It was the night before the remnants of team JNPR set off with Ruby Rose to begin the hunt for Pyrrha's killer. Jaune Arc was on walking near the outskirts of the safe part of the city of Vale, trying to clear his head enough to sleep.
"Pyrrha… how could I have known?"
That first and last kiss haunted his dreams and nightmares alike.
Dreams of what could have been.
Nightmares about what had truly happened.
Ruby hadn't wanted to tell them, but Ren, Nora, and Jaune had needed to know what happened at the top of that tower.
Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl, had fought with all of her strength, used every ounce of skill, and expended all of her aura, only to be shot through the heart with an arrow and then burned to nothing but ash and cinders.
Cinder Fall.
Jaune's blood boiled at the mere thought of her. How many times had they passed one another in the halls while she played her role as a transfer student? How long had she been plotting all the chaos and murder that took place that night?
Grimm were born as monsters. Cinder Fall had no excuse.
At the same time that he raged, the thought also made him despair. He was leagues above what he'd been when he snuck his way into Beacon thanks to Pyrrha's training, but Pyrrha had been as high above him in skill as the stars above were right now. What hope did he have, even with help, of defeating Cinder Fall? According to what Ruby had said, the old fairy tale about the Maidens was true, and Cinder was so powerful because she had become one of them. How could he counter such power? How could anyone?
Perhaps grief was affecting his mind, or perhaps all the talk of fairy tales brought it up, but Jaune looked up at the stars and wished for something, anything, that could give him the strength to avenge Pyrrha.
And unless his mind was playing tricks on him, it looked like one star was answering.
Hurtling through the atmosphere, the burning Zerg sac heard the plea for vengeance, sensed something akin to a large psionic presence, and veered towards it. It would land in the forest near the settlement.
Jaune might have been hallucinating from lack of sleep, but he could have sworn he heard a voice in his head as the shooting star passed overhead, imperiously saying, "Come."
The Maidens were real. Was wishing on a star real too?
What Ruby had told him Pyrrha's last words were echoed through his mind: "Do you believe in destiny?"
"I do," he muttered, and marched out into the forest.
There was one – and only one – good thing that had come of the events that night: so many Grimm were drawn to the frozen dragon at the tower that much of the forest was empty. Jaune only had to kill a few stray Beowolves on his way towards where the shooting star seemed to have landed.
When he arrived at the crater, he didn't know what to expect, but it was definitely not what he was currently looking at.
Some vast, brown structure covered in black spikes and purple pustules was sitting in the center of a field of gray ooze. It clearly wasn't Grimm; it lacked the telltale markings, but it also clearly wasn't anything else either.
"Be not afraid Jaune Arc," said a voice in his mind. "I have heard your plea and I have come."
Jaune drew his sword and prepared his shield.
"Who said that? Show yourself."
"Down here."
Jaune looked down and crawling out of the crater near his feet was a kind of worm-like creature covered in armor plating. It seemed to rear up and peer at him glowing green pinpricks that he could only assume were its eyes. What looked like three tongues tasted the air from their position between a pair of pincers.
The would-be Huntsman stumbled back. Though small, the thing was ugly, and its… mouth? Jaws? Mandibles? Whatever they were they looked dangerous.
"You need not fear me Jaune Arc. I have come to help you."
"Uh, what?"
If it had hands and anything resembling a human face, the Larva would have face-palmed.
"You wished upon a star for the strength to avenge Pyrrha Nikos," it said in the seventeen year old's mind. "I can give you the power to defeat Cinder Fall, if you will trust me."
Jaune was sorely tempted by that promise alone, but the creature's evil appearance put him off. He replied, "I've read enough stories to know that help like that isn't free. What do you want from me?"
Images flashed in the boy's mind, flickers of war and creatures with armor similar to the Larva's battling, and a voice whispered of worlds beyond the stars. Jaune dropped to his knees.
"I need a host Jaune Arc. My queen goes to war against a god, and I have been sent away to ensure that our species will endure. Do not fight the visions," it urged. "Your Aura resists my telepathy when you do."
Jaune did his best to relax his mind, and the visions became smoother, and the whispered words got louder. They spoke of a vast conspiracy to free a species, the Zerg they called themselves, from the chains enslaving them to a cruel creator, Amon, a being as old as the universe and just as strong. Perhaps Jaune was more perceptive than the Larva gave him credit, or perhaps the boy's Aura interfered with the Larva's telepathy, but he saw something else too.
"What is infestation? What happened to the woman I saw?"
"To be infested is to become greater than what you are. To become Zerg. Sarah Kerrigan became the Queen of Blades, the ruler of the Swarm."
Jaune stood up, shaking his head to clear away the visions. "I'm sorry, but I like being human. You'll have to find another person to infest."
The Larva realized that it needed to go for the kill. The boy was tempted, despite his almost casual refusal. He just needed a little nudge…
"You cannot hope to defeat Cinder Fall on your own Jaune Arc. Without me, you will remain what you are: a boy who cheated his way into Beacon Academy to play at being a Huntsman."
Jaune stopped, almost trembling with anger.
"Your team is not enough, not even with the strange power of Ruby Rose. Without becoming Zerg, yet more of your friends will die. I have journeyed across countless light years to stand before you, just as you wished for the power to avenge the woman who loved you. So I ask you Jaune Arc: do you believe in destiny?"
Sword and shield clattered to the ground, and the Larva knew that it had won. The words of Pyrrha Nikos would forever rule this boy; now to take what was offered for the good of the Swarm.
"What do I have to do?"
"I must become one with your body to change you into Zerg, but your Aura will resist me. I need you to trust me enough for it to lower, so that I may open a small wound."
Jaune hesitated, then asked, "Where?"
"Your stomach would be the ideal location."
The boy pulled up the black shirt he wore to expose his stomach and the Larva crawled up his leg to get to work. Jaune shuddered at the feel of it moving on him, and flinched when it began cutting into his flesh, but he did not move.
Not even when he felt it enter his body.
"You may reactivate your Aura. The process will take all night, so I suggest you return to your team. These 'Grimm' as you call them will attack us if we remain here."
"What happens tomorrow morning?"
"I do not know how long it has been since my queen sent me on my mission. Perhaps the Zerg were victorious. Perhaps they are extinct. If you cannot sense the greater Hive Mind by dawn, it means that you are the new leader of the Swarm."
"And what if I can sense the… did you say greater Hive Mind?"
"There is already a Hive Mind on this planet – myself and the Hatchery. If you can sense the greater Hive Mind, the collective will of all Zerg, then you will be cared for by powerful allies. The Swarm protects its own."
"But what if I am the leader of the Zerg? I promised to help Ruby and the others…"
"You will have to find a way to stay behind. The Hatchery must be protected to spawn the army you will need to take your revenge."
"Army?!"
The Larva resisted the urge to sigh. It suspected that the urge was an accidental side effect of its greater intelligence. For now, the boy needed to be silenced so that it could begin its work… and then die, so that when Jaune joined the Hive Mind, he would never know the extent to which he was manipulated.
"Worry not for the remainder of the night Jaune Arc. One way or another, all will be clear at dawn."
As Jaune went to bed, telling Ren and Nora that he was just grieving and thinking, the Larva metamorphosed into a new organ. Secreting mutagens and anesthetics, it rapidly attached itself to the young Huntsman's circulatory system. Its genetic instructions were very clear: it was not to change the appearance of its host in any way; stealth would be necessary in the early days. Over the next seven to eight hours the Zerg organ would gather and store samples of Jaune's genome as it was for future analysis by an Evolution Master, hijack his immune system to begin the Zerg's constant hunt for beneficial mutations and eradication of the negative, and modify his nervous system for greater sensitivity to the Hive Mind.
"It's morning!"
The fact that Nora only said it once was a sign of her grief. Nothing could stop Nora from being hyperactive, but grief made her less hyperactive.
Jaune groaned and tried to go back to sleep.
"Jaune," Ren added, "You need to wake up. We need to meet up with Ruby."
"You cannot go Jaune Arc. The Grimm will only ignore the Hatchery for so long, and then it will be undefended."
That was a voice Jaune had believed to be a strange dream, merely wishful thinking on his part. On the spot, Jaune had to think of something that his team would believe.
"Ren, Nora… I don't think I can go."
"What? Of course you can!"
"No, Nora, I really can't. I'm just not good enough."
"Jaune, if this is about Pyrrha, she stopped you from going after her."
"It's not about Pyrrha!" He yelled, then he took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry. It's just not. It's about me… I know that I'm not good enough because I cheated my way into Beacon."
Silence.
Jaune turned away. He couldn't look at them, not now. He continued, "No one ever trained me until Pyrrha. No one believed in me until she did. Not my sisters, not my parents, nobody. I found some fake transcripts and used them to get in because I saw a way to get my dream of being a hero like my father, and his father, and his before him. If I went with you two and Ruby I'd be a liability and get you all killed. I can't go… I just can't."
"Come on Nora. We need to go." Ren didn't sound angry, or even disappointed. For a moment, Jaune thought it was something like understanding. Of course, he got distracted by one of Nora's crushing hugs, but she didn't seem to be able to think of something to say, so she left with her longtime friend.
Jaune looked out the window and watched them go. He needed to wait until they were out of earshot, but leave before they got to Ruby or she might use her Semblance to find and confront him.
"The Swarm's leader must come to the Hatchery. Zerg do not have the negative emotions that draw Grimm, but they may attack if they discover the Hatchery unguarded."
Jaune pressed his fingers against his forehead and asked, "Are you the Hive Mind?"
"Yes. Jaune Arc, you do not need to perform that gesture or speak out loud to communicate with other Zerg."
"Oh," he said, once more out loud, then felt foolish.
As he walked through the forest, he mentally asked, "So, uh, what exactly did that thing from last night do to me? I don't feel any different."
"The Larva made only a few changes so as to preserve your appearance to prevent detection by potentially hostile forces. You are slightly stronger and faster than you were before, and you are receptive to the psionic link uniting all Zerg. Further improvements can only be made once an Evolution Master is spawned."
At that, the Hive Mind sent him a list of requirements. Apparently to create one of those, the Hatchery needed to transform into a Lair, and an Evolution Chamber needed to spawn and then morph into an Evolution Pit, and the Zerg needed more resources for that.
Jaune suddenly felt multiple new presences in the Hive Mind, and asked one, "Who are you?"
"I am a Drone," the voice that came through was dull, emotionless, and provided no further information.
"Okay… what do you do?"
"I collect resources."
Before Jaune could ask anything else of the decidedly not-talkative Drone, the Hive Mind commented, "Jaune Arc, you need not ask each individual Zerg what it does, only direct your questions at the Hive Mind."
"You refer to yourself in the third person?" He asked the Hive Mind.
"There is no person to refer to. You only 'hear' a voice in your head because your unconscious mind did not evolve to process a data stream external to your body."
"Uh… what?"
"There is no 'I' to be referred to when speaking of the Hive Mind. The voice will stop speaking when you understand more, or when an Evolution Master improves your mind."
"Ohhh, I think I get it now. So what do Drones do?"
He thought he got flashes of blue crystalline structures and geysers spewing green gas, but after a moment the voice explained, "Drones gather resources that are used to spawn new Zerg organisms and structures. Normally, the Zerg use minerals and vespene gas from the environment, but this environment lacks those resources, so the Drones harvest biomass: flora and small fauna."
Jaune shook himself, "What's going on with these visions in my head?"
"What you call Aura appears to cause some interference with the psionic signal of the Hive Mind."
Jaune finally made it and stepped onto the slime.
"Eww! What is this for?" he exclaimed aloud.
"Creep nourishes Zerg structures, consumes nearby biomass, and accelerates Zerg organisms moving across it."
"Alright, how does–"
He was interrupted by nearby howling.
Preparing himself, Jaune saw a dozen normal Beowolves and an alpha trying to encircle him. He backed against the Hatchery so that the Grimm couldn't attack from behind, only from the sides. That would be bad enough.
Luckily for Jaune he was Zerg now, and the psionic link between all Zerg extended to its unicellular organisms. As a result, the Creep informed him that two were approaching from the left.
Those who had seen Jaune fight would call it panicked flailing at even the best of times, but after so many months of training with Pyrrha it was panicked flailing with a purpose and Jaune soon dispatched the two Grimm that had set foot on Zerg soil. Well, slime, but there were more pressing matters than nomenclature to deal with.
One came from the front and three more from behind, surprised that this lone human could put up such a fight, but the boy in white armor would surprise them again. Dashing forward, the Creep gave Jaune some extra speed and he blocked a claw swipe from the first Beowolf with his shield and used his sword to stab it through its heart, then he spun around and decapitated the next two, Crocea Mors lodging halfway into the last Grimm's throat.
Realizing that overwhelming force was necessary here, the remaining six Grimm ran forward.
Pyrrha had taught him that even a shield could be a weapon, and with that in mind Jaune stabbed the first Grimm then whirled around and slammed his shield against the next closest's face, stunning it and brought his sword down again, bifurcating a third Beowolf's head.
The remaining two normal Beowolves stood on either side of their alpha. Not understanding how the human knew where each of them were during the entire battle, the last three left, snarling as they fled back into the forest.
Hearing a tree fall over, Jaune looked behind him and saw the Drones busily carving it into easily carried chunks. They hadn't even spared him a glance during the battle. Two of them delivered their cargo and then one broke away from the pack and started carving up the Grimm remains to take to the Hatchery, and the other approached Jaune.
"Um, dead Grimm evaporate. I don't think you'll get much biomass from that."
"Zerg digestion is extremely rapid and efficient. The Swarm will harvest what it can from the Grimm before it can evaporate."
"Alright, but now what are you doing?" he asked the Drone that hovered close to him, before realizing that he ought to ask the Hive Mind.
"Zerg structures morph from Drones, and the Hatchery has collected enough biomass to create a Spawning Pool. The Spawning Pool will allow the production of Zerglings to defend the Hatchery. This Drone is awaiting a decision regarding where to become a Spawning Pool."
Putting his strategic mind to use, Jaune looked around the area. The Hatchery was in a crater, the walls of which obstructed its view, but on one side the forest was denser than the others. There really wasn't anywhere that would be a good location.
"If it won't interfere with anything put it right there, next to the Hatchery. It needs to be defended if it's what lets the Hatchery spawn its defenses."
The Drone scuttled (or was it glided?) off and became a translucent purple cyst that erupted a few minutes later into what looked like a pool of green slime with teeth lining its rim. During those minutes, the Hive Mind also informed him of the need for Overlords ("I thought I was the Zerg overlord?") to increase the potency and range of the Hive Mind. The bulbous balloon-like Zerg looked like it might be the size of a bullhead or maybe bigger.
"I know it's supposed to be like the the CCT for Zerg, but why does it need to be so big? We'll never stay hidden with that thing floating around!"
More flashes of creatures, this time entering the Overlord. It was only a little, but it was enough; Overlords could apparently double as a transport system.
Four Larvae became membranous green eggs. Three hatched in a matter of seconds, revealing six of the things that the Hive Mind called Zerglings. They were low to the ground and stood on four legs, like dogs, and they did have a mouthful of sharp teeth, but any resemblance to canines ended there. It was all dark purple flesh and brown armor, with two huge tusks beside its jaws and a pair of three-pronged scythe-like limbs attached to its shoulders.
The last egg hatched about a minute later after growing much larger, becoming a towering figure with a vaguely humanoid upper half attached to a bug-like abdomen. It had a spearlike limb attached to either shoulder and thin membranes between each of its six legs.
"What are you?!"
Before responding, the creature appeared to spit a mixture of fluids onto the Hatchery, which Jaune noticed appeared to respond by rapidly spawning more Larvae. Then it answered vocally in a tone that suggested some degree of thought, and possibly even some emotion.
"I am a Queen, my Lord. I tend the Hatchery and assist in its defense."
"A queen!? Please tell me we're not married, I did not sign up for that!"
If the Hive Mind could sigh it would have. As it was it merely explained, "Queen is merely the designation for the Zerg organism. Matrimonial bonds are not necessary for the Swarm."
"Oh thank God!" Jaune exclaimed, watching as the queen spat more fluids onto the Hatchery. He shuddered at the idea of kissing that mouth.
He shuddered again, this time in fear, as more Beowolves emerged from the trees. The Alpha Beowolf that had fled earlier had returned with reinforcements.
Jaune prepared his sword and shield, but he was taken by surprise by a projectile whizzing over his head, killing a Beowolf instantly. He looked back in time for the Queen to spit another one and for the Zerglings to rush past him, screeching. The initiative seemed to surprise the Grimm, who took a second to resume their normal hostility.
A Zergling lunged for a Beowolf and performed a maneuver that left Jaune's jaw hanging open; its tusks pinched the Grimm's throat and the Zergling used its momentum to fling itself up onto the Beowolf's back, and once there it drove its scythe limbs into the monster's skull, killing it instantly.
The other five Zerglings were less flashy, but no less effective, settling for gutting their enemies, and as the Zerglings attacked, every spine the Queen fired was expertly aimed and killed a Beowolf. The alpha charged, its bodyguards flanking it, and they used their greater mass to simply plow the Zerglngs out of their way as they charged the Queen. Jaune stepped into their path and managed to dispatch one Grimm with a stab, but the alpha swatted him aside with a claw sharp and strong enough to momentarily displace his aura and leave deep scratches in his flesh.
Jaune rolled and clutched his side, trying to keep the blood in, and saw that his heroism was unnecessary. Another spine dispatched the other bodyguard, and then the Queen's spearlike limbs revealed their purpose, one deflecting a strike from the alpha, and the other driving itself into its head.
A pair of remaining normal Beowolves saw Jaune on the ground and lunged for him, only for a Zergling to leap into their path. The armored carapace held up well, but the other flesh did not and its screeches changed into those of pain. Both Grimm suddenly yelped and ceased mauling their prey as the other Zerglings returned from their battle at the forest's edge to aid their comrade, eviscerating the monsters.
And just like that, the battle was over, this time with no opposing survivors to call yet more Grimm to their location. Jaune lay on the ground, his Aura struggling to heal his wounds, and leaving him exhausted as a result, and the injured Zergling beside him, one bladed limb gnawed to the bone and a forelimb dangling by threads.
The Queen approached them as though nothing had happened and started smearing some red liquid across Jaune's wounds. He saw that his injuries were sealing even faster than his Aura could do alone.
"I'll be fine, help him!" Jaune pointed at the more seriously injured Zergling.
The Hive Mind addressed this in his head, "Zerglings can create every necessary nutrient and compound their bodies need from anything they can eat. The wounded will recover if given enough to eat."
True enough, the Zergling was gnawing on what parts of the Beowolves it could reach without moving, and new flesh was slowly, but visibly growing around its exposed bones and between its nearly severed forelimb and body. A Drone moved off the line of workers and helpfully pushed one of the Grimm corpses closer to it.
"How soon until I have an army?" the would-be Huntsman asked tiredly.
The Queen addressed this question since he said it out loud. "Eventually you will have both, but in the short term you must decide if you want a strong army or a numerous one. If you desire the latter, command us to spawn more Zerglings. If you wish for the former, our resources must be put towards new and improved structures."
The Hive Mind sent another flash of images and concepts. The Hatchery had enough biomass to morph into a Lair, which would provide no immediate benefits apart from greater armor, but would allow the creation of more structures and through them stronger Zerg.
"Morph the Lair, spawn a few more Zerglings and Overlords when necessary, then start saving resources for, uh," he paused, trying to make sense of the flurry of visions, "the Evolution Pit. I'll plan more once that's complete."
A stray Ursa wandered into the growing clearing, but beyond that there were no further Grimm incursions, at least in part because Jaune was the only one present capable of negative emotions. The Hatchery pulsed like a beating Heart for several minutes before transforming into a Lair, and soon after the Evolution Chamber spawned and morphed into an Evolution Pit. Jaune would have called it a cave, but upon entering he understood the name. Apparently much of the transformation had been dedicated to creating a deep, sloping chasm inside it.
A chasm that unleashed a horror into the light of day.
Jaune recoiled in horror, once again shouting, "What are you?!" at the creature. It looked like someone had taken a giant slug, taught it to walk like a man, then stuck arms and legs and pincers and pustules from different kinds of species all over to make the ugliest thing they could.
"Am Evolution Master. Unique Zerg organism. Examine essence. Spin strands. Improve Swarm." Like the Queen, this creature spoke out loud, but where the queen had mandibles, this thing seemed to have just a hole below its eyes.
"So, you're unique. Does that mean you have a name?"
"Name unnecessary. Inefficient. Duplicate of organism Abathur, Evolution Master in service to Queen of Blades."
"Okay… I don't want to call you Abathur in case your elder still exists, so I think I'll call you…" he thought for a moment, "Ruhtaba!"
"Name acceptable."
"C'mon, you know it's a good one!"
"Based on Organism Jaune Arc's memories of alphabet, Ruhtaba is Abathur backwards. Creativity minimal."
Deciding to end the discussion about the creativity (or lack thereof) of the name Ruhtaba, Jaune approached the subject that had been nagging at him since he heard about it. "So I heard from the Hive Mind that you can improve me? I mean, I know I look perfect but–"
"Appearance irrelevant. Grasper limb poorly formed. Inefficient. Can improve."
The Evolution Master moved forward ominously, main arms outstretched. Jaune backed up and pointed his sword at Ruhtaba.
"No touching without permission, and appearance is relevant to me. How would you improve me without changing my appearance?"
"Challenge harder. Must take sample, examine." Ruhtaba reached for Jaune, but did not touch him. Instead he went into a kind of trance.
"Uh, what is he doing?" Jaune asked the Hive Mind.
"The original Larva formed a new organ in your body that – in addition to its other purposes – took samples of your essence before turning you into a Zerg. Ruhtaba is examining those strands and your new ones to determine what he can improve without altering your physical appearance."
Ruhtaba came out of the trance, "Convergent evolution. Strands, anatomy, physiology similar to Terrans. Unique differences. Appear to cause what Organism Jaune Arc's memories refer to as Aura and Semblance."
"Hang on, did Terrans not have souls or something? Everything but Grimm has an Aura, Pyrrha told me so! And how are you looking at my memories when all I can get are flashes from the Hive Mind?"
Ruhtaba suddenly brought his quartet of spikes much closer to Jaune. Were they sensors or something? They were poking and prodding, stopping just shy of his skin because of his Aura.
"Aura unique to planet. Intangible barrier. Possibly passive psionic field. Explains interference. Will experiment." Ruhtaba promptly turned around and wandered back into his pit, where Jaune was a little afraid to follow.
"So does this mean you can't improve me?" He called out.
"Not yet."
Jaune emerged from the pit only to see the sun beginning to set. The forest was much more dangerous at night. He would have to stay at the Hatchery… it was something he ought to get used to, but simply hadn't thought of all day. He hadn't even brought his onesie! With a sigh, he sat down on the surprisingly warm Creep and leaned against the Hatchery, letting the day's mental and physical exhaustion cause him to slip into slumber.
When Jaune awoke the next morning, he discovered that the clearing was quite a bit larger in all directions and several more Overlords were positioned around the perimeter.
Realizing that this also meant that they were moving closer to the city, he commanded, "We need to stop expanding towards Vale. Focus your efforts going that way, deeper into the forest."
Immediately all Drones ceased what they were doing and moved in the direction he indicated.
"Organism Jaune active, physiology functioning optimally. Can improve now."
"Really?" He got to his feet and looked towards Ruhtaba, "How?"
"Weapon, armor inefficient. Can evolve better. Metabolism inefficient. Requires sleep. Can modify, improve. Muscle fibers inefficient. Zerg tissues superior. Aura, passive psionic barrier; interferes with Zerg connection. Can integrate both, remove interference, strengthen Aura."
Jaune's mouth hung open for a moment, then he asked, "What about my Semblance?"
"Semblance unknown, defensive. Requires experimentation. Dependent on Aura, will strengthen regardless of ability."
"What do I need to do?"
"Follow."
Jaune obeyed, following the slug-like Zerg into the Evolution Pit, down into the chasm until they were at a pool of translucent green slime.
"Remove obstructions, enter mutagen pool."
"Obstructions?"
"Clothing, armor will interfere with new tissue growth. Unnecessary."
"Hang on, I thought I said not to change my appearance. What exactly are you going to do that I need to be naked?"
"Body will grow, accommodate retractable armor. Extensible blade in right forelimb, replace sword functionality. Expandable bone in left forelimb, replace shield. Improve musculature, adjust organs, remove unnecessary. Improve cellular functions."
Jaune looked at Crocea Mors hanging at his hip… it was a hand-me-down, but it was also from his family.
"Is there somewhere safe to keep this? I don't want it lost."
Ruhtaba looked at the sword and its collapsed shield-sheath.
"Will modify tissue on Hatchery, create biological sheath. Artifact Crocea Mors will be kept safe."
"Thank you. Now I need to get undressed."
Neither of them moved.
"I said, I need to get undressed."
"Repetition unnecessary."
"Then why aren't you leaving?"
"Inefficient." There was a pause as the Evolution Master gathered the necessary concepts to understand what Jaune wanted through the link to his mind. "Modesty pointless. Can remove emotion."
"You are forbidden to remove any of my emotions, Ruhtaba, and as the Swarm's leader I am ordering you to leave until I am in the mutagen pool."
The creature left without argument.
Unsurprisingly, the slime in the mutagen pool was slimy, but it soon had a numbing effect so the disgusting texture soon faded from Jaune's mind.
"Organism Jaune must submerge."
"Uh, why?" he asked, not wanting his head to go under the slime.
"Message from Queen of Blades to potential successors: without total submersion, metamorphosis will be excruciating."
That was a good enough reason for him, so he dove under, and soon he was numb all over and passed out.
Jaune was not quite unconscious. He could not feel his body, but he was somehow aware, and… scattered. He caught glimpses of the tree tops from the eyes of Overlords, the process of tearing apart those trees into digestible chunks from the view of the Drones, and even saw himself through Ruhtaba's eyes.
Across so many bodies but not adapted to handling it, Jaune lost all track of time and even space.
Suddenly he surfaced from the slime coughing and gasping for air. He stumbled out of the pool and fell on his face.
"Brain adjusting to new body proportions. Side effect of Aura resisting changes."
Jaune stood up cautiously and looked down at himself.
He wasn't naked… well, he was, but not visibly. The Zerg's brownish green chitin covered him from head to toe in a suit of biological armor that would rival the mighty Ultralisk… which he now knew about, because his link to the Hive Mind was far smoother, and now flowed easily both ways. He looked at his left arm and it's slight bulge and with a thought chitin and bone burst into a shield. Looking at his right, at another thought a biological blade erupted from his forearm. It would take him some time to master his new "sword" and its position, but it wasn't as if he'd been much good with Crocea Mors anyway.
He walked over to the pool and saw himself in its faintly reflective surface, only to nearly fall back in fright. He looked truly monstrous, a creature of spikes and bony plates that would not look out of place on a Deathstalker. What had he become?
Answering his mental question, Ruhtaba replied, "You are Zerg. Leader must be strong, durable. Human Jaune was insufficient. Made you great."
Still looking into the pool, Jaune concentrated on his old appearance, and saw each armor plate retract until it was beneath his skin… but it wasn't perfect. Everywhere that the chitin had submerged there was a thin violet line, giving him the appearance of having an intricate full-body tattoo. Letting the armor emerge again to cover himself, Jaune gathered his clothing, old armor, and Crocea Mors and removed them from the pit.
Author's Note: I'm back! Renovations on the house are finally over, so I can now write in peace again.
Moving right along, I have something of a confession to make. This chapter in particular (and to a lesser extent this entire story) was inspired by another fanfic, specifically GlarnBoudin's Bloody Evolution, which features Yang in the role of the Zerg's new queen. If you've liked this story, I suggest that you check it out. It isn't complete, which I know is a dealbreaker for some readers (I know I hate reading stories that seem like they'll never be finished) but what's there so far is really good.
So why'd I choose Jaune for the leader of the Zerg? Two reasons. First, I've been told that I can't write women or girls well at all (at least not through their own perspective) and second, I find the idea of an incompetent ruler with an extremely powerful army highly amusing. I know that Jaune has a decently strategic mind in canon, but even with Pyrrha's training he still seems to be really bad at fighting – the contrast between him and the Zerg was too good to pass up for me.
So now's the time to place your bets my dear readers. In the blood red corner we have Jaune Arc, now the leader of the Zerg Swarm (or at least the brood that landed on Remnant) and in the other blood red corner we have Cinder Fall with the full power of the Fall Maiden, and somewhere behind the scenes the evil and mysterious figure Salem. Who's going to win?
