Chapter Text
“ASTOTHELES!”
The cricket’s antennae rang with the voices of his allies crying out to him. The voices were indistinct, affected by the exhaustion and drained carapace he tried to combat with. All that drove whatever strength was left told him to ignore pain, ignore fatigue. To gather the remnants of his life force for one last devastating strike against an enemy that wanted to end all that was dear to him…
Yet as the point of the sword was about to pierce the mortal species that consistently threatened his folk, one odd voice stood out from the rest.
“Aka! As-tho…urgh…Ast-…” And it came from atop the scorpion. “Asto-the-les!”
Astotheles felt his limbs lock up, his eyes darted up to the voice. There, a single large green bug, decorated with long green leaves and a mask carved with a single cut, appeared with a club in hand. In his other, a shining relic that glowed far brighter than any flame could illuminate. Compared to when Venx held it, or even the other leafbug, this light was blinding.
“H-ugh…?”
“Venku! Venku! Ma Kiva Scak!” The bug called out. The scorpion who Astotheles was so keen and close to killing, waved at him with its murderous claws, greeting the critically wounded swordbug with a cheerful click of its…mouth? Astotheles stood completely fazed.
“Y-you are…you…”
Grash pushed past all the bugs who had their weapons drawn and ready to save Astotheles from his suicidal defense with their own. She cried out. “Hey…HEY! THE Leaf NINJA! The leader of the leafbugs!”
Isau shuddered as she scanned the gargantuan beast face to face with Astotheles, then at the leafbug who rode it. “U-umm…that bug is on a scorpion…”
“Yeah…no clue what’s happenin’ either but-” Suddenly, Astotheles’ weapon created a sharp sound as it fell. Then the leader followed suit, causing everyone to panic. “ASTO!”
Isau was the closest to catch the cricket, but her flimsy strength would barely soften his descent. She rapidly flapped her wings to slow his fall and cushioned his head with her hands the best she could. Isau sighed as she looked over Astotheles for any new wounds, frustrated by her own inaction to protect her patient, someone she knew, from certain doom. “Astotheles…You shouldn’t have pushed yourself to defend me…I’m sorry…!”
“Oh…Ba Naka Piko…Ma Lak!” Venku spoke out. When none of the bandits responded, he grunted and sheathed his club. With several long motions, he ushered the bugs over to him and reached his hand out, nodding at them to take his hand.
“Looks like he’s offering a ride! Come on, we’ll get out faster!” Grash shouted.
With how Grash commanded so urgently, the bandits heeded her words with no hesitation. But nothing could prevent them from how conflicted their emotions were about putting their boss on a similar beast that had rendered him nearly dead in the first place. Elnren replied worriedly.
“W-wait lieutenant, he knows where we’re going? What if tries something?”
“We’d be dead already! Besides, wherever we end up, it’s better than this dusty canteen! Plus, if Isau’s here, he’s gonna make it. Trust me!” She herself had been an example of the doctor’s wonder work, even with how sore the sutures still felt in her chest.
“Please, let me sit by him!” Isau pleaded with the leafbug. But as he blankly stared back at the butterfly and her words, she remembered how the bug spoke a language incoherent to them. With a few hand motions and a smile, she patted the scorpion’s back where Astotheles laid. “Uhh…sit…here?”
As Isau gently patted the scorpion, Venku finally responded with a quick nod. “Mm.”
Grash lifted Isau easily off the floor and assisted her to the spot next to Astotheles. With four bugs sitting on the scorpion’s back, the ride was practically at full capacity, yet the beast remained unbothered and checked its pincers for dirt to clean off. Even more alarming, it prevented any of the dust from covering the former bandits as it shook off the debris. Unsettling, as if it was sentient…
Venx laughed and tried to joke with the “all-knowing” scorpion. “Room for…one more fellah? Hehe…”
Grash spat and rolled her eyes. “Shut yer trap. You’re already gettin’ carried by the others so-”
On cue, more ginormous scorpions appeared out of the previously believed impenetrable walls of their hideout, lowering their backs for the remaining bandits to hop on as a convoy.
“B-By everything under the hot sun…” Grash just blinked at the overwhelming presence of the immense magic emanating from the relic and its traces in the air. Her initial pride in commanding a single scorpion to her will, immediately put to shame by a display so grand.
“Ma Lak! Ma Lak!” Venku commanded.
Elnren sheepishly climbed on, mumbling to himself while carrying on Venx’s cumbersome body. “When did these leafbugs get…some serious bugpower…”
Grash waved at them to quicken their pace. “Arrgh who cares…COME ON!” Without a moment to spare, the scorpions rapidly began their quick march to the surface. A wind raced across their faces and stunned expressions; there was no way they’d match this pace if a scorpion truly wanted them dead. They were goners the moment it sprinted. The scorpions they knew weren’t like this, once more bringing into question whether it was evolution, or magic.
“Is…Isau…” A tired voice spoke out in a whisper only the doctor could hear. Isau panicked, Astotheles had no reason to be trying to force himself any further. She looked down and advised him as she continued to apply field dressings, hands covered in a mix of poison and lymph.
“Focus on breathing. Don’t exert yourself, ok?”
“Stop…stop…”
He waved his arm over Isau’s in an attempt to stop her aid. Isau’s frustration built, why would this cricket who needed her most STOP the life-saving effort!? She fought back and shooed his hand away.
“Please do not…!”
Astotheles croaked through his poisoned lungs. “Poison…toxic…your hands…STOP…!”
“It…uh…doesn’t work that way!” Isau had no real idea of its nature, but he was being a far worse distraction.
“Lies…”
Isau pressed a bandage onto another bleeding spot but used her entire body weight to fully pin the bug down and silence his protest. It was effective. With Astotheles being so weak, he was effectively brought down to her level from all the fighting before. “If you stop my work, then I may get sick too over time if I don’t clean my hands…so please…let me just heal you!”
“Ugh…” Astotheles’ body went limp in surrender, his eyes closed.
“You’re going to make it, if you let me-”
“Shaleus…”
Isau heard a familiar name. She remembered how Astotheles had used it as a decoy for Ven’s suspicions. “P-pardon?” Perhaps he really was going mad.
“I…You…were right…”
Grash placed her hand on Astotheles’ chest, comforting her leader as he descended into hysteria. “Oh Goddess, c’mon boss, snap out of it…!”
He opened his eyes for one last time at Isau…
“A…Goddess…Sands…”
Before passing out completely.
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Wh-what?”
Grash snapped out of the trance Astotheles put them under and sighed.
“…Aaand he’s asleep. Or…dead!?”
She waited for the doctor to confirm his consciousness only for the butterfly to sit idly, looking back at Astotheles. “…ISAU!?” Grash called out again.
Isau finally regained focus and checked his chest for any rise. “Oh! He’s breathing! I already applied several flasks of the antidote and stopped his bleeding. He should…be…”
Isau went back to looking at Astotheles sleeping expression, whatever thoughts running through her head unknown to the others.
“Uh oh.” Grash could tell something had…distracted the doctor. Not lymph, not poison, not the scorpion…
“Did…he…umm…” She didn’t look away from him.
Venx spoke plainly and unknowingly. “Plain old lymph loss from a good fight I bet. Why in Bugaria would he say anything so odd? How embarrassing, ha!” Venx saw it as simple delirium.
“Oh Venx, you got no clue.” Elnren sighed.
“No clue…of what?”
“Tell ya later…if you’re good. Hehehe…” Grash had her iconic glimmer of the eyes, something that meant nothing else other than mischief. She spoke to Isau. “Actually…”
“Isau, your wings? They’re real shaky…” Grash said.
The former bandits could see the intense shaking and fluttering of the doctor’s wings while she clutched her chest. Her expression was barely hidden, and once called out, her wings froze in fear. “Ahh! Just…Just the wind!” She began to nervously giggle with an awkward tone which only intensified the convoy’s suspicions. Even Venku with his wooden mask could only tilt his head at the butterfly’s weird antics. Isau made one last attempt to distract and threw her hands back into her medical bag. “I should…keep treating him…right!” Her voice was more forceful than usual.
“Hmm…” Venx pondered and let his muscle brains decipher Isau’s actions. With a deep breath, he huffed.
“What a tell…”
A moon later
“H-hrgh…” As the creeping light of the sun peeked through the cracks of the door along with the scent of toasty cinnamon and sand, the cricket leader finally awoke. His torso was still incredibly sore while the rest of his body remained almost paralyzed by fatigue. His breathing, while sufficient, felt laborious and weak. This was an after effect of the poison no doubt, but judging by how he wasn’t dead yet, it meant whatever miracle performed on him was a success. Which meant…
“Woah WOAH, the boss is stirring awake!!”
He heard a voice call out, one of his own family.
“Boss?”
A ladybug stood by him holding a wet rag meant for his head. He began to tear up.
Astotheles smiled. “Tento…”
“Buh..Buh…” Tento leaped, throwing his hands out to hug him. “BOOOOOSSS!!”
“Hey…HEY…!” What Tento hadn’t noticed was the incredibly cold piece of cloth landing right on Astotheles’ chest, freezing the poor cricket who let out a yelp. “Ah-The wounds-ack! Enough!”
Tento snuggled his face full of snot into Astotheles, his words were barely comprehensible. “You’re so freaking cool boss! I heard what you did, but…but…you almost…”
Grash interrupted as the rest of Astotheles’ loyalists tried to pile onto the recovering wreck. “C’mon lads. It’s the boss! And it’s only been one single moon so relax! He recovers fast since he knows he’s gotta take care of the lot of ya.”
Elnren wiped a single tear from his eye and laughed. “Actually, you were also crying Grash…”
“NO I WASN’T!”
Astotheles couldn’t help but notice the wet patch on her cape. He let out a soft laugh.
“Grash…Elnren…Tento…” He rubbed Tento on his head, comforting him. “Hmph, to think…you’d all be more experienced with…my antics by now. I thought you’d…grow numb to me passing out…”
“WHAT!?” They screamed, startling him.
Another bandit replied with vigor. “Boss…we cry about the berry juice running low. What makes you think we wouldn’t cry about ya!?”
“Hmm…” Astotheles only dropped his head in response, but he supposed they were right. They weren’t an easy bunch to appease, but their hardened exteriors really were for show.
As he grew more alert, he asked his family another question. “Have…we truly won the battle? What happened, I don’t remember…it’s fuzzy…” He held his head deep in thought.
Grash responded. “Well, remember our little alliance with the leafbugs? Paid off in full. Venku, or whatever his name is, came to rescue us.”
Astotheles’ bloodied vision reappeared of the last scorpion facing him. The look it had was nothing akin to hostility like many times before with its other species. Instead that…docile look it had thrown off his deadly blow. “With…with that scorpion, right?”
“Yep. Crazy, I know.”
“Gugh…I need answers…” Astotheles moaned.
Grash pointed to her bag. In it was a darker green leaf scroll that could only be found in the swamps. “Well, he left a letter before shouting ‘BA NAKA’ and riding into the sunset. No clue what it says, but at least it’s something…”
The lieutenant came closer and snickered. “Wanna know something strange?”
“What?”
“Remember the ants you spared? The mission they had about getting some lost item before we captured them?” She patted his shoulder. “They said he mission request was mysteriously stamped…by mud and clay. As if it was completed. Pretty weird…” Grash turned around and shrugged.
“Huh…you think Venku…had allied with us…just for that relic?” Astotheles inferred.
Grash chuckled and raised her hand to her chest. “Well, he said no first, remember? Then you kicked his follower’s abdomens to kingdom come.”
“Right…”
Grash gave a thumbs up in confidence. “Maybe he saw us worthy.”
“Maybe…”
The whole situation was mystifying to say the least. What Astotheles had previously thought were desperate leafbugs on the brink of defeat turned out to be a strong force not to be reckoned with; their chariots of battle proved that much. Even on the brink of death in that canteen, he could still remember feeling a tingly, magical aura in the air as Venku arrived.
“Well, the relic was probably his. I hope he doesn’t try and…do anything like Venx or Zimmlerken. World domination and all.”
Grash’s comment had reminded him of someone.
“Venx…Venx! Is he…” Astotheles slightly sat up in anticipation.
“Jail. Alive. Ugh.” Grash groaned.
Astotheles slouched back down, still petting Tento’s head as he kept hugging him. “Ahh…”
“Geez, c’mon Asto. You can’t worry about that sour tart. He almost killed ya.”
“Ha…you worry about him too.” He teased.
“Not at all…!” Astotheles maintained a stoic look on the lieutenant as she tried her best to win the silent stare but ultimately lost. “Ok a little, but again, he almost turned the world over.”
“Right…it’s just…”
Grash knew what Astotheles was referring to. After all…“We’ll always be some messed up band of siblings, huh?”
“Heh…” Astotheles then saw Tento raise his head and look back at the door. The rest of the room stopped chattering. Only the sounds of the sand brushing past the building could be heard as Astotheles lifted his head. “Why have you all gone-”
At the door stood the butterfly doctor with a pack of newly sown bandages and sealed flasks. She looked directly at the cricket and gasped.
“Hello, Astotheles! Glad to see you awake so soon.”
“Isau…”
Grash’s eye twinkled. So bright the rest of the room could see.
“Alright gang, move out!”
They began evacuations, Astotheles began to panic. He just knew Grash had planned another despicable mission. And everyone knew.
“W-W-Wait you all don’t have to!” Astotheles could barely move his body without something crying out to stop him. He was stuck there in that godforsaken bed just waiting for a one-on-one duel. “Folks!? Are you all deaf!? Come back!”
“Ehh…Sorry!” Tento had slipped out of his grip and waved back with a huge smile. “Bye boss! Good…luck…!”
He was going to lose this duel so badly, and Grash was going down with him once he recovered…
“Umm, they understand patient privacy very well, don’t they?” Isau giggled.
Astotheles threw his head back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling. “…Not at all. Mind your manners, they’ll be peaking through every crack for this…”
“And…why’s that…?” She innocently inquired.
Astotheles slapped his forehead and shook it. “No…I…I just mean that they’re the nosy type. Not that you’ll…”
He sighed once more before turning away from her in the bed. “I’ll just stop talking.”
“It’s good to see you alive and well.” Isau said.
Astotheles grumbled. He knew he had to thank her; she deserved that much. “No doubt because of you.”
Isau placed down the medications in her hands and cheerfully responded. “Hmm…the poison was challenging to say the least, but you must have a strong mind and body too! I’ve never seen anyone spring up so fast after almost dying…just to protect…me…”
Those last few words of hers were quiet, and so Astotheles turned back around to hear her again, only to see the bug had come up close. He flinched away her proximity, eliciting an apology from the doctor.
“Oh…so rude of me…! Astotheles…umm…!” She took initiative and grabbed his hand gently.
“Gah-!” Astotheles’ eyes grew wide.
Isau took a deep breath and smiled; a gentle warmth came from her hand as she shook his. “Thank you for trying to protect me. I’m glad it was your friend who surprised us, but I’m sure if it was a real threat…you would have sacrificed yourself to save me. I’m truly touched by your actions…and…chivalry…because it’s rare to see a bug so…” It became harder to express her deepest gratitude. Something about his actions was so surprising to say the least. As if she was a part of his band of bugs he thought of as family. A former bandit boss no less…so…why did he do that? It felt like he…
“Uhh…where was I going with this…I…?” Isau started to stumble as she lost her train of thought. When she looked at Astotheles, however, she only saw shock. Pure flabbergast. “Astotheles?”
He was looking at her hand gently caressing his so delicately. A blush had taken over, for the first time she had seen so clearly in plain view. Isau’s face immediately began to redden too as she realized she had started massaging his hand out of habit to get the words out. Once they finally made eye contact as their hands remained touching, they immediately pulled away as if burned.
“OH…! S-Sorry!” Isau clutched her hands together.
Astotheles kept clearing his throat and coughing, looking around for the eyes he knew were prying. He whispered to Isau and nodded. “N-n-no it was…your words were kind. Yes…” He did his best to shake away the color in his face as Isau did the same. Neither of them knew why they were so flustered to begin with…
Astotheles tried pushing to a different subject to help the both of them out. “So…that’s that. I assume you’ll be happy to help Tento achieve his dream?”
Isau jumped in agreement and clapped her hands together. “Certainly! I’m sure in a cycle, he’ll be levels higher than my potion brewing.”
“Cycles…”
He had almost forgotten. The battle was won, but something remained to be done. Astotheles sighed and looked straight outside of the clinic to where an ant was crossing by.
“I’m sorry Isau, I have a favor to ask…”