Legion of the Damned - WelcomeToEstalia (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Shepard stood atop the Crucible, bloodied and battered, but unbroken. Her left arm clutched a wound at her side, trying to stem the flow of blood, as her right arm hung limp, barely holding onto her pistol. Dried blood and black ash covered her once pale skin, her short cut red hair singed and torn, and her reinforced Blood Dragon armor which carried her through so many battles was literally a shell of its former self.

Slowly walking toward the burning pillar of light, she knew that this was the end. Years of fighting have led up to this choice. Millions, if not billions dead across the galaxy, all falling to the cruel, uncaring hands of the Reapers. But she knew she could not damn the EDI and the Geth to destruction, not after Legion's sacrifice. She could have taken control of the Reapers and have them leave, but as with destruction it only solved a symptom, not the disease. Plus a not so small voice inside of her simply didn't want to give the Illusive Man the satisfaction of being right.

So her slow trudge forward turned to a walk, then a jog, and finally a run as Commander Jane Shepard threw herself into the light of the Crucible. Now in free fall, she felt her body slowly but painlessly start to dissolve, freeing itself into data as she began the Synthesis of organic and synthetic life. She closed her eyes and embraced the light, her last thoughts on her love Liara, on her crew and friends, then to Earth, and finally on the galaxy she was leaving behind.

This is a good end. She thought to herself, trusting her loved ones to carry the torch as her fight was finally finished.

----

"-pard!" Shepard could hear a voice. Soft and distant, but comforting.

"Shepard wake up!" The voice called again but louder, the aquatic accent coming into focus.

Jane lazily opened her eyes, her vision blurry. It felt as if she had the most pleasant sleep, no pain, no stress, no Reapers. As her eyes fully opened she could see the familiar green, reptilian face of a friend she thought lost. Thane Krios, Drell assassin and her former crewmate was staring down at her, holding her shoulders and shaking her awake.

"Thane." Shepard coughed out, her voice hoarse and tired. Shepard sat up slowly as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. When she last saw the Drell, he had sacrificed what little time he had left to save the Valern, the Salarian Councilor. He was at peace, and passed into the next life. She couldn't help but smile as she pulled the green man into a deep hug.

After about five seconds, she let go and looked back at Thane, his face a mixture of disbelief and sadness.

"So…" Shepard continued, "I guess I really am dead aren't I?"

Thane gave a sad smile back to her.

"Unfortunately that appears to be the case. What happened Shepard? Were the Reapers victorious?" Thane asked, his voice calm but carried faint traces of worry.

Shepard shook her head.

"No." she said with a smile. "The Crucible worked. The Reapers won't be hurting anyone anymore. And if my gambit pays off, no synthetic life will ever come into conflict with organics again."

Thane gave a slight nod.

"So your war is finally over." He sighed as an invisible weight was lifted off his shoulders. "I never had any doubt in your capabilities to do so." A smile returned to his face as he looked back to her.

"Of course. I'm the best Goddamn Spectre the galaxy has ever seen." Shepard sarcastically gloated as she slowly stood up, dusting off her leg armor. "And now this Spectre could use some R and R. Do you know where we are?"

She looked around, trying to get some bearing of where she was. She was surrounded by red peteled forest, massive trees of almost fey beauty. She felt the ground beneath her, grass and loose dirt, damp with what was likely recent rain. Thane rose in a single motion, no movement wasted, even in something as simple as standing.

"Well for one thing, I know we are not in the domain of Kalahira, the Drell goddess of the afterlife." Thane explained without inflection. "Nor are we in humanity's version of Heaven or Hell."

"Huh, didn't know you knew much about human religions Thane." Shepard half-asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"In all honesty, I didn't." Thane gave the slightest hint of a shrug. "There are other humans here as well. They are the ones who educated me on the beliefs of the human afterlife."

"Really? Go figure. Anybody I know? Oh! Is Kaiden here? What about Anderson?" A flash of excitement rushed itself to Shepard's face.

Thane raised his right hand, stopping Shepard's overly enthusiastic questioning.

"It's, more complicated than that, Shepard." Thane looked down at the ground, contemplating what his next words were.

A scowl found itself onto Shepard's face.

"What do you mean?" She questioned, her voice brimming with confusion and frustration.

Before Thane could respond, the snapping of branches and leaves behind Shepard seized her attention. In an instant Shepard whirled towards the source of the sound, her hand automatically moving to her thigh. To her surprise, she found a pistol magnetically holstered to her leg. With an automatic reflex developed from years of training, she instantly drew the gun and leveled at the source of the noise.

Appearing from behind one of the red leafed trees, a male human, or humanoid at least, wearing full white armor slowly approached. His armor seemed to be made of some kind of hardened plastic material, and was decorated with slashes of red paint. Or at least Shepard hoped it was paint. His helmet had a distinctive, T-shaped visor that glowed blue, and he carried a submachine gun sized weapon in his hands. The gun was lowered, and the stranger made no move to lift it, so Shepard slowly lowered her pistol back to her side.

"Thane…" The new soldier asked in a low, grizzled voice that was almost a growl. "Is she ready to go? These woods aren't safe."

Shepard kept her weapon down, but held a strong scowl at the red and white trooper. Thane stepped in front of her, gesturing to him.

"Shepard don't worry, he's a friend. This is RC-1207, Sev for short. He's a Commando from a place called the Galactic Republic."

"Ga-, Galactic Republic?" Shepard stammered out.

"Yeah, main government who rule my galaxy." Sev said flatly. "Filled with worthless hut'uune who spend more time debating with each other than actually trying to end the war." Shepard didn't know what a hut'unne was, but it sounded like politicians were the same everywhere.

"There are several people here Shepard, from what you could call alternate realities or universes." Thane interjected. "In Sev's universe, he comes from a galaxy different from the Milky Way, with technology more advanced than ours and thousands of sentient species. In addition, there are also several different alternate versions of Earth."

Shepard's mouth hung open as she struggled to take in all of this new information. This had been a long week for her. Between killing herself to stop the Reapers and catapult her galaxy's evolution by light years, and now finding out that other alternate realities exist, it would be an understatement to say she was a bit overwhelmed. Her mind raced with thousands of questions about these alternate worlds, when Sev's voice cut through her inner monologue.

"I get that this is confusing, believe me." Sev growled. "But like I just said, we're not safe here. We need to get moving, we can give you a full recap when we get back to HQ. Your weapons green?" Sev asked, pointing at the armament on Shepard's back.

For the first time since she woke up, Shepard took the time to assess her status and equipment. Looking at her body, all of the wounds she sustained on Earth were gone, and her ruined armor was replaced by her classic N7 armor. She glanced at the pistol in her hands, an N7 Eagle Heavy Pistol, pristine condition and fully loaded. Checking the weapons on her back, she found a Hurricane Submachine Gun and a Crusader Shotgun, both also top of the line N7 weapons, along with a plethora of thermal clips. Lifting her arm she clenched her fingers into a fist, and her entire arm began to glow blue with biotic energy, her L5N Vanguard Biotic implants still working strong. Shepard grew a savage grin that would've made Wrex proud.

"Yeah, I'm good to go." she said, as she drew her shotgun and gave Sev a nod.

"Let's move out then." He grunted, turning and motioning the others to follow.

The impromptu fireteam quickly took their positions. Sev, a highly trained hunter and tracker, took point. The close quarters master Shepard followed, and the master assassin Thane held up the rear. They moved swiftly and quietly, dashing between trees and not leaving a footprint behind. While Shepard always preferred going in hard and loud to stealth espionage, her N7 training easily allowed her to keep up with the two snipers.

The squad continued this pattern for fifteen minutes, making good progress through the forest, when Sev's fist shot up, halting their movements. Instantly Shepard crouched, raising her shotgun and scanning the forest for contacts. All three were statues, unmoving and silent, taking as much information in as possible, ready to pounce. There was no noise, save for the gentle wind that rustled the crimson leaves.

But then there was a crack, a snapping of twigs, North of their position. Shepard spun, crosshairs looking for a target, but only seeing shadows. Fast moving shadows that continued to run out of her view. More noise grew around them, the telltale sounds of something dashing towards them from all directions, followed by a single, piercing cry. A howl. A howl louder than any Shepard had ever heard before.

Shepard's eyes widened as she watched a creature appear from the shadows of the forest. It was a massive creature of black fur, with white, bony spines protruding from its back, and on its head, a sinister skull-shaped mask with blood red markings. It was lupine in appearance, but reminded Shepard more of werewolves she'd seen in old Holo-vids than any actual animal.

"Beowolves." Sev chuckled. Shepard could hear an excited bloodlust in his voice.

Around them a several more of theses beowolves appeared, followed by a single large bear-like shadow monster with similar bone armor

"And they brought an Ursa." Thane flatley added.

With a snarl the first beowolf lunged right for Shepard, covering nearly a dozen feet in a single leap. Shepard rolled to the side, dodging the blow that ripped apart the ground she had been kneeling on. Charging her biotics into her left hand, she threw the beowolf backwards. It flew through the air, smashing into the side of a tree, sending splinters of wood into the beast. The beowolf fell to the ground, injured but not dead, bleeding some kind of black substance. Before it could recover, Shepard rushed forward, and with a single blast from her shotgun put the beowolf down.

Two more wolves snarled at her before making their move. But like their now dead packmate, these two beowolves acted more on instinct than with strategy. They dashed towards Shepard, savagely sprinting straight for her. Seeing the attack Shepard decided to meet them head on. Blue biotic flames burst around her as she flew directly at the closest beowolf, biotically charging it. The beowolf's momentum immediately reversed as it was sent ragdolling backwards, with Shepard standing where it once was. The second wolf, still running forward, overshot Shepard. It desperately tried to slow itself, turning and digging its claws into the ground, skidding through the dirt. But it wasn't fast enough as a quick two tap from Shepard's Crusader shotgun turned the beast into a pile of black smoke.

Meanwhile Sev and Thane were dealing with their own would-be ambushers. Sev, already having his DC-17 blaster in the sniper rifle configuration watched as two beowolves ran straight for him, ignoring any type of cover the trees could provide. With an expertly placed shot, a blue bolt of plasma shot forward, burning its way through the beowolf's skull plated head and out the other end. Shepard's mouth fell open as she saw what appeared to be a fully functional, hand held direct energy weapon.

Before Sev could get another shot off however, the second beowolf had closed the distance. The wolf gave a wide horizontal swing. Sev barely leaned back in time as the claws passed inches away from his face. It was telegraphed and easy to predict, but the speed and ferocity of the strike made it hard to dodge nonetheless. Continuing its momentum forward, the beowolf growled and went for a vicious bite at Sev's arm.

The beowolf's fangs clamped down on air as Sev narrowly slipped the maw of teeth. Moving off pure instinct, Sev grabbed one of the bony protrusions on the wolf's shoulder, pulling it down while he jumped up. In a single motion, Sev flipped himself over the beast and mounted the beowolf, balancing himself on its wide shoulders. Flicking his left wrist, his knuckle-punch vibroblade extended from his gauntlet. Bending down on the nape of the beowolf's neck, he began repeatedly stabbing it with his blade. Shepard could've sworn she heard him laughing as the last knife strike drove the beowulf into the ground.

Seeing that Sev was fine, Shepard moved to check on Thane who was engaging the Ursa. To her surprise, Shepard saw him choosing to fight the bear in close quarters. Thane had his M6-Carnifex pistol in his right hand, and in his left he had what looked like a sword. Shepard recognized the blade as a Jian, a double edged Chinese straight sword often used in Wushu or as a military officer's sword.

Shepard questioned where he got the sword from, or if he even knew how to use it, but these questions quickly disappeared as the Ursa attacked. Thane spun in the air, twisting with a butterfly kick to dodge the Ursa's cumbersome claw. Sticking the three point landing, Thane then dashed towards the bear, cutting the distance and nullifying its advantageous reach.

The Ursa swung with its other claw, but Thane dropped and slid on the dew covered grass, gliding between its legs and ending up behind it. With a quick flash of his sword, Thane sliced into the back of the Ursa's hind legs, cutting the tendons with surgical precision. The bear stumbled back, its legs no longer able to support its massive weight. Thane simply stepped to the side as it fell, landing on its back in a daze. Before it could even register what had happened, Thane leapt onto its chest and aimed his heavy pistol, unloading the thermal clip into the Ursa's throat.

With the area cleared of all hostiles, Shepard approached the assassin as he jumped off the dissolving beast. Flicking black blood off of his sword, Thane sheathed it on his back and holstered his Carnifex pistol.

"You look good with that blade, Thane." Shepard said with a grin. "I knew you could throw a punch but I've never seen you pull off moves like that.

"Indeed." Thane responded, nodding his head. "After the duel with the Cerberus assassin, I thought it was prudent to become proficient with the usage of a sword. Luckily, we have several very skilled swordsmen among our number."

Shepard felt her blood boil at the very mention of Kai Leng, the cyborg assassin that killed so many people and hurt so many of her friends, but she quickly shoved the feeling down. He was dead and there were more urgent things to worry about.

"So what the Hell were these things? Beowolves? Ursas? Names aside, they looked too similar to wolves and bears to be pure alien." Shepard questioned. "Some kind of, genetic engineering? Bioweapons?"

"Would you believe me if I said magic?" Sev snigg*red.

Shepard raised an incredulous eyebrow at Sev, unamused by his comment.

"Bullsh*t." She spat out.

"It'll be another thing to tell you in the briefing." Sev laughed. "What I can tell you right now is that they're from another world, Remnant I think it was called. They are literal magic beasts that sense fear and eat humans. They're dumb and not too hard to kill, but can be problems in big numbers."

Shepard was agape, stunned by the one revelation after another. First, Sev was holding an actual plasma gun in his hands, something only the Geth or Collectors were able to come close to making, and even their guns were only faux-energy weapons. Then he says that magic animals are real. She'd be giddy if they weren't trying to kill her.

Sev simply shook his head as he turned around and resumed leading them out of the forest. Still confused, Shepard looked to Thane, who only gave his small shrug before falling in line behind Sev. Shepard simply sighed and moved to catch up with the two snipers.

----

The group continued East through the forest for another hour. Luckily, the rest of the way out of the forest was mostly clear, save for a smaller pack of grimm that was quickly put down. About a hundred meters in front of her, Shepard could see the edge of the forest, which emptied into an expansive desert region.

The shift in environments was jarring. On one side of Shepard was a lush, dense scarlet-leaved forest. On the other was a mountainous, arid, desert landscape, filled mostly with rocks and dry grass. It was as if someone took two separate biomes that should've been miles apart and crammed them next to each other.

Shepard scanned the horizon, examining the sand dunes and rocky cliffs that lay in her way. She could see some small black figures, moving in packs across the sand. She quickly surmised they were Grimm, and was thankful that their black appearance would make them stick out in the desert.

However, her survey of the landscape brought a stunning revelation. It took several visual passes, reexamining different sections and rock formations, but Shepard realized she recognized this land. She had seen photos of the terrain back during her special forces training in the Systems Alliance. Every N7 operative knew of the decades of special forces operations and guerilla warfare that took place in these mountains.

"Guys." Shepard muttered. Sev and Thane both stopped to turn to her. "Do you know where we are?"

Sev and Thane shared a look, before turning back and shaking their heads.

"These aren't just any old mountains. This is the Kabul Province, in Afghanistan!" Shepard practically yelled. Both Sev and Thane raised their eyebrows, confused at the importance of the region's name. Shepard sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"That means that this entire region is from Earth. As in the cradle of humanity in our universe." Shepard explained, gesturing to her and Thane.

"Oh, well good for you I suppose." Sev grunted before turning back ground, his indifference palpable.

"You can just barely see our HQ from here." Sev continued, changing the subject as he pointed to a large plateau overlooking a river. On top of the shelf Shepard could barely see the remains of a medieval castle. "Let's move. I want to be back before the sun starts going down. We get there too late all the good MREs will be gone."

Shepard wanted to say something about Sev's absolute apathy to what she thought was a huge revelation, but he was already on the move. Shepard glanced at Thane who caught her eyes. Thane just gave a simple shrug before moving to catch up with Sev. Shepard could only give an exasperated sigh as she began hoofing it was well.

The trio jogged their way through the desert, and soon enough reached the river below the castle. The plateau the structure rested on had one avenue of approach by foot, a long road to the Southwest that gradually inclined to the castle. All other sides of the stone mesa was surrounded by hundred foot cliffs, carved out by millenia of erosion, which were protected by castles walls atop them.

As they approached the castle, Shepard could make out more and more of the layout. The castle had a simple design, a large, rectangular complex that ran flush with the cliffs beneath it. The walls looked to have been made with some type of granite originally, but had been recently repaired with concrete and steel. Shepard could see Anti-Air guns atop the defensive towers and bastions of the walls, and the castle gates were replaced by a pair of steel blast doors.

Sev moved two fingers to an ear, opening a call on his comlink.

"T3, open the main gate and notify the Boss of our arrival." Sev ordered.

Shepard could hear a series of electronic chirps and whistles over the comms, as the hydraulic pumps of the gate hissed to life. With a resounding clang the main lock of the blast doors disengage, and they began to slowly open inward.

"Well Shepard," Sev said, turning back to her and likely grinning underneath his helmet. "Let me be the first to officially welcome you to Mother Base."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

"Well Shepard, let me be the first to officially welcome you to Mother Base." Sev said, entering the outer courtyard of the castle.

The castle that had been repurposed as the so called Mother Base was rectangular in overall shape, bisected into an inner and outer bailey by an internal wall and gatehouse. Shepard knew this was a standard medieval defensive layout, having several gatehouses and walls to provide multiple layers of defense. That way if an enemy breached the main gate, they would have to fight through a second line before being able to storm the keep. Such tactics would have limited usefulness against air support or artillery, but against an enemy like the grimm, such antiquated defenses would be invaluable.

Mother Base itself was a strange amalgamation of not only dimensions but of ages as well. From the exterior, Shepard knew the base was at least a medieval, if not classical age construction. But the inside told a completely different story.

On the East side of the courtyard she could see a series of shipping containers that looked like they dated to the 20th or 21st centuries. The containers were color coded based on what they were storing, red for fuel, grey for metals, purple for biological materials, so on and so forth. Adjacent to the material storage was a tent that acted as an armory. Shepard could see tables and lockers behind the flaps, recognizing a few weapons such as old Soviet AK-74s and Alliance M-8 Avengers, along with several weapons of unknown design.

But Shepard was not that focused on the layout or supplies of the castle, because on the West side was the largest land vehicle she had ever seen. A thirteen meter long, six-legged walker with a massive cannon on its back, four smaller gun turrets on what she assumed was the co*ckpit, and enough armor to rival an Alliance cruiser.

Sev could see Shepard staring awestruck at the vehicle and let out a chuckle.

"Great isn't it?" He asked, gesturing to the walker. "That's an All Terrain Tactical Enforcer, AT-TE for short. Or as my training sergeant would say 'One-hundred tons of plasma-spewing divine intervention.' It's a troop transport, main battle tank, and artillery cannon all rolled into one. Hell, I've even seen reports of these things being used in space battles."

"Damn what I wouldn't give to have had a couple hundred of these during the Reaper War." Shepard shook her head. The only comparable vehicle she could think of was the Krogan Tomkahs, which only had widespread use during the Krogan Rebellions.

The Council, in all their stubborn, pacifistic wisdom, had refused to build up arms in preparation for the Reapers, even after the Battle of the Citadel. As a result, the Council races truly lacked the necessary war machines and starships required to go toe to toe with the Reapers. A mistake that cost billions of lives.

"This section is the vehicle bay." Thane explained, gesturing to the West side of the outer courtyard. Next to the AT-TE was a tried and true vehicle that Shepard loved, the M35 Mako, as well as a pair of open air, jeep-pickup truck hybrids that had chain guns mounted on their flatbeds.

"Whenever we explore adjacent territories, we take any chance we get to capture or scavenge vehicles and spare parts. You are obviously familiar with the Mako. The trucks here are designated Warthogs." Thane continued, pointing to the jeeps. "It is a surprisingly well made anti-infantry vehicle. The design may expose the passengers to fire, but its speed and agility more than make up for it."

Shepard scanned the warthogs for a few good seconds, before shrugging and saying, "Hm, I think it looks more like a puma."

Thane scowled, about to retort when a series of electronic whistles and beeps cut him off. From behind the Mako, the strangest looking robot Shepard had ever seen rolled into view. It was a silver-grey machine, no more than a meter tall, with a boxy main body, and a cylindrical disc shaped head that had a single large flashlight that she assumed was its eye. It had four wheels, two at the base of its main chassis and two on its "arms" that extended to the ground. The droid wheeled its way over to Shepard and eyed her up and down.

"Uh, hi?" Shepard gave an awkward wave to the little droid.

The droid only responded with high pitched clicks, whistles, and other technobabble sounds that made no sense to Shepard.

"Right. Shepard this is T3-M4. The bucket of bolts is our primary mechanic." Sev grunted, giving some hard knocks to the top of T3's head. T3's lens swiveled to face him, shouting a series of angry sounding beeps and whirls. Sev just chuckled in response, ignoring the outburst.

"Do you actually understand what it's saying?" Shepard inquired, co*cking her head to the side.

Sev shrugged his shoulders. "More or less. Little tin can is a utility droid, an ancestor to the astromechs of my time. Droids like them are used for repairs, slicing, and other important tech work, so the simulations taught me more than enough binary to effectively communicate with them."

T3 gave another burst of whistles and beeps and Shepard just shook her head, smiling.

"Well I guess this answers the question of whether or not Synthetics have souls. Knew Legion was right about that." She chuckled.

Suddenly, the sound of crashing debris filled the air. Shepard spun towards the source, and she could see a cloud of dust rising from behind the inner wall. Shepard's hands instantly went to her pistol as she scanned for threats.

"What's going on? Are we under attack?" She asked, her voice now devoid of all humor.

"Worse." Sev grumbled, shaking his head. "Combat Practice."

----

Opening the gates to the inner courtyard, Shepard was awestruck for the umpteenth time today. In front of the main keep, standing in a dirt circle, Shepard watched as two teenagers fought a duel that trumped any holovid that she's ever seen.

The first combatant was a young woman. Somewhat tall for her age, wearing heels of all things, with a long red ponytail and vibrant green eyes that reminded Shepard of herself. The teenager's attire on the other hand was something that Shepard could never see herself wearing. It was a Greco-Roman styled armor set, with a brown, leather overbust corset protecting her torso paired with an elastic black miniskirt and red sash. She wore elaborate bronze greaves and cuisses that protected her legs, a matching bracer on her left arm, and an ornate gorget around her throat. Shepard thought the armor left too much of her upper arms and legs exposed, but the girl didn't seem to mind at all. In her left hand was a bronze, Greek Dipylon-style shield and in her right was a red and bronze double edged Xiphos short sword that appeared to have several gears and segmented levers. With her shield held high, she had the appearance of a fully fledged hoplite, complete with a confident grin across her face.

On the other hand her opponent was the picture of simplicity. He was a young man, probably not even taller than his opponent, and had a thin body that suggested agility over strength. He had pale white skin and close shaven brown hair. His dark clothing was tattered and well worn, with cloth wraps bandaged around his ankles and wrists and several belts around his waist. Holstered on one these belts was either a flashlight or a sword hilt, Shepard couldn't tell which. Unlike his opponent's extravagant weapons he simply held a Chinese Jian, a straight sword similar to what Thane used, in a reverse grip.

The two started five or six meters apart, staring each other down, looking for a weakness in the other's stance. The redhead moved first, and in a single leap closed the distance in less than a second. Feinting high then swinging low, her right arm became a blur as she unleashed a flurry of sword strikes against the man.

But her opponent would not be so easily overwhelmed. He spun backwards, parrying and deflecting each of the redhead's attacks with frustrating ease. Changing tactics, the redhead's sword unfolded, shifting it's form into a spear that she thrust towards the man's face. The man tilted his head, narrowly avoiding the spearhead as the girl then dropped low, throwing a low, sweeping spin kick.

The kick caught nothing as the man jumped three meters into the air, backflipping over the leg sweep. The girl then flung her shield at her opponent, capitalizing on his lack of maneuverability in air. But to Shepard's amazement, the man tucked his arms close and spun mid jump, narrowly dodging the bronze discus before he immediately righted himself. As he was falling he extended his left hand, palm open, and the redhead was overtaken by an invisible telekinetic force, blasting her backwards as he landed without issue.

Using the momentum of the push, the girl tucked into her own backflip and landed in a superhero pose. Her hands were covered with a black glow as she raised them up, making a yanking gesture towards herself. Her shield, which was still sailing through the air after the near miss, stopped completely and reversed momentum.

Spinning like a buzzsaw the shield flew straight for the man's back. However, he seemed to know the attack was coming, and turned to face it. He raised his left hand and his telekinesis stopped the shield completely. The shield groaned and vibrated as the pressure of the two unnatural forces pushed upon it.

Her assault not over yet, the redhead then threw her spear at the distracted man's back. The spear soared, aimed perfectly at the man's center of mass. Shepard's biotics flared for a brief second, ready to stop the weapon and save him from getting impaled.

But his inhuman sixth sense kicked in again, as the man raised his sword and parried the javelin without even looking at the attack. The spear flew off course and stabbed the dirt instead. The girl's eyes widened with shock and her focus on the shield was broken. The man then spun, hurling the shield back at her. The attack snapped the redhead out of her stupor but it was too late. The shield smashed into her chest, knocking her flat on her ass as some sort of energy field around her shattered.

With his opponent prone on the ground, the man dashed forward again, faster than humanly possible. He leapt into the air, blasting a cloud of dust and sand away from him. Now flying above the redhead, he turned his sword downwards, and plummeted straight for her. With a terrifying crunching sound, the man's sword drove its way several inches into the ground next to the girl's head as he landed beside to her.

"I believe this is your loss." He said with a smirk. Pulling his sword from the ground, he sheathed it, and offered the redhead a hand. The girl smiled and took it, pulling herself up.

"Your initial strategy was good Pyrrha, but you need to be more careful of falling for such bait. Opponents of our level would not accidentally turn their backs to you like that." The man instructed, his voice low and calm.

The now identified Pyrrha shook her head as she raised her hands. Her sword and shield slowly lifted themselves off the ground before flying into her palms.

"I suppose you are correct, Galen." Pyrrha sighed as she sheathed her weapons. "My spear throw at the end would've caught most opponents unawares, but your ability to sense and react to danger goes beyond anything I've ever seen. It's almost impossible to land a clean hit on you."

"Well sneak attacks tend to lose their effectiveness against someone that can sense the future." Galen retorted. "But I think we've had enough sparring for one day. It's rude to keep our newest guest waiting."

Galen turned to face Shepard, giving her a slight smile and a polite nod. Pyrrha gave a confused glance at Galen, before turning to see what he was facing. Pyrrha's eyes widened as she saw Shepard and her companions entering the inner bailey, and her face brimmed with a bright smile.

"Oh hello there! I'm sorry I didn't notice you!" Pyrrha beamed, walking up to Shepard, giving a small wave.

"It's alright kid." Shepard laughed, waving off Pyrrha's concern. She extended her hand and Pyrrha happily shook it in return. "The name's Shepard. Commander Jane Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy. Planet Earth I suppose." Shepard gave a small shrug, not knowing the etiquette for interdimensional introductions.

"Pyrrha Nikos, huntress in training, from Remnant." Pyrrha returned. She motioned to Galen next to her.

"Galen Marek." He said with a bow. "Former assassin of the Galactic Empire turned Jedi Knight."

"Former assassin?." Shepard raised an eyebrow, glancing at Thane. "Not many people would be willing to reveal something like that to a stranger."

"That was a dark time of my life, yes, but I do not regret it. My experiences have shaped me into who I am today, someone who lived protect life rather than take it." Galen shook his head with a grin. "And besides, we don't stay strangers here for long."

"I'll take your word for it." Shepard nodded, looking over the two teenagers.

Teenagers, she thought to herself as a frown crept to her face. They're good, superhuman even, but far too young to be in the land of the dead. Banishing the somber thoughts from her mind, she turned back to Pyrrha.

"Well how about you Pyrrha? With moves like that, are you some sort of secret, super assassin too?" Shepard grinned.

"Oh, no!" Pyrrha gave a small laugh. "Like I said I was a huntress-in-training on my world of Remnant. I attended Beacon Academy, a school that specializes in teaching how to hunt grimm."

Shepard blew some air out of her nose, almost laughing in disbelief

"Wait, you're saying your high school taught you how to kill monsters?" Shepard asked, remembering the shadow beasts she fought earlier. "Is that where you learned how to use those super powers of yours?"

Pyrrha nodded.

"Indeed. And it's not super powers, but my Aura and Semblance." She explained, allowing a red glow to cover her hands. "You see in my world, we learn to manipulate the manifestation of our soul, which we call Aura. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. In short, by bearing my soul outward, it can protect me from harm, enhance my physical capabilities, or even heal my wounds."

Shepard brought her fingers to her chin as she closed her eyes in thought.

"So it's like a kind of force field?" Her eyes shot open in realization. A ghost of a smile traced Pyrrha's lips as she shrugged.

"Yes I suppose you could say that. You're, not the first person to think of it that way." She stated as the glow around her hands shifted from crimson red to black. "A Semblance on the other hand is an ability that is unique to different individuals. They are fueled by aura, and represents aspects of your character."

Pyrrha's shield was covered in the same black glow and began to levitate.

"My Semblance is polarity." Pyrrha made the shield spin like a top before if flew higher into the air and holstered itself on her back.

"Ok so your superpower is magnetism, got it." Shepard stated not asked, crossing her arms with a teasing smirk.

"Well, it's…" Pyrrha sighed. She could already tell Shepard wasn't going to give up on this. "Yes, my superpower is magnetism."

"And what of you?" Galen asked. "Thane has told us much about you. Quite a few tales of your bravery and heroism. Also, something about you being a 'warrior-angel of Arashu'?"

Shepard's mouth gaped as she turned to give a confused look at Thane. For the first time Shepard had ever seen, Thane seemed abashed, looking down at the ground and rubbing his neck as she could hear Sev chortle in the background.

"I found it an, apt metaphor at the time. But perhaps it is time for us to continue on, Shepard." Thane muttered.

"Right. Sorry to cut this short, but we should go. Still gotta meet with the boss of this place." Shepard abruptly said.

"Well it was a pleasure to meet you, Shepard." Pyrrha happily replied. "We don't want to keep you from our leader. He kind of has a whole speech for this scenario, so we shouldn't steal his thunder."

Shepard chuckled and said her goodbyes as she and Thane walked towards the Keep. Sev departed as well, going off to restock on ammunition and check on the base's defenses. The main keep was a square, four-story tall stone citadel of classic medieval design. To its immediate West was a series of steel I-beams forming the framework of a new structure. Atop it's roof, a large helipad could be seen, where a V-TOL aircraft that Shepard didn't recognize sat in waiting.

"Something of note, Shepard." Thane cut in, ignoring the previous comments. "The Galactic Empire that Galen was a part of is actually part of the same galaxy that Sev is from. However, they are separated by decades of time. We believe that not only are those here drawn from across dimensions, but from across time as well."

Shepard let this revelation sink in. Not the worst one she had today, by far, but it still had its complications. Not that she'd mind riding into battle with Alexander the Great and Joan of Arc.

The duo soon reached the keep's main doors, a pair of wooden, medieval doors reinforced by iron strips. Thane opened the door for Shepard, but did not follow as she made her way in.

"This meeting should be yours, and yours alone, Shepard. Do not worry, the Boss is a good man, and I would trust him with my life." Thane spoke with a sincere and respectful voice.

Shepard thought for a moment on Thane's behavior. If Thane trusted this Boss so much, he must truly be a stalwart leader.

"Understood." She curtly nodded. She took a few steps through the doors, before briefly turning back to her friend. "And Thane? It's damn good to have you back."

Thane smiled in response, "And you as well Shepard." He said, before closing the doors.

Shepard entered a stone foyer that led into the former great hall of whatever king once lived here. Any decorations that were once here had either faded away with the passage of time, or were replaced with modern tables, computers, and radio equipment. The room had the unmistakable look of a command center. A massive, hand drawn map was spread out across a plain, unfinished wooden table. Small chess pieces were placed on it, most likely representing different factions or armies. A plethora of mismatched chairs were laid out in rows in front of a projector, obviously for use during mission briefings. And standing in the middle of this organized mess of papers, photos, and reports, staring intently at the map, stood Mother Base's leader, smoking a cigar.

He was an older man, that much was obvious. Probably in his late fifties or early sixties, the man had sun worn, white skin that war marred by an innumerable amount of scars. His swept back, brown hair and beard were whitening, giving him a salt and pepper coloration. He wore a simple, desert camouflage battle dress uniform, along with a metallic combat vest and harness. Shepard's eyes fell to his left hand, which had been replaced by a red prosthesis, then to his right eye, which was covered by an eye patch. What stuck out the most to her, however, were the two pieces of shrapnel jutting out of the right side of his forehead, almost appearing like a horn.

From appearance alone, the man was both intimidating and awe-inspiring. She knew the tenacity needed to keep fighting with wounds like those, and she immediately felt an innate respect for him. Shepard instinctively found herself standing at attention. She knew the man wasn't technically her superior officer, Hell there was a good chance she probably outranked him. But the man exuded a something she could not ignore, the aura and charisma of a warrior and leader.

The man either didn't notice or didn't care that Shepard stood at attention. He took a long drag off of his cigar as he walked over to her, meeting her eye to eye. He looked her up and down as well, judging her, analyzing her. They stood in silence for several very long seconds, before he broke the ice.

"So, you're Shepard?" he asked, his voice low and raspy, but measured and controlled. "Thane's told us a lot about you."

"I'm sure he exaggerated, sir." She nodded.

A short laugh escaped him as a small smile pulled on the corners of his mouth.

"Exaggerated? With his perfect memory? That I doubt." He took one last drag before extinguishing the cigar on his prosthetic palm. "And there's no need for 'sir'."

Shepard let herself relax as the man extended his right arm to her. She reached out and returned with a firm handshake.

"You can call me Snake." He said flatly, devoid of any emotion. "And we, are the Legion of the Damned."

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

"And we, are the Legion of the Damned." Snake declared, with complete seriousness.

It took all of Shepard's discipline and training not to crack a smile.Their leader's name is Snake, and they call themselves the Legion of the Damned. Well not the worst named organization I've worked with.Shepard couldn't help but chuckle in her mind.

"Do you know what I see when I look at you, Shepard?" Snake asked, interrupting her inner monologue. Their eyes met, his unflinching gaze matching her unwavering stare. Shepard knew this kind of question was rhetorical, and stayed silent.

"I see the kind of person that I could never be. Who you are, what you've done. You were forged in the fires of war to become the person your world needed you to be. A hero." Snake took a pregnant pause as Shepard scowled, unsure of where this speech was going.

"In the same way my world, my Earth, forged me into what was needed at the time. A soldier, a killer, a demon… a phantom. And by some twist of fate I became a leader, given command of a band of soldiers, brothers and sisters who were just like me. Abandoned by their countries, their governments, by those they were sworn to protect. Soldiers who could not accept peace, for all they knew was battle. We had no family, so we became one. We had no home, so we found one in war. We had no chance for Heaven, so we made one ourselves."

Snake's eyes became unfocused, staring off into an unknown memory.

"When I was given the title of Big Boss, I fought to protect this family. I fought for a future where living weapons like ourselves would be needed no longer. The things I did for that dream were monstrous, and ultimately, I failed." Snake's eyes focused back on Shepard.

"I had resigned myself for the deepest pit of Hell, leaving the ruins of my legacy to the next generation. But then, I found myself here. Once again standing amongst soldiers, warriors, assassins, and heroes, my mission stays the same. Everyone here has fought too long, died honorable deaths, and they deserve rest. But the world is cruel and uncaring. We are surrounded on all sides by enemies, forced to scavenge and kill for the very basics. Maybe this place is Hell, and we're doomed to keep fighting until the final trumpet calls. That's fine with me. For as long as we stand together, for as long as I am the Boss, I won't let any part of my family end as ashes. And I want you to be a part of that family, Shepard." Snake finished his speech, his eyes filled with a mixture of determination and grief.

Shepard... didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to stand and salute the man till the sun went down. No one, not Anderson, not Hackett, and not the Illusive Man had ever stirred such feelings of respect in her.Pyrrha really undersold the speech,she thought to herself.

"That was… quite the recruitment pitch." Shepard finally said, folding her hands behind her back. Snake allowed himself a small smirk.

"I've had some time to practice it." Snake let out a quiet chuckle. "But still, Shepard. This is an offer, not an order, not an ultimatum. For what little it's worth in this strange land we find ourselves in, you still have a choice. You are free to follow your own path, to find what legacy you want in this world of battle."

"Snake." Shepard said in all seriousness. "You've taken care of my friend Thane for what, months? I've only just met some of the others, but Pyrrha? Galen? I see them and I see kids who are happy. You might look in the mirror and see a demon or phantom or whatever monster you think you are. But I see you and I see a good man, protecting what he can. And protecting others is all I ever wanted to do. Death didn't stop me from helping people before, I'm sure as Hell not going to let it stop me a second time." Shepard stepped forward, cutting her hand through the air.

"I'd be more than happy to help you and the Legion fight through whatever the Hell is out there." Shepard proudly finished.

Snake smiled, but quickly his face returned to its previously stoic and focused expression. "We're glad to have you aboard. Now that the welcome wagon is over, it's time for your briefing."

Shepard nodded. With the pleasantries over it was time for business. Intelligence was key to any war. And right now Shepard had about as much intelligence as Grunt. The two of them walked to the large map that was spread out in the middle of the command center. Meticulously drawn on heavy parchment, Shepard could see the image of an expansive, Pangea-type landmass. The continent itself was divided into six different sectors, one in the North, South, East, and West, and two in the center.

"From what we know, this world we find ourselves in is an amalgamation. A combination of half a dozen worlds that different members of the Legion are familiar with." Snake started.

Snake pointed to the Central-Eastern sector first. "Starting off with where we are now. This region is Kabul, Afghanistan. Mountainous, arid, and filled with nothing but sand. I've personally had a lot of experience in this AO. We're the primary occupants here, but Grimm tend to spill over from their territory. However we're normally able to avoid interactions with them, and they serve as a powerful deterrent from the other factions."

Snake then moved his finger to the Central-Western sector. "This is where we picked you up. According to Pyrrha, it's called the Forever Fall Forest from her world of Remnant. As the name implies, it's a type of deciduous forest that's locked in a permanent state of autumn. It's also where the Grimm numbers are the most dense."

Thinking on Sev's words in the forest, Shepard piped up. "Sev mentioned something about that. That grimm were a kind of magic monster that feeds on fear."

"Essentially." Snake confirmed. "According to Pyrrha, grimm are monsters that lack souls. They appear as twisted animals, and no one knows where they come from. They simply are. And from what we've seen, their numbers are near limitless. We could kill a thousand of them and not make a dent. They don't require food, but seem to be driven by design to hunt down sentients. In addition, they are attracted to negative emotions. Sadness, fear, hate, all of them draw the attention of the Grimm, which works to our advantage."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms asking, "How so?"

"First, the word fearless would be an understatement for many of the men and women here. Second," Snake replied before tapping his finger on the Southern sector of the map. "Our neighbors to the South are literally ruled by fear."

Reaching for a nearby folder, Snake pulled out a polaroid picture and handed it to Shepard. Standing in a red colored desert, was a human wearing plastic, white armor similar to Sev's, but lacking the specialized equipment and personalized decorations.

"If you've talked to Galen, then you've heard the name, Galactic Empire before." Snake continued as Shepard frowned at the implications. "That is a Stormtrooper, elite shocktrooper of the Galactic Empire. We don't know their numbers, but from what we've seen we're assuming at least a legion in strength. Currently they are operating out of the Southern region, an area that is based on the planet Korriban."

Shepard continued to sift through the photos, looking at a picture of a two-legged bipedal walker that reminded her of a chicken, as well as a desert encampment made of prefabricated metal buildings

"So why would the grimm be specifically attracted to them?" Shepard asked, placing the intel down.

"The Empire rules through fear, not respect. Their soldiers are hateful, sad*stic, and fear those above them. The ground of Korriban itself seems to pervade negativity. As such, their hands are full with constant grimm incursions." Snake explained.

"What kind of support do they have? Any known armor or artillery? And what about supply lines? Feeding thousands of soldiers is never an easy task." Shepard questioned. If the AT-TE outside was the standard of armor decades before the Empire, Shepard was nervous about what vehicles they could be fielding now.

"Where they get their food from is unknown." Snake simply stated. "As for armor, we're estimating a battalion level strength of combined armor, artillery, and support air crafts. Luckily, they don't seem to have access to Naval or Orbital support."

"Well great. At least we don't have to worry about getting bombed out of existence by whatever dreadnoughts they have." Shepard sarcastically commented before she let out a sigh. "Alright, who's next?"

"Next," Snake resumed, "is the Covenant. They're an alliance of aliens who are completely and utterly dedicated to the destruction of mankind." More photos were pulled out, this time of three alien races Shepard had never seen before.

First was short, squat alien with a large hump on its back labeled a Grunt. Shepard thought it looked like a strange cross between a krogan and a volus. Next was a Jackal. Taller than a grunt but still shorter than a human, the alien had long, thin limbs, a raptor like jaw, and even a few feathers on its head. And finally, the last photo was of a massive, hairy, ape of an alien that exuded savagery and brutality, aptly named a Brute.

"They inhabit the Western most sector, a grassland designated Reach, beyond the edges of the Forever Fall. Like the Empire, these aliens also have access to advanced technology such as plasma weapons and energy shields. The different races have different roles and functions. The grunts are weak but numerous, making up the Covenant's main line infantry. The jackals operate as snipers, scouts, or defensive skirmishers. Lastly, the Brutes make up their leadership and more elite fighting corps."

"Let me guess, they're openly hostile to our mostly human group and shoot on sight?" Shepard questioned. Snake gave a curt nod in return. "So, what's keeping them from wiping our merry band of misfits off the map?"

"Fortunately, the brutes seem to enjoy combat too much, and have drawn themselves into a protracted war with the Super Mutants in the North." Pulling a tablet out, Snake played a video of a battle between the Covenant and a group of a misshapen, 8 foot tall, Frankenstein-like monsters amongst a ruined cityscape.

"Well aren't they handsome." Shepard flatley joked. "So what's tall, yellow, and ugly's story?"

"Super mutants are heavily mutated humans from a version of Earth where nuclear deterrence failed and the world was nearly destroyed." Snake said, disgust ringing in his voice. "They occupy the ruins of Washington D.C. that make up the Northern sector. Technologically, they're the least advanced of the sentient races, mostly making use of firearms or primitive melee weapons. In fact they're barely intelligent enough to be considered sentient. But what they lack in intelligence they make up for with raw strength and endurance."

Shepard's face became hard, also disgusted that there was a version of Earth where humanity decided to nearly destroy itself with nuclear fire.

"But why are they fighting against each other? They don't look much like humans anymore, so why would they be on the Covenant's genocide list?" She asked.

Snake only gave a shrug.

"Simple. The mutants attack the Covenant for weapons and aliens to eat, while the brutes like a good fight." He stated.

"Hm, I guess no matter the world, no matter the species, war never changes." Shepard shook her head.

"What about the last section, the Eastern one?" Shepard pointed to the final sector on the map.

"Funnily enough, I should be the one asking you that question." Snake said, causing Shepard to raise an eyebrow.

"To the East is a sprawling, alien metropolis, with massive stone structures inhabited by these." Snake pulled out a photo of a synthetic humanoid, with a silver metal armor and a single flashlight photoreceptor on its head, standing on a planet very familiar to Shepard. Shepard felt a migraine coming as she rubbed the sides of her temples.

"You have got to be kidding me. The Geth? Really? And the alien ruins that they live in is the planet Ilos, graveyard world of the Protheans." Shepard's hands slid down her face as she let out an exasperated sigh. "Are they at least friendly? Before I died I negotiated a treaty with the Geth. We were allies in the war against the Reapers."

Snake just gave her a silent stare.

"Oh God damnit." Shepard muttered.

"Thane mentioned your previous interactions with the Geth. How there were two factions, one mainstream, one heretical. Thane seems to believe that these Geth fall in the latter category given how aggressive they are." Snake explained.

"Gee are there any friendly factions out here?" Shepard crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, practically dripping sarcasm. Snake didn't seem to care.

"Not that we know of, but at the very least none of them are aligned with one another." Snake stated. "The Geth tend to stay to themselves, but they have been seen raiding the Empire and the Covenant, most likely for their technology."

"Small victories I guess." Shepard sighed, slightly sagging her shoulders before righting herself. There were more questions that needed to be answered and she couldn't let herself get fatigued now. "Do you know what happens if when one of us dies? I doubt there's a second afterlife we go to if we bite it here."

"I don't know, and I do not want to find out." Snake asserted. "We ran what tests we could with what medical equipment we had. We know that each of us register as healthy and alive. I don't know if we're spirits, replicating human form, or if we've been brought back to life. But I do know that we breathe, we bleed, and we feel. That's all I need to say that we're alive. And if we're alive, we're going to fight."

"Damn right." Shepard gave a determined nod in agreement. "Alright last question. What's the end game here Snake? What's our goal? Sure, fighting five different evil empires sounds fun. Hell, it's a damn vacation after what I've been through. But I'm not sure if that's what I want to spend the rest of eternity doing."

"I would be inclined to agree with you. But don't worry, our task isn't so… sisyphean." Snake responded, drawing one final picture. This time it was of a photo of ancient ruins, eroded marble and sandstone structures of various geometric shapes.

"As we continued to explore this world we found, anomalys you can say. Ancient ruins that no one in the Legion can identify. The translations took time, but we found one phrase that was referenced at almost every ruin. It was the word 'Cycle'. We don't know what this Cycle is or what it means, but our goal is to find more of these ruins, learn what this Cycle is, and find out what it has to do with us being here. Once we learn that, hopefully we can finally find out how to pass on." Snake declared.

Shepard brought her hand to her chin, processing all the information given to her.

"Cycle huh." She muttered to herself with a laugh. "Mulitiverse is a lot smaller than I thought. But I agree, that sounds like the best course of action. When can I start?" She asked, excitement coloring her voice.

"For now, rest. Death takes its toll on all of us." Snake gave a small smile. "As for your first mission and who you're going to be working with, I have some ideas."

The Kig-yar known as Vok crouched upon the grassy knoll, overlooking the no-man's land between his camp, and the territory held by the yellow ogres. Peering through the scope of his beam rifle, he watched his squad leader, a Jiralhanae Major pace back and forth, awaiting the response from the forward scouts.

The delay of the scouts was disconcerting. Vok himself had explored the human ruins many times, which earned him many great honors and avoided many beatings. The yellow ogres were strong like Jiralhanae, but were slow, and lacked the hearing and smell required to catch one as stealthy as Vok. It is why Vok has great privilege of being the squad's sniper. The new Kig-yar sent in must be fools. Lumbering idiots who were caught by the ogres.

Nothing like that would ever happen to Vok! Vok was too clever, his senses too sharp! Vok could hear danger coming from a mile away! Vok would never have the chance to finish his train of thought as a blade pierced his throat, ending his mad internal ramblings.

An armored figured wiped the purple blood off of his combat knife. His armor, composed primarily of a dark grey outer shell layered over a black undersuit, blended him in perfectly with the night sky. He wore a fully enclosed helmet that had a rounded top, triangular jaw guard, and a single, smooth, grey visor that covered his face.

Sheathing his blade, he quietly picked up the Jackal's beam rifle. Aiming down the sights, he quickly surveyed the camp beneath him. One brute major, and three grunts. Add this to the scouts he took down earlier, and the jackal he just stabbed, they were probably all that remained of the Covenant forces in the area.

The beam rifle's crosshairs focused on the Brute's head. The armored man let out a steady breath, fully exhaling, and paused. With a single pull of the trigger, the brute's face went from an aggravated scowl to a cauterized crater as a beam of ionized particles ripped its way through the ape's head.

The brute fell to the ground in an instant, the following thud alerting the grunts around him. Their leader dead, the grunts did what they did best, they ran the Hell away. The three grunts spread out in all directions, two running back West to Covenant territory, and the last in a mad panic dashing across the no-man's land.

Two more purple beams of light cut through the night sky as the grunts running West were turned to lifeless husks. As the man leveled his sights on the last grunt, an unseen foot depressed the grass behind him. The invisible footsteps of a brute stalker made their way closer and closer to the demon that was killing his allies. Near silently, the brute stalker aimed his mauler at the demon's back.

The brute stalker would never get the chance to pull the trigger, as a speeding hunk of metal flew through the air, smashing itself into its chest. The armored man fired one last shot, killing the final grunt in an explosion of methane, before turning around to see the brute laid out before him. Its armor and rib cage were pulverized into a pasty, red mush by a massive, hydraulic-powered sledgehammer. A second armored figure walked up to the corpse, this one a female, and yanked the hammer out of the gore.

Unlike her companion she didn't wear a helmet. She was fair skinned with blue eyes and blonde hair tied into a ponytail. Her armor seemed less advanced than his, but was in no way less intimidating. The power armor was made of several sharp, angular, thick steel plates riveted together onto a skeletal frame. The armor seemed to go extend beyond the natural reach of her limbs, as the hands gripping the hammer were completely robotic. Her shoulder pauldrons flared out, and had the sigil of a blue lion in front of a winged sword painted on it.

"You let a brute get this close? Come on Six, you're not getting sloppy on me are you?" The woman asked with a wry grin.

Spartan-B312, aka Noble Six, gave a noncommittal shrug, magnetically holstering the beam rifle onto his back.

"I knew he was there Lyons, but I also knew you had my back." He crossed his arms and grinned underneath his helmet. "Besides Sarah, I can't have all the kills this mission. I don't want you to lookthatbad."

Sentinel Sarah Lyons shot Six a sharp glare. Before she could riposte, her communicator went off. Two fingers went to her ear as she listened to the call. The conversation was quick. Six heard only garbled static and Sarah's "Yes Sir" reply before she turned back to face him.

"Alright Six pack it up. Boss wants us back home." Sarah ordered.

Six raised an eyebrow under the visor of his Mjolnir Mark V[B] helmet, not caring that Sarah couldn't see it.

"Already? Why the rush?" He asked.

"TheCommander Shepard has landed at Mother Base. And we get to be the ones to take her on her first official op." Sarah said, grinning from ear to ear.

Six gazed at her for a brief second, before nodding and smiling as well.

"Damn, this is going to be fun." he chuckled.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

The next morning passed Shepard by quickly. Mother Base's main keep had more than enough spare rooms for Shepard to get her own private quarters, allowing her to take her first full night's sleep in a long time. Sitting with Pyrrha and Thane in the mess hall, she scarfed down a breakfast of questionable Soviet Union rations and coffee before meeting up Snake.

She found him waiting for her at the entrance of the keep, dressed in his regular desert camo fatigues.

"Snake." Shepard greeted, giving a small bow of her head.

"Shepard." He quietly responded, lighting up a cigar. "Walk with me." Snake turned about face and made his way for the entrance of Mother Base.

"So, what do you have for me Boss?" Shepard asked as she fell in line behind him.

Snake gave a quick puff of his cigar before answering.

"A demolition raid. The Empire has set up a listening post along the border of Kabul and Korriban, no doubt looking for us. Your primary objective is to locate and destroy this outpost." Snake ordered.

Shepard nodded in confirmation. "Any secondary objectives?" She queried.

Snake inhaled another breath full of wormwood before answering.

"Recovery of any assets you deem necessary. Weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, food, all have their uses." Snake answered, stopping to look at Shepard as they reached the inner gate. "You're in command of this mission. Your fireteam has already been assembled, designation Wolf. They're heavy hitters from alternate Earths, and operate as the Legion's assault team, so you should work well with them. Meet with them at the armory and head out as soon as you're ready. Good luck Shepard."

Snake extended his hand and Shepard shook it in return. The two parted ways as Shepard continued on to the outer bailey. Walking through the inner blast doors, she found herself outside of the large tent that she passed by the day before. It was a simple, desert tan, canvas tent that stretched 20 to 25 feet. She walked through the rolled up flaps to meet with her new squad.

Shepard stood in front of two giants of iron. When Snake told her she was going to lead a mission with the Legion's very own assault team, she was expecting a pair of grizzled veterans packing enough firepower to take down an enemy platoon single handedly, like Zaeed or Nihlus. She had gotten what she wished for, save for the fact that both of them were power armor wearing, 7-foot tall weapons of war. Shepard was forced to crane her neck up to make eye contact with them, almost making her feel like a child. The first of the two giants, a blonde woman in steel grey armor approached Shepard.

"So, you must be Commander Shepard." The blonde giant said, her large mechanical hand grasping the entirety of Shepard's forearm as they exchanged greetings. "The name's Sarah Lyons. The faceless jackass here is Six."

Six, who had been leaning on the weapon locker, straightened himself out and nodded to Shepard. "Spartan-B321, callsign Noble-Six. You can call me Six ma'am." He said, looking Shepard up and down. "I'll be honest, with what we've heard about you, I figured you'd be taller." Shepard could hear the playful grin underneath his helmet.

Shepard sent him a smirk in return. "Well Six, as I'm sure you've heard before, size isn't everything." She retorted with a light hearted chuckle. However, while she'd enjoy trading barbs with the super soldier, Shepard knew business had to come first. Her stance shifted, standing at attention and she gave them both a stern look. Sarah and Six quickly noticed the change in mood and stood at attention themselves.

"Before we get started I want to set things straight. We've been tasked with taking down an Imperial outpost that threatens our position, and I've been designated squad leader. However I know that getting dropped a new CO out of the blue can be... awkward. So I believe that it's important that we get to know each other first. Learn about the people watching our backs." Shepard explained. She knew just how important getting the two of them to trust her was. Soldiers that didn't trust their commanders would second guess or question orders, something that would only cause disorganization and confusion in an already chaotic battlefield.

"And while you may have heard of me from some of Thane's eventful stories, I think proper introductions are in order. So, my name is Commander Jane Shepard of the Systems Alliance, and Spectre of the Citadel Council. I was born in the year 2154 and was a spacer for most of my childhood, living with my parents who were also Alliance Navy. I've fought against batarian slavers, chased rogue Spectres across the galaxy, wiped out an enigmatic race of aliens known as the Collectors, and waged a war to save the galaxy from a race of hyper advanced AI called the Reapers." She said. Honesty was important now, and Shepard knew that the more she revealed the more confidence would be built.

Sarah and Six glanced at each other, but Sarah was the first to ask a question.

"What was your Earth like?" Her voice a mix of curiosity and sadness.

A small frown found itself on Shepard's face.

"Earth was beautiful. Between technological advances and the wealth from the colonies, it would be safe to say we were entering a Golden Age. It was amazing. Disease, environmental damage, even social injustices were all on the decline. But everything changed when the Reapers attacked.

"Most of our major cities were destroyed in days. The Alliance was forced into fighting a guerilla war for our home planet." She said, heavy with regret at having to leave when the invasion of Earth began. "But hopefully, with the defeat of the Reapers, they'll be able to rebuild." Shepard finished, her voice still alive with hope.

Sarah gave an empathetic smile. Shepard could tell something about the idea of rebuilding Earth resonated with her. "And this Council of yours. It's a kind of alliance of alien races? " Sarah asked

Shepard nodded her head. "Yes, the Citadel Council is an intergalactic government of various alien species, all working for the common goal of peace and stability. The three original races were the Asari, the Salarians, and the Turians. Humans were recently added thanks to our part in the Battle for the Citadel."

"Ha!" Six audible laughed, causing Shepard to shoot a glare at him. "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude. It's just that where I come from, intergalactic peace is a bit of an oxymoron."

Shepard raised an eyebrow in response. Shepard was always good at reading people, and she couldn't find any traces of malice or disrespect in Six's voice. Only sad resignation behind the sarcasm. "Well why don't you tell me about where you're from Six? What's your Earth like?" She asked, wanting to find the source of the reaction.

Six shrugged in response. "Not much I can say. I'm from the Outer Colonies, never got the chance to actually see Earth. I was born in the year 2533, my name and place of birth are classified. In my universe, we never had the luxury of a friendly first contact. The only experience with sentient alien life we had was with the Covenant, our genocidal next door neighbors. And ever since we've been fighting for the right to exist against a more technologically advanced foe hellbent on our destruction. I was recruited into the Spartan-III program at the age of six to combat the Covenant, but details about that are also classified." Six flatly stated. "I tended to specialize in wetwork, counterterrorism, or direct action."

"Classified?" Shepard asked, not believing what she was hearing. "You're telling me that not only were you a child soldier, but you don't want to talk about any of it because it's classified? We're not even in the same universe anymore, what's the point of keeping it a secret?"

Six only crossed his arms and gave her a blank stare. "Because it was an order."

Again Shepard saw no disrespect in Six's words. His dismissal was so casual it was as if he was stating a simple fact. Shepard was baffled, and before she could question him again, Sarah stepped in.

"You should probably give it up Shepard. None of us have been able to get Six to open up on this, not even the Boss. Whatever mental programming he's been through has him locked down tight. I doubt even Galen's psychic space magic could get him to spill any secrets." She explained.

Shepard sighed. "Alright fair enough. No reason to force it if it's just going to cause issues." She shook her head. Pushing further would only have the opposite effect of what she wanted, causing Six to distrust her instead. She looked to Sarah for a change in topics. "What about you? What's home like?"

Sarah would've done a spit take had she been drinking. "Pfft you kidding? My Earth was a hellhole. You see, in 2077 the US, China, and the Soviets decided that their century long game of nuclear chicken had gone on long enough. The Great War lasted all of two hours, and killed more people than the previous two world wars combined. Ever since then, the survivors have been trying to pick up the pieces. I was born in 2251 in the Lost Hills bunkers of California, to a group called the Brotherhood of Steel. We dedicated ourselves to the protection of mankind, from external threats and from itself."

"What do you mean by that?" Shepard queried.

"Well every new Wasteland we went to was always filled with the same sh*t. Bandits, slavers, radioactive monsters, super mutants, the list goes on. So one of our main objectives was to protect the civilians just trying to make it day to day from threats like these. However if the Great War proved anything, it's that humanity was not ready for the technology it had birthed. So we also collect the most advanced technology. Energy weapons, power armor, robotics, we take anything we can to keep locals from killing each other with them." Sarah explained.

Shepard recalled the ruined city and super mutants Snake had showed her. The images of a desolate Earth, even an Earth of a different universe, had deeply unsettled her. For her, that was the endgame she was trying to stop; the apocalypse. But for Sarah that was her everyday life. Living in a world that where not even a nuclear holocaust would stop humanity from warring with itself. Funnily enough it reminded her of Cerberus, and how even in the face of mass extinction by the Reapers humanity would still stand divided.

Shepard bit down the bitter feeling. "A noble cause, it sounds like you were doing good work back home. And have to ask, were there aliens in your universe?" Shepard questioned, shifting topics.

Sarah gave a shrug in response. "If there were I never saw any. A friend of mine told me that he got abducted by aliens once. Probed him and everything. To be honest I never really believed him, but now? I'm not to sure." Sarah shook her head as she recalled the memory.

While the stories might seem menial, Shepard knew the importance of getting to know her squadmates like this. Stories like these gave important indicators for how they might act in the field, like Six's wetwork speciality or Sarah's strong morality. Feeling that she had gathered enough basic knowledge about her new allies, Shepard relaxed and leaned on a steel table behind her.

"I think this'll be enough twenty questions for now. As fun as it is, we do have a mission to prep for. Six, I hear you're the quartermaster here, what do you got for me?" Shepard asked, gesturing to the plethora of arms behind the Spartan.

Six popped open two weapons lockers, both filled to the brim with rifles of different makes. Amongst the two of them was a variety of weapons from all of their combined universes. Older AK74s and M16s of Snake's world were mixed with BR55 battle rifles and SRS99 snipers rifles of Six's UNSC. Alliance M-8 Avenger Rifles and M-23 Katana shotguns stood next to Brotherhood of Steel issue AER9 laser rifles and Galactic Republic DC-15 blaster rifles.

"Fortunately, we have plenty of weapons from all of our worlds, so you won't be left wanting. But I would recommend familiarizing yourself with some of the more unique weapons." Six explained, referring to the large amount of energy weaponry that Shepard had never seen before.

Looking over the energy weapons, Shepard eventually decided to drop her N7 Hurricane SMG for a DC-15s blaster, a lightweight carbine used in Sev's universe, and picked up a UNSC M41 Rocket Launcher as well. Shepard couldn't help but be amazed by some of the weaponry. Clutching her new blaster carbine and double-barreled rocket launcher, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to pick a fight with the first Grimm they found just to test them out.

Sarah settled on her tried and true laser rifle/super sledge combo, while Six went with a DMR and an M319 grenade launcher. Armed and ready to go, the newly formed Fireteam Wolf jumped into a Warthog and made their way for the red desert of Korriban.

Shepard's red mane fluttered in the desert wind as she rode shotgun in the Warthog. Six, the most familiar with the vehicle, was made driver while Sarah manned the LMG. The drive was several hours long on rough, rocky terrain, but Shepard was used to far worse rides in her Mako. Soon enough the yellow, grassy desert of Kabul shifted to a crimson canyon whose hue matched Shepard's hair. What small evidence of plant life that existed in the Afghan desert all but disappeared in the new alien landscape of Korriban.

Shepard could feel the temperature drop as they left Kabul. Everything about the land around her felt wrong. Despite the cooler temperatures, she could feel a cold sweat forming as her paranoia rose, hunting for threats behind every rock formation they passed. She saw both Six's and Sarah's moods sour as well. Six's knuckles wrapped tightly around the steering wheel, white underneath his gloves, while Sarah's normally stoic, professional demeanor shifted into an aggravated scowl. All three could feel something ancient, something corrupting within these evil lands, but they had a job to do and would not turn back.

Snake had provided them with the general area where the Imperial base was believed to be, but they didn't have exact coordinates. Arriving at the area of operations, a jagged rock valley where eroded humanoid statues and ancient ruins could be seen in the distance, they dismounted from the Warthog. Fireteam Wolf hiked from the top of the cliffs down to the valley's floor, careful not to tip the Empire to their presence.

Six took point as they searched for clues. Having spent most of his life hunting down insurgents, this was Six's element. He knelt on the blood colored dirt, scanning for anything he could follow. Surely enough, Six found a trail of footprints in the clay soil, a well worn path that signified a regular patrol. Following the tracks, Fireteam Wolf slowly made their way through the valley, finding the communication array nestled underneath a large stone alcove.

The Empire was unaware of wolfpack hunting them, giving the fireteam time to plot out their plan of attack. The base was placed at the end of the valley, where a sheer 30ft rockwall blocked off attack from three sides. The only way they could approach would be a direct attack through the valley itself or from the air. The only problem with that was the metal barricades and heavy repeating blaster emplacement the Imperials set up watching the valley, making the primary entrance a killzone.

To get a better view of the base itself, Fireteam Wolf doubled back out of sight of the blaster emplacement, and climbed the cliffs up to the roof of the valley. Crawling on their bellies, they stopped above the encampment and continued their recon.

Passed the main checkpoint the base had much simpler defenses. The only real buildings were two metal, prefabricated hexagonal buildings that various stormtroopers walked in and out of, along with several simple canvas canopies spread out to give the troopers shade. Shepard could see the comms relay, a rectangular machine covered with an exorbitant amount of satellite dishes and antennae. Adjacent to it, a boxy, repulsorlift Imperial Troop Transport sat parked and emptied out, not ready for any kind of immediate attack.

The trio continued to lay in their spots, watching the stormtroopers move through the camp. It was populated by a skeleton crew of half a dozen standard stormtroopers, some of which were on sentry duty while others loitered around the camp. What caught Shepard's attention however were two additional, fully black armored stormtroopers that immediately stood out as some kind of commando force.

"Shadow Troopers." Six whispered. "Imperial Special forces. They have heavy weaponry and tactical cloaking devices." Shepard nodded in thanks for the info.

"So Commander, this is your op. What's the plan?" Sarah asked, adjusting the sights on her laser rifle.

Shepard brought her fingers to her chin, formulating a plan. She looked at the equipment they had, and it took less than a second for her mind to focus on her rocket launcher and Six's grenade launcher.

"Snake did say that we're the Legion's assault team right?" Shepard rhetorically asked with a big grin. "Well as the new assault team, there's no better way to show off what we can do than by going loud, hard, and with lots of explosions. And that calls for some good old shock and awe."

Shepard watched from atop the cliffs as Sarah and Six made their way down to the valley once more. Quickly the two armored commandos bouldered their way down the cliffs, setting up position down in the valley once more. Once they were out of sight and in position, Shepard pulled out her rocket launcher and readied herself.

Shepard loved this weapon. The double barreled design combined with several preloaded barrels, the M41 Rocket Launcher allowed her to deliver high explosive punishment faster than any contemporary weapon in her universe. Toggling the weapon's scope, she aimed at the repeating blaster emplacement, then the troop transport, watching as the rocket launcher's targeting system painted the targets red.

With a quick double tap of the trigger, two 102mm high explosive rockets soared through the air, ready to deliver death upon their predetermined targets. The last thing the poor stormtrooper in the repeating blaster nest saw was a bright light followed by oblivion as the rocket slammed into his position, turning the nest into a fireball of death and shrapnel. The second rocket struck true upon the Imperial Troop Transport, detonating and disabling the repulsor craft before the Imperials had any chance to get it moving.

The other stormtroopers ducked and jumped for cover as soon as the explosion hit. Some quickly dove behind sandbags or rocks, while other dropped prone, hoping to avoid any shrapnel or oncoming fire.

Without a moment's hesitation, Six and Sarah leapt into action, charging from the floor of the valley as soon as the stormtroopers all hit the deck. The two were almost to the now ruined repeating blaster nest by the time any of the Imperials noticed they were coming. One stormtrooper stood, pointed his blaster at Six and was about to fire, when Six raised his grenade launcher and blew the stormtrooper into little chunks.

Six launched grenade after grenade, suppressing the stormtroopers and forcing them to hunker down behind their cover. Seizing the opportunity, Sarah then rushed in through the breach, the stormtroopers too busy hiding from explosions to stop her. Sarah strode over the remains of the outer defenses and charged two stormtroopers crouching behind a set of sandbags.

Sarah's T-45d power armor ripped through their barricade like it was made of paper mache. The first trooper barely had time to look up before Sarah pulled the trigger, burning a foot wide charred black hole into his chest. Spinning to face the second trooper, she planted her mechanical foot into his sternum, and with a Spartan kick crushed his rib cage instantly.

Shepard, not wanting to be out done by the Brotherhood Sentinel dropped her rocket launcher and switched to her DC-15s carbine. She unloaded a volley of azure plasma onto the scrambling Imperials. The two remaining troopers were forced to stay in their cover, blind firing their guns at Shepard and Sarah. One of the troopers reached for his belt and pulled out a silver thermal detonator. He threw the grenade blindly at Sarah's position and tapped his comrade on the shoulder, getting ready to run as soon as the explosive went off.

The thermal detonator flew through the air, arcing its way towards Sarah's position. However, the grenade's descent seemed to slow, as it was enveloped with a blue glow. The thermal detonator came to a dead stop in mid air as Shepard grasped it with her biotics. With a sweeping motion of her arms, she lobbed the grenade back at the stormtroopers. The troopers, who were waiting for an earth shattering kaboom to make their move, failed to notice that the grenade falling back on their position. With a massive explosion of force and heat, they stormtroopers were incinerated, leaving nothing but shadows of ash on the ground.

The stormtroopers dead, Shepard lost sight of any immediate hostiles. Shepard let out a slow exhale, but couldn't help but feel something was still wrong. She was looking over the bodies of the white armored stormtroopers when she realized their mistake.Wait, where did the shadow troopers go?!She thought, worry seeping into her mind.

As soon as she made this realization, a barrage of heavy energy blasts burst from behind Six and Sarah. The shadow troopers, having gone invisible as soon as the attack began, made their way to the entrance to counter flank Six and Sarah while the duo was distracted killing the basic troopers. The Shadow Troopers' T21 blaster cannons fired shot after shot at Shepard's allies. Six's energy shielding burst out of existence forcing him to dash behind the ruins of the troop transport. Sarah was hit twice, taking two large scorch marks on her pauldron and torso. She too was forced behind the sandbags she had just broken through.

Shepard cursed. She needed to do something to get the pressure off her allies, before the Shadow Troopers could push on them. Thinking quickly, she switched to her Crusader shotgun and focused her biotics into herself. In a split second, she flew from the top of the valley and crashed right into a shadow trooper, biotically charging him. The shadow trooper's breastplate cracked, breaking under the pressure of Shepard's fists as he was knocked down to the ground, stunned but still alive. That wasn't good enough for Shepard, so she placed the barrel of her shotgun to the commando's faceplate and pulled the trigger. A hundred mass effect accelerated pellets ripped their way through the shadow trooper's helmet, then his face, then out the other side as the ground beneath him was painted crimson.

The second shadow trooper swung the butt of his light repeater, aiming to bash Shepard's head in. The melee attack was fast, but Shepard was an expert of close quarters combat, and ducked underneath the swing. As she avoided the attack, Shepard's arm burned with an orange light, her omni-tool now active. A holographic knife extended from her forearm as her omni-blade came to life. Shepard lunged forward, driving her knife into the commando's chest, piercing his armor, and feeling it slip between his ribs.

Shepard stared into the shadow trooper's eyes as he gurgled and choked, blood filling his lungs. While she couldn't see his face, she could tell this trooper felt no fear at death as he stared back at her in fierce defiance.

Weakly, the shadow trooper mumbled out his last words. "For...our Lord!" he cried as Shepard heard an electronic ping. Shepard's eyes widened. She looked down at the trooper's belt and to her horror saw his hand on a thermal detonator, primed and ready to blow.

Moving off of instinct and adrenaline, Shepard enveloped the commando in a blue biotic forcefield and flung him into the air while simultaneously creating a barrier around herself. The man barely flew up 10 feet before the detonator erupted. Shepard could only see red and white as grenade burst, the explosion enveloping her with searing heat as the concussive wave blasted her backwards.

Everything on Shepard hurt as she rolled on the ground. She even had that warm, tingly sensation that usually only occurs when she gets irradiated. Her ears blared a high pitched ring as Sarah's muffled voice called out to her. Sarah and Six ran to Shepard's position as she lifted herself to her knees. Sarah knelt down and helped Shepard to her feet, her face covered in worry.

"Commander! Commander you alright?" Sarah had to yell before Shepard acknowledged her.

Shepard shook her head free of her disorientation, "Yeah, yeah I'm good. Wasn't expecting the bastard to kamikaze." Shepard grabbed her head as pain shot through her mind and blood poured from her nose. Sarah's expression grew more concerned with the injury.

"Don't worry about it. Happens sometimes if I over use my biotics in a short period of time." Shepard said, wiping the blood from her face.

"If you say so." Sarah responded, somewhat unconvinced. "But I have to say Commander, that was a pretty gutsy move, charging head first into a pair of commandos."

"If by gusty you mean reckless then I agree." Six cut in, his voice mostly angry with a hint of concern. "That was careless Shepard, could've gotten yourself killed." Before Shepard could respond Sarah gave Six a dirty glare.

"Back off Six." She snapped at the Spartan-III. "Shepard's the commanding officer for this op and you will not speak to her like that." Sarah took an aggressive step towards Six, causing Shepard to move between them.

"Enough! Everyone calm down. Look, Six is right. I got co*cky and underestimated the shadow troopers. I wasn't ready for someone so fanatical and almost bit it again because of that. But I'm alive, and I will learn from this. Something like that will not happen again." Shepard spoke, staring intently at both Sarah and Six. Six gave a remorseful sigh and nodded his head.

"Right, sorry if I was out of turn Commander. It's just that I had friends, good soldiers and Spartans, that died because they got careless. Be a shame if that'd happen here." Six replied.

Shepard nodded her head in understanding. "Don't worry, that won't happen here. Now come on, we still have a job to do. Sarah, I want you on scavenge duty, find anything that's still functional and get it back to the warthog. Six, you're on demolition. I want that comms station in pieces yesterday. Move!" Shepard ordered, and with military precision they moved to their duties while the Commander kept overwatch.

Two E11 blaster rifles, a DLT19 heavy blaster rifle, a T21 light repeating blaster, and a surplus of spare energy cells, not a bad haul Shepard thought to herself as she looked into the rearview mirror of the Warthog. A miniature mushroom cloud rose over the former comms array where Six had jury rigged a series of thermal detonators as a makeshift bomb. The drive back to Mother Base went much faster, with the lack of Imperial presence allowing them to move at a faster pace. Within a few hours, the Sun had fallen and Fireteam Wolf made its way back to its den.

Upon returning, the Fireteam broke up to go to their individual duties. Sarah had to repair the damage done to her power armor while Six needed to strip and service the stolen Imperial blasters. Shepard made her way back to the keep to give her report to the Boss. The Spectre found the Boss smoking a cigar atop the roof of the keep looking out at the Afghan night sky.

"Snake." Shepard crisply nodded.

"Shepard." He replied in kind, not breaking eye contact with the stars above him.

As Snake took another drag off his cigar, Shepard took that as her cue to continue. She reported the mission's success to Snake, leaving out no detail for him. Snake betrayed no real emotion throughout the debriefing, simply content to listen and absorb the information. When she finished her report, she stood at attention for several awkward seconds as Snake slowly put out the cigar and turned to face her.

"Good work Shepard, I expected nothing less." He rasped out. There was a beat. Shepard noticed that Snake liked to pause for effect while talking. She admired the fact that even with his age and experiences, he could still enjoy dramatic flare. "While the mission itself was a success, the destruction of the comms array was only part of the reason I sent you."

"Only part?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow. Shepard didn't like being deceived. And while there seemed to be no deceit or dishonesty behind Snake's words, several months of working for the Illusive Man had made her wary of missions that don't give the full picture.

"Indeed. The other, and in my opinion more important objective was to gauge your combat skills and leadership potential. We heard many stories from Thane about your abilities and your moral fibre, it was important that I see whether or not the tales held true." Snake revealed.

Shepard scowled, feeling conflicted over this. "While I understand the need for some kind of test Snake, I don't appreciate being lied to. And a lie by omission is a lie all the same. I've deceived a few too many times for my liking."

Snake let out a sigh. "I'm sorry for the deception. I felt that if you knew it was a test the test would lose its meaning. And I needed to see what kind of leader you were going to be. But from now on there will be no more lies. I swear." Snake solemnly said, his eye never wavering from Shepard's.

Shepard gave a respectful nod. "That's all I ask for Snake."

Snake's eye hardened on Shepard.

"You speak your mind, that's a good thing. You're respectful, but not blindly loyal. You are virtuous, but are willing to do what is necessary. You care not only about the mission, but about your men as well. You may make mistakes, but you admit your own faults and learn from them. These are not common characteristics, Shepard." Snake complimented. Shepard felt herself beam at the praise, but her discipline kept her face rigid.

Snake continued on, "While it may seem rushed, I believe you should become the Legion's XO."

Shepard was taken aback as the sudden proposition. "I'm honored by the offer Snake, but why? I've been here what, two days? Why not make someone who's been here longer second in command? Sarah and Galen both seem to have leadership experience."

Snake only shook his head. "The others, they are all wonderful soldiers, but they do not have what is necessary to lead. Sev and Six? They are master warriors and killers, but ultimately were made to follow orders, not give them. Galen and Thane are far too reserved, while Sarah and Pyrrha are weighed down by their own doubt and insecurity. Commander, I wouldn't ask you if I didn't think it was the right call."

Shepard paused for a moment. She hadn't seen any signs of unease or anxiety in Sarah, but Snake has known her longer. Having only seen their fight and not actually worked with them, she couldn't have a strong opinion on Pyrrha or Galen. As for Six, Sev, and Thane, she knew Snake was right about them. While Shepard would never treat them this way, she knew they were weapons, tools used by their masters to kill at the drop of a hat. Nice to have under your command, but not someone you want to be taking orders from. While she hated to boast, she knew she was the best choice.

Steeling herself, Shepard met Snake's eyes with a confident smile and extended her hand. "You have yourself a 2IC, Boss."

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

The pelican ride out of Mother Base was silent. But this wasn't the nervous, scared silence of green recruits. This was the calm, focused stillness of professionals. Shepard double checked her weapons. She kept her trusty N7 Crusader Shotgun strapped to her back, and opted to use the T-21 light repeating blaster she captured in her last mission. The weapons were cleaned and fully repaired, and she had an ample amount of thermal clips and energy cells. She closed her eyes and let her head rest on her seat. She had done everything in her power to be ready, now she just had to wait until it was time to go.

In a similar fashion the rest of Fireteam Wolf co*cked their weapons in an orchestra of death and destruction. Six pumped shells into his M45 Shotgun, while Sarah spun the barrels on her gatling laser, making sure they were prepared for the oncoming onslaught.

Turbulence rocked the pelican as the transport left the warmer, dry air of Afghanistan for the temperate plains of Reach. T3-M4 let out a burst of droidspeak as Shepard felt the ship lurch downwards, beginning its decent.

It had been several days since Shepard had returned from her raid in Korriban, and once again she found herself preparing for battle, this time with the whole Legion in tow. Across from her and her team, Sev and Thane calibrated the sights of their sniper rifles, while Pyrrha and Galen sat near the front, meditating on the upcoming conflict.

Walking out of the co*ckpit, Snake unholstered his suppressed UNSC-issue M7S SMG. Looking to the team, he began the mission briefing.

"Remember, this is a direct action smash-and-grab. The target is a fortified Covenant war camp located on the border of Reach and the Capital Wasteland that the Brutes have been using it to coordinate attacks against the super mutants." Snake started.

"Thane has been observing this camp for some time, and has confirmed the presence of a brute chieftain. Our goal is to go in, find this Chieftain, and capture and interrogate him. This is the highest ranking member of the Covenant we have come across, and he could have important intel we need."

"We'll be splitting into three teams for this mission. First will be Fireteam Fox, consisting of myself, Thane, and Sev, we're recon and sniper support. We'll go in first, disable defenses and mark the target." He turned to face Shepard and her team. "Once that happens, we'll pull back and provide cover as Fireteam Wolf goes in and draws their fire. Last is Fireteam Doberman, consisting of Pyrrha and Galen. You two are the ace in the hole. When the chieftain shows his head, you drop in and take it. T3 will be piloting the Pelican, providing us with infill and exfil." Snake having said his piece, looked to Shepard to finish the recap.

"It will be standard Covenant makeup. Majority of the base is populated by Grunts, with Brutes as officers and Jackals as snipers. From what we've seen coming in and out of the base, we estimate that they maintain a company sized forced at minimum." Shepard explained. "Any questions?"

An empty silence was the only response.

Snake nodded his head and chambered a round into his SMG. "Fox, Wolf, we'll be on the ground in five. Stick to the plan. Split and maintain visuals. Nav and extraction points are uploaded to your HUDs. Sync?"

"Sync." The Legion responded in unison.

Hydraulic pumps hissed as the rear cargo door of the pelican slowly opened. Hovering a few feet off the ground, Fireteam Fox and Fireteam Wolf made their way out of the pelican's blood tray and onto the grass. As she leapt out of the dropship, Shepard saw Pyrrha giving her an encouraging, but awkward, two thumbs up. Shepard almost raspberried from how adorable the gesture was but held her composure. Instead, she gave a big smile and thumbs up back as the Pelican once again took off.

Snake led the two canine squads as they slowly hiked their way North through the rolling meadows of Reach. After traveling for about two klicks the terrain once again shifted, this time into the dead, irradiated no man's land of the Capital Wasteland.

In the dead of night, the dull, purple glow of the Covenant forward base could be seen from kilometers out. The base had a series of violet, metallic barriers and floating anti-gravity watchtowers providing a circular perimeter around a series of prefabricated bunkers made from the same material. In the center of the camp was a larger citadel, a 7-8 meter tall spire that towered above the rest of the base.

Once they were in striking range, the teams quickly fell into place. The base itself was placed on mostly flat ground, with only small hills, large boulders, and twisted trees giving the Legion cover. To the East was a series of trenches dug up to repel the super mutant assaults.

Shepard pulled Fireteam Wolf into cover South of the base as Fireteam Fox did its work. Gently, Snake and his assassins slithered forward, crawling on their bellies towards the Covenant base. The defensive hover towers that encircled the base were mostly manned by grunts and jackals. And this late into the evening many of the lazier grunts had fallen asleep while on guard duty.

The Covenant sentries had grown lax. The super mutants, with their less than stellar intelligence, rarely pulled tactical strikes like night time raids. As a result the already undisciplined grunts cared less and less about night sentry duty, creating a perfect opportunity for the Legion.

Pulling out his intel scope, Venom Snake focused in on the closest anti grav tower to them. He spotted one sniper jackal and two grunts, marking them with a 1, 2, and 3 that appeared on everyone's HUDs. Turning to his left he saw a short mound of dirt that would give an elevated sightline into the base.

"Sev, I want you on overwatch." Snake ordered, pointing to the heap of land. "Thane, on me."

"Roger Boss." both assassins responded. Sev slowly crawled his way to the top of the hill, lying prone with his DC-17m Sniper rifle, while Thane became the Boss's shadow.

Crouching low, Snake and Thane made their way towards the watchtower with surprising speed. Moving from cover to cover, only stopping to lie prone when the Jackal looked over their nearby terrain. Soon, they made it to the anti-gravity elevator with the Covenant none the wiser.

Snake held 3 fingers up to Thane, who gave a nod in response. Three seconds passed as Snake lowered his final digit and ran into the anti-grav well, rocketing upwards with Thane close on his heels. The jackal barely had time to turn its head as the 63 year old cyborg fell upon it, bringing it into the floor and wrapping his cybernetic fingers around its throat. The jackal flailed for a few seconds, its hollow bones and miniscule musculature unable to break free, before going still. Following the Boss, Thane flew into the air and landed silently on the platform. With inhuman speed made possible with his Drell physiology, Thane dexterously snapped the necks of the two sleeping grunts in quick succession.

Both Snake and Thane knew that they had to be especially careful with killing these guards. No bladed weapons and no firearms, even silenced ones. Brutes had an exceedingly powerful sense of smell. And while the dank, radioactive air of the Wasteland could mask the Legion's scent, brutes, like sharks, are especially attuned to smelling blood, and spilling any now would set off the whole base.

With the watchtower now secured, Snake and Thane had a clear path to complete their individual objectives. Descending the anti-grav lift, Thane broke off and began skulking his way to a pair of inactive Wraith tanks while Snake moved for the outpost's central spire.

Becoming one with the shadows, Thane was practically dancing around the sleeping grunts and patrolling brutes. Using all of his assassin training available to him, Thane swiftly moved to his target, making no noise as he vaulted over purple weapons crates and dashed through open pathways. His goal was simple, to sabotage strategic points of interest such as vehicles, weapon caches, or generators, and the wraiths fulfilled that objective beautifully.

Once he was roughly 10 meters away, Thane slid into cover once again. Three grunts were asleep, escorted by a single, shield wearing jackal that lazily sat upon one of the crates. It was no issue for the assassin to creep behind the avian alien, slip his hands around its head, and deftly twist it 180 degrees. Opening the violet crate the jackal was sitting on, Thane stored the body and continued on his way. Now at the tanks themselves, Thane pulled out a pair of C-12 shaped charges and placed them upon the Wraiths. With the explosives set to remote detonation, Thane once again slipped into the void of night and made his way back to Sev.

Meanwhile Snake had his own mission, to find and tag the brute chieftain they were looking for. Steadily he crept towards the main citadel of the outpost, a tall, silver and purple structure in the shape of a rounded diamond, with a single spire sticking out from its center. If there was anywhere the leader of a group of barbaric, alien, primates was going to live, it would be there.

While Snake lacked the graceful agility of Thane, he was still a master of tactical espionage action for a reason. As he approached the spire he almost crossed paths with a mostly unarmored brute minor, wearing only a turquoise breastplate and helmet. Diving to the side, he stayed within the brute's blindspot, lying prone in the dirt for about half a minute until the minor left to patrol another part of the base. When he was rough 10 meters from the doorway, he hid behind a collection of supply crates and took his time observing the structure.

He saw a single, sealed door with two brutes defending it. These brutes were more heavily armored than their minor comrade, with silver-blue plate armor and a masked, winged helmet. This combined with their brute shots and disciplined demeanor identified them as brute bodyguards, personal protectors and enforcers of a chieftain.

Snake thought about his options for getting passed them. As good as he was, he didn't think he was fast enough to take them both down with CQC before either one of the brutes ripped him apart or alerted the base to his presence. They were too heavily armored for him to try and snipe, not to mention how their blood would alert the base.

Looking at his surroundings, he decided to pop open one of the crates nearby. The crates were actually completely empty, and the metal they were made of was deceptively light. This gave Snake an idea as he flashbacked to his days sneaking into Soviet Union camps with his trusty cardboard box.

Reaching into his utility belt, Snake pulled out a sleeping gas mine, and placed it a few meters away from him, behind a metallic barrier. He then drew an empty ammunition magazine, and threw it in the direction of the mine. Quickly, he flipped the nearby crate over and hid underneath.

The magazine made a resoundingclangas it smacked against the metal barrier and fell to the ground. The two bodyguard's heads instantly perked up as they heard the noise. The two brutes shared a look, and with a quick nod both went to investigate the sound. co*cking their brute shots, the guards made their way for Snake's position, their heavy footfalls leaving deep imprints into the ground beneath them.

Snake slipped on a gas mask as he watched them approach, peeking through a small handhole within the crate. Were he a younger, more inexperienced man, his heart would've been pounding as they came closer. But the legendary soldier would not be intimidated by such circ*mstances. And soon enough, the two brutes found themselves outside of Snake's crate, investigating the dirt for the source of the noise. One of the brutes spotted the magazine out of the corner of its eye and bent down to pick it up. As it did, it heard a small click and hiss, and soon a cloud of light blue vapors enveloped the area.

Rather than falling asleep instantly, the larger size and hardier constitution of the brutes caused them to cough and choke. But this was all the opening Snake needed. Exploding out of his boxy cover, Snake was instantly upon the brutes. He delivered a devastating cyborg straight punch to the first brute's sternum, knocking the air out of it and forcing it to take a deep breath of sleeping gas. It collapsed immediately after.

The second brute, now aware of Snake's presence, tried to raise its gun but couldn't steady itself as it choked. The brute watched helplessly as Snake ran up to it and unleashed a relentless combination of strikes. Jab, cross, low kick, left hook, and finally a crushing overhand right; Snake turned the brute into a punching bag as it was knocked unconscious by his finishing blow.

The sentries now dealt with, Snake could move into the citadel unimpeded. For safety's sake, he jumped back into the alien crate, flipped it over, and began crawling like a purple turtle towards his objective. Snake crept through the spire's main doors, and found the interior was a single open space filled with Covenant computer consoles, the chieftain's personal armory, an exorbitant amount of food, and the chieftain himself, sleeping on his bed.

Through the handhole, Snake peered at the chieftain with his Int. Scope. After a few seconds of waiting as the iDroid did its work, the chieftain was marked with a red triangle on everyone's HUDs. His primary objective completed, Snake then pulled out a block of C-12 explosives, and placed it into a corner of the building where it wouldn't be seen.

Snake slowly lifted the alien crate up and waddled out of the spire. With his new disguise it was easy for him to make his way back to Sev, with none of the still awake guards noticing a crate that seemed to move every time they looked away.

Sev couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the Boss work his martial arts magic through his sniper scope. Sev almost found it boring that he had to stay back, but someone had to give immediate covering fire if things went to Hell this early. Regardless, he did have work to do while his squadmates snuck through the base. Peering through his scope, Sev surveyed the other lookout towers. He counted three more jackal snipers spread out across the towers and marked them for everyone to see.

A few minutes later, Boss and Thane made their way back to Sev's position, the aliens completely unaware of the infiltration. The remains of Fireteam Fox crawled prone up to Sev, drawing their own sniper rifles. Thane unfolded his personal M-97 Viper, while Snake drew a UNSC SRS99 Sniper Rifle from his back.

Snake took a view of the marked snipers and gave a nod to Sev before putting a finger to his ear. "Commander, we're in position. You ready to go?" Snake whispered.

"Ready and willing Snake." Shepard responded.

"Copy. When you see the signal, hit them where it hurts." Switching off the radio, Snake co*cked his rifle and looked through the scope. "Fox, we sync shot the snipers, then Thane blows them to Hell. I have target one."

"Target two, in sight." Sev growled.

"Tracking… Target three in sight Boss." Thane added.

"Fire in three… two… one... fire." The crack of three sniper shots shattered the silence of night as the jackals' heads exploded in a mess of gore and bone.

Every brute, grunt, and jackal jumped awake with the noise, some looking around in confusion while the more veteran warriors instantly dove for their weapons. With a single nod from Snake, Thane pulled the detonator from his pocket and flicked the switch. Massive orange and purple fireballs tore through the nightsky as a cacophony of heat and death incinerated the wraiths and a dozen nearby aliens. That was all the notice Shepard needed to burst from cover and charge right for the alien base.

Commander Jane Shepard always felt at home on the battlefield. Thinking about it, she's probably spent more of her life on a battlefield than off. And while she's not a ruthless berserker like Grunt or Jack, who spilled blood for the sake of spilling blood, she always found that fighting gave her a sense of focus and direction she could get nowhere else.BOOM!And right now all Shepard was focused on was getting her ass to cover.

Let off their leash, Fireteam Wolf tore their way into the Covenant base. Sarah Lyons unleashed a hail of laser bolt fire as she held the trigger down on her gatling laser; the sustained fire incinerated aliens and brought a lookout tower to the ground. Meanwhile Six and Shepard were sprinting across what was essentially open ground, charging for the exterior of the outpost.

Shepard was sprinting at her full speed, but could only watch helplessly as Six easily overtook her and reached the base first. Six leapt over the wreckage of the watchtower and rolled into the camp, pumping shotgun shell after shotgun shell at the disoriented aliens. A pair of grunts were instantly torn apart by the pellets, but the other aliens quickly reorganized. Jackals activated their energy shields, creating a shield wall to give their allies time to move to cover and fire back. Armored brutes exited their bunkers, carrying spikers and brute plasma rifles, and fired their own volley at the breach in their defenses.

Six dove behind a purple, metallic barrier and blindly fired at the aliens as Shepard caught up to him. Sarah was still a ways behind them, but was giving a suppressing barrage from a distance. Shepard eyed the enemy formation. Jackals were holding the frontline with the brutes behind them giving fire support. The grunts, their morale boosted by the presence of brute major began to flank Wolf's right. Thinking quickly, Shepard formulated their counter.

"Six! Push right, stop their advance!" She ordered, pointing to the grunts. "Sarah, I'll clear the jackals. When I do, put those brutes down!"

"Roger!" the two powered armored warriors said in unison.

Raising her T-21 blaster, Shepard popped out of cover and began a suppressing fire, giving Six time to break cover and move right while Sarah caught up. Once Six was away, Shepard could focus on breaking the phalanx in front of her. Ducking back behind cover as plasma balls and superheated spikes flew over her head, Shepard focused her biotics into a protective barrier around herself as she prepared for her next move.

Standing above her cover, Shepard focused all her willpower into the largest biotic lift she had ever created. Ignoring the burning pain from the plasma bolts now pelting her, searing her through her barrier, blood poured down her nose as a 10 meter radius sphere of dark energy enveloped half a dozen jackals, sending them flying into the air. The jackals flailed in confusion, some trying to run or even swim in the air, while some of the lower ranking brutes looked up in confusion at the telekinetic display.

"Sarah, now!" Shepard groaned as she felt her mind tearing itself apart from the biotic overusage.

Sarah, who had just arrived at the downed watchtower, spun her gatling laser and laid into the brutes, their mobile cover now gone. With the sound of shattering electric glass, three brutes minors and a brute major lost their power armor and were swiftly cut down by the torrent of nuclear powered lasers. Their main fire support dead, Shepard released the jackals as they slammed into the ground below. As they staggered back up, Shepard switched to her shotgun and charged for them.

With a double tap from her Crusader, Shepard eviscerated the first two jackals who couldn't recover from the fall fast enough. The other four quickly stumbled into a defensive stance after watching their comrades die, but they were too slow. With a strike that combined her cybernetic enhancements, her biotics, and her omni-blade, she punched through a jackal's energy shield, then through its torso, with her fist exiting through its spine.

Lifting the impaled corpse in the air with one arm, she then threw it at a horrified looking jackal. The body slammed into it, knocking the jackal out and back onto the ground once more. The final two jackals watched their buddy get body slammed by a corpse, and were too distracted to notice Shepard blowing their brains out with her shotgun.

Meanwhile, Six was having more fun than he'd like to admit contending with a small army of grunts. The battle reminded him of when he was still alive, a simpler time where he could just focus on killing every alien bastard he came across. There was a platoons worth of grunts ahead of him, along with a brute major leading them. He knew even he couldn't tank the fire of all these organized grunts so he needed to break their spirits first.

Picking up a plasma pistol from the ground, Six switched his Mjolnir's armor ability to hologram, giving him the ability to create a virtual doppelganger of himself. With the press of a button, his digital double vaulted over his cover, running in the open firing off virtual blanks. The effect was immediate, the brute and every grunt in the area looked to the hologram and began firing. With the grunts distracted, Six overcharged his own plasma pistol, and made for the brute major. Aiming down the sights, Six loosed an oversized ball of green plasma that slammed into the brute's armor. The power armor shattered causing the brute to go berserk. But before it could take a swing, Six drew his shotgun from his shotgun and blew the brute's brains apart with a single blast.

Their leader dead, the formation of grunts broke into chaos. Some ran away, arms flailing above their heads, while others pulled out plasma grenades in an attempt to kamikaze. Six pumped his shotgun into the routing grunts, focusing on the suicide grunts first. As they died, their grenades fell into their own ranks, exploding and killing their own allies from the grave. From there it was an easy task to clean up the rest of the disorganized grunts.

Shepard wanted to breathe a sigh of relief at the end of the immediate firefight, but would be given no such respite. While they were able to kill all the Covenant in the immediate area, the rest of the base had reorganized and moved against them. Dozens more brutes, jackals, and probably hundreds of grunts all began converging on their position, firing plasma balls and superheated spikes. Shepard could hear the cracks of the sniper support from Fireteam Fox cut through the Covenant, but they weren't making enough of a dent into the numbers.

To make matters worse, Shepard watched as a Covenant weapon crate went sailing through the air with a deafeningBwomas the brute chieftain now made his appearance. Wearing an elaborate red power armor, with a horse shoe-shaped headdress, and wielding a massive gravity hammer, the chieftain roared a mighty battle cry as he rallied his troops.

"Kill the intruders!" He roared. "Tonight we shall feast on their flesh!"

Surrounded by over a dozen brutes, the Chieftain swaggered forward, sure of his victory. The brute pack made it all of 10 feet when an invisible energy wave slammed into them, knocking the brutes prone. Everyone looked up as the familiar forms of a gold and red huntress and a black clothed Sith apprentice landed amongst the brutes.

Several minutes prior…

Pyrrha fiddled with her Sentry Interface, a simple headset from Shepard's universe that provided her a blue holographic visor over her eyes. They were given to her and Galen since they didn't use armor like the others, and they needed a way to access important tactical feeds. The tech was more advanced than what she was used to from Remnant, and it was a bit of a learning curve for her to get used to it.

With the click of a button, the visor blinked into existence and Pyrrha was now getting augmented reality tactical data from the battle. Blue triangles representing her team and red numbers representing marked enemies appeared in her view, as well as meters representing her aura levels and even physical health.

Now fully set up, she listened in on the overlapping radio calls from her allies. Snake would give stoic, quick orders while Shepard roared with fury. She could hear the alien screams of the Covenant as they died, layered over booming explosions and whizzing projectiles. Monitoring the communications, Pyrrha gripped Miló tightly as she felt a rush of anxiety encompass her.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder as a calming feeling replace her unease. Looking up, she saw Galen giving her a reassuring smile. He said no words, but his message was clear enough. Don't worry, they're going to be fine. Pyrrha forced a smile to her face and gave him a nod as T3 began spouting his usual electronic noise. Galen listened attentively, before giving the redheaded spartan a translation.

"The chieftain is on the move, prepare to drop." He calmly stated, heading for the back of the pelican.

Pyrrha stood up, clutching Miló in one hand and Akoúo̱ in the other, she looked down and could see the icon for the brute chieftain moving below her. Fireteam Doberman's job was relatively simple. While Fireteams Wolf and Fox cause havoc around the base, Doberman airdrops in, captures the chieftain, and evacs with the others. But in war, even the simplest thing is difficult.

The pelican's cargo door hissed open, and the roar of the engines filled the bay. Galen and Pyrrha looked at each other and nodded, and without hesitation ran for the exit. Pyrrha felt the air rushing around as she entered freefall. She couldn't help but think back to the entrance ceremony for Beacon Academy, all those months ago where she was catapulted off a cliffside. Back then she was able to use her shield to crash through the giant trees of the Emerald Forest

to slow her descent. There was no such flora here so she'd need to improvise.

Pyrrha was rapidly approaching the ground and the idea of becoming flatter than Ren's pancakes did not appeal to her. Clutching tightly onto Akoúo̱, she activated her semblance and coated her shield with a magnetic force. She then threw her shield in front of her, adjusted her body so she was upright, and landed feet first onto her shield. Using her polarity, she sent a counter force upwards, slowing her descent and allowing her to smoothly surf down.

Meanwhile Galen rocketed at full terminal velocity towards the ground. He's survived far worse than a long fall, and he trusted the force to guide him. As he plummeted further and further down he zeroed in on his target, the brute chieftain surrounded by over a dozen elite brute guards. Galen extend his hands out and focused on the force around him. With a calm exhale, he unleashed a massive force push, slamming the brutes into the ground while slowing his own descent. With a flip backwards, he landed amongst the disoriented brutes with Pyrrha gently gliding down behind him. Fireteam Doberman now on the ground, Galen used the force to draw his lightsaber out, holding it in his signature reverse grip. With a flick of his finger, the blue energy sword sprang to life.

With a small smirk, he looked over to Pyrrha. "Focus on the chieftain, I'll handle the rest."

"Understood." Pyrrha nodded, face hard and focused as she held her shield and sword high.

Pyrrha dashed forward and moved to engage the confused brute chieftain while Galen stood still. He was content with waiting until all of his opponents righted themselves. After all, might as well make it a fair fight. One of the brute bodyguards saw Pyrrha charging his leader, and true to his profession aimed his brute shot to protect him. A blue light flashed in front of the brute as he attempted to pull the trigger. Confused that the red huntress wasn't turned into a smoldering pile of limbs, the brute looked down and saw that his arms had been replaced by smoldering stumps. The brute roared in pain as Galen's lightsaber returned to him.

"Now now." Starkiller chided. "Ignoring me would be a very bad idea."

The brutes roared with a fury and unleashed a salvo against Galen. But their shots were wild and erratic and Galen danced across the battlefield, reflecting plasma bolts and dodging spiker shots. With flips flowing into cuts, pirouettes turning into thrusts, Starkiller was too fast for Brutes, his lightsaber finding chinks within their power armor. Limbs and plasma weapons were thrown to the ground he hacked his way through the apes.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha traded blows with the brute chieftain in a duel of strength versus dexterity. She stabbed into the bicep of the brute, slipping past his armor, before withdrawing and making a cut against the side of his legs, but was unable to cut through his thick muscles and cuisses. Pyrrha would continue to cut and thrust, slicing against the chieftain's armor, taking what blood she could.

The chieftain howled in pain, swinging his gravity hammer in wide arcs against the huntress-in-training. The hammer slammed into the ground, ripping apart dirt and stone as Pyrrha cartwheeled to the side. Pyrrha knew a single hit from that hammer would be lethal, but the chieftain would actually have to land a hit for that to happen. While the chieftain was far stronger than Pyrrha, even with her aura enhancements, he was slow and his attacks were wide. Pyrrha could see them coming from a mile away, and even when a swing got too close for comfort, she could alter the trajectory of the attack with the brute never noticing.

And so Pyrrha and the chieftain were at an impasse. She wasn't strong enough to deal a decisive blow against the him, while the chieftain wasn't fast enough to land a clean hit on her. Death by a thousand cuts was a strategy, but Pyrrha knew it wasn't a viable one. As powerful as Galen was, even he wouldn't be able to hold out against the waves Covenant soldiers forever, not to mention the increased chance of casualties on the other teams as the battle went on.

Pyrrha backed up from the Brute, getting some distance. She only had a few seconds to recover her breath and look around the battlefield for anything she could use. Glancing around, she picked up the reflective shine off of several strips and spikes of metal that remained of the crate the chieftain had smashed previously. With a grimace that failed to hide her disgust, she decided to steal a play from a certain witch she had fought against at Beacon.

Transforming Miló to javelin mode, she threw her spear at the chieftains head. The chieftain ducked and shimmied to the side, grinning as his opponent had just lost her only weapon. Pyrrha only grinned back as she raised her arms, and a dozen scraps of razor sharp alien metal began floating around her. With a swipe of her right hand, several chunks flew for the chieftains face, forcing him to raise his arms to defend himself. Spikes of metal impaled themselves into the brute's forearms as Pyrrha threw her left hand forward, driving a metal spike right into the achillie's tendon of the brute.

The chieftain cried out, crippled and falling to one knee. He snarled at Pyrrha, his eyes going red as his berserking rage started. The chieftain let out a savage roar, arms raised and ready to crush. Swiftly, Pyrrha levitated a final strip of metal and flung it straight for the Chieftain's throat. Instead of piercing it however, it instead went horizontal mid flight, and wrapped itself around the chieftain's neck like a collar.

Digging his claws into his neck, the chieftain tried to pry the collar off, but it was far too tight and he couldn't get any purchase on it. The collar only tightened as Pyrrha focused her semblance into the choker, cutting off air and blood flow to the brute. The chieftain was now on the ground, writhing in pain as he tried to rip the collar out, unable to cry out as he had no air left in his lungs. Soon enough, the chieftain fell limp, unconscious at the feet of almost undefeated Pyrrha Nikos.

Pyrrha let out a slow exhale as she savored her victory, but was interrupted as blasts of plasma shot towards her. Pyrrha, unprepared for the sudden attack flinched as she tried to bring her shield up to protect herself, not having enough time to dodge. Her eyes clenched behind the shield, Pyrrha awaited a searing plasma burn that never came. For in front of her, Galen swing his lightsaber in circles, deflecting plasma bolt after plasma bolt back at the Covenant.

Starkiller had done a good job killing Covenant already, evident by the piles of charred brutes and jackals that surrounded Fireteam Doberman. But there were hundreds of Covenant in the base, and they were gearing up for another wave.

Galen turned to Pyrrha quickly, out of breath and singed by plasma bolts. "I'll move the target. Cover me!"

Pyrrha gave a curt nod, called her spear back to her, and moved in sync with the former assassin. Galen raised his left hand up calling upon the force to levitate the chieftain while his right hand deflect any incoming frontal attacks with his lightsaber. Meanwhile Pyrrha moved behind the unconscious brute, infusing her shield with aura to defend from the rear while laying down what covering fire she could.

As the duo retreated, Pyrrha hurriedly constacted Snake. "Boss! This is Fireteam Doberman. We have the target and require evac!"

There was a burst of static and radio buzz before the Boss's grizzled voice came over the comms. "Understood. T3, bring the perlican down on my position. Wolf, on my signal clear a path for Doberman, Fox'll keep you covered."

There was a brief pause as back on the sniper hill, Snake pulled out a remote detonator. "Mark!" He screamed as he slammed the button down, and the C-12 plastic explosive he placed in the brute chieftain's quarters detonated.

The explosion tore a hole into the Covenant formation that was chasing down the Legion, throwing them into further disarray. Fireteam Wolf pushed forward loosing volleys of energy bolts and hails of bullets at the aliens, rushing for Doberman's position. Pyrrha and Galen were making a mad dash for the breach in the base's defenses, but were constantly slowed by the presence of their unconscious package.

Akoúo̱'s once pristine golden surface was dented and scorched as Pyrrha deflected plasma bolt after plasma bolt. Sweat poured down Pyrrha's face as she continued to backpedal in pace with Galen as Miló rang out with an unending stream of dust rounds. Pyrrha would shoot a grunt in the head, watch it explode as fire dust mixed with methane, before switching targets to a jackal that was chasing them. In the distance, Pyrrha saw jackal marksmen and grunt demolitionists gunned down by Fox's sniper fire.

A pair of brutes, seeing their leader in bondage, roared and leapt towards Pyrrha's position. Before they landed however, one of the brutes was caught in a dark energy field, freezing him in midair before throwing him backwards into a wall. The second brute turned to ash as he was pelted by a stream of laser bolts. Pyrrha turned to see that Shepard, Sarah, and Six had finally made it to their position.

"Come on Pyr, we're getting out of here!" Shepard barked out as Fireteam Wolf gave them a suppressing barrage.

The Legion continued to retreat further and further, Wolf lagging behind Doberman to keep the Covenant at bay. Soon they reached the downed lookout tower, and the roar of the pelican could be heard as it broke through the cloud cover. As the dropship slowly descended, the chin mounted chaingun began to rotate faster and faster.BRRRRRRRRRRTwas all anyone could hear as T3 fired 4000 40mm rounds per minute into the crowd. The Covenant dove to the side, hiding behind cover, only for the cover to be completely annihilated.

But soon enough, braver and more foolish brutes armed with brute shots and fuel rod cannons opened fire at the pelican, slamming into its hull. T3 quickly put the bird onto the ground, and all three teams plus one prisoner of war piled into the cargo bay. With an electronicWHOOAAAAT3 yanked the controls on the pelican and shot them upwards once again, flying out of range of the Covenant base.

Shepard leaned back in her seat and couldn't help but grin. She gave Thane a congratulatory pat on the back and a fist bumped Pyrrha. She was happy. And why shouldn't she be, their first mission as a whole Legion went swimmingly. It was a clean operation, in, out, with no casualties or loss of major equipment.

Snake however, with his stoic, unreadable countenance seemed far less joyous. Bending down over the chieftain, he dug his robotic hand into the collar and ripped it off, allowing the Brute to breathe. He stood back up and called Pyrrha over, telling her to bind his arms. Pyrrha complied, and her semblance to bend and twist the Brute's armor, turning it into solid manacles and restraints. Six came and made took the Gravity Hammer away from the brute, looked it over and magnetically holstered it to his own back as Galen stood next to Snake.

"Wake him up." Snake ordered.

With a nod Galen knelt next to the unconscious brute. While Darth Vader hadn't bothered to train Galen directly in the art of Force Healing, Galen discovered the basics on his own following the many brutal training sessions he had experienced. Focusing the Force into the brute's body, Galen knit the damage on his throat and lungs, before moving to his mind and returning him to consciousness.

The brute chieftain trashed in place, shaking the Pelican with his massive weight. Six instinctively raised his shotgun, ready to execute the beast when Snake put his hand out to stop him. The brute's raging soon subsided as Galen held out his own hand in front of him. The brute's eyes seemed to glaze over, as Galen subtly affected his mind with the Force.

"Calm yourself, you are amongst friends." He gently whispered.

The brute blinked and shook his head, confused at his situation. He no longer felt the need to crush these pathetic heretics, even though they were human. He no longer felt his righteous hatred towards the demon right in front of him. With a nod Galen turned to Snake and gestured to the brute.

"Ask him who and where his leader is." Snake ordered.

"You will tell us who your leader is, and where we can find him." Galen parroted with a wave of his hand.

"I...ugh" The chieftain seemed to shake off a hazy cloud of confusion. "Our leader is Tartarus. He… will be meeting with one known as Sith in three days time… in the ruins of the divine relic to the South."

Everyone turned to Six for an explanation.

"Hmm. I know of Tartarus. He's not just a brute chieftain, butthebrute chieftain, as in the leader of his entire race. ONI's had a mark on him for as long as they've known about him." Six scowled behind his helmet in thought. "As for these divine ruins, I'm not entirely sure. I know that the Covenant worship an ancient alien race, I've seen them pray before their tech, so it probably has something to do with them."

Galen nodded. "And the Sith are the order I was training to be a part of. They are the hand that controls the Galactic Empire. Which means that this Tartarus is meeting with the Empire for negotiations. A deadly alliance, should it come to fruition."

Snake seemed lost in thought as he pulled out a cigar and lit it, his mind already considering what the next mission will be.

"So we have our next, target, timeframe, and location. Guess we won't be needing him anymore." Six more said than asked.

Before anyone could react, Six mechanically raised his shotgun and pulled the trigger. The still dazed brute's head burst like a ripe fruit as buckshot tore through his brain. The alien dead, Six walked up to the corpse and kicked it out of the back of the pelican, closing the door behind him.

Shepard was shocked. She was barely expecting the interrogation to occur on the pelican, let alone an execution. She scowled, almost snarled at Six before standing.

"What the Hell was that Six!?" She roared, confused at the callousness at what just happened.

Six, not intimidated by his squad leader, gave her a look that she swore was actually empathy. "Commander, I understand what this looks like, but you need to understand that the Covenant are not like your aliens. They are wholly and completely dedicated to wiping us out. Billions are dead because of them, and this is the only thing they deserve. We got what we needed, and keeping that thing alive would only serve as a danger to everyone here. If you had a Reaper imprisoned, would you take the risk of locking it up, or you would put it down as soon as possible?"

Shepard gave Six a blank stare. Besides the fact that Reapers were mechanical monstrosities hundreds if not thousands of meters long, Six did have a point. Shepard has executed her own fair share of mercenary or Cerberus scum over the years, like the time she pushed a mercenary out of a window on Illium, but killing a captive prisoner left a terrible taste in her mouth, even if they did deserve it.

She looked around the cargo bay to get a sense of what everyone else thought. Thane gave an impassive shrug to her, but knowing his philosophy on killing that made sense. Unsurprisingly Sev seemed to not care at all, content to lean back and watch the show while Sarah looked as unfazed as Thane. Snake scowled at Six, displeased with the action, but he didn't move to stop Six either.

When Shepard looked at Pyrrha however, she saw what she believed to be the only sensible reaction. Horror and disgust. Pyrrha's mouth hung agape, and she looked like she was going to be sick. When they locked eyes, Pyrrha only turned away not saying anything.

Shepard shook her head, unsure of how she felt about all of this and at this point too tired to care. She sat back down and let her head rest on her seat in quiet contemplation as the Legion returned home from their first victory together in completely silence.

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Thwack.

Sev's head snapped back as a Sarah's fist connected with his nose, sending a trail of blood arcing through the air. The commando scrambled back, raising his arms as he turtled behind his guard. He took a quick peek behind him and saw that he was pressed up against the edge of the battle circle. Sarah, knowing she had the advantage, slowly inched towards the clone commando. While Sarah had more skill in hand to hand combat, she knew better than to blindly rush an expert ambusher like Sev.

Shepard stood amongst most of the Legion as they watched the duel. Pyrrha had previously explained to her that whenever possible, the Legion would meet up in the morning for these sparring matches to keep their skills sharp. She thought it was a smart idea, as the Legionnaires would be exposed to different fighting styles they had never seen before.

Both fighters kept their guards raised high, maintaining an even distance. Their stances were very typical for military or mixed martial arts fighters, slightly crouched with a forward facing posture, allowing them to shift from striking to grappling in a heartbeat. Through with waiting around, Sarah sprang forward. Sev was obviously waiting to pull off some kind of trap, and Sarah decided to spring it and deal with it as it comes.

Sarah unleashed a flurry of quick, hard hitting strikes. She threw jabs and right straights at Sev's face, forcing him to keep his guard up. The moment his arms raised too high, Sarah moved to attack his body. First she crushed his liver with a devastating left hook followed by a right uppercut into his diaphragm. The air was driven from Sev's lungs, the pain causing his guard to drop.

Sarah smirked as she saw her victory in sight, as she threw a wide right cross straight for Sev's face. It was a slower, more powerful punch meant to knock Sev right out, and it was also the opportunity the clone was waiting for. Sev glared up at the sister of steel, his eyes still alive with fury, barely slipping his head as he parried the knockout punch. Stepping to the side he delivered his own counterpunch, a swift and precise jab that embedded itself into Sarah's face.

Sarah's momentum stopped completely as she was momentarily taken off kilter by the counter. Sev pounced upon her, not letting the opportunity go to waste. He fired off a one-two combo, focusing on her unprotected head. By the time Sarah snapped back to reality and raised her own guard, Sev crouched low and shot for her legs, aiming to drop her to the ground with a takedown.

But Sarah was not out of the fight yet. As she felt Sev try to grab onto her leg, she threw her legs back, sprawling and preventing Sev from taking her off balance. Raising her right arm up high, she then drove her elbow into Sev's back. Sev cried out in pain as his grip failed, causing him to stumble downward instead. Her leg free, Sarah then pivoted around to Sev's back, wrapping her arms around his waist. With a savage roar she then lifted Sev into the air, bending backwards, and smashed his head on the dirt with a beautiful suplex.

A chorus ofoohscould be heard from the Legion as the final blow was delivered. Stepping forward, Shepard separated the two fighters and gave a quick check up on Sev. He was still conscious, but heavily disoriented. Regardless, Sev was out for this fight as Shepard raised her hand to Sarah.

"And that's the match. The winner is Sarah Lyons!" Shepard declared as she helped Sev to his feet. "You let yourself take too many hits Sev. You need to keep moving, hit and run against an opponent with greater strength and endurance." Sev only gave a pained groan in response.

Shepard then looked to Sarah, who also moved to help up Sev. "As for you Lyons. You did well but you only won because you were able to overpower Sev. If you're fighting someone that's stronger than you, or far more skilled, you'll need to come up with a different strategy."

Sarah gave a thoughtful nod to the advice as she put Sev's arm around her shoulders and helped him limp out of the arena. Now standing alone in the battle circle, Shepard looked to what members of the Legion were in attendance and frowned. Snake was off planning the next mission, meanwhile Pyrrha was still nowhere to be seen. The young huntress had made herself scarce ever since they had returned from the raid against the Covenant war camp.

Shaking her head, Shepard looked at the rest of her fellow heroes and said, "Alright, that's good enough for now. Get yourselves cleaned up and back to your duties." The Legionnaires gave some scattered nods before dispersing.

Shepard let out a long groan as she stretched her arms, surrounded by steam as she exited her bathroom. She had spent all day in running drills with Sarah and Six, and was looking forward to relaxing. If there was anything she was grateful for, it was the fact that the Legion somehow had hot water. Of course Shepard could go weeks without a nice shower if need be, God knows how quickly personal hygiene falls off the priority list when you're fighting a war. Throwing on a pair of black cargo pants and her N7 Hoodie, which she was surprised to have found amongst the piles of looted gear, Shepard decided to go for a walk.

Stepping out of the barracks and into the inner courtyard, Shepard's eyes had to adjust to the deep blackness of night. Because they would be the only artificial light source within all of Kabul, the Legion had a blackout policy as soon as the Sun goes down. Shepard chose to walk the walls of the castle, activating a tactical visor to allow her to traverse the ramparts without issue.

Admiring the desert night landscape, Shepard soon came across a peculiar sight. Upon the nearby watchtower, Shepard could make out a figure. A feminine silhouette sitting on top of the tower, arms wrapped around her knees, looking up at the sky. With a toned profile and long ponytail, it didn't take long for Shepard to identify the figure as the absent huntress in training.

Pyrrha must have truly been deep in thought as she did not seem to notice the spectre walking up behind her. Shepard sighed. The last mission has been really affecting the teenager, and Shepard knew she needed to get this under control. If Pyrrha wasn't in a good place mentally, it could possibly put her and others in danger in the field.

"This seat taken?" Shepard asked, moving beside the huntress.

Pyrrha gave a small jump as she turned to see she was no longer alone. "Oh Shepard! Uh, no not at all. Please help yourself." She said, sliding over to give Shepard some room.

Shepard gave a small nod and sat down as Pyrrha continued to look up in silence. A few seconds of awkward silence passed, and it became clear to Shepard that the teenager wasn't going to start the conversation. Shepard inwardly cursed.Right, teenagers. All angst and hormones. Just pretend you're talking to Jack.She thought to herself.

"So, Thane tells me that you're some kind of tournament champion." Shepard started, trying to break the ice.

Pyrrha's eyebrows raised, surprised at the statement, but quickly shifted back to her usual smile.

"Yes well, I'm actually the four time champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament." It was a correction, but not one filled with pride and confidence. "In fact I was undefeated!" Pyrrha gave the fakest smile Shepard had ever seen.

Shepard frowned. "That must've been hard. Being in the limelight like that, especially for someone so young."

Pyrrha forced another smile to her face. "Well it wasn't all bad I suppose. I even got to be on a cereal box called Pumpkin Petes."

It was Shepard's turn to raise an eyebrow. With a laugh she asked, "Wait, really?"

Pyrrha gave a nod. "Indeed. Unfortunately, they're not very good for you."

An idea suddenly popped into Shepard's head. "Wait I have something similar."

Activating her omnitool, Shepard pressed a button and a diminutive, orange holographic VI of Shepard appeared. The VI leaned forward and said, "My name is Commander Shepard and this is my favorite shop on the Citadel."

Pyrrha gave Shepard a confused look, and she responded with a small shrug. "I got a ten percent discount at most stores if I endorsed them like this." Shepard explained.

Pyrrha covered her mouth with her hand, unable to contain the chuckle. Shepard smiled as well, glad to see the young woman genuinely smiling and laughing. Pyrrha recomposed herself, outburst relieving some of her tension.

"It did get hard, I suppose." Pyrrha began. "I was blessed with great talents and opportunities, always surrounded with admiration and praise. But I was placed on a pedestal, separated from the ones who put me there. Everyone always assumed I was too good for them, that I was on a level they couldn't reach. People treated me as if I was an object to be admired, or a goal to be surpassed. For a long time, no one wanted to have any real kind of relationship with me." Pyrrha felt the pull of a sad smile as she remembered those who became close to her in spite of her fame.

Pyrrha felt herself clutching her knees once again, holding them tighter. She continued on, "Eventually, it didn't even matter what I wanted to do. I did what I had to do for all of those who put their faith in me. All of those that only I could protect."

Shepard grimaced. She really felt for the teenager. She knew what it was like to live under the expectations and scrutiny of others. Everyone always talks about wanting to become a hero, but not many realize the pressure and responsibility that comes with the title.

"Believe me, I understand." Shepard gave her a sympathetic look. "Back when I was a Spectre, everyone and their mother would come out of the woodworks to ask for my help. Some were important, like finding missing marines or investigating distress signals. Others were just asinine, like this one salarian that asked me to scan the keepers of the Citadel. God they were a pain in the ass to find."

"Why specifically you? Weren't there more of these Spectres?" Pyrrha asked, tilting her head.

"Well one thing you need to understand is that Spectres weren't just any normal soldiers. Only the greatest soldiers and agents of galaxy could join. And in my world, humanity were newcomers to the galactic stage. We wanted to prove that we could stand amongst the other great races, while others thought we were growing too much too fast.

"When I became the first human Spectre, I was essentially turned into a symbol of humanity's progress. The Alliance gave me every assignment they could so I could keep making humanity look good, while others wanted to give me chances to fail and prove humanity wasn't ready for more power." Shepard explained.

Pyrrha was agape. "How did you deal with that? Knowing that everything you did, every action you took, reflected on billions of others. To know that millions would hate and despise you for what you represented, not who you are?"

Shepard gave a smug smile. "Easy, I didn't care."

"What?" Pyrrha was visibly stunned.

"The politics. The glory. The propaganda. None of that mattered to me because I had a job to do. Sure I would make nice for the press and the politicians, but I wasn't there to make humanity look good. I was there to stop the monsters of the galaxy from tearing down everything I loved. It didn't matter that I was a Spectre, or a symbol of peace, or the Hero of Elysium. Hell, I even went rogue and worked with terrorists to stop the Collectors. The galaxy painted me a traitor for some of the things I did, but I didn't stop because if I did people would die. And I wasn't going to let that stand. Remember Pyrrha, you can't let anyone or anything compromise who you are. Not politics, not society, and especially not fear."

Pyrrha's winced with the last statement as her grip tightened for a split second. She gave a sad sigh, "I wish I had your strength of character, Shepard."

Shepard gave her a worried look. "Pyr, what's wrong?"

"What? Oh nothing. I'm sorry for making you worry, but really I'm fine." Pyrrha tried to hold her usual poker face.

"Really? Because you don't look fine." The Commander channeled her inner Hannah Shepard and gave the best disapproving mom glare she could.

Pyrrha only smirked. "Hm, I guess… I'm still getting used to this." She shook her head. "Back home, in Remnant, we would fight grimm, creatures of pure malice and hate that weren't even really alive. But here, all we've been doing is killing other people, or killing sentient creatures. And regardless of how violent or savage they are, just killing them like they're... nothing, it's something I'm having trouble with."

Shepard leaned in and made sure Pyrrha looked her right in the eyes. "Pyrrha, that's a good thing. You should never be so callous as to not care about ending a life. Sometimes killing is necessary, but it should never be easy." This time it was Shepard's turn to sigh and shake her head. "Hell, you shouldn't even be here. You shouldn't have been training to fight some war against the forces of darkness, that's what soldiers are for. You should've been focused on getting your homework done, or finding a boyfriend, not saving the world."

Pyrrha couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Heh, you know Snake said something very similar when we first met. He actually offered me a choice. He said I could join and fight with them in a war with an unclear objective against a far numerically superior foe, or I could stay in the base and learn to live a life that's not behind a gun. Suffice to say, it was one of the easier choices I've had to make."

Shepard nodded. She could tell Snake was a complicated man. She didn't even know his real name. But Pyrrha's admission only helped cement Shepard's respect for the man.

"Regardless, if you are truly so upset with my upbringing, you probably shouldn't hear Six's or Sev's stories." Pyrrha added on.

Shepard scowled, "Yeah. I don't know if I want to learn what happened for them to have numbers, not names."

Silence once again reared its socially awkward head as the conversation petered out. Shepard still felt like Pyrrha was holding back, but she couldn't push too hard lest the teenager get withdrawn and defensive. So for several uncomfortable beats, the two redheads simply sat in silence, looking up at the sky.

Luckily for the Commander, Pyrrha saw fit to start the conversation up once again.

"Jane…" Pyrrha paused, biting her lower lip, unsure of how to go on. "Do you… believe in destiny?"

Shepard was taken off guard by the question, as well as the unusual usage of her first name. She scowled and pondered the question. "All honesty, no I don't." The commander started. "I believe in choice and consequence. And everything else that happens is just a result of everyone just trying to make their way in the universe. Or universes, I suppose."

Still looking up, Pyrrha continued. "I always saw destiny as more of a goal, not a predetermined fate. And I believed it was my destiny to become a huntress, to protect the world. It was something I worked for my whole life. My skills as a fighter, the power of my semblance, everything I had done from childhood was in pursuit of this destiny." Pyrrha's hands curled into fists as she felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"I was given an offer." She choked out. "I was chosen to become the next Fall Maiden, a being of extraordinary power. I thought that this was the culmination of my destiny, that I could save the world and protect my friends. But in the end… I failed." Pyrrha's cheeks became wet as tears streamed down her face. "I failed to stop Cinder Fall from stealing the Maiden's power, I failed to stop her from destroying Beacon, and I failed to be the hero that was needed. It wasn't my destiny to save anyone. Instead I just died on top of that tower."

Pyrrha's head sunk between her knees as she sobbed. Raising her hand up, Shepard gently placed her palm on Pyrrha's head, patting it and ruffling her hair. Pyrrha felt a little confused at the action, but made no motion to stop the older woman.

"It's not fair to have gone through all of that. To have those expectations placed on you. But regardless Pyrrha, I think you made the right choice." Shepard comforted. "You know that war I fought, against the Reapers? It was a terrible war. Thousands died every day, and everyone looked to me save them, to lead them. I could ignore the voices of billions when they wanted to judge me or use me. But when they believed in me? When they prayed that I would come and save them from the Reapers? To save their loved ones, their homeworlds, or even their fortunes. I did what I could, saved who I could, but it was never enough. It became a game of ruthless calculus. Sacrifice ten billion over here so twenty billion over there could live. Living with those choices, doing what I had to do to win. I tried to hide it from my crew, but it ground me down and spit me out. Everything I did seemed hopeless and meaningless, and it was hard to keep going. For a while, I thought death would've been better than dealing with all of that… suffering."

Pyrrha looked at Shepard, teary eyes wide with shock. Shepard actually smiled. Ever since she got to this land, she hadn't had any nightmares. None about the Reapers, or the boy she left to die on Earth.

"But that's the thing Pyrrha. When everything seemed hopeless, I kept pushing forward, just like you did. Between giving up and letting evil triumph, or fighting and dying to save those I love, I would choose dying every time. And it's what you chose to do."

"But I didn't win! I wasn't strong enough to stop my enemies like you did Shepard! I was just too weak." Pyrrha hung her head in shame.

Quickly Shepard put her arms around the young Spartan. "No Pyrrha, you're not weak, and you're not a failure. If you were weak you would've given up. Run away to hide while this Cinder did God knows what with her power. Being here doesn't mean you're a failure, but a hero. And you may not know what happened after your sacrifice, but you need to have faith that those you left behind will succeed without you."

Wrapping her arms around the older woman, Pyrrha quietly sobbed into her shoulder. "I miss my friends," she admitted.

"I know kid, I know." Shepard comforted, stroking the huntress' head.

Somewhere in the depths of Korriban…

A figure, shrouded in darkness, sat upon his chair watching the same video over and over. The video starts off as he would suspect. Two armored figures blitzkrieging their way through the defensive lines of the stormtroopers. He had seen these two before, one male and one female, powered super soldiers from futures far from his own time. While powerful in their own right, they were not what concerned him.

Changing the view to another of the probe droid's many cameras, the figure focused on a new combatant. This one was unknown to him. A female soldier, with scarlet red hair and black armor. He watched her give commands over battlefield, supporting her allies while fighting like a mad dog herself. Her skills were most impressive, and she would make a powerful ally to his enemies.

The figure heard the door slide open behind him as light footsteps entered the room. A grim smirk found its way to his face, very few would have the courage to enter his room unannounced. He stood, straightening his clothes as he did. He considered his attire relatively normal, a well fitted two piece suit, a long black leather duster, and a matching ten-gallon hat. What truly stood out the most was not the clothes but the man, a man whose entire body was covered with grey burn scars, and most notable glasgow smile that ran up the corners of his cheeks. The man had no name, no past. Only a cruel epithet that mocked his very existence, Skull Face.

"There is a new player in our little game." Skull Face gestured to the video turning to his guest.

Skull Face couldn't help but smile as he watched his guest's face contorted with anger. The guest had long black hair, clad in form-fitting black body armor with yellow accents. The most chilling thing about him though was his eyes, or lack thereof. His eyes and sides of his jaw were covered with advanced cybernetics, affixing a permanent scowl on his face.

"Is everything alright Leng?" Skull Face questioned.

Kai Leng, the once greatest assassin of Cerberus, snapped his head towards Skull Face, glaring at him. Kai Leng snapped his fingers, and soon a green mist that Skull Face was all to familiar with filled the room. Flanking the assassin, two 8-foot tall, grey skinned, mutated monstrosities of the Skulls Parasite Unit materialized.

"Don't worry." Kai Leng growled out. "I'll handle her."

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

The Next Day…

Plopping down next to Thane on a rickety wooden bench, Shepard casually munched on a biscuit while sipping on some black coffee. There wasn't much need for small talk between the two old comrades, as they were content with watching the show.

In the middle of the battle circle Pyrrha was flipped onto her back, followed by a resounding thud and grunt. Venom Snake stood above, silent as ever, extending a hand. Pyrrha groaned as she took it, standing herself up. Holding out his single edged combat knife, he flipped the blade and gave it to Pyrrha handle first. The huntress nodded, taking the knife and settled into a wide stance.

This wasn't the usual sparring match that the Legion did. Instead, Pyrrha went to the Boss early in the morning and asked for some one on one training. Shepard grinned. It seemed like her talk with the teen last night had gotten her out of her funk, and she was ready to stop isolating herself from the team.

"Again." Snake ordered, his voice neutral, lowering himself into a combat stance.

Pyrrha's grip on her knife tightened. Without hesitation she lunged forward, the knife driving straight for Snake's sternum. It was a swift strike, Snake wasn't sure if it was faster than the Parasite Unit's movement. He realized he must really be getting old if he can't figure out something as simple as that.

But even with his more advanced age, Snake's body reacted automatically. Sliding back, he moved just outside of Pyrrha's range, dodging the strike with the least amount of movement. At the same time, Snake's robotic left hand gripped itself like a vice on Pyrrha's right wrist while he blocked the flat of the blade with his right hand. With a quick chop, Snake slammed the knife out of Pyrrha's hand, sending into the dirt and disarming her. The robotic left arm then snaked around Pyrrha's right, latching onto her shoulder and putting her into a painful arm lock.

Pyrrha growled in pain, but her eyes were alive with fury. Pyrrha threw a punch with her free arm. But pinned as she was, she couldn't put her weight into the strike, and the punch was easily deflected by Snake. To dissuade her from trying again, Snake then smashed his knee into her face. Her aura absorbed most of the damage, but it still hurt like hell.

Snake continued to flow around Pyrrha, losing neither speed nor rhythm through the exchange. He placed his free hand on the back of Pyrrha's head and shoved it downward while he twisted her right arm upwards. This sent the young teen flipping forward, landing flat on her back and knocking the air out of her lungs. Shifting his stance quickly, he pinned her head with his left boot while driving his right knee into her right arm, hyperextending it.

"And from here," Snake explained, breathing slightly harder than normal, "I can easily break your arm." Snake let the huntress go and bent down to pick up the knife. Pyrrha swiftly rose from the ground, rubbing her elbow.

"From what I've seen, your fighting style relies too heavily on your abilities." The Boss lectured. "A soldier must be strong in mind, body, and technique. Your powers and your training have made your body and technique almost superhuman, but at the same time has made you arrogant. Your normal attacks have unnecessary movements that serve no purpose other than aesthetics, giving you no real tactical advantage. In addition, you rely too much on your aura for both defense and offense."

Pyrrha's brows furrowed in response. "But Boss, against attacks of this level, my semblance or even just my aura alone would be enough to protect me. And I would be able to outstrike any normal human with my speed before they could get close enough with a knife."

"This is what I am talking about." Snake admonished. "While useful, over reliance on your powers is fatal. What if your opponent is using a nonmetal weapon, be it an energy sword or a sharpened stick? Your polarity would be useless. And what are you going to do if you run out of aura in the middle of a battle? Give up and die? Your weapons and abilities are only tools, Pyrrha. You must learn to become a lethal weapon without them, so you may be invincible when you do."

Pondering these words, Pyrrha thought back to her time on Remnant. Much of the way she was taught to fight, in fact the way most huntsmen and huntresses were taught, was with elegance and honor. At both Sanctum and Beacon, fighting was as much of a sport as it was for survival. And in the ring, while they fought hard against one another, they fought with honor. And fights always stopped when their opponent's aura went in the red... almost always.

The way the Boss fought however wasn't elegant or honorable. It was brutal, effective, and Pyrrha would even go so far to say it was dirty. But Pyrrha had to remind herself. Boss' world had no aura, so combat was designed to be quick and efficient, focused on instantly killing or disabling your opponent. Without aura, even the smallest injury could be debilitating, and any blow could potentially be lethal.

In her world, they had the luxury of being able to dance and flip around because they assumed their aura would protect them should the maneuver fail. But how many times had she, Yang, or Nora been smashed through a wall or blasted with a counterattack when they were caught mid air by an opponent. Acrobatics were good for dodging grimm, but in a world of laser beams, aliens, and robot armies, she needed to adapt.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she stumbled into a revelation. It wasn't just her, but aura made all huntsmen in her world co*cky. Most huntsmen didn't have the musculature that the Boss or Shepard had because their aura did all the heavy lifting for them. In fact, she already had her aura unlocked when she started training, so she never really did combat training without it. Aura had become so integrated into their culture that it became a crutch. The last time she had fought with no aura was against Cinder. And like the Boss, Cinder didn't fight with honor.

Pyrrha once again glowered at the thought of the woman. She chose not to push the thoughts of her out of her mind however, instead focusing on that smug smile. Gritting her teeth, she looked at the Boss, eyes undeterred, resolute, and never more driven. The invincible girl she once was died at Beacon, and Pyrrha was glad for it. She now stood amongst equals, and she had a lot to learn if she truly wants to reclaim her destiny.

Raising her hands up to a guard, she nodded to Snake. "I'm ready to continue." Snake simply lifted the knife and lunged in response.

Shepard took another sip of coffee as Pyrrha slammed Snake into the ground. The two continued to drill various CQC techniques with dogged determination.

"Thane, what do you think of Snake?" Shepard asked her friend, her gaze not leaving the training.

Thane brought two fingers to his chin in contemplation. "As a soldier, the Boss is second to none. His skills in hand to hand combat, stealth infiltration, and marksmanship are remarkable, probably better than you, Shepard."

Shepard turned to face Thane, co*cking an eyebrow with an incredulous look.

"Don't take it personally Commander. Besides, Garrus was always a better shot than you." Thane jabbed.

Shepard pouted ever so slightly. "Yeah sure, he goes and shoots one bottle and suddenly he's 'the best shot on the Citadel'." She grumbled, making a pair of air quotes at Garrus's self-proclaimed title.

"Regardless, as a leader I would say the Boss is different from you. Like you he leads from the front, and while he has the capability to inspire through words and speeches, he seems to have little use for dialogue in general." Thane expressed, getting back on topic. "Unlike you, he will not go out of his way to understand everything that ails his subordinates. He is a man of action, not words; he inspires loyalty through heroic deeds, not interpersonal connection."

"He's not very forthcoming with details about himself." Shepard blankly stated.

Thane shrugged. "True, but I doubt he does so with malicious intent. He is not the Illusive Man. I believe the Boss carries a great deal of pain with him, like all of us. But ultimately, I think he is a good man, and a good leader."

Shepard nodded in return and took another sip of coffee. "I have to say I agree with your assessment Thane."

Following the end of the training session, the Boss had gathered the whole of the Legion in the command center. Everyone took their seats as Snake stood next to an old-school slide projector and pulled down a canvas screen. Flicking the pieces of 80s technology on, the fans began to spin as an image of a swamp flickered into existence. It was a terrifying, primeval swamp, with tall, ancient trees shrouding the area underneath their canopy. The bog was rife with vegetation, and in its center, stood a single, pyramidal structure made of a steel-grey alloy with what looked like a single blast door protecting its entrance.

"This set of ruins is one of the few structures in this world whose origin we cannot identify. Located in a dense swamp that forms a neutral barrier between Korriban and Reach, this site will be the location of a meeting between the Galactic Empire and the Covenant." Snake began. He clicked a button and the projector moved to the next slide, a zoomed in photo of the pyramid and its entrance.

"We've done some reconnaissance in the area before, and found that this structure is essentially some kind of bunker. We believe that there is only one entrance, seen here, and that it leads to an extensive underground facility. Unfortunately, this doesn't leave us a lot of options save for the obvious one, a full on assault. Shepard, you planned this operation so why don't you give the briefing." He gestured a hand to the commander.

Shepard stood and gave a stern nod, moving to the front of the impromptu classroom. "We'll be splitting into two teams for mission. First will be Fireteam Eagle, consisting of Snake, Sarah, Thane, and Pyrrha. Your job is to move in and secure the bunker exterior. Once we kick things off, we'll be expecting enemy reinforcements, so you'll be holding the line."

Snake gave a silent nod while Thane quietly sat, emotionlessly absorbing the information. Sarah on the other hand grew a large smile and excitedly punched her palm with her fist. Pyrrha had a look of fierce conviction, Shepard seeing a fire burning in her eyes. Shepard smirked and continued on.

"The second squad will be Fireteam Raven, which is myself, Six, Sev, and Galen. Once Eagle secures the exterior, our job will be to push into the bunker. The good thing about one way in means that there's only one way out. We move in floor by floor, until we find our targets. First will be Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes. We take him out, we throw the entire Covenant into disarray. Our second target is this mysterious Imperial contact. If possible we will secure this contact and extract them, alive." Shepard's stare bored holes into Six's helmet at this detail. "Alpha will then secure an LZ for T3 to get us out. Remember we've all fought brutes before, so bring some heavy fire power for CQB contacts. As for the Imperials and Sith, Galen will brief us on what he knows." Shepard gave a nod and moved back to her, swapping places with Galen.

Galen, now standing by the projector, only gave a small sigh to the piece of archaic technology. Flicking it off, he called over T3, who projected a 3D holographic image of a stormtrooper.

"This," he began "is the standard Imperial Stormtrooper that I am sure you are all familiar with. These are the frontline infantry of the Galactic Empire of my time, and are the successors to the clone trooper army that Sev was once a part of." Galen gestured to the bloodstained hunter, who only grumbled in response.

"They are trained in mass infantry tactics, armed with blaster technology, and are drilled to both feel no fear and enjoy inflicting pain. That being said, they are only general infantry and to us will only pose a problem should we encounter them in large numbers. They do have various specialized units however, such as snipers, heavy weapon specialists, and commandos, giving their army a great deal of versatility." T3 flashed through more holograms, first a Scout Trooper wielding a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle, then a red colored Shock Trooper clutching a rocket launcher, and finally the black armored Shadow Stormtrooper that Shepard had gotten far too intimate with on her first mission.

"The greatest threat however comes from the Empire's Dark Jedi or Sith Warriors." Galen cautioned, as T3 brought up a final image of a human male dressed in grey and black robes, with a matching black hood and mask that covered the lower half of his face. "These warriors are trained in the ways of the Sith, as I was. They are cruel, unrelenting, and highly skilled in the ways of the Force. A single acolyte can easily kill a dozen men in seconds."

The hologram came alive as it drew a crimson lightsaber and began to flip and twirl, cutting apart rebel soldiers with ease. What Shepard found most disconcerting was the Dark Jedi's expression of pure glee in the face of such a slaughter. Shepard heard a small grunt behind her as Six decided to cut in.

"So how do we kill them? It doesn't matter how fast they are, or how many powers they have, if they bleed it means we can kill them." Six offhandedly asked.

"While powerful, Force users are not invincible. The easiest way is to simply have a better force user on your side. So, Fireteam Raven, try to leave any Dark Jedi we come across to me. I have already fought against some of the strongest Force users in the Galaxy, and I do not boast when I say I believe I can handle most acolytes that would be here." Galen said. He was right in saying it wasn't a boast, as he felt no pride in assassinating some of the strongest Jedi that once lived, nor for failing to kill the Sith that currently ruled the galaxy.

"But regardless, preparation will be key for this battle. First, weapon selection is critical." Galen summoned his lightsaber with the Force, activating the blue blade and giving it a few casual twirls. "All force users, both Jedi and Sith, are trained in the art of blaster deflection, allowing us to easily deflect or even redirect incoming energy weapon fire. Luckily though, slugthrowers that the majority of you use are marginally more successful as the lightsaber may not be able to completely disintegrate the slug on contact. Similarly area of effect weapons such as grenades, sonic screamers, rockets, and plasma charges can bypass this specific defense, as well as prearranged mines as Jedi and Sith prefer hand to hand combat."

"What about gas attacks?" Shepard interrupted. She knew that most conventional military or police forces would use different gases to great effect in close quarters scenarios, whether it was a riot in the streets or breaching a terrorist hideout.

"Gas attacks can be effective should you have the element of surprise, but inhaled toxins tend to be less effective as force users can hold their breath for extended periods of time. Some even have the ability to filter out toxins in the air. These attacks should only be used as a set up for others." Galen deactivated his lightsaber and holstered it back onto his belt. "If you find yourself in melee combat, retreat immediately. Lightsabers can cut through almost anything. Energy shields like the one Six uses may be able to slow them down, but this is a temporary measure at best."

"Next to lightsabers however, the most difficult ability to attempt to counter would be the usage of the Force. The most common and direct abilities would based on telekinesis, such as pushing, pulling, or lifting objects." To demonstrate this Galen causes a nearby chair to float a foot off the ground before slowly placing it back. "These powers typically require a line of sight, so stick to cover. The Force also grants its users something of a foresight. While very few can actually see the future, almost every force user can sense danger seconds before it happens. As a result, overplanning can lead to failure as force users can sense a trap. Instead, impulsive, random acts can throw them off. Lastly and most importantly, as non-force users, you can attempt to 'hide your minds' from force users to prevent your actions from being sensed."

That raised an eyebrow from Shepard.

"How's that possible?" She asked, leaning in even more.

"By broadcasting strong emotions while thinking about something else. Guilt, lust, fear, all of these act as mental interference, making your true intentions difficult to detect. This is actually a technique used throughout history by non-force sensitive assassins to hunt down Jedi." Galen expounded.

Shepard let out a small snort. "What so I just need to think about my Asari girlfriend while trying to gun down a mind reading telekinetic killing machine?"

"Essentially." Galen gave a shrug. "You see the Force is tied to emotion. Jedi are taught emotional peace, serenity, and patience so they may focus and control their powers. While the Sith feed off of passion, anger, and strength to increase their power. These other emotions will distract them, allowing for openings to be exploited."

"What about raw fire power?" This time it was Sarah's turn to chime in. "I doubt even the best Force user would be able to handle a thousand laser beams being fired their way."

"Overwhelming force is a good tactic, as most Force users would fall to such a scenario." Galen smirked but it quickly left his face. "But this would require hundreds of troops attacking in unison. So unless you've been hiding the rest of your chapter from us, that tactic is unavailable. Any other questions?"

Pyrrha's hand tentatively raised itself. She seemed uncomfortable asking this question, but moved to do so anyway. Galen only nodded to her, silently telling her to ask away.

"Galen, if these people are members of the same order you were once a part of, is there a possibility that we would run into any Sith or Dark Jedi that you know? Are you ok with that?" Pyrrha asked, her voice carrying concern both for Galen's emotions and the possibility of them affecting the mission.

Shaking his head, Galen quickly dismissed the question. "While there were other force sensitives in the Empire, such as the Shadow Guard, Emperor's Hand, or the Inquisition, I would personally know none of them. I was a special case, trained by Darth Vader himself, the second in command of the Empire. I will have no problems fighting any Sith we come across, and I will not hesitate to kill them." He locked eyes with Pyrrha."I would suggest that all of you do the same. Anyone else?"

Silence was the response.

Snake stood up, ending the briefing. "You all know what to do. Suit up and prepare for combat."

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Battle of the Ruins - Fireteam Eagle

Snake crouched low amongst the lush, wetland vegetation. Small moths and fireflies buzzed around him, occasionally signaling to one another with their bioluminescence while crickets filled the void with their orchestra of chirps. The air itself had a fine, light mist, further obscuring the night sky. This was Venom Snake's element. Large ferns and wild grass carpeted the ground, while massive trees the size of Redwoods shot up to the sky, fading into the night.

For a survival and espionage expert like Snake, this combat zone was made for him. He couldn't help but smile, remembering his adventures in both Tselinoyarsk and Angola. He remembered swimming his way through crocodile infested waters, only to get covered in leeches, and dueling against Eli on his waterborne fortress. No, wait. He never went to Tselinoyarsk. That was the real Big Boss, his original. The phantom now known as Venom Snake only shook his head. That distinction didn't matter anymore. He was also the Big Boss, so the original's memories were his as well.

So Snake pushed on with the rest of Fireteam Eagle, Thane, Pyrrha, and Sarah, in tow. Raising a fist, he signaled the rest of them to stop. Everyone froze as Snake peered through the scope of his assault rifle. This being a combat focused mission, Snake eschewed the use of his sniper rifle and sneaking suit, instead wearing his fully armored battle dress while using a heavily modified UN-ARC rifle and Killer Bee Rocket launcher. The rifle sported a drum magazine, foregrip, enhanced scope, and longer barrel for greater accuracy. Beside him, Thane held his standard M-97 Sniper Rifle while Pyrrha clutched her mechashift weapon close. Sarah, on the advice of Galen, swapped out her normal gatling laser for a minigun and more 5mm rounds than a normal human could carry, along with a UNSC issue rocket launcher just in case.

Snake could see a clearing nearby that housed their objective. With the strange ruins in sight, Snake observed what few enemies he could around the pyramid. Two Imperial Stormtroopers stood at attention at the entrance to the Pyramid, giving looks of thinly veiled revulsion at the aliens patrolling the perimeter. The Covenant patrol squad consisted of a single brute minor, along with a jackal, and four grunts. Hardly an elite team of sentries. In addition, a few dark grey, collapsible, durasteel barricades were placed about, to give them cover they could quickly fall behind.

"Is it just me, or do their defenses seem rather... sparse." Pyrrha whispered to the others in a hushed tone.

"Don't worry Red it was the first thing I noticed too." Sarah murmured before leaning to Snake. "What do you think Boss? Ambush?"

Snake looked at the surrounding foliage. He saw no movement save for the swaying of the wind, and a double take with thermal sights revealed nothing as well.

"I don't think so. They must have a skeleton guard on the surface so they don't draw too much attention. Majority of their force is probably either underground or stationed nearby for a close range redeployment." The Boss inferred.

Chambering his assault rifle, Snake aimed at the Jackal and Grunts before giving his orders. "Lyons, cut down the brute. Nikos, Krios, you're on the stormtroopers. I'll handle the rest. On my mark."

"Affirmative." They all responded in unison.

Patiently, Snake watched the grunts bounding around, plopping their way through the damp swampland, until for a brief moment, three grunts lined up in front of him.

"Mark!" Snake cried as he opened fire. His assault rifle cut through the grunts swiftly, blue blood and methane spraying into the air.

Without hesitation his allies let loose as well. With a mighty battlecry that was only outdone by theBRRRTof her minigun, Sarah Lyons annihilated the brute that was caught completely unaware. Meanwhile, both stormtroopers slumped on the ground, their heads now sporting new holes courtesy of the assassin and the huntress.

The exterior now clear of hostiles, Fireteam Eagle pushed forward to fully secure it. Snake and Pyrrha began moving the durasteel barricades into rows of defensive walls to protect the entryway to the ruins, while Thane and Sarah placed frag mines along the obvious avenues of approach.

As they were setting up these defenses, their comrades of Fireteam Raven arrived, armed to the teeth and ready for action. Shepard, armed with her N7 Crusader and her N7 Tempest SMG, traded nods with Snake as she led her team into the ruins. It didn't even take a full minute for Snake to hear gunfire and alien screams from within the pyramid.

"We've kicked the hornets nest down here Snake, you guys better get ready for incoming." Shepard called out over the comms.

Snake called both Pyrrha and Sarah over to him, the trio planning on holding the defensive line at the gate. Thane, being the stealthy assassin he is, moved out to the forest, climbing the trees and moving to a hidden position a hundred feet up amongst the canopy. Another minute of waiting passed until the electronic hum of Imperial dropships could be heard in the distance. Soon enough, the inverted Y design of a squadron of Lambda-class Imperial shuttles came into view as Imperial reinforcements begun their assault.

The first Imperial Shuttle hovered directly in the clearing adjacent to the ruins. From its belly an entry hatch hissed open as two front facing laser cannons opened fire upon Fireteam Eagle's position. The legionnaires ducked behind cover as bolts of hypercharged plasma flew at them. Meanwhile, ropes descended from the shuttle as stormtroopers rappeled down into the swamp.

Snake spread out, moving laterally to get some distance between him and Sarah, dividing the shuttle's attention. Seeing the Boss switch to his Killer Bee, Lyons did the same, drawing her own rocket launcher. The air around them grew hazy as the temperature spiked from the suppressing blaster fire. But such heat would not bother a Brother of Steel clad in full T-45d power armor as Sarah launched two rockets at the Imperial shuttle.

The first rocket exploded several feet from the dropship, crashing on its deflector shields. The second failed in a similar fashion, the damaged blocked by a glowing blue barrier that began to sputter and die from the repeated attacks. This was all the opportunity Snake needed to fire his own missiles at the Imperials. The shuttle attempted to swerve, dodging out of the way of projectiles, but unfortunately the Killer Bee's rockets were smart missiles, locking on and following the ship. The missiles slammed into the outer hull, breaching it, and set one of its engines alight.

The ion engines flickered and died as the flames spread along the exterior. The ship began a slow about face, trying to limp away, when two more rockets courtesy of a reloaded Sentinel Lyons slammed into the aft of the ship. The shuttle was sent into a death spiral, crashing into spongy, swamp ground. It wasn't an explosive crash landing that Sarah had hoped for, and many of the passengers were probably still alive. But the ship was down nonetheless, and the other approaching shuttles gave the ruins a wide berth, opting to drop their payloads away from any anti-air fire.

The initial stormtroopers that were dropped off by the first shuttle scrambled, running for cover amongst the flora as they returned fire. Pyrrha attempted to snipe them, firing Miló from behind cover while protecting her face with Akoúo̱. But the stormtroopers were quick despite all of their body armor. They would dive and go prone, making themselves difficult targets regardless of their white coloration. As Snake and Sarah switched back to their automatic weapons following the shuttle's downing, a deadly crossfire formed between the two sides. The foliage and cover made it difficult for Fireteam Eagle to score confirmed kills, while suppressing automatic fire combined with Pyrrha's sharpshooting made it impossible for the stormtroopers to advance.

But if the Empire had one advantage in its world and this one, it's that numbers were almost always on their side. Soon enough, stormtrooper platoons from the shuttles that landed further in the swamp arrived to relieve their beleaguered brothers. These fresh soldiers all took their places firing at the Legion. When one trooper would get cut down by minigun fire or dust rounds, two more would take his place, and the Legion did not have an unending supply of ammunition.

Unbeknownst to the stormtroopers however, a predator lay in wait. Jumping from branch to branch, Thane hid within the canopy, lining up his scope. Both behind and above the Imperials, a quick pull of the trigger resulted in the swift, painless death of a stormtrooper. His target dead, Thane then leapt to another tree, constantly moving. By the time the Imperials on the ground realized that their ally had been shot, he was far from his original position, already hunting his next quarry.

It became a game of cat and mouse. Thane would assassinate a trooper, and his allies would all then turn and open fire at the treeline, hitting nothing but leaves and branches. The assassin continued to cause havoc behind enemy lines, forcing a squad sergeant to place two fingers to his ear, calling out for help on the radio.

"Sir! We have an unknown contact in the canopy! We can't get a bead on him and he's tearing us apart!" The sergeant yelled.

About two hundred meters from the sergeant's position, a shadow stormtrooper received the call for aid. Holding up his fist, he gave a hand signal. Quickly two stormtroopers sprang forward; wielding heavy repeating blasters, they opened fire on the canopy. They did not care for knowing where Thane actually was, but instead used their overwhelming firepower to destroy nearly everything above their allies. It was a textbook example of overkill, and it worked perfectly.

The suppressing fire forced Thane to move and hunker down behind the trunk of a large tree, hoping a stray shot wouldn't hit him. But the Shadow stormtrooper was not done yet. Signalling a scout trooper next to him, the scout crept forward, pulling out a thermal camera. Scanning the treeline for any humanoid heat signatures, the scout eventually zeroed in on the mysterious assassin's position. Pointing him out to the Shadow Stormtrooper, the commando then signaled a shocktrooper forward, gesturing to the location. The shocktrooper swiftly ran out, kneeling amongst the grass, wielding a high yield rocket launcher.

Pulling on the trigger, the missile flew at Thane, who barely saw the explosive coming as he peaked from his cover. Thane knew that the tree wouldn't be able to protect him from rocket, either the explosion or the shrapnel would kill him. So he did the only thing that made sense, he jumped out of the tree.

With a blisteringly hot explosion trailing behind him, the shockwave knocked him forward, sending him tumbling forward through the air like a ragdoll. Thane tried to correct himself and catch a nearby branch, but he only wound up smashing his ribcage along the limb, piercing his side and knocking the air out of his lungs as he then fell to the ground.

As he hit the ground, there was a distinctivecrackingsound he usually only heard when breaking someone's neck. Looking down, his saw his leg was twisted and swollen, something definitely broken within it. Thane then felt all the associated pain that comes with a broken limb as he quickly slapped medi-gel onto it, soothing the pain and stopping the bleeding. As Thane tried to steady himself and limp away, bolts of red energy flew around him as the Stormtroopers had arrived to finish off the shadow that was plaguing them.

Seeing their companion against the ropes, Snake called out to Pyrrha. "Nikos! Get him out of there!" He shifted his position and held trigger down in a fully automatic frenzy to give Thane covering fire.

"On it!" She returned, switching Miló to spear from and raising Akoúo̱ high to protect her face and torso.

Forcing her aura into her legs, Pyrrha rocketed from her position. The stormtroopers could barely follow as she covered the distance between her and Thane in seconds. She stood over Thane, Akoúo̱ covering both of them as she bent down to pick up Thane. But as she moved to aid her friend, Pyrrha felt a searing heat on her back as she was knocked forward. She grunted as she fell forward, landing on her hands and knees. A quick peek at her HUD indicated her aura was at 76%, a lot of damage for a single hit.

She turned to see that a Shadow Stormtrooper decloaking, apparently hiding in wait to ambush whoever would be foolish enough to come for Thane. The shadow stormtrooper leveled his light repeater and opened fire on Pyrrha. She quickly raised her shield, deflecting the first few shots. Akoúo̱'s surface became red hot and charred black as it blocked the repeated blaster fire. With a quick twirl she then threw Miló with a recoil enhanced boost. The spear flew faster than the commando could react, piercing his breastplate, eviscerating and pinning him to a tree.

The shadow stormtrooper could only gurgle blood as Pyrrha used her polarity to recall her weapon. Helping Thane up, the duo began making their way back to the defensive line. They moved in staggered lines, weaving back and forth to avoid the mines they had placed down previously. However, they were so focused on avoiding mines and blaster fire, that they hadn't noticed the rhythmic quaking the ground made behind them.

Without warning, the retreat in front of them was cut off by heavy blaster fire, scorching the ground and sending dirt and smoke flying. From behind, an Imperial AT-ST bipedal walker chased them down. The duo spun and side stepped, trying to get out of sight from the vehicle as it attempted to incinerate them with continued blaster fire. With Pyrrha's aura low and Thane slowed from his leg injury, they knew that outpacing the walker would be near impossible.

As the flurry of crimson death grew closer, the duo's salvation came in the form of a whistling rocket that slammed into the hull of the AT-ST. The walker stumbled back, rotating to face the now higher priority hazard, the armored sentinel Sarah Lyons holding the literal smoking barrel.

The walker's laser cannons charged up once again, unleashing a volley at the sentinel's position instead. Sarah had an expression that could only be categorized asOh sh*tas both she and Snake dove backwards into the ruins while laser bolts tore apart their cover. The driver held down the trigger like a man possessed, caught in a blood frenzy as he unleashed a torrent of blaster fire at the ruins. He was so focused that he did not pay attention to the specific pattern the two Legionnaires beneath him were using to navigate the swamp. With a simple misstep, the AT-ST stepped directly onto a frag mine, blowing off its right leg and sending the machine crumbling to the ground.

The barrage now over, Sarah could now pop out of the ruins with a fully replenished rocket launcher.

"Smile you son of a bitch!" she cried out as she fired another rocket for the now immobile co*ckpit.

The AT-ST burst open with a fireball of destruction as Pyrrha and Thane made their way back to the ruins entrance. They threw a new medi-gel pack onto Thane's leg and chest, and he moved to the front of the ruins to give direct fire support while the others reinforced the damaged defensive barricades. From suppressing the standard stormtroopers to counter sniping scout troopers, Fireteam Eagle continued to hold this line, fighting against the numerically superior force.

As the battle continued on, a final Imperial Shuttle was heard descending on Fireteam Eagle's position. Unlike the others, this shuttle cared little for the Legion's anti-air defenses and hovered right above the ruins.

"I got this one." Sarah grunted as she aimed down her rocket launcher.

With a pull of the trigger she fired the rocket, expecting it crash against the deflector shields like the others, and readied to fire a second one to overload the barrier. However, to everyone's shock, the rocket did not burst upon the shields in a fiery detonation, but instead froze in place several meters away from the ship, struggling against some unknown force.

All of the Legion froze and looked up at the sight. As the metal of the rocket strained, it soon twisted and crumpled, exploding in place as the lower exit ramp of the shuttle opened up.

With a terrifying hiss, a single, blood red blade of light appeared from the darkness of the shuttle. The figure, wearing all black robes, with a matching hood and balaclava, sneered down at the insects below him, annoyed that he had been summoned to fight such weaklings.

The Dark Jedi leapt from the shuttle, slowly gliding down to the mire beneath. He arrived in a three point landing, and stood tall, eyeing the Legion up and down as they did the same to him. As they stared at one another, Venom Snake's eye widened as a familiar cyan mist gripped the battlefield. Soon enough, with familiarwhooshingsound, two grey skinned, parasite enhanced Skulls super soldiers seemed to teleport to the Dark Jedi, flanking him.

The whole battlefield froze. For the Legion it was caution and wariness that kept them from moving. For the Imperial Stormtroopers it was straight fear at the sight of the Dark Jedi. None would act without orders from the acolyte.

The Dark Jedi smirked. Tilting his head to one of the Skulls he simply ordered, "Do it."

The Skulls stepped forward as black and cyan mist leaked from their bodies. Then the screaming began. Bodies of both living and recently killed stormtroopers convulsed, crying out in pain, twisting and contorting in inhuman positions. Then the raucous noises stopped as the stormtroopers slowly rose. They slowly limped forward, emitting similar cyan particles as the Skulls, their bodies turned ash grey underneath their hardsuits.

Pyrrha's jaw dropped. As much as she wanted to say she has grown since her first death, she felt an instinctual, primal fear as she saw what could only be described as an insult to life itself. Zombies, the undead, a twisted malformation and parody of what she fought to protect. Thane and Sarah grit their teeth and steeled their resolve. Unlike the huntress they had seen similar phenomenon before, reaper husks and feral ghouls respectively. But still, they knew the terror of the flood they were about to face.

Big Boss crouched down, and carefully loaded a fresh magazine into his rifle. His pulse quickened at the sight of his tormentors of a past life, but he would not show it. He didn't then, and he wouldn't now.

"Pyrrha." He spoke, pulling the teenagers attention from the walking dead. "Can you handle the Sith?"

Pyrrha's eyes widened as her mouth mimicked that of a fish out of water.

"Head in the game huntress! Can you take him?" Snake scolded, eye and weapon not leaving the new hostiles.

Pyrrha's eyes hardened as she shook her head to refocus. "I'll do what I must." She declared, shifting Miló to its sword form.

Snake nodded. "Sarah, Thane, take down the zombies, I'll handle the Skulls."

"Affirmative." they replied in chorus.

As just as quickly as the battlefield froze over, it erupted into chaos as the Boss fired his rifle, roaring, "Go!"

Pyrrha was the first to move, dashing from her cover once again to meet the Sith in hand to hand. Simultaneously the zombie stormtroopers staggered forward en masse, meeting hidden frag mines and hot lead as Sarah and Thane opened fire on them.

Having sparred many times with Galen and seen first hand the destructive capabilities of a lightsaber, Pyrrha did not wish to commit to a direct attack lest she destroy her own weapon. So instead of blindly charging with her sword, she abruptly stopped and raised her hands. The Dark Jedi raised an eyebrow in amusem*nt as chunks of the destroyed AT-ST levitated behind him. Pyrrha howled as she threw her arms down, flinging the burning scrap towards the Sith.

The Dark Jedi turned, sensing the danger behind him, and raised his own hands calling upon the force to stop the debris. The metal groaned under the power of the forces as the Dark Jedi ripped control of the scrap from Pyrrha, sending it straight for the redhead.

Pyrrha leapt in the air, turning with a butterfly twist over the debris which hurtled passed her. But the Dark Jedi attempted to capitalize on this, and launched a savage horizontal slash the millisecond she landed. Straining her body and aura, she flipped backwards with a back handspring, dodging the attack.

With a motion developed through years of practice, Pyrrha mechashifted Miló to its rifle form mid-flip. As soon as she landed again, she fired off three rounds in rapid succession. But the Sith would not be surprised by such a tactic, and deflected each of the shots.

Hoping the catch the teenager by surprise, the Dark Jedi then threw his lightsaber at her, the prismatic buzzsaw seeking to take her head. To his surprise, the girl had chosen not to retreat with the attack but instead charged. As the blade moved to strike her, Pyrrha dropped to the ground with a slide tackle, causing the lightsaber to overshoot her. Her target now unarmed, Pyrrha let loose a mighty battle cry and attacked with her blade.

Pyrrha lunged for the Sith Acolyte, cutting towards the body and following up with a thrust towards his face. With his foresight enhanced reflexes, it was a simple matter for the Dark Jedi to slip both attacks. But with a quick pivot she bashed him in the chest with her shield, too fast for even his enhanced senses. The Dark Jedi staggered back as Pyrrha planted her foot into his sternum. However instead of kicking him backwards, she used him as a springboard to kick off of, backflipping in the air once again, dodging the lightsaber that was on its return trip from behind.

The Dark Jedi would not be stepped on so lightly. With an annoyed grimace, he sent a stream of lighting towards the huntress while she was mid jump. Pyrrha screamed as electricity coursed through her body. Gritting her teeth, she focused through the pain, summoning her polarity and creating a magnetic field around herself. She landed as the lightning began to deflect off her very being, her magnetism directing the electrons themselves away.

Pyrrha knew this wasn't working. Thinking back to the briefing, she briefly thought about the words Galen said, about mental interference. She ponders on which emotion she should use, but quickly decided on which would be the easiest.

Pyrrha roared once again, going for a direct charge with Miló shifting to a spear. The Sith smiled, raising his lightsaber to meet the attack, reaching out to her mind through the Force to sense where she would strike. But instead of discerning her intended target, his thoughts became confused with images of a goofy looking blonde teenager, wearing white and gold armor, crying as he blasted away in some kind of rocket propelled locker. Pyrrha's mind was bleeding guilt for leaving her friends and loved ones behind at Beacon.

With a thrust directed straight for his throat, Pyrrha moved for a killing blow. The Dark Jedi snapped out of his confusion, and barely leaned to the side, swinging his blade to cut her weapon in half. But as he moved his blade to parry, Pyrrha spun Miló in her fingers, transforming it into a xiphos held in a reverse grip, and cut across the Dark Jedi's chest. The Dark Jedi howled as Pyrrha finally drew blood. She pushed forward, dashing to the Sith's exposed flank and slashing him once again.

Snarling, the Sith counterattacked, wildly bringing his lightsaber down on Pyrrha's head. The tournament champion instinctively brought her shield up to protect herself. Within milliseconds the shield once again began to glow red hot, searing her arm and threatening to melt. So Pyrrha pirouetted backwards, regaining a few feet of distance while changing Miló to rifle form.

Pyrrha fired a dust round at near point blank right for his gut. But even at such a distance, the Sith spun his lightsaber in a defensive twirl, his hate now boiling over. Pyrrha moved to charge once more, but stopped as she felt a suffocating pressure grip itself around her throat. She gasped, dropping her sword and bringing her hand to her throat. She saw the Sith, holding out his own hand, sad*stically smiling as she began to levitate off of the ground as he force choked her. Pyrrha kicked and struggled, unable to focus on anything as blackness crept into her vision. She felt tears run down her face as her very life was strangled from her.

"You bastaaaard!" A warcry screamed from behind Pyrrha as her hearing was overwhelmed withBRRRRRRRRRRRRT.

Sarah Lyons, leaving her position in the doorway to help Pyrrha, unleashed a hail of minigun fire towards the Dark Jedi. The Sith hissed in annoyance, bringing both hands to his lightsaber. Pyrrha fell to the ground, both hands on her throat, desperately gasping for air. He spun the blade wildly, deflecting as many bullets as he could. And had it been blaster bolts he had been blocking he might've been able to stop all of them. But the speed and amount of slugs flying through the air were too much, and partially melted slag hit him in the thigh and shoulder.

With a pained grimace, the Dark Jedi reached through the force and yanked Sarah, pulling her towards him. Sarah stumbled forward, the Sith's telekinesis overpowering her powered armor servos. The Sith moved forward as well, lightsaber raised. Sarah tried to recover, raising her minigun to blast the acolyte away.

But he was faster, much faster. With a single movement the Dark Jedi sliced the barrels off of the minigun, leaving only a hot-orange stub of molten metal. He then pirouetted, spinning his lightsaber, and plunged the energy blade right into the stomach of Sarah Lyons.

Sarah gasped out as the Dark Jedi drove the blade deeper, melting its way through her armor.

"NOOOOO!" Pyrrha cried out as she watched the Sith impale her friend.

Pyrrha saw red. Overcome with grief and fury she dashed for the Dark Jedi, both hands on her sword, going straight for a killing blow. It was a swift, powerful strike aimed to split his head in half. But the Sith only turned to her and smirked, withdrawing the lightsaber from her friend and parrying the rage fueled direct attack. Pyrrha's eyes went wide as she saw the top half of Miló fall in front of her, melted in half by the crimson blade. Rage was replaced by fear and regret as she looked back up to the Sith, now poised to drop a finishing blow.

The huntress did not break eye contact with the Sith. She would die defiant in the face of her enemy. As the Sith moved to deliver the final blow, and resoundingcrackechoed in the air as a burst of red shot out of the Sith's side. Back in the ruins, Thane saw the trouble his comrades were in, and took a crack shot at the distracted Dark Jedi.

Not letting this opportunity go by, Pyrrha shot upwards. She gripped the wrist of the Dark Jedi, and focused all her anger and aura into her hand. Pyrrha felt the Sith's wrist shatter under the pressure of her superhuman grip. Pyrrha didn't even have to think of her next move as they were already drilled into her by the Boss.

While the Sith cried in pain, Pyrrha raised her leg, and let loose a devastating push kick towards his knee, breaking the entire leg as she kicked through it, bending completely backwards. The Dark Jedi fell forward, unable to support himself any longer as Pyrrha twisted his wrist, and with her offhand yanked the lightsaber free, disarming him completely. She then reversed the grip of the blade, let go of the limp wrist, and drove the lightsaber straight into the heart of the Dark Jedi.

The Sith looked at her. Fearful, surprised yellow eyes met cold, resolute emerald ones. With a gasp, the Dark Jedi slumped backwards, falling to the ground dead. Pyrrha briefly inspected the lightsaber, before deactivating it and holstering it on her belt. Quickly Pyrrha rushed to Sarah's side. She checked her pulse, slow, but there, just barely. Pulling out the medi-gel, she immediately began treating the stab wound. It was cauterized closed, but dealt significant damage to her internals.

"Stay with me Sarah, stay with me!" Pyrrha pleaded as she kept pumping medi-gel into her fallen comrade.

Snake could hear cries and gunfire from his comrades but he couldn't focus on it, not now. The super soldiers in front of him had his undivided attention. The two Skulls teleported around him, stopping only to raise their assault rifles and fire at him. Snake sprinted for cover, diving behind a tree to dodge the volley of gunfire.

Popping out, Snake fired an assault rifle burst at the Skulls. However, as the round flew out, they pinged off of the Skull's bodies, now hardened into metallic stone by the Metallic Archaea within them. Charging the metallic archaea into its hand, the Skull punched the ground, summoning massive metallic spikes that smashed their way to Snake. Waiting for the last second, Snake dove out of the way of the spikes, dodging the possible impalement. However the spikes then grew red-hot, before exploding and blasting the Boss to the side, pelting him with fragmentation.

The Boss rose from the ground, shaking his head clear from the explosion. But as he did, he could hear the familiarwhooshas a Skull dashed in front of him, and with a leaping strike attempted to execute the legendary soldier. Snake's body reacted instantly, his robotic arm parrying the machete to his side. Snake then stepped forward into the Parasite soldier, and with a twist of his robotic arm, ripped the machete from the Skull's hand. Snake pivoted to the outside, spinning around the Skull and ended up behind it. Machete in hand, Snake drove the corrosive archaea blade into the back of the Skull.

From the blindspot created by his eyepatch, Snake didn't notice that the second Skull was summoning a boulder of metallic archaea, levitating it in the air in front of it. The Skull smashed its fist into the boulder, sending it flying towards the Boss. Boss couldn't see it coming, but senses honed by decades of combat could feel it nonetheless. Grappling the Skull in front of him that was writhing in pain, Snake twisted and threw the supersoldier between himself and the boulder. The metallic archaea detonated in a massive explosion, shredding the Skull, but also throwing the Boss backwards, wounded further by the shrapnel and heat.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was not having a good time. Sarah was stable for now, but she couldn't move her, not without help. A booming explosion caught her attention as she saw the Boss get blown out of a cloud of fire and smoke. She moved to go support him, but stopped when the groans of the undead sounded around her. She looked for the source, and saw that more stormtrooper zombies were making their way for her position. Looking down at her ruined weapon, Pyrrha frowned as she used her semblance to call a fallen stormtroopers blaster rifle to her. It was a small, carbine-sized rifle, an E-11 blaster if she remembered Six's weapon lessons right.

Like a mother cat protecting her cubs, Pyrrha knelt over Sarah's body, growling at the incoming enemies. She pulled the trigger for each uncauterized face she saw.

"You will not have them!" She screamed. No one. Not the Dark Jedi, not the Skulls, and not some damn zombies were going to take her friends away from her.

Snake stood up once more. He was bleeding from his face and arm, his battle suit punctured at several points. His head was ringing, color coming in and out of vision, meaning that the shrapnel in his head was probably aggravated. His mental stupor was broken when he was pelted by assault rifle fire. Snake looked up and saw the remaining Skull had tracked him down and began firing. Running on adrenaline and willpower, Venom Snake stood and ran, trying to dodge the bullets.

The Skull took a few steps towards Snake, when a sniper shot rang out, slamming into the armored form of the Skull. Turning towards the source, the Skull saw a limping Thane, who left the ruins as well to support his allies, clutching his sniper. Thane took another shot which pinged off of the Skull's head, damaging the metallic archaea but not breaking it.

Angered the Skull the moved towards Thane. Thane gave a small smirk as the Parasite soldier walked right into a frag mine. The explosion tore chunks into the Skull soldier's armor, but wasn't enough to put it down. Annoyed at being so easily baited, the Skull instead dashed at Thane with superhuman speed. It launched a series of cuts with its machete, that Thane struggled to dodge with his injury. Focusing his biotics into his hand, Thane shoved the Skull backwards, getting some much needed distance.

The Skull stumbled back and hissed, drawing its assault rifle, ready to mow the alien down. But a series of light beeps drew its attention. Turning its head, it saw its original quarry, the Big Boss, now moved to a new location aiming at the Skull with his Killer Bee rocket launcher. The Skull roared in defiance as the Boss pulled the trigger, delivering the high yield explosive payload right down the Skull's mouth.

The Skull burst apart, collapsing in a pile of burning meat and cybernetics. As the Skull burned, the cyan mist around the swamp began to dissipate, and the zombie troopers collapsed. Seeing the undead fall one by one, Pyrrha finally allowed herself to relax, as the battlefield seemed to be clear of hostiles. Swiftly Snake made his way to Pyrrha, and using his medic training from two lifetimes ago moved to treat Sarah.

Fireteam Eagle held the line, now all that was left was to hear from Fireteam Raven.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Battle of the Ruins - Fireteam Raven

It didn't take long for Fireteam Eagle to secure the perimeter of the pyramid. If anything it was too fast. In Shepard's experience, when things went really well, it was usually a trap or an ambush. But regardless, they had a job to do and they were going to do it. Taking point, Galen strode with Shepard right beside him and Sev and Six taking the rear.

Fireteam Raven plodded their way through the hallway. The hallway itself was semi-triangular in shape, made of an unknown metal that seemed to stay in pristine condition, untouched by rust or deterioration despite it being a set of ruins in a swamp. The passage itself was illuminated by flush panels of dull, white light, that also seemed to be as durable as the metal. The Fireteam moved fast, as there was no real cover, save for embedded supports that barely extended a foot out of the walls. Soon enough they reached the end of the hallway, and came across a sealed, semi-triangular sliding door.

They pushed up to the entrance, Shepard and Six to the left, Galen and Sev to the right, ready to breach. Shepard glanced at Galen and gave a nod. The former Sith moved in front of the door, activating his blue lightsaber. With a flourish, his blade sliced through the door, melting and rending it apart. Focusing the Force in his left hand, he thrust this palm forward, blasting a wave of telekinetic energy that sent chunks of the door flying.

With a cacophony of banging metal and crashing debris, the current occupants of the room jump backwards. Grunts and jackals squealed with panic, running behind four large buttresses that supported the walls of the room. On the farside of the room, a squad of Brute Majors stood in front of a cylindrical tube that looked to be some sort of elevator. The Covenant squad stared at Galen, shocked by the sheer audacity of the entrance.

"Hello there." Starkiller spoke with a smirk.

A beat passed as the aliens looked at Galen, then to each other. The brutes, shaking themselves out of their dumbstruck state roared and raised their guns, opening fire. Dozens of plasma balls and carbine blasts flew towards Galen, who began to twirl his lightsaber, deflecting the shots. Behind him, Shepard yelled in return, and a blur of blue biotic energy blasted passed Galen, slamming into one of the brutes with a biotic charge that destroyed his armor.

Shepard followed up the biotic display with a shotgun blast to face, killing the first of the brutes, but soon found herself surrounded by half a dozen apes. One of Brute Major wielding a savage looking brute shot lunged forward, trying to impale Shepard with the gun's massive blade. But the attack fell short, as the blade of the brute shot seemed to fall of the butt of the weapon, having been cleaning cut in half by Galen's lightsaber as he dashed forward to protect the commander.

Galen followed up with another two cuts of his lightsaber, easily burning out the brute's power armor. A final twirl decapitated the Brute Major, while Shepard blasted the other brutes with mass accelerated pellets. As they battled, both Sev and Six hung by the door, popping in and out as they suppressed the smaller infantry. Six's DMR rang true, easily headshotting grunts as a small explosion of blue blood burst out of their skulls like confetti. Sev's blaster suppressed the Jackals, overloading their energy shields with his own plasma before expertly putting them down.

As they battle continued a golden armored Brute Captain, the apparent leader of this pack, fell back, suppressing Shepard with his brute shot. Retreating behind the elevator, the Brute captain drew a communicator from his belt and sounded the alarm. Suddenly the lights of the ruins shifted to a deep crimson hue as warning claxons sounded off. Shepard turned and scowled at the Covenant officer. Once again focusing her biotics throughout her body, Shepard charged for the captain, eager to put him down.

But the Brute Captain was not like his simpler underlings. Having seen Shepard charge once already, he readied himself for the Spectres assault. As soon as Shepard burst forward, the Brute side stepped, twisting his body with all the speed 1500 lbs alien could move with. He didn't even try to keep up with Shepard's movement, knowing it would be futile. Instead he focused on just getting away from the spot he was standing on the spot where the human would reappear.

And true to his prediction, Shepard skidded to a halt in front of the Brute, shocked at his display of agility. The Brute grinned as he raised his leg up and planted it in Shepard's side, push kicking her backwards. The power of the kick alone was enough to break Shepard's shields. The Captain roared as he tried to spear Shepard with a downward thrust of his brute shot's blade. But with her own display of CQC prowess, the Commander powered her hands with her biotics, and redirected the blade to her side. The Brute's weight now fully committed forward, Shepard clenched a fist as it was encased in blue and orange light, form a biotic-enhanced omniblade around it. With a roar the holographic blade was plunged into the brute's head, spearing through the helmet and out the back of the brute's skull.

Looking to her allies, the rest of Fireteam Raven was finishing up their respective enemies. Bodies of grunts, jackals, and brutes littered the ground, but the lights maintained their crimson hue, flashing on and off with the warning claxons.

Sighing, Shepard put two fingers to her ear and reached out to Snake. "We've kicked the hornets nest down here Snake, you guys better get ready for incoming."

Shepard gestured to the elevator, "Alright double time people." Fireteam Raven piled into the lift, and with a press of a button began to descend further into the ruins.

The ride down the elevator took longer than Shepard would have liked. Part of her wanted to shoot the holographic control panel to see if it would make the damn thing go any faster. Arriving at the lower level, the squad continued to push down the hallways without delay. Through either luck or by design of the building, the hallways twisted and turned very little They hardly ever branched off, and when they did, the new passages often only lead to dead ends. This resulted in a relatively quick and painless traversal.

However to their unease, the hallways were completely empty. Save for the slowly strobing red lights of the ruins, there was nothing of note. It was painfully obvious to Shepard that something was off. Whatever Imperial or Covenant forces still in the ruins should be swarming them, defending these chokepoints and killzones. But there was only air, and that gave Shepard a bad feeling about this whole thing.

The Commander's instincts would prove correct as Galen skidded to a halt, stopping the rest of his squad in a single, long hallway. Shepard threw a quick glance at Starkiller, before scanning the passageway in front of her for what paused him. In darkness, Shepard could barely make out a figure, standing ahead of a sliding door similar to the one Galen destroyed previously.

The figure wore pitch-black body armor, similar to the Shadow Stormtroopers she had seen previously. However there were a few key differences in the dark sentinel's armor. He wore a long, billowing cloak that matched the armor in shade. The helmet was not like a storm troopers, but instead looked almost like a Middle-Eastern face veil. The entire head and face was obfuscated with the somber mask, save for the eyes, which were covered with a blood-red visor. Lastly, instead of a blaster or gun, he seemed to hold some kind of long staff in his right hand.

With a flourish, the figure spun the staff, gripping it with both of his hands. Out of the tip, a blade of crimson energy emerged. The blade was shorter than that of Galen's lightsaber, but deadly nonetheless.

"An Imperial Shadow Guard." Galen muttered, activating his own blade and holding it in his signature reverse grip. "I'll handle this."

Shepard nodded and glanced at Six and Sev, the trio backed up several steps to allow Galen to fight uninhibited. Galen moved first, dashing forward while the Shadow Guard braced for melee combat. With a twirl Galen spun, adding extra momentum to a horizontal strike. The guard raised his pike, the phrik-reinforced shaft deflecting Galen's attack. The Guard betrayed no emotion as he moved to counter attack, swinging the butt of his pike towards Galen's leg. Galen was forced to retreat a step, disengaging and moving out of range of his lightsaber, but still within the range of the Shadow Guard. The Guardsman let loose a rapid series of thrusts, which were expertly deflected but prevented Galen from closing the distance.

Shepard watched the duel with barely concealed amazement. The two Dark side trained acolytes fought with a speed and fury that she had never seen before. Sure it wasn't the most violent or destructive battle she had ever witnessed, but there was an almost choreographed grace and rhythm to it that mesmerized her. Shepard was so distracted by the duel that she didn't notice the quiet shuffling of steps around the rest of her squad. A mistake that was made apparent when the remaining three were blasted from both sides of the hall by blaster fire.

Shepard's shield flashed as she was pelted by energy blasts. Looking forward, she saw that surrounding her team was a squad of cloaked shadow stormtroopers, three in front of them and two behind them. Knowing that Six had a more robust shielding system, Shepard extended her arms and created a wide biotic field protecting her and Sev. The shadow troopers in front of her continued to pelt the barrier, hoping to overload it.

Six felt his own energy shields flash and die as blaster rounds impacted on his back. The shadow stormtroopers surrounding must have been lying in wait for them, completely still and invisible otherwise they would've shown up on his motion tracker. He stumbled forward, catching himself before glaring backwards at the two shadow troopers behind him. Time seemed to crawl for the Spartan. His shields low, he could see the shadow troopers adjusting their aim to finish him off. Six knew he was going to have to time his attack perfectly to not get disintegrated, but he was a Spartan, he was used to making the impossible happen.

Before the shadow troopers could pull the trigger of their blasters again Six was on the move. Dropping his DMR while simultaneously reaching for the gravity hammer on his back, Six cut the distance between him and the Imperials in half in the time it took their eyes to widen as they realized he was charging them. Six could see the shadow troopers pulling the trigger on their blasters again, so he spun twisting is body to the side as the blaster bolts singed passed his visor. With a roar he drew the hammer with one arm and with a wide, horizontal swing smashed the two troopers. The shadow stormtroopers erupted into a cloud of gore and broken armor as they were ripped apart by the violent gravity fields.

Meanwhile Shepard continued to block the volleys of blaster shots targeting her and Sev.

"Sev I can't keep this thing up forever!" Shepard grunted as rounds continued to impact the shield.

Sev nodded as he swapped the barrels of his DC17 blaster, changing it from blaster rifle to grenade launcher.

"Ready when you are Commander." Sev acknowledged, weapon level and steady.

Shepard gave a quick glance at Sev, before dropping the barrier and diving to the side. The Shadow troopers, waiting for the barrier to fail, unleashed on the woman. Shepard felt a searing pain in her side as the blaster bolts tore apart her kinetic barrier and punctured her hard suit. From behind her Sev fired off his grenade launcher, landing right between two of the shadow troopers, the shrapnel and heat killing them instantly and flinging their corpses into the walls.

The final Shadow trooper looked in annoyance as his allies lay dead. Pulling out a thermal detonator from his belt, the trooper seemed determined to take down the Legion with him.

"Oh f*ck right off!" Shepard furiously yelled, slamming her fist into the ground as a biotic wave of energy similarly slammed the shadow trooper flat on the floor.

The Shadow trooper, staggered and prone on the ground, struggled to stand in vain as Six rushed forward and slammed the gravity hammer into him. The backplate of the shadow trooper shattered as the ground beneath him fractured in a spiderweb pattern that filled with crimson fluid.

While the commandos of Fireteam Raven fought for their lives in the rear, Starkiller and the Shadow Guard continued their dual to the death. The Shadow Guard spun his pike like a windmill, forcing Galen back and followed up with a skull splitting cut. Galen brought his blade high, parrying the strike then stepping inwards to shoulder check the guard, forcing him back. Focusing the force into his left hand, Galen released a powerful force push, hoping to blast the guard backwards. But the Shadow Guard seemed to sense this attack coming, and reinforced his own body with the force, and barely moved a scarce few inches.

Galen clicked his tongue in annoyance the the Shadow Guard began his own counter. If the traitor wanted to make this a contest of the force, the Guardsman would reciprocate. Dropping his pike, electricity sparked between the palms of the Shadow Guard. With a grunt he stepped forward and sent a storm of force lighting towards Galen. Galen only smirked as the Shadow Guard tried to use his own favorite technique against him.

Before the Guard's lightning could reach him, Galen unleashed a torrent of force lightning as well, meeting the Guard halfway. Electricity clashed in a heated battle, splashing and scorching the walls as the opposing forces met. The shadow guard hissed as he poured every ounce of his soul into the attack hoping to overwhelm the former assassin. Galen gave a small chuckle and with a power beyond anything the shadow guard could hope to produce, Starkiller's lighting grew in size, evolving into a force storm. The Shadow Guard could only cry out as his lightning bolts were overcome and he was soon consumed by thousands of volts. The smell of burnt flesh and ozone filled the passageway as Galen cooked the man alive.

Shepard staggered up, slapping medi-gel onto her wounded side, letting out a pained groan as the miracle substance did its work. Holstering his DMR, Six moved to help the commander up, and she gave a nod in thanks. Moving passed the piles of fresh corpses on the ground, they reunited Galen as he stood ready to breach the doorway. Shepard stood next to him ready breach, as Galen's eyes fell to her wound.

Shepard caught his gaze and looked down as well. Her N7 armor was penetrated, leaving a scorched black burn mark on the side of her stomach.

She looked back at Galen and shrugged. "It's not lethal. I'm good to keep going."

Galen nodded, taking her word for it as he moved to the next room. Unlike the last door, Galen opted to simply press a button in its center, causing the door to separate into three distinct pieces, which retracted into the walls and ceiling.

This doorway led to a cylindrical room, containing a spiral staircase that descended several hundred feet. In the center of the room, a pillar of light shot downwards, almost blinding the legionnaires. Shepard thought the sight was beautiful, albeit unnecessarily hazardous. There wasn't even a guardrail on the stairs to keep someone from falling off into this energy pillar. Shepard gave one last look back to her team and they all nodded, letting her know they were ready. And so Fireteam Raven continued their descent further and further into the ruins.

At the bottom the stairwell, Fireteam Raven reached a final door. On the other side, Shepard could hear muffled conversation. Quickly, she ordered the team to stop, and like clockwork they instantly obeyed. She leaned her ear close to the door, trying to discern what she could of the conversation.

"You speak much human. So tell me, why shouldn't I just kill you and drink your marrow." The first voice rang out, one deep, guttural, and powerful.

The voice that responded was its opposite, smooth and refined. "Come now Tartarus, you possess a mind of great tactical acumen, do you not? Surely you must understand that I am not part of the same fools you fought against? We of the Empire do not seek to delay your Covenant's quest for the Great Journey. An alliance between our two factions would ensure that your forces will not be stopped again on your search."

The now identified Tartarus snorted. "And what does your Empire seek to gain from this, Skull Face. We know of your kind. You do not care for our gods, our beliefs. You want something from us."

Shepard couldn't see this Skull Face's expression, but could hear the smirk behind his words. "Consider it a show of good faith, my dear Tartarus. My Master is kind and generous. Not only is he willing to offer you alliance and aid, but power beyond what you thought possible. Power to crush your enemies, and see them driven before you!"

"I will admit, such an offer is… intriguing." Tartarus acquiesced.

"Indeed. However, the details will have to be ironed out after we deal with our eavesdroppers."

Shepard bit back a curse as she realized they were made. Swiftly she slammed her fist into the door, smashing the mechanism and causing it open. She rushed inside, shotgun raised as the rest of Fireteam Raven followed suit.

Shepard scanned the room quickly. In the center there was a round table projecting a hologram that matched the hand drawn maps that Snake had shown her before. On the far end there was some kind of mural of two figures fighting, but she didn't have time to look at it too deeply as the hostile forces took precedence.

There were two figures in the middle of their discourse, Tartarus, the grey furred mountain of a Brute, and a human covered with burn scars, wearing a black trenchcoat and fedora, who Shepard assumed was Skull Face, the Imperial envoy. Both had a pair of imposing guards behind them, a pair of Shadow Guards standing behind the Imperial, and two, 12 foot tall, blue armored Hunters standing behind Tartarus.

Tartarus gave an annoyed growl as he turned to face the intruders drawing his gravity hammer from his back, his hunters moving to flank him. The shadow guards rushed in front of Skull Face, activating their lightsaber pikes, as he casually backpedaled away from the door.

"Ah you must be Shepard." Skull Face said, greeting her with a theatrical bow. "May I be the first to welcome you to the Archives."

"You know me?" the commander curtly responded, not in the mood to deal with any bullsh*t.

"Why of course! Your reputation does precede you. It is a shame we will not have the chance to get better acquainted with one another. Agent Leng, handle this interruption will you." Skull Face smiled as Shepard's eyes went wide.

"Shepard dodge!" Galen yelled out.

Without taking time to even process what Galen said Shepard immediately dodge rolled to the side, instinctively avoiding a crimson lightsaber as Kai Leng dropped from the ceiling and tried to take her head. Shepard and Leng locked eyes as Tartarus howled, signaling the start of the fight.

Shepard was beyond pissed. She was so far passed the point of anger, that her snarling rage was replaced by a calm, silent wrath. She was so unequivocally furious that the son of a bitch known as Kai Leng was right in front of her that she didn't even care about the lightsaber he wielded as she slammed into him with a biotic charge.

As Shepard and Leng flew off, Galen dashed forward to help the Spectre. But before he could catch up, the twirling figures of both Shadow Guards landed in front of him, cutting him off. Starkiller glared at them in annoyance, settling in his reverse grip Shien stance as he prepared for combat.

The shadow guards operated in perfect synchronization. The first guard called out through the force, pulling Galen towards them, while the second leapt at him, seeking to eviscerate the secret apprentice. Using the momentum of the force pull, Galen added his own force into it, projecting himself into a front flip over the strike, where he landed with perfect balance. However, he was now flanked on both sides by the two shadow guards, and they were keen on not letting their advantage go. Quickly they shifted to attack him once again, thrusting at him from both sides, forcing Galen on the defensive as he focused on parrying and blocking their attacks.

The battlefield did not pause as the Sith began their deadly dance. With his own gravity hammer raised high, Six made for the hunters. He knew first hand how powerful their fuel rod cannons were, and wanted them out of the equation. With a meaty swing, Six brought the hammer down onto the first of the hunters. Orange blood spattered as the blue armor dented and lekgolo worms were crushed, hurting but not killing the hunter. The first hunter stumbled back as its partner roared, firing a continuous beam of green energy in retaliation.

Receiving only a green glow as warning, Six tucked to the side, barely dodging out of the way as the concentrated incendiary gel blasted passed him. Six completed the roll, kneeling in his combat stance as he readied to attack once more. An electronicbwoomaccompanied by the sounds of his shield's breaking and bones cracking followed as Six was knocked into the ground by Tartarus's gravity hammer.

Six's entire body screamed in pain. His armor dented, shields flickering, Six was so disoriented from the strike that he could barely tell which of the Tartarus's in front of him were real and which were byproducts of a likely concussion. The brute chieftain of chieftains stood above Six, a sad*stic grin plastered on his face as he brought his hammer high, ready to bring it down like an executioner.

As he stepped forward to bring his hammer down, an anti-armor grenade tore apart half of the Brute's face. Tartarus cried out and reeled back in pain, falling to his knees as the barrel of Sev's weapon found its mark. Sev smirked under his own helmet, but the expression fell as the Hunters now aimed at him for wounding their leader. Sev cursed as he dove backward behind the door, reloading his grenade launcher as two streams of fuel rod energy attempted to incinerate him.

Meanwhile, the wall behind Kai Leng dented and fractured in a spider web pattern as Shepard charged him directly into the metallic alloy. Shepard was far from finished however, as she raised her fist high and drove it into the ground, exploding with a biotic nova that drained hers and Kai Leng's kinetic barrier while setting him alight with biotic flames. As Shepard charged her biotics into her fist to wipe that smug mouth off of Kai Leng's face, Leng simply looked at her and blasted Shepard backwards with a telekinetic wave.

Shepard staggered backwards, annoyed by Leng's biotic counter. Then the wheels in her brain spun wildly.Wait a minute, Kai Leng isn't a biotic,she pondered. The lack of blue biotic energy, combined with the crimson lightsaber set off a lot of red flags in her now less bloodthirsty brain.Son of a bitch, Leng can use the Force!

The surprise was apparent on Shepard's face as Kai Leng smiled when she realized what he had become. Extending out his hand, the Cerberus assassin made a simple, cupping, gesture with his hand. The hand movement had Shepard confused for all of 0.5 seconds as she soon felt the force wrap around her throat, choking her from a distance. Shepard could barely focus through the suffocating pain as Leng strangled the life out of her, slowly approaching with his lightsaber active.

With a flick of the wrist, Leng then threw his lightsaber at the immobile Shepard, a crimson buzzsaw moving to cut her in twain. In a last ditch effort to prevent such a thing from happening, Shepard extended her own palm and through the pain fired a biotic shockwave. The series of chained biotic explosions rippled through the air, knocking the lightsaber off course and detonating next to Leng. The assassin was blasted backwards, his concentration on the force choke now broken.

Without hesitation Shepard lifted her shotgun and fired twice. The battle was so fast paced that taking even a second to rest or think would result in death. But in thanks partly to his now force enhanced reactions, and partly because of his own training, Leng was able to raise his right palm and project a forward facing kinetic barrier that absorbed the shots.

Recalling his blade with the force Leng roared as he charged at Shepard, looking to end this battle once and for all. Enhanced by his own cybernetics and the force, Leng moved faster than Shepard had anticipated. His first strike landed on her forearm, shredding her kinetic barrier which saved Shepard from a premature amputation. He swung again, this time for Shepard's head, only to miss as she dove into a backwards roll, barely avoiding the strike.

Shepard needed to do something quick, lest she end up as diced pieces of charred Spectre. Adopting Galen's strategy of distracting thoughts, Shepard's mind immediately focused on an image of Liara, stark naked on their bed, her hand slowly making its way between her own legs.

Kai Leng almost immediately recoiled in confusion and disgust. Without pause Shepard hip fired her Crusader Shotgun right for Leng's leg, kneecapping him as mass accelerated pellets tore through his cybernetics. Leng immediately collapsed, unable to support his own weight as he snarled at Shepard. The two arch enemies extended their hands, firing off a force push and biotic throw that exploded on contact.

Skull Face continued to watch the battle in front of him with amusem*nt. He was never a big fan of the cinema, having found most of what was produced to be mind numbing garbage. But this battle unfolding in front of him, oh how he wished he had a bucket of popcorn to enjoy it. He could only smile as Galen continued to deflect lightsaber pike strikes from the pair of shadow guards, the battle teetering back and forth between the two sides.

When Galen locked blades with one of the shadow guards the other would go for a lethal strike in retaliation. They were a perfect blend of offence and defense, when one attacked the other would defend against counters, when one would fall back the other would cover the retreat. Their coordination making up for the advantage of skill that Galen possessed.

As the attacking guard struck again, Galen was barely able to twist his body and dodge, the crimson pike searing his clothing. As he landed the former assassin simultaneously unleashed a wave of force energy in a radius around him, catching both guardsmen and knocking them back.

Beside him Galen heard an explosion. Having some breathing room he took a quick peak and saw that Sev had planted another anti-armor round into the face of a Hunter. The hunter stumbled back, once again charging its fuel rod cannon and aiming for the clone commando. Galen reached out with the Force, grabbing onto the beast's assault cannon and redirected it towards a target of his choosing, namely one of the shadow guards that was recovering from his previous telekinetic blast.

The unlucky shadow guard, still disoriented from the force wave, was caught completely unaware by the beam of green energy, and was nearly instantaneously incinerated. With the first guard dusted, Galen leapt upon the second. He swung with a frenzy of strikes that quickly outpaced the shadow guard. The shadow guard blocked the relentless assault as best he could, deflecting strikes with both the blade and shaft of his pike. But even the the phrik-reinforced metal of the lightsaber pike wouldn't be able to stand against the fury of Starkiller, and with a final stroke Galen's lightsaber bisected the pike. The shadow guard could only look down in shock as his weapon was completely destroyed, and then look up in disbelief as Galen impaled the guard with a follow up strike.

Galen watched the shadow guard fall lifeless to his feet, satisfied with his work. Suddenly, his precognition flared, warning him of danger. Galen leapt backwards with a flip as anotherbwoomfrom Tartarus's gravity hammer forced Six to dodge roll beneath the assassin. With a twist and breakfall, Six recovered his stance as the chieftain once again charged him.

Continuing to press the Demon, Tartarus swung the Fist of Rukt again, but even wounded Six was wily. The swing was a brutal, horizontal attack that Six easily ducked under. Stepping forward he then smashed the Chieftain's knee with the butt of his own hammer, bringing the brute down to one leg. Now at eye level with one another, Six swung his hammer in a straight, vertical swing meant to crush the Brute's head. But Tartarus was a veteran of many bloody duals against young chieftains who thought they could challenge his claim. He raised the Fist of Rukt, blocking the handle of Six's hammer with his own. Even with his indestructible bones, hyperdense muscle fibers, and MJOLNIR powered armor, Six felt himself get pushed back as Tartarus rose, gravity hammers locked and pressing against one another. Six's muscles strained as he was forced to take one, then two steps back.

The two enemies locked eyes, a soldier of indomitable will fighting against a warrior of unmatched zeal, both pushing for the advantage. The impasse broke as Tartarus cracked Six's visor with a headbutt. The unexpected strike stunned Six, causing him to stumble back. With a roar Tartarus then slammed his gravity right into Six, a direct hit that pulverized his left arm and torso. Six was sent soaring backwards, impacting a wall and falling straight to the ground. The Spartan weakly rose, his left arm hanging limp as blood leaked out of the many sparking breaches in his MJOLNIR armor.

Unable to even lift his gravity hammer anymore, Six let the weapon fall, never breaking eye contact with the Chieftain. Eyes defiant behind his visor, Six pulled out a plasma grenade from his belt and activated the switch. Immediately a blue-cyan flame of pure plasma sparked in Six's hand. Six trudged towards the Brute, moving faster with each step, forcing himself not to collapse.

Tartarus grunted. "So you choose the path of martyrdom, like a mere unggoy. So be it, at least you will have honor in death, demon!" Tartarus raised his hammer and prepared to meet the Spartan.

With a battle cry Six broke into a sprint towards Tartarus. Right before he was in range of the hammer, Six lobbed the Grenade, so close to him that it was impossible to miss. Tartarus seemed happy to trade blow for blow, and ignored the sticky grenade as he swung down at Six. To his shock however, Six seemed to punch the ground, his shields flaring as his armor locked up, protecting him from damage.

While Tartarus' previous strike happened too fast for Six to use this ability, Six now had the brute dancing to his tune and was fully prepared to use this armor ability. Tartarus' hammer struck the invincible Spartan, and to his shock did nothing as the plasma grenade fully armed and detonated, consuming him in the white-blue explosion. The brute was blown backwards towards Skull Face, his grey fur now burned and scorched following the repeated explosions. He was wounded, far more wounded than he had been since he fought his uncle Maccabeus for control of the tribe, but he was still alive.

The bloody Tartarus looked to his left, and watched as Starkiller deftly dodged the last hunter's shield strike with an aerial before bisecting it with his lightsaber. To his right, he saw as the Clone Commando fired a grenade that forced the similarly hurt Kai Leng to retreat to his allies.

"It's over Leng." A battered Shepard stated, shakily aiming her shotgun at them. "Surrender and I promise to kill you quicker this time."

Kai Leng, barely able to stand and bleeding from his side glared at her in return. "You're wrong Shepard, it's not over until you die."

As the two stared at one another, to their surprise Skull Face intervened, walking between them.

"Now now Kai Leng. You really must calm down. You let your emotions get the better of you far too often." Skull Face spoke with a smooth voice that only seemed to aggravate Leng further. "Nonetheless, this whole situation just won't do. I believe we shall take this opportunity to acquit ourselves. Tartarus, I assume you have no qualms about leaving with us?"

The Brute sent the scarred phantom an annoyed glare, before relenting with a begrudging nod.

"You are not going anywhere!" Galen cried out as he extend both his hands and unleashed a storm of force lighting large enough to encompass all three of their foes.

However Skull Face seemed unperturbed by the action, and extending his own fingers, loosed a force storm of his own. Lightning clashed against each other as Galen and the Force Sensitive Skull Face battled for dominance.

"Leng do it now!" Skull Face called out, not taking his eyes off the contest of wills.

Through his augmented eyes, Leng glared at Shepard, before pulling out a triangular device known to few as a Forerunner teleporter and activated it. Soon all three of them were covered in a pillar of yellow-white light, which then expanded to fill the entire room, blinding the Legion. As they regained their sight, the Fireteam Raven found themselves alone at the bottom of the ruins, their enemies gone without a trace.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

Within the Archives

"Are you f*cking kidding me!" Shepard was moments from putting her fist through the walls of the ancient ruins. "Teleportation! What kind of contrived bullsh*t is that!"

This time Shepard's biotic fist did slam into the metallic wall, denting it a few solid inches.

"Commander!" A gruff voice yelled out from behind her. It was Sev, who was kneeling next to a prone Six. "While I enjoy watching you beat up inanimate objects, we have a situation here."

The Commander took a calming breath and moved over to the pair of numbered soldiers. Six had a number of breaches in his suit and was looking worse for wear. The Spartan was still conscious however, fueled by sheer will power. They administered medi-gel to stem the blood flow, but couldn't do anything to mend the broken bones as they were.

Swearing under her breath, Shepard moved under one of Six's arms while Sev helped support his waist. Together, they groaned as they struggled to lift the half-ton weighing super soldier.

"Let's get him to the surface. Six needs medevac ASAP." Shepard ordered as they moved back for the stairs. "I just hope Eagle is doing better than we are."

"Sarah! Stay with me, Sarah!" Pyrrha cried out as she pried the T45d Power Armor off of Sarah Lyons' torso.

The medi-gel the huntress applied earlier meant that Lyons wouldn't be bleeding to death, but her wounds were still extremely severe. Now able to examine the wounds while not under fire, Pyrrha could see their full extent, and it was not pretty. The lightsaber went clear through her abdomen and through her back. The blade seemed to have missed the spine, which was fortunate, but her intestines and adjacent organs were probably all ruined. The prognosis was not good, and she came to a single conclusion. If something was not done soon, Sarah would die.

Placing one hand over Sarah's heart and the other on her cheek, Pyrrha spoke the words she recited long ago in the Emerald Forest, "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

As Pyrrha was enveloped by a dark, crimson aura, Sarah unconscious form was similarly covered in a steel-grey radiance. The task done, Pyrrha almost collapsed on the ground next to her, her aura reserves completely drained from both the battle and the awakening. Snake, having just finished securing the perimeter rushed over to the pair.

Snake looked over the fallen sister of steel, and once he saw the glow around her, he turned to face Pyrrha with questioning look.

"I'm sorry, but I had to unlock her aura." Pyrrha explained, heaving every breath. "Being completely honest I had no idea if it would work, being from different worlds and all. Her aura should give her some regenerative abilities, and hopefully save her life."

Snake looked back down at Sarah, her face relatively peaceful for someone with life threatening injuries. With a stoic nod of his head Snake placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, before calling down T3 in the pelican.

Soon, the rest of Fireteam Raven emerged from the ruins with grim expressions in a similar state of distress, dragging Six to the surface. Snake sighed as they appeared to have not captured the Imperial envoy.

"Status?" He asked as Six was laid down next to Sarah.

"The ruins are secure, all hostiles neutralized." Shepard reported with a scowl and shake of her head. "Both targets escaped though. Turns out the Empire has access to teleportation tech."

Snake grunted in response as he did a quick visual examination of Six's wounds. "We'll do a full debrief later. Pyrrha, can you do for Six what you did to Sarah?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "If I was at full strength perhaps. But unlocking a single person's aura is taxing. It took everything I had left to unlock Sarah's."

With a simple nod, Snake faced the rest of the Legion. "Get Six and Sarah onto the pelican. I'll take them back to Mother Base for emergency treatment. Thane on me, you'll need some first aid as well."

Thane took a slight step forward to protest, but held it back as he was hit by a stern glare from both Shepard and Snake. The assassin nodded, and moved to watch over his two power armored companions within the pelican's cargo bay.

Snake then turned back to face Shepard. "Secure as much intel from this place as you can. These ruins might finally give us some answers. And take T3 with you, his slicing skills may be useful here." Snake pressed a button to alert T3 to his new objective. "I'll send Thane back for exfil once I patch him up."

"Roger Snake." Shepard replied, moving to organize her remaining comrades.

T3-M4 rolled out of the pelican's blood tray, letting out a sadbwooopas he rolled by the patients as the Boss took control of the dropship and swiftly made his back to Mother Base. The utility droid met up with the remaining ground team, Shepard, Galen, Pyrrha, and Sev as they were preparing to move back into the ruins.

"Alright people, form up." Shepard commanded. "I know it's been a long day but I want everyone on guard. The ruin should be secure, but between invisibility and teleportation, our enemies have too many ways they could get the jump on us."

The legionnaires nodded, and once more descended into the hallways of the Archives.

The passages of the Archives were completely devoid of life, as all of the previous tenants were brutally killed by Fireteam Raven. This time it was a much quicker walk for Legion to reach the final room where they battled against Skull Face and the others.

The battle now long over, Shepard and her companions could now take the opportunity to examine the so-called Archives in depth. There were two primary points of interest here, a mural of two figures fighting carved or forged into the metal wall on the back of the room, and a table-sized holographic projector displaying a map of the area. The squad split up, Pyrrha and Galen going to investigate the mural while Shepard, Sev, and T3 examined the holograph.

Pyrrha approached the relief carving with a mixture of apprehension and appreciation. While she was never a patron of the arts, she could enjoy a well made sculpture as much as the next person. But the apprehension came with the fact that this mural could contain answers to why they were here.

The mural itself depicted two figures, the first a demonic, masculine figure with a powerfully muscular body. Two bat-like wings extended from his back, and on his head were a pair of forward-facing bovine horns. The figure dripped enmity and cruelty, his mouth a grinning maw of razor sharp fangs that sent ripples of primal fear throughout the huntress. In his hands was a massive, serrated greatsword, poised to strike his opponent.

The figure opposing him was his opposite in every way. While the first was the epitome of barbarity and savagery, the second figure was the epitome of grace and elegance. She was a female figure, Pyrrha thought she was quite tall and beautiful, with a simple flowing dress of Greco-Roman design and a pair of immaculate angel wings. A beautifully intricate tiara that held back long flowing hair, giving full view of the figure's face, a stoic, if not somewhat sad countenance. In her hands she gripped a quarterstaff with a crescent moon at its tip in defiance of the demonic warrior.

While Pyrrha gazed upon the two figures, Galen focused on the collections of apparent words next to them. The script was not one that the former Sith recognized, annoying but not surprising him. There was a set pattern to the characters that seemed to repeat itself, meaning that it was some sort of language with grammatical rules and not senseless scribbles. What particularly stood out to him however, was that there was a pattern to the groupings of words. The words would be grouped on to individual plaques, with anywhere between 6 to 10 words per plaque. These tablets seemed to have been placed in a specific order, with 13 plaques in total besides the woman, and 13 plaques in total besides the man.

"I wonder what these all mean." Pyrrha whispered beside him, now looking over the text as well.

Galen Shrugged. "Who knows. It seems to be a fully developed language, but without some kind of cipher, who won't be able to decode any of this."

Meanwhile, Shepard and the residents of the Galactic Republic were having an easier time with their investigation. Projecting out of a cylindrical table, the holographic map that they examined was massive, around 20 feet wide and 15 feet tall. It had the same, Pangea-like shape that the maps back at Mother Base had, clearly divided into 6 different sectors representing different worlds.

But unlike the the hand drawn maps she had seen before, the hologram went into explicit detail of the terrain of the entire world. She could see individual trees laid out in the Forever Fall forest, pathways and rock formations of Kabul and Korriban, block by block building placements and layouts of Ilos and Washington DC.

"Now this will be useful." Sev commented, also overlooking the map. "Geographic intel this specific will be invaluable for planning missions."

Shepard nodded in response but didn't say anything. Instead she moved to examine four icons layered over specific buildings on the map, signifying their importance. The first icon appeared to be that of a book, and was placed directly over the ruins that the Legion now explored. It wasn't difficult for her to draw the conclusion that this icon represented the Archives.

The second icon was that of some kind of castle or keep, and was placed smack dab in the middle of Geth territory in Ilos. Examining the holographic map closely, the location this icon represented seemed to be a short, stout, undecorated square building that was easily dwarfed by the many skyscrapers around it. Shepard surmised that, like the Archives, most of this building was mostly likely located underground.

Next she examined the Southernmost icon, a serrated sword that hovered over the mountains for Korriban. Nestled within a valley where massive, weathered statues of hooded figures stood silent vigil, laid a grotesque looking sight. It reminded Shepard of a Gothic cathedral, albeit covered with copious amounts of spikes, chains, and skulls. The whole design reminded Shepard of the lair of a Saturday morning holovid cartoon villain.

The last icon was a symbol of a crescent moon, and was found far to the North, beyond the ruined cityscape and deep within the Super Mutant held capital wasteland. In contrast to the brutal but intricate details of the previous building, this structure was a simple, monolithic obelisk that stood high above the surrounding ground. However the structure was then surrounded by a series of trenches fortified by bunkers and sandbags.

Shepard meticulously snapped several recordings of the map with her Omni-Tool before calling T3 over. "Hey bud, think you can figure out a way to download this thing?"

T3 gave a concerned buzz in response that caused Shepard to questioningly look at Sev.

"He says maybe. He'll need to find an access port and hope it's compatible with his systems." Sev translated.

Shepard sighed, "Well doesn't hurt to try. See what you can do, otherwise focus on taking scans and recordings."

T3 gave a high pitched whistle of acknowledgement as he began to remove panels from the side of the table, searching for an interface.

"Shepard! We have something here!" The Commander heard Pyrrha call out from her side of the room.

Shepard rushed over to the two superpowered teenagers. In Galen's hands was a small, dodecahedron made of silver metal etched with golden runes.

"Should I know what this is?" Shepard asked with a co*cked eyebrow.

"It's a holocron." Starkiller responded with caution. "They're used by both the Sith and the Jedi to store information such as history or instructions on techniques. They can store phenomenal amounts of data, and only a Force user can open it."

Shepard looked the holocron over, it had a faded and dusty appearance, the precious metals long since lost their luster. "Seems a little old don't you think?"

"Many holocrons are. They are designed to last thousands of years. If I had to guess, this specific one looks to be at least a few centuries old. However it should still be in working order."

Shepard nodded her head. "Well then, crack this thing open. Maybe we'll finally get some answers out of this damn place."

Focusing the force into the silver-gold dodecahedron, the polyhedral object began to unfold, separating itself into individual pieces as a bright blue light spilled from within. The rest of the Legion gathered around the device as the glow intensified. Galen let go of the holocron as it began to levitate on its own, ready to reveal whatever secrets it held within.

Shepard had expected to see the hologram of an old, wizened Jedi, or a pompous Sith Lord. What she was not expecting was to see was a rather handsome middle aged man, wearing a dark grey dress shirt and matching striped suit pants. He wore a vest and leather chest holster over shirt, all coming together with a fashionable red tie around his neck. The man rubbed his 5 o'clock shadow as he appeared to look at them confused.

"Damn it." the man began with a tried, gravely voice. "Zack, I can't tell, is this thing on? Stupid, goddamn alien tech."

The Legion heard a voice from off screen, this one much younger and more jubilant. "Yep! Now come on Booker, like we rehearsed!"

The man named Booker shook his head and sighed. "Remind me why the Hell I'm doing this again?"

"Because with the Boss not here, you're the de facto leader! Now hurry up and do your thing, we're wasting daylight here." Zack responded happily off screen.

Everyone froze for a beat, hearing the title of the Boss. Worried glances were exchanged, but no words were said as they focused on the presentation in front of them.

Booker brought his hand to his temple, easing a migraine that he was building. "Right, whatever, f*ck it, let's do this."

Booker righted himself and adopted a serious expression, looking over the Legion.

"So, my name is Booker DeWitt. I was born April 19th, 1874 in the good old United States of America." Barely hidden traces of sarcasm leaked from his voice as he said that. "I've been a lot of things in my life, former US Army soldier, Pinkerton, Private I, and shortly before I died, trans-universal adventurer."

Booker seemed exasperated as he prepared the explanation. "Long story short, I was hired to find a girl named Elizabeth from a floating city known as Columbia. She was being held prisoner there by her psychotic father, and after a few murders, revolutions, and dimension hopping, we were able to get out together." Booker paused, biting his lip and thinking upon what to say next. "At the end of that whole, escapade, I wound up dying. Had to sacrifice my own life to make sure that Elizabeth got a fair shot. And after all that? I wound up here, in some crazy, Valhallan battle-royale that these jackasses call the Final Destination."

The Legion looked to each other once again. "Well at least we finally have a name for this damn place." Sev muttered.

After pausing for a breath, Booker pulled out a silver flask and downed a swig of the fire water before continuing. "That's not even the craziest part. See I joined up with a few others here and we call ourselves the 'Warriors of Light'." Booker rolled his eyes at the name, before mumbling, "Still can't believe that's what we call ourselves. Anyway, our job is to defeat the 'Masters of Chaos', I also can't f*cking believe that's what they're called."

Shepard raised an eyebrow as Mr. DeWitt downed another shot, his stance getting slightly more staggered. "See we, and by extension you if you're watching this, were all brought to this sh*thole of a dimension by the Goddess of Order. The bitch wants us to defeat the minions of the God of Chaos, otherwise chaos and darkness will reign through the multiverse, or some sh*t like that. And the best part? Apparently this has happened multiple times. Each of these little wars the Gods have is called a Cycle, and each Cycle has its own set of heroes, villains, and every type of asshole in between fighting against each other." Booker seemed to go for another drink, before pausing and shaking his head. He screwed on the lid and appeared to look directly at the Legionnaires. "Look, I still don't know if I believe all this, and trust me I've seen some crazy stuff. But those assholes on the other side picked a fight and I ain't gonna back down."

Booker paused, letting his words sink in before his countenance shifted from one of stoicism and determination to one of reluctance and acceptance. "But the reason I'm recording this, is because we're losing. We've already lost contact with the Boss and Taldeer, so me, Zack, Roland, and Shaak Ti are getting ready for one final coup de grace." It was quick, but Shepard saw Galen wince at the list of names as Booker continued. "We're going to kick that bastard Azariah's ass so goddamn hard his grandparents are going to feel it. But before we do, we wanted to leave something behind for anyone else who gets pulled in here in case we bite it. In this here holocron is everything we have about who we were, who we fought, all the information we've gathered about the Final Destination, as well as some ciphers for translating the ruins around here."

Booker spread his arms wide and gestured to the room around them. "This place, assuming the holocron hasn't been moved, is called the Archives, pretty much stores an exact map of the Final Destination, whatever it'll look like in your cycle, as well as the records of everyone who fought in the previous Cycles. The Archives, along with the other ruins are the one thing in this hellhole that aren't from any of our worlds, and we're hoping that means this message will carry over to the next cycle if we leave it here."

Shaking his head, Booker gave a final sympathetic look to the crowd. "Anyway, I think that's all I have to say other than, good luck. I hope that the Goddess or the Force or Khaine or whatever other God you believe in gives you better fortune than us." His speech done, Booker began to walk out of frame.

"See that wasn't so hard." The endlessly enthusiastic Zack called out once more.

"f*ck off Fair!" Booker shouted offscreen as the hologram turned off, leaving the stunned Legion to themselves.

"Well, that was something." Pyrrha weakly commented, breaking the silence.

Shepard honestly had no idea what to think of this.So I guess that confirms that we're dead and that Gods exist. Plural. Great…she thought to herself. She looked to her allies and tried to gauge their reaction. Both Pyrrha and Galen were speechless, which wasn't good given that they were the two most magical of the party. Sev in all of his body armor was harder to read, but the clenching of his fists suggested that he was not pleased by this revelation.

"So… thoughts?" Shepard asked.

Pyrrha was the first to break the silence. "Um well, this concept of a Goddess of Order and God of Chaos remind of the tale of the two brother gods where I am from. Where once existed two brothers, one of light and one of darkness. The brother of light would create life, while the brother of darkness would it in retaliation. To stop this cycle, they created humanity together, beings capable of both creation and destruction." Pyrrha thought back to her conversation with Professor Ozpin and the Four Maidens. "Perhaps that fable was based on these beings here. Or perhaps they may even be the same entities."

Galen nodded his head in agreement. "In my universe it is similar. The Force is always trying to balance itself between Light and Dark. With neither ever truly being able to destroy the other. There have even been records of beings of pure Force existing."

The party contemplated these different revelations together. While Shepard herself wasn't particularly religious, she knew of the many religions and philosophies on her world that espoused battles of good versus evil. Was the fact that they all had dichotomic beliefs a result of divergent origins, or merely a product of convergent coincidence? Their musings were cut off by a particularly gruff interruption.

"This is all fine and dandy, but am I the only one here who thinks this whole situation is a load of bantha crap?" Sev scoffed.

"How do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, slightly confused at the outburst.

"I mean, is this really what we're here for? To be pawns for some interdimensional gods?" Sev spat out. "I don't know about all of you, but I'm not exactly happy to have moved from being a slave soldier of an intergalactic government to the slave soldier of an interdimensional deity."

The others looked at one another, unsure of to say. Shepard was the first to step forward and retort.

"Maybe that's why we're here, maybe not." She began, taking a strong step forward towards the clone. "But all honesty I don't give a damn if we're pieces in some game of celestial chess. You heard what Booker said. If we don't stop these Masters of Chaos, then chaos will reign through the multiverse. If people are in danger and we can stop it, then it's our duty to do so. So no, we're not fighting for some anonymous goddess who hasn't shown herself. We're fighting for everyone we left behind in all of our universes."

Sev mulled the words over, grumbling as he backed off. The Commander then turned back to the rest of her men and began barking out orders.

"Alright people, storytime is over. Galen, hold on to that holocron. We're taking it back to Mother Base and extracting everything we can from it. T3, you download that map yet?"

T3 gave a high pitched whistle of acknowledgement while bobbing his disc-shaped head up and down.

"Good. Everyone else, I want pictures. Pictures, videos, and anything else you can take as evidence. We're finally getting some damn answers from this place and I do not want anything left behind."

Everyone scrambled to complete their orders as Shepard walked up to the mural of the two gods fighting. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared deep into the forms of the so called Gods of Chaos and Order. Focusing on the demonic face of the God of Chaos, a small snarl found its way to her face. Now there would be no more hiding and surviving for the Legion. Now they had a name, now they had a face, and most importantly, now they had a target.

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

Mother Base, the next day…

A somber atmosphere hung over the desert fortress of Mother Base as the Legion of the Damned licked their wounds. Within the med bay, Spartan-B312 lay on his bed, arms and ribs set in heavy casts with an annoyed expression on his face. He was on the mend and he knew it, but not even a Spartan can heal from a fractured arm and three broken ribs within only a scant few hours. In all honesty, he knew that he was extremely lucky his lungs and heart weren't damaged in the battle. The Legion did not have the medical equipment required on hand to properly get through his reinforced rib cage.

Turning his head, he looked to his fellow patient, who unfortunately had taken the worst of the damage. Sarah Lyons laid still, unmoving on her bed as her entire torso was covered in bandages. The slow rise and fall of her chest signaled that she was alive, but has remained unresponsive since the battle.

According to Pyrrha, Sarah's aura has replenished itself and was slowly repairing the damage done to her, but it was obvious that it wasn't a miracle cure. Aura could heal wounds and mend bones, but it couldn't regenerate completely destroyed tissue. Without the proper surgical equipment and medicine, the Lyoness may survive but probably wouldn't be in any condition to fight anymore.

Six sighed as he pushed such negative thoughts about his friend out of his mind. Sarah was tough and strong-willed, someone he is proud to fight with. He believed she'd be able to get through this. The Spartan III instead decided to focus his mind on something productive. Bringing a tablet to view, he looked over the report T3-M4 sent him. With how proficient he was at repairing the Legion's equipment, Six still wasn't convinced that the little utility droid wasn't some kind of secret Covenant Engineer. While Six was on the mend, T3 was tasked with repairing both his and Sarah's sets of power armor, as well as Pyrrha's weapons.

Originally, Six thought that there was no way the Legion's resident droid could repair one of the most complex, classified, and expensive pieces of equipment the UNSC had ever produced, but T3 took to the challenge like a fish to water. If anything, Six was now just glad that his equipment was getting fixed. He could fight without it, maybe use a set of Imperial Shadow Trooper armor or N7 gear, but he preferred the advantage the Mjolnir armor gave him over everyone they've faced so far.

But in all honesty, he didn't think the Legion would be going out on missions anytime soon. While the mission to the Archives couldn't really be considered a failure, it wasn't much of a success either. They had failed to capture Skull Face or assassinate Tartarus, but had uncovered a wealth of information explaining the history of Final Destination. But the information came at the cost of two legionnaires injured and one gravely wounded.

That wasn't even considering the morale damage possibly inflicted by the mission. Commander Shepard had been running hot ever since she found out that Imperial Agent named Kai Leng was alive. And such aggression is always a double edged sword, giving the Commander an unbreakable drive, but came with the danger of making her careless. Six didn't know what that Leng did to her in their past life, but he honestly pitied the man. If he didn't know better he'd think that the Commander was a Spartan as well. She was a woman of sheer willpower, commitment, and determination. If she wanted Leng dead, he was going to die. It wasn't a matter of if, but when.

As if summoned by his musings, Six watched as the Commander opened the door to the medical bay with a serious look on her face. A stoic, professional expression that didn't really match her N7 hoodie and cargo pants.

"Commander." Six nodded, straightening his posture as Shepard walked into the room.

"No need for that Six, stay down. The Boss says you need your rest." Shepard said, but Six seemed content to sit at attention.

Shepard seemed to let out a slight sigh as he refused to relax. A few seconds of silence passed as she appeared to be mulling over something as her eyes flicked between him and the unconscious Sarah. With a deep breath in, Shepard straightened her posture and stared Six dead in the eyes.

"Six, I wanted to apologize for the last mission, and for the state that both you and Sarah are in. The whole operation was my plan, so the responsibility lies on me for mission's failure and for the losses we incurred." Shepard stoically stated. Six could tell that while it was a professional statement, it was backed with sincerity and guilt. She wasn't doing this to save face, but because she thought that both he and Sarah deserved an apology.

Six paused for a moment, more than a little confused at the necessity of such a gesture. "Commander, both Sarah and I are soldiers. We know that every time we walk out of this base, there's a chance we won't come back. We've already accepted that, so an apology is unnecessary. We were simply doing our job."

Shepard gave a curt nod in agreement, "Believe me, I know the burdens of being both a soldier and a leader well." Shepard relaxed her posture as she decided to pull up a chair and sit beside Six. "We got a lot of intel from the Archives, information that could possibly turn the tide, or it could literally just be a list of others who get trapped here. We won't really know until we can decode and decipher all of the data."

Shepard's lips pursed at this statement as she continued, "And because of that I don't know if all that intel alone was worth the price of Sarah possibly losing the ability to walk, let alone fight anymore." Her pursed lips morphed into a frown. "We don't have to win every battle, but we can't lose a single one either. We kill a hundred stormtroopers or grunts, the enemy replaces them with a hundred more. We lose one of us and it cripples our entire operation. And while I understand that it is acceptable to spend the lives of your soldiers-"

"- it's unacceptable to waste the lives of your soldiers." Six interrupted, finishing the quote. Shepard co*cked an eyebrow in response, and Six only shrugged. "My drill instructor, Mendez, used to say the same thing. And I think he would agree with me in saying that this is an example of the former."

A beat passed as Six didn't really have anything more to say about the subject. As the silence shifted to its awkward phase, Shepard decided to speak up again.

"Mendez huh?" Shepard pondered. "How did you become a Spartan, Six? You willing to tell me yet?"

Without missing a beat Six simply responded, "It's classified."

Shepard frowned. "Well how about your real name, I'm not exactly comfortable calling you a number all the time."

"It's classified."

The frown now evolved into a scowl. "What about your death? How did you wind up here?"

"It's-"

"Six I swear to God if you say 'It's classified' one more time I am going to break your goddamn jaw." Shepard did not make idle threats, more promises than anything.

But seeing the Commander amped up like that brought a smirk to the Spartan-IIIs face that soon evolved to a chuckle, and then into full blown laughter.

"Six… have you just been f*cking with me this whole time?" Shepard asked, less angry and more surprised.

"Just a little bit." Six nonchalantly responded.

Shepard found a wry smile forming on her face as well. "Well color me surprised. I didn't think you even had the emotional capacity for humor. I swear I thought T3 was more human than you were."

Taking the playful insult in stride, Six shook his head, getting back on topic. "I believe I mentioned some of my history to you previously. At the height of the war with the Covenant, I was recruited into the Spartan III program at age six. The program itself was designed to to create cheap and expendable super soldiers to fight for the survival of humanity."

This seemed to confuse Shepard, "Why would you design super soldiers to be cheap and expendable? Why not make your super soldiers as powerful and elite as possible?"

Six nodded in agreement. "They did do that very thing, but with the Spartan-IIs, not IIIs. You see, the Spartan-IIs are legendary super soldiers and heroes to the UNSC that are famous for fighting off thousands of Covenant attacks. They were as much symbols as they were actual weapons. The only problem being that it was exceedingly expensive to produce them, and the mortality rate of their augmentation was… extreme." Six shuddered a bit, remembering some of the horror stories Jorge would tell him about the IIs that were horribly killed or worse from the augmentation. "As a result, their numbers were barely in their thirties, nowhere near enough to turn the tide of the war. That's why the IIIs were created in secret. We could field hundreds of super soldiers at one time with similar augments, but inferior equipment to accomplish covert missions no one else could. "

"Not even the IIs?" Shepard asked, not happy with any of the details she's heard so far.

"All honesty, they probably could've done all of the missions we did. But these operations were almost always suicide missions, some with one-hundred percent casualty rates. So while a squad of IIs could probably achieve the same results as a whole company of IIIs, Command would've been unwilling to send the IIs to their certain deaths."

"Otherwise the UNSC loses some of their most effective, and expensive soldiers, as well as the huge morale hit that would accompany the loss of such a public hero." Shepard grimly surmised. "So instead they send the secret, expendable versions of their super soldiers to their deaths."

Six chuckled. "Well technically Spartans never die, they're just missing in action." Shepard opened her mouth to question this but Six continued on. "Anyway, the reason I was recruited at age six was that, like the rest of my brothers and sisters, my parents were killed by the Covenant."

Shepard eyes fell at Six's revelation. "I'm sorry to hear that." Was all she muttered.

Six only shrugged in response. "It's a common enough story for a war that deadly that lasted for so long. It was so common that no one would really notice that ONI rounded up hundreds of orphans, gave them a gun, loaded them into a pelican, and told them to jump."

"So you weren't just taken in by your government, but turned into child soldiers?" Shepard was horrified.

"Four years of combat training, followed by augmentation, then a final year of training afterwards before 'graduation'." Six nodded. "Most of us weren't even teenagers when we saw our first combat encounter. But it made sense. The earlier they start training us, the deadlier we'll be as we age." The Spartan flatly stated.

"That's revolting." Shepard spat out.

"And I would agree with you. But let me ask you, when faced with extinction, is not every alternative preferable?" Six asked as he locked eyes with Shepard, his gaze displaying no hesitation or reluctance in his conviction.

Shepard thought back to her own war against the Reapers. She saw the way Six fought, if she had an army of hundreds of commandos just as skilled as he was, would they have been able to defeat the Reapers faster? Would they have been able to travel across the galaxy and accomplish missions that only she could do, uniting the races, possibly preventing the destruction on Earth and Palaven? How long would it have taken for the Alliance to start arming, brainwashing, and augmenting children to stave off extinction by the machines? How far back into the corner would they have to be pushed to even think of doing something so… inhuman. In all honesty, it sounded too much like something Cerberus would do for Shepard. Advancement of humanity at any cost.

Shepard shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind. Imagining the countless 'what if' scenarios was both draining and ultimately pointless. "So… what about your real name?" Shepard changed topics with all of the social grace and poise of a krogan.

"Oh that's easy. It's-"

Before Six could finish his sentence, he was nearly blinded by a massive light from outside of his window. He immediately shielded his eyes, and as the initial flash died, he could see a pillar of light reaching to the sky far to the South of Mother Base.

"Six! What the Hell is going on?" Shepard cried out.

The Spartan rubbed his eyes as Shepard shot out of her chair, "That light. It's the same one we saw when you arrived. It means that someone new has entered the world." he grumbled

Shepard's eyes widened. "Wait, are you serious? That's what happens when someone lands here?"

Six gave a succinct nod. "Yep, dazzling light show and all. How do you think we found you so quickly after you landed?"

"Makes sense. So what are the chances that this is a friendly and not another ghost of Christmas past here to f*ck us?" Shepard asked, sarcasm not so hidden in her voice.

Six scowled a bit, the allusion going completely over his head, "Every time a beam of light has shone like that, it's always been one of us at the source. A member of the Legion that we then recruit. Before you it was me, then Galen, and so on. Every pillar of light we secure has been an ally we've added to our group. We've since assumed that our enemies are summoned by some other means."

Shepard nodded her head. It seemed a bit contrived to her that they would get pillars of light that scream their location to everyone within a hundred miles while the enemies get some kind of secret recruitment, but the logic of this world hasn't exactly been fair to them since the beginning.

The commander then put two fingers on her communicator and contacted the resident Jedi. "Galen, Pyrrha, gear up and report to the vehicle bay. We're leaving in five" She then swiftly turned to the Spartan. "Sorry, going to have to cut this visit a bit short"

Six shrugged. "Go do your thing, Commander."

Shepard practically kicked the door off its hinges before rushing off to the armory.

It took all of three minutes for both Galen and Pyrrha to meet Shepard by the vehicle bay. Throwing food, medical supplies, and a surplus of ammo into the flatbed of the pelican, Shepard gestured for the two members of the Legion's super power enhanced squad to jump in as well.

With a thunderous roar the pelican's engines came to life, blasting out of Mother Base as Shepard took the controls. Typically, a Pelican flies at a cruise speed of around 275 miles per hour. With Shepard at the helm, the dropship was redlining at about 350 miles per hour, soaring at speeds that caused the metal frame of the groan and shake at the shear velocity.

Pyrrha, who could now be considered a veteran huntress with many battles under her belt, gripped the handles of her safety harness for dear life. Adrenaline already pumping, she looked to Galen, who seemed to be muttering to himself in a kind of combat meditation to keep cool.

"Uh, Shepard? Is this really-" Pyrrha let out a small squeak as turbulence caused the whole pelican to shake. "Is it really necessary to be flying at this velocity?" she fumbled out, hoping, praying, Shepard could hear her over the engines.

Shepard replied over the intercom. "Don't exactly have the luxury of time Pyr. Whoever's there dropped straight into Korriban, which means that the Empire is going to be all over them." A quick engine warning light began flashing next to Shepard. She just as quickly shut it off. "Don't worry, I know exactly how far to push an engine. I only failed to get a pilot's license twice!"

Pyrrha blanched, and looked to Galen whose eyes were now open. He just shrugged and said, "Third times the charm I suppose."

At the vomit inducing speeds they were going, it didn't take long for the impromptu team to reach the landing site. Hovering over the red sands of Korriban, Shepard opened the rear cargo door of the dropship, giving the two members of Fireteam Doberman a view of the battlefield.

A squad of stormtroopers were rushing across the barren landscape, chasing a singular figure across the desert. This figure was feminine in silhouette, wearing bright red robes. In her hands was not a gun, nor a sword, but instead a wooden staff with the design of two entwined dragons, clutching a red orb between their mouths.

The woman was sprinting as fast as she could, ducking under laser bolts as the stormtroopers hunted her down. Pyrrha was actually shocked at the speed this woman was moving, as she looked to be older, sporting stark silver hair and a face with several well defined wrinkles. Bobbing and weaving, the woman slid behind a rock outcropping, her chest heaving as the Imperials approached her position.

Without hesitation both Galen and Pyrrha leapt from the rear of the pelican, descending right for the mass of troopers. Falling at terminal velocity, the duo gracefully soared as they prepared their own landing strategies. Mirroring their previous drop, Galen enveloped himself with the Force, slowing his descent, while Pyrrha gripped both sides of her shield and used her polarity to guide herself down. Within moments the two landed amongst the squadron of bewildered stormtroopers, too shocked by their sudden entrance to properly react. With a smirk Galen called his lightsaber to his palm, activating its blue blade, while Pyrrha used her polarity to draw her own crimson lightsaber.

The stormtroopers, momentarily stunned, were snapped out of their stupor as their commander, identified by blue shoulder pauldrons and blue stripes that ran down his arms called out, "Jedi! Blast em!"

The battlefield erupted into chaos as the stormtroopers, already surrounding the two teenagers, unleashed a rapid fire volley against them. Starkiller moved first, twirling his lightsaber as he deflected blaster bolts back towards the attackers. Instantly two of the laser beams were reflected back, killing two stormtroopers. Moving in conjunction with the blaster bolts, Pyrrha dashed towards a third trooper. With a flip of her wrist, she immediately bisected the poor soldier who died with a high pitched Wilhelm scream.

Seeing his men almost immediately cut down, the commander called for his men to retreat. As they began to backpedal, the commander threw a flashbang grenade at the duo, hoping to cover their withdrawal. Unfortunately for him, Pyrrha was too quick, catching the grenade with her semblance and flinging it back towards him. The flashbang did explode, detonating within the group of remaining troopers.

The commander fell to the ground, clutching his helmet as he as his two remaining squadmates were caught in a daze. Capitalizing on this, both Pyrrha and Galen moved simultaneously, slaying the two troopers with a single cut each. The commander's vision and hearing were just barely returning when he felt a boot stomp down onto his neck. Looking up, he saw the young huntress bringing her full weight down onto him, poised to finish the job.

But before the final blow was struck, Galen held his arm out, stopping Pyrrha from executing the commander. "Wait, we should take this one alive. See those markings? They mean he's an officer, relatively high ranking within the Stormtrooper Corps. We may be able to get some useful information from him."

Pyrrha glanced at Starkiller and nodded her head, deactivating the lightsaber. But the Commander didn't seem to take to kindly to their actions, spitting out, "You might as well kill me now because I'll never talk!" He struggled to break free from Pyrrha's pin, but her aura enhanced strength made that impossible.

Galen kneeled down next to the commander, simply putting his hand on his helmet and commanded, "Sleep." The commander seemed to stop struggling as the Force overtook his mind, knocking him out.

The battle was over in literally a matter of seconds. With how fast Fireteam Doberman cut down the stormtroopers, Shepard didn't have time to even consider giving them fire support. Instead, she began to descend the pelican, lowering it onto the sands of Korriban.

She quickly exited and met with her fellow teammates, who were watching over the newest arrival. The older woman crept out from behind her boulder, staff held in both hands. Her posture was not aggressive, but cautious nonetheless.

"Anyone the two of you recognize?" Shepard whispered, gesturing all of them to holster their weapons.

The two shook their heads. "I do not sense any hostile intent." Galen added on. "Caution, curiosity, a little bit of fear, but no hostility."

Pyrrha nodded before turning to face the newcomer. "Hello there!" She waved. "We're here to, uh, rescue you I suppose."

Shepard winced. "Pyr, you're a doll and all that, but be careful with the body language. For all we know, a wave of the hand meansI am here to pillage your lands and steal your womenin her culture." Back in her world, first contacts with new cultures were always delicate affairs, as unintentional insults born out of ignorance could lead to diplomatic catastrophes.

"Oh, sorry!" Pyrrha apologized. However, it seemed Shepard's worries were unfounded as, the woman seemed to relax a bit at Pyrrha's lackadaisical introduction.

She walked up to meet them, giving the Legionnaires a closer look at her features. Her robes were scarlet on her torso and arms while her lower body were black in hue. Her clothes were accented with gold trimmings, and she wore a four piece leather belt that connected a golden buckle that had the engraving of a sun. Her silver hair was tied back into a short ponytail, and the amount of wrinkles on her face suggested she was somewhere in her 50s to 60s. Her dragon-esque staff was lowered, but still in both of her hands, ready to react should anything go awry. Despite her age, her face was soft, almost motherly even, accentuated by the stern look she was giving all of them.

"Well met strangers. My thanks for the aid, it's been a few years since I had to move like that. And by your comparatively pleasant demeanor, would it be safe for me to assume that you are all friend not foe?" the woman asked.

Shepard stepped up, "That is what we hope for. My name is Commander Jane Shepard of the planet Earth." She then gestured to her companions. "This is Huntress Pyrrha Nikos of Remnant, and Jedi Galen Marek of the Galactic Empire."

The woman gave a polite bow in return. "I am Senior Enchanter Wynne, of the Circle of Magi in Ferelden. Now, with introductions out of the way, I don't suppose one of you could explain to me where we are?"

In lieu of a familiar face that Shepard got for an introduction, the commander decided to go for the direct approach. "Well Wynne, I'm sorry to say that you're dead." She spread her arms out, motioning to the barren wasteland around them. "Welcome to the afterlife. While we don't have infinite beer or mead, we do have a plethora of deadly environments and hostile natives." Shepard weakly joked, hoping to add some levity to telling a person that they're dead.

Wynne scowled slightly, but seemed more confused than angry. "Yes I do remember passing on, but this does not seem to be a realm within the Fade that I am familiar with."

Shepard's eyes widened with that statement. "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you seen your afterlife before?"

"Indeed. In the land of Thedas there is something of a, metaphysical realm, tied to it known as the Fade. This realm is visited by people when they dream, and when they die. It is also where the source of my magic comes from. As such, with some aid I have the ability to traverse that dimension at will."

Now Shepard's jaw dropped with surprise "Sorry to interrupt, but did you say magic? Do you mean card tricks or the fireball kind?"

Wynne gave a small smile. With a twirl of her staff, she causes a small boulder near to them to start levitating. Extending her open hand, purple-white arcane energy coalesced in her palm, before shooting forward and destroying the rock with an arcane blast.

She turned back to Shepard and wryly said, "It would be the latter, dear. However I do have a number of parlor tricks available to entertain children at parties, should you wish to see them."

Slowly, the expression of awestruck confusion on Shepard's face shifted into one of gleeful excitement. "Oh my God guys did you see that!" An almost childlike smile grew on her face. "Actual magic! This is amazing!"

Shepard faced her companions, as Pyrrha physically cringed at the immature display from her normally well disciplined friend. Shepard frowned slightly, "How are you guys not excited about this?"

Pyrrha looked down, not wanting to meet Shepard's eyes. "Well Shepard, while very rare, I have met magic users on my world before. I actually almost had the opportunity to become one."

"And while not exactly the same, such abilities are also possible with the Force. The Sith were particularly adept with creating sorceries, magics, and even alchemical sciences." Galen on the other hand just casually shrugged, less inclined to worry about disappointing the Commander.

Shepard's shoulders slumped as she let her head fall back in exasperation. "Ugh you guys are so lame. Well I for one am excited to have a wizard on the team."

Wynne let out a small laugh. "Mage is the proper term. And before any talk of teams or what not, who were these armored soldiers accosting me as soon as I awakened."

"They are stormtroopers, members of the Galactic Empire I was once a part of." Galen cut in. "While they may not have known who you were when you landed, they would know anyone that has been summoned to this world would be a powerful being. They would have most likely have wanted to capture you, break you, and use your powers for their own gain."

Wynne scowled. "Hm, no doubt to turn me into some sort of slave-mage. How barbaric."

Looking over the elder mage, Shepard had a good feeling about her. She didn't give off any, sad*stic, evil vibes like the forces of Chaos that they've fought thus far. She was a rather pleasant woman to talk to, and her magic would definitely be a boon to have on their side.

"Like I mentioned before Wynne, the three of us are part of a team, the Legion of the Damned, and long story short we're trying to save the multiverse. It's not exactly safe to stay here, so if you want, you can come back with us to our base and meet with our Boss to brief you on your whole situation. From there, it's your choice to help us in this fight, or you can choose to go on your own." Shepard knew that there wasn't much chance for survival or even much to do outside of joining them, but she felt it appropriate to give Wynne the choice regardless.

Wynne thought for a brief moment. "Well it's not as if I have anywhere else to go at the moment. Yes let us leave this oppressive place. On the way, perhaps you can explain to me how this large flying contraption, of yours works."

As the party made their way into the pelican with the unconscious trooper, Shepard chuckled. "I guess we do have a lot to catch you up on. I don't suppose you know what electricity is, do you?"

The trip back to Mother Base was, educational, to say the least. Wynne was given a basic overview of the worlds that Shepard, Pyrrha, and Galen hailed from, as well as an overview of the factions and territories of the Final Destination. The mage had to admit that the odds of success for the Legion against such numbers seemed slim, but it's not as if she had never been on such dangerous missions herself.

She was also not so taken aback by the existence of the Final Destination itself. At most, she considered herself slightly disappointed that she would not get to rest in the Fade yet. But if fate, the Maker, or whatever far away deity that deemed it necessary for her to be here wants her to fight, then she shall see this thing through to the end.

If anything, she was more shocked by the differences in technology between her world and the others. Guns, blasters, tanks, grenades, dropships, she felt that all of these inventions even made the magic of her world pale in comparison. While Wynne never considered herself a student in the art of war, even she could see the consequences of such weapons of destruction being deployed in her world. Masses of armies could be obliterated in an instant with artillery, dragons would no longer have control over the skies with the Pelicans, even armor would be rendered useless by the speeds of such projectile and energy based weapons.

When the party arrived at Mother Base, they split up to go on their individual duties. Galen escorted the unconscious stormtrooper commander to the brig, while Pyrrha moved to catalog the scavenged Imperial equipment. Shepard took the time to tour Wynne around the castle fortress, and while it didn't have the grandeur of Warden's Keep or Redcliffe Castle, it did somewhat remind her of home.

Before meeting with the enigmatic Boss, Commander Shepard thought it wise for Wynne to meet with the other Legionnaires first. Meeting with Thane and Sev was relatively, lackluster. Comparing Thane to her previous assassin companion Zeveran, she found the two to be complete opposites. Where Zevran was a dashing, charismatic, if not annoyingly flirtatious rogue, Thane was pious, serious, and courteous. Wynne found it almost hard to believe the reptilian man could kill so callously. While their dialogue was short, she found him to be nothing but respectful, albeit a bit reserved. Sev on the other hand, was like speaking to a lycanthrope in human form. Unless it was about hunting, killing, or tracking he seemed utterly disinterested any conversation. So while conversing with both of them was… nice, she thought that perhaps it would take some time for the two of them to actually open up to her and decided to move on.

It was then that Shepard brought her to the med bay, where she was to meet with the two currently wounded members of the Legion, Six and Sarah.

"Excuse me Shepard, I don't suppose you could tell me the nature of your allies' wounds?" she asked

"Well I'm not the medic, Snake is, but I can give you at least a basic rundown. Six has a broken arm and a few broken ribs. Normally wouldn't be too bad, but his enhancements that made his skeleton nearly unbreakable will make healing slower. Sarah on the other hand is in worse condition. A lightsaber went right through her abdomen, nearly killing her. Pyrrha unlocked her Aura, a sort of magic soul-based power, which has accelerated her natural healing, but she's still in a bad way. She's been unconscious since the battle. Why, you have something in your bag of tricks to help them?"

Wynne gave a commander a look of assurance. "I may have an idea or two. It seems my arrival was quite auspicious. In my past life I was once known as a spirit healer, a special type of mage who could call upons entities of the Fade to heal others."

Shepard's eyes widened. "And you really think you can help them?"

"While nothing in this world is certain, if it is within my power, I will do what I can. I am able to mend flesh and bone, but these… enhancements and abilities, I do not know how they will interact with my magic." Wynne warned.

"Hm, I suppose that's really all we can ask for. Well any aid you can provide will be welcome."

When the duo entered the med bay, Noble Six's eyes were alert but steady, slowly tracking Wynne's every movement. "Back already?" he questioned Shepard while still staring at Wynne.

"Six, you make it sound like you're not excited to see me." Shepard smirked. "And you can drop the venom, Wynne here is a friend."

Wynne stepped forward and gave a bow. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Six. I am Wynne, senior enchanter and spirit healer of the Circle of Magi. And I am here to help fix you."

Six co*cked an eyebrow, looking her outfit up and down. "Don't take this the wrong way, but do you even know what bacteria is?"

Wynne gave an annoyed pout before giving him a playful slap on his broken arm. "Obviously you have a case of back talk in addition to your physical ailments. I'll be sure to clean out your mouth afterwards. But first I'll have to check your humours."

"I'm sorry, what?" Six scowled. There's no way he was letting some plague doctor put leeches on him or something.

"That was a joke. Now hush up, I don't want to mend your bones wrong. I'd hate to have to re break so-called unbreakable bones."

Six gave a blank look at Wynne, surprised by her candor, obviously not intimidated by the 7 foot tall spartan. At least that was like a regular doctor. He then looked to Shepard, silently asking for her opinion.

Shepard saw the plea and shrugged. "I think she's trustworthy. Plus we get to see real magic. Now sit back like a good guinea pig Six."

Sighing, Six resigned himself to his fate as Wynne laid him back down. Waving her staff, Wynne began tapping into the Fade, coating herself in a magical cyan light. As her mana coalesced in her staff, the light coated the Spartan's body as Wynne cast the Heal spell.

Six braced himself, expecting excruciating pain that would normally be associated with invasive surgery without anesthetic. But instead, he only felt warmth. Warmth and comfort as his bones fused, his flesh knit, and scars faded. With amazement he felt the pain in his arms and ribs disappear, mobility return, and bones fully heal.

As the light dulled, Six looked up to the mage in amazement as she let out a tired breath. "Your previous healer did a good job setting your bones. Were they not, the spell would not have healed them so efficiently."

Shepard gawked at Wynne. "That was amazing." She honestly had no words.

"Magic usually is. Now Six how do you feel?" Wynne replied with a kind smile.

Six flexed his arm, slowly clenching and unclenching his fist. "Still feel some pain, but I can move easily now. So all in all, I feel good to go."

"Very good. You'll be sore for a few days so I wouldn't suggest going out and bludgeoning aliens to death just yet. Magic can do many things, but not everything. Now let's check on your other companion."

Wynne moved over to Sarah's bed and gently pulled off the covers. She looked the sentinel over, examining the wounds, focusing on her abdomen. "Yes these wounds are quite severe. This will require me to use a more powerful spell."

Placing her staff down, Wynne reached down into her pouch and pulled out a potion filled with a glowing, blue-white liquid. Uncorking the vial, she downed the liquid and for a brief moment seemed to glow a similar color as the blue-white particles wisped around her.

The lyrium potion enhancing her powers, muttering an incantation under her breath, Wynne then moved to place her hands upon Sarah's stomach. For a full minute Wynne remained there, chanting her spell as the light transferred from caster to patient. Where before, Six's wounds healed almost instantaneously, Sarah's wounds slowly restored themselves, burnt and missing flesh regenerating, not just mending connections as Wynne cast the Regeneration spell.

As the spell finished, the glow faded and Wynne all but collapsed on the ground. Shepard rushed to her side, grabbing Wynne's waist and keeping her from fully falling.

"Woah there, I got you, I got you, you're good." Shepard comforted, as much of a reassurance to herself as to the older mage.

"Don't worry about me." Wynne muttered. "The spell simply took a lot out of energy. Go check on your friend."

Shepard nodded and after helping Wynne stand, moved to check on Sarah. The charred wound on her stomach that had burned through her internals had all but disappeared. To her further surprise, Lyons began to move, her eyes stirring beneath her lids.

Slowly her eyes fluttered open, unfocused irises looking towards the Commander's direction. "Sh- Shepard." Sarah wheezed out, her voice hoarse and tired. "You get the number of that vertibird that hit me?" Sarah cracked a smile.

The Commander knelt down next to her returning a grin in kind. "Nah I couldn't. The entire thing broke apart when it hit your hard head."

Sarah chuckled briefly, before wincing in pain. "Ha- oh God, don't make me laugh, please."

"Understood. How you doing Lyons?" Shepard asked, slightly more serious.

Sarah gave a pained shrug. "Feel like I just went twelve rounds with a super mutant. But other than that, not too bad. Surprising, honestly, since I'm pretty sure I was impaled by one of those assholes with a laser sword."

"That you were. But thanks to a little magic help from Pyrrha and our newest friend Wynne here, they were able to put you back together." Shepard assured.

"Magic?" Sarah's eyes moved over to Wynne, who gave a small bow in return. "No, you know what, after everything we've seen I'm not surprised by this. Besides, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If magic can help me get back to shooting aliens, monsters, robots, and super mutants in the face, then I'm game."

Shepard smiled. Sarah's tough-as-nails attitude reminded her a lot of Ashley. Bloody, but unbowed. "Now that sounds like the Sarah I know. Now get some rest. We'll talk once you're out of this gurney."

Sarah nodded and laid her head back as Shepard stood back up. Quietly she and Wynne retired from the medical bay, walking several feet in silence through the stone hallways.

"So… I don't really know how to thank you for that." Shepard broke the silence.

Wynne simply shook her head. "No thanks are necessary. As I said, if it were in my power to help, I would help. Simple as that."

"I guess I'll just have to thank you for being such a good person, then."

The two stopped in front of a pair of wooden doors that led to the great hall-turned briefing area that Snake currently resided in.

"Our boss is just through here. He may look like all scary and grizzled but on the inside he's a big softie." Shepard joked, before extending out a hand. "Thank you, Wynne, for everything you've done. And for what it's worth, I'm happy to welcome you to the Legion."

Wynne grabbed the hand back and gave it a polite shake. "And I'm happy to be here."

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Following the excitement of the battle of the Archives, and Wynne's subsequent arrival, Shepard found the next few days of downtime a welcome respite. Despite having their wounded members healed up and ready for action, Snake and T3 were still decrypting the data found in the Archives, and there was no immediate need to head out on a mission.

As such, Shepard was currently entertaining herself by watching Galen teach the secrets of lightsaber combat to Pyrrha and Thane. Currently, the two learners faced off against one another, both wielding jian swords, Chinese officer swords found in the capital wasteland, rather than lightsabers for obvious safety purposes.

However the duo were not truly sparring, but instead performing a series of maneuvers and drills to familiarize themselves with the lightsaber combat style itself. Where Pyrrha would perform a wider sweeping horizontal and vertical attacks, Thane would deftly parry the attack, blades perfectly perpendicular, before riposting in a similar manner.

While Shepard was not a master fencer, she could tell that in comparison to both the huntresses and assassins usual blade work, this style of combat seemed… clumsy and straight forward. A far cry from the fighting styles they found themselves against.

"So Galen, think you can explain to me what these guys are doing?" Shepard asked, curious to the practicality of this drill.

Galen nodded. "What they are practicing are the velocities of the first lightsaber form, Shii-Cho. It is a beginner style for both Jedi and Sith, designed to teach the basics of sword combat and blaster deflection. What they are doing now are parry and counter attacking drills." he explained.

"Yeah but why does it seem so… slow?" Shepard inclined her head to one side.

Galen smirked, then called out to his pupils, "Why don't you guys pick up the pace a little? Switch to the live combat form."

Thane and Pyrrha gave a mid combat nod in acknowledgement as they began speeding up. Rather than the simple attacks they were previously doing, they began attacking from different diagonal directions, aiming for limbs and disabling strikes as well. It was much more intense than the previously drill, but kept the repeating pattern of attack-parry-riposte.

"As you could tell, the style is somewhat clumsy, but straightforward and direct, with simple but powerful techniques. For fighters as skilled as Pyrrha and Thane, they have picked it up rather quickly, and will probably master it soon. But the point is not for them to really learn these techniques, but to know and understand these fundamentals because it's what Dark Jedi would have learned, and therefore naturally draw and rely upon." Galen continued to lecture. "Normally we'd even do blaster deflection training with blindfolds, to have the students rely on the force rather than their own senses, but that wouldn't work with these two."

As the Pyrrha and Thane continued to practice, Pyrrha began relying on her aura to enhance her speed and reflexes. In response, Thane began to draw upon his own well of aura to keep up.

Following Wynne's introduction into the Legion, Thane had approached Pyrrha about getting his aura unlocked. Having seen how the superhuman capabilities that Pyrrha performed on the regular, combined with his less than spectacular performance during the mission to the Archives, Thane felt that he needed to increase his strength. Pyrrha agreed, and Thane became the third Legionnaire to have their aura unlocked.

It was even suggested going ahead and unlocking everyone's auras to be safe, but Pyrrha said she wanted to slowly unlock everyone's aura instead. In the same way Wynne was concerned about about the way her magic would affect the other's enhancements, Pyrrha was afraid of what aura might to do them. Both Shepard and Six have extensive enhancements to their muscular fibers, skeletons, and more, and if aura tried to "heal" the augmentations, it may end up crippling them. In the same way, Snake apparently had as many pieces of shrapnel within his body as he did bones, most obvious being the massive shard sticking out of his head. If they unlocked his aura, would the shrapnel jettison from his body, or perhaps would his brain try to heal around the shrapnel? Pyrrha wasn't in a rush to answer these questions, so she'd focus on unlocking the healthier members aura's first.

Shepard refocused back on the training, "Makes sense. Learn the enemy's fighting style so you know its weaknesses and strengths." Shepard then cracked a smile. "You know my mom tried to get me to do fencing back when I was in high school, but I couldn't get into. I was always more interested in more practical martial arts, like jujutsu or muay thai. I've had some training with knives, but where I'm from swords have all but disappeared. I've only ever seen them in the hands of cybernetically enhanced assassins, biotic asari swordmasters, or the occasional very aggressive krogan warlord."

"Yes in a world without the Force to enhance your senses and abilities, or a weapon that could cut through metal like paper, it only makes sense that swordplay would fall out of favor." Galen mused, still watching practice drill intently.

The conversation lulled for a brief moment as the only apparently sound was that of swords clashing. It natural pause seemed like a good time to bring up the real reason of why Shepard wanted to speak to Galen.

"Galen, when you're done with your training, would you mind if we had a few words?" Shepard politely asked.

"We could speak now if you wish. The two of them are skilled and disciplined enough to barely require my oversight."

"Fair enough. I wanted to know how you know so much about killing force users. I remember you said you were once a part of the Sith, but I feel like there's something more to it. Being able to out duel a Dark Jedi is one thing, knowing a dozen different ways for a soldier like me to do kill them is another."

Galen simply shrugged. "That's because I was much more than just another acolyte. I was raised from childhood specifically to hunt and kill Jedi. Fighting Sith is hardly a step off from that."

"And the Jedi were the good guys in your universe." Shepard conjectured, assuming the opposite of a Dark Jedi was probably a pretty decent person.

"Most points of view would agree with you." Galen acknowledged.

"Who raised you to do such a thing?" Shepard frowned, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"You see, originally I was a child to a pair of Jedi. In my world, following the end of the Clone Wars, the war Sev fought in, the Galactic Republic was reformed into the Galactic Empire. And Emperor Palpatine used his army of clones to enact a purge against the Jedi, nearly driving them to extinction."

"Then that means your parents…"

Galen gave a solemn nod. "They were killed by the Emperor's own apprentice and chief enforcer, Darth Vader. But for some reason, Vader didn't kill me. Whether through pity or seizing of an opportunity, Vader took me in and made me his own apprentice. He was almost like an adoptive father to me even. He trained me in everything I know, specifically how to kill Jedi."

Shepard was enraptured by the story, as were Thane and Pyrrha, who stopped their own practice to listen to the story.

However the frown remained on Shepard's face. "No offence Galen, but your step dad sounds like an asshole."

That actually got a laugh out of Galen. "He was not the kindest person in the galaxy, no."

"Do you hate him?" This time Pyrrha cut in, now wanting to know more about her ally. "For what he did, killing your real parents, kidnapping and brainwashing you."

To Shepard's surprise Galen actually had to take a moment to think about that.

"No." Galen flatly stated. "For a while, I did feel anger and hate towards Vader, but eventually, it turned to pity. Vader was a shell of the man he once was, broken and twisted by Emperor Palpatine. He was as much of a slave to him as he was to the dark side." Galen let out a small sigh. "I do hope that he made the right choice in the end."

Wanting to keep the story on track, Shepard asked, "So how did you become a Jedi if you were trained to kill them?"

"Once my training was nearing its completion, I was tasked with hunting down several Jedi. General Rahm Kota, Master Kazdan Paratus, and Master Shaak Ti, all powerful knights and masters in their own right. I defeated them, killing all save for General Kota. It was after this that the Emperor discovered my existence, and ordered Vader to execute me."

"Wait, but why would the Emperor want to have you killed?" Pyrrha asked.

"To give a little bit more context, the Sith follow something called the Rule of Two. See the Sith believed that only the strongest should rule, and that having multiple Sith lords would only cause rivalry and dissension. So they established the Rule of Two, where there should only be two Sith in the Galaxy, a master and an apprentice. According to tradition, the Master would raise the apprentice to power, and when the apprentice surpasses the master, the apprentice would betray him. Should he succeed, then the more powerful Sith rules, should he fail, that meant the apprentice was weak and the master would start again. Nothing of value being lost."

"I guess that sorta makes sense, in a sociopathic kind of way." Shepard mumbled.

"Doesn't really seem like an efficient use of time however." Pyrrha added on.

"Regardless, Vader training me would have meant that he was planning on soon betraying Palpatine. He would become the master and myself the apprentice, and we would take control of the Empire ourselves. Palpatine knew this, and ordered Vader to kill me to prevent this betrayal from happening." Galen thought back his first betrayal, when Vader impaled him with his lightsaber then flung him into the vacuum of space. "But Vader in fact saved me from death. And in order to fulfill our plan, we needed something to distract Palpatine's spies that were still wary of Vader.

"I was given a mission. To raise an army of rebels and dissidents in revolution against the Empire. This rebellion would distract the Emperor enough for the two of us to strike. I traveled across the galaxy, even trained under General Kota, and eventually gathered up the necessary forces and leaders for the rebellion."

Shepard gave a nod in understanding. "Sounds like classic unconventional warfare."

"What's that?" Pyrrha asked. While she was well versed in all things combat and fighting, advanced military tactics was not something she studied.

"See when one government wants to take down another government, but can't legally send their armies in, they instead send their special forces. The special forces would do a variety of black ops missions, from sabotage and assassination, to espionage and reconnisance. Unconventional warfare is the concept of sending in commandos to train local rebels and resistance fighters. With their training and support, the hope is that the rebels will take down the old government, creating a new government that is indebted to them." Shepard explained. Such a tactic truly came into fruition during the 20th century when various the various global special forces units were established.

Pyrrha frowned at this. "That seems like quite the underhanded tactic."

"That is simply war." Thane finally added on matter of factly. He knew that often times morality and conscience would have to take a backseat to the needs of the mission.

"And trigger a war it did. But in the end even that mission was a lie. Vader did not want me to start a rebellion to distract Palpatine, but instead to bring the rebels together so the Emperor could destroy all of his enemies in one fell swoop. Vader never actually planned to strike at the Emperor with me. And so he betrayed me again, and as I barely escaped with my life I realized I was on the wrong side of this war. So I went to the Death Star, the super weapon of the Empire, to rescue the rebel leaders and stop Vader and Palpatine." Galen declared rather nonchalantly.

"Seeking atonement for sins committed is something I understand well. It is good you were not only able to realize your mistakes, but take responsibility for them as well." Thane spoke with a hint of respect and admiration for the former Sith.

"And then what happened?" Pyrrha asked, on the edge of her metaphorical seat.

Galen gave a shrug. "Simple, I failed. Well I suppose I shouldn't say that. With the help of my friends, the rebel leaders were able to escape, fleeing the Death Star to continue their fight for freedom. However, I proved too weak to defeat the Emperor, and perished in battle."

The revelation set a rather downcast mood on everyone but Galen.

Pyrrha, the most dour out of all of them, spoke up first. "Even though you failed to slay the Emperor, even though you have no idea if your friends made it out or succeeded in their war, how do you seem so at peace with it?" This story echoed Pyrrha's own far too much for her comfort. For the longest time she felt as if her failure was suffocating her, crushing her soul and spirit, and she wanted to know how he dealt with his own.

With a small smile Galen said, "For me, I have faith. Faith in my friends. I did my part, the Force will see the rest through. Whether it's the way anyone expects it remains to be seen."

Pyrrha mulled over the words, unsure if she could put her stock into an unknown force or fate. She did not want to believe in destiny anymore.

Seeing Pyrrha's discomfort, Shepard stepped up and slapped Galen on the back, giving him a hearty pat with a big smile. "Well I for one am just glad you're on our side now. God knows I wouldn't want to fight you if you were still part of the Empire."

"Yes I do suppose it would be a rather one sided fight." Galen joked, causing the smile to fall from Shepard's face.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked, completely straight faced.

Galen didn't need Force powers to sense that he made some sort of mistake. He quickly tried to process something to say, but unfortunately of all the skills Vader taught him, talking to people was not one of them. "I feel like I said something I shouldn't have, and would like to apologize."

That put a smile on Shepard's face, but it wouldn't be enough. "Why don't you apologize to me in the ring."

Galen sighed while Pyrrha's eyes went wide. "Shepard, is that really a good idea?" She asked out of worry for both her and for the base.

"Don't worry about it P-money. Besides, I've always wanted to spar Galen, test my biotics and enhancements against his Force powers."

"I suppose it could be fun." Galen lightly chuckled, as Shepard clapped him on the back once again.

"See even Galen agrees. Now go get your butt into the ring so I can beat it down."

Shepard cracked her knuckles as she and Galen faced down in the battle circle. Flexing her fingers, purple biotic energy coalesced around her hands as she grinned maniacally. Galen on the other hand, sighed and took a casual martial arts guard, one first raised up in defense and the other by his waist.

Standing between them outside of the ring, Pyrrha raised one hand into the sky. Taking a quick glance at both fighters to make sure they were prepared, Pyrrha cut her hand downwards yelling, "Begin!"

Shepard moved first, using her biotics to lift Galen into the air. Where most mooks would panic at the being biotically lifted into zero-g, Galen only raised an amused eyebrow. While he was trapped in the air, Shepard let her biotics surge through her, as she then biotically charged him, slamming into him like an eezo cannon ball.

Galen felt not only the impact of both of Shepard's biotically charged fists, but also of the subsequent detonation that followed as the two abilities synergistically exploded for more damage. At the moment of impact, Galen was forced to cocoon himself with the Force, protecting him from damage but draining his powers.

The two landed on the ground as gravity overtook them, but Galen was the faster to recover. Using the force to then enhance his speed, Galen turned into a blur as he almost instantaneously appeared in front of Shepard. Galen let loose a flurry of punches and kicks, faster than Shepard could even see, let alone react to. So Shepard turtled up, tucking her chin in and raising her guard, letting her enhanced muscles and skin take the brunt of the damage.

Through pain that felt like someone put her under a jackhammer, Shepard kept her eyes opened and focused, looking for an opening. And, lo and behold, she found one. Trying to get passed her guard, Galen threw a right hook that went a bit too wide. Shepard shot forward, grabbing onto the sleeve and collar of Galen's robes. With a quick twist, Shepard put him into a classic judo shoulder throw, flipping him over her back.

To her shock however, Galen not only rolled with the momentum of her throw, but flipped with it, and landed on both feet directly in front of her, quickly slipping one hand on her wrist and the other gripping her shirt. Without hesitation Galen put her into a counter of his own, and with a mighty shoulder throw smashed Shepard into the dirt ground.

Shepard felt the air leave her lungs as she slammed back first onto the ground. She was unable to catch her breath as Galen then bent over above her and let loose a series of rapid fire chain punches, punching her face into the ground over a dozen times in less than a few seconds.

Pushing through the pain of being literally pummeled into the dirt, Shepard responded by unleashing a biotic nova, a massive area of effect explosion that blasted Galen backwards. Shepard took the pause in combat to stand, something that she struggled with dearly. Pyrrah couldn't help but wince as she saw Shepard's face. Her left eye was already swollen shut, and both her nose and lips were bleeding profusely. Shepard brings both fists back up, but swayed unsteadily.

Galen on the other hand, shook his hands to get rid of the pain and numbness in his fingers. "You're a lot more durable than you look." He commented. "You must have had quite the training regimen."

Shepard spit a wad of blood onto the ground before giving a crimson smile. "Push ups, sit ups, and a whole lotta juice." Even on her last legs, Shepard gave an aura of confidence, even if it was all just a show.

Come on Shepard, you got this. Just be unpredictable.She thought to herself as she recalled Galen's advice for fighting force users.

Galen co*cked an eyebrow. He knew he could end the spar then and there, but wanted to see what Shepard had come up with.

Reaching into her pocket, Shepard pulled out a small metallic disc. She chucked the disc as hard as she could at Galen, who easily stopped it in front of him with the Force. Before Galen could crush it or throw it away, the disc began to glow. Galen braced himself, thinking it was some sort of grenade. But instead the disc projected a small hologram, a miniature, orange version of Shepard.

The Shepard VI looked right at Galen before saying, "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel."

The strange distraction succeeded in confusing Galen, who couldn't react to the VI overloading and exploding in his face with a burst of heat and smoke. Galen coughed and choked on the smoke, and didn't notice Shepard flying towards him with the strongest biotic charge she'd done in a long time.

Shepard's biotic fists connected with Galen and sent him flying backwards. Galen ragdolled and slammed into a nearby shipping container, severely denting it. As the smoke cleared, Shepard stared the secret apprentice down, arms still raised and barely able to stand as Galen slowly pulled himself from the crate, clutching his ribs.

Even though that hurt, a lot, Galen was still in much better condition than Shepard. However Galen looked down and smiled. Apparently Shepard's charge had knocked him clean out of the ring.

"Seems like this is my loss." Galen shrugged, this ending was fine with him.

"Damn right!" Shepard cried out, raising both fists into the air in victory. "I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite spot in Mother Base!" Shepard then immediately collapsed on the ground.

With a grin, Pyrrha walked up to Shepard and helped lift her up, throwing Shepard's arm over her shoulder and her own arm around the commander's waist. "That's right Shepard, you won. Now let's get you to Wynne, though I doubt she'll be happy to hear about how you got these injuries…"

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

"And that's when you head butted the krogan?" Pyrrha asked, caught halfway between awe and disbelief as she and Shepard walked around Mother Base.

"Yep." was all the response Shepard gave.

"You headbutted a seven foot tall, two-hundred kilogram alien with… four testicl*s." Pyrrha shuddered with the final bit of description.

Shepard shrugged. "Krogan society values strength. If I acted polite and placating, I would've been seen as weak. They wouldn't respect me, and I wouldn't have been able to finish my mission."

Pyrrha thought upon the strangeness of alien cultures. She had wanted to know more about Shepard's adventures across the galaxy, and Shepard was currently regaling her with the time she traveled to the Krogan homeworld of Tuchanka to help her companion… finish puberty if she understood correctly.

"Did… did it hurt?" was all Pyrrha could think to ask.

Shepard gave a small laugh. "Of course it did. But I couldn't let them see that."

The two redheads laughed at this, only to be rudely interrupted by the sound of crashing metal by the Legion's training area. Both looked towards the source of the noise, and Shepard only sighed.

"Well, guess we should go figure out what's happening now." Shepard shook her and braced herself for whatever insanity was going on.

Rushing to the training area Shepard saw pretty much what she expected, two super human soldiers currently beating the absolute crap out of each other. The two perpetrators, an unarmored Six and Sarah were currently having the bout of the century. Six was dressed in his black bodysuit which he wore underneath his normal armor, while Sarah was currently sweating through a dirty tank top, orange jumper pants, and a pair of bloody boxing wrist wraps.

Despite Sarah's now aura-enhanced abilities, Six was still the far better hand to hand combatant as he easily dodged her jabs and crosses. After weaving under a straight right, Six shot upward and struck Sarah hard in the solar plexus with a knee. Normally the scientifically-enhanced Spartan-III would never strike a non-Spartan ally like that, but Sarah's aura lessened the strength of the blow to where it didn't break bones or rupture organs, but it still hurt like Hell.

But it didn't hurt enough to stop Sarah from grabbing the underside of Six's legs, and flipping him backwards like a table. Falling with the momentum, Six landed on his back and rolled, quickly standing him back up. Being the veteran fighter that she was though, Sarah wasn't just going to let Six go, and doggedly chased him down. As Six fully stood up Sarah followed up with a jumping double scissor kick, the first strike aimed for his stomach and the second at his face.

A quick parry with both forearms stopped that attack as Six pushed Sarah's legs away. Stepping forward, Six then wrapped his arms around Sarah's torso while she was in mid air and slammed her into the ground with a bodyslam, bringing his full body weight down onto her. Even with aura, the impact drove the air out of Sarah's lungs, stunning her.

Sarah tried to push the spartan off her as they struggled on the ground, but Six slid his hips over her stomach, getting her into a full mount position. Now completely on top of her, Six threw two punches that landed clean on her face, drawing blood. Sarah snarled through the crimson fluid, and tried to buck him off by bridging.

But Six was just as versed in grappling as he was in striking. Instead of being knocked off, he shifted his weight, moving into a side mount, his torso laying on top of her's, perpendicular. From there he gripped onto her left wrist with his right arm and pinned it to the ground, while his left hand snaked underneath her bicep and latched onto his own right. The twisting of limbs resulted in a kimura pin, and using the leverage by raising his left arm, he nearly ripped Sarah's shoulder from its socket.

Gritting her teeth, Sarah focused, fighting through the pain. Feeling the tendons and ligaments in her shoulder tear, she let her aura build up inside over, increasing in pressure until it began to overflow. With a single, violent shockwave, her aura exploded out of her, breaking the pin and sending Six flying out of the ring.

Despite having claimed victory in the spar, Sarah did not seem poised to stop at all. Baring her teeth, she instantly charged him again, one hand grabbing his throat and the other striking him in the face.

"Is that all you got big man?!" Sarah howled as she reared her fist back, ready to pound him into the ground.

Immediately, Six's eyes hardened. Despite being held by the throat there was no sign of fear in his eyes, no sign of friendliness either. This was no longer a spar, but a real fight, and his mind was now ready to kill.

Seeing the situation degrade so quickly, Shepard and Pyrrha moved to intervene. With a quick use of her biotics, Shepard knocked Sarah to the ground while Pyrrha moved between the two, separating them.

"Stand down, both of you!" Shepard barked out. No humor or levity in her voice, just 100% pissed off Commander. "What the Hell is going on here?!"

Both fighters got up and kept their distance. "It's nothing, Shepard." Sarah huffed out first. "Just a friendly spar."

That was probably one of the worst things Sarah could've said to Shepard as her mood went straight from angry to irate. But instead of lashing out, Shepard's eyes only narrowed on the Brotherhood of Steel member as her frown deepened.

"Get yourself cleaned up Lyons, I'll deal with you later." She commanded, with no room left for arguing.

Sarah grimaced, "Yes Commander." she replied as she quickly acquitted herself from the situation.

Shepard's gaze then snapped to Six. "Explain, now." was all she said to him.

Six straightened himself out, wiping the blood off his nose while Pyrrha did her best to become invisible, hoping to avoid the Commander's wrath.

"Earlier, Sarah approached me about getting some training done. She wanted to practice with her aura and wanted to learn new unarmed techniques as well. That's what we were doing, but something snapped in her during the spar." Six dutifully explained. "I have noticed Commander, that Lyons has recently become overly aggressive and confrontational. Ever since the mission to the Archives, she's been acting out, and I believe she may be emotionally compromised."

As Six finished his explanation, Shepard's eyes drilled into him, looking for any hint of a lie. She found none. As such she allowed herself to relax for just a second as she let out a sigh.

"Damnit" Shepard swore under her breath. "I'll figure out what's wrong."

"What do you plan on doing?" Pyrrha asked. Yes, she was a little afraid of Shepard right now, but her desire to help her friend was stronger.

Shepard rubbed her chin. "I'm thinking take her out on a mission, blow some steam off, then figure out what's the cause of the problem. No use talking to her right now if she's too pissed to think."

Pyrrha nodded, "Sounds reasonable. Well count me in, I don't want to leave Sarah alone at a time like this."

Shepard smiled at Pyrrha's loyalty. "Good with me. How about you Six? You in?"

"I think it's best for me to sit this one out, let Lyons cool down." He flatly said. "I'd rather not take a super sledge in the back."

"Fair enough." Shepard shrugged. "Go get suited up Pyrrha, I'll go see Snake for any available missions."

Pyrrha gave an unpracticed salute and the three went off on their separate ways.

Shepard made her way to the one place she knew she'd find Snake, the briefing room. The man had essentially claimed the room as his permanent domicile as he constantly planned the Legion's next move.

Entering the command center, she found 3 figures, Snake, Wynne, and T3 all standing over the holocron from the Archives. Several computers were running decryption algorithms on the data packets thanks to the cipher they were given, but it was a slow and tedious process.

"Shepard." Snake spoke the Commander entered the room.

"Snake." She replied with a small bow.

"Something wrong?" his face continually stoic.

Shepard gave a small shake of the head. "Nothing I can't handle. I was however, hoping you had any missions available that I could take a team on. Preferably something loud."

Snake and Wynne shared a quick gaze, ending with Wynne shrugging and going back to work while Snake moved over to grab some reports.

"I do have one thing. Thane went on a recon mission to Ilos recently, and reported some... concerning information." Snake opened up the folder and inside were polaroid photos of Geth troopers walking through the alien skyline. Shepard thought that the picture didn't seem out of place, until her eyes caught one particular geth shock trooper carrying a large silver and blue rifle she'd never seen before.

"In addition to the fact that the Geth are currently expanding out of Ilos, starting to build outposts within Kabul, Thane reported that they have been seen using weaponry and technology that not only doesn't belong in their universe, but that none of us have seen before." Snake continued. "Take a team, raid one of their bases, and get whatever intel or tech you can."

Shepard snapped a salute. "Roger that Boss."

As Shepard turned to leave, Snake interrupted her. "Why don't you take T3 with you? You of all people should know how important cyberwarfare will be against the Geth."

T3's flashlight head looked up to Shepard and gave an excitedbwwom. Shepard smiled, accepting Snake's logic. She realized that she's never actually been on a combat mission with the droid, who was typically delegated to the role of pilot, but as a true AI she knew he had a few tricks up his non-existent sleeves.

"Alright then little guy, on me."

T3 gave a high pitched electronicbweeepas he scurried on after Shepard.

Exiting the command center, Shepard then put two fingers to her ear as she activated her communicator. "Lyons. Get suited up and report to the vehicle bay ASAP. We have a mission."

Thinking on her team's composition, she knew she had enough heavy hitters with herself, Sarah, and Pyrrha, while T3 had the tech side of things under control. Her current squad make up was lacking a ranged/reconnaissance component.

Once again putting her fingers to her ear, she decided to call the Legion's resident hunter. "Sev, gear up. We're going for a hunt."

With her team now set up, Shepard made her way to the armory to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Shepard and her team stood in the vehicle bay fully kitted out. As they weren't expecting this to be a prolonged battle, they only decided to go with their standard equipment. Shepard was packing her usual N7 Crusader Shotgun, Eagle Heavy Pistol, and Hurricane SMG, ready for engagements at all distances. Pyrrha was holstering her lightsaber to her belt with her shield Akoúo̱ and the newly reforged Miló strapped onto her back, while Sarah was packing a minigun and super sledge combo. Sev was using his standard DC17m modular blaster while T3 was equipped with both an ion blaster and a heavy blaster pistol in addition to his droid specific equipment.

"Alright. Now that we're all prettied up, let's get started." Shepard addressed the group. "Now I know you may have fought the Geth previously, but I wanted to go over some important information about them you may not know before we head out."

Her team gave silent and attentive nods, ready to take in what data they were about to receive.

"As you all know, the Geth are a synthetic race native to mine and Thane's universe. However what makes them different to say, our little friend T3 here, is that the Geth are not true AI, but a series of VI created by a race in my universe called the Quarians. However, while they are not true AI, the Quarians designed the geth to operate on a neural network together, creating something of a hive mind. What this means, is that the more Geth there are together, the more processing power they share, and by extension the more intelligence they have, creating what is essentially an AI." Shepard explained.

Sarah seemed to be the first to pick up on the implications of this. "That means the more Geth we take down, the dumber they become?"

Shepard nodded. "Indeed. Take down enough, and the Geth will start to lose their ability for advanced tactics or higher level problem solving. But conversely, the more there are, the more exponentially intelligent and dangerous each individual Geth platform becomes.

"This kind of parallel operating is how they developed their emergent intelligence and awareness. At the time, research on AI was banned in Council space, so when the Quarians realized their mistake, they went to war with the Geth. But the Quarians built billions of Geth for labour and security, and were vastly outnumbered. By the end of the war, the Quarians were forced to flee their homeworld of Rannoch, and the genocide that occured left the total Quarian population at less than one percent of its pre-war population. The Quarians then became a migrant, refugee race forced to travel the stars in search of a new home." Shepard explain matter of factly.

Pyrrha's jaw dropped at the figures while Sarah instantly scowled.

"That's… terrifying." Was all Pyrrha could say. It would be as if the grimm overrun the final bastions of Remnant's defenses, and her people were forced to flee to the stars. If such a thing were even possible on Remnant. The fact that the quarians built the Geth only seemed like an extra ironic kick to the stomach. To be forced to flee from their home to an unknown future, she could only feel sadness and pity for the Quarians.

Sarah all but spat on the ground. "See preventing tragedies like that is exactly what the Brotherhood of Steel was founded for! The humans on my Earth were not responsible enough to control the power of the atom, and the planet died for it. The Quarians were not responsible enough to control the Geth, and they were nearly driven to extinction. Such reckless scientific and technological experimentation will only ever breed abominations that lead to destruction."

Shepard couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "Sarah, you haven't seen technology run amok until you've come face to face with a Reaper. And to be fair, most Geth aren't too bad, a lot of them just wanted to be left alone, but were forced into conflict when the Quarians attacked first."

"You can not be serious! The Geth shouldn't exist in the first place Shepard!" Sarah cried out. "It's a pattern that I know you've seen. The hubris of man, or alien for that matter, superseding their caution and restraint, ending with a giant, f*cking tragedy. Only a fool would think otherwise."

"I don't see what you're all getting so worked up for." Sev cut in while sharpening his vibro-wrist blade. "It's been a long time since I got to kill some droids. I'd prefer if you didn't spoil it with all of your whining."

T3 gave an offended cry.

"Shut up you rolling trash can I'm not planning on killing you." Sev snapped at the utility droid.

Shepard stepped forward to reign the conversation in, realizing what Six meant by overly aggressive. "I understand your concerns Sarah, and if you want, we can discuss this in private." Shepard then stood with an authoritative scowl, ready to chastise her subordinate. "But do not disrespect me like that again. Is that understood?"

Sarah grimaced again, realizing her outburst, and stood ramrod straight. "Yes, ma'am, understood ma'am."

"Good." Shepard nodded before turning back to the others to continue. "Thanks to Thane we have the location of the outpost. We'll be driving the Mako there, using it for fire support while the infantry move in. If there's no other questions, mount up and good hunting."

The team saluted and began to make their way to the APC. As they loaded in, Shepard grabbed Sarah's shoulder, separating her from everyone else.

"Before we start Sarah, I need to know. Are you good?" Shepard asked. While this mission was partially for Sarah to cut loose, Shepard didn't need her out there playing wannabe krogan.

"Of course Commander." Sarah firmly replied. "What happened earlier was a one time thing. Won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't." Shepard let go of Sarah as they moved to follow the others.

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

Border of Ilos and Kabul

Leaving the shifting sands and rocky mountains of Kabul, the mako dropped of a small cliff that deposited them in the lost alien city/planet of Ilos. The dead city, with its abandoned, monolithic skyscrapers, surrounded by massive, ancient trees struck a chord with many of the legionnaires.

For Shepard, it actually a fond memory of her mission to find the Conduit and stop Saren, which she accomplished in spades. Sev had no real attraction, but instead focused on sightlines and avenues for ambushes. But for Sarah and Pyrrha, the empty city brought darker memories to the surface. For Pyrrha, it looked too much like Mount Glenn and the many other cities of humanity fallen to the Grimm. A grim reminder, she mused that Yang would've liked that pun, that humanity is always on the brink, just barely staving off extinction with their walled cities.

Sarah, on the other hand, looked at Ilos and could only think of the many ruined cities she'd seen in her life. Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, while the buildings of Ilos may be in tact, she knew a graveyard when she saw one. Their structures stood as monuments to a long dead civilization, who for all their sacrifices and struggles, their hubris and power, ultimately signify nothing.

At least, that's what they would be thinking of if it wasn't for Shepard's manic driving. As Shepard kicked off the thrusters to slow their descent into the city, the mako bounced on the alien road before coming to a full stop, almost threatening to roll over as it did. Under threat of revolt, Shepard put the mako in park and opened up the exit hatch, causing all of the legionnaires to jump out, gasping for fresh air.

Sarah literally kneeled on the ground and began kissing the alien terrain, while Pyrrha stumbled forward, her face turning a similar green as her eyes. Sev had both hands on the side of the mako, desperately holding on for balance, while T3 rolled down the exit ramp, his head bobbing up and down.

"Guys come on, what are you doing? We should stick to the plan, moving in with the mako will make this mission a lot easier." Shepard said, annoyed at her teammate's lack of resolve and willpower.

"NO!" 3 voices and an electronicBZZZTcried out.

"No! I refuse to be in that thing for a moment longer." Sarah wailed. "The hour we rode in there more terrifying than my entire living life!"

Pyrrha staggered over to Shepard, hand over her stomach. "Shepard… your driving skills could... use some work." Pyrrha then collapsed to her knees as well.

Shepard sighed. She wasn't that bad, was she? None of her old crew complained this much.

Shepard turned to T3, who rolled over to her. "What about you little guy? What's your opinion?"

T3 responded by extending his utility arm and shocking Shepard's thigh with a few hundred volts from his arclight.

"Oww! Damn it, I guess that answers that." Shepard complained as she rubbed her leg. "Alright fine we can make some adjustments to the plan. The outpost is in walking distance now, so… every take five and get yourselves together." She ordered.

The rest of the legion had no qualms about immediately lying down as Shepard moved to gather all of their supplies from the Mako.

The Legion, now recovered, made their way towards the Geth Outpost. Breaking down into 2 separate fireteams, the legionnaires leapfrogged their way forward between the alien skyscrapers. It was a standard maneuver, one fireteam would hold position, providing overwatch and covering fire while the other would push up. Once the second fireteam reached their intended position, they would then reverse roles, allowing the first to advance.

Following this pattern, the squad eventually gained visual contact on the Geth outpost. Placed around the base of one of the skyscrapers, the outpost consisted of a single defensive wall, lined with watch towers and 4 sentry turrets, and a single main gate that currently remained open.

Lying prone on their stomachs, they pulled out scopes and binoculars to observe the Geth within the base. Within the watchtowers, a total of 4 geth snipers maintained their sightlines upon the perimeter. Within the base, a dozen Geth troopers milled about, ordered by a much more imposing Geth Prime. At the center of the base, a large, folded, quadrupedal Geth Armature laid deactivated.

The defenses of the base scouted out, the squad retreated to go over the final details of the plan.

"Alright, defenses are pretty solid, but nothing we haven't seen before." Shepard started off. "Pyrrha, Sev, I want you two on sniper support. Take out those sentries and any other priority targets we call out. But be ready to move in if we call for back up."

"Roger Commander." Both hunters responded.

Shepard turned to the rest of the squad. "Sarah, T3, and I will push up and pressure the main entrance. Those turrets pack a punch so stick to cover, and focus on drawing the Geth to us. Our goal will be to get T3 into the base so he can bring the turrets offline. From there, should be a cakewalk to take down the rest of the Geth. Questions?" There was no response. "Good. Waypoints should be set on all of your HUDs. Move out and good luck."

With that the legionnaires broke apart and swiftly moved to their destinations. Pyrrha and Sev moved to a stone walkway overlooking of the base, giving them a wide view of the outpost. Meanwhile Shepard led her half of the team via ground level, using massive tree roots and ancient pillars as cover.

After a brief confirmation from both teams that they were in position, Shepard gave the snipers the go ahead to begin. The first shots happened in an instant. One moment, two geth snipers were scanning the horizon, the next their flashlight heads were turned to scrap as plasma and dust ripped through them.

It took less than a second for Sev and Pyrrha to acquire new targets, and put the other two snipers down as well. However, the Geth snipers didn't even need a millisecond to send out a warning signal to their allies that they were under attack, sending all of the platforms into combat mode.

The defensive towers opened up first. Having a general idea of where the shots came from, they loosed a volley of plasma towards the snipers, forcing them into cover. Meanwhile the Geth Armature that protected the main entrance sprang to life as the infantry began to funnel out. The geth Prime led the squad of regular troopers to engage the enemy, while a squad of previously unseen shock troopers followed them.

Seeing that her plan was working too well, Shepard began to bark out orders. "Alright pull back! Draw them away from their defenses!"

Immediately the Legion started retreating, laying down a covering fire as they weaved through streets and alleyways to get away from the overwhelming fire advantage the Geth had. The Geth, having thought they now had the advantage, pushed after the Legion.

The Legion rounded a corner, breaking line of sight with the sentry turrets, allowing them to turn around and face their pursuers. When the Geth came into view, Sev made the first move. The heavy hitters of the Geth, the Geth Shock troopers were on point in the Geth formation. As soon as they appeared, Sev lobbed an EMP grenade that landed in the middle of the whole formation.

The shock troopers side stepped and dove out of the way, expecting a large explosion of fragmentation. However, they were instead hit by arcing bolts of lighting as their bodies locked up, electricity forcing their synthetic forms to overload and seizure. Taking advantage of the now immobile targets, Sarah popped out of cover and unleashed a hail of bullets from her minigun, shredding the shock troopers.

The Geth troopers, now aware of the Legion's ambush, did not rush in like their shock trooper counterparts. Instead the kept distance, sticking to cover and firing combined bursts of mass effect pellets at the Legion. The sustained fire pinged of Sarah's aura and armor, forcing her to fall back.

That's when the Geth Prime made its move. Aided by the suppressing fire of its allies, the Prime deployed two floating turrets to defend its flanks and sprinted forward like an unstoppable juggernaut.

Shepard saw it approaching and called out a warning. "Don't let him get close! He's got a mean canno-"

Shepard paused for the briefest of seconds, her mind confused by what she was seeing. The prime was not wielding a pulse cannon or plasma shotgun, but instead a battle axe. A two headed, six foot long battle axe, covered in lightning, that looked like it had an eagle etched onto its face. Shepard had no idea what that weapon was, but had no intention of finding out.

If the Geth were showing off one of their secret weapons, it was time they showed off one of their own.

"T3! Overload him, now!" Shepard commanded as she drew her SMG to counter suppress the Geth troopers

With a high pitched whistle, T3 was coated in an orange, hardlight omni-tool hologram as he hacked into the Prime's systems and overloaded its shields. Ever since both Shepard and Thane arrived in the Final Destination, they had been working on a side project to get T3's cyber warfare systems compatible with Citadel technology. The result, T3 now had access to the entire cyberware suite that a combat engineer like Tali used.

"Pyrrha! Bring him down" Shepard roared as she fired a burst from her SMG, destroying one of the floating turrets protecting the prime.

Pyrrha gave a quick confirmation before dashing out of cover. Holstering Miló, Pyrrha drew her lightsaber and dashed for the unshielded Prime. With a mighty battle cry, Pyrrha leapt in the air and brought the lightsaber down on the Prime's head. The prime saw the attack coming and raised the shaft of its axe to block. And to Pyrrha's utter shock, the lightsaber hit the shaft of the axe and refused to cut through. In fact, it barely bit through the wrapping as she unknowingly brought her lightsaber against an Adeptus Astartes Power Axe made of solid adamantium.

Pyrrha's eyes went wide as the Prime then shoved her back and countered with its own swing. The attack was fast, but Pyrrha was faster. However, Pyrrha could feel the energy field around the axe even at a distance. She didn't know what it did, but she could only assume it wasn't good. So instead of blocking its swings, Pyrrha nimbly bobbed and weaved around the strikes, subtly using her semblance to throw the Geth's attacks off course.

Forcing the Prime to overextend on an attack, Pyrrha then moved forward and made two deep cuts into the Prime's legs. While lightsaber worked this time, the Prime's armor was too thick for an instant delimbing. Pyrrha was forced to pull back when the remaining turret opened fire on her, forcing her to bring Akoúo̱ up and divide her attention.

"Sev! Throw another EMP!" Shepard ordered as Pyrrha backpedaled, removing any chance for friendly fire.

With another grenade flying, the burst of lighting electrocuted the Prime, destroying its turret and stunning the Geth.

"Pyrrha, together! Rip that weapon out of its hands!" Shepard commanded as she and Pyrrha both extended their off hands.

The Power Axe was coated with both the black aura of Pyrrha's polarity and the purple flame of Shepard's biotics as they attempted to yank the weapon free from the Geth's grasp. The Prime struggled to maintain a grip on its weapon, but the arcing pulses of electricity made it impossible for it to focus its strength. Soon the weapon flew free, landing at Shepard's feet and the Geth was left defenseless.

The Prime, now immobile and down its shield, was then lit ablaze as T3 moved forward and sprayed it with his flamethrower. The high intensity flames burned and incinerated the Prime's armor. A follow up volley from Sev and Sarah put the prime down completely.

With the Prime and Shocktroopers now dead, the remaining Geth Troopers began a retreat, heading back for the safety of the turrets and armature. Before Shepard could call for her team to regroup and plan out their next attack, she watched as Sarah broke formation and chased after the retreating Geth.

"Goddamnit, Lyons! Get back here!" The Commander screamed to no avail. Too much adrenaline was pumping through Sarah right now, she wanted blood.

Running ahead of the others, Sarah shouldered her minigun and instead picked up a rocket launcher one of the Geth Shock Troopers never got the chance to use. Seeing the Geth Troopers flee behind the Armature, Sarah loosed a rocket that flew and slammed right into the quadrupedal walker. The explosion sent up a cloud of smoke that enveloped the armature, and Sarah smirked at the destruction she wrought. A smirk that fell as soon as she saw the armature's light pierce through the cloud of dust and fired a plasma round straight for her.

The only thing that saved Sarah from a premature disintegration was Sev, who managed to catch up and tackle the Sentinel to the ground. Grabbing hold onto her, the two then crawled their way behind a fallen stone pillar which barely gave them 2 feet of cover as the armature and turrets opened fire on them.

"Son of a- Pyrrha! Get them out of there!" Shepard ordered before running to T3 and lifting him into the air. "Let's go little guy. We're taking out those guns."

Pyrrha looked around her, trying to come up with a way she could safely evacuate her teammates, but all she could see were stone buildings and dead Geth. That's when inspiration struck. Sheathing her weapons, she held out both hands, focusing her semblance as the Geth bodies around her all began to float. The corpses of the Shock Troopers and Prime floated in front of her, compressing together to make a single massive ball of dead Geth.

Rounding the corner with her macabre sphere of synthetics, the turrets and armature shifted their attention towards her. Plasma round impacted the wall of Geth, unable to break through Pyrrha's impromptu barrier. Once she made her way to Sev and Sarah's position, the cover gave them the opportunity to stand up and get out of the killbox.

Looking behind her and seeing that Sev and Sarah had left the area, Pyrrha's face hardened as she could now go on the offensive. All while under fire, Pyrrha compressed the ball of Geth further and further, and at the same time began to rotate it. As the rotations picked up speed, Pyrrha then launched the geth-star forward, turning it into a massive, magnetised cannonball aimed right for the armature. The armature, too slow and cumbersome to avoid the ball of scrap hurtling towards it, could only watch as the cannonball slammed into, smashing its power core and sending the whole thing into a blue-white explosion.

While Pyrrha extracted Sev and Sarah, Shepard was simultaneously working on her part of the operation. While the turrets kept fire on Pyrrha, Shepard, holding on tightly to T3, biotically charged one of the turrets, bringing them onto the wall. The impact of Shepard's biotic fist was enough to crack the armor and expose the turret's underlying circuitry. This gave T3 the opportunity to move up to the turret and begin hacking his way into their systems.

Within several seconds, T3 had the turret under his control, and rotated it to aim at the others. As Pyrrha's cannonball of Geth destroyed the armature, T3's turret opened fire on the others, catching them off guard and destroying them. With the primary defenses down, the Legion then rushed into the outpost, easily destroying the remaining Geth troopers and claiming it as their own.

"A Goddamn idiot!" Shepard berated a ramrod Sarah as the rest of the squad secured the area. "That's what I am for taking your word! I asked you one question! One question before started this mission! Are you good? And yet here you are, nearly getting yourself and Sev killed in a blood rage! Do you have anything to say for yourself!?"

"Commander… I-" Sarah couldn't form a response.

Shepard watched her mouth gape open and closed. It was as if her thoughts were slowed, indecisive, unable to focus. Even her gaze was unfocused and despondent, despite the tears forming in the corners of them. That's when it hit Shepard. Sarah was going through shell shock, a combat stress reaction. A mental breakdown resulting from traumatic events during battle and war. And the recent days for Sarah couldn't be considered anything but traumatic.

Shepard sighed. "Look, Sarah. Take a deep breath. We'll talk about this soon. Pyrrha!" Shepard called out and the young huntress immediately snapped to attention. "Bring Sarah to the mako. Get her some water and check her for any injuries."

"Understood Commander." Pyrrha acknowledged before gently taking Sarah's arm and leading her back to the APC.

Putting this off annoyed the Commander, especially since this whole thing was her idea in the first place, but the mission came first, then she could take care of her friend. Shepard walked up to Sev and T3, who had spent the time gathering what equipment they could find. "What do you have for me, Sev?"

Sev was currently standing over a pile of Geth bodies, several weapons, and a few sealed crates. "Quite the haul, if I say so myself. According to your records we found some high end Geth weapons, along some creates of thermal clips, grenades, medi-gel, and assorted armor." Sev patted down the crates next to him.

"Biggest thing however, is that damn axe." Sev gestured to the Power Axe that was laid down separate from the pile. "Like Thane said, Geth running with non-geth weapons."

Shepard looked down at the massive power axe and let out a low whistle. She bent down to pick it up and to her surprise, struggled to lift it even with her cybernetic augmentations. Feeling around the weapon, she eventually found a switch which activated the lighting (disruptor) field around it. Getting used to the weight in her hands, she then gave the axe a test swing by cutting right into a geth trooper corpse.

As, or possibly even more, effectively than a lightsaber, the axe melted its way through the Geth's corpse, then through the stone walkway beneath it. Shepard's jaw dropped and Sev let out a small curse as they saw how effortlessly it tore apart the Geth.

"Damn." Shepard muttered under her breath before turning off the weapon. "Glad Pyrrha didn't take a direct hit from this thing. Aura or not, it would've torn right through her. Wonder where this thing is from."

"Battle axes are common enough in my universe, but I've never seen one do that. Not even vibro weapons or Mandalorian Iron blades can cut like that." Sev added on.

Shepard holstered the axe magnetically on her back. "Alright, what else do we have?"

Back to the pile, Sev gestured to the firearms. "A few Geth Pulse rifles. Some were damaged in the battle but I think we can jury rig the parts together to make a few functional rifles. Biggest weapons are these two though." Sev gestured to two weapons Shepard was very familiar with. A Geth Plasma Shotgun and a M-98 Widow Sniper Rifle.

"Now this…" Shepard said as she picked up the plasma shotgun. "This is something I've missed. One of the meanest shotguns in my universe. A triple barreled, pseudo energy shotgun that fires a cluster of superconducted projectiles that flash convert the air into plasma, dealing a Hell of a lot of damage on impact. Beautiful." Shepard patted the top of the shotgun.

"Well if you're taking both of those, I call dibs on the sniper." Sev flatly stated as he picked up the anti-material sniper rifle.

Shepard nodded. "A M-98 Widow sniper rifle. Pretty much the most powerful sniper ever developed. It's actually so powerful that the recoil alone would break any non-synthetic or cyborg's arm." That caused Sev's head to snap to her. "Don't worry, we were able to modify them to be used by regular organics, I'm sure we can do the same here. That or we just unlock your aura. Careful though, that thing only has one shot before you need to swap thermal clips."

"One shot is all I ever need." Sev darkly chuckled as he loaded in a fresh thermal clip.

"Of course." Shepard rolled her eyes. "Alright, let's get this all loaded up in the mako. No reason to stay here any longer than we need."

Sev snapped a salute and the three remaining legionnaires began the arduous task of loading all of the supplies to the Mako.

Once the supplies were loaded up into the mako, Shepard and Sev found Sarah and Pyrrha sitting in the cargo hold together.

"Sev, why don't you take the wheel." Shepard said, turning to the commando behind her.

"Oh thank dust." Pyrrha muttered under breath.

"Pyr, you take shotgun. Sarah and I need to have a talk." Shepard finished.

Sarah grimaced at that, while Pyrrha put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, before moving to the front of the APC. Despite being a machine, T3 decided to acquit himself from oncoming conversation by taking the gunner seat.

Soon enough, the APC began to drive off as Sarah and Shepard sat in the rear of the troop bay.

"So, you want to tell me what happened there?" Shepard asked in a calm, soothing voice.

Sarah let her head hang in shame. "All honesty, I don't have any excuses."

Shepard sighed. "Sarah, I don't need excuses, I need an explanation." Shepard leaned in closer, causing Sarah to look back up at her. "While we may not have been part of the same military, I can tell that you're an experienced soldier, not some greenhorn fresh out of basic. An elite veteran even. Something like what just happened, or what happened with Six should not be happening. So I need to know why you're losing your cool like this to know if I can trust you to watch our backs in the field."

It was Sarah's turn to sigh. "I am sorry Shepard, really. I know what I did was dumb. I figured that out as soon as I saw the armature." Sarah rubbed the back of her head. "I guess all I can say is that I've been… for lack of a better term, frustrated."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "From what? Dying? I think everyone here can relate to how stressful that is."

"It's more than that Shepard." Sarah shook her head. "It's more like… I felt that I needed to prove that I belong here."

"Why wouldn't you belong here? With us?" Shepard asked, confused by Sarah's confession.

"It's like you said before, I'm supposed to be an elite veteran. You see in my world, or at least the Capital Wasteland, the Brotherhood of Steel were the best of the best. We were the bulwark that protected the survivors from threats like raiders, super mutants, and even the Enclave." Sarah balled her hands into fists. "And I was supposed to be the exemplar that everyone looked up to. Sentinel Sarah Lyons, champion of the Brotherhood of Steel, commander of the Lyons' Pride… Elder for all of six f*cking months." Sarah put her head in her hands at the mention of this.

"Elder… I assume this is more than just an indicator for your age? Otherwise you're going to start making me feel bad." Shepard half-joked, trying to both bring up Sarah's spirits and make herself feel better since Sarah only looked like she was in her mid 20s while Shepard was still in her early 30s.

There was a slight smirk on Sarah's face that quickly disappeared. "Elder is the commanding rank for a Brotherhood of Steel chapter. My father Owyn Lyons, was Elder of our chapter for over twenty years. For over twenty years he lead our chapter to be the saviors of the Capital Wasteland. Under his leadership we eventually put down the super mutants, stopped the Enclave threat, and secured a future for the Wasteland under our direction." Sarah spoke with pride and reverence, before shifting to pity and self loathing. "When he passed on, the title of Elder fell to me. And instead of leading the Brotherhood, all I did was keep the seat warm until some super mutant shot me in the back of the head. Some savior I turned out to be."

Shepard remained silent, letting Sarah vent as much as needed.

"And that's not even where it ends! Coming here, seeing what people like Six, Pyrrha, Galen, or even you can do… it's all just been one giant revelation that says, you're weak, the Brotherhood of Steel is weak. We're supposed to be the most technologically advanced and powerful faction in the Wasteland, but that doesn't mean sh*t here." Sarah felt herself deflate as she finished her rant.

"And that's why you've been fighting so hard. Against Six, against the Geth, to prove to yourself that you're not weak." Shepard mused.

Sarah could only nod in response.

Shepard could see where Sarah was coming from. Some of the things that they'd seen here have been completely insane.

Seeing her confidence was shaken, Shepard tried to comfort her. "Believe me Sarah, you're not the only one here who feels, out of their element. Shadow demons, magic powers, laser swords, this is not what I thought I'd be fighting when I signed up with the Alliance." Shepard then placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder, forcing her to look up. "But at the end of the day, Sarah, no matter how weak we feel, no matter how scared, we have a mission. And we have to remain strong because it's not just about us, but about everyone. It's up to use to be the backbone of this team, the rock that others rely on."

Shepard took her hand of Sarah's shoulder and gave her a smile. "And believe me, you've done a great job being that rock so far, even without magic force powers or cybernetic augmentations, and you'll only do better with Aura." Shepard then paused again. "You know, I'd like to think that a person is better than the worst thing they've ever done. And by extension, a person is better than their worst failure. Do not let your failures or your weaknesses define who you are. You are not weak for dying, if that were true every person that's ever existed is weak. But you would be weak for falling to your emotions now, for letting your team down."

The words stung Sarah, Shepard could tell. But it was a truth she needed to hear. And Shepard knew she'd be strong enough to handle them.

"Thanks Shepard, for everything." Sarah locked eyes with the Commander. "I'll… think on what you said."

"Good. And always remember, that no matter what the enemy throws at us, we face it together."

Sarah nodded, lost in thought as the legion continued their silent drive home.

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Mother Base

"I still think having this is a little redundant." Pyrrha complained as she held a small, square device in her hands. "I don't even understand how it works."

"And I don't understand how aura's works, but we still rely on it anyway." Shepard countered. "It's a kinetic barrier Pyrrha, a shield that forms to protect you from extremely fast projectiles, which are pretty much all of the weapons we face. This way, the barrier will soak up most low level damage you take, without having to drain your aura, keeping you in the fight longer."

After Shepard and the other returned from Ilos, Sarah and T3 immediately got to work repurposing the tech retrieved. With the amount of eezo and parts scraped together from the Geth bodies, they were able to create several, belt mounted kinetic barriers. While individually each barrier wasn't as strong as the barriers found in fully dedicated hard suits like Shepard's armor, they would provide a fast recharging first line of defense at the same strength of Thane's barrier for anyone who wears them.

And if Shepard had her way, which she would, everyone who didn't already have shielding tech was going to be wearing this, aura or not. Snake, Wynne, and Galen had neither aura nor shields protecting themselves, only their own armor or skills, so Shepard thought this was a much needed upgrade. Even Sarah's t-45d power armor had several redundant kinetic barrier modules installed, giving her a tertiary line of defense, but Sarah was someone who would jump at the opportunity to reverse engineer and integrate new tech into her arsenal.

"I suppose that makes sense." Pyrrha said, clipping the modulator to her belt. "Besides, it's not as if this thing will weigh me down or affect my mobility."

"Glad you see things my way Pyr." Shepard said with a grin. "Now let's go check in with Six, he should have the rest of the haul inventoried."

With a nod, Pyrrha followed Shepard's steps to the armory, where the acting quartermaster Six had a series of armored suits laid out in front of him.

Six's head snapped to the duo as they entered his tent. "Ah, the redhead sisters. What can I do for you?"

Pyrrha for her part blushed a bit and admonished the Spartan. Being compared to someone like Shepard made her feel some pride and embarrassment. "Six, you shouldn't say that. Besides, Shepard is probably old enough to be my mother."

That caused Shepard to turn to the smaller redhead with a raised brow. "Pyrrha, do you see me as a mother figure?"

That immediately caused Pyrrha to go beet red and attempt to stammer out a response.

But Six was quicker, and threw his quip in first "She has to, the way she's been glued to your hip recently."

"What no!" Pyrrha cried out. "While you're a good role model, and someone I admire and want to emulate, I wouldn't call you a mother figure!"

"Oh so you're just calling her old then?" Six added on, thinking that this was too easy.

That only served to cause Pyrrha to freak out more "I- no I didn't mean it like that. Sure Shepard you are old, I mean older than me, but you're not,oldold, not Snake or Wynne, and, and…" Pyrrha let out a defeated sigh before mumbling to herself. "And this must be how Ruby and Jaune felt when talking to people."

Satisfied with their teasing, Shepard gave Pyrrha a comforting pat on the back before refocusing. "Just stopping by to see what we picked up on our last mission."

"Besides the weapons you guys found, the biggest thing was the cache of armor you picked up. All of it from your world." Six said, gesturing to the piles of armor in front of him.

Shepard walked up to the table and examined the pieces in front of her. There were several ballistic mesh undersuits, essentially skin tight catsuits that were resistant to low level ballistics, typically worn underneath hard suit plates. Beyond that there were various pieces of equipment that Shepard recognized. Pauldrons, gauntlets, chest armor, and more from manufacturers like N7, Armax Arsenal, Hahne-Kedar, and Kassa Fabrication. In addition, there were full suits of N7 Defender Armor, Terminus Assault Armor, and Blood Dragon Armor.

Shepard whistled as she held up the suit of Blood Dragon Armor as if it were a baby. "This. Now this is a suit of armor."

"You recognize this armor?" Pyrrha asked, surprised by the amount of care Shepard was giving the suit.

"You bet I do. It's a set of Blood Dragon Armor, had one back when I ran with Cerberus for a while. Not only does it look badass, but it has a unique, proprietary powercell and microframe computer that adapts to any top tier kinetic barrier or biotic amp." Shepard was practically drooling as she finished her sales pitch.

"Meaning?" Pyrrha hesitated to ask.

"Meaning it has better shielding than my current suit and also gives my biotics a power boost." Shepard explained to the layman.

Pyrrha gave an awkward smile. "You're… really into armor, aren't you Shepard." She was getting Ruby weapon love flashbacks.

"Of course! A good set of armor will mean the difference between life and death. Besides, who wouldn't want as cool looking as this?" Shepard gave a wide grin that Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at. "Hm, but you know we could probably cannibalize some of these pieces to give you and some of the others an armor upgrade."

In the same way the lack of kinetic barriers bothered Shepard on many of her allies, the lack of proper armor on those like Wynne, Galen, and Pyrrha stuck out to her as a major weakness.

"What's wrong with my current outfit?" Pyrrha genuinely asked, looking down at her outfit which consisted of both a corset and miniskirt that didn't leave much up to the imagination.

Shepard raised both eyebrows in disbelief. "You… can't be serious."

Before Shepard could talk with Pyrrha about her choice of attire, a gruff voice cut in over the comms.

"Shepard, this is Snake. I need you to report to the brig." Big Boss ordered.

"Roger that." Shepard quickly replied. "We'll save the lesson for another date. Meanwhile, Six, help Pyrrha pick out any solid upgrades to her battle dress."

Six gave a curt acknowledgement and Pyrrha gave a small wave goodbye as Shepard left the armory and made her way to the brig.

Shepard hardly ever entered the subterranean levels of Mother Base. Simply for the fact that if she did not need to come here, she would avoid the place. Repurposing the dungeons and tunnels of the medieval castle, this part of Mother Base was claustrophobic to say the least. With low-ceiling hallways carved directly out of the stone where exposed light bulbs and wires hung, it wasn't hard to be at least slightly unnerved by the place.

Stopping in front of a solid, cast iron door, Shepard gave it a hard knock that echoed through the tunnel. Slowly, the door creaked open, revealing the Legion's leader Snake, and their resident hunter Sev. They were standing in an observation room, in front of them was a large glass window, a one-way mirror looking into a cell. The cell's only occupant, the captured Stormtrooper commander.

The stormtrooper was currently tied to a metal chair, stripped stripped of all weapons, but allowed to keep his armor.

"Commander." Snake said as they turned to face her.

"Boss, Sev." She acknowledged them both with nod. "What's the situation? We finally interrogating the prisoner?"

Snake lit up his cigar. "Hmm. We let him stew for long enough. Sleep deprivation and reduced meals weaken him. He should be on the edge. I want the two you in there, find out what he knows. Shepard, you be good cop, Sev, you just just be you."

"Roger boss." Shepard replied, while Sev only grunted. "Any advice on breaking these guys Sev?"

"Not entirely sure. Galen tells me the Stormtroopers of his time aren't as well trained or disciplined as us clones were." Sev stated while double checking his duraplast gauntlets. After all, he didn't want to hurt his knuckles when he broke the stormtroopers face. "Troopers mostly kept in line by fear of their superiors. If we're lucky, he'll break after a beating or two."

Shepard nodded, but remained silent. She wasn't a fan of torture, or any type of "enhanced interrorgation". Intimidation she could work with however, as that's how she and Thane were able to locate his missing son Kolyat.

So the duo stepped inside of the cell, the stormtrooper commander groggily looking up as they entered. Closing the door, Shepard leaned on the wall, trying to appear aloof while Sev skulked around the officer. The room remained tense and silent for a few seconds as Sev sized up the stormtrooper.

"He looks a little uncomfortable in that. Sev, take it off for him." Shepard casually said.

Aggressively striding forward, Sev all but ripped the helmet off the stormtrooper commander. For the briefest of moments, Shepard's eyes went wide before her staggering amounts of self control killed the emotion.

His helmet was removed, revealing what looked like an older Sev, his skin far more pale and wrinkled, his hair stark white, with eyes glazed over grey. This stormtrooper was a veteran clone. Sev froze for a second as well, before removing his own helmet and stared his "older brother" down.

Shepard wasn't going to let the interrogation fall apart so quickly so she spoke first. "So, there's two ways this is going to go. You talk to me, tell us what we need to know and we treat you right. You make things difficult for us and…" she gestured to Sev. "you have a chat with Sev. Why don't we start off easy, what's your name?"

The stormtrooper stirred from his daze. "My name is Colonel Bacara of the Imperial Galactic Marines, serial number IC-1138." Bacara's eyes then flashed up at Sev. "That's all you get from me, traitor." he spat out.

Sev looked down at the saliva on his boot, then back to Bacara. Sev merely sighed, before stepping forward and punching the Imperial Commander right in the face. Bacara's head snapped back, the momentum threatening to topple his chair over, but Sev deftly caught it and placed it back down. Bacara could only groan as blood poured down his nose.

"Word of advice, Bacara. I would not piss Sev." Shepard said as she bent down in front of the clone. "Look at me Bacara, think about the situation that not only you're in, but that all of us are in. You're dead, we're dead, we're all dead and still fighting this insane war. We're all stuck in this giant mess together and instead of trying to kill each other, we should be helping each other out. All you need to do is tell us who your leader is and we can start negotiations, bring some semblance of peace to this f*cked up world."

Bacara shook his head, either not believing or not caring about Shepard's words. "That doesn't matter. I'm loyal, I'll never betray my superiors, not in life or in death."

Shepard's carrot didn't work so it was time for Sev to bring out the stick. "You know I've heard of you Bacara? Commander of the Galactic Marines under General Mundi. You must've had a few commando squads under your command, so you'd know that we're trained in many, many ways of enhanced interrogation. You will talk, the only question is how much of you will be left before you do?" Sev hissed out, leaning into Bacara's face.

Shepard then stepped in between them, forcing Sev to back off. "Except it doesn't need to be that way. Bacara, from one commander to another, think of the lives of those underneath you. How many stormtroopers have you lost already? Hundreds? How many of your brothers have already died fighting pointless battles in this world, instead of trying to find a way out?"

Bacara looked at Shepard for a brief moment, as if to consider her words, before sneering at her with a puff of air. Turning away, he then faced Sev, who maintained a permanent scowl. "So you know me. Took me a little while to remember, but I know you too. Your armor, your name, you were part of Delta Squad, weren't you?" Sev's eyes narrowed as Bacara continued. "I heard about your mission to Kashyyyk. Tell me, would you like to know what your brothers did after they left you behind? See they knew what loyalty meant! Even after you died, they continued to fight and DIE for the glory of the Empire!" Bacara roared his loyalty and fanaticism undeterred by his current situation.

That was exactly the wrong button to push on Sev as the commando drew his pistol and immediately pressed the barrel to Bacara's head. "Talk about my brothers again. Say one more damn thing about them! I dare you, I double dare you motherf*cker!"

At this point Bacara couldn't help but chuckle at his circ*mstances. "You know what I think? I think that the whole commando and ARC program was a mistake. All of that creativity and agency you were instilled with? All it did was make you traitors in the end. Traitor's that were put down by the Empire!"

At that point Sev had enough. He wasn't going to let this senile shell of a sentient insult his brothers any longer. Sev's finger inched towards the trigger, about to blow the stormtroopers brains out. Bacara closed his eyes and smiled, knowing he was able to goad Sev into killing him, preventing him from leaking any information.

But as Sev pulled the trigger, Shepard's vice like grip flew to his wrist, pushing it and sending the blaster bolt flying into a wall. Sev turned and snarled at Shepard, but the spectre didn't even notice as she then twisted Sev's wrist backwards, flipping him over with a CQC wrist lock. As Sev hit the ground, she immediately disarmed him, removing the pistol from his grip as it slackened from the impact.

"He is no use to us dead." Shepard growled out, staring Sev down.

Sev returned the glare for a few tense seconds, before breaking first. Shepard stepped back as the commando grumbled and picked himself off the ground. "Guess it's your lucky day." He hissed at Bacara under his breath.

It was then that the door to the cell was slammed open. Venom Snake entered the room, looking no less pleased than Shepard. "Commander, get Sev out of here. I don't need him mucking up this interrogation."

"Boss I'm fine." Sev replied.

Snake gave Sev a hard, piercing stare that brooked no argument. "I won't repeat myself."

A reply formed in Sev's mind but died in his throat. The clone just nodded as Shepard took him by the shoulder and led him out of the cell. A minute passed after the two left as Snake and Bacara were left in silence, save for the puff of the Boss's cigar.

"So, what do you think you're going to do?" Bacara sardonically asked.

Snake was silent, taking one last puff of his cigar before putting it out. He then left the cell, and after a few moments returned with a cart. The cart had a pair of jumper cables, a car battery, and several gas tanks of water placed upon it, everything Snake needed to form his own miniature Guantanamo Bay.

"You know, I've never really been a fan of torture. I know what it's like. To be put through so much pain that you'd do anything for it to stop, say anything. It's unbearable, inhumane." Snake bent down and clipped the cables onto the car battery. He touched the prongs together, and a crackling bzzztfilled the room. "But a friend of mine showed me how effective it is to get the answers I want. Now, Bacara, let's see if you can last as long as I did in Tselinoyarsk."

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

The walk back to the Mother Base's ground floor was painfully awkward. As soon as Sev and Shepard reached the command center, Shepard slammed the door closed and stared the commando down.

"So, you going to tell me what happened down there?" Shepard asked.

"Bacara just touched a nerve Commander. That's it." Sev replied.

"Bullsh*t Sev, not even you would try to execute someone because they 'touched a nerve'." Shepard said, making a pair air quotes with her fingers to emphasize the point.

Sev paused to think. "I… suppose this requires some context."

"Yeah that would be nice." Shepard sarcastically stated. Normally she wouldn't be so hostile to a comrade, but the events that just transpired have left her patience dangerously thin.

Sev nodded his head. "Right. Well for starters, how much do you know about where I came from, the army I was a part of?"

"You were part of a clone army right? Fighting in a civil war for the Galactic Republic?" Shepard recalled off the top of her head.

"Right on the money. See the Clone Wars started when the CIS tried to declare independence from the Republic. They had an army of battle droids, while the Kaminoans gave the Republic an army of cloned soldiers based off the then greatest bounty hunter, Jango Fett." Sev explained. "Grown from artificial wombs, we were raised from birth to be soldiers. To have the combat capability to out match the battle droids, and the creativity and logic of an organic to out think them as well. They gave us everything possible to make us an elite army. Virtual training, top of the line equipment, accelerated aging, the best drill sergeants, it only took a few years for us to become a fighting force feared across the galaxy."

"Wait, did you say accelerated aging?" Shepard wasn't sure she heard correctly.

Sev grunted. "Hmm, used to get us to the battlefield faster. Us clones age about twice as fast as a normal human. Physically, I think I'm somewhere in my mid-twenties. Chronologically, I think I'm thirteen, maybe fourteen?"

Shepard couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That's… despicable." The whole idea was just so ludicrous to Shepard she didn't even know how to describe it. "How could you be okay with that? How were any of you okay with that?"

Sev only shrugged. "It's just the way it always was for us. Most of us didn't even really question it, especially the basic troopers. They were instilled with this idea of pure obedience and loyalty. They would never question why they had shorter lives, only ask what their next orders were. Some of the commandos and ARCs, essentially special forces who were granted more free will and independence resented the Kaminoans and Republic for it, but I never did. We were made for a purpose, not by accident. And we were going to see it through."

"So you were essentially an army of slaves. And no one in the Republic spoke out against this?" Shepard thought that this Republic was starting to sound like some dark parody of what an actual intergalactic government should be.

"Some did, saw us as slaves like you said. Anti-war senators, maybe a few of the Mandalorian Sergeants, or the occasional Jedi who had too much compassion. But by and large, no one really seemed to mind. Moral implications aside, we were too valuable to just... throw away or disband." Sev stated matter of factly. The politics and morals of his situation were never something he really cared about. That was more for those bleeding hearts like Darman in Omega Squad.

Shepard rubbed her temple. She could feel herself rapid aging just thinking about how awful this government was. So she decided to change topics. "Ok, well how about your brothers. I assume you referred all of your fellow clones as brothers?"

Sev shrugged. " Sure, any of the clones could be called brothers, and that's how most of the troopers referred to each other. But for me my true brothers were my squadmates."

"And that's Delta Squad." Shepard recalled Bacara using that name to taunt Sev.

"Hmm. There were four of us total. Funnily enough, our leader's name was Boss as well, RC-1138. He was a good leader, took care of us throughout the whole war. Then there was Fixer, the second-in-command. He was our squads designated slicer and damn nerd." Sev chuckled. "Last was Scorch, an idiot and our squad's demolitions expert. I swear he was as dumb as a bantha sometimes, but he was fun to talk to at least." Sev didn't notice, but despite his gruff demeanor, he was grinning as he recalled the memories of Delta Squad.

"You really must have cared for them." Shepard noted.

"Yeah. They were my brothers, my family. Anybody that would mess with them would get a vibroblade to the throat." For Sev, that was not a threat, but a promise. "Last time I saw them was on the planet Kashyyyk. We were sent to rescue a local Wookiee chieftain named Tarful who was captured by Trandoshan mercenaries." Sev's expression changed from nostalgic to bitter as he scowled.

Shepard chose not to interrupt so Sev continued his story. "Obviously we were successful, but the Seps retaliated by dropping an entire cruiser on the tree city we were in. We were the only Republic forces groundside, so it was up to us to rally the Wookiee's defenses. We split up, taking down the starship by manning the city's heavy AA guns. But because we were separated, the Trandoshans converged on my position, and threw everything they had to kill me. I was half buried in lizard bodies before the bastards were able to take me down." Sev spit at the memory.

"I'm sorry to hear that." It wasn't the first time Shepard comforted someone over their own death here, but it wasn't getting any easier to do it.

"Yeah but that's not the part that pisses me off. I knew I was going to die. We were made to be expendable. I was fine with that. What pisses me off is what Bacara said. That after all my brothers did for the Republic, not just Delta, but Omega and other clones, they were either thrown away or hunted down like animals." Sev spat out.

"There's nothing you could've done about that. It was out of your hands. The galactic powers at be don't care for the grunts, no matter how elite they are."

"But I should've been there, helping them. Instead I'm stuck here, fighting in this idiotic battle."

"Sev, I know it's hard that you can't be with your family. There's not a moment that goes by that I don't think about the loved ones I left behind." Shepard comforted. "But you can't think about what could be, or what could've been, only what is. You can't go fight with Delta squad anymore, but you can still help them by helping us stop the Masters of Chaos."

"I- I know, Commander." Sev sighed. The adrenaline of the interrogation now wearing off, Sev felt more shame and regret than anything else. For him, rage was a tool, a choice. He controlled it, not the other way around. Letting himself get carried away like this left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Don't focus on what you lost, instead be happy about what you had. What were some good times you and your brothers had?"

Sev leaned back on a wall as he started to dig through his memories. "Hmm. Heh, there was this one mission while we were on Kashyyyk, where we were working with the Wookiees to hunt down Trandoshan slaver squads. The locals showed us the pathways the Trandoshans were using, so we took the time to set up a pitfall trap. With the Wookiees' help, it took a few hours to finish the pit, though Scorch's nonstop complaining didn't help. Bastard just wanted to use a det-pack to blow the ground open. Anyway, not long after we finished it, a patrol walked by, lizards in the back and droids up front to scout. Once enough of the clankers were over the pitfall, we sprung the trap. The droid fell right to the bottom of the hole, impaling themselves on the spikes we set up." Sev then started chuckling. "And the look on the lizards' faces was priceless. Half of them were too stupefied to even draw their guns before we took them down."

Shepard gave an awkward, strained smile.Of course this is Sev's idea of a good memory.She thought to herself.

"And with the lizards dead, we needed to hide the bodies. If another patrol came by, they would smell the blood of their kin. But surprise surprise, Kashyyyk being the jungle hellhole it was, we were able to find some giant, carnivorous plants and dump the bodies there. Let nature do the dirty work of getting rid of the bodies for us." Sev laughed again. "Ah, good times. Of course Scorch and Fixer brought up some BS about how doing that to the bodies waspsychoticandagainst regulation, but the Boss didn't seem to mind."

"Kashyyyk really seems like your favorite vacation spot." Shepard flatly said.

Sev shrugged. "I mean, dying sucked, but there's nothing more fun than a jungle hunt. Hiding in the bushes, waiting in ambush, putting a plasma bolt through an unsuspecting cranium. Makes you feel alive."

That gave Shepard an idea for how to help Sev, something that he'd really enjoy. "Follow me Sev. I know just the thing to get your mind off of all this."

Shepard gave a maniacal grin as she led him out of the command center. Sev hesitated, not sure what kind of plan the commander was concocting in her head, but he chose to follow anyway. Better to do this now than risk her wrath later.

A two hour warthog drive later, both Sev and Shepard found themselves crawling on their bellies through the Capital Wasteland. In all honesty, Sev had expected the Commander to be the type to take her soldiers out for drinks or for a spar in the ring to loosen up. However, instead they were now sneaking their way into super mutant controlled territory for what Shepard called "a shoot off."

In order to keep the competition fair, Shepard had both of them carry suppressed PSG1 sniper rifles from Snake's world, as both of them would be similarly unfamiliar with the weapon. Rifles in hand, they crawled their way up a mound of rubble, giving them a clear view of a super mutant camp about a kilometer away. The camp, if it could be called that, was a small outpost placed atop a road between two ruined skyscrapers, creating a chokepoint.

A series of scrap metal fences reinforced with rusted metal spikes and barbed wire were spread out along the road. The main building of the base seemed to be made of broken down shipping containers and cars, creating a hollowed out building with no roof, giving them a full view of the interior. The inside was broken down into two distinct areas. The first was the super mutant, quarters? Housing? Sev wasn't even sure if the big yellow freaks even slept but it's where they stayed. A large bonfire was placed in the center of it, along with the disgusting gore bags, some kind of wire mesh sack filled with various parts of humans and other prey, as well as several poorly maintained weapons. The other area was some kind of prison, where several Covenant aliens could be seen. Mostly jackals and grunts, but a few brutes also sat imprisoned, watching their captors angrily

The Legion had tagged this camp previously, and knew that the Super Mutants used it as a defensive point to prevent the Covenant from pushing further into the Capital Wasteland. And while they've known about it for quite some time, they haven't had the need to attack or raid it, leaving the base to continue its job fighting against the Covenant.

"So, back in my world, me and my best friend Garrus would always, and I mean always, argue about who was the better shot." Shepard explained as the two looked down on the super mutant base.

Sev co*cked an eyebrow. Sure, Shepard was a good soldier, but he never really saw her as a sniper. She seemed to enjoy the adrenaline of CQB with a shotgun way too much to have the patience required for that.

"Which, just saying was me. Anyway, it started off simple. Taking shots at bottles and what not, but we were too evenly matched on that. Soon it escalated to who could score the most confirmed headshots in a mission. My XO at the time Miranda chewed us out for that one, since we would sometimes get more focused on the competition than the actual mission." Shepard chuckled. "So to get around that, we decided to go for one shoot off per mission, the goal to see who could get the most creative with their kills."

"That's sad*stic." Sev deadpanned before shifting into a grin and chambering his rifle. "I love it."

Shepard nodded with a matching smile. "Thought you would. So that being said, why don't you take the first shot?"

Sev peered through his scope and watched the super mutants carefully. It looked like there were around a dozen super mutants. Half of them loitered within the base, with the other half patrolled the perimeter.

Near one of the barricades, a lone super mutant watched the roads, keeping overwatch for any incoming forces. He was far enough away from the others that his death wouldn't be noticed immediately. Lining up the shot, Sev exhaled as he squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew free, piercing the super mutants cranium and splattering the road with its brains.

Shepard let out a low whistle. "Impressive shot. Clean, didn't alert the base. But only half points because that was boring." Sev gave the commander an annoyed look, but she only shrugged. "Hey, I said it was about being creative, not efficient. Now watch a pro do her work."

The commander hunted for a target through her own scope, and soon enough, she found something that caught her eye. Along the walls, she spotted two super mutants squatting around a campfire. That wasn't what caught her attention however. What did was the fact that the two mutants were using a pile of scrap as a makeshift wall. And on top of that wall, was a retro-futuristic looking car, precariously supported by a thin, metal beam.

Swapping out her magazine for armor piercing rounds, she took aim at the pillar. With a depression of the trigger, the bullet tore a hole through the metal beam. Both super mutants looked up as they heard the sounds of metal pinging off of metal. While the bullet did not destroy the pillar, the force displaced it enough that it could no longer support the weight of the car. The thin, scrap beam then began to groan and bend as the bullet hole created a weak point for it to collapse.

Both super mutants watched up as the sedan fell right at them. They tried to dive out of the way, but were too cumbersome to avoid the wrath of Newton. The car landed directly on one super mutant, easily crushing its body. However, the impact seemed to damage whatever the car used as a power source, as the vehicle then started to glow orange. Both Sev and Shepard had to cover their eyes as the sedan exploded in a ball of nuclear fire, creating bright light and mushroom cloud they could see clearly from their position.

…

"Ok note to self, wasteland cars are nuclear powered." Shepard mumbled as the super mutants, now alerted scrambled to get their weapons. "So, your turn."

Sev gave her a deadpanned look before sighing and aiming once again. The mutants were now on the move, getting rifles and machine guns, some spraying wildly into the perimeter while others waited in cover. Sev saw that even the alien prisoners noticed the commotion, causing them to stir in their cells.

"Hey." Sev spoke, getting Shepard's attention. "What do you think they're going to do with those Covenant?"

Shepard readjusted her sights to look as the prisoners as well. "Honestly? My money is on eating them. I'd rather not think about anything else they could do to them." Shepard shuddered.

"I've seen those brutes flip warthogs like they're nothing. They should be able to break out of it no problem." Sev pondered.

"Maybe, but maybe they're not as dumb as we think they are. Probably make a lot of noise breaking through that prison. With constant armed guards watching them, they'd be gunned down before they'd even get close to escaping." Shepard guessed. "And if the brutes don't make a move, I doubt the jackals or grunts would."

Sev watched as the super mutants left the main building to look for the attackers, leaving only a single mutant to guard the jail cell. Waiting for the perfect moment, Sev pulled the trigger. The bullet flew, headshotting the super mutant, exiting the back of the skull, and flying forwards right into the lock on the cage. The round shattered the lock, the sound of clanging metal alerting the aliens.

Slowly the Covenant soldiers moved to the gate. Seeing that both their guard was dead and the gate was unlocked, one particularly brave brute opened the cage and exited, soon followed by his allies. Still unseen by the super mutants, the covenant aliens then began to take up arms, various decrepit and broken down firearms that barely looked functional. But they were functional enough to escape.

Now armed, the Brute gave a mighty roar as he and his pack mates charged from the main building, supported by Jackals using hunting rifles as snipers and grunts wilding pistols to soak up bullets. The super mutants turned around to engage the escapees, and the entire base erupted into chaos.

As the situation devolved into a massive battle, Sev and Shepard glanced at each other, silently deciding that now was the time to withdraw. Believing that both the super mutants and Covenant would be too busy to notice them, they decided to run back to their warthog, eschewing stealth all together.

It wasn't until they were back in the jeep that Sev looked as the commander and said, "So, my shots resulted in the most deaths, so I think I the exchange is mine."

Shepard laughed. "Fine, we'll call today in your favor, but I expect a rematch. I didn't get to use my second shot after all."

"Fair enough. Not like it'll help though." Sev jabbed.

"Keep talking Sev, just keep talking. It'll make my come back all the sweeter." The two laughed as Shepard continued to drive.

After a brief moment of silence, Sev spoke up once again. "This was a good distraction. So… Thanks, Shepard." Sev quietly spoke. Sev was never a person who ever really thanked or apologized, so this just felt awkward for him.

"Glad to help Sev." Shepard smiled. "And remember, you might've been expendable to the Republic, but you're not expendable to us. We may not be Delta Squad, but right now we're the only family we have."

"... Right." Sev nodded as he looked off into the distance.

The ride remained quiet as Sev drifted off into his thoughts. Shepard too thought on today's events, and couldn't help but be reminded of the conversations she had with both Pyrrha and Sarah. The commander sighed, and wondered if she was going to have to play therapist for everyone on the base.

Mother Base...

"Brraggh." was all Bacara could sputter out as he vomited water, expelling it out of his lungs.

His breathing was slow and laboured, his voice hoarse from the screaming. He could barely lift his head as thebzzzztof Snake touching the two jumper cables together sent arcs of electricity between them. Waterboarding, electrocutions, direct beatings, Snake had spent the last few hours breaking Bacara, and he knew he the clone was going to crack soon.

As Snake stepped forward to apply the prongs to Bacara's chest once again, Bacara made a barely audible sentence. "Wait." he whimpered. "I'll talk. Just… stop, please." The clone commander was broken, both physically and mentally.

"Good." Was all Venom Snake said as he detached the jumper cables. "I want a name. Who is leading the Empire?"

"His name… his name is Thrawn. Grand Admiral Thrawn." Bacara exhaled, the last dregs of his strength now gone.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn?" Snake parroted.

"Indeed. The only alien to ever make it to such a rank within the Empire. He's a master tactician, better than anyone I've ever seen. I served under him for many years, he appreciated the skill and experience that clones like myself had over a lot of the newer Imperial officers. He was one of the Emperor's greatest weapons, and the leader of one of the most powerful Imperial Remnant factions." Bacara explained.

"Imperial Remnant?" Snake asked again. There was too much new information here. To him, it sounded like the current Imperials were from a time period after Galen's death.

Bacara scoffed with resigned disbelief. "Of course you wouldn't know. After Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader were killed, the Empire broke apart. There was no known successor to the Emperor, so different Moffs, Governors, and Admirals fought amongst themselves to take their piece of the pie, trying to take control of the Empire. The Admiral led such a faction, and he held the New Republic by its throat, until he was betrayed and killed. Many of us here fell during the many battles under his command."

Snake paused to think. That would be some welcome news for Galen at the very least, but at this point irrelevant to them. He needed to know more about the structure of the Imperial Remnant here in the Final Destination.

"And this Thrawn, he's the one who gives orders to Skull Face and Kai Leng as well?" Snake asked.

To his surprise, Bacara shook his head. "After we were defeated in our old galaxy, we were sent here. The Admiral wanted to regroup, get a starship operational and escape. But he encountered, something in Korriban. Something or someone that even he was forced to bend the knee to."

If Snake's hunch was correct, this something would most likely be the God of Chaos, but he needed to be sure. "Who did he bend the knee to?"

"That, I don't know. But what I do know, is whatever he serves, it's not human, and it scares him." Bacara felt a shiver crawl up his spine at the mere mention of his master's master.

Snake saw no dishonesty in Bacara's eyes. "I believe you." He flatly stated, pulling out his e-cigar and taking a puff.

"Oh thank the Force." Bacara muttered, his body sagging as all the tension left it.

Taking a short puff from his cigar, the Boss swiftly drew his pistol and put one bullet between Bacara's eyes. Bacara didn't even have time to be surprised before all signs of life were extinguished. The Boss had gotten what he needed from Bacara, and silently moved to dispose of the body as he contemplated this new information.

Somewhere in Korriban…

Kai Leng strode forward through the ancient halls of the Sith Tomb, the shadows clinging to his very form. To his left, was the massive, grey furred form of Tartarus, chieftain of chieftains, and flanking him to his right, was the scarred spymaster Skull Face. Together they walked in silence as they entered the inner sanctum of the tomb of Marka Ragnos, greatest of the ancient Sith lords. Standing in the great hall of the tomb, surrounded by obelisks and statues of the Sith Lord, Leng's cybernetic eyes scowled on a figure in the shadows in front of him.

"The insurgents may have escaped the Archives, but their days are numbered. Next time, they will not escape. I will not fail again." Leng hissed out.

"Indeed. You will not fail again because you are no longer in charge of operations against the Snake." the figure spoke in a calm, cold, and controlled voice.

Stepping forward from the shadows was a male humanoid, with blue skin and darker blue hair cut into neat crewcut. His pristine white uniform was adorned with several blue and red bars denoting his rank, as well as his many achievements. But his most distinctive feature was his piercing red eyes, filled with a calculating focus that absorbed all information around him.

Despite his cybernetics, everyone could feel Leng's eyes narrow on the alien. Not that anyone cared about it however. Tartarus merely found the argument between these lesser aliens amusing, while Skull Face and Thrawn cared little for whatever petulant outburst Leng was about to throw.

Thrawn continued his speech. "Thanks to the efforts of Skull Face, our war with the Covenant has come to its conclusion. And as such, I can now focus my efforts on destroying these insurgents."

"You cannot just claim to do as you see fit. Our master will hear about this." Leng warned, baring his teeth.

"Our master..." Thrawn calmly retorted. "... is displeased with your failure. That is why I am now being assigned to this role." His news delivered, Thrawn then turned away from Kai Leng, ignoring any response and faced their newest member. "Now onto other matters, Chieftain Tartarus, it is good to finally meet you. I often find it pleasing when I am able to give a face to an opponent who has given me as much trouble as you have."

That was a half truth on Thrawn's part. While the Covenant forces initially gave his Imperials trouble, that was mostly due to the shock of the new world, and the complete lack of any and all information on the Covenant. Their tactics, weapons, and technology were all unknown to the Empire, resulting in several early losses. However as the battles dragged on and as the probes spied on their camps, the clear hierarchical structure and theological glue of the Covenant became apparent. They were a flimsy alliance of aliens held together out of fear or zealous ignorance to their Brute overlords.

Thrawn had already planned half a dozen ways to shatter this alliance, through targeted assassinations of brute leadership, or through the usage of bait and feigned retreats to cause the overly aggressive brutes to overextend into traps and ambushes. He even entertained the idea of coercing the super mutants into a massive offensive, while his Imperials pushed from the South, creating a two front war that the Covenant would not be able to sustain. But an alliance secured by Skull Face was a satisfactory enough ending for Thrawn, and so the plans to annihilate the Covenant would be shelved for now.

Even Thrawn was impressed with Skull Face's ability to secure this alliance. It became apparent early on that the Covenant would never willingly negotiate with humans, however, Skull Face was far more powerful at mental manipulation than anyone Thrawn had seen previously. The spy master was able to infiltrate Covenant outposts, and mind control enough high ranking brutes to convince Tartarus to parley. And that single meeting was all Skull Face needed to worm his way into the brute's mind, tricking him into loyalty.

"Hmm. Save your pleasantries for someone who cares, human." Tartarus grumbled. While Thrawn wasn't a human, he looked similar enough to them that it made no difference for the Brute. "I am here for what I am owed. I was promised power."

"And power you shall receive." Thrawn gave a slight incline of his head.

Turning around, Thrawn drew a weapon, an ancient looking sword, sheathed into a rod made of black-iron material. At the end of the rod however, was some kind of two-pronged forked crest. Tartarus raised an eyebrow at the ornamental weapon, unsure what to think of it.

"This, Chieftain Tartarus, is the Scepter of Ragnos. An ancient artifact from my universe. With it, the power of the Force can be gifted to whomever we choose. And that power, will now be given to you. However, since I am not Force sensitive, I cannot perform the ritual for you. Therefore, Skull Face, if you will do the honor." Thrawn bowed his head, and held the scepter up with both hands.

"Of course, Admiral." Skull Face removed his fedora and moved to take the scepter from the Admiral's grasp.

As soon he gripped the artifact, the Scepter began to glow in Skull Face's hand. Between the prongs, an orb of black-red light formed, crackling and pulsating as the Dark side flowed through it.

Striding up to Tartarus, Skull Face looked him directly in the eyes and said, "Kneel, Tartarus, declare your fealty, and claim your reward."

The Brute's eyes narrowed the slightest amount, and with a small scoff, he kneeled. "By my honor, I, Tartarus, Right Hand of Truth and Chieftain of the Jiralhanae, bend the knee. In the name of our Great Journey, my army will fight alongside yours."

Skull Face nodded, and jabbed the Scepter into Tartarus' chest. A small trickle of blood flowed free from the wound, nothing but a nuisance to a veteran warrior like Tartarus. But then the condensed Dark side energy spiked, twisting and contorting into random forms, before seeping its way into the wound. Despite Tartarus' immense strength and fortitude, not even he could resist the pain he now felt. It was excruciating, ripping apart not only his physical body, but his very soul. Tartarus could only scream as he was gifted with the power of the Force.

As the ritual continued, Kai Leng silently skulked his way behind Thrawn, who was seemingly distracted by the ritual.

Without even turning to face the assassin, Thrawn called out to him, "If you have something you wish to say, Agent Leng, by all means I am listening."

Leng was silent for a few seconds, scowling at the Chiss. "I just had a passing curiosity, Admiral. You've seen the power of the Scepter, of the Force. You know more of its potential than either myself of Skull Face, yet you refuse to use it. Why?"

Thrawn continued to watch the ritual, not giving Leng a single glance. "The Force is power, true. But it is power that comes at a cost. I have seen the way the Force affects the minds of its users. It extracts a cost of sanity and self control. And if I am to lead our forces into battle, I cannot have my mind twisted by something so volatile." Finally Thrawn decided to grace Leng with his gaze. "After all, rage and lust for revenge can bring power, but it can also blind oneself, can't it Agent Leng?"

That was the final straw.

Snarling, Leng yelled at the Chiss. "An alien does not have the right to speak to me like that!"

Leng's anger did nothing to change the Chiss's impassive facade. If anything, he seemed even less impressed. "Your humanocentric bigotry is both boring and nothing I have not seen before, Agent Leng. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an operation to plan." Thrawn did an about face and began walking into the darkness.

Kai Leng glared at the back of the Chiss, contemplating running him through with his lightsaber. Only the fear of their Master kept him from acting upon that urge. Grunting, Leng turned around and walked towards the training grounds. He needed to train.

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

Mother Base…

Shepard kicked off her boots as she collapsed into her bedroom chair. Between the interrogation, sneaking into the Capital Wasteland, and the shoot off, Shepard had a long day and was just glad it was now coming to an end. Personally, she never enjoyed going into the Capital Wasteland. It was too much of a grim reminder of her own version of Earth, and its ambient radiation always made her feel warm and tingly in all the wrong ways.

Finishing drying up her hair, Shepard once again had to thank whatever deity formed this realm that they had showers with hot water. Jane now lazed in her room, wearing her signature N7 hoodie, getting ready for a long evening of relaxation.

Knock knock knock…

Shepard sighed, covering her eyes with her arm. "Who is it?"

"Commander Shepard? It's Wynne. I just wanted to know if you were free for a talk." Wynne called out from the other side of the wooden door.

"That depends, do you need me to help you deal with deeply rooted psychological trauma brought on by your untimely demise?" Shepard called out, unmoving from her position.

Wynne laughed. "Ha sorry dear, I have not brought such baggage with me. What I do have however, is a vintage bottle of Orlesian wine and a need for a drinking partner."

That caused Shepard to shoot up out of her chair to open up the door. "Well why didn't you start with that."

Opening her wooden door, Shepard greeted with the sight of Wynne cradling a bottle of wine in her left hand, and two metallic goblets in her right. Shepard stepped out of the way, and gestured Wynne in. The magi nodded and entered the room, taking a seat at a small round table Shepard had set up in her room.

As Wynne prepared the wine, Shepard took her own seat and gave a smirk. "So Wynne, not that I mind the company, nor the free booze, but any specific reason you decide to visit my room late at night? Alcohol notwithstanding, I have the feeling you're not trying to drunkenly hook up with me." Shepard joked. Despite what she said, Shepard did take a half second to briefly admire Wynne's form. The consensus? Damn, she hoped she'd look half that good if she ever hit that age.

Wynne frowned as she looked up from pouring the wine. "No, Commander, I did not come up here looking for that kind of… companionship. I am here for a more serious conversation." Wynne saw Shepard's eyes dart to the wine then back to her. "The alcohol was a gesture of hospitality. One that I could easily take away, young lady."

Shepard put her hands up, defeated. "Okay, okay, no sarcastic sex jokes or innuendos, got it." Wynne's smile returned to her face as she offered a goblet to Shepard who eagerly grasped it. "So, what is your reason for coming up here then?" Shepard took a sip of the wine. Shepard was surprised it was so strong despite its fruity aroma.

"I've simply come to check up on you, Commander. You've been running around a lot recently and I wanted to see how you've been doing. As well as how well you've adjusted to this new life of ours." Wynne said as she sipped on her own glass.

Shepard co*cked an eyebrow and chuckled. "That's funny, typically I'm the one who goes around asking people that question."

"I know, I've noticed you spending quite a lot of time with our fellow companions, galavanting across the battlefields to help them deal with their issues." Wynne nodded her head. "You've taken to your role well. The people here have been through much, and they need someone stable and grounded to look to, especially for when times become troubled. A port in the storm if you will."

Shepard took another sip, considering Wynne's words. The mage talked as if Shepard was doing something extraordinary, but Jane only did what she always did, help her men. Shepard knew the burden of command, she led far too many crews to not know how to lead. Yes, she expected the best from her men and women, but in return she would give them her best in order to raise them up. But in the end, she wasn't supposed to be the leader here.

"What about Snake?" Shepard asked, unsure of what Wynne's opinion of the man was.

"Oh yes, Snake is a good leader, but… different. He somehow naturally stands apart from us, I would even say above us." Wynne mused. "Now don't take this the wrong way, I don't believe Snake will ever lead us astray, but even for the superhumans in our merry little band, none of us can just knock on Snake's door and ask him to share a glass of wine. Not to mention he isn't exactly a social butterfly."

Shepard nodded her head at that, but then something clicked when she heard Wynne talk about Snake.

So Shepard leaned in closer with a smirk, "Hm. So if you're not looking to me for companionship, what about Snake?" Wynne's eyes immediately glared at the Commander once again. "I mean, he's a good guy, you're both similarly… matured, and you know he doesn't look half bad for someone his age. Should've had the nickname Silver Fox instead Venom Snake."

Wynne deadpanned the Commander. "No Shepard, I am not trying to bed the Boss either. I have long since lost the need to go prowling the night looking for men."

Shepard leaned back groaning. "Ugh come on Wynne, you gotta give me something. I haven't had any good scuttlebutt since I've got here."

Wynne casually reached for her staff. "What I can give you is an hour of your life as a toad if you keep acting so childish."

For the second time tonight, Shepard put her hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, yeah yeah yeah no more sex jokes, I know." Wynne gave a satisfied nod as she put her staff down. "Ok, so if Snake isn't the best drinking buddy for the team, what about you? You're empathetic to the members of the Legion, caring not only about their physical health but their mental well being as well."

Wynne chuckled with her glass of wine in front of her. "I may be able to give sage advice when asked for, but I can't exactly go punching Galen in the face or hunting super mutants for sport anymore."

Shepard laughed at this as well. "Please, I'm sure there's some life in those old bones yet."

The two let the laughter die down as they shared another sip of wine.

"Back to my original point, however," Wynne started up first. "You are important to the morale of this team. And while it's all well and good that you are helping the others work through their issues, you need to make sure you take care of yourself as well. Remember, you can always come to me for advice, or merely an ear to listen, should you require it."

Thinking about these words, Shepard realized that she hasn't really taken the time to unwind, or think about what she's been through. Ever since she got to the Final Destination it's been mostly non-stop action.

"I suppose every person that is here is just a little bit broken in their own way, and they need help getting fixed up, me included. I'm still processing the fact that I'll never see Liara again, or my Mom, or any of my crew. And that's on top of everything I saw during the Reaper Invasion. But during a war, you can't have your leader break down, so until this whole mess is sorted out, I'll keep it together." Shepard quietly mumbled out. "I have to."

Wynne frowned. "You've been through a lot, haven't you Shepard?"

Shepard froze, staring at Wynne. She… she didn't know how to respond to that. That one line caused a flash of repressed memories to flood into Shepard. Memories she forced down to she could focus on the missions at hand.

She saw the Citadel burning, smelt the smoke and burnt flesh, the remains of civilians scattered about as Cerberus launched their attack. She saw Legion on Rannoch, giving his life so that the Geth could have sentience. She saw the little boy on Earth that she watched die as she fled on the Normandy. Shepard glanced down and noticed her hand was clenched into a tight fist, nails digging into her palm. She unfurled it and stretched her fingers as she then glanced at Wynne. If the older woman noticed, she didn't comment on it.

"Yeah… yeah I suppose I have." Shepard whispered as she took another drink. "We all have."

The two were silent for a few beats, lost in the contemplations of their own minds. Surprisingly, Shepard broke the silence first.

"You know, Wynne, you remind me of a good friend of mine, Karin Chakwas, the doctor and chief medical officer on my ship. Not only would she patch us up after every mission, but she also was more than happy to give advice when I needed it." Shepard smiled at the memories of the doctor.

Wynne nodded her head and gave a small toast. "I'll take the comparison to one of your friends as the highest compliment." She took a sip of her drink. "You remind me of a companion of mine as well, Commander. The leader of my old adventuring party, a Grey Warden and Mage named Amell.

"Like you, was the immovable center of our group that we all looked to. Of course he was young and foolish, sometimes far too juvenile and thirsty for adventure. But he always did what he thought was right, not letting anyone or anything stop him." Wynne chuckled. "When people depended on him, he was ready to fight tooth and nail to save lives."

Shepard gave her own toast to that. "And I'll that comparison as the highest compliment. This Grey Warden sounds like quite the hero."

"Indeed he was. I just hope he doesn't get into too much trouble. He was far too smitten with this witch that we traveled with. She had the poor boy wrapped around her finger the whole time we were together." Wynne let out an annoyed grumble.

Shepard laughed as she thought back to the romances and flings she had during her adventures, eventually focusing on Liara's face. "Yeah quests to save the world and romantic drama seem to go hand in hand."

"Saving the world is a young people's game. And where there is youth, there are hormones and awful attempts at courtship. Case and point." Wynne pointed to Shepard, who laughed it off.

"Hey I'll have you know I was quite successful with my attempts at… courtship." Shepard indignantly cried out.

"Yes dear and I'm sure the hordes of women that threw themselves at your feet are all currently lamenting your passing as we speak." Wynne dryly responded. "They'll cry out, 'Oh Maker, why would you take Shepard away, the destroyer of Reapers and slayer of quims. Who else will make our knees weak by simply passing by?'" Wynne pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, pretending to faint.

Shepard's jaw dropped at the suddenness of Wynne's own salacious humor. A beat passed, and both women burst out laughing. Shepard doubled over clutching her stomach as she felt a tear drop down her face.

It took several seconds for the two women to compose themselves as the chuckling ceased. Shepard let out a long breath and refilled their wine glasses. The alcohol replenished, the duo took another sip as Shepard reclined in her chair.

Staring into her goblet, Shepard once again called out to Wynne. "Hey Wynne, mind if I ask you something personal. And no, it's not about sex."

"Then I'm all ears." Wynne simply replied.

"How did you die?" Shepard asked plainly. It was a hard question to pose, so there was no point in being subtle about it.

Wynne gave a wry smile. "Do you mean the first time, or the second time?"

Raising an eyebrow, Shepard let out a small laugh in disbelief. "Wait, you died twice as well?"

The two looked at each other in similar states of disbelief, before descending into laughter once again. They could only laugh at the absurdity of their situation, two women currently on their 3rd lives currently sharing a drink.

Wynne was the first to reign herself in. "Ok, I shall go first. Let's see, the first time I died I was protecting the Circle tower, which was the home of all of the sanctioned mages in Ferelden. The tower had come under attack by rogue mages that were tired of living underneath the Chantry's thumb. They summoned a host of demons to attack the tower, and it was during that initial battle that I died."

Wynne took another sip before continuing. "When I did pass, it was not the end however. I was brought back to life by a spirit of the Fade to protect the Circle. In essence, I had become an abomination, a mage possessed by a demon or spirit, living on borrowed time. The spirit kept me alive, and I joined with the Warden to both save the tower and to save Ferelden from the Blight. Some time later, I decided to give the spirit up to another, saving their life in exchange for my own."

Wynne's explanation wasn't filled with anger, regret, or sadness like some of the other stories Shepard had heard. While it wasn't particularly happy, Shepard would say it seemed, accepting. Wynne knew Death was coming, and was more than willing to welcome it when it came to collect, especially if it meant saving someone else.

"A lot of people would've spent borrowed time like that in a much worse or more selfish way. Running to battle and saving others when you know you're on the clock is very noble of you." Shepard surmised.

"I no longer had the fiery rambunctiousness and youthful exuberance to act in such a way, even before I died. I did not need to cry out against the sky, feeling scorned and forsaken by fate." Wynne shrugged. "What about you Commander? If I recall correctly, your world didn't have magic, how did you get brought back to life?"

"Indeed we did not have magic, but we did have very advanced technology, and lots and lots of resources. My first death was pretty much right after I stopped a rogue Spectre named Saren. Spectres, by the way, are a form of intergalactic special forces that serve the Council directly. Anyway, stopping Saren put me on the hit list of the Reapers, so they sent another one of their pawns, a mysterious race known as the Collectors to take me out. While my ship was on a patrol looking for Geth, we were ambushed. A Collector cruiser came out of nowhere, took out my ship, and sent me adrift in space with a broken suit." Shepard shuddered at the memory. "I lost some good people that day."

"I am sorry to hear that." Wynne nodded. "I have never seen what lay in the void among the stars. But from what you say, it does not sound like a pleasant experience."

Shepard's mind flashed back to her first death. Her body flailing in vain as oxygen leaked from her neck. Her vision going black as she slowly suffocated to death.

"Yeah, that death wasn't fun, that's for sure. I would go as far to say it was terrifying even." Shepard shook off the memory. "But regardless, my body eventually made planetfall, crashing onto the planet below and getting turned to a bunch of meaty chunks. Eventually, my body was recovered by an organization called Cerberus, and they spent the next two years bringing me back to life. Through cloning, cybernetics, a dozen other illegal sciences, and billions of credits, they brought me back to stop the Collectors.

"Second death was a lot more complicated. Essentially, to stop the Reapers, who were giant, sentient, synthetic squids hellbent on destroying all organic life, I had to sacrifice myself to rewrite all life to be partially organic and synthetic. That way, at least hopefully, synthetic life and organic life won't come in conflicts of genocide anymore." Shepard finished off her glass as she finished her explanation.

"I will admit that sounds rather unbelievable." Wynne added on, killing her own glass.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Any more unbelievable than us living our third lives fighting against the pawns of a God of Chaos?"

Wynne paused for a moment to think, before shrugging. "Fair point." She then moved to refill both their glasses once again. Wynne lifted her drink into the air to give a toast. "To the endless struggle I suppose."

Shepard raised her own glass with a chuckle. "Ain't no rest for the wicked." And the two continued to drink throughout the night.

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

The next morning…

Shepard staggered her way down the corridors of Mother Base, eyes bloodshot and head pounding. Every time she passed a window, her eyes would squint closed as she recoiled in pain, as if she were a vampire. Last night, after killing the bottle of Orlesean wine, Shepard and Wynne decided to crack open another… then another. Even with her cybernetics helping filter out the toxins, Shepard still felt like she was headbutted by Wrex. In fact the last time she was probably that drunk was when she did ryncol shots with the Krogan on the Citadel.

And so, hangover and all, Shepard continued her walk of shame down to Mother Base's mess hall. The mess hall was once one of the larger dining halls of the castle, decorated with faded fresco walls and floors made from eroded cobblestone, furnished with Soviet-era folding benching and tables. Entering the mess hall, the Commander's tired eyes slightly widened as the rest of the Legion were already there dining.

Of course today is the day that everyone is in.Shepard thought to herself.

As constant patrols and recon missions were often necessary, it was a rare occurrence for the whole Legion to gather up for meals or meetings, unless previously planned. Luckily, the rest of her comrades were seemingly too distracted with their own meals or conversations to notice the disheveled commander. So Shepard went to the kitchen, grabbed herself several canteens of water, a pot of black coffee, and the plainest MREs available as to not upset her stomach. Haul in hand, she sat down between Pyrrha and Wynne, the latter of whom also had her head in her hands, trying to rehydrate the previous night off.

"Rough night?" Pyrrha asked, and eyebrow raised at the sheer amount of refreshments Shepard was carrying.

Shepard shrugged, sliding a mug of coffee to Wynne. "All honesty, not the worst I've had, but still not good."

Wynne only groaned behind her, accepting the drink. "It's been quite a few years since I've drunk like that."

Pyrrha giggled under her breath at the misfortune of her two allies. Leaving them to their meals, she then turned to Thane, who was sitting across from her. "So Thane, I wanted to know, what was your homeworld like? I've never left Remnant before, so outside of the worlds I've seen here, I know very little of alien planets. Oh, I guess for you it would just be, planets." Pyrrha awkwardly laughed. "I'm sorry I hope I'm not being offensive."

With a shake of his head and a wave of his hand, Thane cast off her concerns. "It is quite alright, and you are not. I was born on the planet Kahje, the homeworld of the hanar. It is an ocean planet, covered by nearly 90% water, the only land being small islands or floating cities."

"Ah, so are your people aquatic?" Pyrrha asked.

Thane shook his head. "Unfortunately no. The drell are more adapted to drier, warm climates. The humidity of Kahje in fact can be deadly for many of my race." Thane silently reflected on his own experience with his disease. "Living on Kahje was the root cause of my Kepral's Syndrome, which is what ultimately ended my life."

Pyrrha scowled in confusion. "I don't understand, how could your planet make your people sick?"

"That is because Kahje wasn't my people's original home. You see, the drell originated on the planet of Rakhana, a dry, desert planet. While our people expanded greatly with industrialization, we did not understand the ramifications of what we were doing. The population of Rakhana boomed to eleven billion, but our industrial development ruined the planet's environmental sustainability. As resources dwindled, billions began to die, and we did not have the technology to escape our own planet. Luckily, the hanar of Kahje had discovered our world, and saved thousands from extinction, saving my species." Thane emotionlessly taught.

Pyrrha's face went from confused to horrified. "I'm… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up such a tragedy."

Thane waved her off once again. "It is of no trouble. The exodus occurred centuries before my birth, and the Compact we formed with the hanar that day laid the foundation for who I would become, so I do not dwell on it."

Despite Thane's dismissal, Pyrrha couldn't help but feel awkward and uncomfortable for having put her foot in her mouth like that. Shepard, sensing her discomfort from her fidgeting and downcast gaze, decided to intervene.

"You know there are a lot of other species in our galaxy besides the drell and hanar. I already told you about the krogans, the 7 foot tall reptiles with four testicl*s, but there's also the Turians, Asari, Salarians, and Quarians." Shepard quickly pivoted topics.

Activating her omni-tool, Shepard quickly projected several photos of her along with her squadmates over their adventures together. The first was a photo of Shepard along with Garrus in the Citadel. The two of them could be seen playfully arguing on top of one of the Citadel's bridges, aiming sniper rifles into a busy sky filled with air-traffic, shooting bottles. This photo was captioned "King of the Bottle Shooters."

The second photo was an in-action shot of Dr. Mordin Solus aboard the Normandy SR-2, in the middle of his musical number "Scientist Salarian" from Gilbert and Sullivan, with the title of the song written on the photo. Shepard had a deadpan look of disbelief, while Mordin had the widest smile on his face.

Third was a selfie of Shepard with Tali'zorah Vas Normandy. The two were in the Normandy's port observation deck, sitting at the bar with purple drinks in their hands. Tali was sipping on hers through a large, bendy straw, although the photo had the caption of "Emergency Induction Port,'' beneath it.

The final photo was one of both Shepard and Liara, a selfie the two of them took on the Citadel when they first started dating. Posing in front of the Presidium's mass relay monument, Shepard's arm was wrapped around Liara's shoulders, and both smiled wide as they looked into the camera. This photo was simply captioned, "First Date."

Pyrrha looked up in awe over the photos, studying each of them, letting her imagination create the stories behind each of them. Eventually she got to the photo of Liara and Shepard, and was amazed by the genuine smiles the couple shared. Despite knowing Shepard for sometime now, she's never seen her smile like that before. A small part of her felt a little envious that she and Jaune never got to take a photo like this.

"The asari, they look so human." The huntress muttered out as she studied Liara's features.

"Yeah one of the biggest mysteries in the galaxy. People would always joke that asari and humans were intergalactic cousins. This one right here is actually my girlfriend, Liara T'soni, love of my life." Shepard said with a proud grin.

Pyrrha went a little red at Shepard's unabashed feelings, and took a closer look at Liara. "She is very beautiful." She all but whispered, still feeling a bit embarrassed talking about relationships.

Shepard's grin shifted into a more of a smirk. She smelled a chance to tease Pyrrha, and would never let such an opportunity go.

"This isn't going to cause any problems, is it Pyr?" Shepard asked, making her voice sound nervous. She knew Pyrrha would never be a judgmental person, but she also knew that asking something like that would get her all flustered. And in a world without the extranet, Shepard had to get her entertainment from somewhere.

And on cue, Pyrrha went beet red. "What! No, of course not! I don't think that human-faunus relationships are an issue, and this is similar. Also my partner Jaune, his sister was married to a woman she loved, and I was more than happy for them. I would never be so closed minded to judge someone based on who they love!"

Shepard could only crack up with how adamantly Pyrrha was defending herself. "Relax Pyr, I was only joking." Shepard said between laughs.

Pyrrha only groaned and placed her head between her hands in embarrassment. Meanwhile Sev, who was attracted into the conversation by Pyrrha's outburst, looked over Liara's photo as well.

"Oh, you guys had aliens like that too?" The commando grumbled out as he examined the image.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Wait, were there asari in your universe too Sev?"

Sev shrugged. "I don't think so, but to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if there were. I was thinking about alien races in my galaxy like the Twi'leks or Togruta." Shepard remained confused so Sev continued on. "They're human looking aliens of various colors that all had tentacles on their heads, though they had fewer, longer tentacles than your asari."

"They are not the only human-like alien races from our galaxy either." Starkiller cut in, deciding to give his two cents. "There are several species of near-human aliens within our galaxy as well."

"Near-humans?" Shepard questioned.

Galen nodded his head. "Indeed. Near-humans are usually evolutionary offshoots of humans, brought on by generations of isolation on various planets. Examples would be the Arkanians, Zeltrons, and Chiss, who all mostly maintain their human appearance, but have some differences such as non-standard human skin tones such as snow white, red, and blue respectively. Some races, such as the Zabrak, would have more prominent differences, such as small horns."

That was an interesting idea to Shepard. Where so far in the future, humanity evolves into different species as they adapt to new worlds. And with the synthesis of organic and synthetic life, who knows what kind of new races could be seen developing in the future.

The conversation seemed to strike a chord with several members of the Legion, as Wynne, having finished her coffee, decided to enter it. "My world had several human-like species as well. Namely the dwarves, elves, and qunari. Dwarves are short, stout, rambunctious people who live underground. Elves are more similar to humans, save for their pointed ears and lithe builds. While Qunari are humanoid, but are much larger than humans, with two very large horns protruding from their heads." Wynne extended both index fingers from her forehead, pointing them as if they were horns.

"Wait, you had actual elves and dwarves in your world?" Shepard was flabbergasted.

Wynne nodded. "Yes we did. Did they exist in your world? You seem rather familiar with them."

"In a sense, I suppose. In my world, elves and dwarves are fictional races, created in old folklore and fantasy stories. They even have the same descriptions." Even in Shepard's time, fantasy stories were still popular. Tolkien's novels had even been translated into several alien languages, becoming an intergalactic bestseller when humanity entered the galactic scene. Unsurprisingly, the idea and societies of the elves found many fans within the asari, while the Krogans were quite fond of the tales of dwarves and orcs.

"Hmm curious. Perhaps it is an example of this multiversal crossover, where someone in your world was aware of mine and wrote stories based on it, or maybe such races existed in your ancient past. Or perhaps it was just pure coincidence." Wynne shrugged, having no real answers nor anyway to find out the truth.

Shepard grunted. She didn't have an answer either and thinking upon the mysteries of the multiverse was an exercise in futility. Instead, her teasing, big sister-like mind honed in on a single slip of the tongue that Pyrrha had.

"So Pyr… partner huh." Shepard glanced and Pyrrha with a smarmy smirk as Pyrrha froze. "Tell me more about this Jaune."

Pyrrha was now full tomato. "Oh no! Jaune wasn't THAT kind of partner! He was my huntsman partner. At our school we were supposed to live and train together with our team for the next four years" Pyrrha waved her hands in a flurry, denying the insinuation. "Jaune, while inexperienced and sometimes dense, was a great leader and cared for all of us. And he was one of the few people who saw me for who I was, not what my reputation said I was." Pyrrha spoke that last sentence with a softness and care that was obviously stemmed from love.

Shepard gave a genuine smile at seeing a young woman in love, before again shifting to a mischievous grin. "So you ever get together?" The Commander bluntly asked. Pyrrha's jaw dropped as Shepard continued her offensive. "I mean, two hormonally charged teenagers, living in the same room. Something was bound to happen."

"I… NO! Nothing happened Shepard!" Pyrrha cried out.

"Did you want something to happen?" Shepard prodded.

"Of course I did!" Pyrrha yelled in frustration, causing everyone to stop and stare at her. Pyrrha instantly made herself small and mumbled out, "I mean I sent him… signals. But they just bounced right off. As I said before, he was dense. And I was rather… passive about it."

"If you were interested in him you should've been more aggressive." Sarah called out from her side of the table. "Men are idiots who would miss such subtlety."

The sentinel gestured to Snake, Six, Thane, Galen, and Sev, who were all eating their meals in silence, trying to avoid being dragged into the conversation.

As Shepard and Pyrrha also looked them over, the commander was able to make eye contact with Sev and raised an eyebrow.

Sev brought both hands up defensively, not wanting to get involved. "Hey don't forget, I'm thirteen."

Wynne however, wouldn't let the conversation go off course. "Pyrrha, if you're going to be having a relationship with a boy, I feel compelled to tell you where babies actually come from."

Pyrrha sputtered out a muted cry as her head sunk into her hands.

With a wry grin, Wynne continued on. "You see, when two people are in love, some people say that a spirit or a bird flies down from the Fade to deliver them a baby. This however, is not actually true. What actually happens is-"

"For the love of the Brothers Wynne I know where babies come from!" Pyrrha cried as her face was perpetually the same hue as her hair.

Everyone began laughing at the outburst as Pyrrha went back to cradling her face in her hands.

Shepard again took control of the conversation."Ok so you never went all the way. Did you at least kiss him?"

At that moment, the embarrassed countenance of Pyrrha morphed into one of sadness and regret.

"I actually did." Pyrrha said with resignation. "I kissed him the last time I saw him, before I rushed up to Beacon tower to fight against Cinder."

Shepard's teasing attitude immediately vanished as she realized she overstepped. "God, I'm sorry Pyr. I didn't mean to bring up a memory like that."

Pyrrha gave a sad smile to Shepard, "It's fine Shepard, you couldn't have known."

Before Pyrhha could say anymore a small chortle caught their attention. They turned to the source and saw that Galen was actually chuckling to himself.

Shepard scowled at the Jedi. "What the Hell are you laughing at Galen? This isn't funny."

Immediately Galen nodded, despite the small grin on his face. "Indeed it is not. I am incredibly sorry Pyrrha, and I meant no disrespect." The former Sith turned to face the huntress with a look of commiseration. "Let me guess, you felt regret and pain for not saying anything sooner, but also happiness as the object of your affection finally returned your feelings. The result being a bittersweet first and last kiss."

Pyrrha's look of confusion became one of understanding as she understood what Galen was getting at. She nodded her head in response.

"Hm believe me, I am more than familiar with the feeling." He finished as he took a sip of his coffee.

Shepard also now understood that Galen had gone through the same tragedy that Pyrrha went through. Most likely before his battle with the Emperor. "What was their name?" she asked.

Galen looked off into the distance as he answered. "Juno. Her name was Juno."

Shepard then took her drink and raised it into the air. "To Juno" she toasted.

Galen's eyes went a bit wide, before he smiled and looked to Pyrrha, raising his own glass. "To Jaune."

Pyrrha then looked back to Shepard as she raised her drink. "To Liara."

They looked around as all of the members of the Legion raised their own glasses in respect.

Lastly, Snake stood up with his drink and added on, "To all those left behind…" And together they all shared a silent drink.

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

Following the end of their morning meal, Pyrrha instantly made her way to Snake, already dressed in her combat gear.

"Boss!" Pyrrha called out, getting his attention. "I was hoping we could continue our CQC lessons, since it's been a while since we last had one."

Venom Snake impassively looked the huntress up and down, his face unreadable as ever. "Sorry Pyrrha, can't right now." Snake simply said as he turned around and made his way out of the cafeteria.

"Oh, okay." Pyrrha sadly accepted as the Boss left.

Seeing the dejected Pyrrha pouting at the ground, Shepard walked up right behind her and clapped her on the back. "Hey no need for that! We can get some training done on our own." Shepard brightly smiled to lift the huntress's spirits. "How about the rest of you? Anybody interested in a few rounds?"

The other legionnaires glanced at each other, and the two fellow aura enhanced fighters stepped up first.

"If we are to do some sparring, I shall join you all." Thane spoke first. "I require more practice with my new abilities as it is."

"Same here." Sarah casually waved.

Shepard grunted. "Hmm. Anyone else?"

"If you're fighting, Sarah, I'll jump in as well." Six called out. "I still owe you for last time anyway."

Sarah grimaced slightly, remembering her outburst against the Spartan. "Yeah, it's only fair I suppose."

Shepard clapped her hands together. "Alright now it's a party. Everyone get suited up and we'll do a two on two tango."

Thane, Six, and Sarah acknowledged the order and left for the armory to get equipped. Meanwhile Pyrrha walked up to Shepard with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks for filling in Commander, though you didn't have to do all of this." she stated.

Shepard shrugged. "Hey, what else am I here for? Now go get your butt to the armory as well. Just because you've had your aura unlocked for the longest doesn't mean you'll have an easy time."

Pyrrha smiled and gave a salute, before heading off as well. "Of course Shepard."

Within a few minutes, the 5 heroes gathered in the battle circle. On one side, Pyrrha stood beside Sarah. She warmed up by stretching her limbs and giving her sword and shield a few practice swings while Lyons flexed her T-45d power armor's servos. Opposite them, Thane twirled his Chinese officer sword in one hand and his Carnifex pistol in the other, while Six cracked his neck within his Mjolnir power armor.

Shepard between the two pairs, just outside of the ring, hand raised in the air and ready to begin the match. She glanced to her left as Pyrrha and Sarah dropped into their combat stances, weapons and fists raised high, ready to begin. She glanced to her right as Thane and Six mirrored them, nodding to acknowledge their readiness.

So with one arm held high, Shepard chopped her hand down and yelled, "Begin!"

Immediately the two powered armor super soldiers charged for each other. The two bruisers had a grudge match to settle and they wouldn't let the others get in the way with their fancy acrobatics and Wuxia. They wanted a good old fashioned brawl.

Sarah began with a flurry of jabs and front snap kicks. Each attack was light but fast, probing Six's defenses and searching for any weakness. But even with her now Aura enhanced abilities, Six's scientifically enhanced abilities allowed him to keep up with her. Every strike she threw was deftly parried and redirected. And his superior skill allowed him to break the stalemate of strength and speed.

Throwing a right straight punch, Sarah had hoped to land a solid hit on Six to at least stun him. But with no movement wasted, Six barely slipped underneath the attack, dodging it. Lightning fast he bobbed and weaved under her arm, and followed up with a devastating left hook. Despite her armor and aura, Sarah still felt that punch hit her liver as her body crumpled. Raising his leg up, Six then spartan push kicked the sentinel right in the torso, sending her backwards.

While the super soldiers boxed, Thane charged Pyrrha first, raising his pistol and firing several shots at her. The pellets pinged off of her shield as she raised Akoúo̱ up. Once the thermal clip was spent, Pyrrha dashed forward as well. Pyrrha was faster than the drell, cutting the distance first and attacking with a swift, horizontal strike.

But Thane's honed reflexes wouldn't allow him to be caught by such a simple attack. Raising his own sword perpendicular to hers, he stopped the strike dead in its tracks. Charging his biotics in his left hand, he then blasted Pyrrha backwards with a biotic throw. As the red head was forced back, Thane swiftly switched to his pistol and unloaded onto her flew in the air.

The shots rang true, slamming into her aura and taking a good chunk with them. But Pyrrha wouldn't let such an attack go unanswered. Using the momentum of the biotic throw, Pyrrha tucked backwards and flipped to regain her balance. While flipping she flung her shield right for Thane, enhancing its speed with her semblance. The shield turned into a buzzing discus as it flew too fast for Thane to counter. Akoúo̱ slammed into the assassin's chest, knocking him down and stunning him as well.

Her opponent temporarily down, Pyrrha took the opportunity to check on her partner. An opportunity that couldn't have come at a better time as Six had mounted Sarah on the ground, trying to twist her into an arm bar.

Quickly, Pyrrha shifted Miló into its rifle form and fired several shots at the Spartan. Dust rounds pinged off his Six's shields, the attack forcing him to raise his arms to guard. The shots didn't do much but it was more than enough of a distraction for Sarah to capitalize on. Bucking her hips Sarah forced Six off of her, and from the ground hit him in the chest with a straight side kick. Six was knocked a few feet back, giving the sister of steel enough room to stand back up.

Sarah retreated to Pyrrha's side, while Six and Thane regrouped as well. Taking a second to catch their breaths, the teams took this opportunity to propose a new strategy.

"I know you two are having your lover's quarrel, but it seems that Six is getting the better of you." Pyrrha quietly whispered to Sarah. Sarah shot a glare at the huntress, who smirked in return. It wasn't often that Pyrrha was the deliverer of the teasing, so she'd enjoy it while she could. "How about we trade partners?"

Quickly battle scenarios went through Sarah's mind. With both her aura and power armor, she should be able to take down Thane. Pyrrha would probably have as much trouble with Six as she did, but her polarity would give her an edge.

"Sounds good." Sarah replied, cracking her knuckles.

Immediately the duo traded places, facing down their new opponents. Thane and Six were slightly surprised by this. The two shared a quick glance with each other, Six only shrugging in response, as they would easily adapt to the new fight. Taking that as acknowledgement, Thane lobbed his pistol to Six, who deftly caught it and aimed down its sights, before taking his own sword stance in front of Sarah.

As Sarah raised an eyebrow at the action, Thane explained, "It's only fair. After all, you are not using a gun, so I will not."

Sarah scowled and puffed some air out of her nose in frustration. While he didn't mean it, to Sarah it sounded like he was taking it easy on her. And she's sick of being underestimated. And so Sarah charged right for Thane, intent on tackling him to the ground. Seeing her direct attack, Thane charged his biotics and attempted to pull her towards him. He hoped to throw her off her balance with his biotics to give him an opportunity to slip passed her armor and aura.

However Sarah had long since become accustomed to battle opponents with such telekinetic abilities. Taking a page from Pyrrha book, as soon as she felt her body be pulled forward, Sarah jumped forward as well. The power of her armor and aura adding to her momentum as she shifted her body mid air into a leaping punch.

The attack was sure to be a knockout blow and Thane knew it. It was only thanks to his drell physiology combined with his own aura that he had the capabilities to narrowly dodge the punch, twisting his body out of the way as Sarah landed in all of her metallic glory. With no hesitation Thane moved to counter attack, swinging his blade in a series of rapid fire strikes enhanced by his own aura. But the attacks only seemed to harmlessly bounce off of Sarah's armor and she raised her arms to turtle the onslaught.

Meanwhile Six took advantage of the switch by attempting to overpower his new opponent. He charged forward, pistol level as he fired several shots at the huntress. Pyrrha met his attack head on, twirling her blade and deflecting the bullets with each swing. When the two Spartans clashed, Pyrrha attacked first with a thrust towards Six's helmet.

But Six proved faster than the huntress anticipated and dodged the attack with ease, cutting the distance even further as he moved to hand to hand range. Six was relentless as he threw punch after punch. For every attack that Pyrrha was able to deflect or redirect with her semblance, Six threw two more that landed. The series of attacks was so unrelenting that Pyrrha barely had time to think, her body working solely off of instincts to block and dodge.

Six then threw a jab-cross combo that connected with Pyrrha's face, snapping her head back. Seeing the opportunity, Six raised his leg up for another spartan push kick. However, Pyrrha saw the attack coming, and with a subtle use of her semblance was able to retake the advantage. As Six's leg was raised in the air for the kick, Pyrrha grabbed onto his standing leg with her polarity, and yanked the foot backwards. This threw Six off balance, causing his kick to flail uselessly.

The interruption caused only a moment of confusion for Six, which a champion fighter like Pyrrha could easily capitalize on. Stepping forward Pyrrha grabbed onto Six's kicking leg and moved to sweep his standing leg and throw him to the ground. However Noble-Six would not let not let himself simply be taken down. So as Pyrrha swept him down, Six latched onto her shoulders, dragging her down as well as several hundreds pounds of weight yanked her forward.

As the two hit the ground, Six was able to free his foot from Pyrrha's grasp and tried to maneuver her into a triangle choke. Pyrrha felt Six's legs wrap around her neck as he moved to suffocate her, and she knew she only had a few seconds to counter before she'd be knocked out. Calling on her polarity once again, Pyrrha levitated both her and Six several feet into the air, before driving him down into the dirt. The impact freed Pyrrha from Six's grasp as she then jumped back to gain distance. Before Six could stand and begin his counter, Pyrrha used her polarity on his armor to pin Six down instead, immobilizing him.

As this was happening, Thane and Sarah continued to trade blows with one another. They were at an impasse as Thane lacked the capabilities to get through Sarah's defenses, while Sarah lacked the skill and speed to take down Thane. Stepping back, Thane took a moment to assess his surroundings.

He saw that Six was currently down and unable to assist, but trying to save him while Sarah was on the field was very risky. Thane glanced back at Sarah and quickly began mentally going through possible tactics and maneuvers he could use. Unfortunately for him, the only strategies he could think of to get passed Sarah's indomitable defenses were lethal maneuvers not suitable for a training match.

So, Thane ultimately decided to go for the riskier play with the higher reward. Hoping to distract Sarah, Thane threw his sword at the sentinel, sending it soaring like a javelin right for her. As soon as the blade left his grasp, he charged his biotics to pull Pyrrha off of his teammate. However Sarah would not be as distracted as he hoped, as she dashed forward as soon as Thane looked away from her, tanking the sword strike and ignoring it as it deflected off of her armor. Before Thane could unleash his biotics, Sarah was already upon him, disabling him with a leaping superman punch.

The strike resounded with an audibleCLAPas Thane was knocked to the ground.

"Oooo." Was all Shepard had to say as she felt that punch from where she was standing. Seeing that Thane was out and Six was immobilized, Shepard clapped to get their attention and called the match. "And with that we have our winners. Sarah and Pyrrha, good job changing it up when your previous tactics failed. Six and Thane, you did well, but you gave your opponents too many opportunities. If you kept your pistol, Thane, you could've worn Sarah down from afar."

The fighters all responded with various acknowledgements, dusting themselves off and helping each other up. As they did, Wynne moved forward to do a quick check up for any injuries. With a green light from the medic, Shepard was about to begin the second round when a voice called out behind her.

"Shepard. I need you in the CIC." Snake called as he appeared on the scene.

Shepard turned to Snake, surprised by his sudden appearance, before looking back at the fighters who froze as well. "Got it, Boss. Wynne, you're in charge until I get back."

Wynne nodded and moved to take Shepard's place as referee as the Commander followed Snake to the command center.

Shepard walked in step with Snake for several moments before they reached the command center. When they arrived at their destination, Snake lit up a cigar as he led the Commander to a table with various stacks of intel reports and photographs.

"So Boss, what's going on?" Shepard asked as Snake puffed his cigar.

"The interrogation of Bacara went well." Snake began. "We now know the name of the man leading the Empire's forces."

Shepard raised her eyebrows in surprise. Part of her was curious as to what methods Snake used to get Bacara to talk, but she knew better than to ask. "So, who is it?"

"His name is Thrawn, Grand Admiral Thrawn. From what I've gathered from Bacara, he's some kind of alien Napoleon."

"Does Galen know anything about him?"

Snake shook his head. "No, I've spoken to him about this already. He only has a cursory knowledge of Thrawn at best, and never met him in person. During the time that Galen served underneath Darth Vader, Thrawn was operating in the Unknown Regions of his galaxy, and he was not privy to his activities. What he does know, is that even Vader respected Thrawn's strategic mind, which means he will be a deadly foe."

Shepard's face adopted a grim expression. If someone like that was leading the Empire, with their exceedingly large amount of resources and manpower, the Legion underestimated the amount of work they had cut out for them. "Don't suppose you have any good news?" The Commander added on.

The Boss nodded. "While it's taken some time, T3 has finished translating the texts from the Archives. From what he's found, the ruins located in the Super Mutant territory is known as the Temple of Order, while the ruins in Korriban is the Citadel of Darkness. If we really were brought to this world by some goddess of order, we know where we're going to get some answers."

"Well that's good then. Let's head up there and ring the doorbell." Shepard was more than ready to shove her boot up the ass of some cosmic entity who thought she could mess with them.

"But… there's a complication." the Boss added on.

Shepard sighed. "Of course there is. What is it this time?"

"After I finished my interrogation, our sensors picked up something in the super mutant territory. A spike in radiation. A massive one. I consulted with Sarah, and we came to the same conclusion. The super mutants are moving nukes through their territory." Snake stoically said.

Despite not drinking anything, Shepard did a spit take. "What!? Nukes in the hands of those monsters!? Those idiots will kill everyone with that! Do we know where!?"

Snake puffed his cigar one more time. "Once I received the report, I performed a solo sneaking mission into the Capital Wasteland. Funny enough, your field trip with Sev provided a good opportunity for me to get in." Snake put out his cigar and pulled out a series of photographs.

Shepard shoved down her annoyance that the Boss had performed a solo stealth mission without informing anyone and looked at the intel. The first photo was that of a building Shepard had seen in her history books, the US Capitol Building, albeit a ruined, post-apocalyptic version. The second photo was of an army of super mutants, including two massive behemoth super mutants easily 6 to 7 meters tall, dragging what looked like a bipedal walker, similar to the AT-STs she'd seen, but far larger, and armed with a massive railgun on its right side.

"The super mutants weren't exactly subtle with their transportation. Entire armies were dedicated to moving equipment, all to one place." Snake explained, pointing to the Capitol Building. "Weapons, missiles, and more are all heading here."

"So the muties are stocking piling WMDs." Shepard said. "So it's safe to assume that they're using the Capitol Building as either their headquarters, armory, or some kind of staging area. Snake, this is showing a much higher level of strategic thinking than we've seen the super mutants display before."

Snake nodded in agreement. "And the worst part of it all, is that they now have their hands on a Metal Gear. Specifically, Metal Gear ZEKE." Snake pointed to the photo of the bipedal walker.

"Metal Gear?" Shepard parroted.

"A Metal Gear is a classification of nuclear capable bipedal tanks. They were designed to fire nuclear warheads from railguns, eliminating the need for missiles or launchpads, allowing them to be deployed against any target in the world on any kind of terrain." Snake explained.

Shepard's tactical mind immediately began thinking of both scenarios for using and for fighting against such Metal Gears. She was shocked that even though her universe was over two centuries more advanced than Snake's, they had been able to develop a weapon of this destructive capability. She shuddered to think of how the First Contact War might've gone if humanity had access to weapons like these, but also wondered if these beasts could go toe to toe with the smaller of Reapers.

Shepard was cut out of her musings as Snake continued his exposition. "Metal Gear ZEKE was specifically a weapon designed and built by my former organization, Militaires Sans Frontières. It was designed to be a deterrent to protect our mercenary nation from hostile countries that opposed us."

Shepard thought there was a lot to unpack in that single sentence, but decided to ask only one question to stay on topic. "Did it work?"

Snake turned to her, his tired, older eye meeting her's. "No, it didn't. Regardless, we have a mission to plan."

Nodding her head, Shepard leaned on the table to look at the maps the Legion had gathered of the Capital Wasteland. "We have two objectives, the Temple of Order and the Capitol Building. So we'll need two teams and a Hell of a lot of fire power. Let's get this thing started."

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

Shepard cracked her neck as she double checked her thermal clip count. She sat in a packed pelican cargo hold, filled with every member of the Legion of the Damned. Everyone sat in professional silence as they prepared for their largest operation yet.

It was going to be a two pronged assault. Snake would take Fireteam Fox, consisting of himself, Thane, and Sev on a sneaking mission to the Capitol Building. They were to infiltrate it, find the Metal Gear, and either destroy it or escape with it. Meanwhile, Shepard would lead Fireteam Wolf, consisting of herself, Sarah, and Six, and Fireteam Doberman, consisting of Pyrrha, Galen, and Wynne, on a direct attack on the Temple of Order.

So as T3 piloted the pelican into Super Mutant territory, the Legion all triple checked their new equipment, as the difficulty of the upcoming missions resulted in a series of upgrades being passed out.

With her new Geth plasma shotgun in her hands, her N7 Eagle Heavy pistol at her side, and her fancy new power axe on her back, Shepard was ready for war. Topping off her new set of weapons, Shepard was now sporting her Blood Dragon Armor, a sci-fi spin on classic fantasy knight armor, consisting of silver-grey armor plates over a faux-chainmail mesh undersuit, complete with a faceless helmet sporting an aggressive blood red V-shaped visor. The armor provided stronger shielding than her previous armor, as well as a microframe computer that buffed her biotics.

Around her, her allies were putting the final checks on their loadouts as well. To Shepard's left, Sarah sat in her T-45d power armor, enhanced with both kinetic barriers and her own aura. In her hands she held her personal gatling laser, giving the barrels a few test spins, and on her back was her super sledge. To Shepard's right, sat Six. On his back, he had his usual UNSC-issue DMR, along with the Gravity Hammer he took as a trophy long ago. In his hands however, was a UNSC M247H Heavy Machine Gun with a high capacity mag, ripped right off of its tripod. Much heavier ordinance than what he normally carried, but for the mission they were going on it was necessary.

By the end of the cargo hold, closest to the door, sat Snake and Fireteam Fox. Snake opted to trade out his normal BDU for a suit of N7 body armor, the hardsuit giving more ballistic protection thanks to the futuristic materials and built in kinetic barriers. He was equipped with suppressed variants of the UNSC SMG and sniper rifle, both of which he felt packed more of a punch than his Soviet-era equipment. Sev meanwhile sat in his usual Katarn-class commando armor, his DC-17m blaster on his back, and his M-98 Widow anti-material rifle in his hands. Unlike the others, Thane had no equipment upgrades, still wielding his trusty M-97 Viper sniper rifle, M-6 Carnifex pistol, and his Chinese officer sword. However, his previously unlocked aura gave him a powerful boost to his strength, speed, and defense.

Across from Shepard sat Fireteam Doberman, who besides Shepard herself, had the most extreme changes to their arsenal. The trip to Ilos and the resulting raid on the Geth camp provided the Legion with enough spare armor and equipment for all of their outfits to be enhanced. Pyrrha still held her normal weapons, Miló and Akoúo̱, along with her crimson lightsaber on her belt, but her outfit had undergone drastic modifications. Beneath her corset and existing armor, Pyrrha now sported a dark red, form fitting ballistic mesh undersuit, similar to clothing worn by Shepard's allies like Kasumi or Miranda. The suit provided protection from small arms fire to all of her previously exposed skin, adding on additional protection to her aura and kinetic barriers. In addition, two black and red Terminus Assault Armor shoulder pauldrons, which had a pseudo-fantasy Black Knight style, protected her upper arms and further enhanced her shields.

Similarly, Galen's normal dark clothing was enhanced with a variety of armor from Shepard's universe. Over his normal apprentice uniform, Galen wore several pieces of the Terminus Assault Armor as well, namely the jagged black and red vambraces, greaves, and breastplate, providing him with additional protection and shielding. Lastly Wynne had ballistic mesh fabric woven into her robes, lightweight polymer plates layered over to protect her vitals, and had a belt worn kinetic barrier module to top it all off.

As the Legion sat in contemplative silence, they soon reached their first destination, a previously cleared set of ruins on the outskirts of DC itself. Long ago, Sarah had identified it as one of the several DC Metro stations, and the Legion had captured it, turning it into a waystation and secret entrance into the more densely populated DC ruins.

With a hydraulic hiss, the cargo bay of the pelican opened up as Fireteam Fox made their exit.

As they left, Shepard stood and offered her hand out to Snake before he departed. "Good luck down there Boss. Give 'em Hell."

Snake gave a simple nod of his head and gripped her hand back. "You too." was all he said in return, shaking her hand and jumping out of the pelican.

Shepard wasn't insulted by the bluntness of the Boss, she knew that was just the way he was. Instead she simply returned to her seat, flushing any thoughts of worry about them out of her mind. Worrying about them would be a distraction, one she didn't need. Plus she knew that they were good enough that any type of concern was unfounded.

The rest of the Legion left the LZ and began to make their way to the second drop point, the Temple of Order to the North of the DC ruins, far deeper into the faux Capital Wasteland than any of the Legion had traveled before. The droning roar of the pelican engines was only broken up by the sporadic peppering of small arms fire from super mutants below. With a whirl and click, T3-M4 let out a burst of technobabble letting Shepard know that they were approaching the second LZ.

Shepard stood up and made her way to the co*ckpit, giving her her first view of the Temple of Order. Located near the horizon, the temple was a single, massive monolithic obelisk, several stories high, with what looked like a blast door on its Southern face. The monolith itself was surrounded by barren flatland, devoid of any native flora, and heavily entrenched by the super mutants. Around the temple, the super mutants formed 3 rings of trenches, creating concentric layers of defense. Scattered between the primary defensive lines were a series of bunkers filled with heavy weaponry, and connecting trenches that allowed for traversal between the rings. Obviously the super mutants realized this building had some kind of importance, and had taken up residence in the surrounding area.

As the Pelican began its descent towards the ruins, the super mutants must've spotted them as the base's defenses opened fire. Unlike the previous scatterings of small arms fire, a series of machine gun nests and even rocket launchers all fired at the dropship.

T3 let out an electronic scream as he began evasive maneuvers. Shepard held on tightly to the pelican's interior and called out to the rest of the passengers. "Everyone hold on! We're coming in hot!"

T3 shifted the pelican to the right with a sharp turn, narrowly dodging a rocket as the pelican's missile pods opened up. Activating his targeting computers, the utility droid locked on to a bunker and squad of super mutants on the southern edge of the base. With an electronic command, a series of missiles flew from the pelican, bombarding the mutants and destroying the structure.

The missile strike gave T3 the opening he needed to swoop the pelican in and drop off its payload. Rapidly flying the pelican straight down towards the ruined bunker, T3 was only a few dozen feet off the ground before he pulled up and activated the pelican's thrusters to slow down. The G-forces at the sudden deceleration were intense, but nothing the legionnaires couldn't handle.

The pelican now hovering only a few feet off the ground, began firing its chin-mounted chaingun, giving a suppressing fire as the cargo hold opened up. The legionnaires immediately rushed out, landing South of the first defensive trench.

The payload deployed, Shepard immediately had T3 take off once again. This battlefield was too dangerous for the Pelican to stay for extended periods of time, and she didn't want their only way out of here getting shot down.

As the pelican took off, immediately the super mutants in the first defensive trench opened fire as they were no longer in danger of getting shredded by the chain gun. Bolt-action rifles and assault rifles opened fire on the Legion. They were supported by a single adjacent bunker which housed a minigun by the amount of ammunition it was firing. Immediately the Legion took cover behind scattered rubble and sandbags of the bunker the pelican destroyed.

"Six, Sarah! Covering fire!" Shepard ordered, and the two super soldiers immediately unleashed a barrage of bullets and lasers towards the trench, forcing the mutants into cover. As the two powered armored warriors drew all of the fire and aggro of the mutants, Shepard turned to the members of Fireteam Doberman and barked out, "I want that bunker gone!"

Pyrrha and Galen nodded as Wynne immediately began chanting the spell Heroic Offense. Raising her staff, an orange glow seemed to permeate from Wynne, which then moved onto Pyrrha and Galen's forms. Both of the two warriors found their physical strength swelling, and immediately moved to capitalize on their new buff.

The two superhumans leapt out of cover and ran around for the bunker. Only stray shots threatened to hit them as all of the super mutants in the bunker and trenches were too preoccupied with shooting at Six, Sarah, and Shepard. With great haste the huntress and jedi slipped into the trench.

Galen took point, running forward he activated his lightsaber and dashed towards two super mutants that were between him and the bunker. His first slash easily bisected the first frankenstein, killing it instantly. When the second saw Galen, it tried to aim its gun at him but found itself literally disarmed as starkiller's lightsaber chopped off both of its limbs.

Pyrrha didn't even take a second to pause at the carnage as she moved passed the mutants and into the bunker. Within the bunker she saw the operator of the minigun, it was a hulking super mutant overlord, easily a foot taller and far more heavily armored than its normal super mutant brethren.

The overlord glanced at Pyrrha as she entered, and moved to aim its minigun at her. But Pyrrha was too fast. Using her semblance, her magically buffed strength, and a fire dust round for extra propulsion, Pyrrha threw her spear right for the overlord's torso. The insane velocity of the thrown weapon allowed it to pierce the mutant's scrap armor and embedded itself several inches into its torso.

The overlord stumbled back, obviously wounded by the attack, and moved its massive hand to try and yank the spear out. But Pyrrha was not finished as she continued to run for the overlord, using her semblance to pull her spear back herself. With a sickeningschlickMiló withdrew from the yellow mutant, causing a fountain of blood to spray out of its chest. Pyrrha then ran into melee with the overlord, stepping off its leg to launch herself into the air, bringing her to head height with the monster. As she floated in the air Pyrrha spun like a tornado, decapitating the overlord with a single swing.

With the heavy fire from minigun removed, the rest of the Legion now had the opportunity to push forward. Focusing her biotics into her body, Shepard biotically charged into the super mutant trench, crushing a super mutant's head with her fist. Two nearby super mutants were taken aback by the spectre's sudden appearance, and were too slow to raise their weapons in defense. Shepard whirled around, withdrawing her fist from the brainmatter of the first super mutant while simultaneously drawing her plasma shotgun. A quick pull of the trigger shot 3 ionized plasma balls right for a super mutant brute's face. The superheated gases immediately vaporized its helmet, then its face, then the rest of its head as it exploded on impact.

The second mutant swung its assault rifle like a club at Shepard, who unfolded her omni-blade, blocking the attack and cutting the gun right in half. The super mutant looked at its ruined gun dumbfounded, when Shepard then hit it in the knee with her plasma shotgun, bringing it down to her height. A second point blank shot on the monster's torso killed it instantly.

Shepard's rapid charge gave enough of a pause for the rest of the legion to push up unabated. Sarah and Six pushed out, fingers never leaving their triggers as they advanced. After cutting down two more brutes, Six heard the familiar series of dreadedclicksas his machine gun ran empty. Not having time to reload, Six rapidly swapped to his gravity hammer, magnetically holstering the gun on his back.

Leaping into the trench right behind Shepard, Six brought his hammer down right onto the head of a super mutant, the artificial gravity shredding it to pieces. Setting his armor enhancement to enhanced speed, he charged a second mutant that attempted to put him down with rapid machine gun fire. Six's shields flashed and glowed yellow as bullets pinged off of him. But thanks to his speed he entered melee with the mutant before his shields were even brought down to half. Six swung the grav hammer with an uppercut that smashed through the mutants gun, then erased its entire upper body upon impact.

Sarah and Wynne followed up next, sliding into the trench besides Shepard, laser beams and arcane bolts making quick work of any nearby mutants. Together, they are able to secure the first trench, completing the first step towards victory. But a victory party would have to wait, as the super mutants of the second trench would not go quietly into the night.

With all of the super mutants in the first trench dead, those in the second no longer had to worry about friendly fire, and fired everything they had. Super mutants in the trench combined heavy suppressing fire with all of the explosives they had at their disposal. Grenades and rockets began shelling the area around Shepard, fragmentation and explosive heat blasting their position. Their auras and kinetic barriers gave some protection, but a direct hit would still be lethal.

Forced to hunker down, Shepard called out to Galen and Pyrrha over her radio. "Doberman! We're pinned down, we need you to break through their line!"

Pyrrha, who was still within the bunker next to Galen, felt her eyes go wide at the order as she looked down at her rifle. "I… don't know if I have the fire power to do that." She admitted to the jedi.

Galen looked at her, then at all of the dead super mutants around them and chuckled. "I think you just need to be more imaginative with your power."

Meanwhile Shepard did the best she could to return fire against the super mutants' overwhelming force. Shepard raised her gun out of the trench, blind firing plasma wherever she could. Wynne placed an arcane defensive buff around Six and Sarah, allowing them to periodically peek out and return fire with their heavy weapons. But the bunker on the second trench was doing too good of a job suppressing them, the minigun and rocket launcher fire forcing them to maintain cover.

Amidst the chaos of the battle, Shepard did not hear the sounds of rubble shifting and moving behind. As she fired her shotgun and incinerated a mutant too slow to dodge, she noticed a massive grey form move in her periphery. Turning her head, she saw a massive boulder of stone and scrap from the destroyed bunker and trenches floating forward. Behind it, Galen was focusing the Force to lift the junk ball up, using it as a shield to block the super mutants' attacks. Even with their rockets and miniguns, they couldn't destroy what was essentially a mass of solid stone.

Galen then stepped forward and pushed both his hands out. The boulder then flew forward, spiraling and smashing into the second trench's bunker, annihilating it and breaking open the trench, destroying much of the cover that the super mutants were using. As the super mutants, many of which dove to the side to avoid the attack, collected themselves and stood, Pyrrha strode forward with both of her hands raised as well.

Shepard's jaw dropped as alongside Pyrrha, were dozens of floating hunting rifles, assault rifles, and even miniguns, all being held up with her semblance. With the super mutants out in the open, Pyrrha let out a mighty battle cry as all of her levitating weapons opened fire. A massive hail of bullets rained down on the mutants, thousands of rounds shredding anyone not in cover. As Pyrrha roared, Galen moved in front of her with his lightsaber active, twirling it and deflecting any stray pot shots from hitting the huntress.

The super mutants in the second trench were shocked and caught utterly off guard by such an impressive display of power. As the polarized fires cut down mutant after mutant, Shepard drew her power axe and let out a mighty battle cry, biotically charging forward into the fray once again. Joining the momentum, Six and Sarah drew their gravity hammer and super sledge respectively and charged as well. A final spell from Wynne boosted their strength once more as they engaged in melee.

Shepard tackled a super mutant master with her biotics, sending it stumbling backwards as she raised her power axe up. Flicking the switch found on the bottom of the axe's shaft, a lethal corona of energy surrounded the blade. With a single swing the axe cleaved through both armor and meat with ease, bisecting the super mutant.

Three more mutants charge her, armed with hammers and whatever scrap they could find. Her biotics recharged, Shepard raised the three brutes into the air, levitating them helplessly. Shepard could feel the impending headache as she strained to hold them all in place. And as they floated helplessly, a shadow appeared above them as Six had leapt into the air above them, bringing his hammer down. A single swing smacked into the center mutant, spiking him into the ground with the power of his own enhanced strength and the artificial gravity. The grav-hammer's wave of artificial gravity then reacted to Shepard's biotics, triggering a chain explosion that killed the other two mutants.

Behind Shepard, Sarah was a tornado of steel and violence as she cleaned up the rest of the mutants. Every swing of her super sledge was enhanced three fold with her power armor, aura, and magic buff. Sarah smashed through a super mutant's own sledge hammer, hitting it in the arm and making said limb explode. A follow up swing on the next mutant slammed it on its chest, causing the entire body to burst in a bloody mess. Together, the three of them wasted no time securing the second trench for the Legion.

With the second trench secure, Pyrrha dropped all of the firearms she was levitating, and moved to rally alongside Shepard, with Galen and Wynne not far behind them. The mutants in the final trench were occasionally firing off shots in small bursts, but the Legion could tell they were breaking. Terrified by the staggering display of power that slaughtered their allies, several mutants were already retreating into the temple itself, leaving the third trench exposed.

"Alright, we have the momentum, but don't get co*cky! Get ready to push on the next trench on my mark! Mark!" Shepard barked.

"Sync!" Her allies responded.

As Shepard was about to leap out of the trench and begin her next charge, she felt the ground shake, freezing her in her place.

"Hold!" She called out putting up one fist and sliding into cover within the trench. Her allies around her did the same, waiting behind the cover to see what was coming.

The ground shook again, this time louder and more powerful. Then a third, then a fourth, a pattern of rhythmic pulses that Shepard could only identify as one thing, footsteps. Aiming down her sights at the Temple, Shepard's eyes widened as the blast doors of the temple opened, and sauntering out was not one, but two super mutant behemoths. 30 foot tall, yellow, muscular monstrosities with armor forged from car parts, wielding massive clubs fashioned from fire hydrant pipes.

The two behemoths looked at the Legion, their simple minds devoted to only crushing the intruders. With a roar, the behemoths charged.

"Scatter!" Shepard yelled as the two behemoths made a b-line right for them.

Fireteam Wolf shot right while Fireteam Doberman ran left, splitting the attention of the behemoths between them. One behemoth moved after each squad as they ran, separating them and putting distance between them.

As they ran, Wynne channeled one of her more powerful spells, Haste, and cast it on Pyrrha and Galen. The duo felt their bodies surge with magical power, increasing their offense, defense, and speed all in one go. With its long stride however, the behemoth caught up quickly to them and swung its fire hydrant club right for Galen.

Without sparing a single glance, Galen jumped, flipping over the swing and landing on the behemoth's right arm. Immediately he began to run up the monster's limb, swinging his lightsaber all the while, carving out chunks of flesh with each twirl. The behemoth roared and swatted its other hand at Galen to knock him off. But Galen flipped over it once again, gracefully dodging the attack. As Starkiller was in mid-air however, the behemoth then stepped forward and drove its head into the assassin, spiking him back down to the ground.

As Galen bounced off the ground, the behemoth raised its fire hydrant to squash the Jedi. But its attack was stopped when a red and bronze spear pierced its chest as Pyrrha threw her weapon with a recoil enhanced throw. Miló sunk deep into the behemoth's torso, but was far from enough to kill it.

The behemoth swung its club at her in retaliation, a wide horizontal swing that would easily turn her into paste, aura or not. Bending over backwards, Pyrrha just barely dodged the attack as her body went parallel to the ground. Flowing into a backhand spring, she quickly flipped backwards, bringing herself up right. She then threw her shield with all her might, the spinning disc slamming into the behemoth's face, and staggering it back.

Raising her hands up, Pyrrha then paused to recall her weapons. As her weapons flew into her hands, the pause was more than enough of an opening for the behemoth to capitalize on. The behemoth used its left hand to grab onto the unmoving huntress. Pyrrha struggled in its grip as it lifted her into the air, and then threw her onto the ground as if she was a ball. And like a ball the force of the throw smashed Pyrrha into the ground and caused her to bounce back up into the air. While she floated in the air, the behemoth swung its club and smacked her with a home run swing, sending her flying backwards. The impact broke both her kinetic barriers and her aura before sending her crashing onto the ground several dozen feet away.

With no time to pause and help her, Galen and Wynne ran passed the huntress and unleashed a torrent of ranged attacks. On the behemoth's right Galen seared it with a storm of Force Lighting, while on its left Wynne repeatedly fired arcane bolts. As the behemoth's flesh seared under the attacks, the monster raised up its leg and stomped hard onto the ground, sending a shockwave through the earth that knocked Wynne off balance, ending her attack.

Annoyed that the stubborn beast wouldn't die, Galen allowed his anger to rise and used the Dark Side to strengthen himself. With a single leap, Galen reached the behemoth's face, and with a single slash carved a mighty scar onto it. The behemoth cried out in pain, bringing its hands to its face as Galen began to fall. As he fell, Galen then drove his lightsaber into the behemoth's sternum. The lightsaber pierced the chest, but remained stationary, stuck on the monster's tough bones, keeping him from falling any further.

Using his lightsaber like a gymnastic's bar, Galen muscled himself up, using the Force to propel him into the air once again. Leaping above the behemoth, Galen landed on its head and drove the lightsaber down right through its skull. Despite having a lightsaber in its brain, the behemoth kept moving, swinging wildly. Channeling the Dark side Starkiller then released another torrent of Force Lighting, this time directly into the behemoth's brain.

The flighting sent shockwaves of pain through the monster, causing it to drop its fire hydrant club. Back on the ground, a battered Pyrrha stood snarling, recently brought back to consciousness by Wynne's healing magic. Fueled by anger, Pyrrha called upon her semblance to lift the fire hydrant into the air. Throwing her hand forward the fire hydrant flew, spearing the stunned behemoth through the chest, impaling it. With a groan and gurgle, the super mutant behemoth took a single step back, before falling to the ground dead.

Meanwhile, Fireteam Wolf were struggling against their behemoth foe as well. Sarah kept her distance from the monster, spraying her gatling laser against its tough hide, hoping to whittle it down with sustained fire. While death by a thousand laser bolts was a sound strategy in theory, the behemoth didn't seem to care as it just shrugged off the laser beams and made its way towards Sarah.

The behemoth took two steps towards the sister of steel before a loudvhoomechoed through the air as Six slammed his gravity hammer into the back of the behemoth's left leg. Having ditched his machine gun for speed, Six then activated his enhanced speed and maneuverability armor ability and retreated before the behemoth could retaliate.

The behemoth fell to one knee at the impact, and as it turned to face Six, it didn't see Shepard charging up her biotics from its blindspot. Exploding with a powerful biotic charge, Shepard slammed into the face of the behemoth, knocking it back and sending it crashing to the ground. His opponent now prone, Six moved in to execute the monster with a grav-hammer strike to the head.

But even on the ground a super mutant behemoth is a deadly foe. As Six approached, the mutant shot out its hand and gripped the Spartan. Before Six could even attempt to break out, the behemoth used its overwhelming power to fling Six across the battlefield. Ragdolling through the air, Six quickly set his armor enhancement to armor lock, freezing and protecting his body as he crashed into a nearby trench.

After throwing Six away, the behemoth rolled to stand, placing one arm on the ground to push itself up. Shepard was quick to jump on the recovering behemoth, swinging her power axe and cleaving two huge gashes into its arm. The mutant roared in pain as the power axe cleaved all the way to its bone. Closing its fist, the super mutant used its off hand to uppercut Shepard, sending her flying through the air before landing on the ground.

Prone and in immense pain, Shepard could barely move as the behemoth stood above her, raising its fire hydrant club to finish the job. Shepard strained to reach for her plasma shotgun or her power axe, anything to get her out of this situation as the mutant brought its club down.

"NOOO!" Shepard heard a voice call out next to her.

It was Sarah Lyons, running and placing herself in between the behemoth's strike and Shepard, arms raised to block the attack.

"Lyons! Get out of here!" Shepard cried out. There was no point in both of them getting crushed to death.

Without pause the behemoth brought its fire hydrant club down on the two women, the bludgeon smashing right into Sarah. However, the behemoth did not see the puddle of meat and scrap it had expected. Instead it saw that the Brotherhood of Steel Sentinel not only blocked the attack, but was completely unmoved.

Shepard's eyes went wide as she saw that Sarah's exposed face and hair were now completely covered in a grey, steel like substance. The commander immediately knew what had just happened. Sarah had unlocked her semblance, apparently the power to turn her flesh into steel.

The behemoth was shocked as well by the fact that a small person was able to stop its attack. Its shock only grew as it realized that Sarah was forcing it back, overpowering the behemoth. Apparently, her new steel semblance not only granted her superhuman durability, but strength as well.

Grabbing onto the club with both arms, Sarah yanked the weapon from the behemoth's grasp, and swung it back at the beast. The fire hydrant crashed upon the monster's face, breaking several bones and sending teeth flying. The strike knocked the behemoth down to the ground once again, dazed and confused at how the tables were turned against it. The behemoth looked up, shaky and seeing double, as two images of Six stood over it. Raising his hammer up over the confused behemoth, Six pulverized the monster's face with an artificial gravity explosion, killing it instantly.

With the two super mutant behemoths dead, the Legion were quick to regroup. As they did most eyes turned to Sarah's new steel covered form.

"Sarah!" an exhausted Pyrrha happily called out. "You unlocked your semblance! And it looks to be quite the powerful one at that."

Sarah was in the process of pulling off her gloves and examining her hands, both of which were also covered in metal. Even her hair seemed to solidify into a single piece of metal. Poking her own skin with her finger, she barely even felt the impact, and the colliding pieces of metalclangedas expected. But even though her skin was made of metal, it didn't appear to impede her movement or range of motion at all. Sarah then focused, and naturally her metallic form appeared to recede, returning her hair and skin to their usual forms.

"Yeah. That was pretty awesome." Sarah mumbled back in amazement.

As she did Shepard came up and patted her on the back. "Congratulations Lyons. When we get back I'll be sure to get you a bottle of car wax." Sarah tried to scowl at Shepard's joke but couldn't help smirking as well. Shepard then turned to Wynne. "We took some damage in that fight Wynne, you have anything you can use to help?"

"I do have a spell for such an occasion Commander." Wynne said as she raised her staff into the air, casting a Mass Heal spell. The effects of the spell were immediate as the wounds and aches the Legion sustained during the combat were healed. A follow up spell, Mass Revitalization, returned the Legion's stamina to them, and even replenished the aura levels for Pyrrha and Sarah.

"God I love magic." Shepard grinned as the pain of her probable broken ribs faded.

"Those spells expended quite a bit of my energy." Wynne huffed. "I can still go on, but I would not suggest anyone taking any major injuries that would require more powerful spells until I've had a chance to rest."

"You heard the lady people, look alive, stay alive!" Shepard barked out "Now form up! We don't know what's inside this Temple but we're the ones getting the drop on it, not the other way around."

Now revitalized, the party fell into formation at the entrance of the Temple of Order, and with one foot in front of the other entered into the unknown.

Chapter 21

Chapter Text

30 minutes before the assault on the Temple…

Snake crouched low amongst the rubble of DC as he, Thane, and Sev exited the metro station. The underground tunnels served their purpose well. The super mutants had no idea that a squad of highly elite commandos had just infiltrated their territory, and were now within striking distance of the Capitol Building.

Fireteam Fox laid within a ruined office building, giving them a decent view of the wide open National Mall and the layers of defenses built upon it. The open park and landscape was ruined, once by the nuclear bombs and again by the super mutants. The mutants had torn apart the park into a warzone; trenches, bunkers, and barbed wire fortifying the area.

Lying prone on the ground Sev peered through the scope of his Widow sniper rifle. The Capitol Building itself was a wide, white marble building with a tall, decorated dome in the center. Sev didn't know of the architectural or historical importance of the building, but its design made it stick out against the relatively plain surrounding structures. There didn't seem to be any ground level entrance, as the only way into the building was a divided staircase that led up to an upper terrace where the main entrance was. The problem there however, was the series of defensive trenches and a makeshift wall that protected the stairs.

Along the wall, he could see both Super Mutants and their centaur hounds patrolling. If there was anything he wished he could erase from his memories it would be those damned centaurs. Instead of being half human, half horse creatures like Earth's old myths described, they were instead disgusting mounds of flesh, almost like human ants, propelled by twisted limbs that it used to skitter about like an insect. One of the few remnants of its human origin were the human heads atop them that sprouted tentacles out of their mouths. Even Sev shuddered at the sight of that near eldritch abomination, but iron discipline shoved those feelings down.

"What do you think, Boss?" Sev asked his one-eyed commander, who was next to him aiming his sniper as well. "Too well fortified for head on assault. Not our style anyway."

Big Boss simply grunted a reply as he examined the defenses as well. As per usual with super mutant construction, they were shoddy and done without much thought, but annoyingly effective. The strongest defenses were concrete walls, former traffic barriers, or solid chunks of buildings propped up, while other fortifications were piles of scrap metal. However amongst the crudely constructed barricade, the Boss spotted one section on the left edge that seemed to be made of poorly nailed together wood.

"There." Snake pinged the point on with his I-droid marking it on Thane and Sev's HUDs. "Seems to be the weakest point of the defenses."

"Indeed." Thane replied. "However the approach is too open." The relatively open no-man's land in front of the wall only had trenches, some piles of rubble, and a few sandbag barricades. If it was night they might be able to sneak it, but right now it was too obvious.

"Don't worry, I brought along one of the most important tactical espionage tools ever created." The Boss replied as he reached into his utility belt to start pulling something out.

Sev turned to his leader, more attentive than normal. Working with the boss for so long, he knew he was a master of stealth. So if he had a tool that he considered essential to infiltration, he wanted to see it. To his disappointment however, the Boss seemed to pull out 3 cardboard boxes that seemed like they were too big to have fit in his belt.

"Really? Cardboard boxes?" Sev deadpanned.

"Don't underestimate the effectiveness of something like a simple box, Sev." Surprisingly it was Thane that was defending the idea. "I once infiltrated a space station by spending a week within a food storage crate. I survived off the supplies until I reached my destination."

"How did you go to… you know what never mind." Sev shook his head.

"Regardless, we all know super mutant perception and intelligence is mediocre at best." Snake cut back in. "They'll be on the lookout for humanoids to attack, so they won't notice a few boxes slowly moving through the terrain."

"If you say so Boss." Sev replied as he pulled open a cardboard box and got inside, dropping any arguments.

Did he think this was a strange and relatively ineffective tactic? Yes. But would he still follow this order? Also yes. Sev wasn't blindly loyal like some of the regular clone troopers, following orders without question, but he held the Boss's opinions on stealth and warfare in high regard. If the Boss said this was a good idea, he'd trust it.

Thane and Snake swiftly followed suit, propping the cardboard boxes up and sneaking underneath. The trio began to make their way over the no man's land, slowly creeping forward. They had to go slow, pausing every now and then so the occasional glance from a super mutant wouldn't notice them moving. It had taken them all of 30 minutes to cross a stretch of land only a few hundred feet long.

However Thane believed that Amonkira, the drell Lord of Hunters was on their side, as their advance was unnoticed by the horde of frankensteins above them. Once they reached their destinations, they shed their disguises, handing them back to Snake and pressed themselves against the wall. Snake motioned Sev forward, who got to work on the wall.

Extending his knuckle-punch vibroblade, the wrist mounted knife began to vibrate at extremely high frequencies, exponentially enhancing its cutting power. The vibroblade cut through the wood like it was butter, and in less than a minute he cut a mansized hole for them to sneak through.

Meanwhile Thane and Snake kept watch for patrols. Luckily for them, the mutants weren't exactly coordinated in their patrols, moving around sporadically when they wanted rather than on a schedule. When there was a large enough gap in the patrol, Fireteam Fox moved in.

Now within the super mutant base, Fireteam Fox had to figure out how to get inside. Waiting for another gap in the patrols, the squad was able to push up the stairs and get to the main entrance undetected. Protecting the main door were two super mutant sentries, lightly armored brutes wielding hunting rifles.

Hiding by the staircase, Snake drew his suppressed SMG and gestured to Thane who drew his own carnifex pistol and attached a suppressor to it.

"You take the one on the left, I get the one on the right. On my mark." Snake ordered.

"Ready." Thane simply replied as he leveled his pistol.

"Three, two, one, fire." Snake whispered out as both of their guns fired. The suppressed guns barely made a noise as the two mutants dropped instantly.

Swiftly the squad moved forward, grabbing the bodies and hiding them behind a pile of rubble. With the guards dead and no one alerted, the squad continued on, entering the Capitol Building.

They moved silently through the hallway, their footfalls not making any noise. Eventually, the fireteam made their way to the rotunda, a large, circular room underneath the Capitol Building's dome, with a series of scaffoldings placed against the wall creating a faux-watchtower. There were stacks of sandbags placed at odd angles throughout the room, which could provide cover for the legionnaires to hide behind.

The fireteam froze as they heard footfalls and confused ramblings from the rotunda. Snake waved Thane forward, silently telling him to scout ahead. Thane vanished into the shadows, and both Snake and Sev stood unmoving in the hallway until he returned a minute later.

"Three patrolling the ground level in a group, one in the rafters on overwatch." the assassin reported.

"Get rid of the sentry in the tower." Snake ordered Thane. "Sev and I will line up shots on two on the ground, while you take the last one."

"Affirmative Boss." Thane then once again vanished.

Boss raised his suppressed SMG while Sev raised his DC-17m blaster, modified with a flash and noise suppressor attachment. They pushed forward, crouched low behind the sandbags as they advanced. In position behind the super mutants, Snake tagged them all with his iDroid, a virtual 1, 2, and 3 appear in their HUDs.

"Target one, in sight." Snake said as his gun aimed for the respective mutant's head.

"Target two, in sight." Sev matched.

Above them, Snake did not hear a thud, or even a gurgle or groan, as Thane executed the mutant on the scaffolding. He wouldn't have even known that the sentry was dead until Thane spoke over comms as well.

"Target three, in sight." Thane whispered.

"On my mark." The Boss ordered. "Three, two, one, fire."

Immediately three triggers depressed and just as immediately three hulking, yellow bodies fell to the floor. Despite having killed their targets, no one moved. They held their positions, eyes wide for any contact that could have possibly heard the commotion. After 10 seconds of silence, Sev was the first to relax.

"Looks all clear Boss." he rasped.

The squad then regrouped to continue their way forward. Pulling out his iDroid once more, Snake activated a holographic geiger counter, which was able to detect the direction of any nearby sources of radiation. After a few seconds of scanning, it detected a source a few stories below them.

"Why is it everyone always stores their superweapons in the basem*nt?" Sev quipped.

No one answered as they moved to look for a stairwell.

Disgusting. That was the one word that came to Snake's mind as he and his squadmates moved further down the underground complex beneath the Capitol Building. Snake had thought he had seen it all. Hundreds of comrades dying in surprise ambushes, torture houses filled with experimented corpses, parasitic diseases that ravaged his mens' insides, causing them to drown in their own blood.

But even with all of the horrors he's witnessed, he never thought he'd see such an eldritch terror the likes that he was currently walking through. After they had gone down a full story, the walls of the environment shifted.

Where before they were surrounded by concrete and reinforced steel railing, now the walls were coated with flesh. Pinkish, human-like flesh that squished as he walked on it, bled as they stabbed it, and constantly undulated as whatever foul substance coursing within pumped its way through. That didn't even get into the smell. It was as if all of fireteam fox just walked into the body of a titanic being.

Snake shoved down his feelings of revulsion and horror, and instead replaced them with those of discipline and contempt. More so than the Covenant and their fanatical genocidal zeal, more so than the Sith and their sad*stic creed, more so than the grimm and their bestial nature, these mutants were an affront to mankind and all things living. Snake would see them burn in nuclear fire.

Soon enough, the winding intestinal hallways came to an end as the fireteam found a larger, open room. The walls were still covered with flesh and gore like the rest of the godforsaken level, but some technology could still be seen as well. On the far side of the room there were several large supercomputers, massive constructs that took up the entire wall. In the center of the room was a cylindrical machine, with pipes and hoses as well as intestines connecting it to the ground. On the top of the cylinder, was a blocky CRT computer monitor, above which was a single head.

As the Legion entered the room, the CRT monitor came to life, giving a dark, dull green glow as what looked like audio patterns began to display. Out of the skull's eye socket, a single tentacle extended, at the end of which was a lidded eyeball that blinked and looked the Legion over.

"What in God's name..." was all Snake could grumble at the grotesque display.

"It is not God that you must invoke in my presence." A smooth, male voice spoke out, the source of which was the cylindrical computer in front of them. "For he did not make us. No, we are the byproduct of Man. And where God may have formed man from clay, it is I who perfected the human form. I am the Master, leader of the Super Mutants."

"You must really be f*cked in the head if you think your mutants are perfection." Sev growled out, his blaster leveled on the computer monitor.

"And what wouldyouconsiderperfection, my white and redfriend?" The voice spoke again, but the voice was distorted, a combination of different voices. The word "you"was yelled out by an aggressive male voice, while "Perfection"and "friend"were spoken with a sultry, female one. "The humans? Despite their technology they'llburn and die!The brutish aliens that throw themselves against my borders?Slaves, nothing more.The machines?Please. I will not trust the world to a toaster."

"And you think you're better?" Snake rhetorically asked.

"I know I am." The sultry voice responded. "You should join us!I have watched your progress-progress!-through the wasteland. You are smart,capable,and powerful!Join me in evolution. That is the only way for you to survive. Humanity alone is not strong enough to fight against the horrors of this world."

"The only horror I see is the one in front of me, abomination." Thane coldly replied.

"And I for one would rather not lose my rugged good looks." Sev remarked.

"Then there is nothing more to speak of. Joining me is inevitable.Inevitable!The only variable, shall be the condition of your bodies when you do." The Master flatly spoke as negotiations broke down.

Any hopes Snake was having that this was going to be an easy fight were dashed when out of the sides of the Master's cylindrical body, two gatling lasers unfolded and immediately began firing. From a door behind, two more super mutant overlords, both wielding gatling lasers as well plodded in, spewing a torrent of nuclear lasers.

The Legion immediately dove backwards to the cover of the hallway, as fighting four gatling lasers in CQC was a death sentence. Snake pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it on the ground, breaking line of sight with the enemy. No longer having targets in view the mutants sprayed wildly, suppressing the hallways hoping to hit something out of pure luck. But the Legion was too quick, and were able to exit and get behind fleshy-cover. As the smoke filled the air, the mutants stopped firing, keeping eyes peeled for any movement that they could destroy.

Thane, extending his aura, was actually able to get a sense of where the super mutants were. This wasn't anything as obvious or powerful as a thermal sight, more of a feeling if anything, but it was more than enough for him to fire a round into the smoke, and through the brain of a super mutant.

The remaining mutant and the Master turned to Thane's general direction and fired wildly, looking to score a retaliatory kill. However one of the main downsides of using laser weaponry was the amount of visual evidence it left. Red hot beams sprayed across, sticking out amongst the smoke, giving away the position of both the Master and the remaining super mutant. Sev, not under threat of getting shot, raised his Widow anti-material rifle, and with a pull of the trigger blew open a bowling ball sized hole into the chest of the super mutant.

With the two super mutants dead, and the smoke from the grenade dissipating, Snake pushed up, holding down the trigger of his SMG. Sixty .197 caliber rounds slammed into the metallic-meat covered surface of the master at a rate of 15 rounds a second as Snake emptied his entire magazine. As the gatling lasers turned to incinerate the Boss, a high explosive round detonated across the Master's body as Sev hit it with an anti-tank round.

As Snake reloaded and continued shooting, this time joined by Thane, the Master cried out with all of its voices combined, "ENOUGH!"

Suddenly, an invisible wave of psychic energy exploded from the Master, slamming into Fireteam Fox and knocking all of them to the ground. Snake gripped his head as he felt immeasurable pain coursing through, like his blood had become acid. Noticing spots of crimson dripping onto the ground, he touched his face and saw that his eyes and nose were bleeding. That was the last thing he saw before he passed out.

Sev groaned, his vision blurry, hearing muffled, he had no idea what was going on. Suddenly a fist hit his face and he snapped to attention, years of training kicking in. There was a hostile nearby, and he needed to kill it. That's all that mattered. Raising his blaster, Sev pulled the trigger, killing whatever dark green blob was in front of him. Something hit his left arm with what felt like a sword or machete, digging into his duraplast armor. Swiftly Sev spun, slicing the assailants throat with his vibro knife.

Green-yellow blood splattered over his visor, his armor automatically cleaning off the viscera. That's when his vision began to clear. He was outdoors, natural sunlight shining through a dense forest canopy. He was standing on a platform made of wood, and surrounding him were dead bodies of trandoshan mercenaries.

Sev squinted, confused, taking a step back and bumping into something. He turned and saw a massive AA-Turret, and in the sky a CIS destroyer exploded and fell to the ground. Then Sev remembered. He was on Kashyyyk, he and Delta Squad were tasked with taking down the CIS destroyer, to keep it from landing reinforcements into the tree-city.

A series of roars and battle cries instantly caught his attention. Turning back to the treeline and wooden walkways, more trandoshan slavers and mercenaries ran at him, firing wildly. Sev retreated, ducking behind the AA-turret, firing bursts of plasma from his blaster rifle. But he knew it was pointless. There were just too many of them. For every lizard he killed, 10 took their place. If he had all of Delta Squad here, maybe he could fight them off, but by himself? No chance.

Sev pulled the trigger of his gun again, blowing the brains out of another trandoshan's head. They were going to take his life, but he was going to make it damn expensive. As lizard after lizard dropped, the trandoshans eventually started using their own allies as cover, grabbing bodies as meat shields to stop the projectiles.

As the trandoshans approached, inching ever closer, Sev prepared himself for a gruesome end as he extended his vibroblade. As the first trandoshan made it into melee, Sev lunged, only for the trandoshan to be torn apart by blue plasma. Sev turned his head to the source, as a hail of plasma fire cut down all of the trandoshans in front of him. Out of the canopy, Sev saw his team, Delta squad. Boss and Scorch, the orange and black and yellow themed commandos, pushed up, blasting lizards left and right while the green armored Fixer hung back, providing cover fire. Within moments, the wave of alien slavers were dead, and Sev's squad came to meet him.

"Sev, we heard your distress call and came as fast as we could." Boss led with.

"Yeah, imagine my shock when I heard Sev actually called out for help." Scorch quipped as he double tapped a twitching alien.

"I uhh… yeah, yeah right I remember sending out the call." Sev mumbled out, confused at what was happening.

"You doing ok there Oh-Seven?" Fixer, the team's medic and slicer asked, approaching the hunter.

"Yeah, I'm green. I think I got knocked in the head back there, everything went blurry for a bit." Sev conjectured.

"Do you need bacta?"

"No… No I'm good." Sev shook his head before turning to Boss. "So what's our next move Boss? I'm excited to kill more lizards"

"We have new orders coming from General Yoda himself. We're to evac the area and meet up with the 41st. Clear out an LZ commandos, we have work to do!" Boss barked out.

Fixer and Scorch immediately got to work, making sure all avenues of attacks were covered. Sev, couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something, but shook his head. He had an enemy in front of him and a job to do. He wouldn't let his brothers down.

Thane woke up to the sounds of crashing waves. He could feel coarse, granular sand in his fingers, and a bright sun shone down on his face. Thane's eyes shot open and he immediately stood up, examining his surroundings.

As he thought, he was on a beach. It was not a beach he recognized, but he recognized the sky, the smell of the atmosphere itself. He was on Kahje, the Hanhar-Drell homeworld where he grew up. Strange that he was outside though. The humid climate of Kahje was at best uncomfortable and at worst deadly to arid-adapted Drell.

"Thane!" A voice called out from behind him.

The former assassin spun around, and immediately recognized who it was, recognizing her light green-yellow skin, her sunset colored eyes, it was Irikah, his wife, long since deceased.

"Irikah…" Thane gasped out. "I.. what…"

"Thane, has being outside for all of fifteen minutes already scrambled your brain?" Irikah chastised, slightly annoyed. "Come on, I know you enjoy the view, but we can't say out here for too long, it's not safe for Kolyat."

Thane saw his 10 year old son, the more aquatic-green drell, waved to him with a big smile. Thane then felt his head hurt. Kolyat… Kolyat was already a grown man, wasn't he? But that's impossible, as his own child was right in front of him.

A hand on his arm snapped Thane out of his confusion. His wife Irikah began pulling him from his spot. "Come on, Thane, we have to go."

"I… yes of course." Thane couldn't help but feel off as his body automatically began to walk forward.

"Left! Left! Left, right, left!" The drill sergeants' voices rang out as they marched recruits over the walkways of the offshore oil rig converted to secret headquarters known as Mother Base.

It wasn't often that Big Boss/Venom Snake came to watch the recruits train, but he didn't have a mission right now, and his presence amongst the men was always good for morale.

Snake watched as two Diamond Dog soldiers ran through CQC drills, one holding onto a plastic training knife while the other had empty hands, waiting to deflect and counter the knife strikes. Snake nodded in approval as the empty handed soldier parried his partner's knife thrust, slipping passed the blade and throwing him with a leg sweep.

"These new recruits are good." A gruff voice behind him spoke. It was Snake's best friend, Kazuhira "Kaz" Miller, the half American half Japanese subcommander. "More than ready to be sent on missions."

Kaz hobbled forward on his crutch. Despite having lost both his left foot and right arm in the battle against the XOF, Kaz was proud and defiant, not letting his injuries slow him down. Even his eyes, currently hidden behind a large pair of aviator glasses, were ruined from his years of warfare and torture. But despite the physical maiming the man went through, he would not let his spirit break like his body did.

"Hmm." Snake grunted.

Ever since defeating Skull Face and XOF, as well as recovering Sahelanthropus from Eli, Snake and Miller were busy continuing to expand the operations of Diamond Dogs. The original Big Boss needed them and their army soon for when he made his move against the Patriots.

Suddenly he felt a new hand on his right shoulder. Snake turned and saw the smaller, hand covered in a leather glove, was attached to a familiar, scantily clad woman, Quiet. Quiet and Snake had grown exceptionally close, especially after she ran away to Afghanistan, and the two of them fought off an entire Soviet armored division. After defeating the Soviets, both Snake and Quiet returned to Mother Base together, for better or for worse.

While Snake was never one for romance, he knew Quiet meant a lot to him, and he meant a lot to her. Despite originally being a spy and assassin for Skull Face, Quiet became loyal to the Boss like so many of the other soldiers brought to the platform. Quiet flashed Boss a smile and gave a musical hum that replaced her normal language.

"Boss." Another voice called out from behind him.

Snake turned and saw this time it was the Western-themed Russian gunslinger Revolver Ocelot.

"We have a new mission Boss." Ocelot continued. "A rival PMC is starting to make moves in the Middle East, probably capitalizing on rising tensions between Saddam and the US. The Stars and Stripes want us to get rid of them."

Kaz shook his head. "Another day, another mission, right Boss?"

Snake gave a small smile, and nodded his head. Turning around Snake made his way towards the helicopter pad with Quiet in tow. One day the Boss will call on him, for them to realize their dream. To create a better world, a new heaven that they can call their own. But for now, he had a mission.

In the fleshy underground that was the Master's lair, Fireteam Fox stood unmoving, dumbstruck as they were trapped within their own minds. While they were ready for a hard firefight, something that none of them could have prepared for was the awe-inspiring psychic might of the Master.

As the fight was as good as over, the Master called in another super mutant, who dumbly followed its orders to the letter.

"Take them to the FEV pit! Despite how much of apainthey've been, they shall bePOWERFULmutants." The Master barked.

The super mutant dumbly nodded, grabbing Thane by the wrist, dragging him forward. The drell, still caught up in the Master's psychic illusion, walked forward without resistance.

Back in the dream version of Kahje, Thane walked with his family, despite the continual feelings of discontentment he was experiencing. Thane looked at his wife Irikah. She was beautiful. As beautiful as the day they first met and she stood defiantly in front of his crosshairs. As beautiful as the days her body she died, when Thane cremated her body and spread her ashes to the see of Kahje.

Thane froze, memories flooding back into him, his photographic memory taking control. "I stand in the morgue, next to a hanar and drell officer. The drell flips the bedsheet. I see her body, sunset eyes now dull. Multiple gunshot wounds, bruising around the face. Amateur hit, but successful. Tears fall down my face. 'It's her.' I say."

Thane's head snapped back as he pulled out of his solipsistic trance. Thane had a perfect memory, and he knew his wife Irikah was dead. He knew he was dead. Then the flood of other memories rushed in as well. The Collectors, Shepard's suicide mission, the Reaper Invasion, the Final Destination, and the Master.

"You're not real." Thane whispered out, as much as an accusation as it was him trying to convince himself.

Irikah smiled sadly at him. "No, I'm not."

"This is all an illusion. A psychic attack by the Master."

"Yes, it is. None of this is real." Irikah nodded.

Now in control of the dream, Thane willed his pistol to appear in his hands, and it did. Looking down at the gun, he then resolved himself and aimed it at the spectre of his wife.

"However brief it was, I was happy to have seen you, one last time." Thane quietly spoke, pistol leveled at Irikah's head.

Irikah's smile shifted from one tinged by sadness, to one of genuine happiness. "Go save your friends."

As the super mutant grabbed the stupefied Thane's left arm, Thane's head snapped up, surprising the monster. Without giving the mutant a second to realize what's going on, Thane's right arm reached for his side, drawing his pistol and painted the walls with its brains.

"WHAT!? HOW!?" The Master roared out as Thane's alien biology must have helped him resist the psychic attack.

But Thane would not stop. Before the Master had a chance to rev up its gatling lasers, Thane used his biotics to shove both Sev and Snake, slamming them against the wall. The impacts of their heads against the wall reset their cognitive processes, waking them up from whatever illusion they were under as well.

Sev took half a second to shake his head, before he recognized where he was. Snarling, Sev immediately drew his Widow sniper rifle and fired. The mass effect round flew forward tearing into the Master's outer hull, and knocking one of the gatling lasers off of it.

Like a well oiled machine, Thane followed up without hesitation. Using his biotics he pulled the gatling laser and threw it to Snake, who deftly caught it and began to spin the barrels. Before the Master could retaliate, Sev continued his attack, drawing an EMP grenade and throwing it at the organic mutant supercomputer.

"AHHHHHHH" The Master's various voices cried out, stunned by the electricity coursing through it.

As it screamed, both Sev and Thane dove for the gatling lasers used by the super mutants they killed previously. With all of Fireteam Fox aiming down their sights, 3 torrents of laser bolts sprayed forward, overwhelming the Master, destroying its form and sending it to oblivion.

The smell of ozone, smoke, and charred meat filled the air as Fireteam Fox dropped their gatling lasers, spent of all electron charge packs. The three commandos slowly approached the scorched pile of meat and electronics as the monitor which displayed the Master's vocals died.

"So… I vote we purge the memory of this entire place from our memories and this world." Sev grumbled as he kicked the head that used to belong to the master.

"I agree with such a sentiment." Thane replied as Snake only grunted.

As Sev moved the wreckage of the Master out of the way, the roars and screams of mutants could be heard above them. Gun fire erupted as they began to slaughter one another.

It didn't take long for Thane to conjecture what was happening "Seems that killing the Master has disrupted his psychic control over the mutants, causing them to go berserk."

"Legion, find a way out." Snake barked. It was too dangerous to try and escape the way they came, and in his experience, bases such as these tended to have a hidden emergency exit after killing whoever is in charge.

As Sev dug through the carcass of the Master, he saw that there was an additional hatch beneath the super computer that went further down.

"Found it!" Sev called out as he popped open the hatch. It was a simple metallic ladder that went deeper into the facility.

Without knowing where the hatch actually went, it was a leap of faith for them to go down and simply hope there was a way out. But Boss didn't become the Big Boss by taking it safe. Taking point, Snake grabbed onto the ladder and began to slide down. The secret passageway down took them far below where they were, the height being at least a few stories. The ladder deposited them into an empty, thankfully non-organic concrete hallway, that extended forward into a set of blast doors.

Reaching the door, he had Sev set a det-charge pack on it, and they stood on the sides, waiting to breach. Sev clicked a switch and his thermite charge sparked as it cut through the steel door, blowing it open and giving them access to the room ahead.

Entering through the doors, Fireteam Fox slowly walked into the new room, ready for anything. It was pitch black, but their entrance seemed to trigger some automatic lighting revealing what was inside. The room itself was massive, easily hundreds of feet in length, width, and height. There were several metallic scaffolds and walkways along the wall, and even a crane, but what drew all of their attention was Metal Gear Zeke, standing in the center of the room.

"I assume this is the target, boss?" Thane asked while Sev gave a low whistle of appreciation for the mech.

"It is. Last I recall, the AI pod in the top should have been converted into a co*ckpit. It's meant for only one, but we can squeeze in." Boss answered.

The legionnaires moved to the scaffolding, climbing up into the mecha. It was cramped, like Snake said it would be, but the Legion could deal with the discomfort. Flicking a few switches, Metal Gear Zeke activated, electronic switches and dials coming to life. Two handles extended, allowing Snake to grab hold of them, shifting the mech as he did.

"Glad you know how to pilot this thing Boss, but you know we got a couple hundred feet of concrete above us?" Sev commented as Boss unhooked the safety and power couplings.

Wordlessly, Snake flipped another two switches, and a grumbling roar shook the roof of the hangar. Above them, a circular door spiraled open, revealing a secret exit to the outside. Above them in the rotunda, the floor opened up, spiraling open as the hidden hanger beneath the Capitol Building revealed itself. Above that, the famous dome of the Capitol Building retracted into the body of the building, giving Fireteam Fox a direct exit out of the sub levels.

"I'm not even going to question why that was there or how that all worked." Sev shook his head, not looking the gift horse in the mouth.

Activating Metal Gear Zeke's jet packs, the mecha rocketed up out of the hanger. Super mutants on the ground level fired their rifles at the metal gear, small caliber rounds bouncing off of its armor.

Flying into the air, Venom Snake took Zeke to a safe distance, and activated the metal gear's weapon systems. He promised to purge this place in nuclear fire, and he was going to do so. Aiming Zeke's railgun right for the capitol building and pulled the trigger. Snake turned Zeke around and began flying back South, not bothering to look at the explosion as the Capitol Building was consumed by the birth of a new star.

Chapter 22

Chapter Text

Within the Temple of Order…

Pushing into the massive tunnel the super mutant behemoths had come from, the Legion quickly found themselves in a large atrium. The walls, floor, and ceiling all seemed to be made from a type of white, alabaster marble, and was inlaid with elaborate golden engravings. On the far side of the atrium, were two massive double doors that looked to be made of solid bronze or gold, with relief carvings of two figures, one on each door. On the right was a beautiful, fey woman, obviously of Elven descent, wearing armored robes, carrying a staff with a crescent moon at its top. Meanwhile on the left, it was the figure of a human woman, but similarly resplendent in form, wearing a plainer, long flowing, strapless dress, wearing a crown of flowers, and carrying what looked like a goblet or grail in her hands.

The room itself would easily be considered beautiful if it wasn't for the layer of viscera and gore the super mutants had decorated it with. Blood, limbs, and other chunks of unidentifiable meat were spread across the room. Mesh wire gore bags filled with the shredded remains of Geth, Imperials, and Covenant were placed in corners, obviously used as food storage. The ramshackle and shoddy construction typical of super mutants was apparent in the few wood-scrap metal structures spread out, meant to give shelter and some kind of defensive perimeter. By the doors were large battering rams made from trees from the Forever Fall, as well as pickaxes and sledgehammers. The doors themselves were scratched and marred, but beyond superficial, surface damage, still held strong.

Wynne walked up to the doors, both examining the damage and appreciating the design. "It appears that the super mutants were trying to break through here."

"Seems so." Shepard agreed, looking at the scratch marks several dozen feet above them. "Looks like this is what they had those behemoths here for. Wonder what this door is made of where even those monsters could barely scratch it."

As Shepard stepped forward and placed her hand on the door, the engravings began to glow bright white, ringing for all to hear. Shepard swiftly shifted back, hand on her gun in case she accidentally activated a trap. The rest of the Legion flanked around her, weapons raised as well. However instead of an arcane explosion or similar trap, the doors slowly began to grind open, revealing a wall of pure white light.

Tentatively, Shepard walked up to the wall of light, and pushed her hand through. It was like pushing through a thick fog, and it didn't burn or incinerate her, which was good.

"Magic?" Shepard rhetorically asked.

"Magic." Wynne answered anyway.

The commander sighed. "Well, only way to go is forward. Eyes up and be ready for anything!" She called out to her soldiers as she leveled her gun and began to walk into the light.

Stern faced and focused, the rest of the Legion readied their weapons and followed suit.

Light. Blinding light. That's all that filled the vision of the Legion. By the time the light receded, the Legionnaires saw that they were in a completely different room. The Legion found themselves in a wide open, marble floored atrium with white alabaster walls and shining gold inlays similar to that of the door, except free of the gore the previous location had.

Behind them they could see the doors they had walked through, now sealed shut. In the center of the atrium was a multi-tiered fountain, atop of which there was the statue of a naked baby spewing water from its mouth. On the farside of the room, were two curving staircases, starting on opposite sides of the room and connecting to a balcony on the floor above, where doors going further into the castle could be seen.

"What the Hell." is all Shepard could mutter out, shocked by their sudden displacement as well as the gaudiness of their new locale.

"Oh come now it's not too bad." Wynne said, sensing Shepard's dislike. "I for one think it's rather stylish."

"That's one way to put it." Six added on, unimpressed by the frivolity of the decorations.

"Apologies if my home is not to your taste." A new voice called out, female and regal, but tired and strained at the same time. "But I do have to maintain a certain kind of aesthetic. Comes with the position and all that."

The Legion's heads snapped to the source of the voice, many weapons automatically raised. Standing on the balcony above them was a woman. Wearing plain but beautiful silken white robes and a gleaming, jeweled circlet, the woman looked like that of the elf on the entrance to this place, if only aged by hundreds if not thousands of years. Her once unmarred skin was wrinkled and gaunt, her once flowing hair now wispy and white. She looked feeble and ancient, as if a stiff breeze would be all it took to crumple her.

Several of the Legionnaires lowered their weapons at the non-hostile nature and the apparent fragility of their host.

Six meanwhile, leaned over to Wynne. "Hey Wynne look, it's your mom." taking a crack at Wynne's age.

Wynne frowned as she jabbed him in the leg with the butt of her staff. "Oh hush you, don't make me turn you into a toad."

Ignoring the antics of her teammates, Shepard was the first to walk up to the elderly elf, gun lowered but still in her hands. "You have our thanks for letting us into your home, but I have to to ask. Who are you?" Shepard had an idea, but she needed confirmation.

The elf gave a wry grin, responding, "Who do you think I am?"

Shepard had to shove down the urge to roll her eyes.Of course she's cryptic.

"Are you the Goddess of Order?" Shepard clearly and plainly asked.

The grin remained on the woman's face. "That is one of the names I am known by, yes." The goddess began walking down the stairs to meet them. "I have been called many other things as well in my long life. The Goddess of the Moon, of Dreams, of Fortunes, even the Lady of the Lake amongst others. But you can call me Lileath. And I suppose you all want an explanation."

Shepard sent a glance to Wynne and Pyrrha, their two resident Fantasy-worlders. Both shook their heads, not recognizing the name. She then looked back at Lileath, and sighed as she holstered her weapon. "Yeah, that would be nice."

This tale begins in a world. A world very similar to some of your own, but to others completely alien and incomprehensible. In this world many races formed at the behest of the Gods, as well as at the will of ancient beings even older than us.

First came the Slann, ancient amphibious creatures of great intelligence and magical prowess. Following them the lizardmen were birthed, to be living weapons to protect their masters. The Old Ones that created them helped set the foundation for the world itself, and much that existed was thanks to them. In this primordial time we Divines crafted our own children. Men, Elves, Dwarves, and even Orcs.

"Wait, wait. Orcs are real too?" Shepard cut in, disbelief palpable in her question. "As in like, Lord of the Rings, savage warmonger Orcs?"

Lileath's eyes only narrowed at Shepard for the interruption to her tale.

Suddenly Shepard felt pretty meek and embarrassed for interrupting a goddess. "Sorry, please continue."

Lileath cleared her throat and continued her tale.

I was one such Divine. I watched over my children, the elves of Ulthane, helped them grow and develop as the Old Ones continued their engineering. But a mistake was made.

In their hubris, the Old Ones drew upon power from another realm, great gates in the poles of the world, connected to an immaterial dimension of chaos and malevolence. The warp gates created by the Old Ones collapsed, and Chaos was unleashed into the world.

For millennia, the forces of Chaos warred against the mortal races, nearly driving them to extinction, only to be beaten back and forgotten in the fabric of myth and legend. So began the great game for the Gods of Chaos, as they had become obsessed with burning the world to ashes. This cycle continued repeatedly, until the Gods of Chaos grew in such power that not even the united mortal forces of Order could stop them.

Soon the Old World burned under the fires of Chaos. Champions of men, elves, dwarves, and lizardmen lay broken beneath the might of their dark counterparts. I, like many of the other Gods, knew that defeat was inevitable, so I hatched a plan.

In the centuries preceding the End Times, I used my powers to create a new world, hidden from the sight of the Gods of Chaos and the Gods of Old. This world, called Haven, was designed to save the souls, both alive and dead, of mortals from the grasp of Chaos. For when fighting against Chaos, death is no end, only a prologue to far greater suffering within the Warp.

For a time, my gambit worked. Haven survived as the rest of creation was unmade by the Dark Gods. Many souls of men and elves were led to Haven, spirited away so they could be reborn in peace.

I had thought that my children and I would be given respite, but alas, it was not meant to be. I had underestimated the scope with which Chaos existed. The immaterium, and by extension Chaos itself, was not simply dark parallel to my World, but to all worlds. While an infinite amount of universes and parallel worlds exist throughout the eternity of creation, there is only one realm of Chaos, which connects all of them. And soon, Chaos had found me.

Kairos Fateweaver, two headed lord of change, and near omniscient seer of the Chaos God Tzeentch, had discovered Haven with his multiversal knowledge from the Well of Eternity, the nexus of all realities. With his dark powers Kairos invaded Haven with a mighty host of daemons and corrupted mortals. The guardians of Haven, my mighty Grail Knights and Handmaidens did what they could, but soon they fell before the tide, and Haven was brought low.

And so, in my desperation, I did something unforgivable to save this land. I began drawing upon the souls of other worlds, other universes that were nigh untouched by the corruption of Chaos. Haven, being a pure, immaterium world, warped and changed, adjusting to the memories of the material minds of these newcomers. And these new champions, with talent, skills, and powers unseen by Chaos, were able to beat back the Daemon Prince's forces, and banish him.

But for the Immortal lives of the denizens of the Warp, a single defeat would never mean the end, only the beginning. Kairos' defeat only further attracted the attention of the Prince. In retaliation, he began to summon his own servants from the same worlds as I did, calling upon champions antithetical to my own.

So the next bout, the next cycle, began. Only this time, the Kairos and the forces of Chaos were the victors. And there I was, at the mercy of Kairos and his Legion, ready to accept whatever fate the Dark Gods had planned for me. But to my shock, Kairos let me be and recreated Haven himself.

It did not take long for me to ascertain what Kairos' goal was in leaving me. This was a game to him. A match of regicide where we would draw upon heroes and champions, and play them against each other for the fate of this realm. Many times we would play this game. For every victory I achieved, Kairos would be banished for a time, only to eventually return once more. Every victory Kairos achieved, he would simply retreat and remake the world once more.

"WHAT!?" a voice called out, interrupting the story.

All faces turned to the source, an utterly livid Pyrrha Nikos. A vicious scowl marring her face, her eyes were red as if she were ready to cry. "A game!? That's what we're here for? What about the fate of the multiverse!? About stopping chaos from reigning throughout!?" Pyrrha was furious, and looked more than poised to draw her weapon.

Shepard and all of the others were inclined to agree with her. Shepard was okay with fighting, killing, and dying when it served a purpose. A greater good for the protection and betterment of her people and her civilization. Dying for the entertainment of some Dark demi-god was not something she found appealing, and from the aggressive stances of her allies, neither did any of them.

Lileath gave the Legionnaires an impassive look, one that carried only the very slightest hint of regret. "That was a lie, a misdirection. Quickly I found that my champions would fight harder if they believed they were saving their own worlds, so falsehoods were given. "

…

Silence. It was the loudest silence Shepard ever had the displeasure of experiencing. The silence did nothing to assuage her utter shock and disbelief at the callous truth. Everything that they'd been fighting for was a lie. The deafening quiet was only shattered when Pyrrha took two steps forward, tears now running down her face and weapons in her hands. The others, while not as blatant with their emotions, were angered and eager to escalate the situation further. Lileath, to her credit, did not seem fearful or intimidated. Or if she was, she did a good job at hiding it.

Pyrrha took one more step forward, ready to lunge and attack, when something clicked in Shepard's brain.

"Wait! Stand down!" Shepard yelled, almost making Pyrrha stumble as she cancelled out her forward momentum. The huntress turned to the commander in confusion, and all eyes were now on Shepard.

"Why tell us this?" Shepard called out to Lileath. "We walked in here, bumbling and blind, with no idea what was going on. You could have continued the lie, told us that we needed to fight to save our home universes, and we would've let you play us like a damn fiddle. So why tell us the truth if it meant us possibly turning against you?"

None of it made sense. If Lileath created that massive lie because logic dictated it was the most efficient way to gain the loyalty of her warriors, why break it now? The other legionnaires paused once this fact was revealed, realizing that Shepard was right. Righteous, indignant anger was replaced by confusion and curiosity.

In a brief moment, Lileath's stoic, unreadable expression morphed into a smile. "Why aren't you the sharp one?" Lileath chuckled out, to the displeasure of the mortals in front of her. "I tell you the truth now because circ*mstances have changed. The cycle is broken, Kairos Fateweaver is no longer in this world, and there is now a chance to save it and save the souls of many others from the grip of Chaos."

Immediately the tension left some of the legionnaires, knowing that their struggle was not for nothing.

"By the Maker why didn't you lead with that." Wynne muttered under her breath.

Lileath's old crone form just smiled. "And where would the fun be in that?"

Shepard felt like she was going to have an aneurysm. Forcing herself to sigh at the Goddess' almost childlike nature, Shepard refocused the conversation. "You said something changed. How? What happened that would cause this cycle to be so different?"

"At the start of this cycle, Kairos made a mistake. He summoned two beings who, individually, were exceedingly powerful. Once together, they did something even he did not expect. They merged, creating a new being whose power rivaled his own. Then, they went even further beyond, and consumed Fateweaver himself." Lileath explained, her brow furrowed with an expression of worry that seemed out of place on the normally childish goddess. "Now, using the reality warping power of Kairos, this Amalgamation of beings seeks to consume me as well, and use our powers combined to free himself from this realm and return to the material realm."

That… was a lot to process. On the positive side, they weren't being played anymore. The negative however, was that they now had to fight a reality warping devourer of gods. Shepard turned her head to look at her team and they didn't seem to be taking any better. Pyrrha looked like she wanted to throw up, while Wynne was beyond exhausted and was forced to take a seat. Sarah, Six, and Galen, with their stoic countenances, did not have such an overt reaction, but grit teeth, clenched fists, and tense stances told Shepard that they were less than pleased.

"While I know this seems… grim, this turn of events provides us with a chance we may never get again. Chaos had turned what was once a Haven for souls to be saved into a Final Destination where the dead battle to oblivion. With Kairos now gone, if we can defeat this new Lord of Chaos, I can reforge this land into what it should be, back into Haven, and move it to the farthest reaches of the Multiverse, hidden from Chaos' sight. That is why I am now telling you the truth. So you may understand that you are no longer game pieces for a twisted god's sick sense of amusem*nt, but instead the only hope for a countless number of souls to be saved from an eternity of torment at the hands of Chaos." Lileath finished, her proclamation just barely helping keep whatever cinders of hope within the Legion alive. "Now, is there anything else you want to know?"

A pause flew over the legionnaires. While they were upset, and rightfully so, they needed to get as much information as they possibly could right now.

Pyrrha walked up first and spoke, "How does Chaos connect to all realms? None of us have seen anything like Chaos before."

"You haven't?" Lileath raised an eyebrow. "That is where you are wrong, Pyrrha Nikos. Every world is affected by chaos, regardless if they know of its existence or not. And the Dark Gods of Chaos, despite all of their power, are not omniscient, and many words escape their notice. But when warriors slay their enemies in a blood fueled rage, they unknowingly invoke Khorne. When conspirators plot and scheme, they are sending silent offerings to Tzeentch. When a person decides to dedicate themselves to the extremes of hedonism, whether it is drugs, sadism, or sexual, they please Slaanesh. And every soul that falls to disease and plague is sent to Nurgle. It is an unfortunate, but despite all of its horrors, Chaos is both a natural and necessary part of the multiverse."

Pyrrha was taken aback. "Necessary? How can such a terrible thing be necessary?"

Lileath paused for a moment, considering her words. "Chaos is only dangerous when it is rampant and unchecked. Balance is the key. Without Order, the multiverse would simply be ravaged by chaos and destruction. Nothing would be able to survive the random violence of such a multiverse. Conversely, should only Order exist, the multiverse would be consumed by stagnation, ultimately never developing. Chaos in and of itself is not inherently evil. It brings pain and suffering yes, but also brings change and evolution. Even the Dark Gods themselves each have positive aspects that help mortals as much as their darker sides damn them." As Pyrrha mulled over the Goddess' words, Lileath spoke again. "But make no mistake. Chaos as it is now is a terrifying foe that only brings ruin. You would do well to banish any thoughts of invoking their names, lest you soul be forever ruined."

With her question answered, Pyrrha stepped back, allowing someone else to take their turn. This time it was Sarah Lyons who walked forward.

"Who did Kairos Fateweaver bring into Haven that could defeat him?" She asked. These were the most dangerous foes they needed to face, so knowing as much about them was paramount.

"The first was from his world." Lileath pointed to Galen, whose eyes widened in surprise. "He was once a Sith Lord of immense power, and even more immeasurable hunger. His powers allowed him to consume the life force of thousands, if not millions, feeding him. As he fed his hunger continued to grow, as did his power. He may have well wiped out all life in that galaxy, had he not been defeated."

"Darth Nihilus…" Galen whispered out. While he was no historian, Galen's tutelage under Darth Vader granted him knowledge of many of the former Dark Lords of the Sith, from Marka Ragnos all the way to Darth Bane. Nihilus was seen as a creature beyond both the Sith and the Jedi. An eldritch being who threatened not only the Jedi and the Republic, but all life.

Lileath nodded her head. "The second, is not a god, but a devourer of ones. He was once but a man named Aldrich, hailing from a world of darkness and cinders. It was in this world that he fell to the temptation of consuming the flesh of his fellow man. This corrupted him, ruining his physical form in exchange for immense power. So powerful he grew that he even consumed a God. Fortunately, he was defeated, and his cinders were returned to its proper throne."

"So if this Kairos-Nihilus-Aldrich fusion is trying to escape, does that mean he's not dead? Are we really dead?" Shepard asked. If there was a way to get back to her galaxy, she'd be more than happy to take it.

Giving a rare, genuine frown, Lileath shook her head. "Unfortunately, all of you are truly dead. The only way your souls could've been brought to this realm was if they were separated from your physical bodies through death. The only reason this Amalgamation can possibly return to the material world is thanks to the reality warping powers Kairos and I possess. And I alone do not have the power to restore you to life. Not anymore."

"Anymore?" Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"The power of Gods are based upon the faith of their followers. Gods can perform miracles and blessings for their followers, which in turn increases their faith and numbers. The more followers there are, the more psychic-magic thoughts and beliefs are fed the god, giving them more power. It is a symbiotic relationship that many gods in many realms are subject to. In my prime, restoring you to life and returning you to your worlds would've been a simple task. But now? With no followers? I am unable."

Shepard frowned. While she wasn't expecting much, it was still disappointing news. Six was the next to move forward and ask his question.

"So I'm assuming this break in the cycle is why the forces of Chaos get entire armies while we just have to scrape by?" the Spartan questioned.

"Indeed. Normally, the game would be balanced, one champion of Order for one champion of Chaos. But those were rules that Kairos bound himself to. Now this new Lord flaunts his powers, summoning whole armies to attempt to subjugate and consume me."

"But he doesn't have control over them." Six interjected. "The armies he summoned have spent more time fighting each other than they have us."

"Yes, same as I cannot control you, the Amalgamation cannot control the forces he summoned. Ironically, this has slowed his campaign, and done more harm than good." Lileath allowed herself a small smile.

Six nodded in return, his mind already moving to the next objective. They cannot change the fact of why they were summoned here, but they can control what happens from now on. "That's good. If we are able, we should coerce the different sides to going to all out war with the Sith. False flag operations to sew discord." he suggested. "And I am to assume you cannot summon armies for us to have as well?"

Lileath chuckled at her own weakness. "Unfortunately no. Even summoning individuals alone comes with a great cost I do not easily recover from. But I do have something else with which I can aid you with. Go to the- AAAAGHH" Lileath screamed as she was blasted by a beam of crackling orange energy.

As the goddess collapsed and fell to the ground, all of the Legion turned with weapons immediately raised. It seemed that during the conversation, no one there had realized that the doors behind them had once again opened.

Standing at the entrance was none other than Kai Leng, red lightsaber in hand, as beside him was Grand Admiral Thrawn, wearing his pristine white Imperial officer armor, aiming the Staff of Ragnos at Lileath, as well as an entire strike force of Dark Jedi and Skulls Parasite units. Leng wore a bloodthirsty snarl as he readied to leap upon them, while Thrawn was composed, head tilted up as he looked down upon the Legion.

Kai Leng was the first to make his move as he roared out. "FOR CHAOS!"

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

30 minutes ago…

Hidden within the barren, rocky landscape of the Capital Wasteland, laid Imperial probe droid VP-138. Like all probe droids, VP-138 had a cylindrical chassis, on top of which was a flat, similarly cylindrical domed head surrounded with cameras, giving it 360 degree vision, as well as a series of mechanical arms extending downwards from its central pod. Using its repulsor lifts to hover just above the ground and hiding within the rugged terrain for cover, the spy droid focused its cameras on the Super Mutant encampment surrounding the Temple of Order.

VP-138 had a simple task. It was to monitor the encampment, and alert Imperial Command of any developments. VP had held this pattern for several months, and today it observed the usual habit of super mutants. Bored mutants loitered about the various trenches, waiting for something to happen as the larger specimens continued to work within the temple. The only thing of note that occurred was a small fist fight between mutants over a piece of unidentifiable meat.

The monotony of VP's observations continued as normal, until a rocking explosion destroyed a section of the super mutants' outer perimeter. One of VP's lenses immediately focused on the strike zone, while other cameras and sensors began scanning the local air space.

An aircraft was detected, one that fit the profile that the unknown insurgent group would utilize. As the dropship lowered and began to deploy its payload of soldiers, VP immediately sent a priority message to Imperial Command, livestreaming the attack.

As soon as the first Imperial Intelligence Officer saw VP-138's message and opened it up, all of Imperial Command was sent into a flurry of activity. Through the well oiled machine that was Imperial Intelligence, a datapad with the footage was handed to Grand Admiral Thrawn within a minute. And a minute after that, Thrawn had assembled together an elite strike team. Wearing his own specialized white Imperial Officer Armor stood in front of his squad consisting of 4 Shadow Stormtroopers, 4 Skulls Parasite Units, 4 Dark Jedi, and Kai Leng himself, sporting a savage smile.

"Gentlemen. Ladies." Thrawn started with his calm, cold voice. "Prepare for teleportation. We're going for a hunt."

Standing atop Forerunner teleportation platform, a green doorway opened up that Thrawn and his team walked through. The teleportation grid used by the Forerunners was barely understood by both the Covenant and the Imperials. It took large amounts of power to use, and was prone to shutting down. The last time they used it, when Skull Face had to recall himself, Kai Leng, and Tartarus, the teleporter was inoperable for days. No doubt something similar would happen here, but it was well worth it in order to strike at the head of these insurgents.

They immediately teleported several hundred miles from the very Southern tip of the Final Destination, where the Citadel of Chaos was located, to its near North Pole by the Temple of Order. Immediately taking cover once the teleportation was finished, Thrawn used his binoculars to survey the area. Standing over the smoking ruins of the battlefield, he saw the insurgents, haggard but still alive, standing over the bodies of two super mutant behemoths. He waited for them to enter the Temple before ordering his team forward. He had them wounded and cornered, he could see victory in sight.

Present time…

"Puppets!" Lileath spat, spraying a combination of spit and blood. Bring her hands close together over her chest, an orb of green light coalesced between her palms. "You will not win!"

The orb of verdant energy exploded outwards, the forces of Chaos entering defensive stances for whatever attack was coming. The pulse burst out, slightly staggering everyone in the room, but other than that there was no other apparent effect. Lileath's head then fell back and her arms went limp as she lost consciousness.

Whatever Lileath did, did not seem to take effect, so after a second of stunned silence the two opposing forces refocused on one another.

"Hmph. As expected of a weak fool of a goddess." Kai Leng scoffed as he activated his own lightsaber. Around him, the dark jedi all activated their own crimson blades as well.

As the Legion all raised their weapons, Shepard took a quick second and whispered to Galen, "What do you think our odds are?"

Galen grimaced at how outnumbered they were and whispered back, "We may be in trouble." before making the first move.

Knowing that Thrawn was the brains of the whole operation, Galen leapt right for the Admiral. Killing him first would both damage morale and weaken their tactical cohesion. But Thrawn knew this as well, and immediately withdrew as soon as Galen so much as twitched. By the time Galen reached their position, two Dark Jedi intercepted, a male one blocking Galen's strike while a female one counterattacked. Galen jumped back to avoid the slash, shooting out a burst of lightning from his fingers to keep the Sith from chasing him. Both warriors raised their lightsabers, absorbing the lighting with their crimson blades.

Meanwhile, with her power axe raised, Shepard stepped forward and walked towards her target, Kai Leng. "Your fancy lightsaber isn't going to save you this time." Shepard growled out as she prepared for their 4th rematch.

"A worm with a new weapon is a worm all the same." Leng hissed back.

Shepard smirked at how wrong Leng was. Focusing up her biotics, Shepard charged right for Leng, catapulting herself through the air.

"Predictable!" Leng snarled out as he stepped to the side, dodging the attack and swinging his lightsaber in return.

Swiftly, Shepard raised her power axe, blocking the lightsaber with the shaft of her weapon. Leng had expected his weapon to burn through the battleaxe and kill Shepard, but only found himself blinking in surprise as the axe remained undamaged by the plasma. Shepard made sure to commit Leng's dumbstruck face to memory as she then dropped low and swept Leng's legs out from underneath him.

Kai Leng fell backwards, landing supine on the ground as Shepard brought the power axe down right for his head. Before she could complete the execution stroke, Leng channeled the Force and sent Shepard flying backwards. Kipping himself up, Leng was now treating the axe with the proper caution and fear it deserved.

Using his telekinesis, Leng tried to rip the axe from Shepard's hands. However, the spectre's cybernetically enhanced strength gave her a literal iron grip on the weapon, keeping her from losing it. Both Leng and Shepard were now straining as they fought for control over the axe, Leng's telekinetic willpower and Shepard's raw physical strength fighting to overpower the other.

As they pulled against each other, a small idea whispered itself in Shepard's mind. It was an old judo adage she learned back in basic, pull when pushed, and push when pulled. So rather than continuing the tug of war, Shepard leapt forward, combining the force of her powerful legs and biotics along with Leng's own telekinesis. Leng's eyes widened in surprise as Shepard rocketed towards him once more, this time far faster than before. Before he could even react, Leng found himself flying across the battlefield as Shepard's iron fist connected with his jaw.

As the two rivals met in battle once more, Pyrrha was fighting for her life as two of the Dark Jedi went after her. Having already put away Miló and Akoúo̱, Pyrrha held her own red lightsaber with one hand, the handle by her face and blade parallel to the ground. The dark jedi moved first, knowing they had the advantage. As one, the dark jedi launched a flurry of rapid fire strikes. While one would attack high the other would attack low, synergistically working together to completely overwhelm the huntress.

But Pyrrha was not the same fighter she was the first time she fought a dark jedi in the Archives. Lightsaber twirling in her hands, Pyrrha's movements became extremely efficient, narrowly dodging and parrying attacks, the lightsaber did not stop moving as she created an area of near total protection around her. This was the lightsaber form III, Soresu, as taught to her by Galen. It allowed her to continuously back pedal, protecting herself from any damage as the dark jedi continued their assault. While she was able to protect herself, constantly playing defense prevented her from counter attacking.

Seeing they would not break through her defenses through bladework alone, one of the Sith jumped to the side, crackling electricity in his palms before launching a burst of lighting at her. Pyrrha wanted to block it with her lightsaber, but the Sith in front of her crossed blades with her, locking her lightsaber up.

So instead, Pyrrha quickly focused her semblance, and used the technique she developed during the battle of the Archive and perfected in training with Galen. Using her semblance, Pyrrha created a magnetic field around her, which caused the lighting to deflect and bounce off of her, some of which actually struck the Sith in front of her. She called this move her EM Shield, and was specifically developed for stopping the Sith's lighting abilities.

The Sith calling upon the lighting quickly stopped his attack as he saw that it was not only ineffective, but detrimental to his ally. At the same time the Sith engaged in melee with Pyrrha retreated, licking his wounds and glaring at his ally, but still fine and more than combat ready.

Concurrently, the four Skulls, now armed with stormtrooper E-11 blaster rifles instead of conventional Earth assault rifles, opened fire on Six and Wynne. As Wynne dove behind the nearest cover, rocking her old bones, Six charged right for the closest Skull. The two seven foot tall superhumans collided, but Six both the heavier and the stronger of the two. Like a football player, Six tackled the Skull and forced him backwards. The Skull could do nothing as Six forced him back through the double doors that led to the temple, sending them back to the gore filled entrance where the super mutants had built their encampment.

Taking full advantage of his momentum, Six then lifted the Skull into the air and slammed him onto the stone ground. The rock cracked beneath the parasite, as Six then raised his boot up and brought it down onto the Skull's torso. While the full power curbstomp of a Spartan super soldier would've killed even a Skull, the parasite unit's body solidified with the armored archaea. Six's boot crunched on the Skull's torso, cracking the stone and obviously wounding the creature, but not killing it.

As Six raised his foot again to permanently put down the parasite, an explosion of earth, fire, and metal hit him from behind as the other Skulls had caught up and launched an archaea boulder at him. Six was blasted forward, forcing him to dive and roll with the momentum to quickly stand. The explosion ripped through his shields, and two Skulls moved to capitalize. Dashing in front of Six with speeds that made them look like they were teleporting, the Skulls jumped and brought their machetes down on him.

Six knew that the Corrosive Archaea on the blades would even be able to cut through his Mjolnir armor, so he opted to take a page out of the book of Big Boss. Using CQC, Six stepped towards one of the Skulls, cutting the distance while parrying the wrist wielding the machete. Stopping the attack, he then quickly struck the flat of the blade with his right hand, disarming the Skull, while simultaneously grabbing the free blade with his left.

As he did this however, the 2nd Skull that was attacking him was mere seconds away from driving its own machete into Six's back. Just before the blade made contact, the Skull was blasted backwards by a white-blue explosion, as Six's distraction allowed Wynne to move out of cover and support him. Machete now in hand, Six impaled the Skull in front of him, the Corrosive Archaea burning through the Skull's Metallic Archaea armor. The Machete went right through the Skull's throat, which would've been a killing blow on anything less resilient than a Skull. Drawing his gravity hammer, Six then slammed the head into the Skull, still stunned by the blade in its neck. The resulting explosion shattered the armor, then the body of the Skull, sending chunks of gore flying like confetti.

Wynne continued to launch arcane bolts at the Skull she blasted off of Six, but this time the Skull was ready for her. Rapidly dashing from point to point, the Skull was far too fast for Wynne to reliably hit and dodged all of her attacks. Six moved to intercept, but the 4th and final Skull arrived and was now pelting him with blaster bolts. Six was forced to retreat and take cover while the first Skull he body slammed on the ground also stood and began suppressing him. With Six forced back, Wynne was helpless in melee against the Skull that was coming after her. With a slash of its machete it tore through Wynne's kinetic barriers and reinforced robes, leaving a long gash along her entire torso and sending her flying backwards, unceremoniously landing on the ground, bleeding and unconscious.

While Six and Wynne continued their battle against the Skulls, Sarah was having her own mismatch against the 4 Shadow Stormtroopers. Outnumbered, the shadow troopers, with their far superior mobility, ran circles around her, pelting her with repeated blaster bolts. Everytime, Sarah would get hit, she'd turn her gatling laser and open fire, only for the specific trooper to vanish with its stealth generator and retreat, while the other shadow troopers attack from other vantage points. While her Kinetic barriers would slow the blaster bolts down and her armor protected her from the follow up heat from the plasma, allowing her to tank much of the damage, she didn't have the skillset and equipment to take down her opponents. If she didn't get help soon, they were going to whittle her down through attrition alone.

The male dark jedi ran straight for Galen, attacking him from the front. As the two crossed blades, the female attempted to strike Starkiller from behind while he was preoccupied. Sensing the threat behind him, Six then grabbed the Jedi in front of him and rolled back into a sacrifice throw, flinging the Dark Jedi behind him. The woman attacking from behind had to spin and sidestep, dodging her colleague's body. As she evaded her ally, a slight turn of the head to watch her teammate fly by was all Galen needed to then run her through with his lightsaber.

As the dark jedi turned to Galen, her face contorted from shock, then anger, then fear, then nothing as she went limp. Withdrawing his lightsaber, Galen moved to finish off the male dark jedi he had thrown previously, when he was blasted by a familiar beam of crackling orange-red energy. Thrawn, revealing himself from his cover, was once again holding the Staff of Ragnos, and used the ancient Sith artifact to drain Galen of most of his Force energy. Galen collapsed to the ground almost immediately, his body immediately succumbing to extreme exhaustion.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shepard saw Starkiller fall to the ground, distracting her for a brief moment. A single moment of distraction that Kai Leng leapt on. His lightsaber thrusting forward, Shepard felt her skin blister and hiss as the blade of plasma singed her armor. Her kinetic barriers and the armor itself held, but it still hurt like Hell.

Shepard began counting Pi in her head, creating distracting thoughts to mask her next move. The diversion worked as Leng was unable to deflect a biotic throw that flung him backwards once more. Having a few seconds before Leng would return, Shepard spun and faced the Dark Jedi Galen was fighting, gripping her power axe with both hands. Lifting the axe high above her head, Shepard stepped forward and threw the axe with all her might.

Flying forward, the power axe spun like a buzzsaw. Sensing danger, the Dark Jedi turned and saw the weapon coming right for him. Having never seen a power axe before, the Dark Jedi raised his lightsaber up, ready to block the attack and presumably destroying the weapon. If it were any other weapon the Dark Jedi would've been right, but as the axe made contact with the plasma sword, it not only didn't disintegrate, but the sheer mass of it forced its way passed the lightsaber and into the jedi's chest.

The Dark Jedi barely had time to look surprised before the power axe embedded itself in his torso, killing him instantaneously. Before his body even hit the floor, Shepard was already by his corpse and ripped her axe free before moving to Galen. Without missing a beat Shepard scooped Starkiller off the ground and threw him over her shoulder, intent on getting him to safety.

As she began to withdraw however, the area around her began to glow with orange energy, before a massive explosion blasted her away. Her body ragdolled through the air before slamming against a wall and dropping to the ground. Her vision now blurred, Shepard could only groan as she barely made out the figure of Thrawn staring at her, having used the staff once more. Shepard's head then hit the ground as she fell unconscious.

As the Legion of the Damned continued to drop like flies, Six stood over Wynne's barely moving form, shielding her from the Skulls. Crossing both his arms, Six took blaster bolt after blaster bolt as he kept the Skulls from attacking his friend. Wynne's eyes barely fluttered open, straining as she reached for her staff. Lightly gripping it, Wynne was able to cast a minor healing spell, healing the worst of the damage, but she was still far from able to rejoin the fight.

Sensing weakness, one of the Skulls dashed for Wynne once more, hoping Six was too distracted by the blaster fire to stop him. Moving behind Six, the Skull thrust his machete towards the injured mage. Before the blade reached its mark however, Six's hand shot out and gripped the Skull's wrist with vice-like strength. The Skull's face snapped to Six, only to find Six's other hand grabbing onto its throat.

The Skull thrashed and kicked, swinging its fist wildly as it tried to break free of Six's grasp. But despite the Skull's imposing size, it could not escape. Six was not going to let the creature go. Then Six began to pull. Yanking the Skull's sword arm to Six's left, and the Skull's head to the right, the Spartan-III began to literally rip the Skull in half. Like a wishbone, the Skull was torn vertically, from shoulder to groin, bones, guts, and other pieces of meat fell to the ground below him.

With two dead and two to go, Six turned and faced the remaining Skulls. He could feel the burns piling up beneath his armor, with the wounds on his undersuit leaking blood. But he was a Spartan, he could ignore such pain and keep fighting. The last two Skulls paused their assault as they examined the violence Six just committed against their fellow. While they were unthinking, puppet soldiers, even they had to give pause after witnessing one of their comrades being torn in half.

As Six took one step forward, the Skull to his right was suddenly tackled from behind as the power armored Sarah Lyons, armor burned and leaking blood, jumped onto the Skull and brought it to the ground.

"Six! Tag out!" Sarah called as she grabbed the Skull with both her mechanical hands.

Seeing the Shadow Troopers giving chase to Sarah, firing shots that slammed into her back, Six nodded and swapped foes with the Sentinel. The Skull violently flailed, trying to buck Sarah off of him, his Corrosive Archaea starting to burn its way into Sarah's power armor, rusting it over a matter of seconds. Sarah knew she had to be quick, lest her armor be completely destroyed. Activating her semblance Bonds of Steel, Sarah's body was covered with organic metal, drastically increasing her physical strength. The Skull's thrashing beneath was cut short as she dug her thumbs into the Skull's eyeballs and crushed its head between her palms like an overly ripe fruit.

As Sarah reverted from her steel form, the final Skul leapt at her, striking with a speed and ferocity she couldn't stop. The Skull's machete sunk into Sarah's shoulder, slowed by her armor and aura, but digging through nonetheless. Ignoring the wound, Sarah grabbed onto the Skull's arms and used her weight to bring both of them to the ground, starting a grapple with both fighters fighting for control.

While Sarah handled the Skulls, Six shifted his focus onto the Shadow Troopers, who vanished thanks to their cloaking devices. But it seemed that they didn't know the capabilities of Six's Mjolnir armor as pings on his motion tracker allowed Six to keep track of their general location. This combined with his superhuman senses and years of experience fighting cloaked elites and brutes, the Shadow Troopers couldn't hide from him.

With a swing of his gravity hammer, the sound of the artificial gravity exploding mixed with a short lived scream as a shadow trooper exploded from the impact. His allies, seeing that their stealth field generators were now useless, all apparated and unloaded into Six, hoping to put him down with overwhelming fire. As they did, Six immediately brought his fist to the ground and activated his armor lock.

The blaster bolts pinged harmlessly off of Six's armor as he maintained the lock. The Shadow Troopers, realizing the futility of their actions, stopped firing and instead aimed down their sights and waited for the armor lock to finish. Six knew they were waiting as well, and tensed his right leg within the immobile armor. Six was pinned and he knew it, and as soon as the armor lock dropped, it was going to be a race of reflexes to see if they could shoot him first or if Six could get out of the way.

As soon as the Armor Lock dropped, Six moved to dive but found himself unable. His body was stopped by a telekinetic force. Eyes darting around, he was able to spot Kai Leng standing by one of the Shadow Troopers, hand extended, using the Force to hold Six in place.

"Do it." Kai Leng growled out.

At his orders, the Shadow Troopers put blaster bolt after blaster bolt into Six, repeated shots his burning through his armor and into his flesh.

Shepard found herself barely able to open her eyes as she came to consciousness. Both her eyes and her body felt heavy. Commands sent by her brain to move her limbs only returned feelings of pain and agony.

Slowly tilting her head to the side, she saw that Galen was still unconscious next to her, having been the most affected by the Staff of Ragnos. As she heard the telltale sound of lightsabers clashing, she slowly turned her head once more and saw Pyrrha retreating from two Dark Jedi. Her arms and legs were covered in burns that seared through her ballistic mesh undersuit. She was hurt and Shepard could tell, her mobility extremely limited as the two jedi circled her like vultures.

Beyond Pyrrha, Shepard could see Six on the ground. Body smouldering from blaster bolts, his Mjolnir armor now sporting multiple blackened holes, Six was unmoving as Kai Leng stood above him. A quick check of Six's vitals said he was alive, but just barely. She couldn't see Sarah or Wynne, but the fact that they weren't there helping did not bode well for their status.

"It is quite an inglorious end, is it not?" A cold, hushed voice spoke above her.

Shepard cranked her neck upwards and saw Grand Admiral Thrawn, standing above both her and Galen is his ever stoic and composed posture.

Thrawn continued. "You have all done well in avoiding capture for this long, but it seems that the chase has finally come to an end."

Sending a weak glare at Thrawn, Shepard could only ask, "Why haven't you killed us already?" It was a fair question. Her, Galen, and Six were all at the mercy of the Imperials. A single stroke of a knife would remove the largest obstacles the Empire has.

"That would be one way to end this story, yes." Thrawn acknowledged. "But you and your fellows have proven yourselves to be beyond mere rebels and insurgents. Beyond many within our motley coalition as well. Killing you all would be a waste. It would be far more beneficial for us to take you in and have you join us. After all, what greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause?"

Shepard narrowed her eyes at Thrawn, having felt like she'd heard that last quote before. "It's funny that you think we'd join you." she spat out.

"It's funny that you think your compliance is a factor." he retorted. His speech was always that of barley above a whisper, but held strength and power nonetheless. Thrawn raised the butt of the Staff of Ragnos up, ready to bring it down on Shepard's head. "Now why don't you go back to sleep."

But before the knockout blow connected, Thrawn stopped as he began floating in the air, covered in some kind of white light.

"What?" Thrawn's surprise was evident even in his quiet voice.

Turning, Thrawn saw that the same glow now covered his allies, as Kai Leng, the Dark Jedi, and the Shadow Troopers were now floating as well. As the glow only seemed to affect the villains in this fight, Thrawn was able to quickly deduce what was happening. Only one person in this room had the power to affect all of them like this.

His suspicion was confirmed when he looked to the spot where the once-unconscious goddess Lileath lay, now awake and casting some sort of spell. Thrawn did not lose control of himself, giving into some base howling like Kai Leng did. He merely scowled and aimed the Staff of Ragnos at Lileath once again, this time intent on draining her completely, regardless of what their master needed her for.

But before Thrawn could drain her, Lielath's magic coalesced in her hands and exploded outwards as she cried, "Return to your foul master!"

And with a burst of light, the servants of Chaos found themselves blinded. When Thrawn gained his sight back, he found himself standing alongside Kai Leng and the surviving Dark Jedi, Shadow Troopers, and the last surviving Skull, back in the red deserts of Korriban.

While Kai Leng snarled and howled, cursing what just happened, Thrawn merely adopted an annoyed scowl. It seemed that they were rather far from the Citadel of Chaos, or any Imperial Base for that matter. Thrawn attempted to access the Forerunner teleportation grid, but found it was offline.

Sighing, Thrawn had to admit when an operation ended in failure, but at least took solace in the fact that it took the intervention of a literal god for the insurgents to escape his grasp.

Back in the Temple of Order, Shepard forced herself up as she slapped medi-gel onto the worst of her wounds. As the anesthetic took effect, Shepard did a quick check on Galen to make sure he was still breathing, before rushing to Lileath's side. The Goddess was barely awake, having expended the last of her magical energy to teleport Thrawn and his lackeys away.

"Shep-ard." Lileath wheezed out.

"Hey, I got you, I got you." The Commander gently cradled the head of the goddess.

"Shepard… find the Grail… find the others." Lileath closed her eyes once more, falling limp in Shepard's grasp.

Shepard immediately checked if she was still alive. To her relief, she was still breathing, but now in some sort of coma.

"Grail? Others? What the Hell are you talking about!?" Shepard had to shove down the urge to try and shake the frail, old woman awake. Sighing and shaking her head, Shepard decided she could figure out what she meant later. Now she needed to focus on getting everyone out. "Sound off! Who's not dead?" She yelled out.

"Shepard!" the familiar voice of Pyrrha called back as she was currently applying medi-gel to Six's wounds. "Six is down! He's alive but in bad shape."

Shepard grunted. "Wynne! You still alive?"

"Yes, yes, yes, stop yelling." Wynne's haggard voice called out as she entered the temple, arm draped over Sarah's shoulder. She had a nasty gash that ran across her chest that shredded her robes, but was sealed and no longer bleeding. Wynne knelt down next to Six and began casting a minor healing spell which stabilized Six, but she no longer had the energy to regenerate major wounds fully.

Pulling herself up, Shepard felt conflicting emotions of disappointment that they were so thoroughly defeated, but relief at having survived the battle. Ignoring whatever feelings were stirring beneath her, Shepard refocused on getting her team out of here.

Sheaprd called out over the comms, "T3, we need evac. LZ should be clear, just bring the pelican right to the entrance." T3 beeped in response as he redirected the Pelican for the Legionnaires as Shepard barked more orders out. "Sarah, you get Six. Pyrrha, move Galen. I'll get Lileath out."

The warriors complied with their orders, gingerly picking up their unconscious allies. Soon enough, T3 landed the pelican and the Legion flew back to Mother Base to lick their wounds and figure out their next step.

Back at Mother Base, the entirety of the Legion stood in grim silence within their briefing room. Shepard and her soldiers met up with Snake and the rest of Fireteam Fox, and any jubilation from taking out the Super Mutant Master and capturing Metal Gear Zeke was quickly dashed by the revelations they garnered in the Temple of Order. Lileath's unconscious body was placed upon a hospital bed, and was within the center of the Legion, never to be left alone. Meanwhile Six and Galen had regained consciousness by the time they returned to Mother Base, and despite their injuries, they did not want to be left out of the conversation.

"So… what now?" Sev's gruff voice spoke out first, his arms crossed and gaze fixed at the floor.

There was a lull as no one deigned to answer immediately. Taking a puff from his cigar, Snake soon stepped up to fill the void.

"Nothing's changed. We have our mission. Take out this Darth Nihilus, or whatever Amalgamation he is now. If we can save more souls from chaos, then it's our duty to do that." Snake's response was blunt and direct, but it's what the Legion needed now.

Sarah, sitting in a wooden chair wearing her recon armor, sat up to respond. "That's all well and good, but it doesn't change the fact that we are hilariously outgunned. Sure, we got a nuclear mech on our team now, but they still have an army and a demi-god, one that's in a lot better condition than ours." Sarah gestured to the comatose Lileath. "We couldn't even take down Thrawn and his goons. What are we supposed to do against a demi-god of Chaos?"

Silence once again reigned the conversation. Normally Sarah wouldn't be bringing such negativity, but their recent defeat brought morale to an all time low, and the insurmountable odds they faced were not helping.

"The amount of Force-users they have is giving them a staggering advantage as well." Thane spoke up. "Galen, would you be able to teach us the ways of the Force, in the same way the Empire taught Kai Leng and Skull Face?"

Galen shook his head. "Sorry but no. The Force… is not something that can just be taught. It's a gift you are born with. I don't know how the Empire is, gifting, the Force to its officers, but it is not natural, nor would it be easy to accomplish. If I had to guess, it would have to do with that staff Thrawn had, but I don't know what it is."

Brows furrowed, Pyrrha stood up with a look of renewed determination. "Then perhaps it is time to throw caution to the wind, and unlock everyone's aura."

Nodding her head, Shepard thought it was a good idea. "It would be a welcome power boost. If anything the last battle taught us that we can't just rely on Wynne to keep us in the fight."

Wynne agreed as well. "Yes, and the protective shield it gives would be a nice way to ensure I don't get gutted like a fish once more."

"Then we're in agreement." Snake spoke out. "As soon as possible, we'll start unlocking the aura's of everyone else. With luck, we unlock our semblances soon as well. Meanwhile, what do you know of this Grail, Shepard? And what others was she talking about as well?"

"All honesty, I know next to nothing." Shepard admitted. "Before Lileath clocked out, she said to find the Grail and the others. Nothing more. For the first one, only thing I could think of is the Holy Grail from Arthurian mythology. As for the others, maybe there are more people here than we thought? People who'd fight alongside us?"

"That's a lot of speculation." Sev grumbled. "But it's also the only thing we have to go on right now."

"We'll be hard pressed to go on scouting missions now, especially if we want to keep people with the Goddess at all times." Snake added on. "But like Sev said, we don't have much else to go on right now. So… once we're all rested up, we go on a quest to find any help, and to find the Holy Grail."

Shepard could only sigh and shake her head at the juxtaposition of how serious Snake was with how ridiculous the words coming out of his mouth were. She never thought she'd be missing the Reapers. At least they made sense.

Deep beneath the Forever Fall Forest…

A creature stirred within its burrow. The creature was known and feared for many millennia as the Grimm Wyvern. For much of that time, the Wyvern slept underneath the peak of Mount Glenn, waiting for the call of its mistress to feed once more. And when the call came, when the air itself was so suffused with fear and terror, the Wyvern awoke, spreading its wings and terror over the humans and mortals beneath. But the Wyvern made a mistake. At the behest of one of its mistress's minions, the Wyvern helped kill a specific human, when one of the damned Silver-eyed warriors blasted it with her powers.

That was the last thing the Wyvern remembered before waking up in a familiar Red Forest. Wounded from the Silver-eyed warrior's attack, the Wyvern began to both spawn lesser grimm to protect it, as well as dig out a large burrow for it to rest and recover. It continued to sleep here for who knows how long, continually spawning more and more grimm.

It was content with sleeping for as long as it needed, until it sensed something new. Something malicious and evil, a creature of terror that indeed reminded the Wyvern of its mistress. The presence was such a force of negative energy that the Wyvern was forced to awaken and confront its intruder.

Standing within its den, the Wyvern turned to face its intruder, and was thoroughly confused. It was a human sized creature, having a body made of some black material, and on its face was a bone white mask in the shape of a human skull, with two red squares beneath its eyes. If the Wyvern didn't know better, it would've thought it was looking at a human Grimm. Regardless, the Wyvern would not allow any trespass against it to go unpunished.

Stepping forward, the Wyvern growled at its intruder. But the man would not be intimidated. The being that was once Darth Nihilus would not be intimidated. The Grimm roared, howling at the intruder before lunging, gaping maw open to kill.

But, before the Wyvern could bite down on the newest creature, it froze. It strained underneath the telekinetic pressure of Darth Nihilus's Force. Nihilus simply tilted his head, curious at the monstrosity before him. He knew that this Wyvern could summon and control the lesser grimm. So to control the grimm, one simply had to control the Wyvern.

Reaching out with the Force, into the blackest part of the Dark Side, and he bent the Wyvern to his will. The Wyvern felt its mind being torn out, ripped apart and remade to be loyal to Nihilus. It was not unlike how its queen would ensure the loyalty of the stronger grimm. And so, when the Nihilus finally released the Wyvern from its grip, the Wyvern stared directly at him, snarling.

Nihilus slightly raised his head, as if to look down on the far larger creature. A simple gesture, and it conveyed a simple message. Obey. And so the Grimm Wyvern did just that, kneeling to its new master, and adding the hordes of grimm to the army of Chaos.

Back in the Capital Wasteland, during the Battle of the Temple of Order…

At the start of Chaos's attack upon the Temple of Order, the elven goddess Lileath released a powerful spell that seemed to have no immediate effect. This was simply because no one on either side of the battle was there to witness what was now occurring.

Across the Capital Wasteland, multiple pillars of light shone down, burning across the sky and throughout the post-apocalyptic ground. From one pillar, a pair of heavy, military issue boots walked forward. The owner wore dark green-grey camouflage fatigues, and various plates of metallic green armor over his torso, shoulders, and forearms.

The only part of his flesh that was visible was his dark skinned head, adorned with a neatly shaved mustache, and a tall, marine utility hat. In his hands was a fully loaded 8-gauge M90 Shotgun, and on his back was a large, blocky heavy weapon known as the W/AV M6 G Nonlinear Rifle, colloquially known as the Spartan Laser.

Pulling off his hat, Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson of the UNSC Marine Corps looked at the devastated cityscape around him and could only say, "What in the Sam Hell?"

Chapter 24

Chapter Text

Several Days Later...

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee." Pyrrha once more chanted, her crimson aura triggering a similarly blood-red aura of Sev.

"For it is through service that we achieve peace. Through this we become sentinels for good and protectors of all, united by brotherhood and purpose. I release your soul and by my shoulder let you roar." The steel-grey Aura of Sarah Lyons shone bright as Noble Six's own aura was released, a deep forest green.

"Kalahira, mistress of the hunt, I ask not for forgiveness, but strength. Beset by wickedness and contention, grant this one the power to hunt his enemies, so that one day he may return to peaceful shores." Thane's prayer, coming from his own beliefs rather than an emulation of Pyrrha's chant, allowed his own aura to flare green as he unlocked Venom Snake's aura, a dark, navy blue.

Shepard smiled as she watched the Legionnaires test their new powers, flexing their auric muscles as it were. Snake and Sev wasted no time testing out the upper limits of their powers, now capable of lifting Warthogs of several thousand pounds with contemptuous ease, as well as gaining the ability to leap and jump absurd distances while surviving lethal falls. Six, on the other hand, already having superhuman physical abilities, was pushed to levels even further beyond. Combining his augmentations along with his aura and MJOLNIR armor, Six was easily the physically strongest member of the Legion, if not the physically strongest person in the Final Destination. The fact that he could overhead press the AT-TE, a vehicle that was at the very least a 100 Metric tons, left no doubt that he could probably vaporize people with a single punch. Speaking of Six, he and Snake both hadn't started gushing blood out of every orifice, meaning that their Aura wasn't messing with their enhancements and previous injuries. Snake made no indication that he'd be getting his eyesight back anytime soon, but Pyrrha mentioned that Aura's healing factor was more or less good for regenerating minor wounds and only stabilizing major ones. Lost limbs and the sort were beyond its capabilities.

With this, Shepard was the only one left who needed to get her Aura unlocked. Wynne and Galen had gotten their Aura's unlocked the day previous, and neither of them were skilled enough in its usage yet to free Shepard's soul. It didn't bother Jane too much, as while the rest of the Legion could test their new powers, she could focus on planning their next move.

It had been several days since the Battle of the Temple of Order, and while things weren't necessarily looking good, things could be going worse as well. Sure, the news that the forces of Chaos were being led by what was essentially a three-headed demi-god had put a damper on morale, the situation hadn't necessarily changed as they'd be fighting that amalgamation regardless of whether or not they knew about it. On the plus side, Snake and his team had accomplished his mission, killing the leader of the Super Mutants and getting a nuclear capable mech on the Legion's side. It's the little things like that, that help them get through the days.

As Shepard watched the Legion continue their power testing, a series of electronic whirls and whistles from behind her got her attention. The commander took a quick peek over her shoulder and saw T3-M4 approaching her, headlight bulb flashing.

"Hey T3, what's the matter?" Shepard asked, curious as the little droid didn't often go out of its way to speak with the other members.

T3 let out a burst of technobabble that caused Shepard to purse her lips. Not because of the content of the message however, but because Shepard was still learning the droidspeake from this universe and could barely understand the utility droid half the time.

"Uhh… I don't suppose you're trying to tell me that Pyrrha is stuck in a well?" Shepard weakly joked.

Despite having no actual facial expression of any kind, Shepard could feel the blank stare T3 was giving her. The droid then rolled up to the Commander and extended out his unity arm, handing Shepard a datapad. Scowling, Shepard began to thumb through the datapad, and realized that it was an updated version of the map of the Final Destination.

"Oh you finished the decryption from the Archives! Why didn't you say so?" Shepard gave a cheeky smirk to the droid.

T3 continued his black stare at the human, before extending his unity arm once more and giving Shepard a low voltage shock.

"Ow! Son of a- alright, alright, I'll stop. Obviously we need to get a sarcasm module installed into you." Shepard quipped as T3 began to roll away.

Looking down at the data T3 had translated, Shepard carefully plotted the Legion's next step. There were 5 primary points of interest in the Final Destination, the Temple of Order, the Citadel of Darkness, the Archives, the Armory, and the Tomb. According to the information from the Archives, these were the primary locations that had existed in the Final Destination when it was first formed as Haven. Anchor points that remain consistent regardless of how many times this dimension is reformed.

The Legion had already visited both the Archives and the Temple of Order, gaining insight and history into this world at both locations, but when it came to tangible help, they were found wanting. Meanwhile the Citadel of Darkness, the obvious lair of the forces of Chaos, was placed smack dab in the middle of Korriban. And the Legion was so hilariously outgunned by the forces of Chaos that any attempt to attack the Citadel was just a convoluted way of committing suicide.

Right now, the Legion's greatest weapon was their secrecy. The Empire, the Covenant, and the rest of the forces of Chaos had yet to find where the Legion had been operating out of. And their small size allowed them to enter and leave battlefields extraordinarily quickly, usually retreating before any large scale retaliation could be mustered. But raids and lightning strikes weren't going to work anymore. If the Battle at the Temple of Order taught them anything, it's that Chaos was ramping up its efforts to put the Legion down, and they needed more firepower to contend with the armies chaos commanded.

For a brief moment, Shepard idly wondered if it would be possible to get one of the armies here on their side. According to Snake, he believed that the Master had some sort of psychic control over the super mutants, so with him dead maybe they could be negotiated with, or at the very least manipulated into fighting Chaos. Meanwhile the geth have been busy fighting everyone who wasn't a synthetic. Shepard sighed, wishing she still had the code Legion wrote to rewrite the heretic geth and bring them into compliance.

Regardless, the geth on Ilos was their next most likely target. This was because the ruins placed in geth territory was the Armory. As implied by the name, the Armory apparently stored technology, weapons, and equipment from all of the different cycles the Final Destination went through. It's location on Ilos had explained where many of the Geth were acquiring non-geth weapons, such as the power axe Shepard now wielded, as well as various unknown rifles that Thane had reported the geth carrying.

If they could complete a raid on the Armory, then that would get the Legion a plethora of equipment that could be used to even the playing field. Shepard legitimately had no idea what to expect, but if her power axe was to be taken as a baseline, then they would be getting some much needed upgrades from it. Because if they couldn't get their hands on an army, then every Legionnaire was going to have to be an army on their own if they wanted any chance at winning this damned game.

Back in the Capital Wasteland…

Sgt. Johnson kept his shotgun level, finger off the trigger, as good trigger discipline was expected for a man with decades of combat experience, but still ready to take down anything that was even remotely hostile to him. Despite being in an unknown, deadly environment, Johnson kept a cool head and a steady heart rate. While this kind of situation would be terrifying for a normal civvie, Johnson was a proud member of the Corps, and this would be considered a Tuesday for him. Sure the last thing he remembered was getting blasted by that goddamn floating lightbulb Guilty Spark, but this wouldn't be the first time the Sergeant has cheated death.

After several hours of walking, Johnson decided to take a break within a ruined convenience store. Lucky for him, there were still a few unopened bottles of clean water and sealed cans of some kind of mystery meat called cram. Johnson raised an eyebrow when he saw that the packaging date said 2077, but the food still seemed to be in serviceable condition. Hell it even tasted better than most UNSC MREs.

Once he was refueled by the mystery meat that was probably more preservatives than protein, he clicked on his radio and called out, "This is Sergeant Major Avery Johnson of the UNSC Marine Corps calling out on all UNSC channels. Can anyone hear me?"

This had been Johnson's routine for the past few days. He swore he saw a pelican flying around the first day he was here, but he saw no sign of it since. He had come into conflict with the locals, some strange yellow frankenstein looking motherf*ckers that took as much punishment as a brute but were somehow even dumber. They weren't too much trouble to handle as long as he got the drop on them, as their muscles didn't do much against 8-gauge shells, but he didn't have unlimited ammunition.

In addition, his long range radio transceiver was busted thanks to the Light Bulb, so he was stuck walking and using brusts of short range communications, hoping that someone friendly was close enough to hear it. As Johnson scooped the last handful of cram down his throat, a burst of static through his radio almost made him jump.

"Agh! Goddamn!" Johnson exclaimed as he pulled his radio headset off, the white noise screeching and hissing.

Through the static however, Johnson could hear a voice barely coming through. "He-bzzzt- yell-tssssshhk -stein!"

Johnson jumped off of the convenience store counter he was sitting on and grabbed his shotgun. There was someone close enough to send him short range radio transmissions. The signal was garbled and distorted, which meant they were probably on the edge of his range, but that was better than nothing.

Moving out of the store, shotgun level in case he ran into anymore locals, Johnson kept his radio receiving, moving in random directions until the transmission started to clear up, giving him a specific direction to start moving towards. While Johnson was excited that he finally found something that could potentially be friendly, he had far too much experience to simply just rush towards his objective. That was a mistake that killed too many young marines who thought that they were invincible. So he moved from cover to cover, piles of rubble and corners of destroyed buildings, scanning for any potential hostiles before moving on. After a few hundred meters, the call began to clear up.

"Hello! Please, can anyone hear me!? I've had it up to here with being underground!" A clearly male voice yelled out over the radio. "If you didn't know, being buried alive really sucks so if anyone can save me, I will not say no!"

Johnson picked up the pace as the continued to move towards the transmission's source. "This is Sergeant Major Johnson of the UNSC Marine Corps. What's your location?"

The voice sounded startled by Johnson's reply. "The UNS- oh f*ck yeah I haven't seen you guys since before we landed on Chorus!" the voice jubilantly called out. "Here lemme see if I can ping your location… aaannnd done! Ok I've interfaced with your systems and sent you my location. I'm currently trapped underneath some rubble about a hundred meters North of your position. I'll set a waypoint for you so you don't get lost."

Internally, Johnson questioned how this so far unnamed person was able to access his equipment so quickly, but he figured he'd ask him after he pulled his ass out of dirt. "Understood, I'll be right there."

"Hmm, not like I can go anywhere right now."

Double timing it to the indicated location, Johnson found himself looking into an alleyway, the waypoint aiming directly above a pile of loose rubble and debris. Surrounding the debris were two more of those strange, yellow frankensteins seemingly… kneeling?

"Oh pretty light!" one of the mutants called out. "Tells us what to do!"

"I already told you what to do. You can f*ck right off!" the voice he's been interacting with shouted at the monsters.

"But how do we do that?" The other mutant asked.

Johnson resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he brought up his shotgun. With twobangs, the supermutants' heads exploded like it was a grunt birthday party. Approaching the dead bodies, Johnson then scanned for what could be his mysterious contact.

"Son of a bitch!" the voice cried out as the mutants died. As Johnson approached, the voice seemed to refocus on the sergeant. "Oh thank Christ you showed up. And you're not a giant, yellow frankenstein, even better!"

Scowling, Johnson realized the voice was coming from underneath a slab of concrete. Bending down, the sergeant got both his hands under the rock and used his legs to flip the debris over. Underneath, Johnson saw something he was quite familiar with. A chip. An AI-microchip much like the one Cortana used. Displaying from the chip, a holographic AI appeared, taking on the avatar of a light-blue Spartan-II holding a sniper rifle.

"Hmm, an AI? What's your designation?" Johnson asked.

The AI seemed to be a little taken aback by the question. "Oh wow, straight to the point huh? Well, my friends call me Church, but my enemies call me the motherf*cker."

Johnson gave Church a blank stare. "Right I'm sure you had them all quivering in their boots. The name's Johnson. Sergeant Major Johnson of the USNC Marine Corps."

"Well all things considered, I do have to say it's good to meet you Sergeant. So far this has gone a lot better than most of my interactions with the UNSC. Usually you guys just after me and my buddies save the day and clean up."

Johnson scowled at Church, confused. "Then Hell does that mean? You know what, nevermind. Church, why haven't you deleted yourself as per Cole Protocol?"

Church's avatar seemed to think for a moment, bringing his hand to his chin. "Hmm, now that you mention it, I did kinda delete myself, before I found myself here. Who the f*ck is Cole though?"

"Cole? As in Admiral Preston Cole? How the Hell do you not know who he is?" Johnson was dumbstruck at the AI's lack of knowledge.

"Hey! Sorry I don't suck the dick of every blowhard you guys turn into heroes." Church shot back. "Me and the UNSC have a nice stable relationship where I leave them alone and they leave me alone."

"I…" Johnson couldn't really process what was going on.

"Oh by the way, six contacts to your left, sixty meters and closing." Church blankly stated.

"What!? Oh motherf-" Johnson immediately ducked behind the pile of rubble as bullets wildly flew around above him, pinging against the concrete buildings.

"Little shiny voice god belongs to us!" one of the super mutants yelled out as it fired its hunting rifle at Johnson.

Johnson turned to Church and just stared..

Church's hologram rubbed the back of his head, and had the decency to at least look a little bit sheepish. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention. I maaaaay have convinced some of the locals I was a god."

Johnson sighed and elected to ignore Church until the battle was over. Racking another shell, Johnson reached into his belt felt for how many grenades he had left. Only two frags and a single plasma grenade. He wasn't exactly bleeding explosives right now, but this wasn't the time to be stingy. The yellow freaks were wildly inaccurate, but they only needed to be lucky once to put Johnson down permanently.

Slipping a frag grenade, he lobbed it over the cover, watching it bounce towards the super mutants. The berserking mutants didn't seem to take notice of the explosive as it rolled next to a mutant's legs before exploding in a cloud of fire and shrapnel that destroyed the mutant's lower body. Several nearby mutants were forced back, stumbling away from the grenade, protecting their eyes with their arms, blinding them.

Seizing the opportunity, Johnson rushed forward with his shotgun. With two blasts of his shotgun, 8 gauge slugs tore through the torso of two of the mutants, instantly putting them into the ground. They fell to the ground as the mutants recovered, loosing a counter volley. Johnson bit back a curse as he was forced to hunker down once more as hot lead began flying over his head.

Johnson raised his shotgun above his cover and blindfired two shots, hoping to hit something. However the slugs flew wildly pinging off the nearby walls as the remaining Super Mutants continued to push, undeterred by the return fire. Church, watching the whole thing happen from his makeshift altar, knew that if the mutants got close to the Sergeant, they'd tear him limb from limb and use his pancreas as a knapsack. So he decided to intervene. Shifting his hologram in front of the mutants, Church manipulated his projection to appear 20 feet tall, easily towering over the mutants.

"Wait!" Church called out, trying to make his voice deeper to sound more authoritative. It didn't work. "Wait my uhhh, minions. Before you go and slay this heretic, listen to the final words of your god!"

The super mutants stopped in their tracks, staring up at Church's hologram and awe and terror. So taken aback by the majesty of the AI in front of them, that none of the super mutants saw the blinking red line that emitted from Johnson's position. The blinking red laser was familiar to Church and he sucked in an excited breath as he did a double take behind him, seeing Johnson charging up his Spartan Laser.

"Oh!" Church squawked out. "Son of a bitch!"

The mutants barely had time to follow Church's sightline when a massive beam of hyperconcentrated energy discharged from the heavy weapon. The laser instantly cut through the bodies of all of the remaining mutants, disintegrating limbs and burning through the armored torsos of the brutes. The mutants all dropped to the ground, dead within milliseconds of being hit. As the smoldering corpses continued to burn, Johnson left his cover, holstered his laser, and approached Church.

"Aw man you have a giant laser gun! That's freaking sweet. I remember when I used to possess this floating, alien eyeball robot, and had a giant laser on there too. Good times." Church seemed to lose himself in his memories for a brief moment.

"Riiight." For now, Johnson found it best not to question the eccentric, possibly rampant AI. "Anyway, I'm looking for a way out of this hellhole, and I'm assuming you want in?"

"f*ck yeah. Being a god for a bunch of brain damaged mutants isn't as fun as the movies make it out to be." Church shrugged.

"Good, I could use the support." Johnson picked up Church's AI chip and put it into his utility belt. "Now, a couple of days ago, I heard a pelican flying over. You see it too?"

Church's hologram appeared right next to Johnson's shoulder. "Yeah I did. I tried to ping 'em but the idiots must've had their radios off or something. They were flying South in a hurry."

As Church briefed him, Johnson bent down next to a mutant and picked up a rifle that looked like it was based on the older Russian AK models. The mutants had a few spare clips on them, so he had another option for his continually depleting supply of shotgun shells "Alright, we have an objective then. I hope you like Cadences Church, because we're going to be walking a long way."

"Trust me buddy. Nothing you sing will ever be as bad as listening to Donut singing the entire soundtrack of Frozen in the shower." Church shuddered.

Johnson worked his mouth open and closed at Church, trying to come up with some sort of response, before ultimately just shaking his head and continuing his way South.

Chapter 25

Chapter Text

Mother Base...

Standing within the tent that currently housed Mother Base's armory, Shepard double checked the kinetic barriers on her Blood Dragon armor as she finished donning her gear. It was a well practiced motion she had done a thousand times over her career as a soldier, and one that she had yet to overlook. She had heard dozens of different adages about the necessity of being prepared, and she could without a doubt say that all of them were correct. As the commander loaded up the rest of her usual arsenal of weapons, she heard the flaps to the tent open up. To her surprise, she saw Pyrrha quietly shuffle her way into the armory to join her.

"Hey Pyr, everything alright?" Shepard nonchalantly asked as she holstered her geth plasma shotgun to her back.

Pyrrha shrugged as she sat on a nearby wooden table. "Doing as best as I can be, I suppose. I feel like I would be doing better if I wasn't being excluded from today's mission." she said with a small amount of annoyance in her voice. "My powers are more than suited for fighting geth."

Today, the Legion was going to perform a raid against the ruins called the Armory. It was a sneaking mission to infiltrate the Ilos and the Armory while trying not to draw the ire of every geth in their territory. The team chosen was Snake, Shepard, Thane, and T3-M4, Snake for his expertise in stealth espionage, Shapard and Thane for their experience fighting geth, and T3 for his cyberwarfare defense.

Shepard shook her head at Pyrrha's words, and turned to face the teen with her arms crossed and face impassive. She looked Pyrrha right in the eyes, Shepard's stern gaze showing that she wasn't amused, and the more petulant teen looked away first.

Sighing, Shepard said, "Believe me Pyrrha, we're all aware of that. But this is a stealth mission we're going on. And while you're more than well trained, stealth isn't exactly your forte."

Pyrrha's lips pouted almost an imperceptible amount. "It's not like you have a reputation for being subtle either." the huntress shot back, but her words were teasing and lacked any actual spite in them.

Shepard smirked for a brief second, before indignantly defending herself. "Hey I can be stealthy when I want to! Did I ever tell you about the time I helped my master thief friend infiltrate a crime lord's party and commit a heist?" Despite the larceny, Shepard had to admit she was pretty proud of that night.

"And how did that mission end?" Pyrrha raised a brow unfazed.

Coughing into her hand, Shepard flushed a bit. "Alright, we may have tripped the alarm and had to blast our way out. But my partner Kasumi jumped up on top of a gunship to disable it so we could kill the crime lord, so that was pretty cool." Shepard tried to gloat, but Pyrrha remained unimpressed.

Goddamnit when did I become an old person trying to impress teenagers with my war stories.Shepard groaned before trying to defend herself once more.

"Ok fine that was a bad example. There was this one stealth mission on a planet called Virmire-" Shepard cut herself off, thinking,that mission ended with us detonating a nuke."Actually no not that one. How about this one mission on Omega where we pretended to be mercenaries to save my vigilante friend-"that ended with a firefight with another gunship that nearly killed Garrus.

As Shepard struggled to come up with an answer, Pyrrha snarked, "You need a minute there Shepard? I could come back later if you like." It wasn't often that Pyrrha could get one on Shepard, so she was going to milk it.

"No, no, no… I'm sure I have something." Shepard pondered for a few more seconds before her eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh! I got one. Saving Thane's son! Thane and I were looking for his son Kolyat to stop him before he could comitt a murder. Had to shadow the target and wait until Kolyat showed himself so we could intercept him." Shepard had a satisfied grin on her face.

Pyrrha chuckled. "What, so no car chases, air strikes, or fire fights?"

"Nope!" Shepard grinned, popping the 'p' as she said it.

"Well, I'm sure that was Thane was the reason your cover wasn't blown."

Shepard shrugged. "Well, Thane'll be on mission with me, so I'm sure he'll keep me in line."

Pyrrha smiled at that, but it quickly left her face as she sighed. "I just wish I could go with you guys, watch both of your backs."

Frowning, Shepard walked to the huntress and sat beside her. "Pyrrha, what's going on? You're not normally this… sulky."

Pyrrha's own frown deepened "I'm not sulking! I'm just…" Pyrrha sighed, collecting her thoughts. "I just hate the fact that I'm just sitting around in base. It makes me feel… useless, especially after all of the revelations we received. I feel like I don't know if what I'm doing is enough."

"Believe me Pyr, none of us know if what we're doing is enough." Shepard snorted, but then saw how her sarcasm didn't lift the teen's spirits. "Sorry that came out wrong. Look, the honest truth is, we're all out of our depth here. All we can do is hope that every small victory that we achieve will help us win in the end. And staying here training the others, as well as watching over Lileath's unconscious butt is important work. Nobody here knows how to train someone in the use of aura as much as you do."

"I suppose that's true." Pyrrha muttered out.

Shepard gave Pyrrha a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Besides Pyr. Being bored in war is a good thing. It means people aren't actively trying to kill you right now. Savor it, because that's going to become a luxury from here on out."

Pyrrha had a thoughtful look on her face before pivoting topics. "Putting that aside, I think there is one thing I can at least do to help you out on your mission."

"Oh, what's that?" Shepard asked with a raised brow.

"Your aura of course! You're the only one who hasn't gotten it unlocked yet, correct?"

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. You want to awaken it now?" Shepard asked as she co*cked her head to the side.

Pyrrha nodded. "Best I do it now, rather than burdening one of your squadmates on mission."

"Fair enough. Let's get to it then." Shepard stood up from her seat and walked in front of Pyrrha.

Placing both hands on the commander, Pyrrha spoke her mantra once more. When she finished, Shepard was engulfed in a light blue glow, signifying the color of her soul.

Shepard held her hands up, examining the energy field now around her. "Aw man blue? I always liked red more."

"Perhaps the color is to represent more your virtuous nature as a paragon of good, rather than simple preference." Pyrrha chuckled.

"Still, thanks Pyr. I'll be sure to put this power to good use."

Pyrrha sent a small smile. "Just be careful, and take care of the others as well."

"I will." Shepard gave a fox-like grin. "While Snake and I are gone, it'll be your job to hold down the fort. Which means no parties and no inviting strange boys over while we're gone."

Pyrrha flushed red and smacked the commander in the back as Jane struggled to restrain her chuckling.

Not long after their talk, Pyrrha and Shepard parted ways as the commander met up with the rest of the fireteam, Snake, Thane, and T3-M4. Snake walked up first to meet her. As usual, the team was given an animal designation that Snake seemed to be so fond of, the current team being Fireteam Mantis.

"Boss." Shepard respectfully greeted.

"Shepard." he returned. "You're running late. Everything fine?"

"Just had a talk with Pyrrha. Got my aura unlocked." Shepard gave an experimental flex with her aura, causing her to glow light blue.

Snake nodded his head and turned, gesturing Shepard to follow. "Good. You're familiar with the mission parameters? We'll be flying in low to avoid radar detection, landing a click away from the Armory. From there, we move in on foot. Our goal is to reach the Armory without alerting the geth to our presence. Once there, we infiltrate the Armory, eliminate any defenses, then call in extraction so we can leave with as much as we can carry."

Shepard simply nodded her head in return. While she already knew this, going over objectives beforehand was never a bad thing. From there, Shepard and Snake converged with the rest of Fireteam Mantis and boarded the pelican. Noble-Six was the pelican pilot for this mission, and would both infil and exfil the team, as well as provide fire support if needed. With no hesitation, the fireteam loaded up into the pelican's blood tray and the operation was a go.

As Johnson and Church continued to hoof it through the Capital Wasteland, the Sergeant Major focused on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to shut out all distractions, particularly one annoying blue asshole.

"I spy… something grey." Church drawled out.

"I am not playing this game." Johnson growled out.

Church's holographic form flashed red for a brief moment. "Hey look here asshole, we've been walking in a straight line for two goddamn days and have had literally nothing to do. And I think at a minimum, one hundred times faster than you, so two days is a long time for me. If I don't get some kind of mental stimulation, I swear I am going to go rampant. So I f*cking spy, something grey."

Johnson sighed, "Is it concrete?"

"Yeah. It's concrete." Church weakly admitted. After a beat of silence, he spoke up again. "Well it's your turn now."

"I spy something, light blue, holographic, and in need of an ass kicking." Johnson grit through his teeth.

Church crossed his arms, making his disapproval obvious through body language thanks to his faceless avatar. "You know, I get the feeling that you're not getting into the spirit of the game."

"Church soon you'll be feeling my boot going up your virtual ass-"

"WAAAGH!" Johnson's tirade was cut off by a deafening roar as 4 purple skinned nightkin super mutants appeared around Johnson wielding both sledge hammers and jagged swords carved out of car bumpers.

"Sweet Mother of God!" Johnson cried out as he rolled backwards, narrowly avoiding a blade swing. Raising up his shotgun he pulled the trigger, blasting the offending nightkin back but not killing it. "Damn it Church! Why weren't you keeping an eye out for them!" Johnson spun about face and broke out into a sprint as the nightkins bounded after him.

"Ok yeah, this one may be on me. But! To be fair, whatever they're using for camouflage is f*cking with my motion sensors. Some kind of ambient radiation." Church shrugged.

"Ambient radi- Oh sonnuva DIE FRANKENSTEIN!" Johnson fired his shotgun once again, this time scoring a headshot on a nightkin and killing it.

Johnson couldn't put too much thought into arguing with Church as the mutants caught up to him, their longer limbs allowing for a longer stride. Soon enough, Johnson found himself surrounded on three sides by the super mutants. Unfortunately, Johnson knew it took at least two blasts each to put one of these monsters down, and he had four shells left in his shotgun. It was going to be close, but Johnson had a few tricks up his sleeve, and no punkass purple brute wannabes were going to be the ones who take him down.

Raising his shotgun up Johnson was about to let out a battlecry as the supermutants charged for him as well. Before either side could take a step however, lightning crashed down around them, striking the nightkin and incinerating them.

"Whoa! What's with the light show!?" Church yelled as Johnson covered his eyes from the blinding light.

Within seconds, the lightning storm seemed to recede, and leaving only the ashen remains of the supermutants to mark its passing. The dust then moved, pushed away by an unnatural wind as something descended from above them. Johnson snapped his shotgun up, and laid eyes on an alien he'd never seen before.

The alien was tall, easily standing over 7 feet. It stood bipedal like most humanoids, with bare feet that showed two digits with talon-like nails, and four fingered hands with similarly claw-like nails. It had pale blue-grey scaly skin, and donned resplendent golden armor tinged with blue highlights and crystals. It had a diamond shaped head, with two glowing blue eyes, and strangely enough no mouth or nose. Finally a series of long, dreadlock-like tendrils flowed out of the back of its head.

Then the figure spoke. Not vocally, as the absence of a mouth would make that impossible, but directly into Johnson's and somehow Church's minds. "En taro Adun, humans! Have no fear, for I mean you no ill will! I am Tassadar, high templar of the Protoss, and friend to your terran kin."

Johnson and Church stared blankly at Tassadar's entrance and proclamations, before looking at one another, then back at Tassadar.

"There's… a lot to unpack in what you just said buddy." Church mumbled.

"Indeed. But I fear we have no time for such elucidation. I sensed your presence quite some time ago, and I must ask for your forgiveness, but I read the human Johnson's mind, studying your memories and past in order to ensure you would be amiable to conversation." Tassadar spoke with confidence as he floated down to meet the others.

"You what!? Stay outta my goddamn head." Johnson snapped.

"From now on I shall. As I said, it was merely a precautionary measure on my part, and is not something that I will allow to become habit." Tassadar assured as he finally landed beside Johnson, towering over him.

"Jesus christ you are a mean looking motherf*cker up close." Church said, slightly awestruck. "Puts the aliens in my world to shame."

"Which ones? You mean Elites, Brutes, or Hunters?" Johnson asked.

Church brough his hand to his chin in actual contemplation. "Oh f*ck, you know we kinda just called them aliens. Uh they're like seven feet tall but always hunched over, kinda lizard-y, got four jaws, speak like 'blarggh!' or 'wort wort wort!'" Church gave his best impression of an alien.

Surprisingly enough, Johnson was able to understand what Church was talking about. "Right, Elites then." Johnson then scowled and looked disbelievingly at Church, "Church, how do you not even know the names of the aliens we're fighting? You must be the dumbest Smart AI I've ever seen."

The holographic Spartan seemed taken aback. "Ok first off, rude. And second, I'm not a full AI but a fragment. My designation is Epsilon, and was split off my original AI, the Alpha. Now why don't you use that high school GED of yours to figure out how many other fragments there are. God knows the Corps wouldn't take in anyone with an actual diploma. Might intimidate the crayon eaters."

Johnson started flushing with anger. "Well us crayon munchers are the only thing keeping the Covenant from blowin up all your precious servers and power generators. I'd like to see how long an AI like you could hold a Super MAC without the boys in green to help."

Church scoffed. "I could probably hold it for as long as it takes a marine to do basic algebra."

Johnson stepped forward toward Church's hologram and stuffed his finger into the light-based projection. "Listen here you glorified nightlight, you better start showing some respect before I turn your virtual ass into actual dust."

"Perhaps it would be more productive to focus our attention back to our situation." Tassadar cut in, causing both figures to look at him. "My psi storm was sure to attract the attention of the other savages that call these ruins their home. I believe it would be best for us to take this… conversation… on the move."

Johnson and Church shared another look, and Church shrugged. "Yeah sure, I'm over it already. How about you leatherneck?"

"Just peachy." Johnson ground out, fantasizing about crushing Church's AI chip.

"Then we have an accord." Tassadar boomed. "Come must be swift and move with stealth." Tassadar turned and gestured to them to follow.

"No offense big guy, but you don't exactly look like the sneaky, stealthy type." Church quipped.

Tassadar turned back briefly, meeting Church's look with a blank gaze of his own, before calling upon the powers of the Void. Darkness shrouded around Tassadar's form, and as the shadows embraced him he began to move as silent as any true Dark Templar.

Johnson raised an eyebrow at Church, "Church, why do you have to taunt the eight foot tall, psychic alien?"

"Pssh he's just showing off."

Johnson shook his head and took off after Tassadar.

"So big T." Church started once they were on the move again. "Where are you from, because like I said before you look nothing like the aliens I've seen."

"The Protoss people hail from the world of Aiur." Tassadar spoke directly into their minds. "And I do not share the appearance of any aliens you know of, because I believe we are not from the same universe."

"What!?" Both Church and Johnson squawked, breaking any semblance of stealth they had.

Tassadar turned to briefly glare at them before continuing. "When I read your mind, Sergeant Johnson, I was able to glean much about your society and people, as well as the foes you fought. And from what I can tell, your humanity differs greatly from the humanity of my realm."

"Those terran kin of mine you mentioned." Johnson recalled.

Tassadar nodded. "Indeed. The terrans as they were called, represented the humans of my galaxy. Their technology and even culture was quite far removed from your own, but they shared the same indomitable spirit and will that your own humanity has."

"Stop you'll make us blush." Church deadpanned, causing Johnson to glare at him again, causing Church to put up his hands in surrender. "Alright I'll stop. But still, multidimensional aliens. Pretty crazy."

"Not necessarily." Johnson responded. "Back in some of those stores, I saw food and newspapers dating back to 2077, talking about possible nuclear war with China. That never happened in my world, which means this place has another kind of humanity in it as well."

"Great, this plot doesn't sound convoluted at all." Church grumbled. "By the way, do you even know where you're going Tassadar? We're following you so we're kinda just assuming you know what you're doing."

Without breaking stride Tassadar answered, "I go where my path takes me."

"Oh of course he's f*cking cryptic." Church muttered.

"And my path." Tassadar continued, ignoring Church, "leads me to others. I sense we are not alone in this land, as there are more than just the mindless mutants that roam these wastes."

As Tassadar finished speaking, Church began to pick some strange noises on his sensors, the sound of a high-frequency hum, as well as the distant popping of a revolver.

Chapter 26

Chapter Text

Ilos...

"We're in the pipe, five by five." Noble-Six reported over the comms as the pelican entered Ilos airspace.

While she would never publicly admit it, Shepard knew that her skills driving and piloting vehicles were rather lackluster. So while she wouldn't say it to his face, she couldn't help but feel rather impressed as Six casually weaved the multi-ton airship through the ancient alien sky scrapers.

As per the plan, the spartan kept the pelican's altitude low in order to avoid any geth radar. And while flying that low would make it easier to be seen by any patrolling ground forces, the territory of Ilos itself was big enough that it was impossible for the geth to keep watch over its entirety. All Six had to do was avoid the locations of known patrols and checkpoints, and it was smooth sailing.

Soon enough, Six flew the pelican the closest he possibly could without setting off the Geth sensors, and opened up the loading bay. Wordlessly, Fireteam Mantis filed out of the dropship, leaping feet first into the city of the dead.

As the fireteam dusted themselves off, Six's voice crackled over the radio. "I'll keep the engine running, but remember, until you can take down their sensors I won't be able to pull you out without kicking the hornet's nest."

Shepard brought two fingers to her ear to radio back. "Roger that Six. Just sit tight and we'll do all the hard work."

"Affirmative commander. Try not to have too much fun without me." With that, Six turned the pelican around and retreated back to the edge of Ilos, staying close enough to help if needed but far enough to maintain secrecy.

With that, Fireteam Mantis slowly began working their way into the geth controlled cityscape. They moved with a practiced ease and efficiency befitting their experience as special forces. Snake took point, keeping a sharp eye out for any patrolling synthetics. He would move forward by a city block, with the remaining squad members keeping overwatch in case he stumbled into an ambush. After the Boss made sure the next area was clear, he waved the rest of the fireteam forward, allowing them to leapfrog past him to the next block where they could then do the same maneuver.

They maintained this pattern for several minutes, slowly, surely, and most importantly safely moving through the city. And soon enough, their efforts proved worthwhile as they remained undetected as they came across a geth outpost.

The outpost was fairly standard by geth standards, 3 curved walls came together to form a broken circle, with spaces at the 12, 4, and 8 o'clock positions that allowed entrance into the interior. These entrances were protected by a watchtower each with a total of 3 geth on sentry duty. In the center of the outpost was some kind of communication station, with a radio triangulation tower connected to geth computer terminal.

As per his normal operating procedures, Boss marked each of the geth with his iDroid, a 1, 2, and 3 appearing over their heads on everyone's HUDs. Targets were divvied up, Boss and Thane sniping troopers 1 and 2 while Shepard would handle number 3. The commander, running a more close quarters set up of her suppressed N7 Eagle heavy pistol, Geth plasma shotgun, and her power axe, stuck to the waist-high walls and overgrown trees as she crept closer to the outpost while Snake and Thane set up their shots.

"In position." Shepard whispered out, as she leveled her heavy pistol on the Geth's flashlight head, her sealed helmet preventing any sound from escaping.

Boss sounded over the radio after her. "Take them down in three… two… one… fire."

The sound of 3 muted gunshots was barely noticeable over the ambient noise of Ilos. However, the sound of 3 geth bodies hitting the floor was far more audible. Lucky for the Legion, no one else was there to hear it.

Sentries taken care of, the Fireteam Mantis made their way into the outpost. T3 immediately moved to the unguarded terminal and began slicing in. Several uncomfortable minutes of waiting later, and T3 was in, making his way into the geth battle network.

"Beep-beep-doot-weet." T3 rang out as some sparks flew from the terminal, and the Legion could hear the tower losing power.

"That was on purpose, right T3?" Shepard sardonically asked.

"Doooot." the utility droid let out a sad beep.

Shepard felt a pang of guilt and rubbed the droid on his head. "I was only kidding." Shepard then opened up her radio and contacted Six. "Six, T3 says he shut off the geth's radar and disrupted their communications. Only way they'll see you coming now is through direct visual contact."

"Roger that commander, standing by for your signal." the spartan called back.

With a nod, Shepard ended the conversation and Boss began moving them out. They needed to increase the pace. The disrupted communications would only be temporary. They had to reach the Armory and take what they needed before the geth knew what was happening.

Moving double time, Fireteam Mantis continued their way. While still maintaining good cover and properly keeping an eye for hostiles, they pushed forward at a light jog. Soon enough, the Armory came into sight.

Much in the same way the Archives was an unembellished pyramid in the middle of a swamp, and the Temple of Order a monolithic obelisk along a ruined wasteland, the Armory stuck out against its surroundings. Compared to the ancient, eroded, and angular skyscrapers around it, the Armory was a short, stout, and simple cube of a building standing 5 stories in length, width, and height. It was made of some kind of unidentified white stone material, and the walls had no windows or any decorations. The only visible entrance was a pair of blast doors on the face directed towards the Legion.

The exterior of the Armory seemed to be protected by another line of geth-made walls and watch towers, this time fully enclosed with a single gate as the entrance. A squad of Geth troopers could be seen walking the perimeter with a few snipers stationed in the towers.

"What's the call Boss?" Shepard asked as she leveled her shotgun.

Snake thought for a moment, considering all of their options before speaking. "With the communications disrupted, they won't be able to call for reinforcements so there's no point in taking it slow. We hit them hard, fast, and take them down before they have a chance to dig in." He then turned to face the commander. "Shepard, you take T3 and go right for the gates, Thane and I will cover you."

The legionnaires all pinged their acknowledgements as they readied to attack. Snake and Thane moved to line up their sniper rifles on sentries in the watchtowers while Shepard pulled out a C-12 shaped charge and T3 overcharged his shields, encompassing him in a blue glow.

"Fire!" Snake commanded as the sniper shots rang out, quickly overpowering the geth's kinetic barriers and killing them.

Shepard and T3 broke out into a sprint, charging right for the gates. The geth reacted immediately to the destruction of their two comrades, activating kinetic barriers and running into cover. T3 opened fire with his blasters, pumping bolts into the barriers while Thane and Snake took any shots that presented themselves. Meanwhile Shepard moved like a football player, clutching the satchel charge close to her body as she moved to the gate, getting ready to throw it as far as she could.

About halfway to her goal however, a series of explosions erupted around her. Shepard felt her kinetic barriers failing as heat and shrapnel enveloped her. Her shields gone, she was forced to dive roll to the side, crouching behind a waist-high wall as she looked up and saw what had stopped her.

A squadron of geth rocket drones were flying in to support the beleaguered infantry. Shepard cursed, as the geth must've been keeping the drones hidden in reserve just in case of an attack like the one they were currently performing. The rocket drones saturated the area with explosives, forcing Shepard and T3 to hunker down. Both Thane and Snake were also forced to retreat further into cover as the drones began a volley against them as well.

With the Legion was suppressed the geth troops advanced forward. As they opened fire, Shepard quickly realized that they were not using their usual mass effect weaponry or their pseudo-plasma weapons as bolts of red laser energy flew over her head. One of the bolts slammed into the stonework behind her, cracking and shattering stone.

From that impact alone, Shepard could assume that each of those laser bolts fired at around the same strength as a .50 caliber sniper round. Unfortunately for her, the Imperial Guard M-G Short Pattern lasguns the geth were using were also firing at a respectable pace of 220 shots per minute.

"T3!" Shepard shouted into her comms. "Take them down!"

"DWEEET!" T3 gave a sharp whistle as his servo-wheels kicked into overdrive, dashing forward and approaching rocket drones.

As he drove close, two rocket drones broke off to intercept him. They fired a salvo of explosives that forced the utility droid to serpentine while screaming. Scuffed with a few burn marks and new dents, T3 was soon in range to begin a wireless hack of the two drones.

The drones staggered as T3 began slicing his way through their firewalls. The geth may be a collective of hive-minded VI, but T3 was in fact a true AI that could overpower the synthetic's cyber defenses. Electricity sparked around their chassis as within nanoseconds T3 infiltrated their systems and turned them to the Legion's side.

The hostile geth, sensing the two drones were no longer part of their collective, turned to fire upon them but were too slow. The hacked rocket drones opened fire, missiles crashing into their former allies and sending them spiraling to the ground in flaming heaps. The geth troopers on the ground immediately shot upwards, destroying their hacked brethren but the damage was already done, and the geth's air superiority was gone.

Recognizing the opportunity Shepard stepped out of cover. In front of her she poured all of her biotic might into creating a concentrated biotic barrier. With the rocket drones dead, the geth troopers then refocused back on the ground, and quickly acquired the moving biotic shield as their next target. Shepard grit her teeth as repeated las bolts impacted against her barrier, eating away at her strength.

However, as she pushed forward, drawing all of the aggro of the geth troopers, this allowed the rest of her squad to emerge from their own cover and return fire. First, T3 sent an overload that destroyed the kinetic barriers of the clustered geth. Shots then rang out once more as Snake and Thane's sniper fire put down trooper after trooper. Seconds was all it took for over half the squad to be turned to scrap, forcing the rest to retreat.

No longer threatened by the hailfire of las bolts, Shepard dropped her barrier and sprinted for the gate once more, ignoring her screaming muscles and mind-rending headache from her biotic overusage. Grabbing the C-12 satchel charge once more, Shepard focused her cybernetic and aura enhanced strength and gave it her best football throw. The explosive lobbed forward, arcing through the air until it landed on the gate house with an unceremonious plop.

Shepard pivoted and dove behind some nearby cover before activating her omnitool and hitting a hard light button. The satchel charge pinged once before erupting into a massive explosion. The heat and force of the detonation not only blew the gates open, but also enveloped the retreating geth troopers, incinerating them in an instant.

A high pitched ringing was all Shepard could hear for several seconds following the explosion. As the ability to hear in that frequency range died, Shepard picked herself up as her aura began healing the wounds she gained from overexerting her powers and physical abilities. Shepard hummed in appreciation of the power, as such minor injuries would normally build up, or slow Shepard down enough that she was more likely to be hit by a lethal attack.

With the immediate threat gone and the geth defenses blown open, the Legion now had a straight shot for the Armory. The squad regrouped at the gate, quickly checking themselves over for any wounds. Satisfied with the status of their health, Fireteam Mantis advanced for the Armory itself and whatever lay inside.

The Capital Wasteland…

Tassadar strode forward with purpose, each step barely touching the ground as he kept himself partially aloft with his psionic might. Behind him Johnson kept pace, the glowing hologram of Church beside him.

"Hey Big-T, don't suppose you'd be able to giveanyactual information of what we're running headlong into? All the security cams in this place are not only a couple hundred years old, but apparently run off f*cking vaccuum tubes still so I can't interface with them for sh*t." Church called out to the alien warlord in front of him.

As per usual with the duo, Johnson sighed at Church's tone, but Tassadar seemed unperturbed as he responded, "I sense two beings, warriors such as us. But they are confused and disoriented by their surroundings, no doubt the cause of their fight."

"They're fighting each other?" Johnson asked as more gunshots rang out. "What makes you so sure they're not tangoing with our big, yellow friends?"

"I sense no other minds besides the two we approach. And it is unlikely that the local savages are hiding their own minds, as they lack even the most basic forms of psionic protection that any sentient species have. No doubt the result of some form of engineering or modification. Regardless, I believe that if we are able to intervene in this conflict, the two shall be amiable to discussion."

Church crossed his arms. "That's all well and good, but what if-" Church's complaints were cut off by a deafeningCRAASHabove them.

The trio looked up as they saw a cloud of dust coming out of a brand new hole on the side of a skyscraper. Out of the dust, a figure that could only be described as a cyborg ninja emerged, standing on the edge of the breach. He had a decidedly male figure, with a body that looked to be made from metal armor shaped to emulate a male's musculature. His torso, and forearms were painted a dark, navy blue, while his thighs and shoulders were colored a contrasting orange. His helmet was a fully enclosed, gray-white helmet, with two small slits for his eyes, and a bright red-orange light in the center of it. Unknown to them, the trio looked up at the form of the legendary FOXHOUND operative Gray Fox, aka Frank Jaeger.

In Gray Fox's right hand was a straight edged ninjato, complete with a golden tsuba crossguard. While it was difficult to see at the distance they were, Church's enhanced sensors could see that the blade itself was vibrating at an extremely fast frequency, making it far more lethal than any regular blade.

Another gunshot rang out, the bullet flying right for the cyborg ninja. With practiced ease, Gray Fox swung his sword, his blade slicing the bullet in half, the two pieces harmlessly flying past him.

"I have to say ninja man, that was pretty slick. You've got some moves that would make quite a few of my hunters green with envy." the shooter called out, his voice having a very distinctive synthetic twang to it.

The three then turned to the shooter, who was standing atop his own skyscraper. The shooter was quite possibly the purest, physical manifestation of a gunslinger they'd ever seen. Wearing clothing that seemed to be made of some kind of dark leather with minimal amounts of armor plating, and a dark brown hood and cloak draped over his shoulders. In his right hand, he spun his revolver, a futuristic looking weapon despite the archaic firing mechanism, which was painted black and white, with a white Spade printed on the side. The most distinctive part of his face however, was that it wasn't human at all, but a robot. A synthetic skull painted blue and white, with glowing blue eyes, and a single horn extruding from his forehead. This was Cayde-6, Guardian and former Hunter Vanguard.

Gray Fox only stared blankly at the exo hunter, before crouching low with his sword at his side. In a move that was faster than the human eye could track, the cyborg assassin exploded from his perch, dashing right for Cayde. Gray Fox crossed the distance between the skyscrapers in an instant, his HF blade moving to slice the throat of the exo. But the blade was stopped inches away from the vanguard as he raised his revolver, the Ace of Space, and blocked the attack, the sword biting into the barrel of the gun.

Weapons locked together, Cayde-6 leaned in and said, "You know, you may think that the strong, silent stereotype is cool, but in all honesty it just makes you look like an asshole."

With his own superhuman dexterity, Cayde then slipped his offhand to his belt and drew a dagger, shoving it into the cyborg ninja's chest. Gray Fox retreated, narrowly escaping the blade as he leapt back to the edge of the building. Before Gray Fox could land however, Cayde aimed his gun not for the ninja, as he knew how futile that was, but instead aimed for the concrete Gray Fox was going to land on.

Before Gray Fox could land Cayde fanned the hammer. The rounds flew underneath the ninja, slamming into the concrete beneath him before he could get a foothold, destroying the stonework. His footing gone, Grey Fox slipped, distracting him for a second to regain his balance. But a second was all Cayde-6 needed as a flaming dagger was already leaving Cayde's fingers.

The dagger sunk into Gray Fox's torso, and the subsequent fiery explosion knocked him off the skyscraper. As the cyborg ninja plummeted, falling at full terminal velocity, the assassin began to twist and spin. Despite having been stabbed with a magic, fire dagger and falling off a building, Gray Fox was able to reorient himself, twisting so he was falling feet first. And as he hit the ground, he bent his knees and slammed his fist into the ground,performing a perfect three point landing.

"Just saying, I could do that too!" Cayde called out as he aimed the Ace of Spades at the roof beneath him, empowering it with solar light and transforming it into a Golden Gun.

Firing several light-empowered shots, the building creaked and groaned, until it began to collapse. Massive slabs of concrete fell off the building, aimed right for Gray Fox. Despite the literal hundreds of tons of stone falling for him, Gray Fox remained collected. Raising his HF blade up, holding the blade parallel to his eyes, Gray Fox then jumped into the air, moving right for the falling debris.

Gray Fox became a tornado, his weapon moving at an impossible pace as the HF Blade sliced through the concrete as if it were tissue paper. Everyone present watched in awe as the massive chunks of concrete were sliced into hundreds if not thousands of tiny pieces that fell harmlessly to the ground. The debris destroyed, Gray Fox then allowed himself to fall with it, gingerly landing on the ground as he flicked his sword and sheathed it onto his back.

"Ok, that was cool." Cayde couldn't help but clap. "Don't suppose you're willing to trade for that fancy sword of yours?"

"Don't you ever shut up?" Gray Fox finally spoke, his voice raspy and overlaid by a synthetic vocalizer.

Cayde shrugged. "What and deprive the world of my hilarious one liners and genius wit? That is just a crime against humanity." Cayde then retook his gun slinging stance. "Now bring it on ninja man. If you won't trade I'll be more than happy to take it off your body."

Gray Fox retook his own stance once more, drawing his blade as the two stared one another down.

"ENOUGH!" Tassadar's mighty psionic voice rang out as he called down a lightning bolt between the two fighters.

Both Gray Fox and Cayde-6 stepped back, on guard as they appraised the newest entry. Not far behind Tassadar, Johnson walked out of cover, holding an assault rifle level as Church's holographic form floated beside him. For a beat, all 3 sides stared at one another, waiting to see who would make the first move.

Cayde was the first to break silence. "Hey hey hey big blue. If you're here to get your ass kicked too you need to take a ticket. I'm tired of having to take on several dudes at once."

"Heh, that's what she said." Church snickered, channeling his inner Tucker.

Cayde smirked as he kept his gun level "First off, nice. Second, that's not what I meant. Thirdly. Is thirdly even a word? Anyway, thirdly, what's your play here, big, mouthless, alien man? You got me and cyborg ninja over here quivering in suspense." Gray Fox was in fact, not quivering, and seemed quite annoyed at being grouped together with the Hunter.

"I am here to stop all hostilities between you two. We are not your enemies, nor are you enemies with one another. We together are all allies in this strange place." Tassadar spoke, his composure unbreakable despite Cayde's immaturity.

"I find that hard to believe." Gray Fox rasped out first, blade still raised high.

"Yeah I'm going to have to side with ninja man over here" Cayde added on.

Tassadar seemed to be losing patience at this point. "Well it is fortunate for us that regardless of whether or not you believe in it, the truth is the truth." the protoss growled out. "If you have not pieced it together for yourselves yet, this world is not the same one you are from. You both must have questioned where you are, and what this realm is? It is some kind of alternate dimension that has drawn us all here from our own dimensions for a purpose."

Gray Fox remained stoically silent, mulling over Tassadar's words while Cayde muttered to himself. "Damn it really? A pocket dimension connected to the multiverse? What kind of Vex-ian bullsh*t is that? Damn I wish Sundance was still here, she'd be all over this." Cayde sadly shook his head.

"And what is this purpose?" Gray Fox asked, now staring intently at Tassadar.

"That, Frank Jaeger, I do not know." Tassadar said, casually flexing his psionic might. "Where we are specifically, what our purpose here is, none of these are questions I know the answer to. But I do have my theories."

"Which are?" Church asked, annoyed that the goddamn cryptic asshole was making him ask.

"Tell me, all of you. What is the last thing each of you remember?" Tassadar questioned, drawing a pained reaction from everyone around him.

Chapter 27

Chapter Text

The Armory, Ilos…

Fireteam Mantis approached the solid, adamantine cube that was the Armory. Weapons raised, they climbed the short staircase that led to the ruin's only obvious entrance, a pair of double blast doors that broke the smooth stone texture of the walls. As they reached the top of the stairs, Snake moved T3 forward.

"Find us a way in." He bluntly ordered, and the droid immediately moved to follow the command.

Within seconds of T3 interfacing with the Geth's battlenet, the blast doors let out a depressurizing hiss and began to open.

"Wow that was fast." Shepard congratulated T3. "Good work little guy."

"Dooooot." T3 let out a low, cautious whistle.

"I do not believe that this was T3's doing." Thane warned as he raised his gun and began to move back.

As the Armory doors opened a bright glowing eye drew their attention as they felt heavy footfalls shaking the ground around them. Out of the Armory, a massive, four-legged Geth Colossus walked out, plasma already charging in its main pulse cannon.

"Scatter!" Shepard called out as the fireteam took off in different directions.

Shepard felt a burst of heat envelop her as the colossus' plasma bolt exploded next to her, shredding her shields and taking a good chunk out of her aura. Shepard spun and sprinted for the nearest cover, a stack of geth crates that Shepard hoped were strong enough to block any errant plasma sent her way. Same as her, the rest of her fireteam spread out behind their own cover. When the colossus would focus on one legionnaire, firing the energy bolt at them, the rest would peek from their own hiding spots, firing and chipping away at its shields.

Another burst of plasma exploded, this time splashing close to Thane's position. The assassin cried out as the superheated gas overloaded his barrier and burned through his aura. Shepard snarled in return and opened fire with her plasma shotgun, ripping into the colossus' shields. She was particularly annoyed because fighting a colossus wouldn't be all that hard if they had a similar level of ordinance. The relatively slow speed of the plasma meant that vehicles like a mako or warthog could drive circles around it. But on foot, using anything less than heavy anti-vehicle weaponry? It wasn't a death sentence but it was damn near close to one.

"T3!" Snake commanded. "Overload! Take down its shields!"

"Beep!" T3 tweeted as the little droid rolled out of cover. Activating his cyberwarfare suite, T3 sent a burst of electricity that crashed into the colossus, ripping through its shields.

This however, caused the colossus to look right at the utility droid, its subroutines and programs increasing T3's threat rating. T3 let out a concerned beep as the two flashlight headed synthetics stared each other down and the colossus began another build up of plasma.

T3 immediately spun around with a scream as the bolt of plasma exploded behind him, sending him flying through the air. The droid landed inglouriously on the ground, his right foreleg snapped and the lightbulb in his head hanging loose.

"T3!" Shepard called out as she ran from cover herself, blasting her shotgun at the colossus in hopes of drawing its attention.

But the armature would not be dissuaded as it continued on its path forward towards the fallen droid. Charging up another pulse of energy, it launched another ball of blue fire right for T3. As the attack was about to strike, another source of plasma, this one a red blade of concentrated energy intercepted. Thane, holding one of the lightsabers he had looted from the dark jedi in the Temple of Order, had dashed in front of T3, using the energy sword to block the attack.

However, Thane was no jedi, as instead of reflecting the plasma back at the colossus he merely redirected it away, splashing harmlessly against the ground. Ignoring the missed opportunity, Thane charged. With practiced swipes and cuts, Thane burned into the front left leg of the colossus, biting deep into the limb. But the colossus' armor was thick and heavy, the drell's lightsaber only digging in a few inches before stopping. If Thane had enough time, he could probably eventually melt his way through the limb, but he would have no such luxury.

Eager to remove the drell from the battlefield, the colossus swiped with the leg Thane attempted to cut through, kicking him dozens of feet through the air before he slammed into a nearby building. Stunned by the hit, Thane was dazed and confused as the colossus charged up its plasma cannon, aiming right for the assassin.

"Thane get up!" Shepard called out as she charged the colossus, her biotic cannonball slamming right into its side.

But the massive armature remained unmoved, and elected to ignore the commander as it finished charging up its main cannon. With a flash of light, the plasma ball flew right for Thane, who remained unmoved as the attack hit his location, exploding in a burst of ionized gas. Shepard had to take a moment to stop and stare as the smoke dissipated, and nothing remained of Thane. No corpse, no bones, just a charred black burn mark on the alien walls of a dead world.

As Shepard tried to process the death of her friend once more, she heard the unmistakable hiss of a lightsaber activating from behind her. Turning, she saw that atop the colossus itself, Thane stood, no worse for wear, with his lightsaber's angry red blade thirsting for vengeance. Without hesitation, Thane then drove his lightsaber into the back carapace of the colossus. The mech let out a mechanical screech, and twisted and rolled, trying to get Thane off its back.

As it rolled, Shepard blinked and Thane completely vanished from the top of the colossus, only to reappear on the ground beside it. With a swing of his lightsaber, he carved another chunk of metallic flesh off of the mech, white, synthetic fluid evaporating on contact. Strike after strike fell upon the robot, each quick cut burning into the tall legs of the colossus. Soon enough, the colossus could no longer support its own weight, and its chassis fell to the ground. Now immobile, the colossus retracted its damaged limbs in an effort to repair the damage.

With the colossus unable to move, Snake ran forward and pulled out a sliver grenade from his belt. It was a thermal detonator from Galen's world, a powerful explosive that actually creates a small theromonuclear fusion reaction, because of course his world would have nuclear hand grenades. Pushing a switch with his thumb to arm the explosive, Snake gave the grenade his best throw and watched it arc through the air where it landed and stuck to the colossus' chassi. Thane, seeing the explosive coming, blinked away from his spot next to the geth siege weapon, suddenly appearing next to Shepard as the thermal detonator exploded, destroying the colossus.

As the miniature mushroom cloud dissipated, Shepard couldn't help but turn to Thane and yell. "Thane! What the Hell was that?"

Thane thought for a moment before responding, seeming focused on a point on the other side of Shepard, when he vanished and reappeared at that very point. "It appears I have unlocked my semblance. Some kind of short range teleportation."

"f*ck!" Shepard half jumped as Thane blinked beside her, failing to rein in her surprise. "Well it's good you did so. Just don't make a habit of learning new, life saving abilities in the middle of combat. I don't think my heart can take it."

Thane only nodded his head at the joke, flatly saying. "I'll try not to."

As they spoke, Snake and T3 made their way to them, T3 beginning his automated self-repair functions. "We good?" Snake simply asked.

"Green Boss, some more than others." Shepard replied, gesturing to Thane.

"Good. T3, continue your repairs and keep watch out here. Everyone else, we're going in." Snake ordered, also glossing over Shepard's joke.

Shepard sighed as she nodded her head, shotgun raised as the trio entered the now open doors of the Armory.

"What the Hell is this, Willy Wonka's wacky weapons factory?" Shepard muttered to herself as the fireteam walked through the Armory.

Shepard wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting when they entered the ruins. The Archives were a series of maze-like tunnels filled with hostiles, while the Temple of Order was some kind of pocket dimension that Lileath decorated herself. But the Armory was just that, an armory. It was pretty much just a glorified warehouse, with racks, cabinets, and chests filled with a variety of weapons, armor, and other esoteric equipment from who knows how many universes.

On one end there were retro-futuristic looking guns, something right out of a 1950s sci-fi b-movie, next to savage, bloodstained rifles out of the post-apocalypse that looked like they fired some kind of buzzsaw. On the other side were swords, spears, staffs, and suits of armor that wouldn't look out of place in a high-fantasy movie set.

When she was growing up, Shepard was never the kind of girl who would go out of her way to go on extravagant shopping trips. But right now, she wanted to stay for hours and try everything on. As she perused the aisles of weaponry, one weapon in particular stole her attention.

The weapon was obviously some kind of heavy, handheld artillery piece. It was a shoulder-mounted infantry weapon that had a rail-like catapult system, and next to it were a series of football sized miniature nuclear warheads. It very much reminded Shepard of the Davy Crockett from the Cold War. Looking at the side of the gun she found a label saying, "M42 Fat Man Weapon System." Picking the weapon up, she shouldered it and took a practice aim down the sights.

As she did, Thane, who was exploring the weaponry himself, walked up beside her and said, "That's a good look."

Shepard gave a savage grunt as she smiled, holstering the weapon on her back and hoarded as many mini-nukes into a bag as she could. This continued on for roughly half an hour as they looted the Armory for everything they could. They mostly stuck with equipment that they had some familiarity with, as well as those they thought would directly help them in the war. They grabbed several suits of armor, a few futuristic looking guns, some spare weapon and armor parts, and even a few magic staffs, not that any of the Legionnaires there had any idea of what they did. They would sort through it later with the rest of the Legion.

As the commander examined some fanciful two handed sword she found, she heard Boss's voice call out. "Everyone, converge on my position. I found something." Unknowingly placing Narsil back on the rack next to a gigantic blade that was too massive, thick, and heavy to actually be called a sword, Shepard moved to Snake's position.

Shepard found Snake at the far end of the Armory standing beside Thane, who got there first by cheating with his blink ability. Both men were staring at the far wall, and it took Shepard several seconds to understand what they were looking at.

A series of cables extended from the wall, coiled together like a colony of snakes. But underneath the cables, lying on the white-stone ground, was a mech. But it was no mech that Shepard had ever seen. Its torso was rounded in the shape of a breastplate, but massively oversized, with its head hidden by massive shoulders, and an armored hood that extended over its back. It almost looked more like a sarcophagus than a chassis. The head was some sort of helmet designed to look like a face, the expression a visage of hate and anger. Its arms and legs were thick, blunt things, similarly oversized. Its entire right arm was replaced by a kind of gatling gun, while its left was a terrifying, clawed powerfist.

The armor plating of the mech was strangely resplendent, its colors and decoration vivid and baroque despite so obviously being a weapon of war. Its plating was a vibrant purple trimmed with gold edging. On multiple places it was decorated with an aquila, but it was no Roman military standard that Shepard was familiar with, but a two headed eagle stenciled out of pure gold. It was beautiful to behold.

"What is it?" Shepard had to ask as she slowly approached, wary of accidentally awakening whatever this dreadnought of a mech was.

Snake shook his head. "Nothing from my world. Maybe one of the others would know."

Shepard turned to face Snake with an eyebrow raised. "You want to bring this thing back with us?"

"Yes. I believe we were meant to find this machine, whatever it is."

"You're starting to sound like Galen." Shepard muttered. "Alright Boss, it's your call. I'll call Six in for pick up. Maybe we can get the tow cables tied to its legs and drag it out."

Fireteam Mantis had to do just that as Noble-Six arrived with the pelican. Once they had loaded in what equipment they could into the pelican's cargo bay, they focused on moving the immobile mech.

Shepard and Six, the two cybernetic super soldiers, had to take the time to push several tall shelves of potentially highly volatile weaponry out of the way as tow cables were tied to the legs of the mech to drag it out of the Armory. It was a precarious process, so the job to fly pelican fell to T3 and his artificially intelligent abilities.

Once they successfully moved the mech out of the Armory, they then wrapped the towing cables around its waist and torso like a climbing harness, suspending the mech from beneath the pelican. And to their surprise as the pelican took off, the airship which could carry both a scorpion and even the vaunted AT-TE seemed to struggle and chug as it began to airlift the mech out of the Armory.

The flight out of Geth space was shaky with the ever present threat of the pelican just dropping out of the sky should the mech overload the ship's engines. When the fireteam finally returned to Mother Base, the rest of the Legion was there to greet them with wide eyed stares as they deposited the mech into the middle of the castle.

Pyrrha was the first to meet them as the fireteam exited the dropship. "Shepard, Boss… what is that?" she asked as she stared awestruck at the mech.

"Not from your world then?" Shepard co*cked her head.

"No… definitely not. The Kingdom of Atlas had similar machines, but nothing as… intimidating."

"Damn." Shepard then turned to the rest of the crowd of dead heroes. "Anybody else know what this thing is?" A collection of refusals and head shakes was the response. "Well that's unfortunate. T3 wasn't able to figure out how to activate this thing, so I guess it's just going to sit around until we can crack it open. Until then, why doesn't everybody take a look at our haul."

As if on cue, Six popped open the hatch to the pelican, revealing weapons within. Slowly the rest of the Legion made their way inside, inspecting the equipment with cautious excitement.

"For the love of Liberty Prime where did you find this!?" Sarah exclaimed as she inspected one of the suits of armor they brought back, a suit of power armor that Shepard thought resembled Sarah's current gear, but with smoother, rounder armor plating and an aggressive, almost insectoid like helmet.

"I've only seen blueprints of this suit back at the Citadel! This is an X-01 power armor! It's one of the most advanced power armor suits from my world. Hell, even most Enclave armor doesn't come close to how good this armor is." Sarah immediately moved to examine the condition of every piece of the armor, before activating its rear valve handle and entering the suit.

As Sarah took the time to calibrate her new armor, Six was taking his time examining the various weapons they brought back, having been too busy actually piloting the plane to do so. He looked over several Imperial Guard Lasguns, something labeled as a torque bow, some kind of gun/bow/grenade launcher hybrid, when his eyes fell one weapon in particular.

It was a massive weapon, almost as wide and tall as it was long, with two wing-like protrusions along the barrel, giving it a T-shaped profile from the front. Along the top of the barrel, the gun pulsated green energy. Six bent down to pick it up, and to his surprise found it difficult to do so. In small white letters along one of the wings Six read the name Bio-Force Gun 9000, or BFG 9000. Six smirked as he tested the weight, aiming down the sights. He knew he was going to have fun with this.

As the rest of the Legion gathered up their upgrades as well, Sev walked up to both Boss and Shepard, who were standing off to the side.

"Boss, Commander." He greeted with a curt nod.

"Sev." Boss returned. "Any news?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately only bad though. I just got back from my recon mission by Korriban. I saw companies of Covenant infantry and artillery moving right into Sith territory. Chaos are consolidating their forces."

"Damn." Shepard cursed. "Looks like they're finally able to put that alliance of theirs to good use."

Snake nodded his head. "Hmm. With the Master dead, the super mutants have been scattered, unorganized. The Covenant must no longer see them as a real threat and can pull forces away from their Northern front."

"Great. Looks like we took down one of the only groups here strong enough and dumb enough to tank the whole of the Covenant head on." Shepard shook her head before turning to the Boss. "Do you think what we found will be enough?"

Boss remained passive, mulling the question over. "I don't know. What I do know is that unless we want Chaos to win, we're going to need some help soon."

The Border of Kabul and the Capital Wasteland…

"Hey, I think I found the exit!" Cayde-6 called out as he scouted ahead of the rest of his party.

"Thank God." Church responded. "I can't wait to be out of this damn radioactive wasteland."

As Johnson rounded the corner with Church in tow, they saw what Cayde had found. A clear divide between two environments, on one side was the post-apocalyptic wasteland they had spent the last few days in, on the other was an arid and mountainous desert. The border was harsh and sudden, as if the two terrains were shoved next to one another.

Church sighed. "Great. We leave a radioactive wasteland for a regular wasteland. Lovely."

Gray Fox however, stepped forward bewildered. "I recognize this place."

Church tilted his head at the obviously out of touch ninja. "You sure about that buddy? Trust me, you see one alien desert, you've seen them all."

"This is no alien landscape." Gray Fox snapped. "No, one does not simply forget the blood soaked sands of Afghanistan."

"Afghanistan?" Johnson asked incredulously. "The Hell is the Middle East doing right next to DC?"

"That is a question that none of us have the answer to." Tassadar's booming voice spoke. "But I feel we shall find an answer should we continue on."

Tassadar strode forward, adamantly moving into the desert. Being the only one that seemed to know where he was going, the rest of the impromptu allies followed closely behind the Protoss. They continued on their hike for several hours, only stopping to rest for short periods of time, until Tassadar seemed to stop alongside a rather unremarkable cliffside that had no discernible differences to any other.

"Find something?" Johnson asked as his hand moved to his shotgun, ready just in case.

"Indeed. There is something here, hidden by powers similar, but different to my own." Tassadar moved his hand over the rocks, feeling and examining it.

"Hm, well my sensors aren't picking anything up. Sure you're not just imagining it?" Church asked.

"No little guy I think I feel it too." Cayde added on, ignoring Church's retort at being called little. "Same with the big guy, it feels similar to my Light. Like uh..."

"Like a tone you recognize, but cannot recall the name of the song." Tassadar filled in as his hand found what he was searching for.

Tassadar pressed down on one of the stones and a glowing rune illuminated itself on the rock face. None of them could recognize the language, but as the rune glowed, its script continued to expand across the cliffside, glowing brighter and brighter, until parts of the cliff started to fade. As the rocks became more and more transparent, fading from existence, behind them they revealed a structure.

The structure was a gateway, made of pure white stone protected by ancient runes, and a pair of gleaming golden doors. Casted onto the doors, was the image of a great raven, wings splayed in all its foreboding glory.

"Well this isn't spooky at all." Church deadpanned, only to be interrupted by Tassadar opening the gates up. "Whoa whoa whoa, you wanna go in there?! Don't you have movies from where you're from? There's like an 80% chance we all die if we go there."

"While I do hate to agree with him, Church does have a point." Johnson said. "I don't exactly have the best luck of going into strange, unknown alien ruins." Johnson shuddered at the memory of his first encounter with the Flood.

"Caution is an admirable trait, but unfortunately I sense something coming from here. Something important that will lead us to answers." Without waiting for a response, Tassadar strode into the darkness of whatever ruins they had just uncovered.

The remaining members all looked at each other, bewildered that Tassadar would simply go in.

"Well… might as well follow to make sure he doesn't die." Cayde nonchalantly said as he drew his revolver and waltzed in. With this, the rest followed in as well, unknowingly being some of the first living souls to step into the Tomb in millennia.

Chapter 28

Chapter Text

Mother Base…

Punished "Venom" Snake slowly moved to his cot, feeling every ache and pain from not only the most recent mission, but also his decades on the battlefield. While his performance in combat would put that of any 20 year old infantryman to shame, Snake was already 60 by the time of death. And his various prosthetics, shrapnel, and battlefield wounds were not conducive to producing a healthy, elderly body.

And so, the phantom of Big Boss laid down on his cot and allowed himself to fall asleep. Gaining the ability to instantly fall asleep was a skill that any veteran soldier would have adopted, as in a war, one would never know when they could get rest, and would greedily take it whenever they could.

But this sleep was strange. Snake did not dream often. Occasionally he had flashes of his previous life, of who he was before Revolver Ocelot's hypnotherapy turned him into a body double for the true Big Boss. But such memories were at most simply novelties to him now, and bore no importance. But other than that he wouldn't dream. Whether it was the effects of the shrapnel in his brain, his obvious trauma from the horrors of war he experienced, or a side effect of the hypnosis, Snake never dreamed of anything but his forgotten past.

Snake however, now saw images as he took his rest. It was as if he was flying like a bird above the Mother Base, above Kabul. Then he began descending, falling faster and faster. Knowing this was a dream, the Boss did not panic as he flew straight downward, and he was not surprised as his body began to phase through the ground.

Passing through stone and sand, Snake soon found himself in a series of tunnels. He recognized the passageways as sublevel basem*nts of Mother Base, ancient winding halls that once acted as dungeons and cellars for the castle that Mother Base once was. At the very end of this passage, beyond where any member of the Legion had need to go, Snake discovered a simple wall of stone, carved out of the mountain itself.

Snake had seen this rockwall once before, when he was exploring the castle when he first discovered it, but found it to simply be a dead end and paid it no mind. This time however, he felt something. As if he could hear a song in the distance, muffled and distorted, but present nonetheless. Then the wall began to glow, ancient runes appeared along its surface until the shape of a door appeared. The wall then opened, revealing a pitch blackness that sucked Snake in.

Carried once more by an invisible force, Snake few through winding tunnels, barely able to register what he was seeing. He did not know how far he went for he could neither tell how fast he was moving nor did he have any visual point of reference to gauge the distance he traveled. Soon enough however, the darkness was broken by a light. It was a small light in the distance, moving; it was the easily recognizable artificial white light of a flashlight.

Snake's astral projection focused on the light, flying towards it, until he realized that the source was in fact multiple flashlights, held by a strange group of individuals. One was obviously some kind of soldier, a dark-skinned man wearing military fatigues and battle armor, with a hologram standing his shoulder. Two were some kind of cyborgs or robots, one a gunslinger and the other a swordsman or even ninja. And lastly there was an alien, tall blue skinned with gold armor, and a featureless face that only had a pair of iridescent eyes.

As Snake came closer and closer to the motley collection, the alien's head snapped to him, as if he could see him. The alien's eyes narrowed on Snake, and while Snake wasn't privy to its thoughts, he could see confusion in its body language. The others around the alien took notice of its strange behaviour, and were immediately set on edge. They called out to the alien, but Snake couldn't hear them, their voices distant.

Moving forward, Snake tried to call out and see if the alien could hear him, but the moment he did he felt a pull behind him. Snake's incorporeal form began flying backwards, hurtling through the darkness once more.

Snake then felt himself slow, and he was once more in a single massive cavern. But unlike the tunnels he saw the others in, simple carved passages devoid of any decoration, these caverns were filled with majestic ruins and many other manufactured structures such as statues and walls. At first Snake thought of this place as some kind of mine, but he quickly came to realize that was false. This was in fact a tomb. This was in fact, The Tomb, one of the ruins of the Final Destination.

The many structures which Snake initially assumed were homes were in fact mausoleums, and many of the statues tombstones. Snake then found himself naturally moving towards the center of this cavern, where the largest statue lay.

The Boss recognized who this statue was of. It was a beautiful woman with flowing hair, in an elegant white dress, gripping a stone resplendent grail. This was Lileath, the Elven Goddess in her guise as the Lady of the Lake. Even at a distance, Snake could feel her power, and faint whispers of chivalry and honor crept in behind him. As he got closer and closer, Snake saw something else. At the base of the statue was a grail as well, but unlike the resplendent version held in the hands of the statue, this was a simple, bronze grail, aged and dented, but retaining its own value in its simplicity.

What this was was obvious to Snake. This was the Holy Grail, which Lileath bade them to find. Despite this only being a vision, the Boss approached the Grail, hand extended to take it. Before he could reach it however, he was overcome by a flash of green light. Snake then shot out of bed, the early morning light peeking through his windows.

"What the Hell is going on?" Johnson snapped at Tassadar, shotgun raised and scanning for targets, his teammates sans the Protoss doing the same.

At first, Tassadar didn't deign to reply. He merely continued to stare off into the distance that seemed to enthrall him.

"I'd like an answer to that too, Tassadar." Cayde commented, his revolver also searching for any possible enemies. "I'd rather not think about what might happen if our only psychic got mind controlled."

"No such thing has occurred to me." Tassadar snapped at his panicking allies before finally breaking his gaze and looking at them. "And you may lower your weapons, we are in no danger."

The motley crew of survivors briefly looked to one another, before reluctantly dropping their guard.

The apparent crisis over, Church decided to speak up. "So, care to explain what that was about?"

Tassadar shook his head. "I am not sure. I felt a presence, as if we were being watched. But the presence quickly faded."

Church rolled whatever holographic eyes he had behind his helmet. "Great. We've been walking around for hours in some spooky f*cking tunnels and now you say we're being watched? Dude, I'm telling you, this place is haunted. Trust me, I was a ghost once, so I know."

Johnson turned his head towards his holographic partner. "What the hell do you mean you were a ghost?"

"Long story short? My man-child of a teammate was teamkilling f*ck-tard." Church shook his head. "He got better, kinda, but still that's beside the point. Tassadar, man, do you actually have any idea where we're going? Because this place is haunted as f*ck."

"We are going where we are meant to be going." Tassadar cryptically answered.

"God dammit you walking, talking fortune cookie." Church grumbled.

"Hey, I get you're frustrated Church." Cayde cut in as he twirled his revolver before holstering it. "But let me ask you this. Do you have any bright ideas on where to go?"

Church moved to speak up, but found that he didn't have an answer.

"As such, let silence reign as we continue on our path." Tassadar boomed as he continued forward.

"Easy for you to say, you don't even have a mouth." Church muttered under his breath.

Mother Base…

It was an average morning in the mess hall of Mother base as the Legion gathered up for breakfast. Questionably serviceable Soviet-era rations were passed around along with coffee from an indeterminable source. While the legionnaires chatted about various topics ranging from their latest weapon upgrades to stories from their home dimensions, the Boss made his way into the mess hall with a dour expression on his face.

"Boss." Wynne was the first to greet their leader. "Is everything alright?"

Everyone turned to face the Boss at this, and he took his time to look them over before responding. "I have new intel." he simply stated before sitting down at the table as well.

"Intel? Overnight?" Sev raised an eyebrow as he stuffed food into his mouth.

Snake nodded his head. "Indeed. I believe I discovered my semblance last night."

Everyone looked up at this, curious as to what power their leader had developed.

"Oh congratulations Boss!" Pyrrha cheered. "What is it?"

"I think it's some kind of clairvoyance, or even astral projection." Snake began. "I had some kind of vision last night."

"A vision?" Galen asked, as such territory was more familiar for the Force user. "What of?"

"In my vision I saw a series of ruins that run beneath Mother Base, the entrance hidden behind some kind of magic. The vision then took me through the ruins, where I saw a group of others. They did not appear affiliated with any of the existing factions however."

"Others?" Shepard perked up. "As in other people dragged here like us?"

Snake nodded. "Indeed. There were four I could see, a human soldier, 2 robotic or cybernetic warriors, and one alien. None of them matched any of the usual appearance of anyone we've seen amongst the forces of Chaos."

"Which means we may have more allies!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"Or we may have more enemies than we knew about." Shepard cautioned.

"But that's not all I saw." Snake cut back in once again. "I was then brought to another section of the ruins, and believe that the ruins were actually the Tomb, and within the Tomb I believe I saw the Grail."

Several of the legionnaires' eyes went wide at this.

"The Grail." Wynne muttered under her breath. "Lileath mentioned it was some kind of artifact of great power. If there are others already on the way there, we should go as well with all due haste."

"Agreed." Snake nodded his head before turning to Shepard. "I want you on point for this. Assemble a team, enter these ruins, find out who these newcomers are, and find the Grail."

"Roger that Boss." Shepard snapped off a salute before leaving to prepare her team.

Six, Wynne, Pyrrha, and herself. That was the team Shepard had assembled for this foray into the ruins beneath Mother Base. After a hearty meal for energy, the team, dubbed Fireteam Buffalo, gathered in the armory to gear up before leaving.

While they didn't know what to expect when they entered the ruins, they knew it was going to be tight, close quarters combat, and prepared thusly. Shepard and Pyrrha would hold the front in melee, so Shepard was going for her classic Geth plasma shotgun and Power Axe combo. While she was a little disappointed she wasn't going to be able to test out her new Fat Man, something told her that detonating a small scale nuclear device in enclosed, subterranean spaces was a bad idea.

Pyrrha meanwhile looked over her own weapon enhancements. While the others had picked up new weapons from the Armory, Pyrrha instead had opted to upgrade her current arsenal with new tech the Legion had acquired. With T3's help, Pyrrha had been able to disassemble an Imperial Guard Power Sword they had found in the Armory and replace the powercell and energy generator into Miló. This allowed Pyrrha's mechashift weapon to produce a corona of energy similar to Shepard's power axe, allowing it to disrupt molecular bonds when striking a target, making it capable of cutting through nearly anything.

At the same time, Pyrrha upgraded Akoúo̱ as well. The Legion had a handful of Jackal wrist-mounted energy shields taken from raids against the Covenant, and once again with T3's help Pyrrha was able to disassemble them and reuse their parts for her own purpose. Now, with a flick of a switch, Akoúo̱ face would be coated in a red-orange plasma barrier. The plasma would be able to absorb most of the damage done by Covenant plasma and Stormtrooper blaster weaponry, a weakness of Pyrrha's that had been exploited in the past, and even potentially defend against lightsabers.

While Shepard and Pyrrha would handle the front, Wynne and Six would provide cover and support from afar. Wynne had decided to take one of the magic staffs that they had found from the Armory. While Shepard still didn't really understand magic and how it all worked, the staff they had found must've been powerful judging by the way Wynne's jaw dropped when she identified what it was. Apparently it was something called a Staff of the Magi, and would allow Wynne to cast magic spells she would never have been able to previously, which Shepard was all for. Meanwhile, Six was taking his DMR and Bio-Force Gun with him. Six had felt that the BFG was (marginally) less likely for friendly fire in the ruins than the Fatman, so he opted to take it with him.

Armed up, Fireteam Buffalo made their way to the basem*nt of Mother Base. Shepard hadn't been there since the interrogation of Commander Bacara, an ordeal which left a rather bad taste in her mouth. This entire level of Mother Base was used as a dungeon, but the Legion didn't make a habit of taking prisoners, so it was sparsely used.

Reaching the deepest hallway, the Fireteam found the wall they were looking for. As the Boss had mentioned, it was a rather inconspicuous wall that, had the Boss not had his vision, they would've never thought to have looked at it twice.

"Yes, I can sense a faint magical aura coming from here." as she waved her Staff of the Magi over the door, casting the Detect Magic spell. "Some kind of powerful abjuration magic, which is used to create barriers and protective wards and such."

"Are you able to get it open?" Shepard asked.

"Were it only a few days ago I would've said no." Wynne said with a smirk. "But this staff gives me quite a few new tricks up my sleeve.."

With that, Wynne raised the staff and smacked it against the wall. There was an audiblecrackthat resounded through the enclosed space, far louder than it had any right to be. The Legionnaires then watched as elvish runes began to glow along the wall, forming a door, that eventually faded along with the wall itself, creating an opening.

"There, that should suppress the arcane lock for about ten minutes I would say." Wynne said, satisfied with her casting of the Knock spell.

"Most impressive." Pyrrha muttered under her breath, always enamoured by the casting of magic. Meanwhile Six and Shepard moved in with weapons raised.

"Alright people, keep sharp. We don't know what to expect down here, but whatever we come across, I want us ready." Shepard commanded as she took point.

"Roger!" Her fireteam responded in unison.

With that, Fireteam Buffalo began their expedition into the Tomb.

The Fireteam had marched for several hours through the darkened tunnels underneath Mother Base. Luckily enough, the tunnels were wide enough to allow for moderately comfortable travel, not requiring them to squeeze and crawl through precariously tight crevices. As was the way with these ruins, the path they followed wasn't a winding maze of natural caves, but instead a direct and straightforward passage that they hoped led them to their destination.

Soon enough, they found themselves entering the cavern that the Boss had spoken of, a massive underground graveyard that looked like a city at first glance.

"By the Maker…" Wynne whispered out. "This grave is larger than the dwarven city of Orzammar."

"And larger than that of Mount Glenn from my world." Pyrrha agreed.

While Shepard and Six lacked the context to truly put such comparisons into perspective, the sense of awe and emanated from both of them helped drive the point home that this Tomb was ridiculously massive. The path they were following continued forward to the massive statue of the Lady of the Lake, which stood at the center of the cavern. Rows and streets surrounded by tombstones and mausoleums radiated out from the statue, creating a concentric design that only served to magnify the importance of the deity's effigy.

As they pushed forward, the fireteam moved into an open crossroad between the path they followed and the first of the circular roads that layered around the statue. At first they paid no mind to the intersection, merely moving through with purpose. This however, changed as they reached the far end of the crossroads a massive blue-green barrier of magical energy appeared from nowhere, blocking their path.

"Damnit!" Shepard cursed as she turned, drawing her power axe, Pyrrha moving beside her taking the front as well.

Trapped with their backs against a magic barrier, Fireteam Buffalo watched as an eerie fog that matched the barrier in tint suffused the area. Out of this mist, the Legion could see the shapes of figures form. Within seconds, the roughly humanoid shapes became more and more detailed creating a series of warriors that stood across from the heroes.

The first to appear were the Bretonnians, human warriors wielded massive greatswords and were dressed in crusader's garb, with thick suits of plate armor and great helms, decorated with various coats of arms depicting lions, dragons, pegusi, and even the fleur de lis. These were the specters of the great Grail Knights, the once mighty protectors of Bretonnia and the Lady of the Lake, now literal shadows of their former selves.

Behind these great knights, the ever famous elves made themselves apparent. The lithe, nubile forms of the wood elves appeared in two forms, some wearing little to no armor, dressed in leaves, wood, and other natural fabrics, wielding twin swords, while others held bows and wore leather armor with deep, forest green cloaks.

"Legion!" Shepard roared. "Take them down!" Shepard charged first with Pyrrha at her side, her power axe raised high.

"For ze Lady!" The ghosts of the crusading knights cried out, rushing to meet her.

Shepard and the first knight met head on, both swinging their great weapons at the other. But the cyborg spectre was slightly faster and her power axe moved to cleave the knight in two. However the knight was surprisingly dextrous for someone wearing full armor, and was able to shift his weight back, grabbing the blade of the sword to halfsword and block Shepard's attack.

It was a good idea in theory, and a technique probably tested and proven true in many battles. But unfortunately for the good knight, Shepard's axe was not any normal weapon of steel, as the adamantium blade and disruptive corona of energy surrounding it sliced through the crusader's greatsword, then through his armor, then finally through the knight himself.

The other knights paused their advance as their comrade was cut down, far more wary of the foe in front of them, but not afraid. Shepard took the initiative as they slowed and charged once more, swinging her axe with reckless abandon at one of the knights. But the knight proved his skill once more as they quickly retreated out of Shepard's range while simultaneously striking her with the longer reach of his greatsword. The Bretonnians now knew to stay away from Shepard's weapon, and had the skill, speed, and experience to outmaneuver her.

While Shepard was by no means a slouch in melee combat, training with medieval great weapons wasn't exactly something that was taught in N7 school, and most of her techniques relied on brute force and raw power combined with the axe's devastating attributes. Meanwhile these Grail Knights had spent their entire mortal lives training by their blades and fought far more powerful and savage opponents such as orks and beastmen regularly.

Pyrrha then moved to flank the knights and relieve Shepard of some pressure, when two feminine figures intercepted her. They were two female wood elves, wearing no armor but instead simple green top and flowing skirts. Both had two swords in their hands, and swirling tattoos painted across their bodies. These were the famed wardancers of Athel Loren, warrior poets who combined their bardic arts of dance and storytelling with that of violent and deadly swordsmanship.

Pyrrha went for a lunge against the wardancer, only for the elf to flow like water around the thrust. The elf then spun like a top, becoming a whirlwind of blades that sought to decapitate the huntress. Raising her shield, Pyrrha blocked the attack while dropping low to sweep the elf's legs out from under her. However the second wardancer wouldn't let such a thing happen, as she pulled her ally back away from the kick and thrust her blade at the Pyrrha, cutting into her abdomen. The blade was stopped by her aura and ballistic weave mesh armor, but the strike still stung as Pyrrha was forced to retreat.

Scowling, Pyrrha knew she couldn't take these agile opponents on conventionally. Slackening her grip on Akoúo̱, Pyrrha flung her shield like a discus towards the elven dancers. As she expected the two elves beautifully twisted away from the attack. What they did not expect however, was for Akoúo̱ to stop mid-air behind them and reverse course. The shield struck the closer wardancer in the back, audibly breaking bone at the impact. The second elf turned her head to see what threat just assaulted her sister, which was all the opening Pyrrha needed.

Pyrrha rushed forward and swung her sword for the still standing war dancer. The elf, still distracted, was barely able to react to the attack. With grace gained through centuries of practice the elf was able to bring her sword to parry the strike, when suddenly her blade veered off course, subtly manipulated by Pyrrha's semblance. The slight movement was enough for Pyrrha's blade to snake past the elves and sink directly between her ribs.

As Pyrrha executed the elf, she was then hit by a volley as the elven archers loosed their arrows. The champion deflected two arrows with her sword before leaping into the air to avoid the rest. This however, proved to be a mistake, as the elven archers proved to be far too keen eyed to be stopped by such a tactic. A second volley was loosed, and the arrows flew true as they struck the airborne huntress. Arrows sunk into Pyrrha's shield and aura as she was continually pelted.

Pyrrha could feel her aura and kinetic barriers drain with every impact, arrows sinking deep despite their archaic nature. As she landed, Pyrrha crouched low behind her shield, letting it tank all of the hits as the elves sought to turn her into a pin cushion. As the next volley was loosed however, the arrows seemed to curve and veer off course.

Around her, Pyrrha could feel the winds shift and move, as well as the temperature drop to where she could see her own breath. Stealing a quick peek behind her, Pyrrha saw Wynne twirling her staff in the air, as icy-cold blue magic flew from it. As the Staff of the Magi granted Wynne access to a brand new catalogue of spells, the mage began casting the Ice Storm spell, creating a whirlwind of frosty hair that cycloned between Pyrrha and the elves.

The elves watched as their arrows flew off course, pulled into the vortex of the Ice Storm. Then from the far side of the storm, large chunks of ice rocketed towards the archers. The first elf was slammed by a boulder of ice, crunching into their ribs and sending them flying back. The others hit the deck, buffeted by smaller bits of hail but not the larger pieces. After waiting a few seconds for the storm to cease, the elves cautiously allowed themselves to stand. As soon as they did however, gunshots rang out and their heads popped like overly ripe melons.

Six, having kept his range since the start of the battle, was able to take advantage of the chaos created by Wynne's spell to put down the elves, who even with their superhuman agility were not capable of dodging bullets. With the archers dead, Pyrrha was free to move and support the Commander, who had stalled in her fight against the Bretonnian knights.

Shepard was still locked in melee with the knights, and it was thanks to her careful use of her biotics that she wasn't overwhelmed. With a Biotic Charge, Shepard would rapidly advance against one of the knights, bowling him over with telekinetic speeds. But the knight's allies would quickly come to his aid and force Shepard back before she could land a killing blow. When the knights would attack, Shepard's use of barriers and lifts would kill the momentum of their charge, preventing them from overwhelming her.

And as the knights charged once more, this time Pyrrha was able to intercept, leaping between the commander and Bretonnians. Blocking a greatsword with her shield, Pyrrha thrust her weapon, currently in spear form, for the Bretonnian's torso. The knight attempted to retreat, but found himself stuck as Pyrrha called upon her semblance to grab on to the knight's armor and hold him in place. Trapped, the knight's comrades moved to rescue him by striking at Pyrrha, but were blasted back by a biotic throw as Shepard was now free to interrupt as well.

Pyrrha then drove her power spear right through the armored torso of the Grail Knight, destroying the ghost instantly. With the knights numbers reduced, they fell back to regroup and for a new plan of attack. However this tactic proved to work against them, because as they gathered up, Wynne cast another new spell from her staff, Wall of Fire, creating a donut of flames around the knights, trapping them inside. As they heard the knights scream as they were burned by the fire, Six ran up, pulling a frag grenade from his belt. With an expertly lobbed throw, the grenade fell into the center of the wall of fire, in the middle of all the knights. One fragmentation explosion later, the screams of the knights were silenced as their spectral forms faded.

With the knights dead, all threats in the immediate area were destroyed, the barriers halting their progress fell, and the Legion allowed themselves a small break. However, they would not have long to catch their breath, as a massive roar shattered the calm of their respite. Looking up, Fireteam Buffalo saw the massive wingspan of a dragon flying above them. Like the warriors, the dragon was spectral, a ghost of a once mighty beast. The monster was a translucent red-orange, glowing so bright that it was like looking at the sun.

Pyrrha and Wynne were forced to shield their eyes, while the polarizing visors of Six and Shepard's armors allowed them to keep watch on the newest opponent.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this." Six cooly said as he holstered his DMR and instead pulled out his BFG-9000, secretly excited that he now had a chance to use his new weapon.

Six depressed his finger on the trigger, as the green lights began flaring along the spine of his weapon, charging up power. Before he had a chance to release the attack however, the Sun Dragon roared out in pain as it was surrounded by a storm of lightning.

Confused at the sudden intervention, all heads turned to Wynne, who only shook her head and said, "It's not me!"

When they turned back to look at the dragon, Six and Shepard saw a red targeting laser tracking the dragon's chest. After a few seconds, a massive laser beam followed the tracking beam, slamming into the dragon and burning a massive hole into its chest. In combination with the lightning, the dragon sustained far too much damage and fell out of the sky.

As the dragon died, Shepard turned to her team and called out. "Let's go! Whoever killed that dragon is probably who we're looking for!" Shepard then took off in a jog for the landing zone.

Pyrrha and Wynne acknowledged the order and took off after the commander, while Six took a brief moment to dejectedly look at his unused BFG, before sighing and joining the others.

Chapter 29

Chapter Text

The Tomb…

Shepard rushed forward, shotgun in hand as she and her fireteam made their way to the dragon's landing zone. With the death of the flying monster, the spectral forms of any remaining wraiths faded as the necromantic bindings around them weakened and broke. The dragon's corpse did not land far from them, and within minutes Shepard rounded the corner and saw the beast and its slayers.

True to Snake's vision, Shepard saw 4 figures standing above the body of the wyrm. One was obviously human at a distance, a dark-skinned man in military fatigues and armor, standing beside the cybernetic cowboy and ninja, along with an 8 foot tall alien floating above the corpse.

As Snake said, they didn't look like any faction she'd recognize. But that didn't mean that they were friendly in the slightest however. And so Shepard slipped behind an elven pillar carved from white-marble stone that would hopefully provide protection from any conventional projectiles. As the rest of Fireteam Buffalo filed in behind her, each finding their own cover as well, Shepard leveled her shotgun and yelled out.

"That's a lot of firepower you guys are carrying!" she called out. "I'm hoping you don't have a reason to use it on us."

The newcomers all turned to face her at her first word. All of them save for the floating alien raised their weapons, instantly ready to fight in case the person speaking was hostile. The ninja and cowboy drew their sword and revolver respectively, holding them level and aimed at Shepard. Meanwhile the full human had what looked like a piece of heavy artillery shouldered, which Shepard assumed fired the laser beam from before.

The robot cowboy raised one mechanical eyebrow, and co*cked his head towards the alien. "Are they what we're looking for, big guy?"

Her face not leaving the sights of her gun, Shepard's eyes slightly shifted to look at the alien's reaction. The alien didn't seem to have any overt response, his gaze looking over Shepard and her allies, before he spoke. "I believe so."

"The Hell's that supposed to mean?" Shepard mumbled to herself. Before she could bring that question up, another voice spoke.

"Wait a second." The human soldier said. "A Spartan?"

All faces turned to him as he slightly lowered his gun in disbelief. Despite the possible danger, Shepard turned away from the newcomers to look at Six, who similarly had his gun slightly lowered.

"UNSC?" Six asked, his tone still guarded.

The human nodded. "Yeah. Sergeant Major Avery Johnson Jr, UNSC Marine Corps." Johnson then reached for his own neck and showed off his dog tags.

Six didn't immediately react, slowly taking in the information before responding, "Spartan-B312, Noble Team, Navspec."

Johnson raised an eyebrow at Six's response. "Didn't know Spartan numbers went up that high." He then turned to his allies as he lowered his Spartan Laser. "Alright folks, blue on blue. Put your weapons down before somebody pokes an eye out."

They two robots glanced at one another, until the hooded synthetic shrugged, spinning his revolver as he holstered it with style. The cyborg ninja, paused for a moment longer, his gaze lingered upon Shepard and her team, before he twirled his blade and sheathed it on his back.

As the newcomers put their weapons away, this caused the members of the Legion to relax, lowering their own weapons as they left the cover they hid behind. With Six and Shepard at the head, Fireteam Buffalo began to move towards the newcomers, who had also elected to approach the Legion. Before they could meet in the middle however, another new voice called out.

"Carolina!?" the voice shouted as a holographic Spartan appeared on Johnson's shoulder. "Are you here to save me!? Also why are you dressed like a hoplite?" The holographic Spartan excitedly floated over to Pyrrha, who was more than confused at the its dialogue.

"Uhh…" Pyrrha stammered out. "My name's Pyrrha, not Carolina."

The hologram paused, taken slightly aback by Pyrrha's words. "But… you look just like her. Hell you sound just like her."

The ever awkward Pyrrha felt like she had kicked a puppy with how disappointed the AI sounded. "Uh, I'm sorry. She sounds like a good person?"

"Get back here Church." Johnson called out, stern but not angry. "Look at her. Does she look like she's from our world?"

Church looked Pyrrha up and down one last time, before sighing and saying. "Yeah no, that makes sense. Sorry about that." Church then blinked back to the Sergeant, head hanging slightly lower, Pyrrha calling out another apology as we moved away.

"Perhaps…" the floating alien said. "This is not the best place to discuss such matters."

"Agreed." Shepard nodded her head. The whole interaction was interesting, but they were on a mission right now. "I'm Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Spectre. With me are Pyrrha Nikos, Spartan-B312 or Noble Six as we call him, and Wynne, Circle Magi." Shepard gestured to the squad behind her.

"En Taro Adun. I am Tassadar, former Executor of the protoss empire. With me are your Sergeant Johnson, Grey Fox, and the synthetics Cayde-6 and Church." Tassadar nodded his head as Cayde grumbled in the background about not really being a synth.

"Pleasure to meet you, though I wish it was under better circ*mstances." Shepard said as she holsted her gun, a minor gesture to show that she was not planning on starting a fight. "Now I'm going to be honest with you Tassadar and I hope you'll do the same in return. We had intel you and your friends were here, but what we don't know is the why and the how. In addition to another objective, we were sent to make contact with your party and find out your intentions. So then, Executor, what are you and your people doing here?"

"Worry not Commander, I had no use for deception in my living days and have no such need for it now. And with such honesty, I am compelled to tell you that my psionic might allows me to ascertain both your thoughts and memories should I wish. Your surface thoughts are always available to me, while it would require effort for me to penetrate deeper, which I will not do out of courtesy."

The Legion felt their jaws drop at Tassadar's proclamation.

"You're a telepath…" Pyrrha mumbled out.

Tassadar looked to her, causing her to flinch, and nodded. "And much more, Pyrrha Nikos. Suffice to say, I was aware of your presence much in the same way your leader was aware of ours. When I first arrived on this world, I used my powers to survey the landscape, and found the other factions which inhabit this territory to be abominable. However I then sensed you and your comrades, and believed that you would make staunch allies. As such, I gathered those who arrived with me to aid you in your battle."

"Way to volunteer us for a war dude." Church muttered out.

"Now's not the time Church." Johnson admonished.

As the two descended into bickering, Shepard paused to take in Tassadar's words before replying, "Well I did as for honesty. How much are you all aware of, of why you're here and what we're fighting?"

"I know we're all dead, but outside of that not much." the synthetic Cayde-6 added in. "Big-T was rather tight lipped about the whole thing." he then snickered at his own joke.

Ignoring the second part of his statement, Shepard said. "Well there's a long, convoluted story about what we're doing here. Since you're friendly, we can talk about it when we get back to our base, but we probably shouldn't take the time for lengthy exposition in the middle of a hostile dungeon."

Tassadar nodded. "Agreed. Now, your immediate objective is in the center of this tomb, correct?"

"Yeah. We're looking for something called the Holy Grail, an artifact of the goddess that brought us here that could help us in our fight." Shepard responded.

"Then let us be on our way. Speed is of the essence in this war we shall fight, and we dallied here long enough." Tassadar proclaimed as he began moving forward past the Legion and towards the statue of Lileath.

Shepard took a moment to watch the alien floated past her, essentially trying to take command of the entire mission.

"Sorry 'bout him." Cayde said as she walked up to Shepard. "He likes to move to the beat of his own drum, and anyone that doesn't move with gets left behind." The exo shrugged as he moved to follow Tassadar.

Shepard sighed before using a hand signal to call her squad to regroup. "Alright team, we're moving out."

The Legion continued to push forward towards the statue of the Lady of the Lake in the center of the Tomb. Strangely enough, they found no more encounters with the spectral knights and elves as they passed through street after street. The lack of attention put the legionnaires on edge, but they continued on nonetheless, merely hoping that they could take on any ambush that came their way. But no such attack came, and soon enough the Legion and co found themselves at the foot of the massive statue of the Lady of the Lake.

"Well that was easy. Go team." Cayde pumped his fist into the air.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a spectral, green fog surrounded them. Everyone turned to scowl at Cayde, who only shrugged in response. At the foot of the statue, the fog began to coalesce, once more forming into a humanoid shape. The form became that of a knight, a plate armored warrior that glowed an almost neon green, draped by a leaf-like surcoat. In front of them appeared the Green Knight, the protector of Bretonnia.

"Halt." The Green Knight commanded, his voice ephemeral and fey, like a whisper that could be heard at full volume despite the distance.

Shepard held up her hand, making sure everyone stopped. This was the first spirit that seemed willing to talk, so she thought they should at least hear it out. "We mean no harm." she placidly said, hoping to not trigger the knight to violence. "We seek the grail."

"As did many who came before you." The knight responded. He stepped to the side, and at the bottom of the statue lay a simple bronze grail, unadorned and unremarkable. "But not just anyone can lay claim to the grail. Only the worthy may drink from its fathomless depths and survive."

"And what makes one worthy?" Tassadar asked head co*cked to the side.

"Only a noble and pious warrior, pure of heart and free of sin may drink of the contents and live. Find a champion amongst you, and I shall see whether or not their resolve proves true." the knight responded, before falling into a silence as he stared at the heroes.

The Legion and their guests all looked to each other, unsure what to do as Shepard called him into a huddle.

As everyone gathered up around her, Cayde was the first to put both hands up and say, "Just want to say, I'm pretty sure I qualify for none of what he just said."

Shepard scowled the exo. "Thank you for your valuable input, Cayde." She then turned back to everyone else. "Any other volunteers?"

The Legionnaires mumbled and whispered to one another, unsure of who to elect.

"What about you, Shepard?" Pyrrha asked with certainty. "I can't think of anyone else amongst us as brave as you."

Shepard actually took the time to pause and seriously consider Pyrrha's words, not out of hubris but from a practical standpoint, before shaking her head. "No, no I don't think so. I may be brave, but I'm more than willing to sacrifice honor for victory. I'm pretty sure I have a few war crimes under my belt from my time in Cerberus to prove it." Shepard looked at how Pyrrha deflated a bit at her statement, when an idea came to her. "What about you Pyrrha? Personally I think noble and pure of heart fits you to a T."

Pyrrha was shocked by Shepard's words. "What, me? There's no way I'm worthy."

"I don't know about that." Noble-Six countered. "Sarah told me about how you saved her life outside of the Archives. Sounded pretty damn heroic to me."

"But anyone would've done that." Pyrrha denied.

Tassadar's eyes then flashed with psionic power once more. "Perhaps that is so. But I have looked through your memories, and I do not believe anyone else can match the integrity you carry Pyrrha Nikos. While everyone here would more than easily be considered brave and self-sacrificing, your very nature combined with your youthful naivety allow you to do so without succumbing to the worst parts of your nature."

Pyrrha didn't know how to respond to such a compliment, even if it was a little backhanded, so Shepard responded in turn. "Invasion of privacy aside, Tassadar is right. I think I can speak for everyone here when I say we've all done some terrible things in order to achieve our goals. Meanwhile you've been able to fight for what is right without compromising your moral fibre. I can't think of anyone else here who would be a better fit."

Taken aback by their words of encouragement, Pyrrha was shocked as her allies truly believed she could do this. She was partially reminded of when she was pushed to become the Fall Maiden at Beacon, but this time, she would not fail.

Feeling her resolve strengthen, she looked to her friends and allies, new and old, and nodded. "Alright, I'll do it." she said with a determined scowl.

Drawing her weapons Miló and Akoúo̱, Pyrrha confidently marched towards the Green Knight. Twirling her sword, Pyrrha gave a traditional Mistralian duelist salute, while the Green Knight, drawing his ethereal emerald arming sword and kite shield, brought his blade to his face and returned a respectful nod. The two warriors took their stances, staring each other down as they waited to see who would make the first move.

Confident in her speed, Pyrrha attacked first. Cutting the distance in an instant, Pyrrha aimed an expertly placed thrust towards the Green Knight's visor. But the knight raised his shield just as fast, deflecting the blow away. Accelerating even more, Pyrrha spun and attempted a backhand slash for the knight's right side, but the Green Knight kept pace and parried her attack with his sword. And to Pyrrha's shock, unlike previous ghost knights she had fought, her upgraded Force Weapon enhanced sword was unable to destroy the specter's weapon, its ancient magic able to resist the arcane technology.

Regardless, the Green Knight's arms were still high, meaning his legs were open. Capitalizing on her dexterity once more, Pyrrha dropped low as she attempted a low spinning kick to sweep the Green Knight off his feet. But the champion of the Lady would not be taken down by such a cheap tactic, and lowered his center of gravity, shifting his weight and angling his leg so he could absorb the kick without losing balance. When Pyrrha's leg connected it felt like she had kicked a boulder, and the knight remained stationary like one as well.

Before Pyrrha could stand back up, the Green Knight's shield shot forward, bashing into Pyrrha and shoving her back. Pyrrha stumbled, the attack knocking the wind out of her and temporarily stunning her, but she was able to roll with the hit, using the momentum to help her stand and get some distance between them. But the Green Knight would not let her get away so easily. Chasing after her, he slashed his blade, arcane energy flowing off it as the sword sought to bury itself in the huntress.

With a quick button press, Pyrrha activated the Plasma barrier that enveloped her shield, allowing her to block the sword without it cleaving her through her arm. She shoved back with her shield, buffeting her opponent as she jumped into the air with a backflip, putting even more distance between the two. As she floated in the air, Pyrrha did her signature shield throw, flinging Akoúo̱ like a plasma lined discus aiming to decapitate the knight with the unorthodox attack.

But the attack fell short once more as the Green Knight blocked the shield with his own. As Pyrrha dropped from the apex of her arc, the Green Knight spun and flung his own shield back at the champion. Pyrrha's eyes widened the sharp kite shield rocketed towards her as she had no way to dodge. Calling on her semblance, she was able to slow the shield just enough that the impact was only that of a hard punch. But it still knocked Pyrrha out of the sky, disrupting her flip, causing her to land inglouriously on the ground.

The Green Knight chased after her once more with a burst of speed that belied the armor he wore. Before his shield even hit the ground, the Green Knight caught it while simultaneously slashing twice at the prone Pyrrha. The first slash was slowed by her kinetic barrier, but both her barrier and aura were drained immensely from that one attack alone.

Her kinetic barrier burst under the second attack, and Pyrrha's defenses barely slowed the edge of the blade as it burned through her aura and almost broke it as well. Before the Green Knight could follow up, Pyrrha beat his sword away and scrambled to put distance between them once more. As Pyrrha stood, she felt a flash of pain reverberate through her body. A quick glance at the aura meter on her HUD showed it was already in the red.

A sobering chill washed over the huntress as she realized that if it wasn't for the kinetic barrier and armor upgrades, that one attack probably would have killed her. While such a thing was true everytime she fought against a Dark Jedi and their lightsabers, at the very least Pyrrha's skill had matched the Sith she fought, and she had developed techniques to specifically counter some of their abilities.

Pyrrha quickly came to realize that the Green Knight outclassed her in every way. He was faster, stronger, and far more skilled than she was. No human, aura or not, would be able to take on this monster of an opponent. Doubt began to creep into her mind. Doubt and fear. Why did she think she could do this? Was she going to die again because she thought she was stronger than she really was? Little did Pyrrha know that as soon as the first hint of doubt appeared in her mind, she was gripped by an aura of fear and menace that the Green Knight magically exuded.

The unnatural aura multiplied the feelings of fear, dread, and anguish in the Green Knight's enemies, and only the most courageous of warriors would be able to resist its effects. Many creatures react to fear differently, and as the terror gripped Pyrrha, she let loose a savage battle cry and charged forward once more.

As she ran forward with reckless abandon, she called upon her semblance to recall her shield to her. Akoúo̱ swiftly returned to its master as she closed the distance and began a rapid series of attacks. First Pyrrha slashed wildly at the Green Knight, hoping to overwhelm his defenses. Pyrrha's rapid attacks forced the Green Knight onto the defensive, turtling up as he raised his shield to protect himself, leaving only a small vertical opening between his sword and shield that Pyrrha could attack.

And Pyrrha did capitalize on this, as she twirled Miló, shifting it from sword to spear form while simultaneously pulling the trigger. With a burst of fire dust, Miló shot forward with explosive speeds right for the gap in his defense, aimed right for the Green Knight's throat. The Green Knight saw the thrust coming, and quickly began to move his shield to intercept it. But Pyrrha was not going to let him stop her, and called upon her semblance to hold the Knight's shield in place. The kite shield froze in place, allowing her spear close in on the Green Knight's throat.

As the very tip of her spear touched the Green Knight however, he vanished completely. Pyrrha's eyes went wide as she thrusted into the open air, striking nothing. She suddenly felt a biting pain on her back as she realized that the Green Knight somehow teleported behind her. The emerald green sword sliced through the ballistic weave of her armor and into the meat of her back, leaving a deep gash.

Pyrrha stumbled forward, feeling the blood start to pour downward. Immediately she began to funnel what aura remained into her back, rapidly trying to repair damage. The cut was shallow enough that she could still fight, but the pain wracked her body and her morale was not doing much better. The last time she was this outclassed was when she fought against Cinder, and she didn't want to think about how that fight went.

His prey wounded, the Green Knight resumed his pursuit. Charging forward while swinging his sword, Pyrrha panicked and retreated, desperate to get away from him Unleashing his own flurry of blows, the Green Knight rained down attack after attack against the wounded huntress. Pyrrha put up a desperate defense, parrying, blocking, and redirecting every strike she could in a flailing frenzy. But between the wound slowing her down and the fear clouding her mind, Pyrrha's defense was pitiful and the Green Knight easily swatted away her weapons.

The Green Knight relentless attacks forced Pyrrha further and further back. As she continued her harried retreat, backpedaling as she deflected each attack, she was too distracted and overwhelmed to keep good footwork, causing her to misstep and trip over her own feet. Pyrrha stumbled for only a fraction of a second as her reflexes allowed her to catch herself, but that fraction was all the opening the Green Knight needed.

As Pyrrha's arms dropped slightly from the misstep, the Green Knight's sword flashed forward, snaking past her guard with a masterful thrust and dug itself into Pyrrha's shoulder. Pyrrha cried out in pain as the blade sunk inches into her, practically ignoring whatever aura Pyrrha had left.

"Damn it Pyrrha move!" Shepard yelled as the huntress took the hit. This was not going well, and it was Shepard's own damn fault for volunteering Pyrrha for this. It was stupid of her to assume Pyrrha was ready for this, regardless of how skilled she was.

As Shepard grit her teeth from the situation, she focused on Pyrrha's wounded form, all parts of her willing the huntress to get away and fight back. It was at this point that Shepard, desperate to save her friend, began glowing a light blue. No one seemed to notice as they were all focused on the fight, not even Shepard herself took note of her own flaring aura.

Meanwhile, the Green Knight withdrew his sword from Pyrrha's shoulder, eliciting a pained gasp from her. This was a sight he was all too familiar with. Young questing knights in search of the Grail, overestimating themselves and ultimately paying the price for their hubris. The Green Knight reared his sword back, and prepared for a murder stroke to put the young woman out of her misery.

The Green Knight's blade fell, and to the shock of everyone present, struck nothing as Pyrrha dodged to the side at the last second. Despite the wounds covering her body, the young huntress slipped the attack as if it wasn't there. The Green Knight followed up with two more attacks, rapid slashes aimed to put her down. But Pyrrha dipped and dodged, flowing around the strikes like water, all while focusing her aura to heal her wounds.

As she twirled, the Green Knight caught a glimpse of her eyes. Where before Pyrrha's eyes were wide with fear, now her gaze was fierce and focused, driven to achieve victory. Unbeknownst to everyone watching, Pyrrha was currently being affected by Shepard's semblance, Battle Meditation. Unconsciously influenced by Shepard, Pyrrha's resolve strengthened, the pain gone, and she began performing at maximum efficiency. No action was wasted as she danced around the Knight's blade.

Seeing his offensive fail, the Green Knight stopped and paused, carefully watching the huntress. No longer under immediate pressure, this allowed Pyrrha to take a second and prepare for the next engagement. Surprisingly, she dropped her shield to the ground, and in her off-hand she reached for her lightsaber.

As she flicked the crimson blade on, Akoúo̱ froze before it could hit the ground. Akoúo̱ then slowly rose up, the shield becoming a floating barrier animated by Pyrrha's semblance. With a sharp glare, Pyrrha rushed forward once more both blades twirling as her animated shield floated behind her. Pyrrha's weapons began hacking at the Green Knight, each attack perfectly accurate and deadly. And while the Green Knight had the skill and equipment to defend against the onslaught, every counterattack he threw was stopped by the floating shield.

It was almost a complete reversal of how the fight had been going previously. With Shepard's Battle Meditation, Pyrrha was now able to fight on equal footing with the Green Knight, no longer affected by the mind altering aura of fear he exerted. With a twirl, Pyrrha threw two simultaneous attacks, Miló aiming to decapitate the Green Knight while her lightsaber went low to cripple his knee.

The Green Knight reacted swiftly, blocking the mecha-shift force weapon with his shield, while his own sword went low to parry the lightsaber. When he did so however, Akoúo̱ shot forward, edge slamming right into the Green Knight's torso before he could react. The impact knocked the knight stumbling backwards, a small opening that Pyrrha jumped on, striking low with the lightsaber once more. The crimson blade cut into the slit of the green plate armor between the knee and thigh protection. Pyrrha wasn't able to make a deep cut, but the nature of the lightsaber itself made the Green Knight recoil in pain as his skin burned.

Quickly withdrawing to prevent Pyrrha from burning any deeper, the Green knight simultaneously lashed out with his weapon to cover his retreat. But Pyrrha brought Miló up, parrying the attack. With a flick of the sword combined with the momentum of her twirl, she knocked the Green Knight's sword out of his hand. She continued to spin, and with a backhanded swipe she amputated the Green Knight's right arm with a single sweep of her lightsaber.

The Green Knight froze at the loss of his arm, but Pyrrha would not stop just because the warrior was dumbstruck as the battle changed course. As the Green Knight stumbled back, Pyrrha continued her momentum forward, Miló resuming its course for his throat. This time however, the Green Knight had no defense as the Force weapon tore through the Green Knight's neck, severing his head completely and sending it flying.

Pyrrha held the pose as the Green Knight's head fell to the ground, allowing a smirk to appear on her previously stoic face. The smirk fell however, when she didn't hear the body collapse to the ground like she expected. Glancing at her allies, she saw all of them staring behind her, mouths agape. Standing, Pyrrha turned around and felt her jaw drop as the body of the Green Knight stood tall despite the maiming.

Despite the reinforcement of the Battle Meditation, Pyrrha couldn't but feel awestruck and even a little afraid. During the fight, she knew the Green Knight was powerful, but it was only now that she truly understood how inhuman the warrior in front of her was. The body twitched and began to walk, causing Pyrrha to take up her stance once more. But the Green Knight seemed to ignore her, as he moved over to his severed body parts.

Starting at his arm first, the Green Knight bent down to pick up the limb and placed it at the stub. A wound began to glow green, and the arm was reattached as if it was never removed in the first place. He then moved to the severed head, picking it up, rotating it so it was oriented in the correct fashion, and placed it on his neck once more. Lastly, he moved to his sword, which lay unceremoniously on the ground. He picked it up and sheathed the weapon before turning Pyrrha, hands down in a neutral stance that told Pyrrha he was no longer interested in combat.

As Pyrrha relaxed her stance, the Green Knight spoke. "Impressive. I have not seen such technique nor such dauntless determination in a great many years. Within you I can see the second coming of Repanse de Lyonesse." he then stepped out of the way between Pyrrha and the Grail. "Drink, Pyrrha Nikos, and gain the Lady's blessing."

Pyrrha looked at her friends and allies, who all gave varying gestures of congratulations, encouraging her to accept. Nodding to them with a smile, Pyrrha began to make her way to the Grail. As she walked past the Green Knight, who now stood at solitary attention, the knight gave her a slight bow. Returning the nod with a respectful smile, Pyrrha continued her way to her spoils.

As she continued to approach however, she paused briefly as she began hearing… whispering. She quickly looked around, seeing that no one was talking. When she returned her gaze to the Grail, and her eyes widened as the grail was no longer the plain, bronze chalice it once was, but instead made of resplendent gold, decorated with rubies and emeralds, with the Fleur de Lis etched onto its side. It truly looked like the artifact of a goddess. As Pyrrha resumed her approach, the whispers intensified, and the grail itself began to glow.

Pyrrha was forced to close her eyes as the brightness became unbearable. And in that moment, she heard one of the whispers clarifly.

"Kneel." The whisper said, and effeminate voice that carried regal authority.

And Pyrrha immediately did so, dropping to one knee as she bowed her head. As she bowed, the grail in front of her began to float, rising from its resting place as it moved towards the huntress. As it approached, the whispers grew stronger and stronger, allowing Pyrrha to pick out more of the words.

One phrase stuck out above all the others, repeatedly hammering itself into Pyrrha's mind. "Honour is all. Chivalry is all."

Pyrrha looked up once more as the grail closed, the glow dulling. As she did, a new phrase overrode all others. "Drink."

The grail floated in front of Pyrrha, and she held out her hands. As she did the grail fell into her hands, losing all of its unnatural glow, save for the liquid inside which had shone a divine gold. The commands to drink grew louder and louder, until Pyrrha brought the chalice up to her lips and drank of the liquid sunlight within. Pyrrha did not know what she expected it to taste like, but fine wine was not at the top of her guesses.

Pyrrha tilted the grail up as she continued to drink, practically drowning herself in the liquid. As she gulped up the last of the drink, she yanked away the grail, grunting as she desperately took in air. Panting, Pyrrha looked around as she stood back up, regaining her breath. She looked at her hands, examining them for any changes. She didn't feel any different. She then looked at the grail, which had returned to its original bronze form.

"Huh." was all she grunted, a little disappointed.

It was then that Pyrrha was struck with a horrifying pain in her stomach, as she began to glow. Pyrrha groaned as she fell to her hands and knees and continued to illuminate the dark tomb. Eventually, Pyrrha's body couldn't take the excruciating pain, and she collapsed to the ground, the glow eventually fading.

"Pyrrha!" her friends all cried as they ran to her prone form.

Wynne was the first to reach her. Kneeling, Wynne placed two fingers to Pyrrha's neck, looking for a pulse while also checking for breathing. Luckily, both were present and strong. Not only that but all of the wounds Pyrrha had gained during the battle were miraculously healed.

"She has survived the blessing of the Lady." the Green Knight spoke, causing all to look at him. "For now she rests, but when she wakes she shall find herself burning with the holy fires of retribution within her. And with this, my task is ended. The protectors of the Tomb will no longer assail you." the Green Knight's body then started to fade.

"Wait!" Shepard called out, causing him to look at her. "We are fighting against the forces of Chaos for your Lady! Can you and the other spirits here help us in this quest?"

"Your quest is a noble one indeed, but alas we cannot aid you." The Green Knight shook his head. "The Lady's power diminishes with every passing moment, and much of what remained was gifted to Lady Pyrrha Nikos. The only reason we can remain here is that the Tomb is a nexus for the Lady's power. As such we are unable to leave. I am sorry."

Shepard grimaced, but accepted the news with grace as she nodded her head. "If that's the case, then go in peace. Know that we will avenge you and the others fallen here."

"We shall see if you will succeed where we have failed." The Green Knight ominously said before vanishing completely.

Chapter 30

Chapter Text

On the Border of Kabul and the Forever Fall Forest...

VP-292 was one of the many probe droids the Imperial Remnants had under their command. True to its purpose, VP, along with many other spy droids, floated across the crimson forest of the Forever Fall. In the weeks previous, it was impossible for any such droids to explore the forests without getting shredded by the various grimm denizens that inhabited it.

But as Darth Nihilus brought the dark side animals to heel by forcing the Grimm Dragon to serve, the master of the Imperial Forces also became the master of the grimm, and the Imperial and Covenant forces were able to tentatively start to make their way into the forest. Despite the unnerving atmosphere caused by the now docile grimm, the forces of Chaos began to slowly establish forward operating bases within the Forever Fall.

And with the forest under their control, the Empire was now free to begin sending probes further and further from their home territory of Korriban. This included VP-292. As VP continued to float its way through the Forever Fall forest, carefully cataloguing all of the grimm it encountered for research purposes, it eventually made its way to the border territory between the Forest and the mountainous-desert biome designated Afghanistan.

With a plethora of drones already scouting out the forest, VP began its new mission to explore the deserts in search of signs for the insurgents. VP-292 spent the next several days scouring the arid plain, hiding during the day while exploring at night under cover of darkness. It was by chance that VP happened to see a pelican, one of the dropships used by the insurgents flying to a plateau that actually had a camouflaged castle atop of it. VP zoomed in and was able to get a recording of two known insurgents, the alien assassin known as Thane Krios and the clone commando known as Sev, exiting the pelican with a bounty of stolen Imperial supplies.

Grand Admiral Thrawn smiled as he reviewed the footage. While the Imperial strategy of simply sending out probes en masse and hoping one would find something was rather crude and boorish in his opinion, its effectiveness was often proved true due to the Empire's overwhelming industrial power. And while they no longer had access to the mighty factories and forges of the Empire, the remnant here had enough probes supplied that such a tactic was still viable.

It was viable enough that it allowed Thrawn to discover the location of the insurgents a second time. However, this time Thrawn would not rush a hastily assembled team to try and decapitate the Legion. Thrawn had learned from his mistakes at the Temple of Order. This was where Thrawn respectfully diverged from the leadership style of Darth Vader.

Vader was prone to killing subordinates for even the smallest failure, and while that would inspire the rest to perform at their very best out of fear, Thrawn often found that such a style of leadership more often than not merely resulted in loss of potential. Failure was a tool to be learned from, and killing one's men for their first failure would mean they would never get the chance to learn, to adapt. And adapt he would. He would slowly move a much larger force numbering in the hundreds into Afghanistan to overwhelm them.

The strength of these insurgents lay in stealth and maneuverability combined with the sheer quality of their warriors. It was a blunder on Thrawn's part to try and match them with similar numbers. A blunder he would not make again.

And so Thrawn stood from his seat and made his way through the black, obsidian corridors of the Citadel of Chaos. While many of the infantry under his command have made comments about this place being, "completely f*cking evil," Thrawn found such comments to be both ignorant and wrong. Thrawn greatly appreciated the opportunity to study the architecture of this structure. The jagged, roughly hewn walls combined with the obviously violent sculptures of skulls and malicious looking eight-pointed stars taught him much of the previous denizens of this lair. They were violent, brutish, and savage people who prided themselves on the carnage they wrought. Subjugating them would've made for an interesting challenge.

But that was neither here nor there as Thrawn entered his master's throne room, a massive open hall held up by several cracked pillars. In the center of the hall, he could see Kai Leng, Tartarus, and Skull Face standing next to a large pool of unidentifiable black ooze. And on the far end of the hall, sitting upon a black iron throne decorated by uncountable skulls, was Darth Nihilus.

Walking to the foot of Nihilus' throne, Thrawn kneeled before his master, saying, "My Lord, I have found them."

Nihilus stared at the chiss, before simply responding with a slight nod. To an outside observer, it may not have seemed like much, but to Thrawn he knew that it was Nihilus giving him permission to do what he had to destroy his enemies. Thrawn bowed his head in deference once more, and rose to stand beside Skull Face and Kai Leng. Skull Face gave the Admiral a polite nod, which Thrawn returned, while Leng merely scoffed at his very presence. Tartarus seemed to care little for Thrawn's presence as well, merely looking bored at the pool of ooze.

It was then that Nihilus stood, making his way towards the viscous fluid. Nihilus raised both his hands, and from them energy began to crackle out, a cacophony of colorful lightning exploding from his fingers that struck the pool.

The ooze began to bubble and shake violently as the chaotic energy charged it. Tartarus, who had never before seen such a thing, felt his hair rise as he stepped back from the terrifying performance. Another bolt of energy struck the black goo, causing four human sized masses of ooze to levitate out of it. The amorphous blobs began to spike and pulsate, twisting and writhing until shapes began to form from it. Arms, legs, a head, each of the blobs became more and more humanoid in shape, until four distinct figures appeared, floating above the pool. Once the figures took shape fully, Nihilus released his control on them, allowing them to fall to the ground, landing on a solid obsidian ground as the pool of ooze had now solidified.

The first of the figures that Nihilus summoned was an older woman, with long blonde hair and blue eyes, her head was covered by a red hood and her body clad in plate mail. Her arms, part of her torso, and her face seemed to be covered in some kind of glowing red crystal, and in her right arm was a jagged sword made of the same material. This was Meredith Stanndar, former Knight-Commander of the Kirkwall Templars.

The second figure was that of a young man, a kind of near-human Thrawn surmised, due to the fact that he had a pair of bull horns sticking out of his forehead that swept back along with his spiky red hair. He was clad in mostly black and grey clothing, decorated and embroidered by deep red in a flower motif. On his hip was a kind of katana-gun hybrid, and on his face was a bonewhite mask that had four slits for his eyes. This was Adam Taurus, former terrorist and leader of the White Fang.

The third figure was undoubtedly not a human at all, but a massive alien easily towering over them at 15 feet tall. The alien's heavily muscled form was protected by gold-trimmed white armor, with two massive wings projecting from his back. His bald, scaled white head was half covered by facemask, but his deep set red eyes remained visible. This was Ghaul, Dominus of the Red Legion, and former leader of the Cabal.

And lastly, was another human, and one whose form Thrawn was somewhat familiar with. It was an armored human, who wore a similar type of power armor as one of the insurgents, though his armor was coloured white, and he had a helmet that had a much larger, spherical shaped visor that took up nearly half of the helmet. On his back was a weapon that Thrawn recognized as a brute shot from his new Covenant allies. This was the Meta, formerly known as Agent Maine of Project Freelancer.

Tartarus snarled at the appearance of the Meta, mistakenly identifying him as one of the demons of his universe. But Tartarus would not attack him yet, as not even the brute's rage would overcome his fear of Nihilus.

The four figures stood, obviously dumbstruck and disoriented at their situation, looking between each other with bewildered expressions before focusing in on Darth Nihilus, who silently stood above them.

Confusion quickly gave way to anger in the Dominus as he stepped aggressively towards Darth Nihius. "Where are we, human!?" Ghaul roared.

Nihilus didn't respond to Ghaul. He didn't even bother giving a physical reaction as the Dominus of the cabal was so beneath him. Instead he left the task of responding to his subordinates.

Thrawn stepped up and calmly responded, looking down at the alien warlord despite it being over twice as tall as he was. "My Lord, Darth Nihilus has summoned all of you here for a purpose. He has saved you from the very void of death itself to serve him here."

Of the newly summoned warriors of Chaos, both Ghaul and Adam reacted poorly to Thrawn's declaration, the former scoffing at the very notion of a human commanding him, and the latter snarling angrily. The Meta and Meredith however, glanced at the two, and stepped back, content to merely watch at how things unfold rather than challenge the stranger who apparently rose them from the dead.

"Serve?! I am Ghaul! Dominus of the Red Legion, and I will bow to no creature of the Darkness!" Ghaul proudly boomed out.

"And I am no one's slave!" Adam hissed out, drawing his sword Wilt from its scabbard.

Both Adam and Ghaul charged the Dark Lord of the Sith. But neither warrior made it more than five feet before they were blasted backwards by a massive storm of black and red lightning. Ghaul and Adam screamed in pain as they were launched across the grand hall, landing in smoldering heaps.

Darth Nihilus strode forward, hands crackling with power as he moved to punish the two for their disrespect. Meanwhile Thrawn took the opportunity to approach the two more docile recruits, Meredith and Meta.

"I take it neither of you wish to test my lord's might?" Thrawn inquired.

The white-armored Meta simply growled, crossing his arms as he nonchalantly watched Nihilus torture his two fellows, both unable and unwilling to respond.

Meredith, her mind somewhat cleared from the Red-Lyrium addled state in which she died, said, "Your lord is obviously a being of power. And attacking our hosts when we have no idea of your numbers or capabilities is simply foolishness."

Thrawn allowed himself a small smirk. "A wise choice." he simply said as he listened to another crackle of lightning followed by Adam and Ghaul screaming out in pain once more. "You will all serve or be made to serve, same as the rest of us. Once those two are… broken in, we shall discuss what your roles shall be."

Meredith narrowed her eyes at Thrawn, and Thrawn could sense the Meta doing the same behind his visor, obviously grated by him immediately taking command of them, but neither wanted to fight back against him either.

"Understood." Meredith said through grit teeth.

With a nod of his head, Thrawn left the two newcomers and made his way for Skull Face, who watched their lord work with sad*stic amusem*nt.

"Skull Face." Thrawn began. "Are you interested in leading the attack on the insurgent stronghold?"

Skull Face raised a curious brow at the Chiss's offer. "You do not want to lead the assault yourself?" Thrawn could detect the hint of suspicion in the XOF commander's voice.

"I could, but I feel as though there would be a missed opportunity if I did." Thrawn coldy explained. "I know of the lust for vengeance you have in your heart for the leader of the insurgents, the so-called Snake. But your rage is also tempered by restraint." Thrawn cast a sideways glance at Kai Leng, who snarled in return. "I believe your emotional state will allow you to do what is necessary to ensure their destruction."

Skull Face gave Thrawn a long, blank look, trying to ascertain any hint of deception in his words. When he found none, he nodded. "I do not disagree with your assessment. Fine, I shall take command of the strike force you are assembling. Snake and the rest of his followers will die."

"Very good then." Thrawn simply responded.

"Are you sure it's not just your cowardice keeping you from leading the attack?" Leng sneered at Thrawn.

Thrawn sighed at Leng's outburst and said, "As always, Agent Leng, your humanocentric xenophobia is both childish and unbecoming. I do not need the glory of victory. I simply know that Skull Face here, not myself, is the best tool to lead his attack. No more, no less."

Leng growled and took a step towards the Grand Admiral, when another scream from Adam cut through the air. Leng gave a sideway glance at the young man being tortured, and backed off. Thrawn did not taunt Leng as the human retreated, as such conflict was needless and counterproductive. Instead, he chose to simply return his attention to the hazing of Ghaul and Adam as another flash of lightning sparked from Nihilus's hands.

Mother Base…

Exiting the subterranean basem*nt, Fireteam Buffalo and their new guests entered the Main Keep to the bewildered looks of Sarah Lyons, who was in the middle of categorizing documents, as they entered the Legion's war room.

"New friends?" Sarah asked as all of the Legion's guests filed in, her eyes lingering on the golden armored Tassadar most of all.

"You know it!" Cayde-6 answered for them. Immediately his eyes zoomed in on a musty sofa couch that the Legion had found and leapt over its back to lay on it. "Real cool of you guys to let us crash at your place. Not that I mind sleeping in caves and ruins mind you. Oh hey! Rations!" Cayde found an old tin of Soviet Union rations and opened it up, shovelling the questionable food down his mechanical mouth.

"Can you even taste that?" Shepard asked.

Cayde's eyes jumped between the Commander and the food he was currently eating, before he shrugged and said, "It's the thought that counts."

Shepard rubbed her temple and elected to ignore Cayde as she turned to the others. "Ok. Six, Wynne, you two get Pyrrha to medbay. Sarah, go get everyone else. I'm calling a team meeting."

"Roger commander." said the chorus of replies.

It did not take long for the rest of the Legion to gather up in the War Room at Shepard's request. With Six and Wynne staying in medical to watch over Pyrrha, Boss was the last one to enter.

Boss, intent to speak with Shepard about their guests, made it about half way across the room when a voice called out.

"Boss!" the voice of Gray Fox gasped, his voice tinged by both his shock and the electronic modulator of his cybernetic suit.

Everyone turned to the cyborg ninja, who's shock could be seen throughout his entire body. However, Gray Fox quickly recomposed himself as he walked to the Boss and kneeled in front of him. "Boss, it's an honor to be by your side once more."

Snake's outward expression was mostly neutral, but everyone could tell he was a little put off by this. Snake clearly did not recognize who Gray Fox was, and wasn't sure what to say in response.

Luckily though, Gray Fox seemed to pick up on this as well, and chuckled to himself. "I suppose it's to be expected that you don't recognize me." With a mechanical hiss, the Gray Fox's mask retracted revealing a light skinned man with many scars, including his right eye which was damaged, leaving the iris white.

Venom Snake's eye did widen as he recognized who this was, albeit an older, more scarred version of the man he knew. "Gray Fox, Frank Jaeger."

Gray Fox nodded his head. "Indeed. It has been far too long, Boss. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me to find you in this land of the dead as well."

Boss paused for a moment, examining Gray Fox. Frank Jaeger was one of the many young people who were rescued by the Big Boss when the two bosses operated as mercenaries in the 1980s. While Frank and Naomi were rescued by the original Big Boss, Frank had worked with Venom Snake in Africa as part of Diamond Dogs, and then as part of Foxhound with the original Big Boss. Luckily, Gray Fox never knew that the two bosses were in fact separate people, but the same person all at the same time.

Pausing as he recollected all of this, Boss finally said, "What happened to you?"

Gray Fox stood as he began to explain. "During our revolution in Zanzibar Land, Solid Snake made far more progress against our forces than expected. Eventually I fought against him in one on one unarmed combat, and Snake proved the victor. During the encounter I was heavily wounded and left for dead. In fact I would have died if it wasn't for the Patriots."

Both Venom Snake and Gray Fox scowled at the name of their hated enemy. Gray Fox then continued. "The Patriots saved my life, but also turned me into this, a cyborg meant to serve them and their goals. Naomi was then able to help me escape, after which, things get hazy."

Snake had an inscrutable expression as he took in Gray Fox's news. Zanzibar Land was supposed to be the contingency if the Outer Heaven uprising failed, which it did when Venom Snake died. If the operation in Zanzibar Land also failed, that meant that the original Big Boss was probably also dead.

"What happened to the Patriots?" Snake asked.

Gray Fox shook his head. "That I do not know. I killed Dr. Clark in my escape from them, and afterwards I somehow came into conflict with both Solid Snake and Liquid Snake on Shadow Moses Island, and helped Solid in stopping Liquid from escaping with a new Metal Gear. But what role the Patriots had in that incident, and what happened to them after I do not know."

Processing this new information, Snake simply grunted in response. It was interesting to know what had occurred on his Earth following his death, but ultimately unimportant. "Understood. So what do you want to do now, Fox?"

Gray Fox paused to think. "Fighting… is the only thing I was ever good at. It's where I found my purpose. But I fought not for governments, nor for a paycheck, but for what I believed in. And I believed in you, Boss. I still believe in you. And I'll be happy to serve under you once more." Frank Jaeger saluted the Boss.

Snake nodded his head. "Good." He then turned to face all of the newcomers. "If you're all here to fight with us, you'll need to know what we're up against."

And so Snake explained everything that the Legion had found. The origins of the Final Destination, the existence of the cycles, the Goddess Lileath, and the forces of Chaos who now control the demiplane. The newcomers all listened with rapt attention, but their expressions were grim. The Legion was surrounded on all sides, outnumbered, outgunned, all while being chased by some kind of Chaos demi-god. When Snake finally finished, there was a tense silence amongst everyone in the room.

"So the situation is f*cked?" Church was the first to find his voice again.

Shepard shook her head. "Not necessarily. There's still hope."

"I don't know about that Commander, I kinda agree with the little AI." Cayde cut in, his voice lacking the usual co*cky enthusiasm. "Even back when I was immortal, and yes I was immortal by the way, I don't know if I could've taken on three or four different alien armies at the same time." Cayde shrugged and laid back into the sofa once more. "If it was just one or two, then sure I'd have it in the bag."

"Not necessarily." Tassadar finally spoke. "I believe you are being too pessimistic my friend. The mutants in the North do not seem to serve the forces of Chaos, as their brutish minds simply seek out conflict with anyone they can. Meanwhile to the East, the machines who live there would be immune to any mental control that Chaos could produce. Perhaps we could subvert one of them, and gain an army of our own."

Thinking about this, Shepard looked at Tassadar and said, "Well the Super Mutants were under the control of a powerful psychic being known as the Master. Snake, Sev, and Thane killed him a little while ago. Do you think it would be possible for you to take control of them with your psionic powers?"

Tassadar considered the proposition, tapping one of his large, clawed fingers on his chin, before shaking his head. "Perhaps if it were a handful of mutants, but controlling an entire race is something beyond even me. Only the most powerful of psionic creatures, such as the Zerg Overmind or Cerebrates could do that."

With that option shot, Sgt. Johnson spoke up. "What about those robots in the East you mentioned. The Geth? If they're just robots, can't they be hacked or something?"

T3 let out a burst of droidspeak that caused the newcomers to look at him confused.

Luckily Sev was there to translate. "T3 says he's been able to hack into Geth before, but it's the same issue as Tassadar. As soon as the Geth see a platform is compromised, they cut it off from the network, meaning he can only control maybe one or two at a time."

"I mentioned this a while back, but when I was alive, my team and I were able to use a virus to reprogram a large amount of Geth to no longer be loyal to the Reapers." Shepard recalled. "The virus was destroyed afterwards, so I thought that avenue was closed off to us but…" her gaze then turned to Church and Cayde. "The Geth aren't actually true AI, but a hivemind network of VIs. If we can get it into their core any true AI should be able to overpower their cyberdefenses."

Cayde then put up his hands defensively. "Hey hey hey now, don't go making any assumptions about me." he said, a little insulted. "Despite my cold, cool, and very handsome metal exterior, I'm not an AI. I'm an Exo."

"What's the difference?" Sev asked, genuinely curious.

"AIs are just that artificial programs that are super f*cking smart. Way beyond me. Us Exos though." Cayde thumbed towards himself. "We're human minds and consciousness transferred over to cybernetic brains. I think." Cayde tilted his head. "I'll be honest I'm a little fuzzy on all those details. But the main point is that I'm not a robot… mostly."

Shepard shrugged. "Fair enough. What about you Church? Can you do anything?"

Church brought his virtual hand to his chin as he thought about it. "I could maybe work my way in and reprogram them, maybe with T3's help. But I'll be honest this hacking stuff isn't an exact science."

Shepard was flabbergasted at Church's statement. "But… but it is an exact science. It's literally in the name of 'Computer Science.'"

Church scoffed at the Commander. "Please lady. If you ever get digitized and told to hack into an alien hive-mind from a differentdimension, you can make the call on what is or is not science."

Shepard glared at the hologram, and opened her mouth to reproach him, but found that she didn't have a counter. "Ok, fine, good point. Regardless, the hard part will be getting you two into the Geth Mainframe itself. If you try and hack in through a single platform, you'll be shut out instantly."

"That's a tall order." Sarah muttered. "That's not going to be an in-and-out raid like we usually do. This'll be full scale assault on the most heavily fortified part of Geth territory. More fortified than the Temple of Order was. Even with the new guys backing us, we'll need some more fire power to punch through the Geth's defenses."

A silence fell over the group once more, as they once more thought about their options.

It was then that Sev rose his head, an idea striking him. "What about that giant mech from the Armory?"

Chapter 31

Chapter Text

"You were correct, that is a giant f*cking mech." Church whistled as he looked up at the purple and gold form of the inactive dreadnaught in front of him.

The entirety of the Legion, whose numbers now included the newest warriors of light brought to the Final Destination, sans Pyrrha were standing in Mother Base's vehicle bay. The dreadnought was laid out supine beside the AT-TE, left alone since the raid on the Armory. The idea was that between T3 and Church, they could figure out a way to reactivate the massive warmachine in preparation for an attack against the Geth.

Finding an undamaged access port on the side of the mech, T3 was able to begin slicing protocols, allowing both him and Church access to the machine.

"Jesus Christ what is this thing?" Church said in disbelief as he began interfacing with the dreadnought. "Based on its looks I thought this thing would be some archaic, first-gen hunk of junk, but some of the systems on this thing are insane. Way more advanced than anything I've ever seen, human or alien made."

T3 let out a few beeps in agreement as the droid was running into extremely heavy resistance trying to slice in, dweeting in frustration.

Church nodded his head, already having downloaded the necessary knowledge to understand T3. "You said it little buddy. This thing can punch through a tank like it's made of cardboard with that claw. And where the Hell is its main processor? Or AI for that matter? All I can find are a bunch smaller, dumb AI that run the subprocesses."

"That is because this is no machine." Tassadar spoke as he walked up, placing his hand along the adamantium sarcophagus. "This is a man. A warrior entombed within this armor, sustaining his life beyond the limits of his mortal flesh, much like the dragoons of my people."

As everyone looked at Tassadar, Church stepped back as he gasped. "Holy sh*t you're right. Life support systems, neural interfaces, awakening protocols. This isn't a robot, it's a giant f*cking cyborg."

"Well can you wake him up?" Shepard asked, as she stepped closer to the helmet of the dreadnought, trying to peer within.

"Yeah… yeah I think I found the correct sub-routine. What the Hell, there's a dozen other steps to this process. Why the Hell are they called rites too?" Church shook his head. "Alright whatever. Yeah, I think I got it. Lemme just read the instructions. Ahem, 'Oh venerable ancient, we call you to battle once more! By the will of the Emperor and the Omnissiah, we beseech the machine spirits to awaken you! You are his vengeance! You are his retribution! Only in death does duty end and you are not dead yet! OoooOoohhh!" Church proclaimed, adding on ghost-like sounds at the end for special effects, wiggling his fingers.

Everyone turned to face Church, with Johnson asking. "Was all that really necessary?"

Church shrugged. "Maybe? I don't know, it's what these dumb-AI said to say, machine spirits they call themselves."

As Church said that, a heavy grinding echoed throughout the air as ancient servos began to move. It was followed by a hum of flowing energy that began low, slowly ramping up to a cacophonous racket as more and more power funneled into the mech. The sound of energy coursing through the dreadnought was soon joined by the sound of screaming. They all looked to the source of the cry, and saw Tassadar on his knees, hands clutching his head.

"Tassadar!" Wynne and Shepard called, rushing to his side to try and keep him steady.

But Tassadar continued to scream as the psychic roar of the mech amplified, the shriek cutting into the minds of everyone nearby. Shepard fell to her knees as well as she felt the scream as well. Her mind felt like it was being speared through by a white-hot lance of pure rage and anger. Shepard felt blood pour from her nose, far worse than any biotic headache she'd ever gotten.

Shepard grit her teeth through the pain. If it was this bad for her, the pain must have been far worse for Tassadar who was far more sensitive to the psychic powers. Glancing to her side, she saw that Tassadar was unmoving on the ground, blue blood pouring from his eyes. Snarling, Shepard staggered over to her ally, clumsily grabbing onto the taller alien, and focused her biotics into her legs. With a powerful biotic charge, Shepard rocketed away from dreadnought, bringing Tassadar along with her.

As they put distance between them, the pressure lessened, and soon enough Tassadar seemed to regain his coherence. Tassadar blinked deliriously, obviously shocked and confused as to what just happened.

"Hey calm down there big guy." Shepard patted him on the shoulder as she wiped her own blood off her face. "We'll get Wynne to patch you up soon."

Tassadar weakly nodded, before letting his head lay on the ground. Shepard shakily stood up, the psychic screech of hate and contempt emanating from the dreadnought lessened more and more with every passing moment. Everyone else began to stand once more as well, all similarly dazed and confused as to what just happened. As they recomposed themselves, a voice, deep and distorted by the vox-caster it was projected from, boomed out.

"Who. Awakens. Me!?" The dreadnought roared, drawing all eyes to him.

Everyone held their tongues. The air was thick with tension and the fear itself was palpable. The raw burst of emotion that was so powerful it brought them all low aside, no one wanted to be on the wrong end of either the massive assault cannon or power claw that the dreadnought was armed with. One wrong word would mean death for all of them.

"We did!" Shepard yelled out as she stood. When the dreadnought turned to face her, pushing itself up with its massive claw, Shepard almost took a step back. It took all of her discipline and courage not to show any weakness, but she knew if she did the cyborg might pounce on such perceived weakness. "We call ourselves the Legion of the Damned, and we seek allies in our battle against Chaos! Do you know where you are? Do you remember your name?"

The dreadnought looked down in thought, mechanical servos whirling as he did. As the dreadnought searched through his fractured memory and once broken mind. "Yes… I. Remember. My mind… once clouded, remembers! I am Rylanor! Ancient and venerable one of the Emperor's Children! And who are you to dare wake me!? You are no Astartes, nor are you of the Mechanicus!"

Tassadar, having dragged himself back to his knees as Wynne healed him, used his psionics to peer into the mind of the ancient Rylanor.

His eyes widened as he quietly spoke to his allies. "Perhaps it would be best if Thane and I acquit ourselves."

It was not quiet enough however, as Rylanor's head snapped to him as he spoke.

"Foul Xenos! You dare defile this land with your presence!? Your corpses shall be the first stop for my redemption!" Rylanor roared as his assault cannon began spinning.

"Son of a- Thane, Tassadar get out of here!" Shepard yelled and the two aliens immediately complied. With a use of his semblance, Thane vanished and appeared beside Tassadar, and the two then blinked out of existence together, teleporting to literally anywhere else. As they left, Shepard called back at Rylanor. "You! Look down here big guy! Nobody is killing anyone right now!"

Rylanor's head swiveled down to the commander once more. "And who are you to command me, mortal!"

"My name is Commander Shepard and these are my men you are threatening right now!" Shepard snarled back.

"And you believe your rank gives you the capability to stand against me?" Rylanor's tone shifted from that of righteous fury to almost pitying contempt.

"I stand against you because it is the right thing to do!" Shepard snapped back, biotic fire flaring around her. "I don't care who you are Rylanor! You touch any of my men and I will make you suffer for it!"

At Shepard's words the rest of the Legion snapped into combat stances as well. They weren't about to let the Commander fight against this psychotic mech by herself. Rylanor looked over the gathering of warriors standing against him. As far as he could tell, they were a gathering of mostly normal humans, perhaps a psyker or two amongst them as shown by the fire that enveloped Shepard. And they stood against not only a space marine, but a venerable contemptor dreadnought. It was not boastful pride but a statement of fact for Rylanor to say that he could slaughter them all without much effort.

But when Rylanor looked at them and did not see a mad rabble of traitors standing to fight against him, but instead a group of soldiers, bonded together through duty and loyalty to their commander and to one another, fighting despite unassailable odds. Rylanor couldn't help but see an image of himself in his final moments, standing against his prodigal father upon the ruins of Istvaan III.

The silence that fell upon the fortress was deafening. The Legion didn't move for fear of triggering the dreadnought to attack, while Rylanor stopped all movement. The legionnaires couldn't tell what was going through the dreadnought's mind, but at the very least he wasn't tearing them all apart with his assault cannon.

A booming sound scared the Legion into taking cover. But it wasn't the roar of Rylanor's assault cannon, but instead the space marine's racious laughter. The legionnaires looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what was going on, or if there was even going to be a fight.

Rylanor continued to laugh for several seconds, until it was reduced to a mechanical wheezing as the Ancient One dropped into a relaxed stance. The Legion was still wary however, nervously waiting for the mechanical warrior to recompose himself.

"I've heard no finer words of fire and bravery in many years! It is a pity you could not be taken into the Astartes, for you would have made a fine space marine!" Rylanor's mechanical voice praised through his vox.

"Thanks, I think?" Shepard scratched her head at the awkward praise.

"You are most welcome." Rylanor returned. "However, your candor has not bought you my cooperation, merely time to explain yourselves and why you consort with xenos."

Not wanting to waste time, Shepard began to explain their situation from the top. "Well first things first, you, along with everyone else here, are dead. We all died in our own respective worlds, only to be brought together to this demi-plane between different realities. We were all brought here by the Elven goddess Lileath to fight against the forces of Chaos, which seek to overtake it."

Rylanor grunted at this. "Hm, of course an Eldar deity would seek to use others in her defense, instead of fighting themself. Cowardice is their way. But regardless, I am aware there have been… circ*mstances when allying with the Eldar in the face of an enemy like Chaos is necessary. I can accept this being such a case where one must work with the xeno."

Shepard nodded her head, thankful that Rynalor was at least open to the idea of not summarily killing all of her alien comrades. "So you know of Chaos already?"

"Indeed." Rylanor nodded his massive head. "Chaos tore my Legion apart, set brother upon brother, and fractured our entire Empire. We were too slow, too ignorant of the insidious ways of Chaos, and before we knew it corruption had taken root." Despite his massive, mechanical frame, Shepard could see Rylanor's stance shift into one of melancholy. "I… was one of the few, if not the last loyal member of the III Legion, betrayed by our Father to the Ruinous Powers."

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Was all Shepard could say. She knew of loss and betrayal as well, and also knew no petty condolences would ease such pain. "But Chaos is who we fight now. A champion of Chaos has merged with evils from our worlds as well, and seeks to break free from this plane and return to the living world to spread death and destruction. We need your help to stop him. We may not be able to help you return to your world, or save your Legion, but we can give you the next best thing, lots of Chaos worshippers to kill."

Rylanor gave a rueful chuckle. "Not the most eloquent of speeches Commander, but one I can pledge myself to nonetheless. If this abomination seeks death and destruction, then by the Emperor's will it shall not be found wanting!"

At Rylanor's proclamation, the Legion of the Damned finally found itself able to fully relax as the dreadnought agreed to fight besides them.

The next day...

Pyrrha stirred in her bed as she slowly awoke to a new day. As her eyes fluttered open, she dragged herself up and stretched out her tight muscles. As she twisted her back, hearing the cracks of her spine, Pyrrha got out of the infirmary bed and realized she felt great. Better than ever. Seeing that she was mostly undressed, she quickly moved to put on a set of spare armor that was laid out for her.

But as soon as she slid her usual corset she realized something was wrong. The corset wouldn't close. Not only because it was too tight, but because it looked like it was almost a size or two smaller. Pyrrha's first thought was, who the Hell shrunk her clothing. As she examined the clothes in her hands, her gaze focused on her hands, then her arms, as she realized her bicep was far bigger than normal. Eyes widening, Pyrrha immediately ran for the closest mirror. And what she saw made her scream.

Sarah Lyons was the first to burst into the doors of the infirmary. Since it was where they kept the comatose body of Lileath, they always had at least one person on guard. So when she heard Pyrrha scream, Sarah immediately assumed it was an assassin who had somehow snuck in.

Kicking the door down with her power armored leg, Sarah leveled her laser rifle, looking for any possible threat. Instead what she found was a half naked Pyrrha, who scrambled to pull a sheet to cover herself. However, Pyrrha was not the same as she was when they brought her into the infirmary.

Before, Pyrrha was a respectable six feet tall in heels, above average for a teenage girl but within the realm of normalcy. Now however, Pyrrha looked to be a six and a half, maybe seven foot tall amazonian without the aid of footwear. Not only that, but where Pyrrha once had a more lithe, athletic figure, her muscles were now broader, far more defined, almost looking like a bodybuilder. Hell, if Sarah didn't know any better, she'd say that Pyrrha was also physically glowing light.

"Whoa." was all Sarah could say as she looked Pyrrha up and down, who was currently burning a red the same shade as her hair.

"What's going on!?" Sarah heard the call of Six out as the Spartan had come running at the sound of the commotion, Sev and Thane trailing behind him.

Pyrrha somehow blushed even harder as she heard Six's voice, and looked to Sarah with an expression of pure terror.

"Nothing!" Sarah immediately yelled back, also blushing at the absurdity of the situation. "Just a misunderstanding! Everything is fine! Go back to what you were doing." Sarah went to go close the door, when she realized that she kicked the door off its hinges when she initially burst in.

Sarah's jaw dropped as she looked at the ruined door, then back to Pyrrha who also stared at the destroyed entrance.

"No!" Pyrrha then cried out as she completely balled up underneath the blanket.

"Pyrrha you okay?!" Six yelled out as he continued to run for the infirmary.

"I said stay the Hell out!" Sarah snapped as she clotheslined Six to the ground.

Majority of the Legion gathered up in the Armory as they prepared for their assault on the Geth mainframe. Pyrrha, still slightly red faced, strapped on her resized armor over her resized ballistic mesh undersuit. She had to be far more careful donning the armor, as she quickly realized that becoming a living saint gave her an enhanced strength that surpassed even her new musculature. It took conscious effort for her not to accidentally destroy door handles as she opened them, or crush canteens when she took a drink of water.

As Pyrrha continued to get ready, Church was taking the time to integrate himself into Six's Mjolnir armor.

"Ok then, let's see what we got here." Church excitedly said as he finished connecting to Six's armor and began inspecting his armor enhancements. "Holographic decoy projection, useful. Speed and agility enhancement, not as strong as Carolina's but it'll do. Bubble shield, classic. Ohh Armor lock! That doesn't sound like a broken ability at all. Jeez Six, You got enough equipment here to give the Meta a run for his money."

"Who's the Meta?" Six asked.

"Only the scariest f*cking mute in the galaxy. He was part of Project Freelancer, and pretty much went insane thanks to all of the AIs in his head. I'm pretty sure I died at least once fighting him."

Six gave Church a blank look. "How do you 'think' you died to him."

"Hey man, once you realize you're a copy of a copy with multiple sets of memory, things tend to get a little hazy." Church shrugged. "If you want me to get specific, the original AI, the Alpha, of which I am the memories of, I.E. a copy or clone, got killed fighting the Meta. I still retain most of Alpha's memories, so it gets hard to distinguish myself from him sometimes."

"Sounds rough." Six didn't really know how to empathize with the AI about something like that, so he shifted to more comfortable topics. "So what made this Meta so dangerous?"

"Well he had a suit like yours, so he had your general superhuman abilities, but also had like, half a dozen AIs in his head. They directed him to kill pretty much everyone so he could get his hands on more AI, and they also let him use all of his experimental equipment so he was essentially a one man army. He may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was the deadliest. My buddies eventually put him down though."

"Your friends must be skilled soldiers then."

Church hesitated. "Ehhhh. They try. Anyway, with me helping you out, you can now switch between armor enhancements whenever you want, instead of having to manually select one between missions. I can handle all of the processing and calculations needed to swap them out mid fight."

"Thanks." Six nodded. "That will be useful for the upcoming battle."

"Eh don't mention it. Nothing I'm not used to."

As Six and Church chatted, Sarah moved around Sergeant Johnson as he equipped a suit of T-45d power armor, Sarah's old suit of power armor in fact.

With a final adjustment, the suit flared to life as Sarah said, "Ok, kinetic barriers are operational, fission battery running at optimal efficiency. Looks like we're good to go." Sarah dusted off her hands on her pants as she stood "Remember what we went over. Relax your muscles and let the suit do all the work."

Johnson nodded his head while he made a few experimental fists. "Goddamn, is this how you Spartans feel all the time?" he called out to Six.

Six shrugged as he walked over. "More or less. You'd still need the augments but the armor is pretty much halfway there."

"Hm." The Sergeant grunted as he finished inspecting his armor, deciding not to bring up his own enhancements from Project Orion. "So, I've been wondering Six, where did you bite it?" Johnson asked nonchalantly.

Six didn't immediately respond to Johnson's question either physically or vocally, though Sarah did look up from her work, curious about the conversation. Church also turned his attention to Six, vanishing as to not distract but listening all the same.

"Reach." Six finally said after a moment of silence.

Johnson nodded his head as he recalled the battle. "I was at Reach too, defending one of the orbital platforms. One of the biggest sh*t shows I've ever been through." The sergeant then lit himself a cigar. "Well if you died at Reach, that means you don't know how the war's pretty much over then."

That elicited a massive reaction from Six as his head snapped to the sergeant, his face one of pure shock behind his helmet. "The War is over?"

"Pretty much." Johnson shrugged as he puffed out a smoke ring. "See after Reach, we did a random slipspace jump and found an ancient alien hula-hoop that was actually a secret weapon of a long dead race designed to exterminate all life in the galaxy."

Pretty much everyone in the armory now stared at the Sergeant in disbelief.

"I'm truncating a lot of the story, but it's what happened." The sergeant pushed. "Anyway, the covies got so riled up about this thing that it pretty much caused a civil war when the Prophets decided to betray the Elites. The Elites didn't like that all that much, and decided to switch sides, and together we kicked the rest of the Covenant's collective ass." Johnson took one more puff of his cigar. "I was there when the Master Chief and Arbiter killed Truth, the last Covenant leader, and we worked to wipe out a galactic eating parasite, before I got killed by a flying light bulb that shoots lasers."

"That… doesn't sound real." Sarah said, skeptical of the eccentric sergeant's possibly hyperbolic story.

"No no, I think he's telling the truth." Church cut in. "Trust me, I was a floating lightbulb that shot lasers for a while, they exist."

Meanwhile Six was quiet, seemingly contemplating everything that he was just told.

"Hey you doing okay there Six?" Sarah asked, concerned for her friend.

"Yeah… yeah I am." Six responded shakily. "Thanks for the update." Six then walked away as he contemplated that he didn't die for nothing.

Chapter 32

Chapter Text

With the Legion armed and ready, the heroes of the multiverse stood in Mother Base's vehicle bay, preparing for their assault on the Geth Headquarters.

Standing at the head of the gathering alongside Shepard, the Boss cleared his throat. "Now, I hope all of you are ready for what is to come. This will be the largest battle any of us have participated in since coming to the Final Destination, and it will no doubt be one of the hardest."

Shepard then wheeled out a whiteboard from within the main keep that had a rudimentary drawing of the Geth's Main Base. In its simplest form, the Geth fortress was a single, massive Skyscraper where the Geth maintained their mainframe, surrounded by 4 square blocks of Prothean skyscrapers converted for use as defenses, as well as the production and storage of Geth platforms and vehicles. Surrounding these buildings was a tall, heavily fortified, defensive wall that lined the perimeter. Multiple defensive turrets and Anti-Air guns were spread out throughout the base as well, making any attack on it extraordinarily difficult.

"We will be spitting up into three teams." Snake began. "The first team will be the Armored division, codename Fireteam Tortoise. This will consist of myself piloting Metal Gear Zeke, Sev and Johnson in the AT-TE, Rylanor, and the Pelicans piloted by Thane and Sarah. Our job is to blitz through the defensive wall and be the primary distraction, as well as taking out any Anti-Air to allow the Pelicans to perform strafing runs."

As Fireteam Tortoise gathered together, Boss then moved to the next squad. "Once we break through, everyone else will move in together on the warthogs to reach the main Geth skyscraper. Here you will divide into two separate squads. First, Shepard will lead Fireteam Viper into the Geth skyscraper so the AIs can hack in. Viper will consist of her, Galen, Six, Gray Fox, T3, and Church. Fireteam Komodo, led by Tassadar, with Cayde, Wynne, and Pyrrha, will hold the entrance so Viper doesn't get overwhelmed from behind." The Boss then looked to the Legion. "Any questions?"

There were no questions, but before the Legion had the chance to divide into their individual teams, Rylanor stepped forward.

"Boss, Commander, I wish to speak to our Legion before our departure to impart words of inspiration." Rylanor boomed out.

Shepard and the Boss shared a glance, before Shepard shrugged saying, "Uh, sure Rylanor go ahead."

Rylanor stepped before his new allies, his very presence both inspiring and terrifying. "Brothers and sisters! Retribution is at hand! The enemy thinks they can break us! Through fire and iron, with demons and fodder, but they will be found wanting! For we are the warriors of His name! Let fury guide your weapons! Let vengeance be your song! We are the Legion of the Damned, and our enemies shall fall!"

There was silence as the Legion looked up to Rylanor, both filled with awe but also confusion.

Church was the first one to speak, holographically elbowing T3 saying, "Man I love this guy."

Satisfied that he brought up the spirits of his fellow warriors, Rylanor stepped off to the side to allow Shepard to close the briefing.

"Thank you, for the words of inspiration Rylanor." Shepard said, taking the event in stride as she then moved to address the team. "As the Ancient of Rites has said, we shall not falter here. We may not be going to face Chaos now, but this is the first step we take in the liberation of Haven, of the Final Destination. If we fail here, there will be no one else to stop Nihilus and his forces of Chaos. We are the last line, the only line, between letting that monster go free into the multiverse. Our worlds may never know of our actions, nor of our sacrifices, but we fight not for glory but because it is what's right! We come together to defend all of our homes, all of our universes. Together, there is no enemy we cannot defeat, no threat we cannot overcome. And together, we shall hold the line!"

The Legion let out a cheer, raising their hands and weapons into the air before moving to their respective dropships.

The Legion flew low in formation towards Ilos, bringing their full might with them. Both pelicans the Legion owned were flying, carrying not only the legionnaires within, but straining as they carried the AT-TE and Rylanor within their tail's magnetic clamp. However as the two mechs maxed out the capacity of the Pelicans, the Legion was forced to attach the warthogs to Metal Gear Zeke using towing cables.

Luckily, the Legion wouldn't have to fight in such an awkward formation, as they chose to land a few kilometers away from the base to deploy their forces. Sev took up his position piloting the AT-TE while Johnson climbed into its rear mass driver cannon. Fireteams Komodo and Viper each piled into their respective warthogs, a tight squeeze as teams of 4 and 5 sat in vehicles designed for 3.

Now ready for combat the Legion pushed forward, tensely traversing the few kilometers of dead city left in silence.

Once the outer walls of the Geth outpost were in sight, Snake pressed down on his communicator and declared, "Legion, begin operation, now!"

With that, the heavy armored mechs of Fireteam Tortoise moved first. Rounding the corner of an Ilos skyscraper, Rylanor appeared in the sights of the Geth defensive wall. The Geth reacted instantaneously, rocket and plasma turrets all activating and swiveling towards the cyborg. The attacks splashed off of Rylanor's chassis, singeing but not damaging the dreadnought.

Rylanor's assault cannon spun up and loosed a torrent of projectiles towards the Geth. Several slower Geth platforms above the wall were shredded in an instant, while others quickly ducked behind their fortifications. From behind Rylanor, Metal Gear Zeke appeared, charging up its shoulder mounted Railgun. Boss quickly fired the hypercharged projectile, which slammed into a rocket turret, destroying it instantly. While Zeke was still armed with nukes, the Legion wanted to use the Geth Base after taking it over, and radioactive fallout would be counterproductive to that point.

As Snake charged up another blast, the final and slowest warmachine, the AT-TE lumbered into view. Sev opened fire with the walker's front facing laser cannons, joining Rylanor in suppressing the infantry, while Johnson aimed the walker's mass driver cannon right for the main gate.

"Eat lead you goddamn flashlights!" Johnson roared as the mass driver did as well. The projectile slammed into the blast door, denting and cracking it, but not destroying it.

It was then that the Geth began their counter attack. Swarms of flying Geth drones flew out of the base in the dozens, harrying the larger walkers, forcing Johnson into cover so as to not get burned alive by plasma. Meanwhile the larger rocket turrets fired off another salvo. The missiles slammed into Metal Gear Zeke, rocking the Boss within and causing several alarm lights to begin flashing.

As Snake recovered, Zeke's railgun dinged as it finished charging while Snake began to bark out orders once more. "Rylanor, take down those drones! Johnson, I want those AA guns disabled, now!"

"Command received!" Rylanor boomed as he rotated his massive form, changing targets from the Geth along the wall to the flying drones above. With precision that only a Space Marine could have, Rylanor's assault cannon shot down drone after drone relieving pressure off of the sergeant.

No longer in danger of getting cooked by plasma, Johnson was able to retake the controls of the mass driver and aim it right for the closest anti-air tower. A single, well placed shot to the weaker armor at the turret's rotating base was enough to break through and destroy it. Almost simultaneously, Snake fired off his railgun, slamming into one of the missile turrets, destroying it as well.

With the defenses weakened, Snake yelled out another command. "Lyons, Thane, I want an airstrike on the main gate!"

"Roger Boss!" Both pilots responded as the Pelicans flew forward at low altitude, no longer under threat of being shot down.

As they approached, both Pelicans fired a salvo of missiles that slammed into the Geth's main gate. The rockets from Sarah's pelican hit first, rocking and straining the gate itself. Thane's follow up strike was enough to blast the doors off its hinges, creating the opening the Legion was looking for.

"Komodo, Viper, go go go!" Boss shouted, and the firetimes immediately obliged.

The two warthogs floored their acceleration pedals as they shot forward. The vehicle's speed and agility kept the surprised Geth from getting a lock on them, while their rear mounted chainguns tore through what infantry they could see. The warthogs got through the ruined gate in seconds, making a beeline right for the primary Geth mainframe.

Behind the gate, the Geth had held several Colossi in reserve, but they were too slow to catch the smaller warthogs. Before the massive armatures had a chance to turn and pursue them, Rylanor and Metal Gear Zeke followed through the gates. It didn't take long for the programs within the Colossi to designate the mechs as a higher priority target, and moved to engage. At the same time, another wave of drones were deployed to reinforce the breach. The easy part of the siege was over. Fireteam Tortoise had blitzed through the defenses and the other two teams were on their way. Now all they had to do was hold the Geth's attention until T3 and Church could accomplish their mission.

Shepard gripped the steering wheel of her warthog with white knuckles as she zoomed towards the Geth's main skyscraper. Behind her, the chaingun roared as Six quickly shot down as many Geth platforms as he could. Galen and T3 crowded the rear bed as well, while Gray Fox sat in the passenger seat, the two melee fighters spinning their swords as they deflected incoming projectiles.

Geth infantry and drones tried to slow their advance, but the Legion would not have it. Those that weren't cut down by the torrent of chaingun fire were swiftly destroyed by the myriad of other magical and technological weapons the legion had at their disposal. Polarity, the Force, Arcane magic, Psionics, and more were hurled from the vehicles, blowing apart Geth with every strike.

With Fireteam Tortoise keeping the bulk of the Geth force distracted, the other two teams were able to reach their destination without any significant delays. Dismounting, Shepard and Fireteam Viper gave a nod to Tassadar as they sliced through the outer door of the Geth's main hub.

"This is Viper. We're moving into the main facility." Shepard reported over her comms as she pushed in.

"Roger Commander." Snake curtly responded, no doubt currently busy piloting Metal Gear Zeke against the Geth.

"We'll make sure no surprises come at you from behind Red." Cayde-6 cut in, his revolver already popping off in the background.

Not wanting to fill the air with any more comms than necessary Shepard gripped both hands on her Geth plasma shotgun. The two melee specialists of the squad, Galen and Gray Fox, took point leading the fire team with their blades drawn. Shepard stood in the middle, ready to move in or provide ranged support where needed. Lastly Six and T3 hung back, the former carrying his DMR in his hands and his gravity hammer and BFG on his back, while T3 could provide the electronic warfare support.

Reaching the end of the entrance hall they were traversing, Church, who was currently riding within Six's armor systems said, "Alright, from what I've been able to gleam from Geth communications, we're coming up on the first room of the Hub, some kind of mass data server."

"Probably where they keep the majority of their Geth VIs." Shepard added on. As they reached the metallic blast door leading to the server, Shepard called out to the AI once more. "Any eyes inside?"

Church's holographic form appeared next to the commander, shaking his head. "Haven't quite cracked the Geth's jamming program yet. Best I can tell you is that there's something inside waiting for you, but I have no idea what or how many numbers."

Shepard grunted. "Better than nothing. Alright Viper, assume the worst case and that whatever is behind this door is ready to chew us up and spit us out. Galen, Fox, ready to breach?"

"Roger Commander." The two swordsmen replied.

With a nod of her head, Shepard overcharged her biotic barrier and yelled out, "Breach!"

Starkiller and Gray Fox dashed forward, lightsaber and HF blade humming as they cut through the blast door and moved in, the rest of Fireteam Viper following suit. Inside, the room looked far more like an alien cathedral than a server room. The room was a long hall itself, with a tall vaulted ceiling, supported by several buttressed pillars. All along the walls were "windows" that held storage drives stacked atop each other, humming with power and storing exabytes of data at the minimum.

What was more interesting than the architecture however, was the amount of Geth within. As the Legion burst in, so did the Geth inside burst into activity. Within the center of the cathedral-like hall stood a Geth Armature, the four-legged walker unfolding itself. On its flanks were 4 red colored Geth Primes, each heavily armed with multi barreled Spitfire machine guns. And on the far side of the room several snipers took up position while the frog-like stalkers leapt from pillar to pillar.

"Fox, Galen, hit the primes! Six focus on those snipers! I'll take the big guy!" Shepard barked and wordlessly her men obeyed.

Sliding behind a pillar buttress for cover, Shepard fired off two plasma bolts that slammed into the armature, before being forced to hunker down by the walker's return fire. Meanwhile Gray Fox and Galen swiftly moved forward, each taking on two Geth Primes a piece. As the swordsmen approached, the Primes ramped up their machine guns, which began spewing plasma at an insane rate.

Both their blades began moving even faster to deflect the attacks, but Galen knew that not even they could keep up with the rate of fire the Geth Primes were outputting. So rather than running straight into a line of death and smashing right through, Galen decided to approach the problem more like a Jedi.

Swiping his hand, Galen grabbed a hold of one of the Geth primes in front of him and rotated it, forcing it to aim at one of the Primes shooting at Gray Fox. The prime was not ready for an attack from behind, and was shredded by the friendly fire. Galen then flung the Prime he was holding backwards, smashing it against the rear wall. Now both he and Gray Fox could advance since they only had to contend with one machine gun instead of two.

Cutting the distance, both Galen and Gray Fox were able to get into melee with the remaining Primes. Both Primes attempted to rifle butt their attacker but both swordsmen were too agile, and twirled around the melee attack. Their swords then flashed forward, slicing apart the Primes as their blades burned through both the kinetic barriers and armored limbs, systematically taking them apart.

Meanwhile, Shepard turned to T3 as she swapped from her shotgun to her power axe. "T3! Overload!" She shouted, pointing at the armature.

With a doot of compliance, T3 rolled out and sent out an Overload that smacked into the Geth Armature, the electrical explosion weakening its kinetic barriers. Using this as her opportunity, Shepard powered up her biotics and biotically charged the armature, catapulting herself at the walker. Breaking through the kinetic barriers, Shepard slammed into the armature, causing it to stumble back. Landing on the ground in front of Armature, Shepard then raised her power axe and swung it right for the legs. With two slashes, Shepard hacked the two front legs of the armature, causing it to collapse forward. The armature now immobile and at her height, Shepard swung her power axe for a final execution stroke, decapitating it in one fell swoop.

As Shepard killed the armature, Six focused on clearing out the mobs that harried them from a distance. Six's DMR barked out, destroying Geth head after Geth head, focusing on taking out the jumping stalkers above them first. Six was killing them at a rate that surprised even himself, as Church was able to mark and track each of the Geth platforms as they appeared, making it far easier for Six to gun them down.

While Six fired though, he didn't notice a pair of nearly invisible forms displace the air behind him. Church was only barely able to notice their movements on the motion radar, which thought they were too small to be a threat. Being able to process data and interpret time much faster than a human, Church ran a quick scan at the disturbance and quickly realized that it was two cloaked Geth infiltrators sneaking up on Six.

"Six! Bubble shield now!" Church called out as he swapped Six's armor enhancement to the bubble shield.

Without question Six activated his bubble shield. He trusted Church to have his best interest in mind. When the barrier activated, a series of plasma bursts exploded behind him as the infiltrators de-cloaked and attempted their ambush.

As Six focused on maintaining the bubble shield, Church called out again. "Don't worry, I'll get them off your back."

Church's holographic form then vanished, blinking next to one of the Geth Sniper platform Six had shot. While it wasn't any robot platform he was used to, Church knew that all robots eventually boiled down to 0 and 1, and was able to start interfacing with the unit. Soon enough, the platform's flashlight head blinked on once more as Church assumed direct control over it.

"f*ck yeah I'm corporeal again!" Church called out as he raised the Geth's sniper rifle and aimed for the infiltrators.

Pulling the trigger, the first shot went wide, landing several feet above the infiltrator's head. "f*ck sorry!" Church yelled. "Just gotta recalibrate!" Readjusting his aim, Church fired another round, this one seemingly even more off course than the first.

But while Church didn't kill anyone with his shots, his attack did draw the attention of the infiltrators, who switched targets to the AI since they seemingly couldn't break through Six's barrier. That second of target reacquisition was enough time for Six to drop the bubble shield, raise up his DMR and put down both infiltrators.

With all hostiles in the room wiped out, Church dropped the Geth platform he was possessing and returned to Six. "Man, I can't help but feel a little let down by that. Even with an alien body I still can't shoot for sh*t."

Six shrugged and responded. "Your accuracy will need more work, but you provided a useful distraction. Good work."

"Oh, well thanks. You too?" While Church had developed a good working dynamic with Carolina, he was still figuring out how to read Six, and was a little surprised by his tacit approval.

"Come on, we're wasting time here." Shepard interrupted as she moved to the next set of doors. "Church, how far is the central processing unit?"

"Should be past the next hall. This hub is radial in structure, and we've almost reached the center." the AI responded.

"Roger. Alright Viper, last fight wasn't too bad, but the Geth will throw everything they have to protect this processor."

As Shepard said this, Fireteam Viper entered the hub's central processing unit. It was a tall, circular room, filled with massive cooling towers that periodically hissed to release heat, all leading to a single spire in the center of the room. The spire appeared to be some kind of control tower that extended all the way to the top of the roof and beyond.

However, Shepard was incorrect in her guesstimate of the Geth's defenses here, as only a single squad of troopers patrolled. Viper wiped out the trooper so fast it couldn't even be called a fight. Pushing to the control tower, T3 and Church wasted no time interfacing with it.

"Ok T3, focus on holding back their cyberdefenses, I don't wanna get swarmed with anti-virus while I'm in here." After a few seconds passed of Church silently interfacing with the Geth consensus, he spoke once more. "Ok I'm in. What do you want me to do Shepard? This code is familiar enough for me that I can start rewriting them, but I can also open up communication and talk to them if we want."

Shepard paused for a moment to think before deciding. "Start the overwrite Church. Anytime we waste debating with the Geth is a chance one of our allies gets killed."

"Roger that Commander." Church nodded. "Alright beginning overwrite now. It'll take some time before this finishes since I'm pretty much brute forcing my way through each… individual… Oh my God." Church trailed off as he stared at the central spire in shock.

"Church? Church what's going?" Shepard immediately asked.

Church was too flabbergasted to immediately respond, and when he did it was barely above a whisper. "The Geth aren't the only thing in here."

Before Shepard could question any further, the white lights the Geth used to illuminate the room shifted to a deep red hue, and an unforgettable, deep, bassy, electronicbwwoooomfilled the air. It was a sound Shepard would never forget.

"A Reaper." Shepard murmured out in horror.

As the electronic roar ceased, it was replaced by the raucous sound of machinery as the command pillar seemed to retract into the ground. Fireteam Viper had to step back as both the ceiling and the floor below began to open up, revealing massive circular blast doors that slid apart, not unlike the opening of a missile silo.

The electronicbwwoooomboomed out once more as Fireteam Viper watched as a Reaper Destroy rocketed out and into the sky. And this wasn't just any Reaper Destroyer, Shepard realized, and she recognized the specific one that flew out. It was the same Reaper Destroyer she talked to on Rannoch. This meant all of the Geth here were the same Reaper controlled Geth she fought during the Reaper War.

Immediately Shepard put 2 fingers to her communicator and shouted out. "All teams be advised. It isn't just the Geth here! The Geth are being controlled by a Reaper, and he's headed outside!" She then shifted her focus to Church, who's hologram had reappeared with the rest of the squad. "Church, are you still able to rewrite the Geth with that thing there?"

Church appeared to be far more frantic than Shepard had ever seen him before, and smaller multicolored holograms started to appear and disappear around him. "I'm still in the system and converting Geth, but that Reaper is trying to shut me down. And he's a lot faster than me or T3. You guys will need to take him down unless you want us to start crying out, 'Exterminate all the meatbags.'"

Shepard nodded. "Alright. If you have to focus more on defense, we don't need you two getting overwritten." She then turned to the rest of Viper. "Alright team double time! We have a Reaper to kill!"

No one had time to respond as the rest of Fireteam Viper began sprinting out the way they came, leaving Church and T3 to continue their hacking. They reached the entrance of the hub just in time to see the two pelicans fly in for a bombing run against the destroyer. But the missiles only seemed to splash over its obsidian armor as the destroyer charged up its main weapon. From its core the Reaper fired a red beam of not laser, but molten metal fired from a magnetohydrodynamic cannon traveling at a fraction of the speed of light.

Thane jerked his control, pulling off a barrel roll and dodging the stream of molten metal. Sarah however, was slightly slower to react. While the Sentinel had twisted her controls enough that she avoided a direct shot, the beam still clipped the wing of her pelican, destroying that wing and engine completely, sending her in a spiral downwards as she crash landed on Ilos.

"Damn it!" Shepard swore as she dove into cover behind a Warthog currently occupied by Cayde and Pyrrha. Cayde was popping shots off at nearby Geth with his revolver, while the huntress manned the chaingun. Shepard then began yelling into her comms once more "It has to drop its kinetic barriers every time it fires its main weapon! That'll be the only time it's vulnerable!"

"Shepard! How did you kill these things in your world?" Snake yelled, maneuvering Zeke and firing off a shot from his railgun that exploded along the Reaper's hull.

Despite the absurdity of the situation around her, Shepard couldn't help but chuckle as she shot two approaching Geth. "Orbital bombardment!" she shouted back over the comms.

After taking the hit from Zeke's railgun, the Reaper fired off another beam that the Boss was barely able to dodge as he retreated. As the Boss put distance between them, the Reaper seemed to lose interest in mech, and instead slowly turned to face the Legion's infantry on the ground.

Shepard's eyes widened as she realized it was looking at them, and she immediately jumped into the Warthog's passenger seat shouting, "Cayde! Go, go, go!"

Cayde immediately jumped into the driver's seat and floored it. Shepard heard the second warthog's engine flare as well, but she didn't have time to check on the rest of her allies as a beam of molten metal slammed down right for her. Cayde swerved the warthog, the vehicle's uncanny agility allowing them to spin and drift behind an Ilos skyscraper, which took the blunt of the blow.

"Gods Shepard!" Pyrrha cried out as she uselessly unloaded the chaingun at the Reaper. "Is this what you had to fight on a daily basis!?"

Shepard laughed as she fired off her shotgun. "Hey, you were the one who said you wanted to be more like me! So here you go!" she joked back.

Pyrrha looked down at Shepard in disbelief, then back up at the Reaper. Before, Pyrrha would've been nervous and scared at the very prospect of fighting such a terrible thing. But the blessing of the Lady now surged through her, and she only thought of the glory and honor she would bring by destroying it.

Drawing her sword from her back, Pyrrha said, "Cayde, drive us closer! I want to hit it with my sword."

Shepard turned back to the huntress, jaw dropping in confusion, while Cayde barked out a laugh. "HA! You are off the f*cking chain!" He then swerved and drove right for the Reaper, while he stuck his left hand out of the window and began firing off shots with his revolver, the Ace of Spades.

As the warthog sped for the Reaper, Metal Gear Zeke flew forward and launched a salvo of missiles against it, trying to get its attention. The Reaper turned and began charging its main weapon to fire at the bipedal mech. However as it charged up, a ball of pulsating green energy slammed right into its eye, creating a massive explosion that knocked it down. Shepard glanced and saw a small distance away peeking from his own cover, Noble-Six had finally gotten a chance to use his BFG, as the oversized energy weapon smoked in his hands.

The power of the Bio-Force Gun was enough to send the Reaper toppling over. Seeing an opportunity, Rylanor then charged forward. Finding that his assault cannon didn't do much against the Reaper's hardened exterior, Rylanor flexed his power claw and began digging into one of the destroyer's massive legs. The far-future technology behind the power claw was able to rend the armor and circuitry of the leg apart, allowing Rylanor to tear the entire limb off.

Angrily, the Reaper let out another electronic howl, pushing its mass effect core to overdrive as it reduced its mass and began to fly upwards. As the Reaper continued to gain elevation, Rylanor was forced to let go, and the Reaper shot out another laser of metal that slashed across the dead city of Ilos.

The beam was aimed first at Metal Gear Zeke, not scoring a direct hit but a glancing blow that damaged the mech nonetheless. Alarms began blaring within Snake's co*ckpit, telling him that the nuclear armament on Zeke was compromised. Biting back a curse, Snake pulled Zeke out of the fight for repairs, not wanting to lose everyone with an accidental nuking.

From there the Reaper then guided his fire down to the Legion below him. The attack hit Rylanor, blasting the ancient dreadnought back and disabling him, before going for the more exposed infantry.

The Legionnaires still on foot scrambled once more, running into buildings and out of line of sight. Tassadar led the older Wynne into a nearby skyscraper, but the Reaper caught sight of them, and began charging its beam to bring the entire building down.

But right before it could fire, the familiar blue bolt of the AT-TE's main cannon slammed into the Reaper's eye, interrupting the attack and sending it crashing out of the sky. The Reaper landed with a mighty impact several dozen meters in front of Shepard's Warthog.

Still alive and very angry, the Reaper slowly began to pick itself up as Shepard jumped out of the Warthog's passenger seat and shouted, "Hey tall, dark, and ugly! Remember me!?"

The Reaper's red eye swiveled and focused on the commander, narrowing as it saw her. Then it spoke with a deep, electronic voice that shook Shepard's bones. "SHEPARD!"

As the Reaper stood it began to move for the commander, its red eye charging up for another attack, this one focused directly on her. Shepard however, was unperturbed by its actions, as she switched from her shotgun to the Fat Man on its back. The Reaper moved closer and closer, almost standing above her. But before the Reaper could fire, Shepard smirked as the familiar silhouette of Pyrrha Nikos flew in above her, leaping right for the Reaper's eye.

With a mighty battlecry Pyrrha threw her Force Weapon Miló right into the eye of Reaper. The disruptive energy field around her sword protected it as it began shredding its way through the internals of the Reaper's eye. The magnetohydrodynamic cannon of the Reaper exploded, tearing apart the entire front of the Reaper and forcing it back.

With the Reaper on its back foot, Shepard took aim with the Fat Man and said a simple line. "Keelah Se'lai." as she loosed the miniature atom bomb.

It seemed that many of Shepard's allies had the same idea, and opened fire as well. The mini-nuke was joined by the familiar green pulse of Six's BFG blast. Beside her, Cayde's revolver burst into flames as he fired all of the rounds into the Reaper. Meanwhile Johnson and Sev fired off a volley with all of the AT-TE's weapons, and Thane followed up with one final bombing run.

Not even the Reaper was able to survive the sustained fire from so many sources, all focused on the massive gash in its hull where its eye once was. The multi-colored explosion that followed was nearly blinding as the Reaper burst apart, finally dying.

Everyone stared at the subsequent mushroom cloud as ash, embers, and tiny pieces of Reaper debris fell from the sky. Battered and bruised, Shepard couldn't help but smile at the sight of the Reaper's death. It was not something she saw often in her universe, so she would savor every moment of this.

At least, she would savor it until she and the other Legionnaires found themselves surrounded by the Geth, who had seemingly taken shelter during the fight between the Reaper and the Legion. Shepard dropped the Fat Man and pulled out her plasma shotgun, leveling it at the synthetic platforms, ready to fight.

However, Shepard held off her fire as she quickly realized none of the Geth around her had their weapons raised. It was then that a light-blue armored Geth sniper walked up to them, with T3-M4 by its side.

"Hey guys!" The platform spoke with the unforgettable voice of Church. "Guess what!? I got the Geth under our control! They're happy to be freed from the control of the Old Machine and ready to kick its butt. Where is it, anyway?"

Church then looked past Shepard and saw the burning carcass of the Reaper. "Ah. Well hey, good work team! Mission accomplished."

Shepard only smiled as she patted Geth-Church on the shoulder. He was right, the Geth were rewritten, and now they had an army at their backs. Now they just had to rest and repair, and soon they would be ready to take the fight to Chaos itself.

Chapter 33

Chapter Text

An eerie quiet fell over the Geth Headquarters as Shepard patrolled around the perimeter wall. It had been a full day since the Legion had wrested control of the Geth from the Reaper, and after their necessary long rest, were immediately back to work. Miraculously, there were no casualties in the battle against the Reaper. Sarah was the closest to death when her pelican was shot down, but between her power armor and her Aura, she more than easily survived the crash.

The Legion quickly put the Geth to work repairing the base's defenses, as well as the damaged pelican and Metal Gear Zeke. Meanwhile the remaining pelican and a requisitioned Geth dropship began transporting supplies, weapons, and the comatose form of Lileath from Mother Base to the Geth Headquarters.

While Mother Base had been a good home thus far, the Legion needed to consolidate their resources at the Geth Headquarters for their push into Korriban. Sending Geth to protect Mother Base as well would only spread the weakened Geth forces out too much.

As Shepard continued her patrol around the walls, she spotted the form of Tassadar, standing along the wall as well, watching over some Geth currently repairing a gun turret.

"Tassadar." Shepard greeted as she walked up to him.

"Commander." He returned with a nod. "These Geth are from your universe, correct? I must admit, I find their design… intriguing."

"How so?" Shepard asked as she joined the Protoss in watching the Geth work.

"This, collective consciousness that the Geth posses, where all of their minds are linked together as one. It very much reminds me of the Khala of my people. The Geth connect to their network, where no thought or idea can be hidden, creating a single, unified society. The Khala is similar, where the Protoss psionically connect to a greater gestalt. Minds, memories, and emotions meld together, all for the purpose of greater unity and power for my people." Tassadar explained.

Shepard frowned a bit. "How does that all… feel? Do you have a lack of privacy, or sense of self?"

Tassadar paused a moment to think before explaining. "Physically, you could not hide your presence, but the depth with which you immersed yourself in the Khala was a personal choice. Some, such as my Dark Templar cousins, saw it as robbing of individuality, but I do not believe so. Thoughts and emotions are shared, but my actions are my own. Even so, such ideals of individuality were of less import to my people. All we do is for the sake of the Protoss as a whole, the collective good of the many outweighing the needs of the individual."

Shepard hm'd in response. While the idea of a collective consciousness was still a little too machine for her, she could understand the idea of intertwining with another person's thoughts and feelings, namely whenever she bonded with Liara. The Asari bonding connected her own nervous system with Liara's, sharing their emotions, thoughts, and sensations. For her, those moments were the most euphoric of her life. The thoughts of her bondmate then sent waves of sadness throughout her, which Tassadar seemed to notice.

"Are you alright, Commander? You seem… troubled." Tassadar inquired.

Shepard turned to the Protoss with a co*cked brow. "Your mind reading tell you that?"

Shaking his head, Tassadar said, "No, I do not require my powers to sense that. Regardless, I would not read your mind without your permission."

"Well you have my thanks for that." Shepard said with a small smile, before she sighed. "Yeah, I am. I just… I miss my family. I miss my bondmate. I'm missing a lot right now, and the upcoming battle isn't helping." She then looked at the Protoss and asked, "Are you not anxious?"

"No." Tassadar gruffly replied. When he felt Shepard's confusion, he elaborated. "Unlike you I have no regrets for what I left behind in my mortal life. And I am not anxious for the upcoming battle, nor should you be." He returned Shepard's gaze with a stern one of his own. "We have both faced enemies that were deemed unkillable, or thought themselves gods. With the help of the humans in my dimension, I proved that title false, in the same way you proved the Reapers mortal in yours. And together, we shall do so again."

Shepard didn't really know too much about Tassadar's universe, so she found herself asking. "What were the humans like in your universe, Tassadar?"

"Hm. Like all of you, the humans of my dimension were primitive, as my own people were arrogant. But their rapidly developing technology allowed them to fight both against, and alongside us. And it was only together that we were able to defeat the monsters of our universe. And once again, it is time for heroes to join together and defeat the monsters that prowl in the dark." Tassadar then placed one his large hands on Shepard's shoulder "Steel your will, Commander. Your people look to you for leadership and hope, and you will need all of your strength to triumph over the upcoming challenges."

Shepard snorted. "Thanks for the pep talk, Tassadar." It was partially sarcastic, but she knew he meant well. Tassadar was a being who only spoke the truth, regardless of how heavy such a truth would be. Besides, it's not like she wasn't used to having a group of badasses look to her for guidance.

"Anytime." Tassadar nodded, taking the gratitude in stride.

"Right. Well I should go, have a patrol to finish. I'll leave you to your Geth watching." Shepard said.

"Good night, Shepard. Ensure you get an adequate amount of rest as well."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a big girl, I know when to go to bed." Shepard waved off as she left Tassadar to his business.

As Shepard finished her walk around the walls and she was confident that they weren't going to be attacked in the middle of the night, she descended off the ramparts, leaving the defense to the Geth sentries who would remain tirelessly alert.

Moving from the walls down to the central hub where they had fought against the Reaper not too long ago, Shepard then heard voices. It didn't take her long to identify who they were, one was the familiar voice of her friend Pyrrha, and the other the booming cybernetic voice of Rylanor.

"And it was on the world Proxima, where many of my brothers died to ensure the Emperor would live, that my Legion earned the right to wear the Emperor's Palatine Aquila you see here." Rylanor boomed as he finished telling some story of his home.

"And what did your Emperor do in response to this betrayal?" Pyrrha asked.

"Simple. Blood was owed to my Legion, and by the Emperor's grace we performed an Exterminatus to collect." Rylanor casually explained.

Pyrrha pursed her lips as she silently mulled over this information, as she had learned that Exterminatus literally meant the extermination of all life upon a planet. "... I see." Was the best response she could come up with.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Shepard asked as she walked in on their conversation.

Pyrrha turned to see Shepard's entrance and smiled. "Ah Commander. Rylanor was regaling me with some stories of his world. They're… well honestly they're rather terrifying." Pyrrha gave a small shrug before turning back to the dreadnought and saying, "Sorry."

"Do not apologize, Pyrrha Nikos. War is a terrible thing. But something that is far too common in my galaxy."

"What were the wars in your world like, Rylanor?" Shepard asked, admittedly curious as to the scale of conflict required to make something like him. "Were they as bad as the battle we had against the Geth and the Reaper?"

Rylanor snorted at Shepard's question, which sounded doubly strange due to the electronic overlay of his vox-caster. "The previous battle was not more than a minor skirmish in comparison to the wars that the Imperium waged. I have fought in singular battles that numbered in the millions, watched cities burn in retributive fire, seen brother turn against brother as biological virus bombs purged entire planets of life."

"Virus bombs? Are they as terrible as they sound?" The commander asked.

"Worse." Rylanor answered. "Virus bombs deploy genetically engineered viruses known as the Life-Eater, which exterminate all life on a planet. The virus can infect any living organism, flora and bacteria included, causing cells to lyse, resulting in rapid decay of living matter. It is even designed to penetrate environmental suits and power armor."

Both Pyrrha's and Shepard's faces fell at what he described. Shepard found her voice first. "Why? Why would anyone make such a terrible weapon? Who would even be able to use it?"

"Terrible weapons are made for terrible wars." Rylanor stated plainly, before he became more contemplative. "As for who would use it. Virus bombs were not often used due to the cost it would extract. Only in the case of Exterminatus, such as against Proxima would it be used. However, it was used against myself and fellow loyalists when we were betrayed by our brothers upon the world of Istvaan III."

"Your fellow Space Marines used them on you!?" Pyrrha could scarcely believe it.

With a slow, regretful nod, Rylanor confirmed it. "Yes. Much of my legion, along with many legionaries of our fellow Legions such as the Luna Wolves, for I refuse to use their other name, and World Eaters, were corrupted by the foul powers of Chaos, causing them to turn against us and the Emperor. We were too blind to see corruption occur until the flesh began to melt from bone and entire forests melted into sludge as they saturated the world with the Life-Eater Virus."

Shepard was quiet for a moment. Not even the betrayals of Udina and Cerberus, nor any of the betrayals by indoctrinated Reaper agents, seemed to be able to compare to that. "Is that where you died?" Shepard asked.

"No. I survived, as did many of my brothers, able to shelter ourselves before the holocaust. We survived on that dead world for weeks, fighting against the traitors. And when the last of my fellows died in battle, I continued to endure." Rylanor's mechanical head then turned to face the two redheads. "That is the lesson that I wish to impart. That even in the face of a planet ending genocide, we continued to fight. And I continue to fight now. Even if the so-called gods of the Ruinous Powers themselves were to descend upon this land, I would not stop fighting. We shall be victorious in the upcoming battle, I will ensure it."

Pyrrha and Shepard looked at the Ancient One with admiration. A being of pure duty and resolution, unwavering in the face of everything they faced. It was hard not swayed by his words.

"It is surreal." Pyrrha mumbled out. "That we are so close to the final battle. So close to the end."

Shepard nodded. "Yeah. This is the calm before the storm."

"I hope we are ready. I hope we have done enough."

In the same way Tassadar did for her, Shepard put a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder. "I know we are, Pyr. Besides, like Rylanor said, we have him watching our back, so we shouldn't have too much to worry about."

"In actuality commander." Rylanor interposed. "Between my void shield and adamantium armor, I would be the spearhead in any attack, resulting in all of you watching my back as I advance."

Shepard opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it, not entirely sure if Rylanor just made a joke or not.

Pyrrha however couldn't help but snicker. "Thank you, Rylanor. I needed that. And thank you for the stories. They have been enlightening. But I do suppose it should be time for us to turn in." She then turned to look at Shepard.

The commander nodded, as that was what her plan was originally anyway. "Yeah. Us mortals still need to get sleep in order to fight at full capability."

Rylanor snorted once more. "Hmph. Do not talk to me about sleep. But I see your point. Good night, Commander Shepard, Pyrrha Nikos."

With that, Pyrrha and the Commander left the ancient Space Marine and entered the Geth Hub. Going inside, they made their way for the central processing unit, where the Legion were staying.

As they moved through one of the connecting storage rooms however, they were distracted by the distinctive smell of wormwood. There, they found the Big Boss, sitting on a stool, smoking alone. Snake turned to the two women as they entered, giving them a small nod, acknowledging their presence.

"Boss." Pyrrha greeted first, frowning slightly as she saw him. "You really should stop smoking those. They aren't healthy, and you're old enough as it is."

"I think it's a little late for me to worry about dying of lung cancer, Pyrrha." the Boss chucked.

Shepard smiled at the way Pyrrha worried over the Boss almost in the sameway a grandchild did over a grandparent. She then turned to the Boss and asked, "So, what are you doing up so late Snake?"

Snake gave a small shrug as he puffed his cigar once more. "Couldn't sleep." He then pointed to the side of his head. "It's the visions. Most are cloudy and confusing, making it hard to get a good night's rest."

This caused Pyrrha to frown even more, feeling slightly guilty as she was the one who brought the powers of Aura and Semblance to the Legion.

However the Boss seemed to pick up on this and waved off her worry. "It's fine. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with… bad dreams." He took another puff. "I just need some time to unwind."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "Things have been really hectic here. No real good chances for a break."

"But it is good that you two are here. I've been meaning to speak to both of you." Putting out his cigar, Snake stood up from his seat and faced them. "I wanted to thank you, both of you, for everything you've done."

First Snake turned to Shepard. "I know I am not the most, social, leader. It's not my style. And it only really works when I have someone at my side who can fill in the gaps. Shepard, I may have led the Legion strategically, but you're the one who really helped them. Helped them deal with their issues and their pasts, when I couldn't. And for that, I'm grateful to you for."

"I was just doing my job, Boss." Shepard retorted.

Snake snorted. "Shepard, if every soldier just 'did their job' like you, we would've achieved world peace years ago." He then turned to face Pyrrha. "As for you Pyrrha, I'm proud of the warrior that you have become. It is a crime for one as young as you to have to fight like you have. But you did more than just make do with the hand you were dealt, you thrived, and in doing so became what I would call a true hero."

Pyrrha felt herself go red at the Boss's praise and stammered out, "I… Thank you, Boss. You have no idea what your praise means to me."

The Boss only just nodded at her reaction, paying no mind to adoration. He then stepped back to face them both directly. "You two are some of the best soldiers I've ever fought alongside, and it's been an honor doing so." Standing straight, he then gave both of them a professional salute, an action he hadn't done in a long time.

Both women were slightly stunned at the action, but quickly they recovered, and returned the salute in earnest.

"Thank you, as well Boss." Pyrrha said. "Fighting alongside you has been nothing more than an honor."

"And don't talk like this is over just yet." Shepard added on with a smirk.. "Once this is all done, I'll be happy to share one of those cigars with you, regardless of what Pyrrha says."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes while Snake only returned a small smile. "Sure." was all he said as he then turned around and walked away.

The next day came quickly, and even quicker the Legion got back to work. Using one of their pelicans, a requisitioned Geth Dropship, and the hastily repaired Metal Gear Zeke. Despite the non-stop work of the Geth, the 2nd pelican was still out of commission. Meanwhile, Zeke was flight operational, although its weapon systems were damaged, rendering it unable to launch its nuclear payload.

With most of the supplies and small arms having been moved the previous day, they spent most of today transporting what vehicles and heavy weapons they had left such as the Mako, or the heavy machine gun emplacements within the watchtowers and batteries. They had already completed one trip, moving the APC and some gun emplacements, and were in the process of loading up for their second.

The superhumanly strong Six and Sarah disassembled a mortar artillery emplacement, while Pyrrha and Shepard worked on taking apart the E-Web heavy repeating blasters and generators. Meanwhile, Johnson and Cayde were strapping down supplies in the pelican's blood tray while Thane kept the engine running. The Boss, still within Metal Gear Zeke, performed guard duty.

Snake kept an alert eye out for any hostiles while his men worked below. While Metal Gear Zeke couldn't launch any nukes, its railgun and missile pods were still active, making it deadly in a fight. It was during his vigil that his radar pinged a contact. Rotating Zeke to face the contact, Snake zoomed in with the walker's optics and saw a large group of flying Grimm, mostly nevermores and griffons flying right for the base.

"Heads up, we have Grimm on the way." Snake reported as he aimed Zeke's railgun at the Grimm.

Below him, the Legion stopped their work and pulled out their arms, ready for combat in case the Grimm got past Zeke. That wasn't likely though, as the Grimm were relatively clumped up, and a single shot from the railgun would make quick work of most of them. As the railgun powered up to almost full charge, and Snake activated his targeting parameters however, Metal Gear Zeke was then blasted by a massive bolt of plasma.

The energy bolt exploded across the side of Zeke, sending it toppling over to the ground. Shepard's eyes widened as she saw Zeke fall, and ran to the wall to see where the energy bolt had come from. Activating her suits optics, she zoomed in on where she saw the attack originate, and along the border of Kabul and the Forever Fall Forest, she saw an Imperial walker. It was a strangely shaped walker, almost beetle-like in design, with 8 stubby legs on its sides. On its back was a massive turbolaser that extended out, smoking as it discharged its sneak attack. Shepard quickly recognized what it was, having studied much of the roster of Imperial weaponry.

It was a Self-Propelled Medium Artillery walker, or a SPMA walker, used for long range artillery bombardment. It had a very powerful turbolaser, but was also slow and lightly armored, meaning it never went anywhere alone. This was proven true as while the SPMA began charging for another attack, land based Grimm like beowolves and ursas began crawling out of the woods, sprinting for Mother Base. From behind the flying Grimm, she even spotted the unmistakable silhouette of Covenant banshees. Meanwhile from the trees, several smaller, chicken-like AT-STs followed the Grimm from behind, firing off their laser cannons at the walls.

It was then, that the ground began to shake. From the forest, lying down like a sleeping animal, and covered with the surrounding nature to hide its presence, an AT-AT began to stand. Despite being covered in grime, dirt, and leaves, the grandeur AT-ATs prodigious size and intimidating form was not diminished in the slightest.

It did not take long for Shepard to quickly deduce that the forces of Chaos had discovered Mother Base's location, and had set up an ambush for them. And not only that, but they must have been watching them for long enough to know to strike once they had disassembled all of their defenses. And with half the Legion not there, no vehicles or heavy weaponry available, Shepard did the one thing that made the most tactical sense.

"Everyone to the dropships, now! We are leaving!" She shouted. There was no victory to be had by staying and fighting.

Before Shepard, Pyrrha, Sarah, and Six could make it more than a few feet however, the Grimm from above descended upon them. The much faster nevermores dive bombed the legion, crashing into them and stopping their movements. Pyrrha and Six were able to react first, dodge rolling to the side as the Grimm impacted with the ground.

The slower Sarah and Shepard however were not so lucky as a nevermore each landed on top of them, knocking them to the ground and pinning them. The oversized birds began viciously pecking at them, the massive beak hitting like a sledgehammer every time. Sarah, through her raw strength was able to grab the nevermore by its head and start squeezing. The bony skullcap of the Grimm cracked under the pressure, until the head exploded, killing the beast.

Meanwhile Shepard struggled to get the nevermore off of her, both unable to reach for her weapon nor summon the focus to call on her biotics. Luckily for her the assault ended with the sounds of a firing line as both Pyrrha and Six opened fire on Grimm with their rifles, tearing it apart. Shepard quickly stood, drawing her Power Axe as she recovered. Similarly Sarah stood as well, pulling out her own super sledge. Unfortunately for them, the few seconds they were delayed by the Nevermore was more than enough time for the rest of the airborne Grimm to catch up.

All around them, more nevermores and griffons landed, cutting off any hopes they had for a quick escape. Explosions then rocked the ground around them once more, as they watched as the various groups of Imperial armor focused their fire on a nearby section of wall. While the stone would've been effective in holding back catapults and trebuchets, it was not able to resist the sustained laser fire of an AT-AT and its accompanying AT-STs.

Within seconds, the outer wall collapsed, and with it the oncoming Grimm who were climbing the cliff below were allowed to literally flood in. Shepard hadn't really had much experience fighting Grimm outside of her initial encounter when she first entered the Final Destination, as they mostly kept to the Forever Fall, or performed their occasional raids against Korriban. And to see a literal horde of hundreds of shadow monstrosities rushing at her was more than a little unnerving.

But she was not going to fall here. Raising her power axe high, Shepard roared and charged forward, her allies trailing behind her as they rushed the Grimm blocking their escape. They clashed with the Grimm in a titanic melee, trying to hack their way out to freedom. Meanwhile, the staccato of gunfire popped through the air as Cayde and Johnson opened fire from the pelican's rear cargo bay. Johnson jumped onto the pelican's rear mounted machine gun and began blasting at any nearby grimm, while Cayde's revolver quickly made work of dozens of grimm in seconds. Meanwhile Thane, seeing the horde of Grimm and the combined armor, wisely decided to turn on the pelican's engines and prepare for a quick getaway.

Meanwhile, Metal Gear Zeke still lay unmoving on the ground, unresponsive as the Imperial armor advanced. Making its way for the main gate, the AT-AT slowly lumbered forward. The cliffs and walls around Mother Base were far too steep for any of the walkers to climb, and so they were forced to take the long way around to the only road they could follow Within its co*ckpit, the scarred face of Skull Face looked up at the smoke coming from the smoldering Metal Gear, causing him to smirk.

"And so it comes to an end, Snake. It seems fitting that the machine you created to bring your dream to reality would become your coffin." Skull Face remarked. Pressing a button on the walker's console, he began broadcasting a message on all frequencies so everyone could hear it. "Snake! I am here for you, one last time! Once more, here in the sands of Afghanistan we fight! And it is here, you shall die!" He then looked at the gate house and blast doors in front of him. "I want all armor to open fire and bring that gate down! The insurgents are not escaping us!"

At his command the Imperial armor blasted at the gatehouse, the thick metal doors holding up better than the stone walls, but glowing red hot from the bombardment. Shepard saw this happening and swore to herself. If the armor got into the base, they would destroy the transports and they would be doomed. The legionnaires were hacking and blasting their way through the grimm, but there were too many, and they wouldn't be able to kill them all before the walkers got into the base. They needed a Hail Mary play to get out, otherwise they were dead.

"Pyrrha, Sarah! Fastball special!" Shepard commanded her teammates behind her while pointing towards the dropships.

Pyrrha and Sarah shared a brief glance before both fighters nodded their heads. Activating her semblance, Bonds of Steel, Sarah Lyons' entire body was coated in organic metal. Beside her, Pyrrha activated her semblance polarity to grab onto the Sentinel and lift her into the air. Thrusting her arm, Pyrrha then flung Sarah forward, catapulting her through the mass of Grimm between them and the dropships. As Sarah rocketed forward, she also swung her super sledge with reckless abandon, crushing Grimm with every swing of her weapon while her body pulverized others like a massive cannon ball.

As Sarah landed beside Johnson and Cayde, the sheer mass of violence and destruction carved a hole in the Grimm horde that the Legion was quick to take advantage of. Pyrrha and Shepard ran forward, making their way for the Geth dropship. Six however, was slightly slower as he was still providing covering fire from behind.

As the Spartan-III turned to move, the unmistakable green of a fuel rod cannon exploded behind him as the banshee's fired off a bombing run. Six was blasted backwards, and obviously slightly dazed from the attack. The Grimm then pounced upon him, dozens of beowolves and ursa clawing at him, tearing through his shields.

"SIX!" Sarah shouted as she deactivated her semblance, switching to her laser rifle and firing to try and relieve her friend, with the other legionnaires joining her.

But there were just too many of them, and soon enough they watched their friend be enveloped in a dogpile of black mass. Shepard felt her jaw drop, wondering if she just watched Six die. Both Pyrrha and Sarah were far more distraught, as they roared and kept shooting into the mass of Grimm.

Their screams were then joined by a new roar, one that came from the pile of Grimm itself. That's when an armored fist punched its way through the skull of a beowulf. It was the armored hand of Six, tinted black with Grimm blood and glowing the deep forest green of his Aura. Grimm atop him then began to explode as he started to punch and kick his way out of the dog pile, literally tearing Grimm apart with his bare hands.

It was no secret that Six was rather emotionally reserved, stoic in combat, having a cold, smoldering anger within him rather than an explosive temper. Never before have they seen Six roar out in anger and hate like he did now. There was no finesse in the way he fought, only pure brutality. Attacks that he would have dodged or even blocked he would take head on in order to throw more punches and kicks. And in addition to that, it seemed he was even stronger.

There was never any doubt that Six was the physically strongest within the Legion. His augments, power armor, and Aura ensured that advantage. But Grimm evaporated at his punches now. Shepard could only surmise one thing was happening, Six discovered his semblance, some kind of berserker aura that increased his physical strength and aggression.

And with this new ability, Six began to rip and tear his way through the horde. Supported by the gunfire of the Legion, Six soon made his way to the dropships before practically collapsing at the feet of his friends. Quickly Sarah and Pyrrha put him on their shoulders, and along with Shepard made their way for the Geth dropship.

Jumping inside the co*ckpit, Shepard quickly activated the dropship and prepared for take off. Sarah and Pyrrha were hanging by the entrances of the dropship, while Shepard rerouted the Geth VI programs to focus on shields and plasma cannons. Before Shepard could take off however, the blast doors to Mother Base collapsed as the AT-AT battering rammed its way through the half melted slag.

Shepard's eyes widened before she went back to the console, taking off as fast as she could while screaming to Thane over the radio, "Go! Go! Go!"

But Shepard knew they wouldn't be fast enough. The AT-AT was right on top of them, and as it looked over them, trying to pick a target, the pilot chose to aim at the pelican first, probably knowing that it wasn't shielded like the Geth ship. Thane maneuvered the pelican, trying to get away as the AT-ATs lasers cannons powered up. Before the walker could fire however, a massive impact hit its side, rocking the AT-AT and causing it to miss.

As Shepard took off, she watched as Metal Gear Zeke slowly stood up, Grimm fruitlessly clawing it in hopes of getting the Boss within. Quickly charging up his railgun again, fired another railgun shot that destroyed an AT-ST.

"Boss! Let's go!" Shepard yelled out over the comms.

There was a hiss of static, before the voice of the Boss came in over the radio once more, breathing heavy and obviously wounded. "Get out of here!" He barked out in return. "Skull Face is after me, and I'm ending this, here and now!" As he said this, he fired off a volley of missiles that soared into the air, tracking the banshee's above and destroying them. "GO!" He yelled out once more.

Shepard hesitated for a moment, only to have the Geth VI warn her of incoming airborne Grimm and Covenant banshees as the AT-AT regained its bearings and looked back at them. Gritting her teeth, Shepard tilted the controls, taking the dropship into the sky, the pelican following after it.

"It's been an honor, Boss." Shepard quietly said into the comms while Pyrrha looked at her aghast.

"Shepard! What are you doing!? We have to go back for him!" Pyrrha cried out. When Shepard didn't respond, Pyrrha stepped forward to yell at her once more, only to be stopped as an armored hand was placed on her shoulder. Pyrrha turned and saw Six's helmet, unmoving, slowly shaking his head. Pyrrha felt the tears spill from her face as she saw everyone accepted what was about to happen.

Meanwhile, the AT-AT tried to aim for the fleeing airships once more, hoping to score a kill on at least one of them. Before it could fire though, Snake dragged Metal Gear Zeke up and drove it right into the AT-AT's side, slamming into it with a clumsy tackle and throwing off its aim once more.

"Skull Face!" Snake roared through the open comms. "It's time we end this cycle of revenge!" flicking a switch, Snake activated Zeke's nuclear payload. While Zeke couldn't launch the nukes right now, that didn't mean it couldn't detonate them in one, final kamikaze attack.

"SNAKKEEE!" Skull Face screamed back he charged the AT-AT right for the Boss.

As Shepard and Thane put as much distance between them and Mother Base as possible, the others watched as thousands of Grimm, dozens of Imperial walkers and Covenant air support swarmed over the base and Metal Gear Zeke within. Then they watched as they were all consumed in nuclear fire, in one final act of defiance by the legendary soldier.

Chapter 34

Chapter Text

Shepard leaned forward, allowing Sgt. Johnson to light up her wormwood cigar as she then took a deep puff. Her and Johnson smoked the last of the Boss's cigars as they stood amongst the solemn Legion of the Damned. Drinks were passed around to all members of the Legion that could drink, mostly glasses of rationed Soviet-era Vodka, or some fantasy world wine they had lying about. Those who couldn't drink attended in respectful silence as well.

As Shepard took another drag of the cigar, smoking it in memory of the leader she promised to share a cigar with, she looked at the rest of her allies. Amongst all of them she could see a sense of resigned sadness, but at the same time none of them looked like Snake's death would break them. They were all soldiers and warriors who died for a cause. Death was a part of their lives, who they were. While it saddened them that the Boss was no longer with them, they knew they had to honor his sacrifice by winning this battle. Even Pyrrha, who took the Boss's death the hardest, stood amongst their numbers with a renewed fire and determination. And now they all looked to Shepard, who held the reins of the Legion.

"To the Boss." Shepard toasted, raising her own glass of alcohol.

"To the Boss." The rest of the Legion parroted, everyone downing their drinks together.

Savoring the burn going down her throat, she placed her glass on a table and looked at her allies. "What happened to the Boss was a mistake. We won a victory, and let our guard down. We got complacent, and paid the price." Shepard paused to allow her words to sink in. "But the Boss's sacrifice wasn't in vain. By detonating Zeke's nuclear payload, he has dealt a crippling blow to the forces of Chaos. Hundreds, if not thousands of Imperial, Covenant, and Grimm are now dead thanks to him. Meanwhile, we have an army of our own."

Activating her omni-tool, Shepard brought up a hologram of the Citadel of Chaos. The Citadel itself was located in the center of a flat, red sand desert plain. The building itself was a massive construction, a discordant mash of gothic spires and flying buttresses made of black stone. Random pieces jutted and twisted out, as if the building had no actual plan and rooms were just randomly pasted on.

"From our own reconnaissance missions, as well as data gathered by the Geth from when they were under Reaper control, we have a good idea of the general layout and design of the base. It's located on the far Southern edge of Korriban, and while we do not know what the interior design of the Citadel is like, we do have eyes on the general organization of their forces." Pressing some buttons on her omni-tool, she zoomed in on the ground surrounding the Citadel, revealing a series of defensive walls and trenches. "Majority of the Covenant and Imperial forces are located outside of the Citadel, in the surrounding fortifications. And while we don't know where the Grimm are, we can assume that they are located nearby."

"That's a lot of mobs we're going to have to fight through." Six commented. "Even with the Geth, we'll be exhausted by the time we get to the Amalgamation."

Shepard nodded. "I agree. Which is why we are going to split up our forces. Half of the Legion will go with the Geth in attacking the Citadel by land. Meanwhile, the other half will fly in above the battle accompanied by as many Geth Primes as we can fit, and drop into the Citadel itself. Once inside we are going to cause as much havoc as we can, taking out any of the leaders we can find, and killing the Amalgamation."

"A bold strategy." Tassadar said. "But both teams run a great risk. We shall not be leaving this battle unscathed."

"Leaving the battle unscathed is never a guarantee." Shepard countered. "And this… I am not exaggerating when I say this is our last chance. We fail here, we will not have the resources to launch another offensive. Either we throw everything we have, and stop Chaos here and now, or we let fail and let them escape into the multiverse."

A silence fell over the group as they took in the implications of the consequences. "So who's going where?" Sev gruffly asked.

Shepard immediately responded. "I'll be in charge of the infiltration team going for the Citadel. With me will be Galen, Pyrrha, Sarah, Thane, and Gray Fox." Shepard said, to the agreements of the others. She then looked to Tassadar. "Tassadar, I want you leading the ground forces. Divide the rest of the Legion as you see fit to command the Geth. You'll need to tie up the infantry so we don't get overwhelmed inside."

Tassadar nodded his head. "I shall not let you down, Commander."

The Commander then looked over her allies, and decided to give one final speech. "None of us asked for this war. For this responsibility. We fought and died in our worlds and deserved a rest that was denied to us." Shepard paused as she collected her thoughts. "But we cannot lament that which we have no control over. But what we do have control over is our actions in the next few hours. We are the only thing standing between an unsuspecting multiverse, and the Amalgamation. It is up to us to fight for those left behind in our worlds so they may have a chance to live in peace, free from the threat of Chaos."

Shepard continued to pace around the room as she spoke, making sure she met each of her friend's gazes. "But take heart, for we do not fight alone. Together, each and everyone of us has fought and bleed, forging a bond that nothing can destroy. Not the Super Mutants, not the Reapers, and not Chaos. And it's together we will defeat our enemies!"

The Geth Headquarters was a flurry of activity as hundreds of Geth platforms, armatures, and rocket drones filed into the dropships, awaiting orders for combat. Similarly, the Legion were finishing up their last equipment checks as they prepared for the final battle.

Galen, double checking the kinetic barriers and light armor plating that reinforced his robes, felt someone approach from behind. The former Sith raised an eyebrow as heidentified who it was, turning around to see the eldery Wynne moving to him, similarly dressed in her own armored robes.

"Wynne." Starkiller greeted. "What can I do for you? I hope you're not here to profess your hidden love for me before the final battle." he lightly teased.

Wynne rolled her eyes. "I was coming to give you an item that I thought would aid you on your mission, but now I am reconsidering it."

Galen lightly chuckled. "Apologies, Wynne. Perhaps I have been hanging out too much with Cayde-6. Anyway, what was it you wanted to give me?"

Reaching behind her, Wynne pulled out a staff, one of the items that was taken from the Armory. It was a long wooden staff with a shaft decorated with deep, runic engravings, and at the top was some kind of glowing aqua-green orb held aloft by a series of claws.

"I have taken some time to study this item, and have found that it is a powerful artifact. This is called the Staff of Magnus. As to who this Magnus is, I do not know, but he must have been a being of great power to wield it." Wynne explained as she handed the staff to Galen. "From what I understand, the Staff can drain its target of its magical power, as well as its very life force should it have no magical energy left."

Galen co*cked his eyebrow at that. "That indeed sounds very powerful. Something that could very well change the course of a battle. Thank you, I shall ensure this is put to good use."

"I would expect no less." Wynne nodded. "Now shoo, we have more work to get done."

With a smile, Galen gave the Mage a small bow before returning to his own preparations. Meanwhile Wynne made her way to the rest of the ground team and several Geth platforms who surrounded Tassadar.

The Protoss Executor nodded at Wynne as she arrived. "Now that we are all here, we can discuss our plan of attack. Ancient Rylanor." Tassadar turned to the massive dreadnought looking down at him. "You shall be leading the Geth's armored units, the armatures and colossi. T3, you and a squad of Geth shall pilot the AT-TE and operate under Rylanor as well. You all shall be the tip of the spear that will break through Chaos's line. Once you break their initial defenses, the infantry will follow the momentum and swarm upon them."

"They shall be broken before our might." The cyborg boomed.

"I expect nothing less. Now then, Sergeant Johnson, Noble Six." Tassadar then turned to the UNSC humans. "Both of you will take command of a battalion of Geth. The Sergeant shall take command of the left flank, while Noble Six shall take the right. Church, you shall go with Six in his armor. Wynne and I shall command our own battalion in the center."

The Spartan I, III and hologram all nodded as they accepted their command details. Tassadar then turned to the two remaining members of his team.

"Cayde, Sev, you two are in command of the sniper and stalker companies. Stay back, and provide support where needed."

"You call em out and we'll put 'em down." Cayde said with a wink as he stuck out his fist to Sev. Sev only raised his brow, causing Cayde to whisper to him. "Dude come on, don't leave me hanging here."

Rolling his eyes, Sev reluctantly bumped fists with Cayde, who made a quiet "boom" sound when they did.

"Very good then." Tassadar concluded. "I shall not give a grand speech, for the Commander has already said all that needs to be said. But I will say that while we may not be the ones that will strike down this Amalgamation of Chaos, we are no less essential. Without us, the Commander and her team will be overwhelmed and this will all be for naught. As such, fight hard and die well my friends."

The ground team all nodded and left for their units. T3 was lifted into the AT-TE while the others mounted the specific Geth dropships meant for their units. Once both Rylanor and the Republic walker were attached to their ships, the ground team's flight group was off.

The flight to Korriban did not take that long for the Legion. The Geth ships had long since charted the best flight paths to avoid Imperial detection for their inevitable conflict with them, and the Legion were more than happy to capitalize on their expertise.

Soon enough, the Legion and their Geth landed on the red sand of Korriban a few kilometers away from the Citadel of Chaos. They touched down at an open clearing at the edge of a mountain range East of the Citadel. The path towards the Citadel was a series of winding, twisted trails through the mountains. They wanted to be close enough that moving by foot and vehicle wouldn't exhaust the troops, but far enough that the drop ships would be out of range of their anti-air defenses.

Cayde and Sev landed first with their stalker units, establishing a sentry position as the rest of the forces took the time to deploy their troops and get into formation. Luckily, no ambushes came and they were able to establish a forward operating base without incident.

Once the infantry and armor were fully deployed, Sev took a squad of snipers to scout out the enemy rest of the Legion was forced to wait about half an hour for Sev to get to the Citadel, observe what he could, and return. The lack of artillery fire and explosions indicated that Sev and his team were undetected, and his return a few minutes later confirmed that.

"Sev, what did you see?" Tassadar questioned as the scouts returned.

"These valleys are a straight shot to the Citadel of Chaos, the different paths converging to a single, straight basin where the Citadel itself is. Covenant and Imperial forces are dug in tight around the Citadel. They have several defensive lines surrounding the base in rings, mostly trenches fortified with watch towers and plasma turrets." Sev quickly replied, before turning and pointing to the direction he came. "The army seems to have been split up between Covenant and Imperial Forces. The Covies are holding the center, while the Imperials are on the left and right flanks. Mostly infantry, no sign of armor or Grimm, but I think they're holding them back by the Citadel."

"I see. Most likely keeping them in reserve should we push in too far." Tassadar nodded his head. "The plan stays the same. All forces, take a separate pathway and advance!"

T3 let off an electronic affirmation as Wynne, Rylanor, the larger Geth walkers, and the AT-TE fell in behind the former Executor. Meanwhile, Johnson and Six took their respective armies to different valleys as they slowly made their way towards the Citadel. The allied force moved slow, as the mountains and cliffs above them provided many good ambush points. Luckly, no ambushes came, and soon enough the Legion and the Geth came upon the Citadel of Chaos.

True to Sevs words, Tassadar saw the army of Chaos laid out before him with the Covenant in the center of the fortifications and the Imperials at the flanks. Taking a moment to overlook the forces in front of him, Tassadar reached out with his psionic powers to get a sense of his opponents morale.

Amongst the Imperials he felt fear, but truly he also felt a sense of grim determination emitting from them. He then turned his attention to the alien Covenant forces. From them, he found that amongst the weaker races, the Jackals and Grunts, he also sensed fear and uncertainty, their loyalty only maintained by their even greater fear of the Brutes above them. Meanwhile the Brutes were loyal to their chieftain, but instead of fear they exuded anger and frustration, annoyed that they were forced to serve beneath and alongside humans, even if they were from a separate universe. Tassadar could use this. The Protoss also sensed alarm rising throughout the army, the sentries no doubt having seen the Geth force advance. They were moving quickly to man the defenses, so Tassadar had to strike quicker.

"All armored units concentrate fire on the center of their formation! Ground them into dust!" Tassadar commanded as psionic lightning crackled at his fingertips. Extending both hands forward, Tassadar then released a massive psionic storm above the Covenant forces, unleashing a torrent of lightning that struck down at the cowering aliens.

Tassadar's attack was then joined by a volley of plasma fire as the Geth walkers and the AT-TE opened fire. Then a fireball appeared above the Covenant lines, exploding in a burst of conflagration. Tassadar peered to his side and saw Wynne raising her Staff of the Magi into the air, casting a high level Fireball spell. The volley decimated the defensive fortifications of the Covenant, metallic walls, plasma turrets, and watchtowers were all reduced to sparking piles of slag. Any Covenant troops that weren't able to hunker down in their bunkers or trenches were similarly evaporated by the concentrated bombardment.

With the Covenant lines heavily suppressed and it's defenses cracked open, Tassadar turned to Rylanor and yelled, "Ancient One advance! Bring them down!"

"For the Emperor! Forward!" Rylanor boomed as he charged forward, the Geth armatures bounding after him.

Still reeling from the artillery bombardment, the Covenant forces had no opportunity to mount an effective counter attack against Rylanor's charge. The venerable dreadnought sprinted across the battlefield, crashing through a defensive wall that still stood, crushing several grunts into paste as he did so.

A few Brutes, Hunters, and braver spec-ops Grunts turned to face the Space Marine, firing brute shots and fuel-rod cannons at the cyborg. But neither weapon could pierce Rylanor's automantic shields nor his adamantium hull. Rylanor's assault cannon then began to spin, unleashing a torrent of bullets that shredded its way through any target that came into his auspex. When T3 in his AT-TE and the Geth Armatures caught up, the morale of the Covenant plummeted, causing many of the cowardly Jackals and Grunts fleeing before the armored column.

Leading his walkers forward, Rylanor continued to advance towards the Citadel in a vicious blitzkrieg that would not be stopped. They gunned down any Covenant they could see, ignoring those who had hidden in the bunkers and the trenches as they kept moving forward. That task was left up to Tassadar, Wynne, and their Geth infantry as they followed in Rylanor's wake, cleaning up the remaining shell shocked aliens as they stormed each trench.

As the central force continued to smash through the Covenant lines, the Imperials on both flanks moved to intercept. The Legion's initial attack was so sudden and violent that the Imperials were caught off guard and momentarily stunned. However, the Stormtroopers quickly regained their senses and opened fire on the Legion, repositioning to try and converge around the flanks of the central force.

Before they could even really begin their encirclement however, Johnson and Six moved forward, their forces moving to engage the two Imperial units and prevent them from slowing Rylanor's offensive. Six, leading a small squad of Primes, led several Geth troopers dug leapt behind vacant fortifications and natural rock formations for cover, engaging the Empire's right flank.

Multiple heavy weapons emplacements opened fire on the Geth infantry. E-WEB blaster turrets shredded through advancing Geth that were too slow to find cover, while Imperial Scout Troopers fired off sniper rounds that pinged off the flashlight heads of many synthetics. Six and his Geth kept low, hiding behind their cover while lobbing grenades overhead to try and displace the Imperial sharpshooters and machine gunners.

That's when several plasma shots rang out from behind the Legion's forces, slamming into the heads of the heavy blaster crews and killing them instantly. Several hundred meters from behind the Geth Infantry, Sev and his sniper team had set up in the nearby cliffs, allowing them to provide sniper support to the ground teams. No longer suppressed by the heavy gunners, the Geth could then pop out of their cover and begin counter-firing, suppressing the Scout Troopers and forcing them into cover in turn.

Sensing an opportunity, Six yelled out Church, "Church, speed enhancement and overshield!"

"Gotcha!" The AI shouted back, quickly rerouting power and calculations to selected armor abilities.

Six was then coated in a light red aura as his armor's shields temporarily went into overdrive. The Spartan then sprinted forward and inhuman speeds, blaster round pinging off of him harmlessly as he leapt into the Imperial trenches. The Stormtroopers could do next to nothing as the near invincible Spartan-III charged into CQC and began dismantling them with buckshot and his bare hands.

Meanwhile Johnson's company on the left flank slowly ground forward as well. Supported by Cayde and his unit of snipers and stalkers, the left flank traded blows with the Imperials in grueling trench warfare. On both sides troopers fell one after the other, neither the Legion pushing them back, nor the Imperials pushing past to stop the armored columns advance.

However, what did stop Rylanor's advance was the opening of the main gates to the Citadel. From the gothic fortress's interior strode out a massive AT-AT walker, not the same one that helped destroy Mother Base but a sister vehicle of the same class, flanked by AT-ST walkers. From behind them SPMA turbolaser walkers and Covenant Wraith battle tanks slowly moved out, providing ranged artillery strikes for the forces of Chaos. It seemed that the Covenant decided to finally commit their own armor to stopping the Legion's Advance.

A volley of plasma and turbolaser bolts were flung towards the Geth armor as the artillery attacked. The first wave alone crashed along the armatures, too slow to dodge. Half a dozen armatures exploded as the plasma overwhelmed their barriers and melted them into slag. Rylanor himself was hit by a wraith plasma bolt, which could not break his shields but forced him back from the sheer physical force alone.

The AT-AT then followed up, its massive chin-mounted laser cannons focused on one of the Geth Colossus. The Colossus tried to avoid as it scuttled to the side, firing its own plasma bolts to try and counter. But the AT-AT's pilot was too skilled, and with another burst of laser cannon fire, destroyed the Colossus. Meanwhile the AT-STs engaged the smaller armatures at mid range, the two rival walker units trading blows and lives.

While Tassadar couldn't do anything about artillery in the back, he knew that the AT-AT was the largest threat to their advance. "T3, Rylanor! Focus on that AT-AT!" the Protoss commanded.

T3 dotted an acknowledgement,. Knowing that the Imperial Walker had a vulnerability at the base of its neck, T3 commanded the AT-TE's gunner to focus at that point. The Geth gunner aimed the mass driver and fired, the hypersonic shell crashing into the successor walker. The armor around the neck of the AT-AT exploded, sending shrapnel and debris flying clear. It was enough to damage the walker, but not put it down. The AT-AT's head then swiveled to look at the T3, and before the Geth gunner could finish loading another shot, the AT-AT fired a volley of lasers at the smaller walker.

The side of the AT-TE exploded with fire as the laser impacted the armor plating. Luckily for T3, the AT-AT hit the heavily armored top of the walker, damaging it but not outright destroying it. This exchange however, provided Rylanor the opportunity to move forward at the AT-AT while it was distracted.

Rylanor bounded for the AT-AT, assault cannon roaring as he shredded two smaller chicken-like AT-STs escorting it. The AT-STs tried to return fire, but Rylanor ignored their smaller scale laser cannons that were unable to pierce his shielding as his cannons completely overwhelmed their armor. Once the escorts were reduced to scrap metal, Rylanor got underneath the AT-AT, the taller walker unable to aim directly beneath itself.

Activating his power claw, Rylanor then began tearing through the left foreleg of the Imperial Walker, the claw shearing through the metallic limb. The AT-AT tried to lift its leg up to escape, but the lumbering machine was too slow as it only took seconds for Rylanor to slice off its foot.

The AT-AT stumbled forward, landing on the stump, trying to balance itself on three and a half limbs. But Rylanor would not relent, as he moved to the right foreleg of the AT-AT and tore through it as well. With both front legs gone, the AT-AT then fell to the ground face first, immobile and unable to fire its main armament. Ryalnor then sauntered to the walker's co*ckpit where he saw stormtroopers and officers flee to the rear of the mech. Rylanor's might fist then drove through the front window, completely destroying the controls and disabling the mech.

With the AT-AT taken out, the remaining Imperial armor and whatever infantry was left retreated to the artillery line. While the Legion was able to destroy the deadliest machine on the side of Chaos, they had taken heavy casualties to their armored division, and their blitzkrieg was now forced to halt. Now, they had to begin a slow, grinding battle of attrition as the two sides bombarded and charged one another with waves in infantry.

As Rylanor continued to fire his assault cannon at the Imperial lines, he heard the roar of several jet engines above him. Looking up, Rylanor saw the two pelicans flanked by a pair of Geth dropships flying in, making divebomb right for the top levels of the Citadel. The dropships opened fire with a combination of missiles and plasma bolts, cracking a hole in the roof of the structure.

An entryway created, the dropships then hovered over the breach, depositing their payloads of Legionnaires and Geth Primes directly into the Citadel. After a few tense seconds, the infiltration team had penetrated the fortress and were now on the way to accomplish their goal. Rylanor gave a satisfied nod, as their distraction had successfully provided the others the opportunity to enter the Citadel and slay the Amalgamation. The Ancient One then looked back down at the enemies across from him and once more charged into the fray, making sure he killed as many of the foul followers of Chaos before they finished the fight.

Chapter 35

Chapter Text

Commander Shepard aimed her shotgun down the long obsidian hallway, eyes tracking for any threats as the rest of the insertion team deployed behind her. Galen, Sarah, Thane, Gray Fox, Pyrrha, and the accompanying Geth Primes all exited one after the other, weapons drawn. Both the Pelicans and the Geth Dropships used in their insertion looked unusable from their controlled crash landing into the Citadel of Chaos, but that was fine for them. They weren't planning on leaving anyway.

"We need to find Nihilus and their comms fast." Shepard barked out once the rest of her allies were ready. "Any ideas?"

"Find me a prisoner and I can tear the information from his mind." Galen grimly suggested. They were pressed for time and the lives of the rest of their friends were at stake, so he could indulge in some of his darker tendencies to complete their mission.

Shepard nodded. "Alright. Sarah, Gray Fox, and I will take point with the Geth behind us. We push through forward though this hallway and when we find enemies, we'll know we're going the right way."

"Roger!" The rest of the Legion replied in unison, while the Geth Primes gave electronic pings acknowledging the orders.

The Legion moved forward while maintaining a vigilant guard. They had landed somewhere near the upper levels of the Citadel, near the Eastern edge of the building, so the only path forward they could move would be West towards the center.

Soon enough, the Legion encountered their first group of defenders. Moving right for them, the Legion saw a squad of Imperial Stormtroopers, led by a single young officer wearing a black uniform and matching breastplate.

The officer's eyes widened as he saw the Legion and their Geth, quickly shouting, "Blast them!"

The Stormtroopers raised their blaster rifles and opened fire, but it was nowhere near enough to threaten the Legion. Shepard immediately summoned a biotic barrier to block the blaster bolts while Sarah and the Geth Primes opened fire. Almost immediately, all of the stormtroopers dropped under the torrent of laser and mass effect fire. The young officer barely had time to register his entire squad was dead when Gray Fox's fist connected to the side of his head, knocking him down.

Before the officer could even beg for his life, Galen walked up to him and levitated him with his telekinesis. Reaching out with the Force, Galen pushed his way into the mind of the officer, not caring for any damage he would do in the process. Within seconds, Galen violently ripped what information he needed from the mind of the officer, before dropping him to the floor a dooling heap.

"The communication's array is on the top floor, while Nihilus has some kind of throne room in the basem*nt." Galen then pointed down the hall. "There's a set of elevators further down and to the left which can take us to both locations. But there's a complication."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Of course there is, it wouldn't be a mission without one. What's going on?"

"The Imperials deployed their artillery and caught Tassadar's forces out. If we don't take those guns, they'll chew through them." Galen quickly said.

"Damn it." Shepard swore as strategies swarmed through her head. "Okay, here's the plan. Pyrrha, Galen. You and half the primes will come with me to hit Nihilus' throne room. Sarah, you take Thane and the rest of the Primes and take out the enemy comms. Gray Fox, I want you to head for the artillery and take it out. When you're done, double back to support Thane and Sarah. When you've cleared both locations, head down to the throne room to help us." Shepard barked out her orders.

"Aye, aye Commander." Sarah Lyons snapped off a quick salute. "And good luck, all of you." she nodded to her brothers and sisters in arms.

"And you." Shepard returned the gesture. "If we all survive this, drinks are on me."

Sarah returned a wry grin to the Commander, while Thane bowed slightly. They didn't need to trade any more words than that. Even if they wanted to exchange tearful goodbyes, their minds were all completely focused on the mission.

With only a simple nod, Shepard turned and made her way for one of the elevators, with Galen, Pyrrha, and a squad of Geth Primes behind her. Moving into the lift, they set the destination for the lowest levels of the Citadel, where Nihilus was making his lair.

The ride was silent and tense. Behind her Galen gripped his unactivated lightsaber in one hand, and the Staff of Magnus in the other, while Pyrrha had her plasma-reinforced Akoúo̱ and Power Weapon enhanced Miló in her hands, while her own lightsaber was still clipped to her belt. Both wore their reinforced outfits that they had used in both the attack on the Temple of Order and against the Geth. Meanwhile Shepard stuck to her Blood Dragon Armor and held her Power Axe her hands, while her Fat Man was strapped across her back.

As they mentally prepared for the upcoming battle, the doors opened up and swiftly the Legionnaires and the Geth filed out. They heroes found themselves in an empty, great hall made of blacked obsidian. A series of roughly hewn, cracked pillars held up a ceiling more than 30 feet tall, and in the center of the hall, was a deep recess in the ground that looked like it was some kind of pool or fountain, though was now empty.

On the far end of the great hall, sitting on a raised, black iron throne decorated with skulls, was the black robed figure of Darth Nihilus, Master of the Forces of Chaos, and Amalgamation. The Legion approached Nihilus, who slowly stood and looked down on them, his masked face betraying no emotion.

The two opposing forces stared at each other silently for several seconds, before Shepard spoke to break the quiet. "What, no long speech trying to justify everything you've done? No monologue trying to convince us to join you?"

Nihilus betrayed no reaction. He was not a creature of witticism and banter. Now, more than ever, he was a creature of violent impulse, of raw instinct and primal need. The need to feed. Extending out his hand, Nihilus launched a burst of red and black lightning as he attempted to drain the life from them.

As the lightning flew at them, Galen interposed himself between his allies and the attack, raising the Staff of Magnus. Activating the staff, Galen absorbed the attack, draining it as if the staff was draining magic. Seeing his attack nullified, Nihilus snarled as he switched to his lightsaber. But before he leapt down, Nihilus' body twisted and spasmed, cracking as two new appendages burst out of his back. The Legion watched in horror as two masses of flesh and bone formed into a pair of 6 foot long feathered purple-blue wings, coated in scintillating warpfire.

The wings stretched to their maximum wingspan as he then leapt off the throne and right towards the Legion. The Amalgamation's form betrayed how fast he actually was as he crossed the distance between them in an instant, his lightsaber bearing down on Pyrrha's head. Pyrrha barely had time to react as she raised Akoúo̱ up, the plasma-reinforced shield deflecting the attack. Pyrrha found that even with her enhanced strength as both a Grail Knight and an Aura-enhanced huntress, she felt her body buckle underneath the sheer force of the attack.

With a flick of her wrist, Pyrrha then swung her power weapon at the Dark Lord. Nihilus jumped back to dodge the attack, giving the Geth Primes space to open fire at him with their Spitfire machine guns. Their guns, being mass effect weapons, fired pellets that were too small to easily catch with the Force, and solid so Nihilus couldn't use his lightsaber to deflect them. As they did, Pyrrha charged forward, letting out a mighty battle cry. Both Galen and Shepard attacked as well, but lagged behind the closer huntress.

Raising his left hand, Nihilus created a Force Barrier that shielded him from the spray of mass effect pellets. As he blocked the mass effect rounds, Pyrrha moved into melee once more, slashing her sword with superhuman speed and precision. Pyrrha thrusted her blade at Nihilus' face, but the Dark lord raised his lightsaber and quickly parried the attack. Pyrrha continued on with this onslaught of strikes, tying up Nihilus's right arm, while the Geth tied up his left. Both his limbs distracted, Galen then attacked Nihilus from the back.

Galen swung his own lightsaber right for Nihilus, but before his lightsaber could land, something shot out of the Sith Lord's back. From between his wings, coming out of his very spine, an arm of blackened-blue flesh extended. The limb was spindly, extending out several feet, and covered with black sludge, long hair, and feathers. Galen was so temporarily shocked at the appearance of the arm that he wasn't able to react as it shot towards him at speed, long bony fingers wrapping around his throat. It then slammed him into the ground face first.

Stunned by the attack, Galen couldn't resist as the arm then began to drag the young Jedi to the Amalgamation, no doubt seeking to absorb him into its form. Before he could be consumed however, Shepard roared and brought her power axe down on the limb, cleaving through it.

The Amalgamation roared out as it recoiled in pain from the loss of limb, the remains of the arm reeling back to its body. The Amalgamation shook and twisted, before it then roared out with a Force Scream, the Dark Side energy exploding out of it. Galen, Shepard, and Pyrrha were all blasted backwards by both the sonic boom and the wave of pure hatred and agony.

Before the heroes could recover, Nihilus then unleashed a storm of lightning from his fingers. But this was no ordinary storm of just Force Lightning, but it was also combined with the might of the Warp. The fusion of Dark Side manipulation and Chaos magic leapt towards the Legionnaires, threatening to incinerate their bodies and very souls.

Swiftly, Galen raised the Staff of Magnus and placed it between himself and the lightning. Starkiller struggled to hold back the magic, but stayed strong as his artifact absorbed the attack. As the lightning flew towards Shepard, who had no way to defend herself, Pyrrha moved and placed herself before the attack with Akoúo̱'s plasma shield raised. Pyrrha grunted in pain as she was shoved back by the attack, but held strong. Akoúo̱'s plasma shielding allowed her to block the Force Lightning, while her own Blessing from the Lady allowed her to resist the Chaos magic.

Unlike the Legionnaires however, none of the Geth Primes had any real defenses for the attack, and were decimated by the lightning. One after the other the Primes fell, until all that was left of them was slag and sparking electronics.

When the lightning storm finished, Shepard took a brief moment to survey the damage done in what was not even a minute of combat. Pyrrha also looked at the destruction in shock, and when they caught each other's eyes, they both glowerd as they faced Nihilus once more with grim determination. They both knew that the three of them alone wouldn't be enough to defeat the Amalgamation. They could only hope that they could hold on long enough for the others to finish their objectives and come help.

Gray Fox made his way through a ventilation shaft, quickly making his way down to the ground level of the Citadel. He moved fast, and it only took him a scant few minutes to get behind the Imperial and Covenant artillery lines.

Covenant Wraith tanks and Imperial SPMA turbolasers continued to fire off volleys of plasma at the Legion's allies. Drawing his HF Blade, Fox flexed his cybernetic exoskeleton and dashed towards the first Wraith. The alien artillery crew was caught completely unawares as the cyborg ninja closed the distance and sunk his sword into the tank. The HF Blade's vibrations combined with Fox's cybernetic might allowed him to tear the tank apart, completely destroying it in only a few slashes.

A neighboring Wraith, seeing it's ally burst into blue flames, slowly pivoted to vaporize whatever threat just appeared. But it was far too slow as Gray Fox sprinted up to it, leaving behind a trail of electrical discharge in his wake. With a single slash, Gray Fox sliced one of the anti-grav repulsor wings clean off. He then stabbed his blade into the tank's side, easily piercing the alien metal as he ran around the tank and cut off its top like a canopener.

Gray Fox jumped back as the tank exploded, completely untouched by the detonation. He then flicked his sword, cleaning off alien oils and mechanical fluids when a crescent blade of crimson energy shot towards him. It was only Fox's honed battlefield senses and enhanced cybernetic reflexes that allowed him to dodge the attack as he flipped over it with a butterfly twist

Glancing at where the attack came from, roughly thirty feet away Fox saw what looked like a young man, wearing a dark grey trench coat, with slicked back red hair, two bull horns protruding from the crown of his head, and a shuttered white mask covering his eyes. In his hands was a blood red katana that he no doubt used to attack him. Unbeknownst to Gray Fox, he was looking at Adam Taurus.

However, something else caught Fox's attention. The boy did not look healthy. His skin was pale, deathly so, enough that his veins showed through, which were a sickly black color as well. Fox had been briefed on how Nihilus could feed on the life force of others through sheer proximity alone, something the boy was obviously a victim of.

"You know." Taurus casually said as he sheathed his blade. "I questioned the wisdom of posting me here, instead of at the frontlines. But it appears that Thrawn's paranoia was right."

"If Thrawn positioned a mere boy to protect a point of strategic import, then he must truly be a pathetic commander." Fox countered.

Adam sneered at Gray Fox's words, but instead of throwing his own insults back, he instead opted to drop into a low stance and ready his sword. Fox was greatly familiar with the stance Adam took. It was an Iai sword draw technique, where he would draw and attack with his katana in a single, lightning fast motion. The two swordsmen stared at each other, daring the other to make the first move.

After several tense seconds, Adam opted to go first. Despite the distance between the two, Adam drew his blade with a single fluid strike. The resulting draw formed another blade of crescent energy that he shot at towards Fox.

Once more, Gray Fox jumped in the air, dodging the attack with a corkscrew flip. But as Fox performed his acrobatic maneuver, Adam charged. Adam's Arua-enhanced muscles shot him forward as he tried to strike before Gray Fox had a chance to land from his flip. But Fox's cyborg body was too fast, and milliseconds after sticking the landing of his flip, Gray Fox's sword twirled, and he locked blades with Adam.

The two swords bit into each other as they both pushed forward, trying to overpower their opponent. When both Fox and Adam found that they were unable to do so, the cybernetics and Aura providing roughly the same amount of physical enhancement, they instantly changed tactics.

Instead of power they both relied on speed and technique, sending out dozens of rapid strikes in a flurry of attacks faster than the human eye could track. But unfortunately, both men were experts with the blade, and each attack they sent out would be parried, and each riposte would be blocked in turn.

The pattern continued until both swordsmen crossed blades once more.

"Your skills are impressive, for a machine." Adam said through grit teeth, acknowledging the stalemate they found themselves in.

"Your skills are admirable as well." Gray Fox returned as he pushed forward. "For a boy enslaved to his anger."

In a flash of movement, Gray Fox then headbutted Adam's face, the steel dome of his helmet smashing into the teen. Adam's head snapped back as the cyborg headbutt ripped a chunk of his Aura and broke his mask, sending it falling to the ground in two pieces. Stumbling back, Adam brought his empty hand to his face as he recoiled in pain. But Gray Fox would not relent, and he took advantage of the situation and delivered a devastating spinning back kick right into Adam's stomach.

The Faunus teen was sent flying through the air several meters, before he finally landed on the back of the SPMA turbolaser. Groaning, Adam slowly picked himself up as Gray Fox landed on the artillery cannon as well. His mask now gone, Gray Fox could see the snarling hatred in Adam's eyes, even if one of the eyes was burned and scarred from the SDC brand. The SPMA turbolaser then fired off another shot towards the greater battlefield, ignorant of the duel occurring on top of it.

Gray Fox then attacked again, dashing towards the Faunus along the spine of the turbolaser. To his surprise Adam did not move to meet him in combat again, but instead chose to turn around and run, moving up the barrel of the turbolaser while his off hand drew his scabbard. The sheathe seemed to double as a firearm as Adam fired off several shots at Fox while retreating up the cannon. But Gray Fox easily deflected these shots as he continued to chase down the boy.

Soon enough, Adam reached the end of the turbolaser cannon. However, he still refused to turn and face Gray Fox, as he then leapt off the spine of the massive gun, and directly into it's "barrel," in the form of a high energy radial array dish. Adam had apparently perfectly timed his jump, because as he moved in front of the turbolaser, the SPMA walker fired. The massive bolt of superheated plasma flew towards Adam, who blocked the energy attack with his sword.

He then called upon his semblance, Moonslice, to absorb the energy from the turbolaser blast and store it into his sword Wilt. In an inhumanly fast motion, Adam then resheathed his blade and performed another Iai-draw, firing off all of the absorbed energy into a massive crescent energy slash more than thirty feet long. Adam grinned maniacally as the attack flew right for Gray Fox.

However, just because the attack was larger, did not mean his attack any faster. And in a battle against a cyborg ninja, speed was everything. Overcharging his cybernetic exoskeleton, Gray Fox catapulted himself off the SPMA walker, moving like a bullet through the air as he jumped over the crescent energy slash, avoiding it entirely.

Adam's face then fell as his energy slash cut right through the SPMA walker. As it exploded, Gray Fox then used the resulting force to propel him upwards even more, blade moving right for Adam's throat. Quickly Adam brought Wilt in front of him, the two swordsmen locking blades for a third time, this time doing so mid-air. Adam grit his teeth as they pushed against one another, rage overtaking every fibre of his being.

"Your blade is used in hate." Gray Fox spoke, his voice calm but backed with conviction. "It controls you, not the other way around, and that is why you will lose."

"Shut up!" Adam snarled as he let go of his sword with his left hand and threw a savage haymaker.

But to the master soldier and CQC expert Gray Fox, such an attack was more than child's play. With only a slight tilt of his head, Gray Fox slipped the punch, and his own off hand shot right for Adam's face, striking much faster and much more precisely than Adam. In an instant, Fox's index finger and thumb slipped into Adam's undamaged eye socket. Talking hold of the sensory organ, Gray Fox pulled.

Adam's roar echoed over the battlefield, howling in pain as Gray Fox gouged his remaining good eye. Adam then broke the blade lock and brought his hand to his face as he screamed, unable to resist as Gray Fox then wrapped his legs around the teen's waist. Gray Fox then bent backwards, spinning in mid air as he used his legs and the momentum of the turn to fling Adam to the ground.

Adam's body crashed into the stone ground of Korriban, fracturing it and creating a decently sized crater. The impact completely shattered Adam's Aura, as well as dozens of his bones. Adam barely moved his hand, desperately trying to claw his way out of the crater, when Gray Fox impaled him with a downward thrust of his Fox Blade, landing on top of him. Gasping as Gray Fox ran him through, Adam was helpless as he felt his energy leave his body, and he died for a second time.

Pulling himself off the corpse, Gray Fox withdrew his blade and shook his head as he looked at the body of Adam. "Foolish boy. You were not ready for the level of violence I have lived through." Fox then glanced at Adam's weapon, the katana Wilt and gun-scabbard Blush. "These weapons were wasted on you." Fox then took the red bladed katana for himself, tying the scabbard to his waist, and moved to finish his task of destroying the rest of the artillery.

Sarah Lyons, Thane Krios, and their accompanying Geth Primes rode their elevator to the observation post at the top of the Citadel of Chaos. Thane had one hand on his pistol and the other on his lightsaber, while Sarah held her supersledge. It was going to be close quarters in the observation tower, and Sarah knew her gatling laser was going to be unwieldy.

The elevator doors pinged open, and the duo were greeted with the sight not unlike an aircraft control tower in either of their universes. It was a somewhat spacious, octagonal room, with large windows on each of the eight walls, filled with computers and holographic projectors giving them a view of the entire battlefield. The elevator was in the center of the room, attached to a column that probably supported the whole structure, and when it opened up every eye turned to face them.

Within the tower were two figures that both Sarah and Thane recognized. The blue skinned, red eyed form of Grand Admiral Thrawn, wearing a set of Shadow Trooper armor, with his helmet as his side, along with a full squad of Shadow Troopers. Next to him was Kai Leng, Cerberus assassin and Dark Jedi, accompanied by a dozen regular stormtroopers who manned the various computers and communication equipment.

There was a brief moment of silence between the two parties. No words were traded, as none of the warriors present were ones for pre-fight banter. Then the observation tower exploded with violence. The stormtroopers and Geth Primes traded blaster fire and mass effect rounds, soldiers on both sides dropping. The Imperials outnumbered the Geth greatly, but the synthetic juggernauts were able to tank the blaser plasma bolts and return fire.

Meanwhile, Thane moved for Kai Leng, the two assassins activating their lightsabers as they charged against one another. Focusing his Aura into his legs, Thane shot himself at Leng, deflecting blaster bolts as he performed a leaping slash at the assassin. But Leng was fast, far faster than he was after their last duel in the Citadel. Stepping back with a pirouette, Leng easily dodged Thane's attack and flowed into his own counter thrust. Thane swiftly brought up his blade to block, crossing blades with the assassin.

"I've killed you once before Frogman, and I'll do it again." Kai Leng growled out as their blades pressed against each other.

"As I recall, I was terminally ill and still stopped you from reaching your target." Thane countered as he pushed his blade forward. "And now, my powers have more than doubled since the last time we met."

Leng smirked. "Twice the pride, double the fall." Kai Leng then let go of his lightsaber with his off hand and extended it towards Thane, sending the Drell flying backwards with a Force Push.

Thane soared through the air, eventually slamming into one of the glass windows of the observation tower. The impact sent spider web cracks through the reinforced safety glass as Thane slid down the window. As his feet touched the ground, Thane saw a rapidly approaching flashing light, and saw that Kai Leng had thrown his lightsaber at him. The crimson lightsaber then impaled itself in the window as Thane had seemingly vanished into thin air.

His cybernetic eyes widening as Thane disappeared, Leng's precognitive danger sense spiked, warning him of an attack from behind. Immediately the assassin spun and activated the kinetic barrier within his cybernetic right arm, blocking a sneak attack from Thane's lightsaber as the Drell had blinked behind him.

While Kai Leng's handheld barrier focused on stopping Thane's lightsaber, Thane then raised the pistol that was in his off hand and shoved the barrel into Leng's stomach. Thane pulled the trigger three times and three bullets struck true. Leng roared as the impacts slammed into his body armor, one shot making a clean entry wound. He then took the pain, and used it to fuel his anger and his power.

With a cry of hate, Leng sent Thane flying backwards once more as a wave of telekinetic Force energy exploded from his body. As Thane soared through the air he used his enhanced reflexes to right himself and land on his feet. Meanwhile, Leng recalled his lightsaber back to him, leaving the two assassins to stare each other down again.

While the two assassins settled their grudge match, Thrawn immediately threw on his own helmet, and blended in perfectly with the Shadow Troopers protecting him. It was in fact so perfect that Sarah almost immediately lost track of where Thrawn was in the group of Shadow Troopers, as they not only looked the same but moved in the exact same way as well. Raising her super sledge and boosting her kinetic barrier to the max, Sarah charged the Shadow troopers with two Primes behind her.

The Shadow Troopers opened fire on Sarah, but between her kinetic barriers, her Aura, and the X-01 power armor itself, Sarah completely ignored the blaster bolts as she charged forward. Closing in on the nearest Shadow Trooper, Sarah swung her super sledge, slamming into the commando's torso. The Shadow Trooper's breastplate and ribcage folded inward with the strike, killing him instantly.

But the rest of the troopers took that opportunity to move and circle around Sarah, blasting her all the while. Raising her arm to protect her face, Sarah felt her defenses drain as the Shadow Troopers pinned her down. The Primes behind her returned fire to cover her, killing two of the commandos with their sustained fire. The Shadow troopers then shifted focus to them, hitting them with heavy blaster fire that overwhelmed their kinetic barriers.

One of the Shadow Troopers then pulled out a grenade from his belt and threw it at the Primes. The oversized synths were unable to move away in time as the grenade then exploded with a blast of Ion energy, completely destroying the internal circuitry of the Geth.

This however, provided Sarah the opportunity to get out of the line of fire and charge once more. Swinging her super sledge, Sarah caved in the head head of another Shadow Trooper, hoping she killed Thrawn with that attack.

"Wrong one." the Admiral's voice rang out

Sarah's hopes were dashed as she heard Thrawn taunt her, his voice sounding like it was coming from everywhere in the room at once, keeping her from figuring out where the source was.

"You fight like the Rebels in my galaxy." Thrawn continued. "Always rushing in, guns blazing, without thought or tactics to your actions."

"Killing your men one by one sounds like a good tactic to me!" Sarah shouted out to the air as she charged at the Shadow Troopers, but they retreated while firing, keeping out of Sarah's range and forcing her to hunker down once more.

Thrawn's voice then spoke from all around Sarah once more. "Ah yes, CQC. A tactic favored by insurgents such as you and your Commander Shepard. I have prepared for such."

As Thrawn spoke, Sarah heard a beeping. Looking down at the body of the Shadow Trooper next to her, Sarah saw an item on his belt flashing a red light. Sarah didn't think twice, knowing what she was looking at the moment she saw it. She jumped backwards as the Shadow Trooper's body was engulfed in flames.

Stumbling back, Sarah was injured, but still alive. The detotionation took out a decent chunk of her Aura, and shredded her power armor's left arm, completely destroying the plating and exposing the exoskeleton beneath. As the Shadow Troopers then pushed on Sarah, the Sentinel decided to fall back, moving towards the remaining Geth Primes who were engaging the conventional Imperial Stormtroopers.

Moving behind a holographic computer console for cover, Sarah then switched to her gatling laser and let loose. She along with the Primes traded fire with the Imperials, both sides peeking in and out of cover as they attacked.

As Sarah fired, she glanced to her side and looked at the hologram next to her. The hologram, a projection of the battlefield outside, showed Rylanor the Ancient One destroying an AT-AT, sending it toppling to the ground as his power claw sheared through its foot. She then watched as the Covenant and Imperial forces in the center of the battlemap began to retreat.

"Well, would you look at that Admiral? Looks like your forces are being driven back!" Sarah tauanted.

None of the Shadow Troopers broke rank to look at any monitors or projections. Sarah was only slightly disappointed by that, as Thrawn didn't fall for the bait and reveal himself. He must've had some way to check the battlefield though, as his voice once again echoed.

"Ah yes. It appears your allies have pushed back the weakest point in my defensive line, overextending themselves and leaving them vulnerable for my counter attack."

Before Sarah could call bullsh*t on Thrawn, she watched as the hologram suddenly changed. From the ground level of the Citadel, a mass of black flooded out. Grimm, hundreds if not thousands moving right for the Legion and the Geth. From within the Citadel, she then watched as a massive Grimm Wyvern lumbered out, before taking to the skies as well. And if that wasn't enough, several Imperial Shuttles had taken off as well, leaving the Citadel's airfield and moving towards the battlefield.

"Our Dark Lord has been busy." Thrawn casually added on. "And has recruited a force of villains similar to your own. Let's see if your friends have what it takes to survive the oncoming onslaught."

Chapter 36

Chapter Text

Sgt. Johnson pumped his shotgun, ejecting the spent shell that took off the head of a Brute that was charging him. Back in his universe, Johnson knew engaging a Brute in CQC was a tossup not in his favor, even with his shotgun. But with the upgraded T-45d power armor Sarah gave him, he was able to take a hit from the giant monkeys and return the favor in spades.

The fighting on Johnson's left flank had slowed to a crawl, turning into a grueling battle of trench warfare between the two sides. The Imperials and Covenant were too set in and Johnson's company didn't have the necessary armor and firepower to break through. But that was fine with the Marine. His job wasn't to wipe out the enemy he was facing, but to hold them back and keep them from flanking Tassadar's push in the center.

The brief moment Johnson had to recover was interrupted as several superheated spikes landed around him, one of them smacking into his left shoulder pauldron, only stopping due to the armor's Mass Effect barriers. Johnson looked at his shoulder in confusion. The angle of the spike, along with the matching angles of the spikes around him, showed that the attack came from above.

Looking up, Johnson saw a squad of Jump Pack Brutes, flying right for him. "Brutes, up high!" Johnson shouted, raising his shotgun as he blasted upwards.

The Geth around him all similarly raised their pulse rifles and opened fire as well. Several of the Brutes fell out of the sky, but the rest were able to maneuver their jump packs, dodging the gunfire and returning fire with their spikers. Several Geth around Johnson died as the spikes broke their mass effect barriers and pierced their platforms. The aerial attack forced Johnson to hunker down, picking up a destroyed piece of a metallic barrier with his enhanced strength and using it as a shield.

As a dozen super heated spikes impaled themselves into the sheet, the familiar crack of a revolver rang out, followed by the sounds of bodies hitting the ground. Peering past the barrier, Johnson saw the dead Brutes and dropped his makeshift shield.

"I have to say." a voice snarked from behind Johnson, "I love the aliens of your world. I mean seriously, flying monkeys? This is something right out of Oz."

Johnson rolled his eyes as he picked up his shotgun. "Damnit Buck, take this seriously."

"Buck?" Cayde asked as he walked up to the Sergeant. "Who the Hell is Buck?"

Johnson had to do a double take as he looked at the Exo now in front of him. "Uh sorry, mistook you for someone I knew. Doesn't matter now. You have an update for me?"

Deciding to ignore Johnson's confusion, Cayde moved straight to business. "The Imperial armor stopped Rylanor's push. He got pretty far but the blitzkrieg failed."

"Damnit." Johnson shook his head. "Well, regardless, all we need to do is buy time. As long as we can keep the attention of Chaos on us, we're doing our job. Best thing we can do now is keep this war of attrition going, grind down both sides while Shepard and the others do their thing."

As Johnson finished his sentence, the sound of heavy motors and grinding metal echoed through the valley. Turning their heads to the source, Johnson and Cayde saw several massive blast doors at the base of the Citadel open up, and from within a veritable flood of black mass rushed out as Chaos was now releasing their Grimm. At the same time, leading this horde, the mighty Grimm Wyvern lumbered out, taking to the skies as it was joined by three Imperial Shuttles who were flying in to reinforce the army of Chaos.

"Huh." Cayde shrugged as he watched this all occur. "You know, normally it's me that jinxes everyone like that." He looked at Johnson. "Weird to see this from the outside."

"Goddamnit." Johnson swore under his breath. "Everyone, fall back to the Center line! We're forming up with Tassadar!"

Then, the Legionnaires all watched as a squadron of three Imperial shuttles flew from the Citadel and towards the battlefield. The squadron then split apart, one shuttle heading for the left flank, one to the right, and one to the center. On the left flank, Johnson watched as the Imperial shuttle opened up its rear hatch, and the familiar sight of a silver furred, mohawked Brute leapt out, flanked by several bodyguard Brutes.

Meanwhile, the Geth under Johnson's command continued to backpedal, firing their guns in a fighting retreat as they pulled back. Quickly however, they realized speed was more favorable and abandoned the fighting retreat for simply sprinting towards Tassadar's forces. Many of the Geth attempted to follow, but many more were too slow and overwhelmed by the oncoming tide of both Grimm and Brutes.

As they ran, Johnson saw that T3's AT-TE, which was immobilized earlier in the battle while fighting the AT-AT, was now being swarmed by Grimm.

"When it goddamn rains…" Johnson grumbled as he turned to Cayde. "Cayde, I need you to take what Stalkers you have left and go save T3!"

Cayde glanced at the AT-TE being overwhelmed, and then to the rampaging Tartarus behind them. "Uh, I can do that, but you sure you wanna tango with tall, silver, and ugly all by yourself?"

"I can handle him." Johnson said with a nod. "Now go. I'll meet up with Tassadar."

"Roger that." Cayde said with a two finger salute. Whistling, Cayde called his Geth Stalkers to him, and they began rapidly making their way to T3's walker.

As Cayde broke off from the sergeant, Johnson heard a roar from behind him as the fleeing Exo seemed to only embolden Tartarus.

"Human!" The Chieftain of Chieftains roared. "You shall not escape me!"

Johnson however, was not particularly interested in fighting Tartarus head on and kept running as he taunted, "I put you down once already mohawk, I can do it again!"

At the sergeant's provocation, Tartarus roared and to Johnson's surprise, leapt dozens of feet into the air, way beyond what he'd seen other brutes do. It only took a brief moment for Johnson to realize that Tartarus had been strengthened by the Amalgamation, granting him some control over the Dark Side of the Force like he did with Skull Face and Kai Leng.

Tatartus landed from his Force empowered leap right next to Johnson, creating a telekinetic shockwave that sent the human marine flying despite the fact that he was weighed down by his power armor. After a graceless landing, Johnson groaned as he slowly picked himself up. Still on all fours, Johnson looked up as the sound of heavy footfalls beside him. Grinning as he landed, Tatarus approached Johnson with his gravity hammer in both his hands.

"The Arbiter isn't here to save you this time, human." the chieftain said through a savage grin as he raised his weapon up.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning slammed into the Brute's body, sending him flying backwards. Johnson then felt a large hand lift him up as Tassadar and his Geth had moved to meet the sergeant halfway.

"The Arbiter may not be here, but we are." Tassadar cooly said as Wynne also appeared beside him. Johnson felt some of the fatigue and battle damage leave him as Wynne cast a healing spell on him.

Tartarus rolled himself off the ground, fur smoking from the psi-lightning, but still alive and combat ready. Snarling Tartarus roared as he charged at Tassadar, the Dark Side enhanced Brute meeting the Psionic Protoss in a vicious melee. As they dueled, Tassadar easily took the advantage as Wynne began buffing him with magic, increasing his speed and strength.

However, as Wynne began casting another spell, a bolt of red lightning struck her, sending her backwards. Johnson turned towards the source of the attack and fired off his shotgun, his shells hitting an older blonde woman wearing plate armor that was reinforced with blood red crystals wielding a sword made of the same material.

"Meredith Stannard!? The Templar Commander of Kirkwall!?" Wynne shouted in recognition as she picked herself up, her Aura and armored robes keeping the attack from wounding her too bad. "What are you doing fighting for Chaos? Your order is dedicated to fighting for the good of others, to protect others from demons, not join them!"

"In my eyes, killing all mages like yourself is for the good of all other." Meredith spoke dispationally as she pointed her Red Lyrium sword at Wynne, ready to charge.

Before she could, a flashing red beam of light appeared on her chest. Meredith saw this, and immediately turned towards the source, sword raised to block. As she did, a massive laser beam impacted the Red Lyrium sword, which began to glow crimson as Meredith blocked it, before she was forced to side step and dodge the attack.

"You know, normally I'd have some reservation about kicking an old woman's ass." Johnson shouted as he aimed down his Spartan Laser, the barrel still smoking from his previous attack. "But you seem crazy enough that I'll make an exception."

Further into the battlefield, the armored convoy that made the speartip of the Legion's attack fought a savage battle against the torrential flood of Grimm. The Geth Armatures and Colossi fired their plasma as fast as they could, and while they scored many kills, the slow rate of fire kept them from killing enough. Not designed for melee combat, the Geth were being made short work of as the Geth walkers were soon overwhelmed by Beowolves' and Ursai's claws.

"Fall before me, Daemons!" Rylanor boomed as his assault cannon roared across the battlefield.

The multi-barreled firearm attached to Rylanor's right arm unleashed a torrent of slugs that ripped through the Grimm. The Ancient One's barrage cut down hundreds of Grimm and as the mere Ursai and Beowolves had no defense against the terrifying technology of the 30th millennium.

But for every Grimm Rylanor scythed down, ten more would take its place. It was as if the entirety of the Grimm population in the Final Destination was being released on the Legion. As Rylanore continued to shoot, he noticed too late as the Grimm Wyvern descended from above, grabbing onto the cybernetic walker with its two massive talons.

Usings its massive size and momentum, the Wyvern was able to rip Rylanor off the ground and fling him away. Rylanor flew gracelessly through the sky, crashing back to the earth several hundred meters away. With the dreadnought removed, the rest of the Geth armor had little to no chance of fending off the oncoming Grimm.

T3-M4 worked as fast as he could repairing the AT-TE, but the impact of the Imperial's laser from the previous fight had done more damage than he could easily fix. While the Geth troopers fired their laser cannons and mass drivers in all directions, slaughtering Grimm, the AT-TE itself was still immobile, and vulnerable to the horde bearing down on it.

As T3 rerouted a power cable to try and bring energy by the leg's servos, a series of thuds impacted the AT-TE, followed by the sounds of savage roars and rending metal as the Grimm began to claw their way into the walker. It seemed that the Grimm had managed to make it past the gunners of the AT-TE and began attacking them directly.

A beowulf then broke its way through the reinforced glass canopy of the AT-TE's co*ckpit, tearing apart the Geth platform that was piloting the walker. As the Grimm began to rampage within, T3 immediately spun around and fired off his plasma thrower, a stream of super heated gas incinerating the Grimm. He then began to burn the area around the co*ckpit as well, creating a wall of flames that prevented the Grimm from entering, while the heat, smoke, and gasses wouldn't affect the synthetic crew as long as they stayed away from the flames themselves.

Calculations ran through T3's artificial intelligence on what to do next. Before he could come to a conclusion however, a series of gunshots and high powered mass effect rounds rang out, and the Grimm currently mounting the walker all let out pained cries as they died.

"Hey little guy, we got you a way out!" Cayde-6 shouted over the radio.

T3 sent out a beep of acknowledgement, but at the same time also came to a conclusion. The Geth armor had been completely overwhelmed, and once the Grimm destroyed them, they would move on and overwhelm the rest of the Legion. Unless their attack was stopped, the Legion was going to lose the ground battle. Unfortunately for T3, the only way he could stop all the Grimm now was with a high-yield bomb to cleanse the entire area, which T3 didn't have.

What T3 did have however, was a high-yield energy reactor that powered the now crippled AT-TE. It didn't even take milliseconds for T3 to make his choice. The droid sent Cayde a short response in a series of beeps and whistles, which translated into a simple message,Negative. Detonating Fusion Core. Get to safe distance. Good Luck.

There was silence over the radio as T3 got to work overloading the AT-TE's reactor core. After a few seconds, Cayde finally spoke.

"Gotcha." The exo somberly said. "Give 'em Hell, T3." Cayde then began shouting to the Geth around him. "Alright fall back, everyone fall back!"

As Cayde and his Geth fell back, T3 continued to disable security systems on the AT-TE. Coolant systems were disabled while power generation was set to overdrive. Grimm were already clawing at the walker once more, replacing those which were taken out by Cayde, cutting off any avenues of escape for T3.

Not that T3 had planned on escaping anyways. As the Grimm sliced through the armored hull, hacking their way through the remains of the AT-TE, T3 crossed the final wires and his world was filled with white.

Cayde-6 winced as he watched the AT-TE burst into flames, the explosion annihilating everything around it for hundreds of meters. Luckily for the Legion that meant thousands of Grimm were now nothing more than black dust and ash. However, that also meant that the little droid had no way of surviving the detonation.

Cayde shook his head, lamenting on how completely they fell into Chaos's trap. Chaos had let them push forward so aggressively with their attack. They sacrificed the lives of hundreds of Covenant and Imperial soldiers just to let the Legion overextend themselves. And they did, they trapped them with an overwhelming number of Grimm.

But thanks to T3's sacrifice, a huge chunk of the Grimm were wiped out, and any momentum the forces of Chaos had was now gone. What was left of the Grimm were scattered, running about without objective or leadership, some even attacking fellow Imperials or Covenant who bled too much negative emotions. Now was the perfect time for the Legion to rally and push forward once more.

Before Cayde could start to gather any of the Geth around him or fall back to the others however, a voice roared out.

"Guardian!" the deep, bassy voice shouted out.

Suddenly the area around Cayde was suffused with explosions and rockets began carpet bombing the area. Cayde dove to the side, using his superhuman reflexes to dance around the explosions. Once the bombardment stopped, Cayde looked up and saw who was attacking him.

It was the huge, white armored Cabal, flying with a jetpack in the shape of a pair of wings that Cayde immediately recognized as Ghaul, the Dominus of the Red Legion who nearly destroyed the Last City. Flying beside him were several flying Stormtroopers, armed with rocket launchers. It seemed that Ghaul was the passenger within the shuttle moving for the center of the Legion's push, and had now elected to join the battle as well.

Before Cayde could say anything, Ghaul then coated himself with Solar fire and formed a savage looking sword in his left hand. Ghaul threw the blade at Cayde, the weapon exploding on the ground in a burst of heat as Cayde dodged and rolled away. As he did, the Jet Troopers following Ghaul opened fire, trading blows with the Geth Snipers and Stalkers accompanying Cayde.

As Cayde dodged another explosive sword with a graceful flip, Cayde drew the Ace of Spades mid jump and fired it twice. Two bullets flew at supersonic speeds, the first hitting a sword flying right for Cayde, detonating it in mid-air. The second sped through the smoke, and slammed directly into Ghaul's forehead, staggering the mighty Dominus.

Seeing that Ghaul was stunned, Cayde fanned the hammer and fired off several more shots at him as he emptied his cylinder. Ghaul however, being the veteran warrior he was, was quick to recover. Shifting his power from Solar to Void, a purple energy shield formed itself around Ghaul, protecting him from Cayde's bullets.

Cayde hissed as he flipped open his revolver's cylinder and reloaded, watching as the energy around Ghaul then shifted from Void to Arc, crackling coils of electricity surrounding the Cabal. Focusing his powers into his hands, Ghaul then flung a ball of pure lightning at Cayde. But Cayde wouldn't be caught by such a slow attack, as he drew a throwing knife from his belt, coating it Solar fire, and threw it. The two projectiles met halfway, resulting in an explosion of energy and sent shockwaves out, staggering both fighters.

"Guardian!" Ghaul boomed out once more as he looked down on Cayde. "I look forward to tearing you limb from limb for Lord Nihilus."

Glaring at the flying Cabal, Cayde smirked and said, "You know, I'm surprised that the great Dominus Ghaul would bow to anyone."

"Lord Nihilus has opened my eyes to true power." Ghaul spoke reverently. "He has shown me power beyond anything the Traveler could give. And for killing you and all of your disgusting ilk, it will be mine as well"

The smile immediately left Cayde's face as he scowled at Ghaul . "You know, I was always disappointed I never got to put a bullet into that fat head of yours for what you did to the Traveler. Not to mention, I just watched a friend die. So I'm going to take my time killing you, and I'm sure as Hell going to enjoy it."

Back on the right flank of the battlefield, Six and Church watched as the last of the Imperial shuttles hovered above them. The shuttle's doors opened, and out of its loading bay, a human wearing white-colored Mjolnir Armor and armed with a brute shot looked down at the Six and the AI.

"Oh f*ck! Oh f*ck that's the Meta!" Church screamed as Six raised his shotgun and fired off several shots at the ex-Freelancer.

The slugs bounced off the Meta's shields, the former elite mercenary ignoring the rounds as he leapt out of the shuttle and dove right for Six. As Church switched Six's armor enhancement to his speed and agility boost, Six rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the Meta's fist that created a small crater in the ground.

Dashing forward, Six threw two punches, a quick jab followed by a cross. Both strikes hit their mark, but the Meta only seemed to ignore them as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Six in a bear hug. Six tried to break out, but to his shock, he found that the Meta was stronger than him. The Meta then lifted the Spartan-III off his feet and body slammed him into the ground.

Six bounced off the ground as the Meta then planted his armored boot into Six's stomach, sending him flying backwards with a kick. As he rolled back, Six was able to spin back up, and as he did he drew his pistol that was holstered at his hip. He fired off several rounds at the Meta, who continued to ignore the punishment as he aimed his Brute Shot at the Spartan.

"Bubble shield!" Six shouted, and Church immediately complied.

Smacking his fist on the ground, the dome of blue energy appeared, protecting Six from the alien grenades. As the rounds detonated, a cloud of smoke appeared around Six, obscuring his view as the bubble shield faded.

Glancing at his motion tracker, Six saw a red dot rapidly approach him. Dropping his stance low, Six then met the charging Meta head on, the two tackling each other like football linebackers. When Six felt himself get pushed back, he then called upon his Semblance, Feral Wolf, drastically increasing his physical strength and speed. Roaring, the two supersoldiers began swinging their fists into each other, each bone breaking hit, echoing throughout the battlefield.

The Meta swung first, throwing two wild haymakers that had his full power behind them. But Six's enhanced reflexes and extensive hand to hand training allowed him to dodge the blows, easily slipping beneath them. As he dropped low, Six used the momentum of him shooting upwards to add onto the power of his left hook, which slammed right into the Meta's liver.

The impact caused the Meta to slightly crumple, lowering his guard just enough for Six to shoot his hands past the Meta's and get into a clinch. Wrapping his arms behind the Meta's neck, Six then twisted, flipping the Metal over him with a hip throw. The Freelancer hit the ground with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of dust at the impact.

With the Meta on the ground in front of him, Noble-Six raised his boot into the air to crush his head with a curb stomp. Six brought his foot down hard, looking to mercilessly execute the Meta. But before the boot could connect, the Meta caught Six's foot, his brute strength stopping the attack completely.

Despite all of his weight and strength behind the stomp, Six found himself unable to overpower the Meta. The Meta then used his immense power to fling Six away. Six soared through the air, making it several meters before he impacted a nearby cliff face.

"Oh Goddamnit." Church swore, but Six could barely hear him through the ringing of his ears as he slowly pushed himself up and forward. "It looks like the Meta is using Tex's strength enhancement. The Imperials must've somehow gotten him access to all of his Freelancer equipment again."

"What does he have?" Six asked as he slowly picked himself up.

"Uh let's see, super strength, invisibility, bubble shield, time distortion…" Church listed off as he counted on his fingers.

Six turned to the hologram, incredulous. "Time distortion?"

But before Church could answer, the Meta instantaneously appeared in front of Six as if he teleported. Caught unawares, the Meta hooked Six across the face with a heavy punch. Six staggered back, rocked by the strike, and unable to resist as the Meta shot forward and moved behind Six. Dropping low, the Meta then wrapped his arms around Six's waist and bent himself over backwards, slamming Six's head into the ground with a German Suplex.

The force of the suplex would've pulverized a regular human, and for thrice-enhanced superhuman like Six, it still would've snapped his neck. However, Church operated at a speed faster than even the Meta worked, and between the time the Meta picked up Six and when Six's head hit the ground, Church activated Six's Armor Lock. Six impacted the hard stone below but took no actual damage from the throw.

While Six was unable to move, Church took the opportunity to sneak a comment to him. "Yeah the Meta can kinda stop time."

Six groaned as his armor lock deactivated. "Ughh… that's bullsh*t."

With Six now vulnerable to damage once more, the Meta grabbed his Brute Shot off his back and stabbed downward with the blade. But before Six could find himself impaled on the wrong end of the alien grenade launcher, a shot rang out. The Meta found himself moving through the air as Sev fired a round from his Widow Sniper Rifle and scored a hit directly on the Meta's spine, knocking him off Six.

Sev pulled the bolt back on his rifle, quickly ejecting the spent thermal clip as he aimed to fire again, but the Meta twisted and with one hand aimed his grenade launcher at the clone commando. Dodge rolling, Sev was able to avoid a high explosive death, but he also lost his opportunity to shoot. The grenades then kicked up sand and dust in addition to their own explosive clouds, and by the time they cleared, the Meta was gone.

"He's invisible!" Church yelled out as Six picked himself back up. Meanwhile Sev moved back to back with the Spartan-III and switched to his regular DC-17m blaster.

"Find him!" Six barked out as he raised his fists, ready to instantly react the moment the Meta reappeared.

He didn't have to wait long, because after only a few brief seconds the Meta reappeared directly in front of Sev, swinging his Brute Shot to decapitate the clone. Sev was barely able to dodge as he bent backwards, almost falling to the ground as he did. Before the Meta could follow up, Six instantly spun around and threw a roundhouse kick at the Freelancer.

Letting go of the Brute Shot, the Meta was able to catch the kick, hooking Six's leg with the crook of his arm. The Meta then raised his opposite arm into the air, aiming to break Six's leg with an elbow strike. But before he could actually bring his arm down, Sev had managed to recover and began an attack of his own.

Extending the knuckle plate vibro blade from his gauntlet, Sev lunged forward, stabbing the knife into the Meta's leg, just above the knee plate. The vibro blade easily cut through the black undersuit, drawing blood and causing the Meta to roar in pain. Sev wasn't done yet however. As he stood, Sev yanked the vibro blade out of the Meta's leg and drove it forward once more, this time slipping the blade into the unarmored ribs beneath the Meta's breastplate.

The blade sunk deep, biting through both flesh and bone. But this only seemed to enrage the Meta further. Bringing both hands onto the leg of Noble-Six that he still held, the Meta twisted and lifted Six off the ground, swinging him at Sev. Sev, who was shocked at the fact the Meta could do that, wasn't fast enough to dodge the blow as the Meta bludgeoned the clone with his teammate.

The Meta let go of Six as the two Legionnaires collided, both falling a few feet away from the impact. Bending down to pick up his Brute Shot, the Meta reloaded his weapon and unleashed another volley of explosives.

"Church!" Six shouted as he picked himself up.

"On it!" the AI immediately replied as a bubble shield formed around the three of them, protecting them from the attack.

While Sev writhed on the ground, Six readied himself once more. Meanwhile, seeing his gun wasn't working the Meta holstered his Brute Shot and charged into melee as the bubble shield deactivated. The Meta leapt and swung with a heavy haymaker. Six easily slipped the punch, and countered with a jab of his own. When the probing punch connected, snapping the Meta's head back, Six continued his assault, following up with a right cross and a left hook.

The punches all hit their marks, beating the Meta back. Following the Spartan's final punch, the Meta's guard dropped slightly, allowing Six to wrap his hands around the Meta's neck in a clinch once more. Dragging the Meta's head down, Six simultaneously brought his knee up, smashing it into the Meta's visor. The knee rocked the Meta, sending him staggering backwards.

Before the Meta could get too far away from the Spartan, Six shouted, "Church, speed boost!"

The safety limiters on his Mjolnir armor disabled, Six ran forward at speeds that could only be matched by the fastest of the Spartan-IIs. Six then jumped in the air, throwing a superman punch right for the Meta, adding the speed of the sprint to the force of his strike. But the moment before Six's fist connected once more with the Meta, he froze. From Six's perspective, he was still sailing through the air, about to punch through the Meta's helmet. But from the Meta's perspective, Six and the rest of the battlefield were frozen statutes as he stopped time.

Knowing he didn't have much time, the Meta unholstered his Brute Shot from his back. Winding back, the Meta then focused all of his natural strength and the power from his Strength Enhancement mod, and slashed forward. Backed with such power, the alien blade cut through the immobile Six, slicing through both his armor and his Aura while he was helpless to do anything about it.

Before Six could even realize what happened, the Spartan was flying backwards with his armor systems all blaring warnings about critical damage. He then crashed into a stony cliff face, the force of the impact creating a crater in the rocky wall and ground. Six groaned as he looked down at his wound, the massive gorge in his armor cutting deep into his flesh. Blood began pouring out of both his mouth and the cut as he slowly brought a shaky hand up to his torso.

"sh*t!" Church cursed as he appeared in front of Six, looking at the damage. "Hold on Six, I'm putting out a distress beacon! Dammit why doesn't your suit have a healing unit!?"

But before Church could say anything more, a flash of movement caught his sensors. Turning, Church watched as the Meta's Brute Shot spun through the air, flying in a straight line right for Six.

"Dodge!" Church cried out.

The Spartan attempted to shift, but only moved a few inches before the blade found its mark. The heavy blade of the Brute Shot sunk into Six's chest, impaling him and pinning him to the wall. Six could hear Church yelling at him to move and get up, but the words were dull and muted, and Six could feel himself lose control of his body as his limbs went numb.

While Six bled out, the Meta slowly approached him. Standing over the fallen Spartan, the Meta stared at his foe in silence. What was going through the Meta's mind, Six could only guess. Then, without reservation, the Meta ripped the Brute Shout out of Six's shoulder, eliciting a pained gasp from the Spartan as the Meta raised his weapon high. Shakily, Six raised his head, his visor meeting the Meta's as they stared at one another. Without a word, the Meta then brought his weapon down, intent on executing his opponent.

Moments before the blade fell however, Church's hologram appeared between Six and the Meta. "Wait! Wait wait wait!"

The Meta stopped his attack mid-swing, and stared intently at the AI. The Freelancer AI had been the focus of the Meta's obsessions for years, and it was impossible for him to ignore Epsilon when he was right in front of him.

"Look, I know that you're here to kick our asses to next Tuesday, but you also only talk in grunts so…" Church said as he tried to buy time. "I'm just going to say this one line for you." At that very moment, Church saw a red laser dot appear on the Meta's torso. "Oh! Son of a bitch!"

The sound of a sniper rifle echoed over the battlefield as Sev, who had recovered and picked up his weapon once more, fired his weapon right at the Meta's head. The bullet struck true and what was once the Meta's breastplate exploded into a cloud of blood, bone, and metallic fragments.

The Meta staggered back, hands twitching as he looked down at the gaping hole in his chest. It was at that moment Six, got his second wind. Fighting through the pain, Six shot up and ripped the Brute Shot out of the Meta's hands. The Meta, far too wounded, was unable to resist as Six then flipped the grenade launcher around and drove the bladed bayonet into the Meta and through the ex-Freelancer's heart.

Both Six and the Meta fell to the ground, Spartan-B312 falling face first. Church called out to Sev for help, and the Clone Commando immediately made it over to his fallen comrade with medkit already in hand. Sev flipped his friend over and began applying Medi-gel to the wound.

But Sev grimaced as he applied the first aid. This wound was bad, the Brute Shot piercing one of Six's lungs and destroying his rib cage. It wasn't something that Medi-gel alone could fix. Maybe Wynne could heal it, but she was nowhere close to them. Sev caught Six's eyes through his visor, and the Spartan only nodded. Six knew he was done for, there was no reason to waste supplies on him now.

"Hey Sev! Come on, Six's vitals are flatlining here, keep working!" Church cried out as Sev stopped his treatment.

"Church." Sev said quietly. "There's nothing I can do."

"What!? Oh come on, that's Bull! Six, hang in there buddy, we can get somebody else here!"

"Church…" Six rasped out, causing the AI to look at him. "It's… fine."

Church stared at Six blankly for several seconds, before his head fell forward, hanging in defeat. "God f*cking…" Church sighed, taking a deep breath before he stood straighter, and looked back at Six. "Six, this… this was worth it. We'll make this worth it."

Six only weakly nodded at the AI, before he slowly reached for the back of his helmet and pulled out Church's AI chip. He then looked to Sev and handed it over, the Clone taking it and gingerly placing it in his belt. "It's been an honor, Six." Sev quietly said.

"Finish… the fight." Six whispered out as all strength then left his body.

Sev looked down at Six for a few moments, when Church's hologram reappeared next to him.

"You want to say goodbye?" Sev asked the AI.

Church joined Sev in looking down, and after a few seconds said, "No. If we don't say goodbye, it's less like he's gone, and more like… he's just not here right now."

Sev was silent, contemplating Church's words. "Yeah… yeah." Was the only response he gave before he turned around and began making his way back to the others.

Despite their loss, there was still a battle going on, and they had to finish the fight no matter what.

Chapter 37

Chapter Text

Back in the Citadel of Chaos…

Thane pushed forward as he locked lightsabers with Kai Leng. His physical capabilities enhanced by his Aura, Thane pushed his own emerald blade closer and closer to Leng's throat. But before the Drell could perform his murder stroke, Leng drove his knee upwards and slammed it into Thane's stomach.

The strike knocked the wind out of Thane and sent him stumbling backwards. While the Drell was off-balance, Leng then reached out with the Force and grabbed onto him, pulling Thane forward. As Thane was forced to move towards Leng, Leng swung his lightsaber in hopes of killing the alien before he could recover his balance.

But as Leng brought his lightsaber down on Thane's head, the Drell disappeared, and Leng's telekinetic hold on him vanished. Leng hissed as Thane used his teleportation Semblance to once again escape his grasp. The Force then warned Kai Leng of danger behind him as the Drell Assassin reappeared at Kai Leng's back, ready to strike.

Kai Leng spun around as he brought his lightsaber up to block Thane's. Thane was far faster than the cyborg and launched two expertly placed strikes, the first aimed at Leng's thigh and the second at his throat. But while Thane was faster, the Force allowed Leng to feel the attacks coming, his prescience letting him keep up and deflect both strikes.

As Leng parried the strike from his throat, he then extended his off hand and shoved it towards Thane, sending out a wave of telekinetic energy to shove the assassin back once more. While Thane couldn't see the impulse of the Force, he could at least see Leng's arm. And so Thane pirouetted and got out of the way of Leng's extended limb, dodging the wave of telekinetic energy as it flew past him.

Moving with the momentum of the spin, Thane threw a low roundhouse kick, his Aura-reinforced shin slamming into Leng's thigh. Leng hissed in pain as the superpowered kick landed, causing his guard to drop as he staggered on one leg. Taking advantage of the situation Thane then lobbed a ball of biotic dark energy that slammed into Leng's chest, flinging him backwards with a Biotic Throw.

The Biotic Throw sent Leng flying back, and ironically slammed him into the same window that Leng had thrown Thane into previously. The spiderweb cracks that spread through the safety glass then shattered as Leng was thrown through the window and out of the tower. As Leng was defenestrated, Thane chased after him as he leaped out of the window as well.

Floating above his opponent, Thane brought his sword down on the cyborg, hoping to score a quick kill as Leng fell. Unfortunately, Leng was able to right himself at the last moment, and draw his own sword to block Thane's blow. As the two assassins locked blades in mid air, Leng made the first move to break the stalemate.

As they fell, Leng grabbed onto Thane's sleeve and twisted his body so they reversed positions, Thane now below him and falling to the ground first. Placing his hand on Thane's chest, Leng then shoved him down with a Force Push, sending Thane rocketing to the ground while Leng propelled himself up and to the top of the control tower.

Thane felt himself fall to the ground at well beyond terminal velocity. Thane tried to turn and right himself, to prepare some kind of landing strategy, but found great difficulty doing such maneuvers in free fall. As Thane reached the halfway point of the Citadel of Chaos however, a hand reached out and grabbed his own, stopping him dead.

It was only Thane's Aura and Drell physiology that kept his shoulder from popping out of its socket from the sudden stop. Looking at his hand, Thane saw a mechanical, human hand gripping his own in a vice grip. Following the robot arm up, he saw the form of Gray Fox, hanging on the outside of the Citadel itself.

"Need a hand?" Fox's synthetic voice hissed out as he pulled Thane up, who grabbed onto Fox's shoulder. "Need me to carry you up there?" he asked as he looked back up to the top of the tower.

Thane shook his head. "I can do you one better." calling on his Semblance, Gray Fox and Thane blinked out of existence and reappeared at the top of the tower, standing across from a very surprised Kai Leng.

Immediately, Leng dropped low into his battle stance as he activated his lightsaber once more, gaze flicking between his two opponents. Meanwhile Thane and Gray Fox dropped into their combat stances as well, Thane drawing his own lightsaber while Gray Fox drew both his Fox Blade and the red katana he had taken from Adam.

Leng's eyes shifted to the crimson blade Wilt as he said, "So you killed Adam? No matter, that sub-human boy was not really one of us. Your presence won't make a difference. None of you can stand against the storm of Chaos that is to come."

"You and Adam have far more in common than you think." Gray Fox commented as he crouched low, mirroring Leng's stance. Leng paused to allow Fox to elaborate. "You enjoy the sound of your voice far too much." Fox sniped as he dashed forward, Thane moving forward in tandem.

Kai Leng snarled as they advanced and extended this hand and fired off a Force Push at Thane. But before the impulse of telekinetic energy could hit him, Thane vanished.

"Predictable!" Leng shouted as he spun and raised his lightsaber to defend himself from Thane's sneak attack, as the assassin once more chose to blink behind Leng.

As they locked lightsabers however, Gray Fox took the opportunity to get close and swing his blades at the Cerberus assassin. Seeing the cyborg ninja attack, Kai Leng fired off another wave of telekinetic Force at Thane. At such a close distance, the Drell wasn't able to dodge and was blasted back.

His lightsaber now free, Kai Leng spun and swung his blade for the approaching Gray Fox. Not wanting to test either of his blades against the plasma of the lightsaber, Gray Fox stopped his attacks and dodged Leng's slash with a corkscrew flip. As Fox twisted over Leng's attack, time around him appeared to move at a relatively slow pace as his cyborg exo-skeleton allowed him to process the sensory data extremely quickly. It was slow enough that Gray Fox was able to extend his leg mid-flip and plant his foot right in Leng's stomach, kicking him backwards.

Leng soared through the air from Fox's superhuman kick, flying right for Thane who he blasted in the same direction a moment before. And unfortunately for Kai Leng, Thane had already recovered, and was ready for the follow up. As Leng flew in front of Thane, Thane strengthened his own leg with his Aura, and with a brutal front kick sent Leng skyward.

Now floating nearly 20 feet above the Citadel, Kai Leng did not get long to contemplate his life choices as Gray Fox jumped up and was hovering right beside him. Gray Fox had his leg raised high, and without hesitation dropped a mighty axe kick into Leng's stomach, sending him crashing back to the ground. Leng hit the top of the control tower with a dull thud, the strength of the kick denting the tower's metallic exterior.

Kai Leng groaned as he slowly pushed himself out of the impact crater. He spat out blood as he felt several of his ribs were broken, alongside one of his arms. Leng tried to use the pain to fuel his Force powers, but found himself unable to focus enough to funnel the pain correctly. The Force however, did warn him of danger. Turning, Kai Leng's eyes widened as he saw Thane once more behind him, lightsaber already in motion.

Too wounded already, the Cerberus assassin couldn't move fast enough as Thane drove his lightsaber into Leng's torso. Kai Leng gasped for air, eyes widening as they looked into Thane's unflinching gaze.

"Couldn't kill me alone, could you, Frog man?" Leng venomously spat out at Thane.

Thane however, was impassive as he responded. "I am an assassin." Thane then withdrew his lightsaber and with a flick of his wrist, decapitated Kai Leng. "I don't fight fair."

Thane deactivated his lightsaber as Kai Leng's body fell lifeless to the ground. Meanwhile, Gray Fox landed from his own leap and walked up to his ally.

"I have to say…" Gray Fox commented as he looked upon Leng's corpse. "After all that you and Shepard said about him, this guy was a bit of a push over. How did he kill you before?"

"Last we fought, I was dying and had half a working lung." Thane shrugged as he bent down to pick up Leng's lightsaber. Then Thane paused as he thought back more on his encounter with Leng during the Cerberus Coup. "Although perhaps I could've just shot him in the back of head when I snuck up on him, rather than getting close enough from him to disarm me."

Gray fox shrugged in return. "Hindsight has a way of clarifying many of one's mistakes."

Before they could exchange any more words, an explosion within the control tower rocked the ground beneath us. The two shared a glance and nodded, before rushing back down to aid Sarah in her fight.

While Thane and Kai Leng fought their duel, Sarah Lyons and Grand Admiral Thrawn continued their own battle to the death. Sarah struggled to hide the bulk of her armor behind the cover of a computer terminal as Shadow Troopers continued to fire at her. Glancing around, she saw that the majority of the Geth Primes she had brought with her were already down, and to make matters worse, she still didn't know where Thrawn was. The Chiss had disguised himself as one of his Shadow Trooper bodyguards, and combined with their cloaking devices, made it next to impossible for Sarah to pin him down.

Sarah grunted as another volley of baster fire flew overhead. While the Shadow Troopers kept her pinned, Sarah reached for her belt and pulled out a pulse grenade. Depressing the button at the top of the grenade, the explosive let out a sharp whine and glow as it primed. Sarah lobbed the grenade over her cover and near the commandos who were pinning her down.

"Grenade!" One of the cloaked shadow troopers shouted as Sarah heard one clatter to the ground.

Unfortunately for the troopers, when the grenade detonated, it didn't explode in a burst of shrapnel or plasma as they were expecting, but instead exploded with a wave of electromagnetic energy that slammed into them. The explosion didn't do much damage, if anything it might've given them a small shock. But what it did do was short circuit the Shadow Trooper's cloaking and energy shields, leaving them helpless on the ground.

Sarah roared at the opportunity, appearing above her cover while firing her gatling laser wildly. Two decloaked Shadow Troopers were scythed down in an instant, their body armor not enough to protect them from the rapid fire laser. A third charged at her while she killed his comrades, firing his own repeating blaster with his right hand as he primed a thermal detonator in his hand, ready to kamikaze.

The blaster bolts splashed off Sarah's power armor as she turned her head to face him. Letting go of the gatling laser, Sarah's mechanical powered hand shot out towards the approaching trooper, the steel digits wrapping around the entirety of the man's hand and forearm. Before the trooper could detonate the grenade, Sarah squeezed. Hard. The Shadow Trooper screamed out in pain as the pneumatic pistons crushed his armor, his hand, and the thermal detonator.

Sarah let go, causing the trooper to fall to his knees in shock. In a quick motion, Sarah ripped the helmet off of the Shadow Trooper, and to her disappointment, only saw the face of a middle aged human. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Sarah reared her fist back and the trooper's head vanished with a punch.

"Thrawn!" Sarah roared as she scanned the room for him. "Where are you!" Thrawn didn't answer, and there were no live Shadow Troopers left. Sarah wondered if she had gotten lucky and one of the troopers she previously killed was the Chiss.

Her musings were proven false as she was blasted forward by a wave of blue-white Ion energy slamming into her back. Sarah grunted as she fell to one knee. Similar to the pulse grenade, the ion blast didn't do much actual damage, but instead targeted the electronics of her power armor, sending the whole suit into failure.

"I've read about your so-called Brotherhood of Steel. At Least, what records my men could find within the Capital Wasteland." Thrawn's low, cold voice spoke from behind Sarah. "An order of quasi-religious knights who use their overwhelming technological superiority to protect others." Sarah continued to struggle within her suit to no avail as all of its systems shut down. "Effective, for your world. However, your overreliance on technology results in a critical weakness."

Thrawn walked in front of Sarah, and her eyes slightly widened as she saw that the Admiral's Shadow Trooper armor was pristine and untouched. In his hand was the Ion blaster he used to disable her armor, and on his back was the Staff of Ragnos, the same staff he carried in the Temple of Order.

At Sarah's bemused expression, Thrawn said, "Ah, I was never actually fighting. I stood off in that corner while you exhausted yourself against my men." It wasn't a gloat, as Thrawn was above such base pride, but mere exposition for him.

Before Thrawn or Sarah could speak another word, Thrawn then drew a Vibrodagger from his belt, and activating the oscillating blade, sunk the blade deep into a chink in Sarah's breastplate. Sarah gasped as she felt the sci fi blade pierce through her armor and her Aura, sinking into her ribs.

As Thrawn dug the blade deeper, Sarah looked up fiercely, matching the Admiral's dispassionate gaze.

"Not a bad plan." the Sentinel admitted. "But for all your planning, you left out one key detail."

Thrawn's eyebrow rose a fraction. "And that is?" he asked curiously.

"Human spirit." Sarah spat out as she hit the emergency evacuation button on her armor, opening up the suit and sending it crashing to the ground as she called upon her Semblance and coated herself in living steel.

Thrawn immediately backed up, drawing his heavy blaster pistol from his side and repeatedly firing it at Sarah. The plasma bolts scorched Sarah's Aura, turning her steel skin red hot from the temperature of the bolts alone. The bolts hurt, but weren't enough to put Sarah down. The charging sister of steel was far faster than the back pedalling Chiss, and within seconds Sarah was able to wrap her arms around Thrawn's torso in a mighty bear hug.

Thrawn screamed in pain as Sarah used her superhuman strength to squeeze the very life out of the Admiral. Thrawn's Shadow Trooper armor cracked and broke under the pressure of Sarah's bear hug, his spine and organs quickly following. Blood burst out of Thrawn's mouth as for the first time since coming to the Final Destination, rage and anger overtook his countenance. His look of spiteful hatred was matched by Sarah's one look of fierce determination.

Sarah squeezed even harder, causing Thrawn's hands to slump to his sides as the last of the air was also driven from his lungs as Thrawn lost consciousness. Just as Sarah thought it was almost over however, she heard beeping coming from Thrawn's belt. Eyes widening, Sarah dropped the alien to the floor and saw that in his last moments, he activated a thermal detonator on his belt. Sarah tried to jump away but it was already too late. The grenade exploded and Sarah was blasted backwards in an explosion of heat and light.

When Sarah came to, she found herself staring at the ceiling with ringing ears. Then she noticed her metal skin was gone, along with the entirety of her Aura. Everything hurt, her body felt like one giant burn, and in truth it probably was. Everything but her left arm hurt, which was strange. Looking down, she saw that all that remained of her left arm was a charred stump right above the elbow. Putting the limb down, she then looked at the remains of Thrawn, which were mostly charred chunks of plastic and meat now spread across the room.

"See asshole?" Sarah barked out a laugh, which came out more like a wheeze that hurt every part of her body. "I didn't need no Goddamn armor to be badass." Sarah then closed her eyes as she felt her consciousness fade.

...

Gray Fox and Thane made their way back into the Citadel's Control Tower, which was devastated by the battle between Sarah and Thrawn. Walls were scorched, windows blown out, and every computer within was broken beyond repair. The duo looked around and saw no combatants on either side still standing, bodies of Shadow Troopers and Geth Primes littering the room.

Gray Fox activated his thermal sensors, looking for anything still alive, and one body stuck out amongst the wreckage and destruction. "There!" he shouted, pointing to a burned body beneath some scrap metal.

Immediately the two ran over, pulling the pieces of metal off and melted plastic, finding a badly burned female body underneath.

"Damn." Thane muttered as he looked at his friend. "Is she…"

"She's still alive." Gray Fox immediately answered as he pulled out a pack of medi-gel and immediately started applying it to Sarah, Thane jumping in to help.

By the time they finished, Sarah was horribly wounded, unconscious, and unable to fight, but alive and stable nonetheless.

"Hard to believe she lived through all of that." Gray Fox said under this breath as they finished treating her wounds.

"If there is a word to describe Sarah, it is stubborn." Thane nodded. "She won't be able to help us for what comes next, but she should be safe here."

"Then we should salvage what we can and meet up with Shepard." Gray Fox said as he scanned his surroundings. That's when something specifically caught his sight.

At the epicenter of the explosion that tore apart the control tower, amongst the charred chunks of meat and plastic, was an item that didn't seem damaged at all from the detonation. It was a magic staff, if the various staffs that he saw at Mother Base were any indication. Walking over to it, Gray Fox knelt down and carefully took the staff into his hands.

"I know that weapon." Thane said as he stood above Gray Fox. "That's the same staff Thrawn used in the Temple of Order to nearly kill Lileath. Galen called it the Staff of Ragnos, and it has the power to drain the Force out of people and places."

"Sounds useful." Gray Fox offhandedly commented as he gave Thane the staff.

Thane took it and placed it upon his back. "Indeed. I believe it will prove useful in the coming fight. Now, there's nothing else we can do here, we should make our way to Shepard's position."

"Agreed." Gray Fox simply said.

No more words were needed between the two assassins as they chose to leave behind their friend and make their way to the Citadel's throne room.

Darth Nihilus roared in anger as he locked lightsabers with Galen. While Galen was far younger than the Lord of Hunger, it was quickly apparent that Starkiller had focused far more on the martial aspect of the Sith than Nihilus as he was able to keep pace with the Amalgamation's strikes. Twirling his lightsaber, Galen deflected a wide horizontal slash from Nihilus with his right as he extended his left, jamming the Staff of Magnus into the Amalgamation's face.

Calling upon the Staff's magic, he began to drain the chaotic magical energy out of the Amalgamation, causing it to howl in pain. As Galen had him pinned, Pyrrha then ran up behind the Amalgamation, brandishing both her Power Sword Miló and her lightsaber. Swinging both her blades low, Pyrrha's slashed through the back of Nihilus' legs, severing the tendons in both his knees and driving him to the ground.

The Amalgamation vulnerable, both Galen and Pyrrha then raised their weapons to run him through on both sides. But the second before their final blows struck, the Amalgamationscreamed. Through a combination of Dark Side power and Chaos Magic, the Amalgamation unleashed a terrible Force Scream that tore at both of the heroes' very souls. Pyrrha and Galen were blasted back as blood now poured from their ears and eyes.

Growling, the Amalgamation focused his hungry gaze on Galen, who was still disoriented from the Force Scream. Channeling his power into his left hand, orange lighting crackled at his fingertips as he unleashed a Force Drain upon Galen. The former assassin screamed in pain as the Amalgamation siphoned off not only Galen's Force, but his very life itself.

Had Nihilus continued to drain him for a few seconds more, Galen would've been nothing more than a desiccated corpse. Luckily for Starkiller, the Amalgamation was forced to stop when a blue, biotic cannonball slammed into him in the form of Commander Shepard's Biotic Charge.

Shepard slammed the Amalgamation back as her Biotic Charge hit him dead center. Not finished with her assault, the Amalgamation was not prepared for Shepard to then explode with Biotic fury as she overloaded her own barrier with a Biotic Nova. The Nova's biotic flames seared the Amalgamation's body, but it wasn't enough to put him down. The monster growled and swung his lightsaber with the intent of decapitating the Spectre.

Acting more on reflex than any conscious thought, Shepard raised her Power Axe, the adamantium weapon blocking the attack. Before Shepard could counter attack, the Amalgamation then blasted her back with a storm of Force Lightning from his off hand. The electricity sent Shepard flying back, slamming her into a wall and tearing apart her Aura's shield.

Shepard groaned as smoke billowed from her burn wounds. With Shepard on the ground, Nihilus then loosed another storm of Force Lightning at her, intent on putting her down. Before the lightning hit however, Galen intercepted the attack, blocking the lightning with his lightsaber and saving Shepard's life.

While Galen and the Amalgamation faced off, Pyrrha charged in once more roaring, "For the Lady!"

Seeing Pyrrha charge at him with both her blades raised, the Amalgamation cancelled his Force Lightning and instead focused on her. With a flick of his wrist, the Amalgamation thrust his blade for the charging Pyrrha's face. Before the strike landed, Pyrrha dropped down, continuing her momentum forward as she slid across the ground beneath the Amalgamation.

As she passed by him, Pyrrha swung Miló once more and sliced deep into the Amalgamation's calf. Nihilus hissed in pain as he stumbled and Pyrrha finished her slide. Now behind Nihilus, Pyrrha swiftly stood and followed up with a swing of her lightsaber. The Amalgamation was able to turn and raise his own crimson lightsaber to block, locking blades with Pyrrha. While their lightsabers pushed against each other, Nihilus had no other weapon to defend himself as Pyrrha thrusted Miló towards Nihilus' torso.

Pyrrha's strike almost struck true, but the Amalgamation twisted with a jerk and was able to turn his body just enough to turn the impalement into a shallow cut on his side. But dodging the attack put Nihilus in an awkward position as his body was now twisted sideways and in a worse position to defend himself. Taking advantage, Pyrrha relentlessly pushed after Nihilus, rapidly swinging her blades at every opening she could find.

In a flurry of attacks, Pyrrha slashed Nihilus across his right shoulder with Miló, leaving a deep gash as she then struck his left thigh with her lightsaber. As that wound burned and cauterized, she followed up with a backhand strike from Miló that cut across Nihilus' chest.

Out of desperation, Nihilus tried to backpedal away from the huntress, but Pyrrha dogged his every step. In an effort to get more distance, the Amalgamation's chest began to bubble as a long, mangled arm covered in blue feathers and black sludges shot out, clawed fingers aimed right for Pyrrha. But Pyrrha was too fast for the arm to grab hold up, and Pyrrha sidestepped it with a twirl. Simultaneously, she swung her lightsaber vertically, and severed the demonic hand from its arm.

Nihilus howled, his body reeling in pain as the now amputated limb flailed in front of him. As he roared, purple-blue warpfire then exploded out of him, enveloping Pyrrha at attempting to tear her apart molecule by molecule. But the Blessing of Lady was designed to resist such foul sorceries, and Pyrrha leapt through the warpfire unscathed. Landing in front of the thrashing Amalgamation, Pyrrha raised both her blades and stabbed him through the chest. Miló and her lightsaber tore through Nihilus' insides, exiting out of his back, plasma and disruptor energy dissolving his insides.

"Pyrrha! Get back!" Shepard yelled from her position.

Without a word, Pyrrha withdrew her weapons and jumped away as Shepard was lining up a shot with the Fat Man she had holstered on her back. With a press of the trigger, a football-sized mini-nuke catapulted out of the Fat Man and flew right for the Amalgamation. Sensing danger, the Amalgamation twisted his head towards the incoming nuke. Despite the fact he was leaking liters of blackened fluid from his wounded torso, the Amalgamation raised his hand and grabbed onto the mini-nuke right before it hit him.

Nihilus then pushed his hand forward to fling the mini-nuke back, but found the explosive was resisting his powers. Then he saw, from beside Shepard, Galen had also extended his hand, calling on the Force to hold the mini-nuke near Nihilus. The Amalgamation continued to push back, the contest of wills causing the explosive to quake beneath the pressure.

Before either Sith could prove their superiority however, a shot rang out. Pyrrha, who was now sufficiently far away from the Amalgamation, transformed Miló into its rifle form and fired. The Dust round hit the mini-nuke, resulting in a small metallicpingfollowed by the mini-nuke detonating with a massive fission reaction. The heat and radiation exploded out from the mini-nuke, blasting the three Legionnaires back despite their distance. Shepard's rad-counter spiked, before returning to normal levels as the radioactive emissions burned through their purposely short half-lives. It was still a dangerous amount of radiation, especially for the unshielded Galen and Pyrrha, but it's not like they had the time to worry about potential radiation poisoning or cancer right now.

A cloud of smoke filled the impact zone, obscuring the Amalgamation from their sight. The mini-nuke was powerful, but the three of them knew better than to just assume the Amalgamation was dead before they saw a body. Hell Shepard knew that even if she saw a body, that didn't mean her target was dead.

That assumption proved true, as within the smoke, the heroes heard the Amalgamation roar. It was a pained scream, not backed by the Force like his previous attack, but one a howling cry that reverberated throughout the throne room. Shepard could hear the sounds of bones cracking from within, followed by what sounded like the sploshing of gallons of liquid onto the ground.

"To Hell with this." Shepard muttered as she pulled out her Plasma Shotgun. "Light him up!" she roared as she began firing rounds into the smog.

Pyrrha quickly followed suit, firing off Miló blindly while Galen unleashed a storm of Force Lightning. Some of their shots hit, if the incessant screams of the Amalgamation were any indicator, but it wasn't enough. Thanks to Galen's lightning, they could see flashes and shadows of what was happening within the cloud of smoke. The Amalgamation was growing, his silhouette expanding as limbs and mass seemed to be added on from nowhere.

With one final roar, the cloud of smoke around the Amalgamation began to swirl, transforming into a vortex of darkness that buffeted the heroes. With a final push, the cyclone was dispelled, revealing the disgusting form underneath.

Nihilus' original body was still there, though now adorned with two, scintillating purple wings on his back. What changed however, was that Nihilus' upper body extended out of what could only be described as a mountain of blackened sludge and rotten flesh. The sludge was almost slug like in appearance, and was coated in almost every foul substance imaginable. Long heads of hair, broken bones, maggots, rotting flesh, as well as a multitude of arms and legs all extending out at broken, unnatural angles. These limbs pushed at the ground with clumsy fumbling, plodding on the ground as they pushed the Amalgamation to face the heroes. With that, Nihilus shed his base form, fully ascending to the Amalgamation, Daemon Prince and Devourer of Gods.

Seeing the Amalgamation in his true, ascended form, Shepard couldn't help but think about the time she fought Saren and how Sovereign "ascended" the former Spectre. "Keep firing!" She shouted as she fired off another blast from her shotgun.

Pyrrha and Galen opened fire once more, but it was painfully obvious to them that their attacks weren't doing anything. With a slow, lumbering motion, The Amalgamation twisting his mass of flesh and roared as a storm of Force and Warp Lightning exploded out of him.

Shepard was forced to jump back, strengthening her Biotic barrier to protect herself while Galen used the Staff of Magnus and his Lightsaber to try and absorb as much of the lightning as he could. Pyrrha however, charged right towards the Amalgamation using Miló and her Lightsaber as lightning rods to absorb as much lightning as she could. And any electricity that made it past her defense was scattered across her form as the Blessing of the Lady protected her from the worst of the magical damage, and her own Aura protected her from the rest.

Once Pyrrha was in melee range of the Amalgamation, the monster swung a "tentacle" made of compressed meat, bones, and other unidentifiable material right for the huntress. However, unlike how he was in his "Nihilus" form, the Amalgamation's new form was found lacking in speed and finesse, allowing Pyrrha to easily jump and flip over the swing.

Landing on the ground, Pyrrha unleashed a series of cuts in retaliation. Miló sliced through the side of the Amalgamation, the Power Weapon easily carving out chunks of blackened flesh. When her first swing finished, she immediately followed up with a slash with her Lightsaber, which burned through the sludge and meat without issue.

From the cut wounds however, what looked like a cloud of shadowy miasma burst out, choking Pyrrha with its corrupting stench. Pyrrha jumped back, careful not to inhale anymore of the smoke, firing off Miló as she retreated. As Pyrrha moved back, Galen and Shepard charged forward towards the Amalgamation's rear.

Seeing her shotgun was doing negligible damage, Shepard instead leaped forward with her Power Axe in hand, sinking the head of her weapon in the Amalgamation's meaty tail. Meanwhile Galen swiped his lightsaber at two contorted limbs that extended out towards him. With a flourish of his blade, Galen severed the two arms, and while they fell to the ground smoking, Galen plunged his lightsaber deep into the Amalgamation's flesh.

Unfortunately for them, if their attacks were effective, the Amalgamation showed no sign of it. From the brunt meat where Galen had severed the two arms, three more arms suddenly appeared, these ones burning with purple fire. Galen cursed as he jumped back, trying to avoid the flaming talons that sought to grab him. At the same time, the Amalgamation whipped his tail with a motion far faster than anything Shepard was expecting. The tail of hair, flesh, and bone slammed into her chest, sending the Spectre flying through the air.

The Amalgamation then roared as the body of Nihilus reached into the black mass beneath him and pulled out what looked like a large, golden spear with a glowing, purple blade at its end. Twirling the spear, the Amalgamation stabbed the blade into the ground, and summoned a swirling cloud of black miasma that crackled with purple lightning.

The three legionnaires were not ready for how quickly the vortex spread, and they were all caught by the storm. The attack was devastating, as the lightning electrocuted the heroes while the miasma tore apart at their very souls. Through the pain, Shepard saw that the Amalgamation somehow dove into the ground, jumping into some kind of portal of pure darkness.

Once the abyssal storm dissipated, Shepard hacked out part of her lung as she violently coughed out the miasma. While she cleared her airways, she was not prepared as the Amalgamation opened up another portal of darkness behind, jumping back into their world like a breaching whale.

Shepard spun at the sudden noise behind her, reaching for her axe. But she was too slow. Before she could swing her weapon, the body of Nihilus grabbed onto Shepard's body with the Force, lifting her into the air. Shepard struggled in vain to break free, her cybernetic and Aura enhanced strength not enough to overcome the power of a former Dark Lord of the Sith. Before any of Shepard's allies come to save, the Amalgamation clenched his fist and broke Shepard's back, folding her in half backwards with but a single thought.

Chapter 38

Chapter Text

Outside the Citadel of Chaos...

Chaos. That was the perfect word to describe what battle had devolved into. Where before the forces of Chaos, had initially fought in ordered lines, waiting to spring their trap, and the Forces of Order charged in with violent precision, now the two sides abandoned all forms of strategy as the battle shifted in a massive melee. When the command structure of the forces of Chaos fell, any coordination between the various armies collapsed. Rather than fighting together to flank and outmaneuver, Imperial platoons had turned into individual bands of soldiers who either chased after the retreating Geth or retreated themselves from heavy resistance.

Meanwhile, the forces of the Covenant dug in and halted their advance. The lack of orders from above confused and frightened the smaller alien infantry as squads began calling a non-existent command for orders. And as this fear spread out through their units, the aliens began to draw the attention of the Grimm onto themselves. While the Grimm followed their initial commands of hacking through the Geth, there were no other Sith or Dark Side Acolytes outside of Tartarus there to force them to continually obey. And Tartarus was far too busy fighting Tassadar to care about commanding the Grimm. When presented with a target that actually exuded fear and negative emotion, rather than the emotionless synthetic Geth, many of the Grimm turned on their allies.

And so the battlefield collapsed into something of a three way fight between the Geth, the Grimm, and the Imperials/Covenant.

As these forces fought on a macro scale, several smaller duels were occuring between the heroes of both sides. With a flash of red lightning, Templar Commander Meredith Stannard chased after Wynne. With superhuman speed, Meredith dashed after the mage, leaving behind a trail of crimson lightning in her wake. Once she was in striking range Meredith unleashed a powerful swipe intent on cutting off the mage's head.

Wynne was barely able to dodge as she fell back, clumsily rolling on the ground to avoid the attack. As she got to her feet, she extended her Staff of the Magi and launched a Chain Lightning spell, firing an orb of crackling electricity right at the Templar. However, Meredith used her Red Lyrium sword to deflect the magic, sending it flying away into a crowd of Grimm and Geth, where it exploded and killed all of them.

The attack nullified, Meredith advanced once more. Dashing forward, Meredith cut the distance between her and Wynne in an instant, her sword raised high. Before she could strike, Wynne created a barrier between them, a powerful ward that caused the lyrium blade to bounce off.

Growling, Meredith channeled the Red Lyrium inside of her veins and called upon her Templar training to dispel the barrier. Through sheer willpower, Meredith shattered the Wynne's barrier, leaving the mage vulnerable to her attacks. Meredith swung her blade again, this time striking true. Between her Aura and her armored robes, the cut was shallow but stung nonetheless. Wynne backpedaled in an attempt to gain distance, firing off an Arcane Bolt purple-white magic at the Templar, but Meredith simply dispelled those as well.

"Your heretical magics won't save you now mage!" Meredith hissed as she pushed forward after Wynne. "I can dispel anything you throw at me! You are nothing before the power of my faith!" Meredith then raised her sword again, this time aimed for Wynne's unprotected head.

Before she could strike however, a blur of steel slammed into her as the power armor wearing Sgt. Johnson tackled her away. Meredith flew several feet, landing on her side as she was completely unprepared for the impact. Before she could recover, Johnson aimed his Spartan Laser right at her and fired.

Eyes widening at the incoming attack, Meredith barely had time to raise her Red Lyrium sword and absorb the laser. Her sword grew an even brighter red as she deflected the part of the laser she couldn't absorb away. Growling Johnson holstered his Spartan Laser and switched to his shotgun, but was so focused on the Templar that he didn't notice the large shadow creeping up on him.

Johnson was completely blindsided by an Ursa, which pounced on him from behind. Johnson fell to the ground, losing his grip on his Shotgun as the weapon went flying. Johnson and the Grimm wrestled on the ground, his T-45d power armor letting him fight hand to hand with the monster and not instantly get shredded. Batting away its claw, Johnson then grabbed onto the skull mask with both of his pneumatic hands and squeezed. Under the pressure from his hydraulic fingers, the Ursa's head popped like an overly ripe fruit, turning into pulpy black mush as the Grimm then began to disappear.

The immediate threat was gone with the Grimm, but unfortunately for Johnson, the moment's distraction the Ursa provided was enough for Meredith to recover and attack. Before Johnson could react, Meredith was already upon him, trailing red lightning once more as she dashed in front of him, sword poised to strike. With inhumane speed and power, Meredith then drove her blade into Johnson's chest.

Johnson gasped as the blade pierced his torso, feeling his lungs pool with blood as Meredith fell upon him with a feral grin on her face, her bloodshot eyes burning with crimson lightning.

"I have seen the Maker given flesh! And he finds you all wanting!" Meredith howled as she twisted the blade within Johnson.

Johnson screamed in pain as blood poured into his mouth.

"Meredith!" The sound of Wynne's shout drew the attention of both the Templar and the dying Johnson. The two looked to the mage and saw her cradling the Sergeant's shotgun, aimed right for Meredith's head.. "Dispel this you crazy bitch." She then pulled the trigger.

Meredith's eyes widened as she tried to pull her blade out of the sergeant to block the incoming slug. She found herself unable to however, as Johnson grabbed onto the sword with the last dregs of his strength holding the blade within himself. Meredith's mouth moved to curse him, but she never got the chance to speak as her head was turned into a fine mist by the 8 gauge shell.

Meredith's body collapsed limply onto Johnson as she died. Immediately, Wynne made her way to the sergeant, ready to heal him. Unfortunately, she only found the empty eyes of Johnson's own corpse staring back at her.

Wynne cursed at the death of her comrade, but shoved down her feelings of pain and anger. She was still in the middle of battle. Looking around, she saw the Geth around her were not doing well. They were outnumbered to begin with, and more and more were falling to the Imperials and the Grimm.

Shaking her head, Wynne decided to leave behind both Johnson's body and the Geth currently holding the line as she moved to meet up with the rest of her wayward allies.

While Wynne, Johnson and Meredith fought their death battle, the alien generals Tartarus and Tassadar fought their own grand duel of fate.

Backpedalling, Tassadar dodge a swipe from Tartarus' gravity-hammer as he countered with a psi-blast of his own. The telekinetic energy knocked the Brute backwards, sending him stumbling and breaking his guard. Taking advantage of the situation, Tassadar charged forward with his psi-blade alight. With a swift move of martial prowess honed over centuries of combat, Tassadar sunk his blade into Tatarus' shoulder, almost slicing the whole limb off.

But before Tassadar could remove the entire arm, Tatartus jerked back and kicked the Protoss in the stomach. Tassadar grunted as the impact struck true, separating the two combatants and forcing the blade out of the Brute's shoulder. But Tartarus wasn't finished yet. Focusing on the pain, Tartarus howled as he entered a berserking range and lunged after Tassadar.

Tassadar was unprepared for such a savage assault, and took the full brunt of Tartarus' tackle. The Protoss was sent stumbling back in a reversal of positions, as it was Tartarus' turn to press the advantage. Uncaring for the pain in his arm, Tartarus gripped his gravity hammer and swung hard. The hammer slammed into Tassadar's torso, sending the taller alien flying through the air as both his energy shield and golden body armor shattered.

Tassadar landed several dozen feet away. Slowly, he pushed himself up, hand clutching his bleeding torso. The impact rocked his brain and he was definitely seeing double. A savage roar pulled the Protoss out of his confusion, as Tartarus charged after him, howling and braying like a wild animal. Shoving the pain out of his mind, Tassadar focused his psionic might into his hands, summoning crackling lightning at his fingertips. Before Tartarus could close in, Tassadar hit him with a storm of Psi-lightning.

The stench of burning hair and flesh filled the air as the lightning slammed into Tartarus. But despite the obvious damage being seared into his flesh, Tartarus kept going forward. The combination of both his Brute physiology and the Dark Side of Force fueling his berserking state meant that pain was meaningless to him. With over half his flesh now charred meat, Tartarus was finally in melee with Tassadar once more. Tartarus swung his gravity hammer, which exploded impotently into the ground as Tassadar stumbled back with a dodge.

Changing strategies, Tassadar then used his psionic powers to reach out and into Tartarus' mind, creating two illusionary copies of himself that existed only in the Brute's perceptions. The two illusions jumped to Tartarus' left and right in an attempt to divide his attention. Meanwhile, Tassadar himself moved forward simultaneously with his illusions looking to strike at the Chieftain while he was confused.

Unfortunately for Tassadar, such illusions lost their potency against Force Sensitives, as of the three Protoss attacking, Tartarus only sensed danger from one of them. Raising up his gravity hammer, Tartarus blocked the psi-blade with his weapon's shaft. He then quickly counter attacked when he stepped forward and shoulder-checked the Protoss. Tassadar grunted in pain as the illusions dissipated and he was once more forced to retreat.

Continuing his advance, Tartarus swung his hammer for Tassadar, looking to finally put him down. But even in his injured state, Tassadar was graceful and dextrous in his movements. Bending back, Tassadar avoided the Brute's wild swing, quickly side stepping with a spin as he moved to Tartarus' flank. As he spun, Tassadar brought his psi-blade low, slashing at the back of Tartarus' leg. The Chieftain howled as the blade sliced through his calf and he fell to one knee, no longer able to support his own weight.

Taking in the pain, Tartarus used it to fuel his connection to the Dark Side. The Force collected around him, focusing within until it exploded out. Tassadar was slammed backwards by the wave of telekinetic Force energy, taking him off his feet as he was sent crashing to the ground.

Snarling at the fallen Protoss, Tartarus took a slow, limping step towards Tassadar, raising his gravity hammer to execute his opponent. Before he could drop his weapon however, Tartarus was then impacted by a massive figure crashing into him. The two fell back and collapsed on the ground in a heap. It didn't take long for Tassadar to identify who was flung into his opponent. White armor currently stained with blood, and one of his wings broken off, Dominus Ghaul groaned as he pushed himself off of the Brute.

The sound of boots hitting the dirt beside him stole Tassadar's attention briefly. Looking at the source, he saw a ragged looking Cayde-6, clothes slightly smoking as he put out his solar flames.

"Hey there T, how you doing?" Cayde asked as he reloaded his revolver.

Pushing himself up to stand beside his colleague, Tassadar remarked, "All things considered, it could be going better."

Meanwhile, Tatarus roared as he threw the injured Ghaul off of him. "Get off me, fool! You are in my way!"

Ghaul rolled on the ground once before the Dominus was able to stop his momentum and snarl at Tartarus. "That's what I should be saying you dumb animal!"

Tatarus growled in response to Ghaul's insult, taking a step forward before a light appeared below him.

"You know, growling isn't exactly the best way to prove you're not an animal." Church quipped as his hologram appeared between Ghaul and Tartarus. He then turned to face the Dominus and said, "Also, you're both pretty dumb for having an argument in the middle of a battlefield."

The two warlords looked down at the AI in confusion, before they then both turned to look back at their opponents. Standing together against them was not only Tassadar and Cayde, crackling with psi-lightning and Solar fire respectively, but the Clone Commando Sev as well, currently hefting the Meta's Bruteshot and aiming right at them. Before the two villains could say anything, the three heroes fired everything they had at the duo. Fire, lightning, and fragmentation consumed the area, creating a cloud of acrid smoke that stung Tassadar's eyes. Once said smoke cleared, all that was left of Tartarus and Ghaul were charred meat and burnt chunks of armor.

The death of Tartarus immediately sent out reverberations throughout the nearby Covenant forces. What Grunts, Jackals, and even low ranked Brutes that were still alive suddenly found that with their leader dead, there was very little reason for them to stay and fight on this hellscape. Fear blanketed the Covenant as they ran, fear that attracted more and more Grimm to them, giving the Legionnaires a moment of reprieve as the forces of Chaos collapsed in on themselves.

Now having a chance to catch his breath, Tassadar turned to Cayde and Sev and asked, "Where are the others?"

Cayde shrugged. "Last I saw, Rylanor was fighting against that Dragon. No clue where Wynne or Johnson are."

When they looked at Sev and Church beside him, Sev shook his head. "Six didn't make it."

Cayde muttered a curse beneath his breath while Tassadar only stoically nodded. As this happened a massive impact stole all of their attention as Rylanor dropped from the sky and landed between all of them. Within Rylanor's power claw, was the form of the Grimm Wyvern, thrashing and screaming as it flailed with torn wings.

The Grimm snapped at Rylanor, but he kept a strong grip upon its neck. The impact of the fall having snapped off one of his legs, Rylanor pulled himself forward as he aimed his assault cannon at the Wyvern's head. Barrels spun with violent purpose as bullets roared out of the gun. Within moments, the Wyvern's head was hollowed out and Grimm's violent thrashing ceased.

With the beast dead, Rylanor pushed himself up so he was seated in front of his allies. "I… have returned." the Ancient One boomed out.

"That you have." Tassadar flatly responded, not thrown off by Rylanor's entrance.

Church's hologram appeared next to Rylanor, examining the damage to his legs. "Damn big guy, I don't think we're going to get you moving anytime soon."

"It matters not, little machine spirit." Rylanor grunted. "Use me as a defensive position. I may not be able to move, but I can still serve as a turret, if nothing else."

"Works for me, but what's the plan now?" Church tilted his head as he looked at Tassadar. "Casualty reports from the Geth are not looking good. It'll only be a matter of time before all the platforms we brought are all gone."

Propping himself up on Cayde, Tassadar looked out at the battlefield, watching as the Grimm collapsed not only on the Geth, but their allied Covenant and Imperial forces. "We will hold this position. Our power is concentrated here, and the Grimm are too numerous for us to escape, but we can at least rest and fortify this area while they are distracted."

As the others nodded, another voice called out as they took a minute to rest.

"There you all are!" the harried voice of Wynne huffed out as she ran to their position. "It was a good thing I saw Rylanor dropping from the sky like that. He was a rather good lead for me to find all of you."

Wynne's eyes then widened as she looked at them and saw the extent of Tassadar's injuries. Immediately she ran up to him and began casting a healing spell. As Tassadar's flesh knit, he looked at Wynne, then behind her, as if looking for something.

"Where is the Sergeant?" Tassadar asked, looking back down at the healer.

Wynne looked up and met Tassadar's inquisitive gaze with a sad one of her own. Wynne shook her head, her face becoming hard as she focused back on her work.

The group was silent for several moments, until Church broke the silence with a quiet, "f*ck…"

Tassadar sighed as Wynne finished her treatment. Standing, he looked at his allies around him, tired, beaten, but still standing.

"Legionnaires. Our task is not over yet. We have lost much, friends, allies, and we will lose more before the day is done. But we stand here knowing that we are doing our duty, holding back the tide of darkness and chaos as Shepard and the others finish this fight. And though we may perish here today, our enemies will know loss and pain a thousand times more than they inflict! And when we pass into the next life, we shall pass knowing that we did not retreat! We did not cower! But that we fought for the right of life for all who come after us. And let those who will exist long after we are gone know, that we held the line! En Taro Adun!" Tassadar roared as he raised his psi-blade into the air.

Around him, his allies cheered in unison before turning around to face the encroaching horde of darkness around them.

Pyrrha felt her face fall as she watched Shepard's broken form float, suspended in the air by the Amalgamation's powers. Commander Shepard, the person who for all intents and purposes, had become Pyrrha's rock and best friend here in the Final Destination, was hanging limp as the Amalgamation crushed her body. Without a second thought, the monster then threw the Commander's broken form away, her body ragdolling before ingloriously slamming into a pillar. When the commander's body hit the ground, Pyrrha heard a scream.

She then realised that it was her screaming as she charged for the Amalgamation, tears streaming down her face. Pyrrha leapt at the Amalgamation, swinging both her blades wildly as she kept screaming. Rage suffused her entire being as she decided she would tear this monster apart with her bare hands if she had to. Pounds and pounds of burnt, blackened flesh melted off the monster's body and fell to the floor.

Galen joined the attack, not wanting to let Pyrrha fight on her own. He swung his own lightsaber, each slash cutting off limbs and bone as he hacked at the Amalgamation as well. But the battle looked pointless. Every pound of flesh removed was soon regenerated with another pound of blackened meat. Every limb cut off only produced two that regrew to take its place.

In retaliation, the Amalgamation roared, surrounding himself in black miasma as he swung his staff, creating 3 orbs of purple magic. Pyrrha and Galen jumped back to avoid being choked by the gas, and the orbs flew after Pyrrha. With a backflip Pyrrha leapt away and gained several feet of distance. But the orbs of light chased after her with frightening speed and autonomy.

With a twirl, Pyrrha would dodge one ball, only for a second to strike at the end of her movement. When Pyrrha deflected that orb with her lightsaber, the third orb would strike at her from behind, hoping to catch her unaware. Pyrrha would jump and flip over that attack, only to be continually harried by the first two orbs returning for more.

While the orbs tied down Pyrrha, the Amalgamation coated itself in a cloak of flames as he howled again and charged at Galen. Galen hissed as the monster moved far faster than a creature of its mass should as the body of Nihilus atop it swung his lightsaber at him. Bringing up his own lightsaber, Galen parried the blow, but the Amalgamation followed up with the golden staff he held in his left hand. Using the Staff of Magnus Galen held in his own off hand, he blocked the follow up strike as well, but the raw weight and power behind the swing sent Galen flying back. Galen crashed into a black stone wall, cracking the material as he fell to the ground as well.

With the two Legionnaires currently taken out, the Amalgamation turned to the fallen, broken body of Shepard. Shepard's gaze, weak as it was, slowly flicked over to the approaching Amalgamation. The Commander couldn't feel anything below her chest, and every breath was labored and painful. But regardless, she still found the strength to hold up her shotgun with one hand and fire a plasma bolt at the Amalgamation. The searing superheated gas did nothing to the monster as it kept running at her. Shepard lined up another shot and fired again. Once more, the plasma had no effect.

The Amalgamation closed in, and Shepard closed her eyes as she accepted the end that was about to come. But before death could take her again, the sound of a lightsaber activating echoed through the chamber, followed by the sound of the Amalgamation screaming.

Opening her eyes, Shepard saw the form of Thane, dual-wielding a pair of green and red lightsabers, currently sliding the down side of the Amalgamation as he dug both blades into its side. From the shadows of the ceiling above them, Grey Fox jumped down and joined the Drell, dual-wielding his Fox Blade and a crimson katana that he too sunk into the back of the Amalgamation. The Amalgamation howled in pain, bucking and thrashing trying to throw them off. When neither assassin proved willing to move, the Amalgamation forced their hand by diving into a shadowy portal in the ground, making them to leap off lest they be sucked into the Abyss as well.

Thane landed beside Shepard, concern covering his face as he approached her. "Commander!" he called out as he moved to kneel beside her. It was only now that Shepard saw the staff on his back, the same staff that Grand Admiral Thrawn had used to drain Lileath of her powers back in the Temple of Order.

"Focus on the fight!" Shepard snapped at him with what force she could project. "I'm done for, finish this!"

Thane froze midstep, his face becoming hard as he nodded and turned back around, focusing on the monster before him. Deactivating his lightsabers, Thane reached for the Scepter of Ragnos on his back, gripping it tightly as he aimed it at the demigod. With a roar, Thane activated the staff, and a bolt of orange lightning shot out of it, slamming into the Amalgamation's grotesque body. The Amalgamation roared in return, not in fury like Thane, but in pain. The Scepter had an immediate effect on the monster, not only slowing it down, but the Amalgamation seemed to physically deflate, and its jet black, almostly oily flesh seemed to lose its sheen.

The rest of the Legion did not stand idly by as the Amalgamation howled in pain. With both swords in his hands, Gray Fox charged forward once more, having an easy approach as the Amalgamation couldn't attack. With a flash of inhuman speed, Gray Fox appeared in front of the Amalgamation and spun, becoming like a buzz saw in appearance. The first cut sliced off the left hand of Nihilus, causing him to drop the golden staff he was carrying. As Gray Fox fell with gravity, blackened limbs and flesh went flying as Fox blended his way down the Amalgamation.

The Nihilus half of the Amalgamation looked down on Gray Fox, rage contorting his very form. Despite the pain, the Amalgamation spun, it's bony tail whipping Gray Fox. Fox's blades dug into the tail before it struck, but there was just too much mass behind the attack, and the cyborg ninja found himself unable to block. The tail slammed into Gray Fox's chest, sending him crashing into the ground. Reforming Nihilus' left hand, the Amalgamation then sent out a wave of Warp fire to consume Gray Fox in both body and soul.

Right before the fire struck however, Gray Fox was coated in a black glow, and found himself dragged away, his metallic body scraping against the obsidian floor. When he finally came to a stop, he looked up and saw the armored form of Pyrrha, who was able to destroy the orbs of fire harrying her, standing above him. Gray Fox gave a silent thanks to the Patriots for making his exoskeleton magnetic.

As the Warp Fire hit nothing but stone and air, the Amalgamation hissed as he tracked Gray Fox, focusing on him and Pyrrha. The Amalgamation took one step towards them when he was then blasted back by a telekinetic wave.

Falling to the ground, the Amalgamation turned to the attacker as saw Galen rapidly approaching. The hand of Nihilus extended and attempted to fling the former Sith assassin away with his own Force powers. Unfortunately for him however, the Force did not seem to heed his call. The head of Nihilus looked at his hand in confusion, before he clenched his fist in rage as he turned to look back at Thane, realizing the scepter was stripping him of the Force itself.

Before he could chase after the Drell however, Galen arrived and stabbed into his flank once more with his lightsaber. The Amalgamation roared, turning Nihilus' body to face Galen as he sneered. Knowing he couldn't draw upon the Force, he instead drew on the power of the Warp. Chaotic lightning coated his arm and he flung it at Galen. Withdrawing his lightsaber from the monster, Galen used it to absorb the electric energy, but impact alone was enough to send Galen flying away once more.

With the Jedi gone, the Amalgamation continued his pursuit of Thane. Eyes widening as he saw the Amalgamation's attention was solely on him, Thane picked the wisest of options and stopped draining and began running. Turning around and sprinting as fast as he could, Thane could hear the Amalgamation crashing through pillars and stonework as he chased after him. The entire throne room shook as the monster threatened to bring the ceiling down on their very heads, burying them underground.

Behind Thane, the rest of the Legion charged in once more, Hell bent on stopping the Amalgamation before he reached their friend. Without hesitation Pyrrha, Gray Fox, and Galen all jumped into the fray, weapons raised as they all aimed to kill the monster in front of them.

Time seemed to slow for the Amalgamation as he saw the Legionnaires converging around him, each thrusting their weapons forward to run him through. And for a creature at least partially borne of the Warp, time very well might have been. Before any of the attacks could hit, the Amalgamation called upon his power borne of Kairos Fateweaver. Reciting words penned by Tzeentch himself, the Amalgamation tore into the minds of those around him, befuddling and cursing them.

Thane, Galen, and Gray Fox all fell to the ground, screaming as the hallucinations began to take root in their minds. Gray Fox screamed like he was on fire, patting and smacking himself as he rolled on the ground, while Galen swung his lightsaber wildy at enemies that didn't exist. Thane fell to the ground and began convulsing, vomiting all over himself as his mind seemed to break.

With all of his enemies fallen before him, the Amalgamation stood triumphant over the Legion. All but one of the Legion. Turning, the Amalgamation looked at the only warrior of order still standing, Pyrrha Nikos, her body glowing gold as the Blessing of the Lady rendered her immune to the sorcerous wiles of the Amalgamation.

Seeing she was the only one still standing, Pyrrha growled softly, knowing it was now just up to her. And so despite the exhaustion of her body, Pyrrha charged once more into the fray. Focusing her Aura into her legs, Pyrrha launched herself at Nihilus' body. The Amalgamation reacted quickly, bringing up his lightsaber to block Pyrrha's attack.

The two crossed blades, the righteous rage of Pyrrha clashing directly with the primal, destructive nature of the Amalgamation. Pivoting quickly, Pyrrha pushed Nihilus' lightsaber to the side and stabbed him in the flank with Miló. When the Amalgamation cried out in pain, she moved to silence him by thrusting her lightsaber straight through his throat.

Before she could accomplish this however, a blackened hand gripped her wrist from behind. Twisting her head, she saw that two new limbs had grown out of the body of the Amalgamation, one grabbing onto her arm to stop the attack, and the second gripping her leg. Before Pyrrha had a chance to react, the hand gripping onto her leg threw Pyrrha down to the ground, slamming her into the obsidian floor once more.

As Pyrrha's body bounced off the ground, the Amalgamation then released a storm of lightning to put down the huntress. But Pyrrha's own supernatural reflexes kicked in as she used her Polarity to move Akoúo̱ in front of her, interposing it between her and the attack. The lightning splashed across the face of the Plasma-reinforced shield, only stopping when the Amalgamation saw it was not working.

When the Amalgamation dropped his attack, Pyrrha immediately countered, flinging Akoúo̱ forward with her Polarity. But instead of hitting him, Akoúo̱ went wide, circling around the Amalgamation as he telekinetically ripped control over the shield from the tired Pyrrha. Akoúo̱ then slammed into Pyrrha's stomach, the impact alone cracking the ground beneath her as she felt her own crimson Aura break from the impact.

Tired, injured, and out of Aura, Pyrrha looked up defiantly at the Amalgamation. But even with all of her years of experience combined with her divine blessing, Pyrrha couldn't help but see the battle as hopeless. She alone was standing against the Amalgamation, and she wasn't strong enough. This monster was just too much. Everything that they threw at it was just shrugged off as an annoyance. It was just a being of such a different order of magnitude that she questioned why she was even there in the first place. These thoughts continued to roll around in her mind, dragging her down as despair set in. That is, until Pyrrha began to glow with a soft, blue light.

Then, all thoughts of despair and hopelessness disappeared from her mind. In its place was simple, cold focus and pure determination. Unknown to both Pyrrha and the Amalgamation, Shepard, who was still off to the side and ignored by the Amalgamation's psychics attacks, glew a similar blue. Half conscious and barely clinging to life, Shepard called upon her Semblance, Battle Meditation to strengthen Pyrrha's resolve and bolstering her skill.

Pushing herself up, Pyrrha and the Amalgamation stared each other down. The Amalgamation could feel the resolve coming off of Pyrrha, and they both knew that the next exchange would decide the battle. Despite the lack of Aura protecting her, Pyrrha could still call upon her Semblance, and used her Polarity to levitate Miló, Akoúo̱, and her lightsaber around her.

Then Pyrrha reached out and with her Semblance grabbed the two weapons that had the most effect on the Amalgamation this whole fight, the Staff of Magnus from Galen and the Scepter of Ragnos from Thane. The Staffs flew into Pyrrha's left and right hand respectively as Pyrrha felt the weight of all of her friends' lives on her shoulders. This was it, she would have to stop the Amalgamation here and now, or all would be lost. And she would not lose. Pyrrha charged forward one final time.

Swinging his arm in defiance, the Amalgamation threw a ball of Warpfire at Pyrrha. As it flew towards her, the fireball grew in size, eventually reaching a diameter that exceeded Pyrrha's own height. As it approached, Pyrrha extended her left arm, raising the Staff of Magnus high. Calling upon the magic artifact, a beam of crackling blue energy extended from the staff, slamming into the fireball. Upon making contact, the Warpfire began to shrink, until it ultimately dissipated completely.

With the fireball now gone, Pyrrha continued her charge forward. Growling in agitation, the Amalgamation extended his hand out once more, time creating a storm of orange lightning as he attempted to drain Pyrrha of her very life force. As the Amalgamation did this, Pyrrha countered by extending the Scepter of Ragnos and releasing her own Force Drain.

The two conflicting storms of Force Drain slammed into one another, and ultimately cancelled each other out. With this attack stopped as well, Pyrrha was able to get into melee with the monster once more. Without hesitation, the Amalgamation swung his lightsaber for Pyrrha, but with a quick thought, Pyrrha's shield moved to intercept. At the same time, Pyrrha stabbed the Scepter of Ragnos forward, the two prongs at the end of the staff piercing the torso of Darth Nihilus.

With a roar, Pyrrha began using her Force Drain upon Nihlus once more, this time draining him from the very inside of his body. The Amalgamation shrieked in pain as he felt his connection to the Force once more being stripped from his very body, twisting and flailing as his body began to gray and lose life. But Pyrrha wasn't done yet. With the Staff of Magnus in her other hand, she twirled the magic artifact and thrust it into the meaty, slug-like body of the Amalgamation itself. Once more drawing upon its power, Pyrrha began to drain the Warp-based and Divine magic out of the Amalgamation.

With all sources of his power being taken away from him, the Amalgamation felt something he hadn't felt since first forming, fear. Without either his magic or his Force, he no longer had access to the powers which sustained his regeneration. He was vulnerable.

In a mad, almost panicked attack, the Amalgamation swung his lightsaber at Pyrrha, hoping to kill her through an overwhelming flurry. But with the almost computer-like efficiency Shepard's Battle Meditation granted her, Pyrrha was able to call upon her Semblance to use Akoúo̱ to protect her from all of the Amalgamation's attacks while she stripped the Amalgamation of his powers

Pyrrha's shield moved to block his lightsaber, the plasma shielding around it allowing it to defend against the plasma blade. Meanwhile, Miló and Pyrrha's lightsaber rose up behind her crossing in an X behind her. The blades reoriented themselves, aiming right for Nihilus' neck. With a final thought Pyrrha crossed the blades, severing Nihilus' head from his body.

With such a mortal wound, combined with the lack of regenerative powers, the Amalgamation's body began to flake away, dissolving as if he were turned to ash. With that one final attack, the Amalgamation was dead, and with it, the soul of Kairos Fateweaver was sent back into the realm of Chaos. The game between the forces of Order and Chaos was finished in their favor.

However, all that paled in import as with combat finished, Pyrrha immediately ran over to Shepard.

"Jane!" Pyrrha cried out as she slid to knees beside Shepard. Gently placing her hand behind the Commander's head, Pyrrha turned Shepard to look at her.

Shepard blearily met Pyrrha's tearful eyes, and gave her a small smile. "Hey Pyr, you did it." she weakly congratulated between wheezing breaths. "You're a big damn hero."

Pyrrha couldn't help but chuckle at that between her tears. "I couldn't have done without your help. Without everyone's help." Pyrrha briefly turned to look at the others, who were all groggily standing up. With the Amalgamation defeated, so was his hold on their minds broken.

"We helped, but you got the killing blow Pyr." Shepard coughed again. "You're a hero Pyrrha, like I always knew you were. And don't you forget… it…" Shepard's head fell to the side as she lost consciousness.

"Commander!" Pyrrha shouted at the top of her lungs to no avail. And to Pyrrha's horror, Commander Jane Shepard's body began to dissolve away in her hands.

As the Commander's body disappeared, Pyrrha looked at the floating dust around her in horror, as she then realized that the entire Citadel of Chaos around her was dissolving as well.

Outside of the Citadel, Tassadar, Sev, Wynne, Cayde, Rylanor, and Church all stood back to back, surrounded by an unending horde of Grimm. Grim faced and focused in their resolve, the Legionnaires were all ready to face their doom, when suddenly the Grimm began to die. It began slowly, with a few Beowolves or Ursai, but suddenly a wave of death exploded through their ranks as Grimm just began to fall over and dissolve.

The heroes only had a brief moment to ponder their confusion when the thunderous sound of crashing stone stole their attention. Turning towards the source, they all watched as the Citadel of Chaos was dissolving, causing chunks of obsidian to fall from the colossal structure and crash to the ground.

"They must've done it!" a bloody Wynne cheered as she watched the Citadel collapse. "They killed the Amalgamation."

Tassadar nodded his head at Wynne's words. "Our allies are strong. It does not surprise me that they saw this through."

However, not all present seemed to share the enthusiasm of the others.

"Aw man." Cayde moaned. "First Oryx and now this? How come I never get to be the one to kill the big bad guy anymore?"

A holographic Church patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, maybe you'll get to do it next time." As he said this, Church noticed that his holographic hands began to disappear. "Speaking of though, I have to say it's nice to be on this side of the happy ending though. I'll see you all later. You can catch me chillin 'with T3, Six, and Johnson!" and with that Church's form blinked out of existence.

Cayde looked at the spot that Church once occupied, before noticing he was vanishing as well. Glancing at his transparent hands, then at the others around him, Cayde gave them all a sad smile. "Yeah… next time." And Cayde faded away.

Sev stumbled forward, feeling his soul being pulled next. Looking to his allies, he said, "I have to say, while you weren't my brothers, fighting with all of you, wasn't that bad." With that gruff statement, the hunter vanished from sight.

"For what purpose is this melancholy?" Rylanor's mechanical voice boomed out as the mighty dreadnought too began to fade. "We are victorious against the Great Enemy, and for that we shall take our places amongst the Emperor's finest! Do not mourn, but celebrate, for we have done our duty. And it is now that our duty ends." With Rylanor's proud and honorable words echoing through the sky, he too vanished.

"I swear I will never understand that one." Wynne chuckled at Rylanor's words before she turned to Tassadar, as they were the only two left. "I suppose this is goodbye friend. You better take care of yourself in the future, I won't always be there to heal you." With that playful scolding, Wynne then faded away.

Tassadar, now standing alone, looked back at the collapsing Citadel of Chaos. "Congratulations, Commander. The abomination is dead, and the universe, safe. May Adun watch over all of you. Goodbye, and good luck." And with that, Tassadar passed on once more.

Back inside the Citadel of Chaos, the rest of the surviving heroes gathered around Pyrrha, watching as their commander disappeared from this world.

"You did it." Galen breathlessly said as he looked at Pyrrha. "You beat him. We won, and the realms are all safe."

It was then that Galen noticed the dissolving world around them. At his surprise, Thane and Gray Fox noticed as well.

"And it appears that with the Amalgamation gone, so too are the Forces of Chaos that were holding this realm together." Thane noted as his hands began to fade. "With them gone, Lileath should be able to return and reforge the Final Destination back into what it was supposed to be, a Haven for lost souls, and escape from this twisted game."

As Thane faded further, he turned to the final resting place of Commander Shepard. "It appears our positions are reversed this time, Siha. I will admit that this is not something I am happy with. But even so, this is a good end." The assassin then looked to the rest of his comrades. "I think I've had enough fighting for a good while." And Thane vanished from their sight.

"It is such a strange thing, for good to come out of all this violence." Gray Fox spoke next as he dissolved away. "Now that this is done, perhaps I can finally know peace." Gray Fox opened up his helmet to Galen and Pyrrha, and gave them the first smile they'd ever seen on his face before he disappeared.

Taking note of his own disappearing body, Galen put one hand on Pyrrha's shoulder. "I suppose I'll see you in the next life." Pyrrha looked up at him sadly. "Goodbye Pyrrha, and may the Force be with you, always." Galen then vanished, leaving behind nothing to indicate he was ever there.

As the world faded away around her, collapsing into nothingness, Pyrrha couldn't help but feel… content. Despite everything that happened, all of the losses and hardships she and her friends had to endure, they had done. She had done it. Pyrrha helped stop a great evil, and saved the multiverse! For the first time in both her and previous life, she truly felt like she was a hero.

"Boy do I have a story to tell Jaune and others next time I see them." Pyrrha smiled to herself as she faded away as a hero.