Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's Bugtober- wait that doesn't work.

Wake the heck up, Samurai. We got a Bugtober to - nah, that sucks too.

Oh. You're finally awake. Bugto- dang, I can't do that one.

Bugtober is happening, like, tomorrow, and I'm already writing for it, today. I'll bet this'll be great. Even with school trying to intrude vainly on my life and my family facing hardships I'll still go at this with all the fervor of a weevil mauling an acornling. Even better, one of my classes is literally creative writing, so I only have more incentive to write as much as possible for this month. Momentum might be slowed for other things, but whatever, I think Bugtober's worth it.

The first prompt's gonna be a doozy. Then I'll just skip the second, third, and fourth to work on the prompts I've really got ideas for!

Chapter Text

“Aphid wrangling?” Talia asked.

The client began to speak, but was cut off by Terrick exclaiming “Easiest job there is! All we need are our lassos an’ we can get ‘em back quick as pie!” Terrick was insisting on talking with an exaggerated drawl, and in the golden settlement dialect, to make himself sound like an authentic aphid wrangler. Talia sighed. 

Treyarch asked the rancher “What kind of aphid is it?” and Terrick once again spoke over the rancher ‘There are only two kinds o’ Aphid that matter, the wooly kind, and the nekkid ones, pardner.” 

The rancher exuded annoyance, and muttered, with a much less dramatic accent, “This kind of aphid’s different. It’s the lynchpin of the aphid farms here in the Golden Settlement. It’s very important that you get ‘er back soon, an’ don’t hurt her, or else I dunno what I'll have to do.” 

Treyarch muttered “Relax. We’ll get your prize aphid back.” 

“She should respond to her name, Bessie. Aphid Queen works too. Keep ‘er calm, an’ she should be fine.” 

Talia blurted “Aphids don’t have queens?” And the rancher scoffed. “Oh she’s a queen alright. Keep a keen ey- er, ah…antenna, and you should find her.” 

Team Termite simply shrugged, and walked off. The rancher stuttered “Oh, er, she went that-a-way.” 

Talia called back, “Can’t see, don’t care.” Then she started twiddling her antennae around, searching for the scent. 

Between Terrick, Treyarch, and Talia’s senses of smell, they were able to eventually lock on to a strong scent trail, that smelled strongly of honeydew, dried leaves, and cuteness, and was very wide for an aphid trail. Terrick and Treyarch took the sides, while Talia led in front. Eventually, they traveled to an area which felt shaded, and a little claustrophobic. Talia whispered, “Err, guys? Is it just me or have we entered a cave?” 

Terrick smelled about, then responded “Well, it smells ‘o me like this cave is full tuh burst wit’ Aphids, how about that?” Treyarch hummed. 

Then they felt a gust of wind from above. Pointing their antennae upwards, and feeling around, they all touched what felt like the slick surface of an aphid’s shell. Treyarch muttered, “I think we aren’t in a cave…” 

The beast above them roared, a loud tympana-splitting screech that stunned the explorer team. Then, it began to kick at the ground with her tarsi, a noise barely heard by the team as they recovered. Treyarch yelled “She’s gonna charge!” And the termites dove to the ground, right as the colossal aphid barreled off in a random direction. Talia and Terrick stood, wavering and shell-shocked, and Terrick exclaimed “Well that right there were the biggest gosh-dern Aphid I’ve ever done an’ sensed wit’ ma own two antenna-” 

Talia yelled “Shut up!” And recoiled with surprise as she felt the vibrations of the aphid show up by her left. Treyarch, still prone, skillfully rolled to the side, recovering to his tarsi and breaking out into a full sprint to pursue the giant aphid. The sound of twine whipping through the wind, and a grassblade bending came to them, and they registered that Treyarch had just tossed out his lasso like a grappling hook. 

Terrick smelled like excitement, and called out “Hiya!” as he threw the loop around the grassblade and went soaring towards the very smelly aphid. Talia steeled herself, sensed the grassblade Treyarch had swung off of, and sent her own lasso in a high arc towards it. After a second, she pulled, feeling the twine go taut in her claws, and then she broke into a running leap so she could swing out. Using the lasso to direct herself to the aphid, she tugged subtly, and turned in the air to direct her course to the aphid. 

Their swings carried them onto the aphid’s back, and they all pulled up at the same time, releasing the lasso from its anchor. Terrick whooped “Yeeehaw, show ‘em who’s boss!” Then he clamped his left paw into the segment between its thoracic plates. He swirled his lasso around in the air as the aphid bucked wildly. 

Treyarch and Talia clung to the aphid’s sides tensely, trying not to be thrown off. Treyarch growled, and emitted a warning message. Then he tossed his lasso up and looped it around the aphid’s snout. It roared again and bucked more, but Treyarch crawled up to its back and reined in the leash, allowing him to steer the rushing aphid around. He pulled left, it ran right, he pulled right, it skidded left, he pulled left again and it swerved furiously around a patch of grass. Terrick sung “YEEAAHH, I’m gonna take my aphid down the old town road, gonna, RIIIDE ‘til I can’t no-!” In a split second his spatial awareness (jokingly named Terrick-voyance) sparked to life, pulsing out and allowing him to feel a wall, right in front of their course. The aphid was ramming head-first into a cliff! Terrick startled out of his song, excreting the largest amount of fear he had ever released this moon and screaming into Treyarch’s face ‘WALL RIGHT IN FRONT!!!” 

Treyarch yanked hard on his reins, and managed to imbalance the aphid, sending it tumbling back. Talia startled, and leapt away. Terrick and Treyarch, on the other paw, struggled to stay mounted, Treyarch holding fast with the lasso, and Terrick holding on like his life depended on it. The aphid slid to a stop, vertical like a board, then fell back. To avoid getting crushed by the ground, Terrick and Treyarch both kicked off the aphid’s back simultaneously, Treyarch’s lasso trailing behind. When their tarsal pads met the dirt, Terrick yelled “LOOP IT’S LEGS TALIA!” and he tossed his lasso outward, grappling its forelegs with the twine loop, and pulling as hard as he could. The aphid squirmed, trying to roll onto its belly, but Talia lassoed it with perfect timing, and pulled hard, keeping it from recovering. 

The aphid yanked and rolled, pulling the three termites around on their own strings. It almost made Treyarch fly upwards with an upwards head yank, but he planted his claws and held fast. Then, his lasso broke. Treyarch gasped “No!” and the aphid rolled onto its tarsi, then roared. Treyarch yelled “Talia! I’m taking yours!” as he sprinted for Talia’s scent frantically. He slid on his tibiae the rest of the way, grabbing the lasso as he passed and tugging hard. The aphid roared and bucked again, stumbling Treyarch and slackening Terrick, but Treyarch quickly recovered, and dug in firmer. The struggle mounted, but Treyarch would not let himself be thrown about by some berserk cattlebug. With a primal roar, Treyarch pulled back with great, impressive strength, sending the aphid rolling towards him. It screamed as it barreled towards Treyarch, and Treyarch leapt high above, soaring over the screaming aphid. Terrick felt the lasso yank out of his paws, stinging him with friction.

Talia yelled “I’m going to put it out!” 

“How?” Terrick asked.

Talia rooted about her bag, and pulled out a seed shell, wrapped in cloth and containing strong sedative dust. She sniffed again, pinpointing her target, reeled back, and tossed with all the force she could muster. As the aphid squirmed and squealed, the sleep bomb struck it right in its jaws, exploding into a loud of knockout gas that put it to sleep after a few short moments. Its antennae fell, and its eyes closed slowly, then it laid its head against the dirt and began snoring. 

Terrick, Talia, and Treyarch regrouped, then Talia asked the most important question. “Well, that was fun, but how the heck are we going to get it back to the ranch?” 

Terrick said, his drawl back in full force “Simple as pie, Talia. Simple as pie.” 

Talia growled “That’s not an expression Terrick, nor is it a good answer!” 

“We got two more lassos? Let’s use ‘em. Yeeeeehaw!” 

It took a little more than half an hour for the three termites to push and drag the aphid back to the Golden Settlement, covered in dirt, aphid smell, and exhaustion. The rancher practically squealed with joy when he saw his overgrown aphid back in the pen. Treyarch took the berries, and they found themselves in the Underground Tavern the day after, drinking berry juice and telling the story to all the other patrons. 

At several points in time, people asked “Just how large was this aphid?” and every time, Terrick answered, “The biggest gosh-dern aphid you could imagine.”

Chapter Text

Maki was wondering why the Explorer’s Association was completely empty, when he heard a knock on the door. Even Eetl wasn’t there. What was going on? The walls, normally green leaves braced against scaffolding, were partially painted in darker colors. There were streamers of dark orange and black hanging from the ceiling. The vases under the loft, where Artis would be working, were similarly adorned. Even the quest board had strange bits of plumping guts sitting on top of it, plant waste that Maki had tried to remove. And he was left wondering why it was decorated and so empty. 

In a moment, he crossed the large hall and opened the door with his left paw, while he leaned on his teal sword. The door opened to reveal a beetle, prismatic from helm to tarsal claws. His horn spiked upwards dramatically, but it was not completely obvious that it had been extended. His helm cast a sharp shadow over the rest of his face, bar his mandibles. Under the rest of his head he wore a rainbow-patterned cloak tied with a gem brooch. His shell was a strange, refractive, metallic swirl of colors, twisting as he moved about in the light. 

Maki swore under his breath. It was 3 in the morning, he had swung by the Explorer’s Association to do some work, he wasn’t expecting more work to pile itse… wait. 

Maki perked up a little, and examined the beetle some more. Then he came to a realization. 

“Kabbu? Why are you dressed like a rainbow?” 

A sigh sounded from behind Kabbu, then Kabbu said “Maki? Why are you here, and not in costume?” 

“Between me, and you four, it was my turn to run the night shift.” 

Leif leaned in from behind Kabbu (though Maki could only tell from the chilly draft of his breathing, he certainly looked nothing like Leif, instead colored cherry red, with deep red-and-shiny gold wings, and neck fur of a similar gold hue to his wing trim) and said “Don’t you know? It’s a party tonight. A bug-o-ween party.” 

Maki looked back at all the decorations, and hissed in a breath. He certainly failed at putting two and two together now. Maki turned back without much of a response. He just shrugged and straightened his mandibles awkwardly. 

A short little bee with violet-striped fur popped out from between her teammates and waved at Maki, saying “Get out of the way Maki, let me in.” Maki stepped to the side, and what must have been Vi looked about the room with a smirk. It was well decorated, in retrospect. Then she pointed a thumb-claw at Maki and said “Betcha didn’t help out with setting this up, right?” 

“No, I didn’t.” Maki responded. Vi’s expression, as well as her antennae, flattened, and she said “Oh, who did?” 

“It was I!” Kabbu and Leif cleared the doorway, revealing a beetle clad in green garb. Honestly, if it weren’t for the stubby, rounder horn, and the lack of pincers at the sides of his face, he would have looked identical to Kabbu’s normal appearance. Kabbu turned back to look at him, and took a long, drawn out gasp of awe. The beetle struck a heroic pose, and Maki simply said “Who are you?” 

“I’m going as Kabbu. Though honestly, just a few modifications to a Green Ranger costume and I’m set.” 

“No, I literally mean, who are you?” 

The beetle’s voice faltered, and he dropped his pose as he saw Maki standing there without a costume, looking at him as if he was a dense hex of honey. He stammered out “O-oh, Maki, hey, yeah, I’m just Eetl, all dressed up for Bug-o-ween.” He clicked his jaws. “Hey, why aren’t you in a costume?” 

Maki frowned, and said “I didn’t realize anything was occurring this night.” As Vi and Leif pointed and laughed, Maki’s stance dropped just a tad. Barely noticeable to most. 

Eetl approached, and said “Hey, it’s not like everyone remembers Bug-o-ween when it comes up. It really was only celebrated by the Termites anyways. But look at us now! Our economy is getting marginally better, the queen is experimenting with a minimum wage, and the Termites are attempting free trade again!” Maki hummed in surprise at how Eetl didn’t trail off with worry like he usually did. “Of course, there’s always the possibility of the Termites opening up too much trade and using that to stage a coup..!” There we go.

“Eetl, the kingdom is going to be fine. Just because more and more trade is occurring does not mean Termite soldiers are going to behead our queen. Don’t entertain such silly notions.” Eetl nodded, and took a deep breath. 

While fiddling with her violet-dyed neck fuzz, Vi said “So when are the rest of the Explorers going to show up?!” 

Kabbu said “We just have to wait, Vi.” 

Next was Stratos and Delilah, who looked dramatically different. Stratos had dressed up to look like General Fuff’s tank, while Delilah wore colors befitting a fine Metal Island hostess. Then Celia, who colored herself red, and Levi, who adorned himself in the coat of a seven-spotted ladybug, with black blotches on red fabric. Gen and Eri made it, but they just swapped their scarves apparently. Even Team Bookwork was there, shaded to look like their favorite book covers. Other explorers showed up too, the showy grasshopper had painted himself a shade of locust khaki, and his team had followed suit. One of the moth explorers had decided to color themselves like a common blue butterfly. It was cute. Even the more hard boiled (and/or scant-clothed) explorers dressed in extravagant outfits for this party.

Kina strolled up to Maki, shaded like Artis, and said “So, why aren’t you in a costume, bro? You could have at least changed your coat from silver to, brass or something?” 

“I forgot to.” 

Maki’s sullen response was met by Kina’s howling laughter. Yin, her fur patterns inlayed in pink and green, snickered slightly as well. Then Mothiva and Zasp casually walked on over, attracted by Kina’s mirthy cachinnations. She and Zasp had swapped motifs, somehow; her fuzz was red and she wore a fake stinger, while Zasp was covered in fake fuzz down to the stinger, and had tan shell paint over the exposed portions of his body. They failed at exchanging antennae though. Mothiva took one look at Maki, smirked, and began laughing seemingly without control. “Hahahaha, look at him, just standing there aimlessly!” 

Zasp took a sip from the cup of water he held in his paw, and said with a smile “Not the best idea to mock one of our bosses, Mothiva.” 

“Come on, let me have my fun, Zasp, before Celia and Levi show up like the diligent colleagues they are.” Maki just dropped further downward, slightly crouching over his sword in embarrassment. Mothiva and Zasp walked off, and mingled into the party further. 

------

Kina looked at Maki out of the corner of her eye, having just recovered from her small bout of laughs, and saw his posture was worse than when he hurt his leg in the swamp and returned to the town all muddy and tired. Kina sighed, a little tired of remembering that moment. 

“Hey, Maki,” she said, before her brother could squat any deeper and impale himself on the hilt of his plastic blade, “I do have an idea for what you could dress yourself as. And I do believe there is a disguise kit somewhere on me…” Maki immediately turned, peeking at her like he was a scared acornling, and asked “You do?” 

“Yeah, let’s just go out back, I’ll get you dressed up somewhat.” 

It only took a few minutes, with Kina’s expertise, and Maki was looking completely different. His shell was teal green, like his weapon. Also, Kina had him take off his armor. Admittedly, she could have done better at some parts of his shell, but mostly, she felt good about her handiwork.

Yin whispered in her tympanum “Not good look for Maki.” 

Nonsense! He looks great! “Alright, you look great bro! Now get out there and show them your claws!” 

------

Maki looked like his sword. 

That was it, everyone turned at him, shrugged, and turned back without a moment to spare. 

Maki approached a snack table and grabbed a honey’d leaf, licking the sweet off of the leaf before turning to Kabbu, who was standing conveniently to his side. Kabbu still looked stylish, every fleck of whatever shell paint he had used refracting light in a unique color, making him look more chromatic and most prisms. It was entrancingly intricate. Regardless, he had something to ask. (so his self-esteem wouldn’t fall apart.) Maki tapped his sword on the ground, and grumbled, trying to grab his attention. And it succeeded, with Kabbu turning to Maki and breaking off from his prior conversation. Vi also leaned around to look at him. 

Inhale, “How do I look?” Maki said. 

Kabbu hummed, then said “Well, it’s inventive. Your sword really blends in with the rest of your body, and you appear reminiscent of some green mantids I’ve seen in the north. It’s a fine look in a pinch. I think you look nice.” 

Maki couldn’t help but sigh in relief, then he entered the party proper.

Chapter Text

Tanjerin woke up that moment and thought to himself Today’s the day! I’ll do it! I’ll prove my strenght! He sat up from his bed, made from the inside of a large seed from his homeland, and the skin of berries he really likes, and unwrapped the bandages holding his horn in place. It revealed nothing but a scar, reminding of the crack he once held. Tanjerin smiled. Nothing could stop him now. He wrapped the used cloth around his head, a bandana forged from the steel in the center of boiling hot mountain streams, for the true heroes of this world! The mightiest of them all, Tanjerin!

He walked to the door, passing Cerise as she handled the dishes in the basin. “I’m going out Cerise!” 

Cerise hummed as she washed the dishes, then dropped the plate she was holding, definitely in great, raving awe. The plate shattered into a million tiny shards, like the strands of a clock winding time onwards, dominated by the true god of this land, the mightiest of them all, Tanjerin. Cerise looked her greatest hero deeply in the eyes, and said with profoundness only surmountabated by the great quotes of Tanjerin himself “You’re going out Cerise?” 

“Yes.” Tanjerin looked on, with great determination. None could surpass him, none would dare try, nothing could beat the orange angel of the seventy wins. Some mocked him for his “hee-oo-ba-rizz”, but they truly did not know of his great might. He was the mightiest of them all, Tanjerin! 

“Where are you going, Tanjy?” 

“To the right!” 

“Ah! The right!” 

“Yes! The right!” 

“Oh! The right!” 

“The right!” 

“What is to the right?” Cerise asked, her befuddled mind clearly puzzled by the great, magnatatimia… great machunitions of Tanjerin’s colossal mind. Tanjerin, in all of his great intelligence, had an answer for her query. Answers were fleeting, like the wind in the storm, even for such a mighty being as Tanjerin, but his mind was still the best! None had ever out-thunk the mightiest of them all! And those that dared trick him found themselves fleeing with their tails in between their legs, no matter how fat their tails were! Tanjerin answered with the great impact of a thousand suns upon a single grassblade, crashing like waves into the leaves of the land, “A rock!” 

Cerise swooned. Tanjerin turned, with a wink that plucked her heartstrings like a power chord, and left the house for the great yonder of Bulgaria. 

He headed steadily right, facing great beasts of acorn and fuzz, the size of giants, easily crushed under his earth-shattering strength. None can stand against the mightiest of them all, Tanjerin! Even the most large of the beasts had fallen under his claws. Then, he finally made it, to the strangely named Bulgaria Outskirts. Tanjerin had long wondered why the Bulgaria Outskirts did not conclude the leafy lands of his current home, but even his great, wide, philosophical mind could not answer such a question. It truly was past the purview of all beings mortal and immortal. 

Tanjerin made his way into the center of the plaza, and stood upon the statue of his likeness (though they got some of his proportions off) and announced to the people of Bulgaria “I will break the greatest rock this world has today! Come one, come all, watch my strength! Let it be proof of my true might!” 

His speech was grand, and ear-catching, it made all around look upon his chiseled, round form. THe teeming masses were greatly impressed by his great, handsome, and of course mighty , jaws, and his long-reaching horn. 

The blue moth smirked, and said something to his green friend. His green friend appeared worried, unnecessarily. Or bored. Tanjerin knew he would have a crowd, but not a crowd including that dashing trio. Had they not defeated the Wasp King, Tanjerin would have been forced to use his greatest power to utterly disintegrate the fool with a single stare. The trio were nowhere near his power, but he was still marginally impressed by their skill, even if it was weak. 

Later that day, Tanjerin found a rock of the perfect size. About 5 inches upon each side, Tanjerin estimated, and denser than the steel at the center of the earth, Tanjerin was certain he could shatter it with one well-placed blow. The crowd of ants, beetles, a few wasps, moths, and one firefly humming a lively tune amassed in the natural theater Tanjerin had hewn from the green living stone around them to watch, to enjoy, and to praise the mightiest of them all, Tanjerin! 

Tanjerin stood back, kicking at the dirt and gritting his mouth. Then he broke into a headlong charge, with the velocity of a rushing rocket, unmatched by any other. His horn, the tip of the indestructible spear that was the mightiest of them all, pierced through the wind with ease, even as the air itself tried to tie Tanjerin down and prevent his display of might. 

Then he was upon the rock, staring it down like he would a raving, ancient, colossal Weevil to destroy. The moment felt frozen in time, and his nerves told him to flee, but he ignored his instincts. His might would carry through, as it always had. He analyzed the angle of attack, still mid-dash, and found the perfect spot to strike and break the rock apart. It of course was the most solid, dense-looking part of the rock, hardest to break, but most rewarding when he succeeded, as he always, inevitably did. 

He struck horn first, and heard a loud breaking crack. The noise blared and filled his ears. He must have struck the stone with such force the entire world was silenced! He truly was the mightiest of them all, Tanjerin. 

Then he recovered to his tarsi, and saw…

The rock was unbroken. His prideful success, taken away by the strange material properties of starmeteor. It was impossible, the rock was broken, Tanjerin was certain of it, just his mind playing tricks. No thing was mightier than the mightiest of them all, Tanjerin.

His horn lay on the ground, shattered. There was a large pool of strange liquid. 

Weird.

Chapter Text

Zokann did not know what exactly to think when he saw this beast, other than it was large, and probably a spider. 

A colossal eight-legged horror, with a head covered in eyes and sporting great fangs dripping with poison. Its eight legs sprouted from a relatively moderate-sized thorax, behind an abdomen even larger and more rotund than most drink cartons Zokann had seen. Its form was bristling with brown fur, and it crouched low on its sharpened claws, bringing its abdomen up behind it. Zokann perceived all of this, and the fact that it was twice the size of most mantids (Zokann included), but only managed to analyze the prior-mentioned facts of it being large for a spider, and also being a spider.

Zokann was, of course; a Northerner, and a monster hunter, so he was used to massive foes attacking in all kinds of environments. He was also a mantid, who did not mind putting all that nature had intended on display, wild and free. Even in deadly combat he preferred the agility of his own orange-brown chitin to the restrictions of the many forms of battle garb. The same could barely be said for the weapon he held in his hands, a poleaxe with a sharpened bit at the end and a hook behind the blade, a powerful chopping implement intended for heavy swings. Admittedly, he had lightened the ax some for more precision and ease of use. 

He would be more versatile if he had someone backing him up, but they had dug their graves and pushed him away. 

Zokann heard a roar in front. Ah, right, the spider. Best not to get lost in thought with a massive beast bearing down upon him in an unknown grassy clearing. 

With eight legs and a large size the spider rushed towards Zokann with speed he could not match. It could clearly outrun him with ease. He was not intending to run, but the fact made him nervous nonetheless. He twirled the halberd over his head and dashed towards it, gathering momentum. Eventually, the spider and Zokann closed in next to each other, and right before Zokann would have gone careening into those hideous fangs, he brought his halberd down in front of him, chopping into the head of the beast. Its head did not even crack at the chop, but Zokann was really intending to support himself with the pole. He continued pushing with his arms, while kicking off of the ground with his legs, and between the two forces he managed to leap up in a high arc and propel himself behind the spider.

Now he had to be really careful, he was in the way of its spinnerets, after all. He dashed to the side, and as a flurry of sticky web sprayed out, dove into a tight roll. His tumble carried him towards one of its back legs, and even as it turned around to face him he swung wide horizontally with the poleaxe. He targeted a joint in one of the moving legs, and tried to control the blade from the pommel so it could strike the weak-spot, but his attack just barely missed, instead bouncing off of its chitin. His halberd flew out of his paws and landed beside him, axehead planted in the ground firmly. Maybe he shouldn’t have lightened the weight of the blade.

The spider lunged towards him with a vicious bite, but Zokann leapt back, landing with his tarsi on top of his disarmed polearm in an agile crouch. Zokann spun to the left, flipping down from the height and grasping the haft with his paws, then landing on the mossy ground underneath. He pushed hard, and freed the halberd from the ground just before dodging another attempted bite! This one is feisty. Zokann continued running back as it lunged forward again, and Zokann pointed his poleaxe towards its head, poking it and keeping those fangs away from his thorax for another crucial moment. 

The spider brought up a leg and swiped it at Zokann, but he was able to duck under and roll to the side just before its claws swept through him. Landing on his tarsi with his poleaxe out in front, Zokann barely saw the spider rearing up on its hind legs. It would take him too long to execute a maneuver with his halberd, so instead Zokann flipped over his poleaxe and cartwheeled away, kick-starting an exhilarating dash to gather momentum. The spider turned with a sudden snap, and rushed at him with scrambling ferocity. It probably would bite Zokann if he spun around to attack, and definitely would if he continued his sprint, but what about leaping upwards? Zokann was nearing the edge of the clearing, a grassblade off to his right, he could air hike up the side and come down with an aerial attack. 

Suddenly, Zokann thrust out the polearm and scythed the hook end into the ground. Then he pushed the pole in, flexing it slightly, right before propelling off the mossy ground into a soaring pole vault. The spider barely missed as it leapt out to him and swiped with its forelegs. Zokann reoriented in the air, landing his tarsi on the grassblade, then he bent skyward while kicking down against the floral growth, and pulling his poleaxe up higher. Zokann looked over his shoulder just barely, and saw the spider rearing its spinnerets and aiming. In a rush, Zokann felt his shell run cold, and leapt off the grassblade early by pushing against it with the pommel of his poleaxe. He tucked the poleaxe close to his thorax and spun through the air. A strand of spider silk shot past his abdomen, almost grazing his shell. He needed to get in an effective hit! 

His tympanae screamed, blocking out all sounds, but he forced himself to ignore it and somersault, shifting into position. There was no time to aim, he unfolded his wings, pointed the poleaxe straight down, and pushed himself into a fast fall with half a wing beat. The spider was right below, if he fell fast enough, he could pierce the shell, he was betting his life on that hope. His dive attack was exhilaratingly fast, and he could barely see the spider below him, as everything blurred from the motion. He closed his eyes, blinking for just a moment, and felt a crack below him. Some liquid sprayed on his face, cold, like hemolymph. Based on the smell, the spider actually tasted good. 

His eyes opened wide, and he saw the spider’s abdomen below, his polearm plunged partway into a crack in the spider’s middlemost tergite. Zokann had not fought many spiders before, but he knew that the heart of almost every bug was a beating artery running along the back, usually down the thorax and abdomen. Zokann raised the halberd out of the wound and hemolymph sprayed out like a hose. It was quite possible Zokann just opened the hole he needed. 

The spider screamed; eliciting a similar vocal reaction from Zokann, then bent a middle leg up over its back and kicked him off of its abdomen. The claw strike hurt, and he felt wind rush past him as his vision went black for a moment. He forced his eyes open and hemolymph of his own trailing through the air as he spun away, careening into some fully vertical surface. Oof, that hurt too. 

The spider screeched as it rushed towards him, having flung him just out of combat distance, and trying to close in for the kill. Zokann staggered to his tarsi, leaning on his halberd for support so he could stand while everything ached. Four seconds passed, filled with Zokann taking sorely needed breaths and the beast dashing towards him in a bloody, exhausted rush, then it was right on top of him, all eyes sharply focused on its prey. For a moment, Zokann felt like he was about to die. Then he growled. No, nothing’s ever that easy. 

It had reach with its bite, afforded by the chelicerae it was extending out, but he had a polearm. Hopefully he could keep the spider back. Zokann gripped near the axehead, and with one paw, shoved the pommel at one of the chelicerae, pushing it back. The other fang plunged towards him, but he barely twisted out of the way, and the fang brushed past his head and shoulder. Zokann got a good look at its sucking throat, then he sat his halberd down to keep it stuck while he rolled under the spider’s legs, scrambling to escape. The spider struggled, and then easily broke the halberd under its head, but it was moving very sluggishly now. 

Zokann took a small moment to glance at his own wound, a really bad hole in his metapleuron that passed across one of the pleural sutures of his shell. It did not appear as if the claw pierced into his internal organs, instead crushing the shell protecting his thorax and keeping his fluids inside of him. Regardless, it was leaking rapidly, and he would need a chitin graft, not just a shell splint and a bandage. And now that Zokann saw it, oh ow, ow, ow ow ow!  

Zokann looked up from his gaping wound and saw the spider was growling as it staggered towards him. Zokann sighed, and staggered towards it. “You just won’t die, will you.” The spider roared back. Zokann approached at a walking pace, staring the spider dead in the eyes. Hemolymph was still spraying out from its abdominal wound at a rapid pace. Hemolymph was pouring out from his own wound as well. ( Ow ) It was them, or him. 

Exhausted, he broke into a forward sprint, almost tripping. The spider began scurrying forward, barely in a straight line. What felt like moons passed as Zokann continued running, deadly focused on the spider. Then, they were right next to each other, about to collide. The spider raised its chelicerae up and lunged. Zokann slid under the fangs and kicked up at its mesosternum, as hard as he could. The spider grunted as it extricated its chelicerae from the moss and staggered forward. Zokann heard a scream of pain as he ground to a stop, kicking up a wall of dirt and moss in front of him. He didn’t feel much like getting up. He strained his eyes and looked over at the spider. It was stumbling and swaying, then it huffed, and fell on its jaws face first. 

Zokann’s vision threatened to go black, but no! He shook his head and rolled onto his front, trying, struggling, clawing at the moss with all that was left in him to stand up and do something! He managed to push himself up onto his front paws and stare down at the ground in front of him, then the pain overtook him, and he dropped to the ground, unable to move. He was burning, the wound was screaming, and he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. 

The last thing he heard was a bug say “Oh my, the spider’s dead!”

Chapter Text

“Another.” Vi muttered, and her mug was passed back to her, filled with the brown liquid she was consuming with great vigor. Kabbu and Leif were watching with their mouths gaping, as well as the barista, as this was the fifth cup Vi had downed in a matter of moments. When Kabbu asked her why, she responded, voice fast as lightning “Gotta be prepared.” 

“For what?” Leif said.

“Bounties.” The words came out of her quicker than lightning from the sky, though the fact that neither member of Team Snakemouth had ever seen lightning made this proverb useless to them. The barista was in shock as she poured another cup for her, this time not even bothering with any latte art, just adding a little honey. Vi downed it in a single swig, then said “Another.” 

This repeated about ten more times. By the end of Vi’s coffee binge she was practically shaking apart, somehow holding together through sheer will. She hopped off of her stool and gestured for Leif and Kabbu to follow her. Leif and Kabbu looked at each other for a moment, and they followed. She proceeded out the door, vibrating with a strange frequency. 

As they exited, they saw Utter, waiting outside. Vi said “You got a quest for me, Utter?” Though half of her words were unintelligible to normal listeners. Utter stuttered for a moment, stumbling on his words, then finally could say “Big seedling king again.” 

“Great, I’ll take it.”  Vi said something that sounded vaguely like that. Utter simply handed the leaflet to Vi, and she began heading off. Kabbu said slowly “Vi, what are we doing?” 

Vi spoke slowly, one word at a time “Bet. With Stratos. Kill big thing in one turn.” It was abundantly clear she was trying to conserve all of the energy in her body, because she walked at a robotic pace, and was not trying to go as fast as possible. 

Kabbu and Leif both frowned, then rushed up next to her. Kabbu took the leaflet and read it “Hhmmm, Seedling Haven. We can make it there with icicles.”

 Leif checked the map and said “Seedling Haven’s real close, let’s go.” 

Vi asked “Can one of you carry me. I need to hibernate.” 

Kabbu wondered aloud “Bees don’t hibernate?” 

“This one does.” Then she drank a phial of some kind of concentrate, and went numb as a statue. Leif muttered “Shock berry juice, where’d she… Kabbu, you carry her, We’ll lead.” 

“Leif, are we sure we should be participating in-” 

“There’s no chance in Bugaria Stratos will win this bet, Kabbu! Now slap all the damage medals you can onto her and feed her one of the big mistakes we have, we’re killing a Seedling King!” 

It only took a few minutes of frantic travel, mostly on Leif’s part, then they were staring down the biggest Seedling King either of them had seen. Leif fed Vi a Tangy Berry, and she growled- in ultrasound. Leif couldn’t hear the noise. But what he could hear was wind whipping about with inane speed. Somehow, Vi had seemed to teleport, stepping up in front and writing on the ground Frost Relay. Leif cracked his claws. 

He could take this dance. 

Summoning a great blizzard in his hands, Leif said “Ready.” and Vi, whose fuzzy body blurred with such motion she seemed to blend into the green backdrop, began spinning. It was only for a third of a second, then her Beemerang shot out with instant speed. Leif projected the magic in his hands out, and while the Beemerang flitted between the Seedling and Vi, Leif shot a frost beam at the Seedling King. The Seedling King’s eyes went wide as it was chilled to the core and simultaneously struck from all angles with incredible force. Its seed coat was near instantly shattered into thousands of tiny shards and its main body was decimated by the rapid onslaught. 

In three seconds, the Seedling King was reduced to one-third of its size, and stumbled around wildly, unable to attack. Vi, incredibly dizzy and now suffering a hangover, fell to the ground unconscious. Leif fell forward, taking heavy breaths. Kabbu could only stand there, jaws dropped to the floor. Chompy simply grinned,  without a care in the world. 

Chompy plopped her feet forward; sauntering over to the destroyed Seedling King, opened her maw wide, and took a big bite out of the plant. 

Kabbu suddenly remembered that Chompers don’t have eyes, or ears. 

Stratos, and Delilah fell out from behind their camouflage screen and onto their fronts, then they broke into laughter, pointing at the little chomper trying to eat the now-dead Seedling King whole. Leif said in between gasped breaths ‘What? What’s so funny? We won, we beat it in a single turn!” 

Delilah said “Hooo! Yeah, you guys won, it’s just hilarious that after your insane super move, it’d be the chomper that gets the final blow.” From his place on the floor, Stratos nodded his head. 

Leif sighed. “It’s not that funny.” 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Delilah said. “Say, why’s Vi out cold?” 

“Excessive centrifugal force, running out of oxygen, boosting her metabolic rate over natural limits, and overdosing on coffee.” 

“Wait, you’re saying Vi downed so much coffee she overclocked her own body, then spun around so fast she couldn’t breathe!?”Leif nodded, and Delilah began laughing uncontrollably. Kabbu just sighed. After a moment, Vi stood up, and immediately fell back down again, rubbing her head and complaining of a bad headache. Delilah walked over to her, and set a bag of yellow berries on her thorax, saying as she did so “Your winnings. And if you ever want a coffee, just ask.” 

Vi said with a slurring voice, “No! No more coffee! Eugh.”

Chapter Text

Team Snakemouth acquired a new medal in the Mortal Kombat cluster, after managing to broker an uneasy peace between every single warring dimension and timeline. It was exhausting, but the reward would make up for it, apparently. 

So that’s how Team Snakemouth found themselves back in Bugaria, testing the badge out in combat with three seedlings. 

It was their turn, and Kabbu yelled “Leif, hit that downed one with an ice spike. The Cameo medal only works when they’re sufficiently damaged, so let’s find out the threshold.” Leif took the front of the team, threw an ice orb into the ground; aiming under the middle seedling, and easily casted the spell. The seedling was struck hard, stumbling to the side. Vi held up the spy specs and said “It’s at 2 health points!” Kabbu stepped forward as well, holding up the charm and muttering “Yeah, and the Cameo medal starts glowing when I point it at the Seedling. Hmm.” 

Kabbu traced a circle on the medal’s surface, running his claw across the jade dragon in its center. Then he tossed the medal up in the air and yelled “Allies from across the realms, finish this!” Suddenly, the medal pitched downwards and cracked open slightly, then a jade portal opened under the medal, and a strange ally walked into Bugaria for the first time. 

Dante sighed. This was new. Team Snakemouth weren’t though. Dante looked around, and saw a world of paper in all kinds of colors, green, brown, blue, white. It was like the world was made of paper, and of course, behind him stood the paper cutouts of Team Snakemouth. As much as it was hard to fathom how he was standing in the middle of a pop-up book, this was pretty par for the course. 

He looked at the group of enemies Team Snakemouth were facing; all of them some kind of plant thing? Probably wouldn’t hold up against an aerial rave, or even a rainstorm. One of the little buggers was outlined in red and staggering about, like he was playing DOOM. So he’s supposed to do a Glory Kill? Easy. 

Dante chuckled, and beckoned with his hand at the group. “Who’s ready for a show?” Then he dashed forward, and in a millisecond pulled his Devil Trigger, materialized his sword, and summoned four mirage daggers, before beginning a rapid slashing combo on the stunned one, accentuated with his classic pizzazz and callouts. In the middle of a spinning slash, he reoriented, and his swords followed suit, slashing the thing into confetti right before he began his favorite machinegun stab move. The million stab was all Dante needed to put the little sheet of paper back together, all in time for the best part. 

Dante sent the little bugger up in the air with a power swing, calling out “One,” Then he juggled the thing with another bash, “Two,” to finish the thing off, Dante spun around with a flourish, then flung the little thing into the skybox with a devastating stroke. “Finish!” 

Dante smiled as he looked on at the thing, watching it fly off and strike the beehive a great distance away. He probably just ruined someone’s day, but that didn’t make the attack less fun. Dante dematerialized the sword, slapped his thighs, and turned to Team Snakemouth. “Welp, I’m out. Bye guys.” The portal enclosed him, and he returned to whatever he was doing. 

Wait, what was he doing? 

Ah, right. Hell.

Vi was surprised by that. If they had known Mortal Kombat could travel between every dimension and timeline earlier, Vi would’ve advocated staying thirty moons ago. As the Cameo medal deactivated and fell down, Kabbu caught it in his paw, then looked at their TP, “Oh, that drained a lot! 13, that’s even more than your Ice Rain costs Leif!” 

“Great,” Leif said, sighing as he did so. “We have two more Seedlings bearing down on us, so brace yourselves.” 

“So we know the Cameo medal can summon from any megaverse now,” Vi said “But I think this’ll need more testing for us to fit it into our loadouts. Specifically, what’s the health threshold?” 

Leif said with a smirk, “I don’t know, what is the health threshold?” Vi grunted. 

Vi said “Well, none of us know, right!? Anyway, we can test for this, at the B.O.S.S. Yeah, you remember that, right Leif?!” 

Kabbu said “Well, let’s go there then. I’m sure H.B. is still around, even after all the time we’ve spent away dealing with the evil conquerors.” 

“Screw those guys.” Leif said.

Team Snakemouth sauntered into H.B.s room, not entirely sure what to expect. 

What they got was H.B. leaning against the table, pushing up her glasses with perfect timing to blind Kabbu and illuminate his face. “Yeowowow!” 

Vi pointed and howled with laughter, banging her paw on the floor. “HAH, what kind of scream is that!? Hahaha!” 

Kabbu rubbed his eyes as he said “Was not a scream. I was just blinded.” 

Leif chuckled, then said to the Doctor “Hey, how’s time treating you?” 

Dr. H.B. stood up from her table and walked towards Leif, revealing her fur was only getting grayer. She still looked rather spry for her age however, which indicated her staying active while they were away. She said to Leif “Just fine. Was wondering when you’d get back. I assume you’re here for the B.O.S.S and not my old offer?” 

“Doctor, We are never here to be dissected. Yes, we would like to use the B.O.S.S., we have acquired a new medal to try.” 

Dr. H.B. stepped out of the way and clapped her paws, ushering them on. “You know the drill, yadda, yadda, Explorer Permit, select mode…” 

In a few short moments, Leif had activated Boss Rush mode, with only the bosses they fought in Bugaria, thanks to the Computer now giving custom mode options. The trio soon found themselves facing off against their first great foe. Vi was trying to remember the name. “Spuder, no, Snakemouth Spider! Wait, that’s not it…” 

In two turns they reduced it to 8 Hit Points, then it began glowing red. Kabbu activated the medal, and from out of the portal stepped, a lesser known time traveler. 

Kasane Randall, gleaming in her anime graphics, sauntered into the battle with the grace of a sixteen year-old well-trained warrior. (Her real age is hard to discern) The light bouncing off of her from imperceptible sources somehow illuminated the walls of the machine, and Vi watched with glee as the graphical styles merged, tuning Bugaria into a beautifully cohesive cartoon.

Kasane looked at the holographic Cross Orbweaver, and saw a large glowing sphere sticking out of its abdomen. She hummed, then revealed her shuriken, arranging them in an orbit around her with her Gravikinesis. She squatted, then leapt into the air above the spider and lifted it up with three of her shuriken, wreathed in violet psionic power. She landed and yelled “It’s over!” Then she levitated it up to the ceiling, sliced the sphere off with the other shuriken, and dropped it on its head, as the sound of glass shattering echoed within the arena. 

Leif clapped, saying “Nice brain crush, Kasane.” 

Kasane said “How do I get back? Do I just open a black hole or- WOAH!” Kasane was enveloped in the green portal and disappeared. The next opponent materialized, but the program paused, and Dr. H.B. stepped into the arena with we written on her face. “What the heck was that!? You three have a charm that can summon fighters from other worlds now?!” 

Kabbu stepped in front and said “Yes. It only works when the enemy is hurt to a certain amount, and the fighter summoned is random, but the fighter can immediately perform a finishing move on the enemy with style when we activate the medal. We’re trying to find out when the attack becomes accessible.” 

Dr. H.B. said “Oh, keep going then. I’m interested to see who else you bring here.” She tapped her claws together and snickered “So I can study them of course!” 

The Venus Guardian could be tough in the later stages. The Venus hologram had just buffed the guardian, and a plant bud had also shown up to buff it further. Luckily, with one well-placed hit, it was made vulnerable at 17 health. Then Kabbu activated the Cameo medal, and out of the portal stepped a blue robot with wings, and a boxy shotgun. Team Snakemouth all shouted in unison as the robot tossed four coins up in the air, fired a rather massive railgun at the coins, and left without elaborating. The railgun beam ricocheted off of each coin and into the Venus Guardian hologram, obliterating it instantly.

The Heavy Drone was meaty, but Team Snakemouth managed to bring it down to 14 health, then activate the medal. The portal opened, and revealed a well-armored super soldier, the Master Chief. His Mark V didn’t look a day over Combat Evolved. From behind him, the voice of a fleet admiral yelled “Master Chief, you mind telling me what you’re doing in Bugaria?” 

Master Chief simply responded “Sir. Finishing this fight.”

Master Chief raised his assault rifle, and ran forward, blasting the Heavy Drone with bullets. Then he leapt upwards, swapping to his magnum and shooting it in the eye until he ran out of bullets. Once he was close enough he punched the Heavy Drone’s left missile launcher off, and tossed a frag grenade in the hole left over. As he walked back through the portal, the Heavy Drone hologram exploded magnificently. Vi’s jaws dropped open, with a single beep.

Once again, it took a little bit, but the Watcher was brought down low enough to have the medal used on it. At this point, Dr. H.B. was inputting numbers in a calculator, then abruptly shouted “Wait! What health is the holo- at?” 

“About 17, why?” 

Dr. H.B. replied “I’ve been running the numbers, and I believe the medal works when you bring a foe down to 30% of their total health.” 

Leif said “That makes sense, the last three bosses had similar health maximums according to the spy specs, and were vulnerable at similar times. Though We still wonder what exactly a health point is..?” 

“They’re health points.” Vi said, while chewing on a Crisbee donut. “Just like how we have Teamwork points, or how in Devil May Cry we get Bug Trigger segments, they’re health points, they go down when you’re hit.” 

Leif said “But it doesn’t make sense! How could such an abstract value displayed on little spectacles accurately represent one’s strength and the effects of being struck by an attack?!” 

Vi said “Woah, relax. It’s only health points.” 

Leif turned to Kabbu and said “Kabbu, use the Cameo skill, we need a distraction.” 

Kabbu activated the portal, and out stepped a large gold-plated dwarf with two big drill gauntlets. As he stepped out into the arena, bearing a smile under the fullest beard in Bugaria, Crow popped inside the room and swooned. “ It’s Tydahr Digsrok, ooohhh! ” 

Tydahr was idly juggling two chunks of gold, when he spotted, out of the corner of his eye, what appeared to be a giant gold vein in the side of the Watcher hologram. Tydahr roared “We’re Rich!” Suddenly, he dashed upon the Watcher, slamming five tossed battleaxes into the paper-thin boss form as he ran. Once Tydahr was upon the Watcher, he stuck his flamethrower into its side and blasted it, before quickly swapping to his power drills and pummeling the Watcher with two overhand hooks. 

He caught the Watcher in a clinch and spun the drills up, tearing up the paper edges of the Watcher, before delivering a power knee to the Watcher’s abdomen. He lifted the drills up, slammed it on the shoulders again, then pushed into the Watcher’s thorax, digging deep with unmatched ferocity. After the onslaught’s end, The Watcher floated to the ground, kneeling. Tydahr complained “No gold? Ugh.” Tydahr drew his Subata, and shot the Watcher hologram through the head, finishing it off. 

Kabbu was mildly pissed off when they fought the copy of The Beast, and he managed to suplex it within the first two rounds, courtesy of practiced technique, and lots of working out. The Beast then froze itself on a Frostbite shell, and became vulnerable to the Cameo attack. 

The warrior to show up out of the portal this time was Arnold Schwarzenegger, well known for his roles in movies watched across many worlds, such as The Terminator, Douglas Quaid from Total Recall, Dutch in Predator, and Conan The Barbarian. He had a shotgun in his hands. 

Arnold pumped the shotgun, pointed the barrel down the center of the Centipede, and said “Hasta la Vista, baby.” 

Bang! 

The Beast hologram dissipated as it was split in twain, its insides were unrenderable due to failing recording software. Dr. H.B. looked at Team Snakemouth and shook her head. “You three couldn’t afford an X-ray lens or something?” 

Arnold slung the shotgun on his shoulder and said “Yeah, I wanted to see some centipede guts!” 

Team Snakemouth all said in unison “It’s an Explorer Permit, not a Sci-Fi camera!” 

The Ultimax Tank was big and beefy, but Kabbu and Leif dug the hologram apart. Then they got the chance to use the medal, and took it. 

The portal opened, and out stepped a large Dung Beetle, plated red. He thumped his chest and yelled “aaaaAAHH, HUUNNNDDAAAAAAA!!!!” From out of nowhere, the arena was covered in disgusting brown stuff everyone hoped was smelly dirt, and the Dung Beetle crushed the holographic tank under repeated slams with large balls of the stuff. Eventually, the hologram was beaten to a scrap pile. The Dung Beetle gathered up his crap, and left. 

Raiden stepped out of the portal, took one look at the papercraft world, dodged a giant fire blast, and immediately leapt up in the air to attack The Everlasting King hologram. He sliced and diced and pulled out the hologram core, shutting down the B.O.S.S. machine. He promptly was engulfed in the portal and disappeared. 

Dr. H.B. fell to her knees and yelled “NOOOOOOO! MY RESEARCH!”

Vi said "Well, that medal's very cool! Definitely a keeper!"

Kabbu said "Yeah, totally worth it."

Chapter Text

Having acquired the ingredients for a hopefully hearty meal the week before, Team Termite took inventory of the food items at the table of the tavern. Terrick said “...and that’s the makings for a good dough, a sauce based off of roasted berries, three mantidfly sausages sliced into trail rations, and by some miracle, shredded Aphid cheese. With this, we should be able to make the best dish in Bugaria!” 

Talia said “Terrick, no one has ever attempted to create this before, and we have no skill in cooking. We have no idea if it will work out!” 

“Hey,” Terrick said “the only sketchy thing is the Aphid cheese, which I got from a totally reputable stickbug in a back alley at Defiant Root, the rest of it is good. And I know a guy who can make it for us! Fry the fly!!”

Treyarch said “I’ve heard rumors that Fry can only fry two things at once.” 

Terrick said back “And I’ve heard rumors that he can make any dish in a frying pan. Trust me, this’ll be good!” 

So Team Termite headed for the restaurant of Fry the fly, intending to wind down from a week of bounties and battles. Terrick was certain they could make it there easily, after all “Everyone says Fry’s within a few paces of the Underground Tavern! We shouldn’t even need a map!” 

Talia said “Terrick, what buildings are nearby us right now?”

Terrick counted on his claws “The Underground Tavern, The Termacade, The uhh, hmm.” 

Treyarch sighed. “We should ask someone where it is. Preferably an ant.” Talia added “Start sniffing.” 

Terrick began walking out of the shrubbery the Underground Tavern entrance was hidden behind, entangling himself in the grass. He released a warning, and Treyarch drew his sword, slashing the shrubs apart so him and Talia could pass. Treyarch continued on without Terrick, stumbling straight into a group of ants, based on the smell, and knocking at least five of them over like bowling pins. 

Talia exclaimed “Ding Ding! Score!” As Treyarch stood up and helped the fallen bugs to their tarsi, apologizing simultaneously. One of them said “Watch where- oh, ri- hey, can’t you sense us you bumbling fool!” and Talia laughed. 

Treyarch responded “Sorry, sorry, could you point us towards Fry’s place?” 

One of the ants snapped, and a trail to follow appeared. Treyarch said his thanks, and Talia dragged the entangled Terrick along as they headed to the restaurant.

When they were at the front of the restaurant, Terrick slammed his paws on the counter, saying “We got the ingredients for the best dish, and we want you to make it!” 

“Ahahaha, and what are the ingredients?” 

Terrick recounted the ingredients, and took them out of the impressively large bag they were stored in, revealing them to be housed in several smaller bags, like a nesting doll of food. Fry hummed, then said “Okay, so what dish would you like created?” 

“It’s like a large round bread with the sauce slathered over it, then the cheese and sausage slices layered on top, then it’s all cooked together!” 

Fry laughed heartily. “Well, I’m willing to try this out, yeah!” With no elegance, Fry combined the ingredients and tossed it into his pot. The team listened, Talia emitting an uncertain signal, as the sounds of stirring got weirder. The pops of bubbles intensified, then a sludgy squelch screamed out, then an air-horn? 

Then, Fry took whatever it was out of the pot, and screamed as it literally leapt on top of the counter with spindly legs. Whatever it was, it smelled cooked, so it must be fine to eat right. Fry roared “OH, IT’S HIDEOUS!” 

Terrick shrugged. “‘Can’t be that bad right?” Talia and Treyarch drew their swords anyways. Then the creation began growing. They could feel the air being pushed outwards and took forced steps back as the thing grew larger, and larger, ultimately about as large as Stratos was said to be. The voice of a beetle screamed behind “I DON’T OWN A MEDAL THAT COULD FIGHT THAT !!!”

Terrick clicked his mandibles. “Oh, that’s where we are.” 

The thing leapt again, and Talia realized almost too late it would land on top of Terrick. She dove for him and pushed hard, yelling “OUTTA THE WAY!” Everything landed, Talia rolling to a stop, and Terrick in her arms. She held him gently, in spite of the rough battle starting up. Talia called out “Treyarch! Where are you! I can’t smell sh-WOAH!” She was suddenly picked up by what felt like a tentacle made of dough, and Terrick fell to the ground. The thing tossed her up in the air, and she screamed again. 

Terrick stood up, and turned around to face the large smell, drawing his blade as he did so. Time for a cool one-liner. “Time for dinner, team!” 

Talia screamed “TERRICK! SHUT THE HECK UP!!!” Then she was tossed away, landing with a clatter some distance away. Terrick barely heard the pitter-patter of running to his side, and deduced that must be Treyarch rushing in for the kill. A slash buried itself in the side of the smell, then a loud impact resounded throughout the plaza. Up to him then. Terrick steeled himself, and ran towards the large smell with his weapon behind his head. When he was almost at the thing, he swung out and felt the sword plunge deep. Also, he stumbled into the squishy mass of meat, uncooked dough, herbs and Aphid stuff, burying himself in the pile. After a moment, he managed to squirm, and stick his head out the other side, relieving the pressure from his head. Nice to know it's not that wide. 

Suddenly, Terrick was shot out the other end as the beast grabbed him by the tibiae and pulled with impressive strength. He yelled as it thrashed him about, slamming him on the ground ruthlessly. Treyarch yelled something as he did something with his sword, then Terrick was flung off, the smell trailing behind. He couldn’t exactly tell what was happening, his head was awfully dizzy. Then he felt an impact on his prothorax.”Ow” 

Someone cut his legs free, and helped him up. Smelled less like food and more like termite. “Hey, Terrick, get up, we need a plan to beat this thing.” The voice sounded ladylike. 

Terrick said “Think I have a mild concussion.” He rubbed his aching shell with his left paw. Talia’s voice faded in and out, distorted, but still recognizable. “Well, heck. Stay down then, I’ll handle this.” 

Talia was already opening her bag and rooting for explosives. If she couldn’t toss a pre-made spicy bomb, she’d make one on the spot. She found a spicy berry and a shell, then quickly took out her carving knife, cracking the shell open and gutting the spicy berry. She placed the core into the shell, fashioned a fuse from the skin of the berry, and packed it all together with wrappings. Then she lit the fuse with her lighter, and tossed it in the direction of the smelly monster. 

Here’s to hoping it hits. She waited a second, then smelled an intense spice waft from the large thing. But no explosion. 

Treyarch screamed “AAHHH! IT’S ON FIRE!!!” 

Oh. 

Talia yelled out “Hey, I need a sword! I need a sword now!! I need a sword right, he-” She was cut off as her sword hilt struck her face and she was knocked down. 

“Ow!” She said, as she rolled to her feet and fetched her blade. So it’s on fire now. And that’s her fault. Whatever. She can handle this, yeah! Talia ran up to the smell of burning food and slashed it. Her new sword was shoved into the disgusting thing, and she jumped back as it caught fire. 

Oh, that’s real fire. No, she’s getting out of here right, he-

She had turned and struck a stick with her head. 

The burning smelly mass of congealed foodstuffs picked her up with its smoking tentacle and tossed her into a far off wall. In the moments before she was flung like a ball her life flashed before her eyes. 

Aw heck, quite a lot of it was occupied by swear words and running away from scary stuff. She must have said heck over a hundred times this past moon. 

BONK!!! 

“Heck, that hurt!” 

Treyarch was seriously contemplating a tactical retreat. His sword was somewhere in the belly of the beast, and the beast itself was lit on fire by a bomb of some kind. How it was lit aflame so easily, Treyarch was not sure, but it did not bode well. Add to that the fact that the thing was easily tossing them about with flailing tentacles and well, Treyarch was honestly scared. 

It was ridiculous, how a failed dish could easily become monstrous. Hilarious in fact, but that was not the time to laugh. He twiddled his antennae, but could not smell a thing except the beast. It was like a smoke screen, and soon, he found himself stumbling into a detachment of ant guards, smelling of plate mail and twigs. They were sprinting rather swiftly, the thumps of their tarsi echoing across the ground. One of them landed on him roughly. Ow.

The ant managed to disentangle himself from the termite, then said “That was rough. Can’t smell anything, huh?.” Oh, the ant was helping him up now. The ant asked “How did this happen?” 

How did this happen? “It was a cooking mistake. Fry’s usually a good chef, so I’m suspicious of the ingredients used.” Treyarch neglected to mention who commissioned the meal. 

The ant responded “Well, there must be some way to best it, right?” 

“My team and I have been hacking away for at least a minute now. There does not seem to be a way to beat, bombs and fire fail, blades get stuck deep in…” Treyarch trailed off as he heard a shout amidst the roaring of the beast. 

“It’s dinnertime!” 

Treyarch gasped. Of course! The thing was made of food, and Termites could digest a wide variety of foods. (Treyarch had seen the formula for Mite Burger patties, the ingredients included wood chips, fungus, soil, dead bug organs from all across their bodies, beeswax, and many other ingredients) Treyarch’s only hope was that Terrick would have a stomach large enough, because Treyarch was not hungry anymore.

Talia had finally managed to quench the flames with all of her clear bombs when she heard Terrick burst to his tarsi, yell “It’s dinnertime!” and leap upon the burned beast with primal ferocity. It smelled like he was eating the thing! 

Talia yelled “Terrick no! That thing’s gross!” Her calls did not dissuade Terrick from eating the thing. A nearby bug said “Damn, he ate its head whole! Oh wow, now he’s devouring those tentacles, woah..!” 

What the heck. At this point, Talia should just leave Terrick be, he seems content to eat his mistake on his own. 

Within mere moments, the overpowering stench of the behemoth was fading, and with it, Talia could smell around her again. Terrick smelled overpowering however. He patted his stomach heartily and said “Best stuff I’ve had since Mite Burger came out! Quite spicy though.” 

Talia gaped silently in the direction of Terrick. An ant walked in front of her and said “Alright, whose fault is this?” Terrick patted his belly again, and muttered “‘Twas me!” 

The ant stomped in front of him, and spoke sternly. “You know how much chaos you just caused right!?” 

Terrick said “Err, listen, I can explain. I had the idea for the best dish ever, but something screwed up, and we got that. Whoops. But now it’s all good, I’ve eaten and I have a massive headache woah!” 

Talia heard the thump of Terrick’s shell hitting the mossy ground. Oh, right, he had a concussion. Probably should deal with that. 

Later.

Chapter Text

Great tales of old told of an artifact, beyond Bugaria’s reach. A great, magnificent, powerful statue, able to shine a light above all others. The Lamp of the Giants. The legends say the lamp could shine so brightly, life would grow from ground illumined, and even the inexorable forces of death would be dissuaded by its power. The radiance with which it burned was of a kind greater than other rays, outside of the normal spectrum of vision granted to many other bugs, and only matched by the sun itself. 

The legends say that when the stars align, a path to the fabled lamp would form in the skies, to be followed by those who could see the patterns. The Dead Landers would encroach upon it, seeking to destroy the lamp before it woke. And a great pilgrimage of moths would venture out, to push the forces of evil back and activate the Lamp, releasing the power of its light upon the scorched earth, and restoring the land. 

The expedition begins, now . 

Of all the things to happen that night, Saria was not expecting it to be the stars aligning in such an alluring way. It was as if the world wanted her, and all the moths, to head in a certain way. And she knew what it meant.

She had been eating some weird green mushrooms and studying ancient lore in some library books the week before, trying to find something to do other than play video games and blow air horns at children’s parties, when she learned of a fabled artifact, The Lamp of the Giants. The lamp seemed to leap from the page into her eyes, and she had a vision of the future, of a light beyond that in Bugaria, one that could lead her to her true home, up in the skies.

The vision entranced her so much so she decided to pursue it. That was when a strange moth very much unlike her, named Tian, dropped into her life with the same exact goal! Saria made it a point to be optimistic, but now things were truly looking her way! 

Tian had shown up when she needed him most. A goon was trying to mug her in the night, but he magicked some sense into him!

“Gimme your berries!” 

“No!” Saria shouted, as she held tight to her pouch. 

Suddenly, from behind the jerk’s head, a bolt of sapphire energy launched up into the air. The jerk looked up at it, mouthparts agape, then the bolt struck him to the ground with powerful force. He began snoring the instant he landed. 

The bug behind him was a moth, with scales shining bright like the sun, pink-trimmed wings behind him, and the strangest neck fluff Saria had ever seen. His neck setae did not grow into clusters or curls, instead, he seemed to grow budding flowers in their place. One of the flower buds sprouted, and a single petal revealed itself, colored the same sapphire blue as the magic bolt he lobbed high in the air.

Saria approached cautiously, not intending to provoke any harm. The moth straightened up, and flared his radiant wings outwards, revealing their beautiful patterns and colors. The pink pattern seemed to form words, or a word, repeating. 

“Tian.” Saria whispered to herself, breathlessly. 

The moth said “That is my name. And I can tell, you seek the same goal I do. The Lamp of the Giants.” 

“I have so many questions!” Saria said, then she immediately began stuttering on every single word that came out of her mouth, creating a deluge of indecipherable noise that could amount to any question known to bugkind. 

Tian raised a claw up in the air and said “Calm down, I can’t answer chaos, nor do I know the meaning of life. You can ask your questions one at a time.” Saria stopped to take a breath. 

Then Tian said “I do have a question for you.” He gestured up to the pattern in the sky. “You see it too, right? The stars are aligning into the path to follow. I have amassed a group of adventurers seeking to assist me in my quest. I know you have knowledge of the Lamp of the Gods, and would like to see its light for yourself. So would you join the expeditio-” “YES OF COURSE THANK YOU FOR OFFERING I WILL GO WITH YES PLEASE!!!” Saria took his paw in her hand and shook it rapidly, surprising Tian with the suddenness of her acceptance. 

“Woah, you would accept so soon? You have not met any of the others?” Tian said.

Saria said “I don’t need to know them! I’ll get an ax, go meet up with the crew, and we’ll get this show on the road!” 

Tian nodded and hummed with an uneasy look, then said “Alright, we’ll be meeting at the portcullis of the Anthill, with a group of explorers who are willing to assist us, tomorrow.” 

“Alright,” Tian paced in front of the group, about six bugs including him, and mostly moths. Tian clapped his paws together and said “Roll Call!” Then he began pointing at each bug as he said their name. 

“In this fair group there is Cole,” A moth standing stably, and wrapped in white bandages almost from antenna to tarsal claw, raised his paw. Around his metathorax was a red belt with several pouches on hand, brimming with food, medical supplies, and other useful resources. Slung over his shoulder was a bushel of dark cherries, collected the day before from who knows where. 

“Saruman,” A moth with broad wings clad in green and silver. He held a hard fan in his paw, currently being used to blow back his antennae, and on his back was a giant needle. He wore a mask over the lower parts of his face, and supple gloves over his paws. He looked across the group with a dignified eye, but kept his mouth shut and continued fanning himself.

“Saria,” Saria perked up, her antennae pricking out as she looked around with a grin. Her body was mostly gray, with small spots of red-orange appearing like clown makeup across her body. Her neck setae even curled in funny twists. It was hard to tell if that was her natural appearance or not. Around her arm was a band with a small logo of Mite Knight on it. She also had a fairly large poleax holstered on her back.

“And me, Tian. In addition to this, the kind explorers known as Team Bookwork,” A wasp in Ant Kingdom armor wearing a hoodie raised his hand and waved to the moths. His companion sat reading a book. “Have agreed to assist us in reaching outside of Bugaria by granting us passage through the Ant Mines. Their support is invaluable, and I cannot thank them enough.” 

Tian clapped his paws together again and said “Now, we have until nightfall; one hour, before the path can be seen fully. Currently” Tian looked up at the darkening sky “the stars show me the way to the lamp due west, so we will head to Defiant Root, and pass around the tree. Once we reach the western edge of Bugaria, the stars should be clear.” 

The reading ant added “Also, Me and Reeves will only accompany you through the mine tunnels. Then y’all are on your own.”

The adventure was off to a great start. Well, as great as the Dead Lands can ever be. 

The atmosphere was chokingly tense, and there was a deep red tint to the air. Any foliage that would grow out from the ground was decayed and writhing. The land was as barren as could be, and the sky was dark, though the stars vied to pierce through, showing their path in spite of the darkness.. 

Cole coughed slightly, then said “How long will we have to be in this area? I can barely breathe. The air is oppressive.” 

Tian said ‘We will continue through as long as it takes. As for the air, follow me. Soon, I believe we will be in a clear enough area for me to weave a spell.” 

Saria said “That’s great!” Then began heading forward at a brisker pace, keeping her eyes facing the sky. She followed the lead of the stars for several paces, and eventually saw a large open area, devoid of the tangled weeds throughout the plains. As she continued to the center, Tian rushed up behind her, with Saruman and Cole right on his abdomen. Saria turned around suddenly upon Tian touching her shoulder, and said “What? Is everything fine?” 

“For now, but be wary. These lands have the most foul of beasts.” Tian stepped past her and observed the clearing around them. Then he said “Yes, this will be suitable.” 

Tian drew his arms out, and started swirling his claws around in circles. Then he began walking forward, and behind his claws strange cords of light trailed, the magic energies contrasting against the matter of the physical world sharply for the moths. Cole muttered ‘I didn’t know he could do this, light show stuff.” 

Saruman said “I did. Let’s keep watch.” Saruman turned and stood, facing outward, paw gripping the hilt of his needle. His other paw held his fan tightly, slightly shaking it. 

Tian eventually began a pronounced turn, then walked in a large circle around the group. Once he was done tracing the area, he dashed betwixt the party members, surrounding them in glowing strands and lacing the spell circle with magic power. He created a large web of energy, then began channeling his power through it. Wondrously, the red tint disappeared from the air around the party, and they could breathe easily. 

Tian said “The spell has been set. Now, wherever we go, as long as we stay close, we won’t have to worry about the air.” 

Saruman let out a sigh of relief, then blew some air in his face with his fan. A roar sounded behind them, and Cole turned, to look whatever threatened them in the eye. 

“Oh crap!” 

The Dead Lander, at first, appeared to be just a large cone. Then it brought its body up and revealed four arcing legs, holding up a slender body. From the neck sprouted the cone, and in the center was a large glowing orb of light. Its body was adorned with spiky rows, and a long lashing wire tail trailed behind it. It was three times the size of the moths, and two more of its ilk followed the. Saria yelled “Dead Lander Phi! There, that’s the name for them!” 

Saruman shrugged and said, “That works.” then drew his long needle, and broke into a forward sprint. As he ran, Cole yelled “Be careful!” 

Right as Saruman made it into melee distance of one of the Phis, the beast attempted a stomp. Saruman slid under its legs, and leapt up, plunging his needle up the spindly body and into its weird internals. Green-black blood oozed down the hilt. 

Suddenly, an explosion erupted in front of the Phi’s face, knocking Saruman to the ground and freezing the Phi solid. Cole yelled “Yeah! Cherry bombs!” Another Phi reeled back, and from out of its orb center, released a scorching beam of fire nearby Cole. Cole screamed, diving to the side as he shouted “Not again!” 

Tian said to Saria “Get your poleax out, I have a plan.” Saria drew her ax and went to his side. He said “Prepare to throw that thing. I will enchant it with magical properties.” Tian began drawing magic lines all over the ax, and suddenly it was very light, and appeared to shine with the stars. 

Two of the Phis lined up to attack Saruman, who was giving ground, and Tian yelled “Throw it out at those two!” 

“On it!” Saria began spinning around rapidly, then tossed the ax like it was a boomerang. It spun through the air, and curved on a horizontal arc, chopping through the front legs of the Phis and knocking them down. The poleax boomeranged back to Saria’s paws, and she barely caught it. 

Saruman took advantage, leaping upon the Phis; mindfully out of the way of the spikes, then plunging his needle into their bodies brutally. Tian followed up with bolts of magical power. That left one more. The Phi roared and stared down Saruman, then three explosions peppered its back, stunning it as Saria chopped into its legs. It fell to the ground, and a fourth bomb exploded within its conical head structure. 

As the party regrouped, Cole said “Holy crap, that was tense. Anyone get hit?” 

Everyone shook their heads. Tian said “We need to keep moving, Cole, be our rearguard. And everyone, we need to be quiet. Otherwise, more will come, to destroy us utterly. 

As they followed the stars, changing leaders every so often, the path in the sky eventually ended, and they saw a magnificent sight. A giant boxy device, with glass panels covering one side, sat derelict in the ground. There was text written on its side. Tian muttered breathlessly, “We found it! The Lamp of the Giants! We must make haste!” 

Tian and the rest rushed down the sloping hillside. As they did so, Saruman observed the number of Dead Landers encroaching from all other angles. They needed to reach the lamp before those beasts did, and they were overwhelmed. 

Upon reaching the bottom, Saruman broke into a sprint, with Tian and Saria right behind, and Cole lagging behind, running out of stamina. Tian looked over his wings, and saw Cole slowing down. He huffed, then tugged him into his arms with a lash of a magic strand. The strand wrapped around Cole’s thorax, and pulled him into Tian’s arms so the magic moth could carry him. 

The sprint was rapid. The Dead Landers were dashing even quicker. Some projectiles landed nearby the moths as they ran, though none of them were hit, luckily. Soon enough, Cole was standing on his own again, and they were clambering onto the lamp’s surface. Once on top, Tian began scrambling around searching frantically for a switch of some kind. Saria yelled "They're coming quick!” 

Saruman drew his needle, and called out “It’s now or never, Tian. Saria, Cole, let’s fight to our last breaths!” 

Luckily, they didn’t need to. From out of the large glass surface under the Lamp, erupted a bright light, greater than that of violet. All the moths could see the power of it’s radiance, and watched in awe as the Dead Landers were pushed back, burning away from the illumination. After another moment, it seemed as if the ground itself began growing life, green wisps of moss revealed themselves amidst the dark brown dirt. 

Cole said “Wow. It really does have great power!” 

Tian stood up and walked next to him. “The Lamp of the Giants. This artifact can restore life to anywhere. Give me a moment.” Tian cast a spell around the others, then he said “You may all return to your past lives now. Your duties are finished. I will remain here, to tend to the lamp.” 

Cole and Saruman both shrugged and said “Alright. I’m out, see you later.” Saria abruptly said “Wait! Shouldn’t we, stay here to help?” 

Cole said “You can stay wherever you like. I’m going, going, gone.” 

Saruman said “That spell you cast, will it prevent Dead lander attacks?” 

Tian nodded, and Saruman immediately hopped off of the lamp, heading away. 

Saria watched them leave, then turned back to Tian and said “You wouldn’t mind if I stayed here to help, right?” 

Tian said “Not at all, I would appreciate any help you can give me.” 

So Saria and Tian stayed behind, keeping watch over the Lamp of the Giants and tending to the plants growing within its radiance. Saruman and Cole returned to Bugaria, shared their story, and went on their way. As for the lamp, it is rumored that deep within the Dead lands, there exists a grove where life thrives, and at its center lies the Lamp, tended to well.

Chapter Text

Team Snakemouth were wandering around Defiant Root, off on one of their regular shopping trips in preparation of a new quest. When they were done shopping and were heading back to the ant mines, Vi took a small detour over to the Ant guard running the squad to protect caravans. 

Vi sidled up to them and said “Sooo, any caravans need protecting?” Noticing the conversation, Leif and Kabbu walked closer to her, Kabbu holding the big bag over his shoulder. 

The ant guard said “Yes. In fifteen minutes a group of merchants will be heading to the Ant Kingdom Outskirts.” 

Kabbu said “Ah, we are intending to go back there as well. We can come along and assist in the protection, right?” 

While the rest of the team were talking, Leif opened his bag, checking the status of his items. Suddenly, something strange occurred that made Vi and Kabbu shout in surprise. Leif was already gasping before he looked up. 

The ant guard was covered in a wall of text and small pictures, overlapping indecipherably. The Ant Guard completely disappeared behind the wall, frozen and static, like they were paused. And the last word they had said was trailing out from the rest of the text. Kabbu yelled “What the?!” And Vi blinked, stunned. Leif’s mouth fell agape as he looked on, then he looked around the plaza of Defiant Root, and his shell chilled more than ever before. 

The townsfolk of Defiant Root were looking away, oblivious to the strange event, and when they did look over to Team Snakemouth, they froze suddenly, in expressions of lazy boredom, or pleasantness. They didn’t even register anything was wrong before they were frozen like the Ant guard. 

Leif closed his mouth shut, then looked down at the bag, and closed it too. Suddenly the wall of text disappeared, everyone unfroze, and everything continued like nothing had happened, except, Team Snakemouth were just as surprised at the event as they were a few seconds ago, and the Ant guard remained frozen solid, as if she were paused. Vi’s voice faltered, and she was unable to speak for a few seconds, her antennae were spiked up sharply, and she kept her body back. Kabbu too, was spread out in alarm, and he was crouching down, leaning to the side defensively. Leif frowned deeply, looking around with white eyes, but otherwise stuck still. 

Then Vi said, “What, w… what do, we, do?” 

Kabbu didn’t say anything. Leif whispered “Kabbu, say something.” 

Kabbu shook his head tensely as he looked between his teammates and the frozen guard. Eventually he managed to say “Hey, guard 52, are you alright?” 

The guard did not respond, or move, or so much as blink. 

Leif muttered “Err, maybe, we’re going off on a limb here but maybe try saying what you were going to say before… that… happened.” 

Kabbu began thinking deeply, so much so that his posture changed and he tapped a claw against his mask. Eventually he chirped quietly, then said to the Ant Guard “We will be there in fifteen minutes then.” 

Suddenly, the Ant guard unfroze; her posture straightened, and she gave a curt nod before…

The world suddenly faded to black, with Team Snakemouth realizing it. Kabbu and Leif hissed in a breath, but Vi didn’t even get the chance to, as she turned around leaping. The black void engulfed them, and the world, then a moment later, it receded, and they were at the gate to the Lost Sands. 

Vi blinked, several times, then began rubbing her eyes before instantly stopping and jumping back again.  Leif said loudly, “What the heck just happened?” Kabbu stepped forward barely, and looked around the area to see everyone in the area, except for his teammates, were looking off to the bridge entrance, seemingly unwise to Team Snakemouth’s actions. Kabbu began panting, and yelled, “Team, this isn’t right!” 

Leif waited a second, and noticed how no one seemed to hear Kabbu’s call. Then he said “It’s like no one even heard you. And they’re all looking off to the bri…” 

Leif, Vi, and Kabbu looked to where the bridge normally would be, and saw a flat background of grass growing in the distance. The way to the bridge was cut off, like the edge of the world, and in its place was a small section of ground leading away. 

Leif, Vi, and Kabbu all looked at each other, frowned, and began approaching the section. After hesitating a few long moments, Kabbu placed a tarsi on the ground, and the world faded to black, then shifted them into the area with the bridge. 

Vi said “Fuck.” 

Leif placed his paws on his head and said “Oh shit, what the fuck, listen, this weird shit started when We opened our bag to check our things, We do not know how or why, but something must’ve broke.” 

Vi yelled ‘Yeah, no shit! Everything’s acting weird, like we’re in a simulation or something, and now… wait, what did you say about you opening our bag in the middle of a conversation…?” 

Kabbu said “Listen, team, it doesn’t matter if Leif caused this shit to start, but what are we going to do about it now?” 

Leif said “We don’t fucking know!” And Kabbu swiftly cut in “Probably shouldn’t swear so much.” 

Vi said “Kabbu, the fourth wall broke in our faces, we can say fuck all we like.” 

“Yeah, you got a point.” Kabbu said. 

Leif said “Well, what can we do?” 

Vi and Kabbu stood unstably, and they looked down at the ground. Then, after a few moments, Vi said “Well, we could try digging back to the mines with the Ant Compass, try jumping off of a ledge, try fighting a Seedling, try going on like everything is normal and ignore the blatant wrongness of everything around us, we could-” 

Leif said “We think those are enough options for now. Hmm. Kabbu, try the Ant Compass, let’s see what happens.” 

Kabbu opened his bag and in front of the team emerged a large menu, with the Ant Compass highlighted by a green leaf. Vi shouted “THE FUCK IS THAT!!”

Kabbu immediately closed the bag. The menu disappeared. He opened the bag and the menu appeared again. He closed it, then opened it. The menu disappeared, then reappeared. Kabbu pulled out the Ant Compass, and the world faded to black. But this time, Team Snakemouth could still see each other. 

Leif said “What do we do now?” 

Vi’s mouth hung open agape. She was sweating prolifically, but the sweat drops disappeared into the void as they left her fuzz.

Kabbu huffed, then began walking in a random direction. Vi and Leif followed him, because there wasn’t anything else to try.

Team Snakemouth were running across a dense street in a ruined american city, away from a giant shark-cow thing. Leif yelled “PLEASE TELL US THE THINGAMAJIG IS READY NOW!” 

Kabbu held out the thingamajig in his hands, and saw the light in the center turn green. He immediately pressed the button and yelled “H.B. don’t fail us now!!” In front of the sprinting team, a large portal opened, and they threw themselves through it, landing on what felt like Bugarian soil. The portal closed behind them, and along with it, the light did so too. 

The world was pitch black. The ground felt like Bugaria did, that familiar paper texture they had once associated with mossy dirt, but they could not see it. They could only see each other. 

Leif looked around a little more, then said “Is this Bugaria? Not ours, definitely not ours.” Then they heard the pitter-patter of tarsi running up to approach them. 

Team Snakemouth looked toward the noise, Kabbu holding the thingamajig tightly, Vi drawing her heavily modified Beemerang, and Leif creating an ice ball above him. Then, they gasped. In front of Team Snakemouth, another Team Snakemouth, a couple years younger, skidded to a stop and looked at them, completely stunned. 

And it was them, younger and afraid, and shaking with fear, and holding no knowledge of the megaverses beyond, but it was them. 

Kabbu, loosening his grip on the thingamajig and standing up, said, “Kabbu. What happened here?”

Chapter Text

Vi didn’t know what to expect when she smelled the familiar tart smell of berries all around her. Her eyes were closed, and her body was lying down on some lumpy things. That was all she could tell. Eventually, she murmured, and opened her eyes. 

Above her was a bush, blocking the sky’s light from her eyes. Upon the bush’s green vines grew small berries. Suddenly, Vi startled, and popped herself up into a sitting position, looking around rapidly. The bush over her head bent back, and the berries growing on its vines shook off. But Vi only barely heard that. She was more focused on everything else around her.

The ground was covered in piles upon piles of berries. Small blue berries, tart red berries, swollen gold berries, berries, berries, berries! Everything was berries, the ground was berries, the foliage was berries, the world was made of berries! Vi began laughing hysterically, then dug around in her neck fur, pulling free countless berries from within the ring of fuzz. There were berries hidden everywhere! It was magnificent. Vi laughed even more hysterically, and began picking berries from everywhere she could, and storing them in every pocket she could create with her fuzz. 

After another moment, she leapt upon a berry bush and began taking every berry she could. She kept on plucking berry after berry and shoved them all into her bag. Then she cried, at the top of her lungs, “THIS IS AMAZING!!!” 

After her call, she only grew more excited in her efforts to gather every berry she could. When she ran out of space in her bag, she began shoving berries in her social stomach. As she did so, she looked up, and saw a giant bush. And at the top of the bush were the largest golden berries she had ever seen. “Those must be worth 80 berries a piece!” 

Vi rushed up to the bush and attempted to fly, but as she leapt up and buzzed her wings, she felt her body strain. Then she fell to the ground rapidly. She tried again, but fell even quicker. Vi shook her head in exasperation, then began scrambling up the bush tenaciously. She climbed and climbed higher and higher, each clawhold reaching further into the blue skies, until she could see the world below as only a sea of blue. She continued climbing, higher and higher, and eventually reached the top. 

Up at the peak of the bush, there were five of these giant berries, and Vi was going to grab one no matter the cost! Vi scrambled over to one of the golden berries, and attempted to pull it from its anchor. It did not budge, even as Vi strained and strained. As she continued, her muscles began to ache, eventually the bush began leaning to the side, further and further. But the berry still would not be plucked off. With one final push of effort, she finally broke the stem, and the berry crushed into mush. She was suddenly splattered by unfermented berry juice, making her blink repeatedly as she sat, stunned. 

Vi realized the vines were creaking under her. She looked down, and saw the bush bent nearly ninety degrees towards the ground. The ground was so far below her, it was disorienting. “Uh oh.” 

Then the bush sprung back, launching her far and high. She screamed as she soared, uncontrolled, through the air at impossible speeds. She tried to regain control of her velocity with her wings, but they were too heavy to move, and the wind resistance blew them back. She could not control her fall. 

And she had a strange reflex that told her she might die from this too. 

Vi covered her eyes and said rapidly “Nonononono, bugs don’t die from falls, bugs don’t die from falls…” 

Then she opened her eyes and saw a large spike growing out of the ground, made from the same plant materials as the berries throughout the area. Vi screamed, and the spike seemed to point itself towards her.

Chapter Text

There was a new game cabinet at the Termacade. Team Snakemouth had heard many things about it. How it was a revolutionary production with novel mechanics. How it had controversial content no child should see. And how it played much better on home game consoles, whatever those are. 

So the team swung by the Termacade, to try this game out for the first time. Leif was worried Tod might get his hands on it and become a menace to society. Vi was expecting something ahead of their time, with high-tech fidelity and other words she pulled at random out of a dictionary. Kabbu was just going along with it.

They entered the glowing neon halls, seeing bugs of many shapes and sizes playing on strangely decorated cabinets, and then walked up to the prize counter. The termite worker looked up at them lazily, saying “Oh, Team Snakemouth? What are you gamers here for?” Vi said “More medals!” “You want replicas? I’m pretty sure Leif’s the only one who can use those, so what’s the point?” 

Leif looked around, saying “We want to try out that new game you have. Where might it be?” 

The clerk perked up. “Oh, FONTANELLAR, the hit “shooter” game. Sure, I’ll show ya the way. Admittedly it plays a lot better on home game con-” Kabbu interrupted ‘Excuse me, what’s a home game console? I’ve looked into it, but can’t find out what they are.” 

The clerk dragged her paw down her face. “Like those big cabinets, but much smaller. They’re more common in the Termite Kingdom, in this backwater you got no crystals for the common bug. I still don’t know how anyone lives without electricity, I mean, y’all are just sucking.” 

The clerk tapped on a cabinet clad in red and brown. On the sides a termite clad in heavy armor was firing projectiles from their head at hordes of some kind of monster. Also the termite was standing on a pile of shells and the sky was blood-green. Leif gasped. The clerk immediately said “Hah, I knew a boomer like you couldn’t handle the cool of this game-” Vi swept the clerk’s leg out from under her as she jumped up to the controls. “Ah, yeah, looks super simple! The keyboard reminds me of home! Oy, clerk, arrows move, A and D turns, S shoots, get to the end like Mite Knight, right?” 

As the clerk stood up, she said “It’s more complicated than that! You can jump too! And there’s keys. And you have to find ammo!” 

Vi brushed her off, and inserted a token into the cabinet. She spawned in, a first person perspective allowed her to view a room made of polygons, with water pools flanking her, and a pedestal in front that held a weird gray thing. Vi moved into the thing, saying “Free shooter!” when suddenly several zombiants rose from elevators in front of her. 

Vi aimed and fired. Then started dashing around the room like a racecar. Leif muttered “How the flip is this guy moving like a block of ice!?” The clerk said “You don’t understand how ‘coxa’ this game is.” “That’s not… what…what?” After a few shots, the zombiants exploded into appalling giblets. Vi cheered, and the hud registered a ‘double kill’. Leif and Kabbu both scoffed, Kabbu saying “Vi, we’ve all done some stupid stuff, but this game looks downright wrong. I mean, gore?” Vi said “Well, if you’re so scared why don’t you try it, eh?” 

Vi stepped off the console and offered with a gesture. Leif stepped up, pushed a key, and dropped a spicy bomb. Then the screen lit up like an explosion, text appeared, and a deep roaring voice yelled “You am dead!” Vi threw all of her body into a facepalm.

Leif said “Hm, this game appears to be unplayable. The control scheme is completely unique.” “NO YOU IDIOT, G throws a grenade! You blew yourself up!” The clerk fell to the floor laughing. 

Leif inserted a token and started the game again. Grabbed the pistol, and began shooting the zombiants. One of the zombiants walked right up to the camera, close enough for the sprite to cover the entire screen, and then a large number started reducing as a voice grunted repeatedly. 

Vi immediately relayed to Leif the command of “Walk out of the way and shoot!” Leif spent two turns merely killing that zombiant. And all they got out of it was four thumbtacks. Leif said to Kabbu “Alright, your turn, this thing is unbearable and our claws hate it.” 

After some stumbling and learning that water hurts, Kabbu managed to get through several rooms, and acquired the weapon the game was named after, a bug red cannon mounted on the termite’s head. And he needed it right then, as a big thing spawned in right on top of the termite. Vi yelled “Oh crap, a cacofly, shoot it now!” 

Kabbu turned to face the big thing and held the trigger down. A deluge of purple shots fired out and the big thing turned red. Suddenly it began shooting bullets back. Vi wrested the controls from Kabbu while he exclaimed, and Vi’s proboscis stuck out as she began expertly dodging projectiles. Leif muttered “Wow, we did not know she was this skilled. We thought we were good.” 

When the big thing opened it’s maw again to fire projectiles, Vi tossed a grenade at it, which it swallowed. Then Vi began running at it. “Hey, clerk, what was the Finisher button?” ‘F, like the punch.” Leif yelled ‘Wait, finisher attacks?” 

Vi began the finisher, looked away, and pulled a snack out of her secret stash. “Yeah, they’re too brutal for me but easy points, so I just don’t watch them.” She said, while the game made squelches. Kabbu looked a bit greener than usual. 

The clerk yelled “Man, that was awesome, Vi! I’ve never seen anyone take down the big thing so quickly!” Vi replied ‘It’s a cacofly, and you should see me and Leif in Everlasting Fighters. We’re like a dance of high-level tech and air moves.” 

Vi continued through the level, picking up three keys across the map while running circles around zombiants, until eventually she reached a big door with a sword engraved on it. The keys disappeared from the hud as the door opened. The clerk said “Wow, already at the boss so quick!” Vi said “Leif, show me how it’s done! The spider can spit, cling to the ceiling, and stomp. Stay out of the way of the projectiles and keep away, you’ll be fine.” 

Leif cracked his knuckles and said ‘We’re ready!” 

The spider unleashed all it had. Leif dodged to the left and took advantage of the weird movement physics to drift towards it while shooting with the thumbtacker. Then it rose up to the ceiling, and Leif realized, there was no way to look up. “How are we supposed to hit it now?” Vi put a claw to her chin and thought for several seconds. Kabbu remembered, “Leif, you can jump!” “How do we jump, Kabbu?” “I think I accidentally pressed the bar at the bottom and the termite character leapt off of the ground! Try it again.” 

Leif tapped the bar experimentally twice, then the termite leapt upwards at an unrealistically slow speed. Leif’s expression tightened, he made the termite jump, aimed directly at it, and tossed a grenade at its face. 

The screen lit up like an explosion, text appeared, and a deep roaring voice said “You am dead!” Leif grimaced. An ice spike shot out through the keyboard on the cabinet, and then the screen genuinely exploded. 

Chapter Text

Team Snakemouth had checked the quest board, and guess what was posted? Tod lost his ball again. 

Vi was getting tired of these searches. 

So Leif (And Kabbu. h- Hey, don’t forget Vi either!) went to check in. Tod described the place he lost his ball at, and it was a doozy. Somewhere west of the bridge to the Lost Sands, a little south, and then east, and there’s a hidden grove filled with weird patterned orbs hanging off the grass and moss. A seedling showed up and scared the kid off, but now he needed someone to retrieve his little toy. At least it would be worth it, Leif cared a lot about his grandkid, and Vi cared about him. 

No reward needed. 

So, using the map, Vi’s team made their way to the area Tod described. Took a bit of searching, but that’s why Vi has wings! And woof, the place was really weird. Vi landed with her team, and pointed in the direction. Kabbu sliced a shrub down, and gasped as he saw the place for the first time. 

The area was made up of gray moss, like the forsaken lands, but the air had a slight red tint to it. What Tod must have thought were grass, were more like short red spiky growths. And all across the ground were orbs sitting rooted to the earth, with the same color as Tod’s ball. She didn’t exactly remember how large Tod’s ball was, so imagine the shock at seeing an entire grove of them! Kabbu said something like “What kind of biome is this? I’ve never seen such peculiar growths!” 

Vi said “And any one of them might be Tod’s ball. This sucks!” 

Leif muttered “We will only find Tod’s ball in one way. Entering this strange area, and checking them individually.” Leif began to enter the area, but Vi stopped him with a paw tugging at his wing. Vi really didn’t like this place. She couldn’t place her claw on why, but something was off, and she was getting deja vu.

“Leif, we don’t even know what these orbs are, or why they all look like Tod’s ball!” Kabbu said “Yes, we ought to be careful.” 

Leif turned back to Kabbu, passing by Vi with just a glance, and said “We don’t have much options do we? We should get in, get it, and get out.” 

Kabbu grunted, then said “Or, we could poke one of the growths from afar. Leif, how far can you project your ice?” 

Vi looked back at Leif with what she hoped would be a goading expression, one that would irk him into trying out the plan. Leif made a piffy noise with his spiracles, turned, and shot an icicle at one of the orbs. It bounced back, and partially froze in icy growths, then it deflated somewhat. Err, what? Vi didn’t even kn… the growths are alive or something? Kabbu looked perplexed too. That was weird. Leif breathed in audibly, and said “You two might want to stay back. We’re going in, going to test the air.” 

Vi’s shocked expression increased, and Leif stepped into the thicket. The red-colored air enveloped Leif, but only barely, swirling around him but not concealing. After a second, Leif said, “The air is fine, though it feels reminiscent of the Giant’s Lair, do you both remember the air quality there?” 

Vi sighed, then walked into the thicket. If the Giant’s Lair was bearable, this would be too. Kabbu followed her, and they began venturing into the weird thicket. As they moved deeper in, Kabbu muttered “This feels really dangerous, can’t we be more careful?” 

Vi was going to respond, but she heard a faint scuttling off to her side. Putting her paw on the grip of her weapon, she halted for a moment, and looked around, tense. The sound didn’t repeat. The grove was eerily quiet. Vi quietly hissed, then continued slowly walking towards Leif. Leif was pushing on each orb he passed with his paws carefully, one after the other, likely seeing if he could dislodge any of them. The orbs bent back, but didn’t roll away.

As Team Snakemouth creeped deeper in, the air felt like it was getting thicker. Vi could breathe through,  but she didn’t like it. It felt like a faint itch in her spiracles. Kabbu grew silent, and began watching where he placed his tarsi, in an attempt to move quieter. Vi looked back at Leif, and saw him shoving at one of the orbs gradually. Unlike the other growths, this one rolled away, like an actual ball! Vi whispered “Grab it, Leif! Pick it up so we can get outta here!” 

Leif lifted the ball up into his arms and walked over to his teammates. Vi saw the sewing marks on the ball. Yep, that was definitely it. 

Vi looked back to where Leif had found the ball and saw, somethings had moved. One of the weird bramble spiky growths had moved to the side. What the heck? Vi’s eyes went wide, and she felt the fur on the back of her head stand on end. It felt like something was behind her, breathing into her fur. 

A low growling hiss, right into her antennae. Vi turned around slowly, and just barely, trying to peek at whatever was behind her without making it seem like she knew it was there. Out of the corner of her compound eye, she could see four black, spindly, legs.

What the.

Kabbu leaned out from behind the thing, horn bent down. The thing hissed more audibly, and Vi immediately jumped, turning around fully and seeing the full breadth of the creature. It was, one of those red orb things? Eight legs, pitch black, ending in one claw. The main body was one of those orbs, except hanging from the bottom were long fangs, dripping with… 

It roared, and Vi screamed then. All around her and her team, more of the red orbs stood up and revealed themselves as these monsters. Kabbu and Leif screamed as well, and stood back to back. The first fucker was in between Vi and the rest of her team. Vi drew two needles, hopped up over the thing, and jabbed down at it with the needles. Sticky green leaked out from the holes, and it screamed again as Vi landed next to Kabbu. 

Kabbu took a shaky breath. Leif folded Tod’s ball under his wings and summoned an ice orb. Vi screamed “We have to run!” The fuckers roared again, a grating shrill that threatened to give Vi a headache, in addition to being the scariest shit she had ever heard. 

Leif twitched, then broke into a sprint, dashing back the way they came. Kabbu started up, and Vi caught his shawl before he began dashing at full-tilt. The fuckers pounced at them, but Kabbu weaved around, barely avoiding the sharp claws and those, fucking mandibles . Vi barely felt herself shudder at the thought. Then she heard Leif scream, and looked over to see one of the fucking things landed on top of him. 

Kabbu screamed, and barreled into the thing with the full force of his body. It fell to the ground, misshapen. Kabbu picked Leif up with one arm without breaking his sprint. After another moment of being chased, they reached the edge of the thicket and burst back into the green grasslands of the outskirts. One of the fuckers still gave chase; Vi screamed as it burst through the  green grass after them.

Kabbu slid against the ground to turn hard, and the thing soared past him, landing behind the grass. Given a moment, Kabbu set both Leif and Vi down and dove into the dirt, scrambling to dig a tunnel down rapidly. Leif dove in, then Vi hopped in last, looking back one last time. The fucker burst right back out of the foliage, and ran right over their hole, snapping with it’s mandibles.  Vi ducked further down, and tried not to look up. She suddenly felt herself get pulled harshly into a side pocket of the straight-down tunnel, and screamed again. 

Leif shushed her, then peeked up the tunnel. After a moment, he yelled, “It’s curling up into a ball!” He threw Vi behind himself and created a bubble shield, blocking the attempt to access Kabbu and Vi with his magic. Tod’s own ball fell down to his side. The thing bounced against his shield multiple times, and Leif said to Vi “Ready up your Beemerang!” Vi slowly got up to her tarsi, drew her beemerang, and aimed at the monster. Leif yelled “On three, I drop the shield, you hit it with your Beemerang, and I set up an ice wall. Then Kabbu, you collapse the tunnel behind us!” Kabbu scrambled up behind Leif and stood ready. 

“One, Two, Three!” Leif dropped the shield and ducked to the side and Vi tossed the Beemerang at it. The Beemerang struck, and pushed it up the slant of the tunnel, then an ice spike appeared at where the thing collided with Leif’s shield. Leif grabbed the ball in his arms. Vi picked up her Beemerang from the ground. They both ran behind Kabbu, and Kabbu suddenly struck the roof of the tunnel with his horn. Dirt collapsed in front of the ice spike, and the tunnel was sealed off with a crumbling roar.

All three of them were breathing heavily. Vi was still sweating bullets. After a moment, Kabbu pulled out the Ant Compass, and began digging in the direction of the Ant Kingdom. 

Leif returned Tod’s ball, and told him sternly to not play out of view of his parents again. 

Then, Vi, Leif, and Kabbu were resting in their house, on the lowest bunk bed, trying to ignore the Titan Beetle in the room.

Eventually, Vi had to say something. She couldn’t just sit there in silence with her friends any longer. 

“Guys, what… what did we just experience back there? What the heck was all that, what were those things, what the fuck did we just go through!?” 

Kabbu sighed, then said “I don’t know, Vi. If I were to hazard a guess, Leif, you had a point with the air feeling like the Giant’s Lair.” 

Leif muttered “And those could be Dead Landers. What else?” 

Vi said quickly “But if that was the Dead Lands, how the hell were the Dead Lands in the middle of the Outskirts!?” 

Leif placed a cold paw on Vi’s prothorax. She looked at him, mouth open, then leaned into his body. Kabbu shifted closer to them, and they hugged each other closely. 

Leif whispered “We don’t know, Vi.” 

“We don’t know.”

Chapter Text

It was a particularly late hour, but Celia, Levi, Delilah, and Stratos waited in the Explorer’s Association anyways. Apparently Vi had something for them, and they were not sure what.

Vi walked into the Explorer’s Association with a smirk, and looked around intently. Stratos, Delilah, Celia, and Levi watched as she peeked around every corner of the building, and both Kabbu and Leif just stood back at the entrance, letting the bee do her thing. Her search went uninterrupted, as Eetl, Artis, most other explorer teams were absent from the Association Eventually, Vi stopped her searching, and walked back to the assembled explorer teams with a wide grin. 

Vi said “Sooo, you four, I have an idea for tomorrow night! And you all are gonna love it!” 

Delilah said, with a sigh “What is this great idea, Vi?” 

Vi gestured back to Kabbu and Leif and said “Now that we’re Royal Blades, we have the same authority over the Explorer’s Association as Maki and Eetl.”

Celia cut her off “Yeah, we know that already.” 

Vi continued “Well, we also have the ability to contest anything Maki adjudicates with a vote. So Leif and Kabbu are on board, and we decided we will vote to arrange an Explorer Team Sleepover!” 

Stratos and Delilah both immediately laughed hysterically, and said “We’re in, Vi! This’ll be great!” 

Delilah asked “Who will host it?” 

Vi said “Ma kiiiii ’s house, of course.” And Stratos immediately whooped. 

Celia chuckled “This sounds funny. I’m in too, Levi?” 

Levi said “Er… whatever. I’m in if Celia’s in. Pretty sure Zasp and Mothiva’ll be in too, when somebody tells them. Should we let Team Termite or Team Eophi in on this?” 

Vi shrugged. “Nah, including all the new teams post Wasp King’s fall would be too much. You know Mun and Eophi, and the third one, the guy with frying pans, they’re all cringy. Don’t tell Mothiva either, she’s an abdomen, but Zasp is fine. This'll be a night to remember, for Maki especially. We’re all classics, we’re trusted by him, sort of.” 

Delilah nodded and said “You got a point there.” 

Maki just had a long day. Explorer business was picking up in autumn, and now he was tired with the amount of paperwork he had to help out with. Eetl and Artis were having trouble handling all the taxes, and Team Snakemouth weren’t around to help either! 

Maki almost threw his hands up in the air, and sighed, as he walked home. It was incredulous, the royal blades couldn’t have anything better to do other than leave Maki in the dust! They had jobs to do; the same jobs as Maki had to, and they were given the jobs by the queen herself. Maki was much more experienced, he he understood that, but it seemed like sometimes Team Snakemouth were just lazy, and Maki did not like it one bi-

An ant stumbled into Maki, and a note was passed into his claws. The ant said “Sorry. The note’s for you.” Then they walked away. Maki looked down at the note, and it read: 

Sir Maki

Me and my team members have voted to host a sleepover with some of the explorers, including you! Go back home and have a nice rest, okay, Maki?

With, uh, whatever colleagues say to each other at the end of these letters, Vi

Maki facepalmed. Oh Venus, Vi can’t even write a letter well. Maki is surprised she can even file her taxes. Maki reread the letter again, and his antennae perked up. Vi’s talking about a… a sleepover? What could that… she couldn’t be serious, right? Maki’s eyelids drifted down a little, and he caught himself before he could fall asleep. Curses, Maki could think about this (and stop whatever absurd plan was being cooked up) later, right now he needed to sleep. 

Maki continued the rest of the way to his house, and opened the door with all the sluggish dexterity of an exhausted seedling, to find that, for some reason, the lights were opened? Maki blinked, not because of the light changing, but because of the implications. Someone was in his house. Some could be getting Yin! A second later, and he heard the familiar laugh of Yin, and the unfamiliar laugh of Kina. Oh, so everything’s fine then. Wait, Kina doesn’t laugh, his sense of humor is completely opposite to Yin!

Maki burst through the doorway, and rounded the corner, dashing to the side room and bursting through to the next room. As he blitzed through his house, he managed to ready his blade, and when he kicked the door down, his sword rested on his scapula. He yelled, and was greeted with a wave from Yin. And Kina. And Celia. Levi. Delilah. Zasp. Each member of Team Snakemouth. And Stratos, who served diligently as a scaffolding. 

Maki frowned. Then, after another moment, he said “What?” Delilah sidled up to Maki and said “Hey, hey, it’s okay, it’s not like we’re breaking and entering. In fact, we were expecting you!” Delilah fanned her paws out towards the rest of the room, and Maki’s tired eyes were directed to look at every facet and corner. Much of the bedroom was taken up with a mess of pillows and blankets. Celia, Levi, Yin, and Kina held the pillows like they were weapons, and were yelling and laughing as they fought. 

In the back of the room (which was not that far away, there were about ten beds, stacked on top of one another in a suspiciously stable bunking structure. They hung from the walls and ceiling in what appeared to be a spiderweb, made of blankets and string and support beams from bed frames. Stratos’s bed was completely vertical, and massive as well, able to hold up one entire side of the construction project. Maki wasn’t sure whether sleeping on top or on bottom would be more dangerous. Also, he couldn’t bring himself to care. His, thinky thingy, really wanted him to just go to sleep, so much so that…Maki blinked.

And when he opened his eyes, he had been dragged into the room, wrapped in a blanket, in between Kina and Yin, and yawning quietly. Oh, great. Kina poked him softly, and he looked around himself barely enough to see what was going on. He saw to his sides, every person in the room lined up around him, curled up in their very own blanket, conversing. The door was closed, and his sword was hanging up on the wall. It looked pretty cool.

Maki tuned his tympanae into the conversation being had around him. A deep voice was saying “...and that’s when I finally learned that bounties can be dangerous!” 

Vi’s gratingly pitched voice sounded a laugh. Hahah, oh Stratos, you really are crazy!” Yin laughed along with her, and Kina said “What about you, Delilah, got any spooky stories for us? I mean, that last one is easy to beat.” 

Delilah scooted in front of the group, pulled out a match and lit under her head, creating a spooky ambiance. Maki said “Uuhhh, Delilah, It isn’t the best idea to light a flame in a room full of flammable materials.” Yin said as well “Yes. N-not smartest idea, Delilah  Delilah said back “Yeah, I know, just let me do this.” Delilah shifted her voice to a lower register as she continued “Now you will hear the dark tale of the Stormtail Wyrm.” Delilah blew out the match, and the small pillar of smoke wafted up to the ceiling as the room went dark. 

Maki blinked his eyes open again, right as Delilah began. “It was a dark and stormy night. I was on the hunt. There was a mountain on the horizon, one I could barely see, but I knew, there was my quarry. With my wings, I flew up to the peak, dodging raindrops with lithe dexterity, but that dexterity would not be enough to save me from what lived at the peak. I first laid eyes on the peak, when a lightning bolt struck a nearby plastic fork. I barely dodged, and then I looked it in the eyes, and I knew fear. It’s face was such a hideous visage, oh, and it’s teeth! It’s teeth!! To this day, I’m not sure if I ever truly slayed that beast. Maybe it’s alive. Maybe it hunts me tenaciously. Maybe, it’s right behind you Maki, look!” 

Yin and Maki both suddenly squeaked, and turned around to see the mess of makeshift beds . Maki’s face immediately flattened, and he turned back around, immediately flopping face-first into a blue sock puppet Delilah held with her proboscis. Delilah waved it around in his face and mock-roared before laughing heartily. 

Suddenly, everyone around him was laughing, and Maki wasn’t entirely sure it was directed at Delilah’s antics. The thought that he was being laughed at made him cringe a little. Neither Yin nor Kina noticed, consumed by laughter. Kina barely said “Oh my gosh, Delilah you’re so corny, you goof!” 

Hey, wait! Maki’s mind suddenly sprang into lucidity, and he realized he did not have to put up with this! This was his house, he could kick out the explorers if he wanted to. If he really wanted to, hopefully. 

Maki easily extracted himself from the blanket cocoon and moved towards Team Snakemouth in a partial crawl. Then he said quietly “Does this really have to happen here? The sleepover, I mean, why in my house?” And Kina’s, but he couldn’t be bothered. 

Vi said “Actually, Yeah. We took a Royal Blade vote that this explorer team sleepover would be held at your house, and it was three votes for doing so. If this “test run” works out well, we might do it with a different house next time.” Maki blinked, and was wordless for a few moments as his mind caught up. Vi, Kabbu, and Leif held a vote, and won? Then, Maki couldn’t just force everyone out.  Yep, he was stuck in here with eleven of the loudest sleepers in Bugaria. Unless…

Then it clicked. The vote they held did not include Maki’s vote! He could vote against, then they’d have to leave. Maki said “But I didn’t get a vote. Royal Blade Re-vote?” Vi shrugged. “Sure, whatever. All for keeping the party here?” Leif immediately raised his paw. Vi di so as well. Kabbu looked between his teammates and Maki, then raised his paw with Vi and Leif. Vi said “All against?” And Maki raised his paw. He would be grinning, if he grinned more often. He would win this vote now..wait, that’s not how votes work? 

There were three for, and him against. Maki just lost his authority. Maybe he could ask Kina, but Kina sounded like she was having fun. Maki looked over at Stratos and wondered. Maybe he could fore everyone out with his big size? Actually, that would be pretty stupid, it appeared as if much of the bed structure was built upon his support, and he was large enough that it was miraculous he was in the bedroom. 

Maki sighed. “Whatever, I’m going to bed.” Maki crawled to his blanket, and picked it up as observed the gauntlet he would have to go through to enter his bed.  Sighing again, Maki clambered on top of one bed, then hooked his tarsi on a rope, and pulled himself up to his bed. He rolled onto his back as he climbed over the edge, and managed to snuggle into his bed, wrapping the blanket around his body again. 

Maki blinked.

When he opened his eyes, everything in the bedroom was normal. His bed was on solid ground. The lights were covered and the room was dark. Kina and Yin snored in the adjacent rooms. The moonlight leaked in from the window. 

Maki sat up in bed and rubbed his ocelli with a paw. That was a weird dream.

Chapter Text

Team Snakemouth peeked into the door of Crisbee’s with a curious attitude. They had recently received a message from the bee baker, and were wondering how it pertained to the runaway food incident last week. 

Crisbee greeted them at the door, waving them in. “Hey, Team Snakemouth! How’re y’all doing?” 

Leif said “Hungry.” And Kabbu said “You have a request for us?” Crisbee said “Yeah, well, Team Termite’s project was quite the headliner. But! We managed to figure out how to cook it properly!” 

Vi said “We?” And Crisbee snapped. From behind curtains set up before the left wall emerged Fry the Fly, and Kut, the Slice apprentice. Kut immediately said “Hmph. Crisbee, your cooking skills could use some work, but your baking is impressive and strong.” 

Vi startled, and Kabbu caught her before she could fall. Leif began smiling. All three of them, in one place, perfect. Now all he needed was that bomb master, and that poison master too. The perfect dish, was finally in sight. 

Leif snapped out of his interior monologue the instant Crisbee said “So here’s the deal! We have properly deduced, thanks to me and Fry’s antennae, that whatever was binding that thing Team Termite commissioned together was not your standard ingredient. It smelled like poison, crystal, and had the trademark scent of fake aphid musk. We were suspect of a certain dark market bug within Bugaria, known as the Poison Master.” 

Fry said “Lucky for us, Kut did some scouting, and spotted him in a secret alley off the reflection of one of his trademark knives.” Kut said “He never saw me coming. Seriously, ask him yourself.” Kut proceeded to reach to the curtain, and pull it back, and revealed behind it was a bee guard, and a kneeling, masked, bound, stick bug. The bee guard raised a hand and said “Before anyone asks, it is not kidnapping for them to hold him here. As I am keeping watch.” 

Vi said “No one was gonna ask that, Abeeline.”  

Leif’s smile widened. One more was all he needed. This day was going to be the best day of his life. 

Kabbu stepped towards the stick bug and said to the chefs, “You’re sure he’s the Master of Poison?” The masked stick bug immediately shouted, while trying to muffle his voice ineffectively “HELP! They’ve wrongfully arrested me and gagged me! What is a poison? I don’t know about poison!” The bee guard said “Yeah, no, we found you in a stall stocked up and brimming with so many toxic substances I’m surprised anybody got out alive. And we all know that mask doesn’t properly cover up your face. I've just left it on for your privacy.” 

The stick bug looked up at her flatly, then said to Kabbu “Kukuku. I am the Master of all Poison. I would have liked to go on longer without being found by the law, but my toxins do spread around. But, Kuku, I am Just A Salesman, You QUEEN-LOVING HACKS!!! Now, greenhorn, what would you like to know?” 

Leif almost chuckled at the Poison Master’s insolence, but then immediately stepped back when he saw Kabbu’s elytra flared out. Kabbu said, in an almost primal growl “What did you just call me!?” 

“Greenhorn. Kuku, because your horn is green, is it not? Kukuku-” 

Kabbu sighed, and placed a claw on his helmet. Then he said “Greenhorn is an insult in the north, it approximately means untrained weakling.” The Poison Master’s eyes went wide, and he immediately said “Kukuku! I did not mean it like that, beetle. I am sorry!” 

Kabbu huffed, then said “It’s fine, now, did you sell anything to Team Termite?” The Poison Master said “Ah, yes. Team Termite, kuku. The dumb cocky one stumbled upon the rooftops, and fell into my stall. I was about to ki-ukuku, er, I was about to throw him out, when he sprang up on his abdomen telling me about this awesome ‘dish’ he wanted to make. I believe he must have mistook me for Crisbee, or someone… kuku. Regardless, he wanted something from me, something aphid smelling. I sold the idiot some of the aphid-smelling poisons I had stocked. He must not have heard me when I boasted quietly ‘I am a master of poisons, not a simple cook.’ The idiot proceeding to create a monster from my product… kukuku, unprecedented.” 

Well, that’s what you get when you let dummies handle food. Leif said to Crisbee “So, was it just the not-aphid stuff that was wrong with the food?”

Crisbee laughed, and said “Of course not! Fry fried it, even if the dish didn’t turn into an amorphous monster blob, it still would have been nothing like what they wanted. Also, it would be… unappetizing, to say the least.” Fry added “That was the biggest mistake anyone’s made, I’ll tell ya!”

Kut said “Lucky for the entire world, Crisbee figured out how to handle the crust, and with a bit of hypothesizing, we have formulated the proper recipe to this kitchen delicacy. But, it still requires the finishing touch.” 

Vi raised her hand and began hopping up and down. Crisbee pointed at her, and she said “Is it aphid cheese, aphid cheese?” 

Kut shook his head “No! Aphid cheese is not even real, we had to get Giant’s cheese for this, the real deal. The finishing touch we need is a few spices for the sauce. Savory berries are not exactly common, but we have enough, what we need are a few things to really spice it up.” 

Kabbu said “What kind of spices?” Fry said “Oh, nothing much, garliclings to crush, onionlings too.” Garliclings, and Onionlings? What kinds of Seedlings are these? And no one has ever mentioned them before.

Vi shouted ‘Wha?! You go to the Giant’s Lair, and Tangy berries are stopping you?!” Kut said “I don’t have the patience to hunt garlic and onions, you’re the explorers, go explore!” 

Leif said “We’ve never encountered these kinds of seedlings, where might we find garliclings and onionlings?” Fry patted his ladle into his paw, and said “You ever been deeper into the Seedling Haven? I’m sure you’d find them there. Alternatively, you could encounter onionlings in the mistier parts of the forsaken lands or the lost sands.” Kut said “Garliclings are a rare offshoot of underlings, you could find them in Bugaria’s Outskirts, but you’d be better off searching the Wild Swamplands, or like Fry said.” 

Kabbu was poring over their map, pen in hand, as the team wandered deep into the Seedling Haven. Vi said “I bet twenty berries we won't find any rare seedlings.” Leif said back “Nonsense, Vi.” And opened up a hole in the grass before them. The hole revealed a hoard of rare seedling variants, including strong smelling yellow-white bulb seedlings. 

Vi’s mouth fell agape, and after a moment she fished out four blue berries and handed them to Leif, saying “Alright then.”  

Leif knew they needed a plan, especially because they had no idea which one was which. So Kabbu would dig under the earth, they would follow him through the tunnel, then they would surprise under strike one of the bulby-lings, and Leif would use a heavy ice onslaught. Vi would spy on them with the Spy Specs and Leaf Cloak. 

“Hey, guys watch this new Beemerang trick!” 

Leif’s eyes went wide, then he turned around to face Vi and said “No! Don’t!” Vi said “Gotta get you outta your head somehow, Leif.” Leif pshawed, then said “We don’t need to ‘get out of our head’ when we’re about to share a plan. Vi, Kabbu, we have a plan.” 

And the plan would work well, hopefully.

Kabbu was huffing all the way back to Crisbee’s bakery. Leif didn’t mind much, the seedlings they defeated were a little heavy. Leif would have advocated cutting the  seedlings up, but he had no idea what parts were necessary. It is better to just bring the whole carcass anyway. More plants to go around when cooking this delicious recipe. 

Vi knocked on the door-frame, attracting the attention of the chefs. Crisbee clapped his paws together and said “You got the Garliclings and Onionlings! Great!” Fry said “You didn’t have to bring the whole carcasses, you would have been fine taking out the eyes, legs, and roots. I commend the effort though!” Kut harrumphed. “Skill Issue, Team Snakemouth.” 

Fry took the carcasses, and handed them to Kut, who immediately began slicing and dicing. The carcasses were quickly skinned, and the parts that Kut wanted were removed. In the clamor of slash-and-dash Leif could hear commands shouted, but much of it was indecipherable. When Kut was done, he passed what remained over to Fry, and said “Here, head chef.” Fry immediately threw the ingredients into the saucepan he was using to make and began stirring it around, and the room filled with the smell of spices and earthy vegetables. Leif found himself licking at the air with his mouthparts, in a primal attempt to eat the ingredients before the food was finished. 

Once Fry was complete, he passed the saucepan onto the counter, and began spooning out a small amount of the red-colored sauce on top of the dough that must have been laid out while Leif was not watching. With the same spoon, Fry spread out the sauce across the dough, then gestured towards Kut with a claw. Kut dropped the Giant’s cheese pieces on top of the sauce, then added slices of mantidfly meat, and then Crisbee stepped in to put the thing into the oven. The food laid to rest on a large, flat, metal paddle, and was placed into the oven at a high heat. 

Within minutes, the dish was finished, pulled out of the oven, and placed on a large platter on the table. Kut pulled out a knife, and took one look at the dish. “This just won’t do, Crisbee, you know your kitchen. Get me a chakram.” Crisbee passed a sharp-edged disc to Kut, and he rolled the edge of the disc across the dish, slicing it into fourths, then eighths, then sixteenths, then it appeared that Kut was finally content. 

Kut took a slice into his claws and held it up. Kabbu attempted the same thing, but yelped back. Hmmm. Is it very hot? They did have to give the Flame Brooch back too, so maybe they couldn’t withstand the heat . But then… Leif asked Kut “How can you hold that slice, when Kabbu can barely stand to touch it?” 

“Chef’s secret.” 

Fry said “Us cooks become resilient against heat and cold near the mastery of the skill.” Vi laughed. “Hahahah! That’s a total lie, you pulling our wings, Fry?” 

Fry smiled back. Then he took a bite out of the dish, and immediately puckered up. Leif was instantly on his back, asking twenty questions all at once. “What? What is it like? How does it taste? What does it feel? texture? Does it burn? Is it cold? Disgusting? Bland? TELL ME NOW!” Fry said back “Leif, calm down, me-boy, it’s okay. In fact, it’s better than okay, than good, or even great! For a first time dish, it’s amazing! Just let it cool a bit before you get your fill, okay?

Leif had one last question. 

“What do you think it should be named?” 

Kut, Crisbee, and Fry all looked at one another, and for a moment, it seemed as if they were reading each other’s minds. Then they turned back and said, in unison. 

“This is a pizza.”

Chapter Text

“Kabbu. What happened here?” Kabbu’s paw, still holding the device they used to portal here, dropped to his side. Kabbu lifted his head up a little, almost instinctively. 

The other Kabbu stood still, almost like he was frozen. Beads of sweat rolled down his thorax, and he barely twitched away from Kabbu. The other Vi was also standing frozen, jaws wide open and antennae shooting into the pitch black of the world around. Even the other Leif was stunned. Their wings hid their body from view, but their eyes were opened up to their fullest extent. The while pools contrasted sharply with the void around them. 

After a moment of complete, choking silence, Vi ‘s voice seemed to shatter the world. “Oi, you guys, what the heck is up with this void?!” 

The other Team Snakemouth abruptly fell on their abdomens. The other Vi stammered to no effect. The other Leif attempted to stand up but failed repeatedly in their shock. The other Kabbu just sat there for a few seconds. Then the other Kabbu stood up, walked a few steps towards Kabbu, and barely managed to say “We, I… I cannot explain it. How di-how do-what the hell are you? Where are you from, what is going on?” 

Leif took a breath, and the other Team Snakemouth looked at him. Leif said “We are, you from another universe, cast about the fabric of reality like driftwood. We have spent so long sliding between all kinds of worlds, places you could not imagine, searching for a way back to our Bugaria. Admittedly, it was just our luck that we ended up here. As for what is going on in this universe, that’s a question for you three to answer.” 

The other Vi said “Fuck.” Kabbu turned to her and said “Language, Vi.” 

Vi stepped into the middle of the group, swinging her technologically enhanced Beemerang idly with every step. She said to the other Team Snakemouth “Alright, we can’t just keep on calling each other by our own names, so we’re gonna need something to call your three. I say you guys are Team Snakemouth B. That means that you’re Vi B, you’re Kabbu B, and you’re Leif B. That good?” Vi smiled contently. 

Leif B and Vi B both objected immediately. Kabbu similarly said “We are not going to be named by a little bee with a broken weapon.” Vi said “Hey! This Beemerang isn’t broken, it’s even better than Vi B’s, it’s got a target painter, heat seeker, perpetual momentum battery, indestructible plating, and several other stuff with buttons I never press!” Kabbu B said “Well if we’re Snakemouth B, then you’re Snakemouth C!” Kabbu C shrugged and said “That’s alright.” 

Leif C stepped in and pointed a claw at Kabbu B. Then he said “No way are we going to be called Leif C, if you’re not being called Snakemouth D!” 

The bickering continued on for a few seconds, then Kabbu D shouted “Everyone, SHUT UP!” 

After a second, Vi D said “How about this? You guys, with the dimension travel crap, you’re Team Snakemouth 1. We are Team Snakemouth A.” 

Vi C grumbled under her breath, then said “FIne, I can agree to that. Now I am Vi 1. Hehe, Vi 1. Kabbu, you good with being a 1?” 

Kabbu 1 nodded. Leif 1 said “We quite like Leif 1 as well, how about you three, fine with Team Snakemouth A?” 

Team Snakemouth A all said “Yes.” Then Leif A said “Alright, er, how do we explain this? We sort of, broke an ant guard by opening our inventory while Vi and Kabbu were talking to an ant guard who was protecting the caravan. Then, everything seemed to… break. Everyone was frozen. The world looked smaller than it was, and when Kabbu used the Ant Compass, we-the world…” 

Kabbu 1 looked around, then said “Somehow, you broke the world?” Leif A sweatdropped. “Well, when you say it like that…” Kabbu 1 immediately said “Woa Woa Woa! I did not mean it like that. I’m not saying this is your fault, for all we know, this could just be a minor inconvenience, or a glitch in the universe, or something.” Leif A sniffled. Kabbu 1 put a paw on Leif A’s prothorax, and Leif A immediately leapt into him, hugging him tightly and sobbing. 

Vi A immediately started tearing up, and she said “Oh we’re doing this? Okay!’ Vi A leapt into Vi 1, wrapping her arms around Vi 1 tightly and weeping into Vi 1’s thorax. Vi 1 gave Vi A a light pat on the back, and whispered “There there.” as she tried to slowly roll back onto her feet. Kabbu A began crying too, so Leif 1 wrapped his wings around him and squeezed him tightly. Leif 1 and Kabbu 1 looked at each other, and Kabbu 1 could see Leif 1’s concern plain on his face. 

Once Team Snakemouth A were done crying their hearts out, the Teams sat around for a little while. To Kabbu 1, it seemed like Team Snakemouth A were swallowed up by the truth of the void around them. Kabbu didn’t like thinking about it either. The fact that there was a universe out there, where it was a complete possibility that everything was a fabricated illusion… not exactly a fun thought. After a moment, Kabbu 1 slapped his tibia, and stood up from his invisible seat. He said “Well, we can’t spend all our time dillying around here if we’re going to find out what’s happened, and how to fix it.” 

Vi 1 looked to Kabbu 1 and said “Hey, what’s going on with the thingamajig?” Kabbu said “See, that’s the thing. The thingamajig seems like it’s powered down, and of course, I don’t know how to restore it.” Leif said “We can only hope the wormhole fluid isn’t gone.” Leif A said loudly “Woah, hold on, wormhole fluid? What are you three talking about? We cannot follow.”  

Vi 1 said “Alright, so this thingamajig we got is from Dr. H.B. The principle the thingamajig operates entirely around is a small amount of a strange fluid that can create portals to other worlds. As for how it works generally, we pretty much know that there are these coordinates, and we press the big red button, a portal opens up, and we go to the world with those coordinates. The thingamajig is broken, so we can’t work it further than that. Usually it recharges after an hour every time we portal.” 

Vi A said “Okay?” Leif 1 said “Maybe it’s possible we have to find a certain location for the thingamajig work?” Kabbu 1 said “Where? And how would we even get there?” 

Leif A said “We could just… walk in a random direction until something happens?” 

The Team Snakemouths sighed. Then they began walking in a random direction, hoping they wouldn’t be lost forever. 

A strange blurb with an icon appeared in the void. Vi A noticed first, and shouted “Oy! Guys, look!” Kabbu 1 said “Someone talk to it!” 

Kabbu A awkwardly sidled up to the void from which the blurb emerged, and said “Ahem. Hello, fellow citizen, are you-” 

Everything went black. Then they could see the world again.

The Team Snakemouths were in a spacious room, filled with various paper standees of people they had interacted with before. The room was brimming with activity, but all of the caricatures were completely static. There was a waterfall, a giant block of gray stuff, and a training dummy sitting alone in a square field. Vi A said “Woah! What the hell is this place?” She focused her sight in front of her, and saw a sign.

Kabbu stepped forward headstrong, then read from the sign. “‘Welcome to the test room. Go hog wild.’ Huh. I think this is definitive proof your world is a simulation, Team Snakemouth A.” 

Leif A fell to his tibiae, and said softly “No… it can’t be.” Leif 1 stepped past his copy and said “It is… I’m sorry. We know how you feel, you’re not alone.” 

Vi 1 said “wut?” and Leif 1 continued “Because we are the same person Vi.” “Oohhh.” 

Leif A, amidst faint sobs, said “What does it matter anyway. Now, we have died twice. Twice, our world has been destroyed, and we have escaped in the most lucid of dreams. Lucid, yet, uncontrollable… We’re dead again.” 

The other Leif crouched down, and lifted their chin up slightly, with the lightest pressure of a claw. 

They muttered “But you’re not alone. This time, you have your friends with you. Keep them close, and don’t lose hope.” They stood up, and offered a paw, whispering “Follow us.” 

Leif A took the paw, and let themselves be helped up. They opened their eyes, and the other one led them to a cutout of a moth, wearing an opera-style half mask. One of the Vis was standing by the cutouts side. This Vi said “Yeah, so, this thing says it’s a warp thing. Just have to input the right coordinates. And on the ground, a number is scrawled, right there. 241.” 

Kabbu 1 asked “Are we sure we know where that will lead?” Leif 1 said “No idea. Hey, Team Snakemouth A, get over here! There’s a warp thing!” Kabbu rushed up and asked “What’s a warp thing?” Vi 1 said “Allows you to teleport where you want. In our case, between universes, but I guess this one’s in your universe, so it’s more restrictive. Regardless of where ‘241’ leads, we should hit it. We definitely can handle whatever’s there, after all, Kabbu 1, you did decapitate a metal gear in two different worlds, and take on a smaller killer robot- the one armed with coins and a revolver.” 

Kabbu A stammered, stunned, and unable to make a coherent sound. Sighing, Vi A walked up to the cutout and said “Take us to 241.” 

A portal opened up in front of it. Kabbu’s stammering cut off abruptly. Leif 1 asked “Who’s going first?” 

Leif A stepped inside. Everything went… the world around him was colored lines. He could feel form intersecting his body. Unearthly chimes resonated through the windless caves.Everything folded in on itself. His eyes stopped, but he could still see himself moving at an incredible speed. It was as if time was warping, and he was then, and he could see everything that happened before. The battle against the Wasp King, a great victory for his team, redone in a faded fashion. The battle was not executed right. Why was Kabbu electrified? 

Then, he emerged in front of a crowd of celebrating Ant Kingdom citizens. They were still sprites, fake. This was not an escape, but a return to the past, when they were partying after their grand victory. Leif swore, and nothing noticed. The other Team Snakemouths emerged behind him, and the thingamajig in Kabbu 1’s paws chimed. Kabbu 1 said “Ah! It’s spooled up and raring to go now! And, Team, I have an idea.” 

Kabbu A asked “What’s your idea, Kabbu 1?” 

“You three, follow us into the wide beyond. The odds of us finding another world with megaversal travel technology are low, but if we do, maybe you three could become like us! Except, er, less lost in space, if you catch my drift?” 

Team Snakemouth A all said “What did you say?” Kabbu 1 said “I mean, we are clearly sliding between worlds aimlessly. But, because the readout on the thingamajig lists the current coordinates- down to the universe- on its screen, we have been compiling a list! For instance, this world is Bug Fables 493, and our home Bugaria is Bug Fables 300. We’ll copy the list, and give it to you three should you get the chance to split off from us. If not, then you can follow us around, it’ll be like having yourself by your side, making sure you stay alive and well!” 

Vi A said “There is no better option for us, either we stay in this illusion, or we leave with you into the unknown. I’m down for this.” Kabbu A said “Even dying out there would be better than staying here.” Leif A said “We’re in too. Let’s go.” 

Kabbu 1 pressed the big red button, and another portal opened up in front of them. Before stepping in, Vi 1 said “Oh yeah, and be ready for some shock when we land. The rules for how the world works will change when you’re in a different one, but the rules for how you work don’t, and it causes strange reconciliations to occur. Instead of everything looking vaguely like this, in our experience, things have been fully three-dimensional and real-time, and that means, you will not be expecting things until it is too late. You also might see some things in your vision, little counters depicting abstract numbers. That’s just a side effect of being an outsider, a useful one to have though, because you want to know when you’re about to die, or unable to use a certain attack.” 

Leif A said “Okay?” 

Then, they stepped through the portal. 

Leif A didn’t know what he expected. But a creature formed out of polygons with a greatsword was nowhere close.