Skylands Historia - Duality

Chapter 6 - The Tick Tick... Boom

Kaos pulled the white rubber gloves up to his forearms, rubbing his hands together before pulling his goggles down over his eyes. He surveyed the beakers and flasks set before him, the same ones as on everyone else's desks. Clear liquids and purple crystals in petri dishes. This looked to be an experiment Kaos was quite familiar with, and the one he had hoped for today. It was the exact base for the catalyst that he needed. Droppers and scoopulas were set off to the side, along with a handheld mortar and pestle. Kaos looked up to the board, where the teacher was just finishing up transcribing the instructions in fluid cursive. She brushed a permed curl behind her pointed ear, then plopped down at her desk, a book in her hands moments after. The other students had already started following along, immersed in their own little worlds. Grind the crystals into a fine powder. Kaos grabbed a handful of shards, dropping them into the mortar. They sounded like wind chimes as they hit the stone bowl, twinkling softly as Kaos used the pestle to grind them down. Well, tried. After a few moments, his hand began to cramp up, the crystals barely having cracked. He huffed, looking around the class. Surely, someone else wouldn't notice if he switched their mortar for his own. Kaos' gaze came to fixate on the Ent a few tables down from him, their attention captured by the vial of clear fluid they were fumbling with, gnarled hands cracking the glass with absolutely no effort. Kaos' expression soured, a prickle running up the back of his neck before the vial shattered, liquid splattering over the table and their oaky chest. The teacher looked up as the Ent started wailing, stumbling out from behind their desk and rushing for the door.

"This is the third time this has happened..." Kaos heard the teacher grumble before heading out after the Ent, leaving the class to fend for itself.

Kaos blinked, then hopped down from his seat as the chatter returned to the classroom. That timing couldn't have been better. Kaos made his way over with mortar in hand, making sure not to be seen. Carefully, he switched the two out, being sure the Ent hadn't 'contaminated' the crystal powder before quickly making a break back to his desk. Now, he could focus. Mix a few drops of activator into the powder. Mix until it forms a paste. Kaos piled the dust into a petri dish, picking out a few leaves before pouring in a few tips of the clear liquid. As soon as it touched the crystals, a plume of smoke curled up into the air. Kaos used his gloved finger to mix the substance around, ignoring the growing heat against the rubber. It didn't take long for the dust to form into a granular paste. He flicked the extra on his finger back into the dish. Mix the paste in with the rest of the activator. Kaos tipped the paste into the flask, covering his face with his arm to defend against splashback, then began mixing. The clear liquid faded to a pastel purple, bubbling. Now. Now was the time. Kaos took his lunchbox out as the flask frothed, flipping the metal box open to reveal nothing but a napkin and some crumbs. Checking to make sure no one was watching, Kaos pulled on the napkin, removing the bottom and revealing a few thin vials filled with multicolored substances, all tethered to the real bottom of the lunchbox with thick bands of elastic. Kaos first slipped out one who's contents seemed to pulse and glow with every movement, like lightning coursing across an overcast sky. He popped the cork off, then dumped the entire vial into the beaker, the substance sloshing over the sides a bit as he stirred it in, pooling around the base. Kaos waited for a second, until the static gathering in the air had cleared, then carefully grabbed the smallest vial from his lunchbox. Contained within it was a thick, crimson liquid. The very thing he had spent countless hours toiling over last night. Milking out every last drop of nectar he could muster by the light of the moon. He had spent weeks preparing, tracing their patterns in and out of Mother's special garden, finding the exact time they were at their most active. The time they produced their best nectar. Beelossoms. A very rare breed that cultivated a very flavorful honey, but when unprocessed, the creatures used it as a defense mechanism. One that caused exploding pustules on any living being it was injected into. Kaos couldn't help but let his hands shake as he popped the vial open, tilting it over the bubbling maw of the flask. He held his eyes open wide, not risking even a blink, holding his breath as to not jostle the substance. He just needed one drop. Just one. Single...