//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: The Hunt Begins 
// Story: Excalibur and the Zerg 
// by Disciple of Chrysalis 
//------------------------------//

   Excalibur was lost in his dream state and he was back with the strange creature, but something was different this time, the image was sharper, almost as if whatever was dragging him into these nightmares was closer then before. This time there were only three creatures, The Queen, the spider-snake, Abathur, and the blue skinned, tiny armed, Dehaka. The three were in the same area as the first dream, but this time, they were over-looking the jungle from the air, the jungle he was currently in and all around were Zerg and now there was more purple gunk on the jungle ground. "I sense essence. Powerful essence." Dehaka said, pacing the floor "I must collect. Will make me stronger", he looked out over the jungle and looked down at the general area where Excalibur was hiding.

"Patience Dehaka, when we acquire the specimen, we'll have Abathur put the gene we need into our Swarm and then you may kill one zerg and get that gene for yourself"  The Queen said, but she was obviously as impatient as Dehaka,  but she didn't act. "Patience is for the weak. I am strong" Dehaka said and he suddenly jumped out of the opening and down into the forest below. The Queen sighed, she spread her wings and floated downward, even if she had no skin on her wings. Excalibur knew now that he needed to wake up for he was in mortal danger, both of these creature were now on a direct course for him. He began a mental battle with himself to wake himself up, he figured he had a few minutes before they arrived so he needed to wake up now.

Excalibur was now in darkness, neither awake, nor asleep, but the point remained, he was currently immobile and that was a major problem. He tried to move his limbs and they barely twitched, he tried to open his eyelids, but they merely trembled, he felt his body about to shift back into sleep and in his bleary state, he tried to move all together, but he found he could only move his neck. He yawned as his body was about the reenter sleep and he had a stupid idea that would hurt, as his mouth began to close quickly he moved his neck and somehow managed to position his mouth around his leg and...

CHOMP!

"OW" he screamed and now he was fully awake and looking at the wound his fang had just inflicted, but he snapped his focus back into place and looked out into the jungle, he could see trees moving and some being brought down entirely from the force of whoever was coming towards him quicker. His movements were slow and sluggish as he moved his body from the tight hollow, he blinked a few times from the sunlight and his eyes were adjusted in seconds. He buzzed his wings and slower then usual, he began to float upward, but he didn't go up through the treetops, instead he headed deeper into the jungle and downward, into the underbrush. He hunkered down under a large and fairly prickly bush and watched as Dehaka burst from the bushes where he had flown away from.

"No use hiding. Dehaka find essence" Dehaka said in his gravelly voice, he dropped down onto three legs (Stubby arm) and began to sniff around when The Queen appeared from where Dehaka had entered. "I said to wait Dehaka" she said in a strained voice that betrayed her anger and she raised a claw to, what he thought meant she would strike Dehaka, but instead, Dehaka floated upward and he appeared to be choking. Excalibur gasped, she possessed magic, but so few creatures could naturally wield magic, but then Dehaka dropped and the Queen turned to him "Well, it appears we've found our target" she said, a sadistic grin slowly pulling her face, she began to slowly walk towards him.

Excalibur was out of tricks, he was out of ideas, he was going to either die today, or suffer to death later and that was unsettling for him. He whimpered, he backed away slowly and deeper into the brambles, or whatever they were, but he couldn't escape, he fluttered his wings weakly. He had no escape, no chance what so ever and to top it all off, this thing, this Queen possessed magic that could rival that of his own queen, Chrysalis.

DOOOOOOOOM!