A terrible, shrieking laughter punctured the air. The light from the Plate was blinding now, and she was at its heart. All around the three of them, there were cracks starting to ripple through the walls, and the Guren's sensors started to screech warnings at its pilot: the buildup of energy before them was nothing short of massive.
Mak's Gunpod chattered over the din, perforating one of the AMIDA, causing it to explode in a spray of acidic foam that enveloped one of its fellows, causing it too to slow, dip, and then detonate, spraying foul viscera in all directions. The Guren's harken found similar luck, embedding itself in the underside of one insect, causing it to wriggle uncertainly - before being driven into the adjoining wall, where it went splat in a fashion not unlike its smaller family, pancaked into a gristly mess.
All the while, the light was growing brighter, and brighter.
"Oh, I can see it! The edge of time!"
Catalina extended her hands towards the Plate, as if trying to pull it into an embrace. She could feel the tears streaking down her face - yes, something told her, everything was going to be alright. She was so close now. Close to touching the heart of it all, of everything. So many wasted years, so much time spent in pointless isolation, guilt, staring at the bottom of a glass! But it was over, now. It was all over.
"I knew you'd forgive me!" She cried; "Yes, I'll do it! I'll start all over! This time... this time...! I love you! I LOVE YOU! MY ROSE-!"
The explosion was deafening in force. Pulsating out from the Plate, swallowing Catalina, swallowing the AMIDA, tearing the room itself apart. There was the brief, familiar, high pitched squeal of air escaping into vacuum... and then. silence.
Space stared back at the two where the Plate had once been, a gaping hole over a hundred meters in diameter now torn in the Colony wall. The AMIDA that remained writhed pitifully in the vacuum, struggling before bursting like balloons, their bodies unable to withstand the sudden shift in temperature. For the moment, nothing more emerged to menace them...
Was it over?
Mak's Gunpod chattered over the din, perforating one of the AMIDA, causing it to explode in a spray of acidic foam that enveloped one of its fellows, causing it too to slow, dip, and then detonate, spraying foul viscera in all directions. The Guren's harken found similar luck, embedding itself in the underside of one insect, causing it to wriggle uncertainly - before being driven into the adjoining wall, where it went splat in a fashion not unlike its smaller family, pancaked into a gristly mess.
All the while, the light was growing brighter, and brighter.
"Oh, I can see it! The edge of time!"
Catalina extended her hands towards the Plate, as if trying to pull it into an embrace. She could feel the tears streaking down her face - yes, something told her, everything was going to be alright. She was so close now. Close to touching the heart of it all, of everything. So many wasted years, so much time spent in pointless isolation, guilt, staring at the bottom of a glass! But it was over, now. It was all over.
"I knew you'd forgive me!" She cried; "Yes, I'll do it! I'll start all over! This time... this time...! I love you! I LOVE YOU! MY ROSE-!"
The explosion was deafening in force. Pulsating out from the Plate, swallowing Catalina, swallowing the AMIDA, tearing the room itself apart. There was the brief, familiar, high pitched squeal of air escaping into vacuum... and then. silence.
Space stared back at the two where the Plate had once been, a gaping hole over a hundred meters in diameter now torn in the Colony wall. The AMIDA that remained writhed pitifully in the vacuum, struggling before bursting like balloons, their bodies unable to withstand the sudden shift in temperature. For the moment, nothing more emerged to menace them...
Was it over?