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.

10. Keeping it Simple

Chapter 10: Keeping it Simple

Everyone has a past. Everyone has things they hold dearly, thus, everyone has a weakness that can be exploited. I, myself, am not exempt from this most basic rule of the universe. I know my flaws and strengths well. If something were to happen to Oriana… there would not be a force in this galaxy, the High Heavens, or the Burning Hells that would be able to stop me. Still….I was a fool, once, thinking that Cerberus, a pro-human 'organization', was somehow the right choice when I came to them with a proposition years ago. My services and skills in exchange for protection for my then baby sister.

I was desperate, although I tried to appear otherwise…but I was only thinking about protecting Oriana in any way that I could…but I was a fool. Perhaps that hasn't changed, as I descend onto the world of Sanctuary, I can't help but wonder what we, in our curiosity, have awoken, stirred from its eons long slumber? Primitive they appear to be, but to underestimate our foes is akin to suicide. I've seen footage of asari commandos, some of the most feared opponents in the galaxy, being torn apart by an abomination that could've crawled right out of the stuff of nightmares. And that's saying nothing about the krogran as they tried to take on a siege breaker demon, a gigantic monstrosity able to tear down fortified positions and walls with shocking ease.

In addition, the intelligence the Council shared with Hackett is disturbing enough in its implications, for it seems that our new foes have the ability to travel from one planet to another by means unknown to us. If they chose to do so once more, they could attack the heart of council space without us knowing until it was too late. Which is why I march into this battle without hesitation. Perhaps it's foolish, but I hope that my actions help to contain these creatures that have shown so much interest in this world, so that their focus doesn't shift to less defended and prepared targets.

I pray, something I never would've done before this started, that I will see Oriana again, alive and well, and if that's not to be the case… then I'll pray that she will lead a happy, long and safe life. That's all I ask. For now, I'll apply every bit of my power and ill gotten skills to the total eradication of the Burning Legions.

From the personal log of Miranda Lawson, ex-Cerberus Operative.

Despite the sound of battle just ten feet away behind a fenced in area, Lucifer didn't move from his spot on the ground as he meditated that morning. With Leah having gone to talk with the Commander, Jess, the rather enigmatic leader of the group of strangers that had come to New Tristram, and the rest of their assembled comrades having split up to help the still beleaguered townsfolk, left him in the peculiar predicament of having little he could do to help. It was probably just as well since the past few days had proven a bit too exciting for the young man, so much so he'd neglected his normal routine, much to his personal shame as he cleared his mind and focused himself inward. The noise of Lady Williams going through drills with every man and woman willing to pick up a blade, the sound of the archery lesson a few feet to the right of the training yard, led by Sir Vega and his own volunteers, the bustle of the townspeople as they went about their daily chores, all of it slowly fell away.

The world turned gray and dark around him, but he wasn't concerned. There was no place for such things here, where there was only serenity, stillness, peace, and tranquility. His mind was focused inward rather than outward and gained an awareness that was impossible to achieve otherwise. Spending several moments in this empty state, he was more at peace as he returned to the mental routine of his training days, of the friendly sparring matches between himself and the other aspirants of his order, the gentle burble of the springs and rivers that encompassed the mountainous terrain around the monastery, all of it was as he remembered it. As he'd likely always remember it until the day he expired and shed his mortal coil.

He couldn't help but wonder though, about whether or not these strangers had homes that were even remotely similar to his own. Perhaps they were a nomadic people as he suspected the ill tempered demon hunter to be, or perhaps their own homes would be so alien to him that he wouldn't be able to recognize them as such. Not that it mattered he supposed, they had already proven themselves to be of a goodly nature, willing to put their lives at risk with little thought of reward for themselves. Wasn't that enough? His curiosity wasn't satiated with that alone, of course, (which was probably why his master had always been so endearingly exasperated with him growing up), but all things would be revealed in time. Such was the path he walked, after all.

His return to a more conscious state was as gentle as his fall into his meditative trance as he breathed slow and steadily, his ears picking up the gentle footfalls of the wizard, Moira. Cracking an eye, he smiled and looked over his shoulder, chuckling when she reeled back. "My apologies for startling you."

"It is fine. I thought you asleep. Looked rather peaceful to me. Was tempted to poke you with a stick though." She admitted with just a tinge of a mischievous smile on her pretty face. The pale complexion though suggested that she had yet to fully recover from the ordeal she'd gone through in the cathedral. The light bandage around her right arm, stained ever so slightly with blood, further made him wonder on that point.

"Ah, but why must peace and sleep be connected?" He asked with an amused smile of his own. "To me it sounds like a horribly tedious life to only be content in your non-waking moments."

"I know, right? It's like people never picked up a good book before!" Moira agreed with shining eyes. "Or channeled the arcane energies… the feeling is indescribable… or it can be I suppose." Plopping down after adjusting her robes about her long legs, Moira nodded her head towards Ashley just as she bodily threw Rumford to the ground before none too gently dropping her armored knee on his neck. "Ouch. That will likely bruise later."

"He is fortunate to have such a skilled instructor." Lucifer mused as the poor man tapped frantically on her leg, which must have been the sign he surrendered, because the soldier quickly stood up and held out a hand to the good Captain, which he took once he could breathe properly again. "Merciful and compassionate when she needs to be though. I've heard of others in her position that would not be so kind to those they're supposed to teach."

"Mhhmm, I heard that people get broken down before being rebuilt in training." The wizard mused and shrugged. "Sounds cruel to me, but I am no soldier… perhaps it's for the best."

Both of them jumped a little when Ash spoke without looking at either of them, "It's only when one's pride and arrogance is stripped away by sheer mental and physical exhaustion can one learn to truly become strong enough to protect which someone like me would die to see safe. It is cruel, but necessary since most soldiers are the same with how fearlessly they'll fight for what they believe in, even if it's just the family back home they might've left behind."

"In my experience there are few things more formidable than a man fighting to protect what he holds the most dear." Gemma chimed in from the shadows, causing more than a few of the townspeople to flinch at her seemingly sudden appearance and harsh tone of voice. "Their need to protect their loved ones imbues them with strength and valor… but flesh fails and the flames of valor are all too easily extinguished like a candle in the wind."

"Thanks Gemma, although I suggest you look at things the way that motivates you most." Ashley sighed as she looked at her 'recruits' who looked even more scared than they did a few moments ago. Rolling her eyes since it was pretty obvious they were nervous with Gemma within eyesight, Ash turned to the nearest of the bunch and said, "Did I say you guys could sit on your asses? Gemma might be intimidating, but she's on our side, so unless you want a real reason to be nervous, I suggest you get back to it." Whether it was her tone of voice or the fact she'd so effortlessly defended the cathedral from the coven's forces while Daltyn and the militia survivors had been surrounded wasn't certain, only that her words had the desired effect as the recruits quickly scrambled to get back to their morning drills. Hopping the fence that separated them from the rest of the town, Ashley ran a hand down her face and sighed, "Shepard makes it look so damn easy, I still don't know how she does it."

"Some are just people persons." Patting her on the arm, Lucifer smirked but nodded in understanding for their shared plight. "While I appreciate what we're up against, most of these people's concerns are far more closer to home. The undead, demons, cultists, falling stars, these are so far above most of them that it's only natural they're scared as babes at the prospect of fighting more of them."

"I get that, but… if they don't fight they'll die." Ashley muttered quietly and glanced at the three of them, eyes asking them to keep this conversation private. "I don't get a lot of these things either… but I know that they're a threat, that's all that matters." She cocked her head to the side, a question obvious on her face as she crossed her arms, "Which actually makes me wonder how you three are alright with all this. I get why you are Bright Eyes, you trained to hunt these things down, but what about you two?" She pointed at Moira and Lucifer needlessly as they shared a curious look.

"Truth be told, Lady Williams, I am in a similar situation as you are." Lucifer revealed, much to their shared surprise as he cocked his head to the side. "I have been trained to fight my whole life, I have fought in the defense of innocents before coming here, and I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what shape the threat against their lives takes, only that they are safeguarded. But demons, cultists, the things they represent, they're largely outside of my experience, which...isn't saying much since I've only been out of my monastery for a few weeks now, having been raised there for as long as i can recall."

"I am in a similar boat." The slightly haunted look to Moira's violet eyes as she no doubt remembered the fights she'd been a part of crossed her face, before a hand on the small of her back from Gemma pulled her back. "Before, the Yshari Temple's 'masters' were my only real link to the outside world, outside of the dozens of books I got my hands on until I finally grew fed up with their fear and paranoia surrounding my desire to master every aspect of my power rather than what they deemed 'safe'. It is only in recent weeks that I've realized I was foolish, but that hasn't stopped me from seeking to learn all I can, only that my limited viewpoint has expanded greatly. But...I am not ashamed to admit I am afraid."

"You'd be a fool not to be." Gemma gently stated as her hand fell away, but she didn't step away from the young wizard. "It is only when you become paralyzed by fear that it would become a problem, but you're stronger than you know in admitting to such 'weakness' at all. Some will wrongfully tell you fear has no place in a warrior's life, but they tend to die young or in unmarked graves on the side of the road."

"Uh.. That's… something?" Moira asked slowly, obviously uncertain on how to address such statements.

"It's good, it means that you'll have a chance to survive when these fools would not… and it means that they have little chance to kill others alongside themselves due to their recklessness." Gemma muttered darkly and shrugged. "War is not the domain of fools."

"Tell that to the Council." Ashley muttered under her breath, before just as quickly saying, "She isn't wrong Moira. Too many people who were after glory or revenge often end up making fatal mistakes, dragging people down with them along the way. You're young, maybe a little arrogant and cocksure, but you already have a solid head on your shoulders kid. And as weird as it is for me to even say it, you've got a hell of a bag of tricks that pulled our boots out of one fire already."

"I try!" Moira cheered, pumping a delicate looking hand into the air before she stumbled, shaking her head as a wave of dizziness hit her. "Oh….yeah….still a little woozy from the other night. Best not do that again."

"A most excellent idea, it would do little good for you to fall and seriously injure yourself merely due to your… excitement." Lucifer threw in, a patient smile splitting his face even as he watched as Moira slowly staggered towards a nearby bench. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were drunk."

"No… I'm not, though perhaps this would make this whole situation more amusing… or so I've heard. It is merely a lingering effect of having overdone it at the cathedral." Moira admitted, her sun kissed cheeks turning a beet red even as she smiled brightly at her lack of restraint, which, while it'd left her drained, had saved many lives at the same time. "I'll do better next time."

"That I don't doubt, but let's hope for the best and plan for the worst, eh kid?" Ash asked, to which the others echoed their agreement as a whole.

The Slaughtered Calf Inn….

"So this Prophecy's popped up all over the world huh?" Shepard asked once Leah had completed her lecture about what she knew for certain about the Prophecy of the End Times, as told to her by her uncle Deckard. Folding her hands underneath her chin, Jess pondered her next question once Leah had nodded her head, her own hands busy as she helped herself to her food.

"Mmm….yes. The ruins and tombs we've explored for most of my life has all contained some kind of mural, written notes, or a bit of stonework that's pointed to the same thing. While no individual Prophecy is written to completion, either because time has damaged it or it's been destroyed outright, my uncle's done his best to collect as much of it as he could, piecing it together in that giant book he's been carrying around for just as long."

"And he's part of an order of mages or whatever, these Horadrim, dedicated to protecting Sanctuary from the Hells?"

"That's the gist of it, yes. There's much more he could tell you himself, but… he rarely talks about it anymore. He's focused on the future more than he is on the present at times, or that's what it feels like." Leah said quietly, bitterness and regret fighting for dominance in her voice. With a sigh, she took a breath and said, "Of course that means if you wish to know more, you'd best talk to him. Even if I had listened to him as well as he had expected me to, I would possess but a fragment of his knowledge. He might be obsessed with all this, but….he deserved better from me." Putting her hands on the table, Leah let her head fall, only to jerk back a little when she felt rather than saw Shepard's gaze on her. What she saw wasn't what she had expected though.

"...I know what that's like, of having something so profound and terrifying in your possession that people need to prepare for, only for most everyone around you not believe that there's something to be worried about in the first place." Shepard said sadly and gazed at the table. "To be on your own as you venture from one hellhole to the next with only the friends by your side to support you because everyone else thinks you're a lunatic. Yeah, I can relate all too well. I think the difference though is I didn't let it consume me."

"It probably helps you're not the only survivor of your order, unlike my Uncle." Not that that made it easier for Leah to bear as she sighed, regret lacing every word as she forced herself to eat what was on her plate. "The Horadrim's all but extinct at this point….which would explain partly why he's so obsessed with trying to stop the Prophecy. He likely feels guilty for having not done more when there was still time."

"An easy trap to fall into… in hindsight no matter what you did… it will never have been enough." Shepard agreed, her eyes distant as she gazed off into the distance seeing things Leah couldn't even begin to guess at. "Perhaps if things had been different… if I had been just a bit faster…but wondering down that road will only lead to madness. Still..."

"You're human." Leah replied, drawing Shepard's undivided attention as she pushed past the old scars and wounds she yet bore on her heart and mind. "I might be young, but I understand enough to know that much, Jess."

"Heh, guess you have a point, Leah. That reminds me, did you ever get that journal from Ash she found in Adria's hut?" Leah's response was to pat the book she'd set on the edge of the table upon getting settled. "Good. Anything interesting in there?"

"Dark tidings mostly, confirming at least one theory on how Old Tristram fell. It turns out Aidan, Leoric's surviving son, passed through town, and Hell followed him."

"Cheerful… is this meant figuratively or literally?" She had a funny feeling she already knew the answer to her own question.

"What do you think?" Leah asked morosely and shook her head. "My mother… she went into great detail in describing some of the heinous acts she witnessed as she and a few other survivors escaped what followed. It's not a pretty tale."

"With what we saw, I can all too easily imagine." A cold shiver ran down her spine, but Shepard's face remained unchanged. "Speaking of Leoric, and I can't believe I'm even asking this, but do you think all the undead might wake him up?"

"It's possible, if he isn't already stirring as we speak." Leah allowed and did her best to appear as composed as she could. "Though… I fear that he already walks the earth once more… I know my Uncle doesn't look the part, but a few ordinary undead wouldn't have been much of a problem for him… I fear that something far more powerful and nefarious had kept him trapped within the cathedral's catacombs."

"Wouldn't surprise me at this point. Maybe we should start looking into paying Mad King Leoric a visit?" As if summoned by her words, the door to the inn slammed open, and a bone white young man with silver hair stepped forward, a wicked looking scythe, its hilt carved to resemble a bony ribcage, stepped forward, and an unnatural chill followed close behind. A hand strayed to the heavy pistol she kept on her hip at all times, but the darkly clad man took one look at her and nodded respectfully as he stood over Leah's shoulder.

For the longest time, silence reigned as the rest of the inn's occupants nervously glanced between them. Feeling as if the unnaturally pale man's gaze was seeing past her flesh and into her soul itself, Shepard was tempted to shoot him on principle until he opened his mouth. "You defy the great cycle with your very existence. How can you walk in both worlds?" He asked, intrigued rather than outright frightened by whatever he'd seen from his scan of her person.

"Uh… come again?" Shepard asked, dumbfounded by the question more than anything.

"Hmm, she doesn't seem to know now does… what do you think Robert?" For a moment, Shepard couldn't help but wonder who the hell Robert was until she saw him petting a skeletal mouse that sat on his shoulder. When the skeletal mouse did the impossible and actually squeaked something, the man nodded and regarded her once more. "A fair point, few people are aware of the consequences of their actions, why should this one be any different."

"Start making sense or I'll show you how hard I can punch." She threatened even as she wondered whether or not he actually spoke to the skeleton or if he just enjoyed messing with people, which seemed to be her at that moment.

"Oh I imagine you would." The man stated, a blade thin smile curling the right side of his bone white face as he gently stroked the bony mouse's head with one black leather covered finger. "But as one who aspires to master life and death itself, to keep the great cycle intact, you stand out as a beacon simply by your mere existence. So I ask again, how can you live, when you have so clearly died, Jess Shepard?"

"How do you know my name?"

"The dead talk. Or at least they do with me, and they seldom lie." The man told her with a smirk, amused more than anything by her distrust. "You have yet to answer my question, for much depends on it. After all, Balance must be kept, I cannot allow you to sway the scales in favour of one side or the other… much."

"...How long do you have?"

"As long as you require, especially if your tale is as interesting as your appearance suggests."

Leah, Shepard was quick to note even as she nodded minutely, her hand inching ever closer to her sidearm all the while, was strangely relaxed around this man. If anything, she couldn't help the wonder in her gaze as she looked him up and down. "Anything you want to share with the rest of us there Leah? Or should I get you two a room?"

"Huh? N-no, that won't be necessary, I just hadn't expected to see a necromancer here of all places. Their order is as fabled as the demon hunters, although little is known outside of their isolated temple. They do venerate the cycle between life and death, seeking only to safeguard it as best they can by removing those who would raise the dead, and bring pestilence wherever they might roam. Most people though see necromancers as foul omens, almost as reviled as the hunters themselves."

"There is good reason for that." The man stated simply. "The hunters themselves have bitter relations with us…not without reason of course. They care so little for balance on their quest for vengeance never ending,… and I have little doubt that they have reason to detest necromancy and those who wield it."

"I'm afraid the villagers have reasons to do the same, as have I. So explain yourself." Leah demanded, surprising the man a little while Shepard only smirked, glad to see she wasn't shying away from whoever this guy was.

"Not willing to give me the answers I seek yet demanding your own?" He chuckled, but nodded as he put his scythe onto a small clip on his belt that was as black as his leather armor. "I have come here in response to the fallen star, its energies could be felt from miles and miles away, and the influence it would have could be easily guessed by one such as me. As such, the elders of my order have sent me to investigate, a task I willingly undertook."

"Sounds about right." Shepard said as she slowly let her hand fall away from her gun, if only because she couldn't discern any falsehood from the man. He might be coming off as intimidating, cold, and a bit morbid, but there was an honesty there, a subdued compassion in his voice and eyes. "As for me, it's...a long story, but to sum it up for you, I did die, but someone was able to...bring me back, although their method was far more scientific than mystical."

"I see. So the ghosts that walk besides you speak the truth after all. You do not come from Sanctuary." The sharp inhale from Leah got a curious side glance from the man before his gaze settled on Jess once more. "A secret you had not divulged to her?"

"How is that-" Leah began, her mind obviously racing with the implications of that statement.

"I'll explain later." Shepard butted in, giving their uninvited guest a very hard look that would've made a lesser man take a step back. "I'm still wondering if kicking your ass wouldn't be a good idea, but do me a favor and keep your mouth shut about things you shouldn't even have a clue about? It'd make my job so much easier."

"Now where's the fun in that?" He asked her with innocent eyes, a look no one bought for even a moment. "Why don't you just share your secrets, by doing so I could no longer divulge them with such impunity." Before she could respond, the necromancer cocked his head to the side as his gaze fell on a spot just above and to the right of Shepard's head. "Ah, I see. You had hoped to protect the people by keeping them in the dark about certain aspects of your nature. My apologies then. But that still leaves me with quite the enigma, what do I do now that I see someone who so openly defies the great cycle?"

"Someone who's been trying to help the people of New Tristram, I might add." Leah chimed in, but a gentle shake of her head as she stood to her full height was all Shepard needed to do for the young woman to fall silent.

Walking up to the stranger, one hand back on the gun on her right hip, Shepard's eyes zeroed in on his bone white face as she stopped just in front of him. "I will defend myself, necro, and the people of this town with my last breath if that's what it takes. Now I might be out of my time, according to you, but I'm not willing to put down my life, especially since there's still people that need me around. So decide now, is this fight really worth it when you need all the help you can get facing whatever's on the move?"

"An excellent question, I am truly doing my best to decide here." He told her completely unbothered by her threatening aura, which was further augmented by the visible display of her biotic power as wisps of dark blue light began to pour off of her. "After all even the most well intended actions might lead to disaster, so I cannot help but wonder. Would I save more if I killed you here and now, or can we accomplish more for the balance fighting side by side."

A thunderous crack followed as a spectral shade appeared between the two, surprising Shepard more than a little while the necromancer merely stepped back from the green, see through spirit that now stood between them. "Enough!" The dual flanged voice shouted, his taloned hands just shy of touching their respective chests. "You have no idea who you're up against, Gregory. As someone who's followed her since her rise to prominence, I know full well she'd paint the walls of this inn in your blood without raising a finger. You're powerful, but you're not that powerful."

"Nihlus?!" For the first time in years, Shepard was at a complete loss for words as the turian ghost turned and met her gaze with his own, a sad, but warm smile on his mandibled face as he slowly lowered his hands to his side.

"It's been a long time Commander." Nihlus Kryik replied as he ran a hand over the back of his head, a neat little hole in the center of his forehead a testament to Saren's betrayal years before. "Would it help this strange situation at all if I said I've watched all that you managed to achieve with pride despite not being able to do more than that?"

"I have so many things going through my head right now, I don't even know where to start." Ignoring the frightened murmurings from the villagers that were paralyzed into inaction, Shepard could only stare dumbly at the fact she was talking to a literal ghost from her past.

"From one Spectre to another, Commander, you've more than redeemed our ranks, and made it something to be truly proud of. For that alone, you put my soul at ease, although how I got here is a...bit of a long story." Nihlus admitted, strangely embarrassed as he let his arms fall to his sides.

"As someone who lacks all necessary context to make sense of this conversation, this hardly makes it easier to decide." The newly identified Gregory stated, hands idly tapping against the table.

"And ignore him Commander, he's not as black and white as he makes himself sound."

"I would appreciate your silence, ghost." Gregory growled and glowered at the turian spirit. "I have ways to ensure it if you do not heed me."

"Oh I'm sure you could, but you have no idea how tenacious I can be, Gregory." Nihlus countered, appearing just as formidable in death as he'd been in life as he regarded the man as if he were wondering which joint to shatter first.

"And you underestimate me in general." The man drawled back, looking at Nihlus with a calculating gaze, staring straight through the ghost before seeming to come to a conclusion. "Very well… I shall trust her… for now. If I come to regret this, do not think yourself beyond my reach, you shall be judged alongside her in that case."

"Now that you're done acting like a child you mean." Nihlus retorted, only to grimace when Shepard's hand lashed out, lightning quick, and slammed into Gregory's exposed throat. The necromancer went down, only to be thrown back when her boot clipped him underneath the chin. Sprawled out on his back, he was pinned when that same boot fell on the center of his chest, her gun having since leapt from her belt to her hand. "Tried to warn you she'd make paste out of you Gregory."

"You did." Gregory coughed with a grin letting out a ragged, whistling breath, and suddenly the gun clattered to the floor. A spear made of tiny bones having smashed it out of her hand even as a second one formed in front of her eye and stopped to hover there. "Now, can we resume talking or are you telling me that you wish conflict?"

The shimmering blue field of energy that appeared around her was her answer as the bony spear was pushed back and away, with Shepard standing on his chest. "Oh we can resume talking, but while you've got a few tricks up your sleeve, I'm far from helpless as you can see."

"Indeed, so what will it be? Your uncivilised brutish approach? Or shall we sit down as we did before, before you thought it necessary to put on this bravado, to test my mettle and force me to reveal a few of my tricks as you call them?" To his surprise, let alone Leah's, Shepard stepped off of his chest, the barrier fading at the same time she reached out a hand. Blinking his brown eyes at the gesture, Gregory hesitantly reached for the offered limb, only to find himself pulled upright as if he were a mere child in comparison to her.

"You could've forced my hand by attacking the people of the inn." She noted as she nodded her head towards the spear of bone that only then disappeared in a flash of green spectral flames.

"They were not part of this dispute." He simply retorted and frowned as if confused that she even suggested as much. "There was no reason nor desire to involve them from my part."

"Which is the only reason why we're talking." Gregory nodded, needing little explanation to understand the harming of innocents was not something she tolerated. The tension between them was still present as he sat down on Leah's left, but it was greatly reduced as Shepard sat across from them.

"It is good to know that you have little desire to involve bystanders in these matters as well." Gregory allowed and turned to his left shoulder, where Robert had become as stiff as a board, ready to be propelled towards a target as a makeshift weapon. "Aww, who is a good boy?"

"Are you seriously talking with the undead rat?" Asked an astonished Leah.

"Humans are seldomly interested in conversation with my kind." Gregory explained with a careless shrug. "I was lonely. Talking to spirits….isn't always so animated as it's been with your former comrade, much to my regret."

"Better me than that pet of yours, Gregory." Nihlus stated as he faded from sight, but his presence, now that she knew he was around, was still felt at their table.

"Tell that to my sanity." Muttered a scowling Gregory before he offered the pair of women a shrug of his shoulders. "As much as I complain, I have learned much of you on my way here, Jess Shepard. I had my doubts, but your willingness to protect the people, coupled with what I had heard, had long swayed my decision to spare you rather than returning you to the cycle you escaped."

"Thanks?"

"You are welcome." He allowed graciously, an amused twinkle in his eyes telling her that he wasn't too serious about it. "Now, with the unpleasantness out of the way, shall we attempt to make this situation better for everyone in a way that doesn't involve killing one another?"

"That's the most sensible thing you've said yet." Jess said as she held out her hand for her gun, which began to glow blue before flying across the room towards her outstretched fingers. Gregory merely raised an ash white eyebrow at the sight as she clipped it back onto her belt. "Told you I was far from helpless."

"I never doubted that after your initial display of might, and I saw a wood wraith torn to pieces, as if punched with the strength of a barbarian. Would it be safe to say that was your handiwork?" He held up a finger and regarded an empty space of air just at the end of their table. "Ah, your 'biotic power' allows for such feats. So you can mimic the strength as well as the manners of the barbarians to the north."

Shepard frowned at the jab but let it slide, after meeting the rather colorful people of Sanctuary she wouldn't be surprised if this was the thing that bothered him most about her attack. "Guess so, and what can you do aside from throwing the occasional bone?"

"I can use the bodies of the deceased to do my bidding, though not to worry, their souls remain untouched by my craft." Gregory told her with a shrug. "Of course that means I possess a certain mastery about the dead, body parts of the deceased can be reanimated, controlled, and shaped, and of course if all else fails, I have my scythes."

"Was it too much to ask for a crossbow?" Shepard muttered silently under her breath and shook her head. "That's good to know though… even if it's totally creepy."

"You would be far from the only one to say that." Leah muttered into a mug of ale she only then decided to drain in one shot.

"I understand that it makes you uncomfortable." Gregory said and stood up, turning towards the door, his white hair shrouded his face as she spoke in parting. "I shall see that I make myself useful around town. Perhaps we shall speak again, Jess Shepard, Leah." Before he got the chance to leave though, Shepard simply pointed to the table with a finality that broke no argument from him. "Or I can stay, though I'd like to know why?"

"Call me curious."

"You mean reasonably cautious." He countered without missing a beat, unoffended in the slightest. "Perhaps even a tad paranoid, but very well."

"That and we were actually planning to pay King Leoric's tomb a visit to make sure he hasn't decided to start causing trouble."

"Leoric… a name with much history and sorrow behind it." Gregory stated, his eyes gazing off into the air again. "Unless I am mistaken, he was once the beloved king of this land, until he lost everything to the Burning Hells, his life, his sanity, his kingdom, even his soul was devoured in the end."

"His sons too, if the stories are to be believed." Leah stated, a very subtle glance shared between her and Jess regarding Adria and any involvement she might've had during that particular point in time. "If you really are a student of the necromantic arts, you could be a great boon to our cause, Gregory."

"I will do my best to offer what wisdom I can, since while our reasons are different, our goals are aligned, at least at present." It was enough for Jess as she ordered another round of drinks. The day had only begun, and already it looked like they had a lot to do.

Outside of New Tristram

"Where is that bosh'tet?" Tali cursed under her breath as Garrus followed her, never more than a couple of steps behind.

"You think she even needs us? I think she's capable enough."

"That's not the point!" Tali hissed and fingered her shotgun. "We're supposed to stick together, not run off on our own. And yes I know she beat Shepard, but that doesn't make this any less idiotic."

"Well… when you put it like that it's hard to argue, though that guy that talked to her seemed really spooked by whatever these Khazra are." No sooner had the words left his mouth, that a distant tree branch snapped, drawing their gazes on the source of the noise just as they jerked their respective guns up. Stepping just off the path as they pressed themselves against a pair of skeletal looking trees, Garrus narrowed his one good eye that wasn't behind his visor, and strained his ears for anything that sounded like the telltale shamble of a zombie.

What came charging out of the underbrush several feet ahead of them was no zombie. The closest thing either of them could think of was the mythological creature known as the minotaur. Though instead of being half man, half bull, this creature seemed to possess more in common with a goat than with a man, despite its upright gait. In one hand it held a wicked looking axe, too large for an ordinary human to lift one handed yet this thing seemed to have little trouble with it.

It sniffed the air a few times, looking around as if lost and sniffed again, its 'bearded' face set in a grimace as it turned in their rough direction. But thankfully, it still seemed hopelessly confused by whatever it was able to smell. A shriek and a cry further up the road as a young man and his girl had Garrus stepping out from behind his tree right alongside Tali. "Go! Get out of here!" The turian shouted while the Khazra looked between them and the couple that had blindly stumbled into the area, before taking one look at the goat man and taking off past them. That seemed to settle the creature's confusion as it let its beady red eyes fall on the sharpshooter. "You're an ugly one aren't you?" The withering flash of assault rifle fire had several new holes appearing in the goatman's chest, where it promptly fell in a pool of its own blood. "Heh, that was easy."

Tali, for her part, kept her gaze on the pair that had just started around the bend back to New Tristram. Turning back to give Garrus a piece of her mind, she instead jerked her shotgun up in a flash. He didn't hesitate to duck, which was just as well as the goatman's axe swung past where his head had just been. "Keelah!" Her cry of alarm was drowned out by the thunderous roar of her shotgun. The center of the khazra's chest….simply ceased to exist as most of it was splattered across the ground behind as it fell backward in a heap. Seeing movement in the trees from the same spot it'd come running from, Tali was soon joined by a recovered Garrus as a dozen more khazra, with a skull capped staff wielding one in the back, burst out of the trees with bellowing grunts and cries in their bestial tongue.

"Kill the shaman!" Gemma, having returned from wherever she'd disappeared to, shouted as she pulled her crossbows in a flash, bolts flying a split second later. "He'll bring the others back until he falls!"

"What does he look like?" Garrus asked as he fired with every step backwards.

"The big one with the staff instead of a blade!" Gemma snapped as her crossbows cracked in quick succession, each projectile finding its home in a new body. "I'll clear the path, you take the shot." The order was short and to the point, but it wasn't like Garrus needed anything more. So when Gemma fired some kind of cylinder towards the approaching goatmen, which then exploded once a long, red chain had wrapped around the lead monster's neck before two orbs slammed into each other, and tore them to shreds in a way that would have made her a wanted war criminal back home, he didn't wait for even one of the bodies to pull itself back together as he lined up his scope with the head of a softly chanting beastman. Just as quickly, he had no more head as it was shattered from the high powered rifle round he put between the shaman's eyes.

While the goat men that yet lived, even those the shaman had revived, still pressed onward, they were much easier to deal with as Tali shot them down with Gemma's help. Once it was clear there was no one else wanting to kill them, only then did the quarian round on the demon hunter. "Where the Hell were you?"

"...Let me show you." Was her only response as Gemma silently walked away, her shoulders tense and unusually slumped. That, more than anything, had whatever angry retort Tali had on the tip of her tongue die silently. Neither could say where Gemma lead them, or how she knew where her destination was, but after a trek of roughly half an hour, they left behind the sparse line of trees and stepped onto a small glade. There they saw the remains of a sparse camp site, with only a dirty bed roll and a meager fire to say it was in use.

"D- Don't come any closer!" A shrill, hysteric voice bellowed at them and it was only then that Tali saw the human girl, covered in mud, scratches from the branches all over her exposed skin. Blood still clung heavily to her, though only a little seemed to be her own.

Gemma came to a stop a few steps away from her and slowly sank to one knee. "You probably ran… until you couldn't take another step. Not once looking back in your desperation… you just ran, hoping to survive the madness that had taken over your life." She looked down to something in her hand that neither turian or quarian could see, but it was obvious it meant something to her as she squeezed it tightly in her fingers. "I remember that feeling."

"I- I had to!" The young woman sobbed and buried her head in her arms, her knees drawn up to her chest as she slowly began to rock back and forth. "I had no choice!"

"You always have a choice." The sky darkened as a cloud, thick and black, promising a heavy rain, blotted out the sun, as if in portent to whatever darkness the girl had ran from. The shrieks in the distance that came soon after had Garrus spinning on his heel while Tali pressed her back to his, but Gemma didn't seem concerned as she slowly stood, her gaze never straying from the girl who looked forlornly towards the edge of the glade.

"We're going to die here...aren't we?" She asked as the first of the demons came out of the trees.

"No." Gemma promised darkly, lifting her weapons once more. "As long as I am here, they are the prey, and I...am the hunter!" Her bold declaration was further emphasized when the killing started mere moments later. Tali and Garrus were no slouches, having survived countless battles against the Reapers and their minions, but it was Gemma that truly dominated the field.

The quarian was certain that she would never forget this moment till the day she died, as the human, if that's what she truly was, threw herself against the hordes of goatmen and what allies they brought with them with relish. Her glowing, coal like eyes shone a fiery red beneath her hood even as her lips twisted in a cruel, sadistic smile as one after another of their enemies fell beneath her crossbows. Three grenades scattered several of the goatmen, including a shaman, turning them into so much red mist, while another cylindrical shaped charge wrapped around the waist of a gray skinned brute wielding a cruel looking axe. When it detonated, his legs went one way, his upper torso, what was left of it, went the other, but she had long since moved onto other prey. And that was exactly what they were to her, from what Tali could see. Prey.

Garrus, for his part, was visibly unnerved even as he continued to fire for all he was worth. A head there, a knee cap here, a few in the chest of another, he was efficient but not needlessly cruel. Gemma was enjoying the slaughter, that much was obvious to him. In fact, he was rather certain that if she had the chance, she would've prefered to make her enemies suffer far more than she did now, but necessity dictated her to dispose of them as quickly as she could… or wound them so severely that they would no longer pose a threat. The only thing that stopped him from putting a bullet in the woman was the fact that, as much as she so clearly enjoyed making the monsters pay for everything they'd done to her, and if he'd had any doubts about that before he certainly didn't have them now, she also held herself back, and kept herself close to the girl that was transfixed by the slaughter of those that had taken everything from her.

Just as quickly as it started, it was over, with Gemma making her slow way back to the girl who was no longer sobbing her heart out. When she didn't tell Gemma to stop, the hunter slowly held out a hand to her. "You have a choice, child. Hunted, or hunter."

"I… but you… how…" She stammered, but didn't look away from Gemma despite the blood and ichor that now adorned the woman's armor.

"Let's return to the village, there you will be safe for the moment." Gemma told the girl softly as she pulled a blanket made from rough cloth out of her saddle bag and put it around the girl's shoulders. "They're teaching the people how to fight there as well… perhaps this will help you in the days to come." It seemed to have the desired effect as a flicker of hope began to shine in the formerly defeated girl's eyes. Gemma, for her part, met Garrus and Tali's respective gazes as they passed, a noticeable limp in her young friend's gait as thin rivulets of blood ran down the girl's thighs, adding yet more proof to the horrors she'd endured. Not that they noticed as they saw, for just a fraction of a second, a much younger Gemma in her dull gray eyes, one that had been as hopeless and afraid as the girl she now assisted. "...She died a long time ago." She mouthed towards the pair, having read the unspoken questions.

"Did she?" Garrus asked aloud, but while Gemma didn't answer save to turn away, he was certain Gemma hadn't changed so much that she had forgotten her better, gentler nature. It was only after they returned to New Tristram, the girl left in Tarandar's care, that he stopped Gemma on her way out of the healer's borrowed home. "You say you died, but I don't think that's true, not after what I saw today."

"What you think is of little concern to me." Gemma retorted coldly, not even sparing him another glance. "You had best focus your attention elsewhere, you would not like what you find if you were to keep looking." With that, she stalked away, but Garrus wasn't deterred.

It helped he'd had the foresight to open a channel to the rest of the crew. "You get all that Commander?" He asked once he was sure she was out of earshot.

"I did. Seems our hunch about her was right." Shepard muttered lowly and sighed. "Damnit, why do things always have to get so messy?"

"Don't know, I truly don't know." The turian muttered quietly and sighed, once more reminded of his days at C-Sec. Where he had kept on working day after day, only acting when the crime had already happened, when it was already too late in his opinion. He barely took notice of Deckard as the old man moved past him and into the healer's abode as he allowed his feet to carry him back to the town centre and makeshift bootcamp. "I just know that, for all her hatred for whatever those things are, she didn't hesitate to protect the kid she'd found while she was off sulking."

"That gives me hope she's got her priorities right at least." Shepard left the channel, but Garrus's mind was still a whirl.

Gemma meanwhile, was just able to find a shadow enshrouded copse of trees before her mental defenses shattered, and she was pulled back into the day her home, her friends, family, were slaughtered and ravished in every way they could be by the demons she had since dedicated her life to destroying. Several shuddery, shaky breaths and a furious swipe of her eyes erased any trace of her having lost her tenuous control over her sorrow and hatred. Leaning her head against the bark of the tree she'd collapsed against, her hood eskew and forgotten in any event. "It's too late for me….I couldn't protect you then….not from your own nightmares." Looking down to the pendant in her hand, Gemma sighed, exhausted and tired in a way she'd not felt in a long time. "Forgive me...Saria. I couldn't help you….I couldn't protect you."

For a brief moment, she could see that face again, as it was before everything she had once known had been torn asunder in a single night of fire and blood and demonic screams in the dark. That happy smile as the girl played with the butterflies in their garden, grinning up at her older sister, staring into a face that had once been so very much her own. Before years of hatred, hardship, and countless battles had changed it forever. Her eyes, once a pale blue and full of hope, had dulled to gray, uniform orbs, hollow save for the hatred that glowed within them, the light of that same burning hatred that fuelled her dark powers. Her hair had grown wild and long beneath her hood, darkened more by her mood than anything else, when once it'd been a vibrant, platinum blonde.

Whatever her physical alterations though, it was the void in her chest, a miasma of sorrow, pain, rage and cruelty, equalled only by the strict discipline and moments of compassion she allowed herself, that would've been the most startling to those few that yet knew her, and that still had their senses about them. Some days it alarmed even her to know how much she'd changed, and not for the better despite having been given the strength to fight against the very creatures that had destroyed everything she'd ever loved.

Perhaps that's why she was so irritated by these strangers, as she watched them train hopeless farmers into something resembling a fighting force. If someone like them had been there for her and Saria… perhaps things would've been different. Yet all the wishes and dreams in the world wouldn't, couldn't, change the past. And the people who found her and trained her had little interest in breaking and rebuilding her. If she could be broken in the first place, she wouldn't have been worth the effort to build her up again. Besides, they could do little to break her further than she had already been when she had been found, frightened, and near out of her mind with terror.

Pushing the memories down before the rest could play themselves out behind her eyes, Gemma's clenched her fist tightly around the pendant in her hand before stuffing it back beneath her armor. With a twitch of her right hand she decided that she had wasted enough time on the strangers as she looked up at the gloomy sky. It had been nearly the same when she woke up after… that night. She closed her eyes, trying to force out the memories that contained nothing but anguish.

Humming a song that she'd once used to sing to her sister, Gemma slowly fell to blissful unconsciousness. It was only after she'd woken some time later, the sun having neared the horizon as night followed in its wake, that Gemma realized what she had to do. "A hunter hunts alone." She murmured quietly before walking away from New Tristram.

If she'd known James had been looking her way, unseen and unnoticed in the underbrush after he'd been asked to seek her out, she'd have had something to say, likely at the point of a crossbow bolt. As it was, he went silently back the way he'd come, seeing her skulk away. "Lola," James started as he made a note of where Gemma had gone as she made her way northeast towards the wooden bridge that spanned a wide river, his voice whisper soft since he didn't want to risk her discovering his presence, "we got a problem."

List of characters/status

Commander Jess Shepard / Canon / Human / Alive

Doctor Liara T'Soni / Canon / Asari / Alive

Lt. Commander Ashley Williams / Canon / Human / Alive

Lt. James Vega / Canon / Human / Alive

Urdnot Wrex / Canon / Krogan / Alive

Urdnot Grunt / Canon / Krogan / Alive

Major Kirrahe / Canon / Salarian / Alive

Lieutenant Shayira / OC/ Asari / Alive
Major Ordeus / OC / Turian / Alive
Captain Kardin / OC / Human / Alive

Captain Reyes / OC / Human / Alive
Admiral Shala'Raan / Canon / Quarian / Alive
Lukile / OC / Geth / Alive
Sergeant Ayata Nou / OC / Drell / Alive

Leah / Canon / Alive

Deckard Cain / Canon / Alive

Captain Rumford / Canon / Alive

Tarandar / OC / Alive

Captain Daltyn / OC ish / Alive

Dresden / OC / Alive

Mira Eamon / Canon ish / Alive

Haedrig Eamon / Canon / Alive

Kaidan / OC / Alive

Gemma / Demon Hunter / MIA

Lucifer / Monk / Alive

Moira / Sorceress / Alive

Gregory / Necromancer / Alive

Nihlus Kryik / Spectre / 'Dead' (Long story. : P )

End Notes: Vergil1989: So that happened, heh. There IS a good reason why Nihlus is a thing here, but that story will have to wait since they have to go and save Gemma from herself before she gets killed. That aside, people asked for a necromancer, and we've done our best to provide what you, the people, asked for. Hope you like him! He's actually been pretty fun to write for so far. He might not be as dryly quip happy as he normally would be, but he's still proven himself to be friendly, for the most part. True, he thought about returning Shepard to the 'Great Cycle', which wouldn't have gone well for him at all, but at least he didn't go through with it. It seemed appropriate that he'd find Jess questionable given the fact she very much escaped death, and we even got a chance to show off his skills a bit while making it very clear Jess is as powerful as ever. It was also rather hilarious to have Nihlus add in his commentary to the whole affair lol.

Nomad-117: Indeed, we figured if headless Queens can go floating around Spectres with a hole in the back of their head can do the same. Although I have to watch more videos about the necromancer, as I do not possess the DLC myself. Anything else of note? Ah yes, we shamelessly used the Demon Hunter trailer to give the team a glimpse into Gemma's past as well as showing a bit more about the Hunter herself. It's a slow progress but we are fleshing out the various characters, or at least we try to.