Neci, the Crimson Queen of Zondon Almighty was dead.
As Eku and Avia rushed to her, their faces lit by the fire consuming her great tree, Syn’s final thought before succumbing to unconsciousness was, my friend.
45
RESURRECTION
The darkness faded, and Syn opened her eyes to stare up at Avia, a sight that was becoming familiar.
“Shhh,” the girl said, “You’re okay.”
“Neci?” Syn coughed.
Avia shook her head. “She’s dead.”
The danger had passed, and Syn sorted through the recent memories. “My tree?”
Avia sat down, and Syn saw that they were in the dining hall of the Zoo. The walls were pale and revealed that no one had lived here for quite some time, but it wasn’t the charred corpse of a place that had been Zondon.
The room was filled with members of the Ecology. Huck buzzed above, and Arquella floated at the end of the bed. The Barlgharel was notably absent.
Next to her, Eku purred. Syn scratched her head, pushing her fingers into the deep fur. The great cat’s chin was still blood-stained. Syn turned back to Avia and asked again, “My tree?”
Avia shook her head. “It’s gone. She burned it. We couldn’t stop it in time.”
Syn took a deep breath, and the acrid smell of the fire still tainted the air. Syn’s deepest fears were realized. Neci burned everything she touched. “Why? How?”
Avia pushed back as a blue, square medic bot pushed forward, examining Syn’s leg. They always swarmed to a disaster, and so rarely had Syn needed them. She needed them today.
“Your leg is broken. I think a few ribs too. They said you’ll heal. These doctor bots are amazing.”
“How did you get away from her?”
Avia lowered her eyes to the ground.
Syn leaned in, “Please.”
“I couldn’t sleep. Everything was too loud. The machines… bots, I mean. The insects. I heard Eku stand up and leave and something in me just followed after. I trailed her out into the jungle. She saw me lagging behind, and I was scared she’d attack, but she didn’t. She let me tag along. We kept walking for a long time until we heard you scream. We turned and saw the flames above the trees, and of both us came running.”
“Thank you. She was going to kill me.”
“She had your clothes on. She had changed her hair.”
Syn nodded. Disturbing. In a flash, Syn sat up, “Where’s Blip? I thought I saw…”
Avia stood to hold Syn back. “He’s—”
“Where’s Blip? I can’t lose him again!”
“Syn, he’s not—”
“What? Where is he? What did she do to him?” Syn hopped off of the table they had laid her on, but her own weight was too much for her weak leg. She stumbled and fell forward.
In front of her, on the stone floor, lay the shattered body of Blip. His white shell was no longer curled around him. He himself was removed from the shell, and the blue glow was gone. There was no longer the resemblance of a cracked egg around his form. Instead, his shell was burst into a hundred small shards. The pieces were laid-out on a rough blanket.
Syn crawled to him and wrapped her arms around the shattered shell. She cried and mumbled, “Blip. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed here. We shouldn’t have gone. I’m sorry.”
The sobs became whimpers and then became deep gulping breaths.
Avia laid a hand on Syn’s shoulder. “We tried to get every piece of him. Bear and the others knew he was important.”
“How did she do it?”
Avia shrugged. “She’s killed many companions. She knows where they’re weak.”
“But I’ve seen one crash hard from far above and not break.”
Avia ran her hand across the split pieces of Blip. Through the hole, Blip’s inner-machinery was exposed—a tightly-packed collection of cables, chips, boards, and pieces neither of them had ever seen before. The layers closest to the surface had been smashed and several wires hung loose. “She always said to hit them from behind. They were weakest there. It’s how she killed Puck. She surprised him and smashed him with a rock when he wasn’t looking. Said that they could be opened up there. I think she discovered it when she found that room with all the plans—I remember seeing some drawings of these guys.”
Syn wiped her nose on her sleeve. Her arms were still caked with dried blood—some hers and some Neci’s. “They can be opened up?”
“Ya, pretty sure.”
Syn’s eyes went wide. “I saw one fall like a meteor.”
“I know. You said that. Laoule’s. Spot.”
Syn sat straight up and grabbed Avia by the shoulders. “He’s still here! He’s in my workshop!” She pointed at Bear and Arquella. “Help me! Can you get some others to bring all of Blip?”
The hours of repair work drifted by, and Syn lost all track of time. Avia had been correct—there was an access panel. Syn was surprised by how easily it opened. The damaged companion, the one that had first drawn them into this entire thing, lay on one table and Blip lay on the other.
Her first entry into her workshop brought a rush of emotions, and she cried again. However, time counted down. Blip had an organic brain. TyTech. The longer he was inoperative, the closer that tissue came to dying, if it was not already too late. She brushed the tears away often and continued.
As she worked, first in a panic, she found herself muttering to herself, “10. 9. 8. 7.” Blip was broken—was possibly near or at death—so she had to work the mantra herself. She felt calmer but there was something missing. Blip’s voice perhaps.
She had pulled each of the internals out on both Spot and Blip, disconnecting the core elements from the external shell. Huck and Arquella were uniquely helpful, as was Avia. Bear, not so much. But he did work to go back and forth, bringing food and water. Occasionally, Eku would wander in, moving between the girls, expecting pets and then would meander back out, never moving far away, keeping a close watch.
Syn attempted to stand and support her weight, but her leg could not handle much and she spent most of her working time sitting. The hours passed in silence except for when she gave directions as needed.
“Huck, shine a light here.”
“Avia, could you see if there’s a board like this from Spot?”
“Arquella, can you do some quick math for me?”
Spot was beyond gone. Time had passed and so had hope for his recovery. The goal now for Syn was to take the core parts of Blip and get them into Spot’s shell, replacing the missing and destroyed pieces with those she could salvage from the latter. The two companions were the most intricate bots she had ever worked on. She had never seen such a tightly compacted, organized internal system. The work was daunting and tedious.
Avia and the bots soon began to talk, getting past their own discomfort with each other.
“You’re not scared of me?” Avia had asked.
Arquella shook her head, “No. Should we be?”
“But I look just like Neci.”
“Is that the one who did this?”
Avia nodded.
Huck gave a chirp that sounded like a laugh.