Xerxes paced, not on all fours as many had grown accustomed to seeing him, but bipedal, attempting to mimic Dehaka's form of movement after realising his body was more than capable of allowing him to do so. He towered over most Protoss now, much different from how he had been before becoming a Hybrid, even grander and stronger once he had become a Primal hybrid. His brood; Arska, Taluth, Larethon and Lia'Ashra, remained on one of the Ahr'Aht world-ships, on the miniature planet within it, where Samateus had happily given him and his little family a place to live, if only temporary.
This morning, Samateus and Artanis had requested he accompany them yet insisted on him remaining aboard his transport, his Ark ship the Obsidian Flare, with Kuldaris, his second son and only other to openly give him benefit of the doubt before explaining all that had happened to make him an elegant, powerful and intimidating Primal Hybrid. A light chime, and Kuldaris stepped through the swiftly opening doorway, meeting his gaze with a slight eye-smile and nod as Xerxes had stopped mid-stride to turn to him.
**I've not yet received word, however Samateus and the Heirarch have yet to check in with Karax.** Kuldaris explained, glancing up, beyond the sweeping open panels and shield petals of the Flare at the Spear of Adun above them in orbit. It had been several hours, and the first check-in for Artanis and Samateus had long since passed without any indication of their situation. Xerxes crouched, using his wing-wrists and blade-like thumb claws of his wings to keep his balance, tail extended out over part of the platform of the engine room, the Solarite core almost pulsing in its delicate swirling housing as he did not worry about possibly falling from the edge of the platform.
**That is unusual, especially for Sam. What exactly were they investigating here?** Xerxes had not previously asked, simply agreeing to accompany them in the early morning when Samateus and Artanis expressed that they were off on a mission and would like him to be nearby, just in case. Samateus, the Taalrulthian Avatar of Ashtareen, a large blue-furred draconian with feathered wings, often got herself into situations where most would be hard-pressed to escape unscathed. She did have her fair share of injuries and scars, repeated re-opening of old wounds and rebreaking bones that, if most knew of them, many would have forced her to retire from field work, yet none of her kin, nor the Ahr'Aht handlers she dealt with -including a universal alternate to Xerxes himself- were willing to forbid or attempt to stop her from anything.
Kuldaris shrugged, Xerxes smirking with amusement at his motion, though the smirk remained mostly hidden behind his mandibles. Kuldaris padded over to the engine monitoring station, going over the readouts casually for a moment, Xerxes watching him with hidden pride. If only his elder twin had been 'spared' on Umbra, with the two of them, they both could have been taking over his legacy, the Obsidian Flare and their people's continued survival always on Xerxes' mind. He briefly reached out his mind to the Spear of Adun, lightly touching the minds of many sleepers within the Ark ships' stasis hold, then back to Rohana and Karax, awaiting on the bridge for word from Artanis.
**Hail.** He sent, the two jumping lightly as they had not expected him to simply establish and hold a standard psionic connection at such a distance, though Rohana appeared to relax far faster than Karax, who moved to peer down at the other Ark Ship, Xerxes' brilliant violet eyes only just visible far below.
**Judicator.** Rohana responded with reverence, Karax chuckling.
**We have yet to receive any update from the Hierarch ourselves, has Samateus sent word to you?** Karax asked simply, continuing on his usual tasks in monitoring the Spear's systems, already aware of why Xerxes would reach out to them at this moment.
**Not as of yet, I've half a mind to go down there myself.** Xerxes responded, watching Kuldaris doing much the same as Karax, though his son's presence was obviously more intended to distract Xerxes from his worry. Kuldaris paused, turning to look at him quizzically, almost excited. He had been with the Flare for years now, and had only had brief outings from it before Xerxes had been freed, longing to be on the front lines as he had once been amongst the Templar. Xerxes tilted his head to one side, amused by Kuldaris' almost childlike excitement.
**I do not think that wise, this was a colony of... less tolerant Daelaam.** Rohana hazarded, frowning a bit. Karax nodded to her, sighing lightly.
**The Hierarch had received a report of possible void-corruption here, Samateus is here to help with monitoring such, we asked you along-** Karax cut off, Rohana growling at him lightly. He was sharing more than she wished, to which Xerxes raised a brow himself, Kuldaris in turn then telling the Flare to teleport Xerxes to the Spear. Which happened in a blink, Rohana stiffening and sheepishly stepping forward and away from the Hybrid as he materialized on the platform behind her. His pose seemed strange to her, then she realised he had been doing what he could to appear less the monster he had become, larger paw-like and viciously taloned forelimbs held closer to his chest, his smaller, more delicate and obviously more Protossian secondary arms, held closely over them, wings helping him balance when he curled his tail around.
**What is it that you are not wishing to tell me?** Xerxes asked pointedly, lowering himself to meet her gaze evenly, vivid violet gemfire eyes watching her carefully. Karax shot her a glance, to which she normally would have told him off as his caste would have earned him a physical beating in the past, but refrained, knowing she had been caught and ousted by her companion.
**I had a vision, that coming here would leave one of them dead...** Rohana sheepishly admitted, looking away from his intense gaze, arms wrapped around her front in an almost embarassed fashion. Xerxes rumbled amusement and concern, taking in a deep breath and nodding lightly, Rohana and Karax looking to him briefly.
**You told him of this beforehand?** Xerxes asked, Rohana nodding. **And still he keeps things from me...** He trailed off, sighing. Xerxes' nervecords, the many long, thick tendrils falling lazily about his neck and shoulders, briefly sparking with an arc of lightning. He tilted his head to the side, as though listening to something far off, then pointedly looked to Karax. **Where are they on the surface?** He sounded hurried, had something happened? Rohana tensed, she knew when Xerxes snapped to seriousness that all around should take note and be wary. Karax brought up a holo-image of the surface below, where a settlement could only just be made out beneath the canopy of many massive trees. Xerxes straightened up a bit, just enough to arch up over Rohana to get a better look at the image, scrutinizing it as he used one talon from his smaller forelimbs to enlarge one portion of the image before him. He appeared to tense briefly, eyes narrowing as he lightly swished his long tail in thought. Rohana gently and wordlessly asked what had alerted him to a problem, Xerxes simply offering that he received some form of feedback when attempting to reach out to Samateus directly, almost as though something or someone had blocked his reach.
**How close can you get me without alerting those on the ground?** Xerxes asked after a moment.
**I can teleport you here, near the trees.** Karax said, moving to point to a location near the settlement, before looking to Xerxes with concern. **Permission to speak plainly?**
**Karax, you are a friend, you needn't worry about station or caste with me, I abhore such.** Xerxes chuckled, expression softening before glancing at Rohana who also appeared to relax further at this admission.
**Why are you concerned he is keeping things from you? He may not do so intentionally.** Karax asked, finding Xerxes' almost constant following of Artanis and his whereabouts almost as though he directly monitored his younger sibling. Xerxes blinked, curling back to his earlier position, eyes wide as he had thought he was simply being protective, realising that indeed, he had been watching and involving himself when he did not need to.
**Admittedly, I did not see my actions in that light. I hope he does not feel I have been... Hovering.** Xerxes sighed, the edges of his expansive headcrest curling inward slightly, a sign that his depression had begun to rear its ugly head. Rohana moved to gently take one of his smaller hands with her own.
**No, he is just uncertain how to treat you, or act around you.** She reassured him, Xerxes regarding her calmly from the corner of an eye, letting her take his hand with hers, strangely gentle and delicate, so much like he had been once. **He is uncertain how to interact as siblings, especially due to what the Conclave had encouraged him to do with his memories of you.**
Karax remained silent, yet watched their interaction with concern. Xerxes had not made any move to do harm to any Daelaam, had even refrained from outright killing Alarak several times during their first encounter, and had done all he could to help. Yet, being a Hybrid, and a Primal Zerg Hybrid at that, made everyone uneasy, even Artanis.
**You are right, of course... I suppose letting him figure out how he wishes to proceed would be best, given my appearance...** Xerxes sighed, gently squeezing Rohana's hand with his. **Thank you, for telling me, both of you.** He let go of Rohana's hand, nodding as she stepped back before Karax teleported him to the surface.
Once on the ground, Xerxes crumpled, falling to all fours before flopping to his belly. Now alone, he could let the strain and painful thoughts out once more.
Artanis had grown up to be an amazing beacon of the Protoss, their Hierarch, his little brother. The little brother he had abandoned and left in stasis, who likely would have died had it not been for the Conclave meddling with his abandoned workspace. The same workspace he had attempted to return to following the incident with Scion Province and later on Umbra, only to find he was too late, and the Conclave had already forced their way into the compound, a hidden entrance within his old chambers blasted through by a reaver unit. He had been about to engage his sentries remotely, to scare off the intruders and proceed to remove all of his equipment and retreive his last remaining secret, Artanis, but had sensed his awakening within the Khala and knew immediately to intervene at that time, would have likely caused civil unrest on a wider scale. As reluctant as he had been, he absconded from Aiur entirely, his followers, those closest to him who had remained on Umbra after the Conclave stripped them of their technology and leaving them on the brutal shadowy world as exiles, placed in stasis. Even Kuldaris, barely alive to begin with, a massive hole through his midsection from his back, willing to listen and, once he had recovered enough, argreed to be placed in stasis temporarily until he could figure out his next move. That had been before his search for Khaaslyrous, his father, had become his foremost focus. Before Xerxes had been subjected to countless atrocities, physical and non.
Xerxes thumped his tail on the ground in annoyance, realising he could hold no blame on anyone but himself, even with Kuldaris, he felt so out of place. His ship, the Obsidian Flare, which he could only just make out in orbit, a stark contrast to the brilliance of the Spear of Adun, could not connect to him as it once had, the implanted control panel in the right side of his skull having changed so much because of his Hybridization, likely most from the Primal Spawning pool, only able to create a psionic connection at great distances, or to confirm his location remotely.
He smiled, remembering one time from when he was still ignorant of their people's fate, when he had been in a particularly foul predicament with some rogues who sought to steal his technology for themselves, likely Tal'Darim, and were thwarted by the ship coming alive around them, weapons batteries appearing in the surface of the walls and bulkheads closing well before they reached them. He let them run until they had become frustrated and attempted to cut their way through a support-bulkhead in a panic, said bulkhead opening to reveal him, standing with two Templar enforcers who had been assigned to him as extra precaution at the time. His casual mannerism had unnerved and infuriated the theives, who were later beaten by the conclave and launched into space blindly.
In a way, he hoped they ended up with the Nerazim, who had been watching from afar and taking in any who were exiled from Aiur and the Conclave. Until recently, Xerxes had longed to visit Shakuras, yet when Vorazun had been with the others freeing him, there had been a comment confirming that Shakuras had been destroyed. Sacrificed to destroy as many of Amon's forces as they could manage, the temple Amon's kin had likely placed there as a beacon or stepping stone for their people to find, used instead to shatter the planet. Perhaps once things had settled following the arrival of Samateus and all her allies, he could visit the remains.
Xerxes sighed at length, managing to keep his mind from spiraling too far into despair and depression, turning away from his memories to the situation at hand. Closing his eyes, he reached out psionically into the area around him, small creatures sent skittering into hiding places and the trees themselves seeming to shudder at his passing intent. Once he reached a barrier to his probing, lightly tinged with Void energy he stopped, eyes mere slits as he rose carefully, moving to cautiously stalk into the dense foliage to move closer physically. Approaching the edge of the trees nearest to the settlement, he had to hold himself still as he caught a glimpse of something he hoped he would not encounter, not for some time yet.
A massive, towering Hybrid with a single crimson eye stood in a shaded area of the settlement, watching over a group of several bound Daelaam, and the unconscious form of Samateus. Three other Hybrids, the more Protossian ones, floated nearby, vigilant as their superiors, whom he supposed were the two in black-crimson garb near one of the larger structures. Xerxes dipped into his psionic connection, tracing back to Amon's Khala, and confirmed without alerting them to his probing, that they were indeed controlled by Amon.
One tiny push, stretching out his own psionic connection to and snapping off the one connecting to Amon from the two, and the psionic connection was severed, the two collapsing as Amon lost control of them. Their confusion obvious, and transmitted only ever so slightly through their new connection to him, the two quickly ducked inside, eyes no longer the brilliant crimson denoted by those loyal to Amon, or Tal'Darim as he had come to dislike greatly, as the Hybrids realized what had happened and one moved to ensure their other prisoners did not escape.
No, not prisoners, bait. They were trying to trap him.
Xerxes cursed, only now spotting the makeshift warp-gate forged from void-metal behind the Cyclopsian Hybrid. Xerxes then quickly and Psionically masked his location, priefly sending to Kuldaris that he would likely be a while, and that things were going to be particularly confusing once he concluded what he needed to accomplish here. Before he could rise and take the fight to his former captor, Karax and Rohana tried to reach out to him, which he obliged, albeit begrudingly, by reopening the connection he had created with them earlier.
**Judicator, Kuldaris just informed us there is a Warp Gate near your position, one we have never seen before.** Karax seemed confused, excited and concerned all at once. Artanis could easily be hefted up and tossed through that gate, or Samateus, for that matter. Though thankfully it appeared to be powered down from his viewpoint, Xerxes did take that into account.
**I know what it is, and where it goes. Do Not pursue, I have some unfinished business with a follower of Amon.** Xerxes also transmitted this to Kuldaris, who balked and tried to ask him to wait. **No. If I get trapped, Someone needs to be here with the Flare.**
**Trapped!?** Rohana interjected, Xerxes could almost feel her shock and concern.
**I showed you small bits before, when you and the others freed me. I have... loved ones who are being held within the Void, or moreso a smaller portion of it, this was intended to get my attention.** He paused, growling to himself. **Rohana, your dream, was there a Void-Thrasher that appeared to be almost... Protossian?** Xerxes asked calmly, gaze passing over each of the Protoss with Artanis and Samateus. All were bound with what appeared to be Void threads, thick and pulsating like Zerg tendrils, and exuding the choking Void energy that likely kept them unconscious. Samateus however, at first glance she appeared physically unharmed, but closer scrutiny showed a spike of some form peircing through her, from her right lower back out just under her ribcage on the left. It also appeared made of Void material, yet something else, blacker than pitch and surprisingly able to contrast darker than the Void spike itself, appeared to be actively attempting to push it from her body. Kemet, more than likely.
Samateus' shadow, almost literally, the Dhampyr lived with her as though they were one entity, protecting her when she was in danger beyond her ability to handle. Here, it seemed he had not been able to block the Void weapon, and did not appear able to remove it. He briefly touched the Dhampyr's mind, suggesting he use something natural to attempt to remove the weapon, like a stone of piece of metal, as his shadow appeared unable to do so.
**Yes, how did you know?** Rohana responded, aghast.
**That is Vicar... Formerly my Mother.** Xerxes then cut his connection to Rohana and Karax, leaving the two completely confused and concerned as Xerxes stood to his full height, carefully, took in a deep breath, and roared a challenge. The Voidshade Hybrid turned its eye to him, and roared a response, easily stepping up and over his captives to charge toward Xerxes in the bush. Xerxes crouched, tensed, building up his strength as the hybrid charged forward, the other three moving to encircle the captives, Artanis slowly attempting to rouse as his head appeared to roll slightly, groggily, as though something forced him to remain unconscious.
Xerxes saw this, enraged that they would dare harm his brother, snapped forward his long bracket-thumb talons on either forepaw, and launched himself at the charging Hybrid.