are hurting eachother. They're all only helping one another. They wanted to leave, and Alan didn't want to be bored again. Alan looked down at Second's latest drawing. It was a big one, featuring what looked like the jar and little area Alan had set for them, and... something else. The outside, maybe? It was hard to look at but the bee had never seen it. Second stood on the depiction of the jar and area-- his home-- then moved to the unknown. After a few seconds, he moved back to home. It was back and forth. It took a while for it to finally click.
Alan took a talon and drew a line from their home, and then to the unknown, and back to the home. He would come back.
He still wasn't sure how he felt about it. There was a loud buzzing coming from Second, before the little bug flew excitedly over towards the border. Instinctively, Alan placed his claws back in his path. The other bugs followed along with Second, although a lot slower. Alan wasn't sure if they could fly like him, but he hoped they couldn't. Second frowned at Alan blocking his path still, so he pointed past him again, but this time pointed back behind the borders. He'd come back. If it meant he got to see what's beyond this place for even a little bit, he would take it.
Alan finally relented. His claw slid away and he watched as all the bugs hesitantly stepped over the border. He wanted to force them to stay, to grab that jar and keep watching them. But that wouldn't be any different. Alan had grown bored and tired long ago. He wanted something new. This was the most interesting bugs have behaved ever since he started his experiments. Unfortunately for his interest, he'd have to let go.
Fighting that urge to force them to stay, he only perched and watched as the bugs buzzed. It almost reminded him of the way the juvie clicked and danced around whenever it found something new and interesting. They were happy. He didn't know why he was letting them go. He didn't know why it felt so wrong. If they didn't return, he could always start again. Second and his friends meanwhile were making sure to make distance, this time Green and Blue pulling the other three close and ensuring they stuck to the original path. They would make it out, and they would find something better. For everyone.
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