A/N: Hi again! I'm back! And so are our friends, my personal favorite race, the Protoss! See you at the bottom!
Chapter III
Rendezvous with the Templar
"You have persecuted us for generations...
...and now you beg us to aid you?
We will do what we must...
...but we do it for Aiur, not you..."
-Zeratul, to his commanding Executor (you) in SC1
When Spyro and Cynder followed Tosh back into the bridge, their heads were spinning. This world… these Terrans… they were far older than the Dragon Realms. The history of the Dragons, the oldest race on their world, was only a little more than two thousand years old since their beginnings. These Terrans, it seemed, were at least three times that age! And the Protoss and Zerg the Spectre had spoken of were older still!
Suddenly a thought came to the young hero. In this world they named each individual planet. Yet the Dragon Realms were only a portion of their world, and Spyro had never heard of a name for all their world. He wondered if there even was one. Raynor was back on the bridge once they arrived, though the Dragons barely recognized him now that he was out of his armor. When he noticed their entrance, he nodded at them in greeting.
"Nice to see you three finished," he said, his voice laced with slight venom, which faded had away by his next sentence. "Just in time, too; we've decided on the plan."
"And what is it?" Tosh asked, one eyebrow raised.
Raynor grinned ferally. "I was just coordinating with Artanis. He's marshalling the Protoss. We've decided that the time to strike is now – before Kerrigan finishes her campaign to recollect the Swarm." Tosh had told Spyro and Cynder about the Terran called Sarah Kerrigan; how she'd become the Queen of Blades. Recently, she'd been retrieved from Char. It was thought that she was human once again, but she – for whatever reason – had fled almost immediately once she could, and it was later reported that she was gathering the Swarm to her once again. Raynor determinedly believed that they were missing something, he didn't think the Xel'Naga Artifact had done so little, that Kerrigan was still, somehow, human, that she was gathering the Swarm for another purpose, but that didn't stop his planning. Not this time. He didn't attack her, but that was only because, this time around, she wasn't attacking anyone else; at least, not yet.
Before Raynor could finish, another Terran, this one wearing a navy-blue uniform, entered the room. He spotted Raynor, and saluted. "Matt Horner, reporting in, sir."
"Ah, Matt. Good. We just finished planning our next move," Raynor said. "Like I just said, I've been coordinating with Artanis. We're going to help the Protoss take back Aiur."
There was a pause, during which Matt Horner drew in a gasp between his teeth. "Are you sure, sir?"
"Absolutely."
There was silence again for a moment, during which Spyro pondered. Aiur. Tosh had told him it was the Protoss homeworld, taken by the Zerg. For some reason, that thought alone, had been enough to make his blood boil. And now, somehow, the thought of taking back the sacred planet was making him positively burn with excitement.
Then Horner spoke again. "All right, sir. I won't doubt you again."
Jim grinned. "Thanks, Matt."
The Captain of the Hyperion smiled back. "No problem."
Raynor turned to a man sitting at a computer console. "Set a course for the coordinates I gave you."
The man nodded, and tapped a few keys. "Done as requested, Commander," he said.
"All right," said Raynor, and nodded at Matt, who pressed a button on the Star Map and said loudly, "All hands prepare for warp jump on my mark!"
Everyone on the bridge grabbed something except Matt, Tosh and Raynor, and even they braced themselves. Spyro and Cynder copied them, not knowing what to expect. Matt was looking at his watch.
"Mark!"
And the starship Hyperion pitched forward into hyperspace.
Mere moments later, out it came again. Only now, it was surrounded. The instant the world appeared about the ship again, the void was filled by other, smaller Battlecruisers, as well as a fleet of other ships, made of a strange golden metal. The second they came through, Spyro's mind was assaulted by what felt like the thoughts of a million minds, not that he understood most of what he heard – or rather felt.
Today… at last… we will take back Aiur…
Can you see us now, Swarm? We are the agents of your doom!
I hope the Hierarch knows what he's doing. Aiur has been overrun for far too long…
Then, suddenly, it was all drowned out by one presence; a very old, and very powerful mind, though it didn't seem malevolent. Spyro got the impression that it was watching him with interest, and not a little apprehension. It was blocking him out, not allowing him access to the strange mind-link he had been hooked into mere moments ago.
Before he could do anything else about it, however, something distracted him. A strange three-dimensional pattern of blue light appeared beside Jim, and a moment later it coalesced into the shape of a bipedal, reptilian being. It was wearing nothing other than lightly (if ornately) armored robes. From Tosh's description, Spyro recognized it as a Protoss Dark Templar, and for some reason, the sight of it made his heart race. He noticed that it had a set of severed tendrils protruding from the back of its skull. These, he knew, were its nerve cords, which the Dark Templar severed to be 'free' of the Khala, the Protoss mind link.
Suddenly Spyro thought of something. Just a moment ago, when I heard all those thoughts… were those Protoss? Was that the Khala?
He had no time to contemplate, however, for the Nerazim was already speaking. "Friend Raynor," it said, or rather thought, for Protoss had no mouths. They spoke by projecting their thoughts outward to all present, or to only select people. "Welcome. It is good to see that you have arrived safely."
"Zeratul," Raynor said, and Spyro started in his armor (thankfully having disabled the function that made it move with him. This was Zeratul? Tosh had gone beyond metioning him; the Dark Prelate had been a significant subject. "Good to see you."
There was a pause for an instant, in which Spyro noticed that Zeratul's eyes were flickering about the bridge, almost warily, before settling on himself and Cynder. "Urun has told me of… a strange occurrence. Someone aboard your ship has somehow connected with the Khala."
A/N: I must say, I loved that quote from the top. It was what Zeratul said if you repeatedly clicked him in SC1. So, they've met Zeratul, and Spyro seems to be inadvertently delving into their secrets and powers. How's he doing it? Only Digolgrin (who I've been talking to) and I know, and neither of us are telling you! You'll just have to wait and see!
Now, please, review!
