POBee 437.1 - A Silly Bee

Belissar had considered if he should take precautions regarding the chimeric monster bees. Maybe he could create another Flower Meadow attached to the Abyssal Trench like the Farm the former Tower Guards resided in. There, the chimeric monster bees could be kept until they proved trustworthy, unable to harm the rest of his bees.

Belissar decided against it. The God of Bees had said she hoped he would be able to take care of these bees like all the others and find a place for them in his Tower. To that end, Belissar figured he should treat them like he treated his other bees…and he would never imprison his other bees in an isolated room. He would trust that these bees would listen when he told them not to hurt the others. Hopefully, they would reward his trust in time.

And if all else failed…the bee army now lived in the Beecity and would be available should the hive of hives require protection. If it turned out Belissar couldn’t trust the new bees, he could at least trust in them.

So, Belissar stood in the Memorial Flower Meadow, just above the Beecity where all his other bees lived. There, he prepared new beehouses which the hive of hives then filled with workers and honey. The First of the Fifth’s First Daughter and Niobee hovered to either side of him while the Firstborn and the bee army hovered at a distance, close enough to intervene but far enough not to threaten the newborn bees. Finnakynne had come with the bumblebees and now hovered near him as well, having offered to help as well as the hive of hives’ resident shapeshifter.

All the preparations he had decided to make were now completed and there was nothing left but to meet the new bees. Belissar took a deep breath and turned to the First Daughter.

“Ready?”

The First Daughter buzzed and danced a salute.

“Ready. Will take care of new bees.”

Belissar then brought up the new spawner and placed it before he could hesitate any further. His face cramped even as the spawner started to take shape. This spawner…took the former of a broken hive, with scattered and empty honeycomb strewed about. Needless to say, all of the bees in the area began buzzing at the sight.

One section of honeycomb was still relatively intact and had a bunch of capped cells. One of these cells started glowing, then burst open. Out came the first chimeric cuckoo bee.

She was pitch black, with no color to either her chitin or her hairs. Her eyes were big like a drones, she almost looked more like a fly than a bee. Her back legs lacked the pollen basket all Belissar’s other bees had.

She spun around, taking stock of her surroundings. She paused when she caught sight of the bee army in the distance, then crawled underneath a piece of scattered honeycomb. There, she began to change. She was not obscured by a flash of light like Finnakynne was whenever she changed size, so Belissar could see her body as it shifted. Her hairs lightened and turned yellow, her eyes shrank down to the size of a worker bee’s, her chitin snapped and twisted into shape.

Belissar’s face…continued cramping…

The bee left her cell out into the world, finding neither kin nor thralls. Something in her knew she wouldn’t, that she was the first here and it would be up to her to take care of herself. But before she could even reflect on her existence, she knew hunger. She needed…something…

Then, she saw the bees up in the sky. She dove underneath the nearest cover, hoping they hadn’t spotted her.

Because the moment they saw her, it clicked. She was a chimeric cuckoo bee…and that was her prey. Monster bees, a powerful hive by the looks of it. A dangerous enemy for a newborn chimeric cuckoo bee without any stored essence…and an immense opportunity to start her new life. If she could infiltrate such a hive as her first, she would become powerful indeed. She would instantly become a worthy defender for her new home.

Fortunately, though she had not stored their geneline, a chimeric cuckoo bee was a born infiltrator. Just from a glance, she knew these were monsterized honeybees and how they were supposed to appear. She began to adjust her form appropriately, matching a general worker variant and then adjusting it based on their appearance. It was a mere outward façade since she lacked their essence, but that was a problem she’d soon correct. She began to stretch out with her mana, slowly, gently, so as not to make them aware of the contact. She’d sample enough to mimic their hive’s mana and pheromones, which should be enough to get her into the hive.

She’d have to be careful, without any stored genelines she’d lack the power to deal with the queen directly. She’d have to absorb their mana, drink their honey, maybe sample some of the brood if she could get away with it. She’d need enough to take the form of the bigger warrior variants she had seen, then try to sneak an egg or two into the brood. If she could take the stronger form and raise a few children who could as well, then she’d be able to deal with the queen.

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And then she’d have a powerful hive indeed with which to make her next…

“Ahem.”

She heard a voice she instinctively knew…and at the same time, her mana was intercepted by another’s. She turned in the direction of both…and found the great Essence-Weaver, her maker, as well as a huge problem.

There was another bee hovering next to the Essence-Weaver, and the moment their mana touched the chimeric cuckoo bee knew what she was. This was a monster bee empress, a queen of queens who ruled many hives. Who could command any bee if she put her mind to it…and a chimeric cuckoo bee was not immune. The ultimate prize, the aspect that every monster cuckoo bee aspired to acquire…and the ultimate threat to every would-be infiltrator. One who would instantly destroy her should she be discovered.

And said monster bee empress had already discovered her. There would be no quiet infiltration of her empire, there would be no getting close to her. The chimeric cuckoo bee was now denied the prize…and could lose her very life depending on her next decisions.

She turned to her maker and offered her submission. Maybe…maybe the Essence-Weaver was going to offer her the empress? Give her an entire empire from the start, hand her the vast power needed to defend her realm? The Essence-Weaver, the great queen made her from nothing, surely planned to make use of her capabilities as a chimeric cuckoo bee, so perhaps there was hope?

“Hi there, and welcome to the Tower!”

The Essence-Weaver’s friendly voice lifted her spirits…but then the maker narrowed her eyes.

“Now then, before anything else I need to tell you: don’t hurt the other bees.”

The chimeric cuckoo bee’s antennae began twitching. The Essence-Weaver…wanted her to…not prey upon her prey? But…then…why had she made her?

The Essence-Weaver continued before the chimeric cuckoo bee could ponder the thought.

“But as long as you don’t, we’ll take care of you and make sure you have everything you need. This is the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter, listen to her too, please.”

The chimeric cuckoo bee turned her attention to the monster bee empress, who now descended towards her. She drew close, nearly in range for the cuckoo bee to pounce and take a bite…and that fact was entirely irrelevant, for the cuckoo bee now found herself suppressed by a vast and powerful mana.

“Am First Daughter of the First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fifth Spawner, second of her line, one who takes care of hive of hives and all King’s bees.”

The chimeric cuckoo bee could do nothing but lay on the ground and extend submissive pheromones. The monster bee empress had no need to fear her, she was no threat to such a bee now that she had been spotted. The empress’s very presence demanded obedience and the cuckoo bee’s own instincts shouted that submission was her only hope of survival.

The empress flew forward and tapped her head with antennae, covering her with her pheromones and mana. The chimeric cuckoo bee received enough monster bee essence from that alone to know she should perform a dance of gratitude, her life had been spared.

But only because the empress had claimed her as a possession…or perhaps as a pet. She would be allowed to live only by the whim of the empress…so she had no hope of claiming a hive of her own. She would never be allowed enough mana and essence to become a threat to the empress, she’d only be allowed to act as the empress dictated.

She rankled even as her instincts forced her to comply. She could not help but question why, why had the Essence-Weaver revealed her to the empress upon her birth?! Had she gone undetected, she could have become the greatest cuckoo bee ever to have lived, one with an entire empire of thrall hives and all the essence she could ever need! She could have become a defender like no other, the Essence-Weaver’s greatest creation!

Instead, all of the powers and instincts the Essence-Weaver had gifted her would go to waste. She would never become anything more than a lesser creature, one inferior even to her own prey, dancing at their whims.

Unfortunately, the empress now called her to move and she had no choice but to comply. She held in her desire to buzz and flew behind the empress. She was so close she could nearly touch the empress if she extended her tongue…and yet, the empress’s mana held her in check. She couldn’t help a light buzz.

If the empress noticed, she didn’t give any sign of it. She and the Essence-Weaver led the chimeric cuckoo bee to the strangest tree she had ever seen, one that was squat and square and that lacked any leaves. The Essence-Weaver waved to it.

“This is your new home, the hive of hives worked hard to get it ready for you! Please, check it out and tell us how you like it, or if we should change anything.”

The empress beckoned and the chimeric cuckoo bee could only obey. So, this is where they would keep her, likely away from any hive. She was to be isolated, apart from any bees or essence, where the empress could keep track of her growth…

The chimeric cuckoo bee crawled inside the weird tree and her thoughts froze entirely. Inside the weird tree was a hive…a full, living hive. Worker bees crawled across rows upon rows of honeycomb, each filled to the brim and dripping with honey. The very walls of the tree pulsed with mana that spread into the honey, enriching it even further.

“What…what this?”

The empress vibrated and began to dance.

“Is King’s magic palace, made for bees. Along with hive prepared by hive of hives.”

The chimeric cuckoo bee stared. She could not help the questioning dance that grew within her.

“…where queen? Need to listen to?”

The empress, however, danced a negative.

“No queen yet. Hive is for you, hive of hives donated workers. You queen now, workers will help. Giving hive so don’t need take, don’t need kill queens.”

The chimeric cuckoo bee now noticed there was even brood comb, cells filled with both honey and bee bread, yet left uncapped and with no eggs. She looked everywhere and could not find a queen…or even a single capped brood cell. It was as if this was a functioning hive that somehow lacked a queen. That was waiting for a queen…but she did not see any queen cells either.

The monster bee empress…might just be telling the truth. A monster bee empress…prepared an empty hive enchanted by the Essessence-Weaver…and was giving it to her?

She turned to the monster bee empress.

“…what…?”

The monster empress vibrated again, then tapped the chimeric cuckoo bee with her antennae.

“As King said. Don’t hurt bees and hive of hives will help. Will supply all needs, just tell what. That is King’s hive of hives: bees don’t fight. Bees work together, help each other. Rival queens don’t fight, share honey. So…bees and cuckoo bees don’t fight either. Cuckoo bees don’t hurt and bees will help. Then cuckoo bees help King once strong.”

The chimeric cuckoo bee did not know how to respond. Her instincts…were as confused as she was…