I never really minded needles. Maybe when I was younger, but at some point, they just failed to faze me. For some reason, people always seemed to be so afraid of them and I just never understood why. Just deal with the prick for a second or two, and there was no issue. Hopefully a medical professional was the one using it too. And in that case, there was even less reason to fear.

“Noooooo!” I howled in fear as Bella and Belphegora held me in place with their Minds. Beatrice, meanwhile, struggled to aim the two needles at my thrashing body, trying her best to aim them at the determined locations.

“Mother, please sit still! It will only hurt for a moment!” Beatrice scolded, but I was inconsolable. I don’t know why this is happening either, man! The needles were fine when I was studying them just before, but now, seeing them close in on my body…

Get it AWAY!

Despite my efforts, the needles eventually pierced me. Whether because I instinctively knew it was necessary or some part of my old self forced me to chill out, I stopped moving long enough for Beatrice to stick me. Right when that happened, things really got moving. The box mechanism on the back of the chair, modified to work with only two flexible, metallic tubes, began to shudder and grind, which then prompted the vials of liquid to drain into the tubes. And while my potential salvation was squeezed into my body…

“…and where will the liquid go? Do bees have veins like humans do? How does the needle work on our body? Humans are larger, so there is probably too much medicine for us. I don’t think bees have liquid distribution systems like humans do. Is it over yet?”

It seemed that Queen was the source of the needle fear. She had been muttering for a while about all sorts of random things, and it almost felt like a part of me wanted to jump out of my own skin to escape the evil instrument. Oh, of course. How could I forget the classic trope of fucking bees being afraid of getting stung? What sort of bullshit irony was this supposed to imply? In what situation would a bee even encounter a needle? Actually, flip that. If needles are evocative of stingers, then all the more reason for a bee to not be afraid of them. Right?

“Okay Mother, all done.”

That was it? Maybe Queen had the right idea to think of a distraction, ‘cause that passed by in a flash. Once the last drop of liquid drained from the tube, I hurriedly removed the needles and sighed in relief as the bees surrounded me. They’d monitor my condition, and make sure the other bees didn’t come around to investigate. No need to worry them for now. I tried to calm down and examine my condition. Physically, I didn’t feel much wrong besides the aching spot between my eyes, but that was when I sat idle. If I tried using my Mind for pretty much anything, the amount of effort I’d have to expend would be enormous, and that aching pang would balloon in intensity. Of course, thanks to the System, I had a handy indicator that plainly stated my condition. For now, my status still only said [Status: Mind Collapse (Extremely Severe)]. Hopefully, that would change soon.

______

Bess’s brain hurt. Probably not as much as mom’s brain, but thinking was hard work. For hours now, she had been fruitlessly trying to develop a ‘Reverse Kin Link’ in order to save the hive. Safe to say, she was not the bee for the job. She was never the most talented with Mind, even less so with managing other bees. It had taken forever for her to figure out managing a few drones. Developing an entire system that reverse-engineered a powerful Mind-based creation of her mother’s? Or even of the gods? Not a chance.

Even so, she had tried. Everyone was trying. And now Bess was the sole member of the Hive Five still at the hive who wasn’t being included in the fun! Though from the waves of fear that had washed over the bees a moment ago, from mom herself no less, maybe it was better not to be involved in whatever the smarty-pants were getting up to.

“What’s the hold up?” Bessie whispered in her head. Her apprentice was jittering and shaking, her claws itching to re-enter the earth. So simple. It had been a long time since Bess felt such a simplistic drive to do a single thing. Now she had responsibility. An important role.

Not that she liked that. A hint of envy crept into Bess’ mind, but there wasn’t much room with all the thoughts of reverse Links and whatever.

“Just sit tight. You won’t be doing much diggin’ for a bit. Did you figure out some way to create a reverse Link like Beatrice asked?”

“Huh? No way. I have no idea how to do something like that.” Bessie huffed and turned away, buzzing over to whisper in some other bee’s head. Probably one of Belle’s apprentices back in the nursery. Bess watched her leave and nearly smacked her upside the head, but she refrained. After all, they were in the same boat. Neither Bess nor her foolish apprentice were gifted in matters of Mind, so their inability to help in this situation was… frustrating.

“Trouble with the young one?” a rich voice said. Though he wasn’t in sight, Bess knew Bedivere was watching over them, as usual. Why he was prying into her affairs, she couldn’t begin to guess. Even so, she wasn’t one to turn down a fun conversation. Surely he would have some interesting insight about what the smarty-pants were doing that meatheads like he or she could understand.

“I understand how it feels,” he continued. “I haven’t discussed this with any others, considering I felt they wouldn’t be able to relate. But you have never been enthused to lead. Of course, you are loyal to your duty, and to the hive. But… aren’t these youngsters far too arrogant?! What are they thinking nowadays? Forget loyalty to the hive, their obedience is far too lacking.”

Bess listened to the rant and nodded along in understanding. She also tried to keep her jaw from dropping too low in shock. Was this really Bedivere talking? Wise, brave, valiant Bedivere? The one who always made time on his rounds to stop by Bess’ station of the day for a brief exchange? One where she always felt inadequate against his nobility?

And now he was whining. Well, to call it whining would do a disservice to the depth and richness of his voice and tone. But Bess was an expert whiner, and she could recognize it a mile away.

“Does that mean you’re also having trouble with your underlings, Bedivere? I’m surprised; aren’t you usually pretty strict with them? And it’s not like they’re disloyal to mom. What’s got you so riled up?”

“Forgive me. I have been overly emotional,” he said with a sigh. “The Valkybees are simply so unruly. And their anarchy spreads like an infection among the warrior troops. Even poor, responsible Beryl was scolded the other day alongside Beelzebub by Beatrice. They nearly broke the central hive in a selfish, inane competition. Goodness, they were fighting next to Mother’s room! I couldn’t believe it. And Beatrice herself… I don’t know what came over her in that moment with Feltan. I was so worried that something might happen to her. Next to Mother, she is the most crucial bee in the hive, and she made such an aggressive and risky choice. So much…”

“But Beatrice is the oldest of any of us. I thought we were talking about the wacky youth?”

Bedivere didn’t respond. Of course he was concerned about the younger bees and the seeming disconnect they had from the overall hive, but in truth, he concerned himself with everything. Anything and everything.

At that moment, a wave of nausea spread through Bess, and she saw others suffering from a similar illness. Instinctively, she knew that mom was the one feeling this way, and despite the intensity of the nausea, she couldn’t help but wonder about what terrors a reverse Link would bring. If mom were to become victim of the thoughts and feelings of the bees… well, that wouldn’t be good.

________

Well. That was a bust. More than half an hour of nothing but nausea and all for what?

[Status: Mind Collapse (Severe)]

So not severe anymore, but serious? The medication did help, most likely. That is, if my idea of words was actually correct. For all I knew, the condition could have been worsened a thousandfold. Hell, it probably was.

But the nausea had abated after a while, and at the end was a slightly less potent headache. So I was probably getting better. But it wasn’t working anymore. The medication had caused a bout of nausea as strong as a powerful flex of Mind, and during that time, I watched as the Mind Collapse status faded in and out into its new state. Now it was solid. Unchanging.

I couldn’t help but sigh. “Well, it was a good effort. And not a wasted one either. Since the Mind Collapse is apparently less intense now, maybe we won’t have to be so extreme with the reverse Link. Fewer bees removed or something.”

“Even then, I’m afraid drastic measures will be necessary, Mother. It only concerns me further that the humans’ medicine worked, but only a little. If it is as potent as implied, then I’m not comfortable with the minor effect it had. Perhaps because your Mind is too powerful…”

Beatrice’s concerns, even the ones that propped me up a bit, were quite valid. Of course, they didn’t consider the equally troubling angle that the humans were highly capable creatures. As I knew very well. If the cure they had come up with wasn’t working, that spelled trouble. Especially if it could observably help me. It meant that the medicine simply wasn’t potent enough to cure me with these normal dosages. So it could be, as Beatrice so rightly said, that my Mind is too powerful. Oh dear. What am I supposed to say about that? If I weren’t a bee, I might be blushing!

“Eh, it could also mean that your ridiculous quest for power resulted in an affliction so severe that even your hard head is being laid low. Oh, and that modern human medicine is incapable of curing it. No really, I think it's an achievement of some sort.”

Hey now. Let’s not forget whose head this originally was.

“I will prepare the bees. They must be ready to lay down their Minds for the hive, if that is necessary. And the first bee to leave the Link must be chosen, and I predict it will come down to your decision, Mother. I am sorry for that. But it may not be so easy for a single bee to be chosen for such a harrowing task.”

“I guess we really have no choice then, huh Beatrice? I’ll send the B-mail to every bee just in case. And… I don’t want to have to choose one, but I will. But only if someone volunteers.”

I nodded to Beelzebub, who lifted the Antithought contraption. At Beau’s behest, Beelzebub would carry the chair into her workshop for further study, if nothing else than to become more familiar with intricate mechanics. As for the other bees, they parted a bit to allow me to pass, and I followed Beatrice towards the clearing.

And as we buzzed along (or in my case, just floated along), I couldn’t help but notice all over again how empty and dead the forest looked. Operation Pollination got notched up a bit on my to-do list. Which was… way too long.

Duvil

I made a discord but never advertised it here. now that Scribble hub is caught up, I think its only fair to let people know. I'm more prone to discuss things there, so feel free to join