Author's Note: I am sooooooooooo sorry this is late, lovely readers. I promise next week will be on time. Just suffice it to say that I was unexpectedly busy.
Please don't forget to review!
Elaine strolled back through the CIC, giving a passing greeting and friendly smile to Traynor as she did so. She felt content as she took the elevator down to the Crew Deck. Life aboard the Normandy was… as good as it could be, given the circumstances. They all knew they were at war. There was an atmosphere hanging over every conversation, every smile. Crew members either muted or ignored reports of more worlds being taken by the Reapers and now the Darkspawn. Their hearts were hardened to the numbers of casualties coming in.
And yet, all of them tried to go with life. Misery and despair were the weapons their enemies used to defeat them long before they engaged them in battle. So they carried on. News of Elaine and Garrus now sharing quarters, 'moving in together' as some called it, had been noticed by enough people that Joker now knew. He'd called Elaine up this morning to talk about it, or to tease her, should she say. And it was during that conversation that Elaine realised Joker and EDI seemed to be leading down a similar road of romance. And what's more, Chakwas had been seen outside her Medbay for the first time in weeks. They'd all begun to notice how she seemed a little haunted since her brush with death at the hands of the Collectors. Yet now, she was seen with Engineer Adams and the others, drinking and laughing for the first time since this war began.
The Warden wondered what life would be like when this war was won. Would they all remain together or go their separate ways? Who would they lose and who would remain? Would those that survived be able to pick up the pieces once it was over? Would they even win the war at all?
She didn't like to dwell on such things, but today she couldn't help herself as the elevator made its slow crawl between decks. She fantased for a moment of her surviving this war; which she knew was an impossibility. What life would she want to live? She imagined Shepard would let her stay aboard the Normandy. She could travel the galaxy, righting wrongs and protecting those not strong enough to protect themselves. Or the Council had just reinstated her authority as a Grey Warden – she was The First Warden now. The head of her order. She could help to rebuild it. She might need to experiment on how to recreate the Joining, or more than likely, she would recreate the Grey Wardens with a new purpose, a new initiation. What that might be, she did not know. Or perhaps she could go back to Thedas. Rebuild something there, even if it were only a memorial to the civilisations that had been lost there.
And then she imagined a little house on a hill overlooking the sea. She'd have a view just like the one back at her childhood home, Castle Cousland. Maybe she'd have a quiet life. A few chickens, farm animals, her own vegetable garden. Herbalism had never been her strong suit, but maybe she could learn to be a good gardener? Would she be happy to finally come to the day when she could hang up her armour, her shield and her sword, and stop fighting?
So many questions that would never be answered… There was a tragedy in that.
"Are you sure you wanna play this game?" she heard Garrus' voice echo around the corner as the elevator doors opened. Like a guiding light, his voice led her from the darkness of her bittersweet thoughts. In the Mess Hall she found him, leaning against the window of the Medbay, smirking across at Vega who was at the Kitchen counter.
"What's the matter, Vakarian?" said Vega. "You chicken?"
"I don't even know what that is. Though I've heard everything in the galaxy tastes like it. But if you're suggesting I'm scared… game on, Vega!"
Elaine hid herself in the shadows by the mess-hall table, curious to watch the pair of them. Vega gestured elaborately to Garrus. "Age before wisdom."
"Okay." Nodded Garrus, crossing his arms and leaning back lazily. "Back in my C-Sec days, I busted a Batarian spy ring that was trying to assassinate a councilor."
Vega snorted, "Please, I fought off a dozen angry Batarians on Omega single-handedly! Used one of 'em as a landing pad off a three-story jump."
Ah. They were exchanging stories. Attempting to discover who was the better warrior due to experience.
Garrus' smirk grew a little wider. "Just warming up, seeing what you had. Now: I tracked down this guy Saren. Stopped him from raising a Geth army and unleashing the Reapers three years ago."
"Doesn't count. You did that with Shepard." Pouted Vega.
"You're right, I was with Shepard. From the very beginning."
"That just means you're old!"
Elaine had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud.
To his credit, Garrus chuckled too. "Still think you can win this, huh?"
"I can do this all day, Scars."
"Funny you mention those," said Garrus, running a talon along said scars. "Ever hear the name Archangel?"
Vega's brows rose and he bit his cheek to hide his grin. "I might've."
"You know, you have. I'm Archangel. Maybe you also heard that, for a couple months there, the crime rate on Omega mysteriously dropped whilst Archangel did a little 'house-cleaning'."
"So you ran a cleaning service on Omega? Back on Fehl Prime, I uncovered a pair of Harvesters. Has to kill them. By myself."
"Two wormnecks… that's almost impressive."
"Oh, that's not even the best part," said Vega. "They laid an egg. It hatched. And I trained it to let me fly it."
Garrus threw his head back and laughed. "The Alliance teach you to make up crap like that? Or did you figure it out all by yourself?"
Vega shrugged. "It's a gift."
This time, Elaine couldn't disguise her giggling. The noise drew the attention of both males. The moment his eyes found her, Elaine saw Garrus' expression brighten further. She went to him without hesitation, standing right beside him.
"Hey, Elaine," he grinned warmly. "Don't mind us, just telling Vega here what it means to be a real soldier."
"I think, gentlemen," she gave her best impression of a haughty look, like a cat that had swallowed the canary. "You'll find that I beat the pair of you. After all, I willingly drank a poisonous substance to gain powers, martialled together an army made up of opposing factions, dethroned a traitor, stopped a civil war, and single-handedly prevented an apolocalypse on my own world. Oh, and in the process of that, I killed two dragons. One of which was a literal God."
The pair of them stared at her. Garrus who chortled and wrapped his arm around her, letting his hand settle on her hip. "Well, if we're being fair, your win is my win. What's mine is yours and vice versa, right? Isn't that the human saying?"
"How convenient for you." She smiled and leaned to give him a peck on his mandible.
"Um… Wow." Whistled Vega, who Elaine had completely forgotten was there. She and Garrus glanced at the other human, who looked like a deer caught in the stare of an archer, unknowing of whether to run or not. "Okay. So… when did you two get together?"
"Oh, come on, Vega!" Joker's voice suddenly came from above. "Don't tell me you haven't heard they've moved in together? You not noticed the sexual tension between these two? I can hardly sleep at night thanks to them!"
Elaine fought the furious blush on her cheeks, but Garrus laughed good naturedly. He did so mainly at the expense of Vega, who scratched the back of his neck and looked around frantically for a change of subject.
"So, you killed a dragon Lola? A real dragon?" he asked.
"Yes." She said. "An Archdemon, overlord of all the Darkspawn. And another one that was a shapeshifting witch."
Even when embarrassed a moment beforehand, Vega whooped in triumph. "Nice!"
"You're not going to press for the details?"
"Nah. I can see you don't want to talk about it. Bet you look good doing it though." He winked.
She laughed. They talked a little while longer with Vega, but eventually he excused himself to return to the armoury, boasting about working out to ensnare the other females of the ship.
They watched him go, then Garrus leaned his mouth to Elaine's ear and asked, "You think we gave him nightmares?"
She snorted. "Probably just as much for the poor bystanders on our pretend date in Afterlife."
"Well, that was more for show." There was a nervousness in his voice that had her turning to look at him. Clearing his throat loudly, he asked hesitantly; "But I bet we wouldn't be that bad on a real date…?"
Elaine stared, open mouthed. She was partly in shock, and partly confused.
"What I mean is…" Garrus never liked it when she didn't give him a straight answer. He floundered, desperate to make himself clear. "Next time we're on the Citadel, why don't you and I go on a real date? I wanna do this the official way. Do you?"
She reached up and cupped his chin. "What do you think the answer is?" and then she kissed him.
The shuttle rattled as it entered the atmosphere of the planet below. Elaine tensed to try and stop herself from rocking with the motion of the shuttle. Javik sat in the seat beside her, silent and glowering. She didn't fancy touching him, even accidentally. This was their first mission together, and Elaine wasn't looking forward to it at all. At least she had EDI.
"Okay people," announced Shepard. "Asari High-Command wants us to check out an Ardat-Yakshi monastery."
"Ardat-Yakshi?" asked Elaine, a shiver crawling down her spine. "Like Morinth?"
On the small screen in the corner, Liara spoke to the team from her office on the Normandy. "No. These Ardat-Yakshi lived in the monestary so that they wouldn't – or couldn't – harm anyone. However, they're still powerful biotics and potentially dangerous. That's why High-Command sent in the commandos to deal with the situation."
Javik's eyes narrowed. "What were the commandos orders?"
"If there was a chance the Ardat-Yakshi's could break loose, they were to purge the monastery."
"You mean destroy it?" Elaine had no love for the Ardat-Yakshi. She knew what they were capable of, had narrowly escaped being on the receiving end of their devastating powers. Her mind was having trouble reconciling the raping monster that was Morinth with a priest-like tranquillity that Liara described. But even if she distrusted the Ardat-Yakshi, killiking them all seemed a little drastic. "It and all of them with it?"
"They would've brought heavy explosives, yes." Said Liara. "Ardat-Yakshi leave astronomical body counts. It's why they can never be free, and why High-Command won't rest until this place is destroyed."
"We don't need any more Morinths running around during a war." Shepard said, his face grim. "Alright. We find the Commandos and then finish the job."
They landed, their destination a magnificent work of architecture. Most buildings Elaine had ever seen were made of block-shapes and straight lines. But this was all smooth curves and steep angles. Built amidst snowy mountains, the monestary appeared to be the place to embody peace. And yet… Elaine felt on edge from the silence. Not the silence of people being simply quiet. No, this was the silence of nothingness. There was not an echo of voices further off, not even the sound of the ashes of battle settling into place. It was the silence of every living thing being stolen from the world.
"That C1-11 skyline shuttle is exuding heat, indicating recent use." Said EDI, pointing to a red sky-car that was tucked into one corner of the courtyard. Elaine hadn't even noticed it was there. "Commando units would not use a civilian mode of transportation. Someone else is here."
Shepard exchanged a look with his team, and then they all made their way into the Monestary. The front doors led straight to an elevator – except that it seemed to be either no longer in use or stuck somewhere far below. There were ladders leading down to platforms all around the elevator shaft, and the team quickly began their decent. Darkness swallowed them the further down they went. Again, Elaine felt on edge. Why would there be such penetrating darkness? It wasn't even the hour of night outside.
The further down they went, Elaine felt a familiar tingle itch its way through her veins, a burning disgustingness she couldn't deny. There was a pounding in her ears, and she knew what was here.
When they reached a ledge, a terrible scream echoed up to them. The entire team froze on the spot. Elaine readied her sword and shield. Never in all her life had she heard something so terrible. At first she thought it was the sound of an animal, for surely no human could make such a foul noise. But what animal would be so blood-curdling in its screeching?
"That vocalisation exceeds asari vocal cord range." Said EDI. And then, they heard the noise again, more than one, further off, like a pack of wolves calling to each other. "As do those…"
"Shepard…" Elaine warned. "There's more,"
"The Taint?" She nodded. Shepard growled. "Fantastic… Alright, everyone. Stay sharp."
Into the darkness they stepped. It must have once been a dinning hall, for long tables were illuminated by the lights from their weapons or armour. Chairs were overturned, debris littered the floor. Plates half filled with half-eaten food remained on the tables, cold and stale. Not a single light shone to illuminate the pitch black that surrounded them. Shepard led the way as they slowly stalked around the room, finding pieces of lives left abandoned. A broken personal terminal, or a book discarded on the floor.
They finally found a door that would lead onward. The coppery scent of blood filled the air, the stench of death. Just before the door's threshold, lay an unmoving mass. The group slowed, tensing for a surprise attack. Yet as they drew nearer, they discovered it was the body of an asari. Her frame was more muscled than others Elaine had seen, her armour black and thick. Beside her was a datapad.
"It would seem the asari commandos fell silent because the Reapers were here to greet them." said Javik, his voice echoing distortedly in the darkened hall. "A waste of soldiers. The Asari should have rid themselves of the Ardat-Yakshi long ago."
Elaine glared sharply at him. "By 'rid' you mean 'kill'." She herself was still undecided on how to feel on the subject, but Javik's cold-bloodedness had her riled to be contrary by default.
He met her eyes and curled his lip as he eyed her up and down. "My people would never have let such monsters walk among them."
"This monestary's out of the way. What do the Reapers want with Ardat-Yakshi?" Shepard asked himself. EDI bent down to pick up the datapad. Shepard glanced at her. "Anything useful?"
"A floorplan marked with a NavPoint location for a bomb. It's planted inside the monastery's Great Hall."
Javik nodded. "The commandos followed orders. They planned to purge this place."
"This place is a lost cause if it's already crawlin' with Reapers." Said Shepard. "Let's get to the Great Hall."
They went through the door and into the corridor. Following EDI's directions as she read out to them the floorplan, they hurried along down a set of stairs that would lead them towards a set of balconies and then to the main courtyard. The silence and the dark clung to the walls, watching the intruders go by. The eerie absence of sound stalked them, creeping along their skin, making their ears beg to hear anything, even if their hearts dreaded that aweful scream once again. Yet not once did they hear it. And the longer they went without hearing it, the more tense Elaine became.
Finally, they came through a set of doors and found another body. But this one was not Asari.
"Darkspawn." Shepard said, nudging the body of the Hurlock with his boot. It lay unmoving, black blood squelching from a wound beside its mechanical eye. "Looks like you were right, Elaine."
"Wish I were wrong." She murmured.
In the next corridor, they finally heard signs of other life. A snarl, a guttural bark that Elaine recognised as more Darkspawn. She took point of their formation, readying herself for battle. She could sense the Darkspawn as they came closer upon them, and knew where she would need to strike next. But then she heard another sound, a familiar whooshing and electrical buzzing that Elaine recognised as Biotics. She peeked around the corner, and felt her mouth fall open in surprise.
Samara stood in the middle of a lounge, her entire form encased in blue magic as she threw two Hurlocks into each other. Their bodies smashed together with a sickening crunch. A third ran at Samara, crude blade held high and it roared. Slamming her fist to the ground, the Justicar sent a shockwave rippling through the floor, upending tiles and bursting pipes until it blasted underneath the Hurlock and sent it flying. Regal in every move, Samara straightened, though she was a little out of breath. She did not see that a fourth Hurlock had crept up to its feet, pulled out a bow and arrow and aimed it for the back of her head.
Elaine did not hesitate. She threw Starfang at the Hurlock, the sword plunging into the beast's ribs. A killing blow, but not an instant one. The Hurlock screeched, gurgling on the blood filling its own lungs. Elaine leapt at it, slamming the edge of her shield into its throat so hard its neck snapped.
"Very good," said Samara's smooth and deep voice. "I almost didn't hear you."
"Samara!" Elaine grinned, pulling her sword free and sheathing it. She and Samara strided for each other, their wrists clasping in a firm shake. "What are you doing here? I would've thought you'd be in the thick of it, assisting the Asari military."
"I have been doing what I can. But the moment I heard of the distress signal here, I had to come." She said. They both turned at the sounds of footsteps as Shepard and the others came into view. Samara nodded respectfully. "Ah, Shepard. You are a most welcome sight – the corruption here runs deep."
"So you know the Commander and the Warden," sneered Javik suspiciously. "But why are you here?"
"I know the Monastery well – my two daughters live here, and I came to find them. Unfortunately, the Reapers had already infested this place by the time I arrived."
"Are these daughters just as dangerous as Morinth?" asked Shepard.
Samara shook her head. "Falere and Rila have followed the monastery's rules ever since they arrived. They've shown no inclination towards violence. I am here because they are my responsibility…"
"You'd better find your daughter's fast." Said the Commander. "The commandos set up a bomb here and I'm making sure it goes off."
"Shepard…" Elaine growled out. Samara used to be their teammate, he could stand to show a little courtesy.
"The Justicar Code demands I discover what happened to my children. I cannot ignore it." Samara declared. And then the screech finally came again. Elaine felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Fists enflamed with blue light, Samara looked to the door. "We're out of time."
Elaime made to stop her. "Samara–"
"We'll meet again." The Justicar halted her and marched through the doors. "I will draw these creatures off."
Shepard led them through another set of doors, following EDI's instructions. A massive multi-leveled courtyard opened up for them. Again, Elaine was awed by the sweeping curved architecture and the tranquillity these gardens provided. Above them the sky darkened and the first stars twinkled coldly. Around them, the peaks of the mountains echoed a lonely wind.
Elaine felt a burn in her blood, urgent, insistent, close.
"Get down!" she hissed and pushed the others behind the bushes.
They peaked out through the hedges as a small group of Hurlocks lumbered into the courtyard. They chittered amongst themselves, sniffing the air and looking around. Elaine hoped their Reaper-implants messed with their minds enough that they were not as accurate with detecting her as pure-Darkspawn used to be. The Hurlock at the back of the ground dragged behind him an Asari Commando, pulling her by the arm and throwing her down. It was only when the body gave a pathetic cry of pain that Elaine realised with horror that she was still alive!
Abruptly, the Darkspawn turned and hissed, shuffling away as another creature came into the courtyard from the shadows. It stood a good seven feet tall, humanoid and skeletal in appearance yet pot-bellied to the point its grey skin looked distorted. Its hands and arms were fused with metal, its wide eyes burning a mechanical blue. Its wide mouth hung open, the flesh of the cheeks ripped away. The back of its head was a tangle of interweaving spikes.
Shepard gaped in horror. "Is that – or was that – an Asari?"
"It would appear that asari has undergone Reaper conversion." EDI answered quietly. "We will have to inform Asari High-Command."
"But why have they not turned those commandos?"
"Because the Darkspawn want them." Elaine answered darkly. As if to prove her point, the Hurlocks pulled the Commando away from the Reaper-turned-Asari, like dogs jealously guarding a scrap of meat on a bone. Even though the Commando pleaded and cried, it fell on deaf ears as one of the Hurlocks grabbed her head and forced her mouth open. Another straddled her, and after a few heaves, vomited purple and black goo into her mouth. The Asari choked and gagged, by the Darkspawn holding her sealed her mouth shut, forcing her to swallow. "No doubt they're taking them as Broodmothers."
"Who's to say those Reaper-Asari aren't Broodmothers?" asked Shepard.
She gave him a look. "Does that look like anything we saw back on Utukku?"
"Okay, but then why not turn every Asari here into a Broodmother? An all female race would be perfect for them."
"The Ardat Yakshi are infertile, Shepard." EDI pointed out. "It would stand to reason that the Darkspawn have need of a female capable of bearing offspring in order to convert into a Broodmother."
The Reaper-Asari hissed, seeming to grow impatient with the Hurlocks and let off a scream that had the ground-team covering their ears. At least they now knew who made that horrible noise. It reached its claws out to snatch hold of the Commando, biotic power sizzling along its body, ready to crush its victim. But before it could, the Hurlocks dragged their prisoner away, brandishing their weapons and roaring defiantly at the Reaper-Asari. The two factions faced off in a way that Elaine had not expected, roaring and screeching at each other. The Hurlock took the first swing, slicing into the Reaper-Asari's arm. Mechanical blood spurted and the Reaper-Asari screeched and recoiled. She drew back, face contorted with hate and rage, clearly wanting to destroy them but holding back.
"It would seem there is infighting amongst the Reapers ranks," muttered Javik. Elaine expected him to look smug, but instead he only seemed disdainful. "Good. One less for them is a victory for us."
"You don't think it's a little weird that they're fighting at all?" asked Shepard. "They're supposed to all be mindless slaves to the Reapers."
Elaine mused aloud, "Perhaps the Reapers' control of the Darkspawn isn't as strong as they would have us believe…"
The Darkspawn and the Asari-Reaper continued to face off against each other. With them distracted, Elaine snuck them past the confrontation, leading the group in a wide circle around the Courtyard to reach the door. They slipped inside, and EDI did quick work locking it behind them so that the monsters couldn't attack from the rear.
Rounding the corner, Elaine once again heard the flare of Biotics. She skidded to a halt at what she found. A Cannibal lay dead on the floor, ripped in half from a Biotic blast. Samara stood tall and poised. Behind her, was a small Asari, her face decorated in tattoos that resembled freckles to Elaine. There were no similarities between the two Asari except for one: the same moon-like eyes.
"Mother! You came!" cried the little Asari, tears of relief in her eyes.
"As soon as I was able." Said Samara. Upon noticing their audience, she ushered the smaller Asari towards them. "Shepard, Elaine. This is Falere, my youngest. She and–"
"Mother!" cried Samara's daughter, clinging to the Justicar's arm in desperation. "They have Rila!"
For the first time that day, Elaine saw Samara's composure slip for a fraction of a second. "What?"
"I saw some of those creatures take her into the Great Hall. I've been trying to get there." Said Falere.
Shepard stepped forward. "What are the Reapers doing here?"
"Harvesting us." Falere huddled into herself, twisting her hands as horror filled her voice. "They took the Commandos and keep doing… things to them! But us? They're turning us into those… monsters! You can't let that happen to Rila!"
EDI's head tilted. "Asari High-Command believed the Ardat-Yakshi mutinied, causing the attack."
Falere looked both shocked and offended. "This is our home! We would never… This is the only place where we can achieve peace."
"I vouch for Falere's word, Shepard – with pride." Said Samara.
Behind the Justicar's back, Falere hid a small smile, as if she'd been waiting to hear those words all her life. Elaine felt her world shift underneath her. On the one hand she distrusted the Ardat-Yakshi on principle. On the other hand, Falere was so earnest, so non-threatening, like a child, it was hard to think of her as a relation to the cold-blooded killer that was Morinth.
"I'm sorry." Said Shepard. "But your sister's gone. There's a bomb in the Great Hall and I'm setting it off."
Falere stared, horrified. "But didn't you come to rescue us?"
Elaine stepped forward, reaching out to automatically comfort her but checking herself at the last moment. "Falere, the Darkspawn are turning the commandos into Broodmothers. I don't want to agree with blowing up a monastery full of people, but we need to stop this. And you are the only survivor."
"No, I'm not! Rila is still alive!"
"Even if she is," Shepard argued, "this place still needs to be destroyed. It's a liability."
"A liability?! My friends have been killed! Turned into–"
She stopped, seeing that there was no point arguing. The conviction in the commander and his crew was obvious. Scowling, she turned and flund herself over the railing of the balcony.
"Falere!" Samara shouted. They all rushed to the railing and looked over. Instead of seeing Falere splattered on the concrete below, they found her floating in a field of biotics down to the floor safely. Samara wasted no time and followed her daughter. "To the Great Hall, Commander! Please be swift."
Elaine ran with Shepard through the remaining corridors, jumping down flights of stairs and dashing through the last doors. Finally, they reached the Great Hall, and Elaine recognised that it was aptly named. It more resembled a temple or a lord's throne room than a room in a monastery. As she stepped in, Elaine could feel the wretchedness of the taint, but the room held so many shadows, she couldn't see where it was coming from. In the centre of the room, she could see a cluster of boxes and barrels, and EDI quietly confirmed it as the bomb. Beside it, lay the slumped body of an Asari. Falere was knelt over her, trying to shake her awake, Samara stood over them both, frozen.
As Shepard and the others approached, they made it in time to see the asari on the floor, pale in her skin-tone and tattoos, stir. She opened her eyes only to look upon her sister with nothing but robotic-hate inside black eyes. She launched herself at Falere, wrapping her hands around her beloved sister's throat.
"Rila!" Falere choked. Biotics aiding her, Samara leapt in to defend her daughter, and pushed Rila back. She fell to the floor in an exhausted heap. Tears streamed down Falere's face as she clung to her mother. "Why would she do that?"
"She is lost to the Reapers." Said Javik. "Conversion has already begun."
"Elaine…" called EDI slowly, hesitantly.
The Warden looked up to where her friend pointed. Slowly, she came forward. From the light shining in her armour, it penetrated the darkness. And Elaine's mouth fell open, her stomach roiled.
All along the wall, tendrils of darkness and fleshy growth spread like the manifestation of a disease. In the corner of it all, was a Broodmother. Her belly was swelled to the point her blue-brown skin looked ready to tear. Tentacles grew out of her body that seemed to have melded with the environment and corruption around her. Her head rolled on a fat neck, lips diminished to nothing over sharp serated teeth. The crown of spikes at the back of her head was the only indication that she used to be Asari.
"Maker's Breath…" Elaine hissed. She heard a moan, and spun. Her light illuminated all along the wall, and she found other Asari – all of them in various stages of being turned into Broodmothers. Twitsting to look at the other end of the room, she found more of them on the opposite side. No wonder Elaine had ben unable to tell where the Darkspawn taint lay – it was everywhere!
This one in the corner seemed to be the only one to have reached the full potential of a Broodmother. Black blood dripped from her eyes, and she snarled at the intruders on her nest, more black blood dribbling down her chin where her tongue had been ripped out of her mouth. The asari-Broodmother rubbed her plump hand over her sagging double pairs of breasts to her stretched belly, where the skin squirmed as if something were trying to claw it's way free.
"Shepard–!"
Too late. With a roar, the child inside the Broodmother ripped its way free of the womb, tearing skin and coming into the world in a fountain of black blood and yellow gunk. The Broodmother gave a screech of agony, and then went limp, falling silent and dying immediately. The creature she had spawned looked at the carcass of its mother with something like repulsion on its twisted face. Its spine was twisted and hunched, the spines exaggerated and sticking out like spikes. Its face was contorted to more resemble an animal, with a massive underbite which meant its overly large fangs jutted up its face like a boar. Red eyes blazed wide, overly large hands with long claws and wicked spurs sticking out of its wrists were brandished. The creature's face split apart, its jaw completely parting wide to reveal a long tongue that lashed out in front of it like a whip. It roared.
Elaine and EDI backed up quickly to get away from the Spawn as it charged them. Shots rang out as Shepard and Javik and Samara gave them cover fire. The Spawn ducked and dashed on all fours, scuttling like an insect along the ground and up vertical walls with the ease of a spider. It leapt at the party, who all dove in separate directions to get away from it. Preying upon their confusion, the Spawn lashed out its tongue to wrap arounr Rila's ankle and began to drag her back, snarling hungrily. Falere screamed and pulled on her sister's body, fighting for control of it. The Spawn hissed and twisted to drive its wrist-spurs into Falere's eye –
Samara flew by Falere with the speed of a falling star to crash into the spawn in an explosion of biotic blue light. The spawn was thrown back across the room, landing in a heap. It got back up in an instant, however, shrugging off the effets of the biotics as if it were nothing more than a breeze. It got ready to charge, when several things happened at once: Shepard let off several shots, one of which hit the Spawn in the shoulder. EDI sent a crackle of electricity with an overload that zapped and burned the Spawn's flesh. Javik hit it with his green biotics as Samara hit it with her blue, the two forces exploding upon interacting with each other. The Spawn fell to the ground, wounded and nearly ripped limb from limb. Yet it shook its head, merely dazed. Before it could gain full control of its senses, Elaine dashed in and with a sweep of her sword, beheaded it.
The whole room breathed a sigh of relief and stared at each other, disturbed. And then, around the room, they heard the moans and guttural hisses of the other asari-Broodmothers. One by one, they let off a terrible shriek. From above, Elaine felt a burn fire up along the edges of her mind as she could feel the Darkspawn working their way through the monastery, closing in.
"Shepard," called EDI, "the bomb requires a detonator. I cannot find the one provided by the Commandos."
"I… I have it…"
Everyone looked to the body on the floor. Rila's grunted in pain and opened her eyes – revealing them to be the same as her mother's and sister's. In her hand she held a small cylindrical device with a button on the top. Falere immediately fell beside her sister and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oh, Rila!"
"They got into my head, Falere…" she whispered brokenly. "I can't keep them out. Their teeth are at my ears. Fingers on my spine…"
"Don't worry. We'll get you help–"
Somewhere close by they heard the shriek of the Reaper-asari. And then came the roar of Darkspawn and the thunder of their feet as they raced towards the Great Hall. All around the edges of the Hall, the broodmothers grew more and more agitated.
Elaine grabbed hold of the Commander's shoulder and shook him back to the task. "Shepard! These Asari will soon turn from the Taint! And those… those Banshees will soon be upon us!"
It was not a welcomed choice, they realised when they looked back at the two sisters, one refusing to leave her sister, the other indoctrinated and weak. With a curt nod, Shepard grabbed hold of Falere and threw her over his shoulder. She screeched in surprise. When she realised that he was suddenly carrying her away from her sister, she started to thrash like a wildcat.
"Rila, no!"
"Falere…" Rila tried to give her little sister a brave smile, even though it trembled. "Go. You have to go. Now."
"But, Rila, I…" again, Falere fought, but Shepard kept a tight hold on her. Elaine looked at Rila, and nodded to her in deep respect. Samara was frozen to the spot as she stared at Rila, before turning away slowly, as if to do so was tearing off her skin to do so. Rila slumped against the bomb and held the detonator in her hands. Falere reached for her sister and screamed. "NO! RILA!"
At the end of the Great Hall was the elevator the group hadn't been able to call upon when they first arrived. They all piled in, Shepard throwing Falere to Javik as he came in and slamming the doors closed when Samara was the last to enter. The last they saw of Rila was her pale face, fighting her eyes to turn all black once again, tears streaming down her face. Then the doors closed.
Falere broke free from Javik and slammed herself against the door, as if she could force them open. The elevator whirled furiously and Elaine felt her stomach dip as the force of gravity pushed down on them when the elevator sped up to get them back to the top. She watched the lights on the wall count down to indicate their level –
BOOM!
Thankfully, the elevator had reached the surface by the time of the explosion. Shepard and the others forced open the doors, and the lot of them stumbled into the open air. Elaine staggered and turned, and saw the mountain itself behind them was on fire, smoke billowing into the night sky. Uncertain, she stretched her senses to try and see if she could feel even an echo of the taint. But there was nothing. She closed her eyes, resigned. The mission was a success, but it felt hollow.
"Rila… there wasn't even time to say goodbye." She heard Falere whisper in misery. The Warden turned to watch the young asari fall to her knees in the settling snow and ash. Samara stared, unsure of how to proceed. She knelt beside her daughter, her hand reached out to touch her shoulder in comfort. Sensing her close, Falere whirled around and snarled up at her mother: "You left her to die!"
Samara recoiled from her daughter's fury, from the tears soaking her cheeks. Slowly, she stood, no longer looking regal. Instead, she seemed quietly panicked. Turning away from Falere, her voice was cold, emotionless. "Rila made her choice. And it has reminded me of what is truly important. Why I swore I would lay down my life." From her belt, Samara drew out her pistol. Still knelt on the ground, Falere shivered. Samara turned to regard her daughter. "Falere, the Code demands that an Ardat-Yakshi cannot live outside a monastery that no longer exists."
Elaine felt her heart sink into her toes. She dashed in front of Falere. "Samara!"
"I'm sorry, Elaine," the Warden grew confused at the look in Samara's eyes. She didn't seem to be resigned or sorrowful the way she would if she were to kill her child. "By the Justicar's Code… there is only one way to save Falere."
The penny dropped and Elaine acted before she could think. She threw her shield at Samara, the metal colliding with her arm and smacking the pistol out of her hand with a painful jerk. Samara cried out, but then Elaine was upon her. The Warden grabbed her arms and held them behind her back.
"Let go." Growled Samara.
"No." when the Justicar attempted to fight free, Elaine wrapped her arms around Samara's pressing her face into the Justicar's shoulder. "Rip me in half with those biotics if you want! But I can't watch you die!"
"I won't kill my last daughter!"
"And I'm not letting Falere see this! I watched my mother meet her end and it nearly tore me apart – I will not let her suffer the same grief!"
"I'll stay here!" cried a voice. The pair of them stared at Falere as the girl shakily got to her feet. Tears of fear, of pleading, now fell from her eyes. "I can stay here, rebuild something. If everyone believes this place is destroyed, no one can betray my secret to the Reapers. This is my home – no matter what has become of it. I could've left at any time. I don't need a building to honour my own code. And if the Reapers do return, they won't take me alive! I promise."
The Warden and Justicar stared and then looked to each other, and then to Shepard. Slowly, Elaine let Samara go, and the asari stood tall and fixatedly on her daughter. She seemed to look internally for a moment, as if searching her thousand-year memory. And then… she smiled. "Then… the Code permits you to stay, as you are."
Falere threw herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around her. Samara hesitated, clearly unsure of what to do. Then carefully, returned the embrace. Elaine felt a hand touched her shoulder and turned to find Shepard at her side. He nodded to her in respect. She smiled.
"Thank you, both of you." Said Samara as she came to them. "Once I have spoken with Falere, I will join your forces, as a Justicar should. If you'll have me, of course."
Shepard held out his hand, which Samara gladly shook. "I'd be honoured."
"The honour is mine, my friends."