Zeratul moved forward slowly


Zeratul moved forward slowly.... he tore off the Protoss garment that he was wearing as if it were a sign that he was no longer a Protoss. Underneath the cloth were Zerg growths all over his body...he looked like he had a skin infection. Artanis watched with disbelief
," Zeratul... don't do this! Kerrigan did this to you! You are a Protoss, a Dark Templar!." Zeratul shook his head," I am Zerg..I exist to serve my queen... ." There was pride in his voice..Artanis realized that he could do nothing... Zeratul was a Zerg now. " Damn you Kerrigan!" Raynor shouted. " Don't you see how perfect this universe would be if every living being were controlled by a single mind? There would be no wars.." Kerrigan said. Suddenly 10 silent figures moved past Raynor and Artanis and decloaked...Dark Templars. Kerrigan began to laugh.. 10 Zerg Queens floated towards them. Kerrigan towards Zeratul, " Zeratul, use your Maelstorm ability so they won't be able to run away."
Zeratul nodded," Yes my queen.. ." Zeratul focused his psionic powers.. a large brownish red cloud engulfed the Dark Templars..the Zerg Queens moved forward and created cocoons around the Dark Templars with ease since the Dark Templars were frozen by Zeratul. Kerrigan laughed again.." Soon all of you will be mine! " Artanis realized that Kerrigan wasn't going to sit and watch them all day, he contacted the Protoss Base, " This is Artanis! Requesting recall now!" A blue light engulfed Artanis and Raynor, within seconds, the two vanished. Zeratul turned towards Kerrigan," My queen, now I am ready to serve by your side as long as I live... my transformation is now complete. I am Zerg ." Kerrigan smiled at Zeratul, " I know... but your transformation isn't complete..not yet. You will infiltrate a Templar Archive at the Protoss Base and take the information you need to reach the peak of your power. You will lead an army of Hydralisks. You can destroy the Terrans but I want the Protoss alive. Especially Artanis. Is that understood?" Kerrigan said. Zeratul nodded, " Yes, my queen. I will not fail.. ."

Protoss Base
Artanis stood up from his chair... how could they possibly get Aiur back without Zeratul? To make things worse, Zeratul was now on Kerrigan's side. What does Kerrigan want?, Artanis wondered. He let his mind drift back... a few years ago...

Artanis fell down on the cold floor..he picked himself up. Tassadar moved closer towards Artanis," How can you become a templar if you can't even defeat your own hallucination?" Artanis remained silent..ashamed. " But I thought that a hallucination can't effect a physical form," he said. Tassadar shook his head." That is what everyone thinks. The power of a hallucination rests here," the High Templar pointed at Artanis' head. Artanis nodded... he understood. " Okay..you may rest if you want," Tassadar said as he moved towards the exit.
" Tassadar, why are we fighting the Zerg?" Artanis asked..he thought he knew once..but now he wasn't sure. Tassadar turned around," We aren't fighting...though it might seem like we are,but what I think we are really doing is protecting the Uraj and Khalis crystals."
" The what?" Artanis asked again, not sure what his instructor just said.
" The Uraj and the Khalis..that's what the Zerg want. With those crystals..the Xel'Naga prophecy says that the Zerg will be able to infest the entire universe from a single place," Tassadar explained. Artanis couldn't believe it..was it possible? " The Xel'Naga...their technology is way beyond our understanding.. do not forget that," Tassadar said. With that, he left the room.

"How could I forget..." Artanis whispered slowly. Kerrigan won't be able to find the crystals without a Protoss. That's why she wanted Zeratul... now that she had him.. it was only a matter of time before... . Artanis stood up," Contact Raynor! Tell him we're evacuating the planet. We're heading for the Dark Templar homeworld..

Zerg Primary Hive
8 Hours Later..
Zeratul walked towards Kerrigan..," My queen..the Protoss Base is abandoned..I managed to gain access to the information you asked for. I am at the peak of my powers." The Queen of Blades nodded slowly..." It's time for us to go to Shakuras... ." Kerrigan stood up and walked towards the exit of the Zerg Hive. Hundreds of Zerglings, Hydralisks, Ultralisks, Mutalisks, Guardians, Overlords...waited outside. Kerrigan walked towards one of the Overlords. The Overlord picked Kerrigan and Zeratul up in it's tentacles...the Overlords began to load the Zerg into their ventral sacs.. a war was about to begin..

Protoss Flagship Ganritor II
Low Orbit over Shakuras

Artanis watched as the Terran buildings landed on the blue-purplish dunes of Shakuras. Raynor had followed him back here to help him and the other Protoss to prevent whatever Kerrigan was planning. Artanis took out the Uraj Chrystal from his pouch which was made out of a Bengalaas skin. The chrystal shined brightly. Artanis remembered that he was entrusted to hold the chrystal while the Khalis was entrusted to Zeratul. Which menat that Kerrigan had one of the chrystals..and that she would most probably be looking for him. Artanis had to wonder wether they would be able to stop Kerrigan. With Zeratul..there was no telling what Kerrigan would do with the powers of a Dark Templar at her disposal.
" Artanis.." Artanis turned around to face the viewscreen. The image of a Protoss scout pilot appeared.." Artanis, long-range sensors are picking up an incredibly large amount of Zerg Overlords heading towards the planets atmosphere," the scout had a worried tone in his voice. Artanis nodded..," I want you and the other Corsair and Scout pilots to hold them off as long as you can." The scout nodded before he terminated the transmission. Artanis contacted Raynor, the Terran's face appeared on his viewscreen. " Artanis, I know what you are going to ask me to do, my sensors has picked them up as well," Raynor said even before Artanis had a chance to say anything. The young Templar nodded. " My Valkyries and Wraiths are on their way. We've set up defences around the Xel'Naga temple in case Kerrigan makes it through. So all we need now is..well...luck," Raynor said. " More luck than any of us can imagine. I won't want to be around when Kerrigan unleashes her broods... Entaro Adun," Artanis said before turning the viewscreen off.

High orbit over Shakuras

Dan Harbinger and 20 other Wraith pilots checked their weapon systems. Dan shrugged in his chair, he didn't have much room to breathe but he had enough oxygen in his air tanks to last 5 hours. The Wraiths were all armed with Gemini Missles, enough to do damage on the incoming Overlords, Mutalisks and Guardians. " Here they come!" a valkyrie pilot shouted. Dan took a deep breath..like a swarm of locusts, the Zerg were heading towards the fleet. "All units! Spread angle! 10 head 3' o clock ! 10 head 9'o clock!" Dan shouted over the comnlink. 10 wraiths flew to the right to attack from that angle another 10 attacked from the right. " Valkyries! Move in!" Dan shouted. The valkyries flew forward, attacking from the front. Missles and acid spores began flying around. Dan's Wraith zipped through 2 Mutalisks and blew away an Overlord. Suddenly he realized that Scourges were heading towards the fleet. " Pull back!" Dan shouted, he realized that they didn't have enough firepower to gun all of them down.
" Sir! 80 Protoss ships coming form the planet surface!" a pilot shouted. Dan realized that 30 Scouts, 30 Corsairs and 20 Carriers were coming to back them up. But the scourges were still coming. " DAMN!!!" a Wraith pilot shouted before 3 Scourges exploded when they hit his wraith. Dan began to think.. " I have an idea! Lead the Scourges into ramming the Overlords!" Dan shouted. He brought his Wraith lower, barely missing a scourge. The scourge turned around and chased after Dan form behind. Dan accelarated his speed, he dove under an Overlord, zipping through many others the scourge tried to follow him but exploded when it ran into an Overlord. Before long, the entire brood was destroyed.. or so they thought. Dan was about to feel relived when he realized an entire brood...10 times larger than the one thy had just destroyed, were heading towards them..