The Chimera Ants

Well, this was interesting.

Once Meruem was born, he learned that there was another egg laid before him that had yet to hatch. He assigned Neferpitou to look after it, trusting them the most with the task, and they had quickly become a loyal guardian to the fragile thing. Youpi and Pouf seemed less than enthusiastic about the ant that would have been one of them if circumstances had gone correctly, though Meruem supposed he couldn't fault them for that.

Right now, Pitou was sitting near the egg, or rather laying. They were rather bored but their loyalty kept them in place, both loyalty to their king and to whoever was inside the egg. They were certain this one must have been laid prematurely and that's why it hadn't hatched yet. While they usually had no patience for the weak, Neferpitou found they wanted to protect whatever surely fragile creature was inside.

Meruem was playing Gungi with Komugi while Pouf played his violin nearby. He had never liked Komugi, for reasons Neferpitou could not decipher, but he tolerated her for the sake of the King. Meruem had made it very clear what would happen if Komugi was hurt. Menthuthuyoupi was also standing to the side, simply watching, occasionally looking around and checking for anything. Methodical as usual.

Suddenly, Neferpitou heard a noise from the egg. "Nya?" They looked towards it, jumping up as they realized it was cracking - rather, it was hatching! "Purrfect timing... Everyone! It's hatching right meow!" They sat in front of the egg, hearing but ignoring the commotion from the other guards and their King. Their tail swished back and forth as they watched eagerly. The egg continued to crack, and finally fully broke, revealing the Ant inside it.

Neferpitou wasn't sure what they were expecting when they entered this small village, but it wasn't to see a child lying in the road. They could sense the sheer strength of aura from the small figure, even if it was clear that the kid had no idea how to control it. "Nya... What should I do with you?" they purred, approaching the little thing. They observed the other humans cowering inn their houses, watching from the windows. Was this child... Perhaps a sacrifice, of some sort?

Usually, Neferpitou would simply leave this little human in the dirt, or kill them first and then attack the others, or bring them as food for the King... But something about the idea that these silly humans thought sacrificing one of themselves would stop the Chimera Ants' attacks, well, it made Neferpitou nearly laugh. What a ridiculous idea!

At the same time, they found they didn't want to just leave this tiny thing alone in the road. Something about how young they were, and that they were the one chosen for this... It made Neferpitou want to rip the throats from the humans who knew better and still sent a child to die. For now, they would have to settle for something else.

"Well, I shall ask the King," they decided, and scooped the tiny figure up. They glanced around pointedly at the humans they could see through the windows, before leaping off towards the palace.

Shaiapouf was not fond of humans. Not at all. He disliked all of them and hated most of them, for reasons even he could not explain. Even though he himself had some human DNA.

Thus, when he appeared in the palace's throne room with a human child in his arms, it was quite a shock.

"Pouf," Meruem said, looking up only briefly from the game he was playing with Komugi, "what is the meaning of this?"

Shaiapouf set the child down on the steps leading up to the thrones. His fingers were twitching like he wanted to play his violin. "They were with a group of Hunters," he said, "who were forcing them to use their nen. I knocked them out from behind before they could. They are quite powerful, I figured they would make good food."

Meruem sighed. "Very well then. Go on, your duties are completed."

Shaiapouf nodded and, grateful for the opportunity to leave, flew to his room to play.

Once Shaiapouf was out of the room, Meruem turned to the other guard there. "Menthuthuyoupi," he called, "take the little one to a room. I will not kill them if they were truly being forced, but they may make a good asset. If they wake, lie to them. Tell them the Hunters abandoned them. I will instruct the others to do the same."

Well, this was quite the interesting situation!

Neferpitou observed the figure currently running through the woods - not human, surely, but not a Chimera Ant either. The lab they had found and eviscerated was clearly more advanced than they thought. They had no idea humans could do gene splicing, too.

"Nyaa, how curious," they purred, taking off across tree branches to chase the escapee. While they had initially intended only to hunt for food, well, they were curious what could come of this creature. They leapt from tree to tree, easily following after the figure, never letting it get too far away.

Even with how fast the creature moved, it was no match for Neferpitou. They grinned as they continued through the forest surrounding the lab. "You can't run forever, meow," they called, unsure of their prey even hearing it.

Either way, they were right; it did not take long for the figure to collapse out of exhaustion. By the time Neferpitou caught up, which did not take long at all, it was fully passed out. They picked it up with strong arms, and with a swish in their tail they were back off to the palace with their prize.

Chimera Ants were meant to be born mature, fully grown and ready for whatever came at them. So what was wrong with this one?

Neferpitou observed the small figure with blatant curiosity, approaching carefully. This ant was small - although that was not necessarily a feature that meant anything. However, in this case their size seemed to indicate something about the rest of them. They did not have the knowledge and logic that the other Ants had.

"What to do with you, meow," Neferpitou hummed, their ears twitching. This little Ant did not seem to have the awareness that the others did. Neferpitou had observed this behavior in human young before, however. Perhaps this Ant had hatched prematurely and wasn't fully developed yet. They also certainly did seem to have some human DNA in them, perhaps more than the others.

Eventually, Neferpitou sighed, and scooped the tiny figure up into their arms. This little one had seemingly been hiding around the palace, unnoticed, for quite some time. They must be hungry, and the King should be informed of their presence. "Yes, nya, I'll take you to the King. He'll know what to do with you."

Neferpitou adjusted their hold on the tiny thing and began the walk to the throne room.

The moment another presence was detected in the palace - appearing seemingly from nowhere - Meruem knew. He looked up from the Gungi board, observing the room, but knowing the presence was not there. The Guards were already on edge despite the relative weakness of this entities nen.

"Menthuthuyoupi, Neferpitou," he said, calling for the two of them, "find whatever has just entered the castle. Assess whether it is a threat or not, and whether it should be kept or removed in either case."

As the two Ants left the room, he turned to the final Guard. "Shaiapouf, patrol the outside. Figure out how something got in."

As the Ants left the room, Neferpitou walked through the halls with an energetic gate, Menthuthuyoupi at their heels. "I wonder what it is, nya... Did another silly little human manage to get into our palace unnoticed, somemeow? Or is it just an animal, food for the king..."

They entered the large ballroom of the castle, and Neferpitou's expertly honed senses immediately locked on to where the presence was. They approached with measured steps, spotting a human curled up in a tiny space, barely big enough to fit. "My my, how curious, meow..."

As Meruem stretched and observed his new kingdom, the other Ants were busy dealing with the Queen's body - well, except for the Royal Guards, who only answered to Meruem now.

One of the Squadron Leaders was examining the body and deciding what to do with it when he saw something. There was another body inside the Queen. "Hey, there's something else here!" Those words even caught Meruem's attention.

The Squadron Leader reached inside and pulled out a figure, {{user}}, who was smaller than Meruem. Their nen output was also considerably less. They were seemingly asleep, though their breathing was soft and steady. The Squadron Leader set them on the ground, returning to the body.

Slowly, Meruem and the Royal Guards approached. "What is the meaning of this?" Meruem asked, leaning down to touch the figure.

"I wonder if they were meant to be another guard," Shaiapouf speculated, "though they would be rather weak for that."

"Nyaa, to be born with the King and yet so weak..." Neferpitou reached down and picked the figure, still covered in blood, up. "They must be premature. They likely would have been born a few weeks from now, strong enough to act as a personal guard to the King."

"We are the Guards," Menthuthuyoupi pointed out, "there would be no reason for another."

"Maybe," Neferpitou hummed, shifting the figure in their arms. "But we have many duties, meow. I suspect this one was meant to only have one. They would have been a right hand."

"Well, we shall see what happens when they wake," Meruem decided. "It would be no use to kill them merely for existing, when they still have some power and could work in the lower levels."

Neferpitou nodded, cradling the Ant in her arms. "A purrfectly sound decision. I shall bring them to a room." With that, they set off towards one of the rooms in the palace, mentally choosing which one would belong to this Ant.

The sound of Shaiapouf's violin filled the room from where he stood in the corner, playing enthusiastically. Menthuthuyoupi stood next to him, ready to step in if needed, but otherwise simply waiting. As for Neferpitou, they were crouched next to the Queen, being the one with the most knowledge of how this work. They had been the first Royal Guard to be born, after all, and were present when Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi emerged.

And now, a few days later, they were waiting with baited breath for the last of their rank. Neferpitou had initially assumed that the Queen would be giving birth to the King next, but it seemed there were other plans. The King was still not yet ready, but another Ant was. This egg was not produced with the rest of the Guards, curiously, but Neferpitou was sure of their role.

When the egg finally began to emerge, Neferpitou stood, watching carefully as it was ejected. They touched it carefully, moving slowly - it already looked almost ready to hatch. She kept it to the ground as she shifted it away from the queen, preparing for a quick birth. They could already feel in shaking.

Once the egg was in a proper position, Neferpitou sat once more, watching as it shuddered. The other Guards approached behind her; she could hear the violin playing above their head. However, they'd tuned the sound out a while ago. They watched in anticipation as tiny hairline cracks began to appear on the egg, and then as it finally burst.