Live For The Swarm Chapter 4, a starcraft fanfic

101101101- Yeah, this is most likely the last chapter. I didn't want to leave the story hanging, but it's hard to write for a semi main character without disrupting the continuity of the StarCraft timeline. I may continue, but only if I can come up with some scenario that won't mess with the StarCraft story. We'll see.

Ben was face to face with the Executor himself. He had walked straight through the hallucinations of the great Protoss templar, avoiding the pointless distractions and constantly focused on his enemy. Tassadar readied his mind, Ben readied his claws. One of them wasn't going to walk away.

Two hours previous…

The overlord unraveled its tentacles. Ben dropped to the ground and landed in a crouched position.

"Find Tassadar and destroy him. He is their leader and their guide, without him the Protoss defenses will crumbled under our might." said the Overmind. "What is Kerrigan's position? How close is she?" asked Ben. "She is battling the Protoss far from you position. It was my hope that our forces could flank the great templar, but the remainder of the swarm is with her. You have no reinforcements, but your path should be relatively clear, as the Protoss warriors are tied up with Kerrigan. Begin your mission my child, time is of great importance" replied the Overmind. Ben wasted no time and within seconds had begun to sprint.

It was within a short while that Ben encountered the first Protoss. Two photon cannons and a squad of zealots bottle necked the entrance to a larger outpost several miles in the distance. Ben questioned whether he should try for a surprise attack or not, but the photon cannons would eliminate any element of surprise Ben had. But while he was pondering, he noticed a strange building in between the two defense cannons. The building had the appearance of a diamond, with a golden band running its circumference. It was housing no men, and did not appear to be posing a threat.

But this was when Ben discovered its purpose. A Protoss probe was attempting to construct a new building, but was having difficulty. Whenever the ball of energy formed, it dissipated, and the probe moved closer to the diamond. It did this several times, before the energy finally sustained its shape,

"Power" Ben said in his mind.

Ben began his assault. The photon cannons rose and immediately shot small balls of energy at Ben. The zealots readied themselves and turned on the power to their energy blades. Ben leaped and ducked, over and under the two projectiles. He landed near the probe and tore the robot into two, wires and metal exploding outwards. He began to claw the newly forming building, racing against time to disable it before it became active. Two more balls of energy shot at Ben. He ducked and the spheres hit the massive ball of forming energy. All three spheres scattered into vapor. Ben focused on the diamond structure. He ran at it full speed and unleashed a massive kick. He clawed at it furiously and finally the building shattered. The shards of crystal exploded, and the cannons descended back into their bases. By this time the zealots were closing in on Ben, forming a circle around the lone Zerg. At once they charged, and the fight had begun.

Ben kicked backward and collapsed the armor of one zealot. He punched to the right and left simultaneously, but the warriors ducked. Two zealots swung at the Zerg and he crouched. He grabbed the arm of one and broke it clean in two. Ben threw the injured alien at another zealot, and the two fell to the ground. Ben spun to the left, narrowly avoiding an energy blade. He kicked a zealot in his chest and leaped into the air. Ben did a back flip and brought his legs up. He bludgeoned a warrior with his legs, directly hitting the man in his skull, crushing it. A de-armed zealot repeatedly swung at Ben, hoping to avenge his lost limb. Ben grabbed its other arm and brought the blade into its own chest. The zealot fell to the ground and Ben picked up one its legs with both arms. He began to swing the warrior around, faster and faster until the zealot was horizontal. Ben released and the alien flew into another injured man. Ben tackled a zealot to the ground and pummeled the beast to death. Ben rolled to the side, and dodged an energy blade. He got up only to be struck in the arm by another. Ben shed blood, but did not seem to care. He kicked the zealot in his face and the dead man flew backwards several feet. Ben hit another warrior in his stomach with a swift knee, and uppercut the beast in its face. The final zealot approached Ben. "Foolish warrior aren't you? Your comrades have fallen, yet you still dare to approach me." said Ben telepathically. "The Protoss are not cowards. We fight to the death." it replied. "Very well." said Ben. The zealot swung his energy blade, but the attack was futile. Ben clutched its arm and with his other hand grabbed the man's throat, suffocating it to death, slowly. The Zerg dropped its victim and resumed his mission.

The entrance to the large base was clear and Ben began to sprint again. He wasted no time at all, but soon found himself blocked off by something even he dared not approach.

Ben had fearlessly fought whatever he came across. He had crushed goliaths, ripped apart siege tanks and slaughtered Terran, Zerg or Protoss, whatever race he happened to be fighting. But what stood before him was something that made him question his own strength.

The massive ball of white and blue towered above everything else. Its head sat atop the cloud, and its arms protruded beyond its shape. It hovered over the molten ground of Char, ready to destroy whatever it came across. It was more of a God than a creature.

Ben stepped forward, awaiting to see what the being would do next. The cloud-like figure turned slowly and stared straight at his enemy.

"Power overwhelming!" it said telepathically. Its voice contained not a trace of fear.

Ben did not reply. He only stepped forward once again. The entity approached him slowly, waiting for Ben to do the first move. Ben knew this would be his greatest battle yet, but Tassadar lay on the other side of the gargantuan, and Ben wanted to finish the mission. The archon moved forward again and raised his arms. The battle had begun.

Ben rolled to the side and a beam of energy shot in his wake. He ran at full speed, trying to run around the creature. Ben reached the other side and punched straight at the archon. His hand burned as it entered the cloud, and Ben pulled it out quickly. The archon turned around and faced the Zerg once again. Ben stood in front of the entity, desperately thinking of a way to injure the being. His hands were the only weapons he possessed, if they failed him…he had lost. The archon raised it arms and readied its beam of energy.

And it was then that Ben had a final idea.

The beam shot down and Ben leaped forward, straight into the archon. His flesh scorched and pain filled his body as he ran through the cloud. Ben stopped and saw the blue skeleton of a body deep within the archon, hiding. Ben summoned all of his strength and released a single punch. The archon's fragile body ripped in two and the cloud of energy instantly dissipated. Ben collapsed to the ground in pain, most of his carapace scorched black. "My child, do not give in to the pain. You must stand, you must finish!" said the Overmind. Ben slowly rose to his feet and a thought ran through his head. The archon had fallen to his might. If Ben could kill that, he was truly unstoppable.

"Yes, you must finish" said the voice in his head…but it wasn't the Overmind. "If you wish to kill me then I shall grant you the opportunity. The Overmind has sent you, alone, to end my life. You must be its best warrior, and for that you deserve that chance to accomplish your mission." said Tassadar.

A recall field appeared and brought ten Tassadars standing in a semi circle. Ben was not puzzled by this. The templar possessed great psionic powers, or so the Overmind had said. This was simply a mind trick, one that did not impress Ben. The group of templar attacked at once, sending bursts of psionic energy at Ben. The bursts of energy had no affect on Ben, nor should they, as they did not exist. Ben walked towards the Tassadar replicas and one by one he struck them down with his burnt elongated claws. They all vaporized when hit and Ben soon found himself standing alone once again.

"Your tricks are dull" said Ben. "You said you wanted to fight, and if you won't show yourself, I will find you" added Ben. "Very well. You seem to be smart and quite strong, yet you are still a just a Zerg." replied Tassadar. "Just a Zerg?" thought Ben. "We shall see who is the weaker species. "Another warp field opened and the true Tassadar stepped out onto the battlefield.

In the distance Ben saw an army of zealots and dragoons charging forward. Suddenly they stopped dead in their tracks. "This will be a fair fight, no interruptions." said Tassadar.

Ben charged forward at the templar. Tassadar shot a ball of energy that narrowly missed the beast. Ben leaped into the air and landed feet away from the warrior. Ben punched forward, but was shot back by psionic energy before the punch could land. Ben was thrown into the air and crashed onto the dirt. He rolled backwards and was once again on his feet. Another ball of energy flew past Ben's face. Ben sprinted towards the templar at extreme speeds. Ben ducked under a sphere of energy and punched Tassadar directly in his face. The templar lost his balance but shot another projectile of energy at the Zerg. Both men were thrown down, but Ben regained himself faster. He raised his fist and brought it down on the templar's chest. Tassadar charged up all of his psionic power and blasted Ben's scorched arm clean off his body. Ben screamed telepathically and stepped back. Tassadar stood up and shot Ben again. The Zerg tried to attack, but could not summon the strength. Again and again Ben was hit with energy before he finally collapsed on the ground. Tassadar stood over the charred Zerg. He was once a mighty warrior but now he was reduced to a smoldering pile of barely breathing flesh.

"You thought you could win, but you were unaware of my power." said Tassadar. Tassadar's mind charged with power and released a massive projectile of energy. And in Ben's final seconds of life he thought about his existence. A Terran, a Zerg, it didn't matter in the least. Ben was a warrior above all. He was a creature of unfathomable power that led a life of nobility. He was proud to die here on the battlefield.

"You have failed." said the Overmind.

"No…" replied Ben.

"…I passed."