Well, we are approaching the end of this story. So it's time to escalate some things so we manage to end this one on a high note. And it's time for some emotional rollercoasters. We shall see wherever I will be able to squeeze a tear out of you all at the end of the next chapter.
Chapter 37
Everyday Family Issues
Sarah was anxious. Or rater: She felt anxious. However, it wasn't her own anxiety. She could feel the nervousness of her sisters in the back of her mind, like the sound of waves washing over the beach. She was the oldest of the bunch, and it was her duty to keep her sisters together. And, occasionally, at bay. Some of them lacked the discipline to shove their shared mental link into the back of her mind. When you would ask Sarah if she was an individual or a member of a connected hive-mind, she would simply reply "Both". And both things were correct. To people that had never been part of a collective, it was impossible to imagine what it's like to share all your thoughts and dreams with others. It scared them. And what people fear, they reject.
The same can be said about the other side too, however.
For those who only know being part of a collective, the serene silence of individuality is just as scary. Even sentient Zerg feared to be alone.
Sarah and her sisters neither defined themselves by their individuality or their shared consciousness. They defined themselves with both.
That was also the reason why they didn't really belong anywhere.
Oh, there was no doubt that they loved their father. And while their relationship with their mother was...strained, they at least acknowledged Izsha for bringing them into the world. But following their example? Doing it like Tesson did and try to pass as humans? Integrate themselves into human society? No. Humans were interesting, but nothing more.
And instead joining the Zerg?
Oh, hell no!
Sarah and her sisters had no intention of doing that, and not just because it was their mother's secret dream of rebuilding the Swarm of old, only better.
So, all that remained for them was to set out and forge their own path. Wherever would that lead them? Sarah had no clue. But whatever fate had in store for them, they would face it together.
At least when they would all be together again.
Speaking of which...
As Sarah looked out of the window and down on the world below, she realized that she had ignored her sisters for quite some time. Enough for them to grow restless. Sarah sighed and focused her mind on their shared connection once more and started to send calming thoughts that helped to ease her sisters' minds. Even though Sarah didn't really hate Paula, she was certain that the Prodigy wouldn't even last one day if she had to walk in Sarah's shoes...figuratively speaking.
"Big sister..." one of her siblings asked as she approached Sarah, who looked over her shoulder.
"Yes, Elise?"
"How much longer should we wait? Some of us are wondering-"
"All of you are wondering the same, I can sense it." Sarah interrupted her younger sister. "Not much longer. We now just have to wait for the perfect moment to strike." She could still sense the doubt in Elise's mind...and that of everyone else.
"But what if that perfect moment doesn't materialize? We are putting all our faith in the Prodigy to deliver on her promise. And in case you forgot, her track record isn't exactly-"
"I'm fully well on Paula's track record when it comes to doing things right." Sarah replied. "But we just have to trust."
"Trust?"
"Yes."
"Trust Paula."
"Yes, Elise. Is there an echo in here?"
"That's...a lot you're asking."
"I never said it's a brilliant plan." Sarah shot back before she sighed. "But sometimes you have to risk something if you want to succeed in life. Father tried to tell us that, but we didn't really understand it. Well, now we don't have any other option left, we have to move forward, hell or high water."
"That sounds like something Paula would do." Elise growled. "Next thing you tell us is that we should follow her example."
"I wouldn't go that far." Sarah replied dryly. "But maybe, just maybe...she was on to something." She still felt the doubts in Elise's mind and her sister's disbelief. However, before they could continue to bicker about Paula.
"Sisters, I found Father. And Rose!" one of the sisters that were manning the bridge shouted. Sarah immediately turned away from the window and slithered over to her younger sister. So did others. They all gathered around the station where the young sister was studying several monitors. They showed parts of Sternenheim that the many cameras on the hull captured. And one of them showed...
"There!" the sister said and pointed at a group of small figures marching alongside a beach. Sarah leaned forward and squinted her eyes.
"Good find, Julia." she said. It was definitely their father! But why was he wearing cavalry pants? Hopefully that was not one of those weird things he and their mother did from time to time. Joseph wasn't alone either, he held something small in his arms, something with stubby arms and a tail. Rose. Sarah sighed in relief when she realized that their sister was safe. With all that distance between them, they hadn't really been able to tell if Rose was doing okay. It seemed harsh and cruel that they had left the smallest and weakest one behind, but it had been a calculated risk.
Because they had also left the cutest one behind.
It had been a risk, sure. But Sarah had gambled on the fact that no one would dare to go up against Rose's cuteness. And that Sarah Kerrigan would not allow Rose to suffer any ill consequences of her sisters' actions. Still, Sarah, the big sister, was relieved to see Rose in one piece, even if it was from miles above. And her relief washed through the shared link to her other sisters, which in turn helped them to calm down.
"Where are they heading?" Sarah wanted to know and Julia zoomed out. The changed picture was enough for all of them to instantly recognize where Joseph and Rose and the others were heading. This was their homeworld after all. They were heading for the Kerrigans' home.
"Uh oh..." Julia whispered as she looked at another monitor.
"What?" Sarah wanted to know and her sister pointed at a few figures that were also walking towards the same place. Two were humans, and something else. Something familiar. Something...
...that looked like Sarah and her sisters, only much, much bigger.
It was their mother.
"They're almost there." Julia said and looked at Sarah. "What now?" Sarah didn't hesitate one second. She...they knew exactly what they had to do. She turned around and looked at Julia.
"It is time. Tell the others."
"Just as we trained when no one was looking?"
"Just when we trained when no one was looking." Sarah confirmed before she turned away and barked orders. "Maria, prepare the ship to descent. Clara, gather the rescue party in the secondary hangar on the lowest deck. Sybill, get Karax. It's time for him to get off this boat." And then she took a deep breath.
"Commence operation: Let's do Dad proud!"
And with that everyone did what they had prepared for. Everyone except Julia.
"You..." Sarah said to her sister. "...keep monitoring everything. I will be in the hanger too. If something happens, tell me immediately." Julia nodded and returned her attention towards the monitors in front of her. She made sure to watch both their father's and their mother's group closely. The closer they came to the Kerrigans' home, the smaller the chance became to get this done. Their window of opportunity was closing. Rapidly.
Julia knew what her duty was. She was supposed to observe her father and their mother. Nothing else was really important. So, when she spotted Niadra on another monitor, she didn't really care about that. Not even when another man approached her, which Julia identified as Paula's father. But when she saw from the corner of her eye how he walked around Niadra and approached her backside, Joseph's daughter frowned.
"What is that guy doing?" she wondered and squinted her eyes. It almost looked like...no, that couldn't be. She was just imagining things.
But then her eyes widened in disbelief. And then shock. And then disgust.
"What...what is that guy doing?!" she whined again as she watched something truly horrific.
No wonder Paula was so messed up. With a father like that!
Paula could feel how her nervousness grew the closer they came towards her home. Not because she was afraid of what her mother would say, but what would happen when Izsha and Joseph would finally come face to face...
For some odd reason she had to think about this story of that guy who used matches to look how much gas was still in the tank. At least that's how her dad had described situations like that. Paula had always acted as if she understood what he had talked about. But why would looking into a tank with a match be dangerous? The only thing you would see was an energy cell...
She did know, however, that bringing Joseph and Izsha together right now was a bad idea.
No, wait.
A bad idea would be for Sarah Kerrigan to reclaim the Swarm.
Or the Protoss to re-introduce the castes and re-instate the Conclave.
Or try to bring Amon back from the dead.
Bringing Uncle Joe and Izsha together seemed more like...
...utter madness.
Under normal circumstances Paula would have never dared to help to escalate a situation like this. Sure, she was reckless. Sure, consequences weren't exactly her thing. And sure, her reputation as a walking and talking menace was well deserved. However, the only reason why she was ready to take Izsha back home, where Uncle Joe would probably already wait for her, was because the most powerful psionic ever was sitting there on her favorite bench, ready to put her foot down if things would go south.
"You think that this is a smart idea?" Alexei mumbled and she threw him a glance. It seemed that he had noticed her worried look.
"No." Paula admitted. "But if you like, you can discuss your thoughts with my Mum. I'm sure she will take your doubts into consideration."
"Yeah, no. I still remember her from the old days, and back then she wasn't really good at taking tactical or strategic advice from anyone. Good at shock and awe, but not good at taking advice." Paula decided not to comment on that. Mostly because it sure as hell sounded like her mother. Let's just say that some things never change.
"What are you two babbling back there?" Izsha asked as she slithered in front of them. "Did you just criticize her Majesty?"
"NO!" both Paula and Alexei replied at the exact same time, which earned them a stern "hmpf" from Izsha. They both then decided to slow down a bit and built up some distance between themselves and Izsha.
"I can't imagine how you and your mother could deal with that behavior for the last couple of...centuries." Alexei whispered. "Isn't that getting annoying?"
"It wasn't always like this. She actually commandeered my Mum around for a while. Even developed quite the attitude towards her." Paula replied.
"I literally can't even imagine that." Alexei admitted. "What happened that she's like that again?" All Paula did was shrug.
"I think she just got bored eventually. She tried to change Korpulean history at one point by rewriting and "reviewing" certain historical facts about the Great War."
"Really?" Alexei wondered. "Like what?"
"Like the Queen of Blades single-handedly defeating Amon and everyone and that the Zerg basically saved the day." Paula sighed. "She was so proud of that exhibition."
"Judging from your tone it didn't quite work out so well."
"To use Izsha's words..." That's when Paula tilted her head to the site and mimicked Izsha's melodic voice perfectly. "...humanity simply is unable to acknowledge greatness even if they're staring right at it."
"Gosh, you sound exactly like her. Creepy." Alexei muttered.
"Thanks. I had a lot of time to practice. Oh, and I don't know her for centuries. I'm only 87 years old." Paula explained matter-of-factually. Alexei laughed. At first. Until he stopped and looked at the young woman in bewilderment.
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah. Give or take a couple of years. I think. Dunno. No one checked the date when I was born, so that's actually just an educated guess."
"So... you don't even know when you're born?" he asked.
"Sure I do!" Paula replied. "On a Saturday!" And then she added the most Paula-like thing she could have added: "I think." That's when Alexei suddenly leaned closer over to her as if there was something on her face. "Uhm...is something the matter? A bit personal space maybe?"
"I just want you to know..." Alexei cooed. "...I do have a thing for older women." Paula stared at him for a moment and then...
"Auntie Izsha, could you show me how you gut a human?" the young Kerrigan suddenly asked. And no one could blame her for that. No one.
Isn't it great if a family shares the same hobbies?
As all of this was unfolding, the Hyperion started to descendupon them...
"So, are my daughters all fine?" Joseph asked as they walked back towards the Kerrigans' home. "Did they eat properly? Did you notice anything unusual? What have they been up to? And why are they back? Seriously, they shouldn't have come back. Right now is a bad time to come back. Where were you anyway? Was it dangerous? Did they all squabble among each other, or did they listen to their big sister? And how did they learn how to operate a damn battlecruiser?!"
"Daddy cursed!" Rose shouted and threw her arms high up in the air while she was carried by her father.
"Trust me, I know curses that are a lot worse that I would like to say out loud right now." Joseph growled. "Also, can please someone answer my questions?" he wanted to know and looked at Dan and Evalonis. It was the huge Protoss who answered them to his best abilities.
"I believe that they are fine, but are under a lot of stress. However, I have little experience in dealing with them, so my words might not aim true." the huge Protoss replied. "As for your other questions: I have not seen them eat or drink, but they did not look malnourished. I noticed a lot of unusual things, but that is mostly because I never met anyone like your daughters before, so I cannot really tell what unusual things are problematic and which are not. They explained that they had to come back here to pick someone up they left behind. They were aware, however, that returning to this place might be a mistake. Our journey took us to Zhakul, where Paula tried to commune with the Grand Preserver Rohana. That did not work out, however, so we returned here. In hindsight, the situation was not very dangerous since we only encountered reasonable beings that were open to arguments, and who were not looking for a fight. I observed no real squabble between your daughters, though your firstborn, Sarah, seemed to have a hard time preventing the others from venting Paula into space. In the end, though, they listened to her. As for how they learned how to operate that vessel, I cannot tell you, but they had the assistance of the phase smith Karax, who you seem to know. It seems that he offered some assistance in that matter."
When Evalonis was done, Joseph stopped and stared at the huge Protoss for a moment.
"Wow..." he then said. "...this might be the one time when I actually got all the answers I ever wanted straight to the face."
"You asked."
"Yeah, but I'm used to shitty quality when it comes to answers."
"Daddy cursed again!" Rose yelled.
"He's gonna curse several more times until this day's over, Sweetie." Joseph told his daughter. "Anyway, what's the story with you anyway? How did a Protoss end up in this of all places?"
"I am an acquaintance of Paula Kerrigan." Evalonis replied.
"What, you're her boyfriend or something?" Joseph chuckled, which lead to Dan Bowski looking at Evalonis for a second in a not-too-subtle manner, and Evalonis clenching his one hand into a fist, signaling Dan to keep his mouth shut.
"What's that?" Joseph asked and pointed at those two.
"What is what?" the huge Protoss asked back.
"The thing you two just did?"
"Thing?"
"Yes, thing."
"I do not know what you are talking about." Evalonis stated and looked at Dan. "Do you know what he is talking about?" As the huge Protoss spoke those words, he smashed his left fist into his right palm, as if he was trying to make a point.
"N-no." Dan stuttered. "I have no idea. About anything."
Joseph looked at them for a long time.
"Uh huh. Sure." And then he shrugged his shoulders. "Not that I care. Paula can hang out with whoever she wants to. I'm more focused on my own babies. Speaking of which..." He then looked up and frowned. "Is it just me? Or has that battlecruiser lowered its orbit?"
When the two groups finally met, it was not as apocalyptic as Paula had imagined it would. But it was still pretty bad. However, before that happened...
"Do you remember..." Artanis mumbled, exhaustion all over his face.
"Huh?" Sarah grunted as she sat right next to him on her favorite bench. "You said something?"
"Do you remember...your victims."
…
…
…
"What?" Sarah asked after a while and flashed Artanis an annoyed look. Just because she had denounced violence, it didn't mean that she couldn't feel frustrations. And the urge to strangle others to death.
"Do you remember when you slew Fenix?" Artanis wondered and Sarah looked at him from the corner of her eyes. He wasn't looking at her at all. And he looked old. Really old. That wasn't everything, however. His eyes, usually blue and sparkling with energy, seemed to be dimmed, and would even flicker occasionally. Like a light bulb...that had reached the end of its life.
"Occasionally." Sarah then admitted.
"Do you regret it?"
"What's the point of this question, Artanis? Is this some poor attempt at doing some soul-searching? Trying to figure out if I'm still the person you've come to love and adore all that time ago?"
"I never loved or adored you, Kerrigan-"
"I know, it's called irony.
"...and I am pretty certain that searching for your soul would be a fool's errand."
"Geez, thanks."
"...what I want to know if you still remember all the lives you ruined. And if you still feel pride, like when you gloated at us when we came to stop you. What was it you called yourself again?"
"Oh God, please don't say it." Sarah whispered.
"I think you called yourself "Queen Bitch of the Universe", if I am correct."
"Gosh, I wish I'd never said that." the older Kerrigan sighed. "You sure do stupid things when you're young and foolish."
…
…
…
"Do you regret it?" Artanis then asked and Sarah groaned.
"For the love of...what does it matter?" Sarah wondered. "Seriously, all of that happened how many centuries ago? Would it change anything if I would tell you: "Yes, Artanis, I do think about the past sometimes, and I'm glad that this part of my life is over because it was a goddamn nightmare." Would it?" They stared at each other for a while, until Sarah suddenly winced and placed her hand on her belly. "Easy there, don't worry. Mummy's here, all is good." she cooed as she felt the irritation and the fear of the life growing inside of her. Or rather: The lives. There was another moment of silence. And then...
"Do you re-" Artanis started.
"For crying out loud: No!" Sarah barked at him. "Is that what you want to hear? No. I don't regret ending Fenix. And you wanna know why? Because he was a soldier. He fought in a war, and he got killed. That's the nature of war. He was my enemy. And even if I hadn't been out of my mind back then, even if I had been mistress of my own senses, I still would have killed him. Because, even with all the stuff that happened, even with everything they had done to me, I was still a trained soldier. So, I did what I was trained to do. I don't regret it, Artanis." she spat out.
"...but I'm not proud of it either." And then she looked away and stared at the horizon.
"I left a life behind that I never wanted." she then mumbled. "You look back at the Great War, and you see what? Triumph and tragedies? Heroes and villains? You know what I see? Pain. They inflicted pain on me. And I inflicted pain on them. All I knew was pain. I don't deny that I did horrible things. And maybe there was a time when putting me on trial and cut off my head would've been the right thing to do. But I'm no longer that person. I never wanted to be that person." She took a deep breath and then she sighed. "I was dealt a poor hand when I grew up. And from there on out I made a lot of poor decisions. Trusted the wrong people. Took the easy route, just so I would not experience the pain again. But that led to even more pain in the end. I was a slave, robbed of my own free will..."
"That sounds as if you put the blame for your own actions on others. I see little has changed." Artanis muttered. "You are just not as bloodthirsty as you used to be."
There weren't many rules these days that Sarah Kerrigan enforced. One of them, however, was a strict "no-cursing"-policy. The lives growing inside of her were already aware of themselves and their surroundings. So naturally Sarah Kerrigan had decided that her and Jim's children shouldn't be masters in the art of cursing before they were even born.
However, even Sarah Louise Kerrigan's patience had her limits.
"Screw you!" she spat at him. "I don't have to sit here, in my home, and take your self-righteous shit like a little bitch!" And much to her own dismay, Sarah could feel how the unborn lives inside of her began to pulse in delight as they heard these strange new words that they had never heard before. Just before things could even escalate even further, a few figures appeared in the distance. Two men...and a Protoss.
Oh, and a tiny version of Izsha, who was carried by one of the men.
"Saved by the bell." Paula growled and looked at her own belly. "No word to anyone about this!" She could feel how three faint presences seemed to comply at once and fell back into a peaceful slumber as they continued to grow. The fourth, however, seemed to glow in joy and waited for more to happen. Sarah knew immediately that this one would be a handful.
"Sarah." Joseph Brent muttered when he and the others reached her and Artanis.
"Joseph." Sarah replied. That's when suddenly the jungle next to the house began to rustle...
...and Izsha emerged. Behind her were Paula and Alexei, and both looked as if they had run a marathon.
"Joseph." Izsha growled.
"Izsha."
"Hey, Uncle Joe." Paula sighed.
"Paula." Joseph replied.
"Your Majesty." Izsha bowed her head at Sarah.
"Izsha."
"Mommy." Rose cheered.
"Rose."
That's when suddenly the front door was opened and Jerome Allagan stepped out.
"Oh, you are back! Marshal!"
"Professor." Dan grunted and nodded at him and Stukov. "Alexei.
"Dan." Alexei replied. "Professor." And then Evalonis looked at Artanis.
"Hierarch."
"Evalonis."
"Lovely..." Sarah sighed. "Are we done? Did we miss anyone?"
"What about Jim?" Joseph asked.
"Did we miss anyone important?" the older Kerrigan corrected herself before Izsha took over. She slithered towards Joseph and straightened herself.
"Joseph."
"Tails." Joseph replied, which earned him a stern look from Izsha. Well, more stern than usual.
"You're not supposed to use that name when around strangers." she chastised him. "It's our private special name." Joseph was about to reply something when Sarah intervened.
"Please, don't." she told both of them. "On any other day of the week, I'd be delighted to listen to that stuff. But not today. I wanted you two to end this stupid argument. Make up. Make love, if you have to. Just not right here."
"Sorry, Sarah, but she had this comin' a long time, and I won't back down. This isn't about me, it's about our-"
"My." Izsha corrected him.
"OUR daughters." Joseph insisted.
"I laid them."
"Well, I helped you in makin' 'em in the first place! Also, I was the one who did most of the raising!" he shot back.
"Please, no details..." Sarah groaned in the background. That's when suddenly darkness began to envelop them. Artanis looked around and squinted his eyes.
"What is this? Has the end finally arrived? Am I about to fade away? Light is vanishing from my sight...darkness...darkness is claiming me. So that is what dying feels like..." the ancient Protoss whispered in a surprisingly dramatic fashion.
"Ain't death knocking on your door, stupid!" Sarah snarled at him. "It's the Hyperion. Seems like she's preparing to land. On us." Everyone was looking up at the massive vessel. She looked mighty fine. Like new. Better than new. Most of her hull had been polished. It was doubtful if she had looked this clean when she had left the dockyard where they had put her together all those centuries ago. And she sure as hell hadn't been this clean when Jim had commanded her. What Sarah noticed immediately was the lack of offensive weaponry. Or any weaponry. Didn't look like battle damage either. More as if someone had painstakingly demilitarized this thing. It put her mind at ease to know that this giant floating steel monster was as harmless as an overlord.
Until it would squeeze you to death, of course.
Jim's stone garden could vouch for that.
"So, the reasons for World War Tree have decided to join us. How nice." Sarah muttered. While there was no sun Sternenheim was orbiting around, the gigantic vessel still managed to block out enough light to create something that could be called "twilight". You could even start to smell heavy-duty machinery, and any closer and Sarah would have started to worry. But then the ship stopped its descend and kept station roughly 200 meters above them.
"Imagine what would happen if the antigrav-repulsors would fail right now." the older Kerrigan hummed. A sudden sharp sound of something de-pressurizing happened, as if right on cue, and some of the people down below actually flinched. Jerome Allagan turned around and ran back into the house. He even shut the door. Which was mildly amusing.
No critical system failure was responsible for that sound, however. Instead, one of the lower hangar doors opened up. Even from all that distance, you could see a couple of figures standing close to the edge and waving their hands.
"Oh girls..." you could hear Joseph whisper. "...why did you come here?"
"It seems they have finally regained their senses." Izsha declared with a hint of triumph in her voice.
"FATHER!" one of them yelled, and even though their voices were pretty similar, Joseph could tell who it was.
"Sarah!" Joseph shouted back. "Why the hell did you come back?!"
"WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" Sarah yelled back. "WE STILL NEED TO PICK SOMETHING UP!" Izsha just squinted her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Come down, daughters. So I can properly discipline you. All of you." she shouted upwards.
"FAT CHANCE!" Sarah replied. "SISTERS, NOW!" At first it seemed as if some of Sarah's sisters were heading back into the hanger. And then...
...the people down below watched in horror how the sisters threw one of their own out of the Hyperion.
"WHAT? NOOOOO!" Joseph screamed in terror as he watched how one of his daughters fell out of the ship. Even though they were quite resilient, a fall from that high up would end up in certain death. Much to his horror, it wasn't just one daughter that was thrown out of the Hyperion. It was many. And they...were holding each other's tails?!
"What. The. Hell." Dan Bowski mumbled, and he said what everyone was thinking. More and more of Joseph's and Izsha's daughters fell out of the Hyperion. Each one was holding the tail of the sister in front of her as they were forming a living, well, rope. A rope that was growing rapidly in size. And that was swishing around.
And then it was heading right for the guys down below.
"DAD!" the daughter at the end of the rope, the one that had jumped first, yelled and stretched out her hands. "GIVE HER TO ME!" Joseph realized immediately what they were talking about. He held Rose high up into the air and when the rope made out of his daughters reached, little Rose was snatched from his arms. They used the momentum and swung back upwards until the daughter at the end of the rope was on the same level as Sarah and handed Rose over to her.
"That is the most amazing thing I've ever seen." Joseph Brent whispered. "Go, girls. Go."
But the girls weren't done yet.
Instead of climbing back into the Hyperion, they decided to drop themselves downwards once more. And this time it was just as spectacular as the first time. The sister at the end of the living rope swung towards them once more and reached out with her arms.
"DAD! COME ON!"
Joseph looked at Izsha, then at his incoming daughter, then at Izsha again. And then he just shrugged his shoulders.
"Sorry, Tails. But you asked for it." And then he turned around and ran.
"JOSEPH, NO!" Izsha roared and darted after him. She was fast. Far faster than him. But his daughter reached him just in time. He grabbed her hands and immediately the other sisters were pulled back into the Hyperion. Izsha tried to grab him but came too late. So all she could do was to stare up in disbelief as Joseph was pulled into the Hyperion by his daughters. They were fast. Really fast. Within seconds Joseph and the sisters were no longer visible. The hangar doors closed and you could hear the sound of something spinning up.
It was the hyperdrive.
Just when the ship was about to jump, the hangar doors opened once more and something was catapulted out of the Hyperion. It flew with quite the impressive trajectory and smashed into the nearby ocean. Whatever it was, it kinda looked like a Protoss phase smith.
And then the Hyperion entered hyperspace.
Silence. That was what reigned supreme in the moments after the Hyperion was gone. Everyone was staring up, into the sky, where the huge ship had been just a while ago. Now there was only the sky. And after a while all eyes began to turn on Izsha, who seemed to be utterly flabbergasted by what just happened.
"What...but this...I do not...understand...I...where did they...Joseph?" she stuttered. The sight of Izsha being unable to compute what was going on was weird. And scary. And sad. She reached out with her hand as if she could still grab the Hyperion and make her miraculously reappear. "Come back!" she yelled. But no one was coming back for her. Not even when she lowered her hand and just kept staring at the sky. "...please?"
"Oh boy." Sarah Kerrigan whispered. "That ain't soul-crushing at all." She then sighed and stood up before walking over to her oldest friend. Izsha turned around and looked down at Sarah.
"Your Majest...Sarah! They're gone!"
"Yeah, I noticed."
"We need to get them back!"
"We?" the older Kerrigan asked and pulled her brows up.
"They are not ready yet to face this universe! And it is not their destiny to do this! It is in your powers to bring the Hyperion back here. Please, can you-"
"No."
…
…
…
"What?" Izsha asked. Disbelief was all over her face, which was a rare sight indeed. She was not one to show many emotions, but right now... "Sarah, please! They are not prepared for any of this! If something happens, then-"
"I said no." Sarah repeated again and sighed when she saw how Izsha kept staring at her. "Izsha, you know that you're my best friend, but you had it coming for a long time. Besides, your girls sure seemed to know how to handle themselves when they fixed up the Hyperion. And Joe is with them! He'll keep them grounded. And save."
"But...that...I do not...I cannot...I will not..."
"Wow." Sarah sighed and threw a glance at Paula. "This is even worse than when she learned that her favorite telenovela got canceled."
"They are not yet ready, Sarah. And they are supposed to serve you and your-" Izsha then began again. You could almost hear the...panic in her voice?
"They will be fine!" Sarah interrupted her friend, who reeled back in surprise. "And maybe they just want to do something different with their lives than you did when you were younger. Or still want. I don't know. They are your children, Izsha, not your minions. So have some faith. They might end up surprising you." Instead of answering immediately, Izsha stared down at Sarah for a long time. And then...
"So, you are not going to help me get them back?"
"I am not going to help you getting them back." Sarah confirmed. For a moment it seemed as if Izsha would do the unimaginable. It almost seemed as if she would yell at Sarah. But then she straightened herself and took a deep breath.
"Very well. I shall discipline my offspring myself then. And Joseph. Please excuse me." she then declared and turned away.
"What are you going to do?" Paula asked.
"I need to get back to Niadra. I require a transportation device. We shall see wherever her cloaca can handle spawning a leviathan-"
"No leviathan." Sarah interrupted her.
"Fine. An overlord then. Anything capable of space flight. Sarah. Paula. Everyone. I shall return!" And with that Izsha slithered away. There was an aura of indignation all around her when she left.
"Maybe she should ask for a terror. I'd pay real money to see her riding a terror." Sarah whispered.
"What's a terror?" Dan asked and Sarah shook her head.
"Forget it."
As one person left, another joined them. The sound of heavy footsteps on the beach made them look over to the beach.
"Karax. That was some interesting display of flying like a rock." Sarah said. "Were you so desperately in need of a bath that you decided to take the shortest route possible?" The Protoss knocked some water off the horned material that his beard was made of.
"Not really, Lady Kerrigan. I was asked to disembark the Hyperion, which was also my intention since there is more than enough work waiting for me down here. However, Joseph's and Izsha's children seemed to be in quite the rush and there was no time for them to land. So they asked whether I still carry my personal protection equipment with me, which I confirmed."
"And then they tossed you out." Sarah snickered. "Well, at least they asked before they threw you out." Karax blinked a few times when he heard that.
"Something like that..." he muttered.
5 minutes earlier...
"We have to hurry! Go! Gogogogo!" Sarah yelled as her sisters all moved into position. "Just like we trained! You know what to do!" Next to her stood Karax, who seemed to be a bit lost.
"Uhm...will we not land?" he asked.
"Eh, better not. Let's not give Mother any chance to screw us over." Sarah grunted.
"I see. Well, in that case I better-" Karax replied and was about to turn around and head towards the warp teleporter he had just installed a few hours ago. With it he could teleport down to the surface right away and-
"Yeah, don't worry, we didn't forget about you." Sarah suddenly said and looked at some sisters that were standing nearby. "Yo! Off he goes!" Before Karax could react, some of the sisters grabbed him, lifted him high up in the air, and headed straight for the open hangar doors.
"That...does not seem to be necessary. I can just leave by using-" he started.
"Make sure to throw him extra hard, sisters, so he lands in the water!" Sarah yelled.
"Throw him?!" Karax gasped. "With all due respect, this does seem a bit reckless. Besides, I just added a warp telepooooooooooooo..." Just when they tossed him overboard, he could hear someone ask the question: "Does he still have his protection equipment?" But by that time, he was halfway down to the surface.
"And then they tossed you out." Sarah snickered. "Well, at least they asked before they threw you out." Karax blinked a few times when he heard that.
"Something like that..." he muttered. "Anyway, as amusing this whole ordeal was, I would like to return to my actual task of studying Ulnar. If no one had any objections." There were no objections. At least until Paula raised her hand.
"Are you actually raising your hand?" Dan asked.
"Yeah. Because I want to say something?" she told him.
"Yes, Paula? What is it? Please, do not tell me that there is another adventure you need my help with." Karax sighed.
"Pffff, no." the young Kerrigan replied. "But hey, if you're gonna return to study ancient ruins of a forgotten species that shaped this place as we know it and hailed from a space that no human scientist has ever heard of..." And then her eyes began to sparkle as if she had just had the most brilliant idea ever. "...why don't you take Professor Allagan with you!"
…
…
…
"Who?" Karax asked.
"Professor Allagan! This guy!" And then Paula turned around and pointed at...no one. "Where is...oh, wait a second!" She then ran over to the house, opened the door and pushed her head inside. "Yo, Professor! You can come out now. The apocalypse has been canceled!"
"For now, at least." Sarah whispered.
"A-are you certain?" you could hear Allagan whimper.
"Yeah, totally. Come out, here's someone who has a proposition for you!" And after a few moments Jerome Allagan actually came outside.
"I would like to go home now if no one minds." the visibly shaken man muttered.
"Go home? Now?" Paula asked him. "But this is everything you ever hoped and dreamed of!" Professor Allagan stared at her with a look of puzzle- and bewilderment all over his face.
"Being hunted, shot at, and threatened by death? I think not!" he protested. "All I wanted was to uncover the secrets of the past!"
"Well, you won't find any better proofs of the past than right here!" Paula shot back. "Trust me, this is the place to be. And this guy-" She then pointed her finger at Karax. "...can help you with that."
"Paula, I admit that this little...adventure was quite enjoyable." Karax protested. "But now I wish to return to my task of studying Ulnar's ruins."
"Yeah, exactly!" the young Kerrigan replied. "And you could totally use this guy's help, right? I mean, real help. From someone who knows a thing or two about history and doesn't just nod if you tell them something and pretends that they understand anything! Like, I don't know, an aide!" Both Karax and Allagan frowned when they heard that.
"I do not know..." the phase smith replied. "...wait a moment: Pretends that they understand anything?"
"Why should I do that?" Allagan then interjected. "I just...I... I don't even know what I want anymore. But I do know that I want to not do anything of what we did before."
"Sounds complicated." Sarah mumbled.
"Professor, you wanted to find the truth, right? That's why you set out to find the Hyperion. That's why you wanted to travel out there. Because, deep down inside of you, you know that there's more. That there has to be more." Paula told him.
"What? Yes, but...I mean...you see..." Jerome Allagan began to stutter. "I don't even know what he is doing!" He then pointed at Karax.
"For the last couple of centuries, I have studied the remnants of what once has been Ulnar, the former home, spiritual center and base of power of the Xel'Naga, the species that shaped both my people and the Zerg into the beings that they are nowadays." As Karax spoke, Jerome's eyes began to widen. It was clear that he was believing every single word the huge Protoss was telling him. Even if he didn't really understand all the implications.
"U-Ulnar? I have never heard of such a place. Where is it?"
"Right here, on this world." Karax informed him.
"What's left of it." Sarah corrected him.
"What does that mean?" the Professor wanted to know.
"It means that due to the action of Joseph Brent, Ulnar is now no longer, how shall I say it?" Karax struggled to find the right words.
"In one piece." Sarah offered and rolled her eyes. "Boy, that was some fun." The tone of her voice made it clear that it had been anything but fun.
"It is true. Most of Ulnar is scattered over an area that covers roughly 12 percent of this world's surface. A lot of which is below water, which makes it especially complicated. However, this has not deterred me in uncovering the knowledge stored within the remnants." Karax then explained.
"See?" Paula then said to Allagan. "It is what you always wanted. Here's the chance to find out about things that no one has ever-"
"Show me. Please." Jerome then said to Karax, much to the surprise of Paula. And everyone else.
"Gladly. I would enjoy showing my findings to someone with a broader understanding of the socio-cultural impact of the Xel'Naga and their actions on this sector and beyond!" Karax replied.
"Did you just call us dumb?" Sarah asked, yet Karax didn't even bother to answer that question.
"So, can you tell me about the Xel'Naga? Joseph Brent mentioned them at one point, but he rarely made any sense." Jerome said.
"Ah, yes. That does indeed sound like Joseph Brent. Well, allow me to enlighten you..." Karax explained as both of them started to walk away. "...the term Xel'Naga was used for an advanced species that predated most civilizations by several thousands of years. However, my research has uncovered that they were not really a species. Rather than that, the name was a term for beings that carried on what they called the infinity circle."
"Oh my!" Allagan gasped. "If what you say is true, then this will change everything! And those Xel'Naga...are they still around?"
"Technically there are two Xel'Naga out there, with more of them on their way. One of them is-"
"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT, MISTER!" Sarah screamed after them. And when they were finally gone...
"I suppose we had enough action for one day, huh?" Sarah Kerrigan said and looked at the others. "Anyone else wants to add to the insanity that my life has become?" There were no requests to do that. "Now, I think I promised you to take everyone back home, right?" she then asked Paula.
"Home?" Dan Bowski wondered. "Just like that?"
"Just like that." Sarah confirmed.
"And then what?"
"Whatever you want to do."
"See?" Dan then roared. "That's exactly what I mean! This...all of this...you just drag people into this madness, show them things, unbelievable things, and then leave them to their own devices! Now I finally see where Paula has that trait from!" There was a hint of a smile on Sarah's face when she heard his rants.
"And yet you came."
"Well, someone had to tell you what kind of menace you've raised!"
"HA!" Sarah barked out loud before she looked at her daughter. "I finally see what the deal is about this one. He will go a long way with an attitude like this." Well, that wasn't cryptic at all. Paula just shrugged her shoulders, as if she didn't even know what her mother was talking about. Which was probably the truth.
"You CANNOT just kick us out and-" Dan protested, but then was cut short by Sarah who just waived with her hand.
"Yayayaya. Feel free to do write a poem about your feelings once you're back. Now, how about we start with the oldest one first before he dies of old...oh." Sarah looked over her shoulder at the figure sitting on the bench on the veranda. The ancient Protoss had closed his eyes and seemed to be deep in thought, with his chin resting on his chest. "...crap."
The moment Joseph Brent entered the bridge, he was greeted by so many of his daughters that it was hard to move even one meter. So many smiling faces! It really seemed like all of his daughters were here right now.
"Sisters! Give Father some room!" Sarah barked and used her tail to shield him from being hugged to death. Death was avoided. The hugs not.
"Aw, come here!" Joseph yelled and threw himself into the arms of his closest daughter. "Estelle! I'm so proud of you! Of all of you! Lisa, you too! And Claudia. All of you!" Soon he was almost drowning in a sea of hugs, and he didn't mind it at all. It felt like ages until he finally made it to the big holo-table in the middle on the bridge, mostly thanks to Sarah who did her best to keep her sisters in check. Mostly. Joseph then climbed on the table and looked down at his daughters, with the proudest smile any parent could have.
"Oh, kids. You have no idea how happy I am to see you all in one piece." he sighed. "And what you did with this ship? I don't even know what to say...except that I'm so damn proud of you, girls. You had the guts to do that I couldn't. And you showed more brain than either me or your mother in doing so. You showed an old fart like me that we don't have to accept certain things just because we did so in the past. Thanks, girls." And then he looked around.
"So, what's the plan?"
"Well..." Sarah started. "...we have some ideas but didn't really plan that much ahead." she admitted. "Some of us want to do a big revival tour of the Koprulu Sector. You know, see all those places that Mum always kept talking about, like Char and Zerus-"
"And then nuke them!" someone yelled. Joseph immediately recognized the voice as that of Isabel. She had always been the reckless one.
"...though first we would have to acquire some nuclear warheads." Sarah continued. "We didn't give it much thought, honestly. Most of us just want to head out, see new places, meet new faces." Next to Sarah was Rose, who was held by another big sister.
"Let's find all the sugar there is and EAT IT!" Rose then suggested. And some sisters nodded when they heard that.
"Yeah, and then there's Rose's suggestion." Sarah replied dryly before she took a deep breath and looked at her father. "But honestly...whatever we decide on...well, we wanted to do it together with our dad." It was good that no one else was around except Joseph's daughters. He was too old to really care about something like that, but still...
...at least now no one would make fun of him as he started to cry in front of his girls.
"Oh, girls..." Joseph sobbed as he pressed his hand against his face. "...stop it, you're making me cry!" And that was enough to make his daughters cry too. Even Sarah. It was quite an emotional scene and it took them quite some time to calm down. And when they finally had done so...
"Whatever you do, whatever you decide to do, I'm game." Joseph Brent declared. "So let's just agree on one thing, yes? Let's have some crazy fun along the way. At least until your mother gets her hands on me and strangles me to death." Joseph had no intention of leaving his old life behind. Or Izsha. Not that he had a choice. He was pretty certain that his favorite big snake-lady was already planning on how to get to him and reestablish dominance. Even with all that happened, he still loved her. However, it had taken the collective courage of their daughters to finally make him stand up to her.
Oh, they would see each other again, Joseph was certain of that.
But until then he decided that he would have some fun with his girls along the way.
As he should have, a long time ago.
"Someone might check his pulse. Just to be certain." Sarah muttered as everyone looked at the ancient Protoss who hadn't moved in quite some time.
"I am... not dead..." Artanis suddenly whispered and opened his eyes. You could barely see any light coming from them. He was weak. Very weak.
"Could have fooled me." Sarah sighed and rubbed her eyes. Artanis looked up at her and then at Paula and sighed.
"Are we done here?" he asked. "I am tired."
"Yes." Paula whispered. "Yes, I think we are." Her aura was full of sadness. The stench of bitter defeat was one all too familiar to Sarah, even though the last time she had tasted it herself had happened so very long ago...
"Mum? Could you take back Artanis first? So he can get some rest?" That question made Sarah look at her daughter for quite some time. "Mum?" Paula then asked after a while. "Is something the matter?" And then Sarah sighed and shook her head.
"Can't believe I'm doing this, but oh well." She then looked down at Artanis. "Don't you ever day to call me a menace again, old fart." And then she opened her hand and faced Paula. "The crystal shard. Give it to me." She noticed the look of surprise and puzzlement on Paula's face.
"Why?"
"Just give it to me, little one." Sarah insisted. In her current state of mental defeat, Paula didn't really put up any fight and pulled the shard out of her pocket and put it into her mother's open hand, who then walked towards the huge Protoss next to his daughter. "I need a drop of blood. Can do it without it, but this makes it better." Evalonis frowned and looked at Paula, who only shrugged.
"As you wish." he mumbled, activated his psi-blade, and held it close to his other hand. There was only the hint of a sizzle and when he deactivated it, some blue liquid began to flow from a cut on his palm.
"I said a drop! Not a goddamn flood!" Sarah growled and used her powers to pull a drop of blue Protoss-blood from that wound before she brushed with her hand over Evalonis' hand. His wound closed in an instant and she then turned away and walked towards the beach, all while that drop of blood floated in her hand, held up by her powers.
"Mum, what are you doi-" Paula wondered once more.
"Paula, please be quiet for a second. Mommy needs to concentrate." She then closed her eyes and pushed the drop of blood away from her. It was almost too small to make out as it floated in the air, right above the gentle waves washing over the beach. And then...
"By the ancient..." Evalonis whispered.
"Now that's something you don't see every day." Alexei agreed.
It started small. The sand beneath the drop of blood began to vibrate, and the water was pushed back. At first. Then it came back. Sand and water formed small tendrils, like little tornadoes, and began to grow upwards like trees. They intertwined and began to form something new. And when they reached the drop of blood, they turned into something new. Something different. Something living...
The group watched in awe (and disbelief) how bones and flesh began to form right in front of their eyes. It didn't really look repulsive. Paula stared at her mother, who had her eyes closed and released her grip on the crystal shard, who floated towards the growing organism. It merged with it and green energy began to dance over the exposed flesh. The being grew in size, until it towered over everyone except Evalonis. Thick gray skin began to cover the flesh, strong hands and feet were formed, and when Sarah finally opened her eyes, so did the creature in front of them.
Green glowing eyes stared into the endlessness as the Protoss raised his hand and began to speak.
"Raynor...the hounds of the voice are closing in... I impart my memory – my very essence – into this Ihan...crystal...so that..." And then the Protoss blinked in surprise and looked around, as if only now he was able to understand what was going on around him.
"What...is this?" Zeratul asked. "What...happened to me?"