They dove into the depths of the facility and among the shrines were Kerrigan and Alexei, coupled with a pair of Hydralisks encountered resistance as the Tal'darim attacked them. "The Zerg have breached the sanctum!"

"Protoss..." Kerrigan mused as the Zealots fell before Alexei joined in blasting a Stalker to pieces with them.

"Narud has held these Tal'darim in reserve. They are his best troops. The final battle is near." They proceeded on before they found a captive, dead Ultralisk as Stukov sighed. "A shame. This Ultralisk might have been useful." Abathur cut in as he spoke.

"Organism Stukov misunderstands. Death irrelevant. Only essence important." Kerrigan watched as the chest mended in seconds as the machines keeping the titan bound started to strain before they were ripped out of their place and the braces tore as the titan, massive and great, emitted a powerful roar across the shrines as it stomped from its former prison as Abathur voiced. "Ultralisk reconstituted. Ultimate expression of Swarm evolution." IT was powerful, but only as powerful as the Swarm could make it as Kerrigan voiced.

"We need to secure a location for our hive cluster. Then we deal with Narud." They continued with another Ultralisk remade and forming a bulkhead against the Tal'darim as a Zealot exclaimed in his back and red armor.

"Attack, my brothers!"

"Clear away these fanatics." The Zealots stood no chance as they continued, confronting a small base at a resource site before clearing it of its Zealots, an Archon, and a Photon Cannon, Stukov's abilities helping in the fight as he could heal units faster, spawn Infested Marines to fight for him, and fire a Corrosive blast foes before the Drones went to work getting the base up before Kerrigan spoke, stepping up to a platform that peered back to the largest of the shrines.

"Why would Narud build this lab on top of a Xel'naga temple?"

"You know nothing of the Xel'naga!" She peered across as Narud appeared before her and, in a surge of power, his human form started to fragment as a spectral being formed behind him before it roared and fired a beam, Kerrigan blasting back, but it was clear something else was empowering Narud's avatar as Stukov exclaimed.

"Narud is driving a null zone towards you. it will kill you on contact." He glanced to the smaller shrines and felt the same power flowing from them, guarded by the Tal'darim as he growled. "These temples are amplifying his power."

"Stukov, go to the temples... and destroy them." The former Vice-Admiral rolled his shoulders and his right hand hissed as he held it up with a beaming grin at Kerrigan's request.

"I thought you'd never ask." It fell to Stukov to deactivate the temples and cut off Narud's power to them, but the Tal'darim didn't make it simple as they attacked with the aid of Hybrids to stop them, but the Swarm was not that easily turned away as they dealt them in.

Izsha did bring up the fact of Narud storing raw psionic energy in nearby pylons and Stukov took that chance to destroy them to give them over to the Swarm, take away the stores of Narud as they dealt with a second temple in the area.

"The second temple has fallen!"

"Squirm all you like. You will not escape your fate!" Kerrigan's power fought back with a bit more ease, but she was still straining to hit back at Narud as Stukov lead the force on hand, Swarm Queens, Hydralisks, Mutalisks, and Ultralisks smashing through as they cleared the third temple and moved to the fourth as they also repelled the assaults of the Tal'darim on the hive cluster before the fourth temple fell.

"The fourth temple is down. One left!"

"This is not possible!"

"I can feel your strength leaving you!" Now, only one temple remained and Stukov was going to relish severing the final point as he also smashed the crystals for the Swarm.

"The crystals have been shattered. Their power belongs to the Swarm now." The temple came into sight, cleared out before Stukov started as the Tal'darim made a final cry for battle.

"Defend the temple! Lay waste to these abominations!"

"Many hybrid are coming! This is the final battle!" The Hybrid Reavers couldn't breach past as Stukov shut down the final temple to Narud, rendering his power weaker as he called out.

"No! It cannot be!"

"Your temples are gone!" With a roar, the null wave was pushed right back and Narud was defeated, but he was not dead as he withdrew to a dead-end of the temples as Stukov voiced as they approached the door.

"We've done it! The null zone has left Narud weakened, vulnerable."

"Even so, he's is the most powerful being I've ever faced." The former UED member turned to her as he asked.

"What will you do?"

"Kill him." She answered as she strode for the titan doors and they opened to her as she continued her stride in...


The light poured in with Kerrigan entering before she called out. "Face me, Narud! It's over." Narud's voice echoed across the chamber as he spoke.

"It is only beginning. Amon whispered of this from the stars." She closed her eyes to pinpoint, but he made it impossible to know where he is as he spoke. "He told you of his return... He told you of ruin, extinction. The end of all things." She spotted a short dash, but didn't follow it as Narud monologued. "But yet you and all you fought with and against never realized it." Her voice echoed as she called out.

"You used us!"

"In a way, yes, by my masters will." Kerrigan felt memories echo in the halls as she took them in, keeping her guard up while watching it all happen. "He used the Terrans and Mengsk so they can provide me the technology to create the hybrid and bring the artifact together. "Both men shook hands as Narud and Mensk as he continued to speak.

"He used the Zerg and you to achieve evolution and keep the truth a secret." The land swarmed under the control of the Overmind as it searched and found its prey among the Protoss.

"He used the Protoss and their psionic powers to enhance the hybrids." She took in dozens of Protoss who were used in horrible experiments and molded into the Hybrids monsters, using both races of Zerg and Protoss to make the greatest weapons to date as Narud jabbed at her. "And he used you as his voice piece. Don't you remember? The reason I vanish is because he told me so... All those years ago on Char, and you're were powerless to stop him." It showed a vision of her, under Amon's sway, giving Duran his end of his duty to her and to continue his duty to his true master as another figure slipped past and Kerrigan tried to trace it as she hissed.

"Your god is dead and he's never coming back!"

"Is that what you think?" She growled with a turn, but what greeted her eyes first was a familiar face as her wing nearly stabbed him as she voiced.

"No..." He walked into the light with a familiar voice, his aged features looking back.

"Sarah..." She was at a loss for words before he stepped back and the illusion fell with red eyes as he glanced up, a crystal falling on her before erupting, he smirking before it fell and Kerrigan breathed before she gathered her power with a glare.

"No. You're not him." With that, she screamed, unleashing a shockwave at him and slamming him into another crystal before she dashed, the ground rumbling before a Nydus Worm greeted her as her mount as the Narud Jim gathered energy to fire back, but was consumed before the energy rebounded and both fell, Kerrigan landed on him to start punching him as she shouted. "You are not Jim! You are nothing!" That punch changed the figure within a second and it glanced back with green eyes and red hair and a familiar voice to her.

"I'm everything you lost." She was caught off-guard again before Sarah Kerrigan lifted her up and stabbed her with a red psionic blade, she gasping to the wound through her gut as the imposter spoke. "I am everything you never had..." Kerrigan focused before she grappled the fake and her wings charged before lashing out, piercing her as she groaned, her voice giving in to Narud's as he spoke.

"You've already lost. Amon lives." Kerrigan didn't pay it heed before Narud faded out. "You will see him... soon." With that, the corpse of Sarah Kerrigan dropped before Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades joined and toppled to her side in pain before a comforting hand slid over her skull, its touch foreign, but its energy was familiar as she faded out.

"Rest now... The true fight will begin..."


Kerrigan's mind started to return with a mending touch as Izsha's voice spoke to her. "My queen, can you hear me?" She reached out to the two beings before her as she mused.

"I am... alive."

"Barely." The second was Zagara as she voiced what they had done for her. "We dragged you back to the Leviathan. Rest now, I will control the Swarm until you are healed."

"Why... aren't you... trying to..."

"Take the Swarm for my own? Because, I still have much to learn from you, my queen."

"Enough." Izsha spoke with putting the foot down as she spoke. "She is healing, but she must rest now." The black returned as Zagara left to clean up the rest of the Protoss and Izsha aiding in the efforts, but another figure arrived, Alice, as she stood before the pool where Kerrigan rested, her abdomen mending from the blade before she spoke, kneeling down beside it.

"I have been thinking, a great deal while you and the former Vice-Admiral had gone down to face Narud and... I am conflicted..." She continued as she gripped one of the claws into a fist and brought it up. "My memories are returning and I am enraged that, all this time, I have been a pawn to your game and I didn't even know or cared why. I didn't like it and wanted to take my anger out on you for doing this to me..." She then slumped against the pool and continued in explaining. "But I can't... I can't because, when you had slain Narud, something else happened to me, I felt... lighter, more free than before when you infused me with some primal essence... Something has changed in me and I know that now..." She turned her head back to the slumbering Queen before getting up and speaking.

"Zagara is not the only one capable of leading the Swarm, but while she lacked vision, I lacked power." She gripped a fist again as a greenish aura formed around it before dispelling with her release. "I am growing to be more of a threat each day and the day will come when we have to either take the whole thing or settle for our own forces in-between. I hope you watch us on that day, my queen..." She strode out, leaving Kerrigan to heal for now...


Kerrigan awoke and walked about the Leviathan before peering out ot the destroyed remains of Skygirr before Izsha 'came' through and spoke. "The Swarm was once Amon's tool. He will seek to use us again."

"I will prepare for his coming... but not until I'm done with Mengsk."

"Of course, my queen." She bowed before Stukov approached, afraid, but he was resolved to the end as he spoke to her with her turn.

"Narud is dead and the hybrid lab is destroyed. I am the final loose end. I suppose you kill me now."

"If you want to leave, I won't stop you." The fear slipped away to amusement as he spoke.

"Hah! Where would I go? Half man, half Zerg? A monster."

"I understand, believe me." She extended out an offer to him, considerign that he shouldn't be alone and that his tactical mind could be helpful in some regards. "Stay with the Swarm and perhaps the way will become clear."

"If nothing else, it will be interesting." She peered back to the ruins and pieces of both temples and station before she spoke, with the main lab for Hybrids destroyed.

"Once Jim is safe, I will come for you, Mengsk. And you won't have any hybrid to protect you." She paused, however, to think about something else that happened in the temple to the Xel'naga. "The voice... who was he? What did he mean by 'the true war will begin'?" It was something to look into, but Kerrigan had her task ahead of her now that Mengsk no longer had the 'unknown' power of the Hybrids on his side.

She turned to command the Leviathan away and into space to start her search. "Izsha, take the Leviathan up. We're leaving."

"Kerrigan, You saw something in that lab. In Narud's mind." She nodded as it was brief, but enough as she voiced his thoughts.

"I saw Amon. Older than the universe, more powerful than I can understand. And now, he's alive again."

"Then he shall fall before the Swarm, like all the rest."

"We don't even know where he is. We must prepare for his coming, but I have a few scores to settle first." She turned her voice inward as the Leviathan started to move away from the station and into the vacuum of space itself. 'I also need time to know who the voice was.' The Leviathan made it away and Izsha inquired.

"At your orders, we will move our Leviathan into Dominion space and begin searching for the Terran ship Hyperion. You wish their help in finding the Terran, Jim Raynor?"

"Yes, I need their help to find and free Jim before Arcturus has his chance to kill him..."