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

think she’s beyond

of liquid mana 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

roared.

spire, so close to the unstable mass of power she could reach out and touch it. Within her heart, Experimant said a quick farewell to the disturbed genius as Assistant cried out from

“L-l-leader! Be c-c-careful!”

“BAH! CALL ME BRILLI-”

the entire room in a second. Brilliant never

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

before the room stopped shaking and

a

said,

you are…” Experimant said

to know how

“Not really-”

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

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

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

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

the main ones. But that’s fine, I got a good look at what

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

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

front legs as an

In short order, she’d either repaired or fatally damaged all ten of the outer detectors and started poring over the printed

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