Mist was laughing so hard he nearly fell down. So what if that dumb spider ran off with the butterfly? Or that his little scientist was dead? He already got what he wanted.
After Daisy and the gang were chased away, the clouds above the village had only gotten darker. The wind had picked up to such a substantial amount that Mist was impressed that his troops could fly at all. Until it started raining, that is. Then the wasps were nearly knocked out of the air by the water droplets.
"We lost them," the captain said to Mist. "The spider took her. They're gone."
The mantis only grinned. "She doesn't matter now! We did it! Nobody can stop me!" He stared out of the tree, and down at the village with malice. Humans were screaming and running indoors. The wind roared, and the sound it made was deafening. All of Mist's troops gave each other uneasy looks.
Right in front of the village, a large vortex appeared. It picked up dirt and debris as it started to head toward where the people lived. A few huts had already tumbled to the ground just from the gusts coming off of the twister.
"There it is! It's finally happening!" Mist yelled. "Take that!"
"Uh, boss?" one wasp tried to speak up.
"Not now!" the mantis snapped.
What the wasp was trying to tell Mist was that the tornado had shifted ever so slightly in direction. Mist himself didn't seem to notice the change until it was beyond too late. The twister wasn't moving very fast, but there was nowhere to go. The wind was too strong outside to attempt flying away, and besides that, the rain would drown most of them before they got within a few feet.
Only now realizing how many variables were out of his control, Mist turned to his troops. "All of you, down to the base! Brace yourselves! We're about to be hit!"
They reached the bottom of the tree with just seconds to spare. Mist and the wasps furiously dug to the roots and hid themselves among them. The tornado slammed into the oak tree, blasting every last leaf off of it and tearing its bark to shreds. The tree was lifted into the air, taking the mantis and his subordinates with it. Mist screamed, clinging for dear life to the largest root he could find. Many of the smaller roots around him broke off, and any wasp clutching one of these was sucked away never to be seen again.
The oak itself was twirling around in a mad circle, its branches breaking with deafening force and flying off into the black horizon. Was this what you wanted? Mist thought angrily to himself. Did you really plan for something this stupid to happen? Suppose the butterfly was still here, flapping her dumb wings until she died from exhaustion? Suppose the Wind Machine was still working? Maybe the stupid twister wouldn't have hit your stupid tree then, stupid!
Mist swore to whatever higher power existed out there that if he ever found that butterfly again (if she was still alive somehow), he would kill her. If he survived this, of course. Fear turned to rage, as he glared at the destruction and carnage taking place around him.
*************
Fang was the first one to wake up. He looked down at Daisy and gently nuzzled her. "C'mon, Daisy..." he whispered. "We have to get out of here soon."
"Just a few more minutes," Daisy mumbled.
The spider smiled. "Alright, then. But just a few more minutes. Then we have to go."
He looked at the others. Dot and Sage were snoring away, but thankfully, they weren't very loud. Fang looked above them, through the small clearings in the trees. He couldn't tell what time it was from what little patches of sky he could find. It seemed so cloudy and dark. But at least it wasn't raining anymore. That would have made travel very inconvenient.
With a sigh, Fang lifted Daisy up to wake her, then paused. He felt around on her stomach for a bit, confused initially. It was like there were hundreds of little beads inside her. His eyes widened. No, not beads. Eggs. Daisy was producing eggs.
"Aw, Daisy..." Fang smiled. Maybe when she came back next spring, she would have met up with another butterfly and have a bunch of caterpillar children. He thought that was how it worked, anyway. He didn't really know very much about their life cycles.
The thought of a bunch of Daisy's kids flitting around once they themselves were butterflies made the spider smile wider. He'd love each and every one of them. But hopefully, none would have broken wings for Fang to deal with.
Daisy stirred, and Fang set her down. "Hey," the spider greeted her. "Ready yet?" The butterfly nodded. She went over and woke up her friends. Once everyone had stretched and got their bearings, Fang led them through Gossamer Forest as quietly as he could. It had been a long time since he lived here, so he mostly had to rely on his memories of this place for direction.
Everyone had to walk in single file behind the spider, and whenever he came across any sort of cobweb in the path, he'd carry the insects on his back until the coast was clear again. Fang was the only one who could see these webs, being a spider and all. The silk was thin and almost invisible. Not to mention incredibly strong. Some of the strands were as strong as steel cables, so any bug caught in them had absolutely no chance of getting out of them.
Fang normally didn't feel afraid of anything. After all, he had killed a scorpion. And just recently, faced off against an entire hive of angry wasps. But they were things he considered weaker than him. At this moment, he was dealing with another spider. He was evenly matched, if not put at a great disadvantage. This was her territory he was encroaching upon. And she was very venomous and quick.
Maybe he wouldn't have felt as scared if Daisy wasn't here. Whether he liked to admit it or not, he had a deep fondness for the butterfly that grew every day. And feeling all those unfertilized eggs in her abdomen made him even more protective of her. Fang blushed, looking behind him at Daisy. She smiled at him.
"We're almost out," Fang said after some time. "Just a mile or so past the treeline, and we'll be back in Ridpath." He froze. "Get on my back, all of you."
The group quickly obeyed, flattening their bodies against Fang. There were many strands of web ahead of them. Dew droplets were the only things that gave away their position. "Not a sound," Fang whispered. He maneuvered his way around the first couple of strands, taking care not to pluck them by accident with his fingers.
Then Sage sneezed.
Three gigantic sneezes that went bouncing off of the webs and were sent echoing into the forest around them.
Fang slowly looked over his shoulder. "Skin me alive and roast my carapace upon an open flame," he hissed between clenched teeth. Sage, hands clasped over his face, whimpered an apology.
The web strands began to vibrate. Panicking, Fang ran over to a nearby bush and practically stuffed the insects into it. "Stay down! And don't come out into I tell you to," he snarled. Daisy was about to protest when she saw...her.
The first thing Daisy noticed was the bright red hourglass on the spider's stomach. The widow slunk down out of one of the tree, a strand spun out behind her like a cord. She glided down to the forest floor, her silky black body nearly camouflaged in the darkness. Her eyes shone green and her lipstick was almost as red as her hourglass.
Hands on her hips, she strolled up to Fang, whose body tensed under her gaze. "You," she growled. Her pupils narrowed at him. Fang bowed nervously and said, "Madame Noir. Long time no see."
Madame Noir popped a cigarette into her mouth. "Cut that out," she replied. "Don't think I forgot what you pulled on me last time. Flies' blood. Of all the things to date me for!" She lit her cigarette, inhaling deeply before exhaling a cloud of white smoke.
Fang murmured, "Still angry about that I see. To be fair, I think we both know what would have happened to me if I decided to keep you, Madame Noir."
The black widow chuckled. "Spiders don't talk about things like fairness, Fang. If we did, we wouldn't catch very many bugs now, would we?" She offered him a cigarette. He took it from her and put it in his mouth. Fang didn't normally smoke, but he didn't want to make her madder than she already was at him. After she ignited it for him, he gave it a few puffs.
"So tell me," Madame Noir said after a few draws. "What brings you back after all these years? Did you miss me? Change your mind about me, perhaps?"
Fang shook his head.
The widow shrugged. "Just as well. I ended up with another widow a while back. Babies are over there." She gestured to a small white eggsac firmly attached to the opposite tree.
Daisy gulped. One widow was quite enough to deal with, let alone hundreds. Sage's eyes started watering again as he tried to keep in another sneeze. Dot kept her spear in a tight grip.
Clearing his throat, Fang gave Madame Noir a disinterested look. "I was just passing through here. To reminisce, you know? Sorry if I disturbed you." In his mind, he was plotting. That was all he could do if he hoped to get his friends away from Madame Noir. Outwit her.
By making small talk with her, he was hoping she would get bored and tell him to get lost or something. But Fang also weighed the odds. He needed a back-up plan in case she didn't lose interest.
Madame Noir, who suddenly seemed VERY interested in him, spoke up. "Disturb me? No, you didn't disturb me." She looked up at Fang, rubbing his shoulders. "You did hunger me, though. For a second, of course." She smirked a little at him. "Right now, I'm feeling something else..."
The wolf spider backed out of her velvety touch. Frowning, Madame Noir put out her cigarette and sighed. "Well, alright then. You may pass, I guess. But remember me every once and a while, ok? Perhaps send a few crickets my way, no?"
She was about to leave when Sage sneezed again. The widow snapped her body around to face Fang. "Did you hear something?" she asked. Fang started sweating. "No," he said as casually as he could. "Did you?"
Madame Noir started stalking towards the bush. "Why, yes I did. It sounded like it came from over here." Fang grimaced. He couldn't just grab her; a few twists from her body and she'd bite him in an instant. Slowly, he backed away towards her eggsac.
Sage and Dot were having a whispered argument over what should have been done. They were taking too long on making a decision and Madame Noir was getting closer. Daisy didn't think; she had to save her friends. She shot to her feet and ran out, revealing herself to the black widow.
"Daisy!" Fang yelped.
Madame Noir seemed curious. "Why, it's a little butterfly!" she exclaimed. "Well, what's a pretty thing like you doing out here?"
Daisy didn't fall for the spider's flattering words. "Just passing through," she said.
The widow laughed, "What a coincidence! My pal Fang here is passing through as well! Care to explain yourself, Fang? Who's your little pet, huh?"
Fang huffed angrily. "She's not my pet. She's...my friend." As he said this last part, he looked down at his feet.
"Your friend?" Madame Noir sounded amazed. "At least I can see why you wouldn't eat the dear thing, but your friend? What a disgrace to spiders you've been."
Turning back to Daisy, Madame Noir smiled. "And uh, what's your name, sweetie?"
"I'm Daisy. And with your permission, I'd like to pass through your forest back to my homeland."
The widow walked in a circle around the butterfly. "Tell me, dear. What has brought you here, to a spider's den? Curiousity? Maybe ignorance? Fear? Losing your way?"
Daisy replied, "A mantis, actually. And a bunch of wasps. They were about to destroy everything, if they haven't already. But all I want is to go home now and forget about it all. Surely, that isn't too much to ask. Right?"
Madame Noir stopped in front of her. "And that's where you wrong, sweetie. For me, it is too much to ask. Because us widows have a code, and that code is one that must not be broken. Any and all things caught in our webs shouldn't be let go. We're trappers, after all. We've been doing it for generations, and we're quite good at it. It certainly isn't anything...personal."
Daisy stood her ground. "If you eat me, you'll regret it," she muttered. Her bright wing flashed behind her. The widow barely seemed fazed. "Perhaps, perhaps not..." Madame Noir growled. "Only one way to find out, though."
Without a moment's hesitation, Dot launched herself out of the bush, driving her spear straight into the black widow's side right before the spider could sieze Daisy. The arachnid screeched, falling backwards and taking the ladybug with her.
Sage grabbed Daisy and did his best to lead her past a few of the strands of web that blocked their path previously. Unfortunately, Daisy's wings got caught and he couldn't pull her any farther. "Sage!" Daisy cried.
Dot and Madame Noir rolled in the dirt, the spider trying to get the ladybug who kept her at bay as best she could. Yanking the spear out of her side, the widow threw the ladybug across the forest. With an enraged howl, Madame Noir charged at the bugs.
"Hey Noir!" Fang called.
The widow stopped and looked back at him. Fang had taken the lit cigarette out of his mouth and was holding her eggsac above it. "Let them go," he growled menacingly. "Don't make me do this."
"You wouldn't dare," Madame Noir hissed.
Fang snarled, "You wanna bet?!"
Madame Noir cowered. She looked between the entrapped insects and her helpless eggs. With a purr, she walked towards Fang. "There's so much potential you aren't capitalizing on," the widow said. "So much you could be doing to redeem yourself in my eyes. So much to...experience." Madame Noir rubbed her hands on Fang's chest. "Be a good boy, and give me my children, Fang. Pretty please?"
Fang leaned his head against hers and smirked. "Alright, then..." he whispered. With a wink, he lit the eggsac on fire and tossed it as hard as he could in the opposite direction. The eggs flew overhead and disappeared into the brush.
"NO!!!" Madame Noir screamed, running after her babies. Fang saw his chance. He raced over to Daisy and tore the webs apart. "Leaving now!" he yelled, scooping up the butterfly and her friends. Fang ran into the treeline, still hearing Madame Noir's shouts of anger and distress.
They were back in Ridpath now. Fang set the friends down, eyes widening over the scene that was set before him. "Daisy?" he asked. "Did you do that?" In the distance, the old oak tree had been uprooted and ripped to shreds. The land surrounding it was devastated, a few of the village homes nothing more than mounds of rubble.
The butterfly cocked her head, furrowing her brow. "I...I don't think so."