Hello, and welcome to our third intermission. Here, Abathur will offer a status update to Kerrigan, and the chapter will be written from Kerrigan's perspective. Except for the end, that is…
Also, I'm axing my tradition of not including my disclaimers on the Intermission chapters. That was dumb in the first place.
First, though, a review from DrLouis:
Oh man, Abathur's doing SCIENCE again...can't imagine what he's going to do with strands of himself and the other two.
I'm not sure I want to imagine. O.O
I thought your way of naming Vampire and Kappa was weird at first, but then I realized it would make sense for the Zerg, given that more like those two (and other new strains made in Gensokyo) are going to be used in battle by Kerrigan in the future (like several of each at once (I think?)), meaning unique names would be impractical.
On another note, I like Kappa Leviathan's third-person speaking quirk.
-Heh, I can certainly imagine, but that's because I've planned it. As for the naming, yeah, that was the original idea. Vampire Ultralisk and Kappa Leviathan are the names of the strains of Youkai Zerg, not their individual names. They may end up getting unique names eventually, since they've got human-level intelligence, but they don't have them yet. Also, keep in mind that the talking thing is a her-only thing. Any other Kappa Leviathans created in the future will most likely not have that quirk. It's not a Kappa Leviathan thing, it's just her thing.
DISCLAIMER: Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice, and StarCraft belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.
…
Sarah Kerrigan scowled as she climbed up to the Xel'Naga artifact. Hours earlier, Abathur had contacted her, saying that he was temporarily back- something happened to his miniature Leviathan, and he needed a replacement.
As punishment, Kerrigan wouldn't bring another copy of his pet project, but she still wanted him to complete his mission. As such, she was trailed by an Overlord carrying a Swarm Host and an Infestor, as well as a pair of Vipers and a Hercules Dropship, stolen from under Raynor's nose and piloted by an Infested Terran. She didn't want to hide it from him, but she was certain that he wouldn't let her take one of the experimental cargo ship just to gather more essence.
When she entered the room, she was extremely surprised at what she saw.
She saw Abathur playing a card game with a girl. The girl wore a strange red hat, and had the black wings of a crow. Off in the corner was a sleeping Mutalisk, likely the one that he used to get back to the Artifact.
"In possession of threes?" Abathur asked.
"Nah, no threes," the other girl responded. "Got any fours?"
"Am in possession of two fours," Abathur answered.
"Hahah!" the girl laughed, taking the cards in question from him. "Go fish!"
"Abathur," Kerrigan interrupted. "Who is this?"
Kerrigan could have swore that Abathur seemed shocked at her reappearance, while the girl he was with looked between Kerrigan and her cards before cheerfully throwing them down and jumping up.
"Aya Shameimaru," the girl introduced. "Head journalist of the Bunbunmaru!"
"I asked him," Kerrigan snapped.
"And I'm gonna guess that you're Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades?" asked Aya, ignoring the jab.
"I am," Kerrigan answered. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see the Koprulu Sector, and Abby said he was gonna come ask for backup, so I came with him!" she answered with a grin.
"Abby?" asked Kerrigan.
"Nickname," Abathur answered. "Insisted."
"...I see," Kerrigan scowled. "And why, pray tell, did you not kill her? I told you to take the Youkai's essence."
"Not powerful enough to kill Youkai," Abathur answered. "Additionally, have grown to like them. Can gather essence in other ways. Youkai hair, contains enough essence to completely rewrite sequences from base up. Leviathan's fate."
"Yeah!" Aya confirmed. "He ate Nitori's hair and then the Leviathan turned into a girl!"
"...I don't even want to know," Kerrigan sighed. "Wait, yes, I do. There are two reasons for my being here. For one, I'm giving you that backup. Be more responsible next time. For that reason, I'm not giving you a Leviathan, I'm giving you an Overlord and a stolen Terran ship. Onboard are additional reinforcements, should you need them."
"Much appreciated," Abathur noted. "Work as warriors as well as test subjects. Spin Youkai Essence into Swarm, create new strains."
"The second," Kerrigan cut off. "Is that I want a status report. What the hell's been going on over there, and what's been taking you so long? Zagara's starting to complain about your absence."
"Can explain," Abathur nodded. "Beginning report."
…
Upon arrival, was immediately spotted by local schoolteacher, Keine Kamishirasawa. Seeked assistance. Gained assistance of local miko, Reimu Hakurei; local magician, Marisa Kirisame; local ice fairy child, Cirno. Upon arrival, gained additional assistance from local reporter, Aya Shameimaru.
Keine Kamishirasawa, half-Youkai half-Terran. Similar to you. Motherly towards students.
Reimu Hakurei, Terran. Protects other Terrans from wild Youkai. Somewhat cynical.
Marisa Kirisame, Terran. May one day become Youkai. Very energetic.
Cirno, 'Fairy,' something not Terran or Youkai. Very young, childish.
Aya Shameimaru, Youkai. Tengu strain. Always looking for something to report.
After close battle, Cirno proposed communication. Communication was made. Featured in interview for Bunbunmaru.
…
"You were interviewed?" Kerrigan asked. "I can only imagine how that went."
"That's when I gave him his nickname!" Aya announced proudly.
"I can imagine," Kerrigan sighed. "Continue with your report."
…
Was soon invited to Scarlet Devil Mansion. There, met master of the house, Remilia Scarlet; her maid, Sakuya Izayoi; her friend, associate, Patchouli Knowledge; Patchouli's familiar, Koakuma; Gate guard, Meiling Hong; Remilia's sister, Flandre.
Remilia Scarlet, Youkai. Vampire strain. Very civilized. Constantly seeks to further own status.
Sakuya Izayoi, Terran. Has strange ability to stop time. Unable to reproduce. Friendly.
Patchouli Knowledge, Youkai. Magician strain. Generally collected, unless provoking a reaction from someone.
Koakuma, 'little devil'. Refuses to tell meaning. Large mystery. Friendlier than Sakuya.
Meiling Hong, Youkai. Unknown strain. Cheerful, but vicious when working.
Flandre Scarlet, Youkai. Vampire strain. Mentally unstable, but cheerful.
Over course of meeting, was attacked by Flandre. Roaches mysteriously acted independently.
Collected essence sample of Flandre Scarlet. Spun it into Ultralisk strands. Result was Vampire Ultralisk. Capable of independent thought at Terran levels. Lacks usual Ultralisk abilities, have been translated into Youkai abilities. Status of Torrasque regeneration, unknown.
…
"Wait, it translated? How?" asked Kerrigan.
"Well, the Ultralisk has those weird blades on its arms, right?" asked Aya. "When she became a Youkai Zerg, she lost those blades, but she got an identical Spell Card. Zerg sign 'Kaiser Blades'. It generates a bunch of white Danmaku, and then they fold inwards!"
Kerrigan knew what a Spellcard was, and didn't have to ask, but was moderately surprised at the idea. Zerg abilities translating into spellcards made her question her choice.
…
After visit was complete, returned to Leviathan. Described history of Zerg to Cirno, her friends. Soon after, made first public appearance at Kappa Village. Kappas unveiled device that had been hyped up for years. Zerus Generator.
…
"Zerus Generator?" asked Kerrigan. "Zerus is the name of the Zerg homeworld. Why would it share a name with some Youkai generator?"
"Unknown," Abathur sighed dejectedly. "Similarities don't stop there. Zerus Generator, identical to Terran nuclear silo. Nuclear reactor, meant to provide energy."
"That's… disturbing. I want you to look into it," Kerrigan ordered.
"Will do," Abathur answered. "Continuing report."
…
At unveiling, Kappa Village was attacked. Attackers were Juri Yan, Ayumu Manson, Ririko Asahina.
Juri Yan, Youkai. Lantern Tsukumogami strain. Unknown personality, was not present for battle.
Ayumu Manson, Youkai. Zombie strain. Manipulative, deceptive, according to Kappa Leviathan.
Ririko Asahina, Youkai. Magician strain. Arrogant, manipulative.
Was assisted by three others. Local dollmaker, Alice Margatroid; local miko, Sanae Kochiya; local engineer, Nitori Kawashiro.
Alice Margatroid, Youkai. Magician strain. Friendly, helpful, somewhat easy to annoy.
Sanae Kochiya, Terran. Friendly. Seemingly airheaded, but not.
Nitori Kawashiro, Youkai. Kappa strain. Defends her work.
Nitori worked on Zerus Generator. Took essence sample from her, spun it into Leviathan sequences. Leviathan became Kappa Leviathan. Similar changes to changes made to Ultralisk sequences. Youkai attackers, driven off.
Returned to Koprulu Sector with Mutalisk and Aya. Played card games until your arrival.
…
"...Have now caught up to present time," Abathur finished.
"Good to know," Kerrigan returned. "Continue your mission. Don't slack off. I want this job done as soon as possible."
"Will do," Abathur confirmed. "Time to return. Meeting, over."
"Go on," Kerrigan ordered. "Don't let me hold you up."
Abathur nodded, and he and Aya left. Kerrigan commanded the Zerg forces to follow them through the portal.
"Yeesh," she sighed once they were gone. "I tell him to gather essence, and he makes friends and becomes a local celebrity. He's getting worse and worse at his job. Sooner or later, I might have to kill him."
And so, she walked slowly out of the hall, alone this time.
…
The Tal'Darim warrior could hardly believe his ears. He'd just heard a meeting between two influential members of the Zerg Swarm, as well as one of the Creatures from beyond Heaven's Door. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity!
...Not to mention, the door was open. The door was open. If he was fast, he could get there, too.
And so, he ran to his stolen Terran technology.
The modified Terran tank.
The one that read 'Siege Breaker' on the side.
And he drove it as fast as he could to the Door before it closed.
…
Well, that certainly answers the question of 'Will the stolen Siege Breaker be important?'.
Also, a Tal'Darim is coming to Gensokyo. What kind of horrible stuff will he do there, if any? Not to mention, Abathur's got more Zerg working for him, now. Which means that, since I'm planning on getting every single Zerg under Abathur's control turned into a Youkai Zerg, this fanfic is gonna be even longer. Oddly enough, I'm looking forward to that.
Well, remember to review! See you in the fourth arc! By the way- it takes place at Eientei. So there's that.