Chapter 2
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Sometime later, Emerald regains full consciousness as her new sniper-scythe limbs tear open the chrysalis the Zerg placed her in. As the Overmind announces her rebirth as the 'Goddess of Death', she taps where her lips should be in thought before greeting the familiar marine with a skull-faced combat suit. "So, it wasn't a strange dream. Now that I'm clearly not Terran, what are your plans Jimmy?" Emerald says with an odd dual tone mental voice.
"I don't know about the others, but I'd like to get some payback against Duke for his role in the Zerg capturing you. Sensors show Duke happens to be leading the Dominion fleet around Char," Raynor says as Emerald subconsciously reads his mind for a current events update.
"Unless the Overmind objects, I suggest you infiltrate a Dominion Science Vessel for their Confederate Ghost Project files," Kerrigan says as she decloaks next to Raynor. The reaction of Raynor's men when the Overmind gives its public approval of the plan to infiltrate a Science Vessel causes Emerald to fall to the ground laughing.
"Lead me to the central data core or I'll send you to Cetanu," Emerald announces five hours later when she and a pair of Hunter Killer Hydralisks on loan from Daggoth are met on boarding the Amerigo by a squad of Marines.
"That slut is infested! Kill her," the lead marine says in response before spraying Impaler spikes from his rifle. At a silent signal, the Hunter Killers counter the Marines' Impaler spikes with Acid Spines fired from their shoulders.
"Burn them to ashes, Curse of Dragon!" Emerald commands as she uses her new psionics to summon a trio of dragons from a card game she came across before she met Raynor. Before the Dominion Marines can react, the three dragons spit streams of blue flames that melt not only the Marines, but much of the deck plating as well. Calling on her psionic powers, Emerald wades into the molten metal and ambushes a trio of Dominion Ghosts while the Hunter Killers find an alternate route. In the next room, the 'Goddess of Death' encounters a squad each of mounted Vultures and Goliaths. Diving away from the attacks of the Terrans, Emerald swiftly disables all 24 targets with bio-plasmid discharges from her dual sniper-scythe limbs.
Dropping to the center level of the Science Vessel, Emerald comes to a halt long enough for the Hunter Killers to catch up when she stumbles across a containment cell inhabited by a little girl and three dozen Zerglings. Above the cell, a squad of Marines are laughing at how easy it is to hurt the Zerglings by firing into the cell and driving the Zerglings towards the girl in the process. As the Hunter Killers engage the Marines with a mix of Acid Spines and scythe arms, Emerald drops into the cell between the Zerglings and the girl. "What's your name kid?" the Goddess of Death asks as she imposes her will on the weak-minded Zerg strain.
The girl replies with a fragment of song that Emerald recognizes from her research on the Ooman home world alternately referred to as Terra or Earth. "Come with me." Emerald says to Christmas Carol as she sends her minions to clear a path to the central data core. Surprisingly, Christmas Carol stays within five yards of Emerald after removing the clothing she had been wearing.
An hour later, Emerald finds the data core and raises a psionic barrier while applying the relevant data to her psionic powers. "Awaken! Slifer: The Sky Dragon!" Emerald psionically shouts after spawning a drop sack to send Christmas Carol down to Char's surface when she finishes training her psionics. The mental shout causes a massive red eastern style dragon with stacked mouths to appear and crush the Science Vessel in its coils as Emerald herself drops to Char's surface in a cocoon of psionic energy.
A week later...
"Emerald, I've been meaning to ask you what's up with the naked girl my men have been seeing in your Hive Cluster since you destroyed the Amerigo," Raynor says as she walks into the cantina in the Terran base.
"Christmas Carol was being used in experiments despite not being a psionic of even Wrangler strength. I freed her from the Dominion scientists and placed a psionic marker on her so she would be safe from the Zerg so she ditched her clothing and adopted my wardrobe." the Goddess of Death says just as Carol herself enters the cantina.
"And just why do you not want the child infested?" Zasz asks from his Hive Cluster.
"She can potentially be used to disarm foes... The Protoss are here! On Char. They have been for some time, hiding." Emerald says as Carol summons one of the Amerigo Zerglings with a whistle and climbs on its back.
"Greetings oh Goddess of Death. I am Executor Tassadar of the Firstborn. I had the privilege of seeing your heroic last stand on Tarsonis. A pity it is to see one so noble twisted by the wiles of the Overmind," a new voice says as Emerald picks up some disturbing thoughts from Raynor about Carol 'riding' a Zergling.
"The true pity is one of such power being so blind, Templar. Meet me here with no more than four of your warriors. I will bring Raynor, Kerrigan and a stalker named Carol along with one Zergling," Emerald replies adding an image of the intended meeting place to her mental message.
An hour later, Kerrigan and Raynor finish climbing the slope of a volcanic crater to find Carol dispelling a Hallucination while Emerald shakes her head. "Figures you would take the cowards path Templar. Or perhaps this is a diversion so your warriors can kill a defenseless Cerebrate," the Goddess of Death broadcasts before using her sniper-scythe limbs to launch herself out of the crater.
"Death! Zasz is dead!" Daggoth announces suddenly.
"Oh, it's a pity Cerebrates cannot truly be killed. I suspect the Overmind will reincarnate him soon enough," Emerald replies.
"Not this time, the energies the Protoss assassins used has caused the Overmind to go silent. Even now, Garm Brood threatens the Hive Cluster. Wipe out every last fragment of the rogue Brood."
"Are you truly so weak you cannot take command of a leaderless Brood? Tassadar, watch as I gain a Brood independent of the Cerebrate who guarded my Chrysalis," the Goddess of Death says as she leads Raynor, Kerrigan and Carol to the rogue Brood.
"How are we supposed to survive this!" Raynor exclaims on noticing they are just outside the range of the rogue Brood's main Hive.
"Kerrigan, place a Psi Shield on yourself and Jim. Carol hasn't gone more than five yards from me since I sent her to Char's surface in a drop sack so I'll handle protecting her and taming the Brood." Emerald says as she focuses her psionic power on taking control of nearest Sunken Colonies. Just in time, Kerrigan raises a Psi Shield blocking a Zergling rush while Carol stays safe by rolling under and clinging to the stomach of her own Zergling. A minute later, Hydralisks show up and launch Acid Spines at Kerrigan's Psi Shield while the Goddess of Death finishes taking control of the Zerglings involved in the Zergling rush.
Only an hour later, Emerald reaches the Lair that serves as the central command hub for the rogue Brood's primary Hive Cluster. With a final exertion of will, the Goddess of Death takes command of the Hive Cluster and by extension the entire rogue Brood across the entire sector.
"Impressive. What do you plan to do with your personal Brood?" Tassadar says as he brings his own troops to the Hive Cluster.
"First I should probably track down the assassin who killed Zasz. After that I think I'll convince the Overmind to designate my Brood as a Char defense and general scouting specialist brood." Emerald replies as she adds a Spire and several Sunken and Spore Colonies before looking into possible improvements for her Hive Cluster.
"At long last my silence is broken. When the assassin Zeratul struck down Zasz, his mind was laid open to me. We now have the location of the Protoss home world of Aiur. Your plan amuses me Death. Once you have dealt with the threat posed by Zeratul and his dark brethren, come to Aiur with a scouting party." the Overmind says to everyone's surprise.
As the last of the Zerg swarm other than Emerald and her Brood vanish into warp space on their way to Aiur, the Goddess of Death surprises everyone by reaching out and grabbing what appears to be thin air. "The assassin Zeratul I presume?" Emerald says as a full battalion of Dark Templar uncloak, including what appears to be their leader gripped in her right hand.
"Are you going to kill me now?" The Dark Templar leader asks as he looks at the gathering of Terrans, Zerg and Kalai Protoss.
"Why would I when you are a near perfect alibi for the deaths of the rest of the Cerebrates followed by my gaining control of more Broods?" The Goddess of Death replies with a chuckle before ordering half her brood to prepare for warp travel to follow the Swarm to Aiur.
"Death. I did not expect you to arrive so soon. Daggoth was tasked with securing the Kaydarin Crystals but has run into difficulty. Aid him so I might become manifest on Aiur," the Overmind says as Emerald arrives on the Protoss home world alongside Raynor, Tassadar and the cloaked Dark Templar a few hours later.
"Just how did a Cerebrate centuries my elder run into problems with a simple mission? Particularly when you have no trouble attacking anything that gets in your way, Daggoth." The Goddess of Death broadcasts to Daggoth , the Overmind, Raynor's Raiders, Tassadar's fleet, and Zeratul's cloaked fleet.
"The bigger question is how you will do better than the Cerebrate without killing anyone," Tassadar comments in a way that excludes the other Zerg.
"Three tribes each with their own sizable fleet and many detectors surround the Crystals. I doubt someone who has only recently gained a Brood can do any better than I have," Daggoth replies over the Hive Mind at the same time.
"Not only will I succeed where you have failed, Daggoth, I will use only one Drone and one Overlord and still secure the Crystals before the Brood of the Cerebrate who watched over my Chrysalis arrives under my control now that someone has killed the Cerebrate," Emerald counters so all of her allies can hear. Suiting actions to thoughts, the Goddess of Death uses an expanding Psionic Storm to frighten the Protoss away from a small area directly east of the Kaydarin Crystals. Landing her personal Overlord with its single Drone beside her, Emerald uses her psionic power to boost morphing and spawning speed, turning the drone into a Hatchery that spawns three more Drones who then use the protection of the Psionic Storm to become Hatcheries to the north, south and west of the Crystals. Four of the next batch of Larvae become Hatcheries to the north east, north west, south east and south west while others become Creep Colonies, a Spawning Pool and an Evolution Chamber. As additional Drones become more Creep Colonies, the previously spawned Colonies mutate into Spore Colonies and Sunken Colonies.
Two hours after Emerald drops the Psionic Storm, the small Brood that guarded her Chrysalis arrives to find no Protoss in the entire province that the Crystals are located thanks to the network of Sunken and Spore Colonies distributed around the Crystals. "Just why are you aiding the Overmind in this Death?" both Zeratul and Tassadar ask as they watch her actions from the safety of Aiur's moon.
"I need a physical body to target if I'm going to kill the Overmind. Zeratul, feel free to target the Cerebrates at any time," the Goddess of Death replies as Carol swims in the Spawning Pool with the Zerglings from the Amerigo.
Looking at her reflection on the wall of her Leviathan's nerve center, Emerald thinks back and thinks that the more things change, the more they stay the same. In the last six years, she went from being Goddess of the Zerg with a bone faceplate, bracers and Sniper-Scythe auxiliary limbs, to a Twilight Archon merged with Tassadar and sporting emerald energy faceplate, bracers and Sniper-Scythe auxiliary limbs, to Primal Twilight Archon with rougher Psionic energy, to, most recently, Xel Naga with rough gold streaked emerald energy faceplate, bracers and Sniper-Scythe auxiliary limbs. "Everyone's prepped to follow you wherever you choose to go Emerald. Where are we headed next," Brood Father Raynor says through the hivemind.
"Both Kerrigan and Terra are coming as part of the Terran contingent? I sense Zeratul and Artanis among the Protoss and it would appear my entire inner circle is coming as part of the Zerg contingent. If everyone is certain of their choice, we are headed to a random supposedly fictional universe with a possibility of tinkering with the plot." Emerald replies so that the non Zerg can hear her as well.
AN: Thanks for reading and please review.