“Ahem. Work on the new gates has been progressing…”
The Council began their deliberations, each focused on the meeting and trying to take in the overall state of the Colony during this critical time so that they might better offer their own perspective and wisdom. Underneath it all, though none would admit, there was a slight frission of smug self-satisfaction.
They’d done it.
It had taken a frankly ridiculous amount of work and preparation, but they’d finally slipped the noose and left the torpor police in the dust. For that reason, the meeting progressed with a renewed sense of energy and excitement, a shared feeling of triumph surging within each member of the Council.
The nameless one could almost smell it on them.
Look how happy they are, rubbing their hard work right into the Eldest’s face, one of the team members signed from the roof.
Focus, the nameless one signed back in a short, sharp gesture.
She too was irritated by such blatant disobedience being shown by the only ants in the Colony to have received the instruction of the Eldest directly, but it was useless emotion that hindered the work. She would pay it no mind.
Be wary of your positioning, she signed. Several shadows shifted slightly as the others checked themselves.
The room was small, with hardly any space to operate in. If it weren’t for the intervention of the Shadow, they would never have reached this place before the Council arrived. Sneaking in with all twenty already in the room would have been almost impossible. As it was, they were limited in how many of the order were able to hide, the other teams were positioned in the tunnels outside.
The nameless one looked down from her position at Vibrant in particular. The soldier appeared full of energy, practically bouncing with impatience as she waited for her turn to speak. She’d checked the Vibrant board within the Sanctum before she’d left, and knew for a fact it had been three days since the last time Vibrant rested. Even then, she’d only been in torpor for thirty minutes.
We’re going to get you this time, the nameless one promised herself, there’s no way out for you now…
Unaware of their surroundings, the Council members attended to their business in high spirits. They were halfway through discussing the placement of the second farming expansion when their antennae reacted to a new scent.
“Working hard, I see…”
Each of them froze at that sinister scent and slowly turned their focus to the ceiling, where they finally noticed the unnaturally dark shadow above their heads. A shadow that slowly materialised into an ant staring down at them with cold indifference.
“But work time is… OVER!”
“Oh shoot! Everyone, scramble!” Sloan cried.
Bedlam erupted in an instant. The two Queens were the first to fall, two ants leaping from the corners of the room and releasing some sort of sleep pheromone directly onto their antennae, causing them to slump over into slumber almost immediately.
“Come and get me!” Leeroy yelled, her heavy armour clanking and screeching as she tried to manoeuvre in the narrow space.
A wall of ants leapt through the door into the room, dividing themselves amongst the various Council members and working to subdue them with expert precision.
Cobalt and Tungstant fell next. It was a close thing, but they were seized and rendered unconscious with strikes to the thorax, cutting off the Mana supply to the brain, just as they attempted to slip into a hidden escape tunnel they must have dug in advance.
Overwhelmed, the other Council members could only put up a token resistance before, with cries of dismay, they too were taken down.
All except one.
“Too slow! Too slow!” Cackling madly, Vibrant burst out of the chamber and into the tunnel, somehow sliding past the waiting mandibles of the nameless one, who had positioned herself above the door for this exact moment.
Dammit!
Cursing to herself, the nameless one gripped with two legs and swung her body through the entrance and into the corridor, latching onto the ceiling and sprinting in the same millisecond.
“Nap time, Vibrant!” came an authoritative voice.
The nameless one looked up and saw that the members of her order had formed a blockade farther up the tunnel, using their bodies to close off the opening.
Not enough, the nameless one sighed.
Vibrant merely laughed and accelerated. The wall of ants readied themselves for impact, bracing their legs, gripping with their claws, and extending their mandibles. There was no way she could get past all of th—
WHOOSH!
Vibrant’s entire body flickered and vanished, only to reappear on the other side of the blockade a split second later. She stood there, completely still, as the ants behind her appeared frozen in time. Then, one by one, they began to fall.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
They peeled off the wall and landed on the hard stone floor, unconscious.
“Tsk! Tsk! Need to keep up!” Vibrant laughed.
SNAP!
So close!
The nameless one had known the others wouldn’t succeed and ran straight through, trusting that Vibrant would clear the obstruction for her, which she did. Her sneak attack, launching from the wall, was so close to being a success, but she was noticed at the last second.
“That wasn’t half bad,” Vibrant clacked her mandibles joyfully. “But you’ll need to be better than that to put me to sleep!”
The nameless one felt helpless as the soldier set her legs. Once she Dashed away, there would be no chance of catching up to her…
“See you next time!” Vibrant laughed.
DASH!
BAM!
It took a moment for the nameless one to understand what she was seeing. Instead of vanishing into the distance, Vibrant had tripped herself up and landed flat on her face! What could possibly have happened!
“Crin-Crin? Why… would… you?” Vibrant croaked, her face half-buried in the stone floor.
Only then did the nameless one notice the bottomless shadow that had formed beneath the escaping soldier, and the many barbed limbs that emerged to seize hold of her legs.
The Shadow!
Unwilling to let this chance slip by, the nameless one launched herself onto Vibrant’s back and clamped her mandibles down just below her head.
“Don’t worry, Vibrant,” the nameless one couldn’t resist saying. “You’ll be in our care for a looong time. Rest well.”
“Noooooo… ooooo… oo…”
Struggling to the end, Vibrant finally went limp. Even then, she held and counted to eight before releasing her grip. Her job done, she leapt from Vibrant’s back and bowed toward the deep shadow and the tentacles that were already fading back to nothing. She imagined that one of them waved to her before it sank into the dark, but it may have been a trick of the light.
Later…
And that’s how we finally caught Vibrant, the nameless one signed to her friend.
Wow! The Shadow in the flesh! You’ve had a busy shift to say the least! Where were the Council when you saw them last?
In the cells, the nameless one couldn’t help but have a smug slant to her antennae as she signed her reply. They’re getting the full treatment. Massage, carapace wax and shine, aromatherapy, full body clean, the works.
They’ll wake up so refreshed!
Yes, the nameless one sighed in satisfaction. Yes, they will.
Good work, nameless ones. Please take your deserved rest, as the Eldest intended, the acolyte signed to them.