I grab Locke’s arm and drag him closer. How does one appeal to a queen? Since this is a boss battle, Cipher will be no help. He isn’t able to give us information about the boss battle and he’s being strangely silent, which means what’s happening now is part of the battle itself. The note had stated that she’s a diplomacy boss, whatever that means. I’m going to take it as the possibility to convince her not to try and kill us.
“Good rest, Your Majesty,” I tell her, bowing my head slightly. “We don’t mean to disturb you, but your . . . guards found us in a bit of trouble and said you would like to meet us.”
“Indeed,” the queen replies, her large eyes trailing between the two of us. She focuses on Locke and studies him appreciatively. “I do enjoy meeting players.” She points at Locke. “Come closer, Player. You’re much too far.”
He looks at me and I gesture for him to go. We don’t know what the battle is yet, but it strikes me as obvious that we shouldn’t piss her off. If there’s a way to get out of here without fighting her, we need to take it. He carefully starts to pick his way up the short steps to her platform.
The moans of the male ants around her get louder and I make the mistake of glancing at the one nearest to me. His eyes meet mine and he starts to stroke himself harder in response, as if that’s all he’d been waiting for. Dox would be flaming red, but something about the interaction is intriguing to me. If these were human men, I might have even been turned on, but they’re so different, so foreign, that I can’t even figure out what I am as we stare at each other. What even is going on here? His little mandibles start to click together around his moans, and he pumps faster, his head tilting back without breaking our eye contact. I glance between the male and the queen, wondering if I should be looking at what’s happening or look away. The male seems to like it, at least, but I don’t want the queen to be offended that I’d looked at her entertainment. None of the other ants are looking at them.
He throws his head back all the way, breaking eye contact as his body starts to shake. Locke still stands in front of the queen, but they’re both looking toward the male ant I am now as his loud moans get downright vulgar. I narrow my eyes as he nears his release, expecting this to be an awkward situation when he does.
I am not prepared.
The male reaches his orgasm, and his cock starts to spray seconds before it explodes. Literally explodes with a loud pop. One second, it’s in his hand. The next, it’s in meaty pieces all over his stomach and he’s screaming in pain.
The queen clicks in displeasure. “Another one with no discipline. Pity.” She waves her hands and guards appear. The male collapses suddenly, his eyes rolling back in his head when the scream cuts off, as if . . .
“Is he dead?” I ask, horrified.
The queen focuses on me. “Males only really have one purpose, Player. If that purpose is wasted, then they’re of no use to me. I cannot help that their one and only release must be their last.” She leans forward and strokes a hand down Locke’s chest as she speaks, making him tense. “Tell me, male player, do you like to be used?”
Oh. Oh!
Locke grimaces and I can see the tension on his shoulders. “Oh, um . . . I do like sex.”
My eyes widen as he attempts to not be rude, but also clearly wants out of the conversation. He left Dross to get away from something very much like this and yet . . .
The queen tilts her head. “Does your species die upon completion?”
Locke hesitates. “. . . no . . .”
Another male ant comes striding in, as naked as the others, and takes the place of the dead one that was removed. He immediately begins stroking himself and moans, but he does not look at me. He keeps his eyes firmly on the wall behind me.
The queen hums. “Youarea beautiful specimen, aren’t you?” She leans around him and looks at me. “Female player, is he yours?”
I could say no. That’s the truth even if it feels strange to say.
“What is—” Locke starts.
“Quiet, male,” the queen snaps. “The females are conversing.”
Locke snaps his mouth shut and looks over at me, clearly panicked because he’s realized the same thing that I have.
The Leaf Cutter Queen wants him. And clearly, males have no power here.
This is a boss battle, which means we must somehow defeat her. There are no true instructions like there were with the Arapaima. There is nothing to hint at what we could be doing here other than the word diplomacy, which means it’s likely not like the others. If I tell her that Locke doesn’t belong to me and she takes him, there isn’t much I can do about it. We’re deep in this domain, through tunnels we’ll never be able to find our way out of, and vastly outnumbered. If I say yes, and she decides she wants him anyways, the same issue. But . . . something tells me that my word here holds far more sway than Locke’s does.
“Yes,” I finally answer. “He belongs to me.”
Locke meets my eyes and nods in understanding. We’ve come to the same conclusion. This is going to take some navigation.
“Would you lend him to me?” the queen asks. She gestures to the men fawning around her. “You may take one of mine as payment.”
“I, uh, am rather fond of mine,” I say. “Territorial even, one might say.”
The queen straightens. “Oh, he must be talented indeed to have a strong female like you territorial.” She leans forward. “What is a worthy payment in your eyes?” She gestures to a corner where I realize dozens of crates are stacked. “I have many loot chests to choose from.”
That’s a lot of loot. The items that are probably in those chests . . .
