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Bloody Evolution, Chapter 6: First Foray, part 1

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Starcraft belongs to Blizzard, while RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.




The next few days passed by without much incident: nobody had gone out looking for Yang just yet, although she had gone back home to leave a note for her family when they got back, and there were no additional Grimm attacks on the hive cluster, giving the blonde brawler plenty of time to work on improving her forces.

The zerg hive mind was now maintained by no fewer than six Overlords, and half a dozen more Drones had been spawned to assist in digging for minerals. By now, the worker units had dug an impressive tunnel network going all the way down to bedrock with the help of the burrowing Roaches, excavating caches of ore and buried animal remains as they went and later digging out several large chambers at their queen's order. Yang had commanded the Drones to create a tunnel on the roof of one of these large chambers in order to connect it to the surface, then herded the Overlords inside and had the tunnel opening covered by a relatively thin layer of dirt mixed with partially solidified creep that could be easily lifted up to release the blimp-like zerg-the encounter with the White Fang grunts had left the blonde brawler more than a little paranoid about being discovered.

The hive cluster proper had also expanded; creep had now spread to cover the entire clearing, thanks to the Queen's Creep Tumors, as well as the walls and ceilings of most of the tunnels beneath the hive, and a second Spawning Pool and Hydralisk Den sat atop the material on the surface. The clearing itself had actually grown outwards by quite a bit as well-trees rooted in soil that the creep encroached on quickly died, shriveling away to practically nothing within a few hours as the zerg slime siphoned away every last nutrient within them. Most of the expansion, however, had taken place underground, with various structures being placed within the chambers that the Drones had dug out. The largest of the freshly-dug caves housed the immense form of a Hatchery, which Yang had then ordered to mutate into an even taller, more imposing structure apparently called a Lair, with a second Roach Warren tucked away into a corner. A much smaller chamber nearby housed a structure that Abathur had referred to as a Baneling Nest: a vaguely oval-shaped pulsating growth as large as an Ursa Major that came up to the former Huntress' knee in height surrounded with sticky green webbing, which in turn adhered to the legtips of a large, vaguely ovular object that hovered about ten feet in the air above the cyst-like growth. About the same size as the lump below it, the bulbous floating object sported four pairs of jointed legs on its sides, a semi-transparent light green pulsating membrane covering its back, and a single longer appendage, each one similar in shape to its side legs, hanging downwards on either end of its 'body'. When Yang had asked what the structure did, the Abathur had shown her several memories of the Baneling Nest and the titular zerg it spawned in action, destroying Terran structures with disturbing ease. Needless to say, after seeing the capabilities of the exploding creatures that the Nest turned Zerglings into, the infested powerhouse had quickly decided to put the nest that spawned them some distance away from the rest of the base as precautionary measure if something went wrong.

In terms of defense, Yang had ordered three more Spine Crawlers to be spawned, forming a perimeter around the main buildings that left no side out of reach from at least one of the bladed tentacles, while a pair of Spore Crawlers, which looked like cone-shaped towers of spiky chitin rings stacked on top of one another, now flanked the surface Hatchery, swiveling from side to side like living turrets as they endlessly watched the skies for intruders. The blonde brawler's offensive forces had also undergone significant expansion: her pack of Zerglings had expanded from twenty-two to thirty, there were now six Roaches and six Hydralisks in her little army, and another dozen Zerglings had been spawned and promptly ordered to molt into Banelings. The bloated-looked creatures barely resembled the lizard-like beasts that they had spawned from: each one of the Zerglings had ballooned in size from around the size of a large mastiff to almost as big as a Roach, with nearly all of their new mass being made up of the enormous swollen sack filled with glowing green acid that grew from the creature's back and extended behind it for another two feet or so. Several portions of the Baneling's carapace had been replaced with several smaller sacks containing similar compounds, the head had shrunk slightly and lost its horns and mandibles, and four spindly legs, each ending in a single sharp spike, held the entire creature up off the ground. The infested former Huntress was uneasy about the explosive creatures at first, but she had eventually warmed up to them once she found out how they moved around: instead of scuttling along the ground, whenever the bulbous zerg had to move quickly, the bulbous zerg tucked themselves into a ball and rolled around. Needless to say, watching the Banelings roll around the hive cluster like a horde of loose tires quickly helped the new zerg queen get over her initial anxiety concerning the rotund creatures.

And speaking of Yang, the golden powerhouse herself had spent most of her time training; the entire forest was the blonde brawler's playground as she spent hours jogging through the woods, testing her fists, talons, Bonebolts, and newly-acquired blasts of fire on boulders, trees, and any Grimm either brave or dumb enough to try their luck against her (Yang could now confidently say that Grimm most certainly did not have much in the way of brains; at one point, she had gotten jumped by no fewer than three Beowolves, two Creeps, and a young Boarbatusk over the course of a single afternoon). When she wasn't exercising or practicing with her newfound powers, the infested former Huntress was working with her zerg, training with her connection to the hive mind by running her troops through little obstacle courses that she had set up. They were fairly simple things made from rocks and fallen logs, but they got the job done for providing Yang with practice on finer control over her new subjects. Abathur was even showing her the ropes on spinning sequences. The firebrand still had a lot to learn from the Evolution Master, but the basic process had been easy enough for her to grasp after the he had explained it through his connection to the hive mind-Yang honestly had no idea how her alien 'tutor' would have convey the instructions to her otherwise. Her first creation had been quite simple, little more than a vaguely cylindrical mound of creep surrounded with a solid scab-like chitin shell to form a crude sort of pillar, but it was a start - said pillars were quickly put to use within the tunnels below the hive to brace the chambers' high ceilings. The golden firestarter had also managed to make a crude 'helmet' of sorts using Roach chitin as a base. Like the pillar, it wasn't much, basically a rough bucket shape with a pair of holes for eyes and two projections on top that kind of looked like horns if you squinted hard enough, but Abathur had been quite impressed nonetheless: he had apparently never really considered creating tools and weapons from zerg biomass, but after looking through some of his queen's memories, the Evolution Master had expressed considerable interest in trying it himself. The rapt attention Abathur had given to memory sequences that Yang showed him of her various sparring sessions at Beacon reminded the infested Huntress of the euphoric look on Ruby's face whenever she stepped into a weapons shop - when that disturbing thought passed through her mind, she had immediately made her top, and for that matter, her only, scientist promise not to experiment with anything dangerous enough to leave lasting damage if it went wrong. The path that had lead up to Crescent Rose had been a long, bumpy one, and Yang did not want the only being under her command that could provide advice for ruling the hive cluster to accidentally set off a Dust crystal and reduce the entire place to a burning crater.

Through all of this, the blonde brawler had picked up several pieces of key information:

Roaches and Hydralisks loved being scratched under the chin; Zerglings and Banelings, on the other hand, would do absolutely anything for a belly rub.

Abathur's digestive system upgrades were definitely functional; Yang had eventually worked up the stomach one day to take a couple of bites out of an Ursa that she had killed while out on a run, and nothing bad had happened to her. The Grimm's flesh wasn't that bad, either, kind of like very gamey beef; still, though, it would be a while before the golden-haired powerhouse would really get used to feeding on the dark creatures.

Her fireballs were a powerful weapon, trumping even the Ember Celica in raw firepower (Abathur had buried his spider-like face in his claws and let out the gurgling zerg equivalent of a groan when she had cracked that joke) by a long shot, but it would be quite some time before she had perfect control over it. Yang didn't really care if her meat was well-done, but to put it gently, her attempts to cook some pieces of meat that she had swiped from home with her pyrotechnics did not go well. Even the Zerglings wouldn't touch the lump of charcoal that had at one point been a piece of chicken, although the Hatchery hadn't complained when she had tossed the charred chunk into its maw… too much.

The blonde brawler didn't need to worry about loyalty with her zerg: it didn't matter what the orders were, the aliens immediately jumped to carry out Yang's telepathically issued orders without the thought of complaint even crossing their minds. Better yet, the firebrand's connection to the hive mind allowed the infested powerhouse's forces to perfectly understand the implications of her commands, meaning that there was no issue with using slang terms around them.

This connection to the hive mind also allowed Yang to, for lack of a better word, possess individual troops when she was in 'Overseer Mode,' as the blonde firestarter had taken to calling the free-floating state that she entered whenever Abathur was making tweaks and adjustments to her physical form in the Evolution Chamber, seeing through their eyes and directly controlling their movements. The first time it had happened had been by complete accident; the infested Huntress had been boredly zooming around a sleeping Roach while the Evolution Master running an examination on the blonde brawler's body to see how well it was adapting to the Successor's mutagen when her form had suddenly been, well, sucked into the dozing zerg. One moment, Yang was zipping around the insectoid creature like a little glowing planet, and the next, she was suddenly hunkered down on the ground and covered in a heavy shell. Abathur had come running (Or rather, slithering) when he heard his queen's panicked shriek, and, after figuring out what had happened, had managed to walk her through extracting her mind from the Roach body via the hive mind. After a few minutes of trying, essentially undergoing the same action that she did to get back into her physical body in her first run in 'Overseer Mode,' but in reverse, the firebrand found herself floating once more in front of a very confused Roach, and had made a mental note to practice more with this ability in the future; the idea of taking a flying zerg creature's body out for a spin was a tempting one indeed.

The hive mind also allowed Yang to access the memories of her zerg, even pause and rewind them as if they were recorded programs. What's more, while she couldn't tell exactly what each creature was thinking in these memories, the blonde brawler could still get the gist of the general emotions that the zerg in question was feeling in each of its memories-a feeling of pain when remembering an injury, for example, or a sense of complete and utter contentment overlaying a Zergling's memories of its queen giving it a belly rub.

Apparently, the Queen of Blades had had a sense of humor: one day when she had been sifting through the hive mind, Yang had found several different commands lodged within the subconsciousness of all of her zerg units, ranging from 'Stay put and attack anything that comes close' to 'dance'. Upon using the latter order on some of her Zerglings, the blonde firestarter was immediately greeted with the utterly ridiculous sight of half a dozen murderous alien beasts trying, and failing, to break-dance in a manner utterly unsuited for creatures of their body shape. It had taken her almost ten minutes to stop laughing.

Spinning sequences had seemed simple at first, but the process was much, much more complex than Yang had ever expected it to be. The closest thing that the blonde brawler could compare it to was creating a blueprint for a weapon, except instead of assembling parts and connecting wires, you were building not only the parts and wires themselves, but deciding on the very physical composition of those parts. The sheer complexity of the whole thing still made her mind reel a bit, but Abathur seemed to be specifically built for spinning the strands of genetic material as easily as he breathed-which he technically was, now that Yang thought about it.

Despite the mechanical nature of her speech, Yang's Queen definitely wasn't mindless-the blonde brawler had poked around within the zerg organism's mind once out of curiosity, and she had found what she could only describe as a personality (Yang didn't know how or why she could tell that it was a personality, she just could - it was hard to explain). The problem was, that personality seemed to be buried deep within the zerg creature's subconsciousness; when Yang had asked Abathur why this was so, he had just looked at her as if she had grown two additional heads.

Speaking of Abathur, the Evolution Master had also been busy during the past few days-he had been working day in and day studying the essence of the dead Grimm his queen frequently brought back to him, with the fruits of the zerg scientist's labor taking the form of sheets of thick bony armor covering previously vulnerable sections of the hive cluster's various structures. All in all, things were looking up for Yang… but a problem quickly made itself known.


"It's like they're, I don't know, getting weaker or something. C'mon, Abathur, you have to know something about this!" Yang shouted, grabbing the zerg scientist by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. She was currently speaking with the zerg scientist just outside the Evolution Chamber, asking for his advice on a problem she had noticed recently. Over the last few days, the zerg of the hive cluster, particularly the ones she had first spawned, had started to... fade, for lack of a better term-the predatory looks in the aliens' eyes had dulled considerably, and they were moving much less frequently and at a much slower rate. Any inquiries from their queen through the hive mind had been met with either dull confusion or a general sensation of weakness-whatever was affecting the hive cluster, it was sapping Yang's forces' will to even think. Her Drones seemed relatively unaffected by the events, but grilling them hadn't come up with anything more than the space-bug equivalent of a shrug-this was apparently news to them as well. And so, the infested former Huntress had turned to Abathur for help; if the designer of most of the zerg Swarm couldn't provide an answer, then nobody could.

The Evolution Master thought for a moment as he looked out over the lethargic zerg creatures lying about the hive cluster, two of his claws grabbing onto his bulbous head to stop it from flopping about like a bobblehead while a third rested on his chin - which, with the Evolution Master's strange anatomy, was really a point halfway down his chest - before replying.

"Combat-based zerg organisms of hive cluster experiencing hunger. Drone unit ingests small amounts of collected biomass to feed self - no such opportunity for combat-based strains. Nutrient intake in immediate future required." He intoned; upon hearing this, the golden-haired powerhouse breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, they're just… hungry? Alright, that's simple enough, I guess." The infested Huntress said, feeling as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Now that Yang thought about it, it did make a good deal of sense: her Zerglings alone undoubtedly burned a lot of calories from just running around, and from what Abathur had told her about the incredibly complex muscular systems of her other zerg, the same probably applied to the rest of her forces. The blonde brawler had seen the Zerglings grazing on leaf litter occasionally, and she herself had been snacking on pinecones and acorns these past few days, but it was pretty clear that that wasn't going to cut it - besides tasting awful, it took a huge amount of bark and vegetation for Yang to feel even remotely full. Given how large and how active her troops were, the same no doubt went triple for them. "So, how do we go about fixing it? Making extra creep for them to chow down on?"

"Consumption of creep not recommended." The Evolution Master replied. "Current supply insufficient to feed forces, support structures simultaneously. Additional problem. Biomass levels insufficient to produce additional creep."

"Okay, that's… definitely a problem." The infested firebrand muttered, her brow furrowing in displeasure. "What do you have in mind? More rabbit hunts?" In order to try to get them to snap out of their daze, Yang had recently started taking her zerg out to scrounge up small game, with limited success; the aliens had been significantly more active during these hunts, yes, but as soon as they finished scarfing down their portions of the catch, they had just hunkered back down and gone into their zombie-like state again.

Abathur shook his mushroom-like head. "Occasional small organisms inadequate: surrounding ecosystem unsuitable for supporting hive cluster. Recommended: attack nearby Terran settlement, consume inhabitants. Estimated biomass more than sufficient for feeding Swarm."

"Wait, what?!" Yang shouted in surprise, the Evolution Master skittering back a bit as her eyes began to glow a foreboding red. The notion of having her zerg eat Grimm had been pretty easy to get used to; hell, even killing White Fang had been simple enough to wrap her head around. But devouring innocent people? That was where she drew the line. "Listen, Abathur, we are not going to be invading towns and eating people! Besides the fact that that's just… just wrong, we can't afford to be discovered yet! What in Oum's name would even give you that idea, anyways?!"

Abathur raised his hands in the air placatingly in the universal gesture of 'I don't know, alright?' "Nutrient requirements of Swarm immense. Consumption of Terrans necessary for survival. Way of Swarm; raze forests, level mountains, empty seas. Strip planets of any and all resources, consume all available biomass. Feed zerg organisms, leave no resources for enemies of Swarm."

Yang's gaze hardened, her red eyes boring into the Evolution Master's six green ones. "It isn't the Swarm's way anymore, Abathur. I need a way to feed my troops, and I needed it yesterday."

Abathur was silent for a moment before finally replying. "Proposition. Invade Terran settlement-"

"What did I just say, Abathur?! No eating people who don't deserve it!"

"Terms have been acknowledged. Alteration to previous strategy: invade Terran settlement, raid food stores. Use to feed Swarm."

Yang untensed a bit at the suggestion. "Alright, that's better." She affirmed. "We're close enough to town that we could make a quick trip there, and we could get an Overlord to tag along to carry everything." What's more, the former Huntress knew where several well-stocked grocery stores were - hell, there was even a good-sized pet store nearby that they could hit up if that didn't provide enough food. But then again, going out into town with a horde of freaky monsters trailing behind her wasn't exactly an option - at best, she'd be run out of town, at worst, she'd be shot on sight. The blonde brawler would have to go about this in a different fashion than her normal modus operandi.

Yang put her hand to her chin as a plan began to form within her mind. "...Hey, Abathur, how stealthy can zerg be when they really want to?"


Patch Island, town of Patch

11:30 PM

A fairly large city of almost 180,000 people, now almost quadruple that number thanks to the recent flood of refugees from Vale, the town of Patch was by far the largest settlement on the island that it had leant its name to. The place had all the amenities one would expect of such a large populated area: restaurants, night clubs, Dust shops, sturdy walls… and several dozen large, well-maintained grocery stores.

Vertégrun's Produce was one such store. The supermarket had long since closed for the night, the dim glow of the street lamps outside casting oblong shadows onto the tall shelves inside, and a heavy steel chain secured with a padlock the size of an orange was tightly wrapped around the handles of the double doors out in the front of the store. Not even a mouse stirred within the establishment, and the street in front was similarly empty; aside from the far-off barking of a dog, there wasn't the faintest sign of life in the area.

At least, not out in the open.

Are you alright, My Queen? Have you arrived safely at the target site?

Yang sighed as her Queen repeated the same telepathic query that it had been asking her again and again practically every five minutes since she had left the hive cluster. The trek into town had been fairly uneventful, save for a close shave with a few town guards, but the constantly repeated question had quickly gotten on the blonde brawler's nerves.

For once, yes; we're here, Queen. The firebrand messaged back, poking her head out from the alley she was hiding in to get a better look at the store. She was really starting to regret leaving the zerg creature behind at the hive cluster to keep a lid on things, but she couldn't afford to leave the hive unguarded. At the very least, this would be a good test of the alien's competence in managing things without her around.

Yang herself had taken the time to prepare for this excursion: an old travelling cloak that she had swiped from her home was draped over her shoulders, the hood drawn up over her head, and she wore a blackish-grey chitin mask that looked like an Alpha Beowolf skull - an improved version of the firebrand's earlier 'mask' creation that she had made with Abathur's help. A greenish-grey belt-like cord of tissue was wrapped around the infested powerhouse's waist, with a crude chitin scabbard hanging from it that housed a vicious serrated sword, as long as Yang's forearm and seemingly wrought from a single piece of smooth dark brown bone. Abathur had made the weapon with Yang's input from a combination of essence from a Zergling's blades, a Hydralisk's quills, and the claws of a huge zerg creature that the Evolution Master had called an Ultralisk. The blonde brawler didn't have too much skill in the usage of swords, but her sheer strength and newly-gained reflexes would hopefully serve as an adequate substitute for training. The darkness of the streets didn't bother her, either; Abathur had upgraded her eyesight using the essence of the White Fang guards she had ambushed several days ago, integrating the Faunus' inherent night vision into his queen's genetic structure. And in case all of that wasn't enough, Yang hadn't come alone; behind the former Huntress, the escort force she had brought with her of six Zerglings, a Baneling, a pair of Hydralisks, and a Roach were all clustered around a large dumpster with a gaping hole melted into its side, courtesy of the latter zerg creature's acid, gorging themselves on the refuse within. And finally, Abathur's alien form loomed over Yang as he stood behind her, his enormous mushroom-like head peeking around the alleyway just above the blonde-haired one of his queen.

"Concern of Queen unit appropriate. Discovery in present state not recommended." The Evolution Master muttered, his steepled claws nervously tapping against one another.

"Relax, Abathur, it's going to be fine." Yang assured the zerg creature with a confident grin. "This shouldn't raise too many suspicions - terrorists can't do too much with produce. Besides, this was your idea, wasn't it? Why are you so jittery?" She was right - for the first time the former human had ever seen since she had spawned him, the zerg scientist looked legitimately scared, every muscle in his alien body tensed and his six eyes constantly darting around the street as if he expected something to leap out at him at any given moment.

"Organism Abathur not designed for combat." The Evolution Master replied uneasily, still drumming his clawed fingers against each other. "Unsuited for urban environment. Possible death of Evolution Master equates to immense loss for Swarm. Extinction distinct-"

Abathur's rambling monotone was cut short when Yang placed a reassuring hand on the shoulder of one of his upper arms, ignoring the soft, somewhat slimy texture of his skin. "Abathur, relax." The zerg queen reassured the alien, gently squeezing the Evolution Master's shoulder. "And that's an order. Nobody's going to hurt you." Her gaze hardened, and she raked the talons on her free hand against the wall she was leaning against, carving five deep gouges into the sturdy brickwork. "They'll have to deal with me first. Now come on." Yang ordered, the ravenous zerg around the dumpster looking up towards her at the command. "We've got work to do."

The blonde brawler looked up and made a 'come on' gesture to the air above her; immediately, a portion of the night sky began to move as the Overlord floating above the small posse drifted across the street and came to a stop roughly ten feet above the flat roof of the grocery store, looking rather like a strange, lumpy stormcloud - Abathur had modified the floating alien's coloration to camouflage itself against the night sky specifically for this mission. As quietly as she could, Yang followed the aerial zerg creature across the street, the rest of her impromptu escort force skittering, scurrying, and slithering right behind her. The blonde brawler scowled a bit at the thick chain over the door handles, but she didn't voice a complaint; she just drew the bone-based sword from its scabbard with her free hand and used the other to hold the chain taut. A quick swing of the blade, and the chain fell to the pavement in two pieces, the two halves of the padlock clanking like coins as they tumbled down to join it.

"Nice." The firebrand commented in a hushed, but pleased tone. She pushed the door open and entered the establishment, half-turning her head to address the rest of the zerg as they followed her in. "Alright, boys, you know what to do. Zerglings, fan out and look for the real meaty stuff, Roach and Hydras, head to the back, try and figure out where the freezers are. These places always have a behind-the-scenes storage area; we need all the food we can get. Baneling, put yourself directly underneath the Overlord and get ready to blow. Make sure that it won't get caught in the blast, and wait till I give the-"

Yang's orders were cut off as she heard deep, frustrated grunts of exertion from behind her. The blonde brawler turned her head towards the noise, and was immediately greeted with one of the strangest things she had ever seen.

Abathur, Evolution Master of the zerg Swarm and architect of the otherworldly killing machines currently surrounding the infested Huntress… was frantically tugging on the handle of a supermarket door clearly marked PUSH, growing visibly angrier as the door refused to swing open.

Yang couldn't help it; she snickered at the ridiculous sight, which turned into a chortle, which turned into a full-blown laugh, covering her mouth with her hands to muffle her giggles as her top scientist glared at the offending glass doors with a look that could have peeled paint.

"Amusement of organism Yang Xiao Long unclear." Abathur grumbled. "Terran structure displays obvious design flaw: entry is obstructed."

"N-no, it's… snicker… it's working, Abathur, don't worry. It's just… hee hee hee… you… you can't read, can you?" The former Huntress finally managed to ask, still trying to hold back fits of chuckling.

The Evolution Master tilted his head curiously at the question. "Negative. Literacy unnecessary for serving purpose." He rumbled, voice slightly muffled by the glass door between the two. "Reason for asking unclear. Not applicable to situation."

Yang just smirked. "Well, if you could read, you'd know that this…" She grabbed the handle on her side of the door and pulled it open, pointing to the writing on the glass with her free hand. "...says 'push.'"

Abathur stared at his queen in stunned silence for a few moments, his horizontally-aligned mouth hanging open in what Yang supposed was the closest he could come to his jaw dropping, before he finally managed to compose himself. "Er… Acknowledged." He finally replied hurriedly, quickly slithering past the infested human into the store - it didn't take a connection to the hive mind to see that if the Evolution Master were human, he would be practically glowing scarlet with embarrassment. "Will focus on literacy later. Current task must be completed."

The infested Huntress nodded, still chuckling a bit. "Good. After this, though, I'm teaching you to read." A sly grin crept over her face; a grin that the Evolution Master, to his chagrin, was beginning to recognize. "I think it'll really open up a whole new world of possibilities for you." She cackled at Abathur's pained expression before clearing her throat, her tone serious once more. "All jokes aside, though, let's get moving. The food won't move itself."


The zerg worked quickly. The Roach and Hydralisks had quickly managed to locate the door to the freezer room, melting a hole into the door with the former creature's acid and setting about cutting down the hanging sides of beef, pork, and mutton; meanwhile, Abathur had immediately headed towards the supermarket's store of seafood and exotic meats - apparently, the zerg didn't often get access to aquatic organisms, making this a rare treat for the Evolution Master. While the mushroom-like zerg busily examined snakehead fillets and frozen octopi, Yang and the rest of the raiding party snatched up anything they could find that looked even remotely edible. Canned beans, sacks of flour and sugar, heads of broccoli, even the offal and fish heads in the trash can of the butcher's corner-everything was pushed together into one enormous pile near the center of the store, albeit with more than a few bite marks in many cases; the blonde brawler's immense strength combined with the physical might of the Roaches and Hydralisks made carrying even the heaviest items a breeze. All the while, the Baneling watched from the middle of the store, patiently awaiting its time to shine, while the Overlord hovered above the roof, its many eyes scanning the streets for any possible threats.

"Alright, this should last us a good while." Yang finally announced after about half an hour of collecting, wiping her hands on her shorts as she looked at the colossal heap of food before her; comprised of practically everything edible within the store, the pile was tall enough to just barely scrape the ceiling. "Now for the final touch."

The infested Huntress walked over to the checkout section of the store and tore open one of the cash registers with a flick of a claw, rifling through it until she found a pen and some paper. She scribbled a short message onto the piece of paper and stuck it onto the machine, then turned back to her zerg.

"Alright, everyone, fun's over." She ordered, clapping her hands together and keeping her voice quiet, but authoritative - Goodwitch would have been proud. "When the roof's opened up, I want all of you to start loading the loot onto the Overlord - we'll head back to the hive cluster on foot while it carries all the food. Now everybody give the Baneling some space; it's high time we gave this place a new skylight."

The various aliens all moved aside at the blonde brawler's command, forming a rough semicircle about two dozen feet away from the pulsating zerg as their queen approached it, laying a hand on the top of its head.

Yang took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Seeing memories of Banelings exploding was one thing, but ordering zerg to commit suicide was yet another thing that was going to take a while for her to get used to.

"Alright, little guy." She told the bulbous alien, giving it one last scratch under the chin. "This is your moment. On the count of three, blow a hole in this place." The firestarter backed away from the Baneling to join the rest of her zerg at a safe distance from it, and began to count down out loud.

"One…" The bloated creature planted its pointed feet firmly onto the ground, hefting its glowing abdomen up into the air.

"Two…" The pulsating sac began to pulse more and more violently, swelling larger as the chemicals within the alien's abdomen began to churn and roil, glowing brighter and brighter until the whole supermarket was bathed in pale green light.

"...Three."

THOOM!

A massive explosion suddenly rocked the street from outside the store, drowning out the loud BANG! of the Baneling as it detonated moments afterward. The supermarket's storefront window shattered almost instantly from the shockwave of the larger blast, sending shards of glass flying through the empty store and pelting the zerg within. The Zerglings, along with Yang and Abathur, quickly dove (Or in Abathur's case, slithered) for cover, hiding behind or underneath the nearest shelves and tables, while the Roaches and Hydralisks simply hunkered down and stood strong against the razor-edged shower, their heavier armor resulting in only a few minor scratches.

"What... what the hell was that?!" Yang shouted over the ensuring wail of an alarm sounding somewhere nearby, her ears still ringing a bit as she poked her head out from her hiding spot behind an emptied shelf.

"Down the street, My Queen!" The Queen shouted within the blonde firebrand's head, her monotone dropped in favor of genuine panic. "Several Faunus have launched an attack on a store nearby! We must not let ourselves be spotted!"

"Ah, crapbaskets." The zerg queen swore to herself, army-crawling towards the front of the store and peeking out from the gaping hole now in the front of the store. Sure enough, the entire front of a nearby Dust shop had been blown wide open, a wailing siren bathing the inside of the shop and the White Fang grunts within the building with intermittent flashes of scarlet light. Yang clenched her sharpened teeth: at any other time, she would be chomping at the bit to charge out and start cracking skulls, but she was at a severe disadvantage here. White Fang or no, the sight of alien monsters wreaking havoc in the streets would lead to widespread panic, search parties being organized. Several dozen zerg were a powerful fighting force, but the infested powerhouse still couldn't afford to have all of Patch, and most likely all of Remnant, breathing down her hive cluster's neck. Yang telepathically urged the Overlord to lower itself into the Baneling-made hole in the supermarket roof and motioned for the Roaches and Hydralisks to get down. No use in getting spotted at a time like this; the food could wait a few minutes more.

"C'mon, c'mon, move, move, move! Grab everything you can hold and get going, we've got a deadline to meet!" A woman with a pair of cat ears and her arms full of Dust canisters called out as she burst out of the door to the ransacked shop, quickly followed by three more goons similarly laden with canisters of Dust crystals in their arms and on their backs. The cat-eared terrorist stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled, and an Ursa adorned with crude metal armor and a red White Fang insignia painted on its massive right shoulder appeared from behind a street corner and thundered down the street, skidding to a halt in front of the ruined shop and looking up expectantly at the Faunus, as if it was waiting for orders.

The sight of the White Fang leader's cat ears elicited a growl from the firebrand as unpleasant memories of Blake began to rise to the surface, but her anger gave way to surprise at the sight of the armor-plated Grimm charging down the street. Alright, this was new. The White Fang had definitely gotten a considerable upgrade while she had been out of commission.

"Get everything onto the Ursa!" The feline Faunus shouted to what the zerg queen presumed were her subordinates. "Unless, of course, one of you lot wants to be the one to explain to the Lieutenant why we couldn't get the damn Dust before the cops got here!"

The three grunts nodded frantically at the threat, dashing over to the waiting Grimm and piling their ill-gotten gains into various saddlebags on its back - evidently, this 'Lieutenant' was someone that even the masked Faunus were afraid of. One soldier clambered up onto a saddle located rather precariously between the Ursa's shoulder blades and grabbed a pair of reins located on the sides of the equipment, totally unaware of Yang's position down the street as she raised her left arm to line up a Bonebolt on one of the Dust-filled canisters on the great shadowy monster's flank. Dammit, subtlety or not, this was almost too easy; one good shot, and the entire convoy would go up in flames. Nobody would suspect a thing - just a Dust robbery that went horribly wrong. If she missed and alerted the White Fang, though, well, at least she would have someone to pin the grocery store robbery on. The blonde powerhouse wet her lips and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, squeezing one eye shut as she focused on her target. Steady… steady… almost…

"OI! WOT'RE YOU'Z DOIN' 'ERE, YA GROTZ?!"

Apologies for not uploading this sooner; real life has been a bastard like that. 

Also, yay cliffhangers!

Will the zerg succeed in their supply run? Will Abathur ever learn how to read? Has GlarnBoudin finally lost his marbles and included Warhammer 40K in his crossover? Find out in the next chapter of Bloody Evolution!

As always, leave a comment down below if you have an idea, a prediction, or just want to say that you liked the story!
© 2017 - 2024 Lediblock2
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battlecruiser006's avatar

If it's a motivational problem, I have some motivation...somewhere, otherwise have some high-grade explosives