The Elantra Pirates (First Draft)

Chapter 20

Thunderous stomping rushed towards them. The clones charge forward, colliding together in a big mesh. Yunga immediately breezed into them. A big chunk of the force blew away like dust in the wind.

As more of them vanish, another one takes its place in an instant. She kept sweeping through all of them, but it seemed to be of no use. No matter how many she wiped out they just kept spawning in.

"It's so fun watching you do all of this effort for nothing." Piper mocked through her clones.

"I'm gonna find you soon, you can't keep hiding forever!" Yunga responded.

So much dust was bellowing up that it was clouding up the surrounding area. It was a light brown fog that engulfed her. Zunci could do nothing but just stand there, a few pebbles flew past her and some huffs of dirt blew by. She lowered her rifle and ran around the cloud to see if she could get a better angle.

Rounding some trees a Piper apparition stopped her dead in her tracks. Startled, she accidentally fired a shot. The bullet traveled through it and the clone faded away. More popped up and surrounded her in a perfect circle.

"You'd think I'd forget about you?" She taunted.

Zunci gritted her teeth. "You're not real." She trotted forward, phasing right through the vision.

"I can just follow you, you know?" More showed up.

Ignore her, pretend she doesn't exist. It's only stupid tricks she can't hurt you.

Zunci mused. Stomping along as Piper continued to mock her, she tuned her out.

Think! She can basically pop clones out of nowhere but there has to be an origin point to it, somewhere she's hiding. And there has to be a limit or some way she can see us. Behind a tree is most likely the case. This spell has to require concentration to make them appear wherever she pleases.

She stopped in her tracks and her eyes lit up, like she had some sort of revelation.

That's gotta be it! She's already busy with Yunga, having to constantly spawn clones. She also needs to focus on me. But I can't take these out en masse like she can. I have to find a way to overpopulate her senses, overload her brain so she'll slip up.

"You ok?" Piper continued to yap. "You ok in there? Or is it just sinking in that you can't do anything?"

Zunci leapt into a sprint, heading deeper into the forest of clones.

"Where do you think you're going!?" They chased after her but pretty slowly.

Yunga came to a screeching stop, she was out of breath. Even though she destroyed hundreds of apparitions, there still is more than she can count.

"Well how's your plan working out for ya?" Piper laughed. "I mean, I appreciate the effort but oh my god you're pathetic. Did you really think that you could sweep away every single one of me. Stupid bitch you are."

Yunga stood there panting in heat like a dog, taking the barrage of insults.

"My deal is still up in the air for you. It's your last chance to-"

"Shut the fuck up."

Piper sighed. "Fine then. Let your friend down for all I care. Makes my life a whole lot-" She suddenly stopped talking, it was like she was interrupted but there was barely any sound. Besides the crunching footsteps in the distance of Zunci.

All of the clones just stood still, standing straight up with their arms to the side looking forward like a mindless zombie. She looked at them in bewilderment.