"Oh crap, that's right! I almost forgot about the princess. She must be scared and confused right now," Ari said to himself, voice tinged with urgency.
"Anastasia, give me a hand. We still need to find the princess."
"You're right. It slipped my mind as well. Let's go," said Anastasia, her voice firm and determined as they both ran off.
After a few moments, Anastasia glanced at Ari, her face slightly tense with concern. "Hey, Ari. Do you know where the princess is?"
Ari kept his eyes focused ahead. "Just a hunch."
"A hunch, huh? Well, that's good enough for me. I'm going to check on something first—I'll catch up to you later," Anastasia said, veering off at the next turn.
Ari nodded. "Alright then"
"I get an uneasy feeling when I'm around this ant. I know he's like us, but there's just something so different about him. He's a great strategist, and he's really fast, like the ones in the stories my father used to tell me. He's a pretty alright ant in my book. I wish he didn't have to leave us at all," Anastasia thought to herself, feeling an odd sense of admiration for Ari, even as they raced through the tunnels.
Princess Tanya woke up in a dark, damp place. She couldn't see anything, only the faint outline of a log above her.
"Where am I? What is this place?" Tanya murmured, confusion and fear making her voice tremble.
She remembered the last moments before she'd been knocked out—Vladimir's betrayal. The stink bug gas, the dark, swirling dizziness, and then nothing.
"Oh, that's right. Vladimir betrayed the colony. He used stink bug gas on me, knocking me out and leaving me here. I can't believe he would do such a thing, especially to me. I've known him my whole life, and I never noticed any evil intentions. How could I have been so blind?" Tanya whispered to herself, her heart heavy with regret.
"I guess Ari was telling the truth. He cared for our well-being, and what did we do? We called him a liar. I said all those hurtful things to him when all he wanted was someone to believe him. If only I wasn't drowning in my own guilt, I could have asked the queen to consider what he was saying, and now this colony will be gone for good."
Tanya wiped her eyes, feeling an overwhelming sense of helplessness. "I have to get out of here. If the colony is going to cease to exist, then I should also disappear with it," she muttered, trying once again to break free from the sticky goo that bound her.
She kicked at the log above her with her legs, but it didn't budge.
"It's no use. It won't move. What am I going to do? Am I going to die here?" Tanya's voice cracked as tears slipped down her cheeks. "I don't want to die here."
"Before the invasion, I asked the queen where Vladimir's chamber was, and she told me. I didn't tell her my reason for wanting this information, but that's the only place I think he would hide her," Ari thought, pacing back and forth through the winding tunnels.
"To make matters worse, I don't know which one of these is Vladimir's. Princess Tanya! Princess Tanya! Where are you? Princess Tanya!" Ari shouted, his voice echoing through the stone passageways.
"I can hear Ari calling me. I must be imagining things. Everyone must be dead by now," Tanya thought, unsure if her mind was playing tricks on her.
"Ari!" she cried out, her voice strained with desperation. "I'm over here, in Vladimir's chamber!"
Ari's heart skipped a beat as the sound of her voice reached his ears. "I hear banging in that room. Could she be...?"
He sprinted towards the noise, the urgency in his movements palpable. When he reached the chamber, he called out again, "Princess Tanya!"
Tanya banged harder on the log and shouted, "I'm here!"
Relief washed over Ari as he saw her, hidden behind the massive log. With all his strength, he pushed the log aside, feeling the weight of the moment.
"There you are. I finally found you," Ari said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he saw Tanya's tear-streaked face.
Tanya's eyes welled up, and she was overwhelmed with emotions. "I'm so sorry, Ari. I should have believed you about Vladimir," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"It's understandable. It's natural to believe someone you've known your whole life over some prisoner you met in a couple of days," Ari replied, removing the sticky goo from her hands, his tone calm yet filled with unspoken pain.
"Strangely enough, only those who place this gooey material on an ant can remove it. However, for some reason, I'm able to undo this. I wonder why?" Ari thought to himself, puzzled but thankful for the opportunity to help Tanya.
"Why are you so calm? What about the colony and the invasion?" Tanya asked, concern still etched in her voice.
"Rest assured, all of that was taken care of. It's a long story. You should get some sleep and recover your strength before I tell you all that has happened," Ari replied, a reassuring yet urgent edge to his words. But even as he spoke, a cold shiver ran down his spine.
Tanya's eyes widened, and she froze as a shadow loomed in the doorway.
Vladimir stood there, his cold eyes fixed on them, a malicious grin curling at the corners of his lips.
A shocked expression overtook Tanya's face. "No… no, not him…" she whispered, panic rising in her chest.
Ari immediately grabbed her, pulling her to the side, narrowly avoiding Vladimir's spear as it jabbed into the stone ground where they had just been standing.
"I finally found you, scum. If it weren't for you, my plans would have gone smoothly, and I'd be given my reward," Vladimir sneered, his voice low and filled with contempt.
"Please stand back, Princess. He's after me, so get out of here," Ari said, his voice a mix of fear and determination.
"But I can't just leave you here! He'll kill you!" Tanya cried, her voice breaking as she stepped back, tears falling from her eyes.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be alright. Just go," Ari insisted, pushing Tanya towards the exit.
With a final glance at him, Tanya turned and ran, her heart heavy with the knowledge that Ari wouldn't make it out alive.
"I know I told her that I'd be fine, but he's way stronger than me. I'm scared right now, but trembling in fear won't save me from this," Ari thought, swallowing his fear as he squared up against Vladimir.
Vladimir charged, his spear moving in a blur. Ari ducked, narrowly avoiding the strike, but Vladimir was relentless, pushing him to the edge.
Ari dodged another strike, only to be sent flying by a powerful kick that sent him crashing into the stone wall. He grunted in pain, struggling to rise as Vladimir closed in, his spear poised to end this once and for all.
"You're fast, I'll give you that. However, you can't dodge death forever," Vladimir taunted, his voice dripping with cruelty.
Ari leapt to the side again, just barely avoiding the spear's deadly point. But as he did, he was blindsided by Vladimir's left hook, a punch that sent him hurtling through the air and crashing back into Vladimir's chamber.
"I told you it was no use. Now be a good ant and hold still for your death," Vladimir snarled, his patience wearing thin as he raised his spear for a final strike.
"This is it. I will die again. I wonder where I'll end up next," Ari thought, closing his eyes in resignation.
But there was no impact.
Anastasia's mandibles, honed to a razor's edge, clashed against Vladimir's spear with a sharp, ringing sound, like two blades meeting in the heat of battle. The impact was jarring, sending a shockwave of reverberation up her arms, the force of the blow vibrating through her body as her mandibles locked firmly against the spear shaft. The sharp clang of steel on steel echoed through the chamber.
"I didn't feel an impact," Ari muttered, blinking his eyes open in confusion.
Standing before him was Anastasia, her mandibles locked in place, holding Vladimir's spear back with all her strength.
"You must be glad that I got here on time, Ari," Anastasia said, her voice a mix of relief and determination. She pushed Vladimir back with a forceful shove, sending him stumbling a few steps.
Ari, still gasping for breath, could hardly believe she had arrived.
"I didn't think that he could take on Commander Seth by himself in the state he's in. However, I was wrong. I found Seth unconscious on the floor, and I knew exactly where he'd go—and that's after you, Ari," Anastasia explained quickly, her eyes flicking to Vladimir as she took a defensive stance.
Vladimir sneered, stepping forward again. "You're an idiot. If Seth couldn't beat me, what makes you think you can?" he taunted.
Anastasia's grip tightened. "I don't need to. I just need to hold out long enough until Lieutenant Brooks and the others arrive."
Vladimir's smile twisted into something more sinister. "I see. I guess I'll not be sticking around for that. This will not be the last time you'll see me. The next time we meet, you'll be dead."
With that, Vladimir shoved past them, barreling his way out of the colony, his threat hanging heavily in the air.
Ari slumped against the wall, exhausted and shaken, but alive—for now.