To Don Orbit: Yep. Old Dominion would be utterly defeated humiliatingly. How, that's your imagination.
To Maneless: The moment you said 'Hell Raven', I instantly have an idea on which Zerg to get her essence. Which one? No spoilers.
"What… are we watching here, mister Horner?" Valerian asks in both confusion and terrified as the two re-watch the fight recently happened on the surface of Korhal.
They totally expected the Dominion to be overwhelmed by the Swarm led by the new Queen of Blades, and that she succeeded in doing what she wanted. What they could have never thought of, was that a… girl, of sort, grew from the middle of a Dominion base who then became bigger than a Command Center. What terrifies them is that she wielded TWO oversized blades that easily cleaved anything dared to come near her. And when the ranged units attacked her, some sorts of green screen emitted out of her and blocked the attacks, while poison every enemy around her. Then, they spot some projectiles firing from her shoulder, so they zoom the cameras in, and saw another girl who has Spine Crawlers growing from her back with its tips firing lasers to the Dominion air units.
The fact that both of them look like they belong to the Zerg unnerves them.
"That is the same question I'm having, Prince Valerian. Who are they, and why are they helping the Zerg?" The Raynor Raider's Second-in-command is having the same thought as the Prince of Dominion. "And… why do they have the Zerg's features? Did Kerrigan infect them?"
"…As much as I want to agree with it, there are two contrasts. First, these girls looked too normal for an Infested Terran. You have fought against them before, you know how they look like, right?" Valerian doesn't want to side with the Zerg about their morality, but he needs to be levelheaded if he wants to rule a better Dominion.
"We did, and it's not pleasant." Shaking his head to not remember much about the screams of the Infested Marines, Horner replies.
"And second, how could she possibly create something that's even more terrifying than that flying unit we fought in Korhal in such short amount of time she returned to the Zerg?"
"The Zerg is a species of surprises, Valerian." The Prince turns to see the creepy Spectre walking from behind him to the terminal. "However, I can tell this: This looks like the same kind of process gone through Arcturus's secret lab."
"That thing? The one that looks like a combination of Protoss and Zerg?" Remembering what Tosh referenced, Horner asks back which earns him a nod. "I know Mengsk would do things like this, but Kerrigan? She wouldn't…"
"She turned herself back into Queen of Blades. Who knows if she was the same Terran you once knew?" The Spectre isn't a person who would think THAT negatively, but he always thinks of all possibilities in order to survive.
That makes both Horner and Valerian think about their conversation with Kerrigan before she invaded Korhal. She did agree about landing outside of the main city, and she DID agree to take time so the civilians can evacuate. However, if that's all acts…
"Sir…" One of the crews calls for Second-in-command. "The Zerg is attacking Dominion's Psi Destroyer."
"Patch the images through." Deciding to drop the matter for now, Horner orders his crew. "We need to know if the Zerg succeeds or not to plan our next moves.
…
"Why do we have to go with him?" Oni-Ultralisk whines, as she and Kappa-Leviathan crawl through the vents, keeping their company with the Primal Zerg's Leader. "I want to fight head on!"
"Leviathan says to not complain. With new additions, we are immune to the Psi Destroyer's attacks." The other Zerg girl doesn't mind much. "And Dehaka needs to prove his worth to the Swarm."
"Swarm brings essence. I continue follow." The Primal Zerg re-confirms his purpose. "Swarm, vast promises of evolution. Will support until not needed."
Oni-Ultralisk can only pout. "I don't know about you, Levi, but have you ever heard of an Ultralisk crawling in vents?"
"Leviathan says you would be the first."
The trio then notice an intersection, and with Kappa-Leviathan's Psionic power, she's able to tell where both ways head to. "Leviathan detects each way leads to a different link. Leviathan says to split up."
"My packs are ready. I order…"
"No need! We can handle one ourselves!" Apparently Oni-Ultralisk doesn't like being near the Primal Zerg one bit. Leviathan understands her feeling being a bit influenced by Evolution Master, but says nothing.
Luckily Dehaka doesn't care about 'trivial' things like feelings, so he says: "Will join later." And he takes one route, while the girls take the others.
"Leviathan says we could use his pack as shields." The girl frowns.
"Nah! I'm an Ultralisk, remember? When did those tanks make a dense on me?"
"A few times."
"And I didn't die! That's what matters!"
…
"…Abathur, did you put human emotions in them?" Kerrigan doesn't really care how the Evolution Master changes the Swarm, as long as they are effective or NOT reducing their power. However, she didn't remember about emotions being able to… evolve? Addition? How does that work?
'…Magic. Only possible answer.' Not even the Zerg himself knows as he replies through Psionic telepathy. To be fair, emotion is a foreign thing to the Zerg. Instincts, yes. Emotions, only found in Protoss and Terran.
'I don't mind this, though.' Stukov chuckles as he's managing his own troops. 'Kinda funny seeing little girls running among the Zerg.'
"It's not time to joke, especially when we're fighting against Mengsk. And he might use their images…"
'So? The image of the Zerg is already too terrified in other races' eyes already. A couple of girls around the Swarm isn't exactly out of place considering what your past self has done. And besides, who WOULD believe them being normal Terran when the Ultralisk one made herself that big?'
"…You have a point." Kerrigan then uses her Psionic power to make sure that no other Swarm units go near the Psi Destroyer's affecting areas before…
And the moment she checks on the last unit, from the Overlords' eyes, she sees not one, but two links being destroyed simultaneously. And she immediately feels the Psi Destroyer losing its power. Not losing a second, she orders: "Crush the Dominion while the field is down!"
A few hours later
The Psi Destroyer is destroyed (no pun intended), and the Hyperion caught on their sights every single thing happened. And their primary interest are those two new 'Zerg-like girls'.
"This is insane…" Valerian rubs his chin with his left hand while wondering to himself. "These two just crushed everything, like breaking fragile toys…"
Tosh chuckles, not at how the girls fought, but how the Dominion forces were humiliatingly destroyed. "We might not get along, but I would be glad to have those ones on my side when fighting against Arcturus."
"Given that they might be under Kerrigan's control, it's a high possibility." Horner replies, as he places both his hands on the edge of the Star Map table. "I can't still figure out how those two exist…"
"Sounds like the last piece of Zeratul's vision." All of a sudden the door of the bridge opens, revealing James Raynor. He walks towards the table and explains: "I didn't tell you about it, but Zeratul came across something that's so ridiculous that he even asked me to try to decipher it with my own knowledge."
"…There is something Zeratul can't decipher?" Surprised by the fact, the Second-in-command of Hyperion asks back, just to make sure that he didn't hear it wrong.
"No, he did. But, what he found was, and from what I understood, something 'below' yet 'above' the Xel'naga. Something that can break Xel'naga prophecies into nothingness."
Raynor's statement leaves everyone in confusion. They have known about Zeratul's ways of speaking, among the lines of 'mysterious and dark'. However, something 'below' yet 'above' the Xel'naga? Was there something else behind the scenes that controlled those mystic creatures as well? And…
"You believe it's related to these… girls, brother?"
"It's more than that, Tosh. And we need…"
Before he could say more, Kerrigan calls them: "It's time Valerian. I can't afford hold back any longer."
Snapping out of his current thought, the Prince immediately replies back: "The evacuation is still underway. If you want to fight, then avoid the civilian centers."
"I can't do that. Arcturus will find it as…" What she plans to say next doesn't come out, and instead she closes her eyes. A moment later, she asks: "Valerian, which troops do the evacuation? Yours or Arcturus'?"
A bit confused about the question, he answers: "They are mine. Why do you ask?"
Another moment passes… "Alright. Just do not provoke or stand in our ways, and I will do what I can." Kerrigan turns off…
"Wait." Horner quickly asks. "What are those two girls fighting with you? Where did you get them?"
"Matt…"
"Sir, we might agree that Arcturus is a common enemy, but using…"
"To ease your fear, there's no Terran or any human being used as experiments." The Queen of Blades' answer turns the attention back to her, as she quickly realizes what Horner is implying. "Those two 'girls' were formerly Ultralisk and Leviathan. What our Evolution Master has done shocked us as well… We will talk further once Arcturus is dead."
With that, the comm is completely turned off.
Everyone turns to the Commander of Hyperion…
"She didn't lie. And if she did, that's terrible coming from a former Ghost." The man himself then heads to the exit of the bridge. "Time to suit up boys. Let's go and say farewell to our old pal."
…
Another fighting skipped
"Zagara, take command. I have an appointment with the Emperor." With the last order, the Queen of Blades head into the Palace where Arcturus Mengsk is waiting for her.
Turning herself to normal size, Oni-Ultralisk watches the Queen rushing in and then yawns. "We have to wait out here? I want to beat up that meanie person too!"
"Leviathan says to follow her orders. You know how she is when she's angry." The half-Kappa Zerg floats down next to the half-Oni Zerg, with the other Zerg looking out for dangers.
"But they are all running already!" The girl refers to the Dominion forces which are not in the Palace protecting their Emperor. "The others broke so fast!"
"Leviathan needs to remind Ultralisk that you can clip the whole Palace in half with your oversized blades if Queen of Blades knew of your limits."
"But it's no fun!" During her whining, Oni-Ultralisk notices James Raynor in his armor and his weapon rushing into the Palace. "Hey, it's the Queen's crush!"
That shout from out of nowhere temporarily stops him in track, and he turns his head back to see who just said that. After seeing the girls, he decides to just ignore them for now and resumes his run.
"Leviathan suggests to not…" The girl doesn't even have the chance to finish as her fellow half-Zerg quickly follows the Terran. Sighing, the Zerg-Youkai follows behind so her 'friend' doesn't cause any troubles to the man.
Jim obviously knows those two following him given that their footsteps are directly behind him. He would like to tell them to return back, but seeing the 'smaller' girl tanks a direct shot from Odin without a scratch tells him that there's nothing he can do to sue them away.
"Hey mister!" To his not-surprise, both of them have already reached him despite one of them has her size reduced. "Our Queen is already in there! You can talk to her after she kills that meanie man, you know?"
"Mengsk is a man that should not be underestimated." Raynor says his reason of going into the Palace. "He's not going to get himself killed that easily."
"Leviathan says to not worry too much."
"Can't a person be worried about his comrades?" Entering one of the elevators, Raynor tries tapping the buttons, but nothing works. "Damn it. Have to get another way…"
"We can carry you up!" Not even waiting for his answer, Oni-Ultralisk grabs her arms around Raynor suit's left arm and brings him to the air much to his surprise.
The other Zerg-Youkai sighs and starts holding on his right arm as well, and the two start flying up to the top of the tower where Mengsk could be in. "Leviathan advises Ultralisk to not do this again."
"This is faster, Levi!"
'…What did you do to the Zerg, Kerrigan?'
…
After prying the door open, Kerrigan enters the security office, to see the person she's after holding a lighter with a cigar in his mouth while watching the screens. He then turns back and the two greet other with mockery tones. Then, Arcturus flicks the lighter up which turns out to be a switch, and the floor opens up revealing the keystone that cured Kerrigan before, and reactivates it which causes massive Psionic attack on the Queen of Blades, hurting her and forcing her to the ground. He then activates it one more time to make sure that Kerrigan stays down. He says that she's the greatest failure he has ever made, and now it's the time he fixes it. His thumb starts reaching for the button again…
Then, to their surprises, a black suit of Marine Armor flies straight through the glass windows of the office and lands on the floor. Not letting the Emperor react, the armor reaches its hand towards the switch and breaks it with one grab, which also catches Arcturus' hand in it. The armor then grabs Arcturus' neck and lifts him up, and the helmet opens to reveal an angry Raynor. The Commander then throws the Emperor away and pulls his pistol out and points at the opponent, but he sees Kerrigan standing up and glaring dangerously at the Emperor, so he stands back and closes his helmet down to the last one to keep himself safe from whatever she's planning to do.
And he's correct, because whatever she does to Arcturus makes him explode.
After the explosion, he sees the Queen of Blades with a satisfied and peaceful expression, and she turns to him with a smile. "Thank you very much, Jim. For everything."
"It's my pleasure darling." Seeing the girl's smile makes the man follow suit, feeling a huge weight lifting off his shoulders.
She then asks, her eyes filled with curiosity: "How did you fly into this room?"
"Oh… ask them."
"That's so cool!" The leader of the Swarm turns to where James' hand gestures to, and sees Oni-Ultralisk throwing her hands up with a big smile, with Kappa-Leviathan floating next to her bowing her head down.
"Leviathan wants to say her apology to sir Raynor for throwing him like that."
"Well, it worked out, so it's fine." He accepts the apology, then turns to Kerrigan. "Mind explaining that in details, darling?"
"…*Sigh* Not even I understand how Abathur achieved this. To put it shortly, he did his work by spinning a SINGLE hair strand each from something called the Youkai for the Ultralisk and Leviathan and… turned them into these girls."
Looking at the Zerg-Youkai duo, then back to Kerrigan, Raynor shakes his head while chuckling. "Let's get ourselves a rest before we discuss things further. A couple of drinks would work."
Oni-Ultralisk plans to ask to join, but holds back because of the glare Kappa-Leviathan gives her when she senses the girl's intention.
A day later
"Yeah, I think I still need more drinks."
"I'm not escorting you back to your room if you collapse midway, sir."
"Still, hearing that there is an isolated location in Earth that is completely unknown to the people there… It's fascinating."
On the Hyperion, the command trio are talking to the command group of the Swarm and they are just talking about the discovery in Skygeirr Platform, and how the Zerg girls appeared. Needless to say, the Terrans are shocked. Also Raynor told the Zerg about Zeratul's ask of help about the strange vision.
"It's even more shocking at the fact that I'm siding with you now, mister Raynor." Stukov chuckles, fully understanding the Terrans' reactions to the news. "Well, as long as our common enemy is still there, a little alliance wouldn't hurt."
Pushing the feeling back to his mind, Raynor then asks: "What's your next move, Kerrigan?"
"…I can guess what that vision might refer to." Kerrigan replies. "However, it doesn't matter anymore. For now, I will strengthen my Swarm and start attacking the Moebius Corp's bases. Meanwhile… I will send Abathur back to that place."
"Kerrigan…"
"I have ordered him to not infest anyone there, so don't worry Valerian. Besides, the place is under a non-lethal-fight rule, so at least there would be no kills, from us."
"I say we let it be." Raynor concludes. "The vision somewhat matches the Swarm's current situation. And…" Everyone notices him staring at something, and they turn to see Abathur, with Oni-Ultralisk sleeping on his head while Kappa-Leviathan standing next to him. "I think this change… brings more good than bad, to be honest."
"I have nothing to say to that, really." Kerrigan sighs.
"…Matched."
That one word from Abathur confuses everyone, and that makes Zagara ask him: "What are you thinking? Voice it out."
"…Past, serving Overmind. Encountered a strange shift of time and space. However, briefly. Overmind knew, interacted, then left it be. Asked, replied to not be worried. Must be related to current situation."
"And…"
"…Nothing more to add."
"As long as you don't hurt anyone, then I don't have anything to say." Valerian decides to not argue further. "We put your trust in you. Please don't make us regret it."
"Isn't avoiding killing your civilians a good proof?" Kerrigan sends him a smirk, enjoying seeing the doubt on his face. "Although, even if I want to, unless I'm there, I doubt Abathur and his project can do anything."
"I hope you really stick with your words." Matt comments. "We will trade information about Amon if we find any."
"Good to hear." And with that, the conversation is over. Kerrigan then turns to the Evolution Master and says: "Bring the rest of your project. We have to make use of every single Zerg and essence."
"…Appearance?"
"Try not to change the whole Zerg into girls if it's avoidable. It would be stupid if the dangerous-looking species suddenly looks like... Never mind, the more distracted, the better. Just don't change too much."
"Acknowledged."
"Hey Kerrigan." Stukov then asks. "Do you mind if I tag with him for a week? Remembered that he said something about a doctor there."
"…You just want to return back to Earth, don't you?"
"Kinda. Also, the place looks better than the world I know. And I do actually have a plan to see that doctor."
"Your army is needed for the Swarm." Zagara is in no position to decide it, but she comments so the others know what she thinks.
"My pack is sturdier. Can cover if his force weakens." Dehaka offers, not worried a bit.
"…So be it." Kerrigan decides. "As long as you are sure your army can protect this platform, then you can do whatever you want. If possible, also try to make a project like Abathur."
"Of course. Additional infestation can do some wonders." The Infested Commander chuckles.
"Does anyone else have anything to say?" Silence. "Then let us prepare for the war against Amon. Time is running short."
Chapter 9 end!
Not much else to say rather than sorry for the delay. See you again in the future!