I did the rational thing: screamed and jumped back, putting as much space as possible between my fleshy self and the dark assassin.

Then I noticed he had not ignited his psi-blade. In fact, he didn't move at all.

"Zeratul?" I asked cautiously. He didn't reply. "Why are you here?"

His eyes fixed on me. "You must believe," he said slowly.

I furrowed my brow, my body still tense and ready to run if necessary. "Believe what?"

"I have been to the beginning," Zeratul began murmuring.

I hesitated. Was this a trick? Had Zeratul gone mad? "What beginning, Zeratul?" I asked slowly.

"Zerus, birthplace of the Zerg…" Zeratul continued as though I hadn't said anything.

"We already know about Zerus, Zeratul," I cut him off, relaxing a bit now that I had an idea about why he was here. "We're on our way there now."

That got his attention. "You… know of Zerus?" Zeratul asked, surprised.

"Yes, we're heading there to look for primordial zerg DNA, from before the Xel'Naga altered the zerg. So we can infest ourselves again away from Amon's control."

"How?" Zeratul whispered. "Have you also read the prophecies?"

I frowned. "Don't think so. But it's obvious, isn't it? No need for your… cryptic help. Are you feeling okay, Zeratul? You seem a bit more… addled than I remember."

Zeratul shook his head. "You are on the path, and no longer need my guidance. You will not see me again." He threw his cloak over himself and slunk away. The lights returned as he left.

"Uh… you never actually gave any guidance!" I called out after him, my courage returning in full now that the danger seemed past. "It's like you're trying to act the part of the wise old mentor, but you're not, you're just acting crazy!" I paused, breathing heavily as the adrenaline buzz wore off. I looked around briefly, then shouted back towards the now-empty hallway: "Also, how the hell did you get on my ship?!"

…

It had been a long day. That strange conversation had exhausted the last of my energy, and I retired to my chambers. No longer Zerg, I had to sleep again, and that meant being alone with all the thoughts that raced through my head at a million miles an hour until oblivion finally took me.

My thoughts tonight started, unsurprisingly, with Zeratul. What in the name of Earth had happened to him? Last I heard, he was trying to piece together the prophecy on Ulaan, and Kerrigan hadn't reported him acting oddly. But now he seemed a little insane. Gotten too close to a malfunctioning Xel'Naga relic, perhaps? In any case, it made me feel quite satisfied to realize that as long as I was part of this little adventure we wouldn't need to be the pawns of prophecies to achieve our goals. That wouldn't make for a very good story. Prophecies are crutches used by storytellers who lack the imagination or intelligence to make their characters solve problems naturally. I refused to let the story that future generations of infested bards will sing about me be like that.

So I decided I would just ignore Zeratul. I'd hide his visit from Kerrigan, as best one can hide something from a telepath, and we would proceed as normal. I thought briefly about trying to catch and kill him, to finish what we had started so many years ago, but if he somehow got safely inside this massive Leviathan, he could somehow get safely out. Besides, one crazy Protoss shouldn't be much of a threat.

If only he could be infested, like Warfield and Nova. I wondered what they would look like when they were infested. Would Nova look like Kerrigan? Would our relationship be similar? Would she like me? Would she survive the coming conflict? Would any of us die? Would I see my family again, if I died? Would I experience true oblivion? Would I emerge from some new chrysalis? Would Nova…

Adrift in a sea of such thoughts and questions, I finally settled into an uneasy sleep.

…

When I awoke, I dressed in my stolen officer's uniform, forced down some disgusting creep Abathur had modified for Terran consumption, and made my way to the head of the Leviathan. Even though it had been years since the last time I'd been human, I still felt a little gross not being able to brush my teeth or take a shower, but if I was going to be infested in a few days anyway, personal hygiene wasn't high on my list of priorities.

Izsha announced that the warp route had been calculated, so I ordered her to initiate the jump. Thankfully, the location of Zerus was still known to the Zerg hivemind, so we didn't have to worry about losing our way. But the planet was still far, far away from the Koprulu sector. Most Zerg warp jumps took minutes. This one would take hours. Still, better than the days it would take with modern Terran technology, or the years it would have taken with the ancient Terran tech used in the colony ships that first brought Terrans from Earth to the Koprulu sector.

That thought comforted me a little when the unpleasant twisting sensation began.

After the first hour, I got used to the sensation enough to move around normally without feeling sick. Since my visit to Nova got interrupted the night before, I thought I'd go check on her.

"What do you want now, Magus?" Nova asked when I arrived outside her cell door. She was lying down with her eyes closed, so she must have sensed my approach psionically. Her voice was strained, indicating that the warp speed induced nausea in her too.

"Just to talk," I answered, sitting down outside the membrane door.

"Right," Nova said skeptically. "That's why you're imagining me naked."

My cheeks reddened. It had just been a fleeting thought! "Sorry!" I apologized quickly. "It seems my deinfestation gifted me with a certain annoying youthfulness."

"Well, that's a new excuse, at least," Nova answered, sitting up slowly and turning to look at me. "And this is the most bored I've ever been, as far as I can remember. Although thanks to the memory wipes, that's not very far. I'll talk."

I nodded. "Thanks. There's something I've been wondering. When we met on Char, you were teleporting around. How'd you do that?"

Nova smiled. "Prototype equipment. I am… or was… the Dominion's top ghost. Has its perks."

"But you didn't have it when we faced you in that Umojan station."

Nova scowled. "Wouldn't be here if I had." She sighed. "Kerrigan broke it when those spikes pierced my suit. Techs hadn't fixed it yet."

I barked out a laugh.

Nova glared at me. "And then you crushed my domination visor. And abandoned my custom-built shotgun. And your slug monster destroyed my extremely expensive environment suit. If I ever get back to the Dominion, my handler is going to give me the lecture of a lifetime."

I laughed again. "I suppose they would. Lucky for you, you won't be going back to the Dominion. Once you're infested, you can have all the prototype evolutions you like."

"So you keep claiming," Nova replied, scowling. "But how much longer are you going to make me wait in this cramped cell?"

"Not long now," I answered, smiling. "And does that mean you're coming around on the idea?"

Nova scoffed. "I'm just sick of the food your slugs keep giving me. Tastes like sewer sludge."

"Yeah, I don't like it much either. But it's not like we raise crops or livestock here," I said. "And adapting creep to Terran physiology couldn't have been easy. But I'll speak to Abathur, see if he can't make it more pleasant for you."

Nova looked oddly at me. "You mean that. You're giving me the same food you give yourself, and you care about how tasty I find it. Why? No one in the Dominion military would care about the quality of the rations of an elite operative. Why would you care about the rations of a prisoner?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I countered. "Not everyone is just out to serve themselves."

"Could have fooled me," Nova muttered. "Anyway, between this and our last conversation, I am beginning to think I was wrong about you. You seem like a good man, or a better man than most, at least. Perhaps you're right about infestation too. I'm willing to stick around and find out. This cell really is cramped, though. Would you please let me out? I'd be ever so grateful…" she put her hands together pleadingly.

I smiled and shook my head. "I wish I could, but I'm afraid I'm also smarter than most men. Moment I let you out of here, you'll try to escape. Not that it'll do you much good. We're warping away from the Koprulu sector right now. We left the dropship you came here in on Char, so unless you know how to pilot a giant Zerg monster, you won't be able to get back."

"Well, then you have nothing to lose," Nova replied hopefully.

"Except my life," I said. "I'm not yet so certain of your intentions that I'd be willing to risk facing you in combat. Even disarmed, you're clearly a threat."

Nova sighed. "I suppose I should take that as a compliment. Fine. At least tell me, why are we leaving the Koprulu sector?"

"We're going to infest the Earth."

The voice wasn't mine. It was Kerrigan's. She sauntered over to us from the hallway where she had appeared.

"I thought I might find you here, Magis," she said smiling. "Enjoying your new toy?"

I frowned. What was Kerrigan trying to accomplish?

"She'll soon be a valued ally, Kerr," I answered. "Why speak in such a manner?"

Kerrigan cocked her head, looking intently at me. Then she smiled. "I see… anyway, I just got back from taunting General Warfield, and he let slip something interesting. Valerian's hold over the Dominion isn't as strong as we might have thought. His failures against us, especially our recent escape, are leading to rebellions and declarations of independence."

I shrugged. "Hardly surprising. Is that all you came here to say?"

Nova interrupted, "Wait, General Warfield is a prisoner too? Why would he tell you anything?"

Kerrigan smiled cruelly. "Indeed. His mouth is tight-lipped, but his thoughts less so."

Nova groaned. "Then you must be stronger than I had thought. But surely you're not actually attacking Earth? The UED must have only been a fraction of Earth's strength."

I smiled and shook my head. "No. We're headed to Zerus, the ancient home world of the Zerg." I glared at Kerrigan. "I don't know why Kerrigan would lie to you." Actually, I had a pretty good idea why. Kerrigan was jealous.

Kerrigan humphed and stormed off.

"Excuse me, Nova," I said, then I chased after her.

"No, by all means, don't let me keep you!" Nova called out wryly from her cell.

I quickly caught up to Kerrigan and grabbed her arm. She turned around swiftly, an angry look in her eye, and violently wrenched her arm out of my grip. "What do you want, Magus?" Kerrigan demanded.

"To talk," I said calmly, trying not to escalate the situation.

"Talk to your new friend," she replied, derisively emphasizing the word 'friend.'

"I want to talk to you." I answered.

The anger seemed to leave her eyes and her posture relaxed. "Fine," she said. "Here I am."

A dozen strategies for how to handle this conversation ran through my head. I considered and discarded the idea of arguing I shouldn't be so important to her - my survival at the moment depended on my being important to her. Then I wondered about confronting her on her feelings directly. But she'd probably deny them and get angry again. Something more roundabout? Could be worth a try.

"Magis?" Kerrigan inquired when I hesitated.

I took a deep breath. "Kerr, we've been friends for a long time now. A bond formed between us while we served the Overmind together, and that bond was never broken. But now that we are Terran again, it seems that bond is being tested. There's been... tension, I suppose, between us lately. That scares me. I don't want anything to happen to our bond. We need each other. Do you agree?"

Kerrigan hesitated. "Yes," she said finally.

"Then we have nothing to fear," I said reassuringly. "I won't leave you. And you won't leave me. Am I right?"

Kerrigan scowled. "Why do you spend so much time on that ghost, then? Your thoughts are full of her."

I sighed. "I'm a young human male again, and she's a beautiful woman in her underwear imprisoned in my dungeon. Of course I'm thinking of her. That doesn't have to mean anything for us."

Kerrigan was silent, a thoughtful expression on her face.

I paused. This next move I really had to think about. It was a risk. If it went wrong, the consequences could be disastrous. But the events of the past few minutes finally convinced me that the disastrous consequences weren't as likely as I had thought them to be.

"Kerr, we are both human again." Her eyes snapped back to mine. "And our lives are not in danger at the moment. We have a chance to move beyond flirting, to have a real relationship. A… romantic relationship. Is that something you want?" My eyes scanned Kerrigan's.

There was a long pause. Kerrigan's gaze moved to the floor. "I am sorry, Magis. I can't."

She… can't? That suggested some part of her wanted it, which made me sigh in relief. But why couldn't she? The only thing I could think of that might be holding her back… ah.

I cupped her chin and pulled her eyes back up to meet mine, scanning them for proof. There it was. The wistfulness, the remembering. "You still love Raynor," I said finally.

Kerrigan nodded, and her words tumbled out in a flood. "Ever since I turned human again, I keep half-expecting Jim to be there. Every time I turn around, maybe that cocky grin will be greeting me. I miss him terribly. It wasn't as bad as a Zerg. Zerg bodies aren't made to feel love. This one is. And it still loves him, like it did before any of this happened. I'm sorry, Magis. Please don't be upset."

I smiled and drew my hands back to my sides. "How could I be upset? I understand completely. Jim Raynor was an incredible man. Strong, kind, passionate, inspirational, and a born leader. Back on Mar Sara, I kept telling him that his talents were wasted as a mere marshal. He was a better commander than most of the Confederate generals. I'm not surprised you still love him."

Kerrigan nodded gratefully. "I never even had a chance to mourn him," she whispered. "The Overmind made me think of all Terrans as the enemy, and I'm only just recovering from that. At least we avenged him. Thanks for that."

I hadn't thought of it at the time, but maybe that's why I had felt such bloodlust during the fight with Mengsk, and never before or since. I had subconsciously desired vengeance for my friend. "Of course," I answered. "If I had let you spare him, you'd probably be insisting we chase after and kill him right now, even if we had to battle through every soldier in the Dominion."

Kerrigan chuckled lightly. "Probably," she agreed.

There was a pause.

"So, are we good, Kerr?" I asked finally. "I won't leave you, I promise. I understand why we can't be lovers, but we will always be friends and allies. You have no reason to worry about who else I give my attention to."

Kerrigan hesitated, staring at me. Perhaps she was deciding whether to trust me. Was it possible I would betray her? She had been betrayed by many people, most notably Mengsk, and had betrayed many others in turn (most notably Mengsk, again). As many assurances as I had given her from the beginning, she had to have harbored some doubts. I didn't have any, though. Even if I had a good reason to betray Kerrigan (and I couldn't even imagine what such a reason would look like), she was too powerful to cross, these days. I was more worried about Kerrigan betraying me. But this exchange constituted pretty strong evidence that she wasn't considering that. I doubted she could stand to be alone again. She'd become a monster.

Finally, Kerrigan nodded. "I think we understand each other," she said. "Neither of us could survive for long without the other. But the bond we share should make our enemies quake in fear."

I smiled. "Indeed."

A mass of flesh suddenly detached from the ceiling and extended down towards us.

It was so jarring that I screamed and jumped back a little.

"I apologize if I startled you," Izsha said as she stared at me.

I looked at Kerrigan. She was grinning. Of course, she would have sensed Iszha coming.

"We will exit warpspace in five standard minutes. Make any preparations you find necessary." Iszha retracted her head back into the Leviathan's ceiling.

I looked at Kerrigan. "Was she listening the whole time, or can she just burrow to wherever she wants in this ship?"

Kerrigan smiled wider, her eyes full of mirth. "Both," she answered.

"Of course."