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.

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

w-w-w-will

think she’s beyond

volatile substance flowing through the underground pipelines and into the gate matrix. As predicted, the matrix blew almost

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

reach out and touch it. Within her heart, Experimant said a quick farewell to the disturbed genius as Assistant cried

“L-l-leader! Be c-c-careful!”

“BAH! CALL ME BRILLI-”

room in

had been built to withstand magic detonations, but that last one had been beyond even what

minutes before the room stopped shaking and Experimant

we get a

said, emerging from the

are…”

to know how I

“Not really-”

with a front leg. “And that was the best experiment we’ve run so far! The results

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

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

Experimant grumbled as she helped the

the main ones. But that’s fine, I got a

extract your brain to study it, then?” Experimant said, then realised she said it out loud, went to apologise, then shrugged and

need,” Brilliant remarked off hand, “I can project it if necessary. My brain, that is. Come on! We are on the verge of a breakthrough after

the little mage raced 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 staff began to clean up and

come on, come on… YES!” Brilliant punched the air with her two front legs as an array embedded into a reinforced stone pillar

to another one. When that refused to work, she savaged it with a bite before running to the next. In short order,

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