The doors to the observation room hissed open and Grevel stomped inside, eyeing the interior of the space directly in front of him. The doors shut behind him and the guards shuffled to position their bodies in front of it. Grevel turned around, peering at them intently for a moment before walking halfway between the chair in the center of the room and the exit.

The lights in the room were dimmed, as always, and the tinted windows offered little visibility outside. Grevel didn't mind the darkness, but he was always confused why Zherl would choose to languish in this place rather than get down on the ground with his troops and take a firsthand look at the goings-on around this facility. Not exactly the sign of a good leader, one who chose isolation.

A batarian lieutenant off to the side looked like he was about to bolt, edging closer and closer to the wall as the silence became more apparent. Grevel was not intimidated in the slightest, not even when Zherl turned around in his chair, his krogan war hammer positioned across his lap.

"Zherl," Grevel said with the tiniest of nods.

"Commander Zherl," the large batarian growled. "It would be in your best interests to give me the proper respect in front of my men this time, Grevel."

The armored figure shrugged with another furtive glance around the room. "Apologies," he said, even though he didn't mean it. "I was caught up in a business matter but I came as quick as I could when I heard you wished to speak with me."

Zherl stood up furiously but Grevel didn't bat an eye. "Are you trying to make a fool out of me?" he roared.

"You'll have to be a little more specific than that," Grevel replied in a monotone voice.

"You know perfectly well that I had been trying to grab your attention ever since those humans invaded the facility! Instead, you locked yourself up in the interrogation room with that quarian – your so-called 'business matter' I suppose – and you are now pretending that you were unaware of any hails from my end! This has gone on far enough, Grevel! Something has to be done before we proceed further."

"I agree," Grevel gritted, his temples starting to throb. "Something has to be done."

Zherl sat back down, fuming. "I've not been particularly impressed with your overall attitude the entire time you've been here. You've been petulant, ignorant, and…"

Grevel quietly disengaged the audio receptors in his helmet, allowing him to zone out a little easier. It was quite comical to see the huge batarian speak to him in such a manner that it looked like he was just moving his jaw but with no words escaping it. It was worth it, having this private little jape at the lug's expense. He waited until it looked like Zherl was finished before engaging the receptors again.

"Well," he spread his hands as Zherl leaned back. "Is there anything else you want from me right now, other than a change of attitude?" With a sarcastic growl, he continued "Do you want a heartfelt apology too?"

"Quit being cute, you insolent prick. As a matter of fact, there is something that I in particular want that either you can give me or I can deal with myself. I want to speak with your employer, Grevel, and I want to speak with him now."

Grevel could not stop the bark of laughter from his mask. "No one talks to the Shadow Broker, Zherl. No one not part of the network, at least."

"I know that you've been talking to him! I have the communication records! You've been speaking to him from this very base so why can't I talk with him?"

"Any communications linkages from this planet go through one filter of control before I speak with the Broker and that filter is me. The Broker does not speak to anyone who is untrustworthy to the foundations has set in place, which you happen to qualify under. I cannot authorize a meeting between you two unless you have something important to say to him that is of a sensitive nature."

"Oh," Zherl grinned nastily. "Oh, but it is important, Grevel. It's a matter of grave importance. In fact, it's so important that I must insist that you set up a meeting right away."

Grevel blinked. "Really? What could you possibly have to offer, Zherl, that I am unaware of? What could you possibly know that I don't that would make you want to see the Shadow Broker personally?"

Zherl snapped his fingers and the two batarians by the door immediately sprung forward and grabbed Grevel's arms. The hulking figure offered no resistance but stared somberly at each trooper for a few seconds each before gazing back at Zherl. "I hope you'll forgive me," he said mildly in the strong grip of the guards, "but you're going to have to explain what the important matter is so that I can adequately report to the Broker your grievance, as well as this little slight in formalities."

"No need," Zherl shook his head with a laugh. "The formalities have ended, as far as I'm concerned. And as I said before, we have the communication records on file. We have the address of the Broker thanks to your correspondence with him. And do you know what I will say to him when I finally get my chance to talk?" Grevel, humoring him, shook his head. "Defiant, disobedient, and incompetent. Those will be the words I will use to describe you, Grevel, when I formally announce to your Broker that our little arrangement is concluded."

"I see," Grevel sighed, still not moving. "And why would you do such a thing?"

"Why? How about routinely massacring my men? How about failing to stop Shepard, the butcher of Elysium, from escaping my clutches? How about your consistent insubordinate attitude to me in front of my troops? You've grated on my nerves one too many times, Grevel. I've finally realized that you're more trouble than you're worth. We don't need the Broker's help in securing Anhur anymore, we're already halfway there! I don't need him to send a lackey to continuously stall my business in killing humans, no matter how mutated they are!"

Grevel gritted his teeth, leaning as far forward as he could from the grip of the guards. "I'm not going to explain my actions to you, asshole. I've done enough explaining for once. It is not your decision to break off an agreement from the Shadow Broker when the Na'hesit leadership decided on your behalf. There will be repercussions-"

"Let them come!" Zherl laughed as he hefted the war hammer. "Let the Broker's thugs come! If they are anything like you, then I'll have no trouble ridding myself of them, you pathetic coward." He waved to the guards grasping Grevel's arms. "Throw him in the cells! You'll have no say in the matter once I terminate our contract with the Broker and after that's concluded, there will be no further use for you as well."

"I am no coward," Grevel whispered to himself as the guards turned him around, strong-arming him over to the exit. Inside his helmet, he was broiling as sweat began to bead on his brow. Furiously, he dug his heels into the ground, slowing his movement and causing the guards to grunt at the extra work to move him.

"Wait, Zherl?" Grevel called over his shoulder before he was escorted out of the room.

Zherl waved a hand at the guards, a silent signal for them to stop. "What?"

"Just one thing that I forgot to mention; you know that war hammer of yours?"

Zherl looked at the weapon proudly, a smirk on his face. "Yeah, why? Did you want to buy it off of me? Like that's ever going to happen."

"No, nothing like that. I just had recognized the markings on it earlier. Did you know that hammer used to belong to the legendary Warlord Tuvek? You know, the feared krogan leader?"

"Of course I do," Zherl puffed his chest out with pride. "After all, I was the one who took it from him after I single-handedly finished the huge beast. It was the toughest fight of my life, one that you'll never be able to match, I'm afraid."

Grevel just smiled, his mask's jaw rising upward. "That's actually a very interesting story, Zherl, but I'm a little confused at your statement. You said you took it from Warlord Tuvek personally when I happen to know that Tuvek actually died four hundred years ago – on Mantun."

Zherl's faced paled to the color of curdled milk in the silence. The guards holding Grevel stiffened noticeably while he continued to grin. "And I did some tracing of my own. Why didn't you just say that you had actually bought the hammer at an auction on Illium?"

As the grip on the guards slackened from seeing their commander's utterly bewildered and defeated face, Grevel chose that moment to strike. Quick as a flash of lightning, Grevel ripped his arms out of the grip of his captors, brute force completely freeing him. Flicking his right wrist, his wrist blade extended from its hidden sheath, popping from the sleeve of his coat, and he swiped it across the throat of one of his guards, opening up his throat and drenching Grevel with blood. The batarian fell, gurgling horribly, as the wet muscle and fat glinted beneath the pool of blood that was spreading across the floor.

The other guard, forgetting that he had a pistol on his belt, tried to tackle Grevel in a spur of foolishness. His hands grasped at the pale mask, trying to peel it off. Grevel, however, grabbed at one of the hands trying to pry itself underneath his covering and lifted it to his mask. Quickly, he leaned forward and snapped the mask's jaw down hard in a ferocious bite, bringing the taste of blood to his mouth. Grevel spat out the severed fingers of the guard's hand into the batarian's face, laughing when he saw him recoil in horror and pain.

Grevel thrust an arm out in a tremendous punch, catching the guard in the middle of the forehead. The impact was only a dull vibration through his body but the alien's skull crushed inward as if a Mako had rolled over it. The batarian collapsed, blood dribbling out of his ears, leaving only Grevel standing amongst the dead.

Zherl, having witnessed the entire thing in a state of shock, finally shook off his paralysis and gave a battle cry, rushing towards Grevel with the hammer raised high. Grevel crouched with a grin, estimating the time of the batarian's arrival in his head, already running through the motions mentally.

At the precise moment, Grevel sidestepped and the hammer smashed down where he had stood a second earlier, creating cracks in the floor. The entire level of the facility seemed to vibrate from the shockwave and Zherl momentarily released his grip on the hammer in pain, unused to actually utilizing the melee weapon in a combat scenario.

Zherl's fumble was all the time Grevel needed. Smoothly, he drew a black knife from the holster at his side and stepped into Zherl's stance. Flowing like water, the blade inserted itself in between Zherl's ribs before it was violently ripped out. Zherl spat blood before he too fell to the ground, hands groping at the wound.

Standing over the injured batarian, Grevel calmly holstered his knife after wiping the blood onto his coat. Ignoring the gasped curses coming from Zherl, Grevel walked over and hefted the hammer from where it had struck the ground. The figure lifted it as if it weighed nothing, compared to the visible exertions Zherl indicated when he routinely hefted it for show. Grevel gave the hammer a few practice swings before walking back over to Zherl, whose four eyes widened at the sight of his hammer in the hands of his enemy.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Grevel asked as he raised the hammer high. "Despite your consistent bluster, this was not the toughest fight of my life."

With a primal roar, Grevel savagely brought the hammer down on Zherl's head. Brains and bits of skull exploded underneath the enormous mallet, dispersing as the body of Zherl twitched once and lay still. Clumps of gore splattered the ground and Grevel's coat, steaming wherever they touched the ground.

Grevel brushed the larger chunks off of him before he pried the hammer away from Zherl's headless body. The edge of it was now stained bright red, a nasty chunk of brain still clinging to it with a little piece of skull attached. He was not even winded as the entire fight had felt like he had taken a dunk into ice water. It was actually refreshing, with the knowledge that Zherl was finally dead and that it was by his hand, that caused him such joy. Grevel sighed in relief, chuckling to himself before he heard a moan and he whipped his head in the direction of the noise.

He tilted his head as the completely terrified batarian lieutenant remained frozen up against the wall. The sight of the blood-stained Grevel and the equally tarnished hammer was enough to make the alien almost pass out in fear, completely afraid for his life.

Grevel, however, only pointed at him. "You. Come here."

The batarian stayed where he was, uncomprehending. Grevel sighed in frustration and gestured this time, watching as the alien cautiously crept forward a few feet, still very apprehensive.

Conceding that this was as good as it was going to get, Grevel straightened. "I need you to report to everyone on the base immediately. Tell them that I have assumed command of the operation in the area pending Zherl's recent…breakdown. I'll go over the details later but I need you to notify everyone right now. Time is of the essence and none of it can be wasted. Do you object to any of this?"

The batarian slowly shook his head.

"And will you anticipate anyone questioning my authority when you tell them what has happened?"

The batarian shook his head more emphatically.

"Good," Grevel nodded. "Now go and order them to assemble outside the hangar. No questions from any of them. And insinuate that anyone who protests or deserts will be killed in a most painful manner. I hope you understood that because I'm not going to repeat it again. Go now!"

The alien probably never moved so fast in his life before. The room was quickly vacated in seconds, leaving only Grevel with the pungent corpses of the batarians. In his hands, he spun the hammer, admiring the craftsmanship and the sheer weight with which the weapon was built. He trod over Zherl's body, seating himself upon the formerly living batarian's chair. It had remained untouched from the violence that had permeated the room and Grevel sighed at the moment of relaxation.

He slowly blinked before he touched a finger to a control at the base of the mask's jaw. A communications dialogue box popped up in his HUD and he selected the most recent contact in his list to talk to. As the transmission began to connect, he straightened his back, enjoying the feeling of the plush chair sink to the weight of his body.

The guard paused to take a drag of the cigarette, halting his patrol through the prison block as he did so. The hangar doors were closed, the only light being provided by the damned industrial filaments installed decades ago, which cast everything in a very dim shade.

The guard was a little too liberal with his inhalation and soon he began to bend over, hacking as he tried to spit up the smoke from his lungs. He stood up again, eyes red from coughing, and gave a snort of relief until something cold slid into his neck, causing the entire place to go suddenly go dark.

Shepard, after removing the knife from the batarian's neck, carefully set the body of the guard in a corner, noting that the wound to the batarian's neck produced relatively little blood which meant that the man's disappearance wouldn't be discovered from any spilled fluids. Taking a deep breath, he waved Interius, Zlette, and Alec up from their hiding place, the four of them clumping together in the hall.

"Okay," Shepard breathed, "We don't know how long it's going to take before the body is discovered so we need to move fast."

"What's the plan, then?" Interius asked.

"We need to find a mode of transportation to get us out of here but we also need to find Tali." Shepard glared at Alec's eye roll but continued on. "Also, the hangar doors are closed so we're going to have to figure out a way to open them without anyone getting wise until it's too late."

"I'll go look for a ship," Alec whispered. "Anyone else want to tag along?" He rapped Interius' arm. "How about you, big shot?"

"I'll go," Zlette hissed. "That way to make sure you won't leave before everyone else." The vorcha nodded at Shepard as he said this.

Shepard returned the gesture. "What about you, Interius? What do you want to do?"

"I'll stick with you, I guess," the turian said, trying not to look at Alec. "But aren't you going to use the demo charges? We might as well plant a few before we leave."

"Too risky," Shepard shook his head as he patted the pack thrown over his shoulder. "I don't know where Tali is located here so if I plant one in the wrong place, the explosion could possibly kill her."

"Good point."

"Right," Alec grimaced as he shuffled towards a side exit. "I'll be seeing you two soon, I guess. Just find the quarian quickly, will you? I don't want to wait all day for us to make an escape from this place…again."

"All part of the plan," Shepard whispered after Alec had left. He then started to walk in the opposite direction, further into the cell block under the cover of darkness.

Interius kept his rifle at hand but quickly shuffled up to Shepard. "You don't like Alec much, do you?"

"I'd be hard pressed to find reason to become somewhat inclined toward the man, yes," Shepard replied as he scanned the cells one by one, keeping his voice down. Each one was all empty, no occupants inhabiting them whatsoever.

Interius gave a little chuckle. "Ah, the human's always been like that. He's never been the type of guy that sings praises about you every day. He just sees the bad in everyone."

"So…do you consider him to be a friend?"

"Spirits, no," Interius snorted. "I'd rather go on a date with a krogan before I would ever consider that annoying bastard to be my friend."

Shepard made an I-told-you-so face. "Guess that answers that question." He shuffled the pack around his shoulder before he shrugged it off and held it out to Interius. "Hold this for a second, will you?"

Interius took the pack with no resistance but as soon as he shuffled it onto his shoulder, he blinked and opened the pack. "Shepard…"

"Yeah?"

The turian peered carefully into the depths of the pack before looking back up at Shepard, both hugging the wall. "I thought there were four demo charges in this pack."

"There were," Shepard nodded as he finished fiddling on his omni-tool, taking the pack back.

"'Were?'" Interius clarified with a disbelieving look. "There are three here, where's the fourth?" He watched the human for a few seconds before realization took him. "No…"

Shepard fixed Interius with a stare. "After the discussion we just had, would you be able to trust Alec with such information? The less he knows, the better."

"Where did you put it?" Interius asked eagerly.

"Somewhere safe," Shepard clarified. "It should be well away from this place so Tali shouldn't be harmed. But you were right; we do need a backup plan. I just happened to have already carried it out. I just figured that it would be on a need-to-know basis."

"So why trust me?"

"I don't," Shepard grinned. "Because I still haven't told you where I put it, but I do trust you a hell of a lot more than Alec, so that's something."

"I guess it is," Interius said with a resigned shrug.

The two turned the corner and Shepard instinctively looked up at the rafters, just to check if there was no shadowy presence looking to strike above them. Shepard looked back and forth, training his rifle down the endless rows of cells before he saw the row end in front of him.

"This is it," he said, moving forward quickly. "Tali's cell should be…right about…here!"

He walked in front of it before his face fell dramatically. Interius scrambled over to his position and he did a tiny-double take at the empty cell, spotting no one inside.

Shepard ran a hand over his head, mulling through the possibilities. "She was here…I could have sworn this was her cell. If not here, then where would she be?"

"Shepard," Interius said. "Maybe she's elsewhere in the facility. Maybe we should regroup, get everyone back together, and-"

"She-…-ard….-lp," a voice burst through their personal comm link.

"What was that?" Interius jumped.

"Shh!" Shepard silenced, waving his hand dramatically.

"Need yo-….ohn…hel-"

Shepard listened for a few more seconds before his eyes rose hopefully. "That's Tali's voice!" he quietly exclaimed. He opened his omni-tool and began running a trace for the signal. Miraculously, the source popped up in seconds. "She's only a few hundred meters away!" he said in relief before he hurried along, his caution completely removed.

"Shepard, wait!" Interius hissed as he tried to catch up to the human without making a lot of noise. "Slow down! How are you sure it's her?"

"I'm…urt…not…ong….John…"

"It's her," he replied grimly. "She's here. She needs my help."

Almost breaking out into a jog, Shepard burst out of the cellblock area to walk across the hangar towards the huge doors. A row of crates sat a hundred feet away from the doors and Shepard headed in that direction, glancing at his omni-tool to make sure that he was reading it correctly.

"Shepard!" he heard a hiss from his left. He looked over and saw Alec standing next to a Kodiak near the far wall, waving his arms furiously for him to come over. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Shepard shook his head as he rounded the corner of crates, double checking the positioning one last time. He was confused as to why the signal was leading him at the end of a row of supplies. There was nothing in this location to indicate that Tali was even around. Was she simply on another level? He looked at the boxes in confusion before looking down between one of the gaps in the row. To his horror, he saw a tiny black box, a red light flashing in quick intervals. And below the blinking light was a thin green beam that extended out over the hangar.

And he had just broken it by stepping into its path.

A brilliant light flared from overhead, making him shout out as he covered his eyes. Shepard could hear the startled cries of his squadmates as well as they too were blinded from the light. A faint rumble was now evident in the background but the illumination was so powerful that he could do nothing but sink to his knees in pain.

With a snap, the lights dimmed but Shepard still had spots in his vision. He rubbed at his eyes, frantically trying to make them focus until he heard the sound of rain beating upon the ground. He blinked three times in rapid succession before he stiffened in horror.

"Oldest trick in the book," Grevel chortled as he stood outside the opened hangar doors, the rain mercilessly beating on him and streaming down his mask. He lifted the enormous krogan war hammer that he held in front of him in an intimidating pose. "And I am still surprised that a simple recording managed to fool Commander Shepard. You are increasingly becoming more and more of a disappointment the further I deconstruct you, I must say."

Behind Grevel stood the entire batarian contingent all armed and armored, standing still in the raging storm, their armor shining from the rain. Lightning flashed overhead, casting a hovering Mantis into existence. The growl of Mako engines in the background were barely heard over the whipping of the wind and the pouring of the rain. Cautiously, Alec and Zlette crept over to where Shepard and Interius were standing, their hands raised in the air. The thin human wore a dark scowl and Shepard couldn't necessarily blame him this time.

"Where's Tali?" he called out, not raising his hands like the others.

"Around," Grevel shrugged. "Still alive, if that's what you want to hear."

"Show her to me now!" Shepard screamed, his noise booming above the thunder.

Grevel, enjoying the moment, just shook his head ever so slightly. "Afraid not, human. The quarian is mine now. You gave up your claim to her when you abandoned her while she was in my possession. It appears that you haven't been able to protect her as well as you originally promised. Regardless, I doubt you can convince her to come back to you, considering the state she's in now."

"Son of a bitch," Shepard muttered as he took a step forward. "What the hell's he talking about?" Interius, however, made a strangled sound and grabbed at Shepard's arm, holding him back from trying to attempt to rush the armored monster.

Grevel laughed at that, now starting to look at Shepard's companions. "And what do we have here, Shepard? Replacements to fill the void left by the quarian? That was quick of you. So you have a turian now. Was that Vakarian fellow just not cutting it for you?" Grevel narrowed his eyes in complete enjoyment. "I see you've got yourself another human. From his scrawny appearance it looks like he's one of the strays. And you also have a…" Grevel stopped, his eyes widening noticeably as he glanced at Zlette. "…a vorcha."

"You're not taking any of them," Shepard stepped up slightly as he mustered out of Interius' grip, drawing himself up higher. "It's me you want, Grevel, not them."

"You're damn right it's you I want!" Grevel roared. "I just got the call from my employer, you're now target number one on my list, Shepard. You remember those humans that I've been chasing in the jungle? Well, fuck them. They mean nothing to me anymore. The current priorities have changed." He now raised his arm and pointed the huge hammer in Shepard's direction. "However, he failed to mention anything regarding what I should do with the quarian that I've recently acquired, which meant that I could do whatever I wanted with her. To tell you the truth, she's been a great source of amusement to me in the interim."

"Goddammit!" Shepard screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. "Grevel, you sick bastard! You let me see Tali right now and I promise that-"

"Calm down, Shepard. I haven't touched a hair on her pretty little head. Of course, with her mask off, it was an entirely different story." The jawbone slid upward in a cruel grin while the rain pattered on it, watching Shepard's expression completely freeze in horror. "Ah, yes. I keep on forgetting that you haven't seen her face yet. Well, rest assured, you have my word that her looks were not altered for the worse by my hands. Of course, looks are all rather relative these days. Heh."

"Wait!" Alec cried, his eyes darting from Shepard to Grevel. "If…if you only want him, what are you going to do to us?"

"Alec, shut up!" Interius hissed.

Grevel just gave a cock of his head. "I'm assuming you're thinking that I'm going to kill you after all this is over, yes? Well, in order to dispel that notion, I'm prepared to bargain. Can you provide anything to me that will dissuade me from ending your pathetic, wretched life?"

Alec eagerly began pointing at Shepard. "He's…he's got demolition charges! I-In the pack! I don't know if he planted any of them or…"

"Human!" Zlette barked in astonishment at Alec.

"Shut the fuck up, Zlette!" Alec shouted, slowly edging away from the group. "I'm not going to die in this place and I'm certainly not going to die for you, Shepard. I'd say I'm sorry but both of us would know that I would be lying."

A batarian walked from the group outside, a hand outstretched. The alien ripped the pack off Shepard's shoulders and walked over to Grevel, handing him the bag. Grevel took the pack and shook it slightly, hearing the contents rattle around inside, bringing a rumble of content from his throat. "Your companions are not exactly cutting-edge in terms of loyalty. Hell, I turned this one," he pointed at Alec, "from you with not even a full promise! I didn't even have to lay a finger on him!"

"You can take him," Shepard sighed with a glare at Alec. "Truth be told, I didn't like him much anyway."

"Hm! Makes me wonder if I'm getting the short end of the stick on this deal. But, he did provide me with the means to demolish whatever plan you happened to pull out of your ass this time, so he has my temporary respect."

"And it's more respect any of you ever gave me," Alec sneered at the group, puffing his chest out with pride. "Don't look so sad, guys. If it was down to your life for four lousy demo charges, you bet your ass I'm taking that deal. You're just mad that you didn't think of this arrangement first, huh?"

Grevel blinked in confusion before opening the pack up, the zipper loud despite the rain outside. He looked up and glared at Shepard. "You said four charges? There's only three in this pack."

Alec's eager face fell hard as he began to stumble over his words. "T-T-Three? But I-I-I could have sworn…wh-where's the fourth?"

"The detonator is missing as well."

Alec whirled at Shepard for confirmation who only gave a shrug. "Guess you bit off more than you could chew, Alec," Shepard said mildly before he squeezed his hand on the detonator which had been hidden from view in his palm the whole time.

Grevel had gotten wise to what Shepard was about to do at the last second. Spinning around frantically, he hurled the pack containing the charges up into the air away from the hangar, the lightning catching its trajectory as it sailed through the rain. As the radio burst hit the receivers on the charges, they all blew simultaneously, creating a fireball in the night sky, consuming most of the batarian troopers positioned outside the hangar entrance. The force of the blast barreled over everyone in the vicinity, causing Grevel to drop to a knee while Shepard, Interius, Alec, and Zlette were knocked over like the rest of the troops. Shepard's back hit the ground hard, causing his shotgun and sniper to become unhooked. The weapons clattered out of arms reach, trembling while the ground vibrated beneath them.

At the same time, an explosion erupted from underneath the landing pad near where the outside cellblock was housed. The fourth charge, placed at the hidden mountainside entrance, exploded away from the areas in the facility that housed the flammable gas and liquid, but the force of the explosion was so great that a side of the facility cracked and crumbled down the cliffside, a sinkhole forming over where the point of detonation occurred. The crumbling of rock caught the edge of a Mako and despite everything the driver did to keep it level, it tumbled off the cliff with an earth-shattering boom, its wheels squealing all the way.

The two explosions occurring in close proximity to the hovering Mantis, on the other hand, caused the pilot to lose complete control due to the shockwaves buffeting it from two different angles. With a few futile spirals in the air, the Mantis collided hard with the ground, the liquid fuel tank igniting with a massive whump, sending a blue plume of flame up into the air.

Alec had dropped to the ground at the first sight of fire and yelped as debris bounced all around him. He shakily got to his feet, about to flee, when Zlette ran over and sank his teeth into the flesh of Alec's arm. The human howled in pain while Shepard and Interius watched the whole thing in shock. Blood was running freely down Alec's arm and Zlette was snarling like a wild animal. The vorcha continued to bite deeper, his claws raking across Alec's face.

Shepard and Interius, by this point, had scrambled outside, the rain pelting at their faces. Both had their rifles out and ready, taking advantage of executing any batarians who were still alive after the demo charges exploded over their heads. They crouched behind the wheels of an idling Mako, returning fire to any of the troopers who were coherent and brave enough to mount an attack, despite all of the setbacks on their end. Many of the batarians fell and several more chose to flee into the jungle, taking their lives with them.

Back inside, Alec fell to the ground, causing Zlette to release his grip on the human's arm with his jaw. However, the vorcha was not done yet with the mauling. Yanking a wicked looking knife from his belt, Zlette repeatedly began stabbing the human's chest, blood fountaining in the air each time he pulled the knife out. Alec gurgled helplessly as his body jolted with every intrusion of the knife.

"Betrayer!" Zlette yelled between each ram of the knife. "Faithless, cowardly betrayer!"

As Zlette began to slash at the now mortally wounded Alec, the vorcha raised his arm high to strike at the human's face when the alien was thrown off the human by a black blur, the wind completely knocked out of him. The knife flew in an arc through the air and landed just a few inches away from where Zlette was now clutching his ribs. Groaning, the vorcha began to reach for the weapon when the krogan war hammer slammed itself down on Zlette's hand, crushing the bone and spraying blood all over the place.

"You vorcha are all the same," Grevel growled as he stood over the howling alien. He quickly got to his knees and grasped Zlette's head, forcing him to look at the mask as the powerful hands held him in place. "It makes no difference what you did or didn't do to me. Your entire species is a blight that must be eradicated from this galaxy. And I…will…happily carry it out!" The vorcha began to gag from pain and Grevel lowered his head even further down. "You might ask why I'm doing it, and is it because of what you turned me into? No. It's what your kind did to an innocent human named Sophie, how she was ruthlessly violated before her skull was smashed in. She did nothing to you, yet you treated her like her life meant nothing." He tightened his grip on Zlette's head. "And do you know why I care? Because Sophie…was…mine!"

As he shouted, Grevel's thumbs pushed themselves into Zlette's eye sockets, applying direct pressure and puncturing the corneas quickly. Zlette screamed as blood began to pool from his destroyed eyes but Grevel kept pushing forward, continuing until his thumbs were scraping against bone, a gelatinous mess surrounding his fingers. Furiously, the wails of the vorcha only making him more enraged, he hooked his hands around the alien's head and pulled with all his strength. There was a slight crack at first and then Zlette's head burst apart, the two halves of his face falling on either sides of his body. Bone and blood popped like a balloon, making a gory mess upon the pavement. After a while, Grevel pried his hands from the ooze that used to be Zlette, watching his hands faintly tremble as a reddish-black pulp dripped from his fingers.

Over the hissing of gunfire, Shepard's face turned into a grimace. He had held no love for Zlette but that didn't mean that the vorcha deserved a fate like that. In a rage, he shouldered his rifle directly at the blood-streaked monstrosity and pulled the trigger methodically, watching as his bullets streaked toward the target.

Grevel's shields took the brunt of the impact, as Shepard suspected, but this caused Grevel to turn around furiously to see Shepard taking potshots at him. With a roar, Grevel yanked the war hammer off of Zlette's destroyed hand and sprinted outside, taking cover behind a row of boxed munitions. Shepard followed, despite Interius' feeble protests and cautiously crept around the corner, ignoring the distant booms filling the air. He quickly jumped to peer around the row of supplies but blinked as he saw nothing but rows of empty cages beyond the rain.

With only a splash warning him, Shepard jumped back just in time to see a grey blur scythe past his face. He flinched backward, narrowly escaping having his head lopped off, but the hammer's arc caught the edge of the assault rifle, knocking it askew to lie in the mud. Shepard backed up in alarm as Grevel steadied the hammer in his hands, the mask still giving off its perpetual grin.

"I'm not going to collect you alive this time, Shepard," Grevel called out, the rain drenching his coat and washing Zlette's blood off his arms.

"That's funny," Shepard gave a wry smile, breathing around the water collecting on his face. "Because I've always wanted you dead."

Grevel stomped forward at the same time Shepard drew his knife. His pistol remained holstered, because he knew he wasn't going to penetrate Grevel's shields any time soon. With a bellow, Grevel smashed the hammer down on the ground, inches from Shepard foot. Mud and brown water splashed over Shepard's legs from the blow, the mallet sinking into the soft earth. He lightly moved forward as if he was going to attack Grevel, but his enemy unnaturally picked the hammer back up and swung it in a sideways arc, knocking a crate of ammo over after Shepard ducked the blow.

"Where's Tali, Grevel?" Shepard asked calmly, but there was still the tiniest hint of urgency in his voice.

"You'll find out soon enough," Grevel growled before he suddenly lunged forward, catching the front end of the war hammer in the middle of Shepard's stomach.

With a wheeze, Shepard fell down into the mud, his face getting caked with the stuff. Through the rain permeating his vision, Shepard barely had enough time to see the outline of Grevel, illuminated from the lightning overhead, about to strike a fatal blow. Calling upon all his strength, he shut his eyes and rolled to the right, away from the crazed demon.

The first blow missed, as did the second, and the third. Grevel screamed each time he savagely brought the hammer down, wanting it to find Shepard's head and crush it like a ripe melon. Shepard kept on rolling away, getting further and further until he had enough room to finally stand. His armor looked like he had dunked himself into a vat of brown paint from his little romp in the mud. His face was just about completely coated but at least the rain was partially dabbing the mud off a little at a time.

Grevel roared and brought the hammer down again, narrowly missing Shepard as he dodged out of the way in the nick of time. The hammer blow smashed down on the front of a parked Mako near the edge of the cliff, dislodging its tow hook and making it bounce on its shock absorbers. Metal crumpled and the war hammer momentarily lodged itself in the front of the tank.

Breath in his throat, Shepard lunged in and sliced with his combat knife. Grevel let go of his grip on the hammer to properly dodge but Shepard's knife found an opening on Grevel's arm. Cloth tore and flesh parted, causing Grevel to yank his hand back while Shepard retreated in preparation. The knife dripped blood, the color too dark to make out in the current lighting, and Grevel stared at his wound at the same time.

"Where is she?" Shepard asked again, voice strengthened by steel.

A predatory hiss escaped from Grevel's mask. "You're going to have to do better than that, Shepard. At least make me feel your blows!" He yanked out the hammer from the Mako with an inhuman feat of strength, causing Shepard to step back in alarm. "I'll break you in two if I must!"

"Try it, asshole."

Grevel swung again but instead of backing off more, Shepard sprung forward and latched onto the hammer at the terminus of the swing. Grevel blinked, shocked that the human would attempt such a brazen move and paused for a split second. Shepard tried to yank the hammer out of Grevel's hands but the enormous figure was simply too strong. In desperation, Shepard thrust out a fist and watched in satisfaction as the butt of his knife impacted on the front of Grevel's helmet, snapping his head back.

His foe grunted at that, which only encouraged Shepard more. He laid out a right hook, wincing as it felt like he was punching a steel wall, but Grevel staggered from the blow nonetheless. Shepard flexed his fingers, hoping they wouldn't break from this sort of punishment, and proceeded to hit Grevel once in the stomach, followed by a strong uppercut. Grevel yelled loudly as he now was on the retreat from Shepard's assault, but he found a fire inside him and planted his feet on the ground.

With both hands holding the hammer, Grevel thrust his arms out and caught the edge of the staff on the bridge of Shepard's nose. The human cried out, a gash now weeping blood over his muddy face. Grevel, grinning, rotated the hammer in his hands and the staff end of it smashed into the side of Shepard's head, knocking him to the ground. He slid on the ground for a bit before he realized that he was lying dangerously close to the edge of the crater left from the explosion.

Now that Shepard was at a proper distance for him to use the hammer, Grevel quickly lifted the weapon and brought it down. But, with a speed that Grevel had not anticipated, Shepard rolled out of the way of the blow, back away from the crumbling edge. At the apex of his roll, Shepard extended his arm and his combat knife cut through Grevel's thigh, sending more warm blood gushing into the night. Shepard, in a practiced maneuver, exited his roll and quickly got to his feet, holding his knife in a reverse grip.

Grevel put a hand to his freshest cut in horror, watching his blood seep through his fingers. He was panting in an animalistic rhythm, complete fury blazing in his eyes. He staggered on his two feet and watched Shepard tense himself, ready to mount another attack.

Shepard shot Grevel another smile as he spat the blood from his mouth. "Last chance, Grevel. Tell me where Tali is and I'll make this quick."

He only received a bark of laughter in disbelief. "You actually believe you're going to win, don't you? You are a fool, Shepard, because you still aren't aware of the horrors that await you."

"I've seen enough of your horrors," Shepard grimaced remembering the searing pain in his chest from when it had been stomped on. "I think I have a pretty good idea of what you're talking about. Give me Tali, Grevel, or at least tell me where she is, and you might just walk away."

"How magnanimous of you, Shepard," Grevel spat, ignoring the random bursts of gunfire from whatever troops were still in the area. "But you are only pursuing a fool's errand while I hold the better hand. The river will be revealed soon, Shepard, and only then will you realize that you have completely lost."

"And what if I think you're bluffing?"

A simple smile came from the mask. "Then that should only make you more afraid."

With the hammer in his right hand, Grevel pushed off at a full run, rushing at Shepard with all the energy he had left. With only a split second to contemplate the consequences of his actions, Shepard silently swore before he headed in to match Grevel's movements. The gap diminished rapidly as the two closed the distance, their weapons in hand, ready to strike.

With a quick adjustment of his hand placement, Grevel raised the hammer over his shoulder halfway to his target. Seeing what he was about to do, Shepard grunted as he pushed his body over the limit, breaking out into a full sprint towards the demon, intent on charging him into the ground.

His jaw spitting all kinds of hate, his eyes emblazoned with hell, Grevel swung the hammer milliseconds too late, caught off guard by Shepard's increase in speed. Having plotted out the trajectory of the blow in his mind, Shepard dropped to his knees at the last second, his body skidding along the ground. He didn't blink as the head of the hammer barely missed his scalp by inches from the diagonal arc, his breathing slowed to an unnatural tempo. Thrusting out a foot to halt his slide, Shepard sprang back up into the air and he threw his hand out, feeling the blade of the knife wedge in Grevel's back, feeling a burst of euphoria at the sound of Grevel's cry of pain.

But suddenly, an armored elbow smashed itself into Shepard's cheekbone, completely throwing him back down to the ground. That side of his face went numb, his other side submerged into the muddy water. Gasping for air, Shepard rolled onto his back just in time to see Grevel drop the war hammer and slowly turn around after a few more paces. Shepard had expected the mercenary to be paralyzed in pain from the knife blow, though. He did not expect him to still be smiling.

Grevel looked indifferently at the knife embedded in his shoulder blade. "I have to admit, Shepard," he sighed, "it's been a long time since I've been able to feel real pain. I'd almost forgotten the sensation…" Quickly, he bent an arm over to grasp the hilt and, with a tiny sound of discomfort, ripped the knife out of his body, to Shepard's astonishment. As Grevel lightly shook the blood off the blade, he started to walk over to the downed human again. "My knife now."

Before he could advance any further, a smattering of bullets impacted on Grevel's shields, causing him to stagger. He lifted an arm to protect his face and blinked in astonishment as he saw several forms sprinting out of the jungle, howling various war cries. All were armed and they were firing liberally, several choosing to aim at Grevel.

The human resistance had arrived.

Taking advantage of the distracted Grevel, Shepard shot back to his feet and reached for the hammer that had been dropped between them. His arm muscles aching, Shepard struggled to lift the weapon for a brief second before he hefted it up to his waist and gave a mighty swing.

Grevel turned around in time for the mallet to strike him full on his side, cracking his armor beneath. With a strangled yell, he grasped at nothing and tumbled off the edge of the cratered plateau, into the bowels of the facility. Shepard gasped in relief but did not bother to look over the side, just in case Grevel was only faking his fall. He wiped his face with a dirty hand and retreated back to where Interius was still positioned, still holding the hammer in his hands.

"Shepard!" Interius exclaimed. "Thank the spirits, you're still alive!"

"Yeah," Shepard winced as he gingerly felt his cheekbone. "Just barely holding together, though."

"Thought you were going to bite it after you engaged that Grevel person."

"He's not dead yet," Shepard breathed. "Guy like that, he's only going to walk away from a simple fall."

"You think my distraction helped?" a familiar voice came from behind Shepard. He turned around and blinked through the rain to see a grinning Deborah drop to a crouch, a smoking rifle in her hands.

Shepard gave her a genuine smile. "So do I have you to thank for giving Grevel that distraction?"

"I believe so," she answered over the repeated chatter of guns. "I took thirty of my people with me after you guys left, just in case the escape plan was going to fail spectacularly."

"In that case, I guess that's twice I now owe you. I promise that I won't point a gun at your head this time in repayment."

Deborah shook her head. "Just tell everyone what's going on when you do leave and we'll be square. You find your quarian yet?"

"Not yet," Shepard sighed, beginning to fidget near the idling Mako. "I couldn't find her in the cells and she's not out here. She's got to be still inside the hangar, that's the only logical place she could be."

"You go find her," Deborah nodded as she checked her clip on her rifle. "We'll hold the fort out here and give you proper cover from the rest of these batarian bastards."

"Appreciate it, Deborah. Thanks." He set the hammer down near the Mako for its heavy weight was only going to slow him down.

The rain stinging his face, Shepard got up and ran for the huge doors, crouching occasionally behind barricades or crates for cover. The bodies of humans and batarians piled where they fell, though most of the remains that Shepard had to avoid stepping on were predominantly batarian, flung from the initial demo charge detonation.

Shepard drew his pistol and shot a pair of guards holding outside the doors. They fell clutching their weapons, blood dribbling down from the holes in their chests. He continued on, past the tiny flames that had erupted on the ground, steaming from the water pelting down onto them. His greaves were splashed with mud, his footsteps hard and heavy.

As soon as he reached the doors, he blinked to clear his eyes as a figure walked out of the smoky interior, a silhouette on black. In anticipation, Shepard trained his pistol on the shadow, thinking that it was Grevel. He peered down the sights, waiting for the figure to be revealed by what little light there was outside, waiting for the moment to pull on the trigger.

But, as the smoke parted, Shepard's eyes widened as Tali stepped through, one hand holding a shotgun while the other was positioned limply at her side. She looked unhurt; her suit was still intact from his position. Her eyes gave a vacant expression and her gait was slow, but Shepard had never been happier to see her before in his life.

"Tali…" he whispered, hardly daring to believe it. Shepard slowly began to smile broadly as he started to jog toward her. "Tali!" he called. "Tali!"

He had made his promise. He had come back to her.

Tali's head whipped in the direction of the noise and she saw Shepard begin to run towards her. Her eyes gave a slow blink in response to the advancing human, but there was no warmth in the gaze. Something twitched inside her and she quickly raised her shotgun, the barrel pointed directly at Shepard's chest.

Shepard, skidding to a stop, looked at the quarian with a confused expression. He saw her fixed stare through her visor, her eyes blank and unfocused. There was no joy in them, no happiness, no despair. There was nothing in those eyes that reminded him of the Tali he knew.

The muzzle of the shotgun was still aimed at him, though. Shepard, desperation and hurt flooding him, raised his arms to speak to Tali calmly when she unexpectedly pulled the trigger, the blast of the gun echoing into the night.

A/N: Will work on getting the next chapter prepared as soon as possible. I think you'll enjoy it a lot, if my outline notes are any indication.