Chapters Chapter 2: Changelings and Zerglings
Excalibur wandered for well over an hour and was beginning to grow extremely tired, but he needed food and once he was fed, he could try and figure out a way home. He walked at a slow pace that would conserve his energy, but he could travel a good distance out. The purple stuff beneath him just kept going on and on, it just didn't seem like it was going to end, and the squishing sound was starting to make him sick and he couldn't be sick right now with nothing in his stomach.
The trees were starting to thin out and the spaces between them were starting to grow larger and larger, and the purple gunk seemed even grosser here, and he realized it was killing the trees. This normally wouldn't concern him, but he was tired and some airborne predator could possibly spot him easier now, so he was quite concerned now. He finally reached a spot where it appeared there were no trees what so ever, and the whole clearing was covered in, what he believed, completely unnatural structures.
He looked at each of them individually, but the one that drew his eye the most was a medium sized structure that appeared to be the shape of a dome, but it wasn't the structure that intrigued him, but the small noises coming from within. He recognized the sound, it was the sound of many infant creatures, all alone and helpless "These outta hit the spot" he whispered and approached the structure. He climbed up and poked his head behind it and saw about a dozen catterpillar shaped creatures, but all were about the size of a small dog.
Excalibur was about to leap over the ledge of the structure and kill about three of the creatures upon landing, and kill more before they realized he was upon them. He prepared to pounce when a large weight slammed into him, and he gasped from the pain that coursed through his already pained body. He landed with a heavy thud and looked to see what had attacked him and he saw a creature that was about the same size as he, but had more of a dog-like stance and body type. It had wicked oversized claws on its feet and equally wicked fangs poking out of its mouth.
Excalibur panted from the short fight, but this creature obviously wasn't finished and it ran at him again, and now he noticed something about this monster; it had giant hooked claws attached to a third set of limbs on its back. It tried to stab at him, and he was certain it was aiming for his head and more specifically, his eye, but he was able to jump away. It was determined now and all signs of restraint, if it had been doing so, was completely gone.
He was worried about the voice that was in the creatures head, he used his own hive mind system and quickly adapted to this new one and found that the whisper had been a message from the creature to someone higher then it, and most likely, stronger. He looked at the message and froze in horror at what he heard before it was gone with the creatures death.
"Powerful being located, shapeshifts, assimilate, For the Swarm"
Chapter 3: The Brood Mother, Metamorpha
Excalibur tore into the creatures flesh like a starving animal, which he was, but still. He was shaken by what he heard in the beast's mind and he needed his strength to survive whatever this place was, and just from seeing one animal he'd almost died and the creature had seemed overly confident in its attack like it could call for back-up at any moment, but had prefered to 'play with its food'. He came up to breath and think for a second "That thing proved to be an extremly serious threat, but there could other creature stronger then that thing" he said to himself between breaths, and began to think of the other creatures that this place might be home too, and they were all dangerous.
"Get a hold of yourself, you'll be fine, just eat" he whispered, and plunged his head back into the creature, but the message kept playing itself in his head as he fed and he shuddered to think of something stronger then that beast. He ate until almost nothing but bone remained and he was content with his meal, but sadly nothing can be simple for him, and he heard a loud crashing coming from a little ways off. He froze in fear, but he quickly recovered and with his newly regained strength, flew to the closest tree and took shelter behind a clump of leaves right before a large spider-like creature came into sight.
It walked towards the nest of infants, but it didn't reach it because it caught sight of his meals remains. "Who killed my Zergling!" It screeched over the skeleton, atleast he knew what the beast was called now, he caught a scent and he realized it was pheromone, angry by the scent of it, and he realized the spider was female. He shrank deeper into the leaves and watched as the spider screeched in grief for the death of her Zergling. He shrank as small as his body would allow, but it didn't help because he felt a mental radar going around the area, and it was all via Hive mind.
Excalibur was unlucky enough to have a hive mind system that was extremely similar to this creatures and she found him. She turned to look directly at him "Show yourself, you little murderer!" she yelled at him, and he heard it again in his mind and he was compelled to obey. He stood up in his hiding place, still mostly concealed by leaves so she couldn't catch sight of him, but he moved his wings and lifted upwards and flew towards her. He appearered before her, but didn't land because his instincts were still free from this thing and its control over his mind and body.
She regarded him curiously, seeming to have forgotten her grief, "What are you?" she asked, more a demand then a question, and she reached a claw to touch him, but he drift back before she could "I am a Changeling ma'am" he said politely and fairly dull, like a bad actor. "What in the name of the Queen of Blades is a Changeling?" she asked, but it appeared she actually meant it as a question this time, because he felt her influence leave his mind, but he stuck to the air. Excalibur shrugged "I am a Changeling" he said with a flair of backtalk in it, and she obviously didn't appreciate it because she quickly struck him across the face with one of her limbs. "Do not sass me insect" she whispered threateningly "now tell me your name"
Excalibur rubbed his cheek with his hoof and spoke "My name is Excalibur" he answered plainly, making sure to add no insult. She seemed satisfied with his response "Greeting little pest Excalibur, I am Metamorpha" she said, sounding proud of both her insult and her name which was just Metamorph with an A at the end, and little pest was a common Changeling insult, but he didn't bring either of these up at the risk of being struck again.
He greatly mistrusted this creature, but it was currently the only one around who could speak so he had to settle for it, but he refused to land. "So Excalibur, what brings you to my nest other then to kill my Zerglings" she said and she kicked to skeleton away so nonchalantly that he felt sorry for the dead creature, even if it tried to kill him. He noted that she didn't seem in the slightest angry or have some evil motive against him so she probably hadn't been the recipient of the mental communication.
"I'm here entirely by mistake actually" he said slightly embarrassed to end up this far away from home, even if it wasn't his fault. Metamorpha seemed especially intrigued by this "And how did you get lost?" she asked him, trying and failing to hide her interest. He grinned "Well my Queen came up with a crazy idea to attack a kingdom stronger then our, but we almost won the battle had she not revealed herself so foolishly" he said, glad he was far from his queens hearing range.
Metamorpha froze at the sound of a Queen "Q-Queen?" she asked, but Excalibur had no comment to give to it so he decided it was time for him to get away from this one. "Well it was nice to meet you" he said a bit awkwardly, and he began to fly upward. Metamorpha watched him go, making no move to stop him "Farewell, I hope to speak with you again" she called to him as he zipped away and into the jungle.
He landed on a tree in a denser area of the jungle, why had she been so worried about a Queen "What an odd creature, but she wasn't that bad I suppose" he said quietly. He lazed on the tree, thinking about the encounter when his mind began to go blank "What the hell?" he said, rather sleepily, and his mind was about to slip to unconsciousness when he felt a presence enter his mind, and speak, it was a chilling and terrifying voice and he was sure this is the one the Zergling had sent the message to and it spoke in his mind, when he passed out on the branch he was lazing on and the new message echoed in his mind
"Befriend my daughter, Shapeshifter, and you will become more then you were before"
Author's Note
I'm not sure if the speaker it Kerrigan or Zeratul now
Excalibur shifted in his sleep, his dreams was filled with Zerglings, and other creatures that look similar to them like one that looked like some kind of snake thing with blade hands and an elongated skull. All of them had been quite terrifying, but all of them paled in comparison to a small group that stood near before the others, there were about four in total, one appeared like the snake thing but it was only partially sticking out of a hole in the fleshy ceiling. It lacked arms, but had tentacles coming from its head that ended in spikes and its face reminded Excalibur of ancient stories about strange bipedal creatures that only had hair on the top of their head.
Another had a rather spindly snake body with an extremely large head covered in odd bright green sacs and a glowing slit for a mouth. The third looked like a cross between a bird, a lizard, a beetle, and the bipedal creatures of legend, but one of its arms was small and shriveled while the other looked long, powerful, and deadly. The fourth and final creature was probably the scariest, but least threatening looking one at the same time.
He could tell it was female just from its figure and face, her face was also like the bipeds of legend, but there were glowing purple lines coming from her eyes and traveling towards the back of her head. She had deadlock hair that looked to be made of a bugs carapace, and her body also appeared to be cover in a bugs carapace, altered to match her form. Her hands ended in talons and it looked like she had giant bat wings attached to her back but they seemed to lack the skin that made them wings.
"But My Queen, what is the purpose of visiting this world?" the snake women said to the winged one, who turned to her "Because Izsha ,one of out Broodmothers is down on that world and we need her fraction of the Swarm returned to us" The Queen said to Izsha. "Queen, the DNA of Metamorpha's Zerg are rather unimpressive and lacks the abilities that the Swarm could us" the spider snake said in a voice that Excalibur pieced together made him male. The Queen turned her head to him "She and her Zerg are not what were after down there, Abathur" she said and turned her head back to Izsha, but not before letting her gaze rest upon him which scared him for he wasn't there. "But Queen, if its not her were going for, then what are we doing her?" one he had over looked said, its voice was female and it looked alot like Metamorpha, but it also look like a centaur but made of a spider and a bird. "There is DNA currently down there Za'gara and we need to obtain it before it leaves" the Queen said and once again her gaze rested on him before turning back to the one named Za'gara.
Excalibur was confused by this, DNA?. It was a term unknown to him and it wasn't something he was all that interested in, but the was that Queen said it made him hungry to know more and also wanting to get out of there. He felt she was referring to him and he felt he needed to get out of that Chrysalis forsaken place. He jolted upward, covered in sweat from the dream he'd just had. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that it had been more then just a dream.
Author's Note
This chapter is just to put us on edge really and kinda give us a little push not meant for long drawn up story and stuff so don't be jerks in the comments, IVAN!
Excalibur lay in the tree rather nonchalantly, it had been about two weeks since he had experienced his dream and now, it was truly a dull glimmer in his memory. He barely moved in his perch, he was comfortable and he had discovered a small civilization underneath his hole-filled hooves and when he had gone down to meet them, they had practically begun to worship him as a god, giving him plenty of Love, too bad he couldn't understand a thing they said. He lay his head down upon his crossed forelegs and closed his eyes, but within seconds, he heard small claws upon the bark. He opened one of his misty blue eyes a thin slit and gazed down the trunk, there were three lanky, shrew-like creatures climbing the bark and up towards him, each bearing a small berry in their jaws.
Excalibur groaned and stood, flexing his translucent, hole-filled wings and buzzed them quickly, these little rodents never let him have a second to himself, he knew that they needed their 'God' to bless their weddings, which included three to four of their kind and right now, he just wanted a second to himself. He floated into the air and sped away and into the forest, a quick glance back showed them looking upon his escape with sorrow, now they couldn't get married because their 'God' didn't approve, but at this point, Excalibur didn't give a fuck.
He landed on a new tree a good mile away from the edge of the shrew-thingy creature's territory and was glad for some peace at last, he lay down and curled up "Hello Excalibur" a voice below called. "Uh, I knew it was too good to be true" he muttered to himself, "Hello Metamorpha" he called in a bored tone and he looked down to her as she looked upon him with her weird, spider face.
"I have a surprise for you" she called and now Excalibur was confused "Surprise?, this isn't another attempt to make me your consort is it?" he called and slowly he stood up, much to his body's disdain, and slowly floated down to Metamorpha, never touching the ground. "Of course not, you arrogant little prat" she said "It's just a Terran ship has landed on our world and I thought you would like to see my Zerg in action" she said, suddenly sounding rather shy. "Terran?, I don't know what that is, but I am quite interested in seeing the Zerg in action" he said, raising a hoof to his chin "Why no-!" he started, but suddenly he was grabbed by spindly limbs "Then lets go" Metamorpha said and in almost seconds, they were standing on a ridge over-looking large metal structures and all around were creatures larger then himself in what appeared to be extremely bulky blue armor.
"What in Tartarus are those things?" he asked, finally being set down upon the ground, "Those are Terran, quite below the Zerg interest, but their psionic potential is incredible" she said in return. Suddenly, a loud screech could be heard from the forests around the ridge and burst forth from them were Zerglings, Banelings, Hydralisks, Ultralisks, Mutalisks, and Swarm Hosts, he had learned all these names from Metamorpha. "Now Watch" she whispered and Excalibur couldn't look away from the slaughter going on below and the worst part was, the Zerg were being slaughtered, even the mighty Ultralisks, of which were three.
"What, NO NO!" Metamorpha cried and suddenly she jumped down the ridge and charged towards the Terrans, she didn't make it far. "Well, looks like thats the end of it" Excalibur murmured and he began to turn away when once more, something tugged at his mind, stronger then before and it was coming from the sky. The entire clearing was suddenly obscured from his sight and below he saw the entire area covered in shadow and every Terran turned to look up and upon the monstrous creature now in the skies. From the creature dropped hundreds of bright pink pods with dark tentacles trailing behind and when the pods impacted, hundreds of Zerg rushed forth from the impact craters and within seconds, completely annihilated the Terrans.
Excalibur backed away down the ridge now, his instincts were clear now, he saw these were different Zerg, they were more evolved then the ones Metamorpha had controlled, even the Mutalisks looked like monstrous dragonflies. He buzzed his wings and sped away from the hellish sight below, but he was noticed by a few of the Dragonfly Mutalisks. One let out a terrifying screech and before he knew it, he was being chased by more Mutalisks then there were Changelings that invaded Canterlot. "Get BACK!" He cried desperately, but they kept chasing him and one of them shot out what appeared to be its tongue, Excalibur raised his hooves to protect his face and it's tongue caught on one of the holes on his hooves and he felt the creature tugging him back "Shit, Sit, Shit" he muttered.
He thought of an idea, he was slightly disgusted by it, but it was all he had, with great difficulty, he pulled his hoof up to his face and bared his sharp fangs and with sudden swiftness, buried his fangs in the Mutalisks tongue. The saliva was sickly sweet and once he bit down, the Mutalisk screamed and released it's hold upon him. As soon as he was released, he dove downward into the thick trees, where the Mutalisks wing's wouldn't allow them to go. He crawled into a tree hollow that was barely big enough for him and he watched in fear and amusement as the Mutalisks kept trying to find away through until they just left all of a sudden, but he didn't leave the tree hollow for fear is was an ambush, he just nodded off.
Chapter 6: The Hunt Begins
Excalibur was lost in his dream state and he was back with the strange creature, but something was different this time, the image was sharper, almost as if whatever was dragging him into these nightmares was closer then before. This time there were only three creatures, The Queen, the spider-snake, Abathur, and the blue skinned, tiny armed, Dehaka. The three were in the same area as the first dream, but this time, they were over-looking the jungle from the air, the jungle he was currently in and all around were Zerg and now there was more purple gunk on the jungle ground. "I sense essence. Powerful essence." Dehaka said, pacing the floor "I must collect. Will make me stronger", he looked out over the jungle and looked down at the general area where Excalibur was hiding.
"Patience Dehaka, when we acquire the specimen, we'll have Abathur put the gene we need into our Swarm and then you may kill one zerg and get that gene for yourself" The Queen said, but she was obviously as impatient as Dehaka, but she didn't act. "Patience is for the weak. I am strong" Dehaka said and he suddenly jumped out of the opening and down into the forest below. The Queen sighed, she spread her wings and floated downward, even if she had no skin on her wings. Excalibur knew now that he needed to wake up for he was in mortal danger, both of these creature were now on a direct course for him. He began a mental battle with himself to wake himself up, he figured he had a few minutes before they arrived so he needed to wake up now.
Excalibur was now in darkness, neither awake, nor asleep, but the point remained, he was currently immobile and that was a major problem. He tried to move his limbs and they barely twitched, he tried to open his eyelids, but they merely trembled, he felt his body about to shift back into sleep and in his bleary state, he tried to move all together, but he found he could only move his neck. He yawned as his body was about the reenter sleep and he had a stupid idea that would hurt, as his mouth began to close quickly he moved his neck and somehow managed to position his mouth around his leg and...
CHOMP!
"OW" he screamed and now he was fully awake and looking at the wound his fang had just inflicted, but he snapped his focus back into place and looked out into the jungle, he could see trees moving and some being brought down entirely from the force of whoever was coming towards him quicker. His movements were slow and sluggish as he moved his body from the tight hollow, he blinked a few times from the sunlight and his eyes were adjusted in seconds. He buzzed his wings and slower then usual, he began to float upward, but he didn't go up through the treetops, instead he headed deeper into the jungle and downward, into the underbrush. He hunkered down under a large and fairly prickly bush and watched as Dehaka burst from the bushes where he had flown away from.
"No use hiding. Dehaka find essence" Dehaka said in his gravelly voice, he dropped down onto three legs (Stubby arm) and began to sniff around when The Queen appeared from where Dehaka had entered. "I said to wait Dehaka" she said in a strained voice that betrayed her anger and she raised a claw to, what he thought meant she would strike Dehaka, but instead, Dehaka floated upward and he appeared to be choking. Excalibur gasped, she possessed magic, but so few creatures could naturally wield magic, but then Dehaka dropped and the Queen turned to him "Well, it appears we've found our target" she said, a sadistic grin slowly pulling her face, she began to slowly walk towards him.
Excalibur was out of tricks, he was out of ideas, he was going to either die today, or suffer to death later and that was unsettling for him. He whimpered, he backed away slowly and deeper into the brambles, or whatever they were, but he couldn't escape, he fluttered his wings weakly. He had no escape, no chance what so ever and to top it all off, this thing, this Queen possessed magic that could rival that of his own queen, Chrysalis.
DOOOOOOOOM!
Chapter 7: Planet Chrysalis
Excalibur panted, he was cornered, no chance of escape and he was hungry, oh what a world, universe, whatever, the point being he was doom. Tear began to well on the edges of his eyes and The Queen before stopped, her expression wasn't what he would have expected of one who was about to kill him; regret. Tears slid down his cheeks and the Queen just stood there, her expression unchanged "Enough. The essence will be MINE" Dehaka screeched and before the Queen could even react, he shoved her out of the way, grabbing Excalibur by the neck and lifting him out of the undergrowth "Your Essence is mine" he said and he opened his mouth, prepared to strike.
He continued crying as the beast was about to kill him, he opened his mouth to take one last breath before he died, Dehaka closed his mouth "No fun if the prey doesn't try" he said, his eyes never leaving the Changeling "At least scream". Excalibur whimpered, "Scream or your death will be slower then needed" Dehaka growled, bringing the Changeling closer to his face and Excalibur could only comply. He drew in a much air as his lungs could hold while he was in this creatures grasp and he screamed, it was a horrible, ear piercing scream that was higher pitch then any scream Excalibur had ever uttered.
Dehaka dropped Excalibur and covered his hearing organs "Stop" he said, but Excalibur didn't, he wasn't affected by his own scream, but Dehaka was and a quick glance showed the so was the Queen. He continued screaming, but he was running out of breath, but he saw Dehaka collapse and he saw the Queen's eyes beginning to roll back in her head. He was almost out of air, but he couldn't stop now, he was so close to victory and the Queen was almost out, just a little bit more. His vision began to go dark around the edges and finally he saw what he wanted to see, the Queen was passed out and now he could stop screaming.
He gasped, trying to get as much air as he could possibly get, he continued to breath deeply as he looked around to see if anything had been attracted by his screaming. He could finally see in full color now and his muscles weren't totally bunched up anymore, he saw glowing in the skies above "No, please no more" he said and he was crying again, but now he could see what they were, they were the zerg monster, they were large metal things, they were predominantly white, but had some areas being blue or yellow and they came in extremely large quantities.
Some landed on the surface, while others flew around, wiping out the zerg that were trying in vain to drive them out, Excalibur resolved he'd had enough of all this, this evil jungle so far from home, the evil space bugs, the weird armored, and now this . No more, he was done, his wings buzzed quickly, he headed towards the large space monster the Queen and her cohorts had arrived in and he saw and upon entering, he saw the others from his dream, Izsha, Abathur, and Zagara.
"What?!, Where is our Queen?" Zagara said, crawling menacingly towards Excalibur, who was perch rather dangerously on the edge. "She- she is passed out in the jungle below" he said, making himself stand up straight even though he was less then half the height of Zagara. She shoved him out of the way and he slid across the ground and in front of Izsha "Thermal detection indicates she is below and still alive, but she doesn't move" she said to Zagara "Dehaka is also below, but he is moving". Excalibur stood up now "I defeated them both" he said, maybe these creatures respected strength and wouldn't kill him if they thought him strong.
Zagara turned to him sharply "Such a puny creature like you, I am almost as powerful as the Queen of Blades and I know for certain that you couldn't defeat me" she said and crawled towards him. She grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to her face "If your so powerful, prove it" she growled and threw him upward, he flew and watched below as she climbed the wall and charged toward him. He flew in the opposite direction and realized he was quicker then this monster. She jumped suddenly and caught him midair, she twisted herself around like a cat and landed on her monstrous legs "Any last words?" she whispered, her spindly fingers holding him by the waist "Ya" he said "Burn."
Green flames enveloped his body and his body shifted, he watched as Zagara cried out in pain, dropping him and clutching her burning hand. He emerged from the flames as a large black creature with a blue green mane and tail, it had translucent wings on his back and from his head were wicked fangs protruding from his upper lip and a gnarled and monstrous horn from his forehead, he was now a close to perfect copy of his Queen; Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen.
He laughed wickedly, even his voice was a mirror of his queen's, his/her horn glowed a florescent green and from it came a powerful blast that struck the dumbfounded Zagara, sending her reeling. "What sort of trick is this?" Zagara growled, picking herself up, but Excalibur/Chrysalis didn't answer, merely standing before Zagara "Do you submit?" he/she asked through gritted fangs and glaring daggers at the beast. "I submit" she muttered darkly, clearly not happy, flames spread across Excalibur's body once again and he was a generic Changeling one again.
"An interesting trick, but I think we'll find better use for it" a voice said behind him and he turned to see the Queen and Dehaka, both with looks that could kill if it were possible. Excalibur turned back to Zagara and saw she was, in her own version, grinning evilly and only now did Excalibur understand, she had merely been distracting him while the Queen and Dehaka recovered from his screaming, he face-hoofed. "I'm an idiot" he muttered to himself, shaking his head at his own stupidity "Now, do you want to tell us where your from so we can return you safely?" The Queen said and Excalibur looked at her in disbelief, but her face, her expression was one of compassion and of one who wanted to help.
Everyone in the chamber was giving her the same look of disbelief, except for Abathur, maybe, Excalibur couldn't tell, he couldn't even tell if that glowing slit in his face was a mouth or what. "I- wait, what?!" he said and before he could move, the Queen had grabbed his face and delved into his memory and saw all of the events of his life, including when his voyage through space. "So, Excalibur, I suggest we head out, but first" she said and turned to the opening in the ship, she leaped out with incredible speed and in a matter of second, destroyed every single one of the strange white, blue, and yellow ships.
She floated back in through the opening and looked at everyone in the chamber "Now Izsha, set course for..." she stopped and Excalibur had a pretty good idea why, his home world didn't have an actual, official name, or at least to is knowledge it didn't. "Planet Chrysalis" Excalibur said, naming the world in honor of his Queen and The Zerg Queen nodded "Planet Chrysalis" she repeated.
Chapter 8: Raynor's Raiders
Some amount of time had passed since Excalibur had joined the Queen's 'crew' and it was extreme suffering, he was starving, these creatures were non-sentient and that means no emotion, no love. He lay face down on the strange, throbbing ground of the Queen's Leviathan, he heard everyone else speaking, but nothing stood out in the conversation the intrigued him, like their arrival at is home. "Get up you little insect" Zagara growled, in a way that made Excalibur think she was speaking to him, Excalibur raised his head, but kept his eyes closed "Technically, we're all insects" he said and dropped his head back into the soft ground.
The Queen groaned and a quick glance up showed she put her head in her hand "Excalibur look, we're going to meet some allies and discuss, all of us and you will be expected to behave decently" The Queen said, her tone betraying her irritation. Excalibur climbed onto his feet, they were shaky "How do you expect me to act civil , when I haven't eaten for days?" he asked with as much sass as he could muster. "It's not our fault you've refused to eat anything" she said
"And it's not my fault you haven't fed me anything I can eat"
"Then what do you eat?"
"Nothing you could offer"
The Queen growled at Excalibur and raised her hand as if to strike him, but she turned, lowering her hand and turning it into a fist. "Just, behave yourself" she said and now everyone was silent and went about their bushiness, Excalibur's stomach growled loudly, he groaned in a strange, disgusting harmony with it "Just a little compassion would go a hell of a long way" he muttered and trekked away from the group and deeper into the leviathan. The zerg growled at him as he passed, most likely sensing the anger of their Queen, but he eventually arrived at a place entirely Zerg-free, it was deep inside the leviathan and used often, it was the pod center, where the Zerg piled into their weird pods and crashed into a planet.
"My Queen, I'll be home soon and hopefully these beasts will be willing to create some sort of alliance" he muttered to himself, head hung low. "I wish I could be like you in this type of situation, regal, never gives into the constant jibs, and most of all, your amazing ability at deceit, these creatures have no love for each other, but you, you could get them to love you and feed forever" he said, he was speaking as if Queen Chrysalis was actually there, but Excalibur was fairly certain she wouldn't be in the dark depths of space.
Excalibur heard movement behind him and he turned quickly to spot the Queen, watching him from the shadows "Why do you want?" he said, his voice a cross between a growl and sob. "I followed you to make sure you did nothing foolish in your hunger deprived state and what did you mean by love and feeding?" she asked, stepping forward and standing before the shapeshifter. "My people, we feed off love" he said, his eyes down cast, unable to look up at the Queen, "As in, the pheromone given off during intercourse?" she asked, plainly unable to grasp the simple concept. "No, thats sick, the emotion of love, thats why we shapeshift" he said through gritted teeth, remembering childish pranks involving wastes of the precious food that the Changeling empire was being starved of.
"Quite the interesting tactic, evolution has surprised me many of times in my life time" she said, looking down at the creature below, lost in memory. "Why don't you tell me about your people" The Queen said and from the ground appeared a chair that only a two legged creature could sit in. Excalibur looked at her as she sat down in the flesh throne "There isn't much to tell, we are a dying nation, there is currently a massive food shortage and we lost the war with on of our rival empires, who's rulers just so happen to basically be gods" he said, looking towards a Zergling with a broken tusk that curled at a the Queen's feet.
"Well I heard what you said about an alliance between us and if you promise me that your people will never be a problem for us, help me take the power of these god-like rulers, and give me the a bit of your lots power of shapeshifting, then we'll form that alliance and help your nation expand into the universe" she said, extending a claw towards him in a gesture that e assumed meant someone making a deal and truthfully, this deal sounded to good to be true. "S- sure" he stammered and thrust his hoof forward into her claw, shaking it vigorously.
"Well then, that settles that" she said and let go of his hoof "And will you promise to act civil when we meet our allies?", Excalibur nodded, already thinking of the good news he would bare for his Queen. "Good then, I warn you though, they can be a bit of a rowdy bunch" she said and picked up the changeling, holding him under her arm like luggage "Speaking of which, its time" she said and she walked them through the various chambers of the leviathan and towards the main chamber they generally congregated in.
She put down Excalibur and she watched the middle of the chamber when a green light and a face appeared from the floor and it was very startling to Excalibur, so startling that he hid behind Zagara, who gave him a dirty scowl. A green head floated in the middle of the chamber, it was masculine compared to Izsha's and The Queen's so he concluded it was male. He had a scruffy beard and shaggy hair and he looked to have a scar or two. "Hey there little lady" he said to The Queen, his face rather compassionate to her "Hello Jim" she said, a smile forming on her lips and Excalibur felt waves of warm and positive energy blast off of her.
"Well the docking bay should arrive any minute now so we'll be able to see each other soon enough, you and your-" he coughed "Friends" he said it, forcing himself to sound nice, but Excalibur knew when something said was something false, and that was false. The head disappeared from the center of the room and there was a loud slam from outside, the flaps separating them from outside began to move and Excalibur took a deep breath because if his space voyage had taught him anything, it was that there was no air out there. The flaps were gone in a second, but instead of cold space outside, he saw a long metal tube the reached far outward into the distance.
Ecalibur exhaled and stepped out from behind Zagara, the hall was lite by small little glass lanterns inside of small pockets in the ceiling. "Well, lets go" The Queen said and led the lot of them through the near endless tube and to the other side, there was a large metal door and it opened automatically as The Queen, Dehaka, Zagara, and himself approached. Inside we're so many 'Terrans' as Metamorpha had called them, some in their ridiculous armor, but some wore plain clothing, like a pony would wear to an event. "Hello Sarah" the one named Jim said, he was now a full body with the color other then green.
His skin was a tan-ish color and his shaggy hair and beard were black-brown, he had bulky gloves on each hand, a pair of dark blue pants, a plain white shirt, and a vest covered in an assortment of, what appeared and smelled to be weapons. "Well, either i've been off world longer then I thought, or dogs are getting creepier" Jim said, his eyes directly upon Excalibur, who just growled in response "What kind of infesting has your lot been up to, to produce that" he said, laughing at his apparent joke. "I'm no product of infestation, I'm alien to both groups here" Excalibur said and Jim just looked at him "It talks too" he exclaimed. "Jim, were not here for you to mock an ambassador, were here to talk business" The Queen said and pulled up a chair, sitting down. And so began the boring speak that Excalibur tuned out, because space travel was still an unknown for him and was still very confusing.
Chapter 9: Zeratul's Vision
Excalibur sat on the floor, leaning against the wall near the door, the only ones actually speaking were Jim and the Queen, Excalibur was bored, but thankfully he was no longer hungry. "Well, I think we're all done here" Jim said, obviously unhappy that they were ending their meeting "Um, yes, of course" The Queen said and she stood up from the chair, stepping away and towards the automatic door. "Lets leave" she said and she led Zagara and Dehaka out, but Excalibur wasn't paying attention and he continued leaning against the wall, til he felt something sharp poke him in the back "Excalibur" The Queen said sharply and he jumped.
"What?" he asked turning to look at the queen, his eye lids drooping and his tone tired "It's time to go" she said, stooping down and picking him up. The Zerg and Changeling entered the metal tube, the door closed "Do you love him?" Excalibur asked, his eyes blurring from exhaustion. "Huh?" she asked
"Do you love that Jim fellow?"
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because I'm not hungry"
The Queen sighed "I can't argue with you, because you're right" she said, walking down the near endless tube, "How long til I arrive home?" he asked, almost asleep. Excalibur felt a claw run across his head, neck, and frill, he purred like a cat and it only made him closer to sleeping "Soon little one" she said as he fell asleep.
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Later...
Excalibur shifted in his sleep, he felt something familiar pressing into the far edges of his mind, It's presence was demanding his attention, his dreams were affected by this, but it wasn't malevolent, it filled his dreams with the sound of buzzing wings and the speaking of his people, he was within range of his home at last and he felt his hive-mind once more, but his dreams were cut short by an awful shaking that woke him. He moved slowly and sluggishly as he pulled himself to his feet, but he flew forward when the Leviathan shook painfully, "Excalibur, get of your lazy ass and get to work" Zagara screeched at him "Whats happening?" he asked, pulling himself up warily.
"Protoss at attacking us" she said and offered no explanation as to what, when, where, and why, but she had already rushed off towards the pod chamber, quickly shadowed by Excalibur. They arrived just as the Leviathan gave another painful shudder, Excalibur wasn't affected because he was in the air, while Zagara was just unaffected. "Get in a pod" Zagara said and when Excalibur didn't react, she growled, grabbed him, and tossed him into a pod full of Vipers (Dragonfly Mutalisks). "You'll be leading them in battle, use your hive mind to control them or they'll go feral" she said "and good luck" she added, her voice surprisingly warm, but their was sorrow hiding among her words that confused Excalibur, but before he could add anything, the pod launched out into space and towards a ship that Excalibur could barely make out through the skin of the pod.
The pod approached the ship quickly and before Excalibur knew it, the pod had slammed into the ship and through it's hull, freeing him and his zerg. The Zerg flew out quickly and began to kill the blue skinned creatures, without even receiving a command and no Zerg were lost in the small amount of time it had taken for them to be released from the pod and now. Excalibur looked at the, but now, their attention had turned from the blue skins, to him and their gaze was less then friendly, he cringed, what had Zagara said, control them with the hive mind, was that like communicating via hive mind, oh Crysalis, he was sure to die.
They began to advance towards him, not quickly, but slowly, "Shit, shit, shit" he muttered, beginning to hover backwards a little, but they came as well. "Stop, um, Halt" he kept saying, but the advance never ceased. Excalibur felt something cold brush his flank and he saw they had backed him into a corner "Damn it" he near sobbed, the beast were very close now that he could feel their breath and now they were on top of him, In near perfect unison, they raised their claws to strike him and they came do with extreme speed...
Stop, Please
He waited for the claw to slash him, but they never came, he peeked up and saw they were still as Discord in his stone prison, minus the moving wings. He pondered something, he had said to stop mentally, had he used his hive mind? if he had, then awesome. Um, Attack the Protoss , he mentally tested and the Vipers zoomed of into the distance and Excalibur heard screams of agony and the bloodthirsty screeches of the Vipers. Excalibur near burst with glee, he could control Zerg, awesome.
Excalibur followed the Zerg as they killed and maimed the protoss, the Zerg were taken out in large numbers, but as were the protoss. "Kill them all!" Excalibur screeched, fueled by adrenaline, he even ran forward from behind the Zerg and with a quick lunge and leap, stabbed a protoss through the gut, he pulled his head up and tearing his horn out of the protoss's gut, increasing the size of the wound. Excalibur laughed, it was something different then any laugh he had uttered, it was a cold and maniacal laugh that anyone who knew him would look at him differently, but he had never killed before other then for hunting, but this was different and it was exciting.
Excalibur turned around from his blind charge and saw his forces had been practically decimated in the short period and only one remain of his Viper's, but only one protoss remained. He wore rags held on him by pieces of gold armor and with near effortless force, he sprang forward and cut of the Viper's head, the protoss turned to him and look him in the eyes. "You aren't Zerg, then why do you fight for them" he said, his voice like a whisper through the wind, "Why is it your concern!" Excalibur screeched and with speed he never thought he possessed, leaped at the protoss, his horn flying towards it's head.
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The Queen stood alone upon a pile of bodies, flames surrounding her, she cast her gaze backwards and smiled wickedly, her eyes glowing with a cold and cruel light. From the flames emerged a terran, crawling towards her, The Queen's wings were pulled behind her body and when the terran pushed his hand forward for help it all happened so quickly, the sudden movement of her wings, the look of fear and surprise on the man's face, and finally the quick movement forward into the man's skull.
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Excalibur was standing still as stone on the ground, having been put down by the protoss in the midst of the vision, he pulled his hand away from his face and carefully watched his reaction. "n- No, she promised to help" he mutter, what was to happen to the Changeling's when he arrived home, would they be murdered?. "No, Your LYING!" He cried, unwilling to believe what he had seen and he leaped at the protoss, eyes wide open, but he didn't see the protoss react and with startling speed, slash him with a glowing green blade. Excalibur fell to the ground, he was awake, but he couldn't see from his left eye, but his right field of vision registered a growing pool of blood on his left side right before he blacked out.
Chapter 10: Bargaining Chip
Shadow
That is all that could be seen by the omnipotent being standing in the black citadel, she had been having horrible nightmares recently of strange beasts rampaging across the world and mercilessly killing all, small dog-like creatures killing of those of Equestria, giant monstrous beetles with what looked swords on their backs killing off the dragons, dragonfly-like creatures killing the griffins, and finally, a giant mish mash of all these monsters charging into the Changeling capital and slaughtering the citizens and finally herself, Queen Chrysalis, fourth daughter of the late King, Tyrus and only remaining child of said king. She stood on a podium and before a group of Changelings who wore brown cloaks and had at some unknown point, cut off the frills on their necks. "Are you sure?" she asked the monk Changelings standing, they didn't say a thing, but in unison, shook their heads slowly and gravelly.
"Please, their must be something" she begged "Is it a monetary issue because I-" the head monk cut her off with a hoof "Queen, we would never demand money from our Queen, there is simply nothing to understand, these are quite the strange visions your having, tell me, when did they begin?" he asked. Chrysalis realized now that she hadn't kept track of when she had had them "Um, I believe a little bit after the Canterlot Invasion" she answered, she hated to bring it up and she'd even heard that the one who had thwarted her, Twilight Sparkle, had been turned into an Alicorn due to Celestia.
"Mhm, usually such dreams are the result of a spirit seeking something from the haunted one, were all of our troops accounted for?" he asked and this Chrysalis could memorize, legal documents were something that she had been drilled into memorizing since she was barely able to read. "Of course they wer-!" she stopped, remembering that one troop had been unaccounted for, a young and cowardly Changeling who was originally named Exoskeleton (Everyone knew his parent had been not sober while naming him), but he had gotten everyone to call him after some legendary sword, Excalibur.
"There was one, his name was Exoskeleton, but everyone called him Excalibur, he and I were friends you could say" she said, but they were more then that truthfully, but no need to delve into Those memories. "Maybe this is a warning of sorts, I'm sorry, but we aren't the best on this, maybe you should visit a professional" the head monk said and normally, Chrysalis would have vaporized the monk on the spot, but this wasn't a normal time. Chrysalis didn't say another thing, she merely stood and walked out of the black citadel, it was of a Victorian style building made of Granite, made to heat up quickly in the Changeling's cold, northern home.
Chrysalis walked towards the chariot on the road ahead, everything Changeling's made was in a Victorian style, "Lady Queen" the guards who pulled the chariot said, bowing before the queen and lowering the chariot so she could climb inside. "No Sir, I believe i'll be heading home the old fashioned way" she said and walked past the guards who starred at her, confused. Chrysalis buzzed her wings and lifted upward and she began to fly towards the large castle in the distance, all around her, Changeling citizens fly around on their own business, the Queen among them was common enough, especially as of late.
Her head began to throb suddenly "Uhh" she groaned, she clutched her head because the pain made it feel as if her head was about to explode. "Lady Queen, are you ok?" a female Changeling asked her, hovering in front of her, her mane a dull yellow (Male Changelings are Generic, Females are identifiable by appearance) and her eyes a bright gold. "Yes I- AH!" she screamed and began to fall, but was helped in the air by the female. "Lady Queen, come to my home, it's below" she said and carried Chrysalis to the ground below and walked her into the small home.
"Thank you, I just need to lie down for a moment" Chrysalis said, her words barely audible "Oh yes, come with me" the female said and assisted Chrysalis down a narrow hallway and through a door way at the end of the hall. "Here, we are, do you need any assistance getting into bed" the female said, but Chrysalis ad already managed to crawl into bed "Thank you, I'll just rest my eyes a moments" Chrysalis said completely drifted into sleep.
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Chrysalis was in some kind of cavern, she lit her horn and cast the cave in a bright green light, "Hello" she called "Hello!", there was no response. She looked around the cave and saw a single passage way in the cavern, she knew this place somehow, but how did she know. Chrysalis heard movement in the cavern and with a swift movement, slashed backwards with her horn at it, but she felt something grab her horn "Another move and it comes off" whatever held her horn whispered, it's voice telling Chrysalis it was female. "Why would I need to move" Chrysalis said sarcastically and she felt her horn instantly heat up and burst into green flame, causing the female creature to release her and clutch her burning claw, Chrysalis could now see what it was.
It was some kind of hairless ape, but it also looked like an ape bug, it's face was bare except for a mouth, nose, and glowing purple eyes. She had dreadlocks made of carapace and she was covered in carapace, but still managed to not be obscenely bulky and on her back, were skinless dragon wings. "Nice trick, heres a better one" the creature said and she sent forth a blue sphere, Chrysalis instinctively lowered her head and blasted forth a ray of green magic, reflecting the sphere back at the creature, who just caught it and crushed it.
"Fascinating, your race seems to wield psionic energy almost as well as the protoss" she said "Greetings, my name is Sarah Kerrigan" she extended a claw towards Chrysalis. "I am Queen Chrysalis" she said, shaking the claw with her hoof "And may I inquire as to why you kidnapped me" she asked. Sarah laughed "Kidnapped? You have it wrong, this is a dream and I've managed to project our consciousness here through our respective Hive Minds" she said, now chuckling lightly. "Why though?" Chrysalis asked, narrowing her eyes at Sarah "I think this is a fairly good reason" Sarah said and she took a large step to the left and right there, fast asleep, was Excalibur, but he looked different.
He was thinner then he had been before and his left eye was swollen and shut, his right eye looked ok, but he was covered in various scars. "What have you done to him?" Chrysalis asked, her voice tense, trying to keep from verbally and physically assaulting this creature. "We have done nothing, most if this he did himself, except the eye, he was attacked for that one, but this is beside the point" she said "We rescued him from an abandoned planet and I'll just jump to the point, for his safe return, we gain full access to your planet and we need somewhere to land"
Chrysalis was now cornered, either allow aliens in her home or lose and innocent Changeling and most likely be wiped out by angry aliens. "...fine" she muttered and when she looked, Sarah and Excalibur were gone, but a victorious laughter could be heard now "Excellent Choice" Chrysalis heard echo through the caverns and now she woke up.
View Online
Chapter 11: Zagara's Heart and Matt Horner is Naked
Chrysalis's eyes fluttered open to gaze upon an unfamiliar ceiling, one decorated with bright colors from a mural consisting of flowers, little rabbits, and every other cute or joyful thing under Celestia's Sun. "Good morning Lady Queen" a voice said close by, Chrysalis glanced towards it and saw it had come from the Changeling from earlier, the one with the dull yellow mane and golden eyes. "Morning?" she asked, sitting up in the bed, her voice a low and tired grumble and her eyelids dropping, but once her still tired mind processed what the Changeling had said, she looked out a window next to the bed and saw the sun beginning it's accent into the sky. "Oh No" she said, shooting out of the bed and barreling past the Changeling, but she stopped for a second "Thank you" she said, not looking back, but feeling the Changeling watching her "You can expect payment for your kindness soon" Chrysalis said and disappear out the door and into the skies, right before she was positively swarmed by her guards.
"Queen, where have you been, we've searched high and low for you" the captain said, the lack of sleep apparent on his face, as was the relief. "Relax Sir, I just came down with something and a kind citizen took me into their home til I recovered" she said, trying with little success to calm the captain. "Your sick, then we must get you off your wings and out of this cold" he said and began to shove her into a curtained chariot, padded with pillows. Chrysalis sighed and lay down on the pillows, the memory of her dream began to invade her mind, had it been real or just a fantasy created by her sick mind, it had felt so real that she couldn't tell. "Just, why" she said, burying her head into the pillows, she had seen Excalibur, but he hadn't seemed right, he was too thin, were these creatures unloving beasts, he had been to scarred and his eye had just seemed awful, could they turn on a whim, she had no way of knowing, even her knowledge of the outer reaches of the solar system were limited.
Chrysalis was omnipotent, the god of Lie and Deceit, she knew their system was in a sector of the galaxy know as the Koprulu Sector and the three dominant powers were Terrans, Protoss, and the Zerg. The Terrans were led by someone named Arcturus Mengsk, the Protoss by one with a name she couldn't pronounce to save her life, but it started with a T she was sure, and the Zerg by a giant creature called, The Overmind. She was stressing herself out unnecessarily, she had already agreed to let them land and they promised to return Excalibur, everything would be normal soon and who knows, they might even help her take over a certain nation to the south.
Chrysalis lifted her head and gazed outward through the curtains, the only things illuminating the gray sky was Celestia's sun and a small purple star- "Wait, star?". It was a small purple thing laying on the distant horizon, it didn't act like a normal star because it moved much too quickly, Chrysalis moved the curtains and flew out "Queen, whats wrong?" the captain asked, but Chrysalis didn't answer, she just flew as fast as she could towards the castle that was home to her and the many nobles of the Changelings.
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Two eyes drifted open, one was a misty blue with a white-ish pupil, the other was a pure white thing with a light gray scar running over it. "What happened?" Excalibur groaned, rubbing his head with a hoof, one of his fields of vision was blurry, the other was just totally blank "Good, your awake" Zagara said and Excalibur focused his blurry vision on her, her expression was blank and that concerned him. "Whats with my eyes?"" he asked, beginning to climb to his feet, but they were wobbly from no use, when she didn't answer, he grew even more concerned "What with my Eyes?" he demanded.
Zagara didn't answer this time either, but she picked up a small piece of metal and held it before him and now he could see why she didn't answer. "Oh Chrysalis" he said, taking the metal and rubbing his face around his blinded eye "Why me, oh why do the gods hate me" he said, wanting to cry, but he could find no tears to shed. "We believe it was one of the protoss" Zagara said, taking the piece of metal from him and putting it back on a ledge in the leviathan's flesh "I am... sorry" she said, forcing out the last word, but no out of uncaring, more so for not showing that she cared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chrysalis stood before a giant door deep within the catacombs of her castle, she pulled it open with a twinge of magic and when she was inside, slammed the door shut. The chamber she was in was dark and had a smell reminiscent of gelatin and smoke, she lit the comber with magic and the light spread quickly and revealing the contents of the chamber; pods, each one filled with an alien creature. Each one was of three categories, blue skinned creatures without mouths, but when Chrysalis interacted with them, they spoke clearly and crisply through her mind, their were insectoid monsters that didn't even speak, only snarled and attempted to kill her and finally, their were was only one of this category, creatures that were often called 'Terran', but Chrysalis had heard that was just an outsider name and their species were called Humans.
Chrysalis went towards this one for she hadn't even interacted with this one, she had merely been told it had been unconscious when it was found in the burning rubble of what one was a ship. She looked at it through the little window that all the pods had, she knew it was male because it wore no clothes, none of the ones in pods did because they had found out that the goo that kept the occupants alive stained clothes, no matter what variety, all came out with a sickly green tint so they always stripped them down before placing them inside and in the case of males, Chrysalis kept herself as far away as possible. She looked at the creature, she had to let this one out to help her, but first, she have to locate it's clothes and for that, she'd need her scientist to tell her where they were.
She walked towards a door in the back and opened it to a brightly lit hall lined with more door then she could count "Lady Queen" a female changeling with orange eyes and flaming red mane said to her "What brings you here?", Chrysalis looked the smaller Changeling in the eyes "Where do we keep the clothes of the aliens?" she asked and the female Changeling gave her a confused look "Why?" she asked.
"Because you don't expect me to speak with an alien and when it wakes up it finds itself naked before the ruler of a kingdom" she said it like even a larva would have been able to figure it out. "Um yes, of course, it's the thirtieth door down, I can't remember which though" she said and bowed before the Queen before going back to her work. Chrysalis sighed, this would be fun, she walked down the endless halls and counted as she walked, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30!
She looked left and right, one of the doors was blood stained and the other was white and pristine, she was going to try her luck with the clean door. She pushed it open and saw a giant tank with large purple tentacles coming out of it, three Changelings meanwhile ran and flew around trying to avoid the tentacle while twenty soldiers tried to subdue the beast, Chrysalis slammed the door shut "Ok" she said, standing tall and her eyes wide, she turned around and cautiously pushed it open and saw piles of clothes, none made to fit a Changeling "Wait, then why..." she said, looking from the clothes door to the one with the monster, why was it blood stained and the other wasn't "Whatever" she said and ran through the clothes laid about the room in neat little piles, she knew what the blue ones wore and those were just about the only ones she saw until in a far corner was a small pile of clothes.
They were the only ones that weren't armor and they were more like the clothes of a captain, covered in medals and other thing that suggested high command. "Looks about right" she said, picking them up and unfolding them, she mentally compared their size with the size the man and they seemed about right, she draped them across her back and left the room and quickly walked past the room with the monster in it and through the door and back into the room with the pods. She casually made her way back to the pod holding the Terran.
Author's Note
I don't regret this one bit, Matt Horner is naked in a pod and the clothes bit was more so I could squeeze the monster part in :3
Excalibur hardly moved, he just stood their starring at his own face and no one sought to help him, except Zagara "It isn't all that bad" she said, reaching towards him but he pulled away "You don't understand, you couldn't fathom the horrible feeling of losing something you've had since birth" he said, his voice was hollow and pained. "But it's only one eye" she said "your exaggerating" she said "It's not like your dead", she expected Excalibur to say something sharp in return, but he didn't say a thing, just continued to look at the piece of metal that reflected his face.
"YOUR IMPOSSIBLE!" she screamed.
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Matt was in darkness, he remembered that he had gone to a remote base of the Raider's when he been attacked by the Zerg, he was aware that their were some Broodmothers not under the control of Kerrigan, but he hadn't worried about it, until a group of Zerg had attacked his ship and cause it to crash on a remote world, he wasn't even aware if it was inhabited or not. He was now endlessly reliving that memory when he was jolted awake by a splash of extremely cold water. He moved in a jolting manner, but his sudden awakening found him tied up in a chair, his hands behind the chair and his legs firmly immobilized.
"Hello?" he called out to the surrounding darkness, he could see structures around him, appearing to be in some kind of medieval style that had once existed on the human homeworld of Earth. There looked to be statues around him and the style made him think of gargoyles, but almost all of them looked to be the same four-legged creature with some odd armor on with the faint outline of wing reminiscent of insects, but one statue stood different from the others.
This one was taller and thinner then the others, but it had the same hole riddled limbs, but this one also had a gnarled horn jutting from it's head, like a unicorn of sort, it just stood there ominously. "Is anyone there?" he called and that when he saw shifting in the darkness near one of the smaller, armored sculptures. He starred intently at it hoping to catch another flash of movement, but found none and when he turned his head back into a forward facing direction, he found a pair of bright green eyes starring into his own, he attempted to jump away, but couldn't.
Chrysalis pov ~~~~~~~~~~~
Chrysalis starred into the eyes of the alien and she suppressed a laugh when it tried to jump from her, "Nice to see your awake" she said and with a sweep of her tail turned to her guards and with a low and disturbing crackling sound, the guards left the chamber with only the queen and her captive. The alien moved to talk, but Chrysalis spoke before it could "I suppose introductions are in order first of all, I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changeling" her voice graceful and imposing in it's way.
"What the hell do you want with me?" the alien growled at the queen
"Only the latest of news and they i'll send on your way"
"What?"
Chrysalis heaved a sigh "You heard me, I want news".
The alien starred at her in confusion and Chrysalis, known for temper or patience, put on her fiercest and most intimidating face, but the alien, to her surprise, hardly seemed to notice. "What do you mean by 'news'?" it asked and now it was Chrysalis's turn to put on a confused expression "As in, whats happening out in space" she uttered, unsure of her own words.
Excalibur pov ~~~~~~~~~~
Excalibur had done nothing throughout the course of the orbital hovering, just mutely starring at his own reflection, Kerrigan looked on, uncaring, Dehaka couldn't have given a damn, Izsha expressed no emotion, Abuthur as always, had no concern other then the Swarm's efficiency however, one stood beside him and continuously tried to get him to stop mopping, Zagara. "Your alive at least" she said, looking down on him with pity.
Excalibur managed a small nod, there was that upside, but he knew he would never recover from this because he had been starved throughout his time in space and his body lacked the nutrients to heal him. "I suppose your right, but it's still going to take sometime to get used to" he said, lowering his head and dropping the metal. Zagara's eyes lit up as she swiftly scooped up the Changeling and placed him on her back "It'll get better, you'll see" she said, her voice cheerful and Excalibur couldn't help but smile when the Broodmother walked back to the front of the leviathan with the others.
Chrysalis pov ~~~~~~~~~~
The alien shook it's head "I don't understand" he said in a low tone that made Chrysalis less then happy. "Zerg! Tell me what is going on with them" she screamed, making the alien jump and stare at her wide eyed "Why do you wish to know about the Zerg" he asked and Chrysalis was sick of this creatures stupidity. A bright green beam shot from her horn and struck the creature in the forehead, it was the spell she had used on Shining Armor only this time, it was used to delve into the mind and not control.
Images flashed before the changeling queen of fighting, terrans fighting zerg and some women being carried away by whom she assumed was the terran leader and zerg bodies littered the area. She now saw the creature from her dreams one some terran world launching a full on zerg assualt and Chrysalis realized the creature that had presented her Excalibur's life for landing was the women being carried away by the terran.
Chrysalis cried out as she stumbled back, she had seen monsters destroying machines, machines destroying monsters and men killing others men. She panted as she looked back at the alien, it too panted in distress and Chrysalis recovered 'What the hell did I just see?!" she screamed and the alien looked at her with eyes that, quite frankly, were very intimidating.
"That was the invasion of Korhal by the Queen of Blades, it resulted in the death of Arcturus" he panted, his voice was venom to her ears. Chrysalis squinted, so her knowledge was out of date, the zerg were no longer under the Overmind, but this 'Queen of Blades' and the terran leader had been slain. "I would still like to know your name" Chrysalis said, trying to change the topic into something more pleasant then what her delving had brought about.
"Matt Horner, second in command of Raynor's Raiders" he spoke his full title in a way that might have been used to scare another, but Chrysalis had no idea what these raiders were so it did nothing. "So Matt, I received the knowledge I wish" Chrysalis said and walked towards the terran and suddenly kissing the human full on, he was surprised at first, but he melted into the kiss quickly and Chrysalis felt the waves of lust pour from him now, how much action did this poor creature get.
Chrysalis broke the kiss suddenly and with her hoof, knocked the creature unconscious, he could be useful to her later and she didn't plan on wasting this opportunity. She summoned her guards back and commanded them to take Matt to one of the castle suites and to guard it with their lives and when he awoke, to send him to her in her throne room.
Chapter 13: The Crystal Empire Falls
Excalibur was impatient it was finally time for him to return home to his fellow Changelings and his beloved queen "Impatient?" Zagara asked next to him and Excalibur could only manage a nod. He gazed up his home, the beautiful glittering snow of the north and the majestic mountains resting up the horizon, it was a true sight to behold especially from this height. He saw many shapes on the same horizon and though he couldn't tell what they were from sight, he could tell from the warm presence stating to appear within him that they were his people and in vast numbers he felt he should add.
"Look at them all, it's good to finally be home" Excalibur said and took a deep breath of the ice cold air that the Changelings had no problem with, but lesser races might. The Changelings were closing the distance between the Leviathan and them quickly and he finally saw his Queen in her beautiful and deadly radiance. Kerrigan made her way over to him and Zagara and gazed up the Changelings coming ever closer, they stood in silence until finally, the arrived before the lone Changeling and the Zerg with his Queen before all.
Chrysalis kept her silence and floated down onto the soft and spongy ground, she kept herself tall and dignified before the Queen of Blades, never wavering, never faltering. "Greetings Changeling Queen" Kerrigan said and took a humble bow before her and Chrysalis made no move just stood examining the Zerg Queen before Kerrigan pulled herself up. "As promised, the safe return of your Changeling" Kerrigan said and somewhat roughly, pushed Excalibur forward before his one true queen.
Excalibur gazed up at the majesty that was Chrysalis and she looked down on her subject with a warm grin gracing her features. The Queen knelt down and hugged Excalibur and he returned the gesture, holding back a sob that put pressure in his throat. Chrysalis suddenly let go of Excalibur and went back to calmly looking at Kerrigan, but in her eyes he could see somewhat of horror and fear and not of Kerrigan, but of the sight of him and how terrible he had appeared.
Chrysalis pov ~~~~~~~~~~~
Chrysalis looked into the eyes of Sarah, she had been somewhat mortified of what she had seen of her subject and friend, he was skin and bones, blinded in his left eye, plus many scars and bruises adorned his body especially a bruise around his throat that had only begin to heal. Chrysalis refused to waver, she was about the speak when Sarah spoke, cutting her off.
"Excalibur told me about your problem with this 'Equestria'? was it? I can lend you troops that will help you conquer them" she spoke casually.
Chrysalis couldn't move anymore now, an interstellar threat was offering her aid, it seemed far to good to be even close to true. She managed to move her jaw to speak "Is this some sort of trick?" she said, an edge in her voice and when she expect the Zerg Queen to respond, it was Excalibur who spoke.
"It is no trick Lady Queen, she speaks true" he said, excited as he said it.
"Excalibur is right, no trick, but there is something I want from you" Sarah said in an unsettling voice "Your troops will work with mine and your Changeings who fall will be... harvested, so to speak". Chrysalis's head recoiled from this, her dead were to be harvested, sure the death of a Changeling had some rather grim afterwards consisting of the deads body being used to help grow the garden that all Changelings owned so that even in death, they still provided for their families.
"I suppose that would be acceptable" Chrysalis said in a barely audible voice, she could hear the soldiers she had taken with her begin to grow uneasy and mutter among themselves. Sarah Kerrigan offered her claw to Chrysalis, similar to the way she had in the dream and Chrysalis, all the same, took the claw with a cold feeling of dread coming from within.
Kerrigan released Chrysalis's hoof with a smile "Let us go then" she said and Chrysalis felt the beast she was standing in give a massive shudder and through the opening she saw hundreds of pods dropping from the beast and they burst open once they hit the ground, creating fleshy structure almost instantly and spreading purple stuff over the snow.
"What is the nearest settlement to our current location?" Kerrigan said, looking behind Chrysalis at the Changeling soldiers that had accompanied their queen. Chrysalis thought it over for a second and it didn't take her long to remember the only other nation in the frozen north.
"It is a large nation that has only be uncovered recently and it is led by a foreign princess who just so happens to be one of the creatures that ruined my conquest of Equestria" Chrysalis said, her tone was of hardly disguised anger as she thought of Cadence.
"Can I have a name?" Kerrigan asked
"I think it's called the Crystal Empire" Chrysalis said, not really sure about one of the nations they were currently at war with, there were just so many.
"Crystal? Why is it called the Crystal Empire?" Kerrigan asked, her head tilted to the side.
Chrysalis looked back down at the ground and saw that there were many of the alien creatures below, all of which had been in her nightmares. "Its because everything there is made of Crystallized minerals, even the inhabitants" Chrysalis said, not taking her eyes off the growing numbers below.
"Everything eh, that is a plus for us because my zerg need it to grow to larger sizes and morph" Kerrigan said and ran her claw across Excalibur's head. Chrysalis nodded, not really listening anymore and was somewhat glad to see the numbers below had begun to slow in their increasing. Chrysalis brought her head back and looked at Kerrgan.
"Then let's begin" she said.
Chapter 14: All is Fair in Love and War
Chrysalis hovered outside of the large beast as it traveled over the great tundra, a large blue dome sat on the horizon and Chrysalis could only guess what hid inside. Chrysalis noticed the beast slow in speed and just hovered now, A small black creature flew towards her, it was Excalibur, still horribly thin and eye a white orb "Lady Queen, The Queen of Blades to me to inform you that she can not invade the Crystal Empire" Excalibur said, he hobbled in his flight and it was clear how weak he was after his weeks of being stuck in space.
"Why would that be?" Chrysalis asked, she saw Excalibur panting lightly and there were rings under his eyes, she felt very sorry for him. "Theres a psi disrupter field protecting the empire and if she enters theres a chance of her dying and any lesser zerg would implode on entering" he said "However there are some creatures in the Leviathan that could enter and take out the source off the field"
Chrysalis nodded at this "Then tell them to be deployed and i'm guessing that if her Zerg can't enter then my Changelings can't either" she said. Excalibur saluted and zoomed off and back into the Leviathan to tell Kerrigan, Chrysalis looked on as a large creature leaped out of the hovering beast and was followed by hundreds of creatures that looked zerg, but were more reptilian then there insectoid counterparts.
Cadence
The Alicorn Princess sighed and her husband looked to her "You alright?" he asked, he too sounded as she felt; Bored, the day had been rather dull and neither ruler of the empire had anything left to do. "Princess!" a loud voice yelled from outside and the door flew open to reveal a grey crystal pony in blue armor. "Yes Guard?" Cadence asked the panting solider.
"Th- there monsters outside, they just walked through the barrier and started killing the soldiers outside the city" he panted and Cadence pulled herself upright. "Thats impossible, the barrier protects us from and manner of creature with malicious intent" she said and she looked out the window to see close to the city's center were monsters of all sort and Guards bleeding on the ground in their wake.
"How is that possible, what would they be here for?" Cadence wondered aloud and that when the Guard shuffled nervously. "There is more Princess, outside we spotted a large creature with hundreds of small shapes floating around, when we looked through our telescopes we saw they were- they were Changelings" the guard said nervously and Cadence froze at the mention "THERE AFTER THE HEART!" she yelled.
"How long do we have til they reach the Heart?" Shining asked and Cadence looked back out the window to see that it was to late to estimate, they were upon the palace. A large, hulking blue beast held The Heart in it's monstrous claw and Cadence could hear it's voice from her high vantage. "Dehaka collect essence. Puny creatures will fall before me" It bellowed and it heaved The Heart at the ground and with a thunderous crack, it shattered along with the barrier protecting the empire.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chrysalis smiled darkly as the barrier shattered, her hooves firmly planted in the snow, her Changelings were gathered behind "Go forth my Changelings, finish them!" Chrysalis yelled and her soldiers surged forward followed by the aliens, she didn't follow them, but instead flew towards the tower in the city's center. The Crystal ponies corpses were strewn about the city but there were still soldiers protecting the palace itself, they killed the Changelings and Zerg without a single problem, so Chrysalis decided to intervene. She charged from the side and impaled two soldiers on her horn before casting them aside, she blasted two more with her horn, killing them. There were only two left, but before Chrysalis herself could kill them, a Changeling launched itself at the and, while tearing out one's through with his horn, broke the others neck with a swift kick to the head.
It was Excalibur, Chrysalis smiled at him before he flew off to continue his fighting else where, she turned back to the entrance and began to climb inside, there were a few soldier here and there in the way of Chrysalis's objective, but they were no match against her magic. Chrysalis came upon two large double doors and with the mighty shove, they blacted forward to reveal the throne room and upon the throne was Cadence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cadence was hastily writing a letter to her aunt, she was only half way through when the door blasted open to reveal Chrysalis "I should have known it was you" Cadence said, her voice full of contempt, but Chrysalis only laughed lightly as she stepped closer. "My dear, you have no idea how long I've wished to do this" Chrysalis said darkly, but Cadence glared at the Changeling. "What the hell were those things out there?" Cadence said.
Chrysalis smiled "Just some friends I picked up" she said, Cadence heard foot steps out in the hall, they were unlike the steps of hooves, but they had the same general sound. A creature walked inside the throne room, it stood upright and it was covered in natural armor with skinless wings coming from it's back. Cadence realized she was out of time, she picked up the letter, but before she could send it Chrysalis leaped forward and tore out Cadence's throat. She couldn't cry out and there was a small blood splatter on the paper and Chrysalis smiled at her "Any last words, Princess " she said sarcastically, but Cadence smiled at her and with a small blue jet of fire from her horn, the letter shot forward in a puff of smoke.
"NOO!" Chrysalis cried and she desperately tried to catch the smoke in a magic bubble, but the magic smoke evaded her every attempt to capture it until it had disappeared beyond her magical range. Chrysalis looked out the window at the smoke until it disappeared from her sight. She turned suddenly, her face a contortion of rage and hatred "You bitch, I'll make you fucking pay!" Chrysalis screamed and her magic took hold of Cadence's horn and with a quick snap, the horn was broken off. Cadence couldn't scream because of her throat being across the room but that didn't stop her face from contorting into one of absolute pain.
Chrysalis wasn't done yet, she took hold of Cadence's horn wit her hoof and with a wild scream, she stabbed Cadence through the eye, killing her instantly. Sarah said nothing, just stood by and watched, her human side was appalled by what it had just seen, but her zerg side showed on the surface and took on a face of grim delight, this would end well for her if she played her cards just right.
Chapter 15: Thoughts of Changelings
Chapter 15: Thoughts of Changelings
Chrysalis trod across ice and snow, the Changelings zoomed out and about the Leviathan, Chrysalis was alone with her thoughts in this moment and they were far from pretty. After she had violently killed Cadence she felt bad for the Princess, she had only been doing her job throughout the course of Chrysalis's invasions and it hadn't really been what she deserved so Chrysalis had done something back in the city to hopefully make things better. It hadn't been much but she felt that it had done it purpose and Chrysalis was happy for the fact.
She had ordered all the bodies of the Crystal Ponies to be burned in the center of the city and Cadence's body had been the last to burn and, rather then laugh at the grisly display, she had spoken in to the noble battle the Crystal Empire had put up and ended it with a fabricated tale of Cadence giving her life to save the Empire though it had been in vain. She reached a hoof toward her neck and from a strong thread hung a pink rod, the horn of Cadence, still supercharged with energy.
~~~~~~~
Excalibur hovered just outside the Leviathan, he felt remorse, the Crystal Empire hadn't really done anything against them and it had only been a matter of revenge, though his time in space had cut him off from most of what had happened, he had caught up quickly. He began to feel the exhaustion he had begun to feel since his return and only now he noticed how much he had changed. Blinded in one eye, covered in gray black scars, and bone thin, he was in poor health but that hadn't been part of the exhaustion he felt, that seemed to emanate from the Queen of the Changeling.
He flew back inside as the chill began to set into his bones, he was unsure of what he could be doing at this moment, while some Changelings had taken up the jobs of scouts, others had begun to maintain the Leviathan. His wings fluttered weakly as he walked across the squishing flesh of the Leviathan, he felt positively useless.
~~~~~~~
Chrysalis began to hover, Equestria had probably received the unfinished letter by now and though what had been written hadn't exactly been enough to define what happened, the blood spatter would. Celestia would have defenses up and, though the Crystal Empire's defenses were outdated, Equestria's weren't. Alongside all of that no one had found Shining Armor, she had attempted to but just couldn't. Such thoughts steered it back to Cadence, while the horn was considered by her troops to be a grim trophy of the victory she knew that wasn't true, she in truth had kept it as something to remind herself to never do what she had done ever again. She felt remorse for her actions.
~~~~~~~
Honey kept her eyes downward as she hovered under the monstrous creature, she could feel what the other Changelings felt about these Alien Creatures, a new chance at revenge, a return to their glory, but Honey felt only dread from the beings and even their Queen left a sickening feeling in her stomach. Her dull mane and tail hung limp as she flew, she did want to be singled out among the others so she kept her feelings to herself.
Though the male Changelings traditional to the role of soldiers because of their generic appearances, it was usually the female Changelings were more of the chaotic aspects of life came from, art, music, the like. Traditions said it was that way because of the fact that the females were individuals in appearance and held the chaotic natures to their cores, but Honey was far from chaotic. Life had a set to it and that was the way life was.
Author's Note
Honey is the Changeling that helped Chrysalis a couple chapters ago in case that wasn't clear and I'm sorry this is a short chapter, just want to let y'all know I'm alive and this story isn't dead.
Chapter 16: Letter From a Dead Princess
Chapter 16: Letter From a Dead Princess
Celestia sat in her throne, her eyes looking to the skies, hours ago dark clouds had appeared to the north and Celestia had a sickening feeling in her gut of troubles ahead. She could feel power coming from beyond the clouds and dreaded them for one had the familiar feeling of one she had fought long before, Queen Chrysalis, but that was only one power, none of the others were familiar to her and that she dreaded.
She couldn't think clearly as to what they could be and she was not the one in charge of such things, Luna had taken up that occupation after her return and though she had objected to her sister taking up the laborious task of cataloging beings of power, Luna had eventually gotten her to give in by playing upon her feelings of being the younger sister. Celestia looked to the clouds and saw something bright among them and she was able to instantly recognize what it was, a letter sent through magic and judging from it's direction, it had left from the Crystal Empire.
Celestia sped up it's journey hastily with a quick speed spell, she had nothing else to do at the moment so hurrying a letter was the only thing she could do right now without infringing on Luna's nightly duties. The letter moved faster then it had been before, fit to out race Rainbow Dash and, much to the surprise of the Princess, the letter sped towards her. It was in front of her in a matter of seconds and swirled to return to a solid state before Celestia and she gasped at it.
The letter bore the seal of Cadence, but it wasn't pressed in wax like the seal of other letters, it had been burned in by magic, always a grave sign among Equestrians. The letter itself was no better a sign, while the parchment itself was unremarkable, the spatter of blood upon it wasn't. Celestia hastily opened the letter and read it's contents.
"I fear that there isn't much time to write this, but the news is grave and I know I won't survive long enough to tell you personally, The Changelings have invaded The Empire, but they were accompanied by Zerg, I know they shouldn't be here, but they are and they are ravaging the city as I write this, I fear that they plan to invade Equestria next, hurry please, set up the defenses, rally the militia, alert the soldiers, do something but hurry please and Auntie, I love you, tell Twilight and Luna I love them too
Cade-
The letter cut off before she had finished signing her name and below the blood was spattered, Celestia knew her niece was dead, a quick magic test confirmed the blood as hers. Tears were streaming down her face as she finished reading and read again to make sure she missed nothing of importance in the letter, her magic flickered from the letter and, without it's magical support, it floated down to the ground, touching down silently.
Celestia starred into blank space and, without warning, she wailed loudly, fit to be heard across the world and she sobbed uncontrollably, continuing to wail, only once before, when she thought her sister lost forever, had she last herself to grief like this. Her Guards rushed into the room upon hearing her screams and they found her curled on the floor, her wings held tight to her body and the little bit of mascara she wore running.
Soon following the Guards was The Night Princess herself, Luna and, upon seeing her sister,ordered the Guards to leave, she'd deal with this personally. As soon as they left, she rushed towards her elder sister "What is wrong?" she asked, extreme worry in her voice, but Celestia didn't respond, unable to hear her sister, but Luna did not need a response as she caught sight of the letter.
She skimmed it quickly and looked at it wide eyed, she turned her gaze back to her sister and let the letter drop as her sister had, her expression changed into one of support and understanding, Luna was always the better at hold emotions, but even her eyes watered after reading the letter. She lay a hoof upon her sisters shoulder, closing her eyes and letting her head droop as she sobbed silently along with her sister's wails of grief.
Author's Note
So Hi, this story is coming back I guess, enjoy it and stuff, so crying Princesses are what we got here, enjoy the feelings.
At the end of the Chrysalis incident, a powerful blast powered by love, sent all the Changelings away from Equestria, but one Changeling was unlucky enough to receive the strongest part of the blast and left Equestria altogether, his name was Excalibur.
Excalibur woke up and the first thing he registered was he was laying on a beach and his carapace was smoking. He pulled himself up and looked up and down the coast and it was obvious he wasn't home, because the trees up ahead had a strange bark and rather odd leaves. He remembered a movie he'd seen when he had diguised himself as a young stallion and went out with his girlfriend "I don't think I'm in Equestria anymore" he spoke in his snake-like voice, quoting the movie.
