Chrysalis



With the arrival of Vibrant and her crew, who'd made the difficult trek from the Mother Tree's portal to arrive in the new mountain-nest, the situation below ground stabilised rapidly. Just like their leader, the ten thousand ants who follow in her footsteps specialise in speed, which isn't the most useful thing down in the tunnels, but they find ways to make it work.

They want space to best employ their greatest advantage, which meant the wide open plains of the third stratum had been the perfect battle ground for them and Vibrant had been super busy. Rushing from one pillar to the next, putting out fires, joining sieges, roaming the plains and sweeping up huge numbers of evolving demons. Down here, they use whatever space they can find, rushing along the walls and ceilings in dizzying loops.

Watching them charge into a tunnel is almost like watching a horizontal ant-tornado.

"All right, it's rest time!" I declare cheerfully to Solant and her crew.

The twenty of them are still standing, but only just. After hour upon hour of non-stop movement, fighting and eating, they are well and truly done for the day.

Hang on a sec….

"I said we're going to go rest, so chill out already."

The shadows, which had been steadily deepening around us, begin to recede once more. I swear I see an antenna pop out of the darkness and wave an apology.

Did they really think they could swoop in and grab my student right in front of me?! I appreciate the dedication, but I'm not going to let them get away with skipping torpor. That's the only time I get a break!

"Go find yourselves a spot in a barrack somewhere. I'll come and find you in eight hours. You better have some interesting strategies cooked up by then, Solant! I'm keen to hear what you've been churning over in that brain of yours!"

When the exhausted ants tottle away, I turn to Crinis, Tiny and Invidia.

[You three need to keep fighting. I know you have all the Biomass and cores you need, but you're still short on Levels. The sooner you three get to tier seven, the happier I'll be. Down here in the fourth, there's all sorts of crazy monsters… and sky-snakes… and whatever that weird dinosaur thing was. So you need to evolve! Go and get some Levels!]

A thumbs up from Tiny, a long, slow blink from Invidia and a reluctant peeling from my carapace from Crinis. Soon enough, the three of them split up and head down different tunnels. With them helping alongside Vibrant's army, things should settle down under the nest, at least for a while.

If there's one thing I've learned about the waves, they only get worse until the moment they finish.

With everyone else dealt with, it's time to do the most important work of all: snooze. I've been working hard, dammit! I deserve a little open-eye.

I find a nice, secluded chamber, and in moments, I dip into sweet, sweet torpor.

WACCAMEOW! I'm up!

Time to round up the troops. It isn't hard to locate Solant, thanks to the Vestibule. So far, she's been the easiest of the champions to deal with. At least she isn't trying to escape all the time. Or running off at full speed.

Wait a second, have all the champions been fleeing from me most of the time? What a shocking realisation!

Not so with Solant, though! Along with her crew, they are looking bright-eyed and shiny-carapaced, ready for another day of brutal and intense warfare!

"How are we, squad?" I greet them with gusto. "We're heading back down into the tunnels today, but this time, Solant is going to be in charge of the plan."

"I will?"

"Of course! That's your speciality, your raisin deet ray. Or whatever. When we get down there, I want you to lay out the plan of attack. Our objective is to hold a tunnel for a few hours along with the troops there in the best way you can think of. You'll all be fighting too, so keep that in mind."

They really are a tight-knit and supportive group. As we march down into the bowels of the nest, the twenty of them constantly discuss and strategize, bouncing ideas off each other, critiquing and providing constructive feedback.

Solant doesn't contribute much, but she's always paying attention, absorbing every idea they bounce around and absorbing it into her own calculations.

When we reach the staging point, I arrive just in time to see Victor vanish into a pool of shadow. The rest of the generals in the command centre don't react at all to the sudden abduction of their leader, but instead seamlessly flow into a new command structure, carrying on with the business of ensuring the nest's security. So I guess we pick our own tunnel.

"Down this way," I lead my twenty charges.

Several hundred metres from the front, I stop the procession and turn to face Solant.

"Alright then, what's the plan?"

"I have a few ideas I want to try. Gather around, I might sketch out a few things on the floor."

Her team skitters closer as I loom overhead, looking down.

"The vector of the enemies' approach is predictable, which is a massive advantage. I feel it isn't being properly utilised. I also feel like a rapid rotation of fighters will help prolong our combat effectiveness. Our goal is to swap in and out of combat every fifteen seconds, which will mean we need to utilise some adjusted formations. Spacing will be key."

She keeps scratching away in the dirt, drawing lines, little symbols, arrows, swirls as she keeps talking… and talking… and talking.

The rest of her squad are nodding thoughtfully, absent-mindedly cleaning their antennae as they absorb the plan, but I'm rapidly running into an issue.

This plan… is… so damn detailed. I CAN'T REMEMBER ANY OF IT!