Am I crazy, dead, or having a nightmare? I vote for nightmare, if I get a vote…as long as it starts pre-shredder. Chuck kept shuffling behind the group, smiling back when one of them turned to make sure he hadn't run away. He looked down at the pink, meaty stubs he thought of as his fingers—am I ever going to be normal again? At least my level of normal?

  His head jerked when a bright flash caught his attention. Nobody else reacted, and the light disappeared before he could determine a source. "Did anyone see that?"

  "See what, Lumpy?" Graff turned and asked.

  Chuck gestured, "The flashing light."

  Everyone shook their head and kept on moving.

  "Great, more evidence I'm losing it," Chuck muttered to himself.

  He saw the spot on the wall where the light flashed this time and walked over to it. Reaching out, his stubby hand went through the stone, a soft yellow light danced around his wrist. He kept on walking—ignoring Marl's call to him.

  Blinking several times, Chick got his eyes to adjust to the kaleidoscopic colors bouncing off the large crystals along the walls and ceiling of the chamber. He spun around, taking it all in, deciding he'd walked into some large geode that held every color he'd ever seen. A little techno music and we could host a small rave in here—might get twenty people in here.

  Chuck jumped, falling to the ground, when a voice echoed through the chamber. "No more than fifteen would be allowed and those would need prior approval."

  "Wha…who…where?"

  "You were contemplating and activity beyond allowed parameters—I informed you of those parameters." The voice answered.

  "That's not wha…wait…you read my mind?"

  "I didn't read, I listened."

  "Whatever. Who are you?"

  "I am what you would call the Structure. You've entered a monitoring station, unapproved. State your purpose or leave. To do neither is to face repercussions."

  "I didn't intend to enter. I walked through a rock wall." Chuck's head kept jerking around, trying to find a speaker—either a person or mechanical. "If you didn't want me in here, you should've had the place locked and shouldn't be flashing lights to capture my attention."

  The silence stretched for several seconds before the voice sounded again. "Component's points carry validity. Structure determines to inform. Component was allowed entry to the world as a tool of balance. Current quest is acceptable."

  Chuck tried to scratch a non-existent chin, leaving a meaty paw to rest on his chest. "Quest? Allowed? So much said without clarifying a thing."

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The voice sighed. "I don't get paid enou…"

  The voice ended abruptly, replaced by static. Chuck counted to thirteen before an unknown voice replaced the static.

  "Technical issues require reset of voice module." More static.

  After a few seconds passed, a female voice spoke over the static, paused, then returned without any underlying noise. "Voice module reset complete. Answering component questions. Allowed referenced your arrival in Crawtna. Your quest, as defined by those employing you, is to open up the area's magic replenishment flow."

  "Did someone get replaced? Your voice and demeanor are different, and what did you mean about pay?"

  "As stated earlier, the voice module needed to be reset. In the reset, the tenor of the audio changed. This is the Structure."

  Chuck paused and sucked at his bottom lip. Odd sensation with no teeth. "May I ask a couple of questions?"

  The lights flickered and settled on a pale blue with an occasional flash of lemon-yellow. "Answers may or may not occur."

  "Guess that is better than nothing. How do I do—well, how do I do the stuff I'm supposed to do?"

  "Question is too broad for specific detail. However, instructions on how to use your abilities may not be given even with more detail. It is up to all components to search out mentors and instructions on what needs to be done."

  "Okay, but according to you—I'm unique, so how am I going to find someone who knows what to teach me or what I can do?"

  The light shifted to a solid lemon-yellow, then displayed dozens of shades while cycling through the color wheel, landing back on lemon-yellow. "Comment processed and component's point validated. Current group of components have capacity and capability to continue mentorship. Upon occasion, the Structure may provide further information as it deems necessary. This method is already in use."

  "So helpful." Chuck tapped a finger on his newly formed chin—which brought a question to mind. "How do I get better at controlling my form? That's not a question anyone can help me with."

  "Practice of the ability. Pushing yourself beyond previous use, such as when you compressed to the form of a remuk, you earned a sizeable increase in the ability. At higher levels, you'll be able to form an outer layer, such as skin. Initial efforts will not look realistic, but as levels increase, most observers won’t be able to tell it is not real." The lights flickered when the voice stopped.

  "Remuk, the worm-snake thing? If I got a sizeable increase in the ability, why didn't my level go up?"

  "You had just advanced the ability to not need to maintain physical contact. The increase in ability from the remuk did not amount to enough to earn a new ability level, but did advance you to where you should advance to another level soon. And yes, a remuk is the 'worm-snake thing'. The time allotted for our conversation is waning."

  Chuck's eyes widened—his arms windmilled frantically. "Wait! If I understood you correctly, my ability could improve to a point where I can become chameleon-like, duplicating my surroundings?"

  "Chameleon is unknown. Accessing archive." The lights dimmed, and the voice fell silent for a second. "This word is not in the archive. Explain."

  "I thought you had all the data on the worlds pulled into the Structure."

  "That is so. Earth is yet to be integrated. Some beings from Earth, yes. The entire planet, not yet."

  Chuck described a chameleon, answering a few questions for the Structure.

  "Yes, at advanced levels, you could use your ability to blend in with your surroundings. Now, I will deactivate this station and allow your friends to come through the entrance."

  A darkness enveloped Chuck right before the wall behind him disappeared, and his friends stumbled through the new opening. Minutes of questions, along with some prodding, passed by before they agreed Chuck was unharmed.

  Rahmys herded and commanded the group to get moving down the hall—to which they all complied.

  They'd traveled several yards when Chuck spoke over their questions. "One thing I forgot to mention. I think the Structure isn't all AI like you think." He explained the first voice and its mention of pay...which set the entire group off on a variety of tangents regarding the Structure.

  Everybody shut up and froze when the growl bounced off the walls of the corridor.