//------------------------------// // 13: Light Banter, Heavy Sleep // Story: Infinity's Edge (Beta) // by Caldoric //------------------------------// Midge was taken aback. "Um... 'Oh shit'? What do you mean, 'Oh shit'?" Caldoric remained silent for a few seconds. "Hordika Venom." He said at last. "It's got a side effect. If it's not removed within a certain timespan, the change becomes permanent, and the infected being's mental stability degrades into a full-on bestial state." "Is there an antivenom?" "...perhaps... I need to find Keetongu, if he's still around." "Who?" Caldoric hesitated for a second, before giving a simple "Long story," as a response, then looked away. Midge was nonplussed. So much so, in fact, that he was almost minused. "Caldoric, we've got time. Were in a tunnel that takes about 35.7 minutes to traverse. What aren't you telling me?" Once again, he began wondering if it had been wise to throw his lot in with this former human. Caldoric sighed. "Many things, friend. Many things, and for each it's own reason." They walked in silence for another while before he spoke again. "I'm afraid of what might happen, what I might become, if I can't find him in time... if the venom fully takes root in my system before he has a chance to remove it." Midge smiled sadly, taking this in. Yeah, this human was definitely wierd. While Caldoric was impish at times, and even downright unpredictable on occasion, he still seemed to have a certain regard for the safety of others. "Don't worry, Caldoric, I'll be there for you, no matter what. We're a team now." Caldoric chuckled. "Heh, that reminds me of a song..." He remarked, and then sang a couple lines. ♪If I go crazy, then will you still call me Superman? ♪If I'm alive and well, will you be there, holding my hand? ♪I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might: Kryptonite!♪ Caldoric's singing was a little flat, but it got the point across. Not to mention, the lyrics were rather appropriate to the situation. "That was... kinda nice, actually." Midge was appreciative of the fact that his new friend had felt comfortable sharing a bit of his people's music with him. "Thanks, bro." Caldoric looked over and nudged Midge's shoulder with his hip. "For the most part, my family can't stand it when I sing, because they say I'm 'off key,' always too low or too high." "Oh, come off it," Midge replied, smiling, "you're not so bad at it. I personally don't mind if you share whatever song's going through your head with me like that." He gave his friend an encouraging grin, the effect only slightly marred by his fangs. ~~~~ I looked at Midge, who was grinning like an idiot, but in a loveable way. My attention was drawn to his fangs, and I began wondering why an equine being such as himself would have evolutionary need for such a thing: perhaps, some time back, his ancestors had wielded mandibles in their place? Setting my theories aside, I returned my focus to the conversation at hand. "Thanks for the encouragement, Midge," I told him, "I'd be glad to share more music with you, but it's all on my phone, in my Hammerspace. And it seems I've lost access to it since the mutation." Midge's smile fell immediately, to be replaced by a look of deep worry. "What? How?" He asked, concerned. "Well, when I was locked in the cell back there, I tried retrieving a few items that I felt would be handy for tunneling out, but it didn't work." Midge's eyes went wide, then he dropped his head with a deep sigh. It took a second, but I finally realized that he had started shaking with suppressed laughter. "What? How is this funny?" I demanded. "Ah, you whacko," he said, "it's because there's a jinx on those cells, to prevent anypony from doing exactly that." I was so stunned at the revelation, that I didn't even flinch at the use of the word "anypony." "Wait, what?" I reached behind my back with my left arm, and found the familiar "soft spot" near where my jeans pocket had been. My inquisitive hand sank deep inside, and on a whim I pulled out my lightsaber. I mashed the button with a bit much enthusiasm, and the weapon's glowing blade thrummed to life as per normal, both illuminating the tunnel and nearly blinding everyone nearby; I hadn't realized how much my eyes had adjusted to these dark surroundings, which meant it had to have been worse for everyone else. Quickly putting the hilt away, I floundered for something to make up for my blunder as I blinked spots from my vision. "So..." I said awkwardly, waiting for my eyes and ears to readjust themselves. "You said the cells were 'jinxed,' correct?" "Yeah," came the reply from my left, "I did. Why?" I thought for a moment, and tried to figure out where my subconscious had been going with that question. "Well, not to be a Grammar Nazi, but... don't you think 'enchanted' would've been a better choice of word? Or even 'cursed'?" Midge shook his head. "No, enchantments are closer to charms in nature, while curses are way Tartarus and gone past regular old jinxes. Just don't get me started on 'ensorcellments' or 'bewitchings,' alright? That's more advanced stuff." I was silent for a moment, then... "Huh...?" I said at last, blank-faced. "...I'm confused." Midge turned his head in my general direction, and I could only guess at the sort of look he was giving me, what with my eyes still not having reacclimated to the darkness. "You really don't know anything about magic, do you? Not even the basics?" "Um..." I said, running my left hand along the back of my rough head. I really needed a mirror... and a shower. "No. I mean, I'm familiar with the words you were using, but I always assumed they were just synonymous verbs pertaining to magic in general... sorry. Magic is not something that exists, where I come from: I've recently been trying to get up to speed with book learning, but it's been hard without someone who has practical experience with the type of magic that's natural to this world." "I'd be more than willing to teach you," replied Midge, "I've got a fair amount of experience to go round. And, depending on what they put in that venom, I may have to teach you a few other things." I chuckled. "And here I was about to ask." I hesitated for a second. "If I remember correctly, I think I heard either Chrysalis or Roodaka mention something about adding Changeling DNA to the venom. Like, warrior or commander class, I think." "Caste," corrected my companion, "they're called 'castes' within the hive. They're like genetically dictated jobs. Anyway, back to the magic thing. What've you managed to figure out about it on your own, so far?" I thought back to yesterday's events (which seemed so long ago, now,) and tried to remember what I'd accomplished. "Um, let me think... Well, I've got a bit of a hold on levitation-slash-telekinetic manipulation, and a little bit of shielding, which probably saved our butts more than once back in the cavern. I tried my hands at offensive blasts at one point, but something wasn't working, so I decided to come back to it later. I'd like to do teleportation as soon as possible, but that seems a bit out of my reach at the moment. Oh, and I pulled off a sort of imperfect translation spell; Not sure how long that'll last..." Midge nodded. "Seems about right, as far as I know. Maybe the problem is in the technique? Whatever books you're learning from were probably written with Unicorn casters in mind, not some other species... What's your focal point?" I blinked. "Uh... my hands. Maybe I need to focus the energy through both of them simultaneously? Sorta like a Hadouken or Kamehameha kind of thing?" Midge was definitely lost at my choice of terminology, so I attempted to elaborate. "Sort of a plasma ball or energy wave, generated between one's hands whilst held close to the body, then thrust forward and released. Huh... maybe I could replicate a Rasengan if I play my cards right..." Midge's eyes had glazed over, which was a feat unto itself, given their insectoid nature. "They're from various animes..." I said. "But that's besides the point. Let's get back to magic stuff, shall we?" His attention immediately returned to our conversation. "Uh... Wha-? Oh, yeah. Magic. Um... What do you wanna know?" "Everything you can tell me." I replied. "Starting with what you were saying about charms and curses and stuff being different things..." Midge smiled. "Ah, magical theory; As good a place to start as any. To start with, we have spells, which covers basically any piece of magic that can be used. It's a very vague term most of the time. Usually, it just involves gathering and shaping the proper amount of magic energy (regardless of what the user calls it,) before sending it out towards one or more targets, or 'casting,' with a semi-specific intent in mind. Anything that doesn't fit into any of the other categories can usually just be referred to as a spell." "Ok," I replied, internalizing that, "sounds simple enough. What's next?" "That'd be charms. They're sort of a grey area, as I'm about to explain." The former Changeling paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "They are one of two things: one, a spell that adds or changes a quality of a given target, though not on a fundamental level." "And the definition of 'fundamental' is subjective to the beliefs of the caster?" I asked, curious. "Yes, which is one reason I called it a grey area. There's also the fact that there's two types, as I just told you. The second of which, by the way, is a physical item that's been made to bear magical properties--" "Like a necklace, pendant, or bracelet," I continued, stroking my chin, "makes sense." Midge gave me a look. "Ok, you catch on quick, I'll admit, but could you please let me finish my own sentences?" "Sorry." "Accepted. Now, on to jinxes." "Wait..." I said. "Wouldn't the spell that was on the cell technically be a charm then?" He smiled. "Ah, you'd think that, wouldn't you? But if you would let me explain, you would understand." "Ah... well then... continue, I guess." He nodded. "As I was saying: Jinxes are considered to be slightly 'dark' in nature, because of what they entail, though they're definitely not as bad as hexes. Usually jinxes are of a more prankster-y bent, targeting either one's luck, fortune, or ability to do something, though there are always exceptions. The magic on the cell was more of a lingering AoE type." "Huh..." I said, momentarily shifting my attention as the tunnel took a sharp bend to the left. "That... explains a few things..." "True. Now, after that, we have hexes." Midge took a moment to step around a stalagmite. "Those are definitely problematic. Distinctly darker in nature, they're more for causing displeasure, discomfort, or even minor harm. In a way, they are similar to bewitchments, yet different enough to warrant their own category." "Like that 'eat slugs' thing that Ron tried to do to Malfoy..." I muttered, nodding. "It's from the 'Harry Potter' series, by J.K.Rowling." "Sounds like fun. I'll have to read it sometime." "Yeah, you should. Now, what's next, after hexes?" Midge cleared his throat. "Those would be curses. The 'darkest' of dark magic, by most standards." "Oh, yeah, I'm familiar with those." I said. "They can range from minor injuries, such as losing an ear or a finger -- which can be incurable, depending on the magic system -- to death. For example: there's the Imperius curse, for mind control; the Cruciatus curse, for torture; Sectumsempra, which causes lacerations upon the target, and is probably more on the borderline with hexes; Avada Kedavra, the Killing curse, usually characterized as a jet of green light; and Fiend Fire, which is devilishly difficult to control even under the best of conditions." "What are you two talking about?" Buzzed a nearby Changeling, who had fallen back to our location without me noticing. "Magic." Replied Midge, not missing a beat. "Caldoric here is relatively new to the concept, so I'm running him through a basic crash course on spell vernacular." "Uh, Midge? Who's this?" I asked, confused. "Oh, sorry, man! Lemme introduce myself!" Said the new Changeling. "The name's Fracker, nice to meet you!" I took the proffered hoof, hesitantly, and shook it. "Caldoric, though you already knew that." I winced, my tail momentarily lashing as I pressed my left palm and right wrist to my temples. "Ow..." I looked up from the momentary headache to see Midge and Fracker involved in some form of non-verbal conversation. "What's up?" I asked, concerned. "Oh, nothin', dude." Said Fracker. "Just gettin the down-low on your particular situation from my best bro, man." "Y-yes," said Midge, before I could speak, "and I was just wondering... Do you know which of the Chanarak were you bitten by?" I thought back to just before I'd been dunked in bug juice. "...13?" I supplied, hazarding a guess. "Or maybe 15; I... I don't know for sure. Like I said, I think Roodaka mentioned something about it having both warrior and commander caste DNA...?" Midge sucked a shaky breath in through his teeth as his ears pinned back, and Fracker gave a whistle of astonishment as they both locked eyes once again. A half second later, they nodded, and looked back to me. "I think..." Began Midge, "I think it's time we introduced you to the hive-mind..." ~~~~ Chrysalis woke on a soft bed in what passed for the Med ward. She could hear the repetitive droning of a heart monitor, and a few other machines besides. "...Ohhhhhhhh, my head..." She muttered, idly brushing aside a stray lock of her long, greasy-looking mane. In truth, it couldn't be any cleaner: after all, the look was one she had carefully spent the last two decades sculpting and coordinating. Like most things, it was intended to provide a psychological deterrent to those who would get too close, but because she was royalty, she had a certain set of standards. "Ugh, what in the name of Tartarus is going on?" The erstwhile Queen muttered to herself. "Why am I in Medical?" "Oh, good, you're awake!" came the voice of her sister in crime, Roodaka. She moved into Chrysalis' vision, carrying a sort of lantern that contained a few glowing, snake-like creatures. "Wh... What are those?" Chrysalis asked. She could sense the warmth that was positively radiating from the small creatures, and wasn't sure she wanted them too close to her at the moment. "Lava Eels," Roodaka casually remarked, as she set the lantern down on the bedside table, "long story." Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "We've got hotter irons in the fire that need dealing with first." She said. "What happened back in the cavern? Last thing I remember, there was an explosion..." Roodaka chuckled. "Good, good... It seems that's a universal constant." She noted the glare her quadrupedal counterpart leveled at her, and continued. "See, our latest pet project managed to escape, along with a sizable number of our forces and all our former captives. In addition, if my information is correct, I believe a couple of my-- er, our, Chanarak have gone unaccounted-for in the aftermath. In addition, the escapees managed to collapse the tunnels to the surface behind them to try and hinder attempts on our part to follow. Your chief strategists and I are certain they have no intention of returning with reenforcements, but given that we cannot follow them quickly, we've decided to cease operations here, pull back, and attempt another approach vector at another date. We'll backfill and/or collapse these tunnels once all traces of our workings have been swept clean. "Also, more importantly..." Roodaka continued, looking uncomfortably down at Chrysalis' side as the Queen seethed, "there's the matter of your forelimb." Chrysalis reflexively lifted the hoof that seemed to be in question. Or, rather, she tried. All she saw move was a small portion of the limb, which came to an abrupt end just above where the first joint should have been. The sharply-angled point of termination had been capped off with a blue medicinal gel only used for serious injuries, as was SOP among the Hive, but even through the gel Chrysalis could see the scorched edges of the chitin. As soon as she laid eyes on that particular detail, memories surfaced of the semi-toa they'd captured. His mutation, his subsequent shattering of her control, and... "He cut off my leg...?" Chrysalis asked, her voice carrying several dangerous undertones. "The recalcitrant bastard, I'll have him flayed alive! I'll make him regret the day he crossed me and my hive...!" She cut herself off and cupped her remaining forehoof to the gel'd stump. It had begun to itch, which meant that the long and uncomfortable healing process was starting. "I understand -- from what the medical experts of your hive have told me -- that it could take anywhere between several weeks and a couple of your months for that to grow back," Roodaka supplied. "Of course, given a little time and the right materials, I could make -- or, better yet, procure, -- a synthetic replacement for your lost limb. A prosthetic, of sorts, except that it would be superior to the original. After all, the Ghosts of Nynrah have had millennia in which to advance their skills since my Master's confrontation with Mata Nui. I have a certain pull with them, and I'm certain they'd be only too happy to oblige such a... simple request from myself. If you're interested, of course." Chrysalis, of course, was skeptical. "What good would a phantom leg do me? I need something better than that if I'm to be back on my hooves in short enough order to exact my vengeance." Roodaka merely smiled and shook her head at her reflection's unintended ignorance. "I assure you, sister, the Nynrah Ghosts are only that in name; one which they earned through their extreme preference for solitude. They rarely, if ever, let themselves be seen, but the sheer quality of their work far outmatches the peculiar quirks of these master artisans. These Matoran's skills are nigh legendary, second only to those from Artakha." Then, the Vortixx reached behind her back and pulled a strange device seemingly out of nowhere. It was a long, scepter-like object, save that it had an unusual and dangerous-looking mechanism mounted on the functional end. "You remember what I told you about Rhotuka spinners...?" She asked. At Chrysalis' hesitant nod, Roodaka hefted the device and gave it a slight shake. "Among other things, this is able to snag any spinner thrown my way that I so desire to catch, thus allowing me to send it right back at whoever was so foolish as to have sent it my way in the first place. It is the second of its kind: the first was destroyed after I entrusted its care to an utter buffoon. This one, however, is far more durable: I designed it myself, with upgraded features, and even had a hand in its construction. However, the Nynrah Ghosts were the ones responsible for the greater part of its making, and it is all the better for it. Do you understand, now? Mark my words: there is no greater endorsement for something than the word of a Vortixx." Chrysalis took a moment to ponder her options. Normally, the mere suggestion of a Queen asking another for aid, especially the leader of another Hive, was all too easy for an overeager rival to "misinterpret" as a sign of weakness. However, given the circumstances... there were procedures that allowed for the leader of an afflicted Hive to band together with other hives if a threat was faced by Changeling-kind as a whole, or if some other affront was made to the species collectively. And Roodaka was very much like herself, Chrysalis thought; a strong leader of her (usually) loyal subjects/army. Accepting aid of this kind would, she reasoned, not be frowned upon if word got out. Reaching a decision, Chrysalis nodded. "I'll accept the prosthetic, but I want to go over the design first, to be sure of what I'm getting out of it." Roodaka smiled. "Good, good... I'd expect nothing less of you, Chrysalis. That said, I'd best be on my way: I have places to be, things to do, heroes to fool... you know, the usual for our kind." She got up and began walking towards the chamber's exit, only to pause in the doorway. "Oh, and whilst I'm out placing the work order for that leg, I'll see if I can't have the Ghosts come up with a little something for your horn..." And just like that, Roodaka vanished into the shadows of the hall beyond. "Wait, what...?!" Chrysalis demanded of the empty air, her one good hoof darting up to her horn. Running it along its gnarled length, she was shocked to feel that it was now a noticably shorter length. Her subsequent scream of indignant, inarticulate rage shook the caverns for several minutes beyond the point when she'd stopped for a calming breath; the echoes fed on one another as they played strangely off of the artificial walls until they eventually faded. Every Changeling who heard knew to keep their head down around their Queen for the immediate future, assuming they hoped to continue living. ~~~~ (Elsewhere...) I flinched momentarily as I felt a wave of pure emotion wash across my mind. Apparently I wasn't the only one; many of the Changelings in our party did the same before glancing back the way we'd come. *Ooh, that wasn't good; Chrysalis is super peeved.* I heard Midge think at me privately over the mental link we'd established. Though he'd first introduced the concept to me as a sort of "hive-mind", he was quick to disillusion me of any concerns regarding mental privacy or individuality. In fact, they only referred to it as a hive-mind when speaking with or near outsiders, just to throw them off. Privately, their race referred to this particular form of mental connection as "The Sending," and thought it well worth the capitalized letters they'd given it. *'Scuse me a second...* Midge continued, then turned his attention to the Changelings in our rag-tag group. «Attention, everyling...!» His thoughts carried over a more public link of the Sending. «I'm certain you all just felt that, so schism up, you hear? We're going Hive-dark from here on, for our own safety. Most of you have been on sensitive ops that required similar action before: as such, share SOPs with those who haven't.» ‹But who's rooting?› An unknown voice asked. ‹We'll need a root if we're going to go full schism...!› «Not to worry, just form up on Caldoric here.» Midge replied. ‹The outsider...? Why that one? They know nothing of our ways; they have no experience!› «He is of Caste to lead us, by the grace of Chrysalis herself!» Midge retorted. «And he has been burned by her, same as us. I trust him to get us through this. If you want to try surviving on your own, you're more than welcome to try; but with given that we're probably on Chrysalis and Roodaka's shitlist now, to borrow a human expression, I feel we're better off together.» There was a bit of grumbling across the mental network, but it seemed the case had been made. "Uh, Midge, I do--grrk...!" My words were cut off as I felt something akin to a series of weights begin laying themselves against the back of my mind, and suddenly each weight became a connection to another mind; one through which I could receive information, and then send back orders in return. It was a frightening sensation, like having a new array of semi-independant limbs willing to do my bidding. Along with the new weight of responsibility that this came with, there was a sense of exhaustion. I allowed myself a long blink to try and clear it, to no avail. *So, Caldoric, what's our next move...?* Midge asked me, once again on a private channel. Unsure how to respond in kind, I instinctively fell back on some of the commands available on certain Minecraft servers that'd had player-to-player messaging plugins enabled; I prefaced my reply with a mental "/r". /r Uh... Yeah, I'm pretty sure that had to have been the most elegant reply to any question asked in the history of ever. Not. *You do have a plan, don't you?* Midge asked. *As our leader, they'll be expecting some sort of direction from you shortly.* /r Right, uh, I don't actually have a plan. Yet. I reported. /r I mean, I have an idea or two, but I think I should bounce them off you first to see if you think they'd jive with SOPs or whatever. *Ok, first off, what's with that "/r" thing you're suddenly tacking onto your sendings? It's weird. Secondly, I'd be more than happy to check your ideas, if you want to share them with me.* I explained as best I could. Midge tried to understand what I was telling him about Minecraft, though he had no real frame of reference for what I was talking about on that front. As for my ideas... well, he wasn't exactly positive that they'd go over well with the Changelings in our group: they'd had some bad experience with some of the areas my ideas would likely take us to, and weren't likely to be happy about potentially going back. So, with Midge's guidance, I sent out a sort of all-call message stating that we were to regroup once we got back to the underground vicinity of my base so I could have an opportunity to tell everyone my plan. The message was also to be passed to the non-lings in our group, so we'd all be on the same page. Once we had gotten to the large artificially-made cavern near the surface, -- the very one I had once intended to make an SG1 Gateroom replica out of (by the gods, that seemed so long ago now,) -- we came to a stop, I had a chance to go over my plan, and the Changelings subsequently proved Midge's initial presumption correct: most of them didn't like the idea, and objected heavily. However, after a long discussion -- wherein most of the non-changeling, non-vakhi members of the crew showed support and/or approval for my idea, -- a good percentage of the Changelings came around. As for the four or five who made it clear they'd rather leave than be part of it, I kindly made it clear that they were free to do so if they so wished. I would not try to stop them; in fact, I would be willing to encourage them to do so if they so truly desired, as I was one for free will. I also assured them I'd try to arrange for safe passage for them to get wherever they wanted to go instead, (assuming my plan worked at all,) and expressed hope they'd have safe, fulfilling journeys on their chosen path. After the little pow-wow, I was exhausted; nonetheless, I led the final stretch up to the surface, reassuring 'lings, Vakhi, and others as I went. However, what I found waiting for us was not what I expected.