Chapter 340 – Master Of None

DEN Stage

"Welcome back!" Alec said, swirling a tumbler of Westria before taking a whiff of the potent drink. "I hope you're enjoying the show so far! I must say, John and Aqua have surprised me. I knew the director had something cooked up when the door changed to StarCraft - AU, but I never expected this to happen. It gives me the shivers not knowing what happens next in a story, and this one isn't failing to disappoint."

He looked up from his glass, a broad smile forming on his face. "Now, I know you are wondering why we are here. Well, it's important you see, to put in a delay before resolving a cliffhanger. This drives further engagement, as audiences eagerly await the outcome of a scene. Media companies figured this out long ago and put commercial breaks into their shows to generate revenue while building anticipation. We here at DEN are, if nothing else, shamelessly willing to copy their example. So without further ado, let's have a word from today's sponsor."

He pulled a sheaf of papers from his jacket pocket, flipped through them a few times, then settled on one. The lights changed on the DEN stage, and his voice boomed across the cosmos.

"RAID’s Festival Of Frights Is Here!

ARE YOU READY FOR SPOOKY SEASON IN TELERIA?

The Festival of Frights has kicked off in Teleria once again, with brand-new events, boosts, & much more coming to celebrate this scarily awesome time of year. Hunt Pumpkins scattered throughout RAID & beyond by Harvest Jack for valuable rewards, fuse a mind-bending new Legendary Dark Elf Champion - Orynyx Mindcrawler - via a Fusion Event, and revel in the spooktacular new design & OST for the Bastion.

Alongside Orynyx, there are two more Legendary Champions joining the fight for Teleria in this frightful time - Vott Head-lopper and Tartarus the Oarsman. Both bring power and dread aplenty to the battlefield, so you won’t want to miss out on getting them. What are you waiting for? Dive into all the terrifyingly amazing activities for RAID’s Festival of Frights!"

"BOOOOO!!!!!" "ENOUGH ALREADY!!!" "NOBODY CARES ABOUT RAID!!!" "GET BACK TO THE SHOW!!!"  Voices boomed back just as loud as Alec's had, and suddenly he was pelted with rotten vegetables, half-drunk cups of pop, and for some reason, Pande's donkey made a reappearance and kicked the table in front of him away before barreling off into the curtains and into the break room again. 

"Fine! Geeze, you would think I killed your firstborn or something." Alec said, deflecting the offal being thrown with his sheath of papers. "With that, back to our show!" He grabbed his drink, snapped his fingers, and time started to move forward again in the world of StarCraft.

December 15th, 2499

02:25 SCT

Crash Site, Near Turtle Bay Research Facility B

“I ain’t no princess; I’m the bloody Queen. C’mon, then! If you want to taste my blood, you’ll first taste my blade!” Sarah shouted, pushing the remainder of her psionic power into her combat knife, the process causing electrical static to arc around her whole body. She leapt toward the lead Zergling, meeting it in midair as it lunged toward her as well. The psionic power exploded when they connected, and she buried the blade to its hilt in its skull.

She was knocked back as the heavier Zergling's momentum overcame her own, and a moment later, she found herself pinned under its corpse. She tried to wiggle the blade free, but she couldn't get good leverage at this angle. Her strength started to leave her limbs as the repercussions of using that much psionic energy wracked her, leaving both her mind and body in pain and dissociation.  

More Zerglings showed up, and she felt their claws and teeth tear at her exposed legs, her armour barely doing anything to slow them down. She felt oddly detached, like the pain was someone else's problem and not her own.

Well, I got one at least. Now it's okay to die-

 *THUD*

*CRRRRRRREEEEEEEE!!!*

"SANCTUARY CIRCLE!!!" A somewhat familiar voice shouted, though it sounded different from what she remembered.

Gold and Silver light filled her vision along with screams of pain. A moment later, the Zergling's corpse pinning her disappeared. She blinked as her eyes tried to adjust to the brightness. A form stood above her, wearing a familiar set of armour, but something was wrong. He was way too big, nearly three metres tall and had horns coming out of his helmet. 

"Gae Derg." He intoned, and suddenly a black-and-purple spear of... something... appeared in his hand. He cocked his arm back and shouted, "Spear Rain," as he threw it. It disappeared somewhere into the darkness beyond the light, but she could hear screams of the Zerg below their position. 

More silver and blue light spilled from the... giant's helmet, and suddenly another being stood beside him, this one more familiar-looking. Long blue hair tied back in a high ponytail, a flowing blue dress, and holding a staff with a long blue blade on the tip that made her think of the ocean. Two smaller horns were poking out of the top of her head, but otherwise, it was a taller version of Aqua. She stepped forward with that staff and slashed, bisecting two Zerglings with a single swing. 

"Did I... die already? ARGH!!!" She said, trying to sit up, but pain shot through her legs as her mind came back to reality. She looked down at the shredded flesh, aghast at what had been happening to her.

"Middle Heal!" The giant John said, and a wave of pleasure slammed into her body as her legs mended before her eyes, giving her the hardest orgasm of her life. Her thoughts cleared as the pain subsided. 

This man... has done that to me three times now! Three times!

{Yeah, I know the feeling. He did it to me a few times as well before he became my fiancée. Welcome to my world, where my man gives orgasms to other women who are not in a relationship with him, and I can't feel angry about it because he is usually saving their lives in the process.}

"You know I can hear you, right?" He said, then offered her a hand. "Can you walk? Or do you need another spell?"

"Umm... I think so, though my boots are gone... and I appear to be missing a couple of toes." She said, standing up and looking down at her feet. The Zergs had taken chunks out of them, but they were mostly whole now, with perfect silky white skin. Two toes were missing from her left foot, and her right foot was missing one too, though thankfully neither was a big toe.  

"I can't really deal with bone regeneration here. That takes time, and we only have about forty-five more seconds before this barrier ends. He said, then knelt by her feet. He gently lifted up one foot and ran his fingers over it, wrapping it in something that looked like spiderwebs. He did the other one just as quickly and looked up at her. "This will have to do. It shouldn't be too slippery, but if it doesn't work, just let me know, and I'll dissolve it, and you can go barefoot."

She nodded and looked around as she tested her footing in her new footwraps. The silver and gold light came from a circle on the ground and expanded outwards about ten metres away from John. Glowing birds she didn't recognize rained down on the Zerg as they entered the circle, viciously slamming into the beasts and tearing large holes in them as the birds vanished. The few that made it past them met Aqua's water blade, giving them some breathing room. 

"Okay... just what in the hell is happening here? How did you even find me?"

"Well..."

Earlier

"John? Where did you go?" Aqua said, looking around at the empty CAC.

She growled, then closed her eyes and focused on John's. She found him already in the stolen Confederate shuttle, firing up its engines.

She returned to her body and picked up the radio. "John, you can't be serious. That thing has no weapons and almost no armour. You're just going to get yourself killed!"

"Well, Darling, you're right. It has no armour or weapons. But it's faster than a dropship, and way more maneuverable. I can get in there and get her out."

"John, you can't-"

"I can, and I will. I'm not going to let your sister die alone. And if I die in the process, then we lose this door. So what? At least I can say I tried."

She paused for a moment, a myriad of feelings hitting her all at once. "If you're set on doing this... don't hold anything back. Get her out of there. And I'm joining you when you arrive, got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Don't you 'Ma'am' me, John Wayne. I just don't want you to somehow make her pregnant in the process of saving her."

"Wasn't planning on it."

"You never do, but it seems to happen an awful lot when you play the white knight." 

"I am a Paladin."

"Yeah, and your holy weapon isn't that sword strapped to your waist. Now go. I'll see you soon."

Present

"So, I burned hard in low orbit here, and almost made it to the crash site when their numbers finally outdid my piloting ability. I jumped out, and with a bit of ingenuity, made a parachute out of my webbing and drifted down to the top of this hill. That's when I saw you below, so I dropped down on top of the Zerg in my Ogre body."

Sarah shook her head. "Just... what in the hell are you two?"

"Well, we're Demigods. I was a man who grew into these powers; she was a goddess who died and was given another chance at life at my side. And that is about all the time we have to spare on this; my Sanctuary is coming down, and it will be about five minutes before I can cast another one. Aqua! Can you do it?"

"There is almost no moisture in the atmosphere, so it's going to take a lot of my mana, but yes. Just buy me a minute to prep the ritual magic."

"What is going on?"

"Ever hear the story of Noah's Ark?"

"No?"

"Oh... well, I'll tell you another time. Just get ready to run... and maybe swim." He said, then placed a hand on the cliff face beside them. "Dig." He said, grabbing a block of rock and pitching it over the side at more climbing Zerg. "Well, hopefully not swim this far up, but you never know with magic."  

"Swim?" She said, confused.

"Don't think too hard about it. Making sense of magic is an exercise in futility some days... like why the hell are there magical Bald Eagles kamikazeing Zerglings in my Sanctuary Circle? I have no clue, but it seems to work, so I don't question it. Oh, here, it's not your rifle, but at least it's something." He said, handing her a holster holding his massive revolver and a heavy pouch of what she assumed was ammo for it. 

"Ahh... thanks?" She said, taking the weapon and strapping it to her chest before she picked up her thermals and rifle from the ground.  

The light from his spell faded, but he kept pitching rocks down the slope, smashing even more Zerg in the process. After he threw the fourth rock, a barrage of spikes slammed into his chest, pushing him back to the cliff face. He slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

"John!" She shouted as she rushed to his side. Four spikes pierced his armour, the spikes sticking at least three inches into his body, if not more.

"Just... a flesh wound on this body... damn poison. I'm immune to it, but it still burns." He said, grasping a spike and pulling it out, hissing in pain in the process. "Hey, mind giving me a hand with this? I can't heal the wounds with the spikes in the way."

She nodded and grabbed another spike, but when she pulled, it didn't budge. She ended up planting her foot on his shoulder and yanked back as hard as she could to dislodge the spike. She did it again for the last two, causing him to groan as the barbed spikes tore even more flesh on the way out. She noticed then that his skin wasn't white anymore, but a light grey, though his blood was still red like a human's.

"Even gods can bleed?"

"Heh, Demigod, though I suspect the actual bodies of gods can all bleed in their own way. Middle Heal!" He replied, and his flesh repaired right in front of her, showing part of a white tattoo through the gap the spikes had split in the armour. He jumped to his feet, then looked at Aqua. "How long!?"

"Thirty seconds!"

"Damn it... Gae Derg!" He said, conjuring another spear of darkness in one hand, then drawing his sword in his other in a reverse grip. "Cover her."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm also a Paladin, darlin', and there are evil beasts charging up a hill attempting to kill women I care about. I'm going to show them what a bad idea that is. Divine Shield." He replied, then started to glow golden again before jumping over the side of the switchback into the midst of the swarm. 

Women you care about? You care about me?

{Don't do it!}

What?

{Don't fall for it! Else you will be sharing him with me and dozens of other women.}

Sarah looked over to Aqua. She seemed focused on the weird magical circle surrounding her, mumbling words and making strange glyphs spin rapidly. Water bubbled out of the ground, rising into the sky as it spun within the confines of her spell. 

Are you happy?

{...Yes...Very happy.}

Am I allowed to be happy too?

She didn't answer at first, the spell seemingly taking all her concentration. A Zergling had slipped past the carnage happening below, and Sarah raised her pistol and emptied it into the beast before it closed the distance to Aqua. She walked over and kicked it back over the ledge, reloading the pistol as quickly as she could. 

{Do as you will... I won't stop you from pursuing him if that's your choice. Damn it! I knew this was going to happen, first with Emily, now with you.}

Nothing has happened, Aqua. And I thought... you would like this, so we can stay closer together. You know not many men seem to like having a woman who can read their minds.

"IS THIS REALLY THE TIME FOR THIS CONVERSATION! AQUA, GET THAT BLOODY SPELL READY! ELSE I'M PUTTING YOU OVER MY KNEE AND SPANKING YOU! THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, SARAH! STOP DISTRACTING HER!" John bellowed from below them, bodies of Zerglings flying high enough into the air that she could see their yellow eyes staring at her in confusion.

{It's ready, it's ready! Get out of there!}

John leapt up from below and landed next to her, the spear and golden glow disappearing a moment later. He sheathed his sword, then pulled her gently back to the cliff face behind Aqua. "Do it!"

"Sacred Create Water!" Aqua yelled, slamming her staff into the ground.

The circle duplicated itself, then that duplicate turned into an elongated oval, stretching 20 metres along the cliff face. As soon as it stopped moving, a torrent of water shot out of it, like a massive waterfall on some garden planet. The noise was deafening, drowning out the Zergs' howls and screams below. 

Aqua floated above the original circle, her ponytail released and hair floating out to her sides like she was in a calm pool of water. Her focus was on her staff, chanting something Sarah couldn't hear over the thunderous roar of the waterfall.

John looked toward Aqua, shaking his head. She read his thoughts, wondering what he was thinking.

{So this is the power of ritual magic over casting a spell directly. I still have a lot to learn about these powers. Though most of her mana is gone now. I've used about half of mine; thankfully, the holy spells came from the energy stored in my eye. We need to get off this path and mount up before they can regroup. I can't keep this level of firepower for much longer. Hmm... OH! I'm a moron! When we go back to Warcraft, I can use my enhanced mana pool there to store resurrection spells, then head to Infinite Frontiers and save Ash! Actually, I still should go to DXD first and test it. If it doesn't work, then I can still call Rias, and she can save that kid. I really want to know what she did with Gasper.}

What are you thinking about?

{Oh, just getting used to all the new abilities in my arsenal, and I had a few revelations. When things quiet down, I'll gladly tell you all about it if you want. This should be stopping in a few moments, and then we will need to get out of here.}

Wait a sec! Can you resurrect people? Like someone who is dead?

{Yes, though there are some caveats with it. It uses a lot more mana than I actually have right now, even when I'm rested. It also needs to be someone who died recently. If it was longer than a few minutes, I would need a lot more power to bring them back. So, if I had the power, and it just happened, as long as I had your body, I could bring you back from the dead. Not sure if I need the whole body, the head, or even just a finger. That would be a question for Aqua. Get ready, she is shutting the flow off.}

The waterfall's cacophony began to subside, and Aqua floated back to the ground, her hair falling around her shoulders. She staggered to the side the moment the spell ended, but John was there in a flash and scooped her up in his arms. "I got you, darling. Let's get out of here."

"Thanks... It wasn't as much as I hoped, but I don't have my divinity anymore to power it."

"It's fine, it was more than enough."

Sarah looked over the edge at the aftermath and whistled softly. The whole hillside had been cleared of Zerg, the torrent of water washing them off along with most of their path back down. At the base of the hill, a small lake had formed, with hundreds of Zerg bodies floating lifelessly in it. "That was insane...but how do we get back down?"

"We don't, at least not that way. Come." He said, holding a line of webbing out to her. "You okay to climb? Or do you want me to carry you too?"

"Climb? Climb where?" She said, taking the line. It led about 25 metres further up the hill, though only the first four metres or so was vertical. 

"To the top where I landed. The plateau is flat and large enough to break Aqua's mech out and retreat. It should be able to jump down the other side without issue, and is fast enough to get away from everything but those Mutalisks. If they start to catch up, I'll bring out my mech, and we can make a stand far away from their ground forces. Same thing we did with your bike the other night."

"I'm driving!" Aqua said, causing John to laugh.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Stop Ma'aming me!"

"Yes, Ma'am. No Ma'aming, Ma'am."

"Grrr... Jerk. Put me down; I can climb myself now."

"Yes, Darling."

"So... before something else crazy happens. Thank you." Sarah said, dropping the web rope and embracing Aqua from behind. "Thank you both for coming to save me. I thought I was abandoned and left for dead." She said, looking way up at John, her vision blurry from the tears forming in her eyes.

"Of course, it was my pleasure, darlin'," John said, placing his armoured hand on her shoulder. She couldn't really see his face through his helmet, but she felt that he was smiling down warmly at her.

"Oh, give her a hug, you giant lummox. Just don't forget me, got it? Big, cliffside wedding, John. And it better be before I start popping your children out."

"Of course. The biggest, cliffest wedding, with all the cake." He replied with a chuckle, wrapping his giant arms around them both.

"You two have a really interesting relationship," Sarah said.

"Well, we live interesting lives. Now, let's get out of here before those beasts regroup and figure a way up that hill. I don't know where the flyers went, but I don't want to be on this cliff face when they return. Can you climb?"

"Yes... my psionics had enough time to recover, so I'm not as exhausted anymore."

"Still, let me give you a hand. Powered!" He said, casting a spell on her. She felt... lighter? No. Stronger. Much stronger. 

"Is there anything you can't do?"

"Plenty. That said, I'm a Jack of All Trades, so I usually can find a workaround for most things. Now, up you go. We will be right behind you." He said, handing her the rope again.

She turned and started to climb, wondering what in the world would happen in this sector with these two beings running around. If nothing else, the Confederacy's days were numbered; they wouldn't even know what hit them.

Zerg Swarm

Above Mar Sara

The being known as Daggoth pulled his brood back from the three humans on the surface, contemplating the battle they had just been engaged in.

When he sensed the psionic user moving alone in that small vessel, he had taken direct control of his Mutalisk, disabling the vessel just enough to bring it down to the surface. The Overmind had ordered the assimilation of Terrans like that one; their psionic potential was needed to fight the Protoss.

She had been tenacious and had nearly escaped, but he bid his time and encircled her, forcing her into a corner. He was going to prevent her from escaping again by disabling her legs, then drag her back to the Hatchery to await transport off world. Then things changed.

He wasn't disappointed at losing his quarry because of these other two Terrans. Far from it. He even linked the Overmind directly to his thoughts so it could watch these beings use powers far beyond the psionics that he had initially been hunting for. 

"We need to capture these Terrans." The Overmind said, its thoughts filtering through his own. "This power... is not from this universe."

"That will be difficult. I am now engaged on two fronts; The Protoss have reengaged with my brood, and I have had to pull back forces from the Terran front."

"I understand. I see no path to victory for your brood at this time, and am not in position to send reinforcements. Infest several Terran ships, then retreat. We will follow later once they are not being protected by the Protoss armada."

"Yes, Overmind. Your will is my command."

He shut off the link and returned to the battle. He had his orders, and now needed to see them through. There were no other options for a Celebrate like him.