Alarak ignited a psi blade as the Hybrid recovered from its agony, moving to gently nuzzle Arska as she crooned in concern. It raised its head, freshly regenerated mandibles closed over its face, the tooth-like blades on it giving it the appearance of a Nerazim Zerg-hunter, known for wearing the bones of their Zerg kills. Violet gemfire eyes fell upon the form of Artanis, appearing saddened, before turning and letting out a brief growl. The other Zergling-Hybrid, on the ramp nearest to Valerian, froze, attention snapping to the now freed larger one. It carefully lay down, appearing relieved to do so, Valerian meeting the gaze of the large Hybrid they had freed as it uncurled and raised its wing-wrists from the platform to settle them on its back.

**Arska, go help your brother.** the Hybrid directed, male as they could tell by his voice, moving to lightly nudge her with its nose, in a sense, Arska quickly nodding and hopping back along the platform before leaping to the other Zergling, nuzzling and purring. Alarak tensed, the Hybrid turning its attention to him, with his readied blade.
**I am the last to praise Amon, that bastard deserves far worse.** It snarled, eyes narrowed as several other sets of eyes flashed open along the carapace atop its crest.
**And we should just take your word for it? Beast?** Alarak taunted, blinking and recoiling as the Hybrid moved with speed belying its form, face far too close to Alaraks for his liking. The Mandibles opened, revealing an almost unblemished Protoss face, save for the scar along the right side of its face.
**I became a Beast, to make certain -you- and all others had time to recover and retaliate. Amon intended to start his End War before the Brood War occurred. I, and those I care for, sacrificed ourselves, our heritage as First Born, and were put through tortures far more heinous than you could possibly imagine, Highlord of the Tal'Darim.** For the first time in his entire existence, Alarak acknowledged that he felt fear.

This Hybrid appeared to see straight through him, could easily absorb his energy, moved far faster than he could have thought it possible, and looked nothing like those he and his underlings encountered before. The Hybrid growled low, closed its mandibles, and turned to move past him, wings shifting and settling to either side, moving on all fours much as a cat would. He stopped, watching Artanis pointedly, expansive crest tilting slightly as he turned to regard Kul out of the corner of an eye.
**Yes I told them, gave them the scans and everything.**
**Stubborn, though I know where he got that from.** The Hybrid chuckled, sighing as he turned to the group huddled at the doorway. Vorazun stood firm, Karax, Rohana and Egon clustered around Artanis, who seemed to have been holding strong against the increasing agony in his skull. Artanis finally caved, his eyesight blurring as light became harder and harder to process. He fell to a knee, right fist striking the floor next to him at his ineptitude to handle such as his eyes screwed shut, trying to block out the light as it added to the searing pain in his skull. Only once had he felt so helpless, Amons rage had overwhelmed him and forced him to kill an old friend he respected deeply and had desperately wanted to speak to again.

**Hierarch, we must get you to a Khalai…** Rohana urged, Karax sadly cursing his chosen profession as he felt helpless. Vorazun backed away as the Hybrid approached, warily, head held low and gaze never leaving Artanis.
**If you teleport him, he will die.** He told them, looking first to Karax, then to Rohana, who had knelt at Artanis' side when he fell to a knee. Vorazun narrowed her eyes skeptically, then saw that even Alarak had backed down from him, this once-Protoss now Hybrid monstrosity before them. More than just Hybrid, he appeared almost more like the Primal Zerg, to which he seemed to smile.
**I am Primal-Hybrid, though, obviously, have not always been.** He admitted, sighing again. **I can remove the implant... I am the one that put it there, after all.** Karax, Rohana and Vorazun shared glances then, before turning back to him. He seemed to smile. **Yes, I am former-Judicator Xerxes. Please, move away, he doesn't have much longer.** Reluctantly, the others backed away from Artanis, Xerxes moved closer, both forepaws resting upon the platform on either side of Artanis, gently curling his long neck to press his forehead to the Hierarchs'.
Vorazun and Karax tensed, Egon, Valerian and Rohana watching as Artanis appeared to relax into Xerxes, who extended his smaller limbs and gently slid them under the base of his severed nervecords. Those watching appeared to wince, just able to see the blood issuing forth as Xerxes carefully and with surgical precision, dug a thin talon into the flesh beneath one of Artanis' nervecords.
While he worked, Xerxes had gently pushed Artanis' mind back, away from the pain of the present, and into a temporary mindscape.
Artanis found himself in an ancient palace, something not seen within Protoss Society for Centuries, if not far longer. This place felt familiar to him, almost allowing him to feel calm, as though he had been safe here once. He looked around, sensing something watching him, yet unable to pinpoint it, growling, realising he had no armour, as his psi-blades would not ignite. Looking down to see himself dressed as he had been as a Praetor, frowning and looking around again, at a loss.

**Give him a moment. He's working on saving you.** Artanis startled, spinning around to see an older Protoss male dressed in Scholar's robes. He seemed familiar, Artanis relaxing slowly as he approached. **You're inside his mind, temporarily. To protect you from the flood of memories and pain related to it.** The elder explained, motioning to the wall next to them. However, when they looked, it was not a wall, but instead an image of himself, in all his armour, with a massive Hybrid, its forehead pressed to his holding him still. He shuddered, turning away, almost disgusted that this monster could be his brother.
**Artanis, you have been lied to since the Conclave took you. I hope you've realised this.** Xerxes chimed, sadness almost tangible while the older Protoss watched him sadly. His presence seemed to emanate from the very air, and the Protoss with Artanis seemed unphased.
**Try and focus, remember when you woke from stasis.** Said the elder, encouraging him to slowly push into the memories he had been denied for over two hundred years.
Artanis remembered being cold, the fluid drying from his skin as the stasis chamber opened before he had been wrapped in a blanket and quickly ushered out of the complex. Aldaris, still fairly new to his appointment as Judicator, with Tassadar before his appointment as Executor, taking him outside. He attempted to look back, only to be discouraged and his view obscured.
The Conclave ruled him an orphan, left behind by a family he never knew. Though accessing those memories had hurt him, for some reason unknown to them at the time, which the Conclave used to tarnish the one who had placed him in stasis as though he had purposefully planted false memories. He did remember, however, that he had two elder siblings, and a father, who had ignored his existence and beat his eldest brother. There had been another there, who watched without interfering, the same that stood with him now.
**I am Zyl'Orr, and my station would not allow me to interfere with the actions of a Monarch.** Explained the elder, who lowered himself slightly in shame, turning away. Artanis searched Zyl'Orrs expression, unsure how he could be here, in Xerxes' mind. Zyl'Orr seemed to pale, turning back to him sheepishly. **I cannot fully explain that, however, I can tell you it was by choice. He has been very kind, and I do what I can to help him when I could not before.**
Artanis then was thrown into Zyl'Orrs memory of the beating; he had heard a commotion during an instruction session with Khrillian, the second eldest, who had stiffened and quickly rose and ran out of the training room without a word. Zyl'Orr pursued, only to watch as Khrillian ran for his Monarch, the boy's father, attempting to stop him from continuing the beating upon the crumpled form of Xerxes on the ground at his feet.
**It wasn't his fault! How can you not see that?** He cried, barely containing his own rage. Khaaslyrous, the Monarch, straightened up and raised an arm to backhand his second son, only to be lifted off the ground and thrown backwards by a Psionic push from Xerxes.
**You will -not- touch him.** Xerxes ordered, rising from the floor shakily, left arm visibly broken as Artanis, sweet, young and unassuming Artanis, peered out from the hall where his bedchamber lay. Khaaslyrous, wide-eyed and stunned, then rose, and hurriedly left. Some would come to say Khaaslyrous had fled for fear of his family's station should his transgressions become known to the populace, in truth, Xerxes' strength had intimidated him.

Artanis turned to Zyl'Orr, blinking to clear his vision, which had begun to blur from his emotion. Not his emotions, no. Zyl'Orrs, from the past.

**He made the decision shortly after to place you in stasis, to protect you from any backlash directed at him or your family as a whole. Khaaslyrous abandoned Aiur, and I went with him. At that time, I had no idea why, however I learned he earlier found the crypt where your mother's body had been buried, vacant and traces of Void energy had been left behind.** Zyl'Orr Explained. Artanis glared, shaking his head. None of this made sense, and yet, it explained a great deal. The memories he had suppressed, glimpsed only briefly when he had been young only to be discouraged from them entirely, and then now, likely brought to the fore by the familiarity of those around him. A long moment passed, Artanis still uncertain how much he could trust these memories, shared with him more to distract his mind than to explain anything.
**While that is my primary intent, I do intend to explain everything I can.** Xerxes then appeared within the mindscape, though as he had been when still Protoss, even his short stature matched what Rohana and Karax had each shared from their own interactions with him. What struck him as odd, however, was the scar from his jaw to his crest-line along the right side of his face and over his eye that appeared almost new.

**My price, for letting Sevorak out.** Xerxes admitted sadly. Artanis recoiled, Xerxes visibly drooping, the palace turning into a massive cave, with a Ziggurat rising high before them. A single sickly green eye opened in the darkness beyond the barred wall of the Ziggurat before them, a deep guttural growl emanating from the beast within. Zyl'Orr had disappeared, yet Artanis could still sense his presence, though the caged Sevorak tried to exude his choking darkness from within the cage. Xerxes turned, glaring at the green eye in the dark cage. The eye seemed to wince, closed and the presence of the beast withdrew.

**He was once one of Amon's Voidlings. He tethered to me when I was quite young.** Xerxes explained, showing another memory of a very young Xerxes with their father, Khaaslyrous, on a historic walk to where Khas had first found the temple that granted him access to the Khala for the first time. He followed his father down into the collapsed cavern and into the Xel'Naga ship, to a room where Khaydarin Crystals hung suspended invisibly over several vats of black ooze. While distracted by something else, Khaaslyrous had overlooked the voidling until it was upon Xerxes, and seeped into him without a trace as the youth seized.
Xerxes had been unconscious for two full days, the Khalai unable to find anything physically wrong with him. He woke, remembering only the nightmarish shadow that knocked him to his back within the Xel'Naga ship, and Khaaslyrous picking him up.
Artanis frowned, if Sevorak was a Voidling, why was Amon not taking control of him?
**He was abandoned by Amon, in one of those vats. Knowing nothing of what life is, and sharing my experiences and memories, he changed his allegiance.** Xerxes explained simply, changing their surroundings to the palace once more. Xerxes watched him calmly, though he had grown accustomed to his changed form, his Primal Hybrid form, he projected the image of himself as Protoss, for Artanis' benefit.
**I finished removing the dampening chip and healed the damage a few moments ago, you are no longer in danger… I understand if you want nothing to do with me.**
Before he could respond, Artanis had been pushed back into his own mind, blinking as a haze lifted from his vision. Xerxes had since backed away, briefly showing Artanis and the others nearby the mass of scar tissue and such around a barely visible implant still stained with his blue blood sitting on the palm of the Hybrid's hand. Kul stepped a bit closer, holding a small glass vial, which Xerxes slipped the chip and mass of Artanis' scar tissue into the vial, before Kul quickly placed a seal over the top of it and hid it away in his armour.
Before another word could be uttered, Xerxes turned and leapt off the walkway into the darkness below. He could be heard vocalizing with two other Hybrids, Arska and her brother quickly sliding off the ramp to join him.

Kul remained on the platform for a minute, simply watching the Hybrid disappear below while recovering far faster than the rest. As Xerxes had connected to Artanis, he had also brought all of them, Valerian and Egon included, into their connection as well, to keep anyone from stopping him from helping Artanis. Alarak shook his head to clear it, snarled and lunged for Kul, who dodged a few strikes before simply stepping off the platform to the darkness below.
A loud exclamation of surprise nearly deafened the rest, emanating from below, with a frustrated grumbling afterward. He had landed directly atop Xerxes, who had not been prepared for it, and knocked the air from his lungs.

**Sorry, he's trying to take my head off.**

So Here, have more of my headcanon crud. This story isn't fully finished as of yet, however I am still working on it, will be checking in on reviews and have already started a follow-up for this story.
If you have suggestions, questions or notice any holes, please leave a review or PM!