Sneaking in the Golden Hive

No, it was best to follow through with Razz's outset plan. He's already freed you of your confines and given you explicit directions as to where to go. There wasn't a proper reason to go against him, at least, not yet. Part of you still didn't fully trust the bee and you were going to be careful not to entirely rely upon him, but there was just such a strong notion of regret and melancholy to his admission towards you that you couldn't help but believe. He loved his home and loved his queen. But now the two are so unrecognizable from what they used to be, he sees no other option than to 'reset'.

Weren't you doing the same? The world was unrecognizable to what it used to be, and you are already well on your campaign to do something about it, trusting people who have previously attempted to dine on your very hide. If you can extend them some trust, you had more than enough to offer to Razz.

Hunkering down finally, you ease down to lay down on your stomach, keeping your arms in front of you to crawl forward into the small honeycomb space that Razz had gifted you. You struggle to deal with such a narrow space; it was clear the Beedrill had no idea of just how big he'd need to make a tunnel for an escapee, considering Pokemonfolk come in all shapes and sizes, but you find it troublesome when the embarrassing revelation hits you with a sudden 'thump'. Your wide blue hips hit the edges of the crawlspace entrance. A roll of your eyes later, you grip the waxy floor and strain yourself forward, dragging your waist to grind through the crevices and **** your ass right on through; your hindpaws pick up the slack to help mash you by.

"Tchh...what if it was a whole Tyranitar he needed to bust out? Did he think he'd get lucky and find some tiny shortstack Rattata?" You mutter low to yourself, crawling by your forearms to shimmy through the duct, having to awkwardly pivot around any bend or corner. The anxiety you prayed there wasn't some kind of elaborate trap to this, like falling into a web or a pit of honey. 'Could honey be like a quicksand pit?' Your dumb thoughts echo in your head. '...Maybe I should have asked Razz before he left. He mentioned something about a trapmaker. Are there traps in the Hive's complex, or just outside?'

You can only wonder cause it really felt like you were given a task of espionage here. Usually, you took things on with a plan or had a partner with you to help out when things got suddenly dicey. Having Jackal would've been nice right now with all of these bug guards. He'd be a **** to be reckoned with by his flames. Though, thinking on it, if he was the one in this situation, his wide ass wouldn't make it past the first crawlspace. Despite the width of your own cheeks, they weren't an issue like Jackal's could be.

Eventually, you see an ending to the tunnel straight ahead, shifting a little faster so you could be upright and less claustrophobic in here. The tunnel at first appeared to be closed, worrying you that you'd have to go in reverse now if you needed to truly escape, but Razz wouldn't make this tunnel for nothing. Creases of soft yellow light glow from the edges of the wall. You reach the end and gently press your hand to the hexagonal and waxy surface, feeling it has some give. You smile, relieved, and slowly push the panel out of the way to be presented with some proper light now.

You give a peek at your new surroundings to make sure no one was around; it'd be bad if you were caught by just sticking your nose out when a guard was walking by, right from the get-go.

Sure enough, the chamber's shape was similar to how Razz had drawn out before. The walls and floor were orange-hued from the honeycomb and wax that structured most of the Golden Hive from what you've seen, encouraging you to peek out further to look how tall the room went. It had a vastly high ceiling in which waxy balconies were made for different accessible doors or open passageways. Inlets along the walls implied many bug Pokemon climb to their respective quarters here; if it was meant to house any guards, perhaps the mere act of doing exercise just to leave or go to bed was meant to keep them in better shape. Thankfully for you, far ahead was a hallway on the ground level that Razz had also mentioned. That's your first ticket out of here.

But for your first obstacle, there was indeed a single guard having to patrol this guard lobby area. To your surprise, it looked be a Caterpie. And a...fat one at that.

The anthro bug idly marches the space on the ground level, where you were currently hiding at, with just...a complete and utter wobble to them. Your bafflement just had to take in their details. A round green head with a small sprouted red crest of antennae sits between their big yellow eyes and big black pupils. A green, doughy-looking pucker for a mouth idly winces with a complaint of, "Hhh...why do I gotta keep getting the lobby shift? All cause I said I don't like the idea of patrolling outside? It's dangerous out there. I'm like a big grub for any infected bird out there to swoop up and nab..."

He wasn't lying, you could only think in your head. But any bird would struggle to haul a chubster like him.

A broad yellow belly bobs in place at his front, with small chubby arms and legs of equal color where he was backed by the green 'shell' like his head. Plenty of bug Pokemon have an exoskeleton; tougher natural armor to defend themselves. This Caterpie however just seemed like the squishiest thing imaginable. The texture had to be squishier than your own skin from just the look of it alone. And not only that, but he was barely half your height, daring to be even shorter than Gold. The under-leveled and non-evolved Pokemon was exactly as you were warned of. Being a guard to patrol the guard quarters was likely more of a punishment than a job. Any trespasser or problem could be met with ease with just a simple holler from anyone in the vicinity...and was certainly unlikely.

You let the squishy soft steps of the tubby caterpillar pass you, having to watch the short caterpillar-like tailstub bob just above the wide wobbly ass on such a 'soldier'. To say the cheeks were doughy meant it was a whole bakery's worth. You twitch an eye at it. Was this really meant to be an obstacle. Sure you had an injured leg, but you feel like you could take this pushover with only half of your limbs. A mean insult might break the softie down.

Chub-wobbling or not, he was in the way for you to get the hallway from the other end of the room. Thankfully though, the room wasn't just an empty space. Waist-high walls make up a small garden display in the room, with a perimeter pathway to go around the whole display, as well as a center path that goes across the middle of it. The Caterpie seemed to only march around the whole outside perimeter, and the garden display had long waxy structures that you could have to surmise as 'antler-shaped' with flora and mushrooms growing around it.

With some cover, you think you can stay out of sight as long as you crawl on your hands and knees, or at least crouch-walk your way around to the hallway without alerting the Caterpie. That, or you could simply take the tubby bug out. You had a feeling you could get the drop on him, and it might not take much to conk him out.

The caterpillar was doing another slow lap around the lobby, so it was up to you on how to go about it. The faster you made your way to Razz, the faster you could save Jackal and Gold.

Dragging yourself out of the crawlspace, you replace the panel back shut as quietly as you can before creeping up close to the short garden wall. You peek over to see where the Caterpie is and clock his movements, but you'd have to hang your head down low and out of sight when moving.

1. Take it fast. Track the chubby bug and stay a distance behind him.

2. Take it slow. When he's on the left side of the room, you go to the right.

3. Take it high. Wait on a balcony for him to pass.

4. Take him out. It's just a Caterpie.