Khala's End
Zeratul trembled as his mind processed the implications of his revelation. Several things that occurred in the past few days began to make sense.
"So you realize," Darth Sidious, or in fact the Ancient One, stepped down the platform towards the Grey Templar, who stood rooted to his spot, transfixed by the terrific aura now exuded by this being approaching him. "though you are not entirely correct. I have not just impersonated Darth Sidious, I have borrowed his physical form. Possession, as the mortals would call it. It was a simple matter of calling the host to the vessel, and getting him or her to touch it. Through that, entities such as I would be able to take the forms of lesser beings, and finish that which has been left undone."
"All this," Zeratul stuttered. His thoughts returned to the Terran, Samir Duran. He shuddered at the thought that it might have been he, not Darth Sidious, whom the Ancient One possessed. "All this … had been engineered by you … to what end ?"
"Ah, you are one of the First Born, and you know what I am. Then you must know that I once had a corporeal body." The Ancient One began. "In fact, we believed we had achieved the ultimate phase in evolution."
"The creation and tending of other sentient species." Zeratul muttered. "Thus came the Protoss and the Zerg."
"Failed experiments." The Ancient One spat. "Flawed products. Disasters. Because of them, we now exist as nothing more than psionic entities. They must be reformed. Perfected."
"You do not mean …" Zeratul began.
"Yes, the Protoss are pure in form, yet in essence they are fickle and volatile. The Zerg are pure in essence, yet their form is dangerously unpredictable. The solution is, therefore, quite obvious. However, that part you already know. You had seen what no other First Born had seen."The Ancient one leaned in towards Zeratul and stared into his eyes, as if peering into his thoughts. "You have communicated with the Overmind."
"Yes."Zeratul nodded, reliving that event over in his mind. "I killed a Cerebrate, as a result, my mind touched with that of the Overmind. Through me it learned the secret location of Aiur, and almost succeeded in conquering our homeworld. Was this all part of the Xel'Nagas' great plan to merge our two species ?"
The Ancient One laughed. "You defeated it in the end, did you not ? I can tell. We do have a great plan, but it is beyond the control of either the Zerg or the Protoss. It will change the universe in ways that you cannot yet imagine."
"The Hybrids." Zeratul ventured.
"You surprise me, First Born." The look of amusement faded from the Ancient One's borrowed face. "You have witnessed certain things that are beyond mortal comprehension, and here you stand, calmly conversing with me about them."
"It is something that I cannot ignore, yet as you said, I cannot effectively explain it to my brethren. What will happen to the rest of us when you have achieved the perfection you desire ?"Zeratul asked. " What will happen to the Protoss, the Humans, the Zerg ?"
"We are divided on that one." The Ancient One replied. "Some believe that they should be left alone. Some believe that by the time the experiments are complete, all life would be changed."
Zeratul took some time to convince himself that he was indeed talking to whom he thought he was talking to. "What do you believe ?"
"I believe," The Ancient One narrowed the yellow eyes of his host. "that flawed products, should be removed."
Zeratul jerked back in surprise, then summoned enough courage to raise a warp blade just slightly. "I will not allow you to harm my people."
The Ancient One laughed and pointed an open palm at Zeratul, who gasped as he was thrown back several metres, limbs flailing in shock, by an invisible force, and pressed against the far wall. It held his arms and legs close to the wall, like magnets adhering to a steel surface. The Grey Templar struggled to free himself, but to no avail.
"This is beyond your control now, First Born." The Ancient One announced as he walked towards Zeratul.
"You will not reach my homeworld." Zeratul threatened. "The Jedi will destroy you !"
"The Jedi will defeat the Sith. That is for sure, but I have accomplished what I can accomplish as the Dark Lord of the Sith. All the connections made, the obstacles removed. It now remains only to leave this shell for another. " Now standing right in front of Zeratul, the Ancient One placed a hand on the Grey Templar's chest, and closed his eyes.
Zeratul's eyes widened as he realized what the Ancient One was trying to do. "You will not take me ! I shall not sur …"
And he lost his connection to reality.
-
Zeratul screamed as loudly as his book lungs would allow. In his arms lay the Matriarch, lifeless, a wide gash across her chest, from within which a pale blue mist poured out. As the seconds went by, more and more of her body evaporated into blue flames.
Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but black rock and lava. The latter churned and boiled, material projections of the tumult and anguish raging in him.
"I can hardly believe this! You've killed your own Matriarch!" The human-Zerg hybrid standing next to them teased.
"Better that I killed her, than let her live as your slave, Kerrigan." Zeratul stared intently at the Matriarch's face and clung on to her, as if doing so would slow down her passing.
"Well, I have misjudged you, warrior. You are worthy, indeed. You are free to go."
"What?" Zeratul started. What was the Queen of Blades up to ?
"I said, you are free to go. I've already taken your honor. I'll let you live, because I know that from now on, your every waking moment will be torture. You'll never be able to forgive yourself for what I've forced you to do. And that, Zeratul, is a better revenge than I could have ever dreamed of." The Queen of Blades grinned with grim satisfaction. No, she was not being kind. She was after all, the most feared being in the Koprolu Sector. Successor of the Overmind. She was enjoying the power that she had, by tormenting her enemies' minds, not just simply defeating their armies, as would an upstart still fighting to consolidate his or her power. Kerrigan was no longer an upstart. She was Queen of the Zerg.
"You will regret this decision, Kerrigan. We shall meet again." Zeratul threatened, as bright blue ripples of light swirled around him.
Running away. Was this the right thing to do ? In all the centuries that he had lived he had not felt so wretched. His life had been plagued by tragedy. They had hardened him, made him a tougher warrior. Yet at this point he was filled with doubt. Tough warrior indeed. He fought with ruthless efficiency. He eliminated his targets without hesitation. He was unstoppable …
… But that did not save Tassadar, nor Aldaris, nor the Matriarch, nor Fenix …
Perhaps it was time he stopped being unstoppable, and involved himself in a different manner.
The wormhole completely swallowed him, and he lost all sense of space and time. Soon, he was not even aware of his own physical existence. He was there, and yet he was not there.
-
Kart heard Zeratul scream. It was a horrifying cry, like that of someone being plunged into water, and then lifted up, and then submerged again, and then lifted, again and again, until it was obvious that he or she had been drowned.
He saw the figure of Darth Sidious collapse onto the floor before Zeratul, and the latter stagger away from the wall.
"Zeratul, are you alright ?"
The Grey Templar did not answer. He stared at his own hands. "So much power. And yet he did not know how to use it."
"Zeratul ?" Kart called out again.
Zeratul turned to look at the boy. The latter noticed something about the stare, but could not quite place it. Was it the expression ? Perhaps Zeratul was experiencing some emotion that he had never shown before. Was it the way the eyes glowed ? That glow did seem to change from time to time. Was it the posture ? He must be tired after all that he had gone through.
"Are you alright ?"
"I … am very fine." Zeratul smiled in a rather weird way. "Come, let us - "
His voice broke down into a series of gulps and gurgles, as if he were trying to talk while submerged in water. Zeratul fell to his knees, and he shook and flailed his arms about as if he were drowning
And then it became clear again, but this time it was very different, not an individual speaking, but a chorus of voices. The very familiarity in their tones made Kart's blood freeze.
"Enri !"
"Oh ho ho ! I am back !"
"You are dead ! I made sure of that !"
"Oh about that ! I left my shell of my own will, but I let the girl cut me, so as to appear as if I had been killed. Well I was, but …"
"The First Born is mine ! Leave !"
"I don't think so, T'nghal."
"And what can you achieve here ? You have failed to prevent my release. You have failed."
"No, T'nghal, it is here that I shall finally accomplish what I set out to do !"
Zeratul gasped deeply, and his eyes widened. "Kart !" he choked.
"What … what happened ?" Kart stuttered, still a bit unnerved by Zeratul's disturbing 'soliloquy'.
"There … is no … time to explain …" Zeratul forced the words out, as if speaking coherently was taken him a whole lot of effort. "Kill …"
"Don't tell me that !" Kart shouted. "There is always time ! Please … Zeratul. Not you too !" He shook his head.
"Kill … Kill me." Zeratul managed to blurt out. "Stop … T'nghal !"
"No !" Kart shouted. "There must be another way !"
"Listen !" Zeratul twisted his back and neck and swung his arms around, struggling against whatever that was holding him down and straining to retain control of his own movements. "That crystal in … your weapon was created … by the Ancient Ones themselves. It responds … to your thoughts ! If you truly wish to … save … stab …"
Now Zeratul's back straightened and his arms slowly sank back to his sides. His face calmed and he slowly stood up. "The fool. Did he believe that a mortal boy can stop me ?"
"Zeratul ?" Kart called out, then he frowned and ignited his psi blade, pointing it towards the Protoss warrior. "No, you are not him. What have you done with Zeratul ?"
"You do not need to know." Zeratul, or rather, T'nghal, sneered.
Without warning, the possessed Grey Templar ignited his warp blades and darted towards the young Jedi.
Kart leapt high into the air just as T'nghal crossed his warp blades and cut at the middle of where Kart stood. The latter would have been scissored in half had he been a quarter of a second slower.
Somersaulting forward in midair, Kart called upon the energies of the Void to bend light around himself and landed behind T'nghal fully cloaked.
To Kart's surprise, T'nghal spun around and swung a warp blade towards the young Jedi's head, which the latter quickly blocked by bringing up his own weapon, just as the warp blade was a finger's width from his forehead. Kart gasped and his face would have paled had they been visible.
"I see you !" T'nghal laughed. "The First Born is much more powerful than you will ever be ! Obey me ! Or die !"
"No !" Kart growled through clenched teeth. His grip on the hilt of his weapon tightened. "You will let Zeratul go, or .. or else …"
"Or else what, Jedi ?" T'nghal raised a browridge.
"I …" Kart stuttered. Could he do it ? If he did it, would all his troubles finally be over ?
Curse everything. Why must it come to this ? Why ? Didn't he become Jedi so that he could make sure tragedies never occur again ? What use was power if all it caused was misery ? What could he do to end all this ? To set things right ?
The crystal in Kart's psi blade hilt glowed, and he felt his hands go warm. A sudden torrent of energy flowed up his arms. It filled him up like water flooding into impoldered land, knocking down every dam of doubt and hesitation inside of him. It eroded all the mud of illusion away, so that he now saw clearly what had to be done.
With renewed strength, Kart pressed his weapon forward, forcing T'nghal to back away.
"I am not Jedi ! I am Templar !" Kart roared. His psi blade lengthened by half a metre, and its thin white core glowed intensely, like midday light being let into a dark room through a slightly open door. The pale blue haze around it turned purple, and tapered at the weapon's tip, so that the whole thing looked like a two metre long, extraordinarily thin jet of flame.
"You will not use that !"T'nghal stared at the extended psi-blade, or more accurately, psi-lance, in shock. "You can't possibly resonate with the crystal !"
"There may be a lot of people who will disagree with you !" Kart replied. "Do not look down on those who are not your species !"
With that, Kart leapt forward and took a broad horizontal swipe at T'nghal's, or Zeratul's midsection. T'nghal blocked the attack with one warp blade, and shot the other blade forward at Kart's chest.
Kart leaned away from the weapon. The latter grazed the side of his arm.
This slight cut was nothing. The violence of his swing had disturbed the wound at the side of his chest, and the fresh jolts of pain caused him to tense up and lose his balance. He staggered and fell away from T'nghal's attacking warp blade.
He took the chance to roll forward and past T'nghal.
This time, before the latter could turn around and attack him again, he pointed his weapon backwards and stabbed it through the figure behind him.
For a moment there was silence.
Then there was a strong, continuous breeze behind him, and the cackling sound of something burning up.
"Thank you, Kart." A friendly tone, tinged with sadness and a strange excitement.
"Zeratul ?" Kart drew his weapon forward, stood up, and turned around.
Zeratul stood facing him as well. There was a short but deep gash in the middle of his chest, through which leaked a pale blue mist. Something that Kart was now familiar with.
"Zeratul –" Kart gaped in horror. " What have I done ?" Judging from the mist drifting down from behind Zeratul, Kart could tell that he had stabbed right through the Grey Templar from front to back.
"What must be done." Zeratul replied calmly, but weakly. "This is a threshold that I must cross."
"What are you talking about ?" Kart's eyes widened and he panicked as he saw the blue flames belching out from Zeratul's wound. "No ! Please don't go !"
"Grieve not." Zeratul coughed. "I ... have reached the Khala's End. This ... is a ... glorious death."
Kart shook his head in disbelief as the blue fire and mist continued to pour out of the dying Protoss warrior's chest.
HUHEHA ... YOU BELIEVE THIS IS THE END ? DELUDED MORTALS ...
Both Zeratul and Kart froze in shock.
Then Zeratul felt an overwhelming internal heat and nervous sensation rising up from the base of his spine towards his head, and he clasped his chest in panic. "No, he isn't going to ..."
"What is it ?" Kart stood and stared at this sudden change in Zeratul's demeanor, not sure what to make of it. "We killed the thing that possessed you, right ? We have won, right ?"
"No, we have not ... yet ..." Zeratul gasped in reply, straining to suppress the potent energies now threatening to rip through his physical shell and burst out. "Quickly ! behead me !"
"What ?" Kart shouted. He was afraid to be sure, but he found the present situation slightly ridiculous. So stabbing the vessel through the chest wasn't enough ? What was this ... Ancient One ? He gripped the hilt of his weapon tightly, but was too confused to make any move.
"Quickl ... " Zeratul roared and arched his back, arms involuntary jerked apart. His eyes glowed a blinding purple. Despite his best efforst to hold it in, a purple flame erupted from the wound on his chest and spread out, engulfing his whole body, eventually molding itself into a gigantic sphere 4 metres in diametre made of layer upon layer of purple and white churning flames.
Mesmerised, Kart was yet unable to find the resolve to make a move.
In a moment the churning flames subsided into a transparent cloud of sapphire blue fire, within which stood a tall imposing figure.
"Zeratul, is that you ?" Kart took a step forward get a clearer view of this apparition.
Its outline was similar to Zeratul, but its flesh was transparent, almost invisible, replaced by streams of energy that rose up the legs, the trunk, along each arm and coalesced into the white glowing form of a largish, clawed protoss hand.
It wore a stylised set of armour with purple metallic lustre and glowing blue stripes.
A large mantle covered its chest and shoulder. A foot long oval blue gem was set upright in the middle of the chest. From both sides, on each shoulder, a half metre long pale purple horn grew out, bent up and in, then curved outwards at the tip.
From its back a series of arches rose over its head and the nerve cords that trailed out from behind it. They ended in a sharp tip at the top.
Its face was covered by a mask, made of the same pale purple metal, molded to a likeness of Zeratul's own face. A four inch long purple, oval gem was set vertically into its tall forehead. Its eyes glowed sky blue.
Its nerve cords were long, reaching down to its ankles, transparent, smooth and gently waving about like the tentacles of a blue sea anemone. Each ended in what appeared to be a leaf-shaped spear point.
Its gauntlets where of the same design as Zeratul had worn, but now they appeared heavier, more stylised, and possessed the same purple metallic sheen and glowing blue stripes as the rest of the armour. Also, the fact that the exposed parts of this being's arm was almost perfectly transparent made it hard to gauge its power, and thus appeared all the more dreadful.
The mantle seemed to hover steadily a metre above a stylised hip guard with an oval blue gem set into its groin, similar to the gem at the middle of the chest. Purple leaf like strips trailed down from its edges.
It wore greaves of a similar style to the gauntlets, but constructed to fit its digitigrade, now almost non-existent shins and feet.
The being raised its left hand at stared into its palm, then looked down at Kart, raised both arms, and spoke in a reverberating, stony voice,
"Behold mortal, the pinnacle of a Protoss templar's power ...
The Twilight Archon !"
-
( OK, not really the last chapter XD
Did you expect a XN to get defeated so easily ?
Hmm... now what would happen to Zeratul, Enri and Kart ?
read on ! )