Here is the next chapter of the story. I apologize for the delay and if there are any mistakes I apologise again as it is very late and I wanted to get this out to you guys. I have said before, that all of the old chapter are going through a major fix and when they are done I will get them up and remove the old ones. The basic story won't change, but the quality will be dramatically increased.
Thank you to all who reviewed. It really kept me going and motivated me to take a break from my studies to work on it. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.
Chapter 13
Lizzy woke slowly not able to concentrate with the pain in her head. It pulsed with every heartbeat and drove out everything else with it. When she finally opened up her eyes she was not greeted with some horrible situation. Quickly recognizing the room aboard the Hyperion that she had been given on her first stay Lizzy was overjoyed.
The girl slowly placed her feet on the ground and saw the clothes folded on the end of the bed, looking down at herself she could see that she was still in Zerg form. Concentrating she returned to her human one and slowly stood putting on the clothes. It felt good to be back in human form. Once the girl was fully clothed she wandered out of the room and followed the familiar path to the command centre finding solos in the metal and pipes of the hallway. Lizzy may have only been gone what felt like a few weeks from the Ship but she found it was closer to home than anywhere she had been before.
She finally stepped onto the Command Centre and had to look away when Jim and Matt smiled at her. The leader of Raynor's Raiders moved away from what he was doing and walked till he was standing in front of Lizzy then he pulled her into a big hug.
"Im glad that you're back safe. Im sorry that you were taken. And it was from right under my god damn nose." Jim said as he held the girl tighter, he really felt it was his fault. Lizzy was able to tell that he was afraid that she was going to be another Kerrigan. Someone that he was unable to protect.
The girl turned her head and laid it on Jim's chest. She could hear his heartbeat. It was strange. Lizzy always wants someone like an older brother and she was glad that she could call Jim Raynor that person.
"What happened to the Overmind?" She asked, breaking the happy reunion. "I can't feel it anymore."
"It's gone. Tassadar killed it. But…" he hesitated unsure of how to continue. "He gave his life to do so."
"What!" Lizzy pushed Jim away and looked into his eyes and mind looking for a lie. When she found none her eyes began to water. "No… This isn't fair. This isn't fair!" She cried, showing her childish personality. No matter how much the Zerg altered her, she was still a 17 year old child and she had lost someone she cared about. "Why'd he die!?"
Jim seeing that the girl wasn't handling the news well brought her back into his arms and held her as she hiccupped and cried letting out all her frustration and anger at being so helpless. She managed to calm down after a few minutes and pushed herself away from Jim.
"What now Jimmy?" She asked, her voice scratchy from the crying.
He put a hand to his chin while thinking. "Since we have nothing better to do, lets tag along with the other Protoss. We may as well help them and I think Zeratul would be happy to see you again."
It was supposed to be comfort but the words were lost on the girl. She decided that she wanted to go somewhere there was lots of noise so that she wouldn't need to think as the noise would be distracting. Eventually she decided on the Cantina and was sitting at the bar drinking everything that wasn't alcoholic. Though she did manage to sneak a few shots when the barman was looking away. Telepathy came in handy sometimes.
She couldn't believe that Tassadar had given up his life. And she was unable to believe that she felt so strongly, she barely knew him when she thought about it. As Lizzy sat elbow on the countertop and head on her hand oblivious to the world she was unable to notice Matt coming up behind her till he quickly put his hands on her shoulders causing her to jump with an 'Eeep'
"What was that for?" She asked a frown on her face as she turned to him.
He held a grin as he sat. "I wanted to know if I was actually able to sneak up on you. What has you so distracted?"
Lizzy sighed and looked over the bar at the wall staring at nothing. "I don't know how to feel. Should I be relieved that the Overmind is gone, or sad? Sad that Tassadar sacrificed himself to kill it or angered that he killed my…. Well, father I suppose." She ran a hand through her hair and mussed it up before shaking her head and getting it somewhat back to normal.
It was a few minutes before anyone spoke again.
"You can't feel bad for how you are feeling. It is only natural. From what I found about your family, the Overmind sounds like it was the only kindness you were shown." Matt said to her placing his hand on top of her own as a sign of comfort. "What happened in the weeks that you were taken? We know you ended up with the Zerg, but what happened before?"
Lizzy visibly tensed, "It…. I was taken to-" She choked on the words "Somewhere where they experimented on me. It was horrid. They opened me up Matt." She looked at him now, her hand had nearly broken the glass "And I wasn't sedated."
Matt was horrified and grabbed the other hand, the one that was not breaking a glass and laced his fingers through hers. "But you're back now." The moment was ruined however when something in his pocket beeped. He took it out and read the message sighing after he did. "Sorry. We've arrived and Jim wants me back at the helm."
Lizzy had nothing better to do so she followed him to the command centre. Jim was talking to the other Protoss over the Comms link. Lizzy only caught the end of the conversation but he was asking the Protoss if he could tag along with them as they went to a new planet. Zeratul was quick to agree but Aldaris was more reluctant. Jimmy shut off the link when he had the go ahead.
He turned to see Lizzy and Matt behind him "So, you feeling any better?" He asked. She shook her head and looked at the floor. "Don't worry about it. In time the pain will lessen. Trust me, I am the person to go to about situations like these." He ruffled her hair and went back to managing the Hyperion.
It didn't take too long to get back to Aiur and with the Zerg in disarray it wasn't too hard to sneak back to the planet. Once there however the job was much harder. Without the Overmind or the Cerebrates to lead them, the Zerg became feral and uncontrollable, attacking anything and everything. Even going so far as to attack each other.
When they arrived they found Fenix and his group. He was now in a Dragoon body but was none the less happy to fight for his people. He led them to the warp gate where the group didn't even bother setting up a base, they erected a few barriers and bunkers but that was all. Jimmy decided that since they were waiting for Zeratul and the others there was no need for a large base. Soon after they set up the defences, the Protoss arrived looking battered and battle worn. Zeratul was at its head with Aldaris and a new Protoss behind him. The group had a lot of Zealots and Dragoons but not much else. Every one of them was injured some in dire need for medical attention.
Zeratul came to stand infront of Jim and spoke with a tired voice "En Taro Tassadar, friend Raynor. It is good to see you again.
"Executor, I have located the warp gate. We must hurry and evacuate the Khalai survivors before the Zerg return!"
Not a moment after he had spoken a massive swarm of Zerglings charged their way. A few brave Zealots rose to fight them but couldn't keep them at bay forever.
Jim hoped onto his Vulture and turned to Zeratul. "Get her out and worry about getting your people through the gate, Executor. Fenix and I will hang back and protect our flank until everyone is through."
"No" Jimmy you cant! This is suicide!" Lizzy shouted at him as he revved his Vulture.
"Sorry Kid. But I cant let you stay here. Its too dangerous, you only just got away from the Zerg. No way am I letting you go back to them so soon." When he saw that she wasn't moving to the gate he got up from his bike and strode to her. "It'll be alright. Stop worrying. Now no hard feelings you hear?"
Before she had time to contemplate what he meant, Jim pushed her through the warp gate her hand stretched to stop him as she screamed profanities at his face.
Hours later on the Protoss base camp on the planet Shakuras, Lizzy sat away from the other Protoss brooding and angry at Jimmy. How many people were going to die around her?
The planet Shakuras was beautiful in its own way. While the land was a grey blue ebony rock the sky was fixed in a never ending twilight. It wasn't hard to see why the Dark Templar chose to stay on this planet, they had been there for a good few hours and there was no clear difference between night and day. Not that it meant anything to Lizzy's enhanced sight. She did notice that there was almost no plant life on the hard rocky surface.
Like all young people, Lizzy soon grew bored and decided to wander back to the camp whereupon she found Zeratul, Aldaris and the new Protoss Praetor who was called Artanis. He was the same on that Lizzy had met when they arrived to arrest Tassadar. They were all in a meeting.
"En Taro Tassadar. The survivors from Aiur have made it safely through the warp gate. Yet, amidst the chaos of our retreat, we lost contact with Fenix and Raynor. I fear they may have been overrun by the Zerg." The Praetor spoke sadly. It was the first time she has heard his voice.
Zeratul was unfazed by his concern. "Fear not Artanis. Fenix is a steward a warrior as I have ever known and the Terran Raynor has proven himself resourceful in the past. I for one believe that they made it here safely. But while we wait for word from them, we must reconnoitre the surrounding area and find a more suitable location for a more permanent settlement. Once we are situated, we can begin our search for the Dark Templar."
With that said the Protoss and Lizzy picked themselves up and trekked through the wasteland for somewhere to establish a base. It was a hard journey for both the tired Protoss and Lizzy who was finding it difficult to keep up with them even with her Zerg enhancements. She hadn't slept since she was last on the Hyperion and that was at least 36 hours ago. Aldaris slowed his pace to match Lizzy's and looked down at her.
"You seem to be struggling." He commented.
Lizzy took a deep breath and replied "No, its fine. Once we find somewhere ill rest and ill be fine again."
"That sounded like a contradiction. If you are fine, why would you need rest to be fine again?" He told her.
She was in no mood for his mind games. "It doesn't matter, I won't keep everyone behind."
"It is no trouble if we have to slow our pace for you. The other Protoss would find it a relief since their wounds are so great."
She was confused at that statement. "Why don't they just ask to slow the pace?"
He chuckled a little at that. "Their pride. They will keep going even if it means they die."
Suddenly, Lizzy stopped and held her breath. Aldaris quickly asked what was wrong. "Up ahead… There here!"
Realizing that she meant the Zerg, Artanis sprinted ahead to Zeratul. "Zeratul! There are Zerg on Shakuras!" And no sooner then the words were spoken, Zergling's leapt from their Burrows and attacked. "They must have taken control of the warp gate on Aiur! If it weren't for Lizzy sensing them, we would have been ambushed."
They quickly dispatched the Zergling's and set up a base camp near a mineral deposit and a Vespene geyser. While they were setting up camp, more Zerg attacked. This time however, there was unexpected help. Dark Templar quickly killed the Zerg and one turned there blade on Lizzy. She held out her hand to stop the blade but Zeratul has intercepted it with his own.
"Leave this one alone." He warned.
Not understanding but doing as bid the Dark Templar removed his blade and bowed. "Adun Toridas, Zeratul! While I am confused why you are saving this strange Creature, I am glad to see that you've returned home after these many decades. But the strange guests that have followed you seem… ill tempered."
Zeratul returned the bow. "Well met my brother! Indeed these creatures known as the Zerg have no regard for the sanctity of life. Once we have secured the area I shall tell you everything I know in council."
"I am sure the Matriarch will be eager to hear your tale as well. But I have to know, why save this one? Isn't she the same as these creatures?" He asked Zeratul.
The elder Templar shook his head. "Not in the slightest. These Zerg don't care about any life, this young one is untainted by their bloodlust."
Satisfied with his answer the Dark Templar left to patrol the area with his brethren.
Artanis ran up to them with excitement in his movements. "Zeratul! We have received a transmission from Fenix and Raynor. They are still alive and are fighting to retake the warp gate on Aiur! We must secure the gate on this side without delay."
And so Artanis went about making the base defendable. He constructed a Nexus and a lot of Pylons. To Lizzy is seemed like they were the douche people that came to a new planet, steal their resources and bring their duchy friends called the Zerg to the party.
The base was fairly well stocked with Pylons and soon a party of Zergling's attacked them. But they only went for a pylon and the Zealots and Dragoons easily dealt with them. Lizzy was able to accurately tell when the Zerg were going to attack, she was able to feel when they were within a range of sorts if they were too far away then she could sense them. But she was able to tell them within a minute if an attack was coming.
By the time some upgrades were complete for Dragoon range and Zealot speed, the Praetor had two Templars merge into an Archon and the group decided to move out to decimate the Zerg forces. The Dark Templar were easily able to sneak into the Zerg base that laid over a near bridge and assassinated the Zerg that were attacking other Protoss. Lizzy was amazed at their co-ordination. The Sunken colonies were the most trouble as their distance attacks were crippling for the Protoss shields and armour. A few Dark Templar were injured due to a Spore Colony and a Sunken one being close together.
The Protoss quickly reached the Warp Gate and began an attack on it. The Zealots with their speed sprinted forward and began slicing through the Sunken colonies and the Dragoon kept the detecting Overlords away. Lizzy herself didn't partake in the battle, but was caught off guard by a Zergling and tackled to the ground, she didn't retaliate but instead tried to take over it like Kerrigan had taught her. Her eyes glowed a bright yellow as she did and the Zergling halted its feral attack. It tilted its head in confusion as it was taken under her command wondering why it was attacking one of its own. Before anything else could be done a Dark Templar took his psi blade and stabbed the Zergling in its head killing it and since Lizzy was connected to it, she was able to feel it dying.
It was a terrible feeling, one that had a few tears falling from her eyes unintentionally.
When the warp gate was retaken Artanis looked around desperately. "There is no sign of Raynor or Fenix. They must still be on Aiur!"
Now that the gate was retaken, Artanis lead an assault on the remaining Zerg forces pushing them further into the Zerg territory. Many Protoss were slaughtered in the battle but they managed to kill all of the Zerg that were in their sights.
A message from Raynor came from the gate once they were all defeated. "Zeratul, if you're there, my crew and I will remain here on Aiur and shut the gate down on this side. It's the only way to make sure that the Zerg won't send anymore reinforcements to Shakuras."
Artanis was the one to return the transmission. "You will be hopelessly outnumbered and once the gate is shut down there will be no one to save you should you be overrun." He spoke in a serious tone trying to convey the likelihood of them not returning.
In typical Jim Raynor fashion he replied "Yeah, well… Im a man of action. What can I say"
"I shall remain with Raynor as well. My duty is to Aiur after all" Fenix added.
Seeing that they weren't going to be swayed Artanis submitted "Farewell then, brave warriors. We will send through all the troops we can spare."
"Thanks. You kids just remember to play nice from now on, okay? And Lizzy, try and not be to mad at me. I promise you can yell at me when I next see you. Wish us luck."
Lizzy was now very depressed. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to rush off back to the gate and go to help Jim and another wanted to run away back to Kerrigan. As strange as it was the Queen of Blades was the only one she wanted to be around. After all both her and Lizzy were the same. Both turned by the Zerg. The Protoss just didn't understand how she felt, couldn't understand really.
But as the child continued to travel with them she decided to distance herself even more from them. They aricved at the main Protoss settlement at New Antioch where they came face to face with the Matriarch.
She stood less than the average Templar height and was slightly bowed with age, Lizzy could feel that she was older much older than Zeratul. Her cloak was made of a similar material to Zeratul's and she had two psi blades on her arms. Her eyes held something that seemed to gaze straight into one's soul.
She addressed them all. "I am Raszagal, Matriarch of the Dark Templar and I welcome you to our world. Zeratul has informed me of the fall of Aiur and I am deeply grieved, I am one of the few Dark Templar old enough to remember our ancestral home with clarity. Yet no mater how tragic the circumstances it is clear that fortune has reunited out people." Now her voice and eyes took a dark turn. "We Dark Templar will never forget our banishment from Aiur, nor the Conclave's sins against us. But you and your companions are no longer of the Conclave. The examples set by your fallen hero, Tassadar, has shown you that when the light and dark sides of our energies are united, our power is undeniable."
"But Matriarch, the Zerg who have followed us here are unlike any enemy the Protoss have ever known!" Aldaris said, trying to convey just how dangerous the Zerg were to the Dark Templar who hadn't faced them before.
Raszagal raised a hand and silenced him. "You speak the truth, Judicator. And yet, there lies a dormant power here that can help us scour the Zerg from Shakuras forever." Lizzy unintentionally flinched, Artanis quickly glanced in her direction but otherwise said nothing. "Long ago, we Dark Templar were a nomadic people. But when we found a remarkable monument upon this word and we decided to remain here to study it. We discovered that the enermormas structure is actually an ancient Xel'Naga Temple, dedicated to the race that sired us all. The Temple is situated above a nexus of powerful cosmic energies. If we were to access those energies…" She trailed off, not needing to finish.
Aldaris took a step forward "Then we should strike now while the Zerg still muster their forces!"
The Matriarch shook her head sadly. "Alas, we cannot. In order to properly channel the energies of the Temple, we will need the twin crystals, Uraj and Kalis, that legends say were separated many ages ago. The Uraj is laces with pure Templar energies, while the Kalis is comprised of Dark Teplar energy. Only by using these two crystals in unison, can we hope to channel the potent energies of the Temple."
"Then it is clear that we must retrieve these crystals wherever they may be." Artanis bravely said.
"Agreed. But first we must deal with the Zerg and their two Cerabrates who have already taken up station around the Temple itself. To Arms my children! Scour the Temple grounds of this foul infestation!"
Lizzy stepped forward "I want to fight too." She was nervous standing in front of the Templar leaders.
"We shall not force you to fight your own kind." Raszagal told the child.
"They are not my kind!" Lizzy argued.
The matriarch moved to stand in front of the girl "No matter how much you wish it. They are your kind."
Sorry this took so long to get out. College is REALLY taking its toll on me.
Review for Lizzy's sake!