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Part 5: The Terrible Truth
The Grand Admiral	October 11, 2022 3:27 pm

The hazy warmth of late summer seemed finally to be lessening its oppressive grip. Or at the very least, Artemis found that this patch of shade she had selected under which to rest her tired limbs actually felt cooler than where the golden glow of the slowly setting sun still blanketed the land. In this quiet place, where all she could see was nature—the grass, the trees, the glittering trickle of a shallow stream—she felt comfortable enough to let down her guard. She was weary, both in body and in mind. The words Apollo had spoken to her after her last visit to the grove of the Pear Tree had fallen dull in her ears. It was the visit to the laboratory that sparked the little ember that had been carrying her spirit over the last several days. At least he had been right about that. Seeing the progress the Mad Scientist had made had been reassuring…for a while. The old man had even fired it up using the last of the little power sources he had managed to create, giving her about thirty seconds of a glimpse of the beauty slowly returning to her world That glimpse had sparked a brief surge in determination. Yet again, as she had done so many times before, she had called her Corps together and sent them again on the quest. Search Lunaria, go even further than ever before, find what the Mad Scientist needs to finish his work. It was arguable that her Corps had probably seen more of this land at this point than any of the native Chosen with Artemis’ vehemence and (for lack of a better word) desperation. Desperation…Artemis sighed. She hated that word, but she couldn’t lie to herself anymore. She was desperate. The fire of the most recent search had died out faster than any of the others. She had returned here sooner than before, and she knew the next time she ventured out she would return sooner still…if she went out at all. At the same time, she wasn’t being fair to her loyal team. Working them so hard, even though she knew they shared her desire for a dependable way to return home… A soft breeze whispered over the grass. Artemis took a deep breath, taking in the warm scents. There was another reason she chose to come here, and as she breathed, she indulged in it. She rested her head on the ground between her paws and burrowed her muzzle into the grass, closing her eyes. Although the feeling was far stronger in the sacred grove, her connection with the Pear Tree, old and new, existed everywhere in these lands. If there was any source of comfort to be found, this was it. Laying here in the quiet, feeling that subtle, soothing power radiating through the ground from the roots of the mighty tree that held this world together. She had been able to feel something similar back in Solaria, in her youth. Much weaker, as she had not possessed back then the power she had now, but the lack of it during the isopteron plague had torn at the holes in her heart. She could not wait to feel it again back home on her own soil, and more, to teach others to feel it too. She would make it her purpose to teach all the denizens of Solaria to form some kind of bond of understanding with the new Pear Tree. As soon as she delivered it. And then… “Uh…uh oh. Not…not this way.” “What is it, Bowli? Uh…oh. Is she asleep?” “Grown-ups are so weird. It’s almost dinner time. Why waste time napping now?” “Shhh, don’t wake her. Let’s go around. She…she’s not as nice as Lord Apollo.” “She’s not that bad. She’s just grumpy.” Artemis slowly opened her eyes, biting back a growl of annoyance. This was why she usually chose the park to rest like this. Most of the time, it was quiet, even with all the activity that could be found here. The sacred grove simply had too many visitors, not to mention the Pear Tree’s attendants and caretakers. The park was spacious enough that a quiet corner was never impossible to find. But just her luck… “Do you find it amusing to disturb those trying to rest?” she grumbled, thoroughly startling the group of pups trying to creep away back up the stream, though they were doing little to lower the volume of their voices. The group was a small assembled bunch of different breeds. Divine, Egyptian, Earth, Water. All four stared at her in wide-eyed worry. Artemis raised her head and crossed her forepaws, studying the group, but not glaring. She wasn’t cruel or vindictive like the Glitch. She didn’t take any pleasure in making anyone nervous, and especially not pups. “Come here,” she said. The pups edged closer to her, slowly and timidly. Artemis noted that one of them, the Water, was carrying one of Lil’ Tuff’s rock sacks in his little teeth. She imagined it would be almost too heavy for him to carry if he hadn’t been riding on the Earth’s back. “You didn’t disturb me,” she said calmly. “This is the park, after all. I do not come here expecting perfect privacy. I may be grumpy, but I will not snap at anyone simply for walking by a little loudly.” All four pups flinched. “We…we weren’t trying to insult you, Lady Artemis,” the Divine pup whimpered. “We…we were just heading back home for dinner. But we…we wanted to get more pebbles for the scientist first. We can’t go to the caves to find them ourselves, but Lil’ Tuff told us he has lots of them already. But it took us longer than before to find him this time. But he gave us a whole bag! Show her, Seafoam!” The Water slid down off the Earth’s back and crawled forward, placing the sack before her. Artemis raised an eyebrow. “Pebbles for Frederick?” she asked curiously. Had she missed something while she was away? “Why would he want a bag of Lil’ Tuff’s rocks?” “You haven’t heard?” the Water asked. “Heard what? My Corps and I have been away for the past several days. Did something happen?” The pups immediately burst into excited explanations. Artemis listened as patiently as she could, rising curiosity a welcome assistant. The Divine proudly saying how he found a strange shimmering pebble in the mining caves, how they had taken it to Lil’ Tuff, and then to the scientists to find out what they were. How Frederick had taken great interest in them, enough to call upon the denizens of Lunaria to search the mining caves from top to bottom to find as many as they possibly could. And how many were apparently being found. “We’re gonna be late for dinner if we take them to him now, so we’re gonna go in the morning,” the Earth finished with a wag of bushy tail. “My mom’s making my favorite tonight.” “Bowli, everything your mom makes is your favorite,” the Egyptian replied. Artemis scratched behind an ear with a paw, thinking. Despite herself, she could feel eagerness growing. Maybe the thing she had been desperately searching for had finally been found. If Frederick was so excited about simple pebbles, there must be something more going on. “Show me,” she encouraged, smiling. “Show me these strange pebbles. I think that if Frederick wants to do with them what I think he does, then I know a certain group of pups who will have my deepest thanks for being clever enough to bring them to him.” The pups beamed at her, and the Water scrambled to open the bag for her. After a moment he turned it over, spilling a small pile of glittering stones onto the grass. In the golden light of the setting sun, their shining smooth surfaces rippled in a strange, almost hypnotic wave. Artemis gazed at the pebbles for a long moment, blinking as a bolt of shock burst across her chest. Then she leapt to her feet, letting out a shout of fury and fear so loud that it sent a flock of sparrows spiraling into the air in panic. “NO!” she bellowed. She didn’t hear the cries of fright from the pups, nor see them scramble backwards. The Water, unable to move as fast as his friends, had rolled over onto his back and covered his face with his forepaws. He let out the loudest yelp of them all as Artemis surged forward and seized him by the scruff, throwing her body forward to drive the pups even further back, shoving them away from the glittering pile of stones. “Why hasn’t Apollo stopped this?!” she demanded when she had dropped the pup again. “That old fool should have…” But she stopped, breathing hard. He wouldn’t have known…how could he? Maybe even her own Corps wouldn’t be able to recognize them. She was the only one who had seen it, the only one who had been there with Solaria’s Pear Tree’s strength had failed. She had been the one to hear the cracks and crunches, to see them emerge from deep in the ground… She could hear approaching footsteps, other park visitors and residents alerted by the noise. She twisted back around, hoping the pups were safely far enough away as she leapt forward, spreading her wings, her paws slamming down on either side of the pile. Her fur stood on end as she summoned forth her power. A dim flicker of thought raced through her mind, reminding her of what she had done to the old park with this same maneuver, but Artemis didn’t stop. The power surged into the ground between her paws, enveloping the pebbles in a ball of fire and energy, searing the ground and leaving a crater where her resting place had been. It lasted only seconds. Her entire body trembled as she looked down, panting heavily. The smoke cleared quickly in the breeze, leaving only embers and singed soil. And…and pebbles. Pebbles completely undamaged. “No…” she hissed, staggering backwards in shock. It hadn’t worked? Were they that indestructible before they hatched? “What is going on?” a loud voice demanded. Artemis jerked around. Paisley had appeared, eyes wide as she looked from the crater to the pups sobbing in fear. “Lady Artemis, what are you doing?! We can’t lose a second park!” “How many of these have been found?!” Artemis demanded, gesturing to the pebbles sitting in the smoldering crater. “L..l-lots,” the Divine pup stammered, but he had stepped forward, opening pup wings to shield his terrified friends. “We didn’t do anything wrong! They’re just rocks! Pretty rocks! They…” Artemis snarled, but not in the direction of the pup. She had to remind herself a dozen times in rapid succession that they couldn’t possibly know. There was still time here. They weren’t hatching, so if they could be gathered, if someplace could be found to seal them away… “Not rocks,” she hissed, through clenched teeth. “W…what?” Paisley stammered. “What do you mean, they aren’t rocks? Of course they’re…” Artemis flared up, flapping her wings so powerfully that the air cracked around them. “They aren’t rocks!!” she bellowed. “THEY’RE ISOPTERON COCOONS!!!!” Her mind was racing, trying to think, to focus. Had something happened to the Pear Tree? Was her protection faltering? She hadn’t felt anything unusual. So where were they coming from? Why were they…? She snapped her head around, staring into the distance. Just barely visible over the trees was the topmost tower of the laboratory, and beyond that the peak of the mining caves. Frederick… “Spread the word!” she commanded to the gathered. She forced herself to look at each of the gathered one by one, ending last on the pups. “As far and as fast as you can. They cannot be allowed to hatch!” She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to rein in her anger. The pups were sobbing in terror as they clung to Paisley. But she had no time to comfort them. It had to wait. “Get Apollo, the Chosen, the Corps. Get all of them to the caves! And do not let that old fool of a scientist do anything to…” She didn’t finish. A blinding flash of light had suddenly blazed out from every single visible window in the laboratory, so intense that it sent a sun-like brightness briefly racing across the sky. She could only stare, even as the light seared painfully into her retinas. A last soft breath escaped from between her teeth as her heart dropped. “Oh no…” she growled. She was moving before her sight had cleared. With another thunder of wings her body was aloft, soaring through the air as fast as she could, racing against the wave of terror threating to overcome her. It wasn’t too late, it couldn’t be too late… But if that old fool had found a way to make the cocoons hatch… … … To be continued…

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