"Come out and face me Gianna!" Lily shouted, her mandibles gripped tightly in her hands like drawn swords, gleaming under the dim-lights and sun rays shining in from outside of the enemy fortress.
The cavernous chamber around her was cold and reeked of the smell of stone and rot. Cracks lined the stone walls, dripping with moisture. A breeze swept through the open slats above, stirring the tattered banners of Hopper's army. Shadows loomed like ghosts along the walls.
From those shadows came a chilling laugh—sharp, cruel, and heavy with mockery. It echoed off the pillars with unnatural weight. Gianna stepped forward, her presence as suffocating as the stench of death and power that clung to her.The twisted smile on her face curled like a venomous serpent.
"So, you know my name?" she said, voice smooth and contemptuous. "Should I be flattered by an ant as puny as you?"
Lily didn't flinch. Her stance was firm, unwavering. Her chest rose and fell in steady rhythm, despite the adrenaline pumping through her. "I've been waiting for this moment my whole life—to finally take you down and avenge the death of my parents you mercilessly took from me."
Gianna rolled her eyes, mocking her pain. "I've killed many ants in my lifetime, sweetheart. You'll have to be a bit more specific. I don't waste time remembering the lowly creatures my mandibles devoured or ripped to shreds."
Behind a cracked pillar, Isla trembled, too afraid to move. Her hands clutched her blade tightly, though her arms were shaking. Why is Lily so serious? I've never seen her like this before. She's not even scared… not even in front of someone this powerful.
Lily's voice dropped, low and bitter with pain. "My parents were just humble worker ants, trying to survive—gathering food for our colony. Even if they had tried to fight, they couldn't have harmed you. So why? Why did you take them from me?"
Gianna tilted her head, curious now, her smirk twitching. She studied Lily like a hunter curious about its prey's final twitch. "Worker ants?" she echoed thoughtfully, and then suddenly barked out a laugh. "Wait… now I remember that face. You were that little ant who stood there, shaking, after I snapped your mother's neck and sliced your father in two. And to think—you're standing in our fortress now. That's rich." She leaned forward, eyes gleaming with scorn. "How much more pathetic can the ant race get, letting a mere worker ant join their military ranks? Pitiful."
"What does she mean… worker ant?" Isla whispered, heart pounding in her ears.
"It's just as she said," came a strained voice. Beatrice stumbled beside her, clutching her left arm, which hung limp and bruised. Her breathing was shallow, ragged.
"Oh no, Beatrice, you're hurt!" Isla gasped, rushing to her side.
"I'm fine," Beatrice grunted, though her knees threatened to buckle. Her stoicism was cracking. "That grasshopper... she's strong. One swing from her and I was sent flying. It's definitely broken." She clenched her jaw, steadying herself against the wall. "But I can still fight. No matter what it costs me."
Lily stepped forward. Her grip trembled slightly on her mandibles. But her voice, now softer, carried the weight of years long past.
"Everything you heard is true, Isla," Lily said without turning back. "I was a worker ant. Until they took my world away from me."
Her mandibles lowered slightly, the edges scraping against the ground as memories poured in, vivid and sharp.
"It was ten years ago," she said, her voice distant. "The day the sky turned black. The day the grasshoppers came."
She closed her eyes briefly, the vision burned into her memory.
"My parents were near the outskirts of the colony, gathering food with other workers. It was supposed to be a routine trip. Military ants were assigned to protect them. I wasn't supposed to be there—I was only eight—but I snuck out. I always did. Just to watch them from the tall grass. Watching the soldiers made me feel safe… like things would always be okay."
Her voice wavered, but she pressed on.
"Then... it happened. Out of nowhere, they came. Over four hundred of them, crashing down like a wave of claws and wings. Hopper led them himself. He tore through our defenders like they were twigs."
She looked directly at Gianna again.
"I was frozen. Terrified. Then you came. I watched you choke my mother. Watched her legs twitch as you snapped her neck. My father tried to run, but you… you slashed him in half like he was nothing."
A silence hung in the air, dense with grief.
"I remember the blood," she said, eyes narrowing. "The way it soaked the dirt. The way my legs wouldn't move no matter how much I screamed inside. You looked at me. I'll never forget those eyes. Cold. Empty. You could've killed me—but you didn't. Maybe you thought I wasn't even worth your time."
Her voice grew bitter.
"After that, the colony fell. Terrence—our strongest soldier—faced Hopper and was crushed. We surrendered. Every winter, you marched into our home and took what you pleased, and we couldn't stop you."
She raised her mandibles, flames of defiance lighting her face.
"I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't accept that I was weak. That I was nothing. So I trained. In secret. In silence. I trained until I bled. Until my limbs went numb. Until I stopped crying."
Lily's voice surged, emboldened by the pain.
"The first time I tried climbing a wall, I fell. I couldn't even make it halfway. Soldiers laughed. Some tried to stop me. Said I didn't belong. But I didn't stop. I ran until I collapsed. Fought until I blacked out. My body—bruised, torn, burned. I didn't care."
She turned her gaze to Beatrice.
"Then I met her. Beatrice. She didn't ask what type of ant I was or tell me to quit. We trained together. Fought together. Protected the colony together. She taught me how to move with purpose. How to fight without hesitation. I never told her who I really was—but I didn't need to. We rose through the ranks. We became Corporals side by side."
She faced Gianna again, her fury blazing.
"And now here we are. Face to face. No more hiding. No more silence. Even if I die today, I'll make sure you never leave this fight alive."
Gianna laughed, low and venomous. "You're serious? A Corporal? A mere worker ant? You're delusional. What is it—fear driving you insane? Or the grief that never left after I slaughtered your parents?" Her voice turned cold. "Either way, I'd kill your parents again if it meant seeing that same broken face from ten years ago."
A scream ripped from Lily's chest. Her mandibles snapped forward as she lunged, steel slicing the air.
CLANG!
Steel met steel in a deafening clash, the force shaking the very air. Sparks exploded where their blades met. Gianna didn't yield, her strength monstrous, but Lily pushed back with every ounce of power she had left.
Beatrice tried to move but groaned, collapsing to one knee as pain flared in her shattered arm. "Lily…" she gasped. "Be careful…"
Isla clutched her weapon tighter, watching in awe and terror as the two warriors danced in a brutal storm of vengeance and death.
She's really doing it, Isla thought, heart pounding. A worker ant… standing against a general of Hopper.