Chrysalis

“MORE POWER, DAMMIT!”

“We don’t have any more! We don’t have the power!”

“It’s so close. So close! Empty the tanks, we need every drop!”

“But… but that’s madness!”

“It’s not madness… it’s BRILLIANT!”

Electricity crackled, lightning flashed and sparks fell like rain from overhead as the ants scurried to follow the orders of their leader. Atop her observation spire, Brilliant cackled, her mandibles snapping together in a staccato rhythm as the flashes and explosions lit her from below, projecting her demented shadow onto the wall.

“Th-th-the b-backup m-m-matrix is collapsing!” Assistant whimpered.

“It’s fine, we have three backups!”

“This IS the third backup!” Experimant roared.

“Not to worry, I installed a secret fourth backup matrix and didn’t tell you!”

“That’s just a lie, isn’t it?!”

Another explosion rocked the chamber and Brilliant teetered on the edge of her spire, a hair's breadth from losing her grip and falling into the swirling maelstrom of light below. The many-faceted eyes of the mage were filled with an unearthly glow, and for a long moment, Experimant was convinced she’d finally lost her mind.

“Dump the tanks and then hit the cages!” she shouted and hundreds of lab ants rushed to follow her orders.

“Th-th-th-th-th-this will overflow the matrix for sure!” Assistant said.

the cages,” Experimant replied as she snatched up the smaller ant,

w-w-w-will save the

think she’s

flowing through the underground pipelines and into the gate matrix. As predicted, the matrix blew almost instantly, rocking the chamber once more and sending deadly blasts of unstable mana

CAN SEE EVERYTHING!” Brilliant roared. “I CAN SEE IT

down from her spire, so close to the unstable mass of power she could reach out

“L-l-leader! Be c-c-careful!”

“BAH! CALL ME BRILLI-”

gate flashed white, then expanded rapidly, enveloping the entire room in a second. Brilliant never got a chance to complete

stone and debris rained down from above. The chamber had

took five minutes before the room stopped shaking and Experimant

we get a quick headcount?

said, emerging

course you are…” Experimant said

to know how I

“Not really-”

the carapace with a front leg. “And that was the

“Y-y-you're alive?” Assistant mumbled.

Come on, all of you out of the cages. We’ve got

of our sensor arrays melted?” Experimant grumbled as she helped the rest of the

that’s fine, I got a good look at

Experimant said, then realised she said it out loud, went to apologise, then shrugged and kept doing what she was

if necessary. My brain, that is. Come on! We are on the verge of a breakthrough after this one, I can

rummaging about, shouting and exclaiming all the while. Assistant hesitantly made her way from the perimeter as the

on, come on, come on… YES!” Brilliant punched the air with her two front legs as an array

refused to work, she savaged it with a bite before running to the next. In short order, she’d either repaired or fatally damaged all ten of the outer detectors and started poring over the printed scent-pages

mana was just what we needed. See these readings? Are you seeing this!? Look at