Author's Note: It is now time for the next update. This however will be the last one for a while because of my summer school I have to deal with, it gets very busy.

Don't know when the next update will be after this, but it definitely won't be soon.

Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please review!

Chapter 16

River of Light, Aiur

"It is good for you to join us, executor Selendis," Mohandar announced, as the female executor's giant golden Carrier arrived at the River of Light. "Most of the Zerg attackers have been neutralized here, the rest have fallen back to their colony. We have tried to lure them towards the river again, but it appears they are no longer falling for it."

"Then we will go in and eradicate them in glorious combat," Selendis declared. "My Carrier fleet stands ready for your command, Hierarch."

"Our reinforcements have arrived in sufficient numbers," Artanis observed. "However, some of them must be redirected toward Zeratul's location."

"Our warriors are needed to reclaim our world!" Selendis protested. "We already have Observers in that area and they have reported no enemy activity!"

"Remember, young Selendis, the Zerg are not mindless," Mohandar reminded. "Just because their leadership is crippled does not mean they are unable to think for themselves. The Zerg colony to the north has remained quiet thus far, but that does not mean it will continue to do so indefinitely."

Selendis nodded in reluctance, as she ordered a few of the Warp Prisms to be directed away from them. "I can only hope what mighty Zeratul is searching for will benefit us."

"Zeratul has not told anyone what he is seeking," Artanis explained. "I do not believe he fully understands the journey he is currently taking. But that is something for another time. For now, we must scour the Zerg from the river."

"Hierarch, we are moving towards the outer defenses now," a Stalker on the ground reported. "The Zerg are massing from within."

Artanis gestured a slight nod towards Selendis on screen, and the female executor immediately complied. Almost immediately, the swarms of Carrier Interceptors left the hangars of the mighty Protoss ships. Hydralisks popped out of the ground to snipe them out of the air, but the cybernetic drones were far too quick and maneuverable for that. In seconds, their interceptor beams had reduced the Hydralisks to a pile of charred remains.

On the ground, the Protoss Zealots fought with tenacity for their homeworld as Zergling after Zergling fell to their psionic blades, but more continued to rush in. The Zealots were desperately trying to prevent the small creatures from rushing towards the Stalkers, all of them shooting the Zerg Scourges out of the air to protect the Carriers. High Templars had been brought forward to use their storm power, but the Zerg had smartened up and the Scourges were more widely spread apart to counter this.

Suddenly, some of the Stalkers were hurled back as the ground shook. Ultralisks popped out from beneath the earth, as the Zealots rushed in to slay these monstrosities. However, this allowed the Zerglings to rush past them towards the Stalkers. The High Templars did what they could with their storm power, but like the Scourge the Zerglings also scattered, many of them able to get in among the Stalkers.

"All Warp Prisms active phase mode, now!" Mohandar ordered. "Bring in the Colossi!"

As the towering Colossi warped in, their thermal lances opened up. Hydralisks and Roaches screamed in pain as many of them were unable to escape their deadly blasts. The Zerglings, however, immediately began their morphing into Banelings. From above, the Void Rays made short work of the Ultralisks, but due to their low armor, their prismatic beams were unable to fully power up against the Baneling cocoons. Most of them hatched successfully, but when they exploded in giant globs of acid against the Colossi, only a few of them actually toppled over. The rest simply vanished in a puff of smoke. The Zerg units seethed in anger as they saw Protoss Sentries advancing and escorting the towering mechanical guardians. The smaller robotic machines had generated hallucinations, as the Banelings sacrificed themselves over nothing.

By now, Immortals had also joined in the battle, their phase disruptors blazing. Zerg Infestors burrowed under the ground to avoid the fire, but the moment they surface most were immediately cut down. The ones that survived, however, were able to release their fungal growth before being killed, and their slime stuck to the Stalkers, temporarily preventing them from using their blink ability. This allowed the Overlords to move in and deploy their Zergling cargo to overwhelm them. Elsewhere on the ground, Queens had begun attacking the Protoss warriors with frightening effectiveness, now that they were on the creep which increased their movement speed.

"Corsairs! Protect our brethren!" Artanis commanded, as the swarms of Corsairs began summoning disruption webs to trap the Zerg Queens within. Unable to move, they were easily fried by the towering Colossi. Corruptors moved in to attack the Corsairs, but they lacked offensive capabilities and became targets of the Sentries' disruption beams. Some of them began morphing into Brood Lords, but Protoss Stalkers blinked into range and shot the aerial cocoons out of the sky before most of them could complete the metamorphosis.

Above, the Void Rays have taken out many of the Creep Tumors, as the Zerg creep began receding from the ground. As a result many of the surviving Spore and Spine Crawlers were forced to fall back, but many did not make it as their movement speed was greatly reduced when off the creep, and the Protoss Dark Templar caught up with them. Within minutes, many of once formidable Zerg defense structures were reduced to a pile of bloodied remains. Overlords moved in to excrete creep for the remaining Zerg Queens to place more Creep Tumors on the ground, but this was disrupted was the Void Rays destroyed some of the Zerg Spawning Pools. As a result, many of the Hatcheries lost the ability to produce Queens, and the Zerg defenders pulled back to defend the remaining Spawning Pools.

"Mohandar, concentrate fire on the hatcheries!" Selendis said. "Once we have cut off the Zerg larvae source, there'll be nothing left to stop us from reclaiming the River of Light!"

"It will be done," answered the Dark Templar.

From the command Mothership, Artanis launched the Scouts into the fray to provide cover for the Void Rays. Mutalisks were shot out of the sky by their anti-matter missiles, as the Void Rays concentrated fire on the Zerg production buildings. Within minutes, the hatcheries exploded in a pile of blood and guts.

"Executor, the Zerg are retreating!" A templar on the ground announced. "They're pulling the entire colony away from the River of Light!"

"Pursue them, my brethren!" Selendis ordered. "We may have gotten the sacred area back, but the Zerg must not be allowed to catch their breath! We cannot allow them to resettle elsewhere on our world!"

Agrian Starport, Agria

"All right everyone, the Zerg units have just left their worms," Jim observed, as he cocked his rifle. "We've got 30 min to remove the Virophages. Once we do, the Thors will come in and take out their Nydus worms."

"We're not stupid, Raynor," a marine scoffed. "Those buildings are just as dangerous to infantry as well. We get hit by that slime, we turn infested."

"I know that, but our suits will offer us some protection. I know they're not infestation-proof, but it'll give us a better chance."

"The Zerg units here haven't noticed us," a marauder reported. "The reapers can deal with the larvae since their bombs will kill them quickly. We'll deal with the Zerg units."

"Draw them out," Jim advised. "Force them out of the Virophage slime range. Lure them towards me if it gets too tough."

Some of the reapers have already begun firing with their P-38 Pistols. While this did minor damage against the Zerg, it immediately alerted all their units. Almost immediately, some of the larvae went into their cocoon metamorphosis.

"Reapers, destroy those eggs!" Jim ordered. "We can't allow any Mutalisks to spawn!"

As the reapers throw their deadly D-8 Charges, the Zerglings and Hydralisks moved in against them. Some of the reapers were cut down with the latter's spines, but the charges thrown did their job: most of the cocoons lay in a burning ruin.

The marauders opened up with their punisher grenades, then fell back as instructed, but the Hydralisks refused to be fooled and remained within the radius of the Virophages. The marines had slightly better luck, as the Roaches attacked them with their acid spit, but most did not bother burrowing, so they become victims from Jim's rifle, sniping from far away.

Raynor gritted his teeth in irritation. "All right, new plan! Marauders, force the Hydralisks to group together! I'll just have to get within range of the Virophages myself to take them out!"

"But your armor isn't as durable as ours!" A marauder protested. "You're more vulnerable!"

"It's just a chance I'll have to take," Jim replied, cocking his rifle, as he moved closer to the Zerg buildings. Some of the Zerglings charged towards him, but most of them were blown apart by the marauders. Those that survived Jim killed himself with his Needle Gun pistol. The Hydralisks still refused to budge from their positions, but the daring risks made by the marauders began to get them closer to one another.

"That's it boys!" Jim encouraged. "Now I'll deal with them!" Pulling the trigger on his commando rifle, an HEV bullet left the barrel and struck head on into a Hydralisk with such force that it pierced the brains of 6 of them all at once, killing them instantly. This drew the anger of the nearby Hydralisks, as they launched their deadly spines towards Jim.

The commander dove for cover behind the body of a dead Zergling as the Hydralisks closed in on him. Thinking quickly, Jim dropped a Hellfire Grenade at his feet and sprinted away, as the Hydralisks lunged at his position. Just as the Hydralisks turned around, the grenade exploded, as all of them screamed in pain from being caught on fire. Jim did not get a chance to catch his breath, however, as some of the Roaches began chasing after him, snarling in rage.

"Sir! Get down!" A marine shouted. Jim did as instructed, as the marine discharged a projectile from his grenade launcher. The explosion was so enormous that it knocked Jim off his feet, while the Roaches behind him were instantly killed. Jim walked up to the marine slowly.

"Thanks, I knew you boys wouldn't let me down," he said softly.

"Just kill those Zerg buildings and let's get the hell out of here," the marine said, disgusted. "Half the marines have already been taken by its slime."

The marauders continued to dish out their punisher grenades, but the lack of marine fire support meant none of them were in any position to set the demolition charges at the base of the Virohphage buildings. All of them had to be on alert for the Zerg. The reapers could provide fire against the Zerglings, but their pistols weren't of much use against the Hydralisks and Roaches.

Jim picked up his rifle and began sniping again, as the surviving marines flanked him to provide cover. By now, some of the larvae had begun to morph into Zergling cocoons due their faster metamorphosis rate, as some of the reapers' explosive charges exploded too late to prevent the Zerglings from emerging.

As the marines emptied their ammo into the Zerg creatures, Jim fired again and again at the Roaches and Hydralisks, none of them able to get within firing range of him before they were killed. As the last of them in the immediate area fell, he bellowed out an order.

"That's the last of them here! Set the charges and blow those structures!"

The marauders did as complied. Although still constantly spewing their deadly slime, all 3 Virophages at the front of the opening path had explosives at their base, set to explode in one minute.

"That's enough, the Thors will be able handle the rest. Mission accomplished boys, now let's get out of here!" Jim announced, as he and the remaining infantrymen fell back towards their vehicles a safe distance away. The Zerglings gave chase to them, but the enormous explosion from the Virophages meant it made no difference. Within minutes, gigantic Thors barged in, their artillery barrages laying waste to the remaining Virophage buildings from a safe distance, out of range of the slime to slow them down. The Mutalisks that flew in to deal with them fared no better, as the Thors were escorted by Goliaths. Because of their poor attack range, most were shot down by Hellfire Missiles.

Jim drove away on his Vulture while the marines, reapers, and marauders followed in their Hellions, away from the sounds of battle taking place.

"Well done, Raynor," Warfield spoke on the comm. "The Thors will have the Nydus Worms leveled in no time. After that, we can pour all our heavy units through that opening and wipe out the Zerg base. The Viking and Banshee squadrons are reporting that most of the Zerg presence at the starport has been neutralized, so once we're finished here, Agria will be cleared of Zerg infestation."

Larks' Crossing, Agria

Spent bullet shell casings clattered to the ground in a steady stream as Sarah repeatedly fired into the advancing Zerg with her C-14 Gauss Rifle. By now, the last of the Ultralisks had been killed by one of her psionic storms, but the remaining Zerglings, Roaches, and Hydralisks continued to press forward, despite their heavy support gone. The auto turrets around her continued to offer her fire support, but Franklin was right about the shortage of ammunition. Because the Zerg were advancing on a broad line, only the forward turrets fired, so as to conserve ammo for the rear ones in the 2nd defense line. Apparently the engineers that built the defenses only seemed to have factored in the possibility of moving turret ammunition from one turret to another in the same defense line, not different ones.

Because only the Hydralisks had the ability to morph into Lurkers, Sarah concentrated fire on them first, while the turrets continued to spray their deadly bullets on the Zerglings and Roaches. She had used quite a bit of fragmentation grenades already to prevent the Zerglings from completing their metamorphosis into Banelings, and had to choose very carefully for her remaining ones. Because the Banelings explode in a ball of acid when killed by conventional firepower, the only way to prevent that was to use the irradiation grenades. However the only stock of that was in her C-20 Canister Rifle, which the Zerg had shattered.

"I don't understand," Franklin's voice came over the comm again. "Although there's not much ammo left for the turrets, the scans indicate there's barely two dozen Zerg left. I know they're not stupid to keep fighting in such cases if they don't have the advantage of overwhelming numbers, so why are they still attacking?"

"The Zerg have a psychic ability to sense psionic abilities in ghosts from a distance," the red head replied. "If the psionic signature is big enough, they'll be attracted to it. Let's just say mine is big enough to keep them here."

"They are not going to be of much threat anymore," Nova's voice came onto the comm. "You've fought enough yourself, Sarah. A few of these boys can stay behind and keep the turrets firing, the rest of us are coming out to help you."

Kerrigan saw no point in arguing. During her time in training with Nova she had already seen the blond can be quite stubborn at times. Even if she told her not to risk her life, Nova wouldn't listen anyway. The two of them had already developed a very strong bond of friendship, and Nova said it was necessary ghosts or not, the women has to stick together as she had seen far too many men with too much testosterone for their own good.

"Go ahead then. I'll be waiting here for you."

By the time Nova and the others had arrived, however, they saw there was no need for assistance at all. Although some of the marines stayed behind at the turret manning stations, Franklin and the rest had arrived to find all the Zerg dead or dying, with Sarah cleaning up the latter with her combat knife and slitting their throats.

Franklin looked at Sarah as if she was completely out of her mind. The bayonets on the C-14 Rifles and combat knives were never meant to be used in actual combat. Although it's been proven that some of the smaller Zerg creatures had carapaces that could be penetrated that way, he had never once seen anyone actually use it against the Zerg in such a way.

Kerrigan must have picked up on his thoughts, as she walked over to him and smiled. "Remember, as ghosts we have special fighting skills that you infantry don't."

"Even so I still say you're utterly insane for killing them that way," Franklin replied, stepping over a Hydralisk, its body cut in half by gunfire.

Sarah put her knife away. "When I was a Confederate ghost, I was trained to fight a Goliath with just a knife, lieutenant, and it was backed up by almost 20 marines."

"And you actually succeeded in killing them all?" Off Sarah's nod, Franklin shuddered. "Well at least your skills haven't diminished since then."

Nova saw Sarah stiffen somewhat at that, and she gripped the handle of her rifle slightly harder, turning her face to Franklin. "Don't remind her of her time with the Zerg. She's been traumatized enough as it is over that."

"Not nearly enough!" One of the marines shouted. "The Zerg are nothing more than mindless bloodthirsty animals hell bent on killing everything! She turned them into an even greater threat by making them smarter!"

Nova was tempted to shoot the marine right then and there herself. Sarah risked her life and saved all of them, and all that seemed to have accomplished was them getting the impression she was trying to lure them into another trap by earning their trust. She knew the Queen of Blades was very manipulative, but she and Kerrigan were two completely different people.

"It's all right, Nova," Sarah said softly. "You and I both know I have a long way to go before earning the trust of others. I don't blame them for thinking that."

Suddenly, her eyes widened. Not at Franklin, but at what was behind him.

The Hydralisk had been cut in half by bullets suddenly managed to pull itself back up, possibly because it was playing dead to get her to lower her guard or something.

"Franklin, look out!" She shouted as the creature raised its scythe arm. Without giving him a chance to react, Sarah immediately shoved him aside as the Hydralisk swung. As the marine toppled to the ground in surprise, Kerrigan was unable to move fast enough herself to also avoid the blow. Because the creature had been weakened, its swing was not strong enough to cut a person in half. Nevertheless, it still tore a deep gash into Sarah's side.

"Sarah!" Nova screamed, as the other marines immediately fired into the Hydralisk's head, killing it right away. Kerrigan, however, collapsed onto the ground in a pool of blood.