Sorry for the huge delay. Too many ideas at once would cause some major distractions. But, I manage to return to this one, thankfully.
To Kamencolin: It will be revealed pieces by pieces. I don't want to throw out all information at once. And... I would change everything now and then.
To Thaqif: Technically, yes. Logically, no. Why would he want to turn himself into a Youkai... yet? His current appearance is to help him with his job. Also, turning into a Youkai means he would have to deal with... well, normal people's stuffs. And... a Youkai eating others' hair strands? Not a good reputation for him.
With that out of the way, enjoy chapter 5!
Constant threats. Feeling both safe and endangered.
Their power, not simply psi-based strength. Their power, over impossible concepts.
The maid, able to stop time and manipulate space in some ways. Luckily, only used to throw knives as means to attack, and physical strength not too much higher than standard. Ultralisk could withstand easily.
The librarian and her servant… magic. Similar to psionic, yet different. Not too much of a problem.
The gatekeeper. The physical strength not showed yet, but after some stories heard from the others, could easily beat a Terran Marine with Armor Suit.
Real problems: the Vampire sisters. One controls over fate, one could destroy everything she wants. Not even Queen of Blades has reached that level yet.
The worst part: They are all holding back, under rules made by the red Shrine Maiden. One that could float. Sounds weak, but, she could float OUT OF REALITY. Meaning, if she really wants to, nobody could hit her until they manage to get into the current dimension she's in. Even Protoss has troubles tracking a dimension, much less travelling through them. They could open a wormhole and travel through, and Terran could, but that's it.
… Perfect for the Zerg.
"You two could rest here." Sakuya opens the door of the guest room, and gestures Oni-Ultralisk and Abathur to come in. "If you want to go around, please keep it as quietly as possible. Or, if you want to talk, the mistresses will be awake all night."
"Thank you miss Sakuya!" The Zerg-Youkai nods her head thankfully.
"My pleasure." And with that, the maid stops time again and walks to another room where it needs her to work with, before hitting the bed and ending her day of work.
Closing the door, Abathur watches Ultralisk running to the bed and bouncing on it happily. He then walks to the window and looks outside, watches the Leviathan floating over the sky higher than when they infiltrated the village. Through the psionic connection, he could see the Zerg in the Leviathan preparing to fight off anything getting too close to them. A small group of Roaches are also burying out of the mansion, making sure that the Evolution Master would be protected.
"…Ultralisk." Abathur calls out for the other Zerg, his voice full of authority. "New power?"
"Um… not very sure… but I don't think this count." After a few seconds, he hears the voice of Oni-Ultralisk from slightly above his head, so he turns back and expects her to float above him… to see her sitting on the ground, with her size doubling him. "Suika has this ability, so I'm not sure if I could develop another ability like the natives here."
Abathur starts thinking: So there's a limitation of this adaptation. He could only take Youkai essence to improve the Swarm, since human here are no different than the Terran. Those broken abilities are not collectable for sure, since it is individual's specialty. But… what if…
"Follow." Walking/crawling out of his room, Abathur starts exploring the mansion, with Oni-Ultralisk shrinking back to normal size and floating behind him.
There's one thing he notices the mansion being different than the others: There are huge-sized windows, but nearly all the time they're covered by red curtains. The hallway's filled with darkness, with red moonlight trying to get through the curtains. Here and there, Abathur sees the candles hanging on the columns, illuminating and showing the shadows of whatever its light could reach, resulting in somewhat creeping atmosphere around them. Though, with the Zerg, those are nothing.
"Does it look like Char to you, Evolution Master? Before the first Queen of Blades found you?" Oni-Ultralisk asks curiously.
"… Similar."
"You two haven't slept yet?" Looking up, both Zerg see Flandre floating down. "Exploring the mansion at night?"
"Finding you." Abathur replies, surprising Oni-Ultralisk. "Need to test if Ultralisk gains additional power."
"Hm… I mean, she's now an Oni, right? Shouldn't that already a good addition?" Flandre wonders.
"Originally from Oni. Test to see any additions aside from Youkai's advantage."
Oni-Ultralisk explains further: "He's thinking that the size-changing ability is from Suika and not my own. And he likes to see the Swarm evolving more. You know, his role."
"Ah… then I guess it's not much of a problem." Flandre replies. "Though, I think you should take it slow. Those power of ours comes from unexpected events."
"Can't. Having a war. Need everything to be perfect."
"Hm…" Flandre starts thinking… then claps her hands. "Then, let's go to the backyard! Sis is probably out there as well!"
…
"If you want to test it… how about we start with those blades?" Remilia points at the Kaiser Blades being hung on Oni-Ultralisk's back all the time. Upon the Zerg girl grabs them with her hands, the older vampire asks the younger: "Hey Flan, how about a spar with the girl?"
"Can I? Yes!" The girl cheers happily before pulling a sword, of sort, from out of nowhere.
Oni-Ultralisk turns to Abathur, her eyes asking for her 'Master's' permission. And her answer: "Allowed."
"Since you haven't gotten a Spell Card yet, so I'm not using one." Flandre spins her sword in her right hand. "Though, you might be able to find one during this. So be ready!"
The moment she hears that, Oni-Ultralisk immediately crosses the blades before her face and slightly over her head, just in time to block Flandre's attack. While she's expecting the vampire to be strong, she doesn't expect her power to be able to SINK her feet a foot deep into the ground. With her newfound magic, Oni-Ultralisk immediately burrows herself feet first down, causing Flandre's blade to slam to the ground. The vampire girl immediately brings the sword up again and jumps away, but when her left foot touches the ground, Oni-Ultralisk bursts out while causing a small earth-shake, causing Flandre to immediately fly up to avoid being hit by dirt.
Returning back to the ground, the double-sized Oni starts swinging her blades towards Flandre, trying to overwhelm her opponent with sheer brute force. However, Flandre has lived way longer than Ultralisk, and the Zerg is designed mostly to tank damage and deal with small units or groups. And she's not very good dealing with flying units, and Flandre is agile as well.
Abathur watches in mild annoyance as Oni-Ultralisk tries to hit Flandre, but ends up hitting the ground with all hits, creating earth-shakes now and then. While he's expecting the new Zerg-Youkai to be better, he also reminds himself that Ultralisk is designed that way, and he's not going to change it. But, he's really hoping that the new Zerg could help herself against agile units…
Actually: "Ultralisk." The fight's stopped temporarily as both combatants look at him. "Turn smaller. Try to fight in the air."
"Oh…" Oni-Ultralisk could understand, but: "Are you sure?"
"Testing something." Abathur simply replies.
The Zerg complies, as she shrinks, then continues fighting with Flandre. Heavy clashes can still be felt, but at least there's no longer earth-shakes. During the fight, Abathur suddenly orders Oni-Ultralisk to turn huge while dropping herself down, through Telepathy. Even though she doesn't understand his reason, Oni-Ultralisk complies and drops on Flandre, causing the vampire to turn into a small group of bats and avoid being squatted. And the fall causes the entire mansion, if not the whole Gensokyo, shake up violently.
"Okay… even I can feel it. That's a rough landing." Remilia remarks, as she's still floating in the air, unaffected by the event.
"…Good." Abathur suddenly says that, causing Remilia to glare at him in surprise.
"Woah, that's sudden." Forming back, Flandre exclaims. "I thought Oni are so light? Well, if we don't count those heavy chains."
"Hm? I am always this heavy." Shrinking back, Oni-Ultralisk then asks Abathur: "Evolution Master, why did you order me to do so?"
"Effective move." Abathur explains. "Think. Battlecruisers, shooting at you. Shrink and dodge, then fly up close. Turn to normal size, crushing from above."
"That… is what that Oni would do." Remilia comments. "However, she could do so because of her strength and not her weight. If I'm right, Ultralisk has both focus strength and weight, so it would be extremely handy."
Abathur nods. "Ultralisk, normally being weak to fly units. Now, even ground… even space."
"What the hell is going on here?" Nearly everyone rushes to the backyard, with Reimu shouting. "It's freaking late at night already!"
"Sorry…" Oni-Ultralisk bows apologetically. "We're just testing my power…"
"Then do it tomorrow! This is not the time for these things to happen!" Stomping towards Abathur, the maiden pulls out her gohei and whacks him on the head. "You're restless, but we are! Unless you want to be knocked out, then return back to your room!"
"… Apology. Will comply." He's not planning to have the natives ganging up on him. And, he did cause quite a ruckus.
"You better be." The shrine maiden then glares up at Remilia. "Next time, give us a warning."
Remilia defends herself: "I didn't even know they would do that."
"Hmp." With a harsh breath exhale, Reimu retreats back into the mansion.
"Is there anything you need, Mistresses?" Sakuya asks politely, but her sleepy eyes are showing that she's fatigued.
"No need. You should return back to your room." The maid bows respectfully before she disappears. The older sister then says to Abathur, with everyone else also returning back inside: "Reimu is right. Flandre and I might stay up all night, but not the others. How about we go to my bedroom for quieter conversation?"
The room only has three people, since Flandre retreats back to her own room.
"About the resources…" Remilia starts, after taking a sip from her teacup. "I'm afraid you won't be able to find any here. Those kinds of materials are not heard around here. Not even in Old Hell."
"… Not much of a problem. Not planning to stay long. Still…" Abathur plans to say more, but decides to hold back.
"But, that's very interesting. Materials that could replenish themselves. That one small thing could cause a war purely around it." The older vampire speaks her thought out loud. "That one goddess would seek it out for herself for sure."
"Which one?" Abathur asks, clearly being cautious of that mentioned person.
"Kanako Yasaka. She has tried to lure someone into her plan, but it backfired on her. Doesn't stop her from trying to gain more followers with some devious plans."
"Like you?"
"I don't try. I always succeed if I want to." Remilia counters.
"… Your power."
"Yes. However, it's no longer fun in the long run." Taking another sip, Remilia replies.
"But, if you're so powerful, then why didn't you already take over this place?" Oni-Ultralisk asks curiously. "You could change everyone's fate…"
"And have that gap Youkai AND the shrine maiden locking you in who-knows-dimension? No thanks."
"…Elaborate." Making the comparison, Abathur could see that the vampire could win every time.
"Because the latter is trained to deal with creatures like us, and the former's power is basically a hax."
"…A hack?" Oni-Ultralisk asks back in confusion.
"Learnt that from the Moon Princess. Think of her power being impossibly overpowered."
"…Yours aren't?"
"It might sound strange from me, but everything has a counter. No exceptions."
"… Everything… might keep that in mind."
Remilia then looks at the moon again, and asks: "Do you need to know anything else?"
"…Not now. Good night." With that, Abathur simply reaches the door, turns the doorknob and opens the door, then exits the room.
"Wait for me!" Obviously the other Zerg is not planning to stay anywhere without the Evolution Master nearby.
"…" Remilia waits for the door to close completely, before turning her head to a dark corner of her room. "Come out. You have been spying for quite a time."
A portal with eyes appears in the air, and Yukari pops her head out, followed by her body from her waist up. "And you didn't call me out."
"Because if you're involved any further, they would have a bad time here." Remilia snorts. "Let me guess: You're the one opening the portal?"
"If you think that, then you're wrong." Earning herself a raise of eyebrows from the vampire, the Youkai of Boundaries continues: "But, I did involve with the appearance of it."
"Involve? Yeah, now that sounds more like you. So who's the real deal here? An enemy?"
"Well… he might show up one day." Yukari neither denies nor confirms Remilia's suspicion.
"And you knew him. Figures." Closing her eyes, Remilia takes another sip…
"No." Choking on her drink, the vampire coughs a few times before clearing her mouth with her handkerchief, before she focuses entirely on the other Youkai. "But, I have to say, he's an interesting person despite being fully human."
"… You're pulling my legs here."
"There are many times I do so to mess around. This time, unfortunately, is not. Enjoy the night." With that, Yukari disappears back into her portal, before the thing disappears.
"… Okay. That's completely unexpected." She then looks at her empty cup. "… I need to ask Sakuya what kind of tea she brewed before she got to bed."
The next morning
Patchouli asks confusingly: "… Do characters pass down through evolution? Because I don't remember it being the case."
"Negative. Personality, one's own independence thought. None the same as the others."
"Then, can you explain why she's sleeping on your head? Because that would resemble her original very precisely."
Even when the sunlight's shining over her, even when Abathur tries to wake her up with force, Oni-Ultralisk still somehow crawls on his back then to the head, and sleeps there like nothing happens. She's currently about the same size as Suika.
"Cannot elaborate. Do not… understand human's emotion."
Patchouli drily comments: "Then you should learn it." She then changes the subject: "How are the books so far?"
"…Interesting." While it's not something he would do daily, to him at least, having something to kill time while waiting for the librarian's servant to bring out some materials to check is better than none. "Human, having such… imagination."
"Coming from a creature that could force others to reach another level of evolution? That sounds like an understatement." Patchouli comments.
"Evolution, not necessary to be creative. Need enough to survive."
"Fair enough. And… try to keep my books clean, please."
"Heard you." He then feels something wet dropping on his head, where Oni-Ultralisk is lying on him. Using one of his left hands, Abathur brings down the Zerg, to see the girl drooling in her sleep. Not disturbed by it, he puts the girl to the nearby chair, who's still sleeping soundly, then returns to his current book.
"… Would you still keep her appearance?" Patchouli asks.
"… Will ask Queen of Blades' opinion. Self… highly doubt it. Would still keep this one around."
Patchouli then takes a small time to think about the scenario when the Oni-Ultralisk leads a group of her species… "It's ridiculous thinking about it." She speaks her thought out loud.
"Milady, mister Abathur…" The two turn to the bookshelves, to see Koakuma pushing a cart of various materials towards the table they're sitting at. "I have gathered as many as you requested. The other fairies are organizing the rest and awaiting for your orders."
"Acknowledged. Appreciate your efforts."
Patchouli nods. "Thanks for your efforts. I will call you again if we need something else."
The little devil bows respectfully and then leaves the two alone. Three, if you could the sleeping Youkai as well.
Abathur then starts digging in the materials, quietly. Mutual respect for the person allowing him to stay in this place.
The result: Not very productive. Most he found are human's essences, which are even weaker than the ones in Koprulu Sector. About the Youkais… let's list them out:
Healing regenerating: stronger than human, but nowhere near Zerg's capacity.
Durability: vary. Still, not much of a help to the Zerg.
The sad thing: No additional powers.
"Based on how you look…" Patchouli comments. "You haven't found anything new, if my guess is right."
"…Correct. Too weak for the Zerg."
"Hm… the fact that the Zerg are able to travel through space would put many of Gensokyo's residents to shame." Closing her current book, the librarian switches to another. "I think the ones you should look into are the stronger Youkais here. But, a little warning: not everyone would willingly give you anything, even if it's just a strand of hair."
"Noted." Stop consuming the essences, Abathur returns back to the books…
When he notices activities between the bookshelves, and a few seconds later, lights of all types are shot from all corners, with stars following them. He turns to look at Patchouli with a question look in his eyes. Noticing that, Patchouli sighs. "Just Marisa trying to steal stuffs…"
"I'M JUST BORROWING!" Somehow, the witch-in-question could hear their conversation over the explosions of the fairies firing at her and her own, which is the loudest.
Patchouli sighs again and puts her book down. "You can watch, but you might want to call her up to protect you." With that, she floats towards the battlefield with a few spells ready in her mind.
The next thing Abathur sees, is something he could compare to the fights on Char. And all of the spells in front of him are mitigated, and non-lethal. Non-lethal… "Mansion would break, without the rules." Of course, he could recognize that from the day he arrived at Gensokyo, but seeing the spells in another scale, he could safely say that the Zerg could be annihilated if the spells are not applied. Thankfully, it's the case, otherwise he won't be able to help the Swarm.
Chapter 5 end!
From this point, SDM arc is done. The next one... if you have read the original, you could have guessed what's next.
So yeah, currently Ultralisk could shrink and grow. Kinda like a weaker version of Suika's power. Also, is it true that Oni is light, in weight I mean? I read it somewhere but I didn't know where, original or fictions.
And I did remember about a very small hole in the original, that people would ignore easily: All the times Abathur acquired hair strands, they're always from main characters, and I think he/she didn't say anything about essences of others being useful or not. That's why I put it here so at least I have a reason to ignore 'not-so-important' people. I didn't say that he/she is at fault, but I would like to have every detail being as good as possible. Kinda feels like Abathur here :3.
Also, AntagonistChan, I MIGHT have to re-use the villains of the next arc. However, since I predict that it would be one to two months for the next chapter to come out, I would send you a PM if I need to use them.
I think that's enough for now. See you all in the future!