A/N: Well...here we are. The end of part one of this story. Wish google docs wasn't being so annoying for me, but I think I managed to get this giant chapter out in a decent time despite issues.
Special thanks to Blackhole1, zzc, Guardian54, a1993, mivpus, Asuka Sakura26, izwan, Ishkahrhil, SolarisAce, Boogerbug, and SweetMichaela for the reviews last chapter, and thanks to everyone who has favorited and followed this story since the last chapter! All of your support really means a great deal to me and it helps me write this story day to day, so please let me know what you think when you've finished reading the chapter! It'll help and inspire me both!
Suggested playlist for chapter: Mou Nani mo Kowakunai Kowaku Wa Nai (Gundam 00), Ground Zero (Stan Bush) and Switchblade (Beyblade) in whatever particular order you'd like.
Now, I hope you enjoy The Moment to Die!
(Present Time, Suuran, Gerolf POV)
I cough as my face slams into the metal dashboard in front of me, my unarmored forehead taking the brunt of the impact and sending a sharp pain searing through my head.
Sure that our navigator piloting the ship wasn't such a great idea after all, my voice chokes out over the blood I taste in my mouth, "Hunter, maybe you should slow down-"
From behind me, Mac's voice yells out as I hear another explosion in the side of our hull, "Kerrigan!"
He...he wouldn't yell that as a joke. And he's the closest to where smoke now spills in our ship, the entire large section losing its visibility quickly due to the intensive damage now made on our port side.
I reach my hand down to my hip to grab my guns, thankfully restocked of ammo due to Pierre's vigilant suggestion, but I still duck my head. Our chairs all are oversized to account for power armor occupants like Mac and Hunter, so the large structure obscures a good deal of my vision as I glance backwards.
Not a second later than his last sentence, I hear Mac yell again, "It's the Zerg!"
I can barely make out another voice, a feminine one, but it is being spoken and not telepathically communicated. And it is indeed female. The reason for it's faintness in comparison to Mac's is its distance and the sound of shrieks as the previously mentioned Zerg board our ship.
In our attempt to escape the Protoss we had stumbled right into Kerrigan's path. With everything we've pulled off recently, to have this be left at the end of our path…
I briefly consider turning one of my pistols on myself as the smoke begins to clear, leaving the sight of many Zerg-
Zerg-damnit Emily's back there with Mac! Kerrigan will kill her...kill him…
Beside me Hunter takes the initiative in this situation and swivels his chair partially around, enough to lift a grenade launcher in their general direction without forsaking all of his cover, "Eat grenade, bastards!"
I think to tell him not to fire, our friend Mac and Emily both being back there, but I hush myself. They were as good as dead, and so were we unless we somehow manage to blow Kerrigan out of the ship. An explosion just had the chance of doing that, even if it was a low one. Given the ship's design for durability, it could likely take the explosion as well...
I feel a chill run down my spine as the explosion throws up even more smoke in the ship. Beside me acid and poisonous spines crash into the dashboard, luckily hitting the parts having less to do with our piloting given that our very seats are blocking that angle. The thuds against the back of this bulky thing aren't anything to be cheerful about though, as there is no doubt in my mind that this thing would melt in no time at all.
We're fucked, trapped inside our very own escape vessel. Thank you Jim Raynor for helping the Queen of Blades win the Brood Wars, you useless hero.
My weapons can't harm these beasts, and turning to fire on them would be useless. I can tell that Hunter's blast didn't do the intended effect as he groans quite audibly. I can see the tense muscles underneath the tears in his armor and notice that I too have clammed up.
To my far right I catch some movement, Pierre dodging away from his wrecked chair and firing at some target unseen by me. He manages to reach the cover of Paul's chair, but a Hydralisk spine catches him in the chest just as he does so. Pierre stumbles back for a moment before a minor explosion on his chest armor makes my eyes widen and my mouth gape.
His extra ammunition had been struck and had ignited on his chest, bullets flinging both forward away from him and backward through him. He hits the ground hard, blood flowing so freely from his mouth that it coats his dark mask's mouth red.
This isn't right...I'm their leader and I can't do a damn thing to help them! Even with the power I've granted, I can't even harm our opponents. My guns can't break through their hides well and my blades would require me to have enough space to fly around and pick up speed to do even a tiny bit of damage.
Also enraged are the other two, Hunter and James, who both leap from their seats and take fire at the crowd of Zerg that has amassed in our ship. All of us versus all of the regular Zerg would be a losing battle in these quarters...all of us versus them and Kerrigan is just sad.
I can't see if they are even hitting anything, Hunter with his grenade launchers and James with the twin pistols he had picked up, but I do notice Hunter stagger back and groan as Hydralisk spines impact his chest.
To my right James, ever the empathetic bastard, notices too and turns his attention towards Hunter as he calls out his name. This has the unfortunate side effect that I can almost see in slow motion of Hydralisk spines crashing into him as well. He stumbles back towards the console a slight bit as he howls in pain. He should fall to the ground to protect himself from further fire, but he stupidly remains mostly upright.
Having seen enough of my friends be harmed by these bastards and knowing there is nothing else I can do, I jump out of my seat and catch the next volley of spines with my own body. I can take the hit, unlike James who would have been killed on impact, but that doesn't make the pain any less apparent in my body. I push James onto the floor and behind the cover of his still decently figured chair as I leap forward and kick on my jets.
Smoke still obscures our vision, but I can see the light shining from outside and I can see two bright shining eyes amidst the smoke. I fly to the side of the ship opposite of the breach high, passing over a couple Roaches and Hydralisks, before taking a sharp turn and hurtling my own body at the only humanoid form over here.
My shoulder clips right into Kerrigan's scaly gut and I reach my arms around the Queen of Blades, intent on forcibly ejecting this bitch from our ship.
(Present Time, Suuran, Hunter POV)
The clearing smoke and flash of flame gave me all I needed to see as Gerolf careens out of the ship's breached side with a surprised Kerrigan in tow. Our old lieutenant is rising to her Zerg feet, having seen this as well, but she appears to be in shock as she slowly walks towards the broken hull.
Call me crazy, but I'd rather have her fighting the Zerg firing at the people still on board. They don't even seem to notice her...
The Zerg had apparently thought they succeeded in their strike, as the attacks littering the control panel and us subsided quickly after Gerolf's charge. They turn to face the back of the ship, where the civilians are-
The wounded James coughs out blood as he grabs his rifle from his back and opens fire wildly at the Zerg crowd, "I'm not done just yet!"
Seeing his vigor despite his mortal wounds, I climb up to my full armored height and lift my rocket fists up to fire. This iron and steel hide of mine can take a bit more of a beating I'd say.
The Zerg are caught off guard as another explosion tears into their hides, wounding even the tough Roaches, but their numbers are still so much greater that they are not affected by this.
I start to fire again before I see the door in the back open, objects fly out, and then hear gunfire as the Zerg horde is enveloped in a burst of flame that I did not cause.
"Nor are we!" one of the militia soldiers yells from the back as the dozens we have aboard all barrel out and fire straight at the Zerg who were about to kill us before.
I feel a smile grace my lips. My sensors say that there are countless more Zerg outside, but at least we're all in this together to the very end.
(Present Time, Suuran, Gerolf POV)
Upon impact on the ground I released the Queen of Blades, only to have myself forced away psionically the next half second later, flipping uncontrollably into the air momentarily before righting myself.
It takes Kerrigan no time to get to her feet and dust off the dirt on her caused by landing outside the ship, "Whatever could have convinced your feeble mind this was a good idea?"
I tilt my head back and laugh, sure that I was about to me a psionic end in just a moment, "It was this or dying in there. Least I'm alive for now!"
Kerrigan lifts a hand up towards me and I take a slight blast back, my body automatically cringing at the thought of whatever she is about to do. This does, however, lend me a better view in the air and I realize that beside the canyon there is a field that leads to a woods, with Zerg encircling the ship entirely.
"I admire the tenacity, but know that no matter how hard you try I will still kill you and your former girlfriend just like your friends."
Already having dug my grave, I try to act tough in the face of death, "Oh you're just mad that you can't go home to Jim, Kerrigan. Can't be having others be with their loved ones."
Her hand lowers at this as her brow raises instead, "Excuse me, do I know you?"
My thumb points to me as I oblige her, every second I stall being one more my friends and the people we saved have to live, "Fellow Sons of Korhal member Gerolf Rabe at your service, Queen Bitch of the Galaxy. Gotta say, Jim would be pissed if he saw you right no-"
My chest seizes up as I feel my lungs collapse, my concentration being shot and my body falling to the ground as a result. The impact isn't the worst I've faced recently, but the shock of the fall keeps me from rising.
I feel a hand, a three fingered hand, grab me by the jetpack and haul me up to my feet harshly.
"Gerolf, what the hell are you doing? She'll kill you!"
I look over to my side as Emily lets go of me, my breath starting to return after Kerrigan's little display. I smirk at her before looking back to the smaller yet metaphorically bigger monster ahead of me.
"That all you got, Kerrigan?"
Gameplan: make bitch forget about the others and hope something good happens. Strategy: Her pride and emotions.
Kerrigan ignores Emily as she walks towards the Queen of Blades, instead snorting derisively at me, "You're just asking to die, aren't you Terran? Let me oblige you, because I only need a body after all."
Plan already failing.
The Queen of Blades could tear someone apart in close combat, but she could also destroy a Battlecruiser with her mind. I'd rather fight a beast in close range combat, my specialty, than face something more powerful than a nuclear weapon.
I kick my jets into gear and dash toward Kerrigan, only to find myself flying back in the other direction at three times the originally fast speed. I slam into the ship and cough out blood, dazed by the impact yet again while simultaneously pissed that Kerrigan is able to toy with me like this. I really am nothing compared to such a creature…
But still, toying with me means not killing me, and not finishing me means she isn't harming anyone else.
I start to fall forward but catch myself, realizing I had put a dent into the ship where I crashed into it. Good thing Reaper jetpacks were the toughest part of our armor, and that I had improved mine even further...it wouldn't do to have this thing explode on me-
My lungs explode in pain again, Kerrigan choking my internal organs specifically while she also yanks me towards her. I turn my jets to slow down my speed towards her, but they do nothing against what she is doing.
My body snaps to a stop only a few feet from Kerrigan, who lifts a hand up to point at my head.
"I know you can regenerate to some startling degree, so I'll just stop you at the source. A creature can't pull itself together without a head."
I brace myself and close my eyes as I begin to choke, her hold on my lungs not having lifted. This is the end I guess...so many fights and close calls, only to be finished in an unwinnable scenario.
...the end doesn't come for me though. Instead I hear the sound of a strong smack, and suddenly I can breathe again and fall to my knees. Kerrigan is still right in front of me, but also has taken a step back. One of her arms is blocking Emily's sole remaining back arm, and I can see that despite all her power that this struggle of strength is still not an easy task for Kerrigan.
As she starts to push Emily's arm back with her own, Kerrigan growls angrily, "You'll pay for getting in my way-"
Having focused on Emily for a second too long, Kerrigan found herself stumbling back from a quick burst in my jetpack colliding my much larger body with her own. She doesn't appear hurt in the slightest as she catches her footing and grunts.
"I think I am going to enjoy dismembering you both. Slowly."
I hold a fist out to Kerrigan and try to taunt her, "Bring it! Bet you aren't half as tough without your fancy psionics!"
"Is that so?"
I feel something impaling me before I can even move to react, not having even seen Kerrigan move. My legs go numb as I look down, noticing that her strike went right through my lower gut in the middle. Her arm being shoulder deep in my body, and me being not all that thick, I'm pretty sure she just punched through my spine and a good deal of my organs.
I hunch over onto Kerrigan, grabbing her shoulders as a way of supporting my own body. She retracts her fist from my gut and tosses me away. Before I can hit the ground I feel something, likely both her hands clenched together, hit me from a different angle and I crash right into the ground as my ribs shatter.
"Gerolf!" Emily screams out psionically, but I can't exactly see anything as everything has gone dark and starry.
I cough out blood as I feel a stinging pain in my stomach...I hadn't lost a part of my spine yet, so I'm curious if it'll be replaced, but chances are that this will hurt a lot...
Kerrigan's voice calls out away from me, no doubt intended for Emily.
"Don't worry, he's not dead yet. For now though I want to see him bleed out as I finish killing the rest of you myself," she laughs darkly, "And I think I'll start with you, my disobedient pet."
My vision still blurry as I try to force my body up, I can at least tell that Kerrigan is facing the other direction as she leaps at Emily.
Not having a much better plan, I reach to my hip and hope that Pierre had gotten me to restock my grenades as well.
Feeling a familiar device there, I lob it in the direction of the two Zerg from my position on the ground, "Hey, bitch, catch!"
More blood is coughed up from even just saying that. I have to remember not to get other holes punched through me...this feeling sucks, even if I feel the hole starting to close and the pain recede a bit.
My grenade explodes not even one third of its short distance to Kerrigan, catching me inside its radius instead of her as a result. I feel the fire envelop my lower body and a small amount wash over the rest of me.
"Nice try, Terran," Kerrigan responds, not even having turned to watch if the grenade had hurt me or not. I want to laugh, since she no doubt thinks that it harmed me severely...I already lost my legs to a much worse explosion earlier today, so this is nothing…
Fire running over the newly formed hole in my body hurts though, but that pain was brief as the explosion fades. My insides feel scorched now, but at least I can still feel them. Pain in my legs at least lets me know that this gift from Emily is working far beyond my expectations, even if it did cut out on occasion.
My ribs had fixed themselves during all of this but still ache, so everything below my neck hurts me as I rise to my feet and prepare to show Kerrigan the trick I have up my sleeve.
The punch I send flying at the back of her head is caught by her without even looking my way, her psychic abilities no doubt having something to do with that disgrace. Her fist clenches mine and I feel my hand's bones all snap, only to fix themselves and be snapped the next moment.
Kerrigan flips me over her body and slams me into the ground, not trying the slightest in her utter disgrace of me, "Your abilities exceed even what I had predicted," me now inbetween her and Emily, I can see as she looks at my former lieutenant with a sneer, "Tessa, stay put as I break your little boyfriend in two, this time for good."
Not about to just roll over for her, I use my hand that is not being constantly shattered in pain to grab my holstered pistol and I unload it on the standing Kerrigan.
I can see her smile grow as the bullets do nothing, appearing as if they had just deflected off her body.
Well, damnit.
Kerrigan drags me up into the air so that my back is facing her and she shifts her grip so that she is holding my arm behind my back, "Cute. What, did you think that would-"
I consider a burnt arm to be worth activating my jetpack.
The flames burst out and I can hear Kerrigan be startled by the sudden flame, and I feel my arm released as I fling forward a few feet from the force of my jetpack. While freed, I know I didn't likely accomplish anything but just that and quickly find solace landing behind Emily.
I turn around to see Kerrigan completely fine, not a noticeable burn on her. That's one tough bitch, even coming from me.
"Amusing. Did you believe you could harm me?"
Emily doesn't move at all, apparently having listened to Kerrigan for some reason, and I find myself groaning as I realize this won't be a two on one fight. Why is Emily listening to Kerrigan? Can she even openly defy an order? I had seen her do it earlier when-
Wait. Kerrigan doesn't want me to be completely dead for some reason, but something was ordering Emily to kill me before…
Kerrigan's voice stirs me from my thoughts, "You're quite angry, Terran. Are you mad about how I killed your friends? That my hold on the ship is stopping them from saving their own lives?" I can feel my teeth clench as I think of how despite however long I've stalled Kerrigan here that I still can't save my friends, "Or is it how I took your girlfriend and turned her into my slave?"
I move out from behind Emily, the first thing that I notice being that Kerrigan has lifted the ship above the tip of the canyon a good two or three stories. I can only assume this is to cut me off from the others, who I can assume are at least breathing given the gunfire sounding from the ship.
"You must be lonely down here all by yourself. Your friends dying onboard your ship, your former lover unable to help you…" the voice is so...mocking. I feel my blood boil underneath by body as Kerrigan continues to taunt me back, "And to think, this all is happening just because I tipped her off about an outpost on Mar Sara back when I too was a weak Terran. Funny how things work out, isn't it?"
My fists clench as Emily looks over to me, Kerrigan still returning the verbal abuse I had sent her way earlier, "And she was so stupid too! All I needed to do was say that what she and Liberty were looking for was at an outpost, and she went running to it like a lamb to the slaughter. And now look at her. Not the bombshell she once was, is she?"
I want to punch her into nothingness. Slice her body into pieces and light them on fire-
Kerrigan laughs, obviously peeking into my mind, "Fire? I see that I've struck a nerve. What part offended you the most? Her stupidity? Your friends dying as we speak? Or is it that you hate the beast I've turned her into?"
Having had enough, I launch myself at Kerrigan with the sole intent of wiping that smirk off her face.
I don't even get the chance to extend my blades before Kerrigan has sidestepped me and slashed my across the chest, "Your mind is so interesting to read. They teach ghosts how to at such a young age, and the more raw your thoughts are the easier they are to get," I twist around to fly at her again, but this time end up with an elbow digging into my back for my troubles, "I don't even need to try in order to read yours, boy."
The force of her blow makes me tumble in the air, trying to right myself only to to have a scaly fist crash into my head. I try to retaliate, but Kerrigan snaps my elbow at the joint before doing the same to my leg as I bring it up to kick her.
She can tell what I'm about to do faster than I can!
"Get out of my head!" I try bashing her with my head, but she twists around my body and I feel fists with more power than a car crash into my back at a rapid face. My back shatter with the strikes and I cry out in pain, unable to react as her assault continually shatters my bones that control my body.
"And spoil the chance to anger you more during your public humiliation? I do wish to see how your dear Emily reacts to your demise, and the longer it's drawn out the more I can sense her anguish."
I would activate my jetpack again, but it won't turn on. The bitch either damaged it already or is just using her powers to prevent it from doing so...I can't burn her again.
The fists are hitting at likely a thousandth of Kerrigan's power and I can still feel my bones splinter over and over during the demonstration, Kerrigan continually maneuvering around me to impact another spot or leave another gash, "She can't even move because I have made it so. Pathetic, isn't it? Not much of a challenge to fight, but she wouldn't have given one anyways.
I try to twist my body around, only to catch a punch to the throat in my attempt to yell, "Shut! Up!"
The words come out weaker than intended, lower than a whisper, since my voice box was just likely crushed, but my throat feels just fine the next moment. If you are going to kill me, just get it over with you sadistic bitch!
Another punch to the gut sends me reeling and I land by Emily's feet, gasping for air as I try to survive my broken ribs and wrecked body long enough to have them heal.
Kerrigan shakes her head sadly from where she stands, not even moving towards me as I struggle to move, "Terran, why don't you just make this easy on yourself and stop fighting. I'll end your pain then. You are an insignificant ant whose only contribution to this world will be from your death."
"How do you figure that?" I gasp as she begins a slow walk over to me, the pain of all my injuries preventing me from actually rising. The healing has begun to slow down from the rate it was going before...I guess that even it had its own limits. Ones that now mean I can't even stand up.
Just as I gain enough strength to sit up, Kerrigan grabs me by the front of my neck and hoists me up. Our height difference leaves my feet dragging on the ground as she starts to choke me, "When I harvest your body and utilize whatever property it holds that allows you to recover more quickly than even my Roaches do you will be accomplishing more than you ever did here, more than you have anywhere else," she releases the choke as she leans in to me and whispers, "Your essence will spell the creation of stronger Zerg. Die knowing that you'll be the cause more humans die."
"Yo-you make it sound like I'm-" I choke from the air I had been deprived of, "-already not breathing."
The grip tightens again and I feel the bones in the back of my neck begin to snap, "Oh, you are. Your brain just does not seem to realize it yet."
(Present Time, Suuran, Tessa'Fash POV)
I've been a prisoner of my own body, unable to do anything as Kerrigan gleefully tears into Gerolf as if he were nothing more than a ragdoll. I want to step in, I want to fight Kerrigan despite its futility, because I know that I am not walking away from this unless she isn't breathing. I don't care if there are a thousand Zerg surrounding us in a circle, formerly of my own brood given their coloration, if I could fight my Queen I would.
Whatever in the Zerg biology made my minions follow my orders is making me follow hers, and she is not allowing me to do anything. Damn her! Damn this all…if I could do anything to live through this I would.
As if she can hear my thoughts, which she likely can, Kerrigan tosses the asphixiated Gerolf to my feet. I feel a wave of relief wash over my body as I realize that I can move again, even despite the battered mess of a Terran in front of me. His healing had slowed down during the fight, as if he had just run out of it like a car might run out of gasoline…
Kerrigan addresses me with a finger pointed at Gerolf, "Heal him. I wish to test the ability more. Specifically if it can recover psionic wounds," kicking him in the side, she laughs to herself, "I can always try mental torture as well. I doubt it'll help with that, but why not test it anyway?"
Sadistic witch...I consider just stomping on Gerolf's head if it'll stop his misery, but the broken man starts to pull himself up again. How stupid...if he stays down she won't be as apt to harm him.
"Stop...toying with me..." Gerolf coughs, the lower part of his face having been painted red by his constant bleeding.
Kerrigan stomps on his body and sends him right back into the ground, her feet's high-heel appendage stabbing into his body as she stomps again and again, "Why shouldn't I? It is not often I get to test my capabilities against mortals. A downside of being the leader of such a large species, sadly. I take my job seriously unlike that bastard Mengsk."
I follow through with Kerrigan's wishes finally, unable to not do so, and Gerolf's body changes from a broken look to a near-perfect one. Minus the heel impaling him that is.
Gerolf tries to laugh, but only manages to cough more blood onto himself and Kerrigan, "S-still sore that your favorite boss left you for dead? Why would a Zerg care about such human matte-"
"Quite the mouth you have. Will it be so easy to throw insults without your teeth?" Kerrigan darkly inquires before bending over and reaching for his mouth. Gerolf thrashes for a moment before her hand grips his mouth and forces it open, her other hand reaching into his mouth. The yanking movements she makes give me all the idea I need to know about what he's going through right now.
"My my, let's have a look here," I hear Gerolf gurgle in pain, his cry being messed up by Kerrigan's action, "Even your teeth are growing back. Looks painful."
I look down to my Queen and decide that if I can't fight her, for she will no doubt stop me in my tracks again, I can at least try to persuade her, "Why are you doing this? Just end it!"
"And spare you any pain? Oh no, you may have done me a favor in slaying Daggoth's creature, but you did so thinking you were disobeying me. I gave you your traces of free will to allow you to act more freely, but I see I was mistaken,"
Kerrigan slams Gerolf's mouth shut and drags him up again, standing him up only to punch him in the ribs and have him crash into me, "If I only needed your essence, I would have killed you already. But I find that the feature I need to obtain from you allows me to indulge in my more petty side."
I feel Gerolf start to push himself off me, intent of course on continuing this futile fight. He can't physically harm her...I might be able to, but her control over me is too great at the moment.
"Maybe I should reanimate you and your friends to haunt her as I slaughter you all over and over?"
Gerolf growls, otherwise silent as he stumbles forward. He is barely able to walk despite his recovered state, the constant healing taking its toll on him despite his body's improved state of being.
Kerrigan scoffs as he almost falls before reaching her, "Come on, not so talkative now are you? The sooner you give in, the sooner I can get her punishment over with. What do you say?"
"Damn...you…" Gerolf rasps from near the ground, having fallen onto his knees as she spoke.
So this is what awaits every Terran who lives in the sector...a broken spirit and body, followed quickly by death. That is not a fate I wish to bestow upon myself...I'd rather live in this body and serve Kerrigan than actually die again.
Kerrigan tsks at Gerolf's profanity, "I do hate rude men. I could always read their minds after all. See what makes their minds tick."
With a grin, the tyrant grabs him by the forehead and softly states, "How about we see what goes through that thick head of yours."
Whereas Gerolf had been growing more quiet, he began to scream in pain as Kerrigan's psionic powers worked their magic on his brain. His hands shoot to his head as he yells, fingers burrowing into his long hair.
I reach out to Kerrigan as I watch this, "What are you doing to him? Haven't you done enough?"
"Just letting his worst memories come to the surface, but I didn't ask for your opinion," my Queen continues to torment him for a moment until he goes silent, his shoulders slumping and head going limp. I can tell she's annoyed by this through her tone as she lets go and he falls flat down on the grass beneath us, "I'll admit that such a broken husk is no fun to torture. He won't be getting up for some time, and I have things to occupy my time with."
Kerrigan starts to walk towards me, but weak movement from Gerolf catches her interest again as he starts to move a hand forward on the ground.
And to think this was the prideful man who so nearly killed me earlier today before we made our peace.
Gerolf jumps to his feet in a frenzy and sends a fist at Kerrigan, blade extending from his gauntlet. It almost catches her in the forehead, but a hand gripping his forearm stops it from doing so. Gerolf cries out as Kerrigan crushes his arm, twisting the limb so that it is facing outward and no longer pointing at her head.
"Not done yet? I guess we'll have to change that won't we."
My eyes open wide as a small creature appears in Kerrigan's open hand as if out of thin air, my Queen cackling, "This should do. A mindless, infested Terran who will do nothing but cause you more pain. I do like the sound of that."
Would that thing...infest Gerolf? So that Kerrigan could do this for the rest of time?
I find my back arm swinging down at them before I even think about it, my aim not being for Kerrigan.
Gerolf screams as my giant limb slashes through his arm and cleaves it off from the elbow down, his body falling back as the other half of the limb is dropped by Kerrigan as she jumps a back defensively.
She sneers, but I sense something else in her voice...respect, "Quite the brutal solution. Not willing to strike me, you disarmed him quite literally? You're not hopeless after all it seems. I'd have gone for a killing strike though, either on him or I. Just where do your loyalties lie I wonder?"
I move forward and place myself between the two of them, Gerolf having caught himself before he fell down, "I only wish to serve you my Queen, so I beg of you, end this now or I will."
To demonstrate my point, I hold my backlimb up to Gerolf's throat threateningly. This only warrants a laugh from my Queen however to my consternation.
"Weak beast, listen to yourself. Half of you is pleading, half is being assertive. I am not interested in having a weak willed keeper of my forces, so either step up or wait until I am done here and for your own turn."
Heeding her words, and taking them as permission to strike her, I flip the limb from threatening Gerolf to swinging at her.
She dodges it, only for me to lower my shoulders and fire my spines at her. She is unable to directly avoid them in time, so instead she uses her power to send them hurtling elsewhere.
All this warrants a smirk from her as I press the assault, "Better."
I continue to fire off rounds of my spines in between strikes at her, my strikes all being deflected or avoided as she just smugly shows off her ability. She's not even trying and I can tell, but that doesn't mean I can't try. Losing this will likely mean death, so why not at least put my all into it?
After almost what feels like a minute of assaulting her, none of my strikes have actually made any contact. I still keep attacking however, but something changes, and that something is that Gerolf tries to rejoin the fight despite being woefully outclassed. The only reason I hadn't killed him in our fight was my own emotions, not out of a lack of ability. And my Queen is above even me…
He can't change this fate he's been given, and yet he is trying so desperately to do so.
Kerrigan seems to be just as disappointed, "You should just relax. This is a fight between more powerful beings, Terran," she blocks his strike and blasts him back with a psionic wave, his body crumbling on the ground once more, "Rest, you sad failure."
I take this distraction for all its worth and come close to striking her this time, sailing right over her shoulder with a lunge from my back arm. Kerrigan retaliates now by batting the limb away, the pain reminding me of how I lost the other, "Whatever did you see in him?" she scoffs mockingly.
Remembering something Gerolf had said before, I send the banter back, "I don't know, what do you see in a drunken fool?"
This causes Kerrigan to seethe, actually striking back this time instead of toying with me. I block it but feel my arm that did so shatter, "Don't joke about what you don't know, wretch."
I let the broken front limb hang limply as I counter, actually striking her side and knocking her back this time, "I could say the same to you, my Queen."
I feel her next strike impale my side, her anger rising from my words and how I hit her, "With Abathur having copied your structure, what reason do I have for keeping you around now? You are too irresponsible to trust, and quite frankly not worth the hassle."
I return a hit again, not accomplishing much in terms of damage but at least pushing her back is accomplished, "How many other test subjects did you have? How many others did this fail for? I had something you wanted, just like Gerolf does now. And while I won't let you use him, I will serve you. These circumstances just worked against me, my Queen, and are quite unrepeatable. And they will be after I kill him."
"Oh, as if you would kill him."
I narrow my eyes at her as she keeps her distance. I've actually hit her twice now, something I doubt would have been possible when she first assaulted the ship...which is still being held by her nearby in place. That can't be easy for such an extended period of time, "I would put him down if it meant you couldn't harm him any more."
This seems to catch her interest, "Kill him and I'll reconsider ending your life."
I raise a brow as I prepare myself for another attack, "And what if I manage to kill you? Don't think I haven't noticed how your movements have slowed since this began, my Queen."
Kerrigan glances down at her hands amusedly, "Oh yes, exhaustion. Such a foreign concept to me these days. I suppose beating on someone while simultaneously halting a starship in mid air would get tiring," she glances over to the starship and then back at me, the most smug look on her face I've seen so far, "But even if I was reduced to a single percent of my power it would be enough to finish you. That's the difference between you mortals and I."
"Don't include me among their group. I can hold my own!" I yell, but don't strike as it is when she is on the offensive I am most likely to hit her.
"Is that how you managed to lose a limb to pathetic Terrans? Oh please, you're just one of my many lab rats, and one that I must cut loose at that."
It is right after these words are said that she leaps at me again, striking at me faster than I could hope to retaliate, "I am stronger than you," my own strike passes right by her as she snaps my remaining front arm, "Faster than you," she flips over me and lands on my lower abdomen, where she grabs my only remaining limb and twists it, causing me extreme pain as I feel its bones break too, "and smarter than you," she kicks off my back and lands behind me, "So stop this foolish fighting."
I feel my body begin to heal the broken limbs, but it is not as fast as Gerolf's recovery and I am left defenseless as I turn to face Kerrigan again, "And just roll over so you can do whatever you want to me? Not a chance!"
She shakes her head, "I daresay his boldness is rubbing off on you. A sad improvement. Must you really waste our energy?"
"It's not a waste if I buy our lives with it," I hiss, my limbs beginning to feel as if they are in their regular state again. This being done, I charge at her and fire simultaneously. She leaps backward in the thought that I was going to punch or strike her, but my charge continues and I slam my body into her. With another volley being shot right after, I actually almost hit her with my poisonous spines...if not for her emitting a powerful burst of energy that sweeps me and my spines away from her.
"I'm almost impressed, it seems you've picked up a few things since I left you here."
That gives me an idea. Kerrigan goes on the offensive again, only to find her back quickly assaulted by spines not belonging to me.
"What the-?"
She turns to see that a couple of the Hydralisks in her forces are firing at her, her face contorting in anger as she realizes I stole them back.
"They were originally my brood until you took their reigns. All I have to do is focus to regain control of some of them!"
Kerrigan holds a hand out to the two Hydralisks I seized and they both explode into piles of gore, "All I have to do is think and they die. See Tessa'Fash? That's you if you don't convince me to spare your life in the next five minutes."
"Not a chance!" a familiar male voice yells. I turn to see Gerolf charging at Kerrigan, only for her to sidestep him and send a chop to his neck that sends him crashing into the ground. He doesn't stay down for long, quickly jumping to his feet and resuming his assault.
Two-on-one...better than how things were before.
Kerrigan still easily avoids Gerolf's attacks, which I notice he is doing with two full arms, "Oh, good, you're up and even have a new arm. I'll admit I was afraid I had broken my new punching bag. How was your time in your own personal hell?"
He growls, causing Kerrigan to retort, "That good? You're welcome. Now, child, the adults are fighting. Be good and stay out of our way."
She blasts him back with some of her energy, his body being tossed so far back that he lands nearby the Zerg wall that is formed around this whole area. A sick arena of sorts.
My Queen nods to the few Zerg he is by and orders with a small gesture, "Kill him."
My eyes widen and I growl as I take advantage of her turned body, "I thought you wanted to torture him."
She still easily blocks my strike despite her turned body, only to send a jolt of what feels like electricity coursing through my body, "Oh, I don't expect them to succeed given his track record. I just want a moment to discipline you so you can tell what you're in for later."
(Present Time, Suuran, Hunter POV)
We did it...we had beat back the Zerg on the ship with the help of the militia, but a lot of good it does us. Mac and Pierre are down, some of the militiamen died in their retaliation, Kerrigan is mopping the floor with our leader without even trying, and we are stuck so high up in the air we can't go down to help him.
The militia decided to tend to one another as James and I gaze through our ship's broken hull at the scene below us, with Kerrigan now fighting our old lieutenant's mutated form. Kerrigan is mopping the floor with her, and this honestly won't go much better than Gerolf's attempt.
Beside me James is on his knees crying, having since long run out of suit energy to heal us and the militia soldiers and no longer having something to preoccupy him from having a nervous breakdown.
The medic has tears running down his face as he watches the scene unfold, "This...this isn't right! We're the good guys...we're watching as she kills our friends, but we're stuck up here without a way of helping. And when they die she'll come back to finish us...this isn't fair!"
I silently nod, knowing that there is little we can accomplish. Any gunfire from our range could do more harm than good, and it would only draw attention to us and likely get us all killed. Besides, nothing we could throw at Kerrigan would likely hurt her.
James pounds his fist on the ground, his eyes and cheeks red from his desperation, "No! After everything we've been through we can't just die like this! We've been through so much together...this can't be the end!"
I want to say something to comfort him, but there is nothing I can offer that will do so. We're doomed given our current hand.
"James...move."
I glance behind me to where the voice came from only to notice that it's Pierre, standing despite the crimson outlining his chest armor and facemask. James is just as surprised and instantly kicks his medical gear on.
"Pierre? How are you standing?!" James exclaims, a different kind of tears running down his face now.
Our best marksman shrugs as he gestures to something he has dragged behind him, "If you wouldn't mind, patch me up while I prepare this."
I look over to what is there behind him and it looks like a giant gun, but I can't tell much more than that. It has cords running from it to elsewhere in the ship, making me think Pierre has been hooking it up while we've been watching this unfold. Damn silent man, not letting us know he's still alive and in need of medical help...
"The hell is that thing?" I question, wondering just what the hell he's doing lugging it over here.
"Experimental laser cannon we stole. Requires too much energy to fire on foot from my previous calculations," He violently hacks up more blood into his already crimson mask, "But we're...we're not using most of our ship's power right now. Just the engines."
I realize what he means as he reaches down and picks the large gun up and lifts it onto his shoulder. He looks into a scope on the side of it that levels out at his eye level, "Ten percent…"
James objects to this as he finally gets his medical gear going, the beam of anti-death washing over Crowley as the sniper prepares to fire down at the battlefield below, "Pierre, let me handle it, you need to rest. I don't want to lose you too."
Pierre coughs again, doing his best to not drop the machine, "You're not looking too great yourself...and I'm the better shot."
I have no true dexterity in this suit of mine, so wielding such a weapon would be impossible for me and Pierre is right: if we're going to do something stupid like open fire on the Queen of Blades, the shot better count, "Let him be, James."
James continues to heal Crowley for all that it will do, our sniper's wounds no doubt being fatal and our medic's attempts only slowing his death, but he doesn't pipe up again as Pierre continues to steady the experimental weapon,"Fifteen percent…" he coughs again, but forces his body to remain still despite the pain he must be feeling so that his aim is true, "Target acquired."
I hate having to rely on something we stole and know so little about...it could blow up the ship for all we know, but the other tech has been working out great for us so we might as well give this thing a shot...literally.
I grunt as I observe the fight below us, Kerrigan completely wrecking the lieutenant with both physical and psionic strikes but never going for a killing blow, "I wish my grenades had a greater range. We're too high up for me to be of any use given their inaccuracy. My targeting systems were damaged too when I fought the Roaches on the ground, so no chance of me being any help."
"Heh, who'd have thought we lowly mercs would get a break like this?" Pierre states with a small laugh before hacking multiple times, "Forty percent."
I glance to our sniper, "Be careful when you fire. Gerolf's still down there. He can make it back to the ship-"
"Our non-airtight ship that isn't spaceworthy anymore," Pierre notes.
"Point taken. Things are bad, but let's handle one thing at a time."
A minute passes by in silence before I hear Pierre's weak voice again, "It's ready…"
Here we go...the moment of truth I suppose...
We better not explode from this damn thing.
(Present Time, Suuran, Tessa'Fash POV)
My Queen knocks me over onto my side and I try to right myself, only for her to send a hard punch into my gut. This fight had not been going my way as she gradually held back less and less...
"We're done here for now. Now stay put and watch as I finish eviscerating your friend," she calls to me as she casually strolls away from me and towards wherever Gerolf has been.
I finish getting up, my entire body aching, but my attention leaves Kerrigan as a loud noise appears nearby. I turn to look at the source as Kerrigan does the same.
"What the hell is that noise-?"
She never finished as the cause, a beam of light coming from the mercenary ship about four feet in diameter, crashed into her. Kerrigan manages to dodge it slightly, the beam enveloping her lower half, but it envelopes that part of her entirely and I can almost imagine what is inside it: nothing. There is no way that my Queen could be unscathed by-
The beam fades and my eyes twitch at how Kerrigan's legs and lower abdomen appear nothing more than a little singed. She notices how shocking this is to me and laughs, "That tickled. How interesting though, I hadn't expected them to fight off those forces on the ship," she lifts a hand up towards the ship and she clenches it, "Their toy must go though."
I see an explosion on board the ship and worry just who was caught in its blast, worrying that whoever survived the onslaught just lost their life for nothing.
Kerrigan turns her attention back to Gerolf, who is standing and not actively doing anything, as if he is just recovering from what he was subjected to minutes ago, "Now, Terran, I believe I was going to resume killing you."
Gerolf realizes the time for rest is over and charges with his jetpack straight at Kerrigan, yelling as he tries to hit her right in the head.
Instead she stops his entire charge just by holding up a hand, his entire body coming to a halt as her psionic abilities effect him. So that's what it is like to have true psionic power...I am a small fry in comparison to that.
Kerrigan sends him flying back, amused by how he is limited to such a simplistic and easy to counter strategy, "Why fight so ardently when you know the outcome? You're a rebel without a cause, mercenary."
Gerolf runs on foot this time, not using his jetpack for some reason, and sends a bladed fist at Kerrigan that she blocks with a finger, "I don't know…but if I have nothing to lose, I'd rather go down fighting for my family than just let you trounce us all."
I can see her as she rolls her eyes and groans, "The family speech. Oh dear, how many times have I encountered that?" she holds her free hand up to his chest and I see visible energy begin to swirl around it, "I think I just lost my interest in beating on you anymore.
Gerolf tries to leap back in time to dodge it, but the blast tears straight through the center of his chest and leaves a hole the size of four fists. I call out his name as he falls first to his knees and then to the ground, his heart having no doubt been torn straight from his body.
Kerrigan begins to laugh at the corpse, only to cut off her laughter as she sees the skin begin to knit back together. I too am shocked as I see his instant-death wound fix itself at a rapid pace, only for him to start crawling up to his feet a second later.
Kerrigan growls, "How are you able to recover from that? Even with the healing, that should have struck through your heart-" her eyes catch something just as the skin finishes setting that changes her expression from one of anger to one of amusement, "Your innards aren't Terran...my my, you really are something. There could be worse additions to my horde. Time to be infested, Terran. I'll have you live to see the changes."
Gerolf now finishes his previous movement, leaping back with his jetpack with as much speed as he can muster, "No way I'm going to let that happen, Kerrigan!"
"I wasn't asking," she states as she lifts a hand out and sends another psionic blast at Gerolf, this one tearing through his side cleanly, "I think Abathur will enjoy taking a look at whatever it is that makes you so spirited, as well as quick to heal. It would be a shame if other Terrans were to gain such a power, so I'll just have to reclaim it for the Swarm."
Gerolf hovers in the air as he yells down to my Queen, "Well come and get me, Kerrigan!"
"I admit humiliating you like this is quite enjoyable. Nothing you do can even hurt me. Stop fighting it, Terran," I see Kerrigan recreate the infesting creature she had conjured before as she, "Your new home is welcoming you."
"I won't stop fighting until I'm six feet under!" Gerolf yells as he takes his pistols out again and open fires on her, a pretty useless action if I do say so myself.
Kerrigan uses her free hand to send an entire wave of energy at Gerolf that sends him tumbling through the air, only for her to then jump up to his height and use a haymaker that slams him hurtling towards the ground, "That can be arranged, but I would rather you be alive to feel your body twist and change into what it will be for the rest of your existence."
"This isn't the way things are supposed to happen..." Gerolf groans from the crater he made in the ground as Kerrigan lands besides him, taking her time with punch after punch to his abdomen.
From my position I groan, once again having to obey her orders and being unable to interfere, "Please, my Queen, stop this!"
Kerrigan groans too, hers much more exasperated than my own, "I will reward your begging with more pain. And to think I was about to be merciful and end this. Now his suffering will end when you end it for him. It seems he can regenerate from even the most grievous of wounds if they don't kill him outright. I'll make him suffer until you do."
As soon as she finishes saying this two Hydralisks move in my way and assault me, their scythe-limbs swinging at me and trying to kill me.
I begin to fight the two of them off, my back limb being far stronger than their own limbs, but I realize that Kerrigan is now just stopping me from actually following through on the condition she gave for his death, "I...I can't if I can't get to him! Stop sending your minions to get in the way!"
Kerrigan kicks Gerolf into the air from the ground and punches his lifted body, his limp form careening away, "That's enough! He's suffered enough!" I yell as I impale a Hydralisk in the head, its partner nicking me in the side with its limb but not penetrating the carapace very much.
Gerolf recovers partially from this and uses the time he is flying away to activate his jetpack and avoid her next strike, quickly putting himself far away from her. I finish killing the one Hydralisk and remove my backarm from its neck, still being sliced into by the other, "Stop this my Queen! I told you to stop it! I'll finish him, just let me!"
Kerrigan snorts as she sends two Roaches over my way now, "You have to take what you want, Tessa'Fash. I've observed you fight off a much larger creature, so what's the difficulty of facing two?" Kerrigan and I both notice that Gerolf has stopped trying to put distance between himself and her, "Oh look, I think I broke it again. Not even running anymore."
I slap the Hydralisk away and fire spines at the incoming Roaches, crying out to the Terran soldier who appears to be waiting for death, "What are you doing!? Gerolf, run! Run away!"
"Sorry Emily, this fight really was the only thing I could think of to save the others, and I have nothing left to throw at her…" he braces himself as Kerrigan charges right at him, "Bring it Kerrigan!"
I watch as she punches him right in the gut, her fist almost coming out the other end, and she grips him by the neck with her infestation creature in hand.
All of this effort to change how things would go and I still failed...
(Present Time, Suuran, Hunter POV)
Lucky for the three of us, we knew to run for cover the moment Pierre finished firing. After that total failure at actually harming Kerrigan we threw in the towel so to speak, just watching as she finished annihilating our leader and former leader.
Now that Gerolf stopped fighting Kerrigan though, James is yelling his head off to my ear's discomfort.
"What is he thinking? The ship's beginning to break free! If he runs we can all make it out alive!"
James is right. The ship had begun to move on its own accord in the past few seconds, seeming to indicate that Kerrigan was losing control over it. Even the most powerful psionic user couldn't use them forever after all, and now we're actually about to get free. If she doesn't notice, implode the ship and kill us all that is.
But I can tell what Gerolf is doing. He noticed the ship beginning to break free, and knows that if Kerrigan sees it doing so we'll all be killed by either her or her forces. As is, all her attention is on him, quite nearby the ship in fact, and so we have a shot at escaping.
"He has no desire to escape. He wants us to," I comment, trying to calm James with the knowledge that our leader is letting himself die for our sake.
"But we can't just leave him! Kerrigan will kill him!"
Pierre speaks up next, his coughing having calmed down some since James had the opportunity to treat him more, "And if that gives us the resolve to finally leave this place and not throw our own lives away, he'll make sure just that happens. Especially if it drains Kerrigan of her energy and stalls her for time."
I look over to our supply crates and think something over for a moment.
Mind decided, I go over to them and start rifling through them for spare ammunition.
This wasn't over just yet.
(Present Time, Suuran, Tessa'Fash POV)
Gerolf managed to shoot the creature Kerrigan tried to inject him with, accomplishing something for once with those damn pistols right before she tossed him towards the cliff in anger. Kerrigan summoned up another such creature though before holding out her other hand towards him and growling.
"I tire of physical combat, it is time to do things my way."
Electricity bursts forth from her hand and crashes into Gerolf, forcing him back as the force slams into him. She continues to shoot it and increases its intensity as it forces him more and more towards the cliff, almost sending him off it in fact until he impales the ground with his remaining blade. She continues to blast away at him as he tries to scramble to his feet, but I can see on his body that the bolts are taking their toll.
His skin is tearing and completely withered in places, his very body being torn apart faster than he seems able to regenerate it. I try to shoot my spines at Kerrigan from my position, only for the Roaches she sent to me to intercept them and act as if they weren't hurt in the slightest.
Kerrigan laughs as Gerolf slowly pulls himself to his feet, using his now bent and broken blade to hold his spot on the ground.
"Standing up again? You don't get it, do you?"
Gerolf slowly trudges towards her, arms crossed in front of him and taking the brunt of the energy being thrown at him. Kerrigan growls a bit as she notices her attack isn't doing as much to him as she had hoped, so she turns up the notch again. Gerolf, head buried in his arms and looking downward, falls to the ground after this...but his fall seems more planned than Kerrigan probably had hoped.
"The pain too much to bear? Good, you can stay there while I-"
Gerolf had closed two thirds of the relatively short distance to Kerrigan at this point and got up again, his right arm tucked underneath his left armpit. He continues his death march towards her as Kerrigan laughs at his flaying skin, the image bringing back bad memories for me...
My Queen stops laughing when Gerolf's jetpack activates and sends him flying at her at a much greater speed, closing the small gap left as he swings his broken blade at her.
She avoids that strike, but not the other one that she hadn't seen coming.
Hidden behind his body and arm, Gerolf had picked up his dismembered right arm from before with his regenerated one, and the blade on it was still extended. When he fell he must have grabbed it…or rather, that is why he fell. To trick her.
The blade on this one doesn't get a clean hit, only glancing off of her cheek and slicing into some of the hair tendrils on her before he passes by her completely.
Gerolf doesn't keep flying by, instead stopping only a few feet from Kerrigan and turning around just as she does to look at her. He grins as he notices something on her face, other than complete rage.
"You're no god Kerrigan...not if I can make you bleed..." he mutters before collapsing, that stunt having drained everything he had. His speed and the object's sharpness had managed to leave a mark on her just like how it had cleaved my own limb off.
"And a good lot it'll do you," Kerrigan mutters to the defeated foe as she lifts him up again, "It is such a task to keep ahold of you, foolish man. I am pleased that nuisance of a task is over though."
(Present Time, Suuran, Hunter POV)
"Our ship is gaining ground," Pierre states as he looks over our controls that weren't damaged beyond repair, "If this fight lasts much longer we might just...ju…"
The sniper collapses on the ground, quite possibly dead or comatose, and I wave James over to him.
"Take care of him, James," I prepare my entire payload of grenades as I speak to him, walking towards the hull breach, "I will stay and buy Gerolf a chance to escape. It is best that way."
James' eyes widen as he runs towards Pierre's fallen body, "But how can you fight her? She's a monster!"
I turn my head towards him and grin underneath my helmet. I've made my choice, "I only need to stall her long enough for him to run and catch up to the ship with his jetpack. My concussion grenades should do the job just fine."
"Good luck! I bet you can put that bitch in the ground!" James responds to me nervously, not sure probably if he believes himself.
"I'm not sure about that, but I've enjoyed serving with you and the others. You guys are like family, even if I haven't really told you that before," right before I leap off and fall a few stories, a distance I hope my suit can take, I look again at James and state, "You're not as bad as we joke."
With that, I take a jump that hopefully won't shatter my legs. These suits were designed to drop from Dropships though, right?
With that in mind, I aim my fall for a specific spot on the ground.
(Present Time, Suuran, Tessa'Fash POV)
The sight of a large black object falling from the ship caught my eye the moment I finished disemboweling the last Roach Kerrigan cared to throw at me, and it took me no time to recognize it...
Wow, its like Hunter is heading right for her. Either he's gone insane, or he's got something up his sleeve...
"Kerrigan, you monster, I won't let you infest me-!" Gerolf cries out as Kerrigan lifts him up and creates a new infestor-thing.
"I don't believe you have much of a choice, mercenary. You'll thank me later, if your mind survives the process-"
Her words were cut off by a ton of black metal crashing down on top of her, no doubt softening his impact somewhat. Crushed into the ground, Kerrigan yells in pain under the weight on top of her.
Gerolf recovered himself after Kerrigan no longer held him, but his eyes went wide as he saw just why she did so, "What the-Hunter? What are you doing?"
Hunter removes his giant feet from Kerrigan and lowers a cannon so that it is facing her, "Buying you a chance to run. Go now!"
"Hunter, she'll kill you!" Gerolf yells as Hunter opens fire on the fallen monster, Gerolf narrowly avoiding the blast as he blasts himself backwards with his jetpack. I try to rush over to the area, not knowing what exactly to do in the situation.
Gerolf isn't running though, instead staring at Kerrigan being blasted into the ground by his old friend with a slack jaw. Hunter yells to him as he continues to fire, "If my grenades can slow down an Ultralisk, I think I can stall her a bit. Go! I didn't come down here to chat!"
This being said, Kerrigan emerges from the new hole in the ground and reveals herself to be a slight bit charred, her face completely pissed, "I actually felt that. It has been awhile since someone has actually made me feel pain."
"Let me oblige you again!" Hunter yells as he opens fire again, this grenade catching Kerrigan straight in the chest, "For Mac, here's a one way ticket straight to hell you monster!"
The blast knocks Kerrigan back, and another a split second later knocks her off her feet. The giant suit housing Hunter charges after her reeling body, grabbing her fallen form by the legs and by the face and bringing it down on top of his armored knee.
I reach the overall area, where Gerolf is still watching intently, as a sick crack can be heard just before Hunter tosses my Queen down on the ground and lowers both his cannons at her. He opens fire on my Queen at point blank range, the blast enveloping where she lay on the ground and covering the whole spot in fire that obscures my view.
What follows however is not something of my imagination, as I see explosion after explosion for what seems to be half a minute in rapid fire all where my Queen lay.
Holy-
He may just do it.
What happens if she dies?
What do I do?
Should I stop him? I feel an urge to do so as he fires away at her, but he stops soon after the thought comes to mind. Was it over? Is she dead?
Hunter looks up to where his boss is still standing around and I can tell through his voice that he is pissed off, "Gerolf, leave with the others! Kerrigan may be wounded, but she definitely is not dead!"
Hunter IS the one with the best sensing equipment I believe...so she's not dead, and she is going to be very pissed now.
Damnit!
Beside me Gerolf scoffs at Hunter, gesturing towards the giant crater Hunter has created on the plains, "Are you kidding me? With your firepower, and my blast charges, there is no way she'll be getting up again!" Gerolf tilts his head back in laughter at the thought, "The infamous Queen of Blades, killed because she thought she was fighting some regular Terrans!"
The ground behind him erupts into boulders in every direction as I watch my Queen appear from the earth, leaping up from the ground to impale Gerolf right through the back of his chest.
"How the hell-?" he mutters as Kerrigan tosses him aside, only to then dash right at Hunter.
"RUN!" the behemoth in black yells to Gerolf, who is currently struggling on the ground in an attempt to get up. His wound is healing as quickly as before, but even then he is still subject to all the issues and pain of having a hole in your chest.
Kerrigan tries to impale Hunter as well, my guess being that her psionic abilities are running dry, but is met with a grenade to the face for her efforts. The blast knocks her back and even twists her around just enough for Hunter to reverse the charge on her, wrapping both of his large bulky arms around her.
Hunter roars as he struggles to hold onto the wildly thrashing form of my Queen, who is so hurt and tired that she is unable to break through with ease, "I'll bring you down with me! My self destruct system will end this!"
"Let go of me you brute!" Kerrigan yells as Hunter's armor begins to rumble, but the explosion doesn't occur right away. Gerolf is still getting up nearby, so I bet he's holding off the explosion for Gerolf to run.
Gerolf gets up finally and looks at Hunter's position with tears in his eyes, his face showing just how pissed he is at himself for how overconfident he got. He turns around and starts up his jetpack, intent on flying up and away while also not watching.
He holds a hand out to me so we can take off together, like we did earlier today…
I don't take it. He hovers for a few more seconds until he realizes my decision, quickly bolting up and away to leave us all behind.
This is the point that Kerrigan's thrashing succeeds however, and she wrestles an arm out of Hunter's control. The second she does this I see Gerolf's jetpack explode in the air, my gaze falling to where she is as I can't look above.
"Damnit, no!" Hunter yells, his waiting having been for nothing.
Kerrigan uses her free arm to now point at a hole in Hunter's armor, "You are discharged from service, soldier."
The whole she blasts through him is much greater than the one she shot through Gerolf before, and I watch as Hunter's armor crumbles off of him after the shot. Kerrigan jumps free from him and brushes herself off before letting out a breath of relief.
"Now, to finish the ship-" she lifts an arm up and starts to charge energy up to shoot at it, but she is interrupted before she finishes by something grabbing her leg.
"No…" Hunter weakly cries as the ship begins to move at its normal pace and escape.
My Queen lowers the energy she was aiming at the ship straight at Hunter's head. I close my eyes as I hear the blast go off, and when I open them the place where Hunter's head should be is missing.
"See where your heroics got you?" Kerrigan chides playfully, "That was by no means as easy as I would have thought. Your Terran friends certainly know how to fight. I can't believe I forgot what the Protoss taught me about my pride..." she closes her eyes thoughtfully and laughs, "Then again, their own pride cost them one of their own. They haven't escaped yet."
"You not going with them cost them both their lives, and possibly saved me from some...discomfort," "Thank you, beast. Your deciding to embrace the swarm has won you your life."
I'm not dying. No matter what it takes.
I bow down to her, glad that she realized my intentions with not leaving, "I live to serve, My Queen."
"Come. We have a shuttle to catch. I'll finish your punishment later," she laughs to herself, "Besides, I have all I need now for Abathur's study."
Previously forgotten, beside her lays the discarded arm once belonging to a soldier I loved named Gerolf Rabe.
A/N: Thank you all for reading the chapter! Yeah...a lot happened, and a lot is going to happen. Things pick up right here next chapter, so you all have to deal with this cliffhanger for now. And, for whoever was worried during the chapter, since I am following canon Kerrigan can't die. She's the damn Queen of Blades anyways, so she won't be brought down by any normal means anyways.
I'm going to leave another special thanks to longtime reviewer Blackhole1 who always is there to leave great feedback and thoughts after each chapter thus far, so thank you for your tireless efforts in helping this story!
Anyways, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts below, so please leave a review! It'll make a college student's day, I promise!
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