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.

up the smaller ant, threw her on her back and rushed to

w-w-w-will save the

think she’s

emptied, sending the volatile substance 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

Brilliant roared.

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

“L-l-leader! Be c-c-careful!”

“BAH! CALL ME BRILLI-”

room in a second. Brilliant never got a chance

blast cages, the ants ducked for cover as stone and debris rained down from above. The chamber had been built to

took five minutes before the room stopped shaking and Experimant felt confident enough

a quick

said, emerging

course you are…”

want to know how I

“Not really-”

I’m Brilliant!” she boasted, slapping herself on 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 to

arrays melted?” Experimant grumbled as she helped the

I got

study it, then?” Experimant said, then realised she said it out loud, went to apologise, then shrugged and kept doing

that is. Come

off in the dust and began rummaging about, shouting and exclaiming all the while. Assistant hesitantly made her way from the perimeter as the rest of the

the air with her two front legs as an array embedded

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

by infusing the liquid mana was just what we needed. See these readings? Are you