Prologue: Experiments

Everything around Zeratul was enveloped in a thick grey fog of smoke. It was difficult for him to see what ten feet away from him was. His eyes watered as he tried to make his way out of the fumes. He called out to his brethren as he wandered through the fog in hopes that he would be able to locate them. As he tried to find his way out of the poisonous fumes, he could sense the lives of many humans fading all around him. His skin allowed him to hear the agonizing cries of dozens of suffocating survivors and he tried his best to ignore it.

The further he got from the center of the smoke, the less he sensed of his own people. Pain struck his hearts like none other. He rallied up the remains of his wavering will and continued his way out of the fumes. Zeratul knew that there was a chance for his brethren to be okay. Like him and the others, the Protoss race did not have either a mouth, ears or even a nose. They breathed through their skin thanks to the millions of tiny pores in their thick skin. It could not be penetrated by any form of smoke which meant they were impervious to the smoke around them. However, it was capable hindering their vision.

After a few minutes of passing by mercenaries who cried out for help, Zeratul saw a clearing. He quickly dashed towards it and finally emerged from the cloud of smoke. Sweat poured down his humanoid shaped body as he looked up to a large door situated right in front of him. Something behind the door gave him an ominous feeling. He could sense something living within but it was something that he never felt before. He walked up to the door and placed his four fingered hand onto it. The door was twenty five meters high and same in length compared to his eight meter height. He applied a certain amount of force onto the metallic door. It was strong enough to crush a large boulder but it did not leave a single dent. He began channeling energy from the billions of invisible particles around him. The power felt bone chilling and cold but Zeratul was used to it already. When he gathered enough psionic power, he unleashed it all onto the large door. After two seconds of watching the energy transfer into the door, it started to swell up and dent inwards. When the door reached its limit, the spot where his hand had been tore open a large space and allowed him to enter.

The room was dark. It was deprived of light and he could not see anything properly. He could barely make out the shape of anything close to him. Suddenly out of nowhere, light filled the room thanks to the light bulbs located on the walls and the ceiling. Zeratul could see the vast number of computers and other dissecting devices all around the room. He saw bloodied Zerg corpses on dissecting boards with limbs and organs all over small counters. He felt appalled of the sight. A heartbeat of another quickly grabbed his attention. He saw a large curtain in the center of the room and walked towards it. He ripped it aside and was startled at what he saw.

It was a humongous liquid filled experiment stasis cell that housed a large creature inside. The monstrosity within possessed a form similar to that of his people. Instead of limbs of Protoss limbs, it had large thick tendrils that came out of its back and filled much of the cell. It had small spider like arms with large dagger shaped claws. Small spikes covered the entire body and it seemed that the legs of the beast were incomplete. The head was shaped like a Zerg creature. The mouth was split into four sections that opened outwards on command. The inside was covered in razor sharp fangs. From what Zeratul had noticed, the creature was currently still in its slumber.

"Test subject twenty nine in perfect cryogenic hibernation. Protoss/Zerg Hybrid at eight seven percent completion. DNA strands have been record and archive. Psionic emanations at minimal Psi Index level of fifteen on twenty," stated a cybernetic computer terminal randomly.

"What? A level of fifteen? Such a thing cannot be possible!" Zeratul shouted in response to the outrageous statement. Despite possessing no mouth, all Protoss were able to use their brain to create vibration and noises that would be later interpreted by someone else's brain into words.

His eyes turned red and a vein popped up on his triangular humanoid shaped head. As he stepped a foot closer, the creature within the cell instinctively responded to Zeratul's comment and movement with an increase in psionic pressure. The pressure almost made Zeratul drop to his knees. He held his head in a bit of pain and couldn't believe what was happening. After a few seconds, the pressure returned to normal and the creature's brain activity went back to a minimum.

"A monster of this magnitude cannot be allowed to live. It would take hundreds to slay this being if it were to become complete and awaken," Zeratul muttered to himself a bit tired.

He rose his arm up and activated his Warp Blade. A flame shaped blade of green energy shot out from the top of his wrist guard. It was made up of pure psionic energy and emanated a green glow. He prepared himself to slash open the cell and to slice the beast to ribbons but before he could deliver the first strike, a white mist began to fill the room. He did not know where it came from and was startled. He lowered his Warp Blade and kept it in a position that would allow him to block and counter attack. The mist became so dense that it blocked his view of the cell that was only two feet away from him.

"It is truly marvelous…Do you not agree?" Zeratul heard.

He turned around trying to find the source of the voice but was unable to locate it. There was something weird about the voice. It sounded like it was being sent directly into his brain via telepathy but in a way that was much more advanced than how his people did it.

"Who is it that speaks to me right now?" Zeratul replied.

"I feel quite insulted by your question, young prodigal. True, that I have had many names over the last millennia but do you really not recognize my voice? If that really is the unfortunate case, then I think you would know me best as Samir Duran,"

"Samir Duran…Is that not the name of Kerrigan's consort? Are you the one who destroyed Telematros and kidnapped our Matriarch?" Zeratul asked angrily.

"The one and only," the voice taunted.

"So it is true then…Is this sick experiment part of Kerrigan's agenda then? Has she ordered the likes of you to overlook this horrid operation?" Zeratul asked.

"Do not threat young Templar. She is not the creator of this grand experiment. She lacks the will, and comprehension to engineer and accomplish such a feeble task. However, I will admit that her infestation and rise to power have sped up my progress by a great deal,"

"So if she is not behind this, then it must mean you are acting on your own accord. What exactly are you doing and trying to accomplish here by doing this?" Zeratul asked.

"My actions are the commands of a higher power that I serve willingly. Even though it has been more than a millennia since I have seen my master, its appearance is reflected through the creature that you see within that cell,"

"A high power? What is it that you can possibly serve? And how could you simply accept these orders that have been given to you? Do you not realize what you have made or what this Hybrid is capable of?" Zeratul roared.

"Do you really think I would go to such measures to carry out his will without having an idea of what I was doing? This Hybrid is a completion of a cycle. Its cosmic order in this universe has been preordained ever since the eldest stars were young. Look forth upon this creature as a culmination of our species entire history!"

"The only thing that I see is an abomination of horrific proportions," Zeratul responded.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…Your childish views, young prodigal are understandable as well as typical, just like how everyone cannot simply comprehend the greater schemes of what this creature truly brings. By all means, destroy as many specimens that you would like. It would bring no difference to your future for I have seeded thousands of these works of art upon countless worlds and moons. There is simply no possible way that you could possobily destroy them all before they emerge from their deep slumber but when they do, your entire reality will be changed…forever,"

The mist began to disperse as the mysterious person's voice faded away. Zeratul looked around to see if there were any clues of where the man went but there was nothing. The room looked the exact same. He could hear the computers and their motherboards bleeping and making mechanical noises. Confusion and uneasiness filled the air. He felt the heartbeat of the creature and was not happy. He felt hesitant in trying to slay the beast. He couldn't think straight either. He felt disturbed and emotionless and he couldn't shake those feelings.

"If what he says is true, then I shouldn't waste my time trying to fight this behemoth. Before all of those Hybrids awaken, I must find a way to stop them and find out more about this so called cycle…or else the universe is doomed…" Zeratul said to himself as he turned around and began walking out the facility.

He stepped back out into the cold terrain. The dispersing smoke allowed Zeratul to see what was around him. It became clear to him of the level of destruction that him and his brothers had done to the facilities within the area. He began to hear the cries of dying people around him once more and prayed to the gods that he wouldn't have to hear them from his people.