The Eternal Effect

by Nomad-117

Do a little recon, they said. It'll be a short trip, they said. What the Citadel Council didn't anticipate was that once they were through the relay, the crew of the Normandy SR 2 would get entangled in a conflict as old as humanity itself. Welcome to Sanctuary, where Heaven and Hell are more than mere ideas, and the locals are...less than friendly. Rated T for now.

7. On-Site Training

Chapter 7: On-Site Training

Audio log, Admiral Steven Hackett, Fifth Fleet of the System Alliance

The discovery of Sanctuary was… problematic. Not just in how it was discovered, but also by whom. Shepard had, after all, already garnered a reputation of finding the impossible. To my great shame I have to admit that I didn't think that anything was amiss till I got a tip from some… shady connections. Of course, said connections had proven to be trustworthy during the war, so I was inclined to believe them.

What I learned wasn't what I expected, nor was it to my liking. Humanity's greatest marine, the hero of the galaxy three times over, basically stranded on a hostile world while all contact to anyone but the council was restricted and said council fed us false intel… yeah, I wasn't going to quietly accept that. Still, at the same time I could hardly send a division of marines on an underdeveloped world, but there were other ways I could help. And I didn't hesitate to use them even if it meant stepping on some toes along the way.

That said, I should have expected the Commander to pull through as she did. Still, this discovery and the… emissaries certainly didn't make things easy for us. Typical Shepard, really, I suppose she got that from Anderson. As for her team that hadn't already been on this hostile world, it didn't take long for Doctor T'Soni to rally them to her bondmate's location. No surprise there considering Liara's….other professional interests, but if I had known then what I know now, I might have reconsidered getting involved as fast as we inevitably did, at least not without better intelligence to go on.

It turns out the road to Hell is truly paved with good intentions.

Hackett out.

Audio log, end

The Labyrinth Beneath Old Tristram Cathedral

"So- get off!" Shepard shouted as another skeleton ran at her, but a quick headbutt from her turned the front of its skull into dust as it fell back, "what's with this large labyrinth?" She asked Leah, as casually as if they were sitting at a cafe rather than currently fighting for their lives as Shepard blocked a sword swing before slamming her blue glowing fist into the skeleton's ribcage, smashing its fragile bones and severing its spine in the same instant. "I figure you likely know something."

"You're really going to carry on a conversation as we fight?!" Leah shook her head since she already knew the answer long before she caught the edge of a grin on the older woman's face as she brought her recovered sword up against the skeleton before her. With a defiant yell, Leah pushed the long dead warrior back before slicing through its neck with the tip of her blade, her arms aching from the effort even as the skeleton fell to pieces. "Of course you are." She grumbled, but something about Shepard's cheer seemed to be contagious despite the situation, that and having something to talk about was serving to distract her from her growing aches and exhaustion.

"According to my uncle," Leah began as she ducked and spun away from another skeleton, her blade cutting into its back in the same movement, "Old Tristram's cathedral was here long before King Leoric and his people moved into the area. They set up his seat of power here, and for many years, Leoric was hailed as a fair and just king. But-" she was cut off as she jumped to the side at the last second, another skeleton lunging at her. Landing on her feet, Leah shoulder charged the creature, knocking it flat before she followed it with her blade. "Yah! But Leoric didn't know the Horadrim, of which my uncle is a member, had sealed Diablo deep beneath this place. Or, it's more accurate to say that Leoric was fooled into coming here by the Zakarum faith he followed, the priests having been corrupted by another of the Prime Evils, Mephisto."

"So this place is a giant prison for Diablo, eh?" Shepard asked, to which Leah nodded as she drew her sword out of the stone floor and the now dead skeleton at her feet. Shepard only spared her a glance before she drove her glowing fist into a cultist's chest just as another of his friends fired off a searing black bolt of some unknown energy. Using him as a shield, she ran forward, his back smoking where the bolt struck, and bull rushed the offender with the corpse of his own ally before stomping on his neck in the next instant when they fell in a heap at her feet. "Which means we're likely looking at secret passages, traps, and worse, not barring our friends here anyway." Shepard finished as she waved her gore covered gauntlet out before her. "Blegh. And now I'm gonna be cleaning this glove out for a month."

"...Assuming the cultists haven't deactivated them, or repurposed them for their own twisted ends." Leah replied as she took a hesitant look at their surroundings, and saw that no more enemies were pouring out of the woodwork for the moment. Somehow, although she'd later say that Shepard had likely done most of the work, they'd survived this latest scuffle with only a few scratches to show for the effort. Swallowing her bile back, somehow, Leah groaned at the two dead men at Shepard's feet before looking away. "But on top of being a prison, the upper levels were converted into crypts for Leoric and his people, so as long as we stick to these areas, we should be okay outside of the risen dead. Not that we'd have a reason to go deeper since I doubt my uncle did, and we need to find a way out regardless."

"Right, and if he's smart he'll likely be around here somewhere, trying to find his own way out." Although how the old man could have slipped away without being discovered for so long, Shepard had no idea. But if he knew half as much as she guessed he did, chances were Deckard was using that knowledge to remain hidden from the shambling undead and their living if moronic masters. That, and despite Leah's clear inexperience in a truly life and death situation, she knew how to fight, and Shepard was willing to bet Deckard had taught her. Her respect for the old man, already fairly high, only increased further as they pressed on.

Going to the left revealed another chamber, and going back south, Shepard assumed as much anyway, simply looped back around to where they'd begun. Backtracking to the chamber they'd just left, Shepard stopped just in front of a set of stone archways, leading into small chambers that were situated on the far end of the chamber they were in. Seeing a podium, as well as a number of shelves attached to the northern wall along with a couple of desks and chairs scattered about, Shepard was more interested in the cultists idly going through the scrolls and books, unaware of their presence. Looking to Leah, Shepard answered her unspoken question when her omni-blade appeared once more.

Darting around the corner, Shepard led the way as the cultist on the left was reaching up to a just out of reach scroll. Jamming her bunched up fingers into the small of his back, she twisted her hand just so, paralyzing him on the spot while her glowing blade found a new home in the right man's back about the same time. As he fell, the one she'd nerve blocked stood stock still, unable to move save to tremble as he desperately tried to get anything to work as she dragged a chair over with her biotics, positioning it so it was behind her target before casually pushing him, making him sit down. "The paralysis will wear off, in a few minutes. But you have enough control over your eyes that you can answer a few yes or no questions for me."

The cultists blinked fearfully at her, clearly panicking at his lack of control over his own body. It was something she could understand, even emphasise with, but right now he was the enemy, and as such she couldn't allow herself to do anything less than what she had to do. "It's simple, for yes you blink once, for no twice in quick succession, got it?"

In return the cultist pressed his eyes closed for a second before opening them again. "Excellent, now are you and your friends responsible for the undead?" If so, they just had to murder all the cultists to stop the problem. If not, things could become way more complicated. So when he blinked twice, Shepard sighed and rubbed a hand down her face in clear annoyance. "Do you know who or what is responsible?"

"Was it the fallen star?" Leah asked before the cultist could answer.

The man seemed uncertain, apparently unsure how to answer them. "You don't know but you have an idea?"

A single slow blink in return. "Is that possibility the fallen star?" Another positive, not that she was surprised. It was only natural to draw a connection between a fallen star and the undead that started to rise mere moments afterwards. "Any other ideas?" A resounding no from the shaking man as his fingers began to twitch. Shepard wasn't worried though as she glanced towards Leah, and frowned when she saw the young woman looked far paler than usual. "Let me guess."

"My Uncle….might have been onto something." She said, answering Shepard's unspoken question before turning her reluctant gaze to the man between them. "The prophecy, have you heard of the Prophecy of the End Times?" A hesitant yes, and Leah's face paled further yet. "So you're not ignorant of what's likely going on, which means you're truly culpable instead of an unwitting pawn in a much larger scheme orchestrated by a madwoman." He didn't deny it, and Leah got right up in his face in the next instant, and if not for Shepard holding her back by one shoulder, she might have knocked him right out of the chair he was stuck in. "Why?! Why do all this?!"

"Doesn't matter." Shepard stated, and didn't flinch away when Leah rounded on her next. Pointing towards the cultist with her free hand, she sighed and sadly shook her head in response. "His reasons will only make it worse. Whether it's misguided delusions, or a mad grab for power and safety once the smoke clears, the result ends the same way."

"But-"

"No, right now the only important thing is that they do these things, not why. We can worry about that later, for now we have to get out of here and their reasons won't help us with that, nor will they help us in finding your uncle." Shepard reminded her gently, even though her tone was firm.

"You… you're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You care, that's not a bad thing." Shepard replied as she made short work of their prisoner. Once he too was dead at their feet did she turn back to Leah and put a hand on her trembling shoulder. "We are going to find him Leah, and we'll get to the bottom of this."

"I hope so." Whether she meant Deckard or figuring out why all this was happening didn't matter, only that they got out of the labyrinth in one piece. Still, she paused at the archway into the study, and sighed, exhausted in more ways than one. "I...just need time to think, to process all this insanity."

"I'd love to give you the chance, but we need to keep moving." Still, Shepard let her stand against the side of the archway, allowing Leah a chance to collect her no doubt whirling thoughts. "If it helps though, I have some experience with getting your world view turned upside down."

"Huh, really?" The younger woman asked somewhat skeptical. "And what could compare to all of this?"

"Well… actually all of this." Shepard deadpanned back without missing a beat. "Remember where I'm from magic is just a fairy tale and demons and angels and everything in between is either part of religious mythology or good bedtime stories read to children. Other than that… I encountered, constructs I suppose you could say, built with the sole purpose of killing everything that wasn't them." While she simplified the nature of the Reapers extremely, it got the point across well enough. It was further aided when Shepard pulled up a holographic representation, scaled down to fit above her right arm, of Harbinger, the biggest and most powerful of them all.

Hesitantly poking at the orange picture before her, Leah could only gawk at the measurements that popped up around the giant tentacled machine's edges, along with a short blurb about the entity that she was able to understand, much to her silent amazement. "Several kilometers tall and half as wide?! Able to spit out projectiles at near light speed?! How did you even-"

"A lot of lives lost and a Hell of a lot of luck." Shepard's eyes were distant and vacant as bad memories whirled behind her otherwise neutral mask. Dispelling the hologram with a deft twitch of her fingers, she pressed onward, ignoring Leah's concerned if inquisitive stare against her back.

Leah made to reply but stopped herself and closed her mouth again after spotting the forlorn look on the warrior's face. "You're right… we should continue on." She eventually said, and tried to smile bravely. "Can't get much worse than this right?"

"You just had to jinx it." Shepard shot back, smiling grimly despite her earlier sorrowful mood as they came upon a last set of rooms, with a stairwell just visible beyond the stone archway to their front right. "Of course it's the last room we find." She grumbled, her gaze settling on the latest group of skeletons, zombies, and cultists as they formed haphazard ranks. "And you're all about to have a very bad day."

Their answer was to part, allowing one individual with long, rusty spiked rods jutting out of his large shoulders, back, and chest to step forward. His bare skin had an assortment of bloody sigils carved into his flesh, glowing with a malevolent dark light. With a growl, the man transformed in a flash of red and black light, growing to a far bigger size in the same instant.

"What the-" Shepard gasped out as the creature, for their was nothing human about the being in front of her anymore, shot towards her with a speed that seemed to be at odds with its newly gained size. She barely managed to roll out of the way of the following strike, its newly sprouted claws cutting deeply into the wall, pelting her with stone shards even as she continued to whirl around and bury her glowing omni-blade in its abdomen before ripping it wide open. To her horror the creature still came after her, the injury seemingly not hindering its movement in the slightest. "Okay…." She deadpanned, and began to glow a dark blue from head to foot. Throwing a Singularity behind her as she spun, she stopped the encroaching horde from swarming over them while she channeled a Shockwave at the demonic horror that had since turned to try and gut her with renewed vigor.

Instead, it was blasted back against the stone wall, where it promptly exploded violently, showering the ground and wall in gore and bits of bone that never got close to touching the two humans. "Self destruct upon death, good to know." Shepard mused as she spotted two more further back in the throes of their own transformations. "Leah!"

"On it!" Leah called back as she circled around the zombies and skeletons as best she could, sliding beneath a bolt of dark magic. The chanting Dark Vessels, she couldn't allow them to transform, not with Shepard unable to help her as she engaged the rest of them. She drew back her arm and threw her dagger, putting it point first right between the eyes of one of the chanting cultists while she ran towards the remaining enemy, sword held aloft.

The man turned to face her and brought up his staff in an attempt to block her attack, but he was too slow, just a moment, but it was enough for her sword to hit him in the side of his throat, blood spraying from his torn arteries which hit her face. It was hot, almost burning her skin. Leah froze at the sight and the feeling of the man dying in front of her as the light left his eyes, and his blood pooled on the ground around him. "Don't think about it!" Snapping her gaze towards, Shepard, Leah gasped when she saw the warrior was being carroled. "Keep fighting or we're both screwed!"

Spurred by her call, Leah about charged in but stopped when she spotted another hanging chandelier. Remembering her earlier lesson in fighting smarter rather than harder, Leah changed her direction at the last second, making for the winch instead. Dropping her sword, she grabbed hold of the rust covered handle, and about toppled over when it broke off from the mechanism. "Son of a-" She kicked at the winch in desperate frustration, and was rewarded when the iron chandelier fell just in front of Shepard, crushing several of the zombies and skeletons in the process.

Wasting no time now that she had a reprieve, Shepard was quick to cut down the few that were left before slumping against the stone wall, sweat beading across her forehead as she panted. The dark blue glow that had encompassed her throughout most the night had disappeared, further adding to the obvious fact that she was exhausted. "Damn….metabolic crash….been burning too much energy from all my biotic output. Gonna need to eat soon….or you're gonna be dragging me out on my back."

"Eat?" Leah gasped and looked around, the whole chamber looked like a slaughterhouse. "Where would we find something to eat here?"

"Hey, even demon worshipping jackasses have to eat at some point. I'm sure there's a mess around here somewhere." Shepard retorted, chuckling despite how tired she felt as she pushed away from the wall to start searching the bodies that were still relatively in one piece. "And if all else fails, maybe one of these still human idiots have something I can munch on."

"Assuming it's not covered in gore." Leah muttered, but gingerly began rifling through the cultists' clothing, doing her level best to keep her stomach from revolting in violent protest.

"Yeah, let's not eat anything blood stained, not a good idea really." Shepard agreed with a deep breath. "Still, things are looking up."

"How can you say that? You nearly collapsed, we're surrounded by corpses, and we're underground with no way up!"

"Yeah, true." Shepard agreed calmly and lifted a lecturing finger. "But, we're still alive, they aren't, and if what you tell me is true, we find your uncle and we find our way out of here. I bet he'd know all the exits to this little hideout."

"I...I guess you're right." Leah sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before going back to searching through the dead.

"Huh, agreement instead of a snarky comeback. Been sometime since I've had that." Shepard chuckled weakly, a grin splitting her pale face despite the grim situation the two of them were in.

"Your friends?"

"Yeah, no boring day with them. No boring conversations either."

"From what I've seen, they truly are remarkable individuals."

"Ha, you're in for a shock kid, the ones you've seen this far are tame in comparison to the rest of my team."

"That certainly makes me wonder what kind of people they are."

"Absolute lunatics, foul mouthed, moody, cold, easy to anger, battle maniacs. In the case of my wife, hell of a nymphomaniac, but also the truest and best of friends a girl could ask for. I wouldn't trade them for the world." Shepard told her wistfully. "It's a shame that not all of them get to see this."

"And once more I have to wonder if you're just as insane as my Uncle Deckard." Still, the weak smile Leah let slip on her lips said she was feeling better about things as she shouted triumphantly, holding up a mostly clean loaf of fresh bread which she tossed towards Shepard. Finding a leather wineskin full of wine, Leah took a heavy draw from it to steady her nerves before handing it over. The first few drops had passed her lips when she violently began coughing. One hand held the wineskin away from her as she turned and retched, the metallic taste of blood on her tongue was soon replaced by bile as Leah finally lost control of her stomach.

Taking the wineskin away from Leah's outstretched hand, Shepard patted the girl on her back as she panted and wheezed. "Mmm….at least the guy had good taste." Shepard said once she'd taken a pull from the bag. Going back to the task at hand, while idly chomping on the bread Leah had found with the other, Shepard raised an eyebrow when she found a heavy, faded brown tome among the remains of one of the transformed cultists. "What's this? Captain Lachdanan?" She asked, reading the fluid, elegant if faded lettering on the inside cover.

"Lachdanan?" Leah wheezed, trying to ignore the latest convulsion in her stomach that threatened to empty her stomach even further. "H-he was the captain for King Leoric and the leader of his armies. Aidan, Leoric's older son, ugh...he'd go on to free a cursed Lachdanan, cursed by the mad king since the captain had finally had enough and led a revolt against Leoric. Leoric, with his dying breath, cursed Lachdanan, condemning the man and his men to become Hellspawn, cursed knights bound to the Burning Hells."

"Of course he did." Shepard muttered lowly and sighed. "Did anyone ever tell you that your world is really messed up, kid?"

"Someone might have mentioned it once or twice." Leah said as she straightened, feeling a little better now despite the lingering taste of her own vomit and blood on her tongue. She grimaced further when Shepard took another pull from the wineskin, her frown deepening as did the furrow to her brow. "How can you drink that still?"

"Energy's energy kid. The little metallic copper aftertaste I can ignore." Shepard said with a shrug.

"I can't." Leah stated flatly, not that she needed to.

"Yeah, I noticed." The red haired woman observed dryly. "If you really can't stomach it try to look for something that isn't stained, but thing is, you need to keep your energy up, same as me, otherwise things will get… problematic as a friend of mine would say."

"I'll...keep it in mind." Leah replied, noting yet again the forlorn look in Shepard's eyes before she wiped the back of her arm across her mouth, glad that her sleeve hadn't also been stained with blood as she straightened with a heavy sigh. Turning to the short flight of stairs that led deeper into the labyrinth with no other visible way forward, Leah took up her sword once more while Shepard did the same. "Here's hoping we don't run into anything wo-"

"Don't finish that thought kid." Shepard mock groaned as she finished up the bread before handing over what was left in the wineskin to Leah, who grimaced but nodded her thanks before taking an experimental pull. When she didn't vomit again, Shepard nodded her approval as Leah downed the rest before looping the empty bag to her belt for now. "Word of advice, although I'm pretty sure I said it once before, don't go asking for trouble because chances are pretty good you'll find it if you do."

"Are you always this superstitious?"

"Yep. Comes with the territory in my line of work kid."

"I'm twenty years old, I'm hardly a child."

"Yeah I know, otherwise I wouldn't call you kid, but instead give you chocolate with an awkward smile and pray for Chakwas to arrive soon." Shepard chuckled at the slightly annoyed look that earned her. "I know, I know, you're a big bad girl that can take of herself, guess it's just a habit of mine. Still, kinda strange, got a kid of my own and yet I can't seem to act right around other kids."

"Well, I've noticed that you're certainly a very strange individual, Shepard." Leah told her somewhat amused by the soldier's musings and held out her hands. "I think we should keep moving, just in case."

"Now you're getting it." Coming to the end of the stone stairwell, it didn't take them long to spot where the fallen star had continued to carve its way deep into the earth, the giant hole glowing with a pale blue light. Seeing a narrow ledge leading to another, darkened corridor, along with a massive, huge metallic door engraved with dulled gold situated against the same wall, further down its own grand flight of stairs, Shepard cocked her ear when she heard frantic footsteps coming their way. Seeing a number of similar chambers and rooms as above spreading out from the chamber they were located in, it didn't take her long to see a hooded figure stumbling forward, a long, well worn wooden staff in hand. Behind him was another of the transformed creatures, but she frowned when it simply chose to keep pace with the fleeing figure. "They want him alive!" She gasped when it simply reached out towards the old man in an attempt to bring him up short, but a surprisingly nimble jump forward at just the right moment ensured he was just out of reach.

"Deckard!" Leah called out as she and Shepard charged towards the beast, much to the old man's considerable shock as he too spun with a cry, his staff whirling around as he went. Where it met the monster's large, clawed hand, sparks of magical energy swept up the creature's limb, leaving it wide open for the two women to finish it off in short order. Before it could detonate, Shepard shielded them beneath a transparent blue dome of biotic energy. Taking a knee, Shepard grunted from the exertion while Leah collapsed into her uncle's chest. "Uncle Deckard!"

"I'm quite alright my dear girl!" Cain replied, one hand wrapped protectively around Leah's trembling shoulders. "Goodness but what are you doing here of all places?"

"Saving you of course, like usual." Leah countered as she wiped away her tears with one hand once she'd pulled away from the man.

"My child…" Deckard began but stopped himself. "Thank you, I am sorry that this old man caused you so much worry my dear… you look like you haven't slept in days."

"Well, I did sleep, though not much." Leah was quick to assure him even as she continued to look him over. "The damned undead didn't help."

"Indeed." Deckard agreed before turning his tired old eyes towards the stranger who had only just started to get to her feet once more. Taking in the intimidating black and red lined, segmented armor the stranger wore, along with the fact they'd obviously been through the catacombs together judging by the gore and the equipment they'd salvaged, Shepard saw the man's eyes glow with respect for her part in getting them together again. "You have my profound gratitude, but if I might ask, who are you and why did you come here to this cursed place?"

"Long story Cain, but I'd be happy to tell you what I can on the way out of this place. I do have to ask though." She blushed slightly when her stomach gave a violent and loud rumble. "You don't have anything to eat by chance do you?"

Road to New Tristram

Even though the sun had risen only a little bit ago, it did little to raise their spirits as Ashley stirred with only a gentle tap to her knee from Moira of all people. With a groan and a stretch of her arms above her head, the woman sighed as she noted the sorceress's skin color hadn't improved much. "You look like the dead."

Moira grimaced knowingly in response. "I do not feel that great either. The cost of using as much magic as I did despite already being exhausted. I knew better-"

"But we were kinda in a bad way." Ashley finished for her, not about to split hairs even though she felt guilty for how drained the normally bubbly woman looked.

"Indeed, though I am glad that I was able to save at least some lives through my efforts." Moira said as she turned to regard the surviving militia men. "I just wish I could have done more."

"Piece of advice, don't dwell too much on it. Otherwise all those what ifs are gonna drive you crazy." Ashley told her with a sigh, remembering her own experiences with that. If she had acted differently, would her team on Eden Prime have been able to survive? Should she had taken Kaidan's place? Should she have simply stepped aside when Shepard came after Udina instead of stupidly protecting the now known traitor? Well, that last one was easy, but the point remained, she'd driven herself a little nuts with questions like that. Turning to Moira once more, Ashley noted the young woman had sat down next to her, a soft covering of sweat dampening her hairline. She really was looking like crap, and despite her earlier disbelief about her 'magic', Ashley's protective instincts couldn't help but rear their head. "You sure you're alright Moira?"

"Y-yeah. I just need more time to rest and recover is all." She promised, touched by the concern despite their previous arguments. "Magical exhaustion is nothing to sneeze at. If I had a mana potion or two, I'd be right as rain, but those are hard to come by so far from magically inclined communities….not counting whatever foul magical practitioners that are a part of this dark coven running about. I'd rather be drained of my magic than take anything from the likes of them."

"Heh, can't blame you there Moira." Ashley chuckled but nodded, even if she didn't understand completely the woman's distaste. Magic was magic from what she could tell, even if it did take on many forms from what she'd seen.

"Most wise, I would seriously question your character if you were willing to accept such concoctions." Gemma chimed in from the shadows, her hood back in place as she sat on an empty barrel, a knife in hand as she carved a tooth into a suitable shape for the tip of an arrow. "The substances in question, as well as their method of production, are suspect at best, and most likely have ties to the Burning Hells at worst. If you were to find such a potion from one of these cultists, it'd be better to err on the side of caution and toss it aside."

"Just what's a mana potion supposed to look like anyway?" Ash asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"A dark blue liquid, similar to that of a health potion or poultice. Except there's a noticeable….tingle when one picks up the former." Moira replied before shrugging her shoulders. "Or it could be simply a response to one such as I. I never thought to consider it now that you mention it."

"Never had the need to pick one up myself." Gemma supplied carelessly, a feral grin finding its way onto her face. "But I once set fire to a laboratory where they made their concoctions. Bastards didn't expect that."

"Didn't peg you for an arsonist." Ashley mused, more impressed than offended by the hunter's brutal efficiency. She and Jack would get along, once the obligatory snarling and cursing at each other had run its course.

"Most of the time I'm not, but I cannot deny that burning buildings is an effective way to kill those inside." Gemma replied easily. "I'd rather burn down a hundred cultists then see them hurt one innocent if I can stop it."

"That at least I can agree with." Looking towards Daltyn as he passed, Ashley noted the tired but hopeful gleam on his face despite the fact they'd gotten their asses kicked last night. "Good news old man?"

"Heh, I'm not so old yet." Daltyn retorted as he pulled out a pipe and a pouch of herbs from his belt. Stuffing the simple clay pipe with the contents of his pouch, the old captain lit up and took a drawn pull from the pipe before turning to address the question. "Scout came back, was able to get into contact with the town, told them of our impending arrival. We should be meeting them before high noon and we'll have an escort back to town, help with our wounded."

"Good news indeed." Moira cheered, to which Daltyn smiled while Gemma returned to making more arrows, but the little twitch to her lips said she too was happy with how things were going. "That does remind me, but these Wretched Mothers? Only saw one if I recall and that was some time ago."

"Heard one hit the town but it was destroyed according to what the scout reported back." Daltyn replied but he too was slightly worried since if they were still out there, another small army of zombies could hit New Tristram. "More of your friends were responsible I hear." This he threw towards Ashley who smirked and nodded, unsurprised.

"Sounds like something they'd do alright. The doc probably la-...came to town with reinforcements." She corrected herself, 'coughing' to the side in an effort to disguise her near slip up. If anyone noticed, they didn't say as Ashley stood and pushed away from the wall of the hut they'd stopped in last night. Her feet came to a stop though when she heard what sounded like a hollow thud. Kneeling down, she raised an eyebrow once she tapped at the floorboards, expecting dirt to muffle the sound, but instead heard the same hollow thud. "Does anyone know if Adria's hut has a basement?"

"What?" Daltyn asked as he turned, his smoking pipe in hand as the rest of his present men shouted their denial of any knowledge of whatever Ashley had discovered. "No, but do we have time to investigate is the real question?" He mused.

"We can, Captain." Gemma stated as she jumped off of the barrel, her work momentarily forgotten. "Provided my companions are feeling up to it."

"Might as well." Ashley said before turning to Moira, concern etched on her face. "You should probably stay here Moira."

"Normally I'd disagree with you, but I think I'll do that." The sorceress replied, smiling tiredly towards the pair. "If you find anything that glows, don't touch it? Practical caution when dealing with magical artifacts." While she made it sound like a joke, Moira's firmly set jaw said otherwise.

"No worries kid. Well Bright Eyes, shall we?" Ash didn't wait for Gemma to catch up as the marine moved the table aside that'd been partially covering the hidden door before yanking the hidden door open. Loose dirt fell through the tightly packed wooden slats while the cellar like opening gave an ominous creek, a ladder leading down into an earthen tunnel. The smell was old, musty, and not entirely pleasant as Ash waved a hand over her face. "Ugh….I'd almost say no one's been down here in awhile."

"I wouldn't be too sure on that." Gemma mused as she noted prints in the dust and the dirt that looked only a few days old. Blinking gray glowing eyes when Ash shined a light down the tunnel with the glowing device on her arm, the hunter was able to make out more of the prints leading deeper into the tunnel itself, before doubling back. "Whoever was here must have found what they were looking for. It's the fact they took the time to conceal their passage at all that makes me wonder why."

"Well, only one way to find out." Ashley stated before she swung her legs over the wooden ladder and began to climb down. Calling up to those above, she said, "Daltyn, keep an eye on Moira and make sure the way's clear for us."

"Of course."

Gemma nodded her thanks to the man as she descended, glad that the heavier woman had gone first on the off chance one of the rungs had snapped. But they reached the bottom without incident, and without a word, they readied their weapons, Gemma just behind and to Ashley's left. A quick sniff of the air made the demon hunter grimace. "It'd be safe to assume there's an old corpse down here, perhaps more."

"Trap?"

"Possibly more to protect what was once here, assuming there was anything worth the effort." Gemma could only shrug in either event. "Or possibly there was a fight and whoever hid the entrance tried to cover up his or her deed."

"But you don't think so." It wasn't a question.

Gemma nodded her head ever so slightly in response all the same. "In my experience such things are rarely that simple. Of course such things as simple murder do exist, but from what I have seen from such circumstances as this seldomly appear, and most certainly not in such close proximity to such a… special area."

"More of your demons I take it." Despite her lingering, audible disbelief in such things, Ashley was doing her best to keep a much more open mind about it.

An effort Gemma was happy to acknowledge as they came to the end of the tunnel at last. "If by demons you mean the Lord of Terror himself corrupting a once benevolent king and turning him into a tyrant, then yes, more of my demons."

"So… yes, just even worse." Ashley noted with a heavy sigh, wondering how they kept getting involved in such madness. "What do you think we'll find down here?"

"Who can say for certain?" Gemma muttered back, weapons at the ready as they entered the chamber side by side, her eyes snapping towards the large, iron black cauldron and a number of work tables, laden heavily with all manner of alchemical ingredients and instruments. "The only thing I know is that people died in this cellar, quite possibly Leah's mother as well. This was hers after all, perhaps she was a casualty of all the madness that took place or of the chaos later on."

"Let's hope not." Ashley whispered quietly, and thought of the young girl that was so intent on finding her uncle. "It might be a slim hope… but it's still there, that the two of them can be reunited." A part of her thought back to the days of the war when she didn't know whether or not the rest of her family still drew breath. She'd been extremely fortunate in that regard, but the thought had still stuck with her even these days.

Seeing the look on the woman's face, Gemma's gray eyes softened further as she tucked her right crossbow away before putting a hand on Ashley's armored shoulder. "Agreed, too many families have been broken and scattered by the machinations of the Burning Hells already."

"Yeah… though the sad part is that we don't need demons for that, huh?" Gemma didn't reply, but she shook her head in agreement before they went their separate ways in the large cellar space, hoping to find anything of interest that they could take with them to justify coming down here in the first place. Ashley found herself rifling through large, wooden and iron chest while Gemma found herself at the alchemy equipment covered table, the smell of dried herbs, bits of animal parts, and more scattered across its surface.

Grimacing as she found mostly clothes and useless personal items in the chest, Ashley frowned when her fingers touched the bottom of the chest, and she felt a seam where there shouldn't have been. Kasumi's lessons in master thievery came to mind, and she had to chuckle at the irony that she'd have found said lessons useful as Ashley pulled her alloy blade from her boot, and jammed the point into the seam, prying the boards loose as she went, mindful of any wires or anything else that might cause her….trouble. Seeing the telltale glimmer of a spider thread like cord attached to the board she had started to move aside, Ashley paused and whistled to Gemma, who immediately looked up from rifling through the table's contents to make her way to her side. "Trapped."

"On it." Gemma wasted no time in kneeling down to lend a hand in disarming it. After a few moments of scrutinizing the wire and the mechanism attached to Gemma drew one of her daggers and with a flash of metal the wire was cut without activating the trap. "Done."

Pulling the board back, Ashley was almost disappointed with how easily the hunter had dealt with the problem, her eyes alighting on the vial the wire had been attached to, along with what she assumed was a spark stone, which would have caught light and activated the no doubt combustible liquid in said glass container. A simple trap, but one that would've been effective in destroying the heavy, leather journal her eyes affixed upon next. "Huh, and here I thought things would get more complicated." Ashley mused as she took the book from its resting place before stuffing it away in Gemma's pack for now.

"I wouldn't worry, there are undoubtedly more traps ahead." The hunter assured her dryly, seemingly amused by the soldier's antics.

"As long as our friends don't start gnawing at our ankles." Ashley retorted and nodded to the three skeletons that lay close to what appear to be a gutted cattle carcass and the remnants of a fire, where the heavy black cauldron resided.

Without even looking Gemma lifted one of her crossbows and shot one bolt through the skull of each one before tucking it back to her belt. "I think we're good."

"You know… I kinda like your style, sometimes, the whole no nonsense thing I can totally get behind." Gemma's little smirk was answer enough before Ashley started back for the ladder. Without a word, they soon stood before Daltyn and his men once more.

"I take it your little trip down below was good?" The man offered as he grabbed hold of Ashley's hand to help her up the rest of the way before she turned to do the same for Gemma.

"Nothing much beyond a few now dead skeletons and someone's old lab." Gemma raised an eyebrow when Ashley didn't mention the book they'd found, but didn't question her on it either. Without waiting for an answer either way, Ashley stood straight and glanced towards Moira, who was busy stuffing her face like she was afraid her bowl of soup someone had given her would disappear otherwise. "We almost ready to get back to town old man?"

"Heh, soon as the rest of the men are tended to we can leave." Daltyn replied with a firm nod of his head. If he'd noticed them holding back something, he had the good sense not to pry as he turned to the rest of those gathered. "Get the wounded ready to move and make sure everyone's as well rested as we can be. An escort should be waitin' for us when we near the gates."

It didn't take long for the small group, much smaller than Ashley liked to think about given their failure to save everyone, to ready themselves for the rest of the march back to New Tristram. Even the most heavily wounded among them were in high spirits, thanks in no small part to Gemma having nabbed a few potions from the alchemy lab, having deemed them fit to use for such an event as this. While they still had trouble moving about, those she'd been able to heal even partially were immensely grateful for even that much. With plenty of light to guide them, they set off, those still unable to fight placed in the middle of the group, with Ashley bringing up the rear while Gemma took up the front, with Daltyn and those still able to swing a sword positioned on either side.

Dresden, despite his previous whining, was with Ashley, and she was happy to note he was far less fearful than he'd been the night before. "I...just wanted to thank ye, for what you and Shep did for us folks." He blushed, remembering well he'd been borderline useless last night.

"Don't worry about it, kid." Ashley told him with an encouraging smile. "We could hardly leave you there to die."

"Still, you have my thanks… especially since I was in a rather sorry state and hardly any help."

"Listen, I know you probably feel like crap right now, Dresden. Most likely along the lines that you're a coward but thing is… you fought, even if you broke down later, you never expected to fight against these things. I mean who would?" Ashley told him gently and clasped his shoulder. "You did what you could, when you could, not many can say the same."

"Th-thanks ma'am….err, my la-"

Chuckling good naturedly, Ashley patted the young man on his back and grinned, "Ma'am's fine kid, or Ash if we're just talking, but when we're in the shit, you best stick to the first."

"R-right right, sorry Ash." Dresden blushed but smiled, glad that that was settled, at least for the moment anyway. He cocked his head to the side though and frowned, the question he wanted to ask on his lips, but he didn't want to be rude.

He didn't get a chance before they heard a dreadful, terrifying groan in the distance that immediately had everyone tensing in anticipation. The sounds of distant curses and the increasingly familiar sound of gunfire erupted from the path some distance ahead, the sound more than enough for Ashley to push Dresden forward while Gemma took off like a shot. "Move!" She shouted, her voice a thunderous boom that only spurred the group forward as they pulled swords and bows, needing no incentive to meet their allies before they could be overrun.

Joining Daltyn at the front, Ashley didn't raise her rifle to her shoulder just yet, but she carried it in her arms as the old man kept pace with her powerful stride as they crashed through the trees and undergrowth with all speed. "Oh spirits, not another one!" A familiar dual flanged voice shouted over the din before the report of a high powered sniper rifle pierced the mid morning air. "Damn! Can't get a clear shot!"

"Allow me." Seeing a crimson blur darting through the trees, Ashley shared a brief glance with Daltyn as someone punched a zombie square in the face with such force that its head exploded before he nimbly jumped back as a second lunged at him. Off balanced, the monk grabbed hold of its arm, yanked it to the ground, and promptly stomped on its neck all in one elegant, graceful move before spinning like a top, his back foot snapping forward to slam into a third's chest where it hit the ground in a heap. "HAI!" With an almost gleeful cry, the young man flipped forward, his fist leading in a devastating leaping strike that finished what his snap kick started as the thing's ribcage exploded outward around his glowing fist. "And that is why I'm the voice to the gods."

"Oh yeah well I…" Garrus began and paused looking around before snapping up his rifle and put a bullet in the head of another undead. "Well I am the… uh… Archangel of the gods!"

"Boys." Ashley muttered even when another voice grumbled "Bosh'tet" in the same breath. Seeing the other just as Tali had blasted another of the Mother's recently vomited zombies, the quarian beamed openly behind her visor. "Good to see you made it Lieutenant."

"You ain't looking too bad yourself Tali." Ashley replied as Gemma smiled, briefly, on her way to finish off the Wretched Mother. "Excuse me." Joining the hunter in her current task, it didn't take much effort between them to put the undead woman out of her misery just as Daltyn and his boys shambled up to join them. "That all of them?"

"I believe so." Gemma replied once she and the rest had scanned the immediate area and found nothing to say there was any further danger.

"Are those your friends?" Moira asked eagerly and stared at Garrus and Tali in fascination, Ashley swore she saw stars in the young woman's eyes as she regarded them like her new favourite toys.

"And suddenly I feel like a very handsome, sexy piece of meat." Garrus said quietly before a confident grin spread his mandibles. "And I'm okay with that."

"Ugh." Tali grumbled before turning her silvery eyes on the rest of the group, making it a point to keep them between Ashley and herself on the off chance someone decided it'd be a good idea to try and stab her and Garrus again. Surprisingly, they only gave her and the turian sharpshooter curious glances before shrugging their shoulders as a collective whole. While it wasn't hard to see why, with most of them tired, injured, or both, it was still a nice change from the last time. "Is this all you were able to bring back? And where's the Commander?"

Ashley winced and sighed, that action alone all the two needed to see to know what had likely happened. "She's needing a pick up from the cathedral, her and Leah both, but we believe they're still alive."

"If the Collectors couldn't keep her down, I doubt a few munchers can do it." Garrus replied, accepting the answer without a shred of hesitation on his part even if she and the rest could see he wanted to go after her the first chance they had. Instead he turned to Daltyn and his men, nodding his head towards the older gentleman in question. "You did good from what we've seen of the local pests."

"Not good enough." Daltyn replied, but nodded his thanks for the effort in any event. "My men'll just be glad to be home and able to recover at all."

"Which is why we're here, Captain Daltyn was it?" Tali asked, to which Daltyn nodded his head again. Without missing a beat, the quarian turned back the way they'd come with Lucifer falling in beside her. "Then let's get your men home."

Author Notes: Nomad-117: Welcome back to our little Diablo/ME story. So they found Cain, at long last, he is thankfully still alive and not zombie chow. Good for him! And the rest of the militia alongside Gemma, Ashley and Moira have met up with their allies and are on the way back. What could go wrong? A lot probably, but for now things are looking up.

Vergil1989: Diablo isn't known for its happy moments though. It's only through the terrible strife that the happy moments can be truly appreciated all the more. So, with that ominous warning out of the way, let the torment begin! MWAHAHAHAHAHA 'cough hack cough wheeze'. Lol sorry, but seriously folks, we hope you've enjoyed this story thus far and we'll see you guys and gals again. Adios!