Chrysalis

So... I mean.. It’s a little odd...

I was a human before after all. I may not have lived what people would call a ... normal life ... but hey, I went to school, a bit, I saw people, I ate human food.

Now I have a giant ant Queen staring down at me and insisting that she and my many siblings are my family now.

...

For some reason I’m surprisingly ok with that.

I had a pet ant colony as a human, I kept them contained and fed them, watched the colony grow and cleaned out their spaces for them. In some ways they were the most constant members of my household, I certainly saw them every day, which wasn’t really true of anyone else.

Perhaps that is why I don’t really mind being an ant.

If I’m going to be a member of this family then I have to do my best to save them!

I start thinking out loud.

"Ok then, Queen, I don’t think we are uh, strong enough to survive the wave. If our nest is invaded from the outside as well as the inside, we could be completely wiped out!"

The Queen looks concerned and taps me with her antennae, urging me to continue.

"I think we need to move the colony! We have to get somewhere ... else. Somewhere safer".

"Do you know where we should go child?"

Err.... No?

We live in the Dungeon, and from what I’m told the entire place is going to become a death zone for up to a week!

I don’t even know that the surface will be safe from the impending danger!

...

... it may be safer than

with my Tunnel Map I can clearly see where the entrance I first encountered the humans is. If we can find

...

chance that we all get killed by those powerful human soldiers,

we stay down here, will

we have

as my thoughts run circles inside my head. My resolution firms as

dig a new tunnel to the surface!" I

slowly digests this bombshell, taking time

Then she responds.

the ’surface’?" she

...

could she

tunnel upwards, that bypasses the existing Dungeon passages and

enough that she can understand what I’m

over this suggestion. I

my surprise she

will do as you suggest child. Where should the

to cooperate. I’m not exactly sure how the pecking order works in a monstrous ant colony. In a normal ant colony on earth, the Queen doesn’t actually ’rule’ over the rest of the ants, in fact, she is basically dragged around by the workers, almost an egg

run the colony on a kind of democracy system. For example, if one worker finds a good place to move the nest, they’ll lay down a trail and start moving the brood. If other ants find the trail, they will go and check it out and if they agree with the first ants opinion, they will join in, eventually when enough workers have agreed on

the workers. If anything, she is probably closer to what most humans think an ant Queen is like on earth, in charge, making decisions and actively helping to

it’s clear that they can understand my pheromone language to some extent, perhaps she can just talk to

out of my

that is done I’ll start digging the tunnel, if you can

to recede,

gives a few more friendly taps on the head with her antennae before retreating back to the security of the nest, leaving the workers to do what they do best and complete the work required to

the spoils of war. As more times goes by the number of ants showing visible signs of mutation is increasing, here and there a worker with longer antennae, or stronger looking legs, or larger mandibles can be

becomes stronger then we

watch the workers rushing about, this is my family now and every one of these ants is my sibling. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters that I knew of in my