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.

Experimant replied as she snatched up the smaller ant, threw her

who w-w-w-will save the

she’s beyond

predicted, the matrix blew almost instantly, rocking the chamber once more and sending deadly blasts of unstable mana arcing

roared. “I CAN SEE IT

could reach out and touch it. Within her heart,

“L-l-leader! Be c-c-careful!”

“BAH! CALL ME BRILLI-”

flashed white, then expanded rapidly, enveloping the entire room in a second. Brilliant

down from above. The chamber had been built

minutes before the room stopped shaking and Experimant felt

we get a quick headcount?

Brilliant said, emerging from

you are…” Experimant said

to

“Not really-”

with a front leg. “And that was the best experiment we’ve run

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

you out of the cages.

of our sensor arrays melted?” Experimant grumbled as she helped the rest of the lab-ants emerge from the protective

ones. But that’s fine, I got a good look at what they were detecting

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

“I can project it 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 rest of the staff began to

come on… YES!” Brilliant punched the air with her two front legs as an array embedded into a reinforced stone pillar flickered to life. “Someone extract the data from that,

short order, she’d either repaired or fatally damaged all ten of the outer detectors and started poring over the printed scent-pages of information along

AT IT! The kick of power we got by infusing the liquid mana was just what we needed. See these