Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Reincarnated as a Celebrate? I've only played Starcraft II!

Prologue

" Awake."

Fallon absently stirred from her blissful position. Wherever she managed to land herself, it was pretty good and warm. She'd have to thank most likely her brother or her mom for doing that.

The call came again, more insistently. " Awake."

Not now dad, she managed to groan. She curled in deeper. The instigator did not seem to take kindly at those thoughts, for it was then that her mind was invaded with a sudden roar of noise, "Awake!"

Fallon moved to jump up instantly from wherever she was sleeping yet she found herself unable to do so, being suspended in a liquid. What was that? The voice that imperiously commanded her to wake up did not belong to any of her family members. More pressingly, was she underwater?

She made to open her eyes only to realize that she couldn't see anything. Flailing her body around her revealed that she was entrapped in something that disturbingly felt fleshy. Did someone stuff her in a water balloon? Screaming was to no avail either, for she couldn't even hear herself. She wasn't even sure if she was breathing or if it was even possible to breathe submerged as she was.

Be as it may, the situation was clearly dire. She needed to get out, now. So she frantically once more attacked the walls with all that she had. Her body couldn't find purchase on the slippery walls however. Desperate times called for desperate measures and Fallon leaned in to bite at it, to tear, to rip her prison to shreds. Something on her person managed to hook into the wall as she did so and she instinctively tugged against it.

And the wall, ripped.

Whatever liquid that contained her poured out of the opening, along with Fallon. Wetly, she landed on the floor with a phantom gasp, before quivering on the ground in her exhaustion. She wanted to breathe, to take in lungfuls of air. She could not, at least not in the "normal" sense. She wanted to move, to get away from her potential assailants, but all of her energy was taken in that desperate move. She wanted to cry, but she was somehow unable to do so. All she could do was shake.

But the biological physiology that was so innate within her species did not keep her in an enfeebled state for long and slowly she came to herself and her surroundings.

The reason for her lack of sight was still unclear to her but she could still feel at least. The surrounding ground that she had fallen on was rather soft and most likely saved her from injury. It was also rather warm. In fact, the encasement-balloon-thing that she was in was rather hot by all indications, considering that she still felt residue steam flowing along her body. She cocked her head(?) in an attempt to listen to her surroundings or at the very least lookout for the one who awoke her. Her hearing seemed to be failing her as well.

Fallon scowled. She could not see nor hear leaving just touch, taste, and smell.

Taste would likely not help her figure out where she was. She gave a tentative sniff, but even she knew that her sense of smell was god-awful, which was a blessing in some cases seeing as to how abysmal the cooking was at her house usually.  This left her to rely solely on her sense of touch, again.

She stretched forth her hands once more, snaking them out to get a feel of her bearings. Only to suddenly realize that she apparently had many, many hands. And to her dismay, that her hands did not feel like hands at all.

I need to see. To doubly confirm that what I am really feeling is real, Fallon desperately thought.

It was but a moment after her thought was made came the unbidden, eldritch response.

“I give you sight, so which you may see, my child.” And the revelation was given to her, and so she could see. Whatever it was that she had thought that was around her utterly failed her expectations, spectacularly. She was in an antechamber, one of the many that dotted the main chamber before her. The walls, the floors, the everythings were made of glistening flesh which pulsed fervently to an abhorrent beat.

Her "hands" were revealed to not be hands at all, but little feelers that now waved frantically around her. Behind her was her prison, revealed to be a now-broken egg sac. And in front of her was a colossal eye connected by innumerous tendrils, to which in the center blazed an orange cross. And before she could so much scream or otherwise exhibit her terrible, terrible, horror at what was before her, the eyelids retracted, to reveal The Eye, which now fixated on her. 

"Awaken my children, and embrace the glory of your birthright. Know that I am the Overmind, the eternal will, and that you have been created to serve me."

The response was tumultuous, as ridged, spiny, and misshapen forms stirred to reveal themselves as insectoid creatures, all that which screeched an unholy cacophony of noise in response. Insectoid creatures which looked very, very familiar. For the uninitiated, these were clearly horrifying monsters that wouldn’t have been out of place in a Lovecraftian fiction. But Fallan recognized said monsters, and it could be said that she was even familiar with them. These were the Zerg, a terrifying and very ruthless amalgamation of biologically perfected aliens, made to kill and conquer. And she apparently was now one of them. 

Fallon fainted.

AN: Hello everybody. This is just a plot bunny that's been bouncing around, and I really need to kill it. I do not write fiction, or even write much at all so I suppose we'll have to see if I even write beyond this "prologue". In case I do, I'll admit freely that I am not knowledgeable on the lore of Starcraft, so if there are any lore experts out there, I'll be happy to have your feedback. I unfortunately wasn't even able to hit a thousand words, but I hope I'll be able to write more so in the future. I was planning on adding a little bit more to backstory, but I might just put it in chapter 1. And later come back and put it in Prologue once I change my mind again haha...

Chapter Text

Reincarnated as a Celebrate? I've only played Starcraft II!

Chapter 1 | Awakening

Upon awakening once more, there were several things that Fallon noticed. For one, her ability to “see” was revoked. She was a little thankful at that, since seeing was believing, and she’d prefer to not believe what was happening to her, which was slightly stupid, she would admit that at least, but she didn’t think anyone could blame her for it. Her body seemed to be more acclimated to the environment. Indeed, it felt warmer or she didn’t feel as cold as she was before. Her body felt stronger too and she felt a degree of control over her limbs now. Her many, many limbs, which she was able to confirm with the sight temporarily granted to her, to be tendril-like in shape. Said tendrils seemed to serve a multitude of purposes aside from just being able to feel, since she was being acclimatized to be able to hear and even smell. 

What she could not do however, was move around with them. Embarrassingly enough, her tendrils could not as of yet physically lift her off the ground. Whether it was that said tendrils were too weak and incapable of exerting force, or that she was simply too heavy to move on her own; it did not allow her to protest or escape whatever it was that was now carrying her off somewhere in its mandibles. 

She tried smacking her tendrils down at her custodian with all the force of a wet noodle and even poked at its eye, which actually did lead to a pained response, tightening the mandibles. That put an end to any attempt to actually escape, as she belatedly realized that she was in between said mandibles, which could probably shear her in two if it wanted to. 

So she contemplated her situation instead. She was about to play Starcraft. She was instead sucked into her computer and ended up inside an egg, which she apparently had just hatched from. And now she was surrounded by beings that very-much so reminded her of the Zerg. She seriously doubted that she still was a human, at least in form. Which begged the question, what exactly was she? 

The Zerg, as far as Fallon was aware, were perfect in their ability to utterly destroy and dismantle their opponents with an atrocious amount of strength and power. She, on the other hand, felt like the weakest being on Earth(?). It was utterly pathetic as to what strength she could muster and although she was able to elicit a pained reaction from what she was now fairly certain was a drone, she had no doubt that it could easily kill her if it wanted to. What kind of apex creature couldn’t even muster the ability to see?

Maybe she was a larva? That sounded plausible, considering that most Zerg creatures did spawn from larva. But even larvae were able to remain mobile, slow as they may be. Additionally, larvae were armored with a tough exoskeleton. Perhaps she was an adolescent larva?

Wherever her train of thought was going, it was interrupted as the drone carrying her suddenly came to a stop. It steered itself in a particular way before rather ungracefully dropping her to the ground.

Oof, Fallon complained. Maybe the drone was getting back at her for poking it in the eye. The drone itself clacked its mandibles a couple of times as if stretching them out, before bursting into aggressive chitters. She winced at the whistle of wind and the corresponding clack each time it did so. It could have definitely chomped her in half.

Sorry Mr. Droney , she thought quickly. To her surprise, the chittering dropped to a silence as if in response. Then, as if it were in a begrudging-like fashion the drone picked her up once more before dropping her (gently!) in a position that felt much more comfortable. A final flare of chitters was given before the drone quickly left her field of awareness. 

As it turns out, drones actually do float like they do in-game, Fallon noted. Questions about how they did so were swept aside as she focused on attempting to move again. The feelers flailed once more, at no result. God, it sucked to be a larva. She hoped that whatever it was, she wouldn’t stay like this for long. Even a baneling would be able to waddle at least. Though she would have to morph into a zergling first. 

“Rouse yourself, Cerebrates.” a voice shrewdly called. Fallon froze. Another voice in her head. But unlike the previous voice, this one had a feminine undertone to it.

“I am Daggoth,” it continued, “firstborn of the Cerebrates. As is usually the case, I am entrusted with the development of newly spawned Cerebrates until you have properly matured and have been delegated into positions within the Swarm.” She felt a questioning scrutiny on her briefly, before the presence moved on. This Daggoth, it seemed, was telepathic. It wasn’t an unfamiliar concept, as it was a common trope in fiction. Within Starcraft, she was aware that the ability for psionic powers did exist, as it otherwise wouldn’t explain as to how the Protoss as well as the Terran ghost unit functioned. 

But to actually experience telepathy was another matter completely. As it was, it seemed that Daggoth was using an extensive form of telepathy to address multiple beings at the same time, Fallon included.

“You belong to the eighteenth generation of Cerebrates spawned by the Overmind, the largest batch yet. Due to the strenuous effort however, the Overmind has exhausted themselves and is currently indisposed.” Fallon felt a trace of concern over the connection before it dissipated. “Nevertheless, the Overmind watches over us even as they slumber.”

“In order to begin coordinating the lesser Zerg, you must awaken your psionic abilities. With so many of you however, I will be assisted by fellow Cerebrates. Once connected by an instructor, follow their instructions to the letter.” Daggoth finished. Whatever connection that Fallon did have was cut and she was left alone again with her thoughts.

She waited tentatively for a connection to happen but time passed before Fallon realized that one was likely not to be made anytime soon. With that in mind, she began to instead process what she had learned. She, along with apparently several others were Cerebrates. 

Fallon wracked her brains in desperation but she had absolutely no clue as to what a Cerebrate was. Whatever a Cerebrate was, they weren’t covered or even mentioned in any of the Starcraft II campaigns that she played. Were they something to do with the brain? 

“Greetings, Cerebrate.” a voice snarled. Fallon almost jumped, except that she couldn’t actually jump.

“I am Zasz of the third generation of Cerebrates, head of the Garm Brood,” They paused in assessment, before continuing in suspicion. “You are… different.” Fallon squeaked nervously.

“Hi?” she tried to reply. Zasz gave no indication of hearing however, as they continued.

“As Daggoth was saying, in order to command the lesser Zerg, you must achieve a psionic prowess capable of reach and a large degree of control. Take hold of the powers given to you and utilize it. Do you feel it?” A moment passed as Fallon tried to awkwardly comprehend her “powers” before Zasz huffed irritably.

“No more talented than the last one it seems. Very well then, Cerebrate. Allow me to reveal to you what it is like to use our gift.” Fallon blinked, and suddenly she was Zasz. 

They were pulling, reaching into something deep inside of them before suddenly releasing it with a firm intention in mind, to connect psionically to some creature. Then they became Fallon once more.

“Now, try and replicate that feeling.” Fallon acquiesced to the order and did her best to do so. To reach within herself…

Whatever it was that Zasz had shared with her, it had required less effort than she was putting it now. She had to strain her reach even further until she felt it. It was considerably less than what Zasz had and it felt as if it were to slip out, but she finally had it within her grasp.

“Use it.” came the curt command. Fallon twitched, annoyed that her sense of accomplishment was quickly ruined.

Use it for what? A little hint please, she thought exasperated. 

“Whatever it is that you desire.” came the annoyed response.

Oops, it looks like she managed to actually get something through to Zasz there. It was a sign that she did have at least some grasp on her powers now. 

‘Whatever it was that she desired…’

Well then. I want to see, Fallon decided. 

And suddenly, she could see. A dizzyingly amount of visual feedback came rushing through her head and Fallon quickly cut off her power before she could faint once more.

“I did it!” she crowed, only to meet silence. Zasz had already ended their connection with her, no doubt helping her with the bare minimum required before leaving elsewhere. She huffed. What an impatient and rude ass. 

Fallon waited but a moment to see if Zasz would return then focused on herself once more. She had powers . Giddily, she wondered what exactly she could do with them. Shoot lightning? Cloak? Obliterate the minds of those who opposed her from hundreds of miles out?

Focus, she chided to herself. Her first objective, to see. She was almost overwhelmed again with the information overload from seeing. Perhaps it was best to limit her range of vision first. 

Grasping her powers once more (it felt as though she had less than before, but she heedlessly disregarded that), Fallon carefully graduated her vision. 

It was interesting to “see” psionically. Her vision appeared to be black and white, and rather murky as well. She frowned. Surely there was a better way to see, at least akin to how it was when she was first granted sight. 

Trickling in a little bit more of her powers, Fallon’s eyesight sharpened. To her joy, she could see colors once more, some in vibrant shades that she hadn’t even seen before. 

And in the middle of her vision, a strange blob of glowing flesh that laid on the ground rather pitifully. 

She tried waving at it, only for it to wave its feelers aimlessly off to the distance as well. Next, she tried positioning her feelers towards wherever her eyes were, only to watch the blob move its feelers in a meticulous manner as well. 

Stumped, she stared at it mindlessly, before wildly flailing her arms in frustration. The blob did the same. She stopped. The blob stopped. 

Hesitantly, she raised her rightmost-feeling feeler, then her leftmost feeler. The blob mirrored her actions. 

Her eyesight was not actually situated from her eyes or her face. It was in a third-person like perspective. Which meant-

Oh my god, she was the blob, Fallon realized. 

AN: Oh my goodness, three follows to my story and a review (thank you random Guest man!)/comment from Fanfic/AO3 respectively. I am both surprised and a little happy that some of you guys are actually interested in this little plot bunny (that I have yet to kill, drats). That doesn’t mean I’ll continue writing this though, I literally am struggling to write even a couple hundred words per day <*sigh*>. Well, thank you again for showing interest to this! A couple of things that I am now going to note/clarify.

1. I tweaked Prologue just a teeny bit, you don’t have to reread it if you’d like, but hopefully it’s just a tad bit better.

2. I cannot, and I really emphasize that I cannot, write extensively on the lore of Starcraft. A lot of the additional lore is within books, graphic novels, etc and apparently there are a lot of deviations from canon and whatnot, as well as contradicting timelines/stories/information between the additional stories as well. So yeah, I most likely will not write about plotlines from any of the Starcraft books (such as Jake Ramsey and preserver Zamara, Ulrejaz, etc), nor will I be writing on Starcraft: Insurrection or any alternative campaigns. I also cannot perfectly match the dates within the (multiple, mind you) timeline in Starcraft and neither will I be making an attempt to. With that being said, I will do my best to follow the generic campaigns, which means yes, Kerrigan will be infested, Aiur will fall, the UED invades, so forth until the end of LOTV. However, this brings me up to point 3.

3. I will be taking little (or maybe even major) liberties as to how things function in Starcraft. For example, everything that I mentioned regarding psionic powers is obviously not really mentioned nor detailed in Starcraft. You’ll also notice that I gave Daggoth a feminine persona and that I am describing the process as to how Cerebrates are formed and nurtured before eventually becoming capable agents of the Swarm. This shouldn’t diverge or affect the main canon storyline much, but who knows, I may end up taking this story to a completely different direction than canon. As for my reasoning behind making Daggoth feminine, it’s to set a precedent that makes female personalities among Cerebrates, so that way Fallon doesn’t stand out too much :)
   
   4. Before anyone asks, no, Fallon is not The Cerebrate from Episode 2 or Episode 5 Brood War. So what purpose will she fulfill in the story? Hehehehehehe!

5. Lastly, I’d love it if you guys shared your thoughts on the story, where it might go, and on Fallon as well. Hopefully this will make me a better writer.