Pop Quiz!

What happens when a 400-lb, dog-sized cyborg ant glides into a 5'11" cougar man in leather armor at 40 miles per hour from 50 meters in the air?

10 seconds ago, Alpha's answer would have been "a cougar-man-sized splatter mark across the nearest tree." But, as was becoming typical of this hell planet, Alpha's expectations were shattered. Instead, the cougar man turned toward the antborg at the last possible second, crossing his wrists and blocking the literal flying tackle as a green, head-sized barrier formed between them.

The cougar man's eyes bulged in his head while two small gems embedded in their vambraces cracked. The next moment, both Alphantonso V and the cougar man were thrown away from each other. Alphantonso V twisted in the air and landed nimbly right-side up. The cougar man rolled for several meters, then somehow ended their tumble in an upright, crotched position, their blade held at the ready.

The cougar man narrowed his eyes at Alphantonso V and hissed (literally hissed!) before they got a good look at the ant and perked up their ears. The cougar man sneered and stood straighter.

Was it just one ant? What am I worried about? Alpha could almost hear the man thinking.

The man bent his legs and lept forward with surprising speed, reminding Alpha of the pouncing animal he so closely resembled. In the blink of an eye and a single stride, the man cleared half the distance between himself and Alphantonso V.

BANG!

Alpha fired the newly formed [Crystal Rai] atop Alphantonso V's back. Once more, the cougar man displayed those oddly keen reflexes and nimbly twisted their body in a way that shouldn't have been physically possible while in the air. The result was the shot that should have struck their sternum, instead hit their shoulder.

Nonetheless, the cougar man's charge was stopped short. They spun several times in the air by the force of the blow before falling to the ground with a thud. The cougar man rolled around on the ground, clutching their bleeding shoulder.

Only when Alphantonso V walked closer did the man seem to remember he was in the middle of a fight. He froze, stared up at the dog-sized ant and gave a loud hiss, their ears folding back against their head like a scared cat.

"Dodge this!" Alpha said as he pointed the [Crystal Rai] at the prone man. The cougar man's pupils dilated, and a ring on his finger flashed. The ring lit up like a flashbang, temporarily overwhelming Alphantonso V's semi-organic eyes.

Alpha fired, but the distinct sound of a bullet hitting the ground told Alpha that the man had, in fact, 'dodged that.' It only took a second for Alphantonso V's eyes to recover, but when they had, both the cougar man and their companion were gone.

Alpha cursed to himself and dissolved the weapon on the antborg's back. No reason to make that mistake twice. He then sent several of the accompanying [Wasps] into the area to scout. Whether the men had run or were lurking in the area, Alpha didn't want to be surprised.

That done, Alpha turned his attention to the goblin. Only to find that the goblin had somehow crawled several dozen meters away during Alpha's brief fight with the cougar man. That couldn't have been pleasant if the creature's injuries were as bad as they seemed on the surface.

The antborg slowly approached, and Alpha called out to the goblin, "If you keep that up, you're not going to make it much further."

The goblin paused, their head snapping to Alphantonso V as their already large eyes grew wider.

Alphantonso V and the goblin locked eyes for a silent moment…

Until the goblin turned and started crawling away with renewed vigor.

Ok. That was fair. Alpha assumed that was the rational response to a giant talking ant.

Even so, he couldn't help but feel a little offended.

Bang!

A bullet dug into the soft ground a few inches away from the fleeing goblin. Once more, the goblin froze, their heart racing. They might not have known what the strange weapon the ant was using was, but they had seen what it had done to the cougar man.

Alpha slowly walked the antborg to the goblin's front and pointed the [Crystal Rai] at the goblin. Alphantonso V clicked their mandibles as Alpha spoke. "Hello. You can call me Alpha. You and I are going to have a little talk."

The wide-eyed goblin could only nod along.

— — — — — — — —

Antchaser was going to die.

Well, he was going to die beforehand, too. The Adventurers who'd come after him weren't shy about that fact. But at least against them, he had stood some chance.

Now? laying in front of the… thing in the guise of an ant (for there was no way this thing was an ant, no matter what its physical appearance might be), he knew this was the end.

Realizing there was no escape, all the energy fled from his body. Antchaser collapsed to the ground, unable to even lift his head. Slowly, the darkness crept in from the edge of his vision, and bitterness welled up in his heart.

In the end, I couldn't even help them… maybe this is a fitting end for me.

A sudden, sharp pain in his thigh made Antchaser yelp, and he felt a chilly something flood his veins. The darkness receded, and his head started pounding as renewed energy swept through him.

The not-ant spoke again, "Nope, no dying on me yet. I said I have questions for you."

Antchacer turned to see the tip of the not-ant's leg sticking into his thigh.

With a voice still raw and bloody, Antchaser only barely croaked out.

"What… What kind of deal with the devil is this? Who… are you? What… do you want with me?"

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The not-ant audible gasped and held a leg to its thorax. "Devil!? Why I never! I've been called many things: menace, madman, a danger to myself and others, but never a devil!"

Great… it's insane, too. Just my luck, Antchaser thought to themselves.

The creature continued in its strange dialect. "As for what I want from you, my good man, the same thing any up-and-comer wants. Information. You see, one of your people took something from me. Something important."

To Antchaser's amazement, a beam of light erupted from 'Alpha's' ocelli. The light then formed into a spinning image. An image of a familiar shape. The metal vine.

Antchaser's eyes went wide, and cold sweat formed on his brow.

The not-ant clicked its mandibles, and Alpha spoke. "So you do recognize it. Good. That means you know where it is. Tell me. Or bring the one who took it to me. With the item in tow, of course."

Antchaser dry swallowed and asked, "What… what do you plan to do with them?" He tried to keep his voice as calm and steady as possible, though he was unsure how well he did.

The not-ant tilted its head and answered. "If they behave? Nothing. They return the item, and we go about our ways. I can't rightly blame someone for picking up something they found on the ground. More so when its previous owner was… indisposed."

Internally, Antchaser sighed in relief. Not that he had any reason to trust the strange creature's words, of course. But he'd learned long ago that it was far better to deal with a being who was at least willing to put on a show of civility.

He swallowed again. "And… if they refuse?"

The not-ant chuckled, a sound accompanied by the clicking of its mandibles. "Well then, we'll have an… issue. And if there's one thing I'm good at, it's fixing issues."

Antchaser turned his head away and looked in the direction of the village. His body still ached, and he could barely move, but whatever the not-ant had done to him, it left his mind clear. Well, as clear as it could be, given the situation. So Antchaser considered his next option carefully.

Whatever he said next could mean salvation for him and his people… or it could invite an even greater demon into their midst. The question was, was it worth the risk?

After a silent moment, Antchaser turned back to Alpha and whispered. "Yes. I know where your vine is… but there's a slight problem… and you're not going to like it."

The not-ant tilted its head once more and asked, "Oh? What problem?"

— — — — — — — —

"Bosco! We have a problem!" Seeker said as he barged into the goblin longhouse. Bosco frowned as he lowered the chunk of ironfur roast and stood from the table two sizes too small for him. He waved away the attending goblins and made his way toward Seeker.

"What is it now?" he said with a frown. "What is the point of having underlings if you have to come to me every time there's an issue?!"

Seeker crossed his arms as he spoke. "The men you sent after the runaway are back. It's… not good."

Bosco's frown deepened. He pushed past the smaller man and stepped out into the courtyard. Many of the adventures had gathered together in the square and were circling something.

Bosco forced his way through the crowd, eliciting a few minor complaints before they realized who had pushed by. All it took was a glare for any more to die in their throat.

When he reached the center, Bosco found an awakened beast of the cougar clan sitting on a small bench. A healer stood by the man as she worked on a vicious-looking wound on his shoulder. Bosco marched forward and lifted the cougar man by his wounded arm before either the healer or the awakened could register he was there.

The man screamed, of course, but Bosco paid him little mind as he dangled the man like a child and stared at the large gaping wound.

It looked like someone had taken a large spoon to the flesh and shoved a burning iron inside for good measure.

Bosco then dropped the man, eliciting another cry of pain as the healer rushed to his side.

A body was laid out to the side of the circle, a crude blanket covering it fully. Bosco walked over and pulled the blanket off the body. What was revealed was not the body of a goblin but one of his own men, their pale, lifeless face, cloudy eyes staring into the sky.

Bosco knelt down and observed the wound in the dead man's stomach. It was similar to the awakened's, though far worse, likely because of the location. Whatever had hit the man had scooped out a chunk of flesh the size of a normal human's fist, then minced their insides. The man's death had not been quick or pleasant.

Bosco's frown deepened, and he stood, turning back to the awakened, the healer having helped them back into their seat. The cougar man bared a mouth full of fanged teeth at him and hissed softly, but Bosco's intense glare made the man pull back, and their long ears lay flat across their head.

"What is your name?" Bosco rumbled at the man.

The man responded, though refused to look Bosco in the eyes, "M-my name i-is Ki'tan, sir. Though t-the boys just call me Kit, sir."

Bosco folded his arms. "Well, Kit. Mind explaining to me how one goblin managed to kill one of my men and maim another?"

Kit snapped his eyes to Bosco and whispered, "It… It wasn't no goblin, sir! It was a demon!"

That got the crowd muttering.

Bosco raised a hand to silence the gathered adventurers, then commanded, "Explain."

Kit's eyes darted as if afraid something would jump from the shadows before continuing.

"Me and Chunks — " he nodded toward the body, " — that's him, by the way. Well, Chunks and I went and did what you'd told us to. I'mma right fine tracker, and Chunks has been… interrogating people for Icefinger for years. We've been partnering up ever s — "

Bosco glared at the man. "I said explain what happened, not give me your life story."

Kit turned away but moved on. "Right, as I was sayin'. Me and Chuncks tracked down the goblin. Gave us a right run-a-about he did, too. But we caught um nonetheless. He wouldn't talk, though, no matter how many bones we broke. We's were about to pack him up and bring him back to Seeker, but… something happened."

Bosco rolled his wrist as if to say, 'Hurry up,' but Kit's eyes became distant, and his words softer. "It started with the sound of thunder. That's the only ways I can explain it. Then Chunks… Chunks started screamin'. Tryin' to hold his insides in and all that. I… I didn't know what happened. Thought the goblin had triggered one last trap or somethin'. The bloody little thing had led us into some crude ones during the chase. Nothing really bad, but I don't know; I thought maybe this was its last ditched attempt. So I drew my sword and moved in for the kill. Figured it was safer if the bastard was dead. Didn't want him triggering somethin' else on the way back… That's… that's when it appeared…"

"When what appeared, exactly?" Seeker asked, having stepped up beside Bosco.

Kit turned to him and whispered, "The Demon. It flew at me from the trees, taking the form of a giant ant — "

"Hold up," Bosco interrupted him, the large man's face furious, "You're telling me that two of my men were taken down, not by a goblin… but by an ant?!"

Kit turned to Bosco and stared at him, unblinking, the cougar man's eyes glazed. "That was no ant. There's no way that… thing was an ant. It came from the trees. Swooped in on me with enough force that it broke my shield bracers." Kit held up his good arm to show the arrayed leather bracers, fragments of the cut core still clinging to their socket.

They weren't of the best quality, but the very fact that someone of Kit's station had decent arrayed equipment in the first place was enough to drive the point home. These had been emergency items, bought with money saved over a period of years… and they had failed, partly at least.

Kit continued. "When I recovered, I saw it was just an ant. Just one monster ant, like one anyone here, has killed dozens of before. I… I let my guard down… and this happened." He waved to the hole in his shoulder, the healer still working on it.

Bosco scoffed and dismissed the man's story. "In other words, you screwed up, then came running back."

Kit stood, his eyes wild and voice frantic as he yelled, "You don't understand, Bosco! That wasn't an ant!" Kit grabbed onto Bosco's arm and shook him as if to get him to understand. "Ants don’t move like that! Ants don't fly! Ants don't speak! That… thing… it's still out there! And now it knows we're here too! We have to get out while we still can! We have to — "

WHAM!

Bosco's fist slammed into the awakened's face with the sound of breaking teeth. The man fell backward and rolled a few feet. The healer rushed to his side and breathed a sigh of relief. Kit was out cold, but he would live. Though he'd need another round of treatment. That was fine by her; Icefinger paid her by the injury.

Bosco tsked and flicked the blood off his fist and muttered to himself. "Talking ants. Sure. Someone throw this fool in with the goblins when he wakes up. We'll drag him back to Icefinger when we're done here."

He then turned around and walked away.

The crowd of adventurers slowly dispersed, save for Seeker, who stared down at the unconscious awakened beast with a frown.