Catalyst

Chapter 57: Negotiation

Tassadar could not pretend to know all of what was happening. Between the bizarre new almost terran-like zerg strain, the oddly warped psionic techniques the terrans were using, and the other grotesque zerg which looked to be several of those psionic humans linked together in a horrid fashion, he could understand that there were perhaps dozens of factors he was entirely unaware of. But there were still zerg and there were still terrans, and for as long as he could stand, he would stand between them.

The templar began by creating a rippling storm of lightning, thrusting it towards the larger monstrosity. Smoke rolled off its charring flesh as the lightning danced across the beast, black burns carving their way across the terran faces. Whatever brood had infested this distant colony had fallen to new depths of depravity, even beyond what he had seen before.

The monstrosity shuddered for a second, before it snapped its multitude of arms out from its body, banishing the lightning from itself. In the next second it lurched forward, its many gazes focused directly on Tassadar, hands forming many globes of light. A second zerg, smaller and looking more terran-like than the first, whirled out from behind its larger brethren, launching a hooked tendril towards the elderly human.

"You have got to be kidding me, Dumbledore. A protoss! You summoned a protoss, and you just had to get this one. You have no idea how much I'll enjoy ripping apart your flesh after this, you decrepit little nuisance!" the small one shouted.

Tassadar had already batted away the tentacle with a burst of force by the time it finished speaking, but couldn't afford to take any other actions in the face of a sudden barrage from the monstrosity. It's various mouths let out pained groans as the terran limbs contorted and twisted to fling balls of psionic force into Tassadar's shield. Meanwhile, the other terran, Dumbledore if the terranoid zerg was to be trusted, formed ranks with the infested terran as the two formed their own shields and cast their own explosive psionic blasts at the zerg. How an infested could turn against its creators was beyond Tassadar, but that was a minor consideration given how utterly absurd the whole situation already was.

The blasts were deflected by the abomination, it's multitude of limbs slapping the blasts away almost contemptuously. The smaller zerg stopped spending any effort on its disguise, warping into a many armed brute that rushed forward and began beating its limbs on the terran Dumbledore's shields with surprising ferocity even for a zerg. Tassadar moved to assist, but was blocked by a line of blue fire extending from the horrific monstrosity. It raised its arms, preparing a dozen psionic patterns to launch at Tassadar and the infested. The two of them exchanged a glance, before Tassadar reinforced his shield, the infested began launching its own psionic blasts, and both turned their focus utterly towards the battle.

(Transition)

The second Abathur's bisected halves hit the ground, the hivemind screamed. The multitude of threads wrapped like a knot around his commanding presence fell free, lashing wildly in the air, as chaotic and unrestrained as the zerg were now, running rabid all over the planet, no doubt ravaging the humans even more thoroughly. But only for a second. That was all Luna would allow.

She reached out with her mind, shaping her thoughts like her physical tendrils, grabbing the flailing leashes and lashing them together, binding them all to her. She snatched them up by the dozens, the hundreds, the thousands, coiling them into a massive knot within her mind, seizing control. Her net grew across the surface of the Earth, wrapping all of the Swarm into her. She felt the feet of a thousand zerglings stall, digging into the soil, the plants, the concrete, felt the burrowing claws of roaches stop, half stuck in the rock.

In a matter of seconds, she was the net holding a million zerg together, covering half the surface of the planet.

It was remarkable. It was everything she had ever wanted, to explore the breadth and width of the world, to be connected to so many, to know and be aware of them intimately, every quirk and oddity of their biology, hers to explore. She was the center of a hive that was wrapped across half of the world.