SURVIVAL OF THE SMARTEST
Summary: The group catches up to Logan and Zojja, and, after a long time fighting copies, finally rescue the two.
Chapter five: Scanning Madness
Author's Notes:
This one was very fun. Hope you like it!
Okay, here's the story now:
They cross a small, puddle-like body of water, after which there are no more chak or Mordrem, and come to a waypoint right next to a pass in the rocky mountain range.
Through the pass and a little farther on is another Pact outpost.
"I must get back to my people," Tarquazin tells them. "It was refreshing escorting you, and I am glad I could participate in such an endeavor - assist such a noble cause."
"We may see you again." the Commander says. "The war against Mordremoth will not end upon us saving our companions - we will only have a much more likely chance of victory."
"I hope such a victory will not be short-lived, for such should be properly celebrated. I will be on my way." Tarquazin turns and disappears into the jungle.
"The trail is fresh - they attacked this camp on their way through, a delay which gives us an advantage," Eir tells the rest of the group. "And their numbers were depleted here, too. The Pact fights well."
"Let's continue, then, and swiftly," the Commander replies.
"The trail - " Braham starts suddenly.
"Very recent," Rox comments.
"New," Eir corrects. "Forward," she adds, with a dangerous glint in her eye. 'They are close.' she thinks dangerously.
"Ready to fight, guys," Taimi says. "Scruffy's picking up readings."
"They are being merciless," Rytlock snarls. "They are in pain - and deep terror... for me to - feel it - from here."
"What are we waiting for?" several people say at once. (Pun intended.)
Taimi and Rytlock take the lead, (as they are the ones with sensors and feelings) and the group charges through the jungle.
Suddenly, they emerge into a clearing, split in two by a chasm, bridged by vines. The whole area completely, utterly, and very obviously taken over by the dragon, and corrupted to the core. Even two large - 'probably once-majestic,' Eir thinks - trees, one on each side of the chasm, are horribly twisted and evil-looking.
The scene is dominated by three large Vinetooths, surrounded by the Mordrem Guard. By the tree closest to the group, Logan seems to be barely conscious, tied to the tree with vines. Zojja is in a similar state on the other side of the chasm.
Eir takes this all in in an instant, but as she does, a sickly green bubble forms around both captives, as if grown the trees.
Rytlock snarls, the Commander gets a fierce look in her eye, and Eir unconsciously tests her bow at the sight of their close friends in such a state.
Kasmeer conjures a small cluster of clones, and Marjory summons a group of necromantic minions that instantly charge forward with Rytlock, Caithe, Canach, Braham, Frostbite, and Beorn (the Commander's ranger pet). Rox, the Commander, and Eir let loose a flurry of arrows. Taimi, unable to help, snarls in frustration.
The Mordrem Guard spin around with blades drawn. Several fall to arrows before they get close enough for melee battle, and keep falling until some sort of magical barrier springs up, deflecting the last hail of arrows, spinning them into the air.
"Free the prisoners," the Commander says icily. "Rox, see if you can get around all that fighting to Logan. Eir, get Zojja free. I'm going to find Marshal Trahearne."
Eir nods and slips over the vine bridge to where Zojja is trapped within the sickly green bubble, held against the tree. The bubble seems to be pulsing with a sinister light, and the tree moving ever so slightly, even with no wind. It faintly reminds Eir of something, but she can't remember what. Within the bubble, Eir knows is Zojja is almost unconscious, but her shadowy half-seen form seems to be thrashing about. Eir notes this all in a moment, before is flung forwards by a sharp pressure behind her.
Recovering, she whirls around to face a lone Mordrem Guard. Snarling in annoyance 'Really, I don't have time for this!' she mentally orders Garm to defend her, but he isn't there. Remembering the cause of his absence - Mordrem - she lashes out at it with her weapons, keeping it back while she thinks.
Assessing the situation, she realizes the bubble and the tree - the pulsing, sinister life and the shadowy movement of the branches - are alive. Purposely backing up against the bubble, she waits until the Mordrem gets close, and dodges one heavy swing of it's blade, both letting the turned sylvari harm this bubble (that is obviously bad to keep alive) and putting enough distance between her and the Mordrem for her to use her bow to greater effect.
Bringing the powerful weapon into play, she unleashes an arrow with a broad, weighted head, forcing her adversary against the greenish bubble. It dents, but the Mordrem pushes out of it with a snarl, and flexible material snaps back into position.
By now, Eir has let fly a flurry of arrows, now pincushioning the ground, the tree, and the dragon's minion.
The Mordrem falls, and Eir turns to regard the pulsing... thing attached to the three. It has grown, Eir notes, and decides that can only be a bad thing.
The pulsing seems... dampened around the places where her arrows still pierce the bubble. However, the 'wounds' inflicted are very shallow.
Distracted by a shout, Eir frowns over the chasm. The fight seems to be going badly, and Rox hasn't made her way to the tree holding Logan yet. The Commander is poking around by the vinetooths, two of which are battling her.
Shaking her head, Eir refocuses on the pod in front of her. The pulsing glow of the bubble gets brighter for a moment, drowning out Zojja's shadowy form within.
Backing up a bit, she shoots another arrow at the green pod. It almost bounces off, only leaving a dent. Well, she hadn't fired at full strength, to make sure she didn't hit Zojja.
Taking the arrow in her hand, she forces it into the bubble, which is as hard as pushing it through tar. Once through the outer layer, however, it goes as if pushing through water - that is to say, really fast - and Eir stops hastily, fearful of hurting Zojja.
She pulls the arrowhead halfay back through outer layer, intending to wiggle it around and potentially injure the sinister bubble.
And she is pushed forwards again. She whirls around, to confront -
"Zojja?" Eir says in surprise. But, no, it isn't Zojja. She looks oddly distorted and green, and - two more Zojjas drop down beside the first. Eir glances momentarily back over the chasm, dreading this is what the rest of them are going through. She can't see through all the fighting, however.
Turning her attention back to the fake Zojjas, she realizes there are now six. The more recent ones seem more... deformed. They are slightly angular, and the staff they all carry in mockery of Zojja is shorter and thinner, and pointed on the end.
'Arrowlike,' Eir realizes. The bubble must absorb whatever is in it and reproduce...
Eir thrusts a few more arrows into it - (arrows are lifeless) - before turning her attention the eight Zojjas. A rain of arrows ends a few (five left) but are replaced by more copies - slightly jerky, but still deadly.
"No!" one of them shrieks shrilly, even as it attacks her.
Eir frowns. The next few are just as jerky and angular, but also with the barest touch of hesitancy. (Nine, now.)
Eir pushes a few arrows deeper in, hoping they don't hurt Zojja. Then, she methodically starts taking down the copies, oldest first. 'The older ones are more deadly - before some of my arrows were in.' The newer, the less of a threat. (Seven)
(Ten) They aren't as tough as the real Zojja - the arrows must be having an effect. Then, she is blasted backwards into the bubble, pushing some of her arrows in farther. The next few clones (twelve) are slightly taller than their fellows. 'This bubble will absorb anything!' she thinks.
Glancing back at the bubble, she sees some of her arrows are pushed in to the fletching. She grimaces, but turns back to the battle. (Fourteen.)
"No!"
Eir blinks. One of the more recent of the ever-increasing, angular, jerky copies (ten) had spoken. There is a dim - oh so dim - light in it's eyes. It flickers and wavers dangerously, but it is there. (Eleven.)
"Stop..."
Eir fires a volley of arrows, but a gust of air (Zojja's specialty) flips them over and sends them back at her. Driven my the malicious wind, Eir barely ducks in time to avoid them. They stick (barely) in the bubble, only the steel arrowheads poking through.
"Stop..." another copy moans. "us..."
The next few (thirteen) seem a bit awkward in their movments. There is that small, wavering light in these, too. It gives them a faintly frightened expression.
"Burn!" another copy mumbles.
The next few (seventeen) appear with a slight snarl and a vicious streak. She is pinned down next to the bubble, gusts of air preventing her from moving very far. (Nineteen.) They seem to be waiting for their numbers to get higher before attacking her head-on, now they have her locked down. (Twenty-one.)
Eir reaches over and pulls one of her arrows half out. The copies (twenty-three) don't stop her. The arrowhead is in the outer layer of the bubble - the tough skin. Eir glances over at them, watching her with a wary, slightly curious expression. (Twenty-five.) Eir pulls all the arrows in a small area out that far. (Twenty-seven.) Eir grabs two at once, one with each hand, and yanks them around, creating a small tear in the bubble. Instantly she is blasted with air again, and the copies (twenty-seven) start closing in on her. They are out of range, though, so they take time. She grabs the next two arrows and yanks them around, making another small tear in Zojja's prison. Then she snatches another arrow and starts expanding the hole.
"Burn... us..."
She is blasted with another gust of air from the copies (twenty-seven) and she abandons the bubble, and starts shooting. Her desperation is unmatched. She is facing twenty-seven Zojjas (still twenty-seven? She hasn't killed any) and none of her arrows are working - the blasts of air are too strong.
"Kill... us..."
Thinking quickly, the grabs the hole she made in the bubble and crawls up the side of it, using her stiff arrows as hand- and foot-holds. Now she is shooting the copies from above. (Twenty-four.) The tear had widened from her using it in that way, and is now oozing a light green liquid. Several others tears have appeared in Zojja's cell, as well.
"Help us! Save us! Kill us!" another copy pipes up.
Her arrows are being rebuffed again, but she has a firm hold atop the bubble (plus the tree behind her) and won't be blown away. Sticking more arrows in the top, she yanks them around, making more tears. She enlarges these, working on them. But then she is hit with a blast of lightening.
She barely keeps her hold, in blinding pain for a brief moment. "Stop us!" wail the clones.
Recovering, she notices that all the copies (twenty-four) seem to think that zapping her is a good idea, and Eir watches in slow motion as twenty-three (the first is still recovering) streaks of lightening zip towards her, even as they all shriek at her to stop them. Eir panicks, shouting wildly for help. She loses her handhold and falls off the top of the bubble - only one lightning hits her. The rest explode on the top of the bubble and the tree-trunk just above that. Eir notes that, but doesn't have time to think about it now. She releases another flurry of arrows before dodging to the side. She glances back at the copies in time to see a bright flash of light.
She is blinded for a moment, firing wildly, before her vision clears, just in time to see another streak of lightening hit her in the face. She dodges to the side the moment she can, barely avoiding two more. She takes advantage of the fact that none of them are using the wind anymore to take down another couple. (Twenty-one.) Her last arrow is flipped around and subsequently ignored by the copies.
"End us! Burn us! Kill us!"
'Why are there no more?' she wonders. 'They stopped coming at twenty seven right after - ' Eir's eyes widen is realization. 'I ripped that hole in the bubble!' She slips around the tree for a moment to get shelter from the incessant lightning, and her gaze falls on the other side of the chasm. Her friends are almost overwhelmed. Forty copies of Logan - forty! - plus the original Mordrem have surrounded the group. The bubble on the Blighting Tree that holds Logan remains untouched.
And the Zojja copies (twenty-one) are by the vine bridge, looking around. They had cast another blinding flash right as she slipped away, and don't know where she went.
"Help us! Help!" the clones are wailing. "Kill us! Help us! End us! Save us!"
'They can't tell the difference between them - that need killing - and Zojja, who needs saving,' Eir realizes. 'At least they have their priorities straight, though.'
Eir draws her bow to its maximum strength - 'I haven't needed to do that in years,' - and lets loose a single arrow, hoping the copies don't see it. She does it again. And again. And again. Until the copies see the arrows and dart around the tree. Eir charges at the cluster of copies - which they are not expecting - holding an arrow, and slashes around with it, using it as a one-handed stabbing weapon. Several copies fall. (Seventeen.)
In her melee dance around the other copies (fifteen), avoiding their lightning and trying to keep her eyes closed to avoid the blinding light, one of them blasts her forward, towards the edge of the chasm. Her eyes open in startled surprise, but she is not in danger. She just has time to note that her arrows had all hit Logan's bubble in one spot and bounced off, leaving a dent, before she whirls around to continue doing battle.
"End us! Stop us! Help us!"
Then, they seem to get organized. She is blasted back. She leaps to her feet and is blasted back by a perfectly timed gale of wind. By this time she is on the other side of the tree again, by the bubble, the clones still calling out to be killed.
Her eyes widen. It is healing! But it is healing around an arrow stuck deeply into the insides of the bubble. That arrow is glowing a sinister green and crumbling slowly. Then the copies are on her. In the melee she makes sure to batter on the largest tear some, before the copies (twelve) back off a bit, apparently waiting for more copies, but knowing better than to not attack. 'It's probably a good thing the green inside stuff was coming out,' Eir decides. It has stopped now, which seems due to the healing - most of the other rips are closed.
She dodges out of the way, and another gale of wind blasts the tear, right behind where she had been standing. Eir sees the green ooze get packed down farther in the bubble, and take on a slightly darker quality and seems... sick. Wilty, perhaps. She ducks out of the way again, and fires more arrows.
A single copy appears (thirteen left) but it seems sick. It is a darker green color and stumbles around oddly, and seems injured. She hopes that is a reflection of the bubble's wounds, not the original Zojja's. It seems to have more awareness.
"Stop us!" it calls in a slightly less wavery tone. "Help me! Kill us!"
'Differentiating between 'me,' Zojja, and 'us,' the clones,' Eir notes.
Charging forwards again - 'I killed the most that way,' - she holds two arrows in each hand, leaving her bow (hopefullly) safe near the base of the tree.
She leaves the latest clones alone - 'They are injured and very little threat,' - and focuses on the angular, slightly hesitant, awkward, a little frightened-looking older copies. There are none of the original ones left.
Setting a goal - get the healthy-ish ones down while ignoring the decidedly sick ones - seems to help. Their numbers aren't growing or shrinking, but that ratio is changing. However, Eir is rather injured - the lightning strikes had weakened her considerably, sapping her strength, at the same time burning her where it had hit her. And the copies are getting reckless - they are casting chains of lightning at themselves, letting it rebound across a bunch of copies before it hits her, the stronger for having absorbed the copies' power. But at least it's sapping the copies power. And the sick ones are dying.
None of them are using much air any more (nine healthy-ish, eleven sick) so Eir evades around to be as close to the tree as she can, making those farther from her come closer, surrounding her, and doing that again.
Now she can reach her bow, and she does, but instantly hops behind the tree again. She sends off another full-strength arrow, aimed at the same spot her last one was in Logan's prison, before firing a rain of arrows at the cluster of copies (five healthy-ish, fifteen sick), killing several (especially for the weakening of the lightnings).
She slips around to the front of the tree quickly, and takes the time to enlarge the hole (which is almost closed) again, which starts the light-green ooze coming again.
The clones (two healthy-ish, eighteen sick) seem to realize their strategy isn't working, and get the newer copies (the ones untouched by lightning) to help. And Eir is left with go right, get hit, go left, get hit, don't move, get hit, go up, get hit... and drops flat on the ground, barely missing the one aimed for her knees. And all the lightning erupts in the bubble, some of them in the leaky tear.
Eir grins in victory, already charging at the group (two healthy-ish, twenty-three sick) again. She slips to the side, dodging another group of lightnings that only electrocute the ground and first kills the two healthy ones (they seem smarter than the others) before firing another rain of arrows, which kills a good deal of them.
The remaining copies (fifteen) all decide to blast her with another gale of wind, but as she is in the middle and they surrounding her, it barely does much besides blow in her face. Which gives her time to strike down the couple right next to her to give herself some room.
She tumbles back to the bubble, and she spins around, picking up her bow and nocking an arrow.
She is unexpectedly hit in the face with nothing at all. The copies (sixteen) are all stumbling around very jerkily and talking nonstop.
"Stop us! Kill us! End us!" mixed with "Help her! Save her! Heal her!"
She slumps against the tree, exhausted. One last, weak copy (seventeen left) pops up, staggering around and glowing, and the light in it's eyes is a tad brighter. It barely holds a resemblance to Zojja at all. It is very angular, and its limbs are almost like arrows tied together, even seeming heavier on the ends (like steel arrowheads). Its staff is as effective as ever, even for looking like an arrow.
"No..." it mumbles, and sits down, almost grumpily. Eir would have thought it funny if the situation hadn't been so dire.
Another copy pops up every thirty seconds, each looking weaker than the last.
Eir gets an idea, which she instantly discards. 'I will not weaken the bubble so much that they start fighting for me. I do not want Zojja harmed any more than she already has been.'
She turns to the bubble and, bracing her fingers around the tear (which is still leaking ooze) in the bubble, on a tree which seems dead now, she yanks it open, farther and farther, until a large gaping hole is in the outer layer, and the light-green stuff that fills the inside is spilling out, seemingly fried by all the lightning that had gone into it. Eir keeps tiredly, mindlessly pulling the hole bigger.
Suddenly, the remaining edges of the stiff outer layer curl up in a convulsive motion, and the bubble seemingly gives up and lets go. The tree wilts before her startled eyes, and then she realizes Zojja - not a copy - is on the ground at her feet, seemingly wavering in and out of consciousness.
Eir carefully picks up the small asura and looks over the chasm to where the big fight is taking place. She sags with exhaustion upon remembering there's a ton Logan copies, but then she realizes Rox saw her arrows and what she had done to Zojja's prison, and he and Frostbite had managed to injure the bubble a bit, too.
The rest of the group is now only fighting Logan clones, the rest of the the Mordrem are dead (except the vinetooths, which the Commander is still battling). Taimi has a furious, angry expression on her face, but she physically cannot do anything.
Eir edges around the battle to where Taimi is. Taimi's whole attention is taken by Zojja the moment she sees her.
"Eir, you get over there and help them, I'll take care of Zojja," she says fiercely, barely looking at Eir. When she does glance up, her mouth drops open in shock, but not at Eir.
Eir turns, and sees the group of twenty sickly-looking copies standing behind her. The light in their eyes is firm and stable.
"Let's get Logan," one of the copies says, fierce determination. Eir glances at the real Zojja in confusion, then back to the copies.
"Are you just going to stand there and refuse help?" another copy demands. It is acting just like the real Zojja.
"You killed the Blighting Tree. Logically, we've been released," another explains condescendingly. Like normal. "We're Zojja. Only... not. And no idea how long we'll stay as alive as we are. So let's get in there!"
Taimi is still gaping, glancing back and forth from Zojja and her copies. "Maybe..." she says weakly. "Maybe just let them help. Go help Rox."
Eir gives a tight smile - 'I'm too exhausted to do more than tell Rox what to do' - but she nods, before heading over to help Rox. The Commander seems to be holding her own, and the tree hasn't stopped producing Logan copies.
"Eir! What you did seems to work, but I don't know how," Rox says, his back to the bubble and assisting Frostbite in beating off one of the Logan copies. "Burn me, what are those?" he asks, gesturing to the copies.
"Getting distracted is the first thing not to do," Eir tells him tiredly. "The others will have to defend us. If you kill the Blighting Tree, all the copies will start helping. That's what these copies are."
Rox nods, confusion in her eyes as she darts a glance at the copies, and calls the rest over and tells them she needs protection, but Eir hardly notices. Now that her fight is over and the adrenalin rush fading, she is dead on her feet.
"You just need to rip the bubble apart. I started a rip with an arrow, but don't hurt Logan on accident. I don't know if I hurt Zojja or not - I might've... but it's probably worse for him to stay in there..."
Rox frowns at Eir in concern. Eir is leaning heavily on the tree, with her eyes half closed, and talking in a slurring tone.
Eir's vision is blurry. She hears herself rambling on for a moment, before one of the newest copies takes over. All while the rest of the team is desperately holding off the Logan clones. The Commander is still weaving in and out by the vinetooths. One of them seems injured, but she is fine.
She hears a faint, far-off "understood" from Rox before she falls into sleep. She probably really fainted, but it felt blissful, that sleep.
Author's Notes:
That. Was so fun to write!
Did I make the battle with Zojja's copies exciting and dangerous enough? I may have made Eir a bit OP, but... with the amount Zojja herself went on and on about their loss against Kralkatorrik being her fault, and the statements how she is both the tactical mind and leader of the group, I decided that should make sense.
And think how much easier it would've been for her if Garm were there! Probably still tense and dangerous, but different.
I chose the name for this chapter because I almost routinely called the fake Zojjas and fake Logans 'copies'. And copying has to do with printing, as in, on a printer. But that doesn't make any sense, but scanning does. Because the bubbles (at least in this story) scan the stuff inside the bubble and make copies of it. So, perhaps I should have made the later copies of Zojja all crackly and lightningy, but I had a headache. (Which is what I based Eir's exhaustion after the adrenalin rush faded on) and I don't feel like rewriting it.
And I've decided the name I told you at the top of the chapter won't do at all. I seriously thought about making it something like 'The Heir of [one of Eir's parent's names] Lives' or something like that, but... Eir's mother's name isn't known, and her father's name is Einar Cliffstrider. Neither name fits in that story title very well. So, no.