Chapter Text
Neo felt absolutely stressed later that night. Considering that he’d been working on his super important research and experiments for the past seven hours (with only a ten minute break), it really wasn’t all that surprising.
And yet despite working for such a long time, he had only managed to finish a simplified report of the one he had already made last night, an extensive report on the strength of bee wings, and two new charts relating to a different experiment.
He didn’t think he was being very productive.
He had a good reason, though! Kabbu, his best friend, had asked him out on a… night out. Just a night out, Neo reminded himself. That was completely occupying his mind! Can anyone really blame him for not being able to get his work done!?
Maybe he should just call it quits on his work for now. He had been working for a long while, and even if he didn’t think it was much, it was at least some honest work that he put a good effort into.
…But, maybe he could just fit in one more chart.
He glanced up outside his window. The sun was starting to set. Kabbu probably wouldn’t be over for another hour or so. Maybe even later. So, Neo grabbed a huge sheet of graph paper and began to sketch out a chart, grabbing the associated data.
This one didn’t even seem to be that hard. The data was in a logarithmic pattern, and not in any sort of weird random looking pattern. That should’ve made sense, given the nature of the experiment. It was looking at the population of the species of lesser bugs around the outskirts.
This data really shows that they’re getting killed to a bigger extent than we thought, Neo thought, frowning to himself. Maybe we should tone it down. They’re creatures, just like us.
But, they still harm so many bugs all the time. Maybe these results are for the best.
Neo didn’t want to deliberate with himself on the moral implications of exterminating a species that caused a lot of harm, so he tried to move on from analyzing it and just charting what the data told him. There were a lot of fine details to point out on the chart.
Maybe they also have a profound effect on the environment around us, and we don’t even realize it, Neo idly thought as he charted some more details. If that’s the case, then maybe-
It was then that he was interrupted by a knock at the door. A little strange, but nothing that he wasn’t used to.
“Umm, Neo?” the voice sounded from behind the door, and Neo instantly recognized it. Kabbu! Shoot! He nearly fell out of his chair as he tried to get up and run to the door. “It’s me, Kabbu. I’m here.”
Neo went up to the door and opened it. The beetle seemed like his regular self, but he had a very small flower tucked to the side of his horn, and was wearing a bowtie. He looked adorable.
“Hey!” Neo exclaimed, trying not to sound panicked. “I’m, uhh, not exactly ready yet. But you can come in!”
“Oh, alright,” Kabbu said. “Thank you very much.” Neo stepped to the side and let the beetle in. Kabbu took a seat in the rather pathetic couch that Neo had in the center of the house.
The moth ran back to his desk and began to put away his stuff. He should’ve known better than to try and rush on stuff before he went out with Kabbu! Ugh! I’m so stupid, he thought, still rushing through putting away his stuff. I should’ve known that he would be here sooner! We didn’t even set a proper time, so how was I supposed to know that I didn’t have time. He stopped himself before going any longer, internally sighed, and then went back to cleaning his desk off.
He must’ve been making a lot of noise, as Kabbu turned to where Neo was. “Were you… working on some experiments before I arrived?” he asked.
“Yeah, I was,” Neo said quickly. He shoved the reports into the right folders and began to store away the charts he had made. “But-! It’s no big deal, I promise! I can get myself ready in no time!”
“Neo, if…” The moth turned to face Kabbu. He seemed… hesitant to speak any further. “If this is distracting you from your work, then I do not want to be a bother to you. We can do this some other time if-“
“No! It’s fine!” Neo interrupted, not letting the beetle finish. “Just… Stay right here, okay? I’ll be back. I don’t wanna call this off over some silly reports and charts! Haha!” Neo haphazardly put away the rest of his papers and materials and then ran into his private quarters, shutting the door behind him.
First thing, ditch the belt; it made him look too much like a doctor and not enough of a charming bug. Secondly, he needed to comb his neck fluff. DESPERATELY. It was so unkempt and a disorganized mess. Lastly, he needed to wear something more formal. Something easy, like a tie.
Neo did all of that, throwing his belt to the end of the bed. He grabbed the comb laying on his nightstand and began to brush his neck fluff as quickly as he could, while still trying to make it look neat. He then grabbed an old looking tie that was hanging up by his lab coats that he rarely wore. Those were something that fitted Hawk, not Neo. It didn’t match him at all.
He adjusted his appearance one last time, trying to make sure he looked presentable. He straightened the tie, made sure his neck fluff was clean and combed, ensured that his antennae were angled just right, and that he had enough berries for the place that they were going to.
Was Neo going too far? This was just supposed to be something casual between friends. But, Kabbu clearly dressed up like it was more than just that. So, Neo figured he should look much the same as him.
His self-deliberation stopped when he stepped out of his quarters and went up to where Kabbu was waiting for him. He couldn’t disappoint the beetle, so he needed to be the best that he could. For him. “Sorry about that!” Neo exclaimed, sounding as cheerful as he could. “I’m ready now though!”
Kabbu looked over at Neo, then stood up from the small couch. The beetle looked at the moth with a rather mesmerized expression. “You look… amazing,” Kabbu stated.
“W-Well, I mean, I put myself together in like five minutes, but, uhh, thank you.” Neo blushed very slightly. “You look amazing as well. I really like the flower by your horn.”
Kabbu glanced up at the flower. It was just a really small daisy, nothing more. But the yellow petals did go well with his natural green hue. “Ah. L- I mean, thank you. It’s nice.” He adjusted it ever so slightly.
Neo chuckled slightly. The air felt slightly lighter, and Neo felt as though he could relax. “Well, if we’re both ready, I think it’s time we go.” Neo tried his hardest to hide the nervousness in his voice.
“Right. Let’s go.” Kabbu led the way outside of the house, and Neo followed. Once they were both outside, Neo closed the door to his home and locked it, and then the two were on their way to the Termite Kingdom.
Neo had only been to the Forsaken Lands a couple of times, and both of those times were for research and experiments. He’d never been here on a whim for personal reasons, let alone going out somewhere with a friend.
Granted, he and Kabbu weren’t in the most dangerous area of the lands. They had just come out from the Ant Mines, and were outside of the Termite Kingdom’s gate. There was a short line of people, all definitely wanting to get inside.
One other thing that was different from when Neo had been to the Forsaken Lands before was that, well, simply, it was nighttime. The ambiance felt the same, but it was way darker and way harder to see. The dense fog that was already a barrier for any poor bug’s vision was now made even worse with there being little to no natural light.
Neo looked over at Kabbu. The beetle seemed a little on edge. Neo needed to lighten things up a little bit, for sure. “So, you said that this place was opening?” Neo asked, looking over at Kabbu.
“Oh, uhh, yes,” Kabbu replied. “Really, I meant to say that it recently opened. I… must have gotten my words mixed up.”
Neo chuckled. “It’s alright.” He turned back. “And… this line is for that place, I’m assuming.”
“Yes. I didn’t think it would be this crowded tonight, but, I was clearly wrong.” The line moved forward a little bit.
“Well, it doesn’t seem to be that bad. I’ve seen longer lines for tours of the bee kingdom. And I go there so often!” Neo laughed to himself. There were a lot of times when Neo visited and the bees were so mesmerized by him. He was flattered, really, but he usually went there for research purposes, much like… everywhere else he went.
“Remember, this is the line to get into the kingdom,” Kabbu pointed out. “So the line for the actual restaurant might actually be different. It could be way longer, a little shorter, or there could be nobody there, which… seems unrealistic.”
Neo wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he stayed silent.
Eventually, the line moved forward enough, and they were at the gates. The termite guards seemed nice enough, and they let the two through after a little deliberation. The security for the Termite Kingdom had really lightened after relations with the Ant Kingdom were made up. Some ants still had trouble getting in, from what Neo had heard, but it was nothing too severe.
As soon as Neo stepped through the large doors, he could see the restaurant that Kabbu was talking about. It was right after the entrance doors, to the right, no less. There was a bright neon sign with “ZEST’S” as the signage. It matched with the rest of the tall buildings in the kingdom, yet it was heavily decorated with a lot of grand opening signs and plastered with advertisements.
“This looks nice,” Neo said, looking over at Kabbu. “How long of a wait do you think it’ll be? Or is it kinda like Fry’s?”
“It, uhh, shouldn’t take that long. There might not even be a wait at all,” Kabbu replied. “Neo, I… Thanks for coming with me. I honestly didn’t expect you to accept my offer. This was on such short notice, after all.”
“Kabbu, it’s fine,” Neo said, smiling at him. “I appreciate you offering me to come with you.” The beetle looked up, and his eyes showed that he was smiling back. “Now come on. I don’t wanna delay any longer. I’m ready to eat my heart out!” Neo went ahead of Kabbu, who let out a slightly startled noise, and then followed Neo.
They stepped inside and were greeted by a mellow ambiance, different from the brooding ambiance of the Kingdom itself. A termite server was standing behind a long counter, with another neon sign hanging above. “Good evening, young gentlebugs,” they said. “Table for two?”
“Ah, yes,” Kabbu replied. “That would be very much appreciated.”
“Ooh, so chivalrous!” The termite replied excitedly. They grabbed a couple of menus and began to walk. “Right this way.” Kabbu and Neo followed behind.
Neo was a stranger to this type of dining. He was mostly used to cooking for himself and then making the occasional visit to Fry’s. “This experience is really unusual for me,” Neo said out loud. “It’s kind of exciting!”
“We’ve been getting that a lot lately,” The waiter said, leading them up some stairs. “Many bugs are eager to try us out, and for good cause.” They reached the end of the stairs, then Kabbu and Neo were led to a booth with a window view of the entire Kingdom. “Your booth.” They placed the menus down as Kabbu and Neo took their seats.
Neo immediately grabbed his menu and began to look through it. “We’ll have a server out for you in no time,” the Waiter said once they were both settled. Neo and Kabbu both thanked the waiter, and then they were on their way.
“This place is so nice,” Neo pointed out. “And the menu…” He looked through it more thoroughly. “They’ve got stuff I’ve never even heard of! ‘Roasted Berry Fries’, ‘Honey Squash Wrap’, ‘Mushroom Po’Boy’…”
“These prices…” Kabbu said, straining his voice. “65 berries for a Berry Pudding… Yikes.”
“Well, it could be way worse.” Neo continued to look at the menu. So many different options that Neo had never even considered himself. He almost felt stupid for never trying to make any of these. A Cherry Pie with a honey crust… Ohh…
After a little bit of deliberation, a different termite waitress came over to their table. “Hello there, lovelies,” she said. “My name is Zarya and I’ll be helping you two out tonight. What can I get you two started with for drinks?”
“Oh! I’ll have your Mixed Berry Tea,” Kabbu said, looking at the waitress.
“Certainly!” She looked over at Neo. “And for you?”
“Uhh… Just a Clear Water to start with,” Neo replied.
“Alright, I’ll have that out for you in no time.” She quickly ran off back to where she came from.
“Wow, I’ve never really been served like this before!” Neo exclaimed. “These termites are so cool with the things that they come up with. Do you wonder if Giants were ever as smart as us?”
“I mean… Maybe?” Kabbu replied, not looking up from his menu. “There’s no way to easily tell.”
“Well, not exactly. Their connection with the roaches provide some clues, but it isn’t concrete. From what I’ve gathered in some of my experiments, they seemed about as technologically advanced as the termites, and maybe even bees. Just, obviously sized up for them, ha!” Neo looked out the window to the termite kingdom. “I wonder if the termites got the idea of this restaurant from the giants? Do you think I should ask?”
“If you want to,” Kabbu simply replied.
Neo frowned at the beetle. “Kabbu, are you- Are you even listening to me?”
Kabbu looked up from the menu and faced Neo, and then panic set into his expression. “A-Ah! Yes, sorry. I got a little sidetracked with the menu. There’s just a lot of good options, but I’m trying to find something that’s also kinda… cheap.”
Neo sighed, then chuckled. “You and your food obsession.”
“Hey! It’s not an obsession! It’s an art! One that has to be mastered, just like fighting!” He looked back down at the menu. “Ooh… They’ve got a cookie platter that was made with honey imbued in the batter… And with berries too…”
Neo sighed and looked out through the window again. “There has to be more evidence out there that can give clues to the ways of the giants. Maybe I need to look at the bigger picture.” Neo began to think about some experiments he could do. Maybe a visit to Snakemouth Den would give some clues. He could also-
“And here’s that Clear Water for you,” the Waitress suddenly said, pulling Neo out of his trance. “Are… Are you alright?”
“Oh, yes! I’m fine,” Neo said, grabbing the water and taking a sip from it. “Just admiring the view.”
“It is nice, isn’t it?” The waitress chuckled with Neo, and then grabbed a small notepad. “Are you two ready for your order, or do you need more time?”
“I think I’m ready,” Kabbu chimed in. “I’ll have the Mushroom Honey Wrap with a side of the Burly Fries.”
“Good choice, I like it. Those honey wraps have been super popular.” She smiled, and turned to Neo. “And for you?”
“Oh, right,” Neo said. He looked at the menu briefly and said the first thing that caught his eye. “I’ll take the Tangy Salad with Berries.”
“What dressing would you like with it?”
“Uhh…” Neo didn’t think that far enough. “Whatever’s the sweetest, if that’s fine.”
“Certainly. We’ll have that right out for you.” She took the menus off of the table and went away once again.
Neo looked over at Kabbu. “Well, with the menus gone, I guess there’s nothing else for you to look at other than me…”
The beetle immediately became flustered. “Ahaha… Y-Yeah. I definitely like looking at you- I mean-! Wait-“
Neo felt a little worried. “Sorry, was that too direct? I was just trying to… uhh… be flattering?”
Kabbu’s eyes practically bulged out of his head. “Well, you’re better at it then I am.”
“Aw, shucks…” Neo blushed slightly. “Well, besides that… How have things been with Team Snakemouth? Ever since the Wasp King was defeated, it must be way quieter…”
Kabbu raised a brow at Neo, seeming a little confused. “We’re… fine? It actually isn’t as quiet as you would think. Still a lot of requests that we accept. That and we still have our duties with the kingdom, of course.”
“Ah, right. Of course…” Neo looked away from Kabbu. “Sorry for asking. That was probably a little bit stupid of me.”
“No! It’s fine! I promise! I really appreciate it, truly.”
But Kabbu’s voice was telling Neo otherwise. He sounded genuine, but there was a bite in his voice that told him he was just a little annoyed. I’m apologizing too much, Neo thought. “Uhh… Do you wanna hear about another experiment I’ve been working on?” Neo said, trying to change the conversation quickly. “It’s actually really interesting!”
“…Sure,” Kabbu replied, nodding slightly. The hesitation made Neo not want to proceed any further… but he went on ahead anyway.
“So… I’m sure you know of those crystal berries that were scattered around Bugaria, right?” Neo asked. Kabbu nodded in response. “Well, it turns out that they’re really closely related to the technology that the roaches used! I have no idea how, but they have extremely similar energy readings.”
Kabbu slightly chuckled. “You and your energy readings.”
“They’re very important!” Neo exclaimed. “Anyway, it really brings up a lot of questions. Where do those berries even come from in the first place? They’ve gotta be related to Snakemouth Den. I could maybe go out there again some time.”
“How did you even manage to find a crystal berry for experimenting? I thought we had found all of them…”
“Ah, right. About that…” Neo heavily sighed, before saying, “I maybe sort of… stole one from the underground tavern.”
Kabbu let out a loud and strong gasp. “You STOLE from the underground tavern?! How in the world did you manage to do that?”
“Very carefully.” Neo puffed his chest out slightly, then felt his breathing become difficult, so he stopped and began to cough rather profusely.
“Neo! Venus above, are you alright?” Kabbu cried out, sounding worried.
“Never been better,” he said, still coughing. “But… yeah. That was a really insightful experiment.”
“I’d imagine so.”
Neo nodded and stopped talking much further to look out through the window, taking in more of the view of the Termite Kingdom. Pretty much the entirety of the capitol could be seen, especially many of the taller buildings. Neo wondered if other bugs were capable of creating such well defined structures. A lot of the stuff in the Ant Kingdom was… rather crude, entirely honestly.
“Neo, I, uhh…” Kabbu started, causing Neo to look over at him. He could see tears in the beetle’s eyes, but he quickly shook his head, likely just to himself. “I need to excuse myself for a moment,” he said. Kabbu quickly got up from his seat and headed down the stairs, leaving Neo alone. The moth didn’t even get a chance to reply.
I hope he’s alright, Neo thought. He seemed really distressed all of a sudden. Neo took a sip from his Clear Water and waited patiently for the beetle’s return.
Five minutes passed… Kabbu wasn’t back. That’s fine. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Ten minutes passed… Kabbu still wasn’t back. A little concerning. Neo began to feel worried. He probably should’ve gone and checked on him, but he didn’t want to be much of a bother.
Fifteen minutes passed… Their food came to their table, but Kabbu still wasn’t back. The moth patiently waited for his return. He didn’t want to eat without him.
Twenty minutes passed… Kabbu wasn’t back. Neo went ahead and ate his salad. He still was holding out for him… but he was getting doubtful.
Twenty-five minutes passed… The waitress came around with the bill. Neo at least waited for Kabbu to maybe come back around and help him pay.
Thirty minutes passed…
Kabbu wasn’t coming back.
Neo messed up.
Tonight was a bust.
Neo tried not to break down as he left the building with his stuff.
He failed.