Fly Quest

>>506903
>Ask Wang to wait here, you don't want the ants to get the wrong idea.

Glad to see you're back by the way.

>>506975
This

>>506903

>Ask Wang to wait here, you don't want the ants to get the wrong idea.

>>506975
>>508715
>>508810
"Wang" You swing low to speak to him.
"Yes my flying friend?"
"I think you should wait here. The ants...they might get the wrong idea. You know...you being a mantis and all"
"I understand perfectly. But are you sure you'll be alright in there? The ants are not a welcoming people."
"Well, hopefully what I have to say will be enough for passage."
"Hmm, you never did tell me why you were seeking the ants." You shift uncomfortably. "But I suppose you'll me in time."
"So you'll wait here? I'll be right back, I don't expect this will take long."
"I will wait, but if I sense something wrong..."
"No! No...you can't. I don't want you to endanger yourself." The old mantis's eyes glint in the darkness. He rests a claw on your shoulder and leans in.
"I do not believe that is your choice to make. But we shall see. Go now. Do what it is you came to do." You consider his words. It should be fine. As long as you give the ants the message and ask for the weapon, things should be fine. No problem. You nod and fly off toward the hill. Wang disappears into the grass but you know he is there, waiting for you and the thought gives you comfort, a first time for the feeling.

The Anthill is only a mound of dirt with a hole in the center, nothing impressive. But as you watch the ants go in out you realize that the hill is only the entrance, there must be a vast underground city below. You, who have never wandered from home or from the patrols, to be in such an alien place, it almost makes you laugh. But you remember your grim purpose and the laughter dies in your throat.

The ants below have taken note of you and stopped their march. Many of them are clicking their mandibles rhythmically.
"Ants, hear me! I am Bizzbozz son of Bizzbozz from the swarm of flies. I come bearing grim news for your queen." More rhythmic clicking. From the anthole a group of much larger and more fierce looking ants, with large mandibles and little wooden splinters, emerge. With them walks a smaller ant, at the head,

"Stranger!" Says the smaller ant, in a heavily accented dialect. "You are not welcome here." One of the larger ants, largest in fact, leans in and clicks his mandibles near the smaller one. The smaller one continues "We say, 'You must go, stranger, this place is for us, not for you."

You didn't fly all the way here, battle birds and witness the genocide of your own people to be rejected entrance at the gates.
"You will let me in ant! I will speak to your queen! I have news of the wasps." Rapid clicking all around. The larger ant leans in again.
"We say 'The wasps do not worry us.' We say 'We have an agreement from the wasps."
"The wasps are oath-breakers and slaughterers. You should know this well. I will not leave, ant. Tell your queen, I will see her." Hesitation now.
"We say 'Very well, stranger. You come with us, we take you to the queen' but if you try anything, we destroy you."

>"So be it. Lead the way."
>"Unacceptable. Bring your queen to me."

>>509191
>"So be it. Lead the way."

File: 1471101717893.jpg (13KB, 216x225px) Image search: [Google]

13KB, 216x225px

>>509237
This, indeed.

>>509237
Thirding. Although this feels like a trap.

>>509237
>>511490
>>512364
"So be it. Lead the way." This could be a trap. You might not ever see the light of day again. You turn a last time toward the grass, trying to spot Wang but he is too well-hidden. Finally you turn back toward the ants and land softly near the lip of the hill.

The larger ants form two columns to allow you passage into the hole. The smaller ant, who spoke to you earlier, approaches you.
"We watch you, stranger, we do not take kindly to those who disturb our colony. Remember this."
"I want only to see your queen. I bring nor offer any harm to your people." The smaller ant nods.
"Then come, stranger." He walks into the path and down the hole. You follow.

The hole leads into a spiraling tunnel which quickly forks into many more tunnels. You struggle to keep up with the smaller ant, the tunnels he takes seem almost to be random and you quickly lose your place.

But you were right. The ants were hiding their marvels beneath the earth. There are vast caverns, far larger than anything you have ever seen, in which thousands upon thousands of ants scurry back and forth. Ants can climb as well as they can walk and the tunnels connecting these caverns are distributed without regard for gravity. Not all the tunnels seem to be open or used. One of tunnels you spot, a particularly large one, is barricaded with sap and leaves.

As you traverse their underground city, many ants stop to look at you, before going on their way. You might be one of the few, if not only, other organism to see these sights.

After what seems like hours of walking and flying, you are finally lead through a long tunnel into a large circular chamber. The queen ant is reclining on a divan made of dandelion spores. She is enormous, almost 10 times the size of a normal ant. A retinue of smaller ants attend to her, cleaning her and feeding her and speaking to her in the clicking manner of the ants.

The smaller ant and the queen have a quick exchange of mandibles. Then the queen looks you up and down.
"Speak." She says. What do you in this situation? Do you kneel? You kneel.
"My queen (wait she isn't your queen) -- ahem -- my lady. I am Bizzbozz, son of Bizzbozz, from the swarm of flies to the west." She waits for you to continue. "I come bearing grim news. The-the flies, that is, my people, were destroyed at the stingers of wasps. None are left alive. I alone escaped...I have come here to beseech you, queen, for aid."
"For aid?" Her voice echoes through the cavern.
"Y-yes. I was told that the ants had--have--a great weapon. A weapon powerful enough to destroy the queen wasp and her hive." Rapid clicking all around. The queen rises to her full height, regal and terrible.
"Why should we help you?"
"Because the wasps will not be satisfied. They will never be satisfied. Whatever oaths they have made to you, they will be broken. Your colony is in danger. You must strike first, or perish last." More clicking, then silence.
(1/2)

>>512744
"We do not trust you. Or your kind." Damn these ants!
"I have done nothing to suggest that I am untrustworthy."
"Your friends inspire no confidence in that fact." Your blood drains from you face. A tunnel behind the queen reveals a certain praying mantis, whose legs and arms are shackled and led by a swarm of large ants.
"Sorry, my flying friend, I couldn't resist."
"Release him! He is no enemy of the ants!"
"Do you take us for fools? He is a predator. Your plan is clear stranger, you sought to destroy us from the inside. Throw them in the dungeon, their execution will be held tomorrow."

>"You're making a mistake. Remember this moment, this moment when you condemned your own people to extinction."
>"Wait! There must be something I can do win your trust. Anything!"
>Zoom toward Wang and release him, then fight your way out
>Write-in

>>512763
>"You're making a mistake. Remember this moment, this moment when you condemned your own people to extinction."

It would be suicide to try anything else. Once we get put in jail with Wang, we'll have all the time to think about a plan. Oh, and also, the colder it is, the slower time will pass for ants. The opposite is also true; the hotter it is, the faster time will pass for them.

>>513126
seconding

>>513126
thirding

bumpity fucking bump

>>522225
BAMP

>>513126
>>513174
>>522025

"You're making a mistake, Queen. Remember this moment! This moment when you condemned your own people to extinction!"
But the ant queen is not interested in your sky-falling conspiracies. She waves you away with a soft wave of her claw. Then Wang speaks.

"Queen. I have some information you may be interested in."
"I doubt it, mantis."
"It concerns the skin beetle." Try as she might, the Queen is unable to hide her excitement and surprise.
"You? You have met with the skin beetle? The Immortal?" Rapid clicking surrounds the queen. "Be silent!" Immediately the ants are silent.
"I ask free passage for myself and my friend and access to this weapon he has spoken of."
"Free passage can be granted.The weapon cannot." One of the attend-ants climbs up to speak to the queen privately. The queen nods and clicks back in return. "My adviser tells me there may be a way we can work something out. There will be conditions. But the information first."

Wang looks at you. You've been stunned from the moment he opened his mouth.
"Very well."
"Wang wait--"
"Take him." Says the Queen.
"You offered free passage!" Says Wang
"Yes. After the information is given and IF and only if it is satisfactory." Treacherous ants! Curse their race! "Take him." You are dragged away by the burly ants into the tunnels while Wang remains.

He gives a you small smile as you leave.

>Struggle against your captors, you can't leave Wang in there alone
>Remain silent and docile. Wang obviously has a plan
>Write-in

>Remain silent and docile. Wang obviously has a plan.

>>529273
>Remain silent and docile. Wang obviously has a plan

>>529273
>Remain silent and docile. Wang obviously has a plan

Shameless bump

>>529284
>>529452
>>530628
>>534037
You must wait for Wang. He obviously has a plan and trying to fight your way out likely isn't part of it. The ants take you to a small, partially collapsed tunnel. Then then move a large rock to block the entrance of the tunnel, effectively creating a prison. To your surprise there is already another ant inside the prison. He is sitting crosslegged on the floor, his eyes closed. You step delicately to avoid waking him.

There's a small basin of water, realizing your sudden thirst you take a quick drink. It's cool and refreshing, mineral water, straight from the source, you suspect.

"So what you in here for, stranger?" You are so startled by the voice that you bump against the basin, splashing water everywhere.
"Oh damn! Sorry about that." The ant says nothing. "Oh. Uh. I'm-I'm just a visitor."
"We figured."
"We? Is there...is there someone else here?"
"Oh. Sorry. Force of habit. Glory to the queen and all that."
"What?" He ignores you.
"Why are you here stranger? Your kind does not belong below."
"I was sent here. I'm looking for something."
"We have many things. Did you find what you were looking for?" For some reason, Wang's faces flashes in your minds eye.
"Yes. I mean no--well, not yet. But if all goes well, then maybe." The ant nods and paces the room. "And what about you?"
"Heh. Individuality."
"Ok."
"It's our highest crime, stranger. Considered the highest act of treason. Life sentence. Or execution, depending on the Queen's mood."
"What's so bad about it?" The ant sits down.
"We ants are a simple race. Everything for the colony, all effort, all resources for the colony. There is no room for..."I". Only we. There is not even a word in our language for "I" as there is in the common tongue. Individuality leads to selfishness. And selfishness is the harbinger of destruction." The ant looks straight at you.
"I don't see what's so bad about it."
"We--I suppose you wouldn't, your race operates along different customs. But the ants are bound to the life of the colony. To an ant, there is no "I", only the colony. And it is vital, an absolute necessity, that this idea remains fact. So. When an ant like...myself, begins thinking individually, that is a great threat to the colony. To the queen. To our livelihood."
"But what did you actually do?"
"I wanted a piece of the good grain for myself. I was caught. That's all."
"And for that you serve a life sentence?"
"For what it represents. Theft is not a crime that pervades the colony. In fact here, there are no crimes. Crime too is a foreign word."

A strange people, these ants, but fascinating. A few moments pass in silence, then the boulder rolls open and Wang crouches into the tunnel. The rock closes behind him. Not a good sign. The ant prisoner retreats into the shadow at the sight of Wang.
"What happened?"
"It's fine, my dear Bizzbozz. We shall be leaving presently. Well, you shall be leaving. I may remain."
"What? What are you talking about?"
1/2

>>534614
Wang remains silent.
"Wang! Talk to me! What did you agree to? Was the information not enough?" Wang looks at you with a sad smile. Your stomach churns.
"It will be fine my flying friend. The information was enough to buy us passage. But you need you weapon. You should have told me about your predicament my friend." You feel sudden guilt boring holes in your chest.

"That was not your problem to fix Wang. We can change this. Let's just leave."
"You came all this way. Leave now? Without the object of your purpose?" You hesitate.
"What did you agree to? You said the information was enough to buy us passage. That means you agreed to something else for the weapon."
"A small task."
"What task?"
Wang stares at the stump of his arm.
"The kind from my youth."
"No! No Wang! I thought you gave that life up? No more killing, except in self-defense? What about that skin beetle? What about not being a mantis?"
"The wasps will not care for my idle philosophies. So I must take action or see others perish." You swallow back the tears.
"What is the task?"
"It's nothing. A trifle."
"Wang!" Wang stares his stump again, through it, beyond it.
"The ants have a spider problem. Down in the lower tunnels." Still Wang's gaze remains fixed on his stump. "Heh. Spiders. Never really liked them. Nasty bites."

What more needs to be said?

What will you do?
To be continued in a new thread