Chapter 7: Crowning Moment of Ending
The Lady in Black tried to struggle, but the purple sphere didn't allow her much room for movement. It was crushing her from all sides, denying her the use of any psionic power.
Xilnu knew that his energy would not be enough to finish the job, so he waited for the ghost agents under his mind control to deal large amounts of damage to his prisoner. After that, she would die if he'd merely start the process of absorbing her essence.
She slowly closed her eyes and curled her antennae around her body.
The blizzard had stopped, leaving only a mild wind to blow through the branches of the snowy conifer trees.
The ghosts almost finished charging up the shots, and their fingers were prepared to pull the triggers. Just then, something interrupted their concentration. A green flash of light zipped past them, then an intense pain caused them to black out.
Sensing the absence of his ghost underlings, Xilnu peeked over his left shoulder to see what was happening behind him. He saw Makatai, who stood among the five ghost corpses, his fiery warp blade held to the side while his cape fluttered in the wind.
Before the hybrid could think of a way to dispose of the prelate, he received a powerful shot to the forehead. He was blind for two seconds until his head regenerated his eyes and the missing tissues.
Garf smirked while holding his rifle aimed at Xilnu. To frustrate the hybrid even more, he fired an EMP shot too, draining some of Xilnu's energy.
"Pitiful creatures!" Xilnu said. "Why do you keep struggling? In the end, you will still be slaughtered."
Khar went next to Garf and charged up a green orb in her right hand. "This is for making your soldiers kill my mother." She launched the first psionic storm over Xilnu's head. "This," she said as she launched the second one, "is for almost getting my fiancé executed for a crime your subordinates committed." She threw a third one. "That one's for denying all of those unhatched younglings the chance to see the world." She began charging the fourth. "And this … this one's for causing the death of my little brother!" The last storm was added to the others, the lightning crackling between the trees.
Xilnu felt the storms like a billion needles that pierced through his skin and turned into daggers made of fire inside his body. He used part of his remaining energy to repel and shrink the storms to save himself. "Why do you insist on fighting when you've already lost?"
Lin stepped up. "This is for everyone who died in this war you've started." She fixed her eyes on Xilnu and made his skin boil until flames came out of him.
"This is for brainwashing my buddies!" Frank said, bringing his cyclone. His goggles went over his eyes as he locked the launchers on the hybrid. The vehicle shot five missiles, which exploded on Xilnu's back.
"You will all die!" Xilnu said as the flames stopped burning his body.
"Yes, but not when you want us to," Lin told the hybrid before using her psionic powers to stun him. This caused Xilnu to be unable to continue keeping the Lady in Black inside the spherical prison. The spectre looked at Makatai. "Deal with him however you see fit."
The prelate prepared to attack Xilnu, but first he waited until Tony arrived at the scene. "Tony, when I stab the hybrid and channel my void energies, you must fire at it."
"Wait a sec, Makatai!" Tony said while converting his tank into siege mode. "I don't wanna kill you with my tank!"
"The hybrid will regain its senses if we don't act soon. Do as I say! Have faith in me!" With that, Makatai dashed toward Xilnu, a trail of green light being left behind his warp blade. He delivered the stab to the hybrid's back, causing bright blue blood to come out of the creature's wound. "Fire!"
Tony hesitated for half a second, but then slammed the red button and turned his head to the left side as he closed his eyes. He heard a loud explosion and the cries of the hybrid. The tanker bit the bullet and opened his eyes to look at the monitor. He could see the severely wounded monster, the recovering Lady in Black, the spectre, the cyclone, the ghost, and the signifier, but Makatai was nowhere to be seen. "I've killed him!" He frowned and put his hands over his head. "I've killed him."
As the smell of burning cloth filled the tank, something sharp poked Tony's left shoulder. The tanker whipped his head around to see a four-fingered protoss hand. He grabbed and held it. "You scared me for a second there, buddy."
Makatai chuckled. Large chunks of his cape had been burned, and his silver armor was mostly covered in soot, but he did not suffer any serious injuries.
Outside, the Lady in Black walked up to Xilnu, who held his arms wrapped around his chest to stop the bleeding of his wounds. She said to him, "Now it's your turn to experience the graviton prison." She put her hands in front and emitted a green beam of light, which then formed a sphere around the hybrid.
Xilnu was lifted toward the sky, way above the tips of the tallest trees. As the sphere began to crush him from all sides, he struggled. "Once more you are only delaying the inevitable. The master will rid this world of every last miserable being, and rebuild with a clean slate. You will all be forgotten."
"You know what?" the Lady in Black said while tilting her head to the right. "Let's just get this over with." She released the hybrid from the graviton prison and launched herself at him.
Xilnu was so weakened that he could not do anything to stop his fall.
The Lady in Black summoned her two warp blades and sliced the hybrid in the air, separating his legs from his body. Then she dashed back and used the blades to separate the abdomen from the chest of the creature. During her third dash, she sliced the hybrid's neck, separating the head from the chest.
The butchered hybrid landed in the forest, in an area where there was no protoss or terran in sight. He hoped that the trees, with their dense, snow-coated branches, would hide him from her view long enough for his regeneration to reconnect the pieces of his body. If only his master were there … The master would put him back together in an instant. But Xilnu was alone. He was too weak to call to his puppets for aid. Too weak to speed up his recovery. Too weak to emit even a thin shield to guard himself until his body would be made whole again.
A green light came crashing down through the branches. It landed heavily on the ground, leaving a deep hole in the snow. It was the Lady in Black, with her long, fiery warp blades.
Xilnu stared at her with his wide blue eyes. His head began to shake.
"Do not worry, Xilnu," she said, making her warp blades fade away. "Ouros' champion will free your master from suffering. Just like I'm about to do to you."
In his last moments, the hybrid saw the Lady in Black summon her blazing scythe. After she swung it at his head, there was only darkness.
Makatai and one hundred centurions went to search for the Lady in Black and Xilnu through the forest. They found her as she was pulling her bandanna back over her chin.
"Where is the hybrid?" the prelate asked her.
"You will no longer have to worry about it," she said, twirling her right antenna around her fingers.
"Where is the body?"
"I have disposed of it. Now everything can get back to normal here."
Makatai squinted his eyes at her. "I hope that what you say is true."
In the evening, the protoss and the terrans gathered inside and around the Frigate to spend some time with each other and celebrate their victory.
Tony and Brian sat with Makatai at a round table in the cafeteria. The prelate's formerly battered outfit had been made good as new by his people.
Tony saw an SCV whose pilot was old and had gray, shoulder-length hair and a mustache. "Hey, Pops! Bring some champagne for the three of us!"
"I didn't know the 'toss can drink," Pops said.
"We can drink through our skin," Makatai told him, "but I do not know what the point of this is, since I will not be able to taste it."
"You'll see," Brian said, grinning.
At the counter, Connor, Frank, and the latter's three marine friends sat to have some beer. They all remained equipped so that they could step in if some new disaster struck. Frank held two glasses at the same time. With the one in his right hand, he helped the diamondback pilot drink.
"Thank you," Connor said. "Feels nice to not have to drink like a bird after such a long time ..."
"No problem," Frank said.
"Magellan will eventually build a pair of cybernetic arms for me, so you won't have to waste your time like this."
Frank patted the diamondback pilot on the back. "It's okay; I don't mind doing this for you."
Connor smiled at the cyclone pilot, who smiled back at him.
At another round table sat Khar, Garf, and Khor'kai. The latter held Khar's two remaining siblings in his arms. On the table, there was a plate out of which the ghost took and ate a ham sandwich. Khar was holding her fingers in a cup of warm tea again.
Two empty wine glasses flew off a table and hit Garf in the back, shattering into pieces. "Dam' it!" He calmed down once Khar rubbed his back with her hand.
Lin and Tyrell played at two of the cafeteria's four arcade cabinets.
"Ha! I beat your high score!" she said while pointing at the screen in front of her.
"Let's go for round two!" he said.
"Ready when you are!"
The marauder nodded and then put his right hand's middle finger over the start button. "Go!"
At a table near a corner of the room, the goliath pilot played poker with Harold and a few other SCV pilots. After everyone put their five cards down, Harold looked at the goliath pilot and said, "Damn it, Rob! This is the third time in a row!"
Rob grinned at him and took the pot.
Jack and Helga were at another table, smooching with each other, oblivious to the world around them.
The viking pilot was boasting about his flight adventures to three medic ladies at a nearby table. They seemed impressed.
Pops arrived with the champagne and poured it into the three elegant champagne glasses at the table where Tony, Brian, and Makatai sat. "Would you like anything else, gentlemen?"
"Nah, it's fine," Tony said. "Thanks, Pops!"
"You're welcome. Now to serve the hellions. Those guys sure love whiskey!"
"Pour it! Pour it!" Brian said to Makatai.
The prelate took the glass and poured the champagne onto the back of his right hand. The liquid was absorbed into his skin. Ten seconds later, his eyes widened. "This sensation … It is amazing! I feel like I am levitating!"
Brian chuckled. "Told ya it's good stuff!"
A centurion darted into the cafeteria. "Prelate! There is a bright green light coming from a nearby location in the forest!"
The trees started to shake as the light grew in intensity. A pair of enormous wings made of green fire grew from within the forest, standing tall and visible all the way to the nexus.
Smiley and the other probes stopped mining and stared at the unusual light show.
Makatai, Tony, Khar, Khor'kai, Garf, and a few other terrans and protoss gathered in front of the Frigate's right side and watched as the wings came down and spread themselves out.
The owner of the wings became known. It was a creature of green flame, with an elongated head which had a pair of horns, four bright white eyes – two on each side – and a snout full of short tentacles. Its body was stout, with thick, long tentacles coming from the sides of its torso and short tail. The being looked in the direction of the Frigate. It slowly flapped its majestic wings, whose span reached over the entire settlement, as well as way past the closest mountain.
"It is the monster Aru and I saw in the forest!" Khor'kai said, trembling in fear.
Khar noticed that the being of light held something with the tentacles of its tail. "It is carrying a wreath for the fallen!" She smiled through her eyes at the giant flier and held hands with Garf.
"What is this creature?" Makatai asked, staring in awe at the sheer size of it.
Tony smiled at the giant being. "Looks like you guys have met an old friend of ours."
When the green, fiery creature flew toward the starry sky and absorbed the terrazine from the Forbidden Temple, Smiley dropped the clump of minerals he had collected. After the mysterious being disappeared among the stars, the old probe slanted his lenses downward and began to whimper. The other probes gave him a group hug.
Morning came, and the terrans were preparing to "set sail". Tony and Makatai sat on the edge of the rocky platform, where the trial had taken place.
"Well, we've gathered all of the remaining rogues," Tony said to the prelate. "We could only save the marines, but hey, at least we've got a slightly bigger army now. Sadly, we ran out of jorium, so we'll have to go search for some more to make the rest of the brainwashed people snap out of their confusion."
"May luck be with you wherever you go, Tony," Makatai said. He looked at the settlement, whose houses displayed damage from the banshee attacks. "It will be difficult for me to lead my people now that all three of my advisers are gone. But in time, I shall improve my skills, and a new council may form. I have learned much from you terrans. I thank you all for your aid."
Tony got up and stretched out. "Don't mention it. If you guys need any more help later on, just give us a call. We'll fly here as soon as possible." He looked at the bright, warm sun. "Hey, it's almost time for liftoff. I better go see who stays and who comes along."
Khar and Garf stood before Tony and the other terrans.
"So, Garf, you're staying here, huh?" Tony said.
The ghost nodded. "Mhm."
"We must rebuild the Temple of Young and take care of the younglings," Khar said. "For some of them, we will be the only family they have."
"Then take care of yourselves. My SceeVee boys will leave Garf some boxes of lab-grown burgers, ham, and bread. We'll drop by every few months and bring more."
"Thanks," Garf said.
Ray, now capable of independent flight, showed up and landed next to the ghost. "Hello there, UED wimp!"
Garf smirked and kicked the raven. "Tee hee!"
"I just came to say that I will be going with the terrans. Sorry that I won't be around to help you dig for roots anymore."
The ghost frowned.
Ray lowered his fins. "Maybe you can train an observer to help you out. I really want to join Magellan and help him study things on the planet where we will settle. Our people will be planetary system neighbors with you guys, so at least that is good news."
For the first time, Garf did something that Ray never thought would happen in a million years. He put his arms over the corner of the aircraft's right triangular eye and hugged it.
"Do not be sad," the raven said. "When we will come visit, Magellan and I will bake you a cake."
Garf noticed that some liquid was dripping from under Ray's eyes. "Aww! Dun' cry!"
Ray spread his fins out and vibrated them. "That is just antifreeze solution. Ravens cannot cry, stupid!"
The ghost chuckled and slapped the raven's plating twice before stepping away and smiling.
"Take care of yourself, you crazy human!" Ray said. He lifted off and flew back inside the Frigate.
Smiley stood behind a mineral patch while the other probes continued to mine.
Tony approached him. "Hey, little buddy! What's the matter?"
Smiley looked at the ground. "Nyo ..."
"Are the others being mean to you or something?"
The probe turned his body to the left then to the right.
"Then why are you so sad?"
Smiley looked at the sky. "Nya! Nyaaa!"
"It's because he left again, huh?" Tony said. "Anyway, we're about to take off. Do ya wanna stay here and mine with the other probes, or do ya wanna stick with us?"
Without hesitation, Smiley jumped into the tanker's arms. "Nyu."
Tony smiled. "Okay then. I'll take you to your comfy little basket, and I'll read you a new bedtime story."
"Ya!"
The Frigate took off while everyone on the snowy ground waved at it. As the colossal, peculiar spaceship departed from Cylas, the members of the Atum tribe had a newfound hope that they could rebuild their settlement and continue to flourish on the planet they called home.
THE END