The vodka Maisy spits on the Deeplurk symbol freezes immediately on the surface, a fractal of ice skirting over the bark. The carving itself shines a deep, pine green and Maisy is invigorated, unstoppable, safe.
The young magimagicicada jumps to slap his steaming hand against the sigil, and when he does, the tree shakes. The cicadas overhead stop screaming, and the memory starts to play once more.
Lights, red and green and pink and blue, shoot up from the base of the tree into the canopy. They thread through branches and out into leaves, bathing everything in the central green in a dazzling light show, brilliant even in midday.
All around, panicked students and staff stop to stare at the display. One side flourishes, growing full and green, while the other drops its leaves, its seeds, and seems to die.
Pocket gives up her struggle to keep Zelda from the tree, but the fight seems to drain from the future Charms teacher, as well. Each of the remaining magimagicicada turn to face the maple, half-dead, half-alive, and perhaps not yet entirely safe. One by one, they each take flight, up into the branches, where they disappear, until only Pocket is left. She sinks to her knees.
The cicadas start to cry, not the song of summer but something strange. Low and keening, a song of mourning.
"Tink? Tinkerbell, what's happening?" Zelda asks softly, kneeling beside the party bug.
"They are gone. We were used to—to open a door," Pocket whispers, shoulders slumping. "And something is slipping through."
"Is it—is—I want to help," Zelda says. Overhead, that mourning song sounds less like singing and more like anguished wails.
Pocket won't look at her, staring intently as the ground. "More is coming. I don't know what. They won't tell me. I'm too young. Too close to..."
"Peter," Zelda finishes, lighting her hand on the party bug's arms. "Where is he? What's going on?"
Pocket turns to Zelda, red eyes wide, expression drawn. After a moment she holds out her hand, palm up and open, and in the center, a simple brass button. "He's gone. He gave them his heart. We had no choice."
Zelda doesn't understand Pocket's words, but she seems to recognize the button well enough. As her fingers hover over the little circle, hesitant, like touching it might break it, the whole scene freezes once more. The button begins to shine gold. No glowing lights in the tree. No crying cicadas. Just silence, frozen forms, and a portal back to Peckenpaugh across the Central Green, where the doors to Central Classrooms stand wide open.
[MEMORY COMPLETE! You have finished the puzzle. You may continue to thread here or exit through the portal. The linchpin is the button. Don't forget to grab it before you go!]
MEMORY: What Went Wrong - COMPLETE
The vodka Maisy spits on the Deeplurk symbol freezes immediately on the surface, a fractal of ice skirting over the bark. The carving itself shines a deep, pine green and Maisy is invigorated, unstoppable, safe.
The young magimagicicada jumps to slap his steaming hand against the sigil, and when he does, the tree shakes. The cicadas overhead stop screaming, and the memory starts to play once more.
Lights, red and green and pink and blue, shoot up from the base of the tree into the canopy. They thread through branches and out into leaves, bathing everything in the central green in a dazzling light show, brilliant even in midday.
All around, panicked students and staff stop to stare at the display. One side flourishes, growing full and green, while the other drops its leaves, its seeds, and seems to die.
Pocket gives up her struggle to keep Zelda from the tree, but the fight seems to drain from the future Charms teacher, as well. Each of the remaining magimagicicada turn to face the maple, half-dead, half-alive, and perhaps not yet entirely safe. One by one, they each take flight, up into the branches, where they disappear, until only Pocket is left. She sinks to her knees.
The cicadas start to cry, not the song of summer but something strange. Low and keening, a song of mourning.
"Tink? Tinkerbell, what's happening?" Zelda asks softly, kneeling beside the party bug.
"They are gone. We were used to—to open a door," Pocket whispers, shoulders slumping. "And something is slipping through."
"Is it—is—I want to help," Zelda says. Overhead, that mourning song sounds less like singing and more like anguished wails.
Pocket won't look at her, staring intently as the ground. "More is coming. I don't know what. They won't tell me. I'm too young. Too close to..."
"Peter," Zelda finishes, lighting her hand on the party bug's arms. "Where is he? What's going on?"
Pocket turns to Zelda, red eyes wide, expression drawn. After a moment she holds out her hand, palm up and open, and in the center, a simple brass button. "He's gone. He gave them his heart. We had no choice."
Zelda doesn't understand Pocket's words, but she seems to recognize the button well enough. As her fingers hover over the little circle, hesitant, like touching it might break it, the whole scene freezes once more. The button begins to shine gold. No glowing lights in the tree. No crying cicadas. Just silence, frozen forms, and a portal back to Peckenpaugh across the Central Green, where the doors to Central Classrooms stand wide open.
[MEMORY COMPLETE! You have finished the puzzle. You may continue to thread here or exit through the portal. The linchpin is the button. Don't forget to grab it before you go!]