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.

to the cages,” Experimant replied as she snatched up the smaller ant, threw her on her

w-w-w-will

she’s beyond

predicted, the matrix blew

EVERYTHING!” Brilliant roared. “I

dimension mage was hanging upside down from her spire, so close to the unstable mass of power she could reach out and touch it. Within her heart, Experimant said a

“L-l-leader! Be c-c-careful!”

“BAH! CALL ME BRILLI-”

expanded rapidly, enveloping the entire room in a second. Brilliant never got

ants ducked for cover as stone and debris rained down from above. The chamber had been built to withstand

before the room stopped shaking and Experimant felt confident enough to

a quick

here,” Brilliant said, emerging from the

course you are…” Experimant said

you want to

“Not really-”

she boasted, slapping herself on the carapace with a front leg. “And that was the best

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

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

arrays melted?” Experimant grumbled as she helped

I got a good look

extract your brain to study it, then?” Experimant said, then realised she said

is. Come on! We are on the verge of

in the dust and began rummaging about, shouting and exclaiming all the while. Assistant

as an array embedded into a reinforced stone pillar flickered to life. “Someone extract the data from

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

the liquid mana was just what we