DATE: March 29, 2001 CAST: Basil, Holly, Percy and Willow Small Clearing You come off the trail and too a small clearing. There is a small path to the side that leads somewhere...you notice a few bird feather there. You also see that you are standing on the edge of a canyon...Riverbed Canyon. There is an Island on the other side. Basil follows right behind Holly down the path she is leading them. Just ahead he catches a glimpse of the stink bug and begins to wonder. Then upon seeing the cart with the captured ants, he stands for a moment in a stupor. "Slavers!" He whispers and grabs Holly by the hand and dodges into the brush to find shelter. "I think we'll be fine in here." Speaks with a panicked tone. "As soon as he leaves, we'll go and get your sister, okay?" He suggests while keeping an eye on the captor. Holly gives Basil a long look, and a look of total resentment comes over her face. Her time is about out, and she is not about to let this guy put her life on the line. "No! We are going out now!" She shouts out loud and as she leaves the brush, she yanks Basil by the hand and as they both come into clear view, she signals over to Percy, in a loud yell. "I'm back, and I've got him with me!" Percy glances away from where he is conversing with a yellow-eyed fly, who was out of sight earlier while feeding the millipedes in charge of pulling the slave wagon. Percy grunts. "Well, it looks like you barely made it within your limit. I /guess/ I won't throw you on the wagon as well," he says, as if doubtful. The stink bug begins to approach the two ants, rubbing his hands with anticipation. Slowly negotiating her way through the grass much further back is Willow, who managed to follow Holly and Basil at least this far. As her antennae registers more voices in the area, she ducks down and remains hidden, peeping from behind a thick, tangled veil of grass. Squinting as she makes note of the stink bug. 'Huh. I knew I smelled a rat.' She tenses and holds in a cry of surprise at the sight of the wagon, and its many ant occupants. This was not exactly what she was expecting. Basil looks at Holly with the most astounded expression, mouth agape widely, both eyeridges raised. "Holly? Wha, what is going on?" He can barely utter the words. Basil's mind is in such a whirl, that it doesn't make any sense. "Are you trying to tell me you are working with this guy?" He can't seem to get the information in his head straightened out. "Actually it's quite simple, Basil. In order to protect /my/ freedom, you are going to become a slave for Percy over here." She stands with her arms folded giving him a smirk and a bright beam at her success. "Let me put it to you another way. Your personal freedom is about to be dramatically cut back." She chuckles a little at her own joke. "Oh, and I would advise you to co-operate, it will be a lot easier on you." She gives him a deep seeded smirk. Percy ignores Holly's conversation with Basil, although he does aim her a look of warning. By now, he has obtained a little twig -- not too heavy, not too light, just the right size for giving a solid blow to those who are not quick to obey. He moves it to prod Basil in the direction of the wagon. "Just move quick and get on with the rest of them, ant, and we won't hurt you... much." Willow's eyes follow Percy as he moves toward the pair, grimacing. Her stomach ties itself into a knot out of both fear and disgust from the entire situation. Not even Mazin went to all this trouble to betray his own kind. Basil is at the point of total lividity, so much that he can hardly speak the words on his mind. "You lied to me!" He shouts at Holly with teeth gritted. "You played on my feelings and my sympathy! I thought we had something in common, that we helped each other with dealing with our losses, and now I found that it was all just a little ploy to drag me out here." Then he hears Percy's command, and in a moment of anger mixed with a total lack of conscious thought, blares out, "And if you think I'm willfully getting into that cart, then you are dumber than you look!" Holly looks at Basil with humor and a smile and occasional mirth at what she is hearing. "You fool, you are much to sensitive. You've got to learn that keeping your feelings to yourself is the best thing in any situation." Then she hears Basil make his comment to Percy, and cringes inwardly. "You've just proven my point." She shakes her head mournfully, but in a bit of a mocking degree. "Basil, I hope you've lived a good full life, because of that comment, I doubt you'll live to see tomorrow." Indeed, Basil's chances of survival don't look too good right now, if Percy has anything to say about it. He does not respond verbally to the ant's rejoinder. With a snarl, the stink bug violently swings the said twig, aiming to knock Basil a good one in the side. Willow closes her eyes and presses herself closer to the ground. Right about now, she's helpless to do anything. If the stink bug doesn't get her, there's still that fly over there to reckon with, even though he doesn't look too coherent. Deciding that she can do no good out here, she backs away slowly, trying to be as silent as possible as she eases her way back to the direction whence she came. Basil turns and looks as Percy comes toward him, hand over his mouth in total shock. "Oh, man!" He calls out quietly. "Oh, I, I, I, I am, sooo, uh, so sorry, I did, I didn't mean..." Is all he can get out as he is suddenly struck on his side by Percy, causing him to tumble to the ground with a loud groan. Basil rolls over a couple of times, clutching his side that shoots excruciating pain throughout his thorax, causing his eyes to water deeply. Holly looks on, watching Basil getting struck violently. She emits a barely audible gasp, feeling so grateful that it isn't she who is getting attacked right now. She isn't able to say anything in particular, but simply watches. Holly does, however, gets a better impression that Percy is not to be trifled with, and will increase her efforts, if that means leading the entire colony away, one at a time. Percy eyes the injured ant on the ground with disdain. "You need a lesson in addressing your masters, ant," the stink bug growls. "Which I will personally see to. But for now..." He bends over to yank Basil off the ground and toss him into the wagon with the others. Willow's eyes widen in shock; she has by now moved away from her view of the clearing, but she can still hear what's going on. And those thumping noises did not sound very good. She continues backing away with the same slow, measured deliberation, keeping silent, until she's made it to the edge of the dry riverbed. Certain that she's made it out of their range, she begins bolting back toward the island. If she's quick enough, maybe she can get help before it's too late... Basil feels himself being picked up roughly and thrown into the wagon, still feeling far too much pain to fight back, and common sense being with him now, he decides to be acted upon. He then strikes the floor, feeling pain radiate all over again, and lets out an even louder yell. After a couple of minutes, he is able to move a little, to face Holly for one last time. Voice straining deeply. "I.." Basil can't restrain a nasty painful cough. "I'm assuming you lied to me about your family, about them being captured and beaten senselessly, I mean." He holds a deep glare at Holly, and then collapses to the floor unable to hold himself up longer. Holly looks at Basil as he is thrown into the cart, like a piece of cargo, and then watches him as he slowly make his way up enough to talk to her. Upon hearing his comment about her family, her expression turns to ice cold, and walks up to him and strikes his face with the back of her hand. "I hope that Percy kills you before the next day is out." She sneers, turns and upon reaching Percy, exclaims. "If you will have no more need of me, I will head back to the island, and go get someone else." The other ants in the wagon had backed up, providing enough room for Basil to be deposited inside with them like a sack. Many of them are bruised, listless, expressions vacant and eyes without hope. If they had any fight in them, it was beaten out of them long ago, so they do no dare resist even as they witness this spectacle now. All the same, Percy gives them a look of warning, and shakes his stick at them. "Mind you don't repeat this idiot's mistake," he tells them. He then signals the fly to move out. Holly he regards darkly. "Get out of my sight, then!" Willow is gone by this time, galloping her way back to the island as fast as she can. Holly regards Percy, and quickly leaves the area. While making her way back to the colony, the pain in her hand, and then the one on her cheek start to enflame, and she instinctively rubs the bruise on her face. "Maybe next time I won't have to take some of the abuse." She then contemplates her last thought, and feels a slight twinge of regret in wishing Basil to be killed. She heads back to the colony, wondering who her next victim should be. Riverbed Canyon You come to a rather large gorge called Riverbed Canyon. The ground here has large deep cracks in the earth and many rocks lay scattered around as well. However, when the rainy season comes this place fills with water. There is a high wall leading to a meadow and another to an island called Ant Island. "Fine time to--agh!--sprain my ankle," Willow hisses, as she hobbles along through the riverbed canyon, favoring her left foot. It's hard enough to thread one's way around the immense cracks when both legs are in working order, and nearly impossible when this is not so... such as in Willow's case. As a result, her progress is diminished to a significant degree. Holly makes her way back to the colony, shaking her hand in the process. Hit Basil a little harder than she thought. While continuing on, Holly hears a sound up ahead. At first she thinks it might be Percy, but then dismisses it, and upon farther investigation notices Willow just ahead of her. "Oh, Willow, I thought I told you not to come unless you didn't hear from us for over an hour, and why are you by yourself?" She inquires. Willow freezes as she hears Holly's voice carried in the breeze whipping through the desolate canyon. Stumbling on her remaining good foot until she faces Holly, her hands curl into fists, dark eyes growing even darker. "Cut the act, Holly," she says, coldly. "I saw what you did. And when I get back there," she jerks her head in the direction of the island, "I'm going to tell them what you did." "What on earth are you talking about?" Holly feigns ignorance as she soon approaches the stumbling Willow. "You know very well that Basil left the colony on his own. I mean, you heard him yourself. Going on about how frustrated he was with Queen Atta's rule, and that the leader of his last colony was much better at it then our Queen is." Holly then approaches the other ant and decides to give her some good advice. "And if you know what is good for you, then you will tell them the same thing, understand?" Holly threatens. Willow folds her arms, hands still balled up into fists, eyes burning into Holly's as she continues to put on the front of ignorance. "Yeah, sure," she snaps, "When toads grow feathers and fly, I will! And what are you going to do to me, anyway? Act nice and lure me away too?" Holly glares at the 'indignant' ant before her. "I'll tell you /exactly/ what I intend to do with you. Nothing!" Holly beams brightly at the idea that has come into her head. "You hardly mean anything here. You are still a kid, and you are new. No one is going to believe you." She hisses menacingly as she continues her way forward. "Besides, it's my word against yours. And when they find no evidence, they will have to forget about him. Just as you should." The points given set Willow's blood boiling. Whipping out a hand to point accusingly, she shouts, "It's not like you've been around here forever either!" A pause. "Or have you? I guess everything you've said was a lie. Everything you said about you, your family -- lies, all of it! Now I know the meaning of the word 'traitor.'" She tries to stride forward, but the pain lancing through her ankle reminds her of her situation. "Egh..." Gasping and struggling to maintain her composure, she adds, "I doubt one ant is going to satisfy those slavers. You said yourself that you'd get another one. I guess you won't mind if I keep watching! You *will* get caught one of these days." Unable to come up with a good response, Holly listens intently, and upon hearing Willow's comment almost whips out a hand to slap her, just as she did to Basil, but thinks better of it. "You can't keep an eye on me every second of your life. There are too many ants in this colony, and by the time I've had a chance to get the number I've been required, I'll move on, and you /still/ won't be able to do anything about it." Holly walks triumphantly on, thinking of passing Willow and going on without her, but this is becoming too much fun to stop now. "Don't be too sure," Willow calls, eyeridges bent down to match her outraged expression, clenched jaw and all. "It doesn't take much to alter the course of anything. If one ant like Flik can send ants rioting against Hopper and his gang -- if an ant like me can survive a revolution, the city, and two escapes from slavers -- then you're putting up a big risk to underestimate ANYONE and ANYTHING." She hops forward slightly, until her progress is impeded by a large crack that she has little hope of going across. "And those grasshoppers... they'll at least have to keep an eye on you. They have to ensure this colony's safety." Holly, choosing to not say another word, contemplates what Willow has said. Nothing. Holly knows well the stress of trying to keep this underwraps, but she feels she has no choice. "If it comes down to it, if I have to choose to be free, and send an ant into slavery, then I don't see what the difference is. One ant's life isn't any more important than another." She keeps quiet a little bit more and stops as she comes to the same crack Willow has. "I will continue to do what I can to survive. And to be completly honest, I'd rather spend time locked away in a colony for a while than to spend my life as a slave." She takes a long look at Willow, before proceeding again. "Any way you look at it, I still come out on top, even if I get caught. But then I seriously doubt a /little girl/ like you can really do any harm to me." Ooooh. That does it. Her mind under full control of chaotic rage, she is unable to think of a good verbal retaliation. Holly's last jab, however, sets her into the 'Oh, really?' mentality as she stoops down painfully, grabs a fair-sized rock in one hand, and flings it in Holly's direction. Lost in thought probably isn't the best thing to be in as Willow's object of retaliation makes its mark, striking Holly in the shoulder, hard enough to make her arm become rather useless at the moment, perhaps a sprain resulting. Holly yells out in pain, stumbling backwards, and upon hitting the ground, calls out a rather loud "Oof!" Since this was her right arm, retaliation doesn't seem like the best answer for that kind of action. "Hey!" She screams out loud. "So what do you plan on doing? Starting a fight? Shall we kill each other right here on the spot? As far as I'm concerned, this little altercation is over. We'll just wait and see what Queen Atta says about all of this." Holly climbs up and rubs her sore shoulder gingerly. "Besides, you'll have to explain why /you/ threw a rock at me. Or are you finally going to let this go?" "Hey, your word against mine," Willow says, flashing a small, grim, and humorless smile for an instant before it fades back into her previous scowl. "You can just as well blame that facial bruise of yours on me, too. But I think I made my point: 'little girls' *can* hurt you. And I don't intend to let this thing go. Never." "I think I've had enough of this friendly little chat." Holly begins walking away from Willow, not intent on getting clobbered with another rock. "But let me tell you one thing. You may very well find evidence against me, but I still think that I'll have the upper hand when this situation is over." With that, Holly pulls away from Willow, leaving the poor limping figure to make it back on her own. Just as Holly makes it to the next level, she looks back, and sends a sarcastic wave. "See ya back on the island, *Willow*." [END LOG] Related story: Shadow of a Lonely Ant Next Log: Auction Return to: Muted Identity logs.

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