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Prologue

Chapter 5

(Un)Happy Reunion


„I AM NOT YOUR CHILD!" Sarah roared with all fury in her heart. So that's what the Queen of Blades had meant. Yes, the very presence of this man was enough to drive her into a mad frenzy. Without wasting another thought, like for example how it was even possible for Arcturus to be here in the first place, she stormed forward, claws and blade wings raised high, ready to rip that man into pieces.

The logical part of her mind knew that this couldn't be Arcturus Mengsk. She had killed him on Korhal, inside the walls of his very own palace. She remembered how she had forced so much psionic energy into his head, enough to kill a thousand people, ripping his very existence apart and purging him from this universe without a trace. It had probably been an overkill, but back then Sarah hadn't cared about that.

And she still didn't care.

It had to be an illusion. Narud, an echo from beyond the Void, the hell, whatever you like to call it. Sarah just didn't care. Seeing Mengsk like that was, well, if it truly was Narud beneath that coat, skin, and beard, then Narud had turned into a complete idiot. Hiding as one's archenemy was not exactly a wise idea. She would slice him apart, over and over again. A part of her hoped that the other version of her was right about this being hell

Because if this truly was hell, then killing Mengsk for all of eternity didn't sound so bad to her.

As she dashed towards her enemy with superhuman speed, she suddenly jumped high up into the air in order to strike down upon him. Maybe she should have taken her sweet time with him, enjoyed torturing him over and over again, just like he had done with her. But no, right now all she wanted was to feel his brain on her bony high-heels, to lick his blood off her fingers. It would be enough for now.

Unfortunately, her heel never made contact with his skull. Before she could crush him beneath her claws, something sharp and hot hit her in the side. Pain flashed through her entire body, enough to press all the air from her lungs. She could feel how something penetrated her chest on the right side, broke through some of her ribs, and shredded her right lung into pieces. Even though the pain was excruciating, her mind immediately knew what had hit her.

Ripper-ammo, designed to maim, not kill. Standard Ghost-equipment.

The shot was well placed, and under normal circumstances lethal, yet Sarah simply changed her trajectory while being in mid-air and managed to land on her feet. Mengsk had to wait, this was more important. She pressed one hand on the bleeding wound. In a way, it was even more horrible than the wound Fenix had inflicted. The psi-blade had stabbed her, yes. But the ripper-round was meant to put hundreds of sharp shrapnel into the victim's body. It was no wonder that even the old Confederacy had banned that type of ammunition, at least officially. However, as a Ghost-operative she had used hundreds of those rounds to inflict as much damage as possible.

It had been Jim who had urged her to stop using that type of ammunition.

"Killing a person is one thing, Darlin'..." he had said to her. "...but even if that's how life is, there's no need to be especially cruel." Ha, good old Jim. He was all heart after all.

She didn't recognize the Ghost that had fired on her. Looking at the operative was pointless since her adversary wore a mask that covered the entire face. It was a man, that much was obvious. However, even the mental footprint was unknown to her. Well, the Ghost project had produced thousands of commandos after her defection, so it was not really a surprise that she didn't recognize this particular Ghost. How that Ghost, let alone the old bastard Mengsk, had managed to come to Ulnar was beyond her, but she would deal with that mystery later.

The Ghost was moving towards her. He kept his rifle pointed at her body and was shooting like a machine. His precision was impressive and another round hit Sarah the moment she landed on the ground, penetrating her shoulder. She grunted in pain as the projectile turned her left shoulder into a bloody mess. It was a deadly wound. A vicious wound. A painful wound.

A wound that made the Primal Queen of Blades just angry.

With a loud and monstrous roar, she stormed towards the Ghost. The operative fired more rounds at her, but like a Zergling on stim-packs, she just dodged those bullets. However, the closer she got, the shorter the time to avoid getting hit became. She was just a few meters away when another round hit her stomach. It penetrated her carapace and entered her lower body, turning her intestines into mush. It didn't matter because Queen of Blades still advanced. Her hand grabbed the barrel of the rifle, yet the Ghost managed to fire one last round. Sarah howled in pain and anger when her hand exploded and flesh, blood, and gore flew everywhere. It was a horrible sight, but she didn't care. She still had another hand and two blade wings. She would rip that guy apart and eat him alive if necessary!

Anger, hate, and rage flowed through her veins. Maybe the Queen, the other Queen, had been right about this. What had told Sarah? They were the same anyway? Yes, right now she had to agree to that. It was her rage, her hatred, her will to devour and destroy that kept her on her feet. And right now she would enjoy every damn second of it.

Ghosts were deadly enemies, even without their guns or their psionic abilities. They knew many different ways of unarmed combat, enough to kill every conventional enemy with bare hands. Too bad that the Queen of Blades was anything but conventional. Sarah's broken arm smashed the Ghost's rifle out of his hands. Her still remaining hand grabbed the operative's face. She wrapped her fingers around the mask with superhuman strength. At the same time, the Ghost did the one thing he was trained to do; he grabbed his combat-knife attached to his thigh, and with a swift move, he rammed it deep into Sarah's chest. It was a special knife, strong enough to penetrate even the hardest armor. It went right through her hardened carapace and shredded her heart apart. The pain was unbearable, but the attack was utterly futile since it only destroyed one of her three hearts.

Breaking a girl's heart(s), the Sarah Kerrigan-Edition.

Unfortunately for the Ghost, he couldn't take the same amount of punishment that he could dish out. With a loud and animalistic roar, Sarah crushed his head between her fingers. Blood, bones and gray matter covered her claws when the still twitching corpse landed on the floor. It felt good. She coughed up some blood before turning back towards Mengsk.

"You don't look so good, my dear." Mengsk said with a smug grin on his face. With a painful yell, she pressed her destroyed shoulder back into the right position and her regeneration instantly kicked in.

"Oh, don't mind me. You should be more worried about your own health, old man!" she hissed as her wounds started to close. Her mauled arm began to regenerate as well. It didn't even take one minute for her hand to be back in action and the shock and the pain were already forgotten. There was only one thing that mattered.

"Now no one will save you, Mengsk!" she roared as she stormed towards him.

"Hmpf, again you're wrong, my dear. Because unlike you, I have always a backup plan." Sarah didn't listen as she ran towards the man that had caused her so much pain. Again, she leaped high up into the air, ready to strike down upon him. She owed her heels the feeling of Arcturus's crushed head. This time there was no ripper-round that hit her as she closed in on Mengsk, she made sure of that. She focused on her psionic abilities and a faint glow started to surround her, a psionic shield that would protect her from any more bullets. He was directly beneath her and looked up with a self-righteous grin on his face. It was the same expression he always showed when something went in his favor. Only this time she would-

WAAAMMMM!

"UNF!" Sara could only press out when something massive hit her body and threw her far away. Her whole world turned inside out and upside down, and everything exploded in pain. Even though her psionic shield saved her life, it was not strong enough to nullify the entire effect the tank round had on her. On rumbling tank treads the siege tank rolled out of a corridor, its mighty cannon still aiming at Sarah. The Primal Queen of Blades landed hard on the floor and coughed up even more blood. Though the projectile had not penetrated her psionic shield, it had possessed enough strength to break several of her ribs. Groaning in pain, Sarah tried to get back on her feet.

Where the effin' hell had that tank come from?!

Before she could do anything, the tank fired again. She managed to deflect the round once more, but her body was still hurled into the air before it was smashed against a wall. She could feel how her spine broke, but it didn't matter. She had survived worse. Besides, a Zerg can move its legs even with a broken spine. Looking at the machine, she spat out even more blood. Mending her wounds, her bones snapped back into the right position, causing agonizing pain. But she was used to pain. Pain had been by her side for almost her entire life. Yes, pain was the only constant in her life. Her friend, her foe, her partner and her only companion. And now she would share that special friendship with the crew inside that tank.

Isn't friendship just magic?

Using her bone wings to get back onto her feet, she catapulted herself forward as the tank fired another round. The projectile smashed into the wall behind Sarah, blowing it apart. Dust and stones erupted from the damaged wall, causing Sarah to vanish for the fraction of a second. The turret of the tank immediately started to fire over and over again. Rounds after rounds hit the wall and obliterated it. The tank nearly emptied its entire combat load before its smoking barrel fell silent.

The only thing that could be heard was the hydraulics of the turret as it went from one side to the other, looking for any trace left of the Queen of Blades.

Suddenly something emerged from all of that dust and smoke. It was fast. Like, really fast. It jumped high up into the air, followed by a trail of smoke and debris. As Sarah reached the apex of her flight, she looked down with nothing but fury in her eyes. The tank crew had spotted her, but its cannon could not follow her movement. The big machine started to move back, yet it was too slow. When she crashed down onto the tank, her fist broke through the reinforced steel of the turret, and a wave of compressed psionic energies flooded the inside of the machine, killing everyone inside and igniting both the energy cells and the remaining ammunition.

The explosion was impressive. The tank was simply ripped apart from the inside. As the explosion engulfed Sarah, the fire burned her skin and carapace, yet as she emerged from the flames, her eyes were only fixated on Mengsk. This time...this time she would shred him into pieces.

"You're getting ahead of yourself again, my dear. Even with all the power you possessed, you were never able to think outside the box. That is why it was so easy to use you. And that is also the reason why you failed so miserably." Mengsk said as if he could sense her thoughts. However, she wasn't even listening anymore, the rage was the only thing that kept her going. That and the pain. Even though her carapace and skin started to heal, every step was pure hell.

"Heads up, people! She's over there!" a new voice suddenly reached her ears. She turned her head to the left and saw how a group of bulky people left another corridor. Marines, and they wore the red and gray colors of the Dominion. Without wasting any time, the Marines raised their rifles and started to fire. Their bullets were neither as destructive as the Ghosts ripper-ammo, nor as powerful as the tank rounds. But there were many. The word "bullet-storm" was pretty damn adequate. Even though her psionic shield deflected most of those bullets, some managed to penetrate her shield. She hissed in pain as hot shrapnel hit her face and cut off some of her nerve-cords. It was like looking into an exploding glass-storm.

"Protect the Emperor!" she heard one marine yell. Big mistake. So they wanted to die for their great and noble Emperor? Oh, Sarah would be more than willing to help them with that! Running towards the marines, she spread her blade wings and rammed them into two unlucky soldiers. Their screams of pain were music to her ears, this was the soundtrack of her life. Once she had dealt with them, Mengsk would-

"Keep your shirts on, sparkies!" one marine yelled before pointing his rifle at Sarah's head, but she was too fast. The moment he pressed the trigger of his gun, the tip of her blade-wing smashed through his closed visor and emerged on the other side of the helmet.

She was like a living tornado filled with razors, turning all those brave (and stupid) men into minced meat. She didn't feel any guilt or remorse, just plain bloodlust. Besides, anyone who was stupid enough to side with Mengsk deserved a cruel and horrible death.

And boy, did she make a mess!

While Sarah turned the marines inside out, she could see Mengsk still standing in front of the gate, with his hands behind his back. He didn't show any sign of turning away in order to run, even though Sarah was only a short leap away from him. There was even a smirk on his face. That bastard! She would peel the skin of his face and made him eat it! When she was nearly done with the marines, she mentally prepared to go after Mengsk. She hadn't counted her victims, it must have been a platoon, maybe more. Now it was kinda hard to count them, with all those torn out limbs laying around everywhere. Some were still standing, firing their guns, throwing themselves at her in a poor attempt to stop that which was unstoppable.

"There she is, get her!" a new voice reached her ears. She looked around while ripping another marine into two pieces. More soldiers were approaching, and they had brought more tanks with them. And not only that, she could see Goliaths and even more guns. Great, just great. She slashed the last remaining marine into two pieces before turning towards Mengsk. Enough games! This was starting to get bothersome. Do it the Ghost-way, get in, claim the kill, get out. Only much messier.

Her body accelerated faster than a vulture bike, and with another mighty leap, she was high up in the air again. This time she made her psionic shield strong enough to protect her from a whole barrage from those tanks. Nothing would come between her and Mengsk now!

Nothing, except the Odin.

She could see Mengsk's face, she could practically smell his overpriced yet cheap smelling aftershave. Her hand reached out, ready to ram her claws deep into his eyes when suddenly a wall of steel crashed down between the two of them. She looked up, realizing that the wall of steel was actually moving towards her. It was a gigantic mechanical arm. She remembered this thing, she had seen it on Korhal, during the siege of Mengsk's palace. He had sent it to deal with Jim's forces, so she in returned had dealt with his overpriced and oversized toy.

The arm hit her in mid-air, throwing her back. Even though it was so huge, it was surprisingly fast and maneuverable. The punch was hard enough to smash through her psionic shield and sent her flying. She crashed into another wall and fell down on her knees. Sarah coughed up some more blood. Even she wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer...

Maybe this was hell after all, and all she could do was trying to kill Mengsk, always so close yet never able to get a grip on him.

She slammed her fist into the ground in order to vent her frustration and the cold floor beneath her cracked. If fully unleashed, the wrath of the Primal Queen of Blades was enough to tear down even the mighty walls of Ulnar, destroying all the knowledge that rested inside this place.

In the end what good was all the knowledge in the world if she was in hell?

"This place is not hell, my child."

Sarah's eyes widened when the man that had caused her so much pain spoke to her.

"Still ferocious as ever. Yet, it still seems that you can't control your temper. Now that is pretty disappointing if you ask me." She didn't even bother to reply with words, she just hissed at him like any good Zerg would. Some of his soldiers moved to his side and formed a living shield around him. Others surrounded Sarah and all the weapons in this place were suddenly pointed at her.

"You never knew when to quit, just like Raynor. You two truly deserved each other." Arcturus spat Jim's name out like it was some kind of venom.

"I should have killed both of you when I had the chance." he then added, yet Sarah didn't listen to the old man's rambling and instead threw herself into battle again. There were people that needed to be slaughtered. It was her kind of work. Bullets, tank rounds and missiles rained down on her. Suddenly the whole area was full of soldiers and guns and weapons and whatnot. It defied all reason. Where did those troops have come from? However, Sarah didn't care, she was in "Full-Metal-Zerg"-mode right now, fighting for her life and the right to call herself the Queen Bitch of the Universe again.

And while she was massacring endless numbers of Terrans, Mengsk just stood there and watched her with a cruel smirk on his face. It was as if he knew something she didn't, and his very presence was enough to drive her mad.

The Primal Queen of Blades was so fast that the tank-turrets and missiles couldn't keep up with her. The gunfire did injure her, but she chose to ignore it. Still, even she had her limits. As more numbers of soldiers poured from all directions towards her, she felt how her wounds didn't heal as fast as before. Jumping behind a burning wreckage of a tank, she wanted to use the moment to catch a breath. Maybe she-

"UNF...!" was the only sound that came out of her throat when the wreckage of the tank was blown to bits. She was thrown through the air and everything turned upside down. Sarah felt excruciating pain when her whole body was ripped apart by gunfire. She screamed in rage for her minions to protect their Queen, but the Swarm wasn't here. She was alone.

Sarah managed to land on her feet but dropped to her knees immediately. Blood covered her whole body, both that of her victims and her own. The gunfire stopped, and for a brief moment, she thought that it was over.

THUMB...THUMB...THUMB...

She felt the heavy vibrations of something huge storming towards her. For a second she thought that Fenix had finally found her, but then she realized that this thing was even bigger than that goddamn Protoss. With loud and heavy steps the Odin charged right at her. All other soldiers backed away, no one wanted to get in the way of that metallic monstrosity. It pained Sarah to admit it, but this thing was even more frightening than an Ultralisk. It's mighty cannons took aim, ready to blow her into tiny bits. One round of those guns would be enough to rip her into pieces, ending her life for good given her current state.

She had to finish this, one way or the other!

Mustering all the strength that was left to her, Sarah got back on her feet. With the help of her blade wings, she catapulted herself high up in the air once more in order to jump over that dreadful machine. She could see the tiny figure of Mengsk, surrounded by countless marines, ghosts, and other enemies. It didn't matter, this time she would go all out on him. She focused all of her raw psionic energies and her body was engulfed by a bright, purple light. That much energy was dangerous, even for her. It could kill her. It would kill her. But she didn't care about that, not anymore. A part of her realized that there was no hope left. The only thing she could do was to take Mengsk, Narud, or whatever that thing was with her. That would be her last and final victory.

I'm sorry, Jim...

After everything he had done for her, she had disappointed him yet again by throwing her life away in such a manner. The only good thing was that she wouldn't have to deal with this guilt for much longer.

Like a purple bolt of lightning, she descended upon Mengsk and his soldiers, who raised their rifles and opened fire. Their bullets hit Sarah's body, ripping holes into her carapace, damaging her internal organs. But she didn't care. This was it, she would end it with one final attack. She was so close, so close to her vengeance that-

WWWWHHAAAAAMMM!

The whole ground shook when the Odin fired one of its mighty 330mm cannons. Sarah had been right, this monstrosity was even more frightening than a Ultralisk. At least an Ultralisk couldn't hit you while still flying through the air. The targeting system of thing was unreal! And so was the pain. The round itself weighed more than 20 kilograms, and Sarah's psionic shield wasn't nearly strong enough to deal with something so powerful right now. It was a high explosive round, and when it engulfed her, she could feel how her body disintegrated.

Pain. Everything was just pain. It was unbearable. When the broken figure landed on the floor, it didn't even resemble the Queen of Blades anymore. Almost all of Sarah's lower body had been blown apart, it was truly a gruesome sight. Only one arm and blade wing remained attached to her mutilated torso.

"Now this is awfully familiar." Mengsk muttered.

Mengsk...

Mengsk...Mengsk...Acturus...kill...slaughter...KILL HIM!

Even like this, even when reduced to a piece of blood, flesh and broken bones, a Zerg would never yield. Using her remaining arm, Sarah pulled herself towards the Emperor while leaving a trail of blood and entrails behind her. Even she wouldn't be able to regenerate from this. It was over. She had failed everyone again. A huge shadow appeared over her and she could hear the Odin coming closer. Its mighty foot hovered above her for a second before crashing down. Sarah screamed in pain as the countless tons pressed her against the floor of Ulnar, pinning her down for good. Her blade wing was buried beneath what was left of her body, and only her arm and head remained free. Darkness was nagging at her peripheral vision.

"Now, that was very impressive." Mengsk said before finally walking towards the broken form of the primal Queen of Blades. She tried to reach out to him, even though it was pointless. He was only meters away, but she couldn't even move an inch. She could feel how her ribs cracked as the weight of the Odin started to crush her chest. Blood erupted from her mouth and covered the ground in front of her

"We could have avoided all of that if you had only realized the truth earlier, my dear." Mengsk said with a sad expression on his face. "Even though you won't believe me, I don't take pride in this. But the sad truth is that it has to be done. You're too much of a threat for all of us. Letting you live is a-"

"GO TO HELL!" Sarah gargled, lost in rage and hate. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to tear him apart, to rip his face off his skull and feed it to him. Or infest him and make his life one miserable nightmare that would never end.

"I always liked that cruelness of you, my dear. It is the one trait that defines you the most. I knew that you possessed that unique ability, ever since you slaughtered my father and his family." It was true. She had been responsible for Mengsk's death, the old Mengsk, Arcturus' father. She and two other Ghosts had killed Angus Mengks, then-senator of the Confederate world of Korhal. Only days before the deed, the senator had declared Korhal to be a free world, independent from the Confederacy. And if there was one thing the Confederacy hadn't liked, it was defiance. So they had sent their elite black-ops unit. Sarah and the two other Ghosts had killed Angus, his wife, and their young daughter. In order to prove the death of the late senator, she had even decapitated him and taken his head with her.

By the time Arcturus had decided to recruit her, he had already known about her involvement in his families death.

"There is just as much blood on your hands as on mine, Arcturus." she snarled, breathing hard.

"That might be true, however, unlike you, I never enjoyed killing with my own two hands. You always liked to do it the old-fashioned way, man against woman." Cold started to creep through her body and she felt how her strength was fading away.

"So this is my hell...to listen...to you mocking me...for all of eternity." she gargled and Mengsk began to laugh at her words.

"Oh my dear, this isn't hell. Is that what that darn creature has told you?" As he continued to laugh at her, she felt anger taking control of her again.

"Save your...laughter, Arcturus! I don't...care what you have to say. Of all people in this galaxy, you always have been the best liar around." she pressed out while she started to feel so damn tired.

"Oh, no false modesty here, my dear. I might have used one little lie in the past as means to ensure the survival of my people, but you..." he snarled at her. "...your very existence has always been a lie. Trying to pass as a human, even though you were never anything else but a monster." His words were like a blade, hitting her in all the right places.

"YOU TURNED ME INTO A MONSTER!" she screamed in rage. "You left me behind on Tarsonis, left me to the Zerg, you're the one that turned me into...into...THIS!" she looked at her own Zerg-body. Well, what was left of it anyway. Arcturus shook his head in disappointment.

"No, my dear. You were never human to begin with. You were just a twisted creature. You killed your own parents, remember? What kind of creature does that? Not even the Zerg do that if I remember correctly. You were never human. You were a weapon, a tool. But you foolish thing started to believe that you were human. Ha! What nonsense! Sarah Kerrigan, a human being! Now there's a joke if I ever heard one!"

"Shut up! SHUT UP! I was a human! And you took that away from me! You! And the Confederation! You turned me into a weapon against my will!" Sarah yelled as tears started to flow down her cheeks. Pathetic, to think that the mighty primal Queen of the Blades was crying in front of a mere man, someone she had already killed a long time ago. Yet, deep inside her crushed chest, she could feel the truth behind his words.

"Oh, so now you act like your humanity was precious to you?" Mengsk said with an arrogant smile on his face. He opened his mouth and suddenly Sarah's own voice came out. "If I got rid of my humanity, none of this would have happened." Those had been her thoughts, her reason for returning to Ulnar.

"You're...not Mengsk!" she said. The Mengsk-figure shook his head and looked at her in disappointment.

"Of course I'm not the real Arcturus Mengsk. He is dead. And so is Fenix. And that other Queen of Blades. And this isn't hell. But to think that you still haven't figured out what's going on here is indeed a huge disappointment, I have to admit." He sighed and dropped his shoulders.

"Then tell me..." she hissed. "What is this place." Mengsk suddenly looked like a very old and very tired man.

"Since you simply can't see the obvious truth right in front of your eyes, child..." he said and looked straight into her eyes. A cold shiver ran down her spine when their gazes met. "...you were right about everything. Getting rid of your humanity was the only way to truly ascend. But my dear little girl; you're not Sarah Kerrigan. You are what's left of her humanity, of her zergness, whatever you like to call it." And then Mengsk started to laugh.

His laughter was more horrible than anything she had ever heard in her entire life.

"You are what she has ripped out of her mind and left here. You are just her abandoned humanity."

No...

No, that was wrong.

It had to be wrong!

...

"That's...bullshit!" Sarah replied. Arcturus pulled his brows up when he heard that.

"Oh, really? It is the most logical explanation, is it not? No one said that ascension means that you can just stay who you are. No human mind could possibly survive something like that unscathed. I mean, your mind was always broken, even before the Confederation turned you into their little tool. The Overmind ripped your mind apart and put the pieces back as it pleased. The Xel'Naga artifact ripped the other Queen of Blades out of your mind. The essence of the Primal Zerg reshaped your mind yet again. How can you possibly think that your mind is still fully functional after all that has happened?" he wanted to know. She opened her mouth, ready to reply something.

"Then what about you? If I'm just a lone thought, what are you?"

"Maybe I'm just another thought too. Kerrigan, the real Kerrigan, she is now a godlike being. The memory of good old Arcturus might be just too distracting, so she decided to get rid of me as well. And think about it; if you're a god, can a mere thought inside your mind not be just as powerful as an actual being?" Mengsk asked and started to laugh hard.

"You haven't lost your powers, my dear. Because you never had them in the first place! You're just a fading memory, trapped inside Ulnar, damned to wander these halls through all of eternity!" As Mengsk spread his arms and started to laugh again, Sarah felt cold shivers running down her spine.

"I don't believe you!" she yelled while hot tears were starting to stream down her cheeks. It couldn't be, yet it felt as if he was speaking the truth, which was maddening since Mengsk was a liar, he had always been a liar. She couldn't trust him.

"Hmpf." Mengsk said. "Since you don't believe me, maybe you should see it for yourself. Look, there is your answer. Behold! The mightiest being inside this whole galaxy!" Hearing those words, Sarah turned her weak head around. Suddenly her eyes widened in shock.

There she was. She was beautiful. No, not beautiful. She was magnificent. A perfect being, a creature of unspeakable might. Her golden body was surrounded by flames. She ignored all those soldiers around her as she studied the inscriptions on the walls of Ulnar. Sarah's head moved from left to right as she shook her head in disbelief and fear. There couldn't be two Sarahs, it was simply not possible! That meant...it meant...

More hot tears streamed down her bloody cheeks as she started to cry when she finally realized the truth.

She had succeeded, she had freed herself of her humanity. Only that her humanity hadn't realized that till now. Mengsk looked down on that broken figure and there was a look of sadness on his face.

The real Sarah didn't notice any of this as she touched another inscription. Suddenly the whole room drowned in a bright light, washing away all that pain and sorrow. She was completely oblivious to the desperate screams of that small and weak thing that had once been her humanity.

And so Sarah, the real Sarah, focused on that inscription on the wall. And the inscription? It shared its knowledge with her...


As Jim walked through the empty corridors of the Ulnar, she could feel his sadness. The once white walls of his home had turned dark. Everything was lost. His people, they were gone. Some had locked themselves inside the central chamber, believing that it would offer protection from the Fallen One. But Jim knew better. No, not Jim. Ouros.

"My...Lord..." Jim/Ouros stopped as he saw the bleeding, dying creature lying in the corner of a corridor. Sarah knew that it wasn't Zagara, yet seeing the mighty brood mother reduced to a bleeding piece of meat just looked wrong. Jim/Ouros knelt down in front of Zagara and put his hand on her mutilated head.

"I am sorry, my Lord...we have...failed you..." Zagara managed to gargle before almost choking on her own blood. A sad smile appeared on Jim's/Ouros's face.

"Nonsense, child. You have performed marvelously. If anyone is to blame, it is me. I should have acted far sooner. I should have forced the other ones to open their eyes, make them see what Amon had become. Yet I too decided not to act. I am the oldest, I have experienced cycle after cycle. Yet I didn't see his betrayal coming. How could I blame a child for not knowing anything about this kind of hatred?" Sarah mentally blinked in surprise. So Ouros had been one of the oldest Xel'Naga around? It probably made sense; only a very experienced being would have been able to escape Amon's purge. But still, seeing the Xel'Naga like this? Wounded, scared, helpless, it reminded her of herself.

Sarah started to feel something that she hadn't felt in ages. She felt pity.

"Please...I don't...want to die...alone..." Zagara said with a weak voice. Tears started to flow out of the creature's eyes, and Sarah was reminded again that it was not the real Zagara. The real Zagara didn't even possess any tear-ducts.

"Shhh...hush now, child. You won't die from such simple wounds. Trust me, I have survived worse. It's a natural reaction. You need to rest. Rest now and when you'll wake up, everything will be fine again. I will make sure of it." The mighty head of Zagara looked at Jim/Ouros. If there had been a mouth, she would have smiled at him. As he gently stroked her hardened skin, Sarah could feel how Zagara's pain started to fade away.

"I'm...tired..." Zagara said.

"It's fine. Sleep now. And when you wake up again, we will start a new cycle. Together." Jim/Ouros said. She looked at him with pure adoration. Sarah could feel that this Zagara believed every single word coming from his lips. When she finally closed her eyes for the last time, a single tear rolled down Jim's/Ouros's face.

Getting himself back on his feet, he pushed his emotions away. This was not the time to grieve. He still had to face the Fallen One.

As he moved towards the gate, he saw the bodies of so many friends. They were all gone. The whole cycle had turned into one big nightmare. It wasn't even clear if the Protoss or the Zerg would ever recover from any of this. Jim/Ouros hoped that they would free themselves one fine day from those shackles Amon had placed on them. However, he knew that they would have to do that on their own. Even if he would succeed in stopping Amon, he was just one and the cycle needed many. And he was old. Too old to start all over again. The possibility of uplifting someone who wasn't ready didn't feel right, but what else could he do? All other options had run dry.

In the end, those were all fancy thoughts, yet as long as Amon was in control of Ulnar, Jim/Ouros wouldn't be able to do anything about that. He had to remove the Fallen One from this place, banish him to the far end of the Void where he would never hurt anyone again.

Sarah couldn't believe that line of thoughts. Even though Amon had already caused unspeakable pain and tragedy, Jim/Ouros still didn't want to kill him? What else had to happen until...oh wait. She actually knew the answer.

Yet it is funny how you judge the one who gave you your powers. I bet many think the same thing about you, oh mighty Queen of Blades. Mengsk, or his vision or whatever that thing was, said to her.

Why are you showing this to me? she demanded to know. What is the point of all this? What can I learn from the fall of the Xel'Naga?

She could sense Mengsk's disappointment. It was as if he wanted her to understand something.

Understand what? That they were weak? That they caused all of this yet hadn't been able to stop Amon? she mentally yelled. Now Mengsk's disappointment turned into anger.

Look closer. See the reason why you're here! he declared and everything started to shift and blur around her. Suddenly she was in front of the gate. Jim/Ouros was also there, sealing the gate with a mere thought.

"What is this..." a new voice reached both his and Sarah's ear. Jim/Ouros turned around and saw a twisted creature. This time it didn't look like someone else. And even though Sarah had only seen its true form once, shortly before Stukov had taken his revenge, she would remember that ugly and hideous thing everywhere.

"Narud." Jim/Ouros and Sarah said at the same time. Narud looked down at Jim/Ouros, yet did not attack. The creature knew that even with all its powers, it was still no match for a Xel'Naga. Jim/Ouros looked at the shapeshifter with an expression of utter contempt on his face. Strangely enough, Sarah could feel not just the Xel'Naga's emotion, but it was like there were three other emotions in the back of her mind as well. Sadness, disappointment, and shame.

"Your actions will change nothing. The Fallen One shall create a new cycle in his image. And I shall be at his side while you will be forgotten in the endlessness of the Void!" Narud proclaimed.

"Strong words for such a treacherous being like yourself. I wonder if you had the courage to tell that to your former friends and comrades. I bet they would be quite happy to see how you betrayed them!" Jim/Ouros said, clenching his hands into fists. Suddenly his body radiated so much power that Sarah's head started to hurt.

"Dare to attack me, and I will end your pitiful existence right here and now!" the Xel'Naga declared. She could feel how Narud started to grow restless. The creature wanted to get closer to the gate. There was something about it, something important. However, there was no way for Narud to do so as long as Jim/Ouros remained in front of that gate. Both knew that. Yet, even though Narud had no chance against Jim/Ouros, the creature still prepared to strike. Both beings emitted so much power that Sarah had to avert her gaze. She had...she had...

Then nothing...


As Arcturus stared down at the broken form to his feet, a cruel smile appeared on his face. He knew what he was. He was nothing but a thought. But even then he felt a great deal of satisfaction. Was it because he was a product of Kerrigan's imagination? Or was he actually like the real Arcturus had been? It was a question that was worth thinking about. Perhaps after this, he would try to find out if there was a way to take his fate into his own hands.

Jesus had returned from the dead, right?

So maybe Arcturus Mengsk could do the same thing?

And yeah, he was actually thinking that. And worse, he believed it.

"You were my greatest failure. Maybe you can become my greatest achievement as well?" he whispered and he started to chuckle. He watched how the bloody remnants of the Queen of Blades' body started to shift and change. Right in front of his eyes, her frame changed back into her old human self. The expression on her face was filled with pain and anguish. She looked as if she was having one hell of a nightmare. Arcturus raised his foot and wanted to place his boot on her head. Even now he wanted to kill her for what she had done to him.

But most importantly, what she had done to ruin his ambitions.

The soldiers around him didn't move, they waited for him to give them a command. They were mindless drones, but then again; soldiers had always been just mindless drones to the real Arcturus Mengsk. His boot was only centimeters away from Sarah's head and he was about to put it down when-

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

He turned around and looked into the eyes of a young woman.

"Kerrigan? No, it can't be." he whispered. For a second he had thought that another Sarah was standing right behind him.

"And who would you be, hmm?" he asked while his boot hovered over Sarah's head.

"Someone who urges you to not do what you are about to do." the woman said with a soft voice.

"Oh, really? So you are like me? A memory? Hmm, I wonder who you are. Kerrigan never told me about you. A long lost sister? Her mother, maybe? The resemblance is definitely there."

"I care about her. That's all that matters." the young woman told him. Arcturus chuckled when he heard that.

"And what will you do to stop me, hmm?" he wanted to know and was about to plant his boot on Sarah's head. And the young woman? She just snapped her fingers, and then Arcturus and his army suddenly vanished into nothingness.

"This will happen. And she was right; you were repulsive. I'm glad that I never met you." The woman then walked over to Sarah and knelt down right next to her. She put her hand on Sarah's head and brushed some red flocks of hair out of the other woman's face.

"Don't worry..." she then whispered to the unconscious Sarah. "...everything will turn out fine. You just have to hold on hope." And then she leaned down and kissed Sarah on the forehead. And Sarah? The pained expression on her face vanished and she sighed in relief when the hurt finally stopped.