Some of you are probably familiar with the phrase "when it rains, it pours." It's a pretty apt proverb to describe this story, and the fact that it also happens to be raining in the story is an added bonus. This is meant to be an alternate ending to the film; it takes place right when it begins to rain on Ant Island and the ants are just beginning to stand up to Hopper. As a warning, this story has some descriptions of violence in later chapters that aren't extreme, but that some readers might still find a little disturbing. Rated T.

When It Rains
Chapter 1: The Confrontation

"Happy landings, Hopper!" Flik said with a big grin.

The mob of bugs were no longer afraid of the brute that had harassed them for so long. They had loaded Hopper into the circus' eyedropper cannon and prepared to launch him when the weather took a turn for the worst. A torrential downpour headed straight toward the island, threatening everyone there and sending the whole colony into a frenzy. Even with so many other bugs darting in every direction, Hopper still managed to spot Flik in the crowd struggling to walk after the beating he received. The leader of the grasshoppers wasn't about to surrender to one mere ant just like that. Hopper seized the opportunity when Dim was knocked from his platform, accidentally – yet effectively – propelling Hopper forward as planned. Wings spread, he swooped right toward Flik and the princess. Hopper snatched the injured ant up and swiftly flew into the rain with Flik dangling precariously by one leg. Hopper was far from being done with the troublesome ant and he intended to finish what he started without interruption.

Hopper flew to a remote part of the island where the ants never usually ventured, all while dodging the enormous raindrops that threatened to knock him out of the sky. He reached a smudge of bare soil that was far enough away from the bedlam of the anthill that not even the other flying insects would find them right away, especially in the dark. With rage swelling within him, he threw Flik down from the air, sending the already-battered ant tumbling along the wet soil and rocks. Hopper landed and folded his wings against his back; he advanced on Flik quickly while the ant was trying to regain his balance and focus. Flik keeping his wits about him was easier said than done, given how many blows he'd taken to the head.

"Hopper! No! Please!" The ant held his arms in front of his face to shield himself. Flik's pleas meant no more to the furious grasshopper towering over him than the wind blowing around them. Grabbing Flik by the arm, Hopper slammed him into the mud again.

"YOU! You've been nothing but trouble to me. We've done the same thing every year and nobody ever had a problem with it!" Hopper growled and kicked Flik across the ground, bouncing the ant's head off a nearby rock. Upon impact, Flik cried out and slumped to the ground.

"Then you had to come along, filling their heads with ideas and turning them against us!" Hopper punched Flik in the face, effectively blackening his other eye. "And for what? So you could make a difference? So you could be the hero?" Picking up the wounded ant by his antennae, Hopper violently thrashed him against the ground hard enough to leave a mark in the soil. Flik, dazed by the beating, couldn't focus on anything but the pain shooting through his body.

Hopper leaned down and put his face right up to Flik's. "Let me tell you something, ant. Don't try to be a hero, especially not with me. Because you'll never come out on top." He continued to beat the tiny blue ant and was practically making a game out of the abuse, relishing the cries following each hit and trying to see how far he could send his target flying. Hopper stopped for a moment to lean back and admire his work; Flik was too weak from the attack to defend himself or even stand up. But Hopper hadn't had his fill yet, and he was about to show Flik just how merciless he could really be.

Author's notes: And that's chapter one! Please be warned that the next chapter has some graphic content. I mean, you can only be so graphic when we're talking about a bunch of bugs, but it may still be material some folks find unsettling. Just erring on the side of caution.