Author's Note: Sorry about taking so long after I promised the chapters would come sooner. Sailing season's coming to an end, and that means the top races are all at this time.
Fountain of Light, Antioch, Aiur (music - Mega Man X4: Frost Walrus Stage II)
Mohandar observed the mesmirizing displays of the fountain as he pondered how to make the most of his decision. A prized accomplishment of Protoss design, the fountain not only spouted water but was also capable of bending light to create various optical spectacles and illusions. Often they would commemorate celebrated or tragic events in Protoss history. Today, the scene being displayed was, at Nahaan's request nonetheless, the death of Fenix at the hands of the Queen of Blades.
The tribes had been unnervingly eager to accept the official resolution, and the Ara tribe and its Praetor were playing that advantage to the hilt. There had been subtle warnings that a coup may be in progress (a threat the Hierarchy members were aware of), but very little had been done explicitly.
Since the Hierarchy's last meeting, Sarah and the Zerg had delivered on her promise: the first group of infested had been cured and taken back to the Dominion. The number that returned to Terran society was disappointingly low, but all parties involved had expected such an outcome. That had not, however, changed Nahaan's mind, and with another member of the Hierarchy on his side, Artanis had avoided calling further meetings until Urun could be convinced to side with Tabrenus's more moderate opinion.
That was, according to the Artanis, proceeding. Mohandar knew enough about the Hierarch to understand that it meant Urun was uncooperative. In the meantime, the Praetor had been assigning an Observer to keep tabs on Nahaan but never let the drone invade the former's residence. Though Nahaan was often out rallying popular support for his cause, there had been periods when he had lingered in his residence, a move most unlike one who was so comfortable in the public eye.
Regardless, invading another Protoss's residence was a serious offense, and Artanis had refused to cross that line, even after Tabrenus confirmed that his templar had been influenced externally. While Mohandar knew caution was necessary, clearly Nahaan did not believe so; as long as they proceeded slower than him they would never find out what he was up to, and his irritation at the Hierarchy was only growing as a result.
The fountain changed visual displays as the scene finished with Jim's vow and switched to the murder of Aladris. Mohandar sighed inwardly. The more this kept up, the less the Protoss would remember the sacrifices Kerrigan had made for their kind.
The Prelate had few reasons to trust Kerrigan, but he agreed with many that the sector had seen enough bloodshed already. She was to be one of the major sources of it now that the threat from beyond was gone, so the only way to halt it was therefore for her to disappear from the greater picture. To Nahaan, that meant execution, but many of the Protoss, Mohandar especially, had come to see a different side to her and question whether she deserved that fate after everything. Like many of them, Mohandar had never personally experienced anything that remotely paralleled Kerrigan's torment of four years; the difference was that he had seen into her mind (at her request, but nonetheless with the same outcome) when she'd rescued him.
Snatching only glimpses of Sarah's experiences - trapped as a passenger in her own body, tormented by the guilt of watching her captor slaughter billions in her name, endlessly trying to find the smallest escape from the psychic hell that her mind had become - had been enough to stun the Prelate. He hadn't dared probe further for fear of what the memories might do to him, but the experience had told him all he needed to know. Only by some miraculous, indefatigable quality had Kerrigan even managed to retain her sanity; as time wore on following Char and Mohandar got to know her better, he came to understand that the miracle was Raynor.
Though not on the most intimate of terms with him, Mohandar had seen how deeply losing Kerrigan had wounded him. Though he never publicly admitted it (to say so even now would be heresy), he had seen a number of parallels between that loss and the effects that the death of Raszagal had on not only the Dark Templar but all of the Protoss.
But while the newly-born Protoss Protectorate had lost their beloved leader for good, Raynor had seen his beloved mutated into a horrific, psychopathic monster. That monster had also killed many of his friends, but he couldn't bring himself to stop loving the person trapped inside. Losing someone dear was a one-time wound that could heal, or at least mend, over time, but seeing them corrupted and alive allowed for dozens to be inflicted, and each new scar opened up the closing ones anew. Mohandar didn't need to read minds to understand that much.
When addressed that way, there was very little question in the minds of the Protectorate. Raynor was a hero to their kind and should not have to suffer for his service. The problem was convincing the remainder of the Protectorate that the issue was indeed more about Raynor peace than letting Kerrigan go.
A small civilian drone attending to the Prelate suddenly chirped as a hologram of Artanis appeared.
"Mohandar, I have called an invitational meeting of the Hierarchy. We must discuss our findings immediately. The Zerg's plan is well under way; we must act quickly if we are to stop Nahaan from implementing any possible interference."
Admiral's Quarters, Hyperion (music - Mega Man X5: Zero's Death)
Jim sighed with relief as he watched Sarah lay on the bed. He'd feared that what happened might destabilize the fragile mental equilibrium she'd reached, but so far she had managed to stay together. True, she had suffered things much worse than a beating, but that didn't mean the experience couldn't traumatize her. Jim had no doubt she could put it behind her, but as she would need time to do so, he'd encouraged her to pass it by sleeping.
He gently played with her hair and ran a finger down her cheek. She stirred and moved closer to him. He let up on his touching, not wanting to disturb her sleep.
"I wasn't asleep." Sarah pushed herself up on one elbow, pulling her other arm around Jim.
"Are you sure you don't want to?"
"I couldn't if I tried. There's too many other things to worry about to even think about what just happened."
"But you still can't go exerting yourself like that. Please, for me." Jim took her hand. "I can get some sleep meds from the doc if you need them."
Sarah lowered herself back down and sighed. "I don't want to sleep. What if someone tries something then? I don't want you to lose me now after everything."
"Nobody's going to harm you. I'll make sure of it," he reassured her. "It's not like you're dying." The minute the words left his mouth he regretted saying them, but Sarah squeezed his hand to show it was okay. Maintaining conversation wasn't easy when simple rhetoric was capable of upsetting her. Jim let the silence hang for another moment before reluctantly finishing his thought. "We'll see each other again, just in a few hours."
"Stay with me," she begged. Once Jim had settled next to her, she curled up around him and pulled the blanket over them both. Jim exhaled a small sigh of exasperation but took his girl into his arms, tenderly embracing her and continuing to play with her hair. The tension in her expression slowly dissolved and her breathing became soft and regular after a while, and Jim gently untangled himself as he felt her settle into sleep. He walked over to the window and stared out at the blue lines of stars streaking past as the Hyperion transited warp space towards Char.
It hadn't shown to his relief, but he felt terrible over what happened. It was common sense that the crew hated Sarah, and yet he'd let her roam the hallways of the ship alone. Without the threat of Amon hanging over them all, it was too much to expect that she would go unharmed. Topping it off was the fact that many of his men were well-versed in fighting Ghosts, courtesy of Arcturus's occasional assassination attempts and their various raids on Dominion institutions.
And yet he hadn't factored any of that into his decision to let her walk alone. He was always there to help close wounds, but never there to prevent them. He'd been separated from her for four years after Tarsonis, again after Umoja, after Arcturus' death, dozens of times during the Hybrid war, and now. Every time he was taken from her was accompanied by a circumstance in which she needed him the most. He thought he'd given his best to protect her, and in reality it did close to naught to change fate.
"Was it so?" he asked himself. They both believed that the trials on their relationship had only brought them closer together. But how much sooner could they have been together if none of this had happened? And even if it was so, that didn't change the fact he'd failed her.
He looked back at her sleeping figure. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "For all those times I wasn't there." He took a small box out of his pocket. Did he have a right to do this if he couldn't protect her afterwards? Was it just less painful for them both to separate and move on? Could either of them do it if that was the right thing to do?
Jim unclipped his holstered revolver and set it and the box on the desk in the room. The two sides of him indeed. The warrior and lover. Was there room for both in his life? Did he have any business being both if he couldn't fulfill the duties required of him? He always believed he would be who he wanted to because he chose to be that person, but did he want to be that person anymore now that the costs had added up? He'd given up everything to have Sarah: his personal security, his best friend (alongside countless other comrades), and the quiet life he dreamed of.
Sarah could not hope to live a normal life; there were simply too many people who hated her to avoid them all. The best she could hope for was to be spared the executioner and endure a lifetime of implicit hatred, barring her telepathic abilities. As a telepath...she'd already told him that hateful thoughts stood out to her the most because of their intensity. He couldn't begin to imagine how bad it was for her, assaulted by an endless stream of verbal bile without a way to stem it. As the one closest to her, Jim knew that people trod upon his image too when they were reminded of their relationship.
Their relationship...it was the only reason she still had the will to live, and that was paramount to all. When she walked into his cell aboard the Moros, he could never imagine himself leaving her. But now he was having doubts about it. By all logical sense, it was a worse punishment to leave her alive and in the midst of people who loathed her than to simply end her life and suffering. So why did he chose to let her live if he truly cared about her?
Jim couldn't answer that question. Not the first time, and not now. But he did know that people could change. The Protoss had almost done a reversal on their perceptions of her, and they were far more stubborn as a race than the Terrans Sarah would spend her remaining days among. There was, however, the fact that humanity's hatred of her was much more deeply rooted, thanks to Arcturus and the fact they had bore the brunt of her Swarm.
He decided it didn't matter; he had made the decision to retire from battle someday the moment he'd met Sarah. His course was set out, and there was no turning back, only whether he would make the most of his decisions or not. And whether he would help her do the same. All of the external factors were nothing more than that. This issue was only about him and her, and on that subject there was no doubt in Jim's mind.
He opened the box. Though it resembled a standard metal storage container, the inside was quite different. Jim couldn't remember when exactly he had bought the box and its contents, or how it had stayed with him for the past five years. He only remembered that he'd bought it with the intent on using it for one person and one person only. Liddy. Though for a different person than the woman he was with now, it was a reminder to him. That some things were worth everything.
Jim smiled sadly as he looked at the photo of him and his former wife taped to the lid of the box. He gently closed it after a while and placed it back in the room's small closet. Though he'd privately blamed her more than himself for Johnny's death at the time (now it was the exact opposite), he had stuck with her to the end and beyond. It was because of his grief at losing Liddy and Johnny that he had first turned to alcohol, and even now he carried a torch in his heart bearing her name.
He'd never thought he'd be able to love again after that. Then Sarah had entered his life and everything changed.
She wasn't a replacement for Liddy. But he loved her nonetheless, and as much if not more than Liddy; Jim kept the box as a reminder of the kind of person he was rather than the pains of his past. He stood and placed the box in the closet.
He looked over at Sarah and noticed she was smiling in her sleep. Happy that she wasn't having a nightmare for once, Jim headed towards mess hall to get some food for them, setting the door's security lock as he left.
Sarah opened her eyes as she heard the door's lock engage. She sat up and absentmindedly played with a lock of her hair as she contemplated what she'd just heard. For whatever reason, it peeved her slightly to not be Jim's first love. She didn't know if she could call it jealousy, but it nettled her occasionally. Of course, his heart was big enough for more than one and that was plain to see; she didn't need to worry about Jim leaving her. At the moment, he was about as far-removed from that prospect as possible.
It pained her to see Jim blaming himself again. Even though it was exactly like him to do so. Some things just didn't change no matter how hard they tried or how much they wanted. The mauling she'd received was only further proof: Sarah could put what she'd done behind her, but the rest of the sector likely would not.
She sat up and immediately a feeling of lightheadedness overcame her and the pain from her more severe injuries spiked. With her body on the verge of mental and physical exhaustion, her regeneration had stopped. Nonetheless, Sarah slid out of bed and stumbled over to the desk, clumsily rummaging for the vidsnap of Jim she was looking for. She found it exactly where she'd left it a few weeks ago.
Jim...the one person who genuinely believed in her through the darkest times in their relationship. She, or at least some manifestation of her, tried to kill him at least three times and taken everything else he held dear. All for a woman he knew next to nothing of besides that she could kill.
"Why couldn't things have worked out sooner...all it took was one decision..." As much as she wanted to undo the last four years though, Sarah knew that it was for the better of everyone that things turned out the way they had. For all she could predict, Mengsk would still be alive, the Overmind would have successfully conquered Aiur and the Protoss, and Amon would have taken control of the Swarm.
It also would have spared the lives of billions only to see them slaughtered later.
A hand gently latched onto her shoulder. Despite her exhausted state, Sarah nearly jumped out of her suit. It was too soon after the last time she'd been approached that way...
"Jim! Don't scare me like that!" she scolded as her heart rate returned to normal. He replied with a smile and a kiss that Sarah gladly returned. Suddenly she found herself in his arms as Jim literally swept her off her feet before walking over to their bed.
"Now be a good girl and sleep, or I'll do it again," he teased as he set her down.
"Then I'll stay awake..." Sarah yawned. Jim leaned over and triggered the quick release on her suit. Sarah covered herself as the suit unraveled with a teasing smile but let Jim give her a hug before the latter's communicator beeped.
"I'm sorry, darlin'. But duty calls." He kissed her again and began to walk out. Sarah laid her head back and sighed contently. What was it to her that everyone else couldn't put her past behind them if there was someone to heal the wounds? It wouldn't be pleasant, but she would be happy, or at least happier than spending the remainder of her life trying to convince the rest of the sector that she was genuinely sorry for what she'd done. Well, she was, but people had had five years to formulate opinions on her already.
She closed her eyes and was asleep in seconds.
Central Hive, Char, two weeks later (music - Mega Man X4: Magma Dragoon Stage)
"Welcome, James Raynor. I see you have brought with you our queen." Zagara lowered her head and bowed in a sign of acquiescence to the duo and their escorts.
"Hello, Zagara. Do you have the final group of cured infested prepared?"
The broodmother nodded. "This way."
As the group entered the structure, Zagara led them down several passages before arriving in a cavern where the former infested now resided. Before they entered, Sarah put on a Ghost helmet. She hated wearing the thing and she had to cut her hair to wear it, but she couldn't risk starting a riot if she was recognized.
A Dominion scientist ran up to Raynor. "Commander Raynor, it is an honor to meet you personally. I am Doctor Zeng."
The two shook hands and exchanged some brief words about the state of the former infested.
"They've been more complacent than the last group," Zeng concluded. He suddenly turned his attention to Sarah. "Who is this?"
Sarah blushed under the visor, more ashamed than embarrassed at having to hide her identity. Thankfully, Jim stepped in.
"Just a Ghost I recruited from Umoja. She's not very talkative, though."
Sarah noticed the doctor's eyes run over her figure briefly. She was about to remind him of Ghost telepathy but she let it pass as she sensed nothing but idle curiosity in his intent.
Behind the trio, the Raiders marines had returned from escorting the first group outside. The remaining refugees crowded around them, clamoring to be led out next. Raynor sighed and left to help them maintain order, and Zeng followed suit. Sarah made to follow them. As she neared the group several members turned to look at her; she realized too late that they were former Ghosts.
"You! You're the fucking Queen of Blades!"
The refugees stopped and all turned to look at Sarah, who stood rooted to the spot. She took a moment to steady her nerves before replying. "Yes, I was."
The curious looks turned to ones of anger and hatred. Jim broke the tense silence.
"Fellas, let's remember she's the one who saved you too." There was an outbreak of murmuring at his words, but they had the desired effect nonetheless as the refugees turned their attention to their opinions rather than to Sarah.
"Right then..." he spoke after a while. "Let's continue getting a move on, shall we?"
Zagara tapped Sarah on the shoulder with a claw as Jim began sorting out the refugees into groups. "My Queen, may I have a word with you in private?"
"Can't you just tell me here, Zagara? We're still linked by the hive mind."
"It involves something I must show you. I do not think the current situation is pleasant for you either."
"Very well." Sarah briefly debated whether to tell Jim, but decided against it; she'd be back soon enough. She pried her helmet off and followed the broodmother.
Zagara led her through the winding passages of the hive for several minutes before they came to a chamber with a Protoss warp gate.
"What is that doing here? What have you been up to?" Sarah asked.
"I could ask you the same," Zagara growled.
Suddenly Zealots, backed by Dragoons and High Templars, emerged from a corner of the chamber behind the two as the warp gate sprung to life.
"You're coming with us, Kerrigan."
Sarah gripped her helmet a little tighter. Not again. "And what if I don't want to?"
"These Dragoons say you do."
She looked behind her and saw Zagara was gone and the entrance to the chamber had closed. She cursed herself for not bringing anything more than a pistol. "Dammit, it's Tarsonis all over again..."
The warriors formed a semicircle around Sarah, backing her against the warp gate. "Don't worry," the Templar continued, "it won't kill you."
Another Templar, hidden behind the warp gate he had activated, suddenly emerged and pushed her in. The other Protoss followed suit.
A few minutes later, another Protoss force exited the warp gate.
Jim frantically searched among the groups of refugees for Sarah. He'd returned moments ago only to find her missing, and he couldn't sense her through their psychic link.
Some of the refugees had seen her walk off with a Zerg, but they couldn't describe it. Despite the hint, Jim still didn't know where in the massive hive Zagara could've disappeared to.
He finally spotted Zagara a few minutes later, re-entering the refugee cavern.
"Zagara, where's Sarah?"
"You will not like the answer to that question."
"Where...is...she?" he repeated emphatically.
A zergling from behind Zagara emerged and dropped Sarah's helmet at Jim's feet. It was slashed open and there was blood on it, along with a single red hair. "I'm sorry, Raynor. I was too late."
Jim knelt down to pick it up, in shock. Zerg couldn't lie, but who else could have done this?
Above him, Zagara raised her talons, readying herself to strike. A few more zerglings appeared around her.
(music - Mega Man X4: Boss Battle)
"Sir! Look out!" One of the Raiders grabbed the massive HEV rifle Jim had left near the entrance and fired a snap shot at Zagara. The heavy slug tore off her left talons, buying enough time for Jim to grab the helmet and escape her striking range. The zerglings immediately began chasing him, but another marine tossed a grenade that shredded the voracious creatures into mincemeat.
The remaining refugees fled the room in panic, with one marine pursuing them to give them directions out of the hive.
Zagara roared in anger as her talons regenerated. The marines scattered as she cast a small psionic storm where they had been seconds before, concentrating their fire on a group of hydralisks that had emerged from a side chamber.
"Gunfire?" mused a hologram of Nahaan as the warriors scurried about the warp gate chamber. "Unexpected, but it will make our job easier." Behind him, dozens of small, star-shaped drones emerged from the warp gate and began speeding off in various directions. Though he had the Khala to communicate, he could not see the events unfold without invading the minds of his warriors, hence his use of a holocommunication drone.
Designed to improve upon the prototype Terran Shredder Mine, the Necromancer drones were capable of producing and dispensing necrotic compounds at a very high rate. The compounds took the form of a near-transparent green gas, and could kill a zergling in five seconds, though its effect was diminished on larger Zerg. To counter this, the Ara had attached terrazine canisters to the drones. As the gas disrupted links with the hive mind, it would throw the Zerg into further confusion and minimize the chance of ferals incidentally destroying the drones. The terrazine was injected in very small doses into the Necromancer's standard payload.
"In position," a Templar reported. The drone projecting the hologram turned so Nahaan was facing the speaker.
"Good. And now to cripple the Swarm."
"Sir, you need to get out of there now!" Matt's voice came over Jim's radio as the Raiders scrambled to escape the hive.
"You're telling me!"
"That's not what I meant. We're detecting toxic gasses permeating the hive!"
"How long have we got?"
"Five minutes at most. The gasses have extreme necrotic potential; your suit filters can help, but they won't hold off the effects forever."
"Well..." Jim mused at seeing a zergling stop mid-charge and began writhing on the ground. "...At least we won't have the Zerg to worry about. Let's get out of here."
A roar issued from ahead and an Ultralisk charged out of nowhere, but the beast's coordination was distorted from the toxins slowly destroying its brain, and it crashed into the hive wall. A crazed hydralisk immediately began peppering it with spines.
They were almost to the entrance when one of the marines suddenly took a needle spine to the back. Jim put the hydralisk down with his rifle, but dozen of Zerg emerged from the side passages, an infuriated Zagara at their head.
"Was that your last card, James Raynor? It will not save you."
A squad of Reapers came to their aid, throwing G4 clusterbombs into the hive, and the Raiders broke and ran as the charges exploded. Zagara roared in anger and fired off dozens of spines, but she couldn't keep up with the marines off creep and none of the Zerg outside her vicinity were not responding to her commands. The dropship escaped to the Hyperion without further resistance.
(music - Mega Man X4: Dialogue)
Zagara collapsed as the gas finally overwhelmed her.
"Kerrigan was correct...politics are still far beyond my understanding."
She heard muted screams, both through the hive mind and in reality, as her broods withered and died under the suffocating cloud. Even the ancient hive, which had survived centuries of extreme temperatures and lava, was decaying.
Suddenly some of the screams were cut off. Zagara reached out to her minions and saw Protoss warriors destroying the weakened Zerg. Of course. Their advanced body structure and power armors would protect them from the necrotic gasses destroying the hive. Several Colossi were burning away the remains of the reserves of larvae and eggs. Zealots and Dragoons walked without fear among roaches, queens, and ultralisks, finishing the tormented creatures off with their psi-blades. Zerg flyers, unable to keep aloft, fell to the ground and were similarly executed, or died a slow and painful death if they were passed over by the Protoss.
A blue glow caught the attention of her failing eyes and Zagara saw a pair of Zealots, along with a High Templar, approach her. The hologram of Nahaan appeared behind them.
"A betrayal...most unbefitting...of your kind, Praetor."
"Zerg are not the only race capable of adaptation and scheming. It's a shame Tassadar's lesson to Kerrigan did not resonate. Farewell, Zagara."
The High Templar drew a ceremonial psi-blade and impaled Zagara through the head. She was dead before the pain even registered.
"Excellent work, Templar." Nahaan spoke through the Khala. Though communal, private communications between only two individuals was easy as all Protoss had better things to do than eavesdrop. "You will receive reinforcements through the warp gate to complete your next objective. Take advantage of the Zerg's confusion: enter the Char's acid marshes and eradicated the remaining eggs and feral Zerg."
"Yes, Praetor. All for the glory of the Ara."
Author's Note: You'll find out what Nahaan wants with Kerrigan in the next chapter.
On another note, Legacy of the Void predictions after that trailer, anyone?