Spider-Bots Rising

Epilogue

When Queen Arachni finally fell, for a moment nothing happened.

Then, way up in the highest point of the dome, a small spot of light appeared. To the Dreamseeker, Chuck, Abby, and Nigel on the ground, it looked no larger than a pinprick. It was a hole in the orb. And through the hole, a thin shaft of daylight spilled in.

The four of them watched the beam of light as a few flecks of dust drifted lazily through it. Then the hole got bigger. It stretched and stretched and the shaft of light grew with it.

The Web was unweaving itself. The complex tangle of strands was loosening and falling away. The cobwebs hanging inside the dome glittered, flickered, and dissolved. Slowly the entire dome was becoming undone. Sunlight streamed in from all sides as gaps appeared in the darkness.

The Dreamseeker looked around at her friends. Their eyes sparkled with wonder. In the brightness of the daylight, the blue glow that had shielded them simply faded away.

As they watched the great Web fall, a soft beep sounded behind them. A spider-bot stood there, its bright sensors pointed at the floor.

"You are AB200961408?" it said flatly, looking up at Abby.

"Yes," she replied. "But m-my friends call me Abby." She added with a cheerful blip.

"It seems great damage has been done to our operating systems," the bot continued. "Large sections of data are missing. But our system logs say that you activated the reboot for many bots. You," it paused. "Saved our lives."

Abby just stared at the spider-bot, her head slightly tilted.

"Thank you," the bot said in a clipped voice. "Thank you all."

And with that it scuttled away, back toward the other bots who were just starting to awaken.

"Well, will ya look at dat," Chuck said, watching the bot as it went. "A spider-bot dat says thank you. We really musta just saved the whole world 'cause I ain't never seen dat in my life!"

Finally the entire Web dissolved into nothing. They would later be told that at this same moment, the glowing green strands disappeared all over the Dreamscape. Those reveries who had fallen into strange trances seemed to snap awake once more. The Council would declare a celebration that raged on until the dreams themselves fell happily asleep.

But for now they were left standing on the sunny floor of the wide canyon with the spider-bots. Most of the bots had completed their reboot and were back to their normal selves again – though perhaps slightly confused.

The Dreamseeker was prouder of herself and of her friends than she had ever been in her life. She no longer had to wonder if she was a true Dreamseeker. She knew now for certain that she was. Whatever adventures lay ahead of her now, she was ready for them. She hugged her friends tightly, and together they set off for the long journey back to The Center.