Author's Note: Welp, Lent is over, and with it my writing sabbatical. Let's get back to it.

xxxx

Grimoire: Ghost Fragment - Memory of Jolder

"The red tide surged, and my comrades were undone."

There was a haze in my head; I remembered...I remembered throwing the body of Gheleon past the threshold, where he was caught by Katsuragi...I saw the face of Saladin, wracked with defiant horror. I...I pressed the detonator. The entryway collapsed...and then I was consumed.

Then...how...?

My mind was no longer my own, yet I was still me. I was being lifted, pulled by cords of blood...and then I was face-to-face with the beast.

Useful creations, are they not, oh prisoner mine?

A...a dragon...?

Soldiers without a commander, slaves without a master, puppets without strings; I serve as that which gives them purpose.

...it can't be...

You have struggled valiantly, as a mountain that cannot be scaled. Yet the tide breaks all, and the mightiest mountain eventually bows to the winds, oh prisoner mine.

(Serpentine eyes looked with amusement at the kneeling human. He asked for truth; and so I gave it to him.)

What...what was that?

Eyes that were not mine, yet witnessed; memories beyond the veil, swimming through a vast ocean; each of us a land unto themselves, connected by a singular sea.

I tried to struggle, to get free. My bonds of deathly red would not budge. Where was my Ghost...?

The notion of distance is an illusion, for that which seems far is only separated by effort and will.

(She wished for the power to protect her family from a mere criminal, a simple threat in the grand scheme of creation. Her gift was that of seemingly divine inspiration, and she incited an entire city to revolt. Soon, the whole country devolved into madness; it was the first salvo of what these mere pawns would eventually call the Cataclysm.)

How much will can you bring to bear, oh partner mine?

My Ghost...where is she?

You believe that this little trinket offers a path to true power? A path beyond the embrace of death?

The shell began to crack, and I knew despair.

(He only wanted to be strong enough to protect his sister. Very well; he became Strength Incarnate. Strength that is not used...cannot be called such. So he used it on those that were closest. And so the blood began to flow.)

These visions...!

Why seek to avoid that which awaits us all, when you can instead aim to master it? You seek the empty promises of the Sky...but the waters of the Deep can remove your sorrow.

No...stop...

Remove your sorrow by embracing it.

...Saladin...

Tell me...what would you like to wish for...

The red tide consumed me.

...oh bearer mine?

My Ghost shattered.

~defend enhance eliminate~

xxxx

/The Replication Complex, SIVA Facility, the Ironlands/

Zavala had only heard rumors. Myths. Legends. Tales of the wish-granting dragons, their sly words, their cunning methods, and their dark deceit. To think he would be facing one now, centuries after their purported demise...

One could not blame him for feeling a bit unnerved.

xx

Ikora Rey idly observed the serpent, marveling at its dimensions. Four legs, dirty white scales...a body at least forty feet long, currently standing at over twenty feet tall...a fairly thick skull, judging by the shape...and those flaps...are those wings?

She had no clue as to what the combat capabilities of the Ahamkara were. To control SIVA over such a distance, and in such a capacity...it had to have a significant psychic capability.

How interesting.

xx

Aria Yamine stared coolly at the beast, feeling its weight upon the fabric of fate. Observing it, she felt the hunger deep within it, that ravenous abyss that slithered and crawled.

"It is an interloper. A foe. An enemy. Your efforts, your gains...it will look upon them as wasteful, akin to using a fine sword to cut grass. Do not show mercy."

She let the voice filter through, from somewhere within and beyond; it was the voice of sustenance, of life, and purpose. The voice's demands could not, would not, be denied. I understand.

xx

Saladin Forge saw the dragon, and knew it was an Ahamkara; that this would be the Mind that controlled SIVA was...unexpected. And yet it didn't stop his inner fire from smoldering. So...this is the beast that brought down the Iron Lords. THIS is the one responsible.

His fingers tightened around the grip of his auto rifle. The beast would die.

xx

Misato Katsuragi's blood boiled, her eyes narrowed with an old fury that she had not felt in centuries.

(Her father slowly placed the cross around her neck. "Take care, my daughter." Then, he pushed her beyond the threshold, and into the clean room. She looked through the reinforced window, pounding and screaming desperately as he turned to face the wyrm. His left hand held a detonator; with the press of a button, the complex beyond vanished in fire, consuming both human and serpent.)

They...there were extinct...they were supposed to be dead...!

(She listened stoically to the screams of Shinji as the dragon's talons pierced Unit-01. The rest of the command staff did not see how her knuckles went white, or how her jaw tightened. What she wouldn't give to be able to face the beasts herself!)

'Wark.'

...yeah. That's right. She had power now. She had the Gift of the Traveler. This son-of-a-bitch is dead!

xx

Shinji Ikari thought he had seen the last of the Ahamkara. Honestly.

The beast was small, compared to the ones he faced throughout the majority of the Great Hunt; however, it was still immense, and its strangely casual demeanor was all too familiar. And those eyes...those yellow eyes gleamed with a familiar intelligence.

'Breathe, Shinji,' cautioned Yui from within.

...inhale...exhale...inhale...exhale...

Then the serpent spoke once more. "Well? I asked a question; will you not answer me?"

Saladin stepped forward, speaking with authority. "We have come to take control of SIVA from you. And given your demonstrated hostility, we have also come to slay you, beast."

"Such violent behavior...and how rude. I do have a title; you may call me Soma. I am the last of the Ahamkara, the lone island that has yet to be swallowed by the sea."

"The last, eh?" Misato cocked her pulse rifle. "Can't imagine how we missed once."

"Your campaign of extermination was thorough, to be sure; hiding here, deep in the comforting dark...I was but a mere child." Swarms of red nanomachines swirled around it. "Under the perfect protection of the red tide, I slept. And I grew. And now, with war visiting my home...there are so many wishes to grant, so much death to gorge on..." Soma looked quietly at each of the six, snorting with amusement. "And you think you have what it takes to end me, oh murderers mine?"

"Your death is a foregone conclusion," murmured Aria.

"Such words of finality; the arrogance of ignorance." The dragon chuckled, lips curling to form a wicked smile. "The powers I answer to are beyond that of your crippled patron; anything you desire can be granted...surely there is at least one of you who have a wish. I will hear it gladly...oh bearers mine."

Misato snarled. "I know exactly what kind of price your damn wishes carry, you piece of-!"

"I have a wish."

The words were quiet. The five Guardians slowly looked at Shinji, whose gaze was fixed firmly upon the dragon. Misato's expression of disbelief was palpable, despite the armor. "...Shinji-kun...?"

"State your wish."

Shinji's right hand slowly flexed, a nervous habit.

(The school had been pulverized. The thrall that had once been his friend walked slowly towards him, with eyes shedding anguished tears. Shinji knew that the boy could easily kill him...and yet, there was resistance. With tremendous agony, the thrall bared his neck, even as possessed fists reached to strangle him; it was an invitation, a last request, that of a prisoner pleading for mercy. Shinji grimaced, his body shivering with anxious misery; why did it have to be him? WHY WAS THE BURDEN ALWAYS HIS?! Howling with grief, he took his small pocket knife and jabbed it into his friend's neck.)

His right hand clenched into a fist; glaring into the dragon's eyes, he said, "Only that you were dead." He gripped his scout rifle, taking aim through the scope. "And we don't need your help to make that a reality."

Soma seemed...amused. "Very well then. There will be no terms."

And with those words, the corrupted form of Sepiks Prime opened fire.

The six Guardians split apart, dodged the bursts of corrupted ether. Sepiks Corrupted continued firing, driving Saladin's team to hide behind the support beams bordering the central area. The Iron Lord scowled as the radiant projectiles, laced with nanites, smashed around them. "We have to strike the dragon!"

Aria aimed around the corner, firing her sniper rifle at Soma. A cloud of nanomachines effortlessly blocked the bullet. "SIVA is protecting it," observed the young Warlock.

"Then we'll have to negate its protection!" roared Saladin.

"Corrupted Fallen, incoming!" yelled Zavala. Doors opened from further within the Replication Complex; Perfected Ramielim and Spliced Bardielim, firing a storm of lasers and a hail of corrupting goo respectively. Misato, Ikora, and Aria threw fiery grenades at the ground, unleashing flames that burned away at the encroaching goop. Each Guardian aimed with their primary weapons at the possessed Fallen, concentrating their fire to bring down the encroaching enemies.

All the while, the Ahamkara watched them, looking rather bored by the whole affair. "Ants in an hourglass, trapped by time and circumstance; birds that deign to swim, to brave the depths of the Deep..."

"And how about you have a glass of SHUT-THE-HELL-UP?!" roared Misato, firing her Gjallarhorn at the beast. The SIVA swarm surrounding it blocked every single explosive. "Damn it!"

"We have to dispel the SIVA somehow," murmured Saladin. "Or at least disrupt its connection the beast!"

Sepiks Corrupted let loose a synthetic roar; glowing brightly, the Prime Servitor unleashed a large orb of tainted ether, which tracked towards the beam behind which Shinji and Aria were taking cover. Shinji, seeing the incoming orb, quickly backed away from the beam; Aria was too focused on firing on an incoming Perfected Ramielim. "Aria-!"

The orb splashed against the beam, and the nanites erupted in a thick cloud, curling around the pillar and swarming upon Aria. The young Warlock began twitching, her body surging with the ravenous nanomachines. Her gaze turned towards him; her helmet blocked all sight of her face, but he could imagine that her eyes were wide with horror. "Kill me Ikari."

Shinji paled. "But-!"

"Do it now, or I won't survive."

''Shinji. You must.'

But...but...!

He didn't want to treat death so casually, or so flippantly. To do so was to devalue their lives...and yet...things were different, weren't they? They really were, weren't they?

Yui was insistent. 'She will turn against us, like the Remnants of the Iron Lords. She will become the dragon's thrall.'

Perhaps that, more than anything else, made the decision for him. I won't let it happen again.

(He watched despondently as the thralls advanced, their very footsteps burning the asphalt; whatever their wish had been was irrelevant. And so Unit-01 stoically smashed them under its foot, slowly turning to the dragon that watched slyly from atop the skyscraper.)

Never again! Shinji's heavy weapon - a teal-and-brown Deacon RS/3 rocket launcher - manifested in his hands. "I'm sorry."

The rocket fired; with a great explosion, the cloud of nanites burst apart, falling limply to the ground. Aria's body, meanwhile, vanished in the flame. As the corpse slowly disintegrated, a flicker of blue Light shot from it; with a brief SHYOOOM, the girl's Ghost manifested. "Stand by," said Megumi.

Suddenly, with a violent eruption, the Ghost vanished in fire; in her place was Aria, wreathed in the flames of the Sunsinger. "You have my gratitude," said Aria, raising her pulse rifle. "And I think I know how we can disperse the SIVA barrier around Soma."

Shinji stared blankly as Aria reclaimed her position behind the beam. "..."

'You should be used to it by now.'

I...I know...but...

'First time you intentionally had to kill someone to save them?'

It was. And now he had some understanding of why other Guardians could be so gung-ho in the Crucible.

As Aria threw multiple Solar Grenades - her fiery Radiance recharging the burning Light in her palms - her voice was transmitted by her Ghost into their helmet's speakers. "The ether of Sepiks Corrupted is interacting unusually with SIVA. The Ahamkara's taint...it has not completely suppressed the Servitor's synthetic Light."

"Are you saying we could use Sepiks' ether against the beast?" asked Zavala, his shotgun firing at the consumed Fallen that managed to make it through Aria's proverbial wall of fiery orbs.

Aria shook her head. "No. We will need...something else. Something purer, to trigger a metaphysical cascade...but the ether could serve...as a conduit."

The other Guardians winced as the corrupted Servitor continued barraging their positions with tainted ether, sending out wild sprays of nanites. Ikora looked meaningfully towards her pupil, firing her scout rifle in an oddly casual manner. "A conduit...for our own Light."

"It is the most plausible means of overruling Soma's control," answered Aria.

Saladin stared at the ground around them, noting the nanomachines that coated the ground like a fine red dust. They seemed...inert, and lifeless, separated from the dragon's close proximity. "SIVA is different...is Sepiks' ether really the deciding factor...?"

"No time like the present to find out!" yelled Misato, slamming her palm into the nanomachines on the floor, letting her Light flow into them.

Shinji briefly paused in his defensive fire - ammunition smashing into a Perfected Ramielim - as a strange pressure flickered from Misato's position. It was hard to describe; a murky sandstorm, dark and foreboding, traced with glowing towers...then, pure starlight filtered through the storm, chasing away the shadows-

In a burst of blue, the inert SIVA beneath Misato flashed, and the Iron Lady became awash in radiant azure Light as the nanites empowered her. "Holy...whoa!" The Hunter laughed nervously, looking somewhat bewildered by the sudden change. "...well, no time like the present! Cover me!" Misato charged around the pillar, storming directly towards the server banks atop which the Ahamkara sat.

Shinji watched her run, going still as the corrupted Fallen began to change course. "They're going for Misato-san!"

"Cover her!" ordered Saladin; the primary weapons of the five Guardians barked and roared, the whole chamber ringing with thunderclaps as the Iron Lady soared towards the great dragon.

The beast's yellow eyes glimmered with amusement. "A quaint flicker of starlight, hiding within the rotten halls of servitude..." Soma's claw flicked condescendingly towards her.

From the mass of red SIVA tendrils behind the Ahamkara, a gleaming red humanoid erupted, slamming into Misato. The Iron Lady shot backwards, a proverbial azure comet that skipped off of the ground.

The dragon hissed as the newcomer landed on the floor, slowing rising to face the Guardians. "...then let slave fight slave, under the gaze of true freedom."

Shinji gulped as the humanoid - the human - rose; the rusted armor and aged clothing was distended and twisted, and the corpse beneath bulged with red tendrils. A large cannon seemed to be growing out of the right arm, and the left hand clenched an ancient Iron Battle Axe. Beneath the helm, the eye sockets blazed with blue. For the briefest of moments, it was like looking at another thrall of the Ahamkara.

Saladin's reaction - a stilted gasp, and tightened knuckles - only solidified that sensation. "Lord Radegast..."

The Remnant of Radegast roared, and opened fire.

Bursts of Solar energy erupted from the Remnant's cannon, forcing the Guardians to scatter once more. Saladin and Misato kept their attention on their former comrade, whilst the other four focused on distracting the corrupted Fallen that continued their assault. "Can you hear me, Lord Radegast?!" yelled Saladin, a tinge of panicked disbelief in his tone.

The thrall gurgled, charging forward with its Iron Battle Axe.

The Sunbreaker's sigh was audible. "...so it comes to this." In a flash, the Iron Lord manifested his own Axe, and met Radegast's charge head-on. Each and every blow unleashed tongues of flame, scorching the ground beneath their feet. Misato timed her shots with the SUROS PDX-45 pulse rifle well, shooting the Remnant's limbs before it began each swing. A little momentum here and there was enough to turn the tide; soon, Saladin's blows took their toll, and his fiery weapon finally tore through the thrall's guard. With a pained howl, he swung, ripping a smoldering gash in the corpse's torso. "Now, Lady Katsuragi!"

Roaring, Misato leapt above Saladin, lashing out with her knife into the Remnant's face; her blue aura popped with an audible snap, consuming the Remnant utterly; the remains of SIVA that had not been blown away by Saladin's attack suddenly congealed, and the entire thrall dissolved, collapsing into a pulsating blue ball. The Hunter picked the orb up gingerly, eyeing the glowing nanites within. "What the-?"

"Throw it!" yelled Aria, ducking behind a pillar as Sepiks Corrupted bombarded her position. "Target the Prime Servitor!"

The Iron Lady didn't hesitate. With a mighty heave, she lunged forward, launching the pulsating ball at the eye of Sepiks. It burst into searing bolts of Light, crawling across the Prime Servitor's surface with ravenous speed. The corrupted Servitor's synthetic howl echoed throughout the Replication Complex, and the SIVA swirling around it quivered. Then-

FLASH!

A wave of Light burst from the Prime Servitor, flickering through everyone. All of the nanites suddenly collapsed, lifelessly falling to the ground. The corrupted Fallen collapsed, as puppets with cut strings. Soma blinked as its impenetrable shield fell to the ground. "Hmm?"

"NOW! WHILE ITS CONTROL OVER SIVA IS DISRUPTED!" yelled Ikora.

As one, each Guardian withdrew their most powerful ranged weapons and opened fire.

The beast grimaced, great wings flapping as explosives and high-velocity rounds pelted its scales. "Inquisitive motes of starlight, flaring against the Abyss! Hardy and rambunctious, fools one and all!" The beast's draconic eyes flared, and a concussive wave knocked the six Guardians backwards.

Saladin scowled, slamming the hilt of his Battle Axe into the ground to arrest his retreat. "Do not hesitate! Keep attacking!" His entire body blazed with the fire of the Sun, and the Hammer of Sol went flying.

The Ahamkara's wings kept flapping, narrowly avoiding the heavier ordnance even as primary weapons fire and sniper rounds pelted its armored hide. "The worth of one's existence, the truth of your being! It is defined by how much you can devour!" Sneering, the beast landed back atop its pedestal of servers, eyes flashing with an unnerving glow. "And so I shall feast, and gorge, and consume!" The dragon shimmered with a dark radiance, and the inert SIVA around its body began to quiver.

"Its connection with SIVA has been reestablished," said Aria, lowering her Luna Chiral III sniper rifle. "We must take cover."

"Where?!" demanded Zavala.

The nanites around Soma's body began to swirl, shining a bloody red. "...that I am not sure of."

Ikora's voice suddenly caught their attention. "Quickly! Over here!" The Warlock was typing furiously onto a computer terminal in the wall, beside which were a pair of doors. "These appear to be clean rooms, built by SIVA's creators. Inside!"

The rest of Saladin's team didn't hesitate, piling into the small room; right as the entire Replication Complex began to shine with a deadly red glow, Ikora delved inside, closing the door with a defiant thud. The ward shimmered with a dull shield of yellow-

BOOM.

-that did not last beyond one burst of nanite-enhanced power; the shield flickered and died, and the centuries-old doorway collapsed to the ground.

As the Guardians piled back out, they took note of Soma - once again protected by a cloud of nanomachines - staring intently at Sepiks Corrupted. "...hmm...a defiant slave, unwilling to flee...driven by bloodlust and unnatural fury? Or one who desires a vain death?" The dragon turned its gaze back towards them. "...it matters not."

Shinji blinked. What is it talking about?

"Heh...it knows that without Sepiks, we have no chance of breaking through that field of SIVA...but it looks like Sepiks isn't leaving." Misato, demonstrating uncanny insight, chuckled grimly as she reloaded her pulse rifle. "Thank the Traveler that the Fallen hate us so much!"

"Do not become too confident, Lady Katsuragi," warned Saladin. "Even if Sepiks Prime's will is not fully bound by the Ahamkara...we should not take it for granted that it is an ally."

At his words, the corrupted Prime Servitor howled, and the Fallen thralls - now back under the Ahamkara's control - slowly rose, their bodies surging with nanomachines.

The six split apart as Sepiks opened fire, but there was a weary confidence in their movements. They had a strategy in place; it was now a matter of execution.

At least...that's what they all hoped for.

xxxx

The pattern was beginning to repeat. The Fallen thralls were storming against the slaves of the Light, and their corrupted quasi-deity continued to spew the nanomachines everywhere.

Soma watched with a wry grin; its will became paramount, and beckoned him forward.

Flesh moved, and muted spirit wailed. The being once known as Felwinter gurgled, storming outward alongside the Remnant of Lady Skorri. Two of their enemies (no, allies, comrades, FRIENDS!) surged with a blue aura, watching them warily as they approached.

A repeating pattern eventually forms a shape; yet the Deep churns with the force of an unyielding tide, forming new iterations...

The damned voice of the serpent filtered through his head, driving him to fight and to strike. With great precision, his Axe struck Saladin (you old fool, why are you here?!), cleaving a horrendous wound in the man's torso. His body burned into ash, even as his Ghost emerged in a flash of Light.

(He looked upon the peak that now bore his name; once, his Ghost had been the only one allowed upon this mountain, his domain as a Warlord; now, the heights sang with the sound of many Ghosts, his fellow Lords calling the peak home. It was...peaceful.)

Peace is a delusion, for all of reality is in constant struggle.

An Awoken Titan - blue skin surging with an even bluer aura - stepped protectively in front of Saladin's Ghost, while Misato Katsuragi (foolish, slovenly woman! You should have known better!) drove him back with three precise Golden Gun shots. As two young Guardians (they're so young, practically whelps) held off the Fallen, his position - and that of Skorri's Remnant - were bombarded by grenades and rockets.

Continue your struggle, and perturb the pattern; show something purer, let your end blossom!

The Remnant of Felwinter gurgled (I want to scream, I want to fight, I want to be free, make it STOP!), dead eyes gleaming with an unholy radiance. The Light behind the Awoken began to coalesce, preparing to take on a familiar shape.

A flash of Light coincided with a wickedly quick tendril of corrupted flesh. As Saladin resurrected, his Ghost was caught; with a triumphant (no) howl, the Remnant of Felwinter slammed the Traveler's emissary into the floor (no!), the SIVA within his corpse inhibiting the Ghost's attempts to flee...and then, up came his Axe. (NO!)

An unworthy form, purified with fire and sword...burning away the paltry Light.

Down came the Axe, and the Ghost was shattered into a dozen pieces.

Saladin's panicked shout - "RICHARD!" - was a soothing balm to the sickening serpent.

(Felwinter quietly floated downward, letting the gentle wind caress him. Step by step...the world was being rebuilt.)

The Remnant of Felwinter idly watched as the corpse of Skorri was slashed repeatedly by a young Hunter, right before the black-skinned Warlock - her body shimmering with blue - slammed a glowing fist through her torso (let me die). A rocket knocked his Axe and cannon aside, allowing the Awoken Titan to approach him (please kill me).

This pattern is pleasing...you have done well.

A glowing fist crushed Felwinter's head, and the Remnant began to fade away (Saladin...). His ashes fell upon the broken shell of Richard, and he finally (...forgive me...) ceased to be.

xxxx

The second - and last - clean room in the Replication Complex was located on the opposite side of the chamber, along the right walkway; after another round of disabling Sepiks Corrupted and nullifying Soma's SIVA barrier, the embattled dragon was charging another burst of SIVA-enhanced energy. The six Guardians were catching their breath behind the shielded door, waiting for the attack to pass.

Right now, Saladin Forge sensed that everyone was staring at him. "We won't have anymore clean rooms to take refuge in after this. This phase will be the last."

"Lord Saladin," murmured Zavala. His concern was impossible to hide.

Saladin ignored it. "Charge your Light as best as you are able; we won't be able to hold anything back."

"Saladin-kun." Lady Katsuragi's voice hid a slight quiver to it. She was trying to maintain her composure.

Saladin tried to ignore it. "Do not falter. Do not retreat. Do not hesitate."

"Saladin." Misato spoke without her usual honorific.

Saladin finally turned, looking straight at her helmet. He imagined the naked concern within her eyes, knowing the compassion they would hold. "...you do not have to tell me anything I don't already know."

She did so anyway. "This is your last life."

"Do you believe I would hesitate?"

(He arched an eyebrow, looking quietly at the woman in ragged clothing, and armed with even more ramshackle weaponry. "...where have you come from?" When she spoke, and revealed just how far away she had hailed from, he wasted no time dragging her before Lord Radegast. That sort of determination needed to be with the Iron Lords.)

"...no," she relented, seemingly accepting these circumstances. The Arc energy coiling within her hands - the Hunter having switched from Gunslinger to Bladedancer during this brief reprieve - revealed her true frustration.

The door collapsed, and there was no more time for talk. "Then let us move forward!" The Sunbreaker led the charge, and his five teammates followed him. The Unbent Tree barked furiously, bringing down more of the blasted Fallen thralls.

How long had he been using this aged weapon? How long had it served him?

(The wrath of Warlord Kira was swift and fierce, his many men holding off the other Iron Lords with great zeal. And yet, in the end, it was the tiny axe blade on the barrel of his weapon that shattered the killer's Ghost; from that point on, the Iron Lords' victory was assured.)

How fitting, it seemed, that his Ghost had met a similar end. I have to make it count.

Saladin hid behind a support beam, narrowly avoiding the charged blasts of the Prime Servitor. The weapons of his fellow Guardians, the stern shouts and precise commands...it was a heady cacophony of destructive noise and militaristic turbulence. Even knowing that he was no longer immortal, even knowing that this life was all he had...his blood still sang, as hard as it ever had. Perhaps more.

Down the sights. Rata-tat-tat. Shattered Ramielim. A single grenade, surging with Solar Energy. Bardielim flesh boiled and popped. Every last speck of Light within his body was precious, not to be wasted or squandered. He had to make it count.

Finally, after a seemingly endless barrage from Sepiks Corrupted, there was enough inert SIVA scattered across the ground. Kneeling down, he let the nanomachines intermingle with his Light, and a blue aura consumed him utterly. He idly noted that their two youngest - Ikari, and Aria - also bore this aura.

And what timing, for three more corrupted corpses emerged from the dragon's nest; radiating with dark power. Lord Timur. Lord Silimar. The third one...the sight of her was enough to make his heart tremble.

(The corpse of Warlord Tirek lay in a smoking crater behind her; sighing with remorse, she removed her helmet, looking intently at her visor. "That damn fool actually messed up my paint job." Her irritation was so genuine that Saladin couldn't help but laugh.)

...Lady Jolder. Saladin's scowl was equally genuine; even as the triad of Remnants opened fire with their cannons, the eyes of the Ahamkara glittered with a strange glee. Are you so entertained, beast? Does our anguish feed you? These thoughts circled back around, feeding his own conviction; there could be no hesitation...none whatsoever. He had to make it count.

Lady Katsuragi's shout was inaudible to him, but the other Guardians acted accordingly; with determined diligence, they hemmed the three Remnants in with a field of covering fire, pelting away at their shields with rockets and grenades. It was an unbelievable onslaught, one that would reduce most other enemies to a slurry of meat and ash.

The three Remnants weathered through, and continued attacking. Their Iron Battle Axes were still, but oh-so eager to bite.

Saladin held his own tightly, letting his Light infuse it, stoking it; the blaze at its head was bright, and furious.

(As Lady Katsuragi finished yet another tale from the Time Before, he glanced over at Lady Jolder. Quietly, the female Titan - knowing exactly what button to push - smiled, and said, "Nice story, but I bet I could shoot better." With an outraged squawk, the purple-haired Hunter stood, accepting Jolder's challenge. And just like that, the woman's aura of gloom was gone. Jolder...had a talent for that.)

He waited. And waited. Looking for just...the right...moment.

The trio were now side-by-side, screaming with mad fury.

There.

Roaring, Saladin charged, his Battle Axe burning with a nigh-unbearable heat. The shouts of his fellow Guardians were ignored. The glowing eyes of the Remnants gleamed, recognizing the opportunity. Snarling, they all raised their Axes.

(He looked straight into the eyes of Lady Jolder, her thumb hovering over the handle of the detonator. As the storm of red surged towards her, she mouthed three simple words. Then, the corridor she stood in vanished in fire, triggering a tremendous collapse of metal and rock. And then he, Lady Katsuragi, and Lord Gheleon were alone...the last of the Iron Lords.)

Just as planned.

With a defiant howl, Saladin swung at a downward angle. The flame of his Axe scorched through their shields tearing away at armor and nanite-enhanced flesh, rendering them vulnerable. He barely felt it as their burning Axes tore into him, slicing past the paltry Light he had left and his aged armor. With a pained groan, the Titan sagged, his Axe falling from his hand.

(He had thought it a fairly serious question to ask. Lady Jolder's bark of laughter was unexpected...but then again, given what she said next, it should have been no surprise. "If I am to die, let it be in battle, with weapons in my hands and laughter in my heart.")

Saladin grinned, even as blood began to trickle past his lips. It was a sentiment that he now understood.

He did not need to look around; he knew that the youngest of their team would not hesitate. So he focused instead on performing one last defiant action; his right fist curled, still shining with the last of his SIVA-enhanced Light. He stared directly into the face of Lady Jolder, and lunged forward.

Right as young Ikari's knife pierced the temple of Lord Timur, right as young Aria's glowing palm crashed into the skull of Lord Silimar, Saladin's fist smashed into Lady Jolder's face.

The three Remnants gurgled, dissolving as the three Guardians' auras popped. Even as the remains of SIVA began to congeal into shimmering azure orbs, the Iron Lord stared boldly at the Ahamkara. He did not face his fellows, for he knew he wouldn't be able to speak if he did.

Three simple words. Given the extent of his work, the pain and toil he had endured to ensure another day for the remains of humanity...they were fitting ones to leave behind. Lady Jolder had chosen them well. "...make it count..." And thus fell Lord Saladin, never to rise again.

xxxx

The smell of the old warrior's Light finally fading - with an acrid whisper of bitterness and acceptance - was tantalizing to Soma. "A flame that withstood time and error, undone by arrogance and sentiment. A finite spark, destined to fade away...as it will with all of you." The Ahamkara sneered, its very essence gorging on the anguish and the sorrow being exhibited. Even though its physical form was marred and weakened, the little motes would fall first. "Who would like to join him first, oh victims mine?"

The two youngest whelps and the fallen Titan's feminine comrade threw the three blue spheres of charged SIVA at the spherical machine hovering above. The chain reaction was not unexpected: Sepiks Corrupted, already worn down and marred by this conflict and the last, was unable to handle the sudden surge of energy; as a wave of Light erupted - once again nullifying its control over the nanomachines - the Servitor collapsed, crumbling into pieces. "A slave with its own will, now taken by death; nevermore shall its wrath assist you!" Its eyes flashed, and the five Guardians were flung backwards. "Willingly or not, your fate is sealed, oh prisoners mine!"

"We'll see about that!" howled the female Hunter, her great rocket firing a great cluster of rockets. The dragon calmly flapped its wings, floating to the side-

With a sudden shift of shadowy radiance, the female Warlock with dark skin unleashed a bolt of ravenous violet, smashing at the base of its right wing. A vortex of energy snarled and ripped and roared, and the dragon scowled as its wing was devoured. Crashing onto its feet with a thud, the Ahamkara glared at the rebellious creatures; although its armored scales were still holding - albeit barely, it had to begrudgingly admit - against the Guardians' assault, Soma's mind focused mostly on reclaiming control of the nanomachines. "A valiant tragedy, and a doomed effort; your agony shall became my food!"

Faint steps. A brief surge of static, rapidly approaching, yet...unnaturally muted.

The dragon tilted its head, gazing backwards at its spine; there was nothing...no. There was something.

Twin blades of lightning suddenly snapped into existence, and the form of the young Hunter became visible as he swung.

Searing pain, and electrified flesh! Gaps between scales, blown apart by rockets and explosives, gave way to horrendously sharp blades, tearing and cutting and slashing-!

The world went askew, and Soma could only blink dumbly as its head fell, free of its mortal form, and soon to be free from life.

xxxx

Shinji Ikari exhaled heavily, leaping off the headless dragon's body as it collapsed to the floor. All of the nanomachines remained still, and the remaining Fallen remained inert and lifeless. His Arc Blades slowly began to dissipate, his mind coming off an adrenaline-induced high. The general tactics of engaging the Ahamkara, where to strike, which weak spots to hit...

(Unit-01's eyes seemed to narrow, focusing on the scales along the dragon's torso, shattered by an extensive missile barrage. With swift prejudice, the progressive knife struck, stabbing through the gaps, and into the softer flesh.)

...it had been like second nature.

The head was still writhing, grasping to life...and yet the serpent's smug expression remained. "The last island am I, struck by a storm...into the Deep shall I sink, into Her gentle caress..."

"Your designs are over, beast." Zavala's anger was palpable, his wrath still simmering over Saladin's fate. "Your legacy, and that of your accursed species, is over."

"You are one to talk of legacies, oh murderer mine," said Soma with a sneer. "A world beyond reckoning is upon you...already, the whispers of Her kin are growing, a burgeoning cascade of chaos and fury...the dread Prince stirs, and their Almighty Father will turn His gaze upon you...the tides of the Deep will press this entire world toward a confrontation, and you shall be smashed against the shores of fate, oh kindred mine..."

Ikora arched a finely-trimmed eyebrow. "Her? Father? Kindred?"

"We aren't kindred to you," snarled Misato.

Soma laughed with utter joy. "We are all beholden to the whims of our forebears...yet you, slaves of a crippled star, can't even claim to know its ultimate end...and yet I have borne witness to the mind of our Mother...and you will all burn beneath that terrible gaze-"

SHICK.

Misato's Arc Blade stabbed through the temple of the serpent's head, cooking its brain tissue. The dragon's jaw went slack, and Soma finally breathed its last...and yet, Misato kept stabbing, and slashing, carving away at the dragon's skull.

Shinji watched quietly as she kept stabbing, kicking and punching at the dead Ahamkara. He briefly glanced at Saladin's corpse - which was quietly being tended to by Zavala and Ikora - before stepping forward. Misato's knife was out, and she kept on stabbing and stabbing-

(The dragon's corpse was sprawled over the mountainside, and it had been dead for minutes now; and yet, as an entire town lay in smolders behind them, Unit-01 kept stabbing away at the dead beast, lost to Shinji's rage.)

Shinji placed a hand on Misato's shoulder. "Misato-san...it's over."

"...no, Shinji-kun..." The older Hunter glanced over her shoulder, her entire body beginning to sag with weariness. "...the war is never over."

"...maybe." Taking a chance - finding himself in the unusual position of offering someone else solace and comfort - he wrapped his arms around his comrade and friend. "But this battle is over."

(As far as fifteenth birthdays went, Shinji thought that spending it unconscious in a hospital wasn't too bad in the grand scheme of things. Even if the circumstances leading to it had been painful, it had been...quiet. And yet, awakening to the sight of a slumbering Misato - slumped over his cot, hand gripping tightly to his own - was an oddly heartening experience, one that almost made his prior ordeals worthwhile.)

Aria Yamine watched them all in silence before raising her hand; as her Ghost manifested, she said, "Megumi. Get in contact with the Vanguard. Tell them that we have accomplished our mission."

"Understood."

Shinji inwardly winced at Aria's callous words, however truthful they may have been; even if they had been victorious, how could it taste of anything but ash, when the cost had been the life of a comrade to them all, a mentor to some, and a dear friend to one in particular? Saladin-san...I didn't know you that well...but you helped Misato survive for all these years...you helped her to live. Misato's grip quietly tightened around him; he briefly wondered if, behind that helmet, she was crying. And for that...you have my gratitude. Thank you...and I'm sorry.

xxxx

Grimoire: SIVA

RECIPIENT: Assembly of Masters, S14 Cryptarchy
CC: The Speaker
SENDER: Commander Osiris
SUBJECT: SIVA
SUB-ENTRIES: Nanotech; Self-Assembling Materials; Ironlands; Iron Lords; SEELE

SUMMARY: The mission to reclaim SIVA was a resounding success.

This experimental tool, created by the Pre-Collapse organization SEELE (ref. "Entities of Note, Cataclysm Period" by Master Rahool), became inert upon the defeat of the Ahamkara (ref. "Pre-Collapse Lore, Cataclysm Chapter" by the Speaker) known as Soma. All entities infected by the nanotechnology were rendered insensate upon the dragon's death and subsequent psychic backlash. Additionally, the losses endured by the Houses of Ramiel and Bardiel (ref. "Ironlands Overwatch: After-Action Report" by Shiro-4) have forced the Fallen to retreat back to the Cosmodrome. With their withdrawal, eradicating the HIVE remnants within the Ironlands was a relatively simple matter. The additional material and territorial gains were also substantial.

Initial inspection of SIVA reveals that the nanotechnology is capable of breaking down any existing matter very similar to Glimmer, and that these SIVA mites reuse the energy and matter based on a set of programmable directives. SIVA apparently will not cease until said directives are complete, subject to certain administrative overrides built into the hardware and software. The potential applications are incredibly tantalizing, to say the least.

Saint-14 will handle arrangements for any funerals and memorials of those who fell in battle for the final time.

This is the beginning of a new era for the City.