Fractal

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She tentatively perked up, scratching at the roof of her little pit now that the noises had stopped. She wasn’t sure why she’d been placed down here, just that one of the Consorts had snatched her up and dropped her in before sealing the top. Her claws weren’t doing much, though they were barely even developed enough to be called such. Her mental cries and queries went unanswered, and she felt herself growing more distressed as time went on. Where was everyone? Why couldn’t she hear anything? The cap refused to give way and she tried harder. Tiny ice crystals formed under her claws, slowly causing the thick material to break down and crumble. Hauling herself up and out, she was met with a deafening silence.

‘Archon? Aleksandra? Shona?’ Fractal wandered the deserted hallways of the hive, pleading for answers in the silence. This wasn’t right...the hive was never silent, filled with the soft chatter of mental and physical voices and even the soothing background hum of the drones. Archon's amusement would rumble through the wavelength, a laughing inferno Shona called him. Now there was nothing, and the walls were scarred with the proof of their passing. Her feet caught in something and she pitched forwards, a plaintive cry piercing the still air as she made her frustrations known. Torn jade met her eyes, and she realized just how alone she truly was.


They were gone...everyone...everything. All of it was gone. Her tiny voice echoed through ruined halls, crying her despair to the uncaring void. Shona’s body had long gone cold, the plants she’d summoned withering with nothing to feed on. She’d found the others in similar states, scattered and broken like discarded toys. There was no sign of Archon, no hint of his flames, but with the state of his hive...she doubted she’d find him alive. The bodies of strange drones littered the floors, and she picked her way through the carnage towards the Outer Hive. There were fewer Consorts here. Instead, the drones lay in mangled heaps, torn bodies blocking her path. She did her best, tiny wings pumping in a futile attempt to lift her while her back legs scrabbled for purchase on smooth chitin or metallic hides. Her stomach growled, loud in the darkness. She’d need to figure out food soon.