A Game of Chess (Part I)

The five of us huddle in the darkness, hoping beyond hope that Fractal's centroglyph can stave off the palpable dread of the encroaching deep night. With each passing moment, the darkness gets thicker, until the only person I can see is Fractal. Suddenly, a pale light encircles us. The light, odd in and of itself,  reveals something even more strange.

“Frac, there's a chalk circle forming around us.”

“I can see it, sort of,” he replies tentatively. “But I have absolutely no idea what that's about.”

“Okay,” I say, nervously. “Just thought you should know.”

I watch as the chalk circle slowly closes. I  try to ignore it, try to clear my mind, but to no avail. The best I can manage is to replace my current worries with thoughts of Arcadia. My mind drifts, as it often does, to Alastor. I want so badly to believe that there's a part of the Alastor I used to know still buried somewhere deep within the King. I want to trust him, to believe that the King still wants the things Alastor wanted. It's been increasingly difficult to hold on to that belief recently, though. Alastor... the King... has felt more and more unyielding, more and more controlling... more and more like Atravitus.

Atravitus. I haven't really thought about him all that much since I woke up. At least, I've tried not to. But, like it or not, my time with him still colors everything I do, and probably always will. If you get right down to it, I owe my existence to him. Had he not taken an interest in me, I may never have been activated in the first place. And, had he not pushed me away when and how he did, I may never have met Alastor.  It's such a strange conundrum, to still feel as if I owe him while such a large part of me holds him responsible for the loss of my world.

My mind is pulled back to the present as the ghostly circle closes. The otherworldly light flickers out like a dying candle, leaving me alone in the darkness. The lack of sensory input leaves me with a disconnected feeling, almost as if I'm floating. I feel a tug at the back of my mind. The sensation is almost like a voice, calling me, inviting me... somewhere.

Knowing full well it's probably a bad idea, I accept.

When I open my eyes, I find myself in an open field. Green grass waves in a gentle breeze. Overhead, a silvery white daedalum sheds soft light on the scene. This place feels infinite, and would feel incredibly lonely, I think, if not for the gargantuan tree I see. I can't stop looking at it. A sense of peace emanates from the tree, filling me with a feeling I've only felt once before... in the presence of the Queen.

“Delilah...” The sound of Zeph’s voice startles me, snapping me out of my reverie.”Do you know where we are?”

“I think...” I begin, still half in a daze. “I think I’ve been here. Well, not here, but somewhere like it.”

Zeph cocks her head to one side, eyebrow raised, and waits on me to continue.

“When the others were chosen by the King, I wasn't with them. There was another force calling me... The King is all darkness and dread. The power I met then was light and peace. And we saw her as a tree” I explain, gesturing toward the living wall before us. “A tree very much like that one.”

Zeph smiles softly, and then, as if she senses there is more to the story, poses a question. “Then how did you end up with  the others?”

I smile sadly as  the memories play again in my head. Finding myself with Elias, Tess, Quovardis, and Dr. Mendoza in front of the shining tree. Meeting Lenore for the first time, and feeling the uncanny connection between us. The helplessness I felt as I watched her turn to dust at the King's hand.

“There was another... version of me, I suppose you'd say. The Queen called me, and the King called her. But... we traded. It felt better that way.”

I don't elaborate. Lenore is safe now, not in torment, not sent into oblivion. Thinking about her doesn't give me the physically painful sadness that it once did, but I still feel a sense of loss that I may never get to know the closest thing to a sister I could possibly have. Zyphania doesn't press, and I'm grateful. We wait for a moment, in silence, before she turns to me again.

“So... what do you think we should do?”

I smile, and walk to sit down near the tree. “This time, I think we just wait and let things come to us.”

Zeph joins me, sitting with her back against the tree and her knees drawn up. She doesn’t speak at first, but her eyes tell me something is weighing on her mind. I give her a questioning glance.

“Maybe...” Zeph begins tentatively, eyes on the ground. “Maybe I'm being too forward, and it's none of my business, but...”

“What is it, Zeph?” I give her my most reassuring smile, hoping to put her at ease.

“I know you're all... unusual,” she continues, meeting my gaze. “But, there's something ... different about you, isn't there?”

I hesitate for a moment before responding. Circumstances haven't let me keep my connections to Arcadia quiet, so she must be talking about the baby, right? Should I open up to her about that? I want to. I barely know her, yet I feel drawn to trust her just like I did the others. She's had so much thrown at her already, though, the thought of involving her any further in my turmoil weighs on my conscience. Something in her tone says she's already hazarded a guess, however. If that's the case, I'd merely be clearing up some confusion. Well, maybe. I don’t feel like I know a whole lot more about the situation than Zeph does, and I’m the one carrying the child. I turn to her, still a little tentative.

“You've seen my scans, haven't you?”

“I've seen all of your scans,” Zeph smiles.

“Yeah, I'm pregnant.”

I pause there, looking at Zeph for some kind of reaction.. She doesn't say anything, merely shooting me a quizzical glance as she waits for me to continue.

“It was... unexpected, to say the least. The doctor noticed it in my scans the first time I got into an Icon. When he told me, I thought he was crazy until he let me hear the baby’s heartbeat. See, I never even thought I could get pregnant, and I certainly didn’t remember doing anything to get that way. But, it’s not a normal pregnancy, so I guess it makes sense it didn’t get there the normal way. It was placed there while I was still asleep. Other than that, I don’t know much more about it.”

Zyphania looks at me, her gaze soft but analytical. “Can I look?” she asks after a moment.

“Sure,” I smile. My response is immediate. This just feels right.

I lie down and stretch out, and Zeph kneels beside me. She closes her eyes, and holds her hands over my abdomen. The sensation is warm, and almost electric. With a deep breath, I close my eyes and try to clear my thoughts. More and more energy flows through me, concentrating on my midsection. I allow my thoughts to drift to things I know about the baby... images from the vision we saw when we touched the tree replay themselves in my mind. Something shifts in Zeph's expression. Maybe my thoughts are reaching her. If they are, I hope it's helping.

I get the sense that Zeph is drawing more and more deeply from the energy around her. I think looking at the baby is proving more difficult than she anticipated, but this place, the tree specifically, is lending her the power she needs.

For a split second, I get a flash of imagery...  a swirling mass of light and darkness bound by chains. Zeph's eyes snap open, and she lowers her hands. I give her a questioning look, but wait for her to gather her senses. “I'm afraid I couldn't find out much more than you already knew,” she says after a moment. A hint of disappointment shows in her eyes for just a moment before she smiles again. “But, I can see your child is powerful. I.... I've never seen anything like it.”

I smile. She's right, it isn't really anything more than I already knew, but her words are still comforting.

“You're searching.” the voice is kind, familiar. “What is it you wish to know?”

I instinctively turn my head toward the source of the unexpected sound, and find myself face to face with the shining figure of the Queen. An odd combination of exhilarating joy and calming peace flow over me, followed briefly by a sharp sadness and a twinge of regret that her path is not and cannot be mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my mixed emotions echoed in Zeph's expression.

“We were trying to find out more about my child,” I finally respond after finding my voice. Just being in the Queen's presence is enough to draw my mouth into a smile, despite the heaviness of the subject. “There's still so much I don't know about it. And it's such a big responsibility.”

The Queen nods solemnly, understandingly. “Every choice you make affects it.” She pauses for a moment, giving me a look of almost motherly concern. “Do you think you're ready for this task?”

I shake my head, almost laughing. “No. But then again, I don't think anyone really ever is. All I can do is try my best.”

“What do you want for your child, Delilah?”

There are a number of ways I could answer that question, but they all basically boil down to the same thing. “I want it to be happy. And I want it to have a place in this world.”

“And what if it doesn't have a place?” The question is not harsh or even ominous, but the Queen's gaze is intent..

“Then I'll make one for it.” I respond with a confident smile, which the Queen returns.

A silence settles over us briefly, drifting in time with the half thoughtful, half sad look that comes over the Queen's face. When she speaks again, there is a heaviness in her voice. “My time, and perhaps this world's time, is drawing to an end. I want to ask you to do something for me...”

I  meet her gaze expectantly, waiting silently for her to finish.

“Show your child my love.”

“I will,” The smile on my face turns to a look of surprise as I hear Zeph's voice echo mine.

The Queen sits quietly, serenely, for a moment. Zeph turns to her, her eyes shining.

“I would follow you if I could, Lady.”

“I know,” the Queen replies with a soft smile.


The silvery daedalum overhead has now moved much closer to setting, and the Queen fades as her daedalum dips below the horizon. As we await whatever it is that's supposed to happen next, Zeph's words keep running through my mind. She's promising to help me with the child, just like Grace did.  This brings up a question in my mind that only she can answer, and so I turn to her.

“Zeph, I really appreciate you wanting to help me with the baby and promising to be there for it. I'm going to need all the help I can get. But, there's something I don't understand. Why would you promise that? You barely know me.”

Zeph smiles. Her eyes are kind. “Because I sense that we share a nurturing nature. We both want to make the world a better place. Because I sense that you've got a lot on your shoulders you didn't ask for.” Her smile takes on a slightly mischievous tone. “And because I'm intensely curious as to what this child will become.”

I nod in agreement, but before I can open my mouth to concur that I didn't ask for what has been handed to me, I hear a now familiar voice with its audible smile.

“Oh, but you -did- ask for this, Delilah.” Chess is perched in one of the branches of the Tree, looking down on us as if he's heard the whole conversation.

“Maybe I did, in a way.” My answer comes uneasily, as I find myself unable to put into words that there's a difference between asking and accepting.

Chaos casts a bored look toward the setting daedalum. “Time is running out... for so very many things.”

Zeph moves closer to Chess, a certain dark fascination in her eyes. “You've all spoken of a war, of lines drawn in the sand. Is there no neutral ground?”

“Not anymore,” Chaos answers, his face for once deadly serious.

I see Zeph's face fall, but before she can argue, the Queen's daedalum sets completely, and her Tree disappears. The darkness engulfs us, transporting us to somewhere else... somewhere other. It seems like a hallway, but the light is too dim to gather any details. I only know the floor is there because I can feel myself standing on it.

“The King has you under his thumb,” I hear the uncomfortably silky voice of Chaos coming from the shadows. “He wants to keep you scared. The longer you listen to what he has to say, the fewer choices you'll be able to make on your own. Before too long, he will have taken away your free will entirely. “

“But,” Chess adds, his tone ominously cheerful. The light brightens in the direction of the voice, revealing the unnaturally spindly form of No.One. standing before a large weathered wooden door. “I'm here to show you another way.”

Chaos leans nonchalantly against the wall, eying us with an inscrutable smirk as he basks in our baffled expressions.

“You are free to choose to go through this door or not. However, if you decide not to, it will be the second-to-last real choice you ever make.”

Chaos smiles at the skepticism on our faces. “I'm only here to show you the truth.”

Zyphania and I stand staring at the door in confusion and indecision. Chess stands by silently, patiently awaiting our verdict. Part of me wants to go - what Chess said about losing our free will may not be true, but it struck a nerve. Besides, I need know everything I can. This feels risky, though, and I know I'm not getting the whole story. I look at Zeph, and see the curiosity and apprehension I'm feeling echoed on her face.

“Zeph, what do you think? I'm curious... but I'm not sure if we should go.”

Zeph furrows her brow, and eyes the door thoughtfully for a moment.

“I'm only going if you do,” I add.

Zeph looks at me, a certain decisiveness in her eyes. “Okay...” she exhales. “Let's do it.”

We move forward together, open the door, and walk through.

On the other side of the door, the landscape changes once again. A gray twilight shines coldly on barren, colorless ground.  Twisted, rusted metal litters the ground all around us. Ruined buildings rise haphazardly toward the sky, as if trying to return from whence they came. Except, some of this doesn't look like it's from Arcadia. Where are we?

A soft sound, as if someone is clearing their throat, catches our attention. Chess is leaning against a large piece of rubble, watching us patiently. When he notices he has our attention, he gives us one of his trademark grins.

“Well,” Chess' voice is smooth, and there is a hint of approval in the words. “I'm glad to see you've decided to keep your free will, at least this far. There -is- another choice for you to make later, but first...” he turns his gaze on Zyphania, “what is it you want?”

Zeph smiles smugly. “Does that really matter? Whatever I say, you'll simply use it against me.”

“Why, my dear Zyphania,” Chess exclaims, an exaggerated hurt expression on his face. “I've done nothing but help you.”

“And why?” Zeph says, her expression more serious. “Why did you choose me? Was there a reason, or was it random?”

Chaos smiles, his normal smile, with just a hint of genuine care. “It was random. Everything I do is random.”

“That's what I thought,” Zyphania sighs, her eyes downcast.

“There is no purpose, no grand plan behind my actions,” Chess says, his voice smooth as silk.

“And what of Adam?” Zeph asks, her eyes firmly meeting Chess'. “You raised him, and the... things following him from the West. There was no purpose behind that, either? If not, then why bring them forth at all? If I asked you to stop them, would you?”

“Why would I do that, after setting them free?” Chaos smiles. “If you want to stop them, then stop them. I simply cut their strings... released them from the ties with which the King would bind them.”

“But, even that is a plan...  a purpose...” I muse aloud. “Aren't you just cutting the King's 'strings' to replace them with your own?”

“Taking an action and having a plan are not the same thing, Delilah.  I have no future plans for them. In fact, I don't plan to have any further interactions with them at all.”

“Even if your plan is just to go against Alastor's plan, that's still a plan.” I smirk.

Chaos gives me an inscrutable look. “I have no interest in anything in this world.”

“Nothing?” I say, grinning wryly and resting a hand on my abdomen.

Chess smiles widely. “Your child is no more or less interesting to me than anything else in this world.... Except, perhaps, for you. I just don't want it to fall into his hands.”

“I don't want it to fall into -anyone's- hands.” I say, and then pause for a moment as the other part of what Chess said sinks in. “And why are you so interested in me?”

The smirk on Chess' face persists. “Tell me, Delilah... do you think Alastor... loves you?”

My brow furrows. I've asked myself that question hundreds of times, but something about hearing someone else ask it aloud brings home the answer I have come to.

“Probably not,” I finally manage. “We were acquaintances, nothing more.”

Chess smiles, and starts to turn toward Zyphania.

“But... you didn't answer my question.” I interrupt. “What is it about me that you find so interesting?”

“Why do you think he brought you back,  Delilah?”

“I'm not sure,” I admit with a frown.

“The only thing you'll ever be to him is a pawn. Just another cog in the mechanism of his grand scheme.”

Stung by the kernel of truth I'm afraid might be found in Chess' words, I fall silent. I suddenly find myself so lost in my own thoughts I hardly even notice when Chess turns again to Zeph.

“I ask again, Zyphania...” Chess says, his voice almost kind. “What is it you want?”  

“You're so insistent,” Zeph sighs. “Very well. I'll give you an answer. I want to save all those people.”

“Done,” Chess snaps his fingers.

Zeph gives him a look of disbelief.

“Don't believe me? Go see for yourself.”

Chaos gestures, in his bizarrely elegant way, toward the apparition of a door shimmering to his left.

“And what, exactly, will we find through that door?” Zeph manages to ask.

“Just what I told you,” Chess says patiently. “The people you just had me save.”

“I didn't ask you to do anything. But, if you have saved them, I'd certainly like to see for myself.”

Zyphania turns to me. “What do you think, Delilah?”

I am silent for a moment, drawn into the battle raging in my mind between curiosity and caution, wondering which will prevail this time.

“I'll admit, I'm curious. I want to go, but, I don't know if we should.” I pause for a moment, and then look to Zeph, a hint of mischief in my eyes. “I'll go if you will.”

Before I can blink, Chess is behind me, whispering in my ear. “Are you really going to let her make this decision for you?”

“This doesn't feel like just my decision,” I explain. “It seems like we should both go, or neither of us should.”

Zeph furrows her brow and looks at Chess, her conflicting emotions visible on her face. “If you really did save those people, I want to know what happened to the little girl... the one we saw when Grace touched the doll.”

“She's fine.” Chess coos with a smile, looking toward the shimmering space that might be a door. “You'll see her soon.”

Zeph turns to me, looking as torn as I feel. “What do -you- want to do, Delilah?”

Chess moves to her side, whispering in her ear as he did in mine. “It's so much easier, isn't it, to let others make your decisions for you.”

“Of course it is...” Zeph says, eyes still on me.

“Oh well...” Chess sighs theatrically. “It appears you're nothing if not consistent. How... disappointing.”

There is a brief silence, as if each of us is waiting for something. It is broken by another exasperated sigh from Chess.

“No matter how many times you save someone, sometimes they still don't trust you.”

“Everyone is so insistent that I must pick a side,” Zeph shakes her head. “Fine. I can walk beside you, but I won't follow you. You aren't my first loyalty.”

“Good enough,” Chess grins. He snaps his fingers, and we once again find ourselves in darkness.


I blink my eyes a couple of times, and am finally able to make out the outline of two doors. Chess, so shadowy he's merely a silhouette at this point, is standing between them..

“As I said before, I'm merely here to give you a choice.” The voice of Chaos seems to emanate from the darkness around us rather than the form standing between the portals.

“This way,” the shadow points to the door to our right, “leads to the people you saved.”

“ And this way,” Chess gestures toward the door to our left, “ leads back to your friends.”

“There's always another choice,” Zeph chimes in. “Isn't there?”

“Of course there is,” Chess says, his trademark smile audible, if not visible. I follow the sweep of his arm, and turn to see a third door appearing behind us. “There's always the option to say no, to close your eyes to all this madness and forget everything. That's what you'll find through that door.”

Zyphania and I look at each other, and at the third door, and then Zeph gives voice to what are my feelings on the subject, as well.

“I won't be going through that door. I can't close my eyes to what I've seen, and just go back to a normal life, or... no life at all.”

She looks at the door to our right longingly. I feel the tug as well, but there's something that worries me. I look at the door on the left. “I can't just abandon the others.”

“You won't be,” Chess says. “You'll see them within three days.”

Maybe I'm crazy, but somehow I feel like I can trust Chess on this one. I turn my gaze to the door at our right, and then look at Zeph.

“Alright,” we say in unison. “Let's do this.”

We walk side by side to the door leading to the people Zeph had saved, and step through it together.

Time keeps on slipping away

Suddenly, I realize the whistling in my ears is not the wind, but the hiss of an opening regeneration pod.  I blink hard a few times as my eyes strain to adjust to the unexpected change in lighting, and I struggle to decide whether I can accept what I’m seeing.  The confusion makes me a little unsteady on my feet, but I manage to crawl out of the tube and stumble out into the open air. Nothing around me looks familiar. Panic sets the blood pounding in my ears, until I spot the others moving shakily toward me, looking just as baffled as I feel. The muddled thoughts running through my head are echoed on the faces of my bleary-eyed companions.

We were traveling... on our way to Trinity Junction... Everything seemed to be going fine... Something must have happened, but we were well outside the range of any Icon... What in the world is going on here...

Several moments pass as we stare at each other blankly, with no clue where to even begin looking for an explanation. As we stand there gaping, a sturdy-looking elderly woman emerges from the ramshackle shack a few yards away and cheerily tromps toward us.
“Oh, good!” she exclaims. Her face is friendly, and her tone is familiar. Strangely, she seems unfazed by our blank expressions. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah... we’re awake. And, I’m sorry, but we’re a little confused.” Grace gives the lady a sheepish grin. “The last thing we remember, we were on our way to Trinity Junction. Could you tell us where we are, and what happened?”  
“Confusion is to be expected after what you’ve been through. You’re at a waypoint Icon, between Freedom’s Pass and Trinity Junction.” The woman explains, tucking a strand of stray hair back into her salt-and-pepper bun. “I found you lot collapsed in front of the Icon, and did what I could to help you.”
“How long have we been out?” Mercury asks impatiently.
“Three days.” the woman responds.
The five of us exchange looks of confusion, concern, and in Mercury’s case, something close to anger.
“You were in pretty bad shape. It took a lot of time, effort, and nenetic surgery to get you back in working order,” the old Iconotech offers when she sees our worried faces.
“I’m sorry ma’am...” Grace says,  “We didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. We’re just still a little confused is all. We really appreciate the help. Thank you... What did you say your name was again?”
“Wilhelmina,” the old lady answers.
“Well, thank you, Wilhelmina,” Grace smiles.
“Not a problem,” Wilhelmina smiles back. “All part of the job. But, you should rest. Your images need a little more time to settle.”
“We should get going...” Mercury says firmly, looking at us. “Three days is a lot of time to lose.”
“I understand, Mercury, but we want to be as ready for travel as we can be.” Grace says calmly, and then shifts her gaze toward the horizon. “Besides, it looks like Night is coming soon.”
“I’d really like to run a few more tests on you first thing tomorrow, to make sure everything checks out,” Wilhelmina chimes in, concern evident on her face.
Mercury looks as if he’s about to object again, but he stops short when each of us meet his gaze with a look that says we agree with Grace.
“Alright,”  he says with a resigned sigh. “But only until night passes. First thing tomorrow we have to be out of here. We have a lot of time to make up.”
Wilhelmina takes her leave, giving the five of us space to attempt to settle our rattled nerves.  
As I take a mental inventory, I realize something: Other than the unease I feel about the lost time, I feel great. I feel better... stronger... than I have since waking up in this world.  Arcadia is still very present in my mind, but it no longer feels as if it’s pushing at the seams, threatening to get out unbidden. Memories, especially mine, hold power. If I can control that power, rather than the other way around, then I can make Arcadia a strength rather than a weakness.
I’m snapped out of my navel-gazing by the sound of Zyphania’s voice.
“I think I know where we are...” Her voice is tentative. She pauses for just a moment, looking briefly toward the Icon. “We’re still in the same spot as that giant tree.”
Each of us shoots her an incredulous glance, but none of us disagrees. The pieces fit too well to discount the idea.
“Damn it...” Mercury mutters under his breath. “Three days gone, -and- we lost ground.”
“My question is,” Frac begins, a curious look on his face, “If this Icon is in the same place as the tree, then which of them is real?”
A thoughtful silence hangs over the group.  In the quiet moment, a flash of a memory plays in my mind: I see my hand resting in the handprint on the tree, and feel the brief sensation of cold metal beneath my hand.
“I think the Icon is what’s real,” Zeph conjectures, giving voice to what had just crossed my mind.

None of this makes sense to me yet, and the subdued mood of our usually boisterous group tells me no one else really understands it yet, either. I look idly from face to face, hoping to see a flicker of insight in one of their expressions. The closest thing I see is from Grace’s thoughtful expression as she rubs her neck.
“Do any of the rest of you feel the collars?” she asks dubiously.
“Now that you mention it, no,” Frac adds. Concern suddenly clouds his face. “And Collusion’s been pretty quiet recently, too.”
Another long silence, this one uneasy rather than contemplative.
“One of us should try to contact the King” Mercury says, breaking the stillness. No one makes a move to volunteer.
“Don’t everyone volunteer at once...” he sneers. After another moment with no response, he continues. “Fine. I’ll do it. It makes the most sense for me to, anyway.”

“And I can give getting in touch with Collusion a shot.” Fractal adds.

Fractal walks off, understandably wanting to put some space between the Icon and himself in case something goes wrong. Mercury watches him leave with a look approaching disdain. Once Frac is out of view, Mercury turns to me.

“Wanna come with me?” Mercury asks with a smirk. When I can’t hold back my expression of distaste, he grins even wider. “Oh, c’mon. It’ll be fun. You’ll get to see Alastor again.”

I give him a cold stare, but follow him away from the Icon. We walk in silence until the only thing in sight is the two of us. Satisfied we’re far enough away, Mercury stops. He stoops down, and with deliberate strokes, begins to draw a figure in the dust. A crescent pierced by nail-like spikes- the sigil on the wall of Adam’s cell. With a few minor alterations at my suggestion, the arcane emblem soon takes its proper shape.  Mercury kneels, eyes closed, in front of the symbol. His lips move in silent prayer. When he looks up a few moments later, his face immediately falls when he sees no sign of Alastor. Undeterred, he takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and repeats the call. When Alastor again fails to answer, Mercury can’t hide the look of concern on his face.
“Do you think He’s gone?” he asks, with an expression that suggests he’s upset with himself for even entertaining the question.
“No,” I answer firmly, trying to hide the uneasiness I find taking me by surprise. “He’s not going away that easily.”
“I don’t think so, either,” Mercury responds, confidence coming back to his gaze. “I think He’s just far away. Maybe something’s keeping him from us. Or maybe He’s keeping away from something that is trying to destroy him.”
I contemplate it a moment. Alastor seemed indestructible even back in Arcadia. Surely there’s nothing that scares him that much... not even Chess.
“Things have been trying to get rid of Alastor for a long time,” I say, putting on my best reassuring smile. “Nothing has managed it yet.”
There is a brief silence, as we share a moment of quiet worry. Then, with a sigh, we return to the others.
“Hey! Welcome back. How did it...” Mercury’s dejected expression answers Grace mid-question. She closes the gap between us, and puts a reassuring hand on Mercury’s shoulder.
“I couldn’t get in touch with Collusion, either,” Frac adds, concern more than evident in his expression.
Sullen silence fills the air as we contemplate what the lack of these outside influences could mean. They couldn’t be just... gone, could they?
Mercury looks up at us, mixed emotions on his face. “We disobeyed the King,” he says, with a meaningful glance toward Zyphania.
Anger flashes in Grace’s eyes, and Fractal opens his mouth to say something, but everything is interrupted by the sudden blaring of alarms from the Icon. Fractal and Grace glance anxiously in the direction of Wilhelmina’s ramshackle shack, but seeing no sign of her, sprint to the Icon to see what can be done. Bells blare and lights flash as the two of them frantically push buttons, pull levers, and turn dials. As they work, they keep looking at the monitors, looking for some sign their actions are making any difference. It’s clear from their expressions that, whatever is wrong with this Icon, neither of them have seen anything like it before. Frac gives the monitors one last frustrated look, and looks toward the main body of the Icon with a slight sigh.
“I’m going in,” he announces. Moving forward, he lays a hand on the machine. It opens up, as it could only for him, and he goes inside.

The time that passes before Fractal comes back out feels like an eternity, and the look of worry on his face when he finally does emerge does nothing to ease my apprehension. Expectation hangs almost palpably in the air as the four of us wait for him to tell us what he found.
“Well, I got inside. Then, I guess you all saw that much...” Fractal finally begins. “ But everything was different this time. It was all...strange. I mean, stranger than usual.”
He pauses for a moment, searching for the words to explain. “The gears and machinery weren’t there; just these weird falls of dirty golden sand everywhere. When I finally found the Icon core, she seemed terrified of something. All I could get her to tell me is that she’d seen there wasn't a place for her in this world anymore... And then I saw Chess.”
Fractal’s brows knit in an almost mournful expression, and he stops speaking. After a moment, Mercury prods him on. “And did you talk to him, Fractal?”
“Yeah,” Frac answers, but the faraway look in his eyes tells me the conversation isn’t what’s really on his mind anymore. “He asked me if I wanted to take down the King. I told him no, that it isn’t my place to decide what happens to him.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“Nothing important. Just the same old nonsense. Nothing he says can be trusted anyway,  so I've pretty much stopped listening.”
Mercury shoots him a glare loaded with disappointment.
We see Wilhelmina rushing toward the Icon, and suddenly realize that Fractal’s story had so captured our focus, none of us noticed when the Icon started going berserk again.   
“What did you do?” Wilhelmina snaps at Fractal. Her gaze remains steely as she begins to roughly spin valves and flip switches.
“Nothing...” Frac answers unconvincingly. He moves toward the Icon again, and continues his answer more sincerely.  “It started malfunctioning earlier, while you were away, and we tried to fix it.”
“You went inside, didn’t you?” Wilhelmina’s expression is stern, but softens a little when she sees the surprise and contrition on Fractal’s face. “It’s okay. Yeah, I know about your centroglyph. Don’t worry, your business is your own. Just... just stay away from the Icon for now, okay?”
Fractal starts to take another step toward the Icon, but hesitates.
“She’s trying to self-destruct...” he says quietly, looking at us. “She’s killing herself, and it’s my fault.”
“You’re all about people making their own choices,” Mercury practically spits at Frac. “Isn’t this hers?”
“Yeah,” Frac says, his voice heavy with sorrow and guilt. “But it’s my fault. I went in and screwed things up, and now I have to try to fix it.”
“It’s a machine, Fractal,” Mercury growls. “We have bigger things to worry about.”
“This thing could blow at any minute,” Wilhelmina cautions as she surmises what Frac is thinking. “If you’re inside when it does, you won’t make it out.”
Fractal once again deliberately steps toward the body of the Icon, only to be stopped by Grace’s hand on his shoulder. “You shouldn’t go in alone. If we work together, I think I can help you reach her without going all the way inside.”
They step forward together, and with an uneasy look, Wilhelmina lets them pass. I know there’s no talking either of them out of it, and I wouldn’t try if I could. They’re doing the right thing. Still, seeing the two of them standing motionless in front of a hunk of metal that’s threatening to explode makes me uneasy to say the least.

At this point, every light on the control panel is blinking, and every alarm is sounding. Flames begin to snake out of the machine’s seams, and lick higher and higher, toward the Effigy. We all rush forward, and try everything we can to help; some of us trying to extinguish the flames, others working at the control panels according to Wilhelmina’s shouted instructions. Despite our best efforts, it soon becomes apparent we’re fighting a losing battle. Wilhelmina is left with no choice but to throw up her hands.
“Everyone out of the way!” she yells, running away from the Icon. Zeph and I dive for cover on either side. Grace and Frac start to move, but they’re so close there’s no way they can get to safety. I can actually see the Icon beginning to bulge. Mercury leaps toward the two of them, pushes Fractal as far out of the line of fire as possible, and shields Grace with his own body. Not a moment later, there is a blinding flash, as the Icon explodes in a roar so forceful it leaves my ears ringing.


I stand up, brushing the dirt off my pants. A scowl crosses my face as I take in the smoking crater left by the exploding Icon. Across the pit, I see Zeph struggling to her feet as well, dusty but unharmed. At the edge of the caldera, Mercury raises himself from the ground, shaken but in one piece. He helps Grace to her feet, and I can see that she’s battered and bruised, but it isn’t serious. That leaves....
A broken body lies near the broken ground. Fractal is covered in dirt and blood. The heat fused his goggles to his face, burning him badly and possibly permanently blinding him. Metal and wiring stick out in every direction from his now destroyed right arm. His left didn’t fare much better. A huge piece of shrapnel protrudes from his chest, and I can’t help but be reminded of Collusion. And that’s when I feel my heart leap into my throat; It doesn’t look like he’s breathing.

Zyphania rushes to his side, and kneels beside him. Her eyes close, and her hands hover an inch or so above Fractal’s body. As the rest of us move closer, Zeph’s hands begin to glow softly as she skillfully glides them over Frac’s injuries. The healing energy flows over Fractal’s body, mending gashes and bruises almost instantaneously. Grace, Mercury, and I stand there speechless as we watch Zeph work. After a while, Zephaniah lowers her hands and turns to us.
“He’s stabilized now. We should get him somewhere more comfortable, though.”
Grace’s face shows even more relief than I feel. She looks to be almost in tears. “Thank you, Zyphania. Here, let me help you move him to Wilhelmina’s shack. There’s got to be a bed in there, right?”

As I watch them move the still unconscious Fractal inside, it dawns on me that we are missing someone. I begin to search for Wilhelmina. There are large chunks of metal and machinery everywhere, making the quest a difficult one. When I finally spot her, much further from the blast center than I expected, I see her take a shallow breath. Wilhelmina painfully opens an eye as she hears my approach, and motions me closer. I kneel beside her and lean my ear toward her to catch her whispers.
“Your friend... he’s a Metatron, right?”
I nod slowly, making the connection between her shattered body, the nonfunctional Icon, and Mercury’s centroglyph.
“Can you ask him... to come to me... please?” Her breath is labored, and it’s painfully obvious that speech is difficult. I nod again, give the best smile I can muster, and turn to find Mercury.

Mercury is leaning against the outside of Wilhelmina’s shack, a disheartened expression on his face. I know he’s angry, but there’s nothing I can do to help that right now. For right now, I just need to pass along Wilhelmina’s message.

“I found Wilhelmina,”
Mercury gives me a quizzical look.
“Over there,” I say, directing his gaze to the spot where I left her. “She’s... asking for you.”
He gives me a knowing nod, and walks away. I stay near the shack. Their conversation is not for my ears, and I can’t say that sorrows me. I can’t help but shift my gaze in that direction occasionally, however. They talk for a while, and then I see Mercury pull off a glove and touch Wilhelmina’s forehead. After a moment, the dust that was once her exomorph dissipates into the air. I’ll admit I haven’t seen Mercury use his centroglyph that many times, but something about that Reclamation looked different. Perhaps it’s because I was watching from so far away.
Assuming Mercury will make his way back to the shack when he’s ready, I poke my head inside to see how things are coming with Fractal. To my surprise, it looks like he’s coming to.
“Uuuugh...” a painful moan escapes Frac’s lips as he attempts to sit up.
“Frac, easy... you’re hurt pretty bad...” Grace says, rushing to kneel by Fractal, a broad smile on her face.
“Grace?” Frac manages to squeak out. “Grace, is that you?”
“Yeah, Frac, I’m here.” She glances around. “Delilah and Zeph are here, too.”
“Is it Night? Is the room dark?” Fractal asks. It’s clear from his tone that he already knows the answer.
“No, Frac” Grace continues uncomfortably after a pause. “It isn’t Night yet. The explosion...”
“Oh,” Frac interrupts her, his voice full of sorrow and resignation. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
“I’m still working on you. There’s a chance it isn’t permanent,” Zyphania chimes in. “But, if it heals, it’s going to take some time.”
“And he needs his rest,” she adds, looking at Grace and me with a firm but understanding expression. “Everyone out.”

I step outside, and with a sigh, sit down cross-legged in the dirt in front of the shack. It takes a couple more tries before Zeph manages to chase Grace out.
“Where’s Mercury?” Grace asks as she joins me, her eyes scanning the horizon.
“I’m not sure. The last time I saw him, he was checking on Wilhelmina. I... don’t think she made it.”
Grace frowns at this news, a hint of sadness showing in her eyes. A moment later, she looks up, the sorrow shifted to concern.
“I’m going to go look for Mercury,” she informs me. “ I think I know where he is.”
She hops on the skiff, and takes off in the direction of Trinity Junction.  
I get an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watch her go.  If Grace can’t find Mercury quickly, the Night could catch them both alone. I shudder to think what the consequences of that would be.
I sit by myself for a while, nervously watching the horizon. As the sky gets darker, a flash of light catches my eye. Something in the pit left by the exploding icon is... blinking. Cautiously, I creep to the edge of the hole and look down. There, in the center of the depression, is a large chunk of metal with some kind of indicator light on the side. I’ve never seen the inner workings of an Icon before (well, physically at least), but I the thought crosses my mind that the chunk of metal in front of me could be the Icon’s core. The steady pulse of the indicator light captivates me. It feels almost like a heartbeat. A... wait a minute... what if she’s still...
The hum of a skiff’s engine derails my train of thought. I look up, and breath a sigh of relief when I see that it’s Grace, and she found Mercury. Mercury looks... while not happy, at least a little more at ease. He dismounts and goes to find somewhere to sit near the shack. As Grace climbs off, I run up to her, and pull her toward the rubble.
“Grace, there’s something you need to see.”
Grace follows me without giving voice to the myriad of questions evident in her expression. Just as I thought, however, one look at the indicator light is enough to erase any confusion she might have had. As soon as she sees the chunk of metal, her face lights up, and my theory is confirmed.
“She’s alive!” Grace practically jumps for joy. “ The Icon’s alive! She’s.... We’ve gotta tell Frac!”
Grace takes off in a sprint toward Wilhelmina’s shack, and I follow close behind.  Zeph looks up in surprise as the two of us come barreling through the door.
“Frac! Frac!” Grace yells, making it to his bedside in about two strides. “The Icon’s alive! She survived!”
Fractal tries to leap to his feet with a shout of excitement which morphs into a yelp of pain.
“Don’t excite him so much!” Zeph scolds, shooting a scathing glance in our direction.
“He’s stable, but he shouldn’t move!”
“I have to go to her.” Frac looks up pleadingly. “I need to talk to her. Please... help me outside.”
“no... no... no.... no....” Zeph cautions quietly, though it’s clear she realizes her repeated warnings are falling on deaf ears. I certainly can’t deny Frac this request, and even if I could, Grace certainly won’t. So, irrationality wins out, and we gingerly help Fractal outside.
Night has fallen, so Grace pulls the skiff around so that we can have some light. She parks it as close to the crater, and the Icon core, as possible, and we lay Frac across the back seat. He exhales sharply as he stretches out, but the tension visibly drains from his face once he’s comfortable. A moment later, the look of relaxation changes to one of calm concentration as Fractal attempts to contact the spirit of the Icon.
Suddenly, a chill runs up my spine. I look to the sky, and let out a gasp of fear as I see inky darkness rolling swiftly in our direction.
“Deep Night,” Mercury says quietly, the phrase coming out like a curse muttered under his breath.
“Everyone, move closer to me,” Frac says, trying to keep his voice steady. “I can keep us safe for a little while.”

We huddle around him as tightly as possible, and I feel my sense of dread begin to melt away. The sense of calm I feel around me is so akin to being close to an Icon that I find my eyes involuntarily drawn toward the hunk of metal in the pit.
“No,” I think to myself as I shift my gaze back to Fractal. “That’s not the Icon that feeling is coming from.”
As the utter darkness of Deep Night blankets the area, I shut my eyes, and hope that Fractal can keep us, and the Icon spirit, safe long enough for the danger to pass.