Author's Note: With the Legacy of the Void trailer out (and a beta probably in the next few months), I'd like to take some time to remind everyone that whatever happens, this story was written independent of LoTV and is not intended to predict anything.

I made Kerrigan's demeanor in captivity a little bit cheekier than usual both because she's being held against her will and because I've wanted to try writing her that way given proper circumstances. (That's also going to backfire on her soon.) Let me know what you guys think of my attempt.

I also forgot to mention that the Raiders took Stukov (as a human) with them on their first trip to return de-infested refugees and that he works with them now.

Aiur

Sarah sighed as she took in her surroundings. Since throwing her into the warp gate her Protoss captors hadn't done anything more than shut her in the room she was in now.

Other than basic facilities (and, of course, an unseen psi-screen), the only fixture in the room was a hook on the wall next to the door, with a length of rope hanging from it. She was baffled by why the Protoss would provide her with a noose when they knew full well that it would take an army to execute her against her will.

For the past hour, she'd been worried sick about Jim and what would happen if he realized she was gone. Because of the psi-screen she couldn't reach out to him with their psychic link, and at any rate she had no idea what planet she was on, or if she was on one at all. Hopefully he wouldn't act as rashly as she had a few months ago...a pang of guilt washed over her as she remembered what she'd nearly returned to.

The door to her cell slid open and two Zealots walked inside and roughly hoisted her to her feet without saying a word. They took her to a room with a strange-looking device. After a few minutes of struggling, all was set and one of them made to activate it. The machine hummed and Sarah braced herself, but surprisingly there was no sensation from the beams the machine was bombarding her with.

After the scan finished, she was unstrapped and taken to yet another room.

"If you want to kill me, will you just get on with it?" she baited. One of the Zealots slapped her hard.

"You will speak only when spoken to. Sit." He gestured at a chair. "Praetor Nahaan has some questions to ask of you."

She was tempted to retort but decided against it. A few moments later the Praetor walked in.

"Where's Jim?" Sarah demanded. "I won't let you hurt him!"

Nahaan looked mildly amused at her outburst. "How touching. But I am the one to ask questions, and you are in no position to make demands, Kerrigan. Now, you will divulge your true intentions for what you are doing, or I will pry them from your mind."

"Why doesn't he just do that, then? What's it to you? You don't believe what I say anyways."

"Presume that I will. And that I care, or I would not ask."

Sarah's ire was clearly rising faster than his. "What more reason do I need than wanting to finally be at peace? Can't I just have a normal life, with someone to love and love me in return? I never wanted any of this! All I wanted was to be away from it, and instead I got more of it! Now that it's finally over, what's wrong with wanting to be away from it?!"

Nahaan studied her for a moment before walking out without another word. The two Zealots returned her to her cell.

She sat in a corner and hugged her knees, deep in thought. Suddenly she realized why Nahaan had left after such a short interview. He didn't need her to tell him anything. He'd stolen it from her mind. But while his undetected probing alarmed Sarah, it answered no questions.

"Why would Nahaan of all Protoss want me alive? The only other person they could hurt by doing anything to me is Jim, and he's a legend among the tribes. Why would they antagonize him when he's the key to keeping peace between Terrans and Protoss? Jim, whatever's going down, I hope you get here before it's too late..."

Hyperion, Korhal orbit, two days later

Since they had left Char, Matt had seen nothing of his superior, though it didn't take much to know where he likely was. In his room, reflecting on the happy times he'd had with Sarah Kerrigan. Matt didn't have a problem with that - it was the third time they'd been separated in the months since she had returned to him - but some of the crew had started grumbling amongst themselves again that Sarah was brainwashing Jim.

At least he hadn't returned to chronic drinking like the days after Tarsonis or after the outbreak of the Second War. Jim had ordered a forensics test on the helmet immediately after he'd gotten back to the ship, and while there was no blood on it, the hair was confirmed to be Sarah's. In that moment, he'd been revitalized. While it only confirmed she wasn't dead when she'd dropped her helmet, Jim refused to listen to anyone who theorized she was killed afterwards. If anyone could survive anything, it would be her.

The deck officer shook Horner from his thoughts. "Sir, Emperor Mengsk is hailing us."

"Tell him to give us a minute, Marcus. We're going to need Jim to explain this one; even I don't know the full details."

"He's insisting that we talk to him now."

"Fine, patch him through. Send someone to get Jim and Stukov."

"Captain Horner, I hear you ran into some trouble with the Zerg. What happened?"

"Your guess is as good as ours, Emperor. All we know is someone gassed the hive and Sarah's gone again."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, we did detect Protoss signatures in the hive. They were only discernible by using an energy-readings scanner and even then only for a few seconds, which probably means they were trying to hide. I'm sending the data now."

There was a brief silence while Valerian's adjutant analyzed the data. Jim strode into the bridge as the computer finished, looking tired. Stukov didn't look much better, but he had the excuse of being infested for three years.

"Interesting. There are Colossi signatures among the ones you detected. The Protoss aren't the kind to go wantonly overkill, so they must've meant business."

"I don't see how this coincides with everything else."

"Simple, Captain. The Protoss gassed the hive, and sent their warriors to finish the job."

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions so soon, Junior. Just before the hive was gassed, Zagara tried to capture us. She didn't know what was going on either; she thought we did it."

Valerian gave a brief nod of introduction to Raynor before addressing them both. "While this fits patterns of political backstabbing, who would dare try to manipulate the Zerg for their own ends? The Dominion wouldn't dare attempt it even under my father."

"If I may, Emperor, remember what Artanis told us? Not everyone agrees that Sarah should be given another chance."

"But why would that involve allying with the Zerg?" Jim mused. "The only tribes totally against giving her a trial or time to complete her plan are the ones that abhor the Zerg the most."

"Excuse me, commander, but I do not see how this involves cooperation."

"The only means to transport troops across long distances that the Protoss have is the warp gate, and anti-sensor tech that the Protoss developed can't completely mask energy spikes created by units exiting gates, consistent with the data that the sensors picked up. Warp gates are essentially a tunnel to Aiur, and since they can only be activated by Protoss that would mean an entire army could be deposited inside the hive at the will of the operators."

"Ah, I see. And you believe Kerrigan would not be foolish enough to let the Protoss build one there?" Jim's eyes narrowed slightly in irritation. "I agree with your sentiment," Valerian continued quickly upon notice Jim's reaction. "...but what other possibility is there besides storing Protoss soldiers in the hive, an even more foolish act?"

"Kerrigan did no such thing. I can testify to that myself." Stukov stepped forward.

"Greetings, Vice Admiral. I am surprised to see you up and about so soon after your de-infestation."

"Circumstances dictate I must, your Highness. As I was about to say, Kerrigan left me in charge of defending Char during the hybrid war because she didn't want to risk me. Never once was a Protoss boot placed on the planet, with or without my consent. But, Zagara has controlled the Swarm since Amon fell. Maybe someone took advantage of her?"

"Warp gates take a long time to build and require a large power supply to function, so they would've had to be very good at hiding or have her consent to build one," Jim interjected.

"I find the consent suggestion very difficult to believe, Vice Admiral. Zerg themselves are masters at playing their enemies; surely they would have seen something like this coming?"

This was getting nowhere. "At any rate," Jim replied, "regardless of which Protoss did this they most likely achieved their goal. The other broodmothers are probably fighting amongst each other again now that the power vacuum's returned. All the while, any Zerg still on Char's surface are likely being destroyed by the Protoss."

"Then I presume you want my assurance that I will not interfere or that I will help you?" asked Valerian.

"Sort of. I also wanted to warn you that these same faction who want Sarah's immediate execution also distrust Terrans as a result. In the meantime, try to convince them that Sarah does have humanity's best interests in her by helping the former infested re-enter civilian life."

"Much easier said than done. Bit of a stretch to believe that it will help, though."

"You gotta think like they do to understand them, Junior. Some of them see manipulation in everything she's doing. Us proving them wrong goes a long way towards changing their minds, especially since a lot of their other predictions about her post-Char haven't worked out either."

"Very well, Commander. But, as you and Miss Kerrigan spent a few days proving, absolute authority has its boundaries."

Jim gave a wry chuckle and cut the communication. The humor in his expression quickly died as his thoughts drifted back to Sarah.

Matt saw his superior's expression darken. "Don't worry, sir. She'll pull through."

Jim's expression didn't change as he looked Matt in the eye. "Let's just hope she does in the same state that she went in."

Aiur

Sarah hated electric shocks. Naturally, that was what Nahaan had ordered her to be subject to. And just to make it extra special, they had pumped her full of drugs to "enhance" the experience.

Since the "interview" with Nahaan she hadn't done anything but sit in her cell and be repeatedly tortured. At least one Protoss had probably been picking thoughts out of her head the whole time, even though Sarah had tried her hardest to close off her mind. It had worked initially, but with Nahaan's psychic prowess there was no way to keep him out forever. Thankfully he seemed to be the only one who had gained access; the other Protoss were often confused by their leader's strange requests.

Of course, Sarah knew where they came from. She'd suffered enough torture at the Ghost Academy to know this strategy. Nahaan was trying every possible method to break her by targeting the fears in her mind. If there was ever a time to thank Rumm, now was it.

She was hit with a pulse for the why-should-she-be-counting-now-of-all-times-th time through the restraints holding her on a table. The Protoss still hadn't figured out how to adjust the voltage on their apparatus. Go figure.

"I'm bored," she whined. "Can't I go back already?" The Zealot adjusting the machine shot her an irritated look and returned to examining the shock device.

"It's okay, I know you guys don't do capital punishment very often," she said sympathetically. The Zealot made to speak but at that he shocked himself. He pounded the machine at it zapped him again with maximum voltage. Sarah bit her lip to suppress a giggle.

"Congratulations, you found the switch!" she proclaimed sarcastically. The Zealot drew his psi-blade and promptly stabbed the machine, only for him to electrocute himself. Sarah couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Haha! If...If this is torture...then...I'd like some more!" she gasped between laughs. Another Zealot walked in to recover his unconscious comrade.

Suddenly her laughter was cut off and replaced by a painful whimper as the machine shocked her at full voltage. The shocks came repeatedly, each lasting longer than the other and with almost no time between them.

"Ow, ow..." she gasped after another minute of repeated shocking. "I don't know how much more of this I can take...!"

Standing in the entrance to the room, Nahaan smiled as he watched Sarah writhe in pain on the table before turning off the power.

"Now, you will learn the price of insolence, Kerrigan." He triggered the shock again, and after thirty seconds of continuous electrocution Sarah finally cracked.

"Stop! Please stop!" she cried.

Nahaan stopped zapping her. "Would you want me to do it to James Raynor instead?"

"You wouldn't dare," she retorted. "That question again." Nahaan had promised repeatedly to stop torturing her if she would beg him to do the same to Jim. Of course, he would probably just keep torturing her or kill her outright after he secured the plea.

"Try me." The Praetor's voice had a dangerous edge to it as he triggered another electric shock. "We'll try this again until you cooperate or die."

Sarah bit her lip to muffle her whines of pain. She wasn't going to give Nahaan the satisfaction of hearing them.

But her determination couldn't last forever. Within thirty seconds she was screaming in pain.

After another minute, she finally gave in. "Alright! Do it to Jim, to anyone! Just please stop! For the love of God, please stop!" Sarah broke down into sobs of agony and shame.

"See? It wasn't that hard," soothed the Praetor as he turned off the power and removed her restraints, noting with satisfaction the tears running down her face. "Return her to her cell."

The procession passed a single figure, covered almost completely in white, on their way. It might have been Sarah's fevered brain, but she thought the figure had the outline of a Terran female. As they drew closer the figure turned and looked the Ghost dead in the eye. A chill ran up her spine as she realized the mysterious being had emerald eyes like hers. But the other's gaze was piercing, almost malevolent, and lacked the warmth and luster of Sarah's own eyes, details indiscernible to the casual glance.

Before they stared at each other for more than a second, however, Sarah was thrown back into her cell, swept out of focus by a riptide of her own emotions and thoughts.

"I can't believe I just asked him to torture Jim instead of me...what'll Jim think if he finds out?...I'm so sorry Jim, he made me do it..." A few tears fell from her eyes and she made no effort to wipe them away.

She was so wrapped up in her guilt that she forgot about the mysterious figure she'd met before she fell asleep.

"My lord."

Nahaan turned and smiled as he saw the white-clothed figure standing before him. "She suspects nothing?"

"My...contemporary remains as ignorant as always."

"Excellent. You know your purpose. Go forth."

The figure reached behind it and undid the white cover, revealing a voluptuous body covered by a Ghost's hostile environment suit and dark brown hair that would have reached her shoulders if it were not done up in a ponytail. "I shall. And when my task is complete, James Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan shall be undone." She arched her head back and laughed with the voice of her enemy.

"You were designed and trained well for your mission." Nahaan gestured. "Your destiny awaits."

The Kerrigan clone stepped out of the room and into a Dark Templar shuttle.

Nahaan watched with satisfaction as the craft ascended and warp jumped.

"At last, my people will have their revenge. The Queen of Blades shall lose as we lost to her."

Haven Orbit

The clone slipped her knife out of its sheath and opened the cockpit door as the shuttle dropped out of warp space. The Hyperion was orbiting the planet.

"What do you require?" asked one of the pilots as she entered the cockpit.

"Your life." The clone quickly decapitated both Nerazim pilots before taking control of the craft. She couldn't care less about their lives; Mohandar had been duped into meeting with Nahaan, and the crew of his shuttle had to be disposed of sooner or later or they would report their Prelate missing once Nahaan's brainwashing wore off.

Her timing was flawless. No sooner had she shoved the corpses out of the way than the Hyperion hailed her.

"Attention, Protoss shuttle. You are entering close proximity with our vessel. Identify yourself."

"I think your commander can put in a word for me," the clone said as she activated the video feed. The bridge officers blinked in shock before Matt turned and summoned Jim over.

"Sarah? Is it really you?"

"Really, Jimmy? Still doubt me after five years?"

"What happened to you?"

"I had to change my appearance a bit to get away. Now can I please land?"

"Something doesn't add up," Jim thought. "Sarah would never be this pushy. Sure, sure. Land in the main hangar. I'll be seeing you there, darlin'."

The shuttle touched down in the hangar a minute later.

"Sarah?" called Jim as he approached the craft.

"Coming," she called. She peeked around the corner a few seconds later and Jim pulled her into a hug.

All doubt about her being Sarah melted from Jim's mind as he took in and felt the familiar body and face. "It's so good to have you back."

"You couldn't wait just a few days?" she joked before kissing him. "Me neither."

Jim sighed with relief. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Jim. And yes, I'm sure."

"So what happened?"

"Zagara led me to a warp gate in the hive. Neither of us knew why it was there but the Protoss threw me into it. I came out inside some secret science lab of theirs. At least, I thought it was one. What other place would have DNA-altering tech?"

"So you changed your appearance with that machine and escaped?"

"Pretty much. I had to kill some Protoss to get out though."

A mental alert went off in Jim's mind as he realized she didn't sound too upset about that.

"Hey, they tortured me for three days. They had it coming. Besides, what does it matter now that we're back together?" Another flag went up.

"What's gotten into Sarah? I haven't heard this stuff from her mouth since she was the Queen of Blades."

"You forgot about Mengsk, Jimmy." She took his hand. "Enough of this, already, I'm hungry." He looked into her eyes and noticed they looked harder than usual. They didn't have their usual luster, but more of a cold glint.

Her irises flared slightly as she read his thoughts and Jim relaxed. "Sure. Lead the way, darlin'."

She had hoped Jim would cooperate willingly, but even if he didn't, there was no way her master's plan could fail. Either way, they would suffer for eternity.

"Sir, do you want me to call off our visit to Aiur, then?" The clone released her influence for a moment. Now was the pivotal moment, and she had to see for certain where Jim stood.

"Yeah. Tell Artanis we found her and that I'll fill him in later."

Aiur

"There you are, Jim..." Sarah mumbled in her sleep and hugged the thin blanket covering her. "I missed you..."

Suddenly her eyes snapped open. She sighed as she realized what she'd been doing. "Great. Now I look desperate in front of all these Protoss too."

An idea suddenly came to her as she looked at the noose tied to a hook on the wall. She'd been briefly tempted to use it on herself after unwillingly selling out Jim and hadn't wanted to touch the damn thing since, but it might help her escape. She walked over, and upon finding the knot too tight to undo easily, used her kinesis to untie it and adjust the noose.

No sooner had the rope fallen to the floor than the plasma screen that served as a cell door deactivated.

(music - Mega Man X4: Boss Battle)

"Let's go." When Sarah didn't respond, the Zealot stepped inside. "What's taking so - " his voice was cut off as Sarah tossed the rope around his head and tightened. The warrior kicked for a few seconds before falling unconscious as Sarah smashed her elbow into his head.

"Sorry, but it's for your own good." She checked for other guards before looping the rope around her waist and slipping down the corridor, not cloaking in case she needed the energy later. If there wasn't an escape route she would have to make one, and there could be more powerful enemies than the three or four different pairs of Zealots she'd seen.

She came to a wall and reached out, seeing where she could blast it open. She found a spot and began to channel her energy into the wall. An invisible force suddenly tackled her and a Dark Templar revealed himself.

"Prepare to taste the fury of the Nerazim!" He activated his warp blade and raised it.

"Wait! Mohandar pardoned me!"

"And now he is missing! Do not think we all trust you as he does!"

"Keep it down!" Sarah whispered urgently as she heard heavy footfalls. "I'll show you my story, but I need your help first!"

The Dark Templar looked unconvinced and raised his blade, but an Ara Dragoon rounded the corner behind him.

"How dare you attempt to free our prisoner, Nerazim filth! You'll pay for this trespass with your life, traitor!"

An unseen agreement passed between Sarah and the Templar and they disappeared in the blink of an eye. The Dragoon pilot didn't stand a chance as the two tore his machine apart. Sarah uncloaked after the wreckage collapsed. The Dark Templar followed suit and made to stab the paralyzed pilot.

"No! Stop! He didn't do anything wrong!" she pleaded.

"My help or his life. You must choose." Sarah winced at the Dark Templar's words.

"Why's it always me who has to choose? Why must your kind keep fighting? Can't you just get along? You did just fine for the last four years."

"We most certainly did not! Only the threat of your abominable Swarm kept us from further infighting!"

Suddenly both of them froze as they heard the distinctive tromping sound of an approaching Immortal. "I'll help you rescue Mohandar. But let's go now, before we're both dead."

The Templar nodded. "Disappear. I will lead you to where I believe my lord his held." He took her hand and pulled her down the corridor.

Mohandar looked up as he sensed the duo enter his cell and decloaked.

Sarah knelt respectfully to the Prelate. "We meet again, Mohandar."

"Kerrigan...what brings you to our homeworld?" The Prelate's tone wasn't unfriendly, but there was a suspicious edge to it.

"I was captured and tortured here. I've seen only Ara Protoss thus far, but I'm not sure if there are others involved."

Mohandar's eyes burned a little brighter. "That Praetor is not fit to be a Zealot, let alone a politician - "

The Templar interrupted. "My lord, we should make haste. I am your only aid." Ignoring Sarah's look of mild offense, he continued, "Nahaan is here as well; we need only to reach communication in order to bring him to justice."

"Then let us do so. I presume you have a means of escape?"

Sarah nodded. "The entire facility is underground, but there's a point where it comes close enough to the surface that I can blast it open with my powers. This way." Sarah ran back down the corridor and the two Nerazim blinked to the spot she mentioned.

"If anyone comes, I can't defend myself. You'll have to do it." The Templar exchanged a look with his Prelate, but both stood guard without further exchange while Sarah channeled her powers into a smaller version of her Apocalypse Surge.

"Brace yourself," she muttered unnecessarily and fired the energy blast into the wall. It and the rock behind it shattered like glass, leaving a gaping hole in the side of a cliff that the facility was built into. She looked down and gulped slightly.

"I think we're pretty close to Antioch, but there's a drop of at least a hundred feet..."

"Do not worry about us, Kerrigan. We will meet you at - " Mohandar's voice faltered as a roar shook the hallway behind them. An Ultralisk, barely large enough for the hallway, spread its Kaiser blades behind it as it prepared to slice the trio to ribbons.

"Go!" Sarah shoved the two Nerazim out the hole as the deadly blades came together. She threw herself down on the ground and sighed with relief as the blades skimmed above her, but instead of repeating the attack the Ultralisk barred its blades like a battering ram and charged.

(music - Mega Man X4: Dialogue)

The next minute was nothing but a haze of pain as Sarah fell through the forest canopy. Even with her Zerg DNA, she was unable to move for a few more while her body repaired her injuries. Thankfully the two Dark Templars found her while she was recuperating, standing guard while she recovered and propping her up against a tree.

"A captive Zerg?" mused Mohandar. "Why would Nahaan attempt such a stunt, especially on such a dangerous creature as an Ultralisk?"

"H...He...gassed the primary hive...on Char after he kidnapped me..." Sarah groaned weakly. The effort at speech was too much and she passed out.

"It makes sense; he would need live test subjects to confirm the power of his gas if Kerrigan speaks the truth, especially since that is not a weapon we are fond of using." The Templar looked over at Sarah's unconscious form. "Should we take this moment to validate her story?"

"I will do so as we proceed." Mohandar stooped to pick Sarah up, waving off the other Nerazim's offer of assistance. "We cannot be too careful with her following the Brood War, but Nahaan will likely want her back."

2 hours later

"Uhh..." Sarah tried to stretch and started as she realized she was being carried by Mohandar.

"Rest. You are still weak."

"Wh...where are we?"

Mohandar rolled his eyes and didn't reply. When he didn't, Sarah changed topics. "Why did you take me along?"

"We share a common foe. The enemy of my enemy, at least when it comes to you, is my comrade."

Sarah sighed with relief, but it was fleeting as a roar shook the forest. A flurry of creatures scattered in the dimming light and the crashing of falling trees was heard by all three and the hulking form of a Brutalisk emerged a short distance from them in a nearby clearing.

"Keep away from it and in the forest," Sarah whispered. "It can't see very well and can't sense psionics. We should be fine."

"Should we try to blink again, my lord?" asked the Templar.

Mohandar nodded. "Our powers will grow stronger as the day fades."

"Wait, how does that work for me?" Sarah got no answer to her question and she gasped as her body dissolved into smoke. They traveled for a few minutes before materializing at the base of a cliff. Sarah coughed and tried to regain her breath. She'd forgotten that Protoss didn't need to breathe and blinking didn't exactly account for a Terran's need of oxygen.

A rumble behind them signaled their foe had an ace to play as well. The Brutalisk burst from the ground, uprooting several large trees in the process as it completed its deep tunnel, and let out a triumphant roar as it realized its opponents were cornered.

Fortunately Sarah had recovered enough to stand and fight on her own. Mohandar dropped her and activated his warp blade, disappearing as he did so. His comrade was already circumventing the beast, but as he made to slice a leg off the Brutalisk lashed out with the limb, throwing the Templar into a tree. Mohandar tried to take advantage of the distraction, but was forced to back off as the beast swiped at it with its long fore-blades.

Mohandar growled in frustration. "The beast must have an Observer supporting it! Damn Nahaan and his schemes!"

"I'll handle it," Sarah assured him. "Hey, look behind you, freak!" Sarah taunted. The Brutalisk whirled at the sound of her voice and charged. She rolled under it and sank her knife deep into its flesh, but the blade was yanked from her hand as it caught fast. She blasted it with psionic energy, but it shook off the impact with little trouble and its counter-slash barely missed.

"I can't get close to it...I'll have to use a stronger attack." She focused her energy around herself until she literally glowed with power. As the Brutalisk raised its weapons, she jumped and propelled herself forward with her kenesis, releasing all of her pent-up energy as she did so.

Mohandar watched in astonishment as Sarah lunged forward and left a wide, blazing trail of psionic energy in her wake. For the first time, he was tempted to seek other powers besides those of the Void as he watched the Brutalisk that they had been unable to harm split in half and disintegrate.

Sarah barely had enough strength left to raise her hands to cushion her fall as her Psionic Flare expired. "Your welcome," she managed to Mohandar before passing out again.

Author's Note: I hope I adequately explained Mohandar's reasons for siding with Kerrigan last chapter; it only becomes more important that I do as the story progresses as you've seen here, so please let me know if I did.

The torture scene is based on a similar occurrence in George Orwell's 1984. It'll be used in a similar vein again later.

I based Sarah's Psionic Flare move on Mega Man X's Nova Strike and M Bison's Psycho Crusher attacks.