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on_her_korhalGeneral Duke's tank rolled - no, thundered - across Augustgrad's street, full of pomp and arrogance. Much like the good general himself - especially at the times that Kerrigan had loathed him most. Now, though, she could almost picture a tremor of fear passing through all the nuts and bolts; not that the man would ever acknowledge it.
And then the ground shook for another purpose, shook with the mass of a hundred zerglings, pounding down the street. Her efforts to settle this stupid Zerg civil war once and for all had been fruitful, to say the least.
Still...
"COME ON OUT, YOU HEARTLESS BITCH!"
Ah. Duke had always been such a radiant personality.
She fell gracefully down several stories of building. Her feet hit the dust. Her back stretched itself, and with it, its wings. One tiny, monstrous figure against a tank the size of an apartment building. In some other place, on some other Earth, it could be an image of protest.
Not here.
"Well, well." Those were the loudspeakers on that tank. An affectation. "If it isn't little Kerrigan. I had a feelin' we'd be meetin' each other again. You have a lot to answer for, little girl."
Made a girl think.
Not so much about terror. Maybe about stabbing. Or about doctors.
High and mighty. She never did appreciate that kind of shit.
"General Duke," she said, and her voice was once again a smile. Her words came slowly, like she had all the time in the world. "You know, I always wanted to have you killed. This is kind of exciting for me."
Flick, went the blades between her fingers. Flick, flick, flick.
"Do your worst then, girl," he snarled back. "You ain't takin' Edmund Duke without a fight!"
Flick, said her blades again.
"I'm sure. Oh, before I forget-- Roy Mustang sends his best regards. Or I imagine he would, if he were here right now."
His response was ignorant rage. An arrogant growl. Pathetic.
She smiled. It was a good day.
--
Static.
Kerrigan, you murdering bitch!
Static.
We had a deal!
Oh, come on, Arcturus. Did you really think I'd allow you to come into power again? You practically fed me to the Zerg on Tarsonis! You're directly responsible for the hell I've been through! Did you honestly think I'd let you get away with that?
Static.
But you said revenge was secondary to defeating the UED!
I lied. I liberated this planet because it was the UED's primary staging point, not because I was under any obligation to you. I used you to destroy the Psi Disrupter. And now that I've got my Broods back, you're no longer necessary for my plans.
Static.
--
She didn't smile, this time.
All the things he made her do. All the things. Death wasn't enough. Death wouldn't be enough, and it was now in her grasp: him, powerless, antiquated, doomed.
"I think I'll leave you here, Arcturus, among the ashes of your precious Dominion. I want you to live to see me rise to power."
Her mind hovered like a finger over the command that said disconnect. The command that said kill. Either one was a possible option. Either one would be easy. Either one.
Either or. Either one. Death or dismemberment. Death or castration in every moral sense.
"I want you to always remember in your most private moments that it was you who turned me loose in the first place."
She chose disconnect. Live. Gone. Cut off. Watch me blossom. Stay in the muck. Dirty your hands. I'll make you proud, I'll be Queen Bitch of the Universe, I've got the blood of heroes under my fingernails.
I stand tall in my vengeance.
"River." A breath. "I'm-- tired."
[[ two of two. Some dialogue taken from 'True Colors'. OOC-okay, woo ]]
And then the ground shook for another purpose, shook with the mass of a hundred zerglings, pounding down the street. Her efforts to settle this stupid Zerg civil war once and for all had been fruitful, to say the least.
Still...
"COME ON OUT, YOU HEARTLESS BITCH!"
Ah. Duke had always been such a radiant personality.
She fell gracefully down several stories of building. Her feet hit the dust. Her back stretched itself, and with it, its wings. One tiny, monstrous figure against a tank the size of an apartment building. In some other place, on some other Earth, it could be an image of protest.
Not here.
"Well, well." Those were the loudspeakers on that tank. An affectation. "If it isn't little Kerrigan. I had a feelin' we'd be meetin' each other again. You have a lot to answer for, little girl."
Made a girl think.
Not so much about terror. Maybe about stabbing. Or about doctors.
High and mighty. She never did appreciate that kind of shit.
"General Duke," she said, and her voice was once again a smile. Her words came slowly, like she had all the time in the world. "You know, I always wanted to have you killed. This is kind of exciting for me."
Flick, went the blades between her fingers. Flick, flick, flick.
"Do your worst then, girl," he snarled back. "You ain't takin' Edmund Duke without a fight!"
Flick, said her blades again.
"I'm sure. Oh, before I forget-- Roy Mustang sends his best regards. Or I imagine he would, if he were here right now."
His response was ignorant rage. An arrogant growl. Pathetic.
She smiled. It was a good day.
--
Static.
Kerrigan, you murdering bitch!
Static.
We had a deal!
Oh, come on, Arcturus. Did you really think I'd allow you to come into power again? You practically fed me to the Zerg on Tarsonis! You're directly responsible for the hell I've been through! Did you honestly think I'd let you get away with that?
Static.
But you said revenge was secondary to defeating the UED!
I lied. I liberated this planet because it was the UED's primary staging point, not because I was under any obligation to you. I used you to destroy the Psi Disrupter. And now that I've got my Broods back, you're no longer necessary for my plans.
Static.
--
She didn't smile, this time.
All the things he made her do. All the things. Death wasn't enough. Death wouldn't be enough, and it was now in her grasp: him, powerless, antiquated, doomed.
"I think I'll leave you here, Arcturus, among the ashes of your precious Dominion. I want you to live to see me rise to power."
Her mind hovered like a finger over the command that said disconnect. The command that said kill. Either one was a possible option. Either one would be easy. Either one.
Either or. Either one. Death or dismemberment. Death or castration in every moral sense.
"I want you to always remember in your most private moments that it was you who turned me loose in the first place."
She chose disconnect. Live. Gone. Cut off. Watch me blossom. Stay in the muck. Dirty your hands. I'll make you proud, I'll be Queen Bitch of the Universe, I've got the blood of heroes under my fingernails.
I stand tall in my vengeance.
"River." A breath. "I'm-- tired."
[[ two of two. Some dialogue taken from 'True Colors'. OOC-okay, woo ]]
