The FT Squad's Adventures in A Bug's Life P2

Underground, in the dark council chamber, the ants heard the plane-like sounds coming from above ground and stood silently.  They were very nervous if the visitors would come after them.  Some huddled together while Atta nervously whispered, “they come, they eat, they leave.  They come, they eat, they leave.”

“Excuse me, pardon me, pardon me, excuse me, coming through.  Sorry, sorry, coming through,” said Flik as he rushed through the crowd before reaching Atta, “Princess Atta, there’s something I need to tell.”

“Not now Flik,” whispered Atta.

“But Your Highness,” said Flik frantically, “it’s about the offering.”

“Shh,” shushed Atta.

The plane sounds ceased and everyone heard footsteps coming from above.  It was as if the visitors landed on the ground.  But they started complaining, and their complaints were heard from underground.  “Hey, what’s goin’ on?!”

“Yeah?!”

“Where’s the food?”

The ants gasped upon hearing the visitors.  The FT Squad, hiding just outside the chamber to avoid scaring the rest of the colony, heard the complaints and became worried themselves.  “They know,” whispered Kaytlin.

“What did you do,” an angry Atta asked Flik.

The rest of the colony faced Flik, who nervously whimpered, “it was an accident.”

Suddenly, something burst through the ceiling, startling everyone.  It was an insect foot.  More insect feet came bursting through the ceiling, scaring the colony.  Light shone through the holes left by the busted ceiling as the visitors came coming down into the underground.  Upon entry, they started terrorizing the colony.  “Wait,” said Kyle, “those aren’t ants from another colony.  Those are grasshoppers.”

Kyle’s observation was correct.  The visitors were grasshoppers and they were wreaking havoc on the colony.  As some flew around the room, more and more grasshoppers came in.  One obese grasshopper came down and said, “BOO!  Hahahahahahaha!  Where’s the food?!”

Some of the ants were forced into circles as the chaos continued.  The squad couldn’t stand to see the colony being terrorized.  But just as they prepared to get in to stop the brawl, one grasshopper landed underground, right in front of Flik and a few other ants.  His presence stopped the activity and everyone turned their eyes on him.  It was a tall, menacing looking grasshopper with a scar over his right eye and a mean look in his face.  He looked angrily at Flik and the ants.  Flik and the others knew who this mean-looking insect was and were terrified.  “Hopper.”

Atta nervously stared at Hopper while Queen comforted Dot.  Ignoring Flik, Hopper slowly walked towards the crowd of ants.  He didn’t say a single word, but his expression was one of disappointment.  The ants cleared a pathway for him, not wanting to get him angry.  Hopper stopped at a light spot and stared at the colony.  “So where is it,” he whispered.

The colony, terrified of Hopper, didn’t bother answering.  “WHERE’S MY FOOD,” demanded Hopper angrily.

Hopper’s yell echoed across the room, causing some of the squad members to shiver.  The colony still didn’t bother answering, overcome with fear.  “I-Isn’t it up there,” asked Atta nervously.

“WHAT,” asked Hopper as he approached Atta.

“The food was in a leaf sitting on the…”

“EXCUSE ME,” demanded Hopper.

“You sure it’s not up there?”

“Are you saying I’m stupid,” asked Hopper.

“No,” said Atta.

“Do I look…stupid…to you?”

“He looks really stupid to me,” whispered Dennis humorously.

“Yeah, stupid, yet with a lot of anger problems,” added Donkey.

“Shh,” shushed Kyle, not wanting Hopper to know they were there.

“Let’s just think about the logic, shall we.  Let’s just think about it for a second,” said Hopper, “if it was up there, would I be coming down here, TO YOUR LEVEL, LOOKING FOR IT?!”

Atta didn’t reply.  “Why am I even talking to you,” asked Hopper, “you’re not the queen.  You don’t smell like the queen.”

“She’s learning to take over for me Hopper,” said Queen.

“Oh, I see, under new management,” said Hopper, before sternly saying to Atta, “so it’s your fault.”

“No, it wasn’t me, it was…” complained Atta, trying to direct Hopper’s attention towards Flik.

“Nuh, uh, uh,” stopped Hopper, “first rule of leadership: everything is your fault.”

Hopper’s words startled Kyle.  “It’s a bug-eat-bug world out there princess,” said Hopper, “one of those…circle of life kind of things.  Now let me tell you how things are supposed to work: the sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, the grasshoppers eat the food…”

“And the birds eat the grasshoppers,” interrupted the obese grasshopper cheerfully, “hey, like the one that nearly ate you.  You remember?  You remember?  Oh you should’ve seen it.”

“Molt,” Hopper said, unhappy with what his fellow grasshopper was saying.

“This blue jay,” Molt continued talking to the other grasshoppers, “he has him halfway down his throat ok?  And Hopper Hopper’s kickin’ and screamin’ ok?  And I’m scared, ok?  I’m not goin’ anywhere near, ok…”

As Molt talked fast, Hopper approached him with disapproval.  “Aw come on.  It’s a great story,” said Molt before getting pulled to the wall by an angry Hopper, “OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!”

Hopper shoved Molt to the wall and said, “I swear, if I hadn’t promised mother on her death bed that I wouldn’t kill you…I would kill you.”

“And believe me, no one appreciates that more than I do,” said Molt.

“Shut up,” said Hopper, “I don’t want to hear another word out of you while we’re on this island.  Do you understand me?”

Molt nervously stayed quiet.  “I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME,” asked Hopper angrily.

“But how could I answer, you said I couldn’t say another word,” said Molt, who got nervous again as Hopper prepared his fist, “AH!  REMEMBER MA!”

But Hopper delivered his punch to another grasshopper behind him.  Hopper’s angry attitude intimidated the squad.  “This guy’s worse than Shrek when he was getting to know us,” whispered Yao.

“And he doesn’t look friendly,” added Woog.

“Ants picking food for grasshoppers,” asked Kaytlin, “that’s not what ants do naturally.”

“You’re right,” said Kyle, “this is slavery.”

“How dare they,” added Hathi who was not happy.

Cassidy stood completely silent.  She could not believe these grasshoppers were terrorizing this colony for food.  As she and the others watched silently, Hopper calmed down and said to the other ants, “hey, I’m a compassionate insect.  There’s still a few months till the rains come, so you can all just try again.”

“But Hopper,” said Queen, “since it’s almost the rainy season, we need this time to gather food for ourselves.”

“LISTEN, if you don’t keep your end of the bargain, than I can’t guarantee your safety, and there are insects out there that will take advantage of you.  Someone…could get hurt,” said Hopper, who then snapped his fingers.

A loud, screech like roar echoed across the hallway.  Everyone turned and gasped.  Dot became visibly nervous as the grasshoppers cleared away, revealing another grasshopper.  This one was attached to a leash being pulled by two other grasshoppers and was acting very feral and fierce-like.  This was Thumper, one of the most dangerous grasshoppers of the gang.  He turned to Dot and growled fiercely.  Scared of Thumper, Dot tried fleeing, but Hopper grabbed her and said, “what’s the matter.  You scared of grasshoppers?”

Hopper, with Dot in his hands, approached Thumper.  Dot whimpered frantically, as Thumper got closer and closer.  The squad gasped upon seeing Hopper threaten Dot.  Flik also became worried.  “Dot,” he whispered.

“You don’t like Thumper,” asked Hopper as he got closer to Thumper.

Thumper was mere inches away from attacking the terrified Dot.  But before anything serious could happen, Cassidy, unable to stand by any longer, rushed into the chamber and lashed out her rope.  It tied around Thumper’s neck and Cassidy pulled on it with all her might.  Thumper was sent crashing down to the ground.  “PUT HER DOWN,” Cassidy yelled angrily.

The ants and grasshoppers gasped upon seeing Cassidy.  Hopper stared at Cassidy with shock, but also irritation.  “Yeah that’s right buster,” she said, “let her go, and no one gets hurt.”

Before Hopper could reply, the rest of the squad emerged from the hiding place and faced Hopper, with their weapons pointed towards him, ready to attack.  “You heard her,” said Kyle, “let her go.”

“Yeah,” added Dennis, “you’re messin’ with one of the princesses of this colony, you thievin’ locust.”

“You may be one of the scariest bugs we’ve seen, but we won’t let you lay your rage on a young ant like that,” added Rudy.

The grasshoppers, taken by surprise, backed away from the squad, but Hopper stood his ground, glaring angrily.  But as it seemed he was going to yell, he suddenly turned calm and said to the ants, “well, well.  I see you ants have some visitors.”

“Leave them alone,” said Rex, “they don’t deserve serving you.”

“Is that so,” replied Hopper, who was intimidated, “well you better think twice, ‘cause I’m not the one to mess with.  So it would be an honor if you all just back away and let me do my business with them.”

“Two words,” said Ling, “‘no’...‘way.’”    

“We’re not gonna take orders from a grasshopper who acts tough and aggressive,” said Kyle who didn’t back off, “cause we’re not afraid of you.”

But before a fight could break out, everyone heard a loud buzzing sound, coming from the hallways.  They turned to the hallway, when suddenly, something burst from the tunnel and zoomed past the team like a falcon.  It landed in a clearing in the chamber and said, “you ‘otter’ rethink that boy.”

The squad swiftly turned their weapons on the intruder.  This intruder wasn’t a grasshopper like Hopper.  Instead, it was a tall, slender, wasp.  But this wasp had a black western hat, a black vest, black cowgirl boots, and two really big legs.  “A wasp,” exclaimed Kaytlin.

“That’s right,” said Hopper, “like I said, you should stay out of the way.  You don’t wanna mess with me, but you especially don’t wanna mess with my close partner in getting food from the colony…Blazing Brenda.”

Cassidy, upon hearing Hopper, stopped her struggle in keeping Thumper on the ground upon hearing him mention the wasp’s name.  She looked at Brenda, and quietly gasped.  Her bravery in standing up for the ants started fading away as the wasp looked her in the eye.  “That’s right Hopper,” said Brenda, “you travellers think you can stop us from terrorizing this colony?  I doubt that, for I have a plan of my own.”

Brenda snapped her fingers, and suddenly, Kimmy was rammed forward by someone entering the chamber.  It was another wasp, but this one was larger and more muscular looking.  He threw Kimmy to the ground, where Brenda put her strong foot on her, keeping her from getting back up.  Two other wasps appeared as well and landed around the squad, separating them from Cassidy.  One was tall, but very slender looking, and had a brown cowboy hat, a broken wing, and a jetpack.  The other wasp was shorter, slightly obese than her fellow wasp, and had a red bandana.  They both had pistols in their four arms and they pointed them towards the squad, minus Cassidy who was still struggling against Thumper.  “ARMS UP,” shouted the short wasp.

The muscular wasp appeared alongside them and he cracked his knuckles, ready to attack anyone who tried rushing forward.  The squad noticed Brenda pointing her needle sharp stinger towards Kimmy.  Brenda cackled before Kyle said, “GET AWAY FROM HER!”

“That’s my student Dirt Bag,” added Hathi, who was also angry.

“Dirt Bag?  HA!  Insult me all you want, but it won’t matter,” said Brenda, “my fellow outlaws, Tumbleweed, Raging Cactus, and Sandy Sunburn have got you surrounded.”

“One wrong move and you’re gonna turn into carnage,” said Sunburn, the short, female wasp.

“Back away and get out of the chamber,” ordered Cactus, the muscular wasp, “slowly.”

“And don’t pull out your…uh…weapon thingies, ‘cause we ain’t fallin’ for your tricks,” said Tumbleweed, the slender wasp.

Cassidy stared at the three wasps harming her teammates and became even more shocked and speechless.  “Cassidy, DO SOMETHING,” exclaimed Elsa.

“What?  Who,” asked Tumbleweed, who noticed Cassidy a short distance from the squad, “oh yeah.  I forgot she wasn’t with this group.”

“It took ya that long to figure it out,” asked an irritated Cactus.

“No matter my friends,” said Brenda, “she’s too scared to do anything from the looks of it.”

Cassidy stared at Brenda, heart pounding, and worried for Kimmy.  “CASSIDY, HELP,” cried Kimmy, as she struggled to get Brenda’s strong foot off her.

Cassidy looked at Kimmy, but then looked at Thumper, who wasn’t moving any closer to Hopper and Dot, as if he had calmed down.  Although Thumper was no longer on the attack, Cassidy didn’t know what to do.  “What are you waiting for Cassidy,” asked Dennis, “take that wasp down.”

But Cassidy didn’t move.  “She’s a wasp and if she stings Kimmy, she could poison her,” added Kaytlin, “STOP HER!”

“CASSIDY,” cried Kimmy.

Cassidy still didn’t do anything, consumed with fear of the four wasps.  “What’s the matter,” asked Brenda, “you scared of wasps?  You don’t like wasps, like me?  You want something less scary than a wasp?  How about THIS!”

Quick as a flash, Brenda swiftly spun in a circle and tossed something towards Cassidy.  Cassidy was knocked off her feet and she saw a rattlesnake on her, hissing at her.  She screamed and started panicking.  “AAH!  SNAKE!”  

This caused the grasshoppers to laugh at her while Brenda said, “what’s that?  You don’t like snakes either?  Oh well, too bad for you.  Now where was I?  Oh yes.”

With no hesitation, Brenda struck Kimmy in her shoulder, dangerously close to her neck.  She screamed in pain as the stinger dug into her skin.  The squad gasped upon seeing their teammate in agony.  While this happened, Thumper got to his feet, tearing off the rope around his neck and prepared to attack Dot again.  But as it seemed the loud commotion was going to get more serious, someone shouted out, “LEAVE THEM ALONE!”

The grasshopper’s laughter stopped as everyone turned to the shouter.  It was Flik, having had enough of the wasps harming Kimmy and the grasshoppers mocking Cassidy and harming Dot.  Hopper turned to Flik with a surprised look, but also with disappointment.  Flik, seeing that he might have angered the more powerful grasshopper, nervously watched as Hopper approached him.  “You want her,” asked Hopper as he offered Flik Dot, “go ahead.  Take her.”

But Flik didn’t move.  “No,” asked Hopper before angrily, but quietly saying, “then get back in line.”

Flik backed away towards the rest of the colony.  “So pathetic,” said Brenda as she released her stinger from Kimmy’s body, “trying to stop Hopper from carrying out his business.  What can an ant like you have against us?  Oh wait…I know…nothing.  The same goes to you travellers.”

The squad glared angrily at Brenda as Hopper said, “it seems to me that you ants are forgetting your place,” as he released Dot, allowing her to run back to her family, “so let’s double…the order of food.”

The ants gasped upon hearing Hopper as he started walking towards Molt with the wasps.  “No, but, but, but…” begged Atta, only to be ignored.

“We’ll be back, at the end of the season,” said Hopper as he picked some dry skin off of Molt, “when the last…leaf…falls.”

Hopper let go of the flap of skin and it gently floated to the ground like a leaf falling off a tree.  Atta looked up and saw the tree full of green leaves, but she knew it wouldn’t stay like that forever.  “We’ve done our part here fellas,” said Brenda as she and the other wasps gathered together, “we’re gonna return.  Hopefully we won’t see anymore cowards…like that pelican.”

They looked at Cassidy, who managed to get the rattlesnake off her and she backed away towards the wall, panting really hard.  The other squad members rushed to Kimmy’s side, concerned.  “You ants have a nice summer,” said Hopper calmly, before shouting out to his fellow grasshoppers, “LET’S RIDE!”

The other grasshoppers got excited and fired up their wings like motorcycle engines.  Hopper flew out of the chamber as Brenda said, “adios suckers!”

The wasps fired up their wings and flew into the air.  Tumbleweed flew above the squad with his jetpack and shouted, “LOSERS!”

This act of mocking angered Rudy and he viciously gave chase.  “GET BACK HERE,” he demanded.

He jumped up and tried chomping on Tumbleweed’s leg, but he missed and crashed to the ground.  The rest of the squad watched as the wasps flew away with the grasshoppers.  Molt laughed at the squad before flying upward, only to crash into the ceiling.  Molt shook his head around before flying up the hole leading to above ground.  The ants watched the grasshoppers go and were relieved that they were gone.  But they turned to Flik and Cassidy with angry looks.  Cassidy stopped panting upon realizing that the rattlesnake that Brenda threw at her was just a big robotic toy.  “It’s…a fake,” she asked.

“Lavender lollipops,” said Daizy as she looked at where Brenda struck Kimmy, “that looks awful.”

“Does it hurt,” asked Dweeb.

Kimmy got to her feet, but felt a lot of pain when rising to her feet.  “It does,” she squirmed, “really badly too.”

“Oh boy,” said Dennis who was worried, “this is not good.”

“Everyone calm down,” said Hathi, trying to calm nerves, “let’s take a breath and try to help her.”

“You know, none of this would’ve happened if Cassidy didn’t stop that wasp,” said Rudy.

With that, the team turned and faced Cassidy, all angry at her.  Surrounded by angry faces, from the ants and the squad, Flik and Cassidy stood quietly, but nervously, afraid of what was going to happen to them.