//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven // Story: Ghosts of the Past // by Sepulcher //------------------------------// Ghosts of the Past Chapter Seven When the Ghost took one step closer, all hell broke loose. At once, the awaiting royal guards charged at the Ghost. The Ghost reacted out of pure reflex, his body instinctually knowing what to do from years of combat experience. He kicked the first wave of Pegasi guards that attempted to dive-bomb him out of the air, causing them to land on their ground-bound companions. Distracted by the aerial assault, the Ghost didn't notice several of the unicorns that had stepped away from the group, their eyes closed in concentration. Just as the Ghost dealt with the last pegasus, he found himself within a large, spherical dome of energy. He placed his hand on it. It was solid. I have sacrificed too much to stop now. The shield may have held the Ghost's physical form in, but it didn't repel his mind when he tested it. They never learn, thought the Ghost derisively. He telepathically reached for the group of six unicorns that were locking him in. He tried to gain access to their minds, but they were concentrating hard enough on the energy-bubble that the Ghost's mind was repelled. How the hell? When these creatures concentrate on something, they do so with their entire minds. How am I going to break free of this prison? The Ghost thought for several moments. A twisted smile appeared when he thought of a way to escape. Pushing his mind outwards again, he returned to the six concentrating unicorns, but instead of a mental assault, he observed how they were creating the force field. The Ghost took several moments to fully comprehend how it worked, then he returned to his body. Amazing. They are working together to create this barrier. Psions in tandem... now that's a terrifying prospect. Touching his hand to the energy sphere, the Ghost started to channel his own energy into it. While the unicorns were concentrating on keeping the sphere active, the Ghost was working on something completely different. Slowly, even lazily, the sphere started to grow in size. This was not immediately noticed by the guards, but eventually one of them asked, "Hey, does anypony else think the shield is getting bigger? I swear it's getting bigger." The Ghost smiled upon hearing the distorted sounds of confusion from within his confines. He had been slowly trickling energy into the sphere with the intent on expanding it. He figured that if it kept him in, it would keep others out. With a surge of mental strength, the Ghost put some of his last reserves of energy into the sphere, causing it to grow rapidly with size. It grew so fast that it pushed the guards that had formed a large circle around the energy dome aside and into various pillars and walls. With the guards stunned, the Ghost continued to expand the dome outwards at a reasonable pace. The stunned and concussed guards regained their composure to see a wall of purple coming towards them. They didn't have enough time to react, and they were pushed up against the walls, slowly being crushed. When the screams of their fallen comrades met the ears of the spell-casting unicorns, they abruptly lost concentration, causing the shield to fade out of existence. Not concentrating on the spell any longer, the Ghost quickly disabled them with his mind. Tired, but with his revenge close at hand, the Ghost continued his leisurely pace towards the Princess. Out of the corner of his eye, the Ghost saw several Earth pony guards attempt to flank him. Before he could test their mettle, the Princess called out, "Halt! All guards stand down! The elements of harmony will make him understand!" Grumbling, but not wanting to invoke the wrath of the Princess AND the Ghost, the contingent of Earth ponies returned to the sidelines. Unhindered and unopposed, the Ghost continued his path of vengeance. \\\\\ Twilight Sparkle was afraid of the Ghost. She didn't see the cold-hearted soldier that she thought she understood. She saw a blood soaked monster walking towards her. His short mane was sticking out every which way. His eyes, no, his ocular implants were bright green and staring. The Ghost was dressed in a one piece skin tight suit and Twilight could tell that it was once a light grey, but it was now splattered with blood. And he was smiling. He was smiling! She feared what the Ghost had become, and how easily he had disabled the guards, even her own brother, but she refused to believe that he couldn't be coerced away from the violence. Gathering her wits, she said quietly, "Come on girls. We're the last chance that Ghost has. Let's show him the power of friendship!" All of her friends nodded and concentrated on their amulets. Twilight focused her power into the tiara she wore upon her head. As one, they were encompassed in a magical aura that levitated them upwards. \\\\\ As the Ghost approached the stairs that led to the throne, he witnessed the six ponies that he had met at the library levitate into the air. "Your tricks and deceptions will not save you, Celestia," he stated calmly, thinking that Princess Celestia was pulling the strings. As if to confirm his theory, the bearers of the elements rose several more feet in the air. The Ghost continued his forward march, undaunted. The Ghost noticed that each of them were giving off a strange aura, similar to the writhing energies of the Protoss, albeit it was white in colour, not blue. "You can't hide, Celestia. Your illusions will not save you from my wrath." Twilight, who had assumed the leading role of the floating ponies, said sadly, "I'm sorry it had to come to this, Ghost." As she finished her sentence, all of their eyes started to glow white. Before the Ghost could frown, a massive surge of colors erupted from each of the ponies. The colours entwined with each other in the air above them. Distracted by the lightshow, the Ghost didn't know what hit him. The swirling vortex of colourful energy launched itself straight at the Ghost. In the few milliseconds before it impacted, the Ghost's mind was calm and collected about the beam of pure energy that was directed at him. This seems vaguely Protoss in terms of energy, but the Protoss weren't ones for vibrant colours. What will happen? Will it override my being? Will it change me into something they consider better? All of this flashed through the Ghost's mind before the beam of energy hit him in the chest. The Ghost was knocked back several steps. He felt the beam as a searing heat throughout his entire body. He felt it encroaching on his mental barricades, trying to find a way through. "I... WILL... NOT... SUBMIT!!" he yelled, psionically amplifying his voice in the process. The Ghost stopped. He planted his feet and stood his ground, taking the full brunt of the energy beam. The beam was still trying to gain purchase on his mind. He felt its purpose: to recreate, reshape, rebuild. The Ghost felt a deep well of power flow into him. He didn't know where it came from, and he didn't care. With the surge of newfound power, the Ghost succeeded in pushing back the swirling vortex of energy out of his mind-space. He pushed some more, and was rewarded with the searing heat dissipating from his nervous system and the 'magic displacement' bands around his wrists melting off. The Ghost laughed maniacally. When I want something done, it gets done. The Ghost drew from the vast reserves of energy he suddenly felt and psionically forced the last remnants of the vortex out of his system. When he finally did so, the six ponies that were levitating fell out of the air and landed on the carpet in-between Celestia and the Ghost. The Ghost slowly advanced towards Celestia, pure energy crackling from his fingertips. The Ghost felt more powerful than he had ever felt before. He felt as if he could summon one of the fabled Psionic Storms, something only Kerrigan and the Protoss were capable of. ...You know what? I think I'll try that. The Ghost reached into the seemingly endless well of energy and concentrated on the air around him. Sure enough, small particles of psionic energy were arcing from his fingertips into the air around him. The smile returned to the Ghost's face. The Ghost summoned even more energy from his mysterious pit of endless energy. A storm of energy was gathering around the Ghost. He was in control. He had the power. I have the power, he thought. I have the power to do as I see fit. \\\\\ Twilight Sparkle was dumbfounded that the Ghost was able to shrug off the elements of harmony that easily. All of them were unconscious from having the elements of harmony rejected save for Twilight. Struggling to her feet, Twilight saw a blue ball of energy floating around the Ghost. Twilight watched in awe as the ball of energy grew larger. It seems to be coming from the Ghost, thought Twilight. But how does he have enough power left to conjure up that much energy? After the mass of energy had apparently reached its critical mass, it spread out like a spider web above everypony in the throne room. Lightning crackled throughout the web of energy. Afraid for her friends and everypony in the vicinity, Twilight Sparkle shouted at the Ghost. "GHOST! Why are you doing this?! What can you hope to accomplish?!" The Ghost looked at her from inside his writhing blue energy field. His short mane was standing straight up and he wore the same merciless smile from before. He let out a maniacal laugh before answering her question. "Anything I want, Twilight Sparkle. I have the power to do anything I want," said the Ghost, his voice strangely distorted through the energy field. He looked straight at Princess Celestia who had risen to her hooves and was now standing right behind Twilight. His smile grew even more demented than it was before. "And I want my revenge..." Twilight looked behind her at Princess Celestia. The Princess met her gaze... and gave her a hurt smile. Celestia gracefully walked past Twilight and her unconscious friends. She walked straight over to the Ghost and looked him square in the eye, even though he was almost a foot taller than her. "Ghost! Stop this storm of energy and come to your senses. You are going to hurt the only beings that actually care about you. Could you live with yourself if these little ponies were hurt?" said Princess Celestia passionately. This seemed to give the Ghost pause. The smile disappeared from his face and he appeared to think deeply for several seconds. Finally he answered. "I think you misunderstand my intentions, oh fair and noble princess. I don't care whether I live or die. I consider both outcomes as a win for me," said the Ghost as another demented smile was plastered on his face. "I am only here for revenge. I am only here for you." As the Ghost finished his sentence, the spider web-like tendrils of energy started to jitter and arc towards the princess. The princess barely managed to conjure up a shield in time to block the writhing blue energy bolt. "Ghost! Stop this madness and come to your senses! Violence and revenge are not the answers!" yelled Princess Celestia from behind her shield. \\\\ "Madness?! No. This is revenge," said the Ghost from within his energy vortex. He launched wave after wave of psionic lightning at the Princess. He saw her shield start to waver, but he himself was running low on energy. The Ghost felt himself start laughing. Uncontrollable, maniacal laughter was gurgling out of his throat. After his laughing fit, he said, "Nobody fucks with a Ghost and lives!" With his last remnants of energy, the Ghost made one last beam of energy and launched it at the already weakening shield. The Ghost saw the shield collapse. It created a ripple of released energy that blinded the Ghost when it reached him. The Ghost, having been blinded and having exhausted his newfound power, collapsed to the ground. Let's see you walk away from that. The Ghost forced himself onto his knees. He had to be sure that Celestia was truly defeated. He blinked away the glaring white from his eyes, his vision coming back to him slower than he would've liked. Finally, his vision had come back sufficiently enough for the Ghost to see properly. He saw Princess Celestia collapsed on the ground, unmoving. I... I win. Finally. After the Ghost thought these words, Celestia stirred. You're fucking kidding me, thought the Ghost without emotion. He watched from his knees as Celestia slowly opened her eyes, a look of pain on her face. She attempted to stand, but only managed to make it to a sitting position. Shaking his head, the Ghost muttered to himself, "If you want something done..." as he attempted to stand. His limbs felt like lead, but he managed to stand up. He locked his eyes on Celestia as he slowly trudged forward, his arms already reaching forward to squeeze the life out of her. When he was but a few feet away, he heard the Princess say, "Peace and Harmony, Ghost. I know you've been through Tartarus and back, but you need to give us a chance. The power of harmony can help you." The Ghost looked straight into Celestia's eyes, unfazed by the tears that freely rolled down her cheek. The Ghost was outraged by her assumptions. "You have no idea what I have seen. You have no idea what I've done. You cannot hope to comprehend the horrors I've witnessed. Have you ever killed anybody Celestia? Have you ever felt their blood run through your fingers!?" Celestia didn't answer. "I didn't think so. I have watched a whole galaxy consume itself in war. I have watched discord sown far and wide. I have given up my life for the lesser of two evils and for what? So I could kill, rather than be killed. How can the power of harmony possibly help me!? How can that give me my life back!? The life that I've never had!?" said the Ghost with anger. Before Celestia could respond, the Ghost was tackled from behind by a dark blue blur. "Thou shalt silence thyself! We are not trying to give thou thy old life back!" said Princess Luna as she pinned the Ghost to the floor. "Then what the fuck are you all trying to accomplish? Why did you try to mess with my mind?" responded the Ghost as he thought of the best way to remove Luna from himself. Celestia answered the Ghost's question as she weakly stood up. "We are trying to give you a new life, Ghost. One free from everything that you have been forced through." "You... what?!" asked the Ghost, who was terribly confused. "Lumen Shield was only trying to disable the so called inhibitors in your brain in an attempt to restore your true self," said Princess Luna. They... they were only trying to... help me? Have I injured the only peopl—.... ponies that have cared about me? "I thought..." said the Ghost after reaching his conclusion. "I thought that you were all trying to... change me. Try to remake me 'better'. I... guess I misunderstood." Princess Celestia's horn glowed a vibrant white as she cast a sleeping spell on the Ghost. The Ghost had one thought before he fell into a magic-induced sleep. I'm sorry. \\\\\ Ghost woke up in a soft bed. In a flash of instinct, he immediately checked for any bonds attaching him to the bed. He found none. Relieved, the Ghost sat up slowly, the memories of his ill-fated battle coming back to him. The Ghost felt several strange feelings in his chest and mind. What is this? What are these feelings? The Ghost isolated one of them and tried to decipher what it was. He tried to come up with a word to describe it, but couldn't find the right one. Regret. The Ghost blinked. The word came to him suddenly. Regret. The Ghost had never needed to use the word before. He couldn't recall having ever felt regret before. It felt terrible, like you did something you weren't proud of. Shame. He felt that too. He was ashamed. He was ashamed that he had caused so much pain and suffering through his violence. Why? I've never felt these emotions before, why should I feel them now? Thinking those thoughts made him remember that Celestia had put spelled him asleep. What did they do to my mind while I was out? Before the Ghost could consider other possibilities, a knock was heard from across the room. The Ghost was unsure how to respond. Nobody had ever knocked on his door when they needed him. He said the first thing that came to mind. "Who's there?" Some muffled voices were heard from the other side. "Boo," said one of the voices. The Ghost frowned. "Boo who?" Many strange sounds were heard from behind the door. It was opened to reveal Princess Celestia, the six elements of harmony, and the unicorn guard leader all struggling to not laugh. Their struggle ended when they saw the look on the Ghosts face: they all broke out laughing. The Ghost, who was unable to comprehend what was happening, asked, "Why are you laughing?" The Ghost's question seemed to bring the eight ponies back to reality. They stopped laughing, although they still had grins plastered on their faces. Twilight cleared her throat and asked the Ghost, "May we enter?" The Ghost blinked several times in response to the question. "I don't understand. Why are you asking my permission? This is not my room." Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's called 'being polite'." Shrugging, the Ghost motioned for them to enter. The eight ponies had made a semi-circle around the bed he was sitting on. Princess Celestia leaned down to look at him eye-to-eye and asked, "How are you feeling Ghost?" The Ghost laughed. "I feel terrible. Regretful. Ashamed." He paused for a moment. "You caused me to feel like this, didn't you?" Princess Celestia said disappointedly, "I was unable to restore your memories from before your mind wipe. I thought that they would be simply locked up, but they just... weren't there. Instead, I disabled the—" She paused for a moment, as if remembering. "—neural inhibitor and aggression inhibitors that were lodged in your brain." The Ghost didn't move. He was in shock. "You... did... what?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. Celestia hesitated, unsure of why the Ghost was acting this way. "During my... visit in your mind, I noticed that several things were missing, namely emotions that you seemed to be missing. I was curious, so I briefly searched through your memories to see if I could find the source. During my search, I came across the two inhibitors that were implanted in your mind. They were the cause of your emotional instability, so I disabled them. I would have them removed, but we don't have the necessary medical facilities to do so." The Ghost stared at the Princess with his jaw dropped. "You... disabled them? Just like that?" Celestia nodded. The Ghost shook his head in disbelief. "Not possible. They are specifically designed to kill me if they are disabled. I am still alive, therefore not possible." Celestia frowned. "Then how do you feel emotions you've never felt before?" After the Ghost failed to answer, Celestia continued. "I think your race and you especially do not put enough faith in magic, Ghost." The Ghost growled, startling everypony in the room. "There is no such thing as magic. It's false. Not real. Bullshit. Psionics are real. I have seen this in person. Nothing you have done is outside the ranges of powerful Psions." "Then how do you explain our teleportation? The elements of harmony?" The Ghost ground his teeth in anger. "Those are the only exceptions." Twilight Sparkle spoke up. "What if magic and psionics are related, but not the same?" The Ghost put his head in his hands in defeat. "Fine. Let's assume that's the case. Let's assume that I have all of my faculties back because of... magic." The enormity of what had occurred to him hit him like a siege tank round. I have all of my faculties back. That means that... I'm free? Free to choose. Free to feel. Free to do... anything. The Ghost looked up at Celestia."You... freed me." The ponies all looked at the Ghost questioningly. The Ghost struggled to say two words. He had never spoken them before. "...Thank you." The tension that had filled the room vanished. The Ghost was bombarded with questions, none of which he could answer before he was asked another one. Finally, Celestia cleared her throat, which caused the seven ponies to settle down. Celestia looked at the Ghost and asked, "Where did you gain access to that much energy?" The Ghost sighed. "I think I know. It would take too long to explain, so, with your permission, I'd rather show you." Celestia nodded. Ghost told all the ponies to have one part of their body touching him. He brought forth a particularly vivid memory from the depths of his mind and projected it into the minds of the ponies before him. They all witnessed it from the Ghost's perspective. \\\\\ The Ghost was not amused. He leaned against a metal counter and watched as the sadistic doctor cut the fallen high templar's psionic appendages off. The Templar gave off a silent scream, his body writhing in pain from the amputation. How can someone enjoy hurting other sentient creatures? thought the Ghost to himself. I do nothing but kill, and yet I still find this repulsive. Sure enough, Doctor Stanley Burgess was wearing a demented smile as he cut the Protoss warrior's appendages from his head. Mengsk had sent the Ghost as a supervisor of the Gestalt Program. The Ghost dejectedly accepted. He never declined a task, no matter how repulsive. The Ghost recalled what Mengsk told him several days previously. "You've heard of the Gestalt Program, yes?" The Ghost had only nodded. "Good. The good doctor, Burgess, has recently captured a former Protoss high templar using his 'Gestalt Zero'. While I have complete confidence in his 'pet', I want you to be there should any unforeseen circumstances occur. What I don't want is for you to interfere with Doctor Burgess or Gestalt Zero. You are to treat them both as your superiors. Should any... extenuating circumstances occur, you have my permission to act in whatever way you deem necessary. When the Ghost arrived, he was escorted to the Doctor by his pet gestalt. Gestalt Zero, or Zero, was a amalgamation of a Ghost operative and Protoss organs. Zero's head was a combination of a Terran head with Protoss tendrils coming from the back of its head. The Ghost was both repulsed and intrigued by the former Ghost operative. He found the gestalt harder to read than most Ghost operatives, as he could practically read them like a book. Either the gestalt was well practiced in hiding his thoughts, or the Protoss organs that had been grafted to him reinforced his mental prowess. Zero did not speak to the Ghost, seeing as his... its... mouth was closed over by a layer of skin. Instead, he motioned for the Ghost to follow him. He did, and now found himself watching the mutilation of a once mighty Protoss templar. After one particularly violent spasm from the templar, Doctor Burgess said sadistically, "Weakness is whatever impedes survival. The universe doesn't care about morality. It only cares about power, like the power I have over you." The Ghost restrained himself from putting the templar out of its misery. No, he said to himself. Not yet. After the doctor finished with his task, he immediately went to work on grafting the new appendages to Zero. He tested the new statistics of the gestalt and was thoroughly impressed. The Protoss appendages had boosted Gestalt Zero's psi-index rating to over level Seven. Clapping with an almost child-like glee, he ordered the gestalt to infiltrate a Kel-Morian Combine research facility as a test run. With the gestalt gone on his merry mission, Doctor Burgess continued his relentless torture on the high templar. After watching for what felt like an eternity, the Doctor was eventually called away from his perverted brutalization. He placed the templar back in the cell block, which held multiple Protoss prisoners. The Ghost watched the tyrannical doctor walk away while whistling. The Ghost had followed the pair while cloaked. The Ghost had to do something. I don't care what other purposes they have in mind for this Protoss. He had endured enough pain. I have to release him from his torment. The Ghost decloaked and emerged from his hiding place amongst the shadows. The chained templar rose its head in curiosity to the newcomer. "I sensed your presence as soon as you arrived at this facility, Terran. Your mind is different from others of your kind. What is your purpose?" The Ghost was unsure how the templar was speaking to him. He, for the voice was definitely male, had no discernable mouth or orifice that could produce sound. "Purpose. I've wondered at my purpose for a long while. But I suppose you mean my purpose here. Same as always. Watch," said the Ghost. After he spoke, he noticed a Protoss zealot in the cell beside the templar. The zealot was cradling its head and rocking back and forth while sitting on the floor. The templar noticed the Ghost looking at the obviously damaged zealot. "She is becoming suicidal. Her injuries and being cut off from the Khala have not been kind to her." Her? Protoss are not gender-biased. Strange. Bringing himself back to the situation, the Ghost said, "I do not believe in torture. If you so choose, I can end this for you. Both of you." The templar laughed, which sounded very strange to the Ghost's ears. "If there are more Terrans like you, your race might have a chance. We appreciate the offer, but must decline. We will face death like true Protoss." The Ghost was surprised. "There must be something I can do," he said. The templar was silent for a few seconds. Finally, he said, "Let me see what you are made of, Terran. Try to enter my mind." What? The Ghost didn't know what to expect. I doubt the templar has something special planned for me. That still doesn't answer why he would want me to try and invade his mind. Suspicious, the Ghost sent out a mental probe towards the templar's consciousness. He was surprised to find that the Protoss' mental defences were completely lowered. Now even more suspicious, the Ghost slowly wormed his way into the templar's mind, on guard for any ambushes. None came. The Ghost's mental self arrived at the Protoss' neural cortex. The brain of the templar was strange to the Ghost. It was much more organized than the usual chaotic mess that was a Terran mind. Everything was filed away nicely, even obsessively. Even stranger, the Ghost could find no memorabilia that related to the templar. It was like he had given up the solitary part of himself. The only thing the Ghost could sense that directly related to the Protoss was his name. Muadun. As the Ghost implanted his mind in the templar, he felt the templar's self come out to greet him. "Welcome, Terran. You are experiencing what very few of your kind have experienced," said the templar in his strangely melodious voice. The Ghost took another mental look at his surroundings. "How? How is this possible? Do Protoss not care about their identity?" Muadun laughed in his warbling voice. "We Protoss give part of our self when we join the Khala. We are not separate in our ideals, like the Terrans." The Ghost had heard of the 'Khala' before, but never knew what it meant. "What do you gain from joining the Khala?" It seemed as if Muadun was having a mental conflict with himself. After it passed, he said, "I cannot tell the teachings of the Path of Ascension to a non believer." The Ghost was disappointed. He wanted to learn how the Protoss thought. The Ghost sensed the Protoss equivalent of a smile coming from the templar. "There is a way around this. You have powerful psionic tendencies, enough that you could join the Khala. You would not be the first, but one of the very few that are capable of it." Why? thought the Ghost to himself. What could the Protoss possibly gain? He voiced this opinions to Muadun. "Why? Why would you let me join?" The Ghost felt a wave of sadness emanate from the templar. "It pains me to watch your species destroy itself. The Khala could stop all self-hatred that you Terrans possess. It would also breach the gap between our races, something that should have been done since us Protoss knew that Terrans were capable of psionics." The Ghost hesitated for a moment. Should I? No, I should not. Will I? Yes. I must try. "I have no self, templar Muadun. It was taken from me. I will join your Khala, if I am able," said the Ghost. "Easy now, Terran. I cannot link you to the Khala now. The mad scientist has placed some form of disrupter in my brain. I cannot access the Khala." "Leave it to me," said the Ghost. He spread his consciousness thin, searching for the neural inhibitor. He found it, and using years of practice, overloaded its circuits. The Ghost brought his consciousness back to the Protoss' neural centre. "I have overloaded the device. It should power down in approximately one hour." The templar started to say something, but abruptly stopped. "Leave Terran! The doctor returns!" "Stay strong, warrior. You will be free soon," said the Ghost before returning to his body. He activated his cloaking in the nick of time. The Ghost had just melted back into the shadows as the doctor turned around the corner. Doctor Burgess unlocked the two cells holding Muadun and the insane zealot and proceeded to drag them back to his lab with the help of several employees. The Ghost followed them like a shadow. The two Protoss were strapped to metal operating tables by the doctor. The doctor then proceeded to attach electrodes to their heads. The electrodes were attached to a machine that the Ghost hadn't seen before. The doctor then proceeded to making incisions on the captured zealot. He made cuts all over her body, creating a pool of blood. The Ghost had no idea what the doctor was trying to do. What is this psychopath trying to accomplish? thought the Ghost angrily. What would— The Ghost's thoughts were interrupted when a wave of energy erupted from the restrained templar. The energy was roughly blue in colour and it coalesced into a circle of storm-like energy. A Psionic Storm. This won't end well. The storm started arching out at the employees that were milling around. Somehow, the doctor managed to avoid being hit. The Ghost took several hits from the storm, but it didn't damage him. If anything, it made him feel rejuvenated. The Psionic Storm ended up breaking several other captured Protoss out of their stasis cells. The storm slowly died down, revealing the devastation to the laboratory. Doctor Burgess stood up and said, "Fascinating! I was trying to access this Khala that I've heard so much about, yet you somehow manage to conjure up a storm." As the doctor finished saying this, Gestalt Zero entered the room. The doctor noticed this as well and addressed Zero. "Your timing is impeccable, Zero," he said with a sigh. "Capture all of the Protoss. Kill Muadun." The Protoss that were trapped inside their cells and containers were no match for the gestalt. While the Protoss hadn't had any physical activity for weeks, Zero was an augmented super soldier. Zero incapacitated the formerly imprisoned Protoss rather easily using his pistol as a stun gun. He saved Muadun for last. Gestalt Zero plucked Muadun from the ground and held him by the throat by one hand. He proceeded to stab the templar several times in the chest. With his seeming last effort, Muadun touched Zero on the temple with his hand. The Ghost did not know what good it did, but it caused Zero to drop Muadun and approached Doctor Burgess. Gestalt Zero walked up to the Doctor and attempted to stab him. Burgess was holding a small device known as a Psi-screen, which was a device that stopped telepaths from reading the holders mind. Some versions could cause pain to the telepath as well. With the fact that Zero stopped in its tracks when the doctor pushed a button on the device, the Ghost guessed that it was the pain version. The Ghost did not like the doctor. He despised what he did, no matter if it was for Terrans as a whole. The Ghost reached out with his mind... ...and broke the device in half. Zero immediately responded. The gestalt immediately drew his psi-blade and stabbed the doctor. The Ghost could hear the gestalt whisper mocking words as the doctor slowly died. "I should warn you... this is probably going to hurt." The Ghost left Zero to his mocking. He went over to the body of Muadun. To the Ghost's shock, Muadun was still alive, albeit barely. The Ghost touched the Protoss, enabling direct telepathic communication between them. "You still live," said the Ghost. "Not for much longer," responded the templar. "My time has almost arrived. But for you, young Terran, your life has not yet started." With these words, the templar let the Ghost enter the Khala. It was... a learning experience for the Ghost. The Ghost felt millions of minds at once, all unified, all with purpose. He knew things he shouldn't, like the origins of the Protoss and the Zerg. He simply knew. He felt the vast reserves of power that the Khala granted him. And then it was gone. One moment the Ghost was immersed in the Khala, sharing knowledge with others, and the next, it was gone. Gone. The Ghost collapsed to his knees. The templar had passed. His only link to the Protoss Khala had passed on without telling him how to access the Khala for himself. He had been riding shotgun with Muadun's consciousness, and he was kicked out as soon as the templar had died. So close, and yet... so far. The Ghost looked up to see the gestalt stab the doctor for the last time. As his body slumped to the floor, Zero walked away silently down the corridor. I can't stay here. I have to leave, thought the Ghost. The Ghost stood up and crept to the transport bay. He saw several Protoss communicating with Gestalt Zero. Muadun must have summoned the Protoss before he died. Shaking his head, the Ghost hopped into the last remaining transport ship, and sped off towards Korhal. He would tell Mengsk nothing of what had happened, short of the Protoss destroying the facility. He knew that the Protoss did not care for gene-splicing whatsoever. As the Ghost piloted the ship, he thought, If Terrans had unity like that, we'd be unstoppable.