I knew what to expect, but even so the wave of sound was nearly overwhelming. The clicking and scratching and buzzing of the insects washed over us. But worse than all of those were the pheromones, the raw meaning worming its way into my brain. I could hear and understand the voices, though they weren’t speaking any human language anymore. Pain and fear, and also hope, but above all was the droning, the call of the symbiotes to relinquish myself.
It had no power over me anymore.
All around, the walls were writhing. Every surface seemed covered with individual insects. Locusts gnawing on the wood, flies in their dizzy circles, but above all, and everywhere, were little brown ants. They ran in columns over the floor and walls and ceiling, as if keeping all the other insects in check. Interspersed among them were larger ants with large mandibles, which on occasion clicked their jaws in warning.
“Ants...” I muttered.
Angelina nodded. “Archangel Viviana.”
“Then has she..?”
“There’s no way,” said Angelina. “I refuse to believe it. She must be trying to take control over the situation.” At least for now, the ants were leaving us alone. I steadied my blade, looking over to Angelina. She, too, was standing firm, her blades drawn. The door closed behind us. Which way to go?
I looked up and down the hall, trying to find the way... anywhere. It was hard to make sense of our surroundings through the swarm, but beyond that there was a dense haze filling the hall, a thick mist that clung to every surface, cutting visibility even further. We could only see maybe ten feet before us; the tip of my glaive was already fading into the fog.
Where would they even be? Melody’s room? Then the stairwell was to the right. Each step was accompanied by the sickening crunch of insects crushed beneath my feet. A shiver passed through the swarm. They all stopped in place, and I felt hundreds of eyes turned toward me. All staying still, they still waved their antennae, flicked their wings, and watched. And waited.
“What are they up to?” I asked.
It was Angelina’s symbiote that chimed in. “They’re watching to see what you will do.”
They started moving aside with our steps, forming little gaps on the floor just wide enough for each footfall. The flying insects landed, clinging to the walls and ceilings to make way for us. We still held our weapons at the ready, though there was no obvious sign of danger. The voices softened, too.
“Why are they making room for us?” I asked.
“They’re watching to see what you will do.” Libellula repeated.
“What does that actually mean?”
We kept going down the hall. Would we just be able to get to the stairwell? The insects continued to part in front of us. The door was in view now. The surface, like the others, was covered in yet more of the insects. Where had they all come from, anyway? Taking a moment to think about it, this was really freaky, wasn’t it? The whole place was completely overrun, withe insects. This was the stuff of nightmares. And—
And I saw the flash of emerald just in time to duck out of the way.
A body clad in metallic green-blue armour stood before us. Between the glittery greens were patches of shiny cherry-red. From her back emerged a pair of smoky wings. In her hands, she held a long spear, tipped with a narrow triangular blade.
“Joy,” I whispered.
“Don’t make me do this,” she said. Or was it really her? The compound eyes of her visor were impenetrable. She could have been right there behind them. Or she could have been long gone, lost among the endless chorus of the symbiotes. “It’ll only take a single touch, Quinn. And then you’ll realize that it’s alright. The orders from the Archangels have been delivered. Simply accept them. Simply wait until the opportune strike.”
“Joy, are you in there?”
“Quinn, I never left.” She pointed her spear at me. But surely it wasn’t her. She accepted the Archangels’ order, but she wouldn’t fight me. Would she?
“Enough of this.” Angelina stepped forward, daggers raised.
I held her back. “Wait. Angelina, don’t... I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Quinn. This is no time to be silly. You have a goal. Reach for it.”
“But I...”
“She’s right, Quinn.” Joy stepped forward again. “You have a goal. Go for it. Go through me if you can. Otherwise...” She tapped the tip of her finger against the razor edge of her spear. “Just one tap. One little tap. And you won’t have to worry about anything anymore.
Though I readied my spear, I wasn’t seriously going to think about fighting her. My weapon was venomous. What would even happen if I stabbed her with it? And I didn’t want to hurt her. At the same time... “You’re just confused, Joy. You’ve lost yourself to your transformation. I don’t want to hurt you either.“
“No.” The head of her Imago opened up like the visor of a helmet. The emerald and magenta plating unfolded, revealing her head, her face, her bright, shining eyes and dark lips and somewhat tanned skin and... it was Joy. And she looked at me, and spoke. “It’s not going to be that easy, Quinn. I’m not a mindless drone, you know. No matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise.”
No. “Then why. Why are you doing this? We don’t have to listen to them, Joy. Just because our path is already set before us... it doesn’t mean we have to sit idly by while the Archangels dictate what we do. We can make our own way forward. We can bring our own destinies into reality. If you won’t come with me, at least let us through.”
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“No.”
“Why not?”
She darted forward, a flurry of swift jabs with her spear. I barely managed to avoid being struck. “Why should I? You’re refusing to fight me. Because you don’t actually believe what you just said.” She stopped again, her wings thrumming rhythmically like a drumbeat, droning on as she spoke. “We can just wait for Vespa’s next host.”
“Joy—”
“Quinn.” She lunged forward, and I just barely caught the tip of her spear with my own. The force of the impact knocked me back a step. “When you first came here, I’d heard about what you’d done in Vancouver. There, you had shone like a star. In your actions there, the fire of hope was kindled in me. You were the one. The one meant to take the Angels and lead us to final victory.”
I slashed in her direction. She barely leaned to the side, and my blade met only the air.
“But talking to you, you... you disappointed me.” Her wings thrummed as she advanced again with another flurry of thrusts. Deflecting the blows was a challenge with my spear; I felt the tip brush past me far too close for comfort. “Maybe I set my expectations too high, Quinn. But you were just so... so... you lack confidence.” Another thrust slid millimeters from my neck. My foot slipped on the floor. I fell to one knee. Joy towered over me, my eyes filled with the sparkling of her viridian carapace.
“I lacked it,” I said. But I’d changed. My new Imago was living proof of that. “But now I’ve taken hold of my destiny. I’ve... I’ve made peace with it. Because I’m not going to simply lie adrift and let it carry me there. I’m going to fight for every little battle I can win.”
“Prove it.”
Her spear struck the ground where I’d been moments ago. The blade shattered the tiles to dust. I grabbed the handle and pulled hard. The weapon slipped out of her grip and clattered to the ground. Springing back to my feet, I swung my blade around. Feeling the edge catch on something hard, I followed through. Through the handle, I felt the tearing of flesh and exoskeleton, resisting my blow until suddenly the sharp edge broke free.
Joy’s hand broke free from her arm, as well.
The moment lingered, neither of us saying a word as her hand fell to the ground. The carapace clattered loudly against the tiles. The cut through her arm was clean, though the exoskeleton was cracked near the point of injury, with hemolymph oozing slowly out of the tip. Of course, any injury like this to the Imago was reversible with some time and rest. But I’d never... never done something like this before.
“See?” I said, eventually. “Now let us—”
“That’s a good start,” she said, before lunging again, barehanded. She caught me completely by surprise, surging forward with her wings. The force knocked me back down to the ground, with all of her weight on top of me. The claws of her Imago dug into my carapace. Had they always been so sharp?
“Are you insane?”
“Are you afraid to take this fight to the end?” Her hands were so strong, gripping my arms with enough force to make the carapace crack and buckle. “I am prepared to incapacitate you. Do the same.”
“I...”
“You didn’t do enough. You’ll have to do far more if you’re ever going to lead us to victory. If you’re ever going to fulfill that destiny. So prove your resolve. Hurt me until I can’t fight back anymore.”
The way she said those words sent shivers down my spine. What would I have to do? I almost wanted to ask. But now wasn’t the time. Seeing my new body in stark crimson was reminder enough. I’d find a way to do it. And I’d do it my way. I gathered all the strength in my thorax and released it all at once. My wings pushed me off the pavement and turned the tables on Joy. Now I was on her.
“Do it,” she whispered. “Convince me.” She seemed almost eager.
I bolted for the door instead.
Joy hadn’t expected that. I heard the thunder of wings behind me as she hurried to position herself in front of the doorway. She grabbed my wrist just as I put my hand on the handle. “No easy outs, Quinn. Face me. Prove that you—”
A whistle. Angelina’s daggers flew through the air, catching Joy’s wrists and ankles and pinning them against the door. “Enough of this playing,” said Angelina. “Quinn, just... do as she asks.”
“I...”
“Fine,” said Angelina. “I’ll do it.” She stepped forward with her blade held out straight in front of her. No hesitation.
“I already know you have resolve, Angelina Park,” said Joy.
“Why are you doing this?” Angelina was right up next to her now, their faces nearly touching. Angelina’s held up the dagger sideways, the long edge of the blade perpendicular to Joy’s neck. “Quinn isn’t going to—”
“No,” I said. “I’ll do it.”
“Quinn...”
“I’ll show my conviction.” I stepped forward. Angelina hesitated before stepping aside. There was just myself and Joy. I pressed the tip of the blade against her neck.
“Do it,” she said.
It seemed so hard to do, with her human face staring back at me. I could feel the vibrations of her shallow breaths through the shaft. She seemed calm, but she stared at me with fire in her bright green eyes. And even knowing it wouldn’t even kill her, it felt deeply wrong. Maybe it was seeing her face like this, but it felt like I was killing her. Like she wouldn’t just pass out and go into a chrysalis and reform as if nothing had happened.
I pushed forward slightly. The exoskeleton here was thinner than around her wrists. The blade sliced through the armour with ease. Despite my dread, I couldn’t help but look her in the eye. It didn’t help. Her expression was still stoic. She only repeated the words another time. “Do it.”
Her words echoed in my head a second time. You’ll have to do far more. Then this was nothing. So I took a deep breath and thrust the spear forward with all my strength. Joy’s entire body slammed against the door with a loud thud, accompanied by the sounds of cracking exoskeleton and torn connective tissue. Some of her limbs were freed from Angelina’s daggers, while others were sliced or broken by them. Regardless, her body was no longer bound to the door and fell limp to the ground. It took me a minute to process everything. I just stood there, completely still and silent. Until I heard her whisper again. “Quinn...” The voice was raspy, but it was undeniably hers.
I bent down to listen. “Joy...”
“I knew you had it in you. Oh, and I like the new look.”
“Joy—”
“Ah, but don’t talk to me now,” she said. “Go... do things your way. And when you come back, I’ll join you.” Right. There was still so much to do. And as if in response, I heard shouts echoing down from the floors above. I turned my attention back to the stairway. But my thoughts were wandering in every which way. My brain was in overdrive. After injuring Joy like that, something had clicked. Something had... something had awakened inside me.
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
And then I remembered the ants. There they were, all around me: workers, soldiers, all the same, carpeting the ground. And watching. Watching what I would do. And they simply watched as I opened the door and stepped into the stairwell.