Xerxes moved closer first, Samateus also rising, visibly sore yet turned to watch the warp gate rift warily. Turmalis had his small group of warriors, hidden amongst the civilians, quickly gather their equipment and ready for possible battle, Rohana and Karax watching as Artanis almost eagerly followed Xerxes. Xerxes stood before the rift, rising up a bit as he unfurled his larger forelimbs and flexed his talons, growling deep in his chest as he could feel Vicar and Amon beyond, the void energy wafting through almost glowing as it slowly dissipated.
~Come on then, you want your family back don't you?~ The power behind the words weighed on Karax, Rohana and Turmalis, as though they were being crushed by its force, Artanis, Samateus and Xerxes stiffening yet held their ground. It was not Amon's, but feminine, and Artanis found it eerily recognisable, Xerxes growling dangerously as he wordlessly informed the others that this voice belonged to Vicar. Xerxes looked to Samateus, who frowned, bared her teeth, then begrudgingly nodded as Xerxes turned to Artanis and Rohana.
**I cannot ask this of you, however if you wish to help, you come of your own volition. I... I may not be fully in control once I face her.** He hazarded, glancing to Turmalis as well. Artanis nodded, looking to Rohana, confused as to why he had also included her, then realised it was for him. She appeared to be his grounding force, and Xerxes knew this, Rohana shaking her head, fearfully looking at the rift. Artanis nodded, gently grasping Rohana's shoulder to let her know without words he understood her apprehension towards returning to the Void before he turned back to Xerxes.
**I will go with you, Brother.** Artanis thumped the side of a fist against his chestplate, Xerxes appearing to flex his carapace petals in pride, nodding and quickly turning to barrel through the rift. Artanis took a few cautious steps forward, steeled himself, ignited his blades, and charged through as well.
What greeted them however, was a massive room coated in creep. It smelt of moisture, blood and ever so faintly of Ozone, darker than Xerxes remembered, rising up to look beyond their light radius, his many other eyes opening, overlapping images of his surroundings in different spectrums that shimmered rainbows across his sight. He could just barely make out the remains of the Hive he had connected with, cautiously moving closer, each step filling him with dread. Artanis remained close, frowning lightly, yet ignored the mention of the Hive. Xerxes sniffed the air again, taking in a great lungful and slowly exhaling, tasting in the air that no weapons had been discharged here, the Hive remaining in its withdrawn form that he had left it in, quickly responding to him and opening a wall for him to enter, Artanis cautiously following, raising a brow at the two platforms that the Hive had grown around, receding away from the platforms to expose them. Artanis could tell, barely, that the platforms had recessed stasis cells, which Xerxes almost excitedly moved to, and stopped.
**This is too easy...** Xerxes admitted, turning to Artanis, eyes going wide as Khaaslyrous, in his massive Greater Voidshade Hybrid form, eyes ablaze with crimson gemfire, loomed up behind him, slowly materializing from shadow. The Voidshade Hybrid moved to bring his taloned right forearm down on the Hierarch, as Xerxes roared, launching himself with one powerful leap at the shapeshifter. Artanis quickly dodged under the flying form of Xerxes, to the stasis cells, rolling to his feet and watching as Xerxes raked his long forearm talons through the massive hybrid's chest, enhanced with his psionic power, to tear it open, unphased by the blade-tipped tendrils stabbing weakly at his wings and back.
Xerxes fell with and upon the corpse, able to feel Khaaslyrous' influence fading from the body as Artanis, suddenly relaxed, turning instead to the stasis cells, seeing the control panel easily enough. Artanis stiffened, eyes wide as gutteral growling and the crunching of bones could be heard in the dark where Xerxes had last been. No other presence lingered with him, yet the sounds continued, as Artanis attempted to peer out at him warily. Violet energy rippled across Xerxes' hide, pulsing bioluminesence that traced along Xerxes' huddled form, culminating in the Khaydarin crystals upon his tail, which would occasionally let off an arc of energy that struck the creep nearest to it and vaporised large patches. Artanis knew better than to creep up on Xerxes from behind, instead opting to circle around him from one side, just outside of his reach.
Xerxes froze, lifting his head to peer just over edge of his wing, eye narrowing as Artanis stiffened, Xerxes' eyes were glowing crimson, yet held none of the malice he expected, more a Primal rage. Amon's laughter flashed through his mind, the torment he had felt, the pain then and again now, stabbing through his right side. Artanis turned away, forcing himself to remain still as Xerxes let out a low growling rumble, that frighteningly reminded him of a large predator warning scavengers off, before he returned to, what Artanis could only assume to be devouring what was left of the Void Hybrid they had encountered. While thoroughly disgusted by the thought, Artanis understood now what Xerxes had been fighting to keep control of, what had almost led him to bite down on Egon Stettmann's arm during their first encounter.
Moving away, to keep himself calm and occupied in the near pitch-blackness around him, Artanis moved to the stasis cells, idly thinking back to when he had fought alongside Primal Zerg during the battle within the Void alongside his Terran allies and Sarah Kerrigan. They had devoured their kills, taking what their Alpha -Dehaka, he did remember the Giant Lizard-like Zerg- had called Essence, to help them change and evolve. Perhaps, becoming Primal as he had, Xerxes had a drive to do the same, that forced him to hunt and such from time to time. Artanis' musings overrode his realisation of his surroundings, Xerxes having long since finished and had briefly felt a desire to share his kill, shaking himself as he realised Artanis to be far from accepting of such, nevermind being still Protoss.
Xerxes curled in on himself, realising he had almost chased Artanis off in his hunger, berating his actions before making certain any blood or gore had been thoroughly cleaned off. Needlessly though, as his skin and carapace knew to absorb anything foreign as easily as water, for nutrition and to clean his body. Artanis letting out an exclaim of alarm, Xerxes promptly uncurled and stood, turning to watch the largest of the stasis cells rising from the platform, revealing Corin in his forced-Hybrid glory. Xerxes relaxed, crouching down to slowly move closer to Artanis, Violet eyes shining blue lightly with his shame at his earlier outburst and reaction. Artanis shook his head, eye-smiling lightly, admitting that while it did unnerve and unsettle him, he understood if Xerxes needed to devour biomass to keep himself alive. Xerxes purred, gently leaning his shoulder against him before moving to power down the stasis cell, gingerly scraping a swath of ice off the surface. Artanis blinked, only just recognising the Protoss inside as the fluid within the tank slowly drained and the rather massive Hybrid inside, though still smaller compared to Xerxes as he stood now, stirred.
Xerxes fidgeted lightly, waiting for the cell to slide open, which it did after a time, Corin blinking sleepily as Xerxes purred, quickly moving to nuzzle him. Artanis raised a brow, seeing Xerxes almost shaking from excitement and happiness, for the first time since he had been freed. Corin lovingly nuzzled back, gently stroking Xerxes' face, movements still sluggish and tired. He gladly allowed Xerxes to help him step out of the stasis cell, Xerxes whipping his tail to shatter the glass out of spite.
Artanis watched as Xerxes repeated this with the other eight in stasis, the last cell that rose, sat empty. Xerxes' shock at this caused him to almost melt from sadness, uncertain what could have happened to the last sleeper, Endara.
**Perhaps she was taken to lure you elsewhere?** Corin hazarded, having almost fully recovered, the other seven happily crowding around Xerxes and him. Artanis had since moved to and remained near the entryway of the Hive, still wary in the near pitch-black room. Xerxes nodded, closing his eyes as he dipped into his psionic power, the room remained encircled by Void energy on the outside of the compound, which had changed, its layout now only the one room they remained in, and another, just beyond the main doorway, the one Vicar had taken as her own. There, two stasis cells had been placed as a safeguard, one held Khaaslyrous, his true body, and the other held Endara. In response to his probing, Vicar's presence returned, several of the smaller Hybrids appearing to shrink and attempt to hide.
~Come child, come to your Mother.~ Her voice stabbed through Xerxes and Artanis, the two having vastly different reactions. Xerxes snarled and flexed his talons, growling deep in his chest as Artanis almost found himself running in fright. Corin rose, his moving prompting the rest to do so, looking to Xerxes as he stood, the group a bit surprised at his change in locomotion, yet happy for it, Corin albeit a bit intimidated as Xerxes towered over him nearly a full meter, even hunched forward. Xerxes looked down to Artanis, who ignited his blades once more, nodding as Xerxes led their little band to the main door of the chamber, which opened to a larger circular space, a viewport into the void stretching from one edge of the door to the other, as though this new space were a massive dome.
Noticing nearly too late, a massive tendril moved to slap Xerxes aside, instead being grasped by his larger forepaws, digging his thumb talons in and hanging on as Vicar let out a howl of agony and rage. She lifted the tendril up, with Xerxes still doggedly hanging on, and attempted to slam him against the ground, Xerxes using the momentum to instead twist his body around, pulling his talons through the Void-flesh and severed the end of the tendril, Void-energy hemorrhagging from the stump as Xerxes hopped off it and braced for another attack. Artanis looked through the space, unable to poinpoint where their assailant struck at them from, as the void beyond the room blended almost seamlessly with the darkness inside it, spotting, albeit just barely, the two stasis cells sitting against the glass across the room from where they entered.
Corin saw it to, nodding to Artanis before motioning for the rest to follow, watching as another tendril attempted to squash Xerxes, curled up in a ball at its end and shaking the room with the force of it. Xerxes dodged, barely, followed its motion and then swiftly gathered psionic energy, the violet light coalescing first in the crystals on his tail, building within his chest, and outward in a quick blast of nearly white-hot energy ushering from his throat. Vicar screamed, the shadow and void obscuring her form slowly melting away as the others dashed through the room toward the stasis chambers. Vicar collapsed, appearing to writhe as the void energy comprising her form seeped out and evaporated, the connection to Amon binding the voidform unravelling as Xerxes cautiously padded closer as the form before him shrank down to a small and almost fragile female protoss with a pale grey hide.
Before she could move, Xerxes swiftly severed her Nervecords near her skull, earning himself a confirming scream that she had been cleansed, quickly moving to embrace her. Albeit awkwardly, she returned it, though it could be determined that Sabine had regained herself, as Corin freed Endara and Linneszagal, one of the hybrids closer to Xerxes, freed Khaaslyrous. Artanis watched, moving over to their group as Khaaslyrous was allowed to step out, nervecords already cropped short, looking almost lost. His gaze fell upon Artanis, who appeared almost an exact duplicate of him, just slightly shorter, with his wife's hide.
Not dead, just busy and forgetful. Almost done End War Perpetuate, which precedes this, lots of little other drabbles will come, which will introduce MORE confusion and character relations with my OCs. Please Review, though ultimately I have begun to realise I write all of this primarily for myself.